% ˆ ˙&’ ˆ˘(#) ˆ ˙ ˝ˇ$ ˘ˇ - the pioneer€¦ · buyer informed police which swung...

12
I f your car is stolen, do check if it is being sold on OLX app. The Delhi Police on Thursday claimed to have arrested a man involved in selling more than a dozen luxury cars stolen from various localities in the nation- al Capital. Police said an FIR will be registered against the OLX management. Active since 2014, the accused had succeeded in sell- ing high-end cars by posting their advertisements on OLX app. However, he ran out of his luck a few days ago. Suspecting something fishy after the accused asked for a nominal price of an expensive car, a buyer informed police which swung into action. East Delhi Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Jasmeet Singh said com- plainant Ravi Saxena approached us on July 8 stat- ing that he saw an advertise- ment related to sale of Volkswagen Polo at a very nominal price, to which he responded and purchased the car for 1,70,000 from one Ankit Pruthi, the accused. “Ankit provided the com- plainant with photocopies of registration certificate (RC) and insurance and assured him to deliver the original after transfer of the registration in the name of the complainant. But despite repeated requests from the complainant, Ankit did not provide him with the original documents. “Suspecting something was amiss, Saxena approached the State Transport Authority (STA) and he was befuddled to know that the said car regis- tration number belonged to another car model ‘Skoda Laura’,” said the DCP. “Having realised that he had bought a stolen car, Saxena asked Ankit to return his money and take the car but Ankit tried to convince the complainant that it was gen- uine. After a few months, the accused switched off his phone,” said the DCP. “Acting on the complaint an FIR was registered. During the course of investigation, it was revealed that there is a gang operating in Delhi and Rajasthan involved in entrap- ping unsuspecting buyers of stolen luxury cars on very cheap price on OLX platform,” said the DCP. “A police team was tasked to collect tip-off about the gang-members which led to the hideout of kingpin Ankit. On September 14, a trap was laid and Ankit was arrested in Jaipur. He had changed his name from Ankit Pruthi to Ankit Arora to hide his iden- tity. Originally from Delhi, he had acquired a Jaipur address,” said the DCP. “Ankit confessed that he used to change his mobile number after every successful sale. We have recovered three cars and trying to locate other cars. Ankit confessed to have sold over a dozen luxury cars using OLX app. Police recov- ered ‘Volkswagon Vento’ and ‘KUV-100’ from Sikar in Rajasthan. These cars were stolen from Delhi’s Hauz Khas and Mehrauli area,” said the DCP. F lagging the issue of exclu- sions in the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam in her meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday pointed out many genuine Indians have been left out of the register, which has excluded 19 lakh people who now face an uncertain fate. Mamata, who handed an official letter in this regard to Shah, however, said the issue of NRC in West Bengal was not discussed but reiterated her stance that it was not needed in the State. Shah had on Wednesday announced yet again the Government’s inten- tion of carrying out the exercise in the entire country. While the TMC supremo maintained that her meetings with the Prime Minister and the Home Minister were not political, it has led to specula- tion that the once-ardent crit- ic of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah is softening her stand. Mamata had called on the PM a day earlier. “I met the Home Minister to discuss about the NRC in Assam and told him that many genuine Indians were excluded from the list. I have requested him to do the needful so that they can be included in the NRC as they are in distress,” she told reporters after the meeting with Shah. Mamata reportedly con- veyed the Home Minister that genuine Indians belonging to Bengali, Bihari, Gorkha and Assamese communities were excluded from the NRC in Assam and sought his inter- vention to alleviate their mis- eries. This was her first meet- ing with Shah, who assumed the office about three months ago following a Lok Sabha election campaign that saw the two sides launch a no-holds-barred attack on each other. “I have requested him to examine their cases and resolve the issues. The Home Minister has assured that he would look into it,” said the TMC chief. The final NRC, a list of Assam’s res- idents and published on August 31, excluded the names of 19 lakh people. The BJP is on the back foot on the NRC as the exclusions have been far less in areas believed to have the max- imum illegal migrants. “Even Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said that the NRC was not required in his State,” she said. BJP general secretary party affairs in-charge in West Bengal Kailash Vijayvargiya tweeted, Ab aya oont pahar ke niche(now she has realised where she stands.) A couple of days ago, Vijayvargiya had said that Mamata was meeting Modi as a “last-ditch bid” to save Kolkata former police chief Rajeev Kumar, who has gone traceless and the CBI has launched a manhunt to nab him. U nion Minister Babul Supriyo was on Thursday shown black flags and heckled by a section of students at Jadavpur University, who also stopped him from leaving the campus prompting West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar to rush to JU along with a large police force. The Governor, who is the chancellor of the university, too faced demonstrations by the students belonging to SFI, Left leaning AFSU and FETSU and AISA, a Naxalite sudents wing, university sources said. They blocked the Union Minister’s way and thumped the bonnet of his vehicle as the policemen kept requesting them to withdraw while the West Bengal Governor was seen helping Babul Supriyo to the vehicle. Dhankhar and Babul Supriyo finally left the campus late in the evening after university teachers stepped in and persuaded the agitating students to lift their blockade, a spokesman of Jadavpur University Teachers Association (JUTA) said. Detailed report on P7 E yeing the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections, the rul- ing Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is leaving no stone unturned to extend its flagship Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinic project in Delhi. Around 140 Mohalla Clinics will be set up by end of this month. The AAP Government has set a target to construct around 800 Mohalla Clinics before the Assembly election process begins in Delhi. The construction 1,000 Mohalla Clinics was one of the AAP’s top promises before the last Assembly polls, but so far 199 clinics are operational. P rime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said he is aghast to see that at a time when the people of Jammu & Kashmir are embracing the “new possibilities” in the wake of the abrogation of Article 370 and the entire country is standing with the Government, the Opposition parties are looking for “polit- ical benefits”. Castigating the Opposition parties, particularly the Congress and the NCP, for their “questionable” stand on the abrogation of Article 370, Modi said, “I am not getting to see senior Congress and NCP leaders cooperate with us and conduct themselves in a man- ner as they ought to be doing at this juncture.” Making no bones about the BJP’s intention that it would go whole hog Kashmir issue in the new context as a major issue in the Maharashtra Assembly polls, the PM unveiled a new vision of mak- ing Kashmir a “paradise” once again. Modi called for “hugging each Kashmiri and creating a “new paradise” in the Valley. Kal tak kahte the Kashmir humaara hai, abhi har Hindustani kahega hume naya Kashmir banana hain, wahan phir se ek swarag banana hain (We used to say till recently Kashmir is part of India. Now every Indian will say we will create a new Kashmir and we will build a paradise once again there). Har kash- miri ko gale lagana hain (We should embrace every Kashmiri),” Modi said. Speaking at a huge rally marking the conclusion of Chief Minster Devendra Fadnavis’ 4,000-km long “Mahajanadesh Yatra” at Nashik, Modi singled out the Congress and the NCP for a vicious attack and said, “The Government has taken such a big decision (on Article 370). This decision was taken to bring out people of J&K and Ladakh from violence, ter- rorism, separatism and cor- ruption. We are trying to implement the decision with minimum inconvenience to people.” “The entire country of 130 crore people is standing as one with the Government. Unfortunately, senior leaders of the Congress and NCP who ought to have been cooperat- ing with the Government and conducting in a circumspect manner, but, I do not get to see such a thing happening,” said the PM. The Prime Minister said that the Opposition was free to criticise the Government, him personally and even Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in Maharashtra. “It is their right to criticise us. They should not be saying certain things in national interests. But their statements are being used by the forces supporting the terrorists to indulge in false propaganda against India.” Hitting out at Congress’ former president Rahul Gandhi whose statement was used by the Pakistani Foreign Minister in making a repre- sentation before the United Nations, Modi said, “It is rather unfortunate that the statements of our Opposition leaders on Kashmir are being used to attack India in international forums. A head of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s week-long visit to the United States start- ing September 21, India on Thursday said it meets the cri- teria for the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) status and Washington should take a call on reinstating it. The US recently removed India from the GSP list of ben- eficiaries which allowed duty- free entry of Indian goods to that country. The contentious issue is likely to come up during Modi’s talks with President Donald Trump. Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said there will be two meetings between Modi and Trump and India is clear that despite the international focus on Kashmir, it will not be on the Prime Minister’s agenda and any offer of mediation is not on the table. Gokhale said, “Article 370 is an internal issue. Terrorism is one among many issues. The focus will be on India’s role at global stage, the Prime Minister will present his vision in this regard.” Modi’s packed schedule includes addressing the annual UNGA session, meeting Trump and 20 other global leaders in bilateral meetings besides addressing the mega ‘Howdy Modi’ event. On September 24, the 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi will be observed at the UN and Modi will be joined by his counter- parts from Bangladesh, Singapore, Jamaica and New Zealand besides the Korean President and the UN Secretary General. On the GSP status, Gokhale said India meets the criteria for trade concessions that the United States ended in June. “GSP is a unilateral decision, given by countries to other countries based on certain cri- teria. We are a developing coun- try, we meet those criteria,” he said. “I do not recall our ever stat- ing that we are not interested in GSP,” Gokhale said at the news conference. Stressing on the importance of trade concessions for India, the Foreign Secretary said the US “unilaterally withdrew that concession; we believe that GSP is something which is important for our industry but ultimately it is a matter for the US to take a call on.” Indian exports are worth over 6.3 billion dollars under the GSP and India was the largest beneficiary of the scheme. After the US decision in June, India reciprocated by increasing the tariffs on 28 products imported from the US, including high- value products like almonds and fresh apples. The US has protested against it at the WTO. In fact, tension over trade ties between the two countries was simmering for the last two years with the US last year increasing tariffs on its steel and aluminium imports. It adversely impacted Indian exports and prompted it to approach the WTO dispute settlement body. The US raised issues with India’s moves to slash the maximum retail prices of essential medical devices and demands that dairy product exporters certify their produce. Modi is scheduled to arrive in Houston on Saturday. A day later, he will be joined by Trump at the mega ‘Howdy Modi’ rally, to be attend- ed by the members of the Indian-American community. The Prime Minister will address the UN General Assembly ses- sion on the morning of September 27, Gokhale said. As the world commemo- rates Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary, Modi will also host a special event ‘Leadership Matters: Relevance of Gandhi in the Contemporary World’ on September 24. He will be joined leaders of a few coun- tries at this event. Modi’s packed schedule also includes a meeting with American CEOs of energy giants on the evening of September 21 in Houston, Texas. A day after the Houston event on September 22, Modi will take part in a cli- mate summit in New York. The bilateral meeting with Trump is on September 24 and an invest- ment roundtable with 40 major companies the next day. On the morning of September 27, local time, Modi will address the UN General Assembly, after which he will leave for Delhi. Incidentally, his address will be followed by his Pakistan counterpart Imran Khan. RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No. - RYP DN/34/2013-2015

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Page 1: % ˆ ˙&’ ˆ˘(#) ˆ ˙ ˝ˇ$ ˘ˇ - The Pioneer€¦ · buyer informed police which swung into action. ... the Home Minister were not political, ... Nashik, Modi singled out the

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����������&��� /�4)�56.

If your car is stolen, do checkif it is being sold on OLX app.

The Delhi Police on Thursdayclaimed to have arrested a maninvolved in selling more than adozen luxury cars stolen fromvarious localities in the nation-al Capital. Police said an FIRwill be registered against theOLX management.

Active since 2014, theaccused had succeeded in sell-ing high-end cars by postingtheir advertisements on OLXapp. However, he ran out of hisluck a few days ago. Suspectingsomething fishy after the

accused asked for a nominalprice of an expensive car, abuyer informed police whichswung into action.

East Delhi DeputyCommissioner of Police (DCP)Jasmeet Singh said com-plainant Ravi Saxenaapproached us on July 8 stat-ing that he saw an advertise-ment related to sale ofVolkswagen Polo at a verynominal price, to which heresponded and purchased thecar for �1,70,000 from oneAnkit Pruthi, the accused.

“Ankit provided the com-plainant with photocopies ofregistration certificate (RC)

and insurance and assured himto deliver the original aftertransfer of the registration inthe name of the complainant.But despite repeated requestsfrom the complainant, Ankitdid not provide him with theoriginal documents.

“Suspecting something wasamiss, Saxena approached theState Transport Authority(STA) and he was befuddled toknow that the said car regis-tration number belonged toanother car model ‘SkodaLaura’,” said the DCP.

“Having realised that hehad bought a stolen car, Saxenaasked Ankit to return hismoney and take the car butAnkit tried to convince thecomplainant that it was gen-uine. After a few months, theaccused switched off his

phone,” said the DCP.“Acting on the complaint

an FIR was registered. Duringthe course of investigation, itwas revealed that there is a gangoperating in Delhi andRajasthan involved in entrap-ping unsuspecting buyers ofstolen luxury cars on verycheap price on OLX platform,”

said the DCP. “A police team was tasked

to collect tip-off about thegang-members which led to thehideout of kingpin Ankit. OnSeptember 14, a trap was laidand Ankit was arrested inJaipur. He had changed hisname from Ankit Pruthi toAnkit Arora to hide his iden-tity. Originally from Delhi, hehad acquired a Jaipur address,”said the DCP.

“Ankit confessed that heused to change his mobilenumber after every successfulsale. We have recovered threecars and trying to locate othercars. Ankit confessed to havesold over a dozen luxury carsusing OLX app. Police recov-ered ‘Volkswagon Vento’ and‘KUV-100’ from Sikar inRajasthan. These cars werestolen from Delhi’s Hauz Khasand Mehrauli area,” said theDCP.

���� /�4)�56.

Flagging the issue of exclu-sions in the National

Register of Citizens (NRC) inAssam in her meeting withUnion Home Minister AmitShah, West Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee onThursday pointed out manygenuine Indians have been leftout of the register, which hasexcluded 19 lakh people whonow face an uncertain fate.

Mamata, who handed anofficial letter in this regard toShah, however, said the issue ofNRC in West Bengal was notdiscussed but reiterated herstance that it was not needed inthe State. Shah had onWednesday announced yetagain the Government’s inten-tion of carrying out the exercisein the entire country.

While the TMC supremomaintained that her meetingswith the Prime Minister andthe Home Minister were notpolitical, it has led to specula-tion that the once-ardent crit-ic of Narendra Modi and AmitShah is softening her stand.Mamata had called on the PMa day earlier.

“I met the Home Ministerto discuss about the NRC inAssam and told him that manygenuine Indians were excludedfrom the list. I have requestedhim to do the needful so thatthey can be included in theNRC as they are in distress,” shetold reporters after the meeting

with Shah.Mamata reportedly con-

veyed the Home Minister thatgenuine Indians belonging toBengali, Bihari, Gorkha andAssamese communities wereexcluded from the NRC inAssam and sought his inter-vention to alleviate their mis-eries. This was her first meet-ing with Shah, who assumedthe office about three months ago following a LokSabha election campaign thatsaw the two sides launch a no-holds-barred attack oneach other.

“I have requested him toexamine their cases and resolvethe issues. The Home Ministerhas assured that he would lookinto it,” said the TMC chief. Thefinal NRC, a list of Assam’s res-idents and published on August31, excluded the names of 19lakh people. The BJP is on theback foot on the NRC as theexclusions have been far less inareas believed to have the max-imum illegal migrants.

“Even Bihar Chief MinisterNitish Kumar said that theNRC was not required in hisState,” she said.

BJP general secretary partyaffairs in-charge in West BengalKailash Vijayvargiya tweeted,“Ab aya oont pahar ke niche”(now she has realised where shestands.) A couple of days ago,Vijayvargiya had said thatMamata was meeting Modi asa “last-ditch bid” to saveKolkata former police chiefRajeev Kumar, who has gonetraceless and the CBI haslaunched a manhunt to nabhim.

���&������&� ���� 1*51(�(

Union Minister BabulSupriyo was on Thursday

shown black flags and heckledby a section of students atJadavpur University, who alsostopped him from leaving thecampus prompting WestBengal Governor JagdeepDhankhar to rush to JU alongwith a large police force.

The Governor, who is thechancellor of the university, toofaced demonstrations by thestudents belonging to SFI, Left leaning AFSU and FETSUand AISA, a Naxalite sudents wing, universitysources said.

They blocked the UnionMinister’s way and thumpedthe bonnet of his vehicle as thepolicemen kept requestingthem to withdraw while theWest Bengal Governor was seen helping Babul Supriyo tothe vehicle.

Dhankhar and BabulSupriyo finally left the campus late in the eveningafter university teachersstepped in and persuaded theagitating students to lift theirblockade, a spokesman ofJadavpur University TeachersAssociation (JUTA) said.

Detailed report on P7

&�������������� /�4)�56.

Eyeing the upcoming DelhiAssembly elections, the rul-

ing Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) isleaving no stone unturned toextend its flagship Aam AadmiMohalla Clinic project in Delhi.Around 140 Mohalla Clinicswill be set up by end of thismonth.

The AAP Government hasset a target to construct around800 Mohalla Clinics before theAssembly election processbegins in Delhi.

The construction 1,000Mohalla Clinics was one ofthe AAP’s top promises beforethe last Assembly polls, but sofar 199 cl inics are operational.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi on Thursday said he

is aghast to see that at a timewhen the people of Jammu &Kashmir are embracing the“new possibilities” in the wakeof the abrogation of Article370 and the entire country isstanding with theGovernment, the Oppositionparties are looking for “polit-ical benefits”.

Castigating the Oppositionparties, particularly theCongress and the NCP, fortheir “questionable” stand onthe abrogation of Article 370,Modi said, “I am not getting tosee senior Congress and NCPleaders cooperate with us andconduct themselves in a man-ner as they ought to be doingat this juncture.”

Making no bones aboutthe BJP’s intention that itwould go whole hog Kashmirissue in the new context as amajor issue in the MaharashtraAssembly polls, the PMunveiled a new vision of mak-ing Kashmir a “paradise” onceagain.

Modi called for “huggingeach Kashmiri and creating a“new paradise” in the Valley.

“Kal tak kahte the Kashmir

humaara hai, abhi harHindustani kahega hume nayaKashmir banana hain, wahanphir se ek swarag banana hain(We used to say till recentlyKashmir is part of India.

Now every Indian will saywe will create a new Kashmirand we will build a paradiseonce again there). Har kash-miri ko gale lagana hain (Weshould embrace everyKashmiri),” Modi said.

Speaking at a huge rallymarking the conclusion ofChief Minster DevendraFadnavis’ 4,000-km long“Mahajanadesh Yatra” atNashik, Modi singled out theCongress and the NCP for avicious attack and said, “TheGovernment has taken such abig decision (on Article 370).This decision was taken tobring out people of J&K andLadakh from violence, ter-rorism, separatism and cor-ruption. We are trying toimplement the decision withminimum inconvenience topeople.”

“The entire country of130 crore people is standing asone with the Government.

Unfortunately, senior leadersof the Congress and NCP whoought to have been cooperat-ing with the Government andconducting in a circumspectmanner, but, I do not get to seesuch a thing happening,” saidthe PM.

The Prime Minister saidthat the Opposition was free tocriticise the Government, himpersonally and even ChiefMinister Devendra Fadnavisin Maharashtra.

“It is their right to criticiseus. They should not be sayingcertain things in nationalinterests. But their statementsare being used by the forcessupporting the terrorists toindulge in false propagandaagainst India.”

Hitting out at Congress’former president RahulGandhi whose statement wasused by the Pakistani ForeignMinister in making a repre-sentation before the UnitedNations, Modi said, “It israther unfortunate that thestatements of our Oppositionleaders on Kashmir are beingused to attack India in international forums.

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���� /�4)�56.

Ahead of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s week-long

visit to the United States start-ing September 21, India onThursday said it meets the cri-teria for the Generalised Systemof Preferences (GSP) status andWashington should take a callon reinstating it.

The US recently removedIndia from the GSP list of ben-eficiaries which allowed duty-free entry of Indian goods to thatcountry. The contentious issueis likely to come up duringModi’s talks with PresidentDonald Trump.

Foreign Secretary VijayGokhale said there will be twomeetings between Modi andTrump and India is clear thatdespite the international focuson Kashmir, it will not be on thePrime Minister’s agenda and anyoffer of mediation is not on thetable.

Gokhale said, “Article 370 isan internal issue. Terrorism isone among many issues. Thefocus will be on India’s role atglobal stage, the Prime Ministerwill present his vision in thisregard.”

Modi’s packed scheduleincludes addressing the annualUNGA session, meeting Trumpand 20 other global leaders inbilateral meetings besidesaddressing the mega ‘HowdyModi’ event. On September 24,the 150th anniversary ofMahatma Gandhi will beobserved at the UN and Modiwill be joined by his counter-parts from Bangladesh,

Singapore, Jamaica and NewZealand besides the KoreanPresident and the UN SecretaryGeneral.

On the GSP status, Gokhalesaid India meets the criteria fortrade concessions that theUnited States ended in June.“GSP is a unilateral decision,given by countries to othercountries based on certain cri-teria. We are a developing coun-try, we meet those criteria,” hesaid.

“I do not recall our ever stat-ing that we are not interested in

GSP,” Gokhale said at the newsconference.

Stressing on the importanceof trade concessions for India,the Foreign Secretary said theUS “unilaterally withdrew thatconcession; we believe that GSPis something which is importantfor our industry but ultimatelyit is a matter for the US to takea call on.”

Indian exports are worthover 6.3 billion dollars under theGSP and India was the largestbeneficiary of the scheme. Afterthe US decision in June, India

reciprocated by increasing thetariffs on 28 products importedfrom the US, including high-value products like almondsand fresh apples. The US hasprotested against it at the WTO.

In fact, tension over tradeties between the two countrieswas simmering for the last twoyears with the US last yearincreasing tariffs on its steel andaluminium imports.

It adversely impactedIndian exports and prompted itto approach the WTO disputesettlement body.

The US raised issueswith India’s moves to slashthe maximum retail pricesof essential medicaldevices and demands thatdairy product exporterscertify their produce.

Modi is scheduled toarrive in Houston on

Saturday. A day later, he willbe joined by Trump at the mega‘Howdy Modi’ rally, to be attend-ed by the members of theIndian-American community.The Prime Minister will addressthe UN General Assembly ses-sion on the morning ofSeptember 27, Gokhale said.

As the world commemo-rates Mahatma Gandhi’s 150thbirth anniversary, Modi willalso host a special event‘Leadership Matters: Relevanceof Gandhi in the ContemporaryWorld’ on September 24. He willbe joined leaders of a few coun-tries at this event.

Modi’s packed schedule alsoincludes a meeting withAmerican CEOs of energy giantson the evening of September 21in Houston, Texas. A day afterthe Houston event on September22, Modi will take part in a cli-mate summit in New York. Thebilateral meeting with Trump ison September 24 and an invest-ment roundtable with 40 majorcompanies the next day.

On the morning ofSeptember 27, local time, Modiwill address the UN GeneralAssembly, after which he willleave for Delhi. Incidentally, hisaddress will be followed by hisPakistan counterpart ImranKhan.

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Rajnath Singh on Thursdaybecame the first Defence

Minister to fly in the indige-nously designed and built Tejaslight combat aircraft (LCA)Tejas. A "thrilled" Singhdescribed the 30-minute expe-rience as "one of the mostmemorable events my life." Heeven controlled and flew theaircraft for full two minutes inthe two-seater jet which under-took the sortie at the HindustanAeronautics Limited (HAL)air-port in Bengaluru.

Incidentally, his predeces-sors George Fernandes andNirmala Sitharaman had flownin MIG-21 and SU-30 respec-tively. But no Defence Ministerso far had flown in the Tejaswhich is now in the process ofinduction in the IAF with abatch of 40 jets. The inductionwill boost the air defence capa-bilities of the force.

After the sortie, Singh saidhe chose the aircraft because itwas built indigenously anddescribed the flying experienceas thrilling. "Flight verysmooth, comfortable, I wasthrilled. It was one of the mostmemorable events of my life,"said the 68-year-old Singh afteralighting from the aircraft.

"This is an indigenousplane. So, it came naturally tome to fly in Tejas and experi-ence the flying. It was also tocheck under what conditionsdo our fighter pilots fly these

aircraft. This is why I flew inthis aircraft," the Minister said.

Wearing a G suit, holdinghis helmet under his arms andsporting aviator glasses, Singh looked every inch afighter pilot.

Visibly impressed by theperformance of the planewhich over the years cameunder lot of criticism due torepeated delays thereby addingto the cost of the first indige-nously designed fighter jet,Singh said, "I want to congrat-ulate HAL, DRDO and sever-al agencies concerned. We have reached a level wherewe can export fighter planesacross the world...Countriesin South East Asia have showninterest in purchasing Tejasaircraft," he said.

An official said theMinister also "controlled" andflew the aircraft for around twominutes. However, the minis-ter said he was following

orders."But those two minuteswere memorable," he said. Ina tweet, Singh said: "The 'G-Suit' and 'Tejas': It was a mem-orable experience. Thank you@IAF_MCC @HALHQBLR &@DRDO_India for this proudmoment."

"Special thanks to AVM, NTiwari, who is also the ProjectDirector, National Flight TestCentre, ADA (AeronauticalDevelopment Agency) for thesortie," he said. Air ViceMarshal Tiwari, who is the alsothe Project Director, NationalFlight Test Centre, AeronauticalDevelopment Agency (ADA),Bengaluru, flew the aircraft.

Talking about his experi-ence of flying with the DefenceMinister, Tiwari said, "RakshaMantri (Defence Minister) wasflying the aircraft in the air (for2 minutes), and he liked it. Wewent all the way up to 2 to 2.5g.But I was showing him moreavionics and sophisticated sys-tems that we have on board likelaser designation pod, usingwhich you can pick up targetseven from 20-25 km away."

When a person is standingstill on earth, the amount offorce exerted by earth's gravi-tational field is "one g". Fighterpilots have to bear higher num-ber of g's as they fly at highspeed and altitude.

Tiwari said the Ministerwas very happy with the flyingquality, "the smoothness, thecontrols, and the way the air-craft was flying".

�������������������� ��������������� ���� /�4)�56.

Union Minister PrakashJavadekar on Thursday

claimed there is no financialcrisis in India and theGovernment has taken all nec-essary steps and fundamentalsof economy are strong.

"To make the economystronger, the Government hastaken all measures and I wantto say that the fundamentals ofthe country's economy arestrong. We are not in any cri-sis. Some reactions from non-banking financial companies(NBFCs) are there. But we areaddressing all issues," he told apress conference at his resi-dence here.

As to the Congress's attackon the Government for havingthe upcoming event 'HowdyModi' in Houston, USA despitean economic slowdown,Javadekar said the Congresswould never get such an oppor-tunity like Prime MinisterNarendra Modi.

"The stadium is alreadyhouseful for the 'Howdy Modi'event. Congress has never gotthis much popularity and willnever get. I can only say thatgrapes are sour," said Javadekar,who is the minister of infor-

mation and broadcasting andenvironment and climatechange.

The Minister also took aswipe at former MadhyaPradesh Chief MinisterDigvijay Singh for his "saffron-clad rapists" remark, sayingeven the Congress does nottake him seriously.

"Even Congress does notgive importance to him. Whyshould we react? We have seenhis mentality after the Mumbaiterror attacks. Since then he hasbeen making such statements,"he said.

Singh on Tuesday made acontroversial remark at anevent in Bhopal that people insaffron clothes were commit-ting rapes, even in temples. Acase has reportedly been lodgedagainst the Congress leaderfor making such an allegation.

0*�#����� ���������1��2 ��&�����3 �" ���� /�4)�56.

Ending the suspense over theappointment of the new

IAF Chief days before incum-bent BS Dhanoa retires onSeptember 30, the Governmenton Thursday announced thatpresent Vice Chief Air MarshalRKS Bhadauria will be thenext Air force Chief. He is thesenior most officer afterDhanoa. However, he was set toretire the same day as Dhanoaafter attaining the age of 60.Bhadauria will now head theIAF for two years.

An experienced fighterpilot, Bhadauria had led thenegotiations with Franceregarding the Rafale fighter jetdeal. It is a Government togovernment contract for buy-ing 36 jets worth over � 60,000crores. The first plane will behanded over to IAF in Franceon October 8 and the entirefleet of jets will be inducted by2022.

As the Deputy Chief of IAF,Air Marshal Bhadauria playedan important role during thecontract negotiations for 36Rafale jets. Due to his role inthe negotiations, the first Rafalebuilt by Dassault Aviation forthe IAF, a two-seater variant,which made its maiden flightlast year in France is designat-ed with his name as RB-008.The RB-008 is an instrument-ed aircraft and will be used toincorporate, test and validatethe 13 Indian SpecificModifications (ISE). It will alsobe the 36th aircraft to be deliv-ered to the in 2022, 67 months

after the contract was signed.Bhadauria was commis-

sioned into the fighter streamof IAF in June 1980, and hasheld various Command, Staffand Instructional appointmentsat various levels including thepresent one as Vice Chief of AirStaff.

He has over 4,250 hours ofexperience on twenty six typesof fighters and transport air-craft with the unique distinc-tion of being an ExperimentalTest Pilot, a Cat 'A' QualifiedFlying Instructor and a PilotAttack Instructor.

During his nearly four-decade career, Bhadauria com-manded a Jaguar squadronand a premier Air ForceStation. He was also the ChiefTest Pilot and Project Directorof the National Flight TestCentre on Light CombatAircraft (LCA) project. He wasextensively involved

in the initial prototypeflight tests on the LCA.

Present IAF Chief andChairman Chiefs of StaffCommittee (CCSC) Air ChiefMarshal BS Dhanoa will passon the CCSC baton to ArmyChief General Bipin Rawatwho would then be the seniormost Service Chief. GeneralRawat retires in December.

��*���2�����������, �!���������,�����,��� �3�����������������&��������� ���� /�4)�56.

The Singh brothers, Digvijay and Lakshman,on Thursday put the Congress in a spot with

their statements. While Digvijay alleged that"people donning saffron robes were committingrapes", a remark from which the Congress dis-tanced itself, his brother Lakshman asked for-mer party chief Rahul Gandhi to apologise tothe farmers as the promised loan waiver to themhas not materialised so far.

However, the Congress was more embar-rassed due to the remark of Lakshman, a partyMLA. "Farm loans were not waived even aftereight months, let alone ten days," LakshmanSingh said.

Rahul Gandhi, speaking at a farmers' rallyat Mandsaur in June 2018, had promised loanwaiver within 10 days of the Congress comingto power in the then BJP-ruled state. InNovember 2018 assembly elections, the Congressousted the BJP from power and formed gov-ernment after 15 years.

"Farmers are going to banks with waiver cer-tificates issued by the state government. But thebanks are refusing to waive the loans, saying theyhaven't received money from the government.Rahul Gandhi should return to the same plat-form where he had promised to implement loanwaiver within ten days if elected to power, andapologise to the people," said Lakshman, a five-time MP and currently MLA from Chanchoda..

"This (apology) would make his (Rahul's)

stature taller. He should also clarify how longit will take to waive all farm loans, as promised,"added Lakshman. The Kamal Nath governmentin the state needs to arrange Rs 45,000 crore tofulfill the promise of loan waiver and it may takeup to two years, he claimed.

His elder brother, Digvijay kicked up a rowby saying that people donning "saffron robes"are committing rapes which are taking place in"temples", and thus defaming the SanatanDharma (ancient religion). Some anonymousposters have also come up in Bhopal against him,demanding a ban on his entry to Hindu religiousplaces. He said that such acts are "unforgivable".

Though Singh did not take names, his com-ments come close on the heels of a SupremeCourt-appointed Special Investigation Team(SIT) probing allegations of rape levelled againstBJP leader Swami Chinmayanand by a law stu-dent in Uttar Pradesh.

The Congress said a criminal should bepenalised on the basis of the crime committedand should not be judged by the clothes wornor the religion followed.

"We heard about the comment. I don't knowin what context it was made. But, the partythinks that criminals do not get affected by therobes they don. Criminals are independent ofwhat they wear, what their beliefs are." "A crim-inal is a criminal and should be seen by the crimecommitted and not by the clothes worn or reli-gion one belongs to," Congress Secretary PranavJha told the reporters.

���������� ������������������������ ������!" �� � /�4)�56.

In its bid to create awarenessacross the country on the

"positive impact" on strippingJammu & Kashmir of its auton-omy accorded to it by Article370 , the BJP has planned 10meetings of its senior leadersand Union Ministers in theState, including a large gather-ing in Srinagar, the State Capital.

The Modi-Governmenthas done away with Article 370and Article 35-A, pertaining tothe exclusive residency rights ofthe Kashmiri natives, by a voteof Parliament on August 05.

The 'Jan- Jagran Abhiyan'

(public awareness campaign)launched for the purpose wouldtake National party leaders,MPs, MLAs and Ministers todifferent parts of the countryincluding Jammu & Kashmir.

Under the programme, theparty has decided to organise370 small indoor meetings and35 big meetings, signifyingArticle 350 and Article 35 A,across the country, includingsix in Jammu and Kashmir.

BJP President Amit Shahwould lead party campaign inMumbai on September 22.Defence Minister RajnathSingh and other UnionMinisters will take part in the

party's rally on the eve ofMaharaja Hari Singh's 125thbirthday on Sunday at Jammu.

Besides the general public,these meetings will target opin-ion-makers and influential per-sonalities from different walksof life. Two meetings have beenheld in Udhampur and Kathuain Jammu & Kashmir and goingby the response, it has beendecided to organise four moresuch meetings, party leaderssaid. Union Minister JitendraSingh had addressed the meet-ings in Kathua and Udhampur,the source said, adding thatthree more meetings are sched-uled for this month.

&����������������*������������*�����/45������ �������� ���� /�4)�56.

The Centre is consideringproviding insurance cover

of � 4 lakh each to over 40,000panch and sarpanch in Jammu& Kashmir due to their vul-nerability to terror threats.The Union Home Ministry isalso planning to educate theleaders of the lowest level of theelected bodies on the centrallaws and other facilities to beapplicable and available inJammu & Kashmir after theabrogation of Article 370 pro-visions.

"We are examining theproposal to provide insurancecover of �4 lakh to all Panchand Sarpanch in Jammu &Kashmir," a senior Home

Ministry official said. The move comes after a

delegation of panch andsarpanch of Jammu & Kashmirmet Union Home MinisterAmit Shah recently andrequested him for the insurancecover due to the terror threatsto them.

The delegation hadsought an insurance cover ofRs 2 lakh each to the Panchand Sarpanch, but the centralgovernment is planning togive them the cover of Rs 4lakh each, the officials said.The panchayat elections inJammu & Kashmir were heldlate last year in which over40,000 Panch and Sarpanchwere elected to these localbodies.

����������������������������������� ������������������������ ���� /�4)�56.

The Agriculture Ministryhopes to get the Parliament's

nod to two long-pending Billson pesticide management andseeds in the next session. ThePesticide Management Bill thatwill replace the InsecticidesAct, 1968 seeks to regulate the

pesticide sector by fixing pricesand setting up of a regulatoryauthority while the Seeds Bill,which will replace the Seeds Act1966, seeks to regulate the pro-duction, distribution and sale ofseeds. The Bill was put on holdin 2015 after it drew flak onenabling provision for geneti-cally modified crops.

Minister of State forAgriculture Parshottam Rupalaon Thursday said that the gov-ernment is pursuing them veryseriously. I hope they will bepassed in the next session ofParliament. The government isconcerned about sale of spuri-ous seeds and pesticides. TheseBills aim to address this issue

as well, he said at an event. On the draft of the Pesticide

Management Bill, officials inthe agriculture ministry said,the government would consti-tute an authority which shall fixthe price at which notified pes-ticides are to be sold. Currently,there is no mechanism to reg-ulate the pricing and farmers

are at the mercy of companies.The new law will be in line withthe international norms beingpractised by global leaders.

As per the proposed law,pesticide companies will haveto pay a huge penalty of Rs25,000 to Rs 50 lakh - up to awhopping 70 times than theexisting provision of Rs 500-

!���"#��������$����������������%�&���'(�������)� �������

New Delhi: Security forcesdeployed in the anti-Naxalcombat grid have launched amassive operation to find outand defuse IEDs as over 260troops have either been killedor injured in these blasts in thelast about three years, officialssaid Thursday.

They said the decision hasbeen taken after it was seen thatMaoists were increasingly rely-ing on Improvised ExplosiveDevices (IEDs) to target secu-rity force personnel deployed inthe Left Wing Extremism(LWE) combat grid.

As per the latest dataaccessed by PTI, over 73 secu-rity personnel have been killedin IED blasts in various statesover the last three years timewhile more than 179 have beeninjured.

The data pertains to the

period between 2017 andAugust this year.

The maximum such fataland non-fatal casualties havetaken place in the centralIndian state of Chhattisgarhthat is stated to be the worst-Naxal violence-affected state bysecurity forces, owing to thehigh casualty rate of forces.

"A massive operation isbeing conducted to seek anddestroy IEDs in various LWEaffected states. The CRPF, othercentral armed police forces(CAPFs) and state police forceshave been sensitized about thethreat posed by these con-cealed bombs," a senior secu-rity official based here said.

The number of IED blastincidents has also been more-or-less the same overthe last three years' time peri-od, he said.

The data shows that whilea total of 43 such incidents tookplace in 2017, they rose to 79

last year and over 51 have been recorded till Augustthis year.

Similarly, 6 civilians werekilled in these Naxal triggeredblasts in 2017, 8 last year and three have lost their livesthis year.

"The Naxals are now notgetting into one-to-one battlewith forces as their combatstrength has depleted along

with their weaponry andammunition. The sustainedoperations by the CRPF andother forces have surely takena huge toll on them.

"They are hence looking tohit the security forces throughIEDs which ensures that theydo not have to face the forces,"CRPF Deputy InspectorGeneral (DIG) MosesDhinakaran said.

The Central Reserve PoliceForce is the lead security forcefor anti-Naxal operations in thecountry and has deployed closeto a lakh troops for this task invarious states.

The force has recoveredover 1,500 IEDs during thesame time period, the data said,with 830 being in 2017, 425 lastyear and the rest during thisyear. Small teams comprisingexplosive detection dogs andpersonnel equipped with deepsearch detectors have beendeployed for the latest opera-tion, an official based inChhattisgarh said.

"We do not have gadgets orequipments that can detect ahidden IED in all cases but vul-nerable areas have beenmapped and an extensive driveis on to seek these bombs outand destroy them in a con-trolled manner," theChhattisgarh-based officeradded. PTI

*3���������/4�����*���������"���"� ������������������� ���5������New Delhi: The SupremeCourt on Thursday summonedthe Home Secretary of UttarPradesh after taking a seriousview of the State Government’sfailure to respond to a plea bya “minor” Muslim girl, who haschallenged the Allahabad HighCourt order by which her mar-riage was found to be void.

The 16-year-old girl haschallenged the high courtorder, saying that as per theMohammedan Law, once afemale attains the age of puber-ty, that is 15 years, she is independent to take deci-sions for her life and is com-petent to marry any one of herown choice.

When the matter came upfor hearing before a bench ofJustices NV Ramana and Ajay Rastogi, the counselappearing for the State, sought time to file a responseon the petition.

"Let the chief secretaryappear (in court). Then hewill understand the seriousness of the matter," thebench said in an oral observation.

Later, the bench sum-moned the home secretary

of Uttar Pradesh and directedhim to personally appear beforeit on September 23.

The top court noted in its order that despite grantingtime to the state's counsel for filing reply on the plea, the lawyer has not receivedproper instruction from the department concerned.

"We are forced to compelthe appearance of SecretaryHome (of Uttar Pradesh) toappear personally before uson Monday (September 23),"the bench said. PTI

#$���� ����������������%��������&��� ���� ������'���� ������������New Delhi: The SupremeCourt on Thursday refused tokeep in abeyance the non-bailable warrant (NBW) issuedagainst the superintendent ofdistrict jail of Gautam BuddhNagar in Uttar Pradesh forreleasing an accused fromprison despite the apex courtorder cancelling his bail.

The matter was mentioned

before a bench comprisingJustices N V Ramana and AjayRastogi and the counselappearing for the jail superin-tendent said the officer wouldappear before the court onSeptember 23 as directed by thetop court, but the NBW shouldbe kept in abeyance till then.

"Let him come (before thecourt)," the bench said.

The lawyer, while sayingthat the superintendent hadcommitted a mistake, againurged that the NBW be kept inabeyance.

"No. Let him appear.Nothing will happen till then.You are admitting that you haveviolated the order. I am notgoing to change my order,"Justice Ramana said. PTI

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RAIPUR | FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 20, 2019chhattisgarh 03

STAFF REPORTER nRAIPUR

Country Head of WorldBank, Junaid Kamal

Ahmed on Thursday metChief Minister BhupeshBaghel at his official resi-dence and assured of provid-ing every possible help forthe state government’s flag-ship welfare scheme, NarvaGarva Ghurva Badi(NGGB).

Chief Minister apprisedthe World Bank officialabout the NGGB schememeant for strengtheningagrarian economy.

The duo discussed indetail about use of innovativetechnologies in order topromote agriculture in lesserdeveloped areas.

Regarding NGGB Baghelinformed that the govern-ment is getting overwhelm-ing response from allsections of rural society.

It was informed to theWorld Bank official thatunder Narva the government

is making committed effortsfor recharging rivers-rivuletswhile Garva stands forefforts for development ofbovine wealth. Gauthans(Cowsheds) are being con-structed across the state as aday-care centre for cattle, theCM informed. Breeding andmilk production is also beingpromoted there, he added.

They are being linkedwith women self-help group

and youth so that employ-ment generation is also done,he further said.

Due to construction ofGauthans farmers now need-n’t have to protect their cropsfrom straying cattle by put-ting up fence around theirfields, he said.

Under Ghurva, com-posed and vermi manure isbeing prepared and biogas isgenerated from cow-dung,

he said.Under Badi, production

of vegetables and seasonalfruits is being promoted atthe kitchen garden of thefamers, the CM said.

Chief Secretary SunilKujur, AgricultureProduction Commissioner,K.D.P. Rao and PrincipalSecretary to CM, GauravDwivedi were also presentduring the meeting.

World Bank to lendhelping hand for NGGB

STAFF REPORTER nRAIPUR

The prime accused inAntagarh bribery case,

Manturam Pawar on Thursdaysaid he was ditched by the BJPafter withdrawing thenominations from Antagarhby-polls-2014.

“I neither got monetarybenefits which they promisednor did they have given me astate assembly or parliamen-tary berth”, Manturam said.

In a press conference atRaipur Press Club, Manturamclaimed that in a well plannedconspiracy hatched by Raman,Ajit and Amit Jogi he wastrapped and was a loser bothways.

“More distressing was thateven though I was promised tobe elevated in the party ladder,my political rival VikramUsendi was made the Memberof Parliament and the BJP’sState President”, he said.

“I had a meeting with

Raman Singh at MedantaHospital in Gurugram with themediation of Firoz Siddiqueand one Sanjay Agrawal whereit was assured to me that all mydemands would be fulfilled byson-in-law of Raman PunitGupta with the help of the thenminister Rajesh Munat”, hesaid.

It was not mere monitorybenefit that drove me to with-draw nominations from theby-polls but their threat wasalso one of the reasons, he said.

Manturam furtherdeclined that he had takenbribe for withdrawing thenominations. “If I had done sowhy then I would approach thecourt. I might have keptsilence as the others do,” headded.

“Following the disclosureof involvement of political big-wigs in the graft case, I am nowfacing life threat and my life isat present in danger,” heclaimed.

Manturam also blamedAjit Jogi for dismal perform-ance of the Congress in 2008and 2013 state assembly elec-

tions and leveled allegationthat the polls were fixed as Jogimade efforts to preventCongress from coming topower by having a silent pactwith Raman Singh.

Congress was able toregain power only after thisfather and son duo, Ajit andAmit Jogi were shown the doorby the party, he said. He appre-ciated the courage of ChiefMinister Bhupesh Baghel forousting them from theCongress party.

He further asserting thathe was willing to give voicesample to SIT which is probingthe matter and challengedPunit Gupta and Ajit Jogi togive their voice samples too sothat the truth may come tofore.

Six other candidates in thesaid by-polls were also presentin the press conference. Theytoo alleged that they werepressurized with money andmuscle power to withdrawtheir nominations.

Ditched by BJP, neither got moneynor any coveted post: Manturam

RAIPUR: Bharatiya JanataParty state spokesperson andex-MLA ShrichandSunderani said ManturamPawar is acting to the scriptwritten by Congress keepingin mind the Dantewada by-poll. After the by-poll he willbe irrelevant.

Sunderani reacting to thepress conference ofManutram Pawar held onThursday, said there is men-tion of Dantwada by-poll.The Congress party will tossManturam out like a fly isthrown out of milk. The vin-dictive government is pulling

ropes from behind whileManturam is dancing to itstunes. He will not be able toprove in the court whateverhe’s saying now, the BJPleader said.

Sunderani said he is justrepeating what he is asked tosay.

Backing former chiefminister Raman Singh andhis cabinet colleague RajeshMunat, BJP leader said theydo not have any links to thewhole case. BJP is contem-plating taking different legalaspects against ManturamPawar and others.

Manturam will beirrelevant after poll: BJP

STAFF REPORTER nRAIPUR

The union Ministry ofCoal has taken policy

decisions to ensure earlyoperationalization of coalmines and is in the process ofsimplifying environmentclearances, stated UnionSecretary of Coal SumantaChaudhuri here onThursday.

The secretary wasaddressing a stakeholderconsultation to addressissues related to coal sectorin the eastern states jointlyorganised by the Ministry ofCoal, Government of Indiain and Federation of IndianChambers of Commerce andIndustry (FICCI).

“Ministry of Coal has

already taken policy deci-sions to ensure early opera-tionalisation of coal mineswhich includes allowing saleof 25% coal in open marketin case of allocation for spec-ified end use plant, relax-ation in efficiency parame-

ters, provision of grace peri-ods, introduction of e-CPMP, MDMS portal etc,”the union secretary said.

Ministry is also workingon the policy interventionsto develop a single windowscheme for faster approvals

of clearances from variousCentral/ State agencies.Ministry of Coal has startedthe process of auctioning 27coal mines and allotment of15 coal mines to Central PSUand State PSU’s, the secretaryadded.

The Secretary alsoinformed that theGovernment of India is inthe process of removing theneed for CentralGovernment’s approvalbefore the State Governmentgrants mining lease.

The secretary requestedthe state governments toexplore the possibility of auto-maticity and simplification ofgranting of mining lease.

Chairman FICCI -Chhattisgarh State CouncilPradeep Tandon said that thestate has 16% of the total coaldeposits of India and con-tributes over 18% to the totalnational production.

Tandon spoke on theneed to address the availabil-ity of coal at source as well asby asking the allottee PSUs topart some coal for powerplants in Chhattisgarh, as itwill save them huge trans-portation cost and in turnprovide cheap power fromthese plants. He also spokeabout disposal of fly ash inabandoned SECL mines.

Coal ministry to simplify envr clearance process for mines

STAFF REPORTER nRAIPUR

Saurabh and Vaibhav, thetwo young talented musi-

cians from Ambikapur cityof the state made it big at theprestigious IIFA awards cer-emony held in Mumbai.

They won the best musicaward for the movie ‘SonuKe Titu Ki Sweety’.

Vaibhav Singh Sengarwho did his schooling inAmbikapur spoke to ThePioneer after winning thecoveted award. Here areexcerpts.

“Our competition waswith great musicians of ourtimes like Amit Trivedi,Sanjay Leela Bhansali andShankar Ehsan Loy. We hadnever thought of winning it,”Vaibhav said.

“Standing on the stage, Iwas seeing the huge crowd infront of us. The distin-guished crowd which rulesBollywood was cheering forus. The thrill and feel weretoo wonderful to be

expressed in words,” Vaibhavshared.

“As soon as we camedown from the stage afterreceiving the award,Ayushman Khurana cameforward and hugged us, it

was surreal,” he recalled.According to Vaibhav,

who has been a strugglingmusician along with hispartner Saurabh Gupta forpast over a decade, the IIFAawards provided them

recognition they were look-ing for.

“The award has escalatedthe stakes. Now we need tooutperform our last perform-ance and the struggle has notyet ended because the successthat we want is at the nextlevel and there are too manyrunners. So, the challengestill stands tall,” he said.

Vaibhav said, “SinceThursday morning after thenews of the awards broke, Ihave been flooded with callsand greetings on socialmedia. I had to recharge mymobile twice.”

Vaibhav, who is the elderson of Orthopedician Dr BSSengar, smartly skirted aquestion on when he wouldend his bachelorhood.“Marriage is a very compli-cated process,” he quipped.

Saurabh, Vaibhav from Ambikapurwin IIFA award for best music

STAFF REPORTER n DURG

Chief Minister BhupeshBaghel on Thursday

assured that Manturam, whohad made startling allegationsagainst some political bigwigsin Antagarh graft case, wouldbe provided adequate securityas he feared threat to his life.

The Chief Minister alsoclaimed that Manturam’s dis-closure in the case brought the“the real face of state’s formerChief Minister Raman Singh tothe open.”

Baghel while talking tomedia persons here at a schoolin Bhilai said the Congress

which had fought against thebribery case is now payingdividends.

The Congress had thenprotested over the issue atnational capital’s Jantar Mantarand right from the beginning wasclaiming that there was a high-level deal for withdrawal of nom-ination.

Notable, the then Congresscandidate who had withdrawnnominations in Antagarh by-polls in 2014 had now leveledserious allegations against state’sformer chief ministers RamanSingh and Ajit Jogi claiming theyforced him to do so.

Real face of Raman has come to fore: Baghel

STAFF REPORTER nRAIPUR

To promote sale of agricul-tural produce, forest pro-

duce and handloom prod-ucts of Chhattisgarh atnational and international-level, International Buyer-Seller Meet is being organ-ised in capital city Raipurfrom September 20-22.

It will be inaugurated byChief Minister BhupeshBaghel on September 20.

Nearly 60 internationalbuyers from 19 countries andaround 120 sellers fromacross the state would partic-ipate in this meet. In thismeet discussions betweeninvited buyers and sellerswould be held, contracts andMoUs will also be signed.

On September 22, theproducts will be exhibited inopen for common people tovisit and purchase. This meet

will be held in Hotel Sayaji,GE Road, Raipur.

It will provide an oppor-tunity to farmers of the stateto directly connect with theinternational buyers andexplore the possibilities oftrade. This will help them inearning better value for theirproducts, without any mid-dlemen.

Int’l buyers-sellers meetin Raipur from today

Nearly 60international

buyers from 19countries andaround 120sellers from

across the statewould participate

in this meet

Holiday declaredon Dantewadaby-poll dayRAIPUR: Government ofChhattisgarh announced a generalholiday on the day of voting for theDantewada assembly by-poll sched-uled on September 23 in all the areaswithin the constituency. The pollingwill be held from 7.00 AM to 3.00PM.

General administration depart-ment stated that all the offices basedin the assembly constituency limitswill remain closed.

Similarly, in another order, itstated that the earned leave will beprovided to all the workers of busi-ness, trade, industrial units or anyother establishment who wanted toavail the leave to exercise their fran-chise.

A circular to secretary labourdepartment, all commissioners anddistrict collectors have been sent forproviding earned leave to theemployees for polling or allowingthem time to participate in thepolling.

STAFF REPORTER n BHILAI

Launching the ‘Neev andBhasha Pitara’ at Bhilai,

Chief Minister Bhupesh Bagheldonned the role of a teacher andshared the story ‘Chalab BhauraChalabo’ (come on we will playspinning top) on Thursday withthe children.

He also laid the foundationstone for a new building ofGovernment Girls HigherSchool. With dedication of Ataltinkering lab to the public, soyamilk distribution also started.The Neev programme materialsand others were also released.Baghel also held discussion withthe students who are selected forstate-level science exhibition.

While narrating the story,

he asked as how three childrenhaving two spinning tops play,and said first two will play andthe first top which fell after spin-ning will hand it over to thirdpersons.

The ‘Basha Pitara’ has beenprepared for primary languageteaching and learning mainlyverbal language development,awareness to sound, literacy,vocabulary, decoding, readingand related activities, writingand academic support. It has 48hand-outs and 4 activities col-lection.

The ‘Neev’ programme is ajoint effort of Rajiv GandhiEducation Mission, SCERT withLanguage and LearningFoundation.

CM turns teacherfor school children

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Union Home Minister AmitShah will chair the northern

zonal council meeting on Fridayin the city.

The NZC is comprised ofthe states namely Haryana,Himachal Pradesh, Punjab,Rajasthan, union territories ofChandigarh, Jammu andKashmir and Laddakh andGovernment of NCT of Delhi.

It would be the first NZCmeeting for Jammu and Kashmirand Ladakh as union territories.

The Chief Ministers ofHaryana, Punjab, HimachalPradesh, Rajasthan alongwithtwo Ministers each,Administrators of union terri-tories will attend the meeting.Chief Secretaries and seniorofficers from the StateGovernments and the CentralGovernment will also attendthe meeting to be held at HyattRegency, Industrial Area here.

The last meeting of theNZC was held in 2017 atChandigarh and was presidedover by the then Union HomeMinister Rajnath Singh.

The zonal council will dis-cuss broad range of issues includ-ing boundary related disputes,security, infrastructure relatedmatters like road, transport,industries, water and power,matters pertaining to forests &environment, housing, educa-tion, food security, tourism,transport among others.

The Union Home Ministeris also scheduled to launch the

emergency helpline number112 here. However, the oldnumbers including 100, 101and 102 will continue to workand if people call on them, theircalls will reach the new controlroom in the city.

Security has been beefed upacross the city in view of AmitShah’s visit. The NZC meet willbegin at around 11 am andShah is scheduled to return at5:30 pm.

The inter-state issues includ-ed boundary dispute betweenHaryana and Himachal Pradesh,enhancing capacity of head reg-ulator of Indira Gandhi Feederat Harike, Sutlej Yamuna Linkcanal among others will beraised at the meeting.

Chandigarh Administrationhas decided to raise the issues ofpreservation of Sukhna Lake,burden on Post GraduateInstitute of Medical Educationand Research, financial grant toPanjab University, construction

of outer ring road and renamingof Chandigarh InternationalAirport at the meeting.

Punjab Governor andChandigarh Administrator VPSingh Badnore and his AdvisorManoj Parida will attend themeeting to represent the city.

Manoj Parida said, “Withthe PGIMER reeling underimmense pressure due to ever-increasing rush of patientsfrom the neighboring states,the ChandigarhAdministration will push forde-congesting the tertiary levelhealthcare institution.

He said that theAdministration will also requestthe Centre to provide financialassistance for the construction ofouter ring road

Notably, as per a study ofthe daily (24 hours) traffic atthe outer cordon points, about1,52,650 vehicles enter or leaveChandigarh on a typical work-ing day. Madhya Marg is theworst affected road since it pro-vides the shortest and mostdirect connection between thesatellite townships ofChandigarh. An outer ringroad was planned to provide analternative route for these vehi-cles in transit.

Preservation of SukhnaLake and its catchment area,naming of ChandigarhInternational Airport andfunds demand by PanjabUniversity will be among otherissues to be raised at the meet-ing by the Administration, headded.

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With less than two monthsto go for historic 550th

prakash purb of Guru NanakDev, Punjab Chief MinisterCapt Amarinder Singh onThursday took stock of ongo-ing construction work forKartarpur corridor, while sanc-tioning �75.23 crores forwidening and strengtheningof the major roads leading tothis iconic town.

The Chief Minister alsoapproved Rs 3.70 crores for theconstruction of a HeritageStreet and Food Street for themega event, while issuing aseries of directives to variousdepartments for ensuring time-ly completion of all develop-ment works for the celebration.

At the same time, theShiromani Aklai Dal ridiculedthe Chief Minister for “forcibly”making “on-the-spot and fakeannouncement” of projectsworth �75 crore. “Theannouncements were madewithout realising that the com-pletion of these projects injust about seven weeks, includ-ing the construction of quali-ty roads leading to the main sitebefitting the sanctity and sig-

nificance of the occasion,would be impossible and non-practicable,” said SAD MLAand former minister BikramSingh Majithia.

Accompanied by hisCabinet colleagues, the ChiefMinister inspected theKartarpur Corridor construc-tion works at the Indo-Pak bor-der, including the IntegratedCheck Post (ICP) constructionproject, where he interacted

with the construction workers.He was apprised about the

upcoming passenger terminalat ICP, which would have totalcapacity of 5000-10000 andwould be fully equipped withultra-modern facilities.

Chairing the third meetingof Dera Baba NanakDevelopment Authority(DBNDA), constituted toensure holistic developmentof historic town associated

with the first Sikh Guru, theChief Minister directed all topofficials to ensure timely com-pletion of the various projectsrelated to the 550th prakashpurb celebrations.

Capt Amarinder asked thePrincipal Secretary CivilAviation to take up the issue ofspecial chartered flights fromLondon and other Europeancountries to Amritsar for facil-itation of the devotees settledabroad.

He also asked the con-

cerned officials to take up withthe Indian Railways the issue ofincrease in frequency of specialtrains to the city during the his-toric occasion.

Reviewing the status ofthe work connected with therequisite basic amenities, logis-tics and infrastructure works inthe adjoining 12 villages, CaptAmarinder directed the offi-cials to ensure timely arrange-ments to facilitate the millionsof devotees expected to con-verge at the historic city for the

historic event.During the meeting, the

Chief Principal Secretary toCM Suresh Kumar said thatthough works to the tune of�450 crores had been initiatedat Sultanpur Lodhi, Batala andGurdaspur, it was necessary tokeep in place a contingencyplan to ensure that the devoteesexperience no problems duringtheir visit. The official pro-gramme for the main eventshould also be released soon, hesuggested.

+������������.��$����/�����������������Chandigarh: Senior SADleader Bikram Singh Majithiasaid that Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh and histeam’s photo-op trip to DeraBaba Nanak backfired asinstead of getting any StateGovernment contribution orproject to highlight, the ChiefMinister had to be contentwith getting clicked alongsidethe Government of India’s on-going projects.

Majithia, however, addedthat the Chief Minister andhis government would dowell to exhibit greater com-mitment, seriousness andsolemnity during this augustand historic phase. “For SAD,

we would appreciate anynoble and meaningful stepswhich the state governmentmight take as its contributionto the historic and sacredoccasion. As of now, even theCM is finding it hard to puthis finger on a single contri-bution of his governmentwhich he could be proud of,”he quipped.

He said that the ChiefMinister tried to make somelast-minute but belatedannouncements to one of themost sacred and historicevents in living history has sofar been abysmal, amountingpractically to zero.

PNS

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Equating the proposed facil-itation charges on visitors to

the historic Gurdwara SriKartarpur Sahib in Pakistanwith ‘jizya’ (Jazia) — a taximposed in earlier times onnon-Muslims in Muslim coun-tries, Punjab Chief MinisterCapt Amarinder Singh onThursday reiterated hisdemand for its immediate with-drawal.

Capt Amaridner, who vis-ited Dera Baba Nanak onThursday along with his cabi-net colleagues to reviewed theprogress on the Kartarpur cor-ridor on Indian side, said thatemperor Akbar had abolished“jaziya”, a controversial andregressive tax, during his rule.

“The proposed service orfacilitation charge of 20 US dol-lars on each visitor is againstthe Sikh ideology of allowing‘khulle darshan deedar’ (freeaccess) of the gurudwara sahibsthat remained in Pakistan afterthe partition,” he said.

Capt Amarinder pointedout that he had already soughtPrime Minister NarendraModi’s intervention to pres-surise Pakistan into withdraw-ing its proposed service charge.

Capt Amarinder had alsosuggested that the Minister ofExternal Affairs should take upthe matter in the bilateral meet-ings subject for early resolution.

Pakistan, during joint sec-retary-level talks between thetwo nations early this month,had insisted on charging a ser-vice fee of 20 US dollars fromeach Indian pilgrim. TheShiromani Akali Dal and theBJP too had equated the pro-vision with “jaziya”.

Expressing confidence thatthe work on Kartarpur Corridoron the Indian side would becompleted by October 30, CaptAmarinder expressed concernsabout the pace of progress onthe Pakistani side. Regarding“security threat” along the cor-ridor, Capt Amarinder under-lined the “need to remain onconstant guard”.

About differences with theShiromani GurdwaraParbandhak Committee on the550th birth anniversary cele-brations of Sikhism founderGuru Nanak Dev, he said thatthe talks were progressing cor-dially and his Cabinet col-league Sukhjinder SinghRandhawa had attended ameeting on Wednesday toresolve all issues amicably.

The Chief Minister onceagain urged one and all to riseabove petty politics to celebratethe historic event in unison. Healso urged the people to con-serve water and air.

On Congress MLA NavjotSingh Sidhu’s absence fromthe review meeting, Captainpointed out that it was aCabinet review and Sidhu wasno longer a minister in his cab-inet.

Speaking on the increasedpenalty under the Motor VehicleAct, the Chief Minister said thatsince the Union Governmenthad left the final decision to thestates, the Minister concernedwas looking into the matter.

The Kartarpur corridor willconnect the Darbar Sahib —the final resting place of GuruNanak Dev — in Pakistan’sKartarpur with the Dera BabaNanak shrine in Gurdaspurdistrict of Indian Punjab.

It will facilitate a visa-freemovement of Indian pilgrims,who will have to just obtain apermit to visit Kartarpur Sahib.

Pakistan is building the cor-ridor from the Indian border tothe Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, whilethe other part from Dera BabaNanak in Gurdaspur up to theborder is being built by India.

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Haryana Government hasbegun the process of can-

celling the licence given toRobert Vadra’s Sky LightHospitality to develop land thatwas later transferred to realtymajor DLF for �58 crore, offi-cials said on Thursday.

Director of the state’s Townand Country PlanningDepartment KM Pandurangsaid the procedural formalitiesto cancel the licence had beencompleted keeping in with pro-visions of the HaryanaDevelopment and Regulationand Urban Areas Act, 1975. Theformalities include servingnotices on the coloniser and giv-ing it an opportunity to be

heard.“We have to follow proce-

dure of cancellation which weare following and the formali-ties have been completed. Wegave them notice and hearingopportunity, which has con-cluded. Now, we have to take adecision and that process is on,”he said.

Pandurang said the muta-tion of the land was set aside bythe then director general, con-solidation of holdings in 2012,thus affecting the title of theland. “There were issues regard-ing title of the land,” he said.

The 1991-batch IAS officerAshok Khemka had shot tolimelight in 2012 when he hadcancelled the mutation of theland deal between Skylight

Hospitality and the DLF.A year ago, Chief Minister

Manohar Lal Khattar whileresponding to a question on the issue, had said that thelicence of the piece of land inGurugram’s Sector 83 which was sold to SkylightHospitality and then transferred to DLF was “deemed to have lapsed”.

The licence for the landparcel had not been renewed, Khattar had then said.

The BJP has alleged thatthere were irregularities in theland deal involving Vadra, theson-in-law of Congress chiefSonia Gandhi, during the termof the previous BhupinderSingh Hooda government inthe state.

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Haryana Congress PresidentKumari Selja on Thursday

said that those who want to con-test the Assembly elections onCongress ticket will have to sub-mit application form to bySeptember 23.

The prospective candidates

can submit application online orat Party office. For the GeneralCategory candidates, the feefor ticket application is Rs 5,000while the candidates of SC willhave to deposit fee of Rs 2,000.

The State Congress chiefurged the interested candidatesto download application formfrom party’s website and submit

it by September 23. After this, no application

will be admitted. The applicantwill have to pay the fee throughdraft. Only then their applica-tions will be discussed, shesaid, adding the candidateapplying for the ticket will haveto follow party’s prescribedrules and regulations.

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Benjamin Netanyahu's mainchallenger Benny Gantz on

Thursday presented himself asthe next prime minister, hoursafter the embattled Israeli pre-mier urged the Blue and Whiteleader to join him in forminga unity Government to avoid athird election.

With nearly 97 per cent ofthe votes counted on Thursday,Gantz's Blue and White partywon 33 seats while Netanyahu'sLikud secured 31 seats inIsrael's 120-memberParliament.

Gantz, 60, said he intendsto form and lead a "broad, lib-eral, unity government."

"After an election that wasforced on Israel, (people) votedand made a clear choice. Thepeople voted for unity andKahol Lavan won the election.It's the biggest party," he added.

He said the Israeli peoplewanted a unity governmentafter the last election too andvowed to form a "broad, liber-al unity government."

"In order to form a unitygovernment, one can't comewith political blocs and spins,"Gantz said, referring to theright-wing religious bloc'smove to recommendNetanyahu as the next primeminister after no clear winneremerged in the unprecedentedrepeat polls.

"You come with responsi-bility and seriousness. I attendto act accordingly," Gantz wasquoted as saying by theHaaretz. Gantz said he will notaccept any dictates. "There willbe no shortcuts."

His comments came after69-year-old Netanyahu said hewanted to form a right-winggovernment, but the resultsshowed it was not possible. Hecalled on Gantz to meet him "atany hour today" in order tohold discussions for a unitygovernment.

"Benny, it's on us to estab-lish a wide unity governmenttoday. The nation expects us,the both of us, to work togeth-er. Let's meet today.

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Iran's foreign minister warnedThursday that any attack on

his country over a drone-and-missile strike on Saudi Arabia'soil industry will result in "all-out war," further pushing uptensions across the PersianGulf.

The comments byMohammad Javad Zarif repre-sent the starkest warningoffered yet by Iran in a longsummer of mysterious attacksand incidents following thecollapse of Iran's nuclear dealwith world powers, over a yearafter President Donald Trumpunilaterally withdrew Americafrom the accord.

Zarif 's comments alsoappeared to be in response toUS Secretary of State MikePompeo, who a day earlierwhile travelling to Saudi Arabiareferred to the attack as an "act

of war." Asked by CNN what would

be the consequence of a US orSaudi strike, Zarif said: "All-outwar."

"We won't blink to defendour territory," he said.

Pompeo wrote a tweet earlyThursday after his meetingwith Saudi Crown PrinceMohammed bin Salman inJiddah over Saturday's droneand cruise missile attack on acrucial oil processing facilityand oil field.

Yemen's Iranian-backedHouthi rebels have claimedthe attack, but the US allegesIran carried out the assault.

Pompeo called the attacks"unprecedented."

"The US stands with#SaudiArabia and supports itsright to defend itself," Pompeosaid.

"The Iranian regime'sthreatening behaviour will not

be tolerated." Pompeo did not elaborate.

President Donald Trump hasbeen noncommittal on whetherhe would order US military

retaliation. He separately said

Wednesday he is moving toincrease financial sanctions onTehran over the attack, without

elaborating. Iran already is subject to a

crushing American sanctionsprogram targeting its crucial oilindustry.

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US Secretary of State MikePompeo on Thursday

said he preferred a "peacefulresolution" to a crisis sparkedby attacks on Saudi oil infra-structure, as Iran warnedagainst "all-out war".

Pompeo has blamed Iran for the weekend assaulton two facilities which wiped out half of Saudi oilproduction, dismissing itsdenials and condemning the"act of war".

The rhetoric has raisedthe risk of an unpredictableescalation in the tinderboxregion where Saudi Arabiaand Iran are locked in adecades-old struggle for dom-inance.

Visiting the United ArabEmirates, Pompeo howeversaid his country would prefera "peaceful" solution to thecrisis.

"We'd like a peaceful res-olution," he said.

"I hope the IslamicRepublic of Iran sees it the

same way," he told reporters after talks with theleaders of the United ArabEmirates.

Iran's Foreign MinisterMohammad Javad Zarif ear-lier warned any US or Saudimilitary strike on Iran couldcause "all-out war."

"We don't want war, we don't want to engage in amilitary confrontation," he told CNN in an interview aired Thursday. "Butwe won't blink to defend ourterritory."

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War-weary Afghanistan washit with its third straight

day of bloody carnage Thursday,as a Taliban car bomb flatteneda hospital and killed 20 peoplein the south, while nine othersdied in a drone strike in the east.

The surge in violence, withcivilians paying the heaviestprice, has come after USPresident Donald Trump calledoff talks with the Taliban thatcould have seen Washingtonbegin withdrawing troops, andas the country gears up for apresidential election.

The insurgents respondedto Trump's declaration that thetalks were "dead" earlier thismonth by promising to contin-ue fighting, and have vowed totarget the September 28 polls,Afghanistan's fourth presiden-tial election since the hardlineIslamist group was ousted frompower in 2001.

Thursday's bloodshedbegan near dawn, when theTaliban killed at least 20 peopleand wounded 90 after a car

bomb destroyed a hospital inthe southern Afghan city ofQalat.

Hours later, reportsemerged of an overnight dronestrike in eastern Nangarharprovince said to have killed atleast nine civilians who hadbeen camping in the moun-tainous region as they collectedpine nuts.

The US is the only memberof the international coalition inAfghanistan that provides airsupport in the conflict, butthere was no immediate state-ment from its forces inAfghanistan, the United Nationsor NATO.

The strike came just hoursafter four people were killed onWednesday when unknowngunmen and a suicide bomberstormed a government buildingin nearby Jalalabad, capital ofNangarhar province. OnTuesday, the Taliban killed near-ly 50 people in two separateattacks —one on a campaignrally for President Ashraf Ghaniin the central province ofParwan, and the other in Kabul.

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Former British PrimeMinister David Cameron

revealed Thursday that heasked Queen Elizabeth II tointervene in the Scottish inde-pendence referendum, riskingthe irritation of the nominallyneutral head of state.

Cameron, who led the suc-cessful campaign for Scotlandto stay in the United Kingdomin the 2014 referendum, said heasked if she could offer even a"raising of the eyebrow" toindicate her opposition toindependence.

He told the BBC he spokewith the queen's private secre-tary, "not asking for anythingthat would be in any wayimproper or unconstitutional,but just a raising of the eye-brow, even, you know, a quar-ter of an inch — we thought

would make a difference." A few days before the vote,

the queen told a member of thepublic in Scotland that shehoped "people would thinkvery carefully about the future"— comments that made head-lines. Scotland voted by 55 percent to stay in the UK.

In a BBC documentary tomark the publication of hismemoirs, Cameron said that"although the words were verylimited, I think it helped to puta slightly different perceptionon things".

Buckingham Palace toldAFP it would not comment onhis remarks, but a royal sourcetold the BBC they had causedsome displeasure.

"It serves no one's interests"for conversations between themonarch and her prime min-isters to be made public, thesource was quoted as saying.

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British Prime Minister BorisJohnson has been accused

by European Union officials offailing to negotiate seriouslyand branded the "father of lies"by a lawyer in the UK SupremeCourt, as his plan to leave theEU in just over six weeks facedhurdles on both sides of theChannel.

In Strasbourg, France, theEuropean Parliament said onWednesday it would be thefault of Britain, not the bloc, ifthe UK crashed out of the EUwithout a divorce deal on thescheduled October 31 departureday.

In London, Johnson's gov-ernment battled to convince theUK's top court that the primeminister's decision to suspendParliament for five weeks withBrexit looming was neither ille-gal nor improper. The govern-ment's opponents claimJohnson illegally shut down thelegislature to prevent lawmak-ers from scrutinising his Brexitplans.

Government lawyer JamesEadie told 11 Supreme Courtjustices that the decision tosend lawmakers home untilOctober 14 was "inherently andfundamentally political innature," and not a matter for thejudiciary. He said that if thecourt intervened it would vio-late the "fundamental constitu-tional principle" of the separa-tion of powers.

But a lawyer for lawmakerschallenging the shutdownaccused the government ofbeing "unworthy of our trust.""We've got here the mother ofparliaments being shut down bythe father of lies," said attorneyAidan O'Neill.

He urged the judges to"stand up for truth, stand up forreason, stand up for diversity,stand up for Parliament, standup for democracy."

The judges, for their part,wondered why Johnson hadrefused to provide a swornstatement to the court about hisreasons for the suspension.

"Isn't it odd that nobody hassigned a witness statement to

say: 'This is true. These are thetrue reasons for what wasdone'?" said one of the judges,Nicholas Wilson.

The developments were thelatest in a rocky week forJohnson, who pulled out of anews conference with the primeminister of Luxembourg onMonday because of noisy pro-testers nearby. On Wednesdayhe was berated by the father ofa sick child over funding cuts toBritain's health service as he vis-ited a London hospital.

Johnson took power in Julywith a vow that Britain will leavethe EU on Oct. 31 "come whatmay." He promised to break astalemate that saw the Brexitagreement struck between theEU and Johnson's predecessorTheresa May rejected threetimes by Britain's Parliament,prompting May to resign.

Many lawmakers believe ano-deal Brexit would be eco-nomically devastating andsocially destabilising, and haveput obstacles in Johnson's path,including legal challenges to theParliament shutdown.

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Beijing on Thursday accusedWashington of "adding fuel

to the fire" of Hong Kongunrest after leaders of the city'spro-democracy movementappealed directly to US law-makers to exert pressure onChina.

Activists from the semi-autonomous city testifiedbefore a congressional com-mission in support of US leg-islation aimed at defendingcivil rights in Hong Kong,which has been convulsed byweeks of huge, sometimes vio-lent rallies.

Foreign ministryspokesman Geng Shuang saidat a press briefing Thursday thatthe US should "stop supportingviolent radical forces and HongKong independence separatists,and stop adding fuel to the fireto the words and deeds thatdamage the prosperity and sta-bility of the Hong Kong SpecialAdministrative Region."

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Two classmates of a Hindudental student have been

detained by the police inPakistan's Sindh province aftershe was found dead in her hos-tel room, a media report saidon Thursday.

Nimrita Chandni, a final-year student of Bibi Asifa

Dental College in Larkana dis-trict and a social activist, wasfound lying on a cot by herfriends on Monday with a ropetied to her neck.

The two suspects, bothclassmates of Chandni, weretaken into the custody by thepolice after tracing the call datafrom the deceased's cell phone,Geo News reported.

Her room was locked frominside. Police have not yetascertained whether she com-mitted suicide or was mur-dered.

The girl hailed from Ghotkidistrict, which recently wit-nessed riots after a school prin-cipal from the minority Hinducommunity was booked oncharges of alleged blasphemy.

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India has become a leader inthe global fight against a

youth e-cigarette epidemic bytaking a "historic" decision toban such nicotine and tobaccoproducts, a US-based top advo-cacy group has said.

The Government onWednesday banned produc-tion, import and sale of e-cig-arettes and similar products,citing health risk to people,especially youth. An ordinancewill be brought in to make it anoffence, entailing jail term of upto three years as well as fine.

The decision was taken bythe Union cabinet headed byPrime Minister NarendraModi.

President of Campaign forTobacco-Free Kids Matthew LMyers said India's decision toban the sale, manufacture,import and advertising of e-cig-arettes nationwide was a "boldeffort" to protect youth fromthe risk of nicotine addiction.

He praised theGovernment for taking suchdecisive action to prevent ayouth e-cigarette epidemic inIndia.

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Philippine health officialsdeclared a polio outbreak in

the country on Thursday, near-ly two decades after the WorldHealth Organisation declared itto be free of the highly conta-gious and potentially deadlydisease.

Health Secretary FranciscoDuque III said at a news con-ference that authorities haveconfirmed at least one case ofpolio in a 3-year-old girl insouthern Lanao del Surprovince and detected the poliovirus in sewage in Manila andin waterways in the southernDavao region.

Those findings are enoughto declare an outbreak of thecrippling disease in a previouslypolio-free country like thePhilippines, he said.

The World Health Organisation and theUnited Nations Children's Fund expresseddeep concern over polio'sreemergence in the countryand said they would supportthe government in immunizingchildren, who are the most sus-ceptible, and strengtheningsurveillance.

"As long as one single child remains infected, children across the countryand even beyond are at risk ofcontracting polio," UNICEF Philippines repre-sentative Oyun Dendevnorovsaid.

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Page 6: % ˆ ˙&’ ˆ˘(#) ˆ ˙ ˝ˇ$ ˘ˇ - The Pioneer€¦ · buyer informed police which swung into action. ... the Home Minister were not political, ... Nashik, Modi singled out the

It’s almost been two months since PrimeMinister Narendra Modi upset thePakistani applecart by amending Article370 of the Constitution and dividing theerstwhile State of Jammu & Kashmir

(J&K) into two Union Territories. To suggestthat the Pakistani leadership has gone ballis-tic, as it finds itself scrambling to come up witha coherent policy to counter Modi’s initiative,would be an understatement. Of course, with-in the Valley, stringent security measures thathave been in place since August 5, have notjust prevented any display of collective angerbut have also made it extremely difficult toassess how the average Kashmiri will respondonce restrictions are lifted.

There is little doubt that the biggestimpediment to the integration of the State intothe Indian Union has been Article 370, whichcame into effect on January 26, 1950, whenthe Constituent Assembly approved and pro-mulgated the Constitution. In effect, theArticle kept the question of J&K joining theUnion of India ambivalent. This despite thefact that the Maharaja of J&K had signed theDocument of Accession unconditionallyand had willingly accepted the State’s integra-tion into the Indian Union, as was his rightto do. This ambivalence, along with the man-ner in which the Central and StateGovernments have acted over the years, hasconfused and strained the loyalties ofKashmiris towards the country.

The irony is that while Pakistan is nowobjecting to the abrogation of Article 370 andcalling it illegal, its position on this issue wasdiametrically opposite in 1951. This can beinferred from the Pakistan Government’s let-ters No S/2119 and S/2145, addressed to thepresident of the United Nations SecurityCouncil (UNSC), which though not availablein the public domain, implies just that. Thestatement of the then UNSC President to theSecurity Council made at that time read:“Members of the Security Council, at its 548thmeeting held on May 29, 1951, have heardwith satisfaction the assurances of the repre-sentative of India that any ConstituentAssembly that may be established in Srinagaris not intended to prejudice the issues beforethe Security Council or come in its way. Onthe other hand, the two communications tome, as President of the Council, from the rep-resentatives of Pakistan, set forth in docu-ments S/2119 and S/2145, contain reportswhich, if they are correct, indicate that stepsare being taken by the Yuvaraja of J&K to con-voke a Constituent Assembly, one functionof which, according to Sheikh Abdullah,would be ‘a decision on the further shape andaffiliation poof Kashmir’. It is the sense of theSecurity Council that these reports, if correct,would involve procedures which are in con-flict with the commitments of the parties todetermine the future accession of the State bya fair and impartial plebiscite conducted underUnited Nations auspices.”

If the contents of the letters do confirmwhat is suggested, then Pakistan must certain-ly be asked to justify the change in its stance.

What this will prove is thatPakistan’s actions are lacking inconsistency and are hypocritical,to say the least. Not that the issueof hypocrisy is in doubt given itsblatant disregard for UN resolu-tions. One may recall that bothIndia and Pakistan had acceptedthe United Nations SecurityCouncil Resolution (UNSCR)No 80 of March 14, 1950, thatcalled for plebiscite. This was con-ditional as the first step in thatprocess was the withdrawal ofPakistani forces within fivemonths. That Pakistan refused towithdraw from the territories ithad illegally occupied and con-tinues to subjugate till date is notdisputed.

Moreover, it went further inthis regard by taking unilateralsteps to cede territories to China,separated Gilgit and Baltistanadministratively from Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir and carriedout extensive and widespreaddemographic changes in thisregion, thus reducing theKashmiri population to a minor-ity. In these circumstances, thevalidity of the resolution is inquestion.

Not surprisingly, Pakistan isnot the only one left tongue-tiedand confused by recent events.Opposition parties back home,both at the national and Statelevel, such as the Congress andits allies along with the Left, theNational Conference, and thePeoples Democratic Party(PDP), too, found themselves ina similar predicament. Of course,one can sympathise with the

confusion within the Kashmiriparties given the fact that theirfirst-rung leadership remains indetention or “protective cus-tody”, whichever way one maylike to term it. Yet, their confu-sion appears to have been bornout of a sense of apathy, tunnelvision and a refusal to undertakeany change in status quo, despitebeing fully aware that substan-tive political steps needed to betaken if the cycle of violence wasto be broken and insurgencystamped out. Their inactionclearly showed that not only didthey accrue benefits from the“business of insurgency” butwere also apathetic to the con-sequences of their actions on thelocal population, the Army, theCRPF and local police, whocontinued to pay in blood.

The parties also ignored thefact that the BJP had included theabrogation of Articles 370 and35A in its election manifesto andthat these issues were findingincreasing prominence in thepublic discourse. Given the PrimeMinister’s track record in suchmatters during his first tenure,they cannot be fully blamed forbeing lulled into a sense of com-placency. Opposition parties havesubsequently also had to dealwith the overwhelming supportthis action received within thecountry, leaving aside some ele-ments in the Kashmir Valley, whoin any case will never be pleasedwith whatever the CentralGovernment does.

“Mainlanders”, as Indiansfrom outside the Valley are

referred to by the locals, are most-ly at a loss to understand the angstof the average Kashmiri. The airof entitlement and superioritythat pervades the Valley is utter-ly incomprehensible, given thefact that it is the taxpayers’money that has been utilised overthe decades to feed their egos andlifestyles.

Facts will speak for them-selves: With just one per cent ofIndia’s population, the Statereceived 10 per cent of all Centralgrants between 2000 and 2016. Incomparison, Uttar Pradesh, thataccommodates 13 per cent of thepopulation, received just 8.5 percent of these grants within thesame period. Not that this infu-sion of funds has done anythingfor the average Kashmiri, espe-cially when one sees that the netper capita State GDP increasedfrom approximately �40,000 toonly around �60,000 during2012-17.

In comparison, in a hill Stateof similar size, Himachal Pradesh,the per capita net GDP grewfrom �80,000 to �1,20,000 with-in the same period. Therefore, theaverage taxpayer is certainly enti-tled to ask where has all themoney gone? Who is to be heldaccountable and why wasn’t thisstep taken three decades ago, ifnot earlier? Many have expresseddoubts that the abrogation ofArticle 370 has played into thehands of the separatists. Bydestroying the credibility of theleadership of the mainline polit-ical parties within the State, it willbe the militants who will fill the

vacuum left behind. That supportwould be contingent on thebelief that the CentralGovernment will usher in demo-graphic changes that will impingeon their culture, language and theway of life.

This need not be so if theregion is given a special statusunder Article 471, as has beendone for other States likeHimachal Pradesh, Uttarakhandand some in the North-East.However, what is undeniable isthat every Kashmiri, whetherhe/she admits it or not, is fullycognisant that status quo overthese past decades has only heldthem hostage to unending vio-lence and a scramble to eke outa living. They also know that overthe years, the only ones to havebenefitted were the politicians,the separatists and those runningthe administration as they wereall complicit in ensuring thatrequired checks and balancescould be avoided.

Well, if Prime Minister Modican implement even half of whathe has promised, there is littledoubt that J&K will undergo amassive transformation for thebetter. Therefore, the choicebefore the people is crystal clear.The only thing one can no longerdo is to sit astride both boats andblame the consequences on circumstance or fate.

(The writer, a military veter-an, is a consultant with theObserver Research Foundationand a Senior Visiting Fellow withThe Peninsula Foundation,Chennai)

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Sir — Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanathdeserves commendation fordoing away with the four-decade-old illogical practice of payingincome tax of Ministers from thepublic exchequer. One wonderswhy and how the anti-publicpolicy was adopted and why it isstill prevalent in Madhya Pradesh,Chhattisgarh, Haryana,Uttarakhand and HimachalPradesh. These States must alsoabolish the practice.

At the very least, the PrimeMinister can advise the BJP-ruled States to do so and hopethat the remaining would followout of a sense of shame. Salaries,perks, privileges and post-retire-ment benefits, including pen-sion to all those in the legislature,should be taken up by the Centre,rather than leaving them at thediscretion of State Governments.

SC AgrawalDelhi

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Sir — India has done well to banthe sale of electronic cigarettes.

With 106 million adult smokers,the country ranks second only toChina in the world, making it alucrative market for companiesmaking vaping products such asUS-based Juul and Philip Morris,who manufacture the heat-not-burn tobacco device.

Essentially, the ban can cut offa huge future market from e-cig-arette makers at a time when the

number of people smokingworldwide is seeing a decline.

As expected, the Associationof Vapers India, which representse-cigarette users, attacked theGovernment’s decision, saying itwould deprive millions of smok-ers of a safer solution to cut backon smoking. They say vaping is farless harmful than smoking tobac-co. But many tobacco-control

activists are of the view that theusage of such devices could lead tonicotine addiction and push thepeople towards the consumptionof tobacco. With this ban, muchmore holistic work is needed tobring down the overall tobacco usein India. Clearly much more needsto be done for a smoke-free nation.

J Akshay Bengaluru

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Sir — This refers to the editorial,“Farooq, now a threat”(September 18). It is unfortunatethat former Jammu & KashmirChief Minister Farooq Abdullahwas arrested and his home turnedinto jail under the draconianPublic Safety Act, which entailsdetention of up to two years for“posing a threat to State securityand territorial integrity.” His arrestspeaks more about theGovernment than about a manwho, until now, was the face of themoderate Kashmiri.

He and his son, OmarAbdullah, may have much answer-ing to do about their record of gov-ernance in Jammu & Kashmir butnone can question their fealty tothe Constitution. It is known thatthis 82-year-old man is no threatto Indian territorial integrity orState security. It is astonishing thatthe court has accepted it withouteven questioning the Centre forusing a draconian Act against a keypolitical leader.

JS AcharyaHyderabad

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There is a performance zone in which weall thrive. When handling critical projects,teams not only require resources but also

need to work in an environment free from dis-tractions and disturbances so that they canachieve their objectives. It is always the last lap,“minutes of terror” rather, that defines the dif-ference between success and failure.

A calm, sedate environment and resoluteattention to micro-details are not only requiredbut also expected. After investing so much effortin planning, if things go wrong, the team hasto take all the negative consequences in theirstride. Particularly when it is something as crit-ical as a space mission that is on the global radar,apart from being a matter of immense nation-al pride.

Something similar happened recently withthe Chandrayaan-2 mission at the Indian SpaceResearch Organisation (ISRO), an institution thecountry takes immense pride in. After the spaceagency lost communication with the Vikramlander ahead of the touchdown, the visuals ontelevision sets were of bewildered and disap-pointed faces in the mission control room,which was crowded with clunky cameras andpeering eyes.

A frustrated look here, a distracted coun-tenance there, the devastation and tension waspalpable and writ large on the faces of the staff,desperately trying to make contact with theVikram during the final act. In their hearts, theywere probably also praying to be left alone todo their jobs since a complication had arisen.It was not as if they didn’t know failures, the suc-cess of their launches has come through them.And perhaps, they are best equipped to handletheir lows but not at the expense of beingpanned by the world.

The price of encroaching upon mental andphysical spaces — no matter how slightly or rev-erently — comes at the cost of the team’s opti-mal functioning. It can handicap its focus onthe crucial work at hand.

The sanctity of the operation control roomcannot be violated. No external gadgetry or per-sonnel should ever make way into the sanctumsanctorum. What if a short circuit happened dueto faulty equipment brought in? There’s alwaysthe possibility of a camera battery catching fireor some such mishap. Where would that leadus? It was surprising to see such a risky act play-ing out freely in front of our eyes in the mis-sion control room itself. The operation controlcentre is kept out of bounds to non-essentialstaff, personnel and gadgets. In the entirescheme of things, mission control rooms occu-py a highly sanitised, secure, safe and seclud-ed space, be it airports, ports or railway net-works. And here we are talking about a spacemission! Second, the world can wait. There isa difference between witnessing history and his-tory being “made.” The witnessing part can wait.Let’s first focus on making the history. Let’s getthe job done first. Successful execution shouldbe the only priority, as compared to the ritualsof receiving visitors and posing for the cameras.

There should be a provision for deferred livebroadcast of such major events once the mis-sion has been accomplished. It is not a soccermatch for the public to enjoy; it is a highly

nerve-racking scientific operationbeing played out at the far end of thegalaxy. What is the point of adding tothe pressure in an already highly-charged environment while our scien-tists are still remotely choreographingand delicately manoeuvering a spacemission in the vast expanses of outerspace?

The media circus surroundingthe coverage of the event was as usualclichéd. But what came as a new lowwas some media personnel harangu-ing the scientists to bring none otherthan the ISRO chief to face theirqueries during a press conference. Thatwas when the mission was still underway and operational issues were stillbeing sorted! It also clearly shows howthe space organisation has been leftwanting in handling their communi-cations protocols.

Barring a few exceptions, sciencejournalism died long ago in the coun-try. No wonder television channelsthought it fit to send “politicalreporters” in droves to cover this spe-cific event. The media’s wall-to-wallcoverage was as usual clichéd. The corecompetencies of our television anchorsto take on character-acting and drama-tisation with ease comes quite natural-ly to them, just like a fish takes to thewater.

It would have saved the day if themedia and invitees were only allowedafter the operations were definitivelycomplete and a recorded minute-by-minute account was relayed to them,sans nail biting suspense, which only

a handful of staff should be privilegedto access and witness first, in a stud-ied controlled environment setting. Itwould also have saved the techniciansand scientists a lot of unwanted atten-tion and pressure.

Also, in the light of the partial fail-ure of the mission and the subsequentemotional breakdown of the chief, itwould have saved ISRO a lot of embar-rassment and heartbreak too.

The presence of top bosses, be itpolitical or executive, might lift up theteam’s spirit but it can also add unduepressure and divert attention andtime. When there is a delicate andexpensive mission waiting to be exe-cuted, a few milliseconds are all thatit takes to make a difference betweensuccess and failure. Had India success-fully landed the craft, it would havebeen the fourth nation in the world toland a vessel on the Moon’s surface,and only the third to operate a robot-ic rover there. The Chandrayaan-2mission, which cost roughly $140million, was intended to study the per-manently shadowed moon craters,thought to contain water deposits, con-firmed by the Chandrayaan-1 mission11 years ago. However, that was not tobe.

Whatever the loss, national prideor monetary, let us not patronise sci-entists by thumping their backs or wip-ing their tears. They need none of that.Perhaps none other than the scientif-ic community knows it better and isaccustomed to accepting failures withgrace and humility before they hit

upon success. That this is so was veryevident from the encouraging and gra-cious responses of space scientists fromcountries, who have been part of fail-ures and successes of missions like this.It is part and parcel of their daily rou-tine and high stakes space missions.We just need to maintain a measured,respectful and dispassionate distancefrom those who are executing theirwork. It is their sole and primaryresponsibility to the nation to performand maintain the integrity of theprocess without fixating on results.Nothing should come in their way. Weshould leave them to their devices andlet their work speak eloquently.

Lastly, with such high stakes, it isalso unseemly to see a lack of well-trained professional communicationapparatus to handle such events. ISROcould have handled the media in amore nuanced manner. It is time thatcommunications become a key com-ponent for the organisation in all itsfuture endeavours.

Let us hope research organisationsdo not fall prey to or are smitten bymedia coverage but are only concernedwith delivering feats that open up thenext frontiers of science whichChandrayaan-2 was destined to do. Letus leave the scientific communityalone; they know their job and theycan deliver without falling into the trapof making everything into a televisedspectacle.

(The writer is a seasoned commu-nications professional and manage-ment consultant based in New Delhi)

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The civil services have con-tributed immensely to nation-building since India’s

Independence, yet they are criti-cised for resisting changes, stiflinginnovation and being oblivious toexternal realities. There is also agrowing perception that there’s alack of performance accountabili-ty and that misdeeds of civil ser-vants often go unpunished. Toaddress these challenges, theGovernment, in the last five years,has initiated a series of reforms thathave impacted almost all sections ofthe bureaucracy.

Keeping the sanctity of therecruitment process in the civil ser-vices is a must to ensure that fresh-ers do not develop a cynical attitude.The Government realised that per-sonality tests or interviews did notadd any value to the recruitmentprocess at the lower levels ofbureaucracy. Instead, they onlycreated a subjectivity which oftenled to corruption and nepotism.Hence, it decided to discontinuewith the interviews in the recruit-

ments for Group C and Group Bnon-gazetted posts. Many StateGovernments also followed suit.The results have been quite encour-aging as the candidates have beenpleasantly surprised for havingbeen selected on merit withoutresorting to payment of bribes orusing undue influence.

The Fundamental Rule 56-Jand All-India Death-Cum-Retirement Benefit rules providethat the Government can prema-turely retire any civil servant aftergiving three months’ notice.However, for years, these provisionsfor screening of deadwood were notbeing implemented. These rules arenow being implemented and athorough screening of servicerecords of officials by a committeeis helping identify non-performers.This exercise has sent a message thatthere is a premium attached to bothperformance and probity.

It was also noticed that thecadre-allotment policies were weak-ening the all-India character of theservices and were detrimental to the

spirit of cooperative federalism.The officers were being allottedcadres based on choice. This result-ed in officers landing either in theirhome or adjoining cadre, thus fos-tering inertia and a hesitation toserve on central deputation in theGovernment. In fact, the serviceswere slowly being converted intoglorified State services.

The Government brought areformed cadre allotment policy in2017, based on a roster for fiveregions in which all the cadres wereclubbed, thus ensuring that the all-India character of the services wasrestored. It also encouraged officerswho have served in cadres otherthat their domicile, to opt for cen-tral deputation.

It was also noticed that fresh-ly-recruited IAS officers got impor-tant field-level posts like that ofDistrict Magistrate, Chief ExecutiveOfficer of Zila Parishads andMunicipal Corporations for thefirst 10 to 12 years of their service.However, they often lacked thenational perspective while serving

at the grassroots and this hamperedtheir effectiveness. To address thisissue, since 2015, freshly-recruitedIAS officers are being deputed asAssistant Secretaries in theGovernment of India for threemonths immediately after theiracademy training and just beforethey go back to their respective Statecadres for field postings. Experiencehas shown that this innovationhelped young officers imbibe anational perspective that helpedthem address local issues holistical-ly and with confidence.

Further, the performance ofcivil servants was measured primar-ily through the elaborate system ofPerformance Appraisal Reports(PARs). It was realised that due tothe complete disclosure of PARs tothe officers assessed, there waswidespread grade inflation. Officerswere being over-assessed and ratedoutstanding, notwithstanding theirperformance. PAR had become apublic relations exercise with super-visory officers reluctant to givelower rating for fear of strained rela-

tions at the workplace. This had anadverse impact on the empanelmentof officers at the Joint Secretary,Additional Secretary and Secretaryor equivalent levels. It became dif-ficult to distinguish high perform-ers from others. The Government,therefore, implemented the processof Multi Source Feedback (MSF) or360 degree appraisal, which is usedalong with the PARs to assess thesuitability of officers for higher posi-tions in the Government. This wasalso recommended by the SecondAdministrative ReformsCommission, as well as theSurendranath Committee onPerformance Appraisal Reforms.

This intervention created rip-ples in bureaucratic circles as thefeedback about officers wasobtained from peers, subordinatesand seniors on various personalityattributes. The success of this inter-vention will, however, be judged bythe resulting inclusion of errors inthe reformed empanelment process,since the exclusion errors can becorrected by subsequent reviews.

There was also a demand forlateral infusion of talent from out-side to enrich Government policyprocesses. The high echelons of pol-icy-making are primarily mannedby officers from three sources. TheIndian Administrative Services(IAS), other participating All Indiaand Central services and theCentral Secretariat Services (CSS).The Government decided to bringin talent from outside through lat-eral recruitment at the JointSecretary Level. Ten such positionswere thrown open and recruit-ment were done through the UnionPublic Service Commission(UPSC). It will be interesting towatch their contributions and amal-gamation in the working of theGovernment. This reform is likelyto generate a healthy competitionamong peers, fostering profession-alism, efficiency and competenciesin the policy-making process.

While these reforms wereaimed at bringing in accountabili-ty in performance and conduct, theGovernment also addressed rising

concerns related to the policy paral-ysis resulting from risk aversenessamong the civil services.Significantly, the risk awarenesswas brought on by multiple inves-tigations by anti-corruption agen-cies in various cases. The amend-ments in the Prevention ofCorruption Act, 1988 passed in2018 has provisions that are aimedat protecting honest and well-meaning civil servants. The provi-sion of prior approval for initiatingany investigation and deletion ofSection 13 (1) d(iii) of the Act werea result of the Government’s resolveto send a message that bonafidecommercial decision will be defend-ed and civil servants may go aheadwith bold decision making in pub-lic interest. These reforms areexpected to bring in the desiredaccountability, professionalism andcompetencies in the civil services tomeet modern day challenges.

(The writer is PrincipalSecretary, Medical, Health & FamilyWelfare Department, in UttarPradesh Govt.)

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Nashik: In a jibe without nam-ing ally Shiv Sena, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi onThursday said the SupremeCourt is hearing the RamMandir case and asked "someloudmouths" to refrain frommaking statements on the issue.

"I am amazed at the 'bayanbahadurs and badbole' (loud-mouths) on the Ram Mandirissue. Every one in the countryrespects the Supreme Court.The apex court is hearing thecase. I want to tell these peoplewith folded hands to have faithin the judicial system," Modisaid at a rally here.

Shiv Sena has beendemanding construction of theRam temple and asking theModi Government to take stepsin that direction like it did onArticle 370 in Jammu &Kashmir.

Sena chief UddhavThackeray on Mondaydemanded that the Centre takea "courageous decision" tobring in a law to build a RamTemple in Ayodhya.

"It has been our demandfrom last year that a special lawmust be brought in and Ram

Mandir should be built... Theissue has been going on since1992. How many years shouldwe wait? We are hearing thatthe issue is in the final stages inthe court. We appeal to thecourts to give it decision on theissue.

"However, beyond that weexpect that Centre should notwait for court order and use itpowers. The Centre took acourageous step in abrogatingArticle 370. It is out request thatthe Centre would do the samefor Ram Mandir issue," theSena chief had told reportershere.

Modi said the first 100-daytenure in his second innings asthe PM focussed on promise,performance and delivery."There is a push for develop-

ment, a message of India'sglobal power, welfare of peopleand efforts for employmentopportunities," he said.

"�20,000 crore were put infarmers' accounts so far out ofwhich �1,500 crore was inaccounts of farmers inMaharashtra," he said.

Chief Minister DevendraFadnavis thanked Modi forthe trust reposed in him in2014 when he was made theCM.

On the MahajanadeshYatra undertaken by him toreach out to masses ahead ofthe Assembly polls, Fadnavissaid, "In the yatra, I have putforward my report card to thepeople. There is no corruptionallegation (against me) in thelast five years. PTI

Kottayam (Ker): TheSabarimala women's entry issue,a major plank of Oppositionparties during the Lok sabhaelection, is back in focus with theCongress and BJP raising it totarget the ruling LDF in thecampaign for the byelection tocoming Pala Assembly con-stituency.

The two Opposition partiesaccused the LDF Government ofimplementing the SupremeCourt verdict permittingwomen in menstrual age tooffer prayers at the LordAyyappa temple in Sabarimalain a "hurried manner".

The September 23 bypoll inPala is considered an acid test-for the Left which faced humil-iating defeat in the Lok Sabhapolls with the Congress-ledUDF sweeping 19 of the 20 seats.

Syrian Catholic communi-ty and Hindus account for mostof the electorate in the segment,where the by-poll has beennecessitated by the demise of

KC(M) founder leader and for-mer Finance Minister KM Manion April 9.

Senior Congress leader A KAntony, campaigning for UDFcandidate Jose Tom Pulikkunnelon Wednesday, alleged ChiefMinister Pinarayi Vijayan turnedSabarimala "a battle ground" inthe guise of implementing theapex court verdict.

"The Chief Minister dis-played his arrogance inSabarimala and his immatureactions turned it a battleground,"

the former union ministeralleged.

He challenged Vijayan todeclare his current stand on theissue in the wake of his partyadmitting its mistake in han-dling the women entry issue.

Vijayan, currently touringthe constituency campaigningfor LDF candidate Mani CKappen, did not respond toAntony's allegations.

But his ministerial colleagueand senior CPI(M) leader MMMani attacked Antony, accusing

him of speaking in the tune ofthe BJP.

Mani on Thursday alleged itwas the Congress and the BJPwhich turned Sabarimala a bat-tle ground during the pilgrimseason last year.

Targeting BJP also on theissue, Antony has asked whetherthe ruling party at the Centrewas ready to protect the faith ofLord Ayyappa devotees aspromised by it during theParliament elections and bringan ordinance.

Responding to Antony'sposer, BJP leader and UnionMinister V Muraleedharan saidthe BJP will fulfil the pollpromise made by the party in itsmanifesto on Sabarimala.

Talking to reporters in Palaon Thursday, the Minister ofState for External Affairs, saidthe pleas seeking a review of theSupreme Court verdict, liftingthe traditional ban on entry ofwomen in the age group of 10-50 into the temple, was currently

under the consideration of theSupreme Court.

Similarly, theRamajanmabhoomi-BabriMasjid issue is also being heardby the apex court,Muraleedhahran, who is in Palato campaign for BJP candidateN Hari, said.

"Let us wait for the courtverdict...The promise we havemade in our manifesto will beimplemented," he said.

In its Lok Sabha poll man-ifesto, the BJP has said its gov-ernment would make everyeffort to ensure that the subjectof faith, tradition and worshiprituals related to Sabarimalawere adhered to.

A five-judge Constitutionbench of the Supreme Court onSeptember 28 last year by a 4:1verdict allowed entry of womenin Sabrimala temple, says ban-ning their entry into the shrinewas gender discrimination andthe practice violates rights ofHindu women. PTI

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Mumbai: Latching ontoPrime Minister NarendraModi's remark that "someloudmouths" should have faithin the Supreme Court over theRam temple issue, the NCP onThursday hoped he will stickto his words and respect ver-dict the court will deliver onthe sensitive matter.

NCP chief spokespersonNawab Malik said his partyhas always been of the viewthat the apex court's verdict inthe Ram Janmabhoomi-BabriMasjid land dispute mattershould be respected andaccepted by all.

Addressing a rally inNashik, around 200km fromhere, on Thursday, Modi,without naming BJP's ally,the Shiv Sena, said the courtis hearing the temple caseand asked "some loudmouths"to refrain from making state-ments on the issue.

"I am amazed at the 'bayanbahadurs and badbole' (loud-mouths) on the Ram Mandirissue. Everyone in the coun-try respects the SupremeCourt. The apex court is hear-ing the case. I want to tellthese people with foldedhands to have faith in the judi-cial system," the prime min-ister said.

Reacting to the PM'sremarks, Malik said, "We arealso saying that the SC's deci-sion should be respected andaccepted. Hope the primeminister will stick to his wordsand implement and respectthe decision the SupremeCourt will give."

Sena chief UddhavThackeray on Mondaydemanded that the Centretake a "courageous decision"to bring in a law to build aRam temple at the disputedsite in Ayodhya in UttarPradesh.

The SC on Wednesdaysaid parties to the Ayodhyaland dispute case can amica-bly resolve the matter throughmediation if they want to andadded it wants day-to-dayhearings in the case to be con-cluded by October 18. PTI

�����4����������*3���� ������0���������������@34 Nashik: Donning headgear

presented by a descendant ofShivaji Maharaj, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi onThursday targeted NCP chiefSharad Pawar over the latter'sremarks on Pakistan.

Launching the BJP's cam-paign for next month'sAssembly elections inMaharashtra, Modi also saidthe State suffered due to polit-ical instability in the past andlauded Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis for pro-viding a "stable Government" inthe last five years, despite BJPnot having a complete major-ity on its own.

On the decision of revok-ing provisions of Article 370 inJammu & Kashmir, Modi saidthis was the wish of 130 croreIndians.

"The decision has beentaken to save the Kashmirisfrom the cycle of violence, ter-ror and separatism. They suf-fered for 40 years due to Delhi's(previous Congress-ledGovernments) wrong policiesand 42,000 people were killed,"he said.

Instead of supporting theGovernment on the decisiontaken in national interest,Opposition leaders are makingcomments for their selfishpolitical interests, Modi said.

"When the country is unit-ed over the decision on

Kashmir, Congress and NCPleaders have not cooperated,"he said.

Without naming RahulGandhi, Modi said theCongress leaders are makingcomments which are beingused by other countries andterror outfits against India.

"I can understand the con-fusion of the Congress. ButSharad Pawar? I feel bad whenan experienced leader like him

makes wrong statements forvotes. He said he likes theneighbouring country. Butevery one knows where the ter-ror factory is," Modi said.

Addressing a rally here aspart of the conclusion of the'Mahajanadesh Yatra' under-taken by Fadnavis to reach outto masses ahead of the Assemblypolls, Modi said Maharashtrahad not progressed as it shouldhave. PTI

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Mumbai: Prime MinisterNarendra Modi distortedNCP chief Sharad Pawar'scomments about Pakistan,the party said on Thursday.

Modi should either provethat Pawar praised the rulersof the neighbouring countryor apologise, NationalistCongress Party spokespersonNawab Malik said here.

Hours before, Modi,addressing a rally in Nashik inMaharashtra, targeted Pawar.

Alleging that Congressleaders' comments were beingused by other countries andterror outfits against India,Modi said, "I can understandthe confusion of the Congress.But Sharad Pawar? I feel bad

when an experienced leaderlike him makes wrong state-ments for votes.

"He said he likes theneighbouring country. Buteveryone knows where theterror factory is," the PMsaid.

Hitting back, Malik saidthat Modi twisted Pawar'sremark.

"Modi has shown that thecountry's Prime Minister canbe a liar. He said Pawar likesthe rulers of Pakistan. ButPawar had clearly said in hisspeech that the rulers, armyofficers in Pakistan are anti-India, but the people there arenot anti-India," Malik toldreporters. PTI

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Nashik: Accusing the UPAGovernment of not being seri-ous on national security, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi onThursday said the Congress-ledregime had in 2009 ignored thedemand of 1.86 lakh bulletproof jackets for security per-sonnel.

In the BJP-led regime, notonly have the requirements ofour forces been met but bul-letproof jackets made in Indiaare now being exported to 100countries, Modi said.

Addressing a public rallyhere, Modi said, "Today, we aremanufacturing our own bul-letproof jackets and these jack-ets made in India are nowbeing exported to over 100countries."

"Two mighty helicoptershave recently been inducted.Very soon the Rafale fighter jets

will join the IAF. We have takenthe long pending decision tohave a chief of defence staff forbetter co-ordination betweenthe three forces," he said.

The attitude of the previous(Congress-led) Governmentwas never good when it cameto security preparedness andthis has to be rememberedagain and again, Modi said.

"In 2009, a demand for1.86 lakh bulletproof jacketswas made. Till 2014, ourjawans were fighting on theborders without bulletproofjackets. Time passed and theCongress Government sup-ported by NCP never paidattention to this demand. Butwhen the BJP-led NDA cameto power, we revived theprocess and made sure that thejackets are manufactured inIndia," he said. PTI

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Srinagar: Incidents of miscre-ants threatening shopkeepersand vandalising private vehicleshave been reported from manyplaces in Kashmir Valley wherenormal life remained disruptedfor the 46th day on Thursdayfollowing abrogation of Article370, officials said.

They said private cars havecome under stone-pelting atmany places as the miscreantswant to enforce shutdown.

Authorities have taken noteof these incidents and follow upaction has been taken, the offi-cials added.

Markets remained closed inthe Valley and public transportoff the roads, they said.

They said some of the shopsopen for few hours early in the

morning and late in the evening,but remain shut during the day.

Public transport was off theroads, but private cars wereplying in many areas of the cityand elsewhere in the valley,they said.

Few autorickshaws andinter-district cabs were also seenplying in some areas in civil linesof the city, they added.

The officials said Internetservices remained suspendedacross all platforms.

While landlines across thevalley were functional, voicecalls on mobile devices wereworking only in Kupwara andHandwara police districts ofnorth Kashmir, they added.

The efforts of the state gov-ernment to open schools have

not borne any fruit as parentscontinued to keep children athome due to apprehensionsabout their safety.

Most areas of the valleywere restrictions-free, but thedeployment of security forcescontinued on the ground tomaintain law and order, the offi-cials said.

Restrictions were firstimposed across Kashmir onAugust 5 when the Centreannounced its decision to abro-gate Article 370 of theConstitution and bifurcate thestate into two Union territories.The restrictions were lifted inphases from many parts of thevalley as the situation improvedwith the passage of time.

Authorities have beenimposing restrictions in vulner-able areas of the valley everyFriday, apprehending that vestedinterests might exploit the largegatherings at big mosques andshrines to fuel protests. PTI

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Several kilometre long ‘wall ofdefence’ (protective sand

bundh) being constructed by theBorder Security Force (BSF)between forward villages ofSamba and Kathua, to plug the'active' infiltration routes alongthe International border acrossJammu frontier, is giving sleep-less nights to Pakistani rangerson the other side of the border.

As the work on the ambi-tious project was gatheringmomentum and taking shape,perturbed Pakistani rangersdecided to target the workersengaged in the constructionwork on the Indian side of theborder fence.

So far, no loss of life andproperty has been reportedfrom any where in the region.

To instil confidence amongthe local residents in the area,Deputy Commissioner, KathuaDr Raghav Langer on Thursdayvisited Manyari village alongwith the team of seniorGovernment officials and tookstock of the ground realities.

He directed the executingagencies, engaged in the task ofbunker construction, to expeditework on 'war footing' and installmotors to clear the water loggingfrom inside completed bunkers.

Senior BSF officials ofJammu frontier also visited theforward border outposts in thearea to review the ground situ-ation. Deputy Commissionerdirected the police officers to sta-tion bullet proof mobile bunkersin the area to safely evacuatelocal residents in case of any exi-gency. Local villagers alsoappealed to the senior officers toensure safety and security of bor-der residents in case of freshescalation in the coming days.Deputy Commissioner assuredthem that the entire districtadministration has been sani-tised and activated to respond tothe emerging situation in the

border areas.Senior BSF officers on their

part claimed repeated attemptswere being made, for last threedays, by the Pakistani rangers toescalate the tensions along theInternational border as well inthe run up to the UnitedNational General AssemblySession.

Prime Minister NarendraModi and his Pakistani coun-terpart Imran Khan are sched-uled to address the world lead-ers on September 27.

Apparently, the recent inci-dents of 'unprovoked' ceasefireviolations by the Pakistanirangers in Hiranagar sector isalso seen as a direct fall out ofthe progress made to execute theproject on ground zero.

According to BSF authori-ties, the area which is being cov-ered under the 'protectivebundh' is often used by the infil-trators in the past to sneakinside the Indian territorypreferably via water bodies andrivulets in the area.

The same route, accordingto NIA report submitted to theUnion Home Minister inOctober 2018, was exploited bythe over ground workers of thePakistani based terror outfits tosmuggle arms and ammuni-tion along with small batches ofinfiltrators via road link toKashmir valley.

A local villager who attend-ed the meeting with the seniorofficers said, "the protectivebundh is being constructedinside the Indian territory, wellshort of barbed wire fencingclose to the International border,even then the Pakistani rangersare trying to provoke BSFauthorities to retaliate stronglyand not allowing them to livepeacefully in the area". The vil-lagers claimed they were livingunder constant fear of fresh esca-lation in the area and demand-ed safety of their live stock andhomes and hearths.

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Ahmedabad: Five members ofa family died of suffocationinside a well where sewage col-lected in Patan district of Gujarat,the police said on Thursday.

The incident took place atGujarvada village in Sami tehsiltwo days ago. The StateGovernment announced a com-pensation of Rs 4 lakh each forthe surviving members of thefamily. The deceased were iden-tified as Ranjanaben Sindhav(40), Ratabhai Sindhav (58),Ratabhai Nadoda (58), RajabhaiSindhav (65) and AjabhaiSindhav (45). Ranjanaben fellinto the well — which wasbeing used as a kind of septictank — when she accidentallystepped on its brick cover on theevening of September 17, apolice official said. PTI

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The Congress on Thursdayaccused the Yogi Adityanath

Government of supporting rapeaccused former Minister SwamiChinmayanand and questionedthe "silence" of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and seniorwomen leaders of the rulingparty on the absence of anyaction against him.

Congress leader andGeneral Secretary of UPPriyanka Gandhi Vadraslammed the BJP Governmentand the police in Uttar Pradeshsaying they were repeating the"negligence" shown and "pro-tection" given to the accused inthe Unnao rape case.

Her allegations came a dayafter the student, who has lev-elled rape charges against for-mer Union Minister SwamiChinmayanand, threatened toset herself on fire if the BJPleader was not arrested imme-diately. The student also askedif the Government was waitingfor her to die even after herstatement was recorded beforea magistrate.

Congress alleged by takingno action against the accused inthe rape case it has become clearthat the BJP is standing withChinmayananda and is notinclined to provide justice to thevictim, who has come out in theopen with details of the crime.

"This is a very serious issue.

It has become very clear that thisGovernment has a very non-serious approach to tackleincreasing crime againstwomen. The Government has acompletely blind eye towardscrime against women and theyare instead protecting theirleaders," she told reporters, ask-ing whether this case will alsogo the way the Unnao rape casehas gone," said Congressspokesperson SharmisthaMukherjee.

Mukherjee said Modi gov-ernment is talking about 'BetiBachao, Beti Padhao' on onehand, while on the other handit is "busy protecting thosecommitting crimes againstwomen".

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The Election Commission(EC) has appointed 110

IRS (Indian Revenue Service)officers of the Income Taxdepartment as expenditureobservers for the forthcomingAssembly polls in Maharashtraand Haryana.

According to the EC, theobservers will be tasked withchecking the use of blackmoney and other illegalinducements during the elec-tion process in these two states.These officials have been calledfor their first briefing by the ECon September 23. Haryana has90 Assembly seats and

Maharashtra has 288. The EC has asked the

Central Board ofDirect Taxes(CBDT) to relievethe officers fromtheir charge so that they can beput on poll duty, the sourcessaid. The CBDT is the policy-making body for the taxdepartment.

These officers of the IndianRevenue Service (IRS) will bedeployed in various Assemblyconstituencies of the two statesas part of the EC's overallmechanism to ensure a level-playing field for the candi-dates and voters, the sourcessaid. They will ensure that

stringent and effective enforce-ment action is undertaken

based on intelli-gence inputs andc o m p l a i n t sreceived through

C-Vigil app and voter helplineagainst those who are trying toinduce voters by distributingcash and liquor among othersto vitiate the poll process.

The EC has also directedthe CBDT to ensure that itsinvestigation wings in thesepoll-bound states, adjoiningstates and that in Delhi be pre-pared to deploy extra mea-sures to check physical andelectronic movement of sus-pected funds.

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Mangaluru: A case has beenregistered against three peopleincluding a Bajrang Dal leaderon charges of delivering a“communally provocative”speech during a function atPuttur last month.

The case was registeredagainst the trio following acomplaint from a member ofPuttur town committee ofPopular Front of India (PFI).

The complainant allegedthat the Bajrang Dal leader inhis speech had said that noteven a small piece of land

would be provided for Muslimsto offer namaz in the countryif they failed to chant 'BharatMatha Ki Jai' and 'Jai SreeRam.' Such a statement hasbeen made in order to incitecommunal passions, heclaimed. PTI

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In a major security lapse,Union Minister Babul Supriyo

was on Thursday heckled,pushed and clawed by studentsof Left wing parties protestingagainst his attending of a sem-inar organised by the rightwing students' groups includingthe Akhil Bharatiya VidyarthiParishad at Jadavpur University.

While Vice-ChancellorSuranjan Das refused to call inpolice, a helpless police forcestood as mute spectators for thewant of "instructions fromabove" leaving Supriyo to hisfate and protective hands of afew CRPF personnel who hada trying time to shield him froman aggressive crowd of severalhundred slogan-shouting stu-dents.

The V-C showing his inabil-ity to call police on moralgrounds and offered to resigninstead took shelter in the hos-pital bed along with his pro-ViceChancellor PK Ghosh.

Even as the melee contin-ued for more than five hours,Governor Jagdeep Dhankar had

to intervene by rushing into theuniversity campus where hetoo was blocked for a good onehour even as he tried to rescuethe Minister.

And it took some instanttact of DCP Praveen Tripathiwho managed to hoodwink thestudents and get the Governorand the Minister out of themess. Just as the drama threat-ened to continue overnight theconvoy of the Governor whohad by that time pulled Supriyoinside his car turned back andsped away taking advantage ofan un-blockaded rear.

This even as a large numberof ABVP and Durga Vahini sup-porters armed with rods andbamboos raided — JU premis-es ranked amongst one of thefive best universities of thecountry, academically --- and

smashed the students' union,ransacked the interiors andtorched things including com-puters, bycycles posters, andalmirahs.

While the Left studentsgheraoed the Minister some ofthem pulling by his hair andeven slapping him, demandedapology from Supriyo for abus-ing them and threatening themwith dire consequences forshouting "go back slogan" andshowing black flags the singer-turned politician shouted "if youwill not achieve anything by thisundemocratic show.

If you want to be a decentpolitician then follow yourleader BuddhadebBhattacharjee."

He later alleged "they beatme, kicked me, scratched me …but for that I won't say scream.

Rather I will demand thesestudents to be criminallybooked or and rusticated."

Even as a furious Governorpersonally called up ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee andChief Secretary Maloy Deycommunicating his concern forSupriyo, a Press release issued bythe Raj Bhavan, faulted theState for falling law and ordersituation.

If that alleged unlawfuldetention and assault on theUnion Minister was a seriousreflection of the law and orderof the State and on the conductof the law enforcing agencies.

The drama that continuedfor more than five hours start-ed earlier on Thursday noonwhen Suypriyo, accompanied bydesigner-turned-BJP leaderAgnimitra Paul entered theUniversity campus to address aseminar.

While swarms of Left stu-dents shouted "go back" sloganshe entered into heated argu-ments with them provokingthe students to reply back inequal measure. One of themcomplained "he not only abusedus but also threatened us withdire consequences saying 'I canteach you all lessons within twodays. There was no need for himto react to such slogans and sim-ply gone ahead with his pro-gramme because such slogansare a regular affair Jadavpur."

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The Central Bureau ofInvestigation on Thursday

compared senior IPS officerand former Kolkata PoliceCommissioner Rajiv Kumarwith international terroristDawood Ibrahim in the AliporeCourt saying Kumar, the presentAdditional Director General ofCID, was hiding from theAgency like the Pakistan-baseddon.

The CBI lawyers were argu-ing in the court to seek a non-bailable warrant against Kumar.

When the Court asked as towhy they were seeking warrantwhen they had enough power toarrest him the CBI counsels said“he is fleeing like DawoodIbrahim and the StateGovernment is not sharing anyinformation about him with theCBI.”

Even as the Court reservedits order for a subsequent day in

a daylong Hindi film-like dramathe CBI sleuths ran from oneplace to another in search of theformer Kolkata top cop — him-self one of the best cyber crimeinvestigators in the country.

The CBI vainly searchedhim in the IPS quarters, the IPSofficers’ mess and even insidethe kitchen of a renownedSouth Kolkata hotel enteringmost of these premises frombackdoors.

Finally the Agency sleuthssent yet another notice to thetop officer’s official address ask-ing him to report for interro-gation on Friday.

Kumar has been evadingthe investigation since Fridaywhen the Calcutta High Courtwithdrew protection from arrestgranted to him in the case.

CBI wants to quiz Kumarregarding his role as the chief ofthe Special Investigation Teamin the multi-crore Sharada chitfund case in 2013 before theSupreme Court handed over thecase to the CBI upon allegationsof wayward investigation.

The central probe agencyalso sent a letter to West BengalDirector General of Police(DGP) Virendra, seeking hisactive contact number.

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As party chief MK Stalincalled off the proposed agi-

tation against ‘imposition ofHindi’ late Wednesday follow-ing an assurance from GovernorBanwarilal Purohit that therewon’t be any such move fromthe Centre, the facade of unityin the Opposition front hascome under strain.

Stalin, who had a meetingwith the Governor, told jour-nalists that Purohit told him thatHome Minister Amit Shah’sspeech has been misquoted andmisunderstood. “Since theGovernor told us that the HomeMinister’s speech had been mis-quoted , we thought it better notto go ahead with the agitation,”said Stalin. As per the earlierplan, the DMK and allies wereto hold Statewide demonstra-tions all over Tamil Nadu onFriday against the move by theCentre to impose Hindi. TheCongress, a trusted ally of theDMK, went one step ahead anddeclared that the party cadre

would show black flags againstAmit Shah when he visits theState next time. But VCK, anoth-er alliance partner of the DMK,expressed the party’s reserva-tions over the move by Stalin tocall off the agitation. “We standby our decision to agitate againstthe communal Government atthe Centre,” said TholThirumavalavan, MP andfounder of the party. This roundof agitation has fizzled out as theDMK has understood the follybehind wasting time andresources over such issues, saidGovindarajan Satyamurty, polit-ical commentator based inCoimbatore. “All parties exceptthe AIADMK and the DMK arenon-entities in the State,” he said.

A senior Congress leaderhad told The Pioneer onWednesday itself that agitationagainst Hindi would be matterof past in a few days time.” Doyou think the Congress woulddare to show black flags atAmit Shah if the DMK is notaround to help them,” asked theleader who did not want thename to be quoted.

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Pakistan Army on Thursdaynight initiated 'unprovoked'

ceasefire violation along theLine of Control in Shahpur andKerni sectors of Poonch.

Defence PRO in Jammusaid, "at around 8.00 pmPakistan Army initiated freshceasefire violation by firing ofsmall arms & shelling withMortars in Shahpur & Kernisectors, of district Poonch".Indian Army is retaliatingbefittingly, he added.

Several civilian areas werealso targeted by the Pakistanarmy during intense shelling inthe forward area.

��1������������%��������&������� �����Mumbai: The Aarey area, at the

centre of a raging protest overfelling of trees for a Mumbaimetro depot, cannot be given aforest tag "just because it hasgreenery", the Maharashtra gov-ernment told the Bombay HighCourt on Thursday.

Government counselsAshutosh Kumbhakoni and AnilSakhare made this submissionwhile seeking dismissal of a peti-tion filed by an NGO namedVanshakti, which demandedthat the Aarey area in suburbanGoregaon be declared a forestand an ecologically-sensitivezone.

Activists are opposing theproposed felling of over 2,600trees in Aarey to make way forthe metro car shed and demand-ing relocation of the depot,which is part of the Metro IIIproject.

"Aarey cannot be declaredas forest just because there is

greenery there. Aarey wasformed in the past as a milkcolony and to keep cattle andhorse stables," Sakhare told adivision bench of Chief JusticePradeep Nandrajog and JusticeBharati Dangre.

Kumbhakoni told the courtthat another bench of the highcourt had in October last yeardismissed a similar petitionfiled by an activist, ZoruBathena, seeking forest tag forAarey.

In the petition, Bathenahad challenged the proposedconstruction of a Metro car

shed at Aarey. "The high courtbench, while rejecting that peti-tion, noted that it was erroneousto term Aarey a forest,"Kumbhakoni said.

An appeal against this orderof the high court has been filedin the Supreme Court, where itis pending hearing, the govern-ment counsel said.

"Let the apex court decidethe issue now. The high courthas already given its verdict.When the matter has beenalready heard and concluded bythe high court, it need not beentertained again," Kumbhakoniargued.

On a query made by thecourt earlier on whether the pro-posed Metro car shed could beconstructed in suburbanKanjurmarg instead of Aarey,Kumbhakoni said the land beingtalked about was not availablefor the project due to "technicalreasons".

Another government coun-sel, Shrihari Aney, told the courtthat even assuming the land atKanjurmarg was available, itwould "not be possible" to con-struct the proposed Metro carshed there.

"The said car shed is for theMetro III line connecting Colabain south Mumbai to Seepz in thewestern suburbs," Aney said."Hence, the car shed needs to bein Aarey. It is not feasible to havethe car shed at Kanjurmargwhich is located kilometers away(from Aarey)."

The Aarey colony, measur-ing 1,287 hectares and locatedadjoining the Sanjay GandhiNational Park, is known as amajor green lung of the metrop-olis.

Several Bollywood person-alities and politicians have alsoextended their support to theactivists protesting against thefeeling of trees in Aarey. PTI

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Mumbai: Armed with bannersand placards, a group of studentsfrom schools and colleges onThursday staged a protest out-side megastar AmitabhBachchan's residence here overhis tweet supporting theMumbai Metro project.

As many as 22 studentswere detained when they squat-ted on a road near Bachchan'sbungalow in suburban Juhuand engaged in slogan shouting,police said.

The 76-year-old Bollywoodicon, himself a face of severalenvironmental campaigns, isfacing flak from certain quartersfor coming out in support of theMetro project. His stand has not

gone down well with activistsopposing the proposed felling ofover 2,600 trees in Aarey Colony,a green belt, to make way for aMetro car shed.

Earlier on Tuesday,Bachchan in a tweet said, "Friendof mine had a medical emer-

gency, decided to take METROinstead of his car...Came back very impressed..Said was faster, convenient and most efficient..Solution for Pollution..Grow more trees..I did in my garden..Have you." PTI

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Srinagar: Statements mobilisingpeople against the state and the"tremendous potential" to createpublic disorder in the Valley areamong the charges listed againstformer Jammu & Kashmir chiefminister Farooq Abdullah, whohas been booked under thePublic Safety Act.

The 81-year-old Lok SabhaMP from Srinagar, under deten-tion since August 5 when theCentre revoked the state's spe-cial status, has also been accusedof making speeches glorifyingterrorists and separatists.

The PSA order againstAbdullah, accessed by PTI, cites

seven instances from 2016onwards when he spoke infavour of the separatist HurriyatConference and terror groups.

Abdullah, the first chiefminister to be booked under thestringent PSA, was arrested onMonday under the PSA and hisGupkar Road residence declareda jail.

The National Conferencechairman and three-term ChiefMinister has been booked underthe 'public order' provision of thePSA under which a person canbe kept in jail from three to sixmonths without a trial, officialssaid. On repealing of Article 370

and 35-A of the Constitution,which provided special status forpeople of the state on jobs andresidency, the PSA order accus-es Abdullah of issuing state-ments aimed at mobilising peo-ple against the State.

It says he could have debat-ed the issue rather than threat-en the integrity of the countryand glorify militancy.

The order also accuses himof propagating "secessionist ide-ology" besides posing a threat tolife and liberty of the people.

Abdullah, the order states,"has tremendous potential forcreating an environment of pub-

lic disorder within the district(Srinagar) and other parts of theValley". It accuses him of beinga person seen as fanning theemotions of general massesagainst the country.

The order, which states thatAbdullah's residence "G-40Gupkar Road" has been declareda subsidiary jail, has also beenaccused by the state adminis-tration of issuing statements inconflict with law that wereaimed disturbing public order.

The PSA has two sections -- 'public order' and 'threat tosecurity of the state'. The formerallows detention without trial for

three to six months and the lat-ter for two years.

The PSA is applicable onlyin Jammu & Kashmir.Elsewhere in the country, theequivalent law is the NationalSecurity Act (NSA).

Separatists and Abdullah'spolitical opponents in theValley have termed him avehement supporter of state'saccession with India.

He was also criticised lastyear for raising the slogan,'Bharat Mata ki Jai', during acondolence meeting for for-mer Prime Minister AtalBihari Vajpayee. PTI

Patna: Despite its best efforts,the police has not been able tocurb mob lynching incidents inthe state.

According to data provid-ed by the police headquarters,14 people have been beaten todeath, while 45 people havebeen injured in mob lynchingincidents during the last twoand a half months. During thistime 39 incidents of moblynching were registered inthe state.

Bihar police headquartersis conducting awareness cam-paigns regarding such inci-dents in sensitive areas. Seniorpolice officials have acknowl-edged that there have been noincidents of child abductionbut people take to mob lynch-ing due to rumours. However,the police are sensitising peo-ple about such incidents alongwith giving a stern warning tothose involved in the lynch-ings.

Rumours about childabduction have increased somuch that parents are now ina panic.

Locals in MadipurChitragupta Nagar inMuzaffarpur thrashed twowomen on suspicion of child

abduction. By the time policereached the spot and savedthem from the crowd, they hadboth suffered severe injuries.

A similar incident tookplace in Samastipur district,where a mentally disabledwoman was beaten up on sim-ilar suspicion by a crowd.Some people from the crowditself saved her from the mob.

Such cases have beenreported from Patna as well asother areas of the state.

A man, identified asShatrughan Sinha, a resident ofSitamarhi, was beaten to deathon September 9 in WestChamparan district.

On September 8, a 22-year-old man was beaten todeath following rumours ofchild lifting.

Police has registered FIRsagainst 348 named accusedand 4,000 unidentified per-sons.

"Police is taking strictaction against those involved inmob lynching incidents. Weidentify the accused from thevideo footage of the incidentsand take action against them,"said Additional DirectorGeneral (police headquarters)Jitendra Kumar. IANS

Mumbai: The Maharashtra gov-ernment and the BMC cannottreat project-affected people as"guinea pigs" and make themstay in heavily polluted suburbanMahul on the assurance that airquality in the area may improvein the coming years, the BombayHigh Court said on Thursday.

A division bench of ChiefJustice Pradeep Nandrajog andJustice Bharati Dangre made thestrong observation while hear-ing the applications of a groupof people displaced following thedemolition of their "illegal"houses.

The bench noted that thepollution situation has notimproved in Mahul since 2015.

Some 15,000 families weredisplaced after their "unautho-rised" houses near the Tansapipeline were ordered to bedemolished by the high court.

The HC had, while direct-ing for the demolition, saidencroachments on the Tansawater pipeline posed a risk to thelives of lakhs of residents if anyuntoward incident were to occur.The Brihanmumbai MunicipalCorporation (BMC) had shift-

ed the displaced people to ahousing colony in Mahul, apolluted area that is home torefineries and chemical units.However, several familiesrefused to move to Mahul,claiming that the air qualitythere was very poor and posedhealth risks.

The applications beingheard by the bench were filed bysuch families. The court hadthen asked the BMC to providealternate accommodation tothose persons or pay them rentso that they can themselvesfind a place to stay.

The bench on Thursday,after perusing a chart of stud-ies carried out by variousexpert bodies on the air qual-ity in Mahul, noted that the sit-uation has not improved in therecent past. "The situation doesnot appear to be very rosy.From 2015 till now, expertbodies have been monitoringbut the air quality has notimproved. "In such a situation,can we make these persons staythere? You cannot treat themas guinea pigs," Chief JusticeNandrajog said. PTI

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Amid clamour for rate cut byvarious industries, the all

powerful GST Council willhold a crucial meeting onFriday to decide on tax mod-eration, keeping in mind therevenue position and the needto boost sagging economicgrowth.

The GST Council, headedby Union Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman and com-prising representatives of allstates and Union Territories(UTs), will have its 37th meet-ing in Goa in the backdrop ofeconomic growth hitting a six-year low of 5 per cent for the firstquarter of the current fiscal.

There have been demandspouring in from various sectors- from biscuits to automobilesand FMCG to hotels - to reducetax rates in the wake of eco-nomic slowdown.

The argument propagatedhas been to boost the con-sumption and domesticdemand by reducing Goodsand Services Tax (GST) ratesfurther.

However, many of thestates are of the view that itwould not be tax prudent toallow GST rate reduction at thisstage, as the compensation cessfund, which is utilised to com-pensate the states under theGST Act in case the revenue isbelow the targeted growth rate,has turned negative.

Meanwhile, according tosources, the GST Council’sFitment Committee, whichcomprises revenue officials ofboth Centre and States, hasrejected demands for a cut intax rate on items ranging frombiscuits to car, owing to tightrevenue position.

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After surprising everyonewith four successive rate

cuts this year, Reserve Bankgovernor Shaktikanta DasThursday said “there is moreroom” to do so given thegrowth deceleration and stableinflation that is likely to staybelow target for a year or so.

However, the governor wasquick to add that there is littlefiscal space for the governmentto unveil any countercyclicalmeasures to boost the sagginggrowth and the only way torevive the growth engine is tofront-load the budgeted capex,hinting that only an easymoney policy can help salvagethe situation.

Since assuming chargemid-December, the Das-ledrate- setting panel has deliveredfour successive rates cuts, withthe fourth one last month beingthe most surprising and uncon-

ventional one as he chose todeliver a 35 bps repo cut.

With that the RBI hasdelivered a cumulative 110 bpsrepo reduction since February,yanking down the key bench-mark rate to a nine-year low of5.40 percent.

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Automobile dealers’ bodyFADA on Thursday urged

the GST Council to take adefinitive decision on GST ratein its meeting scheduled to beheld on Friday.

In a letter written toFinance Minister NirmalaSitharaman, FADA PresidentAshish Harsharaj Kale saidcustomers have deferred theirbuying decisions in anticipationof GST rate cut.

“In anticipation of GSTrate cuts on automobiles, cus-tomers who were willing to buyautomobiles at this juncturehave put their purchase deci-sions on hold, which is but nat-ural, in anticipation of a pricereduction.

“Our concern is that thefestive season, which is justaround the corner, should notbe missed, as it is for a very lim-ited period wherein maximumamount of auto sales happen,”Kale said in the letter.

New Delhi: Saudi Oil MinisterPrince Abdulaziz bin Salmanon Thursday assured his Indiancounterpart DharmendraPradhan of meeting all oil sup-ply commitments to India asthe Kingdom looks to restoreproduction from its facilities topre-strike levels very soon.

Pradhan spoke to his Saudicounterpart on phone and dis-cussed in details supply plan inthe aftermath of a massiveattack on the Kingdom’s crudeoil facilities that wiped out asmuch as 5 million barrels perday of output.

“They have again assuredthat all supply commitments toIndia will be met,” said SanjivSingh, chairman of Indian OilCorp (IOC).

Saudi Arabia, which isIndia’s second-largest oil sup-plier, sells close to 2 milliontonnes of crude every month. PTI

New Delhi: Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman on Thursday said public sec-tor banks will hold meetings with NBFCsand retail borrowers in 400 districtsbeginning next week to provide credit toborrowers, including homebuyers andfarmers.

The public meetings will be held intwo tranches. The first will be heldbetween October 3 and 7 in 200 districts,while the remaining 200 will be coveredOctober 11 onwards, a finance ministryofficial said.

Sitharaman said the idea is to ensuremaximum credit disbursal during thefestive season. Diwali, which falls inOctober this year, is considered as thebiggest shopping season of the country.

During the public meetings, credit willbe provided for retail, agriculture, MSMEand housing sector, among others.

The Minister also announced thatbanks have been asked not to declare any

stressed MSME loan as non-performingassets (NPA) till March 31, 2020.

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The Government onThursday asked banks

not to declare any stressedloan account of MSMEs asNPA till March 2020 andwork on recasting their debt.

At a press conferenceafter meeting PSU bankheads, Finance Minister

Nirmala Sitharaman saidthere already exists a cir-cular from the ReserveBank that provides forstressed loan accounts ofMSMEs not being declarednon-performing assets(NPAs).

She said banks havebeen asked to follow thatcircular and not declare

any stressed MSME loan asNPA till March 2020 andlook at recasting their debt.

This would help theMSME sector, she said.

Also, banks have iden-tified some NBFCs thatthey can lend to so that liq-uidity and credit is madeavailable to those seekingmoney, she said.

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Commodity market partici-pants on Thursday asked

Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman to consider steps toreduce transaction cost to makeIndian markets international-ly competitive and improveease of doing business.

The participants soughtreduction in overall cost oftransaction for equity as well ascommodity markets and alsoflagged issues related to LongTerm Capital Gains Tax(LTCG), shrinking trading vol-ume, increased regulatorycompliance and closing downof several brokerage houses,Commodity ParticipantsAssociation of India (CPAI)President Narinder Wadhwatold PTI after their meetingwith the minister.

Sitharaman has been hold-ing similar meetings since lastmonth with representatives ofvarious sectors, including bank-ing, automobile and realty inorder assess the problems facedby them as the governmentlooks to undertake steps to arrestthe slowdown in the economy.

CPAI is the apex pan-Indiaassociation of participants incommodity exchanges andcommodity derivative seg-ments.

Wadhwa said Sitharamanassured them that whateversteps can be taken, would belooked into by the government.

He said the commoditymarket volume has shrunkdrastically from �90,000 croreper day a year ago on an aver-age basis to �35,000 crore perday now.

“So we have asked theminister to take steps to reducecost of transaction for com-modity and equity market,”Wadhwa said.

Mumbai: The rupee dropped10 paise to close at 71.34against the US dollar onThursday as heavy selling indomestic equities, unabatedforeign fund outflows and ris-ing crude oil prices keptinvestors edgy.

Forex traders said investorsalso turned cautious after theUS Federal Reserve dimmedhopes of further rate cuts.

At the interbank foreignexchange market, the local unitopened on a strong note at71.36 and shuttled between ahigh of 71.06 and a low of71.37. It finally finished at71.34, lower by 10 paise over itsprevious close of 71.24.

“Since the morning, rupeehas been tracking the move incrude. Overnight drop in oil ledrupee to appreciate. However,the escalating tensions inMiddle East limited the gainsin rupee,” said Rahul Gupta,Currency Research Head,Emkay Global FinancialServices Limited. PTI

���� /�4)�56.

Factory investment in 2017-18 hit a three-year low of Rs3.31 lakh crore in actualterms, according to the annu-al survey of industries by theStatistics and ProgrammeImplementation Ministry.

Factory investment mea-sured in terms of gross fixedcapital formation (GFCF) wasRs 3.79 lakh crore and Rs 3.69lakh crore in 2015-16 and2016-17, respectively, provi-sional estimates of the surveyfor 2017-18 showed.

The previous low of GFCFin actual terms was recorded atRs 3.23 lakh crore in 2014-15.

The Gross Fixed CapitalFormation is a barometer ofinvestment in any sector or seg-ment. However, the surveyshowed that the number of fac-tories increased to 2,37,684 in2017-18 from 2,34,865 a year ago.

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Paris Saint-Germainlaunched their latestquest for Champions

League success with a state-ment win over Real Madridon Wednesday, while a lateAtletico Madrid comebackfoiled Juventus asManchester City eased tovictory in Ukraine.

French giants PSG havefailed to make their mark inEurope, crashing out of theChampions League in thelast 16 each of the past threeyears despite the huge sumsof money spent by theirQatari owners.

With Neymar suspend-ed and Kylian Mbappe andEdinson Cavani sidelinedby injury, Angel Di Mariastepped up in their absenceby grabbing two first-halfgoals in a 3-0 triumph at theParc des Princes.

Thomas Meunier addedthe third late on as Madrid,who beat PSG on the way tolifting the trophy in 2016

and 2018, were soundlybeaten in their Group Aopener with Eden Hazardkept quiet on his full debut.

“There’s no messagesent, but we dominated thisgame very well,” PSG captainThiago Silva told RMCSport.

“We have to play likethis all the time, in theleague as well, with charac-ter and hunger.”

Real, the 13-timeEuropean champions, arestill favourites to advancefrom a section that includesClub Brugge andGalatasaray, who drew 0-0 inBelgium, but the nature ofthe loss underscored thework that lies ahead forcoach Zinedine Zidane.

Diego Simeone’sAtletico clawed their wayback from two goals down inthe final 20 minutes to res-cue a 2-2 draw at home toJuventus in Group D.

The anticipated clashbetween Cristiano Ronaldoand Joao Felix, the teenager

touted as the heir toRonaldo’s throne, took abackseat to a Atletico rous-ing comeback after second-half goals from JuanCuadrado and BlaiseMatuidi put Juve in control.

Stefan Savic noddedhome from point-blankrange to give Atletico hope

and substitute HectorHerrera headed in a cornerin the final minute to snatcha point.

“I think we played wellbut we have a bitter taste inour mouth now because wefelt we had the game in ourhands,” said Juventus bossMaurizio Sarri.

STRONG RESPONSEBoth sides trail

Lokomotiv Moscow follow-ing the Russians’ 2-1 win atBayer Leverkusen. GrzegorzKrychowiak and DmitriBarinov scored forLokomotiv either side of anown goal by formerGermany defender Benedikt

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Bajrang Punia lost his semi-final bout against home

wrestler Daulet Niyazbekovunder controversial cir-cumstances after sealinghis Tokyo Olympicsquota along with RaviDahiya, who made hispresence felt in a star-studded field at theWorld WrestlingChampionships, here onThursday.

Bajrang’s frustrated coachShako Benitidis kicked thecoach’s block in anger after the65kg bout ended 9-9 followinga nerve-wracking six minutes.

Since Niyazbekov wasgiven a bigger throw of fourpoints in the bout, he was

declared the winner.In the fiercely-fought bout,

the referee gave ample time totiring Niyazbekov to catch hisbreath and he was not given

caution at least thrice.Instead Niyazbekov

was awarded four pointswhen it was Bajrang whoeffected a throw at theedge of the circle.

“I challenged it andthey should have given at

least two points to Bajrang forthat hold,” said coach Benitidis.

Several times, Bajrangraised his hands in frustrationbut to no avail.

The last edition Silvermedallist Indian will now fightfor the Bronze today.

“It was clear that the matchairman favoured the home

wrestler,” said a coach who didnot wish to be named.

Ravi, who felled a few starson his way to the 57kg semifi-nals, lost 4-6 to reigning worldchampion Zaur Uguev ofRussia and will also fight for theBronze.

Ravi also made it to theTokyo Olympics in the 57kgafter stunning ArsenHarutunyan, the 61kgEuropean champion fromArmenia and 2017 worldchampion and world numberthree Yuki Takahashi of Japan.

Meanwhile, India’s cam-paign in the women’s compe-tition folded following PoojaDhanda’s defeat in the Bronzemedal bout and first roundexits of Sakshi Malik and DivyaKakran.

Pooja could not match hislast year’s Bronze winning per-formance as she lost the 59kgBronze medal play-off 3-5 to2018 Asian champion XingruPei.

There was no end to thewoes of Rio Olympic Bronzemedallist Sakshi Maik, who losther opening round 7-10 toNigeria’s Aminat Adeniyi. Shewas knocked out of the tour-namernt after the Nigerianlost her quarterfinal bout.

Sakshi waited too long toattack while her powerfulopponent moved quickly.

In the 68kg, Divya Kakrancould not do much againstreigning Olympic championSara Dosho from Japan, losingthe bout 0-2.

Dosho later lost her quar-terfinal bout, closing repechagedoors on Divya.

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The Indian men’s doubles pairof G Sathiyan and Achanta

Sharath Kamal sailed into thequarterfinals of the 24th ITTFAsian Table TennisChampionships with easy winover Mahfoodh Sayed Murtadhaand Rashed Rashed of Bahrain atYogyakarta, Indonesia onThursday.

The Indian duo beatMurtadha and Rashed 11-8, 11-6, 11-3 in a lop-sided affair.

In the quarterfinals, Sathiyanand Sharath Kamal will be upagainst Chinese pair of LiangJingkun and Lin Gaoyuan.

Earlier in the day after receiv-ing first-round bye, the Indiansgot the better of Jordan’s AboYaman Zaid and Aldmaizy Zeyad11-4, 11-7, 11-7 in the round of32.

But the other Indian pair ofHarmeet Desai and AnthonyAmalraj, after enjoying a bye inthe round of 64, lost to ChineseTaipei’s Liu Hsing-Yin and PengWang Wei.

Harmeet and Amalraj foughthard before losing 11-5, 7-11, 11-3, 8-11, 6-11 against their accom-plished Chinese rivals.

It was curtains for India inthe women’s doubles as the pairof Manika Batra and ArchanaKamath and Madhurika Patkarand Sutirtha Mukherjee bowedout the tournament.

The pair of Manika andArchana had an easy round of 64outing, beating the Kazak duo ofLavnova Anastassiya andKhusseinova Gulchekhra 3-0 butlost in the next round to Koreancombination of Yang Haeun and

Jeon Jhee 6-11, 9-11, 7-11.Madhurika and Sutirtha fol-

lowed suit as they lost to Doo HoiKem and Lee Ho Ching of HongKong 9-11, 5-11, 11-13 afterclearing the round of 64 hurdleagainst Macau’s Tao Chong andLei Wai Mei 3-0.

In the mixed event, the pairsof Sharath Kamal-Manika andSathiyan-Archana lost in theround of 32.

While Korean pair of LeeSangsu and Jeo Jhiee accountedfor Sharath and Manika 11-9, 11-8, 11-7, China’s Wang Chuqinand Sun Yingsha beat Sathiyanand Archana 11-7, 11-9, 13-11.

In men singles, SharathKamal, Sathiyan, Amalraj,Harmeet and Manav Thakkarhad all received first-round byesand registered 3-0 wins overtheir respective rivals in theround of 128.

Only Harmeet dropped agame against PanagitgunYanapang of Thailand beforeovercoming his rival 11-9, 6-11,11-5, 11-5.

All the Indian men’s singlespaddlers will play their round of64 matches later in the day.

In women singles, Archanaenjoyed the random bye in theround of 128 while others had toplay their first round matches toenter the round of 64.

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FIGURATIVELY

Hoewedes.Premier League champions

City bounced back from defeatby Norwich at the weekendwith a comfortable 3-0 victoryagainst Shakhtar Donetsk inKharkiv.

Riyad Mahrez slammedhome a rebound after IlkayGundogan hit the post, and theGerman international smackedin a second before GabrielJesus sealed the points on 76minutes.

“When you win the man-ager makes the right decisions,when you lose the wrong deci-sions. We lost one game in eightmonths and we will not doubtwho these players are. It is a joyto be their manager,” coach PepGuardiola told BT Sport.

City are second to DinamoZagreb in Group C after theCroatian champions made it anight to forget for competitiondebutants Atalanta with a 4-0rout.

Dinamo failed to score asingle goal as they lost all sixmatches on their last groupstage appearance in 2016-17.

However, Marin Leovacgave them a 10th-minute leadand Mislav Orsic bagged ahat-trick as Dinamo got off toa dream start ahead of a trip toCity on October 2.

Bayern Munich neededlate goals from RobertLewandowski and ThomasMueller to make sure of victo-ry against Red Star Belgrade inGroup D.

Kingsley Coman’s bulletheader gave Bayern a first-halflead but the German champi-ons were forced to wait until the80th minute beforeLewandowski ended Red Star’sthreat.

Substitute Mueller volleyedin a third in stoppage time.

Last year’s finalistsTottenham blew a two-goallead to draw 2-2 at Olympiakos.

Harry Kane’s penalty and afine Lucas Moura strike putSpurs 2-0 up after 30 minutesin Greece, but Daniel Podencecut the deficit shortly before thebreak and Mathieu Valbuenalevelled from the spot in thesecond half.

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India would be aiming to bet-ter their best ever show when

Amit Panghal (52kg) andManish Kaushik (63kg) stepinside the ring against toughopponents in pursuit of summitberths in the World Men’sBoxing Championship heretoday.

India have never had twosemifinalists at the marqueeevent for amateur boxers and inthat respect, the two Haryanaboxers have already scripted his-tory.

But if both or either of themmanages to make the finals, itwould be a gigantic step forwardfor the sport in the country.

The task, however, is easi-er said than done.

Panghal has in his wayKazakhstan’s Saken Bibossinov,who stunned Armenia’sEuropean Gold-medallist andsixth seed Artur Hovhannisyanin the quarterfinals.

Kaushik, on the other hand,faces the most accomplishedboxer in his weight category —Cuban top seed Andy GomezCruz, who out-punched Russia’seighth-seeded Ilia Popov in thelast-eight stage.

“Now begins the tough job.We have already delivered onbettering the medal count andnow we aim to better theircolour,” Indian Boxing’s HighPerformance Director SantiagoNieva said.

“I am happy but I won’t becompletely happy till the timeboth of them reach the finalsand they surely can, both ofthem,” added the country’s chiefcoach C A Kuttappa.

They are up against toughchallengers but that in no way

makes them automatic under-dogs.

Panghal, the pint-sizeddynamo from Rohtak, is thereigning Asian Games andChampionships Gold-medal-list and has back-to-back goldmedals at one of Europe’s old-est tournament — the StrandjaMemorial.

Kaushik, the shy man hail-ing from the cradle of Indianboxing Bhiwani, is aCommonwealth Games Gold-medallist and is a two-timenational medal winner.

Both are employed with theIndian Army and both haveshown a soldier’s grit in somedraining bouts so far.

QUALIFIERS SEALEDAmit Panghal (52kg) and

Manish Kaushik (63kg) havealso made the Indian boxingsquad for next year’s OlympicQualifiers owing to their medal-winning show.

The Boxing Federation ofIndia (BFI) had made it clearthat boxers who win medals atthe world championships will beautomatic picks for the Olympicqualifiers scheduled in Februaryin China.

“Yes, Amit and Manish willbe going to the qualifiers. Therewill not be any trials in theirweight categories now,” IndianBoxing’s High PerformanceDirector Santiago Nieva said.

The rest of the squad will bepicked on the basis of camp per-formance, points accumulatedat international events and insome cases, trials.

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Most bowlers find it tough tocontain batsmen in deathovers but young India pacer

Deepak Chahar relishes the challengein the Twenty20 format.

With India giving youngstersopportunities ahead of the T20 WorldCup next year, 27-year-old Chahar hasimpressed in the three games he has gotsince making his debut in July last year,taking six wickets at 11.50.

Used to opening the bowling forChennai Super Kings in the IPL,Chahar has shown he can be equallyeffective in the death overs.

“I don’t know how I developed it(bowling at the top) but you have to doit when you are playing for India. It ischallenging with only two fielders out-side the circle. But I have startedthinking sub-consciously that I willneed to bowl three overs with two field-ers outside the circle,” said Chahar, whowas India’s standout bowler in theirseven-wicket win over South Africa onWednesday.

In his opening spell of three overs,Chahar swung the ball and picked upthe wicket of Reeza Hendricks beforereturning in the 18th over to remove aset Temba Bavuma with a well dis-guised slower ball.

“Earlier I used to bowl more in thedeath overs and find it easier becausein Powerplay you have only two field-ers outside the circle and after that youhave the protection of five fielders. Youcan use variation also in death overs,”he said.

Chahar said he focuses on out-guessing the batsman.

“How I bowl depends on the bats-men. In the death overs, the batsmanis expecting yorkers or a slower ball butif you can also bowl a bouncer orknuckle ball, it can surprise him. Youto have to keep guessing the batsman,”

said the Rajasthan pacer.He feels bowling on flat wickets in

Chennai during the IPL has made hima better bowler.

“There is no off the wicket helpwhen you are playing in Chennai. Butwhen we were playing in Pune last tolast year, there was help both off thewicket and in the air. But in Chennai,the swing is there for maximum oneover as there is no grass. So, I got con-fidence that if I could do well there, Icould do well elsewhere too,” he said.

Chahar has grabbed his chances sofar but knows he is far from cement-ing his place in the side ahead of theT20 World Cup in Australia.

“There is one whole year left forthat. I play each match as if it is my lastfor India. At this time Indian cricket isat the top. If you want to play you haveto do well in almost every game.There is a lot of competition and maybe that is why Indian cricket is at thetop.

“There is no guarantee that you willget your place back even if you arereturning from an injury.”

Talking about Virat Kohli’s match-winning knock of 72 not out, Chaharwas all praise.

“He is just next level and all class,”he said.

�����*6(5.

Test specialist TembaBavuma, who had a decent

outing in his debut in the short-est format.

South Africa looked set for180 when skipper Quinton deKock (52) and Bavuma (49)were in the middle before thesouthpaw’s dismissal put thebrakes on the scoring rate, lim-iting the total to 149 for five.

“The first 10-12 overs weplayed really well. I think wecould not really get going aftera good start and lost the gamebetween 12th to the 15th over,”Bavuma, who has played 36Tests, said after the seven-wick-et loss to India.

“When David came in the13th over, we were in a strongposition, 180 seemed very muchgettable at the halfway stage. Iwas not really able to get thatmomentum and others as well.I don’t think we were complete-ly outplayed,” said Bavuma whomissed out on a well-deservedfifty by one run in his attemptto accelerate.

The 29-year-old from CapeTown said India are formidable

but not unbeatable as the Proteasaim to level the series inBengaluru on Sunday.

“They are formidable butnot unbeatable. It was just onephase with the bat where we letourselves down and a qualityside like India made us pay.

“There will always bemoments in the game which wecan win and it is about beingaware of those moments andmaking sure we are in the rightmental space to win thosemoments,” said Bavuma.

Playing his first limited-overs game for South Africa inalmost two years, Bavuma madeit count.

“It was good to be out there.Facing the white ball again. It hasbeen a while. It was a pleasingeffort but did not do much to theresult of the game. Last (domes-tic) season was a big season forme in white ball cricket. Therewere not many Tests and thatallowed me to play white ballcricket.

“I got the opportunity tocome back to the national fold.It helped me understand whatmy gameplan is in white ballcricket,” he explained.

�% �� �=)/�=

Captain Tim Paine has pre-dicted a "very exciting era"

for Australian cricket after theteam retained the Ashes againstEngland, while revealing hebroke his thumb in the final Test.

The series was drawn 2-2,with Australia keeping the urnas the Ashes holders despite los-ing the last Test at the Oval by135 runs.

"I'm looking forward toAustralia seeing how far we'vecome this summer," Paine saidin a column for The Australiannewspaper, referring to upcom-ing home Tests against Pakistanand New Zealand.

"Last year we were a bit lostand were finding our way," headded after the side struggled inthe wake of the ball-tamperingscandal in South Africa.

"I know we have found itnow and I am confident thisgroup is the beginning of a veryexciting era in Australian crick-et. "We've got the best bowlingattack in the world and the basisfor a great batting line-up."Australia retaining the Asheswas built on the back of an

incredible series by former skip-per Steve Smith, who scored 774runs in just seven innings, andan impressive bowling attack ledby Pat Cummins and JoshHazlewood.

Paine called Smith "a freak"while also praising MarnusLabuschagne as having "a hugefuture" after he too enjoyed astellar tour with the bat. But herevealed the last Test was a strug-gle for himself and fast bowlerPeter Siddle.

"My thumb was brokentowards the end of that Test butit is not displaced, so I should beright to get back into trainingearly," said Paine, while praisingworkhorse Siddle who was bat-tling a hip injury.

"He has copped a bit of crit-icism for not bowling as well as...We know he can, but the teamknows just how heroic he was.

"A lot of other peoplewouldn't have bowled again inthe match, but he pushed on

because he didn't want to leaveJosh Hazlewood and PatCummins to do extra work."Coming off a long overseastour and with five home Testsstarting from November 21,Paine said he needs to rest andwill not play the domestic BigBash League Twenty20 compe-tition this season.

"Being captain is drainingand I think I should take everychance to recharge my batteries,"he said.

���� �72(�

Rookie teenager ShafaliVerma, who has been

picked in India’s T20squad, would be the cyno-sure of all eyes when theBoard President’s XI takeson the South Africawomen in a warm-upmatch here today.

The 15-year-oldShafali was named in theIndian women’s team forthe T20 series againstSouth Africa following hergood performance in the

Women’s T20 challengeearlier and at the age-group level this year.

The diminutiveHaryana-girl would like tomake optimum use of thewarm-up game and getruns under her belt if sheis given an opportunity inthe playing XI.

The first warm-upgame will be held onFriday at the LalbhaiContractor stadium here

followed by the secondmatch on Sunday.

Apart from Shefali,pacers Mansi Joshi andPooja Vastrakar have alsobeen named in the T20squad and a good outingon Friday would also boosttheir morale before themain tournament beginshere on Tuesday.

On the other hand, theSouth Africa women willalso be aiming to start

their Indian tour on awinning note. They wouldbe keen to use these gamesto assess the conditionsand get acclimatized tothe hot and humid weath-er. All the T20s will beplayed in Surat while theODIs will be played inVadodara.BPXI: Sushma Verma(captain & wicket-keeper),Devika Vaidya (vice-cap-tain), Vanitha VR, ShafaliVerma, Priya Punia, JasiaAktar, MDThirushkamini, Madhuri

Mehta, Tarannum Pathan,Sushree Dibyadarshini,Tanuja Kanwar, BhartiFulmali, Mansi Joshi,Renuka Singh, PoojaVastrakar.SA women: Sune Luus(Captain), Anneke Bosch,Tasmin Brits, Nadine deKlerk, Shabnim Ismail,Sinalo Jafta, AyabongaKhaka, Lara Goodall,Lizelle Lee, NonkululekoMlaba, Tumi Sekhukhune,Nondumiso Shangase,Mignon du Preez and LaraWolvaardt.

���� -6(/3;6*7J-6./(K

Reigning world champion PV Sindhumade an early exit from the China

Open but B Sai Praneeth kept the Indianflag fluttering with a hard-fought straight-game win to reach the men’s singles quar-terfinals here on Thursday.

Sindhu, an Olympic Silver medallist,squandered a first-game advantage to godown 12-21, 21-13, 21-19 to Thailand’sPornpawee Chochuwong in a women's sin-gles pre-quarterfinals that lasted 58 min-utes here.

Praneeth, who had claimed a Bronzemedal at Basel, edged out China’s Lu GuangZu 21-19, 21-19 to set up a meeting againstIndonesian seventh seed Anthony SinisukaGinting.

Ginting beat India’s Parupalli Kashyap23-21, 15-21, 21-12 in a thrilling contest.

Doubles specialist Satwiksairaj

Rankireddy also had a dismal day ashe suffered twin defeats, losing boththe men’s doubles and mixed dou-

bles pre-quarterfinals.In men’s doubles, Satwik

and Chirag Shetty, ranked 15thin the world, ran out of steam after

a decent start against fourth-seed-ed Japanese pair of Takeshi Kamuraand Keigo Sonoda and went down19-21, 8-21 in the second-roundmatch that lasted 33 minutes.

This is the second time Satwikand Chirag have lost to the combi-nation of Kamura and Sonoda thisyear. They had lost to the world No4 pair at the Japan Open in July.

Satwik then paired up with hismixed doubles partner AshwiniPonanappa but the duo couldn’t getpast Yuki Kaneko and MisakiMatsutomo, losing 11-21, 21-16,

12-21 to the Japanese pair.Ashwini also tasted defeat in

women’s doubles after she and herpartner N Sikki Reddy lost 12-21, 17-21 to second seeded Japanese pair ofMisaki Matsutomo and AyakaTakahashi.

Sindhu, who came into thematch with a 3-0 head-to-head leadagainst Pornpawee, dominated thefirst game as she lead 7-1 early on butthe Thai shuttler reduced the deficitto 10-11 at the break.

However, Sindhu reeled off eightstraight points after the interval tojump to 19-10 and eventually sealedthe first game comfortably.

The decider started on an evennote as both the shuttlers foughthard, moving together till 6-6 whenSindhu surged ahead to enjoy a 11-7 cushion at the break.

However, Pornpawee keptbreathing down Sindhu’s neck andslowly moved to 15-19. From there,the Thai shuttler blasted six straightpoints to leave the Indian shocked.

���� ��/3(5727

Virat Kohli's record as theRoyal Challengers

Bangalore skipper might havebeen below-par but the team'snewly-appointed Director ofCricket Mike Hesson ruled outany change in leadership for theunder-performing franchise inthe next IPL edition.

Despite stars like Kohli, ABde Villiers and Chris Gayle (forbetter part), RCB has not wonthe IPL since the event's incep-tion. Kohli has led the team inseven of those seasons. Hessonnipped questions on Kohli con-trolling the team and change incaptaincy in the bud.

“We don't have that percep-tion that Virat controls things.But may be he has had his learn-ings from the past (mistakes)while moving forward,” Hessonsaid on Thursday.

Hesson said Kohli has beenon the same page as him andchief coach Simon Katich.“There has been no questionmark over Virat's captaincy dur-ing last couple of weeks (of dis-

cussions),” Hesson clarified“..We have been very much

aligned and he has been morethan happy to take our advicefrom our experience," the formerNew Zealand coach added.

RCB’s questionable recruit-ment has come in for a lot ofcriticism but Hesson assuredthat this time they are lookingat specific players and not hun-dreds of options.

"There will be big focus onrecruitment. Once auction gets

completed, the work starts then,not a week before the tourna-ment starts. We would have clar-ity in roles that players need toperform," he said.

On recruitment of domes-tic players, Hesson said there arespecific players they would belooking at and not just statisti-cal highlights during theMushtaq Ali or Vijay HazareTrophy.

“During Vijay Hazare andMushtaq Ali Trophy, we wouldlike to see players we want to fitin. It's more about finding outhow players build contextaround performance, condi-tions and pressure situations," hesaid.

Hesson also agreed that theteam needs to consider consis-tent performances and not oneodd innings before selectingplayers.

“Form is a factor but we needto be more holistic in terms of

how we talent scout. We look atfour-year period as then they areready to deliver when put underthe pump. It doesn't happen afterone good season,” he said.

���� /�4)�56.

Indian icon Sachin Tendulkar lauded SteveSmith for his exemplary batting, saying the

former Australia skipper’s “organised mind-set” and “complicated technique” set himapart among his contemporaries.

Tendulkar praised Smith, the numerouno batsman in Tests right now, for his fan-tastic comeback in red-ball cricket in the just-concluded Ashes series.

“COMPLICATED TECHNIQUE butan ORGANIZED MINDSET is what sets@stevesmith49 apart. Incrediblecomeback!#ENGvsAUS,” Tendulkar postedon his Twitter handle.

Smith has a unique batting style, whichis both unorthodox as well as genius andTendulkar tried to explain the Australian'sgame in his social media post.

“In the first Test, the English bowlers triedto get him caught behind the wickets withslips and gully in place,” Tendulkar explained.

“And Smith just shuffled across andexposed his leg stumps to cover the line, andwas selective and smart in his approach.

“At Lord’s, they had leg-slip for him onoccasions and a few short-pitched deliveriesagainst Jofra Archer got him in trouble as hetried to cover the line with the weight on hisback-foot.”

Smith was hit by a vicious Jofra Archerbouncer in the first innings of the secondAshes Test at Lord’s. The blow was so severethat he didn’t come out to bat in the secondinnings and also missed the next Test atHeadingley. Tendulkar went on to explainwhat Smith did wrong when he was hit bythe bouncer.

“The most important thing for any bats-

man is to keep the head position forwardand wait leaning forward or marginally in-line,” said Tendulkar, the only player to fea-ture in 200 Tests.

“Smith got into bad positions and that’show he probably got hit.

“In the final two Tests, he was leavingthe ball while leaning forward, and lookedin better positions. He worked on his tech-nique very smartly. That is why I say,’ com-plicated technique, but extremely organisedmindset .”

�% �� -*5*��*

Sri Lanka’s cricket board onThursday said it will go

ahead with its tour of Pakistandespite fears that players couldbe the targets of terror attacksduring the six-match visit.

Sri Lanka Cricket secretaryMohan de Silva said theyreceived the all-clear from thedefence ministry to leave forPakistan on Tuesday afterestablishing that there was nothreat to the national team.

Sri Lanka Cricket added ina statement that the governingbody was assured the Pakistanarmy would coordinate securi-ty set at a level usually reservedfor a head of state.

“Sri Lanka Cricket wishesto announce that the forthcom-ing tour of Pakistan will goahead as planned, followingassurances given by the govern-ment of Pakistan that it willprovide maximum security,”the statement said.

De Silva added that heand “our office bearers will alsobe accompanying the team”.

Reports last week of a pos-sible terror attack were referredto the defence ministry forinvestigation.

The six-match tour, due tostart on September 27, was puton hold last week after the SriLanka prime minister’s officewarned the board it hadunspecified information abouta possible attack against itsplayers.

The Pakistan CricketBoard (PCB) said it was notaware of any information relat-ing to the safety of the SriLankan team, but reiterated itscommitment to providingsecurity.

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