NO LET-UP, ‘WITH NATION, OR WITH SHAHEEN BAGH?’ ASKS AMIT SHAHHaving gone on the offensive in its Delhi poll campaign against those protesting over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the BJP on Thursday tried to modulate its stand in the wake of the firing at Jamia Millia Islamia University (see under ‘The Rest’). However, while Union Home Minister Amit Shah assured that “the culprit will not be spared”, at his election rally hours later, he reiterated that the February 8 elections were a battle between those who had conducted “surgical strikes” and “the supporters of Shaheen Bagh”.The incident occurred two days after BJP MP and Minister of State, Finance, Anurag Thakur, exhorted the audience at his rally to target “traitors”.At a rally in Chhattarpur later, Shah, who has been leading the BJP campaign in Delhi, said, “On February 8, you will be deciding who should form the government in Delhi… On one side it’s Narendra Modi, who conducted airstrikes and surgical strikes on Pakistan’s soil to kill terrorists, and on the other, there are these people who back Shaheen Bagh. You have to decide.”In earlier rallies, Shah asked people to vote for the BJP so that “there is never a Shaheen Bagh” in the city.Other BJP leaders too kept up their rhetoric against Shaheen Bagh, that has emerged as the epicentre of the protests. “Hypocrites @ArvindKejriwal @RahulGandhi @asadowaisi are blaming BJP because the arrested man is “GOPAL” (no BJP link). Had his name been “ISMAIL”, they would have kept mum. Don’t speak against Shaheenbagh. Had it been a Hindu majority Rambagh, they would have abused it daily,” BJP MP and spokesperson G V L Rao tweeted.On Thursday, a BJP delegation led by party general secretary Bhupender Yadav and Union Ministers Harsh Vardhan and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi approached the Election Commission accusing the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of “sponsoring” anti-CAA protests, including the one at Shaheen Bagh. They asked the poll panel to include expenses incurred on them in the expenditure of AAP candidates. Yadav claimed the BJP had submitted “evidence”, including statements by AAP leaders, showing that the Delhi’s ruling party was behind these protests.Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari claimed that while he condemns the Jamia incident, there had been violent incidents at Shaheen Bagh as well, in which journalists were beaten up and slogans raised calling for killing of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah. “There was talk of shooting PM there… Due to vote-bank politics, Kejriwal has spoiled the atmosphere of Delhi and now they are trying to make a new Pakistan by cutting Northeast from India.”STORMY SESSION ON CARDS AFTER HEATED ALL-PARTY MEETINGOn the eve of the upcoming Budget Session of Parliament, sparks flew at the customary all-party meeting on Thursday over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, or CAA, and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), according to people present, indicating that the session is likely to see a slew of protests and disruptions.NDA ally Shiromani Akali Dal, and the government’s steadfast supporter the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), turned the heat on the BJP at the meeting. Akali leader Balwinder Singh Bunder said that the government should not pass any legislation that divides people, referring to the CAA without taking its name. And, in a reference to states not yet having received their share of money raised from the GST for the past four months, BJD floor leader Pinaki Misra alleged that the Centre is not paying states their due and forcing them come to Delhi with a begging bowl.Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who joined the meeting midway, urged parties to discuss how India could harness the global situation to improve its economy. He also said that the government is ready to answer all issues in the House. Parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi announced that the government intends to bring 45 bills and two ordinances — on insolvency and coal mining — apart from seven financial bills in the Budget Session.The session starts today in the backdrop of the continuing, widespread protests against the CAA. Politicians across opposition parties said they will launch an “all-round” attack on the government on citizenship issues, lack of jobs and the state of economy. Almost all opposition parties demanded at the meeting that political leaders detained in Kashmir be released.The Budget Session will end on April 3. Both Houses will be adjourned for recess from February 11 to March 2. The session will provide 31 sittings spread over a period of 64 days.PM MODI BELIEVES IN SAME IDEOLOGY AS GODSE: RAHULCongress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said the latter believed in the same ideology as Nathuram Godse.Addressing party workers after leading the “Save the Constitution” march at Kalpetta (Kerala), organised to protest the Citizenship law coinciding with the 72nd death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the Congress MP also said Modi was making Indians to prove that they were citizens of the country.Referring to Mahatma Gandhi assassin Godse, he said Modi shared the same ideology with him (Godse). “Today, an ignorant man is trying to challenge Gandhi’s ideology. He is so full of hatred and anger that he cannot even understand what India’s strength is,” he said.“The ideology is same. Godse and Modi, they believe in the same ideology. There is no difference except that Modi does not have the guts to say he believes in the ideology of Godse,” the Wayanad MP added.“Indians are being made to prove that they are Indians. Who is Narendra Modi to decide if I am Indian? Who gave him the licence to decide who is Indian and who is not Indian? I know I am an Indian and I don’t have to prove it to anybody,” the former Congress president said.Touching on growing unemployment in the country and the economic slowdown, Gandhi said the youngsters did not have a future under Modi and no matter how much the Prime Minister talks about Pakistan, it was not going to get youths more jobs.CONGRESS DELHI POLL CAMPAIGN YET TO TAKE OFFA feud raging between the state Congress president and the campaign committee head, unhappy senior leaders approaching the high command with a plea to breathe life into the campaign, and an indifferent central leadership — this is the state of play in the Congress, which ruled the national capital for 15 years, with barely a week to go for campaigning to end. Delhi votes on February 8.The Congress’s insipid campaign in Delhi has already spawned speculation that the party is deliberately going slow, knowing well that the Aam Aadmi Party is better placed to defeat the BJP. The party has vehemently rejected the charge, but a section of the party feels the central leadership is perhaps keeping away as it does not want to take ownership for a possible repeat of 2015, when the party got zero seats.Meanwhile, a feud is raging between DPCC president Subhash Chopra and campaign committee head Kirti Azad. Party insiders said the latter and several senior Delhi Congress leaders have approached party president Sonia Gandhi and the central leadership complaining against Chopra, apprising her of the situation and drawing her attention to the fact that the campaign is listless.INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS======================WHO DECLARES CORONAVIRUS A GLOBAL CRISIS; DEATH TOLL MOUNTS TO 213The WHO early on Friday took the rare step of declaring the ongoing novel Coronavirus outbreak that originated in China but has spread to at least 17 countries as an international public health emergency (PHEIC).The Geneva-based organisation did not recommend any travel or trade restrictions on China.The declaration was made as health officials in China said that the death toll from the outbreak has jumped to 213 across China with at least 42 new deaths reported from the most-affected central Chinese province of Hubei.With more 1200 new infections reported from Hubei, the total number of infections in the country has crossed the 9000-mark.Earlier in Geneva, the WHO’s DG Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared the outbreak as a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern” (PHEIC) after a closed-door meeting of its emergency panel. It’s only the 6th time that the WHO has declared a PHEIC since the International Health Regulations (IHR) mechanism was set up in 2005.“The speed with which China detected the outbreak, isolated the virus, sequenced the genome and shared it with WHO and the world are very impressive, and beyond words. So is China’s commitment to transparency and to supporting other countries,” Tedros said.NETANYAHU MEETS PUTIN ON MIDEAST PEACE DEALIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday hailed US President Donald Trump's Middle East peace plan as a new opportunity after flying to Moscow to discuss it with President Vladimir Putin.Trump's plan angered Palestinians by proposing Israel retain control over Jerusalem as its "undivided capital" and giving the green light to annex Jewish settlements in the West Bank."I'd like to speak to you and hear your insights and see how we can combine all our forces for security and peace," Netanyahu told Putin at the start of their Kremlin meeting. "You're actually the first leader I'm speaking with after my visit to Washington about President Trump's Deal of the Century," he added.The Russian leader did not mention the peace plan in his public remarks.Netanyahu, facing graft charges, is contesting March elections and hoping the proposal will boost his re-election chances.THE REST========“YEH LO AZADI”: A 17 YEAR OLD BOY SHOOTS AT JAMIA STUDENTSAs over 20 police personnel, including an SHO, watched, a youth fired at a protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act near Jamia Millia Islamia in Delhi on Thursday, leaving one student injured.Later said to be 17 and a juvenile, the teenager brandished a gun at the protest site around 1.45 pm, and shouted slogans of “Yeh lo azadi (Here, take azadi)”, “Desh mein jo rehna hoga, Vande Mataram kehna hoga,” before he fired. The gunman, who was eventually overpowered by a single policeman, had posted about his intentions on Facebook, and kept putting up videos till the end.Police said while the youth had fired once, there was another round left in the gun.Jamia Chief Proctor Waseem Ahmad Khan blamed the provocative poll speeches by BJP leaders Anurag Thakur and Kapil Mishra for the incident.In a video message, Jamia Vice-Chancellor Najma Akhtar asked why police did not catch the gunman in time. While around two dozen personnel were standing around 30 metres from the gunman, more than 300 policemen and five companies of the CRPF had been stationed in the area in preparation for the march. He praised the students for showing restraint and pointing out that things could have got out of hand.Around two hours before the incident, the 17-year-old from Jewar in Uttar Pradesh’s Gautam Buddh Nagar district posted on Facebook, “Shaheen Bagh… khel khatam (the game’s over)”. This was among at least nine posts and seven Facebook Live videos he shared on the social networking site in the hours leading up to the incident.The 17-year-old’s Facebook accounts offer a few clues about the man, including his claimed association with the Bajrang Dal and his fascination for guns.Recently, he had been posting extensively on events surrounding the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. The Facebook Live videos, shot minutes before the incident, show him walking past protesters, occasionally looking down into his phone camera. The posts, in Hindi, talk of revenge and “turning Shaheen Bagh into Jallianwala Bagh”.Minutes before he pulled out his pistol, he wrote, “Koi Hindu media nahi hain yaha (There is no Hindu media here)” and “M yha akela hindu hu (I am the only Hindu here)”, followed by muscle-flexing emojis.EC BARS ANURAG THAKUR FOR 3 DAYS, PARVESH VERMA FOR 4 DAYSAfter asking the party to withdrawn them from the list of BJP’s star campaigners yesterday, the Election Commission on Thursday barred Union Minister Anurag Thakur from campaigning in the Delhi Assembly polls for three days and Lok Sabha member Parvesh Verma for four days for their objectionable remarks.Officials in the poll panel said after scrutinising their reply to the show cause notices served on them, the Commission felt that they were “not satisfactory” and so a decision was taken to bar them from campaigning for three and four days.CAPTAIN WHO FLEW KAMRA WRITES TO INDIGO, OBJECTS TO BANThe pilot-in-command of the IndiGo flight in which journalist Arnab Goswami was allegedly heckled by Kunal Kamra has told airline's management that he was 'disheartened' to learn the carrier took action against the comedian without consulting him and solely on the basis of social media posts.As captain of 6E5317 Mumbai-Lucknow flight on January 28, I do not find...events reportable in any way. Mr. Kamra's behaviour, while unsavoury, was not qualifying of a level 1 unruly passenger.'Indeed, we pilots can all attest to incidents similar and/or worse in nature that were not deemed unruly,' the captain said in his email to the airline's management.Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Puri has defended the six-month flight ban imposed by four airlines on stand-up comic Kunal Kamra, saying an incident similar to this in a country like the US would have resulted in the passenger being “locked up’’ after the flight landed.The minister also justified his own intervention into the incident — through a late-night tweet on Tuesday. Puri said that once IndiGo Airlines had announced the flight ban, he had to ensure a similar incident did not occur on other airlines.Asked why he had not waited to read IndiGo’s internal crew report, or for an inquiry committee to be set up, Puri said there was no need to wait in this case as Kamra had himself put out a video and made facts clear. “Within an aircraft, rights of admission are reserved and it cannot be a free-for-all environment. The behaviour of the passenger [Kamra] was designed to provoke; let there be no argument about it. There is, and will be, a zero-tolerance norm.”INDIA’S FIRST POSITIVE CORONA CASE – A WUHAN MEDICAL STUDENT FROM KERALAThe first positive case of Novel Coronavirus in India has been detected, in Thrissur, Kerala. The patient, a 20-year-old medical student who just came back from Wuhan in China, has been kept in isolation and is stable.Kerala Health Minister K K Shylaja said they were awaiting the result of one more test, gene sequencing, only after which it could be conclusively stated that she was affected with the virus.The woman who had tested positive had flown down from Beijing to Kolkota on January 22, arriving on 23rd night. Next day, she boarded a Kochi-bound IndiGo flight. It was on January 27 that she developed minor symptoms. She telephoned a Primary Health Centre, and that evening, an ambulance took her to the district general hospital in Thrissur, where an isolation ward was already ready. On January 27 night itself, her samples were collected.“We are going to track down all her contacts, which would include the passengers who landed with her in Kolkata and those who travelled in the Kolkata-Kochi flight. All would be put under observation, even if they don’t have symptoms. Those with symptoms would have to be hospitalised,” an official said.MAN HOLDS 20 CHILDREN HOSTAGE IN UP; ALL RESCUED, SUSPECT KILLED BY POLICETwenty-three children aged between six months and 15 years, who had been taken hostage by a murder accused after inviting them to his daughter's birthday party, were rescued late on Thursday night after police killed their captor in a village here.The hostage drama began at Kasaria village (Farrukhabad, UP) in the afternoon and continued for about eight hours.In the exchange of fire, the captor's wife was injured, but none of the children suffered any injury. A man and two policemen also suffered bullet injuries. The motive of the accused was not known immediately.Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath monitored the situation in Farrukhabad, which is nearly 200 km from state capital Lucknow.FED-AXED, DJOKOVIC REACHES FINAL; GARBINE MUGURUZA AND SOFIA KENIN IN WOMEN’S SINGLES FINALNovak Djokovic once again beat great rival Roger Federer at a Grand Slam today with a 7-6(1) 6-4 6-3 win to reach the Australian Open final and remain on course for a record-extending eighth title at Melbourne Park.It was the 50th act of one of the greatest rivalries of the sport and the odds were heavily stacked against Federer as the Swiss had not beaten the Serb at a Major since their 2012 meeting on the grass courts of Wimbledon.Federer's journey on the blue courts of Melbourne Park had also been far from smooth as he was two points from losing against John Millman in the third round and then saved seven match points to get past American Tennys Sandgren in Tuesday's quarterfinal — when he also struggled with a groin strain. In contrast, Djokovic had won his last four matches at a canter. He lost his only set of the Australian Open in the opening match against German Jan-Lennard Struff.Sofia Kenin found herself trailing Ash Barty for most of semifinal but not for one moment did the American doubt she ha what it takes to beat the world No. 1 in front of her home fans. Kenin won 7-6(7) 7-5.Simona Halep said the fierce heat and sun "killed me" during her semifinal defeat after she let slip opportunities to put away unseeded Garbine Muguruza today. The Romanian fourth seed had not dropped a set in reaching the last-4, but she lost her cool — mangling her racquet — on the way to a 7-6(10) 7-5 defeat.