www.freepressjournal.in | twitter.com/fpjindia Reg. No. Mcs/048/2018-20; RNI No. 1541/1957 I M.p.c.s office Mumbai-400001 IIP CONTRACTS 2% IN NOV AS MANUFACTURING SLIPS Pg 11 TIMe TO CALL OFF FARM STIR, CO-OPeRATe wITh SC PANeL AN ARTICLE OF FAITH ShONALI NAGRAN TALkS AbOUT TANdAV ANd The ChANGe IN The OTT CONTeNT Pg 18 320c. 230c. Sunrise: 07:15 am Sunset: 06:20 pm Vol. 64 No. 219 | WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 13, 2021 | 13 Pages | EDITIONS: Mumbai*, Pune, Indore, Bhopal, E-Paper EDIT Pg 10 SC PUTS FARM LAWS ON HOLD No takers for Generosity brings Good Luck! Master Choa Kok Sui Also sets up committee to examine the three laws; farmers to boycott panel OUR BUREAU New Delhi ‘Freedom’ 14 days after the second shot is given A FPJ NEWS SERVICE New Delhi/Pune/Mumbai lready without a shot being , administered, the coronavirus vaccine is for millions an article of faith which will redeem them from their cloistered, locked down lives. So, it was not surprising to see religion and science coming together for the vaccine send-off, as temperature-controlled trucks rolled out of the Serum Institute gates in Pune at the crack of dawn; from the airport, 15 km away the precious , cargo was ferried across India. (For the trivia-minded, four airlines operated the nine flights which transported 56.5 lakh doses of the vaccine from Pune to 13 cities across the country). BETWEEN THE LINES BIGGEST WITCH HUNT: TRUMP Donald Trump emerged from isolation at the White House on Tuesday to brand the likely second impeachment of his presidency as "absolutely ridiculous" and warn that it has triggered "tremendous anger." Speaking as he boarded Marine One at the White House for a trip to Texas, Trump called his scheduled impeachment in the House of Representatives on Wednesday a "continuation of the greatest witch hunt in the history of politics." TANTRUM AT BRISBANE, NOW The Indian cricket team, which landed in Brisbane for the fourth and final Test against Australia, was in for a shock on Tuesday as it was lodged at a hotel which "lacked basic facilities", prompting an intervention from the BCCI top brass. It is learnt that BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, secretary Jay Shah and CEO Hemang Amin have all got in touch with their Cricket Australia counterparts after complaints reached them and have been assured that the Indian contingent will be made to feel comfortable from here on. INJURED BUMRAH IS RULED OUT The injury-ravaged Indian team was dealt another telling blow on Tuesday as pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out of the fourth Test against Australia due to an abdominal strain. If that wasn't enough, Mayank Agarwal, tipped to be Hanuma Vihari's replacement in the playing XI in Brisbane, has sustained a knock on the hands and it could be a hairline fracture. To make matters worse, Ravichandran Ashwin's back spasms have aggravated after battling for three hours on the final day, leaving little options for India on the bench. Bumrah, key to India's attack, sustained the strain during the drawn third Test in Sydney. Despite indications that an array of vaccines will soon land on Indian shelves, the government has hinted that for now the recipients will not have the freedom of choice. The recipient must repose faith in the Oxford candidate, the Hyderabad nominee having been approved only for restricted emergency use. In a joint press conference hosted by the health ministry the ICMR , and the Niti Aayog, officials gave the heart-warming news that the two doses will be administered 28 days apart, and the vaccine is expected to offer protection 14 days after the second shot is given. The Maharashtra government has received 9.63 lakh doses of Covishield from the Serum Institute, health minister Rajesh Tope said. The inoculation drive will be held at 511 centres across 36 districts of the state "The state government has so far compiled a database of 7.84 lakh medical workers, including doctors, nurses and other staff who have had a heightened exposure to COVID-19 patients. The registration drive on state government's portal (for those who will be vaccinated in the first phase) will continue till Tuesday midnight," he said. There are four Central government medical depots at Chennai, Karnal, Kolkata and Mumbai, where the Oxford vaccine Covishield is being received. Besides this, all states have at least one regional vaccine store. Some big states have multiple stores. Uttar Pradesh has nine, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat four, Kerala has three such facilities, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka and Rajasthan two each. CONTD. ON P9 FBI warns of 'armed protests' In all 50 state capitals and in Washington DC in the run-up to Joe Biden's inauguration on January 20 LALIT K JHA / Washington The FBI has warned that it has received intelligence input that "armed protests" were being planned in all 50 state capitols and in Washington DC in the run-up to President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration on January 20, leading to fears of more deadly violence by extrem- ists supporting outgoing President Donald Trump. Posts on pro-Trump and far-right online networks have called for protest action on a number of dates, including armed demonstrations in cities across the country on January 17 and a march in Washington DC on inauguration day itself. Biden told reporters on Monday he was not afraid to take the oath of office outside Capitol Hill. Both he and Kamala Harris are expected to be sworn in outside the building, only two weeks after it was the site of a deadly raid by radical supporters of Trump opposing the election result. Trump, meanwhile, has issued an emergency declara- Dhananjay Munde junks charges of rape by singer SANJAY JOG / Mumbai Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and Maharashtra Minister of Social Justice Dhananjay Munde, on Tuesday rubbished the al, legations of rape levelled against him by a singer, Renu Sharma. ‘‘From Monday some docu, ments about me have been circulating on social media, in which I have been accused of rape. A woman named Renu Sharma has tweeted the document from her own Twitter account. The documents show that some complaint has been lodged against me. All these false allegations are defaming me and are in order to blackmail me,’’ Munde wrote on Facebook. The woman, a singer named Renu Sharma, who claims to be Munde's sisterin-law, in a letter addressed to police, has claimed that the political leader raped her on multiple occasions when they were alone and even recorded the incident on a mobile phone with an intention to blackmail. On Monday night, Sharma took to Twitter and said that she had lodged a complaint against Munde and had also written a letter to Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh. However, she said that no ac- farm panel tion had been taken yet. ‘‘Oshiwara police station is not even accepting my written complaint,’’ she said. In the letter, Sharma said that Munde had promised to help her get a break in playback singing in showbiz, on the pretext of which he had established sexual relations by force in multiple occasions. Meanwhile, S Chaitanya, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations) and Mumbai Police spokesperson said that while a complaint letter had been received, no case has been lodged yet. Tagging former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Twitter, the singer wrote, "...My life is in threat, please help." CONTD. ON P9 tion, ahead of his successor’s inauguration, amidst the mounting threat perception. On Monday night, Capitol Police told House Democrats they were looking into three separate plans to hold protests, including one described as 'largest armed protest ever to take place on American soil' But the most concerning is said to involve armed rioters encircling the Capitol and blocking Democrats from entering - killing them if necessary - so that Republicans are able to take command of government, reports Daily Mail. Another protest is being planned in honour of Ashli Babbitt, the USAF veteran who was shot at point blank range by a police officer as she tried to clamber into the Speaker's lobby during the Trump mob's siege, the Mail adds. CONTD. ON P9 OUR BUREAU New Delhi The Supreme Court on Tuesday suspended the implementation of three controversial farm laws until further orders and constituted a 4-member panel of experts to submit a report to it after hearing out the protesting farmers. Braving rain and the chill for nearly 50 days, the farmers have threatened to enter the capital with tractors on the Republic Day . "As a consequence, the Minimum Support Price (MSP) System in existence before the enactment of the Farm Laws shall be maintained until further orders. In addition, the farmers’ land holdings shall be protected, i.e., no farmer shall be dispossessed or deprived of his title as a result of any action taken under the Farm Laws," the court said in its 11-page order. The experts' panel was or- “There is no power which can prevent us from forming a committee. We want to solve the problem. We want to understand the ground situation. This is not politics. You have to cooperate.” dered to hold its first sitting within ten days and submit its recommendations to the court within two months of the date of its first sitting. Chief Justice of India Sharad Arvind Bobde amended senior advocate Harish Salve's remarks that the stay would be misconstrued by some as a "political victory" of sorts, saying that "if there is a victory at all, it is the victory of fair play . CONTD. ON P9 FPJ EXCLUSIVE/Arun Ghanvat, who is on the farm law committee ‘We'll see how to get their support’ The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), the apex body of the farmers, on Tuesday welcomed the Supreme Court's decision to stay implementation of the three contentious farm laws, but declared it will not meet a 4-member panel appointed by it since all the members had in the past supported these socalled reforms. The farmers said none of them appeared before the Supreme Court since they did not perceive farm laws as a legal issue; rather, they saw it as a matter of livelihood. They said the Supreme Court appears to have been misguided by various forces in choosing the committee members. "These are the people who are known for their support to the three Acts and have actively advocated for the same," they said. Bharatiya Kisan Union chief Rakesh Tikait, who is leading the farm contingent of western Uttar Pradesh, took to twitter to express displeasure over the move. He pointed out that Ashok Gulati had headed the committee that recommended enactment of these laws. He said all members of the expert panel are pro-farm laws and they have publicly espoused their stand. CONTD. ON P9 Captain’s body is retrieved from Kaylana lake FPJ CORRESPONDENT / Jaipur Industrial production contracted by 1.9 per cent in November, entering the negative territory after a two-month gap, mainly due to poor showing by manufacturing and mining sectors, official data showed on Tuesday. The manufacturing sector -- which constitutes 77.63 per cent of the index of industrial production (IIP) -recorded a contraction of 1.7 per cent in November 2020, as per data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO). Q: Farmers are clearly not happy with the appointment of a committee, as they continue to agitate. So, how do you view this development? A: It is a positive development, as the laws were enacted without proper discussion. They were not discussed before they were introduced. There was a lot of misunderstanding about the laws. Agitators say that the laws leave out MSP and APMC. With the formation of a committee, there will be open discussion. As a committee member, I would like to go to the farmers and their leaders and discuss issues with them. We will see how to get their support for these laws. Q: What is your take on the three farm laws? A: I am not lauding the Centre's three Acts, described as 'giving freedom to farmers'. It was the Shetkari Sanghatana, headed by the late Sharad Joshi, which had pressed for these changes first. The government has tried to implement them to some extent. My role in the committee will be to safeguard the interest of farmers and improve these laws. Q: Are you optimistic these laws will help boost growth in agriculture and bring prosperity to farmers? A: Let me first make it clear - India does not have an agricultural policy at all. Now, the process has started. I thank the Punjab farmers for bringing this issue to the centre stage and starting the discussion process afresh. CONTD. ON P9 After a massive search operation spread over six days, the body of Army captain Ankit Gupta, who went missing during a training drill over the Kaylana Lake in Jodhpur, was recovered on Tuesday afternoon. The army had brought in experts and divers from across the country to search for Gupta. The body was finally found stuck between some boulders in the lake. The fact that he was wearing a heavy army jacket over his uniform also prevented the body from floating to the surface. Gupta’s body was taken to the army hospital by officials. His family had been visiting the lake daily for the past four days in the hope that the body is recovered. Captain Ankit Gupta went missing during a training drill of commandos of the army’s special force, 10 Para, on Thursday During the . training, the commandos were to jump into the lake, get into a boat and carry out an attack on the enemy . Three of the commandos on the helicopter completed the exercise but Gupta, 28, did not surface after jumping from the helicopter. Gupta had got married in November 2020 and his wife and some relatives arrived in Jodhpur on Friday night. CONTD. ON P9 ous developmental projects would be carried out for the beautification of the city . One such proposal is to implement a Tokyo style 'area traffic controlled' (ATC) signal system throughout the city . The current application software, on which the traffic signal system operates, was last updated a decade ago. Presently most signals are , manual. Under the new system, the signals on city roads will be upgraded so that they can be operated automatically , by auto-analysing the traffic. Sources in the BMC said, the traffic system would be implemented bearing in mind the heavy traffic zones of the city including Worli, Gir, gaum and Haji Ali. Apart from decongesting the roads, the smart signal system may also play a key role in reducing the number of road accidents in Mumbai. Similar to the proposed technology in the first week , of January a specialised traf, fic signal system was installed as a pilot project at Worli. The new system makes for improved visibility as , compared to the usual set-up. A senior official of the civic roads department said, "Alongside beautifying the roads, a key motive will be the implementation of smart technology and proper usage of roadspace." Besides the upgraded traffic signal system, a proposal for the construction of five new roads, two new flyovers and CONTD. ON P9 Eco Radar I-T RETURNS: NO MORE EXTENSION The Central Board of Direct Taxes dashed hopes of all taxpayers waiting for further extension of due dates for filing tax returns rejecting all representation in this regard, citing that the process cannot be delayed 'indefinitely' and hamper the functioning of the tax department and welfare programmes of the government. IIP CONTRACTS 1.9 PC IN NOV S SANJAY JOG / Mumbai hetkari Sanghatana President Arun Ghanvat, who is part of the four-member committee announced by the Supreme Court to examine the contentious new farm laws, has been an ardent supporter of the new legislations. In an exclusive interview with The Free Press Journal, Ghanvat says he thanks the Punjab farmers for bringing the agriculture policy centre stage for discussion. Bird flu: Jhabua’s Kadaknath test +ve Heritage precincts, key island city spots to get facelift 2,700, birds to be culled, including 2,000 meant for M S Dhoni’s farmhouse OUR CORRESPONDENT / Bhopal Avian influenza has been detected in samples of the famous Geographical Indication (GI) tagged Kadaknath chicken of Jhabua dis- trict on Tuesday . This is the first case of poultry bird flu infection in Madhya Pradesh; it has already been detected in poul- try farms in Haryana and Maharashtra. Around 2,700 Kadaknath chicken of a private poultry farm will be culled as per the central government guidelines and protocol. Incidentally this farm had , secured an order to supply 2,000 Kadaknath to the former cricket team skipper MS Dhoni’s farm house. CONTD. ON P9 LAST WORD T PRATIP ACHARYA / Mumbai he heritage precincts of Mumbai and some prominent areas of the island city are set to get a facelift this year. At a meeting between the city's guardian minister, Aslam Shaikh, and senior officials of civic body , on Tuesday it was decided , that throughout the year, vari-