FREE PRESS Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2021-2023 INDORE BHOPAL UJJAIN MUMBAI RNI No. 38281/83 PUNE - VOL. XXXVII NO. 245 | INDORE | FRIDAY | FEBRUARY 12, 2021 | PAGES 14 ‘HUM DO, HAMARE DO’ IS RUNNING THE COUNTRY: RAGA’S JIBE AT GOVT Pg-7 EDIT ARMY TANKS begin pullback AGENCIES New Delhi 28 test Covid+ve INDORE: As many as 28 patients tested positive out of 1,530 sample reports received on Thursday. Rate of positive patients was recorded at 1.83% and the total number of cases reached 57870. No death was reported in last 24 hours. According to the cmho bulletin, reports of total samples received till Thursday was 8,03,628 and 1500 samples were tested negative on Thursday. Department has taken 1466 more samples for testing including 1083 for RTPCR. As many as 280 patients are getting treatment in the city. otal 56,666 patients were T discharged so far. Biden admin urged not to issue H-1B to Indians till cap on Green Card removed WASHINGTON: An immigration advocacy group representing Indian-Americans on Thursday urged the Biden administration not to issue H-1B work visa to any individual born in India till the time the discriminatory country-cap on green cards or permanent legal residency is removed. The current per-country cap on issuing of green cards in the US has resulted in Indian professionals, mostly from IT sector, having to wait for decades for their legal permanent residency Issuing . new H-1B visas to more Indians would add to this agonising wait for green cards, Immigration Voice said in a statement. The statement came in response to the Biden administration's decision to allow employers of H-1B visa holders to begin registration online for the H1-B Visa lottery , starting March 9 this year, for 2022. Under the system, over 60,000 additional Indian will unwittingly be lured to enter the US this year to “engage in a life of indentured servitude” where their very existence and the “lives of their families will be completely subject to the whims of their employer, new administrations, or even individual immigration adjudicators having a bad day said ,” Aman Kapoor, president of Immigration Voice. Defence minister Rajnath Singh addressing Rajya Sabha on the LAC situation (Right) Indian Army starts pulling back tanks and other heavy artillery from friction point following an agreemnt with China. Pact mandates China to move troops to Finger 8 from Finger 4 the India-China agreement disengagement in Underthe Chineseprocesswill easternon the Ladakh, army pull back its troops to east of Finger 8 areas in the northern bank of Pangong lake, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said in Parliament on Thursday, in what is seen as a significant step to dial down tensions in the key face-off site. Reciprocally, the defence minister said, Indian troops will be based at their permanent location at Dhan Singh Thapa post near Finger 3 areas. the two sides. Official sources said withdrawal of tanks and other armoured elements from certain friction points is nearing completion while pulling back of troops from the North bank areas is being undertaken. Making a statement in the RSa day after China announced the disengage- 30.10c. 12.90c Sunrise : 07.01 Sunset : 06.21 THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Spiritual wisdom cleanses our soul from thought pollution. 'I DON’T HAVE THE SLIGHTEST THOUGHT OF GIVING PRABHAS COMPETITION' Pg-14 WELCOME CHINESE PULLBACK TO INDIA’S SATISFACTION Pg- 6 NOT AN INCH LOST, DECLARES RAJNATH News Brief WEATHER www.freepressjournal.in DISENGAGEMENT AT PANGONG LAKE India and China have reached an agreement on disengagement in the North and South banks of Pangong lake in eastern Ladakh that mandates both sides to "cease" forward deployment of troops in a "phased, coordinated and verifiable" manner, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced in Parliament on Thursday, in a breakthrough after a nine-month border standoff. Sharing details of the pact to defuse the tense military face-off in eastern Ladakh that severely strained ties between the two Asian giants, Singh also assured the Rajya Sabha that India has not conceded anything in the sustained talks with China and it will not allow even an inch of its territory to be taken away by anyone. A video shared by the Indian Army showed the pulling back of three tanks of the Chinese PLA and one by the Indian side from south of Pangong Tso besides brief shots of a meeting between troops of `3 Quality at Value No peace & tranquillity sans status quo ante on LAC: Rahul said that there be no peace and if is Rahul Gandhitranquillityandtherewill no status quo ante along the LAC questioned why the government is insulting the sacrifices made by the Indian soldiers. "No status quo ante = No peace & tranquility. Why is India insulting the sacrifice of our jawans and letting go of our territory," Rahul Gandhi asked on Twitter. His remarks came soon after Rajnath Singh gave a statement in the RS, making it clear that India has not conceded anything during the talks with China. ment process, Singh said China will pull back its troops to east of Finger 8 areas in the northern bank of Pangong lake while the Indian personnel will be based at their permanent base at Dhan Singh Thapa Post near Finger 3 in the region. Similar action will take place at the southern bank of the lake as well, he said. In an identical statement later in the Lok Sabha, he said the disengagement process was "going on well", and that the implementation of the pact will "substantially restore" the situation to the one which existed prior to the standoff that erupted on May 5 last. CONTD. ON P8 Twitter-India war: Letter game, arrest threats but no action AGENCIES New Delhi The tussle between Twitter and the Union government reached its zenith on Thursday with a firebrand speech in the Rajya Sabha by IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad cautioning the micro-blogging platform to pay heed to the law of the land -- raising the pitch beyond issuing notices and social media posts. The war of words has been going on for over 10-15 days and we have seen a letter trail, social media outcries (latest example being Koo) and an "unusual" Twitter blog post but no stern action has been taken by the government to date. Legal experts argue that if the government can ban several Chinese apps including giants like TikTok and PUBG, why can't they act on US-based tech giants, and the government does not even need a data privacy law like the EU GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) to find a way to penalise Twitter if they have strong reasons that the company has repeatedly failed to comply with its directions. Twitter says it cannot suspend of block nearly 1,435 accounts specified by the government as it "does not believe that the actions it has been directed to take by the IT Ministry are consistent with the Indian law and violates fundamental right to free expression". Brahma Kumaris Citizenship Law after vaccination ends, says Shah THAKURNAGAR Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said the process of granting Indian citizenship to refugees under the CAA, including to the Matua community of West Bengal, will begin once the process of COVID vaccination has ended. Accusing the opposition parties of misleading the minorities about the Citizenship (amendment) Act, he said, its implementation will not impact the citizenship status of Indian minorities. Shah said the Modi government had in 2018 promised it will bring in a new citizenship law and kept it when the BJP was Supreme Court rejects activist Gogoi's bail NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court denied bail on Thursday to activist Akhil Gogoi, who is lodged in a Guwahati jail for his alleged role in the violent anti-CAA protests in Assam. Justices Ramana, Surya Kant and Aniruddha Bose dismissed Gogoi's bail plea. 23 Love Jihad cases Maharashtra guv Koshyari grounded lodged in a month after enactment of new law ONCE AGAIN, MVA AND STATE GOVERNOR NOT ON SAME PAGE SANJAY JOG Mumbai 'PEOPLE BEING converted as part of conspiracy' OUR STAFF REPORTER BHOPAL Twentythree cases have been registered in a month since implementation of Love Jihad law. The state government has enacted the Religious Freedom law through an Ordinance. Seven cases have been registered in Bhopal division, five in Indore division, four each in Jabalpur and Rewa divisions and three cases in Gwalior division. State Home Minister Narottam Mishra said there was a conspiracy to convert women to other religion. A large number of girls are being forcefully converted to another religion for wedding to ruin their lives, he said. To stop that, the Religions Freedom Law has been enacted and it will be implemented with force, There will be no problem in Kangana's shooting: Mishra Congress's eacting protest against Rplan forto the shooting in Kangana Ranaut's Madhya Pradesh, Home Minister Narottam Mishra said he was trying talk to her about it. The SP in Betul has been directed not to let any problem come in the way of shooting, Mishra said, adding that Kamal Nath should keep his party workers under control. Earlier, the Congress leaders of Betul have threatened that they will not allow Kangana to shoot for a film if she did not apologize to farmers over her tweets. Shooting for "Dhakad", Ranaut's new film, is going on in Sarni area of Betul district. he said. Similarly, an act will be brought in to deal with the stone-throwers, he said, adding that a blueprint of the act has been prepared. People involved in stonepelting will not be spared, and the stones of their house will be turned into dust, the state Home Minister said on Thursday. The logjam over the delay in the nomination of 12 members to the state legislative council seemingly manifested itself in the form of air turbulence on Thursday with the , Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government and Governor BS Koshyari locked in a fresh battle over the latter being denied the use of state government aircraft. Showcause notice to eye hosp, assistant for Covid norm violation OUR STAFF REPORTER Indore Incharge Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) Dr Purnima Gadaria on thursday served show cause notice to Choithram Netralaya and Depalpur's ophthalmology assistant for not following Covid protocols on . Thursday The hospital adallegedly ministration brought over 150 people in a 32-seater bus to the hospital for eye treatment. The incident came to fore when a video of the incident went viral on social media. Moreover, no permission was obtained from the CMHO office to organise eye camp in the hospital. Strict action would be taken against ophthalmology assistant, Dr GL Verma and the hospital if they failed to give . satisfactory reply The Raj Bhavan alleged that Koshyari was de-boarded from the Cessna Citation XLS eight-seater jet, on which he was to fly to Uttarakhand. Koshyari had to disembark and wait for over two hours at the Mumbai airport in the morning, and finally forced to take a commercial flight to Dehradun. He was scheduled to preside over and address the 122nd induction training pro- gramme of IAS officers at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie on Friday The governor . was to take the flight to his home state, Uttarakhand, at 10am. “Accordingly a state , government plane had been booked earlier. But, the permission did not come till the last moment. Raj Bhavan clarified that the governor was only informed after he had boarded the plane, that the permission for the use of government aircraft had not been received. ‘’Today on 11th February 2021, the , Hon’ble Governor reached the CSIM Airport at 1000 hrs and boarded the government plane. However, the Hon’ble Governor was informed that the permission for the use of Government Aircraft had not been received,’’ said the statement by Raj Bhavan. CONTD. ON P8 FOREST GUARD’S MURDER: A hush up to save influentials NIRUKT BHARGAVA Ujjain Murder of an unarmed forest guard by gun totting miscreants in Dewas forest known for quality timber, teak wood and herbivores has failed to break the slumber of the forest department. In fact, attempts have FREE PRESS EXCLUSIVE been made to hush up the entire case by blaming tribals. The police arrested four tribals of a nearby village within four days and claimed to have cracked the murder case. A 12 bore rifle and nine cartridges along with deer and pig horn were also seized. However, neither the police nor the forest department made any effort to search for the pig and deer skin. Besides, it’s a well established fact that tribals never use 12 bore rifles for hunting. So, are the police and the forest department hiding something which is quite evident to everyone? Sources claim that on February 4, forest guard Madanlal Verma was killed by timber mafia, who are close to powersthat-be. In fact, it is stated that Verma had found the armed mafia closing in on the tribal village. He immediately started clicking their pictures. Unluckily, he was noticed by the mafia and was immediately shot dead. The arrest of four tribals is said to be a blatant attempt to save a few powerful people. Wildlife expert Ajay Dubey told Free Press, “Murder took place in Bagli forest adjacent to Khivni sanctuary . Half of the Khivni sanctuary where , movement of five tigers was noticed recently has , been lost to timber and teak wood mafia. This fact is known to forest department headquarters in Bhopal too. CONTD. ON P8 Lord Ram fast becoming richest God in country L ord Ram Lala in Ayodhya is fast becoming the richest God in the . country The Ram temple trust has added over Rs 500 crores in just ten days to swell the Lord’s three bank accounts. Ramjanambhoomi Sri Teerth Kshetra Trust general secretary Champat Rai saod over Rs 1,000 cr have so far been deposited in 3 bank accounts of the trust. “People gave donations from their heart during the voted to power in 2019. He said, after the country was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, its implementation had to be kept in abeyance. "Mamata didi said we made a false promise. She started opposing the CAA and saying she will never allow it. The BJP always fulfils the promises it makes. We have brought this law and refugees will get citizenship. "As soon as the COVID vaccination process ends the process of granting citizenship under CAA will begin. All of you will be respected citizens of this country he ," said, addressing a rally here in the bastion of the Matua community CONTD. ON P8 . collection drive. Though banks are yet to furnish the final figure but it is estimated to be well over Rs 1,000 cr,” he said. In the first 15 days, when the drive was launched on January 15, the trust had collected Rs 500 crore. The balance -- Rs 500 crore -- was added in just 10 days. Going by the pace of donations, which are pouring in from all parts of the country and the world, the trust is likely to collect Rs 2,000 cr by Feb Going by the pace of donations, which are pouring in from all parts of the country and the world, the Ram tempel trust is likely to collect Rs 2,000 cr by Feb 27 when the drive concludes 27 when the drive ends. The trust has deployed over 1.5 lakh VHP and other volunteers for nationwide door to door donation collections. About 37,000 volunteers have been assigned the job of depositing donation cheques into accounts of Lord Rama in three banks – the SBI, Bank of Baroda and PNB. The trust has already released RTGS details of the bank accounts in public domain for the convenience of people wanting to make do. nations directly Carrying coupons in the denominations of Rs 10, Rs 100 and Rs 1000, these volunteers will reach every household in the country during ‘Nidhi Samparpan Abhiyan’ to seek contributions for the construction of grand Ram temple at Ayodhya. After the visit of CM Yogi Adityanath a couple of days ago, the work for digging the foundation of Ram temple has gained momentum. A 15-feet-deep trench has already been dug. The foundation will be 40 to 50 feet deep to ensure that the temple lasts thousands of years and no harm is done even if river Saryu changes its course. In addition to VHP’s old Karyashala at Karsevakpuram, a new workshop is being constructed within the 67 acres premises for carving of fresh stones arriving in Ayo. dhya shortly Head of the workshop Nikhil Sompura claimed that more artisans will be called from Gujarat and Rajasthan to speed up the carving. The Ayodhya Authority Development (ADA) too has geared up for making the temple town a world class city as directed by the CM. The ADA has engaged a Canada-based company along with two Indian firms to prepare the blueprint for beautification of The Ayodhya. ancient company, Canada-based LRA Associates SA Ltd, had earlier developed temple town Tirupati. 'UK variant of Covid will sweep the world' LONDON The Covid-19 variant, which was first detected in the UK's Kent last year, is set to become the dominant strain and is going to sweep the world, the head of the UK's genetic surveillance programme said. "The new variant has 'swept the country' and 'it's going to sweep the world, in all probability'," Sharon Peacock, Director of Covid-19 Genomics UK (Cog-UK) told the BBC. "Once we get on top of it or it mutates itself out of being virulent -- causing disease -- then we can stop worrying about it. But I think, looking in the future, we're going to be doing this for years. We're still going to be doing this 10 years down the line, in my view," Peacock added. Peacock also said vaccines approved for use in the UK appeared to work well against the existing variants of the virus in the country , the BBC reported on Thursday This week, the WHO has . announced that the Covid-19 variant, known as B.1.1.7, has been reported in 86 countries. In its weekly epidemiological update, WHO says the variant B.1.1.7 has shown an increase in transmissibility, and some evidence of increase in disease severity based on preliminary findings.