SON CHOPS FATHER’SBODY INTO 25 PIECESNew Delhi: Following heatedargument over property dispute,a 22-year-old boy allegedly killedhis father in Delhi’s Shahdaradistrict. After killing his father,accused Aman had kept hisfather’s body at home for twodays, before chopping hisfather’s body into 25 pieces.Aman, along with his friend, wasarrested from outside his homein the early hours of Wednesdayin Shahdara’s Bada Bazaar areawhen he was about to leave todispose off the body parts keptin a bag in a car.

KILL NON-MUSLIMS ININDIA: MASOOD AZHARNew Delhi: Rattled by theprojected outcome of the exitpolls in India, Maulana MasoodAzhar, Jaish-e-Mohammad chief,has directed his followers toattack non-Muslims in India. Theaudio message was issued a dayafter the exit polls duringRamzan khutbah wherein heprayed for success of jehadis.

CAPSULE

PNS n NEW DELHI

The counting of votes for theLok Sabha polls would be

held on Thursday in the shad-ow of a raging controversyover security of the ElectronicVoting Machines (EVMs) andcharges that they were beingrigged. The ElectionCommission has rejected thedemand by 22 political partiesthat voter verifiable paper audittrail (VVPAT) slips be matchedwith EVM data before count-ing of votes.

The grueling and bitterlyfought seven-phase polls thatbegan on April 11 concludedon May 19. Barring Jammu &Kashmir and West Bengal, vot-ing has been largely peaceful.

Security has been tightenedacross all the polling stations inthe county with the HomeMinistry directing extra-secu-rity around sensitive con-stituencies.

Most of the exit polls havepredicted that the BJP-ledNational Democratic Alliance(NDA) is on course to retainpower for a second term, rid-ing on Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s charisma likethe way he did in 2014.

However, the Oppositionparties have trashed results ofthe exit polls, claiming that theBJP will suffer severe drubbingdue to rising unemployment,farm distress and slowdown inthe economy.

Around 67 per cent of thenearly 90 crore voters exercised

their franchise to elect 542members of the Lok Sabhafrom 8,049 contestants.

Election Commission offi-cials said the counting of voteswill begin at 8 am on Thursdayand results are expected only bylate evening.

For the first time in LokSabha polls, the EC will tallyvote count on EVMs with voterverified paper audit trail slipsin five polling stations in eachAssembly segment of a parlia-mentary constituency.

It will effectively mean thatout of nearly 10.3 lakh pollingstations, the EVM-VVPATmatching will take place in20,600 such stations. In case ofa mismatch, the results basedon paper slip count will be con-sidered as final.

Meanwhile, a day after 22Opposition parties claimedthey don’t trust EVMs anddemanded VVPAT slips bematched with EVM data beforecounting, the three-memberEC on Wednesday rejectedtheir demands saying therewill not be any change incounting procedures.

The EC had made it clearto the parties on Tuesday thatthe old protocol would con-tinue. The top officials of ECalso met on Wednesday anddecided to continue with

counting the slips at the end.The poll body is also learnt

to have decided to count postalballots simultaneously withelectronic voting machinecount due to the “sheer size” ofthe ballots received this timefrom service voters. The count-ing will involve the matching ofVVPAT slips in five pollingbooths picked at random foreach Assembly segment at theend of counting. As per proce-dure, postal ballots so far werethe first to be counted.

As per EC, the exercise ofcounting postal ballots manu-ally will itself take a couple ofhours at least as the number ofservice voters stands at 18 lakhand these include personnel ofthe armed forces, Centralpolice force personnel andState police personnel who areposted outside their con-stituencies. Diplomats and sup-port staff posted in Indianembassies abroad are alsocounted as service voters. Outof the 18 lakh registered voters,16.49 lakh have sent theirpostal ballots to their respectivereturning officers as on May 17.

Earlier, the Supreme Courthad rejected Opposition’sdemand for at least 50 per centVVPAT verification saying it is“not inclined to interfere”.

Continued on Page 7

DEEPAK KUMAR JHA n NEW DELHI

Unfazed by the findings ofthe exit polls, the

Opposition is continuing withits efforts to form a non-BJPfront so as to form aGovernment in case the NDAfalls short of the halfway markeven marginally.

While Congress chiefRahul Gandhi and party gen-eral secretary Priyanka Gandhihave asked party workers andits Lok Sabha candidates not tobelieve the “fake and manipu-lated” exit polls, NCP supremoSharad Pawar has establishedcontact with YSR Congressleader Jagan Mohan Reddy,TRS leader K ChandrasekharaRao and BJD chief NaveenPatnaik in the last 24 hours.

Sources said Pawar isbelieved to have convincedJagan, KCR and Patnaik tojoin the Opposition rank toprevent Prime MinisterNarendra Modi from staging acomeback.

Congress sources saidNaveen Patnaik also received acall from Madhya PradeshChief Minister Kamal Nath.Both Patnaik and Nath areDoon School pals. Patnaik sofar has maintained equidis-tance from the NDA andCongress-led alliances, butrecently he announced to sup-port whoever “offers the bestpackage” for Odisha.

Sources said Pawar’s mis-sion has been successful sinceall the three leaders are believedto have assured him of their

support by if the Congress-ledUnited Progressive Alliance(UPA) has the numbers toform a stable Government.

Pawar has already been intouch with TDP supremo NChandrababu Naidu, WestBengal Chief Minister MamataBanerjee, Uttar PradeshMahatgathbandhan leadersMayawati and Akhilesh Yadav,besides Congress leaders,including UPA chairpersonSonia Gandhi.

While Pawar was tasked bySonia to be the “catalyst”

between secular and non-BJPparties, Naidu has already heldseveral rounds of meetingscriss-crossing the country. OnTuesday late night, the AndhraPradesh Chief Minister calledon his Karnataka counterpart,HD Kumaraswamy, and hisfather former PM HD DeveGowda. Karnataka has aCongress-JD(S) allianceGovernment.

“Pawar’s role will be crucialin bridging the possible differ-ences between YSR and TDP orTRS. Jagan is also being pur-

sued by the BJP, which is try-ing to consolidate its numbers,just in case they require,” saidpolitical sources.

A confident Rahul on hispart urged party leaders to be“alert in the next 24 hours” and“be fearless as exit polls arefake”. “The next 24 hours areimportant. Be alert and vigilant.Don’t be afraid. You are fight-ing for the truth. Don’t be dis-heartened by what the fake exitpolls are propagating. Havefaith in yourselves and theCongress. Your hard work willnot go in vain, Jai Hindi,”Rahul tweeted.

Priyanka too said in a mes-sage to party workers that theyshould not fall for “rumours”intended to make them droptheir guard ahead of the count-ing of votes.

“My dear Congress work-ers, sisters and brothers... Don’tlet rumours and exit polls dis-courage you. This is beingdone just to break your deter-mination. It is very importantthat you remain alert amid allthis. Please continue to keepvigil outside strongrooms andcounting centres. We are con-fident that our combinedefforts will bear fruit,” Priyankasaid in the audio message.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The `59,000 crore Rafalefighter jets deal, which has

been in the centre of a bitterpolitical slugfest between theCongress and the NDAGovernment, is back in thenews after some unidentifiedpersons made an attempt tobreak into the Paris office ofIndian Air Force (IAF) projectmanagement team supervisingthe Rafale project. Espionageangle is not ruled out.

The incident took place onSunday last and reports indi-cated that no hard disk or anyother sensitive documents werestolen. The local police regis-tered a case and is investigat-ing about the motive, sourcessaid here on Wednesday.However, the IAF and theDefence Ministry here refusedto comment on the issue.

The IAF project team isheaded by a Group Captain,aided by three other officers.The office to oversee the Rafalejet manufacturing is located inSaint Cloud suburb of Paris.

According to reports, sincethe administrative office does

not keep money or valuables, itis possible that this could be acase of espionage to get hold ofcrucial data related to theRafale deal. They also said theincident occurred on theDassault Aviations premises.

Rafale is a nuclear capableaircraft and an attempt to gethold of technical specifica-tions of the India-specific air-craft could seriously compro-mise its operations once thefleet of aircraft is inducted inthe IAF, sources said. TheDefence Ministry was briefedby the IAF about the incident,they added.

India and France hadsigned the Government toGovernment deal in September2016 to buy 36 Rafale medium

multi-role combat aircraft infly-away condition. Dassault ismanufacturing the aircraft asper the Indian specifications.There are nearly 13 India spe-cific enhancements and theproject management team isstationed in Paris to ensure theimplementation.

As per the contract, thedelivery of the fighter jets willbegin in 36 months from thedate of inking the contractand the entire fleet will beinducted in 67 months. Thefirst lot is expected to reachIndia later this year.

The IAF plans to base theRafale at Ambala andHasimara, and infrastructure isdevelopment for the jets is infull swing.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Indian Air Force (IAF)on Wednesday successful-

ly test fired the aerial version ofthe supersonic BrahMos cruisemissile from a Su-30 MKIfighter aircraft at the Andamanand Nicobar Islands, markinga major milestone to enhanceits precision strike capability.

The 2.5 tonne air-to-sur-face missile has a range ofaround 300 km, and it will sig-nificantly enhance the IAF’scombat capability, military offi-cials said.

The BrahMos cruise mis-sile travels at a speed of Mach2.8, nearly three times that ofsound. “The launch from theaircraft was smooth and themissile followed the desired tra-jectory before directly hittingthe land target,” IAF spokesper-son Group Capt AnupamBanerjee said.

The IAF became the firstair force in the world to havesuccessfully fired an air-

launched 2.8 Mach surfaceattack missile of this categoryon a sea target on November22, 2017.

“Today’s was the secondsuch live launch of the weapon.The integration of the weaponon the aircraft was a very com-plex process involving mechan-

ical, electrical and softwaremodifications on aircraft,” theIAF said.

It said the software devel-opment of the aircraft wasundertaken by IAF engineers,while the HAL carried outmechanical and electrical mod-ifications on it.

“The dedicated and syner-getic efforts of the IAF, DefenceResearch and DevelopmentOrganisation, BrahMosAerospace Ltd and HAL haveproven the capability of thenation to undertake such com-plex integrations,” the IAF said.

Continued on Page 7

PTI n NEW DELHI

The Government is learnt tohave cleared the names of

four judges for their elevationto the Supreme Court, sourcessaid Wednesday.

Once the appointmentsformally come through, the topcourt will have its full sanc-tioned strength of 31 judges(including the chief justice). Asof now, the apex court is func-tioning with 27 judges.

The four names cleared bythe Government are justicesAniruddha Bose, AS Bopanna,BR Gavai and Surya Kant.

The names of justices Boseand Bopanna were earlierreturned by the Government tothe SC collegium citing senior-ity and representation ofregions as the reasons. But inits resolution passed earlierthis month, the collegium hadreiterated its recommendation

to elevate justices Bose andBopanna to the apex court,observing that nothing adversehas been found regarding theircompetence, conduct orintegrity.

The collegium had alsorecommended the names ofjustices BR Gavai and SuryaKant for elevation to the apexcourt. The five-memberCollegium is headed by Chief

Justice RanjanGogoi.

Sources aware ofthe developmentsaid the notificationis expected byThursday morningonce the Presidentsigns their warrant ofappointment.

Justice Bose,whose parent highcourt is Calcutta, isthe Chief Justice ofJharkhand High

Court and is at number 12 inall-India seniority of judges.

Justice Bopanna, whoseparent high court is Karnataka,is the Gauhati High CourtChief Justice and stands atnumber 36.

Justice Gavai is a judge ofthe Bombay High Court andJustice Kant is the incumbentChief Justice of the HimachalPradesh High Court.

Results to weather EVM storm today

EC rejects demand of 22 parties to check VVPAT slips before counting

PNS n NEW DELHI

Hours after the ElectionCommission (EC) on

Wednesday rejected demandof 22 Opposition parties forVVPAT slips’ check before thecounting, the Opposition par-ties hit back saying the pollpanel has lost its credibility anddubbed the electronic votingmachines (EVMs) as “ElectionVictory Machines”.

Congress spokespersonAbhishek Manu Singhvi saidthe EC has rejected theirrequest to check the VVPATslips, “which we came to knowthrough the media” reports.“The interesting thing is wehave not received any formalorders yet,” he said, adding ear-lier the poll panel had declined15-20 requests of the partywithout giving any reason. Hesaid the EC means “EradicatedCredibility” and EVMs havebecome “Electronic VictoryMachines” for BJP.

The Congress Rajya SabhaMP said the EC, for “confi-dence building”, should haveaccepted the request of 22Opposition parties that “rep-resent 75 per cent of the pop-ulation”. “During our talks

with the EC, they cited rule56(B). But the rule 56(D) saysfor mandatory sample check ofthe VVPAT slips. Rule 56(B)and 56(D) are complete dif-ferent things,” he said.

Reacting to the EC deci-sion, CPI(M) general secretarySitaram Yechury tweeted,“This goes against the spirit ofthe Supreme Court Order onVVPATs delivered beforepolling began. If the processhas been so long drawn for thesake of integrity of the electoralprocess, why is (the) EC notadhering to the basic principleof testing the sample first?”

TDP general secretaryNara Lokesh tweeted, “A gen-uine and fair demand fortransparency is chucked outthe window without a reason.A dark day for Indian democ-racy!... By ignoring the genuinedemand of the majority of par-tiesto, the EC has shown onceagain whose side it wants totake.”

AAP leader and DelhiDeputy Chief Minister ManishSisodia tweeted if all the argu-ments of EC were accepted inpast also, then no reform inelection process was needed.

Continued on Page 7

Opp raps EC, callsEVMs ‘ElectronicVictory Machines’

PNS n NEW DELHI

BJP president Amit Shah onThursday accused the

Opposition parties of “disre-specting” people’s mandate byquestioning the credibility ofEVMs and “tarnishing” Indiandemocracy in the face of its“likely defeat” in the Lok Sabhaelections.

Suspecting Opposition’smotives in raising doubts aboutEVMs, Shah said they startedprotesting against EVMs onlyafter the sixth phase of pollingand intensified it after exit

polls, which have predicted acomfortable victory for theBJP-led NDA. “How can youquestion EVMs credibility onthe basis of exit polls,” he askedin his tweet.

He also termed as uncon-stitutional the demand of 22Opposition parties that theElection Commission changeits counting protocol and countVVPAT slips first, saying anydecision in this regard is notpossible without an all-partyconsensus.

Referring to the statementsof some Opposition leaders like

Upendra Kushwaha that peo-ple can take up arms and resortto violence, he said such com-ments have no place in democ-racy and questioned them forchallenging democracy.

The Opposition in Biharon Tuesday had alleged thatattempts were being made tomanipulate the Lok Sabha pollresults in favour of the NDA,and warned that “blood mayspill on the streets”.

Opposition to EVMsamounts to disrespecting peo-ple’s mandate, Shah said.

Continued on Page 7

Loser Opp raising EVM bogey: Shah

Break-in at IAF Rafale officein Paris fuels espionage fear

IAF accomplishes BrahMos feat Govt OK’s elevation of 4 judges

to SC as court sticks to names

Pawar contacts

YSR Cong chief,

KCR, Naveen

Security personnel guard a EVM strongroom at Gole Market in New Delhi on Wednesday Ranjan Dimri | Pioneer

Opp ups Govt bid if NDA fails even by a whisker

IAF successfully test-fires air version of BrahMos missile from its frontline fighter aircraft Su-30 MKI on Wednesday PTI

@TheDailyPioneer facebook.com/dailypioneerFollow us on:

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Late City Vol. 155 Issue 140*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

Published From DELHI LUCKNOW BHOPAL BHUBANESWAR

RANCHI RAIPUR CHANDIGARH DEHRADUN HYDERABAD VIJAYWADA

Established 1864

RNI No.2016/1957, REGD NO. SSP/LW/NP-34/2019-21

LUCKNOW, THURSDAY MAY 23, 2019; PAGES 16 `3

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OPINION 8

CHINA-NEPALLOVE AFFAIR

city 02LUCKNOW | THURSDAY | MAY 23, 2019

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PNS n LUCKNOW

With exit polls predicting atough contest between

the BJP and SP-BSP-RLDalliance in UP, all eyes will beon the counting of votes for 80Lok Sabha seats in the state onThursday. The counting ofvotes will start at 8 am onThursday and continue till theannouncement of results late inthe evening.

Along with counting forLok Sabha elections, countingof votes for Agra North andNighasan Assembly bypollswill also be taken up onThursday.

For Lok Sabha poll count-ing, a total of 77 counting cen-tres have been set up by theElection Commission in UttarPradesh. Counting of votes forAzamgarh and Kushinagar LokSabha seats will be conductedat two centres each while onecounting centre has been set upfor the rest of 73 Lok Sabhaseats.

In UP, a total of over 1.63lakh polling booths were set upand 979 candidates were in thefray for 80 Lok Sabha seats inUP. UP’s chief electoral officerVenketshwar Lu said inLucknow on Wednesday thatthe strong rooms where EVMshave been stored would beopened in the presence of can-didates or their authorised rep-resentatives before being takento counting centres.

For each Assembly seg-ment, 14 counting tables andone table for assistant return-ing officer have been set up.The CEO said that each candi-date was permitted to have onecounting agent on each table.

A counting supervisor,along with one assistant, willlook after the process and themicro-observer from amongCentral government officerswill also be there. Before count-ing of each EVM, the seal onthe machine will be checkedand its number will talliedwith the record of EVM.

The CEO further said thatthe Election Commission hadalready banned victory proces-sions and other celebrations.

Prohibitory orders underSection 144 of the CrPC havebeen imposed in all districtsand liquor shops across thestate will remain closed for theday on Thursday.

“We have imparted train-ing to counting personnel andthey have been asked to strict-

ly adhere to rules, regulationsand guidelines issued byElection Commission. Trendswill be available after comple-tion of a round of countingwhile results would be declaredafter approval from the EC. Theresults would be late this timeas five booths in each Assemblysegment of a Lok Sabha con-stituency will be examinedwith VVPAT slips,” the CEOsaid.

“This time, counting ofpostal ballot will take moretime as poll personnel will

have to record it with bar codeof the ballot. On the request ofcounting agents, recounting ofvotes can be ordered by therturning officer and centralobservers of a particularbooth,” he said.

Adequate security mea-sures have been made at thecounting centres across 75 dis-tricts and in sensitive districts,200 companies of Central Para-Military Forces and 100 com-panies of PAC, along with overtwo lakh district police person-nel, have been be deployed to

maintain law and order. The CEO said that a three-

tier security system would be inplace at the counting centreswhere no one would be allowedwithout valid passes. He admit-ted that to pre-empt post-counting violence, securitymeasures had been made in 13sensitive districts and adequateCPMF and PAC personneldeployed. Sources claimed thatvotes of each round would bechecked at least thrice beforepolling agents of all partiesbefore being announced.

PNS n LUCKNOW

The state unit of BharatiyaJanata Party is set to take

action against ministers and leg-islators in whose constituenciesthe party did not perform asexpected and the non-performingministers could be replaced bythose who excelled.

A senior BJP leader told ThePioneer in Lucknow onWednesday that the Lok Sabhaelection results would be underscrutiny because of the impor-tance attached by party’s brass toUttar Pradesh. Preparations weremade to the minutest of detailsand a team of party workersworked as a well-oiled machinefor months. “We are still confidentof winning 74 seats and resultsnotwithstanding, the whole thingwill be scrutinised. Targets weregiven to legislators and we will seewhether the same were achievedas per party’s expectation,” theleader said.

Majority of exit polls havepredicted that the BJP would losesome seats in UP but win in the

excess of 50. The internal surveyof BJP, however, said that the partywould win 67 of the 78 seats con-tested, as two seats were left for itsally Apna Dal. In 2014 elections,the BJP and its ally won 73 out of80 seats in Uttar Pradesh.

The BJP is taking the resultsseriously as over a dozen Unionand UP ministers contested theelections from UP. The maincontenders were Prime MinisterNarendra Modi from Varanasi,Union Home Minister RajnathSingh from Lucknow, UnionMinister of Social Justice MenakaGandhi from Sultanpur, Unionminister Sadhavi Niranan Jyotifrom Fatehpur, Union Minister ofState for Railways Manoj Sinhafrom Ghazipur, Union ministerGen (Retd) VK Singh fromGhaziabad, Mahesh Sharma fromGautam Budh Nagar, Union min-ister Santosh Gangwar fromBareilly, Union Textile MinisterSmriti Irani from Amethi andSanjiv Baliyan fromMuzaffarnagar.

Among ministers in the Yogigovernment, Tourism minister

and MLA from Lucknow CanttRita Bahuguna Joshi contested theAllahabad seat while Khadi andGramodyog Minister SatyadevPachauri was in the fray fromKanpur, replacing Murli ManoharJoshi.

Besides, Animal HusbandryMinister SPS Baghel contestedfrom Agra and Co-operative min-ister Mukut Bihari Verma tried hisluck from Ambedkar Nagar. Evenstate BJP president MahendraPandey contested fromChandauli.

“When so many ministersand dignitaries were in the fray,we need to assess the performanceof our leaders on how they fared,”the BJP leader said, and hintedthat Yogi could go for a Cabinetreshuffle to replace the non-per-forming ministers with thosewho came out with flying colours.

Earlier, at a poll rally inMahoba, the Chief Minister hadmade it clear that he would takeaction against officials after elec-tions and was dissatisfied over thefaulty delivery system, particular-ly in the Bundelkhand region.

PNS n LUCKNOW

The Election Commissionhas decided to count

VVPAT slips if the data ofmock drill earlier was notdeleted from electronic votingmachines (EVMs). UP’s chiefelectoral officer VeknateshwarLu said in Lucknow that it wasreported that in some places,presiding officers hadforgotten to delete mock pollvotes before the actualvoting, which could result in adifference between votesrecorded in EVMs andVVPAT slips.

The CEO said that count-

ing of VVPAT slips of fivebooths in each Assembly seg-ment would be taken up at theend of counting process.

“The EC has decided thatin case mock poll votes werenot deleted from the EVMs,the VVPAT slips would becounted and it would be final,”the CEO said.

He said if there was anytechnical flaw leading to non-opening of EVMs, VVPATslips would be counted thentoo. The counting personnelwill have to count 1,63,484EVMs in 80 Lok Sabha seatswhere polling was held at thesame number of booths.

A total of 147 centralcounting observers would bedeployed to monitor the entireprocess.

Prime Minister NarendraModi (Varanasi), UPA chair-person Sonia Gandhi (RaeBareli), Congress presidentRahul Gandhi (Amethi),Union Home Minister RajnathSingh ( Lucknow) , SamajwadiParty patriarch MulayamSingh Yadav (Mainpuri), andSamajwadi Party chiefAkhilesh Yadav (Azamgarh),along with several Union min-isters and Bollywood stars,contested from various seats ofUP.

PNS n LUCKNOW

After the dismissal ofSuheldeo Bharatiya Samaj

Party (SBSP) president OmPrakash Rajbhar from the YogiAdityanath Cabinet, troubleseems to be mounting for thesacked minister.

While three SBSP MLAsare rumoured to be desertinghim for the ruling BJP, theEstate department has issuednotice to Rajbhar to vacate theministerial bungalow withinnext 15 days.

The SBSP chief, however,denied that his party MLAswere joining the BJP. “Anorganised disinformation cam-paign is being unleashedagainst me and my party by theBJP. There is no truth to thespeculations that SBSP MLAswill leave the party. It’s just arumour. We are together sincethe days we launched ourstruggle for the rights andemancipation of the poor,OBCs and disadvantaged sec-tions of the society. There is noquestion of party MLAs desert-ing the movement,’’ Rajbharasserted in a tweet onWednesday.

Founded in 2002, the SBSPhad won four of the eightAssembly seats it contested in2017 Assembly elections inalliance with the BJP. SBSPchief Om Prakash Rajbhar gota Cabinet berth in the YogiAdityanath Cabinet.

Ever since his inductioninto the UP Cabinet in March2017, Rajhbhar has been at log-gerheads with the BJP andChief Minister YogiAdityanath. He came to beknown for making criticalstatements against the BJP, itsbrass and the Chief Minister aswell.

In April this year, Rajbharsent his resignation from theCabinet to the CM and laterannounced to field 39 candi-dates on his party symbol ineastern UP Lok Sabha seats.

Ahead of the last phase ofpolling on May 19, Rajbhar

PNS n LUCKNOW

An army of Samajwadi Party and Bahujan SamajParty ‘chowkidars’ has been keeping a round-the-

clock vigil on all strong rooms in 75 districts across UttarPradesh.

“We have already directed party leaders in each dis-trict to deploy workers to keep a vigil on the strongrooms in each district,’’ SP spokesman RajendraChaudhary said in Lucknow on Wednesday.

The army of ‘chowkidars’ includes workers and sup-porters of SP and BSP. Chaudhary said that the partydecided to deploy its workers outside strong rooms asthe opposition parties had no faith in the ElectionCommission and BJP government.

“The opposition parties decided to step up vigil onstrong rooms in the aftermath of videos circulating onsocial media showing alleged movement and tamper-ing of EVMs in Ghazipur, Chandauli, Mau, and Jhansidistricts,” the SP spokeman said.

Some supporters are even residing in makeshift tentsand guarding the strong rooms in eight-hour shifts.

“The workers have been have assigned differentroles like keeping a tab on CCTV feed from outside thestrong rooms on their monitors, watching activities nearor inside the premises through binoculars or going nearbarricades from time to time using the passes issuedfor the purpose,” said the SP leader.

However, UP’s chief electoral officer VenkateshwarLu allayed the fears of EVM tampering. “There areCCTV cameras installed in strong rooms and candi-dates are allowed to keep a watch through their repre-sentatives. All the apprehensions are unfounded,” heinsisted.

PNS n LUCKNOW

The National Human RightsCommission (NHRC)

issued notice to the UP DGPover the death of a person inpolice custody in Kannauj.

The NHRC took suo motucognisance of media reportsthat the man died after beingthrashed in police custody in

Kannauj on May 20, afterwhich a case was registeredagainst three cops, includingthe police station incharge.

The Commission observedthat contents of news reports,if true, raised serious issue ofhuman rights violation.Accordingly, it issued a noticeto the UP DGP on Wednesday,seeking a detailed report after

a probe by not less than an offi-cer of SSP rank (of another dis-trict), status of criminal casesregistered against the errantpolice personnel within fourweeks and relief, if any, provid-ed to the family of thedeceased.

It further observed that itappeared the police acted in acruel manner, which was tan-

tamount to violation of the vic-tim’s human rights. TheCommission felt that the policepersonnel failed to performlawful duty as instead of pro-viding protection to the man incustody, they abused theirpowers.

On Wednesday, RavindraKumar and his brotherDevendra were taken to police

station over a property issue.Devendra was released in anhour but Ravindra wasdetained and beaten up incustody by the cops. His kinwere not allowed to meet himand later, he was dumped out-side his house by cops in aninjured condition. Later,Ravindra succumbed toinjuries.

UP Congress set for major revampPNS n LUCKNOW

The results of Lok Sabhaelections notwith

standing, UP Congress is setfor a major revamp in nearfuture.

“During her maideninteraction with partyworkers and leaders,Congress general secretaryand UP East inchargePriyanka Gandhi had saidthat she was unhappy withthe present set-up in the state,but added that the partywould go with the same set-up as polls were near,” aCongress leader from RaeBareli pointed out.

The Congress leadersaid that during poll cam-paigning, Priyanka also wit-nessed that the organisationwas almost non-existent inthe state and she single-hand-edly managed thecampaign hoping for the bestresults.

“Priyanka witnessed howthe outfit was being handledby the state brass over theyears, which naturally reflect-ed on the party’s pollperformance. She will nowcome with a new set ofleaders to run the party effec-tively in the state,” the leadersaid.

A former CongressMLA claimed that a revampin the UPCC was the need ofthe hour as every secondleader visiting the party head-quarters was being included inthe media team even as theparty failed to corner the BJPfor its wrong polices and fail-ures.

“The present set ofleaders running the UPCC donot have a strong politicalbackground and it adverselyaffects the party’s performanceas a main opposition party inUP. Besides, senior andloyal party leaders havestopped visiting the office,” helamented.

In a bid to improve thestate of affairs in UP, theleader said: “This trend canbe done away with and theparty be revived only if anew team with adequateexperience and energy is putin place. Since Priyanka isincharge of UP East, herpresence and leadershipshould help in rejuvenationand we can hope for a betterresult in the 2022 Assemblypolls.”

All eyes on contest between

BJP, SP-BSP alliance

Lucknow DM Kaushal Raj Sharma taking the stock of the preparations at Ramabai ground on Wednesday

VVPAT slips to be counted if EVMs not cleared of mock poll data

went to the extent of asking hiscadres to beat up BJP leaderswith shoes.

A day later, on May 20,Rajbhar was dismissed from theCabinet while seven SBSP lead-ers, earlier appointed as chair-men of various corporationsahead of the notification of LokSabha elections on March 10,were also dismissed.

Reacting to the speculations,SBSP sources said that threeMLAs could form a new groupand merge the party with theBJP or could directly join theBJP. Anti-defection law wouldnot be applicable to them asthey would make up for three-fourths of the party strength,they added.

The sources further claimedthat the MLAs were annoyedwith Rajbhar for ignoring themand promoting his family mem-bers within the party. All thethree SBSP MLAs in question —Triveni Ram from Jakhania

Assembly seat (Ghazipur),Kailash Nath Sonkar fromAjghara seat of Varanasi, andRamanand Baudh fromRamkola seat in Kushinagar —are Dalits.

NHRC notice to DGP over custodial death in Kannauj

Army of SP, BSP ‘chowkidars’ guarding strong rooms

BJP to take action against

non-performing legislators

Rajbhar dismisses speculationsof 3 SBSP MLAs joining BJP

city 03LUCKNOW | THURSDAY | MAY 23, 2019

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

Elaborate security arrange-ments have been made inand around the Ramabai

Rally Sthal for counting ofvotes on Thursday. SSPKalanidhi Naithani will mon-itor the law and order situationalong with senior officers. TheSSP said general public wouldnot be allowed to go beyond500 metres of counting venue.

If political parties wantedto hold celebratory functions,they must remain confined totheir offices and not come outon the roads to cause trafficjam or incite violence.

Meanwhile, DistrictMagistrate Kaushal Raj Sharmacarried out an inspection of thevenue along with senior officialsand observer of Lucknow LokSabha constituency ShailendraSingh and that of MohanlalganjSharad Laxman.

The DM made a detailedinspection of the venue and alsolooked into the arrangementswhich had been made for thecounting of votes which he saidhad been completed.

The DM said that all thetables had been placed for thecounting and wire meshes hadbeen put around those wherethe VVPAT slips would becounted in keeping with thefact that they did not fly around.The DM went into every roomwhich had been allotted toeach constituency and checkedthe lighting arrangements there.He said that looking at theweather conditions they weremaking arrangements for waterwithin the premises and therewere water coolers which hadbeen fitted into the rooms.

The DM, who is also thedistrict election officer, saidthat an ambulance would alsobe placed at the venue. Therewould be a primary health cen-tre and a fire brigade whichwould also stand at the venue,he added. “A media centre witharrangements for coolers andproper Wi-Fi connectivity hasalso been established,” headded.

He said that there would be

separate gates for the LucknowLok Sabha and MohanlalganjLok Sabha constituencies andtwo persons would be deployedat each of them. The DM saidthat neither mobile phones norelectronic gadgets would beallowed inside the premisesand these items would bedeposited at the gate for allthose who want to enter thepremises.

Kaushal Raj Sharma furthersaid that all the counting par-ties would reach the venue by6 am and the counting wouldcommence by 8 am. He saidthat the counting of the postalas well as the service ballotswould also begin by 8 am andthe counting of the VVPATswould take place after thecounting of EVMs.

He said that the countingstaff whose duty was at theLucknow Lok Sabha con-stituency had been directed toreach the same gate and thosewho had to do duty at theMohanlalganj Lok Sabha con-stituency would do their duty atthis gate. It was furtherinformed that at the countingtable there would be onesupervisor, one micro observ-

er, one class IV employee, onecounting assistant and onecounting agent who had beenselected by the candidate whowould also look into the processof counting.

The DM said that they hadkept 14 tables as per theVidhan Sabha constituency andone table of the AERO and sothere would be 70 countingtables in the Lucknow LokSabha constituency with 5AERO tables and six tables forservice voters and five for thepostal ballots and one tablewould be for the RO.

He said that in the case ofMohanlalganj Lok Sabha con-stituency there would be 14counting tables and one tablefor the AERO for each VidhanSabha constituency and hencethere would be a total of 56counting tables and four tablesfor the AERO. There would be10 tables for the service votersand three for the ballot votersand one table for the RO.

The DM said that for theVVPAT counting separatetables would be kept. For eachVidhan Sabha constituencythey would be keeping onetable for the counting of

VVPATs which would be sur-rounded by wire meshes so thatthe slips did not fly. He said thatone person would sit on thetable and there would be ninetables for the counting ofVVPATs. Sharma said that fiveVVPATs per Lok Sabha con-stituency would be taken outthrough a lottery system for thecounting of votes.He said thatthe control units of those EVMswhich were not cleared after themock poll by mistake wouldnot be counted and only theirVVPATs would be counted.

He said that smoking wasprohibited at the venue and noone could use gutka or tobac-co there either. He said thatwhen the counting of any con-trol unit was completed itwould be given to the AEROwho would then seal it. TheDM said that no sharp-edgedweapons or inflammable sub-stances could be brought at thevenue by any person. Whileissuing instructions to thecounting personnel, he saidthat they would be allotted thetable as per the letter which hadbeen issued to them. He saidthat they should ensure that theEVM which had been allotted

to them was as per the roundwhich was being announced.

He said that the address onthe carrying case of the EVMmachine should be matchedwith the booth and the pollingagent should also be informedthat the machine was fromwhich booth. “The control unitof the machine should be takenout from the carrying case andit should be taken into accountthat the pink paper seal, stripseal and the green paper sealand all green paper seals are asper the number series. The stripseal should be cut in a carefulmanner so that the series num-ber of the green paper sealremains intact.”

The DM said that the resultbutton should be pressed with-out taking out the special tag.“When the result button ispressed then the display unitwill show the total number ofvotes which had been cast andthe series will be displayed asper the series of the candidates.One should be careful thatonce the display is carried outthen it is shown to the microobserver and the polling agent,”he said. The DM said that thevotes should be announced by

the observers in such a mannerthat the polling agent and thecounting assistant could listento it properly.

Issuing the instructions forthe postal ballots, he said thatthe counting personnel shouldensure whether the series num-ber was present on both theenvelopes or not and if it wasnot present there then theyshould reject that particular bal-lot. “They should then take outthe 13 A declaration form of thevoter and see whether his name,address and the signatures aswell as the address of thegazetted officer as well as thevoter were there or not. It willalso be seen whether the desig-nation of the gazetted officer isgiven or not and if any of thesedetails are missing then the bal-lot will be rejected and a seal of‘rejected’ will be put on it,” headded. He said that in the bal-lot paper if the voter has put acorrect sign in front of onename and cross in front of theother candidates then his or herballot should be cancelled. Hesaid that if any portion of theform was cut and appeared tobe a photocopy then also theballot should be rejected.

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

After a hectic poll cam-paign spanning over a

month-and-a-half, ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath isback to business holdingclosed-door meetings withofficials to review the progressof development schemes andenquire about the ongoingprojects.

A senior official told ThePioneer in Lucknow onWednesday that the ChiefMinister called some officialsat his official residence andenquired about wheat pur-chase centres and progress inpurchase at those centers aswell as progress in the con-struction of Purvanchal andBundelkhand expressways.

In the first week of March,the UP government increasedwheat procurement target by10 per cent, as compared to lastyear, to 55 lakh metric tonne,for the 2019 Rabi season whichbegan from April 1.

Besides, the governmentincreased the minimum sup-port price (MSP) of wheat bymore than 6 per cent (from Rs1,735 per quintal to Rs 1,840per quintal). The governmentwill also pay a bonus of Rs 20per quintal for wheat chaffing,raising the effective payment toRs 1,860 per quintal.

In 2018, the state govern-ment had purchased 53 lakhtonne wheat against a target of50 lakh tonne. During the

Akhilesh regime in 2017, thestate government agencies hadprocured 37 lakh tonne wheatas compared to 8 lakh tonne in2016.

The review followedreports suggesting wheat pro-curement in the state hadplummeted by almost 40 percent to 27 lakh tonne from over37 lakh tonne during the cor-responding period last year.

The official said that ques-tions were being raised on thedecline in purchase despite6,000 centres being set up bythe state government across thestate for direct purchase ofwheat from farmers. In fact,the government hadannounced that procurementagencies would continue pur-chasing wheat from farmerseven if the season’s target was

achieved during April 1 andJune 15, 2019. However, thegovernment failed to meet thetarget.

Yogi was told that so far,nearly 27 lakh tonne wheat hadbeen procured from 5,30,000farmers, who were paid over Rs5,000 crore directly in theirbank accounts. Nearly, 6,755procurement centres are oper-ational across the state.

“Officials should now pullup their socks. The electionsare over and they should focuson the administrative work,”the CM said. Sources say thatthe CM also discussedappointment of 68,500 assis-tant teachers, an issue which ispending in court. The CMasked the officials to ensurethat the issue was resolved atthe earliest.

Toddler crushed

by mini-truck

driven by fatherPIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

In a tragic incident, a two-year-old girl, identified as

Nazneena Khatoon, wascrushed under the wheels of amini-truck being driven byher father in Pantnagar underIndira Nagar police station onWednesday morning. She diedon the spot. She was the daugh-ter of Mohammad LalchandAli, a native of Assam workingon contractual basis with Eco-Green, Nagar Nigam.

Police said the girl wasrushed to Dr Ram ManoharLohiya Hospital by her father’sco-workers and locals but thedoctors declared her broughtdead. The police said she cameunder the wheels of mini-truck driven by her father aftershe slipped from the stairs ofthe second floor of an apart-ment as her mother ArnaKhatoon had gone there to col-lect garbage from the houses.

The couple used to accom-pany their daughter, who wastheir only child, while leavingtheir makeshift house in Sudharea of Khurramnagar. Hermother took her along whilegoing to collect garbage fromthe house in an apartment, butthe girl stood on the stairs. Sheaccidentally slipped and cameunder the wheels of a mini-truck when her father wasbacking up the vehicle. Alihad come to the state capitalfour years ago and got marriedto Arna Khatoon, also a nativeof Assam, three years back.

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

Afraudster, who had beenon the lam for two years,

ran out of luck in the weehours of Wednesday. Policearrested the person, wasaccused of having duped sev-eral people on the pretext ofselling residential plots to themin prime locations of the statecapital and adjoining districts.The victims got nothing butassurance despite severalreminders and requests eventhough they were depositingmonthly installments on a reg-ular basis.

The accused was identified

as Ashish Srivastava (52), anative of Barabanki presentlyliving in Gomti Nagar. He waspicked up by the police nearHusadia crossing in the weehours when he was about toleave for some place to avoidarrest and interrogation.

The police said he set up aregistered firm known as ‘Rand Infrastructure Developers’and had the office in GomtiNagar area. He used to bookthe plots on the condition thatan individual had to deposit Rs18,000 in advance and Rs 4,000per month for a period ofseven years. The fraud surfacedwhen the people were deprived

of possession even after com-pleting the formalities andregular monthly installments.

Initially, he used to claimthat the plots would be hand-ed over to the buyers in a cou-ple of days. The buyers were infor a surprise when they foundhis office locked one day in2017. Then decided to lodge acomplaint at the Gomti Nagarpolice station last year.

A probe conducted by thepolice found that the accusedhad cheated people by takingcash running into nearly Rs500 crore. A case was regis-tered and a manhunt waslaunched against him.

On Tuesday night, antipped off Gomti Nagar inspec-tor Ram Surat Sonkar that theaccused had been spotted nearhis residence close to SethMR Jaipuria School.

A plan was worked out tonab him and cops in civvieswere deployed in and aroundthe area. A white luxury carwas spotted in the wee hoursnear Husadia crossing with theaccused in the driver’s seat. Hetried to speed off as he realisedthat he was surrounded by thepolice. But, he was nabbedafter a chase. The police said hehad taken money money over60 persons.

Tight security arrangements in place for counting of votes

(Clockwise from top) DM Kaushal Raj Sharma inspecting Ramabai Rally Sthal on Wednesday; seating arrangements at counting venue; barricades set up to prevent the entry of general public; and a securitypersonnel stands guard at the site Pioneer

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

Aday before the countingfor Lok Sabha elections,

the candidates from theLucknow appeared relaxedand spent their day withouttoo much of tension.

Pankaj Singh, son ofUnion Home Minister RajnathSingh, told The Pioneer that hisfather was busy in severalmeetings in Delhi but therewas a lot of enthusiasm at theparty level and they were con-fident of a good victory mar-gin. “We are expecting themargin to be more than thatin the previous Lok Sabhaelections (2.72 lakh),” he said.When asked whether his fam-ily was visiting any temple tooffer prayers on the countingeve, he said they would do itafter declaration of results.

Congress candidateAcharya Pramod Krishnamsaid he was following his dailyroutine in usual manner. Hesaid he was neither tense norexcited about the results.

He said that the worry hewas facing was about the sys-tem losing its credibility andfaith, which is vital in case ofa democracy.

“There is a strange atmos-phere for this election and thefaith which people shouldhave in the democratic systemwas disappearing. This is verydangerous for any country.This is not a question ofEVMs and VVPATs, and itdoes not bother me as to whowill win or who will lose, butwhat is important is that theconfidence in the democraticsystem is breaking down. I donot want put level allegationson anyone for the systembreakdown,” he added.

Asked whether he wasoffering prayers at any temple,he said prayers, sadhana andbhajans were something hedid routinely.

Girish Pandey, a formerIRS officer who also contest-ed the elections, said he spentthe day helping his son whowould be appearing for JEE(Advanced). “My son has got99 percentile and I am helpinghim prepare for exams. Mythree daughters are also soft-ware engineers. I try to keep

my focus on family even as Ido other works,” he added.

Mohammed Faheem ofIndian National League saidhe was not worried about theresults. “I know that the con-test is primarily between theBJP, Congress and SP-BSP.However, I have the confi-dence that I gave one vote tomyself and not to any corruptpolitician. We will see howmany Muslims voted for me,”he said. There are 15 candi-dates from Lucknow and 12from Mohanlalganj Lok Sabhaconstituencies. Apart fromRajnath Singh, AcharyaPramod Krishnam andPoonam Sinha, other candi-dates include Amar KumarRaizada from Akhil BharatiyaSangh, Ganesh Chowdharyfrom Saaf Party, GirishNarayan Pandey fromSarvodaya Bharat Party, KapilMohan Chowdhary fromMera Adhikar Rashtriya Dal,Ram Sagar Pal from AwamiSamta Party , Shamim Khanfrom Nagrik Ekta Party, ProfDNS Yadav from People’sParty of Democratics, AvinashChandra Jain and JimidarSingh Yadav (independents).

In Mohanlalganj, the can-didates include KaushalKishore from BJP, CL Vermafrom BSP-SP, RK Chowdharyfrom Congress, Jagdish PrasadRawat from ManavataSamajwadi Party, GaneshRawat from PragatisheelSamajwadi Party (Lohia),Radha Ambedkar fromPeople’s Party of India, RamSagar Pasi from SamdarshiSamaj Party, Shatrohan LalRawat from Rashtriya LokDal, Sushil Kumar, and inde-pendents Jagdish Rawat,Prabhawati Devi & RameshKumar.

Candidates relaxed on D-Day eve

CM reviews progress of dev

schemes, wheat purchase

Man who duped several on pretext ofselling plots arrested after two years

There was no let-up in heat as the maximum temperature in Lucknow settled at 42.1 degree Celsius, which was a couple of notches above normal Pioneer

Girish Pandey (top) and MohammedFaheem with their respective families

city 04LUCKNOW | THURSDAY | MAY 23, 2019

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGThe annual general meeting of

Associated Chamber of Commerce andIndustry Uttar Pradesh was held at SmritiBhawan on Wednesday. President VijayAcharya welcomed the participants andpresented the significant achievements ofthe Chamber. He said that the Chamberhad organised programmes and partici-pated at Noida, Varanasi, Kanpur, Jhansiand other cities of the state. The Agrachapter of the Chamber is activelyinvolved in resolving the problems ofindustries. Members from Varanasi,Gorakhpur, Prayagraj, Meerut, Ghaziabad,

Jhansi and Kanpur have invested in theirindustries and also significantly con-tributed towards export. The Chamber isin its silver jubilee year. BhupendraKumar Modi, the founder-president, saidduring the last 25 years, the Chamber, withthe support of government and otherstake-holders, had helped in improvingindustrial environment in Uttar Pradesh.“The Chamber has planned grand silverjubilee celebrations in November with thehelp of partner state and nation,” he added.Secretary general Virendra Nath Guptasaid that the Chamber had prepared astructured plan for sustained and contin-

uous industrial development of the state.

INTERNATIONAL BIODIVERSITY DAYThe State Biodiversity Board, along

with Lucknow University’s Zoologydepartment, organised competitions forschool students on the occasion ofInternational Biodiversity Day onWednesday. Experts said biodiversityencompasses the variety of all lives onearth. India is one of the 12 mega biodi-versity countries of the world. With only2.5% of the land area, India alreadyaccounts for 7.8% of the recorded speciesof the world. India is equally rich in tra-ditional and indigenous knowledge, bothcoded and informal.

AWARDEDS i d d h a r t h

Warrier, a final-yearresident ofNeurology depart-ment (SGPGI) hasdistinguished him-self among the med-ical poets of theworld and gotawarded for his poetry on Limbic System.He went to London to participate in the‘International Hippocrates Conferencefor Medical Poetry’. “This is a matter ofpride not only for SGPGI but also for thecountry,” Dr UK Mishra from theNeurology department said.

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

The Indian Institute ofSugarcane Research,

Lucknow, signed aMemorandum ofUnderstanding with the ITMUniversity, Gwalior, MadhyaPradesh, on Wednesday forthe purpose of academic inter-action. The research capabili-ty and state-of-the art facilityavailable with the IISR wasrecognised by the ITMUniversity, Gwalior, and theydecided to have collaborationwith this premier institute ofsugarcane research for trainingand human resource develop-ment of students/faculties incutting-edge areas of caneresearch.

The media spokesperson ofIISR, AK Sah, said that fromnow on students of ITMUniversity, Gwalior, pursuingtheir BSc (Ag), MSc (Ag),BTech, MTech and PhD wouldhave the opportunity to workwith the scientists of differentdisciplines in the Institute.“This will provide the stu-dent’s ample opportunity tolearn and update themselves inadvance areas of research insugarcane, technology of sug-arcane production, processingand development areas of sug-arcane sector in the country.This will sharpen the edge ofthe students for making acareer in the sugarcane andsugar sector of the country. Atthe same time faculties of ITM

will also be benefited by acad-emic interaction with the sci-entists of the IISR in advanceareas of research,” he added.

As per the MoU the IISRwill provide periodic trainingas required for the fulfilment ofcourse work under differentprogrammes of the Universityat nominal charges by theInstitute from time to time.“The scientists and officers ofthe Institute on their individ-ual merit and in accordancewith the University rules andregulations will be recognisedas co-guide for guidingresearch. The University willnow invite the IISR scientistsand experts to deliver guest lec-tures as per requirement in var-ious courses,” he said.

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

The Central Institute ofSubtropical Horticulture

(CISH) in collaboration withthe Central Institute ofIntegrated Pest Management,Ministry of Agriculture andFarmers’ Welfare, Lucknow, isgoing to organise a survey forthe incidence of red-bandedcaterpillar and stone weevil inLucknow, Hardoi, Unnao andBarabanki districts from May24 to 26.

CISH director ShailendraRajan said that the mangocrop had been suffering frommany insects, pests and dis-eases which were endemic tomango belts in Uttar Pradesh.

“The farmers are verywell aware about the identifi-cation of these pests and theirmanagement. However, somepests like the red-bandedcaterpillar and stone weevil

are considered quarantinepests and make an impact eco-nomically. All the efforts aremade to restrict them in theareas of their occurrence toavoid severe losses in the newareas. These pests are of greatimportance for the export ofmango fruits because nocountry allows imports fromthe infested areas,” he added.

The red-banded caterpil-lar has not been found inmany parts of India. But it isa serious pest of mango inAustralia, Indonesia, PapuaNew Guinea, Burma,Thailand, China, Brunei, andthe Philippines. In India thispest has been reported fromAndhra Pradesh, Odisha,West Bengal and Bihar indi-cating its seriousness in east-ern India.

“The damage to the cropin eastern Uttar Pradesh froma similar caterpillar is consid-

ered as serious by the localfarmers and requires its con-firmation. Red-banded cater-pillar has never been observedin the surroundings ofLucknow yet the possibility ofincidence of this pest in UPcannot be ruled out. Since itis an emerging pest it requiresa lot of awareness for its iden-tification and proper manage-ment, if found. The surveyaims to confirm its occurrencein major mango-growing beltsof UP, including Saharanpur,Bulandshahr, Pratapgarh,Lucknow, Hardoi, Unnao andBarabanki districts,” said theofficial.

The mango stone weevil isalso a serious quarantine pestof mango which affects bothits fruit and seed quality.“After hatching, the larva bur-rows through the flesh andinto the seed. As fruit and seeddevelop, the tunnel and seed

entry are completely obliter-ated so that later on it isimpossible to distinguish theinfested from the non-infest-ed seeds unless they are cutopen. Inside the infested stonethe cotyledons turn black andremain merely a rotten mass.Seeds, in which the embryo isdamaged and the reserve foodin the cotyledons is greatlyreduced, fail to germinate,” hesaid.

The CISH director saidthat though the mango stoneweevil originated from theIndo-Burma sub-region it alsooccurred in Asia, Australia,Oceania, North, South andCentral America as well asAfrica. In India the northernplains are free from its infes-tation. It is important to mon-itor its infestation to boostmango exports. This surveywill help in ensuring pest-freeareas.

STUDENTS HONOUREDLucknow Public Schools

and Colleges organised a felic-itation ceremony for meritori-ous students of Class XII ofISC, CBSE & UP boards, par-ents and teachers at Ram LalMemorial auditorium inVinamra Khand (GomtiNagar) on Wednesday. ISC

toppers Harsh Mishra(98.75%), Ayush Ojha (98%),Anshika Singh (97.75%),Devesh Shukla (97%), AnkitaKumari (93.40%), and AtithiKumar (92.60%) were felicitat-ed on the occasion. As many as128 students who got place-ments in different companieswere also honoured.

SCHOLARSHIPVistrit Pandey, a student of

City MontessoriSchool, GomtiNagar CampusI, has beenoffered admis-sion by Drexel,a top US uni-versity, with ascholarship ofUS$ 1,18,800. He will be receiv-ing the scholarship during hisfour years of higher education.He has also been offered admis-sion by eight more US univer-sities, including Illinois Instituteof Technology and University ofIllinois with a scholarship ofUS$ 90,000. Besides,Pennsylvania State University,University of Texas, PurdueUniversity, Adelphi University,University of Dayton, and PennState University have alsooffered admission to him.

SCHOOLSCAN

CITYBRIEFS

IISR, ITM varsity sign MoU for academic interaction

CISH, CIIPM to conduct survey

on red-banded caterpillar soon

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

A42-year-old man, identi-fied as Navin Tiwari, a res-

ident of Ramlila ground inNaubasta area under Madiaonpolice station, was shot at bytwo unidentified miscreantsaround 9 pm on Wednesday.He sustained injuries on jaw,left hand and shoulder and wasrushed to KGMU TraumaCentre where his conditionwas said to be critical.

Police said the incidenttook place near a countrymadeliquor shop located in Aliganj(sector-A). Surprisingly, thepolice were unaware of theshooting incident before beingbombarded with queries frommediapersons. Madiaoninspector Santosh KumarSingh came to know of theincident after which the policeswung into action.

A police team found thecontact number of the victim’sfather Durga Dutt Tiwari whoconfirmed that his son hadbeen shot at. He was rushed toDr Ram Manohar LohiyaHospital from where he wasreferred to the KGMU TraumaCentre. He said the conditionof his son was critical. TheMadiaon inspector rushed tothe Trauma Centre where doc-tors told him that the victimwas still bleeding and that hecontinued to be in a criticalcondition. Singh said he couldnot talk to the victim’s fatherand other relatives much asthey were in a state of shockand trauma. However, twolocals who rushed Tiwari tothe hospital told the inspectorthat they were unaware of thereason which led to the inci-dent. But they added that thevictim was in a drunken state.Singh said the police wouldrecord the statement of the vic-tim when he was in a positionto talk.

Man shot at

in Madiaon,

critical

Abducted student rescued PNS n ALLAHABAD

Six-year-old Ranveer Singh,son of Abhishek Singh, a

contractor with the PrayagrajDevelopment Authority (PDA)was abducted from a gymna-sium situated on the PDTandon Road here on Tuesdayevening. The abductorsdemanded ̀ 3 crore as ransomfor the release of the boy.However, the victim was recov-ered by the police late in theevening the same day fromSuriyavan in Bhadohi.

According to a report,Ranveer, a student of class I atSt Joseph’s College (SJC) usedto go to gymnasium for learn-ing gymnastics. On Tuesday

evening he was dropped thereby the driver of the contractor,Virendra. Thereafter, he wentto his village at Jhunsi.

At around 6:15 pm, the olddriver of the contractor, SanjayYadav, a resident of Katka inJhunsi reached the gymnasiumand picked up Ranveer fromthere on the pretext that hisbirthday was on Wednesdayand hence he had to go forshopping. It may be pointedout here that Sanjay Yadav wasdismissed from service by thecontractor three months ago.

After some time SanjayYadav called his parents ontheir mobile phone andinformed them that Ranveerhas been abducted and

demanded ̀ 3 crore as ransomfor his release. Mentally per-turbed by this incidentAbhishek met the police offi-cials and informed them aboutit. The police officials imme-diately swung into action andconstituted five teams toensure the safe release of theabducted boy. On the basis ofelectronic surveillance, thepolice and special task force(STF) launched an operation,reached Suriyavan village nearBhadohi and managed to res-cue the abducted boy from theclutches of his abductors. Inthe exchange of fire that fol-lowed, the driver, Sanjay Yadav,sustained a bullet injury andsuccumbed to it later.

Muslims taking part in a roza iftar hosted in Aliganj on Wednesday Pioneer

LUCKNOW | THURSDAY | MAY 23, 2019 nation 05

RAKESH K SINGH n NEW DELHI

Rattled by the projected out-come of the exit polls in

India, Jaish-e-Mohammadchief Masood Azhar has direct-ed his followers to attack non-Muslims and provoke otherstoo to hit non-believers in thecountry.

The audio message wasissued on Monday, a day afterthe exit polls, and duringRamzan khutba wherein Azharclaimed prayers of jehadis whotarget the non-Muslims alonewill be accepted by God.

The exit polls that project-ed a clear cut win for the rul-ing National DemocraticAlliance (NDA,) led by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi,comes close on the heels ofUnited Nations’ sanctionsagainst the JeM boss under theAl-Qaeda Sanctions List ban-

ning him as a global terrorist. Earlier, the Modi-led

Government had carried out anaerial attack on a major JeMtraining facility at Balakot inPakistan and estimated to havekilled hundreds of potentialsuicide bombers. The attack bythe Indian Air Force was car-ried on the 13th day of thePulwama terror attack on aCRPF convoy by JeM that ledto the deaths of 40 CRPF menon February 14 this year.

In the Holy month ofRamzan, Azhar is issuing ser-mons either himself or throughhis audio messages are playedat various mosques in the areasof JeM influence.

Sources said the ideabehind such sermons by Azharis aimed at uplifting the moraleof the cadres who are yetemerge from the setback of theBalakot strikes by India and to

seek donations from million-aires in the Middle East coun-tries during the month ofRamzan. They said the UN ban

against JeM has also squeezedthe finances of the outfit for thetime being till it devises waysand means in collusion with the

Pakistan Army-Inter ServicesIntelligence (ISI) to effectivelyhoodwink the internationalcommunity from terror fund-

ing perspective. Post the ban on Jaish chief

by the UN and the ongoingactions by the Financial Action

Task Force (FATF) againstPakistan for failing to check ter-ror funding, Islamabad is underconsiderable pressure to act

against the terror groups usedby the neighbouring country asstate proxies to target India.

Earlier this week, thePakistani agencies arrested oneof the 26/11 terror master-minds Abdul Rehman Makkiunder pressure from the UnitedStates. Makki was being givenfree access to the universities inPakistan to deliver radicalspeeches intended to radicaliseand recruit young and educat-ed students to the terror fold ofanother UN-banned terrorgroup Lashkar-e-Tayyeba. TheUS had asked Pakistan to checkfree access to Makki acrossuniversities in Pakistan as hissermons were specificallydirected against US besidesIndia and Israel. Ironically, theservers of the social mediasites of the Pakistan-basedgroups are based in the US,sources added.

PNS n NEW DELHI

With Rashtriya Lok SamtaParty (RLSP) chief

Upendra Kushwaha warning of“bloodshed” if the ruling BJPand its allies tried to manipu-late results, NDA ally and LokJanshakti Party (LJP) chiefRam Vilas Paswan onWednesday hit back cautioninga “tit for tat” response in caseof any such act. The LJP chiefmade the statement in front ofHome Minister Rajnath Singhduring a dinner meeting ofNDA allies hosted by BJP pres-ident Amit Shah.

“Dekhiye, PM ne kuch nahikiya hai. Prastav me bhi kuchnahi hai. Lekin humlog...ye(Rajnath) bhi kuch nahikahenge...Lekin hum kahnachahte hain tit for tathoga...samajh gaye na...(see,PM has not done anything.There is nothing in the resolu-tion. But we...he (Rajnath) willnot even say...but I want tosay...there will be a tit for tat...understand,” Paswan said.

Taking a dig at the opposi-tion parties, Paswan said theyare seeking excuses for theirimminent defeat and raisingdoubts over EVMs only to hidetheir failure. “When they seetheir defeat is imminent, theyraise doubts about EVMs, butwhen they won in three states,then they didn’t say anything onEVMs. Why did they not raisedoubts after they won inPunjab,” he said, adding that theLJP will win more seats thanpredicted by exit polls.

On Tuesday, Kushwahahad threatened his politicalopponents of bloodshed, ifthey attempted to tamper with

the results of Lok Sabha elec-tions. Addressing a Press con-ference in Patna, Kushwaha,, aformer NDA ally and nowpart of the oppositionMahagathbandhan in Biharsaid, “If anyone tried to tamperwith the results, then there willbe bloodshed.”

Kushwaha, said that therewas tremendous public angerafter alleged exit polls’ predic-tion of NDA winning 30 ormore seats in Bihar out of 40.“The exit poll surveys wereaimed at causing demoralisa-tion among our cadres, with amala fide intent,” he alleged.

The RLSP chief stressedthat attempts were being made

to manipulate Lok Sabha pollresults in favour of the rulingNDA, which will have seriousconsequences.

“Earlier, we used to hearabout booth loot. This time, itis suspected that attempts maybe made to loot the results.These could be through manip-ulation of the EVMs or anyother measures at the countingcentres.

The leaders of the NDA arehereby warned not to indulgein such a misadventure. Thereis tremendous public angerand blood may spill on thestreets, for which we shall notbe held responsible,” Kushwahahad said.

TARGET NON-BELIEVERS

Rattled by exit polls, JeM calls for attacks

* The exit polls that projected a clear cut win for the ruling NationalDemocratic Alliance (NDA,) led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi,comes close on the heels of United Nations’ sanctions against theJeM boss under the Al-Qaeda Sanctions List banning him as a global terrorist

* Earlier, the Modi-led Government had carried out an aerial attack ona major JeM training facility at Balakot in Pakistan and estimated tohave killed hundreds of potential suicide bombers

* Sources said the idea behind such sermons by Azhar is aimed atuplifting the morale of the cadres who are yet emerge from thesetback of the Balakot strikes by India and to seek donations frommillionaires in the Middle East countries during the month ofRamzan

* Earlier this week, the Pakistani agencies arrested one of the 26/11terror masterminds Abdul Rehman Makki under pressure from theUnited States

* The US had asked Pakistan to check free access to Makki acrossuniversities in Pakistan as his sermons were specifically directedagainst US besides India and Israel

There will be tit-for-tat: Paswan repliesto Kushwaha’s ‘bloodshed’ warning

Union Minister and LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan addresses the media, in NewDelhi on Wednesday Ranjan Dimri | Pioneer

PNS n NEW DELHI

Newly elected members of17th Lok Sabha will not

get accommodation in five starhotels this year. Instead, theywill be put up in the WesternCourt premises, bhavans ofvarious states and its annexebuilding.

With the counting of votesfor the Lok Sabha polls sched-uled for Thursday, the newly-elected members are expectedto start arriving in the nation-al capital from Friday. MPswere often lodged in hotels ear-lier, which at times invitedcriticism for the money it costthe exchequer.

Lok Sabha SecretaryGeneral Snehlata Shrivastavaon Wednesday said the newly-elected members of the LowerHouse of Parliament will nolonger be lodged in hotels butin state bhawans, WesternCourt, a transit hostel for par-liamentarians, and its annexebuilding. “ As many as 300rooms have been arrangedalong with other extensivefacilities to render all possibleassistance to the MPs.

Thus, the Lok Sabha sec-retariat has done away with thesystem of transit accommoda-

tion in hotels,” Shrivastava toldreporters. Medical posts willalso function on round theclock basis in Parliament Houseand Western Court, she added.

The Secretariat has also setup guide posts at the IndiraGandhi International Airport’s(IGIA) terminals one, two andthree to receive the newly-elected members, she said,adding similar posts have alsoset up at New Delhi, Old Delhi,Hazrat Nizamuddin andAnand Vihar railway stations.

The guide posts will func-tion on May 23 from 6 p.m. to11 p.m. and thereafter on May24 from 5 am to 11 pm.

These guide posts are basi-cally reception centres wheremembers will be received ontheir arrival in Delhi, she said.As in the past, Srivastava said,Room No 62 of the ParliamentHouse will function as thefacilitation centre for theseMPs, and it will be functionalfrom May 23 to May 28.

According to Shrivastava,returning officers in all parlia-mentary constituencies hadalready been informed aboutthe arrangements being madeby the Lok Sabha Secretariat forthe newly-elected members inrespect of transit accommoda-

tion, telephone facilities, andtheir other preliminary require-ments. The new members, shesaid, have been requested tobring with them the certificateof election, in original, issuedto them by the returning offi-cer concerned when they visitthe Parliament House.

For the first time, theadvance copy of the docu-mentation, containing variousforms, has been forwarded tothe returning officers for theuse of the members, she said.

The members can registeronline with regard to forms inpart one such as oath or affir-mation, specimen signature,transit accommodation anddeclarations under differentrules.

As part of the outreachplan, 56 nodal officers havebeen assigned around eight to10 constituencies each to get intouch with the newly-electedmembers, and to guide themabout the various formalities.

The Secretary General saidthat the members, for the firsttime, will be immediatelyissued permanent identitycards on their arrival inParliament House. Earlier, themembers and their spouseswere issued temporary passes.

No transit accommodation inhotels for newly-elected MPs

PNS n NEW DELHI

Ahead of the counting ofvotes for the Lok Sabha

polls, the Ministry ofInformation and Broadcastingon Wednesday issued an advi-sory to all private satellite TVchannels, asking them to strict-ly comply with their respectiveundertakings of carrying newsor non-news content.

In accordance with the2011 policy guidelines foruplinking of television channelsfrom India, the ministry givespermission for uplinking undertwo categories — non-newsand current affairs, and newsand current affairs.

The ‘non-news and currentaffairs’ channel means a chan-nel which does not have anyelement of news and currentaffairs in its programme con-

tent.A ‘news and current affairs

TV channel’ means a channelwhich has elements of newsand current affairs in its pro-gramme content.

News channels are man-dated to carry news and cur-rent affairs content, while non-news and current affairs chan-nels are not mandated to carryany news and current affairscontent. At the time of apply-ing for a non-news TV chan-nel, the applicant companygives an undertaking that theproposed channel is purely anentertainment channel anddoes not have any news or cur-rent affairs-based programme.

“All TV channels maystrictly ensure that there is noviolation of the conditions ofthe guidelines,” the I&BMinistry order said.

Govt issues advisoryto pvt TV channels

ARCHANA JYOTI n NEW DELHI

Shimla, Ahmedabad,Mysuru, Ranchi and Delhi-

these five cities have beenshortlisted by the Governmentfor holding the main functionof International Yoga Day thisyear on June 21st.

According to a seniorUnion AYUSH Ministry offi-cial, the shortlisted five citieshave good potential to hold theyoga event on mass scale.“These names will now be sentto the Prime Minister’s Office(PMO) which will select onecity and then finalise the venueof the main function of IDY to be held on June 21,” hesaid. This time the theme of theyoga day will be the ‘Festival ofWell-Being’ while an year-longyoga programmes will be heldacross the country. Also, it

will be ensured that the pro-gramme is eco-friendly iefocus will be on promoting eco-friendly yoga related acces-

sories. In the lead-up to the main

event, an international yoga fes-tival would be held on June 1-

2 at the Indira Gandhi Stadiumin the national Capital. “Theaim is to build an atmosphereof Yoga in the lead-up to the

main event and sensitise themasses about the grand func-tion on June 21,” the officialsaid. “Like every-year, Yogawill be promoted in a big way,”he said.

The United NationsGeneral Assembly, heeding toa call by Prime Minister Modi,had made a declaration inDecember 2014 to observeJune 21 every year as IDY. Lastyear, the main event of the IDYwas held in Dehradun in UttarPradesh in which PrimeMinister Narendra Modi par-ticipated.

The first IDY celebrationwas organised at Rajpath inNew Delhi on June 21, 2015, inwhich representatives of 191countries took part. In 2016,the main function was held inChandigarh while in 2017 itwas in Lucknow.

Govt shortlists 5 cities for yoga day

PNS n NEW DELHI

In a major development in theissue of Vice Admiral Bimal

Verma challenging the appoint-ment of his junior ViceAdmiral Karambir Singh as thenext Navy chief, the ArmedForces Tribunal (AFT) onWednesday directed theGovernment to submit all therecords related to the selectionof the next chief by May 29.Singh would take charge onMay 31 after incumbent NavyChief Admiral Sunil Lanbaretires the same day.

While directing the gov-ernment to submit the relateddocuments as sought byVerma, the AFT also said iffound merit, then new appoint-ment of Singh can be put onhold. The AFT has issued

notice to the ministry ofdefence to furnish all the doc-uments based on which theselection of next navy chief isdone, Verma’s lawyer AnkurChibber said.

The Defence Ministry lastweek rejected Verma’s petition inwhich he had challenged Singh’sappointment as the next NavyChief. Verma, at present, is thecommander-in-chief of theAndaman and NicobarCommand and also the senior-most naval commander whileSingh is heading the Easternnaval command. He was select-ed as the next chief on March 23.

Last month, Verma hadmoved the tribunal questioningthe government’s decision byoverlooking his seniority. Thetribunal on April 25 directedthe defence ministry to decide

on Verma’s petition to the gov-ernment within three weeks.

While rejecting Verma’ splea, the ministry said duringselection process, it was foundthat Verma, though being thesenior most eligible officer,was unsuitable to hold thepost of the Chief of the NavalStaff. Ministry also said a thor-ough selection process wasconducted under which over-all service profile of all the con-tenders for the top post wasexamined.

The Government listedreasons for overlooking Vermafor the top job. They includeda severe letter of displeasureduring Navy War Room Leakcase when he was posted inNaval Ops Directorate and thefact that he never commandedany operational command.

New Delhi: Former UnionMinisters Yashwant Sinha,Arun Shourie and activistadvocate Prashant Bhushanalleged in the Supreme Courton Wednesday that the Centre“wilfully and deliberately” mis-led the court in the Rafalefighter jet case and thisamounted to “wholesale fraud”.

They claimed that theCentre suppressed relevantfacts from the court during thehearing in the case.

The trio is seeking reviewof the apex court’s December14 verdict which gave a cleanchit to the Rafale deal to pro-cure fighter jets from Dassault.

In their written submis-sion, brought by them intopublic domain a day before thecounting of votes for the LokSabha polls, they said thatofficers who have misled theapex court should be heldaccountable for perjury as thegovernment, through the notes

and arguments, had “stated aseries of untruths”.

“It (Centre) suppressed thetruth and thereby insinuatedutter falsehoods: facts and doc-uments of the greatest signifi-cance, which have direct andoverarching bearing on thematter that the court was con-sidering, and which were avail-able with the Government weresuppressed from the court,”they said in the 41-page sub-mission. PTI

PTI n NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court onWednesday granted pro-

tection from arrest till May 28to Arjun Singh, a BJP candidatefrom Barrackpore constituen-cy in West Bengal, in variouscriminal cases lodged againsthim by the State police.

The top court said that nocoercive action will be takenagainst Singh, a four-timeMLA, as it took note of wide-spread violence in the politi-cally sensitive West Bengalduring the Lok Sabha polls.

A vacation Bench com-prising Justices Arun Mishraand MR Shah made it clear thatSingh will not be arrested bythe state police till May 28 fromtoday and granted him libertyto approach the appropriateforum for bail after the apexcourt’s protection ceases toexist.

While granting protectionto Singh, who has left the rul-ing Trinmool Congress party tocontest Lok Sabha polls on BJPticket, the Bench took note ofongoing indefinite lawyers’strike in the state since April 25which has paralysed the judi-cial work.

“No coercive action be

taken against the petitioner(Arjun Singh) for a periodcommencing from today tillMay 28 with regard to all thecases registered against him,”the Bench said.

After having dictated theorder, Justice Mishra remarked:“People who indulge in arsonand rioting do not belong to aparty. They join the party inpower to commit violence.”

Senior advocate RanjitKumar, appearing for Singh,alleged political vindictivenesson the part of the StateGovernment and said that 21cases have been registeredagainst him from April 4 toMay 20. He said that in five ofthe cases he has been grantedbail but more cases have beenregistered against Singh after hejoined BJP.

Counsel for the WestBengal government said thatcases for rioting and arsonwere lodged against him.

The Bench told the coun-sel for State Government thatit was inclined to grant pro-tection from arrest to the peti-tioner (Singh) to enable him tobe present for counting ofvotes tomorrow as he was acandidate for the Lok Sabhapolls.

Bhawana 1st woman pilot to

qualify as full-fledged fighter

PNS n NEW DELHI

Flight Lieutenant BhawanaKanth has become the first

woman pilot to qualify as full-fledged fighter pilot. She cannow take part in operationsalong with her male counter-parts. She and two otherwoman pilots namely AvaniChaturvedi and Mohana Singhwere selected in 2016 to under-go training as fighter pilots. Allof them underwent thedemanding training for near-ly two and half years but Kanth became the first to beselected to become opera-tional.

All the three pilots werethe first batch of woman offi-cers to be selected for flyingfighter jets. Prior to that,woman pilots only flew trans-port planes and helicopters.Kanth flew solo a MIG-21

Bison for the first time fromAmbala air base last year,thereby, becoming the secondwoman pilot besidesChaturvedi to do so. Solo fly-ing a fighter jet is rated as a

major step for becoming afighter pilot. Only selectedcountries including Britain,the United States, Israel, andPakistan have allowed womenin the role of fighter pilots.

Flt Lt Bhawana Kanth enters her aircraft as she completes day operationalsyllabus on MiG-21 Bison aircraft. She is the first women fighter pilot to bequalified to undertake missions by day on a fighter aircraft PTI

AFT directs Govt to submit all recordsrelated to selection of chief by May 29

SC grants protection from

arrest till May 28 to BJP

candidate from Barrackpore

Govt deliberately misled courtin Rafale case, say petitioners

LUCKNOW | THURSDAY | MAY 23, 2019 nation 06

Ahmedabad: Election author-ities said on Wednesday thatdeclaration of results of 26Lok Sabha seats in Gujaratmay get delayed by around 3 to4 hours due to counting ofvoter-verifiable paper audittrail (VVPAT) slips.

VVPAT slips of five ran-domly selected ElectronicVoting Machines (EVMs) willbe counted in every Assemblysegment after EVM votes arecounted, said the state's ChiefElectoral Officer S MuraliKrishna.

Each of the 26 Lok Sabhaseats has six to seven assemblysegments.

If the slips and EVM datado not match, count of VVPATslips will be taken into consid-eration, said Krishna.

"Due to this exercise, dec-laration of final results may getdelayed by around 3 to 4

hours...Trends will be out byafternoon. Only formal decla-ration would get delayed. Finalresults may come late in theevening," Krishna told PTI.

Counting of votes for 26Lok Sabha seats and fourAssembly seats (where by-pollswere held) in the state will startacross 28 centers from 8 am,involving over 8,000 countingstaff.

Polling was held in a singlephase on April 23, recording aturnout of 64.11 per cent, thehighest in the state since 1976when there was around 63.77voting.

Chief Minister VijayRupani expressed confidencethat the BJP will retain all the26 seats in the state.

"There is a Modi 'wave',people of the state are enthusi-astic to make Modi prime min-ister again. The results are cer-

tain," Rupani told reporters inGandhinagar.

Gujarat Congress chiefAmit Chavda claimed his partywill win at least 10 Lok Sabhaseats in the state.

"The results of Gujarat willsurprise all," he said.

In the 2017 state Assemblypolls to 182 seats, the Congresswon 77 seats while the BJPbagged 99 and retained powerwith a slender majority.

The main contenders fromthe BJP in Lok Sabha polls thistime are party chief Amit Shah(from Gandhinagar seat) andUnion minister JaswantsinhBhabhor (Dahod).

The Congress has fieldedformer Union ministerBharatsinh Solanki fromAnand and its leader of oppo-sition in the Assembly PareshDhanani from Amreli LokSabha seats. PTI

Guj: Results may be delayed by3-4 hrs due to VVPAT counting

New Delhi: Union Ministerand BJP ally Ram Vilas Paswanon Wednesday dubbed theOpposition "sore losers" andclaimed that their "desperation"over the VVPAT issue was anindication of their defeat in theLok Sabha polls.

Leaders of 22 oppositionparties met the ElectionCommission on Tuesday aheadof the Lok Sabha electionresults and demanded verifi-cation of VVPAT slips of ran-domly-selected polling stationsbefore the counting of votesbegins Thursday. The EC onWednesday rejected thedemand.

"I have been saying formany months now that whenthe opposition heads towardsdefeat it starts complainingabout EVM. Those opposing

EVMs want to drag India backto the time when money andmuscle power decided elec-tions. The Supreme Court hasheard the issue four timesalready. They are now con-cocting stories in the face ofimpending defeat. They arejust sore losers," he said.

"When you win, EVMs arealright. But when you lose, alle-gations about EVM manipula-tion arise. This kind of pes-simistic attitude of theOpposition will hurt theConstitution and also theIndian democracy," Paswansaid.

To a question on the futureof his son in an NDAGovernment, the Lok JanshaktiParty (LJP) chief said that ChiragPaswan had all the capabilitiesto be a Union Minister. PTI

Opp sore losers, desperationover VVPAT issue indication oftheir defeat: Ram Vilas Paswan

Chennai: The DMK onWednesday wondered if theElection Commission's moveto stick to counting VVPAT slipsat the end of the countingprocess was a democratic act,ignoring demands by 22Opposition parties against it.

The main opposition partyin Tamil Nadu hit out at the pollbody, saying its decision hasblurred the distinction betweenan independent institution andthe Central government.

"Is this democracy...? Willthe Election Commission listenonly to Prime Minister NarendraModi..? senior DMK leaderDuraimurugan asked.

He pointed out that theEC's reported move to count

VVPAT slips at the end comesdespite as many as 22Opposition parties urging theslip count in the beginning.

"The distinction betweenthe Election Commission andthe Central government hasgone," he told PTI when con-tacted for his party's stand on theEC's decision.

The top party leader allegedthat the incumbent electioncommissioners have forgottenthat the EC is an independentbody. The Opposition partieshad approached the EC onTuesday demanding VVPATs becounted first —prior to count-ing EVM votes votes— and incase of problems or mismatch,all VVPAT slips be counted. PTI

DMK hits out at pollbody for sticking toVVPAT last norm Thalassery (Ker): Five RSS

workers were sentenced to lifeimprisonment by a local courtWednesday in a case related tothe murder of a CPI(M) activisthere in 2006.

Additional Sessions Judge RL Byju convicted ShankaranMaster (48), his brotherManoharan (42), Vijesh (38),Prakashan (48) and Kavyesh(40) of murder, rioting and otheroffences under the Indian PenalCode. Awarding rigorous lifeimprisonment to the fiveaccused, the judge also imposeda fine of `50,000 each on them.

The court acquitted 11 otheraccused, including RSS workerValsan Thillenkeri. According tothe prosecution, a group of menfatally attacked CPIM activist KK Yakub with bombs on June 13,2006, due to political rivalry. PTI

5 RSS workers

get life for murder

of CPM activist,

11 acquitted

TN RAGHUNATHA n MUMBAI

Ahead of Lok Sabha polloutcome, the NCP suf-

fered a setback on Wednesday,as its former Minister andsenior leader from Beed dis-trict in Marathwada region,Jaydutta Kshirsagar, joinedthe ruling Shiv Sena, aftersaying that he was feeling“suffocated’ in the SharadPawar-led party.

After days of intense spec-ulation about his possibleentry to the Shiv Sena,Kshirsagar formally resignedfrom the primary membershipof the NCP and also quit as anMLA from Beed, before join-ing the Sena in the presence ofits president UddhavThackeray, at the latter’s

Bandra residence “Matoshri”in north-west Mumbai.

Welcoming Kshirsagarinto his party fold, Uddhavtied a red thread on the for-mer’s hand symbolising ‘ShivBandhan’ and handing him aminiature party flag.

Uddhav said that with theentry of an experienced leaderlike Kshirsagar to his party, theSena’s organisational basewould be strengthened furtherin Marathwada in general andBeed in particular.

Kshirsagar’s exit from theNCP should be seen in thecontext of the fact that he hadbeen associated with theSharad Pawar-led party, eversince it was founded 20 yearsago on May 25, 1999. It wasPawar who had gone to the

Beed residence of Kshirsagarto personally invite the latterfrom the Congress to his party.

Talking to media personsafter joining the Shiv Sena,Kshirsagar said: “My decisionto join the Shiv Sena has noth-ing to do with the exit pollprojections. I had taken thedecision to join the Shiv Senaa long ago. I had alsoannounced my open supportto the Sena-BJP alliance can-didates in the Lok Sabha polls.Having been associated withthe NCP since the formationof the party, I contributed toits growth in my district”

“Beed district has given sixMLAs to the NCP. Still, mysupporters and I were feelingsuffocated in the NCP. That’swhy I have chosen to quit the

NCP,” Kshirsagar said. Kshirsagar was an influ-

ential minister in the previousCongress-NCP government.He was the PWD minister andchairman of the State-run theMaharashtra State RoadDevelopment Corporation(MSRDC) in the AshokChavan cabinet. In fact, he hadcourted a controversy by invit-ing Bollywood actor AmitabhBachhan for the the inaugu-ration of the second carriage-way of Bandra-Worli Sea Link(BWSL) –known officially asthe Rajiv Gandhi Sea Link onMarch 24, 2010.

Kshirsagar’s decision toinvite Big-B without consult-ing the chief minister had notgone well with the Congress,which was the principal ruling

party in the coalition govern-ment.

Kshirsagar’s influencewithin the NCP erodedmarkedly, after the entry oflate BJP leader’s estrangednephew Dhananjay Munde,also from Beed district, joinedthe NCP.

Dhananjay, who formallyjoined the NCP after resigningas the BJP MLC on July 2,2013, was re-elected to theMaharashtra LegislativeCouncil on September 2, 2013.

It may be recalled that AjitPawar had encouragedDhananjay, a BJP MLC then,to rebel against his uncleGopinath Munde in the runup to the December 2011presidential poll in the ParliMunicipal Council.

Mah: Ex-NCP Min quits party, joins Sena

HDK will be CM till

Friday morning:

Sadananda Gowda

Thiruvananthapuram: ChiefMinister Pinarayi Vijayan onWednesday demanded thatthe Election Commission andthe Central Reserve PoliceForce (CRPF) ensure that nec-essary facilities were providedto Kerala police officials beingdeputed to other states for pollduties.

Vijayan shot off letters tothe Commission and CRPFfollowing reports that policepersonnel from the state hadfaced hardships during theirreturn journey after partici-pating in Lok Sabha polls inBihar.

"The Commission andCRPF should give necessary

directions to ensure that policepersonnel deputed for pollduties are provided all neces-sary facilities, including fortheir return journey," Vijayansaid.

Those deploying policepersonnel for official dutieshave the responsibility ofensuring the pride of the ser-vice personnel is upheld.

It is unfortunate that sometimes it was not being imple-mented, he said.

The police personnel, whowere deputed for election duty,did not have railway berths orseats reserved for them andwere forced to travel in acrowded general compart-

ment.This ordeal was just after

they had completed their offi-cial work without any rest.After being stationed inLakshadweep, many of thepolice personnel were sent toBihar for poll-related work, therelease said.

During the deputation ofsuch personnel, either a spe-cial bogey should be attachedor some sleeper berths setapart, which unfortunately didnot happen.

Vijayan urged the ElectionCommission and CRPF toconduct a probe into suchincidents and take steps toensure they do not recur. PTI

Kerala CM writes to EC, CRPF overlack of facilities for police on poll duty

KUMAR CHELLAPPAN n

CHENNAI

The 2019 General Election islikely to open a new battle

front in Kerala’s bi-polar poli-tics, hitherto monopolised bythe CPI(M) and the Congress-led Left Democratic Front andthe United Democratic Frontrespectively. If the mood of theelectorate is any indication,Kerala may see the BJP winningone or two seats in the State forthe first time in the history ofthe Lok Sabha election.

“I am sure the BJP will winat least one seat in the State andthat is going to be precursor ofmany political possibilities inKerala. The State would not bethe same afterwards,” said PRajan, seasoned political com-mentator and former editor ofMathrubhumi. The septuage-narian author is a close associ-ate of Congress leaders likePanampalli Govinda Menonand KC Abraham , the region-al satraps of Kerala.

What has happened in theState is the consolidation ofHindu votes, at least in someconstituencies where theHindus are in a majority. The

intransigent attitude of theCPI(M)-led LDF governmentin admitting women of all agesto Sabarimala, the Holy Shrineatop the Western Ghats whereLord Ayyappa is the presidingdeity, led to the consolidationof Hindu votes. The devoteesstood united against theGovernment move to facilitatethe entry of women in the agegroup of 10-50 and they werebeaten up and incarceratedslapping charges inder the non-bailable sections of the IPC.

The appeasement policeof the CPI(M) and theCongress towards the minori-ties too came handy for the BJPwhich had some pockets ofstrength in the State. The firsttime the BJP could enter theKerala Legislative Assemblywas in 2016 when O Rajagopal,the party veteran won from asuburb inThiruvananthapuram.

“The adamant stance ofchief minister Pinarayi Vijayanthat women devotees should beallowed to worship atSabarimala under police pro-tection has caused heartburn-ing among ardent believers intraditions and customs. K

Surendran, the BJP candidateat Pathanamthitta was in theforefront of the agitationagainst the entry of women inSabarimala. The SupremeCourt agreed to hear the reviewpetitions filed by the devoteesagainst the Constitution Benchverdict is proof of the serious-ness of the situation,” said KRamkumar, senior lawyer,Kerala High Court.

There has been an increaseof eight percent polling atPathanamthitta this year as 74per cent of the voters cast theirpolls this time compared to 66per cent in 2014. BesidesPathanathitta, the BJP leader-ship is hopeful of bagging twomore seats from the State andthis includeThiruvananthapuram andThrissur. But in a politicallyand communally divided Statelike Kerala, everything wouldbecome clear only after theEVMs are opened. The feelingis that the Lotus would bloomthis time in the State. “If we failto win at least one seat thistime, it is the end of the roadfor the BJP in Kerala,” saidSudhakaran, a party activist atPerumbavoor.

Kerala may see

Lotus bloom

KUMAR CHELLAPPAN n

CHENNAI

Entire Tamil Nadu is waitingwith bated breath as the

counting officials are all set toopen the Electronic VotingMachines at 08.00 am onThursday to count the votes castin election to the 38 Lok Sabhaseats as well as the 22 Assemblyconstituencies.

This is the first time in therecent history that a generalelection has generated this kindof anxiety and expectation in theState. What has made this elec-tion crucial in Tamil Nadu is theby-elections which were held in22 Assembly constituencies inthe State. The bypolls werenecessitated because 18 MLAs,belonging to the AIADMK,were disqualified by Speaker PDhanapal under the provisionsof the anti-defection law whenthey wrote to the Governordeclaring their Opposition toChief Minister EdappadiPalaniswamy. Three legislatorsincluding former Chief MinisterM Karunanidhi died whileBalakrishna Reddy, a Minister

in the State council of Ministerswas sentenced by a court for hisalleged role in riots which auto-matically disqualified him frombeing a member of the House.

Tamil Nadu Assembly hasa total strength of 234 members.The ruling party should have aminimum of 118 seats to claimabsolute majority. TheAIADMK had won 136 seats inthe 2016 Assembly electionwhile the Opposition DMKand its allies have 98 members.TTV Dhinakaran, the lonemember of the AMMK, abreakaway faction of theAIADMK , would extend sup-port to the DMK to pull downthe Palaniswamy Government.If the DMK manages to win 20seats out of the 22 seats wherepolling was held, it would becurtain for the AIADMKregime under the leadership ofPalaniswamy.

SAUGAR SENGUPTA n KOLKATA

The Bengal police adminis-tration went on a high alert

in anticipation of “untowardincidents,” following reports thatthere could be an escalation inpolitical violence post declara-tion of election results onThursday.

While the ElectionCommission took extra pre-caution by requisitioning 200companies of central forces inaddition to the 82 companiesdeployed at 58 counting centresfor 42 Lok Sabha seats spreadacross 22 districts, includingKolkata.

Much to the chagrin of theruling Trinamool Congress, thestay of the central forces hadbeen extended by 4 days till May27 following concerns, expressedby Union Minister NirmalaSitharaman about the ongoingviolence in the State.

One example of anincreased police pro-activenesswas a heated exchange betweenNorth Bengal DevelopmentMinister RN Ghosh and theCoochbehar SP who directedboth the TMC and the BJP toremove their respective partycamps beyond 100 metre radiusof the counting centre, sourcessaid adding the Minister washeard reminding the SP that the

EC would be at the helm ofaffairs till May 27 — followingwhich the State Governmentwould get back the command —getting a prompt reply that hewas prepared for all the eventu-alities.

Even as the police went ona maximum alert apprehendingescalation in political streetfights violence continued inareas like Bhatpara inBarrackpore Lok Sabha con-stituency where a person diedwhile the crude bomb he wasmaking exploded leaving threeothers grievously injured.

Following continuing vio-lence in the area the ECI tookextra precaution by deployingadditional central forces outsidethe house of BJP candidateArjun Singh who had just beforethe elections quit TrinamoolCongress to join the saffron out-fit. A bunker was erected for theCAPF jawans outside his house.

Earlier senior BJP leaderKailash Vijabargiya apprehend-ed threat to Singh’s life sayingChief Minister Mamata Banerjeecould even get him killed in anencounter. Singh a former TMCMLA on Tuesday secured aSupreme Court order prevent-ing the State from arrestinghim for five days within whichhe could approach a lower courtfor anticipatory bail.

Poll results: WB

on high alert Bengaluru: Union Minister DV Sadananda Gowda claimedon Wednesday that theCongress-JD(S) coalitionGovernment in Karnatakawould collapse after the LokSabha poll results and HDKumaraswamy would be theChief Minister only till May 24morning.

Gowda, a formerKarnataka Chief Minister, alsosaid the stage would be readyfor the formation of a newGovernment in the state afterthat.

"Kumaraswamy will bethe Chief Minister ofKarnataka ti l l tomorrowevening only. Tomorrowevening or by day-after-tomorrow morning, because ifhe does not get to sleep in thenight...So day-after-tomorrowmorning, hundred per centKumaraswamy will stepdown," he said.

Speaking to reporters here,the BJP leader said, "The stagewill be set for the formation ofa new Government."

Speculation is rife that anadverse outcome in the LokSabha polls would impact thestability of the coalitionGovernment in Karnataka.

Exit polls have forecastthat the Congress-JD(S)alliance is likely to performbadly in the parliamentarypolls. PTI

Tamil Nadu:All eyes onpoll results

Srinagar: Jammu & KashmirGovernor Satya Pal Malik onWednesday said his adminis-tration wants the President'sRule to end in the state at theearliest but the final call on thetiming of assembly electionswill be taken by the ElectionCommission.

Asked if some officials with-in his administration were notkeen on transfer of power to anelected Government in the State,the Governor said there wasnothing like that in his notice.

"We want this (President'sRule) to end as soon as possible.The final call on holding assem-bly elections in the state will betaken by the ElectionCommission," Malik toldreporters after inaugurating thesecond phase of the JehangirChowk-Rambagh flyover.

Recently, Union HomeMinister Rajnath Singh alsosaid a decision on holding

Assembly elections in the Statewas the prerogative of theElection Commission but indi-cated a decision could beannounced after the completionof the Lok Sabha polls.

Jammu & Kashmir wasplaced under Governor's Ruleon June 19, 2018 after the PDP-BJP coalition Government fell asthe BJP decided to pull out of thealliance.

The State Assembly waskept in suspended animation toallow for the possibility of anynew combination of parties toform a Government in the State.

PDP president MehboobaMufti supported by the NationalConference and the Congressstaked claim for government for-mation on 21 November, 2018.

Within minutes, People'sConference chairman SajadLone, who had just two MLAs,also staked claim for govern-ment formation.

The governor decided todissolve the assembly on thegrounds that he wanted to pre-vent horse-trading.

The state was brought underPresident's Rule on December19, 2018 for a period of sixmonths as elections could not beheld within six months of impo-sition of Governor's Rule in theState. The President's Rule willhave to be extended again onJune 19, 2019 as assembly elec-tions have not been held so far.The order for extendingPresident's rule will have to beratified by Parliament. PTI

J&K Guv says his admin wants President'sRule to end in State as soon as possible

Bengaluru: As the debate overEVMs hotted up, formerKarnataka Chief MinisterSiddaramaiah on Wednesdaysaid it was BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao who hasauthored a book questioningabout electronic votingmachines 10 years ago andparty veteran LK Advani hadwritten the preface of it.

In a tweet in Kannada,Siddaramaiah wrote, "BJP wasthe first to raise doubts about theEVMs. The spokesperson ofthat party had even written abook. Supporting the doubt, L KAdvani had written the prefaceof the book. What's the reasonbehind BJP's change in stand inthe last 10 years?" The book'Democracy at risk due to EVMs'was written by Rao, a psephol-ogist-turned politician, after2009 elections. A posterSiddaramaiah tweeted says,"Concerns about EVMs are legit-imate when raised by BJP!" PTI

BJP questioned

EVMs first:

Siddaramiah

An election officer monitors a CCTV camera feed of a vote counting center in Ahmedabad on Wednesday PTI

LUCKNOW | THURSDAY | MAY 23, 2019 nation 07

Manjeri (Kerala): A doctor inKerala's Malappuram districtperformed a hernia surgery ona seven-year-old boy insteadof removing a growth in hisnasal passage after an appar-ent a mix-up of the names oftwo patients.

The boy, MohammedDanish, was operated for her-nia on Tuesday at a medicalcollege in Manjeri town, 175km north of Kochi, sourcessaid.

The incident came to lightwhen Danish's parents, whoare from Karuvarakundu townin the district, saw their sonoperated in the stomach,instead of removing his nasalpolyps.

Hospital sources told PTIthat there was another patient,named Dhanush, who wassupposed to undergo surgeryfor hernia, and the mistake

occurred due to the similari-ty in their names.

State Health Minister K KShylaja ordered a probe andsuspended the doctor, ASuresh Kumar. "Patients mustnot suffer due to the negli-gence of the hospital staff," theminister said, adding that theboy would be given free treat-ment.

The state human rightscommission has registered acase in connection with theincident.

"There is serious negligence on behalf of thestaff including the doctor,"r ights panel member KMohan Kumar said in hisinterim order. Kumar askedthe medical college superin-tendent to submit a reportwith the statements of all thestaff present inside the oper-ation theatre. PTI

MOHIT KANDHARI n JAMMU

Ajoint team of security forceson Wednesday eliminated

two more terrorists in SouthKashmir district of Kulgam.

In another incident, onearmy jawan, injured during atraining activity at one of theforward posts in Mendhar, suc-cumbed to his fatal injurieswhile two others were rushed toa nearby military hospital foradvanced treatment. In addi-tion, security forces in Rajourialso recovered huge quantity ofarms and ammunition includ-ing 4 AK Rifles, 9 pistols, 2modified guns and 900 roundsof AK rifle. Defence Spokesmanin Jammu, Lt-Col DevenderAnand said, "around 9.15 a.mwhen soldiers were carrying outa training drill with live ammu-nition at a forward post inMendhar sector, a live grenade

got actuated accidentally and itwent off causing grievousinjuries to instructor and others.Out of these injured soldiers, 34year old Naik ShreeshailappaBalabatti,hailing fromKarnataka, succumbed to hisinjuries. He is survived by hiswife. Defence spokesman said,"the army authorities are car-rying out detailed investiga-tion of the incident to take cor-rective measures".

Meanwhile, sharing detailsof kulgam encounter policespokesman said, "a cordon andsearch operation was launchedby police and security forces atGopalpora of DH Pora area indistrict Kulgam on the basis ofcredible intelligence input".

"During the search opera-tion, the hiding terrorists firedon the search party. The fire wasretaliated leading to anencounter. In the ensuingencounter, two terrorists werekilled and the bodies wereretrieved from the site ofencounter", police spokesmansaid.

2 terrorists killed

in encounter in

J&K’s Kulgam

Patna: The absence of RJDchief Lalu Prasad during cam-paigning in Bihar for the seven-phase Lok Sabha polls was a"very big challenge", but theparty has put up a "good fight"nonetheless, his son Tej PratapYadav said.

Known for his signatureone-liners and trenchant wit,this was for the first time,Prasad was not present in theelections as he is serving sen-tences in connection with fod-der scam cases.

The former Bihar chiefminister is currently admittedat a hospital in Jharkhand cap-ital Ranchi on account of hispoor health.

The "lantern (RJD pollsymbol) will be lit" at manyplaces in the state on May 23,Tej Pratap said, though he felt

that the result would be "sur-prising".

"My father has always beenthe voice of the poor and thedowntrodden and that is thelegacy he handed over to meand my brother (TejashwiYadav), to fight for them and tobring equality and justice insociety," the RJD leader andformer Bihar health ministersaid, ahead of counting of voteson Thursday.

"His (Lalu's) physicalabsence in this election was,indeed a very big challenge forus," Tej Pratap told PTI in aninterview.

Asked, what is the numberof seats the 'mahagathbandhan(grand alliance)' in Bihar is eye-ing in the just-concluded polls,Prasad's elder son said that "thenumbers could swing as voters'

mood is also not quite clear atthe moment".

"We (the RJD) have doneour work and reached out tothe people and made themaware of the economic andpolitical situation in Bihar andin the country. If fortune is inour favour, we should get 20-23 seats as per our prepara-tions," Tej Pratap said.

The Mahua MLA, how-ever, said he himself was onthe "horns of a dilemma" asfar as the number of seats theparty could win was con-cerned, adding that it willhave a "element of surprise"this time.

Tej Pratap also said he washopeful that his sister MisaBharti would be able to pull offa win from the Pataliputraconstituency and claimed that

the people are "unhappy" withsitting BJP MP Ram KripalYadav.

Elections were held inBihar in all seven phases, fromGaya on April 11 to PatnaSahib on May 19 spanning 40Lok Sabha seats.

As per seat sharing in the'mahagathbandhan' in the state,the RJD fought on 19 seats,Congress on nine, RLSP onfive, VIP and HAM three each.One seat was left by RJD for theCPI (ML).

RJD banks hugely onPrasad's legacy as his rivetingspeeches during poll cam-paigns are known to energisevoters and attract mediaper-sons in big number.

"Laluji would talk to peo-ple of all strata and sit and eatwith people of all caste. He took

all communities along. In fact,he would make us brothers sitand teach the way to reach outto the masses.

"He would ask us to foldhands in front of people as'janta is our malik', tell us towear kurta-pyjama, mostlykhadi, and talk in local parlanceas much as possible to betterconnect with the masses," TejPratap said.

The RJD leader said he andTejashwi have to merely keepthe field "irrigated" that was"tilled by my father".

Notwithstanding exit pollsforecasts, Tej Pratap hit out atthe BJP, saying it is a "party ofbusinessmen (vyapariyon kiparty)" who have "done noth-ing" for farmers or youths inthe five years of itsGovernment. PTI

Lalu's absence was big challenge while fighting polls: Tej Pratap

Kerala: Boy goes for nasalsurgery, doctor performshernia operation instead

Itanagar: A massive combingoperation has been launched bysecurity forces to trace the sus-pected NSCN militants whogunned down MLA TirongAboh and 10 others nearKhonsa in Arunachal Pradeshon Tuesday, an official said onWednesday.

The Army, the Assam Riflesand the state police havelaunched the operation to nabthe perpetrators involved inthe crime, Tirap DeputyCommissioner P N Thungonsaid.

The Army deployed heli-copters on Tuesday night tosearch the area, which is coveredby dense jungle.

The suspected NSCN rebelsgunned down Aboh, his sonand nine others in the 12 Milearea, 20 km from Khonsa, thedistrict headquarters town ofTirap, on Tuesday, when thelawmaker was on his way to

Khonsa from Dibrugarh inAssam.

Aboh (41) had won theKhonsa West Assembly seat in2014 and was seeking re-elec-tion as a National People's Party(NPP) candidate from the con-stituency.

"So far, no arrests havebeen made, but the operationhas been intensified by thesecurity agencies by cordoningthe area," the DC said.

The bodies of the victimshave been handed over to theirrelatives after conducting post-mortem.

Defence sources at Dinjanin Dibrugarh confirmed theinvolvement of NSCN(IM) inthe killings, stating that a groupof about 10 to 15 rebels wereinvolved in the shootout.

The militants had also setablaze one of the vehicles inAboh's convoy, the sources said.

While a police personnel

and a civilian had sustained bul-let injuries in the attack, awoman and another police per-sonnel had escaped unhurt.

The civilian and Aboh'sPSO were shifted to a Dibrugarhhospital, Director General ofPolice (DGP) S B K Singh hadsaid.

The DIG (East), the IGP(Law & Order) and the SPfrom neighbouring Changlangdistrict moved to Khonsa onTuesday to supervise the oper-ations and coordinate withvarious security agencies.

This is the second suchincident in Tirap district inrecent times, after two sup-porters of Aboh were killed byNSCN(IM) militants inMarch. Union Home MinisterRajnath Singh, his deputyKiren Rijiju and ArunachalPradesh Chief Minister PemaKhandu have condemned theattack. PTI

Combing op launched to trace militantsinvolved in killing of MLA and 10 others

Indian Army troops conducts a search operation in the jungles of Tirap on Wednesday PTI

Rajouri: 4 AK rifles, 9

pistols and 2 modified

guns recovered

18, inlcuding13 women,held frombar in Maha

HC reserves order on CBI plea to extendprobe time in Asthana bribery casePTI n NEW DELHI

The CBI Wednesday told theDelhi High Court that it was

asking for more time to completethe investigation in a bribery caseinvolving the agency’s formerspecial director Rakesh Asthanaso as to conduct the probe in afree, fair and transparent manner.

Justice Mukta Gupta, afterhearing the submissions of thecounsel for CBI, Asthana and twoothers, reserved the order on theapplication by the CBI seekingextension of time to complete theprobe in the case lodged againstAsthana, DSP Devender Kumarand middleman Manoj Prasad.

Additional Solicitor General(ASG) Vikramjit Banerjee, rep-resenting the CBI, said they weregiving effect to the court’s Januaryorder by which the agency wasasked to complete the investiga-tion in the case within 10 weeks.

“We are doing the investiga-

tion in a free, fair and transpar-ent manner. We are only askingfor extension of time to completethe investigation. We are notseeking review of the court’sJanuary 11 verdict, that’s thecrux of my case,” he said.

The court was informedthat Kumar has filed an appealbefore the Supreme Court againstthe high court’s order dismissinghis and others’ plea to quash theFIR against them.

Senior advocate AmrendraSharan, appearing for Asthana,said when an order has beenpassed by the high court in acriminal case and the petition hasbeen disposed of, the court can-not entertain the review plea orany other miscellaneous appli-cation.

The ASG also said the CBIwas entitled to implement theorder of the high court and toconduct a fair investigation andhe was asking for a short time of

four months to complete theprobe. The court had earlierquestioned the CBI for not send-ing Letters Rogatory (LRs) to var-ious countries till mid of Aprileven though it had passed inJanuary the order dismissing thepleas to quash the FIR.

LRs are a formal requestfrom a court to a foreign court forsome judicial assistance.

On January 11, the court hadgranted 10 weeks to the probeagency to complete its investiga-tion. The high court in Januaryhad disposed of three petitions ofAsthana, Kumar and Prasad bya common order in which CBIwas directed to complete inves-tigation in the case within tenweeks.

Earlier, Kumar’s lawyers hadtold the court that the applicationwas not maintainable accordingto section 362 of the CriminalProcedure Code which states thata court may not alter or review

its final order in a matter exceptto correct a clerical or arith-metical error.

The court had not agreedwith the contention, saying theinstant matters were writ peti-tions and not a criminal com-plaint and therefore, section 362may not be applicable.

Asthana was booked on theallegations of criminal conspira-cy, corruption and criminal mis-conduct under the relevant sec-tions of Prevention of CorruptionAct.

Kumar, earlier the investi-gating officer in a case involvingmeat exporter Moin Qureshi, wasarrested on the allegations offorgery in recording the state-ment of Hyderabad-based busi-nessman Sathish Babu Sana,who had alleged having paidbribe to get relief in the case. Hewas arrested on October 22,2018 and granted bail on October31.

Palghar: Eighteen people,including 13 women dancers,were arrested from a bar inPalghar district of Maharashtrafor allegedly indulging inobscenity, police said onWednesday.

Acting on a complaint,sleuths of the local crimebranch raided the bar locatedin Vasai area on Tuesday andarrested its manager, two wait-ers and as many customers, apolice spokesman said.

Besides, 13 women werealso nabbed for allegedly per-forming obscene acts, he said.

Those arrested werebooked under various IndianPenal Code sections, including294 (indulging in obscene actsand songs), and provisions ofthe Maharashtra Police Act, headded. PTI

PTI n PATNA

Nearly 60 per cent femalevoters came out to exercise

their franchise in Bihar in theLok Sabha elections as againstjust about 55 per cent turnoutfor men. As per the figuresreleased by the ElectionCommission here, the overallturnout for female voters stoodat 59.92 per cent as against55.26 per cent for men.

The constituencies whichregistered the highest femaleturnouts were Katihar (72.37),Supaul (71.64), Kishanganj(70.37), Araria (69.39), Purnea(68.15), Begusarai (67.13),Samastipur (66.74), Vaishali(66.62) and Ujiarpur (65.12).

In contrast, the maleturnout did not exceed 65 percent in any of the 40 seats in thestate and exceeded 60 per centin only five Supaul, Araria,Kishanganj, Katihar andPurnea, it said.

Notably, among the con-stituencies with the highestfemale turnouts, only Supauland Vaishali had a womancandidate as one of the maincontestants. While sittingCongress MP Ranjeet Ranjan isin the fray from Supaul, inVaishali the LJP has fieldedVeena Devi.

In some constituencies, thedifference between male andfemale turnout was signifi-cantly high. In Sitamarhi 54.53per cent men voted as against64.36 per cent women. InMadhubani and Jhanjharpur,the male turnout stood at 48.14

per cent and 51.25 per centrespectively as against 59.97 percent and 63.83 per cent forfemale voters in these con-stituencies.

Siwan, where the maincontest is between Kavita Singhof JD(U) and Heena Shahab ofRJD, both married to localbahubalis, the female votersappeared similarly enthusiasticas their turnout stood at 59.56per cent as against only 50.17per cent for men.

However, in adjoiningGopalganj (SC) andMaharajganj, which did nothave any prominent femalecandidate, womens’ turnoutwas, similarly, about 10 per centhigher than that of men.

However, all the con-stituencies which went to pollsin the last phase registeredlower female turnouts.

Patna Sahib, which coversthe entire Bihar capital, saw ameasly 43.07 per cent femaleturnout as against 49.27 percent men. The seat is witness-ing a high-profile battlebetween actor-turned-politi-cian and second term MPShatrughan Sinha, who is thecontesting on a Congress tick-et, and Union minister RaviShankar Prasad who has beenfielded by the BJP.

In adjoining Pataliputra,Lalu Prasads daughter MisaBhartis presence in the frayseems to have failed to enthusefemale voters as their turnoutstood at 52.40 per cent com-pared with 59.07 per cent for male.

RESULTS TO...The Bench headed by

Chief Justice of India RanjanGogoi had said, “We are notinclined to modify our order.(For) how many days will wehear the same matter.”

In their memorandum tothe EC, the Opposition partieshad said that in order to makethe process more transparent,paper slips must be countedfirst and if there is a discrep-ancy with what is shown digi-tally on the machines, then allvotes - instead of the 5 per centthe EC has decided to at pre-sent - in the Assembly segmentof that parliamentary con-stituency should be cross-checked.

Election official cite exist-ing orders to point out that incase there is any mismatchbetween electronic candidate-

wise result of the Control Unitand the candidate-wise VVPATslips manual count, recountingof the VVPAT slips of that par-ticular VVPAT shall be con-ducted till the recount is talliedwith the EVM count or one ofthe previous VVPAT slipscount. Meanwhile, Twitter wasabuzz on Tuesday with sever-al videos of EVMs being storedand moved from one unau-thorised storage house toanother in Uttar Pradesh. TheEC, however, rejected all theallegations of mishandling ofEVMs and VVPAT and main-tained that all machines are safeand secure.

OPP RAPS EC...“Starting from candidate

affidavits, VVPAT or VVPATcounting. Every thing cannotbe correct just because EC

says so. Faith comes with Factsand intent behind actions inpast,” he tweeted.

The DMK also hit out atthe poll body, saying its deci-sion has blurred the distinctionbetween an independent insti-tution and the CentralGovernment. “Is this democ-racy...? Will the ElectionCommission listen only toPrime Minister NarendraModi..? senior DMK leaderDuraimurugan asked.

LOSER OPP...“Rattled by their probable

defeat, these 22 parties are tar-nishing the country and itsdemocracy in the world by rais-ing questions on the democra-tic process. Their demandshave no rationale and are dri-ven by selfish interests,” Shahsaid, adding that he wanted to

ask them some questions.Most of these Opposition

parties, such as the Congress,SP, BSP, Trinamool Congress,NCP, AAP, Telugu DesamParty, Left and RJD among oth-ers, have won elections heldthrough EVMs at some pointof time, he said.

“Should it be presumedthat when the Opposition wins,then it emerges victorious inelections but when it loses itdoes so due to EVMs? If theydo not trust EVMs, then whydid they form Government?,”Shah asked. He said theSupreme Court has given finalshape to electoral process byhearing three PILs and asked ifthe Opposition is raising ques-tions on the apex court.

The Election Commissionhad earlier thrown an openchallenge to anyone to show

that EVMs can be tamperedwith but no Opposition partytook it up, he said.

While speaking in the din-ner meet held for NDA, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi hadon Wednesday expressed con-cern over Opposition partiesdoubts on EVM and pollingresults. NDA also chargedOpposition of attacking coun-try’s institutions including judi-ciary and EC.

IAF ACCOMPLISHES...It said the BrahMos missile

provides the IAF a muchdesired capability to strikefrom large stand-off ranges onany target at sea or on land withpinpoint accuracy by day ornight and in all weather con-ditions.

“The capability of the mis-sile coupled with the superla-

tive performance of the Su-30MKI aircraft gives the IAFthe desired strategic reach,”the IAF said. DRDO ChairmanSatish Reddy and SudhirMishra, DG BrahMos con-gratulated IAF, DRDO andBrahMos team for achievingthe feat. BrahMos Aerospace,an India-Russian joint ven-ture, produces the supersoniccruise missile that can belaunched from submarines,ships, aircraft, or from landplatforms. The IAF has alreadybegun work to integrate theBrahMos supersonic cruisemissile on 40 Sukhoi combataircraft. Once the project tointegrate the weapon on thecombat fleet is over, the IAFcapability to strike from largestand-off ranges on any targetin sea or land is expected to goup manifold.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Pragya, Azam Khan, Moonmoonmade headlines with their viewsPTI n NEW DELHI

Call them motor-mouths orsimply contentious, they are

the not-to-be-quietened candi-dates who kept up the contro-versial chatter through the LokSabha elections, sometimes at ral-lies and other times throughsocial media posts or responsesto questions from the media.

From east to west and northto south, a battery of candidatesacross the political spectrumdemonstrated a penchant forgetting into trouble with theirviews on a range of issues.

Some like Samajwadi Party’sAzam Khan and Bharatiya JanataParty’s Giriraj Singh are old time‘foot-in-the-mouth’ politicians,frequently in the headlines fortheir outspoken and sometimesoutrageous views, others likeBJP’s Pragya Singh Thakur andCommunist Party of India’sKanhaiya Kumar are new to theelection game.

They stoked controversyduring the high-voltage cam-paign, at times forcing theElection Commission to barsome of them from campaigningor inviting scrutiny from theirown party’s leadership.

Thakur, an accused in the2008 Malegaon blasts case whois contesting elections fromBhopal, last week laudedMahatma Gandhi’s assassinNathuram Godse as a “patriot”,sparking furious debate in the lastlap of the seven-phase elections.

The Congress alleged that“insulting martyrs is in the DNA”

of the BJP, which also con-demned her remarks. Thakurlater apologised for her remarks.

She also had to apologise forher remarks on 26/11 attackmartyr, IPS officer HemantKarkare, that she had “cursed”him for torturing her and false-ly implicating her in the blastscase. Thakur was temporarilybanned from campaigning forher hate remarks by the ElectionCommission. Her electoral rival,Congress’ Digvijay Singh, is notnew to controversies either.

In March this year, just as thecountry was gearing up for elec-tions, he said the Pulwama ter-ror attack was an “accident”.

In Uttar Pradesh, SP’s Khanattracted widespread ire for hissexist jibes against his one-timecolleague, actor-politician JayaPrada, who is his rival in theRampur seat and joined the BJP

recently. “People of Rampur, people of

Uttar Pradesh and people ofIndia, it took you 17 years tounderstand her reality. But Icould recognise in 17 days thatshe wears khaki underwear,” hesaid without naming her. Khanis facing an FIR for the remark.

Jaya Prada, on her part, hitback with a speech in which shereferred to Khan’s “X-ray eyes”.“Considering the commentsAzam Khan makes against me,(BSP chief) Mayawati, his X-raylike eyes will also stare at you,” shesaid at a public meeting.

Bihar saw a face-off betweentwo ideologically opposed can-didates – Giriraj Singh andKanhaiya Kumar – in Begusarai.“Those who cannot say VandeMataram or cannot respect themotherland, the nation will neverforgive them…,” he said in a rally

in remarks seen as attacking theMuslim community.

In March, the veteran BJPleader was reported as sayingthose not attending the rally ofthe prime minister, to be held thatmonth, would be deemed anti-national. He, however, himselfremained absence from that veryrally. His rival Kanhaiya Kumar,a former student leader fromJawaharlal Nehru University whowas charged with sedition forallegedly making anti-India com-ments, said on Twitter, “For BJPpeople Godse is a patriot. Theyare expected to call people like usas traitor. Thank god BJP does-n’t consider us patriots.”

In the South, Nalin KumarKateel, the BJP’s candidate andsitting MP from DakshinaKannada in Karnataka, doveinto the Godse controversy bycomparing the assassin withwith Rajiv Gandhi.

“Godse killed one, Kasabkilled 72, Rajiv Gandhi killed17,000. You judge who is morecruel in this??” Kateel tweeted,equating Godse, 26/11 convictAjmal Kasab and Rajiv Gandhi.He later retracted his remarks.

The BJP reprimanded him aswell as Union ministerAnantkumar Hegde, its candidatein Uttara Kannada in the state,who also tweeted on Godse butlater deleted it. BJP’s young leaderTejasvi Surya, contesting fromKarnataka’s Bangalore South con-stituency, also made several con-troversial statements over the lastone year, retracting some anddeleting some.

Bihar sees high female

turnout in LS polls

In politics, there is little differencebetween love and sycophancy — thecase of Nepal is particularly telling.The social media was recentlybuzzing with news that some

Tibetans had protested “against an utter-ly ridiculous demand from Nepal’s Chinasycophant politicians to ban the use of thekhata, the traditional Tibetan white scarf,because it was hurting the feelings of theChinese people.” Whether true or not, thesensitivity of “hurting the feelings of theChinese people” is nowadays prevalent allover the world with Nepali politicians atthe vanguard of the movement.

The “love” has increased further afterNepal President Bidhya Devi Bhandarispent nine days in China on a State visit.The invitation had come from ChinesePresident Xi Jinping himself. The first partof the visit coincided with the Second Beltand Road Forum in Beijing on April 27.President Bhandari held high-level meet-ings with the top Chinese leadership; they“exchanged substantive views on furtherstrengthening and consolidating the tiesof co-operative friendship and mutuallybeneficial partnership subsisting betweenthe two countries,” according to an offi-cial communique.

More importantly, the Himalayannation signed seven agreements with itsgiant northern neighbour; it included aprotocol for an Agreement on TransitTransport; an accord on Cooperationand Mutual Administrative Assistance inCustoms Matters and one on strengthen-ing assistance and cooperation in the fieldof livelihood in the Northern Region ofNepal (ie the border with Tibet).

The ruling Nepal Communist Partychairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, aliasPrachanda, was quick to assert that a rail-way line will connect Kathmandu to theTibet Autonomous Region (TAR) “with-in his lifetime.” Prachanda also affirmedthat the railway will be later extended toLumbini and Pokhara. It will be “a mile-stone in Nepal’s economic developmentand growth of the tourism sector”, he said.

The Government of Nepal hadannounced earlier that technical studies forthe construction of railway lines linkingNepal with India and China have beencompleted. Bhandari specifically told theParliament: “The Rasuwagadhi-Kathmandu railways will be started with-in two years.” Rasuwa is the border posttown with Tibet (Kyirong). The linebetween Shigatse and Kyirong was muchdelayed due to the 2015 earthquake butnow it is expected to be completed by 2023.

In May 2017, Beijing had alreadysigned a Memorandum of Understandingwith Kathmandu for roads, railways, portsand aviation as well as hydropower andenergy projects, finance and tourism aspart of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Xi assured Bhandari of China’s support

to make a “Prosperous Nepal,Happy Nepali.” Before return-ing to Kathmandu, the NepaliPresident spent a day in Lhasa;the main purpose of the visitwas re-emphasising Nepal’scommitment to the “OneChina” policy.

As the Japanese newspaperThe Nikkei wrote, “The price ispaid in diplomatic support forBeijing: The Nepalese con-sulate in Lhasa, the only for-eign diplomatic mission inthe Tibetan capital, recentlyreiterated unwavering supportfor Beijing’s claims to bothTibet and Taiwan.”

Incidentally, India had afull-fledged mission in Lhasatill 1952 and a Consulate-General till 1962. Today,Beijing adamantly refuses toreopen it, wanting India to gothrough Nepal authorities fortrans-border trade. Examplesabound to show the ongoinglove story. Nepal has chosena railway track gauge used byChina as standard for its net-work; Kathmandu justifiesthe choice by the lowerChinese costs. The move is aserious setback for Delhi,which has failed to limitBeijing’s control over Nepal.

Minister for PhysicalInfrastructure and TransportRaghubir Mahaseth told

Reuters that his Governmentwill ask India to use theChinese gauge: “Standardgauge is less expensive,” wasthe rationale.

Even Nepal’s borders withTibet are looked after byBeijing. According to TheKathmandu Post, Kathmanduhas permitted the ChinaInternational DevelopmentCooperation Agency(CIDCA) to provide develop-ment assistance in 15 north-ern districts of Nepal “to meettheir developmental needs”;these districts share a com-mon border with Tibet. Theagency was set up in August2018 in order to strengthen“the strategic planning andoverall coordination of theChinese aid to Nepal.”

One unsaid objective is tostop Tibetans fleeing theirnative land and taking refugein India. It has been remark-ably efficient. On May 12, theNepal Intermodal TransportDevelopment Board signedwith Tibet Fuli ConstructionGroup, a Chinese company, anagreement to construct theinland container depot inTimure in Rasuwa district.Built with Chinese aid, the pro-ject is expected to cost $20 mil-lion and is expected to be com-pleted in 30 months. The

Chinese Government will con-struct the dry port on fivehectares of land provided byNepal; a parking yard with acapacity to park 350 trucks andcontainers will be built.

In another news, more onthe ridiculous side, accordingto The Kathmandu Post ,Nepal’s leading English lan-guage newspaper, three jour-nalists working for the RastriyaSamachar Samiti (RSS), Nepal’snational news agency, arebeing probed for disseminat-ing a news item regarding theDalai Lama.

What is their crime? Thejournalists “translated and dis-seminated” a wire report aboutthe Lama’s return toDharamsala on April 27, afterhe was discharged from a hos-pital in New Delhi. Ministerfor Communications andInformation TechnologyGokul Baskota confirmed toThe Post that an investigationwas on; Baskota said that theTibet issue was sensitive forChina and dissemination of areport regarding the DalaiLama’s health by a state-runnews agency was againstNepal’s commitment to “One-China policy.” Sycophancy ofthe first order!

Also in the tragi-comedycategory, Pradip Yadav of the

Samajbadi Party and IqabalMiya of the Rastriya JanataParty, two Members of theNepali Parliament, recentlyparticipated in an event organ-ised by the LatvianParliamentary Support Groupfor Tibet and the InternationalNetwork of Parliamentariansfor Tibet.

The convention in Rigawas attended by LobsangSangay, president of theCentral TibetanAdministration, along withother members of the TibetanParliament. Soon after, an offi-cial at the ParliamentSecretariat pretended that “thetwo leaders said they werevisiting Latvia for personalreasons and they did not dis-close the details and purposeof their visit.” But finally, theNepali parliamentarian“regretted” their participationand declared that they inadver-tently attended the conferencebecause of misinformation andit was a “mistake.”

China scored one moregoal; but for how long the lovestory can continue is difficultto say. Buddha had said “every-thing is impermanent” …evenChina’s great “loan” friendship?

(The writer is an expert onIndia-China relations)

Granted there is a general air of mistrust

over the Electronic Voting Machine

(EVM) ever since it was introduced, and

depending on whichever party has had the

unexpectedly winnable verdict, its opponents

have cried foul and lodged allegations of tam-

pering. But in one of the world’s biggest

democracies, there has to be mass confidence

in the integrity of EVMs so that voters can trust

the outcome of elections. Although the

Election Commission (EC) has been stoutly

claiming their tamper-proof nature, all politi-

cal parties, including the BJP and Congress, have at various points in time expressed

reservations and in the current election season, there have been genuine con-

cerns about their safety being compromised during transit, storage and handling.

Although there is an insurance in the form of voter verifiable paper audit trail

(VVPATs), the fact is its cumbersome logistics isn’t a practical model of resolu-

tion. At best, the intent behind it is entirely perfunctory. This is one of the rea-

sons why the EC has rejected the 100 per cent cross-checks of VVPATs as a

workable option. But then with so many complaints and anxieties piling up, the

EC cannot appear to be so intransigent about concerns and seem to be at war

with voters. It must remember that it is not a comment on the adequacy of its

security protocol, expert certification and administrative safeguards but about

prevention of the hazardous misuse of technology that is the real devil. So as

parties across India guard strongrooms and monitor the journey of EVMs to count-

ing centres, the EC cannot discount the shadow of reasonable doubt.

The scientific fact is since EVMs aren’t connected to the internet, mass manip-

ulation is impossible because the software is “burnt” into the CPU. Of course

thefts, faulty chips and breakdowns are possible. And all of it can be a result of

human intervention. Many experts have claimed how a dishonest insider can

get physical access to EVMs, tweak the control unit that can be programmed

to count votes in a certain pattern wirelessly though that charge is a bit of an

elephant passing through a hole. A simpler way would be to have an insider cast

residual area votes. Fraud can also happen during the long non-election period

in far-flung areas, where the EVMs are stored in basic facilities and at the stage

of ‘first level checks’ before the machines are serviced by authorised technicians

from manufacturers. It is in these outlier segments and districts, where swing-

ing the vote stretched across narrow margins would require manipulating a minus-

cule number, that results could be altered. And in the Indian context, EVMs, though

definitely convenient than paper ballots, cannot combat what is encoded in our

DNA — human intent and ingenuity. The West is not immune to EVM malprac-

tices either. Which is why Germany and the Netherlands, which used the machine

type that is being used by us, re-introduced paper ballots. Of course, they are

far less populated than India, which can consider machine-readable paper bal-

lots going forward to cut down delays. Here, the primary ballots are in paper

and the secondary ballots in electronic form unlike the current model. Agreed,

technology is not our enemy but had it been perfect, original inventions would

not have undergone innovations to be relevant to current time and practices. Like

it or not, the onus of restoring the credibility of the democratic exercise is upon

the EC and the next five years give it ample time to relook at flaws seriously than

dismiss complaints as perennially motivated. It owes it to us.

India has fond memories of the Cricket World

Cup. After all, as Kapil Dev sprinted back to

catch an over- the-head mishit pull off Vivian

Richards back in 1983, he lifted the sterling

silver Prudential Cup above his head soon after,

announcing Indian cricket to the world. This

victory also announced India to the world. We

can debate endlessly whether we made a hash

of things over the following decades, but one

thing is certain, Indian cricket’s dominance over

the world was born that day. Today’s Indian

Premier League (IPL) has just cemented that

status. Look at it this way, performances dur-

ing the IPL have forced traditional cricket pow-

erhouses like Australia and England to make changes to their squads. But can

India expect the summer of 2019 to replicate the summer of 1983?

Frankly, that appears a bit tough. Even with a tremendously talented squad

led by Virat Kohli, by far and away the greatest batsman of his generation, and

with elder statesman Mahendra Singh Dhoni, a man considered by all his coach-

es to be one of the greatest tactical minds in the game, India is not entering the

World Cup as the favourite. That, not just of the bookies but also several neu-

tral observers, is the English team. Its recent performances against Pakistan

are establishing that 400-run One-Day Internationals have become the new nor-

mal after the advent of T20 cricket and a decade of the IPL. Although our bat-

ting order has historically been strong, we seem to be tapering downwards.

But the boys at the top have the ability to take on any bowling attack and our

middle order is in form. The pressure of a run chase will hopefully be relieved

by our aggressive bowling line-up that can hold the rivals’ runs pile-up and remain

unpredictable till the slog overs. The bigger question is, however, if this tour-

nament is going to be the last hurrah of One-Day International cricket? In an

era of 200-plus run T20 games, which offer instant gratification for those who

want constant excitement and get over quickly, can an all-day game survive?

Sure, the India-Pakistan match with simmering subcontinental tensions will hope-

fully be a potboiler watched by over a billion people, possibly having the high-

est viewership of any single game in the world outside the Football World Cup.

This would prove beyond an iota of doubt that despite what other sports claim,

the Cricket World Cup is the world’s second-most popular international tour-

nament. But cricket must continue to spread its wings in newer territories and

while the advent of Afghanistan and the resurgence of the West Indies are pos-

itive signs, having fewer non-Test playing nations participating in this World Cup

is a bit of a downer, not just for the countries involved but also fans who loved

seeing teams like Ireland stun England in Bengaluru a few years ago. It expos-

es these players to IPL teams looking to make a catch, Mohammad Nabi of

Afghanistan being a great example. As the Football World Cup wants to expand

to an even wider reach, the International Cricket Council must also start doing

the same. Cricket is unique among global sports in its ability to adapt. We went

from Test-match cricket to T20 cricket via One-Day Internationals in less than

a lifetime. That said, one cannot wait for the excitement of this summer’s sig-

nature global sporting tournament and even if India is not the favourite, expec-

tations are high for Virat Kohli and his men.

Time for cricket

The great Indian political tamasha that we see every fiveyears is over, now the quadrennial cricket World Cup is here

While EVMs are convenient, there are too many reportsof tampering. A workable solution is needed in future

Opp playing by rules

Sir — This refers to the article,“United colours of Opposition apipedream?” (May 22) byKalyani Shankar. The entirenation and the media have beenwaiting with bated breath forMay 23. Ahead of the exit pollsand opinion surveys, many non-NDA allies teamed up to formstrategies for a post-poll alliance.The move by Opposition partiesseems to have been inspired bythe exit poll results. The scenariohas led to intense speculationbut this is yet another a learningcurve for the media.

It should be noted that in ademocracy, any party can form aGovernment either through amajority or coalition. There is noharm in some Opposition partyleaders calling for a meeting toform a possible post-poll alliance.The moves of various Oppositionparties should be accepted as fair,especially by the media since theresults are yet to be declared. Fora voter, however, it will be inter-esting to see how variousOpposition parties scramble tofind a quick solution post theannouncement of results withregard to both forming a post-poll

alliance and projecting a leader asa prime ministerial candidate.

Varun SD Bengaluru

The great reformer

Sir — This refers to the report,“Seshan, the ultimate ChiefElection Commissioner” (May21). Former Election

Commissioner TN Seshan wasrevered by almost everyone for hisefforts to level the playing field forthe conduct of free and fair polls.His reforms in election normsmade him a legend. He was pop-ular because of his unprecedent-ed efficiency in protecting theelectoral process. In times whenthe political discourse has plungedto such a low, it was expected ofthe Election Commission to

demonstrate its credibility in pun-ishing those parties and leadersviolating the Model Code ofConduct but it remained a mutespectator to shoddy electioneer-ing. The EC’s failure to act is real-ly sad. The country definitelyneeds a dynamic and unbiasedelectoral body and certainly offi-cials like Seshan.

Akhil PradhanDhenkanal

Declining standards

Sir — The exit poll results havedeterred the Opposition so muchthat all ‘chair’ greedy politiciansare running from pillar-to-post toensure ‘defeat’ of the ModiGovernment. Truly speaking,none of the leaders or politicalparty is interested in serving thenation. The ‘unquenchable’ thirstfor power and money rules theirminds. In fact, politics has almostbecome synonymous to corrup-tion. God save the country.

Hansraj BhatMumbai

Take lessons

Sir — Post the exit-poll predic-tions, Opposition parties haveonce again started to put theblame on electronic votingmachines (EVMs). This onlyproves the fact that they have notcome to terms with reality. TheOpposition needs to analyse thescenario and rework strategies.

Rati SeghalVia email

P A P E R W I T H P A S S I O N

www.dailypioneer.com

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op nionLUCKNOW | THURSDAY | MAY 23, 2019

08

China-Nepal love affair

CLAUDE ARPI

The deepening of ties between Kathmandu and Beijing is a serious setback for New Delhi.

China scored one more goal but it’s difficult to say how far this story will continue

You (BSF) should work to enhance professional-ism, capability andstrength as challengescould be grave.

National Security Advisor —Ajit Doval

I want children. But with chil-dren comes the mother. I don'twant the mother, but they needone. Maybe I can work out awin-win situation for everyone.

Actor—Salman Khan

It is imperative to have compre-hensive reforms of the UnitedNations and its SecurityCouncil to make it more representative and effective.

Union Minister—Sushma Swaraj

S O U N D B I T E

L E T T E R S T O T H E E D I T O R

EC must clear the air on EVMs

Reports about surreptitious shifting of EVMs with-out any security in some constituencies have onceagain given rise to the suspicion of them being tam-

pered with. It is now for the Election Commission (EC)to explain why the EVMs were carried away under thecover of darkness. Democracy itself is subverted whenEVMs used for polling are replaced with new EVMs withthe bulk of votes ‘fed’ in favour of a particular party. Thisis not to conclusively say or affirm that it is being donebut to point out that a doubt to this effect has arisen inthe minds of people. The charge of possible “manipu-lation” cannot be dismissed lightly or ignored as “friv-olous” or “wild” since the sanctity of the election processis of paramount importance. Opposition parties are with-in their rights to flag up the issue of likely misuse ofEVMs. The poll panel has to address the feared EVM tam-pering raised by the Opposition as a genuine concernand as an essential part of its constitutional duty “toensure free and fair elections.”

Another issue which the EC needs to act on posi-tively is counting of VVPAT slips, especially in view ofthe fact that many EVMs were “faulty” and “malfunc-tioned.” Admittedly, 100 per cent cross-checking withVVPAT paper trail is cumbersome and time-consuming.Still, convincing voters that malpractice is not involvedto alter the electoral outcome must take precedence overeverything else.

G David MiltonMaruthancode

Send your feedback to:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

EC must win our trust

The voters have expressed theirwishes, which we will knowtoday. Rearranging the deckchairs of a sinking ship is notthe most productive activity.

Congress leader—Shashi Tharoor

Port of opportunities missed

ELECTION COMMISSION MEANS ‘ERADICATED

CREDIBILITY' AND EVMS HAVE BECOME ‘ELECTRONIC

VICTORY MACHINES' FOR THE BJP.

—CONGRESS LEADER

ABHISHEK MANU SINGHVI

DOUBTING EVMS MEANS THAT OPPOSITION

PARTIES DOUBT THE PEOPLE AND SHOWS THAT

THEY ARE AFRAID OF LOSING.

—UNION MINISTER

PRAKASH JAVADEKAR

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

Amid escalating tensions between the USand Iran, Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’sForeign Minister, made a brief visit to New

Delhi on May 14 to hold talks with his Indiancounterpart Sushma Swaraj on the impact of USsanctions on his country’s oil industry. His tripcame soon after he visited the United Nations. Posthis visit, Zarif gave an interview to Fox NewsSunday, which is being seen as an attempt to reachout to US President Donald Trump, whose dis-dain for the media as peddlers of “fake news” isnot hidden. Zarif then headed to Qatar to attenda ministerial meeting of the Asia CooperationDialogue and then to Russia and Turkmenistan.While Zarif was in Russia, President HassanRouhani announced that Iran would cease toabide by certain nuclear limitations but stoppedshort of violating its 2015 nuclear deal. In this con-text, it is important that the fourth trip of Zarifin this leg is to India and the third after the UScancelled our sanctions waivers for import ofIranian oil.

During his visit, Zarif held discussions withSwaraj on issues of mutual interest, including thesituation in Afghanistan, the development ofChabahar port, cooperation in various fields andregional and international issues. Regarding theongoing US-Iran tensions, India made its standclear that any decision on oil purchase from Iranwill have to wait for the new Government in Delhi.But here, we will focus on issues concerning theimplementation of the Chabahar port project —those as a result of the latest round of sanctions,though the port is out of the immediate purviewof bans, and in general.

To clear the air, the purpose of the Chabaharport to be developed by India is entirely differ-ent from the Gwadar port in Pakistan being devel-oped by China. The Chabahar is strictly an eco-nomic project and not a not a strategic-militaryone. On the other hand, China does not needGwadar to trade with Central Asia or Russia —it has shorter land routes to conduct business.Moreover, the “String of Pearls” theory on poten-tial Chinese intentions in the Indian Ocean Regionisn’t taken seriously by either the bureaucracy orin think-tank circles. It is seen as an Americanattempt to sow India-China tensions and the termitself is coined in a US Army War College paper.

Though the Chabahar project is a potentialgame-changer as it offers a getaway to Central Asiaand Europe but as of now, its potential remainslargely untapped. Additionally, the US sanctionsregime has not just delayed the project since theearly 2000s but has also been stifling its growth.It is going to take a few years for Chabahar to reg-ister success and it is, perhaps, too early to singpaeans about it. To cite an example, the ambitiousplan suffered a blow with manufacturers shyingaway from supplying essential equipment likecranes and forklifts for the construction of theIranian port even when US sanctions had notkicked in late last year. Indian promises to deliv-ery ratio, too, have been dismal during thisGovernment’s tenure. Further, while greaterfunds were promised, much smaller amounts havebeen released.

This writer spoke to Mohsen Shariatinia, anassistant professor of regional studies at ShahidBeheshti University in Tehran, when he said that

the “Chabahar is a mega project but it’stoo early to judge the success or failureof this project.” Speaking about theMumbai-Mundra-Kandla-Chabahar-Bandar Abbas shipping line, that con-nects the Indian city of Mumbai toIranian southern port cities of Chabaharand Bandar Abbas and which wasinaugurated only recently, he said thatthe main problem with this project wasabout financial resources. The Rouhaniadministration does not have enoughmoney and the private sector has noeconomic motivation to invest in thisline. If the two countries can reach anagreement on financial resources, amajor issue would be resolved.

Shariatinia added that beyond theIndian Government, creating the eco-nomic justification of Chabahar forIndian companies is also very impor-tant. If they can access Central Asianand Russia markets via the InternationalNorth–South Transport Corridor(INSTC), they can motivate investmentand participation for this project. Thefuture of Chabahar will depend on thepolitical will of the Iranian and IndianGovernment on the one hand and eco-nomic justification of Chabahar forIndian and Iranian companies on theother.

Shariatinia added that in his assess-ment, the importance of the Russianeconomy is much more than CentralAsian economies. If one takes a look atrecent developments in Central Asia,one will notice that China is the biggestplayer and that there is no crucial capa-bility or opportunity within the centralAsian economy to be filled by India, Iranor other countries because China is

already a dominant country in this geo-economic scene. The Russian market, onthe other hand, has a huge potential forIndian businesses and if India can con-nect its rising economy with another bigeconomy like Russia, it will be a greatopportunity to enhance cooperationbetween Iran and India along theChabahar. In my assessment, connect-ing just Indian and Russian economieswill create enough economic justifica-tion for INSTC and Chabahar project.

This writer spoke to BehroozAghaei, ports and maritime directorgeneral of Sistan and Baluchistanprovince. Chabahar port comes underhis jurisdiction. He said that despitewhat appears at first glance, the“Chabahar port’s exemption from sanc-tions” granted by the US is not going tohelp the people of Afghanistan. In fact,it increases transit expenses of its com-modities by imposing sanctions onports (which could have been betteralternatives economically) and putsfurther restrictions on Afghan mer-chants. Analysis reveals that imposingsanctions on Iran’s ports as the mostsecure and less expensive routes forAfghanistan implies imposing sanctionson Afghanistan itself.

Aghaei says that as far as India isconcerned, the significant point is thatIndian commodities that transit toAfghanistan don’t have enough tradevolumes to rationalise marine and roadtransportation expenses. Bearing inmind the trade volume of Afghanistan,Russia and CIS countries, which alto-gether is more than 16 million tonnes,and the insignificant share ofAfghanistan, it can be said that without

making possible the transportation of allIndia’s merchandise to the above-men-tioned countries through Chabaharport, the so-called exemption of this portdoes not make any noticeable change inIndia’s trade. Therefore, Chabahar port’sexemption will only be a competitiveadvantage for India if all our merchan-dise for Afghanistan, Russia and CIScountries could be transported throughthe port without any restriction onbanking transactions and insurance.

Aghaei adds that the noteworthypoint about Afghanistan is that theexemption of Chabahar port will onlybe useful if there is no prohibition onvessels carrying merchandise enteringand leaving it as well as on commercialtransactions of cargo owners, mer-chants and shipping lines. Particularlybanking transactions should be donewithout limitation.

The US may not agree to it. Its aimto provide a sanctions waiver toAfghanistan is to allow imports into thatcountry. It is not concerned with theprofits made by the Chabahar port. Butit definitely will have an impact on thegrowth of the port. While Iran is undersanctions, Chabahar can never realise itsfull potential of being a route for Indo-Russia trade and trade to Europe viaINSTC. Gwadar got a headstart overChabahar, which was planned earlier,due to the US-Iran tensions and sanc-tions. Will we see Chabahar lag behindin trade due to it?

(The writer is an independent jour-nalist working on cyber security and thegeopolitics of India’s neighbourhood,focussing on Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iranand Bangladesh)

The re-imposition of US sanctions on Iran is the biggest threat to the Chabahar port. BothIndia and Iran must muster enough political will and economic rationale to justify its worth

analysis 09F I R S T C O L U M N

Iranian war

is unwinnable

GWYNNE DYER

A confrontation between Iran and the US will be ahigh-speed replay of the Vietnam war and the latter

will lose again. It really is the stupidest idea

AVEEK SEN

THE RUSSIANMARKET HAS A

HUGE POTENTIALFOR INDIAN

BUSINESSES ANDIF INDIA CANCONNECT ITS

RISING ECONOMYWITH ANOTHER

BIG ECONOMYLIKE RUSSIA, IT

WILL BE A GREATOPPORTUNITY TO

ENHANCECOOPERATION

BETWEEN IRANAND INDIA ALONG

THE CHABAHAR.CONNECTING

JUST INDIAN ANDRUSSIAN

ECONOMIES WILLCREATE ENOUGH

ECONOMICJUSTIFICATION

FOR INSTC ANDTHE CHABAHAR

PROJECT

After a long debate, the highest levels of the military could

not forecast a way in which things would end favourably

for the United States,” said Richard Clarke, counter-ter-

rorism adviser in the White House under three administrations.

That was back in 2007 and he was talking about the

Pentagon’s attempts to come up with a winning strategy for a

US war with Iran. No matter how they gamed it, the US lost.

Two years later, in 2009, US Marine General Tony Zinni

warned that any attack on Iran would lead inexorably to “boots

on the ground”. “If you liked Iraq and Afghanistan,” he added

drily, “ you’ll love Iran.” And in 2011, Meir Dagan, former head

of Mossad, Israel’s national intelligence agency, said that an attack

on Iran was “the stupidest idea” he had ever heard. This was

all back in the days when various people in the West were talk-

ing far too loosely about war with Iran because the Iranian

President at the time was a loud-mouthed extremist named

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Then he lost the 2013 election and was

replaced by a moderate reformer, Hassan Rouhani.

Rouhani stopped all the aggressive talk and in 2015, he cut

a deal with most of the world’s major powers to put Iran’s nuclear

weapons ambitions, if any, on ice for at least 15 years. Everything

then went quiet until another loud-mouthed extremist, Donald

Trump, tore up the 2015 agreement and began talking about war

with Iran again. He doesn’t necessarily mean it. What Trump

says on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays he often recants

on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. (To make matters even

more inscrutable, his threat to bring about “the end of Iran” was

made last Sunday, and there are no rules for Sundays.) But he

is surrounded by people who sound like they really are looking

for a fight with Iran.

To be fair, Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State

Mike Pompeo are probably telling themselves that plausibly ter-

rifying US threats will suffice to crumble Iran. Only National

Security Adviser John Bolton understands that the threats will

cause Iranian reactions that can then be used as an excuse for

an actual attack (and he’s just fine with that). So is the scenario

of a US attack on Iran, with or without Saudi Arabian and Israeli

help, still as hopeless a project as it was 10 years ago? It’s not

hopeless at all if you just drop nuclear weapons on the 20 biggest

Iranian cities. That’s not enough to cause a nuclear winter but

quite enough to kill between a quarter and a half of Iran’s 80

million people. If you do that (and either the US or Israel could

do it single-handed), the Iranians will never come back for a re-

match.

But neither the US or Israel is going to do that. It would make

them literally the enemies of all mankind. And short of doing

that, there are no good options for winning a war against Iran

because (as in all ‘asymmetric’ conflicts) the Iranians don’t need

a winning strategy. All they have to do is not lose. The US and

its friends could certainly destroy all of Iran’s military and indus-

trial facilities by ‘conventional’ bombing, including most of the

underground facilities. (The Iranians, having lived with threats

like this for a long time, have done a good deal of digging.)

The attackers could also destroy all the utilities like water,

sewage and electrical power that make urban life possible, forc-

ing millions of Iranian city-dwellers into refugee camps in rural

areas. The Iranians might be able to shoot a few of the attack-

ing planes and missiles down, but not many. But none of this

would force the Iranians to surrender, nor would it prevent Iran

from stopping all the tankers going into and out of the Persian

Gulf (which transport most of the oil burned in India, China and

Japan). Iran’s sea-skimming missiles can be fired from mobile

launchers anywhere along 3,000 km of coastline and have the

range to reach the other side at any point. So in the end, if you’re

serious, it would have to be “boots on the ground”, just as Zinni

said. But the ground war is unwinnable, too. Iran’s Army is about

the same size as that of the US but it could quickly expand to

10 times that size with volunteers as it did during the US-backed

Iraqi invasion of Iran in 1980-88. And Iran is as large as France.

Would the Iranians volunteer in such numbers? Of course,

they would. Many Iranians don’t like the current regime but they

are patriots. They are as unlikely to welcome a US invasion as

American liberals would be to welcome a foreign invasion promis-

ing to liberate them from Trump. The Iranian volunteers would

be poorly armed and they would die in droves but if only one

American soldier died for every 10 Iranians, the US public would

quickly reach its maximum tolerance level for American casu-

alties. It would be a high-speed replay of the Vietnam war, and

the US would lose again. So don’t do it. Don’t even think about

it. It really is the stupidest idea.

Plastics have for long beenassociated as an environmen-tal contaminant. Slowly but

irretrievably, rampant use of thismaterial is adversely impacting theclimate system. This is apparentfrom the fact that our once pristinehabitat and fragile ecology, theflora and fauna, are getting increas-ingly eroded. The damaging impactis clear not only on land but also onthe oceans. Newly publishedresearch calculates that across theirlife cycle, plastics account for 3.8 percent of global greenhouse gas emis-sions. That’s almost double theemissions of the aviation sector. Ifit were a country, the “PlasticKingdom” would be the fifth-high-

est emitter in the world.Insatiable demand for plastic is

fuelling the almost endless pursuitto procure all things made out of itand the bad news is that this bur-geoning demand is all set to grow.At 380 metric tonnes a year, we pro-duce 190 times more plastic than wedid in 1950. If the demand for plas-tic continues to grow at its currentrate of four per cent a year, emis-sions from plastic production willreach 15 per cent of global emis-sions by 2050. This toxic increase inthe use of plastic will surely send theenvironment and climate into ashock unless measures are taken tobring down the plastic exposure.

More than 99 per cent of plas-tics are manufactured from petro-chemicals, most commonly frompetroleum and natural gas. Theseraw materials are refined to formethylene, propylene, butene andother basic plastic building blocks,before being transported to manu-facturers. The production andtransport of these resins require anawful lot of energy — and, there-fore, fuel. Greenhouse gas emissions

also occur during the refiningprocess itself — the “cracking” oflarger hydrocarbons from petro-chemicals into smaller ones suitablefor making plastic releases carbondioxide and methane. According tothe study, about 61 per cent of totalplastic greenhouse gas emissionscomes from the resin productionand transport stage.

A further 30 per cent is emittedat the product manufacturing stage.The vast majority of these emissionscome from the energy required topower the plants that turn raw plas-tic materials into the bottles, binbags and bicycle helmets we usetoday. The remainder occurs as aresult of chemical and manufactur-ing processes — for example, theproduction of plastic foams usesHFCs, particularly potent green-house gases. The remaining carbonfootprint occurs when plastics arethrown away. Incineration releasesall of the stored carbon in the plas-tic into the atmosphere, as well asair pollutants such as dioxins,furans, mercury and polychlorinat-ed biphenyls, which are toxic and

damaging to human health.As plastics take centuries to

degrade, disposal in landfill makesonly a small contribution to emis-sions in theory. However, as muchas 40 per cent of landfill waste isburnt in open skies, dramaticallyspeeding up the release of otherwiselocked-up carbon.

If we are to combat climatebreakdown, reductions in plasticemissions are clearly needed.Thankfully, the solution with thebiggest potential is already inmotion, albeit slow. In showing thattransitioning to a zero carbon ener-gy system has the potential to reduceemissions from plastic by 51 percent, the study provides yet anoth-er reason to rapidly phase out fossilfuels. However, beyond urgentlyrequired global decarbonisation, weneed to reduce our seemingly insa-tiable demand for carbon-basedplastic. Increasing recycling rates isone simple way of doing this.

The highest-quality plastics canbe recycled many times, and near-ly all plastic can be recycled to someextent — but only 18 per cent was

actually recycled worldwide in2015. Although each recycle processrequires a small amount of newplastic, we can greatly increase thelife cycle of the material by efficient-ly reusing what we make. But thedismal global recycling statistics domake us wonder whether we willever efficiently adopt 100 per centrecycling of plastics. To counter this,a more fundamental solution is toswitch to making plastics frombiodegradable sources such aswood, corn starch and sugarcane.

The materials themselves arecarbon neutral, although renewablepower is essential to eliminate theclimate impact of energy costs dur-ing production, transport and wasteprocessing. However, a massiveramping up in the production ofbioplastics — which currently makeup less than one per cent of totalplastic production — would requirevast swathes of agricultural land.With the population set to rise dra-matically, increasingly covetedarable space may not be able to sat-isfy demand. The bottom line,therefore, is that we will need to

reduce our demand for plastic.According to the study, simplyreducing the annual growth inplastics demand from four per centto two per cent could result in 60per cent lower emissions from thesector in 2050.

While a life without plasticsmay seem unimaginable, it’s worthremembering that their prevalenceis a relatively recent phenomenon.The first artificial plastic, Bakelite,was developed in 1907, but it was-n’t until the 1950s that the age ofplastic began. If we show a genuineappetite to address plastic pollution,the world could change again justas quickly and so will the environ-ment — for the better.

Governments, corporations, andindividuals must make research intoalternatives a priority and supporttheir use to needless plastic waste. Ofcourse, any of these solutions alonewill not be enough but if we man-age to do all of this, then we can cutplastics emissions to just seven percent of current levels.

(The writer is an environmentaljournalist)

How to end the plastic kingdomThe dismal global recycling statistics do make us wonder whether we will ever efficiently adopt 100 per cent recycling of

plastics. A more fundamental solution is to switch to variants from biodegradable sources like wood, corn starch and sugarcane

KOTA SRIRAJIt’s difficult to see how theBrexit party’s statementsabout funding will meet therequirements of the actgoverning the polls. It isessential to establish thatdonations have come onlyfrom permissible donors,and are reported publicly ifabove a certain size. Thisinformation ought to berevealed within sevenbusiness days as in someAustralian states.Democracy costs money.But money must not costBritain its democracy.(The Guardian Editorial)

MYSTERIOUSFINANCES

LUCKNOW | THURSDAY | MAY 23, 2019

www.dailypioneer.com

F O R E I G N E Y E

money 10LUCKNOW | THURSDAY | MAY 23, 2019

Sensex spurts 140 pts ahead of poll outcome PTI n MUMBAI

The benchmark BSE Sensexended 140 points higher

Wednesday, bolstered by gainsin banking and auto stocksahead of the general electionresults.

After swinging over 300points during the day, the 30-share index ended 140.41points, or 0.36 per cent, high-er at 39,110.21. The gauge hitan intra-day high of 39,249.08and a low of 38,903.87.

In similar movement, thebroader NSE Nifty rose 28.80points, or 0.25 per cent, to11,737.90.

IndusInd Bank was thebiggest gainer in the Sensexpack, rallying 4.84 per cent, fol-lowed by Sun Pharma, BajajAuto, Bharti Airtel, Coal India,Tata Motors, SBI, ICICI Bank,Hero MotoCorp, ONGC,HDFC, Vedanta, L&T, KotakBank, Maruti and Axis Bank,ending up to 2.92 per centhigher.

On the other hand, YesBank, ITC, PowerGrid, TCSand HUL closed in the red,slipping up to 2.34 per cent.

According to experts,investor sentiment turnedpositive this week after most

exit polls forecast a win forthe Narendra Modi-led NDA.The results of the seven-phased polls will come outThursday.

“Post the exit polls, one cansay that the markets seem tohave priced in a second termfor the Modi government.However, lack of majority forBJP will prove to be a damp-ener for market mood. Hungelections remain a near termthreat for the markets.

“Post elections, the focuswill revert back to the funda-mental issues such as earningsgrowth and increase in capex,”said Hemang Jani, Head -Advisory, Sharekhan by BNPParibas.

Unabated foreign fundinflows too buoyed marketmood here, traders said.

Foreign institutionalinvestors net bought equitiesworth Rs 1,185.44 crore onTuesday, while domestic insti-tutional investors sold shares tothe tune of Rs 1,090.32 crore,provisional data available withstock exchanges showed.

Sectorally, the BSE bankex,capital goods, industrials, oiland gas, finance, auto andenergy indices ended up to 0.89per cent higher.

DHFL curbs premature withdrawals; shares tankPTI n NEW DELHI

Cash-starved DewanHousing Finance

Corporation Ltd (DHFL) hasdecided to restrict prematurewithdrawal of deposits andstop accepting fresh deposits aspart of reorganising its “liabil-ity management” efforts,sources said.

“In view of the recent revi-sion in the credit rating of ourfixed deposit programme,acceptance of all fresh deposits,as well as renewals, has beenput on hold with immediate

effect.“Further, to help us reor-

ganise our liability manage-ment, the premature with-drawal of deposits has alsobeen put on hold. This is com-pletely under NHB regulation,”one of the sources said.

National Housing Bank(NHB) norms do not allowcompanies to raise deposits ifthey do not have an investmentgrade rating.

According to the sources,the company will continue tohonour its all prematuredeposit withdrawal requests in

cases such as medical or finan-cial emergency, provided thecustomers produce valid doc-uments.

“Over the last few weeksthere have been several unwar-ranted speculation in the mar-ket about the creditworthinessof DHFL and the companystands committed to honour allits liability payments,” one ofthe sources said.

DHFL stock Wednesdaysettled 9.85 per cent down at Rs117.10 on the BSE.

The company has clearedliabilities of nearly Rs 30,000

crore since September 2018, thesources added.

For the past eight months,Non-Banking FinancialCompanies (NBFCs) have beenreeling under liquidity crunchagainst the backdrop of debtdefaults by IL&FS group com-panies and others.

On May 10, DHFL clarifiedon unwarranted speculationin the market about continuousweakening of the company’scredit profile.

“We would like to place onrecord that the slowdown inbusiness activity in the indus-

try has not had any adverseimpact on DHFL’s debt repay-ment ability or loan servicingand collections of the compa-ny,” it had said.

From a servicing stand-point, collection efficiency hasremained over 99 per centevery month since September2018, DHFL had said.

On Tuesday, the RBI decid-ed to have a specialised cadrefor supervision and regulationof NBFCs and other financialinstitutions.

Earlier this month,Corporate Affairs Secretary

Injeti Srinivas in an interviewto PTI had said the NBFC sec-tor was facing issues of creditsqueeze, over-leveraging andmisadventures by some largeentities.

“There is an imminentcrisis in the NBFC sector.There is a credit squeeze,over-leveraging, excessiveconcentration, massive mis-match between assets andliabilities, coupled with somemisadventures by some verylarge entities, which is a per-fect recipe for disaster,”Srinivas had said.

No personal data exposed: Chtrbox

PTI n NEW DELHI

Mumbai-based Chtrbox,which was allegedly

responsible for leaking data ofmillions of Instagram users,has said database for a limit-ed number of influencers wasinadvertently exposed butthat did not include any sen-sitive personal data.

The company termed thereports of private data beingleaked as “inaccurate” andacknowledged that “a partic-ular database for limitedinfluencers was inadvertent-ly exposed for approximate-ly 72 hours”.

“This database did notinclude any sensitive person-

al data and only containedinformation available fromthe public domain, or selfreported by influencers,” itsaid in a statement lateTuesday night.

On Tuesday, Facebook-owned Instagram said it isinvestigating whether a third-party — Chtrbox — improp-erly stored its user data inviolation of its policies afterreports that information ofmil l ions of users being available online allegedly inan unsecured databaseemerged.

These reports said thedatabase found online —with over 49 million records— contained information of

millions of Instagram influ-encers, celebrities and brandaccounts. The database wasallegedly traced back toChtrbox.

The reports had saidapart from public data (likebio, profile picture and num-ber of followers), the databasealso allegedly contained users’private contact informationsuch as email address andphone number.

An Instagram spokesper-son had said the company is“investigating whether a thirdparty improperly storedInstagram data, in violationof our policies. It’s also notclear whether the phonenumbers and e-mails in

Chtrbox’s database camefrom Instagram”.

Chtrbox, in its statement,asserted that no personaldata has been sourcedthrough unethical means bythe company.

“Our database is for inter-nal research use only, wehave never sold individualdata or our database, and wehave never purchasedhacked-data resulting fromsocial media platform breach-es. Our use of our database islimited to help our team con-nect with the right influ-encers to support influencersto monetize their online pres-ence, and help brands creategreat content,” it added.

SpiceJet launches 20 new domestic flightsMumbai (PTI): Budget carrier SpiceJet Wednesday announcedthe launch of 20 new domestic flights, with 18 of them connectingthe financial capital with a host of metro and non-metro cities.

The new services, which include flights to regional desti-nations such as Thiruvananthapuram, Vijayawada and Tirupatifrom Mumbai, will be launched between May 26 and May 30,SpiceJet said in a statement. All new flights being introduced willbe operated daily, except the one for Mumbai-Kolkata route whichwill be not be operational on Wednesday and Sunday, with Boeing737 NG aircraft, the release said. Starting April 1, SpiceJet hasannounced 106 new flights, which include 73 connectingMumbai, 16 connecting Delhi and 8 flights between Mumbai andDelhi, in an effort to partially offset the capacity loss across domes-tic and international routes in the wake of Jet Airways ground-ing. With the new flights, passengers from Thiruvananthapuram,Vijayawada, Goa, Hyderabad, Tirupati, Kochi, Kolkata, Kanpurand Patna will be able to travel to a host of other cities, both onSpiceJet’s domestic as well as international network via Mumbai,the airline said.

Script Open High Low LTPSUZLON 5.99 6.22 5.40 5.51RPOWER 7.40 7.40 6.57 6.92RCOM 2.06 2.09 1.96 1.98TATAMOTORS 186.60 186.90 174.10 176.60JETAIRWAYS 135.00 153.85 130.65 150.75RELIANCE 1329.30 1366.25 1329.30 1339.75YESBANK 144.95 145.00 138.60 141.00IBULHSGFIN 806.00 836.60 794.10 808.25SBIN 346.05 347.10 336.15 337.55JPASSOCIAT 4.80 4.97 4.71 4.76JUSTDIAL 663.80 725.55 656.05 711.15DHFL 128.00 132.00 122.50 129.90IBVENTURES 349.70 359.00 328.00 334.00HDFCBANK 2433.00 2449.00 2399.95 2403.80SPICEJET 127.55 131.35 126.10 126.65INFY* 723.50 723.50 707.00 709.20BAJFINANCE 3415.35 3484.90 3371.55 3432.65MARUTI 7100.05 7130.30 6813.55 6857.80DELTACORP 178.50 187.50 177.35 183.30LT 1453.00 1462.20 1437.10 1448.20ADANIPORTS 412.00 412.00 385.00 387.00ZEEL 362.90 367.50 344.85 348.10RELCAPITAL 125.00 126.00 119.00 121.65PCJEWELLER 109.00 109.00 102.20 103.80BANKBARODA 123.85 127.30 121.80 125.35PNBHOUSING 775.30 808.40 773.00 788.10HINDPETRO 301.90 301.90 279.00 285.10HEG 1684.00 1749.00 1626.00 1637.10IBREALEST 121.90 122.95 115.25 116.95TATASTEEL 484.80 485.00 469.80 473.50TITAN 1233.00 1253.95 1233.00 1248.35SUNPHARMA 414.00 423.55 405.50 408.70ICICIBANK 408.15 410.95 397.85 400.35HDFC 2135.00 2178.00 2104.65 2114.10BPCL 397.50 398.00 368.95 374.70INDUSINDBK 1500.00 1515.00 1441.00 1447.55ADANIPOWER 47.50 48.10 44.85 46.00ASHOKLEY 88.30 89.70 87.25 88.25JAICORPLTD 113.10 118.70 113.10 113.90KOTAKBANK 1502.00 1515.00 1483.60 1487.20ITC 307.00 309.85 304.85 305.30DLF 175.00 176.40 169.65 171.20TATAMTRDVR 89.10 89.10 82.30 83.10AXISBANK 791.00 791.00 771.55 773.10DRREDDY 2600.00 2699.85 2599.95 2662.55RELINFRA 123.25 123.65 116.25 118.20UBL 1340.00 1483.55 1340.00 1427.75CADILAHC 253.45 254.80 242.65 244.55ESCORTS 595.00 613.55 585.35 595.45EDELWEISS 171.00 183.60 171.00 180.85TORNTPHARM 1634.90 1634.90 1525.20 1601.05INDIGO 1450.00 1512.00 1450.00 1475.90GRAPHITE 362.50 369.25 351.30 356.10HINDUNILVR 1773.00 1796.50 1772.00 1783.50CIPLA 565.00 580.30 553.45 559.00PNB 88.40 89.00 84.95 86.15TCS 2145.00 2149.95 2101.60 2109.20HINDALCO 200.00 200.20 193.40 196.00JUBILANT 570.00 584.00 532.00 537.40IOC 158.75 159.15 152.40 153.35DMART 1325.00 1331.20 1266.60 1274.90MERCK 4560.00 4650.00 4182.70 4317.60L&TFH 127.00 130.35 123.70 124.80MOTHERSUMI 127.15 127.70 120.10 120.55PEL 2288.00 2380.85 2218.00 2228.10NCC 105.30 107.80 103.15 106.80TATACHEM 609.10 618.80 599.30 615.95BANKINDIA 90.90 91.80 87.15 88.20JINDALSTEL 166.00 166.90 161.85 163.15STAR 425.00 436.70 409.05 411.25BANDHANBNK 608.95 619.00 580.00 587.20TECHM 784.00 784.80 769.45 773.45M&MFIN 415.80 415.80 399.65 402.25LUPIN 758.00 776.65 745.00 747.55WOCKPHARMA 387.10 399.70 381.00 383.30AUROPHARMA 665.00 679.75 660.00 667.65SIEMENS 1185.00 1237.70 1167.70 1182.05UJJIVAN 341.00 347.40 327.70 329.80WESTLIFE 359.95 363.00 352.00 360.00CUMMINSIND 764.00 764.00 737.95 743.25TATAPOWER 66.45 66.45 63.60 64.40IDEA 12.60 12.65 11.70 11.85BAJAJFINSV 8218.00 8327.70 8102.10 8185.00BHEL 66.40 66.40 62.90 63.35BHARATFORG 483.80 483.80 463.20 467.00UPL 1019.00 1043.35 995.55 1003.00ICICIGI 1147.85 1158.05 1130.70 1144.00SUNTECK 472.05 476.30 459.65 471.70DABUR 391.15 391.15 382.00 382.80TATAGLOBAL 235.95 237.15 229.80 232.00BHARATFIN 928.00 939.85 887.85 892.70BAJAJ-AUTO 3005.85 3044.00 2970.30 2985.00BEL 98.55 99.85 95.55 96.80AUBANK 696.00 709.45 685.80 696.60BIOCON 529.95 532.05 517.80 518.85NOCIL 124.00 128.90 121.00 127.85ASIANPAINT 1383.50 1383.85 1352.20 1358.00RAIN 108.80 109.80 104.50 106.00ACC 1669.00 1680.00 1598.65 1612.20BOMDYEING 120.80 120.80 114.10 115.40DCMSHRIRAM 589.00 606.80 570.90 578.20BEML 917.25 924.40 890.00 896.70SRF 2945.00 2977.00 2900.00 2939.35M&M 660.00 662.40 634.50 637.20CANBK 261.20 269.95 257.45 260.55NATIONALUM 52.00 52.00 48.90 49.30ADANIGREEN 44.15 45.30 43.30 43.75WIPRO 290.15 291.00 286.20 286.85PHILIPCARB 143.25 143.35 133.00 133.60

UNIONBANK 74.25 74.50 70.75 71.60FORCEMOT 1510.00 1585.00 1490.15 1525.05DISHTV 30.50 31.00 28.40 28.75STRTECH 168.75 169.60 163.00 164.00SOBHA 483.70 512.95 483.70 506.20GAIL 352.40 352.40 335.00 338.85COALINDIA 239.95 241.40 234.55 237.30MANAPPURAM 125.35 128.30 124.50 125.80HEROMOTOCO 2726.00 2727.00 2645.20 2656.85BRITANNIA 2807.00 2866.95 2794.05 2846.05INDIACEM 103.10 103.90 99.10 99.65HDFCLIFE 399.90 403.50 396.00 402.15LICHSGFIN 525.00 537.25 523.10 525.40ULTRACEMCO 4785.05 4785.10 4620.00 4689.00FEDERALBNK 104.40 104.40 100.75 101.35IDFCFIRSTB 43.40 43.70 42.85 43.35PFC 116.95 117.40 110.40 111.50JUBLFOOD 1311.00 1345.00 1291.30 1302.15JKCEMENT 906.80 994.00 906.80 944.30ONGC 175.00 176.00 173.70 174.30SRTRANSFIN 1110.00 1141.95 1080.00 1085.55LAKSHVILAS 78.25 78.25 75.60 76.70FSL 52.00 52.80 51.10 51.55ORIENTCEM 112.95 116.70 112.00 113.95CENTURYTEX 958.50 994.30 958.50 967.75DCBBANK 233.95 233.95 227.40 230.45PETRONET 236.00 241.00 235.65 240.35GRUH 322.00 326.45 308.05 311.00WABAG 302.50 319.70 297.00 309.05VEDL 168.00 168.60 163.90 165.00EIHOTEL 180.90 181.65 177.90 180.95TATAELXSI 866.00 868.65 834.15 840.10RBLBANK 688.80 688.80 663.40 669.20

BHARTIARTL 340.85 340.85 328.80 330.80ORIENTBANK 96.70 98.00 94.00 95.25HEIDELBERG 200.00 202.00 195.95 200.30POWERGRID 188.45 188.45 183.80 184.00GRASIM 895.00 900.00 863.00 866.25IDBI 37.80 37.95 35.25 35.45JSWSTEEL 286.00 286.35 277.70 279.75MUTHOOTFIN 617.90 637.00 608.15 618.75ABCAPITAL 95.30 97.40 94.35 94.85KEI 421.80 422.00 413.15 415.25JISLJALEQS 53.75 54.20 51.45 53.00AARTIIND 1650.15 1723.40 1650.00 1713.00SAIL 51.95 52.00 50.00 50.60IPCALAB 937.15 940.05 896.00 920.00NBCC 57.55 58.90 55.80 56.35RECLTD 145.25 146.85 138.90 140.55SOUTHBANK 14.25 14.45 13.55 13.80GNFC 303.00 306.00 294.75 300.00APOLLOHOSP 1197.60 1214.15 1165.00 1173.15APOLLOTYRE 184.40 184.40 180.50 182.10CHOLAFIN 1437.45 1450.00 1381.55 1416.80BALKRISIND 800.00 800.00 758.50 768.15AMBUJACEM 226.00 226.90 219.50 220.55SPARC 146.65 151.15 144.50 145.70JAMNAAUTO 59.20 59.20 54.05 55.30INFRATEL 270.80 281.20 270.25 275.00RAYMOND 822.60 829.45 804.15 807.55KTKBANK 119.15 119.15 111.85 112.65PERSISTENT* 609.90 611.25 605.00 610.05IRB 128.25 129.95 123.35 124.80LTTS 1767.70 1776.75 1707.00 1718.70HCLTECH 1072.00 1075.05 1052.05 1056.95OBEROIRLTY 563.75 572.50 545.00 556.65BATAINDIA 1365.00 1391.85 1362.25 1378.40VENKYS 1699.90 1699.90 1616.00 1631.75JYOTHYLAB 155.05 166.00 154.80 163.85SUNTV 568.40 571.05 542.70 544.85TVSMOTOR 496.00 507.75 487.50 490.00KEC 295.60 298.45 286.00 292.00GODREJPROP 855.00 871.20 846.65 849.10MINDAIND 344.80 346.50 333.05 340.95INFIBEAM 45.95 45.95 44.00 45.35ENGINERSIN 115.85 116.00 111.90 112.65WELSPUNIND 54.15 54.15 52.05 52.50COLPAL 1172.00 1177.00 1145.45 1158.90NTPC 129.20 129.75 127.70 128.45PHOENIXLTD 607.70 620.00 606.80 617.95DCAL 224.40 232.00 216.40 219.45

HEXAWARE 357.00 364.50 355.70 357.65NIITTECH 1266.55 1301.85 1263.65 1290.05BIRLACORPN 580.65 612.90 580.60 588.00EICHERMOT 21241.00 21308.00 20840.10 20880.15GSFC 97.50 99.10 95.90 97.25PIDILITIND 1221.50 1221.50 1187.00 1202.15HAVELLS 760.00 766.45 754.95 758.00ITI 93.90 93.90 89.85 90.30EXIDEIND 216.80 218.75 208.90 209.75DIVISLAB 1658.05 1712.15 1658.05 1694.50CASTROLIND 147.00 148.00 145.00 146.20ABFRL 203.00 205.00 201.35 202.50GUJALKALI 558.90 571.70 554.00 564.70CANFINHOME 357.00 357.00 342.00 346.30CGPOWER 39.00 39.00 37.45 37.80PAGEIND 22650.00 22655.15 22150.00 22339.80GMRINFRA 15.80 15.90 15.30 15.40HSCL 109.00 109.00 98.00 99.30EMAMILTD 374.00 374.00 360.00 360.00PVR 1807.10 1823.40 1784.90 1811.45KAJARIACER 614.00 623.05 609.25 622.40ASTRAL 1271.70 1271.70 1155.75 1163.00AVANTI 336.50 339.00 331.60 333.75JINDALSAW 82.95 83.50 78.00 80.00INTELLECT 227.60 233.85 226.65 228.05CUB 204.00 209.85 202.05 208.80LTI 1770.50 1781.15 1757.45 1770.65GLENMARK 586.90 586.90 566.35 575.05NESTLEIND 10989.95 10989.95 10532.05 10634.00SHANKARA 524.90 540.00 506.00 521.00CHAMBLFERT 165.20 166.00 159.80 160.85BOSCHLTD 17650.00 17653.65 16983.75 17394.40SYNDIBANK 35.80 35.80 33.70 34.20EVEREADY 77.30 77.35 72.30 77.35HFCL 21.45 21.70 20.65 20.75IDFC 38.00 38.05 35.80 36.50MGL 892.00 892.00 852.05 855.75MANPASAND 104.85 105.05 100.00 101.50SBILIFE 650.20 660.30 647.00 657.15RADICO 351.30 357.05 345.90 347.25FDC 172.50 189.00 172.20 180.65ADANITRANS 225.00 232.00 223.00 224.50OIL 185.00 185.95 180.60 182.00INDIANB 254.30 256.25 244.35 247.00VOLTAS 589.00 594.95 580.70 586.50INOXLEISUR 333.00 337.00 325.00 329.00NETWORK18 30.80 30.85 29.65 30.25HINDCOPPER 41.45 42.40 40.50 40.60CEATLTD 1018.00 1018.00 981.00 987.20OMAXE 203.85 205.60 202.95 204.10BERGEPAINT 325.00 325.00 308.45 311.70IFCI 10.20 10.21 9.75 9.93ICICIPRULI 358.00 360.55 345.35 347.05CONCOR 499.00 499.00 481.30 483.50BAJAJELEC 552.00 564.90 548.55 561.60ASHOKA 121.20 122.05 118.50 120.55MRPL 63.50 63.65 60.40 61.80RNAM 207.30 207.40 204.75 206.25ALBK 46.30 46.75 44.70 45.10NMDC 96.20 97.20 93.00 93.20IGL 313.20 314.90 304.70 306.10MAHLOG 456.65 506.00 456.65 488.50TRIDENT 63.75 65.20 63.40 63.95TIMETECHNO 91.95 93.40 85.30 86.00RCF 57.00 57.30 56.20 56.60BLISSGVS 172.85 175.00 169.30 170.55VIPIND 455.95 455.95 447.00 450.40J&KBANK 57.85 58.80 57.80 58.20RALLIS 146.30 147.70 144.00 144.75GODREJCP 675.30 680.00 655.80 661.00MINDTREE 983.15 985.75 979.15 980.00AJANTPHARM 1034.65 1043.85 1006.05 1016.95CROMPTON 226.00 228.45 221.10 222.80KRBL 335.05 349.80 334.75 342.00WELCORP 138.45 139.20 133.30 133.80GRANULES 108.20 110.55 107.20 107.20COCHINSHIP 372.25 375.90 360.00 362.35ADVENZYMES 180.00 184.40 176.00 179.25PARAGMILK 249.80 254.35 242.00 243.80GODFRYPHLP 1063.55 1063.60 1023.05 1029.85TATACOFFEE 90.75 91.50 88.80 89.10JKTYRE 81.50 81.50 79.15 79.20SWANENERGY 110.95 110.95 104.25 104.55BLUESTARCO 733.35 753.75 733.35 750.90TV18BRDCST 29.00 29.40 28.35 28.65AMARAJABAT 660.00 660.00 625.15 628.10MOTILALOFS 728.00 746.00 726.50 735.00GSPL 185.50 188.20 181.85 185.70IBULISL 290.70 290.70 285.00 290.00CHENNPETRO 214.70 215.40 205.85 206.75MAHABANK 16.80 16.80 15.50 15.75MFSL 416.00 417.50 407.95 411.65CARERATING 965.00 989.00 943.45 989.00TORNTPOWER 248.40 248.40 240.00 241.85BAJAJHLDNG 3328.35 3357.00 3249.45 3300.05SUVEN 254.90 257.00 252.15 253.10MEGH 64.40 64.75 62.15 62.60FRETAIL 443.40 445.10 429.15 437.00GODREJIND 485.00 485.00 468.30 473.90APLAPOLLO 1617.00 1620.00 1530.90 1563.40MARICO 364.35 365.60 359.50 361.00CYIENT 556.00 556.30 542.00 548.70NAUKRI 1844.95 1901.00 1844.00 1868.05TRENT 367.00 373.70 362.80 371.00JKLAKSHMI 361.50 369.95 352.50 365.10DEEPAKFERT 134.70 136.50 131.50 131.95NAVINFLUOR 690.00 692.00 666.60 690.00REPCOHOME 440.85 442.15 420.30 425.25CCL 260.45 265.65 250.00 261.90SHREECEM 20366.40 20925.85 20104.85 20420.00

HINDZINC 264.90 264.90 254.15 255.30EQUITAS 135.80 137.05 132.30 133.00MMTC 25.80 25.80 24.75 25.05PFIZER 3171.90 3279.90 3167.10 3171.00GLAXO 1271.90 1279.00 1260.00 1271.05ITDCEM 123.20 124.40 120.65 124.00INDHOTEL 149.00 150.30 148.55 149.85MCX 840.05 853.00 822.30 826.95RAMCOCEM 788.00 793.45 762.70 770.00SCHNEIDER 104.40 106.75 100.95 101.25SCI 32.10 32.45 30.90 31.00TEJASNET 194.35 199.90 193.00 196.00GODREJAGRO 480.55 485.00 479.55 481.95KALPATPOWR 481.00 492.00 481.00 487.00FINCABLES 425.00 435.20 425.00 430.00JBCHEPHARM 341.40 352.00 340.00 343.50DEEPAKNI 293.45 293.45 283.00 284.60LEMONTREE 74.10 74.45 73.00 73.60THYROCARE 439.00 460.95 428.55 456.00GREAVESCOT 142.90 142.90 136.95 137.05JMFINANCIL 86.00 86.25 84.10 85.00GSKCONS 7499.95 7540.00 7288.00 7454.00MOIL 149.00 151.35 148.00 149.20FCONSUMER 41.50 41.50 40.00 40.10BBTC 1170.30 1178.00 1136.35 1138.00GET&D 268.30 271.45 259.00 265.00ATUL 3818.00 3853.00 3780.80 3824.00BDL 292.95 301.55 286.90 293.90CORPBANK 25.45 25.45 23.70 23.95ISEC 202.00 203.45 198.25 200.50PIIND 1109.30 1126.85 1109.30 1123.00VINATIORGA 1888.85 1900.00 1821.55 1853.50INDOSTAR 365.75 371.00 353.25 359.00WHIRLPOOL 1419.75 1445.00 1411.85 1445.00ASTRAZEN 2304.75 2323.65 2201.00 2218.00SIS 886.00 980.00 857.95 869.00

HUDCO 41.80 41.80 40.20 40.75JSWENERGY 68.05 68.65 66.05 66.50GICHSGFIN 259.15 260.00 252.25 254.60BAJAJCON 344.00 353.00 331.00 337.95MPHASIS 945.10 947.80 935.05 937.00QUESS 718.00 718.00 686.00 686.50CENTRALBK 27.75 27.75 26.60 26.75ABB 1440.45 1455.00 1414.30 1426.00NAVKARCORP 30.25 30.25 28.85 29.50KANSAINER 417.00 419.80 403.00 405.40FORTIS 127.10 127.25 124.75 125.60TTKPRESTIG 7170.00 7432.45 7168.65 7428.80NLCINDIA 65.95 65.95 64.55 64.80GPPL 89.00 91.50 89.00 90.00MRF 54850.00 54998.00 54389.90 54517.45GHCL 245.00 246.50 241.05 244.05HIMATSEIDE 193.55 194.45 187.55 188.55THERMAX 999.00 999.00 980.75 990.00LAXMIMACH 5520.10 5700.00 5431.00 5444.00RAJESHEXPO 665.00 665.00 652.85 661.00SHILPAMED 385.00 387.75 370.05 374.50LALPATHLAB 1079.00 1089.55 1065.00 1082.00SYNGENE 601.00 607.25 599.95 605.00KSCL 479.00 482.85 463.50 467.25TAKE 140.00 140.40 137.00 137.70THOMASCOOK 239.70 239.70 233.00 236.90IOB 12.40 12.56 11.76 11.87JSLHISAR 77.35 78.35 76.00 76.55ISGEC 517.45 517.45 490.20 495.50VGUARD 207.85 209.40 204.55 204.90SONATSOFTW 336.20 336.85 328.60 330.90NATCOPHARM 529.90 529.90 519.05 524.00TRITURBINE 116.15 117.35 108.60 109.00UCOBANK 17.70 17.70 17.15 17.20HSIL 271.45 272.35 263.20 264.50NHPC 23.15 23.30 22.75 22.80SKFINDIA 1887.55 1897.65 1830.00 1840.00JSL 38.40 38.40 36.40 37.75PNCINFRA 165.00 174.00 162.55 168.00PRESTIGE 261.65 266.70 257.05 264.75WABCOINDIA 6155.05 6155.05 6067.55 6079.75RELAXO 831.70 831.70 801.00 812.10GICRE 231.00 231.00 226.15 229.05NESCO 476.55 488.70 471.00 485.00MAHSCOOTER 4096.35 4121.10 4039.00 4039.00GREENPLY 150.55 152.35 148.00 148.95SUPREMEIND 1011.00 1028.40 1000.80 1018.95REDINGTON 93.00 94.70 90.05 92.45INOXWIND 60.65 62.10 60.10 61.00GALAXYSURF 1034.05 1070.00 1034.00 1054.95ANDHRABANK 24.80 24.90 24.00 24.80CARBORUNIV 361.00 364.50 356.60 356.65MAHINDCIE 228.30 229.15 222.50 229.05PTC 70.25 70.95 69.50 70.05UFLEX 226.80 229.70 225.60 226.90

SUNDRMFAST 532.00 535.00 519.00 521.20IEX 148.55 152.95 145.50 152.95SOMANYCERA 374.20 377.15 363.00 365.25TVTODAY 276.00 279.00 267.80 272.40PRSMJOHNSN 92.05 92.25 89.80 90.25COROMANDEL 412.00 415.85 401.80 405.50MHRIL 216.35 218.45 209.60 210.00NIACL 165.95 166.65 162.45 162.45LUXIND 1249.90 1251.40 1195.05 1195.05KNRCON 240.25 240.25 233.95 239.00EIDPARRY 183.95 184.45 179.35 179.35MINDACORP 123.95 125.20 120.30 120.30NBVENTURES 97.80 97.80 93.00 93.70ABBOTINDIA 7513.40 7840.00 7511.95 7700.00CENTURYPLY 171.75 171.75 167.15 168.00ESSELPRO 132.40 132.90 131.50 132.25VMART 2312.30 2312.30 2220.15 2266.00ENDURANCE 1149.90 1152.00 1145.00 1146.45TATACOMM 556.20 558.95 541.00 542.80ZENSARTECH 245.60 250.00 244.50 250.00OFSS 3410.10 3474.90 3397.15 3418.50CAPPL 378.00 379.00 363.10 365.20NH 197.00 200.00 185.25 191.00SJVN 24.45 24.50 23.50 24.15TIMKEN 569.90 569.90 545.20 555.40SADBHAV 243.00 248.50 238.00 238.00IFBIND 801.10 801.10 780.00 789.10GMDCLTD 75.90 76.00 73.10 73.10TIINDIA 384.00 387.40 370.75 379.90ZYDUSWELL 1289.25 1300.95 1255.85 1265.50GUJGAS 165.00 166.00 161.20 162.70KPRMILL 608.00 623.50 603.10 623.00MAGMA 129.85 130.00 126.40 127.70AIAENG 1719.00 1719.00 1659.45 1710.00ECLERX 925.10 952.95 925.10 936.20HAL 657.50 658.00 647.95 648.50FLFL 470.55 470.55 458.00 463.15TATAMETALI 617.00 617.00 600.05 603.00DBL 543.25 543.25 543.25 543.25LAURUSLABS 372.00 375.15 369.00 369.90SYMPHONY 1223.75 1236.75 1203.75 1211.00ERIS 614.90 614.90 594.45 608.00GESHIP 249.90 251.65 247.50 247.50CRISIL 1415.00 1431.45 1400.00 1428.00TATAINVEST 882.65 899.95 857.75 864.35SREINFRA 24.20 24.20 23.25 23.40DBCORP 196.05 197.00 193.30 195.00LINDEINDIA 546.00 550.05 544.20 547.65MAXINDIA 70.95 70.95 64.60 65.50SFL 1255.00 1255.00 1201.00 1230.00GUJFLUORO 990.00 995.00 984.00 984.00APLLTD 531.25 537.00 526.35 529.95GRINDWELL 599.15 602.95 590.00 593.20SHK 158.50 158.50 152.50 152.65VTL 1095.15 1127.45 1075.00 1124.00BALMLAWRIE 171.80 173.25 169.10 169.85ALKEM 1712.20 1715.00 1683.65 1690.00BASF 1299.00 1321.90 1269.00 1269.00HERITGFOOD 445.00 455.00 440.00 452.95TNPL 184.55 186.00 181.20 184.50TEAMLEASE 2922.30 2922.30 2813.50 2884.70NILKAMAL 1145.40 1154.45 1124.35 1137.50GDL 142.00 142.00 138.50 138.50SOLARINDS 1110.80 1120.00 1092.00 1120.00APARINDS 641.05 641.05 625.75 632.90ALLCARGO 106.25 106.25 104.00 104.25JAGRAN 110.45 112.30 109.85 111.20ASAHIINDIA 213.75 215.05 208.15 211.20MAHLIFE 367.50 382.00 367.50 375.50BLUEDART 2797.00 2797.00 2683.00 2691.30UNITEDBNK 11.12 11.12 10.75 10.75AKZOINDIA 1688.80 1697.75 1678.75 1685.00SUDARSCHEM 313.00 313.40 303.00 307.00FORBESCO 2130.00 2174.00 2099.95 2117.00GILLETTE 6970.45 6971.70 6860.05 6860.05PGHH 10828.30 10850.00 10727.70 10833.90COFFEEDAY 249.00 249.00 245.65 247.00VBL 911.95 920.00 906.50 920.00FINOLEXIND 464.90 464.90 449.95 455.00CENTRUM 30.50 30.80 29.80 30.50GEPIL 924.50 924.50 895.00 895.00CERA 2941.70 2947.00 2885.45 2916.05ASTERDM 131.65 131.65 129.00 129.00AEGISLOG 204.00 206.95 203.10 205.45GAYAPROJ 167.25 170.00 161.00 170.00STARCEMENT 111.95 113.00 111.00 112.50DHANUKA 381.00 381.00 365.00 365.45ITDC 247.85 247.85 235.90 238.90NAVNETEDUL 108.00 109.60 107.10 107.50MONSANTO 2473.20 2480.00 2442.00 2471.303MINDIA 23044.85 23189.00 22800.00 22900.00SHOPERSTOP 459.70 464.00 457.50 464.00SUPPETRO 205.00 205.00 200.05 203.55LAOPALA 202.40 202.45 192.15 199.90SHARDACROP 357.85 360.00 352.35 355.00TVSSRICHAK 2080.00 2084.80 2055.00 2059.90ELGIEQUIP 260.00 263.50 256.90 263.50SUPRAJIT 205.00 205.70 199.05 203.00GULFOILLUB 860.10 865.00 860.00 862.00SANOFI 5501.80 5509.80 5458.90 5509.80SCHAEFFLER 4844.05 4937.40 4810.00 4870.00CHOLAHLDNG 507.05 525.00 507.00 521.05HONAUT 23992.65 24035.10 23723.90 23757.90KIOCL 127.40 132.10 127.40 130.20SHRIRAMCIT 1481.30 1486.60 1461.45 1478.50BAYERCROP 4067.45 4080.00 4057.55 4065.00HATSUN 723.90 724.00 711.00 724.00JCHAC 1872.00 1890.00 1856.50 1890.00RATNAMANI 873.00 873.20 861.00 861.00SUNCLAYLTD 2569.05 2610.90 2565.00 2610.90

NIFTY 50

SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY 50 11727.95 11784.80 11682.40 11737.90 28.80INDUSINDBK 1446.95 1536.85 1382.30 1528.00 80.25SUNPHARMA 409.00 423.55 408.00 423.00 14.15BAJAJ-AUTO 2980.05 3054.00 2973.15 3053.95 74.65BPCL 378.00 388.90 376.00 383.25 8.80EICHERMOT 20950.00 21300.00 20746.50 21285.00 383.25HEROMOTOCO 2657.40 2714.70 2638.00 2705.00 47.80BHARTIARTL 331.00 337.95 328.65 336.50 5.85COALINDIA 237.65 242.00 237.10 241.00 3.80TATAMOTORS 177.60 180.40 174.80 179.50 2.70SBIN 338.90 342.60 333.55 342.50 4.95IOC 155.00 156.75 152.25 155.70 2.20ICICIBANK 403.00 408.40 401.55 405.40 5.25ONGC 174.85 178.00 174.15 177.00 2.25HDFC 2124.00 2155.20 2119.00 2141.55 27.05UPL 1000.00 1018.95 991.35 1012.00 12.15NTPC 128.60 130.45 127.40 130.00 1.40LT 1450.10 1473.40 1441.60 1463.60 14.50HINDALCO 196.00 199.35 195.00 197.95 1.95HCLTECH 1057.00 1075.00 1053.70 1063.20 7.10AXISBANK 774.80 784.00 770.20 778.00 5.05VEDL 165.45 167.90 164.70 166.50 1.05KOTAKBANK 1493.00 1517.70 1488.70 1495.65 7.75BAJFINANCE 3442.00 3459.55 3398.05 3448.95 15.65ASIANPAINT 1360.50 1373.75 1348.05 1363.10 5.35MARUTI 6877.20 6930.55 6841.00 6900.00 24.65BAJAJFINSV 8194.00 8273.00 8102.00 8215.00 29.60RELIANCE 1345.65 1359.70 1335.10 1344.00 4.20M&M 643.85 643.85 631.25 640.95 1.80HDFCBANK 2411.85 2426.00 2394.25 2410.00 6.30ULTRACEMCO 4662.70 4673.65 4592.00 4652.00 12.25BRITANNIA 2861.00 2878.00 2817.50 2855.00 6.30DRREDDY 2664.90 2679.90 2621.85 2670.00 3.00INFY 710.00 718.25 707.00 709.95 0.65TATASTEEL 472.00 480.55 467.40 472.95 0.40TITAN 1245.95 1250.90 1226.35 1244.00 -0.40ITC 302.15 302.80 296.80 300.05 -0.10ADANIPORTS 389.00 393.45 378.40 385.65 -1.95GAIL 338.70 341.75 334.20 336.95 -1.75GRASIM 868.60 868.60 849.00 860.90 -4.70HINDUNILVR 1785.00 1785.00 1747.35 1773.75 -11.50POWERGRID 183.90 185.30 181.80 182.50 -1.45TCS 2110.00 2121.95 2075.00 2090.00 -19.75JSWSTEEL 280.40 281.25 272.30 276.70 -2.70CIPLA 562.00 574.00 550.05 553.90 -5.45WIPRO 287.00 287.50 281.00 283.40 -3.50ZEEL 349.95 350.95 339.20 343.00 -4.70YESBANK 141.00 141.25 135.50 138.90 -2.10INFRATEL 275.85 280.90 268.95 269.15 -6.95IBULHSGFIN 802.00 808.15 774.80 784.00 -23.75TECHM 758.00 767.35 744.20 750.00 -23.05

SE 500B

NIFTY NEXT 50

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LUCKNOW | THURSDAY | MAY 23, 2019world 11

India determined to fight terrorism, Swaraj tells SCO

PTI n BISHKEK

India on Wednesday said theghastly bombings in SriLanka at a time when the

wounds of the Pulwama terrorattack were still raw in people’smind has made it more deter-mined to resolutely fightagainst the menace.

Addressing the meeting ofShanghai CooperationOrganisation Council ofForeign Ministers here in theKyrgyz capital, External AffairsMinister Sushma Swaraj saidIndia is determined to consis-tently strengthen cooperationwithin the SCO frameworkfor comprehensive, cooperativeand sustainable security.

“Our heart goes out to ourbrothers and sisters of SriLanka, who have recently wit-nessed the ghastly act of ter-rorism. Our wounds ofPulwama attack were still rawand the news from the neigh-borhood has made us moredetermined to resolutely fightagainst this menace,” Swarajsaid at the meeting, also attend-ed by Pakistan ForeignMinister Shah MehmoodQureshi.

Nine suicide bombers car-ried out a series of devastatingblasts that tore through threechurches and as many luxuryhotels on April 21, killing morethan 250 people and injuring

500 others.The ISIS terror group

claimed the attacks, but thegovernment blamed the localIslamist extremist groupNational Thawheed Jammath(NTJ) for the Ester Sundaybombings.

The attack came monthsafter India witnessed a suicideattack by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed on CRPF per-sonnel in Pulwama district ofJammu and Kashmir, killing 40soldiers.

Swaraj said India is open toideas on how we can make thework of Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS),which specifically deals withissues relating to security anddefence, more effective.

In spite of a turbulent glob-al scenario, SCO member stateshave been steadily expandingmutually beneficial coopera-tion in various spheres, includ-ing political, security and devel-opment, Swaraj said.

She said that India is com-mitted to continue working fora favourable environment forthe SCO member countries’economic activities and tointensify work on the relevantSCO documents dealing witheconomic and trade coopera-tion.

“India subscribes to a rule-based, transparent, non-dis-criminatory, open and inclusive

multilateral trading system,centered around the WorldTrade Organisation, and firm-ly oppose unilateralism andprotectionism,” she said, amidstthe trade war between Chinaand the US.

India was an observer atthe SCO since 2005 and has

generally participated in theministerial-level meetings ofthe grouping which focusmainly on security and eco-nomic cooperation in theEurasian region.

Along with India, Pakistanwas also granted the SCOmembership in 2017.

The SCO was founded at asummit in Shanghai in 2001 bythe presidents of Russia, China,Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan,Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Swaraj said science andtechnology led innovation andthe digital economy are the keyareas which could play an

important role in the long-terminclusive and sustainablegrowth.

India has adopted a multipronged welfare approach,which includes — develop-ment of human resources, pro-moting R&D and innovation,enhancing efficiency throughdigital services and ensuring asecure cyber space.

Swaraj said India is com-mitment to regional connec-tivity which is evident from itsinvolvement in theInternational North-SouthTransport Corridor, ChabaharPort, Ashgabat Agreement andIndia-Myanmar-ThailandTrilateral Highway.

“We have also opera-tionalised air freight corridorsbetween Kabul and Kandaharand New Delhi and Mumbai in2017. We welcome regionalconnectivity initiatives, thatare inclusive, sustainable, trans-parent and respect the princi-ples of sovereignty and terri-torial integrity,” Swaraj said,apparently referring to India’sobjection to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridorwhich passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

She said India supportsinitiatives for capacity building,human resource developmentand fostering greater interac-tion among the youth of theregion.

India, she said, is ready toshare its expertise with otherSCO members in such fields asagriculture, medicine,Information Technology, space,finance and renewable energy.

“India stands committedto any process, which canhelp Afghanistan emerge as aunited, peaceful, secure, sta-ble, inclusive and economi-cally vibrant nation, withguaranteed gender and humanrights. I wish to once againunderscore the importanceIndia attaches to SCOAfghanistan Contact Groupand welcome an early conclu-sion of the draft roadmap offurther actions of the ContactGroup,” she said.

The group was establishedin 2005 in order to draft rec-ommendations and proposalson SCO-Afghanistan coopera-tion in areas of mutual concern.It was decided at the SCOsummit held in Astana,Kazakhstan, in July 2017 thatthe group’s activities need to beadjusted following the expan-sion of the SCO’s membership.

India welcomes theincreased international engage-ment of the SCO with otherinternational and regionalorganisations and the fruitfulefforts of the SCO Secretariatin forging cooperation in thecultural and humanitarianspheres.

China delivers first overhauled JF-17 fighter jet to PakistanPTI n BEIJING

In a major boost for thePakistan Air Force (PAF),

China has delivered the firstoverhauled multi-role JF-17fighter jet to Islamabad as partof a project undertaken by thetwo countries for the develop-ment and manufacture of theaircraft.

China and Pakistan hadbegun joint development andmanufacture of the single-engine light JF-17 jets over adecade ago. Beijing deliveredthe first batch in 2007 and anumber of them were latercommissioned by the PAF,state-run Global Times report-ed on Wednesday.

After a decade of use, it wastime for the first JF-17s toundergo overhauls, the reportquoted military analysts assaying, adding that the firstoverhaul started in November2017 after a contract was signedbetween the two sides in 2016.

Changsha 5712 AircraftIndustry Co Ltd under thestate-owned Aviation IndustryCorporation of China (AVIC)reassembled the jet and deliv-ered it to its Pakistani client inMarch, the daily quoted areport by China Aviation News.

This is also the first timeAVIC has overhauled a made-for-export third generationfighter, or fourth generation

according to another widelyused standard, the report said.

“The first [JF-17] over-haul marks an important mile-stone [in the JF-17 project],” FuQianshao, a Chinese airdefence expert, said.

It represents the trial-and-error phase of the project andprovided experience in estab-lishing standards for other JF-17 overhauls in future,Qianshao said.

The overhaul of the fight-er jet includes major mainte-nance, featuring repairs andreplacement of old compo-nents, including the airframeand engine.

Also, a Block 3 variant ofthe JF-17 is under develop-ment. It is expected to be muchmore powerful than the previ-ous two blocks due to newChina-developed active elec-tronically scanned array radar,the report said.

Though China has madesignificant strides in avionicsand developed new range ofwar planes including stealthfighters, it is yet to developengines for its planes, includ-ing JF-17 and mostly rely onRussian supplies.

Qianshao said that whilestandard, regular maintenancecould be done by the military,an overhaul usually needs to beconducted by a designated andmore capable supplier due to

higher complexity.Such an overhaul can

ensure flight safety after yearsof use. It might also equip theaircraft with newer technolo-gies that enhance its capabili-ty, or prolong the aircraft’slifespan, he said.

Pakistan sent dozens oftrainees to China, who hadclose communication and builtdeep friendships with Chineseengineers during the overhaulprocess.

Qianshao said since pro-cedures and standards for theoverhaul have been established,future overhauls on other JF-17s could be done by Pakistanipersonnel. “Under the frame-work of China-Pakistan coop-eration, Pakistan’s aviationindustry will continue to devel-op,” he noted.

JF-17 has become a main-stay of the PAF in recent yearsafter US restricted sales of F-16war planes after the 1990 armsembargo imposed on Pakistanunder the Pressler amendment.It is reported to have over 100JF-17 planes with more in thepipeline.

JF17 is part of close defencecooperation between the twocountries under which Chinahas become a major supplier ofarms to Pakistan. China iscurrently building four newmodern naval warships forPakistan.

AFP n LONDON

Jokha Alharthi has becomethe first Arabic author to win

the Man Booker Internationalprize for her novel “CelestialBodies” which reveals herOmani homeland’s post-colo-nial transformation.

“I am thrilled that a win-dow has been opened to therich Arabic culture,” Alharthi,40, told reporters after theceremony at the Roundhousein London on Tuesday.

Alharthi is the author oftwo previous collections ofshort fiction, a children’s bookand three novels in Arabic.

She studied classicalArabic poetry at EdinburghUniversity and teaches at

Sultan Qaboos University inMuscat.

“Oman inspired me but Ithink international readers canrelate to the human values inthe book - freedom and love,”she said.

The prestigious 50,000-pound (USD 64,000) prize,which celebrates translated fic-tion from around the world, isdivided equally between theauthor and the translator.

Alharthi’s translator wasUS academic Marilyn Booth,who teaches Arabic literatureat Oxford University.

The judges said CelestialBodies was “a richly imagined,engaging and poetic insightinto a society in transitionand into lives previously

obscured”.It is set in the village of al-

Awafi in Oman where weencounter three sisters: Mayya,who marries Abdallah after aheartbreak; Asma, who marriesfrom a sense of duty; andKhawla, who is waiting for herbeloved who has emigrated toCanada.

The three sisters witnessOman’s evolution from a tra-ditional, slave-owning society.

“It touches the subject ofslavery. I think literature is thebest platform to have this dia-logue,” Alharthi said.

The jury said: “Elegantlystructured and taut, it tells ofOman’s coming-of-age throughthe prism of one family’s loss-es and loves”.

The Guardian said it offers“glimpses into a culture rela-

tively little known in the west”and The National said it sig-nalled “the arrival of a majorliterary talent”, calling the book“a densely woven, deeply imag-ined tour de force”.

Jury chair Bettany Hughessaid the novel showed “delicateartistry and disturbing aspectsof our shared history”.

“The style is a metaphorfor the subject, subtly resistingcliches of race, slavery and gen-der,” she said.

Alharthi was up againstfive other shortlisted authors:France’s Annie Ernaux,Germany’s MarionPoschmann, Poland’s OlgaTokarczuk, Colombia’s JuanGabriel Vasquez and Chile’sAlia Trabucco Zeran.

Omani writer wins Man Booker literature prize

Boy or girl? Hong Kong at centre

of banned China gender test

PTI n HONG KONG

Shady middle-men are open-ly advertising on Chinese

social media to smuggle bloodsamples of pregnant women toHong Kong to skirt the main-land’s ban on gender testing, anAFP investigation has found.

The business thrives on awell-organised undergroundnetwork that serves the hugedemand for illicit sex-selectiveabortion in mainland China —driven by limits on family sizeand an entrenched culturalpreference for sons.

Chinese authorities vowedto crack down on the trade in2015.

But dozens of blood smug-gling agents are openly adver-tising services on the Twitter-like platform Weibo and onwebsites, despite China’s provenability to scrub digital content.

Gender testing — excepton medical grounds — is out-lawed in China, where sex-selective abortions have helpedcreate a surplus of about 31.6million men, with some 115boys born for every 100 girlslast year.

A long-standing one-childpolicy was eased to permittwo children in 2016 but gen-der testing continues, withmany parents of daughters try-ing for a son the second timearound.

Gender testing is legal inHong Kong, with some clinics

apparently turning a blind eyeto the origins of the smuggledsamples.

Three agents contacted byan AFP reporter posing as acustomer offered to arrange in-person appointments withmedical testing labs or trans-port blood samples to HongKong for around USD 580,promising results starting fromsix weeks into pregnancy.

Upon payment of adeposit, the agent sends a test-ing kit to the client through adelivery service. One advisedusing an app to hire a nursewho could come to the patient’shome in mainland China toextract blood.

The client sends the bloodsample to Shenzhen fromwhere it is smuggled across theborder to Hong Kong. Theagents did not directly addressquestions about how the sam-ples would be transported, butassured the reporter they wouldarrive safely at their destination.

“They will be taken to thelab in a designated vehicle, thesamples can be safely sent overfor testing, nothing will gowrong,” one representative said,adding that results would besent out in one working day.

Other agents use humansmugglers. In February, a 12-year-old girl headed to HongKong was caught at theShenzhen border carrying 142vials of blood samples frompregnant women in her back-

pack.The tests analyse small

fragments of foetal DNA in apregnant woman’s blood andcan detect the presence of a Ychromosome. They are alsoused to screen for chromoso-mal disorders such as Down’ssyndrome.

They can often accuratelypredict the gender of a foetusweeks before doctors can seethe sex organs in an ultrasound.

Some mainlanders take thelegal option of travelling direct-ly to Hong Kong for gendertesting.

“I have three daughtersalready. To be honest I want ason,” a 39-year-old man sur-named Wang told AFP outsidea lab in Kowloon where his wifewas getting her blood tested.

Wang, who circumventedthe one-child policy as manywell-connected or wealthyChinese families do, said hewas under intense parentalpressure to produce a male heirand had made the journeyfrom the southern province ofGuizhou.

“Chinese people still wantto have a son to carry on theancestral line, this is an anti-quated way of thinking, butback home there are lots ofpeople who think this way,” heexplained.

He added he and his wifewould terminate the pregnan-cy in China if it turned out bea girl.

Air China seeks compensation fromBoeing for 737 Max delaysAP n BEIJING

Air China Ltd., one ofChina’s three major state-

owned airlines, is joining car-riers that are asking Boeing Co.for compensation for thegrounding of their 737 Max jet-liners following two fatal crash-es.

The carrier also has askedBoeing for compensation fordisruptions due to delays in

delivery of new aircraft, anemployee of Air China’s pub-licity department saidWednesday. He declined togive his name or details of theclaim. Air China, which has 15737 Max planes, becomes thesecond Chinese carrier to askBoeing for compensation fol-lowing state-owned ChinaEastern Airlines Ltd. lastmonth.

China was among the first

governments to order carriersto suspend use of the 737 Maxin March following crashes inIndonesia and Ethiopia thatkilled a total of 346 people.

China is, along with NorthAmerica and Europe, one ofthe biggest global markets forjetliners. That the response ofChinese carriers and regulatorsto Boeing’s problems critical forthe company.

Investigators suggested a

flight-control system was toblame for both 737 Max crash-es. Boeing says it is working onnew software to get the planesback in the air.

Boeing estimates Chinesecarriers will buy 7,700 jetlinersover the next two decades.

The Chinese governmentalternates orders betweenBoeing and Airbus in order tomaintain competition and holddown prices.

West urge swift Sudan accord to install civil ruleAFP n KHARTOUM (SUDAN)

The United States, Britain andNorway called for a swift

agreement between Sudaneseprotesters and generals oninstalling civilian rule, saying itwould be harder for them towork with any other new author-ity. Talks between protest leadersand army generals who seizedpower after ousting longtimeleader Omar al-Bashir last monthhave stopped since late Mondayfollowing disagreement aboutwho should lead a new rulingbody — a civilian or a soldier.

The Western troika, whichhas previously been involved inmediation in Sudanese conflicts,said the country “urgently needsan agreement” to end the periodof uncertainty, according to ajoint statement released lateTuesday.

“Any outcome that does notresult in the formation of a gov-ernment that is civilian-led, plac-ing primary authority for gov-erning with civilians, will notrespond to the clearly expressedwill of the Sudanese people for atransition to civilian rule,” itsaid. “This will complicate inter-national engagement, and makeit harder for our countries towork with the new authoritiesand support Sudan’s economicdevelopment,” added the state-ment.

May in peril as Brexit offer slammed

AP n LONDON

British Prime MinisterTheresa May was under

pressure Wednesday to scrap aplanned vote on her Brexitblueprint — and to resign —after her attempt at compro-mise got the thumbs-downfrom both her ownConservative Party and oppo-sition lawmakers.

May plans to askParliament to vote next monthon a bill implementing Britain'sdeparture from the EuropeanUnion.

Lawmakers have alreadyrejected May's divorce dealwith the EU three times, andBritain’s long-scheduled depar-ture date of March 29 passedwith the country still in the 28-nation bloc.

In a last-ditch bid to securesupport for her Brexit plan,May on Tuesday announcedconcessions including apromise to give Parliament avote on whether to hold a newreferendum on Britain’s EUmembership.

But opposition LabourParty lawmakers dismissed theoffer as too little too late, andpro-Brexit Conservativesaccused her of capitulating topro-EU demands.

May faces a torrid sessionof criticism from all sides whenshe defends her Brexit deal inthe House of Commons onWednesday. Labour Brexitspokesman Keir Starmer saidMay should reconsider and

come back with a better offerthat promised a “close eco-nomic relationship” with theEU and a new referendum.

“The prime minister needsto, today, accept that what sheannounced yesterday isn’tgoing to work and pull thevote,” Starmer told the BBC.

Conservative lawmakers,meanwhile, were due to meet

later Wednesday to discusswhether to attempt to toppleMay as party leader.

May has said she willannounce a timetable for herdeparture once Parliament hasvoted on her Brexit bill. Butwith defeat of that bill lookinglikely, a growing number ofConservatives is pressing her tocancel the vote and quit even

sooner.Environment Secretary

Michael Gove would not con-firm that the bill would defi-nitely be put to a vote the weekof June 3, as May has promised.

“We will reflect over thecourse of the next few days onhow people look at the propo-sition that has been put for-ward,” he said.

Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May delivers a speech in London as the British government is discussing how to tweak itsproposed European Union divorce terms in a last-ditch attempt to get Parliament’s backing for Prime Minister Theresa May’sdeal with the bloc AP

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj delivers her statement at Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council ofForeign Ministers in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) on Wednesday PTI

Pak, Russiareach pact onouter spaceBishkek/Islamabad (PTI):Pakistan and Russia Wednesdayvoiced concern over the weapon-isation of the outer space andvowed to prevent it from becom-ing an arena for military con-frontation, nearly two monthsafter India shot down one of itssatellites in space with an anti-satellite missile.

Pakistan’s Foreign MinisterShah Mahmood Qureshi and hisRussian counterpart SergeyLavrov signed a joint statementon ‘No First Placement ofWeapons in Outer Space’ on thesidelines of the ShanghaiCooperation OrganisationCouncil of Foreign Ministers’meeting in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

The joint statement said thatthe outer space should be used incompliance with internationallaw for the benefit of all nations,regardless of the level of their eco-nomic, scientific or technologi-cal development.

Pakistan’s Foreign Office(FO) in statement said that thetwo countries share a commonposition on the prevention ofarms race in outer space andwork collectively in various inter-national fora towards that goal.

“The signing of the jointstatement on No First Placementof Weapons in Outer Space is areflection of convergence ofviews between the two sides,” itsaid. The FO said Pakistan andRussia reiterated their commit-ment to refrain from the threator use of force in outer spaceactivities. “We encourage otherresponsible space-faring nationsto follow this example,” it added.

The joint statement empha-sised that the achievement of aninternational treaty preventingthe arms race in outer space aswell as banning the placement oruse of weapons therein is a pri-ority for the international com-munity.

It said the two countries“declare that they will not in anyway be the first to place weaponsof any kind in Outer Space, thatthey will make all possible effortsto prevent Outer Space frombecoming an arena for militaryconfrontation and to ensuresecurity in Outer Space activities.”

LUCKNOW | THURSDAY | MAY 23, 2019world 12

Judge orders Trump accounting firm

to hand over records to Congress

PTI n WASHINGTON

An Indian-American judgehas rejected President

Donald Trump’s attempt toblock House Democrats fromgetting his financial records,dealing an early setback to hisadministration in its legal bat-tle with Congress.

Judge Amit Mehta of theDC District Court on Mondaydecisively ruled in favour of theHouse Oversight Committee,whose chair, Elijah Cummingshad subpoenaed 10 years’worth of Trump’s financialrecords from accounting firmMazars USA back in April.

He told the accountingfirm that it will need to turnover Trump’s accountingrecords from before he waspresident to the Democratic-controlled House OversightCommittee, CNN reported.

In a 41-page opinion,Mehta of the DC District Courtdealt a significant blow to theWhite House as he rejectedTrump’s attempt to block thecommittee’s subpoena, assert-ing that Congress is well with-in its authority to investigatethe president.

Mehta’s ruling is narrow inthat it only deals with the

House Oversight Committee’sMazars subpoena. But it’s a keydevelopment in the larger,ongoing subpoena battlebetween Trump and Congress,because it gives Democratslegal ammunition when they goto court to enforce other out-standing subpoena requests.

The Trump administra-tion recently issued a blanketdenial of all Democrats’ sub-poena requests, saying theinformation they seek is polit-ically motivated. Democrats, onthe other hand, say the admin-istration’s actions amount to anunprecedented attempt toblock Congress from its con-stitutionally mandated over-sight. The House ofRepresentatives has flagged theruling to a judge in New York,where another court is consid-ering challenges to House sub-poenas to Deutsche Bank andCapitol One for more Trumprecords, CNN said.

Congress specifically canprobe the president for con-flicts of interest and ethicalquestions, Mehta wrote. Hecited everything from the pres-idency of James Buchanan, tothe Teapot Dome scandal, toWatergate and Whitewater toback up his ruling.

Mehta noted that in thepast 50 years, Congress hadtwice investigated a sittingpresident for alleged criminalactivity before startingimpeachment proceedings —Richard Nixon during theWatergate scandal, and BillClinton during the Whitewaterscandal.

“History has shown thatcongressionally-exposed crim-inal conduct by the president ora high-ranking ExecutiveBranch official can lead to leg-islation,” Mehta wrote.

“It is simply not fathomablethat a Constitution that grantsCongress the power to removea president for reasons includ-ing criminal behavior woulddeny Congress the power toinvestigate him for unlawfulconduct — past or present —even without formally openingan impeachment inquiry,” headded. Trump’s legal team plansto appeal, a person familiarwith the case said Monday.

Mehta’s opinion, comingnot even a week after a hearingin the case, will kickstart a raceto appeals courts.

Mazars won’t have to turnover the subpoena for anotherseven days, according to thejudge, but other courts will

have to step in to stop theaccounting firm from comply-ing with Congress after that.

The House OversightCommittee subpoena ofMazars seeks a vast amount ofcommunications and financialrecords related to the firm’swork for Trump himself, as wellas his businesses and founda-tion from 2011 through 2018.

Mazars became a target inthe House investigation afterformer Trump personal attor-ney Michael Cohen accused thePresident of fudging his wealthin an unsuccessful attempt tobuy the Buffalo Bills footballteam and reduce his real estatetax burden.

Cummings called the rul-ing a “resounding victory forthe rule of law and ourConstitutional system of checksand balances.” Trump imme-diately called the ruling “crazy.”

“We disagree with that rul-ing, it’s crazy,” Trump toldreporters, noting that Mehtawas appointed by PresidentBarack Obama.

“This never happened toany other president,” he added,saying that Democrats are try-ing to “get a redo” on theinvestigation into Russian med-dling in the 2016 election.

AFP n MANILA

Allies of President RodrigoDuterte stormed to a

landslide victory in midtermpolls, final results showedWednesday, dissolving a lastcheck on his controversialrule.

Loyalists won both hous-es of the legislature, shuttingout all opposition candidatesin the Senate, which hadserved as a buffer againstDuterte’s most contentiousplans.

The results open a pathfor Duterte — who hasremarkably high approval rat-ings — to make good on hiscall to bring back the deathpenalty and advance his pro-ject to re-write the constitu-tion.

“It’s a clear signal that thepeople will be behind him ashe pushes bills and processesthat went nowhere previous-ly,” political analyst RamonCasiple told AFP.

With nine Duterte backersand three nominallyunaligned politicians takingthe 12 seats at stake in the 24-member Senate, only fouroppositions members willremain, results from the elec-tions authority showed.

Duterte allies kept controlof the lower House ofRepresentatives, which hasapproved legislation to bringback capital punishment andre-write the constitution sinceDuterte’s 2016 election.

Among the new senatorsis former national police chiefRonald dela Rosa, the firstenforcer of Duterte’s narcoticscrackdown that has killedover 5,300.

Campaigners say the truetoll is at least triple that andmay amount to crimes againsthumanity.

“Number one on myagenda is the reimposition of

the death penalty for drugtrafficking,” dela Rosa toldreporters.

“I will focus on that.”Senate seats also went toChristopher “Bong” Go,Duterte’s long-time advisor,and Imee Marcos, the daugh-ter of deceased dictatorFerdinand Marcos, who wasousted in a 1986 popularuprising.

The top vote-getter in theSenate race, Cynthia Villar,thanked the president for hisbacking and asked for a roundof applause for him in aspeech after the results wereannounced.

“The laws we craft or leg-islate must consider all inter-ests involved,” she added. “Astrong and independentSenate has always been ourgoal.”

Opponents fear themajority will allow Duterte to

push forward his legislativeagenda, which includes re-writing the constitution.

In addition to openingavenues for him to stay inpower beyond his legallymandated single term thatends in 2022, a charter changecould reshape the Philippinesfor decades.

Duterte has pitched con-stitutional reform to turn theAsian country into a decen-tralised federal republic whereregions would have the powerto fix local problems.

But the various initiativeslaunched in his first threeyears in office have alsoincluded proposals droppingterm limits, allowing him torun for another term andweakening checks on presi-dential power.

“The pessimistic assess-ment is that what we’re look-ing towards is the complete

transformation of thePhilippine political system inthe years to come, well beyond2022 when Duterte’s term issupposed to end,” politicalanalyst Richard Heydariansaid.

The landslide victory wasa crushing defeat for theopposition, leaving it mostlyin disarray. “Voters wereunable to relate to the issueshighlighted by the opposi-tion in the election, which wasall about defeating Duterte,”Casiple said. The pro-Duterteelectoral tsunami was also awin for the Duterte family.

Daughter Sara, touted as apossible 2022 presidential can-didate, retained her post asmayor of the southern city ofDavao, with sibling Sebastianwinning as vice-mayor. Theeldest son, Paolo, won a seatin the House ofRepresentatives.

Duterte tightens grip onpower in Philippine polls

In this file photo, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (right) jokes to photographers as he holds an Israeli-made Galil riflewhich was presented to him by former Philippine National Police Chief Director General Ronald Dela Rosa at the turnover-of-command ceremony at the Camp Crame in Quezon city northeast of Manila. Elections officials were to proclaim the winnersWednesday, after finishing the official count of the May 13 elections overnight. President Duterte backed eight winningaspirants to half of the seats in the 24-member Senate, including his former national police chief, Dela Rosa, who enforced thepresident’s crackdown on illegal drugs in a campaign that left thousands of suspects dead and drew internationalcondemnation. AP

China blames US for sinking trade dealAFP n WASHINGTON

China’s ambassador to theUnited States said in a

Tuesday interview with FoxNews that Washingtonrepeatedly “changed its mindovernight” and sunk dealsthat could have ended the twocountries’ trade war.

Ambassador Cui Tiankaialso slammed as “politicallymotivated” the White House’smove to ban the transfer orsale of US technology toChinese telcom giant Huawei.

“We are very worried.Such actions wil l real lyundermine people’s confi-dence in the normal functionof the market,” Tiankai toldFox.

Washington has long sus-pected deep links betweenHuawei and the Chinese mil-itary, and its moves againstthe company came amid thechurning trade dispute.

After a six month cease-fire, the standoff eruptedanew on May 10 when theUnited States increased puni-

tive duties on $200 billion inChinese imports after talks inWashington collapsed.

Beijing followed suitthree days later, saying itwould raise tariffs on USD 60billion in US exports startingon June 1.

In the interview, Tiankaisaid the administration ofPresident Donald Trump wasto blame for the failure toreach an agreement.

“If you review the processof trade talks between usover the last year or so, it’s

quite clear it is the US sidethat more than once changedits mind overnight and brokethe tentative deal alreadyreached,” Tiankai said.

“China remains ready tocontinue our talks with ourAmerican colleagues to reacha conclusion. Our door is stillopen,” he added.

US officials this weekhowever issued a 90-dayreprieve on the ban on deal-ing with Huawei, sayingbreathing space is needed toa avoid huge disruption.

“WE DISAGREE WITH THAT RULING, IT’S CRAZY,” PRESIDENT TELLS REPORTERS

Lanka Prez Sirisena extends

emergency by a month

PTI n COLOMBO

Sri Lankan PresidentMaithripala Sirisena

Wednesday extended by amonth the state of emergencyimposed in the wake of thedeadly Easter Sunday bomb-ings that killed nearly 260 peo-ple. The president issued aspecial gazette notificationextending the state of emer-gency by a month, citing “pub-lic security”.

The emergency law givespolice and the military exten-sive powers to arrest, detainand interrogate suspects with-out court orders.

Sri Lanka initially imposedthe emergency on April 23 tocrack down on the nine suicidebombers who attacked threechurches and as many luxuryhotels April 21, killing morethan 258 people and injuring500 others.

The ISIS terror groupclaimed the attacks, but thegovernment blamed the localIslamist extremist groupNational Thawheed Jammath(NTJ) for the Ester Sundaybombings. Following the dead-

ly blasts, anti-Muslim riotsbroke out in the north of thecapital as a backlash against theattacks. The riots killed oneperson and caused extensivedamage to homes, businessesand mosques. Sri Lanka facedcondemnation for the com-munal violence which was afresh backlash from the EasterSunday attack.

Police say they have arrest-ed over 80 suspects in connec-tion with the attack.

AFP adds: Sri Lankan socialnetworks saw a surge in fakenews after the Easter suicidebombings a month ago despitean official social media black-out, highlighting the inability ofgovernments to contain disin-formation, experts said.

A nine-day ban on plat-forms including Facebook,Twitter, YouTube, Instagramand WhatsApp was introducedfollowing the Islamic State-claimed attacks on churchesand hotels on April 21 whichkilled 258 people and wound-ed nearly 500.

Many anxious social mediausers switched to virtual privatenetworks (VPNs) or the TOR

network to bypass the orderand keep communication openwith friends and relatives as theextent of the carnage becameclear.

But for others, the toolswere a means to spread confu-sion and vitriol as the islandstruggled to come to termswith one of the worst terrorattacks in its history.

Sanjana Hattotuwa, whomonitors social media for fakenews at the Centre for PolicyAlternatives in Colombo, saidthe government blackout hadfailed to prevent “engagement,production, sharing and dis-cussion of Facebook content”,and that he had seen a signifi-cant increase in false reports.

AFP has published half adozen fact-checks debunkingfalse claims made on Facebookand Twitter after the Easterattacks. Some had dug outphotos of coffins and funeralsfrom Sri Lanka’s brutaldecades-long civil war andclaimed they showed victims ofthe blasts.

One video posted toFacebook showed police arrest-ing a man dressed in a burqa

and claimed he was involved inthe bombings.

The video was actuallyfrom 2018, and showed a manwho had used a burqa to hidehis identity while he sought toattack someone over a debtissue. Another used a five-year-old photo from India thatshowed a group of men wear-ing T-shirts with “ISIS”, anoth-er name for Islamic State, writ-ten on them to claim there wasan active IS cell in eastern SriLanka.

One Twitter user claimingto be a high-ranking SriLankan army brigadier usedthe platform to accuse neigh-bouring India of being involvedin the attacks. The account waslater taken down by Twitterafter the Sri Lankan army com-plained. Authorities in SriLanka — where ethnic divi-sions still linger after decadesof war — previously blockedFacebook in March 2018 afterBuddhist hardliners usedincendiary posts to fan reli-gious violence that left threepeople dead and reduced sev-eral hundred homes and shopsto ashes.

N Korea state media hits

out at ‘imbecile’ BidenAFP n SEOUL

North Korean state mediaon Wednesday slammed

former US vice president JoeBiden as an “imbecile” and a“fool of low IQ” after he criti-cised leader Kim Jong Un.

Biden, who served twoterms as President BarackObama’s deputy, has been onthe campaign trail sinceannouncing last month hiscandidacy for the DemocraticParty nomination in the 2020presidential election.

And some of his com-ments about the North Koreanleadership during campaigningappear to have angeredPyongyang, sparking thecolourful commentary by itsofficial news agency KCNA.

It accused Biden of “slan-dering the supreme leader-ship” of North Korea — a termusually referring to leader Kim— and said the former senatorhad become “reckless andsenseless, seized by ambitionfor power”.

“What he uttered is justsophism of an imbecile bereftof elementary quality as ahuman being, let alone a politi-

cian.”KCNA did not give any

further details, but at a rally inPhiladelphia on Saturday,Biden had criticised DonaldTrump’s approach to the lead-ers of North Korea and Russia,accusing the president ofembracing “tyrants like(Vladimir) Putin and Kim JongUn”.

Trump became the first sit-ting US president to meet witha North Korean leader whentwo met in Singapore last year,and he has repeatedly men-tioned his good personal rela-

tionship with Kim.While Biden has a gru-

elling primary campaign aheadagainst a packed bench ofDemocratic hopefuls, he is thecurrent frontrunner and manyin his party believe he is theirbest bet to oust Trump fromthe White House.

But infuriated by his com-ments, KCNA put together alaundry list of Biden’s pastgaffes and humiliations.

It went as far back as hisuniversity days, during whichhe once got an F for plagiarism,and later accusations that hehad copied a speech by thenBritish Labour party leaderNeil Kinnock.

It also mentioned Bidenfalling asleep during an Obamaspeech in 2011, saying that itturned him into a “laughingstock”, and criticism of him “forhis vulgar acts and words aboutwomen and his thoughtlessremarks”.

Multiple women haveaccused Biden this year oftouching them inappropriate-ly in the past, and his tactilestyle and invasion of personalspace have come under increas-ing scrutiny in the #MeToo era.

Air raids kill 12 civilians in Syrian town

AFP n BEIRUT

Air strikes by Damascus orits ally Moscow killed 12

civilians in a market in Syria’sIdlib province, a monitor saidWednesday, as fierce fightingraged for the jihadist-heldnorthwestern region.

Another 18 people werewounded when the warplaneshit the jihadist-held town ofMaarat al-Numan around mid-night (2100 GMT) on Tuesday,the Britain-based SyrianObservatory for Human Rightssaid.

The market was crowdedwith people out and aboutafter breaking the daytime fastobserved by Muslims duringthe holy month of Ramadan.

The strikes came as heavyclashes raged in the north ofneighbouring Hama provinceafter the jihadists launched acounterattack on Tuesdayagainst pro-governmentforces in the town of KafrNabuda.

Fresh fighting onWednesday took the death tollto 52 — 29 troops and militiaand 23 jihadists, theObservatory said.

6 dead in Indonesia riots, govt restricts social media

AP n JAKARTA

Six people have died in elec-tion rioting in the

Indonesian capital, authoritiessaid Wednesday, as supportersof the losing presidential can-didate burned vehicles andbattled police and the govern-ment announced restrictionson social media.

The clashes began Tuesdaynight when supporters of for-mer general Prabowo Subiantotried to force their way into thedowntown offices of the elec-tion supervisory agency andhave continued unabated sincethen. More than two dozenvehicles were burned as rioterstook over neighborhoods incentral Jakarta, throwing rocksand Molotov cocktails at policewho responded with tear gas,water cannon and rubber bul-lets.

Subianto, a volatile ultra-

nationalist politician, hasrefused to accept the officialresults of the April 17 electionand instead declared himselfthe winner. The ElectionCommission on Tuesday saidPresident Joko Widodo, thefirst Indonesian president fromoutside the Jakarta elite, hadwon 55.5 per cent of the vote,securing the moderate tech-nocrat a second term. Subianto,an elite figure from a wealthyfamily connected to formerdictator Suharto, also lost toWidodo in 2014. He has madefour unsuccessful bids for thepresidency since Suharto wasousted in 1998.

Rudiantara, the communi-cations and information tech-nology minister, said features ofsocial media includingFacebook, Twitter andWhatsApp will be restricted ona temporary basis to preventthe spread of hoaxes and

inflammatory content. He saidmessaging systems will stillwork for text and voice mes-sages but photos and videoswill be blocked or slowed.

National police chief TitoKarnavian said the people whodied in the rioting were hit bygunshots or blunt devices.Authorities are still investigat-ing the death causes and are notruling out the involvement ofthird parties acting as provo-cateurs.

“There are attempts to cre-ate martyrs, blaming securityofficials for building publicanger,” he said.

The rioting in Jakartawas planned and not sponta-neous, according to police.Officers found an ambulancefilled with stones and some ofthe dozens of people arrest-ed had envelopes of money,said national pol icespokesman Muhammad

Iqbal. Many of those arrest-ed and come from outsideJakarta, he said.

The government haddeployed some 50,000 policeand soldiers in Jakarta in antic-ipation of protests following theofficial election results. Manyresidents have left the city andparts of the downtown areclosed to traffic with the elec-tion supervisory agency andElection Commission barri-caded with razor wire.

In the past week, authori-ties have arrested three pro-Subianto activists on suspi-cion of treason. They includedSunarko, a retired general andformer commander ofIndonesia’s special forces whouses a single name. Policeallege there was a plot to seizecrucial government buildingsin Jakarta.

Subianto’s campaign plansto challenge the election in the

Constitutional Court. Theyallege massive fraud in theworld’s third-largest democ-racy but have provided nocredible evidence.

The former special forcesgeneral and members of hiscampaign team had said theywould mobilize “people power”during days of street protests.The former general has alsocalled on supporters to refrainfrom violence.

Subianto ran a fear-basedcampaign, emphasizing whathe sees as Indonesia’s weaknessand the risk of exploitation byforeign powers or disintegra-tion. He aligned himself withhard-line Muslim groups andwon massive majorities in con-servative provinces such asAceh, which follows Shariahlaw, but was defeated byWidodo in the president’s pop-ulous East Java and CentralJava strongholds.

Indonesian police arrest a supporter of the losing presidential candidate in Jakarta on Wednesday. Supporters of the losingpresidential candidate burned vehicles and battled police and the government announced restrictions on social media. AP

LUCKNOW | THURSDAY | MAY 23, 2019usp 13

The Maldives, an island nation inthe Indian Ocean, is none lessthan a dreamy holiday destina-

tion. With 99 percent of sea and justone percent land, this country is anamalgamation of over 1,190 coralislands ringed by a beautiful landscapeof reefs, which makes it the most dis-persed country in the world. Its uniquegeography and breath-taking naturalbeauty has made the destination one ofthe most sought-after holiday destina-tions in the world. To decide to have aholiday in the Maldives is to choose notjust the perfect destination for a vaca-tion, but also to discover the sunny sideof life.

MELTING POT OF CULTUREFrom local cuisine to music, the cultureof Maldives reflects a rich blend of themany cultural aspects, introduced byseafarers who settled in the country inthe ancient times. Enjoy the local cui-sine which reflects use of spicy curriesand coconut milk and fish as the mainstaples and either white rice or Roshi(a thin variant of Indian flatbread) asa popular accompaniment. However,those who want to try somethingfamiliar there is a range of world cui-sine available. Sway to the music playedwith the local Boduberu (big drum)and dance to the amalgamation ofsongs from various countries to trulyindulge in the Maldivian spirit.

EXPERIENTIAL STAYMaldives offers accommodations to suitevery pocket, where you can choosefrom a guesthouse, hotel, resort or a

liveaboard. The stay itself is an expe-rience in this island country. Of the1,190 islands, more than 120 have beendeveloped as resorts and are in opera-tion, and at least another 50 are underdevelopment.

Since Maldives is popularly knownfor a ‘one-island one-resort’ concept,each of the registered tourist resorts ison its own uninhabited island withsuperlative architect-designed accom-modation, either in beachside rooms oroverwater villas. When staying in over-water villas, be mesmerised with theopulence and exclusivity but don’tmiss out to climb down from the roominto the ocean at any time—to call apart of the ocean your own.

SATISFY THE ADRENALINERUSHThe Maldives are the white-sand,palm-fringed castaway islands of yourimagination. The water is so clear

you can see the brightly colored fish from your lounger. Dive, snorkel,sail or simply sit back and soak it all in.

If you want the adrenaline ofadventure sports, the Maldives has itall. From skimming the Indian Oceanwaters on a jet-ski to parasailing,kayaking and surfing, Maldives is theideal destination for an active beachholiday. Water based activities likecanoeing, banana ride, water scootersand parasailing are just some ofthem. The Maldives underwater offersyou a chance to experience bliss likenever before as the sun’s rays illumi-nate the crystal clear waters. Divingand snorkeling are not to be missedwhen in this country. Most holidayresorts and hotels in Maldives havedive centers with professional guides,instructors or marine biologists whooffer different types of diving andsnorkeling excursions.

ACTIVITIES GALOREThere is no complete description of theboundless beauties of the Maldivianislands and its vibrant and multicoloredwaters. Although the appeal of these islesis their isolation, there is plenty to do andyou can choose to be as active as you wish.

A holiday to the Maldives is incom-plete without a dolphin watching tripas this destination is one of the bestplaces on the planet to experience thesecreatures up close. Many resorts andhotels in Maldives offer dolphin watch-ing excursions to popular sites everyday. Get a chance to get particularlyclose to dolphins, and you may even getto swim with them!

Cruising on a traditional dhoni,which is one of the oldest sea vessels inMaldives, is the best local experience.It is a good idea to experience fishingwhere you would be able to catch tuna,emperors, snappers, squirrelfish, jacksand other reef fish.

EXPLORE SUNNY SIDE OF LIFE

Institute of ManagementStudies (IMS) Ghaziabad, a

29-year-old flagship institute ofthe IMS Society Ghaziabad,and the CSC Academy, a soci-ety established by the CSC e-Governance Services India Ltd(CSC SPV), have announced astrategic alliance to develop anddeliver short term IT courses tostudents living in rural areas ofIndia.

As part of this alliance, IMSGhaziabad and CSC Academywill work together for shortterm courses which would ide-ally be suited to students in therural areas of the country. IMSGhaziabad and CSC Academywould work jointly to identifyneed-based courses and theirdelivery by CSCs in the ruralheartland. These courses willcontribute to the various sec-tors such as financial inclusion,education, healthcare and liveli-

hood generation which willhelp in enriching the quality oflife in rural India.

The director of IMSGhaziabad, Prof Alok Pandey,said “As a leading provider ofmanagement and IT education,we are delighted to extend ourinvolvement with CSCAcademy to empower studentsin rural areas. With thisalliance, we will unlock newopportunities and bring addi-tional value to student’s com-munity.”

The secretary of CSCAcademy, Dr Dinesh Tyagi,said “Working in rural areas,this partnership will create anddeliver short term courses in ITto vast majority of studentswho are deprived of qualityinfrastructure and lab facilities.The courses would run onintelligent LMS with remoteproctored exams.”

IMS to empower rural

India with IT education

Chittaranjan Locomotive Worksobserves Anti-Terrorism Day

An annual feature, the Anti Terrorism Day was observed inChittaranjan Locomotive Works at the Administrative

Office in West Bengal recently, to uphold and promote peace,social harmony and understanding among all fellow humanbeings and fight the forces of disruption threatening human livesand values. The principal head of the departments, senior offi-cers, staff council members and employees present on the occa-sion followed the Anit Terrorism pledge as read out by the prin-cipal chief electrical engineer, Ram Prakash.

The Indian national directorof Miss Teen World 2019

crowned Sushmita Singh (18),from Kalyan, Mumbai, the firstever Miss Teen India Worldwhile Samragyi Bansal andPritika Pahwa took home the1st and 2nd Runner-up titlesrespectively at a glittering cer-emony at the Flying Dutchman,Logix City Centre, Noida.

Sushmita, an aspiring stu-dent of mass media, will nowrepresent India in El Salvador,Central America, in one of theworld’s top three biggest inter-national beauty contest forteenagers—Miss Teen World(Mundial) by Francisco Cortez,who is a maker of national andinternational beauty queensfor the last 35 years. JasmeetKaur believes India is emergingas a strong force in the teen cat-egory of beauty pageants and ispositive that Sushmita willmake the nation proud.

Adelegation of the GermanEmbassy led by Second

Secretary on Political Affairsand Protocol, Bastian Weber,along with the GermanEmbassy Political Advisor,Sakshi Arora, called uponJammu and Kashmir KVIBvice chairperson, Dr HinaShafi Bhat, to get the firsthand review of the security andpolitical situation in theKashmir valley.

Bhat informed the delega-tion that this is for the first timein the history of J&K that thestate witnessed peaceful andcasualty free parliament elec-tions since 1990. “The change inthe socio-political scenario ofthe state is evident from the factthat all the political parties par-ticipated in the election,” saidBhat and credited the peacefulatmosphere to the Governor ofJ&K. She stated that the state haswitnessed vigorous develop-ment under the Governor’s rule,which was otherwise ceased.“Education, sports and infra-structure remained the thrustareas during the present dispen-sation,” said Bhat, adding thatthe people of the state, especial-ly the Kashmir region, are happywith the working of theGovernor. On assembly elec-tions in the state, she informed

that the Election Commission ofIndia has to take the final call,but it would be based on the sit-uation in J&K.

“All these years, elections inJ&K were carried by exploitingaspirations of the common peo-ple. Mainstream political partiesin connivance with separatistswere habitual of fooling people,but we want clean elections tokeep democracy alive,” said sheand further commented thatunder the BJP party, all the threeregions of the state receivedequitable treatment.

While deliberating on pres-ence of BJP in Kashmir, Bhatcommented that the way thingsare changing at ground level, itgoes on to show that BJP isbeing liked by the right mind-ed and progressive people. “BJPis now a recognised party in theKashmir valley, with more thantwo lakh members. People areshowing faith in the policies ofthe Prime Minister and theyhave high expectations fromhim with regards to the solutionof Kashmir imbroglio.” She alsoexpressed her opinion to say thatthe opposition parties have nowresorted to create apprehensionsabout abrogation of Article 370and 35 A, as they do not findany substantial ground to crit-icise the BJP.

J&K’s first ever peacefulelections since 1990

As an initiative to apprisepeople about the rich her-

itage and culture of the Jammuregion, the Directorate ofTourism, Jammu organised aheritage walk from Jio PothaGhat at Akhnoor to Ambaran,which is locally known as‘Pambaran’. Over 200 peoplegathered for this walk whichwas flagged off by Om PrakashBhagat, KAS, DirectorTourism, Jammu in the pres-ence of Ansuya Jamwal (KAS),Deputy Director Tourism,Jammu, Gopal Singh (KAS),SDM Akhnoor and DeepeshSingh, Chairman MunicipalCommittee Akhnoor. Theimportance of Ambaran lies inthe fact that it is the earliestrecorded Buddhist site in theentire region of Jammu and hasbeen visited by his holiness, theDalai Lama in 2011.

Jio Potha Ghat is located at

the bank of River Chenabwhere under a tree the corona-tion of Raja Gulab Singh wasperformed by Maharaja RanjitSingh on June 17 in 1822.During the walk, participantswere made aware about the his-torical and cultural impor-tance of monuments like JioPotha Temple and other land-mark monuments like PandavGufa, Gurudwara Tapo AsthanSant Baba Sunder Singh Ji AliBegh and the ParshuramTemple.

The historic details aboutthe site were explained by JaiKaran Singh, assistant archae-ologist from the ArchaeologySurvey of India Srinagar Circle.The discovery of this importantsite was due to excavations bySrinagar circle of ArcheologicalSurvey of India which revealed,Ambaran’s Buddhist history asa monastery which was active

for about 900 years between2nd Century BC and 7thCentury AD, a period belong-ing to the pre Kushana,Kushana, post Kushana andpost Gupta eras.

Director Tourism, whileaddressing the gathering saidthat the Department is makingevery effort to promote thestate’s historical places whichhave tourism potential. Besidesthis in view of upcomingAmarnath Yatra would targetto divert people to local Jammudestinations.

Other officers who joinedthe heritage walk were SheenaSahni (KAS), Assistant DirectorTourism Jammu, Ambika Bali,Assistant Director TourismNHW Batote and SurinderKumar Bhat, ConservationAssistant ArchaeologicalSurvey of India Srinagar CircleJammu.

The chairman of NationalHighways Authority of India (NHAI)N N Sinha, signed a Memorandumof Cooperation with the vicepresident of Korea ExpresswayCorporation K H Lee, at Seoul inorder to cooperate further in roadand transport infrastructuredevelopment projects of India. Thiscooperation aims to promotetechnical and institutionalknowledge exchange in the field ofroad and transport between Indiaand Korea.

Bharti AXA Life Insurancebeen conferred with the

‘Claims Excellence Award’ bythe Federation of IndianChambers of Commerce andIndustry (FICCI) for its cus-tomer-friendly claims services,including dedicated claimshandler and one of the bestclaim settlement ratios, in thelife insurance sector during its20th Annual InsuranceConference—FINCON 2019.

“This award is a recogni-tion of our pledge to provideprotection against the uncer-tainties of life and timely sup-port to customers and theirfamilies in every possible man-ner in the hour of need. Wehave successfully maintainedan improved and robust trackrecord in claims settlement inthe past few years. We contin-ue to enable faster claims set-tlement as our prime respon-sibility,”' said the managingdirector and chief executiveOfficer of the company, VikasSeth.

Ease of claims processrelated initiatives, effectiveclaims settlement turn-around-time from intimation to dis-

bursement and improved claimsettlement ratio were the differ-entiators that led to BhartiAXA Life Insurance winningthe distinguished accolade.

Commenting on the feat atthe first FICCI InsuranceIndustry Awards 2019, thechief operative officer of thecompany, Ishita Mukherjee,said, “We are happy to receivethis award which is a testimo-ny to the trust reposed in thecompany and its products andservices by customers, otherstakeholders and the industry.Our tech-driven customer ser-vices initiatives with a humantouch ensured customised and

faster solutions and helped usimprove claims settlement ratiogradually. We are committed tofurther raise our customer ser-vices bar.”

Bharti AXA Life Insuranceimproved its individual claimsettlement ratio, the number ofclaims paid to the number ofclaims received, to 96.85 percent in the financial year 2017-18. As many as 30 insurancecompanies participated in theFICCI Insurance IndustryAward, which recognises effi-cacy, excellence and contribu-tion of both life and non-lifeinsurance companies in thedomestic insurance landscape.

Working towards the com-mitment to strengthen

its infrastructure, the NorthernRailway has added anotherfeather in its cap in the formof a 22km long doubling ofsection from Khatauli toMuzaffarnagar in connectionwith the Meerut City-Muzaffarnagar rail line dou-bling on Ghaziabad-Saharanpur section of DelhiDivision.

The CommissionerRailway Safety (NorthernCircle) SK Pathak, conductedan intensive inspection andspeed trial on the section.The trial train was successful-

ly run at 120 km/hr, clockingupto 140 km/hr. The CRS hasexpressed satisfaction on theconstruction quality of thedoubled line. Consent for reg-ular train operations on thenewly constructed portionwith running speed upto 110km/hr has been granted toNorthern Railway.

The completion of thedoubling work and regulartrain services on the sectionwill facilitate smooth and time-ly operations of passenger andgoods trains providing betteropportunities to the people ofthe sugar producing region ofthe country.

Jammu pitches Buddhist trail

BHARTI AXA LIFE INSURANCE

WINS FICCI CLAIMS EXCELLENCE

Newly constructedKhatauli-Muzaffarnagardoubled rail section tested

Assam Rifles, the oldestparamilitary force and

the Indian Coast Guard, theyoungest Armed Force, havesigned a ‘Charter of Affiliation’at the Directorate GeneralAssam Rif les (DGAR)Headquarters at Laitkor,Shillong. Both the forces areBorder Guarding Forces; oneguards the coastal frontierswhile the other guards theIndo-Myanmar border. Theaffiliation has been carried outbetween the 3rd (Naga Hills)Battalion of the Assam Riflesand the Indian Coast Guardship— ‘Shaurya’.

This initiative will facili-tate greater understanding ofoperational ethos, sharing ofbest practices from each other,building camaraderie and util-isation of each other’s assets

for operations, training andsports and adventure will becarried out. The signing of the‘Charter of Affiliation’ wasproceeded by a joint wreathlaying ceremony at the AssamRifles War Memorial and acombined ‘Guard of Honour’led by Capt Ruchi Pathak ofAssam Rifles.

The event was attended byLt Gen Sukhdeep Sangwan,SM, Director General AssamRifles and Director GeneralRajendra Singh, PTM,TM,Indian Coast Guard alongwith host of officers and menfrom both the Forces. Both theDirector Generals expressedtheir gratitude to the Ministryof Home Affairs and theMinistry of Defence for clear-ing the routes for this historicaffiliation.

ASSAM RIFLES AFFILIATES

WITH INDIAN COAST GUARD

SUSHMITA SINGHCROWNED FIRSTMISS TEEN INDIA

NMDC while maintain-ing its leadership posi-

tion in the Indian iron oreindustry is also focussing onincreasing its geographicfoothold globally. NMDCcurrently has presence inAustralia, Mozambique andTanzania and is also looking

to diversify into strategicand critical raw materialsand also the other emergingopportunities in key miner-als which has potential todeliver the long term bene-fits to the company and thecountry.

To give a structured

thrust on the above areas,NMDC has created a sepa-rate department—‘NMDCGlobal’ to pursue thoseinternational opportunitiesfor acquisition of mineralassets and strategic tie upsregarding emerging tech-nologies.

NMDC ESTABLISHES A GLOBAL DEPARTMENT

LIC of India’s 59th All IndiaSenior Divisional Managers’

Conference was held inMumbai recently wherein theannual corporate strategieswere deliberated upon. Thedivisional heads, representing113 Divisions all across thecountry, zonal heads from eightdifferent Zones as well as alloperational heads in the rankof Executive Directors fromCorporate Office participatedin deliberations for finalisingstrategies on various aspects ofmarketing, customer servic-

ing, information technology,HR, international operationsand new initiatives for the cur-rent financial year.

LIC has registered a mar-ket share of 74.71 per cent innumber of Policies and 66.24per cent in the First YearPremium Income for the year2018-19 and achieved the high-est ever First Year PremiumIncome of ̀ 1,42,191.69 crore.The performance in settlementof claims continues to be a mat-ter of pride for the Corporation.

The top achievers of 2018-

2019 were felicitated during theconference. Panel discussions,brainstorming on corporatestrategies for the objectives ofthe current financial year andplanning of activities towardsexecution of the same, formedthe agenda of the gathering.The managing director andchief executive officer of IDBIBank, Rakesh Sharma, was theguest speaker at the eventwhere he shared his vision onthe Bank’s association withLIC of India and the synergiesthat can happen between LICoffices and IDBI Bank outlets.

IDBI Bank tied up withLIC of India as CorporateAgent in February, 2019 and inthe first month i.e. March,2019 they have procured 20,980Policies with Premium of`139.70 crore. In the currentyear i.e. 2019-2020, till date,they have completed NewBusiness of 1929 Policies andPremium of `30.21 crore andare occupying the top rankamong all Bancassurance part-ners of LIC of India.

A holiday in the Maldives not only provides the ultimate in perfect relaxation, it also introducesguests to the essence of pure nature says, ANKITA SAXENA

LIC deliberates on corporate strategies

LUCKNOW | THURSDAY | MAY 23, 2019vivacity 14

Actor AJAY DEVGN took a dig athis De De Pyaar De co-star Tabuwith a throwback image of the twofrom the film Vijaypath(1994).

The actor postedthe image on socialmedia, in which hecan be seensleeping with hismouth wideopen whileTabu is sittingbeside him,looking com-pletely disinter-ested. He cap-tioned it: “Stillhaven’t figured, ifthe reason to fallasleep was the puz-zle or Tabu.”

The two are incostume for thesong Aayiye aapkaintezaar tha.

O’Shea is a hugefan of Godzilla

‘I am reallyproud of allthe filmsthat I havedone. Ilearntsomethingnew aboutacting. Box officecollection is not inmy hands, but I amgrateful. With theonline platform, afilm never dies.Though Pataakhadidn’t do well at thebox office, it reallyworked online. Butin future, I have tobe careful. I want tobe a bankableactor.’—Sanya Malhotra

Actor O’SHEA JACKSON JR orOMG, is set to take on the bigscreen as a member of the mili-tary in the cast of Godzilla II:King of the Monsters. The actoris a huge fan of the monster.

“I was nerding out reallyhard,” he said. “You don’t haveanything else terrorisingcities like Godzilla does.He is dominating anddestroying, but he savestoo. I always dis-liked those whoacted likeGodzilla didn’tjust save them.This’ll be thefirst Godzilla filmwhere I actually careabout the humans.”

Directed byMichael Dougherty,the film follows theheroic efforts of thecrypto-zoologicalagency, Monarch asits members face offagainst god-sizedmonsters like themighty Godzilla, whocollides with Mothra,Rodan, and the three-headed Ghidorah.

Actress KARISMA KAPOOR saysshe chose not to do full-fledgedroles in films for a while as shewanted to be athome with herchildren. But nowthe Dil To PagalHai star is back inthe saddle in a dif-ferent avatar andon a new plat-form.

Did she get nervous acting infront of the camera after a gap?

Karisma said, “Acting isingrained in a person. It is some-thing that never goes away. I waswaiting for something really inter-esting. It was out of my choicethat I didn’t do any film becausemy kids were very young.”

Ajay’s throwbackwith Tabu

C A N N E S D I A R I E S

Twenty-five years after pre-miering Pulp Fiction inCannes, Quentin Tarantino

returned to the French film festi-val with neither great vengeancenor furious anger but a gentler fairytale about 1960s Los Angeles.

Once Upon a Time In ...Hollywood made its much-antici-pated debut in the festival, givingthe festival its most concentratedsplash of celebrity and frenzy. Thefilm’s two stars, Brad Pitt andLeonardo DiCaprio, brought a fit-tingly old-school Hollywood glam-our to the red carpet, where throngsof onlookers swelled along theCroisette.

Much of the plot of OnceUpon a Time In ... Hollywood hadbeen carefully kept under wrapsleading up to the premiere.DiCaprio plays a Westerns actoranxious that his notoriety is slip-ping. Pitt plays his stunt double,friend and, because of a drunk dri-ving offence, his driver. Though setagainst the backdrop of the MansonFamily murders, much ofTarantino’s film is invested inrecapturing the radiance of abygone Hollywood.

For a filmmaker often associ-ated with blistering dialogue andecstatic explosions of violence,One Upon a Time in ... Hollywoodfinds the 56-year-old Tarantinoworking at a more relaxed pace,spending generous amounts oftime in odes to spaghetti Westernsand ‘60s TV shows.

Ahead of the premiere,Tarantino, whose Pulp Fiction wonthe Palme d’Or in 1994, issued astatement to the festival audienceimploring them not to spoil the filmfor future moviegoers — a requestrepeated before the film’s pressscreening. Journalists lined uphours in advance.

The film is Tarantino’s first,which is not being released byHarvey Weinstein. After Tarantinocut ties with the disgraced mogul,the project attracted the interest ofmost studios. Sony Pictures land-ed the film and gave it a $95 mil-lion budget — a very rare gambleon a high-priced original movie.

Instead of superheroes or intel-lectual property, Once Upon aTime In ... Hollywood will insteadbank on the draw of Tarantino andhis two film stars. Margot Robbiealso co-stars as Sharon Tate. Thefilm releases in US theaters on July26.

Speaking about the film with,DiCaprio recalled one of the “mostominous and sad” experiences hehas had in the entertainment indus-try. The actor was one of the lastpeople in Hollywood to see actorRiver Phoenix alive. “I grew uprevering River Phoenix as the greatactor of my generation. I wanted anopportunity to shake his hand. And

one night, at a party in Silver Lake,I saw him. It was almost likesomething you would see inVertigo, because I saw there wassomething in his face, and I’dalways wanted to meet him, and ashe was walking towards me, Ikind of froze.

“Then the crowd got in myway, and I looked back and he wasgone,” DiCaprio said. “It was anexistential thing where I felt like, hedisappeared in front of my veryeyes, and “the tragedy that I feltafterward of having lost thisgreat influence for me and allof my friends,” he continued.

“The actor we all talkedabout. Just to be able tohave that, and I rememberextending my handout... And then twopeople came infront and when Ilooked back, hewasn’t there.”

—Agencies

Whenever Sonam KapoorAhuja steps out on the

red carpet, she practicallyslays it. The clotheshorse thatthe lady is, she makes one lookforward to each of her outings,this time at Cannes.

Beginning from a mono-chrome and dramatic red, theactress slayed her debut at thefestival through her five differ-ent avatars. The red dresswith furr-like sleeves was fol-lowed by a navy blue gownand then a white-golden strap-less dress that brought a pinchof Indianness to her diva look,which was designed by AbuJani and Sandeep Khosla.

Spreadingthe sunshine,the actress

chose a bright yellow numberduring the unveiling of theChopard Garden of TheKings. The dress came with abroad off-shoulder neckline,ruffle details and a volumi-nous skirt which gave theoutfit a dramatic touch. Herlook was a testimony to herever-glamourous fashionstatements.

For the red carpet appear-ance, Sonam dressed in an al l-white ethereal look,designed by Ralph and Russo.The actress channelled thevibes of a fierce boss lady inher tuxedo, which featured aglorious plunging necklineand had a gown-likeentourage. Her ensemblewas paired with emeraldjewellery by Chopard and

white court shoes byJimmy Choo.

Dressed in a white shirt,blue jeans and blackrimmed glasses, RajKumar Gupta couldpass off as just any

man in the crowd. Not many mighttake a second look at him as thereis an inherent ordinariness in hisdemeanour and attire. And it is thisquality that has been imbued in thecharacters that people his newestfilm, India’s Most Wanted, whichstars Arjun Kapoor alongside fournewcomers.

The film is based on the realstory of five RAW agents who poolin their money and go out and cap-ture one of India’s most wanted ter-rorists and that too without firinga weapon. The trailers have beengarnering eyeballs and the men whoare a part of it have an everydayordinariness, which is in sharpcontrast to the beefy protagoniststhat one usually sees in Hindiaction films. The director, whosedebut film Aamir (2008) still sets thebenchmark in realistic cinema,says, “Being well built is not propor-tionate to bravery. People who arephysically strong might not rise tothe occasion. It is about mentalcourage, tact and trade craft. I meta lot of people who work in RAWand they look like very real people.”

He points out that for anyintelligence operations officer, theability to blend in with the sur-roundings is essential. “They wereregular men. They might havebeen walking here and doing reg-ular jobs and you wouldn’t beaware that these are the people whoprotect us by risking their lives,” hesays. Reflecting on their sacrifices,he felt a compulsion to celebratethese unsung heroes for a reason.“What do they get in return for theirservices? They stay away from theirfamily for so long. They do not evenexpect gratitude and rather see it astheir duty. This made the story veryhumane and personal,” says he.

Gupta remembers that the storycame to his attention when he readsomething in the newspapers anddecided to pursue it further. “I start-ed meeting people and readingabout the incident which got memore and more interested. Therewas a lot of layering. You feel thatthese people, who go on a mission,would have weapons and govern-ment support but my researchrevealed something to the contrary,”he says.

Like No One Killed Jessica(2011) and Raid (2018), his otherfilms, this, too, is rooted in reality.Gupta prefers to stick to this genreand even the manner of approach-ing a film, for a reason. He says, “Itis something that breathes life into

storytelling. People are emotional-ly more connected with storiesthat they hear or read or whensomething comes out of reality. Itgives you a sense of belonging or aconnection. For us, filmmakers, itis important that when we hear astory, it should touch us intellectu-ally or emotionally.”

When Aamir, his first film wasreleased, which too was based onterrorism, the socio-political climatein the country was very different aswas the way people reacted to actsof terror. “The tragedy and emotionremain the same. When an act likethis occurs, people suffer as inno-cent lives are lost. There is a humanand an emotional cost. That remainsthe same even now. However, theconsumption of how we see infor-mation and how we conceive it, haschanged because of social mediaand fake news. Whether these areresponsibly consumed or notdepends on the individual andhis/her understanding of right andwrong. Maybe one doesn’t handle

it responsibly and that is the realchange that we are witnessing.People receive a message in aWhatsApp group and start believ-ing it. A restrained reaction isessential rather than a knee-jerkone,” he says.

In the current context, Guptaalso points out that love for acountry does not mean proclaim-ing it from rooftops or hypernationalism. “One would alwayshave love for one’s country andmotherland, for that is inherentlywhy one lives here. It doesn’t meanthat one starts shouting that ‘I ama nationalist and love my country.’However, in a certain kind of situ-ation you might end up saying it. Inthe film, people, who are workingfor the country and serving itbecause they love it, do say so. Thisis done in context and has to be seenwithin it. There is more to nation-alism than the hyper variety that wesee on social media,” he says.

The film stars Arjun Kapoorwhose last outing, Namaste England

(2018), did not fare too well at thebox office. Considering that the filmmaking business often works on thesaleability of a star, did Gupta con-sider any other actor, maybe AjayDevgn, who was the lead in Raid,for the role? “I never thought in themanner of hits of an actor. It tookme three years to complete the scriptas I was also doing Raid. When thatreleased, Arjun called to congratu-late me on its success and this justhappened instinctively. I was look-ing for a very normal kind of char-acter who could mingle with thecrowd and blend in without beingnoticed. I instinctively offered himthe script and he loved it. And that’show we came together,” explains he.

As in the past, this time tooGupta has shot at live locations. Hesays, “The nature was such that ithad to be shot in real locations inPatna and Nepal. It was because thereality that I wanted to portraywould not come through other-wise.”

However, shooting outside stu-dios can be a logistical nightmare asthere are incessant crowds and thefact that things cannot be controlled.Gupta agrees, “It is quite challeng-ing to do a film like this. Whileshooting in real locations, nothingis in your control so you try to doyour best in the given scenario. It isundoubtedly difficult, but if one ispassionate one just does it. In a stu-dio, I wouldn’t have been able toachieve the same flavour or reality.”

Even the elements of humourin his film come from real life sit-uations that Indians can relate to.There is a particular sequence inthe trailer where one charactercomplains that more money isspent on floral showers duringRepublic Day than on an intelli-gence mission, which makes onelaugh. “I don’t write for the sake ofwriting. It is written to identify andstrike a chord by drawing it fromreality,” he says.

Gupta has written the script ofall his films, including Ghanchakkar(2013), though not Raid. How does

he wear the two hats and balancethem? “When you are writing ascript, you are not thinking ofdirection. Writing is a very isolat-ing and different process. It takestime and is done within four wallsso, it is a little painful and excruci-ating. But once I finish, I let thedirector in me take over.”

With India’s Most Wanted, hehas also turned producer whichmeans an additional responsibility.However, he has found a way to bal-ance that by handing it out. “Mypartner helped in the productionand so did the team. I concentrateon the writing and direction butwhat does happen when you turnproducer is that you start seeingthings in a different perspective. ButI leave it to my partner,” he reiter-ates. He got married last year to hislong time partner, Myra Karn.

Gupta is currently working ona script of a film on RavinderKaushik, India’s foremost spy, whowas conferred the title of ‘TheBlack Tiger’ for his service to thenation. He has acquired the rightsto Ravinder’s story from his fami-ly. “It will take time and I don’t knowwhen I will finish it,” he says.

Gupta, who hails fromHazaribagh, got interested in writ-ing during his graduation days at theUniversity of Delhi. “I was interest-ed in creative writing and made myway to Mumbai. The move todirection happened organically. Ibecame an assistant director andlater an associate director. I keptwriting for three, four or maybe fiveyears. Aamir was the fifth script thatI wrote. The others are still lyingwith me but I have no intention ofputting them on screen as they arenot good enough,” he says.

Of course, an outsider comingto Mumbai entailed a certainamount of struggle especially giventhe fact that the industry oftenworks within cliques and coterie.“One goes through a struggle inevery field, especially when you arein a city where you don’t know yourway around and you should take instride. But I don’t wish to elaborateon it,” he says.

Talking about the influences onhis craft, he says, “I am not influ-enced by anyone. Reality and theway I see things differently haveshaped me more than any otherperson. I take a situation and thinkabout it which influences my film-making.”

Clearly, while he might not beinfluenced, but given his filmogra-phy, the soft-spoken director isbound to influence a generation offilmmakers to come.

(The film releases on May 24.)Photo: Pankaj Kumar

SONAM’S ETHEREAL LOOK

With actors LEONARDO DICAPRIO and BRAD PITT by his side,

filmmaker QUENTIN TARANTINO made a fairytale debut at the festival

When three legends meet

The two starsbrought afittingly old-schoolHollywoodglamour to thered carpet,where throngsof onlookersswelled alongthe Croisette

REAL MEN & THEIR MISSION

A MEETING

WITH COPS

Actress RANIMUKERJI met thetop female cop ofRajasthan duringthe shoot ofMardaani 2

Actress Rani Mukerji,who is currently inRajasthan shooting

for her next, Mardaani 2,was invited to meet theKota police force and theirfamilies at an informalgathering. Rani, who playsthe role of a top cop inRajasthan, was extremelydelighted to meet the topfemale cop of the city, DrAmrita Duhan, the assistantsuperintendent of police.

“About 300 police offi-cers and their families metRani and had a great timeinteracting with each other,”said a source.

“She spent about anhour with the gatheringand thanked the Kota policefor their incredible supportduring the f i lming ofMardaani 2 and also saidthat the film will makeevery police officer inRajasthan, as well as India,proud. She dedicated thefilm to all the women policeofficers of the country whowork tirelessly and coura-geously to safeguard lawand order in society andprotect the innocent. Raniwas overwhelmed with thewarm response of the copsand their families towardsher,” the source added.

Produced by AdityaChopra, the film will beRani’s next release after theglobal hit Hichki. The filmmarks the directorial debutof Gopi Puthran.

Director RAJ KUMAR GUPTA’s latest, India’s Most Wanted, like his past outings, draws inspiration froman actual operation to capture a terrorist, says SAIMI SATTAR

sport 15LUCKNOW | THURSDAY | MAY 23, 2019

AFP ■ LONDON

Christian Pulisic says he wantsto make the same impact that

Eden Hazard has had at Chelseaand hopes to play alongside theBelgium superstar at StamfordBridge.

The US international signeda five-and-a-half year contractwith Maurizio Sarri's team inJanuary but was immediatelyloaned backed to Germany to fin-ish the season at BorussiaDortmund.

"It is incredible to see whatEden can do," Pulisic, 20, told the

BBC. "He (Hazard) is a guy tolook up to and what I would loveto become.

"It is definitely a goal. Anyplayer would be dumb not towant to be in the same team ashim."

But the £58 million ($73million) signing appears unlike-ly to get his wish to play along-side Chelsea's star man, withHazard persistently linked with amove to Real Madrid.

Pulisic, who scored fourtimes in 20 league appearanceslast season for Dortmund, whofinished as runners-up to Bayern

Munich, said he wanted to inspireyoung American footballers.

"I don't want to be looked atas someone who is the youngestto do this or that," said Pulisic,who is both the youngest playerto captain the United States andto score for them in a World Cupqualifier.

"I just want to be an estab-lished player and someone peo-ple respect, who is successful inthis league.

"It is completely new to meand something not a lot ofAmerican players have experi-enced."

AFP ■ DORTMUND

Borussia Dortmund confirmed onWednesday they have signed

Thorgan Hazard, the younger broth-er of Chelsea star Eden, on a five-year deal form BorussiaMoenchengladbach.

The 26-year-old wingerannounced in April that he was join-ing Dortmund, who finished run-

ners-up in the Bundesliga this sea-son, with only the details of thetransfer to sort out.

"I am grateful for five great yearsat Borussia Moenchengladbach andthe wonderful memories," saidHazard in a statement onDortmund's club website.

"Now was exactly the rightpoint in time to take the next stepin my career.

"I am proud to be able to playfor Borussia Dortmund — it is a topclub with unbelievable fans."

Germany's top-selling daily Bildsays the transfer should cost about25 million euros ($28m) plus add-ons.

The Belgium internationalscored 46 goals and provided 44assists in 182 appearances forGladbach.

Hazard is the third new signingto join Dortmund for next season.

Germany international NicoSchulz will arrive from Hoffenheimin a deal worth 27 million euros,while teenage defender MateuMorey, 19, is joining on a freetransfer.

PTI ■ NEW DELHI

Indian footballers Rahul Bheke andBrandon Fernandes says newly-

appointed chief coach Igor Stimacwants the team to be one of Asia's best.

Stimac's appointment has beengreeted with much optimism by theplayers, with as many as nine debu-tants having got a call-up to thenational team camp.

Bheke, who scored the match-winner in the Indian Super Legauefinal for his club Bengaluru FC againstFC Goa stated that "Stimac wants usto be one of the best teams in Asia".

"We have had a couple of sessionunder him (Igor Stimac), and he isreally apprehensive of our abilities asa team. He wants us to target doingwell in Asian tournaments, and be oneof the best teams in Asia," Bheke said.

"I will keep doing what the coach

asks of me and keep trying to work mysocks off in his pattern of style of play-ing football."

FC Goa player Fernandes alsohighlighted Stimac's desire to be"among the best in Asia".

"He comes with a rich experience.With his experience, I feel it was theright choice to appoint him. He hasalready shared that he wants us from

us," Brandon said.Stimac has been conducting fit-

ness tests, along with some footballingdrills, which the players enjoyed.

The squad will be training in thecapital till June 1 and leave forBuriram, Thailand the following day.India have been drawn to playCuracao in their first match of theKing's Cup on June 5.

JINCHEON: The Indian women's hock-ey team came from a goal down to ekeout a close 2-1 win over South Korea inthe second game and take an unassail-able 2-0 lead in the three-march series,here on Wednesday.

The Indians had earlier defeatedKorea by identical margin in the open-ing game of the series.

India will take on Korea in theinconsequential last match of the serieson Friday.

On Wednesday, skipper RaniRampal (37th minute) and NavjotKaur (50th) scored for India after LeeSeungju gave South Korea the lead inthe 19th minute through a field strike.

"Our performance was much bet-ter than the first match. Our skill con-trol in today's game was much betterand the quality was good and consistent.I believe we could have scored moregoals but the intensity and effort wasgood from the team," India's chief coach

Sjoerd Marijne said after the game.Marijne said good results here

would boost the team's confidenceahead of the important FIH Women'sSeries Finals in Hiroshima later this year.

"I am happy with the adjustmentsthe team made. It is nice we have wontwo matches in this three-matchseries. This will surely boost theteam's spirit ahead of the FIHWomen's Series Finals Hiroshima2019," he added. PTI

AFP ■ MANCHESTER

Robin van Persie has urged ManchesterUnited to keep faith with Ole Gunnar

Solskjaer after the under-fire manager's tur-bulent end to his first season in charge.

Solskjaer presided over a miserableconclusion to a campaign that saw Unitedfail to qualify for the Champions Leagueafter finishing sixth in the Premier League.

However, Van Persie, whose goalshelped United win their last PremierLeague title in 2013, is adamant Solskjaerdeserves more time to get the club back ontrack.

"I think it's the perfect match, it's justthey're having a bad spell," Van Persie toldBBC Sport on Wednesday.

"Back in the day it was normal for amanager to get time. Nowadays if you losesix games, you're out. Is that the solution?

"Give someone time, especially if it's akid from the club."

Former United striker Solskjaer hadmade a positive impact after replacing thesacked Jose Mourinho as interim boss inDecember.

Solskjaer oversaw a 15-match unbeat-en domestic run and led United to a stun-ning Champions League last 16, second legwin over Paris Saint-Germain.

But United's form dipped dramatical-ly once Solskjaer was hired on a permanentbasis in March and a run of six defeats fromtheir last 10 games shattered their top fourhopes.

Solskjaer's problems have mountedamid claims that United midfielder PaulPogba wants to join Real Madrid, while theboss is reportedly unhappy with the fitnesslevels and commitment of some of hissquad.

AFP ■ BUENOS AIRES

Barcelona superstar LionelMessi and the returning

Sergio Aguero headed the 23-man Copa America squadannounced by Argentinacoach Lionel Scaloni.

Paris Saint Germainwinger Angel Di Maria wasalso included but there was noplace for striker GonzaloHiguain, who is on loan atChelsea from Juventus.

"These are the best playersin an important time for thenational team," said Scaloni onTuesday ahead of the tourna-ment hosted by Brazil, whichbegins on June 14.

Argentina will play inGroup B alongside Colombia,Paraguay and guests Qatar,the 2022 World Cup hostsand current Asian champi-ons.

Messi, who only returnedto the Argentina squad inMarch after an eight-month

absence following the WorldCup in Russia, will turn 32during the competition.

Di Maria, like Messi, madehis post-World Cup return inMarch ahead of friendliesagainst Venezuela andMorocco, but ManchesterCity's Aguero had not beencalled up since Argentina's 4-3 last 16 defeat to eventualchampions France in Russia.

Another high-profileomission was Inter Milan for-ward Mauro Icardi, who hasbeen left out of the Italianteam's line-up for the last twomonths over a dispute regard-ing a contract renewal.

"Keeping everyone happyis difficult," admitted Scaloni,who said he'd had "doubtsright until the end" over thefinal squad make-up.

PTI ■ GUWAHATI

It was a spectacular homecomingfor World championship Bronzemedallist Shiva Thapa, while

Asian Games Gold medallist AmitPanghal also lived upto his billingreaching the semifinals in 52kg cat-egory at the second India Open box-ing tournament here on Wednesday.

Five other Indians also pro-gressed to the semifinals at theKarmabir Nabin Chandra BordoloiIndoor Stadium.

Three years after he was crownednational champion at the samevenue, a matured Thapa returnedstronger as he clinically executed hisplans to outwork his taller Mauritiusopponent Hellene Damien 5-0 andset up a semifinal clash against DKrystian Sczepanski of Poland in the60kg category.

"I was facing a taller opponentlike him for the first time in my cat-egory," said Thapa, who will switchto 63kg after the tournament keep-ing in mind of the approved weightcategories for Olympic qualifica-tion.

"He had a better reach so mystrategy was to hit him from the closerange and then quickly go out of hisreach. It worked out perfectly."

All the buzz of the day was aboutthe 13th bout of the day as hordes ofschool children, Shiva's family mem-bers including his father PadamThapa waited anxiously for the localfavourite to come inside the ring.

"I can't express in words theamazing feeling. The crowd was allat their toes and it was about livingup to their expectation," said Thapa,who last month became the firstIndian male boxer to claim four con-secutive Asian medals with hisBronze at the Asian Championshipin Bangkok.

Ankit and Manish Kaushik alsohad 5-0 wins over their respectiveopponents making it a three-Indianlineup in the 60kg category.

In the 52kg category, Indiansruled the roost with Panghal, nation-al champion P L Prasad, formerworld youth champion SachinSiwach and reigning CommonwealthGames champion Gaurav Solankimaking it an all-Indian lineup.

Panghal, who claimed the 49kggold after defeating reigningOlympic champion HasanboyDusmatov of Uzbekistan in theAsiad final in Jakarta last year, optedto play a waiting game againstThailand Chakapong Chanpirom inthe first round.

Having moved up to Olympiccategory 52kg after winning Gold atthe Strandja meet in Bulgaria earli-er this year, Panghal then stepped uphis pace to win 5-0.

"It took sometime for me toassess him and get a grip of his styleof play but I'm happy that it paid off,"Panghal said.

"It's a tough category. Many newboxers will come in to meet theOlympic qualification standard. I

have to watch both," Panghal, whohad clinched a Gold in his newweight category in the Asian cham-pionship beating Dusmatov again,added.

Panghal will take on reigningnational champion Prasad in thesemifinal, while the other half willsee Siwach face-off against Bidhuri.

Fresh from a Bronze at theGeeBee Boxing tournament Finland,Siwach did his homework well toexact revenge on world champi-onship Bronze medalist RogenLadon of Philippines.

The two-time former Olympianhad defeated Siwach by a split-deci-sion in the President's Cup quarter-finals in Astana last year.

Siwach rectified his mistake andwaited to capitalise on the Filipino'smistakes to go for the kill as he won4-1 via split decision.

"Last time I went for an alloutattack that did not pay off. I watchedvideos of the bout and this time Icould rectify my mistakes," Siwachsaid as he also got the support of hisfather and uncle who had come allthe way from Haryana to supporthim.

He will next face Solanki, whohad it easy against Louis Fleurot ofMauritius to seal a 5-0 win.

"We never faced in a competi-tion. But I've been his sparring part-ner in the camp. We all know eachothers strengths and weaknesses. I'm100 per cent confident of an easywin," Siwach said.

India beat Korea

2-1, clinch series

SHIVA, PANGHAL LEAD

HOME DOMINATION

Indians pugilists rule the roost in 52kg category as all four Indians secure semifinal berth

PTI ■ NANNING

India crashed out of theSudirman Cup mixed team

badminton championshipsafter losing 0-5 to 10-timechampions China in the sec-ond and final group match,here on Wednesday.

After going down 2-3 toMalaysia in their openingGroup 1D match, India need-ed an extraordinary effort toget across the mighty Chinesebut the shuttlers yet againproduced a below-par perfor-mance to go down in a lop-sided contest.

The gap between India'smixed doubles pair ofPranaav Jerry Chopra and NSikki Reddy and Chinesecombination of Wang Yilyuand Huang Dongping wasevident once again as theywent down 5-21, 11-21against the world No 2 pair totrail 0-1.

Sameer Verma, whosestraight-game loss to Lee ZiiJia proved to be vital againstMalaysia on Tuesday, onceagain took the court afterKidambi Srikanth sufferedan injury during practice ses-sions here.

"Won't be playing todaydue to an injury caused dur-ing practice. Will be backingthe team for today's all-important match," Srikanthhad tweeted ahead of theclash.

In Srikanth's absence,Sameer fought for an hourand 11 minutes in the men'ssingles tie before losing 17-21,20-22 against Olympic cham-pion Chen Long as Indiaslumped to 0-2 deficit.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy,who recently made a come-back after recovering from ashoulder injury, and ChiragShetty were then given thetask of taming the world No7 pair of Han Chengkai andZhou Haodong but theIndian men's doubles pair lost

21-18, 15-21, 17-21 to allowChina take an unassailable 3-0 lead.

Saina Nehwal then wentdown 12-21, 17-21 to AllEngland Champion ChenYufei in a 33-minute women'ssingles match, while WorldNo 3 women's doubles pair ofChen Qingchen and Jia Yifanbeat Ashwini Ponnappa andSikki 21-12 21-15 as Indiasunk without a trace.

Schoolgirlstuns TaiAFP ■ NANNING

Seventeen-year-old SouthKorean schoolgirl An

Se-Young stunned Taiwan'sworld number one Tai Tzu-ying to burnish her fast-growing reputation.

Rising star An, who isranked 50th in the world,roared back to defeat Tai14-21, 21-18, 21-16 in 66thrilling minutes.

Taiwan and title-hold-ers South Korea werealready into the quarter-finals of the mixed-teamworld championships, butthis was further evidence ofAn's precious talent.

The teenager An, whoalso won the New ZealandOpen said: "My strategywas to defend in the begin-ning of each rally and thento take my opportunity.

"My coach advised meto pay attention to the frontand keep the rally going.

"I'm surprised I couldbeat her."

The 24-year-old Taisaid that she had a nigglinginjury but did not use thatas an excuse.

"She's tall, powerfuland has very good foot-work," the Taiwanese saidof her young opponent,who only turned 17 inFebruary.

"She's good in allaspects of the game. Shewill be an outstanding play-er in future for sure."

Van Persie demands ‘fair chance' for Solskjaer

Hazard is my Chelsea benchmark: Pulisic

Thorgan Hazard joins DortmundMessi, Aguero in Argentina squad

‘Stimac wants India tobe one of Asia's best’

India bow out of

Sudirman Cup

PNS n LUCKNOW

Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla backedchinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav to do

well in the ICC World Cup, starting May30.

Piyush, who was in Lucknow to givesome spin lessons to youngsters at EkanaInternational Stadium, said: "Kuldeep isan aggressive bowler and skipper ViratKohli liked this quality of him. Thoughhe had a bad IPL, but he got enough timeto recover and I am sure he will be India'strump card."

"I think the Indian team is very bal-anced and with quite a few all-roundersin the squad, team is definitely lookingone of the favourites on the dry and faciletracks of England," he added.

Piyush, who was the member of 2011World Cup winning team, rated BharatRatna Atal Bihari Vajpayee EkanaInternational Stadium as the one ofIndia's best stadium with best facilities.

Kuldeep Yadav is going to be

India’s trump card: Chawla

Piyush Chawla giving tips to a budding cricketer

sport 16LUCKNOW | THURSDAY | MAY 23, 2019

PTI ■ LONDON

Self-proclaimed 'Universe Boss' Chris Gayle onWednesday boasted that bowlers across the

world are "scared" of him but would not admit iton camera.

Gayle said off camera though, the samebowlers would say, "he is the man, he is the man".

Gayle, who amassed 424 runs at an averageof 106 in four matches against tournamentfavourites England earlier this year, has arrivedin the United Kingdom for his fifth and finalWorld Cup.

"Youngsters coming at my head — it's not aseasy as it was like one time before. I was quickerthen. But they'll be weary. They know what theUniverse Boss is capable of. I'm sure they will haveit in the back of their mind, 'Hey, this is the mostdangerous batsman they've ever seen in cricket,"Gayle told cricket.Com.Au.

Asked if his opponents are still scared of him,Gayle said: "Can't you tell? You go ask them. Goask them on camera. They're going to say, no,they're not scared. But you ask them off the cam-era, they going to say, 'Yeah, he's the man. He'sthe man.' They're going to say, 'he's the man.'

"But they won't say it (on camera), they won'tbe frank and upfront and say, 'Listen to me straightup, Chris Gayle is the man.

"But I'm enjoying it. I'm always enjoying thebattle against fast bowlers, it's good. Sometimesthose things actually give you extra drive as a bat-ter. When you have a battle, I like those chal-lenges."

PTI ■ SOUTHAMPTON

Better known for hishard-hitting abilities,

Glenn Maxwell has set hissights on becoming anasset for Australia with hispart-time off-spin in theupcoming ICC World Cup.

Maxwell has averagedfive overs per match sinceAaron Finch took over asskipper, compared to just2.4 overs under SteveSmith's captaincy.

He also completed hisfull quota of 10 overs threetimes in the recent tours ofIndia and the UAE.

"That's probably theclarity I have with my role,"the Victorian told reporterswhen asked about his roleas a bowler.

"It's something I did alittle in Dubai and India, Istarted to get a few moreovers and get that consis-tency. To have that contin-ue into my t ime atLancashire where I gotplenty of time at the bowl-ing crease, you get thatrhythm and feel of the ball

coming out consistently."You need that as a

part-time bowler to havethat consistency and timeat the crease. Just get thecobwebs out a bit," Maxwelladded.

Maxwell's effectivenesswith his part-time spin canbe assessed from the factthat he f inished asAustralia's third-most eco-nomical bowler in the 10games against India andPakistan on the sub-conti-nent."A lot of the time I

bowl I just try and limitboundary balls. If they(batsmen) hit good shotsoff my bowling then I'mnot too fazed. But if I'mlimiting boundary ballsand giving myself the bestchance to squeeze a few dotballs and some tight oversit might create some pres-sure at the other end," hesaid, emphasising his roleas a bowler.

"I think it's importantfor me to bowl in a part-nership with someone."

PTI ■ NEW DELHI

Stacking up staggering num-bers with monotonic regu-larity may have become a

day job for Virat Kohli, but hecan in "no way" win a World Cupwithout support from his team-mates, feels Sachin Tendulkar.

"I think you will always havea couple of individuals steppingup every game but without teamsupport, you can't do much.Just because of one individual,you can't win a tournament. Noway. Unless, others chip in atevery crucial stage. If that does-n't happen, there will be disap-pointment," Tendulkar saidwhen asked if Kohli will carrythe same burden like he did,specifically during the 1996,1999 and 2003 editions.

Tendulkar is hardly worriedthat India doesn't have a settledNo 4, saying the slot can be keptflexible as per requirement andmatch situation.

"I think we have batsmen,who can do the job. Number fouris just a number and it can beadjusted. I particularly don't seeNo 4 as a problem. Our boyshave played enough cricket toknow their roles whether it is No4, 6 or 8. Situational awarenessis the key," the world's highestrun-getter in Tests and ODIssaid.

However, Tendulkar is notentirely happy with how thebalance of ODIs is skewedtowards batsmen, taking bowlersout of equation in white ballcricket with every passing day.

"It's become one sided with

introduction of two new ballsand flat pitches have made livesof bowlers much more difficult.One team is scoring 350 and theother is chasing down inside 45overs," Tendulkar said in refer-ence to the recent England ver-sus Pakistan series where bowlershad a nightmarish time.

What Tendulkar finds evenmore disappointing is thatreverse swing had been taken outof equation with two new balls.

"The ball is staying hard. Imean when was the last time yousaw reverse swing in ODIs?"questioned the iconic batsman.

"When we played and therewas one new ball, it would startreversing from 28th or 30thover. Some teams could get it toreverse even earlier. At the death,the ball would go soft, even getdiscoloured. These were chal-

lenges that batsmen faced. Butnow the ball remains hard andthe bats are getting better,"lamented Tendulkar, who playedsix World Cups.

According to him, wristspinners are the one breed ofbowlers who will do well, andIndia have two in Kuldeep andChahal.

The Australians read theduo quite well during the homeseries in India but the maestrosaid that it won't matter much inEngland.

"Let's understand this. Thereare a number of bowlers whohave been read well by battersbut yet they end up getting a lotof wickets. So Kuldeep andChahal shouldn't be too worriedabout Australia series," he said,adding both will play a massiverole during the middle overs.

"Agreed the Aussies readthem well but does that meanthey wouldn't be committingmistakes or can't be forced tocommit mistakes."

What Tendulkar liked aboutthe composition of the WorldCup-bound India team is theblend of youth and experience.

"There is a good balance inthe side. We have a number ofguys with 8-10 years of experi-ence and at the same time wehave talented youngsters likeKuldeep, Rahul, Chahal, Hardik(Pandya) and Jasprit (Bumrah)with a couple of years of inter-national cricket.

"So it's a perfect blend withall the makings of a wonderfulteam. I rate our chances veryhigh," concluded Tendulkar.

PTI ■ MELBOURNE

England boats of a number ofmatch-winners in their 15-man

World Cup squad, but formerAustralia captain Ricky Ponting hashandpicked Jos Buttler as the danger-man for the hosts in the showpiece.

"The dangerman for England isgonna be Jos Buttler. I just watchedhim develop over the last 2 or 3 years.I had a chance to coach him atMumbai Indians 3 or 4 seasons agowhen he was really sort of startingto make his mark in internationalcricket," Ponting was quoted as say-ing in a video posted at CricketAustralia website.

"What he has done in the last 12to 18 months whether in a T20, One-Day game or a Test match forEngland, it's really outstanding. So,Jos Buttler is England's dangermanfor me."

"He (Buttler) might not take thegloves but his middle-order battingis out of this world. He scores 360degrees around the ground, hits theball incredibly hard, hits the ball along way as well," he added.

Besides Buttler, England's teamcomprises of match-winners like

skipper Eoin Morgan, JonnyBairstow, Joe Root, Ben Stokes andJofra Archer to name a few.

The two-time World Cup win-ning skipper said England's depth inthe batting department makes thehosts a force to reckon with in theupcoming World Cup.

"I think England's great strengthright now in their One-Day team ishow deep they bat. That allows all

their top-order to play probablywith more freedom than most otherteams," Ponting said.

"Someone like a Buttler or (Ben)Stokes or Moeen Ali coming in at 7,8, 9, allows their top-order to gohard. They are a really confident out-fit. They have got great depth in theirsquad and obviously would be play-ing in conditions they are verymuch used to."

PTI ■ LONDON

In-form England have the "best opportu-nity" to break their title jinx in the ODI

World Cup and they will be at the heart ofwhat promises to be a "special" showpieceevent, said former captain MichaelVaughan.

"It's the best opportunity in my time forEngland — I remember 1992 as a young-ster, watching that final at college," Vaughansaid.

"They got to the semi-finals of theChampions Trophy two years ago but did-n't get over the line on that occasion.They've got to see that as a real positiveexperience and if they get into the semisagain, play smart cricket."

Vaughan also termed England's 15-manWorld Cup squad as the best he has everseen.

"This England squad is the best I'veseen. They have earned the right to befavourites," Vaughan was quoted as sayingby BBC Sport after England named their 15-man squad for the tournament.

"I think we're in for a special World Cup— world-class players, world-class teams —and I think England will be right at the

heart of it," he said.England included pace sensation Jofra

Archer in the squad besides all-rounderTom Curran and Hampshire off-spinnerLiam Dawson in place of David Willey andJoe Denly, who were named in England'sprovisional squad.

"I feel for Willey, he hasn't really letEngland down, but it's the nature of inter-national sport that you have to be ruthless,"Vaughan said.

"You have to pick who you feel is theright 15 and I feel they've got it right."

PTI ■ NEW DELHI

Aslew of match-winners coupled with MahendraSingh Dhoni's expertise make India favourites

to lift the upcoming ICC Men's Cricket World Cup,believes Mithali Raj, captain of national women'sODI team.

"The Indian team has a lot of match-winnersnow," Mithali said in a video posted on Twitter.

"Of course, the captain (Virat Kohli) leads fromthe front with the openers Rohit Sharma andShikhar Dhawan, but we also have fast bowlers likeJasprit Bumrah and the spinners," she said.

"But overall I think, the team which posts a bigtotal and the bowlers who are able to do the job tocontain those runs, is the team which is going towin. But then we do have a lot of depth. We havethe expertise of Dhoni in the side. So, I can't pickone player, but India definitely has a lot of match-winners."

Asked which team has a better chance to liftthe trophy, Mithali said, "India is absolutely goingin as favourites because they have been doing verywell in the one-dayers and in other formats in therecent past."

Mithali, however, also picked hosts England asanother team who can go on to clinch their maid-en 50-over World Cup title.

"But I cannot rule out the home team (England).Even they have done very well. They had some 10to 15 victory streaks in the one-dayers. They willalso play on home conditions. Having said that, Ithink as an Indian I will root for India," she said.

AFP ■ DHAKA

Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortazahas poured cold water on fan hopes

for this month's World Cup, warning thatthe seventh-ranked team was facing anuphill battle in the group stage.

Supporters were jubilant after a tri-nation series win against Ireland andWest Indies on the weekend handedBangladesh its first ever multi-teamtournament trophy.

But Mashrafe's side start the Cup racewith a bracing fixture against SouthAfrica, New Zealand and top-rankedhosts England in their first three match-es.

"It will be difficult for us because ouropponents in the opening three gamesare extremely strong," Mashrafe toldreporters late on Tuesday before headingto England.

"To get a positive result againstthem won't be easy."

Mashrafe said the win had height-ened expectations of Bangladesh fans,along with other recent triumphs includ-ing the side's semi-finals appearance atthe 2017 Champions Trophy.

"In the last five to seven years, peo-ple have started to come to watch us withexpectations that we will win," he said.

"All I can say is that the World Cupwill be a different ball game. If you fol-low cricket in England, you will see that

a lot of runs are scored. It will need a dif-ferent approach." Bangladesh hope to atleast match their previous best perfor-mance in a World Cup, reaching thequarter-finals in 2015.

PTI ■ NEWPORT

India's Test vice-captainAjinkya Rahane had a mem-

orable English County debut,scoring a hundred forHampshire againstNottinghamshire in a DivisionOne game here on Wednesday.

Rahane thus became thethird Indian to score a hundredon county debut after PiyushChawla, for Sussex againstWorcestershire and MuraliVijay for Essex againstNottinghamshire.

Rahane, who had scoredjust 10 in the first innings,struck a patient 119 off 260balls, hit 14 boundaries andshared a 257-run stand for thethird wicket with SamNortheast, who was unbeatenon 131 at tea on the third day.

Rahane came in at No 3 inthe fifth over of the innings andwas dismissed by off-spinnerMatthew Carter at the stroke oftea in the 70th over.

Rahane reached his hun-dred with a cover drive offCarter that fetched him tworuns. The celebration wasmuted. This was his 30th first-class hundred.

Bowlers are

scared of me but

won't admit: Gayle

Rahane scores

hundred on

County debut

Mortaza urges caution

on World Cup hopes

Maxwell keen to playa part with the ball

Buttler is England's dangerman: Ponting This Eng squad is the

best I’ve seen: Vaughan

Host of match-winners,Dhoni's expertise makeIndia favourites: Mithali

VIRAT ALONE CAN'T

WIN WC: TENDULKAR

Sachin feels Indian teammates need to step up & perform consistently and help captain Kohli during WC

"I THINK YOU WILLALWAYS HAVE ACOUPLE OFINDIVIDUALSSTEPPING UPEVERY GAME BUTWITHOUT TEAMSUPPORT, YOUCAN'T DO MUCH.JUST BECAUSE OFONE INDIVIDUAL,YOU CAN'T WIN ATOURNAMENT”