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The Cabinet Committee onSecurity (CCS) headed byPrime Minister NarendraModi gave exceptional andunprecedented waivers toM/s Dassault Aviation andM/s MBDA in the off��set contracts they signed with theIndian government on September 23, 2016 as part ofthe €7.87 billion Rafale deal.These waivers, granted onAugust 24, 2016 at the highest level of political decisionmaking, were exemptions given to the two private

French companies from having to comply with provisions of the Standard Contract Document of theDefence Procurement Procedure, DPP2013.

The waivers concernedtwo key issues — the provisions to be made in the off��setcontracts for arbitration (Article 9) and access to booksof accounts of the industrialsuppliers (Article 12).

These had been sent up tothe CCS for its “fi��nal reviewand approval” by the Defence Acquisition Council(DAC) headed by Defence

Minister Manohar Parrikar.He had evidently felt uncomfortable with sanctioning, athis level, major deviationsfrom the Defence Procurement Procedure. But thatwas not all.

Two other mandated provisions of DPP2013 that prohibit the “Use of Undue Infl��uence” and “Agents/Agency Commission”, Articles 22 and 23 respectively ofthe Standard Contract Docu

ment (http://bit.ly/DPP_2013) , and provide forpenalties against private industrial suppliers in case oftransgressions, had beenquietly dropped along theway by the DAC. Curiously,while the deletion of thesevital integrity provisionsfrom the Supply Protocols,which were themselves onlyannexures to the InterGovernmental Agreement(IGA), went up to the CCS for“fi��nal review and approval”,their deletion from the off��setcontracts, which had beeninsisted on by the French in

dustrial suppliers, did nothave to.

These salient facts, whichwere not disclosed by the government in its submissionsto the Supreme Court of India, as well as other aspectsof an openended and murky set of off��set arrangementswhich were enabled by a major change in off��set policy inAugust 2015, come to light inthe fi��nal report of the IndianNegotiating Team (INT), dated July 21, 2016, to whichThe Hindu has access.

Rafale: Modi govt. gave unprecedented waivers in off��set agreementsDPP2013 provisions relating to arbitration, access to books of accounts, and penalties for the use of infl��uence, commission agents not met

N. Ram

EXCLUSIVE

CONTINUED ON A PAGE 13

As the nation gears up forthe fi��rst round of the LokSabha election, the rulingBJP and the NDA seem to enjoy a distinct advantage overits opponents. The CSDSLokniti PreElection Surveyindicates that the nationalmood appears to be to givethe ruling party/alliance asecond term.

Over the last one year, theruling party appears to haveovercome the emergingmood of antiincumbencyand turned the tide in its fa

vour. Each region appears tohave its own trend and political direction. As thingsstand in the last week ofMarch 2019, the NDA appears close to the majority

mark, though the BJP itselfseems well short of securinga majority on its own.

Advantage NDA, but itmay fall short of majority BJP seems to have overcome mood of antiincumbency

Sandeep Shastri

Suhas Palshikar

Sanjay Kumar


CSDS-LOKNITIPre - poll Survey 2019

FIGHTING TOGETHER A EDITORIAL

The Supreme Court onMonday increased VoterVerifi��ed Paper Audit Trail(VVPAT) verifi��cation to fi��verandom Electronic VotingMachines (EVMs) in eachAssembly constituency.

“It is, therefore, our considered view that... thenumber of EVMs thatwould now be subjected toverifi��cation so far as theVVPAT paper trail is concerned would be fi��ve perAssembly constituency orsegment in a parliamentary constituency insteadof what is provided by Guideline No. 16.6, namely,one machine per Assemblyconstituency or segment ina parliamentary constituency,” the court ordered.

SC increasesVVPATverifi��cation

Krishnadas Rajagopal

NEW DELHI


The BJP on Monday releasedits “Sankalp Patra” or manifesto for the 2019 Lok Sabhaelection, keeping nationalsecurity and its core issuesof Uniform Civil Code, abolition of Article 370 and theconstruction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya front andcentre, welded to welfareschemes like the universali

sation of the ₹��6,000 per annum income support forfarmers.

The party also affi��rmed itscommitment to get the Citizenship Amendment Bill

cleared through both Houses of Parliament and a nationwide National Registryof Citizenship, and the annulment of Article 35Awhich the party termed “discriminatory” towards Kashmiri women and nonpermanent residents of theState. The insertions on Article 35A and a nationwideNRC were a nod to its ideological preoccupation withaction on illegal immigrantsand national identity.

BJP manifesto keeps focus onnational security, farm supportOff��ers nationwideregistry ofcitizenship

Nistula Hebbar

NEW DELHI

PM Modi and BJP presidentAmit Shah release the party’smanifesto on Monday. * PTI


‘A BUNCH OF LIES’ A PAGE 10DELHI METRO A 4 PAGES

SC refuses to stay therelease of Modi biopic NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court on

Monday refused to intervene

in the release of the fi��lm

Prime Minister Narendra

Modi, alleged to be “blatant

propaganda” dressed up as a

work of art, in violation of

the poll code. The Bench

has asked the petitioner to

list his objections.

NEWS A PAGE 10

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

NEARBY

Assam man assaulted for selling ‘beef’GUWAHATI

The police in northeastern

Assam’s Biswanath district

picked up fi��ve people after a

mob assaulted a 68yearold

man for allegedly selling beef

at his restaurant in district

headquarters Biswanath

Chariali. The incident

happened on Sunday

afternoon but came to light

on Monday after a video on

the assault was uploaded on

social media.

NATION A PAGE 7

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

The Indian Air Force (IAF)on Monday presented tworadar images of the aerial en

gagement with Pakistan AirForce (PAF) on February 27to prove that a Pakistani F16was shot down by the MiG21piloted by Wing Commander

IAF MiG21 Bison shot downa PAF F16,” Air ViceMarshalRGK Kapoor said.

Abhinandan Varthaman.“The IAF has irrefutable

evidence of not only the factthat F16 was used by PAF onFebruary 27 but also that an

Indian Air Force presents ‘proof ’ to show F16 was shot down Dinakar Peri

New Delhi

DETAILS ON A PAGE 10

https://t.me/TheHindu_Zone_official

https://t.me/SSC4Exam https://t.me/Banking4Exam https://t.me/UPSC4Exam

#70929

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DELHI THE HINDU

TUESDAY, APRIL 9, 20192EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

06, on behalf of THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD., Chennai-600002. Editor: Suresh Nambath (Responsi

DELHI Timings

Tuesday, April 09

RISE 06:03 SET 18:43

RISE 08:43 SET 22:31

Wednesday, April 10

RISE 06:02 SET 18:44

RISE 09:28 SET 23:31

Thursday, April 11

RISE 06:01 SET 18:44

RISE 10:18 SET 00:00

Untimely rain accompaniedby strong winds in the keywheatgrowing States ofPunjab and Haryana onMonday has left farmersworried as it could damagecrops and delay harvesting.

“Parts of Punjab and Haryana experienced rain andgusty winds this morning.There is a possibility of intermittent rain over the nexttwo days,” said Surinder Pal,director at the India Meteorological Department,Chandigarh.

Harvesting of wheat, themain rabi crop sown fromlate October to December,has already started in boththe States but is yet to gain

momentum as rain at regular intervals during the entire winter season has delayed harvesting. The wheatprocurement season in Punjab and Haryana began onApril 1.

P.S. Rangi, an agricultureexpert and former adviser tothe Punjab State Farmers’Commission, said the current spell of rain would nothave damaged the standingcrop extensively.

“However, the crop whichhas already been harvestedand is lying in the fi��elds mayhave been damaged,” hesaid, adding that if overcastconditions prevail and itcontinues to rain in the coming days, the wheat cropwould absorb the moisture

and harvesting could getdelayed.

Punjab is expecting abumper wheat crop touching 180 lakh tonnes this year.Last year, the wheat outputwas 177 lakh tonnes, according to data from the Stateagriculture department.

‘Crops fl��attened’Sanju Gudeyana, a farmerleader with the Bhartiya Kisan Union in Haryana’s Yamunanagar, said rain andstrong winds lashed Bilaspur, Chahrauli, Sadora andNaraingarh regions in themorning, fl��attening standingcrops and causing extensivedamage. “Farmers are at thereceiving end due to this untimely rain,” he said.

Can damage crops, delay harvesting in Haryana and PunjabVIKAS VASUDEVA

CHANDIGARH

Untimely rain leaves farmers worried

A day after the show ofstrength by the Bahujan Samaj PartySamajwadi PartyRashtriya Lok Dal alliance inSaharanpur’s Deoband, thestage was set for Congresspresident Rahul Gandhi andparty general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to address supporters in the constituency on Monday.

However, after hours ofwaiting, the crowd gatheredat Gandhi Park in Saharanpur left without a glimpse ofthe brother and sister. According to the announcement made about threehours after the rally was supposed to start, the two leaders were forced to canceltheir appearance at the rallyin Saharanpur, as well as inShamli and Bijnor later in the

day, due to “bad weather”,which prevented their helicopter from taking off��. Ms.Gandhi would, however,hold a roadshow in Saharanpur, which goes to polls onApril 11, on Tuesday morning, the party announced.

Support for MasoodAs the crowd was gatheringat the venue earlier in theday, a dust storm blew

through, ripping the tentsopen and leaving the metaltrussing dangling overhead.While the two star campaigners of the party cancelled, many local Congressleaders as well as representatives of the Bhim Armyturned up to lend support tothe Saharanpur candidate,Imran Masood.

Many among the crowdsaid that they will continue

to support and will vote forthe Congress candidate,while some felt they were“fooled” and used to assemble a big crowd at the venue.

Rashid Ahmed, a carpenter who attended the rally,said: “We will all still vote forthe Congress. Priyanka iscoming for a roadshow onTuesday, and we will go andattend that as well.”

Mr. Ahmed was interrupted by another member of thecrowd, Ishrar, who said:“They have made fools out ofus, they just wanted a bigcrowd.”

For Mohammad Farhan,an 18yearold fi��rsttime voter, defeating Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s government was the aim.

“Modi kept promisingacchhe din. The good daysnever came, so we want theold days back. Rahul Gandhidoes what he says, Modi onlyspreads rumours,” he said.

Twentyoneyearold col

lege student Shahrukh Alisaid: “Modi has done sabkasaath, sabka naash. Iopened four zero balance accounts and they are still atzero. Now, I will wait for₹��72,000 [minimum incomeguaranteed by theCongress].”

Rally vs rallyAnother local at the rally,Gulbahar, said he had attended the gathbandhan’srally in Deoband on Sundayas well and the turnout wasmore than that at the Congress rally.

“Haji Fazulrahman [theSPBSPRLD alliance candidate] may win here, but Rahul should be the next PrimeMinister,” he said.

Ram Kumar Jogi, a teacherwho attended the rally, said:“What they [Mr. Gandhi andMs. Vadra] did today is disrespect of the whole community. All parties are making false promises.”

Rahul, Priyanka cancel on SaharanpurNo-show attributed to bad weather; Congress general secretary to hold roadshow today

Damini Nath

SAHARANPUR

A dust storm uprooted the tents at the site of the Congressrally in Saharanpur on Monday. * SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA

The Supreme Court onMonday asked the UttarPradesh government to afi��le fresh status report inthe Hapur lynching caselast year, in which one person lost his life.

A Bench of Chief JusticeRanjan Gogoi and JusticesDeepak Gupta and SanjivKhanna asked the State government to submit its status report on the investigation and trial in the case.

The apex court on September 5 last year directedthe IG of Meerut range tosupervise the investigationin the Hapur lynching case.

Hapur killing:SC seeks freshstatus report

Press trust of india

New Delhi

The media has been pickingon Congress president RahulGandhi for the last 10 years,Congress leader Sam Pitrodasaid on Monday.

In the context of relentless questions on why Mr.Gandhi decided to contestfrom Wayanad along with

Amethi, Mr. Pitroda said,“The media is such that theyare constantly focused onthis one young man for thelast 10 years. Everything hedoes is open to criticism. Ifhe scratches the right side,then they will question ‘Whydid he not scratch the leftside?’ and there will be a national debate on that.” He

was speaking at the secondV.K. Madhavan Kutty memorial lecture on ‘Political campaigns in the digital era’.

Mr. Pitroda also pannedthe social media which, hesaid, produced fake news.“Social media amplifi��es liesin a big way mainly becauseyou can hide behind fakeidentity,” he said.

‘Media targeting Rahul for a decade’ Everything he does is open to criticism, says Sam Pitroda Special Correspondent

New Delhi



THE HINDU DELHI

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EAST

Ramesh Chandra ChyauPatnaik, the sitting MLA ofOdisha’s Berhampur Assembly constituency, mayhave missed out on the party ticket but has emergedas the star campaigner forboth parliamentary andAssembly poll candidatesof the Biju Janata Dal in thearea.

All BJD posters, bannersand billboards in Berhampur city bear photos of thefi��vetime MLA prominently, along with those of party founder Biju Patnaik andhis son and Chief MinisterNaveen Patnaik. Chandrasekhar Sahu, the party’sLok Sabha candidate here,and Assembly electioncontestant Bikram Pandamake it a point to take thedoctor along during theircampaigns.

Both candidates werepolitical rivals of Dr. ChyauPatnaik until last year,when they left the Congress to join the BJD. Mr.Panda has tasted defeat atthe hands of Dr. Chyau Patnaik four times as a Congress candidate for Berhampur Assembly seatsince 2000. At rallies now,he says he might have gotthe BJD ticket this time butthe incumbent MLA ishelming his campaign.

The denial of ticket tothe doctor had led to rumblings in the BerhampurBJD and among voters.

Denied ticket,sitting MLAturns starcampaigner

Sib Kumar Das

BERHAMPUR

The Supreme Court on Monday sought a response fromformer Kolkata Police Commissioner to a plea by theCBI to arrest him in connection with the Saradha chit

fund scam.The CBI urged a Bench,

led by Chief Justice of IndiaRanjan Gogoi, to lift its February 8 stay order againstany “coercive action” againstMr. Kumar. The agency saidthat his arrest was necessary

to “unravel the entire gamutof the larger conspiracy inthe ponzi scam cases”.

The Bench gave Mr. Kumar four weeks’ time to fi��lehis response.

The CBI also sought thecourt’s directions to the

West Bengal authorities tocomply with the court’s earlier orders “in letter and spirit” and not to create anyhurdle in the probe or try to“intimidate, harass andscare the agency offi��cials”probing the cases.

Reply to CBI’s plea on arrest: SC to ex-top cop Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI



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THE HINDU DELHI


K.M. Mani’s conditionstable, says hospitalKOCHI

The condition of Kerala

Congress (M) leader K.M.

Mani is said to be serious

even as the medical bulletin

by the VPS Lakeshore

Hospital and Research Centre

says that his condition is

stable. He is being treated for

chest infection.

IN BRIEF

Maoists seek boycott of polls in Wayanad WAYANAD

Maoists have put up posters

and banners asking farmers

and plantation workers in

Mundakkai, which forms part

of the Wayanad Lok Sabha

constituency from where

Congress president Rahul

Gandhi is contesting, to

boycott the April 23 election.

The posters appeared in

Mundakkai town on Monday,

Wayanad District Police Chief

R. Karuppasamy said. PTI

After two days of hectic campaigning for BJP, SombhaiModi, brother of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, returned to Ahmedabad, onMonday. He appeared relaxed, having breakfast withAndhra Pradesh party presi

dent Kanna Lakshminarayana at the latter’s residencehere, barely 48 hours beforethe State goes to polls. Alsopresent was BJP national president Amit Shah’s brotherLalit Shah.

As the duo prepared toleave Guntur for their hometown, Mr. Lakshminarayanatold them that the breakupof the alliance with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) was “agood riddance”, though ithad come late, and he could

undo some of the damagecaused by Chief Minister N.Chandrababu Naidu withgreat diffi��culty.

In a chat with The Hindu,

Mr. Sombhai said it was hisfi��rst visit to Andhra Pradeshand going by public response, he believed that themood was pretty much in favour of Mr. Modi, whom hehad seldom met in fi��ve years.“My brother has done a lotfor the country, there is noreason why he should be

kept at bay,” he quipped,when asked to give his assessment of the party’s performance in Andhra Pradesh,while having some nicewords for the hard workdone by Mr. Lakshminarayana to revive the party’s fortunes in the State.

At election rallies in Guntur and Tenali, Mr. Sombhaiand Mr. Lalit Shah have insisted that the country wouldbe safe in the hands of the“ModiShah” duo.

No reason why Modi should be kept at bay, says his brotherSiblings of PM,Shah campaign in GunturV. Raghavendra

GUNTUR

Sombhai Modi

Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot said theCongress would bring backclean politics to Telanganawhere the incumbent Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS)government had “pollutedthe atmosphere by buying legislators, pressuring lawmakers and creating an environment of fear”.

Telangana Chief MinisterK. Chandrashekar Rao wasdoing exactly what Prime Minister Narendra Modi wasdoing at the Centre — usingagencies to suppress thevoice of leaders who question them, said Mr. Pilot at apress conference here.

He said he was part of thehistoric decision of the Congress that decided to help Telangana fulfi��l the wishes ofthe people and it pained himto see the State where the government suppressed people and bought legislators inviolation of norms.

Mr. Pilot, who was in thecity to extend support toCongress candidate in Chevella Konda VishweshwerReddy, said every vote to theTRS would automatically

help the BJP, that had alsoruined the institutions in India.

Promises delivered“The Congress delivers whatit promises and the ‘Nyay’scheme is not like a ‘jumla’(empty promise) like the ₹��15lakh promised by Mr. Modiin 2014 election. We couldhave easily said ₹��20 lakh butwe don’t believe in such jumlas,” he said. The Congressmanifesto, he said, talked

about helping the poorest ofthe poor 20% of Indian population with a promise of giving them a guaranteed₹��72,000 income per year.

Mr Pilot said Mr. Modi haddid everything to stop theNREGA of the ManmohanSingh government.

The scheme had lifted 14crore people out of poverty,but Mr. Modi was not interested in such schemes butonly in waiving of loans ofcrores of rupees of a few in

dustrialists, he alleged. Expressing confi��dence

that UPAIII would come topower after the elections, hesaid the party would perform extremely well in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh andChhattisgarh where itgrabbed power from the BJP.

Mr. Pilot claimed thatthere there was a wave ofchange across the countryand various parties wouldcome together to stop theBJP.

Cong. will off��er clean politics inTelangana, says Sachin Pilot ‘TRS polluted atmosphere by buying MLAs, creating environment of fear’

Special Correspondent

Hyderabad

Frontal attack: Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot addressing a media conferencewith other Congress leaders in Hyderabad on Monday. * K.V.S. GIRI

The undercurrent of mutualsuspicion among the Congress and the Janata DalSecular ( JDS) grassroots workers continues to manifest inthe Mysuru and Hassan parliamentary constituencies,notwithstanding a show ofunity among the party leaders at the top.

For the second time in aweek, the Congress meetingin Hassan on Monday sawproModi slogans beingraised by a section of theCongress activists, while JD(S) workers in the neighbouring Mysuru openly expressed their disenchantment with their leaders forthe tieup with theCongress.

In the fi��rst instance, thediff��erences manifested in ameeting at Udayapura in theChannarayapatna taluk,where a few Congress workers chanted “ModiModi”,registering their protestagainst the party’s decisionto back the JD(S) candidate.The meeting was convenedby Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC)vicepresident B. Shivaramu, and the Congress candidate for the HolenarasipurAssembly constituency lastyear Bagur Manje Gowda.

Chaos at meetingBoth the leaders had a toughtime pacifying the workers.A few workers also raisedslogans praising the Congress, resulting in chaos atthe meeting. Such sceneswere witnessed earlier atChannarayapatna, Holenarasipur, Arasikere and Belur, where a good number ofCongress workers, includ

ing offi��cebearers in the party, have openly opposed theJD(S) candidate. FormerMLA H. M.Vishwanath, whowas till recently chairman ofthe Congress party’s districtcampaign committee, hasannounced that he wouldnot work for Prajwal Revanna, grandson of formerPrime Minister H. D. DeveGowda and JD(S) candidatefor the Hassan Lok Sabhaseat. Similarly, District Congress Committee vicepresident Narayana Gowda participated in BJP meetings,ignoring warnings by hisparty leaders.

Hassan, Mysuru party workers still at war


Mysuru/ Hassan

JD(S)Congress unity fails to trickle down to grassroots

Elephant tusks: HC issuesnotice to Mohanlal, govt. KOCHI

The Kerala High Court issued

notice to actor Mohanlal, the

State government, the

Principal Chief Conservator of

Forests (Wildlife) and the

Chief Wildlife Warden on a

public interest litigation

petition challenging the

government order granting

ownership certificate to the

actor for the four elephant

tusks seized from his house at

Thevara, Kochi, in 2012.

With disgruntled Congressleaders in Mandya districtcontinuing to supportIndependent candidateSumalatha for the LokSabha poll, CongressJD(S)coalition coordinationcommittee chairmanSiddaramaiah hasrequested the electorateand leaders to supportJD(S) candidate Nikhil K.

In a oneminute21second video, released bythe JD(S) in Bengaluru onMonday, the former ChiefMinister urged workers ofboth parties to worktogether to ensure Mr.Nikhil’s victory. Theveteran Congress leadersaid he would canvass forMr. Nikhil along withformer Prime MinisterH.D. Deve Gowda inMandya on April 12.

Support Nikhil:Siddaramaiah


Mandya

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

Five girls drown in well in Telangana HYDERABAD

Five girls in the age group of

6-11 drowned in an open well

in Jogulamba Gadwal district

of Telangana, police said on

Monday. The bodies have

been recovered. It seems

after one of them began

drowning, the other girls may

have tried to save her and

drowned in the process, a

senior police official said. PTI

In a setback to the AIADMKgovernment in Tamil Naduand the BJP government atthe Centre, the MadrasHigh Court on Mondayquashed a notifi��cation issued last year to acquireland for the ₹��10,000 crore,eightlane ChennaiSalemexpressway, holding thatenvironmental clearancewas mandatory for the project.

A Special Bench of Justices T.S. Sivagnanam andV. Bhavani Subbaroyanpassed the order, allowinga batch of cases fi��led bylandowners and others, including Anbumani Ramadoss of the PMK, which isnow a constituent of theBJPAIADMK alliance.

The Bench rejected theCentre’s contention thatenvironmental clearancewas required only beforethe actual laying of the expressway and not at thenascent stage of land acquisition. It held that theneed for such clearanceshould be decided on acasebycase basis.

The court said, it was necessary to get environmental clearance before proceeding with thenotifi��cation.

Land buy forSalem corridor quashed

Mohamed Imranullah S.

CHENNAI



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DELHI THE HINDU


NATION

SC to hear bail plea ofex-cop Sanjiv BhattNEW DELHI

The Supreme Court on

Monday agreed to hear the

bail plea of former IPS officer

Sanjiv Bhatt in connection

with a twodecadeold drug

seizure case. The court has

sought a response from the

Gujarat Police. His plea had

been rejected by the Gujarat

High Court on March 7. Bhatt,

is behind the bars since

September last year. PTI

IN BRIEF

Two dead, 21 ill afterconsuming ‘prasad’ JAIPUR

Two persons from Rajasthan’s

Banswara district died due to

food poisoning and 21 others

were taken ill after

consuming ‘prasad’ at a

temple in Madhya Pradesh.

Nearly 4050 people of

Danpur village in Banswara

had visited the temple in

Ratlam district. M.P. Samples

of the food have been sent

for examination, and a case

has been registered. PTI

Two govt. officials heldfor ‘accepting’ bribeKOTA (RAJASTHAN)

In two separate cases of

corruption, two government

officials were arrested on

Monday while accepting

bribes from private

contractors for clearing their

pending bills for their works,

said AntiCorruption Bureau

officials. Both the accused will

be produced before the ACB

court in Kota on Tuesday. PTI

Fake currency seized,two arrested in KolkataKOLKATA

The Kolkata Police has seized

Fake Indian Currency Notes

with a face value of ₹��5 lakh

from the city’s Maidan area

and arrested two persons in

this connection. The

counterfeit notes were in

denomination of ₹��2,000, a

senior police officer said on

Monday. PTI

The 200oddkmlong Muslimdominated belt betweenJammu and Poonch along theLine of Control believes theLok Sabha election in Jammuis a direct contest betweenthe “face of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi” and the“Congress’ hand”.

The reasons cited for theirconviction are — the absenceof the Peoples DemocraticParty and the National Conference from the contest, the“clean image” of Congresscandidate Raman Bhalla,who's also the party’s Statevicepresident, and the complaints of the voters againstthe sitting MP, BJP’s JugalKishore Sharma.

Voter loyalty in this regiontraditionally swings betweenthe Congress and the regional parties. In 2014, all threeAssembly constituencies under Poonch district voted fordiff��erent parties — PoonchHaveli elected the PDP candidate, Surankote chose Congress and Mendhar opted forthe NC. With both the NC andthe PDP deciding to stay outof the fray in Jammu, theCongress’ decision to fi��eldMr. Bhalla from the seat is a“double plus” for the party,feels Sabir Bitta, a teacher atthe Model Higher SecondarySchool at Sheeshmahal inPoonch district.

Traditional support“Just like you hear aboutcrossborder shelling alongthe LoC in the National Capital Region, we too hear of cases like [Mohammad] Akhlaq’slynching [in Dadri], Bulandshahr [violence] up here.Add to that the fact that ourcommunity has traditionallysupported the Congress andthat he [Mr. Bhalla] has immense goodwill among the

people here, you have theanswer to your question,”says Mr. Bitta.

According to the offi��cial2011 Census fi��gures, Muslimsconstitute 90.45% of the district's total population of4,76,820.

BJP fl��ags and hoardings,bearing the photos of Mr. Modi, party president Amit Shahand State leaders, dominatethe JammuAkhnoor Highway for a good 30 km. Congress fl��ags on homes andshops ostensibly belonging toMuslims on one side confrontBJP fl��ags on Hindu homes onthe other side in areas suchas Manjakote in Rajouri district for the next 100 km onNational Highway 144A. A little further on Poonch Highway, smaller BJP hoardings,similar to the ones in Jammubut mysteriously torn, hangfrom trees.

Mohammad Nazeer, a dhaba owner in Surankote, hasjust returned from a pollrelated meeting at a local mosque” and asks his customersfor advice. “Are you comingfrom Jammu? What’s themood there?” he asks in amix of Dogri and Punjabi. “Atthe meeting [at the mosque]they were asking us to votefor the Congress because ourparty hasn’t fi��elded any candidate. I feel uncomfortable

about that. They talk aboutthe greater good but to me itseems like giving my vote fornothing,” he says, choosingnot to name the “party” in reference.

‘Grim’ realitiesResidents of the twin Rajouriand Poonch districts, 70 kmapart along the LoC, are targeted frequently by Pakistaniforward posts located on themountains above. They assert that events such as crossborder hostility and India’sretaliatory air strikes in Balakot are not mere electoral issues but “realities” whichthey are living every day.

BJP general secretary RamMadhav’s rally in town on Saturday, according to Poonchresidents’, “failed” to drawcrowds and was a proof thatvoters would rather have better roads and more doctors atthe district hospital than surgical strikes across theborder.

“Yes, events such as Pulwama and Balakot air strikeshave made the situation favourable for the BJP, but onemust understand that theseoccurrences were, are andwill remain a part of a persistent challenge. The State andpolitical parties need to workon a rehabilitation policy forresidents in LoC areas in

stead of just restricting theproblem to being an electoralissue,” says Gulshan RashidBhat, an assistant professorof geography at the Department of Higher Education inRajouri.

Sunny Singh, who worksfor a local newspaper, saysthe people of Poonch, overand above religion and traditional loyalty, prioritise “local work”. “There weren’t people at the [BJP] rally here onSaturday but at a recent public meeting addressed by[Congress leader] Dr. GhulamNabi Azad there wasn’t evenspace to set foot in. It is a factthat previous Congress governments have done a lot ofwork and that’s why the party, on its own, is enough tocontest against the face of thePrime Minister,” he says.

Krishan Singh, a transporter, says he is “annoyed” withthe BJP despite having benefi��tted from a scheme for thewelfare of people displacedfrom PakistanoccupiedKashmir. “No one thoughtabout us earlier but Modijigave ₹��5 lakh to the people displaced from PoK. But we arestill annoyed with him because of our MP. We haveheard about Jugal Kishore butnever seen him,” he says.

Anil Maini, a trader, saysissues like the Ram Mandirand scrapping of Articles 370and 35A aren’t “real”. “Theseare not issues but promiseswhich won’t and can’t bekept,” he says.

Down in Nowshera, BJP’sState president Ravinder Raina’s constituency, SubhashKapoor, a leader of the localtraders’ community, questions the timing of the government’s stance towardsPakistan. “We support theBalakot air strikes but whatabout jobs for youth and thecondition of roads?” he asks.

Along LoC in Jammu, Cong. fi��ndsfavour with strifetorn residentsAbsence of PDP, NC candidates, ‘invisible’ sitting MP likely to boost party’s chances

Jatin Anand

Poonch/Surankote/Nowshera

A torn BJP poster along National Highway 144A in Poonch en route to Jammu. * JATIN ANAND

Days after the Haryana government appointed Kamaldeep Bhandari, wife ofthe judge hearing the Kathua rape case, as one of theState’s information commissioners, the issue hastaken a political turn withOpposition parties termingthe decision “unethical”and an attempt to infl��uencethe judiciary.

The BJP government, however, said that the decision was taken on merit after following due process.

On March 8 — just twodays before the model codeof conduct came into forcefor the Lok Sabha election— the Haryana governmentappointed Ms. Bhandari,LieutenantGeneral K.J.Singh (retired) and JaiSingh Bishnoi as State Information Commissioners.

Chief Minister ManoharLal Khattar, former Leaderof Opposition Abhay SinghChautala and Forest Minister Rao Narbir Singh, whowere part of the selectioncommittee, picked the candidates from a list of namesrecommended by thesearch committee.

Haryana Congress chiefAshok Tanwar on Mondaysaid that Ms. Bhandari’s appointment was “clearly anattempt” by the BJP to infl��uence institutions.

“We are not questioningthe integrity of anyone, butthis shows the immoralityof the BJP government;how they are trying to infl��uence sensitive issuessuch as rape of the girlchild in Kathua. The Election Commission shouldtake cognisance of the appointment and take appropriate action,” said Mr.Tanwar.

HaryanaOppn. againstappointmentof judge’s wifeto info panel

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

CHANDIGARH

Weather WatchRainfall, temperature & air quality in select metros yesterday

Temperature Data: IMD, Pollution Data: CPCB, Map: INSAT/IMD (Taken at 18.00 Hrs)

Forecast for Tuesday: Heavy rain likely at isolated places overAssam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura.Heat wave conditions likely in isolated pockets over Gujarat,west Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan

city rain max min city rain max min

Agartala...............0.5.... 29.0.... 22.0 Kozhikode ............... —.... 35.2.... 28.4

Ahmedabad............ —.... 43.0.... 22.7 Kurnool ................... —.... 41.8.... 27.6

Aizawl ................... —.... 30.0.... 15.4 Lucknow................0.6.... 35.1.... 22.2

Allahabad .............. —.... 38.8.... 22.7 Madurai................... —.... 39.8.... 25.4

Bengaluru .............. —.... 35.6.... 24.0 Mangaluru............... —.... 35.3.... 26.1

Bhopal.................2.1.... 39.7.... 22.0 Mumbai................... —.... 33.5.... 23.1

Bhubaneswar .......0.8.... 32.9.... 25.5 Mysuru.................... —.... 36.7.... 21.8

Chandigarh ............ —.... 30.6.... 22.6 New Delhi ............... —.... 36.4.... 20.2

Chennai ................. —.... 35.0.... 27.6 Patna ...................... —.... 35.0.... 21.8

Coimbatore............ —.... 38.2.... 25.2 Port Blair ................ —.... 32.7.... 26.1

Dehradun............... —.... 29.0.... 20.0 Puducherry.............. —.... 35.0.... 27.0

Gangtok...............7.8.... 19.3.... 10.5 Pune ....................... —.... 40.0.... 19.7

Goa ....................... —.... 33.0.... 24.3 Raipur ..................... —.... 39.1.... 28.0

Guwahati .............0.9.... 28.3.... 20.8 Ranchi..................... —.... 36.8.... 17.2

Hubballi................. —.... 37.0.... 23.0 Shillong....................6.... 19.6.... 10.8

Hyderabad ............. —.... 38.5.... 23.3 Shimla..................... —.... 23.0.... 12.6

Imphal................... —.... 27.3.... 15.6 Srinagar .................. —.... 25.6.... 12.4

Jaipur ..................0.2.... 40.0.... 24.0 Trivandrum ............. —.... 36.2.... 26.7

Kochi..................... —.... 34.0.... 26.4 Tiruchi .................... —.... 40.0.... 27.0

Kohima................1.4.... 23.0.... 11.5 Vijayawada .............. —.... 37.4.... 25.6

Kolkata.................. —.... 32.2.... 24.6 Visakhapatnam ......... —.... 32.4.... 27.0

(Rainfall data in mm; temperature in Celsius)

Pollutants in the air you are breathing Yesterday

CITIES SO2 NO2 CO PM2.5 PM10 CODE

In observation made at 4.00p.m., Sirsa, Haryanarecorded an overall airquality index (AQI) score of404 indicating an unhealthylevel of pollution. Incontrast, Amaravati, AndhraPradesh recorded a healthyAQI score of 33

Ahmedabad..... 15 .73 26 ..165 .....— ....*

Bengaluru ....... ..4 .24 44 ..168 .....— ....*

Chennai .......... ..6 .11 41 ..145 .....— ....*

Delhi .............. 19 .58 64 ..275 .343 ....*

Hyderabad ...... ..3 .61 30 ....77 ...97 ....*

Kolkata........... 10 .67 14 ....75 ...88 ....*

Lucknow ......... 15 .25 58 ..286 .....— ....*

Mumbai .......... 29 .27 86 ....27 ...61 ....*

Pune............... 29 .14 32 ....71 ...88 ....*

Visakhapatnam ..5 .28 35 ....36 ...74 ....*

Air Quality Code: * Poor * Moderate * Good (Readings indicate average AQI)

SO2: Sulphur Dioxide. Short-term exposure can harm the respiratory system,

making breathing difficult. It can affect visibility by reacting with other air

particles to form haze and stain culturally important objects such as statues

and monuments.

NO2: Nitrogen Dioxide. Aggravates respiratory illness, causes haze to form by

reacting with other air particles, causes acid rain, pollutes coastal waters.

CO: Carbon monoxide. High concentration in air reduces oxygen supply to

critical organs like the heart and brain. At very high levels, it can cause

dizziness, confusion, unconsciousness and even death.

PM2.5 & PM10: Particulate matter pollution can cause irritation of the eyes,

nose and throat, coughing, chest tightness and shortness of breath, reduced

lung function, irregular heartbeat, asthma attacks, heart attacks and

premature death in people with heart or lung disease



#70929


THE HINDU DELHI


CMYK

NATION

The annual The Hin-du literature prizesrefl��ect the

newspaper’scommitment topromoting good writing,fi��ction as well as nonfi��ction, in English as wellas other Indianlanguages, andencouraging writers ofpromise in all fi��elds andlanguages.

The Hindu Prize forFiction was instituted in2010 to recognise andencourage Indian fi��ctionwritten in English.Originally limited tofi��ction in English, thecompetition has sincebeen extended to includetranslations of literaryfi��ction from the regionallanguages into English.The prize is awarded to anovel or short storycollection thatexemplifi��es the best workof fi��ction in each year.

The Hindu Prize forNonfi��ction, introduced in2018, is awarded to thebest work of nonfi��ctionin English or regionallanguages (in translation).

The winners in bothcategories, fi��ction andnonfi��ction, will receive₹��5 lakh each in cash, atrophy and a citation. Inthe case of a translatedwork being the winner,the prize money will bedivided equally betweenthe translator and theauthor.

There will be separatejury panels for the twocategories of awards. Jurymembers will be drawnfrom a pool of prominentwriters, academics, bookcritics, and experts indiff��erent fi��elds.

A shortlist of the bestfi��ve books in eachcategory will beannounced in October2019, and the winnerswill be announced at The

Hindu Lit for Life inChennai in January 2020.

HOW TO ENTER The Hindu Prize:Fiction● Publishers may submitnovels or shortstoriescollections by a single

author, written in Englishand published betweenJuly 2018 and June 2019.● Translations of worksfrom the regionallanguages into Englishpublished between July2018 and June 2019 willalso be eligible for thecompetition. The originalwork should have beenpublished not earlierthan August 1947. ● Only works of literarymerit will be considered.● Publishers may enter amaximum of fi��ve booksfrom across theirimprints.● Publishers are asked tosend a list of all theirpublished titles to The

Hindu. This will enablethe judges to nominateadditional books if theywish.

● Publishers are requiredto send eight (hardcover)copies of each title theysubmit. Paperbacks andelectronic copies are notacceptable. ● Entries must be inprose.● Selfpublished orelectronically publishedbooks are not eligible. ● Children’s books, YoungAdult fi��ction or nonfi��ction, graphic andpictorial publications arenot eligible.● Publishers may notsubmit books written bymembers of the jury. ● Books that weresubmitted for The Hindu

Prize 2018 will not beaccepted.

The Hindu Prize: NonFiction● Publishers can submittheir best works in thefollowing categories:● Biography/Memoirs/Autobiography, TravelWriting, History, Arts,Culture, Polity andEconomy, InvestigativeJournalism/reportage,

Environment andEcology and Academicworks with a socialscience orientation.● Publishers can enterfi��ve of their best titlesfrom across theirimprints. Publishersshould also send a list oftheir published titles toenable the judges call infor additional books.● The books/manuscriptsshould have beenpublished between July2018 and June 2019.● Entries must beresearchbased andscholarly works withliterary merit.● Translations of works ofnonfi��ction from regionallanguages publishedbetween July 2018 andJune 2019 will also beeligible. The originalwork should have beenpublished postIndependence i.e. notearlier than August 1947.● Publishers must sendeight (8) copies of eachbook. Only hard copieswill be accepted.Electronic copies will notbe accepted.

Eligibility criteria forboth categories● The author must be anIndian citizen, or an NRIholding a valid Indianpassport, or an OverseasCitizen of India, or adomiciled resident ofIndia. It is the publisher’sresponsibility to verifythe author’s eligibilitybefore submitting thebook.● Employees of The

Hindu and their familymembers are not eligible.

All entries must reachThe Hindu on or beforeMay 31, 2019. All entriesmust be marked The

Hindu Prize 2019 Fiction/Non Fiction and shouldbe sent to Shalini Arun,Sr. Associate Editor, The

Hindu, Kasturi Buildings,859860, Anna Salai,Chennai 600002.

For more details ,contact R. Krithika@04222212572 (extension 334)or email [email protected]

Call for entries for The Hindu Prize 2019

The Ordnance FactoryBoard (OFB) on Mondayhanded over the fi��rst batchof six Dhanush artillery gunsto the Army. Dhanush is theindigenously upgraded version of the Swedish Boforsgun procured in the 1980s.

“Indigenisation to the extent of about 81%, has already been achieved. By theend of 2019, the indigenisation level of the gun will goup to 91%,” the Defence Ministry said in a statement.Six guns were handed overat a ceremony at Gun Carriage Factory, Jabalpur.

“The fi��rst Dhanush regiment with 18 guns is expected to be ready by the end ofnext year,” an Army sourcesaid. The GCF received theBulk Production Clearance

(BPC) to manufacture 114guns from the Army on February 18, 2019.

Dhanush is a 155 mm, 45calibre towed artillery gunwith a range of 36 km andhas demonstrated a range of38 km with specialised ammunition. It is an upgrade ofthe existing 155m, 39 calibreBofors FH 77 gun. It is compatible with all North Atlan

tic Treaty Organisation (NATO) 155 mm ammunitionsystem.

Conducting of trialsThe fi��rst phase of trials wereconducted between July andSeptember 2016 at Pokhranand Babina ranges and thesecond phase was held between October and December 2016 at the Siachen base

camp with three guns. Thelast round of user exploitation trials were completedwith six guns in June lastyear.

The gun is fi��tted with inertial navigation system withglobal positioning system(GPS) based gun recordingand autolaying, an enhanced tactical computerfor onboard ballistic computations, an onboard muzzlevelocity recording, an automated gun sighting systemequipped with camera, thermal imaging and laser rangefi��nder

All 114 guns are expectedto be delivered within fouryears. The OFB has alreadyundertaken capacity augmentation to manufactureover 400 barrels and 250ordnances for large calibreweapon systems.

Army gets Dhanush artillery guns It is the indigenously upgraded version of Bofors gun procured in 1980s


New Delhi

The indigenously developed Dhanush artillery guns.

The Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IITMadras)has topped the Centre’sranking of higher educationinstitutions, followed by theIndian Institute of Science,Bengaluru, and IITDelhi. Seven IITs appear in the top 10list of the National Institution Ranking Framework(NIRF) for 2019, while Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi and Banares Hindu University, Varanasi, take theremaining places.

Announcing the rankings

on Monday, President RamNath Kovind said “Recent expansion in higher educationhas widened access and improved equity. Even so, quality remains a concern ”

The rankings, publishedannually since 2016, arebased on multiple parameters, including teaching,learning and resources; research and professionalpractice; graduation outcomes; outreach and inclusivity; and the perception ofthe public, academics andemployers. Overall, 3,127 institutions applied for diff��e

rent categories of the NIRFthis year.

With regard to engineering, apart from the IITs, Anna University, Chennai, andNIT, Tiruchi, also make it tothe top 10. Managementrankings are topped by IIMBangalore, while XLRI, Jamshedpur, is the only instituteapart from IIMs in the top 10.Delhi’s Miranda House topsthe list of colleges, followedby Hindu College, Delhi, andPresidency College, Chennai. VIT, Vellore, tops the listof private or selffi��nanced institutions.

IITMadras tops Centre’shigher education rankingsSpecial Correspondent

NEW DELHI

Chief Justice of India RanjanGogoi on Monday indicatedthat the Supreme Courtwould look into a petitionchallenging an interim orderof the Madras High Court tothe Centre to prohibit download of TikTok, a mobileapplication.

In an urgent mention

made before a Bench presided over by the Chief Justice,senior advocate A.M. Singhvi said the order violated theright to free speech and expression and did not factorin the protection given to intermediaries under the Information Technology Act.

In April, the MaduraiBench of the Madras HighCourt even ordered the me

ing used in jest, it pointedout how the applicationcould be used for crude humour against innocent parties, leading to violation ofthe fundamental right to privacy.

The High Court said inappropriate contents were being made available to children and this could exposethem to sexual predators.

dia houses to refrain from telecasting TikTok videos. ADivision Bench of Justices N.Kirubakaran and S.S. Sundarasked the Centre whether alaw similar to the Children’sOnline Privacy ProtectionAct (COPPA) of the U.S.could be brought in to shieldchildren from cybercrimes.

Though the High Courtdid not object to TikTok be

SC may consider plea against order on TikTok Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI

The Manipur High Court hasordered the release of television anchor KishorechandraWangkhem who wascharged with sedition underthe National Security Act(NSA) for criticising Chief Minister N.Biren Singh on social media.

The release order came

more than four months afterhe was lodged in the SajiwaCentral Jail on the outskirtsof Imphal on November 27last year and days ahead ofthe election to the Inner Manipur Lok Sabha seat onApril 18.

“The court has releasedmy husband’s after revokingNSA. We expect him to be released from jail soon,” Mr

Wangkhem’s wife RanjitaElangbam said on Monday.

Mr Wangkhem had takento Facebook to condemn theChief Minister – with someincendiary words – for organising a function to mark Rani of Jhansi's battle againstthe British and linking it toManipur’s freedom movement. He had said the CMwas the “Centre’s puppet”.

High Court orders release of Manipurtelevision journalist in sedition caseSPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

GUWAHATI

The heart of the high pitchedcampaign being waged bythe YSRCP in Andhra Pradesh beats in a small building in the Banjara Hills locality of Hyderabad — the offi��ceof the Indian Political ActionCommittee (IPAC) which hasbeen with the campaign forthe better part of two years.

Maintaining momentumFrom providing the logisticalwherewithal for party leaderY.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’smammoth 3,684 km PrajaSankalpa Yatra to SamaraShankaravam (boothcadremeetings) to the Jagan AnnaPilippu ( Jagan Anna (elderbrother) is calling you) minicampaigns in the midst, thebuild up has been to give aspecifi��c direction to the party’s message across AndhraPradesh and to ensure thatthe momentum ismaintained.

Janata Dal (U) vice president Prashant Kishor, thefounder of IPAC is now amentor with the organisation, after his entry into formal politics.

Scattered across the fourfl��oors of the building are notjust publicity materials, butwhite boards that track thecampaigns of Mr. Reddy, hissister Sharmila and theirmother Y.S. Vijayamma, aswell as every day trackers forboth Assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies.

According to Asba Farooqui, who joined the team onthis particular assignment after a stint as a managementconsultant in the corporatesector, the mini campaignswere necessary buildingblocks for the concertedstrategy. “From booth levelbuild up of party workers toat least two direct mass contact programmes betweenMr. Reddy (referred by theteam as JMR) and the publicwere held,” he said.

In the Samara Shankara

vam for example, a goal of 11party workers per booth wasfi��xed, which led to a huge total of over fi��ve lakh boothworkers with each boothhaving one convenor at thetop.

During the “Jagan AnnaPilippu” outreach, over60,000 plus village level“neutral” infl��uencers wereidentifi��ed and received personalised letters from Mr.Reddy. They were then invited for an interaction withhim and provided an emailaddress and phone numberfor suggestions for campaignand governance goals.

Several defectionsAs a measure of the effi��cacyof the campaign, the teamcites the fact that there havebeen a total of 1,400 defections to the YSRCP from other parties, including twoTDP men whose names hadbeen announced as candidates for the Assembly poll,all in the last one month.

Political campaigns aretricky things, but the team ishoping their professionalmanagement of the party’saff��air is here to stay.

Slow, steady campaign peaks for JaganMeetings, masscontact lend fi��llipto YSRCP leader

Nistula Hebbar

NEW DELHI

The “war room” of the YSRCP. * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Vice Admiral Vermamoves tribunal NEW DELHI

Vice Admiral Bimal Verma,

who currently heads the

Andaman and Nicobar-based

tri-service command, on

Monday moved the Armed

Forces Tribunal over the

appointment of Vice Admiral

Karambir Singh as the next

Chief of Naval Staff.

Justice S.A. Bobde on Monday wondered aloud whygovernment offi��cialsshould be in charge of managing temples in a secularcountry.

The oral observationscame in the backdrop of allegations raised that devotees were subject to harassment at the hands ofstaff��ers at the Jagannathtemple in Puri.

“I do not know why government offi��cials shouldmanage temples,” JusticeBobde asked.

Questioning the effi��ciency of government offi��cialsmanning posts in templeadministration bodies, Justice Bobde pointed to theidol theft case in Tamil Nadu. “These idols, apartfrom the religious sentiments, are priceless,” Justice Bobde observed orally.

The comments havecome even as a separatepetition fi��led by BJP MPSubramanian Swamy seeking temples to be made independent of governmentcontrol is pending in theSupreme Court.

SC: why shouldgovt. offi��cershead temples?

Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI

NIA questions chief ofHurriyat Conference NEW DELHI

The NIA on Monday

questioned Hurriyat

Conference chairman Mirwaiz

Umer Farooq in connection

with a case of “funding terror

groups and separatist

organisations” in Jammu and

Kashmir, officials said. PTI

IN BRIEF

The police in northeasternAssam’s Biswanath districtpicked up fi��ve people aftera mob assaulted a 68yearold man for allegedly selling beef at his restaurant.

The incident happenedon Sunday afternoon butcame to light on Monday after a video of the assaultwas uploaded on social media. The man, identifi��ed asShaukat Ali, sustained injuries and was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

“We picked up fi��ve people, including two marketcommittee leaders, in a bidto disperse the mob. Theywere allowed to go aftersigning a good behaviourbond under Section 107 ofCode of Criminal Procedure,” a district administration offi��cial said. He addedthat some locals had beenwarning Mr. Ali not to sellwhat they believed wasbeef. Things came to a headwhen a group went to inspect his eatery on Sunday.

Mohammed Sahabuddin, the brother of Mr. Ali,later fi��led an FIR at the local police station.

Assam manassaulted forselling ‘beef ’


GUWAHATI



#70929


DELHI THE HINDU


CMYK

A ND-NDE

EDITORIAL

Arun K. Singh

On March 21, U.S. PresidentDonald Trump upendedanother longstanding

American policy, tweeting: “After52 years it is time for the UnitedStates to fully recognize Israel’s Sovereignty over the Golan Heights,which is of critical strategic and security importance to the State ofIsrael and Regional Stability!”

Third pro-Israel stepThis was another major proIsraelstep Mr. Trump has taken as President. On May 8, 2018, he hadwalked out of the 2015 JCPOA( Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) with Iran, negotiated by theObama administration with provisions for sanctions relief in response for Iranian restrictions onits nuclear programme. Israel hadopposed the agreement and anysanctions relief for Iran, seeing acontinuing threat to itself fromIran’s growing presence in Syria,its support for Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, its refusalto recognise Israel’s right to exist,and its military capabilities.

Before that, on December 6,2017, in a speech from the WhiteHouse, Mr. Trump had declared:“I have determined that it is timeto offi��cially recognise Jerusalem asthe capital of Israel.” He also pro

ceeded to close the Palestinian offi��ce in Washington DC, as well asU.S. consulate in Jerusalem dealing with the Palestinian Authority.

Hitherto, U.S. policy had beenthat any formalisation of statuschanges on the ground, followingIsrael’s victory and gains in the1967 IsraelArab confl��ict, could only fl��ow from negotiations amongparties concerned. UN SecurityCouncil Resolutions 242 (1967)and 338 (1973) had asserted inadmissibility of acquisition of territory by force, and called for Israeliwithdrawal. UNSCR 497 (1981) haddeclared that “Israel’s decision toimpose its laws, jurisdiction andadministration in the occupiedSyrian Golan Heights is null andvoid and without international legal eff��ect”.

Mr. Trump’s decisions have abearing on U.S. and Israeli domestic politics. The American Jewishcommunity, traditionally around65% Democratic, has grown in itssupport for him, despite an increase in antiSemitism within theU.S. because of his encouragementto rightwing groups. His baseamong Evangelical Christiansbacks Israel. Some of the majorcontributors to his campaign arealso ardent supporters of Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, facing a tough electionon April 9, and under threat of indictment for corruption and misdemeanour, is touting his infl��uence on Mr. Trump as havingpotential for further gains for Israel. To consolidate rightwingsupport for himself, he just announced that if reelected he

would not carry out any withdrawal of Israeli settlements from theWest Bank, putting an end to the“land for peace” formula advocated since the Camp David Accordsof 1979.

Faced with international opposition, Israel and its supportershave, in the past too, leveraged thesupport of the leading global power of the time to advance theircause. On November 2, 1917, LordBalfour, the British Foreign Secretary, declared that “His Majesty’sGovernment view with favour theestablishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people”. This eventually led to the establishment of the state of Israel in1948, despite Palestinian and Arabopposition. In an April 14, 2004letter to Israeli Prime MinisterAriel Sharon, U.S. President George W. Bush stated that “in lightof new realities on the ground, including already existing major Israeli population centers, it is unrealistic to expect that theoutcome of fi��nal status negotiations will be a full and complete return to the armistice lines of 1949”(position before the 1967 confl��ict).This has been interpreted by manyin Israel as beginning of the process of establishing the legitimacy

of Israeli/Jewish settlements in theWest Bank, and denting the viability of a fully sovereign and contiguous Palestinian state. Mr. Netanyahu’s latest announcement wouldtake this another step further. InIsraeli political discourse, whichhas moved over time to the right,many now question the possibilityof a twostate solution. The constraint for Israel is that its goal of ademocratic and Jewish state wouldbe diffi��cult to achieve in a onestate solution with current nearequal proportions of Arab andJewish populations.

Mr. Trump’s announcement onGolan Heights goes a step further.The Syrian Golan was part of theFrench postWorld War I mandate,and hence technically not coveredby the Balfour Declaration. Mr.Trump is now seeking to extendrecognition of Israeli sovereigntyto an area beyond Balfour, beyondthe UN partition plan for Palestinein the 1940s, and beyond the outcome of the 1948/49 ArabIsraeliconfl��ict.

In his proclamation of March25, issued in presence of the visiting Israeli Prime Minister, Mr.Trump cited Israeli security interests and regional threats. The present situation in Syria is no doubt afactor. The U.S. wants to drawdown its military presence, Russiaand Iran have signifi��cantly enhanced their presence and infl��uence. Israel is concerned aboutIranian presence beyond Golan inSyria and that of Hezbollah on theLebanese side. It has repeatedlytargeted Iranian positions andsupplies, including to Hezbollah.

Following Mr. Trump’s announcement, U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton tweeted that toallow Golan Heights “to be controlled by the likes of the Syrian orIranian regimes would turn a blindeye to the atrocities of Assad andthe destabilizing presence of Iranin the region”.

Tepid global response The new U.S. position has not received support from any othercountry, including its European allies. While Iran, Russia, Turkey,among others, have been critical,the Arab response has been assessed as insuffi��ciently strident.This is no doubt a refl��ection of reduced infl��uence in Washington,with greater U.S. leverage on oilsupplies, divisions among Arabcountries over Qatar, pressure onSaudi Arabia because of Yemenand the Jamal Khashoggi issue.

India’s interests are not directlyinvolved immediately. It has astrong and growing relationshipwith Israel, and has maintained itsrelations with Syria. Indian troopshave been a part of UN peacekeeping presence on the Golan Heights.Mr. Trump’s move, however, is indicative of shifting geopolitics inthe West Asian region, with longerterm implications for India. Italso asserts unilateralism, is a challenge to a rulesbased international order, and is contrary to positions U.S. has taken elsewhere, asfor instance in its response to Russia and Crimea.

Arun K. Singh has served as India’s

Ambassador to the U.S. and Israel

Playing politics over the Golan Heights U.S. recognition of Israeli sovereignty is a challenge to the rulesbased international order

AF

P

more letters online:

www.hindu.com/opinion/letters/

Almost 10 years ago, on September 2, 2009, the HighCourt of Delhi handed down

a landmark judgment dealing withthe fl��edgling Right to Information(RTI) Act. It held that the Offi��ce ofthe Chief Justice of India (CJI) wasa “public authority”, and therefore, subject to the provisions ofthe Act. Information held by theCJI — including, in the context ofthe case, information about judges’ assets — could be requested bythe public through an RTI application. In ringing words, Justice Ravindra Bhat declared that the RTIwas a “powerful beacon, which illuminates unlit corners of state activity, and those of public authorities which impact citizens’ dailylives, to which they previously hadno access”.

The Supreme Court appealedagainst this judgment, and thecase eventually wound its way tothe Supreme Court, where a staywas granted, and matters remained in limbo for a few years.Earlier this month, however, afi��vejudge Bench of the court fi��nally heard the case on merits, andreserved judgment. By this time,the issues under consideration involved not only Justice Bhat’s ruling on the status of the Chief Justice as a public authority and thedisclosure of judges’ assets, but also the question of whether the correspondence of the Collegium (thebody of judges that selects andmakes appointments to the higherjudiciary) was subject to the RTI.

The basic question The basic question, i.e. whether ornot the Offi��ce of the CJI is subject

to the RTI Act, has an easy answer:yes. As Justice Bhat correctly observed in the High Court judgment, “all power — judicial powerbeing no exception — is held accountable in a modern Constitution”. A blanket judicial exemption from the RTI Act would defeatthe basic idea of “open justice”:that the workings of the courts, aspowerful organs of state, have tobe as transparent and open to public scrutiny as any other body.Nor would bringing the judiciaryunder the RTI Act destroy the personal privacy of judges: as theHigh Court judgment noted, theRTI Act itself has an inbuilt privacyoriented protection, whichauthorises withholding the disclosure of personal information unless there is an overriding publicinterest. While disclosure of assetsis arguably justifi��ed by an overriding public interest, medical detailsor information about marital status, for example, are clearly not.There will always be borderlinecases, of course, but that only callsfor nuanced and fi��negrained analysis of such cases, nothing more.

The CollegiumDuring the hearings, however, thequestion most at issue involvedthe disclosure of the correspondence of the Collegium. The Collegium includes the fi��ve seniormostjudges of the Supreme Court, whocollectively constitute the selection panel for judicial appointments to the Supreme Court (andthe three seniormost judges whenit comes to the High Courts). Indiais one of the few countries wherejudges have the last word on judicial appointments, through themechanism of the Collegium. TheCollegium itself is not mentionedin the text of the Constitution: itarose out of a judgment of the Supreme Court, and in response toincreased executive interferencein judicial appointments, particu

larly during Indira Gandhi’s regime.

The Collegium began life, therefore, as a tool to secure and guarantee the independence of thejudiciary. In 2015, the SupremeCourt struck down a constitutionalamendment establishing a National Judicial Appointments Commission, which would have replacedthe Collegium. A majority of thefi��vejudge Bench held that judicialprimacy in appointments was theonly constitutionallyauthorisedway of securing/ensuring judicialindependence against an increasingly powerful political executive.

Through this time, however, theCollegium had come under increasing criticism. A major pointof critique was its opacity: it wasincreasingly being perceived thatjudicial appointments were too often made in an ad hoc and arbitrary manner. Perhaps the most vivid example of this was whenformer Supreme Court JusticeMarkandey Katju admitted that, asthe Chief Justice of the AllahabadHigh Court, he had refused to recommend a High Court lawyer forjudgeship because that lawyer wasin a livein relationship without being married. One may wonderwhat connection there is betweena lawyer’s marital status and hisability to discharge judicial functions, but this was, at any rate, astark example of what the critics

had in mind. Indeed, the SupremeCourt’s own NJAC judgment acknowledged this critique, andvowed to evolve a system whereconcerns of transparency were addressed. A small step towards thiswas made during Dipak Misra’s tenure as CJI, when the resolutionsof the Collegium began to be published online.

It is in this context that we mustexamine the arguments of the AttorneyGeneral of India, who represented the Supreme Court before the Constitution Bench. TheAG argued that disclosing the correspondence of the Collegiumwould “destroy” judicial independence. The CJI seemed to agree,noting that disclosing the reasonsfor rejection of a judge would “destroy” his or her life or career.

This is, however, a bewilderingargument, when we consider thatthe Collegium system was specifi��cally put in place by the SupremeCourt in order to guarantee judicial independence. It is rather selfserving to argue, fi��rst, that there isonly one permissible method tosecure judicial independence —and that is through ensuring judicial primacy in the appointmentsprocess — and then to argue thatthe only permissible way in whichthis system can work is by makingit immune to transparency. TheSupreme Court cannot eat its cakeand have it too: if it has instituted aprocess of appointment thatmakes itself the fi��nal arbiter of judicial appointments, then it must also ensure that that same processmeets the standards of accountability in a democratic republic.

Indeed, a look at judicial appointments elsewhere suggeststhat transparency in appointments is integral to the process. Inthe United States, for example,candidates for judicial appointments in the federal judiciary aresubjected to public confi��rmationhearings by the Senate. In Kenya

and South Africa, the interviews ofcandidates taken by judicial appointments commissions arebroadcast live. The public, thus, isin a position to judge for itself theselection process. This is crucial tomaintaining public faith in the impartiality of the institution.

The Collegium, however, hasimmunised itself from any form ofpublic scrutiny. The nominationprocess is secret, the deliberationsare secret, the reasons for elevation or nonelevation are secret.This creates an extremely unhealthy climate, in which rumoursbecome staple, and whispersabout executive interference areexchanged in court corridors. CJIRanjan Gogoi’s publicly statedconcern that “in the name of transparency, you cannot destroy aninstitution” betrays a refusal to engage with the manner in which institutions are actually destroyed:in an insidious and incrementalmanner, through the slow dripdrip erosion of trust.

Open to sunlight“Sunlight is the best disinfectant”is a trite and overused phrase. Inthe context of public scrutiny ofthe Supreme Court, however, it isan apt one. The Collegium’s recentdecisions to recommend a set ofnames for elevation, and then hastily backtrack on them withoutany publicly stated reasons, dealta serious blow to its reputation forimpartiality and independence.The only way to salvage this is toopen up the court. A judiciary thatis confi��dent of itself and of its placein the democratic republic shouldnot be worried about subjectingjudicial appointments to publicscrutiny. The occasional discomfort that might come from theharsh public glare is more thanoutweighed by the cleansing valueof transparency.

Gautam Bhatia is a Delhi-based lawyer

Open up the Supreme CourtA judiciary confi��dent of its place in a democratic republic must not worry about public scrutiny of judicial appointments

Gautam Bhatia

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Gandhiji and politicsIf Mahatma Gandhi werealive today, he would havenever participated in ourelections, nationalespecially. He was never aleader of a political party;rather, he was theundisputed leader of themasses. He never requiredvotes to gain power. Hisimmense power sprungfrom the belief of themasses in him. But,hypothetically, if he wereto, it would be to fi��ll thelarge moral vacuum in thepolitical sphere (OpEdpage, “If Gandhi were alivetoday”, April 8). Politicstoday is devoid of valuesand morals. It is largelyabout money and power. Sandeep Sethia,

Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh

■ Gandhiji predominantlybased his leadership onsecular principles andnationbuilding and not forany material gains orpersonal aggrandisement.The diff��erence today is thatpolitical parties want to grabpower by hook or by crook,which includes buying votes. E.S. Chandrasekaran,

Chennai

■ Young voters — like me —who are about to cast theirfi��rst votes in these electionsmust note that Gandhianpolitics can alter our politicalparties. Most of the changeswould be seen in theorganisation of the Congressparty itself as Gandhiji wasstrongly opposed to dynasticpolitics. Overall, it is foolishto expect our politicians to

ever follow Gandhiji in spirit. Kiran Babasaheb Ransing,

New Delhi

■ In the current political eraof coalition, competitive andunprincipled politics, itwould be diffi��cult forpolitical parties to followwhat is right and of longterm signifi��cance; anythingwhich gives instantgratifi��cation to the massesworks well. Gandhiji is obviously wellrespected and studied butnot followed because hisways were hard and do notsuit the game ofcontemporary powerpolitics. But why point afi��nger at our politicians, whoonly show the mirror to us;they are an integrated andextended part of us and

refl��ect the thinking of oursocieties at large. We as asociety have to grow andevolve with maturity to see afuture built on the principlesof justice, equality, truth andpeace. It is only then, withtime, that we can demandand deserve disciplinedpolitics from our leaders.Salman Mahmood,

Noida, Uttar Pradesh

LPG and rural healthThe data on a meagre 27% ofthe population under theUjjwala Yojana using gasexclusively are discouragingand are a call for immediateintervention (“About 85% ofUjjwala benefi��ciaries in 4States still use earthenstoves”, April 8). This mustbe viewed in the backdrop ofair pollution primarily

Weather resilienceThere is a strong possibilityof a monsoon defi��citaccording to the IMD(Editorial, “The heat is on”,April 8). In many Tier II citiessuch as Coimbatore, there isthe pressure of developmentwhich is leading to rapiddepletion of green cover.This too is sure to have animpact on heat stress andwater scarcity. Are plannerstaking this into account? Nithiyanandham V.G.,

Coimbatore

attributed to indoorpollution caused due toconventional chula use.Factors that must beconsidered are the possiblehigh cost of a refi��ll as well asthe unavailability of an LPGcylinder in rural India. Apoint in the report, of acommon misconception that“eating food cooked on gascauses gas in the stomach”,can be tackled with properawareness. The health andwellbeing of women in ruralIndia are important. N. Vijai,

Coimbatore

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters emailed to [email protected] must carry the full postal address and the full name or the name with initials.

The administration of Maldives President Ibrahim

Mohamed Solih has received a shot in the arm

with the parliamentary election held over the

weekend. His Maldivian Democratic Party is poised to

garner more than 60 out of 87 seats, paving the way for

easy passage of bills and a policy agenda with a realistic

chance of implementation. Mr. Solih, whose prode

mocracy government assumed power after a presiden

tial election in September 2018, has sought to break

with the regime of his predecessor Abdulla Yameen,

which had propelled the Indian Ocean nation into Beij

ing’s economic embrace, described by some as “debt

trap diplomacy”. While Mr. Solih was quick to signal

the shift in his government’s priorities, not least by en

suring that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief

guest at the presidential inauguration, his agenda has

been hobbled by resistance from lawmakers on certain

bills aimed at the previous administration. Specifi��cally,

Parliament Speaker Qasim Ibrahim, the head of the

Jumhooree Party, a coalition partner of the MDP, de

clined to support a vote on a bill aimed at recouping sto

len assets and looking into unresolved murders. With

the election throwing up a singleparty majority, Mr. So

lih can push through his agenda with fewer stumbling

blocks.

So far as India’s interests in the Indian Ocean Region

are concerned, warm bilateral ties between New Delhi

and Male are a high priority after fi��ve years of strategic

drift that benefi��ted Beijing considerably. According to

some analyses, the surging infl��ux of Chinese infrastruc

ture investment under the Yameen administration may

have caused the Maldives’ national debt to balloon to

nearly a quarter of its GDP. As it seeks to unravel this

web of Chinese loans, the new leadership has promised

that what is owed would be paid. However, the honour

ing of such debt, especially where it was linked to the

grant of land, lease rights and megaconstruction pro

jects, will be complicated. As Mr. Solih grapples with

these challenges, the assurance that the Maldives has

New Delhi’s backing would be vital. Already, the ele

ments of a strategic reset with India seem to be falling

into place. When Mr. Solih visited India in December, a

$1.4 billion fi��nancial assistance package for the Maldives

was announced, and the two governments agreed to ex

empt holders of diplomatic and offi��cial passports from

visa requirements. MoUs on Indian grant aid for “high

impact community development projects” have been

signed, as also agreements on clean energy and region

al maritime security. So long as the new government

presses on with the urgent task of rebuilding and dee

pening the Maldives’ democratic credentials, there is

hope for political stability and economic development

across the 1,192island archipelago and the wider IOR.

Maldivian wavePresident Solih consolidates power with

his MDP’s victory in parliamentary polls

The chiefs of the Samajwadi PartyBahujan Samaj

PartyRashtriya Lok Dal combine threw down the

gauntlet to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in

Deoband in western Uttar Pradesh on Sunday. The

scale and fi��ery rhetoric were clearly aimed at forcing

the momentum as western U.P. constituencies go to the

polls on April 11, in the fi��rst of a sevenphase parliamen

tary election in the State. The BJP and its partners had

won 73 of 80 seats in U.P. in 2014, and the State is cen

tral to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reelection bid.

The political landscape in U.P, however, has changed

signifi��cantly in the interim years, both in terms of party

alliances and social realignments. Priyanka Gandhi Va

dra’s entry as a Congress strategist and campaigner has

added new variables that could complicate electoral

calculations in U.P. In this emergent situation in the

State, the rally must have brought some reassurance to

the triumvirate of Akhilesh Yadav, Mayawati and Ajit

Singh, leaders of the SP, the BSP and the RLD, respec

tively. Mr. Yadav has been unambiguous in his defe

rence to Ms. Mayawati, and they have been at pains to

emphasise that they are reading from the same page, as

coherence between the SP and BSP leaderships is cru

cial for vote transfer of their core supporters.

Ms. Mayawati is an icon of Dalit empowerment, and

since the 1990s has often been deft in building social al

liances around her core vote. Mr. Yadav is the inheritor

of the rump of Socialist (Lohiaite) politics in the Hindi

belt, which has been reduced to a purely castebased

entity around the SP’s Yadav support. Both could be

characterised as part of social justice politics, but the

accent and rhetoric of their respective politics are dissi

milar. Their opposing positions on the use of English is

a case in point — the SP has been rather late in blunting

its antiEnglish edge, while the BSP’s Ambedkarite polit

ics considers it as a tool of empowerment. Though the

SP and the BSP had an alliance in the mid1990s, they

had parted ways bitterly, with an SP mob even trying to

physically harm Ms. Mayawati. The rout in the 2014 Lok

Sabha and 2017 U.P. Assembly elections have forced a

rethink in their adversarial politics. Equally striking is

Mr. Yadav’s outreach to the BSP, compared to his father

Mulayam Singh Yadav’s. Both parties are conscious that

recovering the support of their larger social constituen

cies, the backward castes and Dalits, which were drift

ing towards the BJP in the past fi��ve years with a new for

mat of social empowerment through Hindutva, is

crucial. However, since the Assembly elections, old

caste cleavages have deepened under uppercaste Hin

dutva assertion. By joining hands with the RLD, which

has a Jat base in western U.P., and reaching out to Mus

lims forcefully, the two parties are seeking to draw vo

ters with a show of winnability.

Fighting together The BSP, SP and RLD need to convince

voters that they are on the same page

corrections & clarifications:

An FAQ page story (April 7, 2019), on whether electoral bondshad reduced anonymous cash donations, erroneously said thatprior to 2017, registered parties had to declare all donations madeto them of over ₹��2,000. It should have been ₹��20,000.

The Readers’ Editor’s office can be contacted by Telephone: +91-44-28418297/28576300;

E-mail:[email protected]



#70929


THE HINDU DELHI


CMYK

A ND-NDE

OPED

The precarious West Asia peace was threatened on two frontstoday [April 8] by rocket and air attacks on civilian targets anda furious artillery and tank battle. Arab irregulars, the Israel issaid, unleashed a salvo of 2530 Katyusha rockets from the Jordanian port of Aqaba on the Israeli resort of Eilath on the RedSea. Shortly afterwards a fullscale battle erupted between entrenched Israeli and the United Arab Republic forces ragedalong the Suez Canal. The fi��ghting lasted for more than threehours before U.N observers arranged a truce. Thirteen Israeliswere wounded in the rocket onslaught. Defence Minister, Mr.Moshe Dayan, surveying the damage, charged that the Al Fatah guerrilla organisation launched the attack but that the Jordanian Government bore the responsibility.

FIFTY YEARS AGO APRIL 9, 1969

Artillery duel across Suez

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FROM ARCHIVES

A message from some of the merchants of the Rajahamundrysays: Referring to our previous communication regarding thedetention of goods here, we regret to once again inform thatonly twothirds of goods complained of in our previous communication were cleared and the remaining onethird of thequantity, about forty wagons of foodstuff��s, Chollam, Toor,Chillies, etc., have been still lying mostly on open platform, exposed to sun, rain, thieves and whiteants. When last time wecomplained of these, our grievances were not fully made understood to the higher authorities. The G.T.M. may be pleasedto ascertain these facts by sending one from his staff��. Thoughthis is a great business centre, we regret there is no goodsshed. In the absence of a proper goods shed, the Railway authorities may have the kindness to pay special attention to avoidunaccountable loss to merchants.

A HUNDRED YEARS AGO APRIL 9, 1919.

Wastage of Foodstuff��s.

It is an interesting facet of achanging India: there are evergreater numbers of crorepatisin the Lok Sabha, as well asamong those who aspire tobecome MPs. According tothe Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), 430 out ofthe 521 sitting MPs in the LokSabha have assets worth morethan ₹��1 crore. In other words,83% of our lawmakers are cro

repatis. That makes them a rich people’s club governing alargely poor country.

There was a time when members of most legacy businessand industrial houses of the country stuck to their businessof doing business and left politics to politicians. During theLicense Raj, politicians were content accepting donationsfrom businessmen or seeking jobs for their kin. But businessand politics never intersected with each other. However,there were exploratory undercurrents across the dividingline.

Come 1991, that changed. Liberalisation altered India’seconomic present and future. There was a permanent severance from the country’s socialist economic past. The nouveau riche saw politics and political power as a means tofi��rst secure and then expand their business interests. It is atruism that business and politics share a symbiotic relationship. Today, they have almost become one, necessitating anew defi��nition of businessmanpolitician or politicianbusinessman. The hyphenation is not semantic or syntactical,but refl��ects the emergence of a new class.

Some examplesKonda Vishweshwar Reddy, an engineerturnedbusinessmanturnedpolitician and former Telagana Rashtra Samithi(TRS) MP, is now the Congress candidate from Chevella,near Hyderabad. His declared family assets are over ₹��895crore (the major share of which belongs to his wife). NamaNageswar Rao, the TRS candidate from Khammam Lok Sabha seat who is a former Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MP, is thefounder of Madhucon Projects. He was among the richestLok Sabha candidates in the 2014 elections with declared assets worth ₹��338 crore. In Andhra Pradesh, Jaydev Galla ofthe TDP is the managing director of Amara Raja Batteriesand has declared assets worth over ₹��600 crore. These arejust a few crossover examples. There are of course plenty ofexamples from other States too.

As Walter Annenberg, American businessman and diplomat, posited, “The greatest power is not money power butpolitical power.” It suffi��ces to say that the heady mix of economic and political power is even more intoxicating thaneither of its standalone constituents.

The writer is Editorial Consultant, The Hindu, and is based in Hyderabad

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Crorepatis in ParliamentA rich people’s club is governing alargely poor country

Satya Naagesh Ayyagary

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Party symbol

Every political party in India has a symbol, which enables voters to easily identify the party on the ballot. For example, theBJP's symbol is the lotus and the Congress's symbol is thehand. Party symbols are especially important to aid voterswho cannot read. But candidates also go to great lengths to beidentifi��ed with their election symbols. The Election Commission stipulates that no symbol should represent a religion or acaste. A party can submit a symbol of its choice to the EC forconsideration. Else, the EC allots a symbol to the party.Though the elephant is the symbol of the BSP and the lion isthe symbol of the Forward Bloc, the EC in 1991 stopped allowing parties to use animals as symbols after complaints fromanimal rights activists.

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POLL CALL

Video: In conversation with Tamizhachi Thangapandian

http://bit.ly/TamizhachiInterview

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MORE ON THE WEB 3

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DATA POINT

In 2008, the Left parties withdrew supportto the fi��rst United Progressive Alliance government (UPAI). The Left parties insistedon implementing the Common MinimumProgramme. UPAI formulated policies forthe common people solely because the Lefttook a stance. The Mahatma Gandhi NationalRural Employment Guarantee Act, the Forest Rights Act, and the Right to InformationAct, among others, found a place in its agenda because of the Left. The Congress hadthought up none of these laws.

UPAII was under no such duress. A government that did not have the burden of aCommon Minimum Programme or Left support soon found itself in a cesspool of corruption — seen in the coal scam, 2G spectrum scam and other scams — andantipeople policies. It was UPAII that surrendered the right to fi��x the prices of petroland diesel to oil companies.

There were political and policylevel diff��erences between UPAI and UPAII. The diff��erences at the policy level emerged overpriorities about whose interests had to beprotected.

Defi��ning the enemyIn every decisive battle, a political party hasto defi��ne its enemy. The Left has absolutelyno doubt in this regard. The Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP), which is being led by the fascistideology of the Rashtriya SwayamsevakSangh (RSS), is its principal enemy. Touproot the BJP from power is the Left’s paramount duty. The Left aims to increase itspresence at the Centre and bring in a seculardemocratic government to rule the country.The complex situation at present guaranteesthat 2014 shall not be repeated. The BJP willnot get a simple majority, nor will the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secure such abrutal majority. There are many reasons toexpect that India will see a hung Parliament.At such a critical juncture, the Left staunchlymaintains its prime position in the array offorces fi��ghting the BJP. The Congress shouldhave played a signifi��cant role in this fi��ght.But how many of its leaders are able to understand this crucial political scenario? Many Congress leaders are moving to the BJP. If

we get a hung Parliament after this election,how many of the Congress’s MPs will withstand the temptation to move to the BJP? Nobody has an answer.

The Congress has been struggling to fi��ndits way in the political arena. It is unable tosee the truth on the ground and take a stand.The same Congress that lashed out againstthe BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modihas chosen to fi��eld its president against a Leftparty candidate in Wayanad, Kerala. It is notaware of the actual stage of contest that weare in against the BJP. Instead of fi��ghting itsarch enemy, the Congress has come to Wayanad to lock horns with the Left. The BJP doesnot have a candidate in Wayanad; ThusharVellappally from the Bharat Dharma Jana Sena is contesting against Congress presidentRahul Gandhi. The BJP does not have a prominent presence in Kerala. Then why shouldMr. Gandhi contest from Wayanad againstthe Left Democratic Front candidate P.P. Suneer instead of contesting against Mr. Modi?

It is in this context that UPAI and UPAIIare being brought back into focus. UPAIcould be formed only because of the unfl��inching antiBJP stance taken by the Left.The UPAI experiment came to a close because the Left opposed the IndiaU.S. civilnuclear deal. The monumental failures ofUPAII and its fl��awed policies paved the wayfor the NDA to come to power.

The meaning of this electionDuring the Modi government’s tenure, mostof the time the Congress could not even bean eff��ective Opposition party. When the general election was announced, the partymade feeble eff��orts to talk about poverty andthe troubles of the common people. It sparingly mentioned the need for a union of secular democratic forces.

The Congress is failing to realise themeaning, seriousness and scope of the greatstruggle that has been launched for savingthe nation. It is distancing itself from its NehruGandhi legacy. This is rendering it myopicto the extent of not even recognising the predominant enemy. The Nehruvian vision hasnever justifi��ed blind hostility to the Left. It isan approach that makes happy only thoseforces which do not want the Left to gainstrength in Indian politics. Mr. Gandhi’s arrival in Wayanad, where the BJP has no candidate, leaves a deep scar on the Nehruvianspirit. The party will have to pay heavily forit.

Binoy Viswam is a Rajya Sabha member representing

the Communist Party of India

Locking horns with thewrong party in WayanadThe Congress has failed to realise the meaning and scopeof the great struggle to save India

Binoy Viswam

For Maldivians, the election of Presi-dent Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in Sep-tember 2018 meant a possible open-ing up of democratic space in thecountry, after former President Ab-dulla Yameen’s term, which wasmarked by an authoritarian slant. Italso meant reconnecting with manycountries with which Male’s relation-ship had turned rather tense in thoseyears, particularly India. In an inter-view in Male, Maldivian Foreign Mi-nister Abdulla Shahid talks abouthow Maldives sees its role in the re-gion, and its relationship with theworld. Excerpts:

Since your government came to

power, IndiaMaldives ties have

undergone a dramatic change,

marked by renewed cooperation,

close dialogue and multiple high

level visits from both sides. How do

you view the changing dynamic?

■ Since the new government camein, we have had very highlevel visits.Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended President Solih’s swearinginceremony. I was in New Delhi a weekafter taking offi��ce, preparing for thevisit of President Solih, who was inDelhi a month after being sworn in.The recent visit by External Aff��airsMinister Sushma Swaraj cementedmany aspects of the cooperationagenda we have been drawing up.

The level of cooperation betweenthe two countries has never beenbetter. We are continuously in contact, we speak to each other at thehighest levels whenever there seemsto be any diffi��culty, which is veryrare. That is because the leadershave shown where they would likethe [relationship between the] twocountries to go. And for us Ministersand staff�� of the ministries in bothcountries, it is a question of delivering. We have to deliver.

The generous development assistance provided by the Indian government is deeply appreciated by thepeople of the Maldives. It is going into peopleoriented projects like providing fresh water, sanitation, sewerage. Building roads and moving theMale commercial harbour to Thilafushi [island west of Male] are hugeprojects that are going to be majorsymbols of cooperation between thetwo countries.

Between 2013 and 2018, then

President Yameen’s administration

was seen as tilting heavily towards

China amid growing tensions with

India. Given that China has also been

an important partner for the

Maldives and the latter’s strategic

location in the Indian Ocean, how

does the geopolitical tussle between

the two big powers aff��ect the

Maldives?

■ The mistake President Yameenmade was to play India against Chinaand China against India. That is achildish way of dealing with international relations; it will blow up inyour own face. And that is what happened. No one trusted him.

For us it is very clear. India andthe Maldives might be very diff��erent,but the respect we have for each other is the main factor behind thefriendship. Look at peopletopeoplecontact. You have so many Maldivians living in India. We have so many Indians living in the Maldives. Attimes of need, we have always seenIndia as the fi��rst respondent. Andthat is something that the people ofthe Maldives really appreciate. OnNovember 3, 1988, when mercenaries attacked the Maldives, India wasthe fi��rst to respond. In 2004, whenthe tsunami hit us, Indian naval shipswere despatched to assist us. Duringthe last government’s term, we hadthe Male water crisis. Within fourhours we had Indian Navy and AirForce vessels deliver water.

Of course, China has been a goodfriend, it has helped in many of thedevelopment projects in the Mal

dives. China is also going to be one ofthe largest economies in the world.We can’t say that we will not haveany relations with China because wehave to appreciate what countries dofor the people. If we have to choosebetween friends, or if we are forcedto choose between friends, then wecan’t see our relationship go very far.

Because of the geopolitical location of the Maldives, the governmenthas a huge responsibility, which is toprovide freedom of maritime tradein the Indian Ocean. The Eight Degree Channel is one of the majormaritime lanes of the world. Weneed stability, maturity and democratic systems to function in the Maldives so that peace and security canbe maintained in the Indian Ocean.

The issue of Indiagifted helicopters

in the Maldives has remained

politically sensitive, especially since

the Yameen government asked New

Delhi to withdraw them. Among the

people, is there a sense that a big

neighbour might be trying to wield

infl��uence here?

■ I think there are a few people whoare trying to spread hatred. All I haveseen these two helicopters do is humanitarian work. They transportchildren, or elderly people, or some

one who has suff��ered a stroke for immediate medical attention. Our islands are many and verywidespread. We need this kind of assistance. I would ask the hatemongers to go and speak to the families,who are very grateful. The helicopters are under the control of the Maldivian security services and much ofwhat the hatemongers say are lies.

What about the physical presence of

the Indian military personnel? Is that

a reason for discomfort for some?

■ For these hatemongers it is. But itis not the fi��rst time we are havingtechnical people on the ground fromdiff��erent countries. These are notmilitary personnel stationed in barracks. There is no military presenceof any foreign force in the Maldives.

Earlier, you pointed to renewed

dynamism in MaleNew Delhi

relations. More broadly, what is your

vision for the Maldives’s relationship

with the rest of the world?

■ The Maldives has been alienated inthe past fi��ve years. The foreign policyof the [then] government was so onesided that the credibility of the country was eroded.

During the last three months, President Solih visited India and theUAE. Since I was appointed ForeignMinister, I have met Foreign Ministers, Ambassadors, Presidents,Prime Ministers and VicePrime Ministers of 50 countries so far. I utilisemy travels to conferences, to the UNand other meetings to connect withother countries so that they will understand that the Maldives is back.

How do you see the political

landscape in the region changing?

■ We are a government that came tooffi��ce promising reform and peopleoriented development, both socialand economic. Once we start implementing these reforms, they willrealise that democracy functions.And in a democracy, we would haveroom for dissent, but you don’t haveto go to the extreme. You don’t haveto buy into hatred in order to attainpower. Power comes from the people and once people in large numbers start saying no to ultranationalism and hate politics, then we will beable to move forward.

INTERVIEW | ABDULLA SHAHID

‘India-Maldives relations have never been better’The Maldivian Foreign Minister on the folly in playing India and China against each other

Meera Srinivasan

<> Power comes from the

people and once people in

large numbers start saying

no to ultra-nationalism and

hate politics, then we will be

able to move forward.

SP

EC

IAL A

RR

AN

GE

ME

NT



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DELHI THE HINDU


NEWS

FROM PAGE ONE

nath Singh who chaired themanifesto committee, said itwas a unique crowd sourcedexercise that distilled thesuggestions of nearly 6crore people through various means including manifesto trucks that were sentout to solicit suggestions,group dialogues and evensocial media into the 45page document.

Refl��ecting the prioritiesof the party, the fi��rst chapter of the manifesto dealtwith nationalism and national security, including azero tolerance of terrorism,and a commitment to annulling Article 35A.

Finance Minister ArunJaitley said the national security doctrine of the BJPled government rejected“ideas of Balkanisation ofIndia” and that it had beendone by neither the “TukdeTukde” mindset (a euphemism for ultra left) or “Ivyleaguers.” Keeping to Mr.Modi’s thematic breakdown, it also promised tonot only universalise the₹��6,000 per annum incomesupport scheme for farmersbut also extend a pensionscheme for shopkeepersand small scale traders tokick in after the age of 60.

Prime Minister NarendraModi, who spoke at theevent at the party’s headquarters in New Delhi, saidthree main themes emergedfrom the manifesto: nationalism which he termed asthe party’s inspiration, ‘antyodaya’ (catering to the lastman in the queue) terming itthe party’s philosophy and“Sushaasan” or good governance as the party’s mantra.

Mr. Modi spoke at lengthon the need to make development a people’s movement saying that his government “trusted the citizens”of the country to choose empowerment and eschewdoles. “There is a fallacythat people are never satisfi��ed with what is given, Idon’t believe so, I have seenhow crores of Indians gaveup cooking gas subsidy andsenior citizens eschewedsubsidies on railway ticketsfor the benefi��t of people atlarge,” he said, a nod to theCongress’ minimum incomescheme NYAY. “Only thepoor can defeat poverty,”said the Prime Minister, adding that it was by empowering the poor, fulfi��llingbasic aspirations, that morecould be done.

Union Home Minister Raj

Manifesto keeps focuson national security

would be ‘foolproof’ andprovide ‘greater satisfaction.’ The order is not a refl��ection on the system followed by the ECI, the courtsaid.

The Supreme Court’s decision is far short of what 21Opposition parties wanted:VVPAT verifi��cation in 50%or 125 polling booths in eachconstituency. The court saidVVPAT verifi��cation of fi��veEVMs, rather than in 125polling booths, is more ‘viable at this point of time.’

It would not be a drain onthe ECI’s infrastructural resources and manpower asthe Opposition’s idea wouldhave been. Neither wouldcounting VVPAT slips of fi��veEVMs take up much time,the court added.

The ECI has said that a50% random physical verifi��cation of VVPATs would delay Lok Sabha poll results of2019 by six whole days.

The Supreme Court’s orderwould be implemented inthe Lok Sabha election,scheduled to begin on April11. The court refused to gointo the issue of integrity ofthe EVMs at this belatedstage.

A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoiincreased the number ofEVMVVPATs subjected tophysical verifi��cation in order to “ensure the greatestdegree of accuracy, satisfaction in election process.”

“Not only political partiesbut the poor and the illiterate should be satisfi��ed,” theapex court observed.

Earlier, under the ECI guideline 16.6, only the VVPATslips from one EVM in everyAssembly segment/constituency was subjected tophysical verifi��cation. Now,with fi��ve such EVMs underphysical scrutiny, the apexcourt said the election

Supreme Court increasesVVPAT verifi��cation

The Left parties on Monday panned the BJP manifesto with CPI(M) generalsecretary Sitaram Yechurycalling it “the latest editionof jumla manifesto.”

“We have heard similarpromises fi��ve years ago. Wehave heard that the farmers will be stopped fromcommitting distress suicides, but the number ofsuicides have increased,our youth were promised10 crore jobs in the last fi��veyears; instead you have unemployment rate at thehighest in the last 45years,” Mr. Yechury said.

He said the manifestowas mum on the promisesmade in 2014 or policiessuch as demonetisation.

It is BJP’slatest jumla,says CPI(M) Special Correspondent

New Delhi

Sitaram Yechury

The Congress on Mondaycalled the BJP manifesto forthe 2019 Lok Sabha polls abunch of lies, and said theruling party had not mentioned anything about jobs,the goods and services tax(GST), black money anddemonetisation.

Senior party leaders, including Ahmed Patel andRandeep Surjewala, releaseda document that detailed 125“failed promises” by the BJPafter fi��ve years ingovernment.

Mr. Surjewala said no BJPleader — Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party president Amit Shah or MinistersRajnath Singh and SushmaSwaraj — spoke on these crucial issues.

“It is going to be lies versus nyay ( justice). Theyshould bring out a maafi�� nama (letter of apology) … People have now realised thattheir promises remain only

on their website as theyadopt gimmicks to stay inpower. Sometimes, he [Mr.Modi] becomes chowkidaar(watchman), chaiwala,kaamdar (toiler), fakir (as

cetic) but never fulfi��ls hispromises,” Mr. Patel said.

Mr. Surjewala questionedthe BJP on the promisesmade in 2014, and said that itwas time for the BJP to windup its government since people had seen through it.

“You promised two crorejobs every year, which translates into 10 crore jobs infi��ve years. In reality, duringthese fi��ve years, the numberof jobs has actually reducedby 4.7 crore. And it’s not something that I am saying, butwhat has been said by the government’s own NSSO (National Sample Survey Organisation) data,” he toldreporters.

The Congress leader alsosaid that the BJP had notbrought back ₹��80 lakh croreof black money and deposit

ed ₹��15 lakh in each citizen’sbank account as it had promised.

“The reality was that LalitModi, Nirav Modi, MehulChoksi and Vijay Mallya looted ₹��1 lakh crore of the taxpayer’s money and fl��ed thecountry right under Mr. Modi’s nose.”

The Congress rubbishedthe BJP’s claim of doublingfarmers’ income and pointed out it would take 28 yearsto do so at the current rate ofagricultural growth.

It said the governmentearmarked only fi��ve paisaper girl child under the ‘BetiBachao Beti Padhao’ (Savethe girl child programme)and claimed that the government debt during Mr. Modi’stenure grew by ₹��27 lakhcrore.

BJP manifesto a bunch of lies: Congress Says there is no mention about jobs, goods and services tax, black money and demonetisation


NEW DELHI

Questions galore: Congress leader Randeep Surjewala saidtime has come for BJP to wind up its government. * FILE PHOTO

Continuing her tiradeagainst the BJP and the Congress, Bahujan Samaj Partychief Mayawati on Mondaydescribed both parties as“corrupt”.

“If the Congress had Bofors, the BJP is tainted by theRafale deal,” she said at amassive rally of the grand alliance at Hajipur in Meerut,where voting will take placeon April 11.

Record turnoutThough RLD vicepresidentJayant Chaudhary was present at the rally, it was essentially a BSP show of strengthwith its candidate, Haji Yaqub Qureshi, organising therally near his base. The turnout more than equalled, ifnot surpassing, the numbersof Sunday’s Deoband rally.

The campaign songs wereinterspersed with an elephant’s trumpeting, sendingthe crowd into wild celebrations. A Mayawati fan washolding a large cutout ofParliament with Mayawati asPrime Minister embossed onit. With a hand on thecrowd’s pulse, Mr. Chaudhary hinted at Ms. Mayawatias a prime ministerial candidate. He asked members ofthe enthusiastic crowd toclose their eyes and think of

the contribution and unfulfi��lled dreams of Dr. BhimraoAmbedkar, Kanshi Ram andChaudhary Charan Singh.“Now, I ask you to open youreyes and see that only theperson sitting on stage canfulfi��l those dreams and aspirations,” he said.

‘No doles but jobs’In her address, instead ofgiving ad hoc doles, Ms.Mayawati promised to givepermanent jobs to the poorin the government and private sectors, if voted to powerat the Centre. “Policies come

and go with the governments. We want to strengthen the hands of the poor,”she said.

Stating that the BSPSPRLD pact was not limited tothe Lok Sabha elections, Ms.Mayawati said, “We will fi��ghtthe next Assembly electionstogether and root out the Yogi [Adityanath] government[from Uttar Pradesh]. ”

‘Intoxicated by power’The BSP supremo said theparty did not believe in manifestos. “Unlike the BJP andthe Congress, we don’t be

lieve in boasting. We getthings done,” she said.

She said before the Deoband rally, the BJP was describing the mahagathandhan combine as a dividedhouse. “But the massive turnout at Deoband wouldmake them lose their sleep.And the ‘Jai Bhim’ chant atMeerut will make them forget ‘Namo, Namo’. ThePrime Minister calls us ‘sarab’(liquor) but he is intoxicated by power. I believe thevoters of Meerut, Bijnoreand Baghpat will give him areality check,” she said.

BJP, Cong. are corrupt: MayawatiAlliance partner Jayant Chaudhary hints at BSP chief ’s role as Prime Minister

Show of strength: BSP chief Mayawati receiving a memento from RLD leader Jayant Chaudharyand others during a rally in Meerut on Monday. * PTI

Anuj Kumar

Meerut

Former Finance Minister P.Chidambaram on Mondayquestioned the source offunds spent on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’selection rallies and asked ifit was added to the electionexpenses of the candidatesfor whom Mr. Modicampaigned.

“Heard from people attending one of PM’s election rallies: how manycrores of rupees are beingspent on each rally? At every rally there is a pandalthat is better than a rich family’s marriage pandal.There are tens of LEDscreens. What is the sourceof this huge amount of money?” he asked.

His tweets on the PMcomes hours after hetweeted that IT department was planning to raidhis house to cripple thecampaign of his son, Karti.

Chidambaram’sposer to Modion rally cost


NEW DELHI

Political parties in J&K, including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and J&KPeoples Movement, onMonday approached theHigh Court on State Homedepartment’s order to restrict civilian traffi��c twice aweek on the nationalhighway.

Peoples Conference’schief Sajad Lone also wroteto Governor Satya PalMalik.

The case was listed forTuesday for a hearing.

Highway ban:J&K partiesapproach court

special correspondent

SRINAGAR

A judge at London’s HighCourt has rejected businessman Vijay Mallya’s application for permission to appealagainst the extradition orderagainst him. The order waspassed on Friday last weekby Justice William Davis andsent to all parties on thatdate. It does not, however,necessarily mean the end ofthe story.

This application to appealwas made on paper — via theexchange of documents between the judge and both

sides. Now Mr. Mallya’s legalteam can make a renewal application for a brief oral hearing before the same court, inanother attempt to push foran appeal hearing. If it wereto be rejected at this stagethere would be no further recourse in terms of the appealprocess.

“The appellant has 5 business days to apply for oralconsideration,” a spokesperson for the judiciary explained.

“If a renewal application ismade, it will be listed beforea High Court judge and dealt

with at a hearing.” ShouldMr. Mallya apply for an oralhearing, this could be a leng

thy process, requiring timeto be found in front of ajudge at the High Court.Beyond this court, Mr. Mallya would potentially alsohave appeal opportunities tothe Supreme Court and eventually the European Court ofHuman Rights (though hewould not be able to appeal ifhe were denied permissionto appeal at the oral hearing).

Mr. Mallya, who has beenon bail on an extraditionwarrant since the start of theextradition proceedings,launched his application to

appeal to the High Court after Home Secretary Sajid Javid signed the extradition order against him in earlyFebruary.

The order comes as Mr.Mallya awaits a judgment in aseparate case. It involves aninterim thirdparty debt order relating to £260,000 inMr. Mallya’s ICICI bank account in the UK from a consortium of public sectorbanks earlier this year. Thebanks have been attemptingto recover £1.145 billionworth of assets from Mr. Mallya.

Vijay Mallya not allowed to appeal London High Court judge rejects businessman’s plea for permission to challenge extradition order

Vijay Mallya

Vidya Ram

London

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to intervene inthe release of the fi��lm PrimeMinister Narendra Modi, alleged to be “blatant propaganda” dressed up as a workof art, in violation of the pollcode.

A Bench, led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi,said the court could not stepin unless it was clear aboutwhat the fi��lm was “seekingto depict” and what the petitioner, Congress activistAman Panwar, was objecting to. “How can we orderanything without knowing

what we are orderingabout,” Chief Justice Gogoiasked senior advocate A.M.Singhvi, who represents Mr.Panwar.

The Bench then asked Mr.Panwar to fi��le an application, if possible by Monday,after watching the fi��lm andhighlight the parts he foundobjectionable.

Mr. Singhvi said the courtshould then direct the fi��lmmakers to provide Mr. Panwar with a copy of the movie. But the court refused.“We fail to see how such adirection can be passed bythis court,” Chief Justice Gogoi responded.

SC refuses to stay therelease of Modi biopic Bench asks petitioner to list objections

Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI

The Indian Air Force (IAF) onMonday presented two radarimages of the aerial engagement with Pakistan Air Force(PAF) on February 27 toprove that a Pakistani F16was shot down by the MiG21piloted by Wing CommanderAbhinandan Varthaman.

“The IAF has irrefutableevidence of not only the factthat F16 was used by PAF onFebruary 27 but also that anIAF MiG21 Bison shot downa PAF F16,” Air ViceMarshal(AVM) RGK Kapoor, AssistantChief of the Air Staff��, Operations (Space), said at a pressconference.

The images from the Air

borne Warning and ControlSystem (AWACS) show thetracks of PAF jets and one

IAF jet in combat and in thesecond image, one of thePAF jet disappeared. “In the

aerial combat that followed,one MiG21 Bison of the IAF,piloted by Wing CommanderAbhinandan Varthaman,shot down one F16 of PAF,”he said.

Analysis of electronicemissions has shown that theaircraft picked up by theELINT intercepts fromAWACS and radio transcriptsindicated F16s in the area directly in front of Wg.Cdr. Varthaman’s aircraft, he stated.The F16 crashed and fellacross the LoC in Pakistanoccupied Kashmir (POK). Indian Army posts in the vicinity of the Line of Control(LoC) in the Jhangar sectorsighted two separate parachutes, he said. The fi��rst was

due west, in the Sabzkotarea, and the second was, after a few minutes, southwest, in the Tandar area. Thetwo areas are separated by 810 km.

Air ViceMarshal Kapoorsaid the IAF had more credible info and evidence clearlyindicating that the PAF lostone F16 in the air action.“However, due to securityand confi��dentiality concerns, we are restricting infobeing shared in the publicdomain,” he said. Pakistan,which has denied losing anyF16s, has released an imageshowing four missiles whichit claimed showed that theMiG21 fl��own by Wg.Cdr. Varthaman did not fi��re any mis

siles. However, IAF offi��cialsrefuted this, and pointed tothe fact that for one of themissile in the picture, onlythe front seeker and the endtail portion were seen. “It isbecause the missile had impact and detonated due towhich the explosive was destroyed,” an IAF offi��cer said.

Last week, the ForeignPolicy magazine quoted anunnamed U.S. defence offi��cial as saying that the U.S.had counted PAF F16 planesand “all aircraft were presentand accounted for.” However, to questions, a U.S. Defence Department spokesperson said they “weren’taware” of any such investigation.

IAF presents ‘proof ’ to show F-16 was shot down Says owing to security and confi��dentiality concerns, it is restricting information being shared in the public domain

Clearing the air: Air Vice Marshal RGK Kapoor speaking at apress conference in New Delhi on Monday. * PTI

Dinakar Peri

New Delhi

Hours after the launch ofthe BJP’s manifesto onMonday, party presidentAmit Shah met the two veterans, L.K. Advani andMurli Manohar Joshi, who,after many years, would beabsent from contestingpolls. Mr. Shah met theleaders amid strong indications that their exclusionfrom the candidate list andthe manner in which theywere excluded rankled.

“Mr. Shah drove to theresidence of these twoleaders, gave them copiesof the election manifestoreleased on Monday andsought their blessings forvictory,” a senior BJP leader said after the meeting.

No statement was forthcoming from either Mr. Advani, who has been replaced by Mr. Shah ascandidate from Gandhinagar, or Mr. Joshi.

Earlier Mr. Advani haspenned a blog stating thatcalling opponents antinational for holding diff��erentviews was not the BJP’sway.

Mr. Joshi had penned anopen letter to voters ofKanpur stating clearly thathe had been asked not toseek ticket by party generalsecretary Ram Lal.

Shah meetsveteransAdvani, Joshi


NEW DELHI

Amid reports of searches byIncome Tax offi��cials of properties associated with Madhya Pradesh Chief MinisterKamal Nath, the department late on Monday evening issued a statement saying it had conducted searchand seizure operations inBhopal, New Delhi, Indore,and Goa on a group withlinks to politics andbusiness.

The Delhi Directorate ofIncome Tax (Investigation)initiated search and seizureaction on a group in NCR,

Bhopal, Indore and Goa, thestatement said.

It said the searches inMadhya Pradesh had detected a widespread and wellorganised racket of collection of unaccountedforcash of about ₹��281 crore.” “Apart of the cash was alsotransferred to the headquarters of a major political party in Delhi including about₹��20 crore which was movedthrough hawala recently tothe headquarters of the political party from the residence of a senior functionary at Tughlak Road, NewDelhi,” the statement said.

Tax offi��cials search52 places in four StatesSpecial Correspondent

NEW DELHI



#70929

CMYK

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THE HINDU DELHI


ELECTION 2019

PtI come on Twitter and so

many chowkidars abusing and

spewing venom. Really these chowkidars

will protect us and our country?

Who is gonna watch the

watchmen?

ANURAG KASHYAP

FILMMAKER

Tura: a Sangma pocket-borough

GUWAHATI

Barring two years in between, the Tura LokSabha seat in Meghalaya has been with thefamily of former Lok Sabha Speaker PurnoAgitok Sangma for 41 years, since 1977. Thetwoyear gap, from 19891991, was when Mr.Sangma returned to State politics to becomethe Chief Minister. He nominated a loyalist forthe seat. In these 41 years, the Sangma familyrepresented the seat for four parties — theCongress, the Nationalist Congress Party, theTrinamool Congress and the National People’sParty (NPP). Mr. Sangma “bequeathed” theseat to daughter Agatha Sangma (in photo),now the NPP candidate, from whom his sonConrad K. Sangma took over only to quit afterbecoming the Chief Minister in 2018.

POLL POURRICCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

Injecting enthusiasmJaipur

Doctors at governmenthospitals in Banswaradistrict of Rajasthan havejoined the voter awarenesscampaign. They affi��x theseal with the punch line,‘Vote Karo Banswara’, onprescription slips toencourage voters to exercise their franchiseon the April 29. Chief Medical and HealthOffi��cer Hiralal Tabiyar said the hospitals havealso joined the Systematic Voters’ Educationand Electoral Participation programme.

Trespass case against candidateGUWAHATI

The Assam unit of the BJPhas fi��led a police complaintagainst Supreme Courtlawyer UpamanyuHazarika, who is contestingthe Guwahati Lok Sabhaseat as an Independent, forallegedly trespassing onto

one of the party’s election offi��ces and stealingdocuments. Mr. Hazarika, who heads an antiinfi��ltration forum, said the BJP had lied in thecomplaint because he went live on Facebookto show that the party’s promises were asempty as its offi��ce. “We went live at 3.38 p.m.while occupying the empty BJP offi��ce but thecomplaint says we entered the offi��ce between1 and 1.30 p.m. (on Sunday),” he said.

Kalahandi, the western Odisha Lok Sabha constituency, where star campaigners,right from the Prime Minister to the Chief Minister andfrom the BJP president tothe Congress chief have sofar addressed public meetings, is poised for a closetriangular fi��ght.

Threetime MP and former Union Minister BhaktaCharan Das, state BJP president Basant Panda and BJDheavyweight PuspendraSingh Deo are trying to outsmart one another throughcrafty election manoeuvering and massive publicmeetings.

Since Independence, Kalahandi’s politics has beenrevolving around royal families and the issue of backbreaking poverty andmalnutrition.

Of the 16 general elections held in the past, members of royal families havebeen elected nine timesfrom here, while on sevenoccasions, senior Congressleader Das has emerged asthe principal challenger,winning the seat thrice.

Early birdSensing a comeback thistime, the senior Congressleader had embarked uponthe campaign in Kalahandimuch earlier than his counterparts. Congress sourcessaid he had played a crucialrole in the selection of nominees in seven Assembly segments falling in the Kalahandi LS constituency.

Mr. Das hopes a combination of caste factors, his personal relations and impactof the party’s recent successin neighbouring Chhattisgarh will help him scrapethrough.

“It is very deceptive if one

sees wide roads connectedto the district headquarterstown of Bhawanipatna. Itdoes not represent a truepicture of development. Atravel to a rural village, a fewhundred metres off�� themain road, would tell thereal story. One can see thatKalahandi has never progressed from what it was inthe 1980s,” he said. Congress president Rahul Gandhi, along with ChhattisgarhChief Minister BhupeshBaghel, held a rally at Bhawanipatna to bolster hisprospects.

The sitting MP, ArkaKeshari Deo, who hadfought the 2014 election onBJD ticket, has been deniedrenomination by the partythis time. Instead, Puspendra Singh Deo, a royal descendant and trusted partyleader, has been chosen.The BJD is banking on ChiefMinister Naveen Patnaik’spropoor and developmentprogrammes to see itthrough. Moreover, the regional party has a welloiledorganisation in place in almost all blocks. Mr. SinghDeo hopes that the party’sorganisational strength willhelp him retain the seat forthe BJD.

Buoyed by its spectacularvictory in the last panchayatelection in 2017, the saff��ronparty has identifi��ed Kalahandi as of one of the winnable seats. Mr. Panda, stateBJP president, is of the viewthat the strings of visits bythe top leadership havecreated a sort of wave in favour of his party.

Kalahandi: where theroyals still hold swayIt is set to witness a triangular contest

Satyasundar Barik

BHAWANIPATNA <> One can see that

Kalahandi has never

progressed from

what it was in the

1980s

Bhakta Charan Das

Congress leader

Population-based quotas: RJDPatna

The Rashtriya Janata Dal onMonday released itsmanifesto promisingreservation to SC/ST, OBCand EBC categories inproportion to theirpopulation, and also toimplement all the

suggestions of the Mandal Commissionreport. Party leader Tejashwi Yadav declaredthat toddy juice will be taxfree when hisgovernment would be formed in Bihar. “Ourparty is not against 10% reservation toEconomically Weaker Section (EWS) but, wethink that reservation to SC/ST, EBC and OBCcategories should be given in proportion oftheir population,” Mr. Yadav said.

‘Blocking 1 mn accounts daily’New Delhi

Facebook on Monday said ithas been blocking orremoving nearly one millionaccounts daily usingartifi��cial intelligence andmachine learning, ahead ofthe Lok Sabha election.“For a year and a half, we’vebeen working to bring a comprehensive andstrategic approach to our work on the Indianelections,” Ajit Mohan, Facebook managingdirector and vicepresident for India, said in ablog post. He added that Facebook was“absolutely committed” in maintaining theintegrity of the election and would help toensure that it is fair and free frominterference, both foreign and domestic.

It’s almost noon, the heat isrising and so is the pace of theLok Janshakti Party’s electioncampaign, urging voters tochoose the party’s banglachaap election symbol, themessage blaring from speakers placed atop a Toyota Fortuner piled with marigoldgarlands.

Party supporters wearing Tshirts emblazoned with LJPscion Chirag Paswan’s photograph with the slogan ‘Dil seChirag, phir se Chirag’ growrestless. Mr. Paswan is the sonof LJP founder and presidentRam Vilas Paswan.

On the fi��fth fl��oor of HotelGenX, a freshly minted hotelthat opened six months ago,the room to his door is closed.Outside, the narrow, dark corridor is packed with a gaggle ofhis supporters.

Mr. Chirag Paswan leavesthe hotel past 2 p.m. He jumpsinto the front seat of the Fortuner, his close associate Saurabh Pandey sits at the backalong with a security staff��. Avehicle of security personnelleads the cavalcade of six SUVsas they zip around Jamui in Bi

har, standing out like a sorethumb on a twolane road.

Presence feltAt the fi��rst couple of stops, Mr.Paswan climbs down from hiscar, forges into the crowd withhis smile intact, does not saymuch, obliges every selfi��e request, peering into the phonecameras of his supporters,and accepts the marigold garlands thrown at his neck. Be

fore climbing back in, hethrows the marigold garlandsonto his car’s deck, adding toan evergrowing pile there.

Back in the car, he says hehas ensured that his presencewas felt in the constituency inthe past fi��ve years. He counts aKendriya Vidyalaya, a medicalcollege (both at the drawingboard stage) and a host of railway projects among hisachievements.

“I have been around the people of my constituency allthrough the fi��ve years; so I donot need to knock on everydoor right now,” he said.

When told of conversationsof discontentment among voters, he concedes that it is diffi��cult to reach each of the 2,100villages in his constituencyspread across three districts.His opponent is BhudevChaudhary of the Rashtriya

Lok Samata Party(RLSP),whom Mr. Paswan defeated in2014.

Vestiges of his onemoviefi��lm career remain. His lonefi��lm, Mile Na Mile Hum, costarring Kangana Ranaut, released in 2010. The fi��lmbombed and three years later,well in time for the 2014 LokSabha polls, he was back in Bihar to take over the reins ofthe LJP from his father.

Do people still rememberhis fi��lm? “There was a very famous song from my moviecalled Katto gilhari, written byJaved sahab [lyricist Javed Akhtar] that happens to be popular in U.P. and Bihar. So when Igo out, at times, they sing thesong, the youngsters tell methat I look good and I mustmake another movie, but politics is a fulltime job,” he says.

Changing gearsAs the roadshow gathersspeed, the campaigningchanges gears too. Mr. Paswanopens the door of the movingvehicle, and with one foot inside the car and the other onthe landing step, he waves outto supporters. Almost on cue,two security guards also jump

in beside him, three of themdangling in unison from thevehicle.

In between the waving andsmiling, Mr. Paswan and hisassociate Mr. Pandey, have serious matters at hand. They exchange notes on possible “internal sabotage”.

The roadshow also takes adiscomfi��ting turn when the cavalcade is rudely stopped by agroup of women. They haveblocked the road, lining upempty buckets and pots at theLakshmipur market.

The lone municipal tap thatserves close to 50 familieshere has not had a drop of water for more than a month.The women are angry.

‘Won’t vote’“Nahi denge vote, ja (‘Wewon’t give the vote, get lost’),”they shout. Mr. Paswan, initially clueless, gets down from hiscar to do the usual meet andgreet routine, and cajoles thewomen to remove the blockade. For a moment, the protest is forgotten, and childrenand women stand on theirtoes to peek at him. But fearing worse, Mr. Paswan beats ahasty retreat.

[CAMPAIGN TRAIL: CHIRAG PASWAN]

I have been around the people of my constituency, so I do not need to knock on every door right now, says Lok Janshakti Party scion

Sobhana K. Nair

Jamui

Almost smooth sailing on the road with LJP leader

Lending his ears: LJP leader Chirag Paswan interacting with voters in Jamui. * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Following up on former PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh’sadvice to make the Congress’s2019 manifesto a talking point,the party has lined up over twodozen press conferences, seek-ing to steer the election narra-tive toward ‘bread and butterissues’. Head of the party’s Da-ta Analytics team PraveenChakravarty, who was closelyinvolved in the drafting of themanifesto, dispels misgivingsabout implementing NYAY,saying India’s GDP is now largeenough to absorb the costs

Is the Congress seeking to build

an election narrative through

its manifesto?

■ It is extraordinary the kind ofreaction we have got. Whenwas the last time a manifestowas discussed and debated sowidely before an election?Whether you support it or criticise it, the fact that it is beingdiscussed makes us feelgrateful.

The BJP has called it a

document that is ‘full of lies’...

■ We all know where the wordjumla came from and in whatcontext. I think the country hasmoved beyond rhetoricalstatements.

The Nyuntam Aay Yojana

(NYAY) or minimum income

guarantee is the centrepiece of

your manifesto. Several people,

including economists, have

questioned the scheme that

promises transfer of ₹��72,000 to

fi��ve crore poorest households.

And what happens to fi��scal

defi��cit?

■ Sure, I will answer all of thisbut let me tell you how it cameabout. The Congress president[Rahul Gandhi] told us that thepoorest families are getting leftbehind and can we have a direct policy intervention. Hesaid ‘Let’s fi��nd a solution’.That’s the origin of the idea.

In the Indian context, in2017, this government’s ownChief Economic Advisor (Dr.Arvind Subramanian) talkedabout universal basic income.His proposal was that it wouldcost 1.5% to 2% of the GDP.

When we roll out NYAY, itwould cost us 1.2% of the GDP.It will be about ₹��3.6 lakh croreand our GDP today is ₹��200 lakhcrore. It is entirely doable. In

dia today is ready and we havethe fi��scal space!

You have not prepared a

concrete roadmap on how you

will fund this scheme.

■ Look, we are not writing aCabinet note for implementation or preparing a Budget document. We have very clearlysaid it is going to be a combination of tax revenues, new revenues and rationalisation ofnoncore expenditure.

Once we are in government,we have said very clearly thatwe will form an expert committee, start a pilot project and implement in phases.

Mr. Chidamabaram (formerUnion Finance Minister) keepsreminding all of us that thesewere exactly the same questions when NREGA wasplanned. Today, it is an astounding success.

Will this connect with the

voters, especially after the

Balakot strike following the

Pulwama terror attack?

■ Ok, let me tell you that I dowhat are called panel surveysthat include voters, sarpanch-es [village headmen], partyworkers, civil society membersetc. Our sample size is aboutseven lakh people, covering every single Assembly constituency in as many as 7.6 lakhpolling booths. Now, when Iasked them will you vote forBJP postBalakot strikes if youdidn’t vote for them in 2014, amajority of them said ‘No’.

Most people said the strikeswere good and we [India]should have hit Pakistan earlierbut it will not change their electoral behaviour.

So what does the data tell you

about seats. How many seats do

you think the Congress could

get?

■ At this stage, to predict howmany seats we get will be afool’s hazard. Look, data indicate that onethird of the votersdecide who to vote in the weekof voting.

I can only say that as of now,we will triple our seats [fromthe 2014 tally] and the BJP willhalve their count.

INTERVIEW | PRAVEEN CHAKRAVARTY

‘Cong. will triple its tally in Parliament’Party’s data analyst says the GDP can absorb the cost of minimum income guarantee

Sandeep Phukan

New Delhi

<> These same questions

(on NYAY) were raised

when MGNREGA was

planned. Today, it is an

astounding success

POCKET | SATWIK GADECCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

Putting in order: An election offi��cial arranging poll materials in Jorhat district of Assam on Monday. The constituency along with fourothers in the State will go to the polls on Thursday. * RITU RAJ KONWAR

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Final countdown



#70929

Gulzar reads aloud one of hisrecent poems: “Parchiyaanbant rahi hain galiyon mein,apne kaatil ka intekhaab ka-ro; Waqt ye sakht hai chu-naav ka (Slips of paper arebeing doled out in thestreets, it’s time to vote foryour killer; The tough time ofelections is upon us).”

At a certain moment of anguish and cynicism, he mayhave penned this dark anddespondent image to describe the most signifi��cantfi��veyearly event in Indiandemocracy but the poet, writer, lyricist and fi��lmmakerfi��rmly believes in exercisingone’s franchise.

According to him, the voteis the only strength or powerleft with the common man,who has, otherwise, beenrendered quite helpless.

“There is only one weapon you have if you don’t likethe system or the government. It’s the only way tobring things into action. Itcan bring about a change,help remove someone frompower. You can ask them togo, tell them that you don’twant them,” he says.

The common man hasbeen his focus in talkingabout electoral issues in hisworks. “I have been reactingas a common man right frommy fi��rst fi��lm. I have been expressing myself, not againstany individual, not against

any party but against certainideologies or ways of governance and have taken a standon what has been happeningin the society,” he says.

For the song “Haal-chaaltheek-thaak hai (All is well)”in his debut fi��lm on youth unrest, Mere Apne (1971), hewrote: “BA kiya hai, MA ki-ya, lagta hai wo bhi ainveykiya, kaam nahin hai warnayahan, aapki dua se sabtheek thaak hai (We studiedfor BA and MA but look backat it as all needless. There are

no jobs but otherwise all iswell)”.

Unresolved concernAlmost half a century later,joblessness and unemployment continue to be two ofthe signifi��cant issues in thegeneral election.

“At what speed havethings changed,” Gulzar asksrhetorically, adding with atinge of regret, “We couldnot bring the country to thepoint where jobs wouldn’thave remained a problemany more.”

In the same song hewrites: “Aabo hawa desh kibahut saaf hai, kaayda haikanoon hai insaaf hai; Allahmiyaan jaane koi jiye yamare, aadmi ko khoon-woon

sab maaf hai (The country’sair is very clean, rules regulations and justice are all in order; God may decide on wholives and dies but man is easily forgiven for all the murders committed). A sharpjibe at the bloodshed andviolence that have played outacross regimes at variouspoints in time in the nation’shistory.

Gulzar set Aandhi (1975) inthe thick of an election campaign, on a chance meetingbetween a leading politicianand her long estranged husband. Purportedly based onthe life of the then premierIndira Gandhi, it was bannedduring the Emergency.

The larger theme of thefi��lm may have been the eff��ectof politics on marital relations but some situationsand, specifi��cally the song:“Salaam keejiye aali janaabaaye hain, ye paanch saalonka dene hisaab aaye hain”(Greet the lord and the master who has come to give account of his past fi��ve years)”is all about how politicianscourt the common man andcome calling only once infi��ve years and then conveniently forget him.

Cynicism of politicsThe celebrated Bollywoodveteran talks cynically abouthow politicians buy votes bygranting something as basicas food and hide the nakedbodies of the poor by off��er

ing them shrouds: “Hamaarevote khareedenge, hum koann de kar, ye nange jismchhupaa dete hain qafan dekar”.

But he ends up underlining the signifi��cance of voteand has the electorate declare in the song that it won’tvote needlessly and will fi��gure out the politicians during the elections by weighingin on the revolutions theyhave supposedly rungin during their term: “Ye vote dengemagar, ab ke yun nahindenge; Chunaav aane do,hum aapse nipat lenge;Ke pehle dekh lein kyainqalaab laaye hain.”

Two of his fi��lmshave been set in anelectionless world.There was an immense sense of lossin his Maachis(1996), that playedout in the democraticvacuum of a militantPunjab, much like Vishal Bhardwaj’s Kashmirbased Haider (2014) forwhich Gulzar wrote

the lyrics.“How could one do what

happened in 1984, how canone justify what happenedpost Godhra in Gujarat? Howcould we digest them? It’slike politicians were playingchess and the ones who suffered were common people,”he says.

For him the turn of eventsin both the States refl��ect asort of dictatorship, emergency, a pushing of gover

nance down the throat of people without their consent.Whereas it should be the people who should have theright to decide, as they do every elections, he asserts.

A sense of “desperation”,as he puts, underlined thepolitics in his last fi��lm as a director, Hu Tu Tu (1999). Thenarrative and songs, both acquired an urgency, feverishness and a direct, streettheatre idiom.

A lot of issues he touchedupon twenty years ago resonate in these elections as

well. Like corruption in“Ghapla Hai” and theplight of farmers in thesong “Bandobast”where he warnsagainst burying andsilencing thoseborn of the soil: “Jomatti mein ugtehain, unko dafna

ke kya hoga”.Gulzar is almost

like the chowkidar,nay keeper of the na

tion’s conscience inthe song “Jaago jaago

jaagte raho”. He talks of religious divisiveness and crisisof faith in the song: “Logbant-te hi khuda bantne lagehain; Naam jo pooche koidarr lagta hai, ab kise poojekoi darr lagta hai (With thedivisions amongst people,the Gods have also startedgetting divided; One isscared of uttering one’s ownname and of worshippinganyone).”

In the song “Jai HindHind” he again comes backto the issue of unemployment: “Par bhookh meri, bi-mari meri Jaati nahin kyunbekaari meri”.

According to him it’s theenvironment and his ownsensitivity to the politicsaround him that refl��ects inhis writing: “The words can’tbe meaningless. They can’tbe in a vacuum”.

And then goes on to reciting another one of his recentverses about how the electorate has been left completelyat the disposal of the government to the extent that it hasstopped to think and rationalise about its own self: “Me-ra ahwal kya maaloom abmujhko, sunoo TV pe kha-brein to bataoon; Wahi hoonjo meri sarkar rakhti hai(How do I know about my

own condition. I will fi��gure when I see thenews on TV. I am howmy government keeps

me)”. Gulzar feels India

can’t be anything but democratic, diverse and inclusive.The big danger is that of divisive politics. He then quotesanother one of his poemswhere a line talks about howit was good to have let her remain on the canvas becausehad she been drawn on theland, another partitionwould have happened: “Wotan ke seedhi khadi thi; akelithi magar kuchh kah rahi thiline canvas par. Bahut ach-cha kiya canvas par rehnediya mujhko; zameen parkheenchte to phir se koi bat-wara ho jaata”.

But he is hopeful that10,000 years of recorded history and civilisation can’t bewiped away, least of all byavaricious politicians. In hispoem “Ye Bemaani Ghaas(This Useless Grass)” he compares the common man tothe grass that may besquashed and crushed butmanages to still grow fromthe tiniest crevice it can fi��ndin a rock.

“Maaro, kooto, katl karo,ya phoonk do inko; Logonmein zinda rehne ki la-mat-naahi taaqat hoti hai(Whether you beat them,pound them, murder themor set them on fi��re; peoplehave a great will to survive)”.

And then has the lastword: “Ye meri ummed na-hin, yakeen hai. It’s not ahope but faith. We will survive. The common man willsurvive”

While his songs refl��ect the anguish of citizens cynically used by politicians, veteran poet and fi��lmmaker Gulzar says the vote is the only power left with the common man

Namrata Joshi

Mumbai

Singing the nation’s hope, keeping a people’s faith

CMYK

A ND-NDE

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

DELHI THE HINDU


ELECTION 2019

One must, however, hastento add that there does notappear to be any nationalwave in favour of the rulingparty.

The survey shows boththe BJP and the Congress arelikely to register a four percentage point increase intheir vote share. But, in thecase of the BJP, this rise doesnot translate to more seats.

In some key States ofnorth and central India, theparty is likely to lose seats as

If the contest is betweenactive proincumbency andpassive antiincumbency,that will surely benefi��t theBJP and its allies. The BJPthus, enters the hotly contested election with a clearadvantage in more sensesthan one.

(Sandeep Shastri is thenational coordinator of theLokniti Network; Suhas Pal-shikar is co-director of theLokniti programme atCSDS; Sanjay Kumar is di-rector, CSDS and co-directorof Lokniti.)

vote, threefourths of thosewho support the NDA saidthey were ‘very likely’ tovote, whereas only threefi��fths of the potential nonNDA voters appeared similarly determined.

Least enthusiasticMuslims were the least enthusiastic to vote (four of every ten not sure of voting)and the upper castes werethe most enthusiastic (sevenof every ten saying that theywould surely vote).

In other words, NDA voters are more likely to turnout and vote and nonNDAvoters are less likely to turnout to vote.

It is clear that if the UPAand the nonUPA parties donot get their act together,the levels of eagernessamong their supporters isnot likely to increase as voting day approaches.

towns and both the smalland large cities. The farmers, among whom supportfor the party had declinedlast year, are once again rallying around the BJP.

While close to half theHindu respondents felt thatthe BJP should get anotherchance, more than half theMuslim respondents wereagainst a second chance forthe BJP. This assertion of nosecond chance for the government was much higheramong the Christians (six ofevery ten) and Sikhs (sevenof every ten).

Above all, besides the social arithmetic, it is politicalskills that would fi��nallymake and unmake the electoral fortunes of diff��erentparties. In this respect, a fascinating piece of data deserves mention: Whenasked about how determined they are to go and

of the support it enjoysamong critical social groups.It retains its lead amongboth upper castes and theOBCs. While it gets moresupport among the upperand middle income groups,its support among the lowincome groups and the pooris not insignifi��cant.

Young votersYoung voters (below the ageof 25) seem to be more enthusiastic in their supportfor the BJP. The support forthe ruling party declineswith age and between the oldest and youngest agegroups there is an eight percentage point diff��erence.

The BJP, which a year agoappeared to have lostground to the Congress insmall towns and cities, appears to have made up thedefi��cit and is now ahead ofthe Congress in villages,

second chance for the BJP.In any case, this opens possibilities for the BJP in Stateslike West Bengal and Odisha.

If one were to undertake aregionwise analysis, it isclear that the NDA appearsto be doing extremely wellin north, west and centralIndia. It is also catching upin the east and the northeast, though it is faring poorly in the south. While theNDA has made some gains inthe south in the last oneyear, it has been unable tocatch up with either the UPAor other regional parties inthis region. South India isthe only region where closeto half the respondents(45%) believe that the country is heading in the wrongdirection.

Among social groupsThe BJP seems to be aheadof its opponents on account

vernment formation afterthe election.

Non-UPA partiesIt is important to highlightthat as things stand today,the projected rise in theNDA vote share appears tobe at the cost of the nonUPAOpposition. Ironically,among supporters of thesenonUPA parties, the sentiment against the NDA is notvery strong. Close to onethird of nonUPA/nonBJPvoters prefer not to take astand on the question of theModi government getting asecond chance and just fourof every 10 are against givingthe ruling party another opportunity.

Possibly, the supportersof the nonUPA Oppositionsee a limited opportunity ofthe parties they supportcoming to power and this isrefl��ected in their stand on a

it may fi��nd it diffi��cult toachieve the high ‘strike rate’of 2014.

The SPBSP combine inUttar Pradesh is posing astiff�� challenge to the BJP. Ifthe current trends were tocontinue, the BJP is likely tolose a signifi��cant chunk ofseats in this politically important State. While it maycontinue to do well in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh andeven Chhattisgarh, it is unlikely to repeat its 2014 performance here.

The BJP could well makeup part of this defi��cit it suff��ers in north and western India through marginal gainsin the east and the northeast. Its tally in south is unlikely to see any visible improvement. The overallshortfall the party is likely toface, could well result in itspartners within the NDAplaying a crucial role in go

Advantage NDA, but it may fall short of majority

<>The survey found

that south India is

the only region where

close to half the

respondents (45%)

believe that the country

is heading in the wrong

direction

<>Threefourths of

those who

support the NDA said

they were ‘very likely’

to vote whereas only

threefi��fths of the

potential nonNDA

voters appeared

similarly determined

FROM PAGE ONE

ILLUSTRATION:

DEEPAK HARICHANDAN



#70929

CMYK

A ND-NDE


THE HINDU DELHI


NEWS

What needs to be noted isthat nothing in our currentseries of investigative articlesraises any questions aboutthe quality of the Rafale, orindeed the rival Eurofi��ghterTyphoon, combat jet, orabout the need to modernisethe Indian Air Force. Interestingly, and as a matter ofrecord, this was also the caseduring The Hindu’s Boforsinvestigation of thelate1980s, when neither thequality of the Bofors, or therival Sofma, howitzer nor theneed to upgrade the IndianArmy’s artillery resourceswas in question.

0% off��sets in fi��rst three yearsThere has been a major political controversy over Dassault Aviation’s choice of Indian Off��set Partners (IOPs),notably Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group, and the nontransparent arrangementsfor the discharge of off��setobligations. Off��sets are ‘domestic contentbased requirements’ imposed on an exporting foreign entity by animporting government or public entity as a quid pro quofor placing a large order withthe exporting entity. ‘Off��set’is usually rendered in Frenchas ‘contrepartie’ (compensation), as Eric Trappier, Chairman and CEO of DassaultAviation, pointed out in aninterview to AFP (http://bit.ly/DasReliance)

The total off��sets to be delivered in the Rafale deal byDassault Aviation (and its 21Tier1 subvendors) togetherwith MBDA (and its 12 Tier1subvendors) have been fi��xedat 50% of the contract value.The contracted off��set obligations, which are valuedaround ₹��30,000 crore, are tobe discharged over a periodof seven years beginning inthe fourth year, that is, fromOctober 2019.

The discharge of off��setobligations is heavily loadedon to the last two years of thesevenyear period. According to the off��set schedule, thetwo private French companies (along with their Tier1subvendors) will discharge0% of the value of the totaloff��sets for ‘Make in India’ inthe fi��rst three years and 4%in the fourth year. After that,while Dassault (and its Tier1subvendors) will discharge16% and 23% of the value ofoff��sets in years fi��ve and six,the corresponding fi��gures forMBDA (and its Tier1 subvendors) will be 9% and 30%. Noless than 57% of the value oftotal off��set obligations will bedischarged in the seventhyear.

The INT’s fi��nal report reveals that the initial proposalof Dassault Aviation andMBDA had nearly 88% of off��set obligations loaded on tothe seventh year. The avenues proposed for off��set discharge were also far from satisfactory. A meeting held inthe Defence Ministry on January 4, 2016 decided that inview of advice received fromthe Ministry of Law and Justice, the French side shouldbe informed that the off��sets“will have impact on thecommercial proposal” andthat the French industrialsuppliers should be advisedto submit revised off��set proposals urgently.

“After extended negotiations and on INT’s insistence”, the report goes on tosay, “DA and MBDA reducedthe off��sets in the last twoyears (6th & 7th) and broughtdown the off��set obligationsin the last year from 88% to57%. Another milestone was

achieved as INT was able topersuade DA to increase thepercentage of off��sets in theavenue ‘direct purchase’from the initial value of 9% to72% and reduce off��sets in theavenue ‘investment in kind(equipment)’ from the initialvalue of 30% to 20%. Thiswould facilitate greater direct investment in India bythe French vendors.”

French reluctanceto mention ‘off��sets’The INT report reveals thatthe French negotiators wereinitially “not ready to mention the word ‘off��sets’ in theIGA” but upon insistence bythe Indian side, they “relented and added ‘Make in India’initiative through Off��sets atArticle 12 of the IGA”. Theproposal originally submitted by Dassault Aviation andMBDA was titled ‘RafaleMake in India initiative in theframe of the procurement of36 Rafale aircraft’. This“neither mentioned theword ‘Off��set’ nor providedthe desired avenues/percentages/yearly discharge, etc.,as mandated by the DPP2013guidelines”. It was only afterextended discussions thatthe two industrial suppliersagreed to provide their off��setoff��er “as per the format specifi��ed in DPP2013”.

Article 12 of the IGA reads:“The French Party will facilitate the implementation of‘Make in India’ initiative bythe Industrial Suppliers nota

bly through off��sets as specifi��ed through direct contractsbetween the Indian Partyand the Industrial Suppliersfor 50% value of the SupplyProtocol”.

However, the INT reportnotes, certain Articles of theoff��set contracts “were notconsistent with the standardcontract document providedin DPP2013. Specifi��cally, theFrench side was not ready toinclude the Articles on ‘Arbitration’, ‘Use of Undue Infl��uence’, ‘Agents and AgencyCommission’, ‘Access toBook of Accounts’ and ‘Off��setPerformance Bond’.”

The two waiversDassault Aviation and MBDAproposed the inclusion of thesame clause on arbitration inthe off��set contract as in theIGA. Article 16 of the IGA, thedispute resolution provision,stipulates that both partiesmake their best eff��orts to settle the dispute through directnegotiations and that if anydispute cannot be settledthrough direct negotiationswithin 24 months, it will besettled in accordance withthe arbitration clause of theSupply Protocols.

Article 21 of the SupplyProtocols stipulates that alldisputes be settled by directdiscussions and that if anydispute cannot be resolvedin this way within 24 months,it will be settled by arbitration in accordance with theprevailing United NationsCommission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Arbitration Rules in Geneva.(http://bit.ly/UNC_Arbit)

The Indian negotiatorscontended that the IGA formulations could not be applied to the off��set contracts,which would be signed directly by the Government ofIndia with the two industrialsuppliers. The off��set contracts were clearly not part ofthe IGA. Acting on directionsfrom the DAC, the INT repeatedly pressed the Frenchside to agree to the alignment of Article 9 of the off��setcontract with Article 21A ofChapter V of the StandardContract Document ofDPP2013 (http://cgda.nic.in/pdf/DPP2013.pdf ). But Dassault Aviation and MBDA dugin and refused to do this, citing three reasons: “(i) Simpleand effi��cient wording; (ii)Agreed by both governments; (iii) No confusion orrisks of overlap in Arbitrationprocedure for any disputespreading from the SupplyProtocols to the Off��setContract.”

The INT’s eff��orts on this issue had been weakened, ifnot undermined, by the parallel talks conducted by the

National Security Adviser,Ajit Doval, in Paris in January2016. The Indian negotiatorsfound themselves up againsta wall. Eventually, in July2016, two months before theRafale deal was signed, theDAC decided to send the issue of the lack of alignmentof Article 9 — the arbitrationprovision in the off��set contracts with the French industrial suppliers — with themandated DPP2013 provisions to “the government”.On August 24, 2016, the Cabinet Committee on Securitydecided to give a waiver onthis issue to the two Frenchcompanies.

Subject to France’sblocking statuteThe INT report reveals thatalthough the French sideagreed to have a provision on‘Access to Book of Accounts’(Article 12) included in theoff��set contracts, it “introduced an additional formulation over and above the DPPguidelines”, which read:“However Dassault shallcomply with French Law No.80538 dated 16 July 1980.”This is France’s controversialblocking statute which criminalises the communicationof economic, commercial, industrial, fi��nancial, or technical documents or information to foreign individuals orforeign legal entities. France’s anticorruption agency,the Service Central de Prévention de la Corruption, hasrecommended changes inLaw No. 80538, and in December 2016 a new anticorruption law was enacted. Butthe blocking statute remainsin place and can be invokedif needed. (http://bit.ly/FrenchBlock and http://bit.ly/2FXr4eh)

The INT report shows that

despite being repeatedlyasked to remove the additional formulation, theFrench side insisted that“they are bound to considerthe French law as stated”. InJuly 2016, the DAC directedthat “Article12 of the Off��setContract on ‘Access to Bookof Accounts’ which has beenaligned with the Mirage2000 MLU Contract, may beplaced for a decision by theGovt”. This waiver was alsoapproved by the CCS on August 24, 2016.

Off��sets are made forcontroversyOff��sets, as we have seen, aredomestic contentbased obligations that the buyer imposes on the seller as compensation for placing a large order.Although the practice is often criticised for being tradedistorting, nontransparent,and riddled with corruptionand has been generally prohibited by the World TradeOrganisation (with an exception made for protection ofthe essential interests of acountry’s national security),off��sets are increasingly invogue in the defence sector(http://bit.ly/FToff��sets).

India’s “Defence Off��setGuidelines”, which form Appendix D of DPP2013 (http://bit.ly/DPP_2013) , lay downthat the Defence AcquisitionCouncil may, after consideration by the Services CapitalAcquisition Plan Higher Categorisation Committee (SCAPHC), “prescribe varying off��set obligations above 30 percent or waive the requirement of off��set obligations inspecial cases.” In the originalprocess, initiated by the United Progressive Alliance government, to procure 126Medium MultiRole CombatAircraft (MMRCA) as well asin the new Rafale deal for 36fl��yaway Rafale jets, the DACprescribed off��set obligations

to the extent of 50% of thecontract value.

It is important to note thatthe off��set contracts, whichwere concluded between theGovernment of India and thetwo private French companies, were not part of the IndoFrench InterGovernmental Agreement. Althoughsigned on the same day, September 23, 2016, as the IGA,the two off��set contracts werecompletely separate from it.This crucial fact was broughtup in the offi��cial talks by theIndian Negotiating Teamwith a singular lack of success, mainly because their efforts had been undercut bythe “parallel negotiations”conducted by offi��cials of thePrime Minister’s Offi��ce andthe National Security Adviser(bit.ly/DefMinNote)

The signifi��cance of theseoff��setrelated issues and the‘unacceptability’ of theFrench demands werebrought out sharply by M. P.

Singh, Adviser (Cost), A. R.Sule, Financial Manager(Air), and Rajeev Verma,Joint Secretary and Acquisitions Manager (Air), thethree domain experts on thesevenmember INT, in theirJune 1, 2016 note of dissent:“The off��sets are not part ofthe G to G agreements andtherefore the Off��set Contractmust be in line with the oneprescribed in the DefenceProcurement Procedure(DPP). In the MMRCA process also, the French Industrial Suppliers would havebeen required to follow theOff��set Guidelines and the

Standard Clauses of Contractprescribed in DPP. The proposed draft Off��set Contract isstill not aligned with the oneprescribed in the DPP. Thearbitration clause proposedby the French Industrial Suppliers in the draft Off��set Contract is not as per the DPPand cannot be agreed to. TheFrench Industrial Suppliershave insisted upon reducingthe maximum ceiling for penalty from 20% as prescribedin the DPP to 8.5% of the Off��set value, which is not acceptable. The French IndustrialSuppliers are not agreeing tothe requirement of confi��rmation of Performance BankGuarantee for Off��set Contract from Indian Public Sector Banks located in India.The French Industrial Suppliers proposed to include aclause on ‘Access to the Bookof Accounts’ subject toFrench Law, which is notacceptable.”

As the offi��cial negotiationsgot under way, it becameclear that the August 5, 2015amendment to the DPP2013“Off��set Policy Guidelines” allowed Dassault Aviation andMBDA a great deal of leeway.They were no longer required to submit their off��setplans, including the identities of their IOPs, the detailsof their work share and specifi��c products, and supportingdocuments indicating IOPeligibility at the bid stage, aslaid down earlier.

They were not even required to provide this information at the time of signingthe IGA and the off��set contracts. They are now required to provide the information to the Indiangovernment only “at the timeof seeking off��set credits orone year prior to dischargeof off��set obligations throughthat IOP”.

Questions that won’t go awayThe controversy over Dassault’s choice of off��set partners will not go away any timesoon. As has been widely reported, Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group, with its subsidiaries, entered the defencemanufacturing sector in January 2015 (http://bit.ly/DASRIL). Reliance DefenceLimited was incorporated onMarch 28, 2015, that is, twoweeks before the new Rafaledeal was announced in Paris;Reliance Aerostructure Limited (in which Reliance Defence Limited was a 99.988%shareholder as of March 31,2018), was incorporated onApril 24, 2015; and in October 2016 Dassault Aviationformed a joint venture withReliance Aerostructure Limited’s subsidiary, Reliance Ae

rospace. The joint venture,which was incorporated inFebruary 2017, has beennamed Dassault Reliance Aerospace Limited (DRAL).

The allegations revolveround the charge of cronycapitalism – the charge led byCongress president RahulGandhi that as a quid proquo for the new Rafale dealthe NDA government had secretly nominated the younger Ambani scion as Dassault’s leading off��set partner.It may be recalled that thecontroversy took off�� in September 2018, after the former French President, François Hollande, toldMediapart, the independentFrench online investigativejournal: “We didn’t have anysay in this matter. It is the Indian government which hadproposed this service group,and Dassault who negotiatedwith Ambani. We didn’t havethe choice, we took the interlocutor who was given to us.”

The allegations gainedtraction when Mediapart reported that it had obtainedan internal Dassault document that revealed that “a senior executive of the Frenchgroup told staff�� representatives that the joint venturewith Reliance was agreed as a‘compensation’ in the Rafaledeal and that it was both ‘imperative and obligatory’ forRafale in securing the fi��ghtercontract”.

The allegations have beendenied by Dassault Aviation,by Anil Ambani, and by theNDA government, which hasmaintained that it has hadnothing to do with the aircraft manufacturer’s choiceof IOPs and has not even received offi��cial word on whothey are. However, the Dassault chief, Eric Trappier, hasgone on record to say thatDRAL, the joint venture thatwas building a manufacturing facility in Mihan, Nagpur,would make components ofthe Legacy Falcon 2000 series of civil jets and deliver“about 10% of these off��setobligations” (http://bit.ly/DASNagpur and http://bit.ly/DasReliance)

What part Reliance Defence Limited, other Indiancompanies, or the DefenceResearch and DevelopmentOrganisation (DRDO), willplay in the discharge of theoff��set obligations in the Rafale deal will be known onlyin the months and years tocome.

Our present state of knowledge is that a group that entered the defence manufacturing sector some weeksbefore a new Rafale deal wasannounced in Paris is the only publicly known off��setpartner.

Rafale: Modi govt. gave waivers in off��set agreementsProvisions of DPP2013 relating to arbitration, access to books of accounts, and penalties for use of undue infl��uence and commission agents were not complied with

N. Ram

<> The discharge of

off��set obligations is

heavily loaded on to

the last two years of

the sevenyear

period

<> The off��set contracts

between India and

two French

companies were not

part of the Inter

Governmental

Agreement

EXCLUSIVE

FROM PAGE ONE

Till 1995, Kuppam, on the trijunction of Andhra Pradesh,Karnataka and Tamil Nadu,was a place of “punishmentposting” for government offi��cials. The tailend of undivided Andhra Pradesh was notconsidered a part of Chittoordistrict at all, but an interState zone.

However, when the MLAfrom this forgotten corner,Nara Chandrababu Naidu,became the Chief Minister after a dramatic turn of eventsin 1995, Kuppam attained acelebrity status overnight.

The threedecadeold sagacontinues.

Overnight, the punishment posting changed into“Chief Minister’s constituency”. And when the peoplefrom the area visited the Secretariat, the word “Kuppam” was their passport tothe CM’s chamber.

After three decades, Mr.Chandrababu Naidu stillholds sway over Kuppam andhis victory is taken for granted. All that matters is themargin of victory. In 2009and 2014, the margin stoodat 46,066 and 46,927,respectively.

Spread over Kuppam, Ramakuppam, Gudupalle andShantipuram mandals, theconstituency is largely agrarian. Mr. Naidu is so confi��dentof winning from Kuppamthat he does not visit it during elections and concentrates on campaigning for hisparty candidates in otherconstituencies.

Even his nomination papers are fi��led by party cadres.In 2019, the cadres collectedabout ₹��29 lakh as contribution from the public towards“nomination fee and electionexpenditure” for Mr. Naidu.This is called “Chandranna

Hundi”. What made Mr. Naidu choose Kuppam as his fortress?

When the region was reeling under a perennial drink

ing water scarcity, the TDPleader kickstarted the construction of about 650 overhead tanks and arranged water supply along with the

Bhagwan Satya SaibabaTrust in the early 1990s.From 1995, roads were laid inthe forested areas and gravelroads turned into tarmac,leading to a transport revolution in the trijunction.

The transport revolutionwas accompanied by an agricultural revolution with theintroduction of Israeli technology. The new techniqueshelped transform vast tractsof the waterstarved ensuring plentiful returns for hitherto desperate farmers.

Both staunch supportersand political rivals admit thatit is diffi��cult to see an alterna

tive to Mr. Naidu in Kuppam.“When his son Nara Lokeshwas projected as the probable TDP candidate in Kuppam in 2019, our hearts sank.We took the public pulse toBabu [Mr Naidu]. We believeeven Babu also would neverdare to disappoint us,” says aTDP worker. But not all isperfect in Kuppam. Over15,000 people, mostly youth,travel daily from Kuppam toBengaluru for work.

The fi��rst government degree college building was inaugurated in Kuppam only afew months ago, and it is yetto function. The 350bed go

vernment hospital at Kuppam with the best medicaland surgical equipment is hitby a shortage of medical andparamedical staff��. Over 500villages still face a drinkingwater problem.

Now, Kuppam with its 2.13lakh voters is again allspruced up for what willmore likely be another “onesided battle.” In 2014, YSRCPchief Jagan Mohan Reddykicked off�� his campaign fromKuppam, with the slogan of“Pulivendula tiger in Kuppam.” But the hype did littleto sway Kuppam which remained loyal to Mr Naidu.

In Kuppam, TDP worried only about Naidu’s margin of victoryChandrababu Naidu has transformed the remote, water starved region from a punishment posting to the cynosure of both supporters and rivals

Even the nomination papers of N. Chandrababu Naidu inKuppam are fi��led by party workers. * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

K. Umashanker

Chittoor



#70929

WORLDEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

DELHI THE HINDU


Fire at Imran Khan’soffi��ce causes evacuationISLAMABAD

A fi��re broke out at Pakistan

Prime Minister Imran Khan’s

Offi��ce on Monday, triggering

evacuation, according to a

report. The fi��re broke out on

the sixth fl��oor of the building

and Mr. Khan was reportedly

one fl��oor below in a meeting,

The Express Tribune reported.

It was later contained and a

police offi��cial said an

electrical short circuit may

have caused the incident. PTI

ELSEWHERE

Air strike forces closureof Tripoli airportTRIPOLI

Fighting raged around Tripoli

and an air strike closed its

only functioning airport on

Monday, as Libyan

commander, Field Marshal

Khalifa Haftar, defi��ed

international calls to halt his

advance on the capital.

Thousands were also

reported by the UN to be

fl��eeing the capital city in face

of Field Marshal Haftar’s

surprise assault which has

left dozens dead. AFP

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen resigned on Sunday evening,according to reports. Ms.Nielsen will, however, stayon until April 10 after whichKevin McAleenan, the current Customs and BorderProtection Commissioner,will take charge as Acting Homeland Security Secretary.

Ms. Nielson, who has hada rocky working relationshipwith President DonaldTrump, handed in her resignation at a time when therewere growing signs of division within the administration over how to handle theswelling numbers at the U.S.Mexico border.

2,700 children separatedMs. Nielson, 46, was appointed to her role in December 2017. She will be remembered most for her rolein overseeing the “zero tolerance” policy towards migrants crossing the border,which resulted in the separation of more than 2,700 children from their parents. Ms.

Nielsen had initially resistedthe move, advocated by Mr.Trump, but weeks later, inthe spring of 2018, made achoice to sign a memo bringing to life a policy that waswidely seen as an inhumane.

Images and reports — including from lawmakers —surfaced showing disusedwarehouses being used asdetention centres, with children being kept in cagelikeenclosures, sleeping onfl��oors on mattresses and foilblankets.

Two children died in custody at the border in 2018,and a third minor, a 19monthold baby, died a fewweeks after being releasedfrom a detention centre.

“Nielsen will go down inhistory as presiding over anexceptionally cruel regimethat separated families andviolated human rights,” Congresswoman Pramila Jayapaltweeted. “I welcome her resignation and believe sheshould be held accountablefor the abuses that happenedunder her watch.”

Mr. McAleenan wasamong those who had en

couraged Ms. Nielsen to signthe family separation memoin 2018, The New York Timesreported. In June last year, ajudge had ordered that separations under most circumstances would not be permitted and that separatedchildren had to be reunitedwith their parents.

However, almost 250 families have been separatedsince — without violating theJune order, the government

claimed in February thisyear.

Ms. Nielsen was grilled inMarch by a U.S. House of Representatives committee onthe border situation, andquestioned repeatedly onwhether the enclosures inwhich children were heldwere signifi��cantly diff��erentfrom dog cages.

The Secretary, who posted her resignation letter onTwitter, hit out at Congress

and the courts in the document. “I hope the next Secretary will have the supportof Congress and the courts infi��xing the laws which haveimpeded our ability to fullysecure America’s bordersand which have contributedto discord in our nation’s discourse,” she wrote.

Ms. Nielsen had a complicated working relationshipwith Mr. Trump — she was often berated for not beingtough enough and alternatedbetween resisting some ofMr. Trump’s more outlandish policy requests and fi��rstcapitulating, then defendingthe administration’s policies.

The dissonance betweenMr. Trump and Ms. Nielsenhad become particularlypronounced as the Secretarystruggled to keep up with hisagenda.

Some 58,000 migrantswere apprehended at theborder in January and some1,00,000 in March, as perthe Department of Homeland Security. The risingnumbers — part of a presummer surge — have frustratedMr. Trump.

U.S. Homeland Security chief resignsShe oversaw the ‘zero tolerance’ policy on migration, which led to separation of children from parents

Sriram Lakshman

Washington

U.S. President Donald Trump with Homeland SecuritySecretary Kirstjen Nielsen in California. * REUTERS

Sri Lanka has sought enhanced military trainingfrom India, according toPresident Maithripala Sirisena’s offi��ce.

Visiting Indian DefenceSecretary Sanjay Mitracalled on Mr. Sirisena onMonday, and widerangingmatters, including bilateraldefence cooperation between the neighbouringcountries and regional security, were discussed, offi��cials said.

“India and Sri Lankaagreed to increase cooperation in security and defencespheres in several areas, including regional security,curbing drug smuggling andhuman traffi��cking and training of members of the security forces,” a statement fromthe presidential media unitsaid.

Thanking India for itspartnership, Mr. Sirisena requested to increase thenumber of personneltrained by India. The IndianDefence Secretary agreed to

look into the possibility ofenhancing training facilities, the statement furthersaid.

Currently, over 60% of SriLanka’s military personnelpursue their young offi��cers’course, junior and seniorcommand courses in India,according to defence sources in Colombo.

Meanwhile, ‘Exercise Mitra Shakti’, the sixth editionof the joint military trainingexercise between the IndianArmy and the Sri Lankan Army, concluded in Badulladistrict, in Sri Lanka’s Central Province, on Monday.

Contingents from the twocountries jointly plannedand executed a series of“wellcoordinated tacticaloperations based on scenarios that are likely to be encountered in rural and urban environment”, a pressrelease from the Indian Ministry of Defence said. Thetwoweek programme ispart of an initiative that began in 2013 as part of military diplomacy between India and Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka seeks enhancedmilitary training from India

Sirisena meets Defence Secretary

Meera Srinivasan

Colombo

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Monday called Maldivian President IbrahimMohamed Solih to wish himon his party’s landslide victory in the recent parliamentary election.

A statement from Mr. Solih’s offi��ce said Mr. Modi“personally called” on Monday, “to congratulate him onhis party’s exceptionallystrong performance” in theMaldives’s Majlis election, inwhich the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) secured

65 of 87 seats, securing a signifi��cant majority inParliament.

Mr. Modi said the poll outcome was indicative of “thehigh level of trust and support” that Maldivian citizenshad vested in their government and its policy priorities. “He [Mr. Modi] furtherconveyed his full confi��dencethat the Maldives government can deliver on theirpromises towards the Maldivian people in the upcomingfi��ve years, and that the Indian government will alwaysstand ready to be of assis

tance to the Maldives,” thestatement said.

An offi��cial press releasefrom the Ministry of ExternalAff��airs said, “The Prime Minister reiterated India’s deepcommitment in keeping with

its ‘Neighbourhood First’policy, to work closely withthe Maldives in further deepening the partnership andassist the Maldives as per thelatter’s requirement in its socioeconomic development.”

PM speaks to NasheedFormer President and prominent MDP leader Mohamed Nasheed, who won aseat in capital Male andmade a political comeback,later tweeted: “Had the pleasure of speaking today withIndian Prime Minister @narendramodi, and yesterday

with External Aff��airs Minister @SushmaSwaraj. I assured them we will use ourMajlis majority responsibly:implement manifesto pledges; consolidate democracy;ensure Indian Oceanstability.”

New Delhi has beenwatching developments inMale closely, as it tries to renew ties with the neighbourafter the relationship turnedincreasingly hostile duringthe Abdulla Yameen administration.

(With inputs from KallolBhattacherjee)

Modi congratulates Solih on MDP’s landslide winPrime Minister reiterates India’s ‘neighbourhood fi��rst’ policy in deepening the bilateral partnership

Maldivian President IbrahimMohamed Solih. * AP

Meera Srinivasan

COLOMBO

President Donald Trump onMonday announced the United States is designatingIran’s elite military force, theIslamic Revolutionary GuardCorps (IRGC), a terrorist organisation.

Mr. Trump said in a statement that the “unprecedented” move “recognises thereality that Iran is not only astate sponsor of terrorism,but that the IRGC activelyparticipates in, fi��nances,

and promotes terrorism as atool of statecraft.” The IRGCwas formed after the 1979 revolution with a mission todefend the clerical regime.

Addressing reporters following Mr. Trump’s announcement, Secretary of StateMike Pompeo warned allbanks and business of consequences to dealing with theRevolutionary Guards.

“The leaders of Iran areracketeers, not revolutionaries,” Mr. Pompeo said. “Businesses and banks around the

world now have a clear dutyto ensure that companieswith which they conduct fi��nancial transactions are notconducted with the IRGC inany material way.”

In retaliation, Iran’s Supreme National SecurityCouncil declared the U.S. a“state sponsor of terrorism”and U.S. forces in the region“terrorist groups”, the country’s state media said.

It also slammed Washington’s move as an “illegal andfoolish act”.

IRGC promotes terrorism as a tool of statecraft: TrumpAgence France-Presse

Washington

U.S. designates Iran’s elite militaryunit as a ‘terrorist organisation’



#70929

CMYK

BUSINESSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

THE HINDU DELHI


NIFTY 50

PRICE CHANGE

Adani Ports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379.90. . . . . . . . -7.25

Asian Paints. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1496.35. . . . . . -18.10

Axis Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 754.60. . . . . . . . -7.60

Bajaj Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2853.35. . . . . . . . -8.30

Bajaj Finserv. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7347.25. . . . . . -50.55

Bajaj Finance . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 3024.10. . . . . . -90.10

Bharti Airtel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354.95. . . . . . . . -1.70

BPCL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351.00. . . . . . . . -7.10

Britannia Ind . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 2971.50. . . . . . -22.55

Cipla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 525.40. . . . . . . . -6.70

Coal India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232.95. . . . . . . . -1.75

Dr Reddys Lab . . . . . . . .. . . . 2763.70. . . . . . . . . 9.35

Eicher Motors. . . . . . . . .. 20612.65. . . -367.65

GAIL (India). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341.90. . . . . . . . -6.90

Grasim Ind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 840.45. . . . . . . . -8.50

HCL Tech. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1096.35. . . . . . . . . 3.55

HDFC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2054.90. . . . . . . . -4.30

HDFC Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2289.40. . . . . . -16.20

Hero MotoCorp . . . . . .. . . . 2586.85. . . . . . -31.55

Hindalco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214.45. . . . . . . . -0.95

Hind Unilever . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1664.90. . . . . . . . . 5.80

Indiabulls HFL . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 859.35. . . . . . -43.70

ICICI Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387.10. . . . . . . . -3.45

IndusInd Bank . . . . . . . .. . . . 1751.00. . . . . . -16.95

Bharti Infratel . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 316.10. . . . . . . . -0.70

Infosys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 767.25. . . . . . . . . 7.95

Indian OilCorp . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 152.05. . . . . . . . -6.40

ITC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292.75. . . . . . . . -1.80

JSW Steel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290.40. . . . . . . . -3.85

Kotak Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1343.25. . . . . . . . . 7.30

L&T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1373.65. . . . . . . . -0.15

M&M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 667.00. . . . . . . . . 8.80

Maruti Suzuki . . . . . . . . .. . . . 7129.45. . . . . . . 21.75

NTPC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135.55. . . . . . . . . 0.75

ONGC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158.10. . . . . . . . . 1.55

PowerGrid Corp . . . . .. . . . . . 198.35. . . . . . . . . 2.05

Reliance Ind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1329.25. . . . . . -24.65

State Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312.80. . . . . . . . -4.25

Sun Pharma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462.45. . . . . . . . -0.70

Tata Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200.55. . . . . . . . -4.60

Tata Steel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 549.05. . . . . . . . -0.25

TCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2070.75. . . . . . . 22.45

Tech Mahindra . . . . . . .. . . . . . 787.15. . . . . . . . . 9.90

Titan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1104.40. . . . . . . . -2.00

UltraTech Cement. .. . . . 4166.85. . . . . . -23.55

UPL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 946.80. . . . . . . . . 5.80

Vedanta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186.65. . . . . . . . -5.05

Wipro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263.70. . . . . . . . . 1.60

YES Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260.05. . . . . . . . -6.80

Zee Entertainment . . . . . . 404.75. . . . . . . . -6.75

EXCHANGE RATES

Indicative direct rates in rupees a unitexcept yen at 4 p.m. on April 08

CURRENCY TT BUY TT SELL

US Dollar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 69.47. . . . . . . 69.79

Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 78.12. . . . . . . 78.49

British Pound. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 90.69. . . . . . . 91.11

Japanese Yen (100) . .. . 62.33. . . . . . . 62.62

Chinese Yuan . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 10.34. . . . . . . 10.39

Swiss Franc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 69.49. . . . . . . 69.82

Singapore Dollar . . . . . . .. . 51.25. . . . . . . 51.50

Canadian Dollar. . . . . . . . .. . 51.96. . . . . . . 52.20

Malaysian Ringitt . . . . . .. . 16.95. . . . . . . 17.04

Source:Indian Bank

BULLION RATES CHENNAI

April 08 rates in rupees with previousrates in parentheses

Retail Silver (1g) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40.9. . . . . . . (40.5)

22 ct gold (1 g) . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 3053. . . . . . (3028)

Retail Silver (1g). . . . . . . . . . . . . 40.9. . . . . . . (40.5)

22 ct gold (1 g) . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 3053. . . . . . (3028)

market watch

08-04-2019 % CHANGE

Sensex dddddddddddddddddddddd 38,700 ddddddddddddd-0.42

US Dollardddddddddddddddddddd 69.67 ddddddddddddd-0.63

Gold ddddddddddddddddddddddddddd 33,215 ddddddddddddddddd 1.3

Brent oil ddddddddddddddddddddd 71.14 ddddddddddddddd1.87

It will take almost a year forthe merger process betweenLakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB)and Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd. (IBHF) to getcompleted, according to atop offi��cial.

“ I feel it might take nearlya year for the transaction toget completed,” said Parthasarathi Mukherjee, MDand CEO, LVB.

Asked what prompted thebank to go in for the mergerwith IBHF, he said: “Earlier,the LVB board decided toraise funds through strategicinvestors. Some amount wasraised through qualifi��ed institutional placement. Since,we could not raise as much

as was needed, we went infor the merger option.”

The merged entity wouldbe named IBHF Lakshmi Vilas Bank. “A lot more workneeds to be done with regard to the merger,” he said.

Meanwhile, the All India

Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) took exceptionto the merger stating thatpublic deposits worth₹��30,000 crore were at stake.LVB should have beenmerged with a public sectorbank instead, said C.H. Venkatachalam, general secretary, AIBEA

In a letter addressed toRBI Governor ShaktikantaDas, he said considering thefragile health of LVB, it wasnecessary for the centralbank to take a holistic viewand merge it with one of thepublic sector banks.

It is important to keep aclose watch on the aff��airs ofprivate banks that deal withthe substantial savings of thepeople at large, he said.

Inability to raise funds prompted the move, he says

N. Anand

CHENNAI

Parthasarathi Mukherjee

Merger with Indiabulls Housingwill take a year, says LVB CEO

State Bank of India (SBI) onMonday invited bids fromstrategic and fi��nancial investors for stake sale in the cashstrapped Jet Airways.

SBI, the lead bank of theconsortium of lenders of JetAirways (India) Ltd., has offered bidders a maximum of75% stake (8,51,98,037shares). The minimum stakeon off��er is 31.2% (3,45,42,383shares).

SBI Capital Markets Ltd.,on behalf of the SBI, has invited expression of interest(EoI) for a change in controland management of Jet Airways. The last date for receipt of EoI is April 10.

Selected bidders are required to submit bindingbids by April 30, 2019.

A competitive bidding

process would be followedfor identifi��cation of a suitable investor to acquire ownership of the company onasis whereis basis.

The winning bidder is expected to settle the obligations of the company in rela

tion to existing bank loanfacilities.

EoIs had been invitedfrom individuals, includingforeign nationals, trusts,cooperative societies, private limited companies, public limited companies, part

nership fi��rms and soleproprietorships. Bidders canbe strategic investors (SIs) orfi��nancial investors (FIs).

In the event of a biddernot being a consortium, theSI bidder should have a minimum net worth of ₹��1,000crore in the immediately preceding fi��nancial year or havefunds available for investment in Indian assets of₹��1,000 crore or more or a minimum of three years of experience in the commercialaviation business.

If the bidder is an FI, thenit should have minimum assets under management of₹��2,000 crore in the immediately preceding completedfi��nancial year or committedfunds available for investment in Indian assets of₹��1,000 crore or more.

A consortium that may bid

would consist of not morethan three members withshareholding of an individual member not being lessthan 15%. There must be alead consortium member totake decisions.

Access to data After conclusion of the EoIstage and following execution of a nondisclosureagreement (NDA) and payment of bid access fee, thequalifi��ed bidders would beprovided access to the dataroom to provide informationabout the company.

Interested parties are expected to submit a preliminary term sheet providing indicative valuation for 100%equity share capital of thecompany and settlement ofall obligations of thecompany.

SBI sets terms for Jet Airways sale Maximum stake on off��er is 75% in the cashstrapped airline; last date for receipt of EoI is April 10

White knight wanted: A competitive bidding process will befollowed for identifying a suitable investor. * REUTERS


MUMBAI

Even as lenders have kickstarted the process of selecting a bidder for Jet Airways,the carrier is reporting a daily loss of more than ₹��20crore with sharp erosion incash fl��ows, company offi��cialssaid.

While Jet’s promoter Naresh Goyal has steppeddown in deference to thewishes of the lenders, itsstrategic partner Etihad Airways is unwilling to takecharge.

To add to its woes, the lenders have declined to disburse the muchneeded₹��1,500 crore loan. Jet Airways, once one of India’s topairlines, is possibly headingtowards oblivion as cash tapsdry up, said the offi��cials. Theover sixmonth delay in the

execution of the rescue planhad made the situation onlydiffi��cult, they added.

Jet Airways, that had reported a negative net worthof ₹��10,370 crore as on December 31, 2018 and bankloans worth ₹��7,500 crore, including aircraft loans, is estimated to have recorded losses of a few thousand morecrore during the January toMarch quarter.

“There is no clear ideaabout how much money theairline might have lost in thelast three months,” said Ansuman Deb, aviation analyst,ICICI Securities.

Analysts said the situationwas grave since there hadbeen no advance cash fl��owsand the working capital requirement had spiralled outof control. Besides, most ofthe fl��eet had been grounded

due to nonpayment of duesto lessors. As on December31, 2018, Jet’s current liabilities had exceeded its currentassets by ₹��9,610 crore and ason March 31, 2019, it mighthave increased by a fewthousand crores.

“From what has been reported by the airline so far,you can easily add ₹��3,000 to₹��4,000 crore to the losses,”

an analyst said, asking not tobe named.

While Jet’s total liability isestimated to be over $2 billion, its assets are no match.

Jet’s assetsThe airline’s assets include16 aircraft which, after loanrepayment, are valued at₹��1,700 crore; it has bookingslots for 220 Boeing 737 MAXplanes, hangar at Mumbai,parking and landing slots atkey airports and the goodwillof a worldclass airline. Itsemployee base is one of thebest in the industry.

Besides, its real estate inMumbai is estimated to beworth more than ₹��800 crore.

Put together, these maystill be insuffi��cient to meetthe liabilities but Jet can fi��nda buyer as it brings diff��erentsets of value proposition to

diff��erent buyers.“For an investor like Tata,

it can immediately augmentinternational market shareby 30% and help them scaleup Vistara without investingfor years to grow the market.

“They may invest ₹��10,000crore but it makes sense,” ananalyst said. Similarly, for aninvestor like IndiGo, Jet Airways can enhance its international market share from2% to 35% at one go.

“One has to think aboutthe replacementcost value.The value of Jet is in what somebody can do with it,” theanalyst said. For a new entrant, it provides market access. For a foreign airline, Jetgets a diff��erent value whilefor private equity investors,who would buy at deep discounts, it would have a diff��erent meaning.

Jet: diff��erent journeys for diff��erent investors Though debtladen and staring at oblivion, the airline can still add value to buyers

Lalatendu Mishra

MUMBAI

With new model launchesand aggressive sales promotion by carmakers failing tolift consumer sentiment, thepassenger vehicle (PV) segment grew 2.7% in 201819,the slowest pace in the lastfi��ve years, according to Society of Indian AutomobileManufacturers (SIAM).

The current year is alsoexpected to be a challengingone for the industry withthe general elections in thefi��rst quarter, along withtransition to BS VI technology later in the year, prompting the industry body to forecast a modest growth of35% in sales of passengervehicles for 201920.

According to SIAM data,passenger vehicle sales inthe last fi��scal stood at33,77,436 units, comparedto 32,88,581 units in 201718.The 2.7% growth follows theoriginal forecast of 810%,which was later revised to6%. This is the slowest paceof growth for the industrysince 201314, when salesdeclined 6.7%.

SIAM president RajanWadhera called for a reduction in GST to off��set the increase of 1015% across vehicle categories prices due toBS VI implementation. “It isimportant to note that we

are in election year. Historical data shows that thegrowth before the electionsremains subdued,” he said.Other factors that aff��ecteddemand included increasein insurance costs, a liquidity crunch and the highestever commodity prices thatforced carmakers to raisevehicle prices, he added.

“However, if we look atthe positive side, we havecontinued to grow. Also, it isthe highestever sales andproduction [achieved] in afi��nancial year,” he added.

Twowheelers, the datashowed, grew 4.85% inFY19, with the industry body forecasting growth of57% for this fi��scal. Likewise,commercial vehicles grew17.55% in 201819 and are expected to see lower growthof 1012% this year.

Seeking lower taxes forthe sector, Mr. Wadhera noted that the change in insurance policy has resulted inprices of twowheelers rising by about 10%. This willgo up further with introduction of BS VI. “The [Centre]should look at lowering GSTfor twowheelers to 18%from 28%. The impact forcars will be higher with BSVI and other safety normsWe need serious consideration from the government,”he said.

SIAM pegs FY20 sales growth at 35%


NEW DELHI

In fi��rst gear: For FY19, the industry clocked the highest salesand production seen in a fi��nancial year. * B. VELANKANNI RAJ

PVs grew 2.7% in FY19,the slowest in 5 years

India’s GDP growth is expected to accelerate moderately to 7.5% in fi��scal year201920, driven by continued investment strengthening — particularly private — improved exportperformance and resilientconsumption, the WorldBank has said.

The real GDP growth isestimated at 7.2% in 201819, the World Bank said inits latest report on SouthAsia ahead of the springmeeting of the World Bankand the International Monetary Fund. Data for thefi��rst three quarters suggestthat growth has beenbroadbased. Industrialgrowth accelerated to7.9%, making up for a deceleration in services. Agriculture growth was robustat 4%. Infl��ation dynamicshave been subdued overmost of FY19, it said.

WB pegsIndia’s GDPgrowth at 7.5%

Press trust of india

Washington

Shares of Lakshmi VilasBank (LVB) hit the upper circuit on the BSE while thoseof Indiabulls Housing Finance (IBHF) slid 5% afterthe entities announced amerger that will give theformer capital and the latteran entry into banking space.

For LVB’s shareholders,for 100 shares, they wouldget 14 IBHF shares, implyinga 36% premium to the closing price of LVB as of April 5,viz. the day on which thedeal was announced, and63% premium to the last sixmonths’ average price.

Shares of IBHF — an NBFC— ended 4.9% lower to₹��858.90 while LVB sharesended 4.96% higher to closeat ₹��97.35. “The merger is awinwin deal for both IBHFand LVB. IBHF gets access to

banking platform, essentially the liability franchisee andprovides longevity to itslending business on a consistent basis,” broking fi��rm Motilal Oswal said in a report.

“This deal will have someadverse transition impact onthe nearterm return ratios,”it added.

Gagan Banga, vicechairman and MD, IBHF, told The

Hindu in an interaction thatIBHF had the capacity to‘digest’ LVB and the ‘ratioscan go down a little bit butnot collapse.’ Another key issue to watch out for is the

regulatory approval sinceIBHF was unable to secure alicence when universal banklicences were given in thelast round.

“The critical question iswhether the deal measuresup to regulatory rigour thatthe RBI is known for. Whilethe deal makes the compliance cutoff�� and is withinthe purview of the policy framework, similar transactions in the past indicate anelement of subjectivity inhanding out banking licences by the RBI,” Edelweiss Securities said.

LVB shares hit upper circuit,Indiabulls HFC falls almost 5% Regulatory approval holds the key to merger


Mumbai

Oil prices rose to a fi��vemonth high on Monday,driven by expectations fortighter global supply fromfi��ghting in Libya, OPECledcuts and U.S. sanctionsagainst Iran and Venezuela. Brent futures gained1.87% to $71.14 a barrel.

Investors already werefocussed on supply duringthe (trading) session asfi��ghting in oilrich Libyathreatened to disrupt exports. “Given the intenseeff��orts of Saudi Arabia andothers to restrict output,there is a sense that losingthe Libyan oil, again, hasthe makings of a supplycrunch,” said John Kilduff��,a partner at Again CapitalLLC in New York.

Oil at 5-monthhigh on Libyaoutput threat

Reuters

NEW YORK



#70929

BUSINESSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

DELHI THE HINDU


IN BRIEF

TVS Motor unveils 4 newvehicles in BangladeshCHENNAI

TVS Motor Co. Ltd., hasexpanded its off��ering inBangladesh by launchingfour new products. Theseinclude premium motorcycleTVS Apache RTR 160 4Vsingle disc, 125cc motorcycleTVS Max 125, 100ccmotorcycle TVS Metrospecial edition and utilityvehicle TVS XL100 heavyduty ‘iTouch Start’. Theproducts would target thegrowing customer demand ineach of their segments.

TKML launchesupgraded SUV, MPVCHENNAI

Toyota Kirloskar Motor Ltd.(TKML) on Mondayannounced the rollout ofupgraded version of its MPVInnova Crysta and SUVFortuner. Innova Crysta is amarket leader in MPVsegment and the newfeatures are applicable inselect grades in dieselvariants. Upgrades forFortuner, which has a 40%share in the MPV segment,are available in select dieselvariants, said N. Raja, DMD,TKML, in a statement.

Equity mutual fund schemessnapped a fourmonth decline in fl��ows in March leading to a marginal increase inthe overall assets of the fundindustry in the last month ofthe fi��nancial year. Incomefunds also saw a huge jumpin infl��ows for the month.

According to data fromthe Association of MutualFunds in India (AMFI), equity schemes saw net infl��owsof ₹��9,014 crore in March,which was more than doublethe previous month’s net infl��ows of ₹��3,948 crore.

If the cumulative infl��owsof equity and equitylinkedsavings schemes are takeninto account, the month sawnet infl��ows of ₹��11,756 crore,higher than February’s₹��5,122 crore, which was the

lowest since January 2017. On an overall basis, the as

sets under management(AUM) of the mutual fund industry grew to ₹��23.80 crorein March, marginally higher

than previous month’s ₹��23.16crore, while registering a 11%increase on an yearonyearbasis that also saw folios rising 16% to touch 8.25 crore.

“The mutual fund indus

try, in one of the most diffi��cult and uncertain years,marked with acute marketvolatility, credit events andborder tensions, has doneexceedingly well, with overall industry growing by 11%and retail by 14%,” said N.S.Venkatesh, CEO, AMFI.

“With interest rates easingand impact of credit eventsalmost normalised, and macroeconomic indicatorsshowing healthy uptrend,the mutual fund industry ispoised to grow at 1718% in201920,” he added.

Income funds Meanwhile, income funds also saw a strong surge inMarch, registering net infl��ows of ₹��13,856 crore asagainst ₹��2,080 crore in theprevious month. Mr. Venkatesh attributed the fl��ows into

income funds to the recentrate cut by the Reserve Bankof India and its dovish stancethat made investors stay invested in such schemes.

The fi��nancial year 201819saw total infl��ows from systematic investment plans(SIPs) of ₹��84,638 crore,which was higher than theprevious fi��scal’s net infl��owsof ₹��67,190 crore. Further, thenumber of SIP accounts ason March 31, 2019 waspegged at 2.62 crore — a littleover 24% higher than 2.11crore as on March 31, 2018.

Incidentally, liquid andmoney market schemes continued to see huge outfl��ows,aff��ecting the overall rise inthe AUM of the mutual fund.In March, such schemes reported outfl��ows of ₹��51,343crore, following last month’soutfl��ows of ₹��24,509 crore.

Infl��ows into equity, income funds surge Aided by interest rate cut and other factors, MF sector poised to grow 1718% in FY20, says AMFI’s CEO


Mumbai

South Korean electronicsmajor Samsung on Mondayintroduced a new line ofsmart televisions with features specifi��cally made forthe Indian market.

“The entire new range oftelevisions, which we arecalling Unbox Magic series,comes with specifi��c featuressuch as personal computer,music system, home cloud,live cast and twoway sharing. These have been developed by out R&D team in India, from insights receivedfrom Indian consumers,”said Raju Pullan, senior vicepresident, consumer electronics, Samsung India.

The new range consists of

smart TVs with size startingat 32 inches and priced₹��24,900 onwards.

Sweetening the deal“The consumer is moving towards ‘smart’ across pricepoints… we are sweeteningthe deal by off��ering consumercentric features and more

importantly, tying up with fi��nance companies across thespectrum to make upgradecycle much more stronger,”he said.

About nonsmart TVs, Mr.Pullan said that overall TVpenetration in India was60% of which 4045% accounted for CRT televisions.

“We see a fast conversionfrom nonsmart to smartTVs, similar to what happened in change from 3G to4G…big strong double digitgrowth. We will transition inline with consumer demand.One key area of focus forSamsung will be productswith are AI and IoTbased.This is not just for TVs butfor all other categories aswell,” he said.

Samsung introduces new line of smart televisions in IndiaConsumer electronics fi��rm to focus on AI, IoT products


NEW DELHI

Raju Pullan

Private lender HDFC Bankon Monday said it wasplanning to raise up to₹��50,000 crore this fi��scal byissuing bonds on privateplacement basis.

“We wish to inform youthat the bank proposes toraise funds by issuing perpetual debt instruments[part of additional tier Icapital], tier II capitalbonds and longtermbonds [fi��nancing of infrastructure and aff��ordablehousing] up to a totalamount of ₹��50,000 crorein the period of next 12months through privateplacement mode,” it said ina fi��ling. The bank said itsboard would consider theproposal on April 20.

HDFC Bankplans to raise₹��50,000 crore

Press Trust of India

New Delhi

Liquefi��ed Natural Gas (LNG)imports fell 9.1% during February 2019, despite globalprices falling, which bucksthe established trend in India where LNG imports risewhen prices fall, accordingto a report by India Ratingsand Research (IndRa).

This change in import behaviour could be explainedby the dual trends of increased production and decreased consumption within India, the report added.

“LNG imports have beengradually declining sinceNovember 2018 and fell 9.1%yearonyear to 68 mmscmd(million metric standardcubic meter per day) duringFebruary 2019,” the reportsaid. “On the other hand,

the Henry Hub prices reduced gradually to $2.7/mmbtu (metric million British thermal unit) in February 2019 from $4.0/mmbtuin November 2018.” “This isin contrast to the historicaltrends seen where LNG imports have increased on areduction in Henry Hubprices,” the report added.

According to IndRa,whose analysis is based ondata from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas,natural gas production rose3.3% in February 2019 compared to a year earlier.

While ONGC registeredan 8.5% increase in naturalgas production, Oil Indiasaw a 2.7% fall; private andjoint venture fi��elds saw amore drastic fall in production of 14%.

‘LNG imports fell 9.1%despite declining prices’Lower consumption driving trend


NEW DELHI

ThoughtSpot to invest$25 mn in India centreMUMBAI

ThoughtSpot, a U.S.basedcompany that is into artifi��cialintelligence (AI) and helpsorganisations empower theiremployees with the ability toquickly uncover datadriveninsights through a Googlelike search, has announcedplans to invest $25 million atits engineering centre inBengaluru to hire talent andsupport its global business. With the new funding,ThoughtSpot would be ableto expand its engineeringcentre in India.

Reliance Industries Limited(RIL) has denied any links toa $1.2billion moneylaundering case being probed inthe Netherlands.

The allegation was Dutchpipeline company, A Hak,NL, earned $1.2 billion inprofi��t by overinvoicing itsservices and works renderedto Reliance Gas Transportation Infrastructure Ltd.(RTGIL), now known as EastWest Pipeline Ltd. (EWPL).

This money was allegedly‘creamedoff��’ to Singaporebased Biometrix MarketingLimited, a company reportedly linked to RIL. Biometrixis the same fi��rm that the In

dian tax authorities areprobing for the ₹��6,500 croreinvestments made in fi��rmsbelonging to RIL or its promoter group in 200708.Asked for comments, an RILspokesperson said, “RIL orany of its subsidiaries neither set up any gas pipeline in2006, nor have contractswith any Netherlands com

pany for setting up of anygas pipeline. Hence, the report cannot relate to RIL.RIL has always compliedwith all rules, regulationsand applicable laws and anysuggestion of impropriety...is emphatically denied.”

RGTIL used to be RIL’ssubsidiary when it wasgranted a licence to set upthe 1400km eastwest pipeline connecting Jamnagar tothe Krishna Godavari basin.

Later, it was hived off�� intoan ‘independent’ fi��rm controlled fully by Mukesh Ambani and renamed EWPL.Last month, Canadian investor Brookfi��eldled India Infrastructure Trust agreed tobuy EWPL for ₹��13,000 crore.

RIL denies links to $1.2 billionmoney laundering probeCase relates to overinvoicing services, works for pipeline


MUMBAI



#70929

CMYK

A ND-NDE


THE HINDU DELHI


SPORT

The Indian squad for the ICCWorld Cup will be selectedon April 15 in Mumbai, theCoA decided on Monday. Ithas also given a oneweekdeadline to TNCA to get required clearances for keeping the IPL fi��nal in Chennai.

The Committee of Administrators (CoA), along withthree BCCI offi��cebearers,met in the Capital to discussvarious issues related to theIPL and Cricket Operations.

The last date for announcing the World Cup squads isApril 23 but the BCCI has decided to announce it eightdays prior to the scheduleddate. The World Cup will begin on May 30 in the UnitedKingdom.

The decision was informally taken at an earlier datebut was announced on Monday.

Meanwhile, Chennai Super Kings will feel a bit un

comfortable after BCCI zeroed in on Hyderabad as thestandby venue for the May12 fi��nal.

‘Get clearances’“We have given them aweek’s time to get clearances for the three closedstands. If they fail to procurethe certifi��cates, the fi��nal willbe shifted to Hyderabad, and

the playoff�� and eliminatorwill move to Bengaluru.Since Sunrisers was runnerup in 2018, it host the fi��nal,”said a senior BCCI offi��cial.

The CoA also decided onthe format of the mini Women’s IPL which will beplayed in Visakhapatnamand Bengaluru. Three teamswill fi��gure in four games, including the fi��nal.

Indian squad for ICC World Cup to be picked on April 15IPL fi��nal in Hyderabad if Chennai fails to get clearance


New Delhi

Two teams with diff��erent philosophies and approaches toT20 cricket fi��nd themselvesin the tophalf of the pointstable after onethird of theseason.

Going into their sixthmatch at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium here on Tuesday, Chennai Super Kingsand Kolkata Knight Ridershave four wins each, with thelatter ahead thanks to ahealthier net runrate.

While CSK has dependedon collective eff��ort, largelyled by spinners, KKR hasmanaged to win from toughsituations thanks to AndreRussell’s heroics.

After starting with two easy wins, CSK had to workhard for its victories againstRajasthan Royals and KingsXI Punjab. It came about because of its ability to win keymoments of a game underpressure.

The focus on Tuesday willbe on how the home teamcontains Russell, who hasbeen in marauding form —scoring 207 runs off�� just 77balls at a strike rate of 268.8.

The fact that CSK’s bowling, especially at the death,is thin and something theteam is well aware of, meansit might have to rely on itsspinners on friendly condi

tions to get him out as earlyas possible.

CSK coach Stephen Fleming though said while Russellhas played a key role, theteam wouldn’t be too fo

cused on the allrounder saying, “We’ve got to be carefulwe don’t focus overtly onRussell. In a team that has(Chris) Lynn, (Dinesh) Karthik and (Robin) Uthappa,

you do that at your ownperil.”

When told about some data which indicates that Russell is slightly more cautiousagainst spinners, when compared to pace, at the start ofhis innings, Fleming said,“You’ve got to put contextaround that as well. It’s no secret and we’re spinheavyanyway.

“So, if there’s an opportunity to changeup to Russell, we will certainly look atit.”

While the spinners havepapered over the defi��ciencies in fast bowling, CSK willwant its key batsmen likeAmbati Rayudu and SureshRaina to fi��nd form.

S. Dipak Ragav

Chennai

Key players: CSK skipper M.S. Dhoni will hope Imran Tahir and Harbhajan Singh turn it onagainst the KKR batsmen on Tuesday. * R. RAGU

Super Kings not overtly focused on containing Russell

The Indian team’s existingsupport staff��, led by chiefcoach Ravi Shastri, stand agood chance of getting an extension. The authorities arereportedly happy with theirwork and are inclined tostretch the contract beyondthe forthcoming World Cup.

Shastri, who succeededAnil Kumble in July 2017,was off��ered a twoyear contract which comes to an endafter the World Cup. India,after losses in two backtoback series in South Africaand England last year, wenton to register its fi��rst everTest series win on Australiansoil.

Shastri had termed theAustralian triumph as greater than the 1983 World Cup

feat, a comment which didnot fi��nd favour with many ofhis teammates who werepart of that epic win.

The support staff�� is learntto have been sounded tocontinue with the team forthe West Indies tour soon after the World Cup.

India is scheduled to playtwo Tests, three ODIs andthree T20 matches. Incidentally, India's last visit to theWest Indies, in JuneJuly2017, had come after theChampions Trophy loss toPakistan with Kumble nottravelling with the team.

The support staff��, comprising batting coach SanjayBangar, bowling coach Bharat Arun and fi��elding coachR. Sridhar, was handpickedby Shastri.

If the Committee of Admi

nistrators (CoA) decides toinvite fresh applications forthe posts, the current lotwould qualify automatically.In that case the processwould have to be initiatedbefore the team leaves forthe World Cup. There is asection in the Board whichbelieves it would not be advisable to create any uncertainty before the team leavesfor England.

It is learnt the authoritiesmay off��er the support staff��an extension which may lastuntil the 2020 T20 WorldCup. There is also no confi��rmation if the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) — Sachin Tendulkar, SouravGanguly and V.V.S. Laxman— may continue to performtheir role when picking thenext coach.

Vijay Lokapally

NEW DELHI

Special bond: Skipper Kohli and coach Shastri are all set to continue their partnership.

Support staff�� likely to get extension

Andre Russell is not just abig, mean machine thatchurns out sixes. There is alot of thought process behind his mayhem in themiddle.

When he surfaced in theinternational cricket in2010, Russell was essentiallya fast bowler — he could generate considerable speed —who could also swing his bataround.

Now, he is a force of nature in the climactic stagesof a T20 innings, blowingaway the opposition attacks,clearing enormous groundwith his brutal blows.

The transformation in hisbatting is striking. He hasfound ways to maximise theimpact of his powergame.

Manipulating the creaseJust look at the manner Russell manipulates the crease.There are times when hestands well behind the lineto get under the yorkers andpick it up on the halfvolley.

And he is able to executethese strokes because of histerrifi��c batspeed and strongwrists that enable him getunder the ball.

If the ball is really full, it isnot uncommon to see himmove still deeper into thecrease, get under the sphere

and dismiss it into thestands.

The 30yearold’s big backswing and the stability of hislegs, that are spread wide tocreate a strong base and utilise the ground forces, lendgreater potency to hisstrokes.

He makes the bowler alterhis plans, plays on his mind.The margin of error againstRussell is very low — and thebowler can run out of options. If it is a length ball,Russell uses his long reach,goes through with the swingand can send the ball on afl��ight between longon andsquareleg.

The shifting of the weightto either leg is done eff��ortlessly by this West Indian.Even on those occasionswhen he is committed onthe front foot and the paceman drops it short, Russellcan quickly change plans,shift weight and fl��ash theball past point or hook andpull it, depending on theline.

Heavy batHe has grown stronger, usesa heavy bat, practises rangehitting and no ground is bigenough for him. Leftarmspin or legspin could be auseful ploy against this marauder. But then, Russell isrunning hot these days.

Russell is much more than a six machineHe has found ways to maximise the impact of his powergame

S. Dinakar

Chennai

Scourge of bowlers: Andre Russell’s monstrous hitting hasoften left the opposition stunned. * K. MURALI KUMAR

Kings XI Punjab returned tohome comfort and winningsways, leapfrogging to thethird spot in the table with asixwicket win over SunrisersHyderabad here on Monday,despite a late minicollapsein a belowpar chase of 151.

The host appeared to havelearnt its lessons in pacingthe chase, Mayank Agarwaland K.L. Rahul ensuringthere would be no hiccups atthe fi��nish a second time.

The duo did not let theearly dismissal of Chris Gayleaff��ect the scoring rate, making individual halfcenturiesand adding 114 for the secondwicket to put the host in control. The only diff��erence wasthe routes they took — Rahulpreferring strokes along theground and Mayank goingthe aerial way.

They seemed to be playingon a diff��erent pitch fromwhat the SRH batsmen hadstruggled on, and the conditions did not make it any easier for the visitors. Dewhelped the ball come on tothe bat better and race to the

boundary faster. Sunrisers’ fumbles in the

fi��eld only compounded theproblems, in particular thesitter dropped by Yusuf Pathan off�� Mayank with the batsman on 42 and Kings needing 37 for victory. Though thehosts lost three wickets in thefi��nal three overs for 16 runs,the RahulMayank stand haddone enough.

UncharacteristicEarlier, it was an uncharacteristically slow knock by Warner, who remained unbeatenon 70 with six hits to theboundary and one over it. Infact, the Sunrisers inningshad a grand total of two sixes— the other one by DeepakHooda off�� the last ball of theinnings. Hooda’s 14 runs off��the fi��nal three deliveries sawSunrisers touch 150.

The presence of Warnerdid give Sunrisers the anchorit needed after losing JonnyBairstow in the second over.The middleorder, which hadcrumbled in the previousgame against Mumbai Indians, made amends. VijayShankar didn’t attemptfl��ashy shots, instead favouring a strenuous partnership.Manish Pandey, mixing caution with aggression, keptthe scoreboard ticking.

However, at 50 for one in10 overs, R. Ashwin’s decision to put Sunrisers in

looked right. Warner struggled to fi��nd the gaps and thepitch stayed slow and low,making strokeplay diffi��cult.His 50 off�� 49 balls was hisslowest IPL halfcentury.

Vijay Shankar nicked Ashwin to Rahul in the 11th overand Mohd. Nabi was run out

by the KXIP skipper who defl��ected a shot from Warner tothe stumps. The Afghanistanplayer had backed off�� almosttoo far down the pitch. Itlooked like the Sunrisersbowlers wouldn’t haveenough to defend, and that’sexactly what happened.

Rahul holds fi��rm, guides Kings home in tense fi��nishMayank, too, chips in during the chase; Sunrisers struggle early on, but a patient knock by Warner helps them post 150

UTHRA GANESAN

MOHALI

Mr. Cool: Rahul kept his nerve to take the side through with a ball remaining. * AKHILESH KUMAR

Prithvi Shaw’s phenomenal talent has been muchtalkedabout and the latestto join the bandwagon isnone other than Brian Larawho has found shades of“Virender Sehwag” inMumbai youngster’s batting style.

Just like Sehwag, Prithviis also a fi��erce cutter of theball and his shortarm pullat times is a carbon copy ofthe ‘Nawab of Najafgarh’.

Amazing maturityLara was all praise foryoung Shaw’s approach. “Isee more of Virender Sehwag in Prithvi Shaw’s styleof batting and think his maturity is amazing,” Laratold Star Sports SelectDugout.

Lara was impressedwatching Prithvi score ahundred on his Test debutin Rajkot last year.

“I saw him play againstthe West Indies last October and he scored a lot ofruns,” he said.

“I think he has been inthe IPL for a couple ofyears and is a senior playeralready. A lot is expected ofhim, he is in a big man’sgame now and has got todo what is necessary.”

Lara seesSehwag inShaw’s batting


New Delhi

SUNRISERS HYDERABADDavid Warner (not out) 70

(62b, 6x4, 1x6), Jonny Bairstowc Ashwin b Mujeeb 1(6b), VijayShankar c Rahul b Ashwin 26(27b, 2x4), Mohammad Nabi runout 12 (7b), Manish Pandey csub b Shami 19 (15b, 2x4), Dee-pak Hooda (not out) 14 (3b, 2x4,1x6); Extras (w-3, lb-5): 8; Total(for four wkts. in 20 overs): 150.

FALL OF WICKETS1-7 (Bairstow, 1.4 overs), 2-

56 (Vijay Shankar, 10.4), 3-80(Nabi, 13.2), 4-135 (Pandey,19.1).

KINGS XI BOWLINGRajpoot 4-0-21-0, Mujeeb 4-

0-34-1, Shami 4-0-30-1, Ashwin4-0-30-1, Curran 4-0-30-0.

KINGS XI PUNJABK.L. Rahul (not out) 71 (53b,

7x4, 1x6), Chris Gayle c Hooda bRashid 16 (14b, 1x4, 1x6),Mayank Agarwal c Vijay Shankarb Sandeep 55 (43b, 3x4, 3x6),David Miller c Hooda b Sandeep1 (3b), Mandeep Singh c Hoodab Kaul 2 (3b), Sam Curran (notout) 5 (3b); Extras (lb-1): 1; Total(for four wkts. in 19.5 overs):151.

FALL OF WICKETS1-18 (Gayle, 3.1 overs), 2-132

(Mayank, 17.1), 3-135 (Miller,17.6), 4-140 (Mandeep, 18.6).

SUNRISERS BOWLINGBhuvneshwar 4-0-25-0,

Sandeep 4-0-21-2, Rashid 4-0-20-1, Nabi 3.5-0-42-0, Kaul4-0-42-1.Toss: Kings XI Punjab.Man-of-the-Match: K.L. Rahul.

Kings XI won by six wicketswith one delivery to spare.

SCOREBOARD



#70929

CMYK

A ND-NDE


DELHI THE HINDU


SPORT

SUDOKU

Solution to puzzle 12594 Solution to yesterday’s Sudoku

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

The devas and Brahma go to the abode of Lord Vishnu. Srimad Bhagavatam gives us Brahma’s praise of Vishnu, saidAkkarakkani Srinidhi in a discourse. Brahma praised Vishnuthus: “Samsara results because of punyas and papas. In thiswheel of samsara, the ten indriyas and fi��ve pranas are thespokes. The qualities of sattva, rajas and tamas constitutethe hub of the wheel. The fi��ve elements — Earth, water, fi��re,wind and ether — the mind, the intellect and the ego makeup the rim of the wheel. This wheel has a fl��eeting existencelike lightning. It disappears as quickly as lightning.

Learned men say that You are the moving force behindthis samsaric wheel. But You Yourself never change. You remain the same always. Since You are resident inside everyjivatma, You are referred to as Paramatma. To You we surrender. Your divine abode — Paramapada — is always sattvic.It is beyond this Prakrti. It cannot be seen by those caughtup in samsara. Qualities like raga (desire), etc are not to befound there. Nityasuris reside there. Paramapada has noboundaries. To reach Your abode, learned men resort toyogic practices. You are present in all creatures. There is noPurushartha worth aspiring for, except You. None can knowYou, unless You will it. Although You reside in everything,You are untouched by the qualities of these entities. Hereare the celestials with me. I am not capable of comprehending You or Your greatness.

The same goes for the devas too. How then can asuraswith their tamasic and rajasic qualities understand Yourgreatness? The four kinds of gross bodies (sthula sareera)namely — jarAyuja, aNDaja, svedaja, udbhijja — were madeby You. You are not dependent on anyone You have inordinate wealth. You are Parabrahma, praised by Purusasukta.”

FAITH

Realising Paramatma 2 Capital plaza was attacked

(2,3)

3 Very little people sleep here?

(7)

5 Recall military on each side

protects revolutionary

country (6)

6 Realistically, can its body

wraps boost up fi��rmness? (9)

7 Moved over snow and was put

down (7)

8 Funny pun on academic who's

alone (13)

14 Perhaps she trips Rabbi who's

introduced to cashier? (9)

16 Lecture on decimal conversion

(7)

18 Crowdup when sculpture

broke (7)

19 Captain took crew, initially

eager on board (7)

20 Dad's relative from North, had

a grand to start with (6)

23 Paddled around river in fl��ood

(5)

11 Heard snoring in valley's

entrance (6)

12 Air trap (8)

13 Scan triggered by unkempt boy

right next to security area

(6,3)

15 Chain gang (4)

16 Overturn garden cart (4)

17 Sceptically approach source of

Yiddish texts of doubtful

origin (9)

21 50% of fi��sh swimming

regularly in ferny green area

of Europe (8)

22 Dismiss nuns eating

sandwiches (6)

24 Stick around, keen to have

Indian diet, say (10)

25 Run away in order to marry

host (4)

26 Scarlet, strangely recalled

bloody affair (6)

27 Old president sounds like an

honest guy (6)

■ DOWN

1 Current trend is to pick up

language in church (7)

(set by Hypatia)

■ ACROSS

1 Community: closer to locality?

(6)

4 Impress Middle East coming

back to bully (6)

9 Literally impacts, say

pronunciation, for starters (4)

10 Top honcho, perhaps in

Romanian capital with foreign

emigrants (10)

THE HINDU CROSSWORD 12595

Muguruza retainsMonterrey Open titleMONTERREY (MEXICO)

Spain’s Garbine Muguruza

successfully defended her

Monterrey Open title when

an injured Victoria Azarenka

retired in the final on Sunday.

Second seed Muguruza was

leading 61, 31 when

Azarenka was unable to

continue because of a leg

injury. REUTERS

IN BRIEF

Warriors clinch top spotin Western ConferenceLOS ANGELES

Golden State Warriors

clinched the Western

Conference’s top seeding

with a victory in its final

regularseason contest

against Los Angeles Clippers

131104 on Sunday.

Elsewhere, Houston Rockets

continued its threepoint

assault, draining a record 27

in a 149113 win over Phoenix

Suns. Rockets broke their

own league singlegame

record with the help of 30

points from James Harden.AFP

Keys downs Wozniacki toclaim Charleston crown CHARLESTON

Madison Keys claimed the

first claycourt title of her

career on Sunday with a

76(5), 63 defeat of Caroline

Wozniacki at the Charleston

Open. It marked the fourth

title of Keys’ career and her

first since winning at

Stanford in 2017. She

defeated three Grand Slam

champions — Jelena

Ostapenko, Stephens and

Wozniacki — on her way to

the title. AFP

IPL: Star Sports 1, 2 & Select 1(SD & HD), 8 p.m.Super Cup: Star Sports 3,8.30 p.m.Champions League: SonyTen 1, 2 (SD & HD), 12.30 a.m.(Wednesday)

TV PICKS

Hockey India, on Monday,confi��rmed the appointmentof Graham Reid as chiefcoach of the India men’shockey team.

The 54yearold Reid islikely to join the team midway through the nationalcamp in Bengaluru that commenced on Monday.

While Reid’s name hadbeen doing the rounds for awhile now, his appointmentwas all but confi��rmed whenHI and the Sports Authorityof India (SAI) forwarded itfor fi��nal clearance to theSports Ministry late lastmonth.

Diff��erences sorted out

There had been reports ofdiff��erences over his salarybut the federation has nowended all speculation. Unlikeprevious coaches, he wouldbe moving base to Bengaluruwith his family.

“Graham Reid is backedby a successful career as aplayer.

He also comes with strongcoaching experience, havingworked with the Australian

and the Netherlands national teams.

“We are hopeful his experience and expertise willhelp the Indian team achievedesirable results leading up

to and at the Tokyo Olympics,” HI president Mohd.Mushtaque Ahmad said.

Reid was part of the Australian side that won silver atthe Barcelona Olympics.

Reid is Team India chief coachWill join the team at the national camp in Bengaluru

HOCKEY

UTHRA GANESAN

MOHALI

On board: John Reid brings to the table his vast experience as coach of Australia and the Netherlands. * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

The Indian men’s monthlong hockey camp begancoachless on Mondaymorning, but by eveningnew chief coach GrahamReid’s appointment wasconfi��rmed by Hockey India.

Reid’s appointment hadbeen held up by the SportsMinistry following diff��erences over his salary. But evenbefore the news of his confi��rmation became offi��cial,Reid received a vote of confi��dence from Ric Charlesworth, the man consideredthe undisputed guru ofmodern hockey.

Reid was assistant toCharlesworth with Australiafor six years before the latter called it a day after winning the 2014 World Cup.Reid was asked to step intohis shoes.

Aware

“Reid knows the international scene and all teamsand players — that is crucialfor someone taking over,with the Olympics nextyear,” Charlesworth toldThe Hindu.

Unlike many, Charlesworth is also aware of thepresent Indian setup, having watched closely duringthe 2018 World Cup as partof the expert broadcast panel. And he believes Reid isthe best person to help theteam take the next step.

“He is the best person tohelp (India) as his approachwill fi��t India’s skillsset andgeneral approach. They areless eff��ective if they play‘safe’. India is on the cuspyet need a little more belief

and some polishing to takethe next step,” he said.

Interestingly, Charlesworth also hoped formerNational coach HarendraSingh would be part of thesetup.

“Reid is a good collaborator and will be able to workwith those already there — Iexpect Harendra might beable to contribute too,”Charlesworth said.

Also interesting would beto see how Reid handles thesenior players in the sideunder the current policy of‘younger legs’.

Word of caution

Charlesworth had axed thelikes of Jamie Dwyer after2014 to build a new Aussieteam for Rio but Reidbrought them back, insisting there was no substitutefor experience.

Charlesworth, however,had a word of caution. “I believe they need to give Reidthe time to make a diff��erence.

“The biggest threat is hemay not be given the time topolish this team — he needsto start soon,” he said.

Graham Reid gets Charlesworth’s backingUTHRA GANESAN

MOHALI

Ric Charlesworth. * FILE PHOTO

Delhi edged Meghalaya10 as the fi��nal round ofthe 73rd National footballchampionship for theSantosh Trophy commenced here on Monday.Ayush Adhikari scored theonly goal of the game inthe 18th minute of theGroup A encounter. The results: Group A: Delhi 1(Ayush Adhikari 18) bt Meghalaya 0; Services 1 (P.C. Lallawmkima 54) drew with Goa1 (Lalawmpuia 51).

Ayush nets for DelhiSPORTS BUREAU

LUDHIANA

Chinese girls down India 21KUALA LUMPUR

Pari Singh won her match but

India was beaten 21 by China

in a groupD league match of

the AsiaOceania World

Junior under14 girls’ tennis

tournament here on Monday.The results (league): China btIndia 21 (Zou Ruirui bt VedaRaju Prapurna 63, 61; SunLiang lost to Pari Singh 26,67(2); Hou Yanan & ZouRuirui bt Veda Raju Prapurna& Pari Singh 62, 62).

Napoli drew 11 with 10manGenoa on Sunday to ensurethat Juventus will have towait another week to seal aneighth consecutive Serie Atitle.

The champion has a 20point advantage on secondplaced Napoli, which it hasbeaten in both headtoheadclashes, with seven games to

go. Juventus, which beat ACMilan 21 on Saturday, needed Napoli to lose to win theScudetto for the 35th time,ahead of its ChampionsLeague quarterfi��nal fi��rst legagainst Ajax next week.

A draw next weekend atSPAL would be enough forMassimiliano Allegri’s side towin the title which would bethe fi��rst in Italy for CristianoRonaldo.

Despite its numerical advantage, Napoli struggled to

contain the visitor which infl��icted the only league defeatthis season on Juventus lastmonth.

Genoa went a man downwhen Stefano Sturaro wassent off�� on 28 minutes following a VAR review for adiving studsup tackle onAllan.The results: La Liga: Real Betis2 (Lo Celso 11, 63) bt Villarreal 1(Funes Mori 13).Serie A: Napoli 1 (Mertens 34)drew with Genoa 1 (Lazovic45+3).

Napoli held by GenoaResult puts Juventus coronation on hold

EURO LEAGUES

Agence France-Presse

Milan

India’s Viswanathan Anandplayed out an easy drawwith Alexander Grischuk ofRussia, while NorwegianMagnus Carlsen racedahead with a crushing winover outofsort DutchmanAnish Giri in the seventhround of Shamkir chesstournament here.The results (sixth round): V.Anand (Ind, 3.5) drew withAlexander Grischuk (Rus, 3.5);Teimour Radjabov (Aze, 3.5)drew with Veselin Topalov(Bul, 3.5); Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Aze, 2.5) drew withDing Liren (Chn, 3.5) MagnusCarlsen (Nor, 5) bt Anish Giri(Ned, 2); David Navara (Cze,3.5); drew with Teimour Radjabov (Aze, 3.5).

Anand drawswith Grischuk


Shamkir (Azerbaijan)

Navneet Kaur struck twiceas the Indian women’shockey team overcame a24 setback in the thirdquarter to level the scores44 in its third matchagainst Malaysia in the fi��vematch series here Monday.

Though it was Indiawhich established a strongposition after taking an early 20 lead, the team madetoo many errors defendingleading to backtoback penalty corners which Malaysia converted.

The results: Malaysia 4 (Gurdip Kirandeep, Nuraini Rashid,Nuramirah Zulkifl��i, NurainiRashid) drew with India 4(Navjot Kaur, Navneet Kaur(2), Lalremsiami).

Malaysia, Indiasplit points


Kuala Lumpur

The Indian boys failed towin a set as New Zealand recorded a 30 victory in theopening league match ingroupD, in the AsiaOceania Junior Davis Cup under16 tennis tournamenthere on Monday.

The sixth seeded India

will next play Indonesia, before taking on the third seedAustralia.

The results (league): NewZealand bt India 30 (JayFriend bt Ajay Malik 64, 63;Corban Crowther bt DiveshGahlot 60, 63; CorbanCrowther & Aukly Wang btSushant Dabas & Ajay Malik 76(2), 61).

Indian boys outplayedSports Bureau

Bangkok

Mohun Bagan on Mondayformed a sixmember committee to investigate thecomplaints regarding themissing and damaged souvenirs of some of its iconicplayers.

Following reports of acomplaint made by the family members of former India captain Gostha Pal thatthe club had misplacedsome of his souvenirs, Bagan acknowledged that ithad received several com

plaints of missing and damaged souvenirs earned byexIndian players (whoplayed for the team).

“Several souvenirs werereturned to their rightfulowners but they complained that many other important souvenirs are missing.

“The Executive Committee has formed a sixmember committee to investigateand fi��nd the whereabouts ofthese prestigious material,”said a statement.

Souvenirs issue: MohunBagan forms panel Complaints received from ex-players


KOLKATA Avika Sagwal upset fi��fthseeded Renne Singla 67(5),76(5), 75 in a closelyfought women’s singlesfi��rst round contest in theZee Bangla Central ExciseOpen AITA Nationalranking tournament at the Bengal Tennis Associationcourts here on Monday.Important results (fi��rstround): Men: Anshu Kumar Bhuyan btArghya Das 46, 61, 61; Parikshit Somani bt Shivam Dalmia 67(5)62, 62; PrithviSekhar bt Tarun Anirudh Chilakalapudi 61, 61; Faisal Qamar bt Sahil Gaware 63, 64;D. Suresh bt Vivek Gautam61, 63; Mohammed Fahadbt Rishi Reddy 26, 64, 61.Women: Shreya Chakrabortybt Akshala Kumar 60, 61;Damera Sunskrithi bt Rupkatha Mukherjee 26, 75, 61;Avika Sagwal bt Renne Singla67(5), 76 (5), 75; AyushiSingh bt Shatavisa Ghosh 63,76(5); Aarthi Muniyan btDhwani Kumar 75, 63; Vanshika Chaudhary bt MedhaviSingh 62, 60.

Avika Sagwalupsets Renne Singla


KOLKATA

Former India captain RahulDravid ticked one of theitems on his bucket listwhen he watched LionelMessi play at Camp Nou.

Dravid, who is on vacation in Spain, took time outon Sunday to watch a La Li-ga match. “It’s one of thethings I’ve always wanted todo. To come to Camp Nou,watch a football match and

to be here, experience theatmosphere is absolutelyelectric,” Dravid toldfcbarcelona.com.

“It’s incredible, I mean tobe able to watch people like(Lionel) Messi and (Luis)Suarez play live is fantastic.So thanks to Barcelona FCfor the hospitality, it’s beenexcellent.”

He was also presented ajersey which had his nameon the back.

Always wanted to visitCamp Nou: DravidPress Trust of India

Barcelona

Valuable keepsake: Rahul Dravid getting a customisedBarcelona jersey from the club president Josep MariaBartomeu, left, and vicepresident Jordi Mestre.

* PICTURE COURTESY: TWITTER.COM/FCBARCELONA



#70929

CMYK


THE HINDU DELHI


SPORT

Djokovic heads into clayseason as World No. 1PARIS

Novak Djokovic moves into

his 20th week as World No. 1

on Monday as the clay season

gets under way. The Serb is

almost 2,500 points ahead of

Rafael Nadal. Japan’s Naomi

Osaka maintained a slender

lead over Romanian Simona

Halep at the top of the WTA

rankings released on Monday.

Osaka now sits 185 points

ahead of Halep, with Czech

pair Petra Kvitova and

Karolina Pliskova in third and

fourth. AFP

IN BRIEF

Caparros sufferingfrom leukemiaSEVILLE

Sevilla coach Joaquin

Caparros announced on

Sunday that he has chronic

leukemia but says the

condition is under control

and will not prevent him

continuing in his job. “I have

chronic leukemia,” Caparros

said at a postmatch press

conference. “I have caught it

early and can live a normal

life. I want to enjoy my job

and for everyone to stay

calm. I’ve had no treatment

and am grateful for the club

giving me the opportunity [to

continue coaching],” he said.AFP

Ko claims first Major titleat ANA InspirationLOS ANGELES

Reigning RookieoftheYear

Ko Jinyoung captured her

first Major title on Sunday,

holding off fellow South

Korean Lee MiHyang to win

the ANA Inspiration by three

strokes. Ko, who is in her

second year, finished with a

10under 278 for her fourth

LPGA title. Ko celebrated her

win by taking the traditional

dip with her caddie in

Poppie's Pond — the water

hazard located off the right

and back of the green on the

18th. AFP

Asian Para Games bronzemedallist Krishna Nagar ofIndia won two gold medalsat the second FazzaDubaipara badminton international championships hereon Sunday.

A day after upsettingWorld No. 1 Jack Shepherdin the men’s singles SS6semifi��nals, Nagar pulled off��the second upset in as many days when he defeatedEngland’s World No. 2Krysten Coombs 2022, 2523, 2112 in the most exciting fi��nal of the day, thatwent over an hour.

“This is the biggest winof my career,” an elated Nagar said before he went onto make it twofortwo,winning the mixed doublestitle along with RajaMagotra.

Team India had a goodrun, at the event fi��nishingwith nine medals includingfour golds on Sunday.

Among others, WorldNo. 1 Pramod Bhagat andParul Parmer took the goldin SL3 men’s and women’ssingles. However, Asian Para Games winner Tarunwent down to FrenchWorld No. 1 Lucas Mazur instraight games 1321, 1721 inmen’s singles SL4 fi��nal.

Krishna Nagarwins two golds


Dubai

The AllIndia Football Federation (AIFF) presidentPraful Patel may considerappointing a big name asthe national team coachonly if the candidate fi��tsthe criteria and the appointment may be done atthe earliest.

The AIFF has receivedmore than 250 applications for the top job, whichis vacant after StephenConstantine resigned following India’s failure tomake the knockouts of theAFC Asian Cup.

“If the candidate fulfi��lsthe criteria, what we arelooking at, and if he is wellqualifi��ed, then we canthink of that (appointing abig name),” the AIFF chiefsaid.

“The appointment willbe made as soon as possible, maybe by the end ofthis month.”

The list of applicants forthe Indian coaching job also includes candidatesfrom the ISL and ILeague.

Coach will beappointed atthe earliest:Praful Patel

Praful Patel. * AFP


NEW DELHI

Olympian Kynan Chenaishot 49 following rounds of24 and 25 in trap in the shotgun World Cup on Monday.

However, there was stiff��competition, in a strongfi��eld of 142 shooters, as 11shooters shot the perfectscore of 50 in two rounds,while 22 others were on 49.

Prithviraj Tondaimanshot 48, following rounds of24 and 24. He was on par

with 29 others on 48.

In women’s trap in whichCaroe Cormener of Franceand Kirsty Barr of Britainwon the Olympic quotaplaces with the gold and silver medals respectively.Shagun wound up well withrounds of 23 and 25, but haddropped eight birds earlierin the fi��rst three rounds.

The results: Women’s trap:

1. Carole Cormener (Fra) 44(121); 2. Kirsty Barr (GBR) 41(120); 3. Silvana Stanco (Ita) 33(121); 26. Shagun Chowdhary115; 50. Rajeshwari Kumari109; 69. Varsha Varman 92.

Chenai starts wellSHOTGUN WC

Sports Bureau

Al Ain (UAE)

P.V. Sindhu will look to shrugoff�� the disappointment ofher recent early exits whenshe spearheads the Indianchallenge at the $355,000Singapore Open, startinghere on Tuesday.

Sindhu has looked off�� colour in the last few weeks.

She made a fi��rstround exit at the All England and lostin the second round of theMalaysia Open, losing to Korea’s Sung Ji Hyun bothtimes. She entered the semifi��nals at the India Open butwent down to He Bingjiao ofChina despite holding advantage in the fi��rst game.

She begins her campaignagainst Indonesia’s LyannyAlessandra Mainaky.

Only titleSaina Nehwal is the only Indian to claim a title this season with the 29yearold securing the crown at theIndonesia Masters following

injury to Carolina Marin ofSpain in the fi��nal.

She also entered the quarterfi��nals at All England afterbattling through a pancreasinfection.

She returned at the Malaysia Open but went down inthe fi��rst round.

The sixthseeded Indianwill now have to be carefulwhen she plays a fastrisingLine Hojmark Kjaersfeldt of

Denmark in the openinground here.

K. Srikanth will continuehis quest to break his titlejinx when he begins his campaign against a qualifi��er.

H.S. Prannoy will faceFrance’s Brice Leverdez,while Swiss Open fi��nalist B.Sai Praneeth has a toughfi��ght ahead against WorldNo. 1 and top seed Japan’sKento Momota.

Sindhu hopes to fi��nd form Sixthseeded Saina pitted against fastrising Kjaersfeldt

SINGAPORE OPEN


Singapore

Focused: P.V. Sindhu will have to put behind her recentdisappointments to do well at the Singapore Open. * AFP

Raider Siddharth Desai hasmoved up the ranks, in termsof value at the Pro KabaddiLeague Season7 playerauction.

In only his second seasonas pro, the Kolhapurbornplayer (base price ₹��30 lakh)was picked up by Telugu Titans for a staggering ₹��1.45crore on Monday. Last season’s highest earner, MonuGoyat (₹��1.51 crore) moved toUP Yoddhas for ₹��93 lakh.

Puneri Paltan and TamilThalaivas were involved in afrenetic threeway bid for theformer U Mumba sensation,Desai. Named the ‘Best debutant’ last season for hispowerpacked raiding andspeed, Desai will team upwith Iranian coach Gholamreza Mazandarani again.

Titans convinced the onlyforeign head coach in PKL toswitch from U Mumba andbid successfully for the 28yearold player, a crowdpuller in his own right.

Thalaivas came close at₹��1.44 crore before Titanssealed the deal. U Mumbadid not execute the Final Bid

Match card. Each of the 12teams is allotted a purse of₹��4.4 crore to recruit a minimum of 18 and maximum 25players.

Paltan used the Final BidMatch card to bring back reputed raider Nitin Tomar for₹��1.2 crore, the second highest bid. Thalaivas had beatenoff�� challengers to get theplayer, only to see him takenaway on a technical point.

Tomar represented Punelast season, so the team heldthe right to match the highest bid by any other franchise for a former player released into the pool.

Thalaivas got RahulChaudhari for ₹��94 lakh in astraight bid.

Nineteen domesticplayers went under the hammer. Iranian Esmaeil Nabibaksh, taken by Bengal Warriors for ₹��77.75 lakh, becamethe secondhighest paid foreigner (Fazel Atrachali at ₹��1crore last season is thetopper).

Several team managements used the Final BidMatch card to retain stars released earlier into the pool.

Those returning to lastseason’s squads were Ravinder Pahal (Dabang Delhi),Girish Ernak (Paltan), Jai

deep (Patna Pirates), Mahender Singh (Bengaluru Bulls),Parvesh Bainswal (GujaratFortunegiants), Vishal Bharadwaj (Titans), ChandranRanjith (Dabang), Nitin Tomar (Paltan), Rishank Deva

diga (UP Yodhas) and Shrikant Jadhav (Yodhas).

Last season, fi��ve domesticplayers earned upwards of ₹��1crore, a season later only twohave made the crorepaticlub.

Siddharth Desai is prize catch Telugu Titans picks up last season’s best debutant for ₹��1.45 crore

Nandakumar Marar

Mumbai

Value for money: Siddarth Desai’s powerpacked raiding in thefi��rst season has reaped rich dividends. * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

PKL AUCTION

Chris Cowdrey had his ownway of being less demonstrative while conducting the VIVO ProKabaddi League Auction 2019 at a South Mumbaifi��ve star hotel on Monday.

Picking a card from a bagheld by his wife, the formercricketerturnedauctioneer,Chris was businesslike, saying: “Anybody wants to kickme of… I am asking for ten(₹��10 lakh), he is going back in

once, twice and done”. The gavel is hit hard on

the sound block and thistime the littleknown playergoes unsold.

But Chris had a busymorning session as franchises bid hard for Iran’s Mohammad Esmaeil Nabibakhsh and Abozar Mighani.

Having done the PKL auction for the fi��rst time lastyear, most in the 12 franchises knew who Chris was — sonof the celebrated England

cricketer and captain, thelate Colin Cowdrey. Chris,now 61, played for Kent andmade his Test debut againstIndia at the Wankhede Stadium in 1984.

Talking to The Hindu hesaid: “I do a lot of charityauctions in the UK, mainlychildren’s.

“This thing is quite new, Idid this last year.

‘New concept’“It’s a fantastic new concept

to us English people becauseyou are not bidding moneyfor a cause, but actually tobuy a player for a franchise.It’s very diff��erent and exciting. I watch the game, but itdoesn’t make any diff��erenceto the auction.

“My job is only to put itout there and see who wantsto bid. It’s not for me to say “Ithink he is a good player. Ihave done mainly cricketauctions, cricket memorabilia, but nothing like this.”

Chris Cowdrey — a less demonstrative auctioneer

Chris Cowdrey.* SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Player auction is a fantastic new concept, says former England cricketer

G. Viswanath

Mumbai

Chennai City FC, havingsprung the biggest surpriseof the tournament by knocking out holder and ISL champion Bengaluru FC in thequarterfi��nals, the ILeaguewinner now has the task ofchallenging ISL runnerupFC Goa in the fi��rst semifi��nalof the Hero Super Cup at theKalinga Stadium here onTuesday.

Chennai City has showngreat discipline and tacticaleffi��ciency in the previoustwo rounds. The team hascome out of the underdogstatus, evident from the wayit prevailed over FC Pune Ci

ty (prequarterfi��nals) andthen against Bengaluru FC.

With these wins, City isexpected to be high on confi��dence while taking on themight of FC Goa, the twotime ISL runnerup.

With a trophy eluding itever since it was founded in2014, the Super Cup crownis high up in the priority ofFC Goa, which has promisedto go full steam in the match.

The side will be missingits key Spanish player in thecreative front, Edu Bedia,due to suspension, but headcoach Sergio Lobera saidthat would not aff��ect theside. “It is true that Bedia isan important player. It willbe one weakness for us, buttomorrow (Tuesday) we willput up a team that will be

competitive enough to tryand reach the fi��nal,” Loberasaid, while suggesting idfi��elder Hugo Boumous is thelikely replacement.

Chennai City will be bebanking on its tested combination of the Spanish troika— Pedro Manzi, Sandro Rodriguez and Nestor Gordillo— that has spearhead theteam’s fortune. With M. Regin suspended, CharlesAnandraj will possibly makehis way back in the side.

“On paper we are not thefavourite as compared to thestrengths of our opponent.

“But when we go to thepitch, we try to give our bestand you have seen what hashappened so far,” said Chennai City head coach AkbarNawas.

Goa is the next hurdle for Chennai City The latter is expected to be high on confi��dence

SUPER CUP

Amitabha Das Sharma

BHUBANESWAR



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