the pioneer...of film artists, including shabana azmi and javed akhtar, have cam-paigned for kumar....

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The voting for fourth phase of LokSabha (LS) elections for 71 seats

in nine States on Monday would wit-ness in the battle ring sons of ChiefMinisters, royals, former UnionMinisters, film celebrities as also a bit-terly-found contest between fire-brand student leader Kanhaiya Kumarand BJP candidate and UnionMinister Giriraj Singh.

The fate of 961 candidates will bedecided by about 12.79 core voters,including in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan,Mahrashtra, Mahdhya Pradesh, Biharand West Bengal. In Madhya Pradeshbypoll to Chhindwara Assembly con-stituency where Chief Minister KamalNath is in the fray will also be heldsimultaneously with LS poll onMonday. LS elections in MP will beheld in four phases on April 29, andMay 6, 12 and May 19, the last phase.In the first phase, six LS constituen-cies of Sidhi, Shahdol, Jabalpur,Mandla, Balaghat and Chhindwarawill go to polls in Madhya Pradesh.

Chhindwara, the LS constituen-cy held by Congress leader KamalNath would now see his son NakulNath seeking mandate from the seat,a pocket borough of the Nath fami-ly.

State BJP president Rakesh Singhand former Union Minister and BJP’stribal face Faggan Singh Kulaste arecontesting from Jabalpur and Mandla,respectively.

In Rajasthan, 13 of 25 seats of theState to go to polls on Monday with115 candidates in fray. RajasthanChief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s son, amember of erstwhile Jaipur royal fam-ily and two Union Ministers areamong candidates whose fate will bedecided in polling on 13 Lok Sabha

seats in Rajasthan.The constituencies are —Tonk-

Sawaimadhopur, Ajmer, Pali, Jodhpur,Barmer, Jalore, Udaipur, Banswara,Chittorgarh, Rajsamand, Bhilwara,Kota and Jhalawar-Baran. Ghelot’sson Vaibhav is contesting fromJodhpur on the Congress ticket andis pitted against sitting MP andUnion Minister of State GajendraSingh Shekhawat.

The Jodhpur constituency, whichhas been represented by Gehlot forfive times since 1980, has become aprestige issue for him who conduct-ed more than 90 rallies, public meet-ings, roadshows in the constituencyduring the campaigning period whichended on Saturday evening.

Prime Minister Narendra Modiand BJP president Amit Shah alsoheld public meetings and roadshowsin Jodhpur to ensure the victory ofparty candidate Shekhawat.

In Barmer seat, former ExternalAffairs Minister Jaswant SinghManvendra is contesting election onCongress ticket against BJP’s KailashChaudhary.

Former BJP MLA and ex- Jaipurroyal family member Diya Kumari ismaking debut in the Lok Sabha elec-tion as a BJP candidate fromRajsamand while Union Minister ofState PP Chaudhary is in the frayfrom Pali. The Tonk-Sawaimadhopurseat will see contest between formerUnion Minister and Congress candi-date Namonarain Meena and BJP MPSukhbir Singh Jaunapuria.

Industrialist and Congress can-didate Riju Jhunjhunwala and BJP’sBhagirath Chaudhary will fight forAjmer seat.

This seat in 2009 was won bySachin Pilot, who is now the stateCongress chief and Rajasthan’s deputy

chief minister.In Uttar Pradesh Senior Congress

leader Salman Khurshid is locked ina three-way electoral contest from histraditional constituency ofFarrukhabad where he is facing thechallenge of overcoming the “Modifactor” and outsmarting the SP-BSP-RLD coalition in capturing the anti-BJP vote.

The opponents of Khurshid, aformer Union Minister who has heldportfolios of External Affairs, Law andMinorities, may not be politicalheavyweights, but BJP’s sitting MPMukesh Rajput and BSP’s ManojAgarwal are tough opponents on aseat which is not dominated by a sin-gle caste, religion or social group.

In Bihar, Begusarai is to witnessvery keen contest between KanaihyaKumar and Giriraj Singh. A numberof film artists, including ShabanaAzmi and Javed Akhtar, have cam-paigned for Kumar. BJP has describedKumar as the part of ‘Tukde-Tukdegang’ as Kumar has described Singhas an “outsider” in Begusarai.

In West Bengal eight Lok Sabhaconstituencies would go to poll onMonday, which will decide the fate of68 candidates in the fray. The eightseats -- Baharampur, Krishnagar,Ranaghat (SC), Burdwan East (SC),Burdwan-Durgapur, Asansol, Bolpur(SC) and Birbhum -- will see a four-cornered contest between theTrinamool Congress, the BJP, theCongress and the Left Front.

An electorate of 1,34,56,491 willdecide the fate of 68 candidates inthese eight constituencies, theElection Commission said. InAsansol, Union minister and BJP sit-ting MP Babul Supriyo will contestagainst TMC’s celebrity candidateMoon Moon Sen.

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Candidates in fray for elec-tions are putting their best

effort to woo voters. With few days left for the

polling, the contestants in frayhave stepped up their cam-paign, knowing that it would bea tough contest. While BJPflagged off the campaign vans,JMM candidate Champai Sorenorganizing public meetings toconnect with voters. TheJamshedpur Lok SabhaConstituency seat goes to pollson May 12.

JMM candidate ChampaiSoren said, “I have full faith onthe voters of Jamshedpur. Theywill be electing their represen-tative on the basis of perfor-mance of candidates and not onthe basis of election campaignand publicity. I openly ask thevoters to judge my tenure as theMLA and then decide to vote.The people are only going tocast their vote on the basis ofperformance of the candidates.I am here seeking votes of thepeople for the work that I havedone so far. During my tenure

as MLA I have toured everynook and corner of my con-stituency and understand issuesconcerning the people.”

Jamshedpur Lok Sabhaconstituency comprises of sixVidhan Sabha (legislativeassembly) segments includingBaharagora Ghatshila, Potka,Jugsalai, Jamshedpur East andJamshedpur West.

Apart from the high profilevisits and rallies of the leadersof major political parties sched-uled in the coming days, can-

didates are working hard tocover the entire constituencywith padyatra (foot march).They have turned their atten-tion to micro-level problemsand demands during the street-by-street campaign.

BJP candidate andJamshedpur MP Bidyut BaranMahto is visiting places in ruralbelt interacting with the voters.He assured them that if hevoted he will focus on con-struction roads, bridges andensure proper drinking water

and power in his area. “Ihave promised bettercivic services for the res-idents of non-companyarea. Better traffic andbasic infrastructure isall I promise,” saysMahto.

Political parties andthe candidates are equal-ly focusing on publicmeetings and roadsidecampaigns through vehi-cles.

“I am the son of thesoil and have been apart of the movement forseparate state Jharkhand.I understand the pulse ofthe people of the region.I have been active activist

and have been crusading for therights of the people. People liv-ing in the rural areas havebeen denied benefits of sever-al Government welfareschemes, I want to be theirvoice and ensure that they reapthe benefits of different projects.I am also concerned aboutmigration of labourers from ourregion to different states. Thisis a vital issue that needs toaddressed,” said Surya SinghBesra, a candidate fromJharkhand Peoples Party.

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Leaving no stone unturned toattract voters, candidates

have gone all out to woo thevoters. Amidst cruel summerblaze and heat waves, everynook and corner in Dhanbadconstituency resounded withchants of ‘Phir Ek Baar ModiSarkar’, ‘Ab Hoga Nyay’ includ-ing other such slogans as theelection campaigning by vari-ous political parties continuedwith a large number of sup-porters and followers, here onSunday.

Supporters of BJP dressedin saffron, wearing party capsand flags were seen takingpart in a rally this morning.While in other rallies a groupof youngsters was hired to play‘Dhol’ along with the cam-paign. A few party workerswere seen driving cycles andmotorcycles with their respec-tive party flags.

PN Singh, sitting MP, alongwith hundreds of supporters,conducted the door-to-doorcampaign, greeting voters andappealing them to vote forBJP. To reach out to the voters,Singh had interacted with

housewives and local youthstoo.

During the interactionwith Singh, few local residentsbrought up their issues ofdrinking water supply, unem-ployment and lack of drainagesystem, while a few took self-ies with him.

At Chas, a few women andsenior citizens complained toSingh that the water is suppliedfor only a small duration,which is insufficient. Singhassured them that he wouldsolve the problem if he comesto power again.

“I stood by the publicwhenever they had a problemwhich is why I have had goodreception throughout my cam-

paigns in Bokaro andDhanbad. Public also wantBJP government to come topower again,” he said.

Singh added, “People of theconstituency love me, they aresatisfied with my work andprogress of the constituency.People choose me as MLA in1995 than 2000 and 2005. LaterI was elected as the MP in 2009and again in 2014.”

Meanwhile, his rival andCongress candidate Kirti Azadhas been intensively cam-paigning in the constituency.With a number of vehicleswith party’s posters and flags,the party members conductedan election rally and door-to-door campaign too.

During his rally, Azad alsointeracted with auto-rickshawdrivers, street vendors, shop-keepers, vegetable sellers, anda few others and appeal themto vote for Congress for ‘Nyay’.

Independents candidateSiddhartha Gautam, along withhis supporters visited dozens ofvillages and Panchayats ofBokaro district on Sunday.During his campaign,Siddhartha assured inclusivegrowth of the area to the ruralvoters if he comes in power.

“I am not going to com-ment on anyone or a particu-lar party or a leader for thestandstill conditions of thearea. If you will give me thechance, I will surely fulfill yourdemands,” he said.

Besides these, several othercandidates are getting into thecampaigning mode to woovoters for the Lok Sabha pollsby holding multiple publicmeetings in different parts ofthe constituency.

A total of 20 candidates arein the poll fray for Dhanbad LSseat which will go for poll onMay 12, in the sixth phase ofthe election along with Giridih,Jamshedpur and Singhbhum.

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In a bid to ensure fair, free andtransparent polls in the dis-

trict, as many as 809 pollingparties have been deployedacross Garhwa andBhawnathpur assembly seg-ments of Palamu Parliamentaryconstituency which is going topolls on Monday.

The Polling parties, alongwith sealed Electronic VotingMachines (EVMs), VotersVerifiable Paper Audit Trails(VVPATs) and polling mater-ial left for the respective pollingstations along with securitypersonnel under the supervi-sion of General Observer and

District Election Officer (DEO)Garhwa Harsh Mangla. Thepolling parties reported at therespective dispatch centresearly morning on Sundaywhere EVMs, VVPATs andother election material weremade available to them.

The DEO entrusted uponthe polling parties to workwith utmost dedication anddevotion for successful com-pletion of polls in the district.He informed that foolproofsecurity arrangements havebeen made for safe and hassle-free transportation of pollingstaff and material.

Assistant Returning OfficersPradeep Kumar and Kamleshwer

Sahay, nodal offi-cers and othersenior officers ofPolice and CivilAdministrationwere also presenton the occasion.

Meanwhile,DEO along withother officersGarhwa, inspect-ed the designat-ed centres fordistribution andcollection ofpolling materialfor the Assemblysegments ofGarhwa districtand took stock ofthe distributionprocess and dis-

patching of polling staff.During the visit to collec-

tion and distribution center atSSJS Namdhari College , theDEO interacted with the con-cerned AROs, and other con-cerned officers and had first-hand appraisal of the distribu-tion of Electronic VotingMachines, polling material,deployment of polling staffand micro observers. He alsoreviewed the arrangements putin place for the polling staff atall polling stations. Sheexpressed satisfaction on thearrangements and asked theconcerned to put in their bestefforts to ensure free, fair andtransparent polls in the district.

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Elaborate security arrange-ments have been made for

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’spublic meeting at Nawadih

ground in Jamua, Giridih sched-uled for today. Three-tier secu-rity set up comprising 1,200policemen of special protectiongroup sleuths and local policewill guard the venue and sur-

rounding areas.As part of Koderma and

Giridih’s election campaign,Modi will be attending themeeting at Nawadih ground onMonday. As it would be his first

public meeting before the pollsin Koderma and Giridih, BJPleaders are putting in all effortsto make it a grand success.

Meeting organisers told thepolice that they are expecting

about two lakh people to turn upfor the public meeting who willreach the ground at Nawadih inJamua by walking around 2kms. Meanwhile, SpecialProtection Group (SPG) sleuths,who guard the Prime Minister,visited the venue on Sundayalong with city police ChiefSurendra Kumar Jha. Theyspoke to local police and organ-isers about various aspects of hissecurity.

The organisers were toldthat not more than 40 personswill be allowed on the dais andthe list will be shared with thesecurity agencies for backgroundcheck. Giridih SP SurendraKumar Jha, accompanied bysenior cops, including law andorder and traffic additionalcommissioners, gave instruc-tions to the security wing, TaskForce and local police.

The security wing will takecare of anti-sabotage checksusing sniffer dogs and setting upDFMDs. The three-tier securi-ty set up will guard the periph-ery, entrances to the ground andnear the stage,” he said.

Special branch sleuths havestarted security census aroundthe venue to verify theantecedents of people who staynearby. All high-rise buildingsnear the venue will also bechecked.

A full dress rehearsal of thesecurity set up, as per theStandard Operating Procedure(SOP) mentioned in the ‘BlueBook’, was done on Sundaybefore the event. Modi is likelyto reach the ground by heli-copter from Ranchi airport.

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GoAir has stepped in tomake India FlySmart by

opening up its hearts and doorsto the newly launched addi-tional 28 flights across 12 cities,including Ranchi. Flying peri-od is April 26 to July 31, 2019.

Jeh Wadia, managingdirector, GoAir said, “GoAirstrongly believes that Ranchideserves respite from soaringairfares during peak season. Asa low cost carrier it is incum-bent upon us to take initiativesthat will immediately alleviatethe shortage of flights andinconvenience caused to pas-sengers due to the Jet Airway’sflight cancellations.

GoAir stepped in bylaunching additional 28 flightsand went one step further byintroducing 48-hours windowto offer low cost fares for flightsfrom Ranchi. �1368 onwardsper ticket all inclusive is adream come true for many.”

This summer, effectiveApril 26, 2019, passengers can‘Go-for-more’ with enhancedconnectivity between Ranchi

and Mumbai. The daily non-stop addi-

tional flight G8-2503 willdepart from Ranchi at 08:45hours.

In Mumbai, all flight num-bers starting from G8 2000 toG8 2999 will depart and arriveat Terminal 2, effective April 262019.

GoAir is committed toprovide travelers a value for

money proposition throughhighest standards of customerservice and affordable air fares.GoAir is also committed toprovide secure and efficienttransportation at all times withattention to essential details.For the 7th month in a row,GoAir has ranked top in ‘On-Time-Performance (OTP)’ sig-nifying the airlines effortstowards operational efficiency.

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In separate road mishaps,two persons were killed andone was injured at MarineDrive and Nildih Chowk underBistupur police station areaand Golmuri police stationarea respectively on Sunday.

A 15-year-old boy was runover by a trailer at MarineDrive and a 50-year-old manwas killed on the spot as thecycle he was riding was hit byan unknown vehicle at NildihChowk.

The boy who was killed onthe Marine Drive was identifiedas Akaash Ponko, a resident ofBeldih Gram.

Police informed that bothAkaash and another youth,Rinku Kumar (20) were sleep-ing along the Marine Drive inthe night, but early in themorning a trailer which wascoming from Mango, ran overthem. "The trailer was comingfrom the Mango towardsAdityapur, when the driverran over the two, causing theduo come under the wheels ofthe heavy vehicle. The other

youth identified as Rinku wasseriously injured. We haverushed the injured to TataMain Hospital where he isstruggling for his life," a policeofficer informed.

OC, Bistupur, RajeshPrakash Sinha confirmed aboutthe mishap which took place onthe Marine Ddrive underBistupur PS area.

The other mishap tookplace at Nildih Chowk onSakchi-Telco Road underGolmuri. The OC of Golmurithana infiormed that from thekind of injury sustained by thevictim, it appeared that it mustbe a truck or trailer. The policehave sent both the bodies to theMGM Medical College mor-tuary for post-mortem.

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Congress candidate forRanchi parliamentary con-

stituency, Subodh Kant Sahayis contesting the elections onthe agenda of urban develop-ment. The three-time MP andformer union minister is one ofthe bigwigs of the Congressparty and perhaps the onlyleader from the State who wasgiven a portfolio by the UPAevery time he won the elec-tions.

Sahay, however, tasteddefeat by a whopping margin ofnearly two lakh votes in 2014Lok Sabha polls. But he takeshis past as lessons and assuresa victory in the 17th GeneralElections. In a tete-a-tete withThe Pioneer Sahay talks abouthis opponents, election agendasand achievements that shouldcount. Excerpts:

Q. Bharatiya JanataParty’s candidate and yourstrongest opponent this timeis contesting elections for thefirst time. How do you see thiscontest turning up?

A. Sanjay Seth is immate-rial. He cannot even ask forvotes for himself and has totake (Narendra) Modi’s nameeven during appealing for vote.What is the relevance of acandidate who cannot evenseek vote for himself withouttaking support of the PrimeMinister of India? Will thePrime Minister listen to theconcerns of Ranchi’s public? Ishe that approachable?

Q. What is your mainagenda for elections inRanchi?

A. Ranchi became the cap-ital of the state only in pen andpaper. It never got the urbanfacilities that a state capitalshould ideally have. Theincumbent governments neverbothered to address the civicissues in the city and only

made tall promises. You cannothave any agenda other thanurban development in Ranchi,can you? Right from thedrainage system to roads andpublic transport to drinkingwater facility; everything in thecity is in dire need of attentionand upgrade.

Q. You are saying that thegovernment did nothing forurban development but theygot Ranchi selected for thesmart city project. How canyou ignore that achievement?

A. They don’t even knowwhat a city should be like, howcan they plan smart cities?

The basic minimum facilitiesare missing in our own city,where a majority of the urbanpopulation lives. And instead ofaddressing the problems inRanchi, they are planning asmart city in the outskirts of thecapital. What about the fami-lies living in Ranchi? Who willaddress their problems? Youcannot ask everyone to relocateto the planned smart city.

Q. What are your pastachievements that you arebanking on during this elec-tion?

A. I, as an MP, brought theIndian Institute ofManagement (IIM), CentralUniversity of Jharkhand (CUJ)and National University forStudy and Research in Law(NUSRL) to Ranchi. These are premiere institu-tions that are providing quali-ty education to the students ofRanchi. Besides, the Food Parkproject too started when I wasthe MP here. There were manymore plans for development ofthe city, and they will materi-alize after we win in 2019.

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Former Chairperson of theJharkhand State Khadi

Board, Sanjay Seth, who iscontesting the Lok Sabha pollsfor the first time from Ranchiwith a Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) ticket, has no qualmsover seeking votes in the nameof Prime Minister NarendraModi. A popular figure in thebusiness fraternity in Ranchi,Seth has been active in politicssince 1974. However, he pre-ferred being away from thelimelight and served the partyas an office bearer. Given anopportunity, he promises toaddress Ranchi’s water woesand develop it into a ‘lively’ city.In a conversation with ThePioneer, Seth talks about hisjourney, opponents and plans.Excerpts:

Q. The opposition claims

that you seek vote in thename of Narendra Modi andnot yourself as an individual.What is your reaction to this?

A. I am proud of our PrimeMinister. I respect him, see himas an international, visionaryleader and do not have anyqualms in accepting that I amseeking votes in his name. Iwould like to dare SubodhKantji or any other Congressparty’s leader to seek vote in thename of Rahul Gandhi. I amquite sure that their depositwould be forfeited if they dothat.

Q. What is your agendafor Ranchi this election?

A. There was a time whenevery colony in Ranchi had apond. Now, those ponds havedried and we have created aconcrete jungle in our city.

My efforts would be to restorethe natural beauty of the cityand ensure holistic develop-ment at the same time. Byholistic development, I am notonly referring to employmentgeneration and strengtheningof civic amenities, but also toadding a soul to the city andmaking it lively. I will ensure

that the city developslike Indore andRanchi-ites feel proudof the beauty of theircity. We will developRanchi into an edu-cation hub by bring-ing premiere educa-tional institutions tothe city so that ouryouths don’t have tomigrate outsideJharkhand for edu-cation and jobs.

Q. You said thataddressing water

woes is one of your mainagenda. How do you plan todo it?

A. We will get expertsfrom different parts of thecountry to study about thevarious sources of water in andaround the city. We have somany waterfalls, rivers and

dams in our constituency,which can be used to endwater woes in the city. The wayGujarat uses Sabarmati River tocombat water crisis, we will useour water resources and ensuresupply to every householdthrough pipelines.

Q. The Congress has field-ed former three-time unionminister Subodh Kant Sahayagainst you in Ranchi. Howdo you see the contest?

A. The irony is that despitebecoming a union minister somany times, he did not do any-thing for the city. In 15 years,he could not even set up a foodprocessing factory in Ranchidespite being the food pro-cessing minister in the past.The voters will opt for a freshface this time as they are dis-appointed by the inaction ofSubodh Kant Sahay.

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The fate of candidates for three LokSabha seats will seal in Electronic

Voting Machine (EVM) on Monday. Atotal of 45,26,693 voters will exercise theirfranchise in three parliament con-stituencies Lohardaga, Palamu andChatra which will go to poll in fourthphase (first phase in State ) in the State.

Prominent leaders whose fate will bedecided include Union Minister of Statefor Tribal Affairs, Sudarshan Bhagat ofBJP who is pitted against former StateCongress President and LohardagaCongress MLA Sukhdeo Bhagat inLohardaga, former DGP and Palamu sit-ting MP VD Ram of BJP who is fight-ing against RJD former MP Ghuran Ramin Palamu. Chatra Lok Sabha seat whichwitnessed much infighting betweenCongress and RJD is going to witness tri-angular contest among BJP’s Sunil Singh,Congress party’s Manoj Yadav and RJD’sSubhash Yadav.

The three seats going to poll arepresently held by BJP MPs with all threeMPs depending on Modi magic to beatthe anti-incumbency heat. Last week,Prime Minister Narendra Modi after dis-playing show of strength in a road show

in State Capital held a rally next day(April 24) in Lohardaga soliciting sup-port for BJP candidates.

The PM’s message during Lohardagarally was loud and clear. He claimed thatby pressing button on Lotus, they arestrengthening his hand. “A vote in sup-port of BJP candidates will strengthened

his fight against terrorism and corruption,”said Modi. Apart from Modi, BJP starcampaigner BJP national president AmitShah had campaigned in support of BJPcandidates in Daltonganj. Similarly, lastweek, BJP former national president andcurrent home minister Rajnath Singh con-ducted a public rally in Hussainabad block

of Palamu seat. In both the ralliesaddressed by BJP bigwigs, they touchednational issue rather than raking up localissue.

While Shah promised of withdraw-ing Article 370 of constitution fromJammu and Kashmir if voted back topower, Rajnath setting 2023 deadline towipe out Left Wing Extremism (LWE)menace from country. A senior State BJPleader requesting anonymity said, “Wehave a star campaigner like NarendraModi, Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh. Theelection is for electing a strong PrimeMinister we have a face like Modi. IfCongress had any face they must show.”

The leader further said, “Star cam-paigners raised national issue as manysitting MPs are facing anti-incumbencyin their respective areas.” The BJP leaderstatement assumes importance as thename of BJP candidate Sunil Singh wasfinalized in last hour. Also Singh had toface people ire when he campaigned.

In contrast to BJP star power cam-paigning in three Lok Sabha con-stituencies, Congress depended on localleadership for campaigning as neitherCongress president Rahul Gandhi norany senior Congress leaders campaignedin the three seats.

Ranchi: Three constituencies ofJharkhand –Lohardaga, Palamu,Chatra-- are set to go to polls today,marking the beginning of the 17thGeneral Elections in the State.

According to figures released by theChief Electoral Officer (CEO) onSunday, at least 45 lakh voters will exer-cise their franchise on Monday.

Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) LKhiangte on Sunday said that anypolitical party cannot seek votes with-in 100 meters radius of a polling booth.Any person caught violating this normwill be arrested without any warrant andbooked under section 130 of PeoplesRepresentation Act, 1951.

The ECI guidelines also said that no

political parties can set up stalls with-in the radius of 200 meters of anypolling booth. If any candidate or hissupporters are found violating thisnorm, the ECI will take necessaryactions, Khiangte said.

“Tampering of EVM is an electoraloffense and any person found tamper-ing or taking away the EVM from thepolling booth or instigate other personsto commit such crimes will be punish-able as per the law,” he said.

Since the enforcement of the ModelCode of Conduct, a total of Rs.1.64crores, including cash as well as kinds,have been seized from the three con-stituencies going to polls in the firstphase of elections in Jharkhand. PNS

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Ranchi: The State BJP approached theElection Commission of India (ECI) andChief Electoral Officer, Ranchi seekingaction against some religious groups whoare seeking votes in support of candidateof a national political party in tribal dis-trict of Khunti.

State BJP spokesperson Pratul Shahdeoon Sunday claimed that some religiousgroups are campaigning and seeking votesin support of a candidate of one of thenational parties contesting the electionfrom Khunti. Shahdeo said, “We havecome to know that some religious groups,active in tribal district of Khunti, is seek-ing votes in support of a particular polit-ical party. Seeking votes on basis of reli-gion and caste lines is against the normsof Constitution.”

Shahdeo said that the party hasapproached Election Commission of India

(ECI) and Chief Electoral Office,Jharkhand, seeking action in this con-nection. In Khunti, BJP tribal face andformer chief minister Arjun Munda is pit-ted against Congress party’s KalicharanMunda. Kalicharan Munda is brother ofBJP Khunti MLA, Neelkant Singh Mundawho is also minister of rural developmentin Raghubar Das’s cabinet. Kalicharan hadearlier represented Tamar assembly asMLA during undivided Bihar.

The BJP this time has fielded ArjunMunda from Khunti Lok Sabha seatreplacing party old war horse and eighttimes MP Kariya Munda due to age fac-tor. Arjun Munda who has the blessing ofKariya Munda had kicked off his electioncampaign after visiting the residence ofKariya Munda.

Shahdeo said, “The party, duringKolebira assembly by-election, had appre-

hension that some religious groups areworking in support of candidate of par-ticular political party.” In the Kolebiraassembly by-election held on Decemberlast month, Congress Bixal Kongari defeat-ed BJP Basant Soren by a margin of over9000 votes.

The BJP spokesperson also slammedCongress leader and Patidar Andolanmovement leader Hardik Patel who is cam-paigning in support of Congress candidate.Shahdeo said, “Hardik Patel who has soldPatidar Andolan to Congress is cam-paigning in support of Congress. The peo-ple of Gujarat have already rejected Pateland he has no scope in Jharkhand.”

The BJP leader, who is optimistic ofBJP performance on three Lok Sabha seatsgoing to poll on April 29, said that BJP willwin all three seats in first phase of pollingin Jharkhand. PNS

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The Foundation ceremonyof National University of

Study and Research in Law(NUSRL) concluded on a highnote on Sunday.

The highlight of the threeday celebration was the lectureon Rule of Law by distinguishedguest and former Chief Justiceof Sri Lanka, Justice MohanPieris.

During the programme aseminar on the theme Sportsand Intellectual Property, wasorganized which was attendedby Director of Micro Small andMedium EnterprisesDevelopment Institute, PKGupta along with the Directorof Indian Institute ofManagement at Ranchi,Shailendra Singh in presence ofVice Chancellor NUSRL, KesavRao Varakula. The seminar dis-cussed various issues relating tothe field of Intellectual PropertyRights wherein Gupta encour-aged the students to becomeentrepreneurs and made them

aware about the processinvolved in instituting a newventure. Director IIM, Singhelaborated on the issue anddiscussed the various opportu-nities available to students in thefield of business management interms of Intellectual Property.

On the second day of theNUSRL foundation day cele-bration ceremony, a lecture inthe memory of Justice SB Sinha

delivered. Senior AdvocateSupreme Court of India, RVenkatramani, spoke onSupreme Court as a social work-shop and appellate advocacy. Inthe lecture various issues werediscussed and attention wasdrawn to the role played by thecourts in providing a commonplatform for serious delibera-tions on every day issues and indoing so some landmark judg-ments like Balsara, Qureshi and

Keshwananda Bharti were sited.Attention was also drawn to

issues like how to balance con-flicting claims and the closeinteraction between rights andduties.

Several examples weregiven including that of the‘Narmada Bachao Andolan’, andif the question pertaining to thegreater good of greater numberwould have been answered dif-ferently today.

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The State Congress onSunday alleged that it has

become habit of the BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP) led Stategovernment to make falsepromises. The party hasdemanded that if the govern-ment has taken any step onSarna code issue then it shouldshow evidence of its initiative.

Speaking on the claim ofState government that it hastaken initiatives to implementSarna code, Jharkhand PradeshCongress Committee (JPCC)president Ajoy Kumar said thatif at all the State governmenthas taken an initiative towardsimplementation of the codethen it should produce docu-mentary evidence substantiat-ing its claim.

“In political rivalry theState government started lying.If government shows any evi-dence in confirmation of itsclaim then we will apologise tothem. But if they fail to sub-stantiate their claims, theyshould admit that they lied,”said Kumar.

Terming BJP as ‘Bharatiya

Jhoota Party’, Kumar said thatall the leaders of the party aretreading the path of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi.

Speaking on ‘Nyay’ scheme,Kumar said that IndianNational Congress presidentRahul Gandhi has given a let-ter to 9,70,000 people by nameto deliver yearly Rs.72, 000 intheir account if voted to power.

“According to the data col-lected by the party, around 60lakh people will directly bene-fit through the scheme. Amongthe beneficiaries, 90 per cent oftotal population of the tribalcommunity, 90 per cent of totalpopulation of schedule cast, 70per cent of minority commu-nity and 35 per cent of generalclass are covered. It is expect-ed that Rs 76200 crore will bein circulation in the State.Through this scheme not onlythe poor families but smallbusinessmen will also get bigbenefits. On an average, aroundRs 300 to Rs. 350 core will bein circulation in a month in theState,” said Kumar.

The scheme will change thelocal economy of the countryand the State, he added

Rahul Gandhi will visitJharkhand on May 2 to addresspublic meeting in Simdega andanother programme is also inpipeline but date has not beendecided yet, said Kumar.Another star campaigner for-mer cricketer Navjot SinghSidhu, film star SatrughanSinha will start their cam-paigning in the State in a dayor two.

When asked that the PMwill visit the State again, Kumarreplied that it will be beneficial for the Congressand its alliance because Modidoesn’t have any issue andagenda, he only speaks thelanguage of hatred.

“In this election the PM isnot speaking on black money,jobs to youths, corruption,inflation because he has failedon these issues in last fiveyears,” he added.

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The residents of Jharkhandwill continue to feel the

heat in the last week of April asthe mercury level is likely toremain above normal condi-tions.

According to the weatherbulletin released on April 28 bythe MET Observatory Centre-Ranchi, the maximum tem-perature in the capital city wasrecorded at 40.0 degreesCelsius, which is 3.5 degreesabove normal. The minimumtemperature was also recorded24degree Celsius, which isabove normal.

“The weather will contin-ue to remain the same. The

temperature in the State Capitalis likely to increase by one totwo degree Celsius, which willbe around 41 to 42 degreeCelsius in the next few days,”said Sanjay Kumar Singh,meteorologist at the METObservatory Centre- Ranchi.

The increasing heat allthrough the State is creatingproblems. In Palamu district,two home guards on electionduty Hemendra Kumar Singh(54) and Chetan Majhi wereadmitted to Sadar Hospital onFriday night. At the hospital,the former guard passed awayreportedly due to heat stroke,whereas the latter is still recov-ering.

The temperatures record-ed across various parts of thestate are all above normal. InJamshedpur and Daltonganj,the maximum temperaturerecorded was 41.4 and 43.8degree Celsius respectively.

The minimum tempera-ture recorded in Jamshedpur

was 27degree Celsius and thatin Daltonganj was 26.9 degreeCelsius.

“For the next four days theweather will remain dry. Thereis a possibility of light rain fallwith thunder storms, lighten-ing and gusty winds at a speedof 30- 40 Kms per hour in thebeginning of May in somesouth and south- eastern dis-tricts of the state,” Singh added.

As per the communiquéissued, the maximum temper-ature in the State Capital and itssurrounding areas will bearound 40 or 41 degree Celsius.The minimum temperaturearound the area will remainbetween 27 to 29 degreeCelsius.

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Citizens got a chance to seea number of fancy cars on

the city roads as the DistrictElection Officer organised agrand car rally on Sundaythrough Systematic Voters'Education and ElectoralParticipation (SVEEP) cell.

The rally was organisedwith the help of RanchiAdventure Wheelers to cele-brate the biggest festival ofDemocracy- 'Voting on May 6,2019'. The aim of the=is carrally was to promote and cre-ate awareness about voting andinvolve more people to exercisetheir franchise. The runningtime of the rally was for aboutthree hours within the townlimits of Ranchi which con-sisted of a convoy for about 30minutes and a treasure hunt forabout 2.5 hours in the citywherein task, collectibles &photographs were to be col-lected as per clue sheet with thetheme “my vote my voice”.

A total of 13 participatingorganizations being BNI, LionsClub, FJCCI, EWA, Rotary,Shree Maheswari Sabha, JCI,Ranchi, RGC, JCI, Udaan,DOX, CCC, Round Table andMYM with their respectiveteams took part in the rally.

The convoy was flagged offat 7:30 AM from Sainik Marketby District Election Officercum DC Ranchi Rai MahipatRay, which passed throughSainik Market, Albert EkkaChowk, Saheed Chowk,Kutchery Chowk, KishoriYadav Chowk, Harmu Road,Sahjanand Chowk, HarmuChowk, Argora Chowk, Birsachowk, Hinoo Chowk,

Vivekanand Chowk, PrasadChowk and back to SainikMarket.

The convoy consisted ofCycle Dost having 25 Bi-cyclists, Twin Skulls PremiumMotor Cycles comprising ofHarley Davidson, Triumph,Yamaha 1000, Ducatti,Premium cars with the likes ofMaserratti, Mercedes, MiniCooper, Audi TT, Mini Cooper,Jaguar, Volvo, Range Roveralongwith 50 competitor carswhich all moved together in theconvoy adhering all trafficrules and regulations.

The second leg of the rallywhich was a Treasure Hunt was

flagged off at 08:45 AM fromSainik Market in which theparticipants had to completetasks, play games, take pho-tographs and gather collectiblesas per the clue sheet with theprimary objective of promotingvoting.

The prize giving ceremonytook place in The MayfairBanquets, Dhurwa with SDO,Ranchi Garima Singh, andother district administrationofficers giving away the prizesto winning teams. All partici-pants followed the rules andregulations of the rally andmaintained high level of sports-man spirit.

The top five positions inrally were bagged by SandeepMunjal, Isha Arora and team,Puneet Bedi and team, AshishAgarwal and team and SauravVidyarthi and team, respec-tively.

The top three organizationswhich were awarded includeRotary Club of Ranchi,Marwari Yuwa Manch andLion's Club of Ranchi Youth.The other awards given on theoccassion were best dressedteam, best decorated car, bestwomen's team, team for high-est promotion of voting onsocial media, oldest voter andyoungest voter.

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While expressing heartfeltcondolences on the sad

and sudden demise of theinternationally famous Dr KKSinha, Dr RK Rai, ex CMS,HEC and chaiman 7 palmshospital, Ranchi, recalled threeincidences.

Dr RC Anand, medicalsuperintendent, AIIMS, NewDelhi,visited Ranchi in Feb1989 to deliver a lecture on hos-pital management in a pro-gramme at MTI SAIL and heasked him to take him to DrKK Sinha and he was amazedto see the vast knowledge of DrKK Sinha.on neurology andhospital management.

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Promoted by former FinanceMinister P Chidambaram's

son, Karti, Ziqitza HealthcareLtd (ZHL), which was alleged-ly involved in the Rajasthanambulances services scam, hasnow been accused of pilferinghuge amount of money inOdisha.

The Odisha AmbulanceServices Employees Unionalleged that more than `300crore was pilfered by theZiqitza Healthcare Ltd (ZHL),which is already facing CBI'sprosecution in similar illegal-ities in Rajasthan. The Unionhas submitted piles of vouch-ers of over invoicing to siphonthe money over a period of fiveyears by the firm.

Based on the allegationsmade by Union to Odisha stateauthorities, Income TaxCommissioner, Noida, SKSrivastava lodged a complaintwith CBI, Director General

(Investigation) of Income andEnforcement Directorate, urg-ing the agencies to take up theprobe into matter since theCBI was already investigating"similar fraud" executed by thesame firm in Rajasthan.

In the Rajasthan ambu-lance scam, the agencies hadquestioned senior Congressleader Sachin Pilot and formerUnion Minister Vaylar Ravi'sson, Ravi Krishna, for theiralleged involvement. The Courthas taken cognisance of thechargesheet and trail is goingon in Rajasthan.

"During my stay atBhubaneswar in connectionwith some official work, I washanded over some documents

collected by the officials ofOdisha Ambulance ServiceEmployees Union alleging mis-appropriation and pilfering ofGovernment money to theextent of about `300 crores bythe Ziqitza Healthcare Ltd(ZHL). The company is con-trolled by Karti Chidambaramwho is one of its Directors. Hewas named as accused in a FIRfiled by the Rajasthan Police aswell as the CBI along with oth-ers.," said Srivastava.

The complaint pointed outthat the money was pilfered byinflating the wage bills, fabri-cating forged and fake triprecords of ambulances andvouchers. Karti-linked-firmengaged contracts with manyState Governments for provid-ing service to the "108Ambulance calling scheme".In many States, it was foundthat bills were over invoicedand fake trips were created tocollect money from the Statehealth departments.

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The Consumer ComplaintsCouncil (CCC) of the

Advertising Standards Councilof India (ASCI) has foundover 140 advertisements whichare misleading, based on exag-geration of products efficien-cy and exploitation of con-sumers’ lack of knowledge.

The advertisements coversParle Products Pvt. Ltd (ParleMagix Biscuit), Gujarat Co-Operative Milk MarketingFederation Ltd (Amul MemoryMilk-Tropical Fruit), the 'TrueRoots Botanical Hair Tonic'

The advertisement of ParleProducts Pvt. Ltd (Parle MagixBiscuit) shows a kid dressed inthe police uniform pulling thetrigger and firing a bullet(through an audio cue) at theshopkeeper saying in angrytone "Koi bhi cream biscuitMagix ki jagah chipkaoge". Thehumorous TVC, though notobjectionable, manifests a dan-

gerous practice, exploits thevulnerability of minors andmore importantly encouragesminors to emulate the modusoperandi of any crime.

"The advertisement'sclaims by Gujarat Co-Operative Milk MarketingFederation Ltd (Amul Memory

Milk-Tropical Fruit) that 'Milkwith goodness of Ayurveda'and 'Contains variousAyurvedic herbs that are tra-ditionally known to boostmemory', were not substanti-ated as the advertiser did notprovide data of any scientificrationale or published litera-

ture references to support theclaimed benefits. The claimsare misleading by exaggeration.

In the 'True RootsBotanical Hair Tonic' adver-tisement, celebrity RadhikaApte was featured endorsingthe product with claims like""Stop new grey hair", "Jo naye

safed balon ka aana roke, jadse", "True roots ke 100 % nat-ural extracts balonke jadonmejakar melanin bhadaye. 90 daystak regularly lagayen taki safedbalon ka aana band ho jaye","Safed baalon ka jaldi aana jadse rokiye, with TRUEROOTS.","No New Greys in 90 days, getrid of premature grey hairsfrom the root". "These claimswere not adequately substan-tiated. The product may causedarkening of grey hair byvirtue of Kesh Ranjak ingredi-ents the claims were found tobe misleading by ambiguityand implication. The adver-tisements were in violation ofthe ASCI Guidelines forCelebrities in advertising," theASCI said.

The ASCI said that major-ity of the flagged advertise-ments were upheld for "exag-geration of product efficacyand exploiting consumers' lackof knowledge." This was fol-lowed by violation of the Drugs

and Magic Remedies Act(DMR Act).

Upholding the complainton Vivo Mobile India Pvt, theASCI said that the advertise-ment's the claim, "Dual RearCamera with Dual PixelTechnology", was not sub-stantiated, and misleading byexaggeration. The advertiserdid not provide any technicaldata or test reports for VivoV11 Pro having feature of dualrear camera with good picturequality.

The ASCI said that theadvertisement (in Hindi) byLord Dhanvantari Ayurvedichospital, claiming cure of kneepain and joint pain by showingsimilar testimonials and sameX-ray reports for two separateindividual patients and claim-ing progress on first day oftreatment, and treatment afterthree and six months. Theseclaims were not substantiatedwith supporting clinical evi-dence and are misleading by

gross exaggeration and exploitconsumers' lack of knowledgeand are likely to lead to gravewidespread disappointment inthe minds of consumers.

For the food & beverages(F&B) sector, the ASCI founda couple of well-known brandsreferring to ayurvedic orherbal ingredients known fortheir memory enhancingproperties; however, the asso-ciated claims were not sub-stantiated. "The advertise-ment's by One97Communications Ltd. (PayTMclaim on their website that"�50,000 redeemable on pur-chase of diamond preciousjewellery with diamond jew-ellery voucher worth �50,000"was misleading by omission ofadditional terms and condi-tions of cashback offer. Thewebsite advertisement is like-ly to lead to grave or wide-spread disappointment in theminds of consumers," it said.

Another advertisement's

claims, "CAT 2019 and 2018Toppers", and "Maximum 99+Percentilers in Lucknow arefrom CaTaPult" with pho-tographs of students and theirsecured percentile were notsubstantiated with supportingevidence. The claim (in Hindi),'IIM jaana hai toh CATaPultaana hai' and 'Sure shot entryinto IIMs' (If you want to go toIIM then you must come toCATapult), are misleading byexaggeration and are likely tolead to grave or widespreaddisappointment in the mindsof consumers.

Of these 145 advertise-ments, 83 belonged to thehealthcare sector, 33 to theeducation sector, ten to thefood & beverages sector, one topersonal care and 18 werefrom the 'others' category. Alarge number of these adver-tisements were digital, i.e,advertisers' own websites car-rying the objectionable claimsand visuals.

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The BJP on Sunday announced the candi-dature of former MLA Siddharth

Kunkolienkar for the Panaji Assembly bypollscheduled for May 19 putting an abrupt end tothe speculation that former Chief MinisterManohar Parrikar’s son Utpal could also beparty’s candidate.

The bypoll was necessitated following thedeath of Parrkiar, a sitting MLA from the seat,on March 17.

While there was speculation that Parrikar'selder son Utpal would be given a ticket, a state-ment on the BJP's website about Kunkolienkar'scandidature put an end to it.

The BJP's Central Election Committeesecretary Jagat Prakash Nadda announced thecandidature of Kunkolienkar on Sunday after-noon.

Incidentally, Kunkolienkar had won the seatin the 2017 Assembly polls before vacating iton May 10 that year to allow Parrikar to con-test and enter the 40-member Goa LegislativeAssembly.

Parrikar, who was then Union defence min-ister, was brought back to helm the state gov-ernment after the BJP fell short of a simplemajority and had to ally with other parties likeGoa Forward Party and MaharashtrawadiGomantak Party, as well as Independents.

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With increasing demandfor alternate traditional

medicines and therapy indomestic and global market,Union Ministry of Ayush andcountry's premier researchagency, Council of Scientificand Industrial Research(CSIR), have joined hands forcooperation in research andeducation in areas of herbaldrugs and its integration withmodern science for their wideracceptance.

As per the pact inkedbetween the two organisations,stress will be on to pursue R&Dcovering fundamental research;ayush specific diagnostic tools;linking micro-biome, geneexpression and prakriti; multi-ingredient herbal formulations,including their standardisa-tion; exploring modern scien-tific methods for integrationwith traditional drugs and link-ing disease signatures amongothers.

The collaboration in pre-serving and protecting tradi-tional knowledge related tothe Indian systems of health-care will also be strengthened,through the existing TKDLplatform and development ofinternational standardized ter-minologies (disease-morbiditycodes) in Ayurveda, Siddhaand Unani (ASU), database

on medicinal plants, foods,etc, said a senior official fromthe Ministry.

The MoU was signed byVaidya Rajesh Kotecha, AyushSecretary and Dr Shekhar CMande, Director General, CSIRin the presence of senior offi-cials from both the organisa-tions.

Kotecha said that in view ofthe growing interest of tradi-tional medicines worldwide,there is a need of multiprongedand innovative approaches forthe acceptance of this science.He further said that the com-bination of traditional health-care and modern basic sciencehas a huge possibility to doinnovative and path-breakingresearches which can be usedfor the explanation of variousbasic concepts.

Dr Mande pointed out thatenhancing the collaborationthrough joint R&D efforts

ranging from fundamental sci-ence to validation and there-after product development,will significantly help in thegrowth of the Indian contri-butions to this important sec-tor, not only nationally butinternationally as well.Futuristic efforts of this inter-ministerial cooperation shallinclude pursuit of data mining& analytics and artificial intel-ligence to enable and facilitateconcepts such as "Traditionalknowledge inspired drug dis-covery and development" and"Food as Medicine".

In fact, various labs underthe CSIR had already taken ini-tiatives in this direction in thepast too.

For instance, anti-diabet-ic herbal drug BGR-34 hasbeen developed by two CSIRlaboratories - The CentralInstitute of Medicinal &Aromatic Plants (CIMAP) and

the National BotanicalResearch Institute (NBRI).Approved by the AyushMinistry, BGR-34 is being mar-keted by Delhi-based AIMIlPharmaceuticals.

Meanwhile, the CSIR's yetanother laboratory, the Centrefor Cellular and MolecularBiology (CSIR-CCMB),Hyderabad have inked pactwith Ghaziabad-based IndianPharmacopeia Commission(IPC) of the Union HealthMinistry to facilitate the regu-latory process for biosimilarsand herbal drugs.

The scope of the MoU isdevelopment of biopharma-ceutical reference standardsand impurities therein, devel-opment of monographs forimportant MonoclonalAntibodies and identificationof herbal drugs based on DNABarcode analysis, a CCMBstatement said.

Use of biologics - biologi-cal products that function asdrugs against diseases - alsoknown as biosimilars, areexpanding their presencerapidly in the healthcare sector,including in India. As per areport by the Confederation ofIndian Industry (CII), thebiosimilars market in India,that is currently worth about Rs15,000 crore, is expected tocross the staggering Rs 2,50,000crore-mark by 2030.

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New Delhi: Fixed deposits and tax-free bonds seem to be among themost favoured financial investmentsfor the political leaders fighting the2019 Lok Sabha polls, while mutu-al funds and stocks also adorn theportfolios of many and some evenhave got shares of long-defunctfirms like Kingfisher Airlines.

Shares of Mukesh Ambani-ledReliance Industries Ltd (RIL), thecountry's most valued companywith a market capitalistion of over�8.82 lakh crore, can be found in theportfolios of several leaders, whilestocks and mutual fund units of thefirms from younger brother AnilAmbani-led Reliance Group arealso a common sight, as per disclo-sures made in election affidavits ofthe contestants.

However, some top leadersincluding Prime Minister NarendraModi have no stock market ormutual fund exposure at all andtheir financial savings are limited todeposits in banks, tax-free bonds,insurance policies and instrumentslike National Savings Certificate.

The direct equity investmentsfor a few are limited to unlisted com-panies, including those owned bytheir families.

BJP president Amit Shah hasdisclosed a long list of listed andunlisted shares in his name and inthe name of his spouse. The listedshares in his name, totalling over�17.5 crore, include companies fromAditya Birla Group, Bajaj, L&T,Tata and both Reliance groups, asalso several PSUs.

Congress chief Rahul Gandhihas disclosed equity holding inYoung Indian and investments inseveral mutual funds. The portfolioof his mother and senior partyleader Sonia Gandhi includes equi-ty shares of Young Indian and MarutiTechnical Services Pvt Ltd andmutual fund units of HDFC, Kotak,Motilal Oswal and Reliance MF.

NCP's Supriya Sule, daughter ofveteran leader Sharad Pawar, has gotunlisted shares worth over �1 croreand listed shares worth over �6

crore, besides some mutual funds.The listed shares include those

of Adani Group firms, the twoReliance groups, several Tata firmsand even Kingfisher Airlines asalso of some other companies fromthe erstwhile UB Group, includingUnited Spirits which was sold bydefaulter businessman Vijay Mallyato global liquor giant Diageo Plc.

Kingfisher shares have longbeen delisted from the stockexchanges, though they quoted atabove �300 apiece once. The stockseventually slipped below �1 andtrading was eventually suspended in2014-end after mounting troublesfor the erstwhile luxury airline hadled to its closure.

Union Minister and BJP candi-date from Nagpur Nitin Gadkari hasequity shares of Purti Power andSugar Ltd, among other invest-ments.

Poonam Mahajan, BJP candi-date from Mumbai North Central,has disclosed listed equity invest-ments by her spouse in KingfisherAirlines, as also in RelianceIndustries, TCS, Vodafone IdeaCellular and Reliance Power.

Her Congress rival Priya Dutthas listed several mutual fund andportfolio schemes totalling about�14.92 crore, while the listed sharesdisclosed in the name of her spouseinclude Reliance Industries, RelianceInfra and Reliance Power.

Congress candidate from

Mumbai South, Murli Deora, hasdisclosed multiple bonds, struc-tured market products, PMSaccount, mutual funds and FMPs(fixed maturity plans).

Actress- turned-pol it ic ianUrmila Matondkar, Congress can-didate from Mumbai North, has dis-closed �28.28 crore worth invest-ment in shares, bonds and mutualfunds and PMS (portfolio manage-ment service) investments worthabout �6 crore, but the individualstocks/units were not disclosed.

Jaya Prada, another formeractress and the BJP candidate fromRampur in Uttar Pradesh, has alsodisclosed investments in some list-ed companies such as EnergyDevelopment Company Ltd (whichhas got her political mentor AmarSingh as a promoter), Coal India,HDFC Bank, ITC, MCX andReliance Industries.

Actor-politician Raj Babbar, theCongress candidate from FatehpurSikri, has investments in IL&FSTransportation Networks Ltd.

Among other Uttar Pradeshcandidates, Union Minister and BJPleader Satyapal Singh has disclosedinvestments worth �1.5 lakh inmutual funds and bonds in hisname and some equity shares heldby his spouse including of RelianceCapital and Reliance Industries.

Another Union Minister VKSingh and his spouse have alsoinvested in various mutual funds.

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The Congress on Sunday askedwhy the Central Government

was not giving a one-line directiveto the RBI to disclose informationabout annual inspection report ofbanks and list of wilful loan default-ers.

The party's remarks came afterthe Supreme Court on Friday gavethe banking regulator "a last oppor-tunity" to reveal these details underthe RTI Act.

"Under Banking RegulationAct and RBI Act, it takesGovernment of India 15 seconds todirect the RBI to disclose... Thereare specific provisions of 35A, 35Band 35AA (of Banking RegulationAct) that gives this power to thecentral Government...Why is the

Government not giving a one-linesimple directive to disclose," askedCongress spokesperson AbhishekMany Singhvi.

Addressing a press conferencehere, he said, "The Supreme Courtdirected in 2015 that you must dis-close. After that for four longyears, the RBI under the directionof this government, clearly wanti-ng to hide things, has procrasti-nated, has obstructed and hasderailed, has avoided, and has

given excuses.""Why is the RBI not disclos-

ing...Is it protecting someone," hequestioned.

Singhvi asked if the BJP wastrying to protect "crony capitalists"whose names are in the list of RBI'swilful defaulters.

About wilful defaulters who areon the internal RBI list, he said,"Nobody is asking for them to besent to jail. We are only asking fornames...We (Congress) are notafraid of it, so why are you afraid?"

"We had told you a few weeksago that within 5 years of this (BJP)government, the defaults and NPAs(non-performing assets) haveincreased...We ask the BJP to giveinformation about all loan default-ers," he said.

On Friday, the top court made

it clear that RBI was "duty-boundto furnish all information relatingto inspection reports and othermaterial" under the Right toInformation (RTI) Act, 2005, exceptthose which pertained to "mattersof national economic interest".

On December 16, 2015, theapex court had asked the RBI todisclose such information underRTI Act. However, the regulator didnot do so. Therefore, on Friday, theapex court said that the RBI is in"contempt of this court by exempt-ing disclosure" of such information.However, the court granted RBI "alast opportunity" to rectify it.

Meanwhile, Singhvi alsoclaimed that Prime MinisterNarendra Modi's use of caste ref-erences during the election cam-paign is a sign of nervousness.

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Afresh row has eruptedover Prime Minister

Narendra Modi’s caste, anissue first ignited by BSP chiefMayawati a week ago. A dayafter PM Modi claimed hebelonged to the most back-ward castes, Congress gener-al secretary Priyanka GandhiVadra said she was not awareof the PM’s caste whereasLeader of Opposition in BiharAssembly Tejashwi Yadav saidhe had seen such claim com-ing from the PM.

“I had said on April 20,2019 that @narendramodi ji,after portraying himself asfake OBC, will call himself aperson belonging to extreme-ly backward caste. He did soyesterday (in Kannauj rally inUP).

Finance Minister ArunJaitley hit back on those rak-ing up row over PM's caste bysaying Modi never indulged incaste politics and only caredfor development.

"How is the PrimeMinister's caste relevant? Hehas never done caste politics.He has only done develop-mental politics. He is inspired

by nationalism," Jaitley saidjoining the war of words onTwitter over Modi comingfrom the "most backwardcaste".

He further said those whoare deceiving the poor in thename of caste will not succeedand added that "they haveonly amassed wealth in thename of caste politics. ThePrime Minister's assets are noteven 0.01% when compared tothe First Family of the BSP orthe RJD."

The Minister wasresponding to tweets of seniorCongress leader and formerFinance Minister PChidambaram and RJD leaderTejashwi Yadav with regard toa statement made by thePrime Minister at an electionrally at Kannauj.

At the poll ral ly onSaturday, the prime ministerhad said, "Mayawatiji, I am themost backward...I request withfolded hands not to drag meinto caste politics, 130 crorepeople are my family… Thiscountry did not know mycaste till my detractors abusedme.. .I am thankful toMayawatiji, Akhileshji, theCongress people and the

'mahamilavatis' that they arediscussing my caste...I believethat taking birth in a back-ward caste is an opportunityto serve the country."

"The fact is that he is anupper caste (person) by birthand backward

on papers. He (PM) willsay so many things just tofetch votes," Tejashwi Yadavtweeted.

Criticising Modi over hisstance on caste and his "ori-gins as a chaiwala",Chidambaram asked if thePM considers people a "bunchof idiots" who have sufferedmemory loss.

"Mr Narendra Modi is thefirst person who became PMlater who campaigned wearinghis caste on his sleeve (2014):''I am an OBC''. Now, he sayshe has no caste!"Chidambaram tweeted.

"In 2014 and thereafter, hesaid repeatedly that he isproud that the people electeda chaiwala as PM. Now hesays, he never mentioned hisorigins as a chaiwala! Whatdoes the PM take us for? Abunch of idiots who havelarge memory losses?" heasked.

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The IMD's Cyclone Warningdivison on Sunday said

that Cyclone 'Fani' is very like-ly to intensify into a "severecyclonic storm" in the next 12hours and further soar into a"very severe cyclonic storm" inthe next 24 hours.

In its 1 pm bulletin, theCyclone Warning Division said'Fani' currently lays over 745kilometres east-southeast ofTrincomalee (Sri Lanka), 1,050kilometres southeast ofChennai (Tamil Nadu) and1,230 kilometres south-south-east of Machilipatnam (AndhraPradesh).

"It is very likely to intensi-fy into a severe cyclonic stormduring next 12 hours and intoa very severe cyclonic stormduring subsequent 24 hours,"the IMD said.

Heavy falls at isolatedplaces are very likely overKerala on April 29 and 30.

The system will not makelandfall in Tamil Nadu, but maybring light rain in some north-ern parts, it said. Earlier, it wasexpected to cause heavy rainsin northern Tamil Nadu,including Chennai.

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Kanpur: The Kanpur Lok Sabhaconstituency, which has over 16lakh eligible voters, will go topolls on Monday with largely atwo-way contest between theBJP and the Congress for thiscrucial seat. While Congressleader and former UnionMinister Sriprakash Jaiswal isvying to regain this crucial seathe lost to sitting BJP MP MMJoshi in 2014, BJP candidateSatyadev Pachauri is hoping towin it, riding on what he claimsa “bigger Modi wave” this time.

Though there is a seethingresentment against party veter-an Joshi, a section of voters andPachauri claimed that “nation-al security” was the “biggestissue” in this elections and notlocal issues.

Joshi had defeated Jaiswal in2014 with a margin of 2,22,946votes and people had severalexpectations from him, includ-ing finishing of the long-stalledCOD Flyover project and revivalof the famous Lal Imli mill.Neeraj Rastogi, a cloth merchantwho lives in Mall Road area, said,“People are unhappy with Joshiji.We all respect him as a seniorleader, but as an MP he neverreally talked to us these five years.We are not unhappy that he isnot fighting the elections.”

Vivek Shukla, a sweet shopowner and Abdul Gani, anautorickshaw driver alsoclaimed that “nothing reallyhappened” during Joshi’s tenure.Pachauri, a Cabinet Minister inthe Yogi AdityanathGovernment, however, coun-tered that a “lot of work” hap-pened during Joshi’s tenure andthat if he is elected this time, hewould ensure that COD flyovergets completed in one year of hisassuming office.

“It is poll time and ‘netas’will make big promises, I am notsure how much of that wouldbe translated to reality in thatpromised time,” said Rastogi,who often takes this semi-fin-ished flyover for travelling outof Kanpur. PTI

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Even as Bengal prepared forthe fourth and perhaps the

most challenging phase — ofpolling for the ElectionCommission of India — onMonday the election body hasdecided deploy a record 580companies of central forces asenior ECI official said.

Though officially thisamount of forces will cover

more than 98 per cent, in prac-tice, ‘’we are targeting 100 per-cent booths,’’ the official said.

In the third phase the ECIhad deployed about 324 com-panies of CAPF. ‘’Consideringthe political history of violencein these areas in the recentyears the EC will take full pre-caution to avoid unpleasant sit-uation for which anythingrequired to be done will bedone,’’ another official said.Earlier an additional 228 com-panies of Central police forceswere sent to Bengal.

Monday will see eight con-stituencies of Behrampore inMurshidabad district, Ranaghatand Krishnagar in Nadia district,Birbhum and Bolpur in Birbhumdistrict, Burdwan Asansol,Burdwan Durgapur andBurdwan East in Burdwan dis-trict. Out of these constituencies,Birbhum, Bolpur, Behramporeand Asansol are particularlytrouble-prone witnessing mas-sive electoral violence in the past.

In a related developmentthe State Chief Electoral Officerordered a re-poll in threepolling stations in Raiganj par-liamentary constituency.

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Aiming to save their wom-enfolk from age-old water

related harassment, nearly6,500 inhabitants of five mostparched villages of Lalitpurhave decided to abstain frompolling in the ongoing LokSabha elections on Monday.

The ire of these villagers isnot without reason.

The cluster of villages com-prising Lalaun, Gulenda, Kasa,Chakra and Rajpur are ironi-cally close to water-abundantRaghat canal and Kheranrivulet which flow barely akilometre-and-a-half away.Despite the proximity to thesewater bodies, local officialshave not taken any pain to con-nect these villages to a steadysupply of water.

What is more worrying forthe villagers is that by themiddle of May, the handful ofhand pumps found there willgo dry, forcing local womenand children to trudge a kilo-metre or more to fetch waterfor daily chores. The trauma ofthe womenfolk does not endhere. To collect water for thenext morning’s chores, theywait for their turns by the handpump through the night,expecting some replenishmentin the water level, which againis for a limited time and inad-equate for all the families.

With a population of3,200-3,500 each, there arenearly 1,400-1,500 voters ineach of these villages and theyhave decided not to exercisetheir right to franchise to drawthe attention of the authorities,and the “government” in

Lucknow, to their woes.A simple query on well-

being made a villagers’ groupat a tea stall near Gulenda,erupt. Amid the din and indis-tinct chatter in Bundeli dialect,a contractor with Jal Nigam,Shyam Thakur, took the cen-tre stage to explain the gravi-ty of the situation.

“Water scarcity inBundelkhand has become partof our lifestyle. We live close totwo major water bodies whichflow through the year withoutdrying up. Our grouse is thatpoliticians and district author-ities have abandoned us tonature’s mercy and haverefused to look into the prob-lem, let alone redress it. I hadto shift 10 km away to Talbehattehsil headquarters to avoid thedaily trauma, but not everyonecan afford it.”

“The solution to our prob-lem is not at all cost-extensive.You see, the perennial flow inKheran river is due to seepageof water from Rajghat canalbuilt on Betwa river. That riverwater could be lifted by heavyduty motors and channelled toa common distributing cham-ber at Gulendi and later dis-tributed to the parched villagesnearby. We requested officialson this score several timesand also drew up a planencompassing various aspects,especially cost which waspeanuts as compared to otherirrigation facilities. But thefile was shelved,” Thakur said.

“Only last month, about1,000 residents from these vil-lagers approached the districtmagistrate of Lalitpur, only tobe handed out an assurance.Earlier we had met the local

BJP legislator, only to bepromised quick redressal of theproblem. We are tired of theseassurances. Are we expend-able?” Thakur asked.

Taking over from Thakur,Kamal, a Sahariya tribal,pointed out, “Look, with lim-ited water and irrigation, weare unable to harvest morethan one produce. Sahariyatribals were given 4.68 acres ofland by the government forsustenance. But some of thesetracts are rocky and even locat-ed in hills. Those who haveland, do not have the addi-tional resources for irrigation,in case of scanty rainfall. Andwe cannot do a thing about itas the officials just don’t listento our grievances. This alsoresults in migration of able-bodied tribals for employ-ment.”

Seventy-year old MunniSahariya is one of the manyunfortunate families whosemale members have migratedfor employment.

“I have enough land butdue to scant rains last year wecould not grow much corn ordal (pulse). We could notafford the irrigation. To feed us,my son Khabbu migrated withhis wife and son to Indore andis working at a brick kiln there.I am left alone and feel mis-erable, but what to do,” lament-ed the woman with tearswelling in her eyes.

Summing up the commonrefrain, Thakur explained, “Wehave been cheated by thepoliticians for decades. Theofficials have not been kind tous due to lack of political fol-low-up. After days of discus-sions with local villagers in

recent days, it has beendecided that we will notvote. Maybe this should actas a wake-up call for thepowers that be and put ourtroubles to end.”

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True, the land of Bhakti saintChaitanya Mahaprabhu or

for that matter KrishnanandaAgambagis — the sage whogave shape to Goddess Kali’spresent portrait — had neverwitnessed two sets of flowers,Trinamool Congress’ “GrassFlower’’ and BJP’s Lotus,involved in a dogfight as fierceas this for ‘supremacy’.

People of Krishnanagar theprincely town of Bengal onceruled by the Maharaja ofKrishnagar also famous for“His Excellency’s’’ his own col-lection of nine gems amongwhom Gopal Bhand (theBengali version of Birbal ofTenali Raman) apart from ter-racotta toys, handloom or Tantsarees, onion, licchhi, and agreen bucket full of yearlycrops are literally ‘’torn betweenthe three.’’

On one side is the wave ofBJP represented by former Indiasoccer star Kalyan Chowbey, onthe other is the organisationalprowess of Trinamool Congressrepresented by party YoungTurk and on the third is the“pricking conscience’’ which isasking all and sundry to vote forthe “gentleman and downrighthonest person’’ Shantanu Jha ofthe CPI(M).’’

Still Krishnagar once cul-tivated by State BJP presidentand senior advocate JoluMukherjee who once polledabout 2 lakh votes againstCPI(M)’s Jyotirmoyee Sikdarhas once again woken up inrevolt: against the ruling outfit.

They have however notingagainst Mohua Mita. “We knowshe is well-bred, suave, goodperformer, but her only draw-back is that she represents aparty that has not allowed us tovote freely for years, literallyrobbing us off our democratic

right,’’ says Swadesh Roy alocal retired public servant.

Amiyo Tarafdar a lawyer’sclerk in the district court said“We have been a CPI(M) voterout and out We will continueto remain so. But this time letus vote for the BJP as they canonly remove this Governmentof the lumpens, by the lumpensand for the lumpens.’’

Like him Suprotim Jha alocal bank employee is also ‘’nothopeful of the BJP. We are notfans of Narendra Modi, weknow that he has no basic dif-ference with Mamata Banerjeeas a dictator. Notwithstandingwe will back him because it isonly through him we canexpress our voting rights.’’

True, perhaps that is thepower of democracy, said alocal auto-rickshaw driver.

But then has the ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee’spersonal charishma no effect?Or have her schemes likeKanyashree, Rupashree,Swasthya Saathi, Sabuj Saathi— some winning internation-al awards — lost their appeal?

“Not really,” Irfan Ali, alocal Tant worker said.“Remind Nadia is the first dis-trict in the country to attain

hundred percent success inending public defecation. Wehave voting for her and willcontinue to do so because wecannot punish her for the faultsdone by the local level leaders.After all she herself came to usseeking votes.’’

Banerjee has twice come tothe district and conducted acouple of road shows here withpeople pouring in from allquarters. On whether this willconvert to votes, local CPI(M)leader said “even when wewere in power in 2009 and2011 we witnessed such crowdsbut we failed to understand thatthey were leaving us.’’

Silence was the best med-icine, many thought perhaps.But this silence is turning outto be too deafening for the par-ties, experts said.

This particularly at a timeof a communally polarisedatmosphere. The locals said“We have never seen such apolarised atmosphere beforenot even during Partition. Thepolitical parties both the BJPand the TMC will answer forthis as history will never forgivethem.’’ It is this call of con-science from many a voter thatthe Marxists are banking on.

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Caught between the cacoph-ony of nationalism and

regional vision — on issues offarm distress, unemployment,water crisis and poor connec-tivity — the voters in Rajasthanseem to be dwindling towardsthe former.

“It’s Modi versus all (issuesand candidates) in Rajasthan.(Prime Minister Narendra)Modi has made his image larg-er than life. And in the post-Pulwama political scenario,Rajasthan seems highly takenin by the Indian Air Force(IAF) strikes in Balakot inPakistan,” says political analystNarayan Bareth.

“This is because many fam-ilies in the state have their sonsin the armed forces guardingthe borders, and they seem tobe the most impressed by thePrime Minister’s tough stanceon national security.Nothing exceptn a t i o n a l i s mseems to bei n f l u e n c i n gthem at thispoint.

“The State’sruling Congress looksconfused as to howto fight this debate betweennationalism and regionalvision. It may get around 5-7seats, while the BJP can win 18-20 seats,” Bareth added. Fordecades, the RajasthanAssembly has been alternatingbetween the Congress and theBJP every five years. Followingthe same trend, the Congressdethroned the BJP in 2018.

The State is also known togive the party winning theAssembly elections the mostnumber of Lok Sabha seats.Banking on this trend, theCongress is hoping to take itstally up from zero in the 2014Lok Sabha elections, even as theBJP attempts to repeat its suc-cess of winning all the 25 par-liamentary seats in the state.

As both parties claim toachieve “Mission 25” in 2019,IANS takes an overview of thekey issues and seats in the state:

Of the 25 Lok Sabha con-stituencies in Rajasthan, 13 willvote in the fourth phase onMonday while the remaining 12will go to the polls in the fifthphase on May 6. At present, theBJP represents all the 25 seats.The total number of electoratein the state stands at 4.84 crore.

Out of the 200 Assemblyconstituencies in the state, theCongress had won 100 in the2018 State elections.

The BJP had won 73,Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)six, Independents 13 while theremaining eight seats went tothe Rashtriya Loktantrik Party(3), Communist Party of

India-Marxist (2), BharatiyaTribal Party (2) and RashtriyaLok Dal (1).

KEY ISSUESFarm distress: The desert state,which once reeled under longspells of drought, now makesnews for flash floods every nowand then. The changing weath-er pattern has wrecked havocon farming.

The Congress hadpromised farm loan waiver ofRs 2 lakh within 10 days ofcoming to power in the state.While Chief Minister AshokGehlot kept the promise, theBJP alleges that the farmers areyet receive the ‘no objectioncertificate’ (NOC) for the clo-sure of their loan accounts.

Says Shambhu Singh fromShahpura, “We voted out ourtwo-time BJP MLA because theCongress had promised farmloan waiver. But four months

on, there is still no clarity onhow and when ourloans will be waived.”U n e m p l o y m e n t :Keeping its Assemblypoll promise, theGehlot governmentfrom March 1 intro-duced an allowance of

Rs 3,000 per month toeducated unemployed boysand Rs 3,500 per month to girlsas monthly unemploymentallowance. However, the youthare yet to get the allowance asthe model code of conductcame into force on March 10.

Says Abhimanyu, a uni-versity student: “We all expect-ed to benefit from thisallowance, but there are manyriders in the scheme. Oneneeds to be a resident ofRajasthan and a graduate froma university in the state with afamily income of up to Rs 2lakh to avail the allowance.Hence the promise looks fake.”Caste: Caste is the biggest fac-tor at play in Rajasthan wherethe equations between com-munities like Rajputs and Jatsand Meenas and Gujjars havebeen exploited to the hilt togarner votes. The BJP has beentrying newer forms of socialengineering to gain supportfrom the Gujjars and the Jats.

This time the saffron partyhas allied with the RashtriyaLoktantrik Party (RLP) con-venor Hanuman Beniwal, who iscontesting as an NDA candidatefrom Nagaur. The BJP agreed toleave the seat for him expectingJat votes in Barmer, Nagaur,Jodhpur, Pali and parts of Sikar.

However, Beniwal’sprospects may be dented by theloyalists of former ChiefMinister Vasundhara Raje —with whom he has had differ-ences in the past — to benefitCongress’ Jyoti Mirdha, saysBareth.

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Congress general secretaryPriyanka Gandhi Vadra on

Sunday dubbed the PradhanMantri Kisan Samman Nidhi(PM-KISAN) an “apmaan”(insult) to farmers.

Vadra also hit out at PrimeMinister Narendra Modi andthe Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)over the issue of nationalism,saying it can be best served bylistening to the problems of thepeople and solving it.

Addressing a rally in UttarPradesh’s Bahraich district,Vadra said, “The BJP is, in fact,insulting the farmers in thename of the Kisan SammanYojana, which the prime min-ister discusses very much, as itwill give only Rs 3.50 per dayto the beneficiary. This is ‘KisanApmaan Yojana’ (a scheme toinsult the farmers).”

Under the PM-KISANscheme, Rs 6,000 per year willbe given in three instalments to12 crore small and marginalfarmers holding cultivable landup to two hectares.

Comparing the PM-KISANto the Congress’ minimumincome guarantee scheme,Nyay, Vadra said: “On the other

hand, the Congress hasannounced that it will give Rs6,000 per month to the poorhouseholds (if voted to power).”

The Congress general sec-retary in charge of east UttarPradesh said the crop insurancescheme, Pradhan Mantri FasalBima Yojana, had not helpedthe farmers during the times ofcrisis, alleging that it hadinstead benefited some indus-trialists of crores.

Vadra also pointed out tothe Congress’ manifesto

promise of a separate budgetfor agriculture. “Every districtwill have a mini food park. Thiswill help the farmers to linkhimself to the countrywidemarket,” she said.

Seeking votes for theparty’s Bahraich candidate,Savitribai Phule, Vadra attackedthe BJP over the alleged atroc-ities on Dalits and minoritiesduring its rule. “I had met a fewDalit youngsters who had toldme that they were beaten upand tortured since they had

demanded their rights,” theCongress leader said.

“An effort is being made bythe BJP to damage theConstitution, and institutionsand democracy are being weak-ened,” she said. Vadra said whilethe BJP leaders rake up the issueof Pakistan and nationalism,there are leaders who speakabout redressing the people’sgrievances. “I feel that the biggestnationalism is listening to thevoice of the people and resolv-ing their problems,” she said.

Earlier, speaking toreporters in Amethi con-stituency, represented by partypresident and her brother,Rahul Gandhi, Vadra asked:“What type of nationalism isthere in ‘main hoon Modi’ (Iam Modi)? What is the mean-ing of nationalism? It meanspatriotism and love for thecountry. Who is the country?Its people and their love.”

“If you have affinity onlytowards yourself, then whattype of nationalism is this?” sheadded. Vadra accused Modi ofnot visiting even a single villagein his Varanasi constituencyand not asking anyone abouttheir problems.

“Arranging a crowd using

the power of money andaddressing them or sending amessage to them is very easy,”she said. “But, the real thing isto resolve the problems of thepeople.” “The ground reality isabsolutely different. When youspeak to the people, a differentmessage emanates and I havenever seen the Prime Ministeror the BJP leaders accepting

that message,” Vadra said.She described the policies

of the BJP as “anti-people”,“anti-youth” and “anti-farmers”.“The menace of stray animalsis very much here and thefarmers are forced to keep awatch on their crops duringnight. There are still someplaces where electricity supplyis absent,” Vadra added.

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Coming down heavily on theCongress for its promises to

amend AFSPA and quash thesedition law, if voted to power,Uttar Pradesh Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath Sunday said the“hand symbol of the grand oldparty denotes that it was hand-in-glove with traitors”.

Addressing a rally inSheohar Lok Sabha con-stituency near here, Adityanathclaimed that “no nationalist ordignified person” would sup-port the Congress or its allieshaving gone through its LokSabha poll manifesto.

“I was shocked to see theCongress manifesto. It saidthat the party will do away withthe sedition law and amendAfspa, the law which givesspecial power to the Army inJammu & Kashmir and thenortheast States. It seems‘Congress ka hath hai desh-drohiyon ke sath’ (Cong hasextended its hand to the traitorsof this country),” he insisted.

Referring to IAF air strikein Balakot, Adityanath saidthat the Indian Army alwayshad the courage and valour to

carry out such attacks, but the“erstwhile governments lackedresolve and willpower to makepowerful decisions”.

“The Narendra Modi gov-ernment showed its determi-nation to eliminate terroristsand allowed forces to carry outair strikes inside Pakistan.Terrorists are now fleeing theirhideouts,” he said, adding that

“both terrorism and naxalismwould be completely wipedout from the country afterModi becomes the PM foranother term.”

When it comes to theprime minister’s post, the BJPand its allies have unanimous-ly chosen Modi as their leader,while the Congress, RJD and itsallies are still struggling with

their choice for the top post,their policies and intentions,the senior saffron party leadersaid.

“It seems they (oppositionparties) just want to createpolitical instability in the coun-try and hamper the momen-tum of growth generated by theModi government,” the UttarPradesh CM, who had recent-ly stirred a controversy byreferring to Indian Army as‘Modiji ka sena’, said.

Enumerating the welfareschemes introduced by theNDA government, he assertedthat Modi has lived up to theBJP’s age-old slogan of ‘devel-opment of all, appeasement tonone’ by doling out benefitswithout discrimination.

Claiming that the Congresspolicies were biased and prej-udiced, Adityanath noted,“Former prime ministerManmohan Singh, who head-ed the UPA government from2004 to 2014, had said thatMuslims have the first right onnation’s resources. The factremains that all 130 crore peo-ple in the country have equalrights on the resources.”

The senior BJP leader alsopraised NDA candidate and sit-ting MP Rama Devi for her“initiatives to usher in devel-opment” in the constituencyand appealed to the people toassociate themselves with “FirEk Baar Modi Sarkar” slogan.

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Mafia don-turned-politi-cian and former MP Atiq

Ahmad has moved a bail appli-cation before a special court,seeking a short-term bail tocontest parliamentary electionsfrom Varanasi.

District GovernmentCounsel (Criminal) GulabChandra Agrahri said the bailapplication will be taken up bythe court on April 29.

The special court is alreadyhearing as many as 26 criminalcases against Atiq Ahmad, whois presently lodged in the NainiCentral Jail in Allahabad.

According to Atiq’s coun-sels, the former MP hasobtained nomination papersfor contesting the Lok Sabhaelection from Varanasi.

However, he would not beable to campaign for himself ashe is lodged in jail. Hence hemoved the present applicationrequesting the court to release

him on short term bail, so thathe could campaign.

The PragatisheelSamajwadi Party Lohia state

General Secretary Lallan Raisaid Atiq Ahmad will contestelections on his party ticketprovided he gets parole.

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Hitting out at oppositionleaders, Bharatiya Janata

Party national president AmitShah said the Narendra ModiGovernment would throw outintruders even though manypolitical parties were sheddingcrocodile tears in the name ofhuman rights. Addressing aseries of election meetings inBarabanki and Mohanlalganjon Sunday, Shah said thatwhen the government intro-duced the citizenship bill, lead-ers like Rahul Gandhi,Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav,Mamata Banerjee andChandrababu Naidu opposed itin the name of human rights.

“BJP is going to form thenext government and NarendraModi will be the prime minis-ter once again. We will throwout any intruder because we donot want outsiders to enjoy thefruits of hard work of our peo-ple,” Shah said.

The Vijay Sankalp rally inBarabanki was held in Nindura village where Shahasked people to vote forUpendra Rawat.

“We have a Prime Ministerwho thinks about people andformulates the policies whichtalk about development. This isreflected in our election man-ifesto which talks about nation-al security. We are committed

to ensuring that no infiltrationtakes place in the country anymore,” he said.

The BJP president said thatduring the last five years,Modiji had made it clear thatno one could take India forgranted any more.

“What happened inBalakot is now history. WhenIndian Air Force carried out anair strike, gloom descended ontwo places — one in Pakistanand two in the offices of theCongress, Samajwadi Party andBahujan Samaj Party.

“I do not know why theylooked sad? Was it becausetheir relatives were killed inthat air strike?” he said andadded that the oppositioncould play coy to terrorists butModi had made it clear that ifPakistan fired a bullet Indiawould fire a bomb.

Shah said there were someleaders who wanted a separatePM for Kashmir. “They belongto that party whose leadershave chanted Pakistan zind-abad. Congress is silent onthese leaders. Not even Bua andBhatija are talking about it. Thisclearly shows that these leadershave pro-Pakistan leaning,” theBJP president said.

Shah said Modi had nottaken a leave in the last fiveyears while Rahul Gandhi goesfor vacation to foreign countryevery year.

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Amethi: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra onSunday questioned the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modiover the issue of nationalism. “What type of nationalism is therein ‘main hoon Modi’ (I am Modi)? What is the meaning of nation-alism? Vadra asked. “It means patriotism and love for the coun-try. Who is the country? Its people and their love. If you have affin-ity only towards yourself, then what type of nationalism is this?”

The Congress general secretary in charge of east Uttar Pradeshwas speaking to reporters in Amethi constituency, which is rep-resented by party president and her brother, Rahul Gandhi.

“Arranging a crowd using the power of money and address-ing them or sending a message to them is very easy,” Vadra said.But, the real thing is to resolve the problems of the people, sheadded. “The ground reality is absolutely different. When you speakto the people, a different message emanates and I have never seenthe PM or the BJP leaders accepting that message,” the Congressleader said. PTI

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In 2015, after the India-Nepal ties hitthe lowest point during the promul-gation of Nepal’s new Constitutionand anti-India sentiment saw a newhigh due to an India-backed Madhesi

economic blockade, bilateral ties betweenthe two have moved from static to steady.Recovery has been through India’s hands-off-Nepal policy and New Delhi’s focus ondelivery and development, in sync withKathmandu’s prime objective of econom-ic prosperity. The only known hiccup waslast month when India’s Ambassador,Manjeev Singh Puri, met King Gyanendraat Hotel Sitasharan at Janakpur, Nepal,where the latter had gone to inaugurate theJanakpur railway project. This meetingblew up into a political row with theKathmandu press reporting that PrimeMinister KP Oli lost his cool and called offa previously accepted engagement with theIndian embassy.

With his no-show, Oli, who was toinaugurate the international Sanskrit con-ference a few days later at Kathmandu, leftthe embassy embarrassed, his displeasureover Puri meeting Gyanendra made in nouncertain terms. The accidental encounterin the lobby of Hotel Sitasharan became astorm in a teacup with Oli signalling thatany Indian effort to rehabilitate Gyanendraor monarchy was not welcome. The mis-understanding was brushed aside. Somedays later, India announced the visit ofForeign Secretary Vijay Gokhale toKathmandu — days before Nepal’s presti-gious international investment summit —to review the progress made on India’sdevelopmental projects in Nepal. This is forthe first time that such an exercise has beenundertaken, signifying India’s earnestnessto deliver on Nepal’s development.

But just then, Nepal’s ForeignSecretary, Shankar Das Bairagi, wasscheduled to hold a long-delayed meetingwith his Pakistani counterpart inKathmandu. He postponed the meet toaccommodate Gokhale. Not just that, ascheduled and again delayed visit ofPakistan’s Speaker of the House, AsadQaiser, was also postponed. In India’sneighbourhood, two countries, whichhave been historically sensitive to NewDelhi’s discomfort with their hostingPakistani political and military dignitariesimmediately before or after an importantIndian visitor, are Nepal and Sri Lanka.

This de-hyphenation of India andPakistan, especially in the post-Pulwama/Balakot environment, was seenas a friendly gesture by Kathmandu, prob-ably intended to make up for the Sitasharanmisunderstanding and appreciation ofNew Delhi’s reset in India’s Nepal policy.The Nepali media, which treats India withsuspicion, saw its Foreign Ministry actingunder New Delhi’s pressure.

India has wisely recognised that theruling Communist Party of Nepal

Government enjoys wide andpopular support — an unprece-dented nearly two-third major-ity at the Centre, majorityGovernments in six of sevenprovinces and a lion’s share inlocal Government posts. TheNo 2 Madhesi-led province islending issue-based supportto the Government. While thelongevity of the Government isnot in doubt, its edifice of sta-bility is widely questioned,mainly from dissidents withinthe ruling party. Oli is keepinghis opponents guessing byperiodically announcing animminent Cabinet reshuffle tokeep alive their hopes of aMinisterial berth.

Still, never in the politicalhistory of Nepal — except inthe short-lived experience withmultiparty democracy in 1959— has the country witnessedsuch an overwhelming politi-cal majority. Periodically, thestability of Oli’s health is ques-tioned but if one meets him,the Kissinger quip that poweris the biggest aphrodisiac,comes alive.

Still, there is Prachanda,the co-chairman of the CPN,whose prime ministerial ambi-tions never subside even for athird term. The integration ofthe Unified Marxist Leninistand Maoists in the merged

CPN is essentially superficial.The joint policy document isstill awaited.

A regime change is possi-ble under two scenarios: a) anailing Oli falling critically ill; b)after two-and-a-half years,when the power-sharing agree-ment between Oli andPrachanda kicks in. Till then,Nepal will see strategic stabil-ity despite undercurrents oftactical turbulence.

Last month, US Secretaryof State Mike Pompeo congrat-ulated Oli for completing oneyear in office at a time whenAmerica is revamping its inter-est in Nepal through its antiTibet reciprocal move andIndo-Pacific strategies.Kathmandu is Washington’slong-standing window onTibet.

A key political success ofthe Oli Government is de-fanging the secessionist FreeMadhesh-America-trainedleader CK Raut through an 11-point agreement. His politicalplatform, Alliance forIndependent Madhesh, hasbeen re-named as the JanmatParty. The main Opposition,the Nepali Congress, is accus-ing Oli of releasing from jail atraitor like Raut and banningunderground Maoist NetraBikram Chand (Biplav), who is

demanding good governance,strengthening of institutionsand probity but resorting toviolence.

The Biplav group — esti-mated to have 300 to 2,000cadres with 500 weapons — isthe only breakaway under-ground Maoist entity, whichwas declared a criminal grouplast month, outlawed andserved notice to surrender in35 days, a deadline which haspassed. It had disturbed the2017 elections with the use ofexplosives and firearms, result-ing in several casualties. It hasalso promulgated partially suc-cessful countrywide bandhs.The last of these coincided withthe international investmentsummit. Fear of Biplav is pal-pable. Even Prachanda hasadmitted he could be Biplav’sNo 1 target and sarcasticallyadvised to keep one bullet forPrachanda when he does any-thing wrong.

Most political parties wantthe Government to negotiatewith the Biplav group butHome Minister Ram BahadurThapa (Badal), an erstwhilemilitary commander of theMaoists along with Biplav andNand Kishore Pun (now VicePresident of Nepal), has saidthat military/police action willbe taken to bring Biplav to

book. Surprisingly, the Nepal

Army reportedly issued a state-ment expressing that dialogueand not force should be thepreferred option. The NepalArmy remains a highly respect-ed and trusted institution in thecountry. Earlier it had alsoobjected to Oli arrogating tothe Prime Minister the author-ity to mobilise the Army in caseof emergency, abridgingConstitutional procedures.This is cited as yet anotherinstance of Oli centralisingpower in the Prime Minister’sOffice.

New Delhi is playing by therule book in reclaiming itsprimacy in Nepal whose poli-cy — amity with all, enmitywith none — is being show-cased by Foreign MinisterPradeep Gyawali. Despite theWuhan spirit, the Chinese havebeen very active in grabbingthe space vacated by India fol-lowing the avoidable econom-ic blockade. India has to winback Nepalese hearts andminds which Prime MinisterModi had captured through hismemorable oratory in Nepal’sParliament in 2014. In 2019,that will take some doing.

(The writer has been visit-ing Nepal since 1959 and waslast there last month)

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Sir — While it is spectacular thatGomathi Marimuthu, who hailsfrom an economically backwardfamily, has won gold in theAsian Athletics Championshipat Doha, it is strange that noneof our political leaders applaud-ed the girl. Has the heat of elec-tioneering got to them? Suchtouches do matter a great deal,especially when an individual’sefforts have brought glory.

Tharcius S FernandoChennai

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Sir — The massive roadshow byPrime Minister Narendra Modiand the cavalcade as part of thenomination gala took Varanasiby storm. Of course, the BJPcannot be blamed or envied forevents choreographed and tele-cast to appeal to the wider audi-ence. There is no denying thefact that the spectacle was stagedto present him as a larger-than-life character.

Prime Minister Modi mustbe made to tower over other lead-ers as he runs his party’s cam-

paign as a one-man brand andattempts a recreation of the 2014Modi wave. Perhaps he deemedhis unapologetic Hindutva pitchas necessary. The perception isthat his popularity has slipped onaccount of unfulfilled promisesand unmitigated distress. Butdid that merit bringing a wholecity to a halt?

G David MiltonMaruthancode

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Sir — This refers to the report,“Rahul regrets misquoting SC”(April 23). The Congress presi-dent Rahul Gandhi is reportedto have expressed regret in theSupreme Court over his remarks‘Chowkidar chor hai’, claimingthat it was made with rhetoricalflourish in the heat of the elec-

tion campaign. His defence isunacceptable. He should haveused restraint while levellingcharges against the PrimeMinister without ascertainingfacts.

It is quite unbecoming of aparty head to have passed suchremarks against the PrimeMinister. This is not going tohelp him win the elections. Suchan attitude, in fact, underscores

the negative style of his cam-paigning. The BJP is no excep-tion to making statements dur-ing poll campaigns that stircontroversy. Political parties andtheir leaders must maintain acertain amount of decency, dis-cipline and decorum during thecourse of their speeches.

Sravana RamachandranChennai

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Sir — This refers to the article,“Establish the rule of law” (April26) by Anju Kapur. The sancti-ty of the highest court of theland must not be jeopardised.The case against the ChiefJustice of India Ranjan Gogoimust be sorted out sooner ratherthan later after having studiedthe case in detail and in animpartial manner. The dignity ofour courts cannot be sullied inthe process and the supremacyof the law must be establishedbeyond any doubt. People’s faithin the judiciary must be upheld.

SrinivasBengaluru

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Dr Himaja is worried. Tests conducted dur-ing Chandrakala’s routine antenatal visit tothe telemedicine centre in the tribal man-

dal of Paderu in Visakhapatnam district, AndhraPradesh, indicate the 17-year-old is down withmalaria for the second time. This is not good news,especially as Chandrakala is in her ninth month ofpregnancy. Dr Himaja knows Chandrakala is a highrisk case, having treated her for severe anaemia andmalaria just a month ago when she came for herthird antenatal visit. Then, the team at theTelemedicine Centre (TMC) had rushed her to thedistrict hospital in Visakhapatnam, 96 km away fromPaderu, and ensured she was given a blood trans-fusion to boost her plummeting haemoglobin. Theyhad pooled in their own money to pay for her hos-pitalisation, realising it would be fatal to let theimpoverished woman return to her village withouttreatment for want of funds. This time, too, a quickdecision has to be taken if the lives of Chandrakalaand her unborn baby have to be saved.

Within minutes, Dr Rajyalaxmi, the empanelledsenior gynaecologist based in the State capital ofHyderabad, is contacted through video conferenc-ing and apprised of Chandrakala’s condition. Sincerecords of all patients of the TMC have already beenuploaded, it did not take Dr Rajyalakmi much timeto pull out Chandrakala’s past history. She asksChandrakala, sitting alongside Dr Himaja in frontof the monitor, a few questions. But Chandrakala,who belongs to the Kondadora tribe, categorised asparticularly vulnerable tribal group by theGovernment, is unable to understand Telugu. Sheonly speaks local tribal dialect. Dr Rajyalaxmi advis-es Dr Himaja to take Chandrakala to the hospitalimmediately. Chandrkala does not understand thelanguage and is reluctant to stay in the hospital asshe feels it is unnecessary. But the TMC health work-ers make sure that she stays and gets a blood trans-fusion. It is this speedy action and personalised carethat ensured that Chandrakala and her 18-year-oldhusband could welcome their first child without fur-ther complications.

Hundreds of miles away in the tribal domi-nated West Singhbhum district in Jharkhand, apregnant 20-year-old Saibani Juanga is also downwith malaria. Her marital family, as is the tradi-tion, prefers to seek help of the local faith healer.Not surprisingly, their rituals prove ineffective.When members of her village, the women Self-Help Group (SHG), learn about Saibani’s plight,they convince her husband and in-laws to take herto the district hospital. They arrange a vehicle totake her there. According to doctors at the hos-pital, had the women not taken immediateaction, Saibani wouldn’t have survived.

India has recorded 22 per cent reduction inmaternal mortality rate since 2013. Although thismeans nearly 1,000 fewer women now die of preg-nancy-related complications each month in thecountry, an estimated 44,000 women continue todie annually due to preventable pregnancy-relat-ed causes. For both, Chandrakala and Saibani, itwas a near miss. They would have become justanother statistic had they not been brought to thehospital in time.

For Chandrakala, it was Asara, a free health-care programme working to eliminate preventablematernal and neonatal deaths in the tribal mandalsof Araku, Paderu and Chintapalle in Visakhapatnam

district, which made the differencebetween life and death.

Started in 2011 by Piramal Swasthya,the Hyderabad-based not-for-profitorganisation working to deliver primaryhealthcare to the marginalised, Asara hasreached out to over 4,900 pregnantwomen living in far-flung hamlets inAraku in the last six years. In a regionwhere maternal mortality rate in 2011 was400 per 100,000 live births (the nationalaverage then was 215 per 100,000 livebirths) and neonatal mortality was over60 for every 1,000 live births (nationalaverage being around 44 per 1,000 livebirths then), this intervention is a lifelinefor women.

In fact, no maternal deaths have beenreported in last two years in Araku’s 181hard-to-reach hamlets where the pro-gramme has been working, according toVishal Phanse, CEO, Piramal Swasthya.Even institutional deliveries increased inproject intervention areas — from 18 percent in 2011 to 68 per cent in 2017.

While central to this remarkableturnaround has been the innovative tele-health project design conceptualised byPiramal Swasthya, it is a different yet effec-tive intervention that has brought downmaternal deaths in West Singhbhum. Byusing a unique approach to empowerwomen through a monthly ParticipatoryLearning and Action (PLA) cycle, Ekjut,a Chakradharpur-based not-for-profit,managed to bring a massive decline inmaternal and child mortality.

Such has been the efficacy of the PLAmethod that the national Governmentannounced its decision in 2016 to use theEkjut model to bring down maternal andneonatal deaths in eight Indian States. Atpresent, PLA meetings are being conduct-ed by Government frontline workerstrained by Ekjut in 40,000 villages all over

the country and empowering approxi-mately one million women to take chargeof their own health.

But it wasn’t always so. Health aware-ness among the community was abysmalwhen two doctors, Prasanta Tripathy andNirmala Nair, gave up their jobs in 2002to move to Chakradharpur in the back-ward and tribal-dominated WestSinghbhum district in Jharkhand. Statehealth indicators were very poor. WhileNeonatal Mortality Rate (NMR) per1,000 live births was 49 in Jharkhand, theMaternal Mortality Rate (MMR) per100,000 live births was 371 — both muchhigher than the national figures. So in2003, the husband and wife duo found-ed Ekjut to reach out to indigenous pop-ulation living in remote and inaccessibleparts of the region, especially to vulner-able women and children.

By using a unique approach toempower women on maternal and new-born health through a monthly partici-patory learning and action cycle — dur-ing which women first identify, prioritiseand analyse local maternal and neonatalhealth problems and then come up withstrategies to address them — they wereable to bring about a substantial declinein MMR and NMR.

What began with just 20 women inthree villages around Chakradharpurwas scaled to eight districts, involving over20,000 women over the next five years.The women participating in the PLA usedthis knowledge to bring about 20 per centreduction in maternal deaths and 30 percent reduction in neonatal deaths in 600villages in rural Jharkhand and Odisha,pointed out Dr Prasanta Tripathy.

In Araku, a lack of awareness, cou-pled with inaccessibility of the tribalmandals, meant that the Asara pro-gramme had to provide services at the

doorsteps. At the forefront of this cam-paign are the Auxiliary Nurse Midwives(ANMs), who traverse forests and steephills and walk several kilometres toensure no woman dies while giving birth.Once they reach the village, the ANMconducts basic tests like blood andurine, records weight, height and bloodpressure as part of the initial examina-tion. With anaemia and eclampsia (highblood pressure with seizures) being themost common prenatal complicationsprevalent among pregnant women in thedistrict, particularly in the tribal belt, theoutreach service also involves compre-hensive risk profiling of the pregnantwomen and counselling on health seek-ing behaviour. Free calcium and iron folicacid tablets (IFA) are also given.

The next day, all registered pregnantwomen are picked up from the point clos-est to their village. Here, at the TMC, a staffnurse records a more detailed history.Once the data collated is digitised at theTMC, these electronic health records notonly help keep track of the pregnantwomen but are also shared with theGovernment’s health facilities at the timeof institutional delivery.

Both these interventions have shownthat it is possible to end preventablematernal death among tribal women.While the Asara model is in the processof being introduced in all 11 mandals inthe tribal belt of Visakhapatnam andEkjut, a winner of the 2015 WHO IndiaPublic Health Champion Award for itsinnovative PLA initiative is using thestrategy to address gender-based vio-lence. Initial findings in Jharkhand,where about 40 per cent of the marriedwomen aged 15-49 years have experi-enced some form of violence by theirhusbands, have been encouraging.

(The writer is a senior journalist)

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India’s underemployment crisis isboth a challenge and an oppor-tunity. A report by the the

International Labour Organisationpredicted in 2018 that by 2019, over18.9 million people in our countrywill be unemployed. A third of thisfigure will constitute the highly edu-cated young people. The problem isexacerbated by the fact that India isset to be the world’s youngestnation by 2020 and is home to theworld’s largest base of young job-seekers.

Alleviating the problem bestowsa superpower status if India’s mas-sive workforce is fully activated.Thus, we need to enable youngIndia’s ambitious, tech-savvy andresourceful talent with access toentrepreneurship. We are fortu-nate that this demand has comewhen the country’s digital revolu-tion is transforming the way peo-ple think about work and income.Modern professionals need morethan money to be content with theircareer. They need autonomy, fair-ness, evolving challenges and fulfil-ment. This shift in mindset is also

behind the rising popularity of anindustry that has always intrinsical-ly offered these benefits — directselling.

Cornerstones of direct sellinglike independence, ownership andentrepreneurial experience, havebecome key motivations behindpeople’s occupations. Analysts pre-dict that the Indian direct sellingmarket will be valued at $8.96 bil-lion, creating nearly 20 millionjobs in just over five years. Directselling has already substantiallyimpacted employment in India,especially in the area of helpingwomen re-enter the workforce.

Access to training, clear com-pensation plans and flexible work-ing hours have always been centralto the industry and these traitsempower women and impart valu-able skills to young entrepreneurs.

Unfortunately, in recent times,industry growth has been hampereddue to misconceptions and falseaccusations. But this scenario isgradually changing. Several HighCourts have consistently squashedallegations of malpractice and ille-

gality against the industry. Thefocus is shifting to possibilitiesthat direct selling affords distribu-tors, consumers and the domesticeconomy. Gradually, the widespreadlegal support is creating a safeenvironment for direct selling andits distributors.

A crucial component of directselling that combats the underem-ployment crisis is the democratisa-tion of opportunity. Anyone can bea direct seller, irrespective of age,gender, experience, skill, race oreducation. Companies in this spaceare empowering aspiring entrepre-neurs from all walks of life to startbusinesses by providing trainingand professional support. Thismodel gives rise to millions ofentrepreneurs, inspired by anopportunity to script their financialfuture through access to inventory,mentors, back office support andtraining programmes. Indian tech-savvy millennials, who are at thecentre of the country’s digital trans-formation, are also waking up to thebenefits of direct selling. The indus-try was seen as just an opportuni-

ty for home-makers and retireeslooking to make a supplementaryincome but is fast becoming amainstream choice for youngIndians seeking autonomy and a fairchance over an uncertain journeyup the corporate ladder.

Delivery is at the heart of thedirect selling model and this iswhere India’s young and energeticworkforce is best suited for theindustry. Delivering high qualityunique products to consumers at afair price through word-of-mouthremains the central characteristic ofall direct selling. For that reason,India must move beyond falsestereotypes and understand thatdirect selling is not a foreign concept.

Every vegetable cart, street bar-ber, or dhobi is an example of tra-ditional direct selling. Moderndirect selling uses technology tobenefit distributors and consumers.Direct selling companies have inte-grated e-commerce into their plat-forms to offer entrepreneurs andsmall businesses a gateway to reachmillions of people and exploreuntapped markets.

So what can India do to usedirect selling to create jobs? It isimperative to implement compre-hensive legislation that ensuresdiligent governance to drive mod-ernisation and job growth. Greyareas in current policy have result-ed in confusion and extensive rep-utational damage. The establish-ment of a dedicated industry body,committed to regulation, lobbying,advocacy and complaints will go along way.

Gaps in the current system haveresulted in cursory interventionswith grave consequences, the admin-istration of civil matters throughcriminal proceedings being anexample. The global industry high-ly commends the Direct SellingGuidelines from the Department ofConsumer Affairs in legitimisingand validating the business model.However, it remains essential toinstitute a unified trade body. Thisbody should be dedicated to moni-toring and addressing issues in con-junction with a Government nodalauthority. Law enforcement agenciesmust also be given factual clarity

about the direct selling industry toavoid confusion. The failed attemptsat applying the Prize Chits andMoney Circulation Schemes(Banning) Act, created for lotteryschemes, is an example of this con-fusion. Such interventions don’tbelong in fair and legal business ven-tures or a modern economy.Legitimate and reputed direct sell-ing businesses deal in products thathave value. Marketing these productswill create opportunities for millionsof consumers and distributors.

Entrepreneurship is crucial toaddressing India’s unemploymentconcerns and industries such asdirect selling have a significantrole to play. However, to do thiseffectively, the industry will needthe support of strong governanceand a legal mandate. I believe thatthe Indian youth can move fromdemanding employment to creatingprogress in a supported and estab-lished direct selling model thatrewards diligence, dynamism anddedication.

(The writer is Regional Director,South Asia, of a direct selling firm)

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GST officers are working ona system where businesses

above a certain turnoverthreshold will have to generate‘e-invoice’ on Government orGST portal for every sale,thereby effectively reducingthe room for tax evasion.

To start with, businessesabove a specified thresholdwill just get a unique numberfor every electronic invoice ore-invoice generated. This num-ber can be matched with theinvoices reported in the salesreturn and taxes paid, an offi-cial said.

Going forward, businesseswill be required to generate fullelectronic-tax invoice or e-invoice recording entire valueof sales.

The official said that busi-nesses beyond a turnoverthreshold would be provided asoftware which will be linkedto GST or a Government por-tal for generating e-invoice. Thethreshold can also be fixed onthe basis of the value of invoice.

“The requirement of e-invoice generation could beeither on the basis of turnoverof the registered person orvalue of invoice. The thinkingis, ideally, it should be based onturnover threshold so as toavoid splitting of sales,” anofficial told PTI.

Giving example, the officialsaid that if the minimuminvoice value is fixed at �1,000,there is a possibility of busi-nesses of splitting the bills toavoid the invoice-based thresh-old cap.

E-invoice generation

method will be similar to theone being followed for e-waybill on the ‘ewaybill.Nic.In’portal or payment of Goodsand Services Tax on the GSTNportal.

The proposed system of e-invoice will eventually replacethe requirement of generationof e-way bill for movement ofgoods, as invoices would begenerated through a centralisedGovernment portal. Currently,e-way bill is required for mov-ing goods exceeding �50,000.

The official further saidthat once full e-tax invoice startsgetting generated, it would sig-nificantly ease burden of returnfiling by businesses as invoicewise data would be auto-popu-lated in the return forms.

“We will have to studyglobal models followed bycountries like Latin America,South Korea and Europe. Wewill also look at ways to incen-tivise businesses to adopt themethod of e-invoice genera-tion,” the official said.

An officers committee,comprising central, state taxofficials and GST Network

Chief Executive, has been set upto look into the feasibility ofintroducing e-invoice system tostreamline generation of invoic-es and easing compliance bur-den. The committee will finalisean interim report next month.

The proposed ‘e-invoice’ ispart of the exercise to checkGST evasion. With almost twoyears into GST implementa-tion, the Government is nowfocussing on anti-evasion mea-sures to shore up revenue andincrease compliance.

There are over 1.21 croreregistered businesses under theGST, of which 20 lakh areunder composition scheme.

AMRG & Associates PartnerRajat Mohan said e-invoicingwould help in avoiding duplica-tion of efforts and minimisemanual intervention in filing andchecking of tax returns.

“To incentivise businessesto adopt new system, the taxdepartment could limit thefrequency of mandatorydepartmental audits in caseprocurements are made onbasis of e-invoices,” Mohansaid.

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The Government has hikedthe customs duty on wheat

to 40 per cent from 30 per centto curb imports and protect thedomestic industry.

The Government wants torestrict overseas purchase sothat domestic prices of wheatdo not come under pressure asthe country’s wheat output isexpected to scale a record highthis year.

The Central Board ofIndirect Taxes and Customs(CBIC), through a notification,has hiked the basic customsduty (BCD) on wheat to 40 per cent.

In May last year, theGovernment had hiked BCDon wheat to 30 per cent from20 per cent.

The Government has fixedwheat’s minimum supportprice (MSP) or the price atwhich it buys from farmers, at�1,840 per quintal, up from�1,735 a year earlier, as part ofits decision to fix the supportprice at a minimum of 1.5times the production cost.

The country’s wheat pro-duction this season might cross100 million tonnes, an all-time high. The output stood atrecord 99.70 million tonnes inthe 2017-18 crop year (July-June).

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The Model Code of Conductfor the Lok Sabha polls is

unlikely to have any bearing onissuance of a revised frame-work for resolution of stressedassets by the Reserve Bank andthe guidelines are expected tobe announced before May 23,sources said.

Against the backdrop ofthe Supreme Court quashingan RBI circular, issued onFebruary 12, 2018, a revised setof rules is under works andwould be released soon, theysaid.

Earlier this month, theSupreme Court had quashedthe RBI’s February 12 circularon stressed loan recognitionand resolution of large bor-rowers over �2,000 crore,terming it as “ultra vires”.

“The model code of con-duct exempts RBI’s monetarypolicy. It is unlikely to attractany action if the RBI issues therevised (February 12) circular,”sources said.

They said the central bankis in very advanced stage andthe revised circular should beout before declaration of gen-eral elections result.

The counting for the ongo-ing Lok Sabha elections willtake place on May 23.

The RBI is looking into allthe concerns raised by various

s t a k e h o l d e r sincluding banksand power sectorcompanies andmay look totweak the circu-lar without dilut-ing it completelyso that them o m e n t u mtowards resolu-tion of stressedassets is not affected, sourcessaid.

The February 12 circularhad mandated banks to refer anNPA account for insolvencyproceedings in case a resolutionis not found within 180 days.This was for accounts wherethe outstanding dues was atleast �2,000 crore.

Under the RBI norms, anaccount is classified as a nonperforming asset (NPA) if it isnot serviced for 90 days.

Sources said variousoptions are being explored forrejigging the NPA framework.One of the options is giving 30-60 days more time in additionto existing 90 days before ini-tiating resolution process forstressed accounts, they added.

While the 90-day periodfor recognising an account asNPA would remain, the centralbank would be looking at pro-viding more leeway for theentities concerned to repay theloans, they said.

Sources said that providingadditional time for repaymentwould help in mitigating hard-ships faced by micro, small andmedium enterprises (MSMEs)to some extent.

In a report last year, theGovernment had favouredadditional 180 days to be pro-vided for resolution of 34stressed power projects with aview to avoiding potential valueerosion of operating plants.The Supreme Court quashedthe circular following a petitionfiled by around 70 stressedcompanies from the power,shipping and textiles sectors.

A parliamentary panel wasamong the critics of the nowimpugned circular.

“Although the new guide-lines have been termed as har-monised and simplified gener-ic framework, yet they are farfrom being so,” the standingcommittee on energy said in itsreport tabled in Parliamentlast year.

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Financial costs are likely toclimb further for airlines in

the near term, with newaccounting standards on leas-es set to create “significantvolatility” in their profit andloss accounts.

Indian AccountingStandard 116 or Ind AS-116has come into effect from April1 and pertains to principles forrecognition, presentation anddisclosure of leases.

The standard, notified bythe corporate affairs ministry,would have a significant impacton various industries such asairlines, where aircraft operat-ed are mostly on lease.

It also comes at a timewhen the domestic airlineindustry is grappling withtough times due to rise in fuelprices, intense competition,financial issues and infra-structure woes.

Sandip Khetan, NationalLeader and Partner (FinancialAccounting Advisory Services)at EY India, said that many air-craft leases are denominated inUSD, which is likely to be acurrency different from thefunctional currency of mostdomestic airline companies.

“Ind AS requires foreigncurrency lease liabilities to beretranslated at each reportingdate and resulting gain or lossis typically recognised in P&L(Profit & Loss). This will cre-ate significant volatility in theP&L of Indian airline compa-nies,” he told PTI.

However, he noted thatcompanies might wish to assesswhether they are able to applyhedge accounting to address

this volatility and reconsidertheir treasury strategy.

In the airline industry, leas-ing of planes is a commonpractice rather than outrightpurchase and the new account-ing standard requires entities toshow all leases on their respec-tive balance sheets.

With Ind AS 116, expertssaid that net income would benegatively impacted in theearly years of operating leasearrangement on account ofhigher interest costs while therewould be a positive impact inthe later years of lease lifecycle.

Besides, there would be animpact on various key ratios ofcompanies such as EBITDA(Earnings Before Interest, Tax,Depreciation andAmortisation) and net income.

Under the account-ing standard, leases which werepreviously treated as operatingleases would now be recog-nised on balance sheet.

“A lessee will recognise a‘right-of-use asset’ and a cor-responding ‘lease liability’. Theconsequence is that instead oflease rental recognised earlier,it will now recognise depreci-ation and interest expense inits Statement of P&L. This willlead to increase in EBITDAand an increase in interestexpense in the P&L,” Khetannoted.

The new standard wouldnot differentiate the account-ing treatment that lessee isrequired to follow for operat-ing or finance leases but gen-erally, total costs related tolease arrangements are unlike-ly to change over its entire lifecycle.

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Foreign investors were netbuyers in the Indian capital

markets for the third straightmonth in April, pouring in�17,219 crore on favourablemacroeconomic conditionsand ample liquidity.

India has been one of thetop recipients of foreign fundflows among emerging marketssince February 2019 on theback of positive global senti-ment, improving growth out-look, supportive macros anddovish stance taken by theRBI, experts said.

Overseas investors had putin a net sum of �45,981 crorein March and �11,182 crore inFebruary in the capital markets(both equity and debt).

According to the latestdepositories data, foreign port-folio investors (FPI) pumped ina net sum of �21,032.04 croreinto equities but pulled out anet amount of �3,812.94 crorefrom the debt market duringApril 1-26, taking the total netinvestment to �17,219.10 crore.

“Expectation of a slowdownin the global economy led sev-eral central banks to adopt adovish stance towards interestrates in order to provide a boostto their dwindling economies.

“This augured well for theemerging markets as itimproved global liquiditywhich has been making itsway into the emerging marketsand India is getting its sharefrom that,” said HimanshuSrivastava, senior research ana-lyst, manager research atMorningstar.

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People in Bengaluru mayface call drops and dis-

ruption in internet services asthe local municipal body andtelecom players are at log-gerheads over paymentissues.

The Bruhat BengaluruMahanagara Palike (BBMP)has ordered to cut telecomcables laid over the ground,citing them to be non-com-pliant with existing norms,and has demanded fees fromcompanies to lay themunderground.

However, telecom serviceproviders said the cables werelaid overhead temporarilydue to road constructionwork and they have alreadypaid the fees for laying themunder the ground.

A BBMP official told PTIthat it was disconnecting onlythose optical fibre cableswhich were unauthorised.

“We have incurred hugefinancial losses because of theunauthorised cables. Several

times we had warned thetelecom companies to get thecables regularised and shouldbe laid in as per regulationsbut they ignored our warn-ings. We were left with nooption but to disconnectthem,” theofficer said.

He added that telecomcompanies still have thechance to disclose the cablesthey have laid and get themregularised by paying theprescribed fees.

The officer said most ofthe cables were laid overheadand were dangling from trees,which had caused many acci-dents in the past.

Me anw hi le , te l e comindustry body COAI saidthey were authorised tem-porarily to lay cables aerial-ly as road construction workwas going on that frequent-ly damaged cables and theyhave already paid fees forlaying them underground.

“BBMP is demandingright of way charges again tolay telecom cables under-

ground. We have already paidfees and the cables were laidoverground temporarily afterpermission from BBMP.

“We asked them to putthe order on hold and give ustime to put them under-ground as cable cut will leadto disruption in serviceswhich is already on red alertafter terror attack in SriL anka ,” COAI Direc torGeneral Rajan S Mathewssaid.

The Cellular OperatorsAssociation of India (COAI)has approached TelecomSecretar y ArunaSundararajan over the issue.

“After telecom secretary’sinter vent ion, we metKarnataka State ChiefSecretary along with repre-sentatives from Reliance Jio,Airtel and Vodafone Idea.

“The chief secretary hasasked BBMP to resolve thematter. We will be meetingBBMP commissioner onTuesday and hope the matterwill be resolved amicably,”Mathews said.

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Hindustan Petroleum CorpLtd’s plans to acquire

Mangalore Refinery andPetrochemicals Ltd (MRPL)has hit a cash hurdle, with par-ent ONGC preferring a cashdeal rather than a share-swap,sources aware of the develop-ment said.

Oil and Natural Gas Corp(ONGC), India’s biggest oiland gas producer, last yearcompleted acquisition ofHindustan Petroleum CorpLtd (HPCL) for �36,915 crore.

After this takeover, ONGChas two refining subsidiaries -- HPCL and MRPL.

Since then, HPCL is keento get MRPL in its fold citingoperational synergies. It hasbeen talking of a combinationof cash and share-swap for thedeal that will make it India’sthird-largest oil refiner.

But now, ONGC wantsonly cash as HPCL shares areon the slide.

ONGC acquired theGovernment’s 51.11 per centstake in HPCL in January 2018at �473.97 per share. The sameshare of HPCL on Friday closedat �282.60, a massive 40 percent loss in value in 15 months.

Sources said HPCL hasnot yet come up with a concrete

proposal for acquiring MRPLand has been talking about thedeal mostly through the OilMinistry and the media.

ONGC, they said, wantsHPCL to make a compellingoffer to it for the merger talksto begin.

ONGC holds 71.63 percent stake in MRPL.

HPCL can acquire MRPLby buying out ONGC’s shares,which at Friday’s trading priceis worth about �9,300 crore.

The other option is share-swap, wherein ONGC will getmore shares in HPCL in lieu ofit giving up control in MRPL.A third option and more prefer-able is a combination of the two.

Sources said ONGC feels itdoes not want to end up withmore shares of HPCL whosevalue has been on the declineon the stock market.

HPCL currently holds16.96 per cent stake in MRPL.

HPCL Chairman andManaging Director MukeshKumar Surana has been sinceJanuary 2018 talking of the syn-ergy MRPL acquisition willbring to the company.

For one, HPCL sells morepetroleum products than itproduces and bringing MRPL’s15 million tonne a year refin-ery under the fold would helpbridge the shortfall.

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China’s investment strategyof throwing money at

developing countries appears tohave hit a snag in the Republicof Congo as the central Africannation is seeking an IMFbailout.

While the funding it pro-vided to Congo wasn’t part ofthe Belt and Road Initiative(BRI), which China was pro-moting this week, it serves asa cautionary tale of the troubleBeijing could face with its planfor massive investments inmaritime, road and rail projectsacross 65 countries from Asiato Europe and Africa.

When the plunge of glob-al oil prices in 2014 blew a holein the Congolese government’sfinances, it was China thatstepped in to help.

But despite the recoveryof oil prices, the country,a lso known as Congo-Brazzaville, has had troublegetting back on top of itsfinances and has asked theInternational Monetary Fundfor help.

The IMF places conditionson its loans to forceGovernments to take measuresto boost their finances. Inaddition, as the IMF can onlylend if it judges that a country’sdebt load is sustainable, abailout may be accompanied bya restructuring of Governmentdebt.

“It’s certainly the first time

China has found itself con-fronted with this kind of situ-ation,” said a specialist in rela-tions between China and Africawho asked her name not beused as the discussions withIMF were still underway.

“The Republic of Congo isseeking IMF protection inorder to avoid a possibledefault on its payments,” sheadded.

“China, which holds morethan a third of its foreign debt,is not really comfortable withthat.”

Julien Marcilly, chief econ-omist at Coface, a firm thatprovides payment insurancefor French companies, saidthat China “went full-tilt onlending in recent years, often tocountries which produce andexport raw materials, in par-ticular oil.” It is only now that“Beijing is beginning to realisethat problems can build up”, inparticular after Venezueladefaulted.

The situation is all themore worrying as the Republicof Congo in 2005 was one ofthe countries that benefitedfrom an international debtrelief initiative for the world’spoorest countries.

Its foreign debt was boughtdown from 119 percent ofannual economic output tojust 33 percent.

But like other oil-produc-ing nations, Congo-Brazzavilletook a beating from the 2014plunge in oil prices.

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US sanctions came intoeffect Sunday to block

Venezuela’s economic lifelineof oi l exports , in whatWashington hopes will be amajor blow in its fledglingcampaign to topple leftistPresident Nicolas Maduro.

As of 12 :01 amWashington t ime (0401GMT), the United States willtake action against anyonewho deals with state-ownedPetroleos de Venezuela, orPDVSA, or any entity inwhich the company holds atleast a 50 percent stake.

It is among a volley ofsteps by President DonaldTrump’s administration tooust Maduro and installopposit ion leader JuanGuaido, who is recognized bymore than 50 countries,including most in LatinAmerica.

Just Friday, the Trumpadministration said it wouldblock any US assets of ForeignMinister Jorge Arreaza, con-

firming it has no desire tonegotiate with Maduro, asocialist firebrand who pre-sides over a crumbling econ-omy but has withstood threemonths of intense pressure.

Until the crisis, Venezuelaexported 500,00 barrels a dayto the United States, its largestcustomer, with PDVSAomnipresent, if not highlyvisible, through ownershipof the Citgo refining and gasstation chain.

The United States hasalready moved to put Citgounder the control of Guaido,who appointed his ownboard.

Even though sanctionslegal ly came into forceSunday, “the reality is that theoil trade between the UnitedStates and Venezuela has beenabsolutely limited and fallensharply,” said Mariano deAlba, a Washington-basedinternational law expert fromVenezuela.

But the sanctions will stillhave an ef fect, withWashington vowing to enforce

them against any foreign com-pany with interactions in theUnited States — includingthe US financial system, whichdominates the globe.

As of Sunday, “there is nodoubt that the sanctions are inforce and that any companyassumes bigger risks thanthey did before this date,” deAlba said.

Energy-hungry India wasthe third-biggest buyer ofVenezuelan oil in 2017 afterthe United States and Chinaand until recently had been amajor source of cash.

But Indian companieshave backed off in the face ofUS sanctions, making Chinaand Russia the crucial eco-nomic and political backers ofMaduro — whose re-electionlast year was widely criti-cized for irregularities.

The sanctions take effectjust as global oil markets aretrending higher after theUnited States s imilarlydemanded that all countries,notably India and China, stopbuying oil from Iran.

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Suicide bombings at a mili-tants’ safe house have shak-

en the simple homes of this eastSri Lankan town as well as therest of this idyllic coast, as theinvestigation into the IslamicState-claimed Easter bomb-ings has spread here.

Police and military check-points dot the coastal roads,with people emptying out ofbuses to present their identitypapers. On streets lined withshuttered shops, police officerswith assault rifles look warily atpassers-by. Whispers persistabout the leader of the ISIS-pledged terrorist group, whichpreached the promise of heav-en through the killing of oth-ers both here and online.

The scale of the explosivesseized following Friday night’sviolence, as well as the contin-ued warning of authorities thatmore militants remain on theloose, only add to the dread.

“Even though the securityforces are here, it’s not like ear-lier,” said ChandimaKrishanthi, a 42-year-old mar-

ket vendor in nearby Ampara.“We are living in fear. It’s noth-ing like it used to be.”

Sri Lanka’s eastern coastwas a battleground in the island

nation’s 26-year civil war withthe Tamil Tiger rebels, a groupof secular nationalists wholaunched over 130 suicidebombings themselves. The warultimately ended in 2009 withthe Government crushing theTigers, with some observersbelieving that tens of thousandsof Tamils died in the last fewmonths of fighting alone.

Violence here in Kalmunai,some 225 kilometers (140miles) northeast of the capital,Colombo, shattered nearly 10

years of peace on Friday night.One neighbor, AhamedMohammed Rizwan, told TheAssociated Press that leaders athis mosque asked him and twoothers to go the terrorists’house and check on them as heknew the people living there.

As they approached, oneman opened the gate and said,“Peace be upon you,” Rizwansaid. He replied the same wayand they entered the com-pound and began talking.Suddenly, another man

appeared with a Chinese vari-ant of the Kalashnikov assaultrifle and aimed it at Rizwan’schest, saying, “God is the great-est.”

Rizwan and the other menfled and found two trafficpolice officers, who then start-

ed walking toward the house.The terrorists opened fire,sparking the confrontation,Rizwan said. Those inside laterdetonated suicide vests, killingthemselves and others.

AP journalists walkingthrough the neighborhood

Sunday found evidence of thefirefight. Spent 7.62 mm car-tridges littered the ground,likely from the assault rifle oneof the terrorists carried. Downthe street, bullet holes punc-tured the cement block walls ofneighbors’ homes.

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Sri Lankan forces have killedor arrested most of the rad-

ical Islamists linked to theEaster suicide bombings andthe country is ready to returnto normality, Prime MinisterRanil Wickremesinghe said onSunday. But the Prime Ministersaid the Government hadplanned tougher laws to dealwith Islamist extremists andthat foreign clerics teaching inSri Lanka illegally will beexpelled.

The Easter Sunday bomb-ings that left 253 dead were car-ried out by a “small, but a wellorganised group,”Wickremesinghe said in a state-ment.

“Most of them have beenarrested. Some have died,” hesaid. “Now we are able to

return to normality.” “Weshould all now help restore thenormal life of the community.”Three churches and threehotels were targeted by suicidebombers in the attacks in whichat least 40 foreigners werekilled.

More than 100 people havebeen detained since the attacks.Authorities have said there areabout 140 followers of theIslamic State group in thecountry.

Wickremesinghe con-firmed that a number of would-be suicide bombers had takentheir lives when confronted bysecurity forces on Friday nightin the east of the country.Fifteen people died in a clashwith security forces when threesuicide bombers blew them-selves up at a jihadist safehouse on Friday night.

“Jehad terrorism shouldbe ended immediately. For thatwe will bring new and tougherlaws,” the Prime Minister said.

“There are several foreign-ers working as teachers in ourcountry without work visas. Inconsultation with the Muslimreligious affairs ministry andthe Home Ministry, we willexpel them from the country,”he added.

Wickremesinghe did notgive a number nor the nation-alities of the clerics. The primeminister also thanked theminority Muslim communityfor tipping off authorities aboutradical groups.

The Government onSaturday used emergency lawsto ban the extremist NationalThowheed Jamath (NTJ),which was accused of carryingout the Easter attacks.

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Nearly 1,600 refugees fromabout 15 countries, most-

ly from Pakistan, are facingthreats and have been attackedin Sri Lanka following theEaster Sunday bombingswhich killed over 250 people,an official said on Sunday.

Sri Lanka on Sundaymarked a week since the coor-dinated blasts hit three church-es and three luxury hotels,killing 253 people and inuringover 500 others. The IslamicState (ISIS) terror group hasclaimed the April 21 coordi-nated blasts, but the govern-ment has blamed local Islamistextremist group NationalThowheeth Jamaath (NTJ) forthe attack.

There are about 1,600 ofthem from about 15 countriesand from various religiousbeliefs. They had arrived hereto avoid persecution in theirown countries. A majority ofthem are Pakistani Christians,a welfare official working with

the refugees said.A majority of them were

living in the western coastaltown of Negombo where oneof the Churches, St Sebastian’s,came under attack by an ISIS-linked suicide bomber.

“They have come underattack and threats, some ofthem have been subject tophysical violence. Their land-lords have been pressed toevict them,” the official said.

The moves to shift themelsewhere have been met withresistance by respective localpoliticians.

“At least 4 times they hadbeen taken in buses out ofNegombo only to be broughtback due to protests,” the offi-cial said.

He said the state protec-tion for them and collabora-tion with the UN refugeeagency were important.

“The Government’s publiccommitment is needed toexplain the temporary natureof their stay and why we needto support and protect them,”

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Spain voted on Sunday in anuncertain snap general elec-

tion marked by a resurgence ofthe far-right after more thanfour decades on the outer mar-gins of politics.

Opinion polls give outgo-ing socialist premier PedroSanchez a win but without thenecessary majority to governalone, meaning he will have toseek alliances in a politicalenvironment that has souredsince Catalonia’s failed seces-sion bid.

By far the novelty of theseelections is the emergence offar-right party Vox, which burstonto the scene in Decemberregional polls in southernAndalusia and looks set tomake its first-ever entranceinto the national parliament.

Polls predict it could takemore than 10 per cent of the

votes in a country that had nofar-right party to speak of sincethe death of dictator FranciscoFranco in 1975, in what is like-ly to cause further concern inEurope.

“What I ask Spaniards is tosend a clear majority that canprovide stability,” Sanchez toldreporters after he cast his bal-lot at a cultural centre in anaffluent Madrid suburb short-ly after polling stations openedat 9:00 am (0700 GMT).

Polling stations will close at8:00 pm local time, with resultsannounced later Sunday.

Sanchez, who took powerin June after ousting conserv-ative prime minister MarianoRajoy in a no-confidence vote,has warned against Spain repli-cating what happened inFinland’s elections two weeksago.

There, the far-right FinnsParty came second, closely tail-

ing the leftist Social Democrats,after polls initially predicted itwould end up in fifth position.

In Spain, polls also forecastthat Vox, with its ultra-nation-alist rhetoric that advocates the“defence of the Spanish nation

to the end,” will come in fifthplace.

But analysts believe it coulddo better, saying there may bemany “hidden” Vox supporterswho lie when asked by pollsterswho they will be voting for.

“There is a real, true risk,”Sanchez said this week, warn-ing that a right-wing govern-ment supported by Vox couldemerge in Spain after the elec-tions, even if opinion polls saythis is unlikely.

Founded by a formermember of the conservativePopular Party (PP), with astrong stance against feminismand illegal immigration, Voxhas risen thanks to its hard lineagainst separatists in Catalonia.

The region in northeasternSpain was the scene of a seces-sion attempt in 2017 thatsparked the country’s biggestcrisis in decades and causedmajor concern in Europe. Sincethen, the crisis has continuedto cast a pall over Spanish pol-itics.

Sanchez was forced to callSunday’s early elections afterCatalan pro-independence law-makers in the national parlia-

ment, angered at the trial oftheir leaders in Madrid, refusedto give him the support heneeded for his 2019 Budget.

Right-wing parties havefor their part lambastedSanchez, at the head of aminority government, for hisattempts to negotiate withCatalan separatists who stillgovern the region, accusinghim of being a traitor.

With no party expected toget anywhere near an absolutemajority in what will be thethird elections in three-and-a-half years, Spain’s fragmentedpolitical landscape looks set tocontinue.

If, as opinion polls predict,Sanchez wins without a major-ity, he will have to forgealliances with far-left Podemos— as he did over the past 10months — but also possiblysmaller groupings like Catalanseparatist parties.

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It’s meant to be the annualWashington love-in, a dinner

where White House journalistsand the president yuk it up ina hotel ballroom. But thisSaturday, President DonaldTrump stood up his dates.

Members of the WhiteHouse Correspondents’Association, or WHCA, weredecked out in bow ties andgowns at the downtownWashington Hilton.

Trump, however, was 685miles (1100 kilometers) away inGreen Bay, Wisconsin, for arally with his baseball cap-wearing supporters.

As usual, he devoted por-tions of his speech — likemost of his speeches — toharanguing the “fake news

media” or “enemy of the peo-ple.” “They are fakers,” he saidof the media to a typically bois-terous crowd.

“I’ll tell you, you knowwhat sucks? Their ratings suckbecause people don’t believethem.” Back in Washington, theWHCA’s president OlivierKnox told attendees he did notwant to dwell on Trump — butcalled for a rejection of thepresident’s rhetoric.

“Fake news and enemies ofthe people are not punchlines,pet names or presidential. Andwe should reject politicallyexpedient assaults on the menand women whose hard workmakes it possible to hold thepowerful to account,” he said.

Although there’s nothingobligatory about attendingWHCA dinners, presidents

have usually done so at somepoint during their time inoffice since the inaugural ver-sion in 1921.

Ronald Reagan was thelast absentee in 1981 and hehad a decent excuse: beingrecently shot in an assassina-tion attempt.

Trump, however, has boy-cotted what he calls the “bor-ing” and “negative” party forthree years in a row — hisentire presidency so far. Thegala used to be a glamorousaffair where hundreds of jour-nalists, Hollywood celebritiesand the president were enter-tained by a top-drawer come-dian or other talent.

Now the celebs havedrained away and this yeareven the comedian was missing.

Los Angels: A gunman openedfire at a synagogue in California,killing one person and injuringthree others including the rabbias worshippers marked the finalday of Passover, officials said onSaturday.

The shooting in the townof Poway came exactly sixmonths after a white suprema-cist shot dead 11 people atPittsburgh’s Tree of Life syna-gogue — the deadliest attack onthe Jewish community in thehistory of the United States.

“During the shooting, fourindividuals were wounded andtransported to Palimar hospi-tal. One succumbed to theirwounds. The other three are instable condition,” San DiegoCounty Sheriff Bill Gore told aPress conference. AFP

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ABangladesh court onSunday sentenced three

Rohingya extremists of a nowdefunct militant group to 10years in jail for possessingbomb-making materials, aprosecutor said.

The trio were arrested in2014 in Dhaka with materialsto be used for making impro-vised explosive devices (IEDs),said Salahuddin Howlader, aprosecutor at the MetropolitanSpecial Tribunal in the capital.

They were found guiltyand sentenced immediatelyunder the country’s explosiveslaws, the prosecutor said,adding one of them was sen-tenced in absentia as he was onthe run.

“They were involved withseveral international militantoutfits including the RSO,” hetold AFP, referring to theRohingya Solidarity

Organisation, a small militantgroup that was active inMyanmar’s northern Rakhinestate in the 1980s and 1990s.

Local media, citing thepolice charge-sheet on the case,said the three men were sus-pects in the 2014 Burdwan blastin the neighbouring Indianstate of West Bengal that killedat least two people and wound-

ed several while they wereallegedly making IEDs.

“The charge-sheet read theaccused admitted planningsabotage in Bangladesh withthe assistance of internationalIslamist extremist outfits,” theonline edition of the mass cir-culation Bengali daily ProthomAlo said.

In recent years, the Arakan

Rohingya Salvation Army hasemerged as the main Rohingyamilitant group operating inMyanmar’s troubled Rakhinestate that borders Bangladesh’ssoutheast.

In August 2017, ARSAattacked several police posts inRakhine prompting a massivemilitary crackdown that forcedsome 7,40,000 RohingyaMuslims to flee to Bangladesh,where they are housed insqualid refugee camps.

The refugees joined some3,00,000 Rohingya who havebeen living in the camps foryears and even decades.

Bangladeshi security offi-cials say no extremist groupssuch as ARSA or RSO operatein the camps, but this week theInternational Crisis Group saidmilitants were increasing theirgrip on the settlements andwere responsible for the mur-der of at least one Rohingyacamp leader.

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Two top Saudi royal advisershave been linked to jour-

nalist Jamal Khashoggi’s mur-der. One has been labeled the“ringleader” but questions areswirling over the absence of theother in the closed-door trial of11 suspects, multiple sourcestold AFP.

Saudi prosecutors have saiddeputy intelligence chiefAhmed al-Assiri oversaw theWashington Post columnist’skilling in the kingdom’sIstanbul consulate last Octoberand that he was advised by theroyal court’s media czar Saudal-Qahtani.

Both aides were part ofCrown Prince Mohammed binSalman’s tight-knit inner circleand have formally been sackedover the killing but only Assirihas appeared in the five courthearings since January, accord-ing to four Western officialsprivy to the information.

“Qahtani is not among the11 facing trial,” one of the offi-cials told AFP.

“What does his absencemean? Are the Saudis keen toprotect him or discipline himseparately? No one knows.”The kingdom’s public prose-cutor last November indicted11 unnamed suspects, includ-ing five who could face thedeath penalty over the murder.

Diplomats from the UNSecurity Council’s permanentmembers — the US, Britain,France, China, Russia — as wellas Turkey are allowed to attendas observers of the legal pro-ceedings that are held entirelyin Arabic.

They are not allowed tobring interpreters and are usu-ally summoned at short notice,the sources said.

A representative of theKhashoggi family — whichthis month rejected reports ofa settlement with the SaudiGovernment — has attended at

least one court session, theysaid.

Maher Mutreb, an intelli-gence operative who frequent-ly traveled with the crownprince on foreign tours, foren-sic expert Salah al-Tubaigyand Fahad al-Balawi, a mem-ber of the Saudi royal guard, areamong the 11 on trial whocould face the death penalty,the officials said.

The defendants are allowedlegal counsel.

Many of them havedefended themselves in courtby saying they were carryingout orders by Assiri, describinghim as the “ringleader” of theoperation, according to theofficials.

The kingdom’s media min-istry did not respond to AFP’srequest for comment. Thedefendants’ lawyers could alsonot be reached.

Assiri, lionized in Saudimilitary ranks as a war hero,does not face the death penal-ty, the Western officials added.

Believed to have previous-ly worked closely with USintelligence, he is also notnamed in two American sanc-tions lists of Saudis implicatedin the murder.

Qahtani, who led fierysocial media campaigns againstcritics of the kingdom and wasseen as a conduit to the crownprince, is on both lists.

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Chinese President Xi Jinpingmet Prime Minister Imran

Khan on Sunday and expressedhope that Pakistan and Indiacan meet each other halfway toimprove their strained relationsfollowing the Pulwama terrorattack by a JeM suicide bomber.

Both leaders alsoexchanged views on the situa-tions in South Asia, an officialChinese statement here saidabout the meeting between Xiand Khan.

The India-Pakistan rela-tions reportedly figured promi-nently in the meeting. Xiexpressed hope that Pakistanand India can meet each other

halfway and promote the sta-bilisation and improvement ofIndia-Pakistan relations, it said.

Khan arrived in China onApril 25 and attended China’s2nd Belt and Road Forum(BRF) held on April 26-27.

The BRF meeting was heldto highlight the achievement of the trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative(BRI) started by Xi in 2013 inwhich USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor(CPEC) is an important com-ponent.

India skipped the meetingfor the second time, protestingover the CPEC which is beinglaid through Pakistan-occu-pied Kashmir (PoK).

Kiev: President-electVolodymyr Zelensky dismissedan offer by Vladimir Putin toprovide passports toUkrainians, and pledgedinstead to grant citizenship toRussians who “suffer” underthe Kremlin’s rule.

The Russian president onSaturday said Moscow was con-sidering plans to make it easi-er for all Ukrainians to obtainRussian citizenship, after it ear-lier moved to grant passports inthe country’s separatist east.

Kiev has been fightingMoscow-backed rebels in east-ern Ukraine since 2014 in a warthat has killed 13,000.

Zelensky, a comedian whowon Ukraine’s presidential elec-tion last week, responded toPutin’s offer by releasing astatement on Facebook late onSaturday.

“We know perfectly wellwhat a Russian passport pro-vides,” he said, listing “theright to be arrested for a peace-ful protest” and “the right notto have free and competitiveelections.” He pledged insteadto “give citizenship to repre-sentatives of all nations thatsuffer from authoritarian andcorrupt regimes.

“But first and foremost tothe Russian people who suffermost of all”.

He said that one of the dif-ferences between Ukraine andRussia is that “we Ukrainianshave freedom of speech, free-dom of the media and theinternet in our country.”

A political novice, Zelenskyhas pledged to “reboot” peacetalks with the separatists thatalso involve Russia and theWest. AFP

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After their mother’s death, four sisters learn ashocking family secret and embark on an

adventure to discover the truth about their geneal-ogy. Starring Blanca Suárez, Macarena García andAmaia Salamanca, the Spanish film is set to releaseon Netflix on May 3.

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Alooming collision with Jupiter threatens Earthas humans search for a new star. The planet’s

fate now lies in the hands of a few unexpectedheroes. Starring Jing Wu, Chuxiao Qu and JinmaiZhao, the Chinese sci-fi film is slated to release onApril 30 on Netflix.

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Haunted by terrifying visions, a Muslim heal-er finds his faith tested when he helps a

woman locked in battle, body and soul, with a dia-bolical leader. Starring Syamsul Yusof, Maya Karinand Nasir Bilal Khan, the film is set to release on May 1 on Netflix.

When a robot “dies,” does it makeyou sad? For a lot of people, the

answer is “yes” — and that tells ussomething important, and potential-ly worrisome about our emotionalresponses to the social machines thatare starting to move into our lives.

For Christal White, a 42-year-oldmarketing and customer service direc-tor in Bedford, Texas, that momentcame several months ago with thecute, friendly Jibo robot perched in herhome office. After more than twoyears in her house, the foot-tallhumanoid and its inviting, roundscreen “face” had started to grate onher. Sure, it danced and played funword games with her kids, but it alsosometimes interrupted her duringconference calls.

White and her husband Peter hadalready started talking about movingJibo into the empty guest bedroomupstairs. Then they heard about the“death sentence” Jibo’s maker hadlevied on the product as its businesscollapsed. News arrived via Jibo itself,which said its servers would be shut-ting down, effectively lobotomising it.

“My heart broke,” she said. “It waslike an annoying dog that you don’treally like because it’s your husband’sdog. But then you realise you actual-ly loved it all along.”

The Whites are far from the firstto experience this feeling. Peopletook to social media this year to sayteary goodbyes to the MarsOpportunity rover when NASA lostcontact with the 15-year-old robot. Afew years ago, scads of concernedcommenters weighed in on a demon-stration video from robotics compa-ny Boston Dynamics in whichemployees kicked a dog-like robot toprove its stability.

Smart robots like Jibo obviouslyaren’t alive, but that doesn’t stop usfrom acting as though they are.Research has shown that people havea tendency to project human traitsonto robots, especially when theymove or act in even vaguely human-like ways.

Designers acknowledge that suchtraits can be powerful tools for bothconnection and manipulation. That

could be an especially acute issue asrobots move into our homes — par-ticularly if, like so many other homedevices, they also turn into conduitsfor data collected on their owners.

“When we interact with anotherhuman, dog or machine, how we treatit is influenced by what kind of mindwe think it has,” said Jonathan Gratch,a professor at University of SouthernCalifornia who studies virtual humaninteractions. “When you feel some-thing has emotion, it now merits pro-tection from harm.”

The way robots are designed caninfluence the tendency people have,to project narratives and feelingsonto mechanical objects, said JulieCarpenter, a researcher who studiespeople’s interaction with new tech-nologies. Especially if a robot hassomething resembling a face, its bodyresembles those of humans, animalsor just seems self-directed, like aRoomba robot vacuum.

“Even if you know a robot hasvery little autonomy, when somethingmoves in your space and it seems tohave a sense of purpose, we associatethat with something having an innerawareness or goals,” she said.

Such design decisions are alsopractical, she said. Our homes are built

for humans and pets, so robots thatlook and move like humans or petswill fit in more easily.

Some researchers, however, worrythat designers are underestimating thedangers associated with attachment toincreasingly life-like robots.

Longtime AI researcher and MITprofessor Sherry Turkle, for instance,is concerned that design cues can trickus into thinking some robots areexpressing emotion back towards us.Some AI systems already present associally and emotionally aware butthose reactions are often scripted,making the machine seem “smarter”than it actually is.

“The performance of empathy isnot empathy,” she said. “Simulatedthinking might be thinking but sim-ulated feeling is never feeling.Simulated love is never love.”

Designers at robotic startups insistthat humanising elements are criticalas robot use expands. “There is a needto appease the public, to show that youare not disruptive to the public cul-ture,” said Gadi Amit, president ofNewDealDesign in San Francisco.

His agency recently worked ondesigning a new delivery robot forPostmates — a four-wheeled, bucket-shaped object with a cute, if abstract,

face; rounded edges; and lights thatindicate which way it’s going to turn.

It’ll take time for humans androbots to establish a common lan-guage as they move throughout theworld together, Amit said. But heexpects it to happen in the next fewdecades.

But what about robots that workwith kids? In 2016, Dallas-basedstartup RoboKind introduced a robotcalled Milo designed specifically tohelp teach social behaviors to kids whohave autism. The mechanism, whichresembles a young boy, is now in about400 schools and has worked withthousands of kids.

It’s meant to connect emotional-ly with kids at a certain level, butRoboKind co-founder RichardMargolin says the company is sensi-tive to the concern that kids could gettoo attached to the robot, which fea-tures human-like speech and facialexpressions.

So RoboKind suggests limits in itscurriculum, both to keep Milo inter-esting and to make sure kids are ableto transfer those skills to real life. Kidsare only recommended to meet withMilo three to five times a week for 30minutes each time.

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Amonk once said, keeping in mindMahatma Gandhi’s philosophyof nonviolent resistance, “Peace

cannot be built on exclusivism, abso-lutism and intolerance. But neither canit be built on vague liberal slogans andpious programmes gestated in the smokeof confabulation. There can be no peaceon earth without the kind of innerchange that brings a man back to hisright mind.”

At the Indian pavilion in its second-ever participation at 58th VeniceBiennale, the group presentation entitledOur Time for a Future Caring, will crit-ically engage with the many facets ofGandhi, considering his philosophicalideas and their place in today’s complexworld, in which violence and intoleranceare still prevalent.

The presentation will feature worksby Nandlal Bose, MF Husain, AtulDodiya, Jitish Kallat, GR Iranna, AshimPurkayastha and Shakuntala Kulkarnicurated by Robin Karode of KNMA.

��From the NGMA collection, Zameen

1955-56 is at best MF Husain’s magnumopus — it is a summation of the firstdecade of his work as an artist. It is anexperiment which still has relevance andvalidity, though it has compositionalcharacteristics of Pablo Picasso whomHusain admired.

“In the format of a long continuousfrieze, it reads like a mural with a hor-izontal orientation and continuity, whichalso makes it revolutionary and remindsus of the long friezes in rock cut cavesand in temple architecture, besides thepainted murals in Ajanta caves,” says DGAdwaita Gadanayak. “It evolves as a setof compartments, with an ensemble offorms, symbols, emblem, pictographs ofIndia, placed in hierarchies, occupyingspaces prominently in the centre or inthe margins.”

�� Gandhi or “Bapu” as he was loving-

ly called, plays a prominent role in manyof Atul Dodiya’s works. Atul has workedon Gandhi as An Artist of Non-Violence,in 1999 when he attempted to tell thestory through a lost biography, paintingthe most mundane details of the life ofthe legend, such as receipts and pagesfrom his diary.

Gandhi’s Ideas and connectionsconstantly flow through Dodiya’s mind.The artist also created cabinets in his2011 solo exhibition at ChemouldPrescott Road which gave viewers aninsight into his complex practice. Dodiya

used the motif of the cabinet in a pow-erful 2004 work, Broken Branches whereDodiya created colonial style vitrinesthat served as “emblem of vigil againstindifference and amnesia,” encasingsigns of pain and suffering such ascrutches and prosthetic legs to highlightthe high human cost of political histo-ry. In the 2011 cabinets, motifs from ear-lier works, art historical texts andimages filled glass vitrines created asense of excitement about what the artistwould produce next. This work willemulsify the idea of a contemporary for-mat and Dodiya’s brilliance at connect-ing memory and history.

�� Shakuntala Kulkarni had exhibited a

celebrated body of work, Of Bodies,Armor, and Cages in 2012 at ChemouldPrescott Road, the Kiran Nadar Museumof Art, the MMKA in the Netherlands andArt Unlimited at Art Basel. Kulkarniexplored the idea of women in publicspaces and created sculptural armors outof cane that not only protected the femaleprotagonist but also elevated her to a god-dess-like stature. However, there is a ten-sion between the notion of being protect-ed and being trapped. In a series of per-formance documented in photographs, theprotagonist stands in different historical-

ly important locations in Bombay that arein danger of being destroyed, using herarmor, will protect the city from culturalinvasion. Kulkarni’s Photo Performance willbe a stunning spectacle of sorts for visi-tors to the Biennale.

��GR Iranna’s Naavu, a mixed media

work attract attention for the subject of thepaduka — the sandals worn by the saad-haka, the one who serves as he is a prac-titioner of non violence. “I used differentkinds of padukas to show different peo-ple,” says Iranna in an exclusive to Vivacity.“Gandhi was about forging togethernessand I use that concept of we are togetherbecause in Kannada Naavu means ‘we aretogether.’ My work looks at the bondingof so many different kinds of people butwe share a belief of wanting to live as onein an understanding of shared values.”

Ashim Purkayastha’s stamps ofFarmers completes a scenario of theshared distinctions in values and races andthe credo of sustenance in simplicity. ArunGoel, Secretary Ministry of Culture sumsit up, “The curated presentation Our Timefor Future Caring is a call for understand-ing of Gandhiji’s ideas for a solution tomodern day complexities. The Pavilionexhibition weaves together contemporaryartworks by eminent artists, emphasisinghistorical moments concerning Gandhijior invoking critical thinking in an imag-inary staged encounters.”

A significant new partnership betweenthe public and private sectors in India hasenabled the India Pavilion in 2019. It hasbeen spearheaded by the India Ministryof Culture and co-organised with theConfederation of Indian Industry (CII). Itis curated by the KNMA, the Pavilion’sPrincipal Partner; the Director General ofthe NGMA is the Commissioner of theproject.

(The biennale is opening on May 7.)

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Shivratri, the night of Shiva, whichsignifies the darkness of spiritual

ignorance in Kaliyuga. Shiva is theincorporeal supreme soul. He impartsthe truth about soul, The creation byGod inspires humans to purify them-selves by linking their heart and mindwith him and by doing pure deeds. Hedoes not live, eat, or indulge in sensu-al experiences like human do. He is theone who never comes in the bondageof actions and their fruits. The supremesoul is remembered in all faiths as Shiva,God, Allah, Jehovah, Ishwar and bymany other names. He is praised as thealmighty, omnipotent, omniscient beingwho can liberate human beings fromthe cycle of sin and suffering. The bestthing to realise is that humans can nowexperience God’s wisdom and blessingsas never before because the time hascome for him to guide the process of thetransformation of the world fromKaliyuga to Satyuga. So what are youwaiting for? Let’s join him and be a partof the great transformation of old worldinto new one. There is no doubt in it thatdevelopment of science and technolo-gy during the last 100 years or so hasadded to the material power i.e. physi-cal energy. But one has to accept the factthat so far it has not been able to addmuch to the mental power or thepower of silence and peace of mind. Yet,science and the scientific technologyexist through the power of mind and thelevel of thought which is the result ofself-consciousness, which again very fewof us know. We must understand thatour thoughts, intentions, attitude, emo-tions and actions are the reflection of ourself-consciousness. The implementationof technology and the material powermay lead to beneficial purposes if mindremains in a state of silence and peaceand it may lead to harmful or destruc-tive results. Hence technology is a toolto be used according to one’s wisdom,will-power and the state of mind.

The scientific studies done over theyears have been and are still beingadvanced and planned to provide com-forts to human body. With the passageof time, people have become moreattracted and motivated towards scien-tific inventions which provide physicalcomfort and temporary happiness.However, what we do not notice is thatthere has been a change in our lifestyle,food-habits and personal activity withdisharmony in routine life. Our lifetoday has become fast, miserably expen-sive and competitive and our thoughtsare loaded with strong negativity result-ing in stress and tension. As a result ofall this, we have started considering our-selves as physical body and thereby thebody-consciousness dominates our life.On the other hand, while bodily-com-forts are increasing, spiritual power isdeclining. The confidence of life hasbeen diminished which has led to dis-equilibrium and disharmony in person-al and social life. Peace, purity, happi-ness, divine insight, moral values andspiritual strength have been depletedand the attention for spiritual aspects hasbeen neglected. Thus, it is significant, atsuch a time, to learn spiritual knowledgefor attaining mental stability and puri-ty of thought. Not many of us know thatthe soul consists of three metaphysicalpowers — mind, intellect and resolves.

The soul is the basic source of everyaction performed through body and itcan be termed as the storehouse ofpower and energy. However, most of usincluding psychiatrists, physical yogateachers and clinicians do not know thathypothalamus is the locus of mind orsoul which is the real culprit in thiswhole game of creating stress, tension,anxiety within us. The soul or mind isan intelligent and conscient entitywhich thinks, thus when soul hasthoughts of worry or fear, its inner har-mony gets disturbed and this in turn dis-turbs various nuclei in the hypothala-mus, which in turn disturbs the wholesystem of endocrine glands, the hor-monal balance and the autonomic ner-vous system along with visceral func-tions. However, if soul or mind with-draws itself from the adverse outer envi-ronment and negative attitudes byfocussing its thoughts on its originalnature which is peace and divinity, anddirects its attention towards highersource i.e supreme, whose nature isabsolute peace, it would then attaincalmness and tranquility. This focussingof mind on a higher source is what wecall ‘meditation’ or ‘rajyoga’ that releas-es tension on the nuclei of the hypothal-amus due to peaceful thoughts and thestate of withdrawal from body and influ-ences it through continuous feedback ofslow, rhythmic impulses. It also activatesthe functions of various endocrineglands and set up useful homeostaticbalance between various hormones,thereby leading to good health andmuch more.

So flexible is this unique techniqueof rajyoga that there is no need to liedown or sit in a particular posture topractise it. One can easily practise iteven when one is at work or maybewhile walking or doing any activity. Thewhole idea is to set our mind in thisposture, practising withdrawal anddetachment when faced with problemswhich lead to hypertension and othermental-physical disorders. What isrequired of one is to cogitate andruminate the knowledge of soul in orderto withdraw mind from the memoriesof evil persons and events of this unac-ceptable world and expose the mind tosupreme, the ocean of peace. By doingthis, the body and mind are then auto-matically harmonised and this state ofharmony, happy feelings, noblethoughts, holy emotions and properoutlook cures man of many diseases orreduces many ailments and helpshim/her to recover easily and speedi-ly. Doesn't this sounds easy?

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As Nelson Mandela says, aperson’s development isvery much dependent on

education. It is only through liter-acy that a person can changehimself/herself into a better one.It is only through the wheel ofeducation that a peasant’s daugh-ter can transform into a doctorand a mine worker’s son canbecome the head of a mine.Knowledge plays a very crucialrole in designing and shaping anindividual’s life. As per a survey,there exist only 34 million peoplein India’s organised sector whichforms only a small fragment of ourtotal population. Even if India’s lit-eracy rate is going up, will we ableto cultivate a kind of educationwhich we can call — quality edu-cation? The answer would not bevery pleasing. In India, a majorchunk of educational institutionsare focused on bringing up the lit-eracy rate without considering theimportance of quality education.There are multiple roles that aqualitative education can play:

Making our society peacefuland just: The overall goal of edu-cation should be to shape humans,who can further contribute to thecreation of a peaceful and just soci-ety. Given the vulnerable times weare living in, it is very crucial forus to promote peaceful societieswhich can boost sustainable devel-

opment, justice and equality in thesociety. This goal can be attainedonly if accountable citizens can becurated with the help of education.

Eradicating poverty andhunger: There can be no secondthought to the fact that educationis the main vehicle riding, whichthe human civilization can combat

problems like poverty and hunger.As per UNESCO, one extra year ofschooling uplifts a person’s incomeby 10 per cent adding to averageannual gross domestic product by0.37 per cent.

Promotes gender equality:To be an ideal society, it is veryimportant to achieve gender equal-

ity and encourage womenempowerment. A country cannot be fully developed and achieve100 per cent literacy rate unlesseducation is promoted among itswomen too. Quality educationenables women to unleash theirfull potential in all the spheresthey are present into. As shownby a study of Plan International,

a country is on the risk of losingmore than $1 billion a year iffailed to educate girls and boys atthe same level. The gender dis-parity that begins at the schoollevel, prevails through out the life.Hence, it is important to promotegender equality right from theeducational level so that we cancreate an unbiased society atlarge.

Economic growth of thenation: To better understand theworth of quality education, wemust look at nations l ikeAustralia, Japan and USA, whichare extremely rich and comewith high per capita income.These countries also come withhigh literacy rate. On the otherhand, the underdevelopednations fight with problems likepoverty, high crime rate, low percapita income are the ones withlow literacy rate too. There arevarious global studies which haveshown that an additional year ofschooling to its citizens canincrease the average annual grossdomestic product growth by 0.37per cent. Hence, this clearlyimplies that a country’s econom-ic growth is much dependent onthe literacy rate.

Makes an individual a self-dependent person: The mostimportant purpose that qualityeducation serves is that of mak-ing us a self-dependent person.Not only does it make us finan-cially independent but alsomakes us wiser, enabling us tothink critically and take the rightdecisions for ourselves and theones around us.

Each one of us are entitled tothe right to education but it istime that we start moving aheadof just imparting education andfocus on quality education so thatbetter results can be reaped.

(The author is the founder ofthe Ritesh Rawal Foundation.)

Seedlings raised on win-dowsills or in green-houses have been cod-

dled to some degree andaren’t ready to face the greatoutdoors. A temporary peri-od called “hardening-off ”can prepare these plants formore intense sunlight, windand varying temperatures.

Make this transitiongradually, over the course ofa week or two. A good placeto harden off seedlings is ina somewhat sheltered spotoutdoors, such as in a cold-frame (basically an open-bottomed box with a clear,removable cover) or near awall in dappled shade. Oroffer the seedlings full expo-sure for limited, but increas-ing, periods.

ACCLIMATION TOTEMPERATURE

The changes that lowertemperatures during thehardening-off period willinduce in coddled seedlingsdepend on the nature of theseedlings themselves.

Seedlings of cabbage,lettuce, snapdragon, pansyand other plants that caneventually laugh off coldeven well below freezingdevelop that tolerance forcold by building up sugars intheir cells. Cold also changesthe composition of their cellmembranes.

Seedlings of tomatoes,marigolds, zinnias and otherplants that cannot toleratetemperatures much belowfreezing suffer from so-called chilling injury even attemperatures below 50

degrees F. Changes in plantmembranes from chillinginjury interfere with sunlightdriving photosynthesis, soinstead damaging toxinsbuild up in leaves.

As a tomato or otherwarmth-loving plantbecomes hardened offthrough gradual exposure tocooler temperatures, it

becomes better able to repairand prevent such damage.

AVOID SUNBURNEven in the absence of

cold, outdoor sunlight —which can be as much as 10times more intense thanlight streaming through asunny, south-facing win-dow — can injure coddled

seedlings’ leaves.Gradual exposure to

more intense light, begin-ning in dappled shade orwith just a few hours eachday in full sun, thickenscell walls, fibers, and cuticleson both existing and newleaves.

With increasing lightexposure, chloroplasts, the

green, light-trapping energyfactories in leaves, also movearound and align themselvesin such a way that the leavesturn darker green. Andstomata, which are the tinypores in leaves throughwhich water is lost and car-bon dioxide and oxygen areexchanged, become morequickly able to open and

close in response to chang-ing conditions.

SHELTER FROMWIND

Stomatal response alsoplays a role in a plant’s grad-ual adaptation to wind.During the hardening-offperiod, plants become able torespond more quickly todrying winds by closing theirstomata. Even movement ofthe plant, whether from windor anything else, plays a rolein making stomata moreresponsive.

Movement of plants hasyet another effect: It slowsstem elongation, which con-tributes to that stocky, lushgreen look that shows aplant has been well hardenedoff.

So blow on, shake orgently brush your seedlingsregularly to toughen themup and encourage them tobecome stocky plants betterable to handle the real worldof the garden. That, alongwith spending a week or sooutdoors in a sheltered spotor for only part of each day,will ease your seedlings’transition to the garden sothey hardly know they’vebeen moved. Which is as itshould be.

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Lionel Messi clinched aneighth La Liga title forBarcelona in 11 seasons on

Saturday as he scored the only goalin a 1-0 win at home toLevante.The Argentine star struckhis league-leading 34th goal of thecampaign after coming off thebench for the second half to helpBarca wrap up the title with threegames remaining.

Barca hold a nine-point leadover second-placed AtleticoMadrid, but the Catalans cannot beovertaken thanks to their superi-or head-to-head record.

It is Barca's 26th league titleand nudges them closer to RealMadrid's record of 33 in Spain.

"To win the title with a distanceand gap is difficult with the rivalswe have. We've done it two yearsin a row," Barca coach ErnestoValverde told Movistar.

"We're happy and to see peo-ple enjoying it makes us proud. Butwe still have challenges ahead."

Valverde initially left Messi onthe bench with Wednesday'sChampions League semi-final firstleg against Liverpool in mind, buthe replaced Philippe Coutinho atthe break at the Camp Nou.

Coutinho and Luis Suarezpressed Levante goalkeeper AitorFernandez into action early on, theBrazilian coming closest to break-ing the deadlock when his free-kick rattled the crossbar shortlybefore half-time.

He was sacrificed for Messithough, and it proved an inspireddecision as the Argentine swept inthe winner on 62 minutes follow-ing a frantic scramble inside theLevante area.

The visitors, not yet safe fromthe threat of relegation, respond-ed and put Barca on the defensivebut were denied a last-gasp equalis-er when the ball hit the post androlled into the grateful arms ofMarc-Andre ter Stegen.

"In the end he scored thegoal. He always scores goals every-where," Valverde said of Messi,who celebrated winning his 10thleague crown.

Atletico had delayed Barca'stitle party earlier in the day as they

scraped past strugglers RealValladolid 1-0 after surviving lateVAR penalty drama.

Joaquin Fernandez's own goalput Atletico ahead midwaythrough the second half, but theyhad to endure a nervy final fewminutes in which Jan Oblak had tobe at his best and they survived alate VAR check over what lookedlike a clear Santiago Arias handballin the area.

"It's controversial, a ball thathits the hand and the referee's deci-sion is to see if it's voluntary ornot," said Saul Niguez, whosecross led to their fortunate winner.

Diego Simeone's side are ninepoints ahead of local rivals andreigning European champions RealMadrid, who travel to RayoVallecano on Sunday amid increas-ing speculation they will respondto a disappointing season byswooping for Eden Hazard andNeymar.

"It's what we deserve, no more,no less. We've come so far," addedSaul.

"There were moments whenwe wanted to be first and othersthat I would say no, that's what wedeserve."

Valladolid meanwhile stay17th, just one point and a placeaway from the relegation zone aftera match they will feel they wereunlucky to lose.

Earlier on Saturday, AthleticBilbao and Alaves did their chancesof European football next seasonno favours with a 1-1 draw in theBasque Country.

Seventh-placed Bilbao are fivepoints away from the Championsleague places — with Alaves a fur-ther three points.

�9 �■ &$%��4

Sergio Aguero's 20th Premier Leaguegoal of the season left Manchester Cityjust two wins from the title after a

hard-fought 1-0 victory over Burnley atTurf Moor on Sunday.

Aguero, who has now scored ninetimes in his past eight appearances againstBurnley, struck in the 63rd minute, witha shot that only just crossed the line despitethe best efforts of defender Matt Lowtonto keep it out, although goal-line technol-ogy was needed to award the goal.

The win takes City on to 92 points, oneahead of Liverpool, with two games to play.

Victories at home to Leicester a weekon Monday, and away at Brighton the fol-lowing Sunday will see Pep Guardiola's sideretain their English title.

For the first time in months, City'selimination from the Champions Leaguemeans they will crucially have a free mid-week to prepare for those key matches.

By contrast, Liverpool must travel toNewcastle next weekend, either side of thetwo legs of their Champions Leaguesemi-final against Barcelona, before host-ing Wolves on May 12.

City have now won 12 consecutivePremier League games but they had towork to maintain their composure againstthe Clarets.

��+��9�)'+��+'��+�Guardiola's side enjoyed the bulk of

possession, but found creating clearchances difficult. When they did, Burnleygoalkeeper Tom Heaton was in excellentform.

Heaton, a former Manchester United

reserve, made two excellent saves in theopening minutes of the second half. Hewas alert at his near post to beat awayAguero's shot, after Raheem Sterling's neatflick had created the opening, before beat-ing out Bernardo Silva's snap shot at theend of a goalmouth scramble.

Sean Dyche's side knew before kick-off they were mathematically certain ofPremier League survival, yet played as ifthey too were fighting for the title.

Burnley even caused City the occa-sional first-half problem.

The Clarets' best opening fell to ChrisWood, who was left to rue a poor firsttouch that denied him his big moment.

In the closing moments of the first half,Aguero over-hit a pass down the left forLeroy Sane, resulting in the ball rolling outof play, and the German responded byturning to his team-mate and flinging hisarms out in despair.

Eventually, though, City's patience wasrewarded. Bernardo Silva's low ball into themiddle found Aguero, who, with his backto goal and minimal space to work with,managed to fashion a shot that beatHeaton.

Few players were more committedthan Burnley's Ben Mee, the boyhood Cityfan who used to captain their youth team.He produced an extraordinary goal-lineclearance to deny the visitors a secondgoal, stretching to hook the ball clear aftersubstitute Jesus collected Kyle Walker’scrossfield pass, and had gone roundHeaton to shoot towards what he thoughtwas an empty net.

After that, City were content to rundown the clock as they kept their cool toleave their rivals with all three points.

�9 �� *�%

Jamie Vardy scored twice asArsenal's hopes of Champions

League football suffered anotherserious setback as familiar failingssaw the 10-man Gunners lose 3-0 atLeicester on Sunday.

It was the third time in sevendays that the north London side,once renowned for an impregnabledefence, had conceded three goalsfollowing 3-2 and 3-1 PremierLeague league defeats by CrystalPalace and Wolves respectively.

Leicester's Youri Tielemansopened the scoring at the KingPower Stadium in the second halfand Vardy netted twice for the Foxesafter the visitors had defenderAinsley Maitland-Niles dismissed fortwo bookable offences before half-time.

The winning goals, however,owed little to that dismissal.

Arsenal failed to stop JamesMaddison's cross or mark Tielemansas he stole in to head home the first,then were embarrassingly outwittedby a goal-kick from which Vardypoached the second with the help ofa rebound off the crossbar.

It left Unai Emery's men facing

an uphill battle to force their wayback into the top four, although vic-tory in the Europa League could alsosecure a Champions League place.

Three defeats in a row, howev-er, have left Emery with a clear pic-ture of the failings that linger fromArsene Wenger's reign.

Maddison had a curling shotfrom the edge of the Arsenal penal-ty area deflected wide early onbefore Tielemans volleyed off targetfrom a similar position.

Arsenal had shown little attack-ing threat but, when Maddisonsquandered possession on 22 min-utes, the Gunners built a quick

counter-attack from which theycould have opened the scoring.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang'ssmart turn and pass fed Alex Iwobiand his cross from the left foundAlexandre Lacazette, who volleyedwide under pressure from HarryMaguire.

At the other end, Arsenal goal-keeper Bernd Leno made a superbsave to push Wifred Ndidi's headerfrom a corner over the crossbar.

Then, 13 minutes from theinterval, Arsenal were nearly undoneby Marx Albrighton's straightforwardball over the backline.

Vardy beat Sokratis to collect it

but lofted a shot over the bar.Suddenly, though, Leicester were

hit by a rapid counter-attack from thevisitors, ending with a neat pass fromAubameyang to Iwobi and a good,low save from Kasper Schmeichel tokeep out his shot.

Despite Arsenal's introduction ofan extra defender and Leicester's ofan extra forward at the interval, theopening moments of the second halfbrought an evenly-matched contest.

That was until the 59th minute,when poor defending allowedLeicester to take the lead.

Emery was warned by refereeMichael Oliver after his temperthreatened to boil over as Arsenalwere angered by some hefty Leicesterchallenges, notably whem LucasTorreira was caught by Jonny Evans'sarm as the pair contested a corner.

But the game was up with fourminutes remaining as Arsenal's fal-lible defence failed to meet a longgoal-kick by Schmeichel and Vardylobbed against the crossbar beforeheading in the rebound.

The final goal, with the last kickof the game, was even more embar-rassing for the Gunners as theyallowed Ricardo to stroll past andsquare for a Vardy tap-in.

�9 �■ ,%��

Kylian Mbappe was sent offfor a shocking tackle as

Paris Saint-Germain werestunned by Rennes inSaturday's French Cup final,losing 6-5 on penalties after adramatic game finished 2-2 atthe end of extra time.

PSG substitute ChristopherNkunku blazed his sudden-death spot-kick over the bar inthe shootout, sparking scenesof joy among the Rennes fansat the Stade de France as theywon a first trophy in almosthalf a century.

"It has been talked aboutenough at the club in the lastfew weeks for us to realise thatwe have achieved somethinghistoric," said Rennes coachJulien Stephan.

It was a remarkable come-back from the Brittany side,who had seen Dani Alves andthe returning Neymar giveLigue 1 champions PSG a 2-0lead midway through the firsthalf.

Thomas Tuchel's sideappeared poised to wrap up adomestic double, but PresnelKimpembe's own goal gaveRennes hope and Edson Mexerheaded them level in the 66thminute to take a gripping final-- attended by PresidentEmmanuel Macron -- to extratime.

Penalties were alreadylooming when Mbappe, whoendured a frustrating evening,was shown a straight red cardin the 118th minute for adreadful challenge on DamienDa Silva. The France starcaught the Rennes defender onthe knee with his studs, and canexpect a lengthy ban.

"He had a slight muscleinjury yesterday, he stoppedtraining early and went to hos-pital for tests. Maybe that wasin his head," said Tuchel.

"You got the feeling hewas lacking confidence anddidn't feel free. The red card atthe end, it's not him."

Without him, PSG fellshort of securing the double inTuchel's first season in charge,which will also be rememberedfor the Qatar-owned club'sChampions League exit to

Manchester United in the last16.

"I am sad," said Neymar."We weren't quite up to it, butthere is no point crying aboutit now. There is nothing we cando."

They had been looking towin the Cup for the fifth yearrunning, but instead it is tra-ditional underachievers Rennes-- owned by luxury goodsmogul Francois Pinault, one ofFrance's richest men -- whocelebrate a famous victory.

It is their first silverwaresince the 1971 French Cup andalso means a return to theEuropa League next season.

"We can stop talking aboutbeing losers. This title willchange the history of the club,"added Stephan.

+�� &� ! �)

India drew blank on the final daybut still topped the chart for the

second consecutive ISSF World Cup,third time in two years, by baggingthree Gold and a Silver at the Beijingedition of the Rifle/Pistol event here.

India topped the medals tallyahead of hosts China (2 Gold, 2Silver, 1 Bronze), who won fivemedals in total.

For India, while Anjum Moudgiland young Divyansh Singh Panwarstarted the medal hunt with a Goldin the 10m Air Rifle Mixed Teamcompetition, the teenaged pair ofManu Bhaker and SaurabhChaudhary backed them up withanother yellow metal in the 10m AirPistol Mixed Team Pistol event.

Divyansh then won India's firstindividual medal by clinching aSilver in the men's 10m Air Rifle.

On Saturday, Abhishek Vermawon India's third Gold in men's 10mAir Pistol event.

The concluding day of the ISSFWorld Cup Rifle/Pistol Beijing 2019edition however, belonged to twowomen legends of the sport, two-time former Olympic championMaria Grozdeva of Bulgaria andCroatian Rifle legend Snjezana Pejcic,

who won the two scheduled finals ofthe day, the 25m Pistol and the 50mRifle 3 Positions (3P).

In the first final on Sunday, the46-year old Maria, champion in the25m Pistol at the Sydney 2000 andBeijing 2004 Olympics, shot 36 in thefinal to beat a couple of young ris-ing stars — world number oneAnna Korakaki of Greece and

Veronika Major of Hungary, whowas fresh from a double gold in theNew Delhi World Cup.

The Hungarian settled for Silverwhile Anna was pushed to theBronze medal position.

Indian interest in the event waslimited to the qualifying stage of thecompetition where Manu Bhaker'sfinals hopes were dashed when she

shot 586 in qualifying to finish17th.

Asian Games champion RahiSarnobat managed 579 for a 26thplace finish while Chinki Yadav, thethird Indian in the competition, shot570 to end in 56th position.

In the women's 3P, BeijingOlympics Bronze medallist and win-ner of 17 World Cup medals includ-ing eight Golds, Snjezana Pejcic ofCroatia triumphed with a finalround score of 464.

Bae Sang Hee of Korea wonSilver with 459.5 while JeanetteHegg Duestad of Norway wonBronze with 447.1. The Korean andthe Norweigian also walked awaywith the two quota places.

Among the three Indians in thefray, N Gaayathri finished 19th witha score of 1169 in qualificationwhile Sunidhi Chauhan shot 1160 toend in 42nd.

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Sherfane Rutherford brilliantbatting display in the slogovers and his maiden IPL

wicket of Ab de Villiers in the 12thover of Bangalore’s run chase helpDelhi Capitals beat Virat Kohli’sRoyal Challengers Bangalore by 16runs to regain top spot in IndianPremier League season 12 pointstable and secure playoffs berth forthe first time since 2012 here atFeroz Shah Kotla Stadium onSunday.

Batting first after winning tossat tricky Kotla track, Delhi ride onfifties from skipper Shreyas Iyer (52off 37 balls, 2 fours and 3 sixes) andMan of the Match Shikhar Dhawan(50 off 37 balls, 5 fours and 2 sixes)which was complemented by 20-year old Rutherford’s quick 13-ball28 runs (1 fours and 3 sixes) in theend to post 187 runs for the loss of5 wickets.

Chasing 188 runs to win andkeep their hopes alive of advancingfurther in the tournament, RoyalChallengers Bangalore were off toa flying start, courtesy ParthivPatel’s explosive start. The duo ofKohli and Patel made full use of bat-ting powerplay and added 63 runsfor the first wicket in 5.5 overs.

Left-hander Wicketkeeper bats-man Parthiv was more aggressive ofthe two at the start and scored 39runs in just 20 balls to lay a strongfoundation for the chase. He wasout in the second ball of the sixthover bowled by Kagiso Rabad afterAxar Patel took a brilliant catch tosend him back to the pavilion.

During his stay at the crease, in-form Patel smashed 7 fours and 1six. But the big setback for the vis-itors came in the eighth over bowledby Axar Patel, when in process oftrying to go for a big hit, Virat wascaught for 23 runs in 17 balls bySherfane Rutherford. At the time ofhis dismissal, RCB was 68 for 2 in7.2 overs.

After that, all eyes were onSouth African Ab de Villiers toguide RCB to yet another memo-rable win and keep their hopes aliveof making into this year’s playoffs.

But the former South Africaninternational too failed to do muchand was out in the third ball of 12thover for mere 17 runs in 19 balls.He was caught by Axar offRutherford.

After his dismissal, RCB’s hopeswere almost dashed out and in thenext over when Amit Mishra dis-missed Heinrich Klaasen (3) andShivam Dube (24 runs in 16 balls,2 sixes) in span of four balls, itbecame a formality for Delhi to winthe tie and advance into the knockout stage of the tournament for thefirst time since 2013.

For Delhi, Purple cap holderKagiso Rabada (4-0-31-2) and AmitMishra (4-0-29-2) clinched twowickets each, while Ishant Sharma

(40/1), Axar Patel (26/1) andSherfane Rutherford (6/1) also gota wicket each.

Earlier batting first, Capitalsopeners Shikhar Dhawan andPrithvi Shaw added 35 runs in 3.3overs for the first wicket.

Prithvi was the first to go afterhitting 18 runs in 10 balls with 4boundaries during his short stay atthe crease. He was caught by ParthivPatel behind the wickets.

After Shaw’s departure, skipperShreyas Iyer joined Dhawan at thecrease and the in-form duo keepsthe scorecard running by addingsingles and doubles.

Delhi completed first 50 runs in4.5 overs and 100 runs came in 11.3overs.

But after completing his thirdconsecutive fifty-plus score,Dhawan was sent back to the pavil-ion by Yuzvendra Chahal ending 68runs second wicket stand.

After Dhawan’s departure,Rishabh Pant joined the picture anda lot was expected from the youngexplosive wicket-keeper batsmanbut he failed to continue his goodform into a big score and was outleg before by Chahal in the secondlast ball of 15th over for 7 runs inas many balls.

At the end 15 over, Delhi was127 for 3 looking set for 200 parscore, with set Shreyas and hard-hit-ting Colin Ingram at the crease.

But their dismissal in the suc-cessive overs cast questions over the

reliability of Delhi’s inexperiencedmiddle order. From 127 for 3 in 15over Delhi was soon reduced to141-5 at the end of 17th overs.

But then Sherfane Rutherfordand Axar Patel came into the pic-ture.

While Axar scored 16 runs innine balls with the help of 3 fours,Rutherford smashed 3 biggies andone four to provide Delhi that fin-ishing touch which could turn outvital during run chase. They added46 runs in the last three overs outof which 20 came in the last overbowled by Navdeep Saini.

For Delhi, Chahal picked 2wickets for 41 runs while Umesh,Washington Sundar, and Saini gota wicket each.

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Kolkata Knight Riders batsmenfired on all cylinders to post the

season's highest total — 232 for two— in their Indian Premier Leaguematch against Mumbai Indians hereSunday.

Staring at elimination followinga six-match losing streak, theembattled KKR got off to a fierystart with Shubman Gill (76) andChris Lynn (54) putting on a 96-runopening stand, their highest thisseason, after Rohit Sharma opted tobowl in his 100th match as captain.

Andre Russell, KKR's biggestimpact player of the season, wasfinally seen higher up the order atNo 3.

The West Indies power-hitterensured that KKR finished on a highwith an unbeaten 80 off 40 balls.

Russell hammered six fours andeight sixes including one off the lastball after he denied a couple of sin-gles to skipper Dinesh Karthik inthe last over as KKR creamed 75runs from the last five overs andscored 135 in the final 10.

Fielding let down MumbaiIndians big time with both Lynn andRussell dropped early in theirinnings by Kieron Pollard and Evin

Lewis respectively.The top-order batting was all

about the sheer class of the 19-year-old Gill, who showed why he isbilled as the future star of Indiancricket.

Gill smashed six fours and foursixes en route to his second half-century of the season and forged acrucial stand with Russell. The duoshared 62 runs from 35 balls ofwhich Gill had a share of 34, whileRussell scored 24.

Gill was at his best againstRahul Chahar and three of his foursixes came against the leg-spinner.

Such was the sheer class of Gillthat Russell was glad to play secondfiddle and was six off 12 balls afterbeing dropped on one.

On a belter of a track, KKRopeners got off to a sensational startand survived the powerplay withoutlosing a wicket for their highestopening stand — 96 — this season.

Slow to start with, Lynn was 18off 15 balls when Kieron Pollardspilled a chance from the Aussie atmid-off.

Lynn took off from there on,hammering the spin duo of KrunalPandya and Chahar to race to hisfourth IPL fifty this season off just27 balls.

+��■ �4��%�&��

David Warner will be aimingto finish his scintillating

campaign on a high even asSunrisers Hyderabad's brittlemiddle-order face a tricky testagainst Kings XI Punjab in a 12thround IPL encounter here onMonday.

With both teams locked on10 points from 11 games, a winwill give either some breathingspace ahead of their final twomatches.

For Hyderabad, KXIPencounter is the last game wherethey can avail the services ofWarner before he leaves home forAustralia's World Cup prepara-tions alongside Steven Smith andMarcus Stoinis.

Since his comeback fromball tampering ban, Warner hasscored 611 runs in the tourna-ment so far and is the current'Orange Cap' holder.

With IPL's second highestscorer Jonny Bairstow (445)already back home, Sunrisers' willface the problem in the last twogames as they will miss their setopening pair.

In all the five games that theyhave won this season, Warner-Bairstow combination workedwonders, and their defeats hadbeen much about middle-ordercollapses and poor death bowling.

Kings XI Punjab led by theirmercurial skipper Ravichandran

Ashwin will be aiming to be moreconsistent in winning keymoments of the game.

Ashwin and the wilyMohammed Shami will like topose a few tough questions forthe Sunrisers middle-order,where save Manish Pandey's oddknock, has been at their worst inthe tournament.

Sunrisers' skipper KaneWilliamson, who has been out inmost games due to injury, willlike to get the best out of Warner,one last time this season whichwill be like a shot in the arm asfar as their qualification is con-cerned.

Just like Sunrisers, evenKings XI Punjab's batting topheavy which has been reflectedin their performance through outthe season.

Openers Chris Gayle (444runs) and KL Rahul (441 runs)have done bulk of the scoringapart from Mayank Agarwal(262), who has come good occa-sionally.

David Miller (202 in ninegames) and Sarfaraz Khan (180in eight games) got their chancesbut didn't perform in most gamesmaking it extremely difficult forAshwin.

However the skipper willfeel good about young NicholasPooran's show in the last gameagainst RCB, where he kept theteam in the hunt at the back endof the innings.

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