English News Paper | Breaking News | Latest Today News in ......2019/04/04 · former UP Minister...

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The BJP has fielded rebelCongress MLC Dinesh

Pratap Singh against UPAchairperson Sonia Gandhifrom Rae Bareli and well-known Bhojpuri actor andsinger Dinesh Lal Yadav, aliasNirahua, against SamajwadiParty chief Akhilesh Yadavfrom Azamgarh as the rulingNDA and the Opposition par-ties set their eyes on givingtough challenges to stalwarts ofeither sides.

Prem Singh Shakya of theBJP will take on SP patriarchMulayam Singh Yadav, who hasshifted from Azamgarh toMainpuri.

In another key contest, theCongress has fielded leadingfarmer leader Nana Patoleagainst Union Minister NitinGadkari from Nagpur.

While Congress heavy-weight and former ChiefMinister Digvijay Singh hasbeen nominated from Bhopal,BJP sources said the contestmay become interesting in caseformer Chief Minister Shivraj

Singh Chouhan is fielded fromthe seat.

Another probable closecontest is shaping up at theKayastha-dominated PatnaSahib from where the BJP hasfielded Union Minister RaviShankar Prasad against whom“Bihari Babu” ShatrughanSinha, who quit BJP and like-ly to join Congress this week,is to re-contest.

Shiv Sena’s dogged oppo-sition to the BJP’s sitting MPfrom Mumbai North-East KiritSomaiya, a known critic ofSena Chief Udhav Thackrey,compelled the BJP to drophim from the contest. Theparty fielded BMC corporatorManoj Kotak in his place.

The BJP, which released its16th list, announced six can-didates which included onefrom Maharashtra (North-EastMumbai) Kotak and five fromUP including Chandra SenJadun (Firozabad), Prem SinghShakya (Mainpuri), VP Saroj(Machhlishahr SC), DineshPratap Singh, and Dinesh LalYadav.

During the day, the BJP

also inducted two SP leaders,former UP Minister Ram SakalGurjar and ex-MLA RajendraSingh, into the party withUnion Minister Piyush Goyalclaiming that their decisionshowed the Narendra ModiGovernment’s all-roundacceptability.

The party ended long-pending suspense and con-ceded to Sena’s demand whenit dropped its articulate and aprominent face from MumbaiNorth-East Somaiya and chosea lesser face and BMC corpo-rator Kotak.

Kotak, who is the groupleader of the BJP in the civicbody, would take on NationalistCongress Party (NCP) candi-date and former MP Sanjay

Dina Patil, who had lost toSomaiya in the 2014 elections.BJP-Sena together is pittedagainst Congress-NCP alliancein Maharashtra with 48 LokSabha seats. The BJP is con-testing three out of six seats inMumbai and sharing rest threewith the Sena.

Kotak’s candidature cameas a big shock to Somiaya, whohad already started gearing upfor his poll campaign. In therun-up to the 2017 BMC elec-tions, which the BJP and theSena had contested separately,Somaiya had talked about“mafia of Bandra” which wereperceived to be directed atSena president UddhavThackeray whose resident“Matoshree” is located in sub-urban Bandra.

Interestingly, Kotak wasthe first BJP leader reported tohave raised his voice against analleged multi-crore scam inthe Sena-ruled BMC.

Sena workers had threat-ened not to campaign for theBJP if Somaiya was repeatedfrom the constituency. Somaiyahad won Mumbai North-East

Lok Sabha seat in 1999 and2014.

Commenting on denial ofticket to Somaiya, BJPspokesperson MadhavBhandari said all decisionsrelated to fielding candidatesare taken by the party’s CentralParliamentary Board.

“A lot of thought processgoes into selection of a candi-date. Only our national presi-dent can comment over whySomaiyaji is not fielded thistime,” Bhandari said.

Senior BJP leader VinodTawde said the decision todeny ticket to Somaiya wastaken considering the “groundrealities”.

Out of the six Assemblyconstituencies in Mumbai,three segments are currentlyheld by the BJP, while the Senaand the Samajwadi Party holdtwo seats and one seat, respec-tively.

The BJP has renominatedits MPs from Mumbai Northand Mumbai North Centralseats but put delete button onSomaiya’s candidature on Sena’sinsistence.

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Ahot Wednesday noon sawPrime Minister Narendra

Modi firing a broadside atBengal Chief Minister MamataBanerjee and the Congress fortrying to “weaken and demean”the armed forces, tramplingBengal under dynastic rules,and perpetrating a corruptregimes. Modi called Mamata“speed breaker” in the path ofdevelopment.

Addressing two mammothrallies — one at Siliguri inNorth Bengal from where hekick-started his election cam-paign for the State, and the sec-ond under a sweltering-hotsun at the Brigade ParadeGround in Kolkata — thePrime Minister said “India” andmore so “Bengal” have beentrampled by dynastic rules.

In an apparent reference tothe Congress high command,he said, “One dynasty is somuch tainted by corruptionthat the entire family has to becurrently out on bail.” He wenton to add, “A dynasty of aunt-and-nephew (TMC MPAbhishek Banerjee) has tram-pled Bengal like never beforewhich is why the people of thisState have made up their mindto throw them out once and forever.”

Wondering as to why thesegrand alliance of “the thugs” areafter him shouting ‘Modi hatao’(oust Modi), the PrimeMinister asked: “Is that becauseI have committed the sinsstrengthening the armed forces,letting the armed forces tostrike at the heartland of terrorin Pakistan, or encouraging thescientists to test the anti-satel-lite system catapulting Indiaamong the most powerfulnations of the world which hasof late been watching us with

dismay?”He wondered whether they

are targeting him because hisGovernment gave homes,cooking gas, toilets to the pooror made the dreams of com-mon Indians come true.

Attacking Mamata for run-ning a Government of chitfund scamsters Modi said, “Youhave a Didi in Bengal who actsas the speed-breaker in the pathof the State’s development bynot allowing the Centralschemes to reach the commonhouseholds. Now a time hascome when this speed-break-er has to be removed. I amwaiting for this speed-breakerto go so that development cangather speed and poverty iseliminated. If poverty is elim-inated Didi’s policies will bescrapped.”

On the ponzi scam he said,“Didi’s Ministers, officials andaides ran away with the moneyof my poor brothers and sisters.They have looted the poorpeople,” adding everyone willfinally be brought to book.

Resurrecting the issue ofBalakot air strike, the PrimeMinister said the Oppositionparties, including the Congressand Mamata’s TMC, went aboutinsulting our armed forces bydemanding the proof of air attack in Pakistan terrorcamps.

“At a time when hisGovernment was trying tostrengthen the armed forcesputting it back on the path ofglory, the Congress is trying toweaken it by promising toscrap Armed Forces SpecialPower Act in Jammu &Kashmir like they have done toTADA, POTA etc,” Modi saidattacking the 10 Janpath forcompromising on the country’ssecurity. “It seems that theCongress is so much annoyedwith the chowkidars (watch-men of which he claims to beone) that they are now tryingto take it out even on thearmed forces,” Modi said.

Contesting alone the BJP istargeting “at least 42 seats”from Bengal.

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In a fierce counter-attack,Bengal Chief Minister

Mamata Banerjee on Thursdaycalled Narendra Modi a liar ofthe first order whose term inhis office had already expiredmaking him fit to be called an“expiry babu”.

Mamata said, “If Modi andhis fascist party returned topower, they will permanentlydismantle democracy fromIndia.”

Throwing an “open chal-lenge” and inviting the PrimeMinister in a nationally tele-vised debate, Mamata said,“You (PM) are a liar who ped-dles falsehood to win elec-tions.”

Wondering why the PrimeMinister was not being actedupon for breaking the electoralmodel code by raising issuesrelated to the armed forces,Mamata asked, “Why the IndiaArmy should be called a ModiSena. There an Army jawansacrifices his life, gives hisblood for the security of thiscountry and here a politicianuses that sacrifice for politicalpurposes.”

She said, “Modi is trying touse air strike and surgical strikefor votes, now he will see ‘vot-ers’ strike’ that will throw himout of power.”

Attacking the PrimeMinister for questioning thepatriotism of the Oppositionparties, Mamata said, “You callyourself a chowkidar, but youare actually a fascist, who willruin the country’s democratictradition if allowed to retainpower for the second time.”

Returning fire on patrio-tism, she said, “Modi questionsour credentials but I ask youwhose friends murdered

Gandhiji adding “we will nottake lessons of nationalismfrom you.”

Addressing a massive elec-tion rally at Dinhata inCoochbehar bordering Assam,she said, “If he (Modi) and hisparty (BJP) come to then theywill devour democracy inIndia. There will be no election,no right of common man,”adding, “I am being targeted somuch because I am raising theright issues and telling you thetruth.”

Attacking the PrimeMinister for blaming Mamatafor promoting chit fund culturein Bengal, she said he is bliss-fully forgetting about theDeputy Chief Minister ofAssam whose name is alsothere in the list.”

Attacking the PrimeMinister for leading the partyof looters, she said, “All the chitfund wallas and criminals havecrossed over to BJP.”

She also pointed out thataccording to a CBI chargesheet,the BJP candidate ofCoochbehar Nishit Pramanik(a former TMC leader) wasrunning multiple cases ofhuman trafficking,” dacoityetc., against his name.

Attacking the PrimeMinister for spreading lies theBengal Chief Minister said, “Iam ashamed to think of aPrime Minister who only ped-dles lies not only about theOpposition but also his claimedsuccesses.”

She said, “during the BJPregime India lost 1 crore jobsdue to demonetisation andGST whereas in Bengal we cre-ated 40 lakh new jobs.”

She said, “I challenge himto join me in an open debateand then I will see him. I havebrought the charges againsthim let them file a defamationcase against me and I will facethem.”

On the Central schemes,she said, “Most schemes thatthe Prime Minister was vouch-ing for was imitated fromBengal.”

In most cases “from ruralhousing, to power, to 100-daywork, Kanyashree, to free med-ical treatment, Bengal hasranked first, according to theCentral Government’s recordsand the Prime Minister isclaiming those successes as hisown,” she said adding Modiwith his “56 inches chest isspreading 560 lies.”

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Biju Janata Dal (BJD) supre-mo and Chief Minister

Naveen Patnaik hitting thecampaign trail in Ganjam dis-trict for the ensuing electionson Wednesday lashedout at the BJP-led CentralGovernment.

Patnaik described the BJPCentral leaders as ‘seasonalbirds’, who make a beeline toOdisha only during elections.

“Where were the Centralleaders when Cyclones Phailin,Hudhud and Titli and evendrought hit Odisha? Now thatit’s election time, they are vis-iting the State seeking votes,” hesaid.

Prior to setting off for a 60-km road show from here toRambha in a customised bus,at a public meeting at Kanishi,Patnaik slammed the Centrefor its negligence and failure tokeep promises made forOdisha.

He accused the Centre ofneglecting Odisha whether it isnatural disasters or grantingspecial category status to theState.

“Where is special categorystatus? Where is the Women’sReservation Bill? Where isfarmers’ insurance? Why didnot Odisha receive any coop-eration and help from Centre, he asked saying, “Nowthe top BJP leaders are shed-ding crocodile tears. They arecoming during elections andforgetting Odisha after elec-tions.”

He said that the Centre hadnever stood by the people ofOdisha when they were facing the nature’s furyduring and after a series ofcyclonic storms that devastat-ed the State.

“Why Centre discontin-ued scholarship scheme meantfor ST and SC students? Whereis 10 crore employment toyouth in five years?” he ques-tioned.

“However, I was with youand will be with you,” he said,adding, “4.5 crore Odias are myfamily.”

Speaking about the KALIAscheme, he said, “Around 40lakh farmers have benefited sofar and 20 lakh more have beenadded to the list in Odisha.”

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The thumb rule principlesays ‘reject those political

pinheads who have no sense oflaw or norm in the first place.

The headless contestantswho keep loudspeakers blast-ing above 55 decibels in pub-lic and spoil public and privatespace including walls withposters showing pictures ofglamorously photographedfaces smiling like slaves, handsfolded, be rejected first as theyare lawless crooks likely tobreak more rules and normswhen in power.

Further, any candidateusing women and children intheir rallies and processionshave to be dismissed as unwor-thy creatures on grounds ofbeing heartless.

More than all this, the

ones that come on door visitswith tall promises and blamingthe rest of the world be dis-carded right away.

Those who organise topush lunches or dinners intotheir stomachs at poorhouseholds in full media glareare to be judged as theatricalcharacters only masqueradingas do-gooders which they arenot, be to thrown out of themind.

The last sinister act theyresort to is bribing gulliblevoters, particularly in the urbanslums and backward ruralpockets to extract commit-ment to vote in favour. In suchevents, better eat up the moneyand vote in favour of the bestchoice.

Interestingly, the momentpolls were announced, as manyas 149 new political partiescropped up within a month tofight elections. ‘Bharosa Party',‘Sabsi Badi Party' and‘Rashtriya Saaf Niti Party' aresome of the 2,300-odd onesthat India is forced to witnesson the eve of the general elec-tions.

The Election Commissionof India declares there are2,293 registered parties includ-ing seven recognised nationaland 59 regional parties.

The Modi Government hasto face strength-gainingCongress all over and a num-ber of extremely popularregional outfits across east,west and south India. Modiseems to have realised that thetwo big economic reforms heslapped on the people didresult in grave economic dis-tress.

Demonetisation billed asan anti-corruption measuredid not go well with the mass-es. Terror activities did notdiminish nor was black moneyrecovered.

Lack of foresight resultedin poor implementation: newnotes had strange sizes. So,ATMs had to be recalibrated,causing inordinate delays,which deepened the shock fur-ther more.

Economic activity in theinformal, cash-based economyliterally froze, leading toirreparable private and publicloss on countless fronts.

This hurt small businessesand workers throughout theinformal sector.

The second shock calledthe GST is not yet in place onlybecause of poor executionwithout adequate prior orien-tation among the officials aswell the public.

Voters do not seem to findthe BJP’s return exciting or joy-ous as its religious nationalism-based agenda is distressing.Ram Temple, cow vigilantism,hatred for marginally-risingMuslim population andextremely indecent propagan-da with morphed and doctoredaudiovisual products have irkedsane Indians.

SOME TIPS TO ASSESSBAD LEADERS:

�Anyone without vision ashe will fail in doing good as hecannot inspire teams, motivateperformance or create sustain-able value.

�One who lacks characteror integrity will not endure thetest of time. It doesn’t matterhow intelligent, affable, per-suasive or savvy a person is ifone is prone to rationalisingunethical behaviour.

�Nothing smacks of poorleadership like lack of perfor-mance. Nobody is perfect, butthose who consistently fail arenot leaders. Someone who hasconsistently experienced suc-cess in leadership roles betterbe reconsidered.

�The worst is the ‘know-

it-all’ guys. The best leaders areacutely aware of how muchthey don’t know. They have noneed to be the smartest personsin the room but have theunyielding desire to learn fromothers.

�When there is a problemof communication, there istrouble. When leaders are con-stantly flummoxed by thosewho don’t seem to get it, thereexists a leadership problem.Great leaders can communicateeffectively across mediums,constituencies and environ-ments. They are active listen-ers, fluid thinkers and knowwhen to listen more than talk

�If a leader doesn’t under-stand the concept of ‘serviceabove self ', he will not everbuild the trust, confidence andloyalty of those he leads.Display of ego, pride, and arro-gance is a most terrible trait.Real leaders invariably takethe blame and give the credit toothers.

� Failed leaders as a class,suffer from lack of, misplaced,or misguided love, which con-tribute greatly to failures.Empathy, humility and com-passion are magnificent signs of

leadership strength.�The best leaders are flex-

ible in their approach. Theyunderstand the power of situ-ational leadership. The highwayleadership styles don’t playwell in today’s world. It willonly result in a fractured cul-ture and, ultimately, a non-pro-ductive nation, region or com-munity. Only those who canquickly recognise and adapttheir methods to the situationat hand will be successful overthe long haul. Real leadersbelieve in open-source notproprietary, surrender not con-trol and, of course, collabora-tion not dictatorial methods.

� Leadership is less aboutbalance and more about prior-ity. The best leaders are ruth-less in their pursuit of focus.Those who lack the focus andattention to detail will perish.

�Political leaders not pay-ing attention to the voters whochose him are plain crooks.Successful leaders focus on thevoters' feelings, which in turnleads to satisfaction and loyal-ty.

�Real leaders are account-able. They don’t blame others,don’t claim credit for the suc-cess of their team but alwaysaccept responsibility for failuresof any kind.

Unfortunately, most of thequalities and traits havebecome completely invisibleamong the modern-day Indianpoliticians. The majority ofthem enter the lawmakinghouses by guile and machina-tions. Only a miniscule few arechosen by the masses for self-less service.

Lately, only goons andhoodlums have been seen asthe core strength of contestingpoliticians who find it easy togarner votes by intimidationtricks.

Though after the advent ofthe immensely potent socialmedia having come in placedue to magical informationtechnology inventions like thesmartphone, people havebecome a great deal smarter toknow who is the devil and whothe saint, not much structuralreforms have happened to havecrooks discarded by appropri-ate auto systems.

This year around, 45 sittingMLAs and three MPs havedeclared criminal cases relatingto women victimisationaccording to a report by theAssociation for DemocraticReforms.

The ruling BJP has thehighest number, followed byShiv Sena; the Trinamool

Congress is third; the TeluguDesam Party is just below.

The Congress and the BijuJanata Dal (BJD) are at the bot-tom of the list with only foureach criminally accused ‘powerpoliticians'.

Pollsters seem to have beenhired to sing praises for theModi Government. They haveforecast incredibly wild victo-ry numbers for the BJP stillclinging to the Ram Templeissue, which is not constitu-tionally acceptable.

The BJP has lost much ifthe Hindi, nay, ‘Hindu' heart-land. Rajasthan, UP, MP andChhattisgarh are gone. Goa istoday virtually non-BJP. Thesouthern States are in a com-manding position with theirpowerful regional outfits.Eastern States of West Bengaland Odisha are formidablypositioned.

As enigmatically as ever,the BJD, led by Naveen Patnaik,is virtually invincible. The fore-cast for Odisha is the BJDshall lead with at least 90MLAs and 16 MPs. The pri-mary reason for a BJD come-back is the dedicated cadres atthe grassroots.

(The writer is a core mem-ber of TransparencyInternational, Odisha)

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Former Chief GeneralManager (CGM) of the

National Bank for Agricultureand Rural Development(Nabard) KC Panigrahi madehis foray into politics by join-ing the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP).

He joined the BJP at theState party headquarters hereon Tuesday in the presence of

Union Minister DharmendraPradhan, partynational vice-presidentBaijayant Panda and seniorleader Damodar Rout.

“I will utilise my 35 yearsof expertise in the Nabard toserve the rural poor in theState. I will be directly in touchwith the people in the days tocome,” Panigrahi, who hadretired as the Nabard CGM sixmonths ago, said.

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BHUBANESWAR: Even asthe Congress announced himas its candidate for the BeguniaAssembly seat, Prithvi BallabhPatnaik, son of late formerChief Minister Janaki BallabhPatnaik, refused to contest cit-ing “personal” reason.

“Prithvi is unwilling tocontest from the BeguniaAssembly seat in 2019 elec-tions,” PCC president NiranjanPatnaik told reporters onWednesday.

Prithvi’s name figured inthe list of nine Assembly can-didates along with two LokSabha candidates announcedby the central election com-mittee (CEC) of the All IndiaCongress Committee late onTuesday night.

He had to take on BJD’sRajendra Kumar Sahoo andBJP’s Risabh Nanda. However,

his denial has put the CongressCEC in an awkward situationin selection of anotherwinnable candidate for theAssembly segment.

The other eight Assemblycandidates are: Baleswar-Manas Das Patnaik,Dharmasala- Smruti RekhaPahi, Jajpur- Santosh KumarNanda, Hindol- TrinathBehera, Kamakhyanagar-Bhabani Shankar Mohapatra,Baramba- Bobby Mohanty,Paradip- Arindam (Bapi)Sarkhe and Pipili- YudhisthirSamantaray.

The two Lok Sabha candi-dates are: Jajpur- Manas Jenaand Cuttack- PanchananKanungo. PNS

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To make this year’s electiontheme ‘Accessible Elections

in India’ a success, Swabhimanchief executive and OdishaState Disability Network(OSDN) chief convenor DrSruti Mohapatra has requestedState Chief Electoral OfficerSurendra Kumar to provide therelevant documents, notifica-tions and circulars to be shownat the district, block, Tehsil,municipality and panchayatlevels for availing the facilitiesfor the differently-abled voters.

Mohapatra in a letter to theCEO has sought the responseabout the facilities taken fordisabled voters like ramps,

drinking water, adequate fur-niture, medical kits, properlighting and electricity,helpdesks to guide to rightpolling booths, proper signageboards, toilets, separate queuesand Braille facilities for visual-ly-impaired people.

Addressing a Press meethere on Wednesday, Mohapatrasaid there is not a single nodalperson in a District Collector'soffice or in block offices whowould listen to issues and clar-ify doubts. Will 2019 be anoth-er year of lost citizenshipopportunity for voters withdisabilities, she questioned.

Even if the elections inOdisha would commence inabout a week’s time and over 40lakh voters with disabilities

are eligible to cast their vote,this seems a faraway dream asmany who are eligible to votehave not registered themselvesnor are aware of the existingfacilities committed by ECI,Mohapatra said.

She also alleged that no dis-trict-level Accessible Elections

Committee has been formedand facilities to ensure acces-sible voting for all are way offthe mark. Even 90 per cent ofthe persons with disabilities(PwDs) are not aware of thetheme and there is lack ofpolitical commitments forthem, she said.

She has also asked theCEO about what steps havebeen taken to take the messageof accessible elections to voterswith disabilities in rural areasand interior pockets of theState as there are no hoardings,published materials, specialhelpline and other facilities as

per the RPwD Act 2016.The CEO was also urged

for transportation facilities forPwDs, nodal person at differ-ent levels, pickup points inrural areas, list of volunteerswho would assist the votersduring polling and other issues.

Mohapatra also sought thedata of the Systematic VotersEducation and ElectoralParticipation (SVEEP) aware-ness programme for the visu-ally-impaired, how manyEVMs with Braille featureshave been procured by theCEO.

Lastly, she said the relevantdocuments, notification andcirculars provided by the CEOwould be helpful for the vol-unteers at the district, block,tehsil, municipality and pan-chayat levels to show therespective officers as they arenot listening to the issues andclarifying the doubts.

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Awoman attempted self-immolation outside the

Naveen Niwas, the residence ofChief Minister Naveen Patnaik,here on Wednesday.

She alleged that that shewas sexually harassed by BJDcandidate Srinath Soren of theUdala Assembly constituencyin Mayurbhanj district. Theidentity of the woman was yetto be ascertained.

However, security person-nel deployed outside the Chief

Minister’s residence rescuedher when she tried to pourpetrol on her and tried to sether afire.

She was taken into custodyby police and sent to theCapital Hospital.

The woman alleged that

she was sexually harassed bySoren, following which shehad brought the matter to thenotice of police earlier. Thewoman further said she decid-ed to take the extreme step asno action was taken against theaccused.

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The Congress on Wednesdayslammed the State

Government for failing to effectdevelopment in the agriculturesector and provide support tofarmers during the last 19 years.

“While more than 60 percent of the State’s population isdependent on agriculture, theBJD Government has done lit-tle for them. Almost 4,000 farm-ers committed suicide duringthe period of the Naveen PatnaikGovernment. Per capita incomeof farmers is �33,000 in Odisha

compared to national average of�45,000,” said PCC vice-presi-dent Aryakumar Jnanedra at aPress meet here.

He said farmers are notgetting the right price for theirproduce and they are selling landto pay off their loans.

Jnanendra said Governmentlaunched KALIA Yojana to rubsalt on the wounds of the farmer.

The State's allocation toagriculture has increased byonly 10 per cent during the lastthree years compared to morethan 30 per cent in the rest of thecountry.

Similarly, budgetary alloca-tion for irrigation grew by only7 per cent compared to nation-al average of 21 per cent.

The Chief Minister is onlyfooling people through promis-es and propaganda, Jnanendraalleged.

Quoting from the State’sEconomic Survey, he said,“There is over-dependence onrain-fed farming, inadequateirrigation coverage, low level ofcapital formation, over-depen-dence on paddy cultivation andslow pace of modernization inagriculture sector in the State.”

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Puri BJD MP Pinaki Misra, who has been re-nominated for this election, on Wednesday

challenged his BJP rival Dr Sambit Patra for aone-to-one debate over his (Misra’s) perfor-mance in Parliament in last five years.

Misra reacted to Patra’s campaigning that theformer’s performance record as an MP is poor.He said Patra should debate with him to knowhow many questions he has asked in Lok Sabhaas a representative from Puri.

Misra said Patra is ignorant aboutParliamentary affairs and is only engaged in thehot discussions in television.

Misra told this to reporters after filing his

nomination papers before the district Collector.Sitting MLA and Minister Moheswar

Mohanty and Lalitendu Bidhyadhar Mohapatraalso filed their nomination papers before theSub-Collector as BJD and BJP candidates fortheir respective Puri Sadar and BrahamgiriAssembly seats.

Pinaki Misra said that from the doubling ofthe Puri-Khurda railway line to Amruta andHriday scheme, he was the one who sanctionedRs 50 crore of Central funds for the NabakalebarYatra in 2015.

Among thousands of questions in theParliament on issues of Odisha, he has raisednearly 80 to 100 questions on those of Puri andthe Jaganath Temple.

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The All India CongressCommittee (AICC) on

Wednesday announced anoth-er list of party candidates forone Lok Sabha and nine Assembly seats in theState for the upcoming elec-tions.

According to the list, for-mer PCC president and formerBalangir MP Sarat Pattanayakwill fight polls from theSambalpur Parliamentary con-

stituency.PCC president Niranjan

Patnaik was namedfor the Ghashipura Assembly seat (where he hasalready filed his nomination onTuesday), Itish Pradhan for Bhubaneswar-North. PradeepSahoo was named for the Begunia seat afterPrithvi Ballabh Patnaik refusedto contest from there.

The other Assembly can-didates are: Sambalpur- DrAshwini Pujahri, CuttackChoudwar- Jagdish Mohanty, Cuttack Sadar-Abhisek Mahanda, Jaydev-Sukanta Tiadi Bhoi,Bhubaneswar Central- RajibPatnaik and Chilika- PradeepSwain.

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The BJD on Wednesdayalleged before Chief

Electoral Officer SurendraKumar that BJP KendrapadaMP candidate Baijayant Pandaviolated election code of con-duct by using non-commercialhelicopters for his electioncampaigning.

“Panda has been usinghelicopters owned by theLMFA company for his election

campaigning. These helicoptersdo not have commercial char-ter which is mandated as perthe Election Commissionguidelines. In the absence of thecommercial charter, both theIMFA company as well asPanda would be guilty of hav-ing violated ElectionCommission guidelines. Werequest you to kindly look intothe matter urgently and takestrong action in this regard,” aBJD team urged the CEO.

Spokespersons Sulata Deo,Lenin Mohanty and SasmitPatra met the CEO and hand-ed over a complaint to him.

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True to his words, Biju JanataDal (BJD) supremo Naveen

Patnaik has fielded womencandidates in 33 per cent of the21 Lok Sabha seats for theensuing elections in the State.

Patnaik’s regional party,which aims to come to powerfor a record fifth time in theState, has put up seven womenconstituting one-third of thecandidates, considered a first inthe history of Indian electoralpolitics.

In this respect, Patnaikhad thrown the gauntlet for theopposition parties to follow thesuit. However, it is highlyunlikely that the BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP) and theCongress will get even closer to

the BJD’s percentage of womennominees.

The seven women nomi-nees of the conch party are:

Kausalya Hikaka-Koraput:She is wife of sitting KoraputMP Jhina Hikaka, She hasreplaced her husband in theconstituency and is contestingagainst Jayaram Pangi of BJP

and Saptagiri Ulaka ofCongress.

Pramila Bisoi-Aska: Theseptuagenarian woman knownfor spearheading the Self-HelpGroup (SHG) movement in theState is contesting against AnitaPriyadarshini of BJP andRamakrushna Panda of CPI.

Sunita Biswal-Sundargarh:

Daughter of formerChief Minister andCongress leaderHemananda Biswal,Sunita is the debutantface of BJD in thiswestern Odisha par-liamentary con-stituency. She quitthe Congress andjoined the BJD lastmonth. She is pittedagainst UnionMinister Jual Oram

of BJP and Congress leaderGeorge Tirkey. ChandraniMurmu-Keonjhar: This youngtechnocrat is making her debutin politics. She is the grand-daughter of former KeonjharMP Harihar Soren and wasnominated as the BJD candi-date the day she joined theparty. Her rivals are BJP’s

Ananta Nayak and Congress’Fakir Mohan Naik.

Dr Rajashree Mallick-Jagatsinghpur: This sittingMLA of Tirtol, a pathologydoctor, is contesting againstnewbie Pratima Mallick ofCongress. The BJP is yet todeclare its candidate for thisseat.

Sarmistha Sethi-Jajpur: Sherecently resigned from theOdisha Administrative Service(OAS) to contest elections. Sheis being pitted against AmiyaMallick of BJP and Manas Jenaof Congress.

Manjulata Mandal-Bhadrak: She is the spouse ofsitting Dhamnagar MLAMuktikanta Mandal. She willlock horns with BJP’sAbhimanyu Sethi andCongress’ Madhumita Sethi.

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Launching an emotionalappeal to the people

through media, Congress can-didate and former UnionMinister KP Singh Deo saidthis would be his last electoralbattle of life to complete theincomplete work which he hadstarted in the Dhenkanal LokSabha constituency.

Even though he was notwilling to enter into the fray thistime due to old age and ill health,

he could not defy the party’sdecision as he always behaved asa disciplined soldier of the party.But his winning possibilitydepends on the voters, he said.

Sing Deo claimed that set-ting up of the Nalco in undi-vided Dhenkanal district waspossible only for him after hisapproach to former PM lateIndira Gandhi. Apart from theSaranga Dhara Setu betweenDhenkanal and

Kamakhyanagar, installationof the Joranda Radio Station,low power transmission centre,science centre, IIMC, SAISports Hostel, KV and KrushiGabesana Kendra at Kadalipaland Khinda were his achieve-ments when he was a UnionMinister, he told.

However, Singh Deoexpressed concern that theAngul-Sukinda railway trackvia Kamakhyanagar which wasinitiated by him when RamvilasPaswan was the RailwayMinister has not been com-pleted yet.

Singh Deo filed his nomi-nation papers on the day withthe Returning Officer inDhenkanal coming in a rallyfrom the Gandhi Mandir.

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Continuing protest againstcandidature of Prasant

Muduli for the JagatsingpurAssembly seat, thousands ofBJD activists moved in a rallyfrom Gopal Sagar to the BijuPatnaik chhak in Jagatsinghpurtown on Wednesday.

The activists demandedthat BJD supremo NaveenPatnaik soon cancel the ticketof Prasant Muduli and fieldJagatsingpur BYJD presidentAmarendra Das instead. Theactivists garlanded the statue ofBijubabu on reaching the BijuPatnaik chhak.

BJD activists fromJagatsinghpur block, Naugaon

block and Jagatsinghpur townparticipated in the rally.

Among others, BJD districtvice-president Dipti Das, blockpresident Monoj Bhoi, MinatiDas, Madhu Sudarn Sahoo,Dola Gobinda Das, SarpanchChitaranjan Roul, BhramarbarSahoo, Rangadhar Bhoi,

Swarup Mohanty, Ansar Alli,ZP member Manju Mallick,Kiranbala Sasmal, BilasiniDebi, Subal Behera, Naugaoblock president Sujit Mallick,working president PrabhuCharan Das, Kalandi Pati,Ajaya Swain and Aranya Nayakparticipated.

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The State has collected an all-time high revenue of

�10,294.39 crore from the min-eral sector during the year2018-19, according to theIntegrated FinancialManagement System (IMFS)statistics.

In 2017-18, generation ofnontax revenue from the min-eral sector was �6,130 crore.

Total mineral productionreached 289.55 million tonneduring 2018-19 against 270.84MT during 2017-18.

The output of 2018-19includes 118 MT iron ore,against 105 MT in the preced-ing year.

Similarly, permitted dis-patch touched 140.9 MTagainst 125.9 MT during 2017-

18.Hikes in demand and price

in the international markethas helped Odisha to producemore minerals and generatemore revenue.

Experts said that the glob-al industry expects the demandto go up, which would supporta positive price outlook for theindustry.

In the country, domesticiron ore supplies would exceedthe demand by around 25 MT,and the situation is unlikely tochange materially in FY 2019-20, by end of which most of themerchant mining leases wouldexpire.

The total iron ore require-ment in India for Financial Year2018-19 was 201.2 MT, whilethe estimated domestic iron oreproduction is 210 MT, saidsources. Increased productionin Odisha during thelast fiscal could offset theproduction loss in Goa due toregulatory issues, said anexpert.

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Tension prevailed atJamusahi here following a

group clash between residentsof two colonies in the area lateon Tuesday night.

According to sources, agroup of 25 people barged intothe nearby colony of a rivalgroup and hurled bombs atsome houses in the locality.

While several houses sus-

tained damages during theincident, cars and some othervehicles were also reduced toashes in the attack.

Getting information, theTown police rushed to the spotand brought the situationunder control.

Sources said that palpabletension was prevailing in thearea over the past few daysowing to some dispute related to ‘Dola Melana’but the situation turned volatileon Tuesday.

The district administrationhas deployed police forces inthe area to prevent any furtherflare-ups. .

BHUBANESWAR: As many as35 students of the DAV PublicSchool, Chandrasekharpurhere, the highest numberamong all categories of schools,qualified in the State-levelNational Talent SearchExamination (NTSE) con-ducted by the SCERT under theaegis of NCERT in November2018.

Total 277 students from allcategories of schools have beenselected for the final nationalround of the NTSE whichwould be conducted in June.The DAV Chandrasekharpurhas been bagging a lion's sharein both the NTSE and KVPYover the last two decades. Themeritorious students willdirectly take admission in theprestigious institutions of thecountry with lofty scholar-ships. School authorities con-gratulated the students andI/C teacher Dr SarbadamanSingh for the success andwished good luck for thenational round. PNS

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Vigilance officials appre-hended a Regulated

Market Committee (RMC)Accountant in Keonjhar districtfor taking bribe on Wednesday.

Janardan Prusty of theChampua RMC was arrestedfor taking bribe amounting to�5,000 from the widow of aretired employee of the samedepartment.

Ghumura Market GuardHarekrushna Mohanta retiredfrom service in 2014. Hiswidow Binita Mohantaapproached the ChampuaRMC for clearance of dues. ButAccountant Prusty demanded�10,000 for this.

After negotiation, anamount of �5,000 was fixed byboth parties. However, Binitaapproached the Vigilance department and informed them about thedemand of bribe.

The vigilance team laid atrap and caught Prusty red-handed in the act of accepting

the bribe. The raid was led by Vigilance DSP Debadutta Seth.

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Juvenile Justice Board, Jagatsinghpur, PrincipalMagistrate PK Pradhan and Member, Mamata

Das while delivering a judgment, acquitted aminor in a criminal case and observed the teenaged girl had incorrectly been implicated in thecase.

The prosecution failed to adduce evidencesagainst her during the trial.

Reports said that Balikuda police station IICAjaya Chandra Muduli had lodged an FIRagainst the 16- year-old accused alleging she hadwaylaid and misbehaved with police personnel

while executing a pending warrant against hermother on December 23, 2016.

On the day, a police team led by complainantIIC Muduli had gone to village Gaithipurunder Balikuda area to arrest Sabita Padhi onthe basis of a SDJM Court order and followinginstruction of the SP.

On seeing police, the accused, accompaniedby her supporters, waylaid the police. Later, theychased the police with lathi.

Police registered a criminal case against theaccused under various sections of the IPC andthe trial of the case had taken up in JJ Board,Jagatsinghpur.

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At a time when electioncampaigning has picked

up momentum and candidatesfrom different parties are solic-iting for votes, a poor elderlywoman of Sundargarh districtalong with her three grandsons,have no food to eat and arestruggling for survival.

Upasi Karta (80) resides inTalsara village under Birbirapanchayat in Sadar block.

Upasi was living with her hus-band, two sons and two daugh-ters. Her husband died 13years ago and ever since Upasihad to face lot of difficulties forupbringing of her four chil-dren.

Upasi managed to organsemarriage of her two sons andtwo daughters.

Her younger son Krishnadied after falling from a trainat Jharsuguda five years ago.

After the death of Krishna,his wife left Upasi's house andwent to her parents’ house.Upasi’s another daughter-in-law Sushila(wife of elder son ofThabir) suddenly died due toillness two years ago.

After three months of

death of Sushila, Thabir died.After losing two sons and adaughter-in-law, Upasi wascompletely broken.

Three minor sons ofThabir and Sushila, whobecame orphans, are livingwith grandmother. But the oldwoman has no income to feedher three grandsons and allfour have been struggling forsurvival.

On Monday when Upasiheard election campaigning ofpolitical parties with party can-didates, she ran out of herhouse to tell them about herplight but in vain.

With much difficulty, shecould tell it to a candidate con-testing election but her voicewas suppressed with the soundof election campaigning andthe politicians had no time stopthere.

“I am completely shatteredhaving no income. I do notknow how my three grandsonswill survive,” said Upasi in achocked voice. “These politi-cians are asking for vote butthey do not have time to listento my sorrow,” she added.

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The Congress and BSP can-didates filed their nomina-

tion papers in Pallahara onWednesday with huge rallies.

Subrat Garnayak ofCongress came with support-ers of about 2,000.

The road show coveredaround the Pallahara town.His rally covered from the local Shiv temple andpassed through Gopabandhuchowk and reached at EROcum Sub Collector, Pallaharaoffice.

The Kaniha block presi-dent and all the veteran lead-ers of Congress party ofPallahara constituency werepresent Similarly,

BSP candidate BinodBihari Boita filed his nomina-

tion papers with supportersand proposers.

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The Jatni police onWednesday busted a brown

sugar racket and apprehendedtwo persons from Bali Chakkin Mundia Sahi of Khordha.

The accused duo was iden-tified as Sk Farid (26) and SkChand (22).

The cops seized brownsugar along with some cash, afirearm and a live bullet fromtheir possession. Acting onreliable information about the

presence of the peddlers in thearea, officials conducted a raidat a street near Irani Masjid atBalichhak of Mundia Sahi andnabbed the duo.

The officials seized 20grams of brown sugar fromtheir possession. Cops alsoseized four mobile phones,one single shotgun of boresize 7.62 mm loaded with oneround live ammunition and �2,30,000 in cash. Two motorcy-cles were also seized fromthem.

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A32-year-old woman suf-fered critical injuries after

she was attacked by youth forspurning his love proposal at Darjipkhari vil-lage under the Sahadevkhuntapolice station on Tuesdayevening.

The accused was identifiedas Prasant Dalei. The victim,who was estranged by her hus-band, was attacked when she

was on her way home.According to sources, the

victim was staying atDarjipokhari and earning herlivelihood by cooking food ina private mess.

As she turned down Daleiproposal, the youth attackedthe woman on her face with aknife and slit

her throat. Hearing herscreams, some locals rushed tothe spot and nabbed theaccused.

They severely thrashed theyouth before handing him overto police.

Both the woman and theaccused have been hospitalised.Further investigations are on.

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Officers of the AirIntelligence Unit (AIU) of

the Customs Departmentseized 278.83 grams of goldworth �9.08 lakh from two pas-sengers at the Biju PatnaikInternational Airport (BPIA)here on Tuesday night.

Acting on spot intelligence,the officers intercepted twopassengers, hailing from WestBengal and Jharkhand, whohad arrived from Bangkok byan AirAsia flight.

On searching their lug-gage, the officers found whitecoloured gold rings of foreignorigin having purity of 99.99per cent, concealed beneath

buttons of garments and seizedthem.

The duo was detained forquestioning and investigationinto the incident is underway.

Notably, after the start offlight services to Bangkok,Kuala Lumpur from the BPIA,they have been a number ofseizures of the precious yellowmetal by Custom officials.

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Freethought Party of India(FPI) general secretary

Biswanath Ramachandra (aliasB Ramachandra CST Voltaire)filed his nomination papers for the BhubaneswarParliamentary constituencybefore the Khordha Collectoron Tuesday. Party president DrBijayananda Kar and party Assembly candi-dates Swapna Bijayini (Ekamra-Bhubaneswar) and NilamadhavBehera (both Jayadev and Bhubaneswar Central constituencies) werepresent.

The FPI has the “briefest”one-page electionmanifesto.

It has five points to radi-cally change the world in

the direction of UtilitarianHumanism, Political

Justice and Global Peace by Mixed ProportionalR e p r e s e n t a t i o n ,prayer-less English medium

education, priest-less love mar-riage, one-child family and aWorld Government democra-tically elected.

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BJD supremo NaveenPatnaik on Wednesday

appointed Amaresh Jena asthe party’s Bhubaneswar organ-isational district president andSubash Patra as district vice-president.

This was informed by BJDState secretary Bijay Nayakthrough a release.

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GST, Central Excise andCustoms, Bhubaneswar

Zone Chief CommissionerNaresh Penumaka onWednesday said the zone hassurpassed its target of revenuecollection. The total GST rev-enue collected is �8,299 croreagainst a target �5,590 crore.

The zone office has alsocollected �17,712 crore fromthe Central Excise against a tar-get of �17,620 crore and �247crore from Service Tax towardspending arrears.

The customs revenue col-lected is �5,297 crore against a

target of �5,110 crore.Further, during the 2018-

19. the officers made goldseizure of 13.77 kg valued at�4.46 crore from theBhubaneswar International

Airport and arrested sevenpassengers in this connection.

The zone has also booked54 cases of fake GST inputinvoices involving an amountof �l83.19 crore.

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The National AluminiumCompany Limited (Nalco)

recorded an all-round successand global benchmarks in theFiscal 2018-19.

Along with significantachievements on productionfront, it achieved the distinc-tion of lowest-cost producer ofalumina in the world as per theWood Mackenzie report.Going a step further, the com-pany has also been ranked asthe lowest-cost producer ofbauxite in the world.

With over 100%-capacity

utilisation, the Nalco’sPanchpatmali Mines achievedbauxite excavation of 74.14lakh MT, the highest-ever sinceinception.

The company’s AluminaRefinery produced the highest-ever 21.53 lakh MT. The refin-ery’s Steam & Power Plant(SPP) achieved the highest-evernet power generation.

The Aluminium Smelterhas achieved the highest-castmetal production of 4.40 lakhMT in last eight years. Windpower generation of 363 MU isalso the highest-ever sinceinception.

The Smelter plant alsoachieved a Specific ElectricalEnergy Consumption of 13,370KWH per tonne of aluminiumin the FY 2018-19, whichplayed a significant role inreduction of input cost and sav-ing of �54 crore to the compa-ny.

The Captive Power Planthas reduced the specific con-sumption of coal from 0.818kg/kWh to 0.792 kg/kWh,resulting in a saving of �52crore.

It may also be noted thatNALCO has ended financialyear 2018-19 on a strong per-

formance in domestic salewhich is highest-ever sinceinception.

Total metal sale of 4.41lakh MT registered a growth of3.5% over last year and alsoDomestic sale of metal of 4.02lakh MT registering a growthof 14.9% over last year are high-est ever since inception.

Further, as per the PublicEnterprise Survey ofDepartment of PublicEnterprises (DPE), theCompany has been rated as the3rd Highest ‘Net ForeignExchange Earning CPSE’ in theCountry for the year.

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The Neelachal Ispat NigamLimited (NINL) has

achieved net sales turnover of�2,100 crore in the 2018-19financial year, registeringgrowth of 126 per cent over the2017-18 fiscal and 65 per centover the 2016-17 fiscal.

This is the highest net salesturnover ever achieved in theannals of NINL since inception.With the addition of high valueadded billets, TMT, wire rods,structural through conversionagents, the NINL is expected toreach about � 4,000 crore in the2019-20 fiscal.

NINL MD SS Mohantygave credit to all employees fortheir sincere efforts andthanked all the stakeholders fortheir support.

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In fear of a proposed no- con-fidence motion against him,

general secretary of TataSponge Shramik SanghaRameshra Behera ran awaywith the resolution book fromthe annual general body meeting of the union held onApril 1.

Sources revealed that as perthe by- laws of the union,Behera had called a meeting ofthe workers to discuss abouttheir different problems andvalidate the term of the unionfor the next year.

The union’s long standingdemands include employmentto kin of employees those who

have completed 32 years of ser-vice, regularization of job of the employees who have worked under con-tractor for a long period, noextension of job after retire-ment and employment to thelocals, etc.

Previously, there was anallegation of misappropriationof fund of the union against thegeneral secretary in collusionwith some corrupt company officials for whichDLC, Rourkela had written aletter to the management torecover the money from thesecretary.

Heated argument tookplace between the two sideswhen the workers demandedthe fulfillment of their genuinedemands but as the secretaryfailed to give a satisfactory

reply and asked for furthertime.

Consequently, the situa-tion became tense and agitat-ed workers demanded imme-diate resignation of the gener-al secretary from the post andwanted to move a resolution tothis effect.

Knowing full well that theresolution will be passed bymajority ,Behera ran away withresolution book to avoid theembarrassing situation but on the other hand ina dramatic situation , being fedup with non-performance,Gauranga Prasad Nanda(deputy President),Bishwaranjan Mohanty (trea-surer), Giitarani Barik (assis-tant secretary) resigned fromtheir posts in support of theworkers.

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Former Pipili MLA andCongress candidate for the

seat this time JudhistirSamantaray on Wednesdaypulled out of fray and levelled

serious allegations againstPradesh Congress Committee(PCC) president NiranjanPatnaik.

The matter came to lightafter a video showingSamantaray making such alle-

gations while addressing hissupporters went viral.

Though Samantaray wasnominated for the seat, heexpressed his displeasure citingdelay in announcement of hiscandidature.

“I will return the partyticket and not contest in thiselection,” he .said.

He added that he wouldnot join any other party as wellas not contest as anIndependent candidate.

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Higher Education andIndustries Minister

Ananta Das, who is again seek-ing mandate for the fourth timein a row, faced wrath of vil-lagers while he was proceedingin a rally in Karanjasola villageunder Jagannathpur GP recent-ly.

The residents of the village,mainly women, picketed theroad with buckets, pots, andutensils. They stopped his elec-tion rally, alleging they were notgetting safe drinking water intheir area for last two monthsand the crisis had turned acute

when mercury was soaringwith the advent of summer sea-son.

They further threatenedto boycott the ensuing electionsand said won’t cast vote unlesstheir issue was addressed.

However, the agitatorswithdrew from the road pick-eting after Das assured toresolve their crisis within twodays.

According to sources,Karanjasola was under theHugli GP of the block and theresidents were getting drinkingwater from the GP. However,after delimitation and newstructuring of GPs, the village

came under a new GP, ie ,Jagannatpur . They were receiv-ing water from the Guhali GPof the block. While pipe watersupply to the village was usualfrom the Guhali GP, sinceabout two months the supplyhas been stalled.

The agitators alleged thatalthough the area has tubewells yet they were unfit as theywere discharging saline waterand further a water pumpinstalled near Kalimandir wasnot discharging adequatedrinking water. Regarding thecrisis while they apprisedeveryone concerned, yet allthe appeals fell in deaf ears.

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BJD candidate forBhubaneswar Lok Sabha

seat Arup Patnaik and BJPcandidate for Cuttack LS con-stituency filed nominationpapers on Wednesday.

According to Khordha dis-trict Collector and DistrictElection Officer NirmalChandra Mishra, as many as 26Assembly nominees filed

papers for different Assemblysegments under the Khordahdistrict on the day.

Patnaik submitted threesets of nominations for the LSseat. BJD candidate forBhubaneswar Ekamra AshokPanda, BJP candidate AparajiraMohanty for BhubaneswarNorth and BJD candidateJyotirindra Nath for KhordhaAssembly seat filed nomina-tions.

Former DGP of OdishaPrakash Chandra Mishra onWednesday filed his nomina-tion papers for the Cuttack LokSabha seat as the BJP nominee.He will contest against his BJDrival Bhartruhari Mahtab, whohas been representing the con-stituency for last five terms.

Apart from Mahtab,Mishra will also lock hornswith Panchanan Kanungo ofCongress in a triangular con-test. The constituency will go topolls in the third phase on April23.

Mahtab and Kanungo alsofiled their nominations papers on the day.

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The greater the enemy, thegreater the hero for tack-

ling the foe! Apparently goingby the policy, the Congressparty is believed to be consid-ering a medico-turned-politi-cian Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu’sname for pitting her againstsitting MP and Union MinisterHarsimrat Kaur Badal.

Denied the party ticketfrom her choice of seat, DrNavjot Kaur has categoricallyrefused to contest electionsfrom any other seat thanChandigarh, where she hasbeen campaigning since pasttwo months.

For a former MLA fromAmritsar East constituency,Amritsar Lok Sabha seat wasanother option. But the partyhas decided to retain its sittingMP Gurjeet Singh Aujla fromthe holy city.

Now, it has been learntthat the Congress high com-mand has thought of givingthe firebrand leader a greaterrole in the party, she joinedjust ahead the 2017 state

assembly elections.Available information sug-

gests that the party is consid-ering to field her againstHarsimrat Badal, dependingupon from where the SADleader would contest — eitherBathinda or Ferozepur.

Congress, as of now, hashold back the announcementof its candidates from sevenseats, including Bathinda andFerozepur, waiting for theAkali Dal to make the firstmove.

It has been learnt thatSAD president Sukhbir Badalwould make a re-entry into theLok Sabha electoral field afterdecades from Ferozepur togive a much-needed push tothe dispirited party cadre.Besides, Harsimrat would seekher re-election from Bathindato score a hat-trick.

Congress had proposedPunjab Finance MinisterManpreet Badal’s name fromBathinda, who has alreadyexpressed his reluctance tocontest the elections and con-veyed the same to the partyhigh command.

However, at the same time,

he has made it clear that incase the party leadership askedhim to contest, he would go bythe decision.

The name of PunjabHealth Minister BrahmMohindra’s son, MohitMohindra, has been shortlist-ed for the seat. But the partywanted to field a candidate tomatch the stature of Harsimratwho has been winning the seatsince 2004 known as theBadals’ bastion.

In 22014 elections,Bathinda had witnessed a fightwithin the Badal family in2014 elections, in whichHarsimrat defeated herestranged brother-in-lawManpreet, by a narrow mar-gin. And considering thediminishing winning marginsfrom 1,20,948 votes in 2009Lok Sabha elections to 19,395votes in 2014, SAD was

mulling to shift Harsimrat tothe neighbouring Ferozepurwhich is seen as a safer bet thistime.

Now, Congress is waitingfor the SAD to announce itscandidates from Ferozepurand Bathinda — which hasbeen the epicentre of anti-sac-rilege protests against theBadals.

Moreover, with BholathMLA and Punjab Ekta Partypresident Sukhpal Khaira toothrowing his hat from theBadals’ bastion under the ban-ner of Punjab DemocraticAlliance (PDA), Bathinda hasturned into a hot-seat.

“We need someone to takeon the Badals. The state lead-ership had proposedManpreet’s name but he hasshown his reluctance to con-test. In that case, Dr NavjotKaur could be a suitablechoice,” a senior Congressleader told The Pioneer.

It has been learnt that hername was also mentioned dur-ing the Central ElectionCommittee meeting onTuesday, but it was decided todiscuss it in the next meeting.

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Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP)“honest” Punjab unit pres-

ident Bhagwant Mann onWednesday sought “funds” fromthe people to contest election against the “rich politi-cians”. So much so that he wenton to share his bank accountnumber for online transfer ofmoney.

Sangrur MP, seeking re-election from the constituency,logged in to the social media torequest the people for the finan-cial support to defeat the “richpoliticians” contesting againsthim.

At the same time, Mannsaid that he need money to getposters printed and to meetother campaign expenses.

“I cannot defeat other politi-cians, who are rich, withoutmoney. I need money to run myelection campaign and I seek

your financial support. Kindlycontribute ‘daswandh’ (one-tenth of your income) to theAAP. Your contribution is amust to keep the corrupt awayfrom politics and to motivate honest politicians likeme,” Mann said in the 11-minute video message he sharedon his official Facebook page.

“When I receive therequired money, I will uploadanother video telling you to stopsending it. I will be happy tocontest the election with yourmoney. I do not have any blackmoney like other politiciansand need your immediate finan-cial support,” said Mann.

To justify his demand, hesaid that he had always raisedpublic issues in the Parliamentand will not leave any stoneunturned in future also.

“You send the money, anyamount — Re one, Rs five, Rs 10,100, 1000 — and I will do mybest,” he added.

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The CBI has announced areward of �five lakh to any-

one who can provide any infor-mation leading to the arrest ofdubious preacher Virender DevDixit who is alleged to haveraped his disciples.

The agency has urged thecitizens to share any informationwith the agency on phone 011-24368657, Fax 01124368662and email [email protected],which can lead to his arrest, CBIspokesperson Nitin Wakankarsaid.

The identity of the personproviding information will bekept secret, Wakankar said.

In March, the CBI told theDelhi High Court that its effortsto locate 77-year-old Dixit,who had allegedly confinedseveral women at his ashram,Adhyatmik Ishwariya VishwaVidyalaya, in Rohini here, havenot yielded results so far.

“The agency has informedthat Dixit is absconding and hasnot joined investigation andefforts are being made to trace

him in Nepal,” a High Courtbench had said.

The agency had issued twoLook Out Circulars on January22, 2018 and February 22, 2019against him but to no avail.

An Interpol Blue notice tolocate him has also been issuedon the request of the CBI onMarch 26, 2018.

The Delhi High Court hadon December 20, 2017 directedthe CBI to investigate the allegedillegal confinement of girls andwomen in the ashram wherethey were kept in “animal-like”conditions behind metal doorsin the fortress like buildingsurrounded by barbed wire.

The CBI has taken overprobe into the three FIRs reg-istered by Delhi Police at Vijay

Vihar police station in Rohiniby re-registering them, CBIofficials said.

The two cases are againstDixit for alleged rape and crim-inal intimidation, while onecase is against unidentifiedpeople for allegedly obstructingthe work of a high court-appointed committee whichwent to the ashram onDecember 19, 2017.

The High Court had askedthe CBI to investigate the FIRslodged in Delhi against theRohini-based so called ashramand its founder- head Dixit andthe daily diary entries relatingto complaints of missing girls,commission of sexual offencesand even a case of suicidethere.

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Congress on Wednesdayalleged that a “cash for

votes” scam was busted inArunachal Pradesh with therecovery of Rs 1.8 crore in cashfrom Chief Minister PemaKhandu’s convoy and asked thepoll panel to register a caseagainst Prime MinisterNarendra Modi as well as theChief Minister and his deputy.

Accusing the BJP of using“money power” to woo votersin the northeast, Congresschief spokesperson RandeepSurjewala said Rs 1.8 crore wasallegedly recovered from thechief minister’s convoy inPasighat around midnight,hours before Modi was toaddress a rally there onWednesday morning.

Khandu and his deputyChowna Mein should be imme-diately sacked, he said and alsosought the termination of thecandidature of Tapir Gao, theBJP’s Arunachal Pradesh pres-ident who has been fielded

from the Arunachal West LokSabha constituency.

Surjewala showed twovideos purportedly showingthe cash being recovered in thepresence of officials of theElection Commission, the localadministration and the police.The party did not vouch for theauthenticity of the videos, say-ing they were available onsocial media. It also claimed theraid was conducted after YouthCongress workers complainedto authorities in Pasighat.

Alleging a cash for votesscandal in Arunachal Pradesh,Surjewala said, “Facing immi-nent defeat, a desperate BJP isresorting to ‘money power’ inthe northeast. “A midnightraid on the convoy of BJP’sArunachal Pradesh CM PemaKhandu, Deputy CM ChownaMein and BJP ArunachalPresident Tapir Gao has foundRs 1.8 crore in stacks of hardcash that exposes the brazencorruption and poll violation,as PM Modi holds a rally inPasighat, Arunachal Pradesh.”

He said the party demands

that a case be registered againstthe prime minister, the chiefminister and the deputy chiefminister. “Why is the ElectionCommission sleeping and nottaking action in the matter andnot registered a case so far.Why is the case being hushedup?” he asked.

According to the Congressleader, the videos emerged onsocial media and showed thecash being counted by policeofficers in the presence ofElection Commission’sExpenditure Officer SamritaKaur Gill. Pasighat DeputyCommissioner Kinny Singh isheard talking in the video andstacks of cash are visible, he said.

“Was �1.8 crore of hard cashbeing transferred for the rally ofPM Modi in Pasighat today, per-sonally in the CM’s convoy andin the safe hands of BJP presi-dent. Where did such a largeamount come from?” Surjewalaasked. Surjewala also askedwhether this cash was reportedlytransferred for Modi’s morningrally in Pasighat.

“Isn’t concealing andhoarding cash during an elec-tion a ‘corrupt practice’ and aserious violation of law underSection 123(1) of theRepresentation of the PeopleAct 1951 and Section 171B ofthe IPC and a solid ground fortermination of candidature?”he sought to know.

Surjewala alleged the BJP istrying to hush up the matterand sought to know whetherthe prime minister knew aboutthe stacks of cash being “trans-ferred”. “If yes, an FIR shouldbe immediately filed againstPM Narendra Modi, ArunachalCM Prema Khandu and BJP’sArunachal Pradesh PresidentTapir Gao,” he said.

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How do parties and politi-cians fund themselves?

Indian political parties weretraditionally funded with cashi.e. black money. Many havenow tried to get tax paid moneydue to the legislative changesand have started acceptingdonations either by cheque orthrough electoral bonds.

That, however, still doesnot fully answer the question.How many politicians lead acomfortable life without havingany apparent and declaredsource of income? The Nehru-Gandhi family has beendescribed by its supporters asIndia’s first family. It, therefore,should be a role model. Pt.Motilal Nehru gave up his lawpractice 98 years ago. Pt.Jawahar Lal Nehru was a tallpolitical leader who was nevera practicing lawyer nor wasIndiraji ever involved in anyprofessional or business activ-ity. The late Shri Rajiv Gandhiwas an Indian Airlines pilot fora brief period and, thereafter,he was in full time politics. Onthe basis of the available infor-mation, neither Smt. SoniaGandhi nor Rahul Gandhihave ever worked for a living.

For generations the familydid not earn from any com-mercial ventures. They were inpublic service. Most people inpublic life sacrifice their com-mercial careers and lead a fru-gal life. Most members of theNehru-Gandhi family studiedoutside the country for the lastfour generations. Not many ofthem excelled in scholarship,with Panditji as an exception.All have led more than a com-fortable life. They enjoyedvacations at multiple domesticand international locations.

The exposeAn expose by media organ-

isations revealed that the fam-ily owned a farm house inSouth Delhi which is nowowned by the brother and sis-

ter of current generation of thefamily. Periodically tenanciesare created in favour of personsmany of whom needed helpwhen UPA was in power. Acapital creation programmewas launched. Rentals arepaid by obliging tenants inadvance. It is unlikely that thetenants ever needed to live inDelhi because they have had nobusiness operation in Delhi.Not only did they pay largequantum of rentals as advancethrough make believe tenan-cies, they also apparently paidfor a large number of employ-ees who managed the estate.The amount collected fromthese tenants through advancerentals and subsequently, thetenancies enabled the creationof the capital. Several crores ofthis capital thus created wasinvested with the real estatecompany under cloud andwhich, like the tenants, enteredinto a ‘sweetheart deal’ thatfrom the moment the pro-posed buyer paid the advancetowards the real estate to bepurchased, one was paid backannually under an ‘assuredincome programme’. He thusgot back a large part of hisinvestment and the real estate.

Amongst the names of thetenants, the critical person isJignesh Shah of FTIL and thereal estate developer is M/s.Unitech builder through SanjayChandra. Who else would enterinto such a ‘sweetheart deals’except the ‘fly-by-night’ oper-ators who needed State patron-age?

Compromise of publicinterest through such ques-tionable deals

Besides the reasonableapprehensions of the tenanciesbeing an investment of ‘politi-cal equity’ by those enteringinto the ‘sweetheart deals’, whathappened to Jignesh Shah? Hehad two companies - one withlarge quantum of assets and theother which had ostensiblyduped lakhs of investors. The

investors were insisting that theCentral Government amalga-mate two companies and thusout of the amalgamated assets,the duped investors be paid.

Till 2014, the UPAGovernment did not take anyaction. The investment of polit-ical equity have broughtreturns. It is only when theNDA Government under ShriNarendra Modi was formedthat the Department ofCompany Affairs passed theamalgamation order which hasbeen upheld by the MumbaiHigh Court and is now pend-ing challenge in appeal beforethe Supreme Court. If theGovernment succeeds, theduped investors will get theirinvestment back. You neededa ‘Chowkidar’ to catch a ‘Chor.‘With regard to Unitech, theless said the better.

Besides the 2G involve-ment at the time the favourswere shown, many flat buyershad been duped, their moniessiphoned off and the bankswere not paid back. The pro-moters, including one withwhom Rahul Gandhi signedthe arrangement, is still inprison. Under the ‘sweetheartdeal’ out of the instalmentspaid, most have been repaidback under the ‘assured incomescheme.’ Capital creationthrough ‘sweetheart deals’ isexactly what Rahul’s brother-in-law did.

Here is a man who makesreckless allegations withoutany basis. It was no rocket sci-ence for him to know who wereconferring him with largesse.He aspires to be a PrimeMinister. Such aspirants likeCaesar’s wife must be beyondsuspicion. They must beunsuspectable. With taintedhands, he must at least remem-ber that ‘people in glass hous-es do not throw stones.’ The‘Chowkidar’ has finally caughta ‘Chor.’

(The writer is a UnionFinance Minister)

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Atussle has emerged between theCentre and Delhi Government over

the recruitment process in Central uni-versities regarding which the HRDMinistry has sought the ElectionCommission’s nod to start process as themodel code of conduct is in effect.

The Delhi government has objectedto the Centre’s request, saying the ECshould not grant permission. In a letter toChief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora,Delhi Deputy Chief Minister ManishSisodia said that the AAP governmentdoes not agree to the proposal of MHRDfor seeking permission to complete therecruitment process in the colleges ofDelhi University in the midst of electionsand when the poll code is in force. “I onceagain reiterate that Election Commissionshould not grant permission to suchrequests,” Sisodia said in the letter.

In a letter to the poll panel, the min-istry said, “In view of the UGC mandateto provide teaching and non-teaching fac-ulty before start of new academic year inJune, 2019, the Election Commission ofIndia is requested to give its clear-ance/permission from Model Code ofConduct for starting/continuing therecruitment process for regular teachingand non-teaching vacant posts in centraluniversities”.

The appointments for teaching postsin central universities were put on holdin July last year in view of a judgementof the Allahabad High Court in April2017. The court quashed the provisionsof UGC guidelines which prescribed thatthe cadre or unit for determining reser-vation roster points should be ‘universi-ty/college’ and not ‘department’, a letterby ministry to the EC said. The letter wassent to the EC on April 1 and a reply isawaited.

Ministry officials said the EC hasalready given clearance to IndianInstitutes of Science Education andResearch (IISERs) and National Institutesof Technology to start recruitmentprocess. The HC order was later upheldby the Supreme Court in July and areview petition filed by the governmentwas rejected.

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Former Union Minister andRashtriya Lok Samata Party

(RLSP) chief UpendraKushwaha on Wednesdayannounced that he will be con-testing from two constituenciesin Bihar — his sitting seat ofKarakat besides Ujiyarpur,where he would be pittedagainst State BJP chiefNityanand Rai.

The announcement of theRLSP list of candidate metwith a massive controversyover candidature of AkashSingh, son of Congress RajyaSabha MP Akhilesh Singh fromEast Champaran. Akash is noteven a member of the RLSP,and that sources said Congressforced and bargained it hardwith Kushwaha to filed a partynominee against UnionMinister Radha Mohan Singh.

Making the announcementat a press conference in Patna,Kushwaha insisted that he wasnot contesting from more thanone place out of fear of defeatfrom his sitting seat but to teach

a lesson to both the JD(U) andthe BJP which have been jointlyconspiring to finish me off polit-ically by destroying my party.

“I will be thrashing a JD(U)candidate in Karakat andtrouncing the BJP candidate inUjiyarpur. That way I wouldprove my political point, “ saidKushwaha whose party is apart of the oppositionMahagathbandhan (grandalliance) and contesting a totalof five seats .

Speculations have been rifethat Kushwaha had been skep-tical of his victory from his sit-ting seat which has a sizeablepopulation of the upper castestraditionally supporters of theBJP and its allies. The RLSPhad fought the 2014 Lok Sabhapolls as an NDA ally. Ujiyarpur,comparatively, has a largerpopulation of the OBCs espe-cially his Koeri community.

Kushwaha resigned fromthe Union council of ministersand quit the BJP-led coalitionlast year after being offeredonly two seats to contest,though he had three MPs in theoutgoing Lok Sabha.

The RLSP chief alsoannounced his candidates forWest Champaran and EastChamparan seats BrajeshKumar Kushwaha and AkashKumar Singh respectively. Theparty had earlier announced thecandidature of its state presidentBhudeo Chaudhary from Jamui(reserved) constituency.

The candidates for bothWest Champaran and EastChamparan were introduced aseducationist, well-respected inthe area and the son of seniorCongress leader AkhileshPrasad Singh respectively.

The candidature of Singh,a greenhorn, evoked a barrageof questions from journalistswho sought to know when didthe Congress leaders son jointhe RLSP. They also questionedwhether the candidature ofthe partys national general sec-retary Madhaw Anand wascancelled in view of a contro-versy that had arisen in thewake of some dissident leadersalleging that the ticket for theseat had been sold for a hugeamount of funds that Anandhad gathered for the party

through his contacts in the cor-porate world.

Kushwaha dodged thequeries, claiming Singh hasbeen a dedicated member ofour party and Madhaw Anandwill soon be rewarded for hisservices rendered to the party.You would not be able to con-ceive the magnitude of thehonour we are going to bestowon him, he said.

Anand, notably, was seat-ed beside Kushwaha while hemade the announcements.The announcements also drawthe curtains on prospects ofRam Kumar Sharma, theSitamarhi MP, who hadremained with the RLSP dur-ing the tumult it experiencedrecently on leaving the NDA.Both RLSP MLAs and its soleMLC have already announcedthat they would remain withthe NDA and seek recognitionas an independent group.

The party MP fromJehanabad Arun Kumar hadsevered his ties with the RLSPlong back though his efforts atgetting accommodated in theMahagathbandhan bore no fruit.

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The Union Government onWednesday opposed in the

Supreme Court the concernsraised by the ElectionCommission on issuing elec-toral bonds and justified thechanges in law saying it was “apioneer step” to bring pollreforms “ensuring transparen-cy” and “accountability” inpolitical funding.

The Government in itsfresh affidavit said that themassive amount of politicaldonations were earlier made incash by individuals or corpo-rates using “illicit means offunding” under the old systemand unaccounted black moneywas pumped in for financingelections.

The Centre’s stand is sig-nificant as the poll panel in itsaffidavit said that the changes

made in several laws by theCentral Government will have“serious repercussions” ontransparency.

A bench headed by ChiefJustice Ranjan GogoiWednesday said it will hear thepleas challenging the validity ofthe Centre’s decision onissuance of electoral bonds forpolitical funding on April 5.

It told advocate PrashantBhushan, appearing for one ofthe petitioners, Association forDemocratic Reforms (ADR),an NGO, that the matter wouldbe heard by an appropriatebench on Friday.

In its affidavit, the Centrehas said the electoral bonds“attempt at bringing greatertransparency, ensuring KYCcompliance and keeping anaudit trail in comparison to theearlier opaque system of cashdonations.

“Accordingly, the concernof the Election Commission ofIndia that electoral bonds willenable foreign companies toinfluence Indian policies iswithout any legal or factualmerit,” it said.

The government said therewas unregulated flow of Blackmoney under the old system

and “the unaccounted-formonies received by politicalparties were also spent withoutbeing accounted for, thus cre-ating/enabling a parallel econ-omy, as it were, through the useof unaccounted for cash”.

“It is submitted that con-trary to the concerns raised bythe Election Commission ofIndia, the amendments in therespective legislatures havebeen made and the ElectoralBond Scheme has been intro-duced, as a pioneer step inbringing electoral reforms, toensure that the spirit of trans-parency and accountability inpolitical funding is main-tained,” it said.

The affidavit said that con-sidering the need to impartgreater accountability in fund-ing of political parties as wellas to maintain the anonymityof the donor, a mechanism ofpolitical funding by way of elec-toral bonds was introduced.

“Under the present system,electoral bonds can be issuedonly by an authorised bank,being the State Bank of India.All payments made for theissuance of the electoral bondsare accepted only by means ofa demand draft, cheque orthrough the ElectronicClearing System or direct debitto the buyers’ account. NoBlack money can, therefore, be

used for the purchase of thesebonds,” it said.

The government saidunder the new system, thepolitical party must now dis-close the receipt of moneythrough electoral bonds andmust account for the same.

“The Electoral Bonds is apositive step in the right direc-tion to ensure accountabilityand transparency in conduct-ing elections. The need tobring about such a change wasfelt as the measures that exist-ed on the book were either notenough or were proving to beineffective/insufficient in deal-ing with the menace of cor-ruption in Elections,” it said.

The government said thatit had notified the schemeafter due consultations withconcerned stakeholders andeven the poll panel was alsobriefed on Electoral Bonds bythe Secretary, Department ofEconomic Affairs in Septemberof 2017.

The BJP-led NDA govern-ment had announced electoralbonds in the earlier budget,claiming that the scheme wouldclean up political funding. Thegovernment’s move was resist-ed by opposition parties.

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In its bid to accord the ‘organised service’ status andrelated benefits to thousands of Central Paramilitary

Group A officers of the executive cadre, the Centrehas directed the chiefs of the Central Forces to sendproposals detailing the list of eligible officers.

The move is prompted by a Supreme Court orderfor grant of the organised service status to these offi-cers which will lead to grant of Non-FunctionalFinancial Upgradation (NFFU) and Non-FunctionalSelection Grade (NFSG). While NFFU will lead toan enhanced pay after a certain number of years evenif the officers are not actually promoted due to pauci-ty of senior posts, NFSG will ensure an upgrade inthe rank of Selection Grade despite lack of vacancyfor higher positions.

The Union Home Ministry on Tuesday directedthe chiefs or Directors General (DsG) of the fiveCentral Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) — CRPF, BSF,ITBP, SSB and CISF — to forward proposals con-taining details of officers eligible for benefits of Non-Functional Financial Upgradation (NFFU) and Non-Functional Selection Grade (NFSG).

The Ministry has directed that these details arerequired to be submitted to it by Thursday and alsoasked them to treat the matter “top priority”. A copyof the order is with The Pioneer.

The apex court had in February upheld a Delhi HighCourt verdict on the subject and agreed that all theCAPFs be recognised as “organised services”, saying itwill remove stagnation, ensuring the promotion andother service-related benefits to officers in the same post.

The Delhi High Court on March 15 had askedthe Centre to file a compliance affidavit on the sub-ject after a retired and a serving officer of these forcesfiled a contempt petition before it saying the gov-ernment has not complied with its directions.

The SC had held that Group ‘A’ officers of theCAPFs should be given all benefits, including NFFUfrom 2006 in terms of the 6th pay commission. TheSC had also upheld the Delhi HC’s two verdicts bywhich it had granted “organised service” status to theseforces and also to the officers of the Railway ProtectionForce (RPF).

NFFU is a concept introduced in the 6th paycommission and was granted to what the governmenttermed as Group “A” organised services.

Under NFFU, if all the officers of a particular batchcannot move up the ladder owing to lack of vacan-cies and only one does, the others will automatical-ly get financial upgradation as the one promoted.

The recognition will also enable CAPF officersto get better deputation opportunities in other gov-ernment departments that will help them gatherknowledge and expertise of different domains besidesalso getting more posts at the command level in com-parison to the IPS officers on deputation to the para-military forces.

New Delhi: Deaths from cae-sarean sections are higher inlow and middle-income coun-tries, suggesting a threat to thelives of women and babiesthere, as per a study in therecent issue of The Lancet jour-nal.

All the deaths followingcaesarean section could beattributed to postpartum haem-orrhage (32 per cent), pre-eclampsia (19 per cent) andsepsis (22 per cent), and 14 percent to anaesthesia related caus-es.

This observation ringsalarm bell for India wherenumber of babies born throughcaesarean section increasedfrom nine per cent in 2005-6 to18.5 per cent in 2015-16.

This was highlighted in aseries of three papers pub-lished in the same journal lastyear, which also found that C-section use almost doubledworldwide between 2000 and2015.

The study found thatmaternal deaths in low andmiddle-income countries are100 times higher, particularly insub-Saharan Africa and theMiddle East, than in somehigh-income countries, andthat a third of all babies in someregions do not survive cae-sarean section.

Yet another study by IndianInstitute of Management-Ahmedabad points out thatthere were as many as nine lakh“preventable” unplannedCaesarean section (C-section)deliveries out of 70 lakh in pri-vate hospitals in India in oneyear, driven mainly by “finan-cial incentives.”

Such “medically unjusti-fied” births not justcause “large out-of-pocket expenses” butalso “delayed breast-feeding, lower birth-weight, respiratory mor-bidities” among othertroubles for the new-born, it says.

The study titled “Too muchcare? Private health care sectorand surgical interventions dur-ing childbirth in India,” wascarried out by IIM-A facultymember Ambrish Dongre anddoctoral student Mitul Surana.

The study found “a womanopting for private facility is13.5-14 percentage points morelikely to undergo an unplannedC-section (compared to publicfacilities)”.

The figure is based on thefourth round of the NationalFamily Health Survey (NFHS),carried out in 2015-16, whichfound that 40.9 per cent birthsin private facilities in India werethrough C-section as against11.9 per cent in public facilities.

Quoting NFHS, the IIMAstudy says that a natural birthin private facility costs, on anaverage, Rs 10,814, while a C-section costs Rs 23,978.

“The supplier-induceddemand driven by financialincentives especially whenpatient has limited informationis probably an important expla-nation” for higher rate of C-section birth in private facilities,it further says.

“When medically justified,C-sections prevent maternaland perinatal mortality andmorbidity. But if performedwhen not needed, they imposehuge burden on the motherand the child that go beyondlarge out-of-pocket expenses,”the study states.

“For the newborn, it meansdelayed breastfeeding, lowerbirth weight, respiratory mor-bidities, increased rate of hos-pitalisation, lower Apgar scoresand its implication in the longrun,” it says.

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Officials of Income TaxDepartment and Election

Commission of India contin-ued their crack down on illegalcash and gold in Tamil Nadumeant for bribing voters in theelection scheduled for April 18.

The sleuths busted onTuesday night an innovativestyle of money traffickingdeployed by the leaders ofVCK, a Dalit militant outfitcontesting from two parlia-mentary constituencies in theState. The VCK is a constituentof the DMK-led SecularProgressive Alliance (SPA) .

Cash of Rs 2.1 crore hiddenin secret chambers inside aToyota Innova car was seizedby the officials fromPerambalur. The officials saidthey suspect the money wasmeant for distributing amongthe voters because there was noneed for transport the samehidden in secret chambers builtn the door panel and in theseats of the swanky car.

The seizure of the cashcomes immediately after theraid on the residence and busi-ness premises of DuraiMurugan, the DMK treasurer,on Monday and Tuesday yield-ed unaccounted cash of Rs11.3 crore. Though Murugan

and his son Kathir Anand, theDMK candidate from Vellorehad said that they would

approach the Madras HighCourt challenging the high-handed behaviour of the

Income Tax officials, no peti-tion has come for hearing .

Meanwhile, the DMK-ledfront was in for another shockon Wednesday as Karthikeyannephew of MDMK leaderVaiko , came out in the opendeclaring support to theAIADMK and chief ministerEdappadi Palaniswamy onWednesday.

“The DMK is a big threatto the country as well as TamilNadu. We should not allow theDMK to come anywhere nearthe corridors of power,”Karthikeyan told journalistsat Kovilpatti where the ChiefMinister was campaigning forthe NDA candidate.

Karthikeyan is the son ofKanchana, Vaiko’s sister andwas active in the MDMK pol-itics.

The raids on the leadersof the opposition parties haverattled a section of politicallandscape in Tamil Nadu. NGopalaswamy, former ChiefElection Commissioner ofIndia told The Pioneer thatTamil Nadu has the worst his-tory of bribing voters.“Corruption has been institu-tionalised in the State whichcould be the only one State inthe country where by-pollsand even general election wererescinded because of massivecorruption,” said Gopalaswamy.

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Responding to the provoca-tive statements of both

Omar Abdullah and MehboobaMufti, enjoying patronage ofCongress chief Rahul Gandhi,over tinkering with Article35A and abrogation of Article370, Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP)Chief Amit Shah onWednesday set the recordstraight by saying it ‘loud andclear’ that as long as BJP is inpower these leaders cannotfulfil their dreams of having aseparate Prime Minister for thestate of Jammu & Kashmir.

Cornering Rahul Gandhi,BJP Chief also asked him toclarify his stand on the issue.

“Rahul Baba, do you alsowant two PMs in the country?People of the country want toknow the Congress president’sresponse to Omar Abdullah’sstatements. You should tell thenation whether you supporthim or not,” Shah said at anelection rally in Sunderbaniamid thunderous applausefrom the crowd.

Addressing two back toback rallies in support of partycandidates from Udhampur-Doda and Jammu-Poonch LokSabha seat, Amit Shah assert-ed that his party, whether inpower or in opposition, wouldnever let such a demand getfulfilled.

“I want to make it clear that

the BJP, no matter whether it isin power or in the opposition,would not allow their desire ofhaving two PMs in the coun-try being fulfilled,” Shah said.

Describing the BJP as aparty which follows the idealsof Syama Prasad Mookerjeewho made the supreme sacri-fice in Kashmir, Shah said itwill not let anything of the sorthappen “till its last breath”.

In Srinagar, PDP ChiefMehbooba Mufti made yetanother provocative statementsaying that the relation ofJammu and Kashmir with Indiawill end if the terms and con-ditions of the state’s accession

to the Union were changed.“2020 will also be a dead-

line from Jammu and Kashmirto the nation. If you removethose terms and conditions onwhich Jammu & Kashmiracceded to India, our relationwith the country will also end,”Mehbooba told reporters afterfiling her nomination papersfrom the Anantnag Lok Sabhaconstituency.

The former Chief Ministerwas responding to BJP presi-dent Amit Shah’s assertion thatArticle 35A, which guaranteesspecial status to Jammu &Kashmir in terms of residencyrights, will be repealed by 2020.

Posing some tough ques-tions to the Congress partyChief in Sunderbani andUdhampur, Amit Shah said, “aleader of National Conference(NC) raised pro-Pakistan slo-gans but Mauni Baba, as Shahdubbed him, remained mum.“Rahul Gandhi, you are inalliance with the NC, you can-not escape from the responsi-bility to clear your stand.Citizens of the country want toknow if you agree with raising‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans,”the BJP chief asked.

Addressing a rally inUdhampur, Shah said, “TheCongress and its leaders should

feel ashamed of what they haveannounced in their manifesto— to dilute AFSPA and with-draw sedition clause.”

“Nobody can dilute AFSPAas the BJP will be standing likea rock behind security forceswho are protecting our bor-ders,” Shah told the rally, organ-ised in support of BJP leaderJitendra Singh.

In Sunderbani, BJP presi-dent alleged that illegal immi-grants including Rohingyaswant to change the demogra-phy of Jammu region andvowed to oust every singleillegal immigrant from thecountry if voted again to power.

“Infiltrators are eating ourcountry like termites. Theywant to change the demogra-phy of Jammu. As long asthere is a BJP government, wewon’t let this happen. If youchoose Narendra Modi gov-ernment, we will oust everysingle infiltrator from the coun-try in the next five years,” hesaid. He also warned Pakistan,saying if a single bullet comesfrom there “we will fire shellsfrom here”.

In reference to the Balakotair strike, BJP Chief Amit Shahsaid that the BJP governmentgave a “befitting reply” to theterrorists while claiming thatthe Congress could not do soin the last 10 years of theirtenure.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi on Wednesday tore

into the Congress, terming itsmanifesto as a “hypocrisy doc-ument” which was “full of lies”.

Addressing his second rallyin Arunachal Pradesh within aweek, the Prime Minister saidthe upcoming Lok Sabha pollswill be about the choicebetween “trust and corrup-tion, and about resolution andconspiracy”.

Referring to the Congressmanifesto for the 2004 LokSabha elections, Modi said ithad promised that every housewould have electricity by 2009.“However, till 2014 around18,000 villages in the countrywere still to be electrified... Justlike them (the Congress), theirmanifesto is corrupt and full oflies. Therefore, it should becalled hypocrisy document(dhakosla patra), not a mani-festo,” Modi said at the rallyhere, around 220 km fromState capital Itanagar.

During his address, Modisaid with the NDA comingback to power in 2014, it ful-filled the promise of theCongress by illuminating the18,000 villages within 1,000days. Congress president RahulGandhi on Tuesday hadreleased his party’s manifestofor the Lok Sabha polls, mak-ing job creation, addressingfarm distress, bringing a singlemoderate rate of GST and giv-ing Rs 72,000 per annum topoor families as key focus, if itcomes to power.

Modi also attacked theCongress, alleging that it sym-pathises with those who insultIndia, and wondered whetherits party symbol, the hand, iswith the country or with thoseconspiring against it.

“Those who burn theTricolour and insult it, raise slo-gans of breaking India intopieces, play in the hands of for-eign forces and vandalise stat-ues of Baba Saheb (Ambedkar),the Congress sympathises withthem, too,” he alleged.

The PM said unlike theCongress, the BJP never madefalse promises and kept itscommitment of providing freeLPG connection to nearly 60

crore women in the country,besides constructing toilets inevery village and extendinghealthcare facilities under the‘Ayushman Bharat’ scheme.

“Under the AyushmanBharat Yojana, about three lakhpeople in Arunachal Pradeshwere covered, who were pro-vided free treatment to the tuneof Rs 5 lakh per family,” he said.

Every house in the state hasbeen illuminated with elec-tricity after 70 years ofIndependence, Modi claimed.

Modi said he does notclaim to have completed all thedevelopmental work sincebecoming prime minister, but,“I can say that I am a man whocan withstand any challenge thecountry faces, and plan andexecute all works with dedica-tion and commitment”.

Accusing the Congress ofneglecting the north eastregion, especially ArunachalPradesh, he said the state neverfound its place in the “dil”(heart) of the grand old party.

The Prime Ministercharged that the Congress wasfooling farmers in the name ofvotes, whereas the BJPGovernment has always beenwith them. “We never com-mitted the sin of betrayingfarmers but we introduced themechanism from seed to mar-ket,” the PM said.

Elaborating on the devel-opment plans of ArunachalPradesh, he said the BJP gov-ernment’s vision for the state isconnectivity, resources andrespect.

The PM said the State is onthe growth path now withmany mega projects like theAdvance Landing Grounds(ALGs) at Pasighat and Tezu,train connectivity betweenNaharlagun and Guwahati, andNaharlagun and New Delhi.

Asserting that he is com-mitted to safeguard the tribaltradition and culture, Modisaid he had visited the region“more than 30 times” in com-parison to his predecessors,because of the love and affec-tion he shares with the peopleof the north east.

Elections to ArunachalPradesh’s 57 assembly seatsand two parliamentary con-stituencies will be held simul-taneously on April 11.

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Congress president RahulGandhi said on Wednesday

that funds for the ambitious‘NYAY’ scheme would comefrom the pockets of “chor”businessmen favoured by‘chowkidar’ Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and its benefitwould be directly transferred tobank accounts of women mem-bers of poor families.

Rahul addressed two ralliesin Assam on Wednesday insupport of Kaliabor MP GauravGogoi and Congress candi-date from Lakhimpur con-stituency Anil Buragohain.

Each of the 20 per cent poorfamilies will get Rs 72,000 annu-ally and Rs 3.6 lakh in five years,Gandhi said, adding that fundsfor the scheme will coming fromthe pockets of ‘chors’ (thieves)like Anil Ambani in whoseaccounts ‘chowkidar’ NarendraModi has deposited money dur-ing the last four years.

“Modi had promised fouryears ago that he would depositmoney in the accounts of thepeople but he has done it onlyin the case of some rich peoplelike the Ambanis. It is the richwho keep chowkidars, whichModi has become for them. Wewill deposit money in theaccounts of the poor, particu-larly women, irrespective oftheir caste, class or religion,” theCongress president said.

He accused Modi of “steal-ing” Rs 30,000 crore from theAir Force and putting it into a“thief ’s (Anil Ambani’s) pock-et”. “It is poor people’s moneywhich we will take out fromthem,” he said.

The MGNREGA’s annualbudget is Rs 35,000 crore andalmost an amount of this sizewas given (by the NDA gov-ernment) to a single person,Rahul claimed.

He said that Rs 3.6 lakh tobe given to each beneficiaryover a period of five yearsunder the NYAY scheme willbe deposited in the accountsfive crore women, which will inturn will benefit 25 crore peo-ple and revive the economy.

Mounting an attack on theprime minister, Rahul said heclaims to be a ‘chowkidar’ and

had promised to put Rs 15 lakhin their bank accounts. “But isa chowkidar bigger than amazdoor (worker) or a farmer.

“Chowkidars are only infront of the houses of rich peo-ple like Anil Ambani, LalitModi, Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya but not in front ofpoor people’s houses,” hemocked.

He repeatedly referred toBJP president Amit Shah as“murder accused” and said it washe who had exposed Modi’s‘jumla’ (false promise) of givingRs 15 lakh to every Indian.Referring to demonetisation,the Congress chief said, “Modiput people in queues beforebanks for their own money. ButMehul Choksi, Nirav Modi,Ambanis were not in line. Whileyou were busy standing inqueues, India’s thieves looted the

money and fled with the help ofthe chowkidar.”

Rahul said the CitizenshipAmendment Bill will not bepassed at any cost and theCongress will protect the lan-guage, culture and traditions ofthe people of the Northeast.

“The BJP had brought theBill in Parliament. It was anattack on the language, thoughtand independence of the peo-ple of the region. We did notallow the Bill to be passed then(in Rajya Sabha) and willensure that it is not passed infuture too,” he said.

The Congress presidentaccused Modi of taking away thespecial status and special indus-trial policy which was given tothe Northeast by the party’sgovernment for the uniqueproblems faced by the region.

Lucknow: Equating Indianarmy with Lord Hanuman,Chief Minister Yogi Adityanathsaid the way Lord Hanumanburnt Lanka, the Indian armydestroyed terror camps oper-ating in Pakistan.

“Indian army destroyedterror camps operating inPakistan just as Lord Hanumanhad destroyed the goons inRavan’s Lanka. This act of val-our (of Indian army) was pos-sible only because of the strongand decisive government (atthe Centre) and the determi-nation and will power of PrimeMinister (Narendra) Modi,”Yogi said while addressing anelection rally in Siwalkhas inBaghpat Lok Sabha con-stituency on Wednesday.

He said India had maderemarkable progress in eco-nomic and military field underthe leadership of PrimeMinister Modi.

Yogi appealed to the peo-ple to vote for the BJP and helpIndia become an economicsuper power.

In his over 40-minutespeech, Yogi talked about var-ious issues, including air strikeand achievements of the Modiand his own governments.

He paid tribute to Kargilmartyr Rajendra Singh andremembered Dhyan SinghGurjar who led the revolutionof 1857 from Baghpat. PNS

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Targetting NationalistCongress Party (NCP)

chief Sharad Pawar for the sec-ond time in three days, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi saidon Wednesday night that “bigNCP leaders” were not gettingsleep these days because of the“fear” that a person lodgedcurrently in Delhi’s Tihar Jailmight make shocking disclo-sures about them.

Addressing an electionrally at Gondia in easternMaharashtra, Modi sought tounnerve “big NCP leaders” byclaiming that “some shockingdisclosures” were in store forthem when the man lodged inTihar jail spilled beans in thenear future.

“I do not want to go into thefull details....But I would adviseyou ( the people in the crowd)to go and ask big NCP leadersif they are getting sleep thesedays... No they are not getting

sleep. Their sleep is now lyingin Tihar jail. Fear is stalkingthem. They are worried whatwill happen to them if the manwho has been arrested andlodged in Tihar jail spills beans.Today, they are very muchworried....But the not be far offwhen the whole thing (relatingto the NCP leaders) will comeinto the open,” Modi said.

Modi charged that theCongress was trying to createinstability in the country bycreating confusion in theminds of the people. “This istheir habit....Either they con-trol fully or create confusion...Earlier the Congress hadproblems with chaiwalla andnow with it is with chowkidar.

Terming the Congress’manifesto as dhakosla patra(hypocritical document), Modisaid, “The manifesto promisesto repeal sedition law. The con-gress has promised in its man-ifesto that it would not launchproceedings against Maoist

indulging in anti-national activ-ities. Congress and NCP sym-pathise with “Bharat tukdetukde honge” gang... Throughthis promise to repeal seditionlaw, they are insulting sacrificesof thousands of our soldiers”

“The Congress’ manifestois a plan of Pakistan’s conspir-acies. It is a conspiracy todestroy the confidence of theIndian army and it is a con-spiracy hatched b Bharat katukde tukde honge gang. Youhave tobe cautious aboutMahamilavat opposition oth-erwise it will give do suchthings that will give fillip to thenaxal movement in the area.At a time when we were try-ing to prosecute urbanMaoists, the Congress andNCP leaders stood by theseUrban Maoists,” Modi said.

Modi demanded to knowif Sharad Pawar agreed withthe Congress’ manifesto.“Sharad Pawar should comeclean on this,” the PM said.

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As soon as the bells ring atDarul Uloom — Asia’s

largest madrassa — studentsprepare to head towardsmosque for evening prayers.After stepping outside the insti-tution, some of them stop at atea shop near the campus.

An animated discussion isunderway at the kiosk inSaharanpur. The students arediscussing the issues that dom-inate or are being skipped bypolitical parties in their cam-paign in the district ahead ofthe general election on April11. They have their own theo-ries and understanding of thecomplex election process.

Jamal, 24, says he fearsMuslim votes might get divid-ed in the election as two strongMuslim candidates are con-testing from the constituency.The Congress has fielded sea-soned leader Imran Masood,while the BSP has named FaizulRahman. BSP has formed a“mahagathbandhan” with SP

and RLD in UttarPradesh for the election.

The BJP has pittedincumbent RaghavLakhan Pal against theOpposition candidates.“Faizul Rahman might havean advantage as he would getthe support of harijans alongwith Muslims,” Jamal tells thestudents, suggesting caste andreligion will play a role indeciding the election.

But his suggestion is imme-diately countered.Amanatullah, another studentat the madrassa, says the agen-da of development would be amajor factor this time.

“It is high time that wedecided the capability of can-didates based on their knowl-edge of issues plaguing the city,rather than their caste or reli-gion,” the 26-year-old said.

Saharanpur, named afterSufi Saint Shah Harun Chisti,is home to about 17 lakh vot-

ers. Of which, 6 lakh areMuslims and 3 lakh

SCs/STs.A three-way contest is

expected between theCongress, the BJP and the

mahagathbandhan on the seat.Ashraf, who is in his final

year of eight-year-long educa-tion at the premier institution,says the election would be veryinteresting. But, he adds, theBJP might race through due todivision of Muslim votes. “IfMuslims decide to join forceswith harijans then FaizulRahman could get a landslidevictory,” he said.

Saharanpur is an importantconstituency for all the parties.The Uttar Pradesh BJP startedits election campaign from theconstituency and the BahujanSamaj Party-Samajwadi Party-Rashtriya Lok Dal combinewill hold its first joint rally inDeoband on April 7, four daysahead of the election in the dis-

trict. Madrassa students say themahagathbandhan wish to wooMuslim voters as they have atough fight with the Congress,which too has fielded a strongMuslim candidate.

“But our agenda is devel-opment, not religion-basedpolitics. We have to get abovethe politics of caste and reli-gion, (because) that is where weare giving fringe groups anupper hand. We need to voteon development and then onlyreal development would takeplace,” Raziul, 30, said. DarulUloom spokesperson refused tocomment on the campaigningor party prospects ahead of theelection, saying the institutionhas no political stance.

“We are a Islamic academ-ic institution and we don’t sup-port any political party and thatis the reason we don’t accept anydonation or grant from partiesand government,” said itsspokesperson Ashraf Usmani.

The 152-year-old institution ishome to nearly 5,000 studentswho study Islam there. “Ourcourse is very intense and itruns for eight years. All ourgraduates are gainfullyemployed. You will not find asingle unemployed graduateof the madrassa,” Usmani said.

He said students from allover the country could be foundhere. Rameez has been associ-ated with the institution since hewas 12 years old. “It is a com-mon saying here that you canget into Oxford and Harvard butnot Darul Uloom. That is howdifficult the entrance test is,” the19-year-old said.

Along with Islamic educa-tion, he says, he has beenreceiving computer educationat the madrassa’s Departmentof Computer Science.

“I get all kinds of education

here and I came here to becomean Islamic scholar. I am on myway of becoming one. It is a mis-conception that we do not haveknowledge of subjects otherthan Islamic studies,” he added.

“I hope to become an Imam andbe in service of Allah,” he said.Darul Uloom provides eightyears of intensive Islamic edu-cation. There is no age limit tosit for its entrance test.

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Two daughters from vastlydifferent backgrounds have

returned to the badlands ofeastern Uttar Pradesh toreclaim the political legacy oftheir fathers.

Tanushree Tripathi hasreturned after completing herMasters’ degree in interna-tional relations from London.She is all set to get married laterthis month but is neverthelesscontesting elections from theMaharajganj Lok Sabha seat.

Tanushree, 29, is the daugh-ter of former Uttar PradeshMinister Amar Mani Tripathi,who is serving a life term along

with his wife Madhu ManiTripathi in Gorakhpur jail forthe murder of a poetess inLucknow in 2003.

Tanushree’s brother AmanMani Tripathi is an indepen-dent MLA from NautanwaAssembly segment inMaharajganj district. He is alsoan accused in the murder of hiswife Sara Singh and the CBI isinvestigating the matter.

In 2017, when Aman Manicontested the Assembly elec-tions from jail, it was Tanushreewho campaigned for him along

with her sister Alankrita.Tanushree is contesting on

the Pragatisheel SamajwadiParty (PSP) ticket and is bank-ing on the sympathy of the peo-ple since, as she said, her parents and brother havebeen “wrongly framed in crim-inal cases”.

“I am not a parachute can-didate here. I know my village,my people, my constituency.The people know me and myfamily and we share a strongbond. The farmers have beensuffering in this district that lies

on the UP-Nepal border. Sugarmills in the region are lyingclosed. The BJP’s PankajChaudhary has been MP forfive terms but has done nodevelopment here and peoplewant a change,” she said.

The other daughter who ismaking a bid to reclaim herfather’s legacy in Maharajganjis Supriya Srinetra, daughterof the late Harshvardhan Singh,a former MP.

Supriya quit her job asExecutive Editor of an Englishnews channel and has arrivedin Maharajganj to contest theelections on a Congress ticket.

Supriya told reporters thatthe prevailing conditions ineastern Uttar Pradesh hadmade her take to politics. “I amglad to have been fielded fromMaharajganj where my father

worked for four decades.”Her husband will also cam-

paign for her.Supriya refused to com-

ment on her rival Tanushree orher tainted background. “I amhere to campaign for myselfand do not want to commenton anyone,” she said.

This, incidentally, is thefirst time that women candi-dates have taken centre stage inMaharajganj which remainssteeped in backwardness.

“It is a welcome change andthese elections will hopefullypave the way for more womento step out of their homes andtake to politics. Women aresupporting the two candidatesin a big way. Till now,Maharajganj has been knownfor mafia candidates,” saidRekha Singh, a first time voterand a young graduate.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi continues to draw

crowds in the western UttarPradesh belt, but the sameenthusiasm is missing for theBJP candidates in fray from thispart of the State.

“I am a Modi fan and Ivoted for BJP in the last elec-tion, but no work has beendone here. The BJP candidatewho won in the name of Modifrom here is hardly seen. Wecannot even complain,” says apetrol pump worker SatbirYadav from Saharanpur.

Similar sentiments wereechoed by residents ofMuzaffarnagar, Baghpat,Kairana and Ghaziabad whichgo to polls in the first phase ofthe seven-phased Lok Sabhapolls. A total of eight Lok Sabhaseats in the State will go to pollsin the first phase on April 11.

The voters here praise Modi,but are not satisfied with thework of BJP candidates. A BJPoffice-bearer from Muzaffar-nagar, who wished to remainanonymous, lamented that theparty under pressure from RSSre-nominated MuzaffarnagarMP Sanjeev Balyan this election.He said because of this, other sit-ting MPs in western UP also gotre-nominated.

He said the decision torepeat the sitting MPs may costthe party dearly.

Balyan is one of theaccused in the 2013Muzaffarnagar riots. He hadwon by more than 4 lakh votesriding on Modi wave in 2014.Another cause of worry for thesaffron party is Jat communi-ty’s affinity to RLD chiefChaudhary Ajit Singh as well asthe anger of sugarcane growersagainst the BJP-led StateGovernment.

Meanwhile, the SP-BSP-RLD Opposition feels that thealliance will benefit from divi-sion of Jat votes this time, andthat the Muslim, Dalits andbackward sections will votefor them.

Supporting the RLD chief,Ravindra Ahlawat, who runs aneatery on the Delhi-Muzaffarnagar NationalHighway, said Jats have threemain issues.

“Firstly, the Centre did nottreat our leader (ChaudharyAjit Singh) well. He was forced

to vacate his official bungalowin Delhi. Secondly, the BJPGovernment in Uttar Pradeshdid not adequately compensatecane growers. And, third, theJat reservation notified by theUPA-led Central Governmentwas set aside by the Supremecourt under the current BJPregime,” he said.

The apex court had in 2015set aside a 2014 notification ofthe then UPA Government toinclude Jats in the Central Listof Other Backward Classes(OBC) in nine States for quotabenefits. “I want to see Modi asPM again, but Ajit Singh will winfrom here,” Ahlawat said.

In Baghpat, the BJP hasfielded Union Minister SatyapalSingh against the RLD chief ’sson Jayant Choudhary.Congress has not fielded anycandidate from the seat.

Here also ‘Modi wave’ isfacing tough competition fromanti-incumbency against sittingMP and the joint front put upby the Opposition, just like inMuzaffarnagar, Ghaziabad andSaharanpur. Interestingly, peo-ple from diverse sections of thesociety are in awe of Modi’swork. “My vote will go toModi,” says Haider Ali. Heruns a small tea shop inMuzaffarnagar.

But, when one inquires deepabout Modi’s popularity amongminorities, people said the 2013violence between Jats andMuslims still haunted the region.They added that the weaker sec-tions among the minorities areafraid to express their viewsagainst the ruling dispensation.

Kumar said the law andorder situation of the state hasimproved after the BJP came topower. If BJP workers are angryover repeating candidates inmany seats, they are equally

agitated over denying ticket toformer BJP MP Hukum Singh’sdaughter Mriganka Singh fromKairana.

Mriganka is an influentialGujjar name in the area. Shefought on a BJP ticket in theKairana bypoll which wasnecessitated by the death of herfather. She, however, lost toOpposition alliance candidateTabassum Hasan.

The BJP has fielded anoth-er Gujjar leader and MLAPradeep Chaudhary from theseat. Local BJP leaders, how-ever, feel that a section is dis-enchanted over denial of tick-et to Mriganka. In a bid to pla-cate its support base among theGujjars, the BJP welcomedcommunity leader and SP MLCChowdhary Virendra Singhinto the party fold.

BJP analysts, however,maintain that reported discon-tent towards party candidatesamong the voters won’t be anissue. They say in the last polls,except Saharanpur, BJP candi-dates in all seven constituenciesin this region defeated theirrivals by more than 2 lakhvotes. In Saharanpur, the BJPcandidate won by 65,000 votes.Congress stood second here.

BJP strategists feel theremay be a dip in BJP’s vote mar-gin this time, but the party canstill reap benefits of ‘Modiwave’. Johny from Bhim Armychief Chandrashekhar Azad‘Ravan’ village Chutmalpursaid, “BJP can win this timeonly when Muslim votes getsplit. It is not possible inMuzaffarnagar, Baghpat,Kairana and Ghaziabad. And,it is very likely in Saharanpurand Bijnore. Though a sectionof Dalits support Modi, but amajority of the communitywill vote for Mayawati.”

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Bollywood’s ‘dreamgirl’ Hema Malini had

a dream run in the lastLok Sabha polls but her elec-toral rivals claim she neglect-

ed her constituency andwasn’t approachableduring her term andBrijwasis would reject

her this time. But Hema Malini

is pinning her hopes onthe work the Narendra ModiGovernment has done in thepast five years.

She is up against NarendraSingh of the RLD, which is partof the alliance with theSamajwadi Party and BahujanSamaj Party, and Congress’sMahesh Pathak. TheOpposition is also billing it a‘Brijwasi vs outsider contest’claiming that Hema Maliniwas never approachable duringher entire term.

The opinion of voters wassomewhat divided. Some fellthat the Balakot air strike andMission Shakti could be elec-toral issues while for others,problems of farmers, unem-ployment and lack of develop-ment are major issues here.

“We don’t know HemaMalini but we have full faith inModi. Sometimes you have toforget own problems for thesake of the country,” said ashopkeeper near the Krishna

Janambhoomi temple.“Hema Malini never came

to our village. We did not seeher after 2014. We prefer a localwho is approachable,” said aresident of Chhata. NarendraSingh, who lost previous threeassembly elections, accusedher of neglecting the con-stituency, saying one cannotwork for Mathura while sittingin Mumbai.

“I am a Brijwasi and knowabout the problems of locals.Last time, she won because ofthe Modi wave but after thatshe was not involved with herconstituency. Forget about thepeople, her own party cadresare against her. Vikas (devel-opment) is missing inMathura,” he said. “She didnothing for cleaning of theYamuna, Chhata sugar milland unemployment issues,monkey menace in Vrindavanetc.,” he said. He claimed thiscontest is a secular vs commu-nal one in which secular forceswill win.

In 2014, Hema Malinidefeated Rashtriya Lok Dalcandidate Jayant Chaudhary bya massive margin of 3,30,743votes. PTI

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Muzaffarnagar/Meerut: Theissue of triple talaq is trapped inthe gender binary that dividesconservative Muslim societyacross western Uttar Pradesh,with many women giving theGovernment a thumb’s up for itsefforts to criminalise the prac-tice but shying away from vot-ing for the BJP because of loy-alty to their husbands.

The she-says-maybe-he-says-nay syndrome may hin-der the BJP from winningMuslim votes in the westernUttar Pradesh belt that goes

to the polls in the first phase onApril 11 as most men in thecommunity say they don’t wantthe Government to interfere intheir religion.

Kaisar Jahan, a homemak-er in Muzaffarnagar, typifies thedilemma of a woman caughtbetween self-assertion and tra-dition that dictates she bows

down to her husband.“Triple talaq is an atrocity

which should definitely becriminalised. I like BJP forthinking about us,” said themother of a six-year-old boy.She quickly added that she willnot vote for the BJP as her hus-band does not want it to win.

“I will vote where my hus-band wants me to. He does notwant BJP, so I will not vote forit,” Kaisar told PTI while stand-ing outside a shop. “Don’tinterfere in our religion. Keeppolitics out of it,” snapped herhusband Aslam who came andtook her away.

The pattern was visible inKairana, Muzaffarnagar,Meerut and Baghpat, whichvotes in phase one along withSaharanpur, Bijnor, Ghaziabadand Gautam Budh Nagar.

Rabia, 35, resident ofKairana, said, “Triple talaq is a

wrong practice butwe are not for the BJP. We willvote for anyone fielded byAkhilesh ji (SP chief AkhileshYadav) as my husband says.”

About 35 per cent of themore than 1.5 crore voting inround one are Muslims, said JPSRathore, vice president of theUttar Pradesh unit of the BJP.

Most Muslim women in theregion hailed Prime MinisterNarendra Modi for bringingtriple talaq under the spotlight,saying it was a step towardsempowering Muslim women.Triple talaq, also known as‘talaq-e-biddat’, is the practice ofinstant divorce in which a

Muslim man can legally divorcehis wife by pronouncing ‘talaq’three times in one go.

“My husband divorced meand married another woman. Ihad no choice but to accept thedecision. I live with my four-year-old son now. Triple talaqis a heinous practice. Don’t weMuslim women have rights?”asked Farzana, a resident of

Muzaffarnagar.“My husband divorced me

within two years of our mar-riage. I was just 18. We do nothave any rights. I am illiteratemay be that’s why I could notfight. Luckily I did not have achild to look after. Triple talaqis a crime and men should notbe allowed to do it,” said ananguished Saba. PTI

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“I pledge to contest these electionsby honest means. I affirm that Ishall seek votes only on the basis ofideas, plans, programmes andpromises. I shall refrain from

employing any illegal or unethical meanslike allurement, threat, coercion or violencetargetted at the electorate or my fellow con-testants. I vouch not to allow any illicitusage of money, alcohol or muscle powerin my campaign. I pledge to keep theseelections clean in letter and spirit.”

The 17th general elections, accompa-nied by polls to legislative Assemblies in fourStates, are round the corner. Imagine everycandidate taking a pledge similar to theaforementioned one in order to keep theelections clean and ethical. It can bedescribed as a “swachhata oath” for the elec-tions. Let every candidate take it publicly atseveral places in his/her constituency andsubsequently post it on his/her social mediaaccounts. Let this be an individual enterpriseto begin with. If it gains traction with themasses, then those candidates avoiding itstand the risk of getting ostracised. One candefinitely lie under an oath but it’s price canbe heavy if it is an awakened electorate.

Malpractices are commonplace inelections. No wonder, the British enactedthe Indian Elections Offences and InquiriesAct, 1920 as direct elections were intro-duced on a miniscule scale in India as aresult of the Government of India Act, 1919(Montagu-Chelmsford Reform). The rea-son was not because the British entertaineda low opinion about the Indian characterbut because they were wiser by a long expe-rience of conducting elections in Britain.

The onus of keeping the polls cleanmajorly lies with the political parties. Theyare the ones who stand to win authority andpower. They are “the lifeblood of the entireconstitutional system” as a CentralInformation Commission (CIC) decision inSubhash Chandra Agarwal v/s IndianNational Congress and Others described itin 2013.

But how seriously have the politicalparties taken their responsibility? Theanswer is to be found in the pages of theLaw Commission Reports No: 244(February 2014) and No: 255 (March2015). The Law Commission Report No:244 titled, ‘Electoral Disqualification’, wasactually an interim statement requested bythe Supreme Court, which was hearing thePublic Interest Foundation & Others V/sGovt of India case. At that time, the 20thLaw Commission was already working onits main report on ‘Electoral Reforms’ inresponse to a request made by the Ministryof Law and Justice, Government of India,in January 2013. That report was ultimate-ly published as Report No: 255.

In January 2013, the 20th LawCommission, chaired by Justice (Retd) DKJain, studying the subject of ‘ElectoralReforms’, prepared a consultation paper that

was widely circulated amongpolitical parties, elected repre-sentatives of Parliament andState legislatures, High CourtBar Association, the ElectionCommission of India, othernational commissions, civilsociety organisations, juristsand eminent spirited people fortheir feedback.

The paper listed eightmajor issues for considera-tion like de-criminalisation ofpolitics and disqualificationof candidates; need tostrengthen provisions relatedto disqualification; false affi-davits; state funding of electionexpenses and donations topolitical parties; adjudicationof election disputes; enhance-ment of punishment for elec-toral offences; issues pertain-ing to the role of electronic andprint media and so on.

But how was the josh? TheLaw Commission received 157responses, most of them beingfrom individuals and civil soci-ety organisations. The ElectionCommission of India was theonly body that sent its response.Of the political parties, thelesser said the better. Onenational political party viz, theIndian National Congress, andone registered party viz, theWelfare Party of India, sent theirfeedback. Only eight sitting

Members of Parliamentresponded to the consultationpaper, four each from the LokSabha and Rajya Sabha.

A national consultation,widely advertised in the Pressand media, was organised inNew Delhi on February 1,2014. Invitations were sent bypost and email to variouspolitical parties. There wereonly eight parties who cared tosend in their representatives —All India NR Congress(Puducherry), All JharkhandStudents Union (Jharkhand),Biju Janata Dal, CommunistParty of India (Marxist),Nationalist Congress Party,Jammu and Kashmir NationalPanthers Party, Rashtriya LokDal and Telangana RashtraSamithi. Most national andregional parties did not attend.The Election Commission ofIndia was the only one tosend its delegation. FormerChief Election CommissionerSY Quraishi also participated.

This illustrates the commit-ment of political parties, ratherthe absence of it, towards cleanelections. This is least surpris-ing because election funding(call it financing) is still anopaque territory. No politicalparty would like to demystify iteven while accusing others ofcorrupt practices.

The growing nexusbetween political parties andmoneybags was anticipatedquite early by CRajagopalachari. The use ofillicit money, Rajaji argued, wasundermining the very founda-tions of India’s hard-won free-dom and democracy. He calledfor a set of electoral reforms ina series of scathing articles hewrote for Swarajya, a magazinefounded by him, and theIllustrated Weekly between 1957and 1970.

The most radical reformhe suggested for the pre-EVMera was reversing the votingprocess. Instead of votersqueuing up at the pollingbooths, the ballot box shouldbe taken door-to-door by theadministration (candidatesand polling agents wouldaccompany) with proper secu-rity on the pattern of decenni-al census. The step, he felt,would obviate the need forexpensive campaigns by polit-ical parties to bring voters tothe ballot boxes while ensur-ing nearly universal voting.

There seems to be noaction taken by theGovernment on the LawCommission of India’s reportsNo: 244 and 255 over the lastfive years. It was to the creditof the Supreme Court to dis-

qualify convictedcandidates/legislators for lifetime. The only important pro-posal by the Government ie,exploring the possibility ofsimultaneous elections to LokSabha and State legislativeAssemblies, was examined bythe Parliamentary StandingCommittee on Personnel,Public Grievances, Law andJustice for its 79th Report(December , 2015). Its recom-mendations are now pendingwith the Law Commission ofIndia where it has been referredto “work out a practicable roadmap and framework” (videLok Sabha starred questionNo: 219, dated August 1, 2018).We are going round and roundthe mulberry bushes. The lastamendment to theRepresentation of the PeopleAct, 1951, had come in 2004.

The alternative to formulat-ing new laws by Parliament isvoluntary ethical behaviour byparties and contestants. There isstill another alternative where aconscious and conscientiouselectorate compels the contes-tants to behave ethically. Theelectorate oath suggested aboveis only a step in that direction.

(The writer is an indepen-dent researcher based in NewDelhi; views expressed herein arehis personal)

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Sir — It is ironic that with thegeneral elections just a few weeksaway, there is still confusion overVVPAT. The recent move by theSupreme Court to give time topotential stakeholders, who havenow petitioned to audit at least 50per cent of VVPATs in eachAssembly or Parliamentary seg-ment, has caught the voters off-guard.

With logistical arrangementsalready in place, the move to delaythe results by six days in caseVVPAT audit stands at 50 percent may not be feasible as sug-gested by the ElectionCommission (EC). The bestoption for it is to devise a strate-gy to speed up VVPAT countingthan depend on the current sys-tem of manual counting.

As the status of contestants isalready determined in EVMs,the EC can implement technolo-gy-based solutions into VVPATslips like digital verification, barcoding of slips and e-mappingamong others to obtain andmatch the final audit trail andmatch it with the outcome.

Varun SDBengaluru

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Sir — The nation has been witness-ing a number of unnecessary by-elections leading to heavy financialburden on the public exchequer. By-polls due to death of sitting LokSabha or Assembly members areunavoidable. Those due to the ele-vation of a House member to thepost of President or Vice-President

are also unavoidable.Generally, prime ministerial

or chief ministerial candidates con-test from two seats. But cases of can-didates contesting from two ormore seats are an exception. Often,a Lok Sabha member resigns tocontest an Assembly election or viceversa, leading to frequent by-polls.A stricter law needs to be enactedto bar a sitting member fromresigning to contest in Assembly or

a parliamentary seat to preventsquandering of tax payers’ money.

KV SeetharamaiahHassan

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Sir — It’s unfortunate that PrimeMinister Narendra Modi is onceagain playing the “Hindu card” byraking up “Hindu sentiments”, a

clear shift from the developmentagenda promised by him. He hasunabashedly accused the Congressof committing a “bahut bada paap”(grievous sin) by linking Hinduswith terrorism and mockedCongress chief Rahul Gandhi for“taking shelter in a constituencywhere the majority (Hindu com-munity) is in the minority”.

Accusing the Congress oftarnishing the country’s “5,000-year-old” Hindu culture, Modiasked his audience: “Can a Hindube a terrorist?” But one can askthe Prime Minister, do the terms‘Islamic terror’ and ‘Hindu terror’denote that the followers of thesefaiths are terrorists, en masse? Ifcalling Al Qaeda, the IS and thePakistan-sponsored radicalgroups as Islamic terrorists is notto brand the followers of Islam asterrorists, then the same logicapplies to some extremist Hindugroups, who were prosecuted forplanning and carrying out bomb-ings to kill Muslims, and werebranded Hindu terrorists. Identitypolitics sows a division that liveson after the polls.

J AkshayBengaluru

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Post the unfortunate Pulwamaterror attack, the country haswitnessed a substantial increasein communal unrest. Peoplehave been using the safe space of

social media to post comments that pro-mote hate speech that has spread on theinternet like cancer. It is highly unlikelythat such voices will come down anytimesoon in the foreseeable future. Whetherpeople’s views are right or wrong isanother matter for debate. The discussionat hand should be whether the rules asprescribed in the Constitution allowthem to do so?

Article 19(1)(a) of the IndianConstitution provides every citizen of thecountry with the freedom to speech andexpression. This is an inalienable right thatforms the core of the democratic values.However, this freedom is not absolute andis qualified by restrictions listed underArticle 19(2) of the Constitution. Upon aclose reading of these limitations, one cancome to the conclusion that despite thefact that hate speech is not listed as a directexception, it does fall under other speci-fied exceptions, including security of thestate, public order and incitement to anoffence. Therefore, a citizen has theConstitutional right to speech only untilit takes the form of hate propaganda.

The Indian Penal Code (IPC) containsprovisions that deal with the promulga-tion of hate propaganda. Section 153Acondemns promoting enmity between dif-ferent groups on the grounds of religion,race, place of birth, residence and languageamong others, and carrying out actsprejudicial to the maintenance of harmo-ny. Section 295A provides for penal sanc-tions against acts that are intendedtowards outraging of religious feelings ofany class by insulting its religion or reli-gious beliefs.

Section 298 penalises any act, word orgesture with the deliberate intent towound the religious feelings of any person.Section 499, explanation 2 provides forgroup defamation if the imputation of aword or act is against an identifiable group or collection of people as distin-guishable from the rest of the class or com-munity. Section 505(1)(c) penalises actsthat incite any class or community againsteach other.

The Cinematograph Act, 1952 underSection 5-B provides the film certificationboard with the power to deny any film cer-tification if it, wholly or in parts, isagainst the interest of sovereignty andintegrity of India, security of the state,friendly relations with foreign states, pub-lic order, decency or morality, or involvesdefamation or contempt of court or is like-ly to incite the commission of any offence.Rule 6 and 7 of the Cable TelevisionNetworks Rules, 1994 prohibit the telecastof any programme or advertisement whichpromotes communal attitudes. Further, the

Norms of Journalistic Conduct providecertain guidelines on the reporting ofcommunal happenings.

While these are laws that may notdirectly deal with the issue of hatespeech, the Supreme Court has readthe Constitution in an elaborate man-ner so as to encompass such provisionswithin the limits of reasonable restric-tions under Article 19(2). In the caseof Ramji Lal Modi vs State of UttarPradesh, the apex court was faced withthe issue of determining theConstitutional validity of Section295A of the IPC. The argument wasthat Section 295A comes underChapter 15 of the IPC, dealing withoffences relating to religion and notChapter 8, which deals with offencesagainst public tranquility.

Therefore, offences relating toreligion have no bearing on the main-tenance of public order, or tranquil-lity and, consequently, a law creatingan offence relating to religion andimposing restrictions on the right tofreedom of speech and expressioncannot claim the protection underArticle 19(2).

However, the court applied abroad interpretation of the words “inthe interest of ” as given under Article19(2). It stated, “A law may not havebeen designed to directly maintainpublic order and yet it may have beenenacted in the interests of public order.The right to freedom of religionassured by those Articles is expresslymade subject to public order, moral-ity and health. Therefore, it cannot bepredicated that freedom of religioncan have no bearing whatever on themaintenance of public order or that alaw creating an offence relating to reli-gion cannot under any circumstancesbe said to have been enacted in the

interests of public order. These twoArticles in terms contemplate thatrestrictions may be imposed on therights guaranteed by them in the inter-ests of public order.” Therefore, thecourt came to the conclusion that hatespeech can be carved out as an excep-tion under Article 19(2) underdomains such as public order orsecurity of the state.

Another important case concern-ing hate speech is Bilal Ahmed Kaloovs State of Andhra Pradesh. The caserelated to a Kashmiri youth beingbooked under the IPC for allegedlyinciting the people of Hyderabad toprovide a violent reply to the actscommitted by the Army on KashmiriMuslims. In this case, the point ofdetermination was whether this act ofhis constituted hate propaganda,would come under Section 153A or505(2) of the IPC?

The Supreme Court in this casecame to the conclusion that for theapplication of either Section 153A or505(2), it is necessary that at least twosuch groups or communities shouldbe involved. The court further statedthat merely inciting feelings of onecommunity or group without anyreference to any other community orgroup cannot attract either of the twosections. This case also holds impor-tance as it showcased the differencebetween Section 153A and 505. Theapex court held that while Section505(2) requires publication of the hatepropaganda, Section 153A coversevery case without the necessaryrequirement of publication.

It is important to note that thecourt has over time broadened thescope of hate speech under the law. Inthe case of Gopal Vinayak Godse vsUnion of India, concerning the forfei-

ture of the book Gandhi-hatya AniMee (Gandhi-assassination And I)authored by Nathuram Godse, theissue revolved around Section 153A ofIPC. The court read down the Section to hold that in case of Section153A, first, it is not necessary to provethat because the material under con-sideration, enmity or hatred, was infact caused.

Second, the intention to promotehatred is not a necessary ingredient ofthe offence and if it is shown that thelanguage of the text is such that it isof a nature calculated to promote feel-ings of enmity, then the person wouldbe booked under the same. Further, atruthful account of history is nodefence to the offence.

Therefore, it can be seen that theconspectus within which the law onhate speech operates is very wide. Theproblem that surrounds hate speechis that it acts as a tool in the hands ofthe Government to curb the freedomof speech of a person, the effect ofwhich is that it leads to the failure ofdemocracy in the country.

As it can be seen, if a person is notallowed to recount even the truefacts of history, then it is a direct attackon the sacrosanct right of speech andexpression.

Therefore, despite exercising nec-essary reasonable restrictions in mat-ters of hate propaganda, it should notbe stretched to such an extent as aresult of which it unjustly affects the right to speech ofan individual.

(Raghav Pandey is an AssistantProfessor of Law at MaharashtraNational Law University, Mumbai andNeelabh Bist is a Fourth Year studentof Law at Maharashtra National LawUniversity, Mumbai)

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The great Indian elections are justround the corner, scheduled tobe held in seven phases from

April 11 to May 19, covering 543 con-stituencies to constitute the 17th LokSabha. The grand event will have a riv-etting impact on the country with itsbureaucracy, population and adminis-trative machinery being stretched to itsfull limit.

The phenomenal democratic exer-cise caters to not only the hopes andaspirations of millions of Indians butis a once-in-five-years event wherepolitical parties and their leadersrecommit themselves to the service ofthe nation. As sops, subsidies andpromises flow unhindered during thistime, one cannot but wonder how envi-ronment and climate change get a cur-

sory mention in the campaign speech-es of political parties. Party manifestoes— the mainstay of any party’s commit-ment towards the electorate — havelargely become stereotypical and repet-itive. Gone are the days of excitementwhen one would explore the promis-es and initiatives assured by the partyand look forward to their implemen-tation if the party rode to power.Assurances in today’s manifestoes arefeeble and lack the push even if a partyassumes power or not. Burning issuespertaining to climate change and envi-ronment are the main sufferers in thesedocuments as they are relegated to theback burner and are instituted into thedocument only as a formality.

The Congress’ manifesto releasedthis week is an apt example. The doc-ument makes an extremely generalisedreference to climate change and howthe party would attend to it. Further,there’s a lack of depth in the assurance.This shows how the drafting commit-tee probably failed to grasp the gravi-ty of the problem.

Almost all political parties fightthe elections based on populist mea-sures and dole-outs. Thanks to this

never-ending competition to woo thevoters, the State and Central trea-suries are not only getting emptiedbut real issues such as climate changeare also being ignored. Owing to thelack of awareness, people, too, areplaying hand-in-glove with the cam-paigners, forgetting that for someshort-run benefits and gains, they aregiving up on the security of a climatechange proof future.

Unfortunately, it is in the best inter-est of political entities to keep the vot-ers in the lurch about the real issues.Hence, there is never a change in this

pattern. To make matters worse, evennon-government and not-for-profitbodies, who pride themselves for thesocial service they render, are doingnothing sizeable when it comes to edu-cating the voters on climate-relatedissues. India prides itself on being anemerging economic superpower thathas high levels of technically qualifiedand educated people. But sadly, thisdoes not reflect sufficiently when oneobserves its polity and processes. Thelevel of education is directly propor-tionate to the level of awareness.Therefore, it is puzzling how a fairly

educated population is allowing essen-tial issues like that of climate change toget buried in the last pages of the man-ifesto. These subjects relating to envi-ronment must feature in the top fivesubjects on which every party andleader’s contribution and performanceis evaluated and ranked.

Certainly, it is not the same casewith some countries around theworld. Environmental issues form the“national strategies” of political par-ties in many countries. These partiesare obliged to discuss and debate atlength their climate change strategiesbefore experts and provide sustainablesolutions, which are implementable,once they come to power. The UnitedStates presidential elections slated foryear 2020 is a good example wherecandidates and parties are feverishlyputting together their strategies onhow to tackle climate change. Thisbecause an aware population ofAmerica would like to know how theenvironment would be cared for andherein lies the lesson for India.

Political parties and their leadersonly play what the people want to hear.The more the people focus on mate-

rial benefits and free sops, more willthe focus shift to those subjects.Instead, if the population becomesaware of its environmental predica-ments and demands an action planfrom contestants on a priority basis,parties will have no other option butto respect people’s wish and deliver anactionable plan to pull the countryback from the brink of climate change-induced disasters.

But how will this take place? Whowill generate the much-needed con-sciousness among the people? Asmuch surprising this may sound, it isthe Government’s responsibility toshow the correct path. It must educatethe people that only a nation that caresfor its nature and natural resources isone that truly prospers and progress-es. This course-correction needs a mav-erick political party and an equallycharismatic leader who can bravelyshun populist measures and think forthe long-term well-being of India.Will these elections produce such aleader? The answer lies in the cam-paigning and what is being promised.

(The writer is an environmentaljournalist)

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Cash-starved Jet Airways onWednesday deferred the

March salary payment to itsemployees, citing “complexi-ties” involved in the finalisationof the debt-recast plan, underwhich the SBI-led consortiumof lenders has taken over themanagement control of theairline.

Earlier, the airline had beendelaying the salaries of itspilots, engineers and seniorstaff since August who have notbeen paid since January.

The company has over16,000 employees on its payroll.

“Given the complexities ofsuch (finalisation of the reso-lution plan) processes, it hastaken us longer than expected.However, we continue to striveand are in continuous deliber-ations with the lenders andinstitutions to find a solution.

“In light of the current sit-uation, please note that salariesfor March 2019 will bedeferred,” Jet Airways chiefpeople officer Rahul Tanejasaid in a communication tostaff on Wednesday.

Though the managementdid not give a specific date forpayment, it said the companywill provide an update on theissue on April 9.

On March 25, Jet Airwaysboard had approved a resolu-tion plan formulated by SBI-led domestic lenders, underwhich had agreed to infuse anemergency funding of �1,500crore into the airline, andconvert the same into equityworth 50.1 percent for anotional value of just Re 1each share.

However, the funds are yetto be disbursed due to “tech-nical” reasons.

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Cash-strapped Jet Airways isoperating 28 planes,

including 15 aircraft in thedomestic routes, Civil AviationSecretary Pradeep SinghKharola said on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, Kharolasaid that less than 15 planes ofthe airline were flying.

Jet Airways, where thelenders are set to take controlas part of a debt resolutionplan, on Tuesday disclosedthat it has grounded 15 moreaircraft due to non-paymentof lease rentals.

Asked about the activefleet of Jet Airways, Kharola, onthe sidelines of an aviationconference in the morning,

said, “yesterday, it was 28”.When told that the airline

has announced grounding 15more aircraft, he said that thenthe current fleet would be “lessthan about 15”.

In the evening, Kharolaclarified to PTI that JetAirways is operating around 28planes and out of them, about15 are operating in the domes-tic routes.

On the sidelines of theconference here, the civil avi-ation secretary also said that JetAirways’ ability to fly interna-tional operations needs to be“examined”.

In the afternoon, a DGCAspokesperson said Jet Airwayscontinues to fly 28 aircraft as ondate.

“The 15 aircraft reported isalready accounted for and wasonly informed to the stockexchanges by Jet Airways yes-terday,” the spokesperson said.

On Tuesday evening, theairline informed the stockexchanges that it has grounded15 more aircraft due to non-pay-ment of lease rentals. Now, thetotal number of planes ground-ed on account of default in leaserental payments, as disclosed bythe airline, stands at 69.

In a statement issued in theafternoon, Jet Airways said, “asinformed to the regulator(DGCA), the airline is operat-ing a curtailed schedule withsufficient number of aircraft,and is compliant with applica-ble guidelines”.

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Shares of Jet Airways onWednesday closed with a loss

of over 5 per cent after the carri-er grounded as many as 15 moreplanes due to lease rental defaults.

With the latest move onTuesday, the fleet of the cashstrapped airline has come downto just 20 from its peak of 123,through which it used to oper-ate over 650 flights across thecountry and continents.

On the BSE, the stock

closed at �251.10, shedding5.21 per cent from the previousclose. Intra-day, it had slumped6.37 per cent to �248.

Following the downtrendon the NSE, the scrip settled at�251, down 5.28 per cent. It wastrading at an intra-day low of�248.20. In terms of equity vol-ume, over 1.33 crore scrips weretraded on the stock exchangesduring the trading session.

“An additional 15 aircrafthave been grounded due to non-payment of amounts outstanding

to lessors under their respectivelease agreements,” Jet Airways saidin a regulatory filing on Tuesday.

With this, the number ofplanes grounded on account oflease rental defaults alonetouched 69.

Besides, the domestic pilotsunion of Jet Airways, NationalAviator Guild, has written to theaviation regulator DGCA andairline chief executive VinayDube, pressing for payment ofthree months of salary duesalong with applicable interest.

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French carmaking conglom-erate Groupe PSA on

Wednesday announced thatthey will launch their Citroënbrand in India with their firstproduct, the C5 Aircross to belaunched around the end of2020. The French company hasestablished a joint-venture withthe CK Birla Group which willhelp them manufacture vehiclesat Thiruvallur and power plantsin Hosur in Tamil Nadu from2021 onwards. The vehicleswill be ‘inspired’ by Indiaaccording to the carmaker andexpansion into India is a criti-cal part of the carmakers ‘Pushto Pass’ strategy as they try todiversify from Western Europe.

Carlos Tavares, Chairman,Groupe PSA said that the coreof the company’s philosophywas ‘Inspired by You’ and thatIndia with its high growthpotential was a key market forthe group as it expanded out-side Europe. He added that the‘Push to Pass’ strategy hadmade Groupe PSA one of themost profitable large automo-bile companies in the world,but having learnt from priorexperiences their plans in Indiawill be steady starting with the

new C5 Aircross which will belaunched around the end of2020.

Linda Jackson, ChiefExecutive Officer, Citroënbrand explained the logicbehind launching the large C5instead of one of Groupe PSA’smyriad small car platforms,“this is the latest productlaunched by Citroën and wasunveiled at the Geneva MotorShow recently. We want tolaunch our flagship model firstbecause it highlights our designand innovations.” Starting fromthe second-half of 2021,Citroën will launch vehicles‘inspired’ by India which will beheavily localised from Day 1,and Tavares said that these

vehicles could also be export-ed from here. The C5 Aircrosswill compete against the likesof the Jeep Compass butJackson made it clear thatCitroën did not see themselvesas a luxury brand and was aim-ing for the ‘heart’ of the mar-ket, and their prices wouldreflect that but that did notmean that the C5 Aircrosswould lack for advanced fea-tures such as the company’ssuspension technologies.

The company is starting anationwide roadshow to attractdealer partners from Julyonwards and believes that theirlate entry into the market willallow them to study the suc-cesses and failures of others. As

for new drivetrain technologies,Tavares highlighted that allnew Citroën vehicles have beendesigned with multi-energyoptions in mind but when itcame to India they would haveto find the appropriate momentto launch such a platform sincepricing is an issue.

Groupe PSA also owns thePeugeot and Opel brands, hav-ing acquired the latter fromGeneral Motors in 2018. Boththose brands have had priorexperiences in India but sawsales stall and withdrew fromthe market. However, Tavaresis confident that this time willbe different and a step-by-stepapproach will see them succeed.

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The Supreme Court’s orderquashing the RBI’s

February 12 circular will givethe Government discretionarypower to issue direction to theapex bank for referring adefaulting company to theNCLT on case by case basis inpublic interest, official sourcessaid.

The Supreme CourtTuesday quashed the RBI cir-cular of last year that pertainsto the provisions for referringthe defaulter to the NationalCompany Law Tribunal(NCLT) even on a one-dayoverdue.

However, the SC hadupheld the constitutionalvalidity of Section 35AA of theBanking Regulation Act,which empowers the Centre toact, either directly or by direct-ing RBI to take action againstdefaulters.

Section 35AA empowersthe central government toauthorise the RBI to issuedirections to any bankingcompany or banking compa-nies to initiate insolvency res-olution process in respect of a

default under the provisions ofthe IBC.

Sections 35AA and 35ABwere introduced by an amend-ment to the BankingRegulation Act in May 2017.

The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) had on February 12,2018 issued the circular sayingthat lenders have to providefor resolution plan within 180days in case of large account of�2,000 crore and above.

According to sources, theSupreme Court order on theRBI’s circular does not limitgovernment powers to givedirections to PSU banks inresolving non-performingassets.

Prior to February 12 cir-cular, the resolution mecha-nism available to banks wereCorporate Debt RestructuringScheme (CDR), Scheme forSustainable Structuring ofStressed Assets (S4A), andJoint Lenders’ Forum (JLF).

Following yesterday’s SCorder restructuring schemeslike S4A may come back, thesources said.

Revised framework forresolution of stressed assetsissued on February 12, 2018

invited criticism from variousquarters, including a parlia-mentary panel.

The RBI substituted theprevious guidelines with aharmonised and simplifiedgeneric framework for resolu-tion of stressed assets in viewof the enactment of theInsolvency and BankruptcyCode.

“Although the new guide-lines have been termed asharmonized and simplifiedgeneric framework, yet theyare far from being so,”Standing Committee onEnergy in its report tabled inParliament last year said.

“The Committee are ofthe opinion that the coinage ofrestructuring in resolutionplan is hollow without havingany serious meaning or busi-ness which only reflects theblurred vision of RBI inunderstanding and appreciat-ing the problems. TheCommittee expect that clari-ty of thought and transparen-cy in approach should be theguiding factor to streamlineand strengthen the sectorsquirming under ineluctablehardships,” it said.

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The commerce ministry,after consulting various

departments like IT and agri-culture, has made an offer tothe US to resolve trade issuesbetween the two countries,Union Minister Suresh Prabhusaid on Wednesday.

The US is demandinggreater market access for itsagricultural, dairy productsand medical devices. Besides,they are seeking reduction inimport duties on certain ITproducts and increasing theirexports to bridge trade deficitwith India.

Prabhu said that whateverthe US is asking from India isconcerned with different min-istries, including IT and agri-culture.

“We have consulted allthe ministries and we havegiven them an offer,” thecommerce and industr yminister told PTI whenasked about the steps beingtaken to resolve trade issueswith America.

However, he did not dis-close the details of the offer.

Although officials of Indiaand the US have been negoti-ating a trade package, Americalast month announced to with-draw benefits being providedby them to Indian exportsunder their Generalised Systemof Preferences (GSP) pro-gramme.

The US has decided to goahead with its decision toscrap the preferential tradebenefit under GSP schemeafter 60 days, which isexpected to impact India’sexports to the US worth $5.6bi l l ion under this pro-gramme.

Prabhu said that in the lastone year, the US exports toIndia have increased by about48 per cent and it does notinclude defence purchasesmade.

He also said that Indiawould like to buy about 1,000aircrafts from the world and theUS could be one of the poten-tial suppliers.

Defence purchases and thiskind of procurement is going tochange the things dramatical-ly with regard to trade balance,he added.

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Tokyo prosecutors are con-sidering pressing a fresh

charge on former Nissan chiefCarlos Ghosn, local media saidon Wednesday, which would bethe latest twist in the autotycoon’s dramatic downfall.

Investigators are eyeing apossible aggravated breach oftrust charge related to at least$32 million in Nissan fundstransferred to a distributor inOman, according to local newsagency Jiji Press.

Some of the money isbelieved to have been used to buya luxury boat allegedly used byGhosn and his family, accordingto a source familiar with the mat-ter. If Tokyo prosecutors were tomove forward with the case, itwould be the fourth criminalcharge against the 65-year-oldformer high-flying auto execu-tive, who denies all allegations.

Ghosn already faces threecharges of financial misconductover allegations he under-reported his compensation andsought to transfer personal

losses to Nissan’s books.Tokyo district prosecutors

are discussing the case withmore senior colleagues beforedeciding whether to proceed,Japanese media said.

If prosecutors were to filenew charges, it would not nec-essarily mean Ghosn returns tothe detention centre where hespent more than three monthsbefore winning bail on March6, according to a local lawyer.

“The prosecutor can hitGhosn with new charges with-out sending him back to prison.Prosecutors would need toagain justify a detention by say-ing he was a flight risk andcould destroy evidence andthe chances seem fairly slim,”said the lawyer, who asked toremain anonymous.

The news came after itemerged that lawyers forRenault — Nissan’s parentcompany that Ghosn also led— have handed over docu-ments to prosecutors showing“millions of euros” in pay-ments to the firm’s distributorsin Oman.

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The Supreme Court orderquashing a crucial RBI cir-

cular on dud assets resolution willpush resolution timelines andalso clouds the gains achieved oncredit discipline over last year, areport said on Wednesday.

The order will not materi-ally impact the banks’ assetquality as a bulk of stress hasalready been recognised, thereport by domestic ratingagency Crisil said.

“Supreme Court ruling onRBIs norms to extend resolu-tion timelines on NPAs...Theimprovement in credit disci-pline in the past year and theexpectation of quick turn-around in stressed assets reso-lution could come under somecloud,” it said.

Companies in the powersector, which were amongthose who had petitioned theapex court, will get a respite, theagency said, adding most ofthem were on the verge ofbeing referred to NCLT(National Company LawTribunal).

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Taxmen in 22 countriesworldwide have raked in

more than $1.2 billion in finesand back taxes thanks to the2016 “Panama Papers” leak ofinformation about offshoredealings, media reportedWednesday.

Britain has recouped some$253 million, France $136 mil-lion and Australia $93 million,the International Consortiumof Investigative Journalists(ICIJ) posted on its website.

German newspaperSueddeutsche Zeitung —which received the massiveleak of documents fromPanamanian law firm MossackFonseca on which the investi-gation was based — reportedBerlin has reaped $183 millionfrom related tax probes.

“While recouping the pro-ceeds of hidden assets helps tofund vital Government ser-vices, there is a growing senti-ment that the enduring legacyof the Panama Papers will be itseffect on behaviour and publicattitudes,” the ICIJ said.

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Logically, a tech start-up onWednesday launched its

intuitive, human-centric plat-form powered by ExtendedIntelligence (EI) machine learn-ing, Natural LanguageProcessing (NLP) and humanoversight to empower citizens tocombat fake news and misin-formation on any topic, avail-able to everyone on Android,and the web.

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Placio, a Student Housingcompany announced its part-

nership with Kuwait basedManaged Housing Company,Arabian Link for its first overseasventure.

Arabian Link has chosen Placiofrom many other Professional

Co-Living O&M companies inIndia and GCC region to expandits operational bandwidth acrossthe GCC.

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Snapping its four-session ris-ing streak, benchmarkSensex tumbled about 180

points on Wednesday asinvestors took money off thetable following forecast of below-normal monsoon this year.

Benchmark indices, whichgot off to a positive start, divedin late afternoon trade after pri-vate weather forecaster Skymetpredicted below-normal mon-soon for 2019, stoking fears ofa slowdown in growth.

All BSE sectoral indicesfinished with losses, led by oiland gas, telecom, capital goodsand industrials.

After swinging nearly 450points, the 30-share BSE Sensexsettled 179.53 points, or 0.46%lower at 38,877.12. The gaugehad closed above the 39,000-mark for the first time ever onTuesday.

The broader NSE Nifty too

pared early gains and ended69.25 points, or 0.59%, down at11,643.95.

The Skymet forecast“comes just a day before RBI isexpected to cut rates by 25 bpsand adopt a pro-growth stance.However, expectation of poorrainfall and already slow eco-nomic growth alongside sub-dued inflation may pressuriseRBI to go for a higher rate cut,thus surprising the street pos-itively,” said Sunil Sharma, chiefinvestment officer, SanctumWealth Management.

The RBI’s Monetary PolicyCommittee (MPC) will unveilthe first policy statement for2019-20 on Thursday.

“Market slid after touchinga new high as initial forecast ofbelow normal monsoon bySkymet and rise in oil pricesimpacted the sentiment.Investors are likely to be morevigilant going forward due togeneral election and have a bot-

tom-up approach consideringthe performance of fourth quar-ter results.

“Global market stayed pos-itive due to signs of pick up inChinese economy andprospects of US-China tradedeal,” said Vinod Nair, head ofresearch, Geojit FinancialServices.

SBI was the biggest loser inthe Sensex pack, shedding2.40%, followed by Yes Bank,Bharti Airtel, L&T, Sun Pharma,M&M, ICICI Bank, ONGC,RIL, Asian Paints, Vedanta andHUL, which lost up to 2.37%.

On the other hand, Maruti,HCL Tech, HDFC, Tata Steel,PowerGrid, Hero MotoCorpand TCS ended with gains of upto 2.78%. Broader indices tooended in the red, with the BSEMidcap and Smallcap slippingup to 0.87%.

Meanwhile, foreign insti-tutional investors (FIIs)remained net buyers in the

capital markets, putting in�543.36 crore Tuesday, whiledomestic institutional investors(DIIs) sold equities to the tuneof �437.70 crore, provisionaldata available with stockexchanges showed.

Global markets rallied tosix-month highs amid opti-mism surrounding the US-China trade talks.

In Asia, Hong Kong’s HangSeng jumped 1.22%, Korea’sKospi rose 1.20%, Japan’s Nikkeiended 0.97% higher andShanghai Composite Indexgained 1.24%. In Europe,Frankfurt’s DAX was up 1.33%,Paris CAC 40 rose 0.74%, whileLondon’s FTSE slipped 0.04% inearly deals.

The benchmark Brentcrude futures rose 0.53% toUSD 69.74 per barrel on sup-ply concerns.

Meanwhile, the rupeeappreciated 30 paise to 68.44against the US dollar intra-day.

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Commercial vehicle majorAshok Leyland is in the

process of developing a newmodular platform on which itplans to roll out its futuremedium and heavy productsfrom next year, a top companyofficial said. This will fuel thenext round of growth indomestic and overseas markets,he added.

The company, which hasearmarked a capex of �1,500crore for various projects dur-ing the current fiscal, is alsoworking on a separate platformfor light commercial vehicles(LCVs). The new platforms areexpected to come on streamnext year, thus helping thecompany consolidate its pres-ence, especially in the interna-tional markets.

“We are working on amodular business programme.So in 2020 with the introduc-tion of BS VI vehicles we willbe coming out with a new plat-form,” Ashok LeylandChairman Dheeraj Hindujatold PTI in an interview here.

The new platform wouldhelp the Hinduja Group flag-ship firm cater to various cus-tomer demands in a cost effec-tive manner, he added. The newmodular platform will give amajor advantage as the com-pany’s export sales were limit-ed for many years as it did not

have a strong portfolio of left-hand drive vehicles, he added.

“As a result of this platform,we will be able to introduce vir-tually every product with left-hand drive version as well,”Hinduja said.

The company has beenworking over the last 18months on a new LCV plat-form which it intends to intro-duce in April 2020. Even withthe limited range currently,the company has been able togarner a market share ofaround 18 per cent in thedomestic market, he added.

“So both domestic andinternational (markets), trucksbuses, light vehicles, heavyvehicles we will have a newrange of products starting from2020,” Hinduja said.

When asked about invest-ments, Hinduja said, “This yearit would be �1,500 crore and itwill carry on next year as well.This year will be most proba-bly peak year of investment andthen it will come down gradu-ally.” The capex would alsocover areas like electric vehiclesrange development, BS VIemission norms complianceamong others, he added.

The new product rangewould give a thrust to thecompany in international mar-kets, Hinduja said. “Our tradi-tional markets have been theMiddle East, SAARC countriesand some pockets in Africa.

With the LCV and ICV (inter-mediate commercial vehicle)range (Boss and Guru) we willbe able to enter ASEAN mar-ket as well,” he said.

In some markets where vol-umes are promising, the com-pany can also come up withsome assembly plants, he added.“But these would be in a verycost effective manner ratherthan putting up large manufac-turing facilities. So we are work-ing which countries it could beworkable,” Hinduja said.

Ashok Leyland currentlyhas manufacturing operationsacross nine countries, includ-ing the UAE, Bangladesh, SriLanka, Nigeria, the UK andKenya. The company is nowamong the top ten truck mak-ers globally, besides beingamong the top five bus makersglobally.

“We had a vision set eightyears ago, that was to be glob-al top ten in truck categorisedover 8 tonnes and global topfive in buses. So a few monthsago we reached that target.When we started the journeywe were at 19th position on theglobal basis,” Hinduja said.

He further said: “Goingahead looking at the successwe have achieved so far, wehave infact now put togethera more aggressive vision forthe company...it is to makeAshok Leyland a leading glob-al player.”

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New Delhi: Infrastructuremajor Larsen & Toubro (L&T)on Wednesday said it wouldoffload its entire stake in L&TKobelco Machinery Private Ltdfor around �43.5 crore.

Larsen & Toubro (L&T)and Kobe Steel have signed anagreement to this effect.

L&T Kobelco MachineryPrivate Ltd (LTKM) is a jointventure between L&T and KobeSteel, wherein Larsen & Toubroholds 51% stake.

“L&T has entered into adefinitive agreement with KobeSteel Ltd, a company regis-tered in Japan, on April 2,2019, for the divestment of itsentire stake in L&T KobelcoMachinery Private Limited,”L&T said in a regulatory filingto the BSE. Following thedivestment of stake, LTKM willcease to be L&T’s subsidiary.LTKM’s total income during theyear 2017-18, was recorded at�82.03 crore. PTI

New Delhi: Diversifiedgroup Raymond onWednesday announced forayinto the real estate sector andlaunched its first housing pro-ject in Mumbai with an expect-

ed revenue of �3,500 crore.Raymond Realty, the new

division of the group, willdevelop a 14-acre housing pro-ject at Thane in Mumbai. Thecompany will construct 3,000

apartments in the first phase.Several Indian big corpo-

rate houses including Tata,Godrej, Mahindra, BombayDyeing and Emami group haveentered the real estate sector

over last one decade. “In our continued efforts to

enhance value for stakeholders,Raymond has forayed into realestate development in order tomonetise the land at Thane,”

Raymond Chairman and MDGautam Hari Singhania said.The land parcel is in the heartof Thane and offers a goodpotential for venturing intothe real estate sector, he added.

Raymond group said thisproject is expected to be cashpositive and would not requiresignificant debt funding. PTI

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Script Open High Low LTPSUZLON 6.90 7.20 6.46 6.52TATAMOTORS 205.30 208.80 199.00 201.10SPICEJET 97.70 99.35 94.00 95.05IBULHSGFIN 841.00 892.00 841.00 869.70JPASSOCIAT 5.50 6.20 5.50 6.11YESBANK 283.20 285.90 272.30 273.75DHFL 146.00 152.75 145.20 148.05AMARAJABAT 724.55 739.20 650.00 672.35DLF 200.05 209.40 199.65 201.90JETAIRWAYS 257.80 260.80 248.00 251.10MARUTI 6890.00 7100.00 6890.00 7074.10BHARTIARTL 356.40 363.15 347.85 349.90RPOWER 10.80 10.89 10.41 10.47PNB 99.00 99.85 93.85 94.45ZEEL 421.00 423.85 400.40 403.70RELIANCE 1394.45 1402.35 1370.00 1373.80TATASTEEL 535.25 546.70 533.25 535.40GODREJPROP 888.00 937.00 877.20 891.45SBIN 330.30 332.65 319.55 320.65RELCAPITAL 204.05 205.80 193.30 194.40KOTAKBANK 1338.05 1358.65 1335.35 1338.55BHEL 75.50 76.00 72.90 73.65SAIL 57.10 58.80 56.70 57.55BANKBARODA 134.40 137.00 131.20 131.90HINDPETRO 275.00 275.00 260.00 260.60IFCI 13.75 13.86 13.33 13.38RELINFRA 140.50 142.00 136.80 137.45INFY* 759.00 759.05 747.00 754.05IDBI 46.00 46.35 44.05 44.45IBVENTURES 342.25 357.00 335.00 336.90BEL 101.80 102.40 96.30 97.15

ICICIBANK 398.00 402.85 390.90 392.40EXIDEIND 216.20 216.20 209.05 210.10ALBK 55.65 56.25 52.85 53.25RAYMOND 831.05 843.90 782.00 808.55SIEMENS 1129.75 1172.75 1128.35 1161.25ASHOKLEY 89.90 90.75 87.55 87.90TCS 2089.80 2089.80 2060.00 2080.25BPCL 381.00 381.75 363.00 364.35IDFCFIRSTB 55.05 55.50 54.20 54.40LT 1411.90 1415.00 1376.00 1379.90FEDERALBNK 97.65 98.45 95.10 95.55L&TFH 152.00 155.85 151.75 152.30JINDALSTEL 184.65 188.90 181.65 182.30TATAMTRDVR 99.00 100.20 96.15 97.15IDEA 16.55 17.00 15.85 15.95GRAPHITE 460.25 466.90 447.50 452.15HEXAWARE 359.00 365.00 352.05 360.25DELTACORP 273.55 277.75 261.05 262.85IOC 158.45 159.70 153.40 153.75PERSISTENT* 633.00 639.90 626.50 628.70IBREALEST 92.50 94.70 90.10 90.55HEG 2128.00 2136.40 2090.00 2094.60BANDHANBNK 534.80 553.90 534.00 550.00PNBHOUSING 920.00 974.45 902.00 915.70M&M 670.00 676.75 655.90 658.15LAKSHVILAS 85.00 87.80 83.05 84.15HDFCLIFE 381.90 391.55 379.90 383.40SBILIFE 601.15 615.00 600.00 603.05INDUSINDBK 1779.50 1816.00 1765.00 1772.80HDFC 1997.00 2031.85 1997.00 2012.75INDIACEM 110.60 112.40 106.30 107.05SUNPHARMA 472.90 473.70 460.05 462.90RECLTD 147.70 152.00 147.70 150.60AXISBANK 771.80 772.95 758.55 761.40MMTC 28.05 29.30 27.85 29.00NBCC 64.00 64.35 62.20 62.35DISHTV 39.55 40.00 38.10 38.35CANBK 297.20 300.50 283.45 285.20UNIONBANK 99.00 100.30 94.45 94.75BAJFINANCE 3062.20 3088.00 3034.35 3042.10INDHOTEL 159.20 161.00 154.00 154.90ICICIGI 1010.00 1035.90 1005.60 1013.50GICRE 254.30 271.15 254.30 263.65BANKINDIA 106.00 107.35 101.05 101.55BEML 1014.40 1034.35 993.50 1001.60HEROMOTOCO 2595.40 2595.40 2569.60 2582.60IPCALAB 960.90 1005.95 950.00 964.65BOMDYEING 139.50 141.00 136.30 136.95SOUTHBANK 17.00 17.25 16.65 16.75VEDL 189.85 191.15 185.10 185.85LUPIN 785.00 789.65 765.10 770.95DABUR 407.00 409.00 402.00 403.20HINDUNILVR 1685.00 1686.50 1670.00 1671.85RCF 59.85 61.80 59.40 59.75

MARICO 356.90 358.50 353.10 354.65MAXINDIA 70.00 70.35 69.50 70.10TATAELXSI 993.20 1000.00 970.00 974.30INDIGO 1394.70 1396.25 1361.25 1365.15JUSTDIAL 600.00 606.50 585.95 590.15PCJEWELLER 83.50 84.00 81.10 81.65NCC 111.05 112.50 108.25 110.20ORIENTBANK 116.00 116.85 111.10 111.60CASTROLIND 165.70 172.80 165.70 167.90JUBLFOOD 1448.95 1460.00 1422.00 1427.25SUNTECK 476.80 485.95 463.70 467.35JSLHISAR 95.55 101.25 94.05 95.85JSWSTEEL 290.05 294.50 288.90 290.35STRTECH 224.70 224.70 218.15 219.20CYIENT* 583.70 595.00 579.00 581.75ASIANPAINT 1518.00 1529.95 1491.25 1496.95AUROPHARMA 789.00 795.45 769.75 771.65SRTRANSFIN 1202.00 1224.95 1195.00 1199.90JUBILANT 692.00 701.85 690.35 696.35BAJAJ-AUTO 2860.00 2879.90 2836.00 2848.90ITC 297.80 298.45 295.00 295.85MOTHERSUMI 156.00 156.70 149.30 150.35HDFCBANK 2295.00 2315.45 2290.00 2295.25ESCORTS 775.00 788.80 765.00 767.40WIPRO 263.00 263.00 258.35 261.50EDELWEISS 194.70 195.65 186.40 187.80PFC 121.15 123.30 119.45 119.90WOCKPHARMA 445.25 453.20 434.80 437.75TITAN 1114.00 1128.00 1097.40 1100.15HCLTECH 1109.50 1131.50 1092.90 1117.10SUNTV 635.00 640.75 626.40 629.15BAJAJFINSV 7350.00 7415.80 7292.60 7393.25ICICIPRULI 370.10 374.00 363.45 364.70SOBHA 503.95 505.85 488.55 490.60PIDILITIND 1260.35 1293.40 1257.00 1275.50UJJIVAN 336.95 344.20 326.70 330.25TATAPOWER 74.90 74.90 71.25 71.65HINDZINC 285.10 288.70 281.00 281.65GSFC 106.00 108.50 101.85 102.50TECHM 794.60 794.60 778.00 780.05ABCAPITAL 102.40 103.75 100.00 100.35RCOM 3.59 3.59 3.59 3.59IEX 161.80 168.30 160.55 162.40GRUH 281.95 286.65 280.10 282.00M&MFIN 418.40 427.25 416.00 417.75PEL 2646.00 2657.95 2589.55 2599.30BRITANNIA 2990.00 3012.00 2953.40 2991.75GNFC 313.40 318.25 312.10 314.30PRESTIGE 252.45 259.10 247.10 249.65NMDC 105.05 106.65 104.00 104.55UPL 927.00 937.50 920.45 923.40ONGC 158.80 159.15 154.20 155.65WELCORP 144.55 148.40 143.45 145.00RAJESHEXPO 675.50 708.55 674.50 690.15GODREJAGRO 534.85 542.40 525.00 526.70ADANIPOWER 50.35 50.85 49.00 49.35TATACHEM 600.85 604.00 589.05 591.15SHK 158.00 158.70 151.00 152.00CGPOWER 41.00 41.50 39.85 40.30BHARATFORG 511.40 523.15 501.70 503.55EICHERMOT 20550.00 20550.00 20100.00 20171.05ENGINERSIN 120.55 120.75 116.25 116.80GODREJCP 658.85 672.00 657.20 665.75THERMAX 937.00 959.90 928.70 944.20NATIONALUM 56.00 56.90 55.05 55.45GODREJIND 537.00 544.00 528.05 532.50PHILIPCARB 177.00 179.40 171.65 172.70RBLBANK 680.00 682.05 661.00 663.50BAJAJELEC 569.95 579.25 542.00 550.00SYNDIBANK 45.75 46.00 42.65 43.05CROMPTON 226.00 230.00 222.95 227.65HINDALCO 217.50 218.95 215.00 215.65ITI 104.00 104.70 99.95 100.55SPARC 190.00 191.80 186.00 186.75CONCOR 534.00 541.00 529.25 533.00NTPC 135.15 137.35 133.95 134.75WESTLIFE 445.00 445.00 425.00 434.40KTKBANK 134.90 136.20 130.80 131.75HFCL 23.45 23.60 22.30 22.45IRB 154.00 158.05 147.60 149.80NAVKARCORP 39.20 39.25 37.55 37.70GMRINFRA 19.35 19.40 18.55 18.65ACC 1620.00 1643.10 1618.05 1625.35ADVENZYMES 185.00 185.00 179.85 180.40FSL 49.30 50.35 47.85 48.10FORCEMOT 1702.70 1729.00 1671.00 1679.75MANAPPURAM 122.85 123.50 118.30 119.15COALINDIA 237.75 237.75 233.40 234.70TATAGLOBAL 214.70 215.00 207.05 208.05JAICORPLTD 114.75 115.55 110.00 110.25EQUITAS 137.85 139.15 132.90 135.45VIPIND 495.45 498.50 485.20 488.55GAIL 362.20 364.00 351.25 353.15CEATLTD 1127.00 1131.50 1096.00 1109.60SONATSOFTW 353.05 363.30 349.95 350.95ADANIPORTS 379.50 386.05 379.00 381.05JSWENERGY 76.20 76.50 71.50 71.95VOLTAS 623.00 633.25 615.40 617.65DEEPAKFERT 127.00 137.70 127.00 133.80MUTHOOTFIN 622.60 631.05 606.15 610.15APOLLOTYRE 220.10 224.75 218.55 219.40NAVINFLUOR 759.95 779.90 758.00 767.20OFSS 3421.00 3559.85 3415.00 3509.80INDIANB 283.00 285.95 272.90 274.45VBL 909.00 948.00 908.40 919.95MEGH 61.90 62.90 60.50 60.90CANFINHOME 347.00 360.65 347.00 352.70JISLJALEQS 59.75 60.35 57.25 57.60TVSMOTOR 486.00 493.90 482.65 484.35

GRASIM 845.75 851.25 828.00 832.00JMFINANCIL 93.70 93.75 90.55 90.90INFIBEAM 42.10 43.25 41.50 41.70VENKYS 2260.05 2283.00 2200.00 2207.05RAIN 102.00 102.70 99.00 99.40AVANTI 417.00 419.25 401.40 403.90CHENNPETRO 272.65 272.65 260.90 261.75RADICO 393.60 397.05 392.10 394.70OBEROIRLTY 549.70 552.30 532.50 536.75LTTS 1648.00 1648.00 1574.65 1582.90AUBANK 609.95 620.35 595.60 599.00STAR 476.05 481.80 471.05 474.25HAVELLS 767.00 779.70 764.40 770.10CUMMINSIND 751.40 753.00 727.00 730.40BATAINDIA 1383.00 1408.25 1383.00 1394.05LICHSGFIN 550.40 553.00 540.00 541.80BIOCON 618.00 618.00 607.05 608.00TEAMLEASE 3033.05 3178.00 3021.05 3055.65LEMONTREE 86.45 86.45 81.10 82.30GREAVESCOT 145.90 148.90 144.20 145.60SRF 2385.00 2417.90 2369.05 2380.75OMAXE 212.00 212.90 210.50 211.50IGL 305.00 306.40 302.00 302.55POWERGRID 200.80 202.50 199.95 200.35DMART 1493.00 1496.75 1476.10 1479.55MGL 1001.35 1016.50 991.80 996.80VINATIORGA 1680.00 1760.65 1677.75 1715.45ULTRACEMCO 4030.00 4068.55 3985.05 4002.30NOCIL 145.90 146.00 142.85 143.20ANDHRABANK 32.15 32.35 30.70 31.15AMBUJACEM 230.00 235.55 226.35 227.00PETRONET 248.55 249.40 241.50 243.90KANSAINER 459.00 469.90 453.05 465.30NAUKRI 1833.95 1867.00 1823.75 1839.60INTELLECT 219.80 220.70 212.60 213.60BALKRISIND 1003.85 1012.00 990.30 998.40DRREDDY 2800.10 2804.00 2761.75 2770.30NIITTECH 1349.80 1362.45 1333.15 1339.60PIIND 1069.95 1069.95 1034.20 1042.40JKTYRE 94.10 94.35 92.10 92.45CIPLA 525.00 525.25 519.65 520.20CENTURYTEX 920.00 927.15 902.10 904.25GHCL 245.95 247.30 239.00 241.00TRENT 366.00 374.30 355.00 358.00DIVISLAB 1703.90 1706.15 1667.60 1676.00EMAMILTD 414.00 416.40 407.00 410.25MFSL 442.40 444.65 432.65 435.50TAKE 145.10 150.20 145.05 146.50MAGMA 117.65 122.40 117.20 120.85DBL 650.00 654.45 630.00 631.65KAJARIACER 606.00 612.30 602.10 607.00GUJFLUORO 1088.90 1093.50 1045.00 1074.30IBULISL 344.00 344.90 327.90 336.35OIL 184.00 185.10 181.00 181.35KEC 303.40 304.50 291.65 298.40DCBBANK 205.00 205.00 198.50 199.45HINDCOPPER 50.00 50.25 48.95 49.45NESTLEIND 10850.00 11050.80 10805.00 11004.35CENTRUM 31.85 32.75 31.80 32.00SUNDRMFAST 573.20 593.45 569.25 578.20RAMCOCEM 741.20 749.10 737.50 745.35HUDCO 46.40 46.50 45.10 45.25J&KBANK 57.35 59.40 57.10 57.65PARAGMILK 261.00 262.35 247.60 251.50BHARATFIN 1127.60 1147.60 1119.20 1123.65SUVEN 263.95 263.95 254.20 255.40CADILAHC 347.70 347.70 337.30 338.60CHOLAFIN 1486.85 1504.20 1453.05 1462.15TV18BRDCST 36.50 36.50 34.85 35.05IDFC 46.60 47.05 45.05 45.40MCX 799.60 808.15 779.20 782.50TORNTPOWER 265.00 266.70 258.25 259.30APOLLOHOSP 1247.00 1275.00 1247.00 1261.70KSCL 469.80 474.80 467.05 469.25INOXLEISUR 329.00 329.00 308.50 312.75BLISSGVS 181.75 181.75 175.85 178.50TRITURBINE 111.00 120.10 109.95 113.65GRANULES 113.10 114.40 108.50 109.35MINDTREE 950.00 950.00 939.50 943.25BERGEPAINT 332.00 334.35 328.35 329.90INFRATEL 314.90 319.95 314.55 317.20NHPC 25.50 25.60 24.45 24.60RELAXO 838.00 850.00 821.00 828.30ABB 1323.35 1339.95 1319.70 1329.00RALLIS 162.50 163.50 159.15 160.20GICHSGFIN 270.05 279.95 270.00 272.85LTI 1717.00 1724.20 1695.00 1703.85PVR 1655.20 1661.40 1635.00 1638.70TATAMETALI 652.00 668.80 640.65 645.85BBTC 1303.05 1310.00 1271.00 1279.25HSIL 284.90 286.65 271.30 273.25UBL 1424.00 1424.00 1396.05 1398.25SUPREMEIND 1108.30 1160.00 1108.30 1127.85MOIL 161.25 163.40 160.45 161.10TIINDIA 391.35 396.25 384.10 387.70SHANKARA 439.90 439.90 430.00 432.75ISEC 232.00 234.15 226.75 229.55FRETAIL 468.75 470.75 459.25 465.15BAJAJHLDNG 3450.00 3453.50 3386.00 3411.50ESSELPRO 122.80 125.75 110.55 114.40GPPL 97.95 99.65 96.15 96.65REPCOHOME 470.65 476.00 457.25 459.10JSL 42.15 43.30 42.15 42.45JAMNAAUTO 61.10 61.95 59.40 59.55JINDALSAW 85.85 87.35 84.40 84.65WABAG 325.00 325.00 315.00 317.55RNAM 199.10 201.40 193.55 195.05SCHNEIDER 111.60 112.45 105.00 106.30GLENMARK 650.00 652.45 636.10 639.85

VGUARD 219.55 223.00 218.55 221.85ABFRL 221.70 222.10 218.20 219.20AJANTPHARM 1060.00 1060.00 1017.80 1024.90HIMATSEIDE 219.30 222.15 210.65 212.80GSPL 178.35 179.45 176.50 178.50SHOPERSTOP 482.30 490.00 468.25 470.65LAURUSLABS 392.45 403.20 383.30 384.85GUJGAS 145.10 149.00 145.00 145.65TATACOMM 604.30 607.15 596.00 597.50ASHOKA 133.30 135.40 131.00 132.70MPHASIS 988.55 991.60 973.50 976.30MINDAIND 342.60 344.20 331.05 333.90MERCK 3800.00 3820.00 3729.10 3741.85INDOSTAR 413.45 418.00 396.90 401.00COROMANDEL 495.30 496.00 467.00 471.10ENDURANCE 1176.80 1184.25 1160.00 1166.30CARBORUNIV 404.00 408.65 392.60 395.45SWANENERGY 110.50 113.60 110.50 110.95KEI 426.85 426.85 401.95 417.30SYMPHONY 1375.75 1377.00 1348.80 1363.05COLPAL 1251.80 1261.35 1245.25 1249.15TATAINVEST 862.00 877.95 850.55 854.60MOTILALOFS 611.65 623.10 607.00 610.15BAJAJCON 314.05 321.00 314.05 315.65CENTURYPLY 217.25 217.60 207.40 209.85EIDPARRY 207.60 214.00 206.00 212.50WABCOINDIA 6559.95 6559.95 6363.00 6389.35TRIDENT 69.60 70.20 68.15 68.40FCONSUMER 44.70 45.05 44.10 44.20DCAL 217.35 221.35 215.40 218.05NIACL 189.30 195.00 188.25 189.45SYNGENE 589.50 601.80 586.05 587.70CHAMBLFERT 165.65 166.50 162.00 164.45WELSPUNIND 59.90 60.80 58.00 58.65EIHOTEL 207.35 207.35 199.85 201.60PAGEIND 25300.00 25490.70 24568.95 24677.65ISGEC 583.90 593.00 567.00 575.45PRSMJOHNSN 96.45 97.45 94.15 95.50CUB 201.25 204.10 196.25 198.45HEIDELBERG 182.10 183.80 175.35 176.50TORNTPHARM 1891.35 1909.00 1891.35 1899.75FINCABLES 469.25 473.20 459.25 460.80MAHSCOOTER 3700.00 3835.00 3686.00 3709.35COFFEEDAY 278.00 278.75 272.00 274.95TEJASNET 166.00 172.45 166.00 168.05FLFL 470.55 482.75 470.00 477.95SREINFRA 29.25 29.60 28.55 28.80UCOBANK 19.15 19.60 18.85 19.00IOB 15.13 15.45 14.70 15.14AARTIIND 1584.50 1598.70 1565.00 1576.50NATCOPHARM* 565.00 570.00 558.55 561.45HSCL 117.15 118.00 116.05 116.45GODFRYPHLP 1139.80 1145.55 1120.15 1125.00MANPASAND 119.00 120.95 116.90 117.45JYOTHYLAB 183.95 184.25 181.00 182.15ADANIGREEN 37.85 38.30 37.00 37.40ECLERX 1147.95 1149.95 1138.55 1142.50JBCHEPHARM 359.55 359.70 344.40 349.40ASTRAL 1194.00 1200.00 1160.55 1165.50JKLAKSHMI 361.65 365.05 347.80 350.35MAHINDCIE 234.35 234.85 226.50 228.80MRF 60500.00 60700.00 59573.80 59993.90MRPL 75.40 75.40 72.00 72.60EVEREADY 192.50 192.70 189.60 190.65CENTRALBK 36.05 36.50 35.20 35.35TATACOFFEE 95.60 95.60 92.10 92.55QUESS 740.30 743.05 714.00 717.55UFLEX 237.85 239.15 232.35 233.00SCI 37.70 38.60 37.50 37.65ORIENTCEM 82.35 87.00 81.65 85.55INOXWIND 69.45 70.60 68.70 68.80NLCINDIA 68.90 69.20 67.80 68.15GSKCONS 7036.10 7205.45 6987.00 6998.40GREENPLY 164.95 164.95 159.30 161.95DCMSHRIRAM 412.55 412.75 404.90 408.50CORPBANK 29.35 29.75 28.80 28.90PTC 78.00 78.10 75.25 75.70COCHINSHIP 392.05 397.20 388.50 390.85PFIZER 3320.00 3320.00 3260.00 3264.70TIMETECHNO 103.90 104.30 99.05 100.15DEEPAKNI 272.00 274.70 267.60 271.25GLAXO 1293.10 1300.00 1285.00 1290.50KPRMILL 574.95 577.70 560.65 564.00SIS 855.00 855.00 819.00 839.90BOSCHLTD 18005.45 18256.15 17900.00 18033.45ZENSARTECH 233.80 233.80 229.20 229.80AEGISLOG 209.80 209.80 203.55 205.10

JKCEMENT 865.00 865.00 824.85 845.15HAL 715.00 721.20 714.35 715.95CAPPL 400.00 412.00 390.15 399.25ATUL 3589.95 3642.85 3500.30 3518.85LALPATHLAB 1055.00 1055.00 1039.05 1043.90TIMKEN 615.35 616.75 592.80 596.85MAHLIFE 368.00 379.90 368.00 370.25WHIRLPOOL 1510.20 1511.75 1483.60 1494.40KRBL 344.00 345.00 337.00 339.05KALPATPOWR 472.30 479.60 464.70 469.30ADANITRANS 223.60 223.70 216.50 218.20SJVN 24.15 24.25 24.00 24.00BDL 288.40 288.40 282.00 283.00ALLCARGO 113.10 115.30 111.00 111.55MAHABANK 14.19 14.40 13.91 13.95THOMASCOOK 249.60 251.00 247.00 249.00NAVNETEDUL 113.00 114.00 109.60 109.65LAXMIMACH 6198.05 6226.95 6150.00 6196.40CRISIL 1443.00 1443.00 1425.10 1427.40BALMLAWRIE 189.40 189.95 185.50 186.90GAYAPROJ 167.55 173.20 164.05 167.35FORBESCO 2368.95 2393.00 2271.20 2284.25NBVENTURES 107.75 107.75 103.70 105.10ASTRAZEN 1985.00 2003.95 1926.05 1962.15TTKPRESTIG 8575.00 8639.95 8450.00 8468.80KNRCON 254.85 258.05 253.00 254.95FINOLEXIND 499.00 503.40 487.00 489.95REDINGTON 100.00 100.00 96.60 97.80PNCINFRA 155.80 155.80 148.75 149.85JAGRAN 119.00 122.05 117.90 119.30BLUESTARCO 707.25 713.90 690.00 693.30AIAENG 1755.25 1760.00 1710.10 1727.60GUJALKALI 502.55 502.55 495.00 496.85HONAUT 22815.20 23867.00 22540.00 23011.50SUPPETRO 226.70 226.95 222.00 226.15GET&D 289.95 289.95 282.55 287.80ELGIEQUIP 255.35 256.30 246.10 247.65FDC 170.40 171.50 164.00 168.35HATSUN 719.95 745.05 719.95 737.55CCL 293.10 295.65 283.00 283.70VMART 2712.05 2740.00 2700.00 2714.80BASF 1440.00 1441.25 1408.00 1411.85TIFHL 496.75 497.00 480.40 488.95TNPL 214.00 215.00 210.00 210.80CERA 2915.50 2964.25 2850.00 2852.85BIRLACORPN 528.45 528.50 510.25 513.25APLAPOLLO 1491.00 1500.05 1461.55 1474.80MHRIL 240.85 249.00 239.85 245.05CARERATING 990.35 993.30 986.00 989.30GDL 137.80 138.00 132.25 133.50GESHIP 292.50 295.75 283.30 284.95ITDC 283.65 285.00 276.05 278.15ASTERDM 154.00 157.00 154.00 154.70SHARDACROP 374.95 397.50 374.95 391.45GMDCLTD 82.40 82.70 81.05 81.20MAHLOG 519.30 521.75 510.00 513.20LUXIND 1408.00 1411.60 1380.00 1387.00HERITGFOOD 559.00 559.00 542.95 550.05UNITEDBNK 11.50 11.65 11.32 11.37NESCO 479.90 490.00 476.05 479.45FORTIS 137.90 137.95 136.05 136.40ALKEM 1740.35 1746.90 1730.00 1737.20BAYERCROP 4380.00 4380.00 4310.05 4350.90SHREECEM 18550.00 18705.05 18507.05 18621.40GULFOILLUB 860.10 885.05 860.10 872.70MINDACORP 139.00 139.10 133.95 135.80TVTODAY 317.10 317.10 311.95 312.80NETWORK18 36.00 36.10 35.00 35.40SKFINDIA 2052.80 2067.45 2047.00 2060.30PHOENIXLTD 660.05 669.10 657.20 666.70SUDARSCHEM 349.55 350.00 342.00 344.80APLLTD 543.00 543.00 530.00 531.15BLUEDART 3518.10 3526.80 3352.00 3365.20NILKAMAL 1414.50 1432.85 1404.25 1418.95ITDCEM 132.30 132.30 128.15 128.80SOLARINDS 1051.80 1064.00 1040.80 1059.00SADBHAV 252.30 252.30 243.00 244.15GILLETTE 6673.95 6700.00 6608.35 6656.50GALAXYSURF 1050.00 1060.95 1031.10 1036.80SHILPAMED 338.95 339.00 330.25 332.30NH 218.15 219.10 213.35 218.40LAOPALA 210.50 210.95 206.90 207.35PGHH 10641.60 10815.40 10641.55 10796.40SANOFI 5911.15 5950.00 5868.00 5877.90TVSSRICHAK 2231.45 2231.45 2199.05 2200.85SUPRAJIT 246.00 246.50 241.00 241.55DBCORP 186.30 186.75 183.20 184.65THYROCARE 539.00 539.00 525.00 529.253MINDIA 24870.00 24870.00 23900.00 23981.10AKZOINDIA 1780.00 1793.25 1775.15 1785.30ABBOTINDIA 7340.00 7367.85 7310.00 7333.75LINDEINDIA 488.00 489.10 480.00 480.40DHANUKA 399.15 403.00 393.60 399.15MONSANTO 2575.05 2596.30 2566.00 2572.10STARCEMENT 101.10 101.10 99.00 99.20ERIS 630.05 631.00 611.20 620.65ZYDUSWELL 1320.00 1329.00 1300.55 1300.90JCHAC 2043.00 2045.00 1977.00 1983.00SUNCLAYLTD 2901.00 2990.00 2860.00 2865.65SFL 1310.00 1317.00 1310.00 1315.25KIOCL 144.00 144.00 142.00 142.85ASAHIINDIA 256.05 256.05 251.95 253.05SOMANYCERA 415.75 419.15 415.75 416.60VTL 1073.40 1089.00 1066.25 1070.20SHRIRAMCIT 1800.00 1804.25 1787.40 1789.40GEPIL 820.00 826.60 813.25 820.60SCHAEFFLER 5515.00 5515.00 5405.05 5441.10GRINDWELL 594.00 598.90 593.05 595.15IFBIND 950.20 950.20 940.00 947.40

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SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY 50 11735.30 11761.00 11629.15 11643.95 -69.25IBULHSGFIN 842.10 892.65 842.00 868.95 29.50MARUTI 6896.00 7098.00 6896.00 7091.00 201.30BAJAJFINSV 7299.00 7450.00 7285.15 7405.05 125.45HCLTECH 1102.60 1133.30 1091.55 1114.65 12.05TATASTEEL 536.90 547.60 533.45 534.50 3.85JSWSTEEL 290.00 294.50 288.50 289.00 1.90HDFC 2004.00 2032.45 1997.15 2008.75 12.80INFRATEL 314.50 320.00 314.15 317.00 2.00POWERGRID 200.40 202.55 200.15 201.00 1.20HEROMOTOCO 2586.95 2594.00 2567.00 2580.30 10.35ADANIPORTS 380.30 386.30 380.00 381.00 1.30TCS 2085.00 2089.60 2058.10 2078.15 -1.15INDUSINDBK 1784.00 1818.00 1761.95 1773.00 -1.55BAJAJ-AUTO 2860.00 2877.10 2831.00 2850.00 -3.10BRITANNIA 2990.00 3013.50 2955.20 2988.55 -5.65WIPRO 262.40 263.10 258.20 261.05 -0.60HDFCBANK 2292.10 2316.00 2288.25 2289.00 -5.85ULTRACEMCO 4025.00 4073.95 3985.00 4015.00 -11.00BAJFINANCE 3073.00 3089.00 3038.15 3046.00 -9.20UPL 928.00 936.90 918.75 924.00 -3.10CIPLA 523.00 524.80 519.10 520.50 -2.15KOTAKBANK 1342.00 1357.45 1331.00 1333.00 -6.45NTPC 135.95 137.50 134.00 134.45 -0.70TATAMOTORS 205.00 208.95 199.20 201.80 -1.15COALINDIA 236.50 236.95 233.00 235.00 -1.40TITAN 1117.00 1127.20 1098.05 1104.00 -7.90ITC 298.00 299.00 295.15 295.50 -2.40AXISBANK 770.00 772.75 758.70 761.20 -6.20HINDUNILVR 1682.00 1686.60 1668.65 1671.10 -16.05HINDALCO 217.05 219.10 214.10 214.75 -2.20INFY 756.00 758.50 746.80 751.65 -7.75DRREDDY 2808.00 2808.80 2758.45 2768.95 -29.80ASIANPAINT 1521.25 1529.85 1493.00 1503.00 -16.30RELIANCE 1392.75 1403.00 1372.00 1374.60 -15.10ICICIBANK 399.00 402.80 390.65 392.55 -4.60VEDL 188.80 191.00 185.05 185.60 -2.30M&M 672.80 676.75 656.90 659.65 -8.95EICHERMOT 20400.00 20476.00 20112.20 20301.00 -282.50ONGC 158.55 159.10 154.60 154.90 -2.60BHARTIARTL 356.00 363.00 347.50 350.35 -6.10SUNPHARMA 471.00 473.90 459.15 461.10 -8.60TECHM 792.45 793.35 776.25 777.00 -15.45GRASIM 847.15 852.10 828.00 829.00 -16.65LT 1409.40 1415.00 1375.00 1381.10 -28.65YESBANK 283.50 286.00 272.20 274.00 -6.30SBIN 331.00 332.45 319.50 321.10 -7.90GAIL 362.65 364.40 350.65 353.40 -9.20IOC 158.00 159.65 153.00 153.45 -4.70ZEEL 422.00 424.00 400.75 401.40 -16.30BPCL 382.00 382.00 362.15 363.00 -17.50

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SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY NEXT 50 28238.70 28342.85 28008.30 28033.15 -103.85GICRE 255.95 270.60 255.95 264.15 10.35BANDHANBNK 532.10 554.70 532.10 549.70 18.35SIEMENS 1130.00 1174.80 1127.55 1164.90 33.70OFSS 3414.00 3561.45 3405.05 3507.95 93.20MARICO 360.00 360.00 352.70 354.10 7.65ICICIGI 1001.05 1034.00 999.80 1020.00 19.70SAIL 57.00 58.75 56.75 57.25 1.10PIDILITIND 1263.55 1297.00 1252.55 1279.50 21.40DLF 200.70 209.65 199.60 202.90 3.40GODREJCP 658.50 671.90 656.05 665.90 9.10HDFCLIFE 380.60 391.85 379.15 384.40 4.15L&TFH 151.70 155.90 151.40 152.15 1.45HAVELLS 765.95 780.00 764.00 770.50 6.05PGHH 10749.95 10899.00 10666.00 10817.05 62.70ABB 1328.80 1340.00 1320.10 1330.00 7.60SHREECEM 18556.95 18735.00 18422.00 18600.00 100.60COLPAL 1246.00 1262.00 1246.00 1250.95 5.25NIACL 190.00 195.00 188.35 189.90 0.60BOSCHLTD 17950.00 18080.00 17947.05 18001.00 54.75DABUR 406.90 408.85 402.15 403.20 1.20SBILIFE 600.00 615.00 595.00 600.55 1.40SRTRANSFIN 1200.00 1226.00 1193.45 1201.00 2.80ACC 1627.90 1645.00 1615.70 1620.55 3.20NMDC 105.50 106.70 104.10 104.55 -0.30BANKBARODA 134.40 137.15 131.35 132.80 -0.40HDFCAMC 1572.50 1577.00 1555.15 1563.00 -6.00BAJAJHLDNG 3425.05 3461.20 3383.10 3409.95 -13.60UBL 1406.00 1419.55 1396.05 1400.25 -6.70HINDZINC 284.90 289.60 281.55 282.15 -1.55CONCOR 535.00 539.55 528.30 531.00 -3.20MRF 60480.00 60830.00 59600.00 59950.00 -440.10LUPIN 776.50 789.80 769.85 772.00 -5.75ICICIPRULI 370.25 374.00 363.45 365.60 -3.55DMART 1490.25 1497.00 1475.25 1478.00 -14.85MCDOWELL-N 544.00 547.80 533.55 535.00 -5.65BIOCON 616.05 618.50 606.60 608.00 -7.20BHEL 75.40 76.15 73.00 73.80 -0.90INDIGO 1388.00 1396.00 1361.35 1364.95 -18.00DIVISLAB 1707.55 1707.55 1665.45 1673.20 -25.85CADILAHC 345.80 346.25 337.55 338.80 -5.25AUROPHARMA 787.00 795.60 770.30 774.00 -12.25PEL 2638.00 2657.10 2587.00 2596.00 -43.10AMBUJACEM 231.00 235.90 225.95 226.00 -3.95ASHOKLEY 89.80 90.80 87.50 87.80 -1.75PETRONET 249.20 249.75 242.05 243.00 -5.40PAGEIND 25349.00 25481.50 24555.65 24603.50 -589.45MOTHERSUMI 155.00 156.70 149.45 149.70 -5.10NHPC 25.60 25.65 24.40 24.55 -0.95HINDPETRO 275.00 275.45 259.70 260.30 -13.65IDEA 16.45 16.95 15.80 15.90 -0.85

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President Donald Trumpsaid on Tuesday he is “100

per cent” prepared to closedown the US-Mexico border,warning Congress and CentralAmerican governments to takeaction to stem the flow ofmigrants into the country.

Delays were already risingat several key border crossingsas Trump ratcheted up pressureon Democrats in Congress totoughen US laws against illegalimmigrants, threatening tohurt the US economy in thename of border security.

“It is a national emergencyon the border,” Trump said.

If Mexico does not stopmigrants from transiting acrossits territory, and if Congressdoes not act, he said, “the bor-der’s going to be closed, 100 percent.”

“Sure it’s going to have anegative impact on the econo-my,” he said. “Security is moreimportant to me than trade.”

Trump said Democratswere blocking reforms forpolitical reasons but could fixthe problem “in 45 minutes.”He was not specific, butHomeland Security SecretaryKirstjen Nielsen has askedCongress to give border offi-cials the power to forciblyrepatriate Central Americanillegal immigrants, includingchildren who arrived alone,back to their countries.

The threat to close theborder, which handled someUSD612 billion worth of tradein 2018, sent shivers throughthe economy, and drew warn-ings from allies of the president.

“Closing down the borderwould have potentially cata-strophic economic impact onour country, and I would hopewe would not be doing that sortof thing,” Senate MajorityLeader Mitch McConnell said.

His call was backed by theChamber of Commerce, whichsaid in a statement that whileit backed immigration reform,

closing the border “wouldinflict severe economic harmon American families, workers,farmers and manufacturersacross the United States.”

Homeland Security offi-cials said they were preparingfor the possibility of a shut-down of at least some borderentry points as they divertstaff to deal with the flood of

migrants from Guatemala,Honduras and El Salvador,expected to hit nearly 1,00,000a month.

Nielsen cut short an officialtrip to Europe to return formeetings early Tuesday on theborder crisis, and on MondayActing Defense SecretaryPatrick Shanahan said hewould be meeting Nielsen and

Secretary of State MikePompeo on the crisis.

Officials said facilities forhandling the migrants -- whofor the moment cannot be sentback after they cross the bor-der and request asylum -- areovertaxed and understaffed,creating hazardous conditions.

“We are in a full blownemergency. The bottom line isall options are on the table rightnow,” a senior HomelandSecurity official, who declinedto be named, told journalistsTuesday.

“The volume of vulnerablepopulations that’s arriving isunsustainable... The humani-tarian situation cannot beignored and the security situ-ation cannot be ignored.”Trump said Mexican officialshad reacted to his threat toclose the border last week byclamping down on the caravansof migrants fleeing povertyand violence in the threeCentral American countries.

Mexico “made a big step

over the past two days,” he said,adding that they would have tocontinue if they don’t want theborder closed.

He also defended his deci-sion to cut off “hundreds ofmillions of dollars” in US aid tothe three countries, accusingthem of arranging the caravansof migrants.

The three “don’t do any-thing for us,” he said.

On Monday, Nielsenordered an “emergency surge”of personnel to deal with thesituation, including moving750 staff to areas of the borderwhere the migrants arrive.

Many were being diverted

from official ports, leading toslowdowns in processing arriv-ing visitors and commercialvehicles.

Delays for incoming trafficwere three hours atBrownsville, Texas, for the sec-ond straight day, and morethan two hours in other areas.

On the Mexican side,Andres Morales Arreola, headof operations for border cross-ings in Chihuahua state, saidthe border between CiudadJuarez and El Paso had “col-lapsed” because so many USborder officials have been reas-signed to deal with the migrantinflux.

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Brunei on Wednesday intro-duced harsh new sharia

laws, including death by ston-ing for adultery and gay sex,despite a storm of global criti-cism from politicians, celebri-ties and rights groups.

The tough penal code inthe tiny country on tropicalBorneo island — ruled by theall-powerful Sultan HassanalBolkiah — fully came intoforce following years of delays.

The laws, which alsoinclude amputation of handsand feet for thieves, makeBrunei the first place in East orSoutheast Asia to have a shariapenal code at the nationallevel, joining several mostlyMiddle Eastern countries suchas Saudi Arabia.

Rape and robbery are alsopunishable by death under thecode and many of the new laws,such as capital punishment forinsulting the ProphetMohammed, apply to non-Muslims as well as Muslims.

The decision to push aheadwith the punishments has

sparked alarm around theworld, with the United Nationslabelling them “cruel and inhu-mane” and celebrities, led byactor George Clooney and popstar Elton John, calling forBrunei-owned hotels to beboycotted.

In a public address to marka special date in the Muslimcalendar, the sultan called forstronger Islamic teachings butdid not mention the new penalcode.

“I want to see Islamicteachings in this country growstronger,” he said in the nation-

ally televised speech at a con-vention centre near the capitalBandar Seri Begawan.

The sultan, who has beenon the throne for over fivedecades, also insisted thatBrunei was a “fair” country andthe environment for visitorswas “safe and harmonious”.

Government officials laterconfirmed the laws had enteredinto force.

The sharia laws have trig-gered worldwide condemna-tion, and Phil Robertson,deputy Asia director at HumanRights Watch, described the

code as “barbaric to the core,imposing archaic punishmentsfor acts that shouldn’t even becrimes”.

The European Union saidin a statement that some of thenew punishments “amount totorture, acts of cruel, inhumanor degrading treatment”.

They are particularlyupsetting for the country’ssmall lesbian, gay, bisexual andtransgender (LGBT) commu-nity. Before the new laws, sexbetween men was already ille-gal in Brunei and punishablewith up to 10 years in jail.

But the new code stipulatesdeath by stoning as a punish-ment for sex between men,while women convicted of hav-ing sexual relations with otherwomen face up to 40 strokes ofthe cane or a maximum 10-year jail term.

A 33-year-old gayBruneian man, who spokeanonymously, said the newlaws were “unfair, cruel andshould not happen”.

“It really takes away myhappiness and freedom toexpress myself, and depresses

me so much,” he told AFP.Zulhelmi bin Mohamad, a

transgender woman who fledBrunei last year and is seekingasylum in Canada, told AFPthat the environment will bemore terrifying for the coun-try’s LGBT community, whowere already leading “verysecretive” lives.

“Some worry a lot andwould like to escape the coun-try before they are found outnot to be... Heterosexual,” the19-year-old said.

Confirming the new penalcode was now in force, a reli-gious affairs ministry officialtold AFP: “The statement fromthe prime minister’s office lastweekend on (the code’s) imple-mentation prevails, hence(April 3) marks the date of itsimplementation.”

A second government offi-cial, speaking anonymously,confirmed it had entered intoforce.

The sultan — who is one ofthe world’s wealthiest men andlives in a vast, golden-domedpalace — announced plans forthe code in 2013.

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AUS proposal to send moreNATO ships to the Black

Sea to ensure safe passage forUkrainian vessels and deterRussia is viewed “negatively” inMoscow, the Kremlin saidWednesday.

Washington has beenworking on a package to boostsurveillance and deploy moreNATO vessels to the Black Seaafter a naval confrontationbetween Moscow and Kiev lastyear, the US ambassador toNATO said.

The measure was expectedto be discussed during talks byNATO foreign ministers inWashington on Wednesdayand Thursday.

Russian President VladimirPutin’s spokesman DmitryPeskov said the Kremlin viewedsuch a proposal “negatively”.

“We do not understandwhat they mean by this. Thesituation with the KerchStraight and navigation there iswell known,” he told reporters.

Russian deputy foreignminister Alexander Grushkotold Russian news agencies theplan would only lead to“increased military risks” in theregion.

“If additional military andtechnical measures are neededfrom our side, we will adopt

them,” Interfax news agencyquoted Grushko as saying.

Most alliance membersshare concerns about Russiawhich backs separatists in asmouldering conflict in easternUkraine that has so far claimedsome 13,000 lives.

In November, Russia firedon and seized three Ukrainiannavy vessels, capturing twodozen sailors near the KerchStrait, as they tried to pass fromthe Black Sea to the Azov Sea.

It was the first open mili-tary clash between Kiev andMoscow since 2014, whenRussia annexed Crimea and apro-Russian insurgency erupt-ed in eastern Ukraine.

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Washington: President DonaldTrump wants NATO mem-bers to continue increasingtheir financial contributions,offering allies his praise forstepping up those contributionsin recent years but still com-plaining the US continues tocarry more than its share ofcosts. AP

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EU leader Jean-ClaudeJuncker vowed on

Wednesday to work until thelast moment to prevent a “nodeal” Brexit, but admittedBritain crashing out nowappears to be a likely result.

Addressing the EuropeanParliament after PrimeMinister Theresa May asked fora short postponement, Junckersaid London remains on coursefor Brexit next week.

But he added: “TheEuropean Union will not kickany member state out.

“I will personally do every-thing I can to prevent a disor-derly Brexit and I expect polit-ical leaders across the EU27and in the United Kingdom todo the same.”

On Tuesday, May askedopposition leader JeremyCorbyn to help develop a Brexit

plan that could be ratified bythe House of Commons, andasked Brussels for more time.

Juncker responded that EUleaders would be flexible, buttime is limited and a disorder-ly no-deal Brexit would only bewelcomed by populist andnationalist forces.

“In light of Prime MinisterMay’s statement last night, Ibelieve we now have a fewmore days,” he said.

“If the United Kingdom isin a position to approve thewithdrawal agreement with asustainable majority by 12April, the European Unionshould be prepared to accept adelay until 22 May.

“Yet I believe that a ‘nodeal’ at midnight on the 12April is now a very likely sce-nario. It is not the outcome Iwant, but it is an outcome forwhich I have made sure theEuropean Union is ready.”

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Prime Minister Theresa Mayand the leader of Britain’s

main Opposition party weremeeting Wednesday for talkson ending the impasse over thecountry’s departure from theEuropean Union — a surpriseabout-face that left pro-Brexitmembers of May’sConservative Party howlingwith outrage.

After failing three times towin Parliament’s backing forher Brexit blueprint, May dra-matically changed gearTuesday, saying she would seekto delay Brexit — again — andhold talks with Labour Partyleader Jeremy Corbyn to seeka compromise.

“The country needs a solu-tion, the country deserves asolution, and that’s what I’mworking to find,” May toldlawmakers on Wednesday.

Corbyn said he welcomed

May’s “willingness to compro-mise to resolve the Brexit dead-lock” and looked forward totalks with her.

May’s bid for cross-partytalks — after almost threeyears of seeking to pushthrough her own version ofBrexit — came amid EU warn-ings that a damaging no-dealBrexit is growing more likely bythe day.

After British lawmakersthree times rejected an agree-ment struck between the blocand May late last year, the lead-

ers of the EU’s 27 remainingcountries postponed the orig-inal March 29 Brexit date andgave the U.K. until April 12approve the divorce deal orcome up with a new plan.

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The House JudiciaryCommittee approved sub-

poenas on Wednesday for spe-cial counsel Robert Mueller’sfull Russia report asDemocrats pressure the JusticeDepartment to release thedocument without redactions.

The committee voted 24-17 to give Judiciary ChairmanJerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., per-mission to issue subpoenas tothe Justice Department forthe final report, its exhibits andany underlying evidence ormaterials prepared forMueller’s investigation. Nadlerhas not yet said if he’ll send thesubpoenas.

House Democrats hadgiven Attorney GeneralWilliam Barr until Tuesday toproduce the full report toCongress. The JusticeDepartment ignored thatdeadline, with Barr tellingcommittee chairmen in a let-ter last week that a redactedversion of the full 300-pagereport would be released bymid-April, “if not sooner.”

The vote further escalatesthe Democrats’ battle withthe Justice Department overhow much of the report theywill be able to see, a fight thatcould eventually end up incourt if the two sides can’t set-tle their differences throughnegotiation.

Democrats have said theywill not accept redactions andwant to see the evidence unfil-tered by Barr.

In the letter last week,Barr said he is scrubbing thereport to avoid disclosing anygrand jury information orclassified material, in additionto portions of the report thatpertain to ongoing investiga-tions or that “would undulyinfringe on the personal pri-vacy and reputational interestsof peripheral third parties.”

Democrats say they wantaccess to all of that informa-tion, even if some of it can’t be

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Berlin: German ChancellorAngela Merkel pledgedWednesday to work “until thelast hour” to prevent a no-dealBrexit and warned of the secu-rity impact on Ireland andNorthern Ireland.

“I’ve always said I’m goingto fight until the last hour... Sowe can see an orderly exit,” shesaid on the eve of an Irelandvisit, warning that avoiding ahard border was a matter ofpreserving the peace.

Speaking at a Berlin pressconference, Merkel said that anorderly Brexit would be “ininterest of Britain but also inour interest”.

She said that — because ofthe related issue of avoiding anew “hard border” between

British Northern Ireland andthe Republic of Ireland — itwould also affect “peace inIreland”.

Therefore it was “a ques-tion of violence or no violenceand here we naturally want tomake a contribution,” Merkelsaid. She stressed that ulti-mately “the solution has to befound by Great Britain itself ”and expressed hope that PrimeMinister Theresa May “will besuccessful”. AFP

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Washington: Turkey will notturn back from a major armsdeal with Russia despite the USsuspension of Ankara fromthe F-35 fighter-jet program,Foreign Minister MevlutCavusoglu said Wednesday.

“The S-400 deal is a donedeal and we will not step backfrom this,” he told a think-tankforum in Washington, wherehe is taking part in 70thanniversary celebrations ofNATO.

The US said Monday thatit was halting shipment of F-35parts of Turkey as well as jointmanufacturing work due toAnkara’s purchase of the S-400missile defense system fromRussia.

Cavusoglu said Turkeyturned to Russia as it could notbuy US Patriot missiles andquoted President DonaldTrump as saying in an unspec-ified phone call that his prede-cessor Barack Obama hadmade a “mistake” not to sell thesystem to Ankara. AFP

London: Junior Brexit minis-ter Chris Heaton-Harrisbecame the second govern-ment member to resign onWednesday after PrimeMinister Theresa May said shewould ask to delay Brexit again.

Heaton-Harris said in a let-ter to May that he would havewanted Britain to leave theEuropean Union on the sched-uled departure date of March29, adding: “I simply cannotsupport any further extension.”

AFP

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Boeing has delayed fromApril to August its test

flight for its Starliner capsule,intended to carry Americanastronauts to the InternationalSpace Station.

The US space agencyNASA blamed the delay on“limited launch opportunities”in April and May from CapeCanaveral, Florida.

It noted that the Augustlaunch target is a “working dateand to be confirmed.” TheStarliner spacecraft, which is inthe final phase of ground tests,is set to be launched into spaceatop a United Launch AllianceAtlas V rocket.

If the unmanned test goes

well, the capsule’s next flightwill have three astronautsaboard — NASA’s Nicole Mannand Mike Fincke, along withChris Ferguson of Boeing.

Ultimately, Starliner will beone of two American vehiclesused to carry NASA astro-nauts to the ISS — the other isSpaceX’s Dragon capsule.

In March, SpaceX success-fully completed a nearly week-long test mission in space. TheDragon capsule successfullydocked at the ISS before return-ing to Earth.

The first manned missionaboard the Dragon spacecraftis set to take place by the endof the year, with the date due tobe confirmed “in the next cou-ple weeks,” according to NASA.

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Apriest in northern Polandwho led a public burning

of books that included titlesfrom the “Harry Potter” seriesand other items parishionerswanted destroyed has apolo-gized, saying the ritual was notintended to condemn specificauthors, religions or socialgroups.

The Rev. Rafal Jarosiewiczcalled the burning of objectsthought to be connected tomagic and the occult, anddeemed by their owners to bean evil force, “unfortunate”.

He published the apologylate Tuesday on the Facebookpage of a foundation he found-ed.

Jarosiewicz and otherpriests have drawn criticism forburning books, Buddhist fig-urines, an African mask, andother items Sunday outside aCatholic church in the city ofGdansk. They said they

encouraged parishioners tobring in things that disturbedthem so the priests could doaway with bad influences.

Jarosiewicz was fined bycity guards. An anti-smoggroup also contacted prosecu-tors about the illegal burning ofwaste in an open fire.

Images from the burning atthe Parish of Our Lady Motherof the Church and St Catherineof Sweden were posted on theSMS z Nieba (SMS fromHeaven) foundation, whichuses unconventional means tocarry out religious work acrossPoland.

In the pictures, flames areconsuming an African wood-en mask, a small Buddhist fig-ure, figurines of elephants andbooks on personality, magicand from J.K. Rowling’s “HarryPotter” series. Some Catholicfaithful and priests think the“Harry Potter” books promotesorcery. The book-burningattracted attention as Poland’s

influential Catholic Church isgrappling with revelationsabout the scale of child sexabuse allegedly committed bypedophile priests.

Last month, the country’sCatholic bishops’ conference,the Episcopal Conference ofPoland, said it had recordedcases of 382 clergymen whohave abused 625 minors since1990.

Prosecutors in the easterntown of Zamosc saidWednesday they plan to sendan indictment to the regionalcourt charging a priest in his30s who is accused of record-ing video of girls and womenwhile they were in publicchanging rooms and toilets.

Prosecutor Artur Szykulatold The Associated Press thepriest admitted wrongdoing.The priest was caught in Augustin Croatia while recording a girlin a changing room. That caseis to be heard by a court in Split,Croatia, Szykula said.

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Turkish electoral authoritieson Wednesday recounted

votes in more than a dozenIstanbul districts after PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdogan’s rulingAKP challenged results givingthe Opposition a narrow vic-tory in a weekend election.The AKP won most votesnationwide in Sunday’s munic-ipal ballot, but tallies alsoshowed the party lost the cap-ital Ankara and the country’seconomic hub Istanbul in oneof its worst setbacks in a decadeand a half in power.

AKP officials on Tuesdayfiled a challenge with electoralauthorities saying they hadfound irregularities in ballots inboth Ankara and Istanbul.

“The district branches ofthe electoral board in Istanbuldecided to recount the ballotsin eight districts after theappeals yesterday,”

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There’s a thin line that divides patriotism fromjingoism. But as Bollywood is riding on ahigh tide of films with nationalistic themes,

actor John Abraham, who plays a spy in thrillerRAW, says it’s totally worth it to have a stream ofmovies on what people need to see in the currentsocio-political environment.

“Patriotism is something that you must feelin your heart and you project it in a certain sen-sitive, credible and responsible way in your sto-rytelling. Jingoism is when you wear that on yoursleeve. I think there may be some films that maygo over the top in trying to be opportunistic, butif there is a wave of films that do address whatthe country needs to see, I feel it’s absolutely worthit,” John said.

Uri: The Surgical Strike, Raazi and Kesari haveturned out to be a success. John’s Parmanu: TheStory of Pokhran was a narrative around India’s1998 nuclear tests. RAW, releasing tomorrow, talksabout a common man who turns into a spy. Andhis forthcoming Batla House traces the story ofthe shootout between a seven-member DelhiPolice Special Cell team and suspected IndianMujahideen terrorists allegedly involved in theSeptember 13, 2008 serial blasts in Delhi.

“We have graduated from the Border andLOC Kargil days to a different style of screenplaywhich audience would perhaps find palatable.They know the difference between jingoism andpatriotism. So, the minute they will see somethingjingoistic, they will say, ‘Listen, drop this’,” Johnsaid.

Of his own projects, he said, “When I didMadras Cafe, it was because I was very impact-ed by Rajiv Gandhi’s death. I did Parmanu becauseit was a story that stayed with me for the longestperiod of time and I felt how do the youngstersin India do not know what happened in Pokhran.When I am doing RAW, it’s another side of ourdefence forces that I want to show to everyoneout here, and if I do Batla House, it’s a very sen-sitive space. The house is perhaps the most con-tentious subject in India after Babri Masjid. So,I am actually attempting something where I knowthe probability of failure is high, but the proba-bility of success is even higher.”

Having said that, the actor-producer believesthat the credibility one gets by associating withfilms that “make a difference, have a voice andtake a stand is different than saying ‘Hey, my filmdid �200 crore’. The mood of the country is suchthat people want to see something on India butat the same time, it’s very important that weexplore different facets of the country, if youchoose to do so in a sensible way.” E'.�!

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We Indians know howto make any deal thebest. So if cricket beour Mecca, then theplaces around the

stadium are no less holy. Ever since theIndian Premier League (IPL) has gotoff the blocks, most travel companieshave noticed a considerable increasein the number of tourists travellingexclusively to watch sports-relatedevents or alternatively planning a hol-iday around a major sporting event.IPL has given a new dimension to theconcept of sports tourism, which isstill in its infancy in this country.

Reports suggest that hotels andservice-providers benefit from thisrush of travellers who combine a hol-iday with an IPL match, therebyenriching their holiday experience.

Karan Anand, head, relation-ships, Cox & Kings, says that this yearhe has seen a a 30 per cent rise in thenumber of travellers booking theirholidays, where they combine a matchexperience with local sight-seeing.Another factor that makes IPL attrac-tive “is the entire league being domes-tic” but offering an opportunity towatch international players and games.“When the cricket fans travel towatch matches, most of them combinetheir trip with leisure tours.Sightseeing tours are being booked inadvance alongside accommodation.Some fans opt for self-drive tours from

the match venues, thus contributingto the rental car segment, which oilsthe tourism economy well,” he adds.

Sport today has become a key dri-ver for tourism in India and crickethas been at the forefront of it, explainsManmeet Ahluwalia, marketing head,Expedia. He points out that now thatthe IPL is as much a part of the nation-al culture calendar, there’s a huge surgeof fans and cheerleaders travelling toDelhi, Mumbai, Mohali, Jaipur,Hyderabad and Kolkata. Since a partof the IPL also coincides with the sum-mer holidays, “people try and designtheir itinerary in such a way that theywatch the matches and proceed toanother destination close to the city,”says she. For instance, Mumbai hasseen the maximum queries, almostabove 35 per cent, as the city is thevenue for the finals and tourists arechoosing beach packages in Goa andAlibaug after the match. Mohali foot-falls are up 17 per cent, it being closeto Shimla for a relaxing vacation,” addsManmeet.

He points that mostly the Gen Z,bachelors and DINKS are looking atmaking the most of the season as theydon’t have to be dependent on annu-al summer vacations. These opportu-nities make for quick weekend get-aways for them.

Karan suggests that a 20 per centspike has been observed in bookingsby women-only travellers.

Daniel D’Souza, president andcountry head (Leisure), SOTC Travel,has compiled a choice of destinations.“Chandigarh, Jodhpur, Aurangabad,Agra, Mysore, Puducherry are on theitinerary of sports enthusiasts becauseof the IPL fever. In addition to thematches, these locations also make forideal getaways. So we expect to see arise in travel bookings. SOTC designspackages which offer a perfect blendof sport and sightseeing at the desti-nation for the travellers to enjoy.”

Rising disposable incomes havebeen one of the main reasons forsports enthusiasts to fulfill theirdesire for unique experiences.Interestingly, Anand points out thattourist spots like Nek Chand RockGarden, Sukhna Lake, PinjoreGardens and High Court museumtop the list of sights for crickettourists in Chandigarh. Similarly,Jaipur is being used as a pivot forRajasthan tour packages. Mysorepalace and the quaint French lanes ofPuducherry are also on the list ofmust-sees for those going toBengaluru and Chennai respectively.

“The concept of sports tourism isbooming and millennials are lookingfor holiday ideas matching their pas-sion and preferences. We aim toenable incredible sport-inspired tourexperiences for admirers around theglobe,” says Heena Akhtar, co-founderof tripXOXO.

Everybody knows that acedesigner Rohit Bal is a pas-sionate Kashmiri, keeping

the delicate art and craft of hisroots alive through motifs,colours, cuts and fabrics. Now,he has gone a step ahead andengaged women from the down-town Dal area of Srinagar to puttogether a collection calledGuldastah, which premiered atthe Lakme Fashion Week earli-er this year and is now on dis-play at his store. Part of a pro-ject helmed by a sewing compa-ny, Bal is applying a salve on thewomen affected by the conflictand patching their torn livestogether with a sense of purpose.

He spent long days andnights with a cluster of ruralKashmiri women, guiding themthrough their strengths of floralembroidery and teaching themto replicate them on exquisiteorganic fabrics like cotton, silkblends, chanderis, silk organzasand velvets. It was complete“love” for Kashmir that inspiredGuldastah. He says, “I comefrom Kashmir. I realise very wellabout what is happening in thestate. I wasn’t born in a war zonewhich it has now become. Doyou know people are living suchtroubled times there? I want totell people that its beauty willremain forever. Inshallah.”

Bal says that even though hewas initially hesitant, the way thewomen artisans cooperated isworth commending. “In a way,I feel proud to have worked withthese women who actually putthe whole collection together.Even in the freezing winter ofKashmir, hats off to them for fin-ishing it so perfectly,” says he.

Priya Somaiya, executivedirector at the Usha Silai, whichis coordinating the project, saysthat after a few women show-cased capabilities beyond juststitching and knitting, “we start-

ed their assessment, followed bytraining for learning higher levelskills. It was then when manydesigners got prepared to workwith these women and givethem additional and more com-plex training.”

Since the garments had tobe up to the demands of itsrespective designers, Somaiyatells us the criteria of choosingthe women, “They could achievehigher levels of finishing and doquality work, understand thecomplexity of designs to work on

them, understand differentkinds of fabrics and work con-fidently.”

The biggest challenge,according to Bal, was whetherthey could show enough com-mitment and work against timetargets. “These rural womendo not have this concept sincemost of them are engaged withfarm, dairy or house work. Theyare not aware of deliveringsomething at a given time. Theyhad to understand the produc-tion cycle. Also, learn about howlittle intricacies like embellish-ments, different kinds of trims,buttoning styles, cuts and so onmatter. They had to learn towork in a more organised man-ner,” adds Bal.

In remote areas, even todaythere are orthodox families andrestrictions on women that donot allow them to step out oftheir homes in search of work.It’s always the men who are “sup-posed” to do that. Hence,Somaiya explains that this wasthe biggest aspect that had to beworked upon — making theirfamilies convince for them toleave their homes for work. Sheinforms, “The women had tomanage their homefronts too,their husbands, children andmothers-in-law as well as get

community support becausethey needed to be sure. Theywould ask a hundred questions— where is it that their daugh-ters-in-law or wives are going?Who is the employer? Is it evensafe? What would be the tim-ings? What is the work about?Will there be men at the work-place? There is a lot of trust-building and community mobil-isation which is required.” Theteam, hence, wandered acrossthe villages in the state, convinc-ing families and assessing skills.

Even then, there were prob-lems — one of them being a ter-rorist attack at Bandipur, due towhich the area became totallyinaccessible for the team. Thedesigner says, “I wondered ifthey would be able to finish bythe show date considering theharsh winter, which disruptsnormal activity in the Valley. Ihad too many questions. Will thework be up to the mark? Will thedesigns and pieces come out soperfectly as thought?”

The project, launched onNovember 15, ended exactlythree days before the actualshowcase on January 30. Theartisans worked even in sub-zerotemperatures. There was theHurriyat strike, no electricity inthe area and even diesel wasfrozen in the generators. Themachines would be colder thanice and hence, hard to touch.“But amid all challenges, wemanaged to pull through andRohit was very happy. He couldnot believe it. It was the resilienceof those women that made ithappen,” says Somaiya.

The women artisans, whoalso walked the ramp, earn up to�5,000 per garment as an addi-tional income which allowsthem to help their families getaccess to better education, nutri-tion and medical aid.

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The hitherto unpublished personal diariesand journals of late poet-scholar A K

Ramanujan, who wrote in both English andKannada, have been published as a book.

Edited by his son Krishna Ramanujan andGuillermo Rodriguez, an active promoter ofIndo-Spanish cultural relations, the bookJourneys: A Poet’s Diary will be out this week.It includes accounts from his travels, histhoughts on writing, many improvised as wellas early poetry drafts, and dreams. As per theintroduction penned by Rodriguez, the bookbrings together a selection of the unpublisheddiaries that trace Ramanujan’s ‘journey’ — inhis own voice — as a writer and poet, and hismaturing as a unique intellectual luminary.

The journey moves from his first literarysteps as a budding poet in the 1940s in thenMysore (Mysuru); his years as a professor ofEnglish literature in India in the 1950s to hispassage to America as a scholar in 1959. In the1960s, he began his successful career as aDravidian scholar at the University of Chicagoand published his first poetry collection andbook of translations. By the 1980s and early1990s, the darker period in his poetry, a timeof personal and inner struggle re-emerged: hisfrequent despair and physical pain came to thefore in his fragmented writings. He died in 1993.

Apart from his literary treasures like thetranslations of ancient Tamil and Kannada poet-ry, as well as of U.R. Anantha Murthy’s novelSamskara, his personal literature — journals,diaries, notes — remain largely unknown.

Journeys: A Poet’s Diary, complete with aforeword by film-theatre personality GirishKarnad, now opens a window to the author’sinnermost thoughts and his creative process.

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In today’s world, people havegenerally become material-

istic and hanker after wealth.They don’t hesitate in usingunfair means to achieve theirend. To them, this is their ulti-mate happiness, the ultimatefulfilment of existence. But inthe absence of the Vedicknowledge, they don’t realisethat by doing so they are liv-ing in a fool’s paradise. Ourpious land has been the landof rishi-munis, Rajrishis, whowere learned of the Vedasand the yoga philosophy.

The Indian philosophybased on Vedic culture, pro-vides us with real happiness.It preaches that the soul isalive, infinite and immortalmatter, which resides withinthe human body. Why notthen strive to discover the realand eternal happiness, ratherthan spending one’s earthlydays in sensuous joy of thistransient world?

In the Bhagwad Gita, LordKrishna has beautifullydescribed the relationshipbetween the body and thesoul. In the thirteenth chapter,he says that our body iskshetra (the field) of the jeevat-ma (the soul). The jeevatmagoverns the body throughfive senses and the mind.Senses are prone to indulgencethereby causing harm to theenjoyer. Therefore, controlover senses is the most impor-tant. We can achieve this byadopting the preachings of theVedas and thereby daily prac-tice of the Ashtang Yog philos-ophy while discharging allmoral duties.

The soul is the alive mat-ter whereas the human bodyis non-alive. The soul is inde-structible, immortal, unbornand eternal whereas the body

is destructible and mortal.Based on the previous lives’pious deeds, God has blessedus with the human body todestroy sorrows of old age suf-ferings, diseases, painful cycleof birth and death by way ofworship, practice of yog phi-losophy and so on, under theguidance of the learned of theVedas. This is only the way todestroy every effect of our pre-vious as well as present lives’deeds, sorrows, illusions andthereby attain final libera-tion. We must remember thatthe said facility has not beenawarded by God to other liv-ing-beings.

Physical beauty has apassing phase as has beendescribed by our saints andscholars; the real beauty lies injeevatma, the soul. Let meillustrate this truth in the fol-lowing anecdote.

Once there lived a kingnamed Janak. One day, he hada dream in which he foundhimself as a beggar, roamingaround in search of food.Atlast, he saw a piece of breadlying on the ground, andpicked it up to eat. No soon-er did he have a bite of it, a kiteswooped and took the breadaway. The king was so fam-ished that he fell unconscious.

When the dream broke,the king found himself quiteupset, unable to comprehendwhether he was a king or stilla beggar. He called the wisepeople of his kingdom toanswer his query but nonecould satisfy him. Finally, hecalled the greatest intellectu-al of the time—saintAshtavakra which literallytranslates to one who haseight deformities in one’sbody.

When the saint entered

the king’s court, all the wisemen laughed at the sight of hisbody. The saint enquired whothese people were, to whichthe king informed him thatthey were the wise men of hiskingdom. The saint disgusted-ly told the king that they weresimply cobblers and not thewise as suggested otherwisesince they were learned onlywith the knowledge of theouter body and not theenlightened soul that resideswithin the body. The kingrequested him to answer hisquestion to which the saintexplained that he was neithera king nor a beggar but a sub-lime soul devoid of all kindsof worldly dirt. The responseleft the king relieved and sat-isfied.

Ashtavakra’s story is a les-son to us that we should per-form our duties as desired bythe Lord and not to run afterillusions ruled by our senses.To be permanently happy wewill have to realise the innerbeauty and not the physicalone.

One can enjoy unfadingbeauty only if one acquires theperception of the real and theunreal. Once we attain thatknowledge, we can reach thehighest pinnacle of spiritualglory. This is the stage whenone can enjoy its true and eter-nal character. Here, no desireis left behind except servingGod’s creation and loving Hispeople without expecting anyreward or appreciation. This isthe final stage of our earthlyexistence and once we reachthat stage we attain salvation,which is the main motto ofhuman life.

(The author is the chiefeditor of Ved Ishvareeya vani,

a bi-annual magazine)

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Repeating the past perfor-mance, the National

Fertilisers Limited (NFL) has seta new production record of 38.59lakh Million Tonne (MT) of ureain 2018-19 with a capacity utili-sation of 119.4 per cent. This isthe fourth successive year whenNFL has broken its own produc-tion records. All the plants of thecompany have achieved morethan 100 per cent capacity utili-sation. Of all NFL units, theVijaipur Unit achieved the high-est capacity utilisation at 125 percent and produced 21.6 lakh

The Steel Authority of India Limited(SAIL), the country’s largest pub-lic sector steel producer, has

shown a much improved performancein the financial year 2018-19 in terms ofproduction, techno-economics, salesand so on. SAIL produced 16.3 MillionTonnes (MT) crude steel in FY19, reg-istering a growth of eight per cent overthe corresponding period last year andclocking the best ever saleable steel pro-duction during the year. The productionfrom new mills of the company’s plantshas recorded a marked improvement inFY19, giving an enriched product bas-ket. The total steel despatch from SAILwas the highest ever at 14.86 MT dur-ing FY19 due to a dedicated logisticssetup created by the organisation. recent-ly.

The FY19 ended with a robust per-formance during Q4 with a growth of 10per cent, 8 per cent, 14 per cent and 13per cent in respect of production of hotmetal, crude steel, saleable steel and salesrespectively. Also, SAIL had the highestever production of 9.85 lakh tonnes ofUTS 90 Rail. The production of Rails gotmomentum in the second half of FY19with around 5.66 lakh tonnes of produc-

tion and 35 per cent higher than the H1figure. In line with this improved per-formance, the company has managed toimprove its turnover by 16 per centwhich now stands at �66,100 crore.

The company’s chairman AnilKumar Chaudhary, appreciated theefforts of SAIL employees and said, “The

FY19 was a remarkable year for SAILwith a marked turnaround in variousparameter like production, techno-eco-nomics, cost of production, higher pro-duction of value added products apartfrom ramping up of the production fromnew mills and sales.”

However, he feels that the challengefor the next year is much higher with a

plan of 21 per cent increase in produc-tion of crude steel and similar growth insales to catch on with the fast growingdomestic steel consumption backed byan increased demand from infrastruc-ture and construction segments. “Theentire organisation is fully geared up toscale new heights in FY20,” addedChaudhary.

The chairman-cum-manag-ing director of the Housing

and Urban DevelopmentCorporation (HUDCO) Dr MRavi Kanth, informed that dur-ing the year 2018-19, a total of20.6 lakh dwelling units weresanctioned, including the EWSand LIG category. Against theannual disbursement target of�16,565 crore, HUDCO hasdisbursed �31,010 crore. This isa growth of 87 per cent over theprevious year’s disbursements of�16,565 crore.

Sharing the highlights ofthe company’s performanceduring the year 2018-19, heexplained that since inception,HUDCO has financed over17,100 housing and infrastruc-ture projects with a cumulativesanction of �201,931 crore anddisbursements of �1,66,175crore. HUDCO has supportedmore than 19.34 million hous-es in the country, both in ruraland urban areas, thus making

it the largest facilitator of hous-ing delivery in the country.

HUDCO became a listedcompany in 2017 and has main-tained its ‘AAA’ rating for thethird consecutive year. As ofDecember 2018, HUDCO’sgross NPA stood at 5.82 percent and the net NPA at 0.80 percent, which is among the low-

est in the sector. HUDCO isexpected to get the ‘Excellent’rating for the eighth year in arow, for the tripartite MoUsigned by HUDCO with theMoHUPA and DPE for the year2018-19. HUDCO has alsobeen consistently working toaccelerate the pace of providingquality urban infrastructure inthe country over the decades byfinancing over 2200 infrastruc-ture projects, covering utility,social and commercial infra-structure.

Some of the major infra-structure projects sanctionedinclude a line of credit of�2175.30 crore to the OdishaUrban infrastructure FundBoard for storm water/drainageworks in five cities of the stateand a financial assistance of�200 crore to the AgartalaSmart City Limited for con-struction/ upgradation of smartcity components. HUDCO hasbeen identified as one of the

Central Nodal Agencies (CNA)to channelise the subsidy underthe Credit Linked SubsidyScheme of Housing for All(Urban) Programme under thePradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.As CNA, HUDCO has execut-ed MoUs with 86 banks/PrimeLending Institutions (PLIs) forEWS/LIG category and with 80banks/PLIs for MIG-I andMIG-II.

HUDCO has disbursed�318.03 crore as CLSS subsidyto EWS/LIG 14,825 beneficia-ries and �86.33 crore as CLSSsubsidy to 4,215 MIG beneficia-ries till March 31. During 2018-19, HUDCO disbursed �260.99crore CLSS subsidy to 11,738EWS/LIG beneficiaries and�80.96 crore CLSS subsidy to3,937 MIG category beneficia-ries, through its Retail FinanceWindow i.e. HUDCO Niwas.

As part of its capacity-building efforts, HUDCO’SHSMI conducted five research

studies and 16 training pro-grammes, including three inter-national training programmefor professionals under theITEC programmes of theMinistry of External Affairs.The annual HUDCO DesignAwards, which give recognitionand encourage innovative ideasof architects, town plannersand engineers that make citiesinclusive, livable and environ-mentally sustainable, were givento seventeen awardees underfive categories.

In line with the thrust areasidentified in its corporate socialresponsibility (CSR) andSustainability Policy, HUDCOhas sanctioned assistance of�9.30 crore for socially benefi-cial proposals all over the coun-try such as sanitation, educationand healthcare, renewable ener-gy solutions, employment-ori-ented skill training programmesand rehabilitation housing forflood victims in Kerala.

GAIL (India) Limited has been creatingawareness and changing mind sets to

ensure a greener and cleaner tomorrowthrough its movement— ‘Hawa Badlo’.Recently, Hawa Badlo organised a workshopin New Delhi for providing solutions forachieving pollution free air and to mobilisecollective societal efforts to improve thedeteriorating air quality by encouraging sus-tainable and environment friendly lifestylehabits such as planting trees, cycling andwalking, carpooling, using public transport,conserving energy and using cleaner energy

sources like Natural Gas for industries, CNGfor automobiles, PNG for commercial uses.GAIL India Limited plans to support HawaBadlo movement and empower the idea on along term basis so that it becomes a nationalmovement.This movement has been activelyworking towards educating the Indian mass-es against air pollution through events, shortfilms, contests, raahgiri, pledges among oth-ers on advocacy against air pollution andproblems caused due to it. Through theseefforts, Hawa Badlo movement has reachedmore than six crore Indians digitally.

IndianOil refineries recordedtheir best-ever performance

during the fiscal year 2018-19,surpassing the government’smemorandum of understand-ing (MoU) targets for keyphysical and energy parame-ters. The refineries also met the‘green’ milestone of supplyingBS-VI grade auto fuels tomajor areas of NCR on April1, thus fulfilling IndianOil’scommitment. The Divisionachieved record productionof major products like LPG,petrol, diesel, jet fuel (ATF),among others. IndianOil’sdirector (Refineries) B V RamaGopal, congratulated the divi-sion for the outstanding per-formance while addressing therefinery teams across the coun-try to mark the beginning ofthe new fiscal year. Gopal said,“With sustainable businesspractices taking centre stage,adherence to safety and envi-ronmental norms, ensuringoperational availability of theplants and multiskilling theteams will ensure IndianOil’sleadership position in the timesahead.”

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The Bureau of IndianStandards (BIS) has

launched Smart Registration atan event held in New Delhi,recently. The ceremony wit-nessed the secretary of theDepartment of ConsumerAffairs, Avinash KumarSrivastava, as the chief guestalong with the secretary of theMinistry of Electronic andInformation Technology, AjayPrakash Sawhney, the directorgeneral of BIS, Surina Rajanand the ADG of BIS, CB Singh.The event saw more than 250manufactures and 100 associ-ations at the launch.

Under the CompulsoryRegistration Scheme, CRS formore than 50 products, BIS hasbeen continuously redesigningand improving operations toensure efficiency and credibil-ity of schemes for the benefitof consumers. This year, theBIS CRS scheme has taken a

giant step to become smarterby adopting technology andrevamping its process that willbe entirely system driven.

Lauding the efforts of BIS,Sawhney said, “India is one ofthe largest consumers of digi-tal technology and keepingthis in mind, the new CRS willgo a long way to fast-trackimplementation and drivefaster turn-around times.” Headded that the new registrationprocess will help promotemanufacturing ecosystem inthe country. “The NationalPolicy on Electronics in 2012(NPE 2012), provided a roadmap for the development ofthe electronics sector in thecountry and envisages to cre-ate a globally competitiveElectronics System Design andManufacturing (ESDM) indus-try to meet the country’s needsand to serve the internationalmarket,” added Sawhney.

The BIS DG said thatStandards work as a backbonefor the well-being of society atlarge, protecting the interests ofthe consumer. “The SmartRegistration is a definite movetowards our solemn vision tobe digital and advanced.Building upon the founda-tions laid under the aegis of theDigital India programme, BISenvisages developing anecosystem where technologiesplay a significant role in stan-dardisation and conformityassessment.”

The CRS Android App isa tool for scheme credibilityand transparency for con-sumers, which is enabled toverify the registration numberof the product. In tune with thetechnologically driven era, BISis in the process to expand theusage of technology andmachine learning for all its cer-tifications and processes.

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�B��MT urea. While the BathindaUnit set a new record of 5.84lakh MT at 114.2 per centcapacity utilisation, the PanipatUnit also broke all the previousrecords with a production of5.74 lakh MT at 112.2 per centcapacity. The company’s vintageplant at Nangal also produced5.41 lakh MT urea with a capac-ity utilisation of 113 per cent.Among the industrial productscategory, the Nangal Unit alsoproduced 81,053 MT nitric acid,the best ever in the history of thisunit.

The ongoing Delhi HorseShow in the capital, has

brought together an audienceof all ages groups to indulgein the equestrian sport.Conducted by the Army Poloand Riding Centre at theArmy Equestrian Centre, theshow is hosting events rang-ing from the seriousDressage and Show Jumpingto fun events for teenagers.

The participation in theshow has seen an increasegiven the increased interestfor the sport after the IndianEvent Team won 2 Silvermedals at the recently con-cluded Asian Games atJakarta. Over 400 horsesand 500 competitors are par-ticipating at the ten dayDelhi Horse Show, whichwill culminate on April 7.

The Namo Gange Trust, anon-profit organisation,

recently celebrated itsFoundation Day. The Trustwas established in 2015 withthe aim to serve diverseextensions of the ‘WorldFamily’. The event was inau-gurated by the namo GangeTrust’s founder AcharyaJagdish Maharaj, its chair-man, Vijay Sharma and the

national presidentAchar ya MukeshKumar.

The Trust wasfounded with a visionthat our system andancient knowledge canbenefit all mankindirrespective of their age,origin, orientation andbelief. Speaking on theoccasion, the chairman

said, ‘The Trust’s primemission is to spread themessage of health,peace and harmony insociety through com-mitted efforts. Our mis-sion is to support andpromote the Indian ide-ology where everyonelives as integratedmember of a globalfamily with respect,

love, peace and harmo-ny without the bound-aries of race, colour,religion and gender.”Others who markedtheir presence on theoccasion are AnshulAggarwal, Director,Namo Gange Trust,members and manage-ment team of NamoGange Parivar.

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Organised by the PowerGrid Corporation of

India Limited (POWER-GRID), with the support of theMinistry of Power and inassociation with CBIP andIEEMA, the GRIDTECH-2019 6th InternationalExhibition and Conference,was inaugurated by the vicepresident of India, MVenkaiah Naidu, at ITPO,Pragati Maidan in New Delhi.Addressing the gatheringNaidu said, “Events such asGRIDTECH 2019 provide anopportunity for power systemprofessionals in the industryand academia to exchangeideas and deliberate on envi-

ronment friendly solutions toovercome the challenges facedby the sector. It is an excellentplatform for evolution of newideas in the energy sectorthrough brainstorming by sea-

soned professionals.”The ongoing three-day

exhibition is showcasing newtechnologies in transmission,distribution, renewable inte-gration, smart grid, communi-

cation and so on. The exhibi-tion and the concurrent sum-mit has also seen a large num-ber of exhibitors, utilities, pol-icy makers, regulators,investors, academicians, visi-tors and delegates attend theconference to experience thestate-of-the-art, power tech-nologies and equipment offuture transmission, distribu-tion, smart grid infrastructure.In an endeavor to encourageyoung and talented students’community towards innova-tion, a dedicated Students’Innovation Pavilion’ was alsoorganised for demonstration ofworking models from studentsof various technical institutes.

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Football legend Pele toldKylian Mbappe on Tuesday

that he believes the FrenchWorld Cup winner can emulatehis own achievement of scor-ing 1,000 career goals.

The 78-year-old Brazilianclaims to have netted over1,000 goals in his career, whileMbappe has so far managed103 in total, with 92 of thosecoming at the top level.

"It's possible, I scoredexactly 1,025, so 1,000 goals ispossible for him," Pele said inParis, where he met Mbappe ata sponsor event.

Mbappe, who last yearbecame only the secondteenager to score in a WorldCup final after Pele in France's4-2 victory over Croatia, playeddown Pele's comments.

"I think that even if wecount the goals on inter-citypitches and goals on thePlayStation, I won't be able toreach the 1,000-goal mark,"said the 20-year-old Paris Saint-Germain forward.

"We will try to get as closeas we can, but I think I'll be along way off it at the end of mycareer."

Mbappe has scored 32goals in all competitions forPSG this season, including 27from only 24 Ligue 1 appear-ances.

Pele was only 21 when hewon his second World Cup in1962, adding a third eight yearslater.

"There's only one 'King'and he's there," said Mbappe."I'm just Kylian, I'm trying todo my best to help my teamand my national side.

"The comparisons are flat-tering but I know very well thatI will never do what he did."

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It was not the first time thatMbappe has had to tempercomparisons with Pele, after arush to crown him a futurefootballing great during theWorld Cup in Russia, where hescored four goals in total.

But the former Monacostriker insists that he is notfocused on becoming the bestplayer of modern times.

"When Pele was playing, hedidn't think he wanted to be thebest player in history, he want-ed to have fun, help his coun-try and his club, which he did,"he said.

"What I want is to helpPSG, the France team andafterwards it will be other peo-ple who tell you that you are thebest.

"Everyone says that he isthe best, but if you are (thebest), there's no need to say it.It's not a goal for me."

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Ashley Young's needless dis-missal and Chris Smalling's

farcical own goal sent ManchesterUnited crashing to a damaging 2-1defeat against Wolves on Tuesday.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's sideblew a chance to move into thirdplace in the Premier League as theysquandered the lead in a disap-pointing display at Molineux.

United remain fifth, buttheir hopes of qualifying forthe Champions League via atop-four finish will be furtherdented if Tottenham andChelsea win on Wednesday.

It was a frustrating nightfor Solskjaer, who saw Unitedsuffer a third defeat in theirlast four games — underlin-ing how much work the Norwegianstill has in front of him following hisappointment as permanent manag-er last week.

Scott McTominay's first goal forUnited was negated by Diogo Jotabefore the interval, but the game'sturning point proved to be a secondyellow card collected by Youngwith just 57 minutes gone.

United finally caved to Wolves'pressure 20 minutes later, whenRaul Jimenez rose above Phil Jonesand headed a Joao Moutinho crossgoalwards.

The awkward attempt sawSmalling and goalkeeper David deGea become entangled, with theformer making the final touch asthe ball rolled over the line.

B��'�� Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted

Manchester United have no furthermargin for error in their bid to

secure a top-four finish after a dam-aging 2-1 defeat against Wolves.

United had been set a target of15 points from their remainingseven games by the manager beforetheir visit to Molineux.

That total is now 15 points fromsix matches, with games to comeagainst both Manchester City andChelsea at Old Trafford, a targetwhich Solskjaer admits leaves noroom for mistakes.

"I'm as confident as Iwas three hours ago," jokedSolskjaer after the defeat.

"I said we need 15 pointsfrom our last seven gamesand now we need 15 fromour last six.

"It's difficult but thenagain, we're a very goodteam and it's going to be dif-

ficult for anybody who plays againstus.

"This was a tough game but aperformance that deserved a win."

The game's turning pointproved to be a second yellow cardcollected by Young with just 57minutes gone.

Young was booked twice in thespace of five minutes for fouls onJota, the second a particularlyunpleasant high challenge.

"When you're on a yellow you'realways in danger of it being a yel-low card again," said Solskjaer.

"Probably it was a bad decisionby Ashley but in the heat of themoment he reached for the ball andwas a little bit too high, it made itmore difficult.

"We didn't get the pressurebuilt that we expected, so we keptpossession well but then they scoredwith the first chance they put theball in the box."

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Rising Italy star Moise Kean wastargeted by racist abuse after he

continued his goal-scoring spree topush Juventus closer to an eighthconsecutive Serie A title on Tuesdaywith a 2-0 win over Cagliari.

Kean, 19, slotted in his fourthgoal in as many league games forJuventus in the 85th minute afterdefender Leonardo Bonucci noddedin the opener on 22 minutes inSardinia.

The youngster's celebration afterscoring, however, infuriated theSardinian crowd who had jeered theteenager throughout after he wasbooked for diving in the first half.

The final minutes of the gamewere overshadowed by racist chantsaimed at both Kean and his Frenchteammate Blaise Matuidi.

Kean celebrated with his handsoutstretched in front of the Cagliarifans after scoring.

But Bonucci claimed that Keanshould not have provoked the homesupporters and said his teammatewas partly to blame for theunsavoury scenes.

"Kean knows that when hescores a goal, he should celebratethat with his teammates. He knowshe could have done something dif-ferently too," Bonucci told Sky SportItalia.

"There were racist jeers after thegoal, Blaise heard it and was angered.I think the blame is 50-50, because

Moise shouldn't have donethat and the Curva (Cagliarifans) should not have reactedthat way.

"We are professionals, wehave to set the example andnot provoke anyone."

Cagliari fans appeared tothrow objects at Kean, and thematch was momentarily stoppedwith Matuidi reacting furiously tothe jeers at the same stadium wherehe was targeted last season.

The abuse came on the same daythat UEFA president AleksanderCeferin said that he will ask refer-

ees to stop matches in thefuture when there is racistchanting.

The win put Juventusback 18 points clear of sec-ond-placed Napoli, who trav-el to lowly Empoli onWednesday, with only eight

matches to play.The champions' next game is at

home against AC Milan, who wereearlier held 1-1 by Udinese.

Italy defender Bonucci headedin his third league goal of the sea-son from a Federico Bernardeschicorner.

Cagliari goalkeeper AlessioCragno denied Kean twice beforethe teenager finally broke through,with Rodrigo Bentancur rolling theball across for him to tap in.

��Kevin Lasagna grabbed a point

for Udinese to further dent ACMilan's Champions League ambi-tions.

Injury-hit Milan struggledagainst their 15th-placed opponentswith goalkeeper GianluigiDonnarumma going off on 11 min-utes with a thigh problem andBrazilian midfielder Lucas Paquetahurting his ankle in the first half.

Polish striker Krzysztof Piatekmanaged to break through justbefore the interval after connectingwith a Patrick Cutrone cross.

But Italian international Lasagnapulled Udinese back level after fin-ishing off a flowing counter-attack on65 minutes.

The stalemate complicates theChampions League race for GennaroGattuso's side who are targeting areturn to the competition for the firsttime since the 2013-2014 season.

Milan have picked up just onepoint from their last three matchesafter defeats against Inter Milanand Sampdoria.

They occupy fourth place, thefinal Champions League spot, butLazio are four points behind withtwo games in hand ahead of their tripto struggling SPAL.

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Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez ledBarcelona to a stunning come-back against Villarreal on

Tuesday and may have ensuredthere will be no return for AtleticoMadrid in La Liga's title race.

Atletico play Barca at the CampNou on Saturday and were givenfresh hope of a resurgence whenstruggling Villarreal, inspired by thebrilliant Santi Cazorla, led theCatalans 4-2 going into the finalminute.

But Messi, who had started onthe bench, drove in a free-kick in the90th and in the 93rd, Suarez fired ina devastating half-volley to earnBarca a 4-4 draw and an unlikelypoint.

Combined with Atletico's earli-er 2-0 victory over Girona, theresult means the gap at the top isreduced to eight points ahead of thisweekend's top of the table meetingbut Ernesto Valverde's side celebrat-ed Suarez's goal like it was a winner.

Cazorla, meanwhile, sank to hisknees, a chance spurned forVillarreal to pull four points clear ofthe relegation zone, with Celta Vigo,now only two behind, still to playHuesca on Wednesday.

They had come from twodown, as Samuel Chukwuezeand Karl Toko Ekambi can-celled out early goals fromPhilippe Coutinho andMalcom. Vicente Iborra andCarlos Bacca looked to havesealed an incredible win, only forMessi and Suarez to intervene.

The pair have now scored 51goals between them in the leaguethis season, just one shy of the totalmanaged by Real Madrid.

Rested along with Gerard Piqueand Ivan Rakitic, it seemedBarcelona would not need Messi asCoutinho tapped in a pass byMalcom, who then headed in ArturoVidal's cross for a 2-0 lead after 16minutes.

But Villarreal sprung into life,revived by Chukwueze, who pulledone back seven minutes later. Asumptuous flick by Iborra launchedthe counter-attack and Cazorla sent

the striker clear. Chukwueze'sshot struck the post but can-noned back to him and thistime, he guided it into the farcorner.

Any control Barcelona hadincreasingly gave way to chaos,

particularly on the break, whereVillarreal broke through almost atwill. Toko Ekambi's equaliser short-ly after half-time looked like a flukebut perhaps he meant it.

�� He tore down the right wing and

cut inside, with Marc-Andre terStegen stepping out to block what heexpected to be a cutback. Instead,Toko Ekambi stabbed the ball insidethe goalkeeper and into the far cor-ner.

Messi warmed up and thencame on in the 61st minute but itwas Villarreal that pulled away. Aminute later, Iborra nipped onto

Manu Morlanes' pass and proddedit home before Bacca made it fourwith 10 minutes left.

Cazorla was again the instigator,

his curled pass creating the chance,as Bacca skipped round Ter Stegenand slid in for what seemed like thewin.

Instead, Alvaro Gonzalez wassent off for a second yellow card inthe 86th minute and Messi lashed afree-kick in off the post to give Barcahope.

When Suarez drove in his thun-dering half-volley from the edge ofthe box, there were four seconds ofthe three added minutes remaining.Cazorla dropped down as Barca'splayers ran to the corner.

Atletico Madrid were puttingthe finishing touches to their victo-ry at the Wanda Metropolitanowhen Barcelona kicked off but theyhad to wait until the 76th minute forDiego Godin's opener againstGirona.

They had VAR to thank too asthe Argentinian's header was onlyallowed to stand after AntoineGriezmann had initially been ruledoffside. Griezmann's lob added asecond in injury-time.

Berlin: Marcel Halstenberg'slast-gasp penalty saw RB Leipzigsnatch a 2-1 victory overAugsburg in a nerve-shatteringGerman Cup quarter-final tie onTuesday. After AlfredFinnbogason's equaliser had res-cued Augsburg in injury time ofnormal time, Halstenbergrestored the lead in injury timeof extra time to send Leipzig intothe first German Cup semi-finalof their history. The hosts heldLeipzig at bay for long periodsand looked dangerous them-selves until a momentary lapsein concentration allowed Wernerto break away and slot in theopener on 74 minutes. Leipzigwere left shellshocked, however,when Finnbogason snatched anequaliser four minutes intoinjury time. Yet it was Leipzigwho had the last laugh in a jaw-dropping game, as Michael

Gregoritsch's late handball in thebox broke Augsburg hearts andgifted Leipzig victory. "We are sofrustrated because we were atleast on the same level as Leipzigtoday," Augsburg coach ManuelBaum told Sky. Leipzig will bejoined in the last four by

Hamburg, who beat Paderborn2-0 earlier in the evening.Hamburg striker Pierre-MichelLasogga continued his fine scor-ing form in the German Cup ashe grabbed both goals to fire hisside into the semi-finals for thefirst time in ten years. AFP

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The Indian football team's spirited show-ings in recent times seem to be having

a ripple effect with the position of the men'scoach attracting over 250 applications, anunprecedented number that also includessome well-known names from Europe.

The post has been left vacant sinceStephen Constantine resigned following theIndian team's failure to make the knockoutsof the AFC Asian Cup after coming closeto doing so.

Contrary to speculations doing therounds, All India Football Federation(AIFF) sources categorically denied thatthey are not exactly looking to recruit ahigh-profile name. In the recent past, AIFFgeneral secretary Kushal Das had also saidthat they would appoint a coach based onthe team's requirements and not get carriedaway by big names.

The list of applicants also includescoaches from the Indian Super League andI-League.

"The big names doing the rounds neednot necessarily fulfil the criteria of the AIFF.Early next week the concerned committeewill make a short-list and the candidateswould then be interviewed by the techni-cal committee, and based on its recommen-dations, the executive committee wouldmake the appointment from among thefinal list," a well-placed AIFF source said.

Established names doing the rounds areItalian Giovanni De Biasi, Hakan Ericsonof Sweden, France's Raymond Domnechand England's Sam Allardyce.

While these are undoubtedly big names,the AIFF has also received applications frompeople who do not have the credentials andlicence.

The deadline for applying for the topjob ended on March 29.

Among others, Bengaluru FC's highlysuccessful former coach Albert Roca hasalso emerged as the frontrunner for the job,with many national team players favouringhis appointment.

Under Roca, Bengaluru FC playedfour finals in his two seasons in charge -making the final of the AFC Cup in 2016,the Federation Cup in 2017 and the ISL andSuper Cup in 2018.

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�� 85��'��9Lyon: Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas saidhe will wait until the end of the season to decidethe future of coach Bruno Genesio followingTuesday's 3-2 defeat at home to Rennes in theFrench Cup semi-finals. Rennes twice led at theGroupama Stadium through goals from MbayeNiang and Benjamin Andre, but Lyon hit backwith a Bertrand Traore goal and MoussaDembele penalty. Algeria defender RamyBensebaini drilled home the winner for Renneson 81 minutes to send his side through to thefinal and a possible showdown with holdersParis Saint-Germain. Bensebaini's strikeallowed Rennes to avenge Friday's 1-0 leaguedefeat by Lyon and denied Genesio's side thechance to claim their first silverware since lift-ing the trophy in 2012. "It was agreed that ifwe were in the final - which is no longer thecase -and if we were in the top three, therewould be a two-year extension," Aulas saidafterwards. "The deal that was reached withBruno is that there will not be a contract renew-al between now and the end of the season. "Itwill stay like that. It's really sad not to be ableto say that Bruno will extend his stay." AFP

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New Zealand opted for experience in a 15-man squad named on Wednesday for this

year's cricket World Cup, with rookie TomBlundell's inclusion as back-up wicketkeeper theonly real surprise.

The Black Caps hope to shed their tag asvaliant losers and claim the title after exiting inthe semi-finals six times and suffering a heavydefeat to Australia in their only appearance inthe final four years ago.

New Zealand are currently third in the one-day rankings, behind England and India.

Coach Gary Stead said the KaneWilliamson-led side had repeatedly excelled atthe top level and he was confident the consis-tency would shine through at the tournamentin England and Wales.

"We've got a squad here of 15 players thatwe think can give us a really, really good chanceof going far into the tournament," he said.

"If we play close to our potential, then hope-fully we can do New Zealand proud."

Wellington keeper Blundell was selectedafter Tim Siefert, the regular back-up to first-choice gloveman Tom Latham, broke his fingerin a domestic match last month.

While Blundell, who has two Test caps, willlikely make his one-day international debut atthe tournament, his role will be marginal ifLatham stays fit.

Mitchell Santner will be the New Zealanders'

primary spinner, with Ish Sodhi edging ToddAstle to claim the second slow bowling position.

"(Selecting) the spinners was very tough, andboth had signs at times that they should've beenthe one that was selected... But at the end of theday that's my call to make," Stead said.

The pace attack comprises Tim Southee,Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson and Matt Henry,while Jimmy Neesham and Colin deGrandhomme add all-round options.

Henry Nicholls is set to open the battingwith veteran Martin Guptill after displacingColin Munro at the top of the order, althoughMunro will make the trip as batting cover.

Williamson and Ross Taylor, in his fourthWorld Cup campaign, complete a battle-hardened batting line up.

Williamson, Taylor and Guptill have col-lectively amassed 526 ODI appearancesbetween them.

Guptill and Taylor have not confirmedtheir post-tournament plans but will most like-ly be looking to exit cricket's biggest stage ona high.

The Black Caps will open their campaignagainst Sri Lanka in Cardiff on June 1.

New Zealand:Kane Williamson (capt), Tom Blundell,

Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, LockieFerguson, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, TomLatham, Colin Munro, Jimmy Neesham,Henry Nicholls, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi,Tim Southee, Ross Taylor.

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Skipper Shreyas Iyerwould look to sort

out his team's lower-order woes and strivefor consistency whenDelhi Capitals face arampaging SunrisersHyderabad in an IPLmatch here onThursday.

A dramatic lower-order collapse against Kings XI Punjab exposedDelhi's batting frailties and Iyer would look toplug those holes to stand a chance of tamingSunrisers, who have been on a roll with back-to-back wins.

Delhi are currently fifth in the eight teamstandings with two wins and as many loses afterfour games and consistency is something whichthey would be looking for.

Delhi had failed to score six runs from thelast over against Kolkata Knight Riders, thus tak-ing the match to Super Over and it was only dueto Kagiso Rabada's superb yorkers, they hadmanaged to scrape through in the end.

However, Delhi's lower-order came unstuckagainst Kings XI on Monday night when theyinexplicably lost seven wickets for eight runs tolose the game by 14 runs. Delhi were 144 forthree in the 17th over, chasing 167 before beingbowled out for 152 in 19.2 overs.

Rishabh Pant, who played a superb knockof 78 to pile up a mammoth 213 against Mumbaiin the first match, has been the highest run-scor-er for Delhi while the likes of Shikhar Dhawan,Prithvi Shaw, Iyer and Colin Ingram too havebeen among runs.

The bowling department has been led byRabada, while they also have Kiwi pacer TrentBoult and Ishant Sharma in their ranks. YoungNepalese leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane toohas performed well so far for Delhi.

But the real contest on Thursday would bebetween Delhi pacers Rabada and Chris Morrisagainst the marauding Sunrisers pair of DavidWarner and Jonny Bairstow.

The pair of Warner and Bairstow have beenin scintillating form this year, sharing century-plus opening stands in all their three matchesso far.

After a 118-run opening stand against KKR

in a losing cause, Warner and Bairstow contin-ued their dominance up the order with 110-runand 185-run partnerships against Rajasthan andRoyal Challengers Bangalore.

In fact, both Warner (100 not out) andBairstow (114) blasted a century each duringSunrisers massive 118-run win over RCB in thelast game.

On road to redemption, Warner has lookedominous as he blasted 69 off 37 balls againstRajasthan, before a whirlwind 55-ball unbeat-en 100 blew away RCB. Besides, he started theseason with a 85-run knock against KKR.

After the six-wicket defeat to KKR in theiropener, Sunrisers roared their way back into thetournament, largely riding on Warner andBairstow's exploits and come Thursday, theywould be eyeing a hat-trick of wins.

Among Sunrisers' bowlers, Afghanistanspin duo of Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khanwould look to do the maximum damage, whilepacer Sandeep Sharma too has done well withfour wickets.

But Bhuvneshwar Kumar's performance,especially at the death, has been a major con-cern for Sunrisers.

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Riding Hardik Pandya'sblitzkrieg, MumbaiIndians creamed 29 runs

in the final over to reach 170for five against Chennai SuperKings in the Indian PremierLeague here Wednesday.

Sent into bat, SuryakumarYadav compiled ahalf century to laythe foundation forMumbai Indians atthe WankhedeStadium.

Before Hardik'seight-ball 25 andKieron Pollard'sseven-ball 17, Yadavstroked his way to59 in 43 ballsagainst the CSKattack that kept the MI batsmenon a tight least till the last fewovers.

Yadav, who hit eight foursand a six, also put on a half cen-tury stand with Krunal Pandya(42 in 32 balls) to revive MI'sfloundering innings.

Towards the end, Hardikand Pollard struck big toremain unbeaten and boostedthe total with the former strik-ing three sixes and one four andthe latter hitting twice over the

ropes. The founder of the heli-copter shot, Mahendra Singh,watched from behind as Hardikused it to good effect.

MI had a slow start andalso lost the wicket of Quinton

de Kock in the third over withonly eight runs on the board.

The arrival of Yadav to thecrease quickened the run rateas he played handsome drivesin front of the wicket on both

sides off Deepak Chahar, whohe hit for three fours in oneover, and Shardul Thakur, whogave away three boundaries inhis second over.

Thanks to the stroke-filled

start by Yadav, MI ended with40 on the board at the end ofpower play, but then lost skip-per Rohit Sharma off the firstball of the eighth over, caughtbehind off Ravindra Jadeja for13.

Yuvraj Singh, too, flopped,caught just inside the bound-ary line to leave MI at 50 forthree in the ninth over.

Yadav and Krunal revivedthe sagging innings with astand of 62 in 49 balls for thefourth wicket.

The latter struck two suc-cessive fours off Mohit Sharmato push up the run rate but waslucky to be let off at 17 offDwayne Bravo in the 13thover.

Krunal successfullyreviewed a leg before decisiongiven against him off ShardulThakur after adding a run tohis score. Emboldened, the lefthander lofted Tahir over longon for the first six of theinnings, in the 15th over, at theend of which MI were 93 forthree.

Krunal was finally caughtat long off, miscuing while try-ing to hit Mohit Sharma for thethird four in the 17th over. Hestruck five fours and a six in his32-ball knock.

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Former Indian women's cricket team coach TusharArothe on Wednesday claimed innocence a day after

he was arrested and subsequently released on bail forallegedly betting on an IPL match.

"This (cricket) is my bread and butter. Whatever I amtoday is because of cricket and I will never do such typeof activity. Life mei ek paisa idhar-udhar nahi kiya hai (Ihave never cheated)," Arothe said.

The 52-year-old from Baroda was arrested onMonday before being given bail by the police, VadodaraPolice Commissioner Anup Singh Gehlot said onTuesday.

"Forget about doing it, I have never thought about it,"the former batsman, who represented Baroda in 114 first-class games.

Arothe and 18 others were arrested by the city CrimeBranch for betting on the IPL match between DelhiCapitals and Kings XI Punjab played at Mohali, saidDeputy Commissioner of Police Jaydeepsinh Jadeja ofVadodara Crime Branch.

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With Royal ChallengersBangalore losing their fourth

successive game in this edition of theIndian Premier League, questionshave been raised on skipper ViratKohli and his tactical acumen bypundits. Interestingly, Kohli haslost the last seven games that he hascaptained in — three ODIs againstAustralia and four T20s in the IPL.What makes matters worse is that hehas not had former skipper MSDhoni by his side in six of thoseseven.

While Dhoni sat out the last twoODIs against Australia, he has beenleading Chennai Super Kings in theIPL.

In stark contrast to Kohli's fate,Dhoni and team have won all theirgames in the championship so farand are sitting at the top of the pointstable. Even more interestingly, Dhonishowed his tactical superiority whenhe went into the opening game of theIPL with three spinners as Kohlimisread conditions and played justone regular spinner in YuzvendraChahal. CSK won by 7 wickets.

Speaking about it, sources in theIndian team management said it isa simple case of Kohli being able toexpress himself better when he hasDhoni around him.

"Let us not read too much intoT20 games, but the thing is thatwhen you have someone like Dhoniaround, you can be yourself. Dhonihelps Kohli make decisions and alsoguides the bowlers like you wouldhave seen time and again.

"Youngsters like Kuldeep Yadavand Yuzvendra Chahal feel at homewhen they have Dhoni guidingthem from behind the wicket. Thatis why Dhoni is such an integralmember of the Indian ODI set-up.

"Kohli can also focus on his bat-ting when Dhoni is around. See hisscores in the last seven games thatyou are mentioning. Dhoni wasthere is Ranchi and Kohli scored

123. After that, the scores read 7, 20,6, 46, 3 and 23. It always helps whenyou have a senior member in theteam to guide you with his experi-ence," the source said.

While Kohli's recent run in theIPL has once again started thedebate on his skills as captain,CSK all-rounder Dwayne Bravoafter their second game againstDelhi Capitals said he just followedthe instructions of skipper Dhoniand that helped.

Also when it comes to takingthe game deep and finishing things,MSD showcased the skills duringthe game against Rajasthan Royals.

Commenting on Dhoni's rolenot just in the CSK unit, but also theIndian team, a BCCI official said:

"He is the balancing factor in theIndian team. Cricket in Indiaevokes a range of emotions withevery fan having his/her favouriteplayer.

"Kohli is arguably the best bats-man in the world, but cricket isn'tan individual game and the atmos-phere in the dressing room and theteam spirit play a huge part in thesuccess of the team.

"Dhoni at this moment is inte-gral to the success of the team eversince he took up the role of thesenior and guiding player in theteam. His presence has a calmingeffect on the entire team.

"For India to succeed in theWorld Cup, Dhoni's presence isvery important," the official said.

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Top Indian shuttlers P V Sindhu and KidambiSrikanth advanced to the second round but

Saina Nehwal failed to cross the opening hur-dle at the Malaysia Open World Tour Super 750tournament here on Wednesday.

Olympic and world champi-onship Silver medallist Sindhustaved off a spirited challengefrom World No 20 Aya Ohori 22-20, 21-12 to record her sixth winover the Japanese, while IndiaOpen finalistSrikanth beatI n d o n e s i a ' sIhsan MaulanaMustofa 21-18,21-16 in 38minutes.

Fifth seedSindhu wil lnow look toavenge her AllEngland lossagainst Korea'sSung Ji Hyun,whom shefaces next,while Srikanthwill meetT h a i l a n d ' sK h o s i tP h e t p r a d a bThursday.

Eighth seed Saina, who came into the tour-nament after recovering from a pancreas infec-tion, fought hard before going down 22-20, 15-21, 10-21 to Thailand's PornpaweeChochuwong.

HS Prannoy, who had reached the quarter-finals last week at New Delhi, however, bowedout after losing 12-21, 21-16, 21-14 to SitthikomThammasin of Thailand following a hard-fought battle.

With Sameer Verma too crashing out in theopening round, Srikanth is the only Indian inthe fray in men's singles.

Men's doubles pair of Manu Attri and BSumeeth Reddy, who had entered the semifi-nals in India Open, also failed to cross the open-ing hurdle, going down 16-21, 6-21 to seventhseeds Han Chengkai and Zhou Haodong ofChina.

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Rishabh Pant is a talentedcricketer but he shouldn't be

compared with Mahendra SinghDhoni, feels India's first WorldCup-winning captain Kapil Dev.

Pant, who is now India'sfirst-choice keeper in Test crick-et, is still fighting for a spot inIndia's World Cup squad thatwill be announced later thismonth.

"You can never compareanyone with Mahendra SinghDhoni. No one can ever replacea player of Dhoni's stature. Pantis a talented cricketer and weshouldn't put him under pres-sure by comparing him withDhoni. His time will surelycome," the 1983 World Cup-win-ning captain told mediapersonson Tuesday.

In his inimitable style, Kapilplayed down the workload man-

agement issue of Indian pacers."We all have workload," he

laughed, adding, "We are mak-ing a big issue out of it. What isworkload? "Mehnat Karna hinaa? Kya aap mehnat bhi naahi

karoge? (You don't even want towork hard?)

Kapil had a number of allrounders, including MohinderAmarnath, Madan Lal, RogerBinny and himself, in that squad.

However, both HardikPandya and Vijay Shankar'sbowling has been an issue, butKapil refused to be critical.

"Winning World Cup is notbuying sweets from a shop. It'sa mission and at this juncture, Idon't want to be the critic whowants to pull the team. I will notlike to harp on weak points andrather focus on our strengths,"said the legendary all rounder.

"World Cup is a culminationof four years of planning. I amcertain our selection committeehas identified the right bunch ofplayers. Now it's up to the play-ers to execute and also theywould need a bit of luck in sucha big event," he said.

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