8r_xr re wf]] eyc`ee]v $ (< t`^v y`^v - daily pioneer

12
A s many as 3,726 stranded Indian nationals landed from Ukraine on Thursday even as the Ministry of External Affairs rejected charge that Indian citizens were held hostage in the conflict zone, including Kharkiv city, and said Ukraine was urged to ensure safety of Indians. The Ministry of Civil Aviation said more than 7,400 people are expected to be brought back to India in spe- cial flights in the next two days. Around 6,998 persons have been brought back from Ukraine so far. Indian carriers — Air India Express, Air India, SpiceJet, IndiGo, Vistara and Go First — are expected to operate a total of 18 flights on Friday. To speed up the evacuation drive, the Government has deployed 80 flights under “Operation Ganga” and over dozen Union Ministers are monitoring evacuation mis- sions without any hiccups. According to Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi, 15 flights landed in India during last 24 hours, bringing back more than 3,000 Indians. Bagchi also said 18 flights have been sched- uled for next 24 hours to bring back Indian nationals from Ukraine. Rejecting reports about hostage taking, Bagchi said, “We have not received any report of any hostage situation regarding any student. We have requested the support of Ukrainian authorities in arranging special trains for taking out students from Kharkiv and neighbouring areas to the western part of the country.” The Indian response came after a statement from Russian President Vladimir Putin’s office claimed that some Indian students were “actually taken hostage” by Ukrainian securi- ty forces, who use them as a “human shield” and in every possible way prevent them from leaving for Russian terri- tory. The Russian claim was mentioned in a readout issued by Kremlin following a tele- phonic conversation between President Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday evening. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry “urgently called on the Governments of India, Pakistan, China and other counties whose students have become hostages of the Russian armed aggression in Kharkiv and Sumy, to demand from Moscow that it allows the open- ing of a humanitarian corridor to other Ukrainian cities”. Continued on Page 2 T he Opposition on Thursday backed the Government’s stand on the Ukraine crisis and India’s abstention from voting in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) emergency session on Wednesday. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar briefed the Parliamentary consultative committee attached to his Ministry about the situation in the war zone and India’s efforts to bring out its citizens from there. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was among the nine MPs from six parties who attended the meeting. There was a general con- sensus on India’s decision to abstain from the various votes on Russia at the UNSC and the UNGA in view of the geostrate- gic position of the country, sources said later. At the end of the meeting, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who attended the briefing, tweeted: “Frank discussions took place in an amicable atmosphere, a reminder that when it comes to national interests we are all Indians first and foremost. “Just completed an MEA consultative committee meet- ing on developments in Ukraine. A good discussion on the strategic and humanitarian aspects of the issue. The strong and unanimous message of support for efforts to bring back all Indians from Ukraine,” Jaishankar tweeted. Thanking leaders for their participation, he said “a national consensus on the importance of dialogue and diplomacy.” The Opposition stands united with the Government, several leaders later said. The meeting of the 21-member committee, chaired by Jaishankar was attended by nine MPs from six parties and came in for fulsome praise from some leaders. “We all are united,” Tharoor told reporters after the meeting. Continued on Page 2 U krainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office says a second round of talks with Russia about the war in Ukraine has begun in neigh- bouring Belarus. A video released by Zelenskyy’s office Thursday showed the infor- mally dressed Ukrainian dele- gation walking into the meet- ing room where they shook hands with Russian delegates in suits and ties. A video released by Zelenskyy’s office on Thursday showed the informally dressed Ukrainian delegation walking into the meeting room where they shook hands with Russian delegates in suits and ties. The talks are aimed at stopping the fighting that has sent more than 1 million people fleeing over Ukraine’s borders, but the two sides appeared to have little common ground. Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned Ukraine that it must quickly accept the Kremlin’s demand for its “demilitarisation” and declare itself neutral, formally renounc- ing its bid to join NATO. Putin has long contended that Ukraine’s turn toward the West is a threat to Moscow, an argument he used to justify last week’s invasion. The talks came as the Russian military made signif- icant gains in the south of Ukraine as part of an effort to sever the country’s connec- tion to the Black and Azov seas. T he trend of low voter turnout persisted in the sixth phase of Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls on Thursday despite the pres- ence of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, six Ministers of his Cabinet, and several top Opposition leaders in the fray. The penultimate round of the seven-phase poll saw just over 55 per cent voting during polling across 57 Assembly. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the voting percentage stood at 60 per cent and in the 2017 Assembly polls 56.52 per cent. Contesting his maiden Assembly poll, Yogi cast his vote in Gorakhpur. He didn’t contest the 2017 UP elections and became a member of the legislative council after becom- ing the Chief Minister. The EC data showed the highest voter turnout of 58.66 per cent in Ambedkar Nagar district, followed by 57.38 per cent in Maharajganj and 55 per cent in Kushinagar. The Chief Minister’s home district Gorakhpur recorded a voter turnout of 53.89. The lowest turnout (48.53 per cent) was recorded in Balrampur and 49.77 per cent in Siddharthnagar. In Lucknow, Additional Chief Electoral Officer of UP, BD Ram Tiwari, said, “Voting is underway peacefully across all 10 districts in the State. Complaints related to faulty or non-functional EVMs are being immediately addressed.” Meanwhile, in Akhar vil- lage of Ballia, activists of Samajwadi Party (SP) alleged- ly damaged the window panes of a vehicle in which BJP can- didate from Ballia Sadar, Daya Shankar Singh, was traveling on Wednesday night. Singh later alleged that some SP activists, traveling in a Fortuner SUV bearing regis- tration number UP32 EK 7273 were involved in the attack. Claiming that he had a nar- row escape, the BJP candidate alleged that the attackers had planned to kill him. The Ballia police later seized the SUV and arrested one person. Continued on Page 2 A report by Oxford Economics has revealed that YouTube’s creator ecosys- tem contributed 6,800 crore to the Indian Gross Domestic Products (GDP) in 2020. It also supported 6,83,900 full-time equivalent jobs in the country in the same year. Oxford Economics is an independent consulting firm. “YouTube’s growing cre- ator ecosystem generated con- siderable economic value, con- tributing 6,800 crore to the Indian GDP and supporting 6,83,900 full-time equivalent jobs in India in 2020,” YouTube said releasing the findings at a virtual briefing. The study by Oxford Economics combines YouTube- driven advertising revenues, with other related revenues, such as non-advertising rev- enues (such as subscriptions and alternative monetisation), and off-platform revenues (fan- meetups and sponsorships). It estimates YouTube’s eco- nomic impact based on direct impact (profits and wages earned by creators and their teams), indirect impact (gen- erated by the spending it stim- ulates in the broader Indian supply chain), and induced impact (generated by the wage costs of those employed by the creator ecosystem). YouTube said in addition to the revenue generated on the platform, a creator’s presence can help them get a global fan- base, and explore multiple rev- enue streams via brand part- nerships, live performance and other avenues. These revenue sources not only support jobs and income for creative entrepreneurs but also spur wider activity in sup- ply chains, YouTube said. As per estimates shared by the Government last year, the country has 44.8 crore YouTube users, 53 crore WhatsApp users, 41 crore Facebook users, 21 crore use Instagram and 1.75 crore are on Twitter. U S President Joe Biden will decide whether to apply or waive sanctions on India, one of America’s key partners, under the CAATSA law for its purchase of the S-400 missile defence system from Russia, a senior administration official has told lawmakers. The US administration is required under a domestic law, Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) to impose sanc- tions on any country that has significant transactions with Iran, North Korea or Russia. CAATSA is a tough US law which authorises... Continued on Page 2 P rime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday took part in a virtual summit of Quad leaders, along with the US President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese PM Fumio Kishida. The meeting reviewed the progress on Quad initiatives since the September 2021 Quad Summit. The leaders agreed on accelerating cooperation, with an objective to achieve concrete outcomes by the summit in Japan later this year, a release issued by the PMO said. The Prime Minister under- lined that the Quad must remain focused on its core objective of promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. He called for concrete and practical forms of cooperation within the Quad, in areas like Humanitarian and Disaster Relief, debt sustainability, sup- ply chains, clean energy, con- nectivity, and capacity-build- ing, the PMO said. Developments in Ukraine were discussed in the meeting, including its humanitarian implications. The Prime Minister emphasised the need to return to a path of dialogue and diplomacy. Continued on Page 2

Upload: khangminh22

Post on 03-Mar-2023

1 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

����� ��������

As many as 3,726 strandedIndian nationals landed

from Ukraine on Thursdayeven as the Ministry of ExternalAffairs rejected charge thatIndian citizens were heldhostage in the conflict zone,including Kharkiv city, andsaid Ukraine was urged toensure safety of Indians.

The Ministry of CivilAviation said more than 7,400people are expected to bebrought back to India in spe-cial flights in the next two days.Around 6,998 persons havebeen brought back fromUkraine so far. Indian carriers— Air India Express, Air India,SpiceJet, IndiGo, Vistara andGo First — are expected tooperate a total of 18 flights onFriday.

To speed up the evacuationdrive, the Government hasdeployed 80 flights under“Operation Ganga” and overdozen Union Ministers aremonitoring evacuation mis-sions without any hiccups.

According to Ministry ofExternal Affairs SpokespersonArindam Bagchi, 15 flightslanded in India during last 24

hours, bringing back morethan 3,000 Indians. Bagchi alsosaid 18 flights have been sched-uled for next 24 hours to bringback Indian nationals fromUkraine.

Rejecting reports abouthostage taking, Bagchi said,“We have not received anyreport of any hostage situationregarding any student. We haverequested the support of

Ukrainian authorities inarranging special trains fortaking out students fromKharkiv and neighbouringareas to the western part of thecountry.”

The Indian response cameafter a statement from RussianPresident Vladimir Putin’soffice claimed that some Indianstudents were “actually takenhostage” by Ukrainian securi-

ty forces, who use them as a“human shield” and in everypossible way prevent themfrom leaving for Russian terri-tory.

The Russian claim wasmentioned in a readout issuedby Kremlin following a tele-phonic conversation betweenPresident Putin and PrimeMinister Narendra Modi onWednesday evening.

The Ukrainian ForeignMinistry “urgently called on theGovernments of India,Pakistan, China and othercounties whose students havebecome hostages of the Russianarmed aggression in Kharkivand Sumy, to demand fromMoscow that it allows the open-ing of a humanitarian corridorto other Ukrainian cities”.

Continued on Page 2

������������� ������������������������������������������ ���������� ���

�������������� ����������� ���� ��

����������� ������������������������ ���������������������������������������������������� � ����! "����������

����� ��������

The Opposition on Thursdaybacked the Government’s

stand on the Ukraine crisis andIndia’s abstention from votingin the United Nations SecurityCouncil (UNSC) and theUnited Nations GeneralAssembly (UNGA) emergencysession on Wednesday.

External Affairs Minister SJaishankar briefed theParliamentary consultativecommittee attached to hisMinistry about the situation inthe war zone and India’s effortsto bring out its citizens fromthere. Congress leader RahulGandhi was among the nineMPs from six parties whoattended the meeting.

There was a general con-sensus on India’s decision toabstain from the various voteson Russia at the UNSC and theUNGA in view of the geostrate-gic position of the country,sources said later.

At the end of the meeting,Congress MP Shashi Tharoor,who attended the briefing,

tweeted: “Frank discussionstook place in an amicableatmosphere, a reminder thatwhen it comes to nationalinterests we are all Indiansfirst and foremost.

“Just completed an MEAconsultative committee meet-ing on developments inUkraine. A good discussion onthe strategic and humanitarianaspects of the issue. The strongand unanimous message ofsupport for efforts to bringback all Indians from Ukraine,”Jaishankar tweeted. Thankingleaders for their participation,he said “a national consensuson the importance of dialogueand diplomacy.”

The Opposition standsunited with the Government,several leaders later said. Themeeting of the 21-membercommittee, chaired byJaishankar was attended bynine MPs from six parties andcame in for fulsome praisefrom some leaders. “We all areunited,” Tharoor told reportersafter the meeting.

Continued on Page 2

#�����������$���������������������%�����&

�� � ��

Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy’s

office says a second round oftalks with Russia about the warin Ukraine has begun in neigh-bouring Belarus. A videoreleased by Zelenskyy’s officeThursday showed the infor-mally dressed Ukrainian dele-gation walking into the meet-ing room where they shookhands with Russian delegates insuits and ties.

A video released byZelenskyy’s office on Thursdayshowed the informally dressedUkrainian delegation walkinginto the meeting room wherethey shook hands with Russiandelegates in suits and ties. Thetalks are aimed at stopping thefighting that has sent more than1 million people fleeing overUkraine’s borders, but the twosides appeared to have littlecommon ground.

Russian President VladimirPutin has warned Ukraine thatit must quickly accept theKremlin’s demand for its“demilitarisation” and declareitself neutral, formally renounc-ing its bid to join NATO.

Putin has long contendedthat Ukraine’s turn toward theWest is a threat to Moscow, anargument he used to justify lastweek’s invasion.

The talks came as theRussian military made signif-icant gains in the south ofUkraine as part of an effort tosever the country’s connec-tion to the Black and Azov seas.

����������������������� ��� ��� ������

����������������� � ����

The trend of low voter turnoutpersisted in the sixth phase

of Uttar Pradesh Assembly pollson Thursday despite the pres-ence of Chief Minister YogiAdityanath, six Ministers of hisCabinet, and several topOpposition leaders in the fray.

The penultimate round ofthe seven-phase poll saw justover 55 per cent voting duringpolling across 57 Assembly. Inthe 2014 Lok Sabha polls, thevoting percentage stood at 60per cent and in the 2017Assembly polls 56.52 per cent.

Contesting his maidenAssembly poll, Yogi cast hisvote in Gorakhpur. He didn’tcontest the 2017 UP electionsand became a member of thelegislative council after becom-ing the Chief Minister.

The EC data showed thehighest voter turnout of 58.66per cent in Ambedkar Nagardistrict, followed by 57.38 percent in Maharajganj and 55 percent in Kushinagar.

The Chief Minister’s homedistrict Gorakhpur recorded a

voter turnout of 53.89. Thelowest turnout (48.53 per cent)was recorded in Balrampurand 49.77 per cent inSiddharthnagar.

In Lucknow, AdditionalChief Electoral Officer of UP,BD Ram Tiwari, said, “Votingis underway peacefully acrossall 10 districts in the State.Complaints related to faulty ornon-functional EVMs arebeing immediately addressed.”

Meanwhile, in Akhar vil-lage of Ballia, activists ofSamajwadi Party (SP) alleged-ly damaged the window panesof a vehicle in which BJP can-didate from Ballia Sadar, DayaShankar Singh, was travelingon Wednesday night.

Singh later alleged thatsome SP activists, traveling ina Fortuner SUV bearing regis-tration number UP32 EK 7273were involved in the attack.

Claiming that he had a nar-row escape, the BJP candidatealleged that the attackers hadplanned to kill him. The Balliapolice later seized the SUV andarrested one person.

Continued on Page 2

'�&�����#�������������� ����(�� ��� �������)���������� ����� ��������

Areport by OxfordEconomics has revealed

that YouTube’s creator ecosys-tem contributed �6,800 crore tothe Indian Gross DomesticProducts (GDP) in 2020. It alsosupported 6,83,900 full-timeequivalent jobs in the countryin the same year. OxfordEconomics is an independentconsulting firm.

“YouTube’s growing cre-ator ecosystem generated con-siderable economic value, con-tributing �6,800 crore to theIndian GDP and supporting6,83,900 full-time equivalentjobs in India in 2020,” YouTubesaid releasing the findings at avirtual briefing.

The study by OxfordEconomics combines YouTube-driven advertising revenues,with other related revenues,such as non-advertising rev-enues (such as subscriptionsand alternative monetisation),and off-platform revenues (fan-meetups and sponsorships).

It estimates YouTube’s eco-nomic impact based on directimpact (profits and wagesearned by creators and their

teams), indirect impact (gen-erated by the spending it stim-ulates in the broader Indiansupply chain), and inducedimpact (generated by the wagecosts of those employed by thecreator ecosystem).

YouTube said in addition tothe revenue generated on theplatform, a creator’s presencecan help them get a global fan-base, and explore multiple rev-enue streams via brand part-nerships, live performance andother avenues.

These revenue sources notonly support jobs and incomefor creative entrepreneurs butalso spur wider activity in sup-ply chains, YouTube said. Asper estimates shared by theGovernment last year, thecountry has 44.8 crore YouTubeusers, 53 crore WhatsAppusers, 41 crore Facebook users,21 crore use Instagram and 1.75crore are on Twitter.

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

���� ���������

US President Joe Biden willdecide whether to apply or

waive sanctions on India, oneof America’s key partners,under the CAATSA law for itspurchase of the S-400 missiledefence system from Russia, asenior administration officialhas told lawmakers.

The US administration isrequired under a domestic law,Countering America’sAdversaries through SanctionsAct (CAATSA) to impose sanc-tions on any country that hassignificant transactions withIran, North Korea or Russia.

CAATSA is a tough US lawwhich authorises...

Continued on Page 2

����������� ������ ��������������������������

����� ��������

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Thursday took

part in a virtual summit ofQuad leaders, along with theUS President Joe Biden,Australian Prime MinisterScott Morrison and JapanesePM Fumio Kishida.

The meeting reviewed theprogress on Quad initiativessince the September 2021 QuadSummit. The leaders agreed onaccelerating cooperation, withan objective to achieve concreteoutcomes by the summit inJapan later this year, a releaseissued by the PMO said.

The Prime Minister under-lined that the Quad mustremain focused on its coreobjective of promoting peace,stability and prosperity in theIndo-Pacific region. He called

for concrete and practicalforms of cooperation withinthe Quad, in areas likeHumanitarian and DisasterRelief, debt sustainability, sup-ply chains, clean energy, con-nectivity, and capacity-build-ing, the PMO said.

Developments in Ukrainewere discussed in the meeting,including its humanitarianimplications. The PrimeMinister emphasised the needto return to a path of dialogueand diplomacy.

Continued on Page 2

����� ���������� �����������!"��� ���"���

� ����� ������������������������������������� ��������������������������� ���!��������������"����#�����$"�%��"��&�"�������%"�����'(���%�"������)"�"&�)����"���!����))�%��) �"���&"�%*������+ ��!!��"�%�!���+"��,�� "�%�"��!�)�������)���-��.���"*����/�������.��+)"&"� "��������)"�"%��"��/

����������� �������������������0 ������"�����)���%�������������-"�%������� ���)�����������"��)$���������������������!�����1��%�)��%�"�������-"�%��!�+)�&$!)�%��������� �&��"�������2������1����3����))�%��) �+ ������������!����"%��4-"�%����!"�"���������"5

��� ���� �����!"# ����� ����$�!���� �%�������������)�"����������� ��-�678�!�������*"�49:�&��������6�������,�-�")��������"�"*"� ���������������;5<<=5

�������

>�����") #"����� !�&�+��$5&��?��") �"�����* +��� �' "����%���5&��?��") �"�����?

������"� ���&'( �))*� 89@�"�����&���%���A����"!����)"&�+)�

#�+)"�����'������������ ���� 1��#����1� 1������(

(�����(�# ( �������(�����(�� � ����(�1����B������

�)��+��)��,�'-#.������������� ��������������

������� $������/��� �.$�"0""%�������'"��"

,-./��0�C ���������(���C �����(�������������#������#���#�(�

��1-�2$�

(����(�' ����� �����#��9�2����

-%"."-.��1����D��(��������6;����(���'��(���(

���������������

������������ �� �����

����������� �!����" �#�����$��%&%%

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

����������� ������ ����� ������������� ������������������������� ������� ����!������ �����������"������������#$%�%��&�����'�������(�������)*+�������(��+%$**)*�,���-��*%.)+/$*01/.����������2�����������������(�����(��(��������-��))3/4�����+22�2��������������������5����!6�����"�!�����7-"��8������������9�������!�����7���� ��������29�89�5�9:!��9��%�**!��7�������9����� �� ���;��-����7���<���7��� �3����� ������7 �(����3�������������7��=�����'����#�����7-��$� �����:�� �;�� �������>����(�-�;'����+%%***)������7*%%+/*%%*/??�������������#�����7&+0%�������$�-#2'��:��� ���-(�+)*%0*%�8��������7*%)*+/1.41**3/1.44**�������;#�����7/��&���������������(�������&�@ �9���������;+))$*%$�,���������7*?))+)0/$//0+/?

northCHANDIGARH | FRIDAY | MARCH 4, 2022 03Tractors older than 10 years old should not be banned from plying in NCR region, says Haryana CM

MANOJ KUMAR CHANDIGARH

Haryana has registered a sharp increase in crimes against women over the past seven years, State Home Minister Anil Vij told the Haryana As-sembly on Thursday. Replying to a question by Independent MLA from Meham Balraj Kundu on the second day of the ongoing Budget session, Vij said the number of rape cases in the State has risen since 2014. The data shows there were 944 rape cases in 2014, 839 in 2015, 802 in 2016, 955 in 2017, 1178 in 2018, 1360 in 2019, 1211 in 2020 and 1546 in 2021. In two rape cases women Police complainant had registered at the police station concerned in 2017 while one in 2021. Meham MLA had also sought to know whether any crimi-nal has been convicted in the rape cases. House was informed that in 151 cases of rape, accused were sentenced in 2014 while 108 in 2015, 91 in 2016, 84 in 2017, 48 in 2018, 28 in 2019, three in 2020 and one was con-victed in 2021. The Home Minister’s reply shows that there were 206 gang

rape cases in 2014, 190 in 2015, 177 in 2016, 165 in 2017, 189 in 2018, 165 in 2019, 160 in 2020 and 176 in 2021. The BJP-led Khattar government had come to power in the state in October 2014. Kandu had also sought to know whether any criminal has been convicted in the gang rape cases. House informed that in 19 cases of gang rape, accused were sentenced in 2014 while 20 in 2015, 20 in 2016, 13 in 2017, eight in 2018 and one each in 2019 and 2020. Statistics show that Haryana State has among the worst records in crimes against women.Vij informed the State Assembly that in 2021, Gurugram saw 212 max-imum number of rape cases registered among all Haryana districts, which was followed by 135 in Faridabad, 125 in Karnal, 110 in Jhajjar, 98 in Hisar, 87 in Sonepat, 71 in Kurukshetra, 65 in Rohtak, 63 in Rewari, 56 in Ambala. For the same period, Mewat and Palwal saw 20 and 19 gang rape cases being registered, while these figures for Panipat, Ya-munanagar, Gurugram and Sirsa were 19, 16, 10 and 10 respectively.

Rape cases up as Haryana sees sharp rise in crimes against women

MONIKA MALIK CHANDIGARH

Differences in opinion surfaced between the central and state leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the possible post-poll alliance with its pre-vious ally, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). Days after BJP national president JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah gave enough indications of joining hands with the Akali Dal, if needed, to form the government, the state leader-ship on Thursday ruled out the possibil-ity. “There is no such idea, there is no such discussion, and there is no such possibility,” responded Union Minister and BJP’s Punjab elections in-charge Gajendra Shekhawat, when asked about the alliance.Punjab BJP president Ashwani Sharma also maintained that there was no ques-tion of forging an alliance with the Akali Dal, while claiming that the saffron party would form the Government with the help of its allies only. However, the party leaders admitted that the party may not be able to reach the magical number on its own, but claimed that the results to be announced on March 10 “would be beyond expectations”.“Though the party alone could not be in a position to get the majority, the results would be beyond expectations,” said Sharma. BJP, this time, contested in

alliance with the former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh-led Punjab Lok Congress and Akali stalwart Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa-led SAD (Sanyukt). Till 2017, BJP contested elections in alliance with the SAD, playing the role of the junior partners fielding its candidates on just 23 seats, out of a total 117. This is for the first time that the BJP is heading the alliance, and contesting on 65 seats. The assertions assume significance as the Punjab BJP on Thursday held a review meeting along with all its candidates from across the State to take their feedback on the recently-held elections. Besides Shekhawat and Sharma, Punjab BJP in-charge Dushyant Gautam, former Union Minister Vijay Sampla, former Minister Tikshan Sud, state general secretaries — Jiwan Gupta, Dayal Sodhi, Subhash Sharma, among others were also present.Apart from the candidates, district presi-dents, and other office-bearers also at-tended the meeting that discussed the organizational functioning, role of leaders during the elections, problems faced by the candidates during campaigning, or any other inputs.“BJP contested Punjab Vidhan Sabha elections for the first time on its own level, and the people gave full support to the BJP. Our high command leaders also came here to campaign for us which shows how seriously they have considered

these elections. And we all have hope that BJP will form the government in Punjab,” said Sharma.

DERA SUPPORT

The saffron party exuded confidence of forming the next government in Punjab with the last-minute support extended by state’s different deras — Dera Sacha Sauda, Rama Soami-Beas, Nirankaris. “The support of various deras including Sacha Sauda, Radha Soami, and Niran-kari Dera has also bolstered the party’s vote bank,” claimed the state BJP chief. Notably, Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda had announced its support to the BJP on several seats, along with the Akali Dal, a day before the state goes to poll. The announcement had come amidst the allegations that the BJP had de-liberately granted parole to the Dera Sacha Sauda sect head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, days ahead of the voting day. Also, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other central leaders had also held meetings with the Radha Soami sect head and Nirankari sect head days ahead of the polls.

EXTENDED REACH

At the same time, the BJP also claimed that the people voted in its favour even

though they did not come out openly in the party’s support. The party also claimed that it has been able to reach out to the voters in the rural segments, against the perception of prevailing anger against the saffron party. Sharma said that during the meeting, the candi-dates shared their views and also gave their feedback on the elections. “They expressed that it is for the first time the party contested on 65 seats and has approached the rural areas for the first time,” he added. Shekhawat, after the meeting, stated that initially, “we thought that we might not be able to go to the village. But the election atmosphere has changed completely and BJP candidates get much support in villages too”.

ELECTION MANAGEMENT COMMIT-TEE MEETING

Another meeting of the BJP Election Management Committee was held at the party office, chaired by Gajendra Sekhawat, wherein district presidents and office-bearers of state BJP were present and discussed the appointment of the party’s counting agents for the counting day on March 10. During the meeting, a handbook on the appoint-ment of counting agents was discussed which included a minimum age of 18 years and other institutions.

Diff erences of opinion in BJP on post poll alliance with SAD

PNS CHANDIGARH

The Shiromani Akali Dal has urged Punjab Chief Secretary that rules for meeting of family members with Prisoners and Undertrials in state jails should be reviewed keeping in view the improved COVID-19 situation in state and urged him to allow visits by families to them.In a letter written to Punjab Chief Secretary, Former Ed-ucation Minister and Akali Dal Spokesman Daljit Singh Cheema said that on behalf of Akali Dal he was informing him that despite a huge improve-ment in COVID-19 situation in state, prisoners and undertrials in state Jails are not able to meet their family members as rules do not permit same due to COVID situation. He said that

these prisoners and Undertrials were facing a severe problem in meeting family members and in some cases they have not met their families for more than one year. He said that apart from other issues, sharing moments of grief and happiness was not possible for their families as they were not allowed to meet them.Cheema said that as everyone is aware that COVID situation has improved a lot in the state and in recently held Punjab Assembly elections, mammoth

gatherings of people were al-lowed by the Election Commis-sion of India keeping in view the improved situation of the pandemic. He said that under such circumstances it becomes imperative for the Jail depart-ment to allow visits by fam-ily members to Prisoners and Undertrials in Punjab Jails. He urged him to review harsh con-ditions laid for such meetings and take a lenient view keeping in mind the improved COVID situation and allow meetings of family members.

PNS SHIMLA

Himachal Pradesh is expect-ed to have grown at a pace of 8.3 per cent in 2021-22 as compared with a negative growth of 6.2 per cent in the pandemic-hit 2020-21, ac-cording to the Economic Sur-vey presented in the state’s Assembly on Thursday. The growth in per-capita income during 2021-22 is estimated at 10.1 per cent, it added.‘’In real terms, the increase in gross state domestic prod-uct (GSDP) pre-COVID and post-COVID that is from 2019-20 to 2021-22 is 2.7 per cent. In several sectors of the economy, pre-pan-demic levels of output have been crossed,’’ stated the Economic Survey 2020-21 tabled in the state’s Assembly on Friday.Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, who also holds the portfolio of finance, tabled the Economic Survey, a day

before presenting the Bud-get for next fiscal 2022-23 on March 4. ‘’Real GDP or GDP at constant prices (2011-12) in the year 2021-22 is estimated at Rs 1,24,400 crore as against the provi-sional estimate of GDP for 2020-21 of Rs 1,14,814 crore. ‘’Nominal GDP or GDP at current prices in the year 2021-22 is estimated at Rs 1,75,173 crore, as against the provisional estimate of GDP for the year 2020-21 of Rs 1,56,675 crore,’’ it added.The per-capita income in Himachal Pradesh at cur-rent prices is estimated to grow by 10.1 per cent at Rs 2,01,854, which is more than the estimated national per-capita income for 2020-21 by Rs 51,528. Agriculture and allied sectors have been the least impacted by the pandemic and the sector is expected to grow by 8.7 per cent in 2021-22, it added.As per advanced estimates, the industry’s gross value added (GVA) will rise 11 per cent in 2021-22 after con-tracting by 6.6 per cent in 2020-21. The services sector has been the hardest hit by the pandemic. This sector is estimated to have grown 6.3 per cent during 2021-22, fol-lowing last year’s 2.1 per cent

negative growth, it added.The economic survey further stated that tourism is an im-portant source of revenue and diverse employment op-portunities. A significant rise was noticed in the domes-tic as well as foreign tourist inflow during the past few years but due to the impact of COVID-19, there was a sharp decrease of 81 per cent in tourist arrivals in 2020.However, on the positive side, there is an increase of 75.44 per cent in tour-ist inflow up to December 2021, it added. In Himachal Pradesh, inflation has been moderate since 2014, Con-sumer Price Index-Com-bined (CPI-C) inflation was 4.6 per cent in 2016-17 and 5.2 per cent in 2020-21. The Survey highlighted the Pe-riodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) report for 2019-20. This shows that the labour force participation rate has increased from 52.8 per cent in 2018-19 to 57.7 per cent in 2019-20, it added.’The services sector has been the hardest hit by the pandemic. In real terms, the increase in gross state domestic prod-uct (GSDP) pre-COVID and post-COVID that is from 2019-20 to 2021-22 is 2.7 per cent.

Himachal Pradesh economic growth estimated at 8.3 pc for FY22: Economic Survey

Allow visits by family members for Prisoners and Under Trials in Jails in view of improved COVID situation in State : Akali Dal

PNS SHIMLA

Himachal Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Thursday presided over the State Level Review meeting of Jal Shakti Mission and Swachh Bharat Mission (Rural) at Shimla in which Union Minister of State for Ministry of Jal Shakti Prahlad Singh Patel took stock of the imple-mentation of the two projects in the state. Thakur said that there are 17.28 lakh Functional Household Tap Connection (FHTC) in the state and 1.25 lakh FHTC would be provided during the year 2022. He said that all households in tribal districts of Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti have

been provided with tapped water connections and Una is the aspira-tional district under the Mission, adding that 24 blocks, 2284 gram panchayats and 14525 villages are now Har Ghar Jal. He said that Hi-machal Pradesh is best performing state as per Functionality Assess-ment conducted by GoI in overall functionality and among the top 10 in FHTCs coverage.Union Minister of State asked the officers of Jal Shakti Vibhag to make all out efforts to achieve the target of providing tapped water connections to all households within stipulated time, adding that solid liquid waste management was the main empha-sis of Swachh Bharat Mission and stress must be laid on it.Rural Development Minister Vi-render Kanwar, Industries Minister Bikram Singh, MP and State BJP President Suresh Kashyap, Chief Secretary Ram Subhag Singh, Prin-cipal Secretary to CM Subhasish Panda, Director Rural Develop-ment Rugved Thakur, Director Industries Rakesh Prajapati and ENC Jal Shakti and other senior officers were also present in the meeting.

PNS CHANDIGARH

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday said that tractors should not be included in the Policy issued by the Central Government to ban diesel vehicles and petrol vehicles older than 10 and 15 years respectively plying in the National Capital Region.“Talks will be held with the Central Gov-ernment and some way would be found to resolve this issue. Last time also we had got tractors excluded from the NGT Policy,” said Khattar. He was talking to reporters after the discussion held on the Governor’s address during the second day of the ongo-ing budget session in the Vidhan Sabha.Replying to another question, the Chief Minister said that every time the names of persons involved in drug trade and corrup-tion are taken in the House by members but they always fail to give concrete evidence for the same. “Last time we took this lightly but this time a breach of privilege motion will be brought against such MLAs through Parliamentary Affairs Minister for making irresponsible statements,” said Khattar.When asked about stopping the pension through Parivar Pehchan Patra, the Chief Minister said that the pension of any elderly person has not been stopped through PPP, but through this, about 22,000 people have been identified, who are not getting pen-sion due to some reasons. Work for data verification of such persons is being done, he added. The entitled will get the pension and no one will be stopped from getting their entitlement. Responding to a question, He said that a different timeline has been prescribed for the people living in different states to get the domicile certificate issued there. The Haryana government has fixed this timeline

for five years. When asked about the stray animals, the Chief Minister said that such animals are not only from Haryana but people from states like Rajasthan, Punjab and Gujarat bring them in herds and on their way back they take only milch animals and leave others. The present government has constituted Gau Sewa Aayog and has also increased its Budget. Besides this, grants are also given for setting up gaushalas on Panchayati land in villages, said Khattar. He said that ‘gomutra’, manure and small scale industries are being promoted in gaushalas. He said a solution to the prob-lem of stray animals is possible only with public cooperation. For this, along with the government, social institutions and people should also come forward.

OUT OF 1701 HARYANA YOUTH, 683 BROUGHT BACK FROM UKRAINE

Responding to a question regarding students of Haryana stuck in Ukraine, Khattar said that on Thursday nine students reached Mumbai airport and arrangements have

been made to give air travel tickets from Mumbai to Delhi to these students along with a cash amount of Rs. 1000 being given on behalf of the Haryana government. Be-sides this, help desks have been set up in Mumbai, Delhi, Chandigarh, Faridabad, he added.The Chief Minister said that all the Deputy Commissioners have been directed to contact the families of such students at personal level and Faridabad Divisional Commissioner has been made the nodal officer. He said the list of 1784 youths of Haryana was received from the Ministry of External Affairs, out of which 83 are not from our state. Out of 1701 Haryana youth, 683 have been brought back. With about 150 students remaining in Ukraine, they have been asked to come on the border and efforts are being made to bring all of them back safely. Additional Principal Sec-retary to the Chief Minister and Director General, Information, Public Relations and Languages Department, Dr Amit Agrawal, Media Advisor, Sh. Amit Arya and other officers also remained present on this occasion.

Thakur presides over State Level Review meeting of Jal Shakti Mission and Swachh Bharat Mission

PNS CHANDIGARH

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday announced that the work of special girdawari for the Rabi 2021-22 crop damaged due to a recent hailstorm in some districts of the state will start from March 1, 202W2. He made this announcement while responding to a question by MLA Balraj Kundu during the second day of the ongoing Budget session of Haryana Vidhan Sabha here. Khattar also apprised the House that the work of general girdawari of Rabi crops in the state is done till February 28. He said that the crop damage caused due to hailstorm across the State was reported on February 25-26, therefore special Girdawari for this will be done in March.Khattar sWaid that as soon as the special girdawari is completed, the compensation will be transferred directly into the accounts of the farmers. He informed that compensation amount is being distributed for Kharif crops 2020-21 like paddy, cotton, millet.

TARGET OF ORGANIZING 200 ROJGAR MELAS EVERY YEAR

Haryana Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Anoop Dhanak said that the government has set a target of organizing 200 Rojgar Melas every year to increase employment opportunities in the state. Responding to a question raised in this regard during Question Hour, he informed that a new employment

portal has been launched in the state to connect the youth of Haryana with employment in the private sector. To meet various requirements of demand of manpower in private sector, the details of the Haryana youth have been compiled on the employment portal. Private sector employers and job aggregators have been clubbed on the employment portal. A 35 seater call center has been set up by the department to promote the details of the applicants on the employment portal and to connect these ap-plicants with employment opportunities in the private sector. He said that to enable 50,000 meritorious youth of Haryana state to clear competitive examinations for government jobs in Haryana as well as jobs in Central Govern-ment Staff Selection Commission, Public Sector Banks, Central Para Military Forces including Indian Railways, free of cost online coaching is being given to 50,000.

FARMERS FACING WATERLOGGING TO GET COMPENSATIONHaryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala informed that if crops are not sown due to waterlogging in agricultural land, then compensation will be given for it. He added that directions have been given to initiate the payment of compensation for the loss of the last Kharif-2022 by March 5, 2022. The Deputy Chief Minister, who also holds the portfolio of Revenue and Disaster Management Depart-ment, informed the House that due to heavy

rains, water logging and insect attacks, there was damage to the crops of cotton, moong, paddy, bajra and sugarcane of Kharif 2021 for which special girdawari was done by the Haryana Gov-ernment. According to the report given by the Deputy Commissioners of 12 districts including Karnal, Palwal, Nuh, Gurugram, Hisar, Sirsa, Fatehabad, Charkhi Dadri, Bhiwani, Rohtak, Sonipat, Jhajjar, 9,14,139 farmers were found affected for which a compensation amount of Rs. 561,11,57,044 has been been released, payment to 24,320 farmers already initiated through direct benefit transfer.

MORE POOR FAMILIES IN AYUSHMAN BHARAT SCHEME SOON, SAYS VIJ

Haryana Health and Family Welfare Minister Anil Vij said the process of including poor families of the State under the Ayushman Bharat Scheme, especially the BPL families whose annual income is less than or equal to Rs 1.80 lakh and land is less than 5 acres, has been initiated.Replying to a question, he said that the Gov-ernment of India conceptualised Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, a public healthcare scheme with the potential to transform the healthcare landscape of our nation.The AB-PMJAY has subsumed extant RSBY. AB-PMJAY, with its coverage of more than 50 crores lives, is the most ambitious scheme of its kind in the world. It seeks to cover nearly 1350 procedures through a country wide network of empanelled hospitals in a cashless and paperless manner. Aided by a robust IT system it intends to provide seamless portability of benefits to beneficiaries from one state to another, across the country.

‘Special girdawari of crop damage due to hailstorm in Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, Jhajjar to be done in March’

BUDGET SESSION: HARYANA ASSEMBLY

Two dead, 14 hurt as bus falls into gorge in Himachal’s Mandi districtPNS CHANDIGARH

Two persons were killed and 14 others sus-tained injuries as a Himachal Road Transport Corporation bus fell into a gorge in Mandi district on Thursday. The accident took place at Jhir village of Sarkaghat sub division, Mandi Superintendent of Police Shalini Agnihotri said. The injured were taken to a nearby hos-pital for their treatment. Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar and Chief Minister Jai

Ram Thakur have expressed grief over the bus accident. The accident took place at Jhir village of Sarkaghat sub division, Mandi. Ex-pressing sympathies with the family members of the deceased, the Governor prayed to the Almighty for peace of the departed soul. Thakur also expressed sympathies with the family members of the deceased and expressed his heartfelt condolences with the bereaved family members. He wished speedy recovery of those injured.

CHIEF MINISTER JAI RAM THAKUR, WHO ALSO HOLDS THE PORTFOLIO OF FINANCE, TABLED THE ECONOMIC SURVEY, A DAY BEFORE PRESENTING THE BUDGET FOR NEXT FISCAL 2022-23 ON MARCH 4

HIGHLIGHT

� Despite a huge improvement in COVID-19 situation in state, prisoners and undertrials in state Jails are not able to meet their family members as rules do not permit same due to COVID situation

�� �������������� �!����" �#�����$��%&%%

�������

�������*������������������� ������������������������ ��������������������������������������������������� � ����! �+"�#%++,-"�# #

�������������� �������

Leaving no stone unturnedto ensure potable water

supply to every household inthe national Capital, WaterMinister and Delhi Jal BoardChairman Satyendar Jain inau-gurated an underground reser-voir with a capacity of 1.24crore liters in Mayapuri onThursday to ensure round-the-clock water supply in HariNagar and Delhi CanttConstituency.

"On completion of this pro-ject, approximately 1.50 lakh

residents residing in HariNagar and Delhi Cantonmentarea will benefit. These subtlesteps are part of a bigger andhighly ambitious endeavour ofensuring 24x7 water supplyacross the Capital,’’ theMinister said.Jain also inau-gurated the underground

reservoir at Mayapuri with acapacity of 1.24 crore litres.The move is taken to ensureround-the-clock water supplyand strengthen the water infra-structure of the Capital, TheDelhi Government, under theleadership of Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal is workingtirelessly day and night toachieve its aim of cleaning the

Yamuna river and providing24x7 water supplies to all theresidents of Delhi. In order tomeet the demand for drinkingwater, Jain had on Wednesdayinaugurated an 'UndergroundReservoir' (UGR) with 2.95crore litres capacity in Mundkaand an UGR in Sonia Vihar tobenefit approximately six lakhresidents of East Delhi.

�������������� ��������

Days after a pastor alleged thathe was thrashed, humiliated

and forced to chant “Jai ShreeRam” by a group of unknown per-sons in South Delhi’s FatehpuriBeri area, the Delhi PoliceThursday has registered an FirstInformation Report (FIR).

Police said that the incidenttook place on February 25 atFatehpuri Beri area but the pastor,Kelom Tet, filed the complaint twodays later at the Maidan Garhipolice station.

A video of the incident alsowent viral on social media inwhich a group of men can be seensurrounding pastor and hecklinghim. Tet, who has been residing insouth Delhi's Asola for the last 18years, recalled that he was target-ed by another unknown group 15years ago at Sanjay Colony here.

According to Harsha Vardhan,the Additional DeputyCommissioner of Police (DCP),South district, based on the com-plaint, police have lodged an FIRagainst unknown persons underSections 365 (Kidnapping orabducting with intent secretly andwrongfully to confine person),323 (Punishment for voluntarilycausing hurt), 341 (Punishment forwrongful restraint) and 34 (Actsdone by several persons in fur-therance of common intention) of

the Indian Penal Code and aninvestigation is underway.

In his complaint, the pastorsaid that on February 25, a groupof men harassed him, forced himto chant “Jai Shree Ram” when hewas on his way to work after meet-ing one of his friends. Theysnatched his Bible and tried to tearit, the police said, adding that thepastor was also allegedly punchedand kicked.

“They snatched my bag whichhad valuables and the Bible. Theytried to tear it but could not. Theyaccused me of conducting religiousconversions forcefully. Theypunched me, kicked me and force-fully took me in their car, sayingthey were taking me to MaidanGarhi police station. They alsothreatened to break my arms andlegs,” he said.

The pastor was allegedly takento Fatehpur Chowk where mentied his hands with ropes and start-ed punching and kicking himagain on the roadside, the policesaid. “Around 100 people werestanding there as mute spectators.No one came to rescue me. Theymade videos and watched mebeing thrashed and assaulted. Butno one came to help. They alsotried to instigate the students whowere returning from school tochant "Jai Shree Ram" and beat meup. This went on for around 45minutes," he said.

�������������� � ( 4�(�2

In a tragic incident, fivepeople were killed in an

accident on Thursday alongthe Delhi-Jaipur Expresswaynear Gurugram. The deceasedhave been identified as Ashish(25) of Bhiwadi, Sandeep (25)of Kaithal, Parveen (30) ofDevaria in Uttar Pradesh,Chander Mohan (25) of Hisarand Bharat Bhushan (28) ofPunjabi Bagh in Delhi.

The accident took place ataround 3 AM between aMaruti Celerio car and atruck near Binolavillage.Police said the fivevictims, in the car, were trav-

elling towards Bhiwadi inRajasthan.The complainantRajesh Singh, told the policethat all the victims werereturning to their respectivehomes when the incident tookplace. "When the victims in

their car reached near Binolaflyover on the Delhi-JaipurExpressway they met with anaccident due to negligence onpart of the truck driver, whosuddenly applies break onthe expressway and the vic-tim's car rammed in the truckfrom behind," the com-plainant alleged.

A case under relevant sec-tions of the Indian PenalCode (IPC) was registered atthe Bilaspur police stationagainst the truck driver."Police teams are tracing theaccused truck driver based onthe truck registration number.He will be arrested soon,"Gajender Singh, the investi-gation officer said.

�������������� �������

In order to promote citizen'sengagement towards reduc-

ing the share of pollution in thenational capital, the Dialogueand DevelopmentCommission of Delhi (DDC)will be organizing ‘RaahgiriDay’ at Burari on Sunday.

According to a seniorDDC official, the street fromPushta Road Baba Colony toPradhan Colony will be cor-doned off for a few hours toorganize the event withoutany obstacle on Sunday morn-ing.

“The streets will be used bythe citizens for recreation thatwill promote health, wellbeing,fitness, togetherness and joy,”he said. This event is beinghosted by the Delhi govern-ment for the fourth time inBurari, to promote its citizen-engagement campaign ‘YuddhPradushan Ke Virudh’ againstpollution.

This event was earlierorganized in Patparganj,Najafgarh, and Greater Kailash.People can enjoy various activ-ities such as cycling, skating,running and walking on theroads freely. They can join in

community leisure activitiessuch as street games, streetdancing, nukkad natak andother arts, the official said.According to Vice Chairpersonof DDC Jasmine Shah said“This ‘Yuddh Pradushan KeViruddh’ campaign waslaunched by the Chief Ministerof Delhi Arvind Kejriwal witha vision to encourage citizen ofthe state to take individualresponsibility for reducing airpollution.”

“This concept was adopt-ed by DDC Delhi as it helps inencouraging the citizens andparticipating in the fun activ-ities together is a wonderful,joyous way to come togetherfor common community goals.

Delhi Government hasalso shown its commitment topromoting public health, well-being, fitness, togetherness,and joy,” he added.

The central idea of‘Raahgiri Day’ is to allow peo-ple to experience a street with-out cars which can help themre-imagine what our streetsand our environment can be.Creating open streets and pub-lic spaces for such activitiesalso promotes public health,well-being, fitness, together-ness and joy.

���� ��������

ADelhi court on Thursday reserved itsorder on the bail plea of former JNU

student Umar Khalid in a case of a largerconspiracy in connection with Delhi riotsduring February 2020.

Additional Sessions Judge AmitabhRawat said that the order on the bail pleaof Khalid would be pronounced on March14.

During the argument, the accused toldthe court that the prosecution lacked theevidence to prove its case against him.

Khalid, along with several others, hasbeen booked under the anti-terror law --Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act(UAPA) -- in the case for being the "mas-terminds" of the February 2020 riots,which had left 53 people dead and over 700injured.

The violence had erupted during theprotests against the Citizenship(Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019, and theNational Register of Citizens (NRC).

Besides Khalid, activist Khalid Saifi,JNU students Natasha Narwal andDevangana Kalita, Jamia CoordinationCommittee members Safoora Zargar, for-mer AAP councillor Tahir Hussain andseveral others have also been bookedunder the stringent law in the case.

����������������������

Rony Pratap Yadav, a studentof Campus Law Centre,

Delhi University was awarded“Hira Lal Daga MemorialMedal” and “University LawUnion Prize - 2021, by chiefguest Union Defence Ministerof India Rajnath Singh at the98th annual convocation. TheHira Lal Hira Lal DagaMemorial Medal awarded eachyear to a candidate who securesthe highest percentage of marksamong successful candidate atLLB (Three Year Courses)obtaining 1st Division.University Law Union Prize isawarded to candidate whosecures highest percentage ofmarks in the LLB examination.Rony Pratap Yadav, forefathersbelong to Chapra district inBihar. Yadav did his schoolingfrom Kolkata and graduatedfrom Hindu College before tak-ing admission in Campus LawCentre, University of Delhi.

�������������� � ( �(�2

Four men, working for theonline food delivery startup,

were killed after a speedingSkoda allegedly hit their twobikes in Gurugram lateWednesday night. Police saidthat a manhunt has been initi-ated to nab the car driver whofled from the spot after the inci-dent. Police said that the victimsidentified as Govind (20) ofMadhya Pradesh, Gopal (21), aresident of Uttarakhand,Jitender Mondal (35) andRajneesh (22), both from Biharwere returning home whenspeeding car allegedly hit theirbikes near Arjun Marg at DLF-Phase-I. “The victims sustainedinjuries to his head and chest

and were profusely bleeding.After getting the informationregarding the incident, a policeteam from a nearby spot rushedto a private hospital, where thevictims were declared boroughdead,” said a senior police offi-cial.

“The accused car occu-pants have been identified andwill be arrested soon. Police sus-pect that it could be possible thatthe car driver was driving thecar under the influence of alco-hol above the permissible limitwhich led to this accident,” saidthe senior police official.

A case has been registeredagainst the accused under rele-vant sections of the IndianPenal Code (IPC) at DLF phase-1 police station, said police.

�������������� �������

The Delhi Police hasarrested two people who

were allegedly involved instealing a bike and snatch-ing two mobile phones inquick succession at DelhiUniversity's (DU) northcampus.

The accused has beenidentified as MohammadMonis (26), resident ofBhagirathi Vihar, and Namir(22), resident of Bara HinduRao. Police said that it tookonly around three hours for

the accused to steal the bikeand snatch the mobilephones.

According to SagarSingh Kalsi, the DeputyCommissioner of Police(DCP), North district, onTuesday around 4 PM,police received specificinputs regarding two bike-borne robbers roaming thearea, following which vehi-cle checking was started atCC Road Sangam Vihar cut.

“After sometime, policesaw two riders on a bikewhich did not have a num-ber plate. They tried to flee

the scene, but police over-powered them. It was foundthat the motorcycle wasstolen on Monday fromNabi Karim area,” said theDCP.

“One country-madepistol, two mobile phonessnatched from north cam-pus, one bike and one scootywere recovered from theirpossession,” said the DCP.

“During interrogation,the accused disclosed thatthey purchased the pistoland one live cartridge fromone Shahrukh for Rs 6,000,who met them in Seelampurarea about two months ago,”said the DCP. “On Mondayaround 6 AM, they stole thebike from Nabi Karim area.

They started roamingDU's north campus andsnatched two mobile phonesfrom an employee of DUaround 8.30 AM and from astudent around 9 AM. Later,they committed anothersnatching in MukerjeeNagar area,” said the DCP.

“Monis was previouslyinvolved in two cases ofsnatching and Arms Act,while Namir was previous-ly involved in eight cases ofrobbery, snatching etc,”police said.

�������������� ��������

A40-year-old man died at ahospital in the city, days

after allegedly being beaten upby some people in north Delhi'sSadar Bazar area.

The victim has been iden-tified as Mangal, used to workas security guard in ShivMarket.

Police said that they haveidentified the accused asDevender, Gopal Bahadur (21)and Sonu (25) -- all hailingfrom Nepal, who wanted to set-tle personal scores. Accordingto a senior police official, apolice team was dispatchedafter Lady Hardinge hospitalinformed them on Sunday thata person with injuries was

admitted to facility. “Policereached the hospital, wherevictim was found unconscious.There were brutal injuries onhis head and eyes. Mangal wasreferred to SafdarjungHospital,” he said.“Complainant Bhuvan statedthat around 5 AM, he wasgoing to meet his father Suraj,who is also a security guard inGandhi Market.

He spotted his uncleMangal Singh lying uncon-scious in a pool of blood nearRui Mandi. Bhuvan took himto Lady Hardinge hospital,”said senior police official. “Acase under section 307 (attemptto murder) was initially regis-tered at Sadar Bazar policestation and one person was

arrested. The victim died dur-ing treatment and case wasconverted into that of murder.One more arrest was made,”said senior police official.“During interrogation, it wasdisclosed that main accused,Devender, and Mangal werefrom the same family.Devender and Sagar (son ofMangal) had quarrelled aroundsix-seven months ago.

Devender and his fatherBharat were also beaten up byMangal and his family, due towhich he felt humiliated andthey went back to Nepal andstarted residing there,” he said.“Devender hatched a conspir-acy to eliminate Mangal. OnFebruary 26, Devender came toDelhi and met Sonu and Gopal.

�������������� ��������

The Delhi Tourism andTransportation Development

Corporation (DTTDC) has intro-duced metro smart cards rechargefacility in their app which alsocontains fare and route details.

The Delhi TourismDepartment's mobile applicationwas launched by Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal on WorldTourism Day on September 27 lastyear. 'Dekho Meri Dilli' is thetagline of the app.

According to a seniorDTTDC official, the mobile appli-cation will also be useful for for-eign tourists and for those who arenot well versed with the onlinemodes of Delhi metro rechargeoptions or fare and route details.

“The recharge feature enablesusers to enhance their tourismexperience by providing themhassle-free facility of rechargingtheir metro cards through the appwhile exploring Delhi's touristhotspots,” he said.

To avail the facility, the user

will have to visit the ‘Travel with-in Delhi' section of the app andthen select ‘Metro' and then clickon the recharge tab. The app willthen redirect the user to the DelhiMetro Rail Corporation websitefor smart card recharge.

Officials said that the new fea-ture is very useful as many foreigntourists who come to visit Delhior even the Indian tourists fromother cities are not aware ofDelhi's public transport systemand its ticketing and rechargefacility.

"So if they download DelhiTourism App they will not have tostand in a queue or go through thehassle of searching other onlinerecharge options,” the officialadded.

The app provides many user-friendly features to make thetourism and travel experience inDelhi a bliss as it provides all theinformation ranging from touristhotspots, popular local cuisines,and market places to heritagewalks through a single click, theofficials said.

���� ��������

Despite his "poor health condition”and "vegetative state", some membersof a Board reviewing the sentence of

Davinder Pal Singh Bhullar, a 1993 Delhibomb blast case convict, are not in favour ofhis early release, arguing that the "dreaded ter-rorist" was behind the death of several peo-ple, sources said on Thursday.

However, Home Minister Satyendar Jain,who heads the seven-member SentenceReview Board (SRB), during a recent meet-ing had pointed out that the directions of theCentre to give special remission to Bhullarwere binding on the Delhi Government.

The Board had on Wednesday deferredthe decision on the early release of Bhullar,who is currently lodged in Amritsar jail.

It also decided to examine the legal posi-tion of the Board regarding its call on a mat-ter and whether the issue should be directlyplaced before Lieutenant-Governor AnilBaijal for a final decision, sources said.

During the SRB meeting, Jain had point-ed out that the directions of the Centre to givespecial remission to Bhullar were binding onthe Delhi Government, they said.

"The direction for the remission of

Bhullar's sentence was made by the Centreexercising its rights under Article 161 of theConstitution, and therefore the DelhiGovernment ought to release him," thesources quoted Jain as saying during the meet-ing.

During the meeting, Bhullar's healthcondition was also discussed by the members.He was in an "extremely bad" condition dueto "acute mental illness" as certified by aMedical Board on February 5, 2014, and was"practically reduced to a vegetable, sourcessaid.

Some SRB members, including Law andHome secretaries of the Delhi Governmentand a Joint Commissioner of police, opposedBhullar's special remission and early releaseon the ground that he is a "dreaded terror-ist" who caused the death of several peoplein the 1993 Delhi bomb blasts, sources said.

"It was also pointed out by a member thatoutfits like ‘Sikh For Justice (SFJ)’ were try-ing to increase activities in Punjab and theymay use Bhullar's release to destabilise thepeace in the State," they claimed.

Due to different views on this matter, itwas decided to examine the legal position ofthe SRB’s decision on a matter which theCentre has already decided upon, and

whether or not this matter should directly beplaced before the L-G for a final decision theysaid.

"Pending this clarification, the issue ofBhullar's release from prison was deferred,"they said.

The Ministry of Home Affairs, in a let-ter to the Chief Secretary of Delhi onSeptember 29, 2019, had informed about itsdecision to give special remission to eight Sikhprisoners facing life imprisonment, includingBhullar, on the occasion of the commemo-ration of the 550th birth anniversary of GuruNanak Dev, sources said.

"It had directed the Chief Secretary ofDelhi to take all required actions for therelease of Bhullar," they said.

Bhullar was convicted in connectionwith the killing of nine people and injuringof 31 in a bomb blast in 1993 in Delhi. Amongthose who survived the attack is former YouthCongress chief MS Bitta.

Bhullar was sentenced to death by a des-ignated TADA court on August 25, 2001.

He is undergoing life imprisonment afterthe Supreme Court commuted his death sen-tence. He was shifted to Amritsar Central Jailfrom Delhi's Tihar Jail on health grounds, inJune 2015.

����/������������'11!���� ������� ����

����������������� ��������������������������

���������� �������������������� �����������

.����� ��������������������������/�����

"�������������������������01�����,��02��������&��,

..3����&����4,���&���

.�!$��5 ������� ���!

���������������������������������������

67�!������������������&��������! ����(������������.���

8�������&��!�����������&��������������&�(�����������

6���������!��!���������������&���������8����

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

��������������������������� �!�"����� �"�� #

�� ���������������� �!����" �#�����$��%&%%

�2��� ���������� ���

An exhilarating and inspir-ing mission commenced

along Kochi coast on Thursdayby two prestigious researchorganisations specialising inocean studies.

Hyderabad based IndianNational Centre for OceanInformation Services (underthe Ministry of Earth Sciences)and National Institute ofOceanography at Kochi(Ministry of Science andTechnology) have come togeth-er to elevate the 7516.6 km longIndian coastline to global stan-dards.

This means that the coun-try’s beaches would be as beau-tiful (if not more!) and safe asthat of best seashores in rest ofthe world. The Kochi shorelinehas been polluted and degrad-ed over the years making it ablot on the face of Queen ofArabian Sea, as it was previ-ously known.

The serene beach of Kochicould be seen only in old filmsand pictures as entire area hasbecome polluted and unhy-gienic thanks to scant regardpeople have for environmentand ecology. “Our objective isto make Kochi and otherbeaches in country categorizedas Blue Flag certified beaches,benchmark for cleanliness,safety, availability of pure water

and accessibility for all,” Dr TM Balakrishnan Nair, GroupDirector, Ocean Services andApplied Research, INCOIS,who leads project told ThePioneer while installing a giantbuoy in sea along InternationalContainer TranshipmentTerminal at Kochi.

For the next one month, DrNair and his team of scientistsand engineers would monitorsignals received from buoy,the earth observation satelliteof Indian National Satelliteseries and the mathematicsmodel.

The triad of the buoys,satellites and mathematicsmodel would give team realtime data of various waterquality parameters to assesshealth of coastal ecosystem,explained Dr Nair.

“The data is not just forupgrading quality and stan-dards of beach but it wouldoffer a lot of information likewater quality parameters, tem-perature, salinity, dissolvedoxygen, water current, dis-solved organic matter andmethane,” said Dr Nair.

This is first time in histo-ry of India water quality fore-casting system using high res-olution models has been putinto use. “We will get all dataneeded to upgrade the beach-es to global standards. Butthere is more than this.

�2��� �����������������

Twenty eight-year-old RPriya, a post graduate in

commerce would be the nextChennai Mayor. Hailing froma Harijan family in the metrop-olis, Priya would be the thirdwoman to be nominated as themayor of Greater ChennaiMunicipal Corporation. Granddaughter of a former DMKMLA, Priya has moorings inthe Dravidian politics thoughshe took the active plunge onlyafter the 2021 assembly elec-tion.

The DMK which sweptChennai MunicipalCorporation election by win-ning 153 out of the 200 seatsmade it known on Thursdaythat Priya, who won from thenorth Chennai ward would beparty’s mayor candidate.

The State ElectionCommission has reserved postof Chennai Mayor to womancandidate this time. “Though Iwas not activey engaged in pol-itics, I am from a DMK fami-ly. My grand father was a for-mer party MLA while myfather holds an important posi-tion in DMK.

I was attracted towardsactive politics after seeing howChief Minister Stalin goesaround working for the bet-terment of State,” Priya toldreporters. Vasantha Kumari, aB Tech graduate has been nom-inated by the DMK to head thenewly created TambaramMunicipal Corporation. WhileDravida major has retained 20out of 21 mayorships.Congress.

����� � ����

Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath

on Thursday attacked theOpposition parties and said thesympathies of the SP-BSP-Congress are not with the poorand the needy of Uttar Pradesh.

"Their sympathies are withanti-nationals, terrorists, organ-ised mafia and criminals. Theirheart beats for the corruptwho used to obstruct develop-ment works,” the CM saidwhile addressing an electionmeeting in Jaunpur onThursday.

Yogi said Jaunpur is famousfor its perfume and imarti andits sweetness is now reachingcountry and world under theone district one product(ODOP). The Prime Minister,he added, has come as a boonfor state and country and heextended his gratitude onbehalf of people of UP. ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath fur-ther said that we all know thatafter independence many areasof Uttar Pradesh were neglect-ed. After formation of govern-ment under leadership ofPrime Minister Modi for firsttime in 2014, the Government

of India started the holisticdevelopment of those areas."Under the BJP regime demandfor medical colleges has start-ed and recently work has start-ed to connect Jaunpur withthree national highways," Yogisaid and asked: "How canJaunpur, being a district adja-cent to the world-famous cul-tural city of all of us be deprivedof development".

CM Yogi said that 15 crorepeople of Uttar Pradesh are get-ting the facility of ration twicea month under double enginegovernment. Now, 24-hourelectricity is available here. Heeven highlighted the efficacy ofthe vaccine saying it is becauseof vaccine third wave came andwent and it was hardly noticed."Had SP-BSP government beenthere, they would have workedto black-market even this life-saving vaccine", he said.

��������� ��������������������� !������ ��"

���� ��2������� ����(����

Prime Minister NarendraModi said that the BJP's

alliance was with the people asthe Government handed outbenefits of welfare schemesdirectly to the people whereasthe nexus of dynasts (parivar-vadi) were with the mafia.

Modi was addressing forBJP candidates in poll rallies atJaunpur and Chandauli dis-tricts on Thursday.

Speaking at a public meet-ing at Navin Mandi premises inChandauli, the Prime Ministersaid, "We feel the pain of thepoor, Dalits and backwardsand that is why we did not leaveany of them sleep hungry dur-ing the last two years which waswintnessed century's worstCorona epidemic across theglobe. The BJP governmentalso ensured that everyone was

administered free Corona vac-cine"Highlighting welfareschemes run by the Yogi gov-ernment, Modi said, "Only inChandauli district, 14,000 poorfamilies were provided puccahouses during the Yogi regimewhile the previous SP govern-ment never cared to look aftersuch people.

When these houses werebuilt, it also supported themiddle class who providedbricks, cement and other arti-cles apart from employinglocals."

"Not only this, the BJPgovernment also providedAyushman cards to the poor sothat they can get free treatmentupto �5 lakh. I too belong to apoor family and hence knowthe daily problems faced bypoor families," the PrimeMinister said. Modi furthersaid that the BJP governmentprovided toilets to every house

and the work to provide waterfrom tap to each house wasgoing on in full throttle.

"The double engine BJPgovernment also helped farm-ers adopt the latest technologyin farming and this is the rea-son why a good number offarmers have exported ‘KalaNamak' rice variety," he said.

Targeting the previous SPregime in Uttar Pradesh, thePrime Minister said, "Duringthe earlier government, wheatand paddy was purchased fromonly 12,000 farmers ofChandauli while during BJPregime, the number went up to50,000.

We also improved theoverall infrastructure and incoming years, Kashi to KolkataExpressway will be laid whichwill not only provide ample jobopportunities to youths ofChandauli but also help localfarmers sell their produce in big

markets easily."Besides BJP candidates

contesting various segmentsin Chanduali, the meeting wasalso attended by Deputy ChiefMinister Keshav PrasadMaurya.

Earlier, addressing an elec-tion meeting to garner supportfor party candidates at TDCollege grounds of Jaunpur,Modi launched a scathingattack on dynastic politics (SP,BSP, Congress etc) and charged,"Their main objectives were tokeep the society divided on reli-gious and caste lines, while theBJP's norms, intent, dedicationand leadership (niti, niyat,nishtha and netritva) isfocussed on working for thegrowth of all and ensure goodgovernance.

Citing a recent example ofattacks on the houses of a sec-tion of the poor in Jaunpur, thePrime Minister cautioned the

people not to allow the dynaststo reunite again with the mafia.

"By providing direct ben-efits to the farmers, the BJPgovernment has checked cor-ruption and ended the game ofmiddlemen. During SP regime,the poor did not get the bene-fits of several schemes startedby the Centre despite severalreminders," he stated.

In an obvious reference tothe Russia-Ukraine strife andits global implications, Modisaid, "The world is passingthrough a difficult phase, sothere are several challengesand the country is able to facethese tasks with confidencebecause of the support of thepeople."

The function was alsoaddressed by Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath and wasattended by BJP MPs SeemaDwivedi and BP Saroj andother BJP candidates.

$�%�� ������%��&����������! ���'��"

��2��������2���� �����

Aday after Mamata Banerjeewas black-flagged in

Varanasi, the Bengal ChiefMinister renewed her KhelaHobe slogan from an electionrally in the holy city saying theattack on her was the indicationof BJP’s fear of losing power.

Banerjee who went toVaranasi to campaign for theSamajwadi Party told an elec-tion rally on Thursday, “somehoodlums from the BJPstopped my car, hit it withsticks and told me to go backwhile I was going to

(Dasashwamedh) Ghat …this indicates that they havefear of losing power… in factthey have gone out of power …they are completely gone out ofpower … just there is a need ofone final push …” Saying thatshe had faced such situationson innumerable occasions inlife Banerjee said, “I faced bul-lets and such attacks manytimes in my life … so I am notscared of such attacks … I ama fighter and not acoward ...they abused me and pushed meyesterday … when I got down-from my car they surroundedme … I wanted to see whatthey can do to …but they can-not do anything because theyare cowards.”

The convoy of the ChiefMinister was black-flagged bylocal BJP workers while she wasgoing to see Ganga Aarti atDasashwamedh Ghat inVaranasi. Black flags wereallegedly hurled at her.

Attacking her UttarPradesh counterpart YogiAdityanath, the Chief Ministersaid he was not a Yogi (saint)but a Bhogi (a person given to

luxury) “because a sadhurespects a woman … I am alsoa woman … the way they mis-behaved with me … Can I notcome to Varanasi or for that

matter Azamgarh orMathura … when the leadersfrom the BJP go to Bengal wenever do this to them … manypeople go to Ganga Sagarislands but we always welcomethem.”

The Thursday’s incidentwould only intensify the“Khela” (game) in UP Banerjeesaid asking the people whetherthey would take part in the“Khela,” even as she tossedfootballs at the audience.

Reminding the people howthe BJP Government handled

the pandemic situation in UP,she said the dead bodies wereallowed to be thrown inGangawithout proper cremation. “Isthis what a sadhu does?” sheasked.

Asking the people to votefor Akhilesh Yadav to avoid sit-uations like Hathras or Unnaothe TMC supremo said “if youdo not want a repeat of situa-tions like Hathras or Unnaothen vote for the SamajwadiParty.”

Meanwhile, thousands ofTrinamool Congress workerson Thursday protested againstthe incident in several parts ofBengal with senior leaders likeState Education Minister BratyaBasu wondering “how a Z+

category protectee can begheraoed like this,” adding“what happened in Varanasishows the complete connivanceof the UP Police in the matter.”

At Howrah, a stronghold ofBJP Minister Arup Roy tookout a long procession con-demning Thursday’s incident.Similar rallies were taken out atvarious points in Kolkata andother cities.

TMC Rajya memberShantanu Sen tweeted “Shameon BJP. Z plus protectee, formerCentral Minister, 3 terms CM& most popular political char-acter of India … attacked atVaranasi.

Yogi Adityanath must besummoned & IPS officers mustbe suspended by … AmitShah,” adding Bengal GovernorJagdeep “Dhankhar must con-demn this attack on his CM.”

)*'+� ���������������������������������,�!�����������(&� ����#�� ��� �#��������

����� � ����

An average of 28 per cent ofthe candidates contesting

in the seventh phase of ongo-ing Assembly polls have crim-inal cases against themselves.Similarly, 36 per cent of thecandidates are crorepatis.

After analysing the affi-davits of 607 of the 613 candi-dates in the fray from 54Assembly segments in the sev-enth and last phase where vot-ing is scheduled on March7,UP Election Watch andAssociation for DemocraticReform (ADR) said that therewere criminal cases against170 or 28 percent candidatesand heinous crime cases against131 or 22 percent.

Party-wise, 26 of the 45Samajwadi Party candidatesor 58 percent, 26 of the 47 BJPcandidates or 44 percent, 20 ofthe 52 of BSP candidates or 38percent, 20 of the 54 Congressnominees or 37 percent and 8of the 47 AAP candidates or 17percent have declared criminalcases against themselves.

The maximum number ofcases (24) are registered againstPragatisheel Manav SamajParty candidate Vijay Mishracontesting from Gyanpur

Assembly seat of Bhadohi inthis phase. He is tailed byBSP's Raj Kumar Gautam try-ing his luck from GhazipurAssembly seat with 11 cases.Also, Congress candidate AjayRai contesting from PindarAssembly seat of Varanasi has17 cases.

The ADR report furthersaid that of the 607 candidatesin the seventh phase, 217 or 36percent were crorepatis. A totalof 40 of the 47 BJP candidatesor 85 percent, 37 of the 45 SPcandidates or 82 percent, 41 ofthe 52 BSP candidates or 79percent, 22 of the 54 Congresscandidates or 41 percent and 15of the 47 AAP candidates or 32percent have declared assetsmore than Rs.1 crore.

AIMIM candidate GudduJamali from MubarakpurAssembly seat of Azamgarhleads the table with declaredassets of Rs 195 crores, and isfollowed by BSP candidateBabulal from Pindar seat ofVaranasi with Rs 44 croresand BSP's Piyush Kumar Singhfrom Nizamabad Assemblyseat of Azamgarh has assetsworth Rs 34 crores. The aver-age assets of candidates in theseventh phase of state electionsis Rs 2.55 crore.

89:����������������������������������2;):�����������*�., ����� � ����

Six policemen, including aStation House Officer

(SHO), were suspended in con-nection with the death of ayouth, who had jumped into adrain and drowned after apolice raid in Sirsa Kalar policestation area of Jalaun onTuesday evening.

As per sources, the SirsaKalar police conducted a raidat a suspected gambling dennear Pajuna village. On beingchased by cops, Arjun Guptaalong with four others jumpedinto a drain to evade arrest.While the others managed toswim to safety, Arjun drowned.

The news of his deathirked locals and they swarmedscene in hundreds and stageda massive demonstration onTuesday night. After Arjun'sbody was fished out, furtherprotests were held. The familymembers refused to hand overbody for autopsy and demand-ed immediate action against thepolicemen.

Later senior officialsrushed to agitation scene anddefused situation by promisingstern and prompt action againsterrants after which body couldbe sent for autopsy.

On Wednesday, the fami-ly members performed the lastrites after which SP of Jalaun,Ravi Kumar suspended sixpolicemen, including SHO ofSirsa Kalar police station, AjayKumar Singh. The other copshanded out punishment areUmesh Yadav, Asad Khan,Vijay Pal Singh, GopendraSingh and Insaaf Khan.

Meanwhile in Aligarh, a16-year-old girl Yasmeen diedafter being allegedly thrown offterrace of a three-storied rent-ed residential house by hermother's paramour in Mallahka Nagla locality onWednesday evening.

As per reports,Mohammad Arif (28) had illic-it relations with the victim'smother Shazia and he hadcome to meet latter at her res-idence at Mallah Nagla locali-ty on Wednesday.

On being told by Yasmeenthat her mother was not homewhile she was there, Arif flewinto a rage and tried to assaulther. As Yasmeen ran and triedto hide herself on third floor, hesomehow located her andpushed her off third-floor ter-race causing her death.

The victim's father Babuhad died a few years ago andvictim's kin Shahrukh Mehrajsaid that Yasmeen did not likeArif visiting her house and hadregular fights with her motherover issue.

� ������ ����� B�22

After the Abrogation ofArticle 370 and 35-A in

August 2019 two mainstreamregional political parties--National Conference andPeoples Democratic Party arestill struggling to consolidatetheir voter base across Jammuregion.

On the other hand theCongress party which sharedpower between 2002 to 2014 inalliance with PDP and NationalConference is battling infight-ing within its own ranks.Instead of giving tough com-petition to the BJP the localCongress leaders have lockedhorns with each other to estab-lish their supremacy in theparty hierarchy. Some new

players have also emerged withthe formation of new politicaloutfits such as Jammu andKashmir APNI party headed byformer PDP minister SyedAltaf Bukhari and Ekk JuttJammu headed by AnkurSharma. However, both theseparties are yet to test their polit-ical waters especially in theJammu region.

Now as the talk of holdingassembly elections is gainingcurrency the top brass of theNational Conference and PDPmay have to adopt a new elec-tion strategy to register theirfootprints and prevent theBharatiya Janta Party fromwinning the majority seatsfrom Jammu region. In therecent months JKNC PresidentDr Farooq Abdullah and PDP

Chief Mehbooba Mufti madeseveral trips to Jammu regionto keep their flock together asseveral senior leaders havealready switched loyalties andjoined new political forma-tions to resurrect their ownpolitical careers.

NC suffered the biggest joltafter its Provincial presidentDevender Singh Rana, whoalso worked as a close aide offormer Chief Minister OmarAbdullah switched loyaltiesand joined the ranks of BJP. Hewas joined by another seniorNC minister Surjeet SinghSlathia. A former minister SyedMushtaq Ahmed Bukhari hasalso tendered his resignationfrom the basic membership ofthe party, citing his “untenablerelationship” with the leader-

ship over differences vis-a-vis“Pahari cause.”Considered to beone of the tallest Pahari lead-ers from Pir Panchal sub regionof Jammu region, Bukahri saidthat he had to sever his associ-ation with the party that last-ed over forty years due toparty president’s “insistenceupon” him to refrain fromraking up the Pahari cause.

Two time PDP legislatorand a prominent Gujjar leaderZulfikar Choudhary, formerSikh leader Manjeet Singh leftPDP ahead of joining Jammuand Kashmir Apni party.Several other PDP leaders whostood rock solid behind MuftiMohd Sayeed had also left theparty accusing the top brass ofthe party of ignoring interestsof Jammu region at the cost of

retaining their core con-stituency in Kashmir valley.Congress leaders enjoyingpatronage of Ghulam NabiAzad used to win at least fourassembly seats out of six in theerstwhile Doda region. Theparty leaders suffered crushingdefeat in all three districts ofJammu, Samba and Kathuaallowing BJP to form analliance government with thePDP in 2015. In 2014 BJP hadwon a maximum number of 25Assembly seats out of a total 37seats in the region. Three seatseach were won by the PDP andNational Conference whileCongress had won five assem-bly constituencies. OneIndependent candidate alignedtowards BJP had won theUdhampur Assembly seat.

������� �������"�������&�����������&�� ����������� ��� �(��������&4����<��0���������&���&, �����������(�����" ���� � ����!" �"����

����� � ����

Bahujan Samaj Party chiefMayawati on Thursday

tweeted asking voters to showthe 'power of voting' and get ridof 'dictatorial', 'caste orientat-ed' and 'narrow-minded' BJPregime in Uttar Pradesh.

In her first tweet, Mayawatias the polling began for thesixth phase of the election,she said, “Polling is underwayfor the 57 Assembly seats in 10districts of UP today. Hence,exercise your voting rights foroverall development in society.”

In another tweet, the BSPchief posted, “After the com-pletion of the fifth phase of UPelections, the opponents haveentered into a hopeless situa-tion.

Hence, they are resorting toviolence and uncivilised behav-iour. With your voting power,you can give a befitting reply tothese political parties. Be on amission to install a strong gov-ernment in UP.”

��#����&��=���� ��������!� ��$�����

-.��+&+����� %�� ���������%�����$������

���"���� �����������������%�� /����������%��

������ 2�� ��� 2 21�

The budget session of theMaharashtra Legislature

began on a stormy note onThursday, as the ruling MahaVikas Aghadi (MVA) membersshouted vociferous slogans andheckled Governor BhagatSingh Koshyari over his recent“objectionable” statementagainst Chhatrapati Shivaji,forcing him to cut short hiscustomary address to the jointhouse and literally stage a“walk out” from the place.

As was expected, the rulingMVA members – who hadmade no bones about his dis-pleasure over Koshyari’s recentstatement describing describingSwami Samarth Ramdas as the‘Guru’ of Chhatrapati ShivajiMaharaj – had come preparedto de-rail the Governor’s cus-tomary address delivered at thebeginning of the budget sessionof the State Legislature. Assoon as the Governor arrivedat the State Legislature to deliv-er his address to a joint sitting

of both the Houses, the MVAmembers greeted him angrily.The moment he began hisspeech, the treasury benchmembers shouted vociferousslogans against him and heck-led him continuously.

Not to be outdone, theOpposition BJP membersraised counter-slogansdemanding the resignation ofMinority Affairs MinisterNawab Malik who was arrest-ed by Enforcement Directorate(ED) on February 23 in con-nection with his allegedinvolvement in a money laun-dering case and his “links”with the underworld.

The Governor’s speech wasdrowned in pandemoniumcaused by slogan shouting andheckling of Governor andcounter-slogan shouting by theOpposition BJP legislators.Having realised that he wouldnot be able to complete hisspeech in the din, the Governorplaced his speech copy onpodium and quietly walkedaway without completing his

address or waiting for NationalAnthem. The incident--whichsaw the Governor cut short hisspeech and stage a “walk-out”from joint sitting hall of theState Legislature –led to aslanging match between rulingand Opposition members, whotraded barbs and chargesagainst each other.

The ruling MVA legislatorsdubbed Governor’s act of stag-ing a walk-out from the jointsitting venue as “an insult” toLegislature, the NationalAnthem, Chhatrapati ShivajiMaharaj, Mahatma Jyotiraoand Savitri Phule. Some legis-lators demanded theGovernor’s immediate resig-nation.

In their retaliation,Devendra Fadnavis and PravinDarekar of the BJP, who are thethe leaders of the Opposition inthe State Assembly andCouncil, charged that the MVAgovernment was trying to pro-tect ‘a mafia-tainted minister’and they would not rest tillMalik quit his post.

89�!�����,"��!������������=�3�����>�!��

�� ���������� � ������������������ ����� � ��!

������ ��������%�"&��&��)����� �����������������������

Slovenia, Serbia, Bosnia &Herzegovina, Montenegro,Macedonia all were con-stituents of the YugoslavianFederation. Under Tito’s reign,this was a peaceful country butwith his death, ethnic ten-sions flared up again.

Between 1988 and 1995,Serbian politicians took con-trol of the ex-YugoslavianArmy and resources, anarmed insurgency began inCroatia, Bosnia andHerzegovina started by hostileSerbs when these federalrepublics demanded indepen-dence. Secret plans to crave upBosnian lands were hatchedbetween Croats and Serbs.The goal was creation of‘Greater Serbia’ and ‘GreaterCroatia’. But Serbian ambitionstrumped all alliances and boy-cotted the independence vote.

Soon after, armed insur-gency began in Croatia andBosnia. Bloodshed, violenceand the brutal rape of Bosniafollowed. The genocide ofSrebrenica, where countlessMuslims were killed by Serbianforces under the command ofGen Ratko Mladic, backed byRadovan Karad�ic, Serbianpolitician and former Presidentof Republika Srpska andSlobodan Milosevic, Presidentof Serbia. Two internationalcourt verdicts give detailed evi-dence against these crimes.After years of fighting, the US

stepped in and with theDayton Agreement 1995, aconsensus was reached whichdivided the country on ethniclines. It also birthed a tripar-tite political system wherenational presidency ratedbetween a Serb, Croat andBosniak, successively. A newSerbian-dominated sub-nation(Republika Srpska, withinBosnia-Herzegovina) was alsoborn. Demographically,Bosniak (Muslims) are 50.1per cent, Serbs 30.8 per centand Croats 15.4 per cent.

But why do we need to seeBosnia in light of the Ukrainecrisis? One, the UNSC vote inNovember on the annualextension of 600 EU peace-keeping forces in Bosnia.Security experts are alreadyworried about vetoes trans-forming into bargaining chips,especially as Bosnia is in lineto join Nato and, eventually,the EU. Bosnia could onceagain be a confrontation pointin the great power politics.

The second major threatafter the Ukraine crisis comesfrom Serbian revivalists andultra-nationalists, who havebeen aggressively challengingthe integrity of the BosnianState. In January 2022,Bosnian Serb leader MiloradDodik, who aims to take theSerb Republic out of Bosnia’sarmed forces, was sanctionedby the US Government. He

was found guilty on twocounts: Destabilising territo-rial integrity of Bosnia andHerzegovina, and graft. Over100,000 people died and twomillion rendered homeless inthe Bosnian conflict, and yetDodik wanted to separate themilitary and judiciary for theRepublic Srpska. ChristianSchmidt, Bosnia’s interna-tional peace envoy (positionenvisioned by Dayton PeaceAgreement, 1995), even calledit “unacceptable to undoachievements of the past 26years”. Any unilateral undoingof State institutions would bea “very serious setback” forBosnia, Schmidt stated. TheUN also warns conflict coulderupt again, if consensus is notreached. With the Ukrainecrisis evolving, chances tostrengthen stability in Bosniaand Herzegovina are veryslim as Dodik has constantsupport from Russia and fromHungary.

Given the lethargy of UNand Nato in solving theUkraine crisis, many expertsbelieve that recalcitrant ele-ments within Republic Srpskamay try to secede and openthe Pandora’s box once again.

(The author writes onagriculture and environment,and is a former Director —Policy & Outreach, NationalSeed Association of India. Theviews expressed are personal.)

����������������� ���Sir — The news of the death of a studentfrom Karnataka in Ukraine is reallyheartrending and distressing. However, itwas not unexpected looking at the man-ner in which poor Indian students wereleft to their own fate to find ways to crossthe Ukrainian border, even on foot, andreach other countries like Romania,Poland or Hungary for safety. The IndianGovernment and our embassy in Ukrainehardly did anything worthwhile. Thestranded Indian students also lamentedthat they are being attacked by theUkrainian Army for India’s decision toabstain from voting in the UN resolution.

It is a tragedy that when the nation ismourning the tragic death of the poor stu-dent who died in a blast and another whodied of stroke, we find Prime MinisterModi busy canvassing votes for his partyin UP and Manipur. A real leader leads histeam. Shouldn’t the PM have led the min-isterial delegation to the war zone to com-fort Indians and find ways and means tobring them back safely? At least now theGovernment should act fast and intelli-gently to see that the stranded Indians areevacuated without further delay lest weface more tragedies.

Tharcius S Fernando | Chennai

����������� ����������� ���Sir — Recently Prime Minister NarendraModi called for more involvement of theprivate sector in medical establishmentsand medical colleges in view of studentsgoing to smaller countries for education.Merely having private establishments tostart medical schools without long-termtraining, post-graduate education and lackof infrastructure will go the way of engi-neering colleges which mushroomed withcommercial interests without even basicstandards. The Prime Minister should godeeper into the issue as to why our med-ical students are leaving India for small-er countries to study medical education/courses. The cost of higher education isanyway prohibitive in India.

In private medical colleges, poor stu-dents cannot even dream of securing aseat. In most of the private medical col-

leges, shortage of teaching staff is seen asthese establishments are keen on savingmoney. Even in Government medical col-leges, there is a faculty shortage. TheNational Medical Commission is just aspectator of the plight of medical educa-tion in the country. Though theGovernment has proposed more medicalcolleges in districts, unless faculty withproper qualifications is available, there isno use of opening new colleges. Qualityis more important than quantity of newcolleges.

Jayaprakash Reddy | Telangana

�������������������������������Sir — The establishment’s subduedresponse to the duping of banks by India’slargest private shipbuilding company,ABG Shipyard Limited, is a reflection ofthe dichotomy between the way the agen-cies investigate and what the batteredbanking system demands. This massive�23,000 crore fraud on a consortium of28 banks between 2012-2017 by theGujarat-based company is the biggest

fraud in independent India’s history. TheState Bank of India registered the com-plaint only in November 2019, and theCBI filed a formal complaint even later,in February 2022. Further, the possibil-ity of exposing more such instances offrauds of humongous proportions onIndian banks in the future is pro-nounced.

A probe agency said 38 peoplenamed in bank fraud cases fled India inthe last four years. The level of the rot isdisheartening. The RBI said banks wroteoff �10.7 lakh crore worth of bad loansin the last seven years. Experts say thereis no transparency in the process, andloans of big defaulters are normallywritten off, while small-time borrowersdon’t receive any mercy from the banks.In a nutshell, the Indian banking systemfinds itself in a whirlpool of serious prob-lems with no saving rope in sight.

Haridasan Rajan | Kozhikode

� ) � * � � + $ , � � � ) $ - �

###$����������$���!�&�+��$5&��?��") �"�������E >�����") #"�������E "����%���5&��?��") �"�����?

����������� �!����" �#�����$��%&%%

"

���!!� �����������*�����3)��4��5��3678���&9�8�

�����*�)*"�%�&�"�"��"�� $��"���!��&�������������"�$�����1���"�4���F�%�*"��-��,�-�"&��)�����������-"�%��!��������������)���"��� ��������)�

��� (����G#�(���(����(����

��((����1� �������

�(���'�(2������1�(�����

��#�,���#���������1��������

�������B����������,������ ����,

����� 5�1������ �������������1���

���'(�������#���������

�(����#���(#�����

��##�$� #%�##&���'�#%$

%&�'��()*�)�'���(�&

������)������+�,�+���"��"������"+)��"����"�5�������������2��"���*���������������&�������������(���"�������&$���� $��"��

�"A��� ��"��������"�*��"��,��*����+���"����!������� ��*��"�%5�1��������������������*������$������� � ���%������ H79I� !���������$�D�� ��*��"� �"���"&�� )���� �"�� )"!�� "����$"*,�"��������!�� �����"�"�%�-"����"��!��4") ,���&����"%��-����������������&"�)����"�H)���+ �����1B#D��&�))I��&&��"�%����������"� $��"����������"�����������!�������$"�%����"4

���) ���)�"�)����*����������*"���"�������*�&4����5���-������+�&������������%�� ��&&�������� �� �"��� -���� ���� ��*�������D�� )�&$� �!������������������� ���-�����"�����������"�� $��"���-���+�"�%�&�"�"&"���5

������!���������"%��4-"�%���&�))�����"�����"�D�� "�����"�"*�� ���&�"���,� ������ ���4��������*���)���+����*")"!"���+ ���������������� �"��� #��)"������� � �!!�"��� 2"�"����#��)����B���",�-�����"��:;�����&�����!���"�����������-�������"������"&"����+�����!�")��������"������"&�)�������&��������H����I5�����"������+����!������2���"%��) ���"��B���"D������$� ������� �� -"���,� ������� ��+���� ����"������"&�)����&��"��5� �� "������))"�%���"�������&��������������-�������������"�4������ "�� ��$"�%��)�&�� "�� $��"��5� �� ��"�� ����&&��"������&��������������J��)"� ����&���4+")"� ��!�������������� "�%����"&"����+����K������ ��� ���� 2��"� ��*�������� ���� "��#��)"������� ��!!�"���2"�"����L

��,:*���*8�3� �����3;���| ����������

������������ !� !�!���" ��# �$%

*�����,���%$���0�������� ������

It was another grey day; heavyartillery had been poundingunarmed and hungry people.The cities were besieged and

genocides were being furtivelyunderway. Ethnic militia had afree hand to kill, rape and terroriseas they pleased. A nation wasbeing torn into ethnic identities.As maps were being redrawn, theneighboring countries filled thegaps by providing arms, tanks andartillery, circumventing all sanc-tions. Meanwhile, the internation-al community, including the UN,just watched. All promises werebroken, lawlessness prevailed andperhaps humanity inched a littlecloser to evil. Surprisingly, this isnot Ukraine but Bosnia-Herzegovina about 30 years ago,and yet our world has not learntits lesson.

The Ukraine-Russia conflicthas many of us glued to the news.And amidst this high-energybuzz, the 30th anniversary ofBosnian independence vote goesunnoticed. Let’s rewind time to goto the frontier regions of Europebordering the Adriatic Sea. Thereexists a diverse land, which hasbeen the melting pot for cultures.Illyrian to Celtic tribes, Romansor later-day ‘Vlach’, Serbs andOttomans, they have all lived here.This area is known as the Balkanregion, and came to the centre-stage of modern politics after theassassination of Archduke FranzFerdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. WWI wastriggered as a result. Between theWorld Wars, this space was organ-ised as Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Inthe beginning, it was Kingdom ofSerbs, Croats and Slovenians —other nations were neglected.Until the end of WWII, thisregion saw the rise of tendentiousforces advocating for ethnic supe-riority and land grab. Serbs andCroats were the biggest con-tenders. As a result, the inter-waryear flavoured with ethnic cleans-ing against each other and theMuslim “Bosniaks” of the region.

But the tumultuous phaseended with the rise of Joseph BrozTito, the leader of socialistYugoslavia and a charismaticfriend of India. He had partedways with Stalin and played a piv-otal non-aligned role. Modernindependent States of Croatia,

��������)���������������������������������������������������������������������������*������������������������� ��������������������������������������������������������(

�� ����&�����������������������������������������������������)����������������������������������!���������������������������������������������� ��+�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

������#������������������������������������������������������,���������������������������������������������������������� ��*���������- ������������� �������������(����� ������������ ����� �*����������- �� ������ ��� ������� �� ������� �� )���������� ��������������������������������� �� �������� #� ����� ��+ ���������� ����������.����/�#�*������������(���������������������������������������������)�����%����������� ������� ���������������������)�������������������������(

������������� �������� ���)������01���/2�333(43�333)��������������*��������� 5�333�����������

����#���������������� ���������������������������������������������������������*�����&�������������#��������������������*������������)��������������� ������������������ ��������������������������������������������������������� ������������� &���� ������������������������������������ ���������������������������������*����������� �6���������������������������������������)����������������� �������� �����������������������������.���%��������������)���������������)�)������������������������������!�����&�����(������*��������������������* 7����� 8�����������* %���������� �������*�����&���� �����������������������������������������(���)������������������������� ���������������������� ����������(���� �)����&��������������������� ���������)���������������� ��*���������������������������������)���������������

�� ��/3 )������������� �������� ���������������� ��� ���������� )� ����� ����� ����(���(����������� �� ��������� ���� ��������������� ��������� $�!�����8������� �����

43/9���.����4343������������������8�����������������������:������8�����������������������������)���������������)���������(��������������� ������������0#����� ������������������������������������������������������;��������<�����������������������=�������>3�333)������������������������������������������������� �)���� ������������������������� �����������(�����������������������������������������?�������������������� ��� (����������� ������ ������������������ �����������������@��A3������������������������(����������������;�������������������������������<�B����� ��������������������;������� ����(������<��������A4������#����������������������� ����������������@��� (������������������������������������������

����������������������������������=������C3������� ����"����� �������(�����8����������������93������� �������������:��D�����5A�������$�������������A3������������������

#����� ����� ��������������� ����������������������������������� � ���������������� �:������������������(������������������ �������������������������������������������� ��������������(����#��������������������������������������������������������������� �#�

����������*����%����������������B���8�����������������������������������������������@����� �#�%����������������������������������������������������������������� ������������ ���������������(����#���������������������������.�������������������������)������������������������������������������������������. !D%������:����������������������������������:��������(�������������������� �����������������������������������������������������.������������� ��������������������������� ����(�����������������������������.������������������ �������������������������� ����������������������������������������(����������������������������� ����#������������������$����� ������)�����������������������������������������������������������:�����������������

.&�������$���

*����������������������"��"�%����������������������������������������%����� ����������� ����� �%�

�������

�� ������������������������������� &���������� �&������! " �

��+�����$����%��������������"���������� ���������,�����������������������������

����*������-"))���3�&�����M����"���D���%%"*���������+ �"*�)�����"��5

���9�5,�,���N �-��"�#������2��� �

�&��D����)$��+���&�����"�%�� �)�&��H ��I55���&�����"�"���"�������&�5

�5,��5�+����3N ���� ��� ��

SOUNDBITE

D*��+��������) ���������+ �����&��!)"&��"�� $��"��5�1���-������D��)��������5

�+���5�)4�3��*������,�3N ��)�"�����

2 �������%������������"�������������!!��"�%���&�*"�)��&�,��������"��!��")"��5

�573�))����,�3N (���)������"

#���)�������������"������"��&"�����,-�����"��"����!����� �-��)�5

��55�,���9��3N ����

'���()���(�&

+�%�** ����)��

There are allegations of humanrights violations which are alien-ating the force from a populacewhose support it would need wereinimical forces to adopt hot-warpostures. The best course of action,in the backdrop of the JeevanReddy Commission recommenda-tions, would be to phase out thearmy from its internal securityduties from areas which are regain-ing stability, as is the case in partsof Assam.

Indeed, it is what the armyseeks, even as it prepares for thethreat of a two-front war. TheAFSPA, which has been the sub-ject of much debate, would fall flatin the face of such a course ofaction. In the absence of the armyfor internal security management,there would be no need for the Act.Needless involvement in internalsecurity has been rendering anoble force defenceless and vulner-able. However, much cautionwould need to be exercised whenit comes to pressures from quar-ters which are not sensitive to thesecurity environment of the region.

An important aspect thatshould govern national security in2022 is the manner in which theregion is experiencing demograph-ic inversion. The Assam Tribune ofDecember 23, 2021 front-paged anews-item that 1,42,206 illegalforeigners had been detected inAssam till October 31, 2021. Suchan assertion should have alsobrought aggression that stemsfrom non-traditional sources suchas illegal migrations to the fore. But

it must be said that any racial pro-filing exercise whereby communaltensions are stoked would only beto the detriment of the country,especially as the minority commu-nity must be wholly incorporatedinto India’s nation building enter-prise. Indeed, aspects such as the“Hijab” controversy must not beallowed the land of Ajan Fakir andSrimanta Sankardeva.

Both the eastern as well as thewestern borders are, therefore, ina state of turmoil. Separatism isrearing its head taking advantageof myriad political uncertainties.Secessionist elements are lookingfor sustenance from across the bor-ders. The changes in the demo-graphic pattern along the bordershave made these areas amenable tosubterfuge. There are innumerablefaultlines which need to be imme-diately addressed in order to for-tify national security.

Some of the important mea-sures which need to be taken on apriority basis are:

(1) A comprehensive NationalSecurity Doctrine for India mustbe defined so that there is no ambi-guity even with change in govern-ment

(2) A dedicated North EastSecurity Council should be consti-tuted

(3) Army’s deployment ininternal security duties should befor a limited period

(4) Police forces must berevamped to strengthen theirinternal security managementcapabilities

(5) The open-ended expansionof paramilitary forces must stopand structures which haveacquired too much flab should bepruned

(6) The infrastructure andweaponry of the border guardingforces needs to be upgraded

(7) Genuine grievances andaspirations of the border popula-tions should not be kept inabeyance

(8) Illegal migration should becurbed and the demographic bal-ance must be maintained

(9) A separate time zone mustbe seriously considered for India.After all there is a time differenceof two hours between ArunachalPradesh and Gujarat.

(10) The possibility of havingan integrated All India Servicescadre for the north-eastern statesshould be examined

(11) Lateral entry must beactively considered to incorporatedomain specialists in senior poli-cy making positions of the coun-try. The country has suffered as aresult of over-dependence on AllIndia Services personnel man-ning national security at the high-est levels.

(12) Effective measures mustbe taken to root out corruptionand proper utilisation of fundsallotted for development ensured

(13) Political processes shouldbe revived wherever dormant andpeace talks initiated or expedited,as the case may be, with insurgentgroups without compromisingnational unity and integrity.

�����,���������%�����������"����$�� ���1�11

�����������2��2�����/�� ���� ������������� 2����������<� � ����������2��������� �����������&= ���������������� 2������ �

��>��������/�2������2 ��������?$� ��������������/�<���� ����/�2@

��� ��� ������ /�����������&= 2��������>�������������A� �� <�/�?

����>���?��������

�����"�����$�-������%�2�������&������� ���������������� ������������������������� �����$������������� ����3�$�����

#�������������������������� �������������������� ���������������������������������������� ����������������������������������� �:���������������������(

���� !���������������������������������������������������������������(���������#�*��������������������������(������������������������������������������� �����������#�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� E(��������(����������D�����#���������������������������(���� ���������������������������������������.����D�������������8�����������������������������������������(�����F���&�����������:������������6�������������������:����:��))���������������������������D�������

��������������������������� ������� ������������������������"��������1������ ��� �����������������������������������*�������������8�������������������������� ���)�����8�����������������������������������(�����@�������D����������������*7�����*+��������������������������������!��������������������������D�����7���������������(��������������������� ��������������������(������������� �������������������� ����������������������"��(�������������#������������������ ������!��������������� ����������������:������ ���������!��������������� ��������������������������� ���������� ��������8����������(��� ����������������������8�������!���������������������������*���� ������������ �������������������������������������������������� G/H3��������!��������������(� ���������8����I���������J������������������;!������<������������������������ �������������� ����D����������������� �������������������������������������� ���� ���� ���������������������������� �"�������������(���������������������������#������������������������������������������������������������

#����������� ����� ��������������� ����� ����(����������������������������)�������������������(���������������������������������������������������������)������(� ������������������ ������������������������������������������������������������B������������������ �������)������������������������������ ��!�������8�������������(�����������������������������)�����)�����������������������������������������!��������������� �����������)����&���������!������������� "������������(����������)�������������� �������� )���� ������������ �������������������8��������������������� ����!��������8����������(��������� ��� ������ )������������������������������ ����������!���������������*�����&��������������������������� ������������������������� ����������������7������������!������� ��� �� ���� �� 8����&� ���������� ��������� ���� �������������&���������������� ������������������)�����)������ ���������������������������������������������������K�����������������������������8�����#�*7�����������������(���=������������������ ���������������������������)���������������������K*��������

�������������� ������� ��������������� ����������� ���������

����������� �!����" �#�����$��%&%%

*###$����������$��� !�&�+��$5&��?��") �"�������E >�����") #"�������E "����%���5&��?��") �"�����?

FIRSTCOLUMN ��$�($�/�0-�*$/�

�-�$.�� �).*�0-��$�!$)

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

��"�'�** �+�(�$,��

:�����!����������8����&�������������������0

Even as a cheerless 2021 came to anend with hopes that the New Yearwould not be as dismal, theimportant factors which should

govern national security of India deservea fresh look. While the coastlines areexpected to be secure-hopefully therewould be no repeat of 26/11-the borderstates on both the eastern and westernflanks are once again exhibiting signs ofturbulence, especially in Jammu andKashmir and Punjab. The Talibantakeover of Afghanistan could be one ofthe reasons, but the fact remains that thesecurity architecture of the nation needsstrategic reorientation.

In J&K, the police were quite success-ful in their anti-terror operations during2021. A total of 182 terrorists including44 of their commanders and 20 guest mil-itants were eliminated. However, there isno room for complacency and, as the chiefof the army staff stated, the possibility ofAfghan-origin foreign terrorists attempt-ing to infiltrate into J&K cannot be ruledout once the situation in Afghanistan sta-bilises. Besides, there is genuine grievanceamong the people over the loss of state-hood. The proposed delimitation of con-stituencies in J&K has also led to a polit-ical storm. The mainstream politicalparties represented by the People’sAlliance for Gupkar Declaration have cat-egorically rejected the proposal.

In Punjab, there is a concerted effortto revive militancy. Political instability inthe state is providing an ideal opportu-nity to the pro-Khalistan elements. Thelapses in the Prime Minister’s securityduring his visit to the Punjab showed thehorrifying price that the country mayhave to pay for the sort of murky politics that are being played out in thefrontier state.

The north-eastern scenario is notencouraging either. The manner in whichthe Chin refugee issue is creating a vir-tual rift between Aizawl and New Delhibrings into question the centre-staterelationship in a quasi-federal set-up. InTripura, where rallies were taken out byreligious organisations leading to clash-es with the police and vandalism of hous-es, shops and shrines belonging to theminority community as a backlash to theattacks on Hindu temples in Bangladeshis worrisome.

The situation in Nagaland, despiteNew Delhi’s firmness that there would beno balkanisation of states in the north-east,has become unstable with the Mon inci-dent of December 4, 2021 being exploit-ed by various groups to tarnish the imageof the army and criticise the Governmentof India. New Delhi must make it clear thatthe demand for Greater Nagaland will notbe entertained and it must take stern mea-sures against elements violating the cessation of violence agreements.

Long-drawn-out deployment of thearmy in Manipur has virtually taken thesails out of the army’s winds in the state.

1������������(����

�����������������(�1�(��(���(��

�����������'�� (2��5

��#�(���2��(��(�����

����,����������������'�2�(��#������

���(������5�������������2������(�������'�(� ��������

'(�2���(�������1�(��(�

(Padmashri Prakash Singhis a former Director

General of the BorderSecurity Forceand formerDirector General of Police,Assam and Uttar Pradesh.Jaideep Saikia is a conflictanalyst Asia’s sole Fellow,

Irregular WarfareInitiative, West Point,

USA. The views expressed are personal.)

The Russian invasion ofUkraine and the negationof the Security Council

resolution have given world-watchers an opportunity toassess the role of UnitedNationsand its relevance todayin maintaining order in the civilized world.

The UN Charter “mandatesthe UN and its member states tomaintain international peaceand security, uphold internation-al law, achieve higher standardsof living” for their citizens,address economic, social, health,and related problems”, and pro-mote “universal respect for, andobservance of, human rights andfundamental freedoms for allwithout distinction as to race,sex, language or religion”.

However, the world is notrun by peace-making philoso-phers and philanthropies but the

political and military leaders.The United States PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt coined theword United States and sincethen US and its western allieshave been virtually dictatingterms forthe functioning of UNand behaving as self-styledpolicemen of the world. Theresult was intense cold warbetween the US led NATO andSoviet Union and consequent ratrace among opponent countriesfor missile and weapons anddeployment of atomic weapons.The cold war ended with thebreak-up of Soviet Union.

If we analyse the currentRussian invasion of the Ukraine,it becomes clear how this smallcountry with good resourceswas used as a pawn by theAmerica and its western allies.Ever since Ukraine becameindependent and showed a

leaning towards the US and itsEuropean allies, RussianPresident Vladimir Putin, aformer KGB officer, vowed tobring back the past glory of theSoviet era for the Russians.After he came to power, his pop-ularity soared from two percentto 45 percent following his rolein annexing Chechnya-- whichis now known as Chechen, aconstituent republic of Russia.In 2014 Russia invaded the

Crimean peninsula andannexed it and on March 18,2014 it became a constituentrepublic of Russia whenPresident Vladimir Putin signedthe accession. In retaliation theUS and their European partnerssigned several agreements withUkraine and goaded it to jointhe NATO. The US tried toencircle Russia and bringnuclear and weapon arsenals toRussian doors.

Russian President Putinwarned the west and Ukrainenot to join NATO and cited itas the violation of Minsk treatyof 2015 between Russia andUkraine brokered by the FrenchPresident.

Now let us examine the sce-nario. America and its partnershave a history of bombing theworld all over like they did inIraq, Vietnam and Afghanistanciting threat to internationalpeace but withdrawing withouttaking the affected countries andpeople into confidence. Americahas bombed so far more than 30countries and is responsible forblood baths and ruination oflives of millions of people. Theway they withdrew and leftbehind their weapons inAfghanistan makes a mockery ofthe UN Charter. So far, the UShas exercised the veto power

more than 80 times. The IndianGovernment’s response to theAmerican-backed resolution inthe UN Security Council onFebruary 26, 2022 had wideacceptance among the Indianpeople as Russia has been atime-tested friend and exer-cised veto power in the UN fourtimes in favour of India duringthe crucial times and especiallyin 1948 and 1971.

Putin may be a dictator inthe eyes of West by violating theUN Charter and he has beenthreatening the use of nuclearpower if US and NATO cometo the rescue of Ukraine. But inthis war, he is paying back theAmericans in the same style inwhich they have been bombingother countries piggybackingthe UN system. It is a total fail-ure of the UN system which hasbeen held to ransom by the US

led western countries. We seethe West has two value systems,one for them and the other forother countries. There is anentire ecosystem in the US andEurope which is rabidly pro-moting anti-national elementsin India with the aim to balka-nise it like Soviet Union.

Take the case of farmers’agitation last year the NewYork time was full of vitupera-tive abusive writings in leaguewith anti-India forces. Similarly,Prime Minister of CanadaJustin Trudeau was vociferouscritic of India’s handling of thisagitation and now the wholeworld is noticing how severelythe Canada is dealing with thefarmers’ agitation and the NewYork Times is silent. It isbecause of this that China isnow emerging as another bullyat the international level.

����������������� ����� �������� ������������� ��� ����������������� ���� ��� �� ���������� ����������$�������#��%�� �������-������

,��+�&���(�

(The writer is the Chairmanof Centre for Resource

Management andEnvironment. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

����������� �!����" �#�����$��%&%% -�����.

���� ��

More than 1 million peoplehave fled Ukraine fol-

lowing Russia's invasion, inthe swiftest refugee exodusthis century, the UnitedNations said Thursday, asRussian forces pressed theirassaults on the country's sec-ond-largest city and two strate-gic seaports.

The tally the UN Refugeeagency released to TheAssociated Press was reachedWednesday and amounts tomore than 2 per cent ofUkraine's population beingforced out of the country inseven days.

The mass evacuation couldbe seen in Kharkiv, a city of about1.5 million people where resi-dents desperate to escape fallingshells and bombs crowded thecity's train station and pressedonto trains, not always knowingwhere they were headed.

With a column of tanks andother vehicles apparently stalledfor days outside the capital ofKyiv, fighting continued onmultiple fronts across Ukraine.A second round of talks aimedat ending the fighting wasexpected later Thursday inneighbouring Belarus - thoughthe two sides appeared to havelittle common ground.

Britain's Defense Ministrysaid Mariupol, a large city onthe Azov Sea, was encircled byRussian forces. The status ofanother vital port, Kherson, aBlack Sea shipbuilding city of280,000, remained unclear.

Russia's forces claimed tohave taken complete control ofKherson, which would be thebiggest city to fall in the inva-

sion thus far. Britain's DefenseMinistry said that was possible,though not yet verified. Themayor said there were noUkrainian forces in the city -but he said the Ukrainian flagwas still flying over it.

Overnight, AssociatedPress reporters in Kyiv heard atleast one explosion beforevideos started circulating ofapparent strikes on the capital.

Russia's Defense Ministrysaid it had knocked out areserve broadcasting center inthe Lysa Hora district, about 7kilometers (4 miles) south ofthe government headquarters.It said unspecified precisionweapons were used, and thatthere were no casualties ordamage to residential buildings.

A statement from the gen-eral staff of Ukraine's armedforces didn't address the strikes,saying only that Russian forceswere "regrouping" and "tryingto reach the northern out-skirts" of the city. "The advanceon Kyiv has been rather notvery organized and now they'remore or less stuck," militaryanalyst Pavel Felgenhauer toldthe AP in Moscow.

12�������%�������������3��� ������4��������� ������"����

���� ���(�2����

The father who fatally shothis three daughters and a

man at a California church thisweek repeatedly threatened to

kill his estranged girlfriendand scared their girls so muchthey cried and one bit off herfingernails, according to arestraining order that was sup-posed to keep him away fromguns and bullets.

But 39-year-old DavidMora had both when heshowed up Monday for asupervised visit with his daugh-ters, ages 13, 10 and 9. He shotthem, the chaperone he and hisex-girlfriend had agreed couldoversee the weekly visits, andthen himself.

The violence at TheChurch in Sacramento, a non-denominational Christian placeof worship, raised troublingquestions: How did Mora get agun? Should his arrest a weekearlier on felony charges haveprompted postponement of hisvisitation?

3�������������������&�������� ����&? ������

���� ��

Kyiv, bracing for a poten-tially catastrophic Russian

attack, is the spiritual heart ofUkraine.

Among the sites at risk inthe Ukrainian Capital are thenation's most sacred Orthodoxshrines, dating back nearly1,000 years to the dawn ofChristianity in the region.

The sites, along with otherlandmark shrines in Kyiv, arereligiously significant to bothUkrainian Orthodox andRussian Orthodox. They alsostand as powerful symbols inthe quarrel over whether thetwo groups are parts of a sin-gle people - as RussianPresident Vladimir Putin hasclaimed - or are distinct butrelated Slavic nations.

The landmarks include thegolden domed St. Sophia'sCathedral and the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, a sprawlingunderground and above-ground complex also known asthe Monastery of the Caves.Others include the multi-tow-ered St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery and St.Andrew's Church. On Tuesday,Ukrainian officials said Russianforces damaged another mon-ument - Ukraine's mainHolocaust memorial, Babi Yar- prompting international con-demnation.

"What will be next if evenBabi Yar (is hit)" askedUkrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy onWednesday. "What other mil-itary' objects, NATO bases' arethreatening Russia? St. Sophia's

Cathedral, Lavra, Andrew'sChurch?"

There is no indication theRussians intentionally targetedBabi Yar. Nor is there any con-firmation that the Russiansplan to target any of the sacredsites in Kyiv. But civilian build-ings have already been hit inother cities, and Kyiv's majorshrines sit in elevated locationsthat could leave them especiallyvulnerable.Case in point: TheAssumption Cathedral inKharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, was damaged in therecent attacks, reportedly withstained-glass windows brokenand other decorations dam-aged. The cathedral, which isunder the Moscow-affiliatedOrthodox church, wasKharkiv's tallest building untilsometime in the 21st century.

"*����"���,������"�)��-"����-��!�)�� �+�)"&�*�)�������"�$

���� 2�����

Ekho Moskvy, a liberal radiostation and one of Russia's

leading media outlets, has beentaken off the air over its criti-cal coverage of Moscow's attackon Ukraine, the head of theradio station said on Thursday.

Alexey Venediktov, theradio station's Editor-in-Chiefand one of Russia's mostprominent journalists, wrote onTelegram that "higher-rank-ing people" earlier had hintedto him that such a decision wasunder consideration.

"The Ekho Moskvy boardof directors has decided by amajority to close down theEkho Moskvy radio channeland the website," he said.

The press service of theGazprom Media holding hasconfirmed the information toRussia's state-run news agencyTASS.

Venediktov told TASS thathe planned to hold a meetingof the radio station's journal-istic staff later in the day.

The Russian ProsecutorGeneral's Office earlierdemanded that access to theEkho Moskvy radio stationand the Dozhd (or Rain) TVchannel (designated in Russiaas a foreign agent media outlet)be restricted because of theircoverage of Russia's attack onUkraine.

"Having considered theRussian Prosecutor General'sOffice's order to limit access tothe Ekho Moskvy media outlet,the board of directors of theEkho Moskvy closed joint-stock company made a decisionon March 3 to close down themedia outlet, including theEkho Moskvy radio channeland the digital news outlet ofthe same name," the report said.

The US State Department

has criticised Russia for engag-ing in a "full assault on mediafreedom" and its efforts to"suppress the truth of the bru-tal invasion".

The outlets were baseless-ly accused of "calling forextremist activity and violence"and sharing "deliberately falseinformation about the actionsof Russian military personnelin Ukraine," Spokesperson forthe US Department of StateNed Price said in a statement.

Russia's government isalso throttling Twitter,Facebook, and Instagram plat-forms that tens of millions ofRussia's citizens rely on toaccess independent informa-tion and opinions and to con-nect with each other and theoutside world, it said.

"The people of Russia alsohave a right to know about thehuman costs of this senselesswar to their own soldiers.

, �����������������������4+���>����!$�� ����(����������

���� O�����

Some of Ukraine's most vul-nerable citizens have

reached safety in Polandthrough an effort of solidarityand compassion that tran-scended borders and raised apowerful counterpoint to war.On Wednesday, a train pulledinto the station in Zahony,Hungary carrying about 200people with severe physicaland mental disabilities - resi-dents of two orphanages for the

disabled in Ukraine's capital ofKyiv that were evacuated asRussian forces battered thecity.

"Territorially, the orphan-ages are where the rocketsflew, where there were bursts ofrifle fire. A metro station nearthe orphanage was blown up,"said Larissa Leonidovna, thedirector of the Svyatoshinksyorphanage for boys in Kyiv. "Wespent more than an hourunderground during a bomb-ing."

'�!�/������01��!��������)�� ������ ��/������!2�&3�������!

���� �����������

The UN special envoy forAfghanistan said

Wednesday the internationalcommunity hasn't doneenough to revive the country'seconomy as it heads toward "apoint of irreversibility," whilethe US said it is the responsi-bility of the ruling Taliban tocreate the conditions for eco-nomic stability.

The envoy, Deborah Lyons,told the UN Security Council

that Afghanistan is nearing "atipping point that will see morebusinesses close, more peopleunemployed and falling intopoverty." Afghanistan's long-troubled economy has been ina tailspin since the Talibantakeover Aug. 15 as US andNATO forces were in the finalstages of their chaotic with-drawal from the country after20 years.

� ���� ��%�� ��������������)���$����%���5

���� ���������

The House is poised to passlegislation that would dra-

matically boost health careservices and disability benefitsfor veterans exposed to burnpits in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The bill set for a voteThursday has the backing ofthe nation's major veteransgroups and underscores thecontinued cost of war yearsafter the fighting has stopped.If passed into law, it wouldincrease spending by morethan $300 billion over the nextdecade, according to theCongressional Budget Office.

�� �������������������(��������=������� ������

��������������

The House Committeeinvestigating the US

Capitol insurrection saidWednesday night that its evi-dence shows former PresidentDonald Trump and his associ-ates engaged in a "criminal con-spiracy" to prevent Congressfrom certifying the results ofthe presidential election, spreadfalse information about it andpressured state officials to over-turn the results.

The committee made theclaims in a filing in response toa lawsuit by Trump adviserJohn Eastman. Eastman, alawyer who was consultingwith Trump as he attempted to

overturn the election, is tryingto withhold documents fromthe committee as it investigatesthe Jan 6, 2021, insurrection.The committee argued there isa legal exception allowing thedisclosure of communicationsregarding ongoing or futurecrimes.

B���8�����)�&)�"����������%�%���"�M&�"�"��)�&����"��& P

����������� �!����" �#�����$��%&%% ������4

Mumbai: Equity indices relin-quished early gains to close inthe red for the second straightsession on Thursday as surgingoil prices amid the ongoingconflict between Russia andUkraine sapped risk appetite.

Crude oil prices ratchetedup towards the USD 120 perbarrel mark on fears of supplydisruptions as western nationstightened sanctions on Russia,which accounts for around 10per cent of global oil output.

A weakening rupee andpersistent foreign fund out-flows also weighed on senti-ment, traders said.The 30-share BSE Sensex started thetrade on a firm footing andjumped 527.72 points in morn-ing deals to a high of 55,996.62.

However, during the afternoonsession it surrendered all itsearly gains and finished at55,102.68, down 366.22 pointsor 0.66 per cent.In similarfashion, the broader NSE Niftydeclined 107.90 points or 0.65per cent to close at 16,498.05.

UltraTech Cement wasthe biggest drag among theSensex components, tumbling6.47 per cent, followed byAsian Paints, Dr Reddy'sLaboratories, Maruti SuzukiIndia, Hindustan UnileverLimited and ICICI Bank.

In contrast, PowerGrid,Wipro, Tech Mahindra, HCLTech, ITC, Tata Steel andInfosys were among the promi-nent gainers, climbing as muchas 3.34 per cent. PTI

*4������������� ��4��&��� ���������� �� ������� �����

#�%��������10����2&����2���!� ����� ������

New Delhi: Domestic cardpayment network RuPay willbe an official partner for TATAIPL tournament starting thismonth.

"This will be a multi-yearpartnership," NationalPayments Corporation of India(NPCI) said in a release onThursday.NPCI had launchedRuPay, the first-of-its-kinddomestic card payment net-work in the country.

The announcementregarding RuPay becoming anofficial partner was made bythe Indian Premier LeagueGoverning Council (IPL GC)on Thursday."We are pleased tohave RuPay on board as an offi-cial partner of the IndianPremier League 2022. "Thisassociation of IPL and RuPay,

the flagship product of NPCI,brings together two of India'sbest homegrown brands and isset to create a huge impact onmillions of Indians across theglobe, encouraging digital pay-ments adoption in a faster andseamless manner," Brijesh Patel,Chairman of IPL, said.

Praveena Rai, ChiefOperating Officer of NPCI,said it was delighted to partnerwith BCCI for IPL, one of themost celebrated sports leagues.

According to her, just likeIPL provides high voltageentertainment to all Indiancricket lovers, RuPay offerstech-led, innovative, and cus-tomised offerings to peopleacross the country, beingaccepted in India and interna-tionally. PTI

'� ������������������������������% �

New Delhi: IKEA Foundationon Thursday said it has com-mitted an immediate 20 millioneuro donation for humanitar-ian assistance for people whohave been forcibly displaced bythe military action in Ukraine.

This is in response to anemergency appeal fromUNHCR, the UN RefugeeAgency, to scale up its assis-tance and protection to peopleaffected by conflict in Ukraine.

As of March 3, UNHCRreported that 1 millionrefugees, mainly women, chil-dren, and families, have already

fled Ukraine to neighbouringcountries.

"This is a human tragedy.We believe everyone deservesa safe place to call home and wehave pledged to do all we canto help the children and fami-lies affected by the deadly war,"IKEA Foundation CEO PerHeggenes said in a statement.

UNHCR has been a long-standing partner and they havea proven track record, headded. "We therefore callon the world's governments,businesses, and philanthropiesto join us and increase the relief

support for UNHCR and thepeople f leeing Ukraine,"Heggenes said. UNHCRurgently requires USD 270million inside Ukraine for aninitial three-month period, andUSD 240 million for its region-al refugee response for sixmonths.

The UN estimates that 12million people inside Ukrainewill need relief and protection,while more than 4 millionrefugees from Ukraine mayneed protection and assistancein neighbouring countries incoming months. PTI

���'������"���&���"���7;��������!��������"���"������"����&��"�� $��"��

#"���&)�����"�*����7�&������������������!�&���"�%��"���"��#���

����������������!"�����))4-����������"��������"

New Delhi: The Governmenthas received multiple expres-sions of interest for privatisa-tion of Projects & DevelopmentIndia Ltd (PDIL), DIPAMSecretary Tuhin Kanta Pandeysaid on Thursday.

The Department ofInvestment and Public AssetManagement (DIPAM) had onDecember 14 invited prelimi-nary bids for selling the gov-ernment's 100 per cent stake inthe CPSE which is underMinistry of Chemicals andFertilisers. The last date forsubmitting expressions of inter-est (EoIs) was January 31,which was later extended tillFebruary 28. PTI

��*��%�����)�"�)�����!���#�����)�

,�������%������������������������-.!/00�������

Mumbai: The rupee declinedby 14 paise to close at 75.94against the US dollar onThursday, pressured by surgingcrude oil prices amid intensi-fying conflict between Russiaand Ukraine.

Persistent foreign capitaloutflows and subdued domes-tic equity markets also affect-ed market sentiment, forexdealers said.

At the interbank foreignexchange market, the rupeeopened strong at 75.76 againstthe American dollar but soonentered the negative territory asinvestors turned towards safe-haven assets. During the ses-sion, it swung between a highof 75.60 and a low of 75.98. Thelocal unit finally settled at 75.94against the dollar, down 14paise from the previous close.

Meanwhile, the dollarindex, which gauges the green-back's strength against a basketof six currencies, was trading0.23 per cent higher at 97.63.

On the domestic equitymarket front, the 30-share BSESensex ended 366.22 points or0.66 per cent lower at55,102.68, while the broaderNSE Nifty declined 107.90points or 0.65 per cent to16,498.05. PTI

(������)"���9Q��"������<R5:Q�%�"���� �����"�&��������%�

New Delhi: Debt-ridden tele-com operator Vodafone Idea onThursday said its board hasapproved raising of up to �14,500 crore, including � 4,500crore from promoter entities.

An amount of �10,000 crorewould be raised by way of saleof equity or through debtinstruments such as ADR,GDR and FCCBs.

In a regulatory filing, thecompany said the board hascleared issuance of up to 338.3crore equity shares of facevalue of �Rs 10 each at an issueprice of �Rs 13.30 per equityshare for an aggregate consid-eration of up to �Rs 4,500 crore.

These shares will be issuedto Euro Pacific Securities Ltdand Prime Metals Ltd (VodafoneGroup entities and promoters ofthe company). PTI

Mumbai: Edtech start-up Filoon Thursday said it has raisedUSD 23 million (about Rs 175crore) in a Series-A round ledby Anthos Capital.

The round also saw par-ticipation from existinginvestor Better Capital alongwith GSV, Sapling Capital andindividual investors includingGokul Rajaram, Rob Frohwein(co-founder of Kabbage), MatePencz & Florian Hagenbuch(founders of Loft) and RossLipson (co-founder ofDutchie), the company said ina statement.

The firm will use thefunds primarily for productdevelopment, expanding theteam, tapping new categoriesand scaling its tutor base acrossthe country. PTI

Mumbai: Pinnacle Industries,which is among the 20 com-panies that got approval tolaunch electric vehicle manu-facturing under the produc-tion-linked incentives scheme,will invest Rs 2,000 crore to setup EV manufacturing units inPune and Indore, according toa senior company official.

The Pune-based company,which has been into automo-tive seatings, interiors for spe-ciality vehicles since 1996, hasalready set up an electric vehi-cle unit under the Eka label andhas two bus models awaitingregulatory nods.

In September 2021, thegovernment announced thePLI scheme for the auto sector,offering Rs 26,058 crore inincentives along with 12 othermanufacturing sectors.

The scheme for the autosector seeks to incentivisedomestic manufacturing of high-value advanced automotive tech-nology vehicles and products,and expects over the next fiveyears the scheme to attract overRs 42,500 crore in new invest-ments, incremental productionworth over Rs 2.3 lakh crore andgenerate over 7.5 lakh new jobs.Last month, the governmentcleared 20 PLI applications outof 115 it received since thescheme was announced. PTI

Chennai: Omnichannel meatand seafood brand, TenderCutson Thursday announced open-ing its first all-women store inthe city and said it plans toestablish more such outletsacross the country. The storewas an extension ofTenderCuts' vision to enable allshoppers, especially women, tostep into meat or fish buyingexperience, a press release said.

"Butchering is not a com-mon career opportunity formost women, but atTenderCuts today, there aremore than 100 women butch-ers who are trail-blazing a newcareer. We are very proud tohave launched this womenstore in Chennai and are plan-ning to launch more suchstores across India", companyCo-founder Sasikumar K said.

TenderCuts employswomen, trains, deputes themfor store management, cus-tomer service. PTI

����������� �!����" �#�����$��%&%%

'��� ())���������������)������)5�������

������������ ����������� ����� �������������� �����������● ���������������"��&�)�+���"�%����+�����!��"&������������������!)�*�����-"���"�����-����)��&��!!��"�%�N �"%����������&������+ ��"& ���&$5�����&��������A���"��&�����+����&��!����!���)�"����) �!���������-"���!�"���������!��") ���-�))��������"�%���*���)��&��-"��&)"��������&�))��%���5��!����������!���4&������&��������)�&�"��������&�����&���-"�����������������!�����&��!����������&����� �������������������������������������������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������������

�������������������������������������������������������������� ���������������������!�������������������������������������!�))�-���+ ���������!������� 5�'����"��,����������������"��4"���"���"������������#������������*���"�����"�"���)��������-������������&����)�&��!����������� ��!���������"���N $��%���������������������������������������������������������������&��������������������������������'���������������������������������������#������������������������������������������(�����A���"��&��&��&)�����-"������������������������������������������������������������(��"����"����-"�����"& ���&$D��"%�������B���"������5�

������������������������������������

● �J��)"� �1���&�����9:99��������������8���2��&��7;77����!�������)"*��&��������!��������-���4-"��"�%�����������������������"�)��)��%�-"�����)"&"����+�$��S�����4�����������������"&�������-������"������6,Q::������������))�"�&)��"*��-"�������)&���)● 9:99,�������"&��(�������������"�"%��������������������-�)&�������-������"�����-"���9R�����&����"�&��������!����������!�+�*���%���-"���&���)"������ ��&$��")�����2��&��T5�����������������������������������������������

● "�� �� �2��+�"�-"))���))��������&������!����������%����"���(��"��4��4����������!��������&�)�+����+�"�%���-����������%��������2��&��R5�B�"������&�)�+���"���5�

< ��/�2�����● '�����?������-�����!)���0�9&���● ������!)���0�9�&���● �)�����0�U�&���● ���)�����"���&�"��0�V�&���● ��"+)��%���H����)*�U�&���● #���$"��������)���������H���4���$��,���"���������-�����I0�V&����"A�

● #�-������3�%%�� 0�9�&���

● �"�%���+������)���-���0�U��+���

● '����)�+�����)���-���0�9������

● ���������+�������)���-���0������

● '�-����������!���!!����● ����09?7�&���● (�������!�A����+������)��-���0�9?Q�&���

� ��● ������-�4������+����!�%���������������������H��"+)��%��I5����"��-�))����,�����*�����$����"����"��5● ��&��"��&��)���-��������������������,�+)����"������$����&�������"A����5● ��-,�"��U�&���%���,������

-��)��-�����!)��������������!)������)�-�!)���,���"��"�%�"��+��-���5● ��&��"��"��%�)����"��&�)�������

������"&,�������!!�����!)���5● ����3�%%��

��-���,������-���,�%"�%����-���,��)�"&�"��-���,�����!��-���,��$������-���,������!!���5

● 2"A�-�))5����� ��,����"������ 5

3� ���!*@ �3� ����������� ����'� 3��@����!�A

The great part about work-ing in a multi-culturalworkplace, where your

co-workers love food, is thatyou are exposed to a variety ofcuisines. And not just the kindthat is curated at restaurants butthe food that is cooked — withrough estimates that is the nor-mal at home — and served witha lot of love. So, my previousplace of work exposed me tocuisines that could easily layclaim to coming from differentparts of the country, Bengali —especially the Calcutta variant— being a prime one. Andalong the way I discovered thatKoraishutir kochuri and Luchiwith Kosha mangsho represent-ed ambrosial heaven, no less.

So, when I heard of TheTangra Project where ChefVikramjit Roy — who has beenassociated with several PanAsian restaurants like Wasabifor Taj, Pan Asian for ITC, Kianat the Maurya and Kimono —has decided to revisit his roots,I decided to head out and sam-ple the fare.

“Tangra stands for inclusiv-ity. These were Chinesemigrants who had come toCalcutta and the city welcomedthem with open arms and theyalso gave back to the city byadjusting their techniques to

suit the palate of the city. Thesame was true for all the inva-sions from the Mughals to theDutch, Danes, French andBritishers. Interestingly, theseled to cultural amalgamationand something unique cameout. The cuisine of Mughalsadapted to Calcutta. The bestexamples are biryani and reza-la,” Chef Vikramjit pointed out.

The reason why the wordproject has been added in thename is because the restaurantis seen as a beginning where theinitial point is Tangra and,from there, it is an upward spi-ral. So, it has Bengali heirloomrecipes, where the techniqueshave been tweaked to suit arestaurant. With around 200dishes, the menu is expansivebut the chef justifies it as, “Weare celebrating inclusivity soyou can’t be frugal in yourapproach. You cant say that Iwant to celebrate and I want toconfine it to this much.”

The restaurant is designedin a way so as to try and trans-port the nostalgia — thatCalcutta holds for many pro-boshis — to Delhi. The lampson the side are reminiscent ofbooks stacked up in the shopsof College Street while theflooring too reminds one of thesame area.

“If you look at it from themall side, you see a large fishbut, when you enter the restau-rant, you realise that the wallhas several divisions creatingthe impression of layers.Similarly, Calcutta is not justBengalis as there are so manycommunities who call the cityhome,” says Chef Vikramjit.

But moving on from theconcept and interiors of the 110covers restaurant, we come tofood. We started off with Sweetpotato chips with parwal gua-camole, which was high onflavours. It perfectly replicatedthe taste of the real McCoy. Butit was the Organic spinach,roasted poppy seed, sesame seedthat not only looked unusualbut also had a perfect balance

of taste. The spinach wrappedup in a roll was placed on a bedof a sauce of sesame and poppyseeds, which had a subtle sweet-ness that blended perfectly intoa lip-smacking whole. If it isthree dishes that I would goback to restaurant, this wouldcertainly be one.

Next up was the Paturi(prawns marinated in mustardand cooked inside bananaleaves). The sharp acidic tasteof mustard dominated the dish.There was also a dish of Buffkebabs and TTP Chilli chicken.It was the latter that hadachieved a perfect balance oftaste and textures. The slightbite in the capsicum and onionwas perfect while the sweet-sour sauce had each ingredient

in perfect symmetry so thatnone was overpowering.

In the main course, theJorasanko Irish mixed meat stewwith potatoes, meat and boiledeggs in a tomato-onion gravywhen paired with luchis madefor a hearty meal.

Though I was quite full butdessert has a way of makingspace for itself. What followedwas a lot of drama which cre-ated anticipation for what wasto follow. A roundel of sweetwas placed on the table and theserver handed a frozen rosedipped in honey and asked meto smash it. The dessert calledThe Rose was smooth and pleas-ant on the palate. And is a musttry. It was the perfect sweet noteto end the meal.

< ��/�2�����● �)"*���")0�Q;��)● �������)"��"&�0�QR�%�● ���"��0�6;�%��● �J�"���"�%0�6; %�● ���"�%�&���"F�0�7;�%��● ��"&$����"$$�0�Q;�%�● ("*�����)��!"��0�Q;�%�● ������������0�Q;�%�● �������&���0�9R�%�● ����� �������0�9R�%�● '���&��+������"&��0�6;%�● ����������0�6;�%�● (������� �))�-�+�))������0�6;�%�● #���"$����-���0�9;�%�● ��!!����-����0�6;��)● ����!�������&$0�Q;��)● ��"&$������&$0�8;��)● ��)���������������������● �A����*"�%"���)"*���")09�+��● ������-��%����)"&�0�9

● #���)� �&�������!��%���"��0�9�%�

� ��● #��)�������*�"��������"��5�����������)��%�����������5���&����������"�������,����������)"*���")5● �������������&���"F�����&�"&$����"$$�,�&��$�!����!�-��"�����������������

&���������"��������%��)"&5�● ����W�"�����")����&���"F����������&�"&$���"$$��%�������)������%�)���5● ������������"$�������!!���,�&��$�"��!���9;��&����,��������"��"�������������,�!���&��+����,����+�))�������,�� �))�-+�))������������%�������������&��$�"��!��

��������6;���&����● ��&���*�� ��"�%�"���"�����-�)),������"&�������"��"��!���9R���&���������������������������X�������"��"��!�����������7;��&����5● ������*�� ��"�%�%���&��+"����-�)),��������!"�����������&�"&$������&$,+�"�%�"�������+�"),�$�����"��"�%�"��"��+��-�������&��$������"&�����")��������,�!"��)) �����������"��,���J�"���"�%����!"��● #�����������"�����B�������*���!���9;�"����������%���"���"�-"���&�����������)� �����)"&���)�����-��%��5�3� ���!*B���,����=� �������� �3�����&�%(.���

< ��/�2�����● #�������0�7;;�%�● (���1�))���������9;;�%�● ������0�Q;�%�● 1������)"&�0�Q;�%�● ���"������-���0�7;�%�● #���"$����-���0�9;�%�● ���)"&�&)�*�0�9;�%�● ��F�)����0�7;�%�● 2#�)�����3�"&�0�R�%�● �)"*���")0�Q;�%�● ��)�0�R�%�● #������6�%�● ���"�����������0�9R�%�● ���"��������H��������I09R�%�● (���&�"))"���-���0�R�%�● ���)"&�&)�*���H!���%��)"&�"�)"I0�R�%�● 2")$�H!�))�&����I0�9;;�%�● (�!"�����")0�R;;��)● ����� �*"��%��0�9R��)� ��● #��)�������������,�&��������%������,���$������������$�"!�?������&����������&���"���& )"���"&�)������������&���"������&�����5��

��3�4�44�3�8�;��)�*9�● ���������������������"%�!)���,���$�����������$"�5● �������"��������"�������*��!���R4T��"� ���5● ���$��������������-"��%��)"&�����)"��)���")��)��%�-"������"$�����")���!�����5● #����))�"�%���"�����"���+)�������A&�����)"*���")5��● #��&���������"A��������")-�))4�&��+"���,�!"��)) ���������)"*���")�"���������5● ����)�����3�"&�������3��������������"�%5��3���3�))��4��,�3● (���������&��"���������&��"����������%����������+)����"��"����+)�����5�����) ����&�"))"���-���5��3�7�3��9������● ��$��%��)"&�&)�*��������")$"����!�������&�����,���&���"�����")�-�))�&��+"���,����%�����)) ������)"*���")�"��������"A����5�������A��������)�������+)��� ����"��5

3� ���!*B���,����=� �������� �3�����&�%(.���

ABOUT TOWN

Ever wondered whysome people don’t lose

fat or progress despite eat-ing ‘healthy’ and exercising?First and foremost, let’sunderstand the basics offood and that of fat loss.Anything that is not ‘tooprocessed’ and is nutri-tious which is high in vita-mins and minerals is con-sidered healthy. But whenwe aim is to lose fat/weight,just eating healthy is notenough.

Let’s understand why.To lose fat, we need to

ensure that we are eatinglesser calories than what weare burning over time. Theoretically, to lose one kg of fat,we need to be in a caloric deficit of 7,000 calories. If we eat7,000 calories less than what we burn (over time), we willlose one kg of weight.

Being in a caloric deficit is necessary to fat loss/weightloss. Now, back to healthy food. ● If a food source is ‘healthy’, it doesn’t necessarily mean

that it’s low in calories. ● Healthy food can be high in calories too.● And if we ‘overeat’ healthy food, that can pull us out of

the caloric deficit, or even make us gain weight.● So, overall calories matter irrespective of the food source.

Let me list out few food items, which are healthy but highin calories:1. All nuts and nut butters2. All oils (even olive oil)3. Dark chocolate4. Protein bars5. Most protein bars and breakfast bars6. Fruit juices (fruits are better as they are high in fibre and

satiety)7. Hummus and dressings

Again, does that mean that we should be eliminating thesewhile dieting? Not really. We just need to be mindful of thequantities as a lot of these are easy to overeat (and can blowoff our caloric balance)

In any nutrition plan, I would ensure that the plan hasadequate protein, carbohydrates and fats to ensure adher-ence and sustainability. I would also add a variety of foodsources that are healthy, nutritious, high in all essential vit-amins, minerals and fibre. Now, talking about exercising.

A lot of us believe that exercising alone will make us losefat/weight. Exercising is amazing for health, mobility, pos-ture, wellbeing and longevity.

But, we cannot out-train a bad diet. It’s much easier (andquicker) to eat back the calories, we burn. Let me give youan example: For example, we exercise for an hour and burn500 calories. Eating back those calories can be a matter ofseconds and minutes if food sources are not correct. So, weneed to ensure that we are eating in a caloric deficit (ie eat-ing lesser calories than what we are burning over time) whiletaking care of all nutrients, exercising regularly, staying activeand taking care of other lifestyle factors such as mindset, stressand sleep.

(The author is a health & fitness educator.)

1�() ,�'�)�& (2�"% ���������#����������� ��������3���������

$�.��)+)�

6��6�� ���+��7������ ���� ������� %�$������ �/�%�����������2���� 2�66�4

STEEPED IN NOSTALGIASTEEPED IN NOSTALGIA

����(���� (�������������

������������������(�����

�(���#�(��������������N������������������'�(�

2���� -.#.�/0�N��������

�������������

$ � � � � � ������������ ����

������

����������� �!����" �#�����$��%&%% 55

���� ��������

Medium pacer Manisankar Murasinghpicked up a five-wicket haul as Tripura

bounced back after being shot out for 127 toreduce Punjab to 79 for seven at stumps on dayone of their Ranji Trophy Group F match hereon Thursday.

Murasingh was the wrecker-in-chief, reg-istering impressive figures of 9.3-2-25-5 asPunjab ended the day 48 runs behind with threewickets in hand. Murasingh took two wicketsin successive deliveries before the close of playto remain in contention for a hat-trick.

Earlier, Tripura skipper KB Pawan top-scored with a fighting 59 off 128 balls beforePunjab bowlers wrecked havoc, dismissingtheir opponents inside 55 overs after opting tofield. Punjab new ball bowler Baltej Singhreturned with 5 for 33, while Siddharth Kaul andVinay Choudhary took two wickets each.

Delhi's poor outing in Ranji continues,Chhattisgarh post 290/4 on Day 1

Virtually out of quarterfinal race, Delhi's dis-appointing campaign in the Ranji Trophy con-tinued as Chhattisgarh posted 290 for four onthe opening day of their elite Group H matchhere on Thursday.

Electing to bat, Chhattisgarh rode on half-centuries from Ajay Mandal (63 off 90 balls),Amandeep Khare (68 not out off 170) andShashank Singh (75 not out) to pile up a big scorein 90 overs and take their side to a strong posi-tion in the four-day contest.

Mandal and Singh stitched 147 runs for theunconquered fifth wicket to take Chhattisgarhforward. Besides, Sanidhya Hurkat (44) and skip-per Harpreet Singh (21) also made useful con-tributions with the bat.

Left-arm spinner Vikas Mishra (2/65) was

the pick of the bowlers for Delhi.Bawane's unbeaten ton powers Maharashtra

to 298/4 against UP Skipper Ankit Bawane'sresponsible 114 not out powered Maharashtrato 298 for 4 on the first day of their last Ranji

Trophy Elite Group G league game against UttarPradesh here on Thursday.

Electing to bat at the Gurugram cricketground, Maharashtra lost openers Pawan Shah(19), who was cleaned up by right-arm medi-

um pacer Ankit Rajppot (1/59), and AvdhootDandekar (20) cheaply.

Maharashtra were struggling at 70 for 2 then.But experienced campaigner Rahul Tripathi,who was in search of runs, made a crucial 56,hammering nine boundaries and a six in theprocess.

He first added 48 runs with Dandekar andthen shared a 41-run stand with skipper Bawanebefore lobbing off a return catch to rival skip-per and off-spinner Karan Sharma (1/77).

Then Bawane, who paced his innings well,found an able partner in Naushad Shaikh (53off 83 balls), as they frustrated the UP bowlers.

Bawane struck 18 fours in his 211-ballknock, while Shaikh also hit seven boundaries,as the duo forged a 99-run stand for the fourthwicket. Abhimanyu, Anustup give Bengal open-ing day advantage Skipper Abhimanyu Easwaranled from the front with 114 as Bengal put up asolid batting display to take the opening day'sadvantage against Chandigarh in their RanjiTrophy group B match here on Thursday.

Needing three points to seal their knockoutberth, Bengal sat pretty on 329 for 6 at stumpson day one with veteran Manoj Tiwary battingon 42 in company of Sayan Sekhar Mondal (33batting) in an unbroken stand of 61 from 86balls.

Veteran Bengal batter Anustup Majumdar(95 from 149b; 13x4) gave a fine support at the

����2����

Hailed by many as the 'Last of the Mohicans'in cricket's purest format, Virat Kohli willbe focussed on making his 100th appear-ance memorable while "white-ball legend"

Rohit Sharma plots the demolition of an out-of-depthSri Lanka as India's 35th Test captain in the series-opener starting here on Friday.

If one looks back at Indian team's journey sinceits inception in international cricket back in 1932, ithas been about stars, superstars, and megastars, whobecome the reason for the footfall at turnstiles of var-ious stadiums across the country.

It was the case when Sunil Gavaskar scored his10,000th run, Sachin Tendulkar bade the most emo-tional farewell that cricket has ever seen and now thespotlight will be firmly on Kohli, whose domineer-ing presence has turned an international match intoa footnote.

Kohli is one among "them" and in a fast-pacedworld, perhaps the last cricket star who will enjoy anorganic following of manic fans.

India was, is and will remain more of a "crick-eter-loving" nation and the social media war-cry thatperhaps led to fans being allowed in the stadium fromFriday is a testimony to Kohli's immense populari-ty.

This is his 'Test' and for Kohli, a century to marka 'century' is something he would be craving, hav-ing missed that sense of accomplishment that comeswith a three-figure mark for over two years now.

A bowling attack that has the likes of SurangaLakmal, Lahiru Kumara or Lasith Embuldeniya is per-fect for a sumptuous 'five course' Kohli treat with coverdrives, on drives, flicks and pulls on the menu.

Gavaskar and Tendulkar couldn't, neither coulda Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid or VVS Laxmanbut Kohli is a different beast.

The empty amphitheatre was never meant forhim. He feeds off the energy from his fans, and asthe undisputed hero of his story, he always finds an

antagonist, he is trying to slay.He is a product of the modern day, who loves

the spotlight and the spotlight has always loved himback. However, every story has its own set of subtexts and this Test match is as much as a Kohli storyas it is about Rohit and his remarkable ascendancymaking light of set ideas and templates.

They say, a 'A good Captain, is a good captain,is a good captain". Everyone knows Roht's creden-tials in white-ball cricket especially IPL, where he haseven challenged the hegemony of the peerlessMahendra Singh Dhoni.

There is no reference frame to judge how goodhe will be in a game that's played over five days forsix hours. He is 34 and will surely not be playing whiteball cricket for more than three years at a stretch witha demanding calendar.

How he handles a transition phase in Indiancricket, which has started with curtains on careers ofCheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane and IshantSharma. Will have a huge impact on how he is per-ceived -- just a mere captain or a leader of men.

Does he have it in him to control the ebbs andflows of a Test match where a session changes thecomplexion or a long partnership can induce frus-tration?

The proof of the pudding as they say lies in eat-

ing and onecan only waitto see how heresponds to theentirely differentdynamics of five-day crick-et as captain. Rohit's tacticalacumen has always got him respectfrom all quarters and the first reflec-tion of it in Test cricket would be howhe handles his playing XI.

It is expected that Shubman Gill will becoming in at number three in the place vacat-ed by Pujara and will have to show "intent"which was believed to be missing earlier. Gillhas the game to do that.

The tricky position will be the othermiddle-order slot which Rahane hadmade his own for the longest time.

!0�� !�5����������� �!����" �#�����$��%&%%

���� (����#��

Australia's first Test inPakistan in 24 years start-

ing on Friday is threatened byrain, but even storm cloudsfailed to dampen the mood ofrival captains Pat Cumminsand Babar Azam on the eve ofthe match.

Rain forced both teams tocancel their practice sessionsThursday, but the forecast isclear for Friday and most ofSaturday, with showers likelyon the last three days of play.

Despite the weather,Cummins and Azam weregeared up for the historic Test-- to be played in front of a sell-out 16,000 crowd inRawalpindi.

Australia haven't touredPakistan since 1998 as securi-ty issues kept internationalteams from visiting, and as aresult are unfamiliar with thelocal pitches.

"It looks like a good wick-et... as expected," Cumminstold reporters on the eve of thematch.

He said Australia wouldprobably go into the Test with

three quick bowlers or twospinners. "We just want tohave another look at the wick-et," he said.

The Aussie skipper refusedto accept that Pakistan wouldbe fielding a depleted side as aresult of injuries to star fastbowler Hasan Ali and all-rounder Faheem Ashraf.

"It's a loss for the Pakistanside, but there's always anoth-er guy that can step up," hesaid.

But he played down beingtagged as 'favourites' after theircomprehensive 4-0 drubbing ofEngland in the Ashes seriesthat ended in January.

"To be honest it doesn'treally mean much," he said.

"We feel lucky that we've

got a strong squad coming offsome really good perfor-mances, but... it's unfamiliarconditions, so we'll see."

Pakistan skipper Azam,however, said the side woulddefinitely miss the pair -- par-ticularly Hasan, who took 10wickets in Pakistan's win overSouth Africa in Rawalpindi lastyear.

"Hasan is a match-winnerand Ashraf contributes in bothbatting and bowling so that hasdisturbed our combination,"said Azam, whose team is like-ly to include teenage fast-bowler Naseem Shah.

Naseem took a hat-trickagainst Bangladesh atRawalpindi stadium two yearsago.

���� 2����

Sourav Ganguly knowshow momentous an occa-

sion it would be for ViratKohli when he steps out toplay his 100th Test on Fridaybut the BCCI boss and for-mer national captain is con-fident that the superstar bat-ter will celebrate greatermilestones going forward inhis career.

In a video messageshared by the BCCI's officialTwitter handle, Ganguly con-gratulated Kohli, saying itwould a dream come truemoment for him when hetakes the field against SriLanka in the opening Testhere.

The 33-year-old Kohliwill become the 12th Indiancricketer after SunilGavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar,

Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar,Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid,Ganguly, VVS Laxman,Virender Sehwag, HarbhajanSingh and Ishant Sharma toplay 100 Tests.

"It's a huge landmark inIndian cricket, playing 100Test matches is somethingthat you dream of when youstart playing cricket for yourcountry. It's a great momentfor Virat, it's momentousfor Indian cricket," Gangulysaid in his message.

"I have personally beenin that 100 Test match situ-ation and I realise, howmomentous and howhumongous the occasion canbe.

"Virat has had a greatjourney, exceptional achieve-ments, starting 11 years ago.On behalf of the BCCI andalso as a former captain who

has played 100 Tests, I wishhim all the best. He has hada fantastic career. He still hastime to achieve greater mile-stones," added the formerbatter.

Kohli and Ganguly haveendured a rocky past fewmonths during which theywere at opposite ends overthe former's captaincy tenurecoming to an end.

Ganguly had assertedthat Kohli gave up T20 cap-taincy despite requests tocontinue, while Kohli insist-ed that no such plea wasmade to him when he firstcommunicated his desire tostep down.

He was subsequentlyremoved from ODI captain-cy, before relinquishing Testcaptaincy at the end of aseries loss to South Africa inJanuary.

����2 21�

South African batting sensationDewald Brevis, who is often

compared to the great A B deVilliers, says Sachin Tendulkar hasalways been his inspiration and hewould like to emulate the Indianicon while trying to create his iden-tity in international cricket.

The 18-year-old, who has beenpicked by Mumbai Indians for theupcoming IPL, has been nicknamed'Baby AB' for his resemblance to deVilliers' playing style.

Brevis scored 506 runs in therecent U-19 World Cup, the most ina single edition of the tournament,surpassing flamboyant India open-er Shikhar Dhawan's record of 505runs in the 2004 edition and alsopicked up seven wickets with hispart-time leg-spin.

"The way he (Tendulkar) playedwas always an inspiration to me. Myfavourite innings of his is the ODIdouble-century, which happened to

be against South Africa. I remem-ber watching the match with mybrother - it was an amazing innings,"the 18-year-old told'Mumbaindians.Com'.

"I read his autobiography'Playing it My Way' and there are alot of things from there that I'd liketo implement in my game. Onething I learnt from him is that youhave to be humble because pride can

be your downfall."Brevis said while it is an honour

to be compared to de Villiers, hewould like to create his own iden-tity.

"It is an honour to be comparedto him (AB De Villiers), but it isimportant for me to have my ownidentity. I want to be known asDewald Brevis," he said.

"We went to the same schooland played under the same coach sowhen I first met him, I could not geta word out. There were many thingsI wanted to ask him but I was star-struck," the right-handed batterremembered.

Brevis said he is now keen topick the mind of de Villiers, who hasretired from all cricket, before hestarts his IPL journey. De Villiersplayed for Royal ChallengersBangalore.

"I would say he (AB) is great tolearn from - he makes time for youand that is something I really appre-ciate.

� ��3��)�1����!����������

6 1��6������������! 70�����-����2�0��1�0! 1����! �����8� �! ��

-1��-������9������������������-������

���������!:������-�!2��!�����-���

����������������6����8� ��7�� ���6

�� �������� 1��!�����������-��7���� 1� 0��1�0!����� �����!/���������-������ 1�

! ���3�������;�������!�� �! ������ ��)�1��<!�����!��0�03���� �:

���� ����4!!

���������������������������8��������%%�������� ��� �������%�������3�� �%�

������������������������������������������� �!�� !�"�#�$��%��

$ � ( , � � # $ % � & = � � � ' � # � �

���5���������������+����,�������3����������������%�6��

.��������"��� ������������+���6��

other end as the duo put on apotential match-decisive 193-

run partnership to rebuildBengal innings.