www.freepressjournal.in | twitter.com/fpjindia Reg. No. Mcs/048/2018-20; RNI No. 1541/1957 I M.p.c.s office Mumbai-400001 CENTRE FINALISES RULES UNDER FOUR LABOUR CODES Pg 7 ‘I LIKE YOUR PERSONALITY… SEND ME YOUR AUDITION TAPE’ Pg 18 SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT BORDER PULLOUT REMAIN 310c. 220c. Sunrise: 07:07 am Sunset: 06:38 pm Vol. 64 No. 246 | MONDAY | FEBRUARY 15, 2021 | 18 Pages | EDITIONS: Mumbai*, Pune, Indore, Bhopal, E-Paper Blind umpiring E FPJ NEWS SERVICE CHENNAI ngland had to contend with a bizarre umpiring decision in their second Test against  India with Rohit Sharma surviving to lead a charmed life after a clear lbw dismissal. The absurdity of the LBW decision lay in the fact that t the Indian opener’s bat was clearly tucked behind his pads; yet both the on-field umpire and the TV umpire judged that he was offering a shot to Moeen Ali’s ball, which was going on to hit the stumps. England reviewed the original 'not out' verdict and captain Joe Root was left vigorously shaking his Contd. on P11 EDIT CAN’T GET GRETA, Ashwin runs over Bhajji S CHENNAI enior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Sunday overtook Harbhajan Singh to become the second highest wickettaker in Tests played in India. He also became the first bowler to dismiss left-handers 200 times in Tests. Ashwin’s 5-43 helped India bundle out England for 134 on a pitch that is getting more vicious with each passing session. By close of play , India were 53 for one in the second innings, having extended their lead to 249 runs. Ashwin got past Harbhajan, who took 265 wickets at an average of 28.76, by dismissing Ben Stokes with a perfect off-spinner on the second day of the second Test. Ashwin's 266 wickets at home have come at an average of 22.67. Spin legend Anil Kumble is the leading wicket-taker in Tests in India with 350 scalps at an average of 24.88. Kumble is also India's leading wicket-taker in Tests with 619 scalps to his name. The legendary Kapil Dev is second with 434 wickets. Harbhajan is third in the overall standings with 417 wickets and Ashwin is fourth with 391. Pg 8 GOT HOLD OF TOOL 21-year-old activist arrested, she allegedly handled — ‘edited two lines’ — of ‘Khalistani’ toolkit Greta shared with farmers SHANKAR RAJ / Bengaluru / New Delhi In a move that has taken all and sundry by surprise and shock, the Delhi Police have arrested 21-year-old climate activist Disha Ravi from her north Bengaluru residence over a protest ‘toolkit’ she allegedly shared online with international climate activist Greta Thunberg. The Delhi police suspect that the "toolkit" was a Khalistani conspiracy to wage war against India and have accused Disha of being a key conspirator in the document's formulation and dissemination and alleged that she is trying to revive a Khalistani group. Disha was flown to Delhi where a local court sent her to police custody for five days even as she broke down when the sentence was pronounced. On V-Day, straight from the heart MISSION SOUTH PM dangles mega projects in TN, Kerala P rime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday unveiled mega projects, commissioned at a cost of several thousands of crores of rupees, in Tamil Nadu, where Assembly elections are due this summer. The BJP is fighting the elections as part of an alliance headed by the ruling AIADMK. While Modi consciously avoided striking a political tone in his speech since it was an official visit, he did subtly send across a message that the Centre was backing the AIADMK leadership comprising Chief Minister Edapaddi K Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam by holding up their hands before getting off the stage. However, he did try to touch the Tamil psyche by quoting ancient poet Avvaiyar and national poet Bharathiar in his speech and Contd. on P11 P K RAVEENDRAN / Kochi rime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated Rs 6,100 crore worth of Kerala projects to the nation at a function, which had obvious political overtones. The schemes included the Rs 6000 crore petrochemical project at the Cochin Refinery which he inaugurated, along with , Cochin Port Trust's International Cruise Terminal and Cochin Shipyard's Vigyan Sagar, a campus for Marine Engineering Training Institute. Modi had a clear message for the people of Kerala, reminding them of the substantial allocations made for various projects in the state, where his party BJP is making a serious bid to make inroads into the support base of both ruling LDF and opposition UDF. Contd. on P11 Dharavi testing stepped up TRUMP IS DIPTI SINGH / Mumbai While the recent spike in coronavirus cases in Mumbai has many wondering if the rising number of commuters on local trains is responsible for it, the BMC has accelerated its Covid-19 testing drive in the city to reach , out to the maximum number of citizens. As a precautionary measure, the number of tests and screenings in Dharavi and adjoining areas have been increased with the help of mobile vans. The city reported 375 cases on February 9, and this number went up to 558 on Feb 10 and on Sunday Feb 14, the , number of cases recorded across Mumbai jumped to 645. “The focus areas will be those where cases are on the rise,” a BMC official said. An RT-PCR test drive in Asia’s largest slum colony Dharavi, that topped the list as city’s Covid-19 hotspot, and the adjoining areas of Mahim and Dadar was organised from February 13-15. The civic body’s G north ward (Dharavi, Mahim, Dadar) has even organised testing and screening camps through mobile vans in the area in this period, to ensure cases, if any are detected ear, ly and the spread is arrested. Dharavi, which is spread over an area of 2.5 sq km area and houses nearly 6.5 lakh people, reported its first coronavirus case on April 1, 2020, nearly three weeks after Mumbai recorded its first positive case on March 11. It later emerged as one Contd. on P11 ister Narendra Modi showered praise on the judiciary for protecting people’s rights and personal liberty . NCP Chief Sharad Pawar claimed that Gogoi’s statements were not only shocking but also worrisome. “I don’t know if he tried to tell the truth about the justice system in his own way How. ever, I have no doubt in my mind that his statement is going to make everyone worried,’’ he noted. Pawar said that it was only last week he had read that the country's judicial system was the best. The statement was made by the Prime Minister in a meeting with Supreme Court judges. “Obviously we all felt happy , about it but the remarks of Gogoi, who is also the former CJI and was nominated by the Central Government to Parliament, are shocking. Contd. on P11 Gogoi statement worrying: Pawar LAST WORD SANJAY JOG Mumbai The Nationalist Congress Party the Shiv Sena and the , Congress have expressed shock over the statements of retired Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi’s criticism of the judiciary The . former CJI is reported to have said the country’s judiciary is in a ‘ramshackle’ state and ‘If you go to court, you don’t get a verdict, all you do is wash your dirty linen’. Gogoi’s observations come days after Prime Min- Disha was arrested Saturday evening for allegedly “editing” the Google document which was shared as a “toolkit” for the protests and flown to Delhi by a late evening flight. From activist and writer to ‘conspirator’? NEW DELHI: Disha Ravi has featured in publications across the world as a young activist voicing her strong opinions about the environmental crisis in India. The 21-year-old climate activist from Bengaluru has been writing columns and articles in leading news portals after graduating from the elitist Mount Carmel College. And, in no time, she had co-founded her own outfit, the Fridays for Future. In an interview to Auto Report Africa in 2020, she is quoted as saying: "My motivation to join climate activism came from seeing my grandparents, who are farmers, struggle with the effects of the climate crisis. At the time, I wasn't aware that what they were experiencing was the climate crisis because climate education is non-existent Contd. on P11 30% driving licences bogus: Gadkari he pitch is a stinker for test cricket. Spin is great entertainment but this pitch has done too much too soon _ Former England captain Michael Vaughan  N CHITHRA / Chennai I was supporting farmers because they are our future and we all need to eat.” Her arrest is the first in the case registered by the Delhi police over the controversial Khalistani ‘toolkit.’ In Delhi, the Public Prosecutor alleged that the Bengaluru activist was part of a larger conspiracy against the Indian government, with links to Khalistani separatists.Disha stoutly denied the links with Khalistani separatists and said she does not know any such group. "I was just supporting the farmers. I supported them because they are our future and we all need to eat, "she told the court, adding that she did not create the toolkit. She, however, admitted that she edited two lines in the documents. Civil rights activists have questioned the manner in which she was arrested by the Delhi police and have dubbed it an extra-judicial abduction. Contd. on P11 Compassion is seeing other people without losing your Inner Calmness. _ Master Choa Kok Sui ACQUITTED LALIT K JHA Washington The US Senate has acquitted Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial after falling short of the twothirds majority needed to convict him on a charge of inciting last month's insurrection at the Capitol, even as seven members of the former president's party delivered a historic rebuke by joining Democrats in voting against him. Trump, a Republican, was accused of inciting riots in the US Capitol on January 6 which left five people, including a police officer, dead. A majority of senators - 57 to 43, including seven Republicans - voted on Saturday to convict Trump, 10 votes short of the two-thirds majority or 67 votes required for conviction. Trump, 74, is the first-ever president to have been impeached twice and the first president to have faced impeachment after leaving office. He was first acquitted by the Senate in February 2020 on charges that he had enlisted the Ukrainian president to try to dig up dirt Contd. on P11 SANJAY JOG Mumbai Thirty per cent of the driving licences in the country are bogus – this was the shocking revelation that emerged from Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Sunday He further said that . he held officials and engineers responsible for the pro- liferation of bogus licences and road accidents. He lashed out at his own department officials, saying that it was the easiest to get a driving licence in India. “The regional or road transport officer apologises to his higher-up after seeing ‘Gandhiji’ (accepting bribe), then he stamps and clears the licence papers. I really feel ashamed to share that 30 per cent licences are bogus,” he noted. Gadkari strongly criticised the regional or road transport officials for issuing licences after accepting bribes. “People don’t improve until their sons or daughters die. I myself never use a government vehicle. I have changed the security rules, as it is of paramount importance,” he opined. Gadkari claimed that half the road accidents took place because of engineers, as the detailed project reports are bogus and fraud in most of the cases. “The ministry has spent Rs 12,000 crore to fix black spots in order to curb road accidents across the country he said. ,” Gadkari’s statement at Nagpur came days after Contd. on P11