DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2021, AHMEDABAD, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES Projects for Assam, Bengal, PM promises real ‘poriborton’ SANTANU CHOWDHURY & ABHISHEK SAHA HOOGHLY, GUWAHATI, FEBRUARY 22 INAUGURATINGAstring of projects in the poll-bound states of West Bengal and Assam, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday stepped up his attack against the Mamata Banerjeeled government in Bengal and said the BJP would bring “real poribortan (change)”tothestate. Addressing a public meeting at Dunlop Ground in Hooghly district, Modi said, “This time Bengal has made up its mind for poriborton (change) and the BJP will bring ashol poriborton (real change) in Bengal. It is impossible to develop the state as long as there is tolabaaz (extortion), syndicate and cut (money) culture. It cannot take place as long astheadministrationshieldsthe PM Modi at a meeting in Hooghly, Monday. Partha Paul goons. We have to ensure law and order. Aar noy anyay, amraa ashol poriborton chai (no more injustice, we want real change)." This is Modi’s second visit to Bengal this month. Sharpening his attack on the Trinamool government, the PM accused it of failing to provide CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CBI EXAMINES ABHISHEK SIS-IN-LAW PAGE 10 For a fee, House Finance panel head Sinha offers to advise, secure funds for firm JAY MAZOOMDAAR NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 22 RAISINGQUESTIONSofpropriety and conflict of interest, BJP MP Jayant Sinha, who is chairperson of the influential Parliamentary StandingCommitteeforFinance, has offered his services for an unspecified monthly fee to an entertainment company for which he has also offered to help secure“sufficientfinancingatthe right terms”. On February 12, records Noconflict… allmy professional workfully disclosed: JayantSinha show, after a meeting with NRI investor Arminder Singh Sawhney in which they reportedlydiscussedtheproject,Sinha wrotetoB4UNetworkCEOIshan SaksenainconnectionwithTiger Media,acompanylinkedtoB4U. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 JOURNALISM OF COURAGE CONG-DMK ALLIANCE LOSES TRUST VOTE CongPuducherrygovtfalls, BJP,ADMKweighoptions Narayanasamy holds talks till the end, accuses BJP of ‘luring’ MLAs `4.00, WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY Mohan Delkar, MP from Dadra & Nagar Haveli, found dead in Mumbai hotel room SAGAR RAJPUT & KAMAAL SAIYED MUMBAI, SURAT, FEBRUARY 22 MOHAN DELKAR, a 58-year-old Member of Parliament from the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli (DNH) was found deadinaroomatHotelSeaGreen SouthinMarineDriveonMonday. Delkar was a seven-term MP from Dadra and Nagar Haveli Police said his body was found hanging from the ceiling fan at around 2 pm and a note running over four pages, written in Gujarati, was recovered from his room. In the note, Delkar has blameda numberof persons, includingaseniorpolitician,forhis act of taking his own life. Delkar,aformerCongressMP and currently an independent MPfromDNH,wasinMumbaito CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ARUN JANARDHANAN PUDUCHERRY, FEBRUARY 22 MARKING THE end of the only Congress government in the south, with about three months left for polls, Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy and his Council of Ministers submitted their resignations on Monday to L-G Tamilisai Soundararajan soon after a Motion of Confidence was defeated in the Assembly. The result of the floor test, which was called four days ago bytheL-G,wasonexpectedlines with the ruling Congress-DMK coalition losing majority with a NR Congress chief and Oppn leader N Rangasamy after the vote Monday. PTI spate of resignations over the last month, including two on Sunday, and reduced to 12 in a 33-member House with a current strength of 26. ButNarayanasamyremained defiant,holdingdiscussionswith Cabinet colleagues and MLAs in the Assembly complex before Rising bond yields rattle stock market: Sensex plunges 2.25% GEORGE MATHEW & SANDEEP SINGH MUMBAI, NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 22 THE RISE in bond yields across the world has disrupted the bull rally on the stock markets with the benchmark Sensex of the BSE plunging 1,145 points, or 2.25 per cent, to 49,744.32, taking the aggregate fall over the last five trading sessions to over 2,400 points, or 4.6 per cent. It closed at 52,154 on February 15. The NSE Nifty Index plunged 306 points at 14,675.70 as rising Covid cases in states like CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 entering the House, and finally leading his party in a walkout against three nominated BJP MLAs being allowed to cast their CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 MORE REPORTS PAGE 10 Markets watch bankers THE RISE in bond yields has impacted equity markets. But fund managers believe it is the direction of commodity prices and inflation that will chart the trajectory. For now, the markets are looking at the response of central bankers and for direction from them. Ahmedabad cycle renting start-up to begin operations for Kochi Metro AVINASH NAIR AHMEDABAD, FEBRUARY 22 AHMEDABAD-BASED‘MyByk’,a six-year old bicycle sharing and renting start-up, is set to begin operationsalongtheKochiMetro route in Kerala from March 1. “We have won a tender with Kochi Metro. We will be inaugurating the project in Kochi with 1,000 bicycles on March 1. They are giving us a capital subsidy of Rs 1 crore,” said Arjit Soni, founder of the MyByk project that is managed by Greenpedia Bike Share Private Limited. “We are starting out with 60 bicycle stations in Kochi. Of these, 22 will cover the metro route, while the remaining will be secondary stations that will help commuters use bicycles on an hourly basis or for short transits,” Soni said. The Ahmedabad-based firm currently operates more than 5,500 bicycles in total, 3,000 of which are in Ahmedabad. It operates 200 bicycles as a pilot project with Mumbai Metro and is currently managing 250 bicycles centred around Fatehsagar lake in Udaipur, Rajasthan. Thefirmbeganitsservicesby providing bicycles on rent to commuters of the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) in Ahmedabad.Theideatobeginabicycle sharingstart-upcamefromSoni’s commuting experiences in Mumbai during 2007-’10, when CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EXPLAINED THECORONASURGE PAGE 13 INSIDE AHNA TO CM: GUJARAT IN PRECARIOUS SITUATION ON COVID IIM-C WAR: DIRECTOR WRITES TO GOVT AGAINST CHAIRMAN PAGES 3, 11 Ahmedabad