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PNS n NEW DELHI

Aday after Prime MinisterNarendra Modi accused

late PM Rajiv Gandhi of usingaircraft carrier INS Viraat as“personal taxi” during a holidaywith his family in LakshadweepIslands in 1987, several topretired Navy officers, includingformer Navy chief L Ramdas,on Thursday refuted his claimand said no ships were divert-ed for Rajiv Gandhi and thetrip was an official one.

Ramdas said Rajiv hadboarded the aircraft carrierwith his spouse and son RahulGandhi and denied Modi’scharge that some foreigners toowere on the ship.

However, there is no offi-cial reaction from the IndianNavy on the controversy.

Retired Indian Admi-nistrative Service (IAS) officerWajahat Habibullah, who in1987 was the administrator ofthe Lakshadweep Islands,denied Modi’s charge that somefriends of Rajiv Gandhi’sboarded the aircraft carrier.Since all the Ministers besidesthe Prime Minister were therefor a meeting, the aircraft car-rier was stationed there for

national security, he said.The former bureaucrat said

as the administrator of theIslands, he had to organise ameeting of Island DevelopmentAuthority in Kavaratti, one ofthe islands of Lakshadweep.During this visit, the then PMhad to inaugurate the IslandDevelopment Council.

“After the meeting, RajivGandhi decided to stay on fora couple of days to take a hol-iday with his family, and wasjoined by Sonia Gandhi’s sisterand her husband, friends,including Amitabh Bachchanand Jaya Bachchan. None ofthem even went to Kavaratti.They took the helicopter ser-vices from Kochi to Bangaram,he said, adding all those whoavailed of the helicopter serviceof the State-owned Pawan Hanspaid for it as the administrationdid not get any bills for it.“Neither did we get the bills fortheir stay at the guest house inBangaram. Rajiv Gandhi paidfor his family and the otherpaid for theirs,” Habibullah

said.These reactions came after

Modi, during an election rallyat Ramlila Maidan here onWednesday, said Rajiv Gandhitook his family members fromItaly for a personal holiday onINS Viraat. The then com-manding officer of the aircraftcarrier, Vinod Pasricha, deniedit and said the protocol was fol-lowed on the Prime Minister’sofficial visit.

Pasricha said the formerPrime Minister was accompa-nied by his wife Sonia Gandhi,son Rahul Gandhi and two IASofficers, and Vice Admiral onboard the aircraft carrier.Pasricha retired as ViceAdmiral. Incidentally, the air-craft carrier was decommis-sioned in 2017 after 40 years ofservice.

Refuting Modi’s accusa-tion, Ramdas, who in 1987 wasthe Southern Naval commandchief, said in a statement onThursday, “Prime MinisterRajiv Gandhi and Mrs Gandhiembarked on board INS Viraat

off Trivandrum enrouteLakshwadeep. The formerPrime Minister was atTrivandrum as chief guest forthe National Games prize dis-tribution. He was going toLakshadweep on official duty,to chair a meeting of IDA(Islands Development Auth-ority). This meeting is heldalternately in Lakshadweepand in Andamans.”

The former Navy chief saidthere were no foreigners withthem. “I, as Flag officerCommanding in Chief,Southern Naval Command,based in Cochin, boarded INSViraat. Four other ships werewith INS Viraat as part ofFleet Exercises. As commandchief, I hosted a dinner forthem on board INS Viraat.

“There were no other par-ties held on board INS Viraator for that matter any othership in our fleet during thattime,” he said.

He clarified that the state-ment was issued after collatingemail responses from his col-leagues namely Admiral ArunPrakash, Vice Admiral VinodPasricha and Vice AdmiralMadanjit Singh. All of themwere serving in the WesternFleet during the events referredto said, Ramdas.

“I would like to stateunequivocally, that this was notthe case,” in an apparent refer-ence to Modi’s charge. Prakash,who later became Navy chiefwas commanding INSVindhyagiri while MadanjitSingh was commanding INSGanga at that time.

Continued on Page 7

STAFF REPORTER n NEW DELHI

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)candidate from East Delhi

Atishi on Thursday allegedpamphlets containing “obsceneand derogatory” remarksagainst her are being distrib-uted by BJP’s East Delhi can-didate Gautam Gambhir.

However, refuting the alle-gations vehemently, Gambhirsaid, “I will quit the electoralrace if the allegation against meis proved.”

Addressing the media,

Atishi alleged pamphlets con-taining abusive languageagainst Delhi Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal, his DeputyManish Sisodia and herselfwere being distributed by theBJP at housing complexes.

Gambhir, in a series oftweets, accused the AAP forpamphelts and said he is

“ashamed” to have a CM likeKejriwal. “I abhor your act ofoutraging a woman’s modesty@ArvindKejriwal and that tooyour own colleague. And allthis for winning elections? Youare filth Mr CM and someoneneeds your very own jhadu toclean your dirty mind.”

“I had welcomed Gambhirmyself when he joined politicsbut I never imagined that hewould stoop to this level in theLok Sabha polls,” Atishi said.

“I have only one questionfor Gambhir. If he is doing thisagainst one woman, what aboutthe lakhs of women in EastDelhi who are worried abouttheir safety,” said Atishi in achoked voice.

She broke down whilereading pamphlet.

Sisodia alleged these pam-phlets were kept in newspapersand distributed in apartmentcomplexes. Sisodia said he“never imagined Gambhir tostoop so low”.

“How can women expectsafety if people with such men-tality are voted in? Atishi, staystrong. I can imagine how dif-ficult it must be for u. It is pre-cisely this kind of forces we

Continued on Page 7

PTI n NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court onThursday dismissed a

plea seeking direction to theCentre and the ElectionCommission to debarCongress President RahulGandhi from contesting LokSabha elections till the issueof his citizenship is decided.

A bench headed by ChiefJustice Ranjan Gogoi reject-ed the contention of the peti-tioners, who said that in aform along with the annualdata of a UK-based companyin 2005-06, it was allegedlymentioned that R ahulGandhi is a British citizen.

“If some company insome form mentions hisnationality as British, does hebecome a British citizen,” thebench a lso comprisingJustices Deepak Gupta andSanjiv Khanna told the peti-tioners.

The plea had said that thepetitioners were “dissatisfied”with the “inaction” of theCentre and the poll panel in“deciding the question of vol-untary acquisition of Britishcitizenship” by Gandhi inspite of a November 2015communication by BJP leaderSubramanian Swamy in thisregard.

Details on Page 5

PTI n NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court consti-tuted three-member medi-

ation committee, tasked withexploring the possibility of anamicable settlement settlementin the decades-old, politicallysensitive, Ayodhya’s RamJanmabhoomi-Babri Masjidland dispute case, has submit-ted its interim report in asealed cover.

The matter has been listedfor hearing on Friday.

The SC on March 8 hadreferred the matter to media-tion for exploring the possibil-ity of an amicable settlement.

It had appointed former SCjudge FMI Kalifulla, spiritualguru and founder of Art of

Living foundation Sri SriRavishankar and senior advo-cate Sriram Panchu, arenowned mediator, as mem-bers of the mediation commit-tee.

A five-judge ConstitutionBench comprising Chief justiceRanjan Gogoi and Justices SABobde, DY Chandrachud,Ashok Bhushan and S AbdulNazeer will now peruse thereport and decide the futurecourse of action. The matterwill come up for the first timeon Friday since the March 8order of the top court. It hadsaid that the mediation processwould commence within aweek and the panel would sub-mit the progress report withinfour weeks.

The panel was asked by theapex court to hold in-cameraproceedings and completethem within eight weeks.

The Constitution benchhad said that it does not findany “legal impediment” tomake a reference to mediationfor a possible settlement of thedispute. The Bench was toldearlier by Hindu bodies, exceptfor Nirmohi Akhara, and theUttar Pradesh government thatthey oppose the court’s sug-gestion for mediation. TheMuslim bodies supported theproposal.

While opposing the sug-gestion of mediation, Hindubodies had argued that earlierattempts of reaching a com-promise have failed and provi-

sions of Civil Procedure Code(CPC) require public notice tobe issued before the start ofprocess.

The top court had direct-ed that the mediation pro-ceedings should be conductedwith “utmost confidentiality”for ensuring its success and theviews expressed by any of theparties including the mediatorsshould be kept confidentialand not be revealed to anyother person.

However, it had refrainedfrom passing any specificrestrain order at this stage andinstead empowered the medi-ators to pass necessary ordersin writing, if so required, torestrain publication of the

Continued on Page 7

Ayodhya mediation panel givesreport; SC hearing today

Prove coal mafia charge or

do sit-ups, Didi asks Modi

SC junks plea todebar Rahul frompoll on citizenship

Viraat backfires

Ex-Navy chiefrefutes Modi'scharge, claimsRajiv was noton private trip

Gambhir Atishibazi over pamphletsTearful Atishi blamesBJP rival for obscenepamphlets; Gambhirretorts ‘I will quit pollrace if you prove it’

AAP’s East Delhi candidate Atishi, along with Delhi Deputy Chief Minister ManishSisodia, addresses the media in New Delhi on Thursday Ranjan Dimri | Pioneer

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PTI n SIDDHARTHNAGAR/BALRAMPUR

BJP chief Amit Shah onThursday asked the

Opposition parties who will bethe Prime Minister if the ‘gath-bandhan’ is voted to power,raising the issue of possible dis-agreement among them ontheir PM candidate.

“On Monday, Mayawatiwill be Prime Minister. OnTuesday, it will be Sharad Pawarand someone else onWednesday,” Shah said at anelection rally in Siddharthnagar.He claimed many of theOpposition leaders are in pol-itics only to “realise” their vest-ed interests, hide corruptionand for their families.

He contrasted the situationin the Opposition camp withthe BJP, saying his party hasdeclared Narendra Modi as itsprime ministerial candidate.

“If voted to power,Narendra Modi will becomeprime minister. But I want to askRahul Baba, bua-bhatija(Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati),as to who will be the leader ofyour gathbandhan?” Shah said.Shah was addressing election

rallies in Siddharthnagar andBalrampur during his day-longvisit to Uttar Pradesh to woovoters for the remaining twophases of Lok Sabha polls onMay 12 and 19.

Attacking the SP, the BSP

and the Congress, Shah said,“For almost 55 years, there wasa Congress government in thecountry. The SP and the BSPhad ruled UP for years, but thecondition of the poor did notimprove. On the contrary,

Modiji in a time span of fiveyears gave gas ovens, toilets andhouses to poor people”.

The BJP chief said, “After theBalakot air strike, Rahul Baba,Bua-Bhatija became sad (chehrelatak gaye). They thought thattheir vote bank had becomeangry. Why was disturbance intheir camp when the IAF hadkilled terrorists in Pakistan?Were they (terrorists) theirmaternal-paternal brothers?”

“The security of the coun-try is of top priority to us. If abullet (goli) comes to us fromPakistan, our people will retal-iate with a shell (golaa),” he saidamidst applause from thecrowd.

He said that the BJP isworking to make Uttar Pradesh a developed State.Siddharthnagar, which comesunder Domariyaganj parlia-mentary constituency, goes topolls on May 12.

Earlier at a rally inBalrampur, Shah accused theSP and the BSP of favouringcertain castes and working forthem and said the BJP, on thecontrary, believed in themantra of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’.

PTI n AZAMGARH

Accusing the “mahamilavati”Opposition parties of

putting the nation’s security inperil, Prime Minister NarendraModi Thursday urged peoplenot to vote for a “khichdi” coali-tion that will only bring in“anarchy and instability”.

“These are the partiesindulging in politics of votebank and caste equations, these‘mahamilavatis’ had put thecountry in danger,” he said.“These people had allowedPakistan to dominate India,” hesaid at a rally in the con-stituency where SamajwadiParty president Akhilesh Yadavis the SP-BSP-RLD alliancecandidate.

Modi has been referring tothe opposition alliance in UPand possible coalitions else-where in the country as“mahamilwati”, or adulterated.

He said before the BJPcame to power Azamgarh usedto be linked to terror attacks bythe investigating agencies.

This is because the SP and

BSP leaders in Uttar Pradeshused to give patronage to thosewho helped terrorists, he alleged.He claimed when Oppositionparties were in power, they tookinto account the “caste, creedand religion” of the terroristsbefore taking action.

Modi said the terror tag hasnow been removed fromAzamgarh and terrorism isconfined only to Jammu &Kashmir and the border areas.

“Earlier, all terror activitieshad links to Azamagarh. Butwhat happened after 2014 is forall of you to see,” he said.Incidents of bomb explosionsin big cities are under control,

he added.Modi said his Government

has put the national interestfirst and “stormed” the terrorhideouts inside Pakistan.

“This is the new Indiawhich takes on the enemyright in its hideouts,” he said.

“Be wary of a ‘khichdi’Government,” he said, claimingthat a ‘mahagathbandhan’ vic-tory will only lead to “anarchyand instability” in the country.

He referred to the yearswhen frequent elections tookplace because of instableGovernments at the Centre.

“Between 2004 and 2014,the country saw another

‘mahamilavati’ Governmentwhich earned shame for thecountry the world over,” he said,referring to allegations of cor-ruption which surfaced duringthe UPA Government’s term.

“In the 10 years of theCongress-led Government,there was not a single areawhere there was no scam,” heclaimed. He mentioned theUN’s designation of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief MasoodAzhar as global terrorist, andsaid only a strong could ensurethis. “Earlier the world washesitant to stand with us, buttoday on the issue of Masood

Continued on Page 7

Don’t vote for khichdicoalition: ModiMahamilavatiswill putnation’ssecurity inperil, says PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a selfie with BJP’s Azamgarh candidate Dinesh Lal Yadav during an election rally for theongoing Lok Sabha polls, in Azamgarh on Thursday PTI

Who is your PM candidate, Shahasks ‘gathbandhan’ leadersSAUGAR SENGUPTA n

KHARAGPUR/BANKURA

After Tuesday’s “tight-slap”came the Thursday’s “sit-

ups.” Mounting a no-holds-barred attack on PrimeMinister Narendra Modi forlinking some of TrinamoolCongress candidates to coalmafia, TMC chief MamataBanerjee on Thursday daredthe PM to prove his charges ordo sit-ups.

“I challenge you Mr Modito prove what you have saidabout my candidates accusingthem of having links with thecoal mafia. Prove your chargesand I will withdraw all my 42candidates from the electoralfray. If you can’t, then you willhave to hold your ears and doone hundred sit-ups beforethe public,” she said

Modi had said, “TMCmafia raj is continuing in theneighbouring coal mines andtheir leaders are mintingmoney while the coal workersare not getting their pays.”

Modi had added the TMChad made mafia a part of itsleadership, promptingBanerjee to make the “slap”remarks. A couple of days ago,the Chief Minister told a pub-lic rally that Modi deserved atight-slap of democracy in

his face.Reacting to her Tuesday’s

remarks, the Prime Ministertold an election rally inPurulia that he was ready totake a slap from the ChiefMinister which would come tohim as blessings. “I respectyou (Banerjee) as Didi. Butyou offer me slaps in return.But that slap will come to meas blessings,” Modi said ruing,“Mamata Banerjee does notaccept me as the PrimeMinister as she is morerespectful for the PakistaniPrime Minister than me.”

He said that Mamata’ssoaring anger graph was pro-portionate to the fall in herpopularity level. “Didi knowsthat the she is losing popu-larity fast which makes herangry,” adding the remarksmade by her in anger wereonly the proof of her arrogantcharacter.

Incidentally, the ChiefMinister also leveled similarcharges against the PrimeMinister.

The Chief Minister clari-fied her position on Thursdaysaying she had never spokenof any “physical slap.” Shesaid, “I did not talk of a phys-ical slap. He is saying that Iwill slap him. But try tounderstand the language. I

only said that he will get a slapof democracy for telling lies.”

Mounting a counter attackon the Prime Minister for his“kartut” (misdeeds), Mamatasaid she had the evidences toshow how some people gotthemselves cleared of riotcharges. In an apparent refer-ence to the Modi’s chief min-isterial days Mamata said shehad a “pen drive that will tellthe story of how some peopleused pressure to get them-selves cleared of the charges ofriots against them.”

She said Modi and the BJPwere the biggest threat to thenation and “if he was notremoved from power thenthere will be no freedom,democracy, no religion or nofree caste in the country,”adding the Constitution andall the constitutional institu-tions would be destroyed bythe saffron outfit.

Mamata got AndhraPradesh Chief MinisterChandrababu Naidu by herside calling upon the people ofBengal to vote for her.

Addressing a rally atKharagpur which has sizeableTelugu population, Naidu saidMamata was the “Bengaltigress and deserved to so thatboth India and the State couldprosper.”

city 02LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | MAY 10, 2019

PNS n LUCKNOW

After dubbing PrimeMinister NarendraModi as ‘Duryodhan’,

Congress general secretaryPriyanka Gandhi Vadra fired afresh salvo on Thursday, sayingthat she had never come acrossa “more cowardly and weak”Prime Minister than him.

“Insey bada kayar, inseykamzor pradhan mantri mainejeevan mein nahi dekha, (Ihave not seen a more coward-ly and weaker prime ministerthan him in my life),” Priyankacharged at an election meetingin Pratapgarh.

A day earlier, the PrimeMinister had kicked up a con-troversy by targeting Priyanka’sfather and former PrimeMinister Rajiv Gandhi, accus-ing him of using warship INSViraat as a “personal taxi” fora family vacation.

Priyanka said that Modihad failed to answer people’squestions on unfulfilledpromises of providing twocrore jobs and doubling theincome of farmers.

“The power of politicsdoes not come from big cam-paigns and TV shows. Peopleplay the biggest role in ademocracy. One should havepower to listen and solve peo-ple’s problems. He (Modi)should have the power to lis-ten to the opposition. Leave

aside listening to you, thisprime minister does not knowhow to reply to you,” theCongress leader fired.

“You have been cheated.He (the prime minister) hadpromised to check corruptionbut now he has been exposedas corrupt. He hides realitywith his campaigns. If Modijicomes to you, then you shouldtell him that in Amethi, with-out power connection, a lady

was served with a electricitybill of `35,000 while anotherresident got a bill for `50,000,”she said.

Priyanka claimed that loansof big industrialists were waivedbut when Rahul Gandhi askedfor loan waiver for farmers, hewas told that there was nofund. She also alleged thatfarmers’ insurance money wasnever paid to them and they were battling stray cattlemenace.

“If the Prime Minister is sopowerful, he should tell why hecould not solve your problemsin the last five years. In everyspeech, he mentions Pakistanbut he should also tell you whathis government has done in thepast five years. We are here dueto you as you have made usleaders. People are bigger notus,” she said.

Priyanka alleged that whenthousands of farmers from allover the country converged onDelhi and sought a five-minuteappointment from the PrimeMinister, he did not give themtime. “In the last five years, thePrime Minister could not spareeven five minutes for visiting

people in villages of his con-stituency Varanasi. How canyou expect he will ask peopleabout their well-being andtheir problems,” the Congressgeneral secretary said.

Priyanka pointed out thatinstead of doubling farmers’income as promised, theirincome had come down to halfdue to anti-farmer policies ofthe Bharatiya Janata Party gov-ernment. “Similarly, there is aplunge in job opportunitiesagainst the BJP promise ofproviding two crore jobs everyyear,” she said.

Priyanka promised thatthe Congress government atthe Centre would return theFood Park in Amethi and ben-efit people of Pratapgarh andadjoining districts. She alsoaddressed an election meetingin Jaunpur.

Priyanka also took out agrand roadshow in Sultanpurwhere aunt Maneka Gandhi ofthe BJP is pitted againstCongress candidate SanjaySingh. This is first time thatPriyanka has campaignedagainst her family member fora party candidate.

PNS n LUCKNOW

The police claimed to haveseized `24 lakh from the

SUV of former UP ministerand Congress candidate fromBasti, Raj Kishore Singh, andarrested two persons in thisconnection on Thursday.

A case has been registeredand the Election Commissionof India and Income Taxdepartment have beeninformed about the recovery.

Superintendent of Police ofBasti, Pankaj Kumar, said thata flying squad checking suspi-cious persons intercepted theSUV of the Congress candidatefrom Basti in Sonupar area ofthe city on Thursday morning.A thorough search of the vehi-cle revealed that currency notesworth Rs 24 lakh were stackedinside the SUV along withpamphlets.

The district police chiefsaid that two persons werearrested while the cash and thevehicle were seized. A thirdperson in the SUV jumped offthe vehicle and fled the scene.

Poll expenditure observerin Basti, Vibhash Sharan,rushed to Kotwali police stationto look into the matter. Furtherinvestigations are on.

PNS n LUCKNOW

Samajwadi Party president andformer Chief Minister Akhilesh

Yadav said that the Bharatiya JanataParty, which relies on politics ofdeceit and hate, would be wiped outfrom Uttar Pradesh as the SP-BSP-RLD alliance was going to sweep thepolitically important state of UttarPradesh.

Addressing an election rally inDumariyaganj on Thursday,Akhilesh Yadav said that the BJPdivided society on religious andcaste lines for its political gains.

“This election will decide thecountry’s future. It is up to you todecide whether you want a govern-ment that believes in divisive politicsor one that works for the uplift of thepoor and the downtrodden,” the SPchief asked and the crowd shouted inunison that they wanted to defeat theBharatiya Janata Party.

Hitting out at Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath, Akhilesh said thatthe Samajwadi Party-Bahujan SamajParty-Rashtriya Lok Dal alliancehad so much power that it defeated

‘Baba’ in his own home turf and thistime too, the ‘Baba’ would suffer ahumiliating defeat. He was referringto the bypoll to Gorakhpur LokSabha seat last year in which the BJPlost to Samajwadi Party.

“The ‘Baba CM’ has spoiled theambulance service and its (help-line)number went out of order. The BJPpromised to distribute laptops, butthey have not fulfilled the promisebecause the ‘Baba CM’ does notknow to operate a laptop,” he alleged.

Akhilesh Yadav further said thathis government had given stable jobsto Shiksha Mitras but the BJP gov-ernment betrayed them.

“The present government evenplayed with the sentiments of farm-ers. The party talks about develop-ment but in the last two years, it hasnot laid the foundation of even a sin-gle power house. My governmenteven tried to make ‘kala namak rice’of this area a brand but the BJPregime stopped the project. We alsowanted to construct a hostel for stu-dents from Nepal. The proposal wasready but the BJP government didnot release funds,” he said.

The SP chief also criticised theimplementation of the Goods andServices Tax (GST) and demonetisa-tion, saying, ”The BJP claimed thatafter demonetisation, corruptionwill come under control but nothinghappened.”

Akhilesh Yadav said that the timehad come to protect the Constitutionbecause the BJP was out to disman-tle constitutional institutions.

Lucknow (PNS): Agitated over harassment by a BJP leaderand senior officers taking disciplinary action against him with-out giving him a chance to present his side of the story, a policeofficer in Auraiya applied for voluntary retirement from service.Ironically, the cop in question was punished even when he showedoutstanding skills by working out a murder case within 24 hours.But since a BJP leader was reportedly unhappy with him, he hadto pay a hefty price.

As per reports, Ashok Kumar, posted as station house offi-cer of Sadar Kotwali in Auraiya, worked out the murder of anold woman within 24 hours by arresting her daughter-in-law lastSaturday. Soon after the arrest, the BJP leader and chairman ofZila Panchayat called Kumar and accused him of sending an inno-cent woman to jail for the heinous crime. The politician evenasked him to release the accused. Being in possession of substan-tial evidence against the suspect, Ashok Kumar refused to budgeand went ahead with the arrest.

Annoyed with the cop’s refusal to release the suspect, the BJPleader reportedly called the Superintendent of Police of Auraiya.The district police chief was told that the inspector haddemanded Rs 2 lakh and that the entire family of the murdervictim was detained illegally. Subsequently, the district police chiefattached the SHO to Reserve Police Lines.

Sources said that miffed at being humiliated for no profes-sional lapse, Inspector Kumar wrote to the SP seeking voluntaryretirement from the UP Police. Kumar even told local media per-sons that the BJP leader has been patronising criminals. He alsocharged that stolen food grain of public distribution system wasrecovered from the BJP leader’s mill but he got his aides forciblyreleased from police station.

When contacted by the media, SP of Auraiya denied actionagainst the Inspector on the complaint of the BJP leader. He clar-ified that the matter was probed by a competent officer and on thebasis of his findings, the SHO was attached to Reserve Police Lines.

BISWAJEET BANERJEE n

LUCKNOW

In 2016, Bhojpuri cine starDinesh Lal Yadav `Nirahua’

was honoured with UttarPradesh’s top Yash Bharatiaward and hailed by then ChiefMinister Akhilesh Yadav for hiscontribution and promptlytermed as the ambassador ofUP’s culture.

Three years down the line,Nirahua is back in the state butthis time he is locking hornswith Akhilesh Yadav in the bat-tle of ballots in Azamgarh.

“I conferred Yash Bharatiaward on him and now he iscontesting against me. I am notsurprised that he is contestingLok Sabha election but amhurt that he is contesting onBJP ticket,” said Akhilesh Yadavin a routine press interaction.

The selection of Nirahua as

BJP candidate, that too fromAzamgarh, came as a big sur-prise. The BJP opted for theBhojpuri singer and pitted himagainst Akhilesh defying alllogic. Politically a novice,Nirahua joined the BJP in thefirst week of April and wasfielded from the high-profileAzamgarh constituency with-in a week, replacing localstrongman Ramakant Yadav.The latter had contested the lastelection against MulayamSingh Yadav from Azamgarh.

The BJP is purely bankingon Nirahua’s popularity amongthe youth of eastern UP and ishoping that his magic will betransformed into votes toclinch the stiff contest.

But the local youths seemto have made a clear choice.“We love Nirahua. We willwatch his movies but will votefor Akhilesh as it is an election

for Lok Sabha not Bollywood.Majority of our friends will votefor Akhilesh,” said Amrit Yadav,a student of Sibli NationalCollege and a first time voter.

One of the main cities ofeastern UP, Azamgarh had beena hub of cultural heritage but itsname was tarnished after theBatla House encounter in NewDelhi. Being associated witheminent poet Kaifi Azmi, thecity conjures up the image of aplace which is rich in cultureand takes pride in its heritage.

The constituency hasalways been a Samajwadi Partybastion as its candidate wonelections majority of the times.When the SP did not win, itwas BSP that emerged victori-ous from this seat. Now withthe SP and BSP joining hands,the equation is heavily tilted infavour of Samajwadi Party andhence from the start, it has

been advantage Akhilesh.What makes the SP confi-

dent is the caste equation of thisconstituency which has a sub-stantial population of Yadavs,Jatavs and Muslims – whoform the bulwark of the grandalliance (mahagathbandhan).

The constituency’s historyis a clear reflection of SP-BS-RLD alliance’s supremacy asonly Muslims and Yadav can-didates have won electionsfrom Azamgarh since 1996.

In 2014, Samajwadi Partypatron Mulayam Singh Yadavdefeated Ramakant Yadav ofBJP by over 65,000 votesdespite a strong Modi wavesweeping across Uttar Pradesh.Azamgarh was one of the fiveseats that the SP won in 2014.

Incidentally, RamakantYadav won the 2009 electionfrom Azamgarh on BJP ticket.He also won elections from the

seat in 1996 and 1999 on SPticket and in 2004 on BSPticket.

“Ramakant Yadav is an oldwar horse and holds massivefollowing in Azamgarh. Despitebeing MP from 1996 to 2009,he was humbled by MulayamSingh Yadav in 2014 and thisindicates the influence thatAkhilesh and his family enjoyshere,” said Arif Siddiqui ofSibli National College inAzamgarh.

In the 2014 election,Mulayam Singh Yadav polled35.43 per cent votes whileRamakant Yadav got 28.85 percent votes and BSP candidateShah Alam 27.75 per cent.

“Look at the arithmetic.The combined vote share of theSP and BSP in Azamgarh wasover 63 per cent. In this sce-nario, Akhilesh is miles aheadof Nirahua,” he said.

PNS/PTI n VARANASI

Chief Minister YogiAdityanath said onThursday that the

Narendra Modi governmenthad shown zero-tolerancetowards terrorism, unlike pastdispensations which were “soft”on it.

Yogi also said that theBharatiya Janata Party wouldget good results in the country’seastern states, including WestBengal and Odisha, and inKerala as Prime MinisterNarendra Modi was “extreme-ly popular”.

“In the past five years, noterrorist attack took place inUttar Pradesh and this was pos-sible only because of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi,” YogiAdityanath said addressing aconvention in Varanasi.

“Earlier, whenever any ter-rorist incident took place in thecountry, people were killedand brave soldiers were mar-tyred. The governments weresoft towards terrorism. But,now, there is zero-tolerancepolicy against these activities,”he said.

Highlighting the develop-ment works carried out in thetemple town of Kashi, theChief Minister said it was dueto the good governance of thePrime Minister that the cityhad “evolved”, and now, every-one was witnessing PM Modi’s“new Kashi”.

“Earlier when people usedto see dirty ghats, danglingelectric wires and potholes onroads, they used to wonder ifthis city is actually Kashi.Todaythe new Kashi is before every-one,” he said.

The Chief Minister alsoclaimed that before 2014, ifsomeone went to embassies forvisa, officers used to see themwith “contempt”.

“But, after Modiji came topower, there has been a posi-tive change. Now, officers ofembassies recognise Indiansand say ‘you are from Modi’s

country’,” he said. Meanwhile, intensifying

BJP’s campaigning in Varanasiand adjoining areas for the sec-ond day on Thursday, YogiAdityanath addressed two pub-lic meetings at Palhipatti inVaranasi district in support ofMahendra Nath Pandey, theparty candidate fromChandauli, and at Bhiti in sup-port of party candidate fromBhadohi Ramesh Bind. He alsoaddressed a meeting of intellec-tuals at Chowkaghat CulturalComplex.

Addressing a meeting atPalhipatti, Yogi said the Modigovernment had worked for allsections of society and con-structed toilets for all castes ofpeople.

He praised Modi for show-ing country’s strength to theworld, including Pakistan, bythe air strike at terrorist train-ing camp in Balakit in Pakistan.

He praised Mahendra NathPandey for taking initiatives forbeautification and develop-ment of Markandey Dham atKaithi village in Varanasi.

Two Assembly segments of

Varanasi in trans-Varuna areaare parts of Chandauli parlia-mentary seat.

Yogi said that the parlia-mentary elections would decidethe fate of the nation so thepeople should cast their voteskeeping the best interests of thenation in mind.

However, he expressed theconfidence that for making astrong nation, the countrywould support Modi.

Yogi flayed the SamajwadiParty for giving tickets to thosewho spoke against the nation.He said that many personswere not happy at seeing thecontinuous growth and pros-perity of the nation.

Later, addressing anotherelection meeting at Bhiti inBhadohi parliamentary con-stituency, Yogi launched anscathing attack on the opposi-tion parties for their failure tomaintain the dignity of elec-tions in frustration of seeingtheir defeat.

He expressed concern overthe manner West Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjeeinsulted Lord Ram and said

that in frustration of seeingtheir defeat the opposition par-ties were directing their angeron deities.

He also flayed Congress forsubmitting an affidavit in theSupreme Court in 2005 thatthere was no existence of LordRam and Lord Krishna. He saidat that time the Congress gov-ernment was being supportedby both SP and BSP.

Earlier, addressing theintellectuals at ChowkaghatCultural Complex here, Yogisaid that the union of Bua andBabua (Mayawati and AkhileshYadav) would not last long asit was an alliance of selfishnessand opportunism.

He said that for selfishnessin last Assembly election, theSP had made an alliance withCongress but after defeat inAssembly election, their rela-tions came to an end.

Yogi said that Kashi was aspiritual and religious city andits greatness and grandeur hadstarted becoming visible. Hesaid that during the last fiveyears the city had witnessedremarkable development.

Printed and Published by Vijay Prakash Singh for and on behalf of CMYK Printech Ltd., 4th Floor, Sahara Shopping Centre, Faizabad Road, Lucknow-226016 and Printed at Tin Tin Printech Pvt Ltd., C-33 Amausi Industrial Area, Nadarganj, Lucknow. Editor: Chandan Mitra. Resident

Editor: Vijay Prakash Singh. RNI No. 2016/57. Lucknow Telephones: EPABX: 4036600 Fax: 2345582. Allahabad Office: (0532) 2420818, 2421018, 3290460. Kanpur Office: (0512) 2304006, 2304416. Varanasi Office: (0542) 2414294, 2414295. Delhi Office: No. 6, Behind Gulab Bhawan,

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NOTICE

It's notified that I havechanged my name from KiranRani Bhardwaj (57 years) toKiran Sharma. In the future Iwill be known by same namefor all purpose. Kiran SharmaW/o Virendra Kumar Sharma,R/o-1/397, Rashmikhand,Shardanagar, Lucknow.

Never saw a ‘more cowardly and weak’ PM than Modi: Priyanka

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra waves at supporters at an election campaign rally ahead of the sixth phaseof Lok Sabha polls, in Pratapgarh Thursday PTI

Priyanka to addressfour rallies today

Lucknow (PNS): Almost single-handedly leading theCongress poll campaign in the Uttar Pradesh, PriyankaGandhi Vadra will address four meetings in eastern UP onFriday before campaigning for the sixth phase polls come toan end. The Congress leader’s poll meetings are scheduled inSiddharthnagar for Dumariyaganj candidate Chandresh KumarUpadhyay, in Basti for party candidate Raj Kishore Singh andin Sant Kabir Nagar for Congress candidate Bhalchandra Yadav.The last poll meeting to be addressed by Priyanka will be atBhadohi where another turncoat Ramakant Yadav, who leftBharatiya Janata Party to join Congress, is in the fray. In the2014 election, Yadav was the BJP candidate against SamajwadiParty’s Mulayam Singh Yadav from Azamgarh.

Past govts were soft on

terrorism: Adityanath

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath addressing election meeting at Palhipatti in Varanasi on Thursday Pioneer

Harassed cop seeks

voluntary retirement

It’s advantage Akhilesh in Azamgarh

`24L recoveredfrom SUV of Cong candidatein Basti

SP-BSP-RLD to sweep polls in UP: Akhilesh

Lucknow (PNS): In a surprise move,Samajwadi Party has cancelled all the electionmeetings of party president Akhilesh Yadav onthe last day of campaigning on Friday, allegingthat the district authorities were conspiring tocountermand the Azamgarh election.

SP district president in Azamgarh, HavaldarYadav, said in a press statement here onThursday that though party president would winthe election by a landslide margin, but sudden-ly the district authorities have hiked the rate ofpublicity.

“This is a conspiracy hatched by theauthorities to countermand the Azamgarh LokSabha election over excessive expenditure,” theAzamgarh SP district chief said.

Campaigning in Azamgarh will end onFriday at 1700 hours and before that AkhileshYadav was slated to address a couple of meet-ings to woo the voters.

Akhilesh is pitted against Bhojpuri actorDinesh Lal Yadav alias Nirahua.

Meanwhile, SP’s Kannauj MP Dimple Yadavalong with Bollywood actor Jaya Bachchan willhold a roadshow in Prayagraj on Friday.

SP chief’s poll meetings today cancelled


PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

The strict norms and condi-tions of the Election

Commission of India as well asmeticulous detailing in moni-toring the expenditure by thedistrict administration hasresulted in the candidatesspending lesser than theamount of Rs 70 lakh that theywere allowed for campaigningfor the Lok Sabha elections inLucknow district.

Chief treasury officerSanjay Singh, while talking toThe Pioneer, said that one of themain reasons for the candidatesspending lesser than Rs 70lakh was that the ElectionCommission had stated clear-ly that if they crossed theexpenditure limit then theircandidature would be can-celled and they would bedebarred from fighting theelections for the next threeyears.

As per the figures provid-ed by the chief treasury officeruptill May 2, 2019, the expen-diture of the candidates con-testing the Lucknow Lok Sabhaconstituency was as follows.The Samajwadi Party candi-date, Poonam Sinha, has spentRs 15,23,605, the Congresscandidate, Acharya PramodKrishnam, has spent Rs40,10,172, the BJP candidate,Rajnath Singh, has spent Rs19,44,234 , the candidate, AmarRamzada has spent Rs 62,271,

Ganesh Chowdhary has spentRs 33,830, Girish NarayanPandey Rs 1,56,749,Devnarayan Singh Yadav Rs1,22,306, Mohammad FaheemRs 54,993, Ramesh Rs 44,278,Ram Sagar Pal Rs 25,860,Shameem Khan Rs 7,40,529,Avinash Chandra Jain Rs52,487, Sanjay Rana 4,76,786and Jimidar Singh Yadav Rs43,801.

In Mohanlalganj LokSabha constituency, the expen-diture by the candidates was asfollows: Kaushal Kishore fromthe Bharatiya Janta Party spentRs 37,11,787, RK Chowdharyfrom Congress spent Rs

44,60,059, CL Verma, the SP-BSP candidate, Rs 15,97,758,Ganesh Rawat Rs 4,25,064,Jagdish Gautam Rs 36,328,Radha Ambedkar Rs 1,15,817,Ram Sagar Pasi Rs 67,700,Shatrohan Lal Rawat Rs 36,882,Sushil Kumar Rs 33,776,Jagdish Rawat Rs 6,63,371,Prabhawati Devi Rs 17,048and Ramesh Kumar Rs 85,807.

The chief treasury officersaid that the estimated expen-diture may increase becausethese were the figures uptillMay 2 whereas the maximumrallies took place on May 3 and4 i.e. on the last two days ofcampaigning.

Singh admitted that thecandidates spent less on theprecautionary level being afraidof the fact that the ElectionCommission would crack itswhip.

“Also there were severalrules and regulations aboutthe expenditure which had tobe followed such as if a rallywas being taken out then notmore than ten cars would gotogether at the same time. Thesecond convoy would move ata distance of over 100 metresbehind the first one. There werealso restrictions regarding theuse of flags and if posters werebeing published then they

should carry the name of thepublisher,” he said.

He said that meetings wereheld with the representatives ofpolitical parties to explain thevarious norms and conditionsfor campaigning. The chieftreasury officer said that every-thing had been counted in thisexpenditure which includedthe rallies, the social media,petrol, ‘samosas’ and lunchpacks and their water bottles.He said that the maximumamount was spent on the con-ventional way of campaigningwhich included rallies in placeof social media network..

While giving the details ofhow a rally was monitored bytheir monitoring team, he said.“Take for example when apolitical party carried out arally- while seeking permissionit showed its expenditure as Rs50,000 and gave the details ofthe loudspeakers , tents andlogistics being spent. When therally took place then our videosurveillance team went andvideographed the rally andgave the details of the cut-outsand the lunch packets distrib-uted, size of pandal, size ofstage, the recording of thecampaigner was also carriedout. In the control room a teamsaw the video . Then the detailsof cars and other things areseen and the rates are calculat-ed by the accounting team,” hesaid. He said that if the expen-diture was found more than


Aman was shot dead bytwo unidentified mis-creants after they had a

brief talk with him near atemple in Thakurganj onThursday morning. Police sus-pected the man was killedover some rivalry. However,the family was clueless aboutthe motive for murder.

The deceased was identi-fied as Pappu Shah ofBarwankalan village of thearea. His son Saifu, who wasaccompanying the victim andis the lone eyewitness, said hewould identify the killers ifthey were paraded before him.

As per reports, Pappu Shahand Saifu had gone to the for-est cover near Pehelwan Babatemple in Barwankalan around9:30 am to collect fodder fortheir cattle. Saifu told thepolice that the bike-borne mis-creants met Pappu near thetemple and engaged him intalks. “As I moved ahead, Iheard a gunshot. I turned backand saw my father slumping onto the ground and the miscre-ants speeding off,” he told thepolice.

A police spokesman saidthe victim suffered injurieson his neck. “The attackers

probably chased him and thenopened fire,” he said, addingold enmity seemed to be themotive for murder.

“The family members wereclueless as to why Pappu wasmurdered. The victim hailedfrom poor economic back-ground and it is unlikely thathe was attacked over money or

property issue. His son is alsounder scanner,” the spokesmansaid.

Police sources said thefamily might be aware of theattackers but were not speak-ing up due to fear. “It seemsthat Pappu was being bulliedby some persons for a longtime and was attacked when he

refused to follow their diktat.“It is also possible that Pappuwas killed due to mistakenidentity. The miscreants maybe looking for someone withsimilar features and killed himafter a brief conversation,” thesources said. The policespokesman did not endorse theclaims.


The second liver transplantin the history of King

George’s Medical Universitywas performed jointly withMAX Hospital (New Delhi) onWednesday. The KGMU teamwas led by head of SurgicalGastroenterology departmentDr Abhijit Chandra. Otherdoctors included Vivek Gupta,Vishal Gupta, Pradeep Joshiand Anita Malik, Mohd Parvez,Tanmay Tiwari, Ehsan, AnitParihar, Manoj, Rohit, NeeraKohli, Tulika Chandra, AmitaJain, Prashant and SheetalVerma. The Max Hospital teamwas headed by Dr SubhashGupta. Other doctors includedShaleen Agarwal and Rajesh

Dey.KGMU chief medical

superintendent Dr SNSankhwar also supported theoperation. Overall, 50 staff

members of the SurgicalGastroenterology departmentworked for five days to makethis mammoth operation asuccess. It was a living donor

liver transplant done on a 45-year-old patient who was suf-fering from a chronic liver dis-ease. The liver was donated byhis 35-year-old brother-in-law. The operation was a com-plex surgical procedure ofapproximately 12 hours whichis performed only in someselected centres in the country.

Doctors said it was one amilestone in the history ofKGMU’s SurgicalGastroenterology department.According to authorities, thesurgery cost about Rs 7-8 lakh.

“The surgery started at 5am and ended late in theevening. Both the donor andrecipient are doing fine atpresent,” a doctor said.

Lucknow (PNS): Shia cler-ic Maulana Kalbe Jawwad onThursday lodged a complaintagainst BJP leader Giriraj Singhat Chowk Kotwali and soughtstern action for objectionableand derogatory remarks againstProphet Mohammed and hisdaughter. Jawwad said the BJPleader had hurt the sentimentsof Muslims. According to SHO,Chowk, said Jawwad stated inthe complaint that Giriraj madeobjectionable and derogatorycomments on the Prophet andhis daughter. “The statementhurt the sentiments ofMuslims. The police should ini-tiate action,” Jawwad said in thecomplaint. The SHO said fur-ther probe into the allegationswas underway.

Lucknow (PNS): Hotweather conditions continuedunabated in the state capitalwith the maximum tempera-ture settling at 43.4 degreeCelsius, which was four notch-es above normal. The mini-mum temperature at 29 degreeCelsius was three degrees abovenormal.

The forecast for Lucknow ismainly clear sky with the max-imum and minimum temper-atures expected to be around 43degree Celsius and 29 degreeCelsius, respectively. However,the weatherman has forecastdust storm/thunderstormaccompanied by gusty winds atisolated places over westernUttar Pradesh. But, heat waveconditions are very likely to pre-vail at isolated places over east-ern Uttar Pradesh. Allahabadremained the hottest in the statewith a maximum temperatureof 46 degree Celsius.

what had been given then thecandidate was bound to paythat extra amount.

He said that in case thecandidate did not agree to paythe extra amount then a com-mittee headed by the DistrictMagistrate would look intothe matter. He said that on theday the counting of the voterswas carried out they wouldissue a letter to all the politicalparties to submit the finalaccount of expenditure.

Less amount spent by candidates in campaigning

File photos of Acharya Pramod Krishnam, and Poonam Sinhacampaigning in Lucknow

Man shot dead near temple,

kin clueless about motive

Police carrying out investigation at the crime scene in Thakurganj Pioneer


The body of a missing bookdesigner was recovered

from Gomti Riverfront inGomti Nagar on Thursday.SHO, Gomti Nagar, RS Sonkarsaid the man was depressed dueto his illness and he committedsuicide by jumping into theriver. The deceased was iden-tified as Ishtiaq AhmedSiddiqui (49) of Viram Khand.

As per reports, Ishtiaq lefthis house on Wednesdayevening after telling his wifeAzra that he was going toJeewan Plaza shopping com-

plex for some work. However,he did not return after whichhis family sought police help.

On Thursday morning,some divers spotted a body inthe river and alerted the police.

Sub-inspector SanjayGupta, who is heading theinvestigating team, said thebody bore no injury marks.“The family had informedGomti Nagar police, so wecontacted the family and theyidentified the body. The bodyhas been sent for autopsy,”Gupta said, adding that theteam was yet to talk to the kinto seek details.

However, the Gomti NagarSHO, said Ishtiaq ended his lifeby jumping into the river.“Ishtiaq was suffering fromsome disease and was underdepression for the same reason.We have sent the body forautopsy to ascertain the causeof death,” he said.

Ruling out the possibilityof foul play, the SHO said thefamily had not raised anydoubts as of now. “If they hadsuspected foul play, they wouldhave told the police,” he said.However, the police had noeyewitness or CCTV footage insupport of the claim that

Ishtiaq ended his life. Meanwhile, a highly

decomposed body was recov-ered from Gomti river nearBhainsakund Ghat inHazratganj on Thursday.

A police spokesman saidthe body appeared about aweek-old and was beyondrecognition. “Some divers spot-ted the body and informed thepolice control room. A team ledby sub-inspector Mahendrawas sent to the place. Primafacie no injury marks weredetected by the police. Theautopsy will ascertain the causeof death,” he said.

Missing book designer found dead

Second liver transplant at KGMU

Team of KGMU doctors

Jawwad lodges

complaint

against Giriraj

Ghost of gas agency cashier’smurder haunts Lucknow policePIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

The ghost of gas agencycashier Shayam Singh’s mur-

der (October 29, 2018) cameback to haunt the Lucknowpolice as social media was abuzzwith the news that Lucknowpolice tricked their bosses in abid to crack the case. Taking cog-nisance of the incident, the ChiefMinister had asked the Lucknowpolice to work out the case.

On Thursday, the socialmedia was flooded with reportsthat the Lucknow police erred inlinking the cashier murder andloot case with Gonda bankdacoity case without goingthrough the details. The contro-versy emerged after the SpecialTask Force on Wednesday arrest-ed a Bawariya dacoit, identifiedas Sooraj of Gurugram inHaryana and claimed that he wasa mastermind of the AllahabadBank dacoity of 2017 in Gonda.In the incident, Sooraj and hismen had killed a security guardand looted Rs 50 lakh.

Earlier, on November 10, the

Lucknow police had arrestedSatveer of Gurugram andclaimed that Satveer and his men— Sunder and Sonu (both ofRajasthan) and Anoop ofHaryana — had executed thecashier murder and loot. Anamount of Rs 10 lakh had beenlooted in the incident.

The Lucknow police hadalso held a press conference inwhich cops from Gonda amidthe presence of SSP (Lucknow)claimed that Satveer was themastermind of Gonda bankdacoity case. They had also ruedthat they had done the groundwork but the Lucknow policewalked away with the credit.Pushed on the back foot, theLucknow police said they neverclaimed that Satveer wasinvolved in the Gonda bankdacoity case. “Our team hadarrested Satveer on a special tip-off and for his involvement incashier Shayam Singh’s murdercase,” police spokesman AKDwivedi said. When remindedthat the Gonda police had madethe claim in the presence of

senior officials of Lucknow policeduring the press conference,Dwivedi said, “We did not men-tion the same in the press notewhich we had issued onNovember 10. If someone makesany claim, it is up to them toexplain,” he said.

The denial from theLucknow police made the STFdefensive too. A STF officersaid they worked out the caseand arrested Sooraj, who wascarrying Rs 1 lakh cash reward.“The team had been working fora long time and there was nodoubt that they erred inunearthing the Gonda dacoitycase,” the officer said.

On October 29, two bike-borne miscreants had shot thecashier of an LPG agency andlooted a bag carrying Rs 10 lakhfrom him in Vibhuti Khand.Shayam Singh (46) of VinitKhand reached the gate of mainbranch of Bank of India (close toMadhurima restaurant) on hisbike and was preparing to goinside after parking his bikewhen he was attacked.

Heat wavehere to stay

There is no relief in store as similar conditions are expected to prevail in Lucknow on Friday too Pioneer


The first Bada Mangal willbe celebrated on May 21.

Chief executive officer, ShriAliganj Hanuman MandirTrust, Anil Kumar Tewari toldThe Pioneer that there would be four Bada Mangalsthis year.

He said that extensiverestoration work was beingcarried out at the HanumanMandir in Aliganj. “We havecarried out extensive restora-tion work in the temple thistime which includes therestoration of the gate and theinteriors. The last time therestoration work was carriedout was more than 25 yearsago,” he said. He said that theyhad also started the practice ofthe trustees contributingtowards the restoration of thetemple.

Tewari said that they werealso trying to construct twohalls because the people fromother districts came to thetemple for various pre-wed-ding functions and other oneslike ‘mundan,’ he said. He saidthat during the first threeBada Mangals the bhandaraswould be organised throughthe contributions which hadbeen made by the trusteesand the bhandara on lastTuesday would be throughpooling of funds by severaldevotees, even those who con-tributed only Rs 100. He saidthat for activities such as thesethey take funds from thetrustees and do not spendfrom the corpus of the temple.

The office superintendent

of the temple, Rakesh Dixit,said that letters had been shotto all those in the variousdepartments who wereresponsible for the prepara-tions of the Bada Mangal cel-ebrations. Letters have beenwritten by the temple author-ities to the Nagar Nigam, Firedepartment, district adminis-tration and the SP, Traffic.

He admitted that on thefirst day they were expectinga crowd of not less than 5 lakh.“Currently the temple is beingrestored and whitewashedwith regard to the preparationsfor the Bada Mangal,” he said.Dixit said that the first meet-ing with the administrationwould take place this weekitself.

He said that keeping inmind the heat wave conditionswhich were in the city properarrangements would be made.“A canopy will be placed andfans spraying water will alsobe there in the templeprecincts. We will also makearrangements for chilledwater and ‘thandai.’ Sherbetwill be served continuously tothe devotees coming to thetemple. We are also arrangingbhandaras,” he said. With theBada Mangal taking the shapeof a festival in Lucknow andcreating a unique kind ofambience, was the templemaking any efforts of high-lighting it on any social net-working site, he said they hadtheir own website.

First Bada Mangal on May 21



Lucknow DevelopmentAuthority (LDA) has re-

designed the layout plan for theGomti Nagar Extension sothat it may attain the status ofa smart residential colony. TheLDA administration haschanged the entire blueprint tomeet the eligibility criteria forattaining special status.

Presently, the LDA admin-istration is in consultation

with urban developers to doaway with the anomalies sothat there was no problem inimplementation. LDA chiefengineer IS Singh said opin-ions from foreign experts couldbe sought, if required. Therevised plan will be sent to thetown planning department toensure it is not in violation ofthe ‘Master Plan-2031’.

The LDA administrationhas been trying to get similarstatus for Gomti Nagar unsuc-

cessfully as there is no scopefor re-designing.

LDA Vice-Chairman PNSingh said there would bemixed land use so that resi-dents would be provided withall the facilities to lead comfortand healthy lives. Besides, itwill give an opportunity toentrepreneurs. Emphasis willbe on wide roads and amplespace for pavements. The plan-ners will also ensure there is noviolation of the UP Urban

Development Act-1973.Emphasis will also be laid

on the construction of multi-level parking lots. For it tobecome a smart residentialcolony, smooth flow of trafficis a must.

The LDA administration isplanning parking lots toaccommodate 5,000 vehicles ata time. The chief engineer saidpeople’s cooperation was amust to ensure an efficienttraffic management.


The 100-year-old boat,which has been found in

Chhattar Manzil, will berestored and displayed at thecity museum. Director of StateArchaeology AK Singh saidthat the boat was found duringthe restoration which was tak-ing place at the palace site ofChhattar Manzil.

“The boat was found whenthe mud was removed from thearea in the palace of ChhattarManzil. The boat is over a cen-tury old,” he said. However, hesaid they could not provide anyfurther detail because the boatneeds to be studied by experts.

“We will study the detailsand then restore the boat.

After this, we will place it atthe city museum for publicviewing,” he said. Singh saidthat the presence of the boatindicated that boating waspopular during the times ofNawabs.

On when the monumentwould be opened for public, hesaid that work was still under-way. “Farhat Baksh Kothiwhere the restoration workhas been completed may beopened in a couple of months,”he said.

Chhattar Manzil was ear-lier occupied by Central DrugResearch Institute (CDRI) andlater when the institute wasshifted to the new premises, itwas taken over by the StateArchaeology department.


With the arrest of two mis-creants on Thursday, the

Para police claimed to haveunravelled the murder mysteryof nearly a year-old murdercase. The dismembered body(in two pieces) of Raj Kumarwas recovered from a vacantplot in Para on May 18 last year.The miscreants had severed thebody using a grinder.

Those arrested were iden-tified as Anshu Soni andVirendra Yadav. Interestingly,the deceased’s family had sus-pected the role of Anshu backthen, but the police had dis-counted their apprehensions.

Alambagh circle officerSanjeev Sinha said the abscond-ing miscreants were nabbedfollowing a tip-off. “Both themiscreants owned up theircrime during interrogation,”he said. As per the miscreants’confession, they developed dif-ferences over a betting issueduring an IPL match. Anshuhad lost a Rs-500 bet toRajkumar. Anshu asked him togo along with him to collect themoney from his house. On theway, they met Virendra and thetrio had eggs at an outlet.Anshu later took Raj Kumar toVirendra’s house where thetwo strangulated him. Bothcut the body into two using agrinder and stuffed the parts ina sack which they laterdumped.

The Alambagh CO said RajKumar also had some enmitywith Virendra as the latter hadtaken Rs 3 lakh from himthrough a money pool-inscheme. “In the past, RajKumar had created a scene atVirendra’s house and threat-ened to take back his car inexchange of the moneyVirendra owed to victim,” theCO told mediapersons.

He said the police recov-ered the grinder and collected

other evidence as well. “Weworked on every angle and alsocollected the CCTV footages,”the CO said.

ALLEGEDA woman BJP leader

accused a Hussianganj residentof demanding Rs 50 lakh asextortion. According to thecomplainant, identified as UshaMishra of Mumbai, she visitedLucknow after she got a callfrom Ratan Lal Sharma of Preeti

Apartment in Hussainganj.“Sharma told me that he hadmade strenuous efforts to makeme an office-bearer in thewomen’s wing of BJP. He forcedme to recommend his case inwhich I had to talk to an officer.When I denied, he threatenedme and asked me to pay Rs 50lakh for the efforts he did for me,or he would not allow her tomove out of his flat. I wasdumbstruck and was made tosign a a blank paper,” she alleged.

100% RESULT FOR UNITY COLLEGE

Unity College secured a100 per cent result with theaverage aggregate of 81.22 percent in ISC and 75.58 per centin ICSE. A total of 116 studentsappeared for ISC, out of which20 students scored 90 per centor above while 48 studentsscored 80 per cent or above. InICSE, out of 116 students, 10students stole the merit lime-light with 90 per cent or abovewhereas 29 students scored 80per cent or above. KaunainZehra who topped in ISC with95.50 per cent, scored a perfect100 in Physical Education and99 in Mathematics. KhizraHashmi who obtained 95.25per cent also scored 100 inBiotechnology and PhysicalEducation. “I focused on class-room teaching and dependedon thorough study at home”,said Khizra who wishes to bea cardiologist. Though she hadbeen active on Instagram andWhatsApp earlier, she detachedherself completely from socialmedia for one month prior tothe exams. Aashi Siddiqui, whois the ICSE topper with 93.60per cent aggregate, dreams ofa career in Medical Sciences.She said: “The key to success isself-study and hard work”.Satakshi Anand who secured93 per cent scored 99 inComputer Application. Shesaid she was eyeing civil ser-vices. The meritorious stu-dents, along with their parents,were honoured at a programmeon Thursday.

TEACHERS’ TRAININGPROGRAMME

Amity School ofCommunication Enhancementand Transformation(ASCENT), Amity University,in partnership with RegionalEnglish Language Office(RELO), US Embassy (NewDelhi), organised a teachers’training programme on effec-

tive teaching practices forschools serving the under-served communities. As manyas 30 teachers from five schoolsof Malhaur and Juggaur areasof Gomti Nagar attended thetraining programme. All theteachers were provided teach-ing kits, soft boards and blue-tooth speakers in order to helpthem make their classes interesting.

MEETINGDivisional Commissioner

Anil Garg presided over ameeting on Thursday toreview traffic management inthe city. He directed the offi-cials to get the works complet-ed in their respective depart-ments in time so that thepublic did not face inconve-nience. He said the encroach-ments should be removed on

monthly basis, dependingupon the availability of policeteams. The DivisionalCommissioner met the offi-cials at his office and themeeting was attended by SP(Traffic) Punendra Singh,ADM (West) Santosh KumarVaishya, MunicipalCommissioner IndramaniTripathi and officials fromPWD and NHAI.

8 CIS STUDENTS SECUREOVER 90% IN CBSE

Students of CityInternational School (ManasVihar) achieved stupendoussuccess in CBSE Class X,results of which were declaredrecently. As many as 47 stu-dents had appeared in theexams and all came out withflying colours. AakarshChaurasia was the topper, fol-lowed by Harsh Lohani andPrabal Singh. Eight studentsscored 90% or above marks. InSocial Science, Ankita Singhand Amitesh Srivastava scoreda perfect 100.

SCHOOLSCAN

CITYBRIEFS

Police unravel last year’s

murder mystery; 2 held


Aforensic team will exam-ine how the Dalit couple,

who were found hanging in amango grove in Malihabad onWednesday morning, hadsuffered injuries. Locals hadsuspected honour killing,claiming that the parents ofboth were against their marriage.

On Thursday, the policeclaimed that the couple diedof asphyxia. “The autopsyreport has ascertained thatthe couple died of asphyxiadue to hanging. Furtherinvestigations are on,” policespokesman AK Dwivedi said.

He added that he had noinformation about the foren-sic team examining bruiseson the bodies of the couple.

However, sources said thepolice would go for a foren-sic examination of the bodiesto find out how the couplesuffered bruises. “The expertswill also examine as to howthe couple ended their livesusing a single rope,” thesources said.

The youth, identified asRanjeet, and the girl (both ofSahijanwa village) were foundhanging with a single ropetied around their necks. Thegirl’s legs were touching theground and there were of

bruises on their bodies, prob-ably caused by thrashing.

On Wednesday, the policehad claimed that the couplewere in love. “The girl’s mar-riage was settled by her fam-ily and she was to be weddedto a youth in the months tocome. Her marriage was set-tled earlier also but Ranjeettalked to her fiance and dis-closed his affair with the girl.After this, her marriage wascancelled,” the police hadsaid on Wednesday.

The Malihabad SHO haddiscounted the theory of hon-our killing, saying no suchevidence or inputs wereobtained during probe.

Forensic team to examine bruises on couple’s bodies

Muslims offering prayers before breaking their fast on the third day of Ramzan, at Darulshafa on Thursday Pioneer

LDA re-designs layout plan for Gomti Nagar Extn

Toppers felicitated at Unity College

Boat found in Chhattar Manzilto be showcased at museum

Divisional Commissioner Anil Garg presiding over a meeting on Thursday Pioneer

India’s image has

improved on global

front: Anupriya

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n ALLAHABAD

The Union Minister of Statefor Health and Family

Welfare, Anupriya Patel, saidunder the able leadership ofPrime Minister, Narendra Modi,India’s image had improved onthe global front. Addressing arally in Kahali village ofMauaima, she also made anappeal to support the BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP) candidateKeshari Devi Patel, from thePhulpur seat. Patel said it wasbecause of Modi’s leadershipqualities and the pressure exert-ed by him that United Nationstermed Masood Azhar as aglobal terrorist which was a bigdiplomatic victory for India.The Union Minister also raisedslogans and asked the voters tovote for a strong party. TheMLA from Soraon, Dr JamunaPrasad Saroj, said that the BJPalong with its allied parties likethe Apna Dal (S) had formed aprogressive government.Thereafter, Anupriya Pateladdressed a gathering at a sep-arate rally in Karchhana alsowhere she appealed to the peo-ple to support the BJP candidatefrom the Allahabad seat, RitaBahuguna Joshi.

Prayagraj (popularly knownas Allahabad) district has twoparliamentary seats. One ofthem is Phulpur. From thisvery seat Pandit JawaharlalNehru, the country’s first PrimeMinister, was elected MP threetimes after independence. Afterhis demise on May 27, 1964, hissister, Vijaylakshmi Pandit,emerged victorious in the by-election from here. She won asecond consecutive victory inthe 1967 general election.

The Congress candidateswon seven times in the 16 gen-eral and three byelections heldso far in this constituency. TheCongress won five consecutiveterms right from 1951 to 1967.It also won in the 1971 and 1984elections. Besides, the SocialistParty won the by-election in1969. In 1977 the Bharatiya LokDal, Janata Dal (Secular) in

1980, the Janata Dal’s candidatewon for two consecutive termsfrom here while the SP won theelections held here from 1996 to2004 four times consecutively.

The BSP won this seat forthe first time in the 2009 elec-tions while the BJP emerged vic-torious for the first time in the2014 elections. Keshav PrasadMaurya, who was elected an MPin 2014, resigned after becom-ing Deputy Chief Minister ofUttar Pradesh. In the byelectionheld in 2018 here, the SP man-aged to grab this seat again.Nagendra Singh Patel won thebyelections from here. The fig-ures of Phulpur Lok Sabha seatduring the Lok Sabha elections2014: Sitting MP: NagendraSingh Patel (SP), winning mar-gin: 59,460 votes. In secondplace: Kushendra Singh Patel,BJP. The total voters in the 2018by election: 19,63,543. Thenumber of male voters:10,79,184 and female voters:8,84,161.

ROADSHOW BY DIMPLEYADAV, OTHERS TODAY

Dimple Yadav, MP fromKannauj and wife of formerChief Minister, Akhilesh Yadav,film star and Rajya Sabha mem-ber, Jaya Bachchan, and the SPcandidate from Lucknow seat,Poonam Sinha, will organise aroadshow in Allahabad onFriday. The roadshow will beheld by the trio in support of theSP- BSP alliance candidatescontesting from the twin parlia-mentary constituencies ofPhulpur and Allahabad, includ-ing Pandhari Yadav andRajendra Singh Patel respective-ly. Samajwadi Party statespokesman KK Srivastava saidthat the roadshow would beorganised in the urban areas ofAllahabad and Phulpur parlia-mentary constituencies in whichthe star campaigners wouldhighlight the damage done bythe Modi government in thestate and the country, while urg-ing voters to unite and back thealliance candidates on both theseats.

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | MAY 10, 2019 nation 05

PTI n NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court onThursday dismissed a

plea seeking direction to theCentre and the ElectionCommission to debar CongressPresident Rahul Gandhi fromcontesting Lok Sabha electionstill the issue of his citizenshipis decided.

A bench headed by ChiefJustice Ranjan Gogoi rejectedthe contention of the petition-ers, who said that in a formalong with the annual data ofa UK-based company in 2005-06, it was allegedly mentionedthat Rahul Gandhi is a Britishcitizen.

“If some company in someform mentions his nationalityas British, does he become aBritish citizen,” the bench alsocomprising Justices DeepakGupta and Sanjiv Khanna toldthe petitioners.

The plea had said that thepetitioners were “dissatisfied”with the “inaction” of theCentre and the poll panel in“deciding the question of vol-untary acquisition of Britishcitizenship” by Gandhi in spiteof a November 2015 commu-nication by BJP leaderSubramanian Swamy in thisregard.

The petitioners — JaiBhagwan Goyal and C P Tyagi— had alleged that since primafacie evidence in this regard hasbeen produced before theHome Ministry and the EC,Gandhi should not have been allowed to contest theongoing Lok Sabha electionsfrom Parliamentary con-stituencies he has decided to —Amethi in Utter Pradesh and

Wayanad in Kerala.The plea, filed by

advocate Barun Kumar Sinha,had also sought a direction tothe EC to remove Gandhi’sname from “electoral roll till thedecision of the question ofacquisition of his British citi-zenship”.

In a recent letter to Gandhi,the Home Ministry had said ithas received a representationfrom Swamy in which it hasbeen brought out that a com-

pany named Backops Limitedwas registered in the United Kingdom in 2003 withRahul Gandhi as one of itsdirectors.

The Home Ministry hadsaid Swamy’s letter mentionedthat in the British company’sannual returns filed on October10, 2005 and October 31, 2006,Rahul’s date of birth has beengiven as June 19, 1970 and haddeclared his nationality asBritish.

SC junks plea seeking direction todebar RaGa from contesting polls

PTI n NEW DELHI

The Supreme CourtThursday rejected sacked

BSF jawan Tej Bahadur Yadav’splea challenging the ElectionCommission’s decision toreject his nomination papersfrom Varanasi Lok Sabha seatto contest against PrimeMinister Narendra Modi.

A bench headed by ChiefJustice Ranjan Gogoi said, “We do not find anygrounds to entertain the pleaof Yadav.”

Yadav had moved the topcourt challenging the decisionof Returning Officer (RO) toreject his nomination papersfrom Varanasi Lok Sabha seat,saying it was intended to “givewalkover” to PM Modi.

Senior advocate RakeshDwivedi, appearing for theElection Commission, referred

to various apex court judgments and said election petitions can only befiled after polls are over as itwould vitiate the electoralprocess.

Advocate PrashantBhushan, appearing for Yadav,said that as per earlier verdictof the apex court, the electionpetition can be filed duringenforcement of the ModelCode of Conduct (MCC).

At the fag end of the hear-ing, Bhushan sought libertyfrom the court to file an elec-tion petition after polling isover.

“We have done what wecould have done. We find nogrounds to entertain this peti-tion,” the court said.

The top court hadWednesday asked the pollpanel to examine grievances ofYadav.

Plea of sacked BSF jawan Tej over cancellation ofnomination dismissed

PNS n NEW DELHI

With two rounds of pollingleft, the BJP on Thursday

stepped up its offensive againstthe ‘first family’ of theCongress by reiterating PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’s alle-gations that former PM RajivGandhi misused INS Viraat fora family vacation. At the sametime, the BJP also questionedCongress’ ‘NYAY’ scheme inthe backdrop of its “ low cred-ibility” in practicing what itpreaches.

Going hammer and tongsagainst Congress, BJP leaderArun Jaitley said while“Kaamdars” (self-made hard-working like Modi) used India’snaval fleet to strike at terror,“naamdars” (dynast like Rajiv)used them for personal reasons.

Modi, during an electionrally on Wednesday, hadaccused Rajiv and his family ofusing warship INS Viraat as its “personal taxi” for a holidaywhen Rajiv Gandhi was India’s prime minister between1984-89.

In a separate tweet, Jaitleysaid that the Congress whichhad blamed DMK for Rajiv’sassassination has now tied upwith the regional party inTamil Nadu during the ongo-ing general election. RajivGandhi was assassinated onMay 21, 1991, atSriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu.

“From December 1990till May 1991, when Shri RajivGandhi was assassinated, theCongress Party-supportedChandra Shekhar governmentwas in power. “From May 1991till 2004, the Congress blamedits present ally the DMK forShri Rajiv Gandhi’s assassina-tion. It even withdrew support

from the United Front gov-ernment on this ground. 28years later, today a desperateCongress has discovered a BJProle,” Jaitley said.

Jaitley’s remark came inresponse to senior Congressleader Ahmed Patel’s assertionthat the BJP-backed V P Singhgovernment had refused toprovide Rajiv Gandhi withadditional security and left theformer prime minister withone PSO despite credible intel-ligence inputs and repeatedrequests

The BJP, for its part, allegedthrough its official Twitter han-dle that it was on the instruc-

tion of Rajiv Gandhi that the1984 anti-Sikh riots happened.

Senior BJP leader NitinGadkari too alleged thatCongress has lost all political credibility when itcomes to addressing the issueof poverty.

Gadkari took a dig atRahul’s proposed “Nyay”scheme by invoking Congressprime ministers, who, heclaimed, had vowed to eradi-cate poverty and failed.

Addressing a press confer-ence, Gadkari further allegedthat the Congress had deliber-ately created “fear” in the mindsof the minorities to divert atten-

tion from performance, workand development, which shouldhave been the issues in theongoing Lok Sabha election.

“The Congress has nocredibility. After 1947, (thenprime inister Jawaharlal) Nehrusaid he will remove poverty.Then Indira Gandhi said this.She used the slogan of remov-ing poverty and won elec-tions), but poverty did not go.Then Rajiv Gandhi repeatedthat, then Sonia Gandhi andthen Manmohan Singh, butpoverty did not go.

“Now, even Panditji’s(Nehru) great-grandson is say-ing the same thing. If he

(Congress chief Rahul Gandhi)will remove poverty by givingRs 72,000, then what did PanditNehru, Indira Gandhi,Manmohan Singh do? That iswhy the political credibility ofthe Congress in removingpoverty has ended,” he said.

He further alleged that theCongress had a history of injus-tice and since 1947, it had beenresponsible for “wrong eco-nomic policies, bad and cor-rupt governance and visionlessleadership”.

“So, ‘Nyay’ will not happen,because with justice, the persondoling it out should also betrustworthy,” he said.

Gadkari also lashed out atthe opposition party for theabuse it had meted out toModi during its poll campaignand said he had a list of 56 suchabuses.

“One, fear is their biggestcapital. Create fear in the mindsof Dalits, minorities, SCs andSTs. Two, ensure that a discus-sion on the work done in fiveyears, which had not happenedin 50 years, does not takeplace. If the discussion revolvesaround development, then theyknow they will be in trouble,”he said.

“Last time during theKumbh, the prime minister ofMauritius could not go for abath in the Ganga.... This time,20 crore people visited theKumbh and took bath in theriver. For the first time, theGanga was pure and clean.

“We did what we promised.We made the waterways andthat is why (Congress leader)Priyanka (Gandhi Vadra) couldtravel from Prayagraj toVaranasi on a boat while abus-ing us continuously,” he saidhitting out at them.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Congress on Thursdayaccused Prime Minister

Narendra Modi of makingIndian Air Force (IAF) jets his“own taxi” and paying “as lowas” `744 for using IAF aircraftfor election trips. The grand oldparty also hit back at Modi foralleging that the late RajivGandhi used INS Viraat as“personal taxi” on a familyvacation, saying he is a “serialliar” who does not have thecourage to fight elections onissues such as unemploymentand demonetisation.

Citing a media report basedon facts from a RTI, Congress’chief spokesperson RandeepSurjewala said, ruling party at

Centre BJP paid a total of `1.4crore to the IAF for 240 “non-official domestic trips” made byModi since the start of histenure as prime minister tillJanuary 2019.

“In some cases, the amountpaid seemed to be quite low. Forexample, the BJP paid `744 fora ‘H/P Balangir-H/PPatharchera’ trip by Modi onJanuary 15, 2019,” Surjewalaclaimed about the news report.

“Distraction and fakery isyour last resort. You have madeIndian Air Force jets your ownTaxi! You have paid as low as`744 for using IAF jets forelection trips!” Surjewala said.

In an apparent reference toModi’s allegation that the latePM Rajiv Gandhi used INS

Viraat as a “personal taxi” on afamily vacation, the party point-ed that a scared Modi is nowshamelessly pointing fingers onothers.

A day after Modi accusedlate PM Rajiv Gandhi of usingwarship INS Viraat as a “per-sonal taxi” for a family holiday,Congress alleged that PrimeMinister is spreading canardsand lies during elections and

said it proves his “imminentdefeat”.

Congress’ social mediastrategist Divya Spandanaslammed Modi for allegedlytaking Canadian citizen AkshayKumar with him onboardIndian Navy warship Sumitra.Her attack on Modi came a dayafter he accused late primeminister Rajiv Gandhi of usingwarship INS Viraat as a “per-sonal taxi” for a family holiday.

Congress leader and RajyaSabha member AbhishekSinghvi alleged that PM Modiwas spreading disinformationand lies about former PrimeMinister Rajiv Gandhi takinghis family on INS Viraat whenhe was in office and quoted for-mer Navy chief Admiral (Retd)

L Ramdas and other Naval offi-cers of the time said that Gandhiwas on an official visit then.

Congress accused Modi of“demeaning” the office of PrimeMinister and said “you haveregressed far from progressing”.He asked what relation doesRajiv Gandhi’s visit to a Navalship have “in 2019, to the issueof jobs he promised in the airand to agricultural distress ordemonetisation which crushedour MSMEs”.

Singhvi also said that peo-ple know when a party revivesa citizenship issue in the mid-dle of elections after five yearsin power, “without a shred oflegal or factual finding againstCongress President RahulGandhi, it is only proving their

own frustration on knowingtheir defeat”.

Singhvi said the BJPattacked former PM RajivGandhi on Bofors omitting toeven mention about the 2004judgement, which the BJP neverappealed. In 2018, the case wasdismissed by the SupremeCourt.

Senior Congress leaderAhmed Patel said abusing amartyred Prime Minister is thesign of “ultimate cowardice”.“Rajiv ji lost his life due to theirhatred and is no longer hereamongst us to answer the base-less allegations and abuseswhich are being unleashed onhim. Abusing a martyred PrimeMinister is the sign of ultimatecowardice,” Patel tweeted.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Election Commission(EC) has allowed Congress

president Rahul Gandhi tosubmit his respond till Friday on a show-cause noticeissued to him over his remarkthat the Narendra ModiGovernment had enacted anew law that allowed tribals tobe shot at.

On Tuesday, Rahul hadsought time till the weekend torespond to the notice. TheCongress chief had sought timetill May 7 to respond to thenotice, following which theEC had granted him an exten-sion last Friday.

Citing his speech in Sh-ahdol, Madhya Pradesh on April23, the EC had, on May 1, issuedthe show-cause notice to Rahul, highlighting a provision of theModel Code of Conduct thatbarred “unverified” allegationsagainst political opponents andasked him to submit responsewithin 48 hours.

However, it extended thedeadline to Tuesday on hisappeal. The notice has beenissued based on allegationsthat during the impugnedspeech, the Congress chief saidthat Narendra Modi hadbrought in a new law underwhich tribal people could beshot at.

Rahul gets time to submitrespond to EC notice

BJP questions Cong's NYAY

Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves at supporters during an election campaign rally from Bankura seat Subhas Sarkar for LokSabha polls in Bankura on Thursday PTI

PTI n NEW DELHI

Rejecting the Government’sobjections, the Supreme

Court Collegium has reiterat-ed its recommendation to ele-vate Justices Aniruddha Boseand AS Bopanna to the apexcourt, observing that nothingadverse has been found regard-ing their competence, conductor integrity.

The collegium has alsorecommended names ofJustices BR Gavai and SuryaKant for elevation to the apexcourt.

The two resolutions of theCollegium were made publicon the apex court’s website onThursday.

The 5-member Collegiumheaded by Chief Justice RanjanGogoi had met on Wednesdayand deliberated on the issue ofelevation of the four high courtjudges.

“In view of the above, ondue consideration of all aspectsmentioned in the file, theCollegium resolves to reiterate

the aforementioned recom-mendation dated 12th April,2019, especially since nothingadverse regarding competence,conduct or integrity of JusticesAniruddha Bose, and A SBopanna, has been pointedout,” the Collegium said in itsMay 8 resolution.

The government had ear-lier returned the names of thetwo judges, citing seniorityand representation of regions asthe reasons.

Justice Bose, whose parenthigh court is Calcutta, is theChief Justice of JharkhandHigh Court and is at number12 in all-India seniority ofjudges.

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

The government hadreturned Justice Bose’s name tothe Collegium last year as wellwhen he was recommended tohead the Delhi high court.

Justice Gavai is a judge of

the Bombay High Court andJustice Kant is the incumbentChief Justice of the HimachalPradesh High Court.

“While recommending thenames of Justice B R Gavai andSurya Kant, the Collegium hastaken into consideration com-bined seniority on all-India

basis of Chief Justices andsenior puisne Judges of HighCourts, apart from their com-petence, conduct and integri-ty,” said the Collegium, alsocomprising Justices S A Bobde,NV Ramana, Arun Mishra andRF Nariman, in its May 8 res-olution.

SC Collegium recommends Justice Bose, Bopanna for elevation

PTI n NEW DELHI

The Centre misled andplayed fraud upon the

apex court to obtainfavourable order in the Rafalefighter jet case last December,former Union ministersYashwant Sinha and ArunShourie and activist lawyerPrashant Bhushan claimed in

the Supreme Court onThursday.

In a rejoinder affidavitfiled in the apex court, theysaid the December 14 verdictin the Rafale case should bereviewed as the judgement wasobtained through “multiplefalsehoods and suppressionof material and relevant infor-mation”.

Govt played fraud upon courtto obtain favourable Rafaleverdict, petitioners claim in SC

PTI n NEW DELHI

Nearly 1,200 officers ofIndian Police Service (IPS)

have come under the scannerof the Home Ministry for non-performance, an official saidThursday.

The ministry has reviewedservice records of a total of1,181 IPS officers in the pastthree years to check deadwoodfrom the Government, he said,adding the numbers of officerunder the lens could go up assuch a review is a continuousprocess.

The review of service records was carried outunder Rule 16 (3) of All IndiaServices (Death-cum-Retirement Benefits ) Rules,1958 during 2016 and 2018 tocheck non-performers, the offi-cial said.

Nearly 1,200 IPSofficers underscanner for non-performance

PNS n NEW DELHI

Denying any discriminationagainst the southern State,

Union Minister for RoadTransport and Highways NitinGadkari on Thursday said thatan order that virtually stalled allhighway development works inKerala had been revoked.

His remarks came amidstallegations from Kerala chiefminister Pinarayi Vijayan thatthe move was “politically moti-vated”.

Vijayan had claimed thatthe National HighwaysAuthority of India (NHAI), aspart of its policy guidelinesissued on April 15, had cate-gorised highway projects into

“high priority-1” and “highpriority-2”, placing the state inthe second category.

The CPI(M) leader hadalso said the NHAI had issueddirections to all its regionaloffices to suspend the landacquisition process of all pro-jects under the “priority-2”category.

“The notification has beencancelled. There is no dis-crimination against Kerala.The problem in Kerala is thatthe cost of land acquisition isvery high and there are hous-es on the roadside.

So road widening is anissue and this is Kerala’s biggestproblem.

“The Kerala chief minister

and I sat together and decidedthat whatever the cost for thedevelopment of the state, wewould have to do it. This pri-ority 1 and priority 2 is wrongnews.

All the Bharatmala projectsare underway and detailedproject reports will be made.There will be no injusticetowards Kerala. Clarificationfor the same will be issued onFriday,” Gadkari said.

He added that UnionTourism Minister AlphonsKannanthanam, who hailedfrom the southern state, hadexplained the situation to himand he had also spoken to the NHAI chairman on theissue.

The NHAI had earlierasked the Left DemocraticFront (LDF) Government inKerala to stop the land acqui-sition process for the expansionof National Highway 66.Following the order, the workhad to be stopped all over thestate except in Kasaragod.

Only the Thalapady-Chengala and the Chengala-Neeleswaram stretches inKasaragod district come underthe “priority-1” category.

The political row over thestalling of projects has beengoing on for some time. TheCommunist Party of India(Marxist) had accused KeralaBJP chief Sreedharan Pillai oftrying to derail the projects.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Drafted last August, the pol-icy for prevention and

control of Hemoglobinopathies— Thalassemia, Sickle CellDisease and variantHemoglobins — is all set to seelight of the day within the nextfortnight, paving the way forthe much-needed geneticscreening of all pregnantwomen to prevent the inherit-ed disorders.

The enforcement of thenational policy would alsoensure putting in placeadvanced facilities for com-prehensive care of such patientsbesides making provision ofmedicines, including iron

chelating agents, leukocyte fil-ters and infusion pumps free ofcost to the poor patients.

Sources in the UnionHealth Ministry said that theStates have been consulted inthe matter and almost all are onthe same page, infact manyhave already started strength-ening existing public healthfacilities for patients withhemoglobinopathies.

A day after the WorldThalassaemia Day, experts saidthat India is the Thalassaemiacapital of the world with 40million carriers and over1,00,000 thalassaemia majorsunder blood transfusion everymonth.

Experts said that a bone

marrow transplant (BMT) canhelp them live a healthy andnormal life. More important isCarrier Genetic Test (CGT), asproposed in the policy, that canbe conducted before pregnan-cy, which can help make out ifthe baby will stand the risk ofhaving any of the serious dis-eases including thalassemia,they adds.

“The blood transfusionprocess these patients dothrough now and then ispainful and expensive. The lifeexpectancy of these patients isgenerally not more than 25 to30 years.

But if they find an HLAMatched Unrelated Blood StemDonor and get a bone marrow

transplant (BMT), they canlive a healthy and normal life,”said Dr Nezih Cereb, Co-founder, and Chairperson ofDATRI.

Cereb further informedthat while a blood stem celltransplant provides the onlyhope for a cure and normal lifefor Thalassemia patients, not allof them have an eligible fami-ly blood stem cell donor.

He said that his organiza-tion has already joined handswith various Thalassemia asso-ciations across India and hasappealed to masses to comeforward and register as a vol-unteer Blood Stem Cell donorto save the lives of ThalassemiaChildren.

Notification stalling highway works in Kerala revoked: Gadkari

Policy on thalassemia all set to see light

Former IAS officer of Punjab cadre, SS Channy, joins BJP in presence of Union Minister Nitin Gadkari ANI

Modi has made IAF jets his taxi, pays `744: Cong

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | MAY 10, 2019 06

PNS n PATNA

Actor-turned-politicianShatrughan Sinha, who

quit BJP and joined theCongress, on Thursday lashedout at the saffron party overreports in a section of themedia that party presidentAmit Shahs proposed road-show here later this week wouldshow him his aukaat (worth).

Shah is scheduled to holda roadshow on Saturdayevening. It is slated to com-mence from Kadam Kuanlocality, where Sinhas ancestralhouse is situated and criss-crossseveral narrow streets in dense-ly populated localities beforeconcluding near the historicGandhi Maidan.

“I have heard that Shah iscoming to Patna. He is wel-come as every guest is. Hewould be served tea and alsopakodas which he and his ilk

seem to be very fond of, “Sinha, also called ‘Shotgun’,said in an obvious dig at PrimeMinister Narendra Modi.

The prime minister whilereplying to complaints of jobcrisis, had said that selling frit-ters should also be seen as anemployment. But I have learntthat some people say he is com-ing here to show me my aukaat(worth). This is going to back-fire. Seems the BJP has notlearnt its lessons from theassembly polls of 2015 whenthe DNA remark (by the primeminister) had cost the NDAdearly, he told PTI here.

Modi, while attackingNitish Kumar at a rally inMuzaffarpur in July 2015 aheadof the Bihar assembly polls hadsaid that it seemed that therewas some problem with NitishKumars DNA, referring to thefrequent change of politicalallegiance of Nitish Kumar. The

BJP had lost the election andKumar had gone on to form thegovernment along with alliesRJD and the Congress.

They (BJP) are once againinsulting a dharti putra (son ofthe soil). The people of Biharin general and Patna in partic-ular have been hurt and theywill give a befitting reply on theday of polling, said Sinha, whoquit the BJP last month and is

now seeking to retain PatnaSahib on a Congress ticket.

When senior BJP leaderand Bihar minister Nand KishoreYadav had announced Shahsprogramme at a press conferencehere Wednesday, questions wereraised as to whether the startingpoint has been decided to teaseSinha since there are many widerstreets which could have beenchosen.

Yadav, who represents oneof the Assembly segmentsfalling under Patna Sahib, haddismissed the questions sayingWho cares about the Congresscandidate without mentioningSinha by name. Reports havesurfaced in a section of themedia here quoting BJPsources that the route has beendeliberately chosen to showSinha, who had been critical ofthe leadership of Modi andShah even while within the BJP,his aukaat (worth).

PTI n SANJARPUR

People in this Muslim-dom-inated village in Azamgarh

district, which hogged thelimelight as a “terror hub” afterthe 2008 Batla Houseencounter in Delhi against sus-pected Indian Mujahideen ter-rorists, do not have any expec-tations from politicians.

They just want to get rid ofthe ‘terror tag’ on their village.In the encounter, two suspect-ed terrorists, Atif Amin andMohamed Sajid were killedand two other suspects MohdSaif, Salman and Arif werearrested. All of them belong toSanjarpur village, which is over25 km from the Azamgarh dis-trict headquarters.“We want to get rid of the ter-ror tag on our village that hasbeen given by the media afterthe Batla House encounter. Wedon’t have any expectations

from politicians who come andgo. There are no issues beforeus but we only want authoritiesto ensure release of innocentyouths caught by security agen-cies,” Mohammad Shadab aliasMister, whose son Saif is lodgedin Jaipur jail, told PTI.

He said when accused ofSamjhauta Express andMalegaon blasts have been setfree for lack of any proof, the“innocent” youths arrestedfrom their village “should alsoget the similar justice.” AboutSaif ’s involvement, his fathersaid, “Undoubtedly he is inno-cent. The case is going on.There is no eye witness. All thewitnesses are policemen. Thematter should be raised bypoliticians contesting polls. Weare waiting for justice.”

In the chargesheet, policeclaimed Mohd Saif was alsopresent in the flat in which theBatla House encounter took

place on September 19, 2008, inthe national Capital.

The prosecution claimedSaif had disclosed he wasinvolved in causing serial blastsin the national Capital onSeptember 13, 2008, in which26 people were killed and 135injured. Tariq Shafiq, a localand founder member of RihaiManch, said the village will beexercising their franchise toelect it’s representative expect-ing they will do something.About their choice in the ongoing polls, he said, “We willvote for the less harmful onethough no one has yet taken upthe cause of the youths of thisvillage. Everytime electionscome, politicians and mediavisit us but no one really comesfor the help.”

“The people here neverexpected such an allegation andlabel of terror on our village.We are fighting and what if one

day all the youths are acquitted?How and who will they returntheir golden years,” Tariq asked.

After 2009, politicians likeSamajwadi Party founderMulayam Singh Yadav, ShivpalYadav, Congress leaderDigvijay Singh and others vis-ited the village promising totake up the case, but nothinghappened and stigmaremained, he said.

For social activistMahisuddin Sanjari, “no onetakes politicians seriously here.There are no issues here. Thereis an undercurrent of pro- andanti-Narendra Modi on whichvoting will be done”.

When asked about ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath’sstatement that Azamgarh wasmade terror hub by the SP,Sanjari said, “Attempts areunderway to polarise voters.But there is no reaction here aspeople have faced a lot and seen

real face of politicians”.“We have learnt a lot in the past11 years with our experience.We know that we can get jus-tice from legal fight,” he says.Legendary Urdu poet KaifiAzmi was born in this district.His actor-daughter ShabanaAzmi is developing his birth-place Mizwaan. The area is alsofamous for the Shibli College,which was set up beforeIndependence.

Sanjarpur is a big villagewith over 6,000 voters includ-ing Muslims, Dalits, Yadavs andGutpas. The village has a pri-mary madarsa, a Government-run primary school and juniorhigh school, a primary healthcentre and recently some roadswere made by local MLA, vil-lagers said.

Rashtriya Ulema CouncilPresident Maulana AamirRashadi, who organisedprotests in national and State

capital as he took people fromhere on train said, “The inno-cent youths’ release will paveway for removing the stigma.Our demand for unbiasedprobe remains.”

Azamgarh Lok Sabha con-stituency goes to polls on May12 in the sixth phase of voting,with SP chief Akhilesh Yadavtrying to retain his father’s seat.

PTI n BANKURA/PURULIA

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Thursday said

West Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee is insultingthe Constitution by saying thatshe is not ready to accept himas the Prime Minister of thecountry. Addressing an electionrally at Bankura, Modi said“Didi (Banerjee) is publiclysaying that she is not ready toaccept the country’s PM as thehead of the nation, but she feelsproud in acknowledingPakistan PM as that country’sPrime Minister.”

He said out of anxiety oflosing the general elections, theChief Minister is insulting theConstitution.

The PM said Banerjee hadnot received telephone callswhen he tried to contact her inthe aftermath of cyclone Fani.

“She did not take callsfrom me during the cyclone.The Central Governmentwanted to sit with officers ofthe state to discuss the situa-tion, but didi did not allow thattoo,” Modi said.

Banerjee had said in a rallyon May 6 that she does not

accept Narendra Modi as theprime minister of the countrydescribing him as the “expiryPM” and that she will talk tothe new Prime Minister afterthe election results.

“The Chief Minister is notinterested in the betterment ofthe State, but that of her fami-ly, nephew and tolabaj (extor-tionists) of her party,” the PMsaid. Modi said how much theTMC supremo is worried canbe understood by the languagebeing used by her. “She is nowtalking about stones and slapsagainst me,” the PM said.

“I am used to abuses, I havenow got the ability to digestabuses from dictionaries fromaround the world,” he said.

The PM claimed thatBanerjee has destroyed Bengalin her “lust for power” and nowshe is bent on destroying it fur-ther in the “fear” of losingpower. He said theGovernment of the state isbeing run by the TMC in nameonly, while the actual businessis conducted by the syndi-cates. He claimed that every-body — from teachers to intel-lectuals, businessmen to poorpeople — are in distress owing

to the rule of extortionists inthe State.

“Didi’s tolabaj are not leav-ing poor MNREGA workers,the extortionists are even tak-ing away their job cards,” Modisaid. He said the Centre sendsmoney so that people get foodgrains at low prices, but theseare also being looted by theextortionists of TMC.

He alleged that TMC lead-ers are making money fromopen cast coal mines, whilelabourers are not getting theirwages. “Didi gets angry whenwhen Modi talks of these atroc-ities of TMC, but Modi is notworried about her anger,because the love of 130 crorepopulace of the country iswith him,” the PM said.

He said the Chief Ministershould rather be worried aboutthe anger of those who wereduped by chitfund companies,young people who are joblessdespite being qualified andGovernment employees whoare not getting adequate DAand salaries. He claimed thatBanerjee “should worry aboutthe Kali, Durga bhakts in thestate who have to perform pujawith fear in their minds.”

Mamata insulting Constitution bynot accepting me as PM: Modi

PTI n MEDINIPUR/JHARGRAM

In the former Maoist strong-hold of Jangalmahal in West

Bengal, it is the substantial vote-bank of the Left Front, alongwith that of the far-Left parties,which is likely to push the BJPahead of the TMC in the 2019general election.

Once a formidable fort ofthe Left, Jhargram andMedinipur seats in Jangalmahalwere won by TrinamoolCongress in 2014. But discontentwith the ruling party in WestBengal is again sweeping theregion. Several people PTI spoketo alleged only those who areassociated with the TMC getbenefits of the programmes runby the Centre and the WestBengal Government. Otherssaid the State Government isapathetic to them and this hasled to a shift in the loyalty of vot-ers as the Left has reduced itself

to a minor player this election.The shift towards the BJP

has become more pronouncedin the past two years. InJhargram, BJP has won all for-mer Maoist strongholds inrecent polls. It won Lalgarh,Belpahari, Jamboni, Gopibal-lavpur, Nayagram and Sankrailgram panchayats.

“It is tragic, but true,” saidMohisho Mahato, once aCPI(ML) supporter in Lalgarhvillage in Jhargram district.

He said he will vote for theBJP. “The enemy of an enemy isa friend.” Both Jhargram andMedinipur, which go to polls onMay 12, form the Jangalmahalregion along with Bankura and

Purulia districts.Jhargram, traditionally a

Left bastion, was won by TMC’sUma Soren in 2014. Sorenwrested the seat from PulinBihari Baske of the CPM, end-ing the Left’s 42-year domina-tion. Medinipur seat was astronghold of the CPI until2014, when the TMC defeatedit. TMC’s Sandhya Roy defeat-ed CPI’s Probodh Panda, whohad represented the constituen-cy since 2001. Before Panda, theCPI held the Medinipur (gen-eral) seat since 1980. “Mostpeople here are basically far-Leftby ideology. We voted for TMClast time because we had to sur-vive. Things are different now. It

was literally a fight to stay alive,”Mahato said. In this election,TMC has nominated Congressdefector Manas Bhunia fromMedinipur. He is locked in aclose fight with BJP state presi-dent Dilip Ghosh.

In Jhargram, TMC has field-ed Beerbaha Soren and he islikely to find his match inCPI(M) candidate DeblinaHembram. The TMC candidatefrom Medinipur, Bhunia, how-ever doesn’t agree that people areupset with his party and says theinroads made by the BJP wasbecause the Congress and theLeft abdicated their responsi-bility. BJP’s Ghosh sees the saf-fron surge as the end of thebeginning of the TMC.

In Medinipur, a CPI(ML)leader said he understands thatLeft voters have nowhere to go,but he and his party are work-ing in interior areas to resurrectthe ideology.

In Jangalmahal, voters more inclined to BJPOnce a formidable fort of the Left, Jhargram and Medinipur seatsin Jangalmahal were won by Trinamool Congress in 2014. Butdiscontent with the ruling party in West Bengal is again sweepingthe region — the shift towards the BJP has become morepronounced in the past two years

Will show Shah his ‘aukaat’: Shotgun

Sanjarpur village in Azamgarh wants to shun ‘terror tag’

BJP supporters wear masks of Narendra Modi and wait for his arrival during an election campaign rally in Prayagraj onThursday AP

PTI n NEW DELHI

Congress president RahulGandhi on Thursday accused

the AAP of “opening doors” forNarendra Modi in the 2014 LokSabha polls and asserted that it isonly his party that can defeat theBJP.

Addressing a rally here, hissecond in four days in the nation-al Capital, Rahul said he acknowl-edges the Congress has mademistakes, but its intention is goodand the party does not promiseanything it cannot deliver.

Canvassing for his party’sEast Delhi candidate ArvinderSingh Lovely, he claimed thatPM Modi and Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal make promisesthat cannot be fulfilled.

“The Aam Aadmi Party gavea slogan (in 2014) ‘Arvind Kejriwalfor CM and Narendra Modi forPM’. The doors for NarendraModi were opened by the AAP,”Rahul said.

“One cannot hear the slogan‘chowkidar chor hai’ (the watchman is thethief) in the Aam Aadmi Party office,” hesaid. In his rally on Monday, Rahul had

held Kejriwal responsible for the failure ofalliance talks and claimed the AAP nation-al convener took a “u-turn” from an

agreed position and wanted a tie-upbeyond the national Capital.

Rahul also cited posters which read

Not AAP, only Cong can defeat Modi: Rahul

PTI n SIRSA

Congress president RahulGandhi on Thursday

renewed his attack over allegedcorruption in the Rafale air-craft deal, this time in responseto Narendra Modi calling hislate father and former PrimeMinister Rajiv Gandhi “bha-rashtachari No 1”.

He also took on the PrimeMinister over unemployment,taunting Modi for a remarkthat selling ‘pakodas’ is a jobworth doing. “If you have totalk about Rajiv Gandhi andabout me, do so definitely,”Rahul said at an election rally.

“But first explain what youhave done on the Rafale issue.You should also explain to thepeople your unkept promise of2 crore jobs for the youth,” hesaid.

“Did you give farmers theright price for their produce?

Did you put Rs 15 lakh intobank accounts?” the Congressleader said, claiming that theBJP government had not ful-filled its election promises.

Rahul said an “industrial-ist friend” of the prime minis-ter benefitted from the Rafaleagreement, a charge repeated-ly rejected by the Government.

He said the prime minis-ter who boasted of a “56-inchchest” is not talking aboutfarmers’ issues and unem-ployment during these elec-tions. In recent speeches, Modihas recalled Rajiv Gandhi’term as Prime Minister, refer-ring to corruption chargesagainst him and the alleged useof warship INS Viraat duringa family vacation.

He has also brought up theanti-Sikh riots around the timeRajiv Gandhi took over as primeminister after his mother IndiraGandhi’s assassination.

Talk about my father, but alsoexplain Rafale: RaGa to Modi

‘Hum kaam karte rahe, wohrokte rahe’ (we worked, theystalled), a reference to the turfwar between the DelhiGovernment and the Centre,and alleged when the AAP con-tested polls, it never highlight-ed this.

Taking on Kejriwal on thesealing issue, the Congresspresident said the Delhi ChiefMinister complained that hecannot do anything on sealing.

“You are in power. Smalltraders... Delhi’s backbonebeing broken, sealing is on. Youare the chief minister and yousay you cannot do anything?Congress had stopped this inParliament,” Rahul said.

Attacking Modi overdemonetisation and GSTimplementation, he said the“nationalist Narendra Modi”hurt the Indian economy.

Taking a dig, Rahulclaimed the PM reads from ateleprompter and this was dueto “fear” instilled by Congressworkers. “The Congress hasmade mistakes. I acknowledgethat. But our intentions are

clean. I didn’t make falsepromise of Rs 15 lakh in bankaccounts. I said Rs 3.60 lakh infive years. I won’t say I will giveyou Rs 15 lakh. Kill me, but Iwon’t say it. On the otherhand, Kejriwal and Modi havebeen making one false promiseafter another,” he said.

The Congress presidentsaid if his party is elected topower, it will implement theminimum income guaranteeNYAY scheme which willincrease the spending capac-ity of people and boost theeconomy. He also reiteratedthe promise of filling up 22lakh job vacancies in theGovernment sector, one of themain poll planks of his party.

The Congress, the BJPand the AAP are locked in athree-cornered contest inDelhi. Congress general sec-retary Priyanka Gandhi Vadrahad on Wednesday held road-shows in support of her party’sNorth East Delhi and SouthDelhi candidates SheilaDikshit and Vijender Singhrespectively.

SAPNA SINGH n NEW DELHI

Refuting allegation againsthim for distributing pam-

phlets, debutant Lok Sabhacandidate for East Delhi,Gautam Gambhir on Thursdaysaid he will file defamation caseagainst AAP. "You cannot tar-nish someone's image just likethat, if you don't have theproof. I have never given a neg-ative statement against anyoneso far in my election cam-paigning," said Gambhir.

Gambhir's reaction cameafter Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)contender, Atishi Marlena,broke down during the con-ference and said that Gambhiris responsible for spreadingsleazy and defamatory pam-phlets against her.

Notably, both Marlena andGambhir are contenders forEast Delhi Lok Sabha seat.

Pertinently, the pamphletmakes wild and defamatoryclaims about Marlena. The let-ter was circulated widely on

social media by various topAAP leaders and the party'sofficial account.

Gambhir, cricketer-turned-politician said, "If they (AAP)can get a proof, I'll resign rightnow and if they get a proof by23rd I'll resign on that day itself.But if Arvind Kejriwal does notget the proof, does he accept thechallenge that he will leave pol-itics forever on 23rd? "I declarethat if its proven that I did it, Iwill withdraw my candidatureright now. If not, will u quit pol-itics" Gambhir tweetedAddressing reporters in DelhiBJP State office, Gambhir saidthat I entered politics with goodintentions. "I live in the familyof five women, I will not playdirty politics," said Gambhir.

Supporting Gambhir,Major Surendra Poonia (retd)quoted Arvind Kejriwal's tweetand tweeted: Gautam Gambhiris a man with high moral val-ues n will never ever indulge issuch sinful pamphlet againstany1 incl Atishi Marlena.

Will sue AAP forpamphlet charge,says Gambhir

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | MAY 10, 2019

snippets

poll

CONG SEEKS JUDICIAL PROBE INTO KERALA BOGUS VOTINGWith a preliminary probe revealing bogus voting in the postal ballotsof police officials in Kerala, the Congress party on Thursdaydemanded a judicial inquiry into the matter while the state policechief ordered a full fledged investigation by the Crime Branch.Kerala’s Chief Electoral Officer Teeka Ram Meena, after goingthrough the preliminary report filed by Intelligence chief TKVinodkumar, asked Kerala Police chief Loknath Behra to givedirections for a detailed probe.

RE-POLLING IN 13 BOOTHS IN TN ON MAY 19 Repolling in 13 polling booths in Tamil Nadu on May 19 has beennecessitated as the presiding officers there forgot to format theEVMs and there were allegations of some people were not allowed tovote, the state Chief Electoral Officer said on Thursday. The presidingofficers in some polling booths forgot to clear the votes polled in theelectronic voting machines (EVM) during the mock polling heldbefore the actual polling or the entry in the voter verified paper audittrail (VVPAT), CEO Satyabrata Sahoo told media here. The ElectionCommission ordered re-poll in order to avoid confusion during thecounting of votes, he added.

BENGAL BJP DEMANDS CENTRAL FORCES AT ALL BOOTHSA BJP delegation approached the Election Commission (EC) onThursday seeking 100 per cent coverage by central forces of pollingbooths in West Bengal’s constituencies which are set to vote in thesixth phase on Sunday. “In view of violence in the last few phases ofthe Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal, we demand that 100 per centbooths should be covered and protected by the Central Armed PoliceForces (CAPF),” the BJP said in its complaint to the EC.

BJP TO LOSE POLLS UNLESS IT TAMPERS EVMS: GOGOIVeteran Congress leader Tarun Gogoi on Thursday claimed that theBJP has just one option to win this Lok Sabha election - that istampering the EVMs, which the opposition parties are fearing.Claiming that the saffron party will lose in Uttar Pradesh and otherstates in north and south India, the former Assam chief minister saidthe next government at the Centre will be formed with the support ofthe Congress.

‘VOTES CAST BY AGENTS’ LED TO REPOLLS IN TN: CEOVotes of elderly people getting cast by party agents and mock polldata not being cleared before commencement of election wereamong the factors for ordering repoll in 13 polling stations in TamilNadu on May 19, Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo saidThursday. In as many as eight booths falling under the DharmapuriLok Sabha constituency, it was proved beyond doubt that the pollingagents entered inside the voting compartment along with the voterson many occasions, he told reporters here, quoting the Dharmapuridistrict election officer.

OFFICIAL DENIES THREAT TO EVMS FROM RATSThere is no threat to safety and security of EVMs kept in thestrongroom in Mandi Samiti area here, District Magistrate SarvagyaRam Mishra asserted Thursday after a candidate raised concernsthat rats may damage them. Apprehending damage from therodents, Rashtriya Lok Dal’s Mathura candidate Narendra Singh,about a week ago, demanded wire mesh fencing around thestrongroom where the EVMs are stored. “EVMs kept in strongroomin Mandi Samiti are fully safe and there is no threat to them fromrats,” District Magistrate Mishra said after inspecting the strongroomin the area on three successive days.

07

IANS n KHARAGPUR

Andhra Pradesh ChiefMinister N Chandrababu

Naidu on Thursday hailed hisWest Bengal counterpartMamata Banerjee as a “Bengaltigress” and said she had“taught a lesson” to PrimeMinister Narendra Modi.

The Telugu Desam Party(TDP) chief attended Banerjee’selection rally in WestMidnapore district’s industrialcity of Kharagpur in support ofher party Trinamool Congress’Lok Sabha candidate ManasBhunia. “Prime Minister Modiis creating problems across thecountry but West Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee hastaught him a lesson. ‘Didi’ is aBengal tigress,” Naidu saidhere, speaking in Bengali whichevoked loud cheers from theTrinamool supporters.

He said West Bengal will

play an “important role” informing the new government atthe Centre after the 2019 pollresults. “I have come here fromAndhra Pradesh to meet youpeople. What Bengal thinks

today, the country thinkstomorrow. Bengal will play animportant role in this LokSabha election. You people willdecide who will come to powerat the Centre,” he added.

RAJESH KUMAR n NEW DELHI

In election season, when alleyes are either on the polling

or the counting day, little do peo-ple know that there’s an intricateand comprehensive exercisebefore the casting of the ballotsto ensure the polling staff,including the security personnel,are not left out of the biggestelectoral process in the world.

From jawans to schoolteachers to State Governmentemployees (polling duty staff),they all — called the ‘servicevoters — as their votes throughpostal ballot three or four daysbefore the date of polling.

According to EC, therehas been a substantial increasein the number of service vot-ers enrolled ahead of the 2019LokSabha elections as com-pared to 2014. As on May 6,when the fifth phase of LokSabha elections concluded,nearly 18 lakh employees hadenrolled as service voters. InFebruary this year, the EC hadsaid that a total of 16,62,993

service personnel have beenenrolled as Service Electors inthe country in the electoral roll2019. In 2014, the corre-sponding figure was 13,27,627.The Ministry of Defence ledwith 10,16,245 service voters,followed by the Ministry ofHome Affairs with 7,82,595and Ministry of ExternalAffairs with 3,539, according tothe latest data.

Postal ballot is a specialvoting arrangement for peoplewho are employed with thearmed forces, paramilitaryforces, diplomats residingabroad along with their spous-es and those whoare deployed onelection duty. Thepostal ballot is sentto the service voterwithin 24 hours ofthe withdrawal ofnomination papersin their particularconstituency. A pro-vision in theRepresentation f thePeople Act

(Amendment) Bill, 2017,passed by Lok Sabha and pend-ing in Rajya Sabha, relates tospouses of service voters. As ofnow, an armyman’s wife isentitled to be enrolled as a ser-

vice voter, buta womanarmy officer’shusband isnot.

Sources inEC said thatspecial train-ing camps areorganised topolling dutystaff to casttheir vote.

Those deployed on electionduty are handed over theirpostal ballots on the last day oftheir training for the elections.In some cases, EC organise spe-cial camp to polling staff to casttheir vote which is kept pro-tected in respective districtoffices.

For polling staff, the ECprovides ‘election duty certifi-cate’ which makes them to casttheir vote at its place of duty inthe area of same parliamentaryconstituency. If any employee isput on poll duty out of parlia-mentary constituency, he orshe belongs to the employee hasthe facility to cast postal ballot.

Polling duty staff is also con-sidered as service voters. Wherethe number of voters allotted toa polling station is thousand orless, the polling party will nor-mally consist of one PresidingOfficer and three polling officersand where the number of vot-ers exceeds one thousand, theparty will consist of a PresidingOfficer and four PollingOfficers.

While personnel of theArmed Forces, CentralArmed Police Forces and statepolice personnel deployedoutside their constituenciesare considered as service vot-ers. Diplomats and other sup-port staff serving in embassiesabroad are also service voters.According to EC, postal bal-lot papers is sent to the vot-ers 10 days before the pollsthrough Electronical lyTransmitted Postal BallotSystem (ETPBS).

Postal Ballots were trans-mitted electronically.ETPBShelps an entitled service voterto cast their vote using an

electronically received postalballot from anywhere outsidetheir constituency. The recipi-ent has to download and printthe ballot paper. After castingthe vote, the ballot paper can besent back as prescribed by theEC. This time, the postal bal-lot will be sent to the recordoffice of the respective servicevoter through ETPBS, unlike inpast elections when postal bal-lots were sent through post.Secrecy is maintained throughthe use of OTP and PIN and noduplication of castedElectronically TransmittedPostal Ballot (ETPB) is possi-ble due to the unique QR Code

EC officials said the system isbased on a relational databasewith registration and acceptance offorms for Service Voter. DeputyE l e c t i o nOfficer will assign the AssemblyConstituency to Service Voter,then the form will be displayed toElection Returning Officer(ERO)of that assembly constituency andERO will accept or reject or reas-sign the form.

Bihar Chief Minister and Janta Dal-United chief Nitish Kumar along with party’s Lok Sabha candidate Radha Mohan Singh, LJP Chief Ram Vilas Paswan and Bihar DeputyChief Minister Bihar Sushil Kumar Modi during an election campaign for Lok Sabha polls, at Motihari in East Champaran, on Thursday PTI

Mamata ‘Bengal tigress’, taughtlesson to Modi: Andhra CM

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu flashes victory sign as heparticipates in an election rally by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee,during the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, in Midnapore district, on Thursday PTI

Substantial rise in service voters: ECFrom jawans to schoolteachers to StateGovernment employees(polling duty staff), they all— called the ‘servicevoters — as their votesthrough postal ballot threeor four days before thedate of polling

VIRAAT BACKFIRES These ships were part of the

exercise and accompanied theaircraft carrier. Ramdas saidRajiv Gandhi and his wife did,of course visit some of theIslands on short trips by heli-copter to meet local officials, asalso the people there. “PrimeMinister is authorised to travelalong with his spouse by serviceaircraft on official duties. Fromwhat I know only Rajiv andSonia went ashore by helicopterand Rahul never accompaniedthem. During his visit toBangaram on the last day, a fewnaval divers had been sentashore for the Prime Minister’ssafety,” he said. Narrating thesequence of events, he said theseofficial meetings and functionswere in December 1987. Thewestern fleet had planned itsnaval exercises with the aircraftcarrier much in advance in theyearly exercise programme to beheld in that part of the ArabianSea. “This was an opportunity

for the officers and men tointeract with their PM. Headdressed the men, had ‘badakhana’ as per Naval custom. Ithen hosted a dinner for thePrime Minister that night. Andthere is a photograph to confirmthis,” he said. Rejecting thecharge that some ships weredeployed for personal use of theGandhi family, Ramdas said. “noships were specially diverted forthe personal use. Only one smallhelicopter was left at Kavratti tomeet any emergency medicalrequirements of the PM and hiswife,” he said.

AYODHYA MEDIATION...details of the mediation pro-ceedings. The top court hadfixed the seat for mediationprocess in Faizabad of UttarPradesh, around 7 km fromAyodhya, and said that the ade-quate arrangements includingthe venue of the mediation,place of stay of the mediators,their security, travel should be

forthwith arranged by the StateGovernment so that proceedingscould commence immediately.It had also directed that themediation proceedings be heldin-camera as per the normsapplicable to conduct the medi-ation proceedings. Fourteenappeals have been filed in theapex court against the 2010Allahabad High Court judg-ment, delivered in four civil suits,that the 2.77-acre land inAyodhya be partitioned equal-ly among the three parties --- theSunni Waqf Board, the NirmohiAkhara and Ram Lalla. OnDecember 6, 1992, the BabriMasjid, constructed at the dis-puted site in the 16th century byShia Muslim Mir Baqi, wasdemolished.

GAMBHIR ATISHIBAZI...have to fight against,” Kejriwaltweeted. Gambhir challengedAAP to have open debate andprove if these pamphlets werecirculated by him. “My

Challenge number 2 to@ArvindKejriwal and@AtishiAAP. I declare that if itsproven that I did it, I will with-draw my candidature right now.If not, will u quit politics?,” hetweeted. The BJP also refuted theallegation. “The BJP has noth-ing to do with the alleged pam-plets. AAP has no character andits notoriety about stage man-aging such things is well known.they can do anything like gettingtheir leaders slapped and dis-tribute scandalous pamplets tobe in the race for Lok Sabha elec-tions that they are badly losing,”said Nvon Kumar, BJP mediaincharge, East Delhi.

DON’T VOTE FOR...Azhar it is with us,” he said.

He claimed that the previous UPGovernment extended evenbasic facilities to people on thebasis of caste. “All this discrim-ination was stopped by ourGovernment which is workingon the motto of ‘Sabka saath

sabka vikas’,” he said. The PMclaimed that the local Bhojpuridialect and culture have got anidentity in the world in past fiveyears. He mentioned RaviKishan, Nirahua and ManojTewari — all of them BJP can-didates in the Lok Sabha elec-tions — among those who havehelped. “Bhojpuri cinema istoday available on the mobilephone, reaching the poorthrough YouTube,” he said.

The reason, he said, is thatsmartphones have becomecheaper as they are now made inthe country. Internet data is thecheapest in India, he claimed.“Because of the 2G scam, mobilephones were not within themeans of the common people,”he said recalling a UPA-eracontroversy. Buoyed by theturnout, Modi predicted that hisGovernment will return.“Wherever I go, I find a similarmood of ‘Phir ek baar...”, he said,as the crowd chanted back,“Modi sarkar.”

KUMAR CHELLAPPAN nCHENNAI

Tamil Nadu is witnessing anunprecedented water short-

age which has put the people insevere hardship. The acutedrought has resulted in lakes,ponds and water bodies sup-plying drinking water to thecapital city of Chennai gettingdried up. Housewives inChennai and suburban areaspat Rs 10 per plastic pot ofwater supplied by the localwater vendors. “In this hot andhumid condition, it is almostimpossible to think of takingdaily bath. It is a costly affair ndwe have rescheduled ourbathing to twice a week,” said MMeena, a Dalit activist residingat Indira Nagar in Adyar.

The month of May isdescribed as the season of AgniNakshathram (Tamil for theburning star) because of thehigh temperatures recorded inthe State. Mercury crossing the42 Degree Celsius mark is aroutine event during the AgniNakashatram days which lastthroughout the month of May.While the nouveau riche of thecity leave for places as far awayas Europe and the US to escapefrom the scorching sun, theupper middle class prefer placeslike Yercaud , Ootty andKodaikanal in the State itselfwhich offer salubrious weather.

The summer and the watershortage is certain to take aheavy toll in the State’s agri-culture , according to R V Giri,president, Consortium ofIndian Farmers’ Associations.“The farming operations for theshort term Kuruvai crop has tocommence in mid-June and itis certain that this year also wewill be forced to skip it,” saidGiri over telephone fromVirudachalam.

Tamil Nadu’s lifeline con-tinues to be River Kaveri whichoriginates in Karnataka andmeanders through the districtsof Tiruchirappalli, Thiruvarur,Thanjavur , Nagapattinam andCuddalore before getting dis-charged into the Bay of Bengal.“But Kaveri has dried up asthere is no water in its Tamil

Nadu stretch. You will beshocked to see the river as itwears the look of a desert,” saidKV Kannan, vice-president,Tamil Nadu Kavery DeltaFarmers Welfare Association.Kannan who was in the fore-front of the agitation for Kaveriwater has taken a sabbatical andauthored a book “River Kaveri,the Most Revered Yet the MostBattled” which is being releasedon Saturday.

Kannan says people inNorth India do not under-stand the reverence the river hasin the hearts of Tamil Nadufarmers. “I hope to make thepeople occupying major posi-tions in New deslhi to under-stand the significance of thisriver. There is sufficient waterin this river for the people ofKarnataka and Tamil Nadu toshare. But for the politicians,Kaveri is a vote bank,” Kannantold The Pioneer.

Even as the Monsoonrains fail Tamil Nadum yearafter year, nothing has beendone to ensure the equitabledistribution of Kaveri or tomake the farmers dependentless on this river. “Tamil Nadushould build a series of desali-nation plants along its EastCoast which would resolve thewater shortage in the State.There are high end desalplants which are energy effi-cient as well as eco friendly.The initial investment may behigh but you cannot expectanything free of cost,” saidSubramanian Swamy MP,who has been pressing theTamil Nadu government forsetting up desal plants alongthe Bay of Bengal cost.

The truth is that TamilNadu government does nothave the will power to take upsuch projects. “ We shouldhave out of the box ideas toaddress this situation which ispeculiar to this State. Butthere are many people whohave thrived because of thewater scarcity. The water lordsin Chennai, who own fleet ofwater tankers, laugh all theirway to the Banks because thegovernment has failed toaddress the issue,” said CDMeyyappan, Congress leader.

MOHIT KANDHARI n JAMMU

APakistani national, dis-charged from the Pak

Army, was captured by thealert jawans of the BorderSecurity Force (BSF) along theInternational border in Sambasector late Wednesday night .

Pakistani national, identi-fied as Mohd Afzal, S/O LiaqatAli was moving closer to bor-der outpost Bain Galad inSamba sector of Jammu fron-tier when alert jawans firstnoticed his suspicious move-ment in the area around 9 pm.

After maintaining a closevigil in the area and ruling outthe possibility of presence offew others BSF jawans of 80 Bnmanaged to capture him.

According to officialsources, “no weapon or anyother incriminating materialwas found from the possessionof Pakistani national.

BSF authorities only recov-ered his National Identity card,issued on March 21, 2018, twomobile phones and an ear plugfrom his possession”.

After carrying out prelimi-nary interrogation BSF author-ities had handed over his custodyto the Samba police late night.

Official sources said, “thepossibility that the Pak nation-al was planted by his handlersto carry out recee of the areabefore executing their nefariousdesigns cannot be completelyruled out”.

On Thursday, Sambapolice carried out further inter-rogation of Pakistani nationalto ascertain the motive behindhis presence close to theInternational border.

Senior Superintendent ofPolice, Samba Dr KoushalKumar told The Pioneer, “Atpresent we are interrogatinghim and verifying his state-ments”. Dr Kumar said, “in hispreliminary interrogationPakistani national is claiminghe wanted to see the borderarea and ventured in the areawhile listening to FM radio onhis mobile phone”. Dr Kumar

said, “when we checked hismobile phones we could nottrace any other number”. Hesaid, either he had deleted thenumbers before moving closerto the International border orthere is more to it.

SSP, Samba Dr KoushalKumar said, “PakistaniNational has also claimed dur-ing his interrogation that hewas discharged from thePakistani army on account ofhis ill mental health. We haveto verify all his claims in thedue course of time. We aregoing to watch him andobserve him for few more daysbefore making up our mind”, headded.

Meanwhile, Samba policealso took him for medicalexamination to the districthospital before starting hisinterrogation.

Former Pak Army official

captured by BSF jawans

National identity card of Pak nationalcaptured by BSF from Samba sector

According to officialsources, no weaponor any otherincriminatingmaterial was foundfrom the possessionof Pakistani national

TN writhes in AgniNakshathram asmercury crosses 42

o

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

In many ways, the Supreme Courtprobe panel’s summary dismissal ofthe sexual harassment charges againstthe Chief Justice of India (CJI) RanjanGogoi is but a natural corollary of the

presumptuous sexist attitude towards work-ing women in this country. A mindset thatsees them as encroachers in a so far restrict-ed space and, by virtue of laying claim to thatspace, considers them liberated and boldenough to bend all kinds of rules and worse,use feminine guile as a negotiation tool.Individually, the men may be endearing intheir wisdom of welcoming diversity, evenmaking a point in doing so. But collective-ly, there’s a beehive thinking that’s seareddeep enough and always doubts this other-ness. Worse sees it as a threat. And that’s sad.

A dipstick survey among men at anyworkplace shows a majority assigning someportion of the blame of sexual harassmentto the woman herself, often concluding thatsuch charges are nothing but the age-oldhoney trap ploy or cry wolf syndrome to getwhat she wants. Some even assume thatthese are extra-territorial relations gonewrong. Rarely would they agree that thepredatory attack comes from powerfulmen, who by virtue of their longer reign inauthority, or age, try to use the manipula-tive and primal hunter-tame strategy. It isalmost as if men in power are pre-ordainedto be morally invincible and not capable ofhuman frailty or monstrosity. Unless tempt-ed or trapped. Nobody looks at it as eitheropportunistic or situational from their end.And if they have a profitable career graph,that worth far outweighs a lone woman’s dig-nity.

It may sound incredulous but no mat-ter how many capable women have proventheir mettle, how many have broken theglass barrier or how many have brought theirunique skill sets and multi-tasking abilitiesto dynamic management, myths about awoman’s role and place in society areembedded far deeper in our cultural DNA.And a woman in a leadership role is eitherperceived as circumscribed by able maleadvisors (remember former Prime MinisterIndira Gandhi’s coterie) or almost a manherself (remember UK Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher). Working women aresubjected to unending innuendos and sup-positions and cannot get clemency from thismental stranglehold. So much so that somewomen play by the rules of the game andeven overturn them to suit their trajectory.That’s there, too, as a collateral damage ofthis uncodified warfare at the workplace.

That is why the day the allegationsagainst CJI Gogoi surfaced, there was a readyacceptance of his argument that it was a con-spiracy to “deactivate” his post on the eveof crucial verdicts and an attack on the insti-tution of the judiciary. In a case saddled withinequities — a rank junior court employeewho cannot take on the topmost office-bear-er as no legal framework applies to him

except impeachment — thecomplainant has already beenpre-judged regardless of hercourage to challenge a systemicshrine rather than an individual.And a litany of her past legalcases was bandied about forevery claim that she made aboutbeing punished and intimidat-ed for daring to stand up. Thenthe questions kept floatingaround: Why did she take somuch time to report this allegedmisbehaviour? Why did sherelease statements? What’s theprice of vilifying a CJI? Will shebe decimated in an out-of-court settlement? Why had notother women staffers seen thiscoming? Why should an edu-cated woman like her feel fright-ened and vulnerable if she is soempowered? Our line of ques-tioning has no empathy butonly discredits the victim’saccount and shows how we arehardwired to dismiss the allega-tions rather than probe them.As a society we are yet to buyinto the idea — in this case asin the others — that a womanmight be traumatised, threat-ened, ashamed and even outwit-ted by hostile circumstance.What is often disregarded is herfirst coming to terms with theviolation, getting over self-loathing and then taking thefight to the errant. That recon-

ciliation doesn’t often happenovernight. Especially when theoffender almost always happensto be familiar and legalitiesdemand specifics as to whenand how the line was crossed inintimate encounters. Then thereis the larger threat of her eco-nomic sustenance, the loss ofjob as a hitback strategy by themale superior on something aswhimsical as non-performanceor wrongdoing.

Undoubtedly, there is legalredress in the form of theSexual Harassment of Womenat Workplace (Prevention,Prohibition and Redressal) Act,2013, but even the prosecutionprocess needs to be free frombiases that are shaped by thecommon worldview. Anyinquiry process that does notmake the victim feel safe andsure is inherently flawed and notneutral. We may not realise buta formulaic who-where-what-why format and an accusatorytone seem to discredit the vic-tim’s account and automatical-ly prepare the ground for therejection of allegations.Particularly in a set-up whereboth the accused and com-plainant have been close and arenot strangers. What needs to belooked into is if the charges areverifiable, whether there is cor-roborative evidence and the

complainant’s willingness tosubject herself to a thoroughprobe. The complainant in theCJI case just wanted to do that,knowing full well that he could-n’t be subjected to existing legalstructures. All she wanted wasa level-playing field in theinquiry process with the pres-ence of her lawyer, a neutral,apolitical observer and a rightto a shared, not one-sided, pro-ceedings. It would be silly toassume that a woman wouldstake her entire reputation andcareer path to pursue a caselegally, at the cost of her limit-ed resources, only to wangle anout-of-court deal that couldhave been done informally any-way. It is because there arestereotypes that any inquiryprocess needs to be aboveboard, honouring the intendedspirit of the law. Even aroundthe world as here, any sexualharassment case automaticallyimplies that the complainant isassigned an advocate trained insexual assault cases, who may inturn lead her to more supportservices. An audio visualrecording is also desirable evenif not mandated. The most sig-nificant oddity about sexualharassment cases is that unlikeother investigations, the focus isnot on the offender but theaccuser, as if she is the one

whom motives can be ascribedto. The victim’s inconsistency orvulnerability always makesnews, not the offender’s trans-gressions. If we want true jus-tice, be it nailing the accused orexposing the fakery of the com-plainant, any judgement has tobe based on thorough investi-gations and procedural propri-ety rather than latent bias. Thelast is easy to give in to. But thenthat is not law. That is whatyoung women lawyers are say-ing in their silent campaign ofsending snail mail letters toSupreme Court judges fromacross the country with print-outs of the Sexual HarassmentAct.

And in their appeal onsocial media, they have point-ed to this very mindset ofassumption: “Independence ofthe judiciary was never envis-aged to mean a complete lack ofaccountability and existenceabove the law. For an institution,which is meant to be the saviourof the rights of all citizens andthe final interpreter of theConstitution, the judges of theSupreme Court of India have forfar too long gotten away withimpunity from charges of sex-ual harassment levelled againstthem.”

(The writer is AssociateEditor, The Pioneer)

When an Indian Air Force Antonov

careened off the runway at Mumbai

airport, it did not make the headlines

because of any fatalities as it thankfully sank

into the mud at the end of the stretch. Such

excursions are quite common and tens of

such incidents occur in India every year

(another one was reported from Surat just

last week). But the problem in Mumbai, India’s

second busiest airport, was that this runway

excursion meant that it effectively shut down

its primary runway. With the second one

shorter and only limited operations possible

from it, flights went for a toss. Mumbai is a prime example of a wholly inade-

quate airport, constrained by insufficient infrastructure and a lesson on how poor

planning and politics have led to lopsided development of the city. While the Mumbai

airport developer has done a great job in removing some of the slums around

the expanse, it is still, as a former civil aviation secretary said, “slumlocked”

with local politicians preventing the removal of many clusters that they treat as

captive vote banks. As a result, when the airport suffers a problem such as a

runway excursion, it effectively shuts down and sends flight schedules haywire.

But it need not have been that way. Mumbai is possibly the best example

of an urban metropolis making do with infrastructure that is wholly inadequate

and a failure of Indian policy-making, which almost always patches up require-

ments instead of planning ahead. India’s commercial capital needed a new

airport over a decade ago and while work continues on the Navi Mumbai Airport,

it will take another five years at the minimum to build. This has had a cumu-

lative negative impact on the economic growth of the entire Greater Mumbai

region. Aviation may be the preserve of a select few in India, although that

number is growing rapidly, but it has a major economic cascade. Delhi’s mas-

sive airport has played a critical role in supercharging the Delhi-NCR econo-

my. A second NCR airport in western Uttar Pradesh will have a dramatic impact

on that region as well. This should be a lesson on how planned infrastructure

can impact a city and how inadequate infrastructure can actually harm it. India

needs to continue building and developing aviation infrastructure, because it

has a multiplier impact on the economy of the nation. With the challenge of

creating jobs and employment opportunities, we should keep ensuring that

we are building enough for the future and not just enough to patch our needs

for now.

They say that the Sundarbans tiger is

the most intelligent among the big cat

family — it is an excellent swimmer,

an intuitive reader of the human mind and

behaviour, fiercely adaptive of its hostile

surroundings, extremely elusive, frighten-

ingly deceptive, an alert stalker, an agile

predator and a fierce attacker if accosted.

No wonder it is called the Royal Bengal

Tiger and attracts a halo of myths and sto-

ries from villagers and fishermen in the

mangrove delta. Now if the latest UN report

is anything to go by, then it might just

become a part of folklore, its extinction pre-

dicted as early as 2070 due to climate change, rise in seawater and the rapid-

ly eroding delta, 70 per cent of which is just a few feet above existing water

levels. The process is not difficult to imagine considering the raging cyclones,

their intensity over the Bay of Bengal and the resultant tidal waves have already

decimated much of the vulnerable islands around the delta, shrinking the nat-

ural habitat of not only the tiger but its prey base as well. Besides, submer-

gence along the coastal belt has meant that the tiger has been forced to migrate

to the Bangladesh side and inland villages, where it has easily fallen prey to

the man-animal conflict. A picture of an emaciated tiger, caught in the moment

of a forest crossing from a boat a few years ago, had set off alarm bells about

the real prospect of the big cat’s starvation and breakage of the food chain.

Severe climate events have already changed vegetation patterns, impacting

the tiger’s prey species. Many reports prior to this one had sounded the death

knell, too, but we are frankly past warnings as the consequences of global

warming have already set in, pushing our fragile ecospheres and threaten-

ing many land species. Relocation is a challenge for many species as the

natural corridors of animal movement have been fragmented by development.

And even if by some logistical miracle that migration is achieved or enabled,

there is the problem of over-populating an existing habitat and stressing out

its resources. Tigers need roaming liberties and restricted space has meant

that territorial infighting has emerged as the new threat for its survival. Just

a day after the UN report, a 12-year-old Bengal tiger was found dead at Assam’s

Kaziranga National Park following a tussle with another feline. The park, which

has 100 plus tigers, has been reporting such conflict deaths over the last cou-

ple of years or so.

The tiger crisis is representative of a bigger extinction threat that has already

been pointed out by a world biodiversity report. According to it, up to one mil-

lion plant and animal species face their end, many within decades, because of

increasing human activities and not just climate change. It warned that with-

out drastic action to conserve habitats, the rate of species extinction — already

tens to hundreds of times higher than the average across the past ten million

years — will only increase. While industrial development has extracted its price,

the new challenge comes from the ever-increasing agricultural activities that

are believed to have had the largest impact on ecosystems. Latest figures say

that crop and livestock operations currently co-opt more than 33 per cent of

the earth’s land surface and 75 per cent of its freshwater resources. Then there

is the larger issue of emissions of greenhouse gases. Only 37 per cent of the

world’s longest rivers remains free-flowing. Imagine what it means for our rivers

that are fragmented by development, constraining their capacity to flow free and

affecting aqua ecosystems that keep the waters healthy. With everything geared

towards human consumption, we may soon have nothing left to live on until

we adopt crucial transformative habits. Policies won’t do, we have to imple-

ment them in right earnest, freeze our current livelihood patterns and make our

food and living choices entirely sustainable without raising global temperatures.

Scientists must develop partnerships with local governments and communi-

ties to implement actionable plans. We may not be able to reverse biodiversi-

ty drastically but at least save what is left of it in our lifetime.

Question of survival

With surveys warning us about the extinction of the tiger anda million land species, it’s time to change livelihood patterns

Mumbai's wholly inadequate airport is an example of badplanning and how insufficient space can strangle a city

Well done Amul!

Sir — That Indian dairy giantAmul will be the official teamsponsor of the Afghanistancricket squad at the upcomingICC World Cup is a matter ofpride. Amul is a symbol of ruraluplift and empowerment and itsassociation with the fastestgrowing cricket team is sure togive it a new life. History has itthat Frontier Gandhi KhanAbdul Ghaffar Khan visitedAmul in 1969. Milk producersfrom Afghanistan have alsomade industrial visits to Amulunits here.

M PradyuKannur

Lost scenario

Sir — This refers to the editor-ial, “Federal front regroups”(May 9). Telangana ChiefMinister K Chandrashekar Rao’saim of a non-BJP, non-CongressGovernment is hard to sell anddoes not have many takers. Butone thing was very clear evenbefore the election dates wereannounced — that all regionalparties had been running from

pillar-to-post guided by self-interests and hopes of heftypolitical posts if voters returneda fractured mandate.

No party seems to be con-cerned about the welfare of thenation or its people. In the end,many parties may even switchsides for power. God save ourmotherland.

Sravana RamachandranChennai

Act responsibly

Sir — This refers to the editor-ial, “Justice or injustice?” (May8). In times when people look upto the courts as the last saviourof justice, it is incumbent uponthem to reciprocate with thesame sentiment. When one sayscourts, it means our learnedjudges. They are the ones who

enhance the image of our courtsthrough their unbiased, impar-tial and fair judgements. Like theorders, the judges, too, should beabove suspicion, personally asalso work-wise. The sexualharassment case against theChief Justice of India (CJI) hasindeed rattled the very founda-tion of the edifice.

Like his junior fellow judges,the CJI, too, has an important

role to play to uphold the justicedelivery system and the very fairname of the institution he pre-sides over.

Irrespective of whether theCJI is blameworthy or not, morethan anybody else, it is he whohas to prove his innocence. Forwhat is at stake is his own per-sonal image, integrity and pres-tige. This can be achieved onlywhen a fair external probe is setin motion. Till such time he isexonerated, the CJI should stepaside in his own interest and inthe interest of the institution.

VS Jayaraman Chennai

An overhaul needed

Sir — This refers to the article,“Scrub allegations and come clean”(May 8) by Kalyani Shankar. TheElection Commission’s (EC) cred-ibility as a neutral umpire in therespected exercise of electionshas been dented, largely due to itsown making. It’s high time that theEC reinvents its role.

Ashish KumarVia email

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


facebook.com/dailypioneer | @TheDailyPioneer | instagram.com/dailypioneer/

op nionLUCKNOW | FRIDAY | MAY 10, 2019

08

Injustice of a mindset

RINKU GHOSH

Individually, men may be endearing in their wisdom of welcoming diversity. But collectively,

there’s a beehive thinking that’s seared deep enough and always doubts otherness

Initially, he (Rajiv Gandhi)was not corrupt but laterunder the influence of somepeople, he got involved inthe Bofors corruption case.

J&K Governor —Satya Pal Malik

Initially, he (Modi) talkedabout Make in India, thenStart-up India, then Stand-Up India and finally heended on pakodas.

Congress chief—Rahul Gandhi

S O U N D B I T E

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

SC should be transparent

This refers to the editorial, “Justice or injustice?” (May8). It is unfortunate that the Supreme Court, on whichpeople repose immense faith and respect, has itself

come in the eye of storm. While it will sail the currenttide, the moot question is: Will the top court ever be ableto regain lost ground? Squarely, the court, too, shouldshare the blame for the current a state of affairs for insist-ing too much on in-house and closed door proceedings.

It must not be forgotten that the judges, too, arehuman beings with god-given human frailties and polit-ical inclinations — the glimpse of which had come tothe fore when four judges of the Supreme Court held apress conference to lay bare their grievances in publicview. Moreover, has it ever crossed anybody’s mind thattoo much secrecy gives rise to suspicion? Further, aclosed system very much goes against the ethos of a‘democracy’ and leads to the rule of aristocracy, aboutwhich a lot has been spoken by famous philosopher andguide Aristotle. Additionally, the judiciary has armed itself

with a weapon called contempt of court. It is because ofthis fear that a number of mistakes (not the errors ofjudgements) committed by the judges neither get recti-fied, nor come to public notice. This because the legalprocess is too complicated. It is, therefore, necessary thatthe workings of the apex court be made transparent.

BP SrivastavaNoida

Send your feedback to:[email protected]

Sparse infrastructure

If Pakistan does not stop ter-rorism, there will not just beair strikes and water strikesbut it will be difficult to findPakistan on the map one day.

BJP leader—Giriraj Singh

I think people should bea little kinder. She's(Meghan Markle) ayoung woman who justhad a baby, you know?

American actor—George Clooney

Women breaking stereotypes

RAHUL GANDHI SAYS THE ARMED FORCES ARE NO

ONE'S PERSONAL FORCES. BUT RAJIV GANDHI USED INS

VIRAAT AS ‘PERSONAL TAXI' ON A FAMILY VACATION.

—PRIME MINISTER

NARENDRA MODI

MODIJI, YOU HAVE MADE THE IAF JETS YOUR OWN

TAXI! SCARED OF YOUR OWN SINS HAUNTING YOU,

YOU ARE POINTING FINGERS AT OTHERS.

—CONGRESS SPOKESPERSON

RANDEEP SURJEWALA

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

Fifteen years ago, in 2004, giant waves turned55-year-old Sundari’s world upside down.Gushing water crashed into her hut in Nochi

Nagar located near the Marina beach in Chennai,Tamil Nadu, and had she not grabbed her five-year-old grandson by his hair, he would have been sweptaway. The next few days were spent in fear, in near-by makeshift shelters along with hundreds of oth-ers whose homes along the Marina beach weredestroyed by the tsunami. As the days stretchedinto months and months into years, there weremany moments when Sundari and other tsunami-affected families despaired they might never be ableto shift out of the temporary shelters. It took 10years of unwavering struggle before Sundari andaround 628 Dalit families from the fishing and non-fishing communities could finally, in 2014, moveinto two-room flats constructed by the StateGovernment under the Emergency TsunamiRecovery Project.

But communities in coastal States of Odisha andWest Bengal, who were hit by Cyclone Fani on May3, will not have to wait so long. The OdishaGovernment was well prepared. It evacuated mil-lions of people well before the natural disaster couldstrike. This helped save lives. Yes, restoring normal-cy will take time. People of the State will need basicnecessities, houses and livelihoods, with many stand-ing crops destroyed. But considering the swiftnessof the Odisha Government’s response, the rehabil-itation process is expected to be smooth.Comparisons between Cyclone Fani and the tsuna-mi cannot be made. Unlike Fani, the tsunami cameunannounced and caught everyone unawares. Buteven though the Tamil Nadu Government wasunderstandably unprepared, its slow and apathet-ic post-tsunami rehabilitation process added to themisery and woes, forcing those affected to run frompillar-to-post to claim their rights.

This is why the long and hard struggle bySundari and others affected is important and offerslessons on how disasters can be turned into oppor-tunities for community development and women’sempowerment. It illustrates the vital role played bywomen in reclaiming their land and rights. Whetherit was resorting to cooking food in the middle ofthe road to protest against the delay in deliveringhousing promises or forming a human chain toblock wrongful land acquisition by the Government,women showed heart and courage to stand up fortheir rights. Their determination forced the StateGovernment to make several critical changes.

The biggest gain was ensuring the allotted flatwas jointly owned by the husband and wife — abig change from the earlier policy of giving it inthe name of the male member. The first impactof this move was a fall in domestic violence.Women began to understand that they no longerneeded to fear being thrown out of their housesand this awareness boosted their confidence.“Earlier, women were afraid of complainingagainst their husbands. But now, they approachthe police for help,” said Sundari. The police, too,have been cooperative.

Another critical change the community move-ment brought was ensuring each flat, albeit small,had an attached toilet. This is a big boon for womenand girls. State tenements built at the Government’srelocation site, where several families were shiftedsoon after the tsunami, are one-room flats and have

a common toilet for two families. The abil-ity of the Nochi Nagar community, par-ticularly its women, to bring about adesign change in their housing, inspiredresidents of the adjacent fishing commu-nity living in Nochikuppam. They allowedthe State Government to make newhouses to replace their existing dilapidat-ed tenements only after ensuring they, too,would get attached toilets. The triumphof the coastal community of Nochi Nagarboosted their confidence.

For the fisherwomen of the Irulacommunity, a nomadic tribe living nearthe sea, this was the first time they got aproper roof over their heads. But morethan that, getting ownership of a flat intheir name gave them an identity of theirown. “Acquiring an identity was some-thing so emotional that it was hard toexplain what it meant,” said Usha, a 45-year-old Irula fisherwoman. Now, no onecan evict them, not even their husbands.

Both the Irula fisherwomen andother women from the non-fishing com-munity like Nochi Nagar resident Sundariwere helped by the Forum for SecuringLives and Livelihoods Rights of CoastalCommunities (FLLRC), a collaborativeplatform of four community-based organ-isations supported by ActionAid India, acivil society organisation. They providedthe guidance, training and hand-holdingthe women and communities needed torebuild their lives.

Their 10-year struggle also showedthat given the opportunity, women use itto further community developmentthrough collective action. Once thewomen learnt about land and genderrights and were trained to use tools likethe Right to Information (RTI) Act,there was no stopping them. Sundari usedthis training to file several RTIs to mon-

itor the progress of the houses promisedto them by the Tamil Nadu SlumClearance Board (TNSCB) during thetime the Nochi Nagar residents lived intemporary shelters from 2009-2014. Thisway she kept the community in the infor-mation loop and ensured design changeslike attached bathrooms for each flat wereimplemented.

She also used it to access informationon the TNSCB’s housing project for thecoastal communities, like hers, living alongthe Marina stretch. It was through an RTIthat she got to know that TNSCB plannedto relocate the non-fishing community, towhich Sundari and 500 other such fam-ilies belonged, to areas quite far from thesea. Further, the RTI also revealed thatonly the fishing community would be pro-vided housing near the coast.

This was unacceptable for Sundari astheir predominant livelihood activitieswere related to fishing and they neededto stay close to the coast to survive. Ameeting to discuss the issue was attend-ed by over 500 other Dalit women livingalong the Marina stretch. As protests grewlouder, other Dalit community leadersjoined hands, leading to the formation ofthe Chennai Dalit People’s Federation(CDPF), to give voice to the marginalisedcommunity. Sundari, who was electedpresident of the CDPF, led the women’scampaign to expose the Government’s bidto divide the fishing and non-fishing com-munities. They received a big boost withthe participation of national Dalit leadersfrom several organisations, including theNational Dalit Women Movement, whoaddressed rallies against the Government’sdiscriminatory policy. When the TNSCBrealised that the storm of protest wasunlikely to end, it was forced to declarethat it would no longer differentiate the

coastal communities on the basis oftheir occupation.

Women didn’t stop here. They usedthe opportunity to demand that they betreated on par with the fishermen. Theyargued that the role of the fishermenended once they returned from the sea.The fish was cleaned and sold by thewomen. Nearly 75 per cent of the totalcatch is marketed by women fish work-ers but they are not covered under anywelfare scheme or given equal rights inGovernment entitlements for the fishingcommunity. These women wanted theirlabour in the fish trade to be recognised.According to an estimate, women engagedin fishing-related activities constitute 55per cent of the workforce in Tamil Naduand 65 per cent at the national level.

So, women leveraged their collectivestrength by organising a rally that wasattended by over 500 women from 16federations from across the State. Theysat outside the office of the ChennaiCollectorate, demanding they be giventhe same compensation as given to menduring the off-season for fishing. Theycontinued their protests until compen-sation was increased from the existing`4,000 to `6,700. Although the womencould not convince the Government topay separate compensation, they man-aged to get the payment in the jointname of the husband and wife. This, too,was a big achievement.

As we approach the 15th anniver-sary of the deadly tsunami somemonths from now, a lookback at theimpressive panorama of achievementsby coastal women in Tamil Naduunderline their resilience and ability toturn disasters into opportunities forcommunity development.

(The writer is a senior journalist)

As we near the 15th anniversary of the 2004 tsunami, the impressive achievements by Tamilwomen underline their resilience and ability to turn disasters into development opportunities

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

Tagore, China

and Bharat

ABHISHEK PRATAP SINGH

The poet laureate was the first of our modernthinkers to cherish the long-standing civilisational

links between the two Asian neighbours

SWAPNA MAJUMDAR

THE BIGGESTGAIN WAS

ENSURING THATTHE

GOVERNMENT-ALLOTTED FLAT

WAS JOINTLYOWNED BY THEHUSBAND ANDWIFE — A BIG

CHANGE FROMTHE EARLIER

POLICY OF GIVINGIT IN THE NAME

OF THE MALEMEMBER. THE

FIRST IMPACT OFTHIS MOVE WAS

A FALL INDOMESTICVIOLENCE

Born on May 7, 1861, ‘Gurudev’ Rabindranath Tagore, as he

was popularly known, was an epitome of Indian literature and

an ardent believer of the idea of intra-Asian solidarity and widen-

ing pan-Asian cooperation. As we mark his birth anniversary this

month, it is essential to acknowledge his belief in the mutually ben-

eficial interactive relationship between the two great civilisations of

China and India. Tagore had travelled across the Himalayas and was,

perhaps, the first of the modern Indian thinkers to cherish the sig-

nificance of long-standing “civilisational links” between India and

China in the early 20th century. In one of his poems written in 1932,

he reiterated, “The Great morning, which is for all, appears in the

East; Let its Light reveal us to each other who walk on the same

path of pilgrimage.” There are certain key features attached to Tagore’s

understanding of China, which hold great significance for contem-

porary scholars of both nations. Much before his visit to China,

expressing solidarity with the feeling of “colonial cousins”, Tagore,

when he was just 20 in 1881, criticised the British imposition of

opium trade upon China.

First, much before he went to China, his work drew interest

and recognition among the scholars there. Tagore’s speeches, writ-

ings and visit to China have been well chronicled by Sun Yixue,

famous literary scholar, who noticed that Tagore came to China with

a “world-saving messianic message.” Much before his visit in 1924,

Chen Duxiu, one of the founding members of the Communist Party

of China (CPC), had already translated his most notable work Gitanjali

into Chinese in the early 1915s. His poem, The Crescent Moon,

was also translated and published in Chinese journals around the

same time. Tagore’s Kabuliwala, a short story, was published at

least six times in China.

Second, Tagore successfully made deep impressions during

his two visits in 1924 and 1928. The first was set around the May

Fourth Movement in China at the invitation of the Beijing Lecture

Association. This point, India, too, was coming out of colonial resis-

tance. To mark his birthday during his visit to the Peking Normal

University, young Chinese actors performed his play Chitra in English.

During his speeches, he emphasised the true virtues of close inter-

action among various Asian cultures like India and China.

Third, at a time when the 21st century is witnessing the rein-

vention of Asia’s global position in world politics, it must be recalled

that Tagore was one of the most creative exponents of ‘Asian uni-

versalism’ and propagated an ‘Asian identity’. The dream of ‘Asian

Century’, as propagated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and

President Xi Jinping, reinvigorates the spirit of ‘Asian Universalism’

with a difference. Tagore had spoken about it as a dynamic process

with flow of Asian cultures and values and one that had fluid nation-

al boundaries.

In 1916, Chinese journal Dongfang Zazhi published Tagore’s

speech in Japan, noting his sharp criticism of modern Western civil-

isation and its materialism. Tagore’s critique of nationalism was a

fine combination of his anti-colonial ideas and patriotic poetry. In

his view, there was no fundamental contradiction between India and

China as both emphasised the concept of harmonious development

in the spirit of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world is one family)

and Shijie Datong (world in grand harmony).

Fourth, Tagore’s ideas and vision are important for the estab-

lishment of a peaceful world order. He emphasised on three key

features on his perspective of Southeast Asia. He downplayed the

role of any kind of ‘military aggression’ and highlighted the role of

‘cultural exchange’ among nations, criticised any monolith under-

standing of a modern nation-state and allowed drawing cultural influ-

ences from others. He also noticed the centrality of Indian cultur-

al forms and products as active agents of history in southeast Asian

nations. The idea of an open, peaceful and economically integrat-

ed and culturally rich Southeast Asia well captures the vision of Tagore

and forms the ‘guiding spirit’ for every nation.

Last, Tagore’s role was unparalleled in the development of

Chinese studies in India. The establishment of an international uni-

versity, Visva-Bharati, in Bengal, the formation of first Sino-Indian

Cultural Society, and Cheena Bhavana (Chinese Department) at

Santiniketan were milestone achievements. Many scholars like Tan

Yun-shan contributed greatly to modern India’s understanding of

the Chinese civilisation and its modern development. It is still an

abode for Chinese scholars researching in India. Prof Wang Bangwei

of Peking University called Tagore an Indian sage, an Asian sage

and a world sage. To him, spirituality is the “greatest asset” of suc-

cessful civilisations of Asia as opposed to the mad pursuit for mate-

rialistic gains in the West. While he had his fair share of critics from

China’s reactionary forces, the late Ji Xianlin, Padma Bhushan,

observed that Tagore was an icon of Sino-Indian friendship.

(The writer holds PhD in East Asian Studies from JNU)

In the early 1980s, I had anacquaintance, Shahzad, who atthat time seemed to be one of the

most fascinating characters in ourgroup of friends. We were all in ourmid-teens at that time. He used totell us the most fantastical stuff inthe most convincing manner. Forexample, if we were all lying aroundand listening to a rock record, hewould tell us that if we listened tothat same record backwards, wecould hear “hidden” and often dia-bolical “messages.” If we were smok-ing cigarettes and they happened tobe mentholated, he would explainthat menthol cigarettes were specif-ically formulated by Western tobac-co companies to make black and

brown smokers unable to procreate.Shahzad had a fantastic theoryabout almost everything. And mostof these theories had to do withsome nefarious grand plan to subjugate or harm certain groups ofpeople.

Being teens, and often in woozystates of consciousness, we wouldsimply lap up what Shahzad was say-ing without ever bothering to askwhere on earth he got all his infor-mation from. However, one day, amutual friend did exactly that.

I remember he questionedShahzad only because he was feel-ing agitated; his girlfriend haddumped him. But even for this,Shahzad had a theory: “It’s becauseof her father,” he announced. “He’san important employee of XYZbank…” I forget which bank it was,but clearly remember him adding,“XYZ is run by an important tribeof Jews.” But what did this have any-thing to do with a Pakistani teen’sgirlfriend leaving him? Nobodycared.

Perhaps anticipating that hisdistinctive position in the group

may come under some duress ifmore of us began asking him awk-ward questions (instead of simplynodding in awe), Shahzad intro-duced us to the books by Erich vonDäniken.

This Swiss writer had become asensational bestselling author inthe late 1960s and 1970s, especial-ly among the purveyors of counter-culture and ‘New Age’ spiritualism.Most of his books were about how“ancient astronauts” or extra-terres-trial beings from far away planetshad visited earth and helped ancientearthlings shape various religionsand technologies. We were awed somuch that we began to question thescience being taught to us at school.

For example, Haroon, anothercommon friend, once stood up inour O-level history class and told theteacher lecturing us about theEgyptian pyramids that thepharaohs were instructed by alienson how to build those massivestructures. Interestingly, this verytheory can be found in the film,Alien vs. Predator (2004). Some sci-ence fiction is made of this fascinat-

ing stuff but it is neither history norscience. But Haroon, who was arather wretched student, had foundsomething that he thought (and wethought) made him sound smart.He knew something that even ourrespected history teacher didn’tknow. Beat that.

Eventually, as we entered ourlate teens and early 20s and expand-ed our reading and thinking beyondwhat simply sounded “awesome”,each one of us would giggle aboutwhat we had so easily believed to befact. Shahzad’s spell was broken andhe now seemed to be nothing morethan a nut.

But to his credit, to shake off thislabel, he went on to become a pro-ductive physicist in Belgium. But tobecome that, he had to graduatefrom reading Daniken to learningEinstein and then Stephen Hawking.

Most young minds are suscep-tible to believing and reiterating fan-tastical theories because this makesthem feel knowledgeable aboutthings they do not have the patience,the discipline or the training to actu-ally grasp in a more substantiated

manner. But such a dispositionbecomes a problem when it mutatesinto becoming a widespread phe-nomenon, affecting the thinking ofadults.

In the age of “fake news” beingdigested by millions of adults — ofwidespread panics about supposed-ly tainted vaccines; of ‘scientists’claiming they can extract energyfrom jinns; or cure cancer with cowdung/urine; and increasinglywarped and unsubstantiated polit-ical and historical narratives —psychologists and sociologists havebegun to take more interest in thewhole phenomenon of fantasticaltheories and claims than ever before.

According to professor of psy-chology Chris French (BBC ,February 12, 2019), “We see coin-cidences around big events andmake up a story out of them.” Suchstories find traction because theycontain “goodies” and “baddies” —the latter being responsible for allthe things we don’t like. We need tocreate villains to explain away ourmany failures.

In a December 2003 essay,

Meera Nanda, the Indian historianof science, writes that the glamouri-sation of the whole post-modernistnarrative about how the ideas ofmodernity were tyrannical becausethey rudely sidelined “local knowl-edge” encouraged Hindutva nation-alists to make fantastical claims,which saw ancient Hindus in pos-session of whatever the modern sci-ences discovered centuries later.

The same thing happened incertain Muslim quarters when, in1976, Maurice Bucaille, a generalphysician serving the Saudi royalfamily, was funded by his employ-ers to write a book which tried todemonstrate that the many cosmo-logical and biological discoveriesmade by science in the 20th centu-ry were mentioned in Islam’s holytexts! Whereas 19th century Muslimscholars, such as Sir Syed AhmadKhan, implored his compatriots toappreciate God’s many creations byunderstanding them with the helpof science. Some 20th centuryMuslims claimed there was no needfor ever visiting a lab or thoughtful-ly gazing at the stars.

Two in-depth studies conduct-ed in 2018 and published in theJournal of Individual Differencesidentified “schizotypy” as a promi-nent reason behind the growth inthe acceptance of fantastical claimsand conspiracy theories. Accordingto professor of psychology JoshuaHart (in Live Science, September2018) the word ‘schizotypy’, thoughderived from the condition called‘schizophrenia’, does not imply aclinical diagnosis. According toHart, people with schizotypy havean elevated need to feel unique butat the same time, take refuge in acommunity of like-minded indi-viduals. Such an individual orcommunity was more likely tojudge nonsensical statements asprofound. They often believe inthings for which there is no empir-ical evidence. The most recent psy-chological term for this is actual-ly ‘Bull***t Receptivity.’ The high-er this is in a person the more like-ly he or she is to believe in conspir-acy theories, fantastical claimsand fake news.

(Courtesy: The Dawn)

The rise of the conspiracy theoristMost young minds are susceptible to believing fantastical theories as this makes them feel knowledgeable about concepts they do not

have the patience or training to grasp. The higher the urge, the more likely will he/she believe in fantastical claims and fake news

NADEEM PARACHA



money 10LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | MAY 10, 2019

PTI n MUMBAI

Benchmark indices nursedlosses for the seventhsession on the trot on

Thursday as risk sentimentstayed subdued amid the US-China trade tensions and elec-tion season volatility.

Sustained foreign fund out-flows and a declining rupeealso dampened the marketmood, traders said.

The 30-share BSE Sensexclosed 230.22 points, or 0.61 percent, down at an over two-month low of 37,558.91.Similarly, the broader NSE Niftyshed 57.65 points, or 0.51 percent, to settle at 11,301.80.

The Sensex has now lost1,472.64 points or 3.77 per centin seven sessions, while theNifty has declined by 446.35points or 3.79 per cent.

Index heavyweight RelianceIndustries was the biggest loserin the Sensex pack on Thursday,ending 3.41 per cent lower.

It was followed by CoalIndia, Asian Paints, NTPC,Kotak Bank, Bharti Airtel,Vedanta, PowerGrid and HDFCtwins, which shed up to 2.53 percent.

On the other hand, YesBank gained the most, spurting5.94 per cent. Bajaj Finance,Hero MotoCorp, TCS, HUL,

Bajaj Auto, HCL Tech, Infosys,SBI, M&M, ICICI Bank andTata Motors also rose up to 1.65per cent.

On the global front, equitiesbore the brunt of fresh flare-upof tensions between the USand China.

Ahead of the next round oftalks aimed at ending the tradewar between the world’s twolargest economies, China said itwill retaliate if US raises tariffson Chinese products.

The comments came afterUS President Donald Trumpthreatened to hike tariffs onUSD 200 billion worth of goodsearlier this week.

“Global markets continuedto slide ahead of trade talksbetween the US and China.Though Indian markets aredown almost 3 per cent in thelast one month, MSCI India isstill outperforming emergingmarkets over the past onemonth and three months.

“Investors will have to beprepared for volatility in glob-al equities until some clarityemerges on US-China tradetalks,” said Sunil Sharma, chiefinvestment officer, SanctumWealth Management.

Hemang Jani, head of advi-sory, Sharekhan by BNPParibas, said: “May continues tobe an eventful month with just

a few phases left of the generalelections and the ongoingQ4FY19 earnings season willkeep the market volatile in theshort term.”

Sectorally, the BSE energyindex dropped 2.63 per cent, fol-lowed by metal, telecom, powerand bankex that shed up to 1.49per cent.

Teck, IT, realty and con-sumer durables indices rose upto 0.44 per cent.

In the broader markets, theBSE Midcap and Smallcapindices too ended in the red.

Foreign institutionalinvestors (FIIs) net sold equitiesworth `701.50 crore onWednesday, while domesticinstitutional investors (DIIs)purchased shares to the tune of`232.95 crore, provisional dataavailable with stock exchangesshowed.

The Indian rupee depreci-ated 22 paise to 69.93 against theUS dollar intra-day.

Global oil benchmark Brentcrude was trading 0.10 per centlower at USD 70.30 per barrel.

Bourses in other Asiancountries ended significantlylower, with Shanghai CompositeIndex falling 1.48 per cent,Hang Seng 2.39 per cent, Nikkei0.93 per cent and Kospi 3.04 percent. European stocks were alsotrading weak in early trade.

PTI n NEW DELHI

IT major HCL Technologieson Thursday posted a 14.3

per cent increase in its consol-idated net profit to `2,550crore for the quarter endedMarch 2019. The companyhad registered a net profit of`2,230 crore in the year-agoperiod as per the IndianAccounting Standards (Ind-AS), it said in a statement.

HCL Technologies saw itsrevenue growing 21.3 per centto `15,990 crore in the quarterunder review from `13,178crore in the January-March2018 quarter. The companyexpects its 2019-20 revenues togrow between 14-16 per cent inconstant currency basis.

“We once again, for thethird time this year, set a newbookings’ record. These num-bers are an emphatic testimo-nial of the brilliant execution ofour chosen market strategyand our ability to provide anannual guidance and deliver toit for three years in a row,” HCLTechnologies president andchief executive officer CVijayakumar said.

For the full year, net prof-it was higher by 16 per cent to`10,120 crore, while revenuegrew 19.4 per cent to `60,427crore from 2017-18.

In 2018-19, HCLTechnologies delivered rev-enue growth at 11.8 per centyear-on-year in constant cur-rency (CC) exceeding theupper end of its guided range,

the statement said. The com-pany had given a revenuegrowth guidance of 9.5-11.5per cent in constant currencybasis for 2018-19.

In dollar terms, the netprofit rose 5.9 per cent to USD364.3 million for the March2019 quarter, while revenuewas higher by 11.8 per cent toUSD 2.2 billion as compared tothe year-ago period as per theUS Generally AcceptedAccounting Principles(GAAP).

HCL Technologies boardhas declared an interim dividendof `2 per share for 2018-19.

The company added14,249 people (gross) duringthe quarter to take its total headcount to 1,37,965 at the end ofthe March 2019 quarter.Attrition in the IT servicesbusiness on the past 12-monthbasis was 17.7 per cent.

PNB HOUSING Q4 NETPROFIT JUMPS 51%

PNB Housing Finance onThursday reported a 51 percent jump in its consolidatednet profit to `379.77 crore forthe fourth quarter endedMarch 2019. The company’snet profit stood at `251.58crore in the correspondingquarter of 2017-18.

Its total income (consoli-dated) during the quarter roseto `2,148.19 crore, up by 31 percent as compared with`1,638.48 crore in the year-agoquarter, the company said in aregulatory filing.

Net interest income (NII)registered a growth of 13 percent to ̀ 609.7 crore from ̀ 540.8crore, it said. The net interestmargin for the quarter stood at3.18 per cent, compared to 3.59per cent a year ago. For full year,the net profit of the companygrew 42 per cent to `1,191.5crore from `841.2 crore in theprevious financial year.

PNB Housing said itsboard of directors recom-mended final dividend of `9per equity share for 2018-19.

On asset quality, the grossnon-performing assets (NPA)stood at 0.48 per cent of theloan assets as on March 31,2019, as against 0.33 per centat the end of March 2018. NetNPA stood at 0.38 per centagainst 0.23 per cent.

The company’s asset undermanagement (AUM) is at`84,721.9 crore as on March 31,2019, up from `62,252 crore ayear ago, it added. Loan assetgrew 30 per cent from a yearearlier to `74,023.0 crore.

“FY19 was a challengingyear with tight liquidity, whichimpacted the overall Indianfinancial and real estate sectors.Amid such environment, wecontinued our focus on main-taining adequate liquidity, bal-anced asset-liability manage-ment, efficient operations androbust asset quality. This result-ed in double-digit growthacross all the businesses andfinancial vectors, SanjayaGupta, managing director, PNBHousing Finance, said.

ASIAN PAINTS Q4 NETPROFIT DOWN 1.7%

Asian Paints on Thursdayreported a 1.7 per cent declinein consolidated net profit to`487.45 crore for the quarterended on March 31, 2019.

The company posted a netprofit of `495.91 crore in theyear-ago period, Asian Paintssaid in a filing to BSE.

However, total income dur-ing the period under reviewincreased 11.99 per cent to`5,075.08 crore as against`4,531.52 crore in January-March 2018.

Total expenses rose 15.65per cent to `4,340.64 crore inthe quarter as against ̀ 3,752.94crore in the year-ago period.Revenue from the paints seg-ment was `4,899.09 crore and`119.12 crore from the homeimprovements segment.

The company posted a netprofit of `2,211.91 crore for2018-19 as compared with`2,097.52 crore for 2017-18.Total income for the previousfinancial year was `19,576.89crore as against ̀ 17,482.85 crorein 2017-18.

In a separate filing onThursday, the company said thatits board has approved a finaldividend of `7.65 per equityshare of the face value of ̀ 1 eachfor 2018-19. “An interim divi-dend of `2.85 per equity sharewas distributed in financial year2018-19. Thus, the total divi-dend announced for 2018-19will be ̀ 10.50 per equity share,”the company said.

Markets spiral lower

for seventh session

HCL Tech Q4 net up 14% to `2,550 crIndia, China signprotocol forexport of Indianchilli mealPTI n NEW DELHI

India and China Thursdaysigned a protocol for export

of Indian chilli meal to theneighbouring country, theCommerce Ministry said.

It was signed after a meet-ing of Commerce SecretaryAnup Wadhawan and GeneralAdministration of Customs ofChina (GACC) Vice Minister LiGuo here. Both the sides “dis-cussed trade-related issues ofpending Indian request for clear-ance of agricultural products”.

“At the end of the meeting,a protocol was signed for exportof chilli meal from India toChina,” the ministry said in astatement. Both the sides alsoagreed to resolve market accessissues expeditiously in order toachieve the vision of the lead-ers of both India and China bypromoting a more balancedtrade.

The meeting assumes sig-nificance as India is seekinggreater market access for itsmanufactured and agriculturalproducts in the Chinese marketto bridge the widening tradedeficit. Recently, India has iden-tified and shared with China alist of 380 products, includinghorticulture, textiles, chemicalsand pharmaceutical products, astheir shipments hold hugeexport potential.

Script Open High Low LTPRPOWER 5.91 6.31 5.69 6.15YESBANK 158.00 171.45 156.75 170.30RELIANCE 1291.70 1291.70 1251.50 1255.15ZEEL 341.00 362.45 336.15 357.65JETAIRWAYS 133.00 149.00 131.80 147.60SUZLON 5.95 5.95 5.35 5.60SPICEJET 126.30 127.90 123.35 124.00IBREALEST 97.20 104.50 97.20 102.15RELCAPITAL 116.00 119.30 112.25 117.90DHFL 116.80 120.35 115.45 116.20TATAMOTORS 183.60 189.90 182.50 185.80INFY* 721.70 730.35 716.00 721.05KOTAKBANK 1396.95 1407.85 1370.00 1389.25MARUTI 6649.00 6677.75 6601.30 6625.25JPASSOCIAT 4.98 5.05 4.91 4.98PCJEWELLER 120.35 123.05 118.30 119.10ICICIBANK 382.00 385.60 377.50 381.45SBIN 298.90 300.95 295.95 299.25ITC 300.00 301.30 296.35 299.80HDFCBANK 2313.00 2313.00 2271.40 2291.20ASHOKLEY 85.80 85.95 83.05 84.70RELINFRA 99.45 103.00 99.15 101.85IBULHSGFIN 674.00 688.10 669.80 680.30ASIANPAINT 1390.00 1393.00 1347.00 1355.80BIOCON 546.05 547.15 523.00 531.15LT 1359.00 1368.00 1339.00 1356.70INDIACEM 99.80 100.20 97.40 98.40TITAN 1097.40 1109.90 1089.65 1100.45JINDALSTEL 168.55 170.60 161.35 163.05SRTRANSFIN 1008.00 1041.20 991.75 1030.85BAJFINANCE 2904.70 2991.10 2884.90 2969.85AXISBANK 735.00 740.20 729.00 730.00HINDALCO 201.45 202.00 196.50 198.20TCS 2145.00 2182.00 2138.00 2168.70APOLLOTYRE 190.85 192.25 182.20 184.90VEDL 159.40 160.55 156.60 157.25FEDERALBNK 98.60 98.60 97.00 97.25L&TFH 120.00 122.45 118.65 120.85TATASTEEL 521.50 526.80 516.35 518.95IDEA 14.25 14.55 13.90 14.35PNB 85.00 85.35 82.85 84.20SUNPHARMA 436.00 442.20 431.50 438.25DISHTV 31.40 34.85 31.10 33.70EDELWEISS 148.05 153.50 146.70 152.65BANKBARODA 111.00 112.65 109.95 111.30CGPOWER 38.95 39.30 36.35 36.95HEG 1723.10 1729.95 1650.55 1656.35ESCORTS 627.00 627.00 608.00 609.85GRAPHITE 385.00 386.00 369.30 372.35RAIN 112.05 114.80 109.15 110.80HCLTECH 1125.65 1144.20 1111.05 1132.10M&M 620.00 628.00 616.60 625.80BHEL 62.00 62.85 61.50 62.55BEL 86.10 91.10 86.10 89.80HINDUNILVR 1685.00 1710.20 1676.05 1699.45DLF 168.10 170.75 166.55 168.00DCMSHRIRAM 463.00 504.30 463.00 492.65HEROMOTOCO 2516.70 2552.00 2497.00 2530.00BHARTIARTL 322.50 326.00 312.95 318.45INDUSINDBK 1487.70 1488.00 1469.60 1476.65HDFC 1933.00 1933.00 1901.15 1915.65JSWSTEEL 288.70 290.45 280.60 283.90EVEREADY 87.30 91.40 86.15 86.85HDFCLIFE 411.65 411.65 406.55 409.15IDFCFIRSTB 49.60 49.65 48.05 48.45WIPRO 291.40 293.10 290.60 291.00JUSTDIAL 562.00 563.55 542.25 554.05SAIL 52.95 53.35 51.85 52.05BOMDYEING 119.00 121.35 116.95 117.75NTPC 131.30 131.30 126.50 127.95ACC 1585.10 1605.05 1566.20 1595.85PEL 2184.00 2205.00 2143.20 2179.00INDIGO 1580.00 1580.00 1531.15 1539.35AUROPHARMA 762.70 766.80 751.00 754.80STRTECH 184.00 187.00 183.40 185.10COALINDIA 249.40 250.60 241.55 242.60TATAMTRDVR 88.25 90.30 87.30 88.60MRPL 67.00 67.00 63.00 64.75MOTHERSUMI 130.40 130.75 128.35 129.10IBVENTURES 256.55 268.70 255.95 260.85BPCL 378.55 379.90 366.50 368.75TATACOMM 538.00 559.15 535.00 552.45BAJAJFINSV 7335.00 7499.00 7270.00 7460.20GNFC 300.00 300.10 290.00 291.50CEATLTD 1062.00 1062.00 1006.65 1018.65ENGINERSIN 106.80 109.85 105.90 108.15RBLBANK 652.50 664.95 647.50 657.10APOLLOHOSP 1166.80 1198.00 1162.00 1172.50VOLTAS 576.00 580.40 568.85 573.20MINDTREE 984.95 984.95 975.40 980.00PERSISTENT* 608.00 619.90 607.00 612.80BANKINDIA 83.70 84.95 83.40 84.10DMART 1252.15 1263.55 1243.30 1252.70BRITANNIA 2640.00 2689.90 2640.00 2665.00BLUESTARCO 761.65 784.40 740.00 758.85WOCKPHARMA 386.10 390.30 381.05 383.60ONGC 166.15 170.10 166.15 168.80NBCC 54.00 55.55 53.05 55.20NATIONALUM 49.70 50.20 49.15 49.80LTTS 1685.10 1710.00 1685.05 1694.65GRANULES 111.25 115.05 108.25 113.65GODREJPROP 798.00 802.15 775.00 794.00IOC 152.95 152.95 150.05 150.55NCC 94.00 94.00 90.85 91.25TECHM 805.00 814.45 799.40 809.50ADANIPOWER 41.25 41.85 40.65 40.90CHENNPETRO 239.10 242.00 230.55 233.80CADILAHC 285.00 293.80 280.10 291.00

JUBILANT 610.00 621.50 593.40 617.05KEI 362.05 372.00 362.00 367.35LUPIN 847.00 867.05 835.00 864.15BAJAJ-AUTO 2950.05 2997.10 2943.05 2984.00RAJESHEXPO 692.80 692.80 667.30 668.50HINDPETRO 282.95 283.60 275.70 277.20WESTLIFE 351.05 360.00 343.50 354.25DEEPAKNI 271.35 281.30 267.00 273.85DELTACORP 234.00 236.50 228.70 229.50DABUR 367.00 368.50 364.60 367.85IRB 113.25 114.70 110.45 114.00PFC 108.00 109.15 106.60 108.60UPL 962.00 962.00 943.45 948.25INFIBEAM 42.40 43.10 41.70 42.30TATAELXSI 860.10 869.80 854.15 862.05STAR 489.90 489.90 480.95 483.90NOCIL 123.10 125.70 119.30 119.90RECLTD 137.00 138.65 135.50 136.75DRREDDY 2890.50 2910.90 2840.25 2900.00HEXAWARE 342.20 352.00 341.40 345.00RCF 58.45 58.45 56.30 56.45BEML 830.00 833.90 813.45 821.55AMBUJACEM 213.50 214.10 210.60 213.50SUNTECK 452.35 452.35 436.00 439.95ULTRACEMCO 4470.00 4519.20 4455.85 4482.00TATAPOWER 65.00 65.00 63.95 64.45GILLETTE 7599.00 7599.00 6945.90 7008.00EXIDEIND 207.00 211.00 205.70 209.50ABCAPITAL 98.00 98.10 96.50 96.80RADICO 337.50 344.75 335.75 338.05BANDHANBNK 570.00 580.00 565.00 573.75NMDC 96.20 96.55 94.60 94.80CANBK 256.25 259.90 255.30 257.20GUJGAS 160.70 165.00 160.50 163.30UJJIVAN 309.90 315.00 303.50 309.20SUNTV 522.20 546.80 522.20 542.00M&MFIN 379.00 380.90 373.35 379.30WELCORP 132.25 141.60 132.10 140.00PHILIPCARB 140.60 142.05 137.55 139.30PNBHOUSING 695.00 704.90 694.05 698.05VIPIND 423.00 434.90 419.00 430.00MPHASIS 950.00 950.00 931.45 949.00SOUTHBANK 15.50 15.60 15.05 15.30GRUH 298.45 307.65 297.00 303.00CENTURYTEX 913.50 931.70 905.30 930.00ECLERX 1018.05 1024.15 991.00 998.75TVSMOTOR 489.00 490.20 479.75 489.00LTI 1689.00 1692.80 1660.95 1682.45TV18BRDCST 29.75 29.85 28.70 29.25

TATAGLOBAL 202.00 202.00 195.00 199.40BATAINDIA 1351.55 1374.20 1345.90 1351.00MANAPPURAM 114.65 116.05 112.50 115.00JISLJALEQS 49.15 49.35 48.30 49.00CHOLAFIN 1275.95 1327.50 1263.00 1320.15CIPLA 558.05 560.20 549.10 558.45PIDILITIND 1166.75 1178.25 1156.05 1160.75KTKBANK 121.10 121.70 119.20 120.25BALKRISIND 824.50 848.60 824.50 845.00J&KBANK 54.65 55.10 51.10 52.90ADANIPORTS 369.65 369.65 361.60 363.85JAICORPLTD 103.00 104.90 102.00 102.45POWERGRID 190.00 190.00 186.40 187.80MGL 925.00 942.00 924.35 938.80ICICIPRULI 360.00 367.25 355.30 361.00DIVISLAB 1665.00 1665.00 1619.00 1619.00LICHSGFIN 476.00 481.90 470.60 472.00MFSL 410.45 417.80 403.40 409.00RNAM 190.35 192.70 188.00 189.40AUBANK 637.00 641.10 625.00 631.80UNIONBANK 81.80 83.05 81.55 82.05DBL 454.70 469.25 453.15 461.90ICICIGI 1066.90 1091.80 1066.90 1090.00KEC 290.00 290.00 282.15 286.50BHARATFORG 462.95 466.50 459.45 460.00DCBBANK 211.45 216.50 211.45 215.55ABB 1440.50 1440.50 1379.00 1385.50FORCEMOT 1550.00 1575.00 1541.00 1562.60NAUKRI 1933.00 1936.20 1888.70 1907.60MUTHOOTFIN 561.50 572.00 560.80 565.05IPCALAB 950.40 981.70 944.70 969.95COLPAL 1144.40 1151.00 1130.65 1151.00JUBLFOOD 1264.00 1275.00 1254.00 1270.00KAJARIACER 565.95 568.60 560.25 563.00VBL 910.00 936.20 905.00 910.10MERCK 3704.05 3743.95 3667.00 3702.00CANFINHOME 321.90 326.00 314.50 316.85SRF 2440.00 2467.85 2412.25 2426.70GODREJAGRO 510.00 510.55 492.50 500.05SUVEN 254.15 260.85 254.10 258.95RAYMOND 800.00 810.55 798.00 804.00

GUJFLUORO 984.35 984.40 940.00 940.00SPARC 155.05 158.00 154.20 157.30IDBI 36.90 37.75 36.60 37.50CASTROLIND 148.95 149.30 145.55 146.55EQUITAS 125.30 127.85 122.15 123.00GLENMARK 600.00 613.00 595.45 610.50GAIL 337.95 340.95 333.50 340.50CYIENT 562.30 580.50 562.30 576.40FLFL 475.95 484.00 457.85 460.00MCX 827.00 835.00 819.60 828.00JSWENERGY 67.75 69.45 67.20 67.50AVANTI 349.00 349.00 340.10 343.60GUJALKALI 523.00 523.00 502.05 510.30EIDPARRY 191.70 192.85 186.35 187.85FSL 49.90 50.50 49.30 50.00TRENT 380.60 384.55 364.95 372.00JSL 32.80 36.40 32.45 35.70BLISSGVS 161.90 163.90 158.70 162.55GRASIM 870.70 872.65 858.00 869.95JYOTHYLAB 161.10 161.10 156.55 159.85IDFC 38.50 38.50 37.00 37.65VGUARD 216.50 216.50 203.95 206.55IGL 313.95 316.45 311.35 313.65VENKYS 1960.00 1977.00 1925.85 1935.75GMRINFRA 15.90 16.20 15.70 16.00HIMATSEIDE 195.95 207.35 195.30 204.40OMAXE 206.30 206.30 204.90 205.40SBILIFE 655.00 656.00 640.85 656.00MANPASAND 114.80 115.55 109.05 109.60ABFRL 205.65 209.00 203.60 207.90EICHERMOT 20291.45 20450.00 20195.00 20325.40ISEC 219.45 220.10 217.15 219.65OBEROIRLTY 493.60 505.80 487.85 505.80HAVELLS 733.00 744.50 725.00 739.95JINDALSAW 77.20 78.20 76.45 77.40TATACHEM 590.00 596.00 585.15 586.30ORIENTBANK 90.50 93.20 90.50 92.00OIL 178.10 179.10 175.20 176.80MAHABANK 15.20 16.20 15.00 15.90PAGEIND 21314.35 21563.00 21151.80 21469.00HINDZINC 268.00 268.75 261.05 262.25CHAMBLFERT 144.50 144.70 141.00 142.70ADANIGREEN 38.20 39.50 37.60 39.05MARICO 355.60 356.85 350.55 355.60HSCL 103.10 104.10 101.95 102.50ITI 86.25 86.85 85.30 86.10IFCI 9.55 9.56 9.28 9.39INTELLECT 224.45 226.15 223.55 225.00AMARAJABAT 633.60 637.00 625.00 634.80TAKE 133.50 138.80 133.10 136.25NATCOPHARM* 535.40 547.00 531.45 545.00INDIANB 240.00 241.95 236.55 238.80IBULISL 258.55 267.80 255.60 263.70TATACOFFEE 84.35 86.75 84.35 85.80LAKSHVILAS 75.05 76.35 74.15 74.65WELSPUNIND 52.60 52.75 51.25 51.80NESTLEIND 10320.00 10409.70 10222.00 10379.00SYNDIBANK 36.45 36.90 35.80 36.75HFCL 21.95 22.35 21.80 21.80INFRATEL 264.20 269.85 261.60 267.30KANSAINER 434.00 437.40 423.80 431.10UBL 1349.65 1376.00 1347.65 1372.70SIEMENS 1092.90 1098.95 1077.00 1091.80BBTC 1180.20 1200.50 1172.05 1184.00CROMPTON 228.00 230.50 221.80 224.05JMFINANCIL 83.05 83.50 81.60 81.85PVR 1750.00 1769.00 1740.55 1760.05SHANKARA 482.70 491.90 479.55 480.00BIRLACORPN 554.50 559.00 534.30 550.00HINDCOPPER 43.35 44.20 43.15 43.15NAVKARCORP 29.90 30.05 29.40 29.85PETRONET 236.40 237.75 234.85 236.90HSIL 264.90 276.50 264.90 274.70SWANENERGY 99.10 102.55 99.00 101.60MEGH 62.05 62.90 61.60 61.95SCHAEFFLER 4867.85 4961.60 4769.80 4837.00TORNTPOWER 250.80 253.05 247.20 247.50INOXLEISUR 309.20 321.20 307.40 318.00GODREJIND 477.05 477.05 464.30 470.85JKTYRE 84.00 84.00 82.75 83.40NHPC 23.00 23.10 22.55 22.65LINDEINDIA 495.00 508.05 493.00 506.20GSPL 173.85 177.50 168.80 175.10GODREJCP 636.10 644.00 631.25 640.55LEMONTREE 70.70 71.60 69.85 71.00QUESS 656.95 675.15 653.00 655.10EMAMILTD 369.90 369.90 362.50 365.65AJANTPHARM 1061.50 1071.50 1050.10 1067.00RAMCOCEM 747.00 756.95 740.30 751.90NBVENTURES 93.05 93.05 89.50 90.15CONCOR 475.80 477.80 470.05 474.20GHCL 240.75 244.70 238.00 241.00VINATIORGA 1773.00 1812.85 1734.00 1788.90TORNTPHARM 1707.00 1707.00 1663.60 1663.60FRETAIL 406.95 419.40 406.95 413.50BERGEPAINT 304.70 306.10 298.95 302.00INDHOTEL 148.60 148.90 145.40 147.80AARTIIND 1556.05 1595.00 1531.70 1579.65HUDCO 39.20 39.35 38.55 38.70NIITTECH 1233.00 1238.45 1228.50 1229.15DEEPAKFERT 134.05 136.55 132.40 134.95BAJAJELEC 534.90 535.00 526.95 531.65UFLEX 229.95 229.95 207.55 216.20MINDACORP 116.10 116.10 112.55 113.30OFSS 3460.00 3483.45 3441.00 3475.00PARAGMILK 236.35 239.20 236.30 238.45ITDCEM 115.00 117.80 112.95 114.00GSFC 94.70 94.70 92.85 93.80TRIDENT 65.50 65.75 64.50 64.90

GICRE 235.70 240.70 234.25 234.85JAMNAAUTO 52.65 53.15 52.00 52.00KALPATPOWR 466.00 468.05 448.10 460.00CUMMINSIND 700.80 705.75 697.30 699.35ALBK 44.30 44.80 44.00 44.60RALLIS 146.00 146.60 142.70 142.80MINDAIND 351.75 352.15 340.10 340.10FCONSUMER 41.20 41.20 39.90 40.30SYNGENE 614.00 618.00 601.90 605.00ORIENTCEM 108.45 110.60 107.00 107.90JSLHISAR 79.00 81.25 78.90 80.35MRF 54100.05 54599.00 53942.85 54488.00LALPATHLAB 1005.00 1005.65 977.40 985.00ZENSARTECH 247.00 252.95 245.00 246.50NH 186.00 200.35 185.05 193.50BOSCHLTD 17155.90 17248.90 17009.00 17152.40BHARATFIN 945.00 945.00 902.10 907.75LUXIND 1259.90 1260.00 1230.00 1248.95THOMASCOOK 242.00 243.95 235.05 241.45NETWORK18 30.50 30.90 30.00 30.00CENTRALBK 27.85 29.15 27.65 28.40FORTIS 133.80 133.80 132.00 132.85REPCOHOME 396.40 406.45 394.10 401.40PFIZER 3029.30 3039.00 2958.00 3010.00SUNDRMFAST 540.00 540.00 524.25 524.55GLAXO 1261.00 1270.00 1250.00 1265.00PRSMJOHNSN 85.60 87.00 85.50 86.05THYROCARE 462.05 468.75 458.10 460.45TEJASNET 173.50 180.00 172.10 180.00CARERATING 943.00 950.00 926.15 944.85PIIND 1016.90 1026.00 1005.10 1020.00RCOM 2.25 2.25 2.25 2.25APLLTD 554.95 554.95 535.00 543.00GMDCLTD 72.85 73.10 71.80 72.60SUPREMEIND 1012.00 1013.25 990.00 1000.00MAHINDCIE 221.45 224.20 219.40 219.40ALKEM 1692.70 1741.00 1675.65 1724.80ADANITRANS 205.00 209.00 203.80 204.40IOB 13.15 13.60 13.10 13.24GREAVESCOT 140.95 141.90 139.00 141.20ASTRAZEN 2138.00 2189.25 2095.30 2185.05PRESTIGE 261.85 265.60 260.00 263.05SCHNEIDER 95.00 96.20 93.75 93.75KSCL 448.00 451.00 437.10 443.15COCHINSHIP 364.85 368.25 363.00 365.10SCI 32.50 32.70 32.15 32.55MMTC 24.70 24.90 24.50 24.70GESHIP 269.60 276.20 266.20 268.60BAJAJCON 335.05 341.00 333.00 339.05DCAL 203.80 209.25 203.10 208.05MOTILALOFS 679.00 679.00 662.90 676.00SREINFRA 23.10 23.60 22.50 23.45COFFEEDAY 248.95 253.95 248.00 249.75ATUL 3530.75 3575.00 3516.25 3573.85REDINGTON 87.50 92.90 87.25 92.90ANDHRABANK 23.65 24.00 23.50 23.95ASHOKA 115.45 116.75 115.05 115.70JBCHEPHARM 322.65 331.50 320.05 327.00ALLCARGO 103.70 105.30 102.25 104.35GODFRYPHLP 1025.20 1032.25 1016.10 1026.00TNPL 181.00 186.10 181.00 186.00VTL 1134.00 1135.35 1106.55 1120.00SUDARSCHEM 313.05 319.85 310.55 313.00CENTRUM 29.30 29.65 28.40 29.50FINOLEXIND 465.00 465.00 445.05 451.00MAHSCOOTER 3660.80 3781.50 3652.80 3699.70NLCINDIA 64.80 65.40 64.70 65.35CENTURYPLY 160.60 161.75 158.50 161.75JKLAKSHMI 353.10 355.00 348.40 351.15SHREECEM 19757.05 19757.05 19204.15 19316.75NAVINFLUOR 674.40 677.50 673.00 673.00MOIL 147.95 147.95 146.05 146.60KNRCON 228.95 229.05 224.05 226.60UCOBANK 17.50 17.50 17.05 17.10ISGEC 530.00 530.00 510.00 525.00AIAENG 1650.65 1708.60 1650.65 1700.00CRISIL 1412.05 1412.05 1400.00 1400.00TATAMETALI 595.20 604.50 592.10 602.90GPPL 82.95 84.70 82.00 84.50BAJAJHLDNG 3104.70 3119.90 3054.00 3095.45WABAG 266.70 269.00 263.25 269.00FINCABLES 424.05 424.40 412.60 418.00ADVENZYMES 176.15 177.50 174.00 177.50FDC 169.30 170.40 165.95 167.35JAGRAN 109.55 113.40 109.40 113.00ERIS 591.00 618.55 591.00 608.05SFL 1308.00 1308.00 1236.50 1265.55HEIDELBERG 174.00 176.10 173.80 174.50APLAPOLLO 1496.25 1506.00 1470.00 1475.80AKZOINDIA 1651.45 1683.40 1617.35 1680.00PTC 67.35 67.85 66.80 67.35ASTRAL 1165.00 1175.00 1151.15 1175.00PHOENIXLTD 603.75 604.05 592.70 592.70PNCINFRA 156.25 156.25 152.10 155.55BASF 1261.45 1269.00 1245.50 1249.50RELAXO 864.00 870.95 862.50 868.35SONATSOFTW 335.05 335.50 332.55 333.00EIHOTEL 174.00 175.30 173.05 173.05SHK 147.55 149.10 145.55 149.10APARINDS 661.20 684.10 654.45 658.00GET&D 231.15 233.75 227.80 229.00AEGISLOG 194.60 197.05 192.15 194.05BDL 272.00 273.70 270.00 272.35GEPIL 887.70 909.05 887.70 896.00INDOSTAR 364.65 364.85 355.10 364.55CAPPL 334.55 345.25 330.10 337.00SOBHA 448.85 452.00 445.45 450.00KRBL 316.00 318.30 313.00 316.40NAVNETEDUL 107.50 108.00 106.60 107.80

3MINDIA 22898.00 23111.70 22714.10 22806.20FORBESCO 2210.00 2210.00 2120.00 2146.05SJVN 23.90 24.15 23.80 23.95TATAINVEST 842.10 865.00 842.10 860.00NILKAMAL 1250.00 1254.40 1231.60 1241.70BALMLAWRIE 167.60 168.50 165.00 168.50GULFOILLUB 820.00 835.00 818.05 835.00TIINDIA 377.50 378.00 365.00 365.05SOLARINDS 1070.85 1080.55 1055.25 1075.05CUB 197.40 200.00 194.90 200.00COROMANDEL 415.60 415.60 410.55 410.55NIACL 174.60 174.60 170.15 171.10ENDURANCE 1127.85 1153.95 1125.00 1135.50TVTODAY 292.30 300.20 290.00 298.00ESSELPRO 132.45 133.40 132.45 133.00TIMETECHNO 82.00 82.85 80.35 80.50LAURUSLABS 380.50 386.00 380.50 383.00MAHLOG 479.90 487.30 479.20 479.20TTKPRESTIG 7961.75 8000.00 7891.00 7928.00WHIRLPOOL 1325.35 1353.55 1325.35 1332.00GDL 128.20 133.45 128.20 133.10SANOFI 5573.30 5585.90 5506.20 5510.00SKFINDIA 1859.00 1861.05 1838.70 1857.90PGHH 10370.00 10400.00 10270.00 10390.00IEX 155.80 155.80 153.30 154.90DBCORP 185.85 188.30 183.30 186.75SIS 883.00 883.00 856.10 856.10CARBORUNIV 353.25 357.35 353.25 356.85HAL 640.50 647.95 630.00 641.25SADBHAV 229.55 230.70 221.25 226.60CCL 259.05 266.00 258.90 264.45DHANUKA 374.10 374.10 360.00 365.50HATSUN 715.00 725.00 711.00 725.00GRINDWELL 585.20 587.75 576.00 585.00ITDC 250.40 250.40 246.05 246.85WABCOINDIA 6219.00 6220.05 6177.00 6177.00MONSANTO 2450.05 2517.90 2450.00 2517.90GSKCONS 7001.15 7107.90 6982.75 7089.00CORPBANK 25.50 25.75 25.45 25.65KIOCL 123.60 126.90 121.00 122.30LAXMIMACH 5555.00 5560.00 5483.00 5520.00UNITEDBNK 10.75 10.80 10.63 10.66GREENPLY 147.90 148.70 146.00 146.00SOMANYCERA 380.30 382.80 375.00 375.50TIMKEN 539.00 541.85 530.45 534.00JKCEMENT 831.80 846.85 831.75 836.05GALAXYSURF 988.35 1006.00 988.35 1006.00THERMAX 943.65 960.00 943.65 960.00MAXINDIA 71.10 73.00 71.10 71.50CERA 2740.25 2770.35 2699.40 2770.35STARCEMENT 107.50 110.00 106.75 108.40HERITGFOOD 445.35 450.00 442.00 442.00MHRIL 231.25 231.25 227.80 229.20VMART 2621.30 2621.30 2571.00 2586.05SYMPHONY 1336.00 1347.15 1321.50 1322.05GICHSGFIN 241.20 244.95 240.35 240.40SUPPETRO 200.75 204.00 200.00 204.00MAGMA 126.35 128.75 126.30 126.30JCHAC 1756.00 1795.00 1756.00 1790.00SHARDACROP 381.75 389.00 375.65 380.85NESCO 487.00 494.95 486.20 494.95INOXWIND 58.30 60.00 58.30 60.00ASAHIINDIA 227.00 228.00 225.00 226.65ZYDUSWELL 1297.75 1311.20 1291.40 1299.05CHOLAHLDNG 505.00 505.00 500.05 501.50SUPRAJIT 212.00 218.00 212.00 218.00BLUEDART 3007.00 3025.00 2950.00 2990.00ASTERDM 140.05 143.75 140.05 140.95ABBOTINDIA 7310.00 7325.00 7255.00 7280.00TVSSRICHAK 2119.90 2159.00 2090.00 2090.55LAOPALA 200.25 207.00 194.00 205.20HONAUT 23752.00 23800.00 23700.00 23800.00SHOPERSTOP 451.30 459.95 450.00 459.95BAYERCROP 4010.05 4098.95 4010.05 4077.65SHILPAMED 376.25 377.60 372.45 372.80RATNAMANI 875.00 885.00 863.05 870.00MAHLIFE 380.60 381.50 373.50 374.00IFBIND 765.65 783.10 761.45 783.10KPRMILL 594.50 598.85 592.45 592.45GAYAPROJ 160.40 161.50 158.50 158.65TEAMLEASE 2899.40 2937.50 2899.40 2911.00SHRIRAMCIT 1496.30 1505.70 1477.00 1492.75TRITURBINE 103.20 104.00 103.20 103.55SUNCLAYLTD 2600.00 2600.00 2568.50 2576.00

NIFTY 50

SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY 50 11322.40 11357.60 11255.05 11301.80 -57.65ZEEL 340.00 362.65 335.80 359.45 27.85YESBANK 158.00 171.40 156.50 171.15 10.40BAJAJFINSV 7305.00 7494.20 7278.00 7494.20 148.45BAJFINANCE 2900.00 2991.80 2885.00 2969.00 47.70HEROMOTOCO 2499.00 2555.00 2490.60 2540.00 40.30IBULHSGFIN 671.90 688.25 668.60 683.00 10.00TITAN 1100.00 1110.00 1088.70 1103.20 14.50TECHM 801.00 814.75 799.20 810.40 8.10GAIL 337.10 341.45 333.05 340.60 3.10BRITANNIA 2637.00 2689.80 2637.00 2672.00 22.50TCS 2145.00 2184.10 2136.10 2171.20 18.35HINDUNILVR 1680.10 1713.00 1677.00 1702.45 13.75BAJAJ-AUTO 2950.00 2993.50 2932.30 2980.00 22.25M&M 620.90 627.95 616.10 625.80 4.15TATAMOTORS 184.30 189.80 182.30 186.20 1.10HCLTECH 1124.50 1145.00 1110.10 1138.90 6.30INFRATEL 266.95 269.70 261.50 268.00 1.30SBIN 297.60 301.00 296.10 299.70 1.45INFY 719.15 730.30 715.80 722.00 2.65DRREDDY 2882.25 2909.30 2838.60 2908.40 7.90EICHERMOT 20315.00 20490.85 20227.60 20390.00 53.45ONGC 167.40 170.10 167.40 169.00 0.10SUNPHARMA 436.00 442.70 431.55 439.25 0.10WIPRO 291.80 293.10 290.30 290.80 -0.05ICICIBANK 380.95 385.70 377.55 382.00 -0.20GRASIM 864.00 873.00 857.05 869.00 -1.95ITC 299.40 301.30 296.35 299.85 -0.80LT 1357.00 1368.80 1337.60 1356.00 -4.35CIPLA 559.90 561.05 548.70 556.10 -1.90AXISBANK 733.90 740.50 729.40 732.35 -3.15TATASTEEL 522.55 526.40 516.35 520.00 -2.65MARUTI 6637.00 6678.00 6600.00 6609.85 -40.30ULTRACEMCO 4494.00 4523.95 4455.30 4480.00 -27.65HDFCBANK 2300.00 2300.00 2271.60 2292.00 -15.25HINDALCO 201.70 201.90 196.25 198.50 -1.50INDUSINDBK 1486.00 1489.00 1468.85 1476.50 -12.25HDFC 1926.00 1931.60 1901.30 1914.15 -16.60IOC 152.20 152.95 150.00 150.55 -1.65UPL 961.60 961.60 942.80 950.00 -11.65VEDL 159.00 160.50 156.65 157.45 -1.95POWERGRID 189.90 190.05 186.35 187.35 -2.65JSWSTEEL 288.00 290.50 280.35 284.50 -4.75ADANIPORTS 369.90 370.70 361.10 363.30 -6.50BHARTIARTL 321.25 326.20 312.60 318.50 -6.00NTPC 130.75 130.80 126.40 127.80 -3.00KOTAKBANK 1394.20 1407.90 1366.30 1370.05 -32.15ASIANPAINT 1384.95 1393.65 1346.55 1350.00 -35.70COALINDIA 249.10 250.65 241.15 242.50 -6.60BPCL 379.60 379.60 366.55 367.70 -12.10RELIANCE 1288.80 1288.80 1251.75 1253.15 -46.30

SE 500B

NIFTY NEXT 50

SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY NEXT 50 26649.25 26727.95 26463.65 26632.60 -75.15ICICIGI 1065.45 1094.00 1063.70 1090.00 30.65LUPIN 847.00 868.00 835.00 866.05 15.10CADILAHC 284.25 292.45 282.30 291.30 4.70L&TFH 118.75 122.35 118.40 120.65 1.90BHEL 61.80 62.85 61.55 62.70 0.95ICICIPRULI 358.00 367.60 355.00 360.60 3.70HAVELLS 727.55 745.70 724.65 741.50 7.35MRF 54400.00 54679.95 54000.00 54551.00 433.25SBILIFE 651.05 656.50 641.00 655.65 5.10UBL 1359.00 1378.00 1345.25 1371.25 9.75COLPAL 1147.00 1152.75 1131.00 1150.00 7.60OFSS 3440.00 3469.00 3439.85 3461.90 21.55PETRONET 235.90 238.00 234.40 237.20 1.30GODREJCP 632.90 644.00 631.00 639.45 3.35SRTRANSFIN 1008.00 1043.00 991.00 1032.50 5.25BANKBARODA 111.15 112.65 109.90 111.40 0.45PAGEIND 21299.00 21565.00 21160.00 21438.95 83.55DMART 1256.00 1262.00 1240.00 1250.10 4.55AMBUJACEM 212.50 214.75 210.55 213.55 0.20DABUR 367.00 368.50 364.40 367.30 0.05SIEMENS 1080.30 1099.45 1076.25 1089.00 -0.05IDEA 14.20 14.50 13.95 14.30 0.00MARICO 355.10 357.45 350.15 355.10 -0.05HDFCAMC 1628.00 1639.90 1621.05 1631.75 -1.90BANDHANBNK 568.30 581.00 564.80 569.95 -1.30HDFCLIFE 411.00 411.80 407.00 409.30 -0.95PGHH 10425.00 10428.00 10245.70 10400.00 -24.30ACC 1589.00 1604.85 1566.10 1588.70 -4.50MCDOWELL-N 524.00 531.75 524.00 524.70 -2.10GICRE 237.50 241.70 234.50 235.05 -1.30PEL 2180.95 2205.25 2146.00 2179.95 -13.15DLF 168.70 170.80 166.50 167.90 -1.05PIDILITIND 1167.00 1178.65 1154.45 1157.00 -7.35BAJAJHLDNG 3102.25 3106.55 3051.00 3080.00 -22.25MOTHERSUMI 129.00 131.10 128.20 129.40 -1.10CONCOR 473.65 478.15 470.00 473.00 -4.20NMDC 95.85 96.70 94.55 94.90 -0.95ASHOKLEY 85.60 85.95 83.00 85.05 -0.90NHPC 22.85 23.05 22.55 22.65 -0.25AUROPHARMA 762.00 767.00 751.25 756.50 -8.70BOSCHLTD 17292.85 17299.90 17002.00 17113.40 -215.45NIACL 173.00 174.90 171.00 172.15 -2.25HINDZINC 265.95 269.70 261.40 262.50 -3.45SAIL 52.75 53.35 51.90 52.15 -0.70HINDPETRO 282.90 283.70 275.50 276.85 -5.05INDIGO 1575.70 1575.70 1530.45 1540.10 -34.35BIOCON 545.00 547.90 522.20 531.40 -14.30DIVISLAB 1661.50 1664.75 1615.00 1619.00 -49.50SHREECEM 19727.35 19769.45 19198.00 19215.10 -617.40ABB 1450.00 1450.00 1380.20 1385.00 -68.55

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | MAY 10, 2019world 11

China warns of retaliation if Trump slaps more tariffs

PTI n BEIJING

China has threatened to retal-iate if US President Donald

Trump raises tariffs on USD 200billion worth of goods ahead ofthe crucial 11th round of talksaimed at ending the trade warbetween the world’s two largesteconomies.

The talks are due to be held onMay 9-10 in Washington betweentrade delegations headed byChinese Vice Premier Liu Heand US Trade RepresentativeRobert Lighthizer and USTreasury Secretary StevenMnuchin amid accusations byWashington that Beijing is back-tracking from consensus reachedon key issues in the earlier roundsof talks.

Ahead of the talks, USPresident Donald Trump saidthat he would raise tariffs on USD200 billion worth of Chinesegoods from 10 per cent to 25 per

cent as of May 10 in a bid to pileup pressure on China to concludethe talks to end the trade war atthe earliest.

In a late-night announcementon Wednesday, the ChineseCommerce Ministry whileexpressing regret over the plannedmeasures by the US to raise tar-iffs on imported Chinese prod-ucts, said it would launch retalia-tory measures in kind.

Stating that escalating tradefrictions is against the interests ofthe two peoples as well as peopleof the world, the Ministry said:“China deeply regrets this, andwill be forced to take necessarycounter-measures if the US sideputs the tariff measures intoeffect”.

However, there appears to beno change from the Chinese sidein its participation in the trade asthe announcement neither madeany reference to the 11th round oftalks nor Liu’s participation in it.

The US and China are lockedin a trade war since Trumpimposed heavy tariffs on import-ed steel and aluminium itemsfrom China in March last year, amove that sparked fears of a glob-al trade war. In response, Chinaimposed tit-for-tat tariffs on bil-lions of dollars worth of Americanimports. China is under pressureas its bilateral trade volume withthe US, which is second largesttrade partner of the EuropeanUnion (EU), fell by 20 per cent inthe first four months of this year.

The data — released by theGeneral Administration ofCustoms (GAC) here said onWednesday said that from Januaryto April, the trade between the twocountries was 1.1 trillion yuan(USD 173 billion), down from 20per cent in 2017 prior to theyengaged in a tit-for-tat trade tus-sle last year.

But at the same time, China’strade surplus with the US, one of

the main grievances of the USadministration against China,expanded 10.5 per cent to 570.2billion yuan (USD 84.17 billion)during the period, the GAC said.

Trump is demanding China toreduce the USD 375 billion tradedeficit. He also called for verifiablemeasures for protection ofIntellectual Property Rights (IPR),technology transfer and moreaccess to American goods in theChinese markets.

He has already increased thetariffs on over USD 250 billionworth of Chinese exports to theUS and threatened to extend tar-iffs on USD 200 billion worth ofChinese imports to 25 per cent.China too slapped reciprocal tar-iffs on some US exports to thecountry.

If Trump goes ahead with histhreat to raise tariffs on USD 200billion worth of Chinese importsfrom 10 per cent to 25 per centFriday, the bilateral trade is poised

to tumble further, inflicting deep-er wounds on the two sides andclaiming collateral damages onothers, state-run Global Timesreported.

China is the world’s secondlargest economy after the US.

Despite the escalating war ofwords, however, White Housespokeswoman Sarah HuckabeeSanders said on Wednesday thatBeijing had indicated that it want-ed to make a deal.

US Trade RepresentativeRobert Lighthizer, who is sched-uled to meet with Liu inWashington, on Monday accusedBeijing’s trade negotiators of“reneging” on a number of com-mitments during recently-con-cluded discussions in Beijing, andconfirmed that the US wouldincrease tariffs on billions of dol-lars of Chinese imports on Friday.

The Chinese CommerceMinistry’s response could havebeen more strident, suggesting

that Beijing is trying to keep thedoor open for a resolution, theHong Kong-based South ChinaMorning Post quoted as sayingJames Green, a former East Asiaminister counsellor for trade at theUS’ Beijing embassy from 2013 to2018.

The Chinese statement “isthe bare minimum they wouldhave to say”, said Green, who isnow a senior adviser at theWashington-based consultancyMcLarty Associates.

“They can’t say nothingbecause this is all over the press,the president’s tweets are garner-ing a lot of headlines, the stockmarkets are gyrating.

“Considering the inter-agencyfighting, (the CommerceMinistry) doesn’t want to leave itup to the Foreign Ministry to saysomething... It’s a sign that theChinese have been and continueto put an emphasis on negotiationover confrontation,” he added.

18-year-oldUS nationalpleads guiltyto aiding LeTPTI n WASHINGTON

An 18-year-old US national Wednesdaypleaded guilty to the charges supporting and

recruiting fighters for Pakistan-based terroristgroup Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) which carried outthe deadly 2008 Mumbai terror attack.

Michael Kyle Sewell, from Fort Worth, Texas,was arrested in February, has admitted toencouraging an individual, identified in courtdocuments only as coconspirator 1, to join theLeT.

He now faces up to 20 years in federal prisonand a fine of up to USD 250,000. The sentenc-ing is scheduled for August 12.

According to the guilty plea, Sewell providedthe coconspirator, who he spoke to on socialmedia, with contact information for an indi-vidual he believed could facilitate the cocon-spirator’s travel to Pakistan to join the LeT.

Unbeknownst to Sewell and the coconspir-ator, the facilitator was an undercover FBI agent.

Sewell and the co-conspirator discussed whatthe co-conspirator should say to the undercov-er agent who posed as the facilitator, in order togain the facilitator’s trust and be permitted to jointhe LeT.

He also contacted the facilitator to vouch forthe co-conspirator’s authenticity and told bothof them that he would kill the co-conspirator ifhe turned out to be a spy.

The co-conspirator then contacted the facil-itator and made arrangements to travel toPakistan.

In February, Sewell was charged by the FBIwith using social media to recruit people onbehalf of the LeT and send them to Pakistan forterrorist training.

“We stay on constant alert for radicals plot-ting attacks targeting citizens of the United States,here or abroad,” said US Attorney Nealy Cox saidin a release.

“Countering terrorist threats is our highestpriority, and we will continue to work to stemthe flow of foreign fighters abroad and bring jus-tice to those who attempt to provide materialsupport to foreign terror organizations.”

It is not clear if Sewell is currently in cus-tody, Fox4 News reported.

The LeT is a UN and US-designated glob-al terrorist organisation and has carried out sev-eral terrorist attacks inside India, including theMumbai terrorist attacks in 2008 that took thelives of 166 people, including several Americans.

In 2013, a US court sentenced DavidColeman Headley, an American of Pakistani ori-gin to 35 years in jail for his role in the Mumbaiattack.

Trump invokes ‘privilege’ over

the full Mueller report

AP n WASHINGTON

The White House invokedexecutive privilege

Wednesday, claiming the rightto block lawmakers from thefull report from special coun-sel Robert Mueller on hisTrump-Russia probe and esca-lating the battle betweenPresident Donald Trump andCongress.

The administration’s deci-sion was announced just as theHouse Judiciary Committeewas gaveling in to considerholding Attorney GeneralWilliam Barr in contempt ofCongress over failure to releasethe full report.

Committee ChairmanJerrold Nadler of New Yorkdeclared the action by Trump’sJustice Department was a clearnew sign of the president’s“blanket defiance” of Congress’constitutional rights.

“Every day we learn of newefforts by this administration tostonewall Congress,” Nadler

said. “This is unprecedented.” White House Press

Secretary Sarah Sanders saidthe action was rather aresponse to the “blatant abuseof power” by Democratic Rep.Nadler.

“Neither the White Housenor Attorney General Barr willcomply with ChairmanNadler’s unlawful and recklessdemands,” she said.

Though the White Houseinitially hesitated on invokingprivilege, Trump told his staffand political advisers in recentweeks to refuse to cooperatewith Democrats, believing theparty’s goal was simply to dam-age him politically going intohis re-election campaign. Thecoming legal battle couldstretch to 2020, and the WhiteHouse is aiming to tie up con-gressional probes until ElectionDay.

The president’s decisionwas weeks in the making, thenext inevitable escalation

between the White House andCongress over a number ofprobes, including over materi-als and witnesses from thespecial counsel investigation.The White House has rejectedall efforts to probe Trump’sbusiness dealings or tax returnsas well the West Wing’s secu-rity clearance procedure.

In a letter Wednesday toTrump , Barr explained that thespecial counsel’s files containmillions of pages of classifiedand unclassified information.He said it was the committee’s“abrupt resort to a contemptvote” that “has not allowed suf-ficient time for you to consid-er fully whether to make a con-clusive assertion of executiveprivilege.”

Barr told Trump the pres-ident he should assert privilegenow, “pending a full decisionon the matter.” Democrats onthe committee said the Trumpadministration was tramplingon Congress’s duty to conduct

oversight.“This is a moment in his-

tory,” said Rep. Sheila JacksonLee of Texas. “The presidentnow seeks to take a wreckingball to the Constitution of theUnited States.” But the topRepublican on the panel, Rep.Doug Collins of Georgia, calledthe majority’s decision to pushahead with a contempt resolu-tion “cynical, mean-spirited,counterproductive and irre-sponsible.”

Nadler said earlierWednesday the Trump admin-istration’s refusal to providespecial counsel RobertMueller’s full Russia report toCongress presents a “constitu-tional crisis,” leaving the panelno choice but to move forwardwith a contempt vote againstBarr.

Talks with the JusticeDepartment broke down lateTuesday over the committee’ssubpoena for an unredactedversion of the report.

In this April 3, 2019 file photo, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., voices an objection to a resolution by HouseJudiciary Committee Chair Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., to subpoena special counsel Robert Mueller's fullreport, on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Florida Bar has decided a disciplinary investigation willcontinue into a tweet sent by Gaetz about President Donald Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen. AP

Trump’s sonsubpoenaedAFP n WASHINGTON

The Russia probe plungedWashington into turmoil

Wednesday as Donald Trump’sson reportedly was ordered totestify before a Senate paneland the White House refusedto release material on investi-gations into the president.

A day after the topRepublican in Congress calledthe Russia probe “case closed,”Trump’s conflict with hisDemocratic opponents esca-lated to new heights as a Housepanel voted to hold the nation’sAttorney General Bill Barr incontempt for refusing to turnover key documents.

Following a day of dramathat included Trump assertingexecutive privilege for the firsttime in his presidency, theRepublican-led SenateIntelligence Committee tookthe surprise step of issuing asubpoena to Donald Trump Jrto testify as part of its investi-gation into Russian electioninterference, US media report-ed.

It was the first known legalsummons issued to a memberof the president’s family toforce testimony in the ongoinginvestigation, and comes afterspecial counsel Robert Muellerdeclined to accuse Trump’s2016 campaign of criminalconspiracy to collude with theRussians.

Trump Jr, 41, has testifiedvoluntarily in private once tothe committee, and was pep-pered with questions about aJune 9, 2016 meeting at TrumpTower in New York that he andother campaign officials hadwith a Russian lawyer who hadoffered them dirt onDemocratic presidential can-didate Hillary Clinton.

Committee aides wouldnot confirm the subpoena orwhat they want to discuss withthe president’s eldest son, whocurrently helps run the TrumpOrganization.

Citing a person close toTrump Jr, The Wall StreetJournal reported he had offeredto answer questions in writingfrom the committee, and

planned to fight the subpoena,which demands he testify inperson.

The White House has beenseeking to shield a large swatheof material — including redact-ed portions of Mueller’s report— subpoenaed by lawmakersseeking to exert their oversightresponsibility.

The rare move to invokeexecutive privilege came as theHouse Judiciary Committeetook its most substantive stepyet against a member of theTrump administration byapproving a contempt motionagainst Barr.

“This was a very grave andmomentous step we wereforced to take today,” commit-tee chairman Jerry Nadler saidafter the party-line vote.

Nadler said the contemptcitation will proceed “rapidly”for a full House vote but did notoffer a timeline.

He accused Trump andthe White House ofstonewalling by preventingAmerica’s congressional repre-sentatives from conductingoversight of the executivebranch.

“It’s an attack on theessence of our democracy,”Nadler said. “We are now in aconstitutional crisis.” TheDepartment of Justice swiftlyshot back, branding the con-tempt vote “inappropriatepolitical theatrics.” Hours ear-lier, Trump made clear hewould assert his executive priv-ilege to keep Mueller’s fullreport under wraps.

Suu Kyi tries to save face withMyanmar reporters’ releaseAFP n YANGON

After relentless diplomaticpressure and global out-

rage, fallen democracy iconAung San Suu Kyi finally decid-ed that a pardon for twoMyanmar journalists jailed forreporting on a Rohingya mas-sacre was the only way toresolve an issue that has doggedher government for nearly 18months.

Observers say the unex-pected release of the twoReuters reporters was a politi-cal decision timed to save facefor the country’s civilian leader,after a vigorous internationalcampaign that saw AmalClooney join their legal team,Time magazine put the pair ontheir cover, and journalismawards and honours pile up —including the prestigiousPulitzer Prize.

A presidential pardon freedWa Lone, 33, and Kyaw Soe Oo,29, from prison on Tuesday to

a media frenzy and messages ofcongratulations from the WhiteHouse to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The pair spent more than500 days behind bars undercolonial-era state secrets con-victions after probing the extra-judicial killing of 10 RohingyaMuslims during a militarycrackdown.

Global attention on thereporters and the damagealready done to the country’sreputation were “potentiallycostly” to the government, saidindependent analyst RichardHorsey.

Nobel Laureate Suu Kyi —already seen as a pariah bymany for perceived complicityin the Rohingya’s plight —provoked outcry when sherefused to intervene, insisting“rule of law” must be followed.

The abrupt decision torelease the pair this week wasmade because Myanmar’s lead-ers had “taken into considera-

tion the long-term interest of(the) country”, said governmentspokesman Zaw Htay.

Retired Thai diplomatKobsak Chutikul, who hasworked in an advisory capaci-ty to Suu Kyi’s government, toldAFP that senior officials had allknown a pardon must be grant-ed at some point but “nobodyfelt they could bring this upwith her”.

Political timing was also afactor, observers say.

Myanmar is due to go tothe polls next year and this wasa chance to “get it out of theway” beforehand rather thanrisk overshadowing the vote,Kobsak said.

Behind the internationalcondemnation, backroomdiplomacy appears to haveplayed a key role in convincingSuu Kyi to pardon thereporters.

One man waiting amongthe crowds outside the gates ofYangon’s notorious Insein

Prison was British health expertLord Ara Darzi, whose namebarely came up during regularmedia coverage of the saga.

A close confidant of SuuKyi, he has regularly visited thecountry over the past two yearsin an advisory role on aRakhine state commission.

But he has known the lead-ers for years, and hosted her inLondon after her release fromhouse arrest.

“From what I hear, he final-ly found the opportunity toconvince Suu Kyi this was analbatross hanging round theirnecks,” said Kobsak, whoserved alongside Darzi onanother Myanmar governmentcommission.

The discussion would havetaken place “behind the scenes,in quiet conversations in herhouse”, he added.

Darzi later hinted about hisrole to reporters at a press con-ference following the journal-ists’ release.

Biden promises border plan to counter TrumpAP n LOS ANGELES

Joe Biden said Wednesday thatPresident Donald Trump is

sowing fear at the US borderwith Mexico, not delivering solu-tions, after another month whenabout 100,000 immigrants werearrested trying to enter the coun-try illegally.

“The idea that we are justtrying to scare the living devil outof the American public — ‘MyGod, hordes are coming,’ the wayhe characterizes it — is just sim-ply wrong,” Biden told reportersnear downtown Los Angeles.

The Democratic candidatefor president and former vicepresident said he soon willrelease a proposal to address thenation’s long-running borderproblems.

One of its planks, he said,would be to establish a way todetermine quickly if an immi-grant is qualified to enter the USBut he didn’t answer directlywhen asked if people who enterthe U.S. illegally should qualify

for Medicare or Medicaid, asCalifornia’s governor has pro-posed for young adults.

While munching tacos at arestaurant with DemocraticMayor Eric Garcetti, Biden alsolamented the lack of stronger guncontrol, despite the rash of massshootings. And he predictedthat the crowded Democraticpresidential field would quicklyshrink in size next year, afterbeing asked if a long primarycould weaken the eventualDemocratic candidate.

He entered the restaurant ina working-class neighborhoodnear downtown to a sprinkle ofapplause, and posed for selfieswith surprised patrons whoappeared to be outnumbered bya large group of reporters andphotographers.

Garcetti flirted with runningfor president, and Biden said hewas relieved when the mayorannounced in January that hewould not enter the race, describ-ing him as a potentially toughopponent.

Barr faces

contempt

AP n WASHINGTON

The House JudiciaryCommittee voted to hold

Attorney General William Barrin contempt of Congress, esca-lating the Democrats’ extraordi-nary legal battle with the Trumpadministration over access to spe-cial counsel Robert Mueller’sTrump-Russia report.

The vote Wednesday cappeda day of ever-deepening disputebetween congressionalDemocrats and President DonaldTrump, who for the first timeinvoked the principle of execu-tive privilege, claiming the rightto block lawmakers from the fullreport on Mueller’s probe ofRussian interference to helpTrump in the 2016 election.

Committee ChairmanJerrold Nadler of New Yorkdeclared the action by Trump’sJustice Department a clear newsign of the president’s “blanketdefiance” of Congress’ constitu-tional rights to conduct oversight.

London: Prime MinisterTheresa May has repeated theUK Government’s deep regretover the Jallianwala Bagh mas-sacre to mark the 100thanniversary of the British colo-nial era attack in Amritsar onVaisakhi.

The massacre took place atJallianwala Bagh in Amritsar(undivided Punjab) during theVaisakhi festival on April 13,1919, when troops of theBritish Indian Army under thecommand of Colonel ReginaldDyer opened fire at a crowd ofpeople holding a pro-indepen-dence demonstration, leavingscores dead.

At a Vaisakhi reception atDowning Street in LondonWednesday evening, PrimeMinister May repeated wordsfrom her House of Commonsstatement last month as shereferred to the “shameful scar”on British Indian history.

“We deeply regret whathappened and the pain inflict-ed on so many people,” she told

a gathering of the Indian dias-pora.

She said: “No one who hasheard the accounts of whathappened that day can fail tobe deeply moved. No one cantruly imagine what the visitorsto those gardens went throughthat day one hundred yearsago.

“It was — as the formerPrime Minister HH Asquithdescribed it at the time — ‘oneof the worst outrages in thewhole of our history’.”

However, it fell short of aformal apology demanded by across-section of British parlia-mentarians and Sikh activists tomark the centenary of the mas-sacre that affected thousands ofIndian lives.

“I do not understand whythe British Government has notto this day agreed to say sorry,”said Lord Loomba, who hasalso called for an investigationinto whether General Dyerinstigated the “huge atrocity” ofhis own accord or was follow-

ing orders from higher author-ities during the British Raj.

Most recently, during aWestminster Hall debate inthe House of Commons tomark National Sikh HistoryAwareness Month, a number ofBritish Indian MPs had repeat-ed calls for a formal apologyand expressed the hope thatperhaps the Downing Streetreception would be the appro-priate moment for it.

However, the only refer-ence to the debate made byMay noted: “I am delighted that

last week a debate inWestminster Hall focused onthe contribution of Sikhs to theUK – following on from thelaunch of Sikh History andAwareness month by SeemaMalhotra MP in April.

“There were some greatcontributions made during thatdebate — and it was a timelyreminder of the hard work,compassion, and generosity ofSikhs in communities up anddown the country and abroad.”

May admitted that whileshe had never attended a

Vaisakhi Nagar Kirtan, shehad heard that they were “fan-tastic events” when the Sikhcommunity came together tocommemorate the birth of theKhalsa.

She added: “But although Ihaven’t yet been to one ofthese parades — I have beenlucky enough to be a frequentguest at gudwaras in my con-stituency and across the UK –and can not only imaginewarm Punjabi welcome at thistime of year — but just howgood the food must be.

“This of course is a partic-ularly important year for thewhole of the Sikh community— 2019 marks the 550thanniversary of the birth ofGuru Nanak, the first Sikhguru, in 1469. And I am surewe will see many events to cel-ebrate this later in the year.”

The Downing Street cele-bration involved a shabad kir-tan performance by students ofthe Nishkam School in westLondon. PTI

May not ‘sorry’ but feels deep regret

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | MAY 10, 2019world 12

Europe rejects Iran ultimatum

AFP n SIBIU (ROMANI)

European powers onThursday rejected “ulti-matums” from Tehran

but vowed to fight to save theIran nuclear deal, as tensionswith the US soar.

Iran said it would defysome restrictions agreed underthe 2015 accord and threatenedto go further if Europe, Chinaand Russia fail to deliver sanc-tions relief within 60 days.

Tehran says it is respond-ing to unilateral US sanctionsimposed by Washington afterPresident Donald Trumpripped up what he called a“horrible” deal, dealing a severeblow to the Iranian economy.

Europe has stressed theimportance of the deal — inwhich Iran agreed to curb itsnuclear ambitions in return forsanctions relief — for its ownsecurity, and EU presidentJean-Claude Juncker said itwould be on the agenda atThursday’s summit in theRomanian town of Sibiu.

EU diplomatic chiefFederica Mogherini andFrance, Germany and Britain— the three European signa-tories to the deal — voiced“great concern” at PresidentHassan Rouhani’s dramatic

intervention.“We strongly urge Iran to

continue to implement its com-mitments under the JCPOA infull as it has done until now andto refrain from any escalatorysteps,” they said in a jointstatement, referring to the JointComprehensive Plan of Action.

“We reject any ultimatumsand we will assess Iran’s com-pliance on the basis of Iran’sperformance regarding itsnuclear-related commitmentsunder the JCPOA.”

Arriving at the Sibiu sum-mit, Austrian chancellorSebastian Kurz told reporters:“To be honest, we have a dif-

ferent approach than the UShas. “We still think that thedeal with the Iranians was achance to bring Iran out of iso-lation. But of course we realiseand we see that the US has atotally different approach andthat is why it will stay a diffi-cult issue.”

The EU statement stressedthe International AtomicEnergy Agency’s (IAEA) rolein monitoring Iran’s compli-ance with the deal — suggest-ing no concrete action is like-ly until the inspectors’ nextreport at the end of May.

But there are tensionswithin the EU, with some

countries under domesticpressure to take a tougherline on Tehran, particularlyafter Iranian intelligence wasaccused over assassinationplots in France, Denmark andthe Netherlands.

Europe and Washingtonhave been at loggerheads overhow to deal with the Islamicrepublic since Trump tookoffice. In recent days, the USdeployed an aircraft carrierstrike group to the Gulf —raising military tensionsalongside the diplomatic dis-cord. Trump hit back atTehran’s threats by tighteningthe economic screws further,

slapping sanctions on theIranian mining industry TheWhite House, which hasalready taken steps to scupperIran’s oil exports — its crucialmoney-maker — said the steeland mining sector was thecountry’s second-largestsource of foreign revenue,accounting for 10 per cent ofexports.

“Tehran can expect fur-ther actions unless it funda-mentally alters its conduct,”Trump said in a statement.

Since the US pullout,Europe has sought to keep Iranin the deal by trying to main-tain trade via a special mech-anism called INSTEX to clearpayments without falling foulof American sanctions.

The European statementreiterated its commitment tohelping the Iranian peopleenjoy the benefit of sanctionsrelief, condemning the USreimposition.

Europe is “determined tocontinue pursuing efforts toenable the continuation oflegitimate trade with Iran”including through INSTEX.

But their efforts haveborne little fruit so far, withIran’s Supreme LeaderAyatollah Ali Khamenei dis-missing them as a “bitter joke.”

Guaido’s deputy arrested

AFP n CARACAS

Venezuelan intelligenceagents Wednesday

detained a senior leader of theo p p o s i t i o n - d o m i n a t e dNational Assembly, the firstarrest of a lawmaker since thefailed uprising againstPresident Nicolas Maduro lastweek.

Edgar Zambrano saidagents had towed him and hiscar to prison after he refused toget out of the vehicle.

Zambrano is deputy toNational Assembly speakerJuan Guaido, who is recognizedas the country’s leader by morethan 50 states, and who orga-nized the April 30 revolt.

“We warn the people ofVenezuela and the interna-tional community: the regimehas kidnapped the first vice-president” of the NationalAssembly, said Guaido, whoheads the body and has been ina power struggle with Madurosince declaring himself actingpresident in January.

“They are trying to destroythe power representing allVenezuelans, but they will notachieve it,” Guaido said.

Shortly before his arrest,Zambrano said on Twitter thatagents of the SEBIN intelli-gence agency had encircledhis vehicle outside the head-quarters of the DemocraticAction party.

“As we refused to get out ofour vehicle, they used a tow

truck to forcibly take us direct-ly to the Helicoide,” a notoriouspolitical prison and the head-quarters of the secret service, hetweeted. The United States,European Union and severalLatin American states criti-cized Zambrano’s arrest.

On the Twitter account ofits now-closed embassy inCaracas, Washington calledthe detention “illegal and inex-cusable.” It warned of “conse-quences” if he is not immedi-ately released.

Early Thursday USPresident Donald Trump —whose country was among thefirst to back Guaido — said hewas “discussing the terribleabuses by Maduro.” Trump did

not mention Zambrano butsaid the US will stand with thepeople of Venezuela “for how-ever long it takes!” Along withthe US, Argentina, Colombia,Chile and Peru protested hisarrest while the EU said it was“another flagrant violation ofthe country’s constitution.”Separately, Venezuela’sSupreme Court indicted threemore lawmakers for backingGuaido’s uprising, which set offtwo days of clashes betweensecurity forces and protesters.

Attorney General TarekWilliam Saab says the clashesleft six people dead.

The three lawmakers —named as Freddy Superlano,Sergio Vergara and Juan

Andres Mejia — are accused ofhigh treason and conspiracy.

This brings to 10 the num-ber of opposition lawmakersindicted for supporting Guaido,following a court announce-ment on Tuesday that sevenothers will be prosecuted.

Soon after the announce-ment, the ConstituentAssembly — which effectivelyacts as a regime rubber stamp— stripped the seven of theirparliamentary immunity.

Guaido was himselfstripped of immunity on April2.

The Constituent Assembly,which Maduro created to side-line the National Assembly,has said it would suspend theimmunity of any lawmakerswho backed the uprising.

Guaido said in a speechafter the first indictments onTuesday that the government’s“only response... is to persecute,because they no longer govern,because they no longer havecommand.” Venezuela has suf-fered five years of recession thathas seen more than 2.7 millionpeople flee poverty, hyperin-flation, food shortages andinsecurity since 2015, accord-ing to United Nations figures.

On Wednesday Madurowarned of a possible “militaryescalation” with neighboringColombia — which recognizesGuaido as interim president —after Bogota accused Caracas ofsheltering leftist guerrillas on itsterritory.

Opposition Deputy of the National Assembly Stalin Gonzalez talks to journalists atthe Democratic Action political party headquarters in Caracas after NationalAssembly Vice President Edgar Zambrano was arrested when leaving theheadquarters. AP

Fake Germanheiress faces sentencing in NY fraud caseAP n NEW YORK

The day of reckoning hasarrived for the German

con artist who passed herselfoff as a wealthy heiress andswindled tens of thousands ofdollars from New York banksand hotels.

Anna Sorokin is sched-uled to be sentenced Thursdayin state court following herconviction last month on mul-tiple counts of grand larcenyand theft of services.

Her defense attorney, ToddSpodek, has said Sorokin facesup to 15 years in prison on themost serious charge. She hasbeen in custody since herOctober 2017 arrest.

Sorokin went by AnnaDelvey when she defraudedfinancial institutions andManhattan celebrity circles intobelieving she had a fortune ofabout $67 million (60 millioneuros) overseas that couldcover her jet-setting lifestyle,high-end clothing and lavishhotel stays.

The 28-year-old falselyclaimed her father was a diplo-mat or an oil baron, and falsi-fied bank records and forgedher identity to further thescam.

Her ruse included an appli-cation for a $22 million loan tofund a private arts club, com-plete with exhibitions, instal-lations and pop-up shops, pros-ecutors said. She was deniedthat loan but persuaded onebank to lend her $100,000 thatshe failed to repay.

In all, prosecutors accusedher of stealing some $275,000,including a $35,400 bill shefailed to pay for a plane shechartered to and from theBerkshire Hathaway share-holders meeting in Omaha,Nebraska.

But jurors acquitted her oftwo counts, including an alle-gation that she promised afriend an all-expenses paidtrip to Morocco and then stuckher with the $62,000 bill. Shewas also found not guilty of oneof the most serious charges inthe indictment: attempting tosteal more than $1 millionfrom City National Bank.

Pence slams rulings against Trump policiesAP n WASHINGTON

Vice President Mike Pencesaid Wednesday that the

Trump administration intendsto challenge the right of feder-al district courts to issue rulingsblocking nationwide policies,arguing that such injunctionsare obstructing PresidentDonald Trump’s agenda onimmigration, health care andother issues.

In a speech at the FederalistSociety conference inWashington, Pence argued thatnationwide injunctions issuedby federal judges “prevent theexecutive branch from acting,compromising our national

security by obstructing thelawful ability of the president tostop threats to the homelandwhere he sees them.”

He said the administrationwill seek opportunities to putthis question before theSupreme Court “to ensure thatdecisions affecting everyAmerican are made either bythose elected to represent theAmerican people or by thehighest court in the land.” Topadministration officials haveoften complained about theproliferation of nationwideinjunctions since Trumpbecame president, so the ideaof pushing back is not new.

Indeed, the administration

has asked the Supreme Courtto deal with nationwide injunc-tions in the past, including inthe travel ban case. But thecourt never addressed thenationwide extent of theinjunction against the banissued by lower courts becausethe justices upheld the ban inits entirety.

For the Supreme Court toissue a definitive ruling onnationwide injunctions, itwould first have to rule againstthe administration on theunderlying merits of the casebefore it. Only at that pointcould the court considerwhether a lower court ordershould apply nationwide or

only to the people who arechallenging an administrationpolicy. A nationwide injunctionhas the effect of stopping “a fed-eral policy everywhere,” theadministration told theSupreme Court in the travelban case. The more commonpractice is for a judge to issuean order that gives only thepeople who sued what theywant.

A White House officialsaid the administration wouldbe looking for potential rele-vant cases to press the issue,and said Pence also discussedit at the end of the Cabinetmeeting convened by the pres-ident.

In happy Bhutan, the PM is a doc on SaturdaysAFP n THIMPU

It’s Saturday in Bhutan andLotay Tshering has just com-

pleted urinary bladder repairsurgery on a patient at theJigme Dorji WangchuckNational Referral Hospital.

But Tshering is no ordinarydoctor. During the week, healso happens to be prime min-ister in the Himalayan king-dom famous for measuringcitizens’ Gross NationalHappiness.

“For me it’s a de-stresser,”said Tshering, who was elect-ed prime minister of the nationof 750,000 people last year inonly its third democratic elec-tion since the end of absolutemonarchy in 2008.

“Some people play golf,

some do archery, and I like tooperate. I am just spending myweekends here,” the 50-year-oldtold AFP.

No one at the hospital batsan eyelid as Tshering, wearinga faded lab coat and crocs,walks through the busy corri-dors. Nurses and hospital atten-dants continue with their jobsas normal.

The Buddhist kingdom isin many ways a case apart,benchmarking itself on happi-ness instead of economicgrowth.

One of the pillars of GrossNational Happiness is conser-vation of the environment.

Bhutan is carbon negativeand its constitution mandatesthat 60 percent of the countryremains forested. It is also big

on ecotourism and charges adaily fee of $250 per visitor inhigh season.

The capital Thimphu hasno traffic lights, the sale oftobacco is banned, and televi-sion was only allowed in 1999.

Archery competitions, withliberal amounts of the localfirewater, are a national craze.Phalluses painted on houses toward off evil are also a commonsight. But the “Land of theThunder Dragon” also has itsproblems, among them cor-ruption, rural poverty, youthunemployment and criminalgangs.

Tshering, who trained inBangladesh, Japan, Australiaand the United States, began hispolitical career in 2013, but hisparty failed to make headway

in that year’s election.After losing, King Jigme

Khesar Namgyel Wangchuckcommanded him to lead ateam of doctors and travelwith the monarch’s entourageto far-flung villages to providefree medical treatment.

Now as prime minister, hespends Saturdays treatingpatients referred to him andThursday mornings offeringmedical advice to trainees anddoctors. Sunday is family time.

Back in the prime minis-ter’s office, a lab coat hangs onthe back of his chair.

This, he said, serves as areminder of his election pledgeto focus on healthcare.

Patients don’t have to paydirectly for healthcare inBhutan, but Tshering says that

much more remains to be donedespite important strides inmedical treatment.

While the country has seenmajor improvements in lifeexpectancy, a reduction ininfant mortality and the elim-ination of many infectious dis-eases, the number of lifestylediseases — including alco-holism and diabetes — is on therise. “We must now slowly putmore focus on secondary andtertiary healthcare,” Tsheringsaid.

At the hospital, Tshering’spatient, a 40-year-old mannamed Bumthap who under-went a five-hour bladder repairsurgery, told AFP he waspleased with the results.

“Now that I have beenoperated on by the prime min-

ister, who is considered one ofthe best doctors in the country,I feel more relieved,” he said.

Politics, the prime ministersaid, is a lot like being a doc-tor. “At the hospital I scan andtreat patients. In the govern-ment, I scan the health of poli-cies and try to make them bet-ter,” he said.

“I will continue doing thisuntil I die and I miss not beingable to be here every day,” headded.

And on the days when hedrives his car around the cap-ital Thimphu — instead ofusing his official chauffeur —an-all-too familiar urge takeshold of him. “Whenever I driveto work on weekdays, I wish Icould turn left towards the hos-pital.”

N Korea fires projectiles,says South’s militaryAFP n SEOUL

North Korea fired a numberof unidentified projectiles

Thursday, the South’s militarysaid, as a US envoy visitedSeoul for discussions on how tobreak the nuclear deadlock.

“North Korea fired uniden-tified projectiles eastward”from Sino-ri in North Pyonganprovince, the South’s JointChiefs of Staff said in a state-ment.

The launch came just daysafter North Korea carried outa military drill and fired mul-tiple projectiles, with at leastone believed to be a short-range missile.

It was also hours after theUS Special Representative onNorth Korea, Stephen Biegun,arrived in Seoul lateWednesday for talks with SouthKorean officials on the allies’approach towards Pyongyang.

It is Biegun’s first visit toSeoul since the Hanoi summitbetween US President DonaldTrump and the North’s leaderKim Jong Un collapsed withoutagreement.

“We are still analysingwhether it is a single or multi-ple projectiles,” JCS spokesmanKim Joon-rak told AFP.

Pyongyang, Seoul andWashington have refrainedfrom calling Saturday’s launcha missile, which could jeopar-dise the ongoing diplomacy byviolating UN Security Councilresolutions as well as Kim’spromise of a freeze on long-range missile tests.

The North has said

Saturday’s drill involved mul-tiple Pyongyang “long-rangemultiple rocket launchers andtactical guided weapons”.

But experts say the Northlaunched at least one short-range missile during the exer-cise, with a report on therespected 38 North websitesuggesting that it was a “directimport” of a Russian-producedIskander.

“The debris generated bythe launch in North Korea is avirtual match of a launch ofIskander conducted by Russia,”it said.

If North Korea importedIskanders from Russia, thereport added, “it has an exist-ing capacity to deliver war-heads to targets in South Koreawith great precision”.

A summit between SouthKorean President Moon Jae-inand the North’s Kim Jong Una year ago triggered a rapiddiplomatic thaw on the penin-

sula, paving the way for a his-toric first meeting betweenKim and Trump.

But their second summit inHanoi in February broke upwithout agreement on sanc-tions relief and whatPyongyang might offer inexchange, and the North hassince blamed Seoul for sidingwith Washington, leaving inter-Korean relations in limbo.

A spokesman for theNorth’s delegation for militarytalks with the South said ear-lier Thursday that Saturday’s“routine drill” was conductedwithin its own waters andadded the “flying objects” didnot pose any threat to the US,South Korea and Japan.

“The firing of the inter-mediate- and long-range mis-sile and the ICBM was notinvolved in it,” he said in astatement carried by the offi-cial Korean Central NewsAgency.

Bangladeshi IS

fighter held on

return from Syria

PTI n DHAKA

ASaudi Arabia-bornBangladeshi, who returned

to the country after fighting forthe Islamic State (IS) in Syria, hasbeen arrested by the counter-ter-rorism police for alleged plans toestablish a caliphate in theMuslim-majority country.

Born in Saudi Arabia to aBangladeshi father and aPakistani mother, 33-year-oldMotaj Abdul Majid KafiluddinBepari was arrested by DhakaMetropolitan Police’s (DMP)Counter-Terrorism andTransnational Crime (CTTC)unit near a mosque in Dhaka’sUttara neighbourhood on May 5,the Dhaka Tribune reported.

According to the first infor-mation report (FIR) of the caserecorded under Anti-TerrorismAct with Uttara (West) police sta-tion, Motaj and five or sixunnamed people were accusedfor “planning sabotage with dif-ferent militant organisations toestablish caliphate by displacingthe government.” Dhakalaunched a major crackdownagainst extremists following anattack by local outfit New Jamaat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh(JMB) on a cafe in the capital in2016 that killed 22 people, includ-ing an Indian and 17 other for-eigners. Confirming the arrest onWednesday, CTTC DeputyCommissioner Mohibul IslamKhan said interrogation is under-way to know his motive.

Police also seized a passport,a Saudi Arabian ID card, Saudidriving licence, an iPhone, andBangla translations of severalessays on caliphate in Bangladeshfrom Motaj’s possession, thedaily reported.

Motaj took a Bangladeshi

passport in 2014 from theBangladesh embassy in SaudiArabia and then went to Turkeyin 2016 using it, the FIR stated.

He was influenced by the ISideology and was trying to get intouch with the terror group,after which he attempted toenter into Syria several times, butfailed. Later in 2017, he tried toenter Syria via Egypt and Turkeyfrom Saudi Arabia, but failedagain. Finally in 2018, Motaj suc-ceeded, but it was too late, as theIS regime had been ousted fromSyria by then. After this, he fledto Turkey where his plan was toflee to any European country viaGreece. But as Turkish policebegan a drive against terrorists,Motaj decided to return toBangladesh and arrived inDhaka. According to the casefiles, police was aware of his entryand was tracking his movementsto arrest him.Citing findingsfrom the primary inquiry, the FIRsaid Motaj believed in the ideol-ogy of banned militant outfitNew JMB. ]

No police official agreed topublicly comment on Motaj’smatter. However, CTTC chiefand Additional CommissionerMonirul Islam recently saidBangladeshis returning homeafter joining IS would face legalaction. He also said a section ofyouths have been going to join ISsince late 2014. They suspectsome aspiring militants werearrested and some were killed.

“If they want to returnhome now, they have no alter-native but to come by air. Theyneed passports. But peoplewho left the country in 2014 nolonger have valid passports. Ifanybody wants to return, theywill have to apply for a travelpass,” Monirul said.

Chinese court adjourns overCanadian’s death penalty appealAFP n BEIJING

AChinese court adjourned ahearing on a Canadian

man’s appeal against his deathsentence for drug smugglingwithout a decision Thursday ina case that has deepened adiplomatic spat betweenBeijing and Ottawa.

Robert Lloyd Schellenberg,36, was sentenced to death inJanuary after a court deemedhis previous 15-year prisonsentence too lenient.

His appeal hearing came aday after a top executive ofChinese telecom giant Huawei,Meng Wanzhou, appeared incourt in Canada to fight a USextradition bid that triggeredthe diplomatic storm.

The Liaoning High People’sCourt in northeast China saidin a statement that “all proce-dural rights of appellantSchellenberg were guaranteedin accordance with the law”.

The trial has adjournedand the court will “select a dayor time to pronounce the sen-tence,” it said without specify-ing.

Schellenberg’s case is seenas potential leverage for Meng,who was arrested on a USextradition request related toIran sanctions violations — alink that Beijing has repeated-ly denied.

Following the Huaweiexecutive’s arrest in December,China detained formerCanadian diplomat MichaelKovrig and businessmanMichael Spavor, in whatobservers saw as retaliation.

Canadian Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau has said thatChina had “chosen to arbitrar-ily” sentence Schellenberg todeath.

His government has plead-ed for clemency.

Fb auto-generates videos celebrating extremist imagesWashington (AP): A confidential whistleblower’s complaintto the Securities and Exchange Commission obtained by TheAssociated Press alleges the social media company has exag-gerated its success in removing extremist content.

Even worse, it shows that the company is inadvertentlyusing propaganda by militants and hate groups to auto-gen-erate videos and pages that could be used for networking.

Facebook likes to give the impression that it’s staying aheadof extremists by taking down their posts, often before usersever even see them.

But over five months last year, researchers monitored pagesby users who affiliated themselves with groups designated asterrorist organizations. In that period, only 38 percent of theposts with prominent symbols of extremist groups wereremoved.

The company concedes that its systems are not perfect, butsays they are improving.

The Imperial Spiceis serving heart-

warmingexperiences, fromsoft and tantalisingAmritsari kulcha topatate pleasersChola tacos, thererare also chef specialFafda kadi withGhee pulao to Idliplatter. Devourmeaty specials with Chakundari ghost,Jatooni jhinga and Nasi goreng.Time: 11.30 pm to 12 am Date: Till May Price:(for two) `1,500 plus taxes Venue: TheImperial Spice, Connaught Place.

vivacity {food} 13

PANEER TIKKA AND PINEAPPLE SANDWICH

WHAT YOU NEED

● Butter: 4 tsp

● Green chutney: 4 tbsp

● Sandwich bread: 8slices

● Tomato, onion andkachumber salad: 4 tbsp

● Paneer tikka, sliced:200 gm

● Pineapple: 4 slices

METHOD

● Spread softened butter and green chutney on oneside of all bread slices.

● Mix sliced paneer tikka with kachumber salad,divide equally and arrange this filler on half the breadslices.

● Top it with the pineapple slice and cover withremaining buttered slices of bread.

● Cut into triangles and serve.

Courtesy: Del Monte

MATRA KULCHA

PATE

WHAT YOU NEED

● Oil: 3 tsp

● Butter: 5 gm

● Ghee: 5 gm

● Tamarind

● Turmeric: ¼ tsp

● Red chilli powder: ½ tsp

● Cumin powder: ¼ tsp

● Coriander powder: ½tsp

● Ginger (finely chopped)

● Garam masala: ¼ tsp

● Chaat masala: ½ tsp

● Apple: 1/2

For garnishing:

● Onion: 2 tbsp

● Tomato: 2 tbsp

● Coriander leaves

● Green chilli (slit): 1

● Lemon: ¼

● Pinch of chaat masala

METHOD

● First, pressure cook onecup white peas, two cupwater and ½ tsp salt.

● Now in a wok, heatthree tsp oil and sauteginger. Further saute allthe other spices.

● Add the above in thepressure cooker and mixwell. Mash it slightly fordesired consistency.

● Boil for five minutes ormore adjusting theconsistency. Let it cooldown a bit and then grindit.

● Garnish with onion,tomato, coriander leaves,ginger, green chilli,carrotpickle, lemon and chaatmasala. Serve it withsteam kulcha.

Courtesy: Chef Ramesh Rana atDecode Air Bar.

VEG THAI GREEN CURRY

WHAT YOU NEED

To make Thai green currypaste:

● Lemongrass: 5 stalks

● Fresh green thai bird chillies,stemmed and chopped: 3

● Coriander: 1/4 cup

● Coriander seeds: 1 tbsp

● Basil leaves: 3 sprig

● Cumin seeds: 1 tsp

● Whole black peppercorns: 1tsp

● Onion: 1

● Spring Onion: 1/4 cup

● Cloves: 3

● Garlic

● Ginger

● Salt to taste

To make Thai green curry:

● Unsweetened coconut milk:400 ml

● Thai green curry paste: 3 tbsp

● Broccoli: 1 cup

● Carrot :1

● Bell pepper: 1

● Green zucchini (thickly sliced):1/2

● Brown sugar: 1 tbsp

● Basil leaves or kaffir limeleaves: 1 sprig

● Salt to taste

● Cooking oil: 1 tsp

METHOD

● To make the Thai currypaste, take lemongrass stalksand trim any root section belowthe bulb base. Add and blendgreen chillies, coriander leaves,basil leaves, coriander seeds,cumin seeds, peppercorns,onions, spring onions, garlic,ginger and salt along with thelemongrass. Add little bit ofwater and grind till it becomesa paste.

● To make the curry, heat oilfirst. Add the vegetables —carrots, zucchini, broccoli andbell peppers. Stir the

vegetables on high heat untillightly tender. Once tender, turnoff the heat and keep aside.

● Add a teaspoon of oil intothe hot wok, next add in two tothree tablespoons of the Thaicurry paste and saute for a fewseconds in the oil.

● Next, add a tablespoon ofbrown sugar and then 400 mlof coconut milk.

● Stir to mix all the ingredientsand allow the mixture tothicken a little.

● Once the mixture boils, addin some torn basil leaves andthe stir fried vegetables. Stirthe mixture, give it a light boiland the Vegetarian Thai curry isready to be served.

Courtesy: Chef Kamaljeet at

The Masala Grill.

Hilton Garden suggests togive your mother a break

this Mother’s Day from all thecooking and plan a date. It isa day to celebrate the mostspecial woman in your life.Savour delectable dishes likeAatishi murg tikka, Grilledfish lemon butter masala,Paneer butter masala andNew York cheese cake. Time:12 pm to 3.30 pm Date: May12 Venue: Hilton Garden Inn,Saket.

R E C I P E S

The Marketplace is serving both special alcoholicand non-alcoholic drinks like Strawberry

lemonade, Tipsy orange, Drunken apple and Zestyblue. Non-alcoholic segment includes Watermelonpeach, Mango basil, Kiwi apple and more. Time:12 pm to 3.30 pm; 7.30 pm to 12 am Date: TillMay 31 Price: (for two) `1,300 plus taxes Venue:The Marketplace, Kirti Nagar.

Nueva presents Japanese and Chinesespecialities and on offer are delicacies

like open-faced Shumai, Crystal dumplings,pan-seared and home-made Pot-stickers.Enjoy food, live music and more as youreserve your spot here. Time: 12 pm to11.45 pm Date: Till May Price: (for two)`1,500 plus taxes Venue: Nueva, RKPuram.

Cafe Delhi Heights celebratesMother’s Day with special recipes

from Mom’s kitchen. From Butterchicken tikka masala served withJalapeno biryani, Punjabi palak chole,Sindhi kadi, Palatable paneer curry inhurry and more. Time: 10.30 pm to 12am Date: Till May 19 Price: (for two)`2,000 plus taxes Venue: All outlets ofCafe Delhi Heights.


C H E F T A L K

Fio Cookhouse and Bar has puttogether a Dandi space. The

cocktail menu, which has beenderived from fresh and naturalingredients, offers signaturecocktails like Grandee Dandy,Dandy-Lion, Rubicon and Fiore.The food menu includes Dandybutterfly prawns, Black chickenlettuce cups and Truffle mushroomcroquettes. Time: 12 pm to 1 amPrice: (for two) `3,000 plus taxes(inclusive of alcohol) Venue: Dandy,The Fio Bar, Nehru Place.

gorge us

While fermentedfood has beenconsumed for along time, its ben-efits are only grad-

ually becoming apparent.Consequently restaurants are intro-ducing these often times as sidedishes which accompany a morefamiliar main.

Heading into the harsh sum-mers, it becomes all the moreimportant to eat things gut friend-ly and healthy. The probiotics pro-duced during fermentation restoresthe balance of friendly bacteria inyour gut and may not only allevi-ate some digestive problems butalso give your immune system aboost and reduce your risk ofinfections like the common cold.Studies have shown that ferment-ed foods may also promote men-tal health, weight loss and hearthealth.

Chef Dipna Anand, co-ownerof London based BrilliantRestaurant is among the top fiveIndian women who are shaking upLondon’s food scene. She explainshow fermented food is good forhealth.

HOW POPULAR ARE

FERMENTED FOODS AMONG

PEOPLE?

According to a research by TheNational Restaurant Association,fermenting was rated a hot trend by57 per cent of the chefs. One of themajor reasons for the popularity isthe willingness of consumers toexperiment with something new.The trend is certainly gainingground as more people around theworld favour foods such as kimchi,

miso and yoghurt due to theirhealth benefits. Locally-grown pro-duce, farm-raised, organic meat,artisan cheese and handcraftedbeers appeal more to consumers,who like to know where their foodis coming from and this leads to aconnection being made betweenconsumers and their food source.Even if it is a beer or a side of pick-led cabbage, fermented foods offera unique twist to normal dishes.

People like quirky trends thatare at the same time beneficial. Insuch a scenario, it is not surprisingthat fermented foods continue togain popularity. As an example,only a few people would recom-mend the awesome pickled cucum-ber that came as a side with theirchicken tikka burger to theirfriends, however, they are moreinclined to tell their friends aboutthe delicious masala kimchicoleslaw served with their burgeras it is quirky and has health ben-efits.

HOW IS FERMENTED FOOD

GOOD FOR HEALTH?

Fermentation is a naturalprocess which is used to produceeveryday staples including cheese,black tea, bread and chocolate.Recently, more traditional fer-mented food including kimchi andkefir are gaining ground all over theworld and this is specifically drivenby the health benefits.

Research suggests that fer-mented food and drinks introducebeneficial bacteria into the diges-tive system and help to balance itin your body. Probiotics are knownto help in slowing down some specific diseases, improve bowelhealth, aid digestion and improveimmunity. There is also evidence tosuggest that having a good balanceof gut bacterial and digestiveenzymes, helps to absorb morenutrients from the foods you con-sume. Most of the fermented foodsare low in calories when comparedwith other dishes.

DO YOU ALL HAVE A SPECIAL

FERMENTED FOOD DISHES IN

YOUR MENU?

I do not have dishes on themenu that fall in to the special fer-mented food category as yet.However, there are of course dish-es that use yoghurt and we alsohave a tandoori soya dish which isa part of our vegan menu. Maybein the future, it would be beneficialto have a dedicated menu for fer-mented foods as I am sure it will bereceived very well.

For restaurants, fermentedfoods are often cheaper and havelow food costs offering a great wayto offset the classic menu items likea chicken tikka masala or chick-peaand potato curry and tandoorimixed grill which sell more and areexpensive.

It’s hard to beat for its versatility— as a cooking medium, as adressing, as a preservative and for

body massage.More importantly, it has gained

global recognition in the past fewyears, with its market further seg-mented on the basis of regions; arecent report by TransparencyMarket Research indicates growingacceptance across North America,Latin America, Eastern Europe,Western Europe, Asia-Pacificexcluding Japan, and the Middle Eastand Africa.

On the basis of regions, mustardoil has higher market demand inAsia-Pacific region which includesIndia, Thailand and China due to itshuge consumption in food. TheNorth America market is expectedto expand with a relatively higherCAGR due to its preference as anessential oil in various industrialapplications, the report says.

Vivek Puri, the managing direc-tor of Puri Oil Mills Ltd, said, “Thesurge in the acceptance of mustardoil as a healthy cooking mediumwould also explain the advent ofmany multinational corporationsin a segment that has traditionallybeen dominated by SME players.India needs to learn from countrieslike Malaysia and Italy who havemanaged to sell their edible oilworldwide, which in return hascontributed to their economy. Indianmustard oil has the potential toreduce imports of edible oil and cansave valuable foreign exchange.What palm oil is for Malaysia, oliveoil for Italy and soya oil for America,mustard oil can be for India.”

“Mustard oil has both culinaryand therapeutic uses. It containsomega-3 and omega-6 fatty acidsand has low content of saturated fats.Mustard oil not only enhances thetaste and flavour of food but it alsocures many diseases related to skin,joint, muscles and heart. In cooking,it is used for marination, in salads,for frying and for the purpose ofpreservation,” Shimomura Kazuya,head chef at Megu, the Japanese finediner at the Leela Palace New Delhi,said.

“A few people avoid it becauseof its pungent flavour and smell andit takes a while to get used to it. Asfar as I know, this oil is used in bothLebanese and Mediterranean cui-sine. It is sparsely used in daily cook-ing these days but if used regularly,it’s a great product to prepare dish-es differently,” Kazuya added.

“Cooking with mustard oil hasmany benefits. It contains richamounts of monounsaturated andpolyunsaturated fatty acids (MUFAand PUFA). These fats are good asthey lower the risk of developingischemic heart disease by almosthalf. Mustard oil also has cancer-

fighting properties. Food cooked inmustard oil enhances its flavour,”Rajesh Khanna, F&B head, TheMetropolitan Hotel and Spa, NewDelhi, said.

Due to its pungent taste, mus-tard oil works as a taste enhancer inBengali dishes like Machher jhol,Jhal muri and Muri ghonto to men-tion just a few.

“It is a powerful natural stimu-lant. It improves digestion andappetite by stimulating digestivejuices and bile in the liver andspleen. It is seen that while cooking,the oil behaves differently whenheated, it changes texture, colourand taste; it also has nutritionalproperties. So, while cooking, weshould take care not to overheat itas over cooking may destroy usefulnutrients and form harmful com-pounds. It is also known to be oneof the healthiest oils in the market.It has multi-purpose usage, you useit for cooking, in medicine, or as aningredient in your beauty routine,and you will not be disappointed,”Khanna added.

For those who have grown up orlived in places like Bengal, Bihar,Kashmir, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh,mustard oil is a familiar taste. Butin the last decade or so, many non-traditional mustard oil consumershave started using this oil, attract-ed by a positive buzz circulatingacross various media and on socialmedia.

This can be traced to a studyconducted jointly by the HarvardSchool of Medicine, Boston; the AllIndia Institute of Medical Sciences(AIIMS), New Delhi; and St John’sHospital, Bengaluru. The reportwas published in the AmericanJournal of Clinical Nutrition.

The initiative examined Indiandietary habits and their correlationwith heart disease, and found thatthe use of mustard oil as the prima-ry cooking medium (particularly

for deep frying) could reduce theincidence of coronary heart disease(CHD) by as much as 71 per cent.This made many non-mustard oilconsumers sit up and take notice,especially since heart disease wasalready rampaging through largesections of the population.

Also focusing on the MUFAand PUFA aspects, Arvind Das,head of cardiology at Max Hospital,Gurugram, suggested that ground-at-home mustard oil has fatty acidsthat are important in “getting badcholesterol” down.

The good old sarson ka tel alsohas a high smoking point, almost ashigh as 250 degrees celsius. What’s sogood about that?

Because it doesn’t burn so easily,it’s ideal for Indian cuisine obsessedwith deep frying and heating.

As for its therapeutic values,mustard oil is considered a naturalsunscreen when applied externally;mixed with coconut oil, it makes fora complete head massage and acts asan anti-bacterial.

At the bottom line, let’s not for-get that mustard oil has been aperennial hit in the rural areas due toits easy availability and ease of pro-cessing.

“Nothing can beat it when itcomes to traditional Indian cooking.Indian cooking takes time and mus-tard oil is the ideal medium as thefood has to stay on the fire for a longertime,” Dushyant Singh, who runs theOTH and Rustic Kitchen in Jaipur,said.

Dr Ripen Gupta, a senior cardi-ologist at Max Hospital in VasantKunj, had the last word.

“Consumption of about 600-700ml of mustard oil per month is ideal.Taken daily, it comes down to one tea-spoon a meal. It’s good for your heart.”Gupta said.

What are you waiting for then?Mustard oil’s the way to go.

—IANS

Mustard oil finds favour with international chefs

FIT FOR ALLFermented foods

not only meanbetter health for

customers but canalso introduce a

quirky twist toregular dishes on a

menu, says chefDIPNA ANAND.

By TEAM VIVA

A HEALTH

BOOSTER

A HEALTH

BOOSTER

‘FERMENTED FOODSINTRODUCE

BENEFICIAL BACTERIAINTO THE DIGESTIVE

SYSTEM AND HELP TOBALANCE

PROPERTIES. MOST OFTHEM ARE LOW IN

CALORIES ASCOMPARED TO OTHER

DISHES’


Actor IRRFAN KHAN has written anote to all his friends in the mediathanking them for “all the support”during his illness.

He said, “Last few monthshave been on a road to recovery, aperiod to heal and fight. I am

aware of your concernand request to talk toyou, share my journey,but I am fathoming it

and internalising, tak-ing baby steps tomerge my healingwith work. I amdeeply touched byyour wishes, itmeans a lot forme and my fami-ly. I truly respect

the way you respect-ed my journey givingme time and space toheal. Thank you foryour patience, warmthand the love through-out this overwhelmingjourney.”

Actress BANITA SANDHU, whomade her Bollywood debut with

October (2018), willbe seen in Pandora, asci-fi action series.

Set in the year2199, Pandora cen-tres on Jax, played byPriscilla Quintana, a

resourceful young woman who loseseverything after her parents’ deathbut finds a new life at Earth’s SpaceTraining Academy where she learnsto defend the Galaxy from threats.

The cast includes Oliver Dench,Raechelle Banno, John Harlan Kim,Ben Radcliffe, Martin Bobb-Semple.

Banita tweeted, “So thrilled toannounce my next project with TheCW.” Her October co-star VarunDhawan tweeted, “So proud of youBani. This means I’ve to get in touchwith your agent now to see you.”

Actor CHRIS EVANS’ past-livesdrama Infinite is set to release onAugust 7, 2020.

Paramount has alsomoved Eddie Murphy’sComing to Americasequel off that date andto December 18, 2020.That holiday date hadbeen occupied byJames Cameron’sAvatar 2, but Disneyannounced that thesequel was movingback a year.

Antoine Fuqua isdirecting Infinite.John Lee Hancock andIan Shorr are adaptingD. Eric Maikranz’s novelThe ReincarnationistPapers, which is cen-tered on the Cognomina,a secret society of peoplewho possess total recallof their past lives.

‘I am 20. Becoming anactor has been adream all mylife. So, it’snot fair ofpeople tosay that I amnot allowedto have adreambecause I belong froma certain family andhave a background. ABollywood backgroundcannot stop one fromhaving a dream. I hopepeople watch the film(Student of the Year 2)and then makejudgement about me. Iwill be okay withwhatever judgementcomes after that.’—Ananya Panday

vivacity 14

Irrfan’s thank younote to media

Evans’ Infinite torelease in 2020

As per the global data,the world has pro-duced and discardedover nine billiontonnes of plastic since

the 1950s. Around 165 milliontonnes of it have clogged theoceans and since only about nineper cent of it gets recycled, the restof the voluminous plastic pollutesthe environment or gets stackedin landfills, where it takes morethan 500 years to decomposewhile leaching toxic chemicalsinto the ground.

Looking at the domestic sta-tistics, India produces an estimat-ed 62 million tonnes of munici-pal solid waste annually — a fig-ure which is likely to reach 165million tonnes by 2030.

INITIATIVES BY COMPANIES

After the World EconomicForum announced the aim forcompanies to reach 100 per centreusable, recyclable and com-postable packaging goal by 2025,many major companies, whichrepresent over six million tonnesof plastic packaging per year,have taken the initiative to makepackaging more sustainable.

Monica Bindra, CEO and co-founder, Laiqa (biodegradablebrand of sanitary napkins),explains how can biodegradablepackaging among more Indiancompanies can be promoted.She says, “It’s a new plastic econ-omy in India and a lot of com-panies are moving towardsbiodegradable packaging.However, we need to go muchfurther and faster in addressingthe challenge of single-use plas-tics by leading a transition awayfrom the linear ‘take-make-dis-pose’ model of consumption.”

She says that companiesshould embrace simplicity alongwith creativity to come up withminimalistic designs. “This willhelp in reducing material use,leading to an overall reducedproduct cost. Companies shouldpromote more biodegradablepackaging by training their staff.If they are aware of the waste dis-posal processes, they will betterutilise it. This knowledge canthen be passed from labour tolabour.”

It was in 2007 when cosmet-ics company, L’Oreal Groupannounced its commitment toimprove the environmental andsocial profile of 100 per cent of itsproducts by 2025. In 2018, 79 percent of new or renovated productshave an improved social or envi-ronmental profile. For 58 percent of new or renovated prod-ucts, this improvement is due topackaging with a lower environ-mental footprint.

Krish Iyer, president andCEO, Walmart India, says,“Recognising plastic pollution asa critical issue, we have pledged toremove single-use shrink wrapused for storing merchandise andreplace it with sustainable storagesolutions across all its best pricemodern wholesale stores in thecountry in a phased manner.”

The Body Shop India haslaunched its first ‘CommunityTrade Recycled Plastic’ fromBengaluru, that highlights thelesser-known, human side of theplastic crisis. The company hasunveiled a giant artwork of afemale Indian waste picker inLondon’s Borough Market, whichis made using recycled plasticfrom waste-pickers in Bengaluru.

SoulTree, an e-commerce ser-vice for herbal products, hasintroduced a ‘biodegradable bub-ble wrap’ as a part of packaging inall their website orders. The wrapdecomposes in 180 days, withoutleaving a long-term impact on theenvironment. They also havebiodegradable sachets to reduceplastic waste for other products.

Hindustan Unilever has“committed to accelerate a tran-sition to a circular economy,moving from the take-make-dis-pose model to a regenerativeapproach, claims the company’sspokesperson, adding, “We have

collected more than 20,000 tonnesof plastic laminate waste in part-nership with NGOs and start-upsin more than 20 cities acrossIndia.”

BANS AND PERCENTAGE OF

DEGRADATION

However, the questionremains — how much percentageof the packaging material actual-ly decomposes?

Environmentalists claim thatmost landfills are too fundamen-tally crowded and compacted sotightly that they don’t allow spacefor much air. There’s not muchdirt and very less of oxygen. Andas a result, biodegradation ofcompostable materials takes placeslowly. For instance, a study hadrecently uncovered 50-year-oldreadable newspapers.

In India, with plastic poly-thenes getting banned in majorcities, the change has only begun.However, with more companiestaking up the policy of 100 percent sustainable packaging, eventhough 60-75 per cent of it couldbe degraded, experts claim thatdetermining proper statistics isn’tpossible since nothing has beenproduced so prominently.

Bindra said that determininga percentage today of how muchbiodegradable waste actually getsdecomposed could be very diffi-

cult. “We cannot say how manycompanies have actually changedtheir design policy today. There isno proper data on how much plas-tic consumption has been reducedby them to compare it with theirprevious statistics.”

Dr Tanweer Alam, joint direc-tor and regional head, IndianInstitute of Packaging (IIP) Delhi,talks about how banning plasticuse at various levels really helps.“The ban surely puts the onus onthe polluters/ brand owners, butsome exceptions have been madeby companies so that businessesare not hampered until alternatesolutions are developed andimplemented successfully.”

It also depends on the kind ofmaterials companies employ toproduce the alternatives for plas-tic packaging. Suggesting some ofthe key aspects that need to betaken into consideration for com-panies before trying to identify themost environment-friendly pack-aging materials, Alam says, “First,the pollutants released when thepackaging material is producedshould not be ignored. If a partic-ular product cannot be producedwithout release of toxins into theenvironment, then it cannot beconsidered as ecologically respon-sible. Another aspect is whetherthe material is recyclable or not.Also, innovative, sustainable and

stylish, green food packaging canbe recycled again and consumesless than 0.5 per cent of the spaceof traditional food packaging ifdumped in a landfill.”

DESIGNING A NO-PLASTIC

POLICY

Apart from the triple-R(Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) phe-nomenon, environmentalists saythat the first and foremost workshould be to construct a no-plas-tic policy, which starts from land-fills and their design technology.Some landfills are now beingdesigned to promote biodegrada-tion through the injection ofwater, oxygen and even microor-ganisms. However, these kinds offacilities are costly to create,which is why they haven’t beenwidely considered.

Alam suggests that landfillscould be designed in a way thatthey can have “separate sectionsfor compostable materials” likefood waste.

Bindra feels that plastic can’tbe completely abolished. However,we can focus on using it the rightway. She suggests, “Companiesshould always ask if they still wantdisposable carrier bags, giventhat they are burned after a fewminutes of use. Investing in cre-ative and innovative ways of deliv-ering products to people withoutgenerating plastic waste can helpsolve the challenges involved.Companies ought to design theirpackaging keeping in mind whathappens to it after use. Theyshould follow the lead of brandsthat have pledged to use 100 percent reusable, recyclable or com-postable packaging. A collabora-tive reduction of plastic protocolshould be defined to providecommon direction. Industriesshould align on material choices,that will guarantee compatiblematerials that can be recycled andreused.”

Looking at oxo-degradableplastics, which are also biodegrad-able, one more aspect comes tonotice — being biodegradable doesnot necessarily mean that a mate-rial is eco-friendly. Alam arguesthat oxo-degradable bags can’t berecycled and are the ones whichactually hamper the recyclingprocess. He says, “Although theseplastics break down over time, thetiny pieces they break down into arestill plastics that might contributeto pollution. They don’t degradeinto nothing or anything usable.Hence, this aspect is very impor-tant when we talk about biodegrad-able packaging materials.”

(IIP’s national conference on‘innovative packaging techniquesfor food products’ will be held at Le Meridien today.)

Archie HarrisonMountbatten-Windsorslept through his first

press conference, but royalexperts say the merino woolwrap in which he snuggled saida lot about how his parents,Prince Harry and Meghan,the Duchess of Sussex, willapproach his future.

Meghan is known for pro-moting social causes and nichebrands with her clothing choic-es. Yet she and Harry intro-duced their son to the world ina hand-finished shawl andcashmere cap made by G.H.Hurt & Son of Nottingham,whose intricate knitwear hasswaddled royal babies fordecades.

Wrapping Archie in ashawl knitted by the small,family-run English companysuggests that Meghan andHarry aren’t as intent on shak-ing up the royal family asmuch as some people haveforecast — or feared. “I readthis as an attempt to reassurethe public that they are notgoing to stray too far from tra-dition,” said Pauline Maclaran,co-author of Royal Fever: TheBritish Monarchy in ConsumerCulture. “There has been a lotof press recently taking a slight-ly negative tone about Meghan,and this is an opportunity toshow that she’s not trying tochange everything.”

Princess Diana wrappedHarry and his older brother,Prince William, in G.H. Hurt.William and his wife, the

Duchess of Cambridge, chosethe firm for Prince George,Princess Charlotte and PrinceLouis.

The royals don’t advertise,but they do set trends withwhatever they are wearing,seeing or doing. Whether itwas Queen Victoria popular-ising Christmas trees orPrincess Diana’s fluffy collars,people have long tried to copyor emulate their style.

These days, the royal effectis turbocharged by socialmedia. The internet offers fansthe opportunity to examineroyal fashions in minute detail,to look at the fine stitching ona baby blanket and identify itinstantly. Websites such aswhatkatewore.com and what-meghanwore.net quickly iden-tify designers of the outfits theyare wearing and tell their sto-ries.

Susan Kelley, theAmerican founder ofwhatkatewore.com, said thepublic’s fascination withMeghan will likely trickle downto her son. And as a formeractress, she has a great sensitiv-ity to the messages sent by hersartorial selections. “Meghan issomebody who wants to carveher own path, but she isrespectful of the monarchyand traditions of it,” Kelley said.“The fact that Meghan is a fem-inist doesn’t mean she doesn’thonour tradition.”

Still, by selecting theLeaves And Flowers BabyShawl with shell detailing (105pounds, $137), Meghan choseone of G.H. Hurt’s less-tradi-tional designs.

The company saw trafficon its website increase imme-diately after pictures of youngArchie hit the news. In lessthan an hour, 266 visitors hadlooked at the shawl, up fromfive to 10 a day previously.

The firm, which has beenin business since 1912, has acollection of vintage hand-frame knitting machines thatdate back hundreds of yearsand work alongside modernknitting technology.

“Babies at the best of timesare wonderful news and theyare wrapped up with so muchemotion and goodwill,” saidRichard Taylor, part of the fam-ily firm. “But from a businesspoint of view, we get coverageright around the world.”

—AP

Dating-related searches are growingmuch faster than matrimonyqueries in India and non-metro

cities have outpaced metros in onlinesearch across categories, search enginegiant Google said on Thursday.

According to Google’s “Year inSearch: Insights for Brands” report, therehas been a 75 per cent increase in “NearMe” queries and a 100 per cent growthin queries for co-working spaces.

“The online space in India has neverbeen more vibrant. India has become thefastest Internet consuming country in theworld and Internet has now become thebridge to the country’s aspirations. Ashighlighted in the report, the growinginfluence of online videos, increase inusage of language and voice, along witha rise of ML and AI are opportunities forbrands and marketers,” Vikas Agnihotri,country director, Google India, said.

Indian language internet users areexpected to account for nearly 75 per centof the total user base by 2021 andGoogle search trends show a significant

move in this direction. “Hindi is also gaining traction in the

technology sector with a two-foldincrease in queries in Hindi, which aremainly coming from laptops and PCs”,said the tech giant.

Last year saw an increase in the adop-tion of online automation as businessesused Artificial Intelligence (AI) andMachine Learning (ML) to drive efficien-cy and improve customer experience.

Brands across various categories,such as BFSI and telecom, have startedintegrating voice assistants like GoogleAssistant with their customer service tohelp customers.

Companies like Uber, Ola and Meruhave made cab-booking services availableon Google Assistant.

Meanwhile, online video audience inIndia is expected to grow to 500 millionby 2020. Watch time for science videosas well as hobby videos in India havemore than tripled in 2018, said thecompany.

—IANS

Experts feel that determining a percentage today of how much biodegradable packaging actually

gets decomposed in landfills could be very difficult. By TEAM VIVA

There is no planet B

Wool wrap for Prince HARRY and Duchess of Sussex MEGHANMARKLE’s baby suggests that the royal tradition will win out

Honouring the royal trend

Partners’ ‘near me’ searches are growing much fasterthan matrimony queries in the country, says Google

Dating versus

marriage

‘THE BAN ON PLASTICSURELY PUTS THE

ONUS ON THEPOLLUTERS OR

BRAND OWNERS, BUTSOME EXCEPTIONS

HAVE BEEN MADE BYCOMPANIES SO THATBUSINESSES ARE NOT

HAMPERED UNTILALTERNATE

SOLUTIONS ARESUCCESSFULLY

DEVELOPED’

AFP n AMSTERDAM

Tottenham have a shot at becom-ing champions of Europe for thefirst time in their history after ahat-trick from Lucas Mourapulled off a dramatic victory

against Ajax in the second remarkable turn-around in the competition in as many days.

Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettinosobbed in joy and called his players "super-heroes" after Lucas' goal six minutes intoinjury time set up the first all-English finalagainst Liverpool since 2008 in Madrid onJune 1.

The last-gasp victory on the away goalsrule — the tie finished 3-3 overall — came24 hours after Liverpool had destroyedBarcelona with an unlikely 4-0 victory.

Ajax, a team captained by outstanding19-year-old defender Matthijs de Ligt,seemed set for the final as they grimly heldon to a 3-2 lead on aggregate deepin stoppage time in the secondleg of the semi-final at theJohan Cruyff Arena.

Then Lucas, a Brazilianwho was released by ParisSaint-Germain and soldto Spurs for a cut-pricefee, delivered the killerblow.

When the ball broke to him in the box,Lucas shot beyond Ajax goalkeeper AndreOnana to seal the comeback, making it 3-2 on the night.

The Ajax players slumped to the turfafter having a first Champions League finalsince 1996 snatched away from them.

Leading 1-0 after the first leg, thethrilling Dutch side appeared to have killedthe tie after De Ligt and Hakim Ziyechscored in the first half in Amsterdam.

That left Tottenham needing a come-back to match that of Liverpool againstBarcelona the previous night, but in an evenshorter timespan.

Two goals in quick succession fromLucas early in the second half gave themsomething to cling onto, before he struckthe decisive blow.

Erik ten Hag's team must now liftthemselves to try to complete a Dutchleague and Cup double.

Their team is then likely to be bro-

ken up before the new season begins —Frenkie de Jong has already signed forBarcelona and De Ligt could reportedlyjoin him at the Camp Nou, althoughManchester United are among a host ofother suitors.

Both teams were deprived of keyplayers — England striker Harry Kanewas missing through injury and Ajax suf-fered the blow of losing Brazilian wingerDavid Neres to injury just before kick-off.

But the Dutch side shrugged off hisloss as De Ligt's header put them aheadon the night.

Spurs did threaten an immediatereply as Son Heung-min hit the near postbefore Ajax got their second when Dusan

Tadic cut the ball back for Ziyech, whoseshot flew into the far corner.

Few observers could have foreseenwhat was to come as Spurs echoed whatLiverpool had done at Anfield 24 hoursearlier.

Spurs scored their first in the 55thminute, Lucas combining with Dele Alliand slotting past Onana.

Four minutes after that Lucas

pounced when substitute FernandoLlorente's effort was saved, the Braziliandeftly hooking the ball into the corner.

Ajax came so close to securing vic-tory as Ziyech twice nearly scored againand Jan Vertonghen crashed a headeragainst the bar at the other end.

Just when it looked like Ajax wouldhang on, Lucas sent his teammates intoraptures.

sport 15LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | MAY 10, 2019

APF ■ LIVERPOOL

Virgil van Dijk believes Liverpool are closeto rediscovering the fear factor thatmade the club such a dominant force for

nearly two decades as they target Europeanglory.

Between 1973 and 1990 the Reds claimed11 league titles and a quartet of European Cups,all four won in an eight-season spell.

Liverpool, who will face Tottenham in theChampions League final in Madrid on June 1,were the most feared side on the continent andthe benchmark for the rest of Europe.

The Anfield side fell behind domestic andEuropean rivals but Tuesday's remarkable 4-3aggregate win over Barcelona secured back-to-back Champions League finals and Van Dijkbelieves they are starting to re-establish theirstanding in the game.

"Hopefully. That's something we worktowards," said the Dutch captain. "I feel that(Manchester) City already have that bit of sta-tus because they have been dominating last yearso much.

"Hopefully we can keep going and make itvery difficult for any team in the world.

"We have a great age group. Between 20 and27, 28, so hopefully we can do it all togetherfor the next couple of years at least and growas a team and hopefully get a lot of success."

With a place in Madrid secured, Liverpool,who last won the Champions League in 2005,

still have an outside chance of winning theirfirst domestic title since 1990.

They need to beat Wolves on Sunday andhope City drop points at Brighton to pip theirrivals in an extraordinarily tight title race.

"If it happens, it happens. We have no influ-ence on that. They have it in their hands," addedthe Professional Footballers' Association play-er of the year.

"We're still in this season and still anythingis possible. If it doesn't happen then it's not theend of the world. We've had a fantastic season,both of us. Man City have been outstanding aswell."

PTI ■ NEW DELHI

Croatia's World Cupper andformer manager Igor Stimacis set to become Indian foot-

ball team's head coach after theAIFF's Technical Committee onThursday recommended his namefor the top job.

The 51-year-old Stimac, amember of the Croatian team thatfinished third in the 1998 WorldCup, got the nod from the TechnicalCommittee which interviewed fourshortlisted candidates on Thursday.

"We have recommended IgorStimac's name to the All IndiaFootball Federation's ExecutiveCommittee after interviewing all thefour candidates. We found him asbest suited to become India coach,"Technical Committee ChairmanShyam Thapa said.

The AIFF is likely to officiallyannounce Stimac's appointment asIndia coach on Friday. Stimac's con-tract is likely to be for three yearsinitially and his first assignment willbe the Kings Cup internationaltournament in Thailand.

Stimac's first match as Indiacoach will be against Caribbeannation Curacao in the Kings Cup at

Buriram in Thailand on June 5. Anational camp is expected to beginhere from May 20.

The India head coach's positionhas been lying vacant after StephenConstantine quit the post followingIndia's AFC Asian Cup campaignearlier this year.

Stimac was the only candidatewho turned up in person for theinterview while the other three —South Korean Lee Min-sung,Spaniard Albert Roca and HakanEricson of Sweden — were inter-viewed via Skype.

The newly-appointed TechnicalDirector Doru Isac was also presentduring the interview process.

Stimac's impressive credentialsas former player and managerclinched the issue in his favour.

"His (Stimac's) experience asformer player and manager is huge,so the Committee was unanimousin the decision to pick him. Salary-wise and in every aspect I feel heis best suited. Indian football willbe in safe hands under him,"Thapa, a former India player him-self, added.

INDIA U-19 CLUBBED WITH SAUDI New Delhi: The India U-19 football team has beenclubbed with hosts Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan andAfghanistan in Group F of the AFC U-19Championship Qualifiers to be played betweenNovember 2 and 10. In 2017, the India U-19 teamwas also drawn along with Saudi Arabia whichhosted the group qualifiers. Head coach Floyd Pintosaid, "It is a tough draw for us and we are aware ofthe strengths our opponents possess. But at thesame time the boys have shown that they can fightagainst some of the best teams (in I-League) and weare hopeful of our qualification chances. "We willhave to be on the top of our game if we are to qualifyfrom this group," he added.

IND U-16 TEAM PLACED IN GROUP BNew Delhi: The India U-16 football team has beenclubbed with hosts Uzbekistan, Bahrain andTurkmenistan in Group B of the AFC U-16Championship Qualifiers to be held from September18 to 22. The winning team in each group will earndirect qualification while the four best second-placedsides will also advance to the 2020 Finals from theQualifiers. Should the host country for the Finalsfinishes either on top of their group or among thebest four second-placed teams, the next (fifth)second-placed team in the ranking among all groupswill qualify instead.

STRONG START FOR SHEKHON IN WCNew Delhi: Last year's junior World Cup Bronzemedallist Ganemat Sekhon of India on Thursdayreturned the joint third-best score in the Women'sSkeet event at this year's third ISSF World CupShotgun stage 2 in Changwon. Sekhon shot acredible 72 out of 75 on qualification day one to lieseventh in a 56-strong field. Two more rounds of 25shots each are scheduled for day two before the top-six make it to the final round, also scheduled for daytwo on Friday. Besides a coveted ISSF World Cupmedal, there are also two Tokyo 2020 Olympic quotaplaces to be won in the event. Day 2 will also be thefirst day of qualifying for the Men's Skeet event,where India's Mairaj Ahmad Khan, Angad Vir SinghBajwa and Sheeraz Sheikh will be fighting for medalsand quota places.

ANKITA MOVES TO Q/F IN LUANNew Delhi: India's top singles player Ankita Rainaprogressed to the quarterfinals of the $ 60,000 ITFwomen's event in Luan, China with a straight sets winover Yue Yuan on Thursday. The 26-year-old, ranked175, dispatched her Chinese rival 6-2 6-3 in thesecond round of the tournament. "The girl (Yuan) wasvery attacking and aggressive but I played smart.Even though the score looks one-sided, the matchwas intense," Ankita said from Luan. Ankita has beenon a good run as she cherished a win over three-timeGrand Slam champion Samantha Stosur at the $125k tournament in Anning and also made the final ofa 60k event in Istanbul. She next faces Hong Kong'sEudice Chong, who is ranked as low as 497.

CHESS TOURNAMENTLUCKNOW: THE 25TH Shivani Cup Sunday OpenChess Tournament will be played at Shivani PublicSchool on May 12. Interested may contact on7459899385.

CRICKETLUCKNOW: UP Timber Cricket Club is organising theU-19 Mathru Trophy in the memory of ShiveshRanjan Majumdar from May 13. Interested teamsmay contact Vikas Pandey on 9335605228.

Agencies

SINGLES

AFP ■ MADRID

Novak Djokovic defeatedJeremy Chardy 6-1, 7-6(7/2) on Thursday at the

Madrid Open to extend his dom-ination of French opponents.

The Serb top seed neededless than 90 minutes to reach thequarter-finals at the Caja Magica,beating Chardy for the 13thtime in as many attempts.

Djokovic holds an over-whelming record against theFrench, standing 66-2 againstthem since leading Serbia to the2010 Davis Cup title over France.

Djokovic, the Madrid cham-pion in 2011 and 2016, is search-ing for his top clay form as hebegins the chase a fourth straightGrand Slam title when RolandGarros starts in little over twoweeks.

He secured the opening setin less than half an hour, but wasforced to a tiebreaker as Chardy'sresistance stiffened in the second.

He will face ninth seed

Marin Cilic next after theCroatian put out Laslo Djere 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, winning 11 of the last13 games.

Two-time women's champi-on Simona Halep overcameAshleigh Barty 7-5, 7-5 to reachher fourth Madrid semi-final.

Romania's third seed andformer world number one willnext play the winner from topseed Naomi Osaka and in-formSwiss Belinda Bencic.

Halep, who has been strug-gling with injury, took the open-ing set and went up a break in thesecond before losing it against theninth-seeded Australian who

won the Miami title in March.Halep regained control with

a break of serve for 6-5 as heropponent returned wide. Shewrapped up victory with anuntouchable forehand to thecorner.

"For me, it's a huge victory,it's a huge match I played today,"Halep said.

"It means a lot that to win. Itwas on clay so I liked my chances,but still, it was very difficult andevery point was important.

"I'm very motivated afterreaching the semi-finals again. Iwill have another challengetomorrow (Friday), so I'm notlooking any further ahead thanthat.

"If I can play my best tennis,then we will see," added the play-er who advanced through herthird-round match onWednesday without the loss of agame.

On Wednesday, SpaniardDavid Ferrer played the finalmatch of his career, losing 6-4, 6-

1 to Alexander Zverev in his lasttournament before retirement.

Ferrer bowed out after losingto Zverev, calling time on a dis-tinguished career that included27 ATP titles and a highest rank-ing of number three in the world.

Renowned for his never-say-die attitude, the 37-year-oldreached the French Open final in

2014, as well as five more GrandSlam semi-finals.

"I couldn't have given moreto this sport," said Ferrer, who lefthis bandana on the 'T' of the ser-vice box.

"I don't know what my lega-cy will be but I always foughtuntil the last point. Maybe it willbe that."

8Spurs will be the eighth differentEnglish team to feature in a EuropeanCup/Champions League final, after

Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Leeds United,Liverpool, Manchester United andNottingham Forest.

2Tottenham Hotspur are the first teamto come two goals behind to win in aChampions League semi-final since

Manchester United in 1999 againstJuventus.

3The 2019 Champions League final willbe only the third major European finalin history to feature two English

teams, after the 1972 UEFA Cup final(Spurs vs Wolves) and 2008 ChampionsLeague final (Man Utd vs Chelsea).

2English teams have come from two ormore goals behind to win on sevenoccasions in Champions League

history — four more than clubs of anyother nation.

5Lucas Moura has become just thefifth different player to score a hat-trick in a Champions League semi-

final, after Alessandro Del Piero, Ivica Olic,Robert Lewandowski and CristianoRonaldo.

5Only Lionel Messi (8) has beendirectly involved in more goals in theChampions League knockout stages

than Hakim Ziyech this season (5 - threegoals and two assists).

4Matthijs de Ligt is the fourth teenagerto score in a Champions Leaguesemi-final, after Nordin Wooter (1996,

Ajax), Obafemi Martins (2003, Inter Milan)and Kylian Mbappé (2017, Monaco).

Spurs winger second half hat-trick inspires Tottenham to maiden Champions League final

MOURA’S MIRACLE

Lucas Moura celebrates after scoring Tottenham Hotspur third goal against Ajax Amsterdam on Wednesday night during UEFA Champions League second leg semis AP

Kane hopes tobe fit for final

"The Champions League final is a dreamfor me. Since I was a child I dreamedof this moment and now I live thismoment. We need to enjoy it. Look atme — it's the best moment in my life,my career."

—Lucas Moura

"Without Harry Kane many people weretalking about Son (Heung-min), buttoday it was Lucas Moura who scoredthree goals. That showed that the teamis more important than any name.When one does not play, another plays."

—Mauricio Pochettino

"I'm very proud of this team andthat they made it this far. We havehad a great run."

—Erik ten Hag

"We saw Liverpool last night. Itjust goes to show it's not overuntil it's over."

—Danny Rose

"It was a ridiculous game. Wewere really far down and we triedto fight back. We were justlucky.”

—Christian Eriksen

Igor Stimac set to beappointed Indian coach

Liverpool rediscoveringfear factor: Van Dijk

Novak Djokovic celebrates after beating JeremyChardy during Madrid Open clash AP

Simona Halep returns a shot during her quarterfinal clash against Ashleigh Barty AP

Djoker dispatches Chardy; Ferrer ends career in Madrid

AMSTERDAM: Harry Kane says he is oncourse to be fit for Tottenham's ChampionsLeague final clash with Liverpool after thejoined his team's celebrations following theirastonishing victory over Ajax.

Kane is recovering from an ankle liga-ment injury, but he was watching from thestands in the Johan Cruyff Arena asTottenham recovered from 2-0 down to win3-2 in the semi-final second leg.

The incredible comeback sentTottenham through to their first ChampionsLeague final and Kane is confident he willbe ready to feature when MauricioPochettino's men face Liverpool in Madridon June 1.

"We'll see. So far so good, so if it car-ries on as it should I would hope to be.There's still a few weeks to go," Kane toldBT Sport.

"Rehab is going well. I start straight linerunning this week which is why I was OKto run on at the end.

"We beat Man City and Ajax so I haveto start training even harder to provemyself to the gaffer." AFP

FIGURATIVELY


16

}RUNS 692 David Warner (SRH)

WICKETS 25 Kagiso Rabada (DC)

6S 760

4S 1604{

LEADERBOARD

DELHI PLAYED VERY WELL, THEYARE A STRONG OUTFIT AND I THINKTHEY DESERVED THIS WIN— KANE WILLIAMSON

AFP ■ LONDON

Liam Plunkett said England wouldbe a "better team" if Jofra Archermade it into their World Cup

squad after his fellow fast bowler againimpressed on international duty.

Archer continued his late bid fora World Cup berth with a hostileopening spell against Pakistan at TheOval on Wednesday.

He took one wicket and conced-

ed just six runs in four overs beforerain meant there was no result in thefirst one-day international of a five-match series.

Barbados-born Archer was notincluded in England's preliminarysquad for the World Cup but couldforce his way into their final 15 via hisdisplays in this five-match series.

"He's obviously a class act,"Plunkett, one of England's estab-lished quicks, told reporters after-wards.

"He showed today, he's rocked upand bowled really nicely with pace andsmashed the right good areas, pickedup a wicket in the first few overs, beat-ing the left-hander (Imam) on the out-side edge."

Plunkett added: "It looks easy forhim, he ambles in and bowls 93mph, he makes it look effortless."

Questions have been raised aboutthe effect on team morale of catapult-ing Archer, only recently qualified onresidency grounds, into England'sWorld Cup squad.

But Plunkett said: "With him inyour squad, you're going to be a bet-ter team.

"Whoever performs best shouldbe in the squad. If it wasn't Jofra,someone else would be knocking onthe door... If they come in and bowlwell, they deserve to be there."

STAGGERED VAUGHAN Michael Vaughan says he will be

"staggered" if rising star Jofra Archerplays no part in this season's Ashes serieseven though the fast bowler has yet tomake his Test debut for England.

"I would be absolutely staggered ifhe's not taking part in the Ashes seriesas well as the World Cup," Vaughan toldreporters in London on Thursday.

"He's just got a gift and when youget that kind of quality you have to getthose players involved in all formats ofthe game," the former England captainadded.

"He'll win England World Cupgames, he'll win them T20 games andI'm very, very confident that he'll havea big say in winning Test matches thissummer as well as down the years."

Joe Root, the current England Testcaptain, was understandably moreguarded when asked about Archer's Testprospects.

"When you watch him play in thesegames, you are always looking towardsthe Ashes," he said.

"It will be interesting to see how hedevelops throughout these games andhow he handles everything but so far Ithink he's been fine." Vaughan acknowl-edged that Root, in his position as skip-per, had to be more guarded as he thinksahead to the five-match series againstAustralia.

PTI ■ VISAKHAPATNAM

Delhi Capitals, who havefinally come together toplay like 'Daredevils', willhave to produce anotherspecial effort to beat the

consistent Chennai Super Kings for thefirst time this season and make theirmaiden IPL final here on Friday.

It was CSK who denied Delhi a top-two spot in the league standings witha crushing 80-run win at Chepauk andthe Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led sidestands in their way again, only stakesare much higher in the Qualifier 2.

The tense win in the Eliminator, setup by their star player Rishabh Pant onWednesday night is bound to providean extra dose of motivation going intothe knock-out game at Vizag.

Pant's 21-ball 49 in a high-pressure

game reignited the debate on socialmedia over his non-selection in India'sWorld Cup squad with former Englandcaptain Michael Vaughan saying it was"bonkers" to not have the young-wick-etkeeper batsman in the mega event.

His sensational effort made all thedifference in the run-chase but he gotout when his team was very close to thefinishing line.

Not being able to finish games isone criticism that he has had to deal

with repeatedly and there would be nobetter stage than Qualifier 2 to come upwith another match-wining knock andcarry his bat through.

Another young gun Prithvi Shawtoo played an important innings of 56and was happy to be back among theruns after low-scores in the previousthree innings.

Delhi, having already played agame here, will have the advantage ofknowing the the conditions better.

Their fast bowlers, Trent Boult andIshant Sharma, did a decent job in theabsence of Kagiso Rabada and were wellsupported by Keemo Paul, who pickedup three wickets.

Veteran spinner Amit Mishra wasfrugal again and also picked up animportant wicket.

The batsmen would be ratherrelieved that they would not have to facethe spin threat of Imran Tahir andHarbhajan Singh on a turner inChennai but it would be a challengenonetheless.

Another thing Delhi would have tobe wary of is stage fright though theEliminator surely prepared them forthe tougher battles ahead.

CSK, on the other hand, are usedto playing the big matches, having wonthree titles besides being runners-upfour times.

They were hammered by MumbaiIndians in Qualifier 1 but expect CSKto bounce back in style.

Dhoni will be expecting animproved performance from his bats-men after the disappointment againstMumbai Indians.

Opener Shane Watson has not beenamong the runs ever since smashing a53-ball 96 against Sunrisers on April 23.

The talismanic skipper admittedthat they could have read the conditionsbetter against Mumbai at home andasked his batsmen to be careful withshot selection going forward.

"These are the best batsmen wehave got, it looks like we are are battingwell, but at times, they pull off shots thatshouldn't be played. These are the play-ers who we have banked on, they havethe experience and they should knowto assess the conditions better," saidDhoni after the six-wicket loss toMumbai.

Live on Star Sports 1& 2

VISAKHAPATNAM

CSK vs DC

FRIDAY | 7:30 PM

HEADTO

HEADM 10

CSK 14

DC 6

PTI ■ VISAKHAPATNAM

Delhi Capitals openerPrithvi Shaw heapedpraises on teammate

Rishab Pant, calling him thebest finisher among young-sters after the 21-year-oldhelped Delhi Capitals beatSunrisers Hyderabad by twowickets in a nerve-wrackingIPL Eliminator.

Chasing a target of 163,Delhi Capitals were broughtto cusp of victory by Pant,who smashed 49 off 21 ballswith five sixes even as WestIndies' Keemo Paul finishedit off in the penultimate ballof the innings with a bound-ary off Khaleel Ahmed onWednesday.

"In these T20 games,there's a lot of pressure. I waspraying that we win. Pant dida brilliant job. I have said thathe is the best finisher amongthe young players. He alwaysopens up the game for us. Hehas been doing very well.Unfortunately, he could notfinish it for us, but Keemo didwell in the end," Shaw said atthe post match press confer-ence.

The 19-year-old top-scored with 56 off 38 balls ona "sticky wicket" to give Delhia great start.

Shaw said while playingin the middle he concentrateson choosing the bowlers whohe can hit.

"While you're playing inthe middle it is simple — just

play your game and chosebowlers that we want to hitfirst and obviously Nabi andRashid were the best bowlerson their side. It was an inter-esting game and I'm happythat we won."

On how he plans to tack-le Chennai Super Kingsbowlers in the Qualifier 2, tobe held on Friday, Shaw saidthe Delhi players have facedthe defending champions inprevious IPLs and theyunderstand the game.

"The team will have aplan after reaching Chennai.How to face which bowlerlike Harbhajan (Singh) bhai,Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja) sir or(Imran) Tahir sir. We willhave to plan. We will look todo what we've done earlier."

Shaw said that it is notabout who plays who butdepends on how prepared theteam is for the game.

"Personally, whicheverball is lose, I will smash thatball. Even with Harbhajanbhai and Tahir sir is bowling,I will obviously smash it,"Shaw added.

When asked aboutDelhi's tendency to lose wick-ets at the most crucialmoments, the batsman said,"I think we like to makeevery game interesting. Everytime things are going well, wegive away two-three wickets.

"But I think that's thecharm of T20 cricket. Till thetime you don't feel the pres-sure, its not as much fun."

IANS ■ NEW DELHI

Twin World Cup-winningpacer Brett Lee believes thatdefending champions

Australia have got it in them to gothe distance in the upcoming 2019World Cup in England and Walesstarting from May 30.

Speaking about it Lee saidthat an injury to fast bowler JhyeRichardson shouldn't cause theAaron Finch-led side too muchtrouble as the likes of formerskipper Steve Smith and DavidWarner have returned to bolsterthe squad.

"They can go as far as theywant to go. They are a good team.There has been an injury for one

of the fast bowlers and JhyeRichardson is out of the WorldCup, but Kane Richardson hasbeen brought in. Look, any sidethat goes to the World Cup will bevery well prepared. It's all aboutwho adapts well to the Englishwickets," Lee said.

Pacer Jhye Richardson hadsuffered a dislocated shoulderduring the series against Pakistanin the UAE and is only expected toreturn to full fitness for the Ashestour that takes place after theWorld Cup.

Lee also stated that oneshouldn't be tricked into thinkingthat pacers will have a great timeat the World Cup simply becauseit is in England. "We've got to keepin mind what time the tournamentwill be played. It is in June and Julyand the wickets over there aren'treally conducive to fast bowling atthat time of the year," the pacerexplained.

"So a lot of people think it willbe a bowler's wicket, but it's notnecessarily the case. I think theywill be okay with the brand newball, but once the shine goes fromthe ball it's going to be hard workfor the fast bowlers," he said.

PTI ■ KOLKATA

Virat Kohli might beworld's best batsmanbut when it comes to

match-reading skills, he is stilla few notches below MahendraSingh Dhoni, feels formerIndia skipper's childhoodcoach Keshab Ranjan Banerjee.

It has been seen that dur-ing death overs, it is Dhoniwho takes over the field place-ments with Kohli manningthe deep.

"In terms of match-readingand forming strategies, Dhoniis still unparallel. Even Kohlidoesn't have that. So Kohlineeds to take some advice. IfDhoni would not have beenpart of the Indian team, therewould be nobody to help him."

"Virat still needs time ascaptain and advice fromDhoni would only help him,"Banerjee told reporters duringthe summer camp launch ofMS Dhoni Cricket AcademyClinic.

India will open their cam-paign in the World Cupagainst South Africa on June5 and there's been a lot of talkabout a weak middle order,especially with no specialist atNo 4. Dhoni is the answer tothe No 4 riddle, Banerjeeopined.

"I feel Dhoni should bat atNo 4 in the World Cup. It is a

team management decisionbut that's my personal opinion.If he bats at No 4, batsmenafter him can play freely," hesaid about the India's 2011World Cup winning captain.

"When he bats at No 4, hehas the luxury of spendingsome time and then bat freely.But he has to hit right fromball one, if he drops down at5 or 6. Then he has to takerisks," he reasoned.

Dhoni would turn 38 dur-ing the upcoming marqueeevent in England and whenasked whether his famousward would call it quits afterthe World Cup, he dismissedit with a laugh.

"Do you want him toretire? Haven't you seen his fit-ness level," the former gamesteacher of Jawahar VidyaMandir Ranchi, said.

"Fitness is everything. ButI cannot say about his retire-ment, not even his father orwife," he said, citing exampleof Dhoni's surprise Test retire-ment announcement onDecember 30, 2014 in themiddle of their away seriesDown Under.

Banerjee also spoke aboutyoung Rishabh Pant's omis-sion from the World Cupsquad and said: "It's too earlyto give him a chance. Ourbench strength is huge and his(Pant's) chance will come."

PTI n JAIPUR

Teenager JemimahRodrigues struck anunbeaten 77 to help

Supernovas post 142 for 3 intheir Women's T20 Challengematch against Velocity hereon Thursday.

Rodrigues struck 10 foursand a six from 48 balls in heraggressive innings after theSupernovas were sent intobat in their must-win match.

Coming out to bat in thefifth over after the fall ofopener Priya Punia (16) whenthe team score was 29 for 1,

Rodrigues was involved intwo substantial partnershipsas she anchored theSupernova innings admirablywell.

She first had a 55-runstand with Sri LankanChamari Atapattu (31) for

the second wicket beforestitching another partnershipof 50 runs with Sophie Devine(9) of New Zealand for thethird wicket.

The 18-year-oldRodrigues, a member of thesemifinalist Indian side inthe 2018 Women's T20 WorldCup, was most severe againstpacewoman Komal Zanzad(0/29) who was hit for fourboundaries.

Rodrigues hit the onlysix of her unbeaten knock offthe bowling of Jahanara Alam(0/34) in the 18th over.

Captain Harmanpreet

Kaur also remained not out on1 from five deliveries.

The Supernovas, however,failed to accelerate in the sec-ond half of their innings afterthey were 63 for 1 at the endof 10 overs. They added just33 in the last five overs.

For Velocity, NewZealander Amelia Kerr tooktwo wickets for 21 runs fromher leg-spin while pacewomanShikha Pandey got one.

Brief scores: Supernovas142/3 in 20 overs (JemimahRodrigues 77 not out,Chamari Athapaththu 31;Amelia Kerr 2/21)

‘Kohli doesn't have Dhoni'smatch-reading skills’

JEMIMAH STEALS SPOTLIGHT IN JAIPUR

MS STANDS BETWEEN

DELHI & HISTORY

Eying first final berth, Iyer led Delhi Capitals face CSK in 2nd Qaulifier

Pant is best finisheramong youngsters: Shaw

LEAGUE MATCHES* Chennai Super Kings beat Delhi Capitals by 6 wickets at Delhi* Chennai Super Kings defeated Delhi Capitals by 80 runs at Chennai

FOR THE RECORD* Shikhar Dawan is the highest run getter for Delhi Capitals this sea-

son. He scored 503 runs at an average of 35.92 and a strike rate of135.94 in 15 innings of as many matches. It is third time when hescored over 500 runs in an IPL season after 569 runs in 2012 and501 runs in 2016 .

* Harbhajan Singh who claimed 148 wickets at an average of 26.41in 155 innings of 158 matches, needs just two wickets to becomefourth bowler to take 150 wickets in IPL.

* Chennai Super Kings will become the second team after MumbaiIndians (108 wins in 186 matches ) to complete a century of winsif they beat Delhi Capitals. They have won 99 out of 163 matchesin IPL so far.

FAISEL FEATURES

Adapting to English wicketswill be key during WC: Lee

‘Eng will be better team with Archer’

RODRIGUES (77*)STRUCK 10 FOURS & ASIX FROM 48 BALLS IN

HER AGGRESSIVEINNINGS TO HELP

SUPERNOVAS POST142 FOR 3

english news paper | breaking news | latest today news in … · 2019-05-09 · son rahul gandhi...

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