bhubaneswar l sunday l january 22, 2023 l `12.00 l PAGES 26 l late city EDITION Rishi Sunak fined for not wearing seat belt Unbuckled to film video for social media Action was taken based on a video he posted on social media which showed him travelling unbuckled Not the first time he’s penalised Lancashire Police issued a fixed penalty of £100 to the Indian-origin British prime minister. In the video, produced for distribution on his social media channels, Sunak can be seen sitting in the rear seat of a moving vehicle, without wearing the seat belt. Sunak apologised for the “brief error of judgement” in removing the seat belt to film the video ■ Downing Street said Sunak will comply with the penalty He was previously fined for violating Britain’s Covid rules on social distancing, while serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer ■ Fixed penalty means Sunak can avoid a court hearing. The maximum penalty that can be imposed by a court is £500 ■ Cyrus mistry’s crash led to mandatory rear seat belts in Maharashtra CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI YouTube, Twitter Ministry cancels all WFI events as axe BBC series embattled chief Singh opens meet after govt’s fiat N a m i ta B a j pa i / F i r o z M i r z a @ Lucknow/Chennai Pa r v e z S u lta n @ New Delhi WITH THIS ISSUE The Uncommon Flu PLUS 12 PAGES The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has issued directions to block multiple YouTube videos and Twitter posts that shared links to the first part of a BBC documentary India: The Modi Question, , on the 2002 Gujarat riots. Twitter was ordered to block over 50 tweets containing links of those YouTube videos, officials said. The directions came from the Secretary I&B minis, try on Friday, who invoked emergency powers under the IT Rules, 2021. “Both YouTube and Twitter have complied with the directions,” sources added. The ministry of external affairs had a couple of days ago had trashed the docuseries produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation, saying it was a ‘propaganda piece’ that lacked objectivity and reflected its colonial mindset. While the BBC did not make it available in India, some YouTube channels appear to have uploaded it, sources said. YouTube has also been instructed to block the video if it is uploaded in future. Sources said that senior officials of multiple ministries — external affairs, home and I&B — examined the video and found it to be an attempt to cast aspersions on the authority and credibility of the Supreme Court of India. It sows divisions among various Indian communities and makes unsubstantiated allegations regarding actions of foreign governments in India, sources said. “The documentary was found to be undermining sovereignty and integrity of India, and having the potential to adversely impact India’s friendly relations with foreign States as also public order within the country said sources. ,” While the Congress and the Trinamool Congress called it censorship, a group of 302 former judges, ex-bureaucrats and veterans slammed the BBC documentary as a “motivated chargesheet”. Hours after embattled Wrestling Federation of India president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh inaugurated the Senior National Ranking Tournament in Gonda, the sports ministry asked them to stop all activities immediately . In the eye of the storm after serious allegations, including that of sexual harassment, were levelled against Singh by top wrestlers of the country he was , asked to step aside from the dayto-day functioning of the federation late on Friday night. However, the WFI chief not only inaugurated the three-day tournament as a chief guest but also witnessed the day’s action from close quarters at the venue on Saturday The ministry cracked . the whip and directed WFI to stop all activities until the oversight committee it promised to appoint is in place and takes over the day-to-day functioning of the WFI. “The ongoing ranking competition also stands cancelled,” said the ministry’s statement. “The WFI is also directed to return entry fee taken from participants...” In another decision, the ministry suspended a key official, the assistant secretary of the WFI, Vinod Tomar, with immediate effect. Late on Friday, sports minister Anurag Thakur had said that a panel Germany faces flak for denying tanks to Ukraine Germany faced a strong backlash from allies on Saturday over its refusal to supply Ukraine with its vaunted Leopard tanks to bolster its fighting capacity | P11 Express Dialogues BBC documentary an attack on India, not PM Modi, says Pradhan S N A g r a g a m i @ Bhubaneswar Slamming the latest BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Education and Skill Development Minister Dhar mendra Pradhan termed the production an attack on India. In a freewheeling chat with the editorial team of The New Indian Express, Odisha, as part of ‘Express Dialogues’, Pradhan said the fast-paced growth and progress of India under Modi has not gone down well with many sections. “I feel the documentary is not against Prime Minister Modi. It is against India. A lot of people are unable to digest the fact that India has become fifth largest economy in the world. It is creating a ripple in their mind as to how India, despite several challenges, is managing its economy , keeping inflation in control and maintaining the growth trajectory, which is around seven per Dharmendra Pradhan speaks during Express Dialogues event in Bhubaneswar | DEBADATTA MALLICK cent,” he said. Toeing the government line on the documentary exposing a “biased and blatant colonial mindset”, the minister said, “How those who have ruled us for centuries, creating discrimination, can accept India’s emergence.”‘ ‘However, the faith of people is enough for us (When faith is there. It is sufficient). The entire globe has accepted India’s empowerment under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he added. He also dismissed the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra of former Congress president and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi saying it was an effort to hold his own base and stay relevant. “I feel that with all these exercises he may enrich himself with experience. But the kind of behaviour, words and narrative he has developed in this process, I don’t see any substantial outcome from his Yatra. It is just a vacuum,” he said. Pradhan said, the people of the country are standing in solidarity with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His welfare politics, sensitive approach and the way he has envisioned India’s progress in the next 25 years is inspiring citizens, especially the youth and women. On the issues concerning his education ministry, Pradhan spoke about the NEP implementation and reiterated that corrected history will be taught to students and new books on history and other related subjects will be introduced from the next academic session. The education minister though clarified that the objective of the government was not to rewrite history, but to expand the canvas. “We don’t want to offend anyone or curtail anything. We want to draw a bigger line of history. The unsung heros of our society have to be brought to the limelight in the 21st century, which is the recommendation of NEP. We want to create global citizens, but at the same time, we cannot forget our glorious past,” he asserted. ~ The full interview will be published in The New Indian Express on Monday. It can also be accessed at: www.newindianexpress.com that will be constituted to probe the charges will submit its report within four weeks. Its members were to be announced on Saturday but the cherry-picking has been postponed by a day . All eyes will be on the emergency executive committee and special general body meeting on Sunday “Since all members are . here, we will discuss the ministry’s directive with them and also take legal opinion if need arises before going ahead with the meeting,” said V N Prasood, WFI secretary general. “The ranking tournament is cancelled as per directive and fees will be reimbursed.” Replying to the ministry’s notice on various charges, WFI earlier in the day dismissed all allegations, including sexual harassment and said the protest was motivated and P13 part of a larger plot.  Express read ISF workers, police clash in Kolkata Indian Secular Front activists clashed with police in central Kolkata on Saturday during a protest against alleged attacks on the front’s workers by Trinamool Congress in South 24 Parganas IAF combat drill along Eastern sector New Delhi: While the Chinese increased force deployment in the eastern sector of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) continues the Indian Air Force is to undergo a major Air exercise involving its every asset. This exercise, as per sources, will involve activation of all major airbases in the eastern command. The Eastern Air Command will be conducting its annual Command-level exercise during the first week of February 2023. This exercise, named Poorvi Akash, is being conducted after a gap of two years | P9 Security personnel at the site of the twin blasts in Jammu’s Narwal area | PTI Blasts in Jammu add to worry as Rahul’s Yatra to arrive in 2 days Fayaz wani @ Srinagar AT least nine persons were injured, one of them critically in , twin blasts in the outskirts of Jammu, the winter capital of J&K, where security has been tightened following Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra and ahead of the Republic Day The . Yatra is scheduled to arrive in Jammu on Monday . ADG Mukesh Singh said the blasts took place at the Transport Nagar area of Narwal in the morning. “Around 11 am, a blast took place in a Bolero vehicle. Soon after the blast, security personnel rushed to the area and launched an operation. Just as they went about their job, another blast took place, near the first site,” said Singh. The injured have been shifted to the Government Medical College Hospital in Jammu. The condition of one of them is critical. The police, CRPF and Army personnel along with other officials rushed to the spot and sealed the area. “Such dastardly acts highlight the desperation and cowardice of those responsible. No efforts should be spared to bring the perpetrators to justice,” Lt Governor Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said.