NEW DELHI, JAN 22AAP leader and former

Delhi chief ministerArvind Kejriwal has saidhe sees an inherent contra-diction between whatKiran Bedi, BJP's pre-sumptive chief ministerialcandidate, was known tohave stood for and the val-ues and principles of theparty she now represents.

"There are many issues...I am surprised how shewill cope up with this andhow she will explain (this)to the people and to her-self," Kejriwal said in aninterview conducted in hiscar while heading for aparty rally.

"I am surprised at herentry into the BJP becausethe BJP stands for exactly

the opposite of what KiranBedi had always been say-ing she stands for,"Kejriwal said.

Fighting a now-or-neverelection against the BJPand the Congress, Kejriwalalso asserts that the middleclass, disenchanted with

him after he resigned lastyear after ruling Delhi for49 days, was returning tothe AAP in large numbers.

"Kiran Bedi talks ofwomen's safety. But howcan you have a personcharged with rape in the

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

MUMBAITemperature: 300CPrecipitation: 0%Humidity: 78%Wind: 20 Km/hr

NEW DELHI, JAN 22Congress leader

Janardan Dwivedi onThursday met head ofthe Congress discipli-nary committee AKAntony, as per reports.

He reportedly metAntony to explain hisposition for allegedlypraising Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and say-ing that the BJP leaderhad started a 'new era'.

After the meeting,there were indicationsthat there would be no

disciplinary actionagainst the 69-year-old

leader as he possibly CONTD. ON PAGE 3

HAQSAADDAFIGHT FOR RIGHTFriday, January 23, 2015

Looking forward to serving Delhi,making it secure: Kiran Bedi

Xolo 8X-1020 With 5-Megapixel FrontCamera Launched at Rs. 9,999

Salman Khan watches SonamKapoor's ‘Dolly Ki Doli’

BHIWANI, JAN 22Amid huge fanfare,

Prime MinisterNarendra Modi onThursday launched'Beti Bachao BetiPadhao' programme inHaryana, a key schemethat aims to address thedipping child sex ratioand empower the girlchild in the country.

Addressing theevent, PM Modi said,“As a society we allhave a responsibility.We have to be aware.”Stressing on the impor-tance of girls in thefamily and society, thePM said, “We do nothave the right to killthe girl child.”

Urging people tochange their mindset,PM Modi said, “The

thought that only a sonwill take care of youduring your old age isincorrect.” What weare pledging to dotoday won’t change

things fast, it takestime for people's mind-set to change, PMModi said.

Beta Beti EkSamaan...this should

be our Mantra, the PMadded.

“People want educat-ed daughters-in-lawbut think several times

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

PM Modi launches 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao'campaign, urges people to change their mindset

P8

NEW DELHI, JAN 22The government on

Thursday said it is taking alldiplomatic steps to help getthe European Union ban onfour Indian vegetables liftedand is taking up the issue atappropriate forums.

Union Minister of State for CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Taking steps to get EU ban onIndian vegetables lifted: Govt

JAMMU, JAN 22In view of heavy snowfall

on the upper reaches ofJammu and Kashmir, therewill be one-way traffic onJammu-Srinagar NationalHighway from Friday.

An advisory was issuedtoday by the Traffic Police for

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

One-way traffic on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway

AHMEDABAD, JAN 22Noted economist Jagdish

Bhagwati on Thursday paid acourtesy visit to Gujarat ChiefMinister Anandiben Patel atGandhinagar and lauded 'theGujarat Model' of develop-ment. In her tweets after the

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Economist JagdishBhagwati lauded 'Gujaratmodel': Anandiben Patel

Vol. 1 Issue: 127 Price: Rs.3:00 Reg. No: DELENG/2014/58212 Delhi Edition Pages: 8 Website: www.saaddahaq.in Email: news.saaddahaq@gmail.com

PATNA, JAN 22Union Minister for Minority

Affairs Najma Heptullah onThursday said that the propertybelonging to Muslim Sunni andShia Waqf boards in the countrywill be registered and developed tofund minority welfare activities.

"Six lakh acres of waqf propertyis spread all over India. If we devel-op them according to the Sachchar

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Waqf Boards' property to be regis-tered for minority welfare: Heptullah

MUMBAI, JAN 22Defence Minister Manohar

Parrikar on Thursday alleged thatsome former Prime Ministers hadcompromised the country's "deepassets" on national security butrefrained from naming them.Parrikar said he did not give detailsabout Coast Guard operationinvolving a boat coming fromPakistan as the "source (of

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Some ex-PMs 'compromised'India's deep assets: Parrikar

PATNA, JAN 22With Assembly election in Bihar

scheduled later this year, BJP pres-ident Amit Shah is arriving here onFriday to rejuvenate the partyworkers to take on the combinedmight of Lalu Prasad and NitishKumar. Shah is arriving here on atwo-day visit to take part in an

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

BJP president Amit Shah on two-day Bihar visit from Friday

NEW DELHI, JAN 22Muslim population in India

has grown by 24 percentbetween 2001 and 2011against national average of 18per cent with the community'srepresentation rising to 14.2percent from 13.4 percent of

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Muslim populationin India rose by 24%during 2001-11

RANCHI, JAN 22IAS officer Sajjal

Chakraborty has been servedwith a show cause notice forallegedly arguing withJharkhand Chief MinisterRaghubar Das, followingwhich he was removed fromthe post of chief secretary.

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

IAS officer served withshowcause notice forarguing with Jharkhand CM

MUMBAI, JAN 22Three Immediate Support

Vessels (ISVs) were commis-sioned into the Indian Navyhere on Thursday by the ViceAdmiral Anil Chopra, FlagOfficer Commanding-in-Chief, Western NavalCommand. These ships willcomprise the 82nd ISV

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Three ISVs commis-sioned into Navy

P6P2

BJP is exactly opposite to what KiranBedi stands for: Arvind Kejriwal

JAMMU, JAN 22People of Jammu and

Kashmir will soon get astrong and stable govern-ment as "channels for dis-cussion are open", BJP onThursday said amid impasseover government formationin the state.

"Channels for discussionare open and the party's cen-tral leadership has beenauthorised to take a final callover the government forma-tion," BJP state presidentJugal Kishore Sharma toldreporters in Rajouri today.

However, the MP fromJammu-Poonch constituen-cy refused to name the partywith which BJP was in con-sultation over the formationof the government.

He said, "I assure you thatthe people of the state willsoon get a strong and stablegovernment."

It has been reported thatthe PDP leadership was intouch with the BJP andnegotiating certain keyissues before the two partiescan come together to form a

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

NEW DELHI,JAN 22

We l c o m i n gthe role thatMyanmar isplaying in theS o u t h - E a s tAsian region,P r e s i d e n tP r a n a bMukherjee hassaid Indiaintends to

enhance cooperation with that country,while noting that the ties between themhave seen accelerated growth over theyears. Interacting with Myanmar VicePresident Sai Mauk Kham, who called onMukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan yester-day, the President said India attachesimportance to its relations with Myanmar.

He said India has always believed that CONTD. ON PAGE 3

NEW DELHI, JAN 22The Supreme Court on

Thursday said sidelined BCCIpresident N Srinivasan cannotcontest elections for the Indiancricket board's governing bodypresidency as long as he isinvolved in a "conflict of inter-est" situation as an owner of

IPL franchise Chennai SuperKings (CSK).

The apex court said this whilestriking down an amendment tothe BCCI rules which permittedthe office bearers of the apexcricket body to have commer-cial interests in the Indian

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

SC bars Srinivasan from BCCI elections, 3- man panel to decide on CSK, Royals' fate

India welcomes role playedby Myanmar in South-EastAsia: President

J&K will soon get a strongand stable government: BJP

Praise for PM Modi: Janardan Dwivedi meetsCongress disciplinary committee head Antony

Weather ReportDELHITemperature: 170CPrecipitation: 75%Humidity:64%Wind: 12 Km/hr

KOLKATATemperature: 220CPrecipitation: 0%Humidity: 33% Wind: 8 Km/hr

CHENNAITemperature: 240CPrecipitation: 0%Humidity:57%Wind: 19 Km/hr

NEW DELHI, JAN 22Ministry of

External Affairsspokesperson SyedAkbaruddin onThursday, while giv-ing details of the itin-erary of the USPresident, said thatObama's visit isbeing seen asstrengthening of tiesacross the full spec-trum of India-USrelationship.

While givingdetails of the itiner-ary of the USPresident's three-dayvisit to India,Akbaruddin con-firmed to thereporters that Obamawill land at DelhiInternational Airporton January 25 at 10am and will be visit-ing Taj Mahal on 27

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Obama to arrive on Jan 25, visit willstrengthen Indo-US ties: MEA

CHANDIGARH, JAN 22Haryana governor Prof

Kaptan Singh Solani wason Thursday took over theadditional charge ofGovernor of Punjab.

Solanki was adminis-tered the oath of office byChief Justice of Punjaband Haryana High CourtShiavax Jal Vazifdar atPunjab Raj Bhavan here, aofficial spokesman said.

He took the oath inHindi. Later, Solankisigned separate chargereports, both as Governorof Punjab andAdministrator of UnionTerritory of Chandigarh.

Earlier, the Governordesignate arrived at thespecial pandal of PunjabRaj Bhavan in a ceremoni-al procession.

He was accompanied bythe Chief Justice of thePunjab and Haryana HighCourt.

Solanki was given theadditional charge after thetenure of Shivraj V Patil asPunjab governor come toan end yesterday.

The outgoing GovernorPatil said he would everremain in-debt to Punjaband its people for the sup-port, cooperation, love and

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

BATHINDA, JAN 22Foundation stone for

highway projects worthover Rs 3,300 crore inPunjab were laid onThursday by UnionMinister of RoadTransport, Highways andShipping Nitin Gadkari,who said the NDA gov-ernment was committedto providing good con-nectivity across thecountry.

It is the endeavour ofthe Centre to providegood connectivity toensure development ofthe country, Gadkari saidwhile laying the founda-

tion stone of sevenNational HighwayProjects by a press of a

button here.They involved projects

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Gadkari lays foundation stone forroad projects worth Rs 3,300 cr

Prof Kaptan Singh Solanki sworn-in as 34th Governor of Punjab

Haryana to setup 'KanyaKosh' for firstgirl childPANIPAT, JAN 22

Haryana ChiefMinister Manohar LalKhattar on Thursdaysaid a 'Haryana KanyaKosh' would be set upto provide financialassistance on the birthof first girl child.

The girl childbelonging to the fami-lies of poor andScheduled Castes willbe provided financialassistance from thisfund. He was

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Progress made in negotiationswith US on nuke issue: India

NEW DELHI, JAN 22India and the US negotiators have been

making "progress" in trying to resolve thedifferences in operationalising the landmarkcivil nuclear deal ahead of President BarackObama's arrival here on January 25 on a three-day visit, which is packed with high-voltage

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

NEW DELHI | FRIDAY | JAN 23, 2015Delhi News2 SAADDA HAQ

NEW DELHI, JAN 22BJP's chief ministerial

candidate Kiran Bedi saidon Thursday that she waslooking forward to serv-ing the city and making itsecure and positive.

She posted on themicro-blogging siteTwitter: “Sharing with asense of gratitude.Looking forward to serv-ing my city now. Makingit secure, and positive.”

Sharing with a sense ofgratitude. Looking for-ward to serving my citynow. Making it secure,and positive.

— Kiran Bedi(@thekiranbedi) January22, 2015 Meanwhile,AAP chief ArvindKejriwal today took a digat Bedi for dodging hisinvite for an open debateon issues facing the city,saying she was runningaway from the challenge.

He posted a series ofTweets saying the same.

“Kiran ji saying shewould debate after elec-tions in Assembly. Sherefuses to debate beforeelections saying she

believes in delivery. Doesit mean delivery beforeelections, debate afterelections? We wantdebate before and deliv-ery later,” he wrote.

In another post hewrote, “Why Kiran ji run-ning away from debate?She is busy but surely shecan take out two hoursfrom busy schedule.People want to know herstand on issues.”

Kiran ji saying she wud

debate after elections inassembly. She refuses todebate before electionssaying she believes indelivery(1/2)

— Arvind Kejriwal( @ A r v i n d K e j r i w a l )January 21, 2015

Does it mean deliverybefore elections, debateafter elections? We wantdebate before and deliv-ery later(2/2)

— Arvind Kejriwal Why kiran ji running

away from debate? She isbusy but surely she cantake out 2 hrs from busyschedule. Ppl want 2know her stand on issues

— Arvind Kejriwal( @ A r v i n d K e j r i w a l )January 21, 2015

Bedi had retorted to theAAP chief's inviteterming it as 'drama' andsaying that she putsdelivery over debate thatprompted furtherresponse from him.

Looking forward to serving Delhi, making it secure: Kiran Bedi

NEW DELHI, JAN 22A 23-year-old woman

CRPF constable commit-ted suicide by hanging her-self from the grill of abathroom in a women'shostel here Thursday.

Laxmi, a resident ofRajasthan, was foundhanging at around 1 a.m. atthe third floor of theCentral Reserve PoliceForce (CRPF) hostel inwest Delhi's Vikaspuri.

Police said anotherwoman constable foundLaxmi hanging andinformed her seniors wholater made a call to police.

"Laxmi was rushed to a

nearby hospital but doctorsdeclared her broughtdead," said a police offi-cial.

She was inducted inCRPF in 2010 and wasposted in 135 battalion ofthe force.

The investigating officialsaid Laxmi was sufferingfrom depression and beingtreated for the past fewmonths at CRPF hospital.

"Laxmi's husbandRakesh is also in CRPF.The couple got marriedone year ago," the officialsaid, adding that no suicidenote was recovered fromher possession.

Woman CRPFconstable commits

suicide in Delhi

NEW DELHI, JAN 22Adding to the political

heat ahead of Delhi assem-bly election, Aam AadmiParty founder memberShanti Bhushan, Thursday,praised Kiran Bedi andsaid that he would behappy if she becomes thechief minister.

Bhushan describedBJP’s decision to anointBedi as CM candidate as amasterstroke.

“It is a master stroke byBJP to bring Kiran Bedi jiand declare her party's CMcandidate. Kiran ji made ahuge contribution to 'IndiaAgainst Corruption', shewould provide a very cleanand efficient administra-tion (as CM),” he said,adding, “BJP recognizedforce of Anna’s andolanand were forced to bring asCM candidate, a crusader(Kiran Bedi) against cor-ruption.”

On AAP, Bhushan saidthat, in his view, every-thing was not right within

the party.“I think everything is not

right in AAP, party is notbeing run on lines it wasexpected to run or what itwas established for.Reorientation within AAPis very much needed, theirstress must be on reform-ing political system,improving political stan-dards,” he said.

Interestingly, he added,

“AAP was born out of acrusade against corruption,so they should be happy ifa member (Kiran Bedi) ofsame crusade becomesCM.”

Praising Bedi, the notedlawyer said that she iswoman of integrity andhad done exceptionalwork, first as a police offi-cer and then as a crusader.

“I feel that if she

becomes CM she will dovery good work...I wouldhave been happier if shebecame CM as AAP mem-ber but what is moreimportant is that Delhi getsan honest CM,” he said.

On Anna Hazare,Bhusan said, “If she (Bedi)becomes CM, Anna shouldbe very happy as one of hisdisciples has becomeCM.”

On Bedi’s statementspraising the RSS, Bhushansaid, “RSS has some goodthings but they have onebad aspect that they getant-Islam at times...if shehas praised good aspectsof RSS then there is nowrong.”

Bhushan refused tochoose between Bedi andKejriwal but quipped,“Even if Kejriwal does notbecome CM and KiranBedi becomes CM thenalso its good.”

Bhushan is the patron ofAAP and its biggestdonor.

Kiran Bedi will do very good work as Delhi CM: Shanti Bhushan

NEW DELHI, JAN 22Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind

Kejriwal on Thursday denied any riftwithin the party, as claimed by seniorparty leader Shanti Bhushan, and said thatif the latter has any complaints against theparty, he can approach the Lokpal.

"Everyone is free to give their own viewin this country. We have a Lokpal whereanyone can complain. If Shanti Bhushan

has any complaints, he can bring it out.However, there is no internal damagewithin AAP," said Kejriwal.

Earlier in the day, senior AAP leaderShanti Bhushan came out in support of theBharatiya Janata Party's chief ministerialcandidate for Delhi, Kiran Bedi.

Bhushan hailed Bedi for her contribu-tion in the 'India Against Corruption'movement, and said she would provide avery clean and efficient administration inDelhi.

He added that all was not well withinthe AAP and even stated that the partyshould be happy if the former IPS officerbecomes the chief minister of Delhi.

The senior leader also called for a reori-entation within AAP stating they muststress on "reforming political system andimproving political standards".

The elections for the 70-member DelhiAssembly will be held in a single phase onFebruary 7, with the counting of votes setto take place on February 10.

NEW DELHI, JAN 22Thursday is set to be a crucial day in

the trial of the 2002 hit-and-run caseinvolving actor Salman Khan. One ofthe most important witnesses in thecase, a doctor with the State-run JJHospital, who had collected actorSalman Khan's blood samples afterthe incident, is expected to depose incourt.

The doctor had earlier sought policeprotection through Special PublicProsecutor Pradeep Gharat, but hadnot given any reason for his request.The court had asked him to make therequest in writing.

Earlier, a forensic expert had toldthe court that he found almost doublethe permissible level of alcohol in theblood samples of Mr Khan submittedby the police. But the defence said

there was no clarity on the number ofsamples collected.

In December 2013, the court

ordered a fresh trial in the case on thegrounds of having charged the actorwith culpable homicide not amounting

to murder, instead of rash and negli-gent driving.

The actor could be jailed for up to10 years if convicted. He previouslyfaced the lesser charge of rash andnegligent driving.

One person was killed and four oth-ers were injured when a car allegedlydriven by the actor, now 48, rammedinto a bakery on September 28, 2002.Salman's lawyers for years haveargued that the actor was not at thewheel. The trial has faced a series ofdelays and roadblocks. In August,Mumbai police admitted that key doc-uments in the case were missing. Theywere later found lying in the policestation, after Mumbai PoliceCommissioner Rakesh Maria orderedan inquiry. The court has called for aspeedy trial in the case.

Crucial Witness in Salman Khan Hit-and-Run Case to Depose Today

AGRA, JAN 22Heavy showers since

early morning onThursday washed all thedust and pollutants turn-ing Taj Mahal sparklingwhite ahead of USPresident Barack Obama'svisit to the city on January27.

The authorities havestepped up their efforts tospruce up the 17th centurymonument of love and itssurrounding areas aheadof the Obama visit. The12-km stretch of roadfrom the Kheria Air ForceStation, where Obamawill land, to the easterngate of Taj Mahal is beinggiven a face-lift.

Potholes have beenfilled, encroachmentsremoved, tree trunks

painted white and red,flower pots placed, andstreet-lights have beenfixed on the stretch.

Sources in theArchaeological Survey ofIndia (ASI), which main-tains the monument, indi-cated that Taj Mahal willbe closed for public fortwo hours during theVVIP visit on Tuesday.The monument will, how-ever, remain open for pub-lic on the Republic Day.

President Obama isexpected to reach TajMahal around 2pm. He isscheduled to spend anhour at the historical site.

Reports indicated thatObama and his entouragewill head back home fromAgra, instead of returningto Delhi.

Security too has beenbeefed up in the areaahead of the visit. Alongwith the Indian securityforces, US armed com-mandos are likely to but-tress the entire stretch ofthe road and take overpositions within the TajMahal complex.

Residents of Taj Ganjmohalla have beenadvised to carry theiridentity cards and stay intheir homes on January 27during the duration of theObama visit.

Agra has not witnessedsuch high scale of securityand preparedness everbefore, said a resident.National Highway-2 andYamuna Expressway arealready under heavy secu-rity cover.

Taj Mahal sparkles after spell of shower

NEW DELHI, JAN 22Priyanka Gandhi on Thursday

issued a strong rebuttal to a mediareport that key aides of her broth-er and Congress Vice PresidentRahul were being quitely shiftedto her office leading to specula-tion about greater political rolefor her.

A statement issued by her officedescribed as "entirely baselessand false" the "imputations andcomments" made in the reportwhich stated that Kanishka Singh,a key aide of Rahul, had beenshifted to Priyanka Gandhi's resi-dence at 35, LodhiEstate.

Priyanka rubbishes report of Rahul aide beingshifted to her houseure to regulate acid sale

After Shanti Bhushan snub,Kejriwal denies rift within AAP

NEW DELHI, JAN 22A court here Thursday

recorded the statements oftwo police officials over thealleged rape of a womanexecutive by a driver of theUber cab company.

Additional Sessions JudgeKaveri Baweja recorded thestatements of two police subinspectors - Devender andSandeep - who were testify-ing as prosecution witnesses.

Accused driver ShivKumar Yadav was arrestedby Delhi Police Dec 7 fromhis hideout in Mathura inUttar Pradesh.

Devender told the court hewas a member of the teamwhich apprehended Yadavfrom Mathura after conduct-ing a raid.

Sandeep told the court hewas a part of the team thatseized the vehicle inside

which the woman wasallegedly raped.

Yadav, 32, allegedly rapedthe woman executive in thecab she hired to head backhome in north Delhi`sInderlok area Dec 5 last year.

The trial will continueFriday and the court willlikely record the statement ofan expert from the ForensicScience Laboratory andseven other witnesses.

The court last week framedcharges of rape and causinggrievous bodily harm orendangering the life of awoman, kidnapping awoman, criminal intimida-tion and voluntarily causinghurt under various sectionsof the Indian Penal Codeagainst Yadav.

The trial is being conduct-ed on a day-to-daybasis.

Two policemen examinedin Uber rape caseNEW DELHI, JAN 22

Most parts of Delhi, Punjab andHaryana were on Thursday lashed byintermittent showers, dissipating thefoggy conditions and providing relieffrom the on-going cold wave in theregion.

Several areas of Delhi, Punjab andHaryana were lashed by rainfall, whichbegan last evening, marking a rise innight temperatures in the region, theMeT office said here.

The foggy conditions prevailing in theregion eased out putting normal life backon track, the MeT said, adding that rain-fall was due to Western disturbances pre-vailing over the region and will continuetill tomorrow.

While Amritsar was lashed by 33.2mm of rain, Bhiwani received 8.6 mm ofrainfall.

Among other places, Narnaul wasdrenched by eight mm of rainfall fol-lowed by 6.4 mm at Ludhiana, 5.6 mm atHisar, 3.2 mm at Karnal, 1.8 mm atPatiala, 1.6 mm at Ambala and 0.8 mm atChandigarh.

The minimum temperatures in theregion hovered between one to sixdegrees Celsius above normal, the MeT

office said.Chandigarh settled at a low of 11.4

degrees Celsius, five notches above nor-mal followed by 10.6 degrees Celsiuseach at Ambala and Patiala, three andfour notches above normal respectively.

Besides, Hisar had a low of 10.3degrees Celsius, three notches abovenormal, Karnal 9.4 degrees Celsius, twonotches above normal, Bhiwani 9.2degrees Celsius, Ludhiana 8.1 degreesCelsius, one notch above normal andAmritsar 6.8 degrees Celsius, four notch-es above normal.

The MeT has forecast cloudy condi-tions with possibility of more rains in theregion during the next 24 hours.

Rain brought cheers for farmers as it ishighly beneficial for crops, includingwheat, potatoes, green fodder, and peas,experts said.

Agricultural experts said that it willalso offset the adverse impact of theground frost on the crops, especially thetender ones like peas and green fodder.

Medical experts opined that sinceshowers break the dry spell of winter andsettle dust particles, they reduce risks ofdry winter-related diseases like respira-tory problems and irritation to eyes.

Showers in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana; fog dissipates

Continuation 3NEW DELHI | FRIDAY | JAN 23, 2015SAADDA HAQ

PM Modi...before educating their daughters. How can

this go on," the PM asked.“If we don't realise the crisis brought by

female foeticide, our coming generations willface a major problem,” the PM said, whileurging the countrymen to take a pledge tooppose female foeticide and other socialevils practiced against girl child.

India’s PM is standing in front of you as abeggar. I have come here to beg for the life ofthe girl child, Modi said.

In a direct message to the doctors, PMModi said, “To them, I say, society has madeyou a doctor to save lives, to get rid of pain,illness not to kill girl children.”

He also thanked Union Minister ManekaGandhi, Haryana Chief Minister Manhor LalKhattar and Bollywood diva Madhuri Dixitfor being part of the massive programme thataims to improve the child sex ratio (CSR).

I am glad Maneka ji and her team selectedHaryana. And I congratulate the CM toaccept the challenge. The message is forentire India, the PM said.

Madhuri ji is here with. Her mother isunwell but she is in Panipat. She is here witha message to save the girl child, the PM saidwhile referring to the Bollywood diva.

Evergreen Bollywood diva Madhuri Dixithas been roped in as the brand ambassador ofthe Modi government's ambitious 'BetiBachao-Beti Padhao campaign'.

Ahead of the official launch of the 'BetiBachao Beti Padhao' programme, the eventwas addressed by Union Minister ManekaGandhi, Haryana Chief Minister Manhor LalKhattar and Bollywood star Madhuri Dixit.

Khattar today inaugurated a state-levelexhibition of 'Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao' pro-gramme ahead of the official launch of theNational BBBP programme by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi.

The Chief Minster went around the exhibi-tion and inquired about the schemes and pro-grammes of various departments displayed atthe exhibition.

He keenly watched the chart displayed bythe Health Department depicting the sex ratioof the state.

Later on, officials of Women and ChildDevelopment Department pinned a badge of'Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao Programme' on theChief Minister.

Haryana Women and Child DevelopmentMinister Kavita Jain and senior officers werealso present on the occasion.

Khattar, while presiding over a meeting ofthe district officers, had said yesterday the"declining sex ratio in Haryana and the coun-try is a cause of concern and the programmewould seek to correct the imbalance".

According to the 2011 Census, the numberof females per 1,000 males in Haryana in2011 stands at 879.

Emphasising the need of having more edu-cational institutes for girls in the district,Khattar announced that a government seniorsecondary school for girls in Bhiwani andgovernment college for girls in Badhra townwill be set up.

He directed the officers to discharge theirduties honestly and work for the upliftmentof the society.

Later, while addressing party workers,Khattar said an 11-member VigilanceCommittee will be formed in each assemblyarea, which will keep an eye on the problemsfaced by the people and forward these to thegovernment for solution.

Haryana to...speaking at the launch of national pro-

gramme 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' launchedby Prime Minister Narendra Modi for thesafety and education of girl child at Panipat.

Khattar said that earlier financial assistancewas provided on the birth of second daughterunder Ladli scheme.

"Now, the scope of this scheme has beenwidened and the first daughter would also becovered under it. A sum of Rs 21,000 wouldbe deposited at the birth of the first girl child.This amount would increase to Rs one lakhafter the girl attains the age of 18 years," hesaid.

Expressing his concern on literacy rate ofwomen, Khattar said that at present thewomen's literacy rate in Haryana is 65.4 percent and sincere efforts would be made tobring a significant improvement in it.

He said girls would be provided scholar-ships on the basis of their capabilities.

On malnutrition among mothers and chil-dren, he said that the government wouldreview the previous nutrition policy and drafta new State Nutrition Mission on the patternof National Health Mission.

He said that the Infant Mortality Rate(IMR) in Haryana is 41 per cent and all outefforts would be made to reduce it and thistarget could be easily achieved in case theregion is declared as Empowered ActionGroup.

Obama to...January before departing for US.Akbarudding told reporters that US is

India’s key interlocutor in adjustments toglobal security architecture and that Indiasees vast potential in growth in its relationswith the United States of America.

He also said that India will expand renew-able energy drive during the US President'svisit here.

Union Coal, Power and Renewable EnergyMinister Piyush Goyal will be the minister-in-waiting for US President Barack Obamaduring his visit to India for this year'sRepublic Day celebrations.

Security has been stepped up along the

international border between India andPakistan and in the capital in view of the U.S.President's visit.

Obama will arrive in New Delhi onJanuary 25 to take part in Republic Day cel-ebrations on the invitation of Prime Minister,Narendra Modi.

Progress made...engagements. Describing the three-day

visit as "one of our most important diplomat-ic engagements in recent times",Spokesperson in the External AffairsMinistry Syed Akbaruddin said cooperationin key areas of defence, security, counter- ter-rorism and the situation in India's extendedneighbourhood would be among the issues tobe discussed between Obama and PrimeMinister Narendra Modi.

Asked about the differences between thetwo sides on the nuclear deal, he said, "Ournegotiators are working together in a collab-orative manner in London. This is the thirdtime the Contact Group, which was set up bythe Prime Minister and the US President, ismeeting in last nearly 45 days. One can seethe element of effort going in the discussionon the nuclear issue, which is an extremelyimportant issue..."

He said under the nuclear "rubric", theGroup was discussing administrativearrangements, how to actualise India's questfor membership of Nuclear Supplier's Groupand also issues related to clarification andunderstanding of our nuclear liability regime.

India welcomes...its development cannot be complete and

sustainable unless it builds productive part-nerships with its immediate neighbours,according to Press Secretary to the President,Venu Rajamony.

"India is committed to extending support ofUSD 5 million annually for five years (toMyanmar) under the MoU on Border AreaDevelopment. It has already released a sumof USD 4.5 million to Myanmar," Mukherjeesaid, adding that efforts are being made toexpedite completion of all bilateral develop-mental projects, including Kaladan Projectand connectivity projects.

The President said bilateral trade is grow-ing and India is today Myanmar's fourthlargest trading partner with the balance oftrade greatly in the favour of that country.

"Yet, this trade is far below potential anddoes not reflect the closeness of ties. Indiancompanies are keen to bring their expertiseand resources to Myanmar in promising sec-tors such as energy, power, construction,banking, insurance," he said.

SC bars Srinivasan...Premier League (IPL) and the Champions

League Twenty20 and all events organisedby the BCCI.

The apex court bench, headed by JusticeT.S. Thakur, held Srinivasan's son-in-law andCSK "official" Gurunath Meiyappan, andIPL franchise Rajasthan Royals' co-ownerRaj Kundra guilty of betting and said thepunishment will not only be confined to thembut also extend to the franchises they repre-sent. The court set up a three-member com-mittee headed by former Chief Justice R.M.Lodha to decide, besides other issues, thequantum of punishment to be given toMeiyappan and Kundra.

The court also asked Srinivasan to stayaway from the BCCI on account of his com-mercial interest in CSK.

But the court made a distinction betweencommercial interest and professional interestin respect of service rendered by prominentformer cricketers Sunil Gavaskar and currentIndian team's director Ravi Shastri as com-mentators.

Following are some of the key points in theSC ruling:On N Srinivasan

SC gives N Srinivasan clean chit as chargesof cover-up against him in the IPL spot-fix-ing and betting case have been not proved.

N Srinivasan or any administrator havingcommercial interest in cricket can't contestfor BCCI post till they have those interests.On BCCI

BCCI did not adhere to prescribed proce-dures while conducting probe in IPL spot-fixing and betting scandal.

BCCI is amenable to article 226 and judi-cial law and their functions are public func-tions?.

Amendment in BCCI rules allowingSrinivasan to own IPL team is bad. SC strikesdown BCCI's rule amendment of 6.2.4 whichgave right to BCCI's official to have stake inIPL and CLT20. No one can be judge in hisown cause and principles of natural justiceare sacrosanct. No rule can permit a conflictof interest. If the purity of the game is under-mined then the essence of the game will belost. Rule 6.2.4 is unsustainable and illegal.

Three Member Committee of formerJudges RM Lodha, Ashok Bhan and RVRavindran constituted to recommend reformsand amendments by BCCI.

SC ordered that BCCI may hold its electionin 6 months, but people having conflict ofinterest will not contest election

Issue on whether eminent players etc. areimpacted by Rule 6.2.4 is not subject matterof petition.

BCCI performs key public functions and isamenable to wit juridical under Article 226 ofConstitution of India.

State has chosen not to bring law to checkmonopoly of BCCI.On others

Gurunath Meiyappan of CSK & Raj?Kundra of RR are indeed "Team Officials"

and were involved in betting.SC constituted 3 judges committee which

will decide quantum of punishment on RajKundra and Meiyaapan

Allegations against IPL COO SundarRaman need to be probed further.

BJP is exactly...(BJP-led) cabinet?"Kejriwal, 46, and Bedi, 65, were close col-

leagues during the 2011 anti-corruptionmovement of Gandhian activist Anna Hazarethat shook India. The two later had a fallout.

Bedi joined the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) last week. On Tuesday, she was namedits chief ministerial candidate for the Feb 7electoral battle in Delhi.

"She (Bedi) stands for transparency. Butthe BJP does not want to make its fundingtransparent," Kejriwal went on.

Speaking while on his way to a campaignrally in Palam area in south Delhi wherelarge crowds greeted him, Kejriwal was con-fident of an AAP victory this time again.

"The last two opinion polls have placed usat number one (position)," Kejriwal said.

"The middle class is coming back in largenumbers (to our fold)," he asserted. "I ambeing honest. I myself used to say in inter-views in August and September that the mid-dle class was very angry with us.

"It is no more so. Now more and more peo-ple say they want to give them (AAP) onemore chance."

According to him, the AAP's support baseextended among all classes includinglawyers, traders, industrialists and profes-sionals. "Aren't they all middle class?"

Kejriwal, like Bedi a Ramon Magsaysayaward winner, remains the AAP's best knownface although the party's four MPs, all fromPunjab, are also campaigning in Delhi.

Unlike in December 2013 when the AAPwas largely unknown but stunned everyoneby winning 28 of the 70 seats, Kejriwal says"99.9 percent of the people know us now...We are very confident of winning".

So what is the AAP's strength - and itsweakness?

"Our 49 days of governance is the biggestfactor in our favour," he said. "We did whatwe promised, be it power and water tariff,fighting corruption and controlling (food)prices."

The one area where Kejriwal admits theAAP has suffered a setback is diaspora sup-port.

This, he says, is because of the greaterappeal abroad of Prime Minister NarendraModi.

Was his resignation after 49 days in officea mistake?

"Yes, it was a mistake," he says, a point healso makes at all his rallies. "It wasn't acrime. One thing we have learnt (in politics)is that you must never resign. And we willnever again resign."

Gadkari lays...totalling 222 Kms to be completed at a total

cost of Rs 3,342 crore.This was Gadkari's maiden visit to the state

after becoming a minister in the NarendraModi government.

The seven projects are Sangrur-DogalKalan (30 Kms), Dogal Kalan-PunjabHaryana border (27 Kms), Sangrur-Dhanaulabye-pass (18 Kms), Patiala bye-pass (19Kms), Patiala-Sangrur (41 Kms), Sangrur-Tapa (46 Kms) and Tapa-Bathinda (41 Kms).

Launching his multi-Crore project,Gadkari also promised Rs 18,000 Croreinvestment on Punjab's road infrastructureincluding 5 railways over bridges (ROB's).

He said almost all major state highwayswould be converted into national highwaysand work on it would commence before theend of this year.

Gadkari said good connectivity played amajor role in development of US.

"Punjab shall be developed on the lines ofCanada and America and this shall be done ina time bound span of two years", he added.

He said that he would ensure the projectwork started before March 31 and was com-pleted without getting stuck due to any rea-son. Gadkari also said the new Motor VehicleAct will be introduced in the coming sessionof Parliament under which it is proposed tohike the penalities for various violations sothat the roads become safer.

Stating the country had a large number ofbogus driving licenses, he said the Centrewould commence computerisation of theprocess of issuing driving licenses.

Welcoming the Union Minister on theoccasion, Deputy Chief Minister SukhbirBadal said that he was happy Gadkari hasaccepted all the demands of the state.

"....All my demands were immediatelywelcomed and accepted by the unionMinister for transport and with immediateeffect which was exactly opposite to thetreatment meted out to the demands ofPunjab by his (Gadkari's) predecessors inCongress regime," he said.

Prof Kaptan ...affection showered upon him during his

stint as the constitutional head of the state.In his farewell address while demitting the

gubernatorial office after the completion ofhis term, Patil recalled the cooperationextended to him by the people, officers,Ministers and leaders of the various politicalparties and above all Chief Minister ParkashSingh Badal.

In an emotionally surcharged speech, Patilsaid he was overwhelmed by the severalpleasant memories while discharging hisduties as the Governor of Punjab and admin-

istrator of the Union territory of Chandigarh,which would ever remain his treasure.

Patil said his formidable strength was thesmooth cooperation and support given by thepeople while rendering services to this covet-ed office efficaciously to the satisfaction ofgeneral public.

The former Governor said this approachalso helped him to take decisions absolutelyin a free, impartial and unbiased mannerprobably, which was the hallmark of theadministration of any constitutional office.

Striking a nostalgic note the outgoingGovernor said, "My mind is filled withcountless memories which I am unable toexpress in words but these will ever remainafresh on my mind and act as a source ofinspiration for me".

Earlier, Badal felicitated Patil on the occa-sion and wished him a pleasant, prosperousand healthy life ahead.

J&K will...government and end the political deadlock

that resulted from a hung verdict."PDP chief Mufti Mohammad Sayeed's

meeting with Governor N N Vohra last weekwas an important step towards governmentformation in the state," a senior PDP leadersaid on condition of anonymity.

"They had a two-hour meeting and areunderstood to have discussed governmentformation and political stalemate in the state.The details of the meeting are not known,"the leader said.

Party president Amit Shah too had said thatno government was possible in Jammu andKashmir without the BJP.

"At one time, we could never cross 12 seatsin the Assembly. But this time, we have won25 seats. Because of the unusual political sit-uation, we could not form the governmentbut the results show that no government canbe formed without us," he had said whileaddressing party workers in Delhi.

The results of the Assembly polls onDecember 23 threw a hung assembly withPDP emerging as the single largest party bag-ging 28 seats in the 87-member house.

BJP came second with 25 seats whileNational Conference bagged 15 seats fol-lowed by Congress with 12 seats and otherswinning seven seats.

Governor's rule was imposed in the state onJanuary 8, a day after former Chief MinisterOmar Abdullah asked NN Vohra to relievehim of the caretaker responsibilities withimmediate effect.

No party or combination of parties hasstaked claim for government formation in thestate so far.

Praise for...convinced the top leadership that he was

'misquoted' which he also claimed at a pressconference, as sources.

The controversy was stirred yesterdaywhen Dwivedi was reportedly quoted as say-ing by a web portal that Modi has been suc-cessful in convincing people that he wasclosest to Indian citizens.

The Congress leader also apparently saidthat Modi was a victory of Indianness.

The Congress leader had added that BJP'svictory has ushered in a new time which hasbrought forth a very big challenge forCongress and there is no scope for any mis-understanding over the issue.

Dwivedi later clarified that he was quotedhim out of context.

Meanwhile, another Congress leaderSalman Khurshid said, “Janardhan ji is verycareful with words, many of us have oftenbeen counselled by him. Whatever he saidshould be left to him,” he said.

PC Chacko also came to his defence sayingthat Dwivedi's “statement was distorted bythe media” and that “he had already put forththe true version.”

Waqf Boards'...Committee report they will provide any-

where between Rs 20,000 crore and 25,000crore per annum. This money can be used forthe welfare and upliftment of Muslims in thecountry," Heptullah said here.

She added that to make this happen, waqfboards in the country will be reconstitutedand the property belonging to them will beregistered to facilitate their digitisation.Linkages with 'Aadhaar' number will also beprovided to bring in transparency in theactivities.

"Some people may feel bad about thesemeasures, but they are for the benefit of theMuslims. Prime Minister Narendra Modi hasentrusted me to oversee their implementa-tion. Our officers have started discussing itwith waqf boards. They are doing it in Patnatoday," Heptullah said.

The Union Minister was speaking at afunction at the Bihar BJP headquarters here,while talking about various schemes initiatedby the Centre for the welfare of six categoriesof minorities - Muslims, Sikhs, Christians,Buddhists, Jains and Parsis.

BJP president...anniversary function of veteran socialist

leader and former Bihar Chief MinisterKarpoori Thakur, a BJP release said heretoday. The release issued by state party Vice-President and spokesman Sanjay Mayukhsaid Shah would address anniversary func-tion of Karpoori Thakur at Veterinary collegeground tomorrow afternoon.

Later in the day he would address a meet-ing of BJP leaders of block level from acrossthe state. On Saturday, the BJP chief wouldpay a visit to the home of LoknayakJayprakash Narayan and garland his statue.

Shah would depart on Saturday noon.Union ministers Ravishankar Prasad,

Radhamohan Singh, Rajiv Prarap Rudy,Dharmendra Pradhan, Ramkripal Yadav andGiriraj Singh hailing from Bihar wouldaccompany Shah. The BJP President's visit isaimed at galvanising party rank and file totake on the might of RJD chief Lalu Prasadand JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar who are try-ing to merge their parties with others in theold 'Janata Parivar' to unitedly fight BJP.

Election in Bihar is scheduled later thisyear.

Some ex-PMs...information) might be compromised"."After all, you have to build deep assets.

Deep assets are created over 20-30 years.Sadly, there were some prime ministers whocompromised deep assets.

"I am not going to disclose names. Manypeople know," Parrikar said after releasing aspecial issue of the Hindi weekly Vivek, onnational security.

Taunting the Congress for demanding evi-dence on the recent Coast Guard operationagainst a Pakistani vessel carrying suspectedterrorists, he said, "There was demand forgiving proof (that it was a Pak terror vessel).Tomorrow, during such operation we willtake along a (media) cameraman and also theCongress spokesperson.

"However, now a days nothing can be saidwith certainty as Congress spokespersons saygood things about Modi government,"Parrikar said taking a swipe at JanardhanDwivedi.

Taking steps..Commerce and Industry Nirmala

Sitharaman said she had taken up the issuewith EU officials and had also discussed withvarious European nations including theUnited Kingdom during her recent visit toLondon.

"India is taking all diplomatic steps toaddress the issue of getting the EU ban liftedon some Indian vegetables. It has also takenup the issue at appropriate forums.

"I had a fruitful and good meeting withUK's Secretary of State for Business VinceCable, who deals with EU matters and hasassured me of supporting India's case in lift-ing the ban on export of four Indian vegeta-bles to EU," Sitharaman said.

The statement comes two days after the EUlifted the ban on export of Indian mangoes tocountries under its fold after conducting farminspections in India.

Besides mangoes, the EU has imposed aban on import of Indian vegetables like bittergourd, snake gourd, aubergines and coloca-sia/taro leaves.

India has been exporting fresh fruits andvegetables, prominent among them beingmangoes, to countries of the EuropeanUnion.

One-way traffi...the people planning to undertake travel on

the 434-km arterial highway, which is theonly road link which connects the Valley tothe rest of the country.

"According to Inspector General of Police,Traffic, one way movement of traffic will bein force on Jammu-Srinagar NationalHighway (NHW-1A) from tomorrow till fur-ther orders," a police spokesman said.

He said that the advisory was issued inview of slippery conditions of the highwaybecause of the rain, snowfall, poor road con-dition and the triggering of landslides alongthe Jawahar Tunnel-Lower Munda, JawaharTunnel-Banihal, Ramsoo-Ramban andPatnitop sectors.

The decision was taken to ensure safetyand security of passengers and hassle freemovement of load carriers.

Under this system, the traffic will beallowed only one-way, from Jammu toSrinagar and vice versa on alternate days.

Economist Jagdish ...meeting, Patel said Bhagwati appreciated

the Gujarat model of development as well asthe steps taken by the state government forwomen empowerment and girl child educa-tion. They discussed the ways to bring aboutinclusive growth and take Gujarat ahead, sheadded.

Obama visit...members of minority community may be

targeted by the people with vested interests tocreate fear-psychosis among the masses," AllParties Sikh Coordination Committee chair-man Jagmohan Singh Raina said.

He said people should remain vigilant sothat such eventuality is avoided and there isno disturbance in Kashmir.

Raina said when Obama visited India inNovember 2010, Sikhs living in Upalna andHutmurah villages of Baramulla andAnantnag districts respectively got terrifiedwhen some people knocked at their doors inthe dead of the night.

"No probe was ordered into the matter tounravel the truth and mystery continues tilltoday," he said.

IAS officer...Chakraborty has been given three days

time to reply as to why disciplinary actionshould not be taken against him for arguingwith the chief minister during a meeting onJanuary 20, a senior government official saidhere on Thursday.

The senior IAS officer was removed fromthe post soon after and is now an additionalchief secretary in the Department of CivilAviation.

Editorial4 NEW DELHI | FRIDAY | JAN 23, 2015SAADDA HAQ

BY FRANK WISNER

As President BarackObama sets out for India,he will find that the same

favourable winds which aredriving India’s economy are alsomoving the U.S.-India relation-ship. The President will be thefirst American chief of state tovisit India twice during hisincumbency. He will also be thefirst President to be received asPrime Minister Narendra Modi’sguest at India’s Republic Day.The invitation to Mr. Obama andhis decision to visit India speakvolumes about prospects for theIndian-American relationship.

We have come a long wayover the past two decades.Indian and American trade andinvestment are buoyant, defencetrade has surged, and strategicconsultations, intelligence shar-ing and counter-terror coopera-tion are closer than ever in histo-ry. The U.S., including our twopolitical parties, believe that astrong India is good for thiscountry; India believes a suc-cessful and prosperous Americais good for India. This said, toachieve the potential of the rela-tionship, we need to deepenstrategic and economic coopera-tion and set new goals for therelationship.

Common problems

The first issues PresidentObama and Prime MinisterModi need to address are strate-gic. The U.S. and India facecommon problems in dealingwith the rise of China. We havemany friends in the region,notably Korea, Japan, thePhilippines, Vietnam, Singaporeand Indonesia. These countrieshave similar views about Chinaand recognise the importance ofmaintaining an Asian balance ofpower. India and the U.S. havean interest in reinforcing ourrespective ties to each of thesepowers. Our common objectiveshould not be to confront or con-tain China. Rather it should be to

shape the environment withinwhich China pursues legitimateambitions, so that China’s questfor status does not threaten itsneighbourhood and the U.S.

Similarly, India and the U.S.are preoccupied withAfghanistan’s future and withthe deteriorating situation inPakistan. Both questionsdemand close attention and fre-quent exchanges on strategy.The U.S. has serious issues withRussia and in the Middle East.We face a common threat fromterrorism. This said, we havedifferent points of view andmust be careful not to surpriseone another. Where we cannotagree on a given issue, it isimportant that our two countriesseek other avenues of coopera-tion.

We have challenges ahead incoordinating our respectiveapproaches to climate change;this subject will require hard andspecialised work.

An additional word on terror-ism is in order. The use of terroraffects India, the U.S., Europe,Russia and China, among manyother nations. It springs fromdeep political and cultural caus-es and has no single point of ori-gin. It cannot be dealt with bymilitary means alone; in fact theuse of military force can becounterproductive.

To deal with terror, we need touse the full box of tools avail-able to governments — political,intelligence, religious messag-ing, and police cooperation.Prime Minister Modi andPresident Obama should giveU.S.-Indian cooperation incounter terror the highest priori-ty.

Expanding defence coopera-tion is an especially promisingarea in the Indian-Americanrelationship. While our twocountries will not be “allies” asthe term is classically defined,

the security of our two nations isenhanced by the closest possiblecooperation.

No two countries exercisetheir military forces more fre-quently than India and the U.S.We are not, however, cooperat-ing as we should in preparingIndia’s industrial base to providethe systems it will need to copewith the security challenges ofthe future. Modern warfare isincreasingly about intelligencesystems communications andelectronic warfare. India needsto strengthen its capabilities inthese fields as it continues itsdefence modernisation. Otherthan the U.S., no nation offers asextensive a range of high-techdefence capabilities.Furthermore, to be able to worktogether in moments of crises,India and the U.S. should aim tohave common defence plat-forms. To build these platforms,India must reach an agreementwith the U.S. on the protectionof defence information. Withoutit, the U.S. cannot share itsdefence “crown jewels.” ThePresident and the Prime Ministerwould be well advised to reachagreement on this importantquestion.

Prime Minister Modi is deter-mined to grow India’s economy.He wishes to expand rapidlyIndia’s manufacturing base, andhe welcomes American and for-eign investment as key drivers inIndia’s economic performance.To attract foreign and mobiliseddomestic investment, the PrimeMinister, India’s governmentand its Chief Ministers musttackle key growth impediments.These include infrastructuralinadequacies, as well as tax,land, labour and IntellectualProperty Rights questions, andIndia’s financial servicesregime.

The landscape of U.S.-Indiaeconomic cooperation is crowd-ed with investment disputes,which undermine confidence in

India as an investment destina-tion. Our 2005 civil nuclearagreement has yet to produce thefirst investment.

The upcoming budget sessionof Parliament gives the Indiangovernment an important oppor-tunity to lay out an economicreform agenda. Americaninvestors will be watching close-ly the promises which the Indiangovernment makes, and moreimportantly, its ability to putthose promises into practice.

India can reasonably look toPresident Obama to set out hisadministration’s policy on high-tech immigration and other irk-some issues like social securitytotalisation. India can also lookforward to the President’s helpin securing early passage ofGSP, the trade enhancing regimethat has long facilitated India’sexports to the U.S.

Setting bold goals

Finally, we need to look aheadand set bold goals for the rela-tionship. These goals must serveIndian and American interests.For ‘Make in India’ to succeed,India must sell at home and havemarkets abroad. To assure for-eign markets, India must becompetitive and able to tradewithout impediment. India hasyet to complete a bilateralinvestment treaty with the U.S.,and it is not party to currentWTO negotiations on subjectsas important as IT services andgovernment procurement. Moreimportantly, India is not a mem-ber of the Asia-PacificEconomic Cooperation and isnot in consideration for mem-bership in Trans-Pacific tradenegotiations. President Obamawill shortly seek TradePromotion Authority to permitthe U.S. to advance these newsuper-trade regimes for theAtlantic area and the Pacific.India risks falling between twostools and being excluded fromthe world’s most potentially

dynamic market areas. SecuringIndia’s trade future requirestough negotiations, and a will-ingness by India to become acompetitive world-class econo-my. This subject is worth discus-sion between President Obamaand Prime Minister Modi. It isreasonable to expect the U.S. tobe India’s friend and sponsor ifIndia decides to refocus its tradepolicy and go global. ExpandingIndia’s trade horizon is central tobuilding Indian strategicstrength and in consolidating theU.S.-India relationship. Themost promising days of thatrelationship lie ahead. PrimeMinister Modi and PresidentObama have the opportunitylater this month to align ourpolicies and give our very prom-ising relationship a freshimpulse.

(Frank Wisner is former U.S.Ambassador to India.)

President Pranab Mukherjee’s pointed reminder to thegovernment on the constitutional restrictions on theresort to the ordinance route will, it is hoped, temper

the present regime’s proclivity to push through legislationby invoking the extraordinary power repeatedly. Havingsigned a series of ordinances in recent weeks on the gov-ernment’s advice, once or twice reportedly after seeking aclarification on the nature of the urgency that necessitatedthem, President Mukherjee has the moral and constitution-al authority to drive home the message to the governmentthat it ought to be mindful of the limitations of the ordi-nance route. He has underscored that ordinances can bepromulgated only “to meet certain exigencies and undercompelling circumstances”, setting out the legal context inwhich the power may be invoked. And by concurrentlyspeaking out against the tendency to use disruption as ameans of parliamentary intervention, Mr. Mukherjee hassubtly questioned the traditional wisdom of opposition par-ties that extracting an assurance or concession across thefloor by wilfully obstructing proceedings is part of a legit-imate exercise of parliamentary duties. In practice, bothissues are intricately interlinked. It is often the combina-tion of obstinacy on the part of the Treasury Benches andthe Opposition’s obstructionist tactics that lead to legisla-tive impasse and, further, to the promulgation of ordi-nances. Governments are increasingly eager to avoid con-structive engagement with the opposition because theoption of legislating through the use of presidential poweris available to them. Adding impetus to this tendency is theeven more complacent belief that a lack of majority in theUpper House can be compensated for by convening a jointsession of both Houses under certain circumstances. In aWestminster-model parliamentary democracy, Presidentsmay choose silent acquiescence with Cabinet decisions andavoid questioning the rationale behind executive advice.However, sometimes they are justified in speaking theirmind and voicing their concerns on broad constitutionalissues. What ought normally to occasion such concerns isany hint of impropriety, the cavalier resort to ordinancesbeing one example. The disruption of Parliament to thepoint of making it dysfunctional is another example. Theoccasional piece of advice from a President may be easilydismissed by some as the feeble articulation of outdatedprinciples incompatible with what is needed to survive theunsavoury contestation that electoral politics brings with it.However, it behoves a responsive government and aresponsible opposition to avoid breaching the limits ofconstitutional propriety in their actions.

The President’s counselFriday | January 23, 2015

SAADDA HAQ

BY ISHTIAQ AHMED

The French satirical magazine,Charlie Hebdo is known for itsirreverent approach to religion.

In the past it has published cartoonsof the Prophet. A cartoon controversyhas raged for quite some time inwestern Europe, which has resultedin similar violent assaults byincensed Muslims determined tomete out extreme punishment on theoffenders.

In a speech to the nation, theFrench President, François Hollande,described the events as “a tragedy forthe nation, an obligation for us toconfront terrorists.” He added, “Weare a free nation that does not givein.” He further asserted, “We carry anideal that is greater than us.”However, he emphasised that suchpathological behaviour was by nomeans to be associated with mostFrench Muslims who were loyal,law-abiding citizens. Leaders ofother western countries have ralliedaround France. The U.S. Secretary ofState, John Kerry, described Frenchdemocracy as the paragon, whichinspired others to follow it. Otherspaid similar tributes and pledged sup-port to France in the fight against ter-rorism. French Muslim clerics andlay leaders have been quick todenounce the Charlie Hebdo attack-ers as renegades to Islam andexpressed sympathy for the victimsof the terrorist outrage.

Of the 66-million strong populationin France, five million are Muslims,mainly Algerians but also from otherformer French colonies in theMaghreb. Less than two million saythey are interested in religion.Consequently, France has the biggestMuslim population, a majority ofwhom are secularised and virtuallyintegrated in French society. Such asituation is typically unacceptable tothe extremists who thrive on polaris-ing Muslims and non-Muslims. Theydeliberately seek opportunities tocorroborate “The Clash ofCivilizations”, the thesis of theAmerican political scientist, SamuelP. Huntington. Huntington hadfamously argued that ‘Western’ and‘Islamic’ civilisations were incom-patible. As compared to the liberal,

rule-oriented and law-abiding West,the Islamic civilisation was anaggressive and expansionist globalforce with a pronounced zeal andproclivity towards violence and war-fare, he asserted. He warned againstMuslim immigration to the West, anddeclared multiculturalism to be afailed and doomed ideal.

Such thinking has been brewingsince a long time among anti-immi-gration parties and movements inwestern Europe. For example, aConservative member of the BritishParliament and Minister of Health(1960-63), Enoch Powell delivered inBirmingham on April 20, 1968, theinfamous “Rivers of Blood” speechagainst immigration. In it he warnedthat the British people were worriedabout being swamped by non-whiteswho would multiply by leaps andbounds and become a source of dis-turbance and instability. Such devel-opments would culminate in rivers ofblood as a result of race wars. TheBritish National Front, the FrenchNational Front, and the German Neo-Nazis were the earliest parties thattook a stand against non-white immi-grants. Holland, Belgium, Germanyand Scandinavian groups too beganto air similar views. Over time, theemphasis changed from racial termi-nology to explicitly religious jargonabout the Islamic threat to Europe.

Personal law and justice systems

The activities and demands ofsome individuals and organisationsamong Muslims inadvertently con-firmed that a grand Trojan horse con-spiracy was under way to take fulladvantage of liberal immigrationlaws and enter western Europe inlarge numbers and then set in motionthe Islamicisation of western Europe.For example in 1975, Sheikh SyedDarsh, the head cleric of London’smain Regent’s Park Mosque demand-ed that Islamic law, the Sharia,should be allowed to regulateMuslim personal affairs. He assertedthat both British law and Shariaaimed at establishing justice, butIslamic justice derived from Koranicinjunctions and its application to per-sonal matters of Muslims would onlycomplement British justice, not sub-

vert it. This was of course not truebecause Sharia laws pertaining tofamily matters differ radically fromwestern family law systems. Sharialaw pertaining to marriage, divorceand inheritance confers greater rightson males whereas in the secularised

western family law system, differen-tial rights have more or less beeneliminated. Demands for applicationof Sharia law to personal mattershave been raised in other countries aswell.

A Pakistani journalist, KalimSiddiqui, greatly emboldened by theIranian revolution, floated the notionof a Muslim parliament of GreatBritain. In 1990, a “MuslimMnifesto: a Strategy For Survival,”was launched by Siddiqui. It advocat-ed practically the establishment of analternative legal system. The Muslimparliament never took off as a repre-sentative body of British Muslims, asvery few Muslims evinced interest init. However, such developments wereindicative of cultural tensions andserious disagreement on values thatwere coming to the surface. In thebackground of the Arab-Israeli warsand the constant humiliation ofPalestinians in the OccupiedTerritories, anti-westernism attractedsections of Muslim society all overthe world. Moreover, from the early1980s, the Iranian-Saudi competitionto influence Muslims and their fund-ing of some organisations widened

the radical Islam constituency inter-nationally and in western Europe.

Mounting tensions were greatlyexacerbated when in 1989, AyatollahKhomeini of Iran issued a fatwaagainst writer Salman Rushdie for his

The Satanic Verses (1988), allegingthat it grievously insulted Islam.Suddenly, the Muslim presence in asecularised, Christian society, wherefreedom of expression and opinionwas firmly entrenched, drew atten-tion not only of the authorities whowere keen to maintain law and orderbut also the general public. The pub-lic debate polarised around those onthe left who thought Rushdie hadplayed into the hands of the West bywriting a book scurrilous of theProphet of Islam while mainstreampoliticians and media denounced thefatwa and the death sentence as beingillegitimate.

A trigger for terror

However, in the aftermath of 9/11,and the U.S.-NATO reprisals againstAfghanistan, which resulted in thou-sands of troops being stationed in thatcountry, followed by PresidentGeorge W. Bush ordering the inva-sion of Iraq in March 2003, terrorismas the means to express Muslimantipathy and fury against the Westgained worldwide adherents.Consequently, terrorist attacks hap-pened in western Europe in 2004.

While the reaction to 9/11 was nodoubt the trigger that set in motionconcerns for security in Europe, suchfears were compounded by relatedissues that generated tension. For along time the French National Front

had been calling for the repatriationof Muslims to their home countries.On the other hand, among Muslimimmigrants, despite a secularisedmajority, the trend to adhere morestrictly to Islamic attire and othersymbols had been gaining ground.Girls had begun to use headscarves inschools, which were deemed as a vio-lation of the rules that required reli-gion being kept out of educationalinstitutions. A public debate tookplace which generated consensusagainst the hijab. On March 15, 2004,President Jacques Chirac signed intolaw the Bill passed by the Frenchnational legislature which came intoeffect on September 2, 2004.However, some women began don-ning an extreme form of dress, theburqa or niqab, to mark their socialisolation when in public. It was con-sidered as an extremist provocation.It meant covering the whole face andall other parts of the body. The burqawas also banned in April 2011. TheDutch and Belgian Parliaments havealso passed Bills banning the niqab inpublic; the completion of the legalprocedure is expected to be complet-ed soon. Elsewhere governmentshave either openly rejected such leg-

islation or adopted a policy of non-action.

It is quite clear that relationsbetween Muslim immigrants andhost societies in the West are riddenwith tensions. Concerns for identityand collective identification aredeeply ingrained in people.Immigrants invariably carry manyties and loyalties in their cultural andemotional baggage. There is no doubtthat contemporary Muslims andWesterners have been socialised andgroomed in very different ideals andvalues. Such socialisation is notabsolute; change and transformationare possible, but such processes arevery slow and never quite complete.No doubt terrorist activities amongMuslims are up until now confinedonly to some individuals and a feworganisations, but extremist Muslimsincluding the al-Qaeda pursue adetermined policy to polariseMuslims and non-Muslims across theworld. Therefore, subverting secular-ism, pluralism and multiculturalismin the West enjoys top priority in theirstrategy to gain power and influence.It is important that the European stateshould not let the notion of multicul-turalism serve as a means forMuslims or any other community toobtain legal exemptions and exemp-tions that conflict with the overallinclusive and equal citizenship thatapplies to most of Europe. Equally, itis important that vigilance and sur-veillance of extremist Muslims ismaintained and improved upon butwithout jeopardising the rights ofMuslims in general to equal treat-ment under the law. Immigrant com-munities need to be properlyinformed about not only their rightsbut also obligations. Without such adialogue and understanding, thefuture of multiculturalism and plural-ism is bleak in western Europe.

(Ishtiaq Ahmed is visiting profes-sor at the Lahore University of

Management Sciences, ProfessorEmeritus, Stockholm University, andHonorary Senior Fellow, Institute of

South Asian Studies, Singapore.)

The Muslim in liberal Europe

Our team will publish yourthoughts send us your articles at

news.saaddahaq@gmail.com

The promise of a presidential visitPrime Minister Modi is

determined to growIndia’s economy. He

wishes to expand rap-idly India’s manufac-

turing base, and hewelcomes American

and foreign invest-ment as key drivers inIndia’s economic per-

formance. To attractforeign and mobiliseddomestic investment,

the Prime Minister,India’s government

and its Chief Ministersmust tackle key

growth impediments.

Of the 66-million strong population in France, five million are Muslims, main-ly Algerians but also from other former French colonies in the Maghreb. Lessthan two million say they are interested in religion. Consequently, France hasthe biggest Muslim population, a majority of whom are secularised and virtu-ally integrated in French society. Such a situation is typically unacceptable tothe extremists who thrive on polarising Muslims and non-Muslims. They delib-erately seek opportunities to corroborate “The Clash of Civilizations”, the the-sis of the American political scientist, Samuel P. Huntington. Huntington hadfamously argued that ‘Western’ and ‘Islamic’ civilisations were incompatible.

GUWAHATI, JAN 22Assam Chief Minister

Tarun Gogoi will Fridayreconstitute his council ofministers, a Congressleader said Thursday.

Gogoi Thursday sent alist of 14 Congress legisla-tors to the governor andthe swearing-in ceremonywill be held at 10.30 a.m.Friday, state Congresspresident Anjan Dutta toldthe media outside the chiefminister`s official resi-dence.

Assam Governor (in-charge) P.B. Acharya, whois also the governor ofNagaland, arrived in thecity Thursday for theswearing-in ceremony.

Girindra Mallick,Chandan Sarkar, Sumitra

Patir, Sukur Ali andBismita Gogoi will be thenew faces, Dutta said.

The rest of the names areBhumidhar Barman, SaratBorkotoky, Nazrul Islam,Rockybul Hussain,Basanta Das, Ajit Singh,Etuwa Munda, AjantaNeog and Kharsing Ingty,he said.

Fourteen ministers hadresigned Monday during ameeting of the council ofministers to facilitate thereshuffle.

Gogoi had last yeardropped ministersArdhendy Kumar Dey andSiddeque Ahmed for dissi-dence, while then healthand education ministerHimanta Biswa Sarma hadresigned and Bodoland

Peoples` Front legislatorChandan Brahma also quitafter his party ended theover 10-year-old alliancewith the Congress.

The state Congress chief,however, made it clear thatthere was no dissidence ordiscontent among the partylegislators over the reshuf-fle, and everyone hasdecided to work togetherfor the assembly pollsscheduled for 2016.

This will be the firstreshuffle in the last 14-year rule of the Congressin Assam under TarunGogoi. Although the firsttwo terms saw success, thethird term has been turbu-lent with many party lead-ers demanding a change inleadership.

State Watch 5NEW DELHI | FRIDAY | JAN 23, 2015SAADDA HAQ

JAMMU, JAN 22Jammu and Kashmir

Governor NN Vohra has askedthe deputy commissioners ofall districts of the KashmirDivision, which were flood-hitto upload relief- related infor-mation on their official web-sites by January 24."Following the directionsissued by Governor NN Vohra,during a high-level meetingheld last week in Srinagar, allthe Deputy Commissioners ofthe Kashmir Division havebeen directed to upload theflood relief-related informa-tion on their official websitesby January 24," an officialspokesman of the Raj Bhawansaid. The districts of Kulgam,Budgam, Bandipora,

Baramulla have already com-plied the information with thegiven directions, he said.

"This was informed to thegovernor in the action takenreport submitted to him by thedivisional commissioner,Kashmir, today. It was alsoinformed that the process ofgranting the building permis-sions has been streamlinedand, till date, the SrinagarMunicipal Corporation andLakes and WaterwaysDevelopment Authority havedisposed off 64 per cent and 60per cent of all such eligiblecases respectively," he said.

A time-frame of 10 days fordisposal has been fixed forstrict compliance by the con-cerned agencies.

Jammu and Kashmir floods:DCs to upload relief-related

info on official websites

New Assam cabinet to be sworn-in Friday

SHIMLA, JAN 22More snowfall in the pictur-

esque tourist resorts ofManali and Kalpa and thehigher reaches of HimachalPradesh Thursday kept thetemperatures below freezingpoint, a weatherman said hereThursday.

However, there was wide-spread rainfall in the low andmid hills, said an official.

The chill would extend overthe weekend as snow andthundershowers would con-tinue in the state till Friday, aweather department officialsaid. The minimum tempera-ture in Shimla, whichreceived 4.6 mm rain, wasrecorded at minus 0.2 degree

Celsius. Popular tourist resortManali, which received 13 cmsnow and 20 mm rain, record-ed the night temperature atminus 1.4 degrees Celsius.

Shimla's nearby touristspots Kufri and Narkandaalso received fresh spell ofsnowfall. Kalpa, around 250km from the state capital,which received 19.1 cm snow,saw a minimum temperatureof minus 6.4 degrees Celsius,while it was 5.4 degreesCelsius in Dharamsala, whichreceived 23.2 mm of rain.

Keylong, the headquartersof Lahaul and Spiti, received32 cm snow and recorded alow of minus 2.6 degreesCelsius.

"The high hills in Lahauland Spiti, Kinnaur, Kullu,Shimla and Chamba districtshave been experiencing mod-erate to heavy snowfall sinceWednesday," an official said.

The government hasadvised the local residentsand tourists not to venture outin the high hills of Shimla,Kullu, Chamba, Lahaul-Spitiand Kinnaur districts aschances of heavy snowfalland avalanches are high tillFriday.

Even the snow-bound areasnear the tourist resort ofManali like Solang, BeasKund, Nehru Kund and Kothihave been declared ava-lanche-prone.

Snowfall keeps mercury belowfreezing in Himachal Pradesh

PATNA, JAN 22BJP president Amit

Shah is set to kick-start`Mission Bihar` hereFriday to woo theextremely backwardcastes (EBCs) on the birthanniversary of formerchief minister KarpooriThakur.

Shah will address apublic meeting beingorganised by the BJP`sEBCs wing to claim thesocialist leader`s legacyin the election year, stateBJP president MangalPandey said.

It will be Shah`s firstvisit to Bihar afterbecoming the BJP presi-dent.

Shah will arrive hereFriday on a two-day visit(Jan 23-24) to take stock

of the party`s preparationfirst hand by meetingparty leaders and workersfrom panchayat to districtlevel, a senior BJP leader

said.Shah`s visit assumes

significance as LaluPrasad`s Rashtriya JanataDal (RJD) and Janata

Dal-United (JD-U) ofNitish Kumar are set tomerge in the state.

"BJP is eyeing to makea dent in the social sup-port base of the EBCs bycelebrating Thakur`s birthanniversary in a big waythis time ahead of crucialstate assembly polls laterthis year," JD-U leaderNeeraj Kumar said.

State BJP presidentPandey said the merenews of Shah`s visit toBihar has already createda "feel good" feelingamong party leaders andworkers. "Shah`s visitwill boost the confidenceand morale of the party inthe election year."

Earlier this month, Shahhad held a meeting inDelhi with the BJP`s core

group from Bihar to dis-cuss the party`s strategyfor the assembly polls.

With an ambitious tar-get of winning 185 seatsin the 243-memberassembly, Shah askedBJP leaders from Bihar tostrengthen the party`sconnect with the peopleand aim to repeat theparty`s performance inthe recent Lok Sabhapolls when it had won 31out of 40 seats.

The BJP has set anothergoal of enrolling 75 lakhmembers in Bihar aloneduring its nationwidemembership drive target-ing 10 crore new mem-bers.

Popularly known as`Jan Nayak` (people`sleader), Karpoori Thakur

was one of the socialistleaders close toJayaprakash Narayanwho spearheaded themovement for total revo-lution as well as protestsagainst the Emergency(1975-77) duringCongress rule.

Belonging to theextremely backwardcastes (EBCs), Thakuremerged as an importanticon for consolidatingEBC votes in caste-riddenBihar. The EBCs are acluster of over 100 castesaccounting for around 32percent of the electorate.

Karpoori Thakur wasBihar`s chief ministerfrom December 1970 toJune 1971 and fromDecember 1977 to April1979. He died in 1988.

Amit Shah to kick off 'Mission Bihar' to woo EBCs

Sukha murder: Punjab govt trans-fers 2 senior police officialsCHANDIGARH, JAN 22

Punjab government on Thursday took aserious note of the killing of Sukha Kahlwanwhile in police custody and ordered transferof two top police officials of Kapurthala andPhagwara districts.

Punjab Deputy Chief Minister SukhbirSingh Badal, who holds the Home portfolio,ordered transfer of Senior Superintendent ofPolice (SSP) Kapurthala, Dhanpreet Kaurand Superintendent of Police (SP) Phagwara,Gursewak Singh with immediate effect, anofficial spokesman said here. AshishChaudhary has been made the new SSP ofKapurthala and Rajeshwar Singh Sidhu thenew SP of Phagwara. Yesterday, 36-year-oldunder-trial Sukhwinder Singh alias SukhaKahlwan was shot dead in a police van on thenational highway on the outskirts ofPhagwara town by some unidentified armedmiscreants when he was being taken to jailafter hearing in a court. Paramjit Singh Gill,Inspector General of Police, Zone-I, Patialaexamined the lapses on part of police partyescorting Sukha Kahlwan, as it had failed toresist the assailants, the spokesman said.TwoAssistant Sub-Inspectors (ASI), who wereincharge of the police escort party, have beendismissed from service, he said, adding thatfour police officials who were members ofthe police party have been suspended anddepartmental enquiry for major penalty ofdismissal has been instituted against them.

NEW DELHI, JAN 22In more trouble for Gujarat cadre IAS

officer Pradeep Sharma, a special anti-money laundering court here had orderedattachment of his immovable assetsworth about Rs 75 lakh in a case ofalleged corruption and criminal conspir-acy in allotment of government land to afirm.

Sharma, who had been at loggerheadswith the then Gujarat government led byNarendra Modi, was arrested inSeptember last year over corruptioncharges and later got bail.

The case pertains to sanction of stategovernment land in Bhuj district in 2004for industrial use to a private firm MsWelspun India Limited and its groupcompanies Welspun Power and Steel andWelspun Gujarat Style Roharan bySharma, who was the then Collector ofthe district and the Chairman of theDistrict Land Evaluation and PricingCommittee.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) hadregistered a case under the Prevention ofMoney Laundering Act (PMLA) in thisdeal in 2012, based on a Gujarat CID FIRof 2010.

The agency, in September 2014,attached agricultural land in Dahegam in

Gandhinagar with a market value of Rs55 lakh and a portion of a residentialhouse in the same district which has aapproximate value of Rs 20 lakh in thename of Sharma, after which itapproached the special court for confir-mation of its provisional order.

"On careful consideration of the argu-ments advanced on behalf of the com-plainant (ED)... (I) come to the primafacie conclusion that the defendants(Sharma and his wife) have committedthe scheduled offences, generated pro-ceeds of crime and laundered them. Nodoubt, the properties attached are pro-ceeds of crime/value thereof are involvedin money laundering," the court ofPMLA Adjudicating Authority MukeshKumar said in its latest order.

The Authority said as it received norepresentation from the defendants(Sharma and others), in person or writtenstatements, case for "confirmation" ofthe ED order is made out.

The central agency's probe in the casefound that Sharma had "sanctioned hugeland at cheaper price to one MS WelspunIndia Ltd and its sister concerns MsWelspun Gujarat Stahi Rohren, MsWelspun Power and Steel company bymanipulative acts in gross violation of

norms, instructions and guidelines as laiddown by the state government ofGujarat.

"That by the said act, Shri Pradeep NSharma in connivance with other personshad allegedly caused financial losses tothe state government to the tune of Rs1.20 crore (approx). Against this favour,he has received gain to the tune of Rs 22lakh in the name of his wife MrsShyamal P Sharma within a short periodof 15 months by just investing Rs 1 lakh(in January 2008) in one Ms ValuePackaging," the ED probe report said.

The orders issued by the AdjudicatingAuthority can be challenged by theaggrieved party before the AppellateTribunal for PMLA.

An attachment under the money laun-dering laws is aimed to deprive theaccused of such crimes from the benefitsof his or her ill-gotten wealth.

Sharma, who was facing corruptioncases, had earlier filed a petition in theSupreme Court alleging that he wasbeing victimised by the then Modi gov-ernment and had sought a CBI inquiry inthe cases against him. However, theSupreme Court had rejected his applica-tion. Sharma's name had cropped in thealleged snoopgate controversy.

BENGALURU, JAN 22Prohibitory orders were

promulgated today in abouthalf-a-km radius around theParappana Agrahara prisonhere ahead of former ministerand mining baron GJanardhan Reddy's releasefrom jail.

The Supreme Court onTuesday had granted bail toReddy, who is an accused inthe illegal mining case involv-ing his Obulapuram MiningCompany (OMC).

Reddy, facing several crim-inal cases, was arrested in2011.

Anticipating his release, alarge number of his support-ers are expected to gather nearParappana Agrahara prison onJanuary 22 and 23 for celebra-tions, and this may disturbpeace and normalcy in thearea, and may cause damageto property and traffic conges- tion in the locality, City Police Chief M N Reddi said in a

statement said.Also citing Intelligence

reports about possible distur-bance to law and order situa-tion in the area, Reddi saidprohibitory orders had beenpromulgated from 12 noon onJanuary 22 to mid night onJanuary 23.

The apex court had grantedbail after CBI submitted that

the investigation in the caseinvolving Reddy is completeand both the charge sheet aswell as the supplementarycharge sheet have been filed.

While granting bail, thebench imposed certain condi-tions

including that Reddy will bereleased from jail on furnish-ing two sureties of Rs 10 lakheach and that he shall notleave the country without thepermission of the court whiledirecting him to surrender hispassport.

Prohibitory orders ahead of mining baron Janardhan Reddy's releaseGUWAHATI, JAN 22

Launching a fresh attack on theBJP-led central government andPrime Minister Narendra Modi,the Congress in AssamWednesday released a handbookon the BJP government`s "U-turns" on various pre-poll com-mitments.

Releasing the book, ChiefMinister Tarun Gogoi andCongress leader Anjan Dutta saidthe Bharatiya Janata Party hasmade `U-turns` on all promisesmade to the people of India beforethe Lok Sabha elections.

The 31-page booklet containsall the promises and commitmentsmade by the BJP ahead of thepolls and the party`s stand on thesame issues after forming thegovernment at the centre.

"They (BJP) said not a singleillegal infiltrator will be allowedto stay here once their partycomes to power. The party leaders

even set a deadline of May 17 forthe Bangladeshis living in Assam.However, nothing has changedbut the BJP has now stopped talk-ing on the Bangladeshi issue,"Gogoi said.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modihad claimed before the Lok Sabhapolls that they would bring backthe black money hoarded illegallyin foreign banks and distributeRs.15 lakh to each Indian citizen.However, more than six monthshave passed but not a single rupeehas been brought back to thecountry from foreign banks," hesaid.

"The BJP had also opposed hikeof railway fares and opposed con-struction of big dams in the north-east. However, one of the first ini-tiatives of the present governmentwas to hike railway passengerfare by 14.2 percent and freightfare by 6.5 percent when theyformed the government. This is a

complete U turn."Similarly, Home Minister

Rajnath Singh had said the con-struction of the Lower SubansiriHydropower Project would not beallowed at any cost. However,now they are going ahead with the2,000 MW power project," hesaid. Gogoi also criticised thecentral government for keepingon hold the implementation of theFood Security Act in Assam onthe ground of non-digitization ofthe beneficiaries` names.

He said this was a violation ofbasic right of the poor people.

On the land swap deal withBangladesh, Gogoi said: "TheBJP criticised us (Congress) whenwe signed the protocol to theIndia-Bangladesh land swap deal.The BJP also protested against it.However, the same party, afterforming the government, made itclear that they would go aheadwith the land swap deal."

Congress in Assam releases bookon BJP's 'U-turns'

Special court attaches assets ofGujarat IAS officer Pradeep Sharma

PANAJI, JAN 22A 19-year-old youth

from Goa has been arrest-ed for making a hoax callto Delhi Police warningthem of a terror attack onUS President BarackObama.

The youth, from SouthGoa district, made thecall to the Delhi Policecontrol room at around 7AM yesterday saying thathe has recorded a conver-sation of terrorists plot-ting an attack on Obamaduring his upcomingIndia visit,Superintendent of Police(South) ShekharPrabhudesai said.

According to police,the youth "did it to getpublicity" and was upsetat not being able to takepart in the Republic Dayparade.

The law enforcementagencies in Delhi swunginto action after gettingthe call and at around

12.30 PM they traced itto South Goa's Cuncolimvillage, 45 kms fromPanaji.

The college-goingyouth was picked upbased on the mobilephone call details byCuncolim police. Theyinterrogated him in thepresence of senior offi-cers who had rushed tothe village from Panaji.

During interrogation,the youth "confessed thathe did it to get publicity",Prabhudesai said addingthat subsequently he wasarrested last night.

"He said he did it to getpublicity. He also wantedto participate in theRepublic Day parade inNew Delhi, but he couldnot do so because ofwhich he was disturbed,"he said.

The youth would beproduced before JudicialMagistrate First Class inMargao town.

Youth held for hoax call ofterror attack on Obama

Two NDFB(S) militantsapprehendedGUWAHATI, JAN 22

Two NDFB(S) militants have been appre-hended during a joint operation by securityforces in Assam's Sonitpur district.

Based on specific input from Army intelli-gence, a joint operation was launched by Armyand Police near Batasipur area of the districtlast night, a defence spokesperson said. Theentire area was cordoned off by security forcesand after search two suspected NDFB(S)cadres were nabbed.

The apprehended militants have been identi-fied as Nijam Basumatry and Rajib Basumatry.Two grenades and ammunition of AK 47 riflewere seized from their possession. TheNDFB(S) had launched an attack on adivasisin Sonitpur and Kokrajhar districts resulting inretaliatory violence and police firing whichaltogether claimed 81 lives. Subsequently, thesecurity forces launched continuous operationsagainst the outfits resulting in the arrest ofnearly 70 hardcore militants so far.

Areport onWednesday citing aSamsung executive

claimed that the companywill launch the Galaxy S6on March 2, on the firstday of the MWC 2015event in Barcelona, Spain.

Now, specifications ofthe Samsung Galaxy S6have surfaced on theInternet ahead of themuch-anticipated launch.Notably, this is the firstleak that has actuallyincluded purported innardsof the next flagship smart-phone from Samsung.

The leak comes viaBGR, which claims tohave received specifica-tions from a source andalso notes, "We were sentphotos from our trustedsource, though we werenot allowed to publishthem."

The Samsung Galaxy S6is said to include a 64-bitocta-core SoC (unspecifiedchipset) built on a 14nmnode process. The sourceclaims that it will be 50percent faster. In earlierleaks, Samsung has beenrumoured to include anExynos 7420 (14nmprocess) for the 3G variantand a Snapdragon 810chipset (20nm process) forthe 4G model.Unfortunately, there is noword on the RAM value;

though a recent leaked sug-gested that the Galaxy S6will pack 4GB of RAM.

The handset is said tosport a 5.1-inch QHDSuper AMOLED displayoffering an impressive577ppi pixel density andboasting of CorningGorilla Glass 4, all ofwhich is definitely a majorupgrade compared to theSamsung Galaxy S5(which sports a 5.1-inchfull-HD display).

It will feature a 20-megapixel rear camerawith OIS and a 5-megapix-el front camera is alsoonboard. The sourceclaims that the Galaxy S6will come in three storagevariants - 32GB, 64GB,and 128GB. There is a2550mAh battery.

The Galaxy S6 is said toinclude built-in wirelesscharging, which has beenlargely seen being includedin the high-end smart-phones. It will come withQuick connect chargingthat will offer up to fourhours of usage on a 10minute charge.

The source also talksabout Samsung Pay, whichseems similar to ApplePay, and notes, "SamsungPay: works with 90 percentof existing magnetic stripepayment terminals, and

NFC payment terminals."About the design, thesource claims that theGalaxy S6 will pack metaland glass body. For con-nectivity, it is said to sup-port LTE Category 6.

Meanwhile, anotherreport (via GSMArena)

indicates the Galaxy S6and Galaxy S6 Edge willnot be dust and water-resistant like the Galaxy S5and its IP67 certification.That feature will only bereserved for the Active ver-sion of the handset, claimsthe report.

iBall on Thursdaylaunched theWindows Phone 8.1-

powered Andi 4L Pulsesmartphone in India atRs. 4,999. The phonehad been listed on thecompany site lastmonth, and reportedlywent on sale then aswell, according to anestablished retailer.

The iBall Andi 4LPulse is a dual-SIM(GSM+GSM) smart-phone that runsWindows Phone 8.1OS out-of-the-box. Itfeatures a 4-inchWVGA (480x800 pix-els) TFT display.

The Andi 4L Pulse ispowered by a 1.2GHzquad-core QualcommSnapdragon 200 SoCcoupled with 1GB ofRAM. The smartphonesports a 5-megapixelautofocus rear camerawith LED flash alongwith a front-facingcamera (unknown pix-els). The internal stor-age on the handset is4GB, which is furtherexpandable viamicroSD card (up to32GB).

On the connectivityfront, the Andi 4LPulse includes 3G,GPRS/ EDGE, Wi-Fi,Bluetooth 3.0, andMicro-USB. The iBall Andi 4L Pulsepacks a 1500mAh battery. It meas-ures 113.61x61.00x11.23mm andweighs 96 grams.

The company says that the Andi 4LPulse also comes with Microsoft'sproductivity suite of apps like Office,OneDrive, Xbox, Bing search andmore, pre-installed.

The iBall Andi 4L Pulse at Rs.4,899 is arguably the cheapestWindows Phone handset in India,following the launch of the CelkonWin 400 for Rs. 4,979 and the LavaIris Win1 at Rs. 4,999.

Last month, the company hadlaunched its first octa-core tablet, theiBall Slide Octa A41 at Rs. 14,999.The iBall Slide Octa A41 runsAndroid 4.4 KitKat and features a 7-

inch IPS full-HD (1920x1080 pixels)display with a 323ppi pixel density. Itis powered by an unspecified 1.7GHzocta-core ARM Cortex-A7 processoralongside 2GB of RAM. Other spec-ifications of the tablet include an aut-ofocus 8-megapixel rear camera withLED flash; a 5-megapixel front-fac-ing camera; 16GB of inbuilt storagethat is further expandable viamicroSD card (up to 32GB), and a3500mAh battery.

NEW DELHI | FRIDAY | JAN 23, 2015SAADDA HAQScience & Tech6

1. The first woman in space wasA. Valentina Tereshkova B. Sally RideC. Naidia Comenci D. Tamara Press

2. Mr. Sham Lal has done commendable work in thefield of?A. Journalism B. PoliticsC. Socail Service D. Trade Unionism

3. Ali Akbar plays which of the following musicalinstruments?A. Flute B. TablaC. Sitar D. Sarod

4. Professor Malcolm Adiseshaih had earned world-wide distinction in which of the fields?A. Literature B. DefenceC. Economics D. Medicine

5. Samantha Fox is associated withA. Politics B. Pop musicC. Journalism D. Sports

QUIZ TIME

Answer: 1(A), 2 (A), 3(D), 4(C), 5(B)

12.00 am Saath Nibhaana Saathiya 12.30 am Diya aur Baati Hum 01.00 am Ye Hai Mohabbatein 01.30 am Iss Pyaar Ko Kya NaamDoon...Ek Baar Phir 02.00 am Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai 02.30 am Veera: Ek Veer Ki Ardaas 03.00 am Tu Mera Hero 03.30 am Suhani Si Ek Ladki 04.00 am Saath Nibhaana Saathiya 04.30 am Everest 05.00 am Diya aur Baati Hum 05.30 am Nisha Aur Uske Cousins 06.00 am Iss Pyaar Ko Kya NaamDoon...Ek Baar Phir 06.30 am Ye Hai Mohabbatein 07.00 am Saath Nibhaana Saathiya 07.30 am Veera: Ek Veer Ki Ardaas 08.00 am Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai 08.30 am Suhani Si Ek Ladki 09.00 am Diya aur Baati Hum 09.30 am Ye Hai Mohabbatein 10.00 am Saath Nibhaana Saathiya 10.30 am Tu Mera Hero 11.00 am Veera: Ek Veer Ki Ardaas 11.30 am Iss Pyaar Ko Kya NaamDoon...Ek Baar Phir 12.00 pm Diya aur Baati Hum 12.30 pm Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai 01.00 pm Ye Hai Mohabbatein 01.30 pm Tu Mera Hero 02.00 pm Everest 02.30 pm Diya aur Baati Hum 03.00 pm Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai 03.30 pm Suhani Si Ek Ladki 04.00 pm Saath Nibhaana Saathiya 04.30 pm Nisha Aur Uske Cousins 05.00 pm Veera: Ek Veer Ki Ardaas 05.30 pm Ye Hai Mohabbatein 06.00 pm Iss Pyaar Ko Kya NaamDoon...Ek Baar Phir 06.30 pm Suhani Si Ek Ladki 07.00 pm Saath Nibhaana Saathiya 07.30 pm Ye Hai Mohabbatein 08.00 pm Tu Mera Hero 08.30 pm Nisha Aur Uske Cousins 09.00 pm Diya aur Baati Hum 09.30 pm Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai 10.00 pm Everest 10.30 pm Veera: Ek Veer Ki Ardaas 11.00 pm Ye Hai Mohabbatein 11.30 pm Tu Mera Hero ___________________________

12.00 am Teleshopping 02.00 am Jodha Akbar

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06.30 am The Faith Show 07.00 am Enjoying Every Day Life 07.30 am Creflo Dollar and Taffi

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09.30 am Bandhan....Sari UmarHume Sang Rehna Hai 10.00 am Qubool Hai 10.30 am Jodha Akbar 11.00 am Doli Armaano Ki 11.30 am Satrangi Sasural 12.00 pm Jamai Raja 12.30 pm Kumkum Bhagya 01.00 pm Jodha Akbar 01.30 pm Bandhan....Sari UmarHume Sang Rehna Hai 02.00 pm Satrangi Sasural 02.30 pm Doli Armaano Ki 03.00 pm Kumkum Bhagya 03.30 pm Qubool Hai 04.00 pm SaReGaMaPa L'il Champs 04.30 pm Bandhan....Sari UmarHume Sang Rehna Hai 05.00 pm Doli Armaano Ki 05.30 pm Jamai Raja 06.00 pm Kumkum Bhagya 06.30 pm Satrangi Sasural 07.00 pm Bandhan....Sari UmarHume Sang Rehna Hai 07.30 pm Sapne Suhane LadakpanKe 08.00 pm Jodha Akbar 08.30 pm Jamai Raja 09.00 pm Kumkum Bhagya 09.30 pm Qubool Hai 10.00 pm Satrangi Sasural 10.30 pm Doli Armaano Ki 11.00 pm Jodha Akbar 11.30 pm Jamai Raja ___________________________

01.00 am Telebrands 02.00 am Home Shop 18 05.00 am Iskcon Aarti 05.30 am Jesus Calls Ministry 06.00 am Telebrands

07.00 am Narayan Sewa SansthanTrust 07.30 am Home Shop 18 08.00 am Udann 08.30 am Shastri Sisters 09.00 am Meri Aashiqui Tum Se Hi 09.30 am Balika Vadhu - Kacchi

Umar Ke Pakke Rishte 10.00 am Bigg Boss : Halla Bol

11.00 am Sasural Simar Ka 11.30 am Udann 12.00 pm Meri Aashiqui Tum Se Hi 12.30 pm Shastri Sisters 01.00 pm Balika Vadhu - Kacchi

Umar Ke Pakke Rishte 01.30 pm Sasural Simar Ka 02.00 pm Udann 02.30 pm Meri Aashiqui Tum Se Hi 03.00 pm Comedy Nights with Kapil 06.00 pm Udann 06.30 pm Meri Aashiqui Tum Se Hi 07.00 pm Shastri Sisters 07.30 pm Sasural Simar Ka

08.00 pm Balika Vadhu - KacchiUmar Ke Pakke Rishte 08.30 pm Udann 09.00 pm Bigg Boss : Halla Bol 10.00 pm Meri Aashiqui Tum Se Hi 10.30 pm Code Red 11.30 pm Udann

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12.00 am Comedy Classes 12.30 am Comedy Classes 01.00 am Supercops vsSupervillains... Shapath : TimeMachine Special 02.00 am Best of Savdhaan India:India Fights Back : Up Fights Back 03.00 am Pukaar 04.00 am Supercops vsSupervillains... Shapath : TimeMachine Special 05.00 am Best Of Savdhaan India :Mumbai Fights Back 06.00 am Best of Savdhaan India:India Fights Back : Up Fights Back 07.00 am Best of Savdhaan India:India Fights Back : @11 - Crime Alert 07.30 am Mere Rang Mein RangneWali 08.00 am Mahakumbh - EkRahasaya Ek Kahani ! : KahaniRudra Ki 08.30 am Comedy Classes 09.00 am Mere Rang Mein RangneWali 09.30 am Ajeeb Daastaan Hai Ye 10.00 am Mahakumbh - EkRahasaya Ek Kahani ! : KahaniRudra Ki 10.30 am Mere Rang Mein RangneWali 11.00 am Ajeeb Daastaan Hai Ye 11.30 am Mahakumbh - Ek RahasayaEk Kahani ! : Kahani Rudra Ki 12.00 pm Best of Savdhaan India:India Fights Back (2) : Up Fights Back 01.00 pm Best of Savdhaan India:India Fights Back (2) : Up Fights Back 02.00 pm Best of Savdhaan India:India Fights Back (2) : Up Fights Back 03.00 pm Best of Savdhaan India:India Fights Back (2) : Up Fights Back 04.00 pm Best Of Savdhaan India:Delhi Fights Back 05.00 pm Best of Savdhaan India:India Fights Back (2) : Up Fights Back 06.00 pm Best of Savdhaan India:India Fights Back : @11 - Crime Alert 06.30 pm Best of Savdhaan India:India Fights Back 07.30 pm Mere Rang Mein RangneWali 08.00 pm Mahakumbh - EkRahasaya Ek Kahani ! 08.30 pm Pukaar 09.30 pm Ajeeb Daastaan Hai Ye 10.00 pm Comedy Classes 10.30 pm Savdhaan India: IndiaFights Back (2) 11.30 pm Mahakumbh - Ek RahasayaEk Kahani !

12.00 am Crime Patrol - Satark 01.00 am Teleshopping 02.00 am C.I.D

05.00 am Bhakti 06.00 am Teleshopping 06.30 am Bhakti 07.00 am Teleshopping 08.30 am Box Cricket League 09.30 am C.I.D

07.00 pm Itna Karo Na Mujhe Pyaar 07.30 pm Box Cricket League 08.30 pm Humsafars

09.00 pm Tum Aise Hi Rehna 09.30 pm Hum Hain Na 10.00 pm Bharat Ka Veer Putra:Maharana Pratap 10.30 pm Itna Karo Na Mujhe Pyaar 11.00 pm x Cricket League ___________________________

12.00 am You Have Been Warned :Greatest Hits II 01.00 am Tutankhamen 02.00 am Dual Survival (3) 03.00 am Speed of Life : CentralAmerican Killers 04.00 am A Haunting 05.00 am You Have Been Warned :Greatest Hits II 06.00 am Man vs. Wild (2) : Zambia 07.00 am How Do They Do it? 07.30 am How Do They Do it? 08.00 am Factory Made (2) 08.30 am Factory Made (2) 09.00 am What Happened Next? 09.30 am Destroyed in Seconds 10.00 am Dual Survival (2) : BuriedAlive 12.00 pm You Have Been Warned :Freaks of Nature 01.00 pm Man vs. Wild (2) : Namibia 02.00 pm Factory Made (2) 02.30 pm Factory Made : CottonSwabs / Pinball Machines / Tiles /Bread Dough 03.00 pm Man Woman Wild (2) 04.00 pm How Do They Do it? 04.30 pm How Do They Do it? 05.00 pm Man vs. Wild (2) : Zambia 06.00 pm Nature's Greatest Events 07.00 pm What Happened Next? 07.30 pm American Digger :Moonshine Money 08.00 pm How Do They Do it?

08.30 pm How Do They Do it? 09.00 pm Revealed : RashtrapatiBhavan 10.00 pm Tethered : Pacific Islands,Panama 11.00 pm Destroyed in Seconds 11.30 pm Destroyed in Seconds

TV Channels Schedule TODAY’S STARARIES If you've been thinking about studying astrology, numerology,

or other occult sciences, Aries, this is the day to start. Theremay be a school or teacher that you've been considering. Bydoing this, you could open doors to new knowledge, meet newfriends who share your interests, and steer your life in a fasci-nating new direction. Pick up the phone and take the first step.

TAURUS A woman you meet at work might point you in a new direction,Taurus. You should investigate all possible options. This could bea new intellectual interest, a technological skill, or possibly a newand more lucrative source of income. It may involve an unusualfield, but don't worry about that. The world is changing, so whatseems unorthodox now could be commonplace tomorrow.

GEMINI A friend from far away could contact you by phone, email,or even in person, Gemini. This person might bring greatnews that suddenly turns your life in a new direction. Thiscould involve a new intellectual study or possibly a new cir-cle of friends. At any rate, you will certainly enjoy catchingup and hearing what your friend has to say.

CANCER You might try to learn a new computer program today, Cancer.You could find it a little confusing at first, but as you continue tolearn, you will find that it makes things easier for you. You shouldmaster it more quickly than you thought. This may sound minor,but it will improve your productivity from now on, leaving you timeto explore other possibilities or attend to important matters.

LEO Today you may stumble into an unexpected new friendship, Leo.This could come as the result of a social event or an introductionby a close friend. You will discover new rapport the likes of whichyou haven't experienced in a long time. You could spend hourstrading ideas. Make sure you exchange contact information. Youwill definitely want to stay in touch with this person.

VIRGO A group meeting of some sort, perhaps job related, could take placein your home today, Virgo. Whatever business the group hasplanned should be taken care of quickly and then you will be able tohang out and socialize. You might discover new aspects of yourguests you didn't know existed. This could prove very enlighteningfor all concerned. Your bond with them will definitely improve.

LIBRA A phone call from a close friend or love partner could bring athrilling surprise your way today, Libra. An event has occurredthat you either gave up on long ago or never dreamed of. Thisnews could necessitate your spending a lot of time on the phoneor computer making contacts, but that's OK. You will be so happythat this happened that you won't mind the time you spend on it.

SCORPIO If you own property, you might discover that its value hasincreased far beyond anything you dreamed of, Scorpio. Thismight involve real estate, but it could also involve other resourceslike stocks, bonds, or family heirlooms. What you choose to dowith this information is up to you, but you will probably decide tohang on to what you have. It's just nice to know it's valuable.

SAGITTARIUSA surprising phone call or email could come your way today from afriend you haven't heard from in a long time, Sagittarius. This shouldmake you happy, as you've probably been wondering what this per-son was doing. Some business changes may have occurred for yourfriend, but possible new opportunities might also be in the cards foryou. Hear what your friend has to say, think about it, and decide later.

CAPRICORN Today you may discover that you have a previously untapped tal-ent for the occult sciences, Capricorn. This might involve astrolo-gy, numerology, alchemy, or using oracles. A class or workshopcould be involved. You tend to be intuitive by nature, and study-ing these fields may offer an opportunity to train that ability to ahigher level of accuracy. Find an expert in one of those areas.

AQUARIUS There's someone you've wanted to meet for a long time, Aquarius,and today you might have the opportunity to introduce yourself. Thiscould be a potential romantic interest, a teacher you've wanted tostudy with, or someone interesting you might like for a friend. Sparksare apt to fly between you. Don't hesitate, for this encounter couldaffect the rest of your life in some profound way.

PISCES Do you feel helpless in the face of problems with technology? Ifso, you might surprise yourself today, Pisces. Some software thatyou use a lot could go haywire, and you won't want to take thetime to wait for a professional. Some study could enable you tocome up with the solution on your own. Consulting a profession-al could demonstrate that you're on the right track.

Xolo has launchedthe 8X-1020smar tphone ,

which is now listed onthe company's site at aprice of Rs. 9,999.There is no officialword on the availabili-ty details of the Xolo8X-1020; however, weexpect that the compa-ny will announce theavailability of thesmartphone in thecoming days.

Notably, the launchprice of the Xolo 8X-1020 is in-line withwhat an establishedMumbai-based retailerearlier this monthclaimed the smart-phone would soonlaunch at.

The Xolo 8X-1020is a dual-SIM(GSM+GSM) devicewhich runs the recentAndroid 4.4 KitKatout-of-the-box. Itcomes with a 5-inchHD (720x1280 pixels)IPS display and offers apixel density of 293ppi.

The smartphone is pow-ered by a 1.4GHz octa-coreMediaTek (MT6592)processor coupled with

1GB of RAM and Mali450 MP GPU. The

Xolo 8X-1020 comes with8GB of inbuilt storage,which is further expand-able via microSD card (upto 32GB). It sports an 8-megapixel rear camera

withLED flash and Exmor Rsensor, while there is a sec-ondary 5-megapixel front-facing camera alsoonboard. The camera fea-

tures scenedetection, facerecognition, lowlight enhance-ment, Panorama,geo tagging,burst shot, smileshot, and HDRoptions.

On the connec-tivity front, theXolo 8X-1020offers 3G, GPRS/EDGE, Wi-Fi802.11 b/g/n,Micro-USB, andB l u e t o o t hoptions.

The smart-phone packs a2500mAh bat-tery, whichaccording to theofficial listing israted to deliverup to 17 hours oftalk time and upto 700 hours ofstandby time on3G networks.The Xolo 8X-1020 measures1 4 3 x 7 1 . 3 x 8 . 8mm and is listed

in Black colour. It packssensors such as accelerom-eter, ambient light sensor,magnetometer, and prox-imity sensor.

Xolo 8X-1020 With 5-Megapixel FrontCamera Launched at Rs. 9,999

iBall Andi 4L Pulse With WindowsPhone 8.1 Launched at Rs. 4,999

Samsung Galaxy S6 Tipped to Sport 5.1-Inch QHD Display, 20-Megapixel Camera

Sports 7NEW DELHI | FRIDAY | JAN 23, 2015SAADDA HAQ

NEW DELHI, JAN 22The touring Indian team members

Down Under may not find them-selves as engrossed as others ontoday's developments on the IndianPremier League (IPL) spot-fixing andbetting case's Supreme Court verdict.They themselves are dealing withaltogether a different beast at hand.

After losing to both Australia andEngland in the first round matches,India have very limited chance ofmaking it to the final. But, all thatmatters for the team is winning thetri-series. Because, the defendingICC World Cup champions can'tafford to finish third in a tri-series inthe run-up to the quadrennial tourna-ment. It will send a wrong signal toeveryone.

However, not everything is lost forthe Indian team despite losing thosetwo matches. MS Dhoni can stillhope to play the final, if:

England beat Australia tomorrowwith bonus point, then India need towin both their games with bonuspoints. Even if India manage to winonly one match but with bonus point,then they will have to fight it out withEngland for a place in the final on netrun rate.

England beat Australia tomorrow

without bonus point, then India againneed to win both the matches withbonus points to qualify for the final.And in case of India winning onlyone match with bonus point, then it'sthe net run rate play.

Australia beat England with bonus

point or not, it becomes lot more sim-pler. All India need to do is win theirmatches, without worrying aboutbonus points or run rates.

Australia beat both England andIndia, then the final round-robinmatch between England and India

becomes a virtual semi-final.Just to make it lot more easier and

simpler to themselves and millions ofsupporters around the globe, whatMS Dhoni and his boys need to do issimple: win the remaining twomatches big. Big means real big.

After playing two matches each,Australia are on nine points with apositive run rate of 0.664, whileEngland have five points with a betterrun rate of 0.713. India are languish-ing at third without a point and a neg-ative run rate of 1.356.

In between, Supreme Court of Indiaearly today announced its verdicts onthe infamous IPL case. The apexcourt directed the Board of Controlfor Cricket in India (BCCI) to holdfresh elections within six weeks. Butthe ruling came with other landmarkjudgments.

Some of the them are:

India cricket board's president in-exile, N Srinivasan has been barredfrom contesting its elections until hegives up commercial interests incricket.

A three-man panel to decide thefate of Chennai Super Kings andRajasthan Royals. These franchiseswere associated with culpritsGurunath Meiyappan and Raj Kundrarespectively.

The apex court struck down thecontroversial 6.2.4 clause that allowsborad officials to own IPL teams andhave commercial interests, etc.

Working it out: How can Indian cricket team make tri-series final?

SYDNEY, JAN 22It was meant to be a

dress rehearsal for the ODIWorld Cup next month butthe Indian cricket team hasbeen left grappling withselection issues in theongoing tri-series againstAustralia and England,failing to find the combina-tion that would be goodenough for the marqueeevent. With two defeats intwo matches againstAustralia and Englandrespectively, there can beno doubt that India's WorldCup preparation has goneawry. This tri-series wasmeant to be a dressrehearsal for their titledefence over the next twomonths, but there is a goodchance now that Indiamight not even make it tothe tri-series final in Perthon February 1.

Ever since the two newballs rule came into effect,skipper Mahendra SinghDhoni has shied away fromplaying seven batsmen inthe eleven. The onus hasbeen to rely on five full-time bowlers and hisdependency on the part-timers has waned.

Slowly, but steadily,India have become a sidethat always plays six front-line batsmen in ODIs, irre-spective of conditions.

It has put focus onDhoni's finishing abilitiesat number six and heapedpressure on Suresh Raina'srole at number five. Tohedge their bets in the mid-dle order, make the battingline-up seem stronger, nowVirat Kohli bats at numberfour and not number three,a position where he has

scored 14 of his 21 ODIhundreds.

The top-order responsi-bilities are given toShikhar Dhawan, RohitSharma and AjinkyaRahane, with only one outof three showing any sem-blance of form so far.

Ravindra Jadeja'sabsence has hurt India alot. Over the last coupleyears the team manage-ment has groomed him totake up the number sevenrole.

With R Ashwin andBhuvneshwar Kumar tofollow, the lower order isable to contribute quite abit. But the Saurashtra all-rounder is only making hisway back to full fitness andas such the young AxarPatel has been tried out inhis place.

"We all know thatAshwin and Kumar can

definitely bat, but they willnot clear big grounds easi-ly. Once I go in to bat atnumber six, I have to bal-ance between hitting outand not getting out, and itis a difficult thing to do,"Dhoni has stated.

"So we have to wait forJadeja to return because hecan do that hitting role atnumber seven. In themeantime, Axar we allknow can bat, and he needsto use these opportunities.Tomorrow he can begroomed into the Jadejarole too," said Dhoni afterthe Melbourne ODI."

With two ducks in twomatches, he is finding outthe difference between bat-ting in IPL and batting inAustralia the tough way.Time is running out whilehe is still finding his feet asthere is no news on Jadeja'sfitness as yet.

It has brought the num-ber-seven role under somespotlight ahead of theWorld Cup. The inclusionof Stuart Binny in the 15-man squad was muchdebated upon, but it nowseems that the team man-agement had a clear idea ofwhat they were doing.

And that is why he wasimmediately tried out inBrisbane, after just oneloss, to get a firm under-standing of the role he canplay.

"Depending on a fewvenues in the World Cup,Perth and in New Zealand,it is important that we havea seaming all-rounder inthe side. There's not muchpurchase for the spinnersthere. And that's one areawhere Binny may come in.Irrespective of all thedebate, the best seamingall-rounder of India has

been picked in the side,"says Dhoni.

"So we are hoping thathe will stand up and takethe responsibility. He isexciting you know. He canplay aggressive shots ifneeded. And he's a goodbowler. If he gives me 6-8overs, that's enough. I canuse the other part-timers tobowl those 2-3 overs thatare needed.".

Despite the big nine-wicket loss at the Gabbathen, it worked out quitewell for India from theexperimentation point ofview at least. Binny heldthe innings together afterthe top-order collapsed andthen hit a couple of lustyblows in his knock of 44runs. He was even handedthe new-ball as Dhoniwanted to test his time-management skills whileplaying four medium-pac-ers. While the Binnyexperiment worked out to acertain extent, it remains tobe seen when the top-ordercomes good. For only thenwill India be able to testthe hitting-strength onthese big Australiangrounds.

With only two assuredcompetitive matchesremaining at this stagebefore the World Cup, timeis running out for this bat-ting order to go ballistic.

"It has been difficult tohave a realistic reflection.We have really not been ina situation where we havewickets in hand in the last10-12 overs. It is difficultto say whether we can orcannot but certainly thegrounds and outfields arepretty big," Dhoni said.

India's ICC World Cup preparations take a hit in tri-seriesDHAKA, JAN 22

Bangladesh have settheir sights on the quarter-finals of next month'scricket World Cup inAustralia and NewZealand, the team's SriLankan coach said onThursday.

Chandika Hathurusinghetold journalists in Dhakahe was happy with theteam's preparations andhoped they would go "allthe way".

But he said he was "tak-ing one game at a time"and would focus on quali-fying for the quarter-finalsstage of the six-week tour-nament, which begins onFebruary 14.

Bangladesh has onlyonce got through to thesecond round in their fourprevious World Cups,when they ousted Indiafrom the group stage toqualify for the SuperEights in the West Indies in2007.

Bangladesh are placed inPool A, which includes co-hosts Australia and NewZealand, as well asEngland, Sri Lanka,Afghanistan and Scotland.

Bangladesh will be ini-tially based in theAustralian city of

Brisbane, where they willhave two weeks of train-ing.

They will play two prac-tice matches in Brisbanebefore taking on Pakistanand Ireland in Sydneywarm-up matches onFebruary 9 and 12.

They begin their WorldCup campaign againstAfghanistan in Canberraon February 18.

"Three wins give you achance but if you win fourgames we will probablymake sure that we qualifyfor the quarter-finals," hesaid.

"I think the Brisbanestint as well as four match-es over there will give us a

good indication aboutwhere we are."

Skipper MashrafeMortaza said the openingmatch against Afghanistanwould be key toBangladesh's success.

Underdogs Afghanistanbeat hosts Bangladesh inthe Asia Cup cricket lastMarch.

"Obviously we want togo to the second round,"said Mashrafe. "But it's atough job. We really need agood start in the tourna-ment." But he saidBangladesh was not target-ing any particular side,adding, "if we can startwell, we will be confidentagainst every other side."

Bangladesh eye ICC World Cup quarter-finals

MYSORE, JAN 22Middle-order batsman

Deepak Hooda hit astrokeful century to liftBaroda from a precariousposition and end the open-ing day on 320 for eightagainst table-toppersKarnataka in the Group ARanji Trophy cricketmatch, here today.

Electing to bat in thefour-day encounter atSrikantadatta NarasimhaRaja Wadeyar Ground, theAditya Waghmode-ledside saw a top-order col-lapse and were reeling at93 for five when Hooda(142) stitched a 87-runsixth-wicket partnershipwith Irfan Pathan (34) tosteady the Baroda boat.

Karnataka medium-pac-ers Abhimanyu Mithun (3-75) and Ronit More (2-52)

combined well to rattle thetop Baroda batsmen tillHooda, who belted 13fours and 6 sixes in his194-ball stay, broughtsome sanity to the innings.

Irfan also played ameaningful knock butturned unlucky whenRavikumar Samarth ranthe southpaw out.

Hooda, 19, notching uphis second first-class ton,continued to torment theKarnataka bowlers to notonly bring up the 300mark but also help Barodamaintain a healthy run-rate.

Hooda, who was finallyscalped by Mithun afterbeing caught behind in thefinal few overs of the day,also managed usefulstands with Pinal Shah(30) and Swapnil Singh

(28 not out).Karnataka captain and

w i c k e t k e e p e rChidhambaram Gautamhad a field day behind thewicket after he gloved fourcatches. Opener SaurabhWakaskar (25),Waghmode (14), YusufPathan (5) and Hoodareturned to the pavilion asa result of Gautam's glove-work.

Leg-spinner ShreyasGopal and left-arm spinnerAbrar Kazi chipped inwith a wicket each asKarnataka tried to pegthings back a bit in thefinal session of play.Brief Scores:

Baroda 1st Innings320/8 in 90 overs (DeepakHooda 142, Irfan Pathan34; Abhimanyu Mithun 3-75., Ronit More 2-52).

Ranji Trophy: Deepak Hooda's centurypowers Baroda to 320/8 on Day 1

MELBOURNE, JAN 22Rohan Bopanna and

Daniel Nestor were testedbefore making it to the sec-ond round even as MaheshBhupathi and his partnerJurgen Melzer crashed outof men's doubles event ofthe Australian Open, hereon Thursday.

Bopanna and Canada'sNestor, seeded seventh,fought off a spirited chal-lenge from MarcosBaghdatis and MarinkoMatosevic 7-6 (2) 7-5 intheir opening round in onehour and 46 minutes.

There was not much todifferentiate between thetwo teams as they hit anequal number of aces (10)and committed same num-ber of double faults (5).Bopanna and Nestor won87 points, only eight morethan their rivals.

They will next take onSpaniard Feliciano Lopezand Belarusian MaxMirnyi, who got the betterof Australia's JamesDuckworth and LukeSaville 7-6 (1) 6-7(5) 6-2in their first round match.

Earlier, Bhupathi andAustrian partner Melzersuffered a 4-6 3-6 defeatagainst Argentine team ofDiego Schwartzman and

Horacio Zeballos in only67 minutes.

Bhupathi continues tostruggle in his comebackas he returned to on courtaction after a nine-monthbreak during which he setup IPTL.

He played his first tour-nament at Chennai Openwhere he had lost in thesecond round with compa-triot Saketh Myneni.

Bhupathi and Melzercommitted a staggering 27unforced errors to just nineof their opponents, whoserved extremely well.

The first set was a closeaffair with both team hold-ing serve till the ninthgame. Bhupathi was terrif-ic at the net, specially withhis wristy drop volleys.

The 6 feet 2 inchZeballos was servingbombs and his servicemade a big difference tothe outcome of the match.

On Melzer's serve, theAustrian and Bhupathisaved the first two butMelzer sent a forehand tonet on the third chance andthrew his raquet in frustra-tion.

Australian Open: Bopanna-Nestoradvances, Bhupathi-Melzer crash

Sledging was worsetwo decades ago:Andrew FlintoffLONDON, JAN 22

The ICC's recently-promised crack-down on sledging might make it seemthat players are behaving badly moreoften right now but former Englandall-rounder Andrew Flintoff feels theon-field altercations were 10 timesworse a couple of decades ago.

The ICC has warned of strictaction, including bans, if playerscross the line during next month'sODI World Cup to be jointly hostedby Australia and New Zealand fromFebruary 14.

Most recently, David Warner wasfined 50 per cent of his match fee fora verbal spat with Indian batsmanRohit Sharma during a tri-seriesmatch although the Australian laterclaimed that he was merely asking hisrival to speak in English.

"Twenty years ago, sledging was 10times worse. Now, with stump micro-phones and cameras all over, every-thing gets picked up," Flintoff told'BBC Sport'. "One of the first Testmatches I played against SouthAfrica, there was one fella ... he wasthe worst I have ever come across -Daryl Cullinan. He was horrible. Iwas only young... the words he calledme, I didn't even know what theymeant.," he said.

CANBERRA, JAN 22Bitter rivals Iran and Iraq

square off in a potentiallyexplosive Asian Cup quar-ter-final in Canberra onFriday with the coaches ofboth teams urging playersto keep their emotions incheck.

There has been little lovelost between the neigh-bours over the years, Iranfrequently coming out ontop -- winning the conti-nental tournament threetimes to Iraq`s solitary title.The prize is a semi-finalwith South Korea orUzbekistan as Iran bid toend an Asian Cup droughtstretching back to 1976,and Iraq a repeat theirimprobable triumph of2007. With the stakes sohigh, Iraq coach RadhiShenaishil and Iran boss

Carlos Queiroz said the keyto victory would be coolheads -- not blood andthunder. "Of course there ishistory between the twoteams," said Shenaishil, onloan for the Asian Cupfrom Qatar Sports Club.

"But I want to see a qual-ity match, not powerfultackles. In the quarter-finalswe want to give the rightimpression of football inAsia. "The coaching staffwill be telling players toforget about emotions," headded. "On the day they arethere to do their duty andthe team that can produceon the day will get thewin." Team Melli and theLions of Mesopotamia lastclashed just a few weeksago when Iran triumphed 1-0 in a tournament warm-upin Sydney.

Asian Cup: Iran, Iraq seekcalm passage to semi-finals

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Bollywood/Fashion8 NEW DELHI | FRIDAY | JAN 23, 2015SAADDA HAQ

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and instead, cool them and placethem over your eyes for relief.Green tea contains tannin, an astrin-gent that miraculously shrinks skin.The cool tea bags reduce theswelling around your eyes andtighten the skin, making you lookand feel fabulous.

Scrub it onSince it helps tighten the skin,

making a green tea facial scrub outof the used tea is very good for theface. Mix green tea with granulatedsugar and water, and you have anexfoliating scrub. It is all naturaland thus light on the skin and givesyou an incredible glow. You canstore the scrub in the fridge to keepit fresh for longer.

Face mask

Mix equal amounts of bakingsoda and green tea and a bit ofhoney to make a facial mask.Honey helps in rejuvenating yourskin and green tea, as mentioned,tightens the skin. Baking soda is agood exfoliator and helps detox theskin.

In case you're short on time and

cannot apply the face mask, heatwater and run the tea bag over it tillit starts to steam. Squeeze out mostof the water and rub the bag overyour face for a few minutes for aninstant glow.

For your hairYes, a green tea rinse is good for

your mane as well and gives your

hair a great shine. Put a few greentea bags in boiling water and let itsimmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Leaveit overnight. The next morning,pour this water on damp hair andleave it for 10 minutes. You canmassage your scalp if you like.Rinse it off and apply shampoo lateras usual, but make sure to use a sul-phate-free product.

Beauty benefits of used green tea bags

Salman Khan is busy shooting inMandawa, Rajasthan. Despite hisbusy schedule he still makes time for

the things and people that really matter tohim. Arbaaz Khan, who is Salman’syounger brother, is the proud producer of‘Dolly Ki Doli’. This movie stars SonamKapoor in a pivotal role and is slated torelease on the 23rd of January. SonamKapoor is the beloved daughter of AnilKapoor. Anil is a close friend ofSallu and hence he always sup-ports Sonam.

Considering both these rea-sons, it became necessary forSalman to watch ‘Dolly KiDoli’. Salman is currentlyshooting Kabir Khan’s directo-rial ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ andcould not be in Mumbai. So hemade it a point to watch thisupcoming movie with the entirecast and crew. The team of‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ witnessed aspecial premier of ‘Dolly KiDoli’ in a nearby theatre.

After watching this film,Salman was delighted. Helogged on to Twitter and postedseveral tweets to praise thefilm. He wrote “Dolly Ki Doliis a fun filled movie; go watchit and you guys will definitely enjoy it”. Helater added “dialogues of the movie aresimply superb”. With his fans he alsoshared details of the special screening say-ing “The ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ teamwatched ‘Dolly Ki Doli’ together at a the-atre 35 km away”. Overwhelmed by hisopinions and support Sonam Kapoorresponded saying “@BeingSalmanKhanthanks for the positive feedback. Love youfor all your support”.

Sonam’s co-stars in this forthcoming

film are Rajkumar Rao, Pulkit Samrat andVarun Sharma. ‘Dolly Ki Doli’ has been

directed by AbhishekDogra, while it has been

produced by ArbaazKhan’s productionhouse. Interestingly,Malaika Arora Khan,Arbaaz’s wife will

also be seen in thisflick. She will beseen dancing to a

catchy itemnumber. Saif

Ali Khanwill alsobe seenin acameo.

T h e

p l o t -line ofthe film

r e v o l v e saround Sonam’s character andher insatiable appetite for marry-ing and looting rich bridegrooms. The con-cept is quite unique and unconventional,which is precisely why ‘Dolly Ki Doli’may be an intriguing watch.

It is common knowledge that the moviesproduced by Arbaaz remain incompletewithout Salman. Hence, despite the factthat Salman does not have a role in thisfilm he is actively doing his best to marketit. If Salman bhai watches a movie, his fanswatch the same movie, as his approval isall they need.

Salman Khan watches SonamKapoor's ‘Dolly Ki Doli’ India Poochega - Sabse Shaana

Kaun? is a new quiz show onTV that will be hosted by

Shahrukh Khan. The eventlaunching this show was held onthe 21st of January in Mumbai.Zee’s new channel ‘&TV’ wasalso launched at this event.

It was at this event that KingKhan revealed, “Questions will beasked by common individuals.These questions will be very easyto answer and the one’s answeringthem will also be regular people.”He further added, “I am on thisshow only to make it more enjoy-able. I do not have to learn anyscripts to host this quiz show.”The Baadshah of Bollywoodjoked saying, “The only reasonwhy I will be on this show is dueto the fact that I am beautiful.”

At the launch Shahrukh alsoheld a dress rehearsal with themedia. He seems to be enjoyingthe fact that he will not be work-ing with a script. Baadshah Khanis ready to make everyone laugh

using his witty humour.Shahrukh’s announcement that

he will be back on the smallscreen was greeted with greatenthusiasm. In 1988, Shahrukhstarted his acting career, with‘Fauji’ which was a TV show.Some of his previous ventures on

TV were also quiz shows. Fansgreatly appreciated Shahrukhwhen he hosted ‘Kaun BanegaCrorepati’ season three and ‘KyaAap Panchvi Pass Se Tez Hai’.His natural talent for hosting TVshows and his charm are whatmake him the most desired host.

This is also the reason why KingKhan is seen hosting manyawards ceremonies.

This show will be aired on theHindi general entertainment chan-nel, ‘&TV’. This channel is all setto introduce new concepts andinspire the younger generation ofIndia. Big Synergy is the produc-er of this innovative game showwhich is a great chance for streetsmart individuals to win money.According to Shahrukh, “Thisunique show is for the smart citi-zens of this country.” King Khanwill not only be the face of thisshow but also of the entire chan-nel. About his association withZee, he said, “I have always beentreated like a member of this fam-ily.”

It is being speculated that theshooting of ‘India Poochega -Sabse Shaana Kaun?’ will start inMarch. Fans of Shahrukh andmasses that enjoy quiz shows arenow eagerly waiting for the showsto commence.

Shahrukh Khan to host a new quiz show on TV

Bollywood hunk John Abrahamnhas yet again replaced AkshayKumar in Gaurang Doshi's

2002 hit film, ‘Aankhen 2’. First Johnreplaced Akshay in ‘Welcome Back’then ‘Hera Pheri 3’ and now in the sec-ond installment of ‘Aankhen’. It isbelieved that John will be playing ablind man in the sequel.

Apart from the lead actors, there isreplacement of director also. The orig-inal film was directed by VipulAmrutlal Shah and now he will bereplaced by Anees Bazmee. Revealingthe story of the sequel, Anees said thatthe sequel will start from where theprequel ended.

Based on the Gujarati play 'AndhaloPato’, ‘Aankhen’ is the story of threeblind men, trained to rob a bank.Amitabh Bachchan plays the baddieand he is the mastermind behind the

entire robbery. Sushmita Sen played animportant role in the film. She was

forced to train the three blind men tocommit the crime neatly.

"Part two will start from where Partone left off Amitabh Bachchan gettingreleased from jail and recruiting threenew blind men, one of whom is JohnAbraham," reveals Anees.

However, the second installmentwill again see Amitabh Bachchanplaying the role of a baddie. John willbe playing one of the blind men andother two actors are yet to be finalized.It is also being said that Anil Kapoortoo has been roped in to play a promi-nent role in the film. However, thedetails of the star casts are yet to befinalized.

Akshay Kumar and Arjun Kapoorwon't be in the second installment,their journey having ended with theprequel. Anees Bazmee said Big B isthe soul of the film and he will beback.

‘Aankhen 2’ is slated to go on floorin May.

Akshay out, John Abraham toplay a blind man in ‘Aankhen 2’

Shankar’s ‘I’ is on itsway to becoming aglobal smash hit.

The Tamil and Teluguversions of the film werereleased on the 14th ofJanuary, while the Hindiversion of ‘I’ released onthe 16th of January. Theone record that this filmhas broken with excep-tional ease is that of‘PK’s’ worldwide collec-tions.

‘PK’ fared averagelyabroad, whereas ‘I’ hasworked its magic, andhas earned a whoppingRs.6.18 crore from theUnited States alone. Rs.4.3 crore was garnered bythe Tamil version whichwas showcased acrossthe country on 222screens. Rs. 1.81 crorewas garnered by theTelugu rendition, whichwas showcased in 131venues. The Hindi ver-sion received a limitedrelease in America, withonly 36 screens showcas-ing it. The gross earn-ings, consisting of collec-tions made from all threeversions are Rs. 6.18

crore. However, this fig-ure is exclusive toAmerica.

The Canadian collec-tion of Shankar’s ‘I’, is$201,207 and in theUnited Kingdom thefilm’s Tamil versionalone earned Rs. 2.41crore. Interestingly ‘PK’earned a mere Rs. 23.56lakh out of the Rs. 12.02crore, which is the com-bined total collection ofboth films in Canada.‘PK’ has earned Rs.52.36 crore in five weeksinternationally, whereas‘I’ has a managed a col-lection of Rs. 39.08 crorein its first weekend.

The movie ‘I’ starsVikram and Amy Jacksonin vital roles and othercast members areSanthanam, Upen Patel,Rajkumar Ganesan andSuresh Gopi. This filmrevolves around the storyof Lingesan played byVikram. Lingesan, goesfrom being a commonman to a leading modelof the ad world, andfinally transforms to ahunchback. The movie

opens with Diya (AmyJackson) being kid-napped from her mar-riage. This story dealswith the emotions oflove, jealousy, hatred,lies and deceit. ‘I’ is thedeadly virus which caus-es the deformations inLingesan’s appearance.

Shankar hadapproached Rajinikathwith the story of ‘I’ in1996. Rajinikanth wasnot sure that it wouldmake a great movie so hedid not take up this proj-ect. Renowned musicdirector A.R. Rahmanhas composed the scoresfor this film.

This is not the first timethat the duo of Shankarand Vikram has created ablockbuster. Their previ-ous project ‘Anniyan’was also a hit and sincethen, audiences havebeen waiting eagerly forthis duo’s next project.The story and its specialeffects seemed to havecaptivated audiences as itis evident by ‘I’s earningsin both domestic andinternational markets.

Bollywood actress KareenaKapoor increased her secu-rity following threatening

calls from religious groups. Twoweeks earlier, the morphed photoof the actress on a religious maga-zine to warn against ‘Love Jihad’was splashed all over. Kareena hasbeen targeted for being a Hindugetting married to a Muslim manSaif Ali Khan. Kareena Kapoorhas increased her personal securi-ty and she has also hired twobodyguards besides tightening thesecurity at her Bandra residence.Prior to their wedding in October

2012, the star couple KareenaKapoor and Saif Ali Khan haddeclared that they received threat-ening calls. Right-wing organisa-tion like VHP and RSS has usedKareena Kapoor’s morphed photoas the cover page of VishwaHindu Parishad's women maga-zine 'Himalaya Vahini' to address"Love jihad". Says a source,"With the ongoing love jihaddebate, Kareena is concernedabout her safety. Unlike a fewother stars, she never felt the needto be escorted or chaperoned, untilnow." The cover page of

Himalaya Dhwani latest editionshows the morphed face ofKareena, the face is divided intotwo parts. One parts is coveredwith burqa while she put on bindisinddor on the other part. Belowthe photo reads: “conversion ofnationality through religious con-version”. Kareena Kapoor’s photowas used for the magazine as sheis a celebrity and the impact onthe Hindu women will have muchmore than using general publicphoto. Last year, Saif in an inter-view said that he does not believein the concept of 'love jihad'.

Kareena Kapoor says shebelieves in "feeling of love"which can happen between twopeople regardless of caste, creed,or religion. Kareena had said shedoesn't relate to the concept of"Love Jihad" and says that shenever believed in such theories.

"I believe only in the feeling oflove," Kareena, who is married toactor-filmmaker Saif Ali Khan,told when asked about LoveJihad, which is allegedly aMuslim project of luring Hindugirls into marriage and religiousconversion.

Kareena Kapoor gets threat calls from religious groups

Shankar's ‘I’ set to exceedworldwide earning of ‘PK’