1Friday 31 May to 6 June 2019

Voice of South Asian Community Since March 2002

Vol. 16 Issue 01 Friday 31 May to 6 June 2019 $ 1 www.thesouthasianinsider.com

PM Modi, 57-member team ofministers begin second innings

J Amit Shah Gets Home, Rajnath Singh DefenceJ Nirmala Sitharaman is Finance Minister, S Jaishankar Gets MEAJ‘Team is a blend of youthful energy, administrative experience’, PM Modi

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Shri Shani Dev MandirNew Hyde Park, New York

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2Friday 31 May to 6 June 2019 TRI STATE COMMUNITY

Curtain raiser for Hicksville's India Day Parade heldBollywood Personality Shmatia Shettyheadlined the eventParade will be held on Sunday, August 4th, 2019.Parade will start from Patel Brothers towardsTown Parking opposite Asa Mai Mandir inHicksville

(By Jyoti Gupta) Long Island, NewYork- First time ever, curtain Raiserfor the India Day Parade inHicksville, Long Island was recentlyorganized. The celebration was heldat Theodore Roosevelt Executiveand Legislative Building, 1550Franklin Ave., Mineola. Guest ofHonor was Ms. Shamita Shetty, aBollywood Star. Honorary guest,

Presiding Officer, Nassau CountyLegislator Mr. Richard Nicollelospoke about the Indian Americancommunity. Nassau CountyLegislators Laura Scheffer andJoshua Lafazan gaveproclamations to Ms. ShamitaShetty Bollywood star, as shewas Celebrity guest of Honor fromBollywood.

3Friday 31 May to 6 June 2019 TRI STATE COMMUNITY

Town of Oyster Bay SupervisorJoesph Saladino honors Yash Modi

(By our staff reporter)Long Island , New York : YashModi, student of Jericho HighSchool, son of Sudha andMukesh Modi was recentlyhonored with a Citation byTown of Oyster Bay. Town ofOyster Bay is a municipality inNassau County of Long Island,New York. Town Board which

honored Yash, is comprised ofCouncilmen and is headed byTown Supervisor JoesphSaladino.Yash Modi participated in TheNew York State FBLA (Futurebusiness leaders of America)conference that was held inBinghamton from April 10-12th.Among others, one of the events

held was PSA(Public ServiceA n n o u n c e m e n t )where students hadto make a video onsoft skills andpresent it to panel ofjudges. Yash Modiand his team; thatcame in first place,bring great honorbeing Long Island'snative team fromJericho.Yas h ' s f a t h e rMukesh Modi is ahighly successfulb u s i n e s s m a n &

well respected CommunityLeader, & a Philanthropist.I n a d d i t i o n t o h i s w e l lrecognized success inbusiness and community,Mukesh Modi is also a noblehuman be ing. Mukesh isact ively involved in manysoc ia l and pub l icorganizations.

BJP Victory Celebrated on Long Island

(By our staff reporter)- Hicksville,Long Island: The Indian AmericanCommunity recently held a BJPVictory Celebration at a banquethall in Hicksville, New York.Noted community leaders,activists & businesses ownerslike Nilima Madan, Dr Yash Arya,Mohan Wanchoo, AnimeshGoenka , Mukesh Modi, and Dr.Raj Bhayani were among thepanelists and organizers.Organizers claims to havepresence of more than 300people , who joined the megacelebration of the landslide victoryof BJP Party in the recently held2019 elections in India. Kamlesh

Mehta of Forsythe Media, RaviBhooplapur President and CEOof Xavier Medical College, IDPUSA President Jasbir Singh &Ajoy Joshi President CEO ofSpirit Pharmaceuticals wereamong who graced the event.Presidents of several leadingAssociations, NationalPresident of AIA Dr UrmileshArya, New York Chapter HarishThakkar of AIA, , BhavnaSharma and Satinder Kaur ofHum Hindustani, Pinky Jaggiand Jyoti Gupta of LILC, PastPresident of AIA Gobind Munjalwere also present in victorycelebrations.

4Friday 31 May to 6 June 2019

Mother's Day Celebrated by LILC (Long Island Ladies Council)

(By Jyoti Gupta) : LILC mothers day grand event was heldrecently in a Banquet Hall in Jericho. A beauty pageant was

organized thanks to nishi behl of panache and designer madhumunyal. Former Supervisor , Town of Hempstead, Kate Murray was

Chief guest of the event and also gave awards to few ladies.Program started with LILC secretary introduction of both presidents

Pinki Jaggi & Jyoti Gupta.

Indian American Sandeep M. Patel ofMaryland charged with possession of child porn

(By our staff reporter) Maryland:Pol ice have arrested a HarfordCounty manWednesday oncharges o fpossess ing ch i ldpornography followinga roughly three-monthinvestigation.Sandeep M. Patel,29, of the 1300 blockof Cranesbill Court inBelcamp, is chargedwith eight counts of possession ofchild pornography. Patel was arrestedat his residence without incident and

taken to the Maryland State PoliceBel Air Barrack for processing,

accord ing to a s ta tepolice news release. InFebruary, detect ivesf rom the Ba l t imoreCounty Police InternetCrimes Against ChildrenTask Force began anonl ine invest igat ioninvolving the possessionof child pornography.Detectives discovered a

person online actively pursuing childpornography files, and traced it to anaddress in Harford County.

Dr. Nimisha Shukla runningfor Edison Town Council

Among the candidates vying for theirparty's endorsement in thisyear's Democratic Primaryfor Edison Town Council,one is unique - Dr. NimishaShukla. A 25-year residentof the township, Nimishahas led a life of service toher community as apediatrician, entrepreneur,and phi lanthropist.Apolitical by nature, shewas encouraged to run byMayor Thomas Lankey and will providean independent voice and fresh ideas to

resolving the challenges facing thecommunity. Dr. Shukla'sviews have been shaped byher l i fe experiences.Growing up in a tenement inher native India, she learnedthe importance of prudence,thrift, and hard work inachieving one's ambitions.Caring for her mother in thebattle against depressioninsti l led in Nimisha thedesire and compassion that

have fueled her career in the field ofpediatric medicine.

TRI STATE COMMUNITY

5Friday 31 May to 6 June 2019 TRI STATE COMMUNITY

Vaisakhi Mela organized in Hicksville, Long Island

(By Jyoti Gupta) Hicksville :-Vaisakhi is Sikh new year (Khalsa era)which commemorates the formation ofKhalsa panth of warriors under GuruGobind Singh in 1699. It is additionallya spring harvest festival for the Sikhs.Vaisakhi observes major events in thehistory of Sikhism and the Indiansubcontinent that happened in thePunjab region.

Hicksville Vaisakhi Mela 2019became historical after its success onMay 19th. Onkar Singh‘s dream cametrue to hold Mela in Hicksville and withRajiv Maini, Jay Singh (Hum Hindustani)and Bobby Sidana leadership and Melateam worked hard .Jay Sharma, GobindBathi ja, Mukesh Modi, Mohinder

Miglani, Deepak Bansal, Prince Bagga,Kawal Sahni, Jyoti Gupta, Pinki Jaggi,Jasbir Bawa, Pupal Chopra, NeetuChabra, Arti Majithia, Shikha Sehgal,Gurbhinder Brar, Taranbir Kaur, andothers executed Mela well.

County o f f ic ia ls inc ludedOyster Bay town supervisor JosephSaladino, Kate Murry(Deputy NassauCounty town clerk),Human RightsCommissioner Zahid Syed, LegislatorLaura Schaefer, Presiding OfficerRichard Nicolel lo, Senator KevinThomas, Legislator Arnold Drucker,Nassau County Pol ice Chief wasrepresented by Inspector Vitello, SuffolkCounty Pol ice Department wasrepresented by Commissioner Luis.

6Friday 31 May to 6 June 2019 EDITORIAL

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Modi has a chance to create history PM-elect Modi must use his mandateto resolve Indo-US trade tusslesAs the Narendra Modi

government picks up the threads on India-United States (US) ties, it will find itselfconfronting the most dire of thechallenges the two countries face: tradetensions, with real prospects of rapiddeterioration this time around. India and theUS put ties on pause some months ago asIndia went through seven phases of electionsstretching over nearly 45 days. And the Trumpadministration held off on its threat to endIndia's eligibility for a zero-tariff importprogramme of which India has been thelargest beneficiary, the Generalized Systemof Preferences (GSP). A notification toformalise the threat has been due since May4. But the administration has not issued itwith the expectation that the newgovernment will take another shot at theunderlying differences - as sought byModi government 1.0 - that have defiedresolution for a protracted period of time:chiefly, American demand for greatermarket access to India's dairy andmedical devices sector. Talks could resumewhenever Modi government 2.0 is ready, butit does not apparently have much time. USCommerce Secretary, Wilbur Ross, on arecent visit to India, signalled it could beJune. India wants to save its place onthe programme because it is its largestbeneficiary, exporting to the US morethan $6 billion worth of goods under thisprogramme in 2018. This was 12% of allIndian exports to the US that year and25% of all the GSP imports from 121beneficiary countries. Indian beneficiariesof the programme are small and mediumbusinesses who are crucial to Modi'sMake in India initiative. But they run the

risk of losing their American buyers iftheir products were subjected toregular import duties. The Indiangovernment estimates that the USimport duty on Indian GSP productswithout the zero-tariff cover could addup to more than $190 million. Butbecause the additional cost will bepassed on to consumers, these goodsmight fail the competition test. There isno estimate available of the consequencesfor affected Indian companies, in terms oflost earnings and, most importantly,manpower. While Washington wasprepared to continue these talks withwhichever party won the elections,many analysts argued that the BJPand Modi were "more open to aligningwith US regional strategy" of balancingChina and "more energetic in pursuingeconomic reforms", as noted in a primerprepared for lawmakers by the non-partisan US Congressional ResearchService in March. So Prime Minister Modiit is, 2.0. He received a congratulatorytweet from President Donald Trump onThursday and the two leaders could meetat the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, inthe end of June, although noannouncements have yet been made ofthe prime minister's travels. Engagementsbetween the two countries will continueon the more than 50 areas of ongoingcooperation, such as military exercisesand purchases, Indo-Pacific strategic co-operation, counterterrorism, high-levelmeetings such as the next round of 2+2,education, space, science and so on.Trade will be the most challenging asbefore.

There was a huge difference inthe mood around the country betweenthe morning and evening of May 23. Inthe morning, when the seals of theElectronic Voting Machines (EVMs) werebeing opened, people were filled withrestlessness. The opposition leaderswere more optimistic than NarendraModi's supporters. They seemed to feelthat some miracle in their favour wasgoing to take place. By the eveningeverything became clear. India hadhanded over power to Narendra Modi withmuch greater confidence than before.The majority of more than 90 crore votersof India have expressed their faith in Modi.

To raise doubts and fears at thebeginning of his second inning would bean insult to the millions of voters whohave given this mandate. Narendra Modihas not achieved this only throughpolitical manipulations. ?He providedwelfare schemes to the poor anddeprived. They felt that if these are inplace for another five years and continuein the same manner in which they haveso far, their lives would change for thebetter. Of course, Modi is well aware ofthe challenge. That is why after thishistoric win, in his very first speech hereminded the BJP workers of the party'sslogan 'Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas'. Healso said that we should become morehumble with this victory and should notforget that more responsibility hasnow come on our shoulders. Pleaserecall. For several years, he has beentalking about 2022. it will be the yearof the d iamond jub i lee o f ourIndependence and, on this occasion,he wants that no Indian to be leftwithout housing. Everyone shouldhave enough money for food andclothes. It is clear from his talks andspeeches that he considers 2022 thewatershed for all Indians being ableto get the basic necessities of food,clothes and housing. From here, hefeels, the country will scale newheights of development. It is not aneasy target to achieve. In a pluralisticcountry like India, problems come indifferent shapes and sizes. The statesof the east north and west have givenhim a thumping majority. The states ofthe south which have bucked the Modi

wave have already climbed many stepstowards progress. This duality of the northand the south is dangerous, so much sothat the many fear that the idea of Indiacould disintegrate. To catch up with thesouth, it is necessary to establish atransparent and honest administration inthe northern states. This feels very goodwhen we just say or hear it but the factis, to impose honesty through rules andregulations is easy, but for this honestyto become ingrained in our nationalcharacter is very difficult. In his victoryspeech, the prime minister also said thatwe have succeeded in changing thenarrative of secularism in the country.

Many wonderedwhether if the rulingfront got a majority inRajya Sabha,l theywould start workingmore proactively on theparty's old agenda ofRam Janmabhoomi,Article 370, theCommon Civil Codeetc? And if that is so,then will peace andorder remain intact?He started his previous

tenure on the development plank. Let'shope that he keeps moving in thatdirection. For the country's prosperity, itis of utmost importance that we have goodrelations with our neighbours and peacewithin the country. It's hoped that now theBJP will implement the policy of soothingwounds in troubled areas. The incidentsin the Valley have overshadowed theachievements in the North East. Fiveyears is enough to deal with many of thesefestering wounds. Our relations withPakistan are tied up with this. Let's hopethat Narendra Modi's next election speechwill be based on establishing friendshiprather than focusing on enmity with theequal force. He has the opportunity to dowhat no prime minister has been able todo.We can expect th is f rom h imbecause he has proved himself uniquein many other matters.Modi is the firstprime minister of independent Indiawho despite being a representative ofa right wing party, has outdone thosebehind introducing welfare schemes.That is the reason why even the leftistcadre considered the BJP as their lastresort in West Bengal. Not even asingle candidate of the Left waselected from there. They managed towin only one seat in Kerala. And inTamil Nadu, if they won four seats, itwas in alliance with many partiesincluding DMK.Needless to say, afterJawaharlal Nehru only Indira Gandhienjoyed such popularity. Narendra Modinow has the opportunity to put in aperformance that could be better than anyprevious prime minister. Will he be ableto do this?

7Friday 31 May to 6 June 2019 OP-ED

The story of the Lok Sabha elections is one of a sustained electoral rise of the BJP

The spectacularvictory of the BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP) in theelections to the LokSabha, 2019 across theentire country saw onlythree states bucking thetrend. The BJP drew ablank in Kerala, Tamil Naduand Andhra Pradesh. Butit is not as if BJP has notgained at all in the South.It won a massive victory inKarnataka with 25 out of 28seats, securing a very high55% of votes and nearlywiping out the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular)combine. The BJP alsoperformed exceptionallywell in Telengana, securingfour Lok Sabha seats and19.09% of the votes asagainst one seat and10.37% in 2014. Clearly,the BJP is on its way tobecoming a major playersouth of the Vindhyas,while it extends itspresence in the North,west and east. Is thisaltogether a surprise? Theshort answer is 'no'.When the BJP came intobeing in 1980, theRashtriya SwayamsevakSangh (RSS) seemed tohave decided that it should

strenuously focus onbecoming a party spreadacross the country andshould not remain what itwas then - a party of thenorth.As early as the assemblyelections in AndhraPradesh (AP) in 1983, theBJP entered the fraycontesting 80 of the 294seats and winning 3,securing 2.76% of thevotes. Though its voteshare fell to 1.32% in 1985assembly elections in thatstate, the BJP won eightof the 10 seats itcontested, allying with theTelugu Desam Party(TDP). In 1989, the BJPcontested 12 seats inalliance with the TDP,secured 1.78% of thepolled votes and won fiveseats. In 1994, the BJP didnot have an alliance, andcontested 280 seats on itsown, securing 3.89% of thevotes polled and winningthree seats. In 1999, itcontested 24 seats inalliance with the TDP. Itsecured 3.67% of the votesand 10 seats. This alliancecontinued in 2004, with theBJP winning two of the 27seats it contested and

securing 2.63% of thevotes. There was noalliance in 2009. The BJPcontested in 271 seats,securing 2.84% of thevotes and two seats. In theassembly poll for the thenundivided AP in 2014, theBJP got 4.1% of the votesand nine seats (Telangana5, AP 4) in alliance with theTDP.The BJP drew a blank inpost-bifurcation AP in 2019in both Lok Sabha andassembly elections.Though the BJP contestedin all 175 assembly seatsand 25 Lok Sabha seats,its vote share in theassembly election wasonly 0.84% and only0.91% in Lok Sabhaelections. It won just oneassembly seat inTelangana in December2018. However, in aspectacular victorycontesting on its own in2019, the BJP has won fourLok Sabha seats asagainst 1 seat in 2014. Itsvote share has gone upfrom 10.37% to 19.09%.The Andhra-Telanganatrajectory of the BJP'sgrowth suggests that itbenefited significantly from

the alienation of regionalpolitical forces in thesestates from the Congress.It also seems to havejudiciously combinedcontesting on its own andforming alliances fromtime to time with theregional parties. For a partythat is strongly centralist inits philosophy andfunctioning, this showsconsiderable tacticalflexibility.The BJP enteredKarnataka assemblyimpressively in 1983 itself,contesting 110 seats andwinning 18, with a voteshare of 7.93%. However,it suffered a minor setbackin 1985, contesting 116seats and winning only twowhile seeing its vote sharefall by more than 50% to3.88%. Its performance in1989 was similar, with 118

seats contested, won fourand had a vote share of4.14%. But the BJP madelarge gains in 1994,winning 40 of the 221 seatsit contested and securing16.99% of votes polled. Thegains continued in 1999,with the BJP getting 44seats and 20.69% of thevotes. The BJP posted aspectacular performance in2004, becoming the singlelargest party, winning 79seats and securing 28.33%of the votes polled. It furtherimproved on this in 2008,winning 110 seats and33.86% of the votes polled.Though BJP suffered asetback in 2013, winningonly 40 seats and securinga vote share of only 19.9%, the BJP recoveredimpressively in 2018assembly electionssecuring 33.86% of votes

Among these three states, post-bifurcation AndhraPradesh remains a difficult terrain to conquer for the BJP,while Telangana has given the party significant space andKarnataka sees the BJP as a major player now. It is clear

that the BJP has penetrated the southern regionsubstantially, with a focused long term plan

and 104 seats. The storyof the Lok Sabha electionshas also been one of asustained electoral rise ofthe BJP. In 2014, the BJPalliance got 43.37% ofvotes and 17 seats. In2019, it got 55% of votesand 25 seats. TheCongress got 31.94% andJD (S) got 9.85%) in 2019as against combined 52.22% in 2014 though JD(S)contested separately then.Among these three states,post-bifurcation AndhraPradesh remains a difficultterrain to conquer for theBJP, while Telangana hasgiven the party significantspace and Karnataka seesthe BJP as a major playernow.It is clear that the BJP haspenetrated the southernregion substantially, with afocused long term plan.

After the historic victory ofPrime Minister NarendraModi in the Lok Sabhaelections, he receivedcongratulatory phone callsfrom almost all importantglobal leaders. One ofthem came from ImranKhan, prime minister ofPakistan. According to thegovernment's pressrelease, Mr Modi remindedhis Pakistani counterpart ofhis initial suggestion for thetwo countries to jointly fightpoverty. He alsoemphasised that "creatingtrust and an environment

free of violence andterrorism were essential forfostering cooperation forpeace, progress andprosperity in our region".With every nationalelection or a change ingovernment in either of thetwo countries, there isalways a renewed hope forpeace. In Pakistan, eventhe appointment of a newarmy chief inevitably bringsthe same sentiments to theforefront. Arun Shourie, aformer politician andveteran journalist, has oftensaid that every new Indian

prime ministeroverestimates his abilitiesto achieve the following twotasks: one, improvingrelations with Pakistan;and two, reviving India'sbeleaguered public sectorenterprises. Though madein jest, this commentcarries a kernel of truth. MrModi, too, wasn't immuneto it during his first term inoffice.In an effort to establishpeace, he even made animpromptu visit to Pakistanin 2015 on the birthday ofNawaz Sharif, Mr Khan's

Terrorism is a genuine barrier to India-Pakistan dialogueJolted by his past experience, Narendra Modi was justified in

asking for a halt to terrorism before peace talks could be givena serious consideration

predecessor. However, aweek later, Pakistaniterrorists launched adastardly attack on IndianAir Force station inPathankot and the entirepeace initiative was left intatters. Jolted by thatexperience, Mr Modi wasjustified in asking for a haltto terrorism before peacetalks could be given aserious consideration.There is no harm inreopening talks withPakistan despite the factthat they have achievedlittle in the past. But the

biggest problem isP a k i s t a n - s p o n s o r e dterrorism. With thePulwama terrorist attackfresh in mind, Mr Modi willfind it difficult to move toofar ahead in resuming thedialogue process.

However, a brief pull asidemeeting at the ShanghaiCooperation Organisation(SCO) summit in Junecannot be ruled out. MrKhan's and the Pakistaniarmy's sincerity towardspeace is under scrutiny.

8Friday 31 May to 6 June 2019 OPINION

Three templates Rahul Gandhi and Congress can replicateIn politics, power is de facto,not de jure. Templates from thepast prove it. Take one from theBharatiya Janata Party (BJP)era of AB Vajpayee and LKAdvani. The duo did not alwayshelm the party, yet were alwaysin control of it. They did it asthey had the gravitas to wieldde facto power. If he does quitas Congress president, a morecompelling parallel for RahulGandhi could be the one of PVNarasimha Rao who, after theparty's 1996 defeat, gave upthe top organisational office.He chose instead to lead theCongress's parliamentaryparty. As Sonia Gandhi wasyet to enter active politics,

Sitaram Kesri got the party'sreins. That change of guard didn'thelp the Congress. The party keptfalling apart, prompting Sonia tomove in to stem the decay. Ittook her seven years to restoreit to health and to power in2004.The Rao template did notwork for two reasons: his poorchemistry with Kesri; and theabsence of the Nehru-Gandhifamily awning. Sonia's 1998arrival on the scene stabilised theparty. It also constrained thevaulting ambitions of Rao's peers.One such man, among others,was Arjun Singh.Rahul is still adistance away from the scholarlyRao's parliamentary prowess.But he has to take that job, if not

the Congress president's. Havingrepeatedly challenged NarendraModi to a debate in the pollcampaign, he cannot now berunning away from it. To makethat happen, the 1996 templatecan be applied in the reverse:Mallikarjun Kharge, who led theparty in the 16th Lok Sabha,being made the Congress chiefwith Rahul taking up his role inthe new House. The Karnatakaveteran has lost the election. Hecannot be in parliament but hasthe administrative experience, theseniority and the social identityas a Dalit to head the Congress.Kharge's name hadn't excited themedia and the political elite in2014 when he became the leader

Rahul Gandhi's 'tragic hero' act deserves no sympathy; Congress needs honest assessment if it wants to be politically relevantThe Congress party hasslumped to the second-worstelectoral drubbing in its history.Narendra Modi has still not yettaken oath for a secondconsecutive term as primeminister. Already, efforts are onto project Grand Old Partychief Rahul Gandhi as the"tragic hero" let down by hisfoot soldiers. Post yet anotherdebacle, Rahul apparently haspulled up some senior leadersand state chief ministers forpushing the agenda of theirsons, but the irony of UPAchairperson Sonia Gandhipushing his case is probablylost on him. One report,quoting a party leader present

at the Congress WorkingCommittee meeting that tookstock of the fiasco, noted thatPriyanka Gandhi Vadra deemedeveryone else responsible for thedrubbing. The AICC generalsecretary in charge of easternUttar Pradesh apparently "losther cool more than once duringthe four hour" meeting and said:"All those responsible for theparty's defeat are sitting in thisroom". If the report is to bebelieved, she even accused theleaders of abandoning herbrother: "Where were you whenmy brother was fighting all byhimself and alone?"Meanwhile, conflicting reportssuggest the Congress president

is "adamant" on stepping down,but an emotional party isapparently "begging" the Gandhiscion to stay and not desert theCongress in its darkest hour.Yawn. We saw this script unfoldin 2014 when Rahul was thevice-president of the Congress.Five years of 'relaunches' laterthe Gandhi scion, now the partychief, has presided over yetanother humiliating loss. Howhas the accountability been setso far? Foot soldiers haveresigned and are resigning evenas this column is being written.Six party unit chiefs - includingRaj Babbar from Uttar Pradeshwhere Priyanka was parachutedin as general secretary - have

resigned taking "moralresponsibility". The party'sveteran handler in Maharashtra,Ashok Chavan - who lost andsubmitted his resignation onSaturday - told media that polldefeat was a "collectiveresponsibility" and not that ofRahul alone. Such bhakti maybring tears to the eyes. Yet, noone needs to shed tears over theCongress. And honestly, it isnobody's but the party's businessto address the crisis. The issue,however, is that Indian democracyneeds a strong Opposition tofunction as an essential part ofthe system of 'checks andbalances'. This is more of anecessity now than ever before

due to the enormous mandatethat BJP has received, andcentralization of that power inModi's hands. The Congressis still the only party suited toperform that role, but itsresurrection is impossibleunless it addresses theparadox central to itsexistence. The paradox is thatit remains in fear of a splitunless a Gandhi sits on topand yet it shall be run agroundprecisely because a Gandhisits on top. The first steptowards a redemption,therefore, for the Congress isto acknowledge and internalisethat this disaster is of Rahul'sown making.

Amit Shah, Narendra Modi have chance to convert BJP's fledgling footprintinto solid hold on south India, final bastion for party to breach

Chances are, incontrast to most BJP leaders andactivists who would becelebrating their mammothvictory, glancing with pride at thesaffron-splashed map of India,when Amit Shah looks at it, hiseye would not fall with delight atthe hue that has covered statesfrom Kashmir to MadhyaPradesh, Gujarat to ArunachalPradesh, or the big new splashingof it in Bengal, Odisha and NorthEast but rather on the 100-oddseats of south India where thecolour is anything but saffron.The three states of Tamil Naidu,Andhra Pradesh and Telanganahave been politically representedstrongly by regional parties

rooted in a combination oflinguistic pride and sub-nationalism, sense of an "evolvedculture", distinct movies and auniquely local flavour of socialjustice and welfare governance.These factors, in conjunction,proved to be the high wall for theBJP to scale -- whose perceptionas a Hindi party even before itsHindutva is considered fordecades. In the past, theperception that it was as an uppercaste Brahminical party hinderedit from planting roots in aDravidian culture. Kerala's strongsense of Leftist orientation andstrongly pronounced secularoutlook have proved to be adeterrence. Karnataka had given

BJP a chance, but the leadershipthe party provided and thegovernance it offered proved adampener. When Tamil Nadureeled under protests against aSupreme Court verdict onjallikattu, the BJP was not at thelead. Whenever Kaveri river waterdisputes erupt, the party is nottoo sure of its position. When aseparate Telangana was a questof its people, or when AndhraPradesh demands specialcategory status, the BJP has notfound its footing. Little wonder,the party was ecstatic when itfound a hook in Sabarimala inKerala, hoping a single issuewould propel it to harness itsstrong foundation of RSS

of the party in the Lok Sabha.But he pleasantly surprised thesceptics with his sense of history,his knowledge of parliamentaryprocedures and emphaticinterventions in chaste

Hindustani. As a makeshift ortenured Congress president,his would be a veneratedpresence. His advancing yearsand long stint in public lifequalify him for the post.

network in the state to gainparliamentary seats, which didnot materialise. It was the firstreal emotive issue for it in thesouth which it led and foundpublic salience, and it takes asteep curve ahead to harvestMPs. Leaders are created bymovements, but it takes smartlocal leaders to identify potentialissues -- the BJP has largelybeen bereft of both. A few leadersof the previous generation werecommitted to the party, butwithout adequate hunger, orcapacity, to grow it. The BJP hasalso not found such badlymanaged states where theeconomy has floundered, crimehas taken over society, and

opportunities lacking as is it didin Uttar Pradesh or Bihar or WestBengal in the south.The various governments here,despite the corruption and casteriddles socio-political contexts,have delivered sound economicgrowth, jobs opportunities, betterinfrastructure and welfare thatactually reaches and touchespeople across the south. Thishas meant that there has neverbeen a strong, ready-to-eat-pieof anti-incumbency or politicalvacuum for the BJP to grab.In short, the traditionally ruledBJP ruled states, or its Gujaratmodel does not come across asa salivating prospect or an idealfor people.

9Friday 31 May to 6 June 2019 VIEWPOINT

The crisis in the regional parties

Although the BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP)'s spectacularvictory, and the rout of theCongress, in the 2019 election haselicited most public attention, thereis a third dimension to the verdict.India's major regional parties, andthose who see themselves as apossible third front of Indian politics,have also faced major setbacks,throwing many of them into crisis.From the leading social justiceparties of the Hindi heartland toregional formations led by veteranleaders in the west or south,there is a sense of shock aboutthe scale of the defeat andanxiety about what lies ahead.

Take the nature of the crisis first.The Rashtriya Janata Dal did notwin a single seat in Bihar. Itssupremo, Lalu Prasad, remainsin jail; there is a feud among hissons; and the man hailed as hisnatural successor, TejaswiYadav, has failed to lead the partyin this election. Come to UttarPradesh. And despite aformidable alliance on paper,Samajwadi Party (SP)'s AkhileshTadav has failed to improve hisparty's 2014 tally in the LokSabha. The SP has five seats;his own family members,including his wife Dimple, lost;and there are murmurs of dissent.

Don't dilute the RTI and the forest rights ActsWith the 2019 general

election yielding a decisivemandate for the NationalDemocratic Alliance (NDA),attention will soon turn to the newgovernment's legislative agenda.As the government is returningto power for a second term, it isimportant to take a look at thelegislative issues that aroseduring its first tenure, and whatthat might mean for theforthcoming five years.The period from 2014 to 2019was significant as it saw twolandmark laws complete 10years in operation: the Rightto Information Act (2005) andthe Forest Rights Act (2007).While these two laws appear,at first glance, to be radicallydifferent, there is one thingthat unites them: they bothseek to achieve social justiceby altering a long-standingand un jus t se t o f powerre la t ions. The Right toInformation Act (RTIA) doesthis by removing secrecy fromgovernment ac t ion, andopening up affairs of the Stateto public scrutiny. Information

is power, and, in this way, theRTIA changes the balance ofpower between the citizen andthe State, to the benefit of theformer. Similarly, the ForestRights Act (FRA) recognisesand guarantees the rights ofind igenous people andtraditional forest dwellers toforest land. Based upon thepr inc ip le that eco log ica lconservation is best achievedin cooperation with indigenousforest dwel le rs , and byrecognising them as rights-bearers, the FRA takes awaypower f rom fores tbureaucracy, and vests it in

some of the most vulnerableand marginalised citizens ofour polity.The last tenure of the NDA,however, saw someunfor tunate a t tempts toundermine these laws. Whilepoor implementation remaineda consistent concern, theattempts also went fu r ther.Fo r examp le , a b i l l wasin t roduced to amend theR T I A c t t o d i l u t e t h ei n d e p e n d e n c e o f t h ein fo rmat ion commissionersunder the RTI regime, andsubject them to the control ofthe government.

India could well be headed for more centralisationunder the second NDA government

10Friday 31 May to 6 June 2019 INDIA-CURRENT AFFAIRS

1.Rajnath Singh - Minister of Defence2.Amit Shah - Minister of Home Affairs3.Nitin Gadkari - Minister of Road Transport and

Highways; and Minister of Micro, Small andMedium Enterprises

4.DV Sadananda Gowda - Minister of Chemi-cals and Fertilizers

5.Nirmala Sitharaman - Minister of Finance; andMinister of Corporate Affairs

6.Ramvilas Paswan - Minister of Consumer Af-fairs, Food and Public Distribution

7.Narendra Singh Tomar - Minister of Agricul-ture and Farmers Welfare; Minister of RuralDevelopment; and Minister of Panchayati Raj

8.Ravi Shankar Prasad - Minister of Law andJustice; Minister of Communications; andMinister of Electronics and Information Tech-nology

9.Harsimrat Kaur Badal - Minister of Food Pro-cessing Industries

10.Thaawar Chand Gehlot - Minister of SocialJustice and Empowerment

11. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar - Minister of Ex-ternal Affairs

12.Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ - Minister of

Human Resource Development13.Arjun Munda - Minister of Tribal Affairs14.Smriti Zubin Irani - Minister of Women and

Child Development; and Minister of Textiles15.Harsh Vardhan - Minister of Health and Fam-

ily Welfare; Minister of Science and Technol-ogy; and Minister of Earth Sciences

16.Prakash Javadekar - Minister of Environment,Forest and Climate Change; and Minister ofInformation and Broadcasting

17.Piyush Goyal - Minister of Railways; and Min-ister of Commerce and Industry

18.Dharmendra Pradhan - Minister of Petroleumand Natural Gas; and Minister of Steel

19.Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi - Minister of MinorityAffairs

20.Pralhad Joshi - Minister of Parliamentary Af-fairs; Minister of Coal; and Minister of Mines

21.Mahendra Nath Pandey - Minister of SkillDevelopment and Entrepreneurship

22.Arvind Ganpat Sawant - Minister of Heavy In-dustries and Public Enterprise

23.Giriraj Singh - Minister of Animal Husbandry,Dairying and Fisheries

24.Gajendra Singh Shekhawat - Minister of Jal Shakti

Center Minister’s

1. Santosh Kumar Gangwar -Minister of State (IndependentCharge) of the Ministry ofLabour and Employment2. Rao Inderjit Singh - Ministerof State (Independent Charge)of the Ministry of Statistics andProgramme Implementation;and Minister of State(Independent Charge) of theMinistry of Planning3. Shripad Yesso Naik -Minister of State (IndependentCharge) of the Ministry ofAyurveda, Yoga andNaturopathy, Unani, Siddhaand Homoeopathy (AYUSH);and Minister of State in theMinistry of Defence4. Dr. Jitendra Singh - Ministerof State (Independent Charge)of the Ministry of Developmentof North Eastern Region;Minister of State in the PrimeMinister’s Office; Minister ofState in the Ministry ofPersonnel, Public Grievancesand Pensions; Minister of Statein the Department of AtomicEnergy; and Minister of Statein the Department of Space5. Kiren Rijiju - Minister of State(Independent Charge) of the

Ministers of State (Independent Charge)Ministry of Youth Affairs andSports; and Minister of State inthe Ministry of Minority Affairs6. Prahalad Singh Patel -Minister of State (IndependentCharge) of the Ministry ofCulture; and Minister of State(Independent Charge) of theMinistry of Tourism7. Raj Kumar Singh - Ministerof State (Independent Charge)of the Ministry of Power;Minister of State (IndependentCharge) of the Ministry of Newand Renewable Energy; andMinister of State in the Ministryof Skill Development andEntrepreneurship8. Hardeep Singh Puri -Minister of State (IndependentCharge) of the Ministry ofHousing and Urban Affairs;Minister of State (IndependentCharge) of the Ministry of CivilAviation; and Minister of Statein the Ministry of Commerceand Industry9. Mansukh L Mandaviya -Minister of State (IndependentCharge) of the Ministry ofShipping; and Minister of Statein the Ministry of Chemicalsand Fertilizers

Second PM Modi, 57-member team of ministers begin second inningsNew Delhi: In a completerejig of the Cabinet Com-mittee on Security, PrimeMin is te r Narendra Modihas tapped BJP chief andc a b i n e t d e b u t a n t A m i tShah as the country’s newhome minister. Making wayfor him would be RajnathSingh, who will now handlet h e d e f e n c e p o r t f o l i o .Nirmala Si tharaman hasbeen sh i f t ed t o t he f i -n a n c e m i n i s t r y, w h i l eformer foreign secretary SJaishankar is the new Ex-t e r n a l A f f a i r s M i n i s t e r.

Both Shah and Jaishankarwere surprise picks in thecabinet, making up for thevoid left by Arun Jait ley,w h o b o w e d o u t c i t i n gh e a l t h r e a s o n s , a n dSushma Swaraj, who wasdropped from Modi’s newteam. The new Council ofM in is te rs compr ises 58n a m e s , i n c l u d i n g t h epr ime min is te r, w i th 25holding cabinet positions,nine Ministers of State withIndependent charge and24 Ministers of State.

Here’s the complete listof who got what ministry

in the Narendra Modicabinet:

Na rend ra Mod i - P r imeM i n i s t e r a n d a l s o i n -charge of Ministry of Per-sonnel, Public Grievancesand Pensions; Departmentof Atomic Energy; Depart-ment of Space; and all im-portant policy issues; andall other portfolios not al-located to any minister

B e s i d e s S w a r a j ,e i g h t - t i m e M P M a n e k a

G a n d h i , s i x - t i m e M PR a d h a m o h a n S i n g h ,Mahesh Sharma, JayantS inha, Jua l Oram, RamK r i p a l Ya d a v,R a j y a v a r d h a n S i n g hR a t h o r e , a l l f r o m t h eBJP, and Anupr iya Pate l( o f BJP a l l y Apna Da l )

f a i l e d t o m a k e t h e c u tdespi te winn ing the i r re-s p e c t i v e s e a t s .A n a n t k u m a r H e g d e , aH i n d u t v a l e a d e r f r o mKarnataka who is knownfor his controversial state-ments, was also dropped. (Contd on page 11)

11Friday 31 May to 6 June 2019 INDIA-CURRENT AFFAIRS

1. Faggansingh Kulaste - Minister of Statein the Ministry of Steel2. Ashwini Kumar Choubey - Minister ofState in the Ministry of Health and FamilyWelfare3. Arjun Ram Meghwal - Minister of State inthe Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs; andMinister of State in the Ministry of HeavyIndustries and Public Enterprises4. General (Retd) VK Singh - Minister ofState in the Ministry of Road Transport andHighways5. Krishan Pal - Minister of State in theMinistry of Social Justice and Empowerment6. Danve Raosaheb Dadarao - Minister ofState in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs,Food and Public Distribution7. G Kishan Reddy - Minister of State in theMinistry of Home Affairs8. Parshottam Rupala - Minister of State inthe Ministry of Agriculture and FarmersWelfare9. Ramdas Athawale - Minister of State inthe Minist ry of Socia l Just ice andEmpowerment10. Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti - Minister of Statein the Ministry of Rural Development11. Babul Supriyo - Minister of State in theMinistry of Environment, Forest and ClimateChange12. Sanjeev Kumar Balyan - Minister of Statein the Ministry of Animal Husbandry, Dairyingand Fisheries13. Dhotre Sanjay Shamrao - Minister ofState in the Ministry of Human Resource

Ministers of StateDevelopment; Minister of State in theMinistry of Communications; and Ministerof State in the Ministry of Electronics andInformation Technology14. Anurag Singh Thakur - Minister of Statein the Ministry of Finance; and Minister ofState in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs15. Angadi Suresh Channabasappa -Minister of State in the Ministry of Railways16. Nityanand Rai - Minister of State in theMinistry of Home Affairs17. Rattan Lal Kataria - Minister of State inthe Ministry of Jal Shakti; and Minister ofState in the Ministry of Social Justice andEmpowerment18. V Muraleedharan - Minister of State inthe Ministry of External Affairs; and Ministerof State in the Ministry of ParliamentaryAffairs19. Renuka Singh Saruta - Minister of Statein the Ministry of Tribal Affairs20. Som Parkash - Minister of State in theMinistry of Commerce and Industry21. Rameswar Teli - Minister of State in theMinistry of Food Processing Industries22. Pratap Chandra Sarangi - Minister ofState in the Ministry of Micro, Small andMedium Enterprises; and Minister of Statein the Ministry of Animal Husbandry, Dairyingand Fisheries23. Kailash Choudhary - Minister of State inthe Ministry of Agriculture and FarmersWelfare24. Debasree Chaudhuri - Minister of State inthe Ministry of Women and Child Development

(Contd from page 10)S u r e s h P r a b h u a n d J PNadda (both Rajya SabhaMPs) also did not f ind aplace. Speculation is rifethat Nadda, who was madeBJP's UP in-charge, maysucceed Shah as pa r t ypresident.

H a r d e e p S i n g hPur i , a fo rmer d ip lomatwho l os t t he e lec t i ons ,m a n a g e d t o r e t a i n h i sberth. Jaishankar and Puriwill have to enter Parlia-ment w i th in s i x monthsand they could take theRajya Sabha route.

Key BJP ally JD(U)stayed out of the govern-ment in what appears to bea sign of differences with thesaffron party over the num-ber of ministerial berths of-fered to the party.

While the inclusion ofShah, seen as BJP's keystrategist who helped theparty expand its base aftertaking over the reins of theparty in 2014, was the sub-ject of intense speculationsince the party's spectacu-lar v ictory on May 23,

Jaishankar, consideredclose to Modi, was a surprisepick.A seasoned diplomat,Jaishankar was the Indiangovernment's points-man forChina and the US. Son of thelate K Subrahmanyam, oneof India's leading strategicanalysts, Jaishankar was akey member of the Indianteam which negotiated thelandmark Indo-US nucleardeal. He retired from the In-dian Foreign Service (IFS)last year to join Tata Trusts.

Uttar Pradesh ac-counted for a max imumof n ine m in i s te rs wh i l estates l ike West Bengal ,w h e r e t h e B J P h a d aspectacular showing win-ning 18 seats, accountedf o r t w o m i n i s t e r s —B a b u l S u p r i y o a n dD e b a s r e e C h a u d h u r i .K e r a l a , w h e r e t h e B J Pdrew a blank, had a to-ken representat ion in VM u r a l e e d h a r a n , t h eR a j y a S a b h a M P f r o mMaharashtra.Copyright Network18 Me-dia and Investments Ltd2016. All rights reserved.

12Friday 31 May to 6 June 2019 INDIA-CURRENT AFFAIRS

Raghuvansh Prasad blames Lalu's sons for RJD's poll debacle

(By Our Staff Reporter)-Rashtriya Janata Dal's(RJD) senior leader andformer union ministerRaghuvansh Prasad Singhon Tuesday joined his partycolleague and legislator fromGaighat constituency inMuzaffarpur district,Maheshwar PrasadYadav, by openlyrevolting against thedynastic politics inthe party.Singhc a t e g o r i c a l l yblamed party chiefLalu Prasad's twosons, Tej Pratapand Tejashwi Yadavfor the party's rout inthe state andsuggested that theyshould introspectand actaccordingly."Theongoing feud between TejPratap and Tejashwi has ledto the party's worst

performance ever in the LokSabha polls," Singh, said,adding that the party shouldhave acted tough by takingdisciplinary action againstTej Pratap when he hadopenly turned rebelliousand was damaging the

prospects of the party'sofficially nominatedcandidates.This was the

worst performance by RJDin any LS election in the last22 years. The party hadcontested 19 seats inalliance with the Congressand four other regionalparties under the umbrellaof the Grand Alliance (GA)

but miserably failed to openits account. RJD leaderssharing Singh's views said

Raghuvansh Prasad Singh categorically blamed partychief Lalu Prasad's two sons, Tej Pratap and TejashwiYadav for the party's rout in the state and suggested

that they should introspect and act accordingly.

that there were at least twoseats where the party lostprimarily due to TejPratap's ant i -par tyactivities but no actionwas taken againsthim."This election threwopen rampant disparitiesprevailing in the party.When former MP andsenior leader MAA Fatmirevolted and announced hewould contest theMadhubani seat as anindependent after beingdenied a ticket, the partyleadership (read Tejashwi)wasted no time insuspending him. However,when Tej Pratap not onlyfielded rebel leadersagainst RJD's officialnominees in a couple ofseats but also campaignedfor them, the partyleadership remained silent.If this continues, the partywill cease to exist," saidanother legislator, whorequested anonymity.Reports of dissent againstTejashwi's autocratic styleof functioning have also

started emanating fromseveral districts whereleaders and grass rootworkers are demandingLalu's youngest son to ownresponsibility for the party'srout and step down. RJDstate president RamChandra Purve, however,clarified that the partybelieves in collectiveownership in both victoryand defeat. He saidTejashwi remains RJD'sface in Bihar and the partywill contest the 2020assembly polls under hisleadership. He denied thatTejashwi will step down.The opposition hailedSingh's a l legat ionsagainst the Tej brotherswith its leaders statingthat Lalu Prasad's sonshave spoiled the party'slegacy and prospects.JD (U) senior leader andnational spokesperson KC Tyagi said that peoplewi th lack of pol i t ica lunderstanding andexperience have takenover the par ty 's

helm.Tyagi said,"Tejashwai indulges innegative politics. Theparty has ignoredinterests of several topleaders, who had stoodby Lalu during the earlydays of the party. Theyare no more involved in thedecision making."BJPleader and Begusarai MPGiriraj Singh said thatTejashwi should own moralresponsibility for theparty's debacle and stepdown. Tej Pratap's appealto Tejashwi Minutes beforethe RJD's all importantreview meeting began atthe residence of formerchief minister Rabri Devion Tuesday evening todiscuss reasons behindtheir rout, disgruntledleader and Lalu-Rabri'seldest son, Tej PratapYadav sent an emotionalletter to his youngerbrother and party's chiefministerial candidate,Tejashwi Yadavdistancing himself fromresults.

13Friday 31 May to 6 June 2019 INDIA-CURRENT AFFAIRS

Ashok Gehlot's team rebuts charge he campaigned for son at party's cost

(News Agencies)- Rajasthanchief minster Ashok Gehlot hadspent only a fraction of his timeto campaign in Jodhpur for hisson Vaibhav Gehlot, officialsconsidered close to the CMclaimed on Tuesday to counterallegations that his pre-occupation with his son'scampaign led to the Congress'sdevastating loss in the state.The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)had won all 25 Lok Sabha seatsin the western state, less thansix months after the Congresswrested power from VasundharaRaje-led BJP government.The officials close to the CMprovided a list of public meetingsaddressed by Gehlot inRajasthan during the Lok Sabhaelection campaign to claim thathe addressed 104 rallies ofwhich only 14 were in his son's

constituency, Jodhpur. Theofficial also said that Gehlotparticipated in fi l ing ofnomination papers of 22 of the25 Congress Lok Sabhacandidates and visited every LokSabha constituency at leastthrice.Gehlot has come under fire afterCongress president RahulGandhi at the CWC meet hadblamed some leaders for puttingtheir sons above the party andreportedly expressedunhappiness at the RajasthanCM spending a week in Jodhpurto campaign for his son andneglecting the state. Vaibhav,who was making his politicaldebut from Jodhpur againstsitting MP and union ministerGajendra Singh Shekhawat, lostby over 3 lakh votes.On Tuesday, both Gehlot and

Rajasthan Congress presidentSachin Pilot met party generalsecretary and in-charge ofeastern Uttar Pradesh,Priyanka Gandhi. Local leaderssaid Pilot met Priyanka at RahulGandhi's residence, followed byGehlot.However the agenda ofdiscussion was not known.Later, both of them also metparty's general secretary in-charge of organisation K CVenugopal.The Congress in Rajasthan hascalled for a state executivemeeting on Wednesday inwhich a resolution requestingCongress president RahulGandhi to withdraw hisresignation is likely to beadopted. The meeting will beattended by AICC generalsecretary in-charge of

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had won all 25 Lok Sabha seats in thewestern state, less than six months after the Congress wrested power from

Vasundhara Raje-led BJP government .

Rajasthan, Avinash Pande andAICC secretary, Vivek Bansal,Gehlot and Pilot.Even as Pande asked the stateleaders not to express their viewon election results in public aftertwo ministers Ramesh Meena andUdai Lal Anjana in Gehlot cabinethad sought a need to find outreasons for the loss and fixaccountability, two more partyleaders aired their views on public.On Tuesday, Rajasthan PradeshCongress Committee secretary,

Sushil Asopa, in a Facebookpost, said that state Congresspresident and deputy chiefminister Sachin Pilot should havebeen made chief minister insteadof Ashok Gehlot. "Whereveryou go in Rajasthan, you hearone voice - Congress. Theresul ts of the Lok Sabhaelections would have beendifferent had the party madeSachin Pilot chief minister asa reward for his hard work overfive years," he wrote in Hindi.

Delhi High Court agrees to hear PILfor population control in India

(News Agencies)-The Delhi HighCourt on Tuesday agreed to heara PIL seeking directions to theCentre to implement measuresto control the country's risingpopulation on the ground that itwas the root cause behind risein crimes, pollution and dearthof resources and jobs.Thepetition was mentioned before abench of Chief Justice RajendraMenon and Justice Brijesh Sethiwhich allowed it to be listed forhearing on Wednesday.The pleaby BJP leader Ashwini KumarUpadhyay, who is also a lawyer,has sought implementation of therecommendations for populationcontrol made by the NationalCommission to Review theWorking of the Constitution(NCRWC) headed by Justice

Venkatchaliah."The NCRWC, after makingimmense efforts for two yearsand elaborate discussion, hadsuggested addition of Article47A in the Constitution andformulation of PopulationControl Law."Till now theConstitution has been amended125 times, hundreds of newlaws have been enacted, butpopulation control law, utterlyrequired for country, is notmade, though it will curtail morethan 50 per cent problems ofIndia," the petition said.It alsosought an order from the courtdeclaring that the Centre "mayset two-child norm, as a criteriafor government jobs, aids andsubsidies, and, may withdrawstatutory rights viz.

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday agreed to hear aPIL seeking directions to the Centre to formulation

of Population Control Law.

I-T dept to summon top MP govt officials,politicians, relatives of CM Kamal NathThe I-T department will soon summon top officials of the Madhya Pradesh

government, politicians and relatives of Chief Minister Kamal Nath as part of itsprobe into an alleged "widespread and well-organised" hawala racket of about

Rs 281 crore unearthed during the Lok Sabha polls, sources said on Tuesday.(News Agencies)- Officials saidthe Income Tax (I-T) departmentwill also issue notices forappearance to some of Nath'sclose aides based in statecapital Bhopal and hisconstituency, Chhindwara, as partof its action to widen the probe intothe case. As the cash and thehawala deals had "clear links" tothe poll process, according tosources, the ElectionCommission (EC) will issuenotices to certain Congresscandidates who contested therecent parliamentary polls fromvarious seats in MadhyaPradesh.Their names figured in anI-T appraisal report prepared by thedepartment after raids wereconducted at 52 locations inthe state and in Delhi lastmonth.The report had alreadybeen submitted to the EC andthe Central Board of DirectTaxes (CBDT), the sourcessaid.Nath and his aides hadearlier termed the I-T actionagainst them as malicious."All these fake statements oftheirs (I-T department)...theythemselves make statements.They themselves give it to the

press. So, if they are playingpolitics, well...there is no end topolitics," the chief minister hadtold PTI. The probe in the matterhad to be widened and peoplewhose role in the case had beendetected had to be confronted withcertain documents and otherpieces of evidence, and theirstatements had to be recorded,the sources said. Seniorbureaucrats of at least half-a-dozen government departments ofthe state, Congress politicians,heads of some state government-appointed federations, promotersof business groups, familymembers and business partnersof Nath and his businessmanbrother-in-law and his aides,

including former OSDs PravinKakkar and R K Miglani, wereexpected to be called forquestioning, they added.Thiscould not be done till now as anumber of them said they werebusy with poll-related works, thesources said. The I-T department,in its report submitted to the EC andthe CBDT, has chronicled theevidence collected during the two-day-long raids, based on which thepoll panel has asked theDepartment of Personnel andTraining (DoPT) to considerasking the CBI for a probe as theallegations of this illegal moneytransfer during the polls "hadbasic evidence and the chargesare serious".

14Friday 31 May to 6 June 2019 INDIA-CURRENT AFFAIRS

Saamna slams Mamata for decliningModi's swearing-in ceremony invite

(News Agencies)- BJP's ally ShivSena has slammed West BengalChief Minister Mamata Banerjeefor her decision to skip PrimeMinister Narendra Modi's oath-taking ceremony."If NarendraModi becomes Prime Ministeragain, then democracy will be indanger, such doubts wereexpressed by opponents.Mamata Banerjee was amongstthe foremost people who made suchnoise of fighting against Modi'sdictatorship. But Modi has beenelected democratically and is takingoath within the constitution," ShivSena mouthpiece "Saamna" said inits editorial titled "Ishwariya

Yojana". "Mamata has declinedthe invitation for the swearing-inceremony. It is true that therewas violence during polls...Inviting the relatives of thosekilled in violence cannot be areason to refuse the invitation.These are Indians and notBangladeshis and they have aright to be in Prime Minister'sswearing-in ceremony likeanyone else," it said.AccusingMamata and her par tyTrinamool Congress of notbeing democratic, the editorialsaid, "There was a cycloneduring elections in Odisha whichcaused wreaked havoc in the

Hooch tragedy: 2 die in UP’s Sitapurafter 18 deaths in Barabanki; 2 held

(News Agencies)- At least twopeople have died and four takenill from drinking spurious liquorin Uttar Pradesh’s Sitapurdistrict, officials said onThursday, days after 18 deathswere reported from the adjoiningBarabanki district earlier thisweek.The deaths come after 18 peopledied from drinking toxic alcoholin Barabanki as an exciseinspector and two other accused,including the owner of the shopwhere liquor was sourced from,were arrested on Wednesday.Six people have been arrested sofar in connection with theincident.Officials feared the death toll inBarabanki was likely to go up asmany of 56 others, who had alsotaken il l after consumingspurious liquor, were in acondition critical at hospitals inLucknow and Barabanki.Sitapur’s superintendent ofpolice (SP) LR Kumar said thosewho have died and taken ill

consumed the country-madeliquor purchased from the illicitliquor manufacturer KanhaiyaKumar.The senior police official saidKanhaiya Kumar and one of hisaides have been arrested forcausing deaths and riskinghuman lives by causingadulteration.He said four people who weretaken ill after consuming liquorhave been rushed to King GeorgeMedical University’s trauma

centre in Lucknow.Inspector of Mahmoodabadpolice station Gopal NarainSingh said the two men who diedhave been identified as VinodKumar of Faizanpur village andSumeri of Bijaura village. Theirbodies have been sent for a post-mortem examination. Theinspector said an alert has beensounded in the area to preventany further deaths and thatvillagers are being made awareof the dangers of spurious liquor.

15Friday 31 May to 6 June 2019 SOUTH ASIA

Pakistan, left out by Bimstec invite forPM Modi oath ceremony, responds

(Agencies)- Pakistan has tried todownplay India's decision not toinvite Imran Khan for NarendraModi's swearing-in on Thursday,claiming that the Indian PrimeMinister's "internal politics" donot permit him to extend aninvitation to his Pakistanicounterpart.The government onMonday announced in New Delhithat it has invited leaders fromBIMSTEC countries to PrimeMinister Modi's inauguration,leaving out Pakistan, which isnot a part of the seven-memberregional grouping.The BIMSTEC(Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-

Sectoral Technical andEconomic Cooperation)comprises Bangladesh, India,Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand,Bhutan and Nepal.Reacting toreports that India has not invitedPrime Minister Khan to PrimeMinister Modi's inauguration,Foreign Minister Shah MehmoodQureshi said a meeting for thesake of dialogue to find a solutionto the Kashmir issue, as well asSiachen and Sir Creek disputes,would have been a significantmeasure instead of attending theswearing-in ceremony."His(Prime Minister Modi's) entire

focus (during the electioncampaign) was on Pakistan-bashing. It was unwise to expectthat he can get rid of thisnarrative (soon)," Qureshi wasquoted as saying by Dawn news."India's internal politics did notpermit him to extend aninvitation," he said.Modi and Khan are scheduled toattend the Shanghai CooperationOrganisation (SCO) summit inKyrgyzstan next month.In 2014,then Pakistan premier NawazSharif had attended PrimeMinister Modi's swearing-in heldon May 26 in New Delhi whenthe leaders o f SAARCcount r ies wereinvited.Speaking to Geo Newson Monday, Qureshi said Modihad congratulated Khan afterhe won the general electionlast year and wrote a letter aswell.Prime Minister Khan,breaking the ice in bilateral ties,spoke to his Indian counterpartModi on Sunday and expressedhis desire to work together for thebetterment of their peoples.

The focus on BIMSTECwas long overdue

(Agencies)- Ending suspense onthe list of international invitees forNarendra Modi’s swearing-inceremony on May 30, theMinistry of External Affairs (MEA)has revealed that Bimstec, or theBay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical andEconomic Cooperation, leadersalong with the president of theKyrgyz Republic and the primeminister of Mauritius have beeninvited. Mr Modi’s swearing-inceremony in 2014 had leadersfrom Saarc (South AsianAssociation for RegionalCooperation) countries andMauritius in attendance. Whilethe inclusion of the KyrgyzRepublic was helped by the factthat the Central Asian country is

the current chair of the ShanghaiCooperation Organisation, thepivot from Saarc to Bimstec ispretty much on expected lines.Bimstec is now increasinglyseen as India’s attempt atregional multilateralism withoutPakistan, which has itself toblame for this exclusion. Thelatest bout of frustration in NewDelhi started with the KathmanduSaarcs summit in 2014.Pakistan vetoed connectivityagreements on the table when allother countries were ready tosign it. Pakistan’s intransigencestemmed from its fear of Indiangoods overwhelming its marketsand a desire to put obstacles inIndia-Afghanistan trade andconnectivity.

16Friday 31 May to 6 June 2019 ADVERTISEMENT

17Friday 31 May to 6 June 2019 SPECIAL FEATURE

Xavier University School of Medicine Aruba holds FoundationStone Laying Ceremony for new $60 Million campus

Ms. Jurina Lanoy- Maduro sings the Aruba National Anthem

Xavier President Ravishankar Bhooplapur, The HonorableMr. Danguillaume Oduber Minister of Health, Tourism &

Sports and The Honorable Dr. Armando Lampe TheEducation, Science, & Sustainable Development Minister

with members of the Xavier Board of Trustees perform thelaying of the first stones for the new campus!

The Xavier Board of Trustees presents The Honorable Dr.Armando Lampe The Education, Science, & Sustainable

Development Minister with an award for his outstanding leadership

Xavier President Ravishankar Bhooplapur addresses theaudience at the ceremony

Members of the Aruba Parliament in attendance at the ceremony President Bhooplapur and The Honorable Mr. Danguillaume Oduberwith Xavier students

Plans for the new Xavier Campus

(Press Release) New York : XavierUniversity School of Medicinerecently held their Foundation StoneLaying Ceremony for new campus.Xavier's new campus will sit on over15 acres of land. Constructionstarted in April of 2019 and phaseone will open July of 2020. Oncecompleted the entire campus willfeature a housing complex, diningfacilities, sport courts and a full stateof the art academic block andresearch facilities.

President RavishankarBhooplapur was joined by TheHonorable Danguillaume Oduber,Aruba Minister of Health, Tourism,and Sports and The Honorable Dr.Armando R. Lampe, Aruba Ministerof Education, Science, &Sustainable Development for theperforming of the foundation stonelaying. President Bhooplapur andboard of trustee members, Dr. J.G.Bhat, Mr. Edwin Casey, Mr. FrankCroes, Dr. P. K. Prahalad and Dr.

Ravindra Kota were honored to bejoined by; Mr. Juan E. Thijsen,President of the Aruba Parliamentand Mr. Alan Howell, Vice Presidentof the Aruba Parliament, as well asmany other Members of the ArubaParliament and other distinguishedguests.Xavier Chancellor Dr. J.G. Bhataddressed the audience during theceremony and spoke about thegrowth and development of theUniversity over the past decade.

Xavier President RavishankarBhooplapur spoke about thegrowing need for quality physiciansand thanked the Government ofAruba for their continued supportand hospital i ty, and ArubaInvestment Bank (AIB) for theirefforts in helping to finance thisproject. This was a historic momentas it signified Xavier's commitmentto the island of Aruba as an excellentlocation for students to receive ahigh quality medical education.

18Friday 31 May to 6 June 2019 INDIA-CURRENT AFFAIRS

Rajasthan Congress in disarray; all guns trained on Ashok Gehlotfor focussing on son's campaign, neglecting other seats

(News Agencies) - "This is ahistoric win for the BJP and thecredit goes to Narendra Modiand Amit Shah. Their leadershiphas put the nation first," formerRajasthan chief ministerVasundhara Raje said after thesaffron party decimated theCongress in the state in theLok Sabha elections, winning all25 constituencies.Theleadership she describesappears missing in theRajasthan Congress, whichfaced an embarrassing defeat inthe state only months after

winning the mandate in theAssembly elections (albeit by anarrow margin). Amid a row overCongress president RahulGandhi reportedly insisting onresigning from the post, the turmoilin the Rajasthan Congress hascome to the fore, with all gunstrained on Chief Minister AshokGehlot. At the meeting of theCongress Working Committee,at which Rahul offered to step downas the party chief, Gehlot wasone of the three senior leaders -besides Kamal Nath and PChidambaram - who Rahul accused

of placing their sons above theparty. His sister and Congressgeneral secretary PriyankaGandhi Vadra also said thatthe entire top brass of the partyhad not supported Rahul andhad left him alone to fight it outagainst Prime MinisterNarendra Modi. Ashok Gehlotwith Sachin Pilot and RadhulGandhi. Twitter@RahulGandhiThere have been reports ofdisarray in the RajasthanCongress, with several ministersdemanding that accountabilitybe fixed for the colossalelectoral defeat and action betaken against thoseresponsible for the poll debaclein the state. The current state ofpolitical affairs in Rajasthanis reminiscent of the weeksleading to the Assemblyelections, when there werereports of clashes betweenGehlot's camp and that ofcurrent Deputy Chief MinisterSachin Pilot, who is also thepresident of RajasthanCongress.

Kerala man unzips in front of womancrew in Saudi Airlines flight, detained

(News Agencies) -Civility seems to be on the wanenot only in public places, but alsoin flights.In a latest case ofsexual offence against woman,a 24-year-old man from Keralaflying from Jeddah to New Delhiunzipped his pants on beingstopped by a lady cabin stafffrom lighting a cigarette. Theman has been identif ied asAbdul Shahid Shamsudeen,a resident of Kottayam inKerala. The accused was onboard a Saudi Airlines flightwhen the incident took place.According to airport sourcesin Delhi, Shamsudeen first

verbally abused the woman crewmember and refused to stop fromlighting a cigarette. "The mancreated a ruckus. When thewoman cabin staf f ca l ledh e r c o l l e a g u e s f o ra s s i s t a n c e , t h e m a na l l e g e d l y u n z i p p e d h i spants and made obsceneg e s t u r e s , " a s o u r c esaid.After the f l ight landedin Delhi, the crew membersreported the incident to theairport opera t ions con t ro lcentre fo l lowing which theCentral Industrial SecurityForce (CISF) personnel wereinformed.

19Friday 31 May to 6 June 2019 CONTD

PM Modi, 57-member team of ministers begin second innings

Ringleader of Student Loan Debt Relief Scheme Liablefor $11 Million in Settlement of FTC Charges

Trump weighs plan to choke off asylum for Central Americans

The Moneyball Fix for Immigration Policy

(SAI Bureau) New Delhi:Narendra Modi was today swornin as India’s Prime Minister fora second term in the presenceof foreign leaders, toppoliticians and spiritual leadersat a ceremony loaded withsymbolism and grandeur. PMModi, 68, strode into theforecourt of the majesticPresidential palace,Rashtrapati Bhawan, just a littlebefore 7 pm to a roar ofapplause.The Prime Minister, who worea beige Nehru jacket, wassworn in by President Ram NathKovind just before sunset. Hissenior-most minister RajnathSingh took oath immediately

after him, followed by Amit Shah,BJP president. The nationalelections that Modi fronted alongwith master strategist Amit Shahdelivered the Bharatiya JanataParty’s best-ever performancewith 303 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha earlier thismonth.Among others who have takenoath as ministers in the 58-strong central council ofministers are BJP leaders NitinGadkari and DV SadanandaGowda, ex-foreign secretary SJaishankar and NirmalaSitharaman.BJP president and a confidant ofPM Modi for two decades, AmitShah, was the big entry in the

new cabinet and is likely to beassigned the finance portfolio.Arun Jait ley, the f inanceminister in the outgoinggovernment, had ruled himselfout of the government due tohealth reasons.Later in the evening, Modidescribed his team as “a blendof youthful energy andadministrative experience”“Honoured to serve India!,” PMModi said in a message onTwitter that popped up as theceremony began.

Congress presidentRahul Gandhi, who has beeninsistent on stepping downfrom the party’s top post afterleading it to a crushing defeat

in the national election, was alsoat PM Modi’s swearing-inceremony. Seated next to himon the front row is mother, UPAchairperson Sonia Gandhi andleader of opposition in RajyaSabha Ghulam Nabi Azad.

B J P v e t e r a n s L KAdvani and Murl i ManoharJoshi were also seated withformer Lok Sabha SpeakerSumitra Mahajan and VicePresident Venkaiah Naidu.Bihar Chief Minister Nit ishKumar was also present.PM Modi had f irst moved theoath ceremony in 2014 from oneof the ceremonial halls in thepresidential palace to themagnif icent forecourt to

accommodate an audience inthousands, not a few hundred.Today, there was an audienceo f mo re t han 6 ,000 andi n c l u d e d l e a d e r s o fBIMSTEC countries, PrimeMinister of Maur i t ius andP r e s i d e n t o f K y r g y s t a n .BIMSTEC member-s ta tesa r e B a n g l a d e s h , I n d i a ,M y a n m a r, S r i L a n k a ,T h a i l a n d , N e p a l a n dBhutan.PM Modi had again used hisoath ceremony to signal thedirection of his foreign policywhen New Delhi invited leaders ofBIMSTEC countries that covers allcountries in India’s neighbourhoodminus Pakistan.

President DonaldTrump wants to overhaul theU.S. immigration system so thatit stops favoring visa applicantswith U.S. family ties, andinstead gives priority to highlyskilled applicants and those withjob offers. The proposal is basedon the assumption thatimmigrants’ educationalcredentials—what theadministration calls “merit”—willlead to increased U.S. wagesand immigrants who betterintegrate into U.S. culture.Immediately after it wasannounced, the proposal drewcriticism from all sides. ManyRepublicans don’t think it goesfar enough to combat illegalimmigration, while others on theright want total immigrantadmissions to be cut. ManyDemocrats, meanwhile, don’twant to roll back the system’shumanitarian, family-orientedprinciples that have worked wellover decades, and also want toresolve the status of America’s11 mill ion undocumentedimmigrants.The whole idea of “merit” is alightning rod in a highly charged

issue. But there’s a smarter wayfor both sides to think about whowe let in, and why. The Trumpadministration is on to somethingwhen it says we need a new wayto evaluate immigrants, onethat pred ic ts the i r fu turesuccess as Amer icans.Indeed, considering futureimmigrants’ contributions isnow commonplace inimmigration policies around

the world. But the Trumpadministration’s idea of how todo this is too basic. ManyDemocrats, for their part, are tooquick to dismiss any kind ofevaluation as anti-humanitarian:Done right, it actually wouldconsider family and otherhumanitarian factors, and likelyset new arrivals up for greatersuccess in their new country.Call it Immigration Moneyball.

to any product or service.The proposed modified final orderagainst Duong contains bothinjunctive and monetary relief.The order conta ins an$11,000,215.25 judgment ascompensatory relief to theFTC and permanently bansDuong from the telemarketingindustry. The Commission vote

author izing the fil ing of astipulated modified order forpermanent injunction, monetaryjudgment, and compensatorycontempt relief as to defendantTuan Doung was 5-0. The FTCfiled the documents in the U.S.District Court for the CentralDistrict of California on May 29,2019.

Indian Restaurant owner accused of paying manager $400 a month, 'taxing' her $370 a monthKaur said she paid for the

items herself after Raizadapromised to reimburse her, but hehad not.In a statement, she estimatedRaizada owed her about $24,300in wages and about $13,300 inwork expenses.Kaur said she confronted Raizadaabout her wages after returningfrom India. Raizada said shewould have to pay taxes, andsuggested she pay him $35,000and work in his kitchen for up to$200 a week."He then said that he was a NewZealand citizen and that my visawas dependent on him and that I

should not play with my families[sic] future," her statement said.Akshay Dame, who did a worktrial with Raizada, said in astatement Raizada told him hewould need to fork out $35,000if he wanted the manager'sposition.He declined the offer as it was"illegal" and he "did not want tobe part of that". He did not recallseeing an employmentagreement, rosters nor "anysort of record keeping" whileworking for Raizada.But Raizada called his threeformer employees "blunt liars",saying he "never took money

from any b******".He was "just [a] skinny guytrying to make a living", Raizadasaid at Monday's hearing."All those people, I don't thinkthey have the guts to stand infront of me and say those things.I think they're fools, all of them,"he said."I helped these people, but now,after today, I won't even help myown aunt. You do good for thecommunity, but the communityturns on you." Immigration NewZealand inspector John Maxwell,who had spent 22 years as apolice officer, told the hearing hebelieved the witnesses.

Maxwell started the investigationinto Raizada in 2015, beforehanding the case over to labourinspector Laurie Norton.In February, under separatecharges brought by ImmigrationNZ, Raizada pleaded guilty to acharge of providing falseinformation and a charge ofobtaining by deception. Hiscompany Maharajah India Ltdpleaded guilty to two charges ofemploying unlawful workers.Raizada was ordered to do 80hours' community work and topay $5000 in reparation to Kaur,with $1500 paid immediately andthe rest at $50 a week.

plans to crack down onmigration at the southern border,including new tariffs on Mexicothat he announced Thursdaynight. Trump said he wouldimpose a 5 percent duty on allgoods coming from Mexicostarting June 10 to pressure thatcountry to do more to stopmigrants from Central Americansfrom entering the United States."The Tariff will gradually increase

until the Illegal Immigrationproblem is remedied," Trumpwrote on Twitter.Earlier Thursday, Trump hinted atchanges to his administration'sborder policy as he departed forColorado, telling reporters he was"going to do something verydramatic on the border" and wouldannounce it in a "big leaguestatement.""It will be a statement having to

do with the border and havingto do with people illegallycoming over the border," hesaid. "And it will be my biggeststatement, so far, on theborder. We have broughtsomething to the light of thepeople. They see now it's anat ional emergency, andmost people agree."Trump said on Thursday thathe would not be closing the

border as he has threatenednumerous times. "The asylumprocedures are ridiculous," headded. "No place in the worldhas what we have in terms ofridiculous immigration laws."Trump said last month that arecent deal with Mexico onauto exports wouldn't count ifthe country fai led to stopCentral American migrantsfrom illegally crossing the border.

The president said he would giveMexico one year to curb illegalbord e r c r o s s i n g s b e f o r epull ing the tr igger on newtariffs - a softening of hisearl ier threat to close theborder entirely, but one thatcould sti l l inf l ict economicdamage on both countries.The Washington Post firstreported the plan to move aheadwith the tariffs.

20Friday 31 May to 6 June 2019 US & THE WORLD

US fighter jets and missiles arein China's rare-earth firing line

China accounts for as much as 95% of global output and the USrelies on the Asian nation for 80% of its rare-earths requirement.

(Agencies) - China's gripon the global market forrare-earth metals gives itthe ability to targetAmerican weaponry in itstrade war with the US.Everything from LockheedMartin Corp.'s F-35 JointStrike Fighter jet to guidedmissiles and lasers usedto determine targets relyon the elements to performkey functions. Chinaaccounts for as much as95% of global output andthe US relies on the Asiannation for 80% of its rare-earths requirement.Rare earths, which despitethe name are more widelyavailable than preciousmetals in the Earth's crust,have been thrust into thespotlight by a series ofmedia reports in Chinasignaling Beijing is gearingup to use the minerals asa counter in its trade battlewith Washington. Tit-for-tattariffs on a slew ofcommodities includingsoybeans, natural gas andaluminum have alreadyroiled global markets andthreatened globaleconomic growth."The factthat rare earths are on themenu again means Chinais using its most powerfulpolitical tool in theresources space," saidSimon Moores, managingdirector at BenchmarkMineral Intelligence, an

industry researcher. "Rareearths are a nichespecialty and critical to theDefense Department."The US imported $160million worth of rare-earthmetals and compounds in2018, an increase of 17%from the prior year, butdown from $519 million ofrefined rare-earths in 2012,according to the USGeological Survey.Each F-35 Lightning II aircraft --considered one of theworld's mosts o p h i s t i c a t e d ,

maneuverable and stealthyfighter jets -- requiresapproximately 920 poundsof rare-earth materials,according to a 2013 reportfrom the US CongressionalResearch Service. It's thePentagon's mostexpensive weaponssystem and the first fighterdesigned to serve threebranches of the US military.Rare earths includingyttrium and terbium areused for laser targeting andweapons in Future CombatSystems vehicles,

according to theCongressional ResearchService report. Other usesare for Stryker armoredfighting vehicles, Predatordrones and Tomahawkcruise missiles.The Pentagondidn't immediately respondwhen asked about theissue. Bedrock RequirementThe Department of Defenseaccounts for about 1% oftotal US consumption ofrare earths, according to a2016 report from the USGovernment AccountabilityOffice. Still, "rare earthsare essent i a l to theproduction, sustainment,and operat ion o f USmi l i ta ry equ ipment .Reliable access to thenecessary mat e r i a l ,regardless of the overalllevel of defense demand, isa bedrock requirement forDOD," the GAO said in thereport.

Donald Trump announces 5% tariff onMexican goods in response to migrants

(Agencies) -In asurprise announcementthat could compromise amajor trade deal, PresidentDonald Trump announcedThursday that he isslapping a 5% tariff on allMexican imports topressure the country to domore to crack down on thesurge of Central Americanmigrants trying to cross theborder.He said the percentagewill gradually increase “untilthe Illegal Immigrationproblem is remedied.”Trump made theannouncement by tweetafter telling reporters earlierThursday that he wasplanning “a majorstatement” that would behis “biggest” so far on the

border. “On June 10th, theUnited States will imposea 5% Tariff on all goodscoming into our Countryfrom Mexico, until suchtime as illegal migrantscoming through Mexico, andinto our Country, STOP. TheTariff will gradually increaseuntil the Illegal Immigrationproblem is remedied,” hewrote, “at which time theTariffs will be removed.”Trump has accused theMexican government offailing to do enough tocrack down on the surgeof Cent ra l Amer icanmigrants who have beenflowing to the U.S in searchof asylum from countriesincluding El Salvador,Honduras and Guatemala.

Charging Trump 'was not an option', says Mueller in first public remarks(Agencies) - In first publicremarks in two years ofleading the Russiameddling probe, SpecialCounsel Robert Muellersaid Wednesdaygovernment policy andprinciples prevented himfrom even consideringcriminally chargingPresident Donald Trump,and declined to clear himof a crime.

"Charging the presidentwith the crime was not anoption that we couldconsider," the specialcounsel said in briefremarks lasting about 10minutes from the justicedepartment. "Underlongstanding departmentpolicy, a president cannotbe charged with a federalcrime." He was referring toa justice department policy

that bars a sitting presidentfrom being chargedcriminally.Summarizing his 448-pagereport essentially, thespecial counsel said histeam found "insufficientevidence" to chargePresident Trump or anyone in his campaign teamof conspiring with theRussian meddling, whichhe stated clearly took

place, but did not reach thesame determination on thequestions of whether or notthe president t r ied toobstruct justice."If we had had confidencethat the president clearlydid not commit a crime,we would have said so,"Mueller said. "We didnot, however, make adetermination as towhether the president did

commit a crime."Mueller took no questionsand said to reporters thathis probe is over, he is" formal ly c los ing thespecial counsel's officeand as wel l I amres ign ing f rom theDepartment of Justice toreturn to private life …this will be the only time Iwill speak to you in thismanner".

21Friday 31 May to 6 June 2019 US & THE WORLD

WikiLeaks' Assange too ill to appearvia video link in US extradition hearing

(Agencies) -WikiLeaksfounder Julian Assangewas too ill on Thursday toappear via video link froma British prison in a hearingon an extradition requestfrom the United States, hislawyer said. The UnitedStates is seeking theextradition of Assange, 47,who was dragged from theEcuadorean embassy inLondon on April 11. Hefaces a total of 18 U.S.

criminal counts anddecades in prison ifconvicted."He's in fact farfrom well," Assange'slawyer, Gareth Peirce, toldReuters.Judge EmmaArbuthnot added atWestminster Magistrates'Court: "He's not very well."WikiLeaks said it hadgrave concerns aboutAssange's health and thathe had been moved to ahealth ward at London's

Belmarsh high-securityprison."During the seven weeks inBelmarsh his health hascontinued to deteriorateand he has dramaticallylost weight," it added in astatement. "The decisionof prison authorities tomove him to the healthward speaks for itself."The next hearing on theextradition request was setfor June 12.Assange, who spentalmost seven years holedup in cramped rooms atthe Ecuadorean embassyin London, has repeatedlysaid he fears extradition tothe United States.His admirers hail him as ahero for exposing whatthey describe as abuse ofpower by modern statesand for championing freespeech.

World's tiniest survivingbaby born in California

(Agencies) -A Californiahospital on Wednesdaydisclosed the birth of theworld's smallest baby everto survive, weighing a mere245 grams (8.6 ounces) --the same as a large apple-- when she was born.The girl, nicknamed Saybieby hospital staff, was born23 weeks and three daysinto her mother'spregnancy at Sharp MaryBirch Hospital for Womenand Newborns in SanDiego.The father was told bydoctors that he would haveabout an hour with hisdaughter before shepassed away."But that hour turned intotwo hours which turned intoa day, which turned into aweek," the mother said ina video released by thehospital.

Doctors said Saybie wasdelivered via emergencycesarean section inDecember at 23 weeks andthree days gestation in thewomb after severepregnancy complicationsthat put her mother's life atrisk. A typical pregnancylasts 40 weeks.After nearly five months atthe hospital's neonatalintensive care unit, Saybiewas discharged homeearlier this month weighinga healthy five pounds (2.2

kilograms) and sporting agraduation cap."She is a miracle, that's forsure," said Kim Norby, oneof the nurses who cared forSaybie as she fought tosurvive -- with a signby her cr ib that read" t i n y b u t m i g h t y "cheering her on.Emma Wiest, anothernurse featured in thevideo, said Saybie wasso small at birth that"you could barely see heron the bed."

US lawmakers introduce legislation to protect workauthorisation of spouses of H-1B visa holders

(Agencies) - Two influentiallawmakers from California haveintroduced a legislation in the USHouse of Representatives toprotect work authorisation of H-4visa workers, a significant numberof whom are Indian-Americanwomen.The introduction of such alegislation comes days after theDepartment of Homeland Security(DHS) said that it would publishthis month the long-promisedregulation that would prevent thework authorisation to spouses onH-4 visas.H-4 visas are issued tothe spouses of H-1B visa holders,a significantly large number ofwhom are high-skilled professionalsfrom India.This week, the Trumpadministration announced plans tooverturn current the DHS regulationsthat allow certain H-4 dependentspouses of H-1B visa holders whoare stuck in green card backlogsto obtain employmentauthorisation, pursue their ownprofessional goals and contributeto the US economy, said thelawmakers Anna G Eshoo and ZoeLofgren.Many H-4 visa holders arehighly skilled professionals, andthe DHS previously extendedeligibility for employmentauthorisation to them recognisingthe economic burdens of familiesof many H-1B workers, particularlythose who live in high cost areas

like Silicon Valley on a singleincome as they await green cardapprovals, they said.Since the rulewas implemented, over 100,000workers, mainly women, havereceived employment authorisation,and the H-4 Employment ProtectionAct prohibits the Trumpadministration from revoking thisimportant rule."H-4 visa holdersdeserve a chance to contribute totheir local economies and providefor their families," Eshoo said."Thisis a matter of economic fairnessand this legislation ensures it willcontinue," she added.H-4 visaholders had obtained work permitsunder a special order issued by theprevious Obama administration.Indian-Americans were a majorbeneficiary of this provision. Morethan one lakh H-4 visa holders havebeen beneficiary of this rule. "Whilethe Trump administration sits onits hands and does nothing,American citizens in-waiting arestuck in line for their number tocome up," Lofgren said."Nobodybenefits from this system, least ofall the American economy, whenH-1B dependent spouses areprohibited from working. Many ofthese are accomplished andqualified individuals whose skills we'lllose to other countries unless theAdministration finds a more sensibleapproach to immigration," she said.

22Friday 31 May to 6 June 2019 SPECIAL REPORT

How Modi created the Hindu vote bankAs the prime minister of the country, he kept ensuring

throughout the past five years that there should be zero castediscrimination in the implementation and last mile delivery

of government benefits(Insider Bureau)- It was halfwayinto the tenure of the UnitedProgressive Alliance-2. TheRashtriyaSwayamsewak Sangh(RSS) was hobbled byaccusations of Hindu terror andnewspapers kept reporting thateven the senior most leaderscould be called for questioning.A top RSS functionary confidedat the time that all efforts tocreate a Hindu vote were failing.The biggest hurdles were caste-based parties who made theirrespective castes feelempowered, thus making itattractive for people to vote asYadavs, Kurmis, Jatavs etc butnever as a Hindu. The furrows onhis forehead indicated that theyhad not found a way to overcomethe challenge. This RSSfunctionary's prayers seem tohave been answered finally byNarendra Modi, at least in northand east India. Step by step, Modihas succeeded in creating anumbrella of the Hindu vote overthe boxes of Yadav, Jatav, Kurmi,

Bhumihar etc. How did Modi doit?Like all great ideas, this wassimple. As the prime minister ofthe country, Modi kept ensuringthroughout the past five yearsthat there should be zero castediscrimination in theimplementation and last miledelivery of government benefits.If this is easier said than done, itis because ours is a caste-riddensociety and Panchayats, as wellas local administrative units, havestrong caste feelings. But ifanybody could ensure properimplementation, it was a hardtask master like Modi.This is the kind of governancewhich the Hindi heartland had notwitnessed for decades. A yearago, I met Gomti Devi, a Yadav,in a village in Uttar Pradesh'sHardoi district. She found itunbelievable that a gasconnection under the Ujjwalascheme could be given to hereven though the leader giving itwas a non-Yadav. She found it

even more amazing that otherwomen who got it belonged toall castes in that village. I don'tknow if Gomti and her familyvoted for the lotus symbol in thisgeneral election but I have astrong feeling that they did.Closer to this election, I spent anight in a remote village ofBadaun Lok Sabha constituency

with an Extremely BackwardCaste family. The villagers feltemotionally attached to MulayamSingh's family but added thatdisbursal of the Ujjwala,Saubhagya, toilet funds andAwas Yojana was withoutdiscrimination. They did not tellme their voting preference for2019 but result shows that

Mulayam's nephew, DharmendraYadav, lost in his bastion,Badaun.In his victory address,Narendra Modi declared thatthere would be just two casteshenceforth in the country. Thosewho are poor and those who canhelp the former out of poverty.That this casteless vote bank isalso largely Hindu is what theRSS has been wanting to hearfor a long time, but it neverfound the leader to implementi t .Many have asked: whathappens to Mus l ims andChristians?Before we jump toconc lus ions, i t may bepointed out that the Modigovernment is committed tozero discrimination here too.Whi le th is is how agovernment should function, italso serves an interestingpolitical purpose. When a poorMuslim or Christian householdf inds i ts l iv ing s tandardsimproving just like that of itsHindu neighbours, it may notbe so easy for the politicalparties to sell them the hatredfor Modi. This will reduce thetendency to vote for defeatingModi even if people actuallyrefrain from pressing the lotussymbol. Pundits may argue thatthe voting pattern doesn't reflectthis shift as yet, but it may beprudent to hold our analysis tillwe get more data from the boothlevel. This is a work in progress.When it starts showing results,the secular parties and theirleaders may be in for a shocksimilar to the one that jolted themon May 23, 2019.

Veer Savarkar should not be treated as a hate figureSavarkar was a radical and his Hindutva too wasa radical break in the Hindu thought: anti-caste,

reformist, modernist and futuristic. It was amodern Hindu response to the modern world

(Insider Bureau)- In this electionseason, Vinayak DamodarSavarkar, whose 136thanniversary was celebrated onTuesday, has once again beenat the centre of the heatedideological debate over the futureof India. The move of theCongress government inRajasthan to remove VeerSavarkar from the textbooks hasintensified the row over hislegacy. There is little doubt thatdemonising Savarkar is usualbehaviour for his ideologicalopponents. But Savarkar, theformulator of the Hindutva, can'tbe reduced to rhetoricalpoliticking. His legacy needs tobe seriously engaged withbecause he is one of the pivotalpersons in the country's history.He, like everyone, was theproduct of his times. The mainchallenge thrown by the Britishrule and colonial modernity under

the pale of capitalism was forHindus to justify their existenceas a society. Who were they?Tamil, Bengali, Punjabi, Marathi?Jat, Brahmins, Ahirs, Pasi,Rajputs, Vokkaligas? What themodern world posed was anentirely new sociopoliticalchallenge for Hindus. CouldHindus survive in a modern worlddominated by the expansionistorganised religions, nations andnation-state?Savarkar responded to thesechallenges. The coming togetherof various pagan traditions asHinduism to meet the challengeof the Abrahamic monotheism isa centuries-old process.Savarkar consolidated it under anew ideological construct. Hewielded it into a coherent politicalconstruct, Hindutva that aimed toanswer the challenges of themodern world, especially thecharge of the colonialists that

India is not a nation and henceunworthy of self rule. Savarkargave the first systematic Hindupolitical response to therepeated invasions andsubjugation of India. Hindutva isnot Hinduism but a politicalresponse to political Islam andwestern imperialism. In theHuntingtonian paradigm, Hindushad substance but not thesalience - i.e. Hindus had asense of who they are but aweaker sense of who they arenot. Savarkar provided thatsalience and equipped Hinduswith the clarity which, unlikeothers, they lacked.Savarkar understood that forIndia to survive in the modernworld, it has to become a modern

nation too. He also understoodthat unless India becomes anindustrial power with the modernmeans of waging war, it simplycan't resist the imperialistpowers. But he understoodsomething more that several ofhis nationalist contemporariesfailed to grasp. He understoodthat India can't become a nationas long as it remains a feudal-agrarian society disintegrated intonumerous castes andcommunities. The superiority ofthe political construct of a nationand nation-state lies in its abilityto mobilise people on anunprecedented scale, down to thelast rung to achieve definitiveobjectives, be it war or peacetimeindustrialisation.

23Friday 31 May to 6 June 2019 SPECIAL REPORT

Congress repeated a costly mistake onnational security in run-up to 2019 polls

While the Modi government and the Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP) leadership did not utter a word against the

Indian armed and security forces in the run-up to thecampaign, the Congress ended up coming across as

questioning the army and the chiefs of staff.

(Insider Bureau)- One of thekey political lessons fromthe 2019 general electionis that parties shouldneither question militaryoperations nor soft-peddleon national security. TheCongress appears to havecommitted the samemistake in the run-up to2019 polls that itcommitted 20 years ago.Before the October 1999elections, the thenCongress leadershipquestioned the caretakerAtal Bihari Vajpayeegovernment on alleged

intelligence and politicalfailures leading to the Kargilwar with Pakistan. Thenarrative built by theCongress was perceivedby the Indian public to beclose to the version beingpropagated by then PrimeMinister Nawaz Sharif andhis then army chief PervezMusharraf, who finallybecame Pakistan'spresident by deposing theformer in a military coup.Even though the KargilReview Committee headedby K Subrahmanyampointed out lapses that led

to the war at glaciatedheights north of Zoji Lapass, public sympathystayed with the Indianjawans who sacrificed theirlives to evict Pakistaniintruders from the Batalik,Kaksar, Drass andMushkoh sectors. TheCongress leadership, bypainting Kargil as a fiascoor a blunder, was seen aspropagating the falsenarrative spread byIslamabad. The result wasthat the Atal BihariVajpayee-led NationalDemocratic Alliance came

to power despite thepopular vote being in favourof the Congress-ledalliance by a small margin.The same fate has befallenthe Congress under RahulGandhi in 2019. Byquestioning the 2016surgical strikes and 2019Balakot air strike, theCongress fell on the wrong

side of the nationalismnarrative sweeping thecountry after the Uri terrorstrike by Pakistan basedLashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and thePulwama suicide attack bythe Jaish-e-Mohammed(JeM). While PM NarendraModi gauged the public moodand went for a perfectlyplanned retaliation, the

Congress took a differentline and asked for proof ofthe ripostes. The publicwas further confused by theCongress and its allies whenthe Opposition leadershiptook a U-turn and alsoclaimed credit for sixsurgical strikes during theUnited Progressive Allianceregime.

Fear of wrath of upper caste makes dreams of Dalit groomsto ride a mare on wedding day a nightmare in Gujarat

(Insider Bureau)-Weddings are a joyfuloccasion but in manyvillages, in Gujarat, Dalitweddings are becomingabout asserting their rightswhich in turn is leading tocaste conflicts in thevillages. Dalit grooms whoare riding a mare in theirwedding processions areangering the upper andother dominant castes,which in turn is creatingcaste conflicts and alsoleading to boycotts. This isthe marriage season andDalit weddings where theyare planning to ride a mareduring the weddingprocession are seekingpolice protection in theirvillages to avoid casteclashes in Gujarat. Dalit

activists are saying thatinstead of ensuring that therights of the Dalits areprotection some policeofficials have asked themto avoid taking the marriageprocessions from the areaswhere the upper castesreside to avoid a conflict.Mehul Rathod's wedding inLhor village in Kadi taluka inMehsana district grabbedmedia attention when hiswedding procession wasopposed by Thakorcommunity as he wanted toride a mare in his weddingprocession in mid-May. Hisfather Manubhai Rathod said,"This is for the first time thata Dalit groom in my villagehas ridden a mare in hiswedding procession. My sonwanted to do it so I supported

him. We also informed thepolice about it." Mehul worksin Ahmedabad in a privatehospital.Dalit activist BharatParmar said, "Thoughpolice have been informeddays before the wedding,they were late and did notarrive till the situationturned tense. Following thewedding process ionwhich was eventual lyconducted the villagersboycotted the Dalits of Lhorvillage." The sarpanch ofLhor village Vinuji Thakormade an announcement fromthe village temple that anyonewho would sell groceriesand milk, ground theirwheat or ferried them intheir autorickshaws wouldhave to pay a fine of Rs5,000.

24Friday 31 May to 6 June 2019 BUSINESS

Narendra Modi 2.0: Why landslide mandate, right conditionsmake it perfect time for govt to kick-start weak PSBs' sell-off

(By our staff reporter) -"The gov-ernment has no business to bein business," said NarendraModi soon after his landslide vic-tory in the 2014 Lok Sabha elec-tions. Investors and analyststook these words as a big cluethat the new government intendsto exit public sector undertak-ings (PSUs) across.But, blame it on the politicalcompulsions, the deeplymessed up banking system,mainly state-run banks, orunfavourable market conditions,no significant headway wasmade on this promise.That, of course, with some ex-ceptions when the government'sfavourite milch cow, Life Insur-ance Corporation of India (LIC)

was deployed to take over a criti-cally ill IDBI Bank. Also, someof the zombie banks among thepublic sector banks (PSBs) weremerged with a bigger bank.As Modi is set to begin his sec-ond term in office with an evenbigger majority and less politicalresistance from a decimatedOpposition, he has a better op-portunity to do what he promisedfive years ago.File image of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi. PTIAt least in the public sectorbanking industry, there are quitea number of good reasons whyModi can think of selling eachPSB to private parties which willhelp it get rid of the burden ofcapitalising these banks every

year and ensure only the fittestsurvive.Reason one: A major part of thenon-performing asset (NPA) clean-up process initiated by the Re-serve Bank of India (RBI) underformer governor Raghuram Rajanis over. The banks have muchcleaner balance sheets nowexcept in agriculture/MSMEportfolios. The uncertainty onthe hidden NPAs was a big rea-son why investors hesitated tolook at these banks. Nearly Rs 9lakh crore additional NPAs havebeen dug out as part of this exer-cise. That is from around Rs 2lakh crores in the United Pro-gressive Alliance (UPA) era toaround Rs 11 lakh crore now.This chunk of bad loans, which

bankers happily evergreened inunderstanding with large borrow-

ers, had to come out at somepoint.

Amazon, Flipkart unlikely to fullyparticipate in Indian antitrust body's study

Amazon and Flipkart are among India's largest e-commerce companies so their participation in anysuch survey could carry significant weight. Yet the

pair are unlikely to answer questions in full asdoing so would involve disclosing commercially

sensitive information

Amazon.com Inc andWalmart Inc's Flipkart are un-likely to fully participate in an In-dian antitrust body's study of thee-commerce sector for fear of re-vealing trade secrets, two peoplewith direct knowledge of the mat-ter said.The Competition Commission ofIndia (CCI) is engaged in what itdescribes as a "fact-finding ex-ercise" aimed at better under-standing the e-commerce sector,showed a document distributedto several e-commerce firms andreviewed by Reuters.The CCI document features 88questions over 12 pages request-ing recipients volunteer pricing

strategies, product informationand the identities of their biggest-selling vendors.Amazon and Flipkart are amongIndia's largest e-commerce com-panies so their participation inany such survey could carry sig-nificant weight. Yet the pair areunlikely to answer questions infull as doing so would involve dis-closing commercially sensitiveinformation, the two people toldReuters. "This survey is very de-tailed," said one of the people,who declined to be identified asthey were not authorised tospeak publicly on the matter."Companies are worried becausethese are competitive, confiden-

tial things which are businesscritical."Amazon, Flipkart and the CCI didnot respond to Reuters requestsfor comment.

CCI 's s tudycomes aboutfour months af-ter the govern-ment imple-mented newrules regulatingforeign invest-ment in e-com-merce, includ-ing barring thesale of productson the i r p la t -forms from ven-dors in whichthey have an

equity interest. The rules sawscores of products vanish fromAmazon's Indian website over-night, and shocked Walmartwhich just months earlier hadbought the majority of Flipkartfor $16 bil l ion in the U.S.retailer's biggest-ever acquisi-tion.U.S. officials and e-commercecompanies have protested therules, which were widely seenas aimed at winning the sup-port of small traders ahead ofa general election. The incum-bent government won the elec-tion this month by a landslide.To better understand the e-commerce sector, the CCI inits document asks companiesbasic details such as the num-

ber of employees, but asks onlinemarketplace operators more sen-sitive questions such as howthey charge vendors on theirplatforms.It also asks questions regard-ing contractual agreementsstruck between e-commercecompanies and vendors. Thereis no indication of compulsoryparticipation in the survey, withthe CCI in the document say-ing it "does not form a part ofany investigation and/or in-quiry in any of the proceedingspending" before the watchdog.(Reporting by Aditya Kalra; Ad-ditional reporting by SankalpPhartiyal; Editing by MartinHowel l and Chr is topherCushing)

25Friday 31 May to 6 June 2019 BUSINESS

FIR filed against Viacom 18 and Shemaroo(By our staff reporter)

Mumbai -The Amboli Police Sta-tion, Mumbai late last eveningregistered a First InformationReport (FIR) against the ChiefOfficers, Directors and Others ofone of the biggest Film Studiosin India Viacom 18 Media Pvt Ltdpart of Network 18 Group ownedby Mr.Mukesh Ambani’s Reli-ance Industries Ltd and alsoagainst the Managing Directorand Vice President of ShemarooEntertainment Limited. Thenames of those accused in theFIR include Viacom 18’s groupCEO Mr.Sudhanshu Vats, COOAjit Andhare & others andMr.Raman Hirji Maroo andMr.Vinod Karani the MD and VicePresident of Shemaroo Entertain-ment Limited respectively

amongst other.The FIR has been registered af-ter a detailed inquiry initiatedupon a complaint filed by FilmProducer Satish Tandon of M/sSatish Tandon Productions, theProducer of f i lms such as‘Jung’ released in the year2000 starring Sanjay Dutt andothers alleging that Viacom 18has since several years beenillegally hosting and streamingmultiple films including thecomplainant’s film on its digi-tal platform ‘Voot.com’ to itsviewers without any permissionand without taking a valid licensefrom the owner/producers of suchfilms all this while earning croresof rupees in Ad Revenue and Prof-its.The demand for digital rights of

Bollywood films has seen a hugeupscale in the past few yearswith multiple digital platforms likeNetflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstarentering the Video on Demandspace.The complaint alleging cheating,fraud and illegal copyright in-fringement by Viacom18 and itsDirectors/Officers was filed backin January 2019 stating thatViacom18 Media Private Lim-ited is involved in a wide-spread scam/conspi racywhereby several films are be-ing illegally exploited by themwithout permission and pay-ment of rightful royalties toProducers/Owners of suchfilms.Although the original com-plaint was filed only againstthe Of f icers /Di rectors ofViacom 18 Media Private Lim-

ited who had full knowledgeand were complicit that thesaid films are being illegallyhosted on Voot.com, in thecourse of the investigation thepolice also seems have un-earthed material against filmaggregator companies like

Shemaroo Entertainment Lim-ited who own negative rights ofthousands of Hindi and otherlanguage films and are hand inglove with the big studios to whomthey supply various content forhosting on their channels/plat-forms.'Provoking trade disputes is naked economic

terrorism': China on trade war with US

(By our staff reporter) -Provoking trade disputes is"naked economic terrorism", asenior Chinese diplomat said onThursday, ramping up the rhetoricagainst the United States amid abitter trade war that is showingno signs of ending soon.Trade tens ions betweenWashington and Bei j ingescalated sharply earlier thismonth after the Trumpadministration accused China ofhaving "reneged" on its previouspromises to make structuralchanges to its economicpractices.Washington laterslapped additional tariffs of up to25% on $200 billion of Chinesegoods, prompting Beijing toretaliate.Speaking to reportersin Bei j ing, Chinese ViceForeign Minister Zhang Hanhuisaid China opposed the use of"b ig s t icks" l ike t radesanct ions, tar i f fs andprotectionism."We oppose atrade war but are not afraid ofa t rade war. This k ind ofdeliberately provoking tradedisputes is naked economic

terrorism, economic homicide,economic bullying," Zhangsaid, when asked about thetrade war with the UnitedStates.Everyone loses in a trade war,he added, address ing abriefing on Chinese PresidentXi J inping 's s tate v is i t toRussia next week, where hewill meet Russian PresidentVladimir Putin and speak at amajor investor forum in StPetersburg."This trade clashwill have a serious negativeeffect on global economicdevelopment and recovery,"Zhang added. "We wi l ldefinitely properly deal with allexternal challenges, do ourown thing well, develop oureconomy, and continue to raisethe living standards of our twopeoples," he said, referringto China and Russia."At thesame t ime , we have thecon f i dence , reso l ve a n da b i l i t y t o safeguard ourcountry's sovereignty, security,respect and secur i ty anddevelopment interests.

FIR filed against Viacom 18 and Shemaroo

26Friday 31 May to 6 June 2019 FASHION

Prada, the luxury fashion house to shed furThe Italian fashion house said its decision stemmed from "a positive

dialogue" with the Fur Free Alliance (FFA) of more than 50associations in about 40 countries, notably the Italian group LAV

and The Humane Society of the United States.

Luxury fashion house Prada said Wednesday it willremove animal fur from its collections, joining alengthening list of designers to make that choice.Prada's decision, to take effect with its women'sSpring-Summer 2020 collection, was welcomed byseveral animal protection associations, a statementsaid.The Italian fashion house said its decision stemmedfrom "a positive dialogue" with the Fur Free Alliance(FFA) of more than 50 associations in about 40countries, notably the Italian group LAV and TheHumane Society of the United States.Other major names to have renounced the use of animalfur include Armani, Burberry, DKNY, Donna Karan, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Gucci, Michael Kors and Versace.Prada "is committed to innovation and socialresponsibility, and our fur-free policy ... is an extensionof that engagement," artistic director Miuccia Pradawas quoted as saying in the statement."Focusing on innovative materials will allow the companyto explore new boundaries of creative design whilemeeting the demand for ethical products," she added.The Prada statement included reactions from severalanimal protection groups, with FFA program manager

Brigit Oele saying: "This global movement isgaining momentum fast, and it's very unlikely thatfur will ever return as an acceptable trend. This is agreat day for animals!"The fur industry has scorned the trend towards fur-free fashion, and Mark Oaten of The International FurFederation said in a statement: "I am surprised thata brand who care about sustainability are banninga natural product like fur."Now Prada customers will only have plasticfur as an option, which is bad for theplanet. I urge Prada to think again andtrust its own consumers to decideif they want to buy real or fake fur."Fur represents a fraction of most fashion groups' salesin fact, and while figures for Prada were not available,at rival Gucci which stopped using fur in 2018, itaccounted for just 0.16 percent of the total.- Appealing to younger clients -Prada and the others might attract younger customerswith the decision meanwhile, as they are more likelyto take ethical considerations into account accordingto sector specialists.Fashion analyst Nina Marston at Euromonitor

International noted that "industry players faceincreasing pressure to take a stance on ethical issuessuch as animal cruelty."Her group found that 28 percent of Millennial consumersworldwide said that "buy ing eco - f r i end ly o rethically conscious products make them feelgood."Prada wil l thus "further its appeal to the growingnumber of Millennial and Gen Z consumers, who are vitalto the future of the luxury industry," Marston concluded.

Prada, the luxury fashion house to shed fur

Fifth edition of the Fetes Galantes bringsFrance's Louis XIV back to life in Versailles

Nearly 700 people inperiod costume paradedthrough the sumptuousapartments of France's LouisXIV at his palace in Versaillesjust outside Paris late Mondayfor the fifth edition of the "FetesGalantes". The annual fancydress ball aims to re-create thebaroque splendour of the SunKing's dazzling court feasts heldto show off the wealth andpower of France's longest-reigning monarch, who was bornin 1638, ascended to the throneat the age of four and remainedking until his death in 1715."The Duke and Duchess of LaMalmaison... welcome to

Versailles!" two masters ofceremony call out at the foot ofthe grand staircase as guestsarrive in lavish costumes, rentedfor the night at a price of severalhundred euros (dollars) ormeticulously sewn by hand.The theme of this year's ball is"Marie-Antoinette and fashion".Daniel, in his 50s, said he spentmore than 500 hours making hiscardinal's outfit from red silk witha scarlet train several metres inlength.He and his husband,Bruno, who is dressed as aprince, are regulars of the eventand also attend the annualcarnival in Venice every year.For tickets costing several

hundred euros, depending oncategory, guests can wanderthrough the private apartmentsof the chateau, which is a WorldHeritage site and one ofFrance's biggest touristattractions -- from the HerculesSalon, where a specialist dancecompany gives a demonstration ofbaroque era dance, to the world-famous Hall of Mirrors. "It's theonly occasion in the year whereyou can come to Versailles incostume," says LaurentBrunner, head of the palace'sRoyal Opera house, where morethan 600 of the costumed guestswere photographed for the firsttime this year.

Why Nike picked this tiny atelierto make its denim shoe

In the back corner of a clothingboutiquein downtown Manhattan,past the bolts of denim hangingfrom the wall, eight tailorsand onecutter are at work sewing customjeans. Each will make just twoor three pairs in a day.The shop, called 3x1 (three-by-one), has intrigued shoppers andindustry insiders alike. Itis knownforexperimenting with selvedgedenim sourced from mills aroundthe world and for playing with newd e s i g n s . F a n s i n c l u d eprofessional athletes such asLebron James,Tony Parker andVictor Cruz,whosesuperhumanphysiques are ill-served by off-the-rack denim. Afully bespoke 3x1 pair can runupwardof $1,200, but there areother ways for a high-end labelto gain exposure to newshoppers.On Friday, 3x1 andNike Inc. are releasing three

limited-edition selvedge denimshoe styles, putting the type offabric on the Air Force 1for thefirst time ever, after 1,500iterations. The sneakers cost$130 and come in stonewashblue, raw indigo and black denim.It's an important moment for thesmall denim house. "We've hadso many Nike relationships overthe years," said owner and denimindustry veteran Scott Morrison."I hope that this will be the firstof many things we get to do."Nike is under constant pressureto develop new styles, so it oftencollaborates with outside fashionhouses and designers. Dropshappen every few daysin aneternal cycle of hype, long linesand sellouts. Nike deliveredstrong results globally lastquarter, but had weak sales inNorth America due to a slowperiod at its U.S. retail partners.

27Friday 31 May to 6 June 2019 HEALTH

Poor diet linked to cancer, says studyMore than 80,000 cancer cases in some

parts of the world were linked to poor diet,or around 5%, according to a study

published in the journal JNCI CancerSpectrum.

Consuming a poor dietmay have more impact on yourhealth than you thought, as arecent study has claimed that apoor diet can lead to a numberof health issues, one of thembeing cancer.More than 80,000cancer cases in some parts ofthe world were linked to poor diet,or around 5%, according to astudy published in the journalJNCI Cancer Spectrum.Thestudy, conducted by theFriedman School of NutritionScience and Policy at Tufts,analysed cancer diagnosesamong adults from 2015 alongwith data from two national

surveys on Americans' diets todetermine how many cases werelinked to poor diets, especiallylow in vegetables, fruits, wholegrains and high in processedsugar, sugary beverages and redmeats.The findings arecomparable to the number ofcancer cases linked to alcoholconsumption, which amount tobetween 4 and 6%. Excessivebody weight is linked to 7% to8% of cases and lack of physicalactivity is associated with 2% to3%."Our findings underscore theopportunity to reduce cancerburden and disparities in theUnited States by improving food

intake," said study author FangZhang and cancer and nutritionresearcher.Of all types ofcancers, colorectal cancer hadthe highest link to poor diet.Roughly 38%, or 52,000 cases,of colorectal cancer diagnosed

in 2015 were related toconsumption of poor. Thatcompared to around 14,400cancer cases of the mouth,pharynx, and larynx, 3,165cases of uterine cancer, and3,060 cases of post-menopausal

breast cancer. The study authors,who proposed puttinggovernment-sponsored warninglabels on red meats and othercancer-linked foods, said ourresults call for nutrition policiesto address cancer burden.

Menstrual Hygiene Day 2019: Makeyour daughter ready for her first periodMenstrual Hygiene Day 2019: Experts say a girl must be prepared for their first period.

Bollywood film Pad Man hasopened up discussions aroundmenstruation, but there's still along way to go. It's important foryoung girls to be aware of periodsbefore their first one, adviseexperts.According to a survey conductedby everteen® for MenstrualHygiene Day, menstruation is nomore a hush-hush topic. Thesurvey had participation from2,400 women - working womenin the age group of 25-35 years -from Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluruand Hyderabad. As many as67.7% of women believe thatpopular Bollywood movie madepeople talk about menstruationopenly.Experts say a girl mustbe prepared for their first period.Here's what Gauri Singhal,Founder and CEO of FLOHtampons and Shelly Singh,

Obstetrics and GynaecologyConsultant at Momspresso,suggest how to make yourdaughter's first periodcomfortable:Tell her not to shyaway from periods: Repeat thisas many times as you can --'periods are not a taboo'. Whilepregnancy is celebrated in India,periods are treated in a hush-hush manner. It's about time webreak out of this regressive socio-cultural mindset. The nextgeneration should be that of thetrailblazers who finally break theshackles and speak out freelyabout menstruation.Make sureit's an impactful and anempowering one, for she mightbe the one who changes the waywomen perceive their periods. Indoing so, she might just changethe world! We bleed red, not blue:Leading brands that use blue ink

to depict period blood areessentially attaching a messageof shame to periods. Let yourdaughter know that we bleed red,and that there's no need to beashamed of it. Periods shouldno longer be a secret betweenmoms and daughters but canand should be discussed withbrothers and dads too.Personal hygiene is veryimportant during this time:Tampons and pads must bechanged every 4-8 hoursdepending on the flow. And shemust wash herself every timeshe uses the washroom, andkeep herself clean sincemenstrual blood can lead toinfection and bad odour. Duringthe period, it is easier to contractbacterial infections or vaginitis.Disposal of sanitary productsmust be taught to your youngone: It's important to wrap it in anewspaper and dispose this inthe bin rather than flushing itdown. Different womenexperience period pains atdifferent intensities: Tell her thisis part of a normal growing upprocess. There may be cramps,backache, thigh pain andheadaches that may happen.You should opt for herbal periodpain patches that discreetly yeteffectively soothe the cramps.

Along with mercury, stomachinfections too on the rise in Lucknow

With the temperature hoveringaround 40 degrees Celsius forthe past one week, cases ofgastrointestinal diseases inhospital OPDs are going up .Doctors say bacteria causinggastrointestinal infections thrivein higher temperatures ."Gastro problems are routed viawater, hence if potable water iscontaminated it is a risk forpeople," said Dr PK Gupta,former president IMA, Lucknowchapter. He said once monsoonhit the region the cases mightgo up further as humidity helpedbacteria grow. The number ofpatients with weakeneddigestion had also gone up, saidDr Gupta. He saidgastrointestinal infections couldbe acquired through varioussources, such as food, waterand direct exposure to faecalwastes."The gastrointestinalinfection starts with pain in thestomach (stomach infection). At

least 10 fresh cases are comingto hospital OPD every daywhere laxity in having safedrinking water is evident," saidDr Vinod Jain, senior faculty,KGMU. He said that infection didnot spare anyone of any age andpatients could be children, adultor even elderly. The best way toprotect oneself from suchinfections was to maintain goodhygiene and make sure whatever one ate or drank was safe,said doctors. Private hospitalsin Lukcnow too reported rise inthe number of patients sufferingfrom gastrointestinal infection."You need about 3 to 5 litres ofwater in a day depending on thework you do and your exposureto the sun. So even if you havehad water before leaving home,carry a bottle with you so thatyou need not drink water fromoutside," said Dr SandeepKapoor, director, HealthcityHospital.

28Friday 31 May to 6 June 2019 LIFESTYLE

Beware, anxiety about your partner’s commitment can harm your relationshipAre you unsure of your partner’s commitment, Your anxiety might

doom the success of your relationship, says a new study.If you are clingy and

distrustful towards your partner,it might make them anxiousabout the relationship. FloridaState University graduatestudent Ashley Cooperexplores how fluctuation inone’s feeling about therelationship can doom itssuccess.

“For people anxious in theirattachments, they haveanxiety as to whether theperson is going to be there forthem and whether they areworthy of others,” said Cooper.“I was interested in howattachment security impactedpartners’ experiences in theirrelationship on a daily basis.Some couples experienceinstability from one day to thenext in their relationship, so wesought out to explore what

could increase or decrease thisvolatility,” Cooper explained.

They found that individualswho experience high levels ofanxiety about their partner’scommitment were likely toexperience more volatility in theirfeelings about the relationshipfrom one day to the next.Furthermore, when womenexperienced this anxiety, theirmale partners experiencedsimilar volatility in their feelingsabout the relationship.

They interviewed 157 couplesand asked them a series ofquestions about how the couplescommunicated their attachmentto each other, how comfortablethey were in emotionallyconnecting with their partners,their relationship satisfaction andthe type of conflict that existedin the relationship. Of the

sample, 74% of the participantswere dating and nearly 50% ofparticipants were in relationshipsof two years or less.The teamspecifically looked at thecouples in which one or bothpartners experienced highat tachment avo idance —behaviours associated withthe distrust of relying on otherpeople — and attachmentanx ie ty — behav ioursassoc ia ted wi th fearsregarding consistent care andaffection. When an individualreported h igh at tachmentavoidance, both the individualand partner reported generallylow levels of re lat ionshipsatisfaction or quality.

When individuals reportedhigh attachment anxiety, theretended to be increased volatilityin relationship quality. Cooper

said the findings will be helpfulto clinicians involved in premaritalor couples counselling and forindividuals who experiencedrastic differences in theirfeelings about their relationshipsfrom day to day.

For the average person, stayattuned to what your partner issaying and avoid making

assumptions that canescalate conflict, she advised.Trusting in your partner andyour relationship is importantto daily interactions andstability for your relationship,they concluded. The studywas published in Journal ofSocial and PersonalRelationships.

What and how much to share online: Tips for college applicants, job seekersYour online personality may affect your real world goals. Here are some tips from experts on

what to post and not post if you’re trying to get into college or applying for a job.

Google yourself. Curate youronline photographs. The generalrule of thumb, as one private highschool advises its students: Don’tpost anything you wouldn’t wantyour grandmother to see.

Guidance counsellors havewarned college applicants foryears to mind their social mediaposts but can now cite a high-profile example at HarvardUniversity, which revoked offersof admission to 10 students foroffensive Facebook posts.

Colleges rarely revokeadmission for online offenses, butsocial media’s role in the collegeadmission process is a growingreality. The same holds true ifyou’ve applied for a job. Athorough background checkincludes social media activities.Here are some experts’ tips onwhat to post — and not post —if you’re applying to a college orfor a job.

What research showsResearch from Kaplan Test

Prep suggests online scrutiny ofcollege applicants is increasing.Of 365 admissions officerssurveyed, 35% said they checkInstagram, Facebook, Twitter andother social media sites to learnmore about applicants,according to a poll released inFebruary. Kaplan Test Prep hasconducted annual surveys on thesubject since 2008, when 10%of admissions officials said theychecked the social media pagesof applicants.

The Harvard case highlightsthat “admissions don’tnecessarily end at theacceptance letter,” says YarivAlpher, executive director ofresearch for Kaplan, the test-preparation company.

The case included jokesabout the Holocaust and sexualassault that were shared on a

private Facebook group forincoming Harvard freshmen,according to The HarvardCrimson, which broke the newsearlier this month. Harvard hasdeclined to comment but says ittells new students that admissionoffers can be withdrawn if theirbehaviour calls into question theirmaturity or moral character.

The grandmother ruleSan Francisco University High

School seniors are given awarning each fall to clean uptheir online presence – and nixany posts they wouldn’t showgrandma, said Jon Reider,director of college counselling atthe elite private school.

“The mythical grandmother isheld up as an icon of moralstandards,” Reider said. Anotherword of wisdom: Don’t makejokes online.

“Unless you are certified asbeing the funniest kid in theclass, don’t be funny,” Reidersaid. “A sense of humor can bedangerous online.”

Don’t brag, especially aboutwrongdoing

Colgate Universityadmissions officers don’troutinely cruise prospectivestudents’ social media sites,says dean of admissions GaryL. Ross.

“However, there areoccasions, very rarely, when

something might be brought toour attention, and it would befoolish for us, if the matter isserious enough, not to checkthat out,” Ross said.

He cited a case from a fewyears ago where a studentbragged on social media that sheapplied early to Colgate andanother institution, which violatesan agreement students sign toapply early to only one school.

“That was brought to ourattention. I was in touch with theother dean of admission, and weboth agreed it was in violationof each institution’s rules,and the student was deniedat both.”

Edit online usernamesMake sure your ema i l

address is appropriate, saysNancy Beane, associate directorof college counselling at TheWestminster Schools in Atlanta,US. Silly, vulgar or otherwise

unprofessional usernames mightlook good to teenagers but sendthe wrong message to adults.

Beane also advises studentsto be mindful of how they treatothers online, includingcomments and trolling of otheraccounts.

More dos and don’tsThe Princeton Review offers

social media tips for collegeapplicants, including one to“Google yourself” to see whatturns up.

“Maybe you’ve made acomment on a blog that you’drather not have show up, or afriend has tagged you in anu n f l a t t e r i n g p h o t o , ”Princeton Review says in atip sheet on its website.

It also advises studentst o c h e c k t h e i r p r i v a c ysett ings to know what canbe seen publicly, and to edittheir online photo galleries.

29Friday 31 May to 6 June 2019 ENTERTAINMENT

PM Narendra Modi movie review

Vivek Oberoi film deifies the PMPM Narendra Modi movie review: Vivek Oberoi stars in

Omung Kumar's latest biopic. The film, PM Narendra Modi,isn't mere tribute but actual deification.

Aladdin movie review

Will Smith makes the magic happen in Guy Ritchie's Disney film

PM Narendra ModiDirector - Omung Kumar BCast - Vivek Oberoi, ManojJoshi, Boman Irani, ZarinaWahabRating - 1/5In 1975, Narendra DamodardasModi was 25 years old.According to the fi lm PMNarendra Modi, he had alreadymade an impact seismicenough to make the powercentres shiver. The on-screenIndira Gandhi is so threatenedby the meteoric rise of this youngleader that she feels the needfor desperate measures. 'Throwhim in prison,' she instructs, 'anddeclare an Emergency.'Perhaps this is the mostappropriate biopic for an Indiawhere facts don't matter. Writtenby Sandip Ssingh and directedby Omung Kumar B, PMNarendra Modi isn't mere tributebut actual deification. It plays outless like a feature and more like

old mythological films viewersused to watch after taking theirshoes off. I'm surprised Ssinghand Kumar B didn't call their filmJai Santoshi Modi. This filmactually states that the onlyreason Narendra Modi does notwalk on water is because hechose otherwise.This isfilmmaking via montage, thescreenplay made from bullet-points showcasing the virtues ofthe Modi character, primarilythrough 20-second scenes. Inone, his mother feeds the familywhile Modi feeds his mother. Inanother, his father declares howhe considers his son his ownbaap. Modi is depicted not onlyas a man of honour and valour,but the sole hero in the history ofthe Bharatiya Janata Party, aleading man eager to show off hismanhood: "One day a real mardwill sit on Delhi's throne," a soldiersays, and Modi, played by VivekOberoi, smiles. To his credit,

Oberoi doesn't mimic the PrimeMinister in speech or style,instead playing him with asanctimonious calmness - whichis aided by a servile script thatrenders the characteromnipotent. His Modi knows all,sees all, causes all, and thinksseveral steps ahead: an attempton his life, for instance, is foiledby holograms so good thatassassins mistake them for thereal thing. In another scene, heteaches politicians how to maketea - metaphors of togethernessand inclusivity, plus a lingeringpack-shot of the milk brand togive the sponsors their due. Madeat breakneck speed, the film isexpansively budgeted - it looksbetter than The Accidental PrimeMinister, but not as slick asThackeray - and while it featuresa few decent actors, Kumar Bdoesn't challenge them. At 135minutes, it 's shorter thanexpected but, thanks to

inconsistent pacing andrelentless flattery, feels tedious.When Oberoi's Modi meets AmitShah (Manoj Joshi) the two aredescribed as a Tendulkar-Sehwag combination. This couldeither be a childish boast - theway neighbourhood kids playing5-over games dub themselvesKohli and Malinga - but may evenbe a parallel to the menmentioned, one of whom isreckless on Twitter and the othersupposedly ineffective inparliament.Is it possible to takethe film seriously?Much of the film

AladdinDirector - Guy RitchieCast - Will Smith, MenaMassoud, Naomi Scott, MarwanKenzari, Nasim PedradRating - 3.5/5Despite being one of the mostunambitious tentpole films of theyear, the live-action Aladdin is -by far - the oddest movie thatdirector Guy Ritchie has evermade. And remember, he oncemade a rom-com for his ex-wifeMadonna.If you've beenwondering, like me, why Disneyhas been shying away fromhighlighting Ritchie's instantlyrecognisable trademarks in thetrailers, it's because there aren'tany in the film. This is strange,because Ritchie in the past hasmanaged to bring his verydistinct brand of cinema - repletewith snazzy editing, flamboyantcamerawork, and muscular

action - even to properties asseemingly ancient as SherlockHolmes and King Arthur. And onpaper, Aladdin's origins as a'street rat' fall neatly into Ritchie'swheelhouse, but he directs withlittle personality, as if, like theGenie, he has been trapped in aprison as well. This isn't to saythat the new Aladdin is a failure -it most certainly isn't - but I'dimagine this is simply a case ofRitchie trying to get back intoHollywood's good books after theback-to-back box office failure ofhis last two movies. That beingsaid, Aladdin is a vibrantadventure, featuring threeexcellent central performances,and laced with intelligent subtextabout class - like Gully Boy meetsHan Solo. Like Ranveer Singh'saspiring rapper from that film,Aladdin has also been bred onthe streets, constantly reminded

of his place in the world,confronted by the very realpossibility that he will never beallowed to escape it.Breaking out of the boxes thatone is confined to - regardless ofwhere we are born - is the centraltheme of Ritchie's film. It's whatdraws Aladdin to PrincessJasmine, who is - for all intents andpurposes - a prisoner inside her ownhome, held under the age-oldpatriarchal excuse of protection,'seen but not heard'. The desire toclimb the social ladder is whatmotivates the villainous vizier Jafar,who is given a heftier backstory inthis film, one that neatly mirrorsAladdin's.And ironically, the only one who canmake their dreams come true is aprisoner himself. Will Smith's Genieis introduced about 45 minutes intothe film, and is single-handedlyresponsible for injecting it with the

Aladdin movie review: Will Smith single-handedlyelevates director Guy Ritchie's live-action remakeof the classic Disney animated film. Rating:3.5/5.

energy that is sorely missing in thefirst act. Genie not only brings thehumour, but also gives the film anexcuse to be more visually inventive.After some solid, if not spectacularsequences set in the narrowgullies of Agrabah (which sadlynever ceases to look like ahollow set surrounded by greenscreen environments), the Genieintroduces himself with a grand,visually arresting musicalnumber. And thankfully, he doesnot look like chewed up bubblegum anymore. Aladdin is - anddepending on your familiaritywith the original animated film,

this may or may not come as asurprise - an outright musical.Composer Alan Menken returns,joined this time by La La Land'sPasek & Paul to produce newmusic for the film. These aresome of its best scenes,especially the reprisal of PrinceAli (which Ritchie directs like ahomage to Sridevi'sHimmatwala), and the alwaysstirring A Whole New World,performed, thankfully, by starsMena Massoud and Naomi Scottin the film, and not, as had beenthreatened, by Zayn Malik or DJKhaled, or god forbid, Badshah.

is so preposterous, so blatantlyabsurd that one can only laughat the utter disregard for truth.Then again, that is the veryreason it should be feared, thefact that it is openly andcallously cheerleading a fictitiousnarrative and shoving it down ourthroats. A film that highlightedModi's many actual achievementsmay have been compelling, butthis is far more insidious. This isthe cinematic equivalent of aWhatsapp forward, somethingthat will find believers regardlessof what the truth has to say.

30Friday 31 May to 6 June 2019 ENTERTAINMENT

Before Article 15 trailer, Ayushmann Khurranagives us a lesson in India's harsh caste realityThe trailer of Ayushmann Khurrana's upcoming film Article 15

will be out soon and features him as police officer.

Aapki aukaat aapko ye trailer dekhneki anumati nahi deti.'Hindi cinema rarely challenges you; itstrack record of picking up issues thatare thorny is even more patchy. Thatis what makes Article 15, directed byAnubhav Sinha and starringAyushmann Khurrana, so important.Loosely based on the Badaun rapecase where two girls were raped andhanged, the film released a clip to tellaudience what to expect from itstrailer.As soon as the Article 15 clip begins,we see Ayushmann - dressed as apolice officer - saying that you are notallowed to watch this trailer becauseof your "aukaat (status)". He sayspeople belonging to certain castes inIndia have to deal with this sort ofdiscrimination everyday. The teaser ofthe film was released on May 27 thatmarked five years of the Badaun rapecase. The poster of the film was

released earlier and showedAyushmann in an extreme close upshot. It went with the tagline, 'Farqbahut kar liya, ab farq layenge'.Ayushmann had also shared a few

more stills from the film showing himand his team in police uniform.The film throws light on Article 15 ofthe Indian Constitution that prohibitsdiscrimination by the state against anycitizen on the basis of religion, race,caste, sex and place of birth. While

Ayushmann is in the role of leadprotagonist, the supporting castcomprises of Isha Talwar, ManojPahwa, Sayani Gupta, Kumud Mishra,M Naser, Ashish Verma, SushilPandey, Subrajyoti Bharat andMohammad ZeeshanAyyub.Talking about the film,Manoj Pahwa had earliertold IANS in an interview,"This film is not completelybased on the heinouscrime that took place inBadaun where two girlswere raped and hanged. Wecan say that this film isinspired by that incident andwe have included some chunksof it." Produced by BenarasMedia Works, Article 15 wenton floors in March in Lucknowand was wrapped up in April.It will hit theatres on June 28.

Ananya Panday parties with Shah RukhKhan's son Aryan and cousin Ahaan

Actor Ananya Panday,who made her Bollywood debutin Karan?Johar's Student of theYear 2, was spotted partyingwith friends in Mumbai. Alsoseen at the party wereShah?Rukh Khan'sson?Aryan?Khan, actor SanjayKapoor's daughter ShanayaKapoor and Chunky Panday'snephew Ahaan.Pictures of the four with otherfriends are now online. Ananyacan be seen spotting a shortwhite skirt and a matching floralprinted tube top. Aryan iscasually dressed in a loose-fitting sweatshirt and a pair ofcargo pants. Ahaan seems tohave hurt his hand and had it ina sling. Ananya made herBollywood debut at a time whenthere was constant talk around

nepotism. All through thepromotions of her film, she wasconstantly asked about it.Speaking to?Mumbai Mirrorthen, Ananya had candidlyaccepted that being a star kidmeant that it was 'half the battlewon' but she also added that ifone isn't good, rejection canfollow soon too. She had said:"That's half the battle won. Ifyou're not talented, people won'tinvest in you. Period. But at thesame time, I don't want to besilly and give up an opportunitylike this because people arebashing me for being someone'sdaughter. If they don't like me inthe film, I'll will accept that, butat least watch the film."Her father, actor Chunky doesn'tnecessarily take kindly of all thecriticism coming Ananya's way.

'RRANG' will set a benchmark in the concertsproduced in the US by any Indian dance school

(Press Release) Recently a launch event washeld for RRANG Concert. Kishore, Asha andDrishti Varieth and United Fortune Inc. haveworked with the local talent and community tocreate a show that will give opportunity to thetalent in USA to perform and participate in ashow which will star celebrities like RemoD'Souza, Malaika Arora and Tamannah Bhatia.Kishore Varieth wanted to create a show that istruly different and for the past 2 years he hasbeen conceptualizing and preparing for the show.The show will be a multi city tour in September2019 with possible locations like Boston, NJ,Atlanta and Ohio. A concert that will use the

local kids from the families settled in USA andcelebrities from India that will come together topresent a Broadway style Bollywood concert onone seamless stage.With over 400 performers fromthe dance school and famous celebrities addingtheir value to the show the marketing effort for thisshow will be one of its kind. The show will bemarketed as an exclusive, creative live danceexperience. The very glamorous launch of thecoveted show was held at the famous and veryelegantThe Legacy Castle in Pompton Lakes,NJ. United Fortune Inc (UFI), and KishoreVarieth put together a launch event that is trulyfor the royal stars. The dignitaries and gueststhat were invited to this one of a kind launchand poster release included local businesses,social media personalities and media personneland local talent. The event was an introductionof UFI into the media and event managementand to introduce the RRANG show for the localaudience members and possible sponsors for theevent.

The event included the official poster&banner release of the show that will star RemoD'Souza, Malaika Arora and TamannahBhatia. Theshow will star dancers from SatrangiSchool of FusionInc. and the show is choreographed by RohheetBaxiand Satrangi choreographers and teachers. SatrangiSchool of Fusion is known for its grand productionsand performances for over the years and RRANGpromises to beat & scale new heights. The launchevent of RRANG was hosted by talented Sairish Khanand the show included the video bytes by stars in Bollywoodwho are super excited to be part of this show.

31Friday 31 May to 6 June 2019 ENTERTAINMENT

The Spice Girls girls hit the wrong noteFurious fans complain the sound is so bad they can't HEAR the band and some even

WALK OUT after paying £146 for tickets to the first date of their reunion tour

The Spice Girls have kicked offtheir long-awaited reunion tour,as the iconic band took to thestage for their first performancein Dublin on Friday.Emma Bunton, 43, GeriHorner, 46, Mel Brown, 43, andMel C, 45, delighted the crowdof around 58,000 fans with amedley of their greatest hits,and Ginger Spice even paidhomage to her iconic Union

Jack dress with a red and blueRenaissance-style gown.While many fans took to Twitterto share their excitement aboutattending the concert, otherswere quick to share theirdisappointment, as soundproblems inside the stadiummeant they were unable to hearthe show, and one fan evenclaimed they saw 'hugenumbers' walking out of the show.

Although fans were delighted tosee the band finally reunite tokick off their tour, some took tosocial media to complain thatsound issues meant they wereunable to hear the show, with oneeven claiming they saw membersof the audience leaving theconcert.Several also bemoaned theissues given how much they hadspent on the sold-out concert,with ticket prices ranging from£66 to £146.One wrote: 'Sound is so bad... vdisappointing,' while anotherposted: 'Be great if someonecould tell the sound people atSpice Girls that the audiencecan't hear them.'A third also tweeted: 'There'ssomething wrong when thecrowd at @spicegirls concertare all sitting down becauseno one has a clue what songis on because the sound reallyis THAT bad.'

Mouni Roy quits Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s Bole Chudiyan, cites makers’ ‘unprofessional behaviour’ as reasonActor Mouni Roy is no longer apart of Nawazuddin Siddiqui’supcoming film Bole Chudiyaan,the makers and the actorannounced Friday blaming eachother for unprofessionalbehaviour. The producer of thefilm, Rajesh Bhatia claimed thatMouni was being “irresponsible”,while the actor’s spokespersonalleged that the makers wereunprofessional and not her. “We

have invested big amount of moneyand if asking someone in a civilmanner to be professional andcommitted to the role is being rudethan sorry we are in the seriousbusiness of making movies withhigh stakes and it’s not a hobby.“The actor, director, me and Kiran(Bhatia) as content head and asproducers did our best to reasonout with her about lack of herprofessionalism and dedication but

she suddenly lost cool and wasill tempered,” Bhatia claimed in astatement.The 33-year-old actor,who made her big screen debutwith Akshay Kumar’s Gold, wasroped in to play the female leadopposite Nawaz in March thisyear. However, in response toBhatia’s claims her spokespersonhas said the actor had not evensigned the contract for the filmbecause of “discrepancies” in it.

32Friday 31 May to 6 June 2019

Ringleader of Student Loan Debt Relief SchemeLiable for $11 Million in Settlement of FTC Charges

(By our staff reporter )New York: The ringleader of aCalifornia-based student loandebt relief scheme has agreedto settle the Federal TradeCommission’s charges that hebilked $11 mil l ion fromconsumers who were trying toreduce their student loanmonthly payments or get loanforgiveness. Under the modifiedcourt order, recidivist scammerTuan Duong admits he violatedthe 2016 order and is nowbanned from the telemarketingindustry. According to theFTC’s November 2018complaint, Duong, amongothers, falsely promised toreduce students’ monthly loanpayments or to eliminate orreduce their educational debts,but widely failed to deliver thoseservices. The defendants alsoallegedly promoted a 96 percentsuccess rate in reducing

consumers’ student loanpayments. In fact, the FTCalleged, the consumers whopurchased these services oftendid not receive any debt reliefand lost hundreds of dollars.The FTC also alleged that thedefendants charged consumersillegal upfront fees of $300 ormore for these purported debtrelief services. At the requestof the FTC, a federal courttemporarily halted the schemeand froze its assets. In 2015,the Commission sued Duong aspart of Operation Mis-Modification, a joint federal-stateenforcement initiative againstsix fraudulent mortgage reliefschemes. In 2016, the courtgranted the Commission’smotion for summary judgmentagainst Duong. Under the finalorder, the court banned Duongfrom advertising, marketing, orpromoting debt relief services ormisrepresenting any factmaterial to consumers relating

Indian Restaurant owner accused of payingmanager $400 a month, 'taxing' her $370 a month

(SAI Bureau) Blenheim NewZealand: An Indian restaurantowner who allegedly paid hisassistant manager $400 amonth, before "taxing" her $370a month, has called the claimsagainst him a "great fairytalestory".Blenheim man Roger Raizadais also accused of demanding$35,000 from three formeremployees; one for residencysupport, one to get themanager's job, and one if shewanted to see her wages.An Employment RelationsAuthority (ERA) hearing inBlenheim on Monday heard howa labour inspector startedinvestigating Raizada, 57, inMarch 2015 after a complaintfrom a former employee.Raizada owns Maharajah IndiaLtd. His son bought theSeymour St restaurant in 2015,converting it to Raizada IndianRestaurant.The Raizada brand was orderedby MPI last year to stop sellingits gluten-free products online

because it could not prove theywere gluten-free.Vibha Sood was employed asassistant manager at theMaharajah India restaurant in2013.Sood told the hearing she wasnever paid properly, or issuedpay slips, and was told to paythe business hundreds of dollarsin taxes each fortnight. She alsoclaimed Raizada threatened herevery day at work.After two years at therestaurant, Raizada asked Soodfor $35,000, in return for futurevisa/residency support, Sood

said.When she declined, Raizadathreatened her, she said."You were so angry that ... yousaid you were going to kick meand my husband out of thecountry. I left because youwere harassing me," she saidat the hearing. Roger Raizadahas called three formeremployees "blunt liars" at anEmployment RelationsAuthority hearing. FormerMaharajah India Ltd salesmanager Kuljeet Kaur claimedRaizada never paid her wagesor reimbursed her for work-related expenses.Raizada said while he hiredKaur, she had never worked forhim, as she never turned upto work. But he later said hehad given Kaur six weeksunpaid leave "out of kindness"so she could visit her family inIndia. Raizada also said hehad given Kaur money topurchase business items inIndia, but she never paid himback.

Trump weighs plan tochoke off asylum forCentral Americans

(News Agencies)-President Donald Trump isconsidering sweepingrestrictions on asylum thatwould effectively blockCentral American migrantsfrom entering the U.S.,according to severaladministration officials andadvocates briefed on theplan.A draft proposal circulatingamong Trump's HomelandSecurity advisers wouldprohibit migrants fromseeking asylum if theyhave resided in a country

other than their ownbefore coming to theU.S., according to aHomeland SecurityDepartment official andan outside advocatefamiliar with the plan.If executed, it woulddeny asylum tothousands of migrantswaiting just south of theborder, many of whomhave trekked a perilousjourney through Mexico.Trump is weighing themove as he pursues otherContinued on Page 19

3 Indians Charged In Million-Dollar Computer Service Fraud In USThe conspiracy netted at least USD 1.3 million for the three men,

who were arrested and presented before magistrate judge last week.The men were charged in a

conspiracy that netted atleast 1.3 million dollars.

(By our staff reporter) New York-Three Indians have been charged ina million-dollar fraud scheme in theUS in which they remotelyaccessed computers belonging tosenior cit izens withoutauthorisation, caused the machinesto malfunction and lured the victims'into purchasing phony computerrepair services. Gunjit Malhotra, 30,Gurjeet Singh, 22, and Jas Pal, 54,

have each been charged with onecount of conspiracy to commit mailfraud, which carries a maximumsentence of 20 years in prison, andone count of conspiracy to accessa protected computer in furtheranceof fraud, which carries a maximumsentence of five years in prison, theUnited States Attorney for theSouthern District of New YorkGeoffrey Berman said. Mr Bermansaid that for several years the threeexploited elderly victims byremotely accessing their computers

and convincing them to pay forcomputer support services they didnot need, and which were neveractually provided. The conspiracynetted at least USD 1.3 million forthe three men, who were arrestedand presented before magistratejudge last week. Mr Berman said bytargeting the elderly, the three mentook advantage of some of thesociety's must vulnerable members,and they now face criminalconsequences for their allegedpredatory conduct.

Indian American Businessman Nirav Patel indicted in New JerseyAllegedly swindled $750,000 from bar investors(By our staff reporter) New Jersey- Abusinessman has been indicted forallegedly stealing $750,000 that hesolicited from investors toopen a bar and restaurant inHoboken. Nirav Patel, 39, ofHoboken, N.J., was indictedlast week by a state grandjury on a second-degreecharge of theft by deception,as the result of aninvestigation by the Divisionof Criminal Justice Financial& Computer Crimes Bureau. Patel is areal estate and business investor whoseprimary focus has been restaurantsand bars in New Jersey and New York.In 2014, Patel solicited investors for a

World of Beer franchise in Hoboken.Nirav Patel is indicted for theft bydeception. He allegedly accepted

$750,000 from an investmentgroup as a share in theownership of World of BeerHoboken, but failed to usethose funds for the project.Instead, Patel allegedlydeposited the investor fundsin his own business accountand used the money forpersonal and business

expenses unrelated to World of BeerHoboken. “When New Jersey residentsinvest their hard-earned money, theyare entitled to nothing less than a fairand honest deal,” said Attorney General

Gurbir S. Grewal. “We are committedto protecting investors by diligentlyinvestigating allegations of financial fraudand prosecuting dishonest operators.”“We urge individuals who believe theyhave been defrauded to contact theDivision of Criminal Justice toll free at866-TIPS-4CJ,” said Director VeronicaAllende of the Division of CriminalJustice. “We will aggressivelyinvestigate financial crimes andprosecute those responsible to the fullextent of the law.” Second-degreecharges carry a sentence of five to 10years in state prison and a fine of up to$150,000. The indictment is merely anaccusation and the defendant ispresumed innocent until proven guilty.

Continued on Page 19Continued on Page 19

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