www.freepressjournal.in | twitter.com/fpjindia Reg. No. Mcs/048/2018-20; RNI No. 1541/1957 I M.p.c.s office Mumbai-400001 DOMESTIC AIR TRAVEL DEMAND IN JAN FALLS 41% TO 76 LAKH FLIERS Pg 7 TRAGEDY IN HIMALAYAS: WRATH OF NATURE MRUNAL THAKUR IN ABHISHEK VARMAN’S LOVE TRIANGLE? Pg 24 330c. 220c. Sunrise: 07:10 am Sunset: 06:36 pm Vol. 64 No. 241 | TUESDAY | FEBRUARY 9, 2021 | 13 Pages | EDITIONS: Mumbai*, Pune, Indore, Bhopal, E-Paper EDIT “My greatest puja is that of human beings and if you can achieve and spread sahaja Yoga that fast, I will be grateful to you.” Were celebs under ‘BUDDHI-JEEVI’ OFF THE HOOK, pressure to tweet? Pg 10 Her Holiness Mataji Nirmala Devi PM MODI AGHAST TO SEE A NEW ‘JAMAAT’ OF ‘ANDOLAN-JEEVI’ WHO FEED ON AGITATIONS, UNMINDFUL OF THE HARM THEY INFLICT ON THE NATION NEW PARIAH IS ANDOLAN-JEEVI OUR BUREAU New Delhi BETWEEN THE LINES ARVIND KEJRIWAL’S DAUGHTER CONNED There is no running away from online scamsters; they invariably catch up with the best among us. Take, for instance, CM Arvind Kejriwal’s daughter Harshita: she was duped of Rs 34,000 by an online fraudster when she was trying to sell a second-hand sofa on the popular sale-purchase online platform OLX. The police said Harshita had listed a used sofa on the online platform. When she finalised the deal with a person, he asked her to scan a bar code so that he could transfer an agreed amount in her account. First, he transferred a small amount to establish his bona fides, but after that he debited Rs 34,000 in two instalments first Rs 20,000 and then Rs 14,000. Kejriwal’s daughter scored 96 per cent in Class 12 Central Board of Secondary Education exams. She also has a chemical engineering degree from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-Delhi). But – who knows – apparently, an unemployed fraudster got the better of her. QUOTE India needs non-violent warriors to defend liberal values, to defend the ideas of compassion, peace, harmony and affection — Rahul Gandhi NEWSBREAK: A new coronavirus strain has been discovered in Argentina, Sputnik, a Russia stateaffiliated media agency has reported. A combative PM Modi on Monday hit out at those leading the farmers' agitation for the past 76 days as a new 'Jamaat' (breed) of "AndolanJeevi -- professional protesters -- saying these are the parasites who feast on every agitation. He refused to go on the defensive by making it clear that the three farm laws enacted in September will not be withdrawn, come what may He told the farmers they . were welcome to further dialogue, but not on the repeal of the laws. The farmer leaders responded by asking the prime minister to give the date and time for the talks. Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) leader Shiv Kumar 'Kaka' said: "We have never opposed talks. Whenever called, we talked with the minister; but the logjam is because the government is refusing to repeal the laws and give statutory guarantee of MSP (minimum support price.) SKM, an umbrella organi- FPJ NEWS SERVICE Chamoli Overnight, after trudging through slush and drilling through a tunnel chockfull of debris, at Tapovan in Chamoli, the ITBP personnel were able to rescue 39 labourers. The tunnel, which turned into a death trap for the workers of an NTPC thermal power plant, is over 2.5 km long with just one entry point; somewhere along the middle it bifurcates into two. It was hard to tell where the remaining workers were trapped or whether they were all sitting together in a huddle. No cries were emanating from behind the boulders and only sniffer dogs were likely to ferret them out. CONTD. ON P13 England — The Drifters The dilemma when to declare got the better of them FPJ NEWS SERVICE Chenni England need to wrest nine wickets on the final day to trounce India in the first Test in Chennai. But they have, in the words of Shane Warne, perhaps made the task difficult by not going for quick runs or declaring their innings. For the record, Joe Root's side were skittled out for 178 in their second innings, leaving Virat Kohli's men an unlikely target of 420. Warne questioned why the visitors allowed "the game to drift". ‘‘What is going on? What on Earth are they doing just letting the game drift? Why aren't they bowling? Warne was surprised at the visitors' decision to not declare in the second innings even after having a mammoth lead. The spin legend also fumed at England's slug- gish approach with the bat on day four of the first Test. In a series of tweets, Warne explained how England was following in Australia's footsteps of playing "timid and cautious cricket" against India. The former spinner pointed out how the decision to not declare will put a lot of pressure on England's bowlers. "England's mind set is let's not lose this test match rather than, what's the best way to win this test match and how many overs could we need!’’ Warner tweeted. CONTD. ON P13 quirement. In the inoculation drive across India, so far, the side effects reported have been negligible. Poonawala tweeted, “It was an honour to have the Secretary of State for International Trade, UK, @trusslizand a delegation visit our headquarters@SerumInstIndia. We discussed how to further enhance the existing relationship between India and the UK on manufacturing and innovation in the healthcare space.” However, sources in the know told The Free Press Journal, "SII has sufficient stock but the Government of India has put a curb on the supply of Covishield in India and later, it will allow sale and export. Besides, the UK health regulator will have to give its clearance after its team visit to Pune and other necessary formalities.’’ CONTD. ON P13 CHENNAI: Fans will have to wear face masks and maintain social distancing when they flock to the MA Chidamabaram Stadium for the second Test between India and England, starting February 13. The game will mark the return of spectators for an international match in India after COVID19 outbreak forced a complete shutdown of sporting activity in March last year. The first Test is being played without spectators. CONTD. ON P13 virus variant that was first seen in the country reports , New York Times. The findings are seen as a devastating blow to the country’s efforts to combat the pandemic. The developments, coming nearly a week after a million doses of the AstraZenecaOxford vaccine arrived in South Africa, were an enormous setback for the country where more than 46,000 , people are known to have died from the virus. And they were another sign of the dangers posed by new mutations. The B.1.351 variant has already spread to at least 32 countries, including the United States, adds New York Times. In the clinical trial, about 2,000 participants received two doses of the vaccine or  placebo  shots. In the vaccine group, 19 were infected with the new variant. In the placebo group, 20 people were infected with the new variant. CONTD. ON P13 SANJAY JOG Mumbai 114-YR-OLD RECORD Ravichandran Ashwin on Monday bagged his 28th five-wicket haul; he started the proceedings for Team India with the new ball and took a wicket off his first ball, thus emulating a 114-year-old record. Ashwin became the third spinner and first since South Africa's Bert Vogler to pick up a wicket off the first ball of an innings in Test cricket. Vogler had achieved the feat in 1907 in a Test match against England at The Oval. Face mask at all times in second test SA halts use of Oxford vaccine LAST WORD S ONLINE REPORT / New York outh Africa has halted the use of AstraZeneca-Oxford coronavirus vaccine after evidence emerged that the vaccine did not protect clinicaltrial participants from mild or moderate illness caused by the more contagious acronym -- "FDI" -- not the foreign direct investment that his government keeps chasing but instead the "foreign destructive ideology" that is undermining his government’s nationalist agenda. The politically loaded acronym FDI was intended to lampoon the Opposition, certain protesters and foreign individuals who had tweeted in support of the ongoing farmers' agitation. As he did so, he cautioned the nation against the venomous influences emanating from abroad. CONTD. ON P13 Sifting for life in dead-end tunnel Covishield from India for UK The Serum Institute of India (SII) may soon ship Covishield vaccine to the United Kingdom, where there has been a rise in the number of corona cases as well as its new variant. This was the outcome of a meeting between the UK Secretary of State for International Trade Liz Truss and SII CEO Adar Poonawala on Monday . While a formal decision is yet to be reached, the SII has hinted that it has enough stock to cater to the UK's re- sation of 40- odd farmer unions from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, said the BJP and their ancestors never mounted any "andolan" (agitation) against the Britishers and therefore they are afraid of people's protest. The leaders sought to further remind PM Modi that it were the "Aandolan jeevi" who had liberated India from the yolk of colonial rule. In a reply in Hindi to three days of debate in the Rajya Sabha on a motion of thanks to the President, the prime minister also coined an Maharashtra Home Minister orders inquiry How can you probe Bharat Ratnas?: BJP SANJAY JOG / Mumbai SANJAY JOG Mumbai On a day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in the Rajya Sabha the country needs to be saved from 'foreign destructive ideology', closer home, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh ordered an inquiry into the tweets of Bollywood stars and sportspersons who had used the social media platform to express their opinion, after the Ministry of External Affairs responded to popstar Rihanna on her tweet about the farmers’ protest. "Bharat Ratna recipients are honoured by all of us. But which BJP leaders put pressure on them? The Congress party has demanded an inquiry into that leader,’’ tweeted Deshmukh. He said at a virtual meeting a Congress delegation sought an investigation to find out if the celebrities had been under pressure from the BJP "Reactions are . coming in from across celebrities across the world. Celebrities like Rihanna responded. Thereafter, many celebrities, including Sachin Tendulkar, Akshay Kumar and legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar, also tweeted. But one does question the timing of the tweets and if it was done due to pressure; the tweets by Akshay Kumar and Saina Nehwal are similar,’’ he said. "Whatever objection you have raised, our intelligence agency will probe,’’ said Deshmukh. The celebrities had rallied around the government on social media, using the hashtags #IndiaTogether and #IndiaAgainstPropaganda, following tweets by pop singer Rihanna and climate activist Greta Thunberg backing farmers. CONTD. ON P13 The BJP has slammed the Maha Vikas Aghadi government for ordering an investigation into celebrity tweets on the ongoing farmers' stir. The state government's decision to probe 'identical' tweets posted by several celebrities on the farmers' protest has come under Opposition attack. Leader of the Opposition Devendra Fadnavis in a tweet said, ‘‘Has this MVA Govt lost its senses? MVA should feel ashamed, using the word ‘probe’ for Bharat Ratnas! Actually now it seems necessary , to probe the mental state of those who ordered a probe against our Bharat Ratnas!’’ ‘‘Disgusting and highly deplorable! Where is your Marathi pride now? Where is your Maharashtra Dharma? We will never find such ‘ratnas’ (gems) in the entire nation who order a probe against Bharat Ratnas who always stand strong in one voice for our nation,’’ said Fadnavis. CONTD. ON P13