i contd. on page 12 i details on page 14 khalistani...

CIRCULATED THROUGH : TORONTO, MARKHAM, SCARBOROUGH, RICHMOND HILL, VAUGHAN, WOODBRIDGE, ETOBICOKE, NORTH YORK, MALTON, REXDALE, BR AMPTON, MISSISSAUGA, OAKVILLE, HAMILTON, MILTON, STONEY CREEK, BURLINGTON

FROM U.S. SUBURBS, 'FRIENDS OF MODI' SET TOBLITZ INDIA WITH CALLS IN RE-ELECTION DRIVE

(L-R)DELHI DEPUTY CHIEF MINISTER MANISH SISODIA, MP FROM SANGRUR BHAGWANT MANN,GARSHANKAR MLA JAIKISHAN RODI, JUSTICE ZORA SINGH WHO WAS THE HEAD OF JUSTICE ZORA SINGH COMMISSION, WHICH WAS THE FIRSTCOMMISSION TO PROBE THE TRAGIC EVENT OF BEADBI OF SHRI GURU GRANTH SAHIB JI, AAP NATIONAL CONVENERAND DELHI CHIEF MINISTER ARVIND KEJRIWAL, PUNJAB LEADER OF OPPOSITION HARPAL SINGH CHEEMA AT THE AAPHEADQUARTERS IN DELHI. JAI KRISHAN RODI QUITS KHAIRA GROUP AND REJOINS WITH ARVIND KEJRIWAL AND NOWSUKHPAL KHAIRA ONLY LEFT WITH 6 MLA'S IN HIS CAMP.

TSUNAMI HITS INDONESIA, NEARLY 400 KILLED, 1500 INJURED.

KHALISTANI EXTREMISM - ONLY SIKHWORD WILL BE REMOVED, NOT KHALISTANI

I CONTD. ON PAGE 9

BRAMPTON, ON: Dil Se Media Group is pleased to announce a new,original radio show 'Dil Se' star ting January 1st 2019. The show,hosted byRishma Ahluwalia will be broadcast on 91.9 FM, from 1 pm to 2pm, everyday with the motto of the show being " Direct Dil Se""Dil Se will be largely Bollywood based show, offering listeners diversecontent in Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu from a uniquely Canadian perspective,"saysS.P.Singh Ahluwalia, managing director, Dil Se Media Group. "And the drasticchange in the way the target audience has become accustomed to attainingtheir daily dose of infotainment, talented Radio Jockey Rishma has an oppor-tunity to not only enter tain, but also to unite the entire community."Rishma Ahluwalia, a trained radio jockey, her career in radio began, whenshe star ted co-hosting the radio show Sirnawa, which aired on Sun-days from 1 to 2 pm. Learning from her experiences, she went on toattain specialized coaching, after the completion of which, she has nowfinally decided to host her very own show, bringing to 91.9 FM a breadth of knowl-edge and experience, locally, nationally and internationally.

RETIRED JUSTICE ZORA SINGH JOINS AAM AADMI PARTY

CLARKSBURG, MARYLAND (REUTERS) - On a chilly Sunday morn-ing in this quiet American suburb, IT consultant Madhu Bellam scoureda spreadsheet with contact details for over 1,500 Indian voters. Hepunched numbers into his phone and rang his hometown of Hyderabad,a tech hub in southern India about 8,800 miles away.Bellam emigrated to the United States around two decades ago, andthen renounced his Indian passpor t to became an American in 2011.He now runs his own tech consultancy.

KCR LEADS NON CONGRESS NON BJPALLIANCE FOR 2019 INDIA ELECTIONS

I CONTD. ON PAGE 12

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Monday hit out at Telangana chief min-ister K Chandrasekhar Rao, who met West Bengal chief ministerMamata Banerjee as a par t of his campaign to form a non-BJP and non-Congress alliance for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Calling KCR an agent of Modi-Shahcombine, the Congress accused the Telangana chief minister of dividingthe democratic and secular forces in the country.

I CONTD. ON PAGE 12

EX-PAK PM NAWAZ SHARIF GIVEN 7 YEARSJAIL TERM IN CORRUPTION CASE

NEW SOUTH ASIAN RADIO SHOW 'DIL SE' SETFOR LAUNCH ON 1ST JAN 2019 ON 91.9 FM

An anti-corruption cour t in Pakistan on Mon-day sentenced ousted prime minister NawazSharif to seven years in jail in the Al-AziziaSteel Mills graft case while acquitting him inthe Flagship Investments corruption case inthe high-profile Panama Papers scandal. Ac-countability Cour t II Judge Muhammad Arshad

Malik announced the verdict in the tworemaining corruption cases against the

Sharif family, after reserving the decision last week. In its decision, JudgeMalik said there was concrete evidence against the 68-year-old former pre-mier in the Al-Azizia reference, and that he was unable to provide a moneytrail in the case, Geo TV repor ted.

Y MEDIA EXCLUSIVEY media group recently did an exclusive interview withMP Ramesh Sangha for Channel Y regarding Canada 'spublic safety repor t which mentioned about KhalistaniExtremism. MP Sangha said af ter the repor t was pub-lished a meeting was held between 3 Cabinet Ministersand MPs in the Liberal Caucus with Public Safety MinisterRalph Goodale. Minister Navdeep Bains, Minister o HarjitSajjan, Minister Amarjeet Sohi ,MP Ramesh Sangha, MPRuby Sahota, MP Sonia Sidhu and MP Randeep Sarai andothers were present to dicuss the repor t. Talking to YMedia group, MP Sangha said that he guarantees that theword "SIKH" will be removed from the repor t . When askedabout the word "Khalistani" in the report MP Sangha saidhe has not made any request to remove the word"Khalistani" from the repor t .

I DETAILS ON PAGE 15

I DETAILS ON PAGE 14

2 MidWeek MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2018

MidWeek 3MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2012

MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY


PAGE 3 PRIYANKA CHOPRAAND NICK WEDDINGRECEPTION

Priyanka Chopra and Nick Wedding Reception



MORTGAGESFSCO# 13078

s p e c i a l r e p o r t

NORTHUMBERLAND HEIGHTS WELLNESSRETREAT AND SPA GRAND LAUNCH

“Super luxury hospitality destination offering holistic rejuvenating wellness experience in the lap of luxury”

Northumberland Heights Wellness Retreat and Spa announced itself open through a grand launch par ty onDecember the 15th 2018. It was a remarkable evening

attended by distinguished personalities both of the Nor thumberlandCounty and the GTA. The dignitaries who graced the occasion were:Mr. Dinesh Bhatia (Consul General of India)Mr. Patrick Brown (Mayor of Brampton)Mrs. Kim Rudd Mr. (MP)David Piccini Mr. (MPP)Ramesh Sangha Mr. (MP)John Logel Mr. Bob (Warden Nor thumberland County)Sanderson Mr. Bill (Mayor Por t Hope)Cane (Mayor Hamilton Township)Councilors, office bearers and other public figures were also a par tof this celebration.The event was hosted by the Owners and Promoters ofNor thumberland Heights Wellness Retreat and Spa, Karan SehgalOzone Group, P.K. Sabharwal New Gen Realty, and Raman Dua ofSaveMax. The Strategic Alliance has promised a CAD$100 Millioninvestment in Canada of which a large por tion will be inNor thumberland County. They have also promised to generate 500jobs in Canada in the next 5 years.The evening began with the Town Cryer announcing the opening.The Rustic and Ear thy charm of the newly revampedNor thumberland Heights Wellness Retreat and Spa was enjoyed byall the guests. Free flowing cocktails and horsd'oeuvres with thebackground of the melodious Saxophone music made the eveningmemorable.Nitin Joshi the business head of the group explained to us theconcept that had gone behind the scenes to create the jewel in thelocal landscape.Nor thumberland Heights Wellness Retreat and Spa is a superluxury hospitality destination offering holistic rejuvenating wellnessexperience in the lap of luxury. It is an 80 acres haven on the rollingNor thumberland Hills, just an hour away from Toronto. They have a120 persons capacity Banquet hall with state-of -the-art audio-visual equipment to take care of all your corporate meetings,events and weddings. Sprawling gardens for hosting outdoorgettogethers. 12 Suites and 2 Spa suites to take care of youraccommodation. A fully functional restaurant offering Internationalcuisine, a full-service Spa with International Therapies. They have plans toincrease their presence in Canada through an expansion plan adding 32 rooms,a second banquet hall and a specialty restaurant.The evening ended with a sparkling display of Fireworks that lit upthe Alnwick/Haldimand skyline, making it an event that would beetched in the memories forever.

Merry Christmasto all of you!



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY



TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2018s p e c i a l r e p o r t

Doing Business in India: Opportunitiesfor Canadian IT Firms at GlobalSoft

Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce and Consulate General of India in Toronto Jointly organised aninformative session on Global Sof t 2019 at the ICCC office on Thursday December 13, 2018. Mr. NalinKohli, Chairman of Indiasof t and Mr. D.K Sareen, CEO of Indiasoft came all the way from India to interactwith the ICCC members.Mr. Pramod Goyal, President ICCC in his welcome remarks said that Information technology is acceler-ating its growth in the all the fields. India is a major player in the sector as it is the largest exporter ofsoftware in the world and still growing. He quoted that, "as per NASSCOM IT sector revenues were USD$160 billion in 2017, with USD $99 billion in export earnings, and USA accounting for over 2/3rd of the totalIT expor ts." During Prime Minister Trudeau's visit to India earlier this year in February 2018, severalMOU's were signed between the two governments and businesses to promote innovation & entrepreneur-ship, including setting up of 'Indo Canada Innovation Bridge', through a Public Private par tnership.Amb. Dinesh Bhatia in his brief remarks applauded the ICCC and its activities in promoting the IndiaCanada trade and commercial relations. He said that the IT sector potential has not been tapped fully andthe collaboration has not been reached to the level, it should be.He referred that the USA is importing over US$63 billion sof tware from India whereas the Canada is onlyimporting over a US$1billion. As per Canadian market size the potential is much more and it can easilycross the US$ 4 billion, he said.Mr. D. K Sareen, Chief Executive Officer, Globalsoft in his detailed presentation said that by attending theGlobalsoft 2019, you can access the potential of trillion dollar digital Indian marketplace in the new andpromising areas of Cyber Security, Smar t Cities, Health IT, Fintech, Online Education, Analytics, and E-Commerce among others through par tnerships with Indian IT companies; distributor and licensing ar-rangements; value-added reselling; and points of presence etc. As a one-stop point for IT industry fromacross the globe, the second edition of GLOBAL SOFT 2019 can be the gateway for your enterprise to thevast market of India, the emerging markets of Africa, Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) andMiddle East.GlobalSoft 2019 offers one-stop access to explore the business opportunities in the IT industry in India.The session was followed by a Q & A session. ICCC board members Ms. Devika Penekelapati, Ms. SunitaVyas, Mr. Rakesh Joshi and Mr. Chirag Shah were present along with member representatives fromseveral IT firms. Ms. Devika Penekelapati opened the event and introduced Mr. Nalin Kohli to the audi-ence and Ms. Sunita Vyas proposed the vote of thanks.

Mr. D. K. Sareen, CEO Global Soft, Counsel General Amb. Dinesh Bhatia, ICCC President Pramod Goyaland Mr. Nalin Kohli, Chairman, GlobalSoft.



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2018 c o m m u n i t y

LOOKING FOR A COUPLE TO RUN A MOTEL BUSI-NESS. ACCOMMODATION WILL BE PROVIDED WITHGOOD LIFESTYLE. ONLY ONE HOUR 15 MINUTES AWAY

FROM TORONTO. IT WILL ALSO HELP TO GET PERMANENTRESIDENCY TO THE INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS WHO ARE

ON FULL TIME WORK PERMIT.CONTACT NICK FOR FURTHER DETAILS: 647-868-4675

C L A S S I F I E D

CITY OF BRAMPTON CALLS FORCITIZEN APPOINTMENTS

City invites citizen appointments for citizen-based Advisory Committees, AdjudicativeCommittees, Administrative Tribunals and

related appointments

BRAMPTON, ON – Calling all Brampton residents looking toget involved in their city - the Council of the Corporation of the City ofBrampton is seeking applications from citizens interested in variousappointments for the 2018-2022 term of Council, ending in November2022, or until a successor is appointed.The City needs citizens for citizen-based Advisory Committees,Adjudicative Committees, Administrative Tribunals and relatedappointments as follows:Citizen-based Advisory Committees· Accessibility Advisory Committee· Age-Friendly Brampton Advisory Committee (requires threeadults (55+) and three persons aged 15-24)· Brampton Community Safety Advisory Committee (requires fourcitizen representatives, one from each of the four quadrants of the Cityas divided by Highway 410 and Queen Street)· Brampton Heritage Board· Brampton School Traffic Safety Council· Cycling Advisory Committee· Environment Advisory Committee· Spor ts Hall of Fame CommitteeAdjudicative Committees, Administrative Tribunals and otherappointments· Audit Committee (up to three citizens with financial background)· Administrative Monetary Penalty System Screening ReviewOfficer· Administrative Monetary Penalty System Hearing Review Officer· Brampton Appeal Tribunal· Committee of Adjustment· Election Compliance Audit Committee (alternate members)· Proper ty Standards CommitteeThese appointments require residents’ time and active par ticipationto have a meaningful impact for the City. For more information aboutappointment oppor tunities, including qualifications and responsibilities,please visit www.brampton.ca.Application forms and the terms of reference for each committee/appointment are available on the City’s website at www.brampton.ca,for pickup at the City Clerk’s Office at Brampton City Hall or by requestinginformation be sent by mail.Alternate format applications are available upon request.Application forms must be submitted to the City Clerk’s Office byemail, mail or in-person no later than 4:30 pm on Friday, January 18,2019.Residents who require fur ther information can contact:City Clerk’s Office, Brampton City Hall2 Wellington St W, Brampton, ON L6Y 4R2905-874-2101, [email protected]“Bramptonians who want to make an impact in our city should applyfor a citizen appointment. Informed decision-making is only possiblewith resident advisors – that’s why citizen-based Advisory Committees,Adjudicative Committees, Administrative Tribunals and relatedappointments are so crucial in Brampton. Together, we can makean impact.”- Mayor Patrick Brown

Peel Police Arrest Man ForStealing From Brampton HospitalREGION OF PEEL - Investigators from the 21 Division CriminalInvestigation Bureau have laid charges in relation to a TheftOver $5000 and Possession of Stolen Proper ty in the City ofBrampton.On November 14th the accused attended Brampton Civic Hos-pital and stole a hear t rate monitor valued at more than $7000.On F riday, December 21, 2018, investigators charged KristosBidwell a 38 year old man from Brampton. He was released ona Promise to Appear and will appear in the Ontario Cour t ofJustice in Brampton on a future date.Investigators believe there may be additional thefts that werecommited by Kristos Bidwell and are asking anyone with fur-ther information to call investigators at the 21 Division Crimi-nal Investigation Bureau at (905) 453-2121, ext. 2133. Informa-tion may also be left anonymously by calling Peel Crime Stop-pers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), or by v is i t ingpeelcrimestoppers.ca.To see a photo of Kristos Bidwell visit our website.Citizens are reminded to be vigil in these types of circum-stances. As a reminder, Peel Regional Police have establishedBuy and Sell Exchange Zones at 22 Division in the City ofBrampton along with 11 and 12 Division in the City ofMississauga.Peel Regional Police offer the following safety tips when usingonline buy and sell websites:" Do not give out potential compromising personal information" If possible, do not complete these types of transaction at yourresidence" Do not give out banking or credit card information" If possible, do not accept foreign currency as a form of payment" Meet in a public well lit place" Be vigilant that you could be purchasing something that mayhave been stolen

COUNTDOWN TO 2019 ON MISSISSAUGA CELEBRATIONSQUARE THIS NEW YEAR'S EVE!

PROTECT YOUR CANADIAN DREAM!TORONTO: Prospective immigrants pursuing their Canadian Dreammay fall prey to fraudulentunregulated immigration consultants thatare not authorized to offer advice and often charge high fees for a"guaranteed visa".Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (ICCRC)urgesindividuals to work with Regulated Canadian Immigration Consult-ants (RCICs) registered with ICCRC when seeking to study, work orlive in Canada. These licensed professionals explain the various im-migration options and help an applicantchoose the appropriate pro-gram; theycomplete and submit all application forms and supportingdocumentation; andif required, they communicate with the Govern-ment of Canadaon behalf of an applicant.In shor t, RCICs provide fullservice at every stage of the application process.ABOUT ICCRCICCRC is the national regulatory body authorized by the Governmentof Canada tooverseeRegulated Canadian immigration consultants.ICCRC protects the public interest by prescribing and enforcing edu-cational and ethical standards and providing ongoing rigorous over-sight of RCICs.Ensure your Canadian immigration consultant is registered with ICCRC. Visit ICCRC at iccrc-crcic.ca to verify if your immigration consultanthas the right to represent you.

CONTD. FROM PAGE 1MP Ramesh Sangha said he has full faith in the Canadian Securityagencies and they are working very well to keep the Canadianssafe.MP Sangha also thanked Minister Goodale on his proactive ap-proach in reviewing the Terms used in the repor t and thanked theminister to do so. Earlier in an exclusive interview with Yudhvir Jaswal(Group Editor of Y media) Minister Goodale had said that the FederalGovernment Government will review terms "Sikh", "Shia", and "Sunni",among others in the Public Safety repor t. Sikh Bodies such as the Ontario Sikhs & Gurdwaras council,the OntarioGurdwaras Committee and BC Sikh Gurdwaras council requested tomeet with Minister Goodale to discuss the repor t to which Ministerhas responded that the meeting will be help in the 2nd weeks ofJanuary 2019Brampton MP Ruby Sahota also released a Statement by the LiberalMembers of the House of Commons Standing Committee on PublicSafety & National Security regarding the 2018 Public Repor t on theTer rorism Threat to Canada.At the request of Ruby Sahota, Member of Parliament for BramptonNor th, the Liberal Members of the House of Commons Standing Com-mittee on Public Safety & National Security held a conference call onDecember 19th, 2018 to discuss the 2018 Public Repor t on the Terror-ism Threat to Canada. To clarify, the primary responsibility of thisStanding Committee is to examine, debate, amend and report on leg-islation or motions before the House of Commons as they relate toPublic Safety and National Security. As such, the Liberal Members of

KHALISTANI EXTREMISM - SIKH WORDWILL BE REMOVED, SAYS MP SANGHA

Y MEDIA EXCLUSIVE this Committee wish to emphasize that the Committee did not havethe mandate to review or approve this repor t before its release, andonly became aware of the repor t's contents after it was made public.The Report is a product of the Integrated Ter rorism Assessment Cen-tre (ITAC), within the Depar tment of Public Safety Canada, which isalso responsible for assessing and recommending the National Ter-rorism Threat Level. ITAC is an independent body of professionalsfrom depar tments and agencies within Canada's security and intelli-gence community responsible for assessing terrorism threats toCanada and Canadian interests worldwide.MP Ruby Sahota fur ther added that ITAC repor ts and assessmentsare based on classified and public information, and the Minister ofPublic Safety does not make substantive changes to its content, norare the documents seen or approved by Cabinet prior to publication.The Liberal Members of this Committee agree with Minister Goodale'sobservations regarding the terminology used in this Report, andstrongly and emphatically suppor t his request for it to be reviewed.Our Government firmly believes that diversity is par t of what makesCanada strong and thus, we must ensure that we never equate anyone community or entire religions with extremism. Never theless, theLiberal Members of the Committee call upon the Government to re-view the Repor t when Parliament resumes. A particular emphasisshould be placed on how to introduce more precision to the correla-tions drawn by the repor t in its effor ts to explain current threats andstrengthen the integrity of the repor t. Canada is home to communitiesof many different faiths and ethnicities, all of whom make valuablecontributions to our country. We must continue to ensure that respectand inclusion remain at the core of our Government's decision-mak-ing, and is evident in all of our communications with the public.

The countdown is on to the biggest bash of the year! MississaugaCelebration Square is the place to be on December 31 to ring in 2019.NYE 2019, presented by Pizza Pizza, features an impressive lineup ofCanadian talent, including Mississauga's own R&B and hip hop ar t-ist, Anders, all-female hip hop collective, The Sorority, Juno-awardwinner, k-os and platinum-certified breakout duo Elijah Woods x JamieFine.Kick off your night with a dynamic DJ Skate on the Celebration Squareice rink and be sure to stay for food trucks galore and a spectacularfireworks show at the stroke of midnight.Schedule of EventsMain event hosted by Scott Willats8 p.m. to midnight8 p.m. DJ Skate with DJ Tilt and Sir Lancelot

9:p.m. The Sorority9:45 p.m. k-os10:30 p.m. Elijah Woods x Jamie Fine11:10 p.m. Anders11: 59 p.m. Countdown to 2019Midnight Fireworks presented by Tim Hor tonsWhere:Mississauga Celebration Square300 City Centre Dr.Mississauga, ON(Map)Cost:FreeActivities are weather permitting. To ensure safety, please note that

the skating rink on the Square willclose at 11 p.m. on December 31in preparation for the fireworksshow.Transpor tation:Please be advised that road clo-sures wil l be in effect in the down-town core between December 31 andJanuary 1. For a map of the closures,visitcelebrationsquare.ca.MiWay is offering free rides onroutes across the city on NewYear's Eve from 7 p.m. on Decem-ber 31 until 4 a.m. on January 1 toensure event-goers get homesafely. More information on faresand holiday bus schedules areavai lable at miway.ca/holidayservice.Free events like New Year's Eveat Mississauga Celebrat ionSquare are possible through thegenerous suppor t of our commu-nity sponsors, including PizzaPizza, Tim Hor tons, Alectra Utili-ties, FCR Management ServicesLP, Meadowvale Town Centre,Pepsi and our media par tner,insauga.com.For the full NYE schedule, moreinformation on the rink or upcom-ing winter events, v is i tcelebrationsquare.ca.


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Kashmir’s tryst with guns and stones

E-mail : For [email protected]

ARUN JOSHI

PAKISTAN IS THE CHEERLEADER FOR THIS CAMPAIGN. HERE IS WHAT PRECEDED THE PULWAMAKILLINGS. SECTIONS OF THE MOB CLIMBED THE ARMY VEHICLES WITH STONES IN THEIR HANDS

AFTER WHICH THE CASUALTIES TOOK PLACE. THE UNFORTUNATE INCIDENT TOO WAS PRECEDED BY THREEMAJOR DEVELOPMENTS THAT DID NOT FIND FAVOUR WITH THE SEPARATISTS, PAKISTAN AND THE MAINSTREAM.

FIRST, EVER SINCE THE GOVERNOR’S RULE WAS IMPOSED IN J&K ON JUNE 20, ANGER OF PEOPLE AGAINST THE‘ANTI-KASHMIR ALLIANCE BETWEEN THE PDP AND THE BJP’ HAD BEGUN TO DISSIPATE. THE MAJOR STEPS

INTRODUCED BY THE THEN GOVERNOR NN VOHRA TO INTRODUCE ACCOUNTABILITY INGOVERNANCE BECAME A BEACON OF HOPE FOR PEOPLE. HIS SUCCESSOR SATYA PAL MALIK

CARRIED ON WITH THE PLAN OF HOLDING THE MUNICIPAL AND PANCHAYAT ELECTIONS.

‘

The December 15 violent clashes are seen as a template of theworsening situation in Kashmir. The encounter, in which threemilitants and a soldier were killed in a village in southKashmir’s Pulwama district, also claimed lives of sevenprotesters.The Valley will step into 2019 af ter a long spell of violence.Civilian ‘killings’ have always been attributed to the impunitythat the security forces enjoy. It helps cement the impressionthat they are the culprits. It is an easy recipe to stir the localsentiment against the country. Not a word is said about theviolent behaviour of the crowd that leads to such fatal situa-tions. The narrative is staple to all conflict zones, and Kashmiris no exception.Each such incident in which stone-pelting protesters — mostlyteenagers and youngsters in their early twenties — get killedreminds the residents of all such past episodes. It has acumulative toxic effect on the psyche of the people who see theblood of civilians as a calculated act by the Army that isequipped with legal impunity under the J&K Armed ForcesSpecial Powers Act (AFSPA). The Pulwama episode caused thehighest number of ‘civilian killings’ in 2018. Effor ts havealready star ted to embed it in the anti-India nar rative. This isdone to spawn the troubles which will project Kashmir as aper fect case that demands inter national intervention. Pakistanis the cheerleader for this campaign.Here is what preceded the Pulwama killings. Sections of themob climbed the Army vehicles with stones in their hands afterwhich the casualties took place. The unfor tunate incident toowas preceded by three major developments that did not findfavour with the separatists, Pakistan and the mainstream. First,ever since the Governor’s Rule was imposed in J&K on June20, anger of people against the ‘anti-Kashmir alliance betweenthe PDP and the BJP’ had begun to dissipate. The major stepsintroduced by the then Governor NN Vohra to introduce account-

ability in governance became a beacon of hope for people. Hissuccessor Satya Pal Malik carried on with the plan of holdingthe municipal and panchayat elections.Second, the municipal and panchayat elections concluded withhigh-voter turnout across the state, except for par ts of southKashmir and a few other pockets of the Valley . The turnout put afull stop to all speculations that the elections would not be held,especially with those boycotting the polls gaining size andstrength after the PDP and National Conference announced tostay away from the polls. The grassroots democracy is backwith a promise to forge a new connect. Some political groupsare having their grapes-are-sour moment and are claiming thatthe elections were a sham.Third, there was a steep decline in the incidents of stonepelting. It was a direct result of people’s grievances beingaddressed at their doorstep. It had its ripple effect as well —the local youth star ted distancing itself from the militancy. Thepositive developments frustrated Pakistan and its agents.There wasn’t any local recruitment even after seven civilianswere killed in an explosion in the Kulgam area on October 23.The crowd had entered the encounter site, making it difficult forthe security forces to do the mandatory sanitisation of the area.Mourning and shut down ensued in the next three-four days, butthe protests were negligible. Now that the Parliamentary andAssembly elections are scheduled to be held in 2019, thepolitical par ties don’t have an agenda to propose to people.They have picked the issue of civilian killings to carry out their

political campaign. The fact is that the number of civilianskilled in 2010 and 2016 during the NC and the PDP rule, respec-tively, were higher.Pakistan has star ted using this ter rible incident as its recurringtheme to tell the world that “India is oppressing the Kashmiris”.Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has used the Goebbelsianway of telling the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres thatthe Indian Army killed 15 and injured 300 on December 15.While the truth is that seven persons lost lives and 50 gotinjured, a high number of casualties never theless. Apar t fromcreating a paralytic situation in the Valley, Pakistan has usedthe tragedy to strengthen its narrative that it stands withKashmiris. The bigger problem is that Delhi has not come outwith actual facts and that has sent it on the back foot becausestone throwers are deemed to be different from the militants.Civilian killings have triggered anger that surpasses all defini-tions of alienation. The idea is to use all means, mostly violent,to “liberate the motherland.” At this year-end, stones havebeen fur ther sanctified as peaceful tools of protest. It was firstdone during the Amarnath land-row agitation in 2008. The talkhas also shifted to greater use of guns. The images of thefuneral processions are being used to stir emotions. Thedecline in the use of guns had given sanctity to stones, but nowstone throwers have re-legtimised the use of guns. It is analarming situation and there is no end in sight at the moment tothe violence and the loss of lives and pain that follows. Thehope has receded, for now, to an obscure corner.



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2018 c a n a d a

General Accounting & Bookkeeping

Prime Minister Trudeau visits members of the

Canadian Armed Forces in Mali

The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today returned from a Christmasvisit to the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) base in Mali. The PrimeMinister's visit was an oppor tunity to meet with our Canadians inuniform deployed on this United Nations peace operation (OperationPRESENCE) and to thank them for their commitment, dedication, andsacrifice during the holiday season.The Minister of Defence, Harjit Sajjan, and the Chief of the DefenceStaff, General Jonathan Vance, accompanied the Prime Minister ashe met with CAF members working in Mali as par t of a 12-monthmission to suppor t the United Nations Multidimensional IntegratedStabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).While at the Canadian camp, the Prime Minister saw firsthand Canada'scontribution to the mission - the CH-147F Chinook and CH-146 Griffonhelicopter operations - that provide medical evacuation to safeguardUN forces, as well as much-needed transpor tation and logistical sup-por t.The Prime Minister noted that our Canadian Armed Forces have earnedtremendous respect for their contributions to promoting internationalpeace and security - a tradition carried forward today in Mali.Prime Minister Tr udeau also met with the Prime Minister of Mali,Soumeylou Boubèye Maïga, and highlighted Canada's longstandingbilateral relationship. The two leaders also discussed Mali's effor tsto reinforce security, human rights, and governance.Along with the current peace operation, Canada has other contribu-tions to assist with the UN mission in Mali, including military staff

officers, civilian police officers, and financial suppor t.Quote"It was an honour to meet with Canadian Armed Forces membersdeployed on this vital UN peace operation. I saw firsthand the contri-butions they are making in Mali. All Canadians can be proud of howthey are representing our country and working with our par tners tomaintain security and stability in the region. We thank them and alldeployed CAF members for their service and sacrifice as they serveCanada far from their families during the holiday season."-The Rt. Hon. Justin Tr udeau, Prime Minister of CanadaQuick Facts" This is the first bilateral visit to Mali by a Canadian PrimeMinister." The Air Task Force includes three Chinook helicopters (twooperational and one spare), that provide medical evacuation and trans-por t capabilities, as well as five Griffon helicopters (four operationaland one spare) for armed escor t and defensive tasks." The Air Task Force provides transpor t and logistics capa-bilities and includes a Forward Aeromedical Evacuation capability,which suppor ts medical evacuations for United Nations forces on theground." The CAF is part of an integrated, whole of government approach todeliver on Canada's commitment to increase its support for United Nations peacesuppor t operations and to help the United Nations respond to the chal-lenges it faces in its missions around the world.

STATEMENT BYPREMIER DOUG FORDON CHRISTMASToday, Premier Doug Ford issued the followingstatement to mark the Christmas holiday:"Christmas is a special time to come together withfriends and family. Whether you are celebratingChristmas, observing another holiday or using thistime to spend with family, I want to extend mywarmest wishes to you and your loved ones.Ontario's diverse celebration of faith, family andcommunity is at the hear t of who we are. Theholiday season is a time for togetherness, andcounting and sharing our blessings.On behalf of my family and the Government ofOntario, I want to wish you all peace, joy andhappiness during this wonder ful season.Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!"

Shaheedi Diwas VaddeSahibzade & ChotteSahibzadeGuru Pyari Sadh Sangat JiWaheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh !Following are the impor tant programs scheduledfor this month (December) :The brave mar tyrdoms of Baba Ajit Singh Ji andBaba Jujhar Singh Ji the elder Sahibzadas of GuruGobind Singh Jiand the unprecedented mar tyrdoms of the youngerSahibzadas Baba Zorawar Singh Ji and Baba FatehSingh Ji happened in the cold month of December,1705. The Sangat of Scarborough Gurdwara Sahibwill be remembering these mar tyrdoms withreverence as per the following program:Shaheedi Diwas of Vadde Sahibzade:Star t Akhand Paath – F riday , December 21,2018 at 11:00 AMBhog Akhand Paath – Sunday , December 23,2018 at 11:00 AMDiwan – Till 9:00 PMShaheedi Diwas of Chotte Sahibzade:Star t Akhand Paath – Monday , December 24,2018 at 10:30 AMBhog Akhand Paath – Wednesday , December26, 2018 at 10:30 AMDiwan – Till 9:00 PMCommemorating Diwan Todar Mall Ji and MotiMehra Ji:Sikh history has so many martyrs whose namesand sacrifices are going into oblivion. Two suchnames areDewan Todar Mall Ji and Moti Mehra JI .We atScarborough Gurdwara Sahib are commemoratingthese gems of Sikh history on December 30, 2018as per the following program:Star t Akhand Paath – Friday , December 28,2018 at 10:00 AMBhog Akhand Paath – Sunday , December 30, 2018at 10:00 AMDiwan – Till 9:00 PMPlease plan to attend all the above programs withyour family and friends and get the blessings ofGuru.

BRAMPTON TRANSIT TO OFFER FREE RIDES AND EXTENDEDSERVICE ON NEW YEAR’S EVEBRAMPTON, ON – Brampton Transit will offer free rides across its network star ting at 7 pm on December 31 until the end of service.Brampton Transit will also run extended service on the following routes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 14, 15, 18, 23, 29, 30, 31, 35, 50, 51,52, 53, 54, 57, 60, 501 and 502.Routes 6, 8, 29, 31, 35, 51, 52, 53, 54, 57 and 60 will operate until 1:30 am on January 1.For route and schedule information, call 905.874.2999 or visit www.bramptontransit.com.For real-time next bus information, visit nextride.brampton.ca on your smartphone or other mobile device.For other trip planning tools, visit www.triplinx.ca or Google Maps.For more information on what's happening in Brampton on New Year's Eve, visit www.brampton.ca/nye.



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2018 i n d i a

35 LAKH GAS CONNECTIONS GIVEN TO WOMEN

OF ODISHA, SAYS PM MODI‘RACE TO THE BOTTOM’

ARUN JAITLEY’STAKEDOWN OF CONGRESS

OVER GST BARBS

PM Narendra Modi releases Rs 100 commemorativecoin in memory of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Days after the Goods and Services Tax Council agreedto lower rates for nearly two dozen items, FinanceMinister Arun Jaitley on Monday delivered a stingingrebuttal to the Congress that has sharply criticised thegovernment for its implementation of the new indirecttax system and what it has called are, the high taxrates. In his comeback, Jaitley underscored that thetax rates under GST were much lower than the 31 percent “Congress legacy of indirect tax”.“Those who oppressed India with a 31% indirect taxand consistently belittled the GST must seriously in-trospect. Irresponsible politics and irresponsible eco-nomics is only a race to the bottom,” Jaitley wrote ina blog, ‘Eighteen Months of the GST’.“We transiently put them in the 28% slab. As the rev-enues kept increasing, we star ted bringing down therates. Most of the commodities have seen tax reduced,”he said. Jaitley hinted that the country may eventuallyhave a single standard rate of GST through merging of12 and 18 per cent slabs, adding that the 28 per centslab will soon be phased out, except in case of luxuryand “sin goods”. Over the weekend, the GST Councilhad cut tax rates on about two dozen items to reducethe number of items taxed at the highest slab of 28 percent. Jaitley, who had overseen introduction of the newtax regime that Congress president Rahul Gandhi re-fers to as the Gabbar Singh Tax, said he believed thatthe tax rate would eventually come down.“A future roadmap could well be to work towards asingle standard rate instead of two standard rates of12 per cent and 18 per cent. It could be a rate at somemid-point between the two. Obviously, this will takesome reasonable time when the tax will rise signifi-cantly,” Jaitley said in a Facebook post.

‘The laying of the foundation stone ofa gas pipeline from Paradip toHyderabad -being set up at aprojected cost of Rs 3,800 crore andanother pipeline from Angul toBokaro in Jharkhand at a projectedcost of Rs 3,437 crore under the UrjaGanja Yojana...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate projects wor th over Rs14,500 crore during a day-long visit to Odisha on Monday.Apar t from inaugurating projects related to health, higher education,road and highways, PM Modi will also inaugurated the 100-beddedESIC hospital in Bhubaneshwar. The hospital has been built at a costof Rs 73.5 crore.The PM will also inaugurate IIT Bhubaneshwar’s new campus. Hewill also lay the foundation stone for the Indian Institute of Scienceand Education Research campus (IISER) in Berhampur. This projectis estimated to cost Rs 1,583 crore.The laying of the foundation stone of a gas pipeline from Paradip toHyderabad -being set up at a projected cost of Rs 3,800 crore andanother pipeline from Angul to Bokaro in Jharkhand at a projectedcost of Rs 3,437 crore under the Urja Ganja Yojana - are also on theprime minister ’s agenda today.He is also scheduled to lay the foundation stone of a six-lane stretch

on the National Highway-16 at a cost of Rs 2,200 crore and four-lanestretch of National Highway-4 between Cuttack and Angul.He will also inaugurate an archaeological museum at Lalitgiri, whichis one of the earliest Buddhist settlements in Odisha situated 120 kmnor th of Bhubaneshwar.

‘Addressing the gathering, Modisaid he would go to late primeminister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’smemorial on Tuesday to reiteratehis commitment to the ideology andpath shown by the statesman.

On the eve of Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s 94th bir th anniversary, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi Monday released a Rs 100 commemorativecoin in the memory of the former premier.Vajpayee’s long-time associate and BJP veteran L K Advani, Lok SabhaSpeaker Sumitra Mahajan, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and BJPpresident Amit Shah were also present at the event here.The former prime minister died at the AIIMS in the national capital inAugust at the age of 93 following prolonged illness.Addressing the gathering, Modi said he would go to Vajpayee’s me-morial on Tuesday to reiterate his commitment to the ideology andpath shown by the statesman. “Atal Ji wanted democracy to be su-preme. He built the Jana Sangh. But, when the time came to rescueour democracy he and others went to Janata Par ty. Likewise, whenthe choice was between remaining in power or comprising on ideol-ogy, he left Janata Party and formed the BJP,” the prime ministersaid. He said while for some, power is oxygen and they cannotlive without it, Vajpayee spent a long par t of his career in theopposition benches raising issues of national interest.The late prime minister never compromised on the ideology of

the par ty, Modi said. He said, the par ty, which “Atalji built brickby brick” has become among the largest political par ties. P rimeMinister Modi said Vajpayee as a speaker was unparalleled. “Whenhe spoke, the nation spoke... when he spoke the nation listened,”he said.The mind is not ready to believe that Vajpayee is no longer alive.Though he was away from public glare for nearly a decade due to illhealth, the way people gave him a farewell on his demise showed themark he had created in people’s minds, Modi said.

PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI MONDAY RELEASED A RS 100 COMMEMORATIVE COIN IN THE MEMORY OFTHE FORMER PREMIER. (PIB WEBSITE)

‘WILL VOTE FOR PARTY THATBUILDS RAM TEMPLE’:CROWD DISRUPTS RAJNATHSINGH’S SPEECH

Slogan shouting par ticipants repeatedly disrupted thespeeches of several senior BJP and RSS leaders, in-cluding Union home minister Rajnath Singh, as theydemanded the construction of the Ram Temple in UttarPradesh’s Ayodhya.The par ticipants at the Yuva Kumbh programmeshouted down Singh, chief minister Yogi Adityanath,RSS leader Dattatreya Hosabale and others indicatingthey wanted to hear something concrete on the RamTemple issue. They were mostly affiliated to the AkhilBharatiya Vidyar thi Parishad (ABVP), the students’wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS).At least 5,500 activists had registered themselves forYuva Kumbh in Lucknow, which was held about threeweeks ahead of the Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj.Singh had to stop his speech for more than five min-utes on Sunday when the par ticipants star ted shout-ing: “Mandir jo banayega, vote usi ko jayega (Whoeverconstructs the Ram Temple will be voted to power).”Initially, the Union minister ignored the slogans butwhen they did not stop, he asked them to calm down.“Banega, banega, wahin banega (It will be constructedat the same place),” he assured the par ticipants.The Ayodhya dispute is among India’s most sensitiveand divisive political issues. Hindus believe the 16th-century mosque, Babri Masjid, was built over a templededicated to Hindu god Ram, whose bir thplace is alsoconsidered to be at the site. The mosque was demol-ished by a mob of thousands in 1992, triggering a cycleof violence and riots across India.Hindu groups, including the Bharatiya Janata Par ty’sideological mentor RSS, have called for a law or anordinance to facilitate the building of a temple at thedisputed site. The RSS has also threatened a 1992-like campaign for its construction.Talk of the government considering an ordinance or a bill toconstruct a temple in Ayodhya in the remainder of Parliament’sterm has gained momentum after the RSS’ demand.

CONGRESS-NCP FINALISE COALITION IN MAHARASHTRAMUMBAI: The Congress and the Nationalist Congress Par ty (NCP)have stitched up a coalition for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections,NCP leader Sharad Pawar told par ty workers at Gondia inMaharashtra on Sunday evening. Addressing a gathering of NCPworkers in senior par ty leader Praful Patel’s stronghold, Pawarsaid the Congress, the NCP and the Peasants and Workers Party willcontest the Lok Sabha elections as an alliance. “We have completed talks for40 seats and a decision on the remaining eight seats will be takensoon. If there is any confusion, the leaders of both par ties willsolve the problems,” Pawar said. Maharashtra Congress par ty

president Ashok Chavan told repor ters here that some pendingissues relating to sharing of seats will be cleared by par ty presi-dent Rahul Gandhi and NCP chief Sharad Pawar. Smaller partieslike the Swambhimani Shetkari Sanghatana and the communistpar ties will be accommodated in the quotas of the two par ties,sources said. Both the Congress par ties are also said to be wooingPrakash Ambedkar’s Bahujan Bharipa Mahasangh though the latter has beentold to break ties with Owaisi brothers’ AIMIM. Leaders of both the outfits say theseat-sharing exercise would be completed in the next few weeks sothat both outfits can star t process of selecting candidates.


TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2018i n d i a

CONTD. FROM PAGE 1But the 47 year-old, convinced that the ruling Hindu nationalistBharatiya Janata Par ty (BJP) will unlock India's economic potential,is par t of an army of activists seeking to propel Prime MinisterNarendra Modi to a second term in next year's general election, due tobe held by May."I am requesting you to vote for BJP and spread the word in the con-stituency," Bellam says in his phone calls to people in India whosenumbers were provided to him by the par ty. He then extols Modi'spolicies, including his flagship "Make in India" plan.Bellam and fellow BJP suppor ters also lobby their own networks inIndia, calling acquaintances, cousins and old schoolmates with thesame message.The U.S. chapter of the Overseas Friends of the BJP has some 4,000members, although its president Krishna Reddy estimates the broadernetwork includes up to 300,000 suppor ters. Many cannot travel hometo vote, so ardent BJP backers are channeling their energy into phonecampaigns and a blitz of social media messages to people in India.To be sure, this kind of campaigning may only have a modest impacton the nearly 900 million voters in India, where hot-button issuescenter on a lack of jobs for young people and distress in hear tlandfarming states because of low crop prices.Vijay Chauthaiwale, the head of the BJP's foreign affairs cell, saidModi suppor ters in 20 countries will be helping out in the campaign.Besides the United States, these include Britain, Canada, Australiaand par ts of Africa, where there are large Indian communities.But Indian-Americans, who number around four million, have per-haps the most influence. As one of the most educated and prosperousminorities in the United States, the community is admired in India - anasset the BJP has seized on."They are shocked to be getting a call from the United States," Bellamsaid of the people he phones. "We call some rural people too. Theylook at us as very successful people, so that's the good thing for us toconvince them. They think that we speak the truth."IDENTITY POLITICSU.S.-based BJP suppor ters said they back Modi because they believehe is ushering in policies that will turn India, already the world'sfastest-growing large economy, into a powerhouse.But identity politics also help explain BJP success overseas. U.S.-based suppor ters of ten have roots in the Rashtriya SwayamsevakSangh (RSS), a Hindu nationalist group that is the ideological parentof the BJP. Also helping Modi, who governed the western state ofGujarat from 2001 to 2014, is the large Gujarati community in theUnited States.Modi moved to the federal government after winning the general elec-tion in 2014 with a thumping majority, when he was widely supportedby the Indian diaspora overseas.Although he remains popular and is largely expected to win anotherfive-year term, the 2019 election will likely be tougher, with somevoters feeling let down by his campaign promise of "development forall."But there is no indication that the enthusiasm of Modi's overseas

FROM U.S. SUBURBS, 'FRIENDS OF MODI' SET TOBLITZ INDIA WITH CALLS IN RE-ELECTION DRIVE

suppor ters has waned.From his sofa in Maryland, Bellam was trying to woo voters ahead oflocal elections this month, in which the BJP lost control of three majorhear tland states to the opposition Congress par ty. But he and otherModi suppor ters already have their sights set on the general election.U.S. suppor ters will likely make around 500,000 calls next year, ac-cording to Reddy, the president of the group. Members will targetIndia's biggest states and their own hometowns, given they can cam-paign in the local language and have a good grasp of communityissues.Devesh Kapur, a political scientist at John Hopkins University whohas written two books on Indian-Americans, said calls from the UnitedStates are unlikely to change voters' minds but they could help rallysuppor t."My impression is that their effect is at the margin, and more onturnout rather than changing voting preferences per se," said Kapur.Amid the buzz around the BJP abroad, the Congress par ty, whichruled India for most of its post-independence era after 1947, is tryingto drum up suppor t from the diaspora, too.During a tour of the United States last year, Congress president RahulGandhi praised emigres as the "backbone" of India.For the 2019 election, members are asked to suppor t Congress onsocial media and speak to friends and family back home - but not tocall voters, said Sam Pitroda, the chairman of the Indian OverseasCongress Depar tment."I am not going to force you. I am not going to tell you: 'I'm great andsuccessful, listen to me.'... How can I tell some poor little farmerthat I am successful?" said Pitroda, who was an adviser to thenPrime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in the 1980s and now lives in Chi-cago. "All you can tell them is: Do you believe in freedom? Do youbelieve in inclusion? Then the Congress par ty is the party you wantto vote for."

CONTD. FROM PAGE 1"KCR's move to create a Federal front to effectively divide thecombined opposition resolve to remove the BJP governmentfrom office is aimed to help BJP, more be design than by de-fault. KCR is actually an agent of Modi-Shah combine to di-vide democratic and secular forces," senior Congress leaderAnand Sharma said in a tweet.Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi accused Rao ofdoing "politics of division" and helping the ruling BJP by pro-posing a non-Congress national front of other par ties. "If youtalk of exclusion and do not want to ally with one who wants toally with the Congress, then you are doing 'politics of division'and you want to help the ruling par ty ... I don't think, otherpar ties will get trapped in this," he said when asked about theTRS chief's proposal. Singhvi said if one wants to keep theprincipal par ty other than that in power, out of an alliance, "itbecomes clear that they want to help someone else".The Congress attack came on a day the TRS chief met hisWest Bengal counterpar t and said effor ts for a non-BJP andnon-Congress alliance will continue. He fur ther said that verysoon they will come out with a concrete plan for the nextyear's Lok Sabha elections. Rao, who met Mamata at thestate secretariat, described the meeting as a "very pleasantone" and said "discussions (on Federal Front) will continue".On Sunday, KCR had met his Odisha counterpar t and BJDpresident Naveen Patnaik, another strong regional leader.Fresh from victory in his home state Telangana, Rao is meet-ing prominent leaders to provide an alternative to the Con-gress and the BJP ahead of the 2019 election. As per an earlierofficial release KCR would go to Delhi to meet Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and later will meet BSP chief Mayawati andSP chief Akhilesh Yadav among others. "Discussions withdidi is always there. When two political leaders meet, theydefinitely discuss matters of mutual interest and matters ofnational interest. We had a very pleasant discussion. We willcontinue our discussion. There is a dialogue which I had star tedyesterday. This is a unification of forces across the nation. Imet Odisha's chief minister yesterday and today I met Didi,"Rao told repor ters. Asked about his mission on non-BJP andnon-Congress alliance, KCR said," I will continue with myeffor ts. It is the mission of KCR, I will continue with my mis-sion." With general election not very far, effor ts to cobble upties among parties have gained momentum. Among anti-BJPbloc, while some leaders like N Chandrababu Naidu andDMK's M K Stalin are trying to forge a broad coalition includ-ing the Congress, others like TRS chief and Mamata Banerjeeare strong votaries of Federal front of regional parties. MamataBanerjee whose state has 42 Lok Sabha seats has also calleda grand rally in Kolkata on January 19 of opposition par ties.Odisha has a total of 21 Lok Sabha seats while Telanganacarved out of Andhra Pradesh has 17 seats. Stalin's "Rahul-for-PM" proposal recently was not taken kindly by TMC andother par ties who advocated that leadership issue of the op-position camp should be decided after the Lok Sabha polls.

KCR LEADS NON CONGRESS NON BJPALLIANCE FOR 2019 INDIA ELECTIONS



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2018 i n d i a

Hardliners will be dealt with strictly:Rahul Gandhi tells Congress members

‘A senior Congress leader said,“Rahul Gandhi was of the opinionthat those who have tried to harm theparty or have ignored the party’sagenda must not be let off.”

Centre considering subsidy on electric vehicles, says power minister RK Singh

Congress president Rahul Gandhi gave the par ty members a mes-sage stating that while hard workers will be rewarded, hardliners willbe dealt with strictly, repor ted ANI?quoting a source.After multiple meetings with Rajasthan leaders and observers, RahulGandhi gave the final nod to the team which will be inducted as min-isters in chief minister Ashok Gehlot’s government. As many as 23MLAs are going to take oath on Monday including an MLA from alli-ance par tner Rashtriya Lok Dal. However, five ministerial ber ths arerepor ted to remain vacant.

“Congress president intends to focus on having a cabinet with a ma-jority being fresh faces. The cabinet can be summarised into a blendof the old guards with new energetic leaders from the state guard thiswill give governance a good shape,” a par ty leader said.Rahul Gandhi intends to send a message to his par ty men that anyharm to the par ty will not be ignored. Cabinet has been finalised forRajasthan and for Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh meetings areunderway with the state leaders, a source said.The message from Gandhi was loud and clear that anti-par ty activi-ties wouldn’t be tolerated, the sources added.The source said Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh are likely to fol-low Rajasthan Formula. A senior Congress leader involved in theprocess told ANI, “Rahul Gandhi was of the opinion that those whohave tried to harm the par ty or have ignored the par ty’s agenda mustnot be let off.” Congress president is also expected to soon finalisethe list for cabinet members for Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.Meanwhile, according to sources, 10 MLAs are expected to be thepar t of the cabinet in Chhattisgarh. The cabinet expansion is sched-uled for December 25 in Raipur.

‘MISSION CONTINUES’: KCR, ON FEDERALFRONT TOUR, MEETS MAMATA. DELHI NEXT

PIL in Supreme Court againstgovt’s move to authorise 10

agencies to intercept, monitorany computer

A PIL was filed on Monday in the Supreme Cour t chal-lenging the government’s notification authorising 10 cen-tral agencies to intercept, monitor and decrypt any com-puter system.The petition filed by advocate Manohar Lal Sharma seeksquashing of the government’s December 20 notification.According to the government’s notification, 10 centralprobe and snoop agencies are now empowered underthe Information Technology (IT) Act for computer inter-ception and analysis, Ministry of Home Affairs officialssaid.The 10 agencies notified under the new order are theIntelligence Bureau, Narcotics Control Bureau, Enforce-ment Directorate, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (forIncome Tax Depar tment), Directorate of Revenue Intelli-gence, Central Bureau of Investigation, National Investi-gation Agency, the Research and Analysis Wing, Direc-torate of Signal Intelligence (in service areas of J-K, Nor thEast and Assam) and Delhi Police commissioner. In hispetition, Sharma termed the notification as “illegal, un-constitutional and ultra vires to the law”.He also sought to prohibit the agencies from initiatingany criminal proceedings, enquiry or investigationagainst anybody under the provisions of the IT Act basedon the notification.The plea claimed that the notification was issued “to findpolitical opponent, thinker and speaker to control entirecountry under dictatorship to win coming general elec-tion under an undisclosed emergency as well as slaverywhich cannot be permitted within the Constitution of In-dia”. It alleged that the Ministry of Home Affairs’ “blan-ket surveillance order must be tested against fundamen-tal right to privacy”.As per the notification, the state has the right to accessevery communication, computer and mobile and “to useit to protect political interest and object of the presentexecutive political par ty”, the petition alleged.The government’s move authorising the 10 central agen-cies to intercept information from any computer had setoff a political storm with the opposition accusing theCentre of trying to create a “surveillance state”.However, the central government had said the rules forintercepting and monitoring computer data were framedin 2009 when the Congress-led UPA was in power and itsnew order only notified the designated authority whichcan carry out such action.

Supreme Court declines earlyhearing to BJP plea on stalled

Bengal rath yatrasThe Supreme Cour t on Monday declined a request by theBJP to hear its plea against the Calcutta High Cour t’sorder staying its rath yatras in West Bengal.The BJP had moved the Supreme Cour t asking for anurgent hearing on Wednesday. Turning down the request,the cour t said that the BJP’s petition would now be heardaf ter the cour t reopens on January 2.On December 22, a divisional bench of the Calcutta HighCour t had put on hold the order by a single-judge benchallowing the par ty to hold three rath yatras in the state.The BJP had planned to flag-off its first rally from thetemple town of Tarapith in Birbhum district.The BJP’s initial plan was to begin its rath yatras in thestate from December 7. Refused permission by the stategovernment, the BJP had moved the Calcutta high cour t.Af ter hearing an appeal by the BJP, a single-judge benchof the high cour t had on Thursday allowed the megaevent, to be flagged off by BJP president Amit Shah undera re-scheduled programme from December 28 to 31.However, a day later, a two-judge bench of the samecour t had stayed the cour t’s permission.Now, with the cour t refusing to hear the BJP’s request for anearly hearing, the party will not be able to take out its rath yatrabefore January 2 when the court will reopen in the next year.

‘KCR, as the Telangana chief ministerand TRS?chief is popularly known, metBiju Janata Dal chief and Odisha chiefminister Naveen Patnaik inBhubaneswar on?Sunday and is likelyto meet Bahujan Samaj Party chiefMayawati and Samajwadi Party chiefAkhilesh Yadav next .

Telangana chief minister and TRS chief K. Chandrashekhar Rao onMonday met his West Bengal counterpar t and Trinamool Congresssupremo Mamata Banerjee to discuss his plans for an alternativefront to the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Par ty (BJP)-led alli-ances.The meet came a day after KCR, as the leader is popularly known,met Biju Janata Dal chief and Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaikin Bhubaneswar.“Our dialogue will continue, very shor tly we will come out with aconcrete plan. We are discussing things... Non-Congress front ismy mission. I will continue my effor t. This is not a small matter.Wait for the right time. The dialogue continues,” KCR said aftermeeting Banerjee in Kolkata. KCR, whose TRS swept back to powerwith a resounding margin in the December 7 Telanagana asemblyelections, is also expected to meet Bahujan Samaj Par ty presidentMayawati and Samajwadi Par ty president Akhilesh Yadav in thenext three days.KCR has already entrusted the responsibilities of strengthening TRSto his son and Siricilla MLA K T Rama Rao by anointing him as theworking president of the par ty, while the former decided to focuscompletely on national politics.According to an itinerary released by the Telangana Chief Minister ’s

Office, KCR is also scheduled to perform special puja at the Kalitemple before leaving for New Delhi in the night.The TRS president would spend the next three days in New Delhi,where he would meet Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav.“Since he is visiting the national capital for the first time after theassembly elections, he will make a cour tesy call on PrimeMinister Narendra Modi. At the same time, he will also submitrepresentations to the Prime Minister on various pending issuesconcerning Telangana,” a CMO spokesman had said. Apar t fromModi, KCR will also meet several Union ministers to discussissues relating to the state and also Central Election Commissioner.

TELANGANA CM AND TRS CHIEF K CHANDRASEKHARA RAO ADDRESSING THE PRESS AFTER MEETING HIS WESTBENGAL COUNTERPART AND TRINAMOOL CONGRESS CHIEF MAMATA BANERJEE IN KOLKATA ON MONDAY

(ANI/TWITTER)

The central government is considering providing subsidy on buying electric vehicles, a move that is expected to give a big push to theirsales, Union power minister (independent charge) RK Singh has said.A committee of cabinet secretaries is likely to come up with some recommendations soon, he told Hindustan Times in an inter view.The ministry issued guidelines on December 14 for setting up charging infrastructure across the country’s major corridors.The move came against the backdrop of the government’s target of achieving full electric mobility by 2030.“We have stated that anyone is open to setting up charging stations. One doesn’t require a licence to set it up,” said Singh.“If you want to set it up, you will get connectivity on priority basis from the DISCOMs [distribution companies]. For the pricing, wementioned that we will supply electricity at the average cost of supply plus 15% subsidy,” Singh added.The government has permitted private charging at residences and offices. Public charging stations will be set up every 25km on bothsides of highways and roadways.For electric vehicles such as trucks and buses, at least one fast-charging station will be set up every 100km. Charging facilities willalso be available at bus depots and transpor t hubs within three years.In the first phase to be completed by 2021, mega cities - with a population of over 4 million as per the 2011 census - all existingexpressways and impor tant highways connected to these cities will be covered. Other big cities like state capitals and Union Ter ritoryheadquar ters will come under the second phase to be completed by 2023.


TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2018w o r l d

ORDER FOR WITHDRAWAL OF AMERICAN TROOPS FROM

SYRIA SIGNED, SAYS US MILITARYNew repor ts on Russianmeddling in 2016 US pollsshow extent much widerTwo new reports compiled for a US Senate committeeinvestigating Russian meddling in 2016 say Russianshad used an entire range of social media platforms --and not just Facebook, Twitter and Twitter -- andtargeted African Americans to help President DonaldTr ump win the White House.The repor ts are based on data turned over byFacebook, Twitter and Google and significantlyexpand the extent of the meddling that Americanshave alleged was carried out by the InternetResearch Agency, a St Petersburg company, underthe directions of the Russian government to helpTr ump win.And one of them said meddling continues. “Activeand ongoing inter ference operations remain onseveral platforms,” says a repor t cited by The NewYork Times. It was produced by New Knowledge, acybersecurity firm based in Texas, along withresearchers at Columbia University CanfieldResearch. Such as effor ts to influence Americanson the Syria conflict, in which Russia is backingPresident Bashar al-Assad.This repor t also detailed the meddling focussed onAfrican Americans, which, it said was “mostprolific” compare to effor ts targeting other communi-ties and groups. Of the 81 Facebook pages created bythe Internet Research Agency, 30 targeted African-American audiences, according the NYT repor t. Theeffor t was urge them — African Americans andsuppor ters of Bernie Sanders — to shun HillaryClinton.

WOMEN ARE ON TRACKTO EARN THE SAME ASMEN — IN 202 YEARSThe good news: The global gender gap has improved,slightly. The reality: Differences in economic oppor tu-nity, including pay between men and women, are sovast it’ll take 202 years to fully bridge them, accordingto the World Economic Forum.The group looks at several measures of equalitybetween men and women in this year’s Global GenderGap Repor t, released Tuesday. Overall genderdisparity across politics, work, health and educationimproved by less than 0.1 percent, meaning it’ll take108 years to reach parity. The economic oppor tunitygap -- based on par ticipation, pay and advancement inthe workforce -- remains the area that’ll take thelongest time to close.The figures are a tiny improvement from last year’sresults, where the gap between the achievements andwell-being of men and women widened for the firsttime in more than a decade.“What we’re seeing globally is that we don’t have anycountry that’s achieved gender equality, regardlessof level of development, region or type of economy.Gender inequality is the reality around the world,and we’re seeing that in all aspects of women’slives,” said Anna-Karin Jatfors, regional director forUN Women. She added that “202 years is too long await” for economic equity.Jatfors said governments can help spur improve-ments with equal-pay policies and investment inparental and elder care infrastructure, and byallowing women legal protections including jobsecur ity during pregnancy.There’s been “minimal progress” since last year’srepor t in measuring economic par ticipation andoppor tunity, the WEF said, with the worst-per form-ing countries mainly in the Middle East and Nor thAfrica. Only 34 percent of global managers arewomen, and income gaps have been “par ticularlypersistent,’ with 63 percent of the global wage gaphaving closed so far.

INDIAN CONSTRUCTIONWORKER IN DUBAI GETS 15YEARS IN JAIL FOR STABBINGCOLLEAGUE TO DEATHA 26-year-old Indian construction worker in the UAEhas lost his appeal against a 15-year jail term,months after he was convicted for getting drunkand stabbing to death a colleague and injuringanother fellow Indian who tried to intervene,according to a media repor t.The Dubai Cour t of First Instance convicted theaccused of premeditated murder and murder bid inOctober, the Gulf news repor ted on Sunday.The Indian national, who has not been named,stabbed to death his colleague on December, 2017,at a labour accommodation, the repor t said. Theaccused attacked the victim’s roommate as wellwhen he tried to stop him. Dubai Police’s fo rensicexaminer said the victim succumbed to severe stabwounds in the hear t and chest.The convict, who has not been named, appealed afterthe primary ruling before the appeal cour t and soughtto have a reduced jail term. However, on Sunday,presiding judge Eisa Al Sharif rejected the appeal andupheld his 15-year jail term.

‘US president Donald Trump has declaredthe jihadist group “largely defeated,” andmade the surprise decision to bring USforces home -- a move that many USpoliticians and international allies fear ispremature and would further destabilizethe already devastated region.

The order has been signed for the withdrawal of Americantroops from Syria, where they have been deployed to assist inthe war against the Islamic State jihadist group, a US militaryspokesperson said on Sunday.“The execute order for Syria has been signed,” the spokesper-son told AFP, without providing fur ther details.US president Donald Tr ump has declared the jihadist group“largely defeated,” and made the surprise decision to bring USforces home -- a move that many US politicians and interna-tional allies fear is premature and would fur ther destabilize thealready devastated region.The decision -- which was followed by another to make asignificant cut to the number of American troops in Afghanistan

-- has prompted the resignation of defence secretary Jim Mattisand US envoy to the international anti-IS coalition Brett McGurk.

US SOLDIERS DURING A COMBINED JOINT PATROL REHEARSAL IN MANBIJ, SYRIA. THE ORDER HAS BEEN SIGNEDFOR THE WITHDRAWAL OF AMERICAN TROOPS FROM SYRIA, WHERE THEY HAVE BEEN DEPLOYED TO ASSIST INTHE WAR AGAINST THE ISLAMIC STATE JIHADIST GROUP. (AP FILE PHOTO)

Tsunami hits Indonesia, nearly 400 killed, 1500 injured

‘Television images showed when thetsunami hit the beach and residentialareas in Pandeglang, dragging with itvictims, debris, and large chunks ofwood and metal.

The death toll from a volcano-triggered tsunami in Indonesia has risento nearly 400, with more than 1,500 people injured, the national disas-ter agency said Monday, as the desperate search for survivors rampedup. Hundreds more were injured when the tsunami struck, almostwithout warning, along the rim of the Sunda Strait late on Saturday.More than 3,000 coastal residents were forced to evacuate to higherground, with a high-tide warning in place until Tuesday.Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday expressed condolenceover the death of hundreds of people in the tsunami that hit Indonesiawhile offering assistance in the relief work.US President Donald Trump expressed sor row expressed sorrow overthe loss of lives in the calamity.The vast archipelago, which sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, hassuffered its worst annual death toll from disasters in more than adecade. Ear thquakes flattened parts of the tourist island of Lombok inJuly and August, and a double quake-and-tsunami killed more than2,000 people on Sulawesi island in September.Search and rescue officials used their bare hands and some heavymachinery to clear the remains of buildings on Monday. Governmentand non-government aid trickled in to Pandeglang, the worst-affectedarea on Java’s west coast.Indonesia’s disaster agency had put the death toll at 222 on Sunday,with about 850 injured and 28 people missing, but raised it to 280early on Monday. A disaster mitigation agency official in Banten prov-ince named Jhony told repor ters most victims were Indonesianholidaymakers. Dudi Dwiriadi, a district military commander, saidpersonnel and volunteers had been briefed to sweep at least 100 km(60 miles) of coastline in search of victims.The timing of the tsunami over the Christmas holiday season evokedmemories of the Indian Ocean tsunami triggered by an ear thquake onDec. 26, 2004, which killed 226,000 people in 14 countries, includingmore than 120,000 in Indonesia.Some roads remained blocked by debris and traffic, with familiesstreaming out of the area for fear of fur ther tsunamis.President Joko Widodo, who is running for re-election in April, wasscheduled to visit the area later on Monday.Television images showed when the tsunami hit the beach and resi-dential areas in Pandeglang, dragging with it victims, debris, andlarge chunks of wood and metal. Many coastal residents reported notseeing or feeling any warning signs, such as an ear thquake, on Sat-

urday night before waves of 2-3 metres (6-10 feet) washed ashore.Yuni, a resident of Lampung in Sumatra, was watching television athome when she heard the water coming.“I heard a rumbling sound and I thought it was the wind. After I openedthe door, water came in quickly and dragged me out. When I sawoutside, the sea was receding. I decided to run and go as the watercame again for the second time,” she said.Roman, a resident of the area who operates tours to Anak Krakatau,said by text message the weather had been fine when the wavesstruck, although residents had become wary of the rumbling volcano.He said many others had taken refuge in his elevated village of TahuraCarita, which is about 100 metres from the sea. Evacuees were rely-ing on instant noodles, he said.Heavy equipment was being moved in to help with rescue effor ts, aswell as water and sanitation equipment. The military said it was de-ploying troops to distribute aid and blankets, as well as sending inmedics.The western coast of Banten province in Java, Indonesia’s most popu-lated island, was also badly hit, said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokes-man for Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency.At least 48 people were repor ted dead in Lampung in southern Sumatra,he said.With the exact cause of the disaster still unknown, authorities werewary of the risk of a recurrence. Public works minister BasukiHadimuljono said emergency operations would be carried out con-tinuously but “would stop at the first sign of possible high tides”.Television footage showed how the tsunami washed away an outdoorstage where Indonesian rock band Seventeen was per forming forhundreds of guests at an end-of -year par ty for state utility companyPLN. At least four band members and suppor t crew were killed, leadsinger Riefian “Ifan” Fajarsyah told followers in a tear ful Instagramaccount. The band’s drummer was among the missing.

DESTROYED BOATS ARE SEEN AFTER A TSUNAMI HIT AN AREA NEAR CARITA IN PANDEGLANG, BANTEN PROVINCE,INDONESIA, ON DECEMBER 24. (REUTERS)



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2018 w o r l d

Al Qaeda plotting plane attacks in EuropeUK Security Minister Ben Wallace

‘The rise of the Islamic Stateovershadowed the Al Qaeda threat inrecent years -- particularly after its mostprominent leader, Osama bin Laden, wastaken down by the US forces in Pakistan’sAbbottabad in 2011.

DONALD TRUMP SAYS DISCUSSED ‘HIGHLY COORDINATED’SYRIA PULLOUT WITH TURKEY PRESIDENT ERDOGAN

A “resurgent” Al Qaeda is looking to carry out terror attacks on pas-senger planes and airpor ts, UK Security Minister Ben Wallace haswarned following the widespread chaos at the country’s Gatwick Air-port over multiple drone sightings that triggered security concernsand led to numerous flight cancellations.In an interview with British newspaper The Sunday Times, Wallacesaid Al Qaeda -- the group behind the World Trade Centre attacks thatkilled almost 3,000 people in the US on September 11, 2001 -- “stillaspires for aviation attacks” and was developing technology to bringdown airliners. “The aviation threat is real. Al Qaeda have reorga-nized. They are pushing more and more plots towards Europe andhave become familiar with the new methods,” he said.The rise of the Islamic State overshadowed the Al Qaeda threat inrecent years -- par ticularly af ter its most prominent leader, Osama

bin Laden, was taken down by the US forces in Pakistan’s Abbottabadin 2011.But Wallace said the danger had never truly diminished. “Al Qaeda satquietly in the corner and tried to work out what the 21st century lookedlike while IS became the latest terrorist boy band.”“But they have not gone away,” he said.Al Qaeda and its affiliates are now active in Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen,Libya and other countries in the Middle East under a new generationof leaders. Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden’s former deputy, isstill its spiritual head.Wallace said improvements in airport security meant ter rorists wereless likely to smuggle explosive through terminal security systems.“They have explored other ways of getting bombs on planes. We’vetalked publicly about an insider threat issue. If you can’t get in thefront door, you’re going to try to get in the back door,” he told theTimes. Wallace said British intelligence chiefs were concerned aboutUS President Donald Tump’s decision to pull out troops from Syriaand said that it will create a “new safe haven for Islamists to launchattacks on the West”. SpaceX launches US Air Force’s

most powerful GPS satellite

Donald Tr ump said Sunday he had discussed Syria and “the slow& highly coordinated pullout of U.S. troops from the area” in aphone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.The US president tweeted that the two leaders had “a long andproductive call,” and also discussed the Islamic State group (IS)and “heavily expanded trade.”Trump shocked US allies on F riday when he announced plansto pull the 2,000 US troops out of Syria, where they have beenhelping coordinate a multinational fight against IS. But the movewas lauded by Turkey.The decision followed an earlier Trump phone call with Erdogan,who has been pressing for a US withdrawal.An American pul lout would al low Turkish troops to move

against the hardened Kurdish fighters in Syria deemed terror-ists by the Ankara regime -- but who have strongly suppor tedUS effor ts there.A US withdrawal, said Mutlu Civiroglu, a Kurdish affairs ana-lyst, “will open way for Turkey to star t its operations againstthe Kurds, and a bloody war will begin.”Tr ump’s sudden decision sparked turmoil in his administra-tion, prompting the resignation of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis,as well as of Brett McGurk, the special envoy to the anti-IS coa-lition. Several US politicians of both par ties rejected Tr ump’s claimthat the jihadist forces of IS had been defeated, and many in the USmilitary expressed alarm and dismay at the thought of suddenlyabandoning their Kurdish allies.

SpaceX has launched the US Air Force’s most powerful GPSsatellite ever built.A Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida,on Sunday, hoisting the satellite into orbit.The satellite was supposed to soar Tuesday but rocket con-cerns and then weather delayed the flight.Heather Wilson, secretary of the Air Force, says this next-generation GPS satellite is three times more accurate thanprevious versions and eight times better at anti-jamming.It’s the first in a series and nicknamed Vespucci after the15th-century Italian explorer who calculated Ear th’s circum-ference to within 50 miles (80 kilometers).Lockheed Mar tin developed the advanced GPS technologyand is building the satellites at a facility near Denver.Sunday’s launch was Space X’s 21st and final launch of theyear, a company record.

EX-PAK PM NAWAZ SHARIF GIVEN 7 YEARSJAIL TERM IN CORRUPTION CASE

ISLAMABAD: An anti-corr uption cour t in Pakistan on Mondaysentenced ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to seven yearsin jail in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills graft case, but acquitted himin the Flagship Investment case.Three cases — Avenfield proper ties case, Flagship Invest-ment case and Al-Azizia Steel Mills case — were launchedagainst the Sharif family by the National Accountability Bureau(NAB) on September 8, 2017, following a judgment by the Su-preme Court that disqualified Sharif in the Panama Papers casein July last year.Accountability Cour t II Judge Muhammad Arshad Malik onMonday announced the shor t verdict in the two corruption casesagainst the Sharif family, after reserving the decision on De-cember 19. Judge Malik said there was concrete evidence against the68-year-old former premier in the Al-Azizia case, and that he was unable togive the trail of the money used to set up the Al-Azizia SteelMills in Saudi Arabia by his family in 2001 and later on, the HillMetal Establishment also in Saudi Arabia.

Kangana Ranaut: Actors are overrated! Never really identified with

being an actress, it’s not my calling, direction is

Farhan-Shibani, Arjun-Malaikamake it family official at Ritesh

Sidhwani’s Christmas bash

VIRAT KOHLI PRAISES WIFE ANUSHKASHARMA'S PERFORMANCE IN 'ZERO',

GETS TROLLED IN RETURN

KEEMO PAUL IS LIFTED BY HIS TEAM-MATE AS WEST INDIES CELEBRATE A WICKET.

A NEW PHOTO OF BOLLYWOOD MOVIE ‘SIMMBA’ CO-STARS RANVEER SINGH AND SARA ALI KHAN. THIS MUCH AWAITED MOVIE IS RELEASINGWORLDWIDE THIS FRIDAY 28TH DECEMBER 2018.

'Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi', is one movie that has been innews ever since it was announced. The movie, not just celebratesKangana Ranaut's entry into the period film genre but also marks thenational award winner's directorial debut.The shooting of 'Manikarnika' began with Krish Jagarlamudi as thedirector. But since the shooting took more time than was anticipated,he moved on to his next project, which is the NTR biopic. The leadactress then took over the mantle of direction. She also re-shot somepor tions of the film again af ter assuming the role.Talking about the experience of directing her first feature film, Kanganasays, “I always wanted to direct films. These days, you generallyhear of directors wanting to be actors, and not the other way around.Even those actors who direct don’t really do it full-time. They feel thatthey have got a cer tain amount of acclaim and popularity as actors,so why should they give that up and only direct films. It may soundstrange, but I have never really identified with being an actress. It’snot my calling, direction is.” She went on to elaborate on how com-for table she felt being a director, “It’s actually surprising even to me

how comfor table I feel being a director on set, even when I am sweat-ing buckets and am surrounded by 500 people and everyone’sscreaming at the same time! There’s something about directing a filmthat’s so gratifying, even though it’s a worker’s life. An actor is justone par t of the whole orchestra of filmmaking and it kind of makes mefeel inadequate, that I am not doing enough as a creative person”.“It’s not that I don’t want to act in films with other directors — I amdoing Ashwiny’s (Iyer Tiwari) Panga and Prakash’s film (Kovelamudi,called Mental Hai Kya) right now. I like acting, but I always felt a par tof me was dying somewhere because I wasn’t being utilised totally. Ifelt like a par t of me was rotting away because I wasn’t being able toexpress myself as a director. When I was just an actor on this film, Ididn’t know what was happening with the rest of the film and it wasfrustrating. A lot of mishaps happened on set… I injured myself sev-eral times, I broke my forehead and I was worried about how I wouldtake this forward as an actor. But when I got down to directing, therewas no pressure… there were only goals. For me, the director is thehero of a film and directing is my first love,” she added.

Out of the most happening events in the very recent past, one was RiteshSidhwani’s Christmas bash. This par ty became the place where couples(Farhan Akhtar-Shibani Dandekar and Arjun Kapoor-Malaika Arora) whowere in hiding made their relationship official in front of their family whilethe media snapped them.It was attended by Bollywood who’s who, including Arjun Kapoor andRanveer Singh (who by the way have come face-to-face after a reallylong gap). Sidhar th Malhotra, Mouni Roy, Anil Kapoor, Shweta BachchanNanda, Ayan Mukerji, Karan Johar, Twinkle Khanna came solo whileAngad Bedi arrived with his wife Neha Dhupia, Ananya Pandey camewith papa Chunky Pandey, siblings Tusshar and Ekta Kapoor arrived,Kedarnath director Abhishek Kapoor with his wife Pragya Yadav Kapoormade way, Sohail Khan arrived with his kids Nirvaan Khan and YohanKhan, Atul Agnihotri arrived with Alvira Khan Agnihotri and Arbaaz Khancame with his girlfriend Giorgia Andriani. Just like Arbaaz-Giorgani, ArjunKapoor and Malaika Arora dropped in with Arjun’s uncle Sanjay Kapoor,who was excited for his niece Sonam Kapoor ’s wedding earlier this year.

Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma is one lucky woman to have foundher husband in Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli, who is her all-timecheerleader and a great support. Anushka too does the same for him, butthis time it was Virat’s turn to praise the actress’ recent release Zero.He wrote, “Saw @Zero21Dec and loved the enter tainment it brought. Ienjoyed myself. Everyone played their parts well. Loved@AnushkaSharma performance because I felt it was a very challengingrole and she was outstanding.”The much-awaited movie which also stars Shah Rukh Khan and KatrinaKaif, released on December 21st and has received a mixed, mostlylukewarm response from the critics and audiences alike.

INDIA'S SQUAD FOR ODISERIES AGAINST AUSTRALIA

AND NEW ZEALANDVirat (Capt), Rohit (vc), KL Rahul, Shikhar, Rayudu, DK,Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (WK), Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep

Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravindra Jadeja, BhuvneshwarKumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Khaleel Ahmed,

Mohammed Shami

INDIA'S SQUAD FOR T20ISERIES AGAINSTNEW ZEALAND

Virat(Capt), Rohit (vc), KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan,Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Kar thik, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni(WK), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav,

Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah,Khaleel Ahmed


TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2018b o l l y w o o d

M O V I E R E V I E W

SHAH RUKH KHAN BLASTS OFF INTO A

VERY STRANGE SPACE

'WE SHOULD BE WARY OF DOING ATRIAL ON ANY SUCH COMMENT':

ASHUTOSH RANA EXPRESSESSOLIDARITY WITH NASEERUDDIN SHAH

CAST: SHAH RUKH KHAN, ANUSHKA

SHARMA, KATRINA KAIF

DIRECTOR: AANAND L RAI

RATING:

Babita Kumari storms out of her bathtub. The movie star is late for apublic appearance and has decided to go as is, alarming her handler whofrantically interjects, asking about her clothes, hair and makeup. Shesticks to her t-shir t and boxer shor ts, wears her hair down, and thendeclares herself so fair she doesn’t need to care about makeup. Theheroine is a hot mess, and played as she is by Katrina Kaif, there’s theheft of honesty to the line about her complexion. India would let a fair-skinned girl get away with murder — or at least lipsticklessness. Zero isa film about preconceived notions.One of Babita’s biggest fans is Bauua Singh, a man from Meerut whoshowers the movie screen with banknotes and yells, “Bring on all threeof your Khans, here I stand meri jaan.” Shah Rukh Khan — one of thethree Khans Bauua challenges — plays this coarse and cocksure dwarf,defined by defiance. His outlook is devil-may-care because he believesgod has already done his worst.Directed by Aanand L Rai, Zero is for those who don’t fit in. It is a strangefilm, one that lets Shah Rukh Khan do what he does best — by way ofswooning over ture — but also a film that takes him where we wouldn’texpect. Zero becomes odder and odder as it goes along, and while theend is impossible to take seriously, the entire film is meant to be a fable.Even in the movies, it is the misfits who stand out.Like too many of us, Bauua Singh is bred on the movies. When told heisn’t sophisticated, he claims to have watched enough English movies tofeign class. In one scene, where Singh is bursting at the seams to breakinto a dance, he barks for a Shammi or Rishi number, neither of which theDJ has. A ballroom awaits. His entire body wriggles with anticipation, for

this Hindi movie man cannot possibly make a grand romantic gesturewithout song. His final instruction to the DJ is plaintive: play any damnKapoor song. It’ll work.Anushka Sharma plays a NASA scientist named Aafia Yusufzai Bhinder— in a nod to Malala— and she can’t help marvel at this impudent man.Singh, like Bar t Simpson, calls his father by name, and is as rude. Khan,however, renders obnoxiousness loveable, and his character ’s biggestwin with the scientist may be the lack of pity for her cerebral palsy. ToBauua, she’s a girl who didn’t give him the time of day, which astonisheshim, since everyone stares at the dwar f; his own father suggests he beused as a sideshow attraction. To her, he is a massive change from thedeference she has earned, and the overcompensating politeness sheroutinely faces due to her condition. Soon, the lady is drunk on him. Eventhe name Bauua, from her struggling mouth, sounds like a burp.There is more to this little man besides insolence. He’s magic. He looksup at the stars and swipes at them dismissively — as if toying withintergalactic Tinder — and as he counts down from 10 to nothing andwaves a finger, stationary stars turn into shooting ones. Now this isn’t atrick he can do much with, but it does dazzle his outer space lady whofears what moons this man may shatter if he so casually breaks stars.The first half of Zero is flat-out fantastic, an unabashed charm-offensivefrom Rai, Khan and the film’s writer Himanshu Sharma. The dialoguescrackle with spontaneity and inventiveness. Bauua Singh is routinelywhipped by his father (a superbly grumpy Tigmanshu Dhulia) and whenthis threat is made with the family lying under the stars, Singh asks ifhisfather now wears a belt with his boxers or if he now intends to whip himwith the naada, the elastic band holding up the shor ts. Sticks and stonesdon’t hur t this hero, though names go some way in denting him.

"Everyone has a right to share their thoughts," said filmmakerMadhur Bhandarkar while reacting to Naseeruddin Shah's re-cent comments on Bulandshahr violence incident. Bhandarkarstated that since India is a democratic country, one can ex-press his opinions. However, according to him, there is nointolerance in the country."Everyone has the right to speak. We live in a democraticcountry. I don't think there is any fear. Everyone is equal in Indiaand this is his point of view. This is the special thing about ourcountry that everyone can express their opinions. I don't thinkthere is any problem or intolerance," the 50-year-old said.Meanwhile, Bollywood actor Ashutosh Rana took sides withShah and urged that one must ponder over the statement ratherthan merely reacting on it. "Everyone should have a right toshare their thoughts with their friends or other people withoutany fear. We should be wary of reacting, acting or doing a trialon any such comment. If any of our brother or friend is sayingsomething, we should not only listen to them but must alsoponder over it," Rana said while interacting with media. "Inde-pendence stands for simplicity and gentleness and that iswhat our culture is," the actor added.Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah has been facing flak for hisrecent comment over the Bulandshahr violence incident inwhich two people including a police official were killed overrumour of cow slaughter. "At many places, the death of a cowis being given more impor tance than the killing of a police-man. I feel anxious for my children because tomorrow if amob surrounds them and asks, 'Are you a Hindu or a Muslim?'they will have no answer. It worries me that I don't see thesituation improving anytime soon," Shah had said in a videowhich sur faced on the social media earlier this week.

HERE'S WHAT SOMI KHAN HAS TO SAYON BEING EVICTED FROM BB12

The weight of Weekend Ka Vaar on Bigg Boss 12 was put on SomiKhan this week, who got evicted after reaching closer to thefinals. She, one of the famous Khan sisters, did not shy awayfrom voicing her opinion wherever necessary since day 1, evenif it meant that she would lose her friends on the journey.Somi fell a little weak post her sister Saba’s eviction from thereality show, but she tried to gather strength and keep the spiritsof the house alive till the end moment that she was a par t of theBigg Boss house.Somi always keen on par ticipating in all the tasks and had triedto win the same. Not only task, Somi was also an active memberof the kitchen team and took care of the house. Every guest thatcame in the house, always complimented Somi for looking prettyon screen. Somi’s competitive attitude and her fearlessness totake a stand for herself, had also put her against her friends. Butshe never, refrained from speaking what she thought was right.She was par t of the Happy Club, consisting of Romil, Surbhi,Deepak and her. But soon the Happy Club also crumbled underthe competition pressure and the members split. But Somi al-ways tried to attach the broken chords of their friendship. Somi’seviction saddened her friends in the house as they finally realisedthat Happy Club has finally dissolved. Commenting on her jour-ney in the Bigg Boss 12 house, Somi Khan said, “I have had afantastic journey in Bigg Boss. I feel a little dishear tened for notbeing able to make it to the finale. However, surviving so far in theshow is also an achievement for me. I am taking back a bag fullof memories with me and thank everyone for giving me thisoppor tunity and also for supporting me in my journey.”

HERE'S WHAT SOMI KHAN HAS TO SAYON BEING EVICTED FROM BB12

The weight of Weekend Ka Vaar on Bigg Boss 12 was put on SomiKhan this week, who got evicted after reaching closer to thefinals. She, one of the famous Khan sisters, did not shy awayfrom voicing her opinion wherever necessary since day 1, evenif it meant that she would lose her friends on the journey.Somi fell a little weak post her sister Saba’s eviction from thereality show, but she tried to gather strength and keep the spiritsof the house alive till the end moment that she was a par t of theBigg Boss house.Somi always keen on par ticipating in all the tasks and had triedto win the same. Not only task, Somi was also an active memberof the kitchen team and took care of the house. Every guest thatcame in the house, always complimented Somi for looking prettyon screen. Somi’s competitive attitude and her fearlessness totake a stand for herself, had also put her against her friends. Butshe never, refrained from speaking what she thought was right.She was par t of the Happy Club, consisting of Romil, Surbhi,Deepak and her. But soon the Happy Club also crumbled underthe competition pressure and the members split. But Somi al-ways tried to attach the broken chords of their friendship. Somi’seviction saddened her friends in the house as they finally realisedthat Happy Club has finally dissolved. Commenting on her jour-ney in the Bigg Boss 12 house, Somi Khan said, “I have had afantastic journey in Bigg Boss. I feel a little dishear tened for notbeing able to make it to the finale. However, surviving so far in theshow is also an achievement for me. I am taking back a bag fullof memories with me and thank everyone for giving me thisoppor tunity and also for supporting me in my journey.”

TAKE CARE OF YOUR OWN COUNTRY, WE KNOW HOW TO LOOKAFTER OURSELVES: NASEERUDDIN SHAH TO PAK PM IMRAN KHANAs Imran Khan latched on to Naseeruddin Shah's remarks to criticise Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Bollywood actor on Sundayadvised the Pakistan Prime Minister to take care of his own country.Khan on Saturday said that he will "show" the Narendra Modi government "how to treat minorities", amidst controversy over Shah'sremarks on mob violence in India.Rebuking Khan, the actor told The Indian Express, “I think Mr Khan should be walking the talk in his own country instead of commentingon issues that don’t concern him. We have been a democracy for 70 years and we know how to look after ourselves.”Shah finds himself at the centre of a major controversy over his remarks on the spate of mob lynching cases in India following the killingof a policeman in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr district earlier this month.In a video interview with Karwan-e-Mohabbat India, the veteran actor said the death of a cow was being given impor tance over thekilling of a policeman in India.He said the "poison has already spread" and it will be now difficult to contain it."It will be very difficult to capture this djinn back into the bottle again. There is complete impunity for those who take law into their ownhands...I feel anxious for my children because tomorrow if a mob surrounds them and asks, 'Are you a Hindu or a Muslim?' they willhave no answer. It wor ries me that I don't see the situation improving anytime soon," Shah added.Addressing an event to highlight the 100-day achievements of the Punjab government in Lahore on Saturday, Pakistan Prime Ministersaid his government is taking steps to ensure that religious minorities in Pakistan get their due rights, which was also a vision of thecountry's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah.



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2018 b o l l y w o o d

hollywood

YASH’S MOVIE ABOUT GOLDMINE

MAFIA BURNS BRIGHT

CAST: YASH, SRINIDHI SHETTY,

MALAVIKA ASHWIN, ANANT NAG

DIRECTOR: PRASHANTH NEEL

RATING:

M O V I E R E V I E W

Gal Gadot wraps up WonderWoman 1984, shares newphotos and a hear tfelt note

Actor Gal Gadot, who will be reprising the role of Won-der Woman in the sequel 1984, shared a few stills fromthe sets of the film as the shooting was wrapped up. Inone of the photos from Wonder Woman 1984, she isseen with director Patty Jenkins as the two discuss andprepare for shots. Gadot also wrote a long note aboutwhy she is thankful for her role and how the director hashelped her find the most creative version of herself.She wrote, “We did it. Again!! And as much as the firsttime shooting Wonder Woman was amazing, this timewas even more unique and special.. We shot in 4 verydifferent locations in 3 countries, and I’m so soooo proudof the almost 1000 crew members who came to setevery day, giving everything they have into our movie.Couldn’t ask for better par tners on this.. I’m so lucky tohave the one and only Patty Jenkins, as my director. Shealways has our backs, she gives us the wings to dare,and everyday she helped us find the most creative ver-sion of ourselves .. I am so grateful to call her my friend.And to our AMAZINGly talented cast who made everyday enjoyable and fun, thank you!”

Johnny Depp no longer part ofPirates of the Caribbean franchise,Disney producer confirmsJohnny Depp will not return as his iconic character Cap-tain Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Caribbean fran-chise, Disney’s film production chief Sean Bailey hasconfirmed. In an interview with the Hollywood Repor ter,Bailey was asked if the “Pirates...” reboot, to be writtenby Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese, could survive withoutDepp. Depp, who has played the role of Captain JackSparrow in five films across 14 years, would not be apar t of the upcoming project - set to be written byDeadpool’s Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese.He replied, “We want to bring in a new energy and vital-ity. I love the [Pirates] movies, but par t of the reasonPaul and Rhett are so interesting is that we want to giveit a kick in the pants. And that’s what I’ve tasked themwith.” Reports that Depp would not be in the reboot sur -faced in October during a red carpet interview in whichthe original film’s screenwriter, Stuar t Beattie, calledthe star’s time on the franchise “a great run”.The films have minted over USD 4.5 billion, making itthe twelfth biggest franchise of all time. The first ‘Pi-rates’ film, The Curse of the Black Pearl, hit the bigscreens in 2003, the most recent movie in the franchise,Dead Men Tell No Tales, was released in 2015

Aquaman Jason Momoa crashescouple’s wedding with a trident fora funny wedding albumActor Jason Momoa wielded his Aquaman trident to crasha couple’s wedding in Oahu. The 39-year-old actor, whowas dressed in striped board shorts, was seen playfullynudging the bride and groom with his Aquaman tridenton Friday, repor ts dailymail.co.uk.“Best wedding crasher ever! Thanks for being so awe-some!” Carina Cooper, a wedding guest, wrote onInstagram. Cooper told Us Magazine that the newlywedswere on the beach doing their wedding photoshoot dur-ing the sunset after their ceremony. Their photographernoticed the Justice League star and asked if he could‘photobomb’ the couple. Luckily, there was a boy whowas carrying the trident from the Aquaman moviewith him, so Jason asked the boy if he could use it asa prop.Momoa says he doesn’t mind being “put in a box”with his on-screen por trayals -- and is happy withthe shape of his career. “They may put me in a box,but I like the box,” Momoa told IANS in an exclusiveinterview here when asked about his previous char-acters casting a shadow on his future projects.“I like all the characters that I am playing. If I don’t likethem, then I don’t play them. Then I write somethingdifferent and direct that. I like what I am doing rightnow,” the actor added. Looking back at the making of“Aquaman”, the tall and brawny Momoa said: “The wholeexperience was amazing. I had probably one of the bestcrews I ever had. Australia was an amazing place to bein. They took care of me and I took care of them. It wasbeautiful. The only thing I could wish more was to havemy family there a little bit more.”

They say money makes the world go round; gold’s effect is not anydifferent. KGF Chapter 1 is one such story of greed and redemption. Atthe hear t of it is Kolar Gold Fields, which as per the film came intoexistence in the early 1950s. As the Cold War between the USA andUSSR pushed up the prices of gold, atrocities – including slavery –were perpetrated at the gold fields to ratchet up the gold production.Rocky (played by Yash) is the product of this environment. An orphan,he grows up to be a monster who will murder for gain. He promisedhis dying mother that he would be a rich man someday and he intendsto keep this promise. At an age when other children are playing hideand seek, Rocky is bumping off members of rival gangs in Mumbai’sunderworld.A goon and a lowlife, Rocky may not be the ideal candidate to star t arevolution against mine owners who have enslaved people but lovebrings him there.KGF, overall, is a slow burner. The plot takes its own sweet time totake shape and by the time Yash is sent to the mines on a mission, weare familiar with his past and what ticks him off. This makes usbelieve that he will eventually turn out to be one of the good guys.The first half of the film is a lot of action and powerplay as we areintroduced to the key players. The man who owns the mines an-nounces on his deathbed that his son will inherit the mines with helpfrom his uncle who has no experience in politics. Others who had hoped to be the successors fall prey to greed and thus begins the

game. Rocky has no interest in liberating people or doing good for thesociety, he is there because he wants more money. How his goalswill change eventually forms the crux of KGF Chapter 1.The film is made on a grand scale and that translates onto the screen.While a tighter screenplay would have made for better film, the narra-tion technique does try to make up for it. While this doesn’t alwayswork, Anant Nag’s narration to Malavika Ashwin does add a little bitof mystery to the proceedings.The background score for the film is promising, and actors have donea good job. However, the takeaway from the film is the editing. Notbecause it’s perfect, no. The editing is sharp and helps the film, whichwould have otherwise dragged.The visuals are consistently stunning. For instance, the bloody andraw climax takes your breath away. Another scene, which has Rockyslipping away from a crowd to set up the first step of his missionmoves fluidly. This fluidity increases the tension and the overall se-quence is crackling.KGF pits together people painted in various shades of grey. They areall trying to gain power to rule people under them – some learn alongthe way that it is better to take people along with them and earn theirundying loyalty while others want to rule using fear as their soleweapon. At the end of chapter 1, Rocky earns the loyalty. What will hedo with it and if he will bring about a change in the lives of these mineworkers is left to be seen.

RANVEER SINGH GUSHES ABOUT WIFE DEEPIKA PADUKONE, SAYS‘SHE'S SO NORMAL, IT'S ASTONISHING!’Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone areone of the most sough-after Bol lywoodcouples. They even got married in Novemberthis year, after 6 years of being in a relation-ship.Their marriage was, like expected, one of themost awaited and full of goals, especiallywith the dreamy photos of the couple at theirdestination wedding in Lake Como, Italy.Ranveer especially was quite smitten by hisladylove since a long time. He had recentlyopened up in an interview and said that hewanted to marry Deepika 3 years back.Seeing that Deepika Padukone was alreadyan established star when Ranveer Singh grewas an actor while doing 3 films with her, itwas quite interesting to know what made them bond.In Ranveer ’s own words, he revealed the same while talking to Film Companion, saying, "A part of the reason why Deepika and I wereable to connect as people the way we did was because our upbringing was very similar. In the sense, that our folks are really normalpeople, so when the work is over we go home, it's very normal and it's very simple. I think we have a suppor t system that keeps usgrounded. Both of us have been brought to be a cer tain way."He continued, "I can't say this about myself but I can tell you, she's such a simple girl. She's so normal, it's astonishing! She's like thebiggest superstar and you have to see her at home...She's just... kya bolu?"Ranveer and Deepika respect their professional space and never let it come between their personal life, the recent example of thesame was Ranveer delaying his honeymoon because his movie Simmba is going to release this Friday. That, ladies and gentlemen,are goals of being a professional.


TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2018b o l l y w o o d

Sonu Nigam: When society decides to start passing judgements,

instead of the law, there will be terror

SHAH RUKH KHAN FILM DROPS FURTHEREARNS RS 54.5 CR OVER WEEKEND

SONAM KAPOOR WISHES DADANIL KAPOOR ON HIS BIRTHDAY,SAYS THE YEAR HAS BEEN HARD

AND BEAUTIFUL FOR THEM

‘In an exclusive interview, Sonu Nigam whorecently came under fire regarding hiscomments on the MeToo movement and histake on Pakistani singers, reasons why hemade those comments, and insists he isspeaking nothing but the ‘truth’.

Singer Sonu Nigam’s comments in public often leads to controversies.Recently, the 45-year-old singer’s comments involving Pakistani sing-ers, and in the context of the #MeToo movement where he questionedSona Mohapatra, ruffled many feathers. Last year, the singer ’s tweetagainst loudspeakers, par ticularly involving early morning azaans, raisedeyebrows. In an exclusive interview, Sonu talks about these issues, andexplains his comments. Excerpts:Despite writing on Facebook, that you suppor t the #MeToo movement,your recent interview against Sona Mohapatra made everyone feel likeyou are against the opposite gender, and the movement. What made yousay those things, and would you like to make any clarifications?I wrote on Facebook that if one is not supporting the movement they mustbe an animal. I repeat that I am happy that a movement like #MeToo hascome up. Ab aadmiyo ki fategi. They will think 100 times before evenapproaching someone, and yes it was a needed movement. But you don’thave the right to ban someone, punish someone, ya usko job se nikaldiya – that is something I said is not right. The law has to do that, and I amtelling you the day society decides to star t passing judgements, insteadof the law, there will be terror in society. Any good country has to followthe law of the land. You can’t be selective.What do you mean being selective?Ek taraf aap TV?mein ek aadmi, ek singer ko dekhte hain openly smoochkar raha hai. Aur aapne kuch nahi kiya usko. Kuch nai bola uske against.Kyun, who ladki ladki nahi hai kya? Is she less of a woman? So whereare these so called saviours of society? In this case you have evidence,even then you didn’t say anything. And in the case where there’s noevidence, you want that person to not get any job in future? How is thatjustified? What kind of world are we living in? Thik hai, you abuse thatperson, you ignore them and everything, but you cannot take away hisright to earn a living, can you?So you are saying you are against the ‘actions’ Sona has asked for?Which society allows the common man to decide someone’s quantum ofpunishment? Akhlaq ka murder (Dadri mob lynching of 2015) kyun hua?Because common man believed that he had beef and he was killed over

it. That’s what happens if you allow common man to star t deliveringjudgments. Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying you shouldn’t raise yourvoice. You should accuse a person, no matter how big or small theirstature. You have said Kailash Kher can’t do a show. Fair enough. Butthen you are writing letters to Arvind Kejriwal. Why is she doing that?Who gives her the right to decide that a singer cannot do a show? Thenwhat’s the difference between you and Islamic terrorists? This is a kindof terrorism that you are deciding who works with whom?Sona had an issue when you referred to her as a ‘friend’s wife’. What areyour thoughts on that?If I know a person, a wife through a friend, that’s how I will refer to her na?Sona is not my friend. Ram Sampath is my soul brother. I know herthrough Ram. So I called her my friend’s wife. She cannot call me Madhu’shusband or Neevan’s father, because she is not close to either of them. Ididn’t know that wife was a wrong word. I found out today it’s a shamefulword. We were in the wrong school. Our parents taught us wrong. Humarima to galat thi. Humare papa ki wife banke galti kar di unhone.Your recent comments on Pakistani singers too seemed to upset people?I was asked a question about business. It’s a simple thing. Indian singershave to pay money [to music companies]. If music companies are help-ing them grow big, they deserve to ask for a share. What I was sayingwas that Pakistan singers don’t have to do that. But, if you are askingIndian singers for money then Pakistani singers should also be givingthat, because they are also singing for you only na? And I had joked thatI wish I was born in Pakistan. People took it in some other context. I havebeen saying for the last 25 years we cannot ban them, and everyone wassaying they should be banned. [But] Hum itne tang dil nahi ho sakte kihum unhe ban kar dein.Your comments have been upsetting people. Your tweets regarding azaanand loudspeakers were interpreted as hating Muslims?I am against loudspeakers. People interpreted it as I am against azaanand a common Muslim thought I am against their religion. No, I amagainst the loudspeakers and the wrong timing of it. People tell me butyou also use loudspeakers for your shows. But I take permission fromthe authorities for it right? And we stop it after 10pm. I can’t put a loud-speaker at my home and tell people to listen to me all day long? Ifsomeone puts up a loudspeaker at my place, which plays my mother’slullaby every morning – I don’t even want that. I hope that makes it clearthat I am against the loudspeaker and not the religion or people whopractice that par ticular religion.How do you feel at getting entangled in these controversies? Do youregret making such comments in public?Throughout history, you will see that people who talk differently and speak nothingbut the truth are targeted. You look at Socrates or Galileo. Even now, look at JavedAkhtar saab for example. I think he speaks the truth, and says things from a logicalperspective. But, he too gets a lot of flak. That doesn’t mean they are wrong.So what exactly is your perspective on all these controversies around you?I am a man of love, and I will speak in that language. I believe everyonehas to be kind. You cannot be hard. You have to be kind to each other. Evenwhen someone is wrong. I will not shy away if I am being asked aquestion. I will answer it truthfully. The day I know I speak wrong, I willshut up automatically about it.

Zero box office collection failed to lift up over the weekend with theShah Rukh Khan, Anushka Sharma and Katrina Kaif film earning Rs54.5 crore during the first weekend, as repor ted by Box Office India.Disappointingly, the film failed to even reach its Friday figures – Rs20.14 crore – on Saturday and Sunday.The box office aggregator reported Zero’s collections over the firstweekend as – Rs 20.14 crore on Friday, Rs 18.22 crore on Saturdayand Rs 18.25 crore on Sunday. The Aanand L Rai film was a holidayrelease and enjoys an extended window – with Christmas on Tues-day. However, the film will face stiff competition from Ranveer Singh,Sara Ali Khan-starrer Simmba this coming Friday.According to analysts, trade was expecting a Rs 30 crore openingwith the film increasing its tally over the weekend and on Tuesday.The film has been repor tedly made on a Rs 200 crore budget. Ascompared to earlier Shah Rukh Khan films, Zero’s box office per for-mance over the weekend is comparable to Fan but better than JabHarry Met Sejal.The film has not performed well internationally as well, where SRK isperhaps the biggest crowd puller. In most of the ter ritories, Zero has

emerged as the fifth highest opener behind Padmaavat, Race 3, Sanjuand Thugs of Hindostan.Shah Rukh Khan’s film has underper formed at the box office given thehigh expectation from the all-star vehicle. Trade analyst Taran Adarshhad earlier shared about the film’s per formance on Friday and Satur-day.“#Zero slips on Day 2... Biz should’ve witnessed solid growth on Day2 after an underwhelming Day 1, but is struggling at the BO... Declineon Day 2 [vis-à-vis Day 1]: 9.53%... F ri 20.14 cr, Sat 18.22 cr. Total: ?38.36 cr. India biz,” he wrote, explaining the box office trend for Zeroon Saturday.“#Zero has underperformed on Day 1, despite extensive release [4380screens] + #Christmas vacations... Sat and Sun biz extremely cru-cial... Fri ? 20.14 cr. India biz,” he had written earlier.In comparison, Kannada film KGF is doing well in its Hindi dubbedversion. “#KGF witnesses an upward trend on Day 2 [Sat]... Bizshould grow fur ther on Day 3 [Sun]... Growth on Day 2 [vis-à-vis Day1]: 42.86%... F ri 2.10 cr, Sat 3 cr. Total: ? 5.10 cr. India biz. Note: HINDIversion,” he had shared.

Actor Sonam Kapoor on Monday wrote a note on the occa-sion of her father Anil Kapoor ’s birthday and shared it onsocial media. The actor noted that it was a momentousyear for the both of them as Sonam got to share screenspace with her father for the first time in her career andAnil saw his daughter getting married.She wrote, “Happy happy bir thday Dad... this has been amomentous year for both of us. For the first time in 10years of being in this industry I shared a frame with youand was your costar.. And you also had to see me getmarried.. all this was a complete roller coaster... hard andbeautiful at the same time.. I’m thankful for the teachingsof love, progressive ideals and morals that have been apar t of my upbringing , and each year I realise more andmore what a gift that is in this day and age.. love you somuch... @anilskapoor #ekladkikodekhatohaisalaga.”Sonam’s sister Rhea, who was a par t of a producer’sroundtable recently, revealed that Anil took an year to ac-cept a father’s role in Dil Dhadakne Do. She explained,“His thing was, ‘If I’m playing a father, I’m playing thebest father in the world’.”Sonam and Anil’s Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga alsostars Rajkummar Rao and Juhi Chawla in lead roles. Ac-cording to a recent report in Times Now, the film is abouta father who reveals his love story to his daughter andseeks her understanding. The title of the film is from Anil’sfilm 1942: A Love Story, in which he sings this song aboutManisha Koirala. Anil Kapoor will also be seen in KaranJohar’s directorial Takht, for which the actor was asked togain weight. About this, he said to his daughter Rhea,“Karan wants to destroy my career”. Takht also starsRanveer Singh, Vicky Kaushal, Kareena Kapoor, BhumiPednekar, Janhvi Kapoor and others.

FILMS MIGHT TAKE A WHILEBUT I WON’T GO SLOW, SAYS

NEHA DHUPIA

Neha Dhupia says doing films would take a while as shedoes not know what her character would require her to doin terms of the look. The actor welcomed baby girl, Mehrlast month with husband Angad Bedi.“If I have to mould myself into a cer tain character, it couldbe a little while before I could commit myself to it. I don’tknow physically what the character will expect out of me.I have worked through all shapes and sizes. “I was preg-nant when I did ‘Roadies’ and am coming back for a newseason after becoming a mother. But for me to play a par t,something like a ‘Tumhari Sulu’, I need to be there physi-cally 100 per cent. But I won’t go slow. I want to be a mom,be on stage, do everything,” Neha told PTI.The actor recently began shooting for the 16th season ofthe MTV adventure reality show Roadies.Neha, 38, saysthough it is good to get back to work, she had to overcomethe guilt of leaving her daughter at home.“It feels great but initially you are struck only with guilt,the kind you have never known before. You constantly feel‘Oh my God what is my child doing?’ “When you are withyour child you are like I must cope up with work, becauseI am a workoholic. The balance is extremely impor tant.”The actor says it is important to move past the guilt. “Thereare constant reminders you give yourself that just be-cause you are going to work doesn’t mean you love yourchild less. A mother who decides to be at home aftergiving bir th is as beautiful a mother as the one who de-cides to work. I have had the luxury to take her with mewherever I go. I will work around it,” she said. The themefor the latest edition of Roadies is about hailing real-lifeheroes by giving them a chance to be a part of the series,Roadies Real Heroes. Auditions star t from January.



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY


10songsKAMARIYA STREE

PROPER PATOLA NAMASTE ENGLAND

CHOGADA LOVERATRI

URVASHI URVASHI

KAMARIYA MITRON

MORNI BANKE BADHAAI HO

DILBAR SATYAMEVA JAYATE

MERE NAAM TU ZERO

AKH LAD JAAVE LOVEYATRI

DEKHTE DEKHTE BATTI GUL METER CHALU

top

SONG

MIDWEEK HIT OR FLOPZERO 59.7 CRORE

KGF 9.2 CRORE

KEDARNATH 60.85 CRORE

2.0 ( HINDI) 170 CRORE

THUGS OF HINDUSTAN 143 CRORE

MIDWEEK BOX OFFICE2.0 ( HINDI) SUPER HIT

THUGS OF HINDUSTAN ( HINDI) FLOP

BHAIAJI SUPERHIT FLOP

FANTASTIC BEASTS 2 AVERAGE

BADHAAI HO SUPER HIT

b o l l y w o o d

FILM

1 MERE NAAM TUZERO

Chhapaak: Deepika Padukone reveals details ofnext film with Meghna Gulzar, Vikrant Massey

SALMAN KHAN TO LAUNCHMAHESH MANJREKAR’S DAUGHTER

ASHWAMI IN BOLLYWOOD

ANIL KAPOOR MAKES DAUGHTER RHEA MIMICKAREENA KAPOOR AND IT’S HILARIOUS

‘Deepika Padukone made a formalannouncement about collaboratingwith Meghna Gulzar on herproduction, Chhapaak, which willfeature her as an acid attack survivorfrom Delhi, Laxmi Agarwal.

Post her wedding to Ranveer Singh and all the par tying, it is back towork for Deepika Padukone. The actor has formally announced thather next film is Chhapaak, which will be directed by Meghna Gulzarand will star Vikrant Massey. The actor tweeted on Monday, “A storyof trauma and triumph. And the unquashable human spirit. Elated tocollaborate with Fox Star Studios on #Chhapaak @meghnagulzar@masseysahib @foxstarhindi.”The actor had taken some time off after Padmaavat. Later, her filmwith Vishal Bhardwaj opposite Ir rfan Khan was postponed as theactor was diagnosed with cancer and left for London for his treatment.The film is based on the life of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwalfromd Delhi and Deepika will olay her onscreen. Deepika will alsoproduce the film, af ter being moved by Laxmi’s story, a repor t in

Mumbai Mirror said.“When I heard this story, I was deeply moved as it’s not just one ofviolence but of strength and courage, hope and victory. It made suchan impact on me, that personally and creatively, I needed to go be-yond and so the decision to turn producer,” Deepika told MumbaiMirror.In September this year, in an interview with Hindustan Times, Laxmispoke about her struggle as a single mother, lack of a job and the fearof being evicted from her two-room rented accommodation in Delhi’sLaxmi Nagar. The story is said to have moved actor Akshay Kumar somuch that he transfered Rs 5 lakh to her immediately.Speaking about it, Laxmi said: “I can’t express how I feel... my daugh-ter and I are not alone. I have got more than 200 calls since the storypublished. Many have written to me on social media, wanting to sendhelp.”“A man deposited Rs 10,000 in my account at 2am last night; anothersocial media user from Kashmir who didn’t want to be named sentme Rs 15,000. A journalist sent Rs 16,000. In all, I have receivedaround Rs 50,000 through social media so far and a number of peopleare asking for my account number.”

The next episode of Karan Johar’s popular chat show Koffee WithKaran will have siblings Rhea, Harshvardhan and Sonam Kapoor onthe couch. The three are seen speaking mostly about their father AnilKapoor and how he stands in front of the mirror every morning andtells himself, “I am killing it.” Karan fur ther adds that no one reallyunderstands what Anil Kapoor is all about. To this Rhea says, “He justwants to be the best!”The first promo of the episode was released on social media on Mon-day and producer Rhea seems to the most enter taining of the threesiblings. Anil Kapoor sends a message for Karan, in which he says,“Karan, you should definitely ask Rhea to mimic Kareena.”

We then see Rhea mimicking the Veere Di Wedding actor and has theothers on the couch burst out laughing. Rhea had produced Veere, oneof the big blockbusters of 2018 starring her sister Sonam, Kareena,Shila Talsania and Swara Bhasker in lead roles.Recently, Rhea Kapoor was also a part of a roundtable discussionwith other producers where Karan was also present and the two sharedanecdotes about Anil then as well. Karan had confessed how Anil hadrefused to play Sonam’s father in Players and had asked Abbas-Mustan if he looked like Sonam’s father to them? Rhea had thenconfessed how her father feels Karan is out to ruin him because hewanted Anil to gain weight for the upcoming film Takht.

PRIYANKA CHOPRA IS ‘HONOURED’ TO KISS HUSBANDNICK JONAS, THE MOST STYLISH MAN ON THE PLANETPriyanka Chopra is in a happy space in her life — after hermarriage to Nick Jonas and their many wedding receptions inIndia, she is currently in London, enjoying some quality timewith his side of the family including brother-in-law Joe Jonasand his fiancee, Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner.In the meanwhile, Nick has been voted GQ Most Stylish manand the one who is happiest is Priyanka. The actor tweeted apicture of theirs together, where she can be seen kissing Nick.Sharing the picture, Priyanka wrote: “Honoured to be kissingthe most stylish man on the planet.. may the style Godsalways shine down upon u my love #gqmoststylishman@nickjonas.”Nick shared a childhood picture of his -- along with a collageof many of his latest avatars -- with a long note on how healways took his style sensibilities seriously even as a child.He also thanked his stylist Avo Yermagyan for making itpossible for him.Nick wrote: “From back then to now. I’ve been focused on onething, and one thing only... being stylish. Not just stylish...being the MOST stylish, and even though it took over 26 yearsI’m really happy to finally be recognized for this tirelesscommitment to being stylish. @gq thank you... and you’rewelcome. To my stylist @avoyermagyan thank you... andyou’re welcome. To all my fellow nominees... keep up the goodwork. May the style gods be ever in your favor next year. To thefans all over the world who voted for me please know I don’ttake this honor lightly. I will wear this stylish crown with pridein my hear t, all while in my well tailored “fits”. Happy holidayseveryone, and above all... Stay stylish.” In the recent pictures

from London, Nick and Priyanka, can be seen having dinner withSophie and Joe. Also visible is Priyanka’s mom, Dr MadhuChopra. Priyanka and Nick hosted their last reception in India inMumbai, which saw a galaxy of Bollywood stars descend at theTaj Land’s End hotel. While many stars made it to the do, it wasnewlyweds Ranveer Singh-Deepika Padukone dancing withPriyanka and Nick that stole the show. The trio danced to their hitnumbers like Galla Goodiyan and Pinga among others.

Actor Salman Khan, who has launched many a young actorincluding his brother-in-law Ayush Sharma, will be introducingactor Mahesh Manjrekar’s daughter Ashwami in films. Salmanhad also taken Mahesh’s son Satya under his wings earlier.According to a repor t in Mumbai Mirror, Manjrekar was quotedas saying, “Yes, Salman is launching my daughter. It will hap-pen in some time. We’ll cross the bridge when we get to it.” Healso said, “We have always bonded well. Salman in the mostrooted person I have come across, a complete middle-classman in his head. He knows that I am not in awe of him, and thatmakes our bond special.” He also described Salman as the‘most warm-hear ted person in the industry.”

Even big budget films need a goodscript now: Tigmanshu Dhulia

His directorial career includes National Award winning filmPaan Singh Tomar and Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster and his actingprowess was captured brill iantly in projects like Manjhi -The Mountain Man and Gangs of Wasseypur. Actor-writer -director Tigmanshu Dhulia, who is now playing the role ofShah Rukh Khan’s father in Zero, feels that even big budgetfi lms need a good script now. He also emphasised thatafter 1960s the respect for a content writer went down sig-nificantly and that must change now. “Big budget films havestar ted to face this challenge of just being big budget andloaded with stars. But even big budget films need a goodscript now. Look at Thugs of Hindostan. The stars deliveredwhat they promised because the first day collections werephenomenal. So people went to see Amitabh Bachchan andAamir Khan, but from the second day the collections sank,”he said. “So, whether it’s a big budget film or not, contentis the king. The audience is smar t and the type of thingsthat are coming up online has given a good exposure to theaudience to quality content,” Timangshu added.

TIM PAINE DEFENDS VIRAT KOHLI’S ATTITUDE, SAYS IT MAKES

THE INDIAN SKIPPER A CROWD-PULLER

Disappointed that Perth wicket was rated “average” by ICC - Starc

‘Tim Paine and Virat Kohli hadsome testy exchanges in the secondTest at Perth, which at one pointneeded the umpire to intervene.

Australia skipper Tim Paine said on Monday he is relishing his some-times heated battle with animated Indian counterpar t Virat Kohli, andpromised “intense, hard” cricket in the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne.The pair had some testy exchanges in the second Test at Per th, whichat one point needed the umpire to intervene.And Kohli offered only a frosty handshake at the end of the game,which Australia won to level the series 1-1, refusing to meet Paine’seye in a move blasted by some as disrespectful.But Paine said he appreciated that Kohli never liked to lose.“A lot was made of my battle with Virat in the second Test, and for thepast few years when I haven’t been playing international cricket, hewas one guy I loved watching,” he said in a column for Melbourne’sHerald Sun.“Now to be out in the middle going head-to-head with him in a Testseries is something I’m really relishing.”Paine said he was not annoyed “in the slightest” by Kohli lookingstraight past him at the handshake.“Virat is someone who is prepared to wear his hear t on his sleeve

and like all professional athletes, hates to lose,” he said.“I like the way Virat plays. I don’t know him personally but I’ve al-ways admired -- not only his obvious skill as a player -- but thepassion and aggression he plays with. People like to see that and hegets fans through the gates.”Kohli’s antics in Per th, where he also failed to acknowledge the crowd’sapplause after he was controversially given out in the first innings for123, brought a stunning rebuke from veteran Bollywood starNaseeruddin Shah.He described him as “not only the world’s best batsman but also theworld’s worst behaved player”, with the mass-circulation HindustanTimes saying it articulated what many Indian cricket fans had beenthinking.But coach Ravi Shastri hit back on Sunday, calling Kohli “an absolutegentleman”.Paine said he liked to play in a similar way to the Indian superstar butwas not as outward in his emotions.“We all play at this level because we love the contest and his combat-ive style and the way he backs himself is how he gets up,” he added.“My mantra as Australian captain is you have to be yourself. I know Ilead and perform better when I stay calm under pressure.”With the four-match series tied, the stakes are high for the third Teststar ting Wednesday, and Paine said he expected India to come out firing: “Ithink day one in par ticular is going to be really intense, ‘hard’ cricket.”

DALE STEYN HAS PAK IN HISSIGHTS AS HE GUNS FORLONG-AWAITED RECORD

Firebrand fast bowler Dale Steyn will seek to become SouthAfrica’s greatest wicket-taker in tests when they take onPakistan in the first match of a three-game series at Centu-rion Park in Pretoria on Wednesday.Steyn is level with former all-rounder Shaun Pollock on421 test wickets and, having played only six tests in thelast three years due to injury, has been lef t tantalisinglyclose to capturing the outright top spot on the list for sometime. With injuries to seamers Vernon Philander and LungiNgidi, Steyn is likely to be given the new ball against Paki-stan along with Kagiso Rabada on what is expected to be alively wicket in Pretoria.He will test the visiting batsman having returned to hisexpress pace of old in recent limited-overs contests, wherehe impressed against Australia last month.

OPENING POSITION ‘A BIGCONCERN’ - RAVI SHASTRI

The opening par tnership has been a point of concern for theIndian cricket team in their ongoing Test series againstAustralia and coach Ravi Shastri believes that the situationhas not changed much.“It’s a big concern,” Shastri said when he asked about thestruggles of the openers in the first two Tests.“It’s obvious and that responsibility and accountability hasto be taken by the top order. They’ve got the experience,they’ve got the exposure over these last few years to getout there and deliver. It’s about how strong you are in themind,” he added. Both Murali Vijay and KL?Rahul havefailed to fire in the two Test matches till now and withpromising youngster Prithvi Shaw ruled out of the re-mainder of the series, things are looking quite bleak.Mayank Agarwal, who performed brilliantly in the do-mestic circuit, was added to the squad as his replace-ment. When asked whether Mayank Agarwal would openthe innings in the third Test match af ter he was calledup to replace the injured Prithvi Shaw, Shastri said theteam management will take a call in the next 24 hours.“Well he’s a good young player, he’s got loads of runsfor India A. He’s come through the ranks. When you look athis domestic record, his per formances have been as goodas anyone. That’s a call we’ll have to take in the next 24hours,” Shastri said.

Tata Open: Rohan Bopanna-Divij Sharan handed top billingAsian Games gold medallist pair of Divij Sharan and RohanBopanna was Wednesday named as the top seed in themen’s doubles event of the Tata Open Maharashtra, star t-ing here December 31.Sharan, who briefly became India’s number one doublespair, and veteran Bopanna recently joined forces, keepingin mind the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.Tata Open will be theirfirst tournament together.Radu Albot and Malek Jaziri will be the second seed whilePhillip Oswald and Tim Puetz are seeded third. The team ofMarcelo Arevalo and Jamie Cerretani is seeded four th.Veteran star Leander Paes will team up with Mexico’sMiguel Angel Reyes-Varela with whom he won the SantoDomingo Challengher title and ended runner-up at Brest,Monterrey and Chicago in the 2018 season.

Australian pacer Mitchell Starc expressed his disappointment at ICC rating the Optus Stadium pitch was as “average” after Australiabeat India in the second Test by 146 runs. A few batsmen were hit in Per th, particularly during the second innings, and Starc said thatit was just good aggressive Test cricket and such ratings make it the batters’ game completely.“Just as a cricketing fan, it was a bit disappointing to see Per th pitch being rated average. I thought it was a fantastic battle betweenbat and ball, which is what you want in Test cricket,” Starc said ahead of the Boxing Day Test. “For example, playing in MCG last yearwas pretty docile and the pitch didn’t do anything. You want a contest between bat and ball so that’s going to keep Test cricket aliveand get people into the game like in Per th. It was a fantastic battle there and I thought it was a great pitch,” Starc said on Sunday.Starc agreed that cracks opened up on the last two days but flat tracks which increasingly made cricket a batsmen’s game would thenbe devoid of any contest.“Cracks did play a part but that’s what happens when a wicket is wearing on days four and five. Cricket is turning out to be a batters’game if you keep making flat wickets always. You want exciting contest between bat and ball. “When the ball is flying around andbatsmen have to play, that’s the game. Marcus Har ris batted on after being hit and batsmen from both sides got hit on shoulders butcarried on. It’s good aggressive cricket and it brings people to the game,” he added.

'We need more pitches like Perth': SachinSachin Tendulkar has rejected International Cricket Council (ICC) rating of the pitch at the Per th Stadium that made its Test debut duringthe second Test between India and Australia.ICC had rated the Per th pitch as average based on match referee Ranjan Madugalle's observations during the Test which Australia wonby 146 runs. Howeverm Sachin Tendulkar insisted that wickets like the one that was used in Per th were needed in order to revive Testcricket. Tendukkar also pointed out that the pitch had something for both the batsmen and the bowlers and was by no means average."Pitches play a crucial role, especially in Test cricket. In order to revive Test cricket and generate excitement, we need to provide morepitches like the one at Per th, where the skills of batsmen and bowlers are truly TESTed. This pitch was by no means "Average","Tendulkar wrote on Twitter on Sunday. The decision to rate the Per th pitch as "Average" has kicked up a storm as former cricketersMichael Vaughan, Shane Warne, and Mitchell Johnson disagreed with ICC.

Pakistan sports women demand better financial support andexposure to be on par with menProminent women sportspersons in Pakistan have demanded better financial incentives and more exposure at the domestic andinternational level on par with men.In a first of its kind development, Pakistan's top women tennis players recently wrote a letter to the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF)demanding a raise in the prize money given to them in national tournaments."How can we continue to play tennis if the women's tournaments' prize money is kept low," the letter said.The letter sent to the PTF President was signed by the likes of Ushna Sohail, Isha Jawad, Mansha Babar, Shamza Naz, Sara Mehboob,Mehak Khokhar, Sara Mansoor and Aleena Aftab.These players said, in the letter, that they were not getting a conducive environment to play and improve their per formance."Tennis is the world's most expensive spor t. First of all, we don't have a conducive environment to play tennis in the country, secondlyno female player has a future in the sport," the letter said. In a related development, a senior player of the Pakistan women's cricketteam, Javaria Khan has also called for the launch of a T20 league for women in the country on the lines of the Pakistan Super League.



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2018 s p o r t s

India vs Australia: Team India named 13 players forPerth Test to give Ravindra Jadeja time to recover

Sourav Ganguly gets a specialgift from FC Barcelona

Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly’s love for the gameof football is well-documented and on Sunday his joy knewno bounds as he was gifted a customized jersey with‘DADA’ written on it by none other than top La Liga club FCBarcelona. Ganguly was on a visit to Nou Camp and as perinformation shared by La Liga on its official Facebook page,Ganguly was presented his very FC Barcelona shir t byclub board member Oriol Tomas.Ganguly had himself earlier posted photos on Twitter ofhis visit to Barcelona along with daughter Sana. The postread: “In Barcelona .. dad and Sana ...”Ganguly is also the co-owner of the Indian Super Leagueteam ATK. The team is owned by Kolkata Games and SportsPvt. Ltd. which comprises of Ganguly, businessmenHarshavardhan Neot ia , San j i v Goenka and U tsavParekh. In the first three seasons, the team was also co-owned by Spanish La Liga club Atlético Madrid beforeGoenka bought the shares.Coming back to cricket, Ganguly, who knows a thing ortwo about the way Australian media behaves, has saidthat India can win both the Tests and that the team has thefirepower to bounce back af ter the reversal in Per th.Taking to Twitter, Ganguly wrote: “Lots of talk going aroundin media specially Australian .. watch out for india againstthis australia ..still two tests to go and india can win both..don’t go too far ahead everyone @bcci” Ganguly has alsoasked Virat Kohli and company to come up with a moreaggressive plan against Nathan Lyon and aim not to givehim any wickets in the upcoming matches.“I had thought of sending a text to Kohli but I haven’t doneit yet. I wanted to tell him that you shouldn’t give so manywickets to spinners outside the subcontinent. There is nodoubt that Nathan Lyon is a great spinner but so wereShane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan and Graeme Swann,”Ganguly was quoted as saying by India TV.“They have shown him too much respect by defending alot of deliveries outside the off-stump. Instead, I feel theyshould attack him more and look to build towards at leasta total in excess of 300-350,” he added.

The ambiguity over the sudden injury and speedy recovery of Indiaall-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has once again brought to the fore thelack of communication from the Indian team management when itcomes to injury status of players. While India coach Ravi Shastri hadhinted that Jadeja was carrying an injury coming into the tour of Aus-tralia, the real picture is that the all-rounder had aggravated an injuryon his left shoulder during the warm-up game against Cricket Austra-lia XI. Sources in the know of developments have confirmed toHindustan Times that while Jadeja was fit when he boarded the flightto Australia, an injury the spinner had sustained during the West Indiesseries came back to haunt him during the warm-up game in Australia.In fact, that was the supposed reason behind India naming 13 playersin the squad for the Per th Test as the management was hoping thatJadeja would get match-fit on the day the second Test star ted.“If you realise, the team rather than naming a 12-member squad wentahead and named 13 players for this game. It was because of theshoulder issue that Jadeja was nursing. While it is true that he had noinjury coming to Australia, the injury he sustained during the Windiesseries came back to haunt him during the warm-up game against

Cricket Australia XI. “He was given a pain killing injection to relax themuscle and help his recovery. While the doctor had said that it wouldtake 10-12 days for the player to get match-fit, the management real-ized that he was only 60-70 per cent fit on the eve of the game. With RAshwin out with injury, it was impor tant that the team waited till thetoss to decide on if Jadeja can walk into the XI. In fact, he was fit bythe second day of the Per th Test and that is why you saw him eventake the field as a substitute,” he explained.Elaborating fur ther on the injury, he said: “The loading and releasingwas the issue and Jaddu felt that he wasn’t able to hit optimum levelat the time of delivery. This is why the team management didn’t wishto risk fielding a 60-70 per cent fit player. But he is now fit and avail-able.” Earlier on Sunday, Shastri had said: “The problem with Jaddu(Jadeja) is that he had taken an injection four days into coming toAustralia, because of some stiffness in the shoulder and it took awhile for that injection to settle down.“So when you look at Per th, we felt that he was maybe 60-70 percentfit and that we didn’t want to risk that in Per th. If he was 80 percent fithere (MCG), he will play.”

TIM PAINE AND VIRAT KOHLI POSE WITH THE BORDER-GAVASKAR TROPHY.

i contd. on page 12 i details on page 14 khalistani...

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