ˇ’!˜ (’ˇ˙˘ & ) ˜!...in a multi-crore fodder scam. the mahagathbandhan in bihar...

12
T he Opposition Mahagathbandhan is final- ly in place in Bihar. The Congress on Tuesday agreed to contest on nine seats as against its insistence for 11 seats. The alliance’ mainstay RJD will contest 20 seats, seven less than it fought in 2014 thus paving the way for the accom- modation of other smaller par- ties in the grouping. Upendra Kushwaha’s RLSP will fight on four seats and Jitan Ram Majhi’s HAM on three seats. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, who is spearheading the formation of the much- hyped grand alliance, has rushed to Ranchi to brief and further deliberate with RJD patriarch Lalu Prasad, cur- rently cooling his heels in jail in a multi-crore fodder scam. The Mahagathbandhan in Bihar formally acknowledges Congress, RJD, RLSP, HAM, Sharad Yadav’s Loktantrik Janata Dal and Mukesh Sahnis Vikasheel Insaan Party as its constituents. While Congress wants to take on board Madhepura MP Pappu Yadav, whose wife Ranjeet Ranjan is a Congress MP, it was opposed by RJD which had field- ed him on its ticket five years ago but expelled him later on disciplinary grounds. “RJD is to contest on 20 seats, Congress on 9 seats, RLSP on 4, HAM on 3, LJD and VIP on 2 seats each,” said AICC sources, adding that a formal announcement would come up on Wednesday at a joint Press conference by rep- resentatives of all the grand alliance partners. Sharing of seats in the Grand Alliance was hampered by squabbles between smaller partners like the RLSP and the HAM with each party demand- ing a share that was bigger than what the other was to get. The cur- rent impasse sur- faced following Tejashwi indi- cating “fissures” as crisis over seat-sharing deepened in the Bihar Mahagathbandhan. Amid hard bargaining by smaller parties, the major play- ers — RJD and Congress — locked horns over the seat sharing arrangements. W ith the AAP and the Congress going public in asserting that they will not enter into an alliance, it is now NCP chief Sharad Pawar, who has entered the scene to play the mediator, in what is being seen as a last-ditch attempt to forge a pre-poll alliance between the two parties in Delhi to take on the BJP, which holds all the seven Lok Sabha seats in the Capital. After a series of flip-flops between both the parties, sources said Congress Central leadership has started a rethink on the insistence of their alliance partners’ tallest leader Pawar, who met Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge first and then AAP’s Sanjay Singh, also a Rajya Sabha mem- ber. The Maratha strongman had last month hosted a mega Opposition meeting that starred Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal and Mamata Banerjee. Following Pawar’s media- tion, Delhi Congress president Sheila Dikshit convened an urgent meeting with the three working presidents Devender Yadav, Haroon Yusuf and Rajesh Lilothia — of Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC), which had opposed an alliance with AAP. The leaders did not divulge any details and only stated that the meeting was over decision of candidates for the Lok Sabha elections. Sources said Sheila met her party colleagues at her home to reconsider a tie-up with AAP — an idea that she has resisted vehemently so far. Sources said 13 former Congress district presidents have written a letter to party chief Rahul Gandhi asking for an alliance with the AAP. Dikshit, a three-time Chief Minister whose rule ended with AAP’s rise in Delhi, had on Monday warned in a letter to Rahul and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi that an alliance with the AAP will hurt the Congress in the long run. She also urged the leadership to spell out its stand to avoid confusion among party workers. T he BJP-led Government in Goa will face the floor test on Wednesay, a day after it was formed. Governor Mridula Sinha has convened a special session of the Assembly on Wednesday at 11.30 am to enable Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to prove his majority in the House, an official said. Sawant on Tuesday said his Government had sought a floor test on Wednesday to prove its strength in the Assembly. The Government in the coastal State claims sup- port of 21 MLAs — 12 from the BJP, three each of allies Goa Forward Party (GFP) and Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and three Independents. The strength of the 40- member House has been reduced to 36 due to the death of Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, BJP MLA Francis D’Souza and resigna- tions of two Congress MLAs Subhash Shirodkar and Dayanand Sopte. The Congress is the single largest party in the State with 14 MLAs. There is also an NCP legislator in the House. Sawant, 45, who succeeds Parrikar, was sworn in along with 11 other Ministers in the wee hours on Tuesday. T he all-powerful GST Council on Tuesday allowed builders an option to choose between old tax rates and the new ones for under- construction residential pro- jects to help resolve input tax credit issues. The council, headed by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and including repre- sentatives of all States, at its 34th meeting here laid out transition rules for the imple- mentation of new tax rates for the real estate sector. Builders will get a one-time option to continue paying tax at the old rates (effective rate of 8 per cent or 12 per cent with Input Tax Credit or ITC) on ongoing projects (buildings where construction and actu- al booking have both started before April 1, 2019, but which will not be completed by March 31, 2019), Revenue Secretary A B Pandey told reporters here. Real estate industry hailed the GST Council’s decision, saying this will give relief to builders — who were worried about loss of input tax credit in the new tax regime. The new tax rate of 1 per cent for affordable houses and 5 per cent for others, without ITC, will apply on new pro- jects. The move will help address apprehensions as well as poten- tial disputes on various com- putational and transitional issues such as the loss of input credits and pricing that were bound to arise on account of the change. “GST Council today has approved transition plan for the new rate structure for real estate residential pro- jects... From April 1, builders have to choose either of the options for which they will get time,” he said. I n more trouble for cash- strapped Jet Airways, an umbrella body of its domestic pilots on Tuesday threatened to stop flying from April 1 if their dues are not paid by March-end even as aviation regulator DGCA said only 41 aircraft of the airline were in operation and more attrition is likely soon. As situation at the belea- guered airline deteriorated, Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu directed senior officials of his Ministry to continuous- ly monitor developments relat- ing to the crisis. In a related development, the Jet Airways’ Aircraft Maintenance Engineers’ Union wrote to the DGCA on Tuesday morning saying they were not paid salaries for last three months and that their “adverse psychological” condition has put flight safety at risk. However, the Aircraft Maintenance Engineers’ Union issued a clarification hours later saying Jet Airways aircraft are safe to fly and are being maintained at highest levels of safety standards. Related reports on P10 A s the “Chai pe Charcha” and “Abki Baar Modi Sarkar” struck a chord with the voters in 2014, the BJP, five years down the line, is now try- ing to enlarge and intensify its “Main Bhi Chowkidar” cam- paign in the run-up to the tough Lok Sabha polls with Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacting with people who have pledged their support to the campaign on March 31, from 500 places across the country. More so, since it is buoyed by the massive response to the “Main Bhi Chowkidar” cam- paign launched by the Prime Minister on March 16. Senior BJP leader and Union Law Minister Ravishakar Prasad Minister said the campaign has become a “people’s move- ment” as the “Main Bhi Chowkidar” hashtag has been tweeted 20 lakh times and had 1,680 crore impressions. Prior to the mega show, taking the social media connect to the next level, the PM will also address 25 lakh “chowki- dars” on March 20 on the eve of Holi. The BJP has sensed that the “Main Bhi Chowkidar” cam- paign could be a winning proposition in the multiple cross-firings of slogans and catchy shouts of electioneering from a range of political parties. The campaign is in a way aimed at deflating Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s riposte “Chowkidar chor hai” as also to appropriate and include one and all in its gamut and render it an egalitarian colour. Prasad, who addressed a Press conference here, said Modi would be stationed out- side Delhi while speaking with people from 500 destinations. Replying to a question if the campaign was a counter to Congress chief Rahul Gandhi’s “Chowkidar chor hai” barb, he rejected the suggestion and asserted that Modi in his cam- paign for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls had projected himself as the “first servant” and “chowki- dar” of the country. On Saturday, Modi had urged his supporters to take the chowkidar pledge, saying he is not alone in the fight against graft and social evils. Following his appeal, all BJP leaders, including party chief Amit Shah and Union Ministers, prefixed the word “chowkidar” to their names in their Twitter profile as they sought people’s support in the Lok Sabha elections. Social media is abuzz with witty take-offs on the cam- paign. In one instance people posted photographs of eco- nomic offenders and abscon- ders — Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya, Lalit Modi — with a caption “Main Bhi Chowkidar”. Opposition parties in Uttar Pradesh also took a dig. Leading the Opposition attack, Mayawati said on Twitter, “After BJP launched ‘Mai Bhi Chowkidar’ cam- paign, PM Modi and others added the prefix ‘chowkidar’ to their Twitter handles. So now Narendra Modi is Chowkidar and no more ‘chaiwala’ which he was at the time of last Lok Sabha election. What a change India is witnessing under the BJP rule. Bravo!” Incidentally, Mayawati has only recently joined the twitter fraternity after shunning it for long. Her ally Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav tweeted in Hindi, “Is there any chowki- dar to check the theft of fer- tiliser?” In another tweet, Yadav appeared to be referring to the controversial Rafale jet deal. “Has the chowkidar responsi- ble for the theft of file from the Ministry been punished,” he asked. On Monday, Congress’ incharge of eastern Uttar Pradesh Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, “Unki (the Prime Minister) marzi apne naam ke aage kya lagaen. Mujhe ek kisan bhai ne kaha ki dekhiye chowkidar toh ameeron ke hotey hain, hum kisan toh apney khud chowkidar hotey hain” (I met a group of farm- ers...Potato farmers of western UP. One of them told me, chowkidar is for the rich. We farmers are our own chowkidar). A iming to check fake and provocative content being spread on social media plat- forms during the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, social media giants and Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) will come up with a “code of ethics” by Wednesday evening. This was decided in a high- level meeting convened by the Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday with representatives of Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, Google, Sharechat, BigoTV and Tiktok. Detailed report on P2 PNS: BJP Lok Sabha MP Shatrughan Sinha may be pit- ted on a Congress ticket from Patna Sahib against Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. The confusion over Darbhanga seat is also under- stood to be cleared as Kirti Azad will be the Congress candidate from the seat. While Azad was suspended from BJP and he joined Congress, Sinha has kept it a secret on his part but has made his inten- tions obvious by criticising his parent party BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on several occasions. A mid surge of Congress popularity in Chhattisgarh, the BJP on Tuesday decided to field new faces for all the 11 Lok Sabha seats to revive its poll fortune in the mineral-rich State. BJP national general sec- retary and party in-charge for Chhattisgarh Dr Anil Jain while interacting with media on Tuesday said party’s Central Election Committee has agreed to put up new faces in Chhattisgarh where the party had won 10 out of the 11 seats in 2014 polls. BJP sources informed that BJP national vice-president and former chief minister Raman Singh could be fielded from Rajnandgaon in place of his son, Abhishek Singh. Meanwhile, in a separate development Chhattisgarh chief electoral officer Subrat Sahoo said that election model code of conduct is the base of election management and that the success of the election depends on how effectively the code is followed. He was addressing the pro- gramme, ‘No the Code’, organ- ised by the Vision India Foundation. He said without putting any impact on the public services, the code of conduct is enforced on those linked to the govern- ment and political parties. The model code of conduct is not a law but it’s an effective tool that can ensure the success of an election. Impartiality is main- tained if the code is followed and judiciously used. Sahoo urged the youth to use their right to franchise and motivate others to do so. He said youth is the highest number of voters in the coun- try. They are armed with tech- nology and awareness. So to further strengthen the democ- racy, participation of youth is most necessary. On media’s role, the CEO said, “It is one of the effective medium, but danger of its mis- use also remains. Techno savvy youth team monitors the social media misuse during the polls. Technology and coordination has made the polls manage- ment easy.” RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No. - RYP DN/34/2013-2015

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Page 1: ˇ’!˜ (’ˇ˙˘ & ) ˜!...in a multi-crore fodder scam. The Mahagathbandhan in Bihar formally acknowledges Congress, RJD, RLSP, HAM, Sharad Yadav’s Loktantrik ... ethics” by

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The OppositionMahagathbandhan is final-

ly in place in Bihar. TheCongress on Tuesday agreed tocontest on nine seats as againstits insistence for 11 seats. Thealliance’ mainstay RJD willcontest 20 seats, seven lessthan it fought in 2014 thuspaving the way for the accom-modation of other smaller par-ties in the grouping.

Upendra Kushwaha’s RLSPwill fight on four seats and JitanRam Majhi’s HAM on threeseats. RJD leader TejashwiYadav, who is spearheadingthe formation of the much-hyped grand alliance, hasrushed to Ranchi to brief andfurther deliberate with RJDpatriarch Lalu Prasad, cur-rently cooling his heels in jailin a multi-crore fodder scam.

The Mahagathbandhan inBihar formally acknowledgesCongress, RJD, RLSP, HAM,Sharad Yadav’s LoktantrikJanata Dal and Mukesh SahnisVikasheel Insaan Party as itsconstituents. While Congresswants to take on boardMadhepura MP Pappu Yadav,whose wife Ranjeet Ranjan is aCongress MP, it was opposed

by RJD which had field-ed him on its ticket fiveyears ago but expelledhim later on disciplinarygrounds.

“RJD is to contest on 20seats, Congress on 9 seats,RLSP on 4, HAM on 3, LJDand VIP on 2 seats each,” saidAICC sources, adding that aformal announcement wouldcome up on Wednesday at a

joint Press conference by rep-resentatives of all the grandalliance partners.

Sharing of seats in theGrand Alliance was hamperedby squabbles between smallerpartners like the RLSP and theHAM with each party demand-ing a share that was bigger than

what the other wasto get. The cur-rent impasse sur-

faced following Tejashwi indi-cating “fissures” as crisis overseat-sharing deepened in theBihar Mahagathbandhan.Amid hard bargaining bysmaller parties, the major play-ers — RJD and Congress —locked horns over the seatsharing arrangements.

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With the AAP and theCongress going public in

asserting that they will notenter into an alliance, it is nowNCP chief Sharad Pawar, whohas entered the scene to play themediator, in what is being seenas a last-ditch attempt to forgea pre-poll alliance between thetwo parties in Delhi to take onthe BJP, which holds all theseven Lok Sabha seats in theCapital.

After a series of flip-flopsbetween both the parties,sources said Congress Centralleadership has started a rethinkon the insistence of their alliancepartners’ tallest leader Pawar,who met Congress chief RahulGandhi and Mallikarjun Khargefirst and then AAP’s SanjaySingh, also a Rajya Sabha mem-ber. The Maratha strongmanhad last month hosted a megaOpposition meeting that starredRahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwaland Mamata Banerjee.

Following Pawar’s media-tion, Delhi Congress presidentSheila Dikshit convened anurgent meeting with the threeworking presidents —Devender Yadav, Haroon Yusufand Rajesh Lilothia — of DelhiPradesh Congress Committee(DPCC), which had opposed analliance with AAP. The leadersdid not divulge any details and

only stated that the meeting wasover decision of candidates forthe Lok Sabha elections.

Sources said Sheila met herparty colleagues at her home toreconsider a tie-up with AAP —an idea that she has resistedvehemently so far. Sources said13 former Congress districtpresidents have written a letterto party chief Rahul Gandhiasking for an alliance with the

AAP. Dikshit, a three-time Chief

Minister whose rule ended withAAP’s rise in Delhi, had onMonday warned in a letter toRahul and UPA chairpersonSonia Gandhi that an alliancewith the AAP will hurt theCongress in the long run. Shealso urged the leadership to spellout its stand to avoid confusionamong party workers.

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The BJP-led Government inGoa will face the floor test

on Wednesay, a day after itwas formed. GovernorMridula Sinha has conveneda special session of theAssembly on Wednesday at11.30 am to enable ChiefMinister Pramod Sawant toprove his majority in theHouse, an official said.

Sawant on Tuesday saidhis Government had sought afloor test on Wednesday toprove its strength in theAssembly. The Government inthe coastal State claims sup-port of 21 MLAs — 12 fromthe BJP, three each of alliesGoa Forward Party (GFP)and MaharashtrawadiGomantak Party (MGP) andthree Independents.

The strength of the 40-member House has beenreduced to 36 due to thedeath of Chief MinisterManohar Parrikar, BJP MLAFrancis D’Souza and resigna-tions of two Congress MLAsSubhash Shirodkar andDayanand Sopte.

The Congress is the singlelargest party in the State with14 MLAs. There is also anNCP legislator in the House.

Sawant, 45, who succeedsParrikar, was sworn in alongwith 11 other Ministers in thewee hours on Tuesday.

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The all-powerful GSTCouncil on Tuesday

allowed builders an option tochoose between old tax ratesand the new ones for under-construction residential pro-jects to help resolve input taxcredit issues.

The council, headed byUnion Finance Minister ArunJaitley and including repre-sentatives of all States, at its34th meeting here laid outtransition rules for the imple-mentation of new tax rates forthe real estate sector.

Builders will get a one-timeoption to continue paying taxat the old rates (effective rate of8 per cent or 12 per cent withInput Tax Credit or ITC) onongoing projects (buildingswhere construction and actu-al booking have both startedbefore April 1, 2019, but whichwill not be completed by March31, 2019), Revenue Secretary AB Pandey told reporters here.

Real estate industry hailedthe GST Council’s decision,saying this will give relief to

builders — who were worriedabout loss of input tax credit inthe new tax regime.

The new tax rate of 1 percent for affordable houses and5 per cent for others, withoutITC, will apply on new pro-jects.

The move will help addressapprehensions as well as poten-tial disputes on various com-putational and transitionalissues such as the loss of inputcredits and pricing that werebound to arise on account ofthe change. “GST Counciltoday has approved transitionplan for the new rate structurefor real estate residential pro-jects... From April 1, buildershave to choose either of theoptions for which they will gettime,” he said.

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In more trouble for cash-strapped Jet Airways, an

umbrella body of its domesticpilots on Tuesday threatened tostop flying from April 1 iftheir dues are not paid byMarch-end even as aviationregulator DGCA said only 41aircraft of the airline were inoperation and more attrition islikely soon.

As situation at the belea-guered airline deteriorated,Civil Aviation Minister SureshPrabhu directed senior officialsof his Ministry to continuous-ly monitor developments relat-ing to the crisis.

In a related development,the Jet Airways’ AircraftMaintenance Engineers’ Unionwrote to the DGCA on Tuesdaymorning saying they were notpaid salaries for last threemonths and that their “adversepsychological” condition hasput flight safety at risk.

However, the AircraftMaintenance Engineers’ Unionissued a clarification hourslater saying Jet Airways aircraftare safe to fly and are beingmaintained at highest levels ofsafety standards.

Related reports on P10

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As the “Chai pe Charcha”and “Abki Baar Modi

Sarkar” struck a chord with thevoters in 2014, the BJP, fiveyears down the line, is now try-ing to enlarge and intensify its“Main Bhi Chowkidar” cam-paign in the run-up to thetough Lok Sabha polls withPrime Minister Narendra Modiinteracting with people whohave pledged their support tothe campaign on March 31,from 500 places across thecountry.

More so, since it is buoyedby the massive response to the“Main Bhi Chowkidar” cam-paign launched by the PrimeMinister on March 16. SeniorBJP leader and Union LawMinister Ravishakar PrasadMinister said the campaignhas become a “people’s move-ment” as the “Main Bhi

Chowkidar” hashtag has beentweeted 20 lakh times and had1,680 crore impressions.

Prior to the mega show,taking the social media connectto the next level, the PM willalso address 25 lakh “chowki-dars” on March 20 on the eve

of Holi.The BJP has sensed that the

“Main Bhi Chowkidar” cam-paign could be a winningproposition in the multiplecross-firings of slogans andcatchy shouts of electioneeringfrom a range of political parties.

The campaign is in a wayaimed at deflating Congresspresident Rahul Gandhi’sriposte “Chowkidar chor hai”as also to appropriate andinclude one and all in its gamutand render it an egalitariancolour.

Prasad, who addressed aPress conference here, saidModi would be stationed out-side Delhi while speaking withpeople from 500 destinations.

Replying to a question ifthe campaign was a counter toCongress chief Rahul Gandhi’s“Chowkidar chor hai” barb, herejected the suggestion andasserted that Modi in his cam-paign for the 2014 Lok Sabhapolls had projected himself asthe “first servant” and “chowki-dar” of the country.

On Saturday, Modi hadurged his supporters to take thechowkidar pledge, saying he isnot alone in the fight againstgraft and social evils.

Following his appeal, allBJP leaders, including partychief Amit Shah and UnionMinisters, prefixed the word“chowkidar” to their names intheir Twitter profile as theysought people’s support in the

Lok Sabha elections. Social media is abuzz with

witty take-offs on the cam-paign. In one instance peopleposted photographs of eco-nomic offenders and abscon-ders — Nirav Modi, VijayMallya, Lalit Modi — with acaption “Main Bhi Chowkidar”.

Opposition parties in UttarPradesh also took a dig.

Leading the Oppositionattack, Mayawati said onTwitter, “After BJP launched‘Mai Bhi Chowkidar’ cam-paign, PM Modi and othersadded the prefix ‘chowkidar’ totheir Twitter handles. So nowNarendra Modi is Chowkidarand no more ‘chaiwala’ whichhe was at the time of last LokSabha election. What a changeIndia is witnessing under theBJP rule. Bravo!” Incidentally,Mayawati has only recentlyjoined the twitter fraternityafter shunning it for long.

Her ally Samajwadi Partychief Akhilesh Yadav tweetedin Hindi, “Is there any chowki-dar to check the theft of fer-tiliser?” In another tweet, Yadavappeared to be referring to thecontroversial Rafale jet deal.“Has the chowkidar responsi-ble for the theft of file from theMinistry been punished,” heasked.

On Monday, Congress’incharge of eastern UttarPradesh Priyanka GandhiVadra said, “Unki (the PrimeMinister) marzi apne naam keaage kya lagaen. Mujhe ekkisan bhai ne kaha ki ‘dekhiyechowkidar toh ameeron kehotey hain, hum kisan tohapney khud chowkidar hoteyhain” (I met a group of farm-ers...Potato farmers of westernUP. One of them told me,chowkidar is for the rich. Wefarmers are our own chowkidar).

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Aiming to check fake andprovocative content being

spread on social media plat-forms during the upcomingLok Sabha polls, social mediagiants and Internet and MobileAssociation of India (IAMAI)will come up with a “code ofethics” by Wednesday evening.This was decided in a high-level meeting convened by theElection Commission (EC) onTuesday with representatives ofFacebook, WhatsApp, Twitter,Google, Sharechat, BigoTVand Tiktok.

Detailed report on P2

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PNS: BJP Lok Sabha MPShatrughan Sinha may be pit-ted on a Congress ticket fromPatna Sahib against UnionMinister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

The confusion overDarbhanga seat is also under-stood to be cleared as KirtiAzad will be the Congresscandidate from the seat. WhileAzad was suspended fromBJP and he joined Congress,Sinha has kept it a secret on hispart but has made his inten-tions obvious by criticising hisparent party BJP and PrimeMinister Narendra Modi onseveral occasions.

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Amid surge of Congresspopularity in Chhattisgarh,

the BJP on Tuesday decided tofield new faces for all the 11 Lok Sabha seats torevive its poll fortune in themineral-rich State.

BJP national general sec-retary and party in-charge forChhattisgarh Dr Anil Jain whileinteracting with media onTuesday said party’s CentralElection Committee has agreedto put up new faces inChhattisgarh where the partyhad won 10 out of the 11 seatsin 2014 polls.

BJP sources informed thatBJP national vice-presidentand former chief ministerRaman Singh could be fieldedfrom Rajnandgaon in place ofhis son, Abhishek Singh.

Meanwhile, in a separatedevelopment Chhattisgarhchief electoral officer SubratSahoo said that election modelcode of conduct is the base ofelection management and thatthe success of the electiondepends on how effectivelythe code is followed.

He was addressing the pro-gramme, ‘No the Code’, organ-ised by the Vision IndiaFoundation.

He said without putting anyimpact on the public services,the code of conduct is enforcedon those linked to the govern-ment and political parties. Themodel code of conduct is not alaw but it’s an effective tool thatcan ensure the success of an

election. Impartiality is main-tained if the code is followedand judiciously used.

Sahoo urged the youth touse their right to franchiseand motivate others to do so.He said youth is the highestnumber of voters in the coun-try. They are armed with tech-nology and awareness. So tofurther strengthen the democ-

racy, participation of youth ismost necessary.

On media’s role, the CEOsaid, “It is one of the effectivemedium, but danger of its mis-use also remains. Techno savvyyouth team monitors the socialmedia misuse during the polls.Technology and coordinationhas made the polls manage-ment easy.”

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Page 2: ˇ’!˜ (’ˇ˙˘ & ) ˜!...in a multi-crore fodder scam. The Mahagathbandhan in Bihar formally acknowledges Congress, RJD, RLSP, HAM, Sharad Yadav’s Loktantrik ... ethics” by

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Aiming to check fake andprovocative content being

spread on social media plat-forms during the upcomingLok Sabha polls, social mediagiants and Internet and MobileAssociation of India (IAMAI)will come up with a 'code ofethics' by Wednesday evening.This was decided after a high-level meeting convened by theElection Commission (EC) onTuesday to discuss social mediacontent post implementation ofthe Model Code of Conduct.

The EC had summonedrepresentatives of Facebook,WhatsApp, Twitter, Google,Sharechat, BigoTV and Tiktokfor the meeting.

The issues discussedincluded the appointment ofdedicated grievance channel forexpeditious action by theorganisations, pre-certificationof all political advertisementson social media platforms bythe Media Certification AndMonitoring Committee of theEC and the "evolution of amechanism by social mediaplatforms to prevent abuse ontheir platforms". Sources in theEC said the meeting alsofocused on evolving a notifi-cation mechanism by socialmedia platforms for actingupon the violations of Section126 of Representation of thePeople Act, 1951 and prevent-ing misuse of these platforms.

According to sources,ShareChat is working with afact checking agency to keep incheck fake news that mightenter the system. Tagging ofcontent creator: whenever apost leaves our platform withthe original creator's user IDShareChat can easily identifywho has originally shared thecontent.

"Everyone who signs up onShareChat's platform requiresa registered mobile number. Asper request, ShareChat canassist local low enforcementauthorities and to identify indi-viduals if they are proved to beinvolved in spreading any kindof fake news or hate speech,"said the sources."Representatives of Googleassured the poll body that it canset up a system to fight fakenews in 24 hours," sourcesadded.

Besides installing safe-guards, the EC wants socialmedia platforms to voluntari-ly inform users about the con-sequences of indulging in"unlawful conduct during theelections and, in particular,the 48-hour silent period"immediately preceding pollingday. It has also asked socialmedia intermediaries to adopta general code of ethics in viewof the electoral contest.

According to sources,social media platforms, fortheir part, have taken varioussteps to curb the circulation of

fake news that may eitherfavour certain political partiesor incite the public. Last month,Facebook expanded its localfact-checking network andintroduced stricter rules forpolitical advertisements inIndia. WhatsApp — a socialmessaging platform with over200 million users in India —introduced product changesand undertook roadshows afterfalse messages circulated on itfanned communal tensionsand sparked mob violence.Twitter has also overhauled itspolicies to boost transparencyand rein in misinformation.

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The Election Commissionon Tuesday issued a notifi-

cation for the second phase ofthe seven-phased 2019 LokSabha elections, kicking offthe process of filing of nomi-nations for another 97 con-stituencies across 13 States andUnion Territories.

Voting in the second phasewill take place on April 18, saidthe notification, which comesa day after the poll panel noti-fied the first phase covering 91constituencies.

By the evening of March29, a clear picture on the num-ber of candidates in each of the97 constituencies will emerge.All parliamentary constituen-cies in Tamil Nadu (39 seats)and Puducherry (one seat) willgo for polling in the secondphase.

Uttar Pradesh, Bihar andWest Bengal will see polling inall the seven phases. In the sec-ond phase, eight UP con-stituencies including Agra,Aligarh and Mathura, three inWest Bengal, includingDarjeeling and five in Bihar willgo for polls.

UP has 80 seats, whileWest Bengal and Bihar have 42and 40 Lok Sabha seats respec-tively. The Srinagar andUdhampur seats in Jammu &Kashmir will also go for pollingin the second phase.

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New Delhi: India may not seeanother election if NarendraModi is re-elected as PrimeMinister, Rajasthan ChiefMinister and senior Congressleader Ashok Gehlot hasclaimed, suggesting that thecountry may go the way ofChina and Russia.

Gehlot also said bothdemocracy and the countrywere in danger under Modi,who he said would "do any-thing" to get back to power.People felt he could even go towar with Pakistan to achievethis goal, the Congress leadersaid.

Dubbing Modi a "goodactor", Gehlot said he could domuch better in Bollywood andwould have left his indeliblemark in acting. He also alleged

that he was a "master in mar-keting false promises".

"If people re-elect Modi,then there is no surety onwhether elections will be heldin the country or not. 'Chunavhonge bhi, aur nahin bhihonge...Jaise China, Russiamein hota hai' (Elections willbe held in the country and yetnot be held, like what happensin China, Russia)," Gehlot saidduring an interaction withPTI.

He was suggesting thatpolls will be held on the linesof those in China and Russia,where only one party rules andwho becomes the president orthe Prime Minister is decidedbeforehand. PTI

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As mark of respect to thecasualties suffered by its

personnel in Pulwama, theCRPF has decided against offi-cially celebrating Holi thisyear and directed all the for-mations across the country notto celebrate the festival ofcolours.

"As a mark of solidaritywith the families of our 40brave jawans who attainedmartyrdom in Pulwama on14/02/2019, the CompetentAuthority has desired thatthere will be no official Holicelebrations this year in all ourformations," reads an internalmessage circulated to all theformations of the CRPF onTuesday.

Officials said, in normalcase Holi is celebrated a daybefore the actual observance ofthe festival and the seniormostofficial of the force in all theformations meet all the per-sonnel under his or her com-mand, wishes them and offerssweets and snacks.

However, the programmehas been cancelled this year asa Jaish-e-Mohammad suicidebomber hit his explosive-ladencar into a bus of the CRPF con-voy on February 14 killing 40men which triggered air raid bythe Indian Air Force in Balakotat the terror group's facility.

Union Home MinisterRajnath Singh has also decid-ed to skip Holi celebrations asa mark of respect to thePulwama martyrs.

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National Security AdvisorAjit Doval on Tuesday

said India has neither forgot-ten nor will forget thePulwama terror attack and thecountry's leadership is "capa-ble and courageous" to for-mulate effective responses tosuch acts.

While speaking at a CRPFfunction in Gurgaon, the NSAalso asked the paramilitaryforce to "constantly" enhancetheir professionalism, training,physical capabilities and quickresponse skills.

"What should we do?What should be our way, ouraim and our response andtime to respond? The coun-try's leadership is both capa-ble and courageous to (do)that," Doval said.

"The country will tackleall such challenges and wehave the courage to do this,"he said while addressing 80thraising day celebrations at theGroup Centre of the CRPFGurgaon.

Doval began his 16-minute speech by paying trib-utes to the 40 personnel whowere killed when a suicidebomber of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) collidedhis explosives-laden vehiclewith a bus of the paramilitaryconvoy on February 14.

Doval is considered to bethe architect of the air strikeon a JeM camp in Balakot inPakistan. The strike was car-ried out by the Indian AirForce (IAF) in retaliation tothe Pulwama terror incident,which was one of the worstattack on security personnel inKashmir in the three decadesof Islamist terrorism in theState.

The Pulwama attack wasa "very sad incident", Dovalsaid, adding that the countrywill always be indebted to themartyrs and their families.

He asked CRPF to "notlook back" as they have a gold-en future ahead.

"If your morale is high,then the country's future issafe," Doval, a former chief ofIntelligence Bureau, said.

World history is repletewith examples when weakinternal security mechanismsled to loss of independence,constitutional crises and col-lapse of Governments, he said.

Doval said after WorldWar II, out of the 37 nationsthat faced constitutional cri-sis, 28 suffered it because ofinternal security problems.

As the lead internal secu-rity force of the country, theCRPF has an important roleand onerous responsibility inensuring peace, and law andorder, he added.

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PNS: The Election Commissionon Tuesday issued a show-causenotice to Union Minister BabulSupriyo for putting out a cam-paign song, composed and sungby him, without prior permis-sion and against which TMC hassubmitted a complaint. Themusic-video was posted in socialmedia and some local TV newschannels aired it without certi-fication from the EC. "Thesinger-turned-politician, who isan MP from Asansol, has beenasked to reply within 48 hoursof receiving the notice," the ECsaid.

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In one of the rare instances,President Ram Nath

Kovind on Tuesday awardedShaurya Chakra to 16-year-old Irfan Ramzan Sheikh for fighting terrorists whoattacked his residence inShopian district of Jammu &Kashmir. Shaurya Chakra is usually awarded to armedforces and paramilitar y personnel for "gallantry oth-erwise in the face of theenemy".

This apart, Kirti Chakraswere awarded to Sowar VijayKumar of the ArmouredCorps and Constable PradipKumar Panda of the CentralReserve Police Force (CRPF).The two died in two separateoperations in Jammu &Kashmir. Besides Sheikh, rifle-man Jaiprakash Oraon andSepoy Ajay Kumar were alsoawarded Shaurya Chakras fortheir role in counter terroroperations in Manipur and

Jammu & Kashmir respec-tively.

During the interveningnight of October 16-17 of2017, terrorists cordoned offthe house of Sheikh. Hisfather Mohammad Ramzanwas an ex-sarpanch with affil-iat ions to the People 'sDemocratic Party (PDP).

When Sheikh, the eldestson of Mohammad Ramzan,opened the door, he foundthree terrorists in the veran-dah of the house armed withrifles and grenades. Sheikh,who was 14 years old then,put a brave fight with the ter-rorists by pouncing on them,which led to the terrorists torun away from area.Currently, studying in ClassX, Sheikh aspires to becomean Indian Police Service (IPS)officer.

The terrorists resorted toindiscriminate firing, result-ing in severe injur y toSheikh's father, who laterdied.

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New Delhi: The SupremeCourt has sought to knowfrom the relatives of miners,who were trapped in an illegalmine in Meghalaya threemonths ago, whether theywanted to recover the bodieswhich might have been"decomposed" by now.

15 miners were trapped onDecember 13 last year in anillegal coal mine at Ksan inEast Jaintia Hills district ofMeghalaya, about 3.7 km deepinside a forest, when waterfrom the nearby Lytein rivergushed into it.

Only two bodies havebeen recovered from the mineso far.

The top court is hearing aplea which had sought urgentsteps for rescuing the minerstrapped in the rat-hole mine.

A bench of Justices S ABobde and S K Kaul told thepetitioner to ask the familymembers of the trapped min-ers as to whether they want toget the bodies recovered.

"The petitioner is directedto ascertain from the relativesof the deceased if they wish tohave the bodies recoveredhaving regard to the fact thatthey may be already in a com-pletely decomposed condi-tion," the bench said in itsorder.

The top court also direct-ed Dr Sudhir Kumar,Hydrologist of Roorkee'sNational Institute ofHydrologist to visit the site andafter re-appraisal, submit areport pointing out if pumpingof water being done there forde-watering is adequate. PTI

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The India MeteorologicalDepartment (IMD) has

found that in 2018 citizensacross a vast swathe of Indiasuffered from heat wave forover 50 days spanning April,May and June. The heatwavedays were 25 in May and 17 inJune. Interestingly, April alsoreported 12 days of heatwavelast year. The IMD had forecastlast year that in 2019, alongwith expected increase in theduration and frequency of heatwaves, numbers of hot days arealso expected to increase.

As per the IMD, heatwaveis considered if maximum tem-perature of a station reaches atleast 40°C or more for plains,37°C or more for coastal sta-tions and at least 30°C or more

for Hilly regions.The regions falling under

the core heat wave zone areDelhi, Punjab, Haryana,Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh,Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh,Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh,Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand,West Bengal, Orissa andTelangana, and meteorologicalsubdivisions of Marathwada,Vidarbha, central Maharashtraand coastal Andhra Pradesh.

"The heat wave was report-ed over some parts ofRajasthan, Madhya Pradesh,Vidarbha, northeast, Jammu &Kashmir, Odisha, cCoastalAndhra Pradesh and alongwest coast. Over some parts ofKerala, maximum tempera-ture was greater than 90th per-centile for more than 50 to 60% of the days in April, May and

June," the IMD report said. According to report, there

were many underlying mech-anisms which contribute tothe development of a heatwave. "It can form when awarm high pressure systemstalls in a region. The high andthe associated anti cyclonicflow cause a sinking motionwhich leads to increased sur-face temperatures due to adia-batic compression. The out-ward anti cyclonic flow makesit difficult for other systems toenter the area. Variations in jetstream, flow of air that steersmovement of high and lowpressure areas which trans-ports hot dry air into a regionwere favorable conditions fordevelopment of heat wave," itsaid.

In 2018, there were 70

tropical cyclones all over theworld, while the long termaverage is 53. Due to impactsof warmer surface tempera-tures and more ocean heatwill be greater occurrence ofextreme weather events such astropical cyclones, heat waves,floods and droughts.

The IMD has predictedthe average temperature inmost parts of north Indianortheast regions, northwestIndia and southern parts ofwest coast to remain higherthan normal by 0.5-1.0 degreeCelsius during March, April,May this year. The rest part ofthe country is expected to seenormal temperature duringsummer. "The heat wave isexpected to hit 16 States due tovarious reasons in 2019.However, normal heat wave -

like conditions will prevail overthe country's core heat wavezone. Central and northernIndia are generally consideredthe core heat wave zones,"IMD officials said.

The past four years, from2015 to 2018, were the warmestever recorded years. In fact, the20 warmest years on recordhave occurred in the last 22years. This trend also sits inperfectly with the emissionrates of greenhouse gases(GHGs), which were at a recordhigh in 2018 according to theWorld MeteorologicalOrganisation (WMO).

As per latest Global climaterisk index 2019 report, theworld lost more than 5 lakhpeople to such events in the last20 years along with an economicloss of $ 3.47 trillion.

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RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat onTuesday paid tributes to late

BJP leader and former GoaChief Minister ManoharParrikar describing him as apolitical personality who alwaysworked for national interest.

Parrikar was diligent, com-mitted and focused in his goals,Bhagwat said in a statementissued by the RSS.

He said Parrikar, the formerhead of Sangh's Goa unit, was aleader who dedicated every-thing for development of his

state with due diligence.Talkingabout Parrikar's tenure asDefence Minister, Bhagwat saidhe guided the defence estab-lishment in a new direction.

"Amiable, studious, strong-willed, work-oriented and some-one who had no other thoughtin his mind except nationalinterest, Manohar Parrikar was,indeed, a rare public figure,"Bhagwat said, adding that he willalways be remembered as anideal social, political worker.

Parrikar, 63, passed away onMarch 17. He was battling withcancer for more than a year.

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The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) on

Tuesday said it has attached 13properties worth �1.22 croreowned by Mohammad ShafiShah and six other terroristsof Hizbul Mujahideen in ter-ror financing case againstPakistan-based chief of theoutf it Mohammad SyedSalahuddin.

The ED said the proper-ties belonged to MohammadShafi Shah, a resident ofBandipora, and six other res-idents of Jammu & Kashmir,who allegedly worked for theterror outfit.

The agency said it filed acriminal case of money laun-dering after taking cogni-sance of a NationalInvestigating Agency (NIA)charge sheet filed againstSalahuddin, Shah and othersunder the Unlawful ActivitiesPrevention Action (UAPA)and other sections of theIndian Penal Code.

"Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, themost active terror outfit inKashmir, has been responsiblefor funding terrorist andsecessionist activities inJammu & Kashmir.

"Headed by SyedSalahuddin, its self-styledcommander based out ofRawalpindi in Pakistan, itfunds terrorism on Indiansoil through monies organisedby a trust called JKART(Jammu & Kashmir AffecteesRelief Trust) in alleged con-nivance with the ISI and otherPakistan-based entities," theED said in a statement.

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New Delhi: Former SupremeCourt judge Justice PinakiChandra Ghose was on Tuesdayappointed as the country's firstLokpal, the anti-corruptionombudsman, according to anofficial communique.

Former Sashastra SeemaBal (SSB) chief ArchanaRamasundaram, ex-Maharashtra Chief SecretaryDinesh Kumar Jain, MahenderSingh and Indrajeet PrasadGautam have been appointed asnon-judicial members of Lokpal,it said.

Justices Dilip B Bhosale,Pradip Kumar Mohanty,Abhilasha Kumari and AjayKumar Tripathi have beenappointed as judicial membersin the anti-corruption ombuds-man, the communique issued by

Rashtrapati Bhavan said.These appointments were

recommended by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi-ledselection committee andapproved by President RamNath Kovind.

"The above appointmentswill take effect from the datesthey assume charge of theirrespective offices," it said.

Justice Ghose, 66, retired asSupreme Court judge in May

2017. He is a member of theNational Human RightsCommission (NHRC) sinceJune 29, 2017.

These appointments arelikely to trigger a political con-troversy as Congress leaderMallikarjun Kharge, who ismember of the Lokpal selectionpanel, had boycotted its latestmeet on Friday.

The Lokpal and LokayuktaAct, which envisages appoint-ment of a Lokpal at the Centreand Lokayuktas in states to lookinto cases of corruption againstcertain categories of public ser-vants, was passed on 2013.

The Appointments comes afortnight after the SupremeCourt asked Attorney General KK Venugopal to inform it with-in 10 days about a possible date

for meeting of the selectioncommittee.

A bench of Chief JusticeRanjan Gogoi and Justices S ANazeer and Sanjiv Khanna wason March 7 informed byVenugopal that the Lokpalsearch committee headed by for-mer apex court judge RanjanaPrakash Desai recommendedthree panels of names to theselection committee for appoint-ment of chairperson, judicialand non-judicial members in theanti-graft body.

The attorney general hadtold the bench that he will askthe secretary of the Departmentof Personnel and Training toensure that the meeting of theselection committee is con-vened as early as possible.

Following the court's pro-

ceedings, a meeting of selectionpanel was held on March 15.

The Supreme Court had onJanuary 17 set up a February-end deadline for the Lokpalsearch committee to send apanel of names who could beconsidered for the appointmentas its chairman and members.

According to rules, there isprovision for a chairperson anda maximum of eight membersin the Lokpal panel. Of these,four need to be judicial mem-bers.

Not less than 50 per cent ofthe members of the Lokpal shallbe from amongst the personsbelonging to the ScheduledCastes, the Scheduled Tribes,Other Backward Classes,minorities and women, the rulessay. PTI

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New Delhi: India andPakistan on Tuesday held ameeting of technical expertsto discuss issues related to theKartarpur corridor, includ-ing its alignment, coordinates,and other engineering aspectsof the proposed crossingpoints, sources said.

The meeting comes daysafter the two countries heldtalks to finalise the modalitiesfor the corridor linkingGurudwara Darbar Sahib inthe Pakistani town ofKartarpur with the Gurdaspurdistrict in Punjab.

The technical meeting atthe level of experts, includingengineers and surveyors, washeld at "proposed zero points"

in the follow up to the deci-sion reached on the March 14meeting, the sources said.

India has been seekingthis meeting for long time andhad even suggested to hold iton Februar y 15, 2019.Pakistan, however, had linkedit to the meeting on the draftagreement.

The experts discussed thealignment of the corridor, thecoordinates, and the engi-neering aspects of the pro-posed crossing points, thesources said.

The outcomes fromTuesday's site visit and surveywould be further discussed ata meeting on April 2, theysaid. PTI

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Page 3: ˇ’!˜ (’ˇ˙˘ & ) ˜!...in a multi-crore fodder scam. The Mahagathbandhan in Bihar formally acknowledges Congress, RJD, RLSP, HAM, Sharad Yadav’s Loktantrik ... ethics” by

chhattisgarh 03RAIPUR | WEDNESDAY | MARCH 20, 2019

STAFF REPORTER n RAIPUR

The Bahujan Samaj Party(BSP) on Tuesday

announced its candidates forthe state’s six parliamentaryconstituencies, out of 11, with-out even consulting its poten-tial ally, the Janta CongressChhattisgarh (JCC-J).

The snub came as a majorembarrassment for the JCC-J,whose supremo Ajit Jogiexpressed surprise over thedevelopment, and said hewould discuss the matter withthe BSP chief Mayawati.

Both the parties jointlyfought the 2018 assembly elec-tions, without making muchimpact. The BSP won only twoseats, while the JCC-J baggedfive seats in the 90-memberassembly.

BSP Lok Sabha candidatesare Dauram Ratnakar fromJanjgir Champa, Sube SinghDhruve from Kanker, AyturamMandavi from Bastar, GitanjaliSingh from Durg, Maya Bhagatfrom Surguja and InnocentKujur from Raigarh.

BSP’s state presidentHemant Poyam, however, didnot see the unilateralannouncement of candidates asan end to the alliance.

Talking to The Pioneer hesaid after Holi, a joint meetingof both the parties would beconvened to sort out seat allo-cation.

He said possibility of a tie-up with the JCC-J did not endyet as his party has set aside fiveseats for its prospective alliancepartner.

BSP ‘ditches’ JCC (J), unilaterallynames six candidates

STAFF REPORTER n RAJNANDGAON

Awoman Maoist was gunned downon Tuesday in a brief encounter

with security forces in Rajnandgaondistrict, police said.

The gunfight took place in the for-est of Gatapar police station area bor-dering Madhya Pradesh, when a jointteam of security forces from MP andChhattisgarh was carrying out an anti-naxal operation.

After the encounter got over, the

body of a woman ultra and an auto-matic weapon were recovered from thespot. More details are awaited.

Since last few days, police haveintensified anti-Naxal operations in theforests that fall on the tri-junction ofRajnandgaon, Balaghat (MadhyaPradesh) and Gondia (Maharashtra) inview of Lok Sabha elections.

Chhattisgarh will vote in threephases for 11 Lok Sabha seats on April11, April 18 and April 23.

The snub cameas a major

embarrassmentfor the JCC-J,

whose supremoAjit Jogi

expressedsurprise over

thedevelopment,and said he

would discussthe matter withthe BSP chief

Mayawati

Woman ultra gunneddown in RajnandgaonSince last few days, police haveintensified anti-Naxal operations in theforests that fall on the tri-junction ofRajnandgaon, Balaghat (MadhyaPradesh) and Gondia (Maharashtra) inview of Lok Sabha elections

STAFF REPORTER n JAGDALPUR

ACoBRA constable killed hiswife after she reportedly tried

to stop him from going to electionduty and later tried to make it looklike a suicide, police said here onTuesday.

The constable has been arrestedfor the crime.

“Constable Guruveer Singhwho lived with his wife in the head-quarters of CRPF’s 201 CoBRA bat-talion had strangled his wife

Anupriya Gautam at his govern-ment quarters,” Jagdalpur citysuperintendent of police (CSP),Hemsagar Sidar informed.

The CSP said the constablestrangulated his wife on March 16after the couple had a heated argu-ment over Guruveer Singh going foran election duty.

After committing the murderSingh informed Nagarnar policethat his wife had committed suicide.

However, the post-mortem

report and evidences gathered dur-ing investigation punched hole inGuruveer Singh’s claim and so hewas subjected to thorough interro-gation.

During interrogation he con-fessed to the crime, the CSP men-tioned.

He was booked under Section302 (Murder) and 201 (Causing dis-appearance of evidence of offence)of Indian Penal Code (IPC). He hasbeen sent to jail on judicial remand,police said.

Constable kills wife,pretends it to be suicideThe constable strangulated his wife onMarch 16 after the couple had a heatedargument over his going to an electionduty : Police

STAFF REPORTER n RAIPUR

Air Marshal M Baladitya, VSM,who has been conferred with the

prestigious Presidential award of ‘AtiVishisht Seva Medal’ on the RepublicDay, formally received the Medalfrom President Ram Nath Kovind at aglittering ceremony held atRashtrapati Bhavan on Tuesday.

It was particularly a proudmoment for Chhattisgarh as AirMarshal Baladitya did his schoolingand graduation in two of the state’spremier educational institutes.

Currently he is serving as seniormaintenance staff officer (SMSO) atHQ Maintenance Command,Nagpur.

Basant Kumar B Pande, groupcaptain and public relation officer,defence ministry, informed thatBaladitya did his schooling fromSouth Eastern Railway EnglishMedium School at Bilaspur apartfrom the Bishop Cotton School,

Nagpur. He graduated in 1981from the CMD College, anothernoted educational institution inBilaspur.

Air Marshal Baladitya joined theIndian Air Force in 1982. He is thefirst armed forces officer to attain thethree-star rank of Air Marshal fromChattisgarh. He was commissioned in1983 in the logistics branch of theIndian Air Force.

He possesses Master’s Degree inDefence Studies and is an alumnus ofDefence Services Staff College,Wellington and National DefenceCollege, New Delhi, Pandey said.

He has held several command andstaff appointments both at field unitsand Air headquarters during his ongo-ing career.

The Air Marshal is a keen sports-man and represented Services inNationals in Squash. He was the AirForce’s squash champion on five occa-sions, Pandey added.

Air Marshal M Baladitya’s C’garh connection

Air Marshal M Baladitya receiving award from the President of India.

STAFF REPORTER nRAIPUR

Holi revellers in thecapital city will be

under the watchful eye ofthe city police who willtake stern action againsttrouble makers and twowheelers, carrying two pil-lion riders.

Additional superinten-dent of police (City)Prafull Thakur said thataround 80 police teamswould take rounds of thecity during Holi in order toavert any untoward inci-dent.

The capital city hasbeen divided in certainsectors. Commandants,ASPs and gazetted officialswould be deployed in

order to check the nuisanceduring the festival, the officialsaid.

As per the instructions ofthe district administrationmasks would be ban and inorder to prevent festiverevellers from being masked,police are already seizing themfrom the shops, he added.

There would be twopatrolling teams under eachpolice station of the city toaccompany the station housein-charges during vigil andbike patrolling would also bedone.

Barricading would bedone at certain check pointsand 112 vehicles would bepatrolling the city foremergency help, the policeofficer said.

Holi revellers to be under police scanner in Raipur

STAFF REPORTER n RAIPUR

In a bid to promote Hindi lan-guage among young genera-

tion, the Bank of Baroda onTuesday felicitated with cashreward two youths of the statewho achieved the first and sec-ond position respectively inUniversity examinations.

At a programme held at PtRavishankar Shukla University(Pt RSU) auditorium, Dilharan

Kumar Patel and Ms KunjanSahu were felicitated.

Vice chancellor of Pt RSUDr Keshri Lal Verma was presenton the occasion as chief guestwhile head of the Hindi depart-ment, Dr Shail Sharma, andPrashant Sharma deputy region-al manager of the BoB alsograced the occasion along withbank officials, faculties and stu-dents of the university.

STAFF REPORTER n RAIPUR

To ensure maximum participation of elec-tors in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections,

Raipur district electoral officer has directed toconstitute ‘voterawareness forum’ in allthe governmentoffices.

Raipur ZilaPanchayat chief execu-tive officer and SVEEPnodal officer GauravKumar Singh directedthat wherever theforum has not yetbeen constituted, itshould be done soon.

Already under‘Mor Raipur-VoteRaipur’ programme,public awareness pro-grammes were beingheld at different

places.Under this series, on March 25 at 11.00

am in all the offices a pledge event will beorganised.

On the occasion,all the head of depart-ments, officials andemployees will takethe pledge to cast theirvote without fail andalso motivate nearbypeople. It will be heldfrom district to villageto ward level. Singhduring the meetingadministered oath tothe officials present.They were instructedto organise elector’sawareness programmeso that more peopleare motivated to usetheir franchise.

‘Pledge to vote’ in alloffices of Raipur on Mar 25

Officials paste sticker‘Mor Raipur-Vote

Raipur’ on vehiclesRAIPUR: To promote awareness aboutthe need to vote, various awareness pro-grammes are being conducted in Raipurdistrict.

As part of such programmes, seniorsuperintendent of polcie Arif Shaikh,additional collector Ashutosh Pandeyand others pasted stickers that carries‘Mor Raipur-Vote Raipur’ slogan onfront glass of government and privatevehicles on Tuesday.

BoB felicitates meritoriousstudents of Hindi

STAFF REPORTER n RAIPUR

Chief Minister BhupeshBaghel has directed

Chhattisgarh police not toignore human rights of com-mon people while carrying outanti-Naxal operations.

The directives came duringthe high-level UnifiedCommand meeting that waschaired by chief minister onTuesday.

Notably, on several occa-sions human rights activists andsocial workers have alleged thatChhattisgarh police blatantlyviolated human rights whilecarrying out anti-Naxal opera-tions, especially in Bastarregion.

During the meeting, theCM asked police officials tocome up with a working planfor development of Naxal affect-

ed regions while consideringthe needs and safety of peopleliving there.

Earlier, director general ofpolice (naxal operations)Girdhari Nayak gave a detailedpresentation before the chiefminister about current scenario

of Left-wing extremism inChhattisgarh.

Home MinisterTamradhwaj Sahu, who was alsopresent in the meeting, askedthe different police and para-military forces dealing withinsurgency in the state to sit

together and come up with aneffective strategy to deal withNaxals. He also directed them toenhance coordination betweendifferent forces.

Later, the Baghel instructedofficials to hold the unifiedcommand meetings on a regularinterval.

Director general of policeDM Awasthi presented his sug-gestions for better coordination,and use of resources for effec-tively tackling Naxals.

Chief secretary Sunil Kujur,joint director, IntelligenceBureua, DG (Naxal operations),DG (Intelligence), DG(Planning/management & tech-nical services), ADG(Admin/Chhattisgarh ArmedForces) and senior officials ofcentral paramilitary forces tookpart in the meeting.

CM directs security forcesnot to ignore ‘human rights’

Page 4: ˇ’!˜ (’ˇ˙˘ & ) ˜!...in a multi-crore fodder scam. The Mahagathbandhan in Bihar formally acknowledges Congress, RJD, RLSP, HAM, Sharad Yadav’s Loktantrik ... ethics” by

RAIPUR | WEDNESDAY | MARCH 20, 2019 nation 04

MONIKA MALIK n CHANDIGARH

Astar-studded contestappears to be on the anvil

in Amritsar with the saffronparty planning to cast eitherSunny Deol, Poonam Dhillonor Harbhajan Singh in theforthcoming political block-buster, releasing on May 19.

The great political thrillermay also star Congress RajyaSabha MP Partap Singh Bajwaas Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)candidate from Gurdaspur.

The names came up fordiscussion during the electionpanel meeting of the state BJPon Tuesday to decide on itscandidates for the Lok Sabhaelections held under the lead-ership of state party affairs’ in-charge Capt Abhimanyu.Punjab BJP president ShwetMalik, Union Minister VijaySampla, former state unit chiefsAshwani Sharma, KamalSharma, Prof RajinderBhandari, among others werepresent in the meeting.

The BJP contests on threeseats, out of total 13 in Punjab

in alliance with the ShiromaniAkali Dal (SAD) which fieldsits candidates on the remaining10 seats. The BJP contests onAmritsar, Hoshiarpur, andGurdaspur seats.

Presently, BJP has just oneMP in the Lok Sabha, VijaySampla from Hoshiarpur, whois also the Union Minister ofState for Social Justice andEmpowerment. Sampla, theformer state unit chief who isthe frontrunner for the seat, isfacing challenge from his bêtenoire Som Parkash — partyMLA from Phagwara.

The saffron brigade hadwon Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seatin 2014. But after its sitting MPand former Union MinisterVinod Khanna’s death, the partylost the seat to Congress’ SunilJakhar in 2017 by-election.

As the Congress hasreportedly decided to re-nom-inate Jakhar from Gurdaspur,another ticket aspirant and

Gurdaspur’s for-mer MP PartapSingh Bajwaappeared to havebeen leftaggrieved.

Congress’ former State unitpresident, Bajwa was removedfrom the post and was replacedby Capt Amarinder Singh afterthe party’s poor performance in2014 elections with the sittingGurdaspur MP himself failingto secure his own seat.

Sharing close ties with theparty’s national president RahulGandhi, he was later accom-modated in the Rajya Sabha.The State unit president SunilJakhar was selected over himfor Gurdaspur byelection whosucceeded.

Now, he has again staked

claims for the partyticket from his homeconstituency. But theparty, it has beenlearnt, has finalised

Jakhar as its candidate.Bajwa, a fierce critic of

Chief Minister CaptAmarinder, has all along beenopenly speaking against theCongress Government in theState. And sources in the stateBJP unit maintained that hewas in touch with the party and

ready to give up “hand” andhold “lotus” in case he wasgiven Gurdaspur ticket.

“He is not happy in theCongress and is vocal againstthe Government. He could bea strong candidate againstJakhar if talks materialise. Hehas expressed his willingnessthrough our leader. But every-thing is in initial stages. Wehave to talk to the high com-mand before taking any deci-sion,” a senior BJP leader toldThe Pioneer requestinganonymity.

Other than Bajwa, namesof Vinod Khanna’s wife KavitaKhanna, businessman-cum-politician Swarna Salaria, BJP’sformer state president AshwaniSharma, former MinisterMaster Mohan Lal, MLADinesh Babbu, NarinderParmar and Jagdish Sahaniwere discussed.

After suffering a defeat bymore than two lakh votes in

2014 elections, the saffron partyis preparing to field a strongcandidate for Amritsar seat,which witnessed a top-notchelectoral fight between CaptAmarinder and BJP stalwartArun Jaitley during previousgeneral elections. BJP had alsolost the seat in 2017 byelection.

A BJP leader said names ofIndian cricketer HarbhajanSingh, popularly known asBhajji, Bollywood super-stars Sunny Deol andPoonam Dhillon were con-sidered for the party ticketfrom the holy city.

Besides, the names ofPunjab JP president ShwetMalik, Rajinder Mohan SinghChhina who unsuccessfullycontested 2017 byelection, BJPnational secretary TarunChugh, and former MinisterAnil Joshi was also in the reck-oning.

The names would be “per-sonally” handed over to the

party high command whichwould take the final call.

“We have discussed candi-dates’ names for Lok Sabhaelections. We have prepared apanel of names for three LokSabha seats and we will send itto the party high commandand the party’s central parlia-mentary board will be finalisethe name of the candidates,”said Malik after the meeting.

BJP LOOKS AT STARS IN PUNJAB

PNS n CHANDIGARH

In Punjab, the craze for self-ies is driving people

crazy so much so that even onan app ,meant for poll relatedcomplaints, they are uploadingselfies and random pictures of trees, lamps and computerscreens. The ElectionCommission had launched thecitizens’ vigil app, also knownas ‘cVIGIL’, to report violationof the model code of conduct.

Through the application,people can report any poll-related violation by sharingphotos or videos.

But in Punjab, about 60 percent complaints receivedthrough the app were frivolous,official said. The office ofPunjab’s chief electoral officerhas so far received 204 com-plaints through ‘cVIGIL’, out ofwhich 119 have been foundfrivolous, an official said.

“Among 119 complaints,we have received selfies andirrelevant photographs of com-puter screen keyboard, trees,lamps, blankets etc through themobile application from peoplefrom different districts inPunjab,” he said. However, theoffice of Punjab CEO found 85

complaints genuine.“Most of these complaints

were related to pasting ofposters and banners.Appropriate action was takenafter passing necessary direc-tions to the officials in districtsconcerned,” the official said.

One of the complaints wasalso related to transportation ofliquor in a vehicle, he said. Theoffice advised citizens to reportonly violation of model code ofconduct. “People should usethis mobile app wisely so as tohighlight only the poll-relatedviolations,” the official said.

‘cVIGIL’ is being used for

the first time in the Lok Sabhaelections. It was earlier used inthe Assembly elections inMadhya Pradesh, Rajasthanand Chhattisgarh.

Once the complaint islodged through ‘cVIGIL’, it is tobe addressed within 100 min-utes. The app has in-built fea-tures to prevent its misuse. Itwill receive complaints onlyabout poll-related violations.

The user gets five minutesto report an incident after hav-ing clicked a picture or a video.It does not allow uploading ofthe pre-recorded or old imagesand videos.

Selfies uploaded on app meantfor poll-related complaints

q The Election Commission had launched the citizens’ vigil app, alsoknown as ‘cVIGIL’, to report violation of the model code of conduct

q Through the application, people can reportany poll-related violation by sharing photosor videoq But in Punjab, about 60 per cent

complaints received through the appwere frivolous

q The office of Punjab’s chiefelectoral officer has so farreceived 204 complaintsthrough ‘cVIGIL’, out of which119 have been found frivolous

PNS n BHUBANESWAR

Since the BJP formedGovernment in 2014 at the

Centre under leadership ofNarendra Modi, concertedefforts are on to weaken theEast Coast Railway (ECoR)zone, alleged PCC presidentNiranjan Patnaik.

Odisha’s contribution tothe Indian Railways’ total earn-ing is very large and Odisha

was put underSouth EasternRailway Zonefor a longtime.

A f t e rr e p e a t e dprotests andefforts of theC o n g r e s sparty, EasternCoastal Zonewas formedand in 1996and an Officeron Specialduty wasappointed atBhubaneswar.I n i t i a l l y ,Khorda Roaddivision waskept under thezone. Later in

2003, the zone was inaugurat-ed. Parts of Andhra,Chhattisgarh were under thiszone including Odisha, saidPatnaik.

However, now before elec-tion, one South Coast Zone hasbeen formed with headquarterat Visakhapatnam. Waltair divi-sion of East Coast Railway hasbeen dragged away and keptunder the new zone withVijayawada division supervi-sion. This is blatantly anti-Odisha decision which hashurt the sentiments of peopleof Odisha. But it is astonishingthat the two political partiesBJD and BJP, which alwaysshed crocodile tears for Odisha,are silent on the issue, Patnaikasserted.

Likewise, the Modi

Government has decided toshift the Railway ElectrificationOffice from Bhubaneswar toBengaluru. This is anotherattempt of Modi to wooKarnataka voters who havealready rejected him in theAssembly poll.

The shifting process willbe completed by March 31.After that 4 railway electrifica-tion project work in Odishawill be under Danapur office.So the future of these projectsamounting `350 crore is indark.

Odias must raise theirvoice against such step moth-erly attitude of Centre and thedeafening silence of BJD on thisand should give a befittingreply to them in the upcomingelections, urged Patnaik.

ECOR BBIFURCATION, RREO SSHIFT‘BJP woos AP, K’taka at Odisha’s cost’

p Odisha’s contribution to the Indian Railways’ total earning is verylarge and Odisha has been put under South Eastern Railway Zonefor a long time. After repeated protests and efforts of the Congressparty, Eastern Coastal Zone was formed in 1996 and an Officer onSpecial Duty was appointed at Bhubaneswar. Initially, Khorda Roaddivision was kept under the zone. Later in 2003, the zone wasinaugurated. Parts of Andhra, Chhattisgarh were under this zoneincluding Odisha, said Patnaik

p Likewise, the Modi Government has decided to shift the RailwayElectrification Office from Bhubaneswar to Bengaluru. This isanother attempt of Modi to woo Karnataka voters who have alreadyrejected him in the Assembly poll

PARVINDER BHATIA nJAMSHEDPUR

Breaking the past traditions,the inmates will add colour

to Holi at Ghaghidih CentralJail. The central jail authority isgearing up for ‘Holika Dahan’,serving delicious food and alsoplaying with colour on theoccasion of festival colours. Theidea is to make the 1,850 plusjail-inmates to feel at home.

Superintendent ofGhaghidih Central Jail,Satyendra Chaudhury, said hehas tried to make the Holi thisyear a special event inside thecentral prison.

“We want the inmates toalso enjoy their traditional fes-tival. They will soak in the spir-it of Holi. We are making thearrangement of Holi in such away that they don’t miss theirhomes,” said Chaudhury.

The central jail superin-tendent informed that theHolika Dahan, a ritual which isobserved on the eve of Holi,will be done on Wednesdayevening.

“As per the plans, HolikaDahan will be done on theprison premises and it will becarried out by the officialBut allthe other rituals will be cele-brated inside the centralprison,” said the senior prisonofficer.

He said for ensuring a

memorable Holi, the central jailadministration has brought inadequate amount of ‘gulal’ ofvarious colour and also thecolour to be mixed with waterfor the revellers of Holi.

“Moreover, all the inmateswill be served with muttoncurry and those who are veg-etarian or would not eat non-veg on Thursday will be serveddifferent delicacy and sweets,”said central jail superinten-dent.

Chaudhury said musicaland cultural programme willalso be presented during theHoli celebration for which thejail administration has pro-vided musical instruments tothe inmates.

Located in the south-east-ern fringe of the city,Ghaghidih Central Jail hasover 1,850 prisoners.

Notably, the GhaghidihCentral Jail is spread over anarea of 20 acres -set up on aslarge an area as Birsa MundaCentral Jail in Hotwar, Ranchi.Spread over 20 acres of land, the Ghaghidih CentralJail has a prisoners’ capacity of1,447.

There are a total of 11trained jail guards, includingthree female ones. In addition,there are 65 hired securityguards, including ex-service-men and Home Guard per-sonnel.

Inmates set to addcolour to Holi

Ghaghidih Central Jail

A view of Ghaghidih Central Jail Pioneer photo

Students play with colours during ‘Holi’ celebrations, at Guru Nanak Dev Universityin Amritsar on Tuesday PTI

Bhubaneswar: The OppositionCongress, which was routed inOdisha in the 2014 Lok Sabhapolls and put up a poor per-formance in the simultaneousassembly elections, has fielded27 new faces so far. The first listof 42 candidates for Odisha wasreleased by the AICC onMonday night - 36 for theAssembly and six for Lok Sabha

seats. As per the list there arenew candidates for four LokSabha and 23 Assembly seats inthe state.

The four new candidatesfor the parliamentary seats arePradeep Kumar Devta(Bargarh), George Tirkey(Sundergarh), Manoj KumarAcharya (Kandhamal) and VChandrasekhar Naidu

(Berhampur). The two othersare Bhakta Charan Das(Kalahandi) AND PradipMajhi (Nabarangpur).

The list, however, does notcontain name of candidates fornine assembly seats and theKoraput Lok Sabha seat, pollingfor which is scheduled in thefirst phase on April 11.

PTI

Cong candidates list has 27 new faces in Odisha

Page 5: ˇ’!˜ (’ˇ˙˘ & ) ˜!...in a multi-crore fodder scam. The Mahagathbandhan in Bihar formally acknowledges Congress, RJD, RLSP, HAM, Sharad Yadav’s Loktantrik ... ethics” by

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Opposition leader BilawalBhutto Zardari on Tuesday

demand the sacking of threeministers in the Imran Khan-led Pakistan Government whohe said backed “banned outfits”and their training camps, evenas the ruling PTI accused himof portraying the country in a‘negative light’.

Bilawal, Chairman of thePakistan Peoples Party (PPP)has been pressing the govern-ment of Prime Minister Khanto dismiss the Ministers whobacked terror outfits amidstintense international pressureon Pakistan to rein in the mil-itant outfits operating in thecountry after the Pulwama ter-ror strike.

Bilawal said he had beendeclared “anti-state” over hisdemand to sack the three min-isters, whom he said, wereassociated with the bannedoutfits. The 30-year-old oppo-sition leader has not yet namedthe three ministers.

“The government hasresponded to my demand tosack ministers associated withbanned outfits by declaringme anti-state, issuing deaththreats & NationalAccountability Bureau (NAB)notices.

“None of this deters usfrom our principle stand; formjoint NSC parliamentary com-mittee & act against bannedoutfits,” he tweeted.

“I demand a joint parlia-

mentary committee for imple-mentation of National ActionPlan and removal of all threefederal ministers for their con-nection with the extremistorganisations. If our demandsare not met we would not sup-port the government over anymove,” said Bilawal.

The three federal ministersare “hands-in-glove” with theterrorists. I don’t want to dis-close their names, but will doso if the government fails totake action against them,” hesaid last Thursday.

During the weekend,Bilawal raised the issue whileaddressing the PPP’s Sindhleaders while chairing the party’s provincial councilmeeting.

He demanded the removalof three federal ministers fortheir alleged connections withthe banned outfits and accusedKhan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of winning gener-al elections in 2018 with thehelp of proscribed organisa-

tions.He warned the govern-

ment that it will not get anysupport from the PPP on anymove if it did not take seriousaction against such elementswithin its ranks and implementthe National Action Plan(NAP) with true spirit.

On Tuesday, PTI leadershit back at Bilawal after heagain demanded sacking ofthe ministers who he claimedwere associated with thebanned outfits.

PTI Senator Faisal Javed,reacting to the allegations, saidBilawal was “busy in portray-ing Pakistan in a negative light”.

“Bilawal should beashamed of trying to pleaseanti-Pakistan elements. Heshould tell the nation whoselanguage he has been speaking,”he said.

“Pakistan has emerged as asymbol of peace for the world,”Javed claimed.

Finance Minister AsadUmar, when asked by areporter what he thought of theallegations, said that the partiesthat supported him duringelection campaigns “havethemselves been victims of ter-rorism as well.”

“There has been a policy ofmaking excuses for a long timenow... If he [Bilawal] doesn’tbelieve in this policy then heshould change it,” the close aideof Prime Minister Khan wasquoted as saying by Geo News.

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Scientists have developed anovel antimicrobial coating

that can prevent drug-resistantbacterial contaminationsaboard the International Space Station (ISS), and helpprotect astronauts in their jour-ney beyond the Moon andMars.

Extreme spaceflight con-ditions can force these bacteriato toughen up, while simulta-neously lowering the immunedefenses of the stressed, isolat-ed crew. These effects and therisk of infection grow withmission duration.

“Spaceflight can turnharmless bacteria into potentialpathogens,” said ElisabethGrohmann of Beuth Universityof Applied Sciences Berlin inGermany.

“Just as stress hormonesleave astronauts vulnerable toinfection, the bacteria they

carry become hardier — devel-oping thick protective coatingsand resistance to antibiotics —and more vigorous, multiplyingand metabolising faster,” saidGrohmann.

To make matters worse, thegenes responsible for thesenew traits can be readily sharedamong different species of bac-teria, via direct contact or in the‘matrix’ of slime they secrete.

To address this problem,researchers tested a newantimicrobial coating, AGXX,on a contamination-prone sur-face aboard the ISS: the toiletdoor.

“AGXX contains both silverand ruthenium, conditioned bya vitamin derivative, and it killsall kinds of bacteria as well ascertain fungi, yeasts and virus-es. The effects are similar tobleach — except the coating isself-regenerating so it nevergets used up,” said Grohmann.

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China’s goth community post-ed selfies wearing black lip-

stick and sombre white makeupin an online protest over a peerwho was forced to remove hermakeup before boarding a sub-way car.

The social media blitzprompted an apology from thetransport company in the south-ern city of Guangzhou.

Goths are a subcultureknown for their black clothes andmakeup — with a popular seg-ment known as “Gothic Lolita”

whose members dress in darkoutfits inspired by Victoriandolls. Writing about theencounter on her Weibo socialmedia account, the woman, whogoes by the username EIGA-InMy Heart, said she was stoppedby a female security officer at aGuangzhou metro station onMarch 10 after her makeup wasdeemed “too scary”.

“On the basis of what lawam I being stopped and my timebeing wasted? “If there is, I willmake a banner for the station ofmy own expense stating: thickmakeup and goth outfits are

prohibited on the metro,” shewrote, adding that it was not thefirst time this has happened toher.

The community jumped toher defence on social media,posting selfies in full make up onTwitter-like Weibo using thehashtag,#ASelfieForTheGuangzhouMetro.

In a country where anythingdeemed subversive and coun-terculture can be subject to cen-sorship, the hashtag has quick-ly gained traction, attractingthousands of posts and somenearly 5.8 million views.

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German Chancellor AngelaMerkel said Tuesday she

would struggle until the lastpossible moment to achieve anorderly Brexit, saying the inter-ests of Germany, Britain and theEU were at stake.

“I will fight to the last hourof the deadline on March 29 foran orderly exit (of Britain fromthe European Union),” she tolda conference in Berlin.

“We don’t have a lot of timefor it but still have a few days.”Merkel admitted she had beensurprised by the bombshellannouncement on Monday byHouse of Commons speakerJohn Bercow that he could notput Prime Minister TheresaMay’s Brexit plan to anothervote in its current form.

“I must confess that I wasnot familiar with the rules of

order of the British parliamentfrom the 17th century,” shesaid with a wry smile.

And she stressed ahead ofa crunch EU summit in BrusselsThursday and Friday at whichBrexit is to take centre stage thatthe ball remained in London’scourt to plot the way forward.

“I am as of now unable tosay what my position will be onThursday because it depends onwhat Theresa May presents,what the situation looks like,(and) what may still happen inparliament,” she said.

Merkel stressed that avoid-ing Britain crashing out of theEU without an exit deal was inthe fundamental interest of allsides. “We, together as the other27 (EU member states), willreact in an adequate mannerand the less people play guess-ing games, the easier it will be,”she said.

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The leafy New Zealand citywhere a self-proclaimed

racist fatally shot 50 people atmosques during Friday prayersis known for its picturesquemeandering river and Englishheritage.

For decades, Christchurchhas also been the center of thecountry’s small but persistentwhite supremacist movement.

An expert on such fringegroups says it’s probably morethan coincidence that theaccused mosque shooter, 28-year-old Australian BrentonTarrant, settled in the region,known for a whiter demo-graphic than the country’snorth, after frequently travel-ling abroad in 2016-2018 inwhat appears to have been anextreme-right pilgrimage.

He went mostly to areas ofEurope with a long history ofsectarian dispute, includingclashes between RenaissanceEurope and the OttomanEmpire and the breakup ofYugoslavia following its ethnicand religious conflicts.

The attack has upendedNew Zealand’s image as one ofthe world’s safest and most tol-erant countries. It also hashighlighted apparent failings bysecurity and intelligence ser-vices to view white suprema-cists as a real threat or to takeseriously warnings fromMuslim groups of a rise inIslamophobic and xenophobicincidents in recent years.

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Dutch prosecutors and policesaid they were “seriously”

investigating a terrorist motivefor the Utrecht tram attackbecause of evidence including aletter found in the main suspect’sgetaway car.

“So far, a terrorist motive isseriously being taken intoaccount. This is based on a let-ter found in the getaway caramong other things and thenature of the facts,” they said ina joint statement.

Turkish-born main suspectGokmen Tanis, 37, and twounnamed men from Utrecht

aged 23 and 27 remain in cus-tody. Police found a red RenaultClio after Monday’s attack whichthey said he had used to flee.

The three people who diedin the shooting were a 19-year-old woman from Vianen, whichis near Utrecht, and two menaged 28 and 49 from Utrechtitself, the statement said.

“So far our investigationhas established no link betweenthe main suspect and the vic-tims,” police and prosecutorsadded. Dutch and Turkishmedia reports had previouslyreported that a family disputemay have been the motive forthe shooting.

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Some 40 people were pre-ventively evacuated from a

building near to EuropeanUnion headquarters in Brusselsafter a bomb threat was sent toa company linked to the EU.

Police spokeswoman IlseVan de Keere said a “telephonebomb threat” was madeTuesday morning to a

consulting office linked tothe EU’s executive Commissionand that it has been takenseriously.

Part of the street has beensealed off and sniffer dogshave been sent to the scene.

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Page 6: ˇ’!˜ (’ˇ˙˘ & ) ˜!...in a multi-crore fodder scam. The Mahagathbandhan in Bihar formally acknowledges Congress, RJD, RLSP, HAM, Sharad Yadav’s Loktantrik ... ethics” by

The inconclusive vote in theBritish Parliament on Brexithas brought to the surface seri-ous issues that affect not onlythe members of the European

Union (EU) but hold major implicationsfor the rest of the world. The EU has mem-bership of countries, which were at logger-heads and often at war in the past, but havenow come together in a remarkable unionwhich, perhaps, arouses jealousy amongsome others and upsets the global balanceof power among other heavyweights. Forinstance, the US President has derided theEU and its relevance to global develop-ments. It was not long ago that former USPresident George W Bush talked about anew Europe and an old Europe as thoughhe wished to create divisions between thetwo groups. However, what the Britishhave done with Brexit in some sense rep-resents a retreat from their own welfareand mutual benefits that accrued withinthe EU. Yet, it must be understood thatsuch decisions are often based on emotionand cultural values.

For those in South Asia, who dismay atthe collapse of any cooperation betweenSaarc nations, the EU still evokes consider-able admiration. Today’s EU started with theformation of a European coal and steel com-munity with only six countries. This wasthen followed by what was designated as theEuropean Economic Community, but nowthe EU, including Britain, covers 28 differ-ent nations in Europe. What has been par-ticularly significant is the fact that severalcountries of Europe, which were not as pros-perous as some of the more dynamiceconomies such as West Germany, Britainand even Italy, have prospered substantial-ly not only due to open trade policies with-in the EU but also because of the collectiveeconomic support provided to economiesless prosperous than theirs in terms ofgrants, capacity building for human capitaland investments in infrastructure.

The result is that today, many countries,which 30 years ago were lagging behind,appear to have progressed significantly,including Portugal, Spain and those mem-bers that are now in the Balkans.Significantly, therefore, Western Balkancountries now clearly aspire to becomingmembers of the EU. However, they wouldhave to attain a certain set of conditions andstandards before they qualify and before theyget accepted into the Union. Some wouldrequire the firm establishment of democra-cy in these countries, an established rule oflaw and, therefore, institutions such as arobust judiciary. Also necessary would bea much greater growth in GDP because ifthere are major disparities in the economiesof these countries and existing EU nations,there would obviously be serious problemson their being inducted.

It is likely that over time, the EU is like-ly to grow unless we have more departures

like the UK, which, too, cannotbe taken as a foregone conclu-sion just yet. The importantissue to keep in mind is the needfor a successful Union whichmay apply to other regions ofthe world as well.

One major issue seldomdiscussed is the power of theEU and its collective efforts todeal with global issues beyondthose of economic growth,such as climate change. Thereis now no doubt in the mindsof sane and rational individu-als that the developed worldhas for long been pursuing anunsustainable path, with con-sumption and production sys-tems, which unfortunately arebeing emulated universally.

It, therefore, makes muchgreater sense for a large groupof countries that is bringingabout a transformation towardssustainable practices and formsof consumption and produc-tion through common policiesthan for individual nations, todo so in isolation. Despite sev-eral problems, the EU hasshown the will not only to meetthe Sustainable DevelopmentGoals (SDGs) but to also bringabout implementation of theParis agreement on climatechange.

To that extent, it is some-what incongruous that the UK,which has had a strong policyon climate change, may actu-ally fall out of step with the rest

of the EU, and this in futurecould have implications forthe exportability of productsfrom the UK since the tech-nologies and systems that theydevelop will, no doubt, dropbehind what the rest of the EUis able to establish, given thestrong commitment that existsat least on the part of the coun-tries like France, Germany,Belgium and the Netherlandstowards much more pro-activeand ambitious plans.

It was in 2008 that Britainenacted its Climate ChangeAct, which has some remark-able and forward-lookingobjectives, such as an 80 percent reduction in greenhousegas emissions (GHGs) by 2050over 1990 levels. In that sense,the UK has been ahead of thecurve in making sure thatthere is not only bipartisan andsecular support for this legis-lation but has also inspiredother nations to do likewise.

However, given the factthat the IntergovernmentalPanel on Climate Change(IPCC) has brought out a spe-cial report on 1.5oC as beingthe target that might be set forthe temperature increase by theend of this century, the EU islikely to make its targets muchstiffer as compared to theClimate Change Act of the UK.If this were to happen, thenthere is the possibility that themembers of the EU, in case the

UK is able to implement Brexit,would come up with tech-nologies and products whichwould be far more ambitiousand far more in keeping withthe 1.5oC goal than Britain isable to achieve through itsown legislation.

If that were to happen,there would, no doubt, berestrictions in trade betweenthe UK and the EU in vital sec-tors of the economy and moresignificantly, there would alsobe an impact in terms of glob-al emissions of GHGs becausethe UK collectively with othermembers of the EU wouldcertainly have a much moreprofound impact on the glob-al situation than if the UK wereto follow its own approach,even though it has an ambi-tious Climate Change Actwhich has been in existenceover 10 years now.

It is obvious that if the UKwere to remain within the EUit would not only be able tomatch trading opportunitieswithin the Union but alsoexpand its markets beyond.Hence, there are importantlong-term considerationswhich, perhaps, the Brexiteersneed to evaluate and climatechange, which impacts all ofEurope, is certainly an issue toconsider.

(The writer is former chair-man, Intergovernmental Panelon Climate Change, 2002-15)

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Sir — This refers to the editorial,“Terror has no religion” (March16). The unhinged Whitesupremacist crowd would beproud of Brenton HarrisonTarrant, the alleged Christchurchshooter, while the rest of human-ity feels devastated by the spreadof a destructive ideology spewinghate and violence against peopleof colour and religions. In this car-nage, what also stood out was thesheer humaneness of NewZealand Prime Minister JacindaArden.

She rightly denounced the actof mass terror shooting at twomosques as one of New Zealand’sdarkest days. The gruesome actonly confirms the danger posedby fanatic ideology and extrem-ism worldwide, irrespective of anyregion or religion. Worst, byusing a helmet camera, the killerposted a racist manifesto onlineand streamed “live: video of theindiscriminate shooting onFacebook. The terrible attackindicates the rising tide of violentIslamophobia. The world musttake note of this as well.

Padmini RaghavendraSecunderabad

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Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Death of an icon” (March 19).In Manohar Parrikar’s untimelydeath, the national polity has lostan able leader. Parrikar has leftbehind a fragile Government inGoa, which survived this longsolely because he acted as the gluethat held the coalition together.

The Congress is the single largestparty in Goa but the BJP bravedquestions of ethics and managedto form a Government withother parties. Parrikar’s indis-pensability was showcased whenthe BJP persuaded him to contin-ue in office after he was diag-nosed with a pancreatic condi-tion and had to move betweenhospitals in multiple cities.

The unforgiving, if not mer-

ciless, nature of power politicswas also on display with theCongress openly asserting itsright to form the Government inGoa as Parrikar battled illness,even on the day before hebreathed his last. Parrikar’s deathleaves Goa in political uncertain-ty that it needs to emerge fromat the earliest.

KS Jayatheertha Bengaluru

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Sir — This refers to the editor-ial, “Death of an icon” (March19). In the sad demise ofManohar Parrikar, the ChiefMinister of Goa and formerDefence Minister, India has lostone of the most compassionate,highly educated and tallest lead-ers of the country.

Despite his connect withthe Rashtriya SwayamsevakSangh (RSS), Parrikar belongedto a rare bunch of political lead-ers who rose above caste, reli-gious identities to treat all, par-ticularly those who belonged tothe minority community, withdue respect and equanimity. Hewas, therefore, widely acclaimedas the people’s Chief Minister.

Besides, Parrikar was also avery humble and down to earthperson. He always bore an invit-ing smile on his face, whichmost of his colleagues fail to pos-sess. In his demise, the nationhas lost a true nationalist parexcellence.

Tharcius S FernandoChennai

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Goa Chief Minister ManoharParrikar died on March 17 afterbattling pancreatic cancer for morethan two years. A pall of gloomdescended over the country as

soon as President Ram Nath Kovind tweetedabout his sad demise. The entire nation ismourning his untimely death at a comparative-ly young age of 63, leading to an outpouringof condolences from people from all walks oflife and even his political opponents. For herepresented what politics needs most today, anhonest sense of mission.

In an era when all and sundry join politicsafter failing in many ventures, Parrikar,Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) pracharakand a brilliant IITian, was pushed into politicsin 1988 when he was asked to join the BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP). Ever since he joined poli-tics, he followed his conviction of becoming atrue servant of the people by practising whathe believed. He was a staunch nationalist anda true patriot with a secular mind, groomed inpure Indian culture of respecting the feelingsof all religions, caste and creed without any traceof bias and hatred against anyone.

Parrikar’s simplicity, humble nature, hon-esty, straightforwardness and good ethics of gov-ernance, including his no-nonsense attitude inadministering what he believed, is necessary forthe larger good of people and was writ large onhis smiling face all the time. People will neverforget the Chief Minister and the workaholicpresenting the budget in the Goa Assembly onJanuary 30 this year with a nasal tube on, a capand assisted by his staff. During his politicalsojourn, he exuded hope and unbound energyin his personal gaiety which made himimmensely popular all over the country.

He outgrew his tiny State of Goa andbecame a colossus in Indian politics. He servedGoa with full dedication and made it a verywell-administered State by setting personalexamples like riding pillion on scooters,standing in queue at the airports, shops andcollecting his own baggage from the airportbelt and elsewhere. These were some of thehigh marks of his belief in disdainfully trash-ing the thriving VIP culture in our country. Hefought his pancreatic cancer, which wasdetected in an advanced stage, with courageand fortitude not seen in ordinary mortals, andtill his last breath was fully engaged in runningthe state administration.

Parrikar was the saving grace of Indianpolity in which many politicians have scantregard for probity and genuine welfare of peo-ple and the country. His death has created abig void which will be difficult to fill. Eruditeand brilliant politicians like Manohar Parrikarwith exceptional charisma are born once in acentury. They are the saving grace for theirclass as people’s hopes and aspirations hingeon them rather than on lesser mortals in theirfraternity.

This writer had a personal encounter withhis simplicity and ethics in 2003 when Parrikarwas the Chief Minister of Goa and the thenEnvironment and Forest Minister, TR Baalu,took the Ministry’s statutory body, Forest

Advisory Committee (FAC), to Panaji fordeciding the mining cases of Goa. This was arare occasion when this committee held itsmeeting outside Delhi.

This writer was the Member-Secretary ofFAC by virtue of working as Inspector-General of Forests in the Ministry. The thenDirector-General of Forests and other mem-bers were having dinner in the hotel gardenin Panaji when we noticed one informallydressed man coming towards us along with oneof his colleagues and before we could guesswho he was, he walked straight to us and shookhands with all of us even as he said as the ChiefMinister of Goa, he had come to welcome usto his State. He was none other than ManoharParrikar, accompanied by his Forest MinisterVinay Tendulkar.

We could never imagine that the ChiefMinister of a State would walk in his Kolhapurislippers with his untucked half-sleeve shirt andof course, without the customary security ofa VIP. He never talked about any proposal ofthe State and was with us for half an hour, hav-ing just a glass of water.

Parrikar will be remembered for a longtime for his foresight in turning the destiny ofIndia’s politics and that of the BJP’s by propos-ing the name of Narendra Modi as the party’sprime ministerial candidate in the BJP’sSeptember 2013 National Executive meetingin Goa. It has been a history since then.

As soon as the BJP won the 2014 election,he was uprooted from Goa and made the coun-try’s Defence Minister, an anointment whichspoke how the Modi-led team held him in highregard for his integrity and simplicity. But allthe while, his heart was in Goa where he eventually went back ultimately in 2017 as theChief Minister.

As Defence Minister, he was responsiblefor bringing professionalism, removing deci-sion paralysis in procurement and trans-parency in the overall working of the crucialDefence Ministry. He will be remembered byex-soldiers among others for allowing one rankone pension for the defence personnel.

The Rafale procurement was one that hevery deftly handled, including killing the noteengineered by his then Defence Secretary. Thedeal was sealed ultimately. However, he will bemost remembered for providing astute lead-ership during the 2016 surgical strikes by theIndian Army across the Line of Controlagainst Pakistan-sponsored terror camps.Parrikar had personally monitored the surgi-cal strikes. His conviction as the country’sDefence Minister can be best explained in hisown words. He once said, “I gave instructionsto the armed forces personnel to shoot at anyone possessing an AK-47 machine gun as it isobvious that they do not have any good inten-tions.” It is this conviction that made PrimeMinister Modi’s task easy to conduct the sur-gical strike. His death is an irreparable loss forthe country and more so for Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and his party. His successor tothe Goa Chief Minister’s chair, Pramod Sawant,will have very large boots to fill.

Apart from other achievements, this four-time Goa Chief Minister brought theState’s Christian lobby in the BJP’s fold, whichis not a mean achievement. It was also hischarismatic personality that was largely respon-sible for arresting the infamous Aayaram-Gayaram political culture in Goa for a while.

The entire country is in shock and tears onthe departure of this prodigious son of India.Rest in peace Manohar Parrikar.

(The writer is a retired civil servant)

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With high-stake polls round thecorner, several important fac-tors come into play for an

electoral victory for any party. Thesecomponents often influence the votersbut are not constant as they keep chang-ing according to the political situationat a particular period of time.

As in every election, several impor-tant aspects are emerging in the com-ing polls, too. For instance, the ‘Modifactor’ could play a key role. The BJPbelieves that ‘Modi magic’ will work thistime too as India is gradually accept-ing of personality politics. However, theModi of 2014 was a relatively new phe-nomenon. After five years of the BJP’srule, the people have seen him, heardhim and assessed his performance.

Anti-incumbency can be an importantfactor for Modi as his report card is notvery flattering. The bottomline iswhether people are willing to give himone more chance or not.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the latestentrant into politics as the Congress’general secretary, has also emerged asa significant factor. There is a kind ofnewness and untested quality about herand through her articulation, pre-sentable persona and the Gandhi fam-ily’s mystique, she can play a disruptiverole. However, political analysts feelPriyanka Vadra will have a “limitedimpact” as political arithmetic, castepolitics and alliance challenges mightmake the going tough for her. Also, shejoined politics too late.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supre-mo Mayawati has been in politics fordecades now but she has emerged as aforce this time because the BSP is beingtouted as an important player. Manyparties are turning to Mayawati becausethe BSP’s votes are transferable. In UttarPradesh, if the gathbandhan wins a size-able number of seats, she will play therole of a king-maker in case there is ahung Parliament. She also has prime

ministerial ambitions. Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu

Prasad, though serving his sentence inRanchi jail, is an astute player in Bihar.Feedback from the State is that the jailsentence has created sympathy for theleader and using this, he is planning toturn the tide in favour of the RJD-Congress alliance.

National security has become acrucial factor, which the BJP wants tomilk to the full extent as Pulwama andthe retaliatory Balakot air strikes havebecome the pivot of the party’s poll nar-rative. However, it may be difficult tosustain the momentum for the next two

months as the Opposition wants tobring back real issues like jobs, demon-etisation, Goods and Services Tax andagrarian distress among others.

Rural distress is expected to tilt thescales too. Though the BJP is seen asan urban party, rural voters played a bigrole in 2014 and endorsed Modi. Butthey all stand disenchanted with theparty after five years. Agrarian distressis an equally important component inview of the increasing number offarmers’ suicides. This was said to beone of the reasons for the BJP’s defeatin the three States in the Hindi heart-land in December. The farmers must

be wooed and cajoled if Modi wants tocome back.

Jobs might be yet another determi-nant as the youth are disillusionedahead of polls. Modi has not been ableto provide the number of jobs he hadpromised in 2014. The unemploymentrate rose to a 45-year high during 2017-2018. This issue could overtake all otherissues for young people.

Then the 130 million first-time vot-ers are crucial. In 2014, about 150 mil-lion first-time voters chose Modi.About 1.5 lakh first-time voters haveregistered for each seat and most ofthem are not tied to any ideology. Mostpolitical parties have made them theirfocus group for the coming polls.

Women voters, too, have becomeimportant for political parties.According to data from the ElectionCommission of India, the averageturnout in general elections increasedsignificantly in 2014 and the gendergap in terms of voter turnout was alsolowest in the last general electionssince independence. Significantly,the BJD has announced 33 per centreservation for women in the com-ing Lok Sabha polls. The Trinamool

Congress has set aside 41 per cent ofthe seats while Congress chief RahulGandhi has announced 33 per centreservation for women inGovernment jobs. The BJP, too, iswooing the women through manyGovernment programmes.

World over, many leaders havewon and lost the election on the econ-omy factor. In fact, Modi came to powerriding on economic issues. However,initiatives like demonetisation andGST did not go down well with theelectorate. The Opposition is hoping topin him down on economic issues.

Caste is a reality in every electionand the electoral arithmetic is mainlybased on this. Most parties select theircandidates based on their caste. Aboveall, social media has become an impor-tant factor for the campaign and influ-encing voters. All parties used thismedium in 2014 and more so now. Theinterplay of these factors or a combi-nation of them would be important forthe results of the poll. Parties have todevelop a multi-pronged strategy toemerge victorious.

(The writer is a senior political com-mentator and syndicated columnist)

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With just 30 days remain-ing for the April 18 elec-

tion to Lok Sabha from TamilNadu, the AIADMK and theDMK, leading the two rivalfronts in the State came out onTuesday with their electionmanifestos which are enticingand capable of creating irre-sistible temptation in the mindsof the electorate.

The AIADMK, contestingin 20 Lok Sabha seats from theState, has declared that if elect-ed, the party would ensure theimplementation of AmmaNational Poverty EradicationInitiative (ANPEI), a scheme bywhich all needy families in thecountry would be paid Rs1,500 per month as directtransfer to their bank accounts.

The party wants the poorand the deprived people livingbelow poverty line, destitutewomen, widows withoutincome, differently-abled, land-less agricultural labourers, ruraland urban manual labourers,destitute senior citizens shouldbe the beneficiaries of thisscheme.

It has also promised towaive off all educational loansavailed by students and agri-cultural loans availed by smalland medium farmers of thecountry.

Though the AIADMK andthe DMK are in the diametri-cally opposite poles of thepolitical spectrum and knownfor their hatred towards eachother, there is convergence ofthoughts in their offers to theelectorate. Both the partieshave assured the voters thatthey would pressurise theCentre to release from prisonthe seven accused in the RajivGandhi assassination case serv-ing life term. Both the partieswant the abolition of NationalEligibility and EntranceExamination (NEET), the qual-ifying test for admission to

undergraduate and post grad-uate medical courses in thecountry. The demand to doaway with the NEET comes ata time when the Centre is seri-ously mulling over the possi-bility of bringing a commonentrance examination foradmission to engineering col-leges too.

The DMK assured the vot-ers that if voted to power, theparty would abolish the presentpricing system of petroleumproducts and revert to theAdministered PricingMechanism.

Catering to the demandsraised by the minority com-munities in the country, theAIADMK said it would impressupon the President not toamend the constitution to bringin Uniform Civil Code. TheAIADMK also promised theelectorate that it would urgeGovernment of India to enactdue legislation to enable theimplementation of ReservationPolicy in Private Sector also, inorder to provide social justiceto the SC/ST, MBC and BC cat-egories of our people.

The party also said that itwould urge the Government ofIndia to accept the recom-mendation of Justice SacharCommittee to treat the

Christian - converted SCs/STs,BCs and MBCs and theM u s l i m - c o n v e r t e dSCs/STs/BCs/MBCs as regularSCs/STs/BCs/MBCs and pro-vide them with all concessionsnow provided for the regularSCs/STs/BCs/MBCs.

The DMK’s manifesto,release by party chief M KStalin said it would ask theCentre to appoint 10 millionyouth who have studied upto10th standard as road workersto maintain roads in the coun-try. The DMK also wanted theIncome Tax limit to be raisedto Rs 8 lakh.

The DMK also demandedthat 60 per cent of the total taxrevenue of the Centre shouldbe shared with the States. Theparty manifesto insists thatonly the Inter-State Councilshould decide the terms ofreference of the constitution ofthe Finance Commission. Also,the criteria for allocation of taxrevenue should give equalweightage for performance andequity so that States such asTamil Nadu get their due sharethat will encourage furthergrowth.

The AIADMK manifestowas released by Chief MinisterEdappady Palaniswamy andhis deputy O Panneerselvam.

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The coalition partnersCongress and the JD(S) in

Karnataka announced a slew ofmeasures to take on the BJP, inKarnataka. In a joint Press con-ference in Bengaluru onTuesday the Congress and JD(S)leaders decided to work togeth-er to decimate the BJP. Formerprime minister and JDs chiefHD Devegowda who was partof the discussion on workingout strategies to counter BJP hasvowed to reduce them to a sin-gle digit. The leaders includingformer chief minister and chair-man of coordination committeeSiddaramaiah, Chief MinisterHD Kumaraswamy and otherleaders jointly announced aslew of measures to ensuretheir alliance worked withoutany glitches.

Maintaining suspenseabout contesting Lok Sabhapolls, JD(S) patriarch H DDeve Gowda said he is yet todecide, and was thinking abouthis "usefulness" in the nation-al capital. The 85-year-old for-mer Prime Minister citing hisage said, he lacks the strengththat he had in 1996, when hebecame the Prime Minister, butthere is "enthusiasm".

He said “Our opponentstoday are not Congress, it is BJP.

So if I'm able to do even a bitfor this country under the lead-ership of Rahul Gandhi, I canstand along with him… Still Ihave not made up my mind. I'mstill thinking, from other statesalso leaders are saying- you arean elderly person, having theexperience of governing thecountry- it is a different mat-ter, we will sit and decide…." .

"From where should I becontesting or not to, I think Ihave that much of basic free-dom to decide….let's decide onit within a few days, there is noproblem. But, I'm thinking to

myself about my usefulness inDelhi, I'm watching it…I willdecide," Gowda said.

Pointing out that a few daysago while speaking in theParliament, he had indicatedthat it was his last speech, hesaid, but a few friends hadasked him to contest this time."I'm yet to decide."

On deciding to contest, healong with coalition leadersincluding Chief Minister HDKumaraswamy and formerChief Minister Siddaramaiahwill decide on the constituen-cy, he added.

Amid lack of clarity oncontesting polls, speculationsare rife that Deve Gowda, whohas conceded his constituencyHassan to grandson PrajwalRevanna will be contestingfrom either Bangalore North orTumkur constituency. Hisanother grandson and ChiefMinister Kumaraswamy's sonNikhil Kumaraswamy is con-testing from Mandya Lok Sabhaseat, another party bastion.There is also speculation in thepolitical circles that he may notcontest at all. JDs sources saythat in view of the backlash he

might retain Hassan where heis confidant of sailing through.

Karnataka has 28 Lok Sabhaseats and will go to polls on April18 and April 23. As part of a pre-poll alliance, the Congress willcontest 20 seats and the JD(S)eight. He said "Nominationshave started and time is very less.Whatever misunderstanding wehave between us, we have toresolve them now without lettingthem to continue."

However senior dalit leaderand deputy chief minister GParameshwara was conspicu-ous of his absence.

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Senior NCP leaderDhananjay Munde Tuesday

hit out at Maharashtra ChiefMinister Devendra Fadnavisfor "covering up" corruptioncharges against "16 of his min-isters".

He was speaking at a func-tion "Rashtra Maharashtra"organised by the BBC MarathiNews Service.

"We have nailed 16 minis-ters in the Devendra Fadnavisgovernment on corruptioncharges with clinching evi-dence. However, Fadnavis hastried to cover them up and has,therefore, committed a sin,"Munde, the Leader ofOpposition in the MaharashtraCouncil, claimed.

Munde said there were nocharges of corruption againstFadnavis, though he added

that he would continue toprobe to find out more.

Hitting out at the rulingBJP for "politicising" the mar-tyrdom of soldiers, Mundesaid the party was taking cred-it for the brave deeds of thearmed forces personnel.

On Amit Shah's claim, atsome political rallies, that 250terrorists perished in theFebruary 26 IAF air strike ona Jaish-e-Mohammed camp inBalakot in Pakistan, Mundewanted to know where theBJP chief was getting such fig-ures which even security agen-cies were not privy to.

Against the backdrop ofNCP chief Sharad Pawar with-drawing from the April-MayLok Sabha contest, Munde refut-ed insinuations that all was notwell in the Pawar household.

"Pawar saab hadannounced long back he would

not contest Lok Sabha pollsanymore. But we had request-ed him to fight the 2019 pollsto send a strong message,which he had said he wouldconsider," Munde said, termingPawar's decision to withdrawfrom Lok Sabha polls as right.

On queries that the "maha-gathbandhan" had no face(prime ministerial candidate) tochallenge Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, he said, "Pleasedon't forget even the NDA haslost several alliances which raisequestion marks over Modi'sacceptability. This is Modi'sincompetence. Besides, severalparties in different states havestarted uniting themselves."

He also refuted talk that hewas part of dynastic politics byclaiming he had broken ties in2012 with the family of BJPstalwart late Gopinath Munde,who is his uncle.

Jodhpur: The trial in theBhanwari Devi abduction andmurder case has been stuck forabout two years as AmericanDNA expert Amber B Carr hasfailed to appear in court, adefence counsel argued herewhile demanding the removalof her name from the list ofprosecution witnesses.

The expert who works withthe FBI has not appeared in thecourt despite being issued fivesummons. She was first issuedsummons in May 2017.

The CBI has been pleadingfor her to be examined throughvideo-conferencing but thedefence has been protestingagainst it.

"We want her to be exam-ined in person but the insis-tence of the CBI on video-con-ferencing, despite the court'srefusal, is nothing but a tacticto delay the trial," defencecounsel Jagmal SinghChoudhary claimed. PTI

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Seven hardcore ULFA(I) mil-itants surrendered in

Tinsukia district following ajoint operation by a team ofAssam Police and the IndianArmy, a senior official said onTuesday.

The militants joined themainstream on Monday, whilea huge cache of arms andammunition were also recov-ered from them during theoperation, Col S Karki,Commanding Officer of 21Para Special Forces of theArmy, told reporters here.

"The surrender was possi-ble because of our operation on

March 7 that was based on spe-cific intelligence," he said.

Karki, however, declined toshare the location of the exer-cise and said that 15-20columns were engaged.

"We got information thatthe ULFA cadres were hiding ata place. We persuaded themand recovered the arms.Ultimately, they surrendered,"the Army official said.

Karki said the security per-sonnel recovered three AK-81rifles, two HK-33 rifles and oneAK-56 rifle and 17 magazines.

Besides, 617 rounds ofammunition and one handgrenade were also seized fromthe militants, he added.

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Custodial killing of a privateschoolteacher, picked up by

the police in pursuance of a ter-ror case investigation few daysago, sparked off fresh protestsin Awantipora area of SouthKashmir's Pulwama district onTuesday soon after news of hisdeath spread like wild fire inthe area.

Large number of local res-idents took to streets and raised'provocative' slogans.

To contain public anger, amagisterial probe wasannounced in addition to sep-arate police investigation in thecase.

Clashes, however, contin-ued in the Awantipora townbetween the security forcesand stone-throwing youths forseveral hours.

In a statement, policespokesman said, "the schoolteacher identified as RizwanAsad Pandit, was in policecustody in pursuance of terrorcase investigation. The saidperson died in police custody.

In this matter while followingthe procedure laid down in sec-tion 176 of CrPC a magisteri-al enquiry is underway.Separately, police investigationhas also been initiated in thejurisdictional area of incident".

Meanwhile, local reportsand family members of thedeceased school teacherclaimed local police officershad picked Rizwan Pandit fromhis house few days ago.Theysaid, Tuesday morning whenthey went to see him in thepolice station they came to

know about his custodial death.Strongly condemning the

incident several Kashmir basedpolitical parties, including theNational Conference, PeoplesDemocratic Party, People'sConference, the CPI-M,Congress, Awami AttehadParty and others have demand-ed exemplary punishment tothose found guilty in the cus-todial death of the youth.

The Separatist conglomer-ate, Joint Resistance Leadership(JRL) headed by Syed AliGeelani, Mirwaiz Umer Farooqand Yasin Malik have called fora Valley-wide protest shut-down on Wednesday againstthe custodial death.

Shahid Iqbal Choudhary,district magistrate Srinagar hassaid that the magisterial inquiryis being held by additionaldeputy commissioner Srinagarwho has already visited the spotwhere the youth was held incustody.

The district magistrate hassaid the inquiry would be com-pleted soon and its findings willbe made public.

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Close on the heels of seniorCongress leader

Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil’s sonDr Sujay Vikhe-Patil joiningthe BJP, it is now the turn ofRanjitsinh – son of NationalistCongress Party (NCP) MP andformer Deputy Chief MinisterVijaysinh Mohite-Patil – tojoin principal ruling party.

After weeks of specula-tion, Ranjitsinh Mohite-Patilon Tuesday resigned from theNCP and announced inSolapur in westernMaharashtra that he wouldjoin the BJP on Wednesday.

Ranjitsinh, who hadunsuccessfully been lobbyingfor a NCP ticket to contest theLok Sabha polls from Madhaconstituency in westernMaharashtra, said that his sup-porters could no longer wait forthe NCP to nominate him as itscandidate. “For how longshould my supporters toleratethis kind of injustice and now

it is time for me to take the finaldecision,” he said.

“Should we keep tolerating,or hit back for our future,progress and development?You decide whatever you wantand it will be my decision toquit” Ranjitsinh said, whileaddressing a meeting of hissupporters for this evening atAkluj in Solapur district.

Ranjitsinh, who resignedfrom the primary member-ship NCP on Tuesday, will for-mally join the BJP onWednesday afternoon, in thepresence of Maharashtra chiefminister Devendra Fadnavis,state party chief RaosahebDanve-Patil and other leadersin Mumbai.

It may be recalled that onMarch 11, NCP chief SharadPawar had backed out of thecontest, setting the stage of theentry of his grandson ParthPawar into electoral politics.

A month after he indicat-ed that he would contest fromMadha Lok Sabha constituen-

cy in western Maharashtra,Pawar, announced that he haddecided not to contest the 2019Lok Sabha polls from Madhaconstituency or any other con-stituency.

Pawar’s announcement hadcome after he met the partyoffice bearers from Solapur inwestern Maharashtra – atwhich he urged his party work-ers to support the NCP’s sittingMP Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil,who will re-contest the LokSabha polls from Madha con-stituency.

However, in the subse-quent days, Ranjitsinh alsobegan to lobby for the Madhaseat. However, senior MohitePatil—who is the close confi-dant of Pawar for very manyyears, appears to have had way.Vijaysinh will in all likelihoodbe nominated as the NCP can-didate from Mahada con-stituency.

Ranjitsinh is the secondOpposition leader to havejoined the BJP in recent weeks.

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Lucknow: Even as the SP-BSP-RLD alliance will formallylaunch its poll campaign fromDeoband on April 7, the lead-ers of these parties havestepped up efforts to tighten theloose ends at the grass-rootlevel. The BSP, SP and RLDbrass are going down to thebrass tacks to ensure that everyvote is transferred to one of thealliance partners as theirchances of winning dependon this arithmetic.

The grand alliance is focus-ing on the first phase on April11, when eight Lok Sabha seatsof east UP will go to polls. “Inthe first round, we have com-pleted Lok Sabha-wise meetingsof party workers from all threeparties. For the second phase, wehave started Assembly segment-wise meetings of party workers,”said Sudhir Pawar who contest-ed the 2017 Assembly electionsfrom Shamli.

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The Narendra ModiGovernment on Tuesday

came under fire from MamataBanerjee for failing to constructRam Temple in Ayodhya and“yet trying to lecture others onhow they should practice theirreligions.”

The Bengal Chief Ministerwas addressing a select audi-ence of the Marwari commu-nity which has a sizeable pres-ence in North Kolkata andHowrah constituencies.

“Some people have beenlecturing me on religion. They(BJP) say that Hindus are notfree to practice their faith freelyin Bengal but I want to ask youwhether you celebrate DurgaPuja, Holi, Navaratra, GuruParab freely or not.

“I want you to tell them howsplendidly my Government hasrenovated the temples in Bengal.What is your experience about

the new-look DakshineswarTemple … what is the experi-ence of the 40 lakh pilgrims whovisited Ganga Sagar this year,”Banerjee said reminding theModi Government’s failure toconstruct the Ram Temple.

“I have constructed and ren-ovated so many temples inBengal but you (Modi) not beenable to construct a single templethat you promised… You failedto build the Ram Temple.”Attacking the BJP for dividingthe people in the name of Faith,Banerjee said, “those who comefrom Delhi to lecture us on reli-gion set people of one peopleagainst the other. This is anythingbut religion. Bengal is the mostpeaceful State where we practiceonly one religion which is thereligion of humanity that unitesand does not divide people.”

Attacking the BJPGovernment for playing politicsover the death CRPF jawans theChief Minister said “I was very

much pained at the brutal attackon the Indian security forces.But I never played politics withthat. But there are some peoplewho do politics on jawans deathwhich is not right.”

Asking the Marwari,Gujrati and Punjabi businesscommunity to “keep in touchwith me,” Banerjee said “I wantto visit your faces more oftenbut that I cannot do because ifI visit your places then they(BJP) will sent ED and CBI toyour houses. I am not afraid ofcentral agencies but I cannot seeyou being harassed by them soI do not visit you often.”

The ruling TrinamoolCongress is going all alone in thegeneral elections with Banerjeevowing to win all the 42 parlia-mentary seats. The BJP hasemerged as the main contenderreplacing the Left Front with itsall-India president Amit Shahsetting a target of at least 23 seatsfrom the State.

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Even as the seat-sharing talksbetween the CPI(M) and

the Congress reached a deadend with the latter deciding togo it alone in the general elec-tions a desperate Left Front onTuesday extended its deadlineby another 24 hours for the tri-colour outfit to reconsider itsstance. “Till that time we willnot announce candidates forthe 4 seats that the Congresshad won in 2014.”

The Left had at the outsetof alliance talks said the twosides should not contest onseats they won in 2014. TheCPI(M) had won Raiganj andMurshidabad seats while theCongress had bagged,Behrampore, North and SouthMalda and Jangipur.

This time round theCongress had been demanding17-18 seats while the Left wasnot willing to leave them morethan 11-13 seats.

Against this backdrop the

Congress on Tuesdayannounced the candidates listfor 11 seats. The Left had alreadyannounced its list of 25 candi-dates last week. On Tuesday itannounced a list of another 13candidates leaving aside 4 seatscurrently held by the Congress.

“We still want that the twoparties should come to an under-standing so that the anti-TMCand anti-BJP votes can be con-solidated in one place. For thatwe are not announcing our can-didates for the four seats that theywon last time. Now it is up to theCongress. If they fail to respondfavourably then we will be forcedto go ahead with our list unilat-erally,” Left Front chairmanBiman Bose said on Tuesday.

The Congress howeverreacted sharply saying the pos-sibility of alliance had ended.“We also know that there is aneed to defeat the TMC and theBJP but we cannot ally with theLeft at the cost of our party’s dig-nity. They are trying to black-mail us which is not acceptable

to us. So consider the alliancetalks as good as over,” PCC pres-ident Somen Mitra said.

Congress MP AdhirChowdhury told fromBehrampore that “the Left haddone a big mistake by unilat-erally declaring its first list of25 candidates when the talkprocess was on. Now they aretrying to apply some balm onthat injury. I wonder this balmwill work now.”

Meanwhile, the politicalexperts said that the TMC andthe BJP will benefit the mostfrom a four-cornered contest.“Instead of wasting their votesthe voters will either vote forthe BJP or the TMC in thatcase. Currently the Left votersare so much annoyed with theTMC that they will finally votefor the BJP. But the Muslimsupporters of the

Left will vote for the TMCin which case both these par-ties will benefit from the Left-Congress divide,” said politicalanalyst BN Majumdar.

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Rooting for “Modi MuktBharat”, MNS chief Raj

Thackeray said here onTuesday all the Oppositionshould come together to showthe door to Prime MinisterNarendra Modi in the 2019 LokSabha polls and exhorted thevoters not to fall into the “trap”of "Main Bhi Chowkidar” cam-paign which has been launchedby the BJP to divert the atten-tion from the “failures” of theModi Government.

Addressing his party work-ers two days after his partyannounced that it would notcontest the Lok Sabha polls, Rajsaid, “I have all along told theOpposition parties that I haveno interest in contesting theLok Sabha but whatever I dowill be beneficial to you. Thiselection is: Modi-Amit Shah vsthe entire country. Like I hadearlier in my Gudi Padva rally,the country should be become‘Modi Mukt Bharat’ and for thepurpose, all the parties shouldcome together".

Reiterating that his partywould not field candidates inthe Lok Sabha polls, Raj told his

partyworkers: “But whateverthe election rallies I will holdwill be against Modi and AmitShah. Even whatever you say ordo anything, it should beagainst Modi-Amit Shah andthe BJP”.

Ridiculing the ruling BJPfor launching the "Main BhiChowkidar” campaign ahead ofthe Lok Sabha polls, the MNSchief said: “What is "Main BhiChowkidar”? Are we witness-ing elections in India or Nepal?.How can a Prime Ministerhave such a tiny mindset?. ThePrime Minister should have alarger vision for the countryinstead of going around andcalling himself as a chowkidar”.

Advising his party workersnot fall into the “trap” of "MainBhi Chowkidar” campaign, Rajsaid: “I am telling all of you notto get involved in the wholething. This campaign is a farceand a trap. The BJP haslaunched this campaign todivert the attention of the peo-

ple from the destruction thatModi has wreaked in the coun-try during the last five years.The BJP wants you to gettrapped in this campaign. But,I am advising you and all oth-ers not to get carried away bythis campaign”.

“I am appealing to the tra-ditional voters of the MNSthat the country is currentlypassing through a critical peri-od. It is important that weshould get over this phase.The BJP workers will come toyou with money bags. You maytake the money from thesepeople. After all they looted thecountry for the last five years.It is time for us to loot them.Mind you, this is not my direc-tive to you,” the MNS chief said.

“This election is not aboutany political party. Even thepeople in the BJP are fed upwith the happenings within theparty. The moment these twopersons (Modi and Shah) areremoved from the political

horizon of the country, then thecontest will be among variouspolitical parties. As of today, thecontest is not among politicalparties. The issue before thepeople is not to vote for Modi-Amit Shah duo and in effectnot to vote for the BJP,” Rajsaid.

Slamming the ruling BJPfor whipping nationalist fer-vour among the people usingthe Pulwama terror strike andsubsequent air strikes on terrorcamps in Pakistan, Raj said:“Here’s government that asked�3 lakh crore from the RBI andreceived �28,000 crore. ThenRBI Governor Urjit opposedthe Government’s demand andresigned from the post TheGovernment tried to create abogie of war with Pakistan. Youneed money for the waging awar”.

“The Government doesnot have money and it is beg-ging the RBI for assistance.Where would it have mobilisedmoney... No wonder the atmos-phere of war is no longer thereand no one is now speakingabout either Pulwama attack orthe subsequent air strikes.Modi realised that the BJP willnot get votes by whippingnationalistic fervour. That’s theBJP stopped campaigning onthese issues,” the MNS chiefsaid.

Raj, who devoted his entirespeech to castigate the Modigovernment and the BJP, saidthat he would speak at lengthat his Gudi Padva rally.

It may be recalled that onMarch 10,the MNS chief hadaccused the Narendra Modigovernment of ignoring theintelligence information inputsreceived ahead of the Pulwamaterror attack and apprehendedthat one more Pulwama-likeattack would be “engineered” inthe middle of Lok Sabha pollsand the ruling BJP would try toexploit the incident by whip-ping up patriotic sentiments.

Addressing party workersat Rangsharada auditorium onthe occasion of 13th anniver-sary of his party, Raj said: “Ihave a strong hunch that in thenext month or two—right inthe middle of Lok Sabha elec-tions, one more Pulwama-likeattack will be engineered... Irepeat the attack will be engi-neered. Once again, the atten-tion of the people will bediverted and we will once againto get see speeches on patrio-tism”.

Attributing the need tocreate a war-like situation in thecountry to the Modi govern-ment’s “failure” to deliver on itsvarious promises, Raj chargedthat the BJP was trying to“divert” the attention of thepeople from its failure on var-ious fronts. “The BJP hasrealised now that it has failedto deliver on all its promises—be it “Make in India”, “Start upIndia”, or “2 crore employ-ment a year promise” etc .....The BJP could not use theDawood deportation issue andRam Mandir issue.....”

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Continuing his tirade againstthe Congress, Samajwadi

Party chief Akhilesh Yadavaccused the former of weak-ening the fight against the BJPby spreading confusion. Hisresponse came after Congressgeneral secretary PriyankaGandhi Vadra reminded the SPand BSP chiefs that their com-mon objective was to defeat theBJP.

“Earlier there used to be alot of time, almost a year forfighting elections and cam-paigning. But at a time whenelections are around the corner,your creating confusion weak-ens the fight against a commonenemy, an enemy who is anexpert in diverting people fromcore issues,” Akhilesh said inLucknow on Tuesday.

The SP-BSP alliance hasbeen at loggerheads with theCongress ever since theyannounced their tie-up onJanuary 12, leaving onlyAmethi and Rae Bareli for thegrand old party.

The situation aggravatedafter the Congress returned thefavour on March 17 andannounced that it would not

field candidates on seven seatsto be contested by importantleaders of the SP and BSP.

Mayawati dismissed theCongress offer saying that thealliance was competent todefeat the BJP on its own andthey did not need the help ofthe Congress. “It is really dif-ficult to say how much thePriyanka factor will work inUttar Pradesh. The Congressmight have a separate strategyfor defeating the BJP, but theircandidate selection tells a dif-ferent story,” said Akhilesh.The former UP CM also hit outat the BJP saying that merelyprefixing ‘chowkidar’ to partyleaders’ Twitter handles wouldnot yield political dividends forthe ruling party.

“The BJP has doneabsolutely nothing in the pastfive years. When you call your-self a ‘chowkidar’ then youshould also work like one.However, during the BJPregime, the work done hasbeen contrary to what theyclaim. The meaning ofAkhilesh is God of Gods. Willthat make me one,” he quipped.

The SP chief ’s remarkswere directed at BJP leaders likeNarendra Modi, Amit Shahand Piyush Goyal, who prefixed‘chowkidar’ to their names onTwitter on Sunday. Akhileshalso slammed the ruling partyfor weaving a narrative aroundthe recent Pulwama attacksand the release of WingCommander Abhinandan byPakistan ‘for political gains’.

“It is unfortunate that somany soldiers were martyred,intelligence agencies failed,RDX was used in such a hugequantity, but the BJP is busybuilding a narrative out of it forpolitical gains. The BJP gov-ernment lathicharged formersoldiers demanding ‘One rank,one pension’. They should tellwhat they have done for theArmy personnel in the last fiveyears,” the SP chief said.

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The umbrella body of thedomestic pilots of the

nearly crippled Jet Airwayson Tuesday threatened tostop flying from April 1, ifthe resolution plan is delayedand salary dues are notcleared by the end of thismonth.

The decision was taken atthe annual meeting of JetAirways domestic pilots bodyNational Aviators Guild aftera meeting here lasting forover 90 minutes.

The guild, which cameinto being almost a decadeago, represents around 1,000domestic pilots at the airline.

“If there is no properclarity on the resolutionprocess and salary payments,by March 31, we will stop fly-ing from April 1,” the guildsaid.

The pilots and othersenior staff have not RPT notbeen getting their full salariessince December.

Having failed to get anyassurance from the manage-ment on salaries, the guildlast week had written toUnion labor minister SantoshGangwar, seeking his inter-vention.

Meanwhi le , Aviat ionMinister Suresh Prabhu onTuesday also directed his thesecretary to hold an emer-gency meeting on the debt-ridden airline that has beencancelling flights abruptlyfollowing grounding of alarge part of its fleet.

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Aviation watchdog DGCAsaid on Tuesday 41 Jet

Airways flights are currentlyavailable for operation andthere may be “further attrition”of flights “in coming weeks” asit observed the situation as“dynamic”.

As per the Jet Airways’website, it has a fleet of 119 air-craft in total. For the past fewweeks, passengers have beenventing their ire on socialmedia as the airline’s flightcancellations have increasedgradually due to the risingnumber of grounded aircraft.

Grappling with financial

woes, the carrier has beenlooking at ways to raise freshfunds.

DGCA spokesperson saidTuesday,”The DGCA reviewedthe performance of Jet Airwayson operational, airworthiness &passenger facilitation today.Current availability of aircraftin the fleet for operation is 41and accordingly scheduled for603 domestic flights and 382international flights has beendrawn. However, it is a dynam-ic situation and there may befurther attrition in comingweeks.”

The spokesperson addedthat the DGCA has instructedthe airline to comply with “the

relevant provisions of theapplicable CARs (Civil AviationRequirements) for facilitationof passengers regarding time-ly communication, compensa-tion, refunds and providingalternate flights whereverapplicable”.

He said the data is beingmonitored by the DGCA on aregular basis.

The Jet Airways’ AircraftMaintenance Engineers’ Unionwrote to the aviation regulatoron Tuesday morning that threemonths’ salary was overdue tothem and flight safety “is at risk”.

The DGCA spokespersonsaid the aviation watchdog isensuring that all aircraft in the

fleet “whether in operation oron ground” are maintained inaccordance with ApprovedMaintenance Programme(AMP).

“The operator was alsodirected to ensure that nopilots/cabin crew/AMEs berostered on duty who hadreported stress of any nature.Additionally, all such staffshould be current with allmandatory training require-ments.

“The DGCA is continu-ously monitoring overall situ-ation and based on the same,will take appropriate steps bythe end of the month, if need-ed,” the spokesperson added.

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Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu onTuesday directed his Ministry’s

secretary to hold an emergency meet-ing on the debt-ridden Jet Airwaysmassively cancelling flights aftergrounding of a large part of its fleet.

The Minister’s direction came inthe wake of the airliner drasticallyreducing its operations due to liq-uidity crunch.

“Directed Secretary, @MOCAGOI to hold an emergency meetingon grounding of flights by Jet

Airways, advance bookings, can-cellations, refunds and safety issues,if any,” Prabhu said in a tweet.

“Asked him (civil aviation sec-retary) to get a report on Jet com-pliance issues immediately fromDGCA,” he added.

Earlier Monday, Jet Airwaysengineers’ body wrote to aviationregulator DGCA, seeking its inter-vention in the recovery of theirsalary dues, saying non-paymentwas affecting their psychologicalcondition which, in turn, was a “risk”to the airline’s flight operations.

���#�������-*���������������� ���������������� New Delhi: Banks are likely to infuse fresh funds into

cash-strapped Jet Airways provided major sharehold-ers of the airline, including Gulf carrier Etihad Airways,pledge their shares as collateral, sources said.

With the airline unable to get fresh funds, theoptions are limited now, they added.

The full service carrier is grappling with acute finan-cial woes that has resulted in grounding of a significantnumber of planes, defaulting on debt repayments

And delay in payment of salaries to pilots and othersenior officials.

Founder Chairman Naresh Goyal and his familyowns around 52 per cent stake in Jet Airways whileEtihad, a strategic partner, has 24 per cent sharehold-ing. The sources said that banks can provide furtherloans if major stakeholders — Goyal and Etihad — agreeto pledge their shares as security. PTI

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The Reserve Bank of Indiahas moved the National

Company Law AppellateTribunal (NCLAT) over theorder passed regarding classi-fication of debt of IL&FS groupcompanies as NPA.

A two-member NCLATbench, headed by Justice S JMukhopadhaya, has said that itwould hear the RBI on theissue.

The RBI is seeking modi-fication of the order passed bythe tribunal which has provid-ed moratorium on repaymentof loans regarding the accountsof IL&FS and its over 300group companies.

During the proceedings,RBI’s counsel said that therewas a overlap of power on theissue.

The tribunal has also askedthe Ministry of CorporateAffairs about the progressmade with respect to resolutionof IL&FS issues.

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India’s fuel demand rose 3.8per cent in February as free

cooking gas connectionsspurred LPG consumptionwhile petrol and diesel usecontinued to rise.

Fuel consumption inFebruary totalled 17.41 milliontonnes as compared to 16.77million tonnes in the samemonth last year, data from thePetroleum Planning andAnalysis Cell (PPAC) of the OilMinistry showed.

Consumption rose forthe third month in a row asensuing general elections arelikely to spike demand fur-ther.

With retail prices moder-ating, petrol consumptionsoared 8 per cent to 2.25 mil-lion tonnes while theGovernment push to give everyhousehold a cooking gas con-nection led to LPG demandspiking by 14.2 per cent to 2.2million tonnes.

Hectic campaigning is like-ly as India goes to poll over thenext two months, which willboost the use of transportationfuel as political parties traversethe country courting voters.General elections will be heldin seven phases starting onApril 11.

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Halting its six-day winningrun, the Indian rupee

Tuesday edged lower by 43paise to close at 68.96 to the USdollar on emergence ofdemand for the greenbackfrom importers.

The local currency alsocame under pressure due torising crude pressure and acaution ahead of the out-come of the Federal OpenMarket Committee (FOMC)meeting.

At the Interbank ForeignExchange (forex), the domes-tic currency opened at 68.53 adollar and fell further to touchthe day’s low of 69.05. It final-ly settled at 68.96 per dollar,down 43 paise over its previousclose.

The Indian rupee onMonday had surged by 57paise to close at an over seven-month high of 68.53 against theUS dollar.

“The rupee has depreciat-ed today on account ofimporters demand at lowerlevels. However broad senti-ments remain positive due to

foreign fund inflows in the debtand equity market. In the nearterm, the rupee may trade inthe range of 68 and 69.50,” saidRushabh Maru, ResearchAnalyst - Currency andCommodity, Anand RathiShares and Stock Brokers.

Meanwhile, the dollarindex, which gauges the green-back’s strength against a basketof six currencies, fell 0.18 percent to 96.35, ahead of theFederal Reserve policy decisiontomorrow.

The euro traded near amore than two-week high asfront-end calls were indemand, while the pound roseas UK Prime Minister TheresaMay looks set to seek a longextension to the Brexit dead-line.

According to Vinod Nair,Head of Research, GeojitFinancial Services, “The rupeewitnessed selling pressure fol-lowing a continuous surgewhile domestic bond yieldsinched higher as investorsawaited the US FED policy out-come.”

Meanwhile, brent crude,the global oil benchmark, was

trading at $68.02 per barrel,higher by 0.71 per cent.

“Bargain buying fromimporters and profit bookingafter the recent rally ahead ofthe financial year closingcould be the one of the reasonfor depreciation,” said VKSharma, Head PCG & CapitalMarkets Strategy, HDFCSecurities.

Foreign institutionalinvestors (FIIs) put in �2,132.36crore on a net basis on Tuesday,provisional data showed.

Benchmark equity indicescontinued their winning runfor the seventh consecutivesession Tuesday. The 30-shareBSE Sensex closed at 38,363.47,recording a rise of 268.40, or0.70 per cent. The 50-shareNSE Nifty closed at 11,509.80,higher by 70.20 points, or 0.61per cent.

Meanwhile, the FinancialBenchmark India Private Ltd(FBIL) set the reference rate forthe rupee/dollar at 68.5847and for rupee/euro at 77.8185.The reference rate forrupee/British pound was fixedat 91.0069 and for rupee/100Japanese yen at 61.66.

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Germany launches its auc-tion on Tuesday for the

construction of an ultra-fast 5Gmobile network as a transat-lantic dispute rages over secu-rity concerns surroundinggiant Chinese telecoms equip-ment maker Huawei.

The United States hasthreatened to end intelligencesharing with Berlin if it doesnot exclude hardware made byHuawei from the infrastruc-ture, arguing that Chineseequipment could help Beijingspy on Western companies andgovernments.

Attempting to play down therow on Monday, JochenHomann, chairman of theGerman Federal NetworkAgency (BNA), said: “No matterwhether a supplier comes fromSweden or China, companiesmust meet certification require-ments and security checks.”

‘5G’ — ‘fifth generation’ —is the latest, high-speed gener-ation of cellular mobile com-munications and Berlin willrequire winning bidders tooffer 5G service to at least 98percent of German households,motorways and rail lines.

Germany, Europe’s biggesteconomy whose wireless net-works rank 46th in the worldfor download speeds, wants toclose the sizeable digital gap bymaking the shift to the ultra-fast 5G system.

The BNA starts the auctionin Mainz at 0900 GMT onTuesday and the process willallocate 41 different frequencyblocks.

Four operators are in therunning, among themGermany’s three main mobilenetwork providers — DeutscheTelekom, Vodafone andTelefonica Germany (O2) —plus United Internet (1&1), a

German company specialisingin internet services.

Chinese firm Huawei is notone of the bidders but providesthe four German companieswith essential hardware —such as antennas and routers.

The US has accused Beijingof using Huawei’s 5G networkgear as a Trojan horse, forcingoperators to transmit data tothe regime, but Washington hasnot provided evidence to sup-port their suspicions.

Huawei has strenuouslydenied allegations its equip-ment could be used for espi-onage.

Chinese Foreign MinisterWang Yi on Monday lashed outat what he called “abnormal,immoral” attacks on Huaweiand demanded a “fair and justcompetition environment” forChinese firms.

US-led attempts to encour-age other nations to banHuawei equipment from theirtelecoms infrastructure suf-fered a setback whenChancellor Angela Merkel’sgovernment decided againstimposing company specific-restrictions on the 5G auction.

US ambassador toGermany Richard Grenell lastweek warned that Washingtoncould stifle intelligence coop-eration unless Berlin agreed aHuawei ban.

In a letter, Grenell toldPeter Altmaier, Germany’seconomy minister, that intelli-gence-sharing cooperationcould cease if Berlin allows theChinese firm to be part of the5G network.

The threat escalated lastweek when NATO’s SupremeAllied Commander in Europe,US General Curtis Scaparrotti,warned Germany that NATOforces would cut communica-tions if Berlin works withHuawei.

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State-owned Indian Oil Corp(IOC) on Tuesday declared

a second interim dividend of�1,412 crore for the currentfinancial year and ONGCagreed to do so next week tohelp the Government meet itstax revenue target.

In a stock exchange filing,IOC, the nation’s biggest oilfirm, said its board at a meet-ing on Tuesday approved pay-ment of �1.50 per share of 15per cent in second interimdividend for 2018-19 to share-holders.

“The dividend will be cred-ited to the account of theshareholders or the dividendwarrant in respect thereof willbe dispatched on or beforeApril 10, 2019,” it said.

The Government owns53.88 per cent stake in IOC andstands to get about �761 crore,excluding dividend distributiontax.

Separately, Oil and NaturalGas Corp (ONGC), which hadinitially resisted a governmentdemand seeking a second inter-im dividend, said a board

meeting has been convened onMarch 23 to consider anddeclare an interim dividend.

Grappling with a possible�80,000 crore shortfall in directand indirect tax revenues thatwill make it difficult to meet arevised fiscal deficit target, theGovernment has been tappingcash-rich PSUs for secondinterim dividend.

Coal India Ltd on March14 declared a second interimdividend of �5.85 per share.

The Government holds72.91 per cent stake in CoalIndia and stands to get �2,647crore, excluding dividend tax.

Initially, ONGC had resist-ed paying a second interim div-idend on grounds that it doesnot have surplus cash to makesuch payments within a monthof an interim dividend payout,sources with direct knowledgeof the development said.

According to regulations, acompany cannot declare a sec-ond dividend within a monthof the previous payout andcompanies like ONGC wouldneed to seek approval of mar-kets regulator Sebi to makesuch a payment.

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Reserve Bank governorShaktikanta Das on Tuesday

underlined the need for stickingto the fiscal roadmap by adopt-ing a commonly agreed expen-diture code-based spendingplan to address the socioeco-nomic challenges. He also advo-cated giving permanent statusto the finance commission.

The comments from theformer-economic-affairs- secre-tary-turned-central bankerassume importance as theGovernment for two consecutiveterms have missed it fiscal deficit

targets by 10 bps in the outgoingfiscal year. Many analysts fear thateven the upwardly revised fiscaldeficit target of 3.4 percent maybe difficult to meet given themassive shortfall indirect taxcollection and also shortfall inother budgeted non-tax revenue.

Das, speaking at the launchof a book ‘Indian FiscalFederalism’, by former RBIgovernor YV Reddy along withGR Reddy here this evening,Das said there is now generalagreement about the impor-tance of fiscal consolidationroadmaps both at national andstate levels.

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Page 11: ˇ’!˜ (’ˇ˙˘ & ) ˜!...in a multi-crore fodder scam. The Mahagathbandhan in Bihar formally acknowledges Congress, RJD, RLSP, HAM, Sharad Yadav’s Loktantrik ... ethics” by

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Roger Federer departed IndianWells empty-handed for a secondstraight year, but the Swiss great

sees no reason he can't get back on trackat the Miami Masters.

"Sure, it's frustrating and disap-pointing and sad to some extent,"Federer said after falling 3-6, 6-3, 7-5to Austrian Dominic Thiem in Sunday'sfinal.

Thiem, 25, denied Federer a recordsixth Indian Wells title and returned tohis career-high of fourth in the world— bumping Federer down to fifth goingto the second leg of the "Sunshine

Double" of Indian Wells and Miami.But Federer, the 20-time Grand

Slam winner who claimed a remarkable100th career title in Dubai last month,can afford to take the defeat in stride— especially when he's playing well andfeels his 37-year-old body is fully fit.

"It's just not as dramatic," he saidof falling to a player who was "just a bitbetter when it mattered".

"Whereas, when you're hurt andthings are difficult, maybe those hurtmore.

"I'm going to Miami. The body isperfectly fine. That also always keepsme upbeat, and I feel it's a privilegewhen I feel this way leaving a tourna-

ment."I have been playing every single

day for the last three weeks. I can bevery happy and proud of that fact."

As at Indian Wells, Federer couldmeet fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka in thethird round in Miami.

Federer is a three-time winner atMiami, but he lost his second-roundopener last year after falling to JuanMartin del Potro in the final at IndianWells.

With that in mind, Federer shiedaway from predicting he would bounceback in a big way from his loss toThiem, with the Miami event's move toa new venue adding to his sense of

uncertainty."Now it's totally different," Federer

said of the tournament moving from itslongtime home on Key Biscayne to theHard Rock Stadium — home of theNFL's Miami Dolphins.

A new stadium court inside theactual stadium is the centerpiece of thenew venue, which also features a sec-ondary grandstand court and twosmaller show courts and practicecourts. "Everybody's got to get used tocenter court or the conditions at thenew site," Federer said. "I'm eager to findout how it's going to be like. There arestill a lot of open question marks. Rightnow I feel really good."

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Bianca Andreescu's visionbecame reality in the

California desert, where theCanadian 18-year-old'sCinderella run to a firstWTA title put her amongthe elite of women's tennis.

"Crazy," Andreescu her-self called it, after gritty 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 victory overthree-time Grand Slamchampion Angelique Kerbermade her the first wild cardto win the prestigiousIndian Wells WTA title.

Andreescu is the tour-nament's youngest winnersince Serena Williams in1999 and just the fourthunseeded player to lift thetrophy after Williams, areturning Kim Clijsters in2005 and Japan's NaomiOsaka last year.

Reminded that Osaka'sbreakthrough 2018 win wasswiftly followed by twoGrand Slam titles and a riseto No 1 in the world,Andreescu was asked if shefound that inspirational.

No pressure," she saidwith a smile.

"It's totally fine," shesaid of the comparison.

"It's definitely an inspira-tion seeing her claim thetrophy last year and win-ning Grand Slams rightafter that has been amazingto see. But I don't reallywant to focus on the futureright now. I just want toenjoy this moment becauseI don't want to take any-thing for granted.

"You never know whatthe next week brings,"added Andreescu, whonow heads to Florida forthe Miami Open this week,where she will be unseed-ed.

Kerber, a former worldnumber one who hadslipped to eighth in therankings as she searchedfor a first title since she wonWimbledon last year, wasup a break in the third setwhen Andreescu poweredthrough fatigue and cramp-ing to seize the victory.

It's the kind of triumphAndreescu has picturedbefore, in her daily practiceof creative visualizationwhich she uses to maintainher calm and focus.

But when the momentarrived for real, she said, itwas "surreal".

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Young Indian shuttlers Lakshya Sen andRiya Mookerjee Tuesday broke into

the top-100 to be placed 76th and 94thamong men's and women's singles play-ers in the latest world badminton rankings.

In the latest BWF rankings, Lakshyamade a massive jump of 28 places whileRiya climbed up 19 spots.

B Sai Praneeth, who stunned Olympicchampion Chen Long before losing in thefinal of the Swiss Open against China's ShiYuqi at Basel on last Sunday, also movedup three places to 19th.

Kidambi Srikanth remained staticand is the best placed Indian in the men'srankings at seventh, followed by SameerVerma (14th), H S Prannoy (24th),Subhankar Dey (43rd), Parupalli Kashyap(48th), Ajay Jayram (52nd) and SouravVerma (53rd).

Japan's Kento Momota is the leadingthe men's chart followed by Yuqi andChinese Taipei's Chou Tie Chen.

In the women's singles rankings, P VSindhu and Saina Nehwal are static at sixthand ninth positions respectively.

Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu Ying is top-ping the women's singles list ahead ofChina's Chen Yufei and Nozomi Okuharaof Japan.

In men's doubles, the pair ofSatwiksairaj and Chirag Shetty are the bestplaced Indians at 24th, while Manu Attri

and B Sumeeth Reddy have dropped arung to 27th.

The women's doubles combination ofAshwini Ponappa and N Sikki Reddy arestatic at 23rd spot, while the mixed dou-bles pair of Ashwini and Rankireddy havemanaged to hold on to their 24th position.

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In-form Prajnesh Gunneswaran hasmoved into the final qualifying round

of the Miami Masters with a straight-set win but Ramkumar Ramanathan fellat the first hurdle, here.

Prajnesh who reached the thirdround at the Indian Wells Masters aftercoming through qualifiers, got thebetter of Spain's Adrian Menendez-Maceiras 6-2, 6-4 in the openinground.

The 84th ranked Indian won fiveof the six break points he faced againstworld number 141 and broke his rivalfour times in the one hour and 14-minute match.

He next faces British wild card JayClarke.

It was curtains for Ramkumar, wholost 4-6 1-6 to Lorenzo Sonego, theItalian world number 106.

Rohan Bopanna is the only Indianfeaturing in the doubles main draw, yetagain partnering Canadian DenisShapovalov.

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Bayern Munich forwardThomas Mueller has warned

title rivals Borussia Dortmundthat they cannot afford to slip upas a nail-biting Bundesliga titlerace enters the final stretch.

"They know they can'tafford to make any mistakes,because we are in really goodshape," Mueller told Germany'stop-selling newspaper Bild onTuesday.

Having been six pointsbehind Dortmund at the begin-ning of the year, Bayern are nowlevel on 60 points with eightgames to play, but the defend-ing champions top the tablewith a superior goal difference.

In recent weeks, Bayernhave nudged their way into firstplace on goal difference, havingscored 17 goals in their last threegames in their bid to win a sev-

enth straight league title."Obviously they will have

noticed that we are winninggames by big margins," saidMueller, who has scored sixleague goals this season witheight assists.

"We are happy that we havebent the goal difference num-bers in our favour. It's never abad thing to have that up yoursleeve."

Bayern host Dortmund atMunich's Allianz Arena onApril 6, in what promises to bea pivotal fixture in the title race.

"The game againstDortmund will be an indicatorof where things are going, butit won't decide the title," saidMueller.

"There will be a long way togo after that, and a lot can hap-pen. Especially in the awaygames, we need to make sure wekeep winning."

��■ -��0-4'��-4

Trailblazing bowler RashidKhan said Afghanistan will

fear no one when the World Cupstarts in May after a maiden Testwin enhanced the reputation ofthe rising cricket nation.

Khan, who is one of theworld's leading bowlers in short-form cricket, said Afghanistan'sconfidence was growing afterbeating Ireland on Monday in justtheir second Test match.

The 20-year-old leg-spinner,who tops the world Twenty20bowling rankings and lies third inthe 50-over standings, took fivefor 82 as Afghanistan beat theirfellow Test newcomers inDehradun.

Before an expected starringrole for Sunrisers Hyderabadwhen the 2019 Indian PremierLeague (IPL) begins at the week-end, Khan said Aghanistan'scricketers now need only tobelieve in themselves.

"We have the talent and wehave the skills," he told AFP in aninterview.

At last year's Asia Cup,Afghanistan made a breakthroughby topping their group in the 50-over competition ahead of estab-lished Test nations Bangladeshand Sri Lanka.

U�����7���'���� ����Q"How we played in the Asia

Cup was totally different and weshowed that we can beat any side,"said Khan, whose side even tieda match with heavyweights Indiain the last-four stage.

"The only thing is to believein your skills. Just to be relaxed inbig matches and enjoy yourgame," he said.

"And that's how we should bein the World Cup."

War-torn Afghanistan onlygained one-day international(ODI) status in 2009 and Test sta-tus in 2017, but their recent risehas coincided with Khan's emer-gence as a world-class spinner.

He made his ODI debut in2015 as a 17-year-old and creditsfast-paced Twenty20 tournamentssuch as the IPL for developing hisbowling repertoire, whichincludes a mesmerising googly.

"The IPL gives you lot ofmotivation. Once you play inthese leagues, it gives you confi-dence playing with big players,"said Khan, who cost Hyderabad$597,000 in 2017 and took 21wickets for them last year.

"And then you perform thereon flat wickets like the IPL andthat gives you a kind of satisfac-tion and confidence that I candeliver when I am in the nation-al side."

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Page 12: ˇ’!˜ (’ˇ˙˘ & ) ˜!...in a multi-crore fodder scam. The Mahagathbandhan in Bihar formally acknowledges Congress, RJD, RLSP, HAM, Sharad Yadav’s Loktantrik ... ethics” by

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There has been a lot ofdebates on who will beIndia's No 4 in the upcom-

ing World Cup. With India skip-per Virat Kohli trying a fewoptions in the just concludedODI series against Australia, thedebate continues on who willfinally board the flight to Englandwhen the Indian team leaves forthe World Cup.

Delhi Capitals advisor SouravGanguly and coach Ricky Pontingbelieve that Rishabh Pant could bethe answer to India's woes as hehas the temperament and talent todo the role in England.

"Look at how Pant played inthe last IPL. In ODIs, Pant is com-ing in and going out because MSDhoni is there and that doesn'thelp. Pant is your future. For thenext 10 years you will see a lot ofhim. He will be a huge asset forthe Indian team," Ganguly said.

Echoing the sentiments,Ponting added: "I would be pick-ing him in the Indian team as thebatsman for No 4 as he can winyou the game with his talent. Wewant him to focus on IPL becauseif the boys do well they will get acall for the World Cup."

Ganguly said the IndianPremier League (IPL) will decidethe No 4 slot. "Many choices arethere but I think the IPL will in away decide who will get thatposition. I had said (Cheteshwar)Pujara because he has been ingood form. I saw (Rahul) Draviddo the role when I was captain. Ifyou don't have an option you cantry him. Pant or (Ambati) Rayuducould be an option. We can giveour opinion, but somewhere I feelKohli knows who it should be."

Commenting on Kohli's posi-tion in the line-up, he said: "Kohlican play at any position and willscore runs. But I prefer No.3 forhim."

Ganguly went on to add thatthis Indian team doesn't relyheavily on the skipper. "Theseguys are really good. We didn'tthink we will lose the final in theChampions Trophy. This team hasa lot of talent. They will befavourites to win the trophy eventhough I don't believe in the tag.You have (Shikhar) Dhawan,Rohit (Sharma), Dhoni, Kohli,

(Jasprit) Bumrah, and others. Ihave no advise for this team, I justhope they play freely.

"Kohli is huge and all gener-ations have had such class players.Every generation has producedchampions and Kohli is a cham-pion but I honestly believe thatthis Indian team has the arsenalapart from Kohli to do well. Thisis a very good side which doesn'thave too many weaknesses," hesaid.

Delhi bowler Ishant Sharmahas been on a roll in red-ballcricket and both Ganguly and

Ponting feel that he is bowling hisbest right now.

"Ishant is bowling his best atthe moment, the way he bowledin England and Australia. He isworking really hard. Test bowlingis the highest level you have toachieve. Ishant has the ability toadjust. You can see he is someonewho is looking to turn it around,"the former India skipper said.

Ponting echoed the senti-ments. "I think Ishant is bowlingas good as ever. He is moremature and slightly refined. He isphysically looking good," he said.

��� 456�&5�0'

Not playing is not the solution," for-mer Indian skipper Sourav

Ganguly stated on Tuesday amid con-cerns around players' workload with theWorld Cup starting only a few days afterthe IPL.

There has been a lot of discussionon how the World Cup-bound playersneed to effectively manage their work-load during a demanding tournamentlike the Indian Premier League. The IPLends on May 12, while the World Cupstarts in England from May 30.

"Yes, there is a lot of cricket but youjust play. How many cricketers get toplay 15-16 years of international crick-et? I don't think anyone should worryabout being fatigued, being tired. Justfind a way to get fresh," Ganguly saidduring an event organised by IPL fran-chise Delhi Capitals.

Ganguly was recently appointedadvisor of the rechristened DelhiCapitals. Ganguly said skipping match-es is not the way to go.

"... Because I have always said thereis limited time to play this sport.Getting opportunities at the internation-al level, at the IPL level, this will nevercome back, so find a way to get rest, finda way to stay fresh and keep playing.

"Not playing is not the solution,even our generation played a lot of crick-et. Yes IPL was not there as it cametowards the end of our career but, crick-et-wise, it was same.

"I keep saying that before yourealise, you will see 10-12 years have justflown away. Just make the most of it andplay every possible cricket match youcan," Ganguly advised the present-daycricketers. Skipper Virat Kohli recent-ly said it is up to the players to realisethe kind of load they are taking, and theiconic Sachin Tendulkar on Mondayagreed with him.

According to Ganguly, the cricketboards would be better off with a littlebit of flexibility, leaving the decision onplayers. "Decision should be left to theplayers. It's their career, you play at thetop level consistently and you can getinjured. And there is no guarantee thatwhen you play for the country you won'tget injured.

"So there is no hard and fast rule. Ibelieve in one thing, as a player, whenyou get an opportunity, play, never sayI don't want to play."

����� 456�&5�0'

Going into the last ODI seriesbefore the upcoming World

Cup — against Australia —India skipper Virat Kohli hadsaid that Indian players' perfor-mance in the IPL wouldn't haveany bearing with selection in thesquad for the showpiece event.But with none of the batsmenmanaging to secure the No 4slot post the five ODIs againstthe Aussies, the players' perfor-mance in the IPL will have abearing on the minds of theselectors when they pick thesquad for the World Cup mid-April.

The four primary con-tenders for the No 4 slot areAjinkya Rahane, AmbatiRayudu, Shreyas Iyer and KLRahul. And it all now boilsdown to a consistent showing inthe first half of the cash-rich T20league. A good run here andone of these four will be reward-ed with a ticket to England.

Speaking to IANS, a seniorBCCI official said that recentperformances have meant thatthe first month of the 12th edi-tion of the IPL will have to belooked into when MSK Prasadand his team sit down to pick

the squad for the World Cup."With all the chopping and

changing and experimentationand recent performances of theteam, the No.4 slot is not yetsealed and if you ask me, a cou-ple of other positions are alsoopen since some players havenot developed as well as onehoped over the last year. Withthe team selection slated foraround April 20, the first monthof the IPL will be crucial for theteam selection for the World

Cup," the official said.Echoing the sentiments, a

source in the team managementsaid that there are technicallyfour batsmen who will be fight-ing it out for the slot and a goodIPL for one of them will defi-nitely make that player afavourite to seal the position.

"It was thought that theAustralia series would helpcement all spots for the WorldCup. But that hasn't happenedand technically you now have

four batsmen fighting for theNo.4 slot. In fact, coach RaviShastri has even spoken of theoption of having Kohli at 4, butthat then depends on conditionsand match situation. He won'tgo into the tournament asIndia's no.4," the source toldIANS.

Interestingly, both Rahaneand Iyer are ready for the chal-lenge and feel that a good showin the IPL will definitely makethem contenders for that No.4spot that has had players com-ing in and going out withoutconsistent success.

"The approach won't beany different with the WorldCup spot looming because atthe end you are playing crick-et, be it the IPL or any othertournament. You have to scoreruns and do well for the team.The most important thing willbe to think about the RajasthanRoyals rather than thinkingtoo much about the road ahead.If I do well in the IPL, the WorldCup (slot) will automaticallycome. I feel it is important toexpress yourself and not takeany undue pressure thinkingabout things which aren't inyour control. The focus is theIPL," Rahane told IANS.

����� 456�&5�0'

The schedule of the group stages ofthe 12th edition of the Indian

Premier League (IPL) is out with alleight teams playing seven home match-es at their respective home venues.

The schedule is balanced in termsof afternoon matches/weekend match-es and travel. The board has factored the2019 Lok Sabha elections dates/phas-es in the respective states and cities andclearance thereof.

Defending champions ChennaiSuper Kings (CSK)will take on RoyalC h a l l e n g e r sBangalore (RCB) inChennai in the IPLopener, which willbegin on March 23.

The schedule of this year's editionhas been released in parts by the Boardof Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)in view of the upcoming Lok Sabhapolls that would be a staggered processin seven phases stretched across Apriland May.

Earlier, the BCCI announced theschedule of the first 17 matches that willbe played during the two-week periodfrom March 23 to April 5 across theeight home venues of the respectivefranchises.

All teams are playing a minimumof four matches with the newly-chris-tened Delhi Capitals (DC) and RoyalChallengers Bangalore (RCB) playingfive matches in that phase.

����� 456�&5�0'

Rajasthan Royals' SteveSmith, who is gearing up for

the upcoming edition of theIndian Premier League (IPL),praised his teammate Jos Buttlersaying the England interna-tional is one of the most

destructive batsmen aroundthe world.

Smith, who has played twoseasons for the Rajasthan Royalsin the past and led them in2015, said he is excited to playalongside the prolific wicket-keeper-batsman as he makesthings easy in the middle.

"Playing alongside Buttlerwill be great, batting with himmakes things easier for me. He'san exciting player and one of themost destructive batters aroundthe world. I'm really excited toplay with him," Smith said dur-ing a live interaction on fran-chise's social media platform onMonday.

Smith returned the sideafter serving out a one-yearinternational suspension forball-tampering scandal. HisAustralian teammate DavidWarner, who is also involved inthe scandal, joined his respec-tive team.

Rajasthan will be playingtheir league opener againstKings XI Punjab at the SawaiMansingh Stadium, Jaipur, onMarch 26.

"The Rajasthan Royals area great franchise... Great peopleand hopefully we have a greatyear," Smith said.

����� 456�&5�0'

National team skipper Virat Kohli,senior batsman Rohit Sharma and fast

bowler Jasprit Bumrah have been includ-ed in the top most category of the Boardof Control for India's (BCCI) list of centralcontracts.

These three players in the A+ catego-ry receive �7 crore each. Kohli, whobecame the fastest to reach the milestoneof 10,000 One-Day International (ODI)runs last year, reportedly earned an estimat-ed $20 million from brand endorsements.

Rohit Sharma, who recently crossed the8,000-run mark in ODIs, reportedly makesaround $8.6 million from brand endorse-ments.

Bumrah, the top-ranked ODI bowler inthe ICC rankings, claimed 78 Test wickets,22 ODI wickets and 8 T20I wickets in 2018.

Introduced for the first time last year,Kohli, Sharma, Bumrah, Shikhar Dhawan,and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have made it tothe 'A+' category in 2018. Kumar andDhawan have now been demoted from thetop bracket to the 'A' category.

Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja,Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane,Mahendra Singh Dhoni, MohammedShami, Ishant Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav andRishabh Pant are the other players in the'A' category.

The players in this category are paid �5crore per year.

The 'B' category, which is worth �3crore annualy, includes Lokesh Rahul,

Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal andHardik Pandya.

Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, AmbatiRayudu, Manish Pandey, Hanuma Vihari,Khaleel Ahmed and Wriddhiman Saha arein the 'C' category and take home �1 croreeach.

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Virat Kohli is not a "shrewd captain"who could be compared to his

national team deputy Rohit Sharma orformer skipper Mahendra SinghDhoni, who have won three IPL titleseach, feels former KKR captainGautam Gambhir.

The former India opener, who ledKolkata Knight Riders to two IPL tro-phies in 2012 and 2014, feels that inresult oriented franchise environ-ment, Kohli has been "lucky" to havesurvived despite Royal ChallengersBangalore (RCB) never winning thecoveted title in his eight years as skip-per.

"I don't see him as a shrewd cap-tain. I don't see him as a tactful cap-tain (tactician). And he hasn't won theIPL. So ultimately, a captain is only asgood as his record," Gambhir told onhost broadcasters' Star Sport show'GamePlan'.

Gambhir's comments is specific toKohli's success as a leader in IPL sincehe is the first captain who has led Indiato a Test series win on Australian soil.

"There are people who have wonthe trophy three times. MS Dhoni andRohit Sharma. So I think he has a long

way to go. You cannot compare him tosomeone like Rohit or Dhoni at thisstage," Gambhir said.

"He has been a part of RCB, andcaptaining RCB for the last seven toeight years, and he has been very luckyand should be thanking the franchisethat they stuck with him. Because notmany captains have got such a longrope where they haven't won a tour-nament," said Gambhir, who had topart ways with KKR in 2018 afterseven long years and two titles.

Gambhir's last IPL season waswith Delhi Daredevils where hestepped down from captaincy midwayafter his run in the tournament wentfrom bad to worse.

However, another former skipperSourav Ganguly, who had a tumul-tuous time as KKR captain, felt thatthere should be no questions aboutKohli's captaincy.

"If you talk about Virat Kohli andkeeping him as a captain, just look atwhat he has done. What he has donewith the bat in every format of thegame. Absolute champion.

And he deserves to be captain ofRCB for whatever period of time. I amsure he will turn it around," Gangulysaid.

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