TUESDAY GALWAN WARRIORS 26 Col Bikumalla Santosh Babu (16 Bihar) awarded the Maha Vir Chakra (posthumously) for his valiant action during Galwan clashes JANUARY, 2021 Five others who were part of the same operation were given the Vir Chakra epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard twitter.com/TheMornStandard COURT FIRM NO RELIEF FOR COMEDIAN MP HC reserves orders on bail application of Munawar Faruqui and another accused PAGE 8 A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS  NEW DELHI  J8.00  PAGES 12 PARVEEN NEGI Show of strength, resolve and unity 2 lakh tractors will take part in the kisan parade today, according to farmers’ unions Each tractor can carry a maximum of five persons, including the driver; no overtaking allowed Thousands of farmers are ready with tractors at three Delhi borders - Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur Over 3,000 volunteers, including women, to manage the parade 500 women, too, are expected to drive tractors Tractor march likely to begin at 11.30 am and continue for over 12 hours Three routes decided for rally; expected to cover over 100 km in Delhi Coming up, protest on budget day, Feb 1. Farmers will march towards Parliament on foot | P9 No end to farm stir, march to Parl on Feb 1 Farmer unions say those attending tractor rally on Republic Day will march on foot to House on Union Budget Day H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh VIRTUALLY ruling out any tangible result from further talks with the government, farmer unions have hardened their position, extending the ‘tractor parade’ scheduled for tomorrow to a march to Parliament on February 1, coinciding with the Union Budget day . The two sides have held 11 rounds of talks without reaching an agreement. The Agriculture Ministry in its previous round of talks told the farmers protesting against three farm laws that its offer of suspending the laws’ implementation for a year and a half was “the best it had” and that the farm- INSIDE ers should look beyond insisting on a repeal of these laws. “The farmers who have arrived for the tractor parade will not return and will join the protest march to Parliament on Feb 1. The agitation will continue till our demands are met,” said Darshan Pal, president of the Krantikari Kisan Union. He was joined by Samyukta Kisan M o r c h a l e a d e r K av i t h a Kuruganti. “The tractor parade will demonstrate our strength. The government would know the agitation is not limited to Haryana or Punjab, it is an agitation encompassing the entire country said Pal. ,” Following police clearance, The farmers who have arrived for the tractor parade will not return and will join the protest march to Parliament on Feb 1. Agitation will continue till demands are met Darshan Pal, Krantikari Kisan Union the agitating farmers have decided to stage a ‘historic tractor parade’ on the Republic Day – around 3.50 lakh tractors have already reached Singhu and Tikri borders from Punjab and MAHARASHTRA GOVERNOR HAS TIME FOR P7 KANGANA BUT NOT FARMERS: PAWAR MHA DIRECTIVE Rumours on vaccines can lead to penal action EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi THE Centre has asked all states and Union Territories to take penal action against those spreading ‘misinformation’ and ‘ill-informed rumours’ against Covid-19 vaccines. “Penal action may be taken against the people and organisations found to have indulged in such activities, under the relevant provisions of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 and the Indian Penal Code, 1860,” Union home secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla said. Rumours are circulating on social and other media, creating doubts about the safety and efficacy of these vaccines, Bhalla said, stressing that the two vaccines cleared by India are safe. “Rumour mongering, particularly by vested interests, can create unwarranted doubts among people at large, and there is therefore, a need to check such kinds of unfounded scare mongering relating to the safety and immunogenicity of the vaccines,” Bhalla’s letter states. The home secretary urged the states to put in place a mechanism to check the spread of rumours and also asked them to promptly disseminate factual messages regarding the issues. The National Regulatory Authority declared safe two vaccines — AstraZeneca Covishield made by local partner Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin — following which India’s vaccination drive started on January 16. Doctors in some states had expressing concern over being inoculated with Covaxin, which saw a bit of controversy after it got the green light on a ‘clinical trial mode’, even though the third phase of its trials is still ongoing. Delhi soon to have herd immunity, suggests survey The report of fifth sero-prevalence survey indicated that Delhi population could be heading towards attaining herd immunity against coronavirus infection. The survey has found that in one district, 50-60 per cent of the sampled population has developed antibodies to Covid-19, according to sources | P4 Haryana, farmer leaders said. The organizers have issued a set of dos and don’ts for protestors such as the tractors will not overtake each other, trolleys will not be allowed in the parade and a maximum of five people, including the driver, can ride on each tractor. The farmer unions have deployed around 3,000 volunteers to maintain discipline during the parade. “The farmers have formed a disciplinary committee to manage the Jan 26 show, said BKU, Punjab (Lakhowal group) general secretary Harinder Singh Lakhowal. “We have an approved route plan. All unions were told to prepare a list of at CAPITAL UNDER FIVE-LAYER SECURITY COVER AHEAD P5 OF REPUBLIC DAY PARADE & FARMERS’ RALLY PADMA FOR ABE, SPB, PASWAN, GOGOI E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ New Delhi FORMER Union minister late Ram Vilas Paswan, two ex-chief ministers — late Tarun Gogoi of Assam and late Keshubhai Patel of Gujarat — renowned Islamic scholar Kalbe Sadiq and PM Narendra Modi’s former principal secretary Nripendra Mishra will be awarded Padma Bhushan, the government said on Monday . Former Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan, singer K S Chithra will also receive this year’s Padma Bhushan. Ex-Japanese PM Shinzo Abe will be among the seven recipients of Padma Vibhushan along with famous singer S P Balasubramaniam (posthumous) and SP Balasubramaniam ex-director-general of ASI B B Lal, who was part of the team which found a temple beneath the Babri mosque. Veteran table tennis player Mouma Das was among the six sportspersons awarded the PadShinzo Abe ma Shri. A total of 102 people have been honoured with the Padma Shri this year. The list includes billionaire techie Sridhar Vembu, singer Bombay Jayashri, and lyricist Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri. P Anitha, Madhavan Nambi- Ram Vilas Paswan ar, Sudha Hari Narayan Singh, Virender Singh, and K Y Venkatesh have also been awarded the prestigious award for their achievement in sports. Padma, one of the highest civilian awards conferred by the President on the eve of Republic Day every year, will be conferred on 119 people from various fields including arts, science, medicine, P7 agriculture, trade, sports, and education. JAI HIND Patriotism on silver screen to mark R-Day N A M I TA B A J PA I @ Lucknow THE administration wants patriotic fervour to be the flavour of Republic Day And it has cho. sen a unique medium to spread the message. In an order issued by L u c k n ow D i s t r i c t Magistrate Abhishek Prakash, over a dozen cinema halls and multiplexes have been asked to screen at least one patriotic movie to mark the occasion of Republic Day. The order adds that these movies should be screened for the general public at `10 per ticket. Entry should be allowed on a first-come-firstserve basis, maintaining Covid-19 protocols. The DM’s directive also mentions names of the films to be shown — Raazi, Uri: The Surgical Strike and Mission Mangal. The 13 cinema halls and multiplexes where these will be screened include Novelty, Inox, PVR, Wave, Cinepolis and Fun Cinemas. Though this is the first time that a district administration has issued such an order, theatres in Lucknow have been do- least 100 youths for volunteer duties. These 3,000 volunteers have been assigned duties. So far 3.50 lakh tractors have arrived for the parade,’’ said Lakhowal. The police, however, did not have the exact number of the tractors joining the ‘parade’. The tractor-trolleys have come from all districts of Punjab and each tractor is towing at least two trolleys and an additional tractor. Farmers from Karnal, Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Hisar, Rohtak, Fatehabad and Bhiwani in Haryana too have come driving their vehicles to the national capital. A large number of women were seen driving tractors. ing this for years. They usually run special shows of patriotic movies on curtailed rates on Republic Day and Independence Day . The cinema halls and multiplexes have readily agreed to screen these special shows, as attendance after reopening of theatres post Covid has been thin. Also, there has hardly been any fresh content to screen. Anand Tiwari, Joint Commissioner, Commercial Tax, said the only intent behind the order was to spread a sense of patriotism. It is the order of the district administration and we will abide by it. ... Who will not agree to have special shows of movies inculcating a sense of patriotism? Cinema hall owner Colonel Babu and his unit were tasked with establishing an observation post but the Chinese attacked them Maha Vir Chakra was given last time during the 1999 Kargil conflict The other five who have been given the Vir Chakra are Naib Subedar Nuduram Soren (16 Bihar Regiment), Havildar K Palani (81 Field), Havildar Tejinder Singh (3 Medium Regiment), Naik Deepak Singh (16 Bihar), Sepoy Gurtej Singh (3 Punjab). Except for Tejinder Singh, all have been awarded posthumously Vir Chakra awards are given for action in the face of enemy across the Line of Actual Control and Line of Control, whereas the Chakra series of awards are given for actions within the country A total of 20 Indian security personnel were killed in action and all have been conferred with gallantry awards which include 14 Mention in Despatches Also, Kirti Chakra given to Subedar Sanjiv Kumar (SF) posthumously. Three Shaurya Chakras were also announced. A total of 134 Sena Medals for gallantry announced | P7 MINOR FACE-OFF ON LAC, IN SIKKIM’S NAKU LA AREA M AYA N K S I N G H @ New Delhi HOURS after India and China concluded talks on resolving the months-long stand-off along the Line of Actual Control, reports of another face-off on January 20 between troops on both sides emerged, this time in north Sikkim area. “There was a minor faceoff at Nakula area of North Sikkim on January 20. It was resolved by local commanders as per established protocol,” an Army officer said, which indicates the entire border with China continues to be hot. However, the ruling Chinese party’s mouthpiece Global Times called it fake news. This was the second face-off in over eight months in the same spot at Naku La; the first one happened on May 9. Close to 100,000 Indian and Chinese troops are deployed in eastern Ladakh as both sides have been holding on to their ground and showing readiness for a long-haul, amid continuing diplomatic and military talks to find an amicable solution. Monday’s meeting of Corps Commanders of both sides went on till 2.30 am on Tuesday. A joint statement issued later stated, “The two sides agreed to push for an early disengagement of the frontline troops. They also agreed to follow the important consensus of their state leaders, maintain the good momentum of dialogue and negotiation.... The two sides agreed to continue their effective efforts in ensuring the restraint of the frontline troops, stabilise and control the situation along the LAC in the Western Sector of the China-India border, and jointly maintain peace.” In the last Corps Commander-level talks held in November, the two countries had agreed to ensure that their troops exercise restraint and avoid any misunderstanding and miscalculation along the Line of Actual Control. The discussion, however, had remained inconclusive.