opinionexpress.in · 2018-03-20 · ˘ˇˆ ˇ ˇ ˆ ˙ ˙ˇ ˝˛ ˇ ˚˜ !" ˇ ˇ # ˆ ˙!$%...

16
A week after the dinner host- ed by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi featuring all “secular” outfits — including the Trinamool Congress — Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday put a stamp on her Telangana coun- terpart K Chandrashekhar Rao’s Third Front initiative devoid of a tri-colour and saf- fron tinge. The two leaders met at Nabanna the State secretariat in Howrah from where KCR kicked off his mission to bring the regional parties together to form a non-BJP, non-Congress Third Front. At the end of more than an hour-long meeting, KCR said, “We made a very good begin- ning today. We want to strengthen the federal struc- ture. We will soon come up with a people’s agenda which will be different from what we have seen in the last 70 years.” Pointing out the urgency of bringing a “real political change,” he insisted that the BJP and the Congress had ruined India and there was strong need for a “federal front,” that would take care of the people’s aspirations. Soon after KCR had expressed the need for bring- ing a “qualitative change in national politics” and coming up with an alternative to the BJP-led NDA and Congress-led UPA, Mamata had spoken to him over phone. “We are with you,” she had told him hinting at the emer- gence of Kolkata-Hyderabad axis which became all the more evident after a reported talk between Mamata and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu who had just walked out of the NDA. Continued on Page 4 A lmost a year in hospital after he fought death and miraculously survived, CRPF Commandant and Kirti Chakra awardee Chetan Kumar Cheetah has resumed active duty as Commandant in the Force Headquarters in the national Capital. The Commandant of the 45th Battalion of the CRPF, Chetan sustained nine bullets in an encounter between a group of terrorists and securi- ty forces in the wee hours of February 14, 2017, in Hajin area of Bandipora in Jammu & Kashmir. He had been recuper- ating in hospital for a year. Donning a Khaki uniform, wearing an eye-patch on his right eye, and metal glasses, Chetan said, “I am proud to resume my duty again. It is good to be back.” Referring to the uniform, he laughed and said, “This is my second skin.” He had lost his eye during the operation and is undergo- ing massive physiotherapy to resume sensation in his hand. The 45-year-old had suffered bilateral upper limbs fractures and bullet injuries in his head. As many as three Army per- sonnel were killed and seven others injured in the encounter. Chetan has been calling on his senior officers ever since he resumed his active duty last week. Chetan said, “I want youngsters to give 100 per cent to the country, that’s what I have done. The duty which I had, I could have escaped, but instead, I faced the bullets.” The commandant during his year-long recovery had reit- erated several times that “mil- itary solution to Kashmir can be the only political solution to Kashmir’s problem”. Chetan was first taken to military hospital in Srinagar where medications were given to prevent bleeding. However, given the extent of the injuries and his comatose state, it was decided to airlift him to the AIIMS trauma centre. Even, Army Chief Bipin Singh Rawat went to meet him when he was admitted to AIIMS. Chetan was awarded the Kirti Chakra on the eve of Independence Day last year for his brave exploits against ter- rorists in Kashmir. Kirti Chakra is considered as the second highest peacetime gallantry medal. R JD chief Lalu Prasad was held guilty in another fod- der scam case RC38A/96 by Special CBI Court of Shivpal Singh on Monday, while other politicians, including former Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra, were acquitted. Lalu has already been con- victed in three fodder scam cases and he is lodged in Birsa Munda Central Jail. The court will hear the arguments on the quantum of punishment on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and pass a judgment on March 23. Other politicians who were acquitted include then Continued on Page 4 A city court on Monday acquitted Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia in two separate defamation cases lodged against them by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and advocate Amit Sibal after Keriwal and Sisodia tendered apology to both of them. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Samar Vishal also acquitted Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, a co- accused with Kejriwal in the defamation case lodged by Sibal, after he too tendered an apology to the lawyer through a letter. The relief came from the court after the apologies were accepted by the com- plainants in both the cases. However, the proceedings against lawyer Prashant Bhushan and BJP leader Shazia Ilmi will continue in the defamation case lodged by Amit Sibal. Earlier Kejriwal wrote to Gadkari expressing regret over certain statements he made against the BJP leader, who had filed a defamation suit against him, the court was informed on Monday. Kejriwal and Gadkari also submitted a joint application before the court seeking with- drawal of the defamation case filed against the AAP leader. Continued on Page 4 I n a setback to Congress lead- ers Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case, the Delhi High Court on Monday directed their compa- ny Young Indian to first deposit 10 crore before challenging the Income Tax recovery notice of 249.15 crore served on it. The Bench of Justices S Ravindra Bhat and AK Chawla directed the company to deposit half the amount with the Income Tax department before March 31 and the remaining 5 crore by April 15. The High Court said subject to deposit of the amount, the tax authorities shall not enforce the Continued on Page 4 T he Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday moved the Delhi High Court challeng- ing the trial court judgment in the 2G scam acquitting former Telecom Minister A Raja, DMK MP Kanimozhi and others in the money laundering case. The ED, in its appeal, listed out many points where Special Judge OP Saini “ignored the gravity of the office” and “committed grave error” even after the proof of a 200-crore kickback was sub- mitted. The CBI is also expect- ed to file its appeal soon. “The Special Judge grave- ly erred by not appreciating the fact that the Supreme Court had examined large number of documents and various other material and ordered cancella- tion of 122 licences granted during the Ministership of A Raja to various persons,” said the ED in its appeal filed by Special Public Prosecutor Rajeev Awasthi . Continued on Page 4 T he Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the YSR Congress on Monday failed to table their no-confidence motions yet again as the House didn’t function due to disrup- tions by the AIADMK prompt- ing the Speaker to adjourn the House till Tuesday. The Opposition blamed the AIADMK for acting at the behest of the Centre even as Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the Government is ready for a discussion on any issue. The BJP’s disgruntled ally Shiv Sena, in the meantime, said it will abstain from the no-con- fidence motion. “We will nei- ther support the Government nor the Opposition. We will abstain,” Sena MP Arvind Sawant said. Sena’s abstentation would further make it easier for the BJP to tide over the crisis. It was the 11th consecutive day that the proceedings were a complete washout. Eyebrows were, however, raised as to why some members of the TDP, the mover of the no-confidence motion, was also seen agitating in the House. Continued on Page 4 T he Siddaramaiah dispensa- tion’s move to accord “reli- gious minority” status to the Lingayat community and for- ward its recommendation to the Centre for consideration has sparked a legal debate as constitutional experts are divid- ed over the issue. Some experts told The Pioneer that such a categorisa- tion goes against the spirit of the Constitution as the State cannot be seen as supporting the cause of a particular com- munity to be declared as a reli- gious minority. But there are others who claimed there is no harm if the State wishes to identify and name a certain sect or group as a religious minor- ity as past decisions of the Supreme Court have held that the State is to be the unit to determine the status of a reli- gious minority. At the heart of the contro- versy is the definition of minor- ity, which is not defined by the Constitution. However, under the National Minorities Commission Act 1992, the Central Government can declare a community as minor- ity. Even under the National Minorities Educational Institutions Act 2004, a com- munity may be declared as minority by the Centre. Noted constitutional expert Subhash Kashyap said a State Government seeking religious minority tag for a particular community defeats the secular nature of the Constitution. “To create a separate identity for a particular religion or caste is not in keeping with the spirit of our Constitution. State has no busi- ness with religion as it is large- ly an individual affair. State should not be seen supporting or promoting the demand of a community to claim religious minority tag as such a demand must come from the communi- ty itself.” He cited how the Jain com- munity, though not envisaged as a minority community initial- ly, was later identified as a reli- gion other than Hindu religion. In 1966, the Supreme Court turned down the demand of the Swaminarayan sect to be distinct and separate from the Hindu religion. Again in 1995, the apex court refused the petition by Ramakrishna Mission to be recognised as a religious minority, distinct from Hindus. Senior advocate and Member of Parliament Vivek Tankha felt that the concept of minority is to be determined State-wise even when it is to be granted national recognition. He quoted the TMA Pai Foundation vs Karnataka (2002) decision where an 11- judge Bench by a 7:4 majority decided on the scope and extent of rights enjoyed by minorities under Article 30(1) to establish and administer educational institutions. The majority judgment held that for determination of linguistic and religious minor- ity under a Central law or State law, the State will be the basic unit and not the whole of India. Hence, the determina- tion of minority is to be done State-wise. Interestingly, the Constitution is silent on defin- ing religion. The Constitution neither establishes a religion nor contains provisions for creating one. All it does is to ensure the right of all religions to practice and profess their faith under Article 25. Responding to the specif- ic demand of the Karnataka Government to seek religious minority tag for the Lingayats constituting around 19 per cent of State’s population, advo- cate Anirudh Sharma said, “In the past, the Supreme Court has applied a tough scrutiny over religious communities within Hindu religion claiming separate identity as a religious minority.” Kashyap said, “Section 2(1) of Hindu Marriage Act 1955 specifically recognises Virashaiva, Lingayats, followers of Brahmo, Prarthana and Arya Samaj to be various forms of Hinduism. In this backdrop, the demand to provide Lingayats a separate identity from Hindu religion appears to be a political gimmick.” In any event, such a decision will face tough scrutiny from Courts, he added. I n a major political move in view of the impending Assembly polls in Karnataka, the Siddaramaiah-led Congress Government on Monday decided to recognise the dom- inant Lingayats and the Veerashaiva Lingayats, believ- ers of Basava Tattva, as separate religious minority. Subsequently, it lobbed the ball in the BJP-ruled Centre’s court for a notification in this regard under the Central Minority Commission Act. In doing so, Siddaramaiah chose to ignore the dissent from within his own Cabinet even as the BJP asserted that the move would “boomerang” on the Congress. The Veerashaivas have rejected the “divisive move” amid report of minor clashes with some celebrating Lingayats. Slamming the decision, Opposition BJP leader in the Assembly Jagadish Shettar said the Siddaramaiah Government was dividing society for the sake of politics, keeping the election in mind and accused it of “ignit- ing fire.” “The decision will boomerang on them,” he said. Lingayats, who constitute around 19 per cent of the State’s population and are tra- ditional BJP supporters, have an impact on about 100 of the 225 Assembly seats in the State. Facing a stiff challenge from the BJP, whose leader in the State BS Yeddyurappa too is a Lingayat, the Congress’ move is seen as an attempt to kill two birds with one stone. A division between the Lingayats and the Veerashaivas would benefit the Congress’ cause as it may lead to a dent in the BJP’s votebank. By tak- ing a decision on a demand that has been in place since 1942, the Congress is seeking to endear itself to the communi- ty and project itself to be cham- pioning the fraternity’s cause. But above all, by making a rec- ommendation to the Centre, it seeks to put the BJP on a sticky wicket on the issue that has the potential of making or marring electoral fortunes in the State. “After due deliberations and some discussions on con- cerns of various sections of society, the Cabinet has decid- ed to accept the recommenda- tions of the Karnataka State Minority Commission under section 2(d) of the Karnataka Minorities Act. It was also decided to forward the same to the Central Government for notifying under section 2(C) of the Central Minority Commission Act,” State Law Minister T B Jayachandra said. The BJP and the RSS have been opposing such a move. There were differences within the Siddaramaiah’s Cabinet too as Ministers on both sides of the divide pitched for their respective causes. The Veerashaiva Lingayat seers had warned the Continued on Page 4

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Page 1: opinionexpress.in · 2018-03-20 · ˘ˇˆ ˇ ˇ ˆ ˙ ˙ˇ ˝˛ ˇ ˚˜ !" ˇ ˇ # ˆ ˙!$% ˇ & ! ˘ˇˆ ’(% ˙ ) * # + ˙ (ˇ ˙ˇ ˇˇ , ˇ -. # ˝ˇ ˝ ˇˇ. ˘

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Aweek after the dinner host-ed by UPA chairperson

Sonia Gandhi featuring all“secular” outfits — includingthe Trinamool Congress —Bengal Chief Minister MamataBanerjee on Monday put astamp on her Telangana coun-terpart K ChandrashekharRao’s Third Front initiativedevoid of a tri-colour and saf-fron tinge.

The two leaders met atNabanna the State secretariat inHowrah from where KCRkicked off his mission to bringthe regional parties together toform a non-BJP, non-CongressThird Front.

At the end of more than anhour-long meeting, KCR said,“We made a very good begin-ning today. We want tostrengthen the federal struc-ture. We will soon come up

with a people’s agenda whichwill be different from what wehave seen in the last 70 years.”

Pointing out the urgency ofbringing a “real politicalchange,” he insisted that the BJPand the Congress had ruinedIndia and there was strongneed for a “federal front,” thatwould take care of the people’saspirations.

Soon after KCR hadexpressed the need for bring-ing a “qualitative change innational politics” and comingup with an alternative to theBJP-led NDA and Congress-ledUPA, Mamata had spoken tohim over phone.

“We are with you,” she hadtold him hinting at the emer-gence of Kolkata-Hyderabadaxis which became all the moreevident after a reported talkbetween Mamata and AndhraPradesh Chief MinisterChandrababu Naidu who hadjust walked out of the NDA.

Continued on Page 4

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Almost a year in hospitalafter he fought death and

miraculously survived, CRPFCommandant and KirtiChakra awardee Chetan KumarCheetah has resumed activeduty as Commandant in theForce Headquarters in thenational Capital.

The Commandant of the45th Battalion of the CRPF,Chetan sustained nine bulletsin an encounter between agroup of terrorists and securi-ty forces in the wee hours ofFebruary 14, 2017, in Hajinarea of Bandipora in Jammu &

Kashmir. He had been recuper-ating in hospital for a year.

Donning a Khaki uniform,wearing an eye-patch on hisright eye, and metal glasses,Chetan said, “I am proud toresume my duty again. It isgood to be back.” Referring tothe uniform, he laughed andsaid, “This is my second skin.”

He had lost his eye duringthe operation and is undergo-ing massive physiotherapy toresume sensation in his hand.The 45-year-old had sufferedbilateral upper limbs fracturesand bullet injuries in his head.As many as three Army per-sonnel were killed and sevenothers injured in the encounter.

Chetan has been calling onhis senior officers ever since heresumed his active duty lastweek. Chetan said, “I wantyoungsters to give 100 per centto the country, that’s what Ihave done. The duty which I

had, I could have escaped, butinstead, I faced the bullets.”

The commandant duringhis year-long recovery had reit-erated several times that “mil-itary solution to Kashmir canbe the only political solution toKashmir’s problem”.

Chetan was first taken tomilitary hospital in Srinagarwhere medications were givento prevent bleeding. However,given the extent of the injuriesand his comatose state, it wasdecided to airlift him to theAIIMS trauma centre. Even,Army Chief Bipin Singh Rawatwent to meet him when he wasadmitted to AIIMS.

Chetan was awarded theKirti Chakra on the eve ofIndependence Day last year forhis brave exploits against ter-rorists in Kashmir. Kirti Chakrais considered as the secondhighest peacetime gallantrymedal.

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RJD chief Lalu Prasad washeld guilty in another fod-

der scam case RC38A/96 bySpecial CBI Court of ShivpalSingh on Monday, while otherpoliticians, including formerChief Minister JagannathMishra, were acquitted.

Lalu has already been con-victed in three fodder scamcases and he is lodged in BirsaMunda Central Jail.

The court will hear thearguments on the quantum ofpunishment on Wednesday,Thursday and Friday and passa judgment on March 23.

Other politicians whowere acquitted include then

Continued on Page 4

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Acity court on Mondayacquitted Chief Minister

Arvind Kejriwal and his deputyManish Sisodia in two separatedefamation cases lodgedagainst them by UnionMinister Nitin Gadkari andadvocate Amit Sibal afterKeriwal and Sisodia tenderedapology to both of them.

Additional ChiefMetropolitan Magistrate(ACMM) Samar Vishal alsoacquitted Deputy ChiefMinister Manish Sisodia, a co-accused with Kejriwal in thedefamation case lodged bySibal, after he too tendered anapology to the lawyer througha letter. The relief came fromthe court after the apologieswere accepted by the com-

plainants in both the cases.However, the proceedings

against lawyer PrashantBhushan and BJP leader ShaziaIlmi will continue in thedefamation case lodged byAmit Sibal.

Earlier Kejriwal wrote toGadkari expressing regret overcertain statements he madeagainst the BJP leader, who hadfiled a defamation suit againsthim, the court was informed onMonday.

Kejriwal and Gadkari alsosubmitted a joint applicationbefore the court seeking with-drawal of the defamation casefiled against the AAP leader.

Continued on Page 4

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In a setback to Congress lead-ers Sonia Gandhi and Rahul

Gandhi in the National Heraldcase, the Delhi High Court onMonday directed their compa-ny Young Indian to first deposit�10 crore before challengingthe Income Tax recovery noticeof �249.15 crore served on it.

The Bench of Justices SRavindra Bhat and AK Chawladirected the company todeposit half the amount withthe Income Tax departmentbefore March 31 and theremaining �5 crore by April 15.The High Court said subject todeposit of the amount, the taxauthorities shall not enforce the

Continued on Page 4

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The Enforcement Directorate(ED) on Monday moved

the Delhi High Court challeng-ing the trial court judgment inthe 2G scam acquitting formerTelecom Minister A Raja, DMKMP Kanimozhi and others in themoney laundering case. TheED, in its appeal, listed outmany points where Special JudgeOP Saini “ignored the gravity ofthe office” and “committed graveerror” even after the proof of a�200-crore kickback was sub-mitted. The CBI is also expect-ed to file its appeal soon.

“The Special Judge grave-ly erred by not appreciating thefact that the Supreme Courthad examined large number ofdocuments and various othermaterial and ordered cancella-tion of 122 licences grantedduring the Ministership of ARaja to various persons,” saidthe ED in its appeal filed bySpecial Public ProsecutorRajeev Awasthi .

Continued on Page 4

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The Telugu Desam Party(TDP) and the YSR

Congress on Monday failed totable their no-confidencemotions yet again as the Housedidn’t function due to disrup-tions by the AIADMK prompt-ing the Speaker to adjourn theHouse till Tuesday. TheOpposition blamed theAIADMK for acting at thebehest of the Centre even asHome Minister Rajnath Singhsaid the Government is readyfor a discussion on any issue.

The BJP’s disgruntled allyShiv Sena, in the meantime, saidit will abstain from the no-con-fidence motion. “We will nei-ther support the Governmentnor the Opposition. We willabstain,” Sena MP ArvindSawant said. Sena’s abstentationwould further make it easier forthe BJP to tide over the crisis.

It was the 11th consecutiveday that the proceedings werea complete washout.

Eyebrows were, however,raised as to why some membersof the TDP, the mover of theno-confidence motion, wasalso seen agitating in the House.

Continued on Page 4

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The Siddaramaiah dispensa-tion’s move to accord “reli-

gious minority” status to theLingayat community and for-ward its recommendation tothe Centre for considerationhas sparked a legal debate asconstitutional experts are divid-ed over the issue.

Some experts told ThePioneer that such a categorisa-tion goes against the spirit ofthe Constitution as the Statecannot be seen as supportingthe cause of a particular com-munity to be declared as a reli-gious minority. But there areothers who claimed there is noharm if the State wishes toidentify and name a certain sector group as a religious minor-ity as past decisions of theSupreme Court have held thatthe State is to be the unit todetermine the status of a reli-gious minority.

At the heart of the contro-versy is the definition of minor-ity, which is not defined by theConstitution. However, underthe National MinoritiesCommission Act 1992, theCentral Government candeclare a community as minor-ity. Even under the NationalMinorities EducationalInstitutions Act 2004, a com-munity may be declared asminority by the Centre.

Noted constitutional expertSubhash Kashyap said a StateGovernment seeking religious

minority tag for a particularcommunity defeats the secularnature of the Constitution. “Tocreate a separate identity for aparticular religion or caste is notin keeping with the spirit of ourConstitution. State has no busi-ness with religion as it is large-ly an individual affair. Stateshould not be seen supportingor promoting the demand of acommunity to claim religiousminority tag as such a demandmust come from the communi-ty itself.”

He cited how the Jain com-munity, though not envisaged asa minority community initial-ly, was later identified as a reli-gion other than Hindu religion.

In 1966, the SupremeCourt turned down thedemand of the Swaminarayansect to be distinct and separatefrom the Hindu religion. Againin 1995, the apex court refusedthe petition by RamakrishnaMission to be recognised as areligious minority, distinctfrom Hindus.

Senior advocate andMember of Parliament VivekTankha felt that the concept ofminority is to be determinedState-wise even when it is to begranted national recognition.

He quoted the TMA PaiFoundation vs Karnataka(2002) decision where an 11-judge Bench by a 7:4 majoritydecided on the scope andextent of rights enjoyed byminorities under Article 30(1)to establish and administereducational institutions.

The majority judgmentheld that for determination oflinguistic and religious minor-ity under a Central law orState law, the State will be thebasic unit and not the whole ofIndia. Hence, the determina-tion of minority is to be doneState-wise.

Interestingly, theConstitution is silent on defin-ing religion. The Constitutionneither establishes a religionnor contains provisions forcreating one. All it does is toensure the right of all religionsto practice and profess theirfaith under Article 25.

Responding to the specif-ic demand of the KarnatakaGovernment to seek religiousminority tag for the Lingayatsconstituting around 19 percent of State’s population, advo-cate Anirudh Sharma said, “Inthe past, the Supreme Courthas applied a tough scrutinyover religious communitieswithin Hindu religion claimingseparate identity as a religiousminority.”

Kashyap said, “Section 2(1)of Hindu Marriage Act 1955specifically recognisesVirashaiva, Lingayats, followersof Brahmo, Prarthana and AryaSamaj to be various forms ofHinduism. In this backdrop,the demand to provideLingayats a separate identityfrom Hindu religion appears tobe a political gimmick.” In anyevent, such a decision will facetough scrutiny from Courts, headded.

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In a major political move inview of the impending

Assembly polls in Karnataka,the Siddaramaiah-led CongressGovernment on Mondaydecided to recognise the dom-inant Lingayats and theVeerashaiva Lingayats, believ-ers of Basava Tattva, as separatereligious minority.Subsequently, it lobbed theball in the BJP-ruled Centre’scourt for a notification in thisregard under the CentralMinority Commission Act.

In doing so, Siddaramaiahchose to ignore the dissentfrom within his own Cabineteven as the BJP asserted thatthe move would “boomerang”on the Congress.

The Veerashaivas haverejected the “divisive move”amid report of minor clasheswith some celebratingLingayats.

Slamming the decision,Opposition BJP leader in theAssembly Jagadish Shettar saidthe Siddaramaiah Governmentwas dividing society for the sakeof politics, keeping the electionin mind and accused it of “ignit-ing fire.” “The decision willboomerang on them,” he said.

Lingayats, who constitutearound 19 per cent of theState’s population and are tra-ditional BJP supporters, havean impact on about 100 of the

225 Assembly seats in the State.Facing a stiff challenge from theBJP, whose leader in the StateBS Yeddyurappa too is aLingayat, the Congress’ move isseen as an attempt to kill twobirds with one stone.

A division between theLingayats and the Veerashaivaswould benefit the Congress’cause as it may lead to a dentin the BJP’s votebank. By tak-ing a decision on a demand thathas been in place since 1942,the Congress is seeking toendear itself to the communi-ty and project itself to be cham-pioning the fraternity’s cause.But above all, by making a rec-ommendation to the Centre, itseeks to put the BJP on asticky wicket on the issue thathas the potential of making ormarring electoral fortunes inthe State.

“After due deliberationsand some discussions on con-cerns of various sections ofsociety, the Cabinet has decid-ed to accept the recommenda-tions of the Karnataka StateMinority Commission undersection 2(d) of the KarnatakaMinorities Act. It was alsodecided to forward the same tothe Central Government fornotifying under section 2(C) ofthe Central MinorityCommission Act,” State LawMinister T B Jayachandra said.

The BJP and the RSS havebeen opposing such a move.There were differences withinthe Siddaramaiah’s Cabinet tooas Ministers on both sides ofthe divide pitched for theirrespective causes.

The Veerashaiva Lingayatseers had warned the

Continued on Page 4

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Delhi Police’s Crime Branch has busted agang of highway robbers who were

involved in robbing unsuspecting victimsafter offering them lift in their vehicles. Fourdesperate robbers and their woman accom-plice have been arrested. With their arrest,sleuths also claimed to have solved dozensof robbery and dacoity cases.

Alok Kumar, Joint Commissioner ofPolice (Crime) said, “The arrested accusedwere identified as, Bittu alias Anna (34), Bittualias Rakesh (52), Arjun Singh (23), Sandeep(28) and Sunita alias Maya (32). The gangcalled itself the the Anna gang and gave liftto victims and robbed them.”

While Rakesh is involved in more than150 cases of robbery, snatching, theft,attempt to murder, he was the one who mer-cilessly thrashed the victim passenger andusually carried a weapon, Arjun was a drugaddict. Sandeep splurged on his girlfriendsand was arrested in 2009 for a murder case.Lastly, Sunita was called as the DaakuHaseena by the other gang members.

According to the police, they received atip off that an Inter-State gang of highwayrobbers involved in a murder case ofSahibabad and involved in several casesincluding robbery, murder, attempt to mur-der are often seen roaming in the area ofSultan Puri and Rohini.

On the intervening night of Saturday andSunday, a raiding party was formed and teammembers were directed to nab the robbers.The raiding party along with the informerreached Avantika, Rohini where Sandeep wasfound riding a Scooty and was subsequent-ly caught. One robbed mobile phone and thestolen scooty was recovered from him. His

interrogation revealed that while robbingthe mobile and valuables of the victim, heand his accomplice badly hurt the victim and

when the victim lost consciousness, assum-ing him to be dead, they threw him out ofthe car, however he survived, said thepolice.

On sustained interrogation, the accusedrevealed that all members of his gang, alsocalled 'ANNA GANG' are currently activein the same area after which the raiding partyreached near the spot. On the instance ofaccused, a car was intercepted and the threerobbers sitting inside the car were over pow-ered. It was revealed that the car wasrobbed from an elderly couple.

Kumar said, “To commit the robberies,Anna and his gang members used to steal afour-wheeler. Their woman accomplicealways used to

accompany them in the vehicle so thatpeople, especially the daily travellers, couldeasily accept their offer of lift. Rakesh a habit-ual criminal involved in more than hundredcriminal cases, would sit next to the victimon the back seat.

“After travelling a certain distance, thegang used to stopthe car at a secluded placeand thrashed the passenger before robbinghim of his valuables and cash. They also tookaway his ATM Cards and forcefully asked forthe ATM PIN and after withdrawing themoney, accused persons would throw manout of the vehicle. They mostly operate in andaround major bus terminals and Highways,”the Joint CP added.

����!�������� ���������

Umesh Ashok Kadam, theDean of Students of

Jawaharlal Nehru University(JNU), has refuted allegations ofnepotism and gross misuse of hisofficial power in getting his wifeenrolled in PhD at JawaharlalNehru University's School ofLife Sciences (SLS) underProfessor Atul Johri, who is nowaccused of sexual harassment ofwomen scholars.

Speaking to The Pioneer,Kadam allenged that he and hiswife are being targeted by Leftfaction because they both belongto “Dalit” community and aresupporting decisions taken byVice-Chancellor M JagadeshKumar on mandatory atten-dance for students.

“We are from the first gen-eration of Dalits who are edu-cated and are well placed. Theyare simply unable to tolerate andbear with this fact,” said Kadam.

However, many from theLeft faction have rejected his

claim, calling it an attempt toplay “Dalit card” to save his neck.

It would be pertinent tomention here that Kaveri UmeshKadam, wife of Umesh AshokKadam is enrolled in PhD at SLSunder Professor Atul Johri. TheJNU Students’ Union (JNUSU)has targeted the Dean of Studentsalong with Johri, alleging hiscomplicity in getting wifeenrolled for PhD under Johri bymisusing his official power andalleged proximity to Johri.

He said that after the nameof his wife was dragged in thewhole episode and she is undersevere “mental stress” and is notin a condition to talk.

“She was enrolled in directPhD in January 2017 and herbeing from an electronics back-ground and yet getting enrolledin School of Life Sciences is wellwithin the rules and regulationsand is indeed a ‘multidiscipli-nary’ approach in sciences,” hesaid.

“Her PhD topic is Image pro-cessing of Britritysis virus on

tomato plant. For the Image pro-cessing part she is attached to a labat Rajgad Dnyanpeeth TechnicalCampus in Maharashtra but forthe basic theoretical part she isattached to the Laboratory at SLSJNU,” said DoS.

Defending the credentialsfor his wife he said that his wifetaught as lecturer at NDAKhadakwasla after her M.Techfrom Bharati VidyapeethUniversity, Pune.

“There are many teachers inJNU whose wives are doingPhD in JNU. Moreover, there arewives of many professors whoare working at the same centreas colleagues. But they havenever raised any question onthem. I am being targetedbecause of my administrativeposition and stance and becauseof being a Dalit,” said Kadam.

Kadam is also assigned withthe responsibility of acting chair-person of Centre for HistoricalStudies replacing SuchetaMahajan in a recent rejig byadministration.

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Municipal corporations on Monday sealed75 properties and shops for misusing

spaces. Besides, North Corporation also demol-ished a 700 yards building at Bazar Sikrawalanfor unauthorised construction.

South Delhi Municipal Corporation sealed50 points of 19 properties in the three zones-West, Central and South.

A senior official said that in west zone, theofficials of building department on the direc-tion of the empowered committee sealed fiveproperties at 10 points for misuse in the stiltparking. “Some of the units sealed includeDream Heritage Banquet, Makhan Banquet andAkash Institute,” he said.

He also said that10 properties at 28 pointssealed for mixed land misuse in Kailash Colnyand Lala Lajpat Rai Road. Also four propertiessealed at 12 points in D Block, Defence colonyfor misuse in the stilt parking area.

North Corporation sealed 18 properties inthe areas of Prashant Vihar, Rohini sector 7 &29, Pitampura. While the east corporationsealed six properties in Sukh Vihar andRadheshyam Park areas.

Traders in the national capital hit hard afterbuilding department of the municipal corpo-rations had started sealing business establish-ments for non-payment of conversion charges,encroachment, and illegal construction on theinstructions of the Supreme Court-appointedmonitoring committee. In the drive, thousandsof shops have been sealed since last Decemberand there is still no sigh of relief amid all thecoordinated efforts put up by all the regardingstakeholders.

Forced with the circumstances that seem tobe incessant, traders associations haveannounced to hold a mega rally on December28 to lodge a strong protest against the drive.

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Delhi Police personnel had atough time in controlling a

crowd of 200 to 250 students ofJawaharlal Nehru University (JNU)after they marched to the VasantKunj North police station onMonday evening. The students hadgathered outside Vasant Kunaj Northpolice station to protest against thelackadaisical attitude of police in theFIR registered by a JNU studentagainst Professor Atul Johri.

Till Monday night, DeputyCommissioner of Police (Southwest)Milind Dumbere said, “One FIR hasbeen registered against the JNUprofessor. Based on the writtencomplaints submitted by more stu-dents, we will add sections in the FIRaccordingly.” On being asked if thestudents protesting outside the policestation were “manhandled”, the DCPdenied. After the first FIR was reg-istered last week, eight more girl stu-dents came forward expressing howthey too were sexually harassed bythe professor.

The JNU Students’ Union, whichhas been agitating for the past threedays demanding the professor'sarrest, set off on a march to theVasant Kunj Police Station onMonday evening. A clash eruptedbetween the agitating students andthe cops outside the police station.Students claimed the police firedwater cannon to disperse the stu-dents.

Till Monday, at least four com-plaints have been made by thefemale students on Monday againstprofessor Atul Johri from the Schoolof Life Sciences, accusing him of sex-ual misconduct. The women hadapproached the Vasant Kunj (north)police station claiming that the pro-fessor was in the habit of makingexplicit remarks on their clothes andtouched them inappropriately whiledelivering lessons.

Delhi Commission for Womenchief Swati Maliwa censured theDelhi Police for their inaction in thematter and expressed her support forthe victims. “JNU matter of sexualassault of 9 girls is extremely shock-ing. The man appears to be a serialoffender. Even more shocking is the

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Unidentified armed robbers wearing policeuniform robbed 10 kilogram of gold jew-

elry from a Mumbai based jeweller inGhaziabad at gun point.

The incident occurred in the wee hoursof Monday morning near Sahibabad railwaystation when the jeweler Rohit Jain was return-ing from Meerut along with two of his asso-ciates in a car. The driver allegedly stoppedthe car when criminals dressed as policemenasked them to stop.

However, no sooner the car stopped two

of the four criminals over powered the jew-eler and his accomplices on gun point andlooted the entire stock of gold chains kept intwo bags.

The victim Rohit Jain is the owner ofUnion Jewelers & Gems (Pvt) Ltd Mumbai .He was returning from Meerut after showingthe samples of gold chains to Meerut basedjewelers. He left Meerut at 8 PM on Sunday.

Earlier the jeweler and other two peopleaccompanying him had stopped the car fordinner at a dhaba near railway station. As theymoved from the dhaba towards Delhi andreached near railway underpass, the two crim-

inals in police uniform asked the driver to stopthe car for checking. After the incident the dri-ver took the car to the Sahibabad police sta-tion where the jeweler lodged the complaint.

In the meantime the jewelers associationSarafa association Ghaziabad issued an ulti-matum to the police to workout the casewithin 24 hours otherwise the associationwould go on strike and would close the mar-ket.

“We are in process of investigation andhope would work out the case soon within 24hours and would not allow them to go onstrike” said SP City Akash Tomar.

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fact that Delhi Police is yet toarrest the accused. DCW is issu-ing notices in the matter. We arein support of the brave com-plainants,” Maliwal tweeted.

Meanwhile, 54 JNU profes-sors have demanded registrationof separate FIRs in all complaintsof sexual harassment filedagainst Johri. In a petition toDCP (South-West)’s office, theteachers said police chose to reg-ister only one FIR based on onlyone of the nine complaints filedso far. “This disregard for evenbasic procedure suggests to usthat the Delhi Police has nointention of seriously proceed-ing against Johri,” the petitionsaid.

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With the arrest of eightpersons, Southeast dis-

trict police have busted agang of pickpockets that tar-geted people travelling inDTC buses or metro trains.Deputy Commissioner ofPolice (DCP), Southeast dis-trict Chinmoy Biswal saidthat the gang, run by oneDalip Ganja used a uniquemodus operandi to commitpick pocketing.

“In case if the gang went forpick pocketing in a bus, theydeployed two bike-borne menat both sides of the bus. Whilethe front biker would alert thegang member inside the busabout the police picket, the sec-ond biker, moving behind thebus would take the member outand flee. The gang was so pro-fessional that they used specif-ic words like “machine” andthek-baaz. While machineskillfully pick pocketed valu-ables from the target afterthek-baaz had selected the tar-get,” added Biswal.

Police said that due torising incidents of mobile theftand pick pocketing in thebuses, they came up with aplan to increase patrolling

and deployed barricades onroads.

“The police had intensifiedpicketing near the bus stands.A team under ACP Sarita Viharreceived a tip-off on March 18that members of the DalipGanja gang would come look-ing for targets on the MathuraRoad near Sarita Vihar.Following this tip-off, policelaid a trap and apprehended thegang leader Dalip, Shahid.

Vikash Sharma and JitenderYadav,” said the DCP.

On verification, policefound eight stolen phones fromtheir possession. At theirinstance, Firoz, Noor Hasan,Vikki Singh and Bhim Singhand 19 stolen mobile phonesand two motorcycles wererecovered from them.

“During sustained interro-gation, the accused revealedthat Dalip is the kingpin of this

gang and has a previousinvolvement in several cases ofrobbery, theft. Dalip, alongwith Shahid, roped in otherlocal boys from their area andstarted a gang which mainlyindulged in pick pocketingand stealing mobile phonesfrom people travelling by buses.The gang mainly targeted busesplying between Badarpur toAnand Vihar and Kalkaji toBadarpur. All the arrested

criminals have been foundinvolved in several criminalcases,” said Biswal.

Explaining about theterms used by the gang mem-bers, the police officer saidthat they used to call theirgang as company and Dalipused to operate as the“machine”. “Machine” isreferred to that member of thegang who very skillfully pick-pockets the mobile/wallet oftheir target. The other opera-tives in the bus used to workas thek baaz and they used toinstantly pick up their targetin the bus and used to cornerhim on the pretext of rush inthe bus. The target used tobelieve that these members ofthe gang are fellow passengers.It was through their specialskill that these thek baaz usedto push the target to divert hisor her attention and within ablink of an eye, the machineused to steal the mobile or thewallet.

Police said that with thearrest of these eight men, theyhave solved 16 cases of pick-pocketing. All the accused areschool dropouts and wereunemployed. To earn quickmoney, they committed thecrime.

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An FIR has been registeredat the Punjabi Bagh police

station following a complaintfrom the CBSE about a boyimpersonating another studentto give the Class XII Geographyexamination, police said onMonday.

A senior police officer said,“We have registered an FIRunder IPC sections 419(Punishment for cheating byimpersonation), 420 (Cheatingand dishonestly inducing deliv-ery of property), 468 (Forgeryfor purpose of cheating), 471(Using as genuine a forgeddocument) and 120B(Punishment of criminal con-spiracy) at the Punjabi BaghPolice station.”

The officer said, “OnMarch 17, Class XII studentshad their Geography Boardexamination. The incidentwas reported from theHansraj School in PunjabiBagh area. In the Room no102-Y, one of the invigilators,Yogesh Sharma had suspi-cion on one of the examinees.When he raised a question,the student started arguing.Following which Sharma

called the school head. Afterquestioning, the student iden-tified himself as Krishna how-ever ; the name on his Admit Card was of AkshayKhanna.”

The school administrationthen informed the CBSE andthe police. A team from thePunjabi Bagh police stationreached the school and took theboy for questioning. The boy,Krishna informed that he wasgiven money to sit for theexamination.

Police said that they aretrying to nab the real studentwho gave his admit card to theboy to give his board exami-nation.

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Reacting to the recent inci-dent in which a 60-year-old

man was murdered atWazirpur Industrial Areas overwater-related dispute, DelhiCongress president AjayMaken on Monday said it wasvery sad that people have tosacrifice their lives over drink-ing water in a Government thatpromised free-water to the res-idents.

Maken visited the area,where victim Lal Bahadur waskilled during a scuffle overwater, to console his family. Healso alleged that ever since theKejriwal Government came topower, many people have losttheir lives due to scarcity ofwater.

Maken also said that waterpipes were laid by the CongressGovernment to provide drink-ing water to the people in thearea but for the past four-fivemonths, the supply throughthat line had been stopped.“This resulted in regular quar-rel over water in the area.

He also said that the poorpeople are not in priority list ofthe Government led byKejriwal in Delhi. “The watersupplied in the areas wherepoor lives, are not even fit todrink due to high level of

ammonia level,” he said.Maken further said that

there will be a severe shortageof water in the coming days dueto the irresponsible action andinactivity of the government.

He appealed to the 'ChiefExecutive Officer' (CEO) of theDelhi Jal Board to take imme-diate steps to solve the watershortage in the WazirpurIndustrial area and other areas.

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The Central Board ofSecondar y Education

(CBSE) said on Monday it hasnot yet decided on providingcompensation to Class X stu-dents for an alleged error inthe English question paper.

Teachers and students havebeen claiming that the paperheld on March 12 had certainerrors in the comprehensionpassage section.

The passage section ofthe paper where students wereexpected to find synonyms of'endurance, obstruction andmotivation' in paragraphs two,four and five, respectively hadits answers in paragraphsthree and six. Certain typosalso led to confusion amongstudents.

The Class X and XII boardexaminations began on March5 and will conclude by April13.

Reports were doing roundthat the board has decided tocompensate students for the“error”, however, the boardofficials clarified that no decision has been taken yet.

“Evaluation is a very secre-tive process. Though the mark-ing policy is always decidedkeeping the interests of stu-dents in mind, but an expertcommittee examines whether itis an error in the first place ornot and how students' interestcan be safeguarded,” a seniorCBSE official said.

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BJP MLA Om PrakashSharma has been sus-

pended for the remainingBudget Session of the DelhiAssembly for allegedly usingderogatory language in theHouse while objecting to thepresence of Transport MinisterKailash Gahlot in theAssembly.

AAP legislators accusedSharma of using unparliamen-tarily and undignified lan-guage in the House. “I suspendOP Sharma for the remainingdays of the Session,” SpeakerRam Niwas Goel said after amotion, moved by AAP MLASomnath Bharti, was passed bya voice vote.

This is the second timeSharma has been suspendedfrom the House. Earlier, he wassuspended for two sessionsfor allegedly using derogatorylanguage against AAP MLAAlka Lamba in November2015.

Bharti said the languageused by Sharma was unparlia-mentary and undignified, andmoved the motion. The AAPMLAs alleged that Sharmathreatened police action againstthem.

Sharma allegedly said tothe AAP MLAs, “You will haveto go to jail if you make a fake(EVM) machine”, while refer-ring to a live demonstration ofa dummy EVM machine in theHouse last year.

Defending the fellow MLA,

Leader of Opposition (LoP)Vijender Gupta argued with theSpeaker over Sharma's sus-pension and sought to knowunder which rule of the Househe was punished.

Later, Sharma termed his

suspension muzzl ing ofOpposition's voice by rulingregime of Delhi. “It is anunconstitutional step aimedat muzzling the voice of theOpposition. When we opposethe presence of Gahlot, whohas been disqualified by thePresident, in the House, weare ousted,” said Sharmawhile briefing the media afterthe incident.

Meanwhile, Gupta saidSharma would appeal to theSpeaker to reconsider his deci-sion. On March 16, the first dayof the Budget Session, all fourBJP MLAs were marshalled outof the Assembly when theyobjected to the presence ofGahlot in the House.

According to theOpposition, Gahlot has noright to attend the proceedingsof the House as he is among the20 AAP MLAs who have beendisqualified by President RamNath Kovind in the office-of-profit case.

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Presenting the EconomicSurvey report for Financial

Year 2017-18, Deputy ChiefMinister Manish Sisodia, whoalso hold the Finance portfolio,on Monday claimed thatDelhi's revenue surplus hasreduced to 0.82 per cent ascompared to 1.58 per cent ofthe Gross State DomesticProduct (GSDP) in 2016-17.Sisodia also mentioned thatDelhi's Per Capita Income wasalmost three times of theNational Average, both at thecurrent and constant prices.

The Delhi Government, inits official statement, also saidthe advance estimate GSDP ofDelhi at current prices during2017-18 is likely to attain levelof �6,86,017 crore, which is ata growth of 11.22 per cent over2016-17, “The advance esti-mate of Net State DomesticProduct (NSDP) of Delhi atcurrent prices is likely to attaina level of �6,26,002 crore in2017-18 which is estimated togrow at 11.51 per cent over2016-17,” quoted as mentionedin official statement.

The Government has cov-ered 72.48 lakh beneficiariesunder the National FoodSecurity (NFS) Act, with 19.40lakh NFS smart cards beingissued to eligible families underthe initiative till March 31, 2017.

According to the EconomicSurvey (2017-18) released onMonday, the AAP Governmentfacilitated supply of food grainsto around 72.48 lakh poorpeople through a network of2,254 fair price shops at sub-

sidised rates. “So far, 19.40lakh NFS smart cards havebeen issued to eligible familiesof the national capital as on 31stMarch, 2017,” it said.

The survey said food grainswere distributed to around15.15 lakh card holdersthrough e-Point of Sale (POS)devices.

To help the beneficiaries,the Government had intro-duced 'Ration Card Portability'which facilitates people to availtheir entitlements from anyfair price shop (FPS) in the city.

“In January this year, out of15.15 lakh card holders, 1.68lakh availed ration throughportability. This practiceencourages FPS owners to pro-vide better consumer servicesand attract more peoplethrough incentives,” the surveysaid.

On e-ration cards, the sur-vey said, “After the facility wasoperationalised in April, 2015,about 10.40 lakh ration card-holders have since availed thebenefit. This has brought intransparency and efficientdelivery of ration cards to thebeneficiaries”.

On the 'Pahal Scheme”,which gives subsidy to LPGconsumers (with or withoutAadhaar numbers) throughbank accounts, the DelhiGovernment said, “There werearound 48.15 lakh LPG con-sumers, out of which 38.83 lakhwere beneficiaries of Pahalscheme and 76.10 per cent ofthe consumers had seeded theiraccounts with Aadhaar”.

The report on economicsurvey further mentioned thatthe sex ratio as per the birth

registered in Delhi under CivilRegistration System (CRS)indicate a positive picture,enhanced from 809 in 2001 to902 in 2016. “On forest areas incapital,” “South Delhi districthas the highest forest cover areaat 83.35 square km, and thelowest forest cover is in EastDelhi of 3.70 square km,” theofficial release quoted.

Further on the supply ofelectricity, the survey men-tioned that in Delhi peripheryincreased from 32744 million

units in 2010-11 to 34,011 mil-lion units in 2016-17. The totalnumber of electricity consumerin Delhi is 55.68 lakh in 2016-17. “Number of electricity con-sumers in Delhi has grown by94.11% during the last tenyears. Peak demand increasedfrom 4,720 MW in 2010-11 to6,261 MW in 2016-17.”

Power consumptionrecorded an average annualgrowth of approximately3.51%. On transportation, atthe operational level, commonMobility Cards have beenlaunched in Delhi on08.01.2018 on pilot basis in 200DTC and 50 Cluster buseswherein Delhi Metro Rail Cardwill be used for tendering farein buses using ETMs. “Electricrickshaw has also been intro-duced in Delhi to provide ser-vices for last mile connectivi-ty. A subsidy of �30,000 per e-rickshaw is being provided bythe Government to encouragesuch facilities.”

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In order to control air pollu-tion, East Delhi Municipal

Corporation (EDMC) hasdeployed four mechanical roadsweeping machines to clearthe dust from roads. The col-lected dust will be dumped at'Construction and DemolitionPlant' near Shastri Park, whichwill further convert it intomaterial used in building con-struction, a EDMC official

said.The official said that all the

sweeping will be done at nights.“These machines sweep theroads at an average speed of sixto eight km per hour,” he said.

He further informed thatthe machines continue sprinklewater while cleaning the roads.

The corporation is alsoplanning to install cameras inthese machines to monitor thework and the condition ofroads, the official said.

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As many as 267 schools,including Government

and State-aided schools, inthe national Capital do nothave fire safety certificate,Deputy Chief Minister ManishSisodia said in Delhi Assembly.

Sisodia, who holds theeducation portfolio, said that162 city-run schools and 105Government-aided schools donot have fire safety certificates.

The revelation poses a

question about the safety ofstudents studying in theGovernment and Governmentaided-schools in the city.

In a written reply to aquestion asked by AAP MLAPawan Sharma, Sisodia toldthe House that out of the 105Government-aided schools,88 have applied for fire safetycertificate.

The Deputy ChiefMinister, however, said that allthe 162 Government schoolshave applied for the same.

He said that theDirectorate of Education (DoE)inspects the safety measures inschools from time-to-time.

For the schools which havenot got fire safety certificates,the education directorate hadapproved Rs 112.15 in 2013 toensure that all these schoolsfulfil all the formalities whichare required for fire safetycertificate.

There are 1,228 govern-ment and government-aidedschools in the national capital.

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India and Hong Kong onMonday signed an agree-

ment to avoid double taxationand prevent tax evasion.

India’s Ambassador toChina Gautam Bamabwale andHong Kong’s Financial SecretaryPaul Chan Mo signed the treaty.A former British colony, HongKong is a special administrativeregion of China which enjoys ahigh degree of autonomy underwhich it has an independenttaxation system.

The agreement is “for theavoidance of double taxationand the prevention of fiscalevasion with respect to taxes on

income”, the Indian Embassy inBeijing said.

“This agreement will stim-ulate the flow of investment,technology and personnel fromIndia to Hong Kong SpecialAdministrative Region and viceversa, prevent double taxationand provide for the exchange ofinformation between the twocontracting parties,” the state-ment said.

“It will improve trans-parency in tax matters and willhelp curb tax evasion and taxavoidance,” it added.

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The Maharashtra Gover-nment found itself on the

defensive on Monday as theBombay High Court sought areply on a plea made by activistPravin Wategaonkar seekingrevocation of the rights of acontractor appointed by it tocollect toll from motorists using the Mumbai-PuneExpressway in view of the rec-ommendations by the SumitMullik committee.

Hearing an applicationfiled before it by Wategaonkar,a HC Bench of justices AS Okaand RI Chagla directed theMaharashtra Government tofile its say within three weekson why it had not so farrevoked the contract of the tollcontractor, despite the latterhaving already collected morethan the stipulated toll of Rs1,362 crore.

Earlier, appearing for thecontractor, senior lawyer JanakDwarkanath argued that thefact that the Maharashtra gov-ernment had not revoked thecontract meant that it did notwant to do so.

However, the HC bench

sought a reply from the StateGovernment on why it hadrevoked the toll contractdespite the recommendation bythe Sumit Mullik Committee.

Placing his argumentsseeking revocation of the tollcontract, Wategaonkar told thehigh court that in line with its2014 poll promise of making“toll Mukt” Maharashtra, theBJP-led MaharashtraGovernment came out with aGovernment Resolution onDecember 12, 2015, constitut-ing a committee to considerclosure of toll plazas in theState.

On April 10, 2017. ChiefMinister Devendra Fadnavisannounced closure/ exemp-tions from toll to LMV’s, statetransport buses etc on 65 tollstations across the State. Healso announced separate com-mittee to look into the issue ofexemption of light motor vehi-cles on Mumbai-PuneExpressway and Five entrypoints to Mumbai city.

The Anand Kulkarni com-mittee, appointed first by thestate government, looked intoand ascertained the exact num-ber of vehicles that passthrough the said Expressway

and “suspicious” toll figuresbeing submitted by the toll con-tractor from time to timeengaged a agency to undertaketraffic survey.

The subsequent SumitMullik Committee, in its reportsubmitted to the state govern-ment, has adopted the recom-mendations of M/s Darashawconsultants in respect ofMumbai-Pune Expressway(MPEW) toll collection.

“M/s Darashaw consideredbidding data/ cash-flows fromApril 1, 2016 to August 8,2019 and recommended thatthe Government can buy outthe project from Respondent-contractor till 2019 by paymentof about RS. 1362 crore –being amount expected to beearned by Contractor for saidbalance concession period,”the petitioner stated.

According to Wategaonkar,the data now available onMSRDC website for periodsince April 1, 2016 till February2018 shows the actual toll col-lection on MPEW andMumbai-Pune section of NH4together to be about Rs 1,507crore, wrongful gain of Rs 145cr to respondent-contractor.

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With an aim to doublingthe agricultural exports,

the Ministry of Commerce hascome up with a draft“Agriculture Export Policy” tointegrate Indian farmers andagricultural products to theglobal value chain.

The draft policy includesstable trade policy regime,reforms in the AgriculturalProduce Market Committee(APMC) Act, streamlining of

Mandi fee and liberalisation ofland, and seeks to double theshipments by 2022.

The draft policy also saidmonopoly of the APMC pre-vents private players from set-ting up markets and investing inmarket infrastructure. APMCacross states have not been ableto achieve the farmers’ welfareenvisaged in these acts.

“Efforts will continue withState Governments to removeperishables from their APMCAct. State Governments would

also be urged tostandardise/rationalise manditaxes for largely exported agri-cultural products,” it added.

Simplification or unifor-mity of mandi/agricultural feeacross States will create a trans-parent supply chain that will

empower the farmer, providehim wider access to marketsand enable free trade across thecountry, it said.

The policy made a strongcase for promoting contractfarming as it would help inattracting investments. To pro-

mote infrastructure and logis-tics boost, it suggested that acomprehensive need-gap analy-sis of existing export orientedinfrastructure across the valuechain is critical to formulatingan export oriented policy.

The Ministry has soughtviews of the stakeholders on thedraft till April 5.

Elaborating on the stabletrade policy regime, it said thatgiven the domestic price andproduction volatility of certainagricultural commodities, therehas been a tendency to utilisethe policy as an instrument toattain short-term goals of tam-ing inflation, providing pricesupport to farmers and pro-tecting the domestic industry.

New York: Former US Secretaryof State Hillary Clinton, whofaced flak for her controversialcomments recently in Indiaabout how women voters in2016 presidential elections weremore swayed by men, says shemeant no disrespect to anyindividual or group.

In a lengthy Facebook post,Clinton referred to her remarksat the India Today Conclave inMumbai, saying her comments“in passing” about women“unfortunately” being more

swayed by men in the 2016Presidential elections got a lotof “negative attention.”

“I was also asked aboutwomen, specifically whitewomen, the majority of whomhave not voted for Democrats inrecent history. I did better withthem than previous Democraticnominees, but still lost themoverall to a candidate who relieson scare tactics and false attacks,masking the fact that he is oth-erwise no friend to mostAmericans,” she said in the post.

She said her commentsthat there is anecdotal evi-dence and some research tosuggest that “women are unfor-tunately more swayed by menthan the other way around”received negative feedbackfrom various quarters. “Iunderstand how some of whatI said upset people and can bemisinterpreted. I meant nodisrespect to any individual orgroup. And I want to look tothe future as much as anybody,”she said in the post. PTI

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��!�����������666From Page 1

demand of �249.15 crore madeon the company for the assessmentyear 2011-12. The High Court alsosought the IT department’sresponse on Young Indian’s (YI)plea challenging the demand andthe proceedings emanating from itand listed the matter for furtherhearing on April 24.

Senior advocate Arvind Datar,appearing for Young Indian, toldthe court that it will have extremedifficulty in raising �10 crore andsought that the amount be fixed at�7.5 crore. He said the amount wasbeing collected from contributionsby individuals and it would there-fore be tough to get more money.He also urged the bench to allowthe company to deposit the amountin court, saying it was extremelydifficult to get a refund from the ITdepartment.

Advocate Ashish Jain, repre-senting the IT department,opposed the oral pleas made on YI’sbehalf and said the company hadto actually deposit �49 crore, 20 percent of the demand, for its appealto be heard.

On December 27, 2017, theIncome Tax Department’sAssessment Order found thatYoung Indian had hushed up tax-able income of more than �414crore. The Congress leadershiphad maintained silence on thisIncome Tax Order. But, on January20, BJP leader and main petition-er Subramanian Swamy producedthe copy of this Income Tax Orderin the trial court.

Income Tax department hasdeclared that the Congress’s claimof giving �90-crore loan to thenewspaper was a total sham and awrong claim to facilitate theGandhi family-controlled compa-ny Young Indian to dubiously takeover the ownership of the lands andbuildings across India. After thisorder, the Income Tax fined andissued recovery notice for �249.15crore to Young Indian.

From Page 1The application was moved before the

court of ACMM Samar Vishal afterKejriwal’s counsel submitted the letter inwhich the AAP leader has expressedregret for making statements withoutregard to their verifiability.

“I made certain statements, withoutregard to its verifiability, which seem tohave hurt you and therefore, you have fileda defamation case against me. I have noth-ing personal against you. I regret the same,”Kejriwal’s letter written on March 16 said.

Gadkari had moved the court againstKejriwal for allegedly defaming him byincluding his name in the Aam AadmiParty’s list of “India’s most corrupt”.

Kejriwal and Sisodia also tendered anapology to senior advocate Amit Sibal, sonof former Union Minster Kapil Sibal, in acriminal defamation case filed by him.

Kejriwal and Sisodia apologised formaking “unfounded allegations” againstSibal in a letter which was submittedbefore the ACMM court. Sibal and theAAP leaders also filed a joint applicationin the court seeking withdrawal of the casefiled in 2013.

Besides, Kejriwal and Sisodia, com-plainant Amit Sibal had also named for-

mer AAP members Prashant Bhushan andShazia Ilmi as accused in the case. Thelower court on September 20, 2014, hadput all the four accused on trial for thecharge under section 500 (defamation) ofthe IPC.

Responding to questions Sisodia saidthey are not interested in any “ego fight”and don’t want to spend time in legalwrangling but in service of people. “Ifsomeone is hurt by our remarks, we willapologise. We will not make it a fight ofego. We are here to work for people. Wehave not spared time for court, we havespared time for us so that we could fightfor people,” Sisodia told reporters on thepremises of the Delhi Assembly.

Kejriwal had last week apologised toAkali leader Bikram Singh Majithia foraccusing him of being involved in drugstrade. The move had taken everyone bysurprise, especially the AAP’s Punjabunit. The party’s Punjab presidentBhagwant Mann and its co-presidentAman Arora had resigned from their postsin protest against Kejriwal’s apology.

However, in a meeting on Sunday,Kejriwal attempted to pacify the partyMLAs from the northern state to avert asplit in the State unit.

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From Page 1In the petition, the ED said the trial

court judge failed to consider the manyprovisions of the Prevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA) and ignoredtheir case by merely rejecting the CBI’scharges.

“The Special Judge very casuallyignored the proved evidence through doc-uments as well as supported by the testi-mony of the witnesses that Rs 43.75-crorecash was given for the accommodation bytaking cheque of the equal amount,” the EDsaid arguing that the judge totally ignoredthe testimonies of witnesses and documentsestablishing the Rs 200-crore money trailfrom Shahid Balwa’s telecom firm to theDMK-run Kalaignar TV. The telecomfirm transferred the money to the TV chan-nel through a vegetable firm and movie dis-tribution company.

Besides Raja and Kanimozhi, the spe-cial court had on December 21, 2017acquitted 17 others, including DMK chiefM Karunanidhi’s wife Dayalu Ammal,Shahid Balwa and Vinod Goenka of Swan Telecom, Asif Balwa and RajivAggarwal of Kusegaon Fruits andVegetables Pvt. Ltd., film producer KarimMorani, P. Amirtham and Sharad Kumar,Director of Kalaignar TV.

From Page 1Batting for a Federal Front

--- floated unsuccessfully byMamata on earlier occasions,KCR said in 2019 there wouldbe a front which will be a “forthe people of India.” TheTelengana Chief Minister, whoalong with his team of partyleaders and advisers flew in achartered aircraft fromHyderabad to Kolkata to dis-cuss with her the present polit-ical situations, was likely to visitother State capitals -- includingBengaluru, Bhuvaneshwar,Ranchi, Patna, Mumbai andLucknow in search of a nation-wide consensus.

The Bengal Chief Minister,who greeted KCR with a bou-quet of flowers eye-catchinglysmaller than the one shereceived from him later, cir-cumvented questions on anyviable alternative devoid of theCongress. Though not com-pletely comfortable with Rahul

Gandhi’s leadership, Mamatatended to be cautious with herchoice of words.

She said, “This is a goodbeginning. We have to explorefurther possibilities by talkingto the other like-minded par-ties. Every political party has itsown identity and respect.”Insisting and apparently send-ing across a message to theCongress, she added, “No one party should rule the coun-try. We need to work together,maintain good relations with all parties. We are not ina hurry and are approachingothers also.”

Mamata is likely to fly off toDelhi next week where shewould meet NationalistCongress Party chief SharadPawar and “some other like-minded parties” on or afterMarch 25, said Trinamoolsources, adding “there is a like-lihood of the Chief Ministermeeting Rahul Gandhi also.”

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From Page 1Congress dispensation

against recommending theminority status for Lingayatsalone. Hence, the Congresswent ahead with accordingminority status to Lingayats,including Veerashaivas, whofollow the teachings of thepatron saint of the Lingayatcommunity Basaveshwara.

Basaveshwara rebelledagainst established Hindu tra-dition by defying the castesystem and vedic rituals.

In their bid for a separatereligion status, the Lingayatswanted to dissociate them-selves from Veerashaaivas, whoadhere to the Vedas andHinduism.

Earlier on Sunday, a groupof Lingayat seers had metSiddaramaiah and urged himto implement the report of anofficial committee that rec-ommended conferring a sepa-rate religious and minority sta-tus to their community.

The Lingayats have beendemanding a separate religion

tag on the lines of Jainism andBuddhism and a delinkingfrom Hinduism.

Ever since it came onto itsown, the BJP has been largelydependent on this dominantcommunity as its vote bank.The community, which isspread across the State has avery vibrant economic baseand supports the BJP.

The State Governmentappointed Justice NagamohanDas committee in December2017 to decide on the issue. Thecommittee had recommendedthat Lingayats be identified asa separate religion.

On March 8, WaterResources Minister MB Patiland Higher Education MinisterBasavaraj Rayareddi — bothLingayats — had argued infavour of going ahead with theJustice Das Committee report.However, they were stronglyopposed by MunicipalAdministration MinisterEshwar Khandre andHorticulture Minister SSMallikarjun. SS Mallikarjun isthe son of All India VeerashaivaMahasabha PresidentShamanur Shivashankarappawhile Khandre has previouslysaid that Veerashaivas andLingayats should not be divid-ed.

The movement for a sepa-rate religion tag, which wasstarted as far back as 1942, wasresurrected in 2017 by ChiefMinister Siddaramaiah’spromise to look into thedemand for a separate religionstatus for Lingayats andVeerashaivas.

A court case related to theissue in the Karnataka HighCourt is still being heard.

The court had earlier put arider on the process initiated bythe Karnataka Government onthe formation of the panel andits report and said further stepswill be subject to the court’sfinal decision.

Sri Veera SomeshwaraShivacharya Swami ofRambhapuri Peetha ofBalehonnur, one of the seersheading the Veerashaivacamps, condemned the Cabinetdecision.

He alleged that the recom-mendation may have gotaccepted following the “con-spiracy of a few people,” butthat Veerashaivas togetherwill fight against it and areplanning legal recourse.

“Chief Minister and otherswill have to face the disgrace ofdividing the community.People will teach them a les-son,” he added

From Page 1Chairmen of Public Accounts Committee Dhruv Bhagat

and Jagdish Sharma, former MP RK Rana and former BiharMinister Vidyasagar Nishad along with three IAS officers(now retired) Beck Julius, MC Subarno and Mahesh Prasadwere also let off by the Court. However, the court foundPhoolchand Singh, another IAS officer, guilty.

Other accused persons acquitted by the Court are - thethen IT Commissioner Adheep Chandra Chaudhary,Proprietor of Laxmi Entreprises Benu Jha, Proprietor of RKAgencies Lal Mohan Prasad and Proprietor of SR EnterprisesSaraswati Chandra.

Remarkably, the Court did not have had any informa-tion about health problems of Prasad, who is currently admit-ted to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS). So, hewas brought late to the Court by the jail authorities after thepronouncement of judgment.

“I don’t have any information related to his illness…Iwill ask the jail authorities why they did not inform me aboutit,” said the Court. It, however, asked Prasad whether he wasbeing treated properly at RIMS or not to which the RJD Chiefresponded that he did not had any problem there in the hos-pital. “If you have any problem, get yourself referred to Delhiwhere you will not have any problem,” the Court said.Surprisingly, Prasad did not respond to it and asked aboutthe quantum of punishment and was informed by the Courtthat it will be pronounced on Friday.

RC64A/96 is relates to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 89,4417lakh from Deoghar Treasury with the help of 6 fake allotmentletters during 1991 to 1994. Initially, a total of 48 persons weremade accused in the case out of which 14 persons died dur-ing the trial and two of them -- Rameshwar Chaudhary andDr Sayeed, were made government approvers. The firstchargesheet was filed in the court in May 2000. Criminal pro-ceeding against another accused the then DivisionalCommissioner of Dumka SN Dubey, however, was stopped aftera quashing order was passed by the Jharkhand HC.

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+� ��������� ����� ��������/�������� ������!����������?������� �4�New Delhi: The Government on Monday assured theSupreme Court that it will rectify problems faced by trans-gender people in linking Aadhaar numbers with PAN cards,allowing them to file their income tax returns seamlessly.

The Government’s counsel made the promise after abench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra took up a peti-tion complaining that transgender people were unable to carryout PAN-Aadhaar linkage due to a technical issue. Althoughtransgender people have “third gender” identity cards, thePAN card database only recognises men and women. Theresultant mismatch of information fed into the two documentshas made it difficult to link them, the petitioner submitted.

Thank you for the BlessingsHoly Spirit Celine

PD(8037)A

I, Geeta Devi Malik W/oBalraj Singh R/o H-342,Alpha-2, Greater Noida, U.P.have Changed My Name toGeeta after Marriage for allfuture purposes.

PD(8038)AI, Akbari Begum W/o Mr.Shamsuddin Khan R/o36/86, Trilokpuri, Delhi-110091, have Changed MyName to Anwari Begum forall purposes in future.

PD(8039)AI, Samsudan Khan S/o Mr.Ibrahim Khan R/o 36/86,Trilokpuri, Delhi-110091,have Changed My Name toSamsuddin Khan for all pur-poses in future.

PD(8040)A

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In the first warning of its kindto the countrymen, the

Indian Army has asked peopleto be vigilant as the Chinese arehacking digital media, includ-ing WhatsApp and urged themto be alert with any numbersstarting with +86.

Mobile users are also askedto regularly audit their socialmedia groups and be on guardif any new unidentified num-ber is trying to join theWhatsApp.

These sets of directivesissued in a video titled “BeAlert, Be Cautious, Be Safe”released by the Army’sDirectorate General PublicInterface on Monday comes

months after all the troopsdeployed on the Line of ActualControl (LAC) were orderednot to use Chinese made smart

phones. This precautionarystep was taken as the Chinesecould locate the position oftroops, the order said and list-

ed more than 35 brand namesto be avoided.

The latest caution to peopleat large through a tweet said “the

Chinese use all kinds of plat-form to penetrate your digitalworld. WhatsApp groups are anew way of hacking into yoursystem.”

The video said the hackerscan steal all valuable data of theuser and asked people to beexercise caution if any numberstarting with +86 appears in theWhatsApp group.

Issuing this advisory, theArmy also asked users to con-duct regular audits of theirgroups and in case if the SIMis changed it should bedestroyed completely.

This step is also applicablein case the user goes in for anew mobile number, the tweetwarning stipulated.

The advisory also saidwhen opting for a new mobile

number, the informationshould be immediately sharedwith the group administrator.

Moreover, the number ofall the known contacts shouldbe saved as a precaution andWhatsApp number of the oldmobile number should bedeleted.

The Government at regu-lar intervals keeps issuing suchadvisories to the personnel ofArmed forces, including theArmy, Navy and IAF, regardingthe perils of smart phones andrefrain from mentioningdeployment of personnel insocial media.

However, this is the firsttime that the Army has given ageneral alert to people all overthe country regarding the threatfaced by Chinese hackers.

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After a Nobel Laureatewarned India of mass

unemployment, Congress pres-ident Rahul Gandhi onMonday hit out at PrimeMinister Narendra Modi overthe issue saying his “achchhedin” PR would take a beating.

On the other hand, partytargeted the Centre alleging itsinvolvement in the recent StaffSelection Commission (SSC)paper leak likening it to themulti-crore Vyapam scam inMadhya Pradesh. The party saidthe BJP is now spreading patent-ed “Vypam Virus” across India.

“The Nobel prize winningeconomist Paul Krugman con-firms what we’ve been sayingfor over two years now. Massunemployment is the biggestthreat India faces. Unfort-unately, we have a PM wholives in denial. Afraid his‘achchhe din’ PR will take abeating,” he said on Twitter.

Rahul also used a mediareport quoting Krugman’swarning that the India storycould end with mass unem-ployment. The Congress chiefhas been attacking the ModiGovernment over its “failure”to provide two crore jobs every

year as promised by Modi,and has alleged that it hasinstead taken away a lot of jobsdue to its decision of demon-etisation and “ill-conceived”implementation of the GST.

Upping the ante to cornerthe Government on SSC mat-

ter in which Rahul too hasexpressed his solidarity by par-ticipating in a dharna protest bythe victims, AICC chiefspokesman Randeep SinghSurjewala said SSC has become“Students Suffer Corruption”.Congress demanded that it’shigh time the SSC Chairmanshould be sacked now.

“Post the ‘Vyapam Scam’,‘SSC Scam’ has marred thefuture of India’s youth underModi Government’s watch.Instead of giving two crorejobs per year, career of twocrore youth, who apply everyyear to SSC for around 50,000vacancies has been jeopardised.Typical of Modi Government ofbrushing every such issue underthe carpet, students demandingjustice are hounded, beaten upand evacuated with an arrogantGovernment refusing to order a thorough investigationinto the corrupt practices in the examination process,”Surjewala said.

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In yet another achievementrelated to export of locomo-

tives, the Indian Railways onMonday handed over 18 micro-processor-controlled locomo-tives to Myanmar Railways.

It is the first project com-pleted in the current IndianLine of Credit while earlier alsolocomotives were exported toneigbouring Bangaldesh andSri Lanka through the IndianRailway’s arm RITES which isthe principal partner ofMyanmar Railways.

Minister of State of RailwaysRajen Gohain attended the for-mal handing over ceremony ofthe diesel electric locomotives toMyanmar Railways manufac-tured by Diesel LocomotiveWorks, Varanasi, India.

Speaking on the occasionGohain expressed his pleasure onthe close cooperation betweenthe two railway systems on reg-ular basis since last 20 years.Most of these supplies in the rail-

way sector have been carried outunder Indian Line of Credit.

On the occasion, U ThantSin Moung, Minister ofTransportation and Comm-unication mentioned the val-ued cordial relationshipbetween the two countries andhow it can go beyond the pre-sent interaction.

These 18 locomotives arefitted with micro-processorcontrol based system. 1,350 HPAC/DC main line diesel loco-

motives with maximum speedof 100 KM PH have been cus-tomised for Myanma Railways.

“They are extremely fuelefficient equipped with the lat-est features. As per the agree-ment schedule, all locomo-tives were to be delivered bySeptember, 2018. They havebeen delivered six monthsahead of the schedule. We arekeen to increase our engage-ment in railways sector withMyanmar,” said CMD RITES

Rajeev Mehrotra. RITES, a PSE under the

Ministry of Railways, is theexport arm of the railwaysundertaking various projectsworldwide. RITES has beenengaged in the supply ofRailway rolling stock (loco-motives, coaches, wagons, per-manent way maintenance vehi-cles), maintenance of railwayinfrastructure, technical stud-ies, training of MyanmarRailway officials.

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Taking a cue fromKunnamthanam village in

Kerala where at least one mem-ber of every family is yoga prac-titioner, the Modi Governmentis mulling to launch a similarinitiative to turn at least 500 vil-lages in the country into“Sampoorna Yoga Grams”(complete yoga village) with atleast a member of each household following the disci-pline diligently.

The AYUSH (Ayurveda,Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani,Siddha, Homeopathy) Ministrywill announce the launch of the“Sampoorna Yoga Grams” planas a part of the Government’sambitious Ayushman BharatScheme with much fan-fare atthe three-day InternationalYoga Festival, being held fromWednesday at TalkatoraStadium here.

Ayush Secretary VaidyaRajesh Kotecha told ThePioneer that “We are very muchinspired by the initiative takenby the village panchayat of

Kunnamthanam village inKerala. They have shown thathow by simple initiatives, yogacan become an integral part oflifestyle and lead a healthylifestyle without much efforts.

“We want to replicate theKunnamthanam model acrossIndia. But we will start with thepilot project and later spreadacross the country, particular-ly in the aspirational districtswhere health facilities are leastavailable.”

As a part of the SampoornaYoga Grams’ initiative, everyvillage will have a researchextension unit so that healthparametres can be periodical-ly measured.

The initiative will be thepart of the Government’s ambi-tious Ayushman BharatScheme wherein Health andWellness Centres which arebeing proposed to be set upacross the country. These willhave AYUSH componentbesides allopathy to ensurebasic preventive and curativehealth facilities to the commonman.

Dr Ishwar V Basavaraddi,Director of the Delhi-basedMorarji Desai NationalInstitute of Yoga (MDNIY), anautonomous body of the AyushMinistry said that “Yoga is themost suited system for selfhealth and regular practice ofyoga can substantially help inreducing the incidence of dis-eases and impact macro healthindicators such as lifeexpectancy, infant mortalityrate and maternal mortalityrate among others.”

Giving details of the three-day IYF, he said a plethora ofevents like yoga sessions, pre-sentation of research worksamong others have beenplanned as a curtain raiser tothe International Yoga Day onJune 21.

Around 30,000 participantsbesides eminent yoga mastersfrom across the country aswell as 30 nations will partici-pate in the IYF to be inaugu-rated by Minister of State forPMO, Dr Jitendra Singh andpresided by AYUSH MinisterShripad Naik.

����� +7��673.�

India on Monday brought tothe notice of Pakistan fresh

round of harassment on itsdiplomats posted in Islamabad.Sources said on Monday twoofficials of the Indian High

Commission were aggressive-ly followed by two persons ina car in close proximity at var-ious locations when they wentfor shopping to Safa Gold Mall.

In another case, two offi-cials of the High Commissiontravelling in High Commission’svehicle were aggressively fol-lowed by two unknown personson a motorbike while going toSuper Market for shopping.

“The website of the HighCommission of India continuesto be intermittently blocked.This is causing inconvenienceand has affected normal func-tioning of the Mission. Suchincidents of harassment, intim-idation and threats to physicalsecurity of diplomats and offi-cials are in violation of the

Vienna Convention onDiplomatic Relations of 1961,and a threat to the security andsafety of the personnel of theHigh Commission of India,”sources said.

Sources added Pakistanhas been told that the safetyand security of Indian HighCommission, its officers, staffmembers and their families isthe responsibility of theGovernment of Pakistan.

They added Pakistan hasbeen requested to immediate-ly investigate all these incidentsand direct the relevant author-ities to ensure that such inci-dents do not recur. “Results ofthe investigations may kindlybe shared with the HighCommission,” sources said.

����� +7��673.�

The Aarushi Talwarmurder case on

Monday reached theSupreme Court yet againwith the wife of domestichelp Hemraj challengingthe acquittal of the dentistcouple by the AllahabadHigh Court.

The apex court admit-ted the appeal filed byKhumkala Banjade, thewidow of Hemraj, domes-tic help of the Talwars whowas killed along withAarushi on the fateful dayin May 2008. His body waslater discovered from theterrace of the Noida flatwhere the Talwars resided.

Both Nupur and RajeshTalwar will now respond tothe appeal filed by Hemraj’swife. The Bench headed byJustice Ranjan Gogoi wasinformed that the investi-gating agency — CentralBureau of Investigation(CBI) too has filed anappeal challenging theorder of acquittal of thedentist couple that came onOctober 12 last year.

This is the secondround of litigation concerningthis case in the apex court. Inthe first round, the dentistcouple had questioned thedecision of the trial court toreopen investigations after theCBI filed a closure report. Aspecial CBI court in Ghaziabadsentenced the Talwars to lifeimprisonment on November26, 2013, following which thecase travelled to AllahabadHigh Court. Following the HCorder, the dentist couple was setfree from Dasna Jail.

With their acquittal, ques-tions arose over the mysteriousdeaths - both of the 14-year-oldgirl and the domestic help.What intrigued the investiga-

tors was the absence of anyeyewitnesses, no forced entryor entrance of any third partyinto the house. The body ofAarushi was found in her bed-room while that of 45-year oldHemraj was discovered fromthe terrace.

Although initial suspicionfell on Hemraj, the discovery ofhis body two days later fromthe terrace led the UP Police toinvestigate the involvement ofthe couple. Later, when CBItook over the botched up probefollowing which they narratedthe possible motive and inci-dent of crime in its closurereport, paving way for the trialcourt to revive the case.

����� +7��673.�

The Supreme Court onMonday refused to direct

the Centre to provide basicamenities, health and amenitiesto Rohingya refugees settled inthe country and instead orderthe respective StateGovernments where they arestaying to present a status reporton the actual situ-ation on ground.

Following theCentre’s stand onaffidavit denyingreports thatRohingya Muslimwere denied med-ical facility atG o v e r n m e n tHospitals or health centres, thelawyers representing therefugees brought news reportsto suggest that the communitywere denied basic water, sani-tation and health facilities.

Additional SolicitorGeneral (ASG) Tushar Mehtaappearing for Centre informed

a Bench headed by ChiefJustice Dipak Misra that theGovernment was humane tothe needs of the refugeesalready settled in the countrybut denied permission to allowmore refugees to come in fromMyanmar. He suggested theseare matters to be tackleddiplomatically at the executivelevel of the two countries.

While the issueof infiltration ofrefugees posed asecurity threat tonation’s sovereignty,Mehta maintainedthat with this PIL,an attempt is beingmade to change thedemographic pro-

file of the country in order todestabilise our security.

Refusing to pass any inter-im orders, the Court sought acomprehensive report on theconditions prevailing at therefugee camps in Haryana,Rajasthan and J&K. The casewill be heard next on April 9.

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New Delhi: The Ministry ofExternal Affairs (MEA) onMonday summonedPakistan’s Deputy HighCommissioner, Syed HaiderShah, to register India’s strongprotest over the killing ofcivilians on the Indian side.

Five Indian civilians (afamily comprising of hus-band, wife and three children)were killed while there weregrievous injuries to two otherminor children in unpro-voked ceasefire violations byPakistan forces on 18 Marchin Bhimber Gali Sector acrossthe LoC in J&K.

India conveyed that thedeliberate targeting of innocentcivilians by Pakistan forcesusing high caliber weapons, ishighly deplorable and is con-demned in strongest terms.

“Such heinous acts areagainst established humani-tarian norms and profession-al military conduct. Pakistanauthorities are called upon toinvestigate into such heinousacts and instruct its forces todesist from such acts imme-diately. Our strong concernswere shared at continuedunprovoked firing and cease-fire violations across the LoCand the International Border.More than 560 such violationshave been carried out by thePakistan forces so far in 2018in which 23 Indian civilianshave been killed and 70 oth-ers injured. The Pakistan sidewas also asked to end supportbeing given to cross borderinfiltration of terrorists,including through coveringfire,” the MEA said in ademarche. PNS

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Rustam, a murrah bull, val-ued at a whopping of �11

crore, with a height of six feetand tail-to-head length of 16.5feet, grabbed eyeballs at the“Krishi Unnati Mela”, organ-ised by the AgricultureMinistry at Pusa Institute inthe national Capital.

His daily diet consists of 20litres of milk, five kg curd and10 kg feed, including carrotand fruits. His regimen alsoincludes a six to 10 kilometrewalk. Even Union AgricultureMinister Radha Mohan Singhcouldn’t stop himself for aphotograph with Rustam. Themela was organised fromMarch 16 to March 18.

Dalel Singh, a resident ofJhajjar district in Haryana, toldThe Pioneer that Rustam is a starattraction at the Krishi Mela.

“The bull is like our fam-ily member. I spend morethan �60,000 to 70,000 permonth on his upkeep. Lastyear, a foreigner fromGermany did offer me �11crore for Rustam but I refused,”the bull owner said, adding he

has earned �40 lakh last yearby selling Rustam’s semen.

Singh said every weekbeauticians come to his resi-dence for hair dressing ofRustam. Two people have beendeputed for his body massageon daily basis in morning andevening. According to Singh,Rustam had won first place inthe 10th National Livestock

Championship held in Punjab’sMuktsar in 2017.

Notably, there is also ahuge demand for high-yieldingMurrah buffaloes in Haryana.It is mainly found in Northernand Central India and is con-sidered among the best high-yield native breed.

The demand for Murrahbreed of buffalo, which is knownfor high milk yield, has alsoincreased because of the quali-ty progeny of the breed. Whileearlier, panchayati bulls wereused for mating with the buffa-los, these brand names havebeen in demand among farmersfor artificial insemination forbetter quality of progeny.

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Hours after a Pakistani tele-vision showed Alisba a

woman from that country deny-ing allegations that she haddated India fast bowlerMuhammad Shami in Dubaiinsisting their meeting ended upat the restaurant table only hiswife Hasin Jehan explodedbefore the media as never beforecalling the woman names and“urging the Indian people tostand by me for justice” andpolice to “arrest Shami and hisfamily members immediately.”

In what looked like abotched love story threateningto take political twist, Jehanalso said she would soon meetChief Minister MamataBanerjee to seek justice which

she thought could come onlyafter Shami’s arrest.

“There are people who stillback Shami and Alisba. But thisis not the story of Alisba alone.Shami has dated many morewomen as it is his habit,” she saidalleging “Alisba is now telling thatshe had only met Shami as a fanand the meeting ended at therestaurant table. But I vouch forthe fact that the meeting endedin bed of a hotel in Dubai.”

She wondered “what doyou call these women! They arenot women but prosti…. Whodestroy others’ families,” a vis-ibly agitated wife of the Indiaquickie said urging police toarrest the cricket and his fam-ily members.

She said “my husbandclaims that his Instagrams are

handled by me. If so then howcould not I know the affairsbetween him and Alisba whowere in a relationship sinceJanuary?” urging police “withfolded hands to arrest Shamiand his family members inorder to get to the truth.”

Meanwhile, sources saidthat the Board of Control forCricket in India had submitteda report on Shami in a sealedenvelope at the Lal Bazar policeheadquarters in Kolkata butcould not throw light on itscontent. Elsewhere a team ofsenior police officers fromKolkata questioned relativesof the cricketer in UttarPradesh, sources said addingabout five of his neighbourswere also questioned aboutthe family.

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Amob of several thousandpro-mining agitators held

the State capital of Panaji toransom for nearly five hours onMonday, blocking all entryand exit roads to the city,demanding immediateresumption of mining in Goa,which has been stopped on thedirections of the SupremeCourt of India since March 15.

The agitation which lastedfor several hours also turnedviolent on Monday afternoon,after some agitators stonedpolice and fire departmentvehicles and also stoned policepersonnel on duty and hurledbottles at Public WorksDepartment Minister Sudin

Dhavalikar, who tried to reasonwith the agitators to withdrawthe strike.

Several hundred schoolchildren, many of whom wereanswers Class XII studentswho were appearing for theirboard examination werestranded in their schools forhours after their respective

exams, while thousands oftourists who were enroute air-port, railway stations or totheir destinations were strand-ed because of the strike.

The National Highway 17passing through the State cap-ital was blocked for nearly fivehours. Police had to lathi-charge the mob late on Monday

afternoon to clear the key road,as a result of which nearly halfa dozen protestors receivedminor injuries.

Speaking to reportersPWD Minister Dhavalikar said,that he empathised with thosewho were protesting, addingthat he had assured them thata solution to the miningimbroglio as soon as possible.

"I have assured them thatthe Government is with themand a solution would be foundas soon as possible," Dhavalikarsaid, adding that, UnionMinister for Shipping NitinGadkari would be arriving inGoa on Tuesday and speakingto representatives from thepro-mining agitators, amongother stakeholders linked to themining industry.

"Gadkari ji is willing tomeet everyone who is affectedby the ban, whether it is work-ers' unions and those who arein trouble and need help

because of the stoppage inmining," Dhavalikar said.

Monday's protest wasorganised by truck and bargeowners and workers linked tothe mining industry, whichhas accused the State BJP-ledcoalition governments in thestate and the Centre of notdoing enough to contest theapex court's decision lastmonth.

The Supreme Court orderin February had cancelled all 88mining leases, which wererenewed by the BJP-led coali-tion Government in Goa infavour of the same miningcompanies implicated in the�35,000 crore illegal miningscam.

The order also mandatesthat mining leases should beissued anew, after getting all thenecessary environment clear-ances, a process which couldtake nearly one and a half totwo years according to experts.

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Worrisome Andhra Pradeshhas got a big boost in auto-

motive sector.The fighting State, for

Special Status for IndustrialDevelopment, has inked aMemorandum of Understandingwith Hyundai Mobis, a sistergroup of Kia Motors of SouthKorea. Before Chief MinisterChandra Babu Naidu, MOUwas signed by State’s Industries

Minister Amarnath Reddy andPrinciple Secretary SolomanArokia Raj on Monday. StateGovernment has allocated 736acres in Ananthapuram Districtto develop automotive sector byHyundai Mobis. The 16Companies which are part ofHyundai Mobis would invest�4970 Crore to developAutomobile Cluster to create6583 employment in the District.

While appreciating KiaMotors and Korean Companies,the CM has said AutomobileCorridor would be developedbetween Ananthapuram, NelloreDistricts via Chittor as SuzukiMotors, Hero Motors, AppoloTyres, Bharat Benz, Ashok

Leyland have already startedtheir manufacturing activity.

As Ananthapuram Districtis nearer to Visakhapatnam-Chennai and Banglore- ChennaiIndustrial Corridor, because ofState Government’s Automobilefriendly Policy, total �24000Crore Investments have come toState, the Chief Minister said.Naidu aspired Kia’s first carrelease by this month end and 3lakh cars production per annum.Korean Companies HyundaiDymos, Hyundai Steels,Hyundai Glovis, Sungwoo,Saehan, Seoyan Ewha, NVH,Hyundai Materials, Forecia, SL,Wooyoung, Hwaseung, INZI,Boogook, DSC etc.

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MNS chief Raj Thackeray’sfierce “Gudi Padwa”

speech had its backlash in theState on Monday, with a fewBJP workers from Sangli lodg-ing a police complaint againsthim for his statement that“communal riots” might breakout in the country in the com-ing months on the RamMandir issue and his partyworkers smashing the Gujaratiname boards from shops,hotels and other establishmentsin areas adjoining Gujaratalong the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway.

A day after he warned thepeople of the efforts beingmade in certain quarters toengineer “communal riots”across country on the RamMandir issue to win the forth-

coming Lok Sabha elections,BJP workers staged a protestagainst the MNS chief ’s “objec-tionable” statement and a fewof them lodged a complaintagainst Raj with the local policestatement for allegedly seekingto disturb peace and commu-nal harmony in the society.

At his “Gudi Padwa” rallyheld at the Shivaji Park groundsin north-central Mumbai, Rajhad said: “I have definite

information that there will becommunal riots in the comingmonths on the issue of RamMandir. These riots are beingorganised to win elections. Wedefinitely want Ram Mandirbut not to serve someone’svested interests. I do not mindRam Mandir being built atAyodhya even after the 2019Lok Sabha polls. But, we shouldensure that the BJP does notpoliticise the Ram Mandir issueto win elections”.

In a related development, agroup of MNS workers —apparently angered by theirparty president’s statement thatinfluence of Gujaratis wasincreasing in areas of Palghardistrict of Maharashtra alongthe Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-way — smashed the Gujaratiname plates of hotels, shopsand business establishments.

The MNS workers claimedthat they had smashed “20 to25” Gujarati name plates, whilethe police said that “someunknown” activists had forcedthe owners of shops and hotelsto remove “10 to 12” Gujaratiname boards. The police reg-istered an offence but no arrestswere made till the evening.

During his speech, theMNS chief had among otherthings called upon all theOpposition parties to cometogether to ensure “Modi-Mukt” Bharat in the 2019 LokSabha polls. “Under the pre-vailing situation in the countrynow, what we should do is tofight for third freedom in thecountry. We need is `ModiMukt’ Bharat. I appeal to all theOpposition parties to cometogether to herald ‘Modi Mukt’Bharat in the country, in 2019

polls,” Raj had said.The MNS chief charged

that after failing to separateMumbai from Maharashtra,the Modi Government wasdesperately trying to reduce theinfluence of Mumbai to bene-fit Ahmedabad and Gujarat.

Meanwhile, Mumbai BJPchief Ashish Shelar hit out atRaj Thackeray, saying: “It isironical that a man ( RajThackeray) who has been ren-dered “Rojgari Mukt” (jobless)by the people of Maharashtrashould be speaking in terms of“Modi Mukt Bharat”. RajThackeray should know hislimits before making such bigstatements. He finds himself insuch a situation wherein hisState Assembly had become“MNS Mukt” and all his cor-porators from Mumbai havefled to other parties”.

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Octogenarian Kashmiri sep-aratist leader Syed Ali

Geelani, known for his hardlinestance on dialogue process andengagement with New Delhi,on Monday appointed his long-term aide Muhammad AshrafSehrai to lead his partyTahreek-e-Hurriyat Kashmir(THK), a constituent of a fac-tion of Hurriyat Conference ledby Geelani. This is seen asimportant step in drawing cur-tains on Geelani’s politicalcareer spanning more than halfa century, which saw him elect-ed as member of the LegislativeAssembly for 15 years beforequitting the electoral politicsand joining separatist cam-paign in Jammu and Kashmir.

Observers say that Geelani’sdeparture from active politicswould have far-reaching impacton the politics of Kashmir. The

89-year-old leader has beencontinuously put under housearrest for the past 8 years. Hehas rarely been allowed tomove out of his house inuptowan Hyderpora localitythat remains under round-the-clock security vigil. Geelani isnot keeping well for the pastseveral years. His one kidneyhas been removed and hasunderwent heart by-pass surg-eries.

The decision to appointSehrai as the interim leader ofTHK was taken in an extraor-dinary meeting of the party’shighest decision making bodyor Majlis-e-Shoora here. “Sehraiwill take over as the interimChairman till the elections areheld later this year,” aspokesman of the party said.

The spokesman lamentedthat the state authorities hasgagged political activities andTHK workers have specially

been targeted.“Gagging the political envi-

ronment, jailing the entire manforce of the organisation andjudicial onslaught on our work-ers has left us with no otheroption than to fight back withmore will and vigor. Neither themission of TeH is alien nor isthe path chosen to achieve itunique. Everywhere and any-where suppressed andoppressed nations struggle andstrive to get rid of forcefuloccupation. We all have chosenthis rough and torturous pathwillfully and wishfully andevery testing endeavour makesour resolve hard and strong,” hewas quoted as saying.

Referring to his perpetualhouse-arrest, Geelani said thathe was not able to contribute tothe party’s activities. “Merelyholding a position without prac-tical contribution is injustice notonly with the post but to theconscience as well. So, today Iwillfully step-down from thechairmanship and advise theshoora to arrange an alternativeat the earliest,” he said.

Later, the Shura unani-mously appointed Sehrai asinterim chairman.

Sehrai is Geelani’s long-term aide. Both parted waysfrom their parent organizationJamaat-e-Islami in 2003 underan agreement to float Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, close on the heels ofHurriyat Conference’s split in2003. Geelani parted ways fromHurriyat Conference sayingthat several leaders of thegrouping tacitly supportedAssembly elections in 2002.

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After remaining in hiberna-tion post Gujarat Assembly

polls, pro-quota Patidar leaderHardik Patel has become activeagain as he decided to launchGujarat Jagruti Yatra (aware-ness march) in view of upcom-ing Lok Sabha elections.

Indicating about his plansthe 24-year-old Patidar leadersaid that the Yatra would cover26 out of 33 districts in Gujarat.“We will create awareness onburning issues related to farm-ers, unemployment and reser-vation. The Yatra will roamaround breadth and Length ofthe state for 18 days,” said thePatidar Anamat AndolanSamiti (PAAS) leader addingthat exact date and schedule ofthe Yatra will be announced incoming days.

Sources in PAAS said thatthe Yatra would begin in themonth of June and it would befocused on rural parts of thestate. It would also passedthrough major urban centre ofthe State, he added.

During the Yatra PAASworkers would create aware-ness on poor policies ofGovernment and bad gover-nance in Gujarat. Most proba-bly the 18-day long Yatra willbe started from the mountaintown Junagadh.

Patel said that he wouldlike to bring change with love

and compassion not hatred.Interestingly Patel is no empha-sising alone on the issue ofreservation to his communityunder OBC category but clear-ly he is trying to woo othercommunities also by raisingissues of farmers and unem-ployment.

The PAAS leader is turning25 next year and he would beeligible to contest elections. Inthe political circles of Gujaratspeculations are high thatHardik may contest Lok Sabhaelections from Morbi con-stituency the way OBC leaderAlpesh Thakore and Dalitleader Jignesh Mevani foughtAssembly elections successful-ly in 2017.

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In a tragic incident in Sitapur,four labourers were electro-

cuted while two others suf-fered serious burns after a hightension wire fell over themwhile they were working at aschool in Kamlapur area ofSitapur.

Agitated with the deaths,dozens of labourers and localresidents later staged a roadblockade disrupting traffic onthe Lucknow Sitapur highwayfor several hours. Theydemanded action against laxPower Corporation officials andcompensation for the victims.

Later senior officers reachedthere, pacified the protesters andcleared the blockade assuringthem of taking up the issue ofcompensation with theGovernment and acting againstguilty Power officials. A casewas later registered and the bod-ies were sent for autopsy.

The labourers were con-structing a boundary wall atVidyagyan Private School inKamlapur locality when thehigh tension wire suddenlysnapped and fell over themfatally charring four and injur-ing two others.

The deceased were lateridentified as Madhulal (30),Ankul (16) of Suraicha(Sitapur), Amrit Lal (25) ofImiliya (Sitapur) and Mahendra(40) of Bamera (Sitapur).

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On the completion of hisGovernment’s one year in

office, Chief Minister YogiAdityanath declared four lakhjobs in the next fiscal, one mil-lion houses under PradhanMantri Awas Yojana anddeclaring a decisive battleagainst corruption, launched ananti-corruption portal onMonday

“The Government has zerotolerance towards corruption.During the past one year, 192officials were either forced toretire or sacked for corruption.Besides, departmental pro-ceedings were underwayagainst 415 officials,” the CMsaid while inaugurating theanti-corruption portal, whichwill be available in Jan Suvidhawebsite of the Government.

“Complainants couldupload videos on the portal andtheir identity would be keptsecret,” said Yogi. He evencompared himself with a mon-key (Hanuman) who wouldtorch the ‘Lanka’ of corruptionand dynastic rule.

With Governor Ram Naikas chief guest at a function atLok Bhawan in Lucknow, theChief Minister presented the‘report card’ of achievements inthe last one year andannounced schemes for thenext fiscal.

In a slew of announce-ments, Yogi declared that theGovernment will open jobs in

64 departments in the next fis-cal and fill up around four lakhposts. These jobs will be inpolice, local bodies, educationand other departments.

“The NCERT syllabus willbe introduced in all primaryand secondary schools in thestate from April 1. A total 1.69lakh schools in the State, 2500have been identified as idealschools at par with conventschools,”the CM said.

“The successful InvestorsMeet in February has startedshowing results. In March2018, MoUs worth �25,000crore have been implemented,while MoUs of similar amountwould be implemented inApril,” Yogi said.

The CM also claimed thatin the current fiscal, aroundeight lakh houses under

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojanawere completed, while in thenext, the Government has seta target of constructing onemillion houses for the poor inboth rural and urban areas.

Yogi said that theGovernment has decided towaive off royalty on soil forpeasants from April 1. Earlier,a farmer was allowed to take10 trolleys of mud for hispersonal use. “If brick kilnowners decide to reduce therate of bricks, the Governmentcan consider waiver of the soilroyalty for them too,” he said.

In another importantannouncement, the ChiefMinister said that the land ofthe poor grabbed by the influ-enctial will be released.

“Our fight against landmafia will continue, but the

poor will not be harassed,” hesaid.

In his long speech, Yogielaborated upon the govern-ment’s achievements includingimprovement in law and orderand redressing farmers prob-lems by waiving off crop loan.

“This money was arrangedfrom our own resources whichshows our commitment tosolve people’s problems, Yogisaid adding that Governmentalso ensured cheating-freeBoard examination.

The CM claimed that PDShas been linked with AadharCard after which a �3500crore food grain scam wasexposed. “This year the gov-ernment transferred over�80,000 through Direct BankTransfer (DBT) to farmers’accounts during which theGovernment purchased 37lakh metric ton of wheat and45 lakh ton of paddy,” Yogisaid.

The CM also announced50 Pink buses for women inthe state, construction of Pankithermal power station inKanpur with a cost of �5800crore to generate 660 MegaWatt and to connect allremaining tehsils and blockswith two lane roads in the nextfiscal.

Besides, �35,000 crore wereearmarked for Metro rail pro-ject in Kanpur, Agra andMeerut, while similar projectsin Noida and Greater Noidawould be completed in 2018-19.

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Samajwadi Party presidentAkhilesh Yadav said on

Monday that tall claims havebeen made by the YogiAdityanath Government on the completion of its oneyear in office but no changewas visible on the groundlevel.

“The BJP Governmentin the last one year has notdone anything significant sofar. Diverting public attentionfrom real issues is the BJP’scharacter and only regionalforces can stop its march,”said the SP president.

Akhilesh said, “The Yogigovernment has spent itsfirst year in office by remov-ing the word ‘Samajwadi’from various schemes.

The BJP has divided thesociety in the name of reli-gion and festivals. It hasduped the people after mak-ing hollow promises in itselection manifesto.”

The SP chief said thateven as Chief Minister YogiAdityanath took the oath ofoffice as per the IndianConstitution but he has nofaith in either democracy orConstitution.

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Giving a thumbs up to theYogi Government on its

performance in the last oneyear, Governor Ram Naik saidthat investors showing interestto invest in Uttar Pradesh dur-ing ‘Investors Meet’ provedthat the face of the Statechanged in the last one year.

“I am from Mumbai,known as the financial capitalof India. I can tell one thingthat investors will invest in onlythat area, where they wereassured of return. The wayInvestors from Mumbaishowed their interest in invest-ing in UP proves that theirbelief about the state haschanged in the last 12 months,”Naik said while addressing afunction on the occasion of firstanniversary of the Yogi gov-ernment in Lucknow onMonday.

Though he did not talkabout law and order and othercontentious issues, Naik spokeabout his relations with theGovernments — bothSamajwadi Party and BJP.

“A Governor has a directlink with the StateGovernment. I can vouch thatmy relationship with previous

Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadavwas very good but I also enjoya madhur (sweet) relation withYogi,” the Governor said.

Showering praise on Yogi,he said that the Chief Ministerwas sensitive and responsibletowards the people of the state.He talked about suggestions hehad given to the Governmentfrom time to time.

“I had given many sug-gestions to the SP Governmentwhich includes celebration of‘UP Day’ on January 24 whichwas not accepted. But I am asteadfast type of person andwhen Yogi took over, I hgavethe same suggestion and heagreed and organised a massivefunction,” he said.

“Similarly, Yogi acceptedmy suggestion to celebrate 100years of the iconic call of‘Swaraj is my birth right’ givenby Gangadjar Tilak. Many peo-ple did not know that Tilak hadgiven this call in Lucknow,”Naik said.

Claiming that UP willtransform into a ‘ UttamPradesh’ during this regime, theGovernor said that the stateGovernment’s report card givesthe entire picture of how seri-ous the BJP Government was toserve the people of UP.

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In developments in the Bhima-Koregaon riots case, Hindu

Ekta Aghadi (HEA) leader andaccused Milind Ekbote wasremanded in further custody tillMarch 21 and another right-wing leader Sambhaji Bhidealias Guruji demanded the arrestof senior Dalit leader PrakashAmbedkar and others in con-nection with the incident.

On a day when an attemptwas made to blacken Ekbote’sface by an activist on the premis-es of a Pune court which sentextended his police custody foranother two days, BhideGuruji—as Sambhaji Bhide isknown in Maharashtra – uppedthe ante by demanding the arrestof Prakash Ambedkar and oth-ers for allegedly inciting theJanuary 1, 2018 disturbances atBhima-Koregaon in Pune dis-trict.

Talking to media persons atSangli in western Maharashtra,Bhide Guruji – who is the pres-ident of Shri Shiv Pratishthan,charged that the roots of theJanuary 1 riots lay at the ‘Yalgar

Parishad’ (conference) organisedby various groups on December31 at Pune Prominent among thespeakers at the conference were:Ambedkar Gujarat Dalit leaderJignesh Mevani, JNU leaderUmar Khalid, retired high courtjudge, Justice B. G. Kolse-Patiland other left and Dalit leaders.

“At this meeting, all theseleaders including Ambedkar hadincited gathering present intoindulging in violence and riot-ing… We demand that theGovernment must immediatelyarrest them for the Bhima-Koregaon riots,” Bhide Gurujisaid.

Bhide Guruji’s clamour forAmbedkar’s arrest comes four days after the latter demand-ed the right wing leader’s arrestin connection with the January 1 riots.

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Sasikala Pushpa, the contro-versial MP belonging to the

AIADMK and her husbandLingeswara Thilagan got sepa-rated by a court order onMarch 16, 2018. The 24-yearlong nuptial life got terminat-ed by an order issued by B RKedia, Princpal Judge, FamilyCourts, South West District,Dwarka, New Delhi.

“The marriage betweenboth the petitioners namely MsSasikala Pushpa andLingeswara Thilagan is dis-solved by a decree of divorce bymutual consent with effectfrom today ie on 16.03.2018.The parties are left to beat theiron costs,” said the Judge in hisorder.

Interestingly, the Rajya

Sabha member from TamilNadu is getting married to BRamaswamy, who claims to belegal advisor to members ofparliament. The wedding isscheduled to be held on March26, 2018 at the Lalit in NewDelhi. Delhites will get to seethe marriage of a parliamentmember from South India.

Sasikala Pushpa has beendescribed as the “glamour girl”of the AIADMK and shot intoprominence with the “slap gate”involving herself and anotherMP from Tamil Nadu. It wasreported that she slapped aDMK MP while they wereabout to board a flight toChennai from New Delhi air-port.

Later, Sasikala Pushpaalleged that she was summonedto Veda Nilayam byJayalalithaa, the then supremo

of the AIADMK and forced herto sign a letter of resignationfrom the Rajya Sabha. SasikalaPushpa (42) had a meteoric risein the AIADMK, from an ordi-nary activist she was catapult-ed to the position of the mayorof Thoothukudi and then to theRajya Sabha.

Though Sasikala Pushpawas expelled from the party byJayalalithaa herself “for bring-ing bad reputation,” of late sheis being seen in the company ofTTV dhinakaran, the rebelAIADMK leader who recentlylaunched AMMK with theintention to retrieve theAIADMK from the EdappadiPalaniswamy-Panneerselvamduo. Sasikala Pushpa’s presenceduring the launch of theAMMK added glamour andglitter to the function held atMelur in Madurai on March 15.

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In July 2018, the United Nations willlikely undertake its sixth bi-annualreview of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy that was adopt-ed by consensus in 2006. In the

dozen years that have since elapsed, ter-ror attacks have spread all over the globe,challenging authorities with their shape-shifting tactics — bomb attacks at civiliantargets, armed attacks on military camps,suicide bombers, gunning down schoolchildren in cold blood, taking hostages inpopular café’s, weaponising heavy vehicles,even ferocious knife attacks — all of whichare difficult to envisage and control.

The United Nations recognises terror-ism as a scourge of our times, but has notbeen able to arrive at a uniform definitionof terrorism. Upon reflection, this is notas astonishing as it seems, because terror-ism does not rise from a single root. Sincethe turn of the century, the world has wit-nessed a plethora of groups claiming alle-giance to and inspiration from a particu-lar faith, and having the ability to act in ser-vice of its goal of world domination.

Unlike the rest of the world, modernIndia has suffered Islamic fundamentalismand terrorism spawned by its proponentsfrom at least the Great Calcutta Killing of1946, an episode of such chilling barbar-ity that it led the Congress to concedePartition. Sadly, the party thereafter toler-ated controlled fundamentalism in Jammu& Kashmir and other places in a quest forpolitical longevity, forcing citizens toingest this poison harvest.

Simultaneously, India has been a vic-tim of a ruthless terror with non-religiousroots, viz, Naxalism, or Maoism, a mil-lenarian ideology that aggressively seeksto undermine the state while ostensiblyrepresenting rural and tribal grievances. Inpast decades, other nations have also expe-rienced violence with differing origins andobjectives. Hence, it is understandable thatGovernments concur that terrorism can-not be conflated with any creed, and thata single definition cannot encompass reli-gious and secular denominations of terror.

Having said that, most contemporaryterrorist organisations claim loyalty to onephilosophy; the most virulent is theIslamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) orDaesh (Dawlat al-Islamiyah f ’al-Iraq wBelaad al-Sham). Many successful terror-ists are professionally qualified, even fromrich families; their motivations are religio-political and are driven by an irrationalambition to forcefully bring the worldunder a so-called caliphate based on aninterpretation of the Quran that evenWahhabi Riyadh finds unduly extreme.

These groups have created a power-ful and below the radar system of identi-fying vulnerable persons through socialnetworks or social media, and selecting

them for indoctrination. Recruits areencouraged to cut themselves off fromfamily and friends and listen only to thementor(s), which is how they end up introuble spots like Syria. The mostappalling aspect of this brainwashing is theluring of young girls to provide sex to jiha-di fighters, in defiance of all religious andcultural norms; some clerics publiclycalled for such ‘volunteers’ at the heightof the ISIS’s power. These ‘volunteers’ aredifferent from the girls/women abductedand raped by the jihadis in territory undertheir control. Alarmed at their continuingability to make recruits, some Muslimcountries have developed counter-radical-isation programmes, with limited success.

International cooperation is impera-tive to defeat terrorism, and is the reasonfor ISIS’s seriously degraded capabilitiestoday. But eradicating the scourge intotality involves tracking and severing itsfinancial lifelines and resource-generatingabilities (raising funds through frontorganisations, seizing oil wells and sellingoil illegally, raiding banks, ransomingprisoners, etc). Besides, all known assetsof the organisations and/or key leadershave to be frozen, and nations harboringterrorists pressured to act against them orgive them up.

The most important tool against ter-rorism is intelligence, especially real timeintelligence, which can thwart attacks bytimely intervention. Intelligence agenciesthe world over are upgrading their cyberintelligence systems as terrorist networkscannot function without technology for

their operations, viz, recruiting cadre; dis-seminating propaganda through videos(Zakir Naik) or literature (Dabiq); show-ing off power through videos showing vic-tims being beheaded or set on fire; plan-ning and executing operations, transferringfunds, et al. All these leave a digital foot-print, however small.

Technology is, therefore, a near per-fect solution to tackle terrorism whileinvesting in improving human intelligenceon the ground. At the India Foundation’sCounter Terrorism Conference 2018(Changing Contours of Global Terror,March 14-16, 2018), renowned nationaland international experts discussed the col-lection, analysis and sharing of intelligenceon terrorist organisations in real time toneutralise threats.

One method under trial in somecountries involves monitoring activity in,say, the cellphone tower of a particular site,such as a railway station or industrialinstallation. This is legally possible anddoable. Technology involves looking forcertain patterns amidst the plethora ofmobile phones used by people visiting astation. Those making lengthy calls are fil-tered out.

Terrorists invariably make very briefcalls to avoid being overheard or taped.They inform their handlers that theyhave reached a destination, and laterreport success or failure; this digital sig-nature is how they are traced later.Sometimes it takes only a few hours tounravel a conspiracy and identify the cul-prits and the location of their handlers.

Cyber sleuths ‘listen in’ at towers in sen-sitive public places and create Big Dataplatforms for Virtual IntelligenceCollection and Analysis System (VICAS)for speedy responses.

Ultimately, the challenge is to ‘listen in’in the vicinity of likely terrorist hideoutsand share intelligence through Interpol;technology is being constantly improvedand is reputed to have thwarted attacks insome places. As technology improves, itmay be possible to monitor large publicgatherings, such as Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s rally in Patna in 2014,where some bombs went off and otherswere recovered later, and protect innocentcivilians.

However, an insurmountable problemremains the ready access to weapons by ter-rorist groups. So far, all weapons-produc-ing nations have refused to bring ‘smallarms’ under the ambit of internationalarms control treaties. These weapons area major revenue earner for the nations con-cerned, and populate the illicit armsbazar. They are lethal enough to wreakhavoc in crowded places, such as coffeehouses. The failure to regulate their salesenables nations to distribute arms toproxy groups in order to achieve certainpolitical objectives. This makes a mockeryof all international counter-terrorismefforts and protocols. The UN GlobalCounter-Terrorism Strategy needs to revis-it this issue with utmost seriousness.

(The writer is Senior Fellow, NehruMemorial Museum and Library. The viewsexpressed here are personal)

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Sir — This refers to the report, “AfterCong, AAP pitches for ballot paper”(March 18). A huge chunk of ourpolitical outfits still seek for conven-tional ballot paper electoral systems,as EVMs (Electronic VotingMachines) are subject to tamperingdue its vulnerable nature. A num-ber of Western countries havealready reverted to the ballot paperprocedure as these electronicdevices are apparently not tamperproof and election results can bemanipulated, as claimed by the AamAadmi Party (AAP).

Like political parties, manyvoters too have apprehensionsabout the credibility of such con-voluted machines. AAP’s allegationthat the Election Commission ofIndia is not ready to allow EVMsto be verified for impartiality isutterly significant and cannot bedownplayed. In a democracy, peo-ple’s trust and satisfaction are thetwin significant ingredients.Therefore, the election watchdogshould introspect and hold seriousdebates and revert to the paper bal-lot mechanism.

TKM KumbalamchuvattilMuvattupuzha

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Sir — This refers to the editorial,“Web of alliances” (March16).The BJP’s defeat in the three LokSabha by-polls, especially inGorakhpur and Phulpur, shouldbe an eye-opener for the party.Nevertheless, the coming togeth-er of the Samajwadi Party (SP) andthe Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)proves that in politics, nothing is

eternal, neither friendship norenmity, everything is ephemeral.

The SP-BSP combine are like-ly to follow the same path in theKairana Lok Sabha (UttarPradesh) by-poll, which is againnot a bed of roses for the BJP asAjit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal isalso a figure to be reckoned with,along with the SP-BSP alliance.

The BJP should not remainsmug, thinking that the Congresshas fared even worse. Having for-feited its deposits on two crucialseats, comparisons must be madewith good deeds and not bad ones.The NDA is losing its partners oneafter the another. It must have theelbow to outcast its competitors inorder to stand in merit.

Sagar Singh Delhi

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Sir — In a democracy like ours,voters are the ‘makers and throw-ers’. In the recent by-elections, theSP-BSP combine won bothParliamentary seats in UttarPradesh. But both parties have atrack record of being ditchers —lending support to a party andthen withdrawing.

Moreover, they are also theones who take the lead in stallingParliament. Elected representa-tives are expected to represent thevoters in Parliament and work forthem. Instead, they don’t allowParliament to function. Votersmust beware of tactics and games-play of such political parties.

CK SardanaBhopal

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India feels happy as macro data sug-gests an economic turnaround.However, incidents like the farmers’

protest in Maharashtra, the impositionof congestion tax or for that matter slip-ping to the 133rd position in happinessindex are signals that the country needsto do more than what has been done.

The global situation itself is notvery happy. India, with its large popu-lation, and being home to more poorthan anywhere in the world, is not inan unenviable situation — it is exacer-bating with increasing protectionismand US President Donald Trump’s planto make America Great again.

Indeed, it is an uneasy world.Steering the country through such amyriad situation is not a comfortablejob, more so with a restive population

that wants the Government to functionlike a genie. A small slip can lead to anuncomfortable election result, as wasseen in the recent Lok Sabha by-elec-tions in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

After years of difficulties —growth-less jobs, problems in the farmsector, higher taxes and tolls, amongothers — people have higher aspira-tions. Uttar Pradesh by-poll resultscame as a surprise soon after the UttarPradesh Government signed 1,045MoUs, amounting to proposed invest-ments worth �4.28 lakh crore at theInvestors Summit. It is a fact that Indianeconomics or politics cannot sustain onstatistics. It needs much more than that.While in search of happiness, it is slip-ping. Disparity is increasing.

Despite the recent slowdown in theIndian market, the overall situation isa cause for concern. Economists havefailed in suggesting effective ways tocurb the continuous inflationary situ-ation since 2010. Consumer priceindices have risen by over 60 per cent.Pay hikes are not enough to curb dis-content. People have been wonderingwhy, despite crude prices stagnating

around $60-64 per barrel, half of whatwas during the UPA regime, there is adaily revision of diesel, petrol prices.

Economists have created a fear psy-chosis among planners to rake inmore revenue, forgetting that it hurtsbasic economics. The Government hasnow better understanding of the peo-ple. It needs to realise that allGovernment and semi-Governmentorganisations, like municipal corpora-tions, panchayats, oil companies, banks,water boards and other utility servicesare perceived as extortive, as theyindulge in profiteering and greed.Every paisa they earn adds to inflation.

India has the most unstable priceregime. While boasting of ease of doingbusiness, it needs to keep the prices —not through artificial means — afford-able. Wages must rise, as now banks aredemanding, but economists have todevise a long-term solution. Prices mustremain stable and Government organ-isations must be put on a leash.

Bureaucrats, who suggest conges-tion tax on its model, forget the levelof affluence and the fact that the high-est number of poor live in the Capital.

They are unaware that the Delhimetro is unaffordable for slumdwellers. Is there any logic to chargea toll of �100 per entry for a taxi (usedby people under compulsion) andhigher rates for goods vehicle?Economists do not realise that tollcharge is paid by poor consumers andincreases price of every commodity.

While taxing all sales under GST,they forget that most Indian small busi-nesses’ profit is limited to whatever taxthey can save. The so-called ‘tax eva-sion’ is a compulsion in a country witha complex multi-tax regime.

Despite GST, States continuewith excise and other levies that weresupposed to have been subsumed.The GST Council has to look into it.Piecemeal solutions have led to polit-ical quagmire. The country forgetsthat in October 2012, thousands ofpoor farmers from Kerala to WestBengal to the North-East gathered inGwalior to march to Delhi. A simi-lar, smaller march had an insufficientimpact in 2007.

There are many who may arguethat such views are naive and that India’s

development — and thus the eradica-tion of poverty — depends on urban-isation, massive investment in infra-structure and the development of amanufacturing base capable of provid-ing employment to a large number ofpeople, especially the young. But sixyears later, in March 2018, 35,000 farm-ers marched from Nashik toMaharashtra secretariat in Mumbaiafter a 180 km-weeklong-trek with thesame demands and protection of theirlivelihood.

Since the CPM-led All India KisanSabha (AIKS) was behind this move,it is being perceived that the Left stillpossibly is not irrelevant in Indian pol-itics despite their decimation in the LokSabha. The reality is that most farmers,70 per cent of them, debt-ridden, arenot AIKS members but they hold thekey to change the political direction.The farmers needed someone to organ-ise and help vent their grievance.

If the Bharatiya Kisan Sanghhad taken lead, they could havegone with them too.

The march, however, raised a fun-damental question on the country’s

economic model. There has been aclamour to change that model with-in the Congress in 2012. The echoescould be heard today in all other par-ties. Yes, India has to plan for happi-ness, not just growth.

The Narendra Modi Governmenthas the opportunity to reshape thecountry’s economy on Gandhian prin-ciples or Deendayal Upadhyay’s inte-gral humanism — ekatma manavavad.

The present growth model hasbenefited a small population andcaused deprivation for a larger num-ber. If Trump has to be defeated in hisglobal trade war, it can be done byuplifting India’s poor farmers who havethe capacity to be the pivot of the econ-omy, a factor the liberalised-globalisedworld ignored.

Let the country debate but act fastto reorient the economic model. Thefarm distress is a socio-politico-eco-nomic reality. It calls for a change in theprice-tax regime and a real equitablesociety, where the food grower isgiven respect, better livelihood and notdoles in the name of waivers.

(The writer is a senior journalist)

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The Preamble to the Constitutionswears by “We the People” whichgives an impression that it was

approved by popular will. It was, how-ever, voted by the Constituent Assembly,which initially comprised of 389 repre-sentatives. Of these, 292 representedProvincial Assemblies, 93 were appoint-ed by rulers of princely States. Four morecame from the Chief Commissioner’sProvinces, namely Delhi, Ajmer, Coorgand British Baluchistan. The 292 mem-bers were chosen by an electorate whichconsisted mainly of property owners.Each member represented about a mil-lion adults. This number was furthersub-divided between Hindus, Muslimsand Sikhs in proportion to their popu-lation. The suffrage, thus, was extreme-ly limited; one representative for a mil-lion people. Of the 292, the Congresswon 208, while the Muslim League won73. Of these 73, 26 members were thoseMuslims who remained in Hindustan,the rest went to Pakistan.

Winston Churchill condemned theConstituent Assembly as having beenelected on an “inadequate and unrepre-sentative franchise”, as recorded by VPMenon in his book, The Transfer ofPower in India. The 26 Muslim mem-bers who stayed back, participated in theframing of the Constitution and sever-al of them demanded separate electorates

and reservation of jobs for Muslims. Thatprovoked Sardar Patel to say the follow-ing: “I want to ask the Indian Muslimsonly one question. In the recent All-IndiaMuslim Conference, why did you notopen your mouth on the Kashmirissue? Why did you not condemn theaction of Pakistan? These things createdoubt in the minds of the people. So, Iwant to say a word as a friend of Muslimsas it is the duty of a good friend to speakfrankly. It is your duty now to sail in thesame boat and sink or swim together. Iwant to tell you very clearly that you can-not ride two horses. You select one horse,whichever you like best”.

In the Constituent Assembly, oneof the Lucknow Muslim League mem-bers pleaded for separate electoratesand reservation of seats. I had to openmy mouth and say that he could nothave it both ways. Now he (ChaudhryKhaliquzzaman) is in Pakistan. Thosewho want to go to Pakistan can go thereand live in peace. Let us live here inpeace and work for ourselves. This wasrecorded by KM Munshi in his book,The End of an Era.

Evidently, the Constituent Assemblyrepresented only the upper class and thatalso by a limited number of representa-tives. The assertion “We the People”looks incorrect. Moreover, the Partition,drawn for a Muslim homeland, raisedthe question of special rights for thisminority which in any case MohammedAli Jinnah had asserted was a nation andnot a minority. In fact, a division on thebasis of religion made the separate rightsnot only irrelevant but also unjust bymaking the majority of the people lessthan equal. Article 25 to 30 deniesHindus the rights that are given to the

minorities, who, for instance, can estab-lish educational institutions freely whichHindus cannot do. Whereas, Article 14insists on equality before the law: Thestate shall not deny to any personequality before the law or the equal pro-tection of the laws within the territoryof India. Article 15 (1) says: The stateshall not discriminate against any citi-zen on grounds only of religion, race,caste, sex, place of birth or any of them.

Article 30 reads: Right of minoritiesto establish and administer education-al institutions. Article 30(1) reads: Allminorities, whether based on religion orlanguage, shall have the right to estab-lish and administer educational institu-tions of their choice.

Contradictions, so apparent, may beexcused on the ground that the enor-mous national document was drafted ina hurry. Moreover, the political atmos-phere was tumultuous and full of uncer-tainity, followed by the Partition and theconsequent mass slaughters. No wonder,the Constitution had to be amendedagain and again (123 times in 70 years).In contrast, the US national documentwas amended 26 times in the course of236 years. India had no political expe-rience on a national scale until 1947.

Under these circumstances, it mightnot have been possible to produce theConstitution with all its inadequacies byJanuary 1950. But for the Governmentof India Act, 1935, which was enactedby the Westminster Parliament for gov-erning the Indian empire, even animperfect document would have beenvery difficult to draft. This Act came inhandy for adapting readily to indepen-dent India’s Constitution. As with anysubstantial duplication, there were

bound to be faults.It was suggested to Prime Minister

Jawaharlal Nehru by several politicalfriends to place the whole documentbefore the first Lok Sabha election byuniversal adult franchise in 1952. Anendorsement by a popularly elected bodywould have legitimised the claim of thePreamble “We the People”. One personvoting per million people with some ofthem unwillingly left behind inHindustan; in fact a few of them likeJanab Khaliquzzaman emigrated toPakistan after participating in the debateson Constitution-making. Yet otherswere direct appointees of the mahara-jahs and nawabs of the princely Stateslike Indore, Baroda and Bhopal.Moreover, a debate by MPs elected byadult franchise would have lent usefulswotting up or editing to the document.The Prime Minister did not deem suchan exercise necessary.

There are a number of areaswhich need attention. One glaringdefect we have mentioned wherebythe majority community and theminorities are not treated as equal.Articles 15 and 30 contradict eachother. A second one is the confusionthat the concurrent subjects cause. Forexample, law and order is a state sub-ject yet there is a Central ReservePolice, the largest para-military force,which is mainly for duties in the States.

Then agriculture, for which theCabinet has a Minister and so haseach State. Who is the ultimateauthority? A thorough revision isobviously necessary. Or preferably anew document.

(The writer is a well-known colum-nist and an author)

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The benchmark BSE Sensexon Monday cracked below

the 33,000-mark by falling near-ly 253 points to extend its slidefor the fifth straight session dueto selling in metal, telecom andbanking stocks amid worriesover widening current accountdeficit and possible US Fedrate hike.

The 30-share index closeddown 252.88 points or 0.76 percent at 32,923.12. This is theweakest closing since December6 last when it settled at32,597.18. The index had lost741.94 points in the previousfour sessions.

The broader NSE Nifty toofell below the 10,100 level bydropping 100.10 points toend at 10,094.25 due to for-eign fund outflows amid ris-ing bond yields on prospectsof a 25 basis point hike ininterest rate by the US Federalreserve this week.

Overall market sentimentremained weak after the RBIdata released after market hourson Friday showed currentaccount deficit (CAD) rising to2 per cent of the GDP at $13.5

billion in the December quar-ter, up from 1.4 per cent in theyear-ago period, due to a high-er trade deficit.

The rupee also depreciatedby 19 paise intra-day against thedollar at 65.13, which too hada negative influence.

Global cues too were weakas investors moved cautiouslybefore the US Federal Reservemeeting, that is likely to raise USinterest rates.

“Market continues to dragunder global market volatilityahead of the FOMC meettomorrow, where consensus

hints at a 25bps rate hike. Bondyield remains at elevated levelsand concern on trade tensionsis influencing investors to bookprofit. Back home, rupee weak-ened due to widening currentaccount deficit and led investorsto remain cautious,” Vinod Nair,Head of Research, GeojitFinancial Services Ltd said.

“Widened fiscal deficit andfresh developments on the polit-ical front dampened the marketsentiment”, said Manoj Choraria,a Delhi-based NSE stock broker.

Tata Steel was the biggestloser among Sensex compo-

nents, plunging by 4.24 percent, followed by Bharti Airtel at4.16 per cent. Other laggardsincluded Wipro, Yes Bank, CoalIndia, Infosys, Asian Paint,Bajaj Auto, Adani Ports, SBI,Tata Motors, Kotak Bank, SunPharma, ICICI Bank, HeroMotoCorp, Dr Reddy's, HDFCLtd, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank,RIL, ITC Ltd, ONGC, HDFCBank and M&M that lost up to2.60 per cent.

In contrast, counters likePower Grid, NTPC, L&T,Maruti Suzuki, HindustanUnilever and TCS were the topperformers in the Sensex pack,rising up to 1.12 per cent. Metalstocks bore the brunt after pricesof base metals dropped in glob-al markets. Chinese ore fell to itslowest level since November onhigh inventories.

In the metal segment, coun-ters such as NMDC, SAIL,Hindalco, JSW Steel, JindalSteel and Power, HindustanZinc and Vedanta fell up to 6.47per cent. State-run oil market-ing companies such as IOC andBPCL fell on reports that refin-ers may buy stake in GAIL.BPCL, HPCL and IOC declinedup to 4.01 per cent.

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Aditya Birla Group’sUltraTech Cement onMonday said it would

buy Binani Cements Ltd (BCL)from its promoter companyBinani Industries Ltd (BIL) andagreed to provide �7,266 croreto the company. Besides, thecompany also sought to com-plete the termination of IBCproceedings and enter intodefinitive agreement and othercustomary and regulatoryapprovals soon.

The move comes days afterrival Dalmia Cement said its�6,350 crore bid to buy BCLhas been accepted by thelenders. Besides offering�6,350 crore, Dalmia had alsooffered 20 per cent equity inBinani to the lenders.

UltraTech said in a state-ment that Binani Industries Ltd(BIL) — the promoter firm ofBCL — had approached it forarranging funds to pay-off thelenders.

The company's boardagreed to issue 'comfort letter' toprovide �7,266 crore in returnfor 98.43 per cent stake inBinani Cement.

“The board of directors atits meeting held today after con-sidering the request made byBIL has agreed to issue thecomfort letter confirming thatthe company will providefunds amounting �7,266 crorebeing the amount it hadoffered to the CoC in terms of

the resolution plans submittedby it for acquiring BCL,” saidUltraTech Cement.

However, this would be“subject to termination of IBCproceedings, entering intodefinitive agreement and othercustomary and regulatoryapprovals”, it added.

According to UltraTech,BIL has requested the companyto issue a comfort letter whichshall be used as a support in itsapplication seeking termina-tion of the IBC proceeding.

UltraTech Cement wasone of the resolution appli-cants for the debt ridden BCLand its plan was not approvedby the Committee of Creditors(CoC) of BCL.

Last week, BIL had movedNational Company LawAppellate Tribunal (NCLAT) fil-ing contempt petition againstthe conducts of the ResolutionProfessional (RP) of BCL, alleg-ing that its order was not fol-

lowed while declaring the suc-cessful resolution plan for thestruggling cement maker.

Filing a contempt pleaagainst RP and representative ofDeloitte who is assisting reso-lution plan, Binani Industrieshas also asked the NCLAT todeclare the meeting of CoC ofBCL held on March 14, 2018 as“null and void” in which bid ofDalmia Bharat Cement wasapproved.

It also raised questions overthe valuation of Dalmia Cementby RP in the resolution processand alleged that he is conductingin a manner which is detrimen-tal to the interests of theCorporate Debtor (BCL).

UltraTech Cement is theleader in the cement industrywith a 92.5 million tonneinstalled annual capacity, and thismakes it the fourth largest cementcompany in the world excludingChina. BCL capacity, on theother hand, is 6.25 MT.

NEW DELHI: Expressing con-cerns over rising protectionismin developed countries, especiallyin the US which has imposedhigh import duties on steel andaluminium, WTO (World TradeOrganization) Director GeneralRoberto Azevedo on Mondaycalled upon the member nationsto come together and resolve theissues related to global trade.

The WTO chief, who ishere for a mini ministerial meet-ing called by India, said thatencouraging trends in globaltrade such as rising export ordersand volumes could be jeopar-dised by protectionist measures.

He was speaking at anindustry interaction here organ-ised by CII. Azevedo, accordingto the CII statement, pointed “torising risks to this positive out-look with recent incidents ofincreased protectionist moves bymembers”.

He cited the recent tariffincreases by the US for steel andaluminium among other protec-tionist measures by other coun-tries. He stressed upon the needfor WTO members to cometogether, adopt a flexible postureand cooperate in resolving theglobal trade related issues.

The WTO chief appreciatedthe initiative and the leadershiprole of India in organising themini ministerial meeting.

“We are facing many chal-lenges in the WTO and outside.Trade environment globally isvery risky at this point of time. Wewill try to have an open and hon-est conversation at the informalWTO meeting here," Azevedosaid. He also called on PrimeMinister Narendra Modi. PNS

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The initial public offer (IPO)of Bandhan Bank was over-

subscribed 14.56 times, elicitinggood response from QIP andHNI investors, a top official ofthe bank said. Monday was thelast date of the offer.

MD and CEO of BandhanBank Chandra Shekhar Ghoshsaid that oversubscription onaccount of QIP was 38.67 timesand that of HNI investors was13.89 times.

The price band had beenfixed between �370 and �375per share, with a face value of�10 each to raise �4,500 crore.

The entire proceeds of theoffer would be utilised for cap-ital requirements.

Retail oversubscription was1.05 times which is going to risefurther and applications receivedon this count was approximate-ly 10 lakh, Ghosh said.

“This was exce l lentresponse from the investingpublic. The success of theissue showed the people hasaccepted the Bandhan Bankmodel,” Ghosh said.

Kotak Mahindra Capital,JM Financia l , GoldmanSachs and JP Morgan werethe book running lead man-agers of the issue.

Among the anchor investorswere Abu Dhabi InvestmentAuthority - Behave, BlackrockIndia Equities (Mauritius),HSBC Indian Equity MotherFund, UTI - Mastershare UnitScheme, BNP Paribas Arbitrage,Amansa Holdings and TataBalanced Fund.

The Kolkata-based privatesector lender was mandated bythe RBI to come out with an IPOafter three years of completionof banking operations aftermigrating from microfinanc-ing activity only.

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In a bid to provide relief to thetelecom sector, reeling under

deep financial stress,Department of Telecom (DoT)on Monday amended licencenorms of service providers toincrease number of install-ments for spectrum paymentsand radiowaves frequencyholding limit.

“The Licensee may opt onetime for higher number of instal-ments including in the currentfinancial year 2017-18 (maxi-mum 16 instalments) fordeferred payment liabilities asper Notice Inviting Application(NIA) for auctions conductedfor award of spectrum in theyears 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and2016,” a DoT note on licenceamendment said.

Before this amendment, aportion of spectrum auctionamount used to be taken asupfront payment by DoT andthe balance, after a two-yearmoratorium, was paid out everyyear — 10 instalments in all.

The amendment is part ofrelief measures approved by theCabinet early this month for thesector reeling under debt of 7.87lakh crore and suffering fromreduction in margins due to cut-throat competition induced withentry of Reliance Jio.

There will be no change invalue and interest rate that tele-com companies have to pay forthe spectrum. The total amountthat telecom operators will payfor the spectrum will be higherby �74,446.01 crore till 2034-35if they opt for more number ofinstalments.

It will be optional for tele-

com operators to choosebetween current number ofinstalments and increased num-ber of instalments.

“The instalments that havealready been paid shall not bemodified,” the note said.

Before 2012, the DoT hadheld auction of 3G and BWA(Broadband Wireless Access)spectrum in 2010.

The DoT has also amendedspectrum holding limit of tele-com operators as per the Cabinetdecision, which will provideexit route for loss making mobileservice providers.

“The overall spectrum capis revised from the current limitof 25 per cent to 35 per cent,” theDoT note said.

A telecom operator wasearlier allowed to hold maxi-mum of 25 per cent of all spec-trum allocated in a service areafor mobile telephony.

The new licence normsends spectrum holding limit inand above frequency range of1,000 megahertz band. However,the spectrum holding cap willremain in frequency rangebelow 1 gigahertz.

“The current intra-bandcap is removed. Instead, there isa cap of 50% on the combined

spectrum holding in the sub-1GHz bands (700 MHz, 800MHz and 900 MHz bands),” thenote said.

The DoT will continue touse existing method to deter-mine spectrum cap. Underpresent norm, all spectrum,including allocated throughauction, unsold in auctionand surrendered by mobileoperators, will be consideredas total spectrum for calcu-

lating spectrum cap.The spectrum that may be

made available to DoT for com-mercial use by other ministriesor departments as result ofrefarming will not be consideredas part of total spectrum fordetermining radiowaves cap.

The revised spectrum capsmay be revisited after Final Actsof World RadiocommunicationConference (WRC) 2019, thenote said.

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MG Motors, the former British mar-que owned by Chinese automotive

company SAIC on Monday outlinedtheir India plans.

According to Rajeev Chaba, Presidentand Managing Director, MG Motors Indiaand a former General Motors India boss,the carmaker will roll out their first vehi-cle, a sports-utility vehicle, likely to be theMG ZS which would compete against theHyundai Creta, by the middle of next year.

SAIC, one of China’s largest industri-al corporations and carmakers has alreadybought the former General Motors Indiafacilities at Halol, Gujarat to make their carsand has a five-year outlay of over �5,000crore with �2,000 crore already spent.

According to Chaba, SAIC is makingmajor updates to the Halol facilitiesincluding a whole new bodyshop, bring-ing up the facilities to modern standards.

It also plans to have at least 300 cus-tomer touchpoints at the time of launch.

Following the first launch, the car-maker plans to launch a new vehicle everyyear. With an existing workforce of 150,plans are ongoing to recruit up to 1,000workers for the manufacturing facilities atHalol and talks are also ongoing with sev-eral Indian automotive ancillary manu-facturers.

The MG brand, which stood for‘Morris Garages’ is being used by SAIC topower their global expansion. In 2006, afterthe collapse of MG Rover in the UK, theywere bought out by Chinese carmaker

Nanjing Automotive, which in turn wasacquired by SAIC which was noted forbeing the joint-venture Chinese partner toGeneral Motors and Volkswagen in China.

However, only some research anddevelopment facilities remain in theUnited Kingdom. The plans for India arejust a part of the Chinese carmaker’s inten-tion to create a global car empire, with newfacilities in Thailand and Latin Americaalso planned.

However, with the Indian passenger carmarket dominated by two players —Maruti-Suzuki and Hyundai with overthree-quarters of sales and many multina-tionals not making a mark, Chaba expect-ed MG to be different. “We will give assur-ances to our customers and dealers that weare here to stay and we will bring meaningfulproducts that add value to our customerslives. We are also committed to India in thelong-term and have plans of 80 percentlocalisation from the very start.”

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Page 11: opinionexpress.in · 2018-03-20 · ˘ˇˆ ˇ ˇ ˆ ˙ ˙ˇ ˝˛ ˇ ˚˜ !" ˇ ˇ # ˆ ˙!$% ˇ & ! ˘ˇˆ ’(% ˙ ) * # + ˙ (ˇ ˙ˇ ˇˇ , ˇ -. # ˝ˇ ˝ ˇˇ. ˘

Separating science from the myths is extreme-ly important. We keep reading about whatwe should be doing when it comes to health,

but today we tell you what are we doing and believ-ing, that we should stop. You will be surprised tolearn about the wrong efforts that go into follow-ing some of these myths.Myth 1: Drink at least 2-3 litres of water

The one piece of advice that you will hear isthis now that summers are here. Drink as muchwater as your body needs. Not everyone needs 3litres of water every day. If you drink more waterthan your body needs, it may cause water reten-tion and you appear bloated. Check the colour ofyour pee to determine how much water you need.If it is colourless and without much smell, you aregood to go. Even if you have consumed just a litre.Myth 2: Late night dinner is a no-no!

We have this often that a late night dinnercauses a weight gain. You will be glad to know, thatit doesn’t. The time of your meals doesn’t matter.Missing your meals does as it makes you binge eat.Just make sure there is an hour gap between yourmeal and your sleep.Myth 3: Weekends are for catching up on sleep

Most of us have a crazy schedule all weekwhere we miss out on our sleep. We think we can‘make up’ for our missed by sleeping on weekends.It doesn’t help! The attention span and the levelsof fatigue do not return to normal if you sleep extrahours on weekends.Myth 4: Sugar rush!

Sugar rush is a myth. Numerous independentstudies have proven that consuming large amountsof sugar doesn’t affect the stimulus of a child result-ing in hyperactivity.Myth 5: A poop a day — healthy bowel

Regular bowel movement prevents constipa-tion but a perfectly healthy person may not movetheir bowels on a daily basis. A regular bowelmovement isn’t necessarily a sign of a healthy (oran unhealthy) bowel.Myth 6: The five-second rule

When you drop food on the ground and pickit up within five seconds, don’t be too pleased withit. Scientists have found out by putting the five-second rule to test that as soon as the food hitsthe ground, it picks up large amount of bacteria.Next time throw dropped food in the bin.Myth 7: If you exercise, eat whatever you want!

No one thing can contribute to the all-rounddevelopment of your mind and body. It is a com-bined effort. We eat more than we move aroundand our body is mostly made up of that. Also, fatpeople do not necessarily need to watch what theyeat, thin people should too. Our body needs vitalnutrients, which only food can give us.Myth 8: Chocolate causes acne

Teenagers are told that chocolate cause acne.Chocolate is not related to skin problems and infact, some of them are actually good for your skin.Myth 9: Carbohydrates make you gain weight

Carbohydrates don’t make you fat, eating toomany calories makes you fat. If you cut out thecarbs from your diet, your body will lose the fuelit needs. A low carb diet is also harder to stick within the long run and can’t sustain your diet plan.Myth 10: Microwave radiation is dangerous

The microwaves are many times weaker thanthe harmful radiation that we keep talking about.In fact X-rays are more harmful than themicrowaves and I see no one objecting to get-ting one done when the doctor asks for it.Myth 11: Having many mini meals is betterthan three large meals

Every time we eat, our body’s metabolismdoes try to burn the food. So having many minimeals would account for more burning calories.But the difference is so minuscule that the effortput into this is not worth it. Each meal is anopportunity to lose control and snacking maynot help. Stick to a comfortable routine that youcan sustain.

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With Irrfan Tweeting lastweek that he has neuroen-docrine tumour (NET)

— a rare tumour that develops fromcells of the neuroendocrine systemand grows typically in the digestiveor respiratory tract — lungs, appen-dix, small intestine, rectum andpancreas. However, it can occur inany body part.

+;�3(%!3FThey are abnormal growths

that begin in the neuroendocrinecells, which are distributed widelythroughout the body. While someclinical and pathologic features ofNETs are unique to the site of ori-gin, other characteristics are shared,regardless of site of origin. NETs arealso sometimes referred to as car-cinoid tumours.

NETs are rare neoplasms, butthe incidence is increasing. MostNETs are slow proliferating andclinically silent, and so are oftendiagnosed at a stage with advanceddisease.

Many NETs first appear in thelungs or the gastrointestinal tract,including the stomach, pancreas,appendix, intestines, colon andrectum. NETs may also appear inthe thymus, thyroid gland, adren-al gland and pituitary gland.

NETs may be benign or malig-nant. Although NETs compriseless than 2% of GI malignancies,these tumours are actually moreprevalent than stomach and pancre-atic cancers combined.

3;!2/�3./It depends on the tumour loca-

tion and whether it is functional ornonfunctional.

Functioning NETs are definedbased upon the presence of clinicalsymptoms due to excess hormonesecretion by the tumour.Functioning (hormone-secreting)pancreatic NETs are classifiedaccording to the predominant hor-mone they secrete and the result-ing clinical syndrome (insulinoma,gastrinoma, glucagonoma, VIPoma,somatostatinoma.

Non-functional NETs (NENs)do not secrete hormones and symp-toms due to them are caused by thetumour’s growth.

They are often asymptomatic inthe early stage. When present,symptoms appear similar to thosecaused by other common condi-tions. Therefore, NETs are at times

misdiagnosed as irri-table bowel syndrome(IBS). But abdominal dis-comfort in IBS is usuallyrelieved by going to the bath-room.

THe NENs arising in the diges-tive tract may be grouped into twomajor categories: well-differentiat-ed NETs and poorly differentiatedneuroendocrine carcinomas(NECs).

32�!Proliferative rate, as assessed by

mitotic count and Ki-67 labelingindex, is of prognostic significancein well-differentiated NETs, inde-pendent of tumour stage. A grad-ing scheme endorsed by the WorldHealth Organization (WHO) andthe American Joint Committee onCancer (AJCC) for NETs of thepancreas and tubular gastrointesti-nal tract classifies well-differentiat-ed NETs into low and intermediategrades based on the proliferativerate.

Poorly differentiated NECs areoften associated with a rapid clin-ical course, while well-differentiat-ed NETs of the digestive systemgenerally have a much better prog-nosis. However, well-differentiatedNETs are not a homogeneousgroup, and there is a spectrum ofaggressiveness. The biologic behav-ior of well-differentiated NETs can-not be predicted based on morphol-ogy alone.

To accurately grade the tumourand provide better guidance forchemotherapy, it may be necessaryto assess the tumour’s proliferativerate by both mitotic count and Ki-67 labeling index.

+;2(3;���!%F� As a result of the carcinoid

syndrome: Chronic flushingand/or diarrhoea are the typicalmanifestations of the carcinoidsyndrome, which is the result ofsecretion of serotonin and othervasoactive substances into thesystemic circulation. The carci-noid syndrome is primarilyassociated with metastatictumours originating in themidgut (distal small intestineand proximal colon). In con-trast, hindgut (distal colorectal)and foregut (gastroduodenal,lung) NETs uncommonly pro-duce the carcinoid syndrome.)

� As a result of tumour growth:

Small bowel NETs may causechronic/recurrent abdominalpain, occasionally leading tobowel obstruction. Metastatictumours in the liver can causeright upper quadrant pain,hepatomegaly, and early satiety.

� As an incidental finding: ManyNETs are discovered duringendoscopic or radiographic pro-cedures planned for other pur-poses; this is especially true ofcarcinoids of the stomach andrectum.The presence of the carcinoid

syndrome may be suspected whena patient has suggestive symptoms,such as otherwise unexplaineddiarrhea or flushing. However,other diagnoses must be consid-ered.

The differential diagnosis offlushing, for example, includesphysiologic events, drugs, and anumber of diseases other than thecarcinoid syndrome. Moreover,other neuroendocrine tumour typescan cause severe chronic diarrhea

)(��%.3(�3!3A useful initial diagnostic test

for the carcinoid syndrome is tomeasure 24-hour urinary excretionof 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), which is the end product ofserotonin metabolism. This test hasa sensitivity of over 90% and speci-ficity of 90% for the carcinoid syn-

drome.False pos-

itive results may beinduced by the ingestion

of certain drugs (aceta-minophen, coumaric acid,

guaifenisin, mephenisin, pheno-barbital, reserpine, acetanilid,ephedrine, methamphetamine,nicotine, phentolamine, phen-metrazine, caffeine, flourouracil,melphalan, methocarbamol,phenacetin, mesalamine) and tryp-tophan-rich foods such as avocados,pineapples, bananas, kiwi fruit,plums, eggplants, walnuts, hickorynuts, pecans, tomatoes, plantains,and butternut. These foods shouldbe avoided for three days prior tourine collection

Measurement of urinary 5-HIAA excretion is generally notuseful in foregut (gastroduodenal,lung) neuroendocrine tumours,which often lack aromatic aminoacid decarboxylase. In such a situ-ation, imaging studies are done tosearch for a carcinoid tumour.

;.+(3�0!�)FNETs may spread to other

parts of the body, most common-ly to the liver, peritoneal cavity orbone. At the time of diagnosis, morethan 50 per cent of NETs havealready spread to other parts of thebody.

Once the biochemical diagno-sis of the carcinoid syndrome isconfirmed, usually by an elevated24-hour excretion of 5-HIAA, thetumour must be localized. Twotechniques, standard cross-section-al imaging and diagnostic imagingwith radiolabeled somatostatinanalogs, have a complementaryrole in tumour localization.

30!�3/!%3The primary treatment goal for

patients with NETs should be cura-tive (complete resection of tumour),with symptom control and thelimitation of tumour progression assecondary goals.

Surgery to remove the prima-ry malignancy and/or local lymphnodes is the only possible curativeapproach and so represents the tra-ditional first-line therapy.Somatostatin analogs are the main-stay of therapy for the alleviation ofsymptoms of so-called functioningtumours.

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Spherule Foundation has started anawareness programme on menstru-al hygiene in schools, colleges,

orphanages, slums, villages and commu-nities across the length and breadth of thiscountry. An educational book titled MoonTime by founder of Spherule Foundation,Dr Geeta Bora, which reflects power ofmenstruation, explains our young girls increative way about biology of their bod-

ies, what periods are, why it happens andhow it’s completely natural, important andhealthy process and most importantly itwill explain why period is completely nor-mal and it should not affect their normalday to day life and they can do all the activ-ities and should not feel restrained.

Besides creating awareness, theFoundation is also providing sanitary nap-kins in slum areas and remote areas.

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World Sleep Day wascelebrated onMarch 16, 2018,

Brightsandz Clean Tech, aleader in providingElectromotive force (EMF) shield-ing solutions for better health and environment,has released the findings of its survey conduct-ed to measure the — Health of Our Sleep andEffects of EMF Radiation on Our Sleep

As per the estimates of the survey, 81 % of400 respondents sleep with their mobilephones under the pillow or in the proximityless than two feet. Using mobiles phones beforesleeping affects the quality of sleep, yet thereare 75% of the respondents who have the habitof pre -sleep browsing which makes them vul-nerable to sleeping disorders.

“Through this survey, we intend to mea-sure and amplify the awareness about theimpact of EMF radiation from handhelddevices that affects our sleeping pattern”Manas Ganguly, founder of Brightsandz CleanTech Private Limited, said.

Results of the survey also show that 60%of the respondents who sleep in proximity tothe stabilizer and 68% of the respondents whohave an external power distribution sourcesuch as HT power line or a distribution trans-former within the radius of 20 meters sufferfrom problems such as lack of energy, vitalityand tiredness, anxiety and edginess and list-lessness during the day.

Apart from raising the awareness about theimportance of a healthy sleep, Brightsandz alsoendeavours to educate society about preven-tive measures that can help them lead a bet-ter life by having a quality sleep.

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If you have an important dayat work puffy eyes make youlook ill and tired. But one

can easily take care of it by fol-lowing a few home remedies.

A common cause of puffyeyes could bewater retention.So drink water.When the body ishydrated, there isless chance ofwater retentionthat can causeyour under-eyearea and otherparts of yourbody as well.

Use cold spoons. Chill sixmetal spoons in the fridge for10 to 15 minutes. Hold therounded portion of one of thecold spoons against your eye fora few minutes until the spoonbecomes warm. As the spoonwarms, replace it with another

cold one. This will help get ridof tired eyes.

Use green or black tea bagsto help soothe puffy and irritat-ed eyes. The tea contains anti-irritant properties that help

reduce swellingaround youreyes.

Almost allbeauticians willtell you thatchilled cucum-bers make agood remedyfor treatingpuffy eyes. The

enzymes and the astringentproperties in cucumbers helpreduce inflammation. Cut acucumber into thick slices.Chill the slices. Place the coldslices on your eyelids for about10 minutes or until theybecome warm. Repeat a fewtimes.

����������Puffy eyes are a common prob-

lem. There are many reasons forthis like physical stress, hormonal

changes in the body, change inweather etc. Here are a few tips to

get rid of them, says ROSHANI DEVI

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Stroke or brain attack is the second largest cause of deathamongst people above the age of 60 years. 17 million strokesper year occur across the globe. Out of these, 6.5 million

per year will die and another five million will remain perma-nently disabled. One in six people will suffer from stroke in theirlifetime and stroke claims one life every six seconds across theglobe.

The incidence of stroke is reducing in the higher incomecountries due to implementation of preventive strategies. Onthe other hand, the incidence of stroke in lower and middleincome countries (like India) is increasing because of poor imple-mentation of preventive strategies and hence the global burdenof stroke is increasing. To reduce the global burden of Stroke,active work towards prevention and management of Stroke hasto be conducted in these lower and middle-income countriesincluding India and China.

��� ��������� �Remember the mnemonic FAST — Face, Arm, Speech Time.

If the face appears drooped, the arm drifts on raising it and thespeech is slurred. This would indicate a stroke and it is time toact FAST. 60-70 per cent of strokes can be identified by thismnemonic of FAST. Other manifestations of Stroke include:� Sudden loss of vision in one or both eyes� Vertigo and imbalance� Sudden catastrophic headache with vomiting

����� �� I�1.9 million neurons can die every minute after Stroke starts and

hence, urgent treatment is of extreme importance. Time lostis Brain lost. Two therapies that can be urgently offered inthe first few hours called as the “Golden period” and mayproduce significant benefit are:

� Intravenous thrombolysis (drug given through vein): Canbe given up to a window period of 4.5 hours (the earlier thebetter)

� Mechanical thrombectomy (Stent placed in brain vesselthrough leg vein and clot pulled out): Can be performed with-in six hours (the earlier the better).

�!�������������� ����������Major advances and changes in the treatment of Stroke have

happened since February 2018. These two advances are — expan-sion of patients eligibility for intravenous thrombolysis andexpansion of time window for Mechanical thrombectomy up to24 hours for selected patients. These are major advancementsin the field of stroke management and will change the waypatients. It includes:� Indications for Intravenous thrombolysis have been expand-

ed to � Some patients who have had heart attack in last three

months� Elderly above 80 years and patients with history of dia-

betes and previous stroke� Patients on blood thinners and those who develop stroke,

post cardiac intervention� Patients on dialysis, pregnant patients and patients with

diabetic, eye changes� Duration of Mechanical thrombectomy has been extended

to 24 hours for selected population

���!������� Stroke occurs more commonly amongst the population with

risk factors.� Regular medication prescribed by doctor to control BP, sug-

ars, cholesterol and blood thinning medication� Stroke can be prevented by risk factor reduction.

Unmodifiable risk factors include advancing age,male sex andfamily history of Stroke. Modifiable risk factors include:

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Beijing: China on Mondaypromoted Foreign MinisterWang Yi as State Councillor, thecountry’s top diplomatic postwhich conventionally entitleshim to be the key negotiator onborder talks with India. ButBeijing was mum on whetherhe will be China’s point-personon the vexed boundary issue.

Wang succeeds Yang Jiechi,China’s senior-most diplomat,currently China’s SpecialRepresentative on border talkswith India.

So far, the high-level postof Special Representative hasalways been held by someonewho had the background ofChina’s Foreign Ministry.

Before being elevated toState Councillor in 2013, Yangserved as the Foreign Minister.His predecessor Dai Bingguowas China’s Deputy ForeignMinister.

Asked if Wang will beChina’s next SpecialRepresentative on border talks,Foreign Ministry spokespersonHua Chunying said: “TheChina-India special represen-tative meeting is a high-levelchannel for the border issue

exchange. It’s also a level highmechanism for exchangesbetween the two sides.

“China attaches greatimportance to this mechanism.As (to) who will be the SpecialRepresentative, we will waitand see,” Hua added.

While Wang will remainthe Foreign Minister, Yang’srole was not immediatelyknown.

A hawkish Yang was elect-ed to the powerful PolitburoStanding Committee of theCommunist Party last year.

He was a shoo-in for VicePremiership, but his name didnot figure in the list of fourprime ministers announcedon Monday.

Asked about Yang’s futurerole, Hua said: “We all know

that Yang Jiechi is the memberof Politburo and he will con-tinue to play a role in China’sdiplomacy.”

If Wang is appointed thekey man for border talks, he willdeal with India’s NationalSecurity Adviser Ajit Doval,who is its Special Representativeon boundary talks.

China and India by farhave held 20 rounds of talks ontheir 3,448 km of disputedborder. The countries fought awar in 1962 and have seen theirarmies cross into each other’sterritories due to the differentperceptions of the boundary.

Wang repeatedly slammedIndia during the 73-day mili-tary stand-off at Doklam in theeastern sector of their borderlast year. IANS

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After a series of angry tweetsby President Donald

Trump on Sunday, fuellingspeculation that he may havestarted laying the ground to fireSpecial Counsel Robert Muellerprobing Russian meddling inthe US presidential election,some senior Republicans havecautioned Trump against goingthat route.

Any such move wouldmark “the beginning of the endof his presidency”, RepublicanSenator Lindsey Graham said,while a spokesperson for HouseSpeaker Paul Ryan, withoutgoing into the President’s latesttweets, said: “As the Speaker hasalways said, Mr Mueller and histeam should be able to dotheir job.”

“I don’t know what the(President’s) designs are onMueller, but it seems to bebuilding toward that (firinghim), and I just hope it does-n’t go there, because it can’t. Wecan’t in Congress accept that,”said Senator Jeff Flake, anoth-er Republican and a strong

Trump critic, on CNN.And Republican

Congressman Trey Gowdy,reacting to Trump’s personallawyer John Dowd favouringdisbanding the Mueller probebased on a “fraudulent and cor-rupt dossier”, commented thatthe lawyer was doing Trump adisservice, adding: “If you havean innocent client, Mr Dowd,act like it.”

Trump’s tweets and com-mentary on Sunday talk showsintensified the talk of a possi-ble Mueller ouster so much thatWhite House lawyer Ty Cobbopted to issue a statement onSunday night to say that thePresident was not consideringthe Special Counsel’s removal.

“In response to mediaspeculation and related ques-tions being posed to theAdministration, the WhiteHouse yet again confirms thatthe President is not consider-ing or discussing the firing ofthe Special Counsel, RobertMueller,” Cobb said.

And White HouseLegislative Affairs DirectorMarc Short took the stand that

Trump’s team was fully coop-erating in the investigationand that the President wasonly expressing his growingfrustration with the manner inwhich the probe has beengoing on and on for so long.

But, in the midst of theseclarifications, Trump himselftook to the Twitter again onMonday morning, suggestingthat the ongoing Russia probewas a “total WITCH HUNTwith massive conflicts of inter-est”.

What set off the chatter onthe fate of Mueller probe wasTrump’s series of Sundaytweets, asserting: “The Muellerprobe should never have beenstarted in that there was no col-lusion and there was no crime.”

“It was based on fraudulentactivities and a Fake Dossierpaid for by Crooked Hillaryand the DNC, and improperlyused in FISA COURT for sur-veillance of my campaign.WITCH HUNT!” he tweeted.

Trump went a step further,suggesting for the first time thatMueller’s team was packedwith Democrats.

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Beijing: Chinese Premier LiKeqiang on Monday unveiledhis new Cabinet as part of thegovernment’s efforts to sta-bilise the world’s secondlargest economy and appoint-ed a missile expert as thedefence minister amidstregional tensions with its

neighbours over territorialdisputes. The new line-upapproved by the rubber-stampparliament, the NationalPeople’s Congress, includesfour Vice Premiers, HanZheng, Sun Chunlan, HuChunhua and Liu He.

IANS

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Moscow: Russian voters gaveVladimir Putin a resoundingapproval for a fourth term asPresident, with figures from theCentral Election Commissionon Monday showing him win-ning with 76.68 per cent of thevote, his highest score ever,despite opposition activists high-lighting a number of cases ofvote rigging.

Almost 55.5 million voterssupported his candidacy in theelection that took place onSunday paving the way forPutin, 65, to lead the countryuntil 2024 after which he is con-stitutionally obliged to standdown, Sputnik news agencyreported.

The turnout at the electionwas 67.47 per cent, the CECreported. The main oppositionleader, Alexei Navalny, wasbarred from the race because ofan embezzlement convictionthat he said was manufacturedby the Kremlin.

Addressing a rally inMoscow, Putin said the votershad “recognised the achieve-ments of the last few years”.Speaking to reporters after theresults were announced, helaughed off a question aboutrunning again in another sixyears. “What you are saying is a

bit funny. Do you think that Iwill stay here until I’m 100years old? No!” he said.

World leaders congratulat-ed Putin on his re-election butno Western leaders responded tohis victory due to deepening ten-sions with Moscow in recentweeks after the poisoning of anex-spy in Britain, which the UKgovernment blamed on Russia,the BBC reported.

Chinese President XiJinping said his country’s part-nership with Russia was at its“best level in history”.

The leaders of Kazakhstan,Belarus, Venezuela, Bolivia andCuba were among those whoalso sent their best wishes.

However, German ForeignMinister Heiko Maas ques-tioned the fairness of the electionand said Russia would remain a“difficult partner”, but added:“We want to remain in dialogue.”

The scale of victory —which had been widely predict-ed — appeared to be a markedincrease in his share of the votefrom 2012, when he won 64 percent.

The previous election recordwas set by Dmitry Medvedev in2008, who won 52.5 millionvotes with just under 70 per centturnout. IANS

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Negotiators from the EuropeanUnion and Britain on Mondayhailed major progress in theBrexit talks, but conceded therehad been no breakthrough onkeeping open the Irish border.

Britain is due to leave theEU at the end of March 2019,but Brexit talks must be con-

cluded by this fall to leavenational parliaments in the bloctime to ratify any deal. The bor-der between EU member stateIreland and Britain’s territoryNorthern Ireland issue is centralto an agreement but negotiatorsare struggling to find a way tokeep people, goods and servicesflowing while respecting EUcontrols.

Riyadh: Women in Saudi Arabianeed not wear headcover or theblack abaya — the loose-fitting,full-length robes symbolic ofIslamic piety — as long as theirattire is “decent and respectful”,the kingdom’s reform-mindedcrown prince said.

With the ascent to power ofyoung Prince Mohammad binSalman, the kingdom has seenan expansion in women’s rightsincluding a decision to allowwomen to attend mixed publicsporting events and the right todrive cars from this summer.

The changes have beenhailed as proof of a new pro-gressive trend towards mod-ernisation in the deeply con-servative Muslim kingdom,although the gender-segregat-

ed nation continues to be crit-icized for its continued con-straints on women.

“The laws are very clearand stipulated in the laws ofsharia (Islamic law): thatwomen wear decent, respectfulclothing, like men,” PrinceMohammed said in an inter-view with CBS television airedlate on Sunday.

“This, however, does notparticularly specify a blackabaya or a black head cover.The decision is entirely left forwomen to decide what type ofdecent and respectful attireshe chooses to wear.”

A senior cleric said lastmonth that women should dressmodestly, but this did not neces-sitate wearing the abaya. Agency

Dhaka: The BangladeshSupreme Court on Mondayordered a stay on the bailgranted to opposition leaderand former Prime MinisterKhaleda Zia in a corruptioncase where she was handed afive-year sentence.

A four-judge bench accept-ed the appeal against Khaleda’sbail, granted by a High Courta week ago, filed by the gov-ernment and the Anti-Corruption Commission,reports Efe news.

“The court fixed May 8 for

a full hearing on bail matter.The court says we have givena unanimous order, now therewill be a full appeal hearing andthat appeal will decide ifKhaleda Zia will get bail,” Anti-Corruption CommissionLawyer Khurshid Alam Khantold reporters.

According to the lawyer,the decision of the bench wasunanimous and a decision onher bail will be completed inthree weeks.

Khaleda’s defence teamexpressed disappointment with

the decision of the top court.“We did not expect it. We

believed their petition would becanceled,” said MoududAhmed, Khaleda’s lawyer andsenior member of herBangladesh Nationalist Party.

On February 8, a specialcourt found Khaleda, who isalso facing several other casesof corruption, violence andsedition, guilty of fraudamounting to $200,000through a foundation she cre-ated to finance an orphanage.

IANS

Helsinki: Danish police say they are searching at least two peo-ple suspected of attacking the Turkish embassy in Copenhagenwith firebombs.

Henrik Moll, head of Copenhagen police, told reportersMonday that no one was injured in the early morning attack thatcaused minor damage to the exterior of the embassy building.

He said patrolling police officers partly witnessed the inci-dent and saw two people fleeing from the scene. A criminal inves-tigation has been launched into the matter. AP

Seoul: Top US, South Koreanand Japanese officials dis-cussed how to achieve com-plete denuclearisation of theKorean Peninsula duringweekend talks ahead ofupcoming inter-Korean andUS-North Korean summits,Seoul said on Monday.

Seoul officials who visitedPyongyang recently say NorthKorean leader Kim Jong Unagreed to hold summit talkswith South Korean PresidentMoon Jae-in in late April.Seoul says Kim proposedmeeting with PresidentDonald Trump, and Trumpagreed to him by the end ofMay. AP

Brussels: Moscow’s denialsover its involvement in thenerve agent poisoning of aformer Russian spy in Britainare growing “increasinglyabsurd”, British foreign minis-ter Boris Johnson said onMonday.

The Kremlin has rejectedallegations by London and itsallies that Russia was behindthe March 4 attack on SergeiSkripal and his daughter Yuliain the English city of Salisburyas “nonsense”.

As international chemicalweapons experts were due toarrive in Britain to investigatethe incident, EU ForeignMinisters voiced their supportfor Britain as they gathered fora meeting in Brussels onMonday.”The Russian denialsgrow increasingly absurd,”Johnson said. AFP

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Washington: President DonaldTrump is not considering fir-ing the special counsel investi-gating Russian election inter-ference, a top White Houselawyer said, after a cascade ofTrump tweets revived chatterthat the deeply frustrated pres-ident may be preparing to getrid of the veteran prosecutor.

The late-Sunday statementfrom White House lawyer TyCobb came after top congres-sional Republicans warned ofrepercussions if Trump firedRobert Mueller, who is lookinginto contacts between Trump’s2016 campaign and Russia andRussian meddling in the pres-idential election. AP

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Elizabeth Marvel is essaying thepowerhouse character of presi-

dent-elect Elizabeth Keane onHomeland Season 7. She stronglybelieves that the more we see a femalepresident on screen, the sooner it willbecome a reality.

The actress has appeared in anarray of films and TV shows like Burnafter reading, Lincoln and recently inLaw and order: SVU. Playing HeatherDunbar, a politician who challengesFrank Underwood for democraticpresidential nomination in House ofCards became a defining moment inher career. �Homeland is known for emulatingreal life chronicles in its plot. What’sSeason 7 been like?

Season 7 is running alongsidereal time, which I think is totally valid.The environment of paranoia andanxiety, the rate at which things arehappening now in our culture and inthe political world is completely insync with what we are mirroring onthe show this season!

�Tell us something about your char-acter?

I think Elizabeth Keane has themakings of a great leader. She was nottaken down by assassination attemptbut it did make her paranoid whichresulted in an overwhelming need todominate the situation. But she’s smartenough for a political animal to be ableto step back from those instincts andget the lay of the land and figure outwhat she needs to do to move forwardand have a successful presidency. I feelwhat we work with and what one wit-nesses in this season with Keane is inregard to someone at the core of thisincredibly paranoid and volatile whitehouse with political landscape aroundher.

It focuses on how she navigatesfrom a place of strength which isastonishing and interesting to me.They keep pushing her to move for-ward in a strong way considering thather entire administration was wipedout, the military basically performeda coup against her and how one getsback up after that is what we get towatch.

�What can we expect from this sea-son?

This season will revolve aroundthe round up of everyone in heradministration, government, all thetentacles in various departments held

for two hundred days. It begins withher in the crisis trying to stay in a placeof control and power after military hasturned against her. It’s fascinating asyou can’t deny looking through thelens of gender by casting a female pres-ident. The ramifications and theechoes of the decision are seenthroughout the season.

�What about the dynamics betweenher and David Wellington, the WhiteHouse Chief of Staff to the President?

It is expanding and evolving thisseason. It mainly began from a deepplace as they had such an intense his-tory and more of that is getting uncov-ered. We will learn a lot about theirbackstory and I think, anyone who’sbeen in a bunker with someone, theyhave an intense intimacy that is height-ened when you go through things likewar or political campaign.

They tend to trust each other,depend on each other in a way that Ithink president Keane doesn’t feel safewith anyone else the way she does withWellington until she doesn’t.

�How is the season similar to thecurrent scenario?

It’s pretty demoralised andinflamed and it’s pretty divided. Thereis a lot of polarisation happeningalong the lines of race prevalent inhighly weaponised and under-seizedcountry by an outdoor government.that has infiltrated its democracy.

�How has it been like working onthis season? You’re the Presidentnow.

It’s my environment and my envi-ronment has forms of everything I do.Since, it is the oval office this season,it’s a sanctuary as well as a shrine. It’ssuch a sacred room with iconic space.So when you’re in it, it is impossibleto separate from those feelings.

It constantly echoes in one’s mind.Historically from all of the imageswe’ve seen over the decades of differ-ent people in that room, in that posi-tion, it just sort of reverberates yourmind when you’re in that space.

(Season 7 of Homeland airs on StarWorld every sunday at 9 pm)

Designer Malini Ramani hascome a long way from her

dramatic debut in 2000 on theIndian fashion scene with herRock star meets Indian Princesscollection to being synony-mous with new-age tribal wear.Dip-dyed drapes, tribal influ-ences, regal capes, sequins,mirror work on black outfitsand an abundance of gold werethe standout elements of herlatest collection, The HighPriestess, inspired by the mean-dering course of a woman’sjourney. One of the strikinglooks was a model sporting thehorns of a ram on her head,which reminded us ofMaleficent. Talking about thesame, Ramani revealed, “AnAmerican hair stylist friend vis-ited me a month back. Shecame over to my office and sawmy mood board with The HighPriestess looks. After whichshe designed the headgear all byherself and went back and said,‘I have a surprise for you. I ammaking something for yourshow and will send it to yousoon’. And it arrived two daysbefore the show, I had no ideawhat it will be like but found itsuper wild which really workedout for the show. It was a pow-erful headgear, enchanting andmagical just like the highpriestess.”

She informed us that it wasa conscious call to fuse the trib-al elements. “My brand, mylook, and style are actuallyquite tribal, gypsy andnomadic. So, that’s just mystyle and how I dress whichreflected in what I wanted to dowith this collection.” Thedesigner divulged details aboutthe colour palette, an interplayof brown, white and blue in thefirst segment and play of blackand white along with mirrorwork in the second segment. “Ihad actually tried to experimentwith various colours. My moodboard had myriad hues. I loveblack and white and I amwearing these shades right nowtoo. I also love tie-dye, brownsand muted colours. Even if Imake a plan to do somethingelse, the sheer love for it keepsdragging me back to that.”

Ramani’s fascination withkaftan silhouette dates long

back. “I thinkkaftans are chic,elegant andsophisticatedpiece of cloth-ing. It can beworn by any agegroup, mymother and Iboth wear thekaftan. Africans,M o r o c c a n s ,French — every nation wearsthe kaftan. It can be worn dur-ing the day or at night, can becasual or dressy, one can go toa wedding in it or go to sleepwearing it. It’s flexible, loose,flowy and sexy at the sametime. I just like it.” She believesthat her latest collection istravel-friendly. “You can packall these items in a suitcase andnone of them will get crushed.You can wear all of them whiletravelling. You can put on acape if you are feeling cold in

a plane or wearjumpsuits and dressit up in the eveningor even wear theseoutfits for lunch ordinner. The one-piece saris are a greatchoice especially fordestination wed-dings.” Althoughthese one-piece saris

were presented inblack and white for theAmazon AW’18 collection, thebuyers can opt from an array ofcolour options. She added thatwhile she is travelling, shecomes across certain people,even at airports which at timesinspires elements in her cre-ations.

Recalling her time spent inDelhi, Ramani said, “I havelived here for most of my life,even though I did not plan that.Currently, I am here on a visaas I live in New York mostly.

Delhi was much more fun andempty with hardly any trafficearlier. I was younger and allover the place. Now my fondmemories are related to thepeople that I know and theexperiences I had with them. Ihave completed 18 years in thefashion business. I have manygood memories related to thattoo.” When asked about herfavourite hangout spots in thecity, she quipped, “My house!As you get older, it’s not abouthanging out at certain placesand more about the people youare hanging out with and moodyou are in. I have created myown cocoon where I like to bein and that’s actually my house.”

When asked how has thisinfluenced her worldview andfashion sensibilities. Ramanireplied, “I see women on thestreets still dressed in saris, any-where I go around there arecolours. The city is not on topof my inspiration list, that isNew York as I visit it a lot. I amborn there and live there. Whenyou look around, you areassaulted with distinct styles,colours, madness and creativ-ity on every corner.”

She is not interested in par-tying now and has a valid rea-son for it — she has grown up.Ramani also spoke about herstudio in Goa. “The business isquite seasonal and only forthree months it is good. I pre-fer Goa over Delhi as it hasclean, pleasant weather, freshair, relaxed and laid-back atti-tude. Everyone is in a cheerfulmood there. It’s easy to get toplaces and there is no pollu-tion.” On what keeps her going,she said, “It’s creativity and pas-sion. I am passionate about sev-eral things — yoga, food, mywork and my dog. I am on aspiritual journey and that’swhat keeps me going. Also, tosee new things and go onadventures. I love sharing andgiving, inspiring people andbeing inspired.”

On her forthcoming pro-jects, “I am working onYogalini, my kundalini yogaline. I am going to Dubai soonfor an exhibition and manytrunk shows and pop-ups arein line which I do once a year.So, I am packed with that.”

When Jennifer Emejuluwent to see BlackPanther, the New Jersey

resident didn’t feel like wearingany of the traditional Nigerianclothing she routinely wears forfamily parties.

She enjoyed seeing photos ofthose who did come out to seethe global blockbuster about thesuperhero leader of a fictionalAfrican nation dressed in theirAfrican-inspired outfits, butEmejulu found it a little ironic,too.

“Growing up, we used to getmade fun of for being African”by black Americans, says the 36-year-old physical therapist whowas born and raised in theUnited States to Nigerian immi-grant parents. “Now ... we’re in,we’re cool.”

In the weeks since its release,Black Panther has been a jugger-naut — holding the top box-office spot, bringing in morethan $560 million domesticallyand $1 billion globally. Featuringa predominantly black cast hail-ing from all over the world, it’san American-made film from anAfrican-American director, RyanCoogler, that’s an ode to Africa— set in the fictional, never-

colonised and immeasurablypowerful nation ofWakanda, with costuming

and sets heavily inspired byexisting African cultures.

Its central story pits T’Challa,the Black Panther, and king ofWakanda, against ErikKillmonger, the son of T’Challa’suncle and an American woman,who was abandoned in Americaand touches on how and whetherthe country’s power should beused in aid of black people glob-ally.

Kil lmonger, played byMichael B Jordan, feels hisfather’s African homeland shouldarm black people in global upris-ings, while T’Challa, played byChadwick Boseman, questionshis country’s history of isolation-ism but doesn’t want to seeglobal bloodshed or Wakandanimperialism.

In touching on the questionsof what’s the connection or dis-placement among peoples ofAfrican descent all over theworld, it puts a spotlight on areal-world issue that’s beentalked about for more than a

century and had an impact onhow Africans and African-Americans have interacted witheach other.

African-American figuresincluding WEB Du Bois andMalcolm X have long invoked aconnection between Americanblacks, descended from thosewho were forced to come here asslaves and stripped of everythingincluding their cultural heritage,with Africans on the continentand Africa itself, said JonathanGray, associate professor at JohnJay College in Manhattan.

“For a lot of people who are‘conscious’, there is this traditionwhere we’ve tried to discern thisconnection,” he said.

“It’s an act of diasporicimagination. It’s the same actof imagination that allowsfor a Jew living in Portugal, aJew living in Brazil and a Jewliving in Poland to think ofJerusalem as their home eventhough, let’s say in 1930, noneof them had ever been toJerusalem.”

Some of the context of theneed and desire for that con-nection has been the legalisedracism of the systems African-Americans were forced to liveunder, first slavery and thensegregation, for much of thehistory of the United States, thathas made it extremely difficultfor most African-Americans to

trace their particular ancestriesback past a handful of genera-tions in this country.

“If we had been allowed tocome here of our own volitionand we were able to maintain asense of identity with where weactually come from with a sense

of specificity, there mightnot be the reaction thatpeople have right now,” saidTony Armstrong, 46, an ITconsultant in Miami whohas done genetic testing tofind even a general sense ofwhere his roots in Africamight be.

“We need to know thatwe don’t come from noth-ing,” said Shara Taylor, 34, ofNashville, Tennessee. “We

need to know that we camefrom somewhere, that we didn’tjust spring from the ground inchains in the United States.”

But as much as there’s beena push for connection in somecorners, there’s been plenty of

disconnect as well, and even dis-dain from one group to theother, as stereotypes like thoseabout poverty-stricken Africaor dangerous inner-city Americahave been absorbed by bothgroups, and there’s a lack of realknowledge of the harsh realitiesof slavery on one hand andcolonialism on the other, expertssaid.

“We meet and encountereach other through these lensesof mutual ignorance,” saidMwatabu Okantah, assistant pro-fessor at Kent State University inKent, Ohio. “It makes relating toeach other difficult.”

Writing for the HuffingtonPost, Jolie A Doggett questionedwhether black Americans wouldbe welcome if Wakanda were areal place. She was doubtful.

“I found myself having toface the harsh reality that thereis a division within our diaspo-ra that’s not going to easily heal,”she said.

Funmilola Fagbamila,adjunct professor at CaliforniaState University, Los Angeles,said, “There are complexitieswithin black identity, betweenAfrican-Americans and specifi-cally black people in Africawhere they would say, no, youare not us.”

But that has been shiftingover time, especially in recentyears, and the movie could playa role in opening dialogues, saidMelina Abdullah, also a profes-sor at Cal State LA, and chair-woman of Pan-African Studies.

“I think the movie is spark-ing a conversation and con-sciousness among people,” shesaid. “The role of black art hasalways been to kind of awakenus, to get us to think creatively,critically, use our imagination tothink about what freedommeans.”

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ASufi melody is born from thedeepest part of the soul.Considered to be the purest

form of music, each line is a decla-ration of unconditional love for theAlmighty. Muzaffar Ali’s popularfestival on music, Jahan e Khusrau,with Sufi thought as its primarytheme returned to the Capital in its13th edition. The venue remainedArab Ki Sarai, Humayun’s Tomb,Nizamuddin. Envisaged as much asa visual spectacle as an aural expe-rience, the festival is supported bythe DS Puri Foundation, and pre-sented by the Delhi Governmentand the Rumi Foundation.

Hazrat Amir Khusrau was bornin Awadh, and though he had aPersian father, and culturally inher-ited a lot of Persian thought, he wassaid to have always claimed he wasIndian through and through. Hishundreds of compositions are sungtill today, he is credited with creat-ing Urdu; qawwali as a genre wascreated by him; he was also anacclaimed statesman and mystic.

Three nights brought togethermusicians from different parts ofIndia, with the underlying themeremaining mysticism. The highlightof the first day was the first part ofa two part dance drama Yamuna -Dariya Prem Ka (the river of love),conceived by Muzaffar Ali. As theorganisers said, “When time hasflown by, only the Yamuna remains,to remind you of the timelessnessof the human soul, the basis ofmythology. The Sufis who have livedby this river and felt it flow in theirveins have been inspired by it intheir devotional compositions.”

Malini Awasthi, the popularfolk and Sufi singer, who has per-formed on this platform several

times earlier, admitted she has sungfor Jahan-e-Khusrau in London, andSrinagar also. Malini Awasthispoke of her concert “The currentperception about what Sufi musicis, I think today is mixed up.Various saints, pirs and faqirswrote about the beauty of love andthis emotion is so powerful it issufficient to unite you with theAlmighty. Sufism is a very deepphilosophy; in Awadh too thisthought was very much alive.Hazrat Amir Khusrau, after whomthis festival is named, composedmany of his most popular devo-tional pieces in Awadh, includingchaap tilak, kahe ko gaye bidesh. Iam today known best for my folkmusic, which like the emotion ofSufi music, is very primal, veryrooted to the soul. I feel the lyricsin both genres are very important;Rahat Ali Khan sahib of Patialagharana, based in Gorakhpur, andShujaat Husain Khan from theRampur Sahaswan gharana,also from Gorakhpur,taught me the impor-tance of dictionwhich is soimportant inboth genres; Ilearnt it for 15years!” Malinic o n t i n u e d ,“ M u z a f f a rsahib, (forwhom I have thehighest respectand a deep connect,perhaps because of our

Awadh roots) and I carefully chosethe three compositions I sang;each piece was completely differ-ent. The first piece was Hind meinkaise phaagrachi written byEmperor Bahadur Shah Zafar,ostensibly about Holi, but actual-ly referring to the Indian Mutinyagainst the British. The secondpiece was written by a poet fromKakori Teri nindiya ko laage aag.The third composition was aquawalli by Awadhi composer RajNiyazi; Jalwanumahhaituheetu, jal-wanumahnahinhu main, phirbhi yejaanta hoon main, kitujhseju-daanahinhoon main”. Upliftingthoughts indeed!

The concluding artist thatevening was 33 year old KanwarGrewal from Mehmaswai,Bhatinda. Kanwar learnt classicalmusic while studying. He contin-ued with a Masters in Music fromPatiala University, but is nowdevoted to a life to internalising

music, being completelyinspired spiritually by

Bibi Manjeet Kaur, aSaint from

Malerkotla. HisPunjabi lyricswere all derivedfrom BabaBulleh Shah,and his ninetroupe musi-cians were all

from the Punjab. Pooja Gaitonde

was the youngestartist at 25; raised in

Mumbai, she has trained in clas-sical music from S C Bhat of theAgra gharana, and then fromUstad Munawar Masoom SayeedKhan who taught her variousfacets of Sufi kalaam gayaki. Shewas happy to collaborate withDelhi based accompanyists; onlyher accompanying vocal choruswas from Mumbai. She said “It’s adream come true to sing at Jahan-e-Khusrau.”

Other star artists includedKailash Kher and Shubha Mudgal.

The festival concluded with theinimitable Hansraj Hans, todayalso the gaddi nasheen of the Sufiseat at Nakodar, Punjab, that hehad been nominated to by the lastPir, Baba Lal Badshah. In hiswords, the origin of Sufi thoughtwas perhaps from the Punjab, theland of Guru Nanak, who sung toverse, Shah Hussain, Sultan Babu,the Sindh mystic Ganj-e-shakar,Jhullelal (after whom the popularMast Qallandar was composed).Hansraj said after his concert,this time, he focussed on Urducompositions and sang only two inPunjabi. He added that he hadcomposed each piece he sang spe-cially for this festival which he saidis “the biggest festival of its kindin India.”

The countries that have par-ticipated in the past at this festivalhave included artists from USA,Canada, Germany, Italy, Morocco,Sudan, Egypt, Tunisia, Iran,Turkey, Uzbekistan, Pakistan andBangladesh. Besides Delhi, Jahan-e-Khusrau has been presented inJaipur, Patna, Lucknow, Srinagar,Boston and London.

(The author writes on music,musicians and matters of music)

The sounds that reverberate when one listensto an orchestra playing is indescribable. A

fusion of instruments with a long melody evokesuch deep emotions, tears of joy and goose-bumps that each individual wants to capture thatmoment forever.

India and Italy celebrated the 70th anniver-sary of diplomatic relations with a series of cul-tural exchanges that encompassed music andexhibitions. The chamber orchestra Cameristidella Scala, together with Laura Marzadori asthe soloist formed by the musicians of theorchestra of Teatro alla Scala di Milano madetheir debut in the capital. It had a rich taste ofthree centuries of Italian musical inspiration.

Artistic influence from a few celebrated con-ductors of the past and present working at Teatroalla Scala contributed to the character and theshape of Cameristi’s musical phrasing blendedwith distinct Italian sound.

Dr Andrea Baldi, director Italian EmbassyCultural Centre shared, “The classical music isone of the greatest cultural products for exportthat Italy has produced with plenty of master-pieces during its glorious history. Music isknown as the most transversal artistic expres-sion among different cultures. Chamber music

normally does not have a director, and has a lim-ited number of instruments. The orchestrainstead performs in theaters which includes alltypes of instruments and requires a direction.

“We have chosen some of the mostfamous themes from Opera as well as our vio-lin virtuoso Nicolò Paganini. We have alsopaid attention to the 20th century by choos-

ing a composition from Nino Rota whowrote the wonderful soundtrack for thefamous movie Il Gattopardo”, said RobertoNigro, coordinamento generale, Cameristidella Scala.

As an upcoming venture, Cameristi isdeveloping an original project to be performedat 2018 Davos World Economic Forum.

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When thePresident of

France announcesthat he will visit anartist’s studio andthe artist is SubodhGupta, you knowthat his name isone that registerson an internation-al reckoning. Over the past 15 years,Gupta has worked hard to build hisown reputation and repertoire ofworks that cut across cultures andspeaks to people everywhere.Galleries with an international nameand lineage become his dealers andit is not surprising that his installa-tion at Art Basel Hong Kong 2018will be Arario Gallery.

Easily recognised by his use ofeveryday objects, the artist is one ofIndia’s leading contemporary artists.Not limiting himself to just onemedium, he has expressed his ideasthrough multiple mediums such aspainting, sculptures and installations.The focal point of most of his work,however, has remained in the extra-ordinary use of banal everydayobjects.

President Macron visitedSubodh Gupta’s studio on SundayMarch 11. Nestled in the colony ofGurugram facing a car showroom,the tall heavy gate must be openedfor you to enter.

With Gupta’s sprawling studio-workshop in Gurgaon, he is verymuch the master of his three-storeyed enterprise. One of his largevessel installations frame the frontlawn; inside, scale models of olderworks take up corners– you can seea steel bucket with kitchen spoons.Gupta has designed the avant-gardeexposed concrete and glass exteriorof the building himself. Inside, itgives way to wood-panelled luxuryand statement furniture that blendspragmatism and eloquent elegance.

His studio is built and spreadover three floors. A medium-sizedroom with neon light alphabets Maki Daal on the wall and another ofhis vessel installations on the wall tellyou that he is an artist who thinksand brings the past forward to thepresent. Simplicity and elegance

emanate the languageof India’s greatest instal-lation artist. The tableon this floor has a glassand thali sunken intoits circular surface. Onthe ground floor iswhere all the weldingand the constructionhappens.

A small staircaseleads you on to thelarger space and a lifttakes you up to themiddle floor. Gupta greets you andtakes you towards his works that hehas just created. “I try to keep thisfloor as clean as possible — it’s whereI put the work when I want to lookat it in detail and see what I mightdo, or when it’s completed,” saysSubodh.You can see a cabinet withhis bronze mangoes, a stunningsurreal work that evokes questionsamong the viewers and gets youthinking about stories.

Subodh takes you into his officeand painting studio, which of courseis spacious and spotless. A highbacked chair with purple upholsteryis where he sits and thinks. Anantique Ganesha in its residualimperfect state makes you think ofhis love for antiquity and his bril-liance at thinking out of the box.Thesquare table at the centre is packedwith books. The studio has the air ofa mini museum. A table with some

of his potent vesselseries, another withpaint tubes and brush-es — each corner isevocative.

At Gupta’s studio,you can have freshlybrewed Italian cof-fee/masala chai. Hedoesn’t often give inter-views. I am indebted toPeter Nagy for havingprocessed mine. In 2016just before his show in

Mumbai he told me , “I employ awelder, a clay modeller, a plaster castpainter and a graphic designer alongwith a studio assistant who has goodcommand over languages, bothHindi and English and can write well.Most days, I like to be able to offermy assistants something for lunch,so I order tiffin [a packed hot lunchof rice, dal, curry, bread, and so on,delivered by a tiffin-wallah], and wesit down and eat together for an houraround 2 pm.”

It would be intriguing to knowthe conversation that FrenchPresident Macron had with Gupta.Of course, this is a meeting of twoempires —French soaked in the his-tory of Camus and Sartre while Indiais soaked in ancient texts of thepuranas with Munshi Premchandand Tagore and many more thrownin. All in all, a great moment for con-temporary Indian art.

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Dinesh Karthik is always ready todeliver whatever the situationmay be and his experience and

repertoire of strokes make him a suit-able candidate to provide the finalflourish for India at the death overs,skipper Rohit Sharma said.

Wicket-keeper batsman Karthik(29 of 8 balls), who has made sporadicinternational appearances, produced alast-ball six as India pulled off anincredible chase beating Bangladesh byfour wickets in the Nidhas T20 Tri-seriesfinal, here on Sunday.

"He was with us on the previous tourin South Africa and didn't get muchgame time. To do what he did today willgive him a lot of confidence going for-ward," Rohit said.

"Most important thing he has isbelief in himself. Whatever situationcomes, he's ready — whether he bats upthe order or down the order. That's thekind of guy we need in our team."

Rohit revealed Karthik was nothappy that he was not batting higher inthe order but the Indian skipper defend-ed his decision of sending him at num-ber 7 saying his experience and skillsmade him a suitable candidate to pro-vide the late charge in the final overs.

"When I got out, I went and sat inthe dugout and Dinesh was quite upsetthat he didn't bat at No. 6," Rohit said.

"But I told him: 'I want you to batand finish off the game for us, becausewhatever skill you have, it will berequired in the last three or four overs'.That is the only reason he was not bat-ting at No. 6 in the 13th over when I gotout. He was upset with that, but he'll bequite happy now how he finished off thegame."

Lavishing praise on Karthik, Rohitsaid: "I have to go back to the kinds ofshots that he has in his books - it suitshim to finish off games at the deathwhere you have to use that one fielderthat is inside the circle - either fine leg,or mid-off or short third man.

"He can always play those rampshots which he played in the end toRubel Hossain. He knows that. I thoughtMustafizur [Rahman] would bowl prob-ably the 18th and the 20th overs, and wewanted an experienced guy to handlehim.

"We knew he would come out withhis offcutters and Dinesh probablywould have been a better choice at thatpoint. He has done it for his state teamand also for Mumbai Indians."

Washington Sundar alongwithYuzvendra Chahal finished as the tour-nament's highest wicket-takers, witheight dismissals apiece and Rohit singledout the allrounder for special praise.

"I think throughout the seriesSundar's bowling has been magical forus. What he has done with the new ballis quite incredible, I would say. Notanyone can just take the pressure ofbowling within the Powerplay. Not toforget he also got wickets at the sametime. He didn't allow any of the oppo-sition to score runs really in thePowerplay," Rohit said.

"The skillset that he has - he'squite courageous to do what he wantsto do in the middle. It's not just one ortwo games. He consistently bowled in

the Powerplay, and always kept us in thegames. We identified him as one of thepromising talents who can play for thenational team for many years. This tour-nament will give him a lot of confi-dence."

Rohit said the young team showedcharacter and executed the plans per-fectly. "Great tournament for us.Everybody who played, they showed lotsof character. These games are not easyand these guys have not played a lot forthe national team. And this performancewill give them a lot of confidence. Someof them went for runs, but they will learnfrom it," he said.

Sundar, who was adjudged the Manof the Series, said it was challenging tobowl in the powerplay.

"It means a lot, especially such anaward at such a young age. It's a chal-lenging role (bowling in Powerplay) butwhen playing for your country, it's justan honour," he said.

I've always wanted to read the bats-men's mind, and that's what I have beentrying to do. I really wanted to be therewhen we win the game and I thinkDinesh bhai played really well and itturned out to be a memorable series forme."

Though disappointed to end up onthe losing side, Bangladesh skipperShakib Al Hasan praised his team forplaying well throughout the series andcredited India for showing better nervesunder pressure to pull off the narrowwin in the final.

"You can't ask for more in a final likethis. I thought we played superbly, any-body could have won the game, butIndia held their nerves well," he said.

"We wanted to bowl our best bowlerin the 18th and 19th. But even if Rubelhad gone for 15 an over, we could havehandled it. He didn't miss his length toomuch but credit to Dinesh Karthik to justcome out and hit sixes from his first ball.”

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Dinesh Karthik is no Hrishikesh Kanitkar orJoginder Sharma but the Indian batsman is not

complaining about the "memories of a lifetime" thathis last-ball six against Bangladesh created.

Kanitkar's boundary against Pakistan under fad-ing Bangabandhu Stadium lights in Dhaka orJoginder Sharma's final over act against the arch-rivalsin the inaugural World Cup at the Wanderers wereone-off acts that made them household names.

Karthik, during hissporadic India appear-ances in the last 13 andhalf years, has certain-ly done more thanKanitkar or Joginderbut perhaps never hadthat "me too" momentthat every cricketercraves for.

"It's an amazingfeeling. These arethings which remainin your memory for alifetime," an ecstaticKarthik told bcci.tv.

Karthik did a JavedMiandad with a last-ball six as India pulledoff an incredible chasebeating Bangladesh byfour wickets.

Needing five off the final delivery, Karthiksmashed Soumya Sarkar over extra-cover to secuirewhat would certainly be one of India's most famouslast ball sixes.

"It's been a great journey for the past one year andI am very happy to be a part of this. We have put ina lot of hard work and it's good to have won the tour-nament at the end of it all. I want to thank the sup-port staff for the effort they have put in," the 32-year-old said. "At that stage, all I was trying to do was hita boundary every ball. I was positioning myself onthe crease according to what he would bowl. It kindof paid off," the affable Tamil Nadu cricketer was try-ing to be modest.

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Yuzvendra Chahal jumped12 spots to number two

while Washington Sundarmoved up a phenomenal 151places to 31st in the ICC T20IPlayer Rankings for bowlers onthe back of their impressiveshow in the just-concludedNidahas Trophy Tri-Series inSri Lanka.

Leg-spinner Chahal nowhas a career-high 706 ratingpoints while off-spinner

Sundar, who was named Manof the Series, has 496 points.

Both the spinners werepart of the five games Indiaplayed, and picked up eightwickets apiece.

Sundar, who bowled main-ly in the Powerplay, had anincredible economy rate of5.70, while Chahal finishedwith 6.45.

Also making significantgains in the bowling chartswere some of the other per-formers from the Nidahas

Trophy: Akila Dananjaya of SriLanka, Rubel Hossain ofBangladesh and India's JaydevUnadkat and Shardul Thakur.

All of them achieved theircareer-best rating points at theend of the tournament.

Unadkat (joint 52nd) andThakur (joint 76th), India's

premier pacemen in the tour-nament, went up 26 and 85 spotsrespectively with their bestpoints ever -- 435 and 358.

Dinesh Karthik, who had anoutstanding tournament bat-ting in the lower middle-order,jumped from No 126 to No 95,with his best-ever 246 points.

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Bangladesh skipper ShakibAl Hasan on Monday said

there is no point "crying" overthe heartbreaking defeat toIndia in the final of NidahasT20 Tri-Series here and willrather focus on rectifyingthe mistakes for future.

Shakib was asked howdifficult was it to hide hisemotions after the loss.

"I actually don't know.There is no point cryingabout it. Yes, there can beemotions attached to suchoccasions but there isn't any-thing to do here," Sakib said.

Wicket-keeper batsmanDinesh Karthik (29 of 8 balls)smashed a last-ball six asIndia pulled off a four-wick-et win last night.

"It's not possible torewind time, so we have to dobetter when there is a simi-lar situation again. We havelost many close games andfinals.

"This was the fifth one(final) and all of them wereclose matches. The closest Ithink was the Asia Cup andthen today's one (Sunday)…I think this was even closer(than the Asia Cup). I thinkwe are moving forward."

Shakib said he will nothesitate to again hand overthe ball to Rubel Hossaindespite the bowler conceding22 runs in the 19th over.

"To be honest he did notmiss much of the plan whenhe bowled. I don't know ifthere are many batsmen whocan come and hit a six off thefirst ball," Shakib was quotedas saying by The Daily Star.

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Manchester United will play Tottenham inthe FA Cup semifinals at Spurs' temporary

Wembley Stadium home.The draw on Sunday saw last year's final-

ists Chelsea face Southampton in the other semi-final.

Both matches will be played at Wembleyover the weekend of April 21-22.

Wembley is the designated neutral groundfor the semifinals — and final — but Tottenhamare well accustomed to it after taking up tem-porary residence at the national stadium thisseason while their home at White Hart Lane isbeing redeveloped.

The draw followed Sunday's quarterfinalswhere Chelsea beat Leicester 2-1 thanks toPedro's extra time winner, and Southamptonbeat third-tier Wigan 2-0 in Mark Hughes' firstgame in charge of the Saints.

Twelve-time FA Cup champions ManchesterUnited and Tottenham secured their passagesto the semifinals on Saturday. United beatBrighton 2-0, and Tottenham defeated Swansea3-0.

���� ���������������� ���Pedro scored with a header in extra time for

Chelsea to advance to the FA Cup semifinalswith a 2-1 win at Leicester on Sunday.

Chelsea next face Southampton at WembleyStadium after new manager Mark Hughes' sidebeat Wigan 2-0.

Manchester United play Tottenham in theother semifinal, which is also at Spurs' tempo-rary Wembley home.

Chelsea were made to work hard to progressin the only remaining competition they can winthis season. Alvaro Morata got the visitors goingwith his first goal of the year.

The Spanish striker scored on a counterat-tack minutes before the break. Willian won theball near his own penalty area and found Moratawith a fine pass. Morata took one touch and thensent the ball over the outrushing KasperSchmeichel with a fine finish.

Leicester improved after the interval andJamie Vardy might have equalized when heheaded a good opportunity over.

The home side's pressure finally paid offwhen Vardy equalized with a quarter-hourremaining. Riyad Mahrez crossed and Vardy'sinitial effort was blocked by a defender, as wasVicente Iborra's attempt. Chelsea goalkeeperWilly Caballero saved Iborra's follow-up, beforeVardy finally scored at the fourth attempt.

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Juan Martin del Potro keeps surprisinghimself.

Close to quitting tennis after fourwrist surgeries in recent years, theArgentine fought to get back to the ATPTour even as he was reduced to hittinghis backhand with one hand instead ofhis usual two.

The struggle paid off Sunday, whenDel Potro staved off three match pointsin the third set to beat top-rankedRoger Federer 6-4,7-6 (8), 7-6 (2) for theBNP Paribas Open title.

The win ranks up there with DelPotro's 2009 US Open title, in which hebeat Federer, and helping Argentinawin the Davis Cup in 2016.

"I cannot believe I won this tourna-ment, beating Roger in a great final andlevel of tennis," Del Potro said.

Naomi Osaka of Japan won thewomen's title 6-3, 6-2 over RussianDaria Kasatkina in a match-up of 20-year-old rising stars.

Del Potro and Osaka each earned$1.3 million.

Del Potro became the first Argentinechampion in the 42-year history of thedesert tournament. He handed Federerhis first loss of the year, snapping theSwiss superstar's 17-match winningstreak that was the best of his career.

"I feel frustrated that I let an oppor-tunity like this go by," Federer said.

Del Potro held a match point at 8-7in the second-set tiebreaker, but he lostthe final three points on his own errorsthat allowed Federer to force a third set.

"It was a lot of frustration after thatmatch point, but then I play well," DelPotro said.

They were on serve in the third untilFederer broke for a 5-4 lead with a back-hand winner off del Potro's serve.

Federer had a chance to serve out thematch, holding two match points. But delPotro staved both off to force deuce.

Federer's forehand went long, givingdel Potro a break point. Federer answeredwith a backhand that hit del Potro at thenet and then gained his third match pointon del Potro's forehand error.

Del Potro recovered to deuce with aforehand winner. Federer mis-hit a fore-hand high into the air beyond the base-line, giving del Potro another break point.

The Argentine cashed in with a well-placed forehand in the corner to tie theset, 5-all.

In the tiebreaker, Del Potro raced toa 6-1 lead, helped by two of Federer'sdouble faults. He closed out the win onhis third match point when Federer'sforehand failed.

"I would like to play that tiebreakeragain because I don't know what the hellhappened," Federer said.

Del Potro lost just six points on his

serve in the first set.In the second-set tiebreaker, Del

Potro and Federer took turns arguingwith chair umpire Fergus Murphy. DelPotro was annoyed the crowd was mak-ing noise on his serve and told the umpirehe wasn't warning them enough to bequiet.

"It had no effect on the outcome ofthe match," Federer said. "I was just alsojust trying to pump myself up more, toget energy for me."

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The controversy surround-ing Mohammad Shami on

Monday took another turn asPakistani woman Alishba admit-ted meeting him in Dubai butrefuted any monetary dealingswith the India pacer as claimedby his wife.

Alishba's name surfaced inthe controversy after Shami'swife Hasin Jahan alleged that hecould have a relationship withthe Pakistani woman.

"Yes, I met him. I am a fre-quent flyer to Dubai because mysister stays in Sharjah. As a per-son, I really like Shami. As anyfan that has idolised a celebrity,they always dream of meetingtheir idol. I had the desire tomeet him (Shami) like any otherfan would want to, which Idon't think is a big deal," Alishbatold ABP news.

Shami had been booked

under various non-bailable,including attempt to murder,and bailable sections after hiswife lodged a complaint ofdomestic violence and infideli-ty against him.

Hasin then hinted that herhusband may have cheated Indiafollowing his alleged relationshipwith girlfriends from Pakistanand Dubai, which had prompt-ed the Committee ofAdministrators (CoA) chiefVinod Rai to ask BCCI's anti-corruption body to submit areport in a week's time.

Hasin had said in the samenews channel, "Alishba is aPakistani citizen and Shamiclaimed that she gave him

money. I have never been told byShami for what purpose thatmoney was given. I don't knowbut if he can fraud me he canfraud the country too."

Alishba claimed she andShami are just friends.

"I am one of his followers,which is how I became Shami'sfriend. Just like he has lakhs offollowers, I am one among thosenormal fans. I have sent himmessages," she said.

"No, I directly went to mysister's house. However, I visit-ed the hotel next morning ataround 9 am and had a break-fast with him," she said. "I per-sonally don't know MohammedBhai and have nothing to dowith him and there was noinvolvement of money transac-tion between us. The personwho does not even lie to anyone,how he can be disloyal to hiscountry," Alishba said.

Earlier in the day, Hasingave a confidential statement toa magistrate at Kolkata's Aliporecourt in connection to thecharges she brought against thecricketer. She then went to theresidence of chief ministerMamata Banerjee to submit awritten plea to meet her.

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Chinese star Lin Dan wasdenied a seventh All-

England Open title as his youngcompatriot Shi Yuqi clinched ashock victory in Sunday's final.

Seventh seeded Shi profitedfrom Lin's lacklustre play towin 21-19, 16-21, 21-9 inBirmingham.

The surprising absence ofLin's famed attacking skillshelped Shi to grow in confidence.

The 22-year-old was able toutilise his speed and hard-to-read overhead attacks withoutinhibition against one of thesport's all-time greats.

"I was more patient andcontrolled my pace, whichhelped me get the match back,"said Shi, who admitted he wasrelieved to erase the memory oflast year's final loss to Malaysia'sLee Chong Wei.

Lin would have been theoldest player in 63 years to winthe All-England men's singlestitle had he prevailed.

But just when he had lev-elled the match with a burst of

delicate drops and sliced smash-es, he suddenly lost his rhythm.

"To (still) play at this level isgood," said Lin, 34.

Lin became the first playerever to play in 10 All-Englandmen's singles finals and made itthe first all-Chinese men's Openfinal for a decade.

"I feel good about myself andI want to congratulate myyounger opponent," he said.

Both Chen Long, theOlympic champion who lost toShi in the quarter-finals, and Linhave been nurturing the devel-opment of their compatriot.

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Atletico Madrid's title hopes werefurther damaged after they con-ceded two late goals in a 2-1 loss

at Villarreal on Sunday, allowingBarcelona to open up an 11-point leadin the Spanish league with nine match-es remaining.

Real Madrid, still far behind in thetitle race, are in third place after a 6-3win over Girona with four goals byCristiano Ronaldo.

Atletico looked set to keep pacewith Barcelona at the top until EnesUnal led Villarreal to a come-from-behind win with goals in the 82ndminute and in injury time.

Antoine Griezmann had putAtletico ahead by converting a first-halfpenalty kick at Ceramica Stadium.

"We were controlling the game wellbut in the end they took advantage ofthose two plays," Atletico coach DiegoSimeone said. "We have to keep doingwhat we have been doing, keep tryingto win as many points as possible."

Barcelona earlier defeated AthleticBilbao 2-0 at Camp Nou Stadium withanother stellar performance by LionelMessi, who scored a goal and helped setup the other.

Atletico striker Vitolo was sent offafter Villarreal's second goal for shov-ing an opponent.

Villarreal moved to fifth placewith therir second straight victory.

� ��� ����������Ronaldo scored once in the first half

and three times in the second, reach-ing 21 goals in his last 11 matches in allcompetitions. The Portugal star also setup Lucas Vazquez's goal at Santiago

Bernabeu Stadium. Gareth Bale scoredMadrid's other goal.

Ronaldo has scored at least one goalin his last eight matches, and he tookhis league tally to 22 goals, one morethan Barcelona's Luis Suarez and threebehind top scorer Messi.

"It's incredible," Madrid defenderNacho Fernandez said of Ronaldo."Again he is showing that he is the best."

It was the fourth straight win in allcompetitions for Madrid, who movedwithin four points of Atletico. Madridare 15 points behind Barcelona.

����������!������Messi added to his scoring streak

with a first-half goal in Barcelona's winagainst Athletic, netting his eighthgoal in six matches with a firm, low shotfrom outside the area in the 30thminute. He was also involved in therunup to Barcelona's first goal, a shotby Paco Alcacer from near the penal-ty spot after a low cross by Jordi Alba.

"Every day Messi shows he can dosomething different," said Alcacer, whohadn't scored in nearly three months.

Messi set the pace from the startand Barcelona were always in controlat Camp Nou, comfortably earning theirfourth straight win in all competitions.

The Argentina playmaker hadscored twice in Barcelona's 3-0 win overChelsea in the Champions League onWednesday, helping the Catalan clubreach the quarterfinals of the Europeancompetition.

Messi has scored at least a goal inhis last six matches.

��!���������Sevilla lost 2-1 to Leganes, putting

at risk their chances of securing a

Europa League spot.The loss in southern Madrid

dropped Sevilla to sixth in the stand-ings, the last automatic qualificationspot for the second-tier Europeancompetition. They had already lost fifthplace when Villarreal defeated AtleticoMadrid 2-1, and it could have been sur-passed by Girona.

Sevilla's recent struggles in theleague left them virtually out of con-tention for a Champions League spot.They trail fourth-place Valencia by 14points.

Sevilla were coming off a loss toValencia in the previous round. Theystayed alive in the Champions Leagueby eliminating Manchester United inthe round of 16 on Tuesday.

Unai Bustinza put Leganes in frontwith a header in the 41st minute atButarque Stadium, sending the ball overgoalkeeper Sergio Rico after a pass byNabil El Zhar across the penalty area.

Javier Eraso added to the lead forthe hosts in the 69th with a shot fromnear the penalty spot after a low crossby Diego Rico. Sevilla's lone goal wasscored by Miguel Layun in the 90th.

Sevilla midfielder Pablo Sarabia wassent off in the 84th for a hard foul thatprompted a second yellow card.

���������Celta Vigo could not manage more

than a 0-0 draw against last-placeMalaga, moving further away from aEuropa League spot.

The disappointing performance athome left the Galician outfit in 10thplace.

Malaga, who have only 14 pointsfrom 29 matches, had lost seven straightgames.

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