HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY · 2 hours ago  · “I will not let the Government topple at any cost even...

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HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY T he Ashok Gehlot dispensa- tion won the confidence motion by a voice vote in the Rajasthan Assembly on Friday, ending the threat to its exis- tence triggered by a rebellion within the Congress ranks in the State led by his former deputy Sachin Pilot. The motion of confidence moved by Rajasthan Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shanti Dhariwal was passed by voice vote, an expected win after the return of the 19 dis- sident Congress MLAs led by Pilot to the party-fold. Replying to the debate on the motion, Gehlot criticised the BJP, accusing it again of trying to bring down his Government. “I will not let the Government topple at any cost even if you make all attempts,” he said. Gehlot said the crisis had come to an end in a beautiful manner and this had hurt the BJP. “What was done in Arunachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Goa, Madhya Pradesh? Elected Governments are being toppled and democracy is under dan- ger,” he said, accusing the BJP of targeting the Congress Governments. Without taking names, he alleged that a Union Minister was involved in the conspira- cy to topple his Government, saying this had become clear after some audio clips sur- faced. The indirect reference was to Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who had earlier rejected the Congress allegation. Gehlot also questioned whether agencies like ED, CBI and Income Tax department are not being misused in the country? “When you hold con- versation on telephone, don’t you say the other person to join you on Facebook and WhatsApp. Is this good thing in a democracy?” the CM said. Gehlot also took potshots on the role of Governor with whom he and his party had to struggle to call the Special Session as the Raj Bhavan was reluctant. “The post of the Governor has lost its dignity. Don’t pro- voke me or else I will be forced to share what transpired between the Governor and me. I think the Governor was under pressure. Hundered editorials have been written about the sit- uation in the State after the Governor returned the file on the State Government’s wish to convene an Assembly session. The job of the Governor is no more than asking to prove majority in the House,” Gehlot said in the Assembly. Using his speech during the debate, Pilot said, “I want to tell that whatever I or my companions had to say, we have told the doctor (Congress high command) about our com- plaints. The MLAs are now all together in the Assembly after receiving the treatment.” Rajasthan BJP chief Satish Poonia said the State Congress Government is suffering from a “political corona”, even though it has won the vote of confidence. Poonia remarked that the way Pilot spoke in the Assembly makes it clear that there are still some differences between Gehlot and Pilot. On Poonia’s comments Pilot said he would like to clar- ify that “I, my work style, my work, my colleagues, and what we discuss within the party, leave it to us. Today’s session is about trust vote. I don’t want to interrupt anyone’s speech. Whether I was pained by any- one’s statement or not, leave it to me. It will be better if we dis- cuss issues facing this Government”. The Opposition BJP accused the Gehlot camp of blaming it for the infighting within the Congress. Targeting the Chief Minister for his comments against his now sacked deputy, Leader of Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria questioned how Pilot became useless after the formation of the Government when he had strengthened the party while in Opposition. Continued on Page 2 W ith over 60,000 cases daily for the past few days, India coronavirus count crossed 2.5 million mark on Friday. For the last 10 days, the country has witnessed a huge surge, adding 5.50 lakh fresh cases during this period. India now accounts for 10.35 per cent of all active cases globally (one in every 10 active cases), and 6.21% of all deaths (one in every 16). Overall, five States with the biggest 24-hour jump in total cases are Maharashtra (12,608), Andhra Pradesh (8,943), Karnataka (7,908), Tamil Nadu (5,890) and Uttar Pradesh (4,512). Meanwhile, the face of India’s Covid-19 fight, Luv Agarwal, joint secretary of the Health Ministry, has also test- ed coronavirus positive. “Dear All, just to inform that I have tested positive for Covid-19 and initiating home isolation as per guidelines. Requesting all my friends, col- leagues for self monitoring. Contact tracing will be done by health team. Hoping to see everyone soon,” he tweeted. The condition of noted singer Balasubrahmanyam deteriorated and based on the advice of expert medical team attending to him, he has been moved to ICU and he is on life support and his condition remains critical. According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India conducted record 8,48,728 tests for detection of coronavirus in a day with an aim to achieve a daily target of 10 lakh and recovery rate rose to 71.17 per cent. The fatality rate has declined to 1.95 per cent. Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan claimed the recovery rate of Covid-19 patients in India is the best in the world. Maharashtra reported 12608 fresh cases and 364 deaths in the last 24 hours, tak- ing the total tally to 5, 72,734 including 19,427 deaths. Nagpur district of Maharashtra recorded its highest single-day spike of over 1,000 coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours. Mumbai has reported 979 new infections and 47 deaths, tak- ing the total tally to 1,28,550 and 7,035 deaths so far. The coronavirus case tally in the slum-dominated Dharavi area here rose to 2,658 on Friday with nine new patients coming to light. Of 2,658 cases, 2,312 patients have already recovered and there are only 87 active cases. Delhi has reported 1,192 fresh Covid-19 cases on Friday to go past the 1,50,000-mark for the total number of coron- avirus cases registered in the national capital since the out- break of the disease in February this year. However, only 11,366 of these are currently infected by the disease and under medical supervision. As per data, 11 deaths have been reported in the past 24-hour cycle due to Covid 19 taking the death toll to 4,178. Continued on Page 2 T he Supreme Court on Friday held activist-lawyer Prashant Bhushan guilty of criminal contempt for his two derogatory tweets against the judiciary saying they cannot be said to be a fair criticism of the functioning of the judiciary made in the public interest. Holding that Bhushan attempted to scandalise the entire institution of the Supreme Court, the SC said: “If such an attack is not dealt with, with requisite degree of firm- ness, it may affect the nation- al honour.” A bench of Justices Arun Mishra, BR Gavai and Krishna Murari said: “The tweets which are based on the distorted facts, in our considered view, amount to committing crimi- nal contempt. In the result, we hold alleged contemnor No.1 - Mr. Prashant Bhushan guilty of having committed criminal contempt of this court”. The SC however dis- charged the notice issued to Twitter Inc after accepting its explanation that it is only an intermediary and does not have any control on what the users post on the platform. Continued on Page 2 E ncroachment is a matter of concern but the monitoring committee, set up in 2006 to identify unauthorised struc- tures and check misuse of res- idential properties in Delhi, “cannot exceed its power” and take any action beyond its authorisation, the Supreme Court said on Friday. A bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra said at no point of time, the SC has empowered the monitoring committee to take action with regard to “res- idential premises not used for commercial purpose” and it is not authorised to take action concerning residential premis- es situated on private land. The SC said this in its ver- dict in which it dealt with the authority of monitoring com- mittee to seal residential premises on private land, when they are not being used for commercial purpose. It directed the properties, sealed as per the committee’s April last year report, be de- sealed and possession be restored to the owners. “Let this order be complied with with- in three days. However, we clar- ify that this order does not at all mean to belittle the yeomen service done by the monitoring committee for protection of Delhi,” it said. Continued on Page 2 T he Jammu & Kashmir Police has bagged the Kirti Chakra, the second highest peacetime gallantry medal that comes after the Ashok Chakra on the eve of 74th Independence Day and also earned a Shaurya Chakra, the third highest in precedence in the category. The J&K Police also topped the list of winners of Police Medals for Gallantry (PMG) by bagging 81 medals. The CRPF follows the J&K Police with 51 medals, mostly for operations conducted in Jammu & Kashmir. While the Kirti Chakra was awarded posthumously to Head Constable of Jammu & Kashmir Police Abdul Rashid Kalas, the Shaurya Chakra went to Deputy Inspector General of the J&K Police Amit Kumar. The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) on Friday has recommended gallantry medals to 21 troops who fought against China’s People Liberation Army (PLA) in Eastern Ladakh in May-June, for this years’ Independence Day. The ITBP has accorded 294 commendation rolls and insignias to the paramilitary personnel for “displaying raw courage and bravery during face-offs and skirmishes in Eastern Ladakh in May-June , 2020,” on the eve of the nation- al festival. “The ITBP troops not only effectively used shields to protect themselves but also responded fiercely to PLA advancing troops and brought the situation under control. With the highest order of pro- fessional skills, ITBP troops fought shoulder to shoulder and also brought the injured Indian Army troops to the rear,” the ITBP said in a state- ment highlighting the bravery against the treachery of the PLA troops. It further said, “Even when the ITBP troops fought the whole night, they received minimum casualties by giving befitting reply to the stone pelters of the PLA. At places, they gave a determined stand- off about 17 to 20 hours throughout the intervening nights.” Continued on Page 2 H itting out at the Opposition over its criti- cism of the recent political developments in Rajasthan, former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot on Friday described himself as the “strongest warrior” of the Congress and said he would protect his party at all costs. Pilot, who has returned to the Congress fold after a month-long rebellion against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, made the remarks during the debate on a motion of confi- dence in the Assembly. During the debate, Deputy Leader of the Opposition Rajendra Rathore mentioned Pilot’s name in various matters, including the recent political developments in the State and a Special Operations Group (SOG) notice issued to him. Continued on Page 2 New Delhi: Home Minister Amit Shah, who was under- going treatment for coron- avirus at a private hospital in Gurugram, has tested nega- tive. Shah, 55, said on the advice of the doctors, he will be in home isolation for the next few days. “Today, my corona test report has come and it is negative. I thank God and express my heartfelt grati- tude to all those who wished for my recovery,” he tweeted. He also thanked the doc- tors and paramedical staff of Medanta Hospital. HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY

Transcript of HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY · 2 hours ago  · “I will not let the Government topple at any cost even...

Page 1: HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY · 2 hours ago  · “I will not let the Government topple at any cost even if you make all attempts,” he said. Gehlot said the crisis had come to an end

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HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY

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The Ashok Gehlot dispensa-tion won the confidence

motion by a voice vote in theRajasthan Assembly on Friday,ending the threat to its exis-tence triggered by a rebellionwithin the Congress ranks inthe State led by his formerdeputy Sachin Pilot.

The motion of confidencemoved by RajasthanParliamentary Affairs MinisterShanti Dhariwal was passed byvoice vote, an expected winafter the return of the 19 dis-sident Congress MLAs led byPilot to the party-fold.

Replying to the debate onthe motion, Gehlot criticised theBJP, accusing it again of tryingto bring down his Government.“I will not let the Governmenttopple at any cost even if youmake all attempts,” he said.

Gehlot said the crisis hadcome to an end in a beautifulmanner and this had hurt theBJP. “What was done inArunachal Pradesh, Karnataka,Goa, Madhya Pradesh? ElectedGovernments are being toppledand democracy is under dan-ger,” he said, accusing the BJPof targeting the CongressGovernments.

Without taking names, healleged that a Union Ministerwas involved in the conspira-cy to topple his Government,saying this had become clearafter some audio clips sur-faced.

The indirect reference wasto Gajendra Singh Shekhawat,who had earlier rejected theCongress allegation.

Gehlot also questioned

whether agencies like ED, CBIand Income Tax departmentare not being misused in thecountry? “When you hold con-versation on telephone, don’tyou say the other person to joinyou on Facebook andWhatsApp. Is this good thingin a democracy?” the CM said.

Gehlot also took potshotson the role of Governor withwhom he and his party had tostruggle to call the SpecialSession as the Raj Bhavan wasreluctant.

“The post of the Governorhas lost its dignity. Don’t pro-voke me or else I will be forcedto share what transpiredbetween the Governor and me.I think the Governor was underpressure. Hundered editorialshave been written about the sit-uation in the State after theGovernor returned the file onthe State Government’s wish toconvene an Assembly session.The job of the Governor is nomore than asking to provemajority in the House,” Gehlotsaid in the Assembly.

Using his speech during

the debate, Pilot said, “I wantto tell that whatever I or mycompanions had to say, we havetold the doctor (Congress highcommand) about our com-plaints. The MLAs are now alltogether in the Assembly afterreceiving the treatment.”

Rajasthan BJP chief SatishPoonia said the State CongressGovernment is suffering froma “political corona”, eventhough it has won the vote ofconfidence. Poonia remarkedthat the way Pilot spoke in theAssembly makes it clear thatthere are still some differencesbetween Gehlot and Pilot.

On Poonia’s commentsPilot said he would like to clar-ify that “I, my work style, mywork, my colleagues, and whatwe discuss within the party,leave it to us. Today’s session isabout trust vote. I don’t want tointerrupt anyone’s speech.Whether I was pained by any-one’s statement or not, leave itto me. It will be better if we dis-cuss issues facing thisGovernment”.

The Opposition BJP

accused the Gehlot camp ofblaming it for the infightingwithin the Congress.

Targeting the ChiefMinister for his commentsagainst his now sacked deputy,Leader of Opposition GulabChand Kataria questioned howPilot became useless after theformation of the Governmentwhen he had strengthened theparty while in Opposition.

Continued on Page 2

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With over 60,000 casesdaily for the past few

days, India coronavirus countcrossed 2.5 million mark onFriday. For the last 10 days, thecountry has witnessed a hugesurge, adding 5.50 lakh freshcases during this period. Indianow accounts for 10.35 per centof all active cases globally (onein every 10 active cases), and6.21% of all deaths (one inevery 16).

Overall, five States with thebiggest 24-hour jump in totalcases are Maharashtra (12,608),Andhra Pradesh (8,943),Karnataka (7,908), Tamil Nadu(5,890) and Uttar Pradesh(4,512).

Meanwhile, the face ofIndia’s Covid-19 fight, LuvAgarwal, joint secretary of theHealth Ministry, has also test-ed coronavirus positive.

“Dear All, just to informthat I have tested positive forCovid-19 and initiating homeisolation as per guidelines.Requesting all my friends, col-leagues for self monitoring.Contact tracing will be done byhealth team. Hoping to seeeveryone soon,” he tweeted.

The condition of notedsinger Balasubrahmanyamdeteriorated and based on theadvice of expert medical teamattending to him, he has beenmoved to ICU and he is on lifesupport and his conditionremains critical.

According to the Ministryof Health and Family Welfare,India conducted record8,48,728 tests for detection of

coronavirus in a day with anaim to achieve a daily target of10 lakh and recovery rate roseto 71.17 per cent. The fatalityrate has declined to 1.95 percent. Union Health Minister DrHarsh Vardhan claimed therecovery rate of Covid-19patients in India is the best inthe world.

Maharashtra reported12608 fresh cases and 364deaths in the last 24 hours, tak-ing the total tally to 5, 72,734including 19,427 deaths.Nagpur district of Maharashtrarecorded its highest single-dayspike of over 1,000 coronaviruscases in the last 24 hours.Mumbai has reported 979 newinfections and 47 deaths, tak-ing the total tally to 1,28,550and 7,035 deaths so far. Thecoronavirus case tally in the

slum-dominated Dharavi areahere rose to 2,658 on Fridaywith nine new patients comingto light. Of 2,658 cases, 2,312patients have already recoveredand there are only 87 activecases.

Delhi has reported 1,192fresh Covid-19 cases on Fridayto go past the 1,50,000-markfor the total number of coron-avirus cases registered in thenational capital since the out-break of the disease in Februarythis year.

However, only 11,366 ofthese are currently infected bythe disease and under medicalsupervision. As per data, 11deaths have been reported inthe past 24-hour cycle due toCovid 19 taking the death tollto 4,178.

Continued on Page 2

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The Supreme Court onFriday held activist-lawyer

Prashant Bhushan guilty ofcriminal contempt for his twoderogatory tweets against thejudiciary saying they cannot besaid to be a fair criticism of thefunctioning of the judiciarymade in the public interest.

Holding that Bhushanattempted to scandalise theentire institution of theSupreme Court, the SC said: “Ifsuch an attack is not dealt with,with requisite degree of firm-ness, it may affect the nation-al honour.”

A bench of Justices ArunMishra, BR Gavai and KrishnaMurari said: “The tweets whichare based on the distortedfacts, in our considered view,amount to committing crimi-nal contempt. In the result, wehold alleged contemnor No.1 -Mr. Prashant Bhushan guilty ofhaving committed criminalcontempt of this court”.

The SC however dis-charged the notice issued toTwitter Inc after accepting itsexplanation that it is only anintermediary and does nothave any control on what theusers post on the platform.

Continued on Page 2

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Encroachment is a matter ofconcern but the monitoring

committee, set up in 2006 toidentify unauthorised struc-tures and check misuse of res-idential properties in Delhi,“cannot exceed its power” andtake any action beyond itsauthorisation, the SupremeCourt said on Friday.

A bench headed by JusticeArun Mishra said at no pointof time, the SC has empoweredthe monitoring committee totake action with regard to “res-idential premises not used forcommercial purpose” and it isnot authorised to take actionconcerning residential premis-

es situated on private land.The SC said this in its ver-

dict in which it dealt with theauthority of monitoring com-mittee to seal residentialpremises on private land, whenthey are not being used forcommercial purpose.

It directed the properties,sealed as per the committee’sApril last year report, be de-sealed and possession berestored to the owners. “Let thisorder be complied with with-in three days. However, we clar-ify that this order does not atall mean to belittle the yeomenservice done by the monitoringcommittee for protection ofDelhi,” it said.

Continued on Page 2

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The Jammu & KashmirPolice has bagged the Kirti

Chakra, the second highestpeacetime gallantry medal thatcomes after the Ashok Chakraon the eve of 74thIndependence Day and alsoearned a Shaurya Chakra, thethird highest in precedence inthe category. The J&K Policealso topped the list of winnersof Police Medals for Gallantry(PMG) by bagging 81 medals.

The CRPF follows the J&KPolice with 51 medals, mostlyfor operations conducted inJammu & Kashmir.

While the Kirti Chakrawas awarded posthumously toHead Constable of Jammu &Kashmir Police Abdul RashidKalas, the Shaurya Chakrawent to Deputy InspectorGeneral of the J&K PoliceAmit Kumar.

The Indo-Tibetan BorderPolice (ITBP) on Friday has

recommended gallantrymedals to 21 troops who foughtagainst China’s PeopleLiberation Army (PLA) inEastern Ladakh in May-June,for this years’ IndependenceDay.

The ITBP has accorded294 commendation rolls andinsignias to the paramilitarypersonnel for “displaying rawcourage and bravery duringface-offs and skirmishes inEastern Ladakh in May-June ,2020,” on the eve of the nation-al festival.

“The ITBP troops notonly effectively used shields toprotect themselves but alsoresponded fiercely to PLAadvancing troops and brought

the situation under control.With the highest order of pro-fessional skills, ITBP troopsfought shoulder to shoulderand also brought the injuredIndian Army troops to therear,” the ITBP said in a state-ment highlighting the braveryagainst the treachery of thePLA troops.

It further said, “Even whenthe ITBP troops fought thewhole night, they receivedminimum casualties by givingbefitting reply to the stonepelters of the PLA. At places,they gave a determined stand-off about 17 to 20 hoursthroughout the interveningnights.”

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Hitting out at theOpposition over its criti-

cism of the recent politicaldevelopments in Rajasthan,former Deputy Chief MinisterSachin Pilot on Fridaydescribed himself as the“strongest warrior” of theCongress and said he wouldprotect his party at all costs.

Pilot, who has returned tothe Congress fold after amonth-long rebellion againstChief Minister Ashok Gehlot,made the remarks during thedebate on a motion of confi-dence in the Assembly.

During the debate, DeputyLeader of the OppositionRajendra Rathore mentionedPilot’s name in various matters,including the recent politicaldevelopments in the State anda Special Operations Group(SOG) notice issued to him.

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New Delhi: Home MinisterAmit Shah, who was under-going treatment for coron-avirus at a private hospital inGurugram, has tested nega-tive. Shah, 55, said on theadvice of the doctors, hewill be in home isolation forthe next few days.

“Today, my corona testreport has come and it isnegative. I thank God andexpress my heartfelt grati-tude to all those who wishedfor my recovery,” he tweeted.

He also thanked the doc-tors and paramedical staff ofMedanta Hospital.

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Attacking all three municipal corporations in Delhi, Aam AadmiParty (AAP) senior leader and a member of the party's politi-

cal affairs' committee Durgesh Pathak on Friday said that the BJP-ruled corporations have gifted three Taj Mahals made of garbageto the people of Delhi.

Pathak said that former Delhi BJP chief and MP Manoj Tiwarion 27th July claimed that MCDs will remove these landfills with-in 2-3 years but nothing happened till now. “The BJP-ruled MCDsare lowering the height of the landfills by increasing the width whichmeans the landfills remain the same in size,” he said.

“The BJP leaders take money and allow people to dump garbagehere from other states. The AAP will go door to door, to apprisepeople of Delhi about how the BJP lied to the citizens about theselandfills,” he said. "Delhi has three landfills at Ghazipur, Bhalswaand Okhla. These landfills or Garbage Mountains are examples ofBJP-ruled MCDs' corruption. The corrupt MCDs under the BJPhave gifted three Taj Mahals made of garbage to the people of Delhi.Every day at these landfills some accidents take place,” he said.

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Aday after it virtually peakedby notching an all-time

high of 413 deaths and 11,813infections, Maharashtra onFriday witnessed the third high-est-ever tally of 364 deaths,while the second highest-ever12,608 daily infections werereported from various parts ofthe state.

With the fresh deaths andinfections, the total Covid-19toll increased to 19,427, whilethe total infected cases jumpedto 5,72,734 in the state.

In a salient feature the day,Mumbai breached the 7000fatality mark – with 47 freshdeaths reported on Friday – theCovid-19 toll in the metropolisrose from 6,991 to 7,038, whilethe total infections increased by

979 to touch 1,28,535.Of the total 364 deaths

reported in the state on Friday,Pune once again topped the listwith 100 deaths, followed by 50deaths in Thane and 47 deathsin Mumbai. There were 19deaths each in Nashik andSangli, 18 in Nagpur, 14 inKolhapur, 12 each in Palgharand Jalgaon, in the middle range.

On the lower side, there

were nine deaths each in Raigad,Aurangabad and Beed, 7 inSatara, 5 each in Ahmednagar,Solapur and Nanded, 4 each inRatnagiri, Latur andOsmanabad, 2 each in Amravatiand Buldhana and one deatheach in Dhule, Jalna, Hingoli,Parbhani, Akola, Washim,Gondia and Chandrapur.

Meanwhile, as many as10,484 patients were discharged.

�������6�7�����������$�����3�$� From Page 1The notice was sent to Pilot

after the Rajasthan Policeclaimed to have stumbled upona plot to topple the Congressgovernment. “They are takingmy name repeatedly. Prior to myseat being changed, I was safeand part of the Government.Then I thought why our Speakerand chief whip have given me aseat here? I thought for two min-utes and then saw that this is aborder. On one side is the rul-ing party and on the other is theOpposition.

Who is sent to the border?

The strongest warrior is sent,”Pilot said, interrupting Rathore.

Pilot’s seat in the House waschanged after he was removed asthe Deputy Chief Minister.Earlier, he used to sit next to theChief Minister. “Many thingshave been said during the dis-cussion on trust vote and manymore will be said. Over time,everything will be revealed,”Pilot said.

“But I want to say thatwhatever I or my companionshad to say, we have told the doc-tor about our complaints... Aftergetting the treatment, all of ustoday... 125 people are standingin the House,” he said.

From Page 1The bench said the com-

pany has also shown its bonafides immediately after thecognizance was taken by thisCourt as it has suspended boththe tweets. “We, therefore,discharge the notice issued tothe alleged contemnor No.2.(Twitter Inc),” the bench said.

The top court said it wouldhear on August 20, the argu-ments on the quantum of sen-tence to be awarded to Bhushanin the matter.

A contemnor in this casecan be punished with simpleimprisonment of up to sixmonths or with a fine of up to�2,000 or with both. Thebench analysed the two tweetsof Bhushan posted on themicro-blogging site on June 27on the functioning of judicia-ry in past six years, and on July22 with regard to Chief Justiceof India S A Bobde.

“In our considered view, itcannot be said that the tweetscan be said to be a fair criticismof the functioning of the judi-ciary, made bona fide in thepublic interest,” it said.

An attempt to shake thevery foundation of constitu-tional democracy has to bedealt with an iron hand, thebench said, adding that theJune 27 tweet (on judiciary) has

the effect of destabilising thevery foundation of this impor-tant pillar of the Indian democ-racy. “The scurrilous/maliciousattacks by the alleged contem-nor No.1 are not only againstone or two judges but theentire Supreme Court in itsfunctioning of the last six years.Such an attack which tends tocreate disaffection and disre-spect for the authority of thisCourt cannot be ignored,” thebench said.

“The tweet clearly tends togive an impression that theSupreme Court, which is thehighest constitutional court inthe country, has in the last sixyears played a vital role in thedestruction of Indian democ-racy. There is no manner ofdoubt, that the tweet tends toshake the public confidence inthe institution of judiciary,”the bench said.

It said, “In our consideredview, the said tweet underminesthe dignity and authority of theinstitution of the Supreme Courtof India and the CJI and direct-ly affronts the majesty of law”.

The bench said Bhushanwho has been part of the insti-tution of administration of jus-tice for the last 30 years, “insteadof protecting the majesty of lawhas indulged into an act, whichtends to bring disrepute to theinstitution of administration ofjustice”.

From Page 1The bench, also comprising

Justices BR Gavai and KrishnaMurari, quashed the monitoringcommittee’s April 2019 report,action of sealing and also thenotices issued directing demoli-tion “where the matter wasbeing heard by this court and themonitoring committee had nopower to look into the matterand to take any action”. The topcourt said it would not be appro-priate for the committee to“usurp statutory powers” and actbeyond the authority conferredupon it by the top court.

While referring to an Aprillast year report submitted by thecommittee regarding specificunauthorised constructionsallegedly carried out in VasantKunj and Rajokari, the benchsaid the panel could neitherhave sealed residential premises,which were not misused forcommercial purpose, nor couldhave directed their demolition.

“No doubt about it thatmatter of encroachment is a mat-ter of concern, but the monitor-ing committee can act within thefour corners of powers con-ferred upon it and purpose forwhich the court appointed themonitoring committee. It cannotexceed its powers and take anyaction beyond its authorisationby the court,” the bench said in

its 70-page judgment.The committee was appoint-

ed and empowered by the courtto take action within the powersconferred. “In the teeth of vari-ous statutes, it would act strict-ly within the four corners of thepowers conferred on it by thiscourt,” the bench said, adding,“When we consider the variousorders passed by this court fromtime to time, before the consti-tution of the monitoring com-mittee, we find that this court atno point in time has empoweredthe monitoring committee totake action with respect to resi-dential premises not used forcommercial purpose”.

Referring to orders passedearlier by the court in the case,the bench said it is apparent thatthe monitoring committee wasauthorised to take care of unau-thorised colonies and the specialtask force, which was set up in2018, was directed to removeencroachments from publicroads and public streets.

“It is clear from the orderspassed by this court from timeto time and from the variousreports of the committee that itwas never authorized by thiscourt to take action against theresidential premises that werenot being used for commercialpurposes. It was appointed onlyto check the misuser of the res-idential properties for commer-cial purposes,” the bench said.

From Page 1This graphically explains

the medieval ways of PLA ofthrowing stones at the adver-saries from vantage points.

Due to the high altitudetraining and manoeuver expe-rience of the force in theHimalayan deployments, theITBP troops kept the PLAtroops at bay and due to the allout and befitting response ofITBP jawans at almost allfronts, many areas were safe-guarded in the hyper sensitiveareas, the ITBP said.

Four personnel of theCentral Industrial SecurityForce (CISF) also posthu-mously secured the honours ofShaurya Chakra. The CISFpersonnel who have beenawarded the Shaurya Chakraposthumously are Late

Mahaveer Prasad, SubInspector, Late Eranna Nayaka,Head Constable and LateConstables Mahendra KumarPaswan Satish Prasad.

Meanwhile, InspectorMohan Sharma of the DelhiPolice has also been awarded agallantry medal posthumous-ly for his gallant action in theBatla House encounter in thenational Capital in which hemade the supreme sacrifice.The Union Home Ministryannounced a total of 926medals for various police forcesand Central paramilitaryforces.

President Ram NathKovind, who is also theSupreme Commander of theArmed Forces, has approved 84awards and decorations to theArmed Forces personnel andmembers of the ParamilitaryForces.

From Page 1Mocking Gehlot for keep-

ing his loyalists holed up inhotels for a month, he said if theGovernment had a majority itcould have proven it earlier. Healso questioned the Congress

Government over the deploy-ment of the state police at hotelswhere the MLAs were staying.

The rebellion by Pilot endedearlier this week after the inter-vention of the party’s top lead-ership in Delhi, which assuredthat his grievances will be heard.On Thursday, Gehlot and Pilot

shook hands.During the debate on the

motion, Dhariwal blamed theCentre for trying to “topple” theGovernments in MadhyaPradesh, Manipur and Goa,using money and power, butsaid a similar attempt inRajasthan would not succeed.

Referring to Akbar, he saidthe Mughal emperor had totaste defeat in Mewar ofRajasthan during his quest toexpand his empire. Similarly, theBJP’s attempts to topple theAshok Gehlot-led CongressGovernment were defeated, headded.

From Page 1The tally shot up to 2,73,085

in Andhra Pradesh as 8,943fresh cases were reported in thelast 24 hours. The State also reg-istered 97 more coronavirusdeaths, taking the overall toll to2,475. The cases case rise in EastGodavari district continued at analarming rate as another 1,146were added in the last 24 hours,pushing its gross to 38,292.Chittoor recorded 987 cases inthe last 24 hours and Kurnoolregistered 956 COVID-19 cases.

Tamil Nadu reported 5,890new COVID-19 cases and 117deaths in the last 24 hours tak-ing the total number of cases to

3,26,245 including 5,514 deathsand 53,716 active cases.Chennai, which reported adecline in numbers, suffering aspike again with 1,187 new cases.During the past few days the cityhad been reporting less than1,000 new infections. The dis-tricts of Chengalpet andThiruvallur have reported over400 cases each, whileCoimbatore, Kancheepuram,Theni have reported over 300,and Cuddalore reported 221cases. The rest are from otherdistricts of Tamil Nadu.

With 7,908 new cases and104 fatalities in the last 24 hours,taking the total tally to 2,11,108,including 1,28,182 cases of dis-charge and 3,717 deaths.

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Page 3: HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY · 2 hours ago  · “I will not let the Government topple at any cost even if you make all attempts,” he said. Gehlot said the crisis had come to an end

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The Delhi DevelopmentAuthority (DDA) on

Friday launched e-conversionand ‘extension of time forconstruction in plotted prop-erties’ services so that thegeneral public can submittheir applications online with-out visiting DDA offices.

These two new servicesare under the computerised in-house project ‘InteractiveDisposal of Land InformationSystem’ (IDLI) ‘System forplotted properties of LandDisposal Department’ ofDDA.

The new services wereinaugurated by Anurag Jain,Vice Chairman of DDA. Whileinaugurating the services,DDA vice-chairman appreci-ated Subu R, CommissionerLD and his team for this ini-tiative. He also distributedcertificates to the consultantand the programmer involved

in this project.In July 2019, DDA had

launched e-Mutation (OnlineMutation Application System)under “IDLI System” for plot-ted properties, which is run-ning successfully. “All the threeservices can be availed throughsingle username & passwordand no offline application forconversion and EOT (exten-sion of time) of plotted prop-erties will be entertained fromSeptember,” the civic bodysaid in a statement. “These ser-vices will reduce the time forprocessing of applications andbring in transparency, effi-ciency and accountability inthe public services provided byDDA. Through “e-Conversion”and “e-EOT”, it will be easy toapply and monitor the prop-erty conversion and extensionof time application online fromanytime, anywhere,” it said.

Jain said, “Our goal is tobring in the PM's idea of easeof living to the general publicand a drive towards

Atmanirbhar Bharat” Hestressed the need for strength-ening the grievance redressalmechanism.

To apply for an onlineconversion application, anapplicant has to register withthe DDA public services por-tal of the land disposal depart-ment, it said, adding that thepage can be accessed fromDDA’s website www.dda.org.inunder ‘Online Public Service’Section. An OTP will be senton the registered email ID andmobile number of the appli-cant for login. After that,applicant will fill applicant/sdetails, relation with allottee,property detail, uploading ofscanned copy of requisite doc-uments and making onlinepayment of initial conversioncharges/ processing fee.

The civic body furthersaid that a registration ID of“e-Conversion” and “e-EOT”will be sent through an autogenerated email for futurereference.

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A23-year-old man drownedin the Yamuna river during

idol immersion in southeastDelhi's Kalindi Kunj area,police said on Friday.

The deceased has beenidentified as Amit, a resident ofOkhla Phase-II. According toR P Meena, the DeputyCommissioner of Police(DCP), Southeast district, onreceiving information aboutthe incident on Thursday, thepolice rushed to the Shiv Ghatin Kalindi Kunj.

“Three men were pulledout of the river. The two othermen were fine but Amit wasunconscious,” said the DCP.

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The Aam Aadmi PartyGovernment in Delhi invit-

ed seven corona warriors, whohave risked their life for help-ing Covid infected, to an eventto be held at the DelhiSecretariat on the occasion ofIndependence Day.

The corona warriors, whohave served the people duringthe corona pandemic andworked in the fields of admin-istrative, medical, nursing,police, civil defense, and sani-tation, are serving the coronaaffected people by risking theirlives.

Due to their hard work,effort and dedication, timelytreatment, food, and other reliefmaterials could be provided to

the affected people and theDelhi model was recognized allover the world.

The Delhi Government hasmade special invites to theseCorona warriors for theIndependence Day program, inappreciation of the work of theCorona warriors who havemade special contributions dur-ing the Corona crisis. TheCorona Warriors will representthe people working in theirfields during the event to beheld tomorrow. They say thatChief Minister ArvindKejriwal's government hasgiven them a lot of respect byhonoring them with the title ofCorona Warrior.

Rajeev Singh Parihar, ADM(Central), Central District andwas the Nodal officer on

COVID duty.He said, "The ADM is the

CEO of the disaster manage-ment authority of a district, andduring the Corona lockdown, Iwas responsible for the move-ment of migrants to other statesthrough buses and trains. Iwas also responsible for shift-ing the migrants into HungerRelief Centres and I was incharge of supervising the pro-vision of food and all otheramenities to migrants stayingthere. There were many chal-lenges in the task but I amhappy that I was a part of thewhole operation. It was a teameffort and I am happy that ourefforts have paid off."

Dr. Hirdesh Kumar is a res-ident of Dwarka and was post-ed in Rajiv Gandhi Super

Specialty Hospital (RGSSH) onCOVID duty for a duration of2- days. During his duty, he wasmade the in-charge for the fluand testing clinic in the RGSSH.

He said, "I was posted at theRajiv Gandhi Hospital in thecapacity of diverted posting. Iam a full-time doctor atAcharya Bhikshu Hospital,which is a non-COVID hospi-tal. I was posted at the diag-nostics section and I used toexamine 60-70 patients daily. Ialso used to supervise thepatients on the basis of whetherthey need Corona tests or not,and if they needed to be testedfor Corona, their tests were con-ducted on the same day. Onreceiving their test results thenext day, I used to guide andcounsel the patients on whether

they should remain isolated athome, in a care centre, or getadmitted to a hospital. I alsoused to brief the patients onhow to practice home isolationand how to get other familymembers tested. I am veryhappy to be receiving the titleof a Corona Warrior. If mywork is being recognized, it isa matter of great honor for me."

Sonu Nursing Officer,LNJP Hospital, started his dutyas a nursing officer on April 2,in the ward of the LNJP hospi-tal in Delhi.

"The ward initially was full.There were 30-35 new patientsevery day. As a nursing profes-sional, I know that people in myfield have to be very caringtowards the patients. I feelproud," he added

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In the 5th “Leadership ofExcellence in Education

Programme” concluded onFriday, Deputy Chief MinisterManish Sisodia asked all headsof departments to submit feed-back to improve the structureof the programme.

The programme startedon July 20 and due to theCOVID-19, the programmewas conducted through thedigital medium. 50 principalsof Delhi Government schoolstook 20 sessions from thesenior professors of the IIMAhmedabad in 11 days.

Ritu, one of the principalswho attended the programmesaid, “I was impressed with theclosure of the Change topic. Ithelped us in understandingthe need for meaningful com-munication. Now we under-stand the significance of mean-

ingful communication withour students, teachers, andparents.”

Another principal DrRajeshwari Kapri said, “Wewere experts in our subjects butafter becoming principal in2009, we were not given anykind of managerial training. Ifwe would have gotten thistraining then, we would havebeen able to contribute anddeliver much more than wehave done. We thank our gov-ernment for transforming usinto visionary leaders.”

He said, “Team leaders ofour schools are working phe-nomenally well. We want togive diversified training to allof you. It must have been anenriching experience for every-one. It is good for the HoSs totake the online session them-selves instead of just askingtheir teachers to take such ses-sions for students.”

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President's Police Medalfor Distinguished

Services, MeritoriousServices and Gallantry hasbeen awarded to 35 menand officers, on the occasionof Independence Day. Policesaid that 16 personnel havebeen awarded Police Medalsfor Gallantry, three forPresident’s Police Medals forDistinguished Service and16 for Police Medals forMeritorious Service.

The DeputyCommissioner of Police(DCP) Manishi Chandra,Assistant Commissioner ofPolice (ACP) Govind Sharma,Inspector Vinay Kumar,Inspector Sanjay Gupta,Inspector Rajesh Kumar, LateInspector Mohan ChandSharma(posthumously), Sub-Inspector (SI) Banay Singhand Assistant Sub Inspector(ASI) Shiv Mangal Yadavhave been awarded President'sPolice Medal for Gallantry.

The SpecialCommissioner of Police(Intelligence) Rajesh Khurana,ASI Mahesh Singh Yadav andASI Bhupender Singh havebeen awarded President’sPolice Medal forDistinguished service, whilethe DCP Amit Roy, DCPAnil Kumar Lall, DCPMohammad Irshad Haider,ACP Nirmala Devi, InspectorNarender Kumar, SI ManjuChauhan, ASI Rakesh KumarSharma and Head Constable(HC) Mukesh Kumar areamong those who have beenawarded Police Medal forMeritorious Service.

DCP Manishi Chandraalong with Inspector RavinderJoshi, Inspector Vinod KumarBadola and SI Banay Singh onOctober 24, 2013, at about10.30 PM, after receiving spe-cific inputs regarding notori-ous and dreaded gangster

Surinder Malik alias NeetuDabodha and his associateschased a car in different vehi-cles.

Inspector Mohan ChandSharma, who was killed dur-ing ‘Batla House’ encounter inNational Capital in 2008, hasbeen awarded a Police gal-lantry medal posthumouslyfor the seventh time on theoccasion of IndependenceDay. Inspector Sharma wasconferred with Ashok Chakra,India's highest peacetimeGallantry award.

After a short follow-up,the then ACP ManishiChandra while driving theofficial vehicle, without caringfor his life made a dangerousmaneuver and interceptedthe car. The criminals’ cardashed into a police vehicle.Immediately thereafter, allthe three occupant criminalsgot down from their car andtried to flee away in differentdirections. Gangster NeetuDabodha, sitting on the frontleft side fired upon ManishiChandra, ACP who had anarrow escape. NeetuDabodha was blocked andchallenged. The police teamtook the criminals head onand a Delhi Police was alsokilled in the cross firing.

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NEW DELHI: Aam AadmiParty (AAP) national convenerand Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal will address the partyvolunteers on the occasion of theIndependence Day on Saturdayafter participating in the func-tion organised on the occasionof Independence Day at theDelhi Secretariat.

Kejriwal will hold this vir-tual address at 4 pm. “On theoccasion of Independence Day,National Convenor of AAPArvind Kejriwal will be address-ing all volunteers of AAP acrossIndia,” the party said in a state-ment. In the light of Covid-19lockdown norms that prohibitgatherings, Kejriwal will hoistthe tricolour and deliver hisspeech from the DelhiSecretariat this IndependenceDay, which will be telecast livevia the government’s socialmedia handles. SR

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Page 4: HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY · 2 hours ago  · “I will not let the Government topple at any cost even if you make all attempts,” he said. Gehlot said the crisis had come to an end

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President Ram Nath Kovindon Friday lauded the

efforts of healthcare profes-sionals at the frontline in thecountry’s fight against thecoronavirus pandemic andsaid the nation is “indebted todoctors, nurses and otherhealth workers”. He said thecelebrations this year will berestrained without the cus-tomary pomp and show owingto the pandemic which has“altered the world we live in.”

Addressing the nation onthe eve of the 74thIndependence Day, thePresident termed theGovernment’s response to theCovid-19 challenge as “super-human”.

Lauding the Centre andState Government for takingsteps to contain the transmis-sion of novel coronavirus,Kovind said India’s role indealing with the pandemic isa lesson for the world.

The President also spokeon the Galwan Valley face-offin which 20 Indian soldiers

were kil led fighting theChinese army in June thisyear in eastern Ladakh. “Ourbrave soldiers laid down theirlives defending our borders.Those worthy sons of BharatMata lived and died fornational pride. Their braveryin combat has demonstratedthat while we believe in peace,we are also capable of giving abefitting response to anyattempt of aggression,” he said.

“Even while the world com-munity needs to fight togetheragainst the greatest challengebefore humanity, some in ourneighbourhood tried to carryout their misadventure ofexpansion. Our brave soldierslaid down their lives defendingour borders. Those worthy sonsof Bharat Mata lived and diedfor national pride. The entirenation salutes the martyrs ofGalwan Valley. Every Indianfeels grateful to their familymembers.

“Their bravery in combathas demonstrated that while webelieve in peace, we are alsocapable of giving a befittingresponse to any attempt of

aggression,” said the Presidentwho is also supreme comman-der of the armed forces.

Besides, President Kovindcalled the construction of theRam Temple in Ayodhya a“moment of pride for all” andsaid the National Education

Policy 2020 will “strengthenthe culture of ‘Inclusion’,‘Innovation’ and ‘Institution’ inthe sphere of education.”

“Only ten days ago, con-struction of the temple at ShriRam Janmabhoomi began, inAyodhya. It was indeed a

moment of pride for all. Peopleof the country maintainedrestraint and patience for along time and reposed unflinch-ing trust in the judicial system,”he said.

President said the‘National Education Policy’

spells a long term vision withfar-reaching impact, addingthat “it will strengthen the cul-ture of ‘Inclusion’, ‘Innovation’and ‘Institution’ in the sphereof education”

“Imparting education inthe mother tongue has beengiven emphasis in order tohelp young minds grow spon-taneously... It is a right step inthis direction,” he said.

Kovind said India’sapproach is not a self-centredone but it carries a tradition of

working for well-being of theentire world

“It has been the tradition ofIndia that we do not just live forourselves, but work for thewell-being of the entire world.India’s self-reliance meansbeing self-sufficient withoutalienating or creating distancefrom the world. It implies thatIndia will continue to engagewith the world economy whilemaintaining its identity.”

The President said youthshould feel special pride in

being the citizen of a free nation.“August 15 fills us with the

excitement of unfurling the tri-colour, taking part in celebra-tions and listening to patrioticsongs.

On this day, the youth ofIndia should feel the specialpride of being citizens of a freenation. We gratefully rememberour freedom fighters and mar-tyrs whose sacrifices haveenabled us to live in an inde-pendent nation,” the presidentsaid.

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CRPF AssistantCommandant Naresh

Kumar has scripted historyby receiving his 7th Policemedal for Gallantry in a shortspan of four years for his gal-lant action against the teroristsin Jammu and Kashmir.

“An officer with sharp tac-tical acumen and indomitablecourage, Naresh Kumar has ledthe CRPF Valley QAT (QuickAction Team) in Srinagar whichhas a glorious history of con-tinued success marked withnumerous Gallantry medals thatembellish its valour,” the CRPFsaid in a statement.

Assistant CommandantKumar got his first medal in2017 for an operation which wasconducted in Srinagar in 2016.Here, he neutralised two foreignterrorists whereas in 2018, hewas awarded with two PMGsfor neutralising two HizbulMujahideen commanders in anfierce operation which lasted forthree days.

This year alone, the ValleyQAT has been adorned with

more than 15 Gallantry medals.Furthermore, the erstwhile IGSrinagar, CRPF, Ravideep SinghSahi and the present valley QATCommander, LoukrakpamIbomcha Singh and his teammate Constable Devsant Kumarhave been awarded with PoliceMedal for Gallantry for a coura-geous operation in Srinagar onOctober 3, 2017 where two mil-itants were neutralised by thesecurity forces.

For Loukrakpam IbomchaSingh, this is his 3rd GallantryMedal and second PMG whileConstable Devsant Kumar willbe receiving the PMG for thesecond time.

Yet another story of grit andcourage relates to 208 CoBRAwhere the team of gallant war-riors came under a heavy attackfrom Maoists in jungles ofSukma, Chhattisgarh on March03/04, 2016, the troops retaliat-ed with bravery and forced theMaoists to give up their nefari-ous designs, the CRPF said.

In this long lastingencounter nine Maoists wereneutralised while five wereinjured. Three Bravehearts of

208 CoBRA made supreme sac-rifice serving the nation. Fortheir indomitable gallantry andcourage in the face of dangerduring the operation, 208CoBRA has been awarded witheight PMGs with three beingawarded posthumously.

CRPF –the largest CentralArmed Police Force of the coun-try, has been awarded with asmany as 55 Police Medals forGallantry on the eve ofIndependence Day, which isthe second highest force after theJammu and Kashmir police thatbagged 81 medals.

With this, the total numberof gallantry medals won by thedeserving Force personnel tillnow has reached to 2036, thehighest among all the CAPFs inthe country.

“The narrative behind eachof these Gallantry Medals speaksthe language of courage, dedi-cation to duty, devotion for themotherland and over and abovea steely resolve to deliver, whichis the hallmark of InternalSecurity Warriors,” added theC R P Fstatement.

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As the situation on the Lineof Actual Control(LAC) in

Eastern Ladakh remains tensefor nearly three months now,Defence Minister RajnathSingh on Friday said India hasnever attacked anywhere tocapture land of others.Reiterating this, he also saidIndia believes in winninghearts and not land. “But itdoes not mean we will let ourself-esteem be hurt,” he said.

Making this assertionduring the customary addressto the troops on the eve of theIndependence Day, he, how-ever, cautioned if attackedIndia as always will give abefitting reply. He, however,did not name China.

“Whatever we do innational security, we alwaysdo it for self-defence, not forattacking others. If enemy

country ever attacked us, likeevery time we will give abefitting reply,” he said.

His observations came inthe backdrop of five rounds ofmilitary level and four at thediplomatic level in the pastfew weeks failing to resolvethe stand-offs now on at fourfriction points. Moreover,China has not withdrawn itstroops from these sites despiteagreement thereby leading totension in the area.

In his address, the defenceminister assured that the gov-ernment is doing all that isnecessary to keep our forcesmorale high and fulfill theirall operational requirement.

Later in his tweet mes-sage, he paid tributes to thesoldiers. “On the eve of India’sIndependence Day, I salutethe indomitable courage ofthe brave soldiers of ourArmed Forces who are self-

lessly serving the nation.Their unmatched courageand patriotism has ensuredthat our country is safe,” hesaid.

In another tweet, theminister said theGovernment is leaving nostone unturned to strengthenthe armed forces and ensurethe welfare of their familiesand the ex-servicemen.

Amid the ongoing stand-off, the Defence Ministry hasgiven the armed forces emer-gency financial powers toprocure weapons systems upto Rs 300 crores on an urgentbasis without any furtherclearances to cut short theprocurement cycle.

The Ser vices haveembarked on major procure-ments of ammunition, anti-tank missiles, man portableair defences, unmanned aer-ial vehicles among others.

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Days after banning importof 101 weapon systems to

make the Indian defence indus-try self-reliant, the Governmenton Friday signed four contractsas part of Defence India StartUp challenge in the presence ofDefence Minister RajnathSingh.

On the final day of‘Atmanirbhar Week’ celebrationof the Defence Ministry, he alsolaunched Department ofDefence Production(DDP)portal SRIJAN which is a ‘onestop shop online portal thatprovides access to the vendorsto take up items that can betaken up for indigenisation. Anumber of Expressions of inter-

est/Requests for Proposal werealso issued.

Speaking on the occasion,Rajnath said signing of theseMoUs and contracts will leadus to self-reliance in the tech-nologies related to defencemanufacturing. He called uponthe Indian industry partners toshow complete commitmentand take proactive participationin the pursuit of Indigenisationand self-reliance in the defencesector.

Commending the DDP forcreating SRIJAN portal, theminister said this will helpindustry partners to play activerole in the goal of self-reliance in defence sector.Pursuant to AtmanirbharBharat announcement,Department of Defence

Production has developed anindigenization portal, srijan-defence.gov.in, as “opportuni-ties for Make in India inDefence”, which will give infor-mation on items that can betaken up for indigenisation bythe private sector.

On this portal,DPSUs/OFB/SHQs can displaytheir items which they havebeen importing or are going toimport which the IndianIndustry can design, developand manufacture as per theircapability or through joint ven-ture with OEMs. The IndianIndustry will be able to showtheir interest.

There are over 3,000unique items with a value ofover �10,000 Crore that areavailable through the portal.

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The BJP is expected to giveformer Maharashtra Chief

Minister Devendra Fadnavis akey role in the Bihar election,due later this year.

A move is afoot to appointFadnavis as election-in-chargeof Bihar polls, according tosources.

The former MaharashtraChief Minister’s role assumesimportance in the backdrop ofa raging controversy aroundthe death of Sushant SinghRajput, a young and risingBollywood actor and a native ofBihar.Sushant’s parents havelodged an FIR in the state in thecase.

The BJP has been allegingthat the Mumbai police underthe Shiv Sena-NCP-Congresscoalition was not conducting afair probe in the circumstancesleading to what has initiallybeen termed as “suicide”.

Fadnavis has been in theforefront in attacking ChiefMinister Uddhav Thackerayand his son for the handling ofthe actor’s case and demandinga CBI probe into his death and“justice” for him.

The issue of the 34-year-old actor’s death triggeredcharges and counter-chargesbetween the two States with

Maharashtra Shiv Sena leadersaccusing the BJP-JD (U) coali-tion Government in Bihar ofpoliticising the investigation toserve its political ends whenassembly polls are round thecorner.

The Bihar Government’seagerness to take up the caseof Rajput is seen by many as amove to consolidate “thakurvotes” in the state as also a ges-ture that the Nitish Kumar-ledgovernment was standing by its‘son of the soil’ and his familyin distress.

The reports of the appoint-ment of Fadnavis have beengrowing since he chaired acore committee meeting of theBJP’s Bihar unit party onAugust 13 and BJP President JP Nadda directing leaders inBihar unit to brief formerMaharashtra Chief Ministeron the campaign strategy.

Fadnavis, the first BrahminCM of Maharashtra who losthis second run in the state asCM, has been living in politi-cal shadows in Maharashtraafter the ‘Maha vikas Aghadi’coalition took reins of gover-nance in the State.

The BJP is also expectingto benefit from Fadnavis’Brahmin origins. Brahminsconstitute 5 percent of thepopulation in Bihar.

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With export norms relaxed,India managed to export

23 lakh Personnel ProtectionEquipments to five countriesnamely the USA, the UK, UAE,Senegal and Slovenia in just amonth.

“This has substantiallyaided India to position itself inthe global export market ofPPEs,” said a statement fromthe Union Health Ministry.

PPEs are a crucial medicalresource for frontline workersduring the pandemic thatinclude body coveralls, N-95masks, goggles, face shieldsamong others.

According to the Ministry,the ‘Make in India’ spiritembedded in the‘Atmanirbhar BharatAbhiyaan’ has resulted in pro-viding resilience and self-suf-ficiency” to the country forvarious medical equipmentincluding PPEs.

While the Union

Government is supplying PPEkits, N95 masks, ventilatorsetc., to the State governmentsand union territories admin-istrations, states are alsoprocuring these items direct-ly.

“Between March andAugust 2020, they have pro-cured 1.40 crore indigenousPPE from their own bud-getary resources. During thesame period, the Centre hasdistributed 1.28 crore PPE tostates, UTs and central insti-tutions, free of cost,” said theministry in a statement.

The Centre has been lead-ing the graded, pre-emptive,proactive and collaborativeresponse and management ofCOVID-19, along with thestates union territories.

As part of its continuedefforts towards progressivelyaugmenting and strengthen-ing the medical infrastructureacross the country, variouspolicy decisions have beentaken on a regular basis.

At the start of the pan-demic, there was a globalshortage of all kinds of medicalequipment including N95masks, PPE kits, ventilators etc,the ministry underlined.

Most of the products werenot being manufactured inthe country in the beginning asmany of the necessary com-ponents were to be procuredfrom other countries. The ris-ing global demand due to thepandemic resulted in theirscarce availability in the foreignmarkets, it stated.

Turning the pandemic intoan opportunity to develop itsdomestic market for produc-tion of medical equipment,with the combined efforts ofministries of health, textiles,pharmaceuticals, Departmentfor Promotion of Industry andInternal Trade, DefenceResearch and DevelopmentOrganisation and others, Indiahas hugely ramped up its ownmanufacturing capacity, theministry said.

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The number of deaths due tosmokeless tobacco in India

is on the rise, accounting for 70per cent of deaths in the South-East Asia region followed byPakistan ( seven per cent) andBangladesh which accountsfive per cent of the global dis-ease burden due to smokelesstobacco.

Researchers added thatdeaths due to it globally has

also gone up by a third in sevenyears to an estimated 350,000people.

The research, published inthe journal BMC Medicine,comes at a time when there areconcerns that spitting - abehaviour common amongthose who chew tobacco - islikely to transmit the Covid-19virus.

“The study has come at atime when Covid-19 is affect-ing almost all aspects of ourlives. Chewing tobacco increas-

es saliva production and leadsto compulsive spitting,” saidstudy researcher KamranSiddiqi from the University ofYork in the UK.

There are concerns thatspitting - a behaviour commonamong those who chew tobac-co- is likely to transmit thevirus to others.

“In acknowledgement ofthis, India, for example, hasalready taken a positive step bybanning spitting in publicplaces to reduce the transmis-sion of COVID-19,” Siddiqiadded.

The study estimated that in2017 alone smokeless tobaccoresulted in more than 90,000deaths due to cancers of themouth, pharynx and oesopha-gus and accounted for morethan 258,000 deaths from heartdisease.

Millions more have theirlives shortened by ill-health dueto the effects of chewing tobac-co-based products, the studyreveals.

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Page 5: HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY · 2 hours ago  · “I will not let the Government topple at any cost even if you make all attempts,” he said. Gehlot said the crisis had come to an end

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Bengaluru: The recent Bengaluru riots occurredat breakneck speed, erupting in less than threehours of the derogatory message being put upon social media, a police official said on Friday.

“Naveen posted the derogatory messagearound 6 p.m. and by 9 pm the riots erupted,”Central Crime Branch (CCB) DeputyCommissioner of Police (DCP) Kuldeep Jain toldIANS. The government machinery was alreadystrained with battling the Coronavirus pan-demic, and the riots caught them unawares.

On Tuesday night, hundreds of people ranamok after Pulikeshinagar's Congress MLAAkhanda Srinivas Murthy's nephew P Naveenposted a derogatory message on social media.

The mob pelted stones, injuring 60 police-

men, and committed acts of vandalism andarson in DJ Halli, KG Halli, Pulikeshinagar andKaval Byrasandra areas. “As soon as the newsreached the police, cops from nearby police sta-tions rushed to the spot,” said Jain.

Police Commissioner Kamal Pant himselfrushed to the riot-affected areas to monitor thesituation.

The police was initially overwhelmed withthe rioters outnumbering them. “By that timewhatever preventive things we could do, we triedit out. All that did not calm down the mob,” hesaid. It was only after the police fired in the airand later at the rioters, leading to the death ofthree people, did the situation come under con-trol. IANS

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Ahead of the Independence Day cele-brations, heavily armed terrorists,

believed to be the cadre of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror outfit onFriday shot dead two policemen andwounded another in “indiscriminate” fir-ing on the outskirts of Srinagar nearNowgam bypass.

The terrorists seem to have donethorough recee of the area before target-ing the patrol party of Jammu & Kashmirpolice.They disappeared in the bylanes ofthe densely populated area even before thesecurity personnel could chase them.

Inspector General of police, Kashmirrange, Vijay Kumar who visited the spottold reporters, “the terrorists emergedfrom Gulshan street on the outskirts ofthe Srinagar city near Nowgam bypassand targeted the policemen by openingindiscriminate firing around 9.30 a.m.” Hesaid three policemen received injuries buttwo among them succumbed to their

injuries. The martyred jawans of Jammu& Kashmir police were identified asConstables Ishfaq Ayoub and FayazAhmad of IRP 20 Bn.

IG Vijay Kumar said, “elaboratesecurity deployment was done on groundzero to ensure incident free Independenceday celebrations in the valley”. He saidafter the terror strike the entire area hasbeen cordoned off to track down the foot-prints of the terrorists behind the attack.He said, preliminary reports suggestedJeM cadre were behind the attack. Hemaintained, the security personnel alsoexercised restraint by not opening indis-criminate firing due to the heavy civilianmovement in the area.

Later in the day, a tribute ceremonywas organised at the police headquarterswhere senior officers including DGPJammu & Kashmir police paid their trib-ute and remembered the supreme sacri-fices of the jawans of the J&K police.Themortal remains were later shifted to theirlocal residences in Srinagar where thou-

sands of residents paid their last tributesand joined the funeral ofpolicemen.Wailing women and closerelatives were seen chanting slogans dur-ing the funeral procession of martyredpolicemen.

Interacting with the media persons,DGP Dilbagh Singh said,” it is the hand-iwork of the Pakistan and its proxies whodon't want to see peace prevailing in theregion. He said, the security situation haslargely improved in Kahsmir valley but inbetween when such incidents occur ourresolve to restore peace gets strengthened.Referring to measures adopted by thesecurity forces ahead of the I-day cele-brations, DGP said, drone cameras andcamera fitting vehicles have been deployedat various places to ensure complete areadomination during the I-Day function.

The security forces were also direct-ed to remain in a state of high alert acrossJammu & Kashmir to prevent freshstrikes on the security convoys and othervital security installations.

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Covid-19 is causing havoc in Kerala as 1,569 newpersons were diagnosed positive for the pan-

demic in the last 24 hours ending Friday 6 pm. Thesituation in the State is so grave that Chief MinisterPinarayi Vijayan and seven of his Cabinet col-leagues have gone under self-quarantine onFriday. The Ministers who have gone underquarantine include K K Shylaja, Health Minister.

Ten persons succumbed to Covid 19 onFriday while 1, 354 out of the new 1,569 cases con-tracted the pandemic through social transmission.86 patients who tested positive on Friday failed topinpoint the source from where they contractedthe pandemic.

Interestingly, Shylaja had said in a release onThursday that Kerala is likely to see the numberof Covid-19 cases going up to 10,000 to 20,000per day in the coming weeks and the number ofcausalities too would go up along with it.

Loknath Behera, State Police Chief too wentunder quarantine on Friday as he had accompa-nied the Chief Minister in the latter’s trip toKozhikode and Munnar recently. The responsibilityof Covid-19 management has been given to thePolice Department by the Chief Minister onWednesday as all measures to fight and control thepandemic has come a cropper in the State. The SPof Malappuram too went under self quarantine asthe district collector too was tested positive onFriday.

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Lord Muruga and LordVinayaka are playing a major

role in uniting the Hindus inTamil Nadu who have beendivided along caste lines. Hindusall over the State had come outprotesting against the humilia-tion meted out to Lord Murugaby Karuppu Koottam (the BlackAlliance), a frontal organisationunder the auspices of theDravidian outfits.

A YouTube channel underKaruppu koottam had aired anobscene song as a parody to theSkanda Shashti Kavacham, aniconic hymn of Muruga devo-tees all over the world andwhich was immortalized bySoolamangalam Sisters, thefamous devotional song propo-nents. The Tamil NadauGovernment was forced to arrestthe Karuppu Koottam manage-

ment only after State-wideprotests by the devotees whichincluded the mass Skanda ShastiKavacham recitation and wor-shipping idols of Lord Muruga.

On Wednesday, Tamil NaduGovernment ordered the ban ofVinayaka Chathurthi proces-sion and festivities citing theCovid-19 situation in the State.Hell has broken loose all over theState with Hindu organisationsincluding the BJP coming out inprotest against the governmentorder banning the processionsand festivities. VinayakaChathurthi processions in TamilNadu have been a major con-cern for the Government as wellas the law and order enforce-ment agencies as Muslimsstrongly object to the carrying ofVinayaka idols along the mainthoroughfares and highwaysacross the State as part of theimmersion ceremony.

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SSunil Kumar, Kerala State ProtocolOfficer reportedly told the sleuths of

the National Investigation Agency(NIA) probing the gold smugglingracket busted by the Customs depart-ment recently that no diplomatic bag-gage has come to the UAE Consulateat Thiruvananthapuram during thelast two years.

The statement has put the CPI(M)led LDF Government in Kerala indilemma as KT Jaleel, the HigherEducation Minister has been claimingthat he had received Ramzaan kits andthousands of copies of Quran sent bythe UAE Consulate atThiruvananthapuram through diplo-matic consignment. Kerala BJP presi-dent K Surendran had alleged onThursday that the baggage containedgold bars instead of Quran and the samewas transported to different parts ofKerala through the official vehicles ofJaleel, a former leader of the outlawedSIMI. But Jaleel denied all allegationsand declared that he was ready to faceprobe by any agencies including theNIA, CBI or the EnforcementDirectorate,

Sunil Kumar reportedly told theNIA officials that he does not have anyinformation about the Ramzaan kitsaddressed to Jaleel’s office from the UAEConsulate in the capital city.

The NIA sleuths has asked SunilKumar to furnish the details of thediplomatic consignments received bythe State Government Departmentsfrom the UAE Consulates and all otherforeign missions operating in the coun-try. All materials addressed to theState Government officials from diplo-matic missions in the country arereceived by the State Protocol Officerbefore handing it over to the concerneddepartments. Sunil Kumar’s explanationto the NIA has come hours before theKerala BJP president Surendran allegedthat Shine Haq, the former StateProtocol Officer was hand in glove withthose involved in gold smuggling.

“Though Haq was transferred outof the Protocol Office, he managed toget back to the office in a senior posi-tion and he continued to meddle withthe affairs of the SPO,” Surendran hadalleged in a press meet on Thursday atKozhikode.

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The wild life lovers and NGO ofAligarh have appealed to the

Prime Minister of India to save theendangered species of Black bucks ofthis region. They said that if suchsteps are not taken by theGovernment on urgent basis theBlack Bucks will become history andbe banished from this region. Oncethis region used to be very rich withthe presence of Black deers but onaccount of the killing of endangeredspecies by rich persons belonging toAligarh city and so called, Nawabs ofthe districts now only 357 blackdeers are believed to be exist in theregion.

Bankebihari Gupta, president ofLATA NGO Said that “ Aligarh wasvery rich with the the presence ofBlack buck .But due to pouching thelife of endangered species are in dan-ger. We have written several letter toDistrict Administration. ButAdministration have turned a blindeye regarding this evil menace. At lastWe have appealed to the PrimeMinister of India to save the endan-gered species of Black deers of this

region”.Sources of wild life department of

U P Government that some 10 yearsago the number of black deers in thedistrict was estimated to be 5347. Theblack bucks were found in the junglesof villages Sunthla Rahim Kot,Surajpur Jaivana Birpura,AlahdadpMur, Gurskien JarkheraLohgarh and Saidman under theareas of Atrauli, Kher and Koil Tehsilsof the district. It is worth mention-ing that this species have their ownhistory as several authors have writ-ten about free movements of Blackdeers in Aligarh district. Accordingto manuscripts on records, SirThomas Row a British who visitedIndia in the beginning of 17thCentury in the region of EmperorJahangir had written that black deersand peacocks were seen moving inalmost whole of the area of Koil(Aligarh). Similarly another touristHawkins has written that in the sur-rounding of Delhi, Agra and Aligarh(Koil) large number of herds of blackbucks were seem, now with the pas-sage of time the number has consid-erably reduced and few left alone arestruggling for their existence.

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MLAs will now speak tocorona patients over

phone daily and will take thefeedback of health servicesfrom them. In case of anyproblem, they will inform thedistrict administration imme-diately. On Thursday, Ministerof State for Medicine Atul Garggave this instruction on thecomplaint of MLA SanjeevRaja during inspection ofCorona Control Room.

During the inspection ofthe control room, Atul Garginquired about the number ofcorona patients, the number ofhospitals, the number ofpatients admitted to them andthe number of fleets relative tothem. He was somewhere sat-isfied with the answers of con-trol room incharge SmritiGautam.

At the same time, cityMLA Sanjeev Raja, whoaccompanied him, also hadsome problems, on the basis ofwhich he directed the admin-istration that a list of covidpatients should be given to theMLAs along with their names,addresses and mobile numbersdaily. MLAs will seek healthservices feedback from patientsat their level.

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In Gonda police station, thecase of the fight between the

BJP MLA Rajkumar Sahayogiof IGLAS and Anuj Saini, theSHO, was overshadowed onsocial media. In this case, for-mer Chief Ministers Mayawati,Akhilesh Yadav, IPS officerAmitabh Thakur have tweetedand demanded action againstthe culprits.

Former Chief Minister andBSP supremo Mayawati said inher tweet that the law and orderin UP is dying. Allegationsmade by the BJP MLA and thepolice in Aligarh are very seri-ous, whoever is guilty, actionshould be taken against them.

What is the differencebetween the SP-BJP govern-ment in terms of crime controland law and order?Government should pay prop-er attention to it.

Former Chief Minister andSP National President AkhileshYadav has targeted the Yogigovernment in this matter.

He said that this is the con-dition of the state under BJPrule, BJP's own legislators arebeing victims of police beat-ings.

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Contesting the speculation that there are twopower centres in Maharashtra, the Shiv

Sena said Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeraywas the only leader who enjoyed all the pow-ers in the MVA Government, while NCP chiefSharad Pawar being an architect of the rulingalliance, he played an important part in it and“we seek his advice”.

Participating in a joint interaction pro-gramme hosted by Marathi television chan-nel “ABP Majha”, Shiv Sena’s Rajya Sabha mem-ber and spokesperson Sanjay Raut dismissedthe allegation in certain quarters that the StateGovernment files were being sent to theYeshwantrao Centre for the NCP chief to lookat them.

“There are no two power centres inMaharashtra. Chief minister UddhavThackeray is the only leader who enjoys all thepowers in the state government. No govern-ment files to the Yeshwantrao Chavan Centre(for Pawar sahib to look at) as is being claimedin certain quarters. Uddhav sahib has the pow-ers with him,” Raut said.

Alluding to Pawar’s role in the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in the state,Raut said: “Pawar saheb played a key role inthe formation of the MVA government in theState. He has a major role to play in our gov-

ernment. He is the most experienced politi-cal leader in the state and has vast adminis-trative experience. No one has as much expe-rience as he has governance matters in thestate”.

“Hence his guidance is valuable for ourgovernment. What is wrong if someone goesto him and seeks advice?. And we need theguidance of Pawar sahib,” Raut said.

Replying to another question, Rautslammed the Opposition BJP for politicisingthe Sushant Singh Rajput suicide cases pur-posely.. “In view of the impending BiharAssembly elections, the Opposition BJP isderiving political mileage out of the SushantSingh Rajput suicide case”

When his attention was drawn to the NCPchief ’s disapproval of his grandnephew RohitPawar’s demand for CBI probe into thealleged Sushant Singh Raput suicide case, Rautsaid: “You should see the whole episode as agrandfather giving his grand nephew. Even lateBal Thackeray used to rebuke the youngsterswhen something went wrong. His familymembers as well all of us used to feel happy.Because, if he got irritated with us, we wouldthink he was keeping a watch on us. Even inRohit’s case, Pawar did not say whatever he saidin an irritating tone. Whatever he said wasover that day. Now it has become a familymatter”.

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Seeking to “expose” the Rs 20lakh crore Covid-19

Economic Assistance Packageannounced by the ModiGovernment in August last year,the Maharashtra Pradesh YouthCongress (MPYC) PresidentSatyajeet Tambe said here onFriday that while “the self-styledPradhan Sevak” insisted �20lakh crore-worth of assistancewas given to farmers, entrepre-neurs and the unemployed, hewanted to who were actually thebeneficiaries from the scheme.

“The self-styled PradhanSevak insists �20 lakh crores-worth of assistance was given tofarmers, entrepreneurs and theunemployed, but MaharashtraYouth Congress has been hardpressed to find a single individ-ual who it has helped. My onlyquestion to the Prime Ministeris, Modi ji, who exactly got the� 20 Lakh Crore?,” Tambeasked.

In a statement issued here,Tambe said: “Our MPYCBearers and activists have beenreaching out to the intendedstakeholders of the �20 LakhCrore COVID-19 Relief Packageand have not been able to trace

any beneficiaries. Meeting withfarmers on the first day of theagitation at the district and talu-ka level, it was revealed by thevideo interviews recorded thatnot a single farmer has receivedthe assistance promised,” Tambesaid.

“The fact-finding teams alsoconsulted local traders, shopsand factories and Micro, Smalland Medium Enterprises, andthe unemployed, who also atteston record that the relief soughtis still expected three monthsafter it was pledged. The Peopleof Maharashtra have participat-ed wholeheartedly in our polland their recorded testimoniesexpress the same disillusionmentacross critical sectors of theeconomy,” he said

Because of the stark vari-ance between the PrimeMinister’s professions and thezero beneficiary reality on theground, we at MaharashtraYouth Congress continue toapply to the CentralGovernment for a breakdown ofthe COVID-19 assistance toMaharashtra. BJP’s silence andthuggery is symptomatic of theelite capture and the cronyismthat is Modi’s Operandi.

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Page 6: HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY · 2 hours ago  · “I will not let the Government topple at any cost even if you make all attempts,” he said. Gehlot said the crisis had come to an end

On August 15, 1947,India and its citizensgained independencewith the British rulecoming to an end.

Loudly and proudly, we pro-nounced to the world that we, too,were ready to step out from thedarkness of colonial rule to a newdawn, ripe with uncertainty butalso hope. It is this hope that for-mer Prime Minister JawaharlalNehru so eloquently captured inhis address to the nation on theeve of India’s independence. Heopened his speech with, “Longyears ago, we made a tryst withdestiny...” His immortal wordsstill send a chill down my spine.But too often, we focus only on thefirst few words. If we read hisspeech further, Nehruji talkedabout a pledge that we haverenewed by obtaining freedom. Apledge “of dedication to the serviceof India and her people and to thestill larger cause of humanity.”

Few exemplified this pledgeand dedication to the service ofIndia more than Mohd Usman,also known as Naushera ka sher(the Lion of Naushera). At the timeof India’s independence, MohdUsman was offered a high positionin the Pakistan Army but herefused to join. Instead, he choseto help build a “new India” that hadawakened on the fateful night ofAugust 15. Usman bravely defend-ed Naushera, causing a heavy tollon the Pakistani side but wasmartyred in July 1948 while fight-ing for his motherland. He wasposthumously awarded the MahaVir Chakra but more important-ly, he remained a shining symbolof hope for a secular India. On hisdeath, Khwaja Ahmad Abbaswrote, “...a precious life of imagi-nation and unswerving patriotismhas fallen a victim to communalfanaticism. Brigadier Usman’sbrave example will be an abidingsource of inspiration for freeIndia.”

Such an example was neces-sary at a time when tension, fearand suspicion were writ largeowing to the spectre of Partition.Not only did Usman dedicate hislife to the service of India but alsohis death. Just as significant andpoetic is the fact that six monthsbefore Usman was killed in a bat-tle, another famous son of India,Jadunath Singh Rathore, who wasunder Usman’s command, protect-ed a nine-man forward sectionpost, displaying unmatched brav-

ery against thousands of enemyforces. His bravery led to himbeing posthumously awardedthe second-ever Param VirChakra. This sacrifice by two ofIndia’s brave sons — both werefrom different faiths but laiddown their lives for the Indiandream — in all likelihood ter-rorised Pakistan more thanany weapon could and stilldoes.

So where does India standtoday? Seventy two years afterthe death of these bravehearts,it seems that the fear and sus-picion, that loomed large then,looms larger now. We are cur-rently living in times where dif-ferent sections of society areasked to prove their national-ity. Proving one’s nationality hasbeen reduced to the idea ofbeing subservient to a rulingclass and not creating too muchnoise. This test is not limited toindividuals of different faiths orpeople who come from differ-ent castes; it applies to anyonewho does not agree with theview of the Government inpower.

There are a number ofinstances where dissent againstthe Government and its actionsare not only treated with thereckless exercise of power butalso through an indiscriminateattack on the individual’s patri-otism. There are numerousexamples that are in the pub-lic domain but one does not

even need to go that far. Theauthor himself has been sub-jected to vile abuse and wasbranded “un-Indian” merelybecause he had written/spokenin favour of what he believedwas right for the beloved coun-try. This despite the fact that heserved as a public servant andwas awarded a medal for brav-ery by the Government itself. Ican only imagine how aneveryday citizen is treated whenhe/she dares to dissent.

A part of the reason whywe are in this unfortunateposition is that we have forgot-ten that India’s strength lies inunity and not conformity. Weare steadily moving towards atime where dissent in a non-violent form and the free flowof ideas is stymied by author-itarian force or by the loudestvoice. We have forgotten thatour enemies as Indians are notour countrymen, who may fol-low different faiths or eat dif-ferent foods, but illiteracy,hunger and corruption.

In his speech, Nehru recog-nised this when he said, “Theservice of India means the ser-vice of the millions who suffer.It means the ending of pover-ty and ignorance and diseaseand inequality of opportunity.”His words hold just as truetoday as it did then. True ser-vice to India is not fightingwars that our political mastersor news channels manipulate

us into. Instead, it is the fightagainst poverty, illiteracy anddisease that plague millions ofIndians.

This is one of the main rea-sons why I am proud of thework done by the Aam AadmiParty (AAP). The party’s goal isto remain true to the national-istic spirit through its work. Thisis why the Delhi model of gov-ernance has received such wide-spread credit in areas of health,education and transparency.All of this has been achieved bypeople of all faiths, gender andcaste. By treating service toone another as the truest formof patriotism, we are united bypurpose and enriched by ournon-conformity.

Therefore, as we celebratethe 74th independence day, Iwould like to urge the citizensto remember the sacrifices ofUsman and Jadunath SinghRathore, who were killed beforethey could get a chance to seetheir beloved country turn twoand laid down their lives for theIndian dream. A dream wherepeople, divided for centuries bya foreign ruler, could find com-mon meaning and purpose bypledging to live in service toone another and, therefore, inservice to the country. A pledgerenewed in 1947 demandsrenewal even more so in 2020.

(The writer is a former IPSofficer, a former MP and cur-rently a member of the AAP)

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Sir — An expert group onCOVID-19 vaccine adminis-tration has advised against Statesprocuring the Russian vaccine.The directive has reportedlycome in response to some Statesshowing keen interest in gettingthe consignment to arrest thepandemic. Any procurementhas to be done centrally, so thatsupplies can be allocated toStates in proportion to theirneeds. Without a data-drivenand honest assessment, thiscould set off needless politick-ing.

In the case of lockdowns,too, a uniform policy shouldhave been adopted for all Statesto follow. Had every State fol-lowed the same guidelines, thedetection of cases and deaths inall the States in terms of per-centage would have been moreor less the same.

KV SeetharamaiahHassan

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Sir — Politics is a different ballgame altogether. For three years,US President Donald Trump

crafted his re-election narrativearound his “winning” approach,based mainly on an economythat was booming when heassumed power. Today, his pop-ularity has come down consid-

erably. According to the latestGallup poll, Trump’s populari-ty fell below the 40 per centmark in June, with voters giv-ing him low marks on theCoronavirus pandemic and,

notably, the economy. To addsalt to his wounds, the selectionof Kamala Harris as Joe Biden’srunning mate has stressed theTrump campaign. Harris is aheartbeat away from the White

House for the moment and sheis likely to be a trumpcard in aclose contest. She is expected towean away the Black votes andthe Indian diaspora in a bid totrounce Trump.

CK SubramaniamVia email

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Sir — This refers to the editor-ial, “Will the truce hold?”(August 14). It is no secret thatthe coup in Rajasthan wasorchestrated by the BJP. It wasjust waiting to destabilise theGovernment. But Sachin Pilot’srevolt fizzled out as the Congresstook an unusually tough stand.By now Pilot would have alsorealised the selfishness of the saf-fron party, who tried to use himas a pawn and played its cardsvery carefully. As for theCongress, it is time it nominatesa president, who can lead theparty and act as a bulwarkagainst a rampaging BJP. Mostimportantly, accommodate theyoung Turks.

Tharci S FernandoChennai

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Page 7: HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY · 2 hours ago  · “I will not let the Government topple at any cost even if you make all attempts,” he said. Gehlot said the crisis had come to an end

Alot of water has flowed under the bridge since1947. The 200 million plus population ofIndian Muslims was the one, that at the call

of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad from the steps of oldDelhi’s Jama Masjid, put down its luggage meant forthe next Lahore train from the Old Delhi RailwayStation. In all probability, theirs was the right deci-sion, in spite of the fact that many of their relativeshad decided to leave for their El Dorado — the newlycreated Pakistan. Even today most of the IndianMuslims living in Old Delhi have their relatives inthe country across the border. Religious frenzy hasnever augured well for any community in India andthe world. In the words of eminent Muslim thinker,AG Noorani, the “two-nation theory” was, ineffect, an offshoot of the constant friction and con-frontation stirred up between the two communitiesand it was under exceptional circumstances thatJinnah’s concept gained popularity among theMuslims. Indeed, the whole country responded tothe “two-nation theory.” The greatest religion for bothcommunities became Hindu-Muslim hatred. Thismephitic form of politics saw its culmination in 1947when a wall of hatred rose between the two com-munities.

Partition horrors: Elders would describe thegory sight of trains full of mauled, murdered, muti-lated and dead Hindus chugging into the stationsfrom Pakistan and similar trains from India, full ofdead and mutilated Muslims pulling into Pakistan.These were called “blood trains” and all too oftenthey crossed the border in funereal silence. Huts,houses, bungalows and mansions were burnt androbbed on both sides. Women were raped and mur-dered, children were killed in front of their parents,some women on both sides of the border jumpedinto wells and rivers while men also killed their wivesand daughters to save them from dishonour.

Jinnah and Nehru both responsible: Jinnah onthe Muslim front and Nehru in opposition to Jinnah,both barristers full of intellectual rivalry to be oneup against the other, instead of preserving the sov-ereignty of India, started dreaming of being the newkings of the nascent kingdoms. Azad was blatantlyignored and sidelined by the Congress because heconsidered both Nehru and Jinnah as the main vil-lains of the vivisection. He could read well intoNehru’s flagrant opportunism and ambition to bethe first Prime Minister of the new nation.

Azad was quite aggravated about the Partitionand had accused Nehru of being lured into thePartition by Lady Edwina Mountbatten. Even in theplay Maulana Azad, by noted playwright andscriptwriter, Dr Saeed Alam, Tom Alter, playing theprotagonist, was heard stating in chaste Urdu, “Logkehtey hain, aur theek hi kehtey honge, ke JawaharLal ko batwaare pe raazi karney mein us charminglady ka bahut bada haath tha. (People say, and theymust be right, that the charming lady played a bigrole in getting Jawahar Lal to accept the Partition.)”Today’s Muslim leadership, bereft of thinkers likeMaulana Azad and Dr Zakir Hussain, has lost bothits voice and utility. During every election, it has beenseen that all leaders are power-brokers indulging inpernicious vote-bank manipulation, acquiring Statepatronage themselves and leaving ordinary Muslimsto the mercy of God.

Muslims misled: Despite that, Muslims won’tfully trust Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who haddeclared in a meeting with eminent clerics and intel-ligentsia at his residence on June 6, 2015, that hewanted to see in each Muslim’s hands the holy Quranand a computer. When Home Minister Amit Shahsaid, “Muslims are like our children. We want to treat

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them equally on a par with others”, hard-ly any member of the community hailedit. This opposing mindset is creating amajor problem in better integration withthe mainstream. Battered by the populistrhetoric and provocative militancy of itsmyopic ill-educated clerics and shallowyouth, the nation’s cultured and highpotential minority stands at the crossroads.Owing to their obscurantist approach, theyare leading the community back to thedark ages of ignorance, like the ones inArab countries before the advent of Islam.More often than not, they are interestedin feathering their own nests and areindulging in petty-mindedness charac-terised by an extremely narrow and irre-sponsible outlook completely out of tunewith the existing reality. Such leaders arenot seriously interested in dealing with themain problems of the community. Muslimleaders and petty politicians are becom-ing richer day-by-day while the people theyrepresent are languishing in ghettos.

In this ghettoised situation emergedthe churlish political middlemen as inter-locutors for communities, picking onsensational issues that would only appar-ently tighten their stranglehold on thegullible and divert attention from the realbread and butter and educational issues.Shah Bano, Jamia Millia, the AMU’sminority character, Taslima Nasreen,Salman Rushdie and so on became issues.However, none of them had any bearingon the real problems of the Muslims.Educational backwardness, women’s edu-cation, social stagnation, communalisationof the police force and absence from themainstream were never addressed by theself-appointed interlocutors with the sameemphasis as the Babri Masjid issue. It isthanks mainly to this leadership thatMuslims remain stranded in a wastelandof missed opportunities even 73 years afterIndependence.

Muslims’ ghetto mindset, the mainproblem: Indian Muslims, who now callthemselves “Muslim Indians” deliberate-ly, do agree that Pakistan today has

become hell on Earth. Yet they fail to thanktheir God and stars that they are far bet-ter in India as compared to those inPakistan in terms of safety and security oflife. My Karachi-based cousin has told methat after dusk, all city roads becomedeserted. I have a few questions to ask myIndian co-religionists. How is it going tobenefit them when they abuse theRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), theBJP and Modi? Will constantly howling forreservations based on religion not discred-it them?

Why do the so-called intellectuals andclerics instead of coolly convincing, heck-le opponents in TV debates? All this hascreated a negative perception of Muslimsin the country. My concern is that if thesequestions are not satisfactorily answered,relations between Hindus and Muslimswill worsen. So far at least the answers thathave come from educated Muslims havebeen deeply unsatisfactory or incom-plete. The community should be represent-ed by some liberally-balanced Muslims,who know history and at the same timeare rooted in their faith.

However, the situation with the ghet-to mindset of the Muslim communitytoday is rather grim as they remain criti-cal of the system in general and try to runa parallel governance via the AIMPLB (All-India Muslim Personal Law Board), theSharia courts and the so-called rabble-rousing leaders like the Owaisi brothers,Azam Khan and a horde of perennial apol-ogists seen in TV debates. Rather thanserving the community and the nation,their vitriolic remarks create a perceptionof the community that all the Muslims aresimilar, which is not true. As per my assess-ment, more than 50 per cent IndianMuslims are with a progressive idea ofIndia. However, they are tight-lipped anddon’t want to come out openly in supportof the present Government for fear of beingsocially boycotted or stigmatised as RSSstooges and BJP sycophants.

Prophet’s teachings forgotten: Theproblem with today’s Muslims is that they

don’t follow the teachings of ProphetMuhammad (PBUH) in letter and spirit.This actually distances them from Islamas well, because, Islam possesses sufficientelasticity to enable it to adapt itself to thesocial and political revolution going onaround it. The Mohammedan CommonLaw (today AIMPLB), or Shariah, is by nomeans unchangeable or unalterable. Apractical example of it is the ban of tripletalaq, a part of Sharia but not mentionedin the holy Quran and absolutely abhorredby the Prophet. The only law unalterablein Islam is essentially the Quran and thetraditions of the Prophet. The team ofModi, Shah and Ravi Shankar Prasad, theLaw Minister, have banned the draconianSharia law besides settling the eons oldmandir-masjid imbroglio.

But across India, despite the manyproblems, the community is forgingahead. Large numbers are doing exceed-ingly well. The 1992 Babri mosque razingled to major churnings. The dominantconsensus was that it was important toconcentrate on education. That processcontinues. On November 9, 2019, the issuegot amicably settled and none of theMuslims, except the AIMPLB or Owaisibrothers, protested.

Light at the end of the tunnel: Moreand more Muslim women, even in small-er towns, are acquiring an education.Although a Muslim political party hascome up in Assam, another one inTelangana and two have been formed inUttar Pradesh, most Muslims swear by sec-ular national parties. It is time thatMuslims realise that the RSS is a reality andModi is a Prime Minister who has pledged“Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas(Compassion for all, Progress for all, Trustfor all).” It is the responsibility of Muslimsto hold him to account and ensure that heremains committed to India’s pluralisticleitmotif.

(The author is the chancellor ofMaulana Azad National Urdu University,Hyderabad and the grandnephew of BharatRatna Maulana Azad)

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Micro, Small and MediumEnterprises (MSMEs) are theflavour of the season.

Promoting inclusive growth by provid-ing employment opportunities in ruralareas to women and people belonging tomarginalised sections of society, they arethe new engines of India’s growth story.

Contributing about 29 per cent toIndia’s GDP, the vision is to increase thiscontribution to about 50 per cent.Collectively employing over 120 millionpeople, second only to the mammothagriculture sector, the MSME sector con-tributes over 45 per cent to India’s over-all exports.

A net gain is also reduction ofregional imbalances and a more equitabledistribution of national income and

wealth. MSMEs by design have high flex-ibility and strong ties to customers andsuppliers.

The focus on customer needs,detailed knowledge and experience ismany times difficult to replicate. Lowoverheads often aid lower fluctuations intheir business cycle. With a very posi-tive climate in the thinking on MSMEs,where policy, polity and production seemto have come together in fitting measure,all seems to be well in this rapidlyupcoming 63 million-sector. It is primedto help move the economy towards the$5 trillion mark.

Some chinks below the surface,however, need attention and merit earlycorrection. The MSME sector operatesprimarily on a cash basis and has lessaccess to formal sources of credit. Thefinancial stress of operation, which hasbeen curtailed due to the lockdown andthe continuing overhead expenses, how-ever small, has created a burden on manyof these companies, which are strugglingand are on the brink of shutting downor have already shut down.

With the overall slowdown in theeconomy and the prospect of a tepid

growth in future demand, this sector willbe hard hit. For the MSME sector not tobecome a “me too” sector, asking forcomplete Government support and theGovernment in turn nudging the unwill-ing banking sector to provide credit ina high default risk scenario, the optionsavailable are seemingly limited. Anenhanced working capital limit andguarantee on loans to small businessesseem to be the way ahead.

The biggest need for working cap-ital — MSME bank loans — is contest-ed by the banks. Processes are lengthyand loan queues are long. The MSMEscan’t get loans and hence don’t grow andbecause they don’t grow, they don’t getloans. It is a classic “catch-22” situation.Ironically, large lending to big corpora-tions continues despite the risk of thembecoming insolvent.

The credit gap for MSMEs as esti-mated by the International FinanceCorporation (IFC) and Intellecap standsat �16.7 lakh crore. Loan approvals, logis-tics support, technology access andmarket access work against the MSMEgrowth ambition. Unlike large compa-nies, they do not have the support of a

strong network of people, resources andmarketing channels, most of whichbecome easily accessible with scale.

MSMEs are often seen competingwith large corporations and this shouldbe avoided through policy measures.Certain products and categories shouldbe prioritised for MSMEs along with pre-defined quality standards. What affectsthe MSMEs further is that they don’thave the experience of learnings frommanagement education to have anappropriate appreciation of the grammarof business. Theirs is a hit and trialgrowth.

The future of MSMEs depends sig-nificantly on big corporations buyingfrom them. They thus link up with bigbusinesses through disadvantaged nego-tiations of prices and payment terms,forcing them to borrow more and more.Add to that scenario, the difficulties ofdelayed income tax and Goods andServices Tax (GST) refunds which fur-ther prevent growth. Thus, in the pay-ment hierarchy, where MSMEs are lastand have little bargaining power, they areforced to continue the relationshipwhich is contingent on them remaining

small. Equally, the MSMEs are unableto apply pressure to reduce dues as theyare made to feel that their future busi-ness is at stake. Due to the lack of skilledand professional manpower, they areunable to create the required pressure.

Their access to grievance redressalis either not available or has very low res-olution levels. Many don’t know how toleverage the redressal system. They fearthat seeking such remedy would jeop-ardise their future business as ultimate-ly they have to fall back on the same busi-ness houses for repeat business and thesame service providers. For the MSMEs,a nose above the water is as good as itgets.

The creation of a favourable eco-sys-tem for MSMEs would thus remain con-tingent on regulators assisting in clear-ance of their bills. Pay or be dealt withswiftly or pay up the interest which theMSMEs are paying for no fault of theirs.Investing in a mechanism to buildresilience and strengthen the longevitymuscle of MSMEs would help break bar-riers and capture global markets.

(The writer is Co-founder, HandygoBehtar Zindagi)

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Page 8: HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY · 2 hours ago  · “I will not let the Government topple at any cost even if you make all attempts,” he said. Gehlot said the crisis had come to an end

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Kathmandu: The ruling NepalCommunist Party on Fridayformed a six-member task forceto resolve the intra-party rift asPrime Minister KP Sharma Oliand the party’s executive chair-man Pushpa Kamal Dahal‘Prachanda’ resumed their talksafter a hiatus of over a week.

The taskforce, led byGeneral Secretary BishnuPoudel, will recommend ways tosort out the differences in theparty after Prachanda andsenior leader Madhav KumarNepal demanded PrimeMinister Oli’s resignation.

The task force also hasStanding Committee membersShankar Pokhrel, JanardanSharma, Bhim Rawal, SurendraPandey and Pampha Bhusal,according to party sources.

The decision to form thetask force was taken after ameeting between Oli andPrachanda on Friday.

The two leaders resumedtheir talks on Thursday and helda one-on-one meeting at the

Prime Minister’s residence atBaluwatar in Kathmandu tosort out their differences andresolve the intra-party rift. Thiswas their first meeting after overa week.

Oli during a television inter-view on Wednesday said thatthe ongoing intra-party tusslewill be settled within five days.

Oli and Prachanda haveheld several meetings to sort outthe differences between them.But, as the Prime Minister didnot accept the condition of aone-man-one-post, the talksfailed. Oli has refused to give uphis post as prime minister aswell as a co-chairman of theNCP.

A bitter internal feud hasbeen brewing in the rulingNCP after top party leaders,including Prachanda, demand-ed Oli’s resignation, saying hisrecent anti-India remarks were“neither politically correct nordiplomatically appropriate.”They are also against Oli’s auto-cratic style of functioning. PTI

Palm Beach: President DonaldTrump has requested a mail-inballot for Florida’s Tuesday pri-mary elecTion, despite weeks ofcriticizing the practice.

Ballots were mailed onWednesday to both the presi-dent and First lady MelaniaTrump at the Mar-a-Lago resort,which Trump lists as his legaladdress, according to onlinePalm Beach County electionsrecords. Both previously votedby mail for the presidentialpreference primary in March,according to records.

Following multiple claimsthat mail-in voting was unsafeand vulnerable to fraud, Trumpchanged his mind about thepractice last week, at least inFlorida. “Whether you call itVote by Mail or AbsenteeVoting, in Florida the electionsystem is Safe and Secure, Triedand True,” Trump tweeted lastTuesday. AP

Beijing: China accused theUnited States on Friday of try-ing to “demonise and stigma-tise” relations between the twocountries, in a scathing attackon the Trump administration’sdesignation of Chinese-fundedlanguage and culture pro-grammes in the US as foreignmissions of the ChineseCommunist Party.

Foreign ministryspokesperson Zhao Lijian saidbranches of the ConfuciusInstitute US Centre operatingat US schools and colleges area “bridge and link to help peo-

ple from all over the worldlearn Chinese, understandChina, and strengthen educa-tional and cultural exchangesand cooperation betweenChina and other countries.”

Zhao said the accusationsagainst the institutes were with-out basis and were motivatedby “ideological prejudice andself-interest.” “The relevant USapproach is to demonise andstigmatise the normal opera-tion of China-US cooperationprojects. We strongly deploreand oppose it,” Zhao said at adaily briefing. AP

Minsk: Belarusian authoritieshave released about 1,000 peo-ple detained amid demonstra-tions contesting the results ofthe presidential election, in anattempt to assuage public angeragainst a brutal crackdown onpeaceful protests.

Around midnight, scoresof detainees were seen walkingout of one of Minsk’s jails. Inthe early morning, volunteersalso saw at least 119 detaineesbeing released in the city ofZhodino just northeast of theBelarusian capital. AP

Kathmandu: Powerful land-slides triggered by torrentialrains hit central Nepal’sSindhupalchowk district onFriday, killing at least 11 peo-ple and leaving 27 others miss-ing, an official said.

The landslides hit JugalRural Municipality ofSindhupalchowk district, 130kilometers east of Kathmanduon Friday morning.

Five people who sustainedserious injuries have been air-lifted by the Nepal Army in ahelicopter and brought to thedistrict headquarters wherethey are undergoing treatment,the official said. PTI

Kabul: Afghanistan hasreleased the first 80 of a final400 Taliban prisoners, pavingthe way for negotiationsbetween the warring sides inAfghanistan’s protracted con-flict, the government saidFriday.

Javid Faisal, spokesman forthe National Security Council’soffice, made the announce-ment.

Taliban officials, speakingon condition of anonymitybecause they are not authorisedto speak to the media, said 86prisoners were freed. It wasn’timmediately known when theremaining prisoners would befreed.

Prisoner releases on bothsides are part of an agreementsigned in February between theUS and Taliban. It calls for the

release of 5,000 Taliban held bythe government and 1,000 gov-ernment and military person-nel held by the insurgent groupas a good will gesture ahead ofintra-Afghan negotiations.

Talks are expected to beheld in Qatar where the Talibanmaintain a political office.Several Afghan leaders toldThe Associated Press talkscould begin by August 20.

These negotiations are tolay out a framework for a post-war Afghanistan.

Washington’s peace envoyZalmay Khalilzad spent a year-and-a-half negotiating thepeace deal aimed at allowingAmerican troops to returnhome and end America’slongest military engagement.

US troops have alreadybegun leaving and by

November less than 5,000troops are expected to still bein Afghanistan down fromnearly 13,000 when the agree-ment was signed Feb. 29.

American and NATOtroop withdrawal is contingenton the Taliban keeping theircommitment not to allow mil-itant groups to use Afghanistanagainst the United States or itsallies. The withdrawal is nottied to successful talks betweenthe warring sides.

Last weekend, AfghanPresident Ashraf Ghani held atraditional council meetingknown as loya jirga to get aconsensus on the release of afinal 400 Taliban he said wereaccused of serious crimes, say-ing without explanation that hecould not unilaterally decide torelease them. AP

Washington: President DonaldTrump has said that the USwould collapse and become theworld’s laughing stock if theDemocratic Party’s presumptivenominee Joe Biden wins theNovember 3 presidential elec-tions.

Trump said Biden’s pro-posed policies were not good forthe country.

“Today, we saw Joe Bidencontinue to politicise a pan-demic and to show his appallinglack of respect for the Americanpeople. That’s what it is. At everyturn, Biden has been wrongabout the virus, ignoring the sci-entific evidence and puttingleft-wing politics before factsand evidence,” Trump toldreporters on Thursday at theWhite House.

“The world will be laughingand taking full advantage of theUnited States if Joe Biden everbecame President. Our Countrywould COLLAPSE!” Trumpsaid in a tweet.

Trump’s tweet included aFox News video clipping inwhich its news anchor was crit-

ical of Indian-AmericanCongresswoman PramilaJayapal for praising Biden. TheFox News anchor describedJayapal as socialist and a genuineradical.

“Sleepy Joe opposed boththe China and the Europe trav-el bans. You know that. Heopposed the China travel banthat I instituted very early andthe Europe travel ban that Iinstituted quite early. If I listenedto his advice, hundreds of thou-sands more people would havedied. This is according to manypeople,” the president said.

Trump alleged Biden wantsto fling open American borders,allowing the pandemic to infil-trate every American commu-nity. “He wants to have ridicu-lous open borders. I’ve beensaying from the first day I start-ed campaigning for this greatoffice that if you have open bor-ders, you don’t have a country.You don’t have a country, withopen borders. So he wants openborders. The Democrats wantopen borders,” he said.

While Biden will allow riot-

ers, looters and millions of ille-gal aliens to roam free in ourcountry, he also wants the fed-eral government to issue asweeping new mandate to law-abiding citizens, Trump alleged.

“He wants the President ofthe United States, with the merestroke of a pen, to order over300 million American citizensto wear a mask for a minimumof three straight months. Hethinks it’s good politics.Different states are different,both in terms of the atmosphereand also in terms of the coron-avirus problem,” he said.

“If the President has the uni-lateral power to order every sin-gle citizen to cover their face innearly all instances, what otherpowers does he have,” Trumpasked. The president allegedthat Biden rejects the scientificapproach in favour of locking allAmericans in their basementsfor months on end.

“We’ve been dealing pret-ty strongly over the last num-ber of weeks. But he wantsthem in the basement formonths on end,” he said. PTI

Miami (US): The Trumpadministration has seized thecargo of four tankers it was tar-geting for transporting Iranianfuel to Venezuela, U.S. Officialssaid Thursday, as it steps up itscampaign of maximum pres-sure against the two heavilysanctioned allies.

Last month, federal prose-cutors in Washington filed acivil forfeiture complaint alleg-ing that the sale was arrangedby a businessman, MahmoudMadanipour, with ties to Iran’sRevolutionary Guard Corps, aU.S.-designated foreign terror-ist organization.

At the time, sanctionsexperts thought it would be

impossible to enforce the U.S.Court order in internationalwaters.

A senior U.S. Official toldThe Associated Press that nomilitary force was used in theseizures and that the shipsweren’t physically confiscated.

Rather, US Officials threat-ened ship owners, insurers andcaptains with sanction to forcethem to hand over their cargo,which now becomes USProperty, the official said.Prosecutors alleged the 4 shipswere transporting to Venezuela1.1 million barrels of gasoline.But the tankers never arrived atthe South American countryand then went missing. AP

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Vienna: US Secretary of StateMike Pompeo on Friday urgedan extension to a UN armsembargo on Iran, saying itwould be “nuts” to let it expire.

Opposition from UNSecurity Council veto powersChina and Russia is expected toblock a resolution to extend theblockade beyond October.

Pompeo reiterated during avisit to Vienna that Iran shouldnot be allowed to buy and sellweapons, calling the IslamicRepublic “the world’s largeststate sponsor of terrorism”.

“I mean that’s just nuts...We’re urging the whole world to

join us” to extend the armsembargo, he said.

As things stand arms sanc-tions are set to be eased gradu-ally from October, under aSecurity Council resolutionblessing a 2015 deal Iran signedwith world powers to limit itsability to develop a nuclearbomb -- in exchange for easingtrade barriers.

The landmark deal hascome under strain since the USpulled out of it in 2018.

As Washington has re-imposed crippling sanctions,Tehran has in turn stepped upits nuclear activities again since

last year.Pompeo urged Tehran to

provide “full, transparent andimmediate cooperation” withthe International Atomic EnergyAgency (IAEA), which moni-tors Iran’s compliance with thenuclear deal.

Stepping up enrichmentAfter meeting Pompeo on

Friday, IAEA Director GeneralRafael Grossi told reportersthat Iran had still not grantedthe agency access to two siteswhere it has requested access inorder to clarify questions aboutpossible undeclared nuclearactivity in the early 2000s. AFP

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London: Former EcuadorianConsul in London Fidel Narvaeztold Sputnik ahead of Friday’sadministrative hearing inWikileaks founder JulianAssange’s extradition case thatthe whistleblower will never geta fair trial either in the UK or inthe United States.

“There is plenty of evidenceshowing that Assange is a victimof a judicial persecution and thathe is not getting a fair extradi-tion trial here in the UK, andcertainly will not have a fair trialin the US,” the former diplomattold Sputnik in a phone inter-view.

According to Narvaez, thejudicial persecution against theAustralian journalist began evenbefore he was arrested on April11, 2019, at the Ecuadorianembassy in London, where heenjoyed political asylum for

seven years to avoid being sentto Sweden until Ecuador’s cur-rent government handed himinto the UK police last year. AFP

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Tehran: Iran and Turkeylashed out at their regionalrival the United Arab Emirateson Friday over its decision tonormalise diplomatic rela-tions with Israel in a US-bro-kered deal, accusing it ofbetraying the Palestiniancause.

Iran’s Foreign Ministrycalled the deal a “dagger thatwas unjustly struck by the

UAE in the backs of thePalestinian people and allMuslims.”

Turkey said the peoples ofthe region “will never forgetand will never forgive thishypocritical behaviour” bythe UAE.

The UAE, which hasnever fought Israel and hasquietly been improving ties foryears, said the agreement put

a hold on Israel’s plans to uni-laterally annex parts of theoccupied West Bank, whichthe Palestinians view as theheartland of their future state.

But the Turkish ForeignMinistry said the UAE had noauthority to negotiate withIsrael on behalf of thePalestinians or “to make con-cessions on matters vital toPalestine.” AP

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The wholesale price-based inflation

stood at (-)0.58 pc inJuly, remaining in thenegative zone for thefourth straight montheven as vegetables andother food itemsturned costlier. WPIinflation in June was (-) 1.81 per cent, whilefor the month of Mayand April it was (-)3.37 per cent and (-)1.57 per cent respec-tively.

“The annual rateof inflation, based onmonthly WPI(Wholesale PriceIndex), stood at (- 0.58per cent) (provisional)for the month of July,2020 as compared to1.17 per cent duringthe corresponding month ofthe previous year,” the com-merce and industry ministrysaid in a statement.

Inflation in food articleswas at a four-month high levelof 4.08 per cent in July, main-ly due to sharp rise in vegetableprices. Inflation in vegetables

stood at 8.20 per cent, against(-) 9.21 per cent in June.

Pulses saw inflation of 10.24per cent, while for potato it was69.07 per cent in July. Proteinrich items like egg, meat and fishsaw hardening of prices withinflation at 5.27 per cent.

However, onion prices soft-

ened and inflation fell25.56 per cent, whilein fruits it was (-) 3.03per cent. Inflation infuel and power basketfell 9.84 per cent inJuly, compared to13.60 per cent drop inthe previous month.Manufactured prod-ucts, however, wit-nessed inflation of0.51 per cent in July,against 0.08 per centin June.

ICRA PrincipalEconomist AditiNayar said the con-siderable narrowingin the WPI disinfla-tion in July 2020 rela-tive to the previousmonth, was alongexpected lines, with acorrection in theindex levels for crudeoil and mineral oils,

further narrowing of the coredisinflation and a rise in foodinflation. “The surge in toma-to prices and moderate rise inpotato prices pushed up thevegetable inflation in July 2020,contributing to the uptick inthe inflation for primary foodarticles to a four-month high.

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The Reserve Bank of Indiaboard on Friday approved

a dividend payout of Rs 57,128crore to the government, amove in line with the Budgetexpectation but may not helpplug a huge revenue hole cre-ated by the pandemic andslowing economy.

The surplus transfer of Rs57,128 crore for the accountingyear 2019-20 compared with Rs1.76 lakh crore transferred lastyear, which included Rs 1.23 lakhcrore as dividend and Rs 52,637crore excess provisions identified

as per the revised EconomicCapital Framework (ECF).

In a statement, the RBIsaid its central board headed byGovernor Shaktikanta Das“reviewed the current econom-ic situation, continued globaland domestic challenges and themonetary, regulatory, and othermeasures taken by RBI to mit-igate the economic impact ofCOVID-19 pandemic”.

“The Board also approvedthe transfer of Rs 57,128 croreas surplus to the CentralGovernment for the accountingyear 2019-20, while deciding tomaintain the Contingency Risk

Buffer at 5.5 per cent,” it said.Finance Minister Nirmala

Sitharaman in the budget for2020-21 had provisioned receiptof Rs 60,000 crore in dividendfrom the RBI and other banks tobridge the fiscal deficit. But, gov-ernment officials had expectedmore from the Reserve Bank ofIndia (RBI).

The government is facinga larger-than-expected shortfallin revenue as the economyheads for its first full-year con-traction since 1979. With theCOVID-19 pandemic disrupt-ing businesses, it is widelyspeculated that tax collections

will miss the target.At the same time, the gov-

ernment is being forced tospend more to cushion theblow from the pandemic,straining the budget deficit.

The central bank largelyearns profit through its tradingof currencies and governmentbonds as well as printing ofnotes and coins.

Part of these earnings is setaside by the RBI for its opera-tional and contingency needs,while the rest is transferred tothe government in the form ofdividend.

RBI’’s financial year runs

from July-June at present andis scheduled to be harmonisedwith the government’’s April-March fiscal starting FY22. Inthe current year, the RBI willhave a nine-month financialyear, ending in March.

The central bank’’s payoutto the government last year wasmore due to a one-time trans-fer on account of the adoptionof a new economic capitalframework that calls for main-taining the level of the contingency risk buffer, orrealised equity, at between 5.5and 6.5 per cent of RBI’’s bal-ance sheet.

New Delhi: For charitableorganisations and personalcauses during the Covid pan-demic, Milaap is introducing afree fundraising platform forthe upcoming festive seasonfrom the Independence Day.

“We made Milaap free forall relief related fundraisers asa token of gratitude. Therefore,it made perfect sense forextending this 0% fee to allfundraisers,” said MayukhChoudhury, co-founder andCEO of Milaap.

Kolkata: Metro Railway has undertaken a spe-cial cleanliness drive in order to observeCleanliness Week from 10th August to 16thAugust, 2020. Metro officers and staff have beenparticipating in this drive in order to make Metropremises more beautiful and clean and augmentits aesthetics.

On Friday for the fifth consecutive day,cleanliness drives were organised at North-Southand East-West Metro stations in which Metrostaff participated in numbers maintaining allCOVID-19 protocols.

During this week, special focus is given oncollection and disposal of plastic wastes in andaround Metro premises.

Greater Noida: On the occasion ofIndependence Day, the Greater NoidaAuthority is bringing an open-endedscheme of residential buildings from date,GNIDA CEO Narendra Bhooshan said.Under which you can decorate thedream of dwelling by not applying for therequest. It is a special occasion for themthat if they are living on rent or are con-fused with the breathtaking plans of thebuilders, then the authority is providingthem a lot of opportunity to choose thebuilding of their choice in this scheme.

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States can make e-way bill mandatoryfor transportation of gold within the

respective states but implementing it forinter-state movement across India willnot be feasible, a state-ministerial panelsuggested on Friday.

The group of ministers (GoM),comprising finance ministers of Kerala,Bihar, Gujarat, Punjab, Karnataka andWest Bengal, set up to examine feasibilityof implementation of e-way bill formovement of gold and precious stonesmet via video conferencing.

“It was decided that if any state wantsto implement e-way bill for gold, theycan do so for intra- or within the statetransportation,” Bihar Deputy ChiefMinister Sushil Modi told PTI.

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Bank credit and deposits grew 5.51per cent and 11.11 per cent to Rs

102.65 lakh crore and Rs 141.61 lakhcrore, respectively, in the fortnightended July 31, according to the latestdata from the RBI.

In the fortnight ended August 2,2019, bank credit and deposits were atRs 97.29 lakh crore and Rs 127.44 lakhcrore, respectively.

On a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis,non-food bank credit growth was at 6.7 per cent in June 2020, nearly the same as in May 2020 butlower than the growth of 11.1 per centin June 2019.

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Equity indices nursed losses for thethird straight session on Friday as

investors pruned exposure to banking,financial and consumption stocks amidnegative global cues.

Weak macroeconomic data and adepreciating rupee further curbed riskappetite, traders said.

Tanking 663 points from the day’shigh, the 30-share BSE Sensex settled433.15 points or 1.13 per cent lower at37,877.34.

The broader NSE Nifty slumped122.05 points or 1.08 per cent to closeat 11,178.40.

Axis Bank was the top laggard in theSensex pack, slipping 2.81 per cent, fol-lowed by SBI, M&M, Bajaj Finance,ITC, HDFC Bank, HCL Tech andIndusInd Bank.

Only five index constituents endedin the green — Sun Pharma, NTPC,Tata Steel, Titan and Infosys, rising upto 2.04 per cent. During the week, theSensex declined 163.23 points or 0.42per cent, while the Nifty fell 35.65 pointsor 0.31 per cent.

“Indian markets tracked weak glob-al cues in the latter part of the tradingday to end with losses. The uncertain-ty was with regards to the US-Chinatrade meet this weekend and a lack ofwholesome pickup in economic activ-ity in many countries, including China.

“The Indian retail inflation num-bers that came in above the MPCs’’ tar-get also put doubt on expected rate cutsby the RBI, which the market was look-ing forward to. Weak results especiallyin the Auto sector also contributed tothe losses,” said Vinod Nair, Head ofResearch at Geojit Financial Services.

Retail inflation rose to 6.93 per centin July, mainly driven by rising pricesof food items like vegetables, pulses,

meat and fish, official data released postmarket hours on Thursday showed.

BSE auto, bankex, finance, oil andgas, FMCG and telecom indices fell upto 2.50 per cent in Friday’’s session,while metal, healthcare and consumerdurables closed higher.

Broader BSE mid-cap and small-capindices fell up to 1.02 per cent.

Global equities were under pressurefollowing lacklustre industrial produc-tion and retail sales data in China.

Bourses in Hong Kong and Seoulended in the red, while Shanghai andTokyo settled with gains.

Stock exchanges in Paris, Frankfurtand London plunged up to 2 per centin early deals, dragged by travel stocks,after the UK added more Europeancountries to its quarantine list.

Global oil benchmark Brent crudewas trading 0.65 per cent lower at USD44.67 per barrel. In the forex market, therupee settled 6 paise lower at 74.90against US dollar.

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Mumbai: The rupee on Friday slid 6paise to end at 74.90 against US dollaras data showing slow economic recov-ery and higher inflation dampened forexmarket sentiment.

At the interbank forex market, thelocal unit opened at 74.85 and then lostfurther ground to settle at 74.90, regis-tering a decline of 6 paise over its pre-vious close of 74.84 to the US dollar.

During the session, the rupee wit-nessed an intra-day high of 74.74 anda low of 74.93 against the greenback.

On weekly basis, the rupee inchedup 3 paise against the US dollar. PTI

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India is known for itsrich cultural heritageand history. Fromarchaeological wonders

like Taj Mahal to majesticpalaces and forts, all narratethe testimony of our nation’sregal lineage. As India marksits 74th Independence Day,National Geographic cele-brates the pride of the nationby releasing never-seen-before images of the countrythrough an aerial lens. Theseimages have been shot aspart of its forthcoming two-part series titled India FromAbove. Narrated by DevPatel, the film highlights dif-ferent aspects of our country

from geological wonders,marvels of human engineer-ing to some of the big festi-vals. Shot across one yearspanning the length andbreadth of the country usingadvanced 4k aerial filmingtechnology, the series is a fit-ting tribute to our vibrantnation. From covering thelargest democratic exercise inhuman history to ensuringancient technique and skillsare preserved for future gen-erations, the film revealshow India is embracing itspath to forge its future.

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It is a story of humanity, toldthrough the greatest ques-tions ever asked. ‘Where

are we in the Universe?’ ‘Whatis the destiny of our planet?’‘How did the human brainarise and why did we developconsciousness?’ ‘Will oursearch for alien life be success-ful, or Earth is the only plan-et with life? Are we alone?’

Answering these ques-tions, the series, HumanUniverse offers a new per-spective on human life, com-bining dramatic photographywith innovative CGI all set inspectacular locations acrossthe world as it explores theultimate wonder of the uni-verse — us.

Excerpts of a conversationwith presenter Brian Cox:

� How would you sum upthe series?

Human Universe is a loveletter to the human race. Itsounds like a very simple def-inition of a series but it didn’tbegin that simply. It started outas a cosmology series, anastronomy series, asking ques-tions about how we came here,questions about the evolutionof the human race, the originof the Universe itself. Well,what we realised during theshoot was that, it was, it real-ly became a series about ourvalues.

Modern science has taughtus that we are very rare as wellas insignificant, and so thetrick in the series was to putthose two things together —what does it mean to be rare,and then, the consequence ofan almost unbelievable seriesof accidents, but also insignif-

icant. How do you marry thesethings?

The answers were — ourrarity gives us value and also,because our existence seems tobe completely meaningless,we’re equally insignificant. Wedidn’t have to be here. Hence,I think we have a responsibil-ity to look after ourselves, toprotect ourselves, to find outabout the Universe, and to doscience.

In this way, if you put allthese thoughts together, ulti-mately, you get a love letter.

� What’s special about theseries?

I think of all the series I’vemade, this one is myfavourite. I have a softspot for the ‘Wonders ofthe Solar System’because it’s the first bigthing that I did. And thisone I think, for me,addresses the biggest ques-tions. Undoubtedly, we’reasking questionsabout, at onelevel, our exis-tence, how didwe come to behere, not onlyus as humanb e i n g s ,given theorigin oflife onEarth, butalso theUniverse itself.And the fact thatmodern, 21st cen-tury science isbeginning toaddress thesequestions isremarkable.

At another level, it’s alsohinting at deeper questions likehow to value ourselves and sci-ence, proceed for the future,and respect the acquisition ofknowledge. This has beenmade most explicit in the fifthprogramme, which is polemic.Many would have seen it in thepast through series likeCosmos, The Ascent of Man,and some of James Burke’sworks. They have polemicalelements.

I think this series is a bitold-fashioned, but in a good

way. It has a collectiveopinion, which is deliv-ered as mine but wasactually generatedthroughout the series,through the collabora-

tion with the crew andthe directors, and

everybody whoworked onthe series. Ithink that iswhat gives itsome addeddepth andresonance.

� What wasyour mostm e m o r a b l eexperience dur-ing the shoot?

The strangestexperience I’veever had filminganything was theSoyuz capsulereturn intoKazakhstan. Thereason is that the

snow there was quite heavyand our vehicles were veryunder-powered. Essentially,we had the wrong vehicles, sowe couldn’t get there and gotstuck. It was a disaster becauseit’s the centre part of the series— return of the Soyuz capsuleinto Kazakhstan — and wewere faced with a situationwhere we couldn’t film itbecause we couldn’t reachthere.

A film crew working forthe Russian Army said to us,‘We can fit two of you in ourvehicle. If you jump on thesetwo snowmobiles and chase usand see if you can find us outthere in the Kazakh wilder-ness.’ So, I and PaulO’Callahan, the cameraman,jumped onto the snowmo-biles, left everybody else andwent off with the RussianArmy, with no communicationwith our team.

No one spoke English,apart from one of the Russiancameramen. We stayed thenight, partly in a Kazakhfarmer’s hut, who, as far as Icould see, brought us horseand jam to eat, which wasactually very good. And wefinally filmed the return of theSoyuz capsule. It was a remark-able experience. You will see itat the end of episode 1, ApeMan Space Man, in one of themost iconic scenes of theseries, that only two of us actu-ally shot it.

(The series airs fromAugust 17 to August 21 at 8 pmon Sony BBC Earth.)

Aladdin, a live action musical fantasyfilm is the reimagining of the 1992

animated classic from Walt DisneyPictures. The plot follows Aladdin(played by Mena Massoud), a streeturchin, as he falls in love with PrincessJasmine (played by Naomi Scott),befriends a wish-granting Genie (playedby Will Smith), and battles the wickedJafar (played by Marwan Kenzari).Excerpts:

�What was your reaction when youfound out that you are going to play themost iconic character in the history ofcinema?

Naomi Scott: I was excited initiallybut was scared later with the thought ofhumanising an animated character that’siconic. You are going off animationwhich means there are definitely certainthings that are the foundation of the char-acter, humanising that person is excitingbecause then you could make her into awoman who is into so many differentthings. She is one of my favourite Disneyprincesses for real.

Mena Massoud: I didn’t have thetime to think about it. I got the projecton a Wednesday and had to fly out on aFriday for six months. So I had a day andhalf to pack all my stuff because of Will’s(Smith) schedule. It was a good thoughtbecause I didn’t have the time to dwell onit, it was a blessing in disguise.

�Who in your family was the mostexcited when they found out about yourrole?

Mena: I came home after wrappingup a film and woke up my parents at 3am. I have never seen my dad more excit-ed. He jumped out of the bed and gaveme a hug. My mom was half asleep andhalf crying. She was like ‘really?’

Naomi: I think everyone may havetold a few people what was going on atthe time but my favourite reaction wasof my friend Adrian who literally justwent ‘girl bye’ and then hung up in there,it was good 15 minutes before he rang me

back. The other one was my friendShelly who burst out crying and mybrother, who cared I was in the filmbecause of Will. He is not that keen aboutwhat I do apart from the fact that I amin a film with Will. He is his biggest fanin the world.

Will Smith: For me, the major thingwas how huge and perfect the characterRobin William’s had already played in thefilm. And I have been in these situationsbefore where you have roles with peopleyou have nostalgic emotional connection.I love Williams and what he did with thegenie. One question I always ask myselfwith those kinds of roles is, is there anymeat left on the bone? can you do a ser-vice to the love and nostalgia that is con-nected to it while at the same time bringsomething new to the next generation?When I played genie, it was absolutelyterrifying but post that I have never feltit in a strange way because the characterbecomes ingrained in people’s hearts and

minds in a way that it’s a family member. Iwatched the film about 10 times, it had liveaction and distinct characters. I thought Iwould modernise the genie where I couldpay homage to Robin and honour the wide-ly respected depiction while at the sametime bring something new.

�What was the most memorable day ofshooting on the set?

Naomi: I would say shooting‘Speechless’ because it was a very emotion-al day. I felt like I had to give myself somespace getting to the zone because I wassinging the first half live which is difficult,I was being moved around so you try tocontrol your voice and then go into the song.I just had to give everything. That song isreally important to that character becauseit is that point where she is being herself andis constantly being shut down and peoplecan relate to that.

�Tell us about the line “My sultan, Jafaris not who he says he is!”

Mena: So you have heard the story. Itwas a really intense moment in a very dra-matic scene. I had a few long days and Icame in and completely fumbled the line.Will didn’t let it go. I said something like‘hem whom nom seem him is.’ It did comeout like that and then we just couldn’t stoplaughing, Will actually got it made into aT-shirt wrapped up gift. I still wear it, it’spart of my pyjamas. I can’t wear it outthough otherwise people would be like‘What is that?’

�What film would you like to be in if youhad the choice? What if Aladdin was init?

Mena: Maybe Inglorious Basterds ofQuentin Tarantino — that is one of myfavourite films of all time. The characterwork in that is amazing so I would love todo that. If Aladdin was in it, that would bea little weird, we would have to mature itup a little bit.

(The film airs today at 3 pm on StarMovies as a part of the ‘Independence Day:Special Edition’ pack.)

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DEFENDING CHAMP BIANCA OUT OF US OPENNew York: �'!,&!&,��=�/2'&�;4 '&P��3�� 2!4&+!�&3���&#�''�3$�4&���$��#�0���!#��������'�;!""�&4�#'6'&#� �'�� �!�"'�� ��0!&,� ��'� 34�4&�5!�$�� 2�&#' !3���� 34&��!:$�'#� �4� �&� !&�:!"!�0� �4� 2�'2��'� 64�� ��''5'&�9���'���<0'��<4"#�;�4�#'6'��'#�='�'&��!&�"���0'��P��6!&�"����!#���'�;�&����4�34&3'&����'�4&�:'!&,��� �'�� :'���;�'&� ��'� #4'�� �'�$�&� �4� 34 2'�!�!4&9�'�� #'3!�!4&� '�&�� ����� ��!�� 0'��P�� '5'&�� ;!""� :';!��4$��:4���46�!��������3�� 2!4&�9

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Leipzig stunned AtleticoMadrid 2-1 onThursday to reach the

Champions League semi-finals for the first time asTyler Adams’ 88th-minute winnerearned them ashowdown withParis Saint-Germain.

Atletico lookedto have securedextra-time at the EstadioJose Alvalade when JoaoFelix won and then scored apenalty to cancel out DaniOlmo’s headed opener earlyin the second half.

But Adams proved anunlikely hero for Leipzig,coming off the bench tosnatch victory in Lisbonafter his fired effort took acruel deflection of StefanSavic and flew in.

The win marks a historicnight for Leipzig, who wereonly formed 11 years agoand played their first-everseason in Germany’s topflight in 2016.

Progress to the last fouralso puts another feather inthe cap of their coach JulianNagelsmann, whose stockwill rise even further afterousting Diego Simeone, oneof this competition’s mostgnarly tacticians.

“I’m perhaps one of thehappiest coaches in theworld,” Nagelsmann said.“We were the better team,the result is totally OK. Thesecond goal is a bit lucky butwe found the space behindthe defensive line. I think wewere the better team today.”

Their challenge is nowto defeat PSG on Tuesday,the French champions whohave only played three

matches in almost half a yearand needed a late escape tosee off Atalanta on Tuesday.

“It’s normal that whenyou get to the next round,you want more,”Nagelsmann said. “Tonightwe’re happy. Tomorrow we’llstart looking at Paris. Thatwill be another difficultgame but we'll have a plan.”

For Atletico andSimeone, this was an oppor-

tunity spurned to go far inEurope at the end of whathas been a disappointingseason in Spain.

After Real Madrid’s lossagainst Manchester City,only Barcelona are left to flythe Spanish flag in this tour-nament and they face a for-midable challenge againstBayern Munich on Friday.

Questions will be askedagain about the future of

Simeone, who has strug-gled to recreate an Atleticoside capable of challengingfor major honours.

His notoriously defen-sive approach, which saw offholders Liverpool in the last16, looked outdated hereagainst the slick, quick andfree-flowing style of theiropponents.

“It hurts a lot,” saidAtletico’s Saul Niguez. “Theyhad superiority in manyareas on the pitch, inside,outside. Many times we werenot even close to stoppingthem.”

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Mohammad Rizwan scored agritty, unbeaten half-century to

guide Pakistan past 200 against anincreasingly frustrated Englandbefore bad light at the Rose Bowlbrought an early end to the secondday of the second Test on Friday.

The teams went off the fieldbefore tea because of the gloom, withPakistan on 215-8, and reappearedfor only another nine balls, duringwhich Stuart Broad took his thirdwicket of the innings and the touristsmoved to 223-9. The umpires tookanother meter reading and took theplayers off again - for good this time.

Rizwan will return on Saturdayon 60, the wicketkeeper’s second-highest Test score, alongside Naseem

Shah (1).England looked all set on wrap-

ping up the Pakistan innings, whichresumed on Friday on 126-5, afterstar batsman Babar Azam (47) edged

behind a brilliant ball from Broadthat seamed and squared up Babar.

That made the score 158-6 andtwo more wickets fell for 18 runs,with Yasir Shah (5) flashing at a deliv-ery from Jimmy Anderson and edg-ing to give wicketkeeper Jos Buttleranother catch. Shaheen Afridi (0) wasrun out by Dom Sibley at the non-striker’s end after a mix-up.

England’s seam bowling unrav-eled in the final half-hour before theenforced tea, with the field set by cap-tain Joe Root perhaps too negativeunder threatening skies and with twolower-order batsmen in the middle.On occasions, there were five or sixout near the boundary as Rootspread the field.

Anderson has the best bowlingfigures, with 3-48. Broad had 3-56.

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Enigmatic former India skipperMahendra Singh Dhoni and

some of his Chennai Super Kingsteammates arrived here on Fridayfor a short training camp aheadof the IPL in UAE, where theWorld Cup-winning star willmake his eagerly-awaited returnto competitive cricket after aprolonged sabbatical.

Apart from Dhoni, otherswho have reached the city for theweek-long camp beginning onSaturday at the M AChidambaram stadium areSuresh Raina, Deepak Chahar,Piyush Chawla and Kedar Jadhav.

“Thirteen or 14 of the 16Indian players will be part of thecamp, including MS. Since they

came after undergoing Covid-19tests, their next test will be 72

hours before leaving for the UAEon August 21. They will starttraining from tomorrow,” a CSKofficial told PTI.

All the players, except all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, areexpected to participate in thecamp.

A CSK official said Jadejawould be missing training owingto personal reasons and wouldjoin the squad before its departurethe tournament venue.

All the players would be sub-jected to two tests here and onlyif they return negative for coro-navirus, they would be allowed tofly to Dubai, the official added.

The franchise has pickedeight net bowlers from TamilNadu and they will also travelwith the side to the UAE.

�� ���Australia’s limited-overstour of England will go aheadthis month at bio-secure venues,officials said on Friday, after itsplayers were given Governmentclearance to travel.

The confirmation ensuresAustralians will pad up for theirfirst internationals in nearly sixmonths, with Glenn Maxwell,Nathan Lyon and Marcus Stoinisrecalled to the squad, whileUsman Khawaja and TravisHead missed out.

Australia was originallyscheduled to play three one-dayand three T20 matches againstEngland in July, but the trip waspostponed due to the coron-avirus pandemic.

Detailed biosecurity planshave now been agreed to ensureit can go ahead, includingGovernment exemptions, whichare required for Australians toleave the country. The team hasalso agreed to self-quarantine for14 days on their return.

They depart from Perth onAugust 23 en route to Derbyahead of four practice matches— three T20s and a one-dayer— before three T20s and threeone-day internationals inSouthampton and Old Trafford,which have hotels on site.

Australia named a 21-mansquad with Maxwell, Lyon andStoinis among notable inclu-sions, along with three debutants— Josh Philippe, Daniel Samsand Riley Meredith.T20 & ODI squad: Aaron Finch(capt), Sean Abbott, AshtonAgar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins,Josh Hazlewood, MarnusLabuschagne, Nathan Lyon,Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell,Riley Meredith, Josh Philippe,Daniel Sams, Kane Richardson,Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc,Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye,Matthew Wade, David Warner,Adam Zampa

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— TYLER ADAMS

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