AT KOLKATA, RALLY, MODI’S SHARP ATTACK AGAINST MAMATA

For over an hour at a massive election rally in Kolkata on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi targeted Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over her nephew’s alleged corruption, her govt’s policies, and her party’s slogans.

“This time they (TMC) are saying ‘Khela Hobe (Let us play)’. They are indeed very experienced players, and know how to play,” the Prime Minister said. “People of Bengal have been looted through corruption and scams. Even cyclone Amphan relief funds were looted. You (TMC) have indulged in tolabazi (extortion), syndicates, and commission-cuts. You have done so many scams that an Olympic Games on corruption can be organised,” he said.

“The people of Bengal had once put faith in Didi to bring in poribortan. But Didi and her cadre have destroyed the faith of the people and insulted Bengal. Asol pariborton means peace and development of the state. It means better education, investments, modern infrastructure, more jobs, and fulfilling everyone’s dreams. It means development for all communities and appeasement of none. We will rejuvenate Bengal. I have come to give you hope,” Modi told the cheering crowd at Brigade Parade Ground.

She was supposed to be everyone’s ‘didi’, but Mamata had been ‘bua’ (aunt) to only one nephew, Modi said.

Modi mocked Mamata’s protest against high fuel prices, and her decision to contest the Nandigram seat, leaving Bhabanipur, which she has been representing since 2011. “Some days ago when you were riding a scooty, everyone prayed for your safety and hoped that you don’t get hurt. It is a good thing that you did not fall, otherwise you would have described the state where that scooty is manufactured as your enemy,” Modi said.

“But your scooty instead of turning towards Bhabanipur, went to Nandigram. Didi, I wish everyone well and I don’t want anyone hurt. But what can I do if the scooty is destined to fall in Nandigram?”

Last month, Mamata rode an electric scooter in Kolkata to protest high prices of petrol and diesel. She will be contesting the Nandigram seat against the powerful local politician Suvendu Adhikari, who recently switched to BJP from TMC.

Taking a swipe at the TMC’s election slogan ‘Bangla Nijer Meyekei Chaay’ (Bengal wants only her own daughter), the PM said: “Bangla chaay shanti, unnoti o progotishil Bangla (What Bengal wants are peace, development, and progress).”

When those who believe in Marx and Lenin, and a party like the TMC, which follows the same ideology as that of the Congress, are parties of insiders, how is the BJP a party of outsiders?”

Targeting the Left-Congress alliance, Modi said, “The Left in Bengal used to say ‘Congress er kalo haath, bhenge dao, guriye dao (Crush the black hand of the Congress)’. Using such a slogan, Left came to power. What has happened to that black hand now? How did this black hand become white?”

MAMATA GIVES AS GOOD AS SHE GETS

As PM Modi addressed his first rally in Kolkata ahead the assembly polls, chief minister Mamata Banerjee took on the Centre by leading a padayatra in Siliguri to protest against the hike in fuel prices, including LPG cylinders. She also slammed the recent rape cases in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh.

The protest, held a day ahead of International Women’s Day, around the same time as the PM was speaking in Kolkata, saw supporters of the CM holding red-coloured cardboard replicas of LPG cylinders. Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya and MPs Mimi Chakraborty and Nusrat Jahan were also seen alongside the CM.

“Modi and Amit Shah are the only syndicate in India. Fuel prices are rising but the Prime Minister is not speaking about it. Before election they say Ujwala, after election there's only jumla,” she said.

Hitting out at Modi over his “ashol poriborton” (real change) jibe, she said, “Poriborton will happen in Delhi, not in Bengal.”

Claiming that LPG cylinders would soon be beyond the reach of common people, Banerjee said the state government gives free ration but to cook them they have to buy gas for Rs 900.

“The Centre is torturing women by increasing LPG prices. In Bengal, women can move around till 10-12 or even at 4 in the morning. But in BJP-ruled states, women can’t leave their house after 3 pm,” Banerjee said, referring to recent cases of sexual violence in Uttar Pradesh.

The CM also questioned the Centre's decision to use the PM's photograph on Covid-19 vaccination certificates and criticised the PM for “confining himself to virtual meetings” when the pandemic was peaking in the country. “I was amongst our people, going to markets and on the streets. Asking them what they need.”

“They (BJP) talk about extortion in West Bengal, and of building a ‘Sonar Bangla’. But who is more extortionist than the Prime Minister? He has already sold SAIL, Coal India, BSNL. How many crores did you get from that deal?” Mamata said.

Mamata described the renaming of the Motera stadium after Modi as “shameful”.

DAYS BEFORE QUAD, BEIJING TO DELHI: NOT RIVALS…DON’T UNDERCUT EACH OTHER

As New Delhi prepares to participate in the first ever meeting of the leaders of the Quadrilateral grouping likely on March 12, Beijing Sunday said that China and India should stop “undercutting” each other, shed mutual “suspicion” and create “enabling conditions” by expanding bilateral cooperation to resolve the border issue.

Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi made these remarks at his annual press conference in Beijing —seen as a signal to New Delhi as it plans to join the Quad meeting this week between Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden, Japan PM Yoshihide Suga and Australian PM Scott Morrison.

Wang was speaking on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People’s Congress, China’s Parliament.

Wang said the boundary dispute was “an issue left from history,” and “not the whole story of the China-India relationship” and that both countries were friends and partners who should shed mutual suspicion. This is a reiteration of Beijing’s approach in the wake of the ongoing border standoff.

Without directly mentioning the Ladakh standoff, Wang said, “the right and wrongs at what happened at the border area last year are clear, so are the stakes involved.” “We are committed to settling the boundary dispute through dialogue and consultation. At the same time we are resolved to safeguarding our sovereign rights,” he said.

Wang added that the onus was on both sides to solidify the existing consensus, strengthen dialogue and communication and improve the various management mechanisms to jointly safeguard peace in the border areas.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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NEPAL TOP COURT QUASHES 2018 FORMATION OF RULING NEPAL COMMUNIST PARTY

Nepal’s Supreme Court on Sunday gave yet another verdict with serious political implications that effectively dismisses the existence of the ruling Nepal Communist Party, which was formed through the merger of K P Sharma Oli-led Communist Party of Nepal (UML) and Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’-led Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) in 2018.

A two-member bench of the Supreme Court ruled that the allocation of the NCP name to the new party that was formed after the merger was illegal because the name was already allotted to a party led by Rishi Kattel. Therefore, the court ruled that the current ruling party named NCP stood “dismissed”.

The court said in its verdict that the two groups that merged in 2018 — the CPN-UML and the CPN (Maoist Centre) — would be revived as separate entities as in their pre-unification days, and that “if the two sides still want to unite, they should begin the process afresh and immediately apprise the Election Commission about it”.

The long awaited verdict came on Sunday, just hours before the first session of the House of Representatives after the Supreme Court annulled its dismissal by Prime Minister Oli on December 20 and ordered its reinstatement.

BLINKEN ‘WRITES TO GHANI, PROPOSES UN MEETING OF 6 NATIONS ON AFGHAN PEACE

US Secretary of State Tony Blinken has suggested that the involvement of India in a UN-convened conference to discuss a unified approach to supporting peace in Afghanistan, the Afghan media has reported.

Blinken, in a letter to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation Abdullah Abdullah, has made several suggestions to accelerate the peace process.

On top of the list is a UN-convened meeting of foreign ministers from Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran, India and the US to discuss a unified approach to supporting peace in Afghanistan. This may not be a closed list because Blinken suggests Turkey could host a senior-level meeting of the Ghani government and the Taliban to finalise a peace agreement.

US envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad would share with Kabul and the Taliban written proposals “aimed at accelerating discussions on a negotiated settlement and ceasefire”. These proposals basically seek to address the three areas that need to be sorted out between the warring parties—the foundational principles that will guide Afghanistan’s future constitutional and governing arrangements; a roadmap to a new, inclusive government and the terms of a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire.

For the immediate, the US has prepared a revised proposal for a 90-day reduction in violence that would prevent a spring offensive by the Taliban.

On maintaining its armed forces in Afghanistan, Blinken said the US has not ruled out any option. “We are considering the full withdrawal of our forces by May 1st, as we consider other options,” he said.

THE REST

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CONGRESS SETTLES FOR 25 SEATS IN TN

It took a call from Congress president Sonia Gandhi to DMK chief MK Stalin on Saturday night to end the meandering seatsharing talks between the two sides, with the Dravidian major signing a deal to allocate 25 assembly seats and Kanyakumari Lok Sabha seat to the national party the very next day on Sunday.

Besides the assembly seats, the talks centred on the Congress’s request for two Rajya Sabha seats, with one directly from DMK and another based on the outcome of the assembly election. “DMK had assured to consider the request at the right time. We do not put these in black and white and it works on mutual trust,” said an AICC leader.

“This election is more about the need to strengthen the secular plank rather than the number of seats. To prevent the spread of BJP, which is more dangerous than the coronavirus, all secular parties had to join hands with the single aim of defeating the BJP and its allies,” TNCC president KS Alagiri told reporters after signing the deal.

COVID-19: DAILY CASES SLOPE UPWARDS IN SEVERAL STATES

KEY COVID NUMBERS:

New Cases in last 24 hours: 18,685

Recovered in last 24 hours: 14,344

Increase in Active cases in last 24 hours: 4,242

No. of deaths in last 24 hours: 99

The rise in the number of coronavirus cases, which had so far looked confined to Maharashtra and Punjab, is now beginning to show in several other states.

Delhi, for example, has reported more than 300 cases for the last two days. This had not happened since January 15. While that might not seem alarming right now, considering that, at its peak, Delhi had been reporting more than 8,000 cases a day, it might just be the beginning of a fresh wave.

In Gujarat, the increasing trend has been noticeable for three weeks now. In the last two days, the state has reported more than 500 cases, something that had not happened since January 17. The coronavirus numbers in the state had been on a steady decline in the new year, touching a low of 232 on February 8. But it began to rise again after that, and that trend has continued since.

Similar increases can be seen in Haryana, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh as well. The numbers in these states are nowhere close to those in Maharashtra, which for the last two days has been reporting more than 10,000 cases, or even Punjab, which has reported more than 1,000 cases twice in the last three days. But the growth curves are certainly on the ascendancy.

In fact, all these states — Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh — have had very similar growth trajectories in recent weeks. They showed a steady decline until the first week of February, after which a turnaround has happened.

Incidentally, this is not very different from the national trajectory. The coronavirus curve in India reached its lowest level in the second and third weeks of February, after which it has begun to rise. In the last two days, more than 18,000 cases have been detected across the country.

'I'M A PURE COBRA', SAYS ACTOR MITHUN CHAKRABORTY AFTER JOINING BJP

Veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty on Sunday joined the BJP at Brigade Parade Ground here ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mega rally.

Chakraborty was welcomed into the fold by BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya and state president Dilip Ghosh among others.

"I always wanted to do something big in life, but had never dreamt of being a part of such a huge rally which is to be addressed by world's most popular leader Narendra Modi. I wished to work for the poorer sections of our society, and that wish will now be fulfilled," Mithun said.

Amid huge cheers from supporters, Chakraborty, borrowing a dialogue from one of his films, said, "Ami joldhorao noi, bele borao noi... ami ekta cobra, ek chobol-ei chobi (Don't mistake me for a harmless snake, I am a cobra, can kill people in one bite)," he said.

DSGMC LAUNCHES ADVANCED DIALYSIS HOSPITAL, FOR FREE TREATMENT TO ALL

The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) on Sunday launched “India’s biggest” kidney dialysis facility at the Gurdwara Bangla Sahib complex in New Delhi.

Guru Harkishan Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Kidney Dialysis Hospital will offer dialysis facility to 101 patients simultaneously and it can cater to 500 patients daily, the DSGMC said in a statement.

“All services are being provided totally free in this most technically advanced hospital. There is no billing or payment counter. The DSGMC will take services from Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) from corporate houses and from those who are willing to contribute for such initiatives and various government schemes,” DSGMC president Manjinder Singh Sirsa said.

The capacity will soon be increased to 1,000 beds from the current 101 beds, he added.

RAVI SHASTRI HITS OUT AT ICC FOR CHANGING WTC POINTS CRITERION MIDSTREAM

India head coach Ravi Shastri took a dig at the International Cricket Council on Sunday for changing the criterion for qualifying for the World Test Championship final midway during the cycle.

India were sitting pretty at the top of the table with 360 points when the Covid-forced suspension in cricket prompted the world body to make the matches not played null and void, making percentage of points contested the basis of qualification instead of the actual points won.

Following the new system, India went down the table with an away series in Australia, followed by a home rubber against England on their schedule. Though Shastri revelled in the resilience shown by his team in making it to the WTC final at Lord’s against New Zealand, he maintained that rules should not be changed midstream.

“Please don’t shift the goalposts,” Shastri said. He went on: “I am sitting at home in Covid in the month of October-November. You have got more points than any other team in the world, 360 at that time. Suddenly, a week later without playing cricket some rule comes, that they are going on percentage (point) system (PCT).

VINESH WINS GOLD, BECOMES NO. 1

Star Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat grabbed the women’s 53kg gold medal along with world No. 1 rank while Bajrang Punia booked his spot in the final of the men’s 65kg event at the Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series event.

The 26-year-old Vinesh beat Canada’s Diana Mary Helen Weicker 4-0 to claim her second gold medal in as many weeks. The Indian had entered the event as world No. 3 but gained 14 points to be back at No. 1. Vinesh did not concede a single point in the tournament, winning two of her three bouts by pinning her rivals while getting injury walkouts in the other two.

Bajrang faced stiff competition from America’s Joseph Christopher Mc Kenna but prevailed 6-3 in the semifinal. He will now face Mongolia’s Tulga Tumur Ochir, who defeated India’s Rohit 4-0 in the other semifinal.

SINDHU CRUSHED BY MARIN IN SWISS FINAL

World champion PV Sindhu was comprehensively beaten by Carolina Marin of Spain in a lopsided women’s singles title match in Basel yesterday. Marin, the Olympics champion, routed Sindhu 21-12 21-5 as the Indian could not match the speed and accuracy of the Spaniard in a match that lasted only 35 minutes.

The 25-year-old Indian, who had won the World Championship gold there in 2019, suffered her third successive loss to Marin, who had won two Super 1000 events and finished second at the World Tour Finals in recent times.

IPL FROM APRIL 9 TO MAY 30, NO HOME GAMES, NO FANS

The BCCI-led Indian Premier League (IPL) announced the operations and tournament schedule for the 2021 edition of the tournament to be played in India on Sunday.

Six cities — Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Ahmedabad — will host the 60 matches of the tournament this season with Ahmedabad hosting the three play-offs and the final. The tournament will begin on April 9 and conclude on May 30.

In trying to bring in some neutrality — considering there won’t be matches played in Hyderabad, Jaipur and Mohali — the BCCI has decided that none of the franchises will play at their respective home venues.

Further, the BCCI hasn’t confirmed that fans will be allowed for the tournament either. However, it is learnt that a call on whether to allow fans at a later stage in the tournament will

“The fixtures have been mapped in a way that every team will travel only three times during the league stage, thus reducing commute and minimising risk,” the BCCI statement added.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

OFF TRACK

Mike was at a marriage seminar, and the leader of the seminar, a lady, was asking everybody how long they were married for.

When it was Mike’s turn he said that he was married for almost 50 years.

“Wow” the leader gushed “that’s amazing, perhaps you can take a few minutes to share some insights with everybody, how you stay married to the same woman for so long.

“Well,” Mike said after thinking for a few moments, “I try to treat her nice, buy her presents, take her on trips…………. and best of all, for our 5th anniversary I took her to the Bahamas.”

“Well that’s really beautiful, and a true inspiration for all of us” the lady said. “Maybe you can tell us what you are going to do for your 50th anniversary” she said with a smile.

“Well” Mike said “I’m thinking of going back to the Bahamas to pick her up.”