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I t is now Congress chief Rahul Gandhi’s call to decide the Chief Ministers for Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh as differences emerged in the legislatures party meetings of all these States where the Congress staked claim to form Governments. The Chief Ministers would be declared in the Congress Legislatures Party (CLP) meet- ings in all three States on Thursday morning and there- after the party leaders would convey the decision to Rahul following which he would take the final call. Congress sources said the high command may chose former Union Minister Kamal Nath to take over as Chief Minister in MP while Rajasthan strongman Ashok Gehlot may be favoured over Sachin Pilot for the CM post in Rajasthan. Sources said after the CLP meet both Gehlot and Pilot are likely to be in Delhi on Thursday to meet the party high command to iron out differences. In MP, Jyotiraditya Scindia is likely to take it easy and pro- pose the name of party heavy- weight Nath’s candidature for the CM post. Nath has already patched up with another Congress strongman and for- mer Chief Minister Digvijay Singh, who has a strong base in the State. Congress leader Shobha Oza said in Bhopal, “All the MLAs have unanimously decided that a decision on the Chief Minister (of Madhya Pradesh) will be taken by Rahul.” Bhupesh Baghel and TS Singh Deo are locked in keen tussle for the CM’s chair in Chhattisgarh. Congress’ Lok Sabha member Tamradhwaj Sahu’s name also figured in the evening before the party decid- ed for the legislature party meeting in the presence of AICC observers Mallikarjun Kharge, AICC incharge for the State PL Punia and other senior leaders. Making the choice of CM in Rajasthan is going to be tough task for Rahul. Following the differences, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting in Rajasthan passed a single-line resolution authorising the party presi- dent to decide the name of the Chief Minister. While the CM’s name was yet to be finalised due to dis- agreements, Congress delega- tion met Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh to stake claim to form a Government. A Congress MLA said there could be another meeting of the CLP on Thursday morning to resolve the deadlock. “We have full majority and have staked claim to form a Government. We will take along all non-BJP parties and elected members who are against the BJP and are willing to support us,” Pilot said after the CLP meeting in Jaipur. Asked about the choice of the Chief Minister, Pilot said the party’s newly elected MLAs will debate the question, and the party president will take a decision after that. Rajasthan Congress MLA Vishvendra Singh has expressed disagreement over the process of seeking opinion of party legislators to select the Chief Ministerial candidate in Rajasthan when the party pres- ident will decide the face for the coveted post. Both Pilot and Gehlot, both frontrunners for the post, were present in the meeting. Congress observer KC Venugopal held consultation with the party MLAs and feed- back will be shared with the party president and then the announcement of the Chief Minister’s name would be made. T he Delhi Government has unearthed a cyber-tax fraud worth 262 crore com- mitted by over 8,700 traders who were found showing fraudulent tax deposits into 13 banks since 2013, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said on Wednesday. Sisodia, who also holds the Finance portfolio, said the Trade and Taxes Department has registered a complaint with the Delhi Police’s Economic Office Wing (EOW) for regis- tration of FIRs into the matter. According to Delhi Police spokesperson Anil Mittal, “Reena Toppo, VAT officer Delhi, has given a complaint against some business firms which had claimed input tax credit under GST on the basis of fictitious documents and non-existent bank accounts.” Preliminary amount involved is 9.97 crore. Complaint is being examined at EOW, said Mittal “Delhi Govt tax authorities have unearthed a big cyber-tax fraud. More than 8,000 regis- tered dealers have been found showing fraudulent tax deposits into 13 banks. The matter has been handed over to EOW, Delhi Police. The AAP Government believes in zero tolerance to any corrupt prac- tices,” Sisodia tweeted. Earlier in the day, the Deputy Chief Minister said during the scrutiny of sus- pected fraud transactions, it was noticed that such kind of fraud had been continuing since 2013 and it was going on until it was detected by the department. “The Government has detected cyber-tax fraud of 262 crore. As per our initial investigation, around 8,700 traders are involved in the fraud. It is a very serious issue that should be investigated thoroughly,” he said. “The authorities were on high alert for three months fol- lowing some hints received by the department during verifi- cation of the credit of the pay- ments made by the dealers registered with the depart- ment,” he said. Continued on Page 4 T he BJP has lost its hold on the Assembly seats reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) /Scheduled Tribes (STs) in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. The Assembly results indicate that SC/ST and Dalit vote swung in favour of the Congress. As per Election Commission (EC) data, across Chhattisgarh, MP and Rajasthan, the BJP lost 71 of 137 reserved seats won by it in 2013. There are 166 seats reserved for SCs/STs in these three States. In Chhattisgarh, MP and Rajasthan, where 43 per cent, 36 per cent, and 30 per cent seats are respectively reserved for SCs and STs, except for Rajasthan, the BJP recorded its worst performance in a decade, while the Congress recorded its best. In Rajasthan, 59 of 200 Assembly seats are reserved for SCs/STs. Of them, 34 seats are reserved for the SCs and 25 for the STs. The Congress won 31 of these seats and the BJP’s tally came down to 21 from 50 in 2013. The ruling BJP paid for engaging people from the SCs/STs for the April 2 protests against perceived dilution of the SC/STs Act. A new tribal party Bahujan Tribal Party (BTP) won two seats in Dungarpur district. According to the 2011 census, SCs con- stitute 17.8 per cent and STs 13.5 per cent of the population in the State. Of 25 seats reserved for Adivasis, the BJP won 12 constituencies, while the Congress won 11. The SCs are spread across seven divisions, especially northern and eastern parts in the State. The Congress won 7 out of 8 seats in Jhunjhunu, Sikar, Alwar, Jaipur and Dausa districts. On the other hand, the STs are concentrated in Udaipur, Dungarpur, Banswara, Pratapgarh, Rajsamand and Chittorgarh districts that form the Mewar region. Both the Congress and the BJP focussed on the tribal heartland. Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje launched her campaign from Charbhuja temple of Udaipur, while the Congress president held Sankalp rally in Sagwaraod Dungarpur. In Chhattisgarh, 10 seats are reserved for SCs and 15 for STs (Adivasi). Besides, there are 14 seats where ST voters are deciding factors. The BJP’s popularity in 29 tribal-domi- nated constituencies further dwindled from 2013 level. The tribals in the State have voted against the BJP this time around. Seats for SCs/STs together account for 43 per cent of the State Assembly’s 90 seats. The Congress won six seats while the BJP managed to retain only two of the 10 con- stituencies reserved for SCs. The BSP also won two seats. The party won 9 out of 10 in the in 2013 against the 5 it won in 2008. As per results, the Congress won 18 seats, equalling the number it had won in 2013. The Ajit Jogi-Mayawati alliance, which was eyeing 13 seats to play the kingmakers role, fell short of its target. Issues related to non-timber forest produce (NTFP) and their relation to women also seem to have played a role, according to experts. Continued on Page 4 A fter taking on the Congress in the just-concluded Assembly polls, the BSP and the Samajwadi Party have offered to support the grand old party in the Government formation in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The gesture is seen as a major development towards stitching a mahagath- bandhan in Uttar Pradesh against the BJP. Nearly three decades after the emergence of caste-based identity politics in Uttar Pradesh and the gradual rise of the SP and the BSP that led to the decimation of the Congress in UP, the success of the Congress in the three States of Hindi hinterland threatens to unsettle the poll arithmetic of both regional parties in UP. Before the Assembly polls in M P, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, both parties had claimed they are not interest- ed in accommodating the Congress in the grand alliance in UP for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Besides the SP and the BSP, the Rashtriya Lok Dal, the Nishad Party and the Peace Party are the other constituents of the alliance. The SP had offered only two seats — Amethi and Rae Bareli — to the Congress. Both regional parties had adopted strident postures against the Congress. Continued on Page 4 I ndia’s industrial output grew at an 11-month high of 8.1 per cent in October mainly on the back of mining, power and manufacturing sectors coupled with higher offtake of capital as well as consumer durable goods. At the same time, retail inflation plunged to a 17- month low in November at 2.33 per cent, mainly on account of decline in prices of kitchen essentials like vegeta- bles, eggs and pulses. Industrial production mea- sured in terms of Index of Industrial Production (IIP) grew 1.8 per cent in October last year, as per official data released by the CSO. The previous high IIP growth rate was recorded in November last year at 8.5 per cent. During the April-October period, industrial output grew 5.6 per cent as compared to 2.5 per cent in the same period of the previous fiscal. Detailed reports on P10 A s it does every year for the past decade, American tech giant Google released the most popular searches for 2018 for both the world and India. And the top search string for 2018 for India was for the “World Cup 2018”, a sign of just how popular football is becom- ing in this country. And it is not as if cricket has lost its allure in India, as “IPL 2018” was the third-most popular search stream, with “Live score” which could be peculiar to cricket and other sports being the second-most searched term. But politics, predictably took the fourth spot with “Karnataka elec- tions”. The football world cup topped the searches for news items, and predictably sporting events in the Winter Olympics surprisingly came in as the fifth-most popular item despite India barely registering a pres- ence at the snowy games held in South Korea earlier this year. What is interesting is that these results are more democratic since they consid- er the entire country and not just a few cities; many Indians were curious in the “What is” section about the controversial Section 377 that barred homo- sexuality. The Google search history records also give some fasci- nating insights into what Indians are trying to do. Even though the Supreme Court upheld the right to privacy and limited the scope of the Unique Identity document Aadhaar, the second-most popular how- to item searched by Indians was “How to link mobile number to Aadhaar”. Of course, the most popular item searched had to do with social media and peo- ple wanted to know “how to send stickers on WhatsApp”. The most popular movie this year, at least when it came to searches online, was the recent- ly released Rajnikanth-starrer “Robot 2.0” and no matter if many in the entertainment industry do not think of Tiger Shroff as a top star as yet, “Baaghi 2” was the top Bollywood movie searched this year. Irrespective of movie’s failure the success of its songs, “Dilbar Dilbar” was the most popular song searched for this year. And the famous Malayalee “wink girl” Priya Prakash Varrier was the top-most searched personality, closely followed by the new Mr Priyanka Chopra, Nick Jonas. Across the world too, the World Cup dominated search- es highlighting just how impor- tant the quadrennial event is to the globe. But the second- most popular search item was as a result of a tragic death of Swedish electronic musician Avicii. The British Royal wed- ding and Meghan Markle also filtered to the top of the search pile showcasing how the world is still fascinated by the British Royal family. And even though Stan Lee passed away recently, the creator of so many super- heroes for the Marvel empire must be laughing as four of the top movie searches this year were for Marvel movies with the list topped by “Black Panther”. A total of 1,39,35,201 votes went into the Congress kitty in Rajasthan while the BJP received 1,37,57,502 votes — a marginal difference of over 1.70 lakh votes that ended five years of the BJP rule. The Congress got 39.3 per cent of the vote spread over 199 Assembly constituencies and the BJP 38.8 per cent vote. The narrow difference led to the ouster of Vasundhara Raje and her Government. NOTA (None of the Above) accounted for 4,67,781 lakh votes, or 1.3 per cent of the vote, Rajasthan Chief Electoral Officer Anand Kumar said on Wednesday. Independents got 9.5 per cent vote (33,72,206) and the the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) 4 per cent (14,10,995 votes). Overall, 74.69 per cent vot- ing was recorded in Rajasthan on December 7. The statistics show independents and BSP played spoilsport for both Congress and the BJP. RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No. - RYP DN/34/2013-2015

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    Aparliamentary panel hasadvised the Centre to expe-ditiously hand over VIP secu-rity duties to the SpecialSecurity Group (SSG) of theCentral Industrial SecurityForce (CISF) and relieve bor-der guarding paramilitaryforces like ITBP and BSF as alsoCRPF of personal protectionroles.

    “The committee takes noteof the (Home) Ministry's planto progressively assign securi-ty of all VIP protectees, apart

    from high risk protectees, tothe SSG. The committee rec-ommends that the ministryshould implement this plan atthe earliest and put an end tothe issue of multiple forcesbeing assigned the task of VIPsecurity,” the panel noted in itsreport tabled before theParliament on Wednesday.

    The CRPF provides secu-rity cover to 76 VIPs includingBJP president Amit Shah andformer Bihar CM Lalu PrasadYadav. ITBP protects 18 highprofile persons includingjudges of the Supreme Courtand politicians from Jammuand Kashmir. The ITBP that isthe border guarding force forIndo-China frontier has beenengaged in VVIP securitydeployment since earlynineties. The National SecurityGuard (NSG) protects 15 VIPs,

    including Union HomeMinister Rajnath Singh.

    The counter-terror forceNSG has urged the HomeMinistry to relieve it from VIPsecurity duties. VIP protectionassignments often hit the coreoperational roles of the para-military forces. It also affectstheir reserve component ofthe forces leading to the lack ofleave to the jawans. The CRPFhas deployed as many as sixbattalions (6,000 personnel)of CRPF are engaged in VIPsecurity duty which adverselyaffects the reserve factor of theforce. Under reserve category,the personnel are engaged intraining and such postings aregiven after hard postings.

    Personal protection of theVIPs is provided in four cate-gories that include Z-plus (38guards), Z (24 guards), Y (11

    guards) and X (2 guards). VIPsecurity entails an annualexpenditure of Rs 390 crore,officials said.

    Following the Kargil mis-adventure, a Group ofMinisters had in 2002 recom-mended the designation ofCISF for VIP security dutiesand also advised that one forcewill guard one border but thathas also been tinkered with andthe border guarding paramili-tary forces are engaged in anti-Naxal deployments andcounter insurgency roles.

    The home ministry pro-vides security cover on thebasis of threat assessment tosome individuals on the basisof inputs of the IntelligenceBureau. The assessment is sub-ject to periodic review based onwhich it is continued/with-drawn/downgraded/upgraded.

    The Parliamentary com-mittee on Home Affairs alsoexpressed disappointment over“difficulties” being faced byCRPF jawans fighting Naxals inChhattisgarh in getting theirdaily meals and some para-military personnel living in“sub-human conditions” in dif-ferent parts of the country.

    “They (CRPF personnel)have to depend on local 'haats'and contractors for supply ofraw material for their food. Thecommittee recommends that afoolproof mechanism shouldbe developed for ensuring reg-ular supply of nutritious food,including dishes/raw materialsof different cuisines to all CRPFcamps particularly those whichhave no access or difficultaccess to local market likeBastar in Chhattisgarh,” thepanel added.

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    Buoyed by the electoral gainsof the party, UPAChairpersonS o n i aGandhi onWednesdaytermed theC ongress ' swin in threeHindi heartland States ruled bythe BJP as a victory against theruling party's negative politics.

    “I am happy with 3-0 scoreline... It is a victory against BJP'snegative politics,” Sonia saidtalking to reporters outsideParliament after results to fivestate elections were declared.

    This was her first reactionover the poll success and in over-all also the first reaction to elec-tion results after she handed overthe party reins to her son RahulGandhi last year. She had servedas the longest serving chief of thegrand old party for almost twodecades and during the tenureshe anchored two successiveCongress UPA governments.

    The Congress was edgedout of Mizoram and didn'tmake an impact in Telanganadespite a grand alliance withChandrababu Naidu's TDPand other parties. But in thethree politically-crucial BJPstates, the Congress is set toform a government.

    The Congress was a clearwinner in Chhattisgarh state,and fell one seat short of amajority in Rajasthan and twoin Madhya Pradesh. BothChhattisgarh and MadhyaPradesh had been ruled by theBJP for 15 years.

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    The Supreme Court onWednesday asked forensicauditors to examine the trail ofaround �3,000 crore, the home-buyers' money allegedly spentby the Amrapali Group on buy-ing shares of its sister companiesand asset creation.

    Amrapali Group CMD AnilSharma, directors Shiv Priyaand Ajay Kumar returned to thecourt a total amount of �1.55crore of home buyers money“lying” with them.

    The top court grilled severalaccountants of the group as tohow they have prepared theaccounts statements which weresubmitted in the court and onwhat basis they created theaccounts this year for financialyears 2015-16, 2016-2017 and2017-2018.

    It directed the forensic audi-tors to ascertain the numbers offlats which were 'benami' prop-erty, doubly booked or bookedon a nominal value by AmrapaliGroup.

    A bench of Justices ArunMishra and U U Lalit directedDebt Recovery Tribunal, Delhito conduct the valuation ofAmrapali's five-star hotel TechPark in Greater Noida and sellit by January end.

    It also questioned Sharmaabout the sub-leases granted tothe family members ofAmrapali directors and wherethe Rs 3,000 crore of home-buy-ers' money has gone.

    The bench after failing toget a satisfactory reply asked thetwo forensic auditors PawanKumar Aggarwal and RaviBhatia to examine the trail ofaround �3000 crore.

    “More than �2,990 croreswere taken out from nine com-panies of Amrapali Group in thename of assets creation and pur-chase of shares of sister com-panies. You should examinethe trail of the money as to howand where did it go, and theassets created by the fund”, thebench told the forensic auditors.

    The court asked the com-pany to file the details of theassets it created with �2,990crore and the board resolutionswhich allowed �1,100 crore tobe spent for purchasing sharecapital.

    It directed the forensic audi-tors to also examine whetherany siphoning of funds wasdone by granting sub-leases orany favours were doled out insuch transactions.

    The top court noted thatpursuant to its last order inwhich one last window wasgiven to the directors and otherofficials of the company toreturn home buyers money,Sharma and two directors ShivPriya and Ajay Kumar returned�1.25 crore, Rs 20 lakh and �10lakh respectively.

    The court sought an affi-davit from Sharma and the twodirectors to declare that they donot have any more money ofhome buyers lying with them.

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    The Supreme CourtWednesday allowed theDirector Generals of Police(DGPs) of Punjab andHaryana to continue in officetill January 31.

    The police chiefs --Suresh Arora (Punjab) and BS Sandhu (Haryana) -- weredue to retire on December 31.

    The Punjab and Haryanagovernments moved the apexcourt recently, seeking mod-ification of its earlier orderdirecting the states to manda-torily take the assistance ofthe UPSC in shortlisting thenames for appointing DGP.

    The states had said theyhave enacted separate laws forthe selection and appoint-ment of police chiefs.

    A bench headed by ChiefJustice Ranjan Gogoi said itwill hear their pleas seekingmodification of the January 8order and allowed the currentDGPs to continue in office tillJanuary 31.

    The top court had on July3 this year passed a slew ofdirections on police reformsin the country and chronicledthe steps for appointment ofregular DGPs.

    It had said the states willhave to send a list of seniorpolice officers to the UnionPublic Service Commission(UPSC) at least three monthsprior to the retirement of theincumbent.

    The commission will thenprepare a panel and informthe states, which in turn willimmediately appoint one ofthe persons from that list, theapex court had said.

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    As many as 15 new breeds oflivestock and poultry havebeen registered in country withsix of them of goat, three ofbuffalo, two of cattle and of adonkey giving them nationalrecognition and paving way fortheir better conservation andpreservation of their genes.

    The breeds which havebeen registered are two cattlebreeds - Ladakhi (Jammu andKashmir) and Konkan Kapila(Maharashtra and Goa); threebuffalo breeds - Luit (Assamand Manipur), Bargur (TamilNadu), Chhattisgarhi(Chhattisgarh); one sheepbreed - Panchali (Gujarat); sixgoat breeds - Kahmi (Gujarat),Rohilkhandi (UP), Assam Hill(Assam & Meghalaya), Bidri(Karnataka), Nandidurga(Karnataka), Bhakarwali(Jammu and Kashmir); onepig breed - Ghurrah (UP); onedonkey breed - Halari (Gujarat)and one chicken breed - Uttara(Uttarakhand).

    According to Ministry ofAgriculture, the NationalBureau of Animal GeneticResources (NBAGR) hasapproved registration of record15 new breeds of livestock andpoultry this year alone takingthe total to 40 during 2014-18.The NBAGR, the nodal agencyof the Indian Council ofAgricultural Research (ICAR),for registration of new breedshas recognized 55 breeds since2010. Between 2010 and 2014,only 15 breeds were givennational recognition.

    Names of these breeds arederived either from the originof their tract or due to their dis-tinct features. Officials saidthat both the Halari donkeyand Panchali sheep are namedbecause their origins are tracedin Halar region (Jamnagar dis-trict) and Panchal region

    (Surendranagar) of Saurashtra.Kahmi is local name of thetwo-coloured goat.

    Interestingly, Halari breedis the second donkey breed tobe recognised in the countryafter Spiti - the donkey breedwhich is indigenous to Spitivalley region of HimachalPradesh. Luit are found insome areas of Mizoram,Manipur and Nagaland bor-dering Assam. Luit is a medi-um sized black coloured buf-falo with compact body andstrong built up. Forehead isbroad with conical face andwide muzzle.

    Kahmi goat is native toSaurastra region of Gujarat. ItCoat color is unique - neck andface are reddish brown whilerear abdominal part is black,locally called Kahmi. Ears arelong, tubular & coiled, locallycalled veludi. Wattles are presentin majority of goat. These goatsare used both for meat & milk.

    According to UnionAgriculture Minister RadhaMohan Singh, these nativebreeds are renowned for heattolerance, disease resistance andthriving on low input system.“The process of identification ofanimal breeds and their docu-mentation is not only importantin providing value to the inge-nious animal breeds and intro-ducing various developmentprograms of the government fortheir improvement but alsoplays a special role in preserv-ing the biodiversity of the coun-try,” Singh said.

    Rajasthan has 26 regis-tered indigenous breeds and isthe top in the list, followed byGujarat having 19 registeredindigenous breeds and poultry.

    India has about 15 percentof total cattle, 57 percent oftotal buffalo, 17 percent ofgoat, 7 percent of sheep and 4.5percent of chicken of theworld.

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    The Supreme Court onWednesday extended toDecember 31 the deadline forfiling claims and objectionsfor inclusion of names in theNational Register of Citizensfor Assam by those who havebeen left out in the draftNRC.

    The draft NRC was pub-lished on July 30 in whichnames of 2.89 crore of the 3.29crore people were included.The names of 40,70,707 peopledid not figure in the list. Ofthese, 37,59,630 names havebeen rejected and the remain-ing 2,48,077 are on hold.

    A special bench compris-ing Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoiand Justice R F Nariman con-sidered the plea of Assam gov-ernment that the deadline ofDecember 15, fixed for filingclaims and objections by thoseleft out in the draft NRC, beextended by till January 15 nextyear.

    Solicitor General TusharMehta, appearing for Assamgovernment, said that out of40.70 lakh left out persons, sofar 14.28 lakh persons havefiled the claims and objectionswith the authorities for inclu-sion in the NRC.

    There has been surge insuch applications in last fewweeks and hence, the deadlinebe extended by one moremonth, he said.

    The apex court, however,said that it would extend thedeadline by another 15 daysand now the left out personscan file their claims and objec-tions till December 31.

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    From page 1In MP, there are 82 seats in

    reserved category. Of them, 35are reserved for SCs while 47for STs. The BJP recorded itsworst performance in theseconstituencies, losing 25 of 82reserved seats. The Congressgained 26 seats from these cat-egories this year over 2013.

    The BJP won 13 seats, 15down from the 28 it had wonin 2013 and 25 in 2008.

    Congress this time mademajor gains in tribal-domi-nated Dhar, Jhabua, Alirajpur,Barwani and Khargone dis-tricts. It wrested four con-

    stituencies from BJP in Dharand wiped out BJP from Jhabuaand Alirajpur districts.

    The impressive show wasrepeated in Khargone andBarwani where it trumptedBJP in eight constituencies.Obviously anti-incumbencywent against the BJP in theregion. Congress wooed tribalvoters -- most of whom areindebted small land owners byfocusing on new jobs and loanwaiver. As per reports, manyfarmers stopped repaying loanssoon after Congress presidentRahul Gandhi announcedplans to waive farm loans up to

    two lakh in 10 days after com-ing to power. There was strongsentiment against the BJPamong tribals month before thepolls were declared.

    Of 678 seats in MP,Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh,Telangana and Mizoram -- theCongress won 305 seats and theBJP has won 199 seats. TheCongress won Chhattisgarhwith 67 of 90 seats (from 39 in2013) and Rajasthan by win-ning 99 of 199 (from 21 in2013), MP went to the wirewith the Congress on 114(from 58 in 2013) and the BJPon 109 (from 165 in 2013).

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    From page 1According to the note

    issued by Delhi’s VAT/GSTCommissioner Rajesh Prasad,“During the verification of thepayments made by the dealers,the system branch of thedepartment found that some ofthe payments claimed to havebeen made through bankingchannel were received by theGovernment exchequer.”

    The note stated that thesystem branch scrutinised theavailable records and necessaryofficial letters were sent tosome banks in order to verifythe veracity of few credits ofpayments shown in the VATand CST returns of some deal-ers.

    “In response to our letters,these banks have confirmedthat the said payments have notbeen credited to the

    Government exchequer,” thenote stated.

    During further scrutiny, itwas noticed that the fraud washappening since September30, 2013. The scam continuedto happen during financialyears 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19, it reads. “ It further noticedthat during the period betweenSeptember 30, 2013 andSeptember 26, 2018, a totalnumber of 8,758 dealers havebeen identified who made31,027 transactions amountingto `262,62,73,327,” the notesaid.

    As per the note, the pre-liminary scrutiny has revealedthat the dealers involved haveexecuted the scam as part of acriminal conspiracy in order tocheat and commit fraud to theGovernment exchequer.

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    From page 1The BSP even forged an

    alliance with formerChhattisgarh CM Ajit Jogi’sJanata Congress and contestedthe recent poll.

    Even as lofty claims werebeing made about the emer-gence of anti-BJP grandalliance in UP, the two castes-based regional parties werekeen on protecting theirrespective core voters and par-ticularly Muslim vote bank.

    The two parties which hadbecome used to dictating termsto the Congress in UP ‘forfighting communal forces’share a chequered history of theties with the Congress.

    But with radical change inthe Congress poll fortunes,both SP and BSP have extend-ed unsolicited support to theCongress in Madhya Pradeshand Rajasthan.

    They are now preparing forworking out a seat-sharing for-mula with the resurgent grandold party.

    SP chief Akhilesh tweetedabout his decision to supportthe Congress in MP only afterMayawati addressed the mediain New Delhi on Wednesdayand announced her party’ssupport to the resurgent party.

    The SP has got one seat inMadhya Pradesh while the BSP

    bagged two seats in MP and sixseats in Rajasthan.

    In 1996 UP Assembly poll,Congress and BSP fought inalliance where the Congresswon over 40 seats.

    In the following elections,the BSP refused alliance withany party saying its votes weretransferred to the electoralpartner while it never got thevote of the ally.

    Meanwhile on MondayAkhilesh Yadav said, “We wel-come the mandate. We didn’tperform well but we would liketo thank the public of MadhyaPradesh for supporting us. Wehave decided to supportCongress in MP. The BJP hasspread hatred and deceivedthe public.

    They will be given a befit-ting reply by the people in 2019Lok Sabha poll.”

    Asking the Congress tofulfil the promises made to thepeople of Madhya Pradesh andother States, Akhilesh said thefarmers’ loan waiverannounced by the Congressshould be implemented. “Thealliance in Madhya Pradesh isan old matter and now every-one is looking towards thecoming Lok Sabha polls wherea united Opposition wouldgive a benefiting reply to theBJP,” he said.

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    If Pakistan was yet another cause of dis-cord between Punjab Chief MinisterCapt Amarinder Singh and his MinisterNavjot Singh Sidhu, the cricketer-turned-politician, on Wednesday made attemptsto iron out differences by bringing a giftfor the Chief Minister from across the bor-der.

    But the gift, a “stuffed” Patridge,apparently did not work as Amarinder didnot accept it citing the necessity of per-mission from the wildlife departmentfirst. After controversies over Sidhu’s“captain” remark and his Pakistan visit, thetwo senior Congress leaders held a “cor-dial” meeting for about half-an-hour “todiscuss the matters of mutual interest”.

    Downplaying the “differences”between him and his Chief Minister,Sidhu said there were “many things wetalked about which I cannot share with youall”. Regarding his “captain” remarks,Sidhu said his statement had been “blownout of proportion”.

    He said everything from his Pakistanvisit for Kartarpur ground-breaking cer-emony and subsequent remark aboutAmarinder was “unnecessarily rakedup...A mountain was made out of a molehill. I have nothing more to say”.

    Sidhu had stirred the hornet’s nest dur-ing an interaction with the media inHyderabad while he was campaigning forthe party when asked about going toPakistan to attend the groundbreaking cer-emony for the Kartarpur corridor despite

    Chief Minister’s disapproval.“Rahul Gandhi is my captain. It is he

    who sent me to Pakistan. Rahul Gandhi isthe captain of the captain (AmarinderSingh) also,” he had said. A day after, atleast five Punjab Ministers lashed out atSidhu asking him to resign from the StateCabinet on moral grounds.

    Earlier, Sidhu had chosen to go toPakistan, at the invitation of PakistanPrime Minister and former fellow crick-eter Imran Khan, while Punjab CM haddeclined the invite saying that the PakistanArmy was killing Indian soldiers and con-spiring to revive terrorism in Punjab.

    Sidhu, after his meeting, said, “I am adisciplined solider of the party...and I havegot a lot of love and affection from theCongress president and Amarinder Singh.”

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    Lashing out at the formerChief Minister ParkashSingh Badal over his “atro-cious” accusations, Punjab ChiefMinister Capt Amarinder Singhon Wednesday said it was nothim but the Akali veteran whowas trying to sabotage the inter-ests of the Sikh community, andPunjab, with his “injudicious”statement.

    Reacting to Badal’s allega-tion that Amarinder was tryingto sabotage the Kartarpur

    Corridor, Chief Minister saidthat Akali leader’s statement wasin line with his approach ofexploiting religious issues to fur-ther his political interests.

    “The former Chief Ministeris once again trying to misleadthe people of Punjab with hisbaseless allegations.

    It is the Congress leader-ship, from Indira Gandhi to DrManmohan Singh, that hadalways striven for the openingof the Kartarpur corridor, andI myself have been raising theissue with Pakistan as well as the

    Central Government on variousoccasions,” the Chief Ministerpointed out.

    As a Sikh, he himself hadalways aspired for the openingof the historic corridor with theKartarpur Sahib Gurdwara,with which his own family hadhistoric ties, Amarinder said,adding “it is idiotic, in the cir-cumstances, to suggest that Icould try to block the corridorand sabotage the fulfilment ofthe aspirations of the Sikh com-munity”. “In fact, I am proud ofthe fact that the Punjab

    Government, under my com-mand, had worked closely withthe Central Government onthe opening of the Kartarpurcorridor,” he added.

    He said the PunjabGovernment had worked close-ly with the Centre in success-fully overcoming many andstrong security concerns andinfrastructural challenges inopening up the India-Pakistanborder in the face of huge dan-gers posed by the PakistaniState and its agencies, said theChief Minister.

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  • The very creditable electoral suc-cess of the Congress in MadhyaPradesh, Chhattisgarh andRajasthan has justifiably giventhe Grand Old Party a spring inits collective step. But the thing is that thisachievement, and it is a major one to comeback virtually from the dead against mul-tiple-term incumbents from a dominantruling dispensation, has also caused someconsternation among the bevvy of region-al political heavyweights arrayed against theBJP in their respective States who are cru-cial players in a putative Opposition grandalliance or mahagathbandhan. To use ananalogy from the dance floor, it takes twoto tango but when one partner breaks intoa foxtrot the other tends to get breathlesskeeping pace.

    Messrs K Chandrashekar Rao, NaveenPatnaik, Mamata Banerjee, MK Stalin,Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav, Sharad Pawar,Deve Gowda, Arvind Kejriwal and,arguably, the BJP’s perennially suspect allyNitish Kumar would clearly prefer a non-BJP, non-Congress Federal Front whichcould control a substantial chunk of over250 MPs that will be elected to the LokSabha from their respective States of oper-ation as opposed to a UPA kind of arrange-ment with the Congress as primus interpares. Even N Chandrababu Naidu, oftencompared to the late CPI-M general sec-retary HKS Surjeet who played the role ofa good-faith mediator in setting up non-Congress non-BJP coalitions at the Centrein the 1990s for his current efforts at build-ing Opposition unity, could easily be co-opted into this arrangement if and whenpush comes to shove.

    Rahul Gandhi’s perfectly valid com-ment during his Press conference on theevening of December 11 as the results ofthe Assembly polls came in, speaking ofthe ‘resurgence’ of the party he heads, hastherefore been seized upon by those in theOpposition ranks with a deep vein of anti-Congressism running through them asevidence of the latent hegemonic ambi-tions of the Congress finding play. Andthat is the crux of the matter. Notbecause the AICC does not have anunalienable right to build its organisation-al strength, reposition aspects of its phi-losophy to stay in tune with an overar-ching sense of an Indic heritage and makea concerted effort to recover lost electoralground over vast swathes of India, butbecause the political landscape todaymeans these attempts will run into oppo-sition not merely from the BJP, which isthe other pan-India political party in thefray, but regional forces that militate intheory and practice against the unitaryimpulse of the Indian state.

    The immediate task for the Congressis to assuage the apprehensions of the

    regional parties to preventanti-BJP forces from splinter-ing in the run-up to 2019while, in the medium term, re-building the party on the linesof the Pachmarhi resolutionwhich senior party leadersunderstandably do not find itpolitic to mention in publicthese days. This is obviouslynot lost on the leaders of theputative Federal Front whosesupport base and ideologicalorientation precludes anyadjustment with a NarendraModi-Amit Shah controlledBJP but replace the duo, if youwill, with a collective leadershipof more moderate faces and allbets are off. After all, apartfrom the Congress andCommunists, there is not a sin-gle regional party not countingthe comparatively recentlyfounded AAP and TRS, whichhas not, at some stage over pastthree decades, been a BJP ally.

    So, what can the Congressdo and how should it go aboutdoing it? Well, back to thedance floor for answers.

    The first step: A closecinch in a slow dance is strong-ly recommended on the princi-ple that one keeps one’s friendsclose and enemies even closer;think BSP. The temptation tobreak into a waltz will be ever-present but needs to be resist-ed; remember what happenedto the Congress in UttarPradesh in the 1990s when thelate Narasimha Rao first tried iton with the late Kanshi Ram.

    The DMK and Kamal Hassan inTamil Nadu ought also to befirmly in the close danceembrace. Ditto, the NationalistCongress Party in Maharashtraand Janata Dal (Secular) inKarnataka.

    Next, the Congress needs tojump generations and look at abreakdance where one can doone’s own thing but in one’spartner’s vicinity who is prob-ably more adept at it; and if thenumber is well-choregraphed, itcan give the illusion of bothdancers being in sync. TeluguDesam Party (TDP), TrinamoolCongress, and AAP all proba-bly fall in this category.

    The temptress’ dance —and the phrase used here in agender-neutral political senseobviously — is of the essence forthe Congress to perfect for thelikes of the Janata Dal (United)and possibly even the YSRCongress of Jaganmohan Reddyin Andhra Pradesh if the TDPnumber goes awry in thoseparts. Samajwadi Party, too,would perhaps need a bit of theold Vera of the Seven Veils treat-ment, as it were, in concedinga few seats to it in States otherthan Uttar Pradesh.

    But it can’t just be onehappy-hippy beach party grindfor the Grand Old Party if it isserious about reclaiming itsposition as the second pole ofnational politics, the BJP hav-ing firmly ensconced itself asthe other despite the electoralsetbacks in the Assembly polls.

    In States where it is still themain Opposition to a rulingregional party and has someorganisational heft albeit withthe BJP breathing down itsneck, the Congress may haveto dump its potential dancingpartners for the 2019 LokSabha poll even while main-taining surface camaraderie.The CPI-M in Kerala and BijuJanata Dal in Odisha are twosuch.

    There will surely be somein the Congress and amongthose simpatico who will thinkof the above as a very cynicalassessment of the political layof the land as India heads intoa General Election. They wouldbe right. But they would benaïve to think that the region-al parties that constitute theopposition to the BJP in manyStates will be working in any-one’s interest but their own, asit’s their right.

    If India is, at long last, tohead towards a two-party/alliance system, there isno better time for it to come tofruition than in 2019. Becausewith the regional parties oneither side today strong enoughto command respect anddemand autonomy from thenational party they align with,the prospects of such a bipolarpolity lasting and taking root aremuch brighter than ever before.

    (The writer is a senior jour-nalist, an independent mediaconsultant and commentatoron contemporary affairs)

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  • Each one of us have alreadyexperienced the impact ofwater shortages at some pointof our lives and definitely expressedour gratitude when the scarcitypassed. However, these instances ofwater shortages might come backsooner than expected and might,perhaps, stay permanently. Waterscarcity is the lack of sufficientavailable water resources to meetthe demands of water usage with-in a region. It affects every conti-nent and around 2.8 billion peopleacross the world at least one monthout of every year. More than 1.2 bil-lion people lack access to cleandrinking water.

    Water scarcity can manifestitself as water stress, shortage or

    deficits and water crisis. While theconcept of water stress is relative-ly new, it may refer to the difficul-ty in obtaining fresh water sourcesand the deterioration and depletionof the available water sources.

    Water shortages may be causeddue to climate change factors suchas altered weather patterns, includ-ing droughts or floods, increasedpollution, rise in human demandand overuse of water. Water crisisis a situation where the availablepotable, unpolluted water within aregion is less than that demandedby the region. Many countriesacross the world are already grap-pling with different manifestationsof water problems.

    Given the sensitivity of theissue of water scarcity, the WorldEconomic Forum has already list-ed this problem as one of thelargest global risk in terms ofpotential impact over the nextdecade. Currently, a mere 0.014 percent of all water on Earth is freshand easily accessible. Of the remain-

    ing water, 97 per cent is saline anda little less than three per cent ishard to access.

    Though there is sufficientamount of freshwater on the glob-al scale, due to unequal distributionand worsening climate change,some geographic locations haveample availability whereas the restare exceptionally dry. This accom-panied by a sharp rise in globalfreshwater demand in recentdecades, driven by industry, iscausing humanity to experiencewater crisis like never before. If thiscontinues, the demand for water isexpected to outstrip supply by 40per cent by 2030. This is bound togive rise to conflicts.

    The ongoing tussle betweenIndia and Pakistan over Induswaters is an apt example of the con-flict that we are increasingly boundto notice in other parts of the worldas well. For decades, the IndusWaters Treaty kept the two coun-tries from entering into a full-fledged conflict but that seems to be

    a thing of the past as exploding pop-ulation, worsened by climatechange, is forcing the neighbours tofight for every bit of the naturalresource. So much so that evencross-border terrorism is now asubject of discussion around whichthe sharing of waters is concerned.This was bound to happen.

    Where there is suff icientresource, there is never a conflictbut when the same becomes scarce,it brings conflicts of scale. Tired ofone-way courtesies from its side inthe face of relentless cross-borderand state-sponsored terrorism byPakistan, India is now changinggears and water has become adiplomatic leverage weapon. Indiarecently fast-tracked hydropowerprojects worth $15 billion inKashmir. Projects in the form ofnine dams will be completed follow-ing the due procedures and requi-site clearances. These dams will helpPakistan understand that the act ofabetting terrorism has led to a costwhere an already scarce resource is

    all set to become even scantier. Apart from this, many other

    countries across the world arealready locked in conflict overwater resources. The Nile basinwater, for instance, has been asource of dispute between Egyptand Ethiopia as is the Turkey, Syriaand Iraq conflict over the waters ofTigris-Euphrates. These conflictsseem to be only rising.

    Even within the country, Indiahas seen ample disputes betweenvarious States, such as the Cauveryriver dispute between Karnatakaand Tamil Nadu. As climate getsworse, aided by global warming,these face-offs will only get worse.The solution is to change the focusfrom right-based claims on watersto need-based claims.

    Countries need to appreciatethat some regions have more needfor water than the other, purely dueto the punishing impact of climatechange, population explosion or arecent drought. In these circum-stances, stakeholders must put aside

    matters of rights over waters andadopt a humanitarian approachand let the other side survivethrough the tough period by gettingaccess to more water.

    In order to allow humanitarianspirit guide the water matters,Governments must be strongenough to allow mature dialoguebetween stakeholders. This willsurely dissuade conflicts and dis-courage warmongers who tend toaccelerate resource clashes intobigger conflicts for certain gains.

    This, unfortunately, results inarmed engagements which resultsin loss of lives. Water is largely lim-ited and has no alternative. Globaldemographics are changing andpopulation is spiking like neverbefore. These factors call for acohesive and united internationalef fort to forestal l the water shortages of future. And by so, wewill be able to forestal l the conflicts as well.

    (The writer is an environmentaljournalist)

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    Slavoj in a film arguesthat “in postmodern society,we are obliged to enjoy.Enjoyment becomes a kindof wired perverted duty.”These lines point to the existence ofnew means of profit in human emo-tions invented by the prevailingcapitalist economic structure.Capitalism in its course has devel-oped more effective and violentmeans of controlling human emo-tions through Facebook, Twitter,WhatsApp and many more. It is per-tinent to any individual attemptingto understand contemporary timesto know how social networkingsites, l ike Facebook, Twitter,WhatsApp, have fashioned and inter-nalised new rules of enjoyment.

    It is relevant to ask ourselves afew questions: Do these new medi-ums of expression actually addressthe question of human liberation orsimply re-structure our very under-standing of liberation?

    The systematic deployment ofnew rules of morality or immorali-ty, good or evil, and right and wronghas given enough reason to its userto believe that the discovery ofFacebook, Twitter and WhatsApphas been a great source of entertain-ment and symbol of a blissful life. Itseems as if these social networks ofentertainment have empoweredthem by providing absolute charge toits user on control of its handling thatseems to be a spectacular phenom-enon. Though the user has a monop-oly on the use of social networkaccount in the sense that they canwrite and post whatever they feel,these domains have also constrainedor more importantly violated indi-viduals in several manners.

    The social networks haveencroached into the personal domainof an individual’s secrecy asWhatsApp and Facebook give itsuser an option to know whether aperson is online or when s/he waslast seen. This created a new addic-tion among its user for its use tojudge the action, reaction, trust andloyalty of others.

    Behind the screen, one plays therole of a detective to watch over thebehaviour of their loved ones. It cre-ated a kind of suspicion whichresulted in animosity and secretrevenge that oblige its user to use itnot for the communicative purposebut as a mean of surveillance. Theystart playing the role of a watchmancarefully watching the suspiciousactivities of a concerned person onthese platforms.

    The complex system of thesesocial networks designed its featurein such a way that suspicion gets

    internalised as a factor that domi-nates the activities of its users. It isimportant to know that suspicionand addiction go hand-in-hand. Thecapitalist market economy is invest-ing in producing suspicion andaddiction through the social networkthat seems to be a profitable businessof human emotion.

    Another hidden rule that needscritical reflection is how social net-works have imposed new under-standing of enjoyment. It means wehave reached a stage where we haveconfirmed certain ways of enjoymentwhich define whether we are enjoy-ing or not. If one is not part of theconfirmed scheme of enjoyment,s/he is not performing his moralduty. Scientifically and psychologi-cally, sense of enjoyment is associ-ated with the mood of an individual.It is interesting to note that enjoy-ment becomes kind of a burdenbecause mood does not have anindependent identity. It has to func-tion in relation with the social fac-tors eg morality, good, bad and evil.

    If we study history carefully thenwe will find that the process of defin-ing, inventing and forming morali-ty, good and evil, is undemocraticbecause few were assigned this task.If it is so, how can something thatcomes out of an undemocraticprocess be democratic?

    But it does happen because allthose who are not given a share indefining enjoyment are made tobelieve that the list of enjoyment keeps

    a good care of all and it is in commoninterest. The maker and the giver ofenjoyment ask the taker of enjoymentnot for their opinion but their confor-mity and through their conformity,they make enjoyment as a part of theirduty and not of their right.

    The sense of enjoyment shiftsfrom the self to the others. Here, Imean we need others to make our-selves believe that we are happy. Inpost-modern society, we havebecome the seller of enjoyment.The interesting psychological factabout the seller is that s/he neverconsumes or relishes little of whathe/she produces or sells. It is becauseof the burden or duty of selling thatwe compromise our basic and nat-ural instinct of enjoyment.

    Friedrich Nietzsche, in his work“Thus Spoke Zarathustra”, arguedthat “ever since there have beenhumans, the human being hasenjoyed himself too little: that alone,my friend is our original sin.” I thinkthat this statement is relevant to thepresent context of post-modernsociety. Now the question arises:Where do we sell or buy our enjoy-ment? Today, we have created sever-al means or networks where we canbuy and sell enjoyment eg Facebook,Twitter, Linkedin and Whatsapp.

    It is interesting to note that weare no longer free to enjoy but we areforced or obliged to enjoy. We checkour Facebook and Twitter account toget some enjoyment. The desire ofenjoyment is very natural to us and

    there is nothing wrong to have it. Butmy problem is with the pretence ofenjoyment.

    The moment we open ourFacebook account, we become sub-ject to certain rules which put lim-itations on the self-mastery or indi-viduality of enjoyment. For example,sometimes we like those photos orposts of friends that we do not wantto like but have to like because wealso want to get our posts and pho-tos liked. Therefore, we create a mar-ket for those products which give usa sense of enjoyment.

    It is because of a discourse thatFacebook is always treated as aninstrument of spreading happiness.But with a closer psychologicalanalysis we will find that it is at thesame time an instrument of spread-ing jealousy, enmity, and unhappi-ness. The problem with this newmarket and its product of enjoymentis that it tells us how we can makeourselves happy, and not how we canmake ourselves worthy of happiness.

    The need of the hour is to exam-ine the unexamined rules of enjoy-ment, to challenge the producers ofenjoyment discourse who haveplayed an authoritarian role in giv-ing meaning to our emotions with-out our consent. We need to preserveand protect the individuality ofenjoyment to make it worthy.

    (The writer is Assistant Professorat Department of Political Science,Bhagini Nivedita College, Universityof Delhi)

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    The coalition Government ofthe JD(S) and Congress inKarnataka which was always onthe threat of being poached bythe BJP through operationLotus is rejoicing after the saf-fron defeat in the Hindi heartland. The Congress victories inMadhya Pradesh, Rajasthanand Chhattisgarh have giventhe coalition Government inKarnataka a shot in the arm totake on the BJP in the 2019elections.

    The KumaraswamyGovernment which came intoexistence was a master initiativeby the Congress to stitch aMahaghatbhandan to take onthe Modi – Shah Combine inthe ensuing general electionssometime in 2019 and the con-gress victory has given moreteeth to this initiative ofOpposition unity with minorand local parties like that of JDs.

    The JD(S)- Congress com-bine which notched up anemphatic victory in the recentbypolls in Karnataka and theroute of saffron party in the

    Hindi heart land has given anaggressive political posture totake on the BJP in the run upto the general elections.

    Chief Minister HDKumaraswamy who is till nowriding a fragile coalition said inBelagavi that it is the clear indi-cation of what will happen in2019. He said on the sidelinesof the winter session of theAssembly “ BJP has been try-ing to finish off all Oppositionparties through dubious means.Now, the people have shownthem the door and restored

    democracy in all these States.” Former Chief Minister and

    chairman of the coordinationcommittee Siddaramaiahtweeted “A wind of change issweeping across the country.Kites of false campaign arefalling down. This is not a timeto boast about victory. Weneed to become ideologicallystronger and fight till the end.”

    However a senior Congressleader on the condition ofanonymity said “with theresounding victory why shouldwe piggyback on the JD(S).”

    Karnataka is the only Statein South India where BJP scoredwell in 2014 by winning 17 of the28 seats. Now, as the Congress-JD(S) looks to regain ground,BJP may find it tough to retainits seats. The victory is also aneye opener for the BJP which isplanning to get more number ofseats and also planning to top-ple the JD(S)- CongressGovernment in the Statethrough poaching which iscalled operation Kamala(Lotus).

    A senior BJP leader saidthere should be an introspec-tion at the national level and

    must work out a new strategyto take on both the JD(S) andthe Congress. HoweverYeddyurappa who is in the win-ter session of the Assemblyattacking KumaraswamyGovernment with manyimpending issues whichinclude farmers loan waiver,has said Modi is still a popularand tall leader in the party andsaid “ we lost because of theanti incumbency.” Yeddyurappaa Lingayat strongman still betson to become Chief Minister.

    Former Prime Minister andJD(S) supremo HD DeveGowda who is batting forCongress president RahulGandhi as the next PM candi-date has said in a tweet that peo-ple have made the nation arro-gance free. He called the BJP’sCongress Mukt Bharat slogan asarrogance and said people havemade the nation "arrogance-free" through their verdict in theAssembly elections in five States."At least now, the BJP should putsome efforts to make this nation'problem-free' and stop theunwanted 'travel-spree', he saidin another tweet.

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    Kerala’s political skyline which hasbeen turned tumultuous due to theSabarimala controversy and has beenvitiating by the hour is waiting for thecounsel from the State’sBheeshmapitamah. The solution to theissue arising out of the Supreme Courtverdict of September 28 allowing womenof all age into the holy shrine in WesternGhats lies with 93-year-old AkkithamAchuthan Nampoothiri, (Akkitham forshort) the States’s last word in all spiri-tual cultural and literary issues.

    But the celebrated nonagenarianpoet (the one and only Mahakavi or thegreat poet in the State) is silent on thiscontroversial issue and refuses to speakout his mind. “Of only Akkitham opensup his mind, people belonging to all sec-tions will fall in line,” said S RameshanNair, the Tamil Nadu-born Malayalampoet who was honoured with this year’sSahitya Akademy Award for poetry.

    Akkitham refused to divulge whatwas in his mind about the Sabarimalastand off which has affected millions ofLord Ayyappa devotees all over southIndia. “It is a matter of belief, custom andtradition. But I don’t want to speak any-thing about it. The sentiments and feel-ings of devotees should be respected,” thepoet told The Pioneer. This scholar,internationally accepted as the father ofmodernism in Malayalam poetry for hiswork Epic of the Twentieth Century, has

    also fought for eradication of untouch-ability and was engaged in teachingVedas to the members of the depressedand oppressed classes in the society.

    “I am against segregation or dis-crimination of devotees based on theirgender or caste or religion. But customsand traditions considered as sacred by thesociety should not be violated. Let’swelcome the true devotees,” saidAkkitham while speaking to this news-paper on Wednesday.

    There is not a single Malayalee any-where in the globe who has not heard hislyric “Light is sorrow, dear child;

    Darkness is happiness”, pointed out Nair,who has been a close associate of the poetfor more than five decades. “These are thelines from Epic of the Twentieth Centurywhich has no parallel in contemporaryliterature. That’s why people in Keralahave accorded him the status of aniconic figure irrespective of their caste,creed and political ideologies.

    Literary critics like late Prof MKrishnan Nair had described Akkithamas a poet who integrated spirituality, phi-losophy and humanity in his works. Hislatest poetic work is the Malayalamtranslation of Shrimat Bhagawatam, com-prising 14,613 verses spread across 2400printed pages. The respect commandedby Akkitham could be understood fromthe fact that his is the only poems fromMalayalam which has been translated intoFrench and published in “Europa”, thequarterly literary journal in France.

    “Poetic images built out of drops afterdrops of tear and laughter after laughterthat will not burn down to ashes in theefflux of time, that will not dissolveandnot washed away in the torrential flow oftime and that will not be thrown awayand shattered to pieces in the swirlingtyphonic drift of time are the essentialbasic characters of Akkitham’s poetry,”says Prof M Leelavathi, the legendary lit-erary critic who is also a nonagenarianlike Akkitham.

    It is time Kerala society listened to hiswords of wisdom, at least in theSabarimala issue.

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    Kochi: The Kerala High Courton Wednesday directed policeto remove barricades at primespots in the temple complex ofthe Lord Ayyappa hill shrineat Sabarimala.

    It also directed police tolift restrictions like blockingpilgrims at Sharankutti, enroute to the 'sannidhanam' ortemple complex, after 11.30PM.

    A division bench of jus-tices Ramachandra Menonand N Anil Kumar said its ear-lier order that there should notbe any protest in Sabarimalastands intact.

    The bench also approvedthe report of the three-mem-ber monitoring commissionappointed by it on November28 to oversee the pilgrimage atSabarimala temple.

    The court had appointedthe three-member panel tooversee the pilgrimage atSabarimala temple and saidthere should not be any moreprotests at the shrine, whichwitnessed a series of violentincidents after the September28 Supreme Court verdict,allowing women of all agesinto the shrine.

    It had, while hearing abunch of petitions questioningrestrictions at the temple, saidthe three observers wouldmonitor the pilgrimage andreport to the court.

    The court Wednesday saidthat depending on the inten-sity of the crowd, police cantake appropriate measures tomanage the crowd and inflowwithout causing inconvenienceto pilgrims. PTI

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    India joined a select league ofnations worldwide with thesovereign capability in fly awayconfiguration to search, locateand rescue crew from a dis-abled submarine, as AdmiralSunil Lanba, the Chief of NavalStaff, formally inducted theDeep Submergence RescueVessel (DSRV) and its associ-ated equipment at the NavalDockyard in south Mumbai onWednesday.

    Speaking at the inductionceremony, Admiral Lanba, theChief of Naval Staff, who isalso the Chairman of Chiefs ofStaff Committee, said: “I wishwe should not use it, but in casewe need to use, the intention isto rescue each and every life".

    "The induction of the vehi-cle has put the Indian Navy intoa small league of navies thathave an integral submarinerescue capability...It is a red-let-ter day for the Indian Navy andits submarine arm...we haveacquired it after years offocussed effort," Vice AdmiralGirish Luthra, the Flag OfficerCommanding-in-Chief of theMu m b a i - h e a d q u a r t e re dWestern Naval Command(WNC), said.

    The first DSRV's first ves-sel, inducted on Wednesday,would be based in Mumbai,while another similar one isexpected to join the IndianNavy in the next and it will bebased in Visakhapatnam, theheadquarters of Eastern NavalCommand (ENC).

    The newly inductedDSRV has a Side Scan Sonarfor locating the position of thesubmarine in distress at sea,providing immediate reliefby way of posting Emergency

    Life Support Containers withthe help of RemotelyOperated Vehicle (ROV) andthereafter rescuing the crewof the submarine using theDSRV itself.

    Currently, the Indian Navycurrently operates submarinesof the Sindhughosh,Shishumar, Kalvari Classes as

    well as the nuclear poweredsubmarines. The operatingmedium and the nature ofoperations undertaken by sub-marines expose them to highdegree of inherent risk. In suchan eventuality, traditionalmethods of search and rescueat sea are ineffective for a dis-abled submarine.

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    Indian Naval Dental CentreDanteshwari, a first of itskind dental centre providingworld class multi-specialitydental facilities under one roof,was commissioned at Colabain south Mumbai.

    Mumbai SurgeonCommodore (D) BireshwarMukherjee read out the com-missioning warrant as the firstCommanding Officer of INDCDanteshwari in the presence ofAdmiral Sunil Lanba, Chief ofNaval Staff, Vice Admiral

    Girish Luthra, Flag OfficerC om m an d i ng - i n - C h i e f ,Western Naval Command andLt General SM Londhe,Director General DentalServices, while Mrs PreetiLuthra, president NWWA WRunveiled the commissioningplaque.

    INDC Danteshwaribecame the first commissioneddental unit of the Indian Navyin order to meet the growingdemand for quality dentalhealth care facilities in thearmed forces, at par with inter-national standards.

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    NCP president Sharad Pawarsaid here on WednesdayPrime Minister NarendraModi’s frequent attacks on theNehru-Gandhi family mem-bers had not gone down wellwith the public, leading to theBJP’s debacle in the Assemblypolls in three States.

    “During the recentAssembly poll campaign, Modiforgot all the promises he hadmade during the 2014 polls. Allhe did was to talk about onefamily. Here is a man who hadnot seen Pandit Nehru andIndira Gandhi. But he contin-ued to attack one family allthrough the campaign. The BJPis paying for the Modi’s folly,”Pawar said.

    Talking to media personson the occasion of his turning78, Pawar said the non-BJP par-ties were happy with the out-come in the State Assemblypolls in five States. “Throughtheir verdict in the Assemblypolls, the people have voicedtheir displeasure towards to theruling BJP. All the non-BJPparties are happy with the ver-dict. The Congress has nowproved be an alternative to theBJP in the country,” the NCP

    chief said. Slamming the Modi

    Government for its questionablegovernance during the last fourand a half years, Pawar said:“Such is the nature of interfer-ence of the Modi dispensationin various established institu-

    tions is there for everybody tosee. First of all, four senior mostSupreme Court judges hadcome out openly to address apress conference. Then, it wasthe turn of Governmentappointed RBI Governor UrjitPatel who resigned. We are stillto resolve the mess created bythe Govt in the CBI. There havebeen attacks on the Constitutionfrom the Government’s sidefrom time to time”.

    “We were thinking that theBJP would suffer a jolt fromAdivasis and farmers. But, theBJP has suffered 50 per cent set-back even in urban areas. Theprocess of change in govern-ment at the Centre has started,”

    the NCP president said. Holding that the people

    had accepted the Congress’decision to hand over the lead-ership to the new generation(read Rahul Gandhi), Pawarsaid that there may not be a fed-eration opposition front at theCentre, but the Opposition par-ties should rise over their dif-ferences and come together totake on the BJP during the 2019Lok Sabha polls.

    “We may not have a UPA ora third front during the LokSabha polls. But, the Oppositionparties should sink their differ-ences and come together to fightthe BJP in the Lok Sabha polls,”Pawar said.

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    Terming the defeat in theAssembly polls in threeStates as a wake-up call for theBJP, noted social activist AnnaHazare said on Wednesdaythat if the ruling party at theCentre did not keep its variousmade in the previous elec-tions, the people would teacha lesson to it in the 2019 Lok

    Sabha polls.Talking to media persons at

    Ralegan-Siddhi, Hazare said:“Before and after coming topower at the Centre, the BJPsold dreams to the people.But, all the promises made bythe BJP and Prime MinisterNarendra Modi have remainedon paper. Through their man-date in the Assembly polls infive States, the people have

    exposed the Modi Governmentand its false promises,” Hazaresaid.

    “The Assembly poll verdictis a wake-up call for the BJP. Ifthe Modi Government does notfulfil its promises made in therun-up and after the 2014polls, then the people wouldteach a lesson to the ruling BJPin the 2019 Lok Sabha polls,”Hazare added.

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    Prominent personalities fromvarious walks of life, includ-ing, former President PranabMukherjee, former USSecretary of State HillaryClinton, business tycoons, filmstars, sports celebrities turnedout for the “royal wedding” ofscions of two top businessconglomerates — Isha Ambaniand Anand Piramal — here onWednesday.

    The celebrations began inthe afternoon with the tradi-tionally attired groom Anandarrived in a “baraat” (weddingprocession) at the Ambanis’Cumballa Hill palatial man-sion ‘Antilia" in south Mumbai.The Piramals were seen danc-ing enthusiastically when theyarrived at the wedding venueaccompanied by some profes-sional dancers.

    The road leading up to“Antilia” was decorated withmulti-hued fresh flowers,colourful lights and festoons towelcome the guests to thewedding. The video clips ofboth lit-up and decorated road

    went viral on social media allthrough the day.

    The 27-storied Antilia,which is believed to be the mostexpensive private residence inthe world, was decked up taste-

    fully to welcome the guests.Mukesh Ambani, Anant

    Ambani, Akash Ambani andShloka Mehta accorded a grandwelcome to the groom familymembers.

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    Mumbai: A money-order sentby a farmer in Maharashtra'sNashik district, who had got aprincely sum of �1,064 afterselling 750 kg of onions, hasbeen returned by the PrimeMinister's Office (PMO).

    Sanjay Sathe, a farmer fromNiphad tehsil of Nashik district,had sent �1,064, his earningsfrom onion sale in the whole-sale market, to Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on November29 as a protest.

    A few days ago, the localpost office informed him thatthe money-order was notaccepted.

    "I went to the office ofIndia Post in Niphad Mondayand received the amount of�1,064," Sathe told PTI onWednesday.

    "My only intention was toprompt the Government totake some steps to ease thefinancial stress farmers are suf-fering from because of thecrashed prices," he said.

    Sathe, who had taken hisonion crop to Niphad whole-sale market, had received a pal-try rate of �1.40 per kg.

    His act of donating themoney to the disaster relieffund of the PMO by making amoney-order had made head-lines.

    "I wanted to draw theGovernment's attention to ourproblems. I am not associatedwith any political party," hesaid.

    "I hope the Union andState Governments will takesome steps so that onion grow-ers earn more," he said.

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    India’s industrial output grewat an 11-month high of 8.1per cent in October mainly onthe back of mining, power andmanufacturing sectors cou-pled with higher offtake of cap-ital as well as consumer durablegoods.

    Industrial production mea-sured in terms of Index ofIndustrial Production (IIP)grew 1.8 per cent in Octoberlast year, as per official datareleased by the CentralStatistics Office (CSO)Wednesday.

    The previous high IIPgrowth rate was recorded inNovember last year at 8.5 percent. The growth for September

    remained unchanged at 4.5per cent compared to provi-sional data released last month.

    During the April-Octoberperiod, industrial output grew5.6 per cent as compared to 2.5per cent in the same period ofthe previous fiscal.

    Manufacturing sector,which constitutes 77.63 percent of the index, recorded 7.9per cent growth in October asagainst 2 per cent year ago.Mining sector posted 7 per centgrowth during the month asagainst a contraction of 0.2 percent in October 2017.