UTTARAKHAND, GOA GO TO POLLS TODAY; PHASE 2 IN U.P.

The stage is set for single-phase elections in Uttarakhand and Goa and the second phase polling in UP toda..

In the high-stakes battle, the Congress, reduced to power in Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan on its own, would fight for electoral revival. AAP will be testing waters as the third force in Goa and Uttarakhand as it seeks to expand its presence beyond Delhi. The TMC has entered the Goa fray in alliance with Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party and is backing the Opposition SP-RLD alliance against the BJP in UP, where Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM is also a player this time apart from former CM Mayawati-led BSP.

ABG SHIPYARD BANK FRAUD: WHY DID IT TAKE 5 YEARS TO FILE FIR, ASKS CONGRESS

Dubbing it as the country’s biggest bank-fraud case, the Congress questioned the Narendra Modi government on Sunday why it took five years after the liquidation proceedings of ABG Shipyard to lodge an FIR in connection with the alleged duping of 28 banks.

The CBI has booked ABG Shipyard Limited, its former chairman and managing director Rishi Kamlesh Agarwal, and others for allegedly cheating a consortium of banks led by the SBI of over Rs 22,842 crore.

“Why did it take five years after the liquidation proceedings of ABG Shipyard to lodge even an FIR for duping 28 banks of Rs 22,842 crore?” Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala asked at a press conference.

“Why did the Modi government refuse to take note of the allegations made on February 15, 2018 by the Congress, warning of a scam in ABG Shipyard, and why no FIR was lodged and criminal action taken despite their accounts having been declared as fraud on June 19, 2019?” he asked.

“The complicity, the collusion and the connivance of those sitting in the highest echelons of the Modi government with bank fraudsters is writ large,” the Congress leader alleged.

GOVERNMENT TO TIGHTEN MGNREGA SCHEME TO PLUG ‘TREMENDOUS LEAKAGES’

The government is working to tighten the MGNREGA scheme as “tremendous leakages” have been noticed in the flagship rural jobs programme for the past two years, a top official said.

The Centre has allocated Rs 73,000 crore for 2022-23, which is 25 per cent lower than the Rs 98,000 crore provided in the revised estimate for the current fiscal.

The allocation for the next fiscal is same as was budget estimate for the current fiscal, which will end in March 2022.

The official said in the last two years, the revised estimate has been higher than the budget estimate significantly and it has been noticed that tremendous leakages are going on and middlemen are taking money for enrolling names of beneficiaries under the scheme.

“Direct Benefit Transfer has succeeded in reaching money directly to the person, but still there are human systems. There are middlemen who are telling the people that I will put your name in the MGNREGA master roll, but you will have to withdraw cash and give me after you get the DBT transfer. It is happening in a big way,” the official said.

Explaining the modus operandi, the official further said that the arrangement between the beneficiary and the middlemen is in such a way that the beneficiary is giving some share to the middleman and would not even go for work and hence no work is taking place.

DISTRICTS WITH COVID POSITIVITY RATE OVER 10% DOWN TO 105

Just over 100 districts are now reporting a weekly positivity rate of more than 10 per cent, indicating a further decrease in the spread of coronavirus infection in the country, granular data being tracked by the Health Ministry show.

On Thursday, the Ministry had said that 141 districts had a weekly positivity rate more than 10 per cent. Two weeks ago, 388 districts in the country were above this positivity threshold.

The steady decline in the number of districts with a high positivity rate corresponds to the decline in the number of cases being reported across the country in recent weeks.

The national weekly positivity rate was 4.46 per cent on Sunday, compared with the 10.20 per cent reported in the previous week.

COVID DASHBOARD – INDIA

As of 0800 IST / Feb 14

from mohfw.gov.in ,

New Cases on Sunday 34,113

Active Cases 4,78,882 (-58,163)

Total Deaths (Deaths Yesterday) 5,09,011 (269)

Total Vaccination: 172.95 Crores (+11,66,993)

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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US BELIEVES UKRAINE ATTACK IS IMMINENT, GERMANY WARNS RUSSIA

Senior US officials on Sunday said they could not confirm reports that US intelligence indicates that Russia is planning to invade Ukraine on Wednesday, but said they would try to prevent any “surprise attack” by sharing what they knew of Russia’s plans.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan repeated that a Russian invasion could begin any day and President Joe Biden has said he will support Ukraine after any invasion and defend Nato territory. “We can’t perfectly predict the day, but we’ve now been saying for some time that we are in the window, and an invasion could begin — a major military action could begin — by Russia in Ukraine any day now.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Sunday warned Russia of immediate sanctions and “hard reactions” if it attacks Ukraine, maintaining a tough tone ahead of a meeting this week with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Scholz travels to Kyiv on Monday to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and to Moscow on Tuesday to meet Putin as part of diplomatic efforts to ease tensions.

Both trips will be to sound out how to secure peace, which faces a “very, very serious threat,” Scholz said, calling on Russia to de-escalate “Military agreession against Ukraine that endangers its territorial integrity and sovereignty will result in hard reactions and sanctions that we have carefully prepared and that we can put into effect immediately, together with our allies in Europe and Nato,” Scholz said in brief remarks to reporters.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy played down intensified warnings of a possible Russian invasion within days, saying he had yet to see convincing evidence.

POLICE ARREST PROTESTERS NEAR US-CANADA BRIDGE

The Canadian police in Windsor, Ontario, began making arrests on Sunday morning near the Ambassador Bridge, clearing a roadway to a vital border crossing to the US and one of the most visible sites of an anti-government protest movement that has roiled Canada for weeks. For the moment, the bridge remained closed, but the authorities suggested that might soon change. “Today, our national economic crisis at the Ambassador bridge came to an end,” the mayor of Windsor, Drew Dilkens, said Sunday morning.

Earlier in the day, hundreds of uniformed police officers approached the protesters, some of whom had left their vehicles parked at intersections leading to the bridge. A phalanx of police officers warned the protesters they would be charged with criminal mischief, before closing in the small crowd and making arrests.

Australian police have given thousands of protesters until the end of Sunday to leave occupied areas of the country’s capital, as rallies continue against Covid-19 vaccine mandates.

Paris police said they arrested 97 people who defied a ban on protest convoy over coronavirus regulations to try block traffic in the capital, with 81 still in custody Sunday.

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HIJAB ROW: K'TAKA SCHOOLS REOPEN TODAY

With high schools reopening in Karnataka on Monday, after a five-day break to cool communal tensions over the hijab ban row, the police in Udupi have imposed prohibitory orders near campuses for six days till Saturday in the southern district at the centre of the controversy.

The move comes at a time when the state is entering a crucial week in the faceoff, with the Opposition set to question the BJP state government on the issue in the Assembly session starting Monday even as the Karnataka High Court resumes hearings on pleas against the ban.

On Sunday evening, a multi-faith peace committee in Udupi headed by the local BJP MLA agreed to ensure that the High Court’s interim order on Friday, asking students not to wear any religious dress to class, will be enforced only in educational institutions that have prescribed uniforms for students — as stated by the court.

The peace committee’s decision confirms that students in Udupi are free to wear the hijab in schools and colleges that have no rules on wearing a uniform. Officials said the move will help in reducing tensions over the issue.

In Udupi, the police said prohibitory orders will be in place within 200 metres of all high schools in the district from 6 am on February 14 (Monday) to 6 pm on February 19 (Friday).

ASSAM CM DEFENDS FATHER-SON REMARKS ON CONGRESS LEADER RAHUL GANDHI

Despite widespread criticism over his controversial father-son remarks on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday defended his comments and asserted that questioning the army personnel will “not be tolerated anymore”.

During a rally in poll-bound Uttarakhand, Sarma had on February 11 attacked Rahul Gandhi for demanding proof of the September 2016 surgical strike. He also asked whether the BJP had ever demanded proof of him being the “son of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi”.

This has led to a huge controversy with several opposition parties criticising Sarma for his “deplorable” statement.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao had on Saturday demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi must sack Sarma for his remarks on Rahul Gandhi.

Lashing out at Sarma, Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole had said the Assam CM’s “distasteful” statement “reflected the culture of the BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh”.

In a series of tweets, Sarma posted several screenshots of news reports of the Congress’ statements on the 2016 surgical strike and the appointment of Bipin Rawat as the army chief and the chief of defence staff among others.

“Is it wrong to stand by our great Armed forces? Let’s not question their patriotism. Don’t seek proof of what they did for the country. “India is not just a union of states. ‘Bharat’ is our Maa, not just a motherland. Questioning the jawans is an insult to our Maa!” he tweeted.

PRIYANKA GANDHI VADRA ATTACKS AAP'S DELHI MODEL

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday targeted Capt Amarinder Singh, saying that he had to be replaced as he was running the government on the directions of the BJP at the Centre.

Addressing a public meeting at Kotkapura in support of Congress candidate Ajaipal Singh Sandhu ahead of the February 20 poll, she also accused AAP of planning to govern Punjab from Delhi, as per the dictates of party convener Arvind Kejriwal.

On Captain being removed as Punjab CM in September last year, she said: “It is true there were some deficiencies in our government here, which we addressed. The government had stopped running from Punjab. It was running from Delhi. It was being run by the BJP-led government. That is why we had to change the government,” Priyanka said.

Alleging that the AAP government in Delhi had been a failure, she appealed to people to be wary of the “Delhi model of governance” being flaunted by the party.

She claimed that AAP was a “branch of the RSS”, and had an ideology similar to that of the BJP. “As the BJP came to power at the Centre in 2014 by misleading people about its Gujarat model, AAP is also selling its Delhi model in Punjab to grab power. Don’t be misled as both Gujarat and Delhi models exist only on papers and in advertisements,” she said. Interestingly, she did not utter a single word against SAD-BSP alliance in her 11-minute speech.

NOW STALIN, DHANKAR IN WAR OF WORDS

While Chief Minister M K Stalin on Sunday said West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar’s act of proroguing the Assembly is ‘without any propriety’, the latter said the House was prorogued at the government’s request and that the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s remark was harsh and not based on fact.

Stalin tweeted, “The act of #WestBengal Governor to prorogue the WB Assembly Session is without any propriety expected from the exalted post and goes against the established norms and conventions.” The Tamil Nadu Chief Minster further said, “the ‘symbolic’ head of the state should be the role model to uphold the constitution. Beauty of democracy lies in extending mutual respect to each other.”

Replying to Stalin, Dhankar on his official twitter handle said, “Find it unusually expedient to respectfully invite indulgent attention of TN CM @mkstalin that his extremely harsh hurtful observations are not in the least in conformity with facts- attached order. Assembly was prorogued at express request @MamataOfficial @rajbhavan_tn.” Dhankar also posted an official communication in this regard.

Trinamool Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, “The Governor did not take the decision on his own initiative. He has prorogued the Assembly following the recommendation of the Cabinet. There is no confusion in it.”

EXPERTS DIVIDED ON WHETHER STATE GOVERNMENTS CAN ENACT UNIFORM CIVIL CODE

Experts are divided on whether a state has the power to bring a law on uniform civil code, a day after Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said if re-elected the BJP will set up a panel to prepare a draft of such a code.

Constitution expert and former Lok Sabha secretary general PDT Achary said that both the Centre and the states are empowered to bring such a law as issues like marriage, divorce, inheritance, and property rights come under the Concurrent List of the Constitution.

But former Union Law Secretary PK Malhotra was of the view that only the central government can bring such a law by moving Parliament.

Responding to a question on Goa having a uniform civil code, Malhotra said according to his understanding, the law was already in existence before Goa became part of India.

Dhami had on Saturday said the panel on Uniform Civil Code will comprise legal experts, retired people, intellectuals and other stakeholders.

A GIRL IN HIJAB WILL BE COUNTRY’S PM ONE DAY: OWAISI

A girl wearing Hijab will become the prime minister of the country one day, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has said amid the controversy over Muslim women’s headscarves.

“If a girl decides to wear Hijab and asks her parents to do so and when her parents allow her to wear it, who can stop her from wearing it? We will see it, Inshaallah. Owaisi is heard saying in a 43-second video of his address in an election rally.

“The girls will wear hijab, will wear Niqab and go to colleges and become doctors, collectors, SDMs and businessmen,” Owaisi was heard saying in the video, shared on his Twitter handle.

“You all keep in mind, perhaps when I am not alive, a girl wearing a hijab will become the prime minister of this country one day,” he added.

PSLV-C52 LIFTS OFF WITH EARTH OBSERVATION AND 2 SMALL SATELLITES

ISRO's PSLV C-52, carrying earth observation satellite EOS-04 along with two co-passenger pay loads lifted off from the Sriharikota spaceport early on Monday.

The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C52) blasted off at 05:59 am from the first launch Pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre here, at the end of a 25-hour countdown, marking the space agency's first mission launch in 2022.

EOS-04, with a mission life of ten years, is a Radar Imaging Satellite designed to provide high quality images under all weather conditions for applications such as Agriculture, Forestry and Plantations, Soil Moisture and Hydrology and Flood mapping.

The rocket also carried two small satellites, INSPIREsat-1 and INS-2TD, as co-passengers.

LIC FILES PAPERS, SET FOR BIGGEST INDIAN IPO EVER

LIC has filed its draft share sale prospectus with the capital markets regulator SEBI, paving the way for India’s largest initial public offering (IPO). There is also a possibility that LIC will become India’s most valuable listed company, toppling Reliance Industries Ltd, after listing on the stock exchanges.

LIC plans to sell 316.25 million shares, which is about 5 per cent of its total equity base, said the draft red herring prospectus filed with SEBI. The 65-year-old LIC has a total equity base of 6.32 billion shares.

The IPO is fully an offer for sale — which means that the proceeds will go fully towards the government and help it reach its disinvestment target. In the Union Budget presented earlier this month, the government had pegged disinvestment receipts at Rs 78,000 crore for this financial year.

According to the offer document, a portion of shares not exceeding 5 per cent of the offer will be reserved for employees. Similarly, another portion not exceeding 10 per cent will be reserved for eligible policyholders. A minimum 35 per cent of issue will be reserved for retail investors.

IPL MEGA AUCTION IS OVER

Punjab Kings decided to break the bank to sign England's T20 specialist Liam Livingstone, paying a staggering Rs 11.50 crore for him while Mumbai Indians, purely based on leap of faith, paid a whopping Rs 8 crore for an injured Jofra Archer despite his unavailability for the 2022 edition of the IPL.

The teams went big on current India players and largely based their decision on the form players from overseas with more focus on fast bowlers, not caring about reputations as the likes of Steve Smith, Aaron Finch, Suresh Raina, Ishant Sharma went unsold.

The two-day IPL auction ended on Sunday with Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings predictably making the hefty pay-outs with bigger purses in store while Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals now look formidable on batting front but slightly short in bowling arsenal.

Having roped in Livingstone, Punjab Kings also used its deep pockets to pick up West Indies all-rounder Odean Smith for Rs 6.5 crore. He was impressive in the recently concluded ODI series against India.

Sunrisers weren't going to be left behind in bidding frenzy, roping in CPL sensation from the West Indies Romario Shepherd for Rs 7.75 crore based on his all-round skills.

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

The children begged for a hamster, and after fervent vows that they alone would care for it, they got one. They named it Danny.  Two months later, when Mom found herself responsible for cleaning and feeding the creature, she located a prospective new home for it. 

The children took the news of his imminent departure quite well, though one of them remarked, "He's been around here a long time--we'll miss him." 

"Yes," Mom replied, "But he's too much work for one person, and since I'm that one person, I say he goes." 

Another child offered, "Well, maybe if he wouldn't eat so much and wouldn't be so messy, we could keep him." But Mom was firm. "It's time to take him to his new home now," she insisted. "Go and get his cage." 

With one voice and in tearful outrage the children shouted, "Danny? We thought you said Daddy!"