˙ ˇˆˆ ˙ ˆ˙ - The Pioneer › uploads › 2018 › epaper › ... · the 90 constituencies in Chhattisgarh will go to the polls on Monday under ... rial colleagues Kedar Kashyap

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The Central Vigilance Commission isslated to submit a report on its

enquiry against benched CBI DirectorAlok Verma on Monday. The CVC wastasked by the Supreme Court on October26 to probe within two weeks the alle-gations of bribery and meddling inhigh profile cases by Verma as alleged byCBI Special Director Rakesh Asthanathrough a complaint to the CabinetSecretary on August 24.

The apex court is scheduled to hearthe matter relating to allegations againstVerma on Monday. After going throughthe CVC’s report, it may take a call if fur-ther probe is required against Verma.

The SC had appointed former apexcourt judge AK Patnaik to supervise theCVC enquiry against Verma.

Amid continuing public feudbetween Verma and his deputy throughallegations and counter allegations, theduo was sent on leave by theGovernment on October 23 and bothwere divested of their supervisory func-tions of the CBI till the CVC probe wasover.

All eyes will be set on the hearing asVerma had appeared thrice before thevigilance watchdog as part of the enquiryagainst him. While Verma had deniedthe allegations levelled by Asthanaagainst him, he could not explain his fail-ure in submitting the case files despiterepeated reminders by the CVC.

Verma’s plea challenging theGovernment’s move against him washeard by a three-judge Bench headed byChief Justice Ranjan Gogoi on October26. The matter will now be heard onNovember 12 before a two-judge Benchcomprising the CJI and Justice SK Kaul.

During the hearing on Verma’s pleaon October 26, the SC had issuednotices to the Centre and the CVC whilesetting a deadline of two weeks for theCVC to complete the preliminaryenquiry against the CBI Director.

The court had also restrained CBIJoint Director and IPS officer MNageswara Rao, who has been giveninterim charge of the agency, from tak-

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Former Karnataka Minister and mining baron GaliJanardhan Reddy was on Sunday arrested by the

Central Crime Branch in connection with �600 crorefraud related to the Ambidant Marketing Pvt Ltd“bribery” case. He was produced before the 6thAdditional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court,which remanded him in judicial custody tillNovember 24. Janardhan Reddy is accused of tak-ing a �20-crore bribe to bail Syed Ahmed Fareed,an accused in a ponzi scheme case.

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Amid threats of Maoist violence, 18 ofthe 90 constituencies in Chhattisgarh

will go to the polls on Monday underunprecedented security arrangements toelect a new Assembly in the first phaseof a battle in which the Congress is des-perate to end 15 years of BJP rule.

The election, widely seen as a ‘semi-final’ ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls,will also see a formidable third factor inan alliance stitched by Mayawati’s BSPwith the Chhattisgarh Janata Congressof former Chief Minister Ajit Jogi and theCPI.

A total of 190 candidates are in thefray in the 18 constituencies spread overeight districts where Maoists have beenactive for over a quarter century. The first phase pollingwill seal the political fate of ChiefMinister Raman Singh fromRajnandgaon seat and his two ministe-rial colleagues Kedar Kashyap from

Narayanpur seat andMahesh Gagda fromBijapur seat.

Congress has fieldedKaruna Shukla, a nieceof late Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayeeagainst Raman Singh tochallenge him on his home turf.

Political analysts say that RamanSingh’s clean image and popularity couldhelp BJP to register the record fourthconsecutive victory in the mineral-richstate. The other constituencies that willsee voting besides Rajnandgaon areKhairagarh, Dongargarh, Dongargaon,Khujji, Mohla-Manpur, Antagarh,Bhanupratappur, Kanker, Keshkal,Kondagaon, Narayanpur, Bastar,Jagdalpur, Chitrakot, Dantewada, Bijapurand Konta.

Twelve of them are in the insur-gency-hit Bastar region and six inRajnandgaon district.

A total of 4,336 polling booths have

been set up for the first phase of thepolls. There are 31,80,014 voters,including 15,57,435 males,16,22,492 females and 87 of thethird gender.

Nearly 1.25 lakh security per-sonnel, including paramilitaryforces, have been deployed acrossthe eight districts of the state for thefirst phase polling.

These are in addition to theexisting paramilitary personneland 200 companies of state forcesengaged in anti-Maoist opera-tions in the tribal-dominatedstate. Indian Air Force and BSFchoppers have also been pressedinto service.

The Maoists who hold swayin forested interiors have askedpeople to boycott the electionsand they have triggered severalattacks in the last few days killingseveral people including a BSFtrooper on Sunday.

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Congress, out of power inmineral-rich Chhattisgarh

since 2003, is exploiting nameof BJP’s iconic leader formerPrime Minister late Atal BihariVajpayee to take onChhattisgarh Chief MinisterRaman Singh on his home turf — Rajnandgaonseat — which goes to polls onMonday.

Raman Singh, the longestserving chief minister of BJP, islocked in a direct fight with hisformer mentor Karuna Shukla,niece of late Vajpayee. The 68-year-old Shukla, the formerBJP Lok Sabha MP, had endedher 32-year-long associationwith the BJP in 2014 and joinedCongress. The down to earthShukla is known as a cleanimage person and she had

rejected BJP’s repeated efforts inrecent past to give up her angeragainst the saffron party and theCongress cleverly fielded heragainst the BJP’s most popularface in Chhattisgarh- RamanSingh, to deny him a walkover.

``Voters in Rajnandgaonare in a big dilemma this timeas they have great affection andregard for Raman Singh butShukla is a simple and sober

woman and most importantlyshe is seeking votes in name oflate Vajpayeeji rather thanCongress or Rahul Gandhi,’’says Tejindar Bhatia who ownsa grocery shop at GurunanakChowk in heart ofRajnandgaon town.

A mobile shop owner RajuSahu admitted that RamanSingh would seal the victorybecause of his `deep bondingand strong connect’ for over theyears with voters while Shuklais a ̀ parachute candidate’ whohad been used by Congress toscare the BJP. The Congresscamp is also encouraged byhuge turnout of locals in a roadshow carried out by Congresspresident Rahul Gandhi onNovember 9 in Rajnandgaontown with Shukla and PradeshCongress Committee (PCC)chief Bhupesh Baghel.

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For effective implementationof the Real Estate Act, the

Housing and Urban AffairsMinistry will hold a day-longworkshop for home-buyers,bank representatives, buildersand other stakeholders fromnorthern States on Thursday.

According to the official, theparticipants from the northernStates, including Uttarakhand,Uttar Pradesh, Haryana,Himachal Pradesh and Punjab,will discuss issues pertaining tothe legislation of 2016, whichprovides proper protection tohome-buyers.

The Real Estate (Regulationand Development) Act wasenacted by Parliament and Stateswere given powers to notify theirrespective rules and appoint

regulatory authorities.The official said home-buy-

ers can raise issues pertaining todelay in delivery of flats in theworkshop. The legislation pro-vides for timely delivery ofhousing units by builders whoseprojects are registered under it.

“It has been two years sincethe legislation was enacted byParliament. We want all stake-holders — banks, regulatoryauthorities, home-buyers andbuilders — to discuss issues per-taining to its implementation,”the official said. Similar work-shops had been organised inPune and Chennai earlier.

Till last month, 13 States andunion territories have appoint-ed a permanent regulator, while14 have interim regulators.Kerala is in the process of settingup a regulator. As many as 22

States and union territories havefunctional web portals under thelaw. As many as 32,923 realestate projects have been regis-tered under the legislation acrossthe country. Also, 25,247 realestate agents have been regis-tered under it. The official saidthat barring West Bengal, sixnortheastern States and Jammu& Kashmir, all states and unionterritories have been imple-menting its provisions.

In the Northeast, ArunchalPradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur,Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkimhave not notified the legislationand its rules so far due to land-related and other issues. WestBengal has notified its own realestate act — the Housing andIndustrial Regulation Act, 2017(HIRA) — instead of imple-menting the central law.

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Congress on Sunday accusedPrime Minister Narendra

Modi of benefitting “friends” bypromoting private and cronycapitalists at the expense ofpublic institutions anddemanded an independentjudicial probe into the new ‘59-minute loan scheme’ for theMSME sector.

Alleging the scheme a“scam”, Congress leader GauravVallabh demanded that theaffairs of portalwww.Psbloansin59minutes.Com, processing loans to smallindustries, be fully investigat-ed and its contract with theGovernment cancelled. Therewas no immediate responsefrom either the Government orthe PMO or the ruling BJP overthe charges made by theCongress.

Prime Minister Modilaunched a new facility for

micro, small and mediumenterprises (MSMEs) along-side a slew of measures for thesector, which, Vallabh said,incidentally has been batteredfor a long term due to demon-etisation in November 2016.

He said a platform to facil-itate quick loans was launchedon November 2, 2018 with“pomp and promotion showtypical in nature of varioustypes of propaganda of thisGovernment”. The Congressleader alleged that the web por-tal is supported by public sec-tor institutions such as SIDBIand PSU banks as partners,even though it is owned byAhmedabad-based privatecompany CapitaWorldPlatform Pvt Ltd.

He alleged that the com-pany is charging �1,000 andanother �180 as GST fromeach small industry registeredon its website and so far lakhsof entities have been “cheated”

by it. Based on the euphoricresponse, if 1 million MSMEsapply for the same, the saidcompany stands to gain �100crore for lead generation, hesaid and asked, “Should aGovernment scheme beallowed to enrich private par-ties?”

“The Congress partydemands that the agreementwith a private party(CapitaWorld) to ‘loot’ MSMEsector should be cancelledwith immediate effect and anenquiry on the role of PrimeMinister’s Office and FinanceMinister in this ‘massivefinancial fraud’ should be ini-tiated by an independent judi-cial body,” Vallabh toldreporters.

“To benefit his ‘friends’,Prime Minister Modi has givena contract to manage the‘www.Psbloansin59minutes.Com’ to Ahmedabad-basedCapitaWorld private limitedand the company was incor-porated on March 30, 2015 andas per financial year 2017 itsincome is �15,000 odd withoutany operations till then,” hesaid.

He also alleged that itschief executive officer has been

a part of Modi’s poll campaignin 2014 general elections, whohas now been “benefitted” inthis form.

The Congress leader saidthe company was valued at�19.216 crore pre-investmentas of April 2018 and based onthis valuation nine entities,including SIDBI, Bank ofBaroda and SBI, invested �22crore into this company for 54per cent shareholding and itspost-investment valuation is�41 crore.

Vallabh said the RBI hasraised red flags on bad loans,cyber security and bank fraudsand such “euphoric schemes”initiated by the Government isfraught with very high risks.

SIDBI has, however,claimed that CapitaWorld —the company behind the ‘loanin 59 minutes’ portal launchedby Modi last week — is a pub-lic-sector firm. Public sectorunit (PSU) institutions have anoption to increase stake from56 per cent to 74 per cent in thefuture. “A consortium of sixpublic banks led by SIDBI held56 per cent in the fintech com-pany Capita World which gaveit a public sector character,”SIDBI tweeted.

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National Commission forMinorities chief Ghayorul

Hasan Rizvi on Sunday saidRam temple must be built inAyodhya so that Muslims canlive “peacefully” and “respect-fully”. Rizvi also stressed that thedispute should be resolved soonto help strengthen ties betweencommunities.

Some Muslim organisationshad sought the panel’s inter-vention in the Ayodhya title suitcase, Rizvi said. The commissionin its November 14 meeting willdecide whether to approach theSupreme Court for an earlyhearing on the matter or not, headded.

“The National MinorityWelfare Organisation and someother outfits have sent us reportsthat the Muslim community inthe country is living in fear. Theyhave urged the commission totake an initiative to improve thecurrent atmosphere,” Rizvi said.

“During the November 14meeting, we will hold discus-sions on the matter. But, as it issub-judice, we can only urge the

apex court for an early hearing,”he said.

Rizvi further said that theorganisations wanted Muslimsto help in the construction ofRam temple at the disputed siteand make sure that no such con-troversy erupts in future again.The minority panel chief alsomade it clear that there was nopossibility of building mosquesor offering namaz in Ayodhya.

“Even I believe that inAyodhya, neither mosques canbe built, nor namaz can beoffered. The place has a senti-mental value for 100 croreHindus,” Rizvi said. “Therefore,Hindus must be allowed tobuild a Ram temple there(Ayodhya) so that Muslims canlive peacefully, respectfully andwithout any fear while con-tributing to the development ofthe nation,” he added.

New Delhi: The Indian AirForce is “very much alive” toemerging threats that couldarise in the Indo Pacific region,Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoasaid on Sunday, and assertedthat his force was prepared todeal with any challenge to pro-tect India’s national interests.

He also said there is causefor concern over the rate ofmodernisation and inductionof new equipment in India’sneighbourhood, even as Indiafaces challenges emanatingfrom “unresolved territorialdisputes” and “sponsored” non-state and transnational actors.But the IAF is capable of, and

is moving ahead, for counter-ing them effectively, he told PTIin an interview.

Asked whether the IAFcan play a role in smashing ter-rorist training camps across theLine of Control in Jammu &Kashmir, he did not rule outsuch a possibility.

“The IAF is well equippedto take on threats which occurfrom across the border, be it inthe realm of sub conventionalor other domains,” the AirChief Marshal said.

Referring to India’s imme-diate security challenges, with-out naming China andPakistan, he said, “The current

challenges emanate from unre-solved territorial issues, spon-sored non-state actors andtransnational actors who actagainst national intereststhrough the global commons.”

“The IAF is prepared 24x7for any threat and is ready fora befitting response to anycontingency with all our avail-able assets,” he told PTI.

Dhanoa also made an indi-rect reference to China’s rapidmodernisation of its air forceand also about the infrastruc-ture development Beijing hascarried out in the TibetAutonomous Region (TAR)bordering India.

“The IAF is well equippedto take on challenges across theentire range of threats thatcould emanate across our bor-ders. While there is a cause forconcern as regards to the rateof modernisation and induc-tion of new equipment in ourneighbourhood, the IAF isnevertheless, moving aheadwith appropriate measures tocater to these new develop-ments,” he said.

Asked whether the IAFwas capable of playing a role toexpand India’s geo-politicalinfluence in the Indo-Pacificregion, he replied in the affir-mative and talked about IAF’s

capabilities including havingthe second largest fleet of C-17s.

“We have the secondlargest fleet of C-17s in theworld. Therefore, India willpull its heft in helping outfriendly nations in times ofhuman distress and humani-tarian relief. In addition, theIAF is very much alive to theemerging threats that couldarise in the Indo Pacificregion,” he said. At present, theIAF has a fleet of ten C-17Globemasters, used for strate-gic airlift missions, transport-ing troops and cargo for long-range missions. PTI

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In the wake of a clashbetween Army and police

personnel in ArunachalPradesh’s Bomdila town,Union Minister Kiren Rijiju onSunday said both the institu-tions should respect each otheras they are serving the nation.

In a Facebook post, Rijijusaid the Army is country’spride which secures “ourmotherland” and police are thepillar of internal security.

“We must respect bothgreat institutions. Every indi-vidual and institution func-tions under a system governedby law... Let’s respect andstrengthen each other,” hewrote. The Minister’s com-ments came in the wake ofsome soldiers allegedly van-dalising the Bomdila policestation, and assaulting policepersonnel and civilians lastweek.

During a visit toArunachal Pradesh, DefenceMinister Nirmala Sitharamanand Rijiju took stock of the sit-uation arising out of the clash-es between Army and policepersonnel.

“Our uniform people sac-rifice their personal comfortand family for thenation...There are always ele-

mentary human errors whichcan be taken care of and thematter will be resolved. Iappeal everyone not to jumpinto the matter with loosecomments without knowingthe facts with prejudice mind-set (sic),” he said.

Rijiju, who hails from theState, said the “spontaneous”decision of the DefenceMinister to visit Bomdila,where she interacted with localpeople and district adminis-tration, has “generated a hugegoodwill” among the resi-dents.

Sitharaman met local peo-ple during a visit to ArunachalPradesh to celebrate Diwalialong with soldiers posted inthe forward areas along theSino-Indian border. In aTwitter post, the UnionMinister of State for homesaid that due to “indecorous”acts at individual level, a “rep-

rehensible” incident took placebut the whole institutions can’tbe dragged along.

“My constituency peopleare peace loving. But some out-side elements are making hate-ful comments on social mediawithout any factual knowl-edge,” he tweeted. The Bomdilaincident occurred when agroup of soldiers allegedlymisbehaved with civilians andpolice personnel at the BuddhaMahotsav celebrations lastweek, officials said.

Following this, the localstation house officer went tothe spot and two soldiers werebrought to police station. Afterthat some soldiers allegedlyvandalised the Bomdila policestation, assaulted police per-sonnel and civilians, they said.

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Air India on Sunday ground-ed its chief of operations

Captain AK Kathpalia after heallegedly failed to clear pre-flight alcohol test. Kathpaliawas to operate the airline’sLondon-New Delhi flight onSunday afternoon.

Sources said that Air Indiahad to call another pilot toreplace him and operate theflight (AI-111) which depart-ed after a delay of 55 minutes,causing inconvenience to pas-sengers. “We have groundedCapt A K Kathpalia as he failedtwice in the breath analyser test.He was to operate the Londonflight from New Delhi, but hefailed to clear the pre-flightalcohol test,” said soures.

“He was given anotherchance, but the second test wasalso found positive followingwhich he was grounded,” hesaid. Air India spokespersonhowever was not available forcomments on the matter.

Rule 24 of the AircraftRules prohibits crew membersfrom partaking any alcoholicdrink 12 hours prior to thecommencement of a flight,and it is mandatory for him/herto undergo an alcohol testboth before and after operating

a flight.The prescribed punish-

ment for such offences underthe DGCA rules is suspensionof flying licence for threemonths in case of first breach.For violating the norms for a

second time, the licence is sus-pended for three years and fora third time, the licence is per-manently cancelled.

Earlier, Kathpalia’s flyinglicence was suspended in 2017for three months by theDirectorate General of CivilAviation (DGCA) for alleged-ly skipping the breath analysertest before a flight. He was sub-sequently removed from thepost of executive director, oper-ations. However, he was laterappointed to the post of direc-tor (operations) in Air IndiaLtd for a period of five years. Asenior official at the DGCAsaid that a decision onKathpalia’s flying licence isexpected to be taken onMonday.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi will inaugurate two

major national highways andan inland waterways project athis parliamentary constituen-cy, Varanasi, on Monday. Thetwo roads have a combinedlength of 34 km and have beenlaid at a cost of �1,571.95crore. The 16.55-km VaranasiRing Road Phase-I has beencompleted at a cost of �759.36crore, while the four-laning andconstruction of 17.25-km-longBabatpur-Varanasi Road onNH-56 has cost �812.59 crore,read a statement from the PM’soffice.

The Babatpur AirportHighway will link Varanasi tothe airport and go on to linkJaunpur, Sultanpur andLucknow. With the flyover atHarhua and a road over bridge(ROB) at Tarna, the new road

plan will reduce travel timefrom Varanasi to the airport,providing relief to the localsand tourists coming here, thestatement said.

The Ring Road, with twoROBs and a flyover, is expect-ed to reduce traffic, fuel usageand pollution on NH 56(Lucknow-Varanasi), NH 233

(Azamgarh-Varanasi), NH 29(Gorakhpur-Varanasi) andAyodhya-Varanasi highway, thestatement said.

Further the ring road isexpected to provide smoothroad access to Sarnath, arenowned Buddhist pilgrimagesite. On the day, at a separateevent, the prime minister will

inaugurate the first multi-modal waterways terminal onthe Ganga river as part of theCentre’s Jal Marg Vikas Projectwhich aims to develop thestretch of the river betweenVaranasi and Haldia for navi-gation of large vessels weighingup to 1,500 to 2,000 tonnes, anofficial statement said.

The objective of the projectis to promote inland waterwaysas a cheap and environment-friendly means of transporta-tion, especially for cargo move-ment. The Inland WaterwaysAuthority of India (IWAI) is theproject implementing agency.

National Waterway-1(Haldia-Varanasi stretch) isbeing developed with technicalassistance and investment sup-port from the World Bank.

The total estimated cost ofthe project is �5,369.18 crore,which will be shared betweenthe Government of India and

the World Bank on a 50:50 ratio.The project entails con-

struction of three multi-modalterminals (Varanasi, Sahibganjand Haldia), two inter-modalterminals, five roll-on-roll-off(Ro-Ro) terminal pairs, newnavigation lock at Farakka,assured depth dredging, inte-grated vessel repair and main-tenance facility, differentialglobal positioning system(DGPS), river information sys-tem (RIS), river training andconservancy works.

Operation, managementand further development of theterminal is proposed to beentrusted to an operator onpublic-private partnershipmodel and selection of theoperator through an interna-tional competitive bidding is atan advanced stage and isexpected to be completed byDecember, an official state-ment said.

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Muzaffarnagar: Four uniden-tified persons were on Sundaybooked for the alleged murderof a 2013 Muzaffarnagar riotsaccused, police said.

The body of Ram Das aliasKala (30), bearing a bulletinjury, was found from hishome in Kutba village here.

Circle Officer (CO)Hariram Yadav said the policeregistered a case after a com-plaint was filed by the victim’sbrother, Sanjiv who alleged thatthe four assailants had come onmotorcycles and shot his broth-er. Meanwhile, security wasbeefed up in and around thecommunally sensitive villagewhere eight people had report-edly died and several left injuredduring the 2013 riots.

Extra police personnel weredeployed as a precautionarymeasure to prevent any unto-ward incident, officials said.

The communal clashes inMuzaffarnagar and adjoiningareas in August and September2013 had claimed more than 60lives while over 40,000 peoplewere displaced. PTI

��/0��1�� (�.�� New Delhi: Candidates failing

to put out advertisements list-ing their criminal records dur-ing electioneering could facecontempt of court proceedingsand those publishing wronginfo about their rivals’ crimi-nal antecedents could end uppaying penalty for indulging incorrupt practices, the ElectionCommission has said.

Following a SupremeCourt direction, the poll panelhad on October 10 made itcompulsory for candidatescontesting polls to advertisetheir criminal antecedents inTV channels and newspapersat least three times duringelectioneering.

The directive comes intoforce in the Assembly electionsin five States — MadhyaPradesh, Rajasthan,Chhattisgarh, Mizoram andTelangana — in November-December.

According to the directive,political parties too will haveto publicise criminal records oftheir candidates.

In a set of ‘frequentlyasked questions’ issued forthe five poll-bound States, the

commission has made it clearthat candidates who do nothave criminal record or ongo-ing cases, need not issueadvertisement.

It said the candidates andtheir parties would have tobear the cost of advertise-ments and it would form partof their election expenditure.

To the question “whathappens if such candidates orsuch political parties do not publicise in the mannerprescribed”, the commissionsaid, “Such failure may be aground for post-electionaction like election petition orcontempt of Hon’ble SupremeCourt.”

Any candidate or voter of

a constituency can file an elec-tion petition in the High Courtof that State challenging theelection of the winning can-didate.

On the issue of “someonepublishing false informationabout criminal cases of anoth-er candidate”, the EC saidthere are already provisions todeal with any case of publica-tion of false statement in rela-tion to a candidate, includingSection 171G of the IndianPenal Code which deals withcorrupt electoral practices andprescribes a fine for suchoffences. PTI

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BSF Assistant Sub-InspectorMahinder Singh killed on

Sunday in Chhattisgarh'sKanker district when Maoistsexploded hidden explosiveswhen the troopers were on footpatrol, authorities said.

The attack came a dayahead of the first phase ofAssembly polls in the stateand occurred in an area whichwill see polling for the stateAssembly on Monday. It wasthe fourth Maoist attack in 16days in Chhattisgarh.

The slain trooper, a resi-dent of Rajasthan, was part ofa Border Security Force (BSF)team which ran into the con-cealed Improvised ExplosiveDevises (IED) near the KoyaliBeda forested area.

"Over six IEDs exploded inone go when the BSF menreached the area. MahinderSingh suffered critical injuries.

He was flown to hospital inRaipur where doctors declaredhim dead," KanketSuperintendent of Police K.L.Dhruva told reporters here.

The official said the BSFteam left its base camp atUdanpur on Saturday morningin search of Maoists who haveasked people to boycottMonday's election.

In another incident earlyon Sunday, a Maoist was killedin a gun battle with securityforces in Bijapur district's Bedreforest area, said police. Thedead Maoist was in combatdress.

"A team of Special TaskForce (STF) was on an anti-Maoist operation when theincident took place. A rifle wasrecovered from the spot," apolice officer said.

On November 8, a CentralIndustrial Security Force HeadConstable and four civilianswere killed when the Maoists

blew up a mini bus in whichthey were returning to theircamp after buying vegetablesand groceries in Dantewadadistrict.

A Doordarshan camera-man and three Chhattisgarhpolice personnel were killed ina Maoist ambush, also inDantewada, on October 30. OnOctober 27, the Maoists firedon a contingent of CentralReserve Police Force in Bijapur,killing four troopers.

Police said the Maoistattacks were part of an attemptto disrupt elections to the 90-member ChhattisgarhAssembly. Voting will takeplace on November 12 and 20and the results will be declaredon December 11.

Over 500 additional com-panies of security forces,including paramilitary, havebeen deployed in Chhattisgarhto boost security during elec-tions.

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CPI(M) general secretarySitaram Yechury said on

Sunday that his party wouldsupport the winnable candi-dates of secular parties inChhattisgarh assembly polls.

Speaking at the Meet thePress function here, the vet-eran leader said that his partyhas a three-point agenda inthis election. The first is tooust the ruling BJP, Secondpriority will be to strengthenthe leftist movement and thirdto form a secular alternativegovernment in the state.

He informed that hisparty is contesting the polls injust three of the total 90 seatsin Chhattisgarh that goes topolls in two phases onNovember 12 and 20.

The CPI(M) has fieldedcandidates in Katghora,Lundra and Bhatgaon seatswhile in the remaining 87

assembly segments the partyis extending support to

winnable candidates of non-BJP parties.

�� *)�

District Electoral Officer(DEO), Raipur Basavaraju

S has served a notice for viola-tion of Modal Code of Conduct(MCC) to ChhattisgarhPradesh Congress CommitteeChief Bhupesh Baghel.

Explanation has beensought by the DEO for per-sonnel attack on Chief Ministerand his family members in anadvertisement issued byCongress on November 10 and11 for some print media.

Member Secretary MediaCertification and MonitoringCommittee (MCMC), Pawan

Gupta informed that BharatiyaJanata Party has lodged a com-plaint about an advertisementsreleased by the Congress aboutan alleged Chit Fund scamworth �10,000 crore and thealleged nexus of the companywith the government.

In the said advertisementCongress had made personnelattack on the Chief Minister Raman Singh and his family members.

“This personnel attackwithout proof of the allegationis a clear violation of the modelcode of conduct which hasbeen laid out by the ElectionCommission of India”, BJP saidin the complaint.

BJP had lodged complaintto Chief Electoral OfficerSubrat Sahoo which was for-warded by him to the DEO,Raipur. The DEO prima faciefinding the complaint to betrue, had issued notice toCGPCC Chief and had soughtan explanation about the mat-ter. Further action would betaken after the reply is received,said Gupta.

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Chief Minister Raman Singhon Sunday said that BJP is

determined to makeChhattisgarh `developed andprosperous’ and he would workfor achieving it if the BJP isvoted to power for the recordfourth term in the state.

Addressing a public meet-ing at Daadhi (Navagarh) insupport of BJP candidateDayaldas Baghel, Singh said,``Congress is like a fish whichis without water fighting for its

own survival’’.“In a bid to gain power

anyhow, Congress is adopting

shortcut methods for which itis playing CD-CD game,’’ Singhremarked while referring to asleaze CD scandal of a power-ful minister of the BJP gov-ernment in the state in whichthe Chhattisgarh Congresschief Bhupesh Baghel has beencharge-sheeted by the CBIrecently.

Chief Minister said thatBJP during its tenure of 15years of governance based onthe work done on ground isseeking the support of the peo-ple.

�� *)�

Prime Minister NarendraModi will be on a day-long

visit to Chhattisgarh onMonday to address publicmeetings in favour of the BJPcandidates.

BJP president Amit Shahtoo will be reachingChhattisgarh on Monday on atwo-day trip to address a seriesof rallies to help the party reg-ister its fourth successive vic-tory in the state which goes topolls in two phases on Nov 12and 20.

As per the programmescheduled released here, PrimeMinister will address a publicmeeting at Bilaspur at 10.00am.

Shah will address publicmeeting at Shivrinarayan(Pamgarh constituency) at11.45 am, at 1.10 pm at Patan(Patan AC) and a meeting isscheduled at MahadevVallabhacharya PremisesChamparan (Abhanpur AC) at2.30 pm on November 12.

Similarly, on November

13, he will be addressing pub-lic meeting at 11.40 am atGharghoda (DharamjaigarhAC), 1.10 pm at Jaijaipur(Jaijaipur AC), at Takhatpur at2.35 pm (Takhatpur AC) andhis final leg of the day would beat Saja (Saja AC) at 4.15 pm.

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Adelegation of Congress in Chhattisgarhon Sunday called on Chief Electoral

Officer, Chhattisgarh Subrat Sahoo andhanded over to him a request letteraddressed to Chief Election Commissioner,New Delhi seeking closure of all state gov-ernment-run liquor outlets till electionModel Code of Code (MCC) is in force dueto ensuing assembly elections.

Chhattisgarh Pradesh CongressCommittee Chief Bhupesh Baghel andother senior leaders of the party in therequest letter have urged the CEC that “Itis expected that the MCC had been enforcedin a bid to ensure free and fair polls. Thealcohol is a biggest impediment in execu-tion of this task”.

“As these outlets are owned by govern-ment, the closure of these shops till MCCis enforced will not ‘transgress’ the livelihood of any citizen”, the opposition Congress let-

ter read.“ T h e

ruling partyhad a chanceto influencethe voterswho fre-quently pur-chase liquorfrom thegovernmentowned out-lets and asthere was achance thatthe rulingparty woulddis t r ibutehuge volumeof liquorfrom these

shops during the polls”, the letter said.

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Chhattisgarh PradeshCongress Committee vice-

president and a leading OBCleader Ghanaram Sahu onSunday resigned from party.

He is all likely to joinBharatiya Janata Party beforeAmit Shah during latter’s pro-gramme in Durg district onMonday.

Ghanaram alleged thatCGPCC Chief BhupeshBaghel and Member ofParliament Tamradhwaj Sahufor neglecting him in theorganization.

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Announcing 10 points pro-gramme for the welfare of

poor and Scheduled Castes(SC) in Haryana, seniorCongress leader and core com-mittee member of IndianNational Congress (INC),Randeep Singh Surjewala onSunday said if the Congresscome to power in the state, theparty will launch “Atta-DalAur Chini scheme” for SCfamilies and provide monthlyscholarship to all SC students.

Surjewala, while addressinga “Garib Adhikar Rally” at Jindalso announced that Congressparty on forming the StateGovernment in Haryana wouldprovide 20 kg flour at the rateof �2 per kg, 2 kg pulses at therate of �20 per kg, 1 kilogramsugar at the rate of �12 per kgto all 15 lakh dalit families.

The Congress Governmentwould waive-off all pendingwater bills of Indira GandhiDrinking Water Scheme,appoint one SC member inHPSC and HSSC, fill up 60,000State Government backlogposts in one year, ensure abro-gation of contract practice for‘Safai Karmcharis’, constitute

SC Commission with onemember each from Dhanak &Oadh communities, conductsurvey of all SC localities forensuring one toilet for each SChousehold and repair of all SCChaupals in the State, he said.

Making a strong pitch foreducating poor and SCs,Surjewala announced that

Congress party would provide�1500 monthly scholarship toall SC students studying ingraduation/post graduationcourses, �2500 monthly schol-arship to all SC engineeringstudents and �5,000 monthlyscholarship to all SC studentsdoing MBBS and studying inIITs and IIMs.

The Congress leader alsosaid that it was always theCongress Government whichhas served and cared for poorand scheduled castes.

He also referred to a num-ber of incidents when SC lead-ers and officers were humiliat-ed by BJP Government inHaryana. He also criticised theUnion Government forincreased crimes against SCs.

Referring to the ongoingfeud in INLD, Surjewala saidthat the fight was only forshare of property and ‘loot ka

maal’. Both the children and theuncle are playing into BJPhands, it is a matter of fact that’Na Chacha BJP Ke Khilaaf Hai,Na hi Bhatija Hai’; How can weforget that Dushyant Chautala,INLD MPs and MLAs votedfor BJP candidate in President’selection against Meera Kumar,the daughter of Babu JagjivanRam, he added.

Criticising BJP for makingfalse poll promises, Surjewalasaid that big promises weremade by BJP before the elec-tions but none of them havebeen fulfilled. He charged theBJP Governments for betrayingand duping the poor, the sched-uled castes and people longingto other deprived sections.

The Congress leader alsocriticised the BJP led Central andHaryana Governments for theiranti-people policies affectingthe poor and downtrodden.

�� &��

The Special InvestigationTeam (SIT) probing the

police firing incidents in thewake of the Bargari sacrilegecase has summoned the Badalfather-son duo and actorAkshay Kumar for questioningin connection with the inves-tigation next week.

While former ChiefMinister Parkash Singh Badalhas been asked to appear beforethe SIT on November 16, former Deputy Chief Ministerand SAD president Sukhbir Badal has been sum-moned on November 19 andactor Akshay Kumar has been asked to come onNovember 21 at the CircuitHouse in Amritsar.

The summon orders havebeen issued separately for thethree, on behalf of SIT, by itsmember, IPG (OrganisedCrime Control Unit) KunwarVijay Pratap Singh.

Singh said the summonsrelate to “investigation of casesoriginating from various inci-dents of sacrilege in the year2015 (FIR No. 129, datedAugust 7, 2018, under

Sections 307, 323, 341, 148, 149of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)and section 27 of the Arms Actat Police Station CityKotkapura in FaridkotDistrict)”.

The summons have beenissued under Section 160 ofCode of the CriminalProcedure (CrPC), requiringattendance at investigation,relating to the Bargari sacrilegecase and the Behbal Kalan andKotkapura police firing inci-dents, he added.

The summons stated thatthe “presence of the aforesaid person is necessary

for the purpose of inquiry into the above-mentioned offence”and the person summonedneeded “to give such informa-tion relating to the said allegedoffence as he may possess”.

The SIT had earlier exam-ined the then IG BathindaADGP Jitendra Jain, the thenLudhiana Police CommissionerIGP Paramraj SinghUmaranangal, the then DIGFerozepur Range IGP AmarSingh Chahal, the thenFaridkot DeputyCommissioner MS Jaggi, thethen Faridkot SSP SS Mann, the then FaridkotSDM VK Syal, besides the thenKotkapura MLA and SADleader Mantar Singh Brar.

In addition, 50 private per-sons and more than 30 policeofficials of junior rank have alsobeen examined.

The five-member SIT wasset up by the Capt AmarinderSingh Government inSeptember this year, soon afterissuance of the notification towithdraw investigation of sac-rilege incidents of Guru GranthSahib from the CBI.

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Haryana Chief Secretary DSDhesi on Sunday said the

seriousness of administrativeofficers and representatives ofPanchayati Raj Institutionswould be evaluated on thebasis of their contribution incurbing burning of cropresidue in the State.

He said it will be added tothe ACRs of the sub division-al officers that the concernedofficer has shown this muchseriousness in curbing suchincidents.

Apart from this, he direct-ed to suspend Sarpanches ofvillage Hizrawan Kalan andHizrawan Khurd andNambardar of village Kasimpurof district Fatehabad for notcooperating with the districtadministration in putting acheck on crop residue burningincidents.

Dhesi, who was presidingover a meeting of administra-tive officers of districtsFatehabad, Sirsa and Jind, atFatehabad, said that the periodtill November 25 is very crucialbecause this is the period whenmaximum cases of crop residueburning are reported.

In view of this, the ChiefSecretary constituted two com-mittees. A committee com-prising of members of Revenue,

Agriculture and DistrictDevelopment and PanchayatDepartments would monitorthe sensitive villages all the timewhereas the committee of subdivisional officer and Tehsildarwould visit different villages ofthe district from time to time.

The Chief Secretary wasinformed that geo taggingwould soon be done of agri-cultural implements beinggiven on subsidy at custom hir-ing centres or individually.This would help in assessingwhether the implements havebeen actually used or not.

It was also directed to holda meeting with scientists ofChaudhary Charan SinghHaryana AgriculturalUniversity to suggest new vari-

ety instead of PUSA 1401 vari-ety of paddy, which causesmore pollution on burning.

In the meeting, sarpanch-es, panches, nambardars, gramsachivs, patwaris, chaukidarsand government employeeswere strictly cautioned that ifthey or their relatives are foundburning crop residue thenaction would be initiatedagainst them.

The Chief Secretary alsodirected the DeputyCommissioners of district Sirsaand Jind to adopt the decisiontaken by the DeputyCommissioner Fatehabad ofnot issuing arms licences orrenew old licences of those per-sons who are found guilty ofburning crop residue.

�� &��

Haryana Chief Secretary DSDhesi on Sunday said that

crop residue based CompressedBio Gas (CBG) plants would beestablished in three districts ofthe State namely Kurukshetra,Kaithal and Jind.

Apart from this, a MoUhad been signed betweenIndian Oil Corporation andRenewable Energy Departmentunder which crop residuewould be purchased from farm-ers for these plants and energywould be generated out of it, theChief Secretary said at Hisar.

He said the building con-struction material was being prepared from cropresidue in a factory at Haridwarwhere farmers fromKurukshetra have also beensending their crop residue.

Dhesi added the role ofHaryana is being adverselypublicised for increasing envi-ronment pollution and mis-leading publicity is being car-ried out in this direction. But

actually, crop residue wasburned on only 2 per cent areaof total sown area of paddy inHaryana during last yearwhereas this year, the cropresidue was burned on only 1per cent area, he claimed.

The Chief Secretary furthersaid that the role of Haryanaand its farmers in the pollutionof Delhi is negligible, butrumours are being spread inthis direction.

Such images are being pre-sented that farmers of Haryana are burning cropresidue in each and every agri-cultural field.

In Haryana, paddy crop ismainly sown on 13 lakh hectares area in ten dis-tricts, he said.

As per the data receivedfrom HARSAC, crop residueburning cases were reported on 12,473 places in the State in 2017.

Similarly, this year suchcases were reported on 7,273places which is only 1 per centof the total area, Dhesi added.

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The Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) on Sunday urged

Punjab Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh to ensurethe safety and security of stu-dents from other States study-ing in the universities and col-leges of the State.

“At present, the studentsfrom across the country andfrom other countries are study-ing in the universities of Statethat is benefitting the Statefinancially and also establish-ing the profile of State. In suchcondition, discriminating withthem on the basis of religion,caste or language is con-demnable,” said AAP’s Punjabyouth wing in-charge and MLA

Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayerand party’s chief spokespersonand MLA Prof Baljinder Kaur.

AAP MLAs said thatPunjab is being established as‘education hub’ in the region,and due to the apathy of theState and Central Governments,the condition of Government’suniversities and other institu-tions is pitiable, and that waswhy the private universitiesare offering higher educationcourses to the students.

They said that due to delayin releasing post-matric schol-arship funds to the students,the universities and colleges arealready having tough time, andin this situation, the insecuri-ty among students is addingfuel to the fire.

“The people in countryare being divided on the linesof caste, colour and religion andPunjab must set an example insuch conditions. Punjab isknown for its secular approachand the people from differentwalks are living peacefully foryears. The Sikh religion andphilosophy of Sufi saints teachus to respect each individual,”said the AAP leaders.

AAP leaders said policeharassing students from north-eastern States, Bihar, Jammu &Kashmir etc is wrong. “AAPbelieves in the integrity andunity of India and anyone whois working against it should notbe spared but the interrogationof students and victimisingthem is inhuman,” they added.

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Taking strong exception tothe SGPC’s decision to

remove noted Sikh scholar andeminent historian Dr KirpalSingh from his post as chair-man of the Sikh HistoryResource Editing Project in themidst of the controversy overalleged distortion of Sikh his-tory in Class XII school books,Punjab Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh on Sundayflayed the decision saying thatit was clearly taken at thebehest of their Akali masters.

The Chief Minister point-ed to the decision’s timing,which he termed as patentlypolitically motivated, to lam-bast the Akalis, who were con-trolling the SGPC, forindulging in cheap politicalgimmickry to divert publicattention from their internalcrisis and from the more seri-ous issue of the sacrilege cases,in which the Justice (Retd)Ranjit Singh Commission hadfound them to be involved.

“Had the SGPC been evenremotely concerned about dis-tortion of history syllabus of thePunjab School EducationBoard (PSEB), their two mem-bers, who were part of the over-sight committee set up toreview the syllabus, would haveattended the meetings of thepanel,” said Capt Amarinder.

Notably, a syllabus over-sight committee comprisingeminent Sikh scholars underthe chairmanship of Dr KirpalSingh was constituted by theGovernment to look into thematter.

The Chief Minister flayedthe Badals for indulging inpolitical witch-hunt to createcommunal unrest in the stateto further their political agen-da, which had hit a nadir, aswas evident from their rejec-tion not just by the people ofthe state but also by their ownsenior party leaders.

On the issue of the histo-ry syllabus, the Chief Minister

said that it was the Akalis whowere solely responsible for dis-tortions and mistakes in schoolhistory books during theirregime in 2014, when theHuman Resources Ministry ofBJP led NDA Governmenttook the first step to ‘rationalise’the syllabus of social sciencessubjects in the name of ‘nation-alistic’ approach.

Subsequently, the HRDMinistry gave directions to thestates to include a representa-tive of NCERT in the syllabuscommittee to be constituted forthis purpose.

Further, the Chief Ministerpointed out that the SAD-BJPgovernment in the state hadconstituted a 14-member com-mittee, mostly from amongstthe teaching staff of PanjabUniversity, Chandigarh, andno one was taken from PunjabiUniversity, Patiala, or GNDUAmritsar. One junior lecturerfrom Sri Guru Teg BahadurKhalsa College, Delhi, wasincluded in the committee.

In the name of rationalisa-tion, the history syllabus wasformulated in such a way thathistory of Punjab was intro-duced in four Classes from IX toXII in an incoherent design, saidCapt Amarinder, adding thatonly two topics of Sikh historywere provided for in Class XII.

The study of Guru NanakDev was included in Bhaktimovement chapter, therebydemeaning his status asfounder of Sikhism, he added.

The Akalis then quietlyagreed to the fate accompli butcreated hue and cry after theywere shunted out of office,said the Chief Minister, addingthat Dr Kirpal Singh’s removalas chairman of the Sikh HistoryResource Editing Project atthis critical juncture, when thesyllabus was being reviewed ina rational and apolitical man-ner, indicated a clear attempt bySAD to sabotage the efforts ofthe Congress Government toresolve the issue in the largerinterests of the students.

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Condemning the act of vandal-ism at UK’s newly-inaugurat-

ed Indian war memorial, PunjabChief Minister Capt AmarinderSingh on Sunday called for strictaction against the culprits of theapparently racial attack on theoccasion of the World War I cen-tenary.

The vandalism of the 10-foothigh statue, depicting a Sikh soldierof the 15th Sikh symbolic of thecontribution of South Asian soldiersto World War I, was outrageous,said the Chief Minister, expressingserious concern and distress overthe incident, which comes in thebackdrop of a series of racial attacksagainst Sikhs in UK and otherWestern nations in recent months.The statue was unveiled the previ-

ous Sunday and was damagedhours before a planned remem-brance event to honour the Sikhssoldiers who laid down their livesduring the Great War. Over 74,000soldiers from India sacrificed them-selves during World War I and sev-eral events were being organized invarious countries to commemoratethe sacrifices of soldiers fromaround the world who participat-ed in the war effort between 1914and 1918, as part of the centenaryof the Great War. Capt Amarindersaid that the shocking and horrif-ic act was a clear attempt by racist elements to undermine thecontribution of Sikhs soldiers to the War, and to create an environment of hatred andenmity against the community.The anguish of the Sikh communityover the incident was understand-

able, he said, urging the UK author-ities to go all out to identify andbring the culprits to book.

Notably, Guru NanakGurdwara, Smethwick, had donat-ed around 20,000 pounds for thebronze sculpture, while the localSandwell Council had invested increating the public space with seat-ing and lighting to house the newmonument. The inaugural eventwas attended by hundreds, includ-ing Labour Party MP Preet KaurGill, the UK’s first female Sikh MP.More than the financial loss, how-ever, it was the pain caused to thesentiments of the Sikh communi-ty, which had lost thousands of mento the war, in distant lands, far fromtheir homes, said Capt Amarinderadding that there is no village in theerstwhile undivided Punjab thathasn’t lost a person in the war.

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Punjab Education MinisterOm Parkash Soni on

Sunday said that Governmentschools in the State will beequipped with computers andwill be brought at par with theprivate ones.

He said that the StateGovernment has removed theshortage of teachers in borderareas and hoped the results ofschools in these areas will bebetter this year.

“Government schools willbe equipped with computersand smart classrooms and willbe brought at par with the bestprivate schools,” he said whilepresiding over a function to paytributes to country’s first PrimeMinister Jawahar Lal Nehru inAmritsar. He also said teachersshould become ideal teachersas country’s future is in theirhands.

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From page 1

Sensing that there is a fight on Raman Singh’shome turf, BJP chief Amit Shah staged a road

show in Rajnandgaon town hours before cam-paigning ended on Saturday. The BJP’s road showwas dubbed as one of the biggest election road showsin Chhattisgarh an d Shah advised voters to ensureRaman Singh wins by not less than 70,000 votes dif-ference. “You need to double the victory margin thistime for Raman Singh, last time in 2013 he had wonby a little over 35,000 votes difference, this time themargin should be above 70,000 votes’’ Shah urgedvoters in presence of Raman Singh.

Chhattisgarh has a total of 90 assembly seats andin the first phase, polling will be held for 18 seats— 12 in Bastar and six in Rajnandgaon district. Thesecond and final phase of polling in the mineral-rich state is scheduled on November 20. The resultswill be declared on December 11.

�� &��

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)core committee on Sunday

formed a nine-member com-mittee to assist the ShiromaniGurdwara Parbandhak Com-mittee (SGPC) in celebrating the550th birth anniversary of Sikhs’first master, Guru Nanak Dev, ina befitting manner.

At the same time, the partydemanded to immediately sackthe Punjab Education MinisterOP Soni “for forcefully distrib-uting distorted history books toschool children”.

The Core Committee,which met under the chair-manship of party presidentSukhbir Badal, also condemnedthe Congress-led PunjabGovernment for passing dictatesordering farmers to delay trans-plantation of paddy by 10 dayssaying that “this had resulted inhigher moisture content andnow farmers are suffering inmandis and even being exploit-ed by unscrupulous elements”.

The Core Committeedemanded that the farmers becompensated at the rate of�15,000 per acre for the drop inyield due to the faulty decisionof the Government to delaytransplantation and resultantproblems including late sowingof the wheat crop.

It also condemned the gov-ernment for not announcing anenhanced SAP (State AdvisedPrice) for sugarcane saying thatit was hell bent on drivingfarmers to suicide by refusing tocome to their aid in their timeof dire crisis.

Asking the CongressGovernment to increase theSAP by �50 on the pattern of the SAD-BJP Government, itsaid that SAP of �360 per quintal should be announcedimmediately.

The Committee also askedthe Government to expeditepayment of sugarcane dues tofarmers and announced that itwould hold two dharnas at Gu-rdaspur on November 26 andMorinda on November 28.

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Sri Lankan strongmanMahinda Rajapaksa, who

was appointed Prime Ministerin a controversial move byPresident Maithripala Sirisena,on Sunday ended his five-decade-long association withthe SLFP and joined the newly-formed Sri Lanka People’s Party(SLPP).

Rajapaksa’s move signalledthat he would contest the snappolls, to be held on January 5,under his own party bannerand not that of Sirisena’s SriLanka Freedom Party (SLFP).

The former Presidentobtained the membership ofthe SLPP, launched by his sup-porters, Sunday morning.

His father Don AlwinRajapaksa was a foundingmember of the Sri LankaFreedom Party, which wasformed in 1951. The SLPP wasformed last year by Rajapaksa’ssupporters to create a platformfor his re-entry into politics.The party in February’s localcouncil election won two-thirdof the total 340 seats. The 72-year-old strongman, who ruledLanka for a decade from 2005,was unexpectedly defeated byhis deputy, Sirisena, in thepresidential election held inJanuary 2015 with the supportfrom Wickremesinghe’s UnitedNational Party (UNP).

However, the power-shar-ing arrangement betweenSirisena and Wickremesinghebecame increasingly tenuouson several policy matters, espe-cially on economy and securi-ty. Finally, on October 26,Sirisena abruptly oustedWickremesinghe and replacedhim with Rajapaksa, after

three-and-a-half years of anestranged relationship withhim. The island nation plungedinto a constitutional crisis fol-lowing the move.

Sirisena had suspendedparliamentary proceedingsuntil November 16. Later,owing to domestic and inter-national pressure, he issued anotice to reconvene parlia-ment on November 14.

However, on Friday,Sirisena dissolved parliamentand announced snap polls onJanuary 5 next year after itbecame evident that he did nothave enough support in theHouse to prove the premiershipof Rajapaksa. Rajapaksa need-ed the support of minimum113 parliamentarians in the225-member House to provehis majority.

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Accusing PresidentMaithripala Sirisena of

“usurping” the rights of legis-lators, Sri Lanka’s parliamen-tary Speaker Karu Jayasuriyaasked public servants not tocarry out his “illegal orders”.

Jayasuriya also hit back athis critics who suggested thathis improper conduct forcedSirisena to dissolve parliamentlast Friday.

On October 26, Sirisenaabruptly sacked RanilWickremesinghe as prime min-ister and replaced him withMahinda Rajapaksa, afterthree-and-a-half years of anestranged relationship withhim. The island nation plungedinto a constitutional crisis fol-lowing the move.

Sirisena had suspendedparliamentary proceedingsuntil November 16. Later,owing to domestic and inter-national pressure, he issued anotice to reconvene parlia-ment on November 14.

However, on Friday,Sirisena dissolved parliament

and announced snap polls onJanuary 5 next year after itbecame evident that he did nothave enough support in theHouse to prove the premiershipof Rajapaksa.

“I have watched over thelast two weeks as the executivebranch has seized the rightsand usurped the powers ofmembers of parliament whowere elected to represent thepeople,” Jayasuriya said.

“I call upon all public ser-vants to refuse to execute anyillegal orders they may receive,no matter from whom,” hesaid.

Referring to remarks bySirisena loyalist SarathAmunugama, Jayasuriya said,“I lament that the purportedforeign minister, a highlyregarded politician, has falselyalleged that I intended to pre-vent the president from deliv-ering the statement of govern-ment policy when parliamentwas set to reconvene onNovember 14. It is on thisimaginary premise that theminister suggests that parlia-ment had to be dissolved.”

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UN chief Antonio Guterreshas expressed concern

over Sri Lankan PresidentMaithripala Sirisena’s decisionto dissolve the nation’sParliament, underlining the“utmost importance” ofrespecting democratic process-es and resolving differences inaccordance with the rule of law.

Sri Lanka’s political crisisdeepened Friday as PresidentSirisena dissolved theParliament and announcedsnap polls on January 5 after itbecame evident that he did nothave enough support in theHouse for Prime MinisterMahinda Rajapaksa, who wasappointed by him under con-troversial circumstances.

The Secretary-General“learned with concern”Sirisena’s decision to dissolveSri Lanka’s parliament andmove to new parliamentaryelections, a statement issued on

Saturday by Secretary-GeneralGuterres’ Deputy SpokesmanFarhan Haq said.

Guterres underlined the“utmost importance of respect-ing democratic processes andinstitutions and resolving dif-ferences in accordance with therule of law and due process.”

He renewed his call on theSri Lankan government toensure peace and safety for allthe countrymen and uphold itscommitments to human rights,justice and reconciliation.

Sri Lanka was plunged intoa political crisis after Sirisenasacked Prime Minister RanilWickremesinghe on October26 and replaced him with for-mer president Rajapaksa.

Wickremesinghe, whodubbed the move as a “consti-tutional coup”, has refused tovacate his official residence,saying he is the lawful primeminister and that the presidenthas no constitutional right toreplace him.

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World leaders gathered inthe driving rain in Paris

on Sunday to mark 100 yearssince the end of World War I,with host Emmanuel Macronwarning against nationalism ata time of growing strainbetween Europe and DonaldTrump’s America.

Around 70 leaders includ-ing US President Trump andhis Russian counterpartVladimir Putin marked thecentenary of the 1918Armistice in the French capi-tal at 11am local time (1000GMT).

After church bells rang outacross France, the leaders sattogether at the Tomb of the

Unknown Soldier at the Arc deTriomphe for a memorial thatincluded a performance bystar cellist Yo-Yo Ma and thereading aloud of letters byWWI soldiers.

Macron delivered a 20-minute speech that called onhis fellow leaders not to forgetthe lessons of the past andworldwide hopes for peace.

“Ruining this hope with afascination for isolation, vio-lence or domination would bea mistake for which futuregenerations would rightly findus responsible,” Macron toldthem.

He also delivered a stingingindictment of nationalism, call-ing it “the exact opposite” of thepatriotism shown by soldiers.

“Nationalism is a betrayal,”he said.

“By saying our interestscome first and others don’tmatter we are erasing whatmakes a nation precious, whatmakes it live, what makes itgreat and most importantly ofall, its moral values,” he said,watched by Trump, who prideshimself on being called anationalist.

The service concluded withthe bugle call that was playedat 11am on November 11, 1918to signal the end of fighting onthe Western Front.

Elsewhere, ceremonies inNew Zealand, Australia, India,Hong Kong and Myanmarbegan a day of remembranceservices around the world for

a conflict that involved millionsof troops from colonised coun-tries in Asia and Africa.

The leaders ofCommonwealth nations —whose forces were deployedunder British command 100years ago — also deliveredmessages of peace.

“This was a war in whichIndia was not directly involvedyet our soldiers fought worldover, just for the cause ofpeace,” Indian Prime Minister

Narendra Modi said on Twitter.“For our tomorrows, they

gave their today,” AustralianPrime Minister Scott Morrisontold people gathered at a cere-mony in Canberra.

British Prime MinisterTheresa May and PrinceCharles, standing in for QueenElizabeth, attended a separateremembrance event in Londonwhere thousands of well-wish-ers also paid their respects tofallen soldiers.

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At least 61 combatants havebeen killed in clashes in

Yemen’s flashpoint Hodeida,medics and a military sourcesaid Sunday, and dozens ofwounded taken to hospitalsoutside the city. Medics in theRed Sea city reported 43 Huthirebels and nine loyalists killedin clashes over the past 24hours. Another nine loyalistfighters were reported killed bymedics at a hospital in gov-ernment-held Mokha, south ofHodeida. A government mili-tary source confirmed the toll.

Dozens of wounded rebelswere transferred to hospitals inthe provinces of Sanaa and Ibb,further inland, a source at theHodeida military hospital said.

A pro-government alliance,led by Saudi Arabia and theUnited Arab Emirates, arepushing to seize Hodeida from

Yemen’s Shiite Huthi rebels,who are linked to Iran.

More than 400 combatantshave been killed in 10 days ofclashes in Hodeida, a city onYemen’s Red Sea coastline thatis home to the impoverishedcountry’s most valuable port.

Government forces havepressed further into the strate-gic port city, seizing its mainhospital in heavy fightingSaturday, as they try to advanceon Hodeida’s vital docksHodeida has been controlled bythe Huthis since 2014, when therebels seized the capital Sanaaand a string of port cities.

The World HealthOrganisation estimates nearly10,000 people have been killedsince 2015, when Saudi Arabiaand its allies joined theGovernment’s war against theHuthis, driving the insurgentsfrom the Red Sea coastline butfailing to retake Hodeida.

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French police on Sundayarrested three topless rights

protesters who approachedthe motorcade of US PresidentDonald Trump on theChamps-Elysees in Paris head-ing to a ceremony marking100 years since the end ofWorld War I.

One of the protesters, whohad slogans including “fakepeacemakers” and “hypocrisyparade” written on their chests,got within metres of the rearof the motorcade after jump-ing over a barricade.

She was grabbed by apolice officer, while a secondwoman could be seen beinghauled away by security ser-vices on the edge of thefamous thoroughfare.

A third woman, who waspositioned a little higher upthe avenue, also managed to

breach the security cordonand run towards Trump’s con-voy with her arms raised.

She too was quickly over-powered by the police and allthree were arrested.

The incident revealedchinks in the tight security putin place for the event, withsome 10,000 security forcemembers deployed around acity which has been hit by aseries of jihadist attacks since2015.

Interior MinisterChristophe Castaner saidTrump’s security had “in noway been threatened”.

Inna Shevchenko, one ofthe leaders of radical feministgroup Femen, confirmed thegroup was behind the protest.

“FEMEN activists ‘wel-comed’ the cortege of@realDonaldTrump twice onhis way to Arc de Triumph,”she tweeted.

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Dhaka: Bangladesh’s mainOpposition BNP, led by impris-oned ex-premier Khaleda Zia,on Sunday said it would par-ticipate in the general electionnext month, after it boycottedthe 2014 polls that returnedPrime Minister Sheikh Hasina’sAwami League to power due tofears of rigging.

Opposition parties haveexpressed concern that thepolls will not be democraticand have threatened protests.

The BNP is part of thenewly-formed oppositionalliance - National Unity Front

(NUF) which has demandedthat the December 23 polls bedeferred by one month.

“We have decided to par-ticipate in the polls as part ofour movement,” said BNP sec-retary general Mirza FakhrulIslam Alamgir said at a pressconference with senior NUFand BNP leaders present.

Prime Minister Hasinaimmediately welcomed theopposition party’s decision say-ing “it will strengthen thedemocracy.... We will jointlycontest the poll to reflect theverdict of the people”. PTI

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ASomali-origin man, whoset a car on fire and

stabbed three people, killingone of them, before being fatal-ly shot in the Australian city ofMelbourne, did not have a“definite link” to the dreadedIslamic State but was “inspired”by it, the Government said onSunday.

Hassan Khalif Shire Alistabbed three members of thepublic and attacked police offi-cers in the Bourke Street onFriday before he was shot andkilled by the police.

The 30-year-old, who wasdriving a Ute, loaded with gasbottles, into the Bourke Street,

allegedly set it alight and beganstabbing members of the public.

Home Affairs MinisterPeter Dutton said authoritiesdid not believe Ali, who had hispassport cancelled in 2015,was a member of the IslamicState and had not been knownto be ready to act.

“There was no evidenceavailable to the police... Thatany attack was imminent orthat he had been part of plan-ning,” Dutton told reporters.

“The judgment that wasmade (by authorities) was …that he was not in the planningstage of an attack,” he added.

“In relation to his connec-tions with ISIL (another name

for IS) or with any terroristgroup... There’s not, as I’madvised, a membership of anorganisation or a definite linkto ISIL.”

However, the terror group’spropaganda outlet, Amaq, ear-lier said “The perpetrator of theoperation... In Melbourne...Was an Islamic State fighter andcarried out the operation... Totarget nationals of the coalition”fighting the Islamic State.

“The working theory is atthe moment, (it’s) a case wherethis person has been down-loading information or receiving messages in his ownmind about what he should bedoing. It’s an inspiral (sic) asopposed to affiliation,”

Duton said.There was “no evidence”

available to intelligence servicesthat the terrorist behind theBourke Street stabbings waspreparing an imminent attack,Dutton added.

He added that theAustralian intelligence agencieswere in touch with their UKand US counterparts to see ifother technological solutionswere available to assist inanalysing thousands of docu-ment.

He said over 400 peoplewere being probed by policeand intelligence services butneed a tip-off or alert from thepublic to stop a spontaneous act.

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Europe should not spendhigher defence budgets on

US-made weapons, FrenchPresident Emmanuel Macronsaid in an interview due to airon Sunday, after a defence rowwith President Donald Trump.

One of dozens of worldleaders attending World War Icommemorations in Francethis weekend, Trump tweetedafter landing in Paris thatMacron’s call for a “realEuropean army” was “insult-ing”.

In an interview recordedon Saturday with CNN aftertalks with Trump, Macron saidthe two leaders had spokenabout what his office has por-trayed as a misunderstanding.

“We had a regular discus-sion this morning and he con-firmed in front of the press thathe was ok,” Macron told CNN.

Both leaders agree thereshould be “better burden-shar-ing within NATO”, meaningEurope should be less reliant onUS spending for its defence,Macron said.

But Macron told CNN:“To be very direct with you,what I don’t want to see isEuropean countries increas-ing the budget in defence inorder to buy American and

other arms or materials com-ing from your industry.”

Macron had last monthcriticised Belgium’s decisionto buy US-made F-35 fighterjets instead of European planes,saying it “goes againstEuropean interests”.

In his CNN interview hestressed the need for Europe totake charge of its defence.

Whereas “after the SecondWorld War we needed the USto be present for our security,I think now the momentum forEurope is to build its ownsecurity and its own sover-eignty,” he said. He refrainedfrom commenting on Trump’s“insult” tweet, beyond saying,“I always prefer having directdiscussions or answering ques-tions than making my diplo-macy through tweets.”

In a radio interview thisweek, Macron had named theUnited States alongside Chinaand Russia as sources of risk.

He said the EU needed tobe less dependent on theUnited States, not least follow-ing Trump’s withdrawal from aCold War-era nuclear treaty.

Trump on Friday calledMacron’s comments “veryinsulting”. The French presi-dency later sought to defuse therow, saying Macron remarkshad been misinterpreted.

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Pakistan police has arrestedthree suspects in connec-

tion with the assassination oftop cleric Maulana Samiul Haq,who was also known as the‘godfather of Taliban’, accordingto a media report.

Haq, the 82-year-old cler-ic was stabbed to death onNovember 2 by unidentifiedattackers at his residence in thegarrison city ofRawalpindi.

Police have arrested threesuspects involved in the mur-

der of the chief of the hardlinepolitical party Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Sami (JUI-S). The sus-pects have been shifted to a safecell under strict security andare being grilled, The ExpressTribune reported.

The suspects were takeninto custody on Saturday withthe help of Haq’s mobile phonedata and geo-fencing of the pri-vate housing society where hewas stabbed to death, the reportsaid.

Three different teams wereset up for the investigations ofthe murder.

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The two Koreas begandestroying 20 guard posts

along their heavily-fortifiedfrontier Sunday under a plan toreduce tensions on the border.

Under an agreement madebetween their generals in lateOctober, North and SouthKorea agreed to each remove10 posts and preserve one oneither side of the frontier.

The militaries on Sundaybegan destroying the 20 borderguard posts in the DemilitarsedZone dividing the two Koreas

after withdrawing troops andequipment from them, Yonhapnews agency reported, citingSeoul’s defence ministry.

South Korea has around 60such posts along the rest of theborder while the North hasabout 160, Yonhap said.

The border truce village ofPanmunjom — or the JointSecurity Area (JSA) — is theonly spot along the tense, 250-kilometre (155-mile) frontierwhere soldiers from the twoKoreas and the US-led UN Command standface to face.

210��4 ��<2�� 2 /�� Moscow: An Air France flightcarrying 282 passengers fromParis to Shanghai made an unex-pected stop in Siberia on Sundayafter smoke and a bitter smellfilled the cabin, the companysaid. No passengers were hurtand they were put up in a hotelnear Irkutsk airport in easternSiberia, Air France told AFP.

“The crew of AF116 on aBoeing 777 from Paris toShanghai decided to divert toIrkutsk in Russia after an acridsmell and light smoke appearedon board,” the French carriertold AFP. AFP

�9��.�!1�!.1��1��1��1� -�� -�!� ��0�.��Yangon: Top Myanmar officialssay the repatriation of ethnicRohingya Muslims fromBangladesh, to which morethan 7,00,000 fled since lastyear to escape deadly violencecarried out by Myanmar’s secu-rity forces, will begin onThursday. Minister Win MyatAye said on Sunday at a newsconference that Bangladeshhad informed Myanmarauthorities that repatriation.

AP

China is a country full ofdichotomies. Take Buddhism.On one side, China promotesBuddhism; on the other hand,Beijing severely represses the

Buddha dharma. On October 28, theWorld Buddhist Forum opened with fan-fare at Putian, in Fujian Province. Accordingto the official release, it was attended by arecord number of over 1,000 Buddhistmonks, scholars and representatives from55 countries. Zong Xing, Vice President ofthe Buddhist Association of China (BAC)and Xiao Hong, a deputy secretary of theChina Religious Culture CommunicationAssociation (CRCCA), the joint hosts, gavea press conference.

Xiao announced that the forum want-ed “to carry forward the positive Buddhistcultural spirit, promote exchanges betweenBuddhism and other religions and makecontributions to building a community witha shared future for humanity.” That soundsgood. One of the themes of the meet was“Buddhism and the Belt and Road Initiative(BRI)”, a project dear to President XiJinping. A couple of weeks earlier, the GlobalTimes had reported that a two-day sympo-sium in Qinghai Province discussed the wayBuddhism could better serve the BRI andresist separatism.

The website tibet.cn noted: “Guided bythe core socialist values, the symposiumaims to encourage Tibetan Buddhism toadapt to the socialist society and teach thereligion to serve the construction of the BRI.”Was the Fujian Forum a great success? Itdoes not appear so reading the rare com-ments which appeared in the ChinesePress. One of the problems was that MasterXuecheng, the BCA president and Abbot ofLongquan Temple in Beijing, had to resignin a hurry in August.

The 52-year-old was accused to havecoerced nuns into having sex, overseen ille-gal construction work and embezzledfunds. The claims were made in a 95-pagedocument published on July 31; it imme-diately went viral on Chinese social media,bringing support to China’s #MeToo move-ment. It is not that Xuecheng was not well-connected with the Communist Party; hewas a member of the Chinese People’sPolitical Consultative Conference (CPPCC),but in the present days, even tigers fall(President Xi had warned the ‘tigers’ and the‘flies’ that he would not accept corruption).

One of the BCA’s Vice Presidents wasGyaltsen Norbu, the Chinese-selectedPanchen Lama. He made a timid appear-ance on the first day. He spoke on, “to livetogether in harmony through the MiddlePath”, a purely religious topic; Norbuemphasised a common future for human-ity and the fact that the creation of a ‘com-mon-destiny community’ is more andmore accepted the world over. He men-tioned the Buddhist precepts of living in

symbiosis, equality, tolerance,compassion and harmony: “Weare one family living in the samehouse,” he said. There was noword of praise for Xi.

His presence was hardlyreported by the Chinese media,probably because he did noteulogise Xi Jinping and he ‘for-got’ about the BRI in his speech.The only big shot was YouQuan, director of the UnitedFront Work Department, whichlooks after religious affairs forthe Party’s Central Committee.He hoped that “Buddhist com-munities would look deeperinto Buddhism values and con-tribute wisdom to promotingthe well-being of humanity andsafeguarding world peace.”

Here comes the dichotomy.While Beijing promotesBuddhism’s humanitarian pre-cepts, it takes repressive mea-sures against Buddhist practi-tioners. For the third consecu-tive year, the authorities banneda major Tibetan prayer festivalin Larung Gar, the largestBuddhist institute in Tibet, sit-uated in Serthar County in theGarze Tibetan AutonomousPrefecture of Sichuan Province.The monastery had a popula-tion of 30,000 Buddhist nunsand monks before it was par-tially destroyed by the ‘author-ities’ last year.

According to Radio FreeAsia (RFA), a Chinese officialannounced that the DechenShingdrup festival would bebanned this year. He citedChinese ‘religious affairs man-agement laws’. Further, out-siders should not be invited toLarung Gar. A source told RFA’s

Tibetan Service: “The noticeadvised village leaders andChinese Communist Partycommittee members to informthe public that they would notbe allowed to enter the villagefor any religious events. …Inpast years, when it was allowed,the festival lasted for a wholeweek.” Human Rights Watchpublished a new report on the‘Four Standards Policy’ recent-ly introduced in the TibetanAutonomous Region (TAR).The ‘standards’ are competencein Buddhist studies, politicalreliability, moral integrity capa-ble of impressing the public andwillingness to play an active roleat critical moments. In otherwords, be good CommunistBuddhists.

Sophie Richardson, Chinadirector at Human RightsWatch, commented: “Chineseauthorities have always placedheavy constraints on religiousfreedom, especially in Tibetanand other minority regions,compelling Tibetan monks andnuns to be propagandists for theCommunist Party takesGovernment intrusion in reli-gion to abhorrent new levels.”

The new policy is a contin-uation of the 2005 Regulationson Religious Affairs but withmore oppressive clauses. OnOctober 25, the Global Timessaid that the TAR Governmentwas encouraging Tibetanmonks and nuns “to learn aboutthe laws, a move experts hailedas using education to raise localpeople’s legal awareness.”

Tibet’s Department ofJustice announced that “profes-sional working teams organised

by the regional department ofjustice taught the monks aboutlegislation and law enforce-ment in the region. …Teams arecomposed of prestigiousmonks, legal professionals andofficials that were dispatched totemples.” Xiong Kunxin, a pro-fessor at Tibet University inLhasa, summarised the issue:Legal education on law enforce-ment was weak in Tibet“because some Buddhist prac-titioners consider themselves aspeople beyond judicial reach.”

Already in August, whenWang Yang, the CPPCCChairman and a member ofthe Politburo’s StandingCommittee, visited the Seramonastery near Lhasa, hementioned the new theme ofXi Jinping’s religious cam-paign, “Sinicisation of thereligions in China.” Wangsaid that more efforts shouldbe made to integrate TibetanBuddhism into China’s social-ist society; he asked themonks “to firmly uphold theleadership of the CPC, inher-it and promote patriotismand be courageous to battle allseparatist elements, in orderto further protect the nation-al reunification, ethnic unityand social stability.”

Though China is keen tobecome the world leader inpromotion of Buddhism, itwill never happen because ofthe gap between the Marxisttheory and the repression onthe ground, which are incom-patible.

(The writer is an expert onIndia-China relations and anauthor) ��

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Sir — This refers to the editorial,“Surviving pollution” (November10). Diwali witnessed very highlevels of pollution in Delhi. It con-cerns all of us that Delhi, whichis at forefront of important nation-al and international activities inthe country, has become so muchpolluted.

Many factors have con-tributed in making Delhi’s air so toxic. Industrial pollution, pol-lution caused by constructionactivities, vehicular pollution,pollution due to burning of cropstubble in neighbouring States aresome of the reasons that aremaking air in the NationalCapital’s so toxic. In order tomake Delhi’s air salubrious again,efforts should be converged anddirected in achieving a specificobjective and that is to make thequality of air safe again.

Devendra Khurana Bhopal

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Sir — The emphatic win ofCongress-JD(S) combine inKarnataka by-polls is safely attrib-

utable to the numerical superior-ity of the secular vote. Clearly, theappeal of Hindutva, which wasonce overarching or overwhelm-ing, is now waning for theBharatiya Janata Party (BJP) toromp home in the face of a unit-ed secular Opposition. By now theBJP must have realised that‘Congress mukt Bharat’ is not anachievable political goal.

Congress-JD(S) success in

Karnataka should persuade thesecular forces to join hands toensure India’s continued exis-tence as a democracy.

By stitching up state-wisealliances, the Opposition partiescan thwart BJP’s Hindutva cam-paign to return to power and pre-vent the consequences of a retreatfrom secularism.

It is a political peculiarity ofIndia that the dynamics of Lok

Sabha election varies from state tostate. The mutual vote transfer tothe alliance partners in Karnatakawas indicative of the shared ide-ology of voters supporting differ-ent secular parties.

The Opposition parties musttake a cue from Karnataka bypollresults and join hands to fight theBJP in 2019 General Election.

G David MiltonMaruthancode

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Sir — In a meeting with formerPrime Minister H D DeveGowda, Andhra Pradesh ChiefMinister N Chandrababu Naiduclaimed that to save democracyand the nation, the Oppositionmust be united. The TeluguDesam Party (TDP) was formedby his father-law, the late NTRama Rao, about 35 years agowith the sole aim to defeat theCongress. Naidu was enjoyingpower with the BJP till recently.But he left the BJP coalition sinceit did not honour his demandfor the special status for AndhraPradesh. Now, Naidu is claimingthat he intends to save democ-racy and the nation and so hasaligned with the Congress. It issheer opportunism. GeorgeBernard Shaw once said: Politicsseems to be the last resort of thescoundrels. Politicians today areonly interested in power andmoney. Time and again, theyprove this to be right.

Sravana RamachandranChennai

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The period of Diwali and com-bination of industrial andvehicular pollution combined

usually take a huge toll on the envi-ronment every year. This year is notan exception except for the fact thatthe authorities are now taking moreaggressive measures to rein in therunaway pollution. For instance, theSupreme Court-appointed theEnvironment Pollution PreventionAuthority (EPCA) is now planningto bar trucks from entering Delhiand is also banning the plying ofprivate diesel vehicles from usageduring peak pollution periods. Butis this enough?

Given the worsening ambientair quality, it seems not and lookslike the authorities have their guns

trained on wrong sources of pollu-tion as well. India has planned itscities in such a way that whilemotorised vehicles rule the roads,pedestrians, cyclists, and users ofpublic transport face an existentialcrisis. Emission reduction by haltingusage of certain type of vehicles with-out improving fuel, vehicle technol-ogy and public transport, cannotensure sustainability in transport letalone reduce air pollution on along-term basis.

In 2017, India switched to BharatStage IV norms and by 2020, it willswitch to Bharat Stage VI norms,however, this seems more like a knee-jerk reaction considering the fact thatother countries in the world are farahead in this sector.

The Government’s vision of elec-trification of all transport modes maysee light of day soon but India doesnot have an integrated alternativetransport policy, including non-pol-luting modes of mobility such ascycles, which can play a pivotal rolein reducing pollution. While bicyclesare a zero emission mode, buses and

cars contribute 33 per cent and 31per cent of carbon dioxide (CO2)emissions respectively. However,buses carry 58 per cent of all passen-gers while cars carry only four percent. Although two-wheelers formthe majority of motorised vehicles onIndian roads, the number of two-wheelers is same as the number ofhouseholds owning bicycles — about111 million. Thus, it is imperative toprotect and plan for sustainablemodes of transport. The failure to doso can lead to all bicyclists switchingto two-wheelers, which will increaseemissions by 20 per cent.

Of the total commuters who useroad-based transport modes, carsand two-wheelers carry only 20 percent. However, their combined shareof CO2 emissions is as high as 50 percent. Although bicycle users arethrice the number of car users, theGovernment spends much more tofacilitate car-based travel. The cur-rent scenario itself shows what thefuture will be if we were not able tocurtail the number of cars and two-wheelers. The number of registered

motor vehicles in the country hasalso increased 700 times, from 0.3million in 1951 to 210 million in2015. From 2005 to 2015, vehicles inIndia grew at a Compound AnnualGrowth Rate (CAGR) of 9.8 per cent.As of March 2015, the total numberof registered two-wheelers increasedeight times since 1951. While theshare of two-wheelers was 73.5 percent, the share of four-wheelers was13.6 per cent.

Buses constituted one per centand goods vehicles constituted 4.4per cent of the total registered motorvehicles. The share of other vehicles,which include tractors, trailers, three-wheelers (passenger/light motorvehicles ) and miscellaneous vehiclesincreased from 1.3 per cent in 1951to 7.5 per cent in 2014-15. Even theaverage speed on India’s roads isdeclining as roads have becomemore congested. The number ofregistered vehicles for every 100km of road witnessed an increasefrom 1,630 in 2001 to 3,861 in 2015,or by 137 per cent.

The number of vehicles per

1,000 persons increased from eightin 1981 to 167 in 2015. However, ascompared to developed countries,the total motor vehicle penetrationin India is low. In contrast, the pen-etration of two-wheelers in develop-ing countries is higher than thedeveloped countries.

Developed countries, such asGermany and the US have car pen-etration rates (car/1,000 persons)higher by factors of about seven andfive to that of China and by factorsof 29 and 19 to that of India, respec-tively. However, in India and a fewother developing countries, the pen-etration level of two-wheelers ismuch higher compared to developedcountries.

Clearly, the motorisation rateposes a worrying scenario at suchlow level of vehicle ownership. It isfor anyone to imagine the implica-tions if Indian vehicle ownershipcomes close to that of developednations. According to the Society ofIndian Automobile Manufacturers(SIAM), more than 25 million vehi-cles, including passenger, commer-

cial vehicles, three and two-wheelers,were produced in India in 2016-17alone. This was at a growth of 5.41per cent than the previous year. Oneimportant fact to note is 2016-17 sawan increase of 24 per cent in thenumber of vehicles manufacturedfrom 2011-12. Similarly, the sale ofautomobiles witnessed the same sce-nario. A total of almost 22 millionvehicles have been sold in India in2016-17, a growth rate of 6.81 percent as opposed to 2.49 per cent in2012-13.

Given these factors, is Indiadoing enough to make a robust pub-lic transport robust given the poten-tial it has? The Paris-basedInternational Energy Agency (IEA)estimates that a bus can displace any-where between five to 50 other vehi-cles and allows enormous oil and pol-lution savings. The Government mustcapitalise on this inherent potential ofthe public transport, as this alone candeliver us from the vexing problem ofvehicular pollution.

(The writer is an environmentaljournalist)

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In May 1974, India announced its entry intothe exclusive club of nations that hadnuclear weapons of their own. Courageouslyconfronting criticism and internationalsanctions, it went ahead with Pokhran II in

1998. Now, after another 20 years, the 6,000-tonnenuclear ballistic missile submarine, Arihant, isfully functional. It has caused ripples in interna-tional circles, particularly amongst China andPakistan. India launched its first satellite —Aryabahatta — in 1975 and progressed towardsthe spectacular launch of 104 satellites in one goin 2017. Leaving other aspects apart, everyIndian is proud of the achievements of its vision-ary scientists, dexterous technical experts and boldpolicy-makers. India is also proud of its institu-tions like Tata Institute of Fundamental Research,Indian Space Research Organisation, BhabhaAtomic Research Centre, Defence Research andDevelopment Organisation, and several others.

Young Indians have earned global commenda-tion for their intellectual proficiency in NationalAeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) andsubsequently at the Silicon Valley. Amongst all therecollection of Indian achievements in science, tech-nology, space physics and ICT, my mind drifts toteaching and learning science in Indian schools. Iam convinced that only around 30 per cent of chil-dren in Indian schools are getting education at an‘acceptable level’. Could some institutional researchprove me wrong in this hypothesis? The HRD min-ister announced a couple of months ago that thecurriculum load in schools would be reduced by50 per cent. If achieved successfully, it would be amemorable landmark in school education. Onelooks forward to it with great expectations of tan-gible changes in teaching and learning of sciencethat would be woven around the power of imagi-nation, curiosity and creativity. The pre-requisiteis to prepare teachers who internalise the difference,making children memorise the content in sciencetextbooks vis-à-vis learning the ‘science’ con-tained in it. Over the last three-four decades, com-placency has damaged the system.

Deterioration in the quality of teacher prepa-ration, delays in recruiting regular teachers andneglect of practical work in school laboratorieshave also contributed to the malaise. Our suc-cess in science and technology should not leadus to ignore that in majority of schools, scienceteaching, particularly laboratory work, is border-ing on farce. Proper teaching and learning of sci-ence could effectively contribute in total person-ality development, particularly in bringing the bestout of body, mind and spirit. This would be pos-sible only when certain basics are comprehend-ed properly by all those responsible for teachingscience — right from policy formulation to teach-ing science, and that too, not only in classrooms,but more of it outside, in real life situations.

Dr Radhakrishnan, former President, whiledelivering a convocation address in Bangalore in1965, posed a couple of simple queries andanswered them: “What is science? It is the pur-suit of the truth. What is truth? It is the under-standing of nature and its mysteries. Can youunderstand nature and its mysteries if you are apart of nature? The man, the human being hasin him a spirit which makes him different fromthings, from objects, from materials, et al. It is the

capacity to reflect on nature, to sit injudgement on nature, to mould natureto his own pattern; it is that which dis-tinguishes the human being from oth-ers. There is a spark which is not nat-ural, which is non-natural, which issuper-natural. The pursuit of truth tellsus that man is capable of remouldinghis own environment, changing it,making it into a different pattern alto-gether.”

While the 20th century wasacknowledged as the century ofunprecedented change, the 21st issurely the century of the ‘pace ofchange’. The credit goes to the advancesin science and technology that haveimpacted human lives beyond recogni-tion. From an information society, wehave moved towards knowledge soci-ety, and the words of wisdom like“future empires shall be empires ofknowledge” are often emphasised bylearned ones across the globe. At thisstage, we are face-to-face with one prac-tical reality: Man has proved — beyondan iota of doubt — his dexterity, capac-ity and creativity in moulding ‘his ownenvironment’. Even two simple terms —connectivity and mobility — are suffi-cient enough to convey how miracu-lously human ingenuity has trans-formed the Earth into a global village.But has all this advancement been in theright direction? To comprehend thecontrast, one may recall that in mid50s of the last century, school childrenwere writing essays on the “age of sci-ence”, and then it was “boons of tech-nology” that quickly transformed to“ICT revolution”. The last one heardrecently was the “age of accelerations.”

Never before, human beings hadsuch a profound familiarity with andcomprehension of the secrets andforces of nature, and the skill to utilisethe bounties of nature for human wel-fare. Man has moulded nature to hisown patterns and liking. But probablyhe forgot to reflect on the man-nature

relationship — on his responsibility toensure that this sensitive bond betweenthe two is not disturbed because of hismaterialistic pursuits and inherenttraits to ‘acquire and accumulate’.

It appears that under the influenceof the gadgets that offered more andmore comfort in daily life, man forgotto ‘reflect on nature’. On one hand, sys-tems are under human control thatcould annihilate poverty, hunger, ill-health from the surface of the globe,and on the other hand, nations are suf-fering violence, wars, hunger, migration,rejection and malnutrition on anunprecedented scale.

What should children learn in sci-ence in schools must be determined bythe facets of the world before them, andwhat could be the challenges ahead ofthem. If man had reflected on Nature,one lakh children would not be dead inIndia in a year, only because they weredeprived of their divine right to breathefresh air. India would not be sufferingthe ignominy of having 10 out of 15most-polluted cities of the world. If manhad realised that in the man-nature rela-tionship, responsibility lies solely on him,there would be no need to organise Earthsummits, global meets on environ-ment, climate change or ozone depletionand the like.

We have reached a stage in whichsystems of governance have deteriorat-ed in basic elements of humanity.What happened in Kedarnath was cer-tainly a man-made disaster. TheKerala floods of this year are anotherexample. In fact, there is no shortage ofevidence explaining how the race forquick materialistic gains have obliter-ated the human vision, the conse-quences of which are polluted rivers,low quality air, vanishing ponds anddeforestation.

We were not deficient on knowl-edge, skills, understanding or tradition.We knew which tree is to be plantedwhere — near the home or away from

human population — what were theiruses in the daily life of people. But lackof developing scientific temper, sharingand caring has proved disastrous.

Dr Homi Bhabha and Dr VikramSarabhai were the pioneers in India’snuclear and space research initiatives.They put India on par with developedcountries in these sectors. Dr Bhabhaplanned the Atomic Research Centre inMumbai, now known as the BhabhaAtomic Research Centre (BARC), withunmatched scientific, artistic and aes-thetic sense. All those who visit BARCmarvel at the landscape designing of thecampus. One old mango tree that hadlived there for over 100 years stood atthe spot that was to be swallowed by anewly-planned road. The engineer, asexpected, recommended cutting of thetree. It disturbed and distressed the sci-entists. To save that one tree, DrBhabha suggested re-alignment of theroad. The tree still survives. Should suchan anecdote not find a place in text-books of Class V or VI? The motiva-tional impact would be everlasting.

Now is the time to re-orient theprocess of learning of science by push-ing it towards real life situations and theperils that face us because of unwise useof science and technology. Could onethink of children learning science out-side the classrooms of elementaryschools? Relate the process to local ele-ments, environment, flora, fauna, waterbodies, forests, people, social habits,cleanliness, health issues, pollution andadulteration. A fresh look on how toimprove experiential and experimentallearning in school science is necessary.

India has done well in science so farbut it has the responsibility to continu-ously upgrade the teaching and learn-ing experience of science in a majorityof its schools at the earliest.

(The writer is the IndianRepresentative on the Executive Boardof UNESCO)

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Aryama Sundaram will besmiling on November 13,

Tuesday, when he appearsbefore the Constitution Benchon behalf of the TravancoreDevaswam Board, (the KeralaGovernment department thatadministers the temples in theState) to argue why the apexcourt verdict allowing womenof child bearing age intoKerala’s Sabarimala Templeshould stay.

Aryama Sundaram, senioradvocate, is the grandson of SirC P Ramaswamy Aiyar, the for-mer Dewan of the princelyState of Travancore who wasphysically assaulted and drivenaway from Trivandrum by theCommunists. November 13also marks the 139th birthanniversary of Sir CPRamaswamy Aiyar (Sir CP tofriends and acquaintances)making it a sweet revenge forSundaram.

The Communists may beperforming an atonement forthe sins they committed againstSir CP in 1947 by pleading withhis grandson to save themfrom a major embarrassment.In their over enthusiasm toimplement the court verdict,the CPI-M led Government hasbecome thoroughly unpopu-lar with the devotees.

On September 28, aConstitution Bench led by thethen Chief Justice of India

Dipak Misra had lifted thelong standing ban on the entryof women in the child bearingage to the temple in a 4-1 ver-dict. Devotees includingwomen had come out andstaged rallies against the verdictin Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Various organisations hasfiled pleas in the apex courtchallenging the September 28verdict. The court will hear thepleas on Tuesday because thefestival season of Sabarimalacommences on November 17.The shrine had witnessed mas-sive protest against the move bythe CPI(M)-led KeralaGovernment to allow womenin the temple.

More than 4,000 devoteeshave been arrested under var-ious section of the IPC to pre-vent untoward incidents. TheTravancore Devaswam Boardhas sought the services of SirCP’s grandson to argue in thecourt in support of theSeptember 28 verdict.

Travancore witnessedunprecedented economic andsocial development during SirCP’s tenure as the Dewan(1936-1947). Sir C P acceptedthe post of Dewan on the con-

dition that all temples in theprincely State should be thrownopened to the untouchableswho hitherto were not allowedinside temples. “It was at theinstance of Sir CP the templegates were thrown open for thelowers castes on November23, 1936, the birthday of thethen Maharaja of Travancore,”reminiscences Dr NandithaKrishna, Sir CP’s great grand-daughter.

Sir CP who saw throughthe evil designs of theCommunists and took anuncompromising stance againstany kind of anti-developmentactivities. He suppressed theviolent uprising organised bythe Communists against theState under the pretext of agrar-ian agitation which later earnedthe sobriquet of PunnapraVayalar Struggle. The Leftsretaliated by deputing a partyworker to assassinate Sir CPwho was seriously injured dur-ing an attack on him on July 25,1947. Later, after ensuring thatthe State of Travancore wasacceded to the Union of India,Sir CP submitted his resigna-tion as Dewan and leftTrivandrum on August 18,1947 for Coonnor.

The Marxists in Keralakeep on attacking Sir CP, whopassed away in 1966. Thosewho had participated in thePunnapra- Vayalar agitationslater conceded that it was a ployby the Lefts to tarnish theimage of Sir CP.

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Afarmer on Sundayattempted suicide by con-

suming pesticide at a publicgathering of Gujarat ChiefMinister Vijay Rupani inPransli village of Gir Somnathdistrict, some 400 kilometresform here, police said.

Mashribhai Dodiya wasupset with local authorities forfailing to remove an encroach-ment on a panchayat land at theentrance of his farm in Dolasavillage in Kodinar taluka of thedistrict, Gir SomnathSuperintendent of Police RahulTripathi said.

"Someone has illegally cap-tured a panchayat plot outsidethe agricultural land belongingto the farmer, making it hardfor him to enter his own land.Orders had already been issuedby the collector to remove theencroachment but local author-ities have not acted upon it," theSP added.

Dodiya consumed pesti-cide as soon as CM Rupanistarted addressing the public atthe village where he earlierinaugurated a new marketingyard, Tripathi said.

"The victim was held by thepolice deployed at the venueand rushed to a governmenthospital in Veraval. Doctorshave said his condition is sta-ble," he said.

Dodiya told reporters thatthe encroachment of the pan-chayat land, which he claimed

was the handiwork of the landmafia, had made it difficult forhim to enter his own farm.

"Some land mafia closedthe road leading to my farm byencroaching upon a land. I hadapproached the chief minister,who had ordered that theencroachment be removed, butnothing has happened so far,"Dodiya said.

"I have made repeatedappeals to the village Panchayatofficials and the taluka devel-opment officer (TDO) but invain. Fed up of runningaround, I decided to end mylife," he told reporters at thehospital.

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Union Minister and RLSPchief Upendra Kushwaha

Sunday said he would appriseBJP chief Amit Shah of the"humiliation" he had suffered atthe hands of Bihar ChiefMinister and JD(U) supremoNitish Kumar.

Kushwaha said he wouldalso request Shah to clear the"confusion" over seat-sharingamong the National DemocraticAlliance (NDA) constituentsin the State at the earliest.

Before leaving for NewDelhi, the Rashtriya LokSamata Party (RLSP) chief toldreporters at the airport herethat he had sought an appoint-ment with Shah.

Kushwaha said he metRam Vilas Paswan, the presi-dent of NDA constituent LokJanshakti Party (LJP), earlier inthe day and the latter con-curred with his view that seat-sharing talks should be held atthe earliest, involving all thecoalition partners.

Kushwaha has reportedlybeen peeved after the BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP) and theJanata Dal (United) decided tocontest an equal number ofseats in the 2019 Lok Sabhaelection in Bihar.

The state sends 40 mem-bers to Parliament and after theBJP-JD(U) deal, there is spec-ulation that this would meanfewer seats for other allies likethe RLSP and the LJP.

Kushwaha is also unhappywith Kumar for his alleged"neech" statement. It was madeat a television programme about

a week ago when the JD(U)chief had refused to commenton reports that the RLSP mightend up getting fewer seats thanit had fought and won in the2014 Lok Sabha polls.

Kushwaha took exceptionto Kumar's response that com-menting on the issue would"lower the standard of thediscourse". The UnionMinister has alleged that theremark is tantamount to himbeing called "lowly".

RLSP supporters took outa protest march here Saturday,demanding an apology fromthe Chief Minister.

"During my meeting withShah, I intend to raise both theissues — seat sharing as well asthe humiliation by NitishKumar," Kushwaha said.

He has been maintainingthat his party has a tie-up onlywith the BJP and not with theJD(U).

"I also discussed the issue ofseat-sharing with Paswan. Hetoo was of the opinion that for-mal talks on seat-sharing, tak-ing all NDA constituents inBihar on board, ought to be heldat the earliest in order to dispelconfusion," the RLSP chief said.

Paswan's son and LJP par-liamentary board chairman

Chirag Paswan had recentlysaid his party would like tocontest the same number ofseats it had done in the last LokSabha polls, but he was readyto make a "sacrifice" in the larg-er interests of the NDA.

Kushwaha, however, hasbeen maintaining a stubbornstance, pointing out that anydemand for sacrifice by theRLSP was irrational as of all thecoalition partners, only his partywas denied a ministerial berthin the NDA Government inBihar, formed after the JD(U)'sreturn to the alliance last year.

A former JD(U) leader him-self, Kushwaha had quit theparty in 2013 and floated hisown outfit. He had joined theNDA at a time when Kumar hadsnapped ties with the BJP andhas been viewing the JD(U)'sreturn to the coalition last yearwith much consternation.

The opposition GrandAlliance — comprising theRashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), theCongress and the HindustaniAwam Morcha — too has beentrying to woo Kushwaha intoits fold.

Meanwhile, RLSP MLASudhanshu Shekhar met JD(U)national vice-presidentPrashant Kishor, triggeringspeculation of a major crisis inKushwaha's party.

The RLSP had won twoseats in the 2015 BiharAssembly polls. The otherMLA of the party, LalanPaswan, has already sided witha dissident group headed byJehanabad MP Arun Kumar.Shekhar has so far remainedloyal to Kushwaha.

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The terror infrastructure inPakistan remains intact and

around 160 terrorists are wait-ing across the Line of Control(LoC) to infiltrate into Indianterritory, a senior Army officersaid on Sunday.

Lieutenant General ParamjitSingh, who took over as the gen-eral officer commanding of theNagrota-based White KnightCorps, commonly known asXVI Corps, also said that cross-border terrorism will stop onlyif Pakistan changes its policy andintentions.

The officer, involved inthe planning of the 2016 sur-gical strikes on the terrorinfrastructure in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir, told PTIin an interview that the Armywas not letting up on "ourpreparedness and the

counter-infiltration grid isstrong enough to deal withinfiltrators".

Lt. Gen. Singh, who hasserved in all three regions ofJammu and Kashmir, said, "140to 160 terrorists at differentlocations in Pakistan are beingpushed into the state."

"The terror infrastructureis intact, and Pakistan's inten-tions have not changed. ThePakistan Army and the ISI'scomplicity in planning infil-tration and terror attacks isevident and it continues," theofficer, who has a vast expe-rience in high-altitude war-fare, said.

To a question on the situ-ation along the LoC, he saidceasefire violations have abat-ed after the DGMO-level talks.

"For troops on the LoC,there is no ceasefire... Thoughperiodic unprovoked firing by

the Pakistan Army andattempts to cause harm to for-ward posts continue. We do notinitiate fire, but we give it backin adequate measure. There isno let up on preparedness andour counter-infiltration gridis strong to deal with infiltra-tors," he said.

Talking about challengesduring winter, Lt Gen Singh,

who is part of the eliteParachute Regiment (SpecialForces), said the Army antici-pates that Pakistani troops willmake an attempt to push infil-trators through heavy snow-bound areas and non-tradi-tional routes.

"We have all contingencyplans ready. We have coordi-nated with all security agencies,and plans are being imple-mented smoothly," said Lt GenSingh, who commanded a spe-cial forces' battalion that par-ticipated in the surgical strikesafter the attack on an Armybrigade in Uri in 2016.

Referring to the recentincident of firing of 107-mmrocket on the Poonch brigade,he said, "Despite DirectorGeneral of MilitaryOperations-level talks in Mayduring which the two countriesagreed to abide by the 2003

ceasefire agreement, Pakistanitroops targeted these loca-tions."

"In response, we conveyedthat Pakistan must exercisecaution before indulging inany misadventure," Lt GenSingh said.

Replying to another ques-tion about causalities sufferedby Pakistani troops in retalia-tory fire by the Indian Army,the officer said, "Pakistan hasnever been open about itscausalities unless the soldier isfrom Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir".

As Major General GeneralStaff at the NorthernCommand headquarters, Lt.Gen. Singh played a pivotal rolein strategising militaryresponse to agitations thaterupted in 2016 after the killingof Hizbul Mujahideen com-mander Burhan Wani.

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The Jammu & KashmirPolice on Sunday claimed

to have busted an inter-Stategang of drug smugglers byarresting two persons alongwith 26 kg of high-qualitycannabis in Samba district.

Acting on a tip-off, a vehi-cle was stopped for checking atMansar Morh and the allegeddrug peddlers were arrestedafter the narcotics was foundconcealed in specially-designed chambers inside thebody of the car, a policespokesperson said.

A case under the NarcoticDrugs and PsychotropicSubstances Act has been regis-tered, the spokesperson said,

adding that more arrests wereexpected.

Meanwhile, in Rajouridistrict, two persons weretaken into preventive cus-tody on Saturday for theiralleged involvement in unlaw-ful activities, the spokesper-son added.

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Itanagar: Defence MinisterNirmala Sitharaman on Sundaypitched for dialogues betweenIndia and China on variousissues, saying differencesbetween the two nations shouldnot be allowed to become dis-putes. Both India and Chinashould respect each other andresolve issues through dia-logues and join hands togeth-er for peace and prosperity,Sitharaman said. There are various issues such asdefence, border disputes, bordertrades and presence of Indianand Chinese defence forces inthe Indian Ocean which can beresolved through continuousdialogues, the minister said.

"Competition is normal,but contest must not turn intoconflict. Differences shouldnot be allowed to become dis-putes, she said here.

"Solution lies in dialogue,solution lies in peaceful engage-ment. But for this, mutual trustshould be there." However, sheadded, mutual recognition ofsensitivity in each countryshould be respected and resolvedthrough dialogues. Sitharamanwas delivering the seventhmemorial lecture of former RSSactivist from Arunachal Pradesh,Rutum Kamgo, on the theme:'Towards Bridging the Indo-China Relationship for anEmerging Asia'.

On a proposal of ChiefMinister Pema Khandu foropening up border trade withChina through Bum La Pass,Sitharaman said trade was pos-sible with the border villages ofboth the countries, like the cur-rent border haats at Nathu La inSikkim and Moreh in Manipur.

However, she added, thebalance of trade between the

countries was in favour ofChina. "Trade between Indiaand China is done in large scaleamounting to USD 80-90 bil-lion. But, sadly, we are pur-chasing from them in hugequantities. But, for our prod-ucts, their market is not open."

"We have several productslike telecommunication, vegeta-bles, tea, soya, raw sugar, phar-maceuticals etc in which Chinaevinces keen interest," thedefence minister said, addingthat there were certain areaswhere both the nations couldcooperate, especially in con-taining terrorism and promotingsustainable development. Theminister termed India and China

the growth engines for the entireworld, saying that emergence ofboth the countries would pavethe way for an emerging Asia.

"Peace, security and devel-opment in Asia are possiblewhen India and China are devel-oped. Development of both thenations is possible only whenthere is mutual respect andunderstanding among the twocountries." She quoted PrimeMinister Narendra Modi as say-ing that both the countriesshould follow the mantra ofsamman (respect), sambad (dia-logue), sahyog (cooperation),shanti (peace) and samriddhi(prosperity) for development.

PTI

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Chennai: A deep depression inthe bay of bengal has intensi-fied into a cyclonic storm andis likely to cross the NorthTamil Nadu and South AndhraPradesh coast betweenCuddalore and Sriharikota onNovember 15, regional weath-er office here said on Sunday.

The cyclone, christened'Gaja', which lay around 860kms northeast of Chennai andmoving at a speed of 12 kmphis likely to intensify into a'severe cyclonic storm' withinthe next 24 hours, a bulletinissued at 4 PM said.

Gales reaching 80-90 kmsper hour was likely over TamilNadu, Puducherry and AndhraPradesh.

Speaking to reporters, AreaCyclone Warning CentreDirector S Balachandran saidcoastal areas of north TamilNadu would experience mod-erate rainfall and heavy rainfall

in isolated places from thenight of November 14.

"On November 15, manyplaces will receive moderaterainfall and isolated places willget heavy rainfall."

Fishermen have beenadvised not to venture into thesea from November 12 andthose already in deep sea havebeen asked to return.

The Indian meteorologi-cal department however saidthe storm is likely to weakengradually while crossingtowards north Tamil Naduand south Andhra Pradeshcoasts as a 'cyclonic storm'during forenoon of November 15.

Listing out measurestaken to face the cyclone,Revenue AdministrationCommissioner K Satyagopaltold reporters in Tirunelvelithat medical teams were onstandby in all districts. PTI

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Pakistani Army Sunday car-ried out yet another sniper

attack in Nowshera sector ofRajouri in which one Indianjawan sacrificed his life. In a briefstatement the Indian armytermed it a 'grave' provocationwhile assuring befitting response.

The 'sniping' incident,how-ever, triggered fresh firing inthe forward area with Indianside choosing to retaliate'strongly' and 'effectively' inresponse to the extreme provo-cation from the Pakistani side.

This is the third incident of'sniping' in a row in last threedays. At the time of filing thereport, tension prevailed inforward area along the line ofcontrol in the region.

The Indian army is alsoanticipating spike in infiltrationbids by heavily armed terroristsfollowing closing down ofmountain passes in the higherreaches of North Kashmir owing

to fresh snowfall in the area. Intelligence reports have

also reported presence of largenumber of trained terrorists inthe launching pads close to theline of control. According toDefence Spokesman Lt-ColDevendra Anand, "Pakistanarmy resorted to an 'unpro-voked' ceasefire violation inNowshera sector around 2.45p.m in which 29 year old NaikGosavi Keshav Somgir, injuredcritically, later succumbed tohis injuries". He hailed fromNashik district in Maharashtraand is survived by his wife.

Meanwhile, 21 year oldRifleman Varun Katal, mar-tyred in Sunderbani sector on

Saturday, was cremated withfull military honours in hisnative village in Samba.

His mortal remains wereescorted in a big procession bylocal villagers. Holding tricolourin their hands the villagersshouted slogans against Pakistanand hailed Indian army for giv-ing them a befitting reply.

Rifleman Varun, survivedby his father had last interact-

ed with him on saturday short-ly before he was targeted by asniper fire from across the lineof control. He had promised hisfather to return home soonahead of the marriage cere-mony of his elder sister.

A civilian porter deployedby the Indian army had alsosuccumbed to his injuries afterhe was hit by a sniper fire inAkhnoor sector on Friday.

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The minimum temperaturesincreased across Jammu

and Kashmir on Sunday as theweather office forecast rainand snow for the next threedays in the state.

"There is a likelihood oflight to moderate widespreadrain and snow beginning fromMonday," an official of theMET department said.

"The spell is likely to beless severe than the previousone witnessed here on

November 3."The overnight partial cloud

cover has helped in theimprovement of temperatures

in the state.The minimum tempera-

ture was 3.2 and 13.5 degreesCelsius in Srinagar andJammu cities respectively,while Pahalgam recorded 0.7and Gulmarg minus 3.5degrees.

Leh town recorded minus1.3 and Kargil 6.6 as the night'slowest.

In the Jammu region, Katrarecorded 12.4 degrees Celsius,Batote 7.6, Bannihal 4.6 andBhaderwah 4.3, the MET offi-cial said.

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Former Karnataka Ministerand mining baron Gali

Janardhan Reddy was arrest-ed by the Central CrimeBranch on Sunday in the�600 crore fraud case. Hewill now be produced to themagistrate. The CCB hasarrested Reddy in connectionwith Ambidant Marketing pvtLtd 'bribery' case.

Janardhan Reddy is accusedof taking a �20-crore bribe tobail Syed Ahmed Fareed,accused in a ponzi scheme case,out from the EnforcementDirectorate investigation.

The investigating agencysaid they have also arrestedReddy's aide Mehfuz Ali Khan,who had allegedly struck a�20-crore deal with SyedAhmed Fareed of AmbidantMarketing Pvt Ltd to bail himout from the ED investigation.

After remaining elusive forthree days, the former Ministeron Saturday appeared beforethe police in connection withan alleged ponzi scam, anddenied the allegations as a"political conspiracy".

Earlier on Saturday Reddysaid he never panicked as nei-ther his name figured in theFIR nor was any notice servedon him.

Reddy who had dramati-cally appeared before the CCBpolice on Saturday was arrest-ed and interrogated for alleged-ly shielding a father-son duowho have been accused of run-ning a ponzi scheme in thename of 'Islamic Banking'.

The CCB police confirmedhis arrest and produced himbefore a magistrate's residencein Bengaluru on Sunday. TheAdditional CP Alok Kumar ofCCB said "We have taken thedecision to arrest him on thebasis of credible evidence andwitnesses statements. We aregoing to recover the (Ponzischeme) money and give it tothe investors."

On Saturday before his

dramatic appurtenance beforethe CCB investigating officersReddy released a recordedvideo to the media and claimedinnocence. In his recordedmessage from an unknownlocation along with his lawyer,Reddy denied all allegationsand said it was a political con-spiracy. He said he was notabsconding and very much inthe city. Reddy asserted thatthere was no need for him toflee as he was clean.

Reddy allegedly shielded afather and son, accused in the�954-crore Ponzi scheme, frombeing investigated by theEnforcement Directorate (ED)for alleged money launderingin violation of the ForeignExchange Management Act(FEMA). Reddy was on con-ditional bail since January 2015in the multi-crore mining scamthat rocked Karnataka in 2012.The then BJP Chief MinisterYeddyurappa had to resigndue to the illegal mining scam.

The CCB has also arrestedReddy's close aide, Ali Khan,who had allegedly struck �18-crore deal with the accusedduo - Syed Ahmed Fareed andhis son Syed Afaq Ahmed ofAmbident Marketing Ltd, acity-based company that ran thePonzi scheme and duped about15,000 investors by launderingtheir money from Dubai.

The ED had earlier thisweek charged the duo withrunning a potential Ponzischeme offering huge interest

to investors in the name of'Islamic banking'.

"Investigation revealed thatAmbidant has been operatinga potential Ponzi scheme andduping thousands of investorsin the name of Islamic bankingand a 'Halal' investment," saidED in a statement here.

According to ED sources atransaction of �18 crore wastracked and revealed that themoney was sent to RameshKothari, owner of AmbikaJewellery. The money was thenrouted to another man namedRamesh, who owned a jew-ellery store in Bellari inKarnataka. The source con-firmed that after police inter-rogation, Ramesh said that themoney was given to JanardhanaReddy's personal assistant Aliin the form of gold bars.

Since inception onDecember 20, 2016, the com-pany received cumulatively awhopping �954 crore as invest-ments under Haj/Umrah andUltimate plans.

"We have written to theReserve Bank of India (RBI) tohave a re-look into the schemeto protect the interests ofinvestors/depositors beingduped by the company," said anED official in the statement.

The Ponzi scheme is to col-lect huge money by companiesfraudulently from depositorspromising high interest rate butuses it to pay heavy interest ondeposits raised earlier fromanother set of investors.

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The BJP is not makingmuch headway in West Bengaland its desperation is similar tothat of a turtle turned upsidedown, Trinamool CongressSecretary General ParthaChatterjee said on Sunday.

He charged that theBharatiya Janata Party, in itsdesperation, was makingprovocative statements in orderto gain a foothold in the state.

His comments came a dayafter West Bengal BJP women'swing chief Locket Chatterjeewarned that those trying tostop the party's scheduled 'rathyatras' in the state will be"crushed under the wheels ofthe chariot".

"Be it Locket Chatterjee,Dilip Ghosh (state BJP chief),or Rahul Sinha (BJP NationalSecretary), they always makesuch destructive comments.Their condition is like that ofa turtle turned upside down. Itkeeps throwing its limbs in theair but that is of no use," saidChatterjee, who is also theEducation Minister.

The BJP has planned three'rath yatras' from three parts ofWest Bengal which would con-verge in Kolkata after travellingacross the State.

BJP President Amit Shah isscheduled to flag off the 'yatras'on December 5, 7 and 9.

"Sometimes they are talk-ing about killing our men,sometimes they want to crushpeople under the chariot. It isevident that the BJP is gettingdesperate as it is not able tomake much headway inBengal," the Trinamool leader said.

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In what could be a worryingsign for the Goa BJP, former

state RSS chief SubhashVelingkar, an arch rival of ChiefMinister Manohar Parrikar, onSunday announced his plungeinto electoral politics.

The announcement comesat a time when the the state BJPas well as the BJP-led coalitiongovernment in Goa are facingimmense flak over the contin-uance of ailing Parrikar asChief Minister despite beingtreated for advanced pancreat-ic cancer for the last ninemonths.

"I will be actively workingfor the Goa Suraksha Manch,"Velingkar told reporters inPanaji.

Asked if he would be con-testing the upcoming bypolls inGoa's Shiroda and Mandremconstituencies which have beennecessitated due to resignationsof Congress MLAs from bothseats, Velingkar said the deci-sion would be taken at "theappropriate time".

He also said that consider-ing the political chaos in thestate, following Parrikar's illnessand comfortable numbers inthe Assembly still eluding theBJP, the Goa Assembly wouldbe dissolved and fresh pollswould be announced in Goaalong with Lok Sabha electionsin 2019.

Velingkar, 66, has served asthe state RashtriyaSwayamsevak Sangh chief formore than two decades and isconsidered responsible for thepolitical grooming of the stateBJP's top leaders includingParrikar, Union Minister ofState for AYUSH Shripad Naikand former Chief MinisterLaxmikant Parsekar.

He was sacked from theRSS in 2016 after he took onParrikar, who Velingkaraccused of backstabbing the

principles of both the Sangh aswell as BJP.

Velingkar later foundedand mentored the GoaSuraksha Manch, a rightwingconservative political partywhich considers the BJP itskey rival.

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Ailing Goa Chief MinisterManohar Parrikar on

Sunday underwent a routinecheck-up at a state-run hos-pital near here, a statementissued by his Office said.

"The Chief Minister under-goes routine check-up at theGoa Medical College," it said.

Parrikar is suffering fromadvanced pancreatic cancerand has been in and out ofhospitals in Goa, Mumbai,New York and Delhi for near-ly nine months.

He returned from NewDelhi's All India Institute ofMedical Sciences on October14 and has not moved out ofhis private residence, for anyofficial event since.

The Opposition has beendemanding Parrikar's resig-nation, claiming that theadministration has come to astandstill due to his absence.

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It is probably the first timethat Rashtriya Swayamsevak

Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwatand Prime Minister NarendraModi will be in Varanasi on thesame day on Monday, and theyare likely to have a brief meet-ing against the backdrop of2019 Lok Sabha election withfocus on Ram Mandir.

Bhagwat has alreadyarrived in the temple city whilePrime Minister Narendra Modiwill be arriving on Monday.

The Prime Minister is slat-ed to inaugurate the Ring Roadand the Babatpur airport roadin Varanasi besides dedicatingto the nation the InlandWaterways Terminal on riverGanga.

The RSS will be holding asix-day meeting in Varanasifrom November 11 toNovember 16. Bhagwat will bein Koirajpur to discuss theRSS ideology and nationalismwith workers of the organisa-tion. The issues of Ram templeand Lok Sabha poll will also bediscussed.

RSS workers from six statesalong with senior leaders of theorganisation will be attendingthe meet.

“This is a chance that Modiand Bhagwat will be inVaranasi together for a fewhours on Monday. There is alllikelihood that the RSS chief

and the PM may have a briefmeeting,” a senior RSS leadersaid.

“The meeting will be sym-bolic so as to send a messageacross the eastern UttarPradesh and Bihar that PrimeMinister enjoys the backing ofthe RSS,” he said.

Varanasi has been the ful-crum of political activities ineastern UP and Bihar. Themessage from Kashi has far-reaching significance andtherefore the backroom man-agers of RSS and BharatiyaJanata Party are trying for abrief meeting between Modiand Bhagwat. They also wantsto make it a photo-op.

Security has been tightenedin the city in view of both theprogrammes while SpecialProtection Group has takenover the security of the venuesto be visited by the PrimeMinister.

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With activities hotting up inAyodhya over the issue of

construction of Ram temple andleaders of Shiv Sena regularly vis-iting Karsewakpuram, UttarPradesh government spokesmanand Health Minister SidharthNath Singh said that everyonewas welcome in Ayodhya butbefore paying obeisance to RamLalla, they should understand themeaning of Ram rajya.

“We welcome leaders of allpolitical hues in Ayodhya. Thisgovernment has imposed norestriction on ‘darshan’ of RamLalla. But we expect leaders vis-iting Ayodhya to understandthe ethics of Ram rajya and

support the government inMaharashtra,” Singh said in anoblique reference to SanjayRaut’s visit to Ayodhya.

This will be the third visitof senior Shiv Sena leaderSanjay Raut, who is also thespokesman of the party. It isbelieved that Shiv Sena chiefUddhav Thackeray is alsoexpected to visit Ayodhya soon.

“The law and order situationin Uttar Pradesh is very good.Whosoever tries to disturbcommunal peace will be severe-ly dealt with. The leaders arewelcome in UP but they shouldnot give vitriolic statements,”Singh said here on Sunday.

Meanwhile, activities haveintensified in Ayodhya over the

proposed ‘dharma sansad’ to beheld there on November 25.

Besides Ayodhya, similar‘dharma sansads’ will be held inBengaluru and Nagpur. It willbe followed by a ‘dharma sabha’in New Delhi on December 9.

Vishwa Hindu Parishad’ssenior leader Champat Raireviewed the preparation forthe ‘dharma sansad’ inAyodhya. Local Member ofParliament Lalloo Singh,Mayor Rishikesh Upadhayaand local legislator of theBharatiya Janata Party held ameeting with VHP leaders.The ‘dharma sabha’ will beheld at Panch Kosi ParikramaMarg from 12 noon onNovember 25.

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Lucknow: To give impetus tothe Ram Mandir movement,Bajrang Dal has started a‘trishul diksha’ campaign toraise a dedicated force that canact when required.

Under this campaign, over10,000 Bajrang Dal activistshave been given ‘diksha’.Bajrang Dal is the youth wingof Vishwa Hindu Parishad.

VHP secretary of AwadhPrant, Devendra Mishra, con-firmed that so far 10,000Bajrang Dal activists of theAwadh region had been given‘trishul diksha.’

“At present we are concen-trating only on Awadh regionbecause Lucknow is the heartof this region. If needed, theBajrang Dal activists of otherregions would be imparted thesame training,” Mishra told‘The Pioneer’ here on Sunday.

He said that as the agitationin favour of Ram Mandir con-struction gathered pace, theVHP would be needing youthswho could come out on theroads within stipulated time.

“Therefore, we are nowconcentrating on Awadh regionby giving ‘trishul diksha’ toBajrang Dal activists of theregion,” the VHP leader said.

The Awadh region com-prises 12 districts but for theVHP it has 25 zones.

Incidentally, VHP stoppedits ‘trishul diksha’ campaignafter the Dara Singh incident ofOdisha in 2006, though everyyear, firearms training campsare held at various venues.

In 2016, the firearms train-ing camp was held in Ayodhya,and it sparked a major contro-

versy. In 2017, the camp washeld in Hardoi.

Last year, the VHP hadlaunched a membership driveunder which over 10 lakhyouths were enrolled in BajrangDal. The criteria for new mem-bership was that the personshould be in the age group of15-35 years and swear by theideology of ‘Seva, Suraksha,Sanskar’.

Muslims were not enrolledin the Bajrang Dal but werewelcome in Rashtriya MuslimManch, the Muslim cell ofRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.However, Christians were notaccepted in any RSS orBharatiya Janata Party wing.

The issue of ‘ghar vaapsi’,protection of Hindu communi-ty and opposition to ‘love jihad’,besides service to the poor anddowntrodden are some of theprime activities of Bajrang Dal.But now its focus is only on theconstruction of Ram temple.

“We are not discussing anyother issue other than con-struction of Ram temple,”Mishra added.

He said the governmentwas left with one option — ofbringing a legislation for con-struction of Ram temple.

“Every Hindu is now ques-tioning why there is a delay inconstruction of the Ram tem-ple,” Mishra added.

He agreed that the gov-ernment could face some prob-lems in the Rajya Sabha (for thepassage of such legislation) asit does not have the requirednumber but it could go for ajoint sitting of the two Housesof Parliament. PNS

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Thiruvananthapuram: Thewife of a CPI-M Minister inKerala on Sunday quit her postin the University of Kerala fol-lowing criticism that her hus-band played a role in gettingher the job.

Jubilee Navaprabha, wifeof Public Works Minister G.Sudhakaran, told the media that a section in KeralaUniversity was out to malignher husband after she applied and got selected forthe post.

"I retired as Vice Principalof SD College at Alappuzha.I saw the (University) adver-tisement and applied. Thenour detractors said the postwas tailor made for me," she said.

"My husband has a veryclean track record and wehave been together for the past36 years. After hearing all theallegations, I decided to dumpthis job in the dustbin. I amquitting. For us, it is not thejob that matters but my hus-band's credibility," saidNavaprabha.

After her retirement asVice Principal, she wasappointed the Director at theDirectorate of ManagementTechnology and Educationthat oversees the functioningof autonomous colleges underKerala University.

Earlier, IndustriesMinister E.P. Jayarajan had toquit in 2016 following reportsthat he had appointed his rel-atives in state-run organisa-tions. Early this year, he wasreinstated after the court gavehim a clean chit.

IANS

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AJaish-e-Mohammad (JeM)terrorist from Pakistan was

killed in a shootout on Sundayafter the ultras attacked a secu-rity forces party in Handwaraarea of Kupwara district ofJammu and Kashmir, policesaid.

"In the afternoon hours, agroup of terrorists while mov-ing through Handwara wasintercepted by a naka partynear Chattipora which led toa brief exchange of gunfire,"a police spokesman said.

He said in the gunfight, amilitant was killed.

Some arms and ammuni-tion and incriminating mate-rial were recovered from theslain terrorist who was identif ied as Ishtiyaaq from Pakistan, the spokesmansaid.

"Ishtiyaaq was affiliatedwith proscribed terror outfitJeM and was involved in aseries of terror attacks on secu-rity establishments and manyother civilian atrocities in thearea," he said.

Police have registered acase and initiated investigation,the spokesman said.

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Tamil Nadu Chief MinisterK. Palaniswami on

Saturday wondered why DMKleaders didn't take up checkdams being built across Palarriver with Chandrababu Naiduwhen he visited M.K. Stalin'shome on Friday.

On Friday the AndhraPradesh Chief Minister metStalin at DMK leader's residencein Chennai for forging opposi-tion unity against the BJP for the2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Palaniswami said if theDMK really cares about TamilNadu and its people, it should

have raised the issue of checkdams across the Palar.

Queried about AIADMK'sopposition to Vijay-starring'Sarkar' movie, Palaniswamisaid the issue has been settled.

Palaniswami, however, saidthe movie industry is "suckingthe movie-goers' blood by sell-ing Rs 100 ticket at Rs 1,000"during the initial couple of daysafter the movie's release.

Refuting the allegation thatAIADMK cadres tore the ban-ners of the movie, Palaniswamisaid since the general public alsoopposed some of the scenes inthe movie, the producer and thedirector agreed to remove thosescenes.

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Jammu: A group of Kashmirimigrant pandits Sunday stageda sit-in here demanding strictaction against those who mur-dered a community memberon the eve of his daughter'smarriage, officials said.

Dilip Langar (59) wasallegedly stabbed to death bythree youths on Wednesdayafter he objected to a fightbetween two groups of men atK K Resorts, where his relativeswere staying for the marriageof his daughter the next day.

All the three accused werearrested later. On Sunday, a theprotesters including familymembers of the deceased gath-ered at the exhibition groundhere demanding severe punish-ment for the culprits and mon-etary compensation for thebereaved family. NationalConference provincial presidentDevender Singh Rana joined theprotesters and expressed soli-darity with them. "The death inmost tragic and has shocked thesociety of Jammu as a whole.Such sort of lawlessness is wor-risome for all," said Rana, theMLA from Nagrota constituen-cy where Langar resided. PTI

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As an unprecedented fightplays out between the RBI

and the Government, it is thecentral bank’s 18 board mem-bers who are being keenlywatched for their next courseof action — they are not onlycentral bankers andGovernment officials but alsobusiness leaders, economistsand activists.

The RBI board is sched-uled to meet next on November19 amid an ongoing tusslewith the Government on mul-tiple fronts.

Going by the public utter-ances of the RBI andGovernment officials so far, thecontentious issues are how tomanage the huge surplus theRBI has accumulated, howshould it deal with errantlenders and borrowers amid apersisting bad loan crisis andwhat could be the ‘public inter-est’ for the Government todictate directions so that it isnot seen as an attack on thecentral bank’s autonomy.

As per the RBI website, itscentral board currently has 18members, though the provisionis that it can go up to 21.

The members includeGovernor Urjit Patel and hisfour deputies as ‘full-time offi-cial directors’, while the rest 13have been nominated by theGovernment, including twoFinance Ministry officials —Economic Affairs SecretarySubhash Chandra Garg andFinancial Services SecretaryRajiv Kumar.

There are also Swadeshiideologue SwaminathanGurumurthy and cooperativebanker Satish Marathe, nomi-nated by the Government as“part-time non-official direc-tors”.

The entire board isappointed by the Governmentunder the RBI Act, which man-dates the central board with“general superintendence anddirection of the Reserve Bank’saffairs”.

The Government cannominate 10 ‘non-official’directors from various fieldsand two Government officials.The four non-official directorsare one each from the fourregional boards of the RBI.

Besides Patel, the four offi-cial directors are N SVishwanathan and ViralAcharya, both of whom havegone public with their direct orindirect criticism of anyattempt to undermine the RBI’sautonomy, as also B P Kanungoand M K Jain.

Patel became Governor inSeptember 2016 after serving asDeputy Governor since January2013. Previously, he had servedat the International MonetaryFund (IMF) and was also ondeputation from the IMF to theRBI during 1996-1997. He wasa Consultant to the Ministry ofFinance from 1998 to 2001 andhas a PhD in economics fromYale University, an M Philfrom University of Oxford anda BSc from the University ofLondon.

Acharya is a New YorkUniversity Professor of

Economics, while Kanungoand Vishwanathan are careercentral bankers. Jain wasappointed as a DeputyGovernor in June 2018 andpreviously headed IDBI Bankand Indian Bank, among otherprofessional banking roles.

The business leaders on theRBI board include Tata groupchief NatarajanChandrasekaran, formerMahindra group veteran BharatNarotam Doshi, TeamleaseServices co-founder ManishSabharwal and Sun Pharmachief Dilip Shanghvi.

The other members areSudhir Mankad (retired IASofficer whose last assignmentwas as Gujarat Government’sChief Secretary), Ashok Gulati(agricultural economist),Prasanna Mohanty (ex-IASofficer and economist), SachinChaturvedi of Delhi-basedthink-tank Research andInformation System forDeveloping Countries (RIS)and Revathy Iyer (a formerDeputy Comptroller andAuditor General).

In the past also, the RBI’sboard has had several businessleaders such as Ratan Tata,Kumar Mangalam Birla, NRNarayana Murthy, AzimPremji, G M Rao, Y CDeveshwar and K P Singh.

Recently, the tenure ofboard member Nachiket Mor,who had previously been anexecutive director at ICICI Bank,was cut short — nearly a yearafter he was re-nominated by theGovernment in August 2017 fora second term of four years.

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Former Union FinanceMinister P Chidambaram

on Sunday asked the Centrewhat was its “tearing hurry” to“fix” the capital framework ofReserve Bank of India when theruling dispensation had justfour months to complete theterm.

In a series of tweets, thesenior Congress leaderslammed the Government forallegedly seeking funds fromthe RBI despite claiming that its(Centre) fiscal math was cor-rect.

“The NDA Governmenthas competed 4 years and 6months of its term. It haseffectively 4 months left. Whatis the tearing hurry to ‘fix’ thecapital framework of RBI?” hesaid.

Chidambaram said if theGovernment did not need anymore money this financial year,why was it “mounting pressure”on the central bank in the lastfour months of its tenure.

“Why did it keep silent for4 years and 6 months?” he said.

The Congress leader saidthe Government had claimedthat its “fiscal math is correct”and “boasts” that it had givenup �70,000 crore of borrowingfor 2018-19.

“If so, why does it needmoney from the reserves ofRBI this year?” he said.

The central Governmenthad on Friday said it was dis-cussing an “appropriate” size ofcapital reserves that the central

bank must maintain, butdenied seeking a massive cap-ital transfer from the RBI.

The RBI has a massive�9.59 lakh crore reserves andthe Government, if reportsare to be believed, wants thecentral bank to part with athird of that fund — an issuewhich along with easing ofnorms for weak banks andraising liquidity has broughtthe two at loggerheads inrecent weeks.

Economic Affairs SecretarySubhash Chandra Garg took toTwitter on Friday to clarify thatthe government was not in anydire need of funds and thatthere was no proposal to askthe RBI to transfer �3.6 lakhcrore.

“There is no proposal toask RBI to transfer (�) 3.6 or (�)1 lakh crore, as speculated,” hetweeted.

“Government’s FD (fiscaldeficit) in FY 2013-14 was5.1%. From 2014-15 onwards,Government has succeeded inbringing it down substantially.We will end the FY 2018-19with FD of 3.3%. Governmenthas actually

foregone (�) 70,000 croreof budgeted market borrowingthis year,” Garg said.

The official said the onlyproposal under discussion wasto “fix appropriate economiccapital framework of RBI”.

Economic capital frame-work refers to the risk capitalrequired by the central bankwhile taking into account dif-ferent risks.

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India’s 12 major ports wit-nessed a 5.31 per cent rise in

cargo traffic at 403.39 milliontonnes (MT) during April-October of the current fiscal, theIndian Ports Association (IPA)data showed. These top portshad handled 383.05 MT cargoduring the corresponding seven-month period of the last fiscal.

The growth in the cargotraffic was mainly attributed toincrease in handling of coal,mainly coking coal, containersand petroleum, oil and lubri-

cants (POL). Among the 12major ports, Kamarajar Port(erstwhile Ennore) recordedthe highest growth in trafficduring the April-October peri-

od with an increase of 20.42 percent, followed by Cochin Port13 per cent, Paradip Port 11.22per cent, Kolkata Port (includ-ing Haldia) 8.65 per cent and

Deendayal Port (erstwhileKandla Port) 8.46 per cent.

Jawahar Lal Nehru Port(JNPT) recorded 6.93 per centgrowth, Vishakhapatnam portrecorded a 5.58 per cent rise incargo traffic, New Mangalore3.56 per cent and Chennai3.11 per cent. However, VOChidambaranar, Mumbai andMormugao have recorded neg-ative growth during the period.

In terms of maximumcargo volume, Deendayal Porthandled 68.47 MT cargo, fol-lowed by Paradip’s 62.03 MTand JNPT Port at 40.54 MT.

There are 12 major portsunder the control of the Centrebesides 187 minor/intermedi-ate ports under the jurisdictionof states along the 7,517 kmlong coastline of the country.

The 12 major ports —Deendayal Port, Mumbai Port,JNPT Port, Mormugao Port,New Mangalore Port, CochinPort, Chennai Port, KamarajarPort, V O Chidambarnar Port,Visakhapatnam Port, ParadipPort and Kolkata Port (includ-ing Haldia Port) handled -approximately 61 per cent ofthe country’s total cargo traffic.

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China’s e-commerce giantAlibaba broke last year’s

‘Singles’ Day’ record by logging$24.3 billion in sales by mid-day during the annual onlineshopping fiesta on Sunday.

The Alibaba Group’s vari-ous shopping platforms brokethe 10 billion-yuan ($1.44 bil-lion) sales threshold withinthe first two minutes and fiveseconds, after the e-commercegiant kicked off the 10th yearof its iconic Double 11 shop-ping gala (also called 11.11sale).

The Alibaba Group sur-passed last year’s Singles’ Dayrecord with more than eighthours to go before the end of the24-hour shopping festival,cementing its position as theworld’s biggest retail event andassuaging concerns that Chineseconsumer sentiment is soften-ing, Hong Kong-based SouthChina Morning Post, which isowned by Alibaba, reported.

Also known as Double 11,the shopping extravaganza willdraw to a close at midnight.Consumers spent a total of168.5 billion yuan ($24.3 bil-lion) by the afternoon, thereport said.

Last year, the AlibabaGroup reported $25.3 billion oforders.

Other brands and e-com-merce retailers like JD.Com,Mogujie and VipShop tooreported heavy sales.November 11 is being cele-brated since 2009 as an onlineantidote to the sentimentalitysurrounding Valentine’s Day. Itwas named “Singles’ Day”

because its date, 11/11(November 11), consists offour “ones,” representing foursingles.

November 11 has becomea default date for people to snapup things and binge on enter-tainment shows. Alibaba isalso using the occasion to testthe limits of its cloud comput-ing, delivery, and paymentcapabilities, as well as try outnew business endeavours thatare uprooting traditional retail-ers.

Sales were helped by theparticipation of Alibaba’sSoutheast Asia unit Lazada, aswell as subsidiaries Ele.Me,Koubei, supermarket chainHema and other business units.

The total gross merchan-dise volume (GMV) for thisyear’s Singles’ Day — or thevalue of total transactions onthe platform — is keenlywatched as a barometer ofconsumer spending and retailhealth in the world’s second-biggest economy amid thetrade war with US.

The US has slapped addi-tional tariffs on $250 billionworth of goods demanding

China toreduce $375billion tradedeficit.

Within halfan hour ofSingles’ Day, 30brands, includ-ing Nike,Uniqlo, Adidas,Procter &G a m b l e ,Xiaomi andApple hadcrossed 100

million yuan in sales. In justone second, 3,700 Singles’ Dayspecial edition MAC lipstickswere sold out.

Health supplementstopped the list of most popu-lar imported items purchasedby consumers in China as of 12pm, followed by milk powder,facial masks and milk powder,according to Alibaba. Skincareproducts were also among themost-bought items fromabroad, the data showed.

Residents of Shanghai werethe biggest spenders, followedby those in Beijing, Hangzhouand Guangzhou.

Alibaba hosted a star-stud-ded gala on Saturday night inShanghai, featuring superstarsinger Mariah Carey andCirque du Soleil to pump sales.

Pre-sales prior to the eventwere brisk, with 33 brands onTmall reporting 100 million-yuan worth of pre-orders, thecompany said. Down paymentsfor consumer electronics onTmall have jumped nearly six-fold year-on-year, with popu-lar brands including Apple,Huawei, Siemens and Dyson,state run China Daily reported.

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Anew suburban corridor onthe Central Railway (CR)

was inaugurated Sunday, link-ing Nerul and Belapur in NaviMumbai with Kharpokar inUlwe, a rapidly developingnode in the satellite city.

The 12km Nerul-SeawoodsDarave-Belapur-Kharkopar cor-ridor in Navi Mumbai was com-missioned by Railway MinisterPiyush Goyal along withMaharashtra Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis. This is thefirst phase of the 27km Nerul-Belapur-Uran corridor on theHarbour route of the CR thatextends suburban trains toadjoining Raigad district.

Regular services on thecorridor will start fromMonday and link Ulwe node inNavi Mumbai with ChhatrapatiShivaji Maharaj Terminus(CSMT) and Panvel on theHarbour route besides Thaneon the Trans-Harbour corridor.

The Ulwe node is locatedopposite the upcoming NaviMumbai International Airport.

This is the first suburbancorridor in the Mumbai met-ropolitan region in 13 years andcomes after the Trans- HarbourLine, connecting Thane withNavi Mumbai, was thrown

open in 2005.Speaking after commis-

sioning of the corridor at theKharpokar railway station,Fadnavis said in the modern eratransportation and mobility playkey role in human settlement.

“In earlier days of civilisa-tion, people would settle nearrivers where they could easilyget water. But now people starthabitation at places which areequipped with means of trans-portation and mobility,” he said.

Fadnavis said large-scaleinvestments are being made inMumbai’s suburban railwaynetwork to enhance connec-tivity and improve passengeramenities.

“We are also investing Rs 1lakh crore in various metroprojects that will also be inte-grated with suburban net-works,” the Chief Minister said.

The Seawoods-Belapur-Uran line was conceived in late1990s to augment the Harbourrail network. The commission-ing of the new rail corridor wasto take place in December 2017,but it got delayed by nearly a year.

The CR will operate 40 ser-vices daily from Monday, ofwhich 20 will run betweenKharkopar and Nerul and therest between Belapur andKharkopar stations.

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Midea Group, a consumerappliance maker and a

Fortune 500 Company, laidthe foundation stone for theTechnology Park at SupaParner in Maharashtra. ThePark will have manufacturingfacilities for home appliances,HVAC and compressors.

The foundation stoneswere laid by MaharashtraChief Minister DevendraFadnavis, Midea Groupfounder Xiangjian He andMidea Group Chairman PaulFang.

“The Technology Park isexpected to generate employ-ment opportunities for morethan 2,000 people. The com-plex is likely to commencecommercial operations at thebeginning of 2020,” CarrierMidea India and MideaGroup Managing DirectorKrishan Sachdev told ThePioneer.

The technology park willalso attract investment fromother ancillary units to supplyto Midea’s factories.

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Shareholders of Usha Martinhave approved the sale of the

company’s steel business toTata Steel as a going concern ona slump sale basis.

A special resolution in thisregard was passed with requi-site majority at Usha MartinLimited’s extraordinary gener-al meeting, with 99.99 per centshareholders voting in itsfavour, the company informedthe exchanges in a regulatoryfiling late night on Friday.

Tata Steel had earlier saidit has executed definitive agree-ments for the acquisition ofUML’s steel business for �4,300-4,700 crore through a slumpsale on a going concern basis.

According to Usha MartinLimited (UML), the sale of itssteel business to Tata Steel willhelp the company significant-ly reduce its debt.

UML’s steel business com-prises the specialised 1 milliontonne per annum (MTPA)alloy based manufacturingcapacity in long products seg-ment based in Jamshedpur, aproducing iron-ore mine, acoal mine under developmentand captive power plants, TataSteel had said.

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Despite the overall increase inlending rates, for first time

in over five years, bank creditrose by a healthy 14.41 per centduring the fortnight to October26, the Reserve Bank has said.

This growth is at a five-yearhigh, after the 16.6 per centachieved by the system inOctober 2013 and the data comeamid reports of an increase indemand from the troubled non-bank finance companies(NBFCs) from banks.

NBFCs are facing liquid-ity pressure and has around�60,000 crore worth repay-ments between November 1and 9. They another �90,000crore repayments by the endof the month, of �70000 croreare commercial paperredemption.

Provisional figures releasedby the central bank showed theoverall bank credit increased14.41 per cent to �93.01 trillionas of October 26 from �81.29trillion in the year ago period.

Bank credit grew 4.45 per

cent for the fortnight toOctober 12, the data show.

According to reports,NBFCs are finding it difficultto secure short term fundingfrom the money markets andare increasingly looking up tobanks for their liabilities.Money markets have beenimpacted following thedefaults by IL&FS.

Apart from that, analystssay liquidity problems atNBFCs offer an opportunity forthe banks for recoup theirmarket shares by lendingdirectly to the segments servedby the shadow banks.

A host of banks, startingwith the largest lender SBI,have shown greater confidenceon credit growth for the ongo-ing fiscal year in recent man-agement commentary.

The systems depositgrowth came in at 8.83 per centto �120.71 trillion, which how-ever is marginally down fromprevious fortnight of onOctober 12, when it had stoodat �120.87 trillion, the RBIsaid.

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Liverpool returned to the top ofthe Premier League table —temporarily at least — with a

2-0 win at home to basement clubFulham at Anfield on Sunday.

Jurgen Klopp's side continuedtheir unbeaten start to the PremierLeague season as Mohamed Salah'seighth goal this term and a secondfrom the recalled Xherdan Shaqirihelped them equal their best startto a campaign.

While the scoreline suggesteda comfortable victory, the gameappeared to turn on a controversialdecision five minutes before half-time.

Fulham captain Tom Cairney'scurling cross was headed home bySerbian striker Aleksandar Mitrovicbut the linesman's flag was up foroffside.

Liverpool goalkeeper Alissonquickly passed the ball to TrentAlexander-Arnold whose perfectpass released Salah to put the ballin the Fulham net seconds after thevisitors' thought they had taken thelead.

Fulham's sense of injustice willonly have been heightened whenreplays suggested Mitrovic's effortcould well have been allowed tostand, with the London club seem-ingly on the wrong end of the kindof decision that so often goesagainst teams at the bottom of thetable.

Liverpool, however, might sug-gest they were due some luckafter an incorrect flag haddenied them a possible vic-tory over Arsenal a weekearlier.

After an impeccably-observed minute's silence tomark the centenary of theArmistice in World War I,it was Liverpool who start-ed the stronger.

Alexander-Arnold's lowcross eventually found Sadio Maneand he should have done betterwith a shot which drifted well wide.

Roberto Firmino, operating inthe hole behind Salah, found spaceto feed Shaqiri, whose shot flew justwide of the post.

Liverpool manager Klopp hadasked his team to rediscover the joyin their football following theirshock midweek Champions Leaguedefeat by Red Star Belgrade, and italmost arrived 15 minutes in.

Salah and Firmino twiceexchanged give-and-goes to cut

Fulham apart but Sergio Ricowas swiftly off his line todeny the Egyptian.

Liverpool continued topress, with Fabinho's fine

diagonal headed over byAlexander-Arnold, whileSalah's powerful drive froma narrow angle was turned

away by Rico.Indeed a rare mistake from Joe

Gomez presented Fulham with thegame's best chance midwaythrough the half.

The England defender failed todeal with Mitrovic's header, allow-ing Ryan Sessegnon to close in on

goal but he somehow pulled hisshot wide with only Alisson to beat.

Fulham were encouraged anda few minutes later AndreSchurrle's drive was spilled byAlisson, with a timely interventionby Virgil van Dijk required toclear the danger.

But Salah's opener allowedLiverpool to gain control and theyunderlined their dominance eightminutes into the second half whena short corner routine saw AndyRobertson's curling cross find anunmarked Shaqiri, who scoredwith a fine volley.

This defeat was Fulham's sev-enth successive loss in all compe-titions and sixth in a row in theleague. And while their perfor-mance at Anfield was far betterthan last week's showing atHuddersfield, this result will do lit-tle to ease the pressure on manag-er Slavisa Jokanovic.

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Paco Alcacer scored the winneras Bundesliga leaders Borussia

Dortmund twice came from behindto beat defending championsBayern Munich 3-2 and moveseven points clear of their third-placed rivals.

The result on Saturday pilesadded pressure on Bayern headcoach Niko Kovac, as his side'schances of winning a seventhstraight title in his first season incharge took another blow.

"We allowed ourselves to bebeaten twice on the counter, thatshouldn't have happened," saidKovac.

"We should have been morecompact and unfortunately we losta game which should have been adraw," he added after RobertLewandowski had two second-halfgoals disallowed for offside.

Bayern have now been beatenin three of their last sixBundesliga games afterdefeats by HerthaBerlin and BorussiaMoenchengladbach,managing just eightpoints from the last 21available.

Lucien Favre'sDortmund remain unbeaten andfour points clear of second-placedGladbach at the top of the table.

After Lewandowski twice gaveBayern the lead at Signal IdunaPark against his former club,Dortmund captain Marco Reushit two equalisers before substituteAlcacer struck in the 73rd minute.

"We didn't trust ourselves in thefirst half, but we played awesomefootball after the break and it wasgreat fun," said Reus.

Alcacer has now scored eightgoals in six league appearancessince signing on loan fromBarcelona.

Bayern took a deserved leadwhen Serge Gnabry curled in across for Lewandowski to power aheader past stand-in Dortmundgoalkeeper Marwin Hitz on 26

minutes.It was 1-0 at the break, but

Dortmund drew level when ManuelNeuer brought Reus down in thearea in the 49th minute and theskipper calmly converted the penal-ty.

Lewandowski restored the leadthree minutes later, heading homehis second — his 14th goal in 16matches for Bayern againstDortmund, who he left in 2014 ona free transfer.

Reus had a chance cleared offthe line on 59 minutes, just beforeLewandowski had the ball in theDortmund net, but was flagged foroffside.

��It was end-to-end stuff as

Alcacer, then Reus blew goldenchances before both made amendswith goals.

Reus finally fired Dortmundlevel when he volleyed home a

Lukasz Piszczek cross inthe 67th minute.

Then when FranckRibery gave the ballaway, Alcacer showedsome classy finishingby rounding Neuer toput Dortmund aheadfor the first time.

Bayern kept the pressure onduring a tense five minutes ofadded time.

Lewandowski had the ball inthe net for a fourth time, but againthe flag went up for offside to thedelight of the home fans in the sell-out 81,365 crowd.

"That was a crazy game, agreat advert for the Bundesliga andthe win wasn't undeserved," saidDortmund boss Favre.

Earlier, Alassane Plea scored aquickfire hat-trick for second-placed Gladbach, who are threepoints ahead of Bayern, in their 3-1 win at Werder Bremen.

Ten-man Hertha Berlin, wholike Bremen have seen their titleaspirations fall apart, crashed to a4-1 defeat at struggling FortunaDuesseldorf.

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Diego Godin played on injuredfor half an hour and then scored

a 91st-minute winner as AtleticoMadrid twice came from behind tobeat Athletic Bilbao 3-2 in La Liga.

Godin pulled a muscle in the64th minute on Saturday as InakiWilliams gave Bilbao a 2-1 lead at theWanda Metropolitano, but Atletico'scaptain stayed on as they had madeall three of their substitutes.

Rodrigo headed them level with10 minutes left, before Godin'sclose-range finish, initially ruledout for offside, was allowed to standby referee Jose Sanchez, after con-sultation with his video assistant ref-eree.

It proved a spectacular finale toa pulsating encounter, in whichBilbao led twice after Williams'opener was cancelled out by a long-range strike from Thomas Partey.

"During the Williams goal I feltmy muscle go," Godin saidafterwards.

"Simeone told me tostay on up front, in case acorner or a ball came intothe area. I tried to help andit worked out well."

Simeone added: "It isone of the most exciting vic-tories in the history of thisstadium."

After beating Borussia

Dortmund in theChampions League on

Tuesday, Atletico sus-tained momentum with acomeback made all themore impressive by their

lengthy list of absentees.Godin and Diego

Costa both returned but19-year-old Francisco

Montero had to playalongside Godin in central defence,

with Lucas Hernandez, JoseGimenez and Stefan Savic all outinjured, along with Thomas Lemarand Koke in midfield.

Atletico started brightly enoughbut Bilbao never looked uncom-fortable and gradually grew into thegame.

Markel Susaeta fired wide, afterRodrigo carelessly conceded pos-session, and then instigated thegoal, darting free of the sleeping

Filipe Luis.

A��Susaeta squared for Mikel San

Jose, whose first-time shot was bril-liantly clawed onto the post by JanOblak. But the ball rolled agonisinglyacross the line, where Williams wasperfectly placed.

It was the first league goalAtletico had conceded in a first halfthis season and there were whistlesas the players departed at the inter-val.

Thomas lifted the mood with abooming effort from range thatflew past Iago Herrerin and into thecorner. But, level in the 61st minute,Atletico were behind again in the64th as one pass sent the speedyWilliams clear.

Godin clambered at the striker'sheels but could not recover. Williamsslid in his second.

Atletico pushed again and Bilbaonever looked safe sitting back. It wasa simple corner this time, deliveredby Thomas and glanced inside thefar post by the head of Rodrigo.

There was still time for a win-ner and it was Atleti that snatchedit. Saul Niguez kept the ball alive atthe back post, Griezmann flickedtowards goal and Godin poked itover the line.

The celebrations were halted bythe linesman's flag. But only tem-porarily.

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Defender Gianluca Manciniscored for a third consecutive

game as Atalanta ended InterMilan's unbeaten run with a 4-1victory on Sunday which seesLuciano Spalletti's title-chasers drop from secondto third in Serie A.

Mancini headed inafter 62 minutes inBergamo to add to HansHateboer's eighth-minuteopener, with BeratDjimsiti (88) and AlejandroGomez (90+4) sealing all threepoints for the hosts.

Inter captain Mauro Icardihad equalised when he slotted in

a penalty just after the break, buthis side finished with ten menafter Marcelo Brozovic was sentoff two minutes into injury time.

Inter slip three points behindsecond-placed Napoli, who camefrom behind to beat Genoa 2-1 on

Friday.Leaders Juventus play

AC Milan at the San Sirolater on Sunday looking tomaintain their six-pointadvantage at the top of theleague.

Spalletti's side hadbeen chasing their eighth consec-utive league win but came upagainst a dogged Atalanta, whoextended their winning run tofour games, moving up to seventh

to boost their Europa Leaguehopes.

"It's an important push tokeep going forward," said Atalantacoach Gian Piero Gasperini.

"We won against a powerfulteam, which was coming off sevenwins in a row."

The hosts dominated Interfrom the outset on a muddy pitchin Bergamo and after Hateboer'sopener they could have been fur-ther ahead in northern Italy butfor some fine Samir Handanovicsaves.

Handanovic kept out a DuvanZapata effort, and also shoved outa quickfire rebound from Dutchright-back Hateboer.

But Hateboer found the waythrough, tapping in a RobinGosens cross, with Slovenian JosipIlicic missing a chance for a sec-ond in front of goal after 22 min-utes.

Inter had chances with a way-ward Ivan Perisic header and aBrozovic volley going over the barjust before the break.

But Icardi drew Inter levelafter the break from the spotafter Mancini handled in thepenalty area.

Mancini made amends byheading in off an Ilicic free-kick,with another set-piece from theboot of the Slovenian midfieldersetting up Djimsiti to head in asthe clock ticked down.

Gomez finished off the routtwo minutes after Croatian WorldCup runner-up Brozovic was sentoff for his second yellow card.

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Record-breaking LewisHamilton claimed his 10th

pole of the season and Mercedes'100th in Formula One on Saturdaywhen he dominated a rain-threat-ened qualifying session forSunday's Brazilian Grand Prix.

The new five-time worldchampion clocked a track recordbest lap in one minute and 7.281seconds on his second run in thefinal session to boost his hopes ofa rare Interlagos victory andMercedes bid for a fifth straightteams' title.

That lifted him clear ofSebastian Vettel of Ferrari byalmost one-tenth of a second withhis Mercedes team-mate ValtteriBottas, who took pole last year,third ahead of Kimi Raikkonen inthe second Ferrari.

The leading four drivers werescrapping for any advantage for

their teams as Ferrari bid to out-score Mercedes by 13 points to keepalive their bid to stop them retain-ing the constructors' championship.

It was a record-increasing 82ndpole for Hamilton, who has wononly once in Brazil, in 2016, and thefirst time he has taken a pole posi-tion in any races after he has wonthe championship.

Max Verstappen was fifthahead of his Red Bull team-mateDaniel Ricciardo, Marcus Ericssonand his Sauber team-mate CharlesLerclerc, Romain Grosjean of Haasand Pierre Gasly of Toro Rosso.

Hamilton was delighted withpole.

"That was a tough session," hesaid. "The weather was going upand down.Ferrari are very quickthis weekend, but we did a lot ofwork to make sure we are ready.

"It's great to be here in Brazil— I have Ayrton Senna's design onmy helmet."

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Left-handed batsman NicholasPooran's quick-fire half-cen-tury powered West Indies to a

competitive 181 for 3 in the thirdand final T20 International againstIndia here on Sunday.

Pooran blasted four boundariesand as many sixes in his 25-ball

unbeaten innings. His blis-tering 87-run unbeatenpartnership in 43 ballswith fellow southpawDarren Bravo (43 off 37balls) enabled the team

move from 94 for 3 to181 in the allotted 20overs.

Reeling after twocrushing defeats, the West

Indies showed the stomachto fight as they batted with

a lot more purpose at the M AChidambaram stadium here.

Pooran, who has been on thefringes for a while and did well in theCaribbean Premier League (CPL),showed why he is rated highly, bat-ting with a lot of enterprise.

He wasn't afraid to go for hisshots and also employed the switch-hit on a few occasions, includinghammering a six off Chahal. Bravooffered him great support and hit acouple of big sixers of his own.

Chahal, who got a lot of turn offthe wicket, was the most successfulIndian bowler with 2 for 28 from hisfour overs, but faced the heattowards the end when Pooran andBravo went on the attack.

Washington Sundar, who tookthe wicket of Denesh Ramdin (15),was the other wicket-taker.

Young pacer Khaleel Ahmedhad a good start to his spell but hecouldn't make much of an impres-sion. Experienced Bhuvneshwar

Kumar too remained without wick-ets.

Earlier, openers ShimronHetmyer (26) and Shai Hope (24)got the visitors off to a brisk start andlooked to score from the word goafter captain Carlos Brathwaite wonthe toss and elected to bat.

Hetmyer, one of the success sto-ries of the series for the Windies,cracked the first boundary in thesecond over bowled by WashingtonSundar. Hope too got into the act inthe next over from Khaleel.

The stylish right-hander hit thefirst six of the innings, loftingKrunal Pandya over long-on. He

perished in going for another big hit,caught on the boundary by Sundaroff Yuzvendra Chahal's first ball ofthe match. His contribution was 24in a first wicket partnership of 51.

Hetmyer slammed four bound-aries and a six in his 21-ball 26 butwas dismissed when trying to cut adelivery from Chahal. The ballbounced a little more than thesouthpaw expected and his shot wassnaffled by Pandya.

India brought in Chahal andSundar for Kuldeep Yadav andJasprit Bumrah, who have beenrested while West Indies retained theXI that played in Lucknow.

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Indian bowlers pinned Pakistandown for most part of their

innings before allowing them towriggle out for 133 for 7 in theirICC Women's World T20 matchhere Sunday.

Opting to field after winningthe toss, India made a great startwith the ball, reducing Pakistanto 30 for 3 in the seventh over.

Pakistan made a fine recov-ery thanks to half centuries fromBismah Maroof (53) and NidaDar (52) as the duo stitched 93runs for the fourth wicket to taketheir side to a competitive total.

Opening bowler ArundhatiReddy immediately gave India thebreakthrough by having AyeshaZafar caught at the slips by VedaKrishnamurthy for nought inthe final delivery of the firstover.

Pakistan were yet to openaccount then and they couldhave been in a worse situationhad Smriti Mandhana notdropped captain Javeria Khan inthe third over.

But two run-outs in the spaceof three overs gave India theupper hand. First an outstandingdirect throw from 18-year oldJemimah Rodrigues sentUmaima Sohail back to the pavil-ion in the fourth over while cap-tain Javeria witnessed the samefate in the seventh over after amixed-up.

Pakistan were on the ropes

but India allowed them to gaingrounds by having three droppedcatches. All the three were regu-lation catches.

Veda Krishnamurthydropped Nida Dar while on 15 inthe 11th over. Poonam Yadavdropped the same batswoman inthe 13th over when she was on 23.The next over, Poonam made amess of a Bismah Maroof skier asshe completely misjudged the tra-jectory of the ball.

Pakistan were still not out ofthe woods as they could onlyreach 53 for 3 at the half-waystage but the sloppy Indian field-ing allowed their two batswomenDar and Maroof to gain in con-fidence.

The Pakistani duo began tohit boundaries at regular intervalsand both reached to their fiftiestowards the end of the innings.Maroof was the first to reach toher fifty in the 17th over whileDar did the same in the next over.

But both were out in thesame 19th over in the space ofthree balls with DayalanHemalatha picking the two wick-ets. Poonam Yadav then scalpedtwo Pakistani wickets in the finalover — that of Aliya Riaz (4) andSana Mir (0).

Pakistan were penalised forfive runs twice during theirinnings for their batswomen run-ning on the danger area. Thus, 10runs will be added to India'sinnings when they come out tobat.

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˙ ˇˆˆ ˙ ˆ˙ - The Pioneer › uploads › 2018 › epaper › ... · the 90 constituencies in Chhattisgarh will go to the polls on Monday under ... rial colleagues Kedar Kashyap