YK MYK UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IS VOLATILE, RECOVERY UNSATISFACTORY OPINION KOLKATA SUNDAY, 21 FEB, 2021 PG-12, YEAR— 7, ISSUE—276 (RNI NO: WBENG / 2014 / 56803) MAX 26 C TMC launches poll slogan; says ‘Bengal wants its own Daughter’ SUPROTIM MUKHERJEE MIN 12 C Sky will be clear. AT A GLANCE 'KUMBH MELA' TO BE HELD FOR 28 DAYS AMID COVID-19 NEW DELHI: In view of the Covid-19 pandemic, the 'Kumbh Mela' in 2021 would be held in Haridwar for a span of 28 days which includes four 'Shahi Snans'. The Uttarakhand government has taken this decision after discussions with Hindu sages and sants. 'Kumbh Mela 2021' would be organised from April 1 to 28, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said. The Uttarakhand government would soon issue a notification regarding the dates of the 'Kumbh Mela'. In the past, the 'Kumbh Mela' in Haridwar has been held for a period of four months. PEOPLE & SOCIETY Morning India Rs. 3 WEATHER TODAY OTT BECAME OUR BEST FRIENDS DURING LOCKDOWN: ADITI RAO KOLKATA: The Trinamool Congress on Saturday launched its slogan for the 2021 Bengal Assembly election. The slogan is "Bangla Nijer Meyekei Chaye", which translates as "Bengal wants its own daughter", and pitches Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in that role. Ms Banerjee is usually referred to as "Didi", which means 'elder sister' in Bengali. With the slogan in place, the ruling Trinamool has also highlighted what was unsaid. The party's campaign in this election has been about fighting "bohiragato" or "outsiders", while also retaining its most faithful vote bank - WOMAN GIVES BIRTH TO BOY WHILE WRITING CLASS 10 EXAM MUZAFFARPUR: A pregnant woman in her early twenties, who went to appear for her class 10 exam at the Mahant Darshan Das Mahila (MDDM) College Examination Centre in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district, suddenly started having labour pains. She was rushed to a hospital where she gave birth to a child in the evening whom she named 'Imtihaan'. Meera Madhumita, Central incharge, MDDM College, said a matriculation examination centre has been opened in the college. On Friday, Shanti Devi, was appearing for the Class 10 exams in the second shift. CORONA METER INDIA TOTAL CASES: 1,09,82,729 TOTAL DEATH: 156,269 WORLD TOTAL CASES: 111,340,871 TOTAL DEATH: 2,465,593 women. In all her campaign speeches Ms Banerjee has reached out to female voters and asked them to take on "goons from outside". Shortly after the slogan was released Abhishek Banerjee, who is the Chief Minister's nephew, addressed voters in north Bengal's Nagrakata, and made an emotional appeal. "Do you want a daughter of Bengal to surrender before Delhi? I want to ask my mothers and sisters here... do you want Bengal's daughter to surrender Bengal's pride, worth and faith before Delhi? Some people from outside are trying to finish off Bengal's culture? Do you want these people to do that?" Mr Banerjee, who is the Lok Sabha MP from Diamond Harbour, asked. "Bohiragotoder dao biday, Bangla Nijer Meyekei Chaye," he said in Bengali, which translates as "Send away the outsiders as Bengal wants its own daughter". Mr Banerjee also attacked the BJP over the controversial 'Jai Shri Ram' slogan and said: "We will make you say 'Jai Hind' and 'Joy Bangla'. I promise you we will make them say 'Jai Siya Ram'". That particular comment was a direct retort to Home Minister Amit Shah, who last week declared that Mamata Banerjee "will begin chanting 'Jai Shri Ram' by the time elections are over". "The people of Bengal have not heard 'Jai Shri Ram', we have heard 'Jai Siya Ram'. They say 'Jai Shri Ram'. They leave Sita out. They insult women. In their rule women are raped and denied all rights. That's why they won't say 'Jai Siya Ram'. Do you want to elect such a party?" Mr Banerjee asked. In what is set to be a battle of slogans as much as one of development issues, sources have said the Trinamool was created to present the Chief Minister as someone who belongs to the people of Bengal, while simultaneously casting the opposition as being controlled by outsiders. The slogan was launched at the Trinamool HQ in Kolkata in the presence of senior leaders like Subrata Mukherjee, Subrata Bakshi, Partha Chatterjee, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Sukhendu Shekar Roy and Derek O' Brien. When questioned, Mr O' Brien said: "The Chief Minister has been around for ten years now. She is looking at a third term... and she will be sworn-in in May after she is blessed by the people. The people will interpret and absorb the slogan. We will take this simple slogan to the people." "The line states a fact... This is what the people have been telling us. How this will be interpreted and what the opposition will do is for them to chase. We have got this positive, honest and direct message from the heart," he added. When asked if the slogan is an extension of the party's message to keep "outsiders" at bay, the Rajya Sabha MP would only say: "You are free to interpret it anyway you like. I don't like to write a poem and then write an annotation behind the poem. Feel free to interpret it." GOVERNING COUNCIL MEETING OF NITI AAYOG ‘Centre, states need to work closely to boost economic growth’ NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday made a strong case for repealing archaic laws and making it easier to do business in India stating that the centre and states need to work closely to boost economic growth. Addressing the Governing Council meeting of Niti Aayog, the Prime Minister said that the private sector should be given full opportunity to become a part of government's Aatmanirbhar Bharat programme. "Centre and states should work together for the nation's progress... Government has to respect and give due representation to the private sector for economic progress," Modi said. He said that the positive response to the Union Budget 2021-22 indicates that the country wants to move forward on the path of development at greater speed. Modi said that the initiatives taken by the government would provide opportunity to everyone to participate in nation building to its full potential. Referring to the farm sector, the Prime Minister said that efforts should be made to produce agriculture items like edible oil and reduce their imports. "This can be done by guiding farmers," he said, adding the money being spend on imports can go to the accounts of farmers. The Prime Minister also underlined the need for reducing compliance burden on people and asked the states to form committees to reduce regulations which are no longer relevant in the wake of technology. India and China hold 10th round of military talks Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren attends the 6th meeting of Governing Council of NITI Aayog, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with other Chief Ministers of different states at CM house, in Ranchi on Saturday. ANI 'ONE NATION, ONE STANDARD' TO BE PRIORITY NEW DELHI: Time has come when we should focus on 'One Nation, One Standard' to make India a global leaders in setting standards as per global benchmarks as strength and character of a nation is often exemplified by the standards it sets for the quality of its products and services, said Union Minister for Railways and Commerce on Saturday while reviewing the work of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). Soren raises Sarna code, mining issues SANJAY SAHAY RANCHI: Chief Minister (CM) Hemant Soren on Saturday requested the Centre for sympathetic consideration of the proposal for a separate Sarna Dharm code, adding a separate column must be included in the census in this regard. Taking part in a virtual meeting of governing council of NITI Aayog, the CM said, "Demand has been raised for years to give separate place for tribals in the census. We have sent a proposal related to Sarna Adivasi Dharma Code, passed by the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly. We believe that the Government of India will consider it sympathetically. Adivasi's civilization, culture and system are completely different." Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the meeting. The CM also sought a universal pension scheme for the senior citizens while pointing out that many of them are deprived of the benefit. He stated, "During field visits, we get the opportunity to interact with the senior citizens. They often complain about not getting pension benefits. The concerned officials, however, say that the target has been completed." The CM also stated that the central government has not increased the pension amount since 2007. The CM mentioned that the state government wants to increase the purchasing power of the villagers, adding the measure is important for making India a selfreliant nation. He said, "Special attention is being given to agriculture, social security, health, education, and infrastructure development in the rural areas of the state. The state government is working towards giving agriculture status to lacquer and silk." Pointing out that Jharkhand is a labour-intensive state, the CM demanded that the wages under the MNREGA scheme should be increased. He stated, "The central government has fixed Rs 202 per day as wages, which is lower than other states of the country. At present, the workers of Jharkhand are not able to reap optimum benefits from the MGNREGA. The central government should increase the minimum wage rate." The CM also opined that there is a need to rethink the law made for workers. In the absence of strong legislation, middlemen and also central government undertakings ignore the interests of workers, he said. Recently, the workers who went to work for NTPC in Uttarakhand and BRO have faced difficulties due to this, the CM said. The CM stated that the Centre should think of a partner model of mining in the state, adding this will help provide opportunities for growth to the residents of Jharkhand. The CM stated that the share given by the central government to Jharkhand is Rs 1750 crores but it has been reduced to Rs 1200 crores. Also, during the Corona transition period, DVC deducted Rs 2131 crore from the state government account. This fund was necessary for Jharkhand to control the spread of the pandemic. Stating that 50 per cent of the land of Jharkhand is covered with forest and bush, the CM said it is difficult to get forest clearance for the state government's industries and entrepreneurs during setting up industries. He said if the central government works towards making it flexible states like Jharkhand will also be able to establish industries. Chief Secretary Sukhdev Singh, Finance Secretary Himani Pandey, Principal Secretary to CM Rajiv Arun Ekka and others were present on the occasion. NEW DELHI: India and China on Saturday held another round of military talks with a focus on taking forward the disengagement process in Hot Springs, Gogra and Depsang in eastern Ladakh and bring down the tensions in the region, official sources said. The 10th round of Corps Commanderlevel talks are taking place two days after the Chinese and Indian militaries completed the withdrawal of troops, weapons and other military hardware from the North and South banks of Pangong lake areas as part of an agreement. The meeting started at 10 am at the Moldo border point on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control and it was continuing, the sources said. They said India will insist on a faster disengagement process in remaining areas like Hot Springs, Gogra and Depsang to bring down tension in the region that has witnessed a tense standoff between the two militaries for over nine months. "The focus of the talks is on carrying forward the disengagement process," said a source. On February 11, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced in Parliament that India and China reached an agreement on disengagement in the North and South banks of Pangong lake that mandates both sides to "cease" forward deployment of troops in a "phased, coordinated and verifiable" manner. Under the agreement, he 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 would take place on the south bank of the lake as well, he said. The sources said troops of both sides have retreated to positions that were agreed upon by both the sides. The disengagement process began on February 10. The Indian delegation at Saturday's talks is being led by Lt Gen PGK Menon, the Commander of the Leh-based 14 Corps. The Chinese side was to be headed by Maj Gen Liu Lin, the commander of the South Xinjiang military district of the People's Liberation Army (PLA). VIJAY HAZARE TROPHY: J’KHAND POST 422/9, REGISTER HIGHEST SCORE IN TOURNAMENT HISTORY Ishan Kishan smashes 173 off 94 balls against Madhya Pradesh INDORE: Jharkhand skipper Ishan Kishan put on a sensational batting performance, smashing 173 runs in just 94 balls studded with 11 sixes against Madhya Pradesh in the Elite Group B match of the Vijay Hazare Trophy on Saturday. Ishan whacked five sixes and 12 fours to bring up 102 runs in just 74 balls before unleashing the beast within himself. In the last 20 balls he faced, the Jharkhand skipper slammed 71 runs as the side crossed the 200run mark in the 26th over. Jharkhand lost two wickets within 20 overs but there was no stopping Ishan in going out all guns blazing on Madhya Pradesh's bowling attack. The Parth Sahani-led side finally took a sigh of relief when Gaurav Yadav dismissed Ishan in the 28th over but till then Jharkhand had put on 240 runs on the board. Vijay Hazare Trophy, the domestic one-day competition in India, kicked off on Saturday with players looking to get back on the field after shining in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The tournament will also act as the perfect platform for the players who are looking to showcase their skills in the white-ball format ahead of the ODI series against England, keeping in mind the T20 World Cup is scheduled later this year. Shreyas Iyer is leading Mumbai while Bhuvneshwar Kumar will captaining Uttar Pradesh in the upcoming tournament. Shreyas did not have a good run in the ODI series against Australia while Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been out of the side due to injury. Both the cricketers will look to impress the selectors ahead of the white-ball series against England. Prithvi Shaw has been named as the vice-captain of Mumbai while the likes of Yashasvi NAOMI OSAKA BEATS JENNIFER BRADY TO WIN 2ND AUSTRALIAN OPEN TITLE SPORTS Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav and Tushar Despande have also been named in the squad. Pradeep Sangwan might lead Delhi but Shikhar Dhawan will look to make the most of the tournament having not played a one-day game since December first week. The sides have been divided into six Elite A, B, C, D and E and the Plate Group. The Plate Group's matches will be played across the different locations in Tamil Nadu while the Elite Groups' games will be held in Surat, Indore, Bangalore, Jaipur and Kolkata respectively. Last year's runners-up Tamil Nadu, who won the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy champions in January are in Group B while defending champions Karnataka are in Group C.