www.freepressjournal.in | twitter.com/fpjindia Reg. No. Mcs/048/2018-20; RNI No. 1541/1957 I M.p.c.s office Mumbai-400001 SBI NET FALLS 7% ON HIGHER BAD LOAN PROVISIONS IN Q3 Pg 7 FARM REFORMS: GOVT AT A DEAD END ALIA BHATT TO REUNITE WITH KALANK DIRECTOR ABHISHEK VARMAN? Pg 24 Vol. 64 No. 238 | FRIDAY | FEBRUARY 5, 2021 | 13 Pages | EDITIONS: Mumbai*, Pune, Indore, Bhopal, E-Paper WHAT ABOUT CAPITOL HILL? EDIT Pg 10 INDIA TOUCHES A RAW NERVE AS IT ASKS US TO HELP PROBE A KHALISTANI OUTFIT WHICH MAY BE STOKING THE FARMERS’ STIR Greta gets their Goat S FPJ NEWS SERVICE New Delhi K REENA BHARDWAJ Washington een to turn the media spotlight on the ‘international conspiracy’ behind the farmers’ agitation, India has sought from the US help in investigating the ‘Sikhs for Justice’ -- a Khalistani outfit - and their secessionist campaign ‘Referendum 2020’. The request has been sent to the US Department of Jus- FARMERS SNEAK INTO TEAM INDIA DRESSING ROOM FPJ NEWS SERVICE Chennai The farmers’ agitation seems to have sneaked into the Team India’s dressing room. A candid admission of this came from none other than Virat Kohli who said the ongoing farmers' protest had come up for discussion in his team meeting, where everyone has "expressed what they had to". Kohli, having matured since his parenting duties, was speaking online to the media ahead of the first Test against England; however, he did not divulge the details of the "brief" conversation on the matter. Sources said he was a tough nut to crack and would have gladly discussed the team and the game plan, but could not be drawn into sharing the farm gossip. CONTD. ON P13 SACHIN TENDULKAR GETS ‘BEATEN’ Notably, Sachin Tendulkar – known for either maintaining a studious silence or a vexatious politically neutral stance – spoke up for once, underscoring that 'external forces can be spectators but not participants'. "India’s sovereignty cannot be compromised. External forces can be spectators but not participants. Indians know India and should decide for India. Let's remain united as a nation," Sachin tweeted. Strong words. But many did not relish the tweet and hit back at him. Nonetheless, somewhat like his flourishes in the field, the tweet was retweeted close to 88K times, liked over 212K times and elicited close to 41K comments. tice, a foreign ministry official said in New Delhi, reports NDTV . Also, refusing to go on the back foot in the face of the social media outrage, spearheaded by a few international celebs, including an activist, a pop singer and a porn star, US has been reminded of the recent eruption at Capitol Hill, a sticking point with the administration in Washington. CONTD. ON P13 wedish activist Greta Thunberg, barely 18, who is internationally known for prodding world leaders on matters like climate change, seems to have met her match in Delhi Police. The men in khaki have slapped a case against the ‘creators’ of a toolkit flashed by her on Twitter which enables people to support the farmers' protests either from the confines of their home or office, regardless of the nation they’re in. (This toolkit was later deleted and then reshared with an  updated link.) The registered FIR, which names no one, cites charges I still #StandWithFarmers and support their peaceful protest. No amount of hate, threats or violations of human rights will ever change that. of sedition, an overseas "conspiracy" to defame the country and an attempt to "promote enmity between groups". Greta last hit global headlines for her 'death stare' at the then US President Donald Trump; this time, too, the teen campaigner, unruffled, tweeted that she "still" stood with farmers and "no amount of threats" would change that. Her ‘toolkit’ contained the Act against religious trust is not against God: High Court NARSI BENWAL Mumbai The government and police must not hesitate to take action against a religious event apprehending that the same might be viewed as action against God, the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court said on Wednesday , while ordering a probe against the Jagdamba Devi Temple Trust. The HC has ordered police to conduct a probe under charges of fraud, cheating and provisions of the Black Magic Act. The probe has been ordered after the trust spent over Rs 25 lakh to construct a Fast News huge complex for installing the statues of 64 yoginis and for burying over 2 kg gold yantras after a huge ceremony The overall loss to the . trust has been calculated to be to the tune of Rs one crore, as per the records. A bench of Justices Tanaji Nalawade and Mukund Sewlikar said, “The record shows NO CUT IN EPF CONTRIBUTION Minister of State for Labour Santosh Kumar Gangwar has denied any move to reduce the rate of contribution either by the employers or the employees to the Employees' Provident Fund.It continues to remain 12% of the wages for both, he said in a written reply to industrialist-turned-politician Mahesh Poddar of Jharkhand in the Rajya Sabha. He said this misgiving may have arisen from a notification in May last year that the statutory rate of contributions had been reduced from 12% to 10% only for three months from May-July, 2020, to provide liquidity in the hands of the employers and employees due to the Covid-19 pandemic. NO EVIDENCE OF VACCINE DEATHS The government on Thursday termed as "absolutely baseless narrative" the allegation that it rushed to certify that the COVID-19 vaccination was not the cause of deaths of 19 health workers, saying no evidence suggests such a link so far and all details of these fatalities will be made public after deliberations by experts. Vouching for the safety of vaccines being administered in India, NITI Aayog Member VK Paul said that no death has been attributed to vaccines yet. "It is settled that these vaccines are safe. After giving 45 lakh doses, there are minimal side effects sometimes, like one person out of 1,150 persons got a side effect and since no death has been attributed yet, it proves that these vaccines are superbly safe and safest than can ever be devised," Paul said. that the authorities have no courage to take action even when a serious thing has happened. This might have happened due to general fear which may be in the minds of the authorities. The general fear may be of a different kind, like the possibility that they may invite trouble as the matter involves religious feelings and it can be viewed as an act against God.” “In view of the provisions of the Constitution of India, this court holds that the authorities are expected to work with the secular mind in such case and they need to adhere to the ‘truth’. CONTD. ON P13 following advisories: (a) People can express solidarity through a photo or a video on social media platforms with a hashtag #FarmersProtest or #StandWithFarmers. Individuals can also share a video asking the government embarrassing questions about the three contentious farm laws. (b) She also suggests tweeting to handles like @PMOIndia, @nstomar (Minister of Agriculture & Farmer Welfare), heads of state of the protester as well as international organisations such as the IMF, WTO, UN’s Food and Agricultural Organisation as well as the World Bank. CONTD. ON P13 UK HOUSE MAY DEBATE ISSUE ADITI KHANNA / London The UK Parliament's Petitions Committee will consider a Westminster Hall debate in the House of Commons complex on the issue of farmers’ protests and press freedom in India after an online petition attracted over 110,000 signatures. While the name of Boris Johnson appears in his capacity as a west London Conservative Party Member of Parliament, Downing Street has categorically denied that the UK Prime Minister had signed the petition. The House of Commons further clarified on Thursday that while it is possible to view signatures on its petitions website by individual CONTD. ON P13 Clamour for Speaker’s post as Patole resigns Set to become state Congress chief Ahead of the ensuing budget session of the legislature, Speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Nana Patole on Thursday resigned, following the Congress high command’s directive. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar are reportedly annoyed with Patole’s move, observing that the time was not right, given that the Maha Vikas Aghadi government has weathered many a BJP deadline for its collapse. With Patole’s resignation, now, there is fresh clamour for the Speaker’s post and this time, apart from the Congress, the Shiv Sena and NCP names too are expected to stake their claims. Congress legislators Sangram Thopte, Suresh Warpudkar and Amin Patel are the frontrunners for the Speaker’s post. However, the Congress will not be able to unilaterally decide as the process entails hard bargaining with its coalition partners. The MVA is confident of winning the Speaker’s post, given its strength in numbers. Patole claimed that ruling MVA has a strength of 170, sufficient to outsmart the BJP for the Speaker's election. CONTD. ON P13 strengthening your value system and not become 'propaganda teacher' for others," Taapsee tweeted. This comes a day after Kangana trolled international pop star Rihanna for commenting on the ongoing farmers' protest in India. Even though Taapsee did not drop a name, Kangana seems to have taken her tweet as a personal attack, which is evident from the comments she made, using invective like "B-grade person'', "dumbo" and "freeloader". Kangana commented in Hindi: "Teri maa ko main gali doon it will rattle your belief dumbo? CONTD. ON P13 SANJAY JOG Mumbai Now, shut up, you dumbo, B-grade person CONTD. ON P13 LAST WORD P FPJ NEWS SERVICE / Mumbai rima donna Kangana Ranaut is in the news again -- for the wrong reasons. This time, it is a cat fight with actress Taapsee Pannu, with two of them going hammer and tongs at each other on social media. It all began with Taapsee taking a jibe at Kangana without mentioning her name. Taapsee posted a tweet saying we should not become a 'propaganda teacher' for others. "If one tweet rattles your unity one joke rattles your , faith or one show rattles your religious belief, then it's you who has to work on Sunrise: 07:11 am Sunset: 06:34 pm Truth can be painful. Humility comes from an Accurate Perception of what you are! You must know your strengths and weaknesses, your Virtues and vices. CCTVs to keep track of tracks, motorman SHASHANK RAO Mumbai Delhi Police book creators of toolkit flashed by the activist online for sedition; claim it predates and indicates a copycat execution of a conspiracy behind the January 26 violence 310c. 180c. Soon, local trains on Western Railway will be able to keep an eye on the tracks and on the motorman. Western Railway (WR) will be installing closed circuit TV (CCTV) cameras in all its 110 rakes, at both ends, for which a token amount of Rs 1,000 has been allotted in the Union Budget, though the total sanctioned cost is Rs 2.80 crore. These cameras will serve as the equivalent of a black box inside a local train that will store audio-video data in case of an accident, derailment, collision or any untoward incident. This measure will also help identify trespassing-prone spots on the suburban system. Each year, on an average, around 3,000 deaths occur on the railway tracks in Mumbai, of which over 60 per cent happen when people cross the tracks after illegally entering the rail premises. FPJ EXCLUSIVE To avail of 50% reduction in premium, undertaking must be given to BMC Developer must state he is picking up stamp duty tab SANJAY JOG Mumbai Days after the Maharashtra Government’s decision on 50 per cent reduction in premium to provide much needed relief to the realty sector, which has been hit hard by Covid-19 crisis and economic downturn, it will be binding on the developer to individually give an undertaking to the BMC, in order to avail the benefit. “ per the government noAs tification issued by the state government on January 14, 2021, 50 per cent reduction in premium is to be given to the developer/owner for payment of premium as regards 0.5 additional FSI... While giving reduction in premium, the state government has laid down conditions to be observed and followed by the developers. The BMC has already prepared a format of registered undertaking,” said a senior officer from the urban development department. The officer said that the government’s decision would be applicable till December 31, 2021. Developers desirous of availing the concession on premium will have to pay stamp duty for their customers in entirety , till December 31 this year. CONTD. ON P13 Master Choa Kok Sui “These CCTVs will allow us to keep a tab on the openings people use to trespass on rail tracks, identify spots where trespassing deaths happen more often, so that corrective steps can be taken. Apart from this, it will also allow us to keep a watch on the motorman, the guard inside the driving cab and also derive proof in case of technical failures,” a senior Western Railway official said. CONTD. ON P13 Covid focus on those aged ten and above, now AGENCIES / New Delhi The Covid focus has shifted to the young and the very young with the ICMR’s latest survey revealing that over 21 per cent of the population, aged 10 years and above, has showed evidence of exposure to the virus. These are the findings of the latest national sero survey which notes that a large , proportion of the population is still vulnerable. The ICMR’s 3rd national serosurvey was conducted between December 7 last year and January 8. Presenting the findings, ICMR Director General Dr Balram Bhargava said 21.4 per cent of the 28,589 people, aged 18 years and above, surveyed during the period, showed evidence of past exposure to the coronavirus infection. On the other hand, 25.3 per cent of children aged 10 to 17 years from the same number of surveyed population have had the disease, he said. Urban slums (31.7 per cent) and urban non-slums (26.2 per cent) had a higher SARSCoV-2 prevalence than that CONTD. ON P13