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VIJAYAWADA, MONDAY JANUARY 4, 2021; PAGES 12 `3

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RNI No. APENG/2018/764698

*Late City Vol. 3 Issue 55*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

Established 1864Published From

VIJAYAWADA DELHI LUCKNOW BHOPAL RAIPUR CHANDIGARH

BHUBANESWAR RANCHIDEHRADUN HYDERABAD

{

Oppn parties not proud

of anything Indian:

Nadda

5

Naidu conspiring tocreate unrest instate: Ministers

3

‘NHAI to track delaysin files processing

8

SNV SUDHIRn VIJAYAWADA

The issue of desecration ofLord Rama's idol at SriKodanda Rama Swamy templein Ramatheertham inVizianagaram district contin-ues to simmer. A day afterYSRCP Rajya Sabha memberVijayasai Reddy and TDP chiefN Chandrababu Naidu visitedRamatheertham, Endowmentsminster Vellampalli Srinivasand MA & UD minister BotsaSatyanarayana on Sunday vis-ited the temple and inquiredwith the priests and keepersabout the incident.

The small non-descript vil-lage, Ramatheertham, turnedinto a battlefield for politicalparties on Saturday with thevisit of Vijayasai Reddy andNaidu along with their respec-tive huge entourage.

BJP activists too took out aprotest rally on Saturday whichled to a slugfest between thepolice and their cadres.

Visakha Sarada Peethampontiff Swamy Swaaroopanan-dendra on Sunday demandedthat the government appoint afact finding committee on thedesecration of idols with a

condition to submit the reportwithin a stipulated time. Hecautioned that such attackson Hindu temples will onlybring disrepute to the stateendowments departmentwhich is the custodian ofHindu temples in the state.

Condemning the incident,the seer said police miserablyfailed in preventing such inci-dents which hurt the senti-ments of Hindus.

Minister VellamapalliSrinivas before proceeding toRamatheertham visited SaradaPeetham at Pendurthy in Vizag.He had a closed-door meetingwith SwamySawroopanandendra and

sought his blessings. The issue has taken a serious

political turn with YSRCP andTDP trading barbs at eachother, while the BJP and JanaSena are planning a massiveprotest at Ramatheertham onJanuary 5 as a show of strength.

Ministers VellampalliSrinivas, Botsa Satyanarayanaand Kodali Nani had accusedNaidu of indulging in politicsover the desecration of theidol.

Kodali Nani demanded thatnarco analysis test be per-formed on Naidu and his sonNara Lokesh alleging that theywere behind the desecration ofidol to gain mileage.

Another idol damagedin Vijayawada cityPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Even before the devotees couldforget the dastardly act atRamatheertham temple inVizianagaram district, a sim-ilar incident of idol sacrilegecreated tension in Vijayawadaon Sunday. Unidentified mis-creants damaged a clay idol ofGoddess Sita at SitaramaTemple here in Krishnalanka.

The opposition TDP andthe BJP leaders expressed con-cern over the incident.

The police registered a caseunder Section 448, 427, 295and 153 (A) was registeredagainst the complaint given byS Babu Rao and launchedinvestigation into the inci-

dent.City police commissioner B

Srinivasulu instructed theDCP Vikrant Patil to conducta thorough investigation intothe incident.

ACP M Venkateswaruluand Krishna Lanka InspectorP Satyanandam formed spe-cial teams to investigate theincident in al l possibleangles. They are trackingCCTV footage of the templepremises.

The police inspected thesurroundings of the Sitaramatemple and found that thegrill door of the temple waslocked. However, they foundthat the idol of Goddess Sitawas damaged.

Political slugfest overRamatheertham continues

DGP warns stern action Vijayawada: Andhra PradeshDGP Goutam D Sawang saidthat as many as 236 peoplehave been arrested so far inconnection with the desecrationof temples across the state. He said that 87 persons werearrested in 49 cases before theAntervedhi temple incident,while 149 persons have beenarrested in 78 cases post-Antervedhi incident. As many as 37,673 CCTVcameras have been set up in11,295 places of worship. DGPhas warned that stern actionwould be taken against peopleresorting to attack on temples.Security has been heightened atall temples and places ofworship to prevent attacks onreligious places. Continuoussurveillance, patrolling andvisual policing has beenordered, he said. The Vizianagaram district policeare conducting a thoroughinvestigation into theRamatheertham incident and asmany as 21 people have beenarrested for investigation.

There is a saying in Teluguthat means ‘You can tellBrahma, who can under-

stand everything; you can tellan illiterate person, who can betaught everything from ascratch; but you cannotenlighten a semi-literate’ per-son. This sums up the presentsituation related to the snow-balling controversy over farmlaws in the country. Some tellus that this is outright sale ofthe farm sector to corporateentities, while others say it isgood for farmers and shouldbe supported. Both have sometruth in their respective argu-ments. On the whole, the farmlaws introduced by the Modigovernment are one of themajor reforms intended tochange the face of the conser-vative Indian agriculture.

The Central Acts per se donot abolish MSP system orAPMCs. Most of the statesenacted and enforcedAgricultural Produce MarketsRegulation (APMR) Acts dur-ing the 1960s and 1970s.

An APMC (AgriculturalProduce Market Committee) isa marketing board establishedby the respective state govern-ments. These APMCs areexpected to ensure that

farmers are safeguarded

from exploitation by largeretailers. Besides, they are sup-posed to ensure that the farm-to-retail price spread does notreach excessively high levels.The Government of Indiadesigned a ‘model’ APMC Actin 2003. The idea back thenwas that if state governmentsrun their Mandis efficiently,there won’t be any need for theCentre to intervene.

Take for example super mar-kets and malls. Before theycame into picture, everyonethought that the move wasagainst ‘kirana’ or mom andpop stores. Every small shopowner was provoked to protestthe entry of super markets andmalls. But in reality, what hap-pened? It is kirana and local

shops that have thrived withthe advent of supermarkets.There is improved quality, ser-vice, and ambience in manylocal stores, and they are doingreally well.

Of course, there are appre-hensions that the Central Actswould eventually wipe outAPMCs. If APMCs are runefficiently, why would they bewiped out?

None of the protesting farm-ers is looking at three majorthings. Commission agents andtraders in APMC market virtu-ally have a monopoly in thename of providing service tofarmers. APMC staff, thoughmeant to serve farmers and pro-tect their

interests, tend to side withtraders and commission agentsto shortchange farmers. As longas the Public DistributionSystem (PDS, supply in kind,and not DBT) is there, MSP willcontinue.

For non-PDS produce, evennow MSP implementation isminimal. This is because MSPhas been fixed 1.5 times theoperating costs of the crop. Infact, the government never buysthe entire production underMSP. As per latest statistics pro-curement at MSP:

Farm laws will ease Mandis’grip on farmers

PNS n BENGALURU

Union Minister D.V.Sadananda Gowda collapseddue to low blood sugar inChitradurga while on hisway to the city fromShivamogga on Sunday andhas been admitted to a hos-pital in Bengaluru, officialsources said.

Gowda (67) is currentlystable and is undergoing fur-ther tests and treatment at aprivate hospital. The Unionminister for chemicals andfertilisers was brought toAster CMI hospital at 4:45pm on Sunday.

His condition is stable andwill be kept under observa-tion for the next 24 hours, thehospital's spokesperson saidin a statement.

"He is stable, blood andother parameters are normal.There is nothing to worry. Wewill keep him under observa-tion for 24 hours. The causeof the giddiness was due tolow sugar level," Dr Brinda,physician at the hospital, toldreporters.

Gowda in a tweet said hishealth was stable. "Due to lowsugar I was a bit tired. I'm finenow. All parameters,includ-ing Echo, ECG are normal. Ithank all those who wishedfor my good health," hetweeted.

The minister was firstadmitted to a hospital inChitradurga and later shiftedby an ambulance throughzero traffic management, toa private hospital inBengaluru.

SadanandaGowda collapses

PNS n NEW DELHI

India's drugs regulator onSunday approved OxfordCOVID-19 vaccine Covishield,manufactured by the SerumInstitute, and indigenouslydeveloped Covaxin of BharatBiotech for restricted emer-gency use in the country,paving the way for a massiveinoculation drive.

The Drugs ControllerGeneral of India (DCGI)granted the approval on thebasis of recommendations bya COVID-19 Subject ExpertCommittee (SEC) of theCentral Drugs StandardControl Organisation(CDSCO). "After adequateexamination, CDSCO hasdecided to accept the recom-mendations of the ExpertCommittee and accordingly,vaccines of M/s Serum andM/s Bharat Biotech are beingapproved for restricted use inemergency situations," DCGIDr V G Somani told the mediahere.

This paves the way for theroll out of at least two vaccinesin India in the coming days.

"Serum and Bharat Biotechvaccines have to be adminis-tered in two doses. All the

three vaccines have to bestored at 2-8 C," he said.

The Serum Institute ofIndia, the world's largest vac-cine manufacturer, has tied upwith AstraZeneca to manufac-ture Covishield, while Covaxinhas been indigenously devel-oped by Bharat Biotech incollaboration with the IndianCouncil of Medical Research(ICMR).

Prime Minister NarendraModi termed the approval adecisive turning point inIndia's fight against coron-avirus.

NEW DELHI: Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on Sunday(January 3) hailedthe Drugs Controller General ofIndia (DCGI)'s nod for SerumInstitute's Covishield and BharatBiotech's Covaxin for restricteduse in India. The Prime Ministertermed the move as a decisiveturning point in the country’sfight against the virus andexpressed his gratitude for allfrontline workers in 'adversecircumstances'.In a series of tweets, PrimeMinister Modi congratulatedSerum Institute and BharatBiotech on getting the DCGI’sapproval. "A decisive turningpoint to strengthen a spiritedfight! DCGI granting approvalto vaccines of@SerumInstIndia and@BharatBiotech acceleratesthe road to a healthier andCOVID-free nation.Congratulations India.Congratulations to ourhardworking scientists andinnovators.

Modi says ‘movewill lead to Covid-free nation’

DCGI approves Oxford's,Bharat Biotech's Covid vax

Chittoor jawansuccumbs tobiting coldPNS n VIJAYAWADA

An army jawan from AndhraPradesh died in Jammu andKashmir due to the severecold.

According to reports,Redappa Naidu, 38, hailingfrom Gadapakindapalli ofPanapakam in Chandragirimandal of Chittoor district,has been serving in theIndian Army for the last 14years.

He was performing his dutiesbut suddenly collapsed due tosevere cold on Saturday. Theother soldiers spotted him andairlifted him to an Army hos-pital where the doctors declaredthat he was brought dead.

The information was con-veyed to the family membersand pall of gloom descended onGadapakindapalli as the newsof Reddappa Naidu's deathspread on Saturday.

Reddappa Naidu was sur-vived by wife Reddamma, sonSatvik and daughter Nishita. Hiselderly parents are in a shockover the loss of their son.

After serving for 14 years inthe army, Reddappa Naidu gota promotion recently and fam-ily members were very happyover the news.

VIJAYAWADAWEATHER

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated January 3 , 2021 5:00 PM

ALMANAC

TODAY

Month & Paksham:

Margashirsha & Krishna Paksha

Panchangam

Tithi : 07:13 am, Shashthi: 05:46 am (Next

Day)

Nakshatram: Purva Phalguni: 07:17 pmTime to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)

Rahukalam: 08:13 am – 09:36 am

Yamagandam: 10:58 am – 12:21 pm

Varjyam: 02:12 am – 03:44 am

Gulika: 01:43 pm - 03:06 pm

Good Time: (to start any important work)

Amritakalam: 01:03 pm – 02:37 pm

Abhijit Muhurtham: 11:59 am – 12:43 pm

FFoorreeccaasstt:: SunnyTemp: 31/19Humidity: 63%Sunrise: 06:47 amSunset: 05:55 pm

AP faces debt burden of Rs 3.73 lakh cr: CAGPNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Andhra Pradesh govern-ment's gross debt burden hasincreased to Rs 3,73,140 croreby the end of November 2020.

CAG's latest accountsrevealed that from April toNovember 2020 alone Rs73,811.85 crore was borrowedfrom different sources asagainst the annual target of Rs48,295.59 crore for the wholeyear.

In the month of Novemberalone, the government bor-rowed Rs 13,001 crore to footthe freebies bill.

Against the targeted Rs18,434.15 crore for the entirefinancial year, the revenuedeficit shot up to Rs 57,925.47crore by the end of Novemberitself.

The state government bor-rowed Rs 9226.375 crore on anaverage per month so far dur-ing the 2020-21 financial year.

The current borrowing trendindicated that the state govern-ment may raise a loan of at leastanother Rs 30,000 crore by theend of March 2021, taking thetotal borrowing to over Rs1.04 lakh crore in the 2020-21financial year, sources in theFinance Department said.

APs debt burden was Rs97,000 crore at the time ofbifurcation in June 2014. In fiveyears (till 2019 March), itpeaked to Rs 2,58,928 crore.

From April 2019 toNovember 2020, Rs 1,14,212.81crore was taken as loan frombanks and other sources, withRs 1,06,866.25 crore of itsecured by the Y S JaganMohan Reddy regime sinceJune 2019, the sources said.

In the first eight months ofthe current financial year, thestate government incurred arevenue expenditure of Rs70,082.90 crore, almost all ofwhich went towards the

numerous freebie schemes ofthe ruling YSR Congress.

Earlier, the JaganmohanReddy regime had imposedtaxes and cess totalling aroundRs 21,000 crore on people, cit-ing shortfall in revenues due toCovid-induced lockdown.

Despite the lockdown duringthe first quarter of the fiscal, thestates revenue touched Rs46,589 crore by November,just about Rs 4,500 crore shortcompared to the corresponding

period in the previous year.The state also got Rs 8,000

crore extra in grants from theCentre compared to the corre-sponding period.

The government created anew entity called StateDevelopment Corporationexclusively to raise loans and itso far secured Rs 10,000 crorefrom SBI, Canara Bank andPunjab National Bank, Financedepartment sources added.

22

2

2

Immediately on the back of the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI)approving Bharat Biotech's Covaxin and the Oxford-Astrazenecavaccine for "restricted use in emergency situations", Congress MP

Shashi Tharoor warned against the use ofCovaxin, saying its approval was premature. "TheCovaxin has not yet had Phase 3 trials. Approvalwas premature and could be dangerous.@drharshvardhan should please clarify. Its useshould be avoided till full trials are over. India canstart with the AstraZeneca vaccine in themeantime." Phase 3 trials are the large-scale trialswhere the immunogenicity of the vaccine is reallyput to the test.

SHASHI THAROOR QUESTIONS

AUTHORISATION FOR COVAXIN VACCINEWITHDRAW FARM LAWS :SONIAGANDHI

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan hit out at the the opposition, aftersome of its leaders, including, Akhilesh Yadav, Anand Sharma,Shashi Tharoor and Jairam Ramesh, on Sunday raised serious

concerns over the grant of approval to BharatBiotech's COVID-19 vaccine for restricted use,claiming that it is "premature" and can provedangerous, saying it is "disgraceful for anyone topoliticise such a critical issue." In a tweet, thehealth minister asked Yadav, Ramesh andTharoor not to "discredit well laid out science-backed protocols followed for approving" thevaccine. "Wake up and realise you are onlydiscrediting yourselves," he said.

Legendary talk show host Larry King has tested positive forcoronavirus and is being treated at a hospital here, according to USmedia reports on Sunday. Sources close to the 87-year-old former

CNN interviewer said he has been at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre forover a week.Representatives for King have not publicly commented onhis hospitalisation, and details of his currentcondition are unclear. "Larry has fought so manyhealth issues in the last few years and he isfighting this one hard too, he's a champ," a sourcetold CNN. News of King's hospitalisation came asemergency officials in California said hospitalswere treating an unprecedented number ofCOVID-19 patients.

Pns n new delhi In a scathing attack on the Centre over the farmers'protests, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Sunday said that it is

for the first time since independence that such an "arrogant"government has come to power, that cannot see the sufferings of'annadatas' (farmers), and demanded that thenew farm laws be immediately withdrawnunconditionally. In a statement in Hindi, shesaid governments and their leaders whoignore public sentiments in a democracycannot govern for long and it is now quiteclear that the protesting farmers will not bowin the face of the Centre's policy of "tire andpushover".

YOU ARE DISCREDITINGYOURSELVES': HARSH VARDHAN

VETERAN US BROADCASTER LARRYKING IN HOSPITAL WITH COVID19

KRISHNA PRASAD

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vijayawada 02VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | JANUARY 4, 2021

Monday MirchiCS eager to meet babus

today

When it is clear that there is going to be nomeeting of minds, it pays to get together overculinary delights on a festive occasion. Thisis perhaps why senior officers in Telangana,particularly those working in Hyderabad, havebeen invited by Chief Secretary SomeshKumar for a New Year bash at BRK Bhawanon Monday. Sensing from media reports thatsome senior officers are not very happy atwhat is happening in the name of ‘adminis-tration’, the Chief Secretary has taken the ini-tiative to call the meeting coupled with eat-ing, taking advantage of the New Year.Although there is no specific agenda for themeeting, a little bird told us that Somesh willpatiently listen to the grievances of some offi-cers and give assurances to those sulking fornot getting ‘suitable’ posts in the last one year.Somesh is expected to explain the changingpriorities of the government in view of thefluid political situation in the state. With someofficers having already decided to vehe-mently question the undue concentration ofpower in a few hands and the stock answerof ‘paucity of funds’ even for regular establish-ment expenses, the meeting may see a lot offireworks, though by definition it is going tobe a New Year party, and not Diwali festivi-ties. Much depends on whether the angrybabus will let off steam. What if some proveto be just hungry babus?

Correcting a self-certification system

When “TS bPASS was launched, everyone,including the Chief Minister of Telangana,claimed that the self-certification systemwould be a panacea for all problems. But overtime several irritants have cropped up dur-ing implementation, with real estate compa-nies, dealers, agents, and ordinary people rais-ing concerns. One senior IAS officer in theTS government tried his best to upload hisown house extension plan, but failed. He isan engineer and also an IT expert. He isknown for his great work in IT- related pro-jects of the government. He won national andPrime Minister awards for his IT-related work.Even he failed to understand how “b-PASS”works and could not upload his house planeven after working on it for four days.Disappointed with the scheme of things, theofficer finally asked some architect to find an‘easy way’ to upload the building plan. Withthe help of same old registration departmentstaff, the architect could upload the plan forthe officer. Later, the officer, who shared hisagonizing experience with yours truly, won-dered how ordinary people are able to put upwith the system without bypassing rules.

War in ‘war room’!

The Dharani portal, brainchild and pet pro-ject of Telangana Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao, had what officials would

like to describe as ‘teething problems’. Foraddressing them, a ‘war room’ was created atBRKR Bhavan with the Chief Secretary at thehelm and including several top officials as offi-cers on special duty. Dharani has been aheadache for KCR because of the systemicproblems and glitches it developed, resultingin several cases being filed in the High Courtagainst the operation of the portal. With theHC stopping registration of non-farm prop-erties through the portal, the state governmenthad to find lasting solutions. So, though theCS thought that he was leading from the frontin the war room, other senior officers work-ing with him and a 100-person team consist-ing of personnel drawn from IT and Revenuedepartments, found it too demanding a task.For, despite working for about 15 hours a dayto assist the ground-level staff across the 570offices of Mandal Revenue Officers and Sub-Registrars in the State to complete agricultur-al land transactions without any hassles, theyhad several intractable issues. So, when a fewsenior IAS officials were deputed to ‘person-ally’ monitor the operation of Dharani por-tal, a full-blown war erupted in the 'war room'between CS and the senior babus. The seniorIAS officers are peeved at Somesh for not tak-ing them into confidence and for taking 'uni-lateral decisions'. Three senior IAS officialsSandeep Kumar Sultania, secretary, PanchayatRaj and Rural Development, Syed Ali MurtuzaRizvi, secretary, Medical and HealthDepartment, and Rahul Bojja, secretary, SCDevelopment Department have stopped com-ing to war room. That is not all. Now, thereis going to be a downsizing of the staff. Whatis galling for well-meaning circles is that allthis is happening at a time when at least 80per cent of the works on the Dharani portalremain to be done and the CM is watchingthe goings-on in the war room.

Advance look at successionplan

For a Chief Secretary who has just takenover, it hurts to be around people who havestarting counting the days left of his tenure.The new CS Aditya Nath Das took charge afew days ago; yet, the question of who will‘succeed’ him after his retirement havebecome a hot topic of discussion in the cor-ridors of the state Secretariat in Velagapudi.Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy,knowing that Das has a little over six monthsof service left, had given him a chance to helmthe state administration. Amid whispers thatJagan may write to the Centre seeking exten-sion of Das’ services (like in the case of out-going how CS Nilam Sawhney --who got twoextensions), there are counter viewpoints thatthe CM succeeded in the past mainly becauseof the crisis during the peak of Covid. Theysay now the Centre may not oblige Jagan inthe changed scenario. Still, aspirants of the toppost in the administration cannot wait tillJune.

Yours truly

Amidst sweet and sournews on the Covid-19front where the vacci-

nation programme hasalready started on the onehand, while almost the entireEurope and some Afro-Asiancountries are on the verge ofdeclaring second round oflockdown, the global marketspreferred to wait and watch.The yellow metal once againbecame the centre of attrac-tion for big players.

Consequently, New York goldclosed at US $ 1,898. 00 (perounce) while silver closed at $26.36 (per ounce). Platinumand palladium appreciated andclosed at $ 1061.00 (per ounce)and $ 2,336.00 (per ounce)respectively.

Other economic parameters

remained moderate. Brentclosed at US$ 51.80(per barrel)while Crude MCX oil was quot-ed at Rs3,527 (per barrel).While Gold MCX stood atRs.50,235 (per 10 gms),MCX Silver closed atRs.68,115 (per kg),Copper MCXclosed at Rs.595.00(per kg).Sensex andNifty 50closed at 47,868.98 and14,018.50 points.

Leading foreign currencies’exchange rates were: US $:Rs.73.09, British Pound:Rs.99.94, Euro: Rs.88.70,Singapore $: Rs.55.31, SwissFranc: Rs.82.12, Australian $:Rs.56.17, Saudi Riyal: Rs.19.49,

New Zealand Dollar: Rs.48.07,Kuwaiti Dinar: Rs.240.33,Omani Rial: Rs.189.87 and UAEDirham: Rs.19.90, JapaneseYen: Rs.0.71 and Hong Kong

Dollar: Rs.9.43.In local markets, stan-dard gold (24 carats)appreciated by Rs.220

and closed atRs.51,170 (per10 gms).Ornamental

gold too followed suit and wasquoted in the range of Rs.46,800– 46,900 on the closing day.Silver (0.999) too appreciatedand closed at Rs.72,000(per kg).

COMMODITIESThe sentiment in principal

wholesale commodity marketsin the twin cities continued to be

moderate. Rythu Bazars and thevarious commodity marketslocated in Begum Bazar,Kishangunj, Mukthyargunj,Risala Abdullah, Mir AlamMandi, Dilsukhnagar,Kukatpally, Bowenpally, GeneralBazar recorded moderate trad-ing.

During the week, commonpulses such as tuar dal, masoordal, moong dal and urad dal andcommodities like chillies andgarlic remained unchanged attheir respective last week’s clos-ing levels, while staple foodgrains and common ediblerecorded a negligible decline.

On the food front, there issome good news. The Ravi sea-son cultivation of food grains islikely to yield 21 per cent high-

er than last year. In other words,the crop yield of paddy, wheat,maize, jowar, oilseeds and cere-als is unlikely to be adverselyaffected either by the cold-waveconditions or the ongoing farm-ers’ agitation.

Common vegetables such ascabbage, cauliflower, ribbedgourd, snake gourd, lady’s fin-ger, cucumber, potatoes, onions,tomatoes and French beans aswell as leafy vegetables remainedunchanged at their previousweek’s respective closing levels.

The NECC wholesale priceof egg in Hyderabad declinedby Rs.3 and closed at Rs.516(per 100). The highest price ofRs.633 was recorded atLucknow, while Hospet record-ed the lowest of Rs.485.

WEEKLY MARKET REVIEW

Yellow metal again centre of attraction for big players

HC UPADHYAY nHYDERABAD

The floods waters of acri-mony between some ofthe States and the Centre

indeed, have been rising at analarming rate. This can only bethe conclusion from the oft-repeated tug-of-war situationbetween the governments athigher and lower levels.

The makers of theConstitution of India provideda fair space for both the Centreand the States while dealingwith the power of governance.Therefore, in the Constitution,under VII Schedule, 3 listsnamely, Union List, State Listand Concurrent List were incor-porated. These lists clearly laydown the boundaries for exer-cising powers over several sub-jects by the Centre, States andboth. There is hardly any ambi-guity in the arrangement.

Obviously, these provisionshave been aimed at ensuring the

spirit of federalism betweenthe Centre and the States.However, in the recent days, thespirit of federalism seems tohave evaporated and itsplace seems to have beentaken by fissiparous ten-dencies and secessionistsvirus. There can be noexaggeration indrawing the con-clusion that all thatis passed by way oflegislation or doneby the Central gov-ernment of presentdispensation hasbeen opposed toothand nail by the stategovernments ruled by the oppo-sition parties. Be it the AwardWapsi, Tukde-Tukde and pro-Afzal Guru slogans or the pro-longed CAA-NRC agitationright under the nose of theCentre were aimed at achievingthe goal of over-powering theCentral Government and chal-

lenging the authority ofParliament and constitutionalposition holders, including the

judiciary. Seen in this con-text, the ongoing so calledfarmers’ agitation is noth-ing but another attempt to

defame the countrybefore the glob-al communityand create a sit-

uation of lawlessnessand anarchy. Such a situation is akin

to the tail wagging dog.This cannot be tolerated ina country wedded to theprinciples of federalismand integration or rather

integration through federalism.As long as the parliament hasnot enacted a law, the states canrightly offer suggestions to thelawmakers at the Centre. Butonce a law has been passed byParliament and after receivingthe consent of the President isnotified in the official gazette,

the same becomes binding ‘onall’ people of all the states.There cannot be any question ofopposing a centrally enactedstatute by way of passing a res-olution that a particular statewill not obey the central law. Insimple terms, such an act maybe termed as anti-national andan open challenge to the consti-tutionally-elected central gov-ernment, Parliament and otherbodies responsible for theenforcement of laws, includingthe judiciary.

Considering the gravity of sit-uation, it is necessary that theconcerned Constitutionalauthorities responsible forupholding the Constitution andensuring the Rule of Law in thecountry exercise due vigilanceand ensure that any defiance ofthe Constitution or the author-ities created under it is not takenlightly and the offenders arepromptly punished severely.

SC clarification on

triple talaq law The Supreme Court, while clar-ifying the legal position on theright of the accused to get antic-ipatory bail for the offence of‘triple talaq’, hailed that thatthere is no bar in granting antic-ipatory bail for an offence com-mitted under the MuslimWomen (Protection of Rights onMarriage) Act, 2019, providedthat the complainant, a Muslimwoman, is heard by the compe-tent Court before granting suchbail. The judgment was deliveredby a bench headed by JusticeD.Y.Chandrachud.

Loanee must be heard beforedeclaring him defaulter

The Telangana High Court inits recent judgment delivered bya division bench comprisingChief Justice Raghavedra SinghChauhan and Justice B VijaysenReddy held that banks must hearthe account holder beforedeclaring an account to as fraud-ulent or the account holder as

‘the holder of fraudulentaccount’. Rejecting the argu-ment of the Reserve Bank, thatapplying principles of naturaljustice will defeat the require-ment of urgency, the courtobserved that banks must differ-entiate between ‘urgency’ and‘hearing’ before declaring anaccount as ‘fraud’. This Judgmentwas delivered in the case ofRajesh Agarwal v RBI and oth-ers.

TSHC chides StateGovernment

Apparently annoyed overthe State government’s decisionto permit late night revelries inthe bars and restaurants on theNew Year’s Eve in the presentCOVID 19 situation, the HighCourt chided the governmentfor its unexplainable decision.

The bench hearing a score ofPIL pleas observed that whenin some parts of the country

night curfew has been imposedin the wake of the spread ofcorona virus, the state govern-ment ought to have not grant-ed any permission to celebratethe arrival of the New Year ona massive scale. It is ironicalthat on the one hand the healthdepartment of the state govern-ment advises against peoplegathering in large numberswhile on the other, the stategovernment allows people tocelebrate in large numbers inthe bars and restaurants. Thecourt directed the AdvocateGeneral to file a report aboutthe measures adopted by thegovernment to tackle the pan-demic situation.

New CJs for States In tune with the recommenda-tions of the Supreme Court col-legium and the Union Cabinet,the President of India accordedapproval to the appointment ofnew Chief Justices for the High

Courts of Andhra Pradesh andTelangana on December 31.Accordingly, the incumbent ChiefJustice of Andhra Pradesh JitendraKumar Maheshwari has beenappointed as the Chief Justice ofSikkim High Court, whereas theChief Justice of Telangana HighCourt Raghavendra SinghChauhan has been transferred inthe same capacity to UttarakhandHigh Court.

In turn, Arup Kumar Goswamihas been appointed as the ChiefJustice of Andhra Pradesh HighCourt, while Justice Hima Kohliof the Delhi High Court has beentransferred as the Chief Justice ofTelangana High Court.

JCJ screening test resultsannounced The High Court ofTelangana on December 31released the list of 770 successfulcandidates who appeared for thescreening test conducted by it forfilling up 70 vacancies for the postof Junior Civil Judge throughdirect recruitment.

LEGAL

ROUNDUP

Centre vs States: Tail can’t wag the dog!

AP to reduce powerpurchase cost SNV SUDHIR

n VIJAYAWADA

State Energy secretaryNagulapalli Srikanth said thatthe state government was aim-ing for cost-effective powerunder which the power utili-ties have set a target of reduc-ing annual power purchasecost by Rs 700 crore which isone of the key targets of utili-ties for 2021-22.

Addressing a webinar onthe priorities of the govern-ment during 2021-22, thesecretary on Sunday said, thegovernment has already askedutilities to prefer to procurecost-effective power and inthe few occasions the utilitiespurchasing power at aroundRs. 2 from power exchanges.

As part of achieving costeffective power, the utilitieshave focused on adaptingcutting-edge technologies.Deploying the day-aheadenergy forecast system was

one of the significant stepstowards this objective. TheAPTransco is also consideringto initiate automation in fewselected substations to pre-vent interruptions in powersupply and improve quality ofpower.

He added that the Stategovernment would focus onpower sector transformationin 2021-22 to change the pre-sent scenario of sector andmake it the best in the coun-try.

The secretary said that theobjective of state governmentis to extend quality, reliable,affordable and uninterruptedpower supply to the electric-ity consumers for which thegovernment was extendingall possible support tostrengthen the power utilitiesin public sector.

The secretary further saidthat the government hadfocused on strong demandgrowth in energy sector in the

coming years. The utilities would lay

more focus on reliable 9 hourday time agriculture freepower supply to 18 lakhpump sets which is one of theflagship programmes of theState government.

For the first time in thecountry, the government isestablishing 10 GW solar pro-jects for providing day timefree power to farmers, forwhich bids have also beencalled for.

Necessary transmissionevacuation network infra-structure is being plannedand created to ensure Gridconnectivity. The evacuationfacilities are to be created ina time bound manner.

The government has alsoasked power utilities to fullyfocus on providing morequality power to industrialsector which would help forindustrial promotion in theState.

DCGI approves...Continued from Page 1

"DCGI granting approval tovaccines of @SerumInstIndiaand @BharatBiotech acceler-ates the road to a healthier andCOVID-free nation. Con-gratulations India. Congrat-ulations to our hardworkingscientists and innovators," hetweeted. "It would make everyIndian proud that the two vac-cines that have been givenemergency use approval aremade in India! This shows theeagerness of our scientificcommunity to fulfil the dreamof an Aatmanirbhar Bharat, atthe root of which is care andcompassion," he said in anoth-er tweet.

He also saluted the frontlineworkers who have been lead-ing the country's fight againstthe virus. Serum Institute ofIndia's CEO Adar Poonawallatweeted, "COVISHIELD,India's first COVID-19 vac-cine is approved, safe, effectiveand ready to roll-out in thecoming weeks." In his media

statement, Somani also saidCadila Healthcare has beengranted the permission toconduct the Phase III clinicaltrial of its vaccine candidate inIndia. Pune-based SII's shot isa Recombinant ChimpanzeeAdenovirus vector vaccine(Covishield), encoding theSARS-CoV-2 Spike (S) glyco-protein with technology trans-fer from AstraZeneca/OxfordUniversity.

"The firm submitted safety,immunogenicity and efficacydata generated on 23,745 par-ticipants aged 18 years orolder from overseas clinicalstudies. The overall vaccineefficacy was found to be 70.42per cent," Somani said.

Serum was granted permis-sion to conduct Phase-2/3 clin-ical trials on 1,600 participantswithin the country, he said. "Thefirm also submitted the interimsafety and immunogenicity datagenerated from this trial and thedata was found comparablewith the data from the overseasclinical studies."

Continued from Page 1

Rice: In Punjab - 89% ofproduction, in Haryana - 85%,in Telangana- 62%, in UP -16%.Wheat: Punjab - 71%,Haryana - 81%, MP - 46%, UP- 16%.

What happened all theseyears to farmers who could notsell their produce at MSP?Who came to their rescue?There is no sales tax on foodgrains under GST. Why areAPMCs levying a fee on sales(which is like sales tax)? It isquite high in Punjab.

It has become a big sourceof income for the state govern-ment through MarketCommittees. One can under-stand the open support of thePunjab government to thefarmers’ protest in New Delhi.Some of the provisions inthese Acts favour the farmer,though few are talking aboutthem. There will be no Manditax once the new laws takeeffect. Of course, states with alarge number of market com-mittees and consequent highMandi tax revenues will sufferfor the time being. But farm-ers need not pay any tax to selltheir produce.

Is it not good for them?Regarding dispute settle-ment, the Central govern-ment’s Act says penaltyagainst trader for failing toimplement the agreementup to 150%, whereas there isno penalty on farmer evenin the case of failure of theagreement. If the agreementis against the provisions ofAct, or there is default byfarmer due to force majeure,no order of recovery can bepassed against farmer.

There is no action forrecovery against farmer orrecovery and takeover ofthe land. Section 15 clearlysays that no action forrecovery of amount shall beinitiated against the agricul-tural land of the farmer.Price agreed in contract canalso be linked to prevailingAPMC Mandi rate.

S ec t ion 14(4) g ivesopportunity to appeal toCollector or Addl Collectorof the district. Now theCentre also agreed for civilcourts. High Court is always

there under Article 226 ofthe Constitution. There areissues like farmers can’tafford litigation and needgovernment support. Thereare issues related to regulat-ed cropping too. All thesecan be easily sorted out aswe are moving to the nextlevel. Change always comeswith some apprehension.But a true leader will thinkfor the long term and give aclear idea.

The U-turn of TS CM KChandrasekhar Rao regard-ing the new farm laws intro-duced by the NDA govern-ment at the Centre has beenreceived with widespreadsuspicion and surprise. Thereason for the surprise wasKCR’s earlier ‘war cry’ dur-ing the civic polls. But forthose in politics, it is quiteunderstandable.

The TRS par ty hasreceived a minor setback inthe GHMC polls, but thatdid not stop the party toretain the pres t ig iousmunicipal corporation withover one crore population.After the results, KCR visit-ed New Delhi and met allimportant national leadersto press his demands relat-ed to Telangana.

During the discussions,political issues, includingsupport to the farm laws - -now a matter of prestige toPrime Minister NarendraModi -- may have figured.

Unlike majority of ourpolitical leaders, KCR readsa lot, reviews his workwhenever there is an oppor-tunity.

He is not rigid like mostleaders. He studied the farmlaws and understood whatis feasible what is not anddecided in favour of thenew farm laws. What iswrong in it?

If anyone reviews hisstand and corrects his path,does that mean a defeat? Letme recount the popular dia-logue in t he f i lm“Att ar int i k i D are di” :“E k kada neg ga lo kaduekkada thaggalo thelisi-navade goppa (One whoknows when to yield isgreater than the one whoknows to win).

Farm laws will easeMandis’ grip on farmers

SadanandaGowda collapses Continued from Page 1

Zero traffic management isa privilege that allows convoysof VVIPs to pass throughroads where movement ofother vehicles is temporarilyhalted. The minister was onhis way to Bengaluru fromShivamogga after attending astate BJP meeting. He col-lapsed after greeting partyworkers and leaders inChitradurga,where he had astop over for lunch at a hotelthis afternoon, sources said.

Gowda, a former chiefminister of Karnataka, wasimmediately rushed to theBasaveshwara MedicalCollege and Hospital inChitradurga. After treatmentthere, he recovered and spoketo BJP leaders and familymembers over phone.

He was subsequently shift-ed to the hospital in Bengaluru.Gowda's son Karthik toldreporters "low blood sugar ledto it. He is fine now."

AP faces debt burden of...Continued from Page 1

The administration is wait-ing for the SBI to releaseanother tranche of Rs 3,000crore loan as yet another cycleof freebies starts with the Rs6,500 crore Amma Vodischeme under which over 43lakh mothers would be paid Rs15,000 each for sending theirkids to school.

But only Rs 14,000 will beactually paid to the mothers asthe government will deduct Rs1,000 towards ToiletDevelopment Fund.

"The way things are goingreminds me of a Telugu moviewe were shown during train-ing in the Lal Bahadur ShastriNational Academy ofAdministration. It's somethinglike Appu Chesi..

which means living offdebts," a senior IAS officernoted.

Senior bureaucrats pointout that the state will have toshell out close to Rs 35,000crore per annum from thenext fiscal only towards inter-est on the existing loans.

"Given our own resources,the Central grants and outgo-ing towards salaries, pen-sions and the various doles,we will be required to raisemore loans even for debt ser-vicing.

That's what you call theclassic debt trap," a topbureaucrat lamented.

Former Finance MinisterYanamala Ramakrishnuduexpressed anguish over thestate's financial condition asthe fiscal deficit was about to

touch Rs 1,10,320 crore."In the last 19 months, the

government borrowed Rs 1.5lakh crore besides imposinga tax burden of Rs 75,000crore on people.

This, despite a six per centgrowth in revenue in thefirst six months of the cur-rent fiscal," Yanamala point-ed out.

AP has now become thestate with maximum bor-rowing and minimum devel-opment because of the'crooked pol ic ies ' ofJaganmohan Reddy, theLeader of Opposition in theLegislative Council said.

When contacted, FinanceMinister BugganaRajendranath Reddy did notrespond to queries on thestate finances.

vijayawada 03VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | JANUARY 4, 2021

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Ministers Vellampalli Srinivasand Botsa Satyanarayana saidthat they were deeply saddenedby the Ramatheertham templeincident and assured to takeserious action against the peo-ple responsible for the inhumanand heinous act.

The ministers met templeauthorities and priests andenquired about the incident.

Speaking to the media aftervisiting the temple on Sunday,Minister for MunicipalAdministration BotsaSatyanarayana said that TDPchief N Chandrababu Naiduhad set up some groups to van-dalise Hindu temples as part ofa conspiracy to create unrest inthe State and incite religioushatred.

Stating that destroying idolsof God was an unforgivablecrime, he warned that the cul-prits behind the incident wouldbe punished.

Terming the incident aninhuman act, Minister forEndowments VellampalliSrinivas said opposition leaderChandrababu Naidu was politi-

cising the issue and rubbing iton the government.

During TDP rule, nearly 40prestigious temples were demol-ished but now Naidu is provok-ing religious sentiments by tak-ing up 'Jai Sriram' slogan, he

lambasted. Vellampalli Srinivas stated

that Naidu has no moral rightto speak either about God orHindu traditions as he offeredprayers wearing shoes.

"If Chandrababu Naidu had

a role in this incident, LordRama would punish him. Naiduis planning to use the issue oftemples for Tirupati by-electionand local bodies' elections," theminister said adding that doingpolitics with temples was not theright approach.

"The TDP leaders are tryingto create communal disputes inthe State by alleging govern-ment's role in theRamatheertham incident," theminister said.

He said that YS JaganmohanReddy-led government wouldtreat all religions equally andshall protect Hinduism.

He slammed ChandrababuNaidu for politicising the issueand trying to create uncertain-ty among the people.

Referring to incidents likeperforming tantric rituals inHindu temples during the TDPregime, the minister said theTDP leaders have exploited andruined the sanctity of temples.

During his visit toRamatheertham, Naidu wascursing with anger and spoke forAmravati which he robbed,instead of confining to the tem-ple issue.

MINISTERS ASSURE STERN ACTION

Naidu conspiring to createunrest in state: Ministers

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Hindu religious organisationshave been seething with angerover seers and heads of otherreligious bodies keeping mumand adopting a wait-and-watchattitude instead of confrontingwith the government over theattacks on Hindu temples goingon unabated in the state.

According to a estimate, atleast 125 attacks on Hindu tem-ples were carried out by miscre-ants till the latest incident of van-dalising the idol of GoddessSita at Sita Rama temple at RTCbus stand here since the report-ing of the first incident of dese-crating Goddess Durga temple inGuntur on Nov 14, 2019.

The devotees are angered atthe seers keeping mum on theseincidents and they have beenposting messages in social mediaquestioning their silence. Thesepostings have been generating alot of debate in social media.

Recently, Lord Rama's idol inRamatheertham inVizianagaram district wasbeheaded and thrown in the

temple pond. The incident haskicked off a lot of political dust.The YSRCP, TDP and BJP lead-ers went to Ramatheertham onSaturday leading to clashesbetween the cadres.

The very next day, the idol ofGoddess Sita was desecrated inVijayawada. The incident hascreated a lot of unrest amongHindus.

These bodies allege that theseers have been protecting theinterests of their maths besidescraving for publicity and thepatronage of the rulers. Havingreceived lands, felicitations andfinancial support from endow-ments departments to conducttheir programmes, the seers areaccused of converting theirestablishments into pro-govern-ment establishments.

The response of Vizag SaradaPeetham seerSwaroopanandendra Saraswatiover Ramatheertham incident isa clear indication of why theseers are dreading to questionthe government on the issue.Social media is agog with theposts that the seers are not able

to brandish a beetle leaf againstthe government let alone ques-tioning the raids on temples inan angry tone.

Swamy Swaroopananda com-ment's that a conspiracy wasbeing hatched to damage thereputation of the state govern-ment exposed his true colours.There were no instances of atleast Swaroopananda visitingany place of place of the templedesecration and he breathing fire

against the government. There are 15 seers in the state

carrying a dandam with them.There are another 20 seers whodo not carry dandam. TheSarada Peetham ofVisakhapatnam is one amongthem.

Besides, there are over 40temples in the state belonging toKanchi and Sringeri peethams.There was criticism that eventhese peethams did not raise afinger against the attacks ontemples in the state.

Sarada Peetham seerSwaroopananda SwatmanandaSwamy is provided with policesecurity, pilot escort cars when-ever he goes out and receivesguard of honour from the police.

Neither he nor other seers,except Kamalananda Bharati ofBhuvaneshwari Peetham, SivaSwamy of Saiva KshetraPeetham, Swamy Srinivasanandaof Sadhu Parishad, did not ques-tion the government on thetemple desecration causingmuch indignation to the devo-tees.

All-India Brahmin Federation

national vice-presidentDronamraju Ravi Kumar hascommented saying, "The Hindusshould feel ashamed of havingsuch useless religious bodies inthe state."

The Hindus express theirindignation over Tridandi ChinaJeeyar Swamy and SwamySwaroopananda who are consid-ered close to rulers of Telugustates, not visiting at least one ofthe vandalised temples.

Founder of SimhapuriDharmika SamstaBhuvaneshwari Prasad ques-tioned the rationale behind theexistence of their peethams if theJeeyar Swamy and SwaroopaNanda Swamy fail to questionthe government.

If the seers come on to a com-mon platform, the governmentwould be forced to deal with thedivisive forces with a heavyhand. If the religious conversionsand vandalising of temples is nothalted immediately, the Hindusin the state will become minori-ties in AP like the Hindus ofJammu and Kashimir, he appre-hended.

During TDP rule, nearly 40 prestigious

temples were demolished but now

Naidu is provoking religious

sentiments by taking up ‘Jai Sriram'

slogan, says Minister Vellampalli

Seers' silence on attacks angers Hindus

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The members of Federation of Kshatriya Seva Sangham strongly condemned the derogatory com-ments made by Endowments Minister Velampalli Srinivas against former central minister andsenior TDP leader P Ashoka Gajapathi Raju.

The Kshatriya federation leaders on Sunday demanded that the state government take sterndisciplinary action against the minister for passing comments on senior politician of theVizianagaram dynasty.

They further demanded that the minister take back his word unconditionally and tender apol-ogy to the TDP leader as the comments would hurt the sentiments of the family members ofAshoka Gajapathi Raju.

Nani seesNaidu's hand in sacrilege PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Civil Supplies MinisterKodali Srivenkateswara Rao(Nani) on Sunday allegedthat the TDP leaders - partychief N Chandrababu Naidu,Lokesh, Ashok GajapathiRaju and other local leaderswere behind the beheading ofLord Rama's idol at theRamateertham temple inVizianagaram district.

The minister said that thefacts would come out, ifnarco-analysis tests were con-ducted on local TDP leaders.

The minister said that itwas surprising to see Naidutalking about temples,churches and mosques as heseldom visits temple exceptfor political gain.

He recalled that Naidu hadbackstabbed TDP founderDr NT Rama Rao who was agodly person.

"Naidu does not have faithin God and democracy. Herelies on cheap tactics tomislead the people and gainpolitically. He visitedRamateertham only to createunrest and gain politicalmileage," said the minister.

Nani recalled that TDPgovernment had demolishedmany temples and dumpedidols of gods in dumpingyards.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

TDP MLC MantenaSatyanarayana Raju onSunday demanded immedi-ate resignation ofEndowments MinisterVelampalli Srinivas owningmoral responsibility for thegovernment's failure to takeaction in the 127 attacks ontemples, idols and priests inthe State.

Raju also demanded thatthe Minister take back hisobjectionable remarks againstTDP chief N ChandrababuNaidu and former UnionMinister Ashok GajapathiRaju.

The Minister remained asilent spectator while theattacks on temples and idolshave been continuing unabat-ed for the past 19 months, hesaid.

"Endowments Ministerhad no moral standing tocriticise Naidu. Thousands ofacres of temple lands wereslipping into the hands of pri-vate persons and gangstersever since Vellampalli becamethe Endowments Minister,"he said.

Minister's inefficiencycaused great harm to the tem-ples and Hindu Gods in theState and he no longer deservesto continue as the EndowmentsMinister, he added.

Satyanarayana Raju termedit 'unfortunate' on the part ofthe Minister to make disre-spectful remarks againstAshok Gajapathi Raju whowas known for his honestyand integrity in politics.

Ashok hailed from a noblefamily that had donated Rs 14lakh crore worth property tothe temples and trusts inVisakhapatnam andVizianagaram. Out of sheerarrogance and ignorance,Vellampalli dared to criticiseAshok Gajapati Raju, headded.

TDP demands Vellampalli’sresignation over attacks

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

TDP Chief N Chandrababu Naiduon Sunday came down heavily onthe state government for 'illegallyarresting' TDP MLC MRavindranath Reddy (B. Tech Ravi)in Chennai. Naidu said that B.Tech Ravi was arrested onlybecause he exposed government'sfailure in nabbing the accused inthe murder of a Dalit woman inChief Minister YS JaganmohanReddy's own assemblyconstituency in Kadapa district.The TDP chief said that the TDPMLC was wrongfully arrested amonth after the rape and murderof a SC woman in Pulivendula.Instead of arresting the culprits in

the murder case, the police werewrongfully arresting TDP leaderswho exposed the government'sfailure. Naidu said that the KadapaTDP leaders were being harassedjust because they took out 'ChaloPulivendula' protests against thegovernment on the murder issue.False cases are being filed againstthe TDP leaders, he alleged.Seeking an explanation as to whythe police had not taken action inthe rape and murder case yet, theTDP chief alleged that atrocities'cases were being filled against theSC, ST persons in utter violationof the laws. The TDP leaders are being punished for extending solidarity with the poor victims, he added.

Naidu decries arrest of MLC Ravindranath Reddy

Kshatriya federation demands minister’sapology for criticising Gajapathi Raju

TDP leader B.Tech Ravi held at Chennai airport in riots case

TTDDPP LLEEAADDEERR

KKIILLLLEEDD IINN GGUUNNTTUURR

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A TDP leader was brutally killed by unidentified persons in an apartment near Sithararestaurant on Sunday evening.The deceased was identified as Puransetti Ankulu ofPedagarlapadu village. He waskilled by slitting his throat at an under-construction apartment. The TDP leaderPuransetti worked as theSarpanch of Pedagarlapaduvillage. After coming to knowabout the incident, TDP leadersrushed to the spot and beganarguing with the police. The TDP leaders allege that Puransetti was killed by YSRCP leaders according to sources.

Pontiffs, heads

of religious

organisations

must come onto a

common platform

to question the

government on

desecration of

temples and

idols in the state,

demand devotees

VMC health officials conducting medical health check-up for poor people before shifting them to old age home in Vijayawadaon Sunday.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Senior TDP leader and MLCYanamala Ramakrishnudu onSunday expressed concern overthe growing imbalance in thefinancial situation, increasingdebts and absence of develop-mental goals under the YSRCPgovernment.

Ramakrishnudu deploredthat Andhra Pradesh hadbecome a pathetic State whereloans were the highest whilethe development was the low-est. Alarmingly, the general

public in the State was forcedto bear the increasing debt bur-den. On the other hand, a largeamount of revenue was goinginto the pockets of the rulingYSRCP leaders.

He said that there was nofocus on developing infra-structure anywhere in the Statein the past 19 months. Fromthe ruling party leaders to theofficials, nobody has beenworking on development tar-gets. Employees were not beinggiven TA and DA. Over sixDAs have been pending

already, he added.Ramakrishnudu asked why

the government was not pay-ing timely pensions to the

retired employees. The rulingparty was having some ulteri-or motives behind its everymove. The YSRCP regime'sillogical economic policies haveled a situation where the Statefiscal deficit had touched ashigh as Rs 1,10,320 crore. CMJagan broke a record by takingloans to the tune of Rs 1.5 lakhcrore in a short period of 19months, he ridiculed.

The TDP leader accused theYSRCP regime of imposing Rs75,000 crore worth tax burdenon the common public. The tax

burden was placed on the peo-ple at the rate of Rs 4,000 croreper month. Revenue collec-tions went up by 6 per cent inthe first six months this yearbut still loans doubled whencompared to the last year. Atthe same time, expenditurewent up by 23 per cent, herevealed.

He said that state govern-ment received over Rs 7,700crore as additional assistancefrom the Central government,but there was no trace aboutwhere all this money was spent.

‘Fiscal deficit touched an alarming `1.10 lakh crore’

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Vijayawada MunicipalCorporation Commissioner VPrasanna Venkatesh onSunday said that homelessdestitute people and neglectedelderly people in the city wouldget shelter in the old age homerun by the VMC in coordina-tion with the VijayawadaMunicipal CorporationEmployees Association.

The VMC employees in co-ordination with the MunicipalCorporation have set up theold age home in Rajiv Nagarand providing shelter there.

He appealed to the citizensto admit the poor and neglect-ed elderly people in the old agehome if they found such peo-ple in the city.

The commissioner andother officials helped to somepoor elderly people by sendingthem to the old age home.Food and shelter will be givenby the employees' association

free of cost. No money donations are

allowed, but donors can donaterice, provisions and vegetables,said the Commissioner.

Due to socio-economic rea-sons, many elderly people areneglected and abandoned bytheir families. These helplesselderly people both men andwomen are seen at the city busshelter, Chitti Nagar tunnel,pavements, near the RTC busstation, parks and other pub-lic places.

Similarly, beggars are alsofound in many parts of the citybegging on the roads. It will bedifficult to differentiate, thebeggars and the people desert-ed by their family members.

Commissioner Venkateshtold the media that the old agehome set up at Rajiv Nagar isonly for the deserted peopleand not for the beggars.

Moved by the pathetic con-dition of these people, someVMC employees have decided

to provide shelter and set upold age home in Rajiv Nagar.After collecting proper infor-mation, these people will begiven shelter in the old agehome.

The VMC staff conductshealth-check up before takingthem to the shelter in RajivNagar.

The Municipal commission-er, along with his wife Dr ChManasa, and medical andhealth department officialsvisited some areas of the cityand noticed some destituteon Sunday.

After conducting medicalcheck-up, they were shifted tothe old age home. The VMChas also set up a landlinephone number 0866-2422400to give information about thedestitute living on the pave-ments, bus shelter, parks andother places. VMC commis-sioner last week inauguratedthe old age home and interact-ed with the inmates.

VMC employees set up shelterfor deserted elderly people

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

As part of a minor reshuffle, theBJP, which is planning tostrengthen itself in Telugu states,has replaced party joint gener-al secretary for Telugu states VSatishji with Siva Prakash, jointgeneral secretary for MP,Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra andWest Bengal.

Satishji was has been appoint-ed as the coordinator for BJPparliamentary party office. Hewill also officiate as coordinatorfor the party's SC, ST Morcha.He was the party in-charge forthe undivided state of AP andalso as the in-charge for Telugustates after bifurcation.

Two other state party sang-hatana joint general secretarieswill also be axed soon, accord-ing to sources in the BJP.

The BJP leadership is verymuch concerned over attainingthe status of the main oppositionparty in the state despite produc-ing several stalwarts like MVenkaiah Naidu, G Kishan Reddy,Krishnam Raju, BandaruDattatreya, Ch Vidyasagar Rao,Satyanarayana and others. Whilesome of them became UnionMinisters, Venkaiah Naidu rose tothe position of vice-president. The

party was worried over as not asingle person could achieve suc-cess as a people's representative invillages and revenue divisions.Though they earned reputation asstate and national level leaders,they apparently did not have anyhold locally, which has been dis-turbing the party leadership.

The party leadership analysedthe causes and hold the statelevel and national sanghatanajoint secretaries responsible forthe situation. Therefore theparty leadership has decided tocleanse the party. During theover two-decade tenure ofSatishji, the party did not gainroots in AP. He was accused ofnot giving time for discussingparty condition in Telugu statesand leaving the party in a huffafter the party executive andcore committee meetings.

At the Chintan Baithak of theparty held in tirupati, Satishjiwas seen browsing on his mobilephone indicating his 'callous'attitude, according to the viewheld by the party seniors.

Due to his lackadaisicalapproach and lack of interest,another leader of the partySunil Deodhar has been func-tioning unilaterally, seniors ofthe party lament.

Because of the omissions ofSatishji, another sanghatan gen-eral secretary who has beentransferred to the north and hisdisciple Somu Veerraju haveencouraged Sunil Deodhar lead-ing to the prevailing sorry stateof affairs in the state, accordingto criticism of the party seniors.

Satishji was also accused offollowing the footsteps of thesanghatan general secretarywho was transferred to theNorth. Several woman leaders,recommended by the trans-ferred leader, have been holdingimportant positions in the party,party seniors point out.

They also point out thatSomu Veerraju became partystate unit president with theblessings of the transferredleader and a crucial leader in thesangh parivar.

It is being alleged that the cru-cial leader of the Sangh Parivarused his clout with leadership ofthe party to help a womanleader from the party findprominent place in the nation-al executive of the BJP.

Former Union MinisterPurandeshwari objected to rein-ing in the party seniors fromaddressing the media at theparty core committee meetings

twice, but Satishji did notrespond on the issue and left thedecision to Somu Veeraju, kick-ing up a controversy.

Several seniors have objectedto the policy of Somu Veerrajuappointing the district unitpresidents of the party.

Joint in-charge of the partySunil Deodhar's style of func-tioning has become controver-sial. The party circles are agogdiscussing over his inherentweaknesses.

The AP BJP is functioning onthe basis of the decisions takenby the trio. However, the seniorspin the blame on Sunil Deodhar.

The state in-charge of theparty and Union MinisterMurali Dharan is busy, SunilDeodhar's writ is running largein the state, the party sourceslament. A RSS leader is appar-ently recommended to AmitShah for continuation of SunilDeodhar in the party in spite ofthe party leadership was againsthis continuation in the post.

But the AP BJP seniors havecomplained to the party leader-ship about unilateral functioningand partisan way of dealing withothers. There is no wonder if theparty leadership shunted him outof the state, the seniors feel.

Minor reshuffle likely in BJP Parties hatchedplot to defamegovt, saysactor SumanPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Tollywood actor Suman madesome interesting commentson the Ramatheertham tem-ple incident which hasbecome a hot topic in thestate.

Responding to the series ofattacks on temples in thestate, Suman on Sunday saidthat he suspects a few politi-cal parties were conspiring todefame the JaganmohanReddy government. He fur-ther added that some othersmight also be involved inthese incidents.

The actor opined that peo-ple indulging in desecrationof temples and idols of godswill be punished by the God.CCTV cameras should beinstalled at temples, church-es and mosques as a securitymeasure. The actor appealedto PM Narendra Modi totake stern action against thepeople indulging in attacks ontemples and damaging theidols.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

TDP MLC B. Tech Ravi was arrestedby the police at Chennai airport onSunday. A warrant is pendingagainst B. Tech Ravi who is theprime accused in the 2018 riots atPulivendula flower market. Ravi hasbeen on the run without securingbail in the stone-pelting andattempted to murder case. It may berecalled that S-I Chiranjeevi wasinjured while on duty to preventstone-pelting. Cases have beenregistered against B.Tech Ravi and63 others under the charges ofattempt to murder. SP Amburajantold the media that B. Tech Ravi wasarrested in connection with the riotsin 2018. He briefed that severalpeople were granted bail in the caseand that the accused BTech Ravi hadbeen arrested now. The SP clarifiedthat there was no connectionbetween the murder case of womenfrom Lingala village and the arrest.

VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | JANUARY 4, 2021 nation 04

SHORT TAKESMan sent to jail for trying to rape minor girl in UP

Ray's classic 'Apur Sansar'-- the third of a trilogy

featuring SoumitraChatterjee -- will bescreened at the inaugurationof 26th Kolkata InternationalFilm Festival (KIFF), to beheld from January 8 to 15,West Bengal minister Arup

Biswas said. The seven-day festival will commence by payingtribute to two greats -- auteur Satyajit Ray on his birth centenary,and Chatterjee, who died of post-COVID complications inNovember last year, the PWD minister said during a press meethere on Saturday. Biswas, who has been actively involved inorganising the festival over the last few years, said a total of 131films -- in feature, short and documentary formats -- will bescreened at different theatres of the city, including Nandan andRabindra Sadan. Minister of State for Cultural Affairs Indranil Sen,who was also present at the meet, told reporters that theorganising committee received 1,170 entries from 45 countries, ofwhich 131 were selected for the film carnival.

HP Police orders probe aftervideo of cop beating man in

Avideo clip purportedlyshowing a man being

thrashed by a policeconstable and someBorder Roads Organisation(BRO) personnel inRohtang's Atal Tunnel hasgone viral on social media,prompting the Himachal

Pradesh Police to initiate a probe. The incident took place onSaturday, the police said on Sunday. In the 1.8-minute-long video,the man is seen bent over with his arms looped behind the legs tohold his ears. He is kicked in the face and slapped by thepersonnel. Prima facie, one police constable and some BROpersonnel were involved in this incident, Kullu Superintendent ofPolice Gaurav Singh said. A probe has been initiated in the matter.DSP Manali is heading the inquiry, he said.

131 films to be screened at 26th Kolkata Film Festival

A65-year-old man hasbeen booked for

allegedly attempting torape a minor girl underMohammadpur Painsapolice station area here,police said on Sunday.According to police, the7-year-old girl wasalone in her housewhen the accusedentered her house

Saturday evening. He then attempted to sexually assault her. As thegirl raised an alarm, neighbours reached the spot and caught theman. He was later handed over to the police. Superintendent ofPolice, Kaushambi, Abhinandan said a case was registered againstthe man on the basis of a complaint filed by the girl's family.The man was later sent to jail, he said.

PNS n BHUBANESWAR

Born in humble families theywere reconciling to their fate, butdestiny had written a differentcourse for them.

Braving all odds, a selectgroup of medical aspirants ofOdisha coming from humblebackground have got entry inmedical colleges after clearingtough NEET examination in2020.

Their dream of becomingmedicos got wings due to nobleinitiative of an Odisha-basedcharitable group whose all the 19students succeeded in theNational Eligibility and EntranceTest (NEET), the results ofwhich were declared in October.

The winners are wards ofdaily labourer, vegetable seller,truck driver, fisherman and idli-vada seller.

These meritorious studentsare products of Zindagi pro-gramme run by a non-govern-

mental organisation of academi-cian Ajay Bahadur Singh, whohimself had to experience pangsof hunger and scarcity of moneyin childhood which preventedhim from becoming a doctor.

Majority of them got admis-sion in government medicalcolleges of the state.

The world has come to knowabout the success story of Super30 of mathematician AnandKumar who helped economical-ly deprived children becomeengineer by qualifying in JEEexams but, the similar feat of the

Odisha group in the field ofmedical studies is no less roman-tic.

The medical aspirants saythey had not even in theirdream thought of this day butthanks to the noble heart AjayBahadur Singh who not onlykindled hopes in them buthelped them monetarily as wellto keep them going.

The exciting tales ofKhirodini Sahoo, Roshan Paik,Satyajit Sahoo and DebashishBiswal hailing from remoteplaces of Odisha for whose

families life starts and endswith the challenge of meetingtwo ends.

Khirodini Sahoo hailing fromAngul district is the daughter offarm labourer Kanhu CharanSahoo.

She used to extend helpinghands to parents in the field tokeep the home fires burning.But, providence helped her con-tinue with her studies and todayher wish of wearing a doctor'sapron is within reach.

"My this life is dedicated toAjay sir," she said paying grati-

tude to the founder of theorganisation.

Roshan Paik whose both par-ents are also agri labourers isanother success story.

Debashsi Biswal ofKendrapara is the ward of asmall grocery shop owner forwhom arranging two squaremeals is the topmost priority.

Satyajit Sahoo, son of a veg-etable vendor in a remote villageof Cuttack district is another for-tunate lot.

"We got birth in humble fam-ilies and were destined to live a

life of penury. Its only becauseof the Zindagi foundation thatwe managed to keep our dreamsalive and are on way to becomedoctors," an elated Sahoo andBiswal said.

Under the programme run byZindagi foundation, talentedunderprivileged students areselected from across Odishaand provided free coaching andfood to help them crack NEETand become a doctor.

"The year 2020 was a toughchallenge for all of us, but firmin our determination we did notlet the students feel helpless,"Singh told PTI.

"I fell ill during the lockdown,and came to Bhubaneswar in anambulance and told everythingto Ajay Sir.

He kept me at his home andprovided everything required,"Khirodini, who has secured2,594 All India rank in NEET,conducted by National TestingAgency (NTA), said.

From penury to medical seats: a journey against odds“We got birth in humble families and were destined to live a life ofpenury. Its only because of the Zindagi foundation that we managedto keep our dreams alive and are on way to become doctors”

PNS n NEW DELHI

Accusing the Centre of show-ing "apathy" towards farmers,the Congress on Sunday saidthe Food Corporation ofIndia's Chhattisgarh unit wasnot lifting the rice stocks andasked whether the procure-ment was "halted" because thegovernment's "suit-bootfriends" were not involved inmanaging storage in the state.

Congress spokespersonGourav Vallabh said thatdespite a pre-intimation bythe Food Corporation of India(FCI) to procure 60 lakh met-ric tonne of rice under the cen-tral pool for the kharif season,Chhattisgarh has not receiveda final consent.

The Chhattisgarh govern-ment started procurement onDecember 1, and has pro-cured 47 lakh tonnes from 12lakh farmers so far, but thestate is yet to receive a consentfrom the government of India,despite several requests, hesaid.

This would impact close to21.52 lakh farmers, Vallabhsaid.

Due to FCI not lifting stocks,there is no more space left tostock paddy as well, he said.

"This is a clear case of com-plete apathy towards farmerswho are fighting for theirrights and to save their digni-ty but the government seems tobe occupied in filling the pock-ets of their friends. If the gov-ernment is not willing to pro-

cure the volumes pre-intimat-ed by them, even when theprotests are ongoing, what canwe expect from the govern-ment once all this settlesdown?" he said.

Vallabh said the Congresshas questions which the Centremust answer.

"Has the FCI halted procure-ment in Chhattisgarh becausetheir suit-boot friends are notinvolved in managing storagein Chhattisgarh and will theprocurement only start whentheir friends get control ofstorage?" he asked.

Are the farmers paying theprice for voicing their protestsagainst the farm laws and whatabout the "false promise" thatthe government procurementof foodgrains will continue, heasked.

"Why has been the BJP gov-ernment in such a rush toaward majority of the food-grains storage to their friendwho has suddenly emerged asthe messiah of storage since theBJP government came topower?" Vallabh said raising

questions over projects given toAdani Agri Logistics Limited(AALL).

On one hand, the farmers inreturn of their protests haveonly been receiving falsepromises and on the other thefriends of the government havebeen receiving contracts aftercontracts to fill their pockets,Vallabh alleged.

When the government can'tprovide legal guarantee of MSPto the farmers, it is prepared toprovide a revenue guarantee toAALL that too with price esca-lation based on inflation linkedformula, he alleged.

Vallabh also urged the gov-ernment to show empathytowards protesting farmers,repeal the three laws and pro-vide a legal guarantee of min-imum support price (MSP).

He said the governmentagreeing to make amendmentsto the farm laws showed thatthere was a problem in themand they should be repealed.

Vallabh alleged that the gov-ernment was deliberatelydelaying talks over the new

farm laws which he demand-ed should be repealed with newones brought in after thoroughconsultation with the agricul-turists and following properparliamentary procedure.

Hitting out at the govern-ment for holding talks withfarmers with intervals of daysand not heeding toChhattisgarh's repeatedrequests for procurement, theCongress leader said, "Thegovernment is in New Year,will talk to farmers on January4 because 'we remain in NewYear hangover on January 1,2and 3'."

After the sixth round offormal negotiat ions onWednesday, the governmentand farm unions reachedsome common ground toresolve protesting farmers'concerns over rise in powertariff and penalties for stub-ble burning, but the two sidesremained deadlocked overthe main contentious issues ofthe repeal of three farm lawsand a legal guarantee forMSP.

Congress slams govt over riceprocurement from Chhattisgarh

The Chhattisgarh government startedprocurement on December 1, and hasprocured 47 lakh tonnes from 12 lakhfarmers so far, but the state is yet toreceive a consent from thegovernment of India, despite severalrequests, he said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

India is undertaking a megaexercise to conduct preparato-ry drills in each of its 740-odddistricts by 2023 to combatvarious man-made and natur-al disasters with a special atten-tion on tackling chemical, bio-logical, radiological andnuclear (CBRN) attacks oraccidents, the country's disas-ter response force chief said.

The Union home ministryhas entrusted the federal dis-aster management apparatusand the National DisasterResponse Force (NDRF) tocomplete the first phase of thismulti-agency exercise in threefinancial years, beginning2020-21.

"Modern day man-madedisasters will be CBRN disas-ters. It is very important to pre-pare for that...as it is anuncharted territory," NDRFdirector general S N Pradhantold PTI in an interview.

"We are going to be in thenuclear mode for power gen-eration more and more. So, allthis combines to the agendathat has to be CBRN oriented,"he said.

The nature of a CBRN chal-lenge, he said, is that one can-not probably be really preparedfor it in all manners as therehave not been many such acci-dents that allow rescuers andexperts to use and developtheir skills against them.

"Yes, the apprehension isthere that the CBRN chal-lenges have not tested us that

way...some (incidents) havehappened like the recentchemical leakage in Vizag andwe could handle it efficientlybut the real-time preparationis probably not feasible (forCBRN disasters) as we can pre-pare for natural disasters likecyclone and floods," he said.

As NDRF is the frontlineresponder for CBRN disastersin the country, it is acting asthe nodal agency for conduct-ing this countrywide exercise,he said.

The DG said because of the"emphasis" laid by the govern-ment on all-round preparationfor this challenge, preparatorywork is being done and vari-ous central government min-istries are working on the sub-ject.

"I would say that the prepa-ration is optimal (for tacklingCBRN disasters) but it canbecome better with more and

more coordination and moremock drills and that we havestarted doing," the NDRF chiefsaid.

Home Minister Amit Shah,he said, has "directed us" tohold at least one mock drillevery three years in each of theabout 740 districts of the coun-try with the "focus" being onCBRN, he said.

One-third of the total dis-tricts will be covered per fiscal,he said.

"We are good at handlingfloods, cyclone but one cannothave experience to handle achemical disaster unless wehave a disaster of that sort.That gap has to be made upfor...that experience gap has tobe made up for by mock exer-cises. You have to simulate thesituation...the more you simu-late and the more you practise,the better it is," he said.

In 2020-21, the agency hascovered almost 45-50 per centof the districts but due to theCOVID-19 outbreak it hasnot been able to keep up withthe calendar. "With the vaccinecoming in, we will be able tocomplete the target for the cur-rent fiscal and for the next onewithin the stipulated timeframe," Pradhan said.

The NDRF DG explainedthe process of undertakingthese mock drills with theinvolvement of various stake-holders of a district likehealth care, police, adminis-tration, fire services, volun-tary service organisationsand others.

Each district to conductmock exercise by 2023

As NDRF is the frontlineresponder forCBRN disastersin the country, it is acting as thenodal agency forconducting thiscountrywideexercise, hesaid.

Sourav Gangulystable, decision on furtherangioplasty soonPNS n KOLKATA

BCCI president and formerIndia captain SouravGanguly, who underwentangioplasty after a "mild"heart attack, is stable and hishealth parameters are nor-mal, doctors said on Sunday.

The cricket icon was diag-nosed with three blockedcoronary arteries on Saturday,following which a stent wasinserted in one to remove theblockage.

"He had an uneventful lastnight and presently Afebrile(not feverish)... He is sleepingnow," a bulletin issued by theprivate hospital whereGanguly is admitted, said.

His blood pressure is110/70 and oxygen saturationlevel is 98 per cent, it said.

Doctors said they will bedeciding on conductinganother angioplasty afterassessing Ganguly's condi-tion.

To a question, a hospitalspokesperson said the med-ical board is not thinkingabout the option of bypasssurgery. "Our expert panelwill decide about the futurecourse of treatment tomor-row," he said.

"He has taken breakfast,read news papers and chattedwith the hospital staff in themorning.

A routine ECG was alsoconducted... His oxygen sup-port has been removed," oneof the doctors treatingGanguly told reporters.

MP govt orders closure of COVID centres; Cong questions logicPNS n BHOPAL

The Madhya Pradesh govern-ment has ordered closure of allCOVID care centres in thestate, except those in Bhopal,from January 1 in view of thelow occupancy of beds, as peran official order made avail-able on Sunday.

This decision evoked a

sharp reaction from the oppo-sition Congress, with its stateunit president Kamal Nathquestioning the rationalebehind the order.

Defending the decision,Chief Minister Shivraj SinghChouhan said the pandem-ic is under control in thestate and there is no justifi-cation to keep the COVID

care centres open "just forthe sake of keeping themopen".

As per the state governmentorder dated December 31,2020 and directed to districtcollectors and health author-ities, a policy decision hasbeen taken to shut the COVIDCare centres from the first dayof New Year due to low occu-

pancy of beds.These centres were set up

across the state for lodging

COVID-19 patients.The order also stated that in

the case of rise of infectedpatients, health authoritiescan reopen these centres withprior permission of the stategovernment.

Meanwhile, Nath tweeted:"Deaths due to coronaviruscontinuing in the state. Thestatistics of infection is

increasing daily. Even theassembly session was can-celled due to fear of coron-avirus and the Shivraj govern-ment closed all COVID carecentres in the state exceptBhopal?"

Hitting back, CM Chouhansaid, if required, these COVIDcare centres will be openedagain.

PNS n PANAJI

The proposed Indian Institute of Technology campus in Sattari taluka inGoa will come up despite protests from local residents and all theirdemands will be discussed, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said onSunday. He said he had toured the site in Shel-Maulim where the IIT isproposed to come up. "We are ready to discuss demands of the locals.The project has not been scrapped. Formalities for construction aregoing on," the CM said, who also added a police outpost was comingup in the village as part of the IIT project.

IIT Goa project to come up, will discuss protests, says CM

PNS n NEW DELHI

Twenty-four out of 25 highcourts in the country nowhave regular chief justice, fol-lowing the elevation of fourjudges last week.

The Supreme Court col-legium had recently recom-mended the elevation of fivejudges as chief justices of var-ious high courts.

While four judges were ele-vated, the file of JusticeSudhanshu Dhulia, a judge ofthe Uttarakhand HC who hasbeen recommended for thepost of chief justice of theGauhati High Court, is underprocess and a decision wouldbe known by the end the week,sources in the governmentsaid.

Some of the high courtswere functioning with actingchief justices.

Justice S Muralidhar of thePunjab and Haryana HighCourt has been elevated asChief Justice of the OrissaHigh Court.

Delhi High Court's JusticeHima Kohli has been elevated

as Chief Justice of theTelangana High Court. JusticePankaj Mithal of the AllahabadHigh Court has been made thechief justice of the commonhigh court of Jammu andKashmir and Ladakh UnionTerritories. Justice SanjibBanerjee, a judge of the

Calcutta High Court, has beenappointed as the new chief jus-tice of the Madras High Court.

Meanwhile, there are fourvacancies in the SupremeCourt and the Law Ministry isyet to receive recommenda-tions from the collegium to fillup the slots.

PNS n MUMBAI

Actor-politician UrmilaMatondkar on Sunday said shehas bought a new office withher "hard-earned money" afterKangana Ranaut took a dig atthe purchase, linking it withher joining Shiv Sena.

Matondkar, who had con-tested the 2019 Lok Sabhaelection from north Mumbaiconstituency as a Congresscandidate, joined the politicalparty, led by MaharashtraChief Minister UddhavThackeray, on December 1.

Ranaut took to Twitter andshared a screenshot of a reportwhich claimed Matondkarbought the office for over Rs3 crore, "weeks after joiningShiv Sena".

The "Queen" star claimedthat Congress, Shiv Sena's ally inthe state's coalition government,is trying to demolish her houseand took a potshot at Matondkarfor being "smart" enough tomaintain good relations with herformer political party.

"Dear @UrmilaMatondkarji, the houses that I built frommy hard-earned money arebeing demolished byCongress. By impressing BJP,

I have only gotten 25-30 legalcases against me.

"I wish I was as smart as youand would've kept Congresshappy. How foolish of me, no?"the 33-year-old actor tweeted.

Tagging Ranaut, Matondkarshared a video on Twitter andasked her to fix up a meetingwhere she would be presentwith all documents as fairproof.

"It has proof how I boughtthe flat in 2011 with my ownhard-earned money afterworking for nearly 25-30 years.The document has papers ofthe sale of the flat in the firstof week of March.

"It also has papers of how Ibought the office with thatmoney, which I had earnedthrough my hard work. Theflat that I had bought was waybefore I entered politics," shesaid in the video.

Kangana attacks Urmila for buying office after joining Sena

All but one of 25 High Courtsnow have regular chief justice

PNS n BHOPAL

Justice Mohammad Rafiq was on Sunday administered the oath asthe 26th Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court byGovernor Anandiben Patel. Justice Rafiq was serving as ChiefJustice of the Orissa High Court before he was transferred toMadhya Pradesh on the similar position on December 31 last year.Justice Rafiq was administered the oath of office at a function heldat Raj Bhavan here by Uttar Pradesh Governor Patel, who is holdingadditional charge of Madhya Pradesh. He was born on May 20,1960 at Sujangarh in Churu district of Rajasthan, as per the MPHigh Court website. Before becoming a judge in the Rajasthan HighCourt on May 15, 2006, justice Rafiq was a practising lawyer. TheMadhya Pradesh High Court had 3,81,641 (2,36,204 civil and1,45,437 criminal cases) cases pending till November 30, 2019. TheMP high court had disposed of 6,744 cases, including civil andcriminal, in November, as per the high court registry.

Mohd Rafiq takes oath as chiefjustice of Madhya Pradesh HC

CHEMICAL, BIOLOGICAL, RADIOLOGICAL AND NUCLEAR COMBAT

Parties in JKhave become‘everybody'swhipping boy’PNS n SRINAGAR

Accusing the Centre ofpushing Jammu andKashmir's mainstream par-ties "to the wall", formerchief minister MehboobaMufti on Sunday said sadly,these parties have become"scapegoats and everybody'sfavourite whipping boy".

Nevertheless, the PDPleader said, they are pre-pared for a "long and ardu-ous political fight" for therestoration of Article 370 ofthe Constitution which was"illegally" abrogated.

"Sadly, the mainstreamhas become a scapegoatand everybody's favouritewhipping boy," Mehboobasaid.

"Truth is we will spendour entire political livesfirefighting accusationsfrom Delhi of being pro-Pakistan and from Kashmirof being too pro-India andanti-Kashmir," she added.

VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | JANUARY 4, 2021 nation 05

Two days after a case waslodged against threeMuslim men for the alleged

forcible religious conversion ofa 24-year-old woman in thisUttar Pradesh district, police onSunday said they wereincorrectly framed. The caseagainst the three Muslim menwas registered on January 1."According to the complainant, on December 1 last year, when thegirl was returning home in Fareedpur, Abrar, along with his cousinsMaisur and Irshad, tried to forcibly convert