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1 ! " # $ % ! & ' ( # ) * + , - ! $ ! ' $ ! " # # $ # # % &' &( ) & $ $ * $ ./0 # & $ /12 32 $ & 4 # $ 05 $ $ & $ 26 $ $ * & ! $ *! # # # " &' &( ) * * ( 7 * *(8 * /#93#905 4 /# 5 5 # $ *:; ./0 + $ *:; ./0 # * *( ), & < .*:; ) = // > ), & < .*:; ) ? #& *:; ./0 & 4 5 5 & ># $ $ & * $ + # #% , + " - # ./ 0&(&/ $ $ $ & ' < ! # @ A' 4 B # ! % 4 * # ! # 4 * # ) # $ % 4 * & ! #& ' # A" A%C ? D4@@4( 4+4(In a new twist in the politicsof Assembly poll-boundUttar Pradesh (UP), theBharatiya Kisan Union (BKU)on Sunday openly came out insupport of the Samajwadi Party(SP) and the Rashtriya Lok Dal(RLD).The news will come asanother source of worry to UPChief Minister Yogi Adityanathwho is facing rebellion frompowerful Ministers and MLAsof the BJP belonging to theOther Backward Class (OBC)community.)

2 "I hope people of the Statewill support the candidates ofthis (SP-RLD) coalition," BKUpresident Naresh Tikait saidwhile addressing a gathering offarmers at Sisauli inMuzaffarnagar area of westernUP which goes to polls in thefirst phase of the Assemblyelections on February endorsement coulddrastically alter the electoralscene in the Jat-dominatedregion where the ruling BJP didvery well in the 2017 Tikait not onlymade an appeal to the peopleto ensure a victory for the SP-RLD alliance but also handedover the symbol authority let-ters to two alliance nominees atKisan Bhawan in Sisauli. In a related developmentlate in the evening, however,the Samyukta Kisan Morchastated that any farmer organi-sations which will contest theelections will have to leave theunited front.

3 The alliance of the RLDand SP on Saturday hadannounced its second list ofseven candidates for theAssembly elections in which allcandidates are members of theJayant Chaudhary-led the BJP of indulgingin polarisation in the run-up tothe UP polls, Chaudhary onSunday said the BJP is dri-ving a "one-gear car" that isheaded backwards, and assert-ed that the anti-Muslimrhetoric will not work as peo-ple are fed up of such alliance has fieldedRajpal Baliyan from Budhanaand Chandan Chauhan fromMeerapur, both inMuzaffarnagar district, andAshraf Ali from Thana Bhawan # A" A%C India registered 2,71,202 newCovid infections in a day - itshighest daily count in eightmonths - in the last 24 overall Covid caseloadsurged to crore on Sunday,which included 7,743 Omicronvariant cases, according to thelatest data by the Union HealthMinistry on 1,702 cases of newvariant of coronavirus in thepast day, India saw a rise per cent in its Omicrontally.

4 In the meantime, India onSunday marked the firstanniversary of the nationwidevaccination drive againstCovid-19, with over crdoses administered till India's Covid-19vaccination drive as it com-pletes a year, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi said it hasadded great strength to thefight against the pandemic andhas resulted in saving livesand protecting livelihoods. When the pandemic firststruck, not much was knownabout the virus. However, ourscientists and innovatorsimmersed themselves in devel-oping vaccines, he noted. Indiafeels proud that our nation hasbeen able to contribute tofighting the pandemic throughvaccines, Modi tweeted."It's the largest vaccinationdrive in the world. We'veadministered over 156 cr doses !" # A" A%C Many parts of north Indiacould see severe cold con-ditions and dense fog over thenext few days.

5 The IndiaMeteorological Department(IMD) on Sunday said cold dayto severe cold day conditionsare very likely over Punjab,Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi,west Uttar Pradesh, MadhyaPradesh, and Rajasthan duringthe next two days and over eastUttar Pradesh during the nextthree days. It also predicteddense to very dense fog overparts of northwest India till 19 January. Meanwhile, various regionsof north India on Sunday wit-nessed foggy conditions thatreduced visibility in parts of thecity in the early hours of theday."A fresh western distur-bance likely to affect WesternHimalayan region fromJanuary 18. Another westerndisturbance is likely to affectnorthwest India from January21," the IMD a post from its officialhandle on Twitter, the IMDwarned of isolated to scatteredrains and snowfall in severalareas and also a very dense fogcover over others, most ofthese regions being in north-west IMD has warned ofvery dense fog over Rajasthanand east Uttar Pradesh duringnext two days and dense fog inJammu division and HimachalPradesh today and tomorrow(Sunday and Monday), andover west Uttar Pradesh andnorth Madhya Pradesh duringnext two southern India, the IMDhas predicted light to moder-ate rainfall over Telangana onJanuary 16.

6 Over coastalAndhra Pradesh on January 16and 17 and over Tamil Nadu,Kerala during next three is also predicted overArunachal Pradesh, Assam,Meghalaya, Nagaland,Manipur, Mizoram and Tripuraduring on January 19 ad 20. Innorthern part, rain is likely inHimachal and Uttarakhand tillJanuary on page 2# $ % & ' ( ')' * + , - # % *- :"Former Uttar Pradesh (UP)Minister Dara SinghChauhan joined the SamajwadiParty (SP) on Sunday andaccused the BJP of ditching thebackward communities andconspiring to end the caste-based reservation system. In the presence of SP pres-ident Akhilesh Yadav,Chauhan, levelled severalcharges against the BJP and UPChief Minister Yogi Adityanathand claimed that AkhileshYadav would be the next ChiefMinister of the State.

7 RK Verma, an MLA of theBJP s ally Apna Dal (Sonelal),also joined the SP on from theMahabharata, he said that justas big masters were employedto stop Abhimanyu, similarlyefforts have been made to stopAkhilesh Yadav, but he hasovertaken everyone. Chauhantargeted the BJP Governmentand alleged that the BJP iskilling the rights of the back-ward classes and conspiring toend reservation in education -al institution for their children. All the Dalit and backwardsociety people have now beenmobilised. Nothing can stopthis tsunami now. This time inthe Assembly elections, the SPGovernment will be formedand Akhilesh Yadav will againbecome the Chief Minister," hesaid. I have joined the SP withthe honour of the ChauhanSamaj. The BJP had talkedabout development for all, butdevelopment happened for afew people.

8 A conspiracy isbeing hatched to enslave peo-ple but the backward societyhas woken up. No conspiracywill succeed," he said that Dalits andBackward people are not get-ting employment under theBJP s rule. The youth and thefarmers of the State had oncesupported the BJP, but the saf-fron party cheated them. Theyouth are being BJP will pay the price forthis. Now, people of every soci-ety are with the SP. Continued on page 2 ! "#$ % % & ' # ' ()) * # # + & ,- ,, ,../ * ) 0 ( * 12 2 ( 344 () A" A%C The World Bank GlobalEducation Director JaimeSaavedra has said there is nojustification now for keepingschools closed in view of thepandemic and even if there arenew waves, closing schoolsshould be the last , whose team hasbeen tracking the impact ofCovid-19 on the educationsector, said there is no evidencethat reopening schools hascaused a surge in coronaviruscases and that the schools arenot a "safe place".

9 He also asserted that it doesnot make sense from public-policy perspective to wait tillchildren are vaccinated as thereis "no science" behind it."There is no relationbetween opening schools andspread of coronavirus. There isno evidence linking the twoand there is no justificationnow to keep the schools if there are new waves ofCovid-19, closing schoolsshould be the last resort,"Saavedra told PTI in an inter-view from Washington."It does not make sense tokeep restaurants, bars andshopping malls open and keepschools closed. There is noexcuse," he to various sim-ulations by the World Bank,health risks for children ifschools are opened are low andthe cost of the closure isextremely high."During 2020, we werenavigating in a sea of igno-rance.

10 We just didn't knowwhat is the best way of com-bating the pandemic and theimmediate reaction of mostcountries in the world waslet's close schools. Continued on page 2. * + / 0 in a year and were able to pro-vide vaccines to over 100 coun-tries in line with our philosophyof 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam',"said ICMR Chief Dr BalramBhargava. He hoped that evenas the Covid cases are onincrease, the severity will be lessbecause of on page 2in Shamli who reportedly par-ticipated actively in the farm-ers protest against the Centre'sthree contentious farm laws. Last month top BKUleader Rakesh Tikait sent astrong message of the farmers support when he joined JayantChaudhary during the remem-brance ceremony of Jat stalwartleader and former PrimeMinister late ChaudharyCharan UP is dominatedby Jat voters and almost ahundred Assembly seats aredecided by this voter base,which is predominately +2 $ $ *C4 +4(CPunjab Chief MinisterCharanjit Singh Channihas a political rival in his ownhouse.)