VOL. 32 NO. 40| MUMBAI, PUNE, INDORE, BHOPAL SUNDAY| FEBRUARY 7, 2021| 13 PAGES PM Modi hails judiciary for safeguarding people's rights AHMEDABAD PM Narendra Modi hailed the country's judiciary, saying that it has performed its duty well in safeguarding people's rights, upholding personal liberty, and in situations when national interests need to be prioritised.(Report on Pg 7) Coronavirus Cases 106,034,379 Aston Villa stun Gunners 1-0 thanks to goal by Watkins WORLD GLUED TO FARMERS’ CHAKKA JAM l Deaths 2,311,764 Source - Worldometer Farmers give Centre time till Oct 2 to repeal farm laws l Reject Govt’s offer to keep the farm laws on hold for 18 months Police beefed up security along Delhi borders as farmers protested on Saturday FPJ BUREAU NEW DELHI Even as the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government tried to downplay the nationwide ‘Chakka Jam’ protests observed by farmers, the world media took note of the ‘Chakka Jam’ protests. Armed police came out in large numbers across Delhi. Nearly 10 metro stations in central Delhi were shut down for six hours on Saturday Many protest. ers said it was to create a false narrative of Khalistanis on the prowl in the national capital to create another spurt of violence at the Red Fort and other parts on the Republic Day . Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait said that they have given the Fast News PM wants use of AI in judiciary GANDHINAGAR: PM Narendra Modi on Saturday said the possibility of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being examined to improve the efficiency and speed of the judiciary in the country. Modi was virtually addressing an event in Ahmedabad, marking the diamond jubilee of the Gujarat High Court. The Prime Minister also released a commemorative postage stamp marking 60 years of the Gujarat High Court. No driving test for licence now NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways on Friday issued a draft notification for the accreditation of driver training centres, wherein an individual, on successful completion of driver training from such centres, will be exempted from the requirement of driving test while applying for a driving licence. This move, the Ministry said, will also help the transport industry to have specially-trained drivers, which will improve their efficiency and reduce road accidents. Second vax jab on February 13 MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: Beneficiaries of the inaugural Covid-19 vaccination day on January 16 will get their second dose on February 13, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan announced on Saturday. While reviewing the status and progress of the vaccination process, Bhushan also urged authorities to exponentially increase the pace of vaccination. Union Health Ministry Additional Secretary Manohar Agnani said that ever since the vaccinations for frontline workers had started on February 2, a total of 3,70,693 of them have been covered, which is around 4.5 per cent of the current database. US man swallows earpod in sleep MASSACHUSETTS: In a rather bizarre incident, a man in the United States swallowed an Apple EarPod in his sleep. The incident took place in Massachusetts. Brad Gauthier (38), a resident of Worcester woke up on Tuesday morning and gagged on a glass of water. He experienced chest pain but went to work. At work, he noticed that one of his Ear Pods was missing. He went in for a chest X-ray at the hospital. Brad and doctors were stunned to find an ear pod in his oesophagus. The earpod was removed via an endoscopic procedure. Modi-government time till October 2 to repeal the controversial farm laws. “ After this, we will do further planning. We won’t hold discussions with the government under pressure,” Tikait said. Fear was writ large on the people coming out of their homes to unusual security blanket covers. Fortunately there , was no violence in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram and Faridabadh in the National Capital Region (NCR). Traffic resumed late in the afternoon on the highways to Haryana and Uttar Pradesh after the 3-hour "Chakka Jam". The Police justified the massive security saying it does not want to take , any chance. All 125 entry points to Delhi were cordoned off. The Home Ministry also ordered the Photo ANI, PTI, AFP suspension of Internet at the Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur border protest sites from Friday midnight to Saturday midnight. The Haryana government shut down the Internet in the nearby towns on the borders till 5 pm. There were some clashes at the Singhu border. Reporters could not reach the site because of the multi-layered barricades. The Samyukt Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of the agitating farmer unions, had excluded Delhi and NCR from "chakka jam" on the national and state highways, but the police said it cannot trust the Morcha as its leaders had violated the routes agreed with the police for their tractor rally and resorted to violence instead of the promised peaceful rally . CONTD. ON P7 India undergoes painful Root canal Powered by skipper’s double ton, England piles up 555 for 8 at stumps on Day 2 of first Test Match FPJ NEWS SERVICE Chennai England skipper Joe Root became the first cricketer to score a double hundred in his 100th Test match. This feat was achieved by the Englishman on the second day of the First Test match, as England went on to pile on 555 for eight when the stumps were drawn, here on Saturday . He scaled the new height in style, dancing down the track to loft spinner Ashwin over the long-on for a second six in his innings (218) which came off 377 deliveries, studded with 19 hits to the fence and two over. The stylish batsman erased many records en route. Root was the first-ever cricket to reach to double-ton with a six and overtook Inzamam-ul-huq 184 of the highest runs in the 100th Test match. The 30-year-old is the 15th England player to have played 100 Test matches. He also surpassed Mike Gatting (207) to post the highest individual score for an English batsman in India. Root has now scored five double centuries in Test cricket; only Wally Hammond has posted more for England (7). The in-form batsman, who made his Test debut in India in 2012, has taken a liking to the Asian con- ditions. His knocks of 228 and 186 propelled them to win against Sri Lanka, and joined greats in the likes of Colin Cowdrey and Alec Stewart in scoring a century in their 100th Test match. Root's amazing 644 runs have come in the last three Tests. Only two other batsmen from England, Hammond and Graham Gooch, have scored more runs than Root in three successive Tests. Hammond racked up 779 runs in three Tests against Australia in 1928-29. Gooch scored 763 runs in 1990 - 122 at Lord's and 184 at Edgbaston against New Zealand, before amassing 456 runs at Lord's against India in the next Test. Root potentially has one more innings in this match left to add to his total. Tata quells social media’s ‘Bharat Ratna’ campaign FPJ BUREAU Mumbai Chairman Emeritus of the Tata Group, Ratan Tata, who is known for his social causes and philanthropic efforts, has responded to the social media campaign demanding for Bharat Ratna, the country's highest honour, to be given to him. Tata took to Twitter on Saturday and asked people to discontinue the campaign. He wrote, "While I FIELD UPDATES · Entry and exit at 10 prominent Delhi Metro stations temporarily closed · Multi-layered barricades, iron nails studded on roads at the protest sites on Delhi’s border · Around 50,000 police, paramilitary, and reserve forces personnel deployed in Delhi-NCR region · Hollywood veteran Susan Sarandon support farmers’ protest along with pop icon Rihanna, climate activist Greta Thunberg and Meena Harris Pawar tells Sachin to be careful on peasants’ pitch SANJAY JOG Mumbai After being trolled for being "biased" and supporting the government with a call for unity on farmers’ protest, the NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday asked the master blaster Bharat Ratna Sachin Tendulkar to be careful while speaking on issues other than cricket. ‘’My advice to Sachin will be to be careful while speaking on issues other than cricket,’’ said Pawar. Sachin had tweeted, ‘’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.’’ Known as ‘’God of Cricket", Sachin had posted the message as part of similar tweets on India's unity posted by celebrities in response to international pop star Rihanna expressing solidarity with the farmers' agitation. "Many ordinary people are reacting sharply over the tweets by Lata Mangeshkar and Sachin Tendulkar. I would advise Tendulkar to be careful while talking about other issues,” said Pawar after the function at Pune. Even though Sachin’s tweet attracted over 2.7 lakh likes, a large number of people led a scathing attack against him as they wanted to know why he was silent for over 60 days. A large number of celebrities with #IndiaAgainstPropaganda were furious over support to the agitating farmers by pop star Rihanna and climate activist Greta Thunberg. The MEA slammed foreign individu- als and entities for their comments. Pawar said the the government should consider the issues raised by Farmers. “They are receiving support from the global community; they are getting sympathy Farmers are . being named Khalistani and extremists. Their agitation is being discredited,’’ he noted. "The government needs to address the farmers' issues. If senior ministers like Prime Minister, Defence Minister, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari take the lead, there is every possibility to find a way out,’’ said Pawar. Move is to nab commuters flouting COVID norms after resumption of local services PRATIP ACHARYA Mumbai In order to keep tabs on people who are flouting COVID19 norms including using masks in local trains and public places, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has upped the number of civic marshals being deployed outside local railway stations in the city . A significant number of civic marshals have now been deployed outside the railway stations at Dadar, Andheri, Ghatkopar, Mumbai Central, Byculla and CSMT, which have been recording a heavy footfall of passengers daily since local trains resumed operations on February 1. In every ward, there are 60 marshals deployed depending on the population density and floating population of the area. Now most of these marshals have been assigned to duty outside railway stations. CONTD. ON P7 Maiden CRPF women commandos’ team inducted into elite CoBRA unit FPJ BUREAU / Gurgaon The function was held at the forces' camp in Kadarpur village. "They will undergo a pre-induction training for three months and subsequently will be embedded with CoBRA units deployed in Maoist-hit districts of Chhattisgarh including Sukma, Dantewada and Bijapur," CRPF spokesperson said. (With PTI inputs) The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has for the first time inducted 34 of its women commandos into its anti-Maoist CoBRA unit on Saturday at a function here. The women commandos of the elite CoBRA unit will be deployed in anti-Maoist operations in the country soon. Guv should not make us go to court: Raut Sena MP unhappy over Raj Bhavan’s delay in nominating 12 names to Legislative Council Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Saturday gave a subtle warning that the Maha Vikas Aghadi government will have to approach the court of law if Governor BS Koshyari sits on the state cabinet’s recommendation of 12 names in the Legislative Council. He expressed displeasure over delay by the Raj Bhavan on the nomination in the upper house. The face-off between the MVA government and the gover- nor seems inevitable. "The governor should not make us go to court," Raut said. He noted the Centre should call back Koshyari. “The governor is a constitutional post. However, the price of the four marla (101 square metre) house, declared as a national heritage, in Peshawar at Rs 80.56 lakh. Marla, a tradi- tional unit of area used in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, is considered as equal to 272.25 square feet or 25.2929 square metres. The owner, Haji Lal Muhammad, said he would demand Rs 25 crore from the provincial government for the property as and when approached by the Peshawar administration. Muhammad said he had purchased the property in 2005 for Rs 51 lakh after completing all formalities required for trans- fer of the land and possesses all the documents of the house. He said it is unjust on part of the government to fix the rate at Rs 80.56 lakh for the property after 16 years. The property is very expensive in Mohallah Khudadad qissa Khwani bazar where the rate of one Marla land is above Rs 5 crore, he said, adding he would demand Rs 25 crore through his lawyer from authorities for house. SANJAY JOG Mumbai Owner of Dilip Kumar's Pak home seeks Rs 25 cr Provincial govt last month fixed the price of actor’s ancestral house at Rs 80.56 lakh The owner of legendary actor Dilip Kumar's ancestral house in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province refused to sell it at a rate fixed by the government, saying he would demand Rs 25 crore for the prime location property which is severely undervalued by the authorities. The provincial government last month fixed the BIRMINGHAM: Aston Villa maintained its push for a finish in the European qualification positions by beating Arsenal 10 in the Premier League thanks to a goal after 74 seconds by Ollie Watkins. Bertrand Traore pounced on a loose pass by Cedric Soares. (Report on Pg 18) More marshals deployed at rly stations appreciate the sentiments expressed by a section of the social media in terms of an award, I would humbly like to request that such campaigns be discontinued." He further added, "Instead, I consider myself fortunate to be an Indian and to try and contribute to India's growth and prosperity ." Motivational speaker Dr Vivek Bhindra, tweeted about conferring the highest civilian award to Ratan Tata. AGENCIES Peshawar Quality at Value governor is acting unconstitutionally he claimed. ,’’ The nomination of 12 in the state council is not political. The Governor is bound to accept the recommendations made by the cabinet. However, he does not decide on that. The Governor should not force us to go to court, Raut reiterated. “The proposal was sent to the Governor twice. After being told that there was an error in the first proposal, the government has sent a second proposal signed by CM Uddhav Thackeray However, . no decision has been taken yet,” said Raut. He recently said that no decision has been made yet. “If there is any pressure, the Governor should declare it,” he noted. “If the state and the country want to run according to the state constitution, then the person sitting in the constitutional position should abide by the state constitution. According to the powers conferred by the state constitution, the decisions taken by the state cabinet are binding on governor," he said. CONTD. ON P7 Navy man burnt to death by 3 in Palghar district STAFF REPORTER Palghar In a shocking incident, a 27year-old Indian Navy personnel died after he was allegedly burnt alive by his abductors on Friday at Vevji village in Palghar district. The deceased person has been identified as Surajkumar Dubey who originally , hailed from Ranchi in Jharkhand. He had joined Indian Navy as a seaman in 2019. The victim had given his statement to the police before he succumbed to death later at night. The police claimed that the deceased was abducted by three persons who were demanding a ransom of Rs 10 lakh. Heinous Crime •Talasari villagers were shocked when they saw Surajkumar Dubey with severe burn injuries •He approached the villagers and asked for water •Before his death, Dubey gave statement to the police FULL STORY ON P2 Joe Biden administration delays Donald Trump’s H-1B visa policy FPJ BUREAU & PTI Washington/Mumbai The Biden administration has announced that it is delaying the H-1B policy of the previous Trump administration on allocation of the popular foreign work visas by continuing with the lottery system until December 31, 2021, to give the immigration agency more time to develop, test and im- plement the modifications to the registration system. On January 7, the US Cit- izenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced to do away with the traditional lottery system in deciding the successful applicants for the H-1B visas. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.