c m y k c m y k

SPORT | 8CSK's Hazlewood pulls

out of IPL

THE LARGEST CIRCULATED ENGLISH DAILY IN SOUTH INDIACHENNAI I FRIDAY 2 I APRIL 2021

CITY | 2Don’t forget dark rule

of DMK in 2006-2011: CM

NATION | 5Assam polls battle between‘jhooth’ & ‘vikas’, says Modi

deccanchronicle.com, facebook.com/deccannews, twitter.com/deccanchronicle, google.com/+deccanchronicle Vol. 17 No. 6 Established 1938 | 8 PAGES| `3.00

WEATHERMax: 35OC Min: 22OC Rainfall: Nil

ASTROGUIDESarvari: Panguni 20

Tithi: PanchamiStar: Anusham/Kettai

Rahukalam:10.30 am to 12 am

Yamagandam: 3.00 PM to 4.30 PM

PRAYERSFajar: 5.01 am

Zohar: 12.21 pm Asar: 3.34 pm

Maghrib: 6.20 pm Isha: 7.31 pm

COUNTER POINT

Mumbai: NCP chief Sharad Pawarwho underwent a surgical proce-

dure for the removal of a gall blad-der stone two days ago is respond-

ing well to the treatment, a partyleader said on Thursday. He under-

went a check-up at 7 pm and is nowallowed to walk and take solid food,said Maharashtra minister and NCP

leader Nawab Malik on Twitter.Pawar was responding well to the

treatment and was in excellenthealth, said Malik. Pawar, 80, was

admitted to the Breach CandyHospital in Mumbai on Tuesday af

ter he experienced abdominal pain.

Pawar in good healthafter surgery

New Delhi: Russian COVID-19 vac-cine Sputnik V was on Thursday

denied recommendations for emer-gency use authorisation by the

Subject Expert Committee, consti-tuted by the central government.

The SEC met today on drugmakerDr Reddys application seekingauthorisation for the vaccine in

India. The expert panel has asked DrReddys and the drugmaker to sub-

mit more data on the vaccine.Meanwhile, Dr Reddys issued a

statement saying, We have had ourmeeting with the SEC today andwill await the feedback from the

CDSCO.”

Sputnik V denied emergencyuse authorisation in India

12,98,84,548WORLD CONFIRMED CASES

STATE GOVERNMENT BULLETINS

CASES

(+81,380)1,23,02,092

(+2,817)TN: 8,89,490

DEATHS

(+468) 1,63,428

12,738

28,33,387219

DEATHS

COUNTRIES,AREAS WITH

CASES

CORONA C UNT

worldometers.info

covid19india.org

ANUPAMASUBRAMANIAN | DCCHENNAI, APRIL 1

It looks like theDadasaheb Phalke juryhad done its homework onRajinikanth's ‘Thursday’sentiments and has timedits award accordingly.Yes, superstarRajinikanth has been con-ferred with the 51stDadasaheb Phalke award.

Minister of Informationand Broadcasting PrakashJavadekar took to socialmedia to share the news.He wrote, “Happy toannounce #DadasahebPhalke award for 2020 toone of the greatest actorsin history of Indian cine-ma Rajnikantji. His con-tribution as actor, produc-er and screenwriter hasbeen iconic.”

The jury team for thisyear for the prestigiousaward included ace play-back singer Asha Bhosle,d i r e c t o r - p r o d u c e rSubhash Ghai, Malayalamsuperstar Mohanlal, mu-sic composer and singerShankar Mahadevan andactor-politician BiswajeetChatterjee.

Presented annually atthe National Film Awardceremony, the DadasahebPhalke Award recognises

‘outstanding contributionto the growth and develop-ment of Indian cinema.’Instituted in 1969,Amitabh Bachchan wasawarded with the honourin 2019.

Rajinikanth is the 12thsouth Indian to be con-ferred with this award.Legends like Dr

Rajkumar, SivajiGanesan, AkkineniNageshwar Rao, KBalachander, K.Vishwanath have beenawarded before.

The legendary actor hasbeen honoured with thePadma Bhushan andPadma Vibhushan in thepast.

Dadasaheb Phalke awardfor superstar Rajinikanth

DC CORRESPONDENTCHENNAI, APRIL 1

The star actor who is atpresent shooting forAnnaatthe directed bySiva has thanked PrimeMinister Narendra Modiand the Union governmentfor conferring the Dadasa-heb Phalke Award on him.

“Immensely humbledand honoured with yourgreetings and the mostprestigious #DadasahebPhalke Award awardrespected and dearestShri@narendramodi ji. Myheartfelt thanks to you andthe government of india.”

In a statement, Rajinisaid, “I thank the Indiangovernment and the honor-able Prime MinisterNarendra Modi for confer-ring me Indian cinema'shighest honour,Dadasaheb Phalke Award.I dedicate this award to myfriend and bus driver RajBahadur, who discoveredmy acting talent andencouraged me.” ■P3

■ Highest award in Indian cinema for legendary actor AT ZENITH, HEREMEMBERSTHEM ALL

RAJIB CHOWDHURI |DCwith agency inputsKOLKATA, APRIL 1

Despite prohibitory ordersissued under Section 144 ofthe CrPC, massive presenceof Centre-ordered paramili-tary forces and aerial sur-veillance by the ElectionCommission, Nandigram --the hot seat in West BengalAssembly elections whereChief Minister MamataBanerjee is taking on herprotege-turned-adversarySuvendu Adhikari -- reeledunder violence onThursday, leaving MsBanerjee stranded at apolling booth for over twohours.

Ms Banerjee had to be res-cued by Central paramili-tary forces after she wasconfined at a polling boothamid an extremely tenseface-off between BJP andTrinamul Congress support-ers. From the spot, shedialled Governor JagdeepDhankar, telling him the sit-uation was a failure of theElection Commission.

“Anything might happenat any moment... There istotal breakdown of law andorder,” wheelchair-boundMs Banerjee said, addingthat she feared for her life.She was escorted out by thesecurity forces, who man-aged to bring the situationunder control after long-drawn negotiations with thevillagers. ■P5

Violence mars Nandigramvoting; forces rescue Didi

DC CORRESPONDENTCHENNAI, APRIL 1

Former Union ministerand DMK deputy generalsecretary A Raja has beendebarred from campaign-ing for 48 hours 'withimmediate effect' by theElection Commission ofIndia (ECI), which wasnot satisfied with hisreply to a notice sent tohim on a complaint by the

AIADMK.The ECI order on

Thursday reprimandedMr Raja for violating theModel Code of Conductand delisted him as DMK'sstar campaigner, besidesadvising him “to be watc-hful and not to make inte-mperate, indecent, dero-gatory, obscene remarksand lower the dignity ofwomen in future duringelection campaign”.

ECI bans Raja fromcampaign for 48 hrs

DC CORRESPONDENTCHENNAI, APRIL 1:

A division bench ofMadras High Court head-ed by Chief JusticeSanjib Banerjee onThursday directed theauthorities not to causeany inconvenience to thegeneral public duringVIP movements and cam-paigns during the elec-tions and ensure freeflow of traffic.

■P3

‘VIP MOVEMENTSHOULD NOTTROUBLE PUBLIC’

STALIN PREDICTSWASHOUT FOROPPONENTS

Biden lets Trump’s H-1B visa bans lapseWashington, April 1: USPresident Joe Biden onThursday let the ban on for-eign workers visa, in partic-ular H-1B, lapse as the noti-fication issued by his prede-cessor Donald Trumpexpired, a move which islikely to benefit thousandsof Indian IT professionals.

Amidst a national lock-down and the Covid-19 cri-sis, Mr Trump in June lastyear issued a proclamationthat suspended entry to theUS of applicants for severaltemporary or “non-immi-grant” visa categories, incl-

uding H-1B, arguing thatthese visas presented a riskto the US labour marketduring the economic recov-ery.

On December 31, MrTrump extended the orderto March 31, 2021, notingthat an extension was war-

ranted as the pandemic con-tinued to disrupt Ameri-cans’ lives, and high levelsof unemployment and jobloss were still presentingserious economic challe-nges to workers across theUS.

Mr Biden did not issue afresh proclamation for theban on H-1B visas to contin-ue after March 31. He hadpromised to lift the suspen-sion on H-1B visas, sayingMr Trump’s immigrationpolicies were cruel.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows

US companies to employ for-eign workers in specialtyoccupations that requiretheoretical or technicalexpertise. Technology com-panies depend on it to hiretens of thousands of employ-ees each year from coun-tries like India and China.

The expiry of the Trump’sproclamation would nowresult in the issuing of H-1Bvisas by American diplo-matic missions overseasthat would result in US com-panies bringing in talentedtechnology professionalsinside the country.

Govt drops smallsavings’ rate cutMADHUSUDAN SAHOO | FCNEW DELHI, APRIL 1

The Union governmenton Thursday reversed itsdecision to cut interestrates of small savingsschemes which wereannounced late onWednesday evening. Thedecision citing “over-sight” was taken hoursafter announcing thesteepest cut in the rate onsmall savings schemes.

The government, how-ever, said the rate cutsare in line with overallinterest rate movementin the financial system.The 'surprising move' ofthe government cameafter the ministry offinance had, onWednesday, announced a

cut in small savingsdeposit rate from 4 percent to 3.5 per cent for thefirst quarter of the finan-cial year starting April 1,2021. Giving a blow tosmall savings depositors,the Centre had slashedinterest rates on postoffice deposits, publicprovident fund and oth-ers by up to 1.1 per cent or110 basis points.

“Interest rates of smallsavings schemes of GoIshall continue to be at therates which existed in thelast quarter of 2020-2021,ie, rates that prevailed asof March 2021. Ordersissued by oversight shallbe withdrawn,” financeminister NirmalaSitharaman said in anearly morning tweet onThursday.

Vaccination for allabove 45 yrs startsNew Delhi, April 1: TheCovid-19 vaccination forall people aged 45 andabove commenced onThursday, the Unionhealth ministry said.

More than 6.5 crore vac-cine doses have beenadministered across thecountry so far to frontlineworkers, healthcareworkers, those above 60and for people aged above45 with specified co-co-morbid conditions.

The countrywide vacci-

nation drive was rolledout on January 16 withhealthcare workers get-ting inoculated and vacci-nation of frontline work-ers (FLWs) started onFebruary 2.

Meanwhile, India saw72,330 new infectionsbeing registered in a spanof 24 hours, the highestsingle day rise recordedso far this year.

Maharashtra has report-ed the highest daily newcases at 39,544.

DC CORRESPONDENTNEW DELHI, APRIL 1

In what is being reportedas a “swift U-turn” onThursday following a“political backlash”,Pakistan on Thursday“deferred” its move toimport cotton and sugarfrom India and linked itto the condition that Indiashould first restoreArticle 370 on Jammu andKashmir that was abro-gated two years ago.

According to interna-tional news agencyreports from Islamabadon Thursday, Pakistaniinterior minister SheikhRashid Ahmed toldreporters there that thedecision (to import cottonand sugar from India) hadbeen “deferred” untilIndia restored Kashmir'sspecial status under the(revoked) Article 370.

In what was earlier seenas a huge step towardsnormalisation of Indo-Pak ties, Pakistan had onWednesday approved theresumption of bilateraltrade between the twocountries and had decid-ed to import cotton fromIndia at least till June 30this year. Also, Pakistanwas expected to soonimport white sugar fromIndia. The decision wasinitially taken by thatcountry’s CabinetEconomic CoordinationCommittee and the noteput up before that body bythe commerce ministry.

DC CORRESPONDENTCHENNAI, APRIL 1

DMK president M.K.Stalin on Thursday pre-dicted a total washout ofthe BJP-AIADMK alliancein the April 6 Assemblyelections as an anti-Palaniswami wave, alongwith the anti-Modi wavethat hit them in the LokSabha elections, was set tosweep through the Statelike a tsunami.

■P3

PAKISTANDEFERS TRADEPLAN, TIES ITTO ARTICLE 370

Don’t forget dark rule of DMK in 2006-2011: CM

OTHER STORIESHC rejects Pondy

BJP stand on accessto voters’ numbers

Chennai: Expressing dissatis-faction over the response ofPuducherry unit of the BJPthat mobile numbers of localvoters were collected by partyworkers over a period of time,the Madras High Court onThursday directed the UniqueIdentification Authority ofIndia (UIDAI) and the ElectionCommission (EC) to probe intothe matter.

When the PIL petition by AAnand, president of thePuducherry unit of theDemocratic Youth Federation ofIndia (DYFI) came up for fur-ther hearing, the first bench ofChief Justice Sanjib Banerjeeand Justice SenthilkumarRamamoorthy found somethingfishy. The UIDAI should pursuethe matter involving a breach inthe maintenance of secrecy,without any attempt to cover upthe issue, the judges said.— PTI

Defeat anti-womenDMK: Shah to votersThirukoyilur (TN),April 1: Union HomeMinister Amit Shah onThursday hit out at theDMK over its leader ARaja's alleged vulgarremarks against TamilNadu Chief Minister KPalaniswami's mother,saying it showed the partyhad no regard for women.The "mothers and sisters"of the state should teach a'lesson' to the DMK in theApril 6 Assembly polls bydefeating it, he said.Addressing an electionrally here, Shah can-vassed votes for NDA can-didates--those from theAIADMK, BJP and thePMK,even as he chargedthe DMK with aiming toromp home in the polls by'hook or crook.' Referringto Raja's alleged offensiveremarks targeted atPalaniswami, leader ofthe BJP's ally AIADMK,Shah also accused theDMK and Congress of cor-ruption and dynasty. "Isaw the statement byDMK leader A Raja. Thekind of statement hemade against a deceasedwoman. I think they(DMK) have no regard forwomen and want to winthis election by hook orcrook," he said. "In thepast, DMK made such badremarks against (the lateChief Minister)Jayalalithaa ji. I appeal tothe mothers and sisters ofTamil Nadu-- teach a les-son to the anti-womenDMK in the polls bydefeating it," the BJP vet-eran said. The electoralbattle was between theNDA which was walkingthe path of developmentand the UPA which wasinto corruption anddynasty, he said. Both theparties (DMK, Congress)

were not bothered aboutthe people of Tamil Nadu,Shah claimed. TheElection Commission,Shah said, has chosenApril 6 as the polling dayin Tamil Nadu and it coin-cided with the BJP'sFoundation Day andtherefore the NDA willwin the polls, he said. Hedescribed Palaniswami asa "son of the soil" and afarmer and lauded boththe chief minister and hisdeputy O Panneerselvamfor protecting the peopleof the state against coron-avirus. "On the other side,the DMK and Congressare not bothered about thepeople of Tamil Nadu," hesaid. While CongressPresident Sonia Gandhiwas "worried" about herson Rahul, DMK chief MK Stalin was "worried"about his sonUdhayanidhi, Shahalleged. "We all knowDMK and Congress partywell. DMK and Congressmean corruption, rowdy-ism, land encroachmentand furthering the inter-ests of their sons anddaughters and not both-ered about people," Shahalleged. On the otherhand, the NDA, underPrime Minister NarendraModi's leadership, wasconcerned about the wel-fare of Tamil Nadu andwas walking in the path oflate chief minister M GRamachandran and JJayalalithaa, he said. Infact, the credit for all pro-

poor programmes in thecountry should go toRamachandran, fondlyaddressed as MGR, hesaid. It was in his honour,that the Chennai CentralRailway Station was earli-er named after MGR byModi, Shah said, addingthe AIADMK founder isthe "true Makkal thi-lagam" (People's leader).

Under the PM's leader-ship, Palaniswami andPanneerselvam were alsotaking the state foward inthe path of development,he said. Later in the day,Shah participated in aroad show atVelayudampalayam tocanvass votes for theparty's BJP candidatefrom Aravakurichi inKarur, K Annamalai andtravelled on an open topvan. In his address, hesaid there were two choic-es before Tamil Nadu--the"corrupt DMK andCongress on one side" andon the other side it wasthe PM-led NDA "which isfighting the polls forTamil Nadu's develop-ment." While Modi,Palaniswami andPanneerselvam want thedevelopment of TamilNadu and jobs for youth"Stalin wantsUdhayanidhi to becomeChief Minister," he said."Do you want develop-ment of Tamil Nadu orUdhayanidhi? The timehas come that the foot-steps of great MGR andJayalalithaa be followedfor the state's growth. Andonly the AIADMK andBJP can do this and noone else." "Reject the cor-rupt and Tamil Nadu willbecome one of the mostdeveloped states in thecountry," Shah said.

— PTI

DMK prez predicts a washout of rivalsDC CORRESPONDENTCHENNAI, APRIL 1

DMK president M.K.Stalin predicted a totalwashout of the BJP-AIADMK alliance in theApril 6 Assembly elec-tions as an anti-Palaniswami wave, alongwith the anti-Modi wavethat hit them in the LokSabha elections, was set tosweep through the statelike a tsunami.

Addressing crowds atMettupalayam andGoundampalayam in theWestern part of the Stateon Thursday, Stalinstressed on the need forreclaiming the rights ofthe State that had beenlost in the AIADMK rule.

The BJP government atthe Centre was whippingup communal hatred, pre-venting the State’s chil-dren from studying medi-cine through Neet andimposing Hindi on theTamil people, Stalinalleged.

Prime MinisterNarendra Modi had spo-ken about lack of safetyfor women under theDMK when he addressed acrowd at Dharapuram, hesaid and added: ‘I wouldlike to invite the PrimeMinister to visit Pollachiand check for himselfhow safe women are in theAIADMK rule.’

He said that he learntthat Modi was visiting theState again and would bein Madurai where ChiefMinister Edappadi K Pala-niswami would be sittingwith him on the stage.Stalin wanted Palanisw-ami to enquire with thePrime Minister what hap-pened to AIIMS in Ma-durai, for which he gavethe sanction in 2015 andthen laid the foundationbefore the 2019 elections.

Asking the ChiefMinister to also tell Modito repeal the CAA sincethe AIADMK had men-tioned in its present mani-festo that it would opposeit. Stalin said that theAIADMK and the PMKhad supported the passingof the bill enabling the

bringing in of the CAA.Also, Stalin urged

Palaniswami to prevailupon the Prime Ministerto withdraw the three con-troversial Agriculturelaws that were passed toenable corporate compa-nies to make huge profitsat the cost of farmers’livelihood.

He wanted the ChiefMinister to enquire withthe Prime Minister if itwas right on the part ofthe Centre to legallyoppose the passing of thebill providing 7.5 per centreservation for students ofgovernment schools inmedical admission by his

government.Stating that he heard

that the Chief Ministerwould be visiting Gudalurby helicopter, Stalin saidthat when a landslideoccurred in the Nilgiris, itwas he who visited thedistrict to provide succorto the people and notPalaniswami.

He recalled the incident,saying that as a leader ofthe opposition he mobi-lized funds to the tune ofRs 10 crore through theMP’s Local Area Develop-ment Fund of Nilgiris MPA Raja and Rajya Sabhamembers Trichy Siva andT K S Elangovan.

DC CORRESPONDENTCHENNAI, APRIL 1

The Madras high court hasdirected the authorities not tocause any inconvenience to thegeneral public during VIPmovements and campaignsduring the elections and ensurefree flow of traffic.

The first bench comprisingChief Justice Sanjib Banerjeeand Justice SenthilkumarRamamoorthy gave the direc-tive while disposing of a PublicInterest Litigation filed byadvocate M.Gnanasekar, whichsought to forbear the authori-ties from preventing the peopleof Tamil Nadu from using theroads in the name of politicalcampaigns by the political lead-ers and permit free flow of traf-fic to public during the TamilNadu State election to theLegislative Assembly.

According to the petitioner allthe political parties startedtheir campaigning vigorouslyfrom the date of nominationitself.

Do not disturb public during VIP

movement, campaigns: HC

DC CORRESPONDENTCHENNAI, APRIL 1

Dismissing a Public InterestLitigation, the Madras highcourt has restrained the PILpetitioner from instituting anypublic interest litigation in thecourt for a period of one yearwithout first obtaining theleave of the relevant Bench.

The first bench comprisingChief Justice Sanjib Banerjeeand Justice SenthilkumarRamamoorthy dismissed thePIL filed by S.P.V.Paul Raj,which sought a direction to theChief Electoral Officer and theState government to issue nec-essary order to carryout com-pulsory medical test to all thecandidates contesting in theongoing Tamil NaduLegislative Assembly electionsso that 6, 29, 43, 512 voters canbe protected from infecting thedeadly Covid-19 virus.

The bench said this is utterlya frivolous matter and it ishoped that some degree ofresponsibility will be exercisedbefore rubbish is thrown at theCourt in future. The petitionerhas instituted a public interestlitigation since the petitionerdesires that all candidates con-testing in the LegislativeAssembly elections schedulednext week should undertake acompulsory medical test.

HC restrains petitionerfrom instituting PIL in

court for one year

B. RAVICHANDRAN I DCCOONOOR, APRIL 1

Chief Minister EdappadiK. Palaniswami hasappealed to the voters notto forget the dark rule ofthe DMK in the statebetween 2006 and 2011 andadded that Nilgiris MP A.Raja’s recent disrespectfuland

distasteful comments onwomen reflect the cruelmentality of that party.

Hitting the campaigntrail in Coonoor onThursday, Palaniswamisaid that it is shamefulthat Stalin failed toreceive petitions from thepublic to address issueswhen he was a ministerduring the 2006-2011 DMKregime, but now he col-lects petitions and sealsthem in boxes to find solu-tions. The DMK leaders,including Stalin, arespeaking only lies with anaim to come to power and

loot the state again. “If aNobel prize was to beinstituted for a personwho speaks maximumlies, then Stalin is the bestperson to receive it” henoted.

“DMK is meant for fami-ly rule. Mr. Stalin occu-pied the DMK president’spost after the demise ofhis father. He made hisson the chief of DMK’syouth wing. His sisterKanimozhi was made the

secretary of the DMK’swomen’s wing. This clear-ly proves that how familyrule is dominant in theDMK”, he added.

Saying that women willnot be safe during DMKrule, he said that DMKleaders and cadres neverrespect women and theydo not even help those whosuffer. People should teacha lesson to the DMK in thiselection too. Peopleshould not forget the poorlaw and order situationduring the 2006-2011 DMKrule and how people suf-fered due to the electricitycrisis. When AIADMKcame back to power in2011, not only was thepower crisis solved, butTamil Nadu has become apower surplus state now.This is enough to provethe administrative capa-bility of the AIADMK, hesaid.

Stating that Tamil Naduhas begun to occupy top

positions in many fields,including higher educa-tion, he said that distribu-tion of laptops to the stu-dents enabled even thepoor to pursue higher edu-cation with zeal and com-fort.

Listing the variousachievements of theAIADMK governmentover the decade, heappealed to the voters toelect the AIADMK againfor a peaceful living. Healso touched upon the var-ious schemes that were

implemented in Nilgirisduring the AIADMK rule,which includes govern-ment medical college forOoty, Emerald water sup-ply scheme for Coonoorand Halakarai water sup-ply scheme for Kotagiri.

Palaniswami said thestate government has rec-ommended to the Centreto include the Badagacommunity in Nilgirisunder the ST list.

Modi visiting Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai on Thursday evening. — K. Manikandan

MANDATE 2021DECCAN CHRONICLE | FRIDAY | 2 APRIL 2021 | CHENNAI

DMK’s A. Raja's interim reply — in which he denied the allegationsand asked for copies of the full text of his speech and AIADMK's com-plaint, besides requesting an opportunity to give a detailed reply andpersonal hearing with his lawyer — was found not to be satisfactory by the ECI

TAMIL NADU

pg 2

EC not satisfiedwith Raja’s reply

Bid to bribe voters inStalin’s constituencyDC CORRESPONDENTCHENNAI, APRIL 1

The DMK has lodged acomplaint with theElection Commission ofIndia (ECI) accusing theAIADMK of trying tobribe voters in Kolathurconstituency, where theirparty president M KStalin is contesting in theApril 6 Assembly elec-tions, through moneytransfer digital platforms.

In a complaint to theECI, DMK organizationsecretary R S Bharati saidthat AIADMK cadre werecollecting mobile phonenumbers and copies ofelection ID cards fromvoters in various con-stituencies across theState, including Kolathur.

The numbers weretaken from voters with aview to transferringmoney through the digi-tal platforms like GooglePay, Phone pee andPayTM, the complaintsaid, adding that voterswere also being lured togo out of the constituencyto collect the cash.

The complaint urged theECI to instruct the flyingsquads that search vehi-cles for money and gifts to

also seize lists of phonenumbers and copies of el-ection ID cards if they we-re found in the vehicles.

Meanwhile, The ECItransferred the DistrictCollector and Superinten-dent of Police of Karurdistrict in one stroke andmade new appointmentswith immediate effectbased on inputs.

Collector and DistrictElection Officer, S Malar-vizhi, was shunted outand Prashant M Wadnae-re was brought in herplace and SP, S S Mage-swaran, was replaced byG Shashank Sai.

Also the ECI appointedT Jeyachandran as Depu-ty Commissioner of Po-lice in the post that waslying vacant in the Coim-batore Police Commissi-oner’s office.

How political parties are making the most of television channels

TV channels havebecome the best tra-ditional medium for

political parties and theirleaders to give a local twistto their poll agenda andreach out to voters.Regional Tamil channelsand local cable channels

are flooded with politicaladvertisements duringthis election season. WithApril 6 nearing, not onlynews channels but alsoentertainment channelshave begun airing cam-paign ads frequentlybetween programmes.

Parties find regional TVchannels more relevantbecause they have a hugereach and candidates cancommunicate in local lan-guage and dialect. It alsogives them an opportunityto have the extra personaltouch to connect with peo-ple in the constituency.

With strong content pre-pared for elections, TVchannels also offer a com-plete package to politicalparties. Advertisements,campaign speeches, elec-tion rallies, debates andinterviews on TV help par-ties reach interior pockets

of the state. Thoughsocial media is popularamong people, especiallythe youth, television con-tinues to be the best medi-um to woo people in areaswhere there is low inter-net penetration duringthese pandemic times.

DMK and AIADMK havemaximum ads telecast ontelevision. Their VetriNadai PodumThamizhagame and Stalinthaan vararu seriesseemed to have left animpressive impact on theaudience. Meanwhile, par-ties owning TV channels

have a field day. The ad videos have spe-

cific target audiences andgain considerable trac-tion. Campaign plannersin parties ensure their adswith targeted slots reachfirst-time voters, adultsand senior citizens in bothurban and rural areas.They not only woo firsttime voters but also keeptheir loyal voters engaged.

Only May 2 poll resultswill reveal how prominentwas the role played by television in reaching outto the masses in thedigital era.

B. VijayalakshmiViewpoint

AIADMK candidatetests Covid +veDC CORRESPONDENTTIRUCHY, APRIL 1

AIADMK candidate forThuraiyur (reserve) con-stituency Indra Gandhiwas admitted in a pri-vate hospital at Tiruchyon Thursday after test-ing positive for Covid-19.

Sources confirmedthat she was infectedwith the Coronavirusand she went on the clin-ical analysis which con-firmed it as positive.

Vijayakanthseeks votes forAMMK candidatesDC CORRESPONDENTTIRUCHY, APRIL 1

Desiya Murpokku Dravi-dar Kazhagam founder-president Vijayakanthon Thursday went on awhirlwind electioneeri-ng in favour of the Am-ma Makkal MunnetraKazhagam candidates inTiruchy East and Sriran-gam assembly segments.

Vijayakanth campaig-ned at Gandhi Marketseeking votes for AMMKTiruchy East candidateR. Manoharan. Earlier,Vijayakanth campaign-ed at Srirangam for Cha-rubala Thondaiman, theAMMK candidate for theSrirangam assembly.

DC CORRESPONDENTCHENNAI, APRIL 1

The Madras high courthas dismissed a PublicInterest Litigation,which sought a directionto the Election Commiss-ioner/Officers to issueappropriate measures toforbear the unlawful useof Electronic Media tocommunicate the votersby SMS, Whatsapp,Social MediaAdvertisement in SearchEngine, Apps, E-mailsand all these possiblemeans of communicatingvoters at large during thevital 48 hours (i.e two

days) before the electiondate till the end of date ofvoting.

The first bench com-prising Chief JusticeSanjib Banerjee andJustice SenthilkumarRamamoorthy dismissedthe petition filed byM.J.Logesh Babu.

The bench said thepresent petition per-tains to apprehensionof unlawful use of theelectronic media tocommunicate to thevoters.

It is well-nigh impos-sible for both the Courtand the ElectionCommission to control

how the media acts orhow the social media maybe used.

It is only if any viola-tion is brought to thenotice of the Court or theElection Commissionthat any action may betaken.

HC rejects plea to forbear unlawful useof electronic media to communicate voters

SPECIAL pg 3DECCAN CHRONICLE | FRIDAY | 2 APRIL 2021 | CHENNAI

All-time cult superstarANUPAMA SUBRAMANIAN I DCCHENNAI, APRIL 1

Born in a Marathi familyas Shivaji Rao Gaekwad,the doyen of Tamil cine-ma, K. Balachander, dis-covered him and intro-duced him in his 1975national award-winningfilm Apoorva Raagangal.It was on a Holi day thelegendary film-makerrechristened him asRajinikanth and the rest ishistory.

Though Rajini startedhis career as a baddie andcontinued doing filmswith shades of grey, it washis ultimate negativecharacter ‘Parattai’ in acedirector Bharathiraja’sdebut film 16 Vayadhinile,which made him aninstant hit. His inimitablestyle combined with thepunch line ‘Edhu EppidiIrukku’ was admired byall.

Veteran film-maker S.P.Muthuraman’s BhuvanaOru Kelvikuri, in whichRajini portrayed a positivecharacter, changed hisimage overnight. His yetanother milestone filmwith SPM wasArilirundhu ArubadhuVarai, a blockbuster inwhich Rajini was project-ed as an emotional personand his histrionics wereportrayed without anyantics. Together, the duomade 25 movies and someof the memorable filmsinclude Netrikkan,Murattu Kaalai (first timeRajini in a full-fledgedrural action role), NaanMahan Alla, NallavanuNallavan etc.

Prolific film-makerThanu, who identified thestar in him, gave the'Superstar' title to Rajiniwhen he released Bhairaviin 1978. Much later in 2016,Thanu made Kabali withRajini where the latterplayed an aged gangster.

Mullum Malarum withace Mahendran was amajor breakthrough forRajinikanth, whose per-formance as ‘Kali’received unanimouspraise, and is widely con-sidered as the best per-formance in his careerand also won him special

award in state awards.Rajinikanth did only a

single yet significant filmThalapathy with ManiRatnam. The movieemerged as a crucial filmin his career, apart frombeing a commercial hit.

Baasha directed bySuresh Krishna andreleased in 1995 went on tobecome a cult classic,which made Rajini‘Baasha’ of all times.Rajini played an auto driv-er with a deadly past. TheSuperstar became anovernight rage amongauto drivers of TamilNadu.

Commercial directorK.S. Ravikumar teamedup with Rajini for Muthu,which was a huge boxoffice hit and was the firstfilm to be dubbed intoJapanese as Mutu – OdoruMaharaja. The film wenton to create a huge fanbase and market forRajinikanth in Japan. Thesuccess of Muthu inJapan led American newsmagazine Newsweek tocomment that Rajinikanth

had superseded LeonardoDi Caprio as Japan’strendiest heartthrob.

Shankar, known for hisgrandeur and extravagan-za, collaborated withRajinikanth for Sivaji.The blockbuster becamethe first Tamil movie to belisted as one of the top 10best films of the UK andSouth Africa. Rajini, whowas reportedly paid awhopping Rs 20 croresalary for Sivaji, is said tobe the second highest paidactor in all of Asia.

Enthiran, yet anotherfilm with Shankar, wasthe first sci-fi for himwhich was released in 2010and touted to be the mostexpensive Indian film tobe made then (Rs150 crore)and highest grossingTamil film of its time.Rajini commanded aremuneration of Rs 45crore for his dual roles ofa robot (a negative one)and a scientist.

Chandramukhi, a come-dy-horror film directed byP. Vasu, was a comebackfilm for Rajinikanth after

his self-imposed sabbati-cal following the fiasco ofhis writing and produc-tion venture Baba. It wasRajini's third all-timeblockbuster and complet-ed a 700-day run at the boxoffice. About 20 milliontickets were reportedlysold worldwide.

His last film was Darbar,which was released in2020.

Rajinikanth has a cultfan following with 55,000fan clubs registeredaround the world in 2017and few thousand unoffi-cial ones. The first fanclub was started inMadurai by one of hisardent fans calledMuthumani 45 years agoand the actor got in touchwith him and gave himfinancial assistance whenthe former was hospi-talised recently.

The actor, who is 71 andarguably one of southIndia's biggest stars tilltoday, sparks extreme fanmania before every film’srelease – from erectingmassive cutouts and doingpal abhishekam to them,offering special prayersand celebrating it as a spe-cial festival.

The iconic star has actedin more than 160 films inall south languages as wellas Hindi and in anAmerican cinema with asupporting role in themystery adventure filmtitled Bloodstone in 1988.

Chennai, April 1: Whenhe thundered in 1996 that“even God cannot save”Tamil Nadu if the thenChief Minister JJayalalithaa won a suc-cessive term in elections,many saw it asRajinikanth's prelude tothe political entry of theuncrowned king of Tamilcinema known for hissureshot hits. For, cinemato politics transition wasnothing new in TamilNadu as former chiefministers, CNAnnadurai, M.Karunanidhi, M. G.Ramachandran andJayalalithaa had success-ful cinema stints beforeblending with politics tolead the state. But eversince it was a guessinggame, occasional punchdialogues in films, anassertive statement in2017 and a 2020 markedwith flip-flops which cul-minated with the actorfinally saying a big no topolitics, citing his frailhealth. His roar of “nowor never” in politics lastyear ended with a whim-per in the same when hefinally said he would nottake the political plungeowing to his frail health.This, after a 2017 asser-tion that he would launcha political party and fightfrom all 234 assemblyseats in the 2021 electionsin Tamil Nadu whichenthused his diehard fanswho had been awaiting anannouncement that their'Thalaiva' who beat upevil men on screen blackand blue was now readyto clean up the 'system'with his political avatar.However, their joy was tobe short-lived when inMarch 2020, heannounced in a press con-ference that he neverdesired to be ChiefMinister and that hewould enter politics whenhe saw an upsurge among

the people yearning for achange ushering in cleanpolitics, promptingintense debates of “willhe or won't he.” However,within months, heseemed to have a changeof heart and categoricallyannounced floating aparty in January 2021.

This was the best timeto take the shot, he hadsaid with a catchy Tamilphrase “ippo illanaeppovum illa,” meaning ifnot now then never. Withthe spirited fans onceagain rallying behind theveteran, Rajinikanthmade another U-turn inDecember, when he saidhe will not enter politicsin view of his frail health,putting an end to his long-nurtured plans anddescribing his then hospi-talisation as a God'swarning. “Only I knowthe pain behind makingthis announcement,” the70-year old actor thensaid, days before he wasto spell out the contoursof his party based on spir-itual politics aimed atbringing a total change inthe Dravidian heartlandTamil Nadu in the 2021assembly elections. Hisannouncement came as ashock to many, withManian quitting politicsand Moorthy later float-ing his own outfit. Manymembers of his RajiniMakkal Mandram, seenas a precursor to the pos-sible political party, quitit and joined other organ-isations in the poll year.

From Shivaji Rao Gaekwad to Rajinikanth: The rise of the superstar

“My heartfeltthanks to thegovernment

of india, respected &dearest@narendramodi ji,@PrakashJavdekar jiand the jury forconferring upon methe prestigious#DadasahebPhalkeAward. I sincerelydedicate it to allthose who have beena part of my journey.Thanks to thealmighty,” hetweeted.

No politics,please

When even God cannot saveTN to ippo illana eppovum illa

AmitShah @AmitShahRajnikanth ji is a true legend, aversatile actor, whoseacting and cinematictalent has millions of fansacross the world. I joinour countrymen incongratulating Shri@rajinikanth Ji for beingconferred the prestigiousDadasaheb Phalke Award.

@KSChithra

Heartiest Congratulationsto Shri @rajinikanth sir onwinning the 51stDadasaheb Phalke Award.

@ARMurugadoss

Congratssuperstar@rajinikanthsir on winning the 51st

Dadasaheb Phalke awardanother feather on yourcap sir. You are always aninspiration.

@Aariarujunan

Very very happy andproud to know that our@rajinikanth sir has beenconferred with#DadaSahebPhalkeaward. Congratulationssir.

Radhikaa Sarathkumar

Congratulations to@rajinikanth sir on beingconferred with the#DadaSahebPhalke . Trulydeserving to a man whorose to this meteoricstardom

Chennai, April 1:Superstar Rajinikanth onThursday dedicated theprestigious Dada Saheb Phalke Awardannounced by the Centreto be conferred on him tothose who made him whathe is now, including a busdriver friend and his men-tor who launched him incinema, the late K.Balachander.

Union Information andBroadcasting MinisterPrakash Javadekar hadannounced on Thursdaythat Rajinikanth will bebestowed with the DadaSaheb Phalke award for theyear 2019, making him thethird from Tamil cinemaafter the late thespianSivaji Ganesan and late director Balachander,his mentor, to have been chosen for the award. Congratulatorymessages poured in fromvarious quarters to the vet-eran.

The 70-year old actorthanked the Centre for con-ferring the prestigiousaward and said he dedicat-ed it to his friend RajBahadur, elder brotherSathyanarayana Rao andall those who made him the

Rajini that is now. “I dedi-cate this award to myfriend and bus driver RajBahadur, who discoveredmy acting talent andencouraged me, my elderbrother SathyanarayanaRao Gaekwad, who sacri-ficed a lot to make me anactor while struggling withpoverty, my guru KBalachander, who createdthis Rajinikanth,” he said.

In a statement he alsodedicated the award to pro-ducers, directors, techni-cians, distributors, theatreowners, media, the Tamilpeople, “who have given me my life, and myfans across the world.”Rajinikanth said hethanked the Indian government and PrimeMinister Narendra Modifor conferring him the“Indian cinema's highesthonour.” The star thankedP a l a n i s w a m y ,Panneerselvam, Leader ofOpposition Stalin, “myfriend Kamal Haasan,”national and state politi-cians, his friends, hisfriends in the film industryand my well-wishers.“Long live Tamil people!Long live Tamil Nadu! JaiHind!!,” he said. —PTI

Chennai, April 1:Congratulating theactor over phone, CMPalaniswami said theDada Saheb PhalkeAward recognises hishard work in the filmindustry. “I pray to Godthat you will receivemany more awards andlive long,” the chiefminister said.

His long-time friendand Makkal NeedhiMaiam founder KamalHaasan said the award,highest to be bestowedon a performingartiste, is 100 per centappropriate forRajinikanth whileStalin said that though'delayed' the recogni-tion was welcome. “Itis a great pleasure thatthe highest award, theDada Saheb PhalkeAward, has beenannounced toRajinikanth, thesupreme star and mydearest friend. Theaward is 100 per centappropriate for Rajini,who has proven that hecan win over fans byappearing on screen,”Haasan tweeted.

Stalin described

Rajinikanth as a “dearfriend” and an “unpar-alleled performer” andexpressed joy over himbeing selected for theaward. “Delayed butwelcome,” he said in atweet. He wished thatRajinikanth, “a symbolof acting and friend-ship,” continues withhis journey in film-dom.

PMK leader and for-mer union minister Dr AnbumaniRamadoss congratulat-ed the superstar.

“Actor Rajinikanthhas been honored withthe Dada Saheb PhalkeAward, the highestaward of the filmindustry in India.Award winning closefriend @rajinikanthCongratulations,” hetweeted.

AMMK leader TTVDhinakaran, BJP statepresident L Murugan,national award win-ning lyricistVairamuthu, popularcomedian Vivekh and anumber of film person-alities greeted theactor on being selectedfor the award. —PTI

Rajini dedicates award tothose responsible for his rise

CM, Deputy CM, Stalin,Kamal greet actor

WORD OF PRAISE

TN Governor congratulates RajinikanthChennai, April 1:GovernorBanwarilal Purohit onThursday congratulatedactor Rajinikanth on beingchosen by the Centre for theDada Saheb Phalke award,saying his contribution toIndian Cinema has been of"an iconic quality and vari-ety."

In his greetings toRajinikanth, the Governorstated the actor has added upto the great galaxy of loftyachievers who have got thishonour previously, a RajBhavan release said. "Youhave added to the honour ofthe award as well. Hence mycheers to you. Your contribu-tion to Indian cinema at largehas been of an iconic quality

and variety." "You provided tomillions of people not just ahealthy escape from mun-dane lives through yourmovies, but also a dream tochase lofty ideals of humanvirtue of courage and convic-tion in right values," he toldthe actor.

The veteran star alwaysaddressed himself to largerissues of socio-cultural andpolitical interests. "It is notwithout reason that millionsof people across the barriersof region and language treatyou as an icon whose imagesoften adorn walls in count-less homes as an ambassadorof social causes," the releasequoted Purohit as tellingRajinikanth. -PTI

Cong questions timing of award New Delhi, April 1: TheCongress on Thursday ques-tioned the timing of DadasahebPhalke Award to superstarRajinikanth, saying the govern-ment should not do anything thatunnecessarily drags celebritiesin political controversies.

Congress leader Rajeev Shuklasaid the government should nottry to take political advantage outof everything and be wary ofsuch actions. "This award shouldhave been given to him long back,why is it being given this year," hesaid.

"The government should not doanything which unnecessarilydrags our celebrities in political

controversies. Rajinikanth is arespected film personality. TheBJP and the government shouldbe wary of this and it should nottry to take political advantage outof everything," Shukla toldreporters.

He alleged that the governmentdoing anything with elections inview is not proper, but noted thatpeople know everything. "Thegovernment should not try totake political gains out of every-thing it does. If the governmenthas done this with the intentionof making political gains andwith elections in mind, then thisis not appropriate in politics," hesaid. — PTI

AP CM wishes RajiniAmaravati, April1: Andhra PradeshChief Minister Y SJagan Mohan Red-dy on Thursday wi-shed Rajinikanthon being selectedfor the Dada SahebPhalke Award.The stylish Tamil

superstar made aprofound impact onsilver screen withhis inimitable man-nerisms and per-formance, the ChiefMinister said in astatement. —PTI

STATE pg 4DECCAN CHRONICLE | FRIDAY | 2 APRIL 2021 | CHENNAI

SHORT TAKES

14 arrested forvandalising

eatery on NHDC CORRESPONDENTCHENNAI, APRIL 1

The police on Wednesdayarrested 14 persons for alleged-ly creating ruckus and vandal-izing an eatery and threaten-ing the owner when hedemanded money from them.

Police sources said, around14 men on Wednesday nightcame on a van to an eatery inAcharapakkam on Trichy-Chennai National Highways.

The men, who were alldrunk, asked the staff of theeatery to give them food. Whileeating they reportedly abusedthe woman staff. After havingeaten the food, they refused topay the bill citing overpriceand threatened the owner.When the eatery owner alertedthe police, the gangvanadalised the hotel and fledthe scene.

Based on the alert by theowner, police personnel fromAcharappakam andMaduranatakam blocked thevehicle near Madurantakam.They were arrested and sent tojudicial remand.

Chennai, April 1: TamilNadu on Thursday reported2,817 fresh coronaviruscases with the state capital''sdaily Covid19 count cross-ing 1,000 besides 19 morefatalities, taking the case-load to 8,89,490 and the tollto 12,738. The number ofactive cases as on date wentup to 17,043. About 1,634 peo-ple were discharged follow-ing treatment today and thecumulative figure of recov-eries stood at 8,59,709.Chennai accounted for 1,083new cases while six peopledied in the metro, accordingto a health bulletin here.Chennai''soverall COVID-19case tally is 2,50,000, withthe active cases remainingat 6,695. With 589 people dis-charged in Chennai today,the total recoveries stood at2,39,056 while the toll at4,249. Of the 19 deaths, 16were due to comorbidities.Next to Chennai,Coimbatore reported 280new cases, followed byChengalpet with 258,Thiruvallur, 158 andThanjavur 113. BarringPerambalur, which reportedone fresh case andDharmapuri two new cases,the remaining districtsreported cases in doubledigits.PTI

Chennai Covid dailycount crosses 1K

Puducherry, April 1:Puducherry logged 260 newCovid-19 cases in the last 24hours taking the overalltally to 41,728, a senior offi-cial of the Department ofHealth and Family Welfareservices said on Thursday. A 72-year old male patient

died in the governmentgeneral hospital during the

last 24 hours ending 10 AMThursday, taking the toll to683, Director of Health andFamily Welfare Services SMohan Kumar said in arelease. The deceased hadcomorbidities, he added.

The 260 new cases wereidentified at the end of theexamination of 2,355 sam-ples and were spread over

Puducherry (190), Karaikal(54) and Mahe (16). Also, 43patients were dischargedafter recovery during thelast 24 hours. As many as6.73 lakh samples havebeen examined so far andof them 6.22 lakh turnedout to be negative, he saidadding the overall Covid-19tally was 41,728. —PTI

Puducherry logs 260 fresh cases

Aries: Be open and honest in your communica-tion with your beloved. Dissent is possible, sosay your words with extreme care. Worktowards your long-term goals.

Taurus: Don’t hand over important files to yourboss until you are sure that it is complete .Ignore colleagues who openly criticise you, theydo not need attention.

Cancer: Love and romance is in the air.Creativity in new ventures at your career willbe appreciated. Unexpected financial gainsthrough profession are possible.Leo: Women, friends and your spouse will con-tribute to your gains. This is not the right timefor you to involve in major money transactions.

Virgo: Some problems like misunderstandingwith clients are foreseen. The latter half ofthe day will be progressive for your officialaffairs. People will excel in their works today.

Pisces: You will not be stably inclined towardsthe matters of your heart. If you are planning topropose, postpone it to some other time. Yourexpenditures will overrule your gains.

Your day today

Ajay Devgn is an Indian actor. He starred in films likeDilwale, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, The Legend of BhagatSingh, Golmaal: Fun Unlimited, Singham, Tanhaji amongst

others.

You share your b’day with

COFFEE-BREAK

Across1.Effluent (6)

3. Auction items (4)7. Regulation (4)8. Wine store (6)

10. Evil (7)13. Anarchic (7)16. Come away (6)17. Opinion (4)18. Gemstone (4)19. Frittered away (6)

Down1. Confident (4)2. Money holder (6)4. Unctuous (4)5. Distribution (6)6. Mexican spirit (7)9. Heighten (7)

11. Impede (6)12. Help cut (6)14. Butt (4)15. Outstanding (4)

QUICK CROSSWORD

YESTERDAY’S ANSWER

Across: 1. Hourglass,6. Dates, 7. Stall, 9.Ulna, 10. Common,12. Loiter, 14. Toga,17. Drake, 18. Exile,19. Centenary.

Down: 2. Often, 3.Rust, 4. Lesion, 5.Spasm, 6. Doubled, 8.Lineage, 11. Deceit,13. Image, 15. Osier,16. Keen

TODAY’S RATINGS: 13 AVERAGE; 15GOOD; 17 OUTSTANDING

Word Mine

SA A N

I A L S T

By Dr C.V.B. Subrahmanyam

Mark Twain wrote, “Oneof the most strikingdifferences between a

cat and a lie is that a cat hasonly nine lives.”

Well, it is hard to call anadage like “lead throughstrength and up to weakness”a lie. There are exceptions, butit is usually correct. Anotheradage is “eight ever, ninenever.” As you probably know,this means that if you haveeight trumps missing only thequeen, you should finesse on

round two. But if you havenine cards, it is better to playoff the ace and king, expectingthe queen to drop. However,in this latter case, that is onlyabout 2% better than a sec-ond-round finesse. If youknow something about anoth-er suit, the odds can change.

This deal occurred duringthe 1972 World TeamOlympiad in Miami Beach,when the Aces faced Poland.The American West had anunenviable lead and selected

the club four, as would mosttop players in my opinion.Janusz Pietruk (South) calledfor dummy’s 10, and whenEast contributed the nine,Pietruk felt confident thatWest had started with fourclubs and East with a single-ton. If so, the odds hadaltered. Now it was better toplay East for long spades.Trusting his judgment, declar-er cashed dummy’s spadeking, then led a spade to hisjack. When the finesse

worked, he drew the lasttrump and lost only threetricks, one in each side suit.

At the other table, East hadbid hearts. So West beganwith the ace and anotherheart. Now it looked as thoughWest would be long in spades.The American declarer cashedhis spade ace and went downone, losing a trick in each suit.

Copyright United FeatureSyndicate

(Asia Features)

bridge

PHILLIPALDER

EIGHT

USUALLY,

NINE

SOMETIMES

jumble

C A L V I N A N D H O B B E S | B i l l W a t t e r s o n

B L O N D I E | D e a n Y o u n g a n d J o h n M a r s h a l l

A N D Y C A P P | R e g S m y t h e

T A R Z A N | E d g a r R i c e B u r r o u g h s

T H E W I Z A R D O F I D | P a r k e r a n d H a r t s d

A R C H I E | B i l l H e n r y S c a r p e l l i & c r a i g b o l d m a n

How many words of four or moreletters can you make from the

letters shown in today’s puzzle? Inmaking a word, each letter maybe used once only. Each word

must contain the letter at the topof the pyramid. There should be atleast one nine letter word. Plurals,foreign words and proper names

are not allowed.

Sagittarius: Practicing yoga and meditationwill avoid mental disturbances. Your bestefforts coupled with your confidence willfetch you success.Capricorn: Your children will bring about gains toyou; at the same time, their health issues couldbother you. Too many tasks might put you in adilemma. Support from family is not on cards.

Aquarius: Health conditions of your family mem-bers will get improved. Visiting religious spots willhelp you overcome mental depression and gift youwith mental peace. It is not a good day for love.

Scorpio: You will remain fit all through theday. It will be better to stay away from junkfoods and switch to healthy foods. Takeproper care of your eyes.

ANSWERS: assail, ASSAILANT, lass, last, list, nasal,sail, saint, salt, satin, silt, slain, slant, slat, slit, snail,stain

Libra: If you are working with a female busi-ness partner, it is a profitable period for yourbusiness. Do not opt to execute your expan-sion plans during this day.

Gemini: Your rude behaviour could createsome rift in your relationship. You shouldalways keep in mind that in love life you haveto adjust with each other.

HC upholds recovery order imposed onTNCSC employee for adulterationDC CORRESPONDENTCHENNAI, APRIL 1

The Madras high courthas upheld an order of theAppellate Authority ofthe Tamil Nadu CivilSupplies Corporation, forrecovery of Rs 2.65 lakhfrom an employee, who isresponsible for replacingsub-standard jaggery inrespect of 11,440 packets,thereby causing loss to thecorporation.

Justice S.Vaidyanathandismissed the petitionfiled by T.Marimuthu,challenging an order ofthe Managing Director/A-ppellate Authority, TamilNadu Civil SuppliesCorporation, dated March5, 2020.

The judge said a readingof the original order andthe appellate order makeit very clear that adetailed enquiry was con-ducted and the petitionerwas given an opportunityto defend the memo and

based on the documentaryevidence, the recoveryorder has been passed,which was confirmed bythe Appellate Authority.Be that as it may, theAppellate Authority hasgiven detailed reasons forfinding fault with the peti-tioner, imposed recoveryon the petitioner, whichwas based on the materialdocuments and this courtfinds no substance in thesubmission of the peti-tioner, the judge added.

The judge said, “On acareful scrutiny of theentire averments, I findthat there is no violationof principle of naturaljustice and even assumingfor the sake of argument,there is a discrepancy inthe order of the AppellateAuthority, it can be con-strued as minor in nature,in a case involvingreplacement of substan-dard jaggery to the tune of11,440 packets, especiallywhen the said fact is not

disputed. On mere techni-calities, the petitionercannot be allowed to goscotfree, more so, whenthere is a loss to theCorporation to an extentof Rs 2, 65, 079 and the actof the petitioner in replac-ing substandard jaggerycauses revenue loss notonly to the Corporation,but also becomes menaceto the public at large, who,without knowing its quali-ty, would have bought itfrom different forum sup-plied by the Corporationand consumed it. Thiscourt feels that the pun-ishment imposed on thepetitioner for the loss andsupply of substandardjaggery is not proportion-ate to the misconductcommitted by the petition-er, as there is adulterationeverywhere in the Stateand the persons, like thepetitioner are the rootcause for the free move-ment of adulteration/sub-standard goods”.

People above 45 years take Covid-19 vaccine at Government Omandurar MedicalCollege and Hospital on Thursday. Hospital Dean Dr R. Jayanthi inspects the drive. —DC

DC CORRESPONDENTCHENNAI, APRIL 1

A 32-year-old man alleged-ly murdered his 68-year-oldfather, over a family dis-pute at their house inSingaperumal Kovil inChengalpet district onWednesday night andabsconded.

According to police, theaccused identified as C.Srinivasan (32), is still atlarge. Police said that the

deceased Chandrasekar,(68) lived with wife Cha-ndra (65) and two sons, Sr-ivinivasan (32) and Balam-urugan (29) in Singape-rumal Kovil. The couple’selder son was married and he lives with his fami-ly in Madurai, the policesaid.

Police sources said thatChandrasekar and Sriniv-asan often exchanged ver-bal fights, as the latterincurred huge loss in the

business and was unem-ployed. Meanwhile, Cha-ndrasekar began lookingfor an alliance for the you-ngest son Balamuruganand this irked Srinivasan.

On Wednesday evening,he picked up a quarrelwith his father, which soonturned into a fight.Srinivasan allegedly tookan iron rod and assaultedhis father, according to thepolice. Chandrasekar whosuffered injuries to his

head was rushed to a pri-vate hospital by Balamuru-gan and Chandra, wherehe passed away in the earlyhours of Thursday.

The Maraimalai Nagarpolice registered a caseregarding the murder.They have sent the body ofthe deceased to Chengalpetgovernment hospital forpost-mortem. The policehave intensified search tonab the accused who is onrun.

Man murders father over family dispute

DC CORRESPONDENTCHENNAI, APRIL 1

The State Human RightsCommission has directedan inspector in Cuddaloredistrict to pay a compensa-tion of `1 lakh to a retiredforest ranger for harassinghim in custody nine yearsago.

Former forest ranger G.Sairam of SaraswathiNagar, Thirupathiripuliy-ur, Cuddalore district, stat-ed he was living in a housethat was bequeathed to himby his mother. His brother’swife Geetha claimed ashare in the house. Shelodged a complaint with theThirupathiripuliyur policestation, for partition of theproperty.

He said on December 31,2012 he received a call from

K. Ravi, inspector ofThirupathiripuliyur policestation, summoning himfor an enquiry. He wasunnecessarily detained forhours. On January, 2, 2013Geetha came along with herhenchmen and broke thelock of one portion of thehouse. When Sairam wentto the police station to lodgea complaint, Ravi refused toreceive it and also orderedothers not to receive hiscomplaint. Ravi denied theallegations made in thecomplaint.

SHRC member A.Chittaranjan Mohandosssaid the complainant has tobe compensated for theharassment and loss of dig-nity by the actions of theninspector Ravi. Hence, hehas to pay a compensationof `1 lakh to Sairam.

SHRC asks ex-cop to pay `1 Ldamages to retired ranger

Chennai, April 1: TamilNadu Advocate-GeneralVijay Narayan hasrefused to grant consentto initiate criminal con-tempt proceedingsagainst columnist andeditor of Tamil Magazine'Thuglak' for his allegedremarks against the judi-ciary and the judges at afunction in January. "Onthe facts and circum-stances of this case andby application of the lawlaid down in the threejudgments cited above, Ido not think that any caseis made out to initiatecriminal contempt pro-ceedings against ther e s p o n d e n t(Gurumurthy)," the AGsaid in his order issued onMarch 31. —PTI

AG refuses to accordconsent to punishGurumurthy

Social activist ‘Traffic’Ramasamy’s 88th birthdaycelebrated in the city onThursday.

—DC

NATION pg 5DECCAN CHRONICLE | CHENNAI | FRIDAY | 2 APRIL 2021

SHORT TAKES

ODISHA SIZZLESUNDER SEVERE

HEAT WAVE

TIGERESS FOUNDDEAD IN MP

RESERVE FOREST

JAWAN BEGINS KASHMIR TO

KANYAKUMARI RUNYUSUF JAMEEL | DCSRINAGAR, APRIL 1

An Army corporal on Thurs-day began a walk from Kashm-ir to Kanyakumari with a res-olve to set a Guinness WorldRecord.

Naik N.A. Velu P. of theArmy’s 60 Para Field Hospitalwho was sent off from theheadquarters of the Chinar or15 Corps headquarters here byhis colleagues on the journeycovering a distance of approx-imately 4,300 kilometres with-in 50 days is an “ultra-marat-honer who is attempting a Gui-nness book of world record,defence spokesman Lt.Colonel Emron Musavi said.

He was flagged off from 92Base Hospital at Srinagar witha heart-warming gathering ofenthusiasts.

DC CORRESPONDENTBHOPAL, APRIL 1

A female tiger died inBandhavgarh reserve forestcore zone which was struck bya wildfire a couple of days ago,forest officers said on Thurs-day. Carcass of the 13-year-oldtigress was found in Rahaniaforest beat area under Magad-hi range in the reserve late onTuesday night, field director ofBandhavgarh tiger reserveWincent Rahim said.

Post-mortem of the body wasdone on Wednesday by the vet-erinary doctor of the rangeNitin Gupta in the presence ofrepresentatives of NationalTiger Conservation Authority(NTCA) and senior officers ofthe state forest departmentincluding Rahim.

The post-mortem report, made public late on Wednesd-ay night, suggested that thebig cat may have succumbed toinjuries caused by a fiercefight with another tiger, a sen-ior forest officer told thisnewspaper.

“Prima facie it appears thetigress had suffered grievouswounds due to a tussle with amale tiger during their mat-ing. The big cat had injury ma-rks on her shoulder and neck.She may have succumbed toher injuries”, Rahim said.

DC CORRESPONDENTBHUBANESWAR, APRIL 1

Bhubaneswar which onWednesday recorded the coun-try’s maximum temperature of44.2 degrees Celsius, contin-ued to sizzle under intenseheat wave on Thursday. Thecity, according to local meteo-rological office sources,recorded 39.8 degrees Celsiustemperature.

While Angul and Talcherrecorded the highest 42.7degrees Celsius temperature,mercury hovered over 40degrees Celsius in at least 13other cities.

Stating that the heat waveconditions would continue tillnext 24 hours, the weatherdepartment cautioned peoplenot to venture out under thescorching sun.

Like Wednesday, normal lifewas severely affected on Thu-rsday after mercury began toshoot up after 8 am.

Soon after, the local Metoffice posted a tweet warningpeople to avoid direct heatexposure till 4 pm. TheRegional MeteorologicalCentre forecasted that therewould be a fall in temperaturein the state from Friday.

Cong, AIUDF aim to make biggains in Assam 2nd phase MANOJ ANAND | DC GUWAHATI, APRIL 1

In the second phase ofpolling, Assam onThursday recorded morethan 73 per cent polling in39 Assembly seats spreadacross six differentregions of the state. TheNowgong seat recordedthe highest turnout of83.10 per cent.

The six regions whichwent to polls on Thursdayincluded SouthernAssam’s Barak Valleywith 15 seats, CentralAssam’s 12 seats, Hill dis-tricts’ five seats, BodolandTerritorial Council’s fourseats, Kamrup rural’s twoseats and one seat of lowerAssam.

The political battles arealso different in each ofthese regions. The biggestchunk of seats in the sec-ond phase are in the BarakValley, in southern Assam.Bengali speaking votersare in a majority in thisregion, which has a siz-able number of migrants,both — Hindus andMuslims. The BJP has tra-ditionally been strongeramong Bengali Hindus.

This region also has asizable number of Muslimpopulation — 60 per centin Hailakandi district, 56per cent in Karimganj dis-trict and 37 per cent inCachar district. The BarakValley Muslims are alsoBengali speaking. In the2016 Assembly polls, theBJP had won eight out of15 seats, the All IndiaUnited Democratic Front(AIUDF) four and theCongress three.

This time, however, theequations have changedwith the Congress andAIUDF joining hands. In2016, out of the eight seatsBJP won, four were due toa vote split between theCongress and AIUDF. Thistime the two parties havecome together therefore,the alliance is hoping itschances of inflictingheavy losses on the BJP inthis region.

Three seats each inDarrang, Morigaon,Nagaon and Hojai dis-tricts also voted in the sec-ond phase of polling onThursday. Five seats inNagaon have alreadyvoted along with UpperAssam in the first phase ofpolling.

Like Barak Valley,Central Assam too has asizable Muslim popula-tion, though it is a mix ofAssamese and Bengalispeakers.

Muslims account for 56per cent of the populationin central Assam’sNagaon district, 52 percent in Morigaon, 53 percent in Hojai and 64 percent in Darrang. Thisregion, too, is likely to wit-ness a major impact of theCongress-led grandalliance with AIUDF.

In 2016, NDA had won 9out of 12 seats, but four ofthese were due to a split invotes between theCongress and AIUDF. Thepolitical observers are ofview that the NDA mayhave to struggle to hold onto its seats in this area too.

The battle for one seat —Barhampur in Nagaon dis-trict has also becomeinteresting as the BJP hastaken over the seat of itsally AGP, denying a ticketto former chief ministerand AGP stalwart PrafullaKumar Mahanta.

The polling in Assamwas almost peaceful with asignificant number of vot-ers turning up sincemorning hours to exercisetheir franchise onThursday.

People queue up to vote on Thursday during the second phase of Assembly elections in East Medinipur district of West Bengal.— PRITAM BANDYOPADHYAY

DC CORRESPONDENTGUWAHATI, APRIL 1

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Thursday camedown heavily onOpposition Congress andsaid that the ongoingAssam Assembly electionhas become a “battle”between the Congress-AIUDF grand alliance of“maha jhooth” (great lie)and National DemocraticAlliance of “maha vikas”(great development).

Addressing a publicrally in Kokrajhar whichis scheduled to go for pol-ling in the third and finalphase of polling on April6, Modi said, “Football isvery popular among youthhere. In terms of football

people have yet again sho-wn a Red Card to Congressand its Mahajot. People ofAssam have trust in theNDA for the development,peace, security of the sta-te. This is an election bet-ween the ‘maha jhooth’ ofMahajot (Congress-AIUDFgrand alliance) and ‘mahavikas’ of the doubleengine government.”

Asserting that the BJP isset for a grand victory inPhase-I polls, Modi said t-he NDA government is wo-rking for welfare of Assa-m with the mantra of ‘sab-ka saath sabka vikas sab-ka vishwas’. “People of A-ssam have given blessingsto NDA in 1st phase of po-lling. In the 1st phase, As-sam has put a stamp on

grand victory of NDA,” hesaid

Referring to BJP govern-ment’s developmental ini-tiatives in the state, Modisaid, “Medical college isbeing set up in Kokrajharat a rapid pace. A packageof `1,500 crore has also be-en provided for developm-ent. Bodoland University,Central Institute of Tec-hnology, Bodoland Bha-wan and several other ins-titutions are becoming theidentity of this region.”

He said, “From providi-ng land pattas to over 3.25lakh families, increasingrates of workers to maki-ng the life of women work-ing in tea gardens, theNDA has tried to bring all-round development.”

Assam polls battle between‘jhooth’ & ‘vikas’, says Modi

FROM PG 1

The AIADMK's com-plaint dated March 27,alleging that Mr Raja hadmade a derogatory andscandalous speech dur-ing a campaign on March26 at the ThousandLights constituency, wasforwarded by the chiefelectoral officer (CEO) tothe ECI.

Mr Raja was asked togive his explanation afterthe ECI obtained a factu-al report from the CEOand on the basis of pre-liminary reports andtranscripts of his speech-es made at Keelapalurand Meensuruti.

The order said that MrRaja had described DMKpresident M.K. Stalin asa child of good relation-ship and good birth andChief Minister EdappadiK. Palaniswami as a childof a bad relationship anda prematurely born childat Keelapalur. AtMeensuruti, he had saidthat Mr Palaniswamicrawled and held the feetof former party generalsecretary V.K. Sasikala tocome to his present posi-tion, the order said,adding “after consider-ing your statements andreports, the Commissionhad found the contents ofthe speech made by youare not only derogatorybut also obscene andlower the dignity ofmotherhood of women.”

Since it was a seriousviolation of the provi-sion of the Model Code ofConduct, the ECI issued anotice on March 30, ask-ing Mr Raja to explainhis position by March 31.

Mr Raja's interim reply- in which he denied theallegations and asked forcopies of the full text ofhis speech andAIADMK's complaint,besides requesting anopportunity to give adetailed reply and per-sonal hearing with hislawyer - was found not tobe satisfactory by theECI.

FROM PG 1

Soon after, the Governortweeted, “Issues flagged@MamataOfficial a whileago on phone have beenimparted (sic) to the con-cerned”.

Despite this Nandigramrecorded voter turnout ofover 81 per cent till 5 pm.

“Eighty per cent voteshere were rigged.Cheating was done inpolling here. I lodged 63complaints to the EC.Why are the goons of theBJP from other stateslike Uttar Pradeshallowed here? I havenever seen such an EC. Iurge it to act impartially.I am not blaming theCentral forces becauseUnion home ministerAmit Shah is givingorders to BSF, CRPF andothers,” Ms Banerjeesaid.

Though sporadic inci-dents of violence andallegations of vote fraudmarked the second phaseof West Bengal Assemblypolls, a large voter

turnout of more than 80per cent was recorded.Bankura recorded thehighest turnout at 82.92per cent, followed byPurba Medinipur at 81.23,South 24 Parganas at79:65 per cent, PaschimMedinipur at 78 per cent.

The ElectionCommission has sought areport from the EastMidnapore districtadministration on MsBanerjee's presence atthe booth for a long timeand her allegations ofelectoral malpractices.

Violence erupted acrossthe high-profile con-stituency as the pollinggot underway in themorning. At Satengabari,TMC activists peltedstones on the convoy ofMr Adhikari of the BJP,and shouted “Go Back”.Bombs were hurled atSonachura andKalicharanpur. InBhetukiya a BJP worker,Uday Dube (48), wasfound hanging in his resi-dence. His party accusedthe TMC of driving himto commit suicide.

VIOLENCE MARS NANDIGRAMVOTING; FORCES RESCUE DIDI

AKSHAYA KUMAR SAHOO | DCBHUBANESWAR, APRIL 1

A couple hailing fromOdisha’s Nabarangpur onThursday alleged that theirsix-month-old infant son suf-fering from pneumonia diedafter he was administered aninjection which was pre-scribed by the doctor after a‘Google search’ at DabugamHealth Centre.

The local medical officer,however, denied the allega-tion and said proper injectionwas given to the infant.According to the reports,Prasant Bisoyee ofBadaolama village inNabarangpur district on

Thursday took his criticallyill son to the DabugaanHealth Centre after his condi-tion deteriorated.

The doctor who attendedthe infant wrote the prescrip-tion after searching the medi-cine on Google, he said.

“The doctor advised that myson needed a life-saving injec-tion. He prescribed the injec-tion not from his memory butafter doing a Google search.Soon after the baby wasadministered the injection,he closed eyes and died,”Bisoyee added.

“The doctor didn't bother torefer us to the Umerkote hos-pital in time where we couldhave availed better treat-ment,” he alleged.

On the other hand, the med-ical officer at the health cen-tre rubbished the allegationof ‘Google search’ medica-tion.

“There was no medical neg-ligence. The child sufferedfrom severe pneumonia andwas admitted to the hospitalin a critical condition.Appropriate medicines wereused. But, he was in the laststage,” said Subhasis Sahoo,the medical officer atDabugam.

“They took the patient to Umerkote, but returnedmid-way after his conditiondeteriorated. When theyreached here the patient hadbecome very critical,” Sahooclaimed.

DC CORRESPONDENTNEW DELHI, APRIL 1

Additional battalions ofITBP, SSB and AssamRifle are being rushed tothe India-Myanmar bor-der as some refugees fromMyanmar have been try-ing to enter India in wakeof Army action againstprotestors there. Thoughso far Myanmar residentsare not being allowed,Cabinet Committee onSecurity (CCS) will dis-cuss the issue in its meet-ing next week, sourcessaid.

Security and intelli-gence agencies are closelymonitoring the situationall along the India-Myanmar border as thereis considerable tension inMyanmar as Army haslaunched a massive offen-sive against protestors intheir country. This hasforced people to flee fromMyanmar and a lot ofthem have been trying toenter India.

But so far border guardshave managed to stop anyillegal entry into Indiaand have contained thesituation along the bor-der. India shares almost a1,500-km long border withMyanmar.

Following the tense situ-ation in Myanmar it ishas been decided thatadditional central para-military forces like ITBP,SSB and Assam Rifle have

been rushed to theMyanmar border.

Sources said so far it hasbeen decided that illegalmigrants will not beallowed into India.However, as a humanitar-ian gesture, Indian secu-rity forces have been pro-viding food, medicineand water to some resi-dents of villages inMyanmar which are closeto the border. However,they are not being permit-ted to cross over intoIndia.

Top security sourcessaid that the CabinetCommittee on Security,which is likely to meetsometime next week, willdiscuss the Myanmar sit-uation in detail.

A decision could also be taken on the crucialissue on whether somerefugees from Myanmarshould be allowed insideIndia purely on a tempo-rary basis till the time thesituation normalises inMyanmar.

“So far government poli-cy is clear that no illegalmigration would beallowed from Myanmar.But maybe some relax-ation could be given onlyon temporary and huma-nitarian basis to giveshelter to some refugees.But the decision will haveto be taken by the CabinetCommittee on Security,” asenior home ministryofficial added.

Troops sent tostop Myanmarrefugees’ entry

Odisha infant dies as doc givesinjection after ‘Google search’

RABINDRA NATHCHOUDHURY | DCwith agency inputsBHOPAL, APRIL 1

New variant ofCoronavirus, named N-440, has been found inChhattisgarh indicatingmutation of virus in thestate, Chhattisgarhhealth minister T.S.Singhdeo said onThursday.

According to him, theCentre has sent a reportto the Chhattisgarh gov-ernment recently con-firming that the newvariant of Coronaviruswas found in five sam-ples from the state.

However, doctors say astudy was yet to be doneas to how the new vari-ant of the virus wouldexactly affect ourimmune system.

But, it has been foundthat the mutant wascapable of weakeningthe immune system.

Singhdeo said noCoronavirus variants ofBritain, South Africaand Brazil were so fardetected inChhattisgarh.

All India Institute ofMedical Science(AIIMS), Raipur, gatherssamples in Chhattisgarhand sends them to theNational Centre forDisease Control for tests.

The first positive casein Chhattisgarh wasreported in Raipur onMarch 18, 2020.

Meanwhile, India onThursday recorded79,275 new cases and 461deaths in the last 24hours taking the nation-wide tally of cases to1,22,99,987.

NEW VARIANTFOUND INCHHATTISGARH

DC CORRESPONDENTSRINAGAR, APRIL 1

The number ofCoronavirus cases areincreasing with eachpassing day in Jammuand Kashmir.

On Thursday, as manyas 461 fresh cases of thevirus were reportedincluding 361 from theValley and 100 fromJammu region of theUnion Territory whichis the highest daily risethis year.

Also, four more people died of the infec-tion, raising the toll to1,998. “The total num-ber of Covid-19 positivecases in J&K has risen to 1,31,421.However, only 2,874 areactive positive whereas1,26,549 patients haverecovered and 1,998 have died,” an officialspokesman said inJammu.

Several areas in theValley have beendeclared contaminatedzones following resi-dents in fairly largenumbers contracted thevirus.

Also, eight schoolshave been shut for threeto seven days after theswab samples of morethan 60 students andhalf a dozen teacherscollected during a recentdrive by the J&K HealthDepartment turned posi-tive for the virus.

The Jammu &Kashmir governmenthad on Tuesdayannounced a slew ofmeasures to containCoronovirus in view offresh surge in positivecases.

FOUR MORE DIEIN J&K, 461 NEWCASES REPORTED

Haridwar, April 1: TheKumbh Mela formallybegan in Haridwar onThursday with severalrestrictions imposed ondevotees coming to attendthe event amid risingcases of Covid-19 in vari-ous states includingUttarakhand.

Officials associated withorganising the event,including Mela OfficerDeepak Rawat, Mela IGSanjay Gunjyal andHaridwar SSP JanmejayKhanduri, worshipped intemples along the banks ofthe Ganga to pray for asafe and unhinderedKumbh fair.

Checking on

Uttarakhand’s borderswith Uttar Pradesh atNarsan in Roorkee andKashipur in Udham SinghNagar district has beenintensified to ensure thatonly people with a nega-tive RT-PCR test reportproceed for the KumbhMela.

“Besides registering onour portal, it is compulso-ry for devotees to bring anegative RT-PCR testreport with them,” MelaOfficer Deepak Rawatsaid.

A negative RT-PCR testreport not older than 72hours before arrival hasbeen made mandatory fordevotees gathering for the

Kumbh by theUttarakhand High Court.

In an order onWednesday, the high courtsaid a negative RT-PCRcertification will be com-pulsory even in the case ofdevotees who havereceived the first dose ofthe Corona vaccine.

Devotees who have takenthe anti-Covid vaccinationwill have to show theircertificates and follow theanti-Covid guidelines likewearing masks, maintain-ing social distancing andfrequently undertakinghand sanitisation in theKumbh Kshetra.

The high court has alsoasked the health authori-

ties in Haridwar to rampup testing from 5,000 perday to 50,000. Uttarakhandreported 293 positiveCovid-19 cases onWednesday withDehradun and Haridwardistricts accounting for amajority of them.

Dehradun reported 171cases followed byHaridwar which reported70, the Covid Control roomin Dehradun said.

It is for the first time inthe history of the grandreligious congregationheld on the banks of theGanga in Haridwar oncein 12 years that its dura-tion has been curtailed tojust one month due to the

pandemic.In normal circum-

stances, Kumbh is held fornearly four months. Itslast edition was held inHaridwar from January 14to April 28 in 2010.

Between April 1 and 30,there will be three majorbathing dates (shahi snanor royal baths) on April 12,14 and 27.

Besides the shahi snandates when people descendin droves on the banks ofthe Ganga in Haridwar fora holy bath, a heavyturnout of devotees is alsoexpected on the occasionof Chaitra Pratipada onApril 13 and Ram Navamion April 21. — PTI

Kumbh Mela begins in HaridwarIt is for the 1st time in history that the event is held for just a monthHOLY | GATHERING

RAJA BANNEDFROM CAMPAIGNFOR TWO DAYS

COVID UPDATE

Assam records 73% polling in 39 Assembly constituencies in phase-II

EDIT pg 6DECCAN CHRONICLE | FRIDAY | 2 APRIL 2021 | CHENNAI

It is a bizarre moment for policy. Since Assembly elections are on in manystates, evidently the fear of electoral backlash has forced an about turn by theCentre in something like 12 hours flat. On Wednesday night, the governmentannounced substantial cuts in interest rates for small savings, meaning

instruments such as PPF, post office savings, bank fixed deposits, Kisan VikasPatras, and Senior Citizen Savings Scheme which ordinary people use to savetheir lifelong earnings. On Friday morning, the announcement was reversed in atweet by Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Small savings, or common people’s savings, are critical. They constitute asmuch as 60 per cent of all savings in the economy. The savings rate in the countrywas already touching a 15-year low, with household savings (small savings) declin-ing steadily on account of shrinking interest rates, especially since early 2020. Ifthe savings rate is low, investments will be inadequate. As a result of low invest-ment funds available within the country, India has had to take recourse to exter-nal borrowings. So, that’s how important small savings are.

The core inflation rate in India was six per cent in January. The proposed cutsin interest rate for small savings would have brought the real value of most ofthese savings into negative territory. So, why was the finance minister unmindfulof the daily needs of ordinary Indians when it is well known that millions of peo-ple depend on the interest earnings from their savings to meet their everydayneeds?

This is not just bad poll-time optics, hurting the lower end of society is deplorablepolitical economy. During the year-long pandemic, and for three years before that(as a consequence of demonetisation), it is the poor, the middle classes, and smalland medium businesses that really suffered in terms of job losses and output loss-es. They have struggled to survive. In contrast, the richest Indians — especiallybig industry — have made handsome gains. And yet, the government’s policy oninterest rates, which is done quarterly, singled out small savings for punishment.

A probable reason is that the government may have calculated that if the inter-est rates are pushed down, it can borrow on better terms to meet its needs. Whichmeans the ordinary people, rather than the better off citizens, were being asked toshoulder the burden of government borrowings which for the financial year 2021-22 is slated to be 12.06 trillion rupees. In effect, the section of the population whichis already teetering on the brink was expected to surrender more to finance thegovernment’s plans, as compared to the big boys.

The plan was jettisoned overnight, but even at the prevailing rates of interest forsmall savings, the ordinary householder is eking out a hard living. Is the presentfinance minister responsible for the poor woman’s misery, or is it that the policyset responsible for accelerating poverty pre-dates her assuming charge of finance?

Policymaking is highly centralised in the present set-up. Whether it is finance orforeign affairs or defence, or matters concerning home, agriculture or industry, itis widely thought that decisions are made on high. That is where answers oughtto be sought for the goof-up. On account of elections, the panic button was pressedat the last minute. But what happens in the next quarter will be keenly watched.

The Karnataka high court has allowed an inquiry into the “Operation Lotus”controversy that surfaced before the Janata Dal-Congress government ofH.D. Kumaraswamy was brought down in July 2019 through defections. This

is a setback for the BJP as well as its Karnataka chief minister B.S. Yediyurappawho was charged with engineering the collapse of the government through vari-ous inducements, including an offer of money reportedly made in a telephone callwith the son of a JD(S) legislator.

The judge John Michael D’Cunha, known to take a tough stand on corruption inpolitics as evidenced in his sensational 2014 ruling to convict J. Jayalalithaa ofgraft and fine her `100 crore, has based his judgment on the allegations and thecontents of the complaint being so serious as to not allow a court to empower itselfto quash the complaint and FIR. It is a different matter that the agencies that willbe tasked with running the probe would be controlled by the powers that be. Thehighest degree of morality would be sustained only if Mr Yediyurappa were to stepdown for the pendency of the probe but such ideals have been thrown by the way-side long ago in Indian politics.

In a sensational audio clip that became public at the time, a conversationbetween Mr Yediyurappa and Sharanagouda Patil, son of JD(S) MLANaganagouda Patil, had revealed an offer of `10 crore as well as a ministerialberth if he could get his father to switch sides. Mr Yediyurappa had, of course, dis-missed it as a conspiracy hatched by the then chief minister to entrap him.

Facile explanations should cut no ice with probe agencies provided they run athorough investigation to get to the bottom of the affair and establish that com-pelling offers had indeed been made for legislators to switch loyalties. The fact thata probe has been ordered itself brings into focus the widely held view that the rul-ing party at the Centre had been playing toppling games through which non-BJPgovernments were targeted and brought down, as in Madhya Pradesh andPuducherry, but proved unsuccessful in Rajasthan.

K’taka: ‘Lotus’ probe welcome

Small savings U-turn: Badeconomics, bizarre optics

This year marks a very specialone as we celebrate theFestival of Italian Culture inIndia which is held in paral-

lel with the Indian Cultural Festivalin Italy. The initiative was promotedat the last bilateral digital summitheld on November 6, 2020 betweenthe two Prime Ministers and it wasalso acknowledged by the Presidentof the Italian Republic, SergioMattarella, as one of the pillars of thebilateral cooperation between Italyand India. In his message to PrimeMinister Narendra Modi on the occa-sion of Republic Day, Mr Mattarellasaid: “The Festival of Italian Culturein India and Indian Culture in Italywill take place in 2021. These eventswill facilitate the reciprocal compre-hension and the closeness among ourpeople.”

We inaugurated the festival inJanuary and had the honour to hostthe minister of external affairs, S.Jaishankar, for the first in-personevent since the outbreak of theCovid-19 pandemic. The festival is aunique opportunity to furtherstrengthen the historical culturalrelations between the two countries

and to share the new dynamics ofexchanges between the protagonistsof the Italian and Indian culture andcreative industries.

The cultural exchanges betweenthe two countries date back toancient history. Not only can tiesbetween European and Indian cul-tures be traced back to 700 BC, thereare also testimonies of linguisticinfluences in the sixteenth century.In the last century, Giuseppe Tucciand Luigi Tessitori contributed tothe knowledge of Indian culture andartistic tradition in Italy by collect-ing scientific studies and artistic tes-timonies still preserved in Italy.Thanks to these experiences, Italyboasts the most important traditionof Indology studies in the world out-side India. In the last 50 years,exchanges in the cinematic fieldhave flourished with the productionof docu-films by Pierpaolo Pasoliniand Roberto Rossellini and awards atthe Venice Film Festival to SatyajitRay and Mira Nair. We recently host-ed the screening of Rossellini’s andPasolini’s masterpieces during athree-night open-air “Notti Stellate,Italian Cinema under the Sky”,

where unedited images from theirtravels throughout India in the late1950s and 1960s are a testament of lifein those days.

Cultural ties between Italy andIndia are not only rooted in the past,but they are very much driven byinnovation, creativity and contempo-rary cultural contamination.

To celebrate the Festival of ItalianCulture in India, together with theEmbassy of India in Rome, we craft-ed a rich agenda of events in variousfields — cinema, music, literature,visual arts, fashion and design. Thisyear Italy celebrates the 700thanniversary of the death of the mostimportant figure of the Italian cul-ture — the father of Italian languageand its most famous poet, DanteAlighieri. We are commemoratinghim in many of our cultural activi-ties — from theatre to literature,exhibitions and musical perfor-mances. In February, I moderated apanel with two eminent professorsfrom Rome and Trento University inwhich we analysed the figure ofDante Alighieri and how contempo-rary its masterpiece The DivineComedy is today.

We are also working on a very spe-cial project on Italian Indology andSanskrit studies. Together with theUniversity of Rome La Sapienza, weare putting together a collection ofpublications by the most prominentItalian Indologists. The project iscomposed of four volumes — the firstone will be a collection on Italianstudies on Indian History, Economy,Society; the second volume focuseson culture and literature; the third isthe English translation of the biogra-phy of Giuseppe Tucci; the fourthwill be entirely dedicated to Indiancontemporary art.

Our events are a constant dialoguebetween innovation and tradition.We are focusing on our traditions butalso on our dynamic and contempo-rary cultural drive. We are alsoattaching great importance in forg-ing partnerships with our Indiancounterparts and are thus workingon strengthening cooperation amongmuseums, developing projects on theprotection of our cultural heritage,enhancing collaboration amongartists, musicians and our creativeindustries.

Promoting culture in the midst of a

pandemic is not easy. As with all thecultural institutions around theworld, we also had to reinvent our-selves taking full advantage of thedigital tools we familiarised with,without giving up on the possibilityof nurturing our Indian friends withlimited outdoor events carried out infull observation of health safety pro-tocols. It is thanks to the digital toolsthat we have been able to connectItaly and India even more. The avail-ability of digital performancesthrough the channels of the Embassyof Italy in New Delhi, the consulatesin Mumbai and Kolkata and theItalian Cultural Institutes of NewDelhi and Mumbai, along with theinnovative platforms launched by theItalian foreign ministry have beenquite successful. The promotion ofarts, music, culture knows no limits.

Numerous more events still lieahead, and I am sure the “Festival ofItalian Culture in India” will furtherconsolidate the relations betweenItaly and India, two culture super-powers.

Linking Italian,Indian cultures,past & present,in Covid times

My officekeeps atrack ofsome of theoutlandish

things said by leaders ofthe BJP. I am not surehow it started, and Idoubt if we follow otherparties equally assidu-ously. But the BJP collec-tion, if I can use thatterm, is quite a hoard. Itincludes the offensiveand the ludicrous, itranges from the PrimeMinister to the leastknown MLA, and it cov-ers subjects as varied asreligion, mythology, his-tory, couture, cuisine,practically everything todo with cows and, ofcourse, sex. On a slowday it can be quite fun tobrowse.

Well, that’s what I didover the recent holidaysand I noticed a fewintriguing patterns.Perhaps the most strik-ing is that the BJP has avery poor grasp of histo-ry. For instance, TirathSingh Rawat, the newchief minister ofUttarakhand, believes“America enslaved Indiafor 200 years”. His coun-terpart in Tripura,Biplab Kumar Deb, isconvinced thatRabindranath Tagorereturned his Nobel Prizeto protest against theBritish. But what reallysurprised me is the num-ber of times the PrimeMinister is confused bythe past.

Alexander’s army, heonce said, conquered theentire world but wasdefeated by the Biharis.On another occasion herelocated Taxila to some-where not far fromPatna. On a third, he saidwhen he thinks of theGupta dynasty, heremembers Chandra-gupta. Of course, at thetime he was wooing thevoters of Bihar so per-haps this was intended asflattery.

But what do you makeof this? In 2018 he claimedKabir, Guru Nanak andBaba Gorakhnath “sat

together and discussedspirituality”. It’s an inter-esting idea but as impos-sible as the claim Jesusand Muhammad had afireside chat or as inaccu-rate as the belief Buddhaand Zarathustra werebuddies.

However, my favouriteis a bloomer about theman many consider thePrime Minister’s party’srevered founder. This iswhat Mr Modi told agathering in Gujarat in2013: “Syama PrasadMookerjee was a revolu-tionary. He died in 1930in London.” I would callthat a three-in-one.Mookerjee was not a rev-olutionary. He was amember of JawaharlalNehru’s first Cabinet.Before that he was presi-dent of the HinduMahasabha. Earlier, hewas a lawyer and acade-mic. He didn’t die in 1930but 1953. It wasn’t inLondon but in a jail inJammu and Kashmir.And, of course, he found-ed the Bharatiya JanSangh.

A second theme in thefile is the BJP’s question-ing of science alongsideits conviction that mostmodern achievementsactually occurred cen-turies or even millenniaearlier. When he wasjunior minister forhuman resources devel-opment — which, inci-dentally, includes educa-tion — Satyapal Singhsaid Charles Darwin’sTheory of Evolution was“scientifically wrong”.Since no one had seen“an ape turning into aman”, he said, that wasproof dear Charles hadgot things mixed up. Ourtextbooks, he concluded,need to be changed.

And not surprisingly,long is the list of BJPleaders who believe someof the greatest modernachievements actuallyexisted in the times of theMahabharata. Tripura’sBiplab Deb claims theInternet and satellitecommunications wereknown to the Kauravas

and Pandavas. Bengal’sJagdeep Dhankharinsists that Arjun’sarrows had nuclearpower. UP’s DineshSharma maintains jour-nalism started to coverthe battle atKurukshetra. Not justthat, there were live tele-casts too. And he adds:“Your Google has startednow but our Google start-ed long time back”.

Much the same sort ofclaim is made aboutgenetic science, plasticsurgery and test-tubebabies. In 2014, in aspeech at the inaugura-tion of the RelianceHospital in Mumbai, thePrime Minister said thefact Karan was born fromKunti’s ear is proof thatgenetic science wasknown at the time. Headded the fact Ganeshhas an elephant head isproof there were plasticsurgeons in those days.No doubt inspired by hisleader, Dinesh Sharmahas more recently pro-claimed Sita was a test-tube baby!

Less surprising but alsofar more frequent is evi-dence of the BJP’s incred-ible faith in the Indiancow and its many prod-ucts. Suman Haripriya, amember of the AssamAssembly, believes “gau-mutra” and “gobar” cancure coronovirus. SadhviPragya believes it’salready cured her cancer.Meanwhile, for thosewho have blood pressureproblems, she stronglyrecommends a good rubof a cow’s back.

If, however, wealthrather than health isyour concern DilipGhosh, the BJP’s Bengalchief, insists that cow’smilk contains gold.“There’s a nari (bloodvessel) that helps pro-

duce gold with the help ofsunlight”, he hasdeclared. So rather thandrink a glass of the stuff,you ought to sift it.

Michael Lobo, a BJPminister in Goa, saysthat cows in Calangutehave recently changedtheir character and now“only eat non-vegetarianfood”. I wonder if earlierthey were fond of beef?Uttarakhand’s formerchief minister TrivendraSingh Rawat had onceproclaimed that cowsexhale oxygen. So whatdo they breathe?

Our file reflects thesedays BJP leaders havebecome specialists inhaute couture. They’vetaken to advising womenwhat to wear. TirathSingh Rawat has firmlyruled out ripped jeans.He doesn’t approve ofbare knees. “If this kindof woman goes out insociety to meet peopleand solve their problems,what kind of message arewe giving to society andto our kids?”, he asks. Soclearly, he’s not in favourof a plunging décolletage.

Dilip Ghosh, his col-league in Bengal, whoperhaps hopes to replaceMamata Banerjee aschief minister, is moreavant-garde. He’s sug-gested Ms Banrejeeshould wear Bermudas.“If she has to keep her legout then why wear asari”, he asks. “She couldwear a pair of Bermudasinstead. So that it can beseen clearly”.

Of course, the thickestpart of the file is whatBJP leaders have to sayabout Muslims, their reli-gion Islam and the factthat they would be betteroff in Pakistan. Termitesfeature in this part fairlysubstantially. So does thesize of their families. Butthere’s nothing imagina-tive or fanciful about thisportion. Just offensiveand horribly wrong.

Now I don’t know howother parties comparewith the BJP. My officehasn’t kept a track oftheir statements. My pro-ducer, Arvind Kumar,tells me this is somethinghe intends to do. But willit be as much fun? Or isthis one respect in whichthe BJP is truly special?

The writer is a television commentator

and anchor

My favourite is abloomer about the

man many considerthe PM’s party’srevered founder.

This is what Mr Modi told a

gathering inGujarat in 2013:‘Syama Prasad

Mookerjee was arevolutionary. He

died in 1930 inLondon.’

LETTERSEYE ON ELECTIONFinance Minister NirmalaSitharaman has announcedthat the interest on savingsdeposits, provident fundinterest rates, etc., would notbe reduced for the financialyear 2021-22 (as mentionedin the budget). Thisannouncement has rightlybeen criticised by the oppo-sition party leaders as it isclearly influenced by assem-bly elections in four statesand a union territory. It seemsthat Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman has either madea mistake or has been madeto announce the same toplease the electorate. If theformer is the reason it doesnot speak well of an FM's cal-ibre to bungle in matters offinance.

M.C. Vijay Shankar,Chennai

Subhani

Karan Thapar

STOP SLANDERINGThis refers to the report, ‘Modi slamsCong-DMK over remark against CM’smother. DMK Raja’s remark has beenblown out of proportion. What Raja saidhad been taken out of the context by theCM as it has not been understood byhim. Raja's remark has been clearlyexplained to the public in the press con-ference by Raja himself. He also soughtthe pardon from the public who werehurt, if any, by the miscarriage ofwords. He also rendered his apology tothe Chief Minister. The ill-feelingsbetween the two subsided and the issuestood closed now. But, again the PrimeMinister came in and this was the maintopic for him to talk to the audience. Herakes up the issue again and compli-cates it by slamming both Congress andDMK. Where does the Congress comeinto this issue? The reason is simple.The pre-poll predictions by almost allagencies suggest a massive victory forthe DMK-Congress alliance.

Jubel D’CruzMumbai

BJP has a different take…On history, science, cows!

Vincenzo de Luca

As I See It

2 APRIL 2021

DECCAN CHRONICLE

KAUSHIK MITTER K. SUDHAKAREditor Printer & Publisher

R. MOHANResident Editor

DECCAN CHRONICLE offices are located at:Chennai: SP 3 Developed Plot, Industrial Estate, Guindy, Chennai 600032. Phones: (044) 22254747,22254748Coimbatore: 77 Vivekananda Road, Ramnagar, Coimbatore 641009. Phone: (0422) 2231255, 2231256Hyderabad: 36, Sarojini Devi Road, Secunderabad 500 003. Phone: (040) 27803930-4. Fax: (040)27805256. Bengaluru: 5th Floor, BMTC Commercial Complex, 80 Ft. Road, Koramangala, Bangalore-560095. Ph:08043460500; Fax: 080-22960551/52/55Visakhapatnam: Survey No. 1/3A Beach Road, Near Kailasagiri Ropeway, Sector-9 MVP Colony,Visakhapatnam - 530 017. Phones: (0891) 2552333/2552334, Fax (0891) 2755285Vijayawada: No. C 3 & 4, Patamata, Industrial Estate, Auto Nagar, Vijayawada (A.P.). Phones: (0866)2555284/ 2555287, Fax (0866) 2555234Rajahmundry: Vemagiri, Dhawleswaram Rd, Rajahmundry 533125. Phones: (0883) 2417208, 2417618Anantapur: Thapovan Colony, Bangalore Bye-Pass Road, Anantapur 515004. Phones: (08554) 276903,Fax: 08554-276904Nellore: Survey No. 527/2, Burranpur Village, Venkatachalam (M), Chemudugunta Panchayat, Nellore.Phone: (0861) 2348581/ 82, Telefax (0861) 2348580Karimnagar: Survey No. 1341, Vavilalapally Colony, Jagityala Road, Karimnagar 505 001. Phone: (0878 ) 2228908; Telefax (0878) 2220433Kochi: No. 3-B, 3rd Floor, DD TRADE TOWER, Kaloor-Kadavanthara Road, Ernakulam, Ph: 0484-4039408Kozhikode: No 6/1002 E, First Floor City Mall, Opp. YMCA Kannur Road, Kozhikode - 673 001Fax : 0495 4019018 Thiruvananthapuram: St Joseph Press Thycaud post, Cotton Hills, Thiruvananthapuram-14, Ph: 0471-2735105/6/7, Fax: 0471-4016112 Gram: CHRONICLE Postal registration no: No. H/SD-348/2006-08ss

NO IDEOLOGYIn Indian politics there is absolutelyno set ideology for any party. There isonly one mantra - win by hook orcrook and following "My enemy’senemy is my friend". Of course, such alliances do differfrom state to state for these parties.The present-day political leaders’ atti-tude is "even if I lose an eye, no prob-lem. But the enemy should lose bothhis eyes". Ironically, later on, thesame alliance is broken on some per-sonal ego and the ruling party loses itsmajority to force a re-election at thecost of honest taxpayers' money. Atthat time none of these leaders wouldbe concerned, either about their ideol-ogy, secularism or even democracy,which goes for a toss.

N. Mahadevan,Chennai

Collection tops `1 L cr for 6th month in a row

GST mop-up hits record`1.23 lakh crore in March

pg 7FRIDAY | 2 APRIL 2021 | CHENNAI

SANGEETHA GCHENNAI, APRIL 1

Private equity (PE) andventure capital (VC)investments in theMarch quarter was up 85per cent against the pre-lock-down quarter of lastyear.

PE and VC firms invest-ed over $11.86 billionacross 188 deals in thefirst three months of2021—an increase ofabout 85 per cent com-pared to the same periodin 2020, as per the data ofVenture Intelligence.The pre-pandemic quar-ter of January-March2020 had recorded PE/VCinvestments of $6.5 bil-lion across 238 deals.

The value of invest-ments in the March quar-ter was also 58 per centhigher compared to theprevious December quar-ter, which saw $7.5 bil-lion being investedacross 231 deals.However, deal volumeswere down by 21 per centagainst the March quar-ter of last year and 19 percent compared to theDecember quarter.

In the past few quar-ters, investments intoReliance Group entitieshave been pushing theaggregate funding to new

highs. In the June quar-ter, total investments hadtouched $13.95 billionand in the Septemberquarter it stood at $11.87billion. However in theMarch quarter, therewere no investments intothe group.

Piramal Enterpriseswinning the bankruptcybid for Dewan HousingFinance for $5.2 billionwas the largest deal inthe quarter. Some of thetech unicorns likeZomato and Byjusattracted $500 millionand $460 million, respec-tively, in the quarter.

"The high level of fundflows during the latestquarter, coming as theydid without any invest-ments into RelianceIndustries Group compa-nies, is very encourag-ing. It would be interest-ing to see how the invest-ment figures in the com-ing quarters match upagainst the high bar setby RIL Group dealswhich had dominated thelast three quarters of2020,” said ArunNatarajan, founder ofVenture Intelligence.

Exits too were active inthe March quarter, asthere were eight success-ful domestic IPOs of PE-VC backed companies.

PE/VC fundingsoars 85% in Q4

FC BUREAUNEW DELHI, APRIL 1

In line with the trend ofconstant recovery in GSTrevenues over the past fivemonths, the gross goodsand services tax (GST) rev-enue collected in March2021 stood at a record highof over Rs 1.23 lakh crore.The total revenues earnedfor the month are 27 percent higher than the GSTcollected in the samemonth last year, accordingto finance ministry datareleased on Thursday.

"The gross GST revenuecollected in the month ofMarch 2021 is at a record ofRs 1,23,902 crore, of whichCGST is Rs 22,973 crore,SGST is Rs 29,329 crore,IGST is Rs 62,842 crore

(including Rs 31,097 crorecollected on import ofgoods) and Cess is Rs 8,757crore (including Rs 935crore collected on importof goods)," the ministrysaid.

The GST collections forMarch this year is the sixconsecutive month of rev-enue crossing Rs 1-lakhcrore mark. The financeministry said that a steepincreasing trend over this

period is a clear indicatorof a rapid economic recov-ery post-pandemic.

"The revenues fromimport of goods was at 70per cent higher and therevenues from domestictransaction (includingimport of services) are 17per cent higher than therevenues from thesesources during the samemonth last year. The GSTrevenue witnessed growthrate of (-) 41 per cent, (-) 8per cent, 8 per cent and 14per cent in the first, sec-ond, third and fourth quar-ters of this financial year,respectively, as comparedto the same period lastyear," it said.

The Centre has settled Rs21,879 crore to CGST andRs 17,230 crore to SGST.

New Delhi, April 1:Mallika Srinivasan,chairman and managingdirector of Tractors andFarm Equipment (Tafe)Limited has beenappointed as the chair-person of the PublicEnterprises SelectionBoard (PESB), an orderissued by the personnelministry on Thursdaysaid.

This is the first time aprivate sector specialisthas been appointed asthe head of the PESB,responsible for appoint-ment of top manage-ment posts in theCentral Public SectorEnterprises (CPSEs),officials said.

The AppointmentsCommittee of theCabinet has approvedthe appointment ofSrinivasan as the chair-person of PESB for aperiod of three yearsfrom the date of assump-tion of charge, or untilthe attainment of theage of 65 years, it said.

Sailesh, a 1985-batchIAS officer, has beenappointed as member,PESB. He is at presentsecretary, Department ofPublic Enterprises.

The PESB shall consistof one chairperson andthree full-time members.

M. K. Gupta and RearAdmiral Shekhar Mital(retd) are its two servingmembers. —PTI

TAFE’S MALLIKASRINIVASAN TOSELECT PUBLIC

SECTOR HONCHOS

Car sales rebound in MarchMICHAEL GONSALVESPUNE, APRIL 1

Most carmakers in thecountry—such as MarutiSuzuki, Hyundai, TataMotors, Kia Motors,Mahindra & Mahindra,Toyota Kirloskar Motors,Renault, Ford Motor,Honda Cars, MG Motorand Nissan Motor—onThursday reported sub-stantial year-on-year salesgrowth in March 2021 incomparison to the unusual-ly low sales in March 2020because of the lockdown.

These 11 of the 14 car-makers in India who con-trol 99 per cent of India'sdomestic car market

clocked a 126 per cent jumpin March sales to 3,15,946units, up from 1,39,761 carssold in March 2020 whenthe lockdown had begun tohit production.

Car sales have beenimproving in the last fewmonths and March showeda substantial year-on-yeargrowth.

Maruti Suzuki, whichsells one car out of twobought in India, reported91.76 per cent sales growthto 1,46,203 units last monthcompared to 76,240 unitssold in March 2020.

Hyundai, the SouthKorean carmaker, clockeda 100 per cent rise indomestic sales during

March to 52,600 units asagainst 26,300 units sold inthe same month last year.

Tata Motors, India’s thirdbiggest carmaker, recordeda 422 per cent increase at29,654 units as compared to5,676 units sold in Marchlast year. This is the high-est-ever sales in a monthfor the company in nineyears. A total of 705 NexonEVs were sold in March.

Korean brand Kia Motorslogged a 123 per centgrowth in volumes to 19,100units against 8,583 units.

Sales at Mahindra &Mahindra, the SUV spe-cialist, climbed 394 per centto 16,700 units during themonth against 3,383 units

sold in March last year.Similarly, Toyota Kirlos-

kar Motors posted a 114 percent sales increase to 15,001units as against 7,023 units,clocking the best monthlysales for it since 2013.

Sales at French car brandRenault also jumped 278per cent at 12,356 units lastmonth against 3,269 unitssold in February last year.

Ford Motor India clocked7,746 units sales in March,a growth of 120 per centfrom 3,519 units.

Sales at Honda Cars Indiawas up 92 per cent at 7,103units versus 3,697 units. Itsproduction in March wasimpacted due to a shortageof semiconductors.

GST REVENUE COLLECTION

Figures in ` crore Source: KBK Infographics

1,20,000

1,00,000

50,000

60,000

40,000

20,000

9759

0

3217

262

151

9091

7

8742

2

8644

9

9548

0

1051

55

1049

63

1151

74

1,23,902

1198

75

1131

43

Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar

2020 ---------------------------------------------- 2021 --------

quickBITES

INDICATORS %Sensex 50,029.83 1.05Nifty 50 14,867.40 1.20S&P 500* 4,009.89 0.93Dollar (`) 73.11 0.01Pound Sterling (`) 101.03 -0.26Euro (`) 85.99 -0.25Gold (10gm)* (`) 44,701▲881 1.97Brent crude ($/bbl)* 64.00 2.01IN 10-Yr bond yield 6.177 0.00US 10-Yr T-bill yield* 1.679 -0.067

* As of 8:30 PM IST

Wipro to acquireOz’s Ampionfor $117 millionWipro said it will acquireAmpion, an Australia-basedprovider of cyber security,DevOps and quality engineer-ing services for $117 million(about Rs 857 crore). Theacquisition of Ampion is animportant step for Wipro in thisdirection, and strengthens thecommitment towards clientsand stakeholders in Australiaand New Zealand, Wipro said.The acquisition is expected toclose in the June quarter.

Mallika Srinivasan

Printed & Published by K Sudhakar on behalf of Deccan

Chronicle Holdings Limited. Printed &Published at Deccan Chronicle Presses

situated at SP-3 Developed Plot,Industrial Estate, Guindy, Chennai.

Editor: T.Venkatram Reddy, RNI Reg.No. TNENG/2008/25473 Air surcharge Re1. © All rights reserved. Reproduction in

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Copenhagen, April 1:The WHO on Thursday sl-ammed Europe's “unacce-ptably slow” vaccine roll-out and warned of a “wor-rying” surge in cases, asFrance became the latestcountry to impose new re-strictions to combat soar-ing Coronavirus infectio-ns. In a sign of the devas-tation the virus is stillcausing while the worldraces to roll out vaccines,Brazil reported the coun-try's death toll had spi-ralled last month. Offici-als said more than 66,000people had died of Covid-19 in Brazil in March —more than twice as manyfatalities as the country'ssecond-deadliest month ofthe pandemic, July 2020.

“Never in Brazilian his-tory have we seen a singleevent kill so many people”in one month, said doctorMiguel Nicolelis, formerpandemic response coor-dinator for Brazil's impov-erished northeast.

With the southern hemi-sphere winter approach-ing and the virus spread-ing fast, Brazil is facing “aperfect storm”, he said.

The surge in Brazil hasoverwhelmed hospitalsand forced doctors to

make agonising decisionsover whom to give life-sav-ing care — prioritisingthose most likely to sur-vive. The virus has killedmore than 2.8 million peo-ple worldwide since it

emerged in Wuhan in late2019. And though the wor-ld is looking to vaccines toend the upheaval the virushas brought, rollouts areoff to a sputtering start inmany countries, notably

i n

Europe. “Vaccines presentour best way out of thispandemic... however, therollout of these vaccines isunacceptably slow,” the Wo-rld Health Organisation'sdirector for Europe Hans

Kluge said. “We must speedup the process by rampingup manufacturing, reduc-ing barriers to admin-istering vaccines, andusing every single vial wehave in stock,” he added.

WHO blasts Europe’s vaccine rolloutFrance latest to impose new restrictions to combat soaring virus infections

Washington, April 1: AUS court has acceded tothe request of Pakistani-origin Canadian business-man Tahawwur Rana, whois sought for his involve-ment in the 2008 Mumbaiterror attack, to file anadditional reply againsthis extradition to India.

The in-person extradi-tion hearing of 59-year-oldRana, who has been decla-red a fugitive by India, isscheduled for April 12.

The United States hassupported India's requestfor his extradition toIndia. US District CourtJudge in Los Angeles Jac-

queline Chooljian, in hisbrief order on Wednesday,said: Rana shall file a sur-reply of no more than 20pages by not later thanApril 5.

The government may,but is not required to fileany surrebuttal to the sur-reply, which may not exce-ed 20 pages, by not laterthan April 12, the judgesaid. In a separate order,the judge asked both Ranaand the government repre-sentatives to confer andsubmit a status report wit-hin a week regarding thescheduling of the in-pers-on extradition hearing,

which is currently set forApril 22.

Under the existing law,hearings in cases of extra-dition under treaty stipu-lation or convention shallbe held on land, publicly,and in a room or office eas-ily accessible to the public,the judge said.

However, an in-personhearing is not currentlyauthorised due to the pan-demic, the federal judgesaid. Nor is it clear to theCourt on the current reco-rd, that Mr. Rana may wa-ive an in-person extraditi-on hearing and consent toproceed by video/telepho-

nic conference, even if hewished to do so, the judgesaid. As such, the judgeordered the two parties toconfer and file a statusreport within a week.

Last week Rana, who isbeing sought in connec-tion with his involvementin the 2008 Mumbai terrorattack, approached the co-urt that it wanted to file anadditional reply in opposi-tion to the motion of theUS government that sup-ported his extradition toIndia. The US governmentquickly reached out to thecourt arguing that therewas no med for Rana to file

an additional motion.On Wednesday, the court

ruled in favour of Rana.Rana, a childhood friend

of David Coleman Headl-ey, was re-arrested onJune 10 in Los Angeles onan extradition request byIndia for his involvementin the 2008 Mumbai terrorattacks in which 166 peo-ple, including six Ameri-cans, were killed.

P a k i s t a n i - A m e r i c a nLashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) ter-rorist Headley was involv-ed in plotting the 2008Mumbai terror attack. Hewas made an approver inthe case. — PTI

US court lets Rana file replyHearing of Tahawwur, declared fugitive by India, is scheduled April 12

Tokyo, April 1: Japan designatedOsaka and two other areas for newvirus control steps on Thursday asinfections there rise less than fourmonths before the Tokyo Olympi-cs. Osaka, neighbouring Hyogo andMiyagi in the north have had sharpincreases in daily cases since earlyMarch, soon after Japan scaleddown its partial and non-bindingstate of emergency that began inJanuary.

Japan lifted the state of emer-gency in the Tokyo area on March21, fully ending the measuresaimed at slowing the Coronavirusand relieving pressure on medicalsystems treating Covid-19 patients.Experts have raised concernsabout Osaka's rapid spike — withmany cases linked to new variantsof the virus from Britain — andthe burden on health care. — AP

Osaka, 2 otherareas put undersemi-emergency

Rome, April 1: Coronavirus restr-ictions in most of Italy that closedrestaurants, shops and museumsthrough Easter will be extendedthrough April, the governmentsaid on Wednesday.

But “an easing of measures”could be decided if the trend of theepidemic and the vaccination roll-out warrant it, according to thedecree approved late Wednesday bythe government of Prime MinisterMario Draghi.

Under the new decree, schools forlower grades will remain open, andit makes vaccines for healthcareworkers compulsory.

Anyone refusing to be vaccinat-ing can be reassigned, where possi-ble, in roles that will be away fromthe public.

If not, their pay will be suspend-ed. — AFP

Montreal, April 1: Canada's mostpopulous province is expected toreturn to lockdown after a sharprise in Covid-19 infections, localmedia reported Wednesday.

Premier Doug Ford is set toannounce that Ontario — home to14 million people, more than athird of the country's population— will return to lockdown for 28days from Saturday, TV channelsCBC and CTV reported.

The province has reported 2,000new cases daily for a week, doublethe daily infections seen in thebeginning of March.

The number of patients in inten-sive care also rose to 421 on Wedn-esday, equaling the peak reached inJanuary, according to Radio-Canada. Essential services willremain open with capacity limitedto 50 percent. — AFP

Italy extendsCovid-19 curbsthrough April

Lockdown onceagain in Ontariofrom tomorrow

WORLD

London, April 1: UKPrime Minister Boris Jo-hnson's senior-most PoCadviser, Samuel Kasumu,has stepped down fromhis post as Special Advis-er for Civil Society andCommunities, it emergedon Thursday, a day afterthe release of a controver-sial government-appoint-ed race review.

Kasumu's resignationwill come in effect fromMay 1 and Downing Stre-et has dismissed as comp-letely inaccurate reportsthat it is linked to the Co-mmission on Race and Et-hnic Disparities (CRED)report, which had conclu-ded that Britain was not astructurally racist nationeven though overt racismremained a reality in thecountry. It has been cla-imed that Kasumu's exitwas on the cards for sometime due to tensions with-in Downing Street and isnot directly linked to themuch-criticised report.

“Mr Kasumu has playedan incredibly valuablerole during his time at No10,” a Downing Street spo-kesperson said. As he pre-viously set out, he will beleaving government inMay. Any suggestion thatthis decision has beenmade this week or thatthis is linked to the CREDreport is completely inac-

curate,” the spokespersonsaid.

Kasumu had previouslyhanded in his resignationin February but went onto retract it. At the time,he had said he wanted tocontinue work he hadbeen doing fighting misi-nformation on Covid-19vaccines with Britain'sPoC community, with“the view to leaving at theend of May”. However, ac-cording to The Politico,Kasumu confirmed hisdecision to leave DowningStreet on Tuesday morn-ing, just as the findings ofthe CRED report werereleased. It comes asracial equality campaign-ers criticised the find-ings, and the OppositionLabour Party accused thegovernment of downplay-ing institutional racism.

Labour's shadow equali-ties secretary Marsha deCordova called the report“divisive”, adding it was“no wonder” the govern-ment was “losing the exp-ertise from their team”.

“To have your most sen-ior adviser on ethnic min-orities quit as you publisha so-called landmark rep-ort on race in the UK istelling of how far remov-ed the Tories are from theeveryday lived experi-ences of PoC people,” shesaid. — PTI

Race review:Johnson’s PoCadviser resigns

Moscow, April 1: Suppo-rters of jailed Kremlincritic Alexei Navalny areraising deep concerns ab-out his decision to launch ahunger strike, saying theyfear more damage to hisalready-fragile health.

Navalny, President Vlad-imir Putin's most promi-nent opponent, announcedthe hunger strike on

Wednesday to demandproper medical treatmentin prison. The 44-year-old isserving two-and-a-halfyears on old fraud chargesin a penal colony east ofMoscow. He was arrestedwhen he returned to Russiain January from Germany,where he had spent monthsrecovering from poisoninghe blames on the Kremlin.

Navalny healthraises concern

SHORT TAKESPAK COURTLIFTS BAN ON TIKTOK

Peshawar, April 1: A Pakis-tani court on Thursday liftedits ban on popular Chinesevideo-sharing app TikTok andordered the country's telecom-munication authority to makesure that "immoral content" isnot uploaded on it.

The Peshawar High Court onMarch 11 had ordered a ban onthe TikTok over alleged“obscene content”, the secondtime in less than six months.The court on Thursday liftedthe ban.

LONDON COP INNEO-NAZI GROUP

CONVICTEDLondon, April 1: A Londonjury has found a rookie policeofficer guilty of belonging to abanned neo-Nazi organisation,the first time a British policeofficer has been convicted ofmembership of an outlawedfar-right group.

After 32 hours of delibera-tion, the jury at the city's OldBailey court found BenjaminHannam, 22, guilty Thursdayof being a member of theextremist group NationalAction.

US SAYS ISRAEL‘OCCUPIES’

WEST BANKWashington, April 1: USPresident Joe Biden's adminis-tration said Wednesday that Is-rael's control of the West Bankis indeed “occupation,” clarif-ying its stance after the relea-se of a report that seemed todownplay the term, adoptinglanguage used by Donald Tru-mp's government.

The State Department's ann-ual report on human rights“does use the term 'occupa-tion' in the context of the cur-rent status of the West Bank,”State Department spokesmanNed Price told reporters.

“This has been the long-standing position of previousadministrations of both par-ties over the course of manydecades,” he said.

GAMES pg 8DECCAN CHRONICLE | CHENNAI | FRIDAY | 2 APRIL 2021

DDCC CCOORRRREESSPPOONNDDEENNTTCHENNAI, APRIL 1

Top seed MaheshMangaonkar of Indiaquelled the challenge ofcompatriot Abhay Singh infour games to reach themen's final in the secondHCL-SRFI Indian Tour -Chennai Leg 1 at theIndian Squash Academyhere on Thursday. TheIndian world no 47 won 12-10 8-11 11-4 11-9 in a 66-minute encounter.

Mangaonkar edged Singhin a tight opening gamebefore losing the next 8-11.He, however, stepped uphis level of play to take thenext two games 11-4 11-9 tobook a spot in Friday'sfinal against AmericanTodd Harrity, the secondseed.

Harrity got the better ofthird seeded Karim ElHammamy of Egypt 11-8

11-9 8-11 11-1 in 53 minutes.In the women's section,

India's Tanvi Khanna, thethird-seed, went downfighting to Egyptian sec-ond seed Hana Moataz 6-114-11 11-9 5-11 in 31 minutes.

Moataz will face compa-triot Malak Kamal in thefinal.

Kamal ended the run offellow Egyptian RanaIsmail (seventh seed) witha 11-13 11-6 11-2 12-10 win in36 minutes.RReessuullttss:: SSeemmii--ffiinnaallss::WWoommeenn:: Malak Kamalbeat Rana Ismail 11-13, 11-6, 11-2, 12-10; Hana Moataz(Egypt-X2) beat TanviKhanna (India-X3) 11-6, 11-4, 9-11, 11-5MMeenn:: Mahesh Mangaonkar(India-X1) beat AbhaySingh (India) 12-10, 8-11,11-4, 11-9; Todd Harrity(USA-X2) beat RanaIsmail (Egypt-X7) 11-13, 11-6, 11-2, 12-10.

Mahesh to meetHarrity in final

Naomi crumbles to Sakkari power

Kiwis down Bangla by 65runs to sweep T20 seriesAuckland, April 1: NewZealand beat Bangladeshby 65 runs in a rain-short-ened third Twenty20International in Auck-land on Friday to claim aseries clean sweep.

With their inningsreduced to 10 overs due tobad weather, Bangladeshwere all out for 76 withthree balls to spare, wellshort of the 142 target setby New Zealand.

The Black Caps made141 for four after losingthe toss and being askedto bat, with Finn Allenhitting 71 from 29 balls.

Spinner Todd Astle was

the standout bowler, tak-ing four wickets for 13runs in his two over spell.

Captain Tim Southeesaid it was satisfying forthe New Zealanders tonotch their seventh homeseries win of the seasonon all formats.

Bangladesh captainLiton Das said mistakescost his side, including aseries of dropped catchesthat allowed Allen to runaway with the match.

New Zealand made ablistering start, withMartin Guptill smashingthree sixes in the first twoovers.

Allen was also findingthe boundary but rode hisluck with two droppedcatches as the Black Capsraced to 69 without lossafter five overs.

Guptill smashed 16 offthe first three balls fromMahedi Hasan but thespinner had his revengewhen the batsman wascaught on 44 trying toclear the rope. — AFPBBrriieeff ssccoorreess:: NNeewwZZeeaallaanndd 114411//44 in 10 overs(F. Allen 71, M. Guptill 44)bt BBaannggllaaddeesshh 7766 in 9.3overs (M. Naim 19; T.Astle 4/13, Tim Southee3/15).

Miami, April 1: Top-seed-ed Daniil Medvedevcrashed out of the MiamiOpen Wednesday on a dayof upsets that also sawAustralian Open championNaomi Osaka ousted fromthe quarterfinals.

Seventh-seeded SpaniardRoberto Bautista Agut beatMedvedev 6-4, 6-2, for histhird win in as many meet-ings with the Russian whowas runner-up to NovakDjokovic at the AustralianOpen and ascended to No. 2in the world with his victo-ry at Marseille in March.

Women’s world No. 2Naomi Osaka — seeded sec-ond behind Ashleigh Bartyin the prestigious ATPMasters and WTA hard-court tournament — hadbowed out hours earlier,the Japanese star’s 23-match winning streak com-ing to a crashing halt witha 6-0, 6-4 loss to Greece’sMaria Sakkari.

Bautista booked a semi-final showdown with 19-

year-old Italian JannickSinner, the world No. 31who beat Kazakhstan’sAlexander Bublik 7-6 (7/5),6-4.

Sakkari will face eighth-seeded Canadian BiancaAndreescu for a place inthe women’s final.

Andreescu, ranked ninthin the world, clawed out a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory over tena-cious 58th-ranked SpaniardSara Sorribes Tormo.

Osaka, playing her firsttournament since liftingher fourth Grand Slam titleat the Australian Open,won just eight points in thefirst set as she failed tomuster a single winner.

Osaka broke in the sec-ond game of the second setand seized a 3-0 lead beforeSakkari roared back for avictory that ended Osaka’schance of overtakingAustralia’s Barty — whohad already booked hersemi-final spot — atop theworld rankings this week.

— AFP

Dubai, April 1: The con-tentious ‘Umpire’s Call’will continue to be a partof the Decision ReviewSystem, the InternationalCricket Council's Boardruled on Thursday, butintroduced a few changesto the current DRS proto-cols. Called “confusing”by India captain ViratKohli, the Umpire’s Callhas been a subject of con-troversy for a while now.As per the existing rule, 50per cent of the ball shouldbe hitting at least one ofthe three stumps for thebatsman to be adjudgedLBW on review in case anumpire’s not out call hasbeen challenged.

“The Cricket Committeehad an excellent discus-sion around Umpire’s Calland analysed its useextensively,” ICC’s CricketCommittee head and for-mer Indian captain AnilKumble said in statementissued by the governingbody after the end of itsboard meetings onWednesday.

“The principle under-pinning DRS was to cor-rect clear errors in thegame whilst ensuring therole of the umpire as thedecision maker on thefield of play was pre-served...Umpire’s Callallows that to happen,which is why it is impor-tant it remains,” he added.

The ICC introducedthree minor changes tothe DRS and third Umpireprotocols. “For LBWreviews, the height mar-gin of the Wicket Zonewill be lifted to the top ofthe stumps to ensure thesame Umpire’s Call mar-gin around the stumps forboth height and width,”the ICC stated. — PTI

Umpire’s call to stayBut ICC introduces minor changes to DRS protocols

CSK skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suresh Rains (left) share light moment in this photo. — Twitter

Action during the semifinal between Mahesh Mangaonkar(right) and Abhay Singh.

Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli (left) and star batsman AB de Villiers join the RCB squad inChennai on Thursday ahead of upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League. — Twitter

SHORT TAKES

NNeeww DDeellhhii:: A womanweightlifter, who was part of

the ongoing national camp atthe National Institute of Sports

in Patiala, has been provisional-ly suspended after testing posi-

tive for banned substance.The weightlifter, a national

record holder and who has par-ticipated in several international

tournaments including theCommonwealth Championship

where she won gold, was set tobe a part of the Indian team for

the Asian Championship to beheld in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

from April 16 to 25.“Yes, she has failed a dope test.

The report came about 10-15days back,” a source in the

Indian Weightlifting Federation(IWLF) confirmed.

Taking a break from the nation-al camp, the weightlifter went

home in October last year whennational coach Vijay Sharmaand star lifter Mirabai Chanu

had travelled to the UnitedStates.

After she returned to the camp,her sample was collected by

the National Anti-DopingAgency (NADA) in November

last. The weightlifter hadallegedly consumed a supple-ment that contained the pro-

hibited substance. — PTI

BBrriissbbaannee:: Former two-timeOlympic silver medallist

canoeist Nathan Baggaley andhis younger brother have been

found guilty of plotting tosmuggle 200 million Australiandollars ($150 million) worth of

cocaine into Australia.The 45-year-old Baggaley and

his 39-year-old brother Druwere charged with attempting

to import 650 kilograms (1,430pounds) of cocaine in 2018.

After about eight hours ofdeliberating, a Brisbane

Supreme Court jury found bothmen guilty on Thursday.

Nathan Baggaley won twocanoeing silver medals at the

2004 Athens Olympics and alsowas a three-time world champi-on. But his career was tarnishedwith drug scandals testing posi-

tive for banned steroids in2005 and also being jailed withDru Baggaley 10 years later for

his role in a drug manufacturingsyndicate.

The Baggaley brothers will besentenced on a date yet to be

decided by the court. — AP

Female lifter failsdope test, axed

Ex-Olympian guiltyof drug smuggling

LLooss AAnnggeelleess:: Police in LosAngeles said Wednesday inves-

tigators have identified thecause of the crash which left

Tiger Woods seriously injuredlast month but did not releasefurther details, citing concerns

about the golf star’s privacy.Los Angeles County Sheriff

Alex Villanueva said the probeinto the one-vehicle accident

on February 23, which leftWoods with a shattered right

leg, was now complete.However, Villanueva said no

information about the cause ofthe accident would be releasedunless Woods waived his right

to privacy.“A cause has been determined,the investigation has conclud-

ed,” Villanueva said. “However, we have reached outto Tiger Woods and his person-

nel.“There’s some privacy issues on

releasing information on theinvestigation, and we’re goingto ask them if they waive theprivacy. Then we’ll be able to

do a full release on all the infor-mation regarding the accident,”

he further added. — AFP

Investigators mumover Woods crash

TTookkyyoo:: The governor of Osakaprefecture said on Thursday that

he wants to cancel the torchrelay legs going through Osakalater this month, less than four

months before the the openingof the Tokyo Olympics. GovernorHirofumi Yoshimura said the pre-

fecture is coming under newCovid-19 control measures

because of rising case numbers.He said that will mean people

being asked to stay homeexcept for essential outings. “I

think the torch relay through themiddle of Osaka should be can-

celed,” he said. — AP

Osaka Guv wantsto nix torch relay

Virat, AB arrive in Chennai

Hazlewood pulls out of IPLMelbourne, April 1:Australia and ChennaiSuper Kings fast bowlerJosh Hazlewood haspulled out of the upcom-ing edition of the IndianPremier League to take asmall break from cricketand keep himself fresh forthe Ashes and the T20World Cup later this year.

Hazlewood was to departwith other Australia’sIPL-bound players andjoin CSK but decided toskip the cash-rich league,

which will start on April 9and go on till May 30, andspend time at home for thenext two months.

“It’s been a long 10months in bubbles andquarantine at differenttimes, so I decided to havea rest from cricket andspend some time at homeand in Australia in thenext two months,”Hazlewood was quoted assaying by cricket.com.au.

“We’ve got a big winterahead. The West Indies is

going to be a long tour,with Bangladesh (T20tour) potentially thrownon the end of that. Thenpotentially the T20 WorldCup leading into theAshes, so it’s a big 12months.

“As it always is withAustralia, and I want togive myself the bestchance to be mentally andphysically ready for that,”he added.

He follows Josh Philippe(RCB) and Mitchell Marsh

(SRH) in withdrawingfrom the IPL, while someother Australians mayconsider opting out also,according to the report.

Hazlewood has beenunder restrictions fromJuly last year before leav-ing for England withAustralia’s limited-oversteam where he was instrict bio-secure lockdownbefore heading to the UAEfor the IPL where againsafety protocols weretight. — PTI

Chennai, April 1: Indiaand Royal ChallengersBangalore captain ViratKohli reached here onThursday to join his IPLsquad before which hewill undergo a seven-dayquarantine.

The team has alreadystarted its training campon Tuesday for theupcoming season whichbegins on April 9.

“Captain Virat Kohlihas arrived in Chennai,”RCB said, announcingKohli’s arrival in a tweet,along with a picture oftheir captain wearing amask.

RCB face defendingchampions MumbaiIndians in the tourna-ment opener on April 9here.

Kohli, who has beenwith the RCB since theinception of the IPL in2008, quit the bio-bubblein Pune on Monday afterIndia’s ODI series winagainst England.

He has been part of bio-secure bubbles since theend of January, ahead ofthe England series, andwas part of each of thefour Tests, five T20Internationals and threeODIs.

Another key RCB playerand South African starbatsman A B de Villiersalso joined the RCB bio-bubble on Thursday.

“The spaceship haslanded! AB de Villiers hasjoined the RCB bubble inChennai,” the RCB tweet-ed.

The 37-year-old battinggreat has been a key play-er for the team since hejoined the franchise in2011.

Head coach SimonKatich also came out ofquarantine, along withpacer Navdeep Saini asthe RCB team underwentanother practice session.

UUMMEESSHH RREEAADDYY TTOO HHIITTTTHHEE DDEECCKK FFOORR DDCC

Out of mandatory seven-day quarantine, India andDelhi Capitals fast bowlerUmesh Yadav is ready tohit the deck as he returnsto be with the familiarfaces at his old franchisein the Indian PremierLeague, beginning onApril 9.

The 33-year-old Yadav,

who started his IPLcareer with the Delhifranchise, returned to theside after being acquiredfor his base price of `1crore in the auction inFebruary.

“After being in quaran-tine for one week, it wasgreat to step onto theground and spend sometime with the boys,”Yadav said.

“I just want to do wellwhenever I have the ballin my hand. I will defi-nitely give my best for myteam and keep gettingbetter everyday,” he saidin a DC release.

Yadav, who has pickedup 119 wickets in 121 IPLmatches, said he felt athome in the DelhiCapitals camp. — PTI

IPL WILL BE AHUGE BENEFITTO US: STOKESMumbai, April 1: Theincreased participation ofEnglish players in theIPL, where there is con-stant pressure to perform,will benefit them duringthe T20 World Cup to beheld in India later thisyear, reckons star all-rounder Ben Stokes.

This year, there are 14England cricketers con-tracted to play IPL, EoinMorgan Jos Buttler,Stokes, Johnny Bairstow,Moeen Ali, Sam Curran,Tom Curran, SamBillings, Liam Living-stone and Dawid Malan.

“Yes — the percentage ofEnglish players in the IPLhas probably grown in thelast five or so years,”Stokes told Sky Sports.

“Not only is that greatfor the individual but it isalso great for the playersinvolved in the Englandset-up; it gives them expe-rience in the most high-profile competition in theworld but not only that —you are under constantpressure to perform,” headded.

“You’ve got billions ofpeople watching you andyou’ve got the pressure ofthe franchise on you.

“Being constantlyexposed to that is a hugebenefit to us as a team,especially with the T20World Cup coming up atthe end of the year inIndia; it’s a great chancefor the English guys to getmore experience in theseconditions,” Stokes said.

— PTI

North Sound (Antigua and Barbuda), April 1:Pathum Nissanka kept the West Indies at bay, with SriLanka limping to the close at 250 for eight in reply tothe home side’s first-innings total of 354 on a rain-affected third day of the second and final Test inAntigua on Wednesday. Bursting with confidence fol-lowing a debut hundred in the first Test at the samevenue just a week earlier, the Nissanka defied theCaribbean pacers in compiling an unbeaten 49.

It gave visitors some hope of continuing to whittleaway at what is potentially a critical first-innings leadfor the West Indies going into day four.

Nissanka’s determination for almost three hours, inwhich he faced 119 deliveries and stroked four bound-aries, could yet prove beneficial for Sri Lanka shouldthe other overnight batsman, Lasith Embuldeniya,and last man Vishwa Fernando replicate the resist-ance shown by the Windies lower order in their firstinnings. — AFPBBrriieeff ssccoorreess ((DDaayy 33,, ssttuummppss)):: WWeesstt IInnddiieess 335544 vs SSrriiLLaannkkaa 225500//88 in 103.1 overs (Chandimal 44, P. Nissanka 49batting; J. Holder 2/39, A. Joseph 2/64).

GRITTY NISSANKA, RAIN HOLD UP WI IN 2ND TEST

SSPPFFAA ssuummmmeerr ttoouurrnnaammeennttSabir Pasha Football Academy summer tournament for U-15category will be held at Ambattur ITI ground on Friday. Asmany as eight teams have been invited to compete in the 11-a-side tournament. PPaarrttiicciippaattiinngg tteeaammss:: SPFA, Mahogany, Chennai CrystalsFA, Cosmos FC, Puzhal FC, AVP FC, Great Goals, YMSC.

PPrreessiiddeennccyy CClluupp lliifftt ‘‘DD’’ zzoonnee ttiittlleePresidency Club ‘C’ registered a 2-1 win over GandhinagarClub ‘B’ to lift the ‘D’ zone title in the Sanmar–TNTAChennai City Club League championship. RReessuullttss:: Presidency Club ‘C’ bt Gandhinagar Club ‘B’ 2-1(Ankur Malhotra/Palani Vale bt Vijay Bose/ShivakumarViswanathan 6-4, 7-5; Sidharth Sangvi/Charan Asokan lostto K. Guhan/Chirrag Sheth 6-4, 4-6, 3-6; Suraj KumarRamniklal Sayani/Vivek Bhandari bt KarthikAthreya/Sujan Karthik 6-4, 6-1)

SSoouunnddeerraammaannii ssiizzzzlleessN.K. Sounderamani’s five-wicket haul helped KumbhatCricket Club beat Venkat Cricket Club in the TNCA fifthdivision championship league match.BBrriieeff ssccoorreess:: IIVV--DDiivviissiioonn ((RReelleeggaattiioonn ppllaayy--ooffff))::Vigneswara Cricket Club 282/9 in 50 overs (R. Abinandh95, K. R. Shrreyas Raghavan 69, V. R. S. Guru Kedarnath43, H. Sathish Babu 37; P. Vignesh 4/57) bt Fox TrottersCricket Club 140 in 30.1 overs ( M. Dhinakaran 49, R.Aarudhra Simhadev 30; I. Selva 3/27).VV--DDiivviissiioonn ((CChhaammppiioonnsshhiipp)):: Venkat Cricket Club 112 in 34overs (S. Senthil Kumar 52; N. K. Sounderamani 5/16) lostto Kumbhat Cricket Club 113/5 in 20.1 overs (R. Santhosh42, R. Hrishikesh Trilochan 32).

CChhaalllleennggeerrss HHoocckkeeyy tthhuummpp SStt.. PPaauull’’ss Challengers Hockey, Chennai posted a thumping 7-0 win overSt. Paul’s Combined XI in the Shri N. P.V. Ramasamy UdayarHockey Cup.RReessuullttss:: Tamil Nadu Postal Hockey 1 (Yuvraj) bt Chennai HockeyAssociation U-21; Challengers Hockey, Chennai 7 (Sunil Moorthy 2,Veera Thamizhan 2, Arun Kumar, Nambi Ganesh, Thangaraj) bt St.Paul’s Combined XI; Indian Overseas Bank 5 (Hariharan 2, V. VinodRayer 2, Manoj Jojo) bt Southern Railway 1 (Saravana Kumar).

CCIITTYY CCLLIIPPSS

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