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RNI No. APENG/2018/764698

*Late City Vol. 2 Issue 46*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

Established 1864Published From

VIJAYAWADA DELHI LUCKNOWBHOPAL RAIPUR CHANDIGARH

BHUBANESWAR RANCHI DEHRADUNHYDERABAD

Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy's mother YS Vijayamma and his wife YS Bharati at an exhibition-cum-sale ofhandicrafts products being organised under the auspices of the AP Handicrafts Council in Vijayawada on Monday.

THIS OONE FFOR AATTAMMA

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated December 16, 2019 5:00 PM

ALMANACTODAY

Month & Paksham:Margashirsha & Krishna PakshaPanchangamTithi : Shashthi: 01:37 am(Next Day), Nakshatram: Magha 01:26 am (Next Day)Time to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)Rahukalam: 02:56 pm- 04:18 pmYamagandam: 09:27 am – 10:49 am

Varjyam: 02:07 pm- 03:38 pm

Gulika: 12:12 pm - 01:34 pmGood Time: (to start any important work)

Amritakalam: 11:11 pm - 12:41 amAbhijit Muhurtham: 11:50 am - 12:34 pm

VIJAYAWADAWEATHERForecast: Clear with periodic cloudsTemp: 32/20Humidity: 72%Sunrise: 06.39Sunset: 05.44

JAMIA STUDENTS STAND SHIRTLESSTO DEMAND PROBE AGAINST COPS

EXPELLED BJP MLA SENGARCONVICTED IN UNNAO RAPE CASE

WOMAN SETS HERSELF ABLAZEOUTSIDE SENIOR UP COP'S OFFICE

Agroup of Jamia Millia Islamia students stood shirtless in the bonechilling cold outside the varsity campus on Monday morning to protest

against the police action on students. Students raised slogans of "InquilabZindabad", and also took out a march, demanding CBI inquiry into thepolice crackdown. A large number of students also stood in solidarity withtheir colleagues at the university campus gateson Monday morning. Students claimed that thepolice on Sunday damaged two mosques onthe university campus, beat up the Imam andalso a blind student, who was in the library.

Awoman set herself on fire outside the office of superintendent ofpolice in Unnao district on Monday. The 24-year-old alleged that the

police was not acting on her complaint of sexual harassment.According to reports, the woman reached the office of superintendent ofpolice in Unnao around noon and poured kerosene on herself and setherself ablaze. She walked into the office inflamnes. The cops immediately doused theflames and took the woman to the districthospital form where she was referred to theLal Lajpat Rai hospital in Kanpur.

ADelhi court convicted expelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar onMonday for raping a woman in Unnao in 2017

saying the victim's testimony was "truthful andunblemished" against a "powerful person". The courtconvicted Sengar for rape under Indian Penal Codeand POCSO Act for offence of a public servantcommitting penetrative sexual assault against child.The court will hear arguments on quantum onsentence on Wednesday.The offences entailmaximum punishment of life imprisonment.

ACTRESS PAYAL JAILED FOR SOCIALMEDIA POST ON NEHRU-GANDHISPayal Rohatgi, a small-time Bollywood actress, was arrested and sent

to judicial custody - till December 24 - by a local court inRajasthan this morning. The Bundi District Court had earlierrejected Ms Rohatgi's bail plea; her lawyer is planning anappeal against that rejection. On Sunday Rohatgi hadbeen detained - from her residence in Ahmedabad inGujarat - by a Rajasthan Police team in connectionwith a case relating to posting of allegedlyobjectionable content about the Nehru-Gandhifamily on social media.

HC notice toTDP on partyoffice land PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The AP High Court onMonday served notices to theTDP leadership and the Gu-ntur district collector seekingexplanations on land allottedfor the party's central officeat Atmakur in Guntur dis-trict.

The court was respondingto a PIL filed by MangalagiriMLA Alla Ramakrishna Re-ddy stating that the 3.65 ac-res of ‘poramboke’ land wasallotted to TDP by the previ-ous government, in viola-tion of rules for constructionof its central office.

The MLA said in his peti-tion that the land was illegal-ly allotted to the TDP on 99-year lease on June 22, 2017.

Dismiss mygovt: Mamatadares Centre

RTC staff tobe govt stafffrom Jan 1VIJAYAWADA: ChiefMinister YS JaganmohanReddy on Monday told thestate Assembly that allAPSRTC employees will betreated as government stafffrom January 1, 2020.Intervening in the discussionon merger of APSRTC withthe government in the House,the Chief Minister said it wasa long-cherished dream of theemployees.

With the merger, about52,000 employees of APSRTCwould be absorbed into theState government and wouldcome under the purview ofthe Transport department.

Continued on Page 3

KOLKATA: MamataBanerjee, the Chief Ministerof Bengal, led a massiveprotest march through theheart of Kolkata on Monday,against the citizenship law.Hundreds of her party lead-ers and supporters walkedwith her carrying postersand flags against the contro-versial law. "If you want todismiss my government, youcan, but I will never allow cit-izenship law and NRC inBengal," Mamata said.

WB Guv asksMamata topersonallyupdate him

‘Sky-touching’temple in Ayodhyain 4 months: ShahPNS n PAKUR (JHARKHAND)

BJP president Amit Shah onMonday said a sky-touchingRam temple would come up inAyodhya within four monthswhich Indians from all overthe world have been demand-ing for 100 years.

Making a blistering attackon Congress, Shah asked itsleader Kapil Sibal why hesought to drag the RamJanmabhoomi case in theSupreme Court. "Congressleader and advocate KapilSibal sahab said, 'abhi mat cha-laye case, baad mein chalaye.Keon bhai, aap ke pet meinkyon dard hai' (take up thecase latter, why do you have astomach ache following thecase)," Shah asked Sibal.

KOLKATA: After WestBengal chief secretary anddirector general of policefailed to turn up to brief himon the current situation in thestate over the violent protestsagainst the amendedCitizenship act, GovernorJagdeep Dhankhar onMonday asked Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee to person-ally update him on it. He tookto the Twitter to express hisdispleasure over the absenceof the two senior most offi-cials of the state governmentdespite his summons anddescribed it as "unfortunateand unexpected".

{

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Reiterating that the state gov-ernment was committed tothe welfare of SCs and STs,Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy onMonday said that the previousTDP government had neglect-ed the weaker sections and itsleaders have a history ofignoring and demeaningDalits.

Intervening in the discus-sion on SC, ST CommissionsBill here on Monday, theChief Minister said thatChandrababu Naidu had thedubious distinction of passingderogatory remarks againstDalits. He recalled Naidu say-ing, "No one will be willing tobe born as a Dalit. He did notgive even a single Cabinetpost to the marginalised sec-tions and they have rightlyshown him his place."

Even in the capital region,the Naidu government hadshown discrimination in allot-ment of residential and com-mercial spaces, the CM

alleged. While the compensa-tion extended to the farmersfor parting with their land toCRDA was more than theamount paid for assignedlands belonging to SCs andSTs, he said.

"Naidu did not bother tobifurcate the SC, STCommission in AndhraPradesh during the past fiveyears, despite the NationalCommission for SCs and STsbeing split a long time ago.Only before the elections, hetook up the issue with an eyeon votes and the people had

realised his ploy," Jagan said.The State Assembly has 29

seats for SCs and seven forSTs, TDP could win only onewhich showed the anger of themarginalised sections againstNaidu, he said.

Quoting renowned writerand reformer Gurajada AppaRao, Jagan said: '..manchiannadi Mala ayithe, aa Mala

nenautha' ( if goodness isMala (SCs), I will be a Mala).

"In the six months after wetook over, we have providedreservations in all fields andthe composit ion of ourCabinet has 60 per cent ofpeople belonging to SC, ST,BC and Minority communi-ties.

Continued on Page 3

Govt committed to welfare of SCs and STs: CM AP Assembly approves Bills on separate SC, ST panelsPNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Andhra PradeshLegislative Assembly onMonday passed two Billsthat enable setting up of sep-arate Commissions forScheduled Castes andScheduled Tribes.

The Andhra Pradesh StateCommission for ScheduledTribes Bill, tabled by Ministerfor Tribal Welfare Pushpa

Srivani, would provide forsetting up of a separateCommission to safeguardthe interests of ScheduledTribes.

The Bill was necessitatedafter the State decided tobifurcate the existing APState Commission forScheduled Castes andScheduled Tribes into twoseparate entities.

Continued on Page 3

TS increases liquorprices by 10 per centPNS n HYDERABAD

The Telangana state govern-ment on Monday hiked theprices of liquor by 10 per centin the state. With this, itexpects to earn Rs 300 crore toRs. 400 crore additionally.

Prohibition and Excisedepartment Special ChiefSecretary Somesh Kumar saidthat the prices were hikedfrom Rs 20 to Rs 80 on liquor,depending upon the capacityof the bottle.

Similarly, prices of beer hasbeen increased from Rs 10 toRs 20 per bottle, SomeshKumar informed.

He released a 70-page list ofthe hiked prices and said thatthe hike will be implementedfrom December 18 onwards.Somesh Kumar made it clearthat these prices will not beapplicable to the old stock.

Telangana government hasincreased the price of liquor by10 per cent though theOpposition parties.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Andhra PradeshAssembly on Monday passedthe Andhra PradeshProhibition (Amendment) Bill2019 by voice vote. The Bill,tabled by Minister for Exciseand Commercial TaxesMinister K Naryana Swamy,provides for stringent actionagainst the offenders whotrade in illicit liquor and barsthat violate the law.

Intervening in the discus-sion on imposition of phase-wise prohibition in theAssembly Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy said thatthe state government wascommitted to implementingits policy of reducing the con-sumption of alcohol.

The CM said the new State

Excise Act would provide forbooking criminal cases againstmanufacturing, being in pos-session of, or transportingillicit liquor. It was a non-bail-able offence with a punish-ment of six months jail and afine of Rs 2 lakh for first-timeoffenders. If repeated, the finewould be increased to Rs 5lakh along with a jail term ofsix months.

Continued on Page 3

K Naryana Swamy

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Former Chief Minister N.Chandrababu Naidu and hisparty MLAs walked back-wards here on Monday, toprotest against the 'reversetendering' decision by theJaganmohan Reddy govern-ment. The Telugu DesamParty (TDP) president andparty MLAs staged the protestnear the State LegislativeAssembly building here, hold-ing placards. They slammedthe government for cancellingthe tenders for various projectsand calling fresh tenders undera process called 'reverse ten-dering'.

Terming YSR CongressParty's rule as 'reverse rule',Naidu said the state was

marching backwards underJaganmohan Reddy govern-ment. The leader of oppositionalleged that the developmentworks in the state includingstate capital Amaravati havecome to a complete halt.

Naidu said 'reverse tender-ing' was in fact 'reserve tender-ing' as the government was'reserving' tenders for thoseclose to it.

Continued on Page 3

TDP supremo N. Chandrababu Naidu walks backwards to protest the YSRCPgovernment’s decision on ‘reverse tendering’, in Vijayawada on Monday

PV KONDAL RAOn KHAMMAM

Clad in green uniforms, armedNaxalites of the dreaded CPIMaoists took out a massivefuneral procession in the denseforest terrain of Chhattisgarhthis week and paid homage totheir top leader Ravula Srinivasalias Ramanna.

Several top leaders of theCentral Committee andCentral Military Commissionalong with the politburo mem-bers reportedly participatedin the procession and the pub-lic meeting that took place in

the Abuzmaad region andadjoining parts of the strong-hold of the outlawed Naxalite

wing. About a 1,000 uniform-clad

Naxalites with sophisticated

weapons took out the rally inthe forest belt where thedeceased Naxalite leader ranhis activities for more than fourdecades.

Ramanna, a native of the

Bekkal village in presentJangoan district was instru-mental in strengthening thearmed network of the CPIMaoist Party during his stay intheir team.

On December 11, theNaxalite leader, who carried areward of over Rs1 crore on hishead, succumbed to typhoidfever and other prolonged ail-ments.

Police of Bhadradri-Kothagudem region securedthis information immediatelyand tried to zero in on the placeof death of the Naxalite leader.

Continued on Page 3

Pawan says new pensioners atRs 15,700 loss in YSRCP rule PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Jana Sena president PawanKalyan on Monday felt that theaged social welfare pensionerswho had voted for the YSRCPgovernment suffered hugemonetary loss during the pastseven months.

He even quantified the totalloss to them at Rs 15,700 perhead.

Criticising the YSR PensionKanuka in his characteristicstyle, Pawan Kalyan tweetedthat the YSRCP government

has been going back on itspromise in implementing thescheme in phases. He saidthat he failed to comprehend

whether it was the YSRCPgoing back on its promise inphases or trying to hoodwinkthe people.

The YSRCP, as part of itspoll campaign promised tohike the old age pension fromRs 2000 a month to Rs 3000 amonth. Also it promised toreduce the minimum to receivepension from 65 to 60 years.However, on coming to powerit did not hike the pension toRs 3,000 a month as promisedbut to Rs 2,250 a month.

Continued on Page 3

Naidu walks backwards toprotest ‘reverse tendering’

On December 11,Naxalite leaderRamanna, who carrieda reward of over Rs1crore on his head,succumbed to typhoidfever and otherprolonged ailments

A video grab of the funeral procession of Naxalite leader Ramanna.

Naidu said ‘reversetendering’ was in fact‘reserve tendering’ asthe government was‘reserving’ tenders forthose close to it

IRKED OVER AP'S PPA REVIEW, CENTREPLANS ORDINANCEPNS n HYDERABAD

In a move to check state gov-ernments from reviewing orscrapping PPAs (power pur-chase agreements) signed byprevious governments, when-ever political power changeshands after elections, theCentre has decided to bring anOrdinance soon to safeguardthe investments made by pri-vate investors in the power sec-tor. The Centre's moveassumes significance in thebackdrop of AP CM YSJaganmohan Reddy' decisionto review all the PPAs signedduring previous TDP regimeturned controversial and cre-ated panic among the privateinvestors in the Indian andglobal power sector.

According to union powerministry sources, the PPAssigned between generators anddiscoms will be made sacro-sanct with states limiting theirrights to renegotiate PPAsmidway of a project cycle.

The Centre has decided topush through the next bigpower sector reform by pro-mulgating an ordinance bylater this month or in earlyJanuary.

The ordinance is beingbrought on a war footing as the

Centre is unable to introduceamendments to the ElectricityAct, 2003, due to lack of con-sensus among the states.

Investors, including Japan'sambassador to India, hadexpressed concerns over AP’scontroversial decision to scrapPPAs signed by the previousgovernment, as it could bring5.2 gigawatts (GW) of solarand wind energy projects, withan estimated debt exposure ofmore than Rs 21,000 crore,under stress.

Under the new ordinance,no one can scrap the PPAexcept for reasons of grid safe-ty and if anyone scraps PPA forreasons other than grid safety,they will have to pay the entirecost to the investor.

Continued on Page 3

Illicit liquor to attractharsher punishments

Top Naxalites attend last rites of Ramanna, cops clueless

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CAPSULE

Solar eclipse: Nodarshan at Tirumalafor 13 hoursVIJAYAWADA: The TTD hasannounced closure of Srivaritemple for 13 hours onDecember 26 in view of solareclipse. The solar eclipse isslated to occur on December26 from 8.08 am to 11.16 am.As per temple tradition,Srivari temple will remainshut from 11 pm onDecember 25 till 12 pm onDecember 26. Darshan willcommence to devotees from 2pm onwards. The TTD hascancelled Tiruppavada,Kalyanotsavam and UnjalSeva, Arjita Brahmotsavamand Vasantotsavam. In view ofeclipse, annaprasadam willnot be served in complex orqueue lines or at food courts.So, the pilgrims are requestedto make note of this and plantheir pilgrimage to avoid anyinconvenience.

RenovatedMahalakshmiNilayam inauguratedVIJAYAWADA: TTD deputyexecutive officer Harindranathinaugurated modernisedaccommodation for Potu workersat Mahalakshmi Nilayam inTirumala. The TTD renovated 75rooms of the F block of TTDquarters at a cost of Rs 7 crore.Earlier, potu workers wereaccommodated at the GovindaNilayam, Vakulamata and AstaVinayaka Rest Houses.

Youth found deadVIJAYAWADA: The body of ayouth was found in a rosegarden at Mahanadu Colony atTadepalli in Guntur district onMonday. The deceased wasidentified as Malleswara Rao, aresident of Tadepalli. Policerushed to the scene of offence,along with clues team andexamined the place. Police is yetto determine whether the youthhad committed suicide or wasmurdered. Police registered acase of suspicious death.

VIJAYAWADA | TUESDAY | DECEMBER 17, 2019 vijayawada 02

80% tickets for India-West Indies match sold out PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Excitement is building upamong cricket buffs in Vizagcity as over 80 per cent of thetickets for the ODI match(Second ODI in the series)between India and West Indiesto be played under flood lightsin Vizag on December 18 soldout.

Vizagites get a chance to wit-ness ODI at Dr YS RajasekharaReddy ACA-VDCA Stadiumafter a gap of one year. InOctober 2018, India playedODI against West Indies inVizag.

This is the fourth time thatIndia will be playing againstWest Indies in Vizag city. Boththe teams won one match eachin the stadium and one matchtied.

Preparations are in full swingin Vizag city for the ODIbetween host India and West

Indies on December 18. TheVizag stadium has a seatingcapacity of 28,000.

The online sale of ticketscommenced a few days agowhile the sale of off-line tickets

for the match commenced onFriday and majority of the lowdenomination tickets for thematch were sold out like hotcakes, said members of AndhraCricket Association (ACA)

Tickets to spectators pricedin denominations of Rs 500,Rs 1,200, Rs 1,600, Rs 2,000,Rs 4,000 and Rs 5,000. Allmost all the tickets of the lowdenomination were sold out

and 60 per cent of highdenomination tickets weresold out.

India will clash with WestIndies in the first ODI in theseries in Chennai on December

15. Both the teams will arrivehere in Vizag on December 16and the practice session for theboth the teams will be held onDecember 17.

India had played eight ODIsin Vizag and won on six ODIs.India lost one match to WestIndies, while another matchbetween India and West Indiestied.

"We tried to get Rs 500denomination 10 tickets for the

match to enjoy with ourfriends. But, we managed to getonly four tickets, said NDheerej," a cricket buff and res-ident of Madhurawada in thecity.

Expressing that Vizag is ahappy hunting ground forTeam India, L Ravi Teja saidthat the ODI in Vizag will be arun-feast to spectators. TeamIndia will continue its winningtrack in Vizag, he added.

Team India captain Virat Kohli, along with coach Ravi Shastri and others, arrives atthe airport in Visakhapatnam on Monday

West Indies players, too, arrive to play the ODI against India, which is slated forDecember 18, at the Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Stadium on Dec 18

n Vizagites get a chance towitness ODI at Dr YSRajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Stadium after a gapof one year. In October2018, India played ODIagainst West Indies in Vizag

n Preparations are in full swing in Vizag city for the ODIbetween host India and West Indies on December 18. TheVizag stadium has a seating capacity of 28,000

n This is the fourth timethat India will be playingagainst West Indies inVizag city. Both the teamswon one match each inthe stadium and onematch tied

‘Energy conservation crucial for steel industry'PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

RINL-VSP is demonstratingits supremacy in conserva-tion of energy year after yearand recognised as the bestenergy efficient steel plant inthe country, said PK Rath,CMD, RINL, at the valedic-tory function of EnergyConservation Fortnight cel-ebrations held in connectionwith the National EnergyConser vat ion Day inUkkungaram on Monday.

Winning several nationalawards is the testimony toour ef for ts , he added.Speaking on the occasion,Rath said that RINL-VSPcollective was giving impor-tance to the conservation ofenergy right from the begin-ning and bringing laurels tothe company by implement-ing various energy efficientmethods.

He called upon the VSPcollective to further achievethe international benchmarks

in conservation of energy to strengthen plant opera-

tions.He further stated that the

plant had installed severalwaste heat recovery tech-nologies in various facilities,which accounts for 62% oftotal power generation capac-ity. "Energy conservation isone of the key techno-eco-

nomic parameters in the steelindustr y, which helpsimproving the bottom-line ofthe company significantly,"he said.

VV Venugopal R ao,Director (Finance) , DKMohanty, Director(Commercial), KK Ghosh,Director (Projects) , AKSaxena, Director

(Operations), KV VidyaSagar, Executive Director(Works) I/c, EDs, GeneralManagers, HODs were pre-sent on the occasion.

Rath and other Directors ofRINL gave away the prizes tothe winners of various com-petitions organised for theemployees and schoolchild-ren to mark the occasion.

PK Rath, CMD, RINL, lighting the lamp to mark the Energy Conservation Fortnightfete in Visakhapatnam on Monday. RINL Directors are seen

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Executive Officer of TTD AnilKumar Singhal instructed offi-cials to increase the number andplying frequency of DharmaRathams - free buses for bene-fit of devotees to move from onearea to another at Tirumala.

During senior officers' reviewmeeting at the TTD administra-tive building here on Monday,the Executive Officer told offi-cials of the HDPP to prepare acalendar of programmes inview of enhanced and extend-ed activity for the propagationof Sanatana Dharma.

He instructed the authoritiesconcerned to keep religiousbooklets on Sanatana Dharmaat all Bhajan Mandirs in remoteregions in the State for the ben-efit of schoolchildren. He alsowanted that TTD diaries andcalendars also should be madeavailable at all locations inTirupati and Tirumala.

The Executive Officer alsodirected the engineering depart-ment to quickly select a quali-fied agency for illuminating Sri

Kodandarama temple atVontimetta. Later, the ExecutiveOfficer asked officials of SVBCto upload the popular 'SanskritNerchukondam' programmeon YouTube also.

He directed officials toexplore the possibility ofputting of public notices andsignboards at local templesrecently taken over the TTD."Officials also should conductan audit on the operation ofair conditioned machines atTTD rest houses in Tirumala

and Tirupati", he said. Later,he directed them to use LEDbulbs in all rest houses inorder to reduce power costs.He advised the IT wing forinstallation of more comput-ers at Srivari Seva Sadan to getbetter and quick feedbackfrom pilgrims.

Tirupati JEO P BasantKumar, FA & CAO O Balaji,Chief Engineer RamachandraReddy, IT head Sesha Reddyand other senior officers par-ticipated.

Rath said thatRINL-VSPcollective wasgiving importanceto the conservationof energy rightfrom the beginningand bringinglaurels to thecompany byimplementingvarious energyefficient methods

IANS n LONDON

A sleep expert in the UK saysthe food we eat during the daycan have an impact on each oneof us when we go to bed, amedia report said.

In a recent study by SealyUK, over 65 per cent of the2,058 Britain citizens surveyedhad admitted to waking upfeeling tired on at least threedays every week, Mail Onlinereported.

The research found that veg-ans fared worst of all when itcame to sleep quality. Theywoke up feeling tired on anaverage four days a week. Morethan one in five admitted tofeeling sleepy every morning.So, can eating certain thingshelp us sleep better?

Sleep expert Holly Housbypoints out that foods can

indeed help us get us a betternight sleep. One of them ischeese, especially mozzarella, asource of tryptophan that playsa vital role in the production ofserotonin and in turn sleep-inducing hormone melatonin.

Carbohydrates have beenshown to make tryptophanmore available to the brain, soyour late night cheese toast mayactually be beneficial for sleep,

the report added.Oats can also help improve

the quality of sleep due to vit-amins and minerals that sup-port relaxation. These are a nat-ural source of melatonin - ahormone that regulates oursleeping and waking cycles.

Salmon, especially the wildvariety, is a source of nutrientsthat encourage sleep-regulatinghormone serotonin. Salmon is

a good source of omega 3, mag-nesium, Vitamin B6 and tryp-tophan, all of which encourageserotonin.

Milk is another good sourceof melatonin and tryptophan.This is because cows are milked

at night, when their melatoninis naturally higher.

Soy products are a goodsource of tryptophan. Tofu isalso rich in protein and can con-tain calcium, both of which aresleep-promoting compounds.

Eggs are high in vitamin Dand contain tryptophan, bothrenowned for sleep-inducingproperties. Cherries containantioxidants like anthocyanins,which work alongside mela-tonin to help you maintain adeeper sleep for longer, thedaily report said. Like oats,cherries are extremely high inmelatonin.

Avocados contain magne-sium that decreases your levelsof cortisol -- the stress hor-mone -- thus helping to calmthe nervous system in prepara-tion for sleep.

Discussing the findings ofthe Sealy UK survey, nutri-tionist Dr Tom Hill was quot-ed: "Whilst the evidence for arole of nutrition in sleep islimited, it is well recognisedthat being very overweightmay reduce sleep quality.

"Therefore, maintaining ahealthy weight through a bal-anced diet may be beneficialto maintaining healthy sleepin the long run."

Holly said: "Many of us aredesperate to achieve a betternight's sleep, but seemingly,lots of us are unaware of howthe foods we eat during theday can have an impact on usduring the night.

"However, it's not just aboutyour diet. Those looking toimprove their sleep shouldlook to do everything possibleto create an environmentwhich makes top-quality sleepmore likely.

"This could include invest-ing in a comfortable and sup-portive bed, avoiding alcoholin the hours before bed, orimplementing a regular pre-sleep routine."

Increase frequency of freebuses at Tirumala: TTD EO

EGGRATES

` 38,060 (10 gm)

` 320

GOLD

` 44,300(1kg)

` 2200

HYDERABAD 430VIJAYAWADA 452VISAKHAPATNAM 470RETAIL PPRICE `4.52

SILVER

VIJAYAWADABULLION RATES

`/100

CHICKENRATES

Dressed/With Skin `173

Without Skin `196

Broiler at Farm `119

`/KG

(IN VIJAYAWADA)

Food we eat during the day impacts our night sleep: Expertn The research found that vegans

fared worst of all when it cameto sleep quality. They woke upfeeling tired on an average fourdays a week. More than one infive admitted to feeling sleepyevery morning. So, can eatingcertain things help us sleepbetter?

n Milk is another good source ofmelatonin and tryptophan. Thisis because cows are milked atnight, when their melatonin isnaturally higher

n Soy products are agood source oftryptophan. Tofu isalso rich in proteinand can containcalcium, both ofwhich are sleep-promotingcompounds.

n Eggs are high invitamin D and containtryptophan, bothrenowned for sleep-inducing properties

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Vijayawada Division of theSouth Central Railway con-ducted Pension Adalat-2019here on Monday. Speaking onthe occasion, P Srinivas,Divisional Railway Manager,said that the importance of thePension Adalat is mainlyredressal of grievances relatedto pension, family pension,gratuity and settlement dues.He said the pensioners couldalso approach the Personneland Accounts Officers forredressal of their grievances, onany working day without wait-ing for the next Pension Adalat.

He said a total number of25,000 pensioners were presentbut only 148 grievancesreceived during the currentAdalat, which clearly reflectsthe efficiency of the division inresolving the grievances.

Regional Adalats were con-ducted recently atRajahmundry and Bittragunta.He advised the pensioners toget enrolled for UMID(UniqueMedical Identity cards) for

availing of medical services atreferral hospitals easily withoutany hassles. The DRM appre-ciated the response from pen-sioners and also the efforts ofthe organisers in achievingthe objectives in settling thedisputes amicably and resolv-ing the grievances of the retiredemployees and their familymembers.

Out of the 148 cases, 129

were non-financial grievanceswere redressed and for ninecases where payments are duean amount of Rs 11,05,392 hasbeen arranged. A total of24,097 Pension PaymentOrders (PPOs) were generatedafter 7th CPC came into forceand only 58 cases of PPOs arepending due to non-availabil-ity of proper records and infor-mation.On the day of Pension

Adalat 69 applications havebeen registered afresh andacknowledged for redressal.

Representatives ofPensioners Association andAll India SC/ST Associationslauded the efforts of Personnel& Accounts Department inclearing the grievances.

148 grievances received at SouthCentral Railway Pension Adalat

Officials redressing the grievances of pensioners at the Pension Adalat being heldunder the aegis of Vijayawada divsion of SCR on Monday

DRM P Srinivasappreciated theresponse frompensioners andalso the efforts ofthe organisers inachieving theobjectives insettling thedisputes amicablyand resolving thegrievances of theretired employeesand their familymembers

Meet onEnglishliterature onDec 19, 20PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Department of Englishof PB Siddhartha College ofArts and Science will organ-ise an international confer-ence on 'ContemporaryWorld Literature' in collabo-ration with The CulturalCentre of Vijayawada andAmaravati on December 19and 20, according to princi-pal Dr M Ramesh.

Dr Ramesh said that theconference will focus on dif-ferent genres and provides aplatform to experience cre-ative imagination in world lit-erature. Delegates, poets andwriters from various coun-tries would take part. Aposter was released on theconference.

Director Bobby on cloud ninewith ‘Venky Mama's successPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Director of 'Venky Mama' KSRavindranath was on cloudnine with the success of themovie. The director watchedthe movie, along with theaudience, after cutting thecake to mark the celebra-tions.

Addressing a press confer-ence here on Monday, he saidthat audience would lovemovies highlighting the fam-ily bonding and sentimentand 'Venky Mama' hasproved it yet again. Herecalled that in 'Jai LavaKusha' movie he had dealtwith the relationship amongbrothers and the sentimentwas liked by movie buffs.

He said that fromDecember 17, both theactors, Venkatesh andChaitanya, would start their

movie success tour. He fur-ther stated that two scriptsare ready and they would befinalised soon.

Movie distributor AlankarPrasad, Capital Cinemasmanager Kishore and otherswere present.

Executive Officer of TTD Anil Kumar Singhal speaks at the senior oficers’ reviewmeeting in Tirumala on Monday

He shares his happiness with themedia and said that audience alwayslove movies depicting family bondingand sentiment

VIJAYAWADA | TUESDAY | DECEMBER 17, 2019 vijayawada 03

CAPSULE

Ranji Trophy from Dec 27VISAKHAPATNAM: The WaltairRailway Stadium under the aegisof ECoRSA, Waltair, is hosting theRanji Trophy matches betweenRailways and Saurashtra fromDecember 17 to 21. Elaboratearrangements have been made bythe Waltair Division to conductthis match. There are eminentplayers in the teams, whorepresented India at international-level, like Railways Captain- KaranSharma, Saurashtra Captain-Jaydev Unadkat.

Special darshan forelderly at TirumalaVijayawada: In order to providesmooth darshan of LordVenkateswara to elderly,physically challenged and parentswith five-year-old children, theTTD has earmarked two daysduring lean season in a month fortheir benefit. The TTD appealedthat such persons should utilisethe opportunity instead of visitingTirumala during crowded days.As part of the above objective, theTTD issues 4,000 tokens tosenior citizens above 65 yearsand physically challengedpersons on Tuesday.

Jumbos flare up tensions on AOBPNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

As the elephants continue tocreate chaos on the Andhra-Odisha border in Vizianagaramdistrict because of man-animalconflict, forest officials of theboth the States seem to be clue-less to resolve the issue.

Some forest department rep-resentatives from the forestdepartment of Odisha visitedKomarada mandal to observethe situation and plan to meettheir counterparts onDecember 23 to sort out cer-tain issues on keeping the herdsafe without causing loss tohuman lives and crops.

A herd of wild elephants hasbeen destroying crops in theKomarada mandal in andaround Vizianagaram district.It is also triggering disputebetween Odisha and AndhraPradesh. Tension flares upwhen the border people try tosend away the elephants toother State border area.

A herd of six elephants werespotted roaming around theborder of Odisha at Rayagada,their original habitat. Overthousand people gathered andchased them back to Komaradamandal last week.

Now that the elephants areback in Komarada, the localforest officials are taking mea-sures to keep them cool in oneparticular geographical area.An expert from Chittoor oneRakesh, who runs an NGO onwildlife, arrived here andstudying the movement ofthese elephants and trainingthe trackers.

These elephants enteredSrikakulam three years agoand settled in Komarada areasince then. After loss of threelives and crop worth crop

crores, the government hasappointed 20 trackers anddeployed another 20 forestdepartment personnel to keepround-the-clock watch onthese elephants.

“People in Odisha gather inlarge numbers and join the vil-lagers in chasing away the ele-phants often using crude meth-ods unlike Andhra where peo-ple are docile and leave the jobto the forest department,'' divi-sional forest officer (territori-al forestry) G Laxman.

Laxman said AP forest offi-

cials never used crude methodsand always waited for their nat-ural course of movement. Thetrackers observe their move-ment and confine them to thewater bodies.

Unlike Odisha, these ele-phants live in open inKomarada paddy fields andclose to the water bodies.

Proposals are also on theanvil to develop elephant habi-tat centre to give temporaryshelter to elephants in an areaof 520 hectares in Jantikole for-est area in Parvathipuram in

the district. When the idea wasfloated in villages, people raisedobjection stating that it was agreat risk have wild elephantsin midst of the villages.Pamphlets were being distrib-uted among the people to cre-ate awareness on the necessi-ty of the shelter and hopeful-ly, the project might begrounded in another month,the DFO said.

n Some forest departmentrepresentatives from forestdepartment of Odishavisited Komarada mandal toobserve the situation andplan to meet theircounterparts on December23 to sort out certain issueson keeping the herd safewithout causing loss tohuman lives and crops.

n A herd of wild elephants hasbeen destroying crops in theKomarada mandal andaround in Vizianagaramdistrict. It is also triggeringdispute between Odisha andAndhra Pradesh. Tensionflares up when the borderpeople try to send away theelephants to other stateborder area

Hotels, guest housesin Araku display novacancy boardsPNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

With the plans of tourists to endthe year with celebrations in thelap of nature, it is houseful timefor all the hotels and guest hous-es in Araku. Tourists are find-ing it hard to find accommoda-tion with no rooms left inmost of the hotels.

Private resorts, guest hous-es and small and mediumhotels in Araku Valley,Padmapuram, Ananthagiriand surrounding areas inVizag Agency hung no roomboards on weekends as therewas a rush of tourists, partic-ularly from West Bengal, a fewparts of Odisha, Telangana andalso Andhra Pradesh, whichbegan in the last week ofNovember.

When compared to the pre-vious winter season, the inflowof tourists to Araku region hasincreased this winter. Most ofthe visitors from West Bengaland other parts of AndhraPradesh have been arriving onweekends (Saturday andSunday). It seems to be allmost all the rooms in Arakuregion have been reserved onweekends up to January firstweek, said P Srinu, owner of aresort in Araku Valley.

"We visited Araku onDecember 14 to spend somegood time on Saturday andSunday. But, our plans van-ished as we failed to getaccommodation. Since all therooms of hotels, resorts andlodges and also guest houses

have been reserved, wereturned to Vizag on the same

day, said T Srinath, a residentof Vizag city.

Araku Valley has over 60hotels and resorts includingthe Andhra Pradesh TourismDevelopment Corporation'sHaritha hotels with 1,500 oddrooms. However, the roomsare not sufficient for the visi-tors during the weekends inthe winter season.

The officials of the TourismDepartment said that theinflow of the tourists is goodthis season and it would con-tinue till January 2020. Manytourists said the drop in themercury and the yellow Nigerflowers made them visit theagency, they added.

n When compared to theprevious winter season,the inflow of tourists toAraku region hasincreased this winter

n Most of the visitors fromWest Bengal and otherparts of Andhra Pradeshhave been arriving onweekends (Saturday andSunday)

n It seems to be all mostall the rooms in Arakuregion have beenreserved on weekendsup to January first week,said P Srinu, owner of aresort in Araku ValleyRenowned snake catcher recovers from snakebite

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Prayers of many people inVizag for the recovery of thefounder of Snake Saver Society(SSS) Rokkam Kiran Kumarhave been answered. The pop-ular snake catcher in the city hasrecovered fully after being downwith the sting of King Cobra.

Expressing happiness aboutthe discharge of Rokkam KiranKumar from the KGH afterbeing bitten by the cobra dur-ing his endeavour to catch thesnake near High School Roadat Gajuwaka, G SambasivaRao, Managing Director,Sravan Shipping ServicesPrivate Limited, said Kiran

had been doing yeoman ser-vice for the past 17 years bycreating awareness about howto protect snakes among thepeople. Lauding for his nobleinitiative of forming Society,

Rao said it will impart trainingto those interested in catchingsnakes and releasing them intothe forests safely.

Rokkam Kiran Kumar in hisown words, said, "I am sur-

prised to know my popularitythe way I was being receivedand treated by the doctors ofKGH with utmost care.Fourteen doses of PolyvalentSnake anti-venom were admin-istered. Thanking SambasivaRao, Rokkam Kiran Kumar,said: "My life was safe due totimely availability of ambu-lance, which was donated bySravan Shipping Services lastyear under the CorporateSocial Responsibility. Heassured that in future, moreboys will be trained in snakecatching and will be takencare of in case of any mishapby providing insurance fromhis organisation."

CDPO lands in ACB netPNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Officials of Anti-CorruptionBureau (ACB), Vizianagaramunit, on Monday arrested PManimma, working as ChildDevelopment Project Officer(CDPO), ICDS, Kothavalasa inVizianagaram district, and SeniorAssistant GVK Venu Gopal of thesame department, for demand-ing and accepting a bribe of Rs85,000 from a vegetable suppli-er Adari Suresh Kumar for doingan official favour.

The DSP of ACB,Vizianagaram, BVS NageswaraRao, said that Adari SureshKumar supplied vegetable andother groceries to the Anganwadicentres under ICDS, Kothavalasa

in Vizianagaram in November2019.

When Suresh Kumar appliedfor approval of the sanction of thebills for the supply of vegetables,Manimma demanded Rs 85,000bribe for process and approve theBill pertaining to vegetables andgroceries to Anganwadi centresand also to further extend hiscontract period.

Fed up with the harassmentfrom Manimma, Suresh Kumarlodged a complaint with ACBofficials. After verifying the facts,ACB officials laid a trap andcaught red-handed whenVenugopal accepted the bribefrom Kumar and handed overthe bribe to Manimma.

Illicit liquor to attractharsher punishments

Continued from Page1

If bars violate the rules, theirlicence fees would be doubledfor the first time and if repeat-ed the licence would be can-celled.

The Chief Minister said thathis government closed down allthe 43,000 belt shops that hadpopped up during the previousTDP government. "We haveclosed down 40 per cent of thebars and done away with thepermit rooms that were set upadjacent to shops. We havealso reduced the timings of thesale of liquor and the womenpolice attached to VillageSecretariats will keep a vigil andalert the police if there is anyviolation of the Excise Act," he

said.Jagan said the ill-effects of

alcohol consumption would beincorporated in syllabus ofschool students. De-addictioncentres would be set up in alldistricts, he said.

Narayana Swamy said thatformer chief minister NChandrababu Naidu has noright to talk about prohibitionas he had lifted the ban onliquor sale imposed by his pre-decessor N T Rama Rao.Participating in a discussion onprohibition in the Assembly onMonday, he said businessmenbelonging to YSRCP did not filetenders for bar licences as theparty taking moral responsibil-ity for implementation of pro-hibition in a phased manner.

RTC staff tobe govt stafffrom Jan 1

Continued from Page1

The retirement age wasalso enhanced from 58 to60 years, he said.

The government wouldhave to spend Rs 3,600crore towards salaries ofthe newly-absorbedemployees, the CM saidadding, "Our wish is to seethem be happy.''

The Bill, tabled byTransport Minister PerniVenkataramaiah (Nani),said that a Committeeheaded by C AnjaneyaReddy to look into variousissues including the merg-er, feasibility of substitutingthe present buses with elec-tric buses among otherissues, submitted its reportand recommendations.

The State considered theabsorption of APSRTCemployees with theGovernment and increasethe retirement age to 60years from 58 years.

Earlier, the Assemblypassed the AndhraPradesh State RoadTransport Corporation(Absorption of Employeesinto Government Services)Bill 2019.

Continued from Page1

The ordinance will have reg-ulations to restrict cross-subsidysurcharge, ensure timely pay-ment of generation dues by dis-coms and make power contractsnon-negotiable.

Through the ordinance, theCentre may also strengthen theinstitution of power regulators,carry out separation of powercarriage and content operationof distributors and develop a sys-tem of penalty for non-finalisa-tion of cost reflective tariff ontime.

The government intended tobring about some changes in theElectricity Act 2003, but it has

failed to get parliamentaryapproval for the last five years asstates are not on board over var-ious proposals in the draft leg-islation.

"The power sector is alsoreeling under sluggish demand,reflecting overall slowdown inthe economy. The sector needsa booster and if it's not comingthrough legislation then ordi-nance is the next best course ofaction. But the Centre needs tobring all states on board as mostchanges are to be implementedby them," said a power sectoranalyst.

Among the major changes islikely to be restoration of thesanctity of power contracts.

Irked over AP's PPA review,Centre plans ordinance

Continued from Page1

The CPI Maoist Party con-firmed the death on December13, when the party spokesper-son Vikalp sent an audio mes-sage in Hindi declaring thattheir leader is dead due tochronic ailments.

Three days later Vikaas,another spokesperson releaseda statement which was accom-panied by a set of photographs

and details about the funeralprocession of the Naxaliteleader.

The family members of thedeceased Naxalite leader wereuncertain about his death tillthe party announced it.

The supporters of Naxalitemovement and sympathisersin the terrain contiguous toChhattisgarh say that the deathof Ramanna was a major lossto the movement.

Last rites of Ramanna...Continued from Page1

We have also brought in a reg-ulation reserving 50 per cent forthese sections along with womenin all nominated posts and con-tract works," Jagan said, addingthat Naidu had no representationof SCs, STs in his Cabinet.

The government had also fol-lowed the rule of reservation in theappointment of chairpersons formarket yards, he said. Jagan point-ed out that in the recently-con-cluded Village Secretariat exams,82.5 per cent of those who hadcleared the exams were from theweaker sections, he said.

Govt committed to welfareof SCs and STs: CM

House approves Billson SC, ST panels

Continued from Page1

The Andhra PradeshState Commission forSchedule Castes Bill, tabledby Social Welfare MinisterP Viswarup, would enablethe setting up of a separateCommission to safeguardthe interests of Scheduled

Castes. V Kalavathi, KBhagya Lakshmi, NDhanalakhsmi, Golla BabuRao and Merugu Nagarjuna(YSRCP) were among thosewho spoke lauding the poli-cies of YS JaganmohanReddy government.

The Bills were passed byvoice vote.

Naidu walks backwards toprotest ‘reverse tendering’

Continued from Page1After coming to power in May, Jaganmohan Reddy

alleged that the previous TDP government committedirregularities in awarding contracts for various projects.He said contracts were given on nominated basis,putting excess burden on state exchequer. He announcedthat in all such cases the contracts would be cancelledand fresh tenders called under 'reverse tendering' where-in the tender will be awarded to the lowest bidder. Thegovernment has already cancelled some contracts relat-ing to the Polavaram irrigation project and other worksand claimed to have saved several crore rupees.

Pawan says new pensionersat Rs 15,700 loss...

Continued from Page1

This means that each pensioner is get-ting about Rs 750 lesser than what waspromised by the party. The governmentissued GO MS No. 103 reducing the age toget pension to 60. The age reductionshould benefit at least 10 lakh more. Tilltoday, the YSRCP government did not dis-burse a single rupee to the new beneficia-ries. Each new pensioner's family "suffereda loss" of Rs 15,700, at the rate of Rs 2250pension per month, Pawan Kalyan said.

It is clearly evident that theOpposition gives precedenceto its political interests over

the nation's interests if attemptsto provoke the people and tostoke fires of dissent across thecountry is any indication.

They have been slinging mudon the BJP apprehending thatthe BJP has vested interests ingetting the CitizenshipAmendment Bill passed.

They allege that with the helpof the Act, the BJP will driveaway Muslims from the nation'ssoil and give the country theshape of a Hindu state.

Opposition forces have beentrying to destabilise the countrywith malicious propaganda onthe issues that found mention inthe Bill and also on those did notfigure in it. These forces havebeen mustering resources toturn the country into a cauldron,unable to stomach NarendraModi riding into power with athumping majority.

Attributing political motivesto the Bill is far from truthbecause there are no elections onthe horizon.

As mentioned in its manifesto,the BJP piloted the Bill only torender equal justice to all but notto harm the interests of any sec-tion of society.

Amit Shah, while participat-ing in a debate on the Bill in theRajya Sabha, said that had theCongress not divided the coun-try along religious lines, the Billwouldn’t have been necessitated.

When the issue came up fordiscussion in the ConstituentAssembly, Jawaharlal Nehru, inthe name of secularism, dis-missed the citizenship demandof the Hindu and Sikhimmigrants into thecountry from the Eastand West Pakistan.

As per the Nehru-Liakhat Ali Khan agreem-ent, the country gave a ca-tegorical assurance that India willprotect them if they did not getany protection in East and West

Pakistan. Dr BR Ambedkar wasthe Law Minister of the countryat the time of the agreement ,while it was Dalit leader Jo-gendra Nath Mandal in Pakistan.

Mandal stepped down inprotest against the violence onnon-Muslims in East and WestPakistan. He himself came toIndia as a refugee as justice wasnot done to non-Muslim min-orities in East and West Pakistanas per the Nehru-Liakhat pact.

Therefore, is it not our duty toaccord citizenship to victims of

Partition?When the govern-ment proposed togive citizenship topeople of six faiths

who faced repressionin Islamic countries of

Bangladesh, Pakistan andAfghanistan, the oppositionquestioning the government,"But, what about Muslims" is

rather strange! When the gover-nment retorted saying, “Wh-ether Muslims face any rep-ression in Islamic countries at all"the Opposition has no answer.

One-third of the landed areaof the erstwhile India has beenpartitioned and given to Pakistan

and Bangladesh. Is there anymeaning in allowing those whohave accepted Pakistan andBangladesh as their mother-land to reside in India?

In fact, false propaganda hasbeen unleashed that the IndianCitizenship Act will give citizen-ship to those who entered thecountry illegally. Refugees livingin the country for over sevendecades without rights are beingaccorded rights, not intruders.

The opinion voiced that thecountry gives citizenship tofresh Hindu immigrants fromBangladesh does not hold good.

The Citizenship AmendmentBill clearly states that there is noquestion of awarding citizenshipto anyone who crossed over tothe country after December 31,2014.

The argument that CAB isviolative of the Article 370 doesnot hold good.

The Act does not question thelanguage, culture and socialidentity of the people of theNorth-East. Malicious propa-ganda is being propagated inAssam that the Act harmsminorities. The Act is applicableto minorities coming into thecountry as refugees but not to theminorities in Assam.

It should not be forgotten thatthe Center is implementing theNational Citizenship Register toprotect the aboriginals living inAssam from illegal immigrants.The Citizenship AmendmentAct does not harm the locals liv-ing in Assam. There is no roomfor apprehensions that the Acthelps violate Inner Line Permitin vogue in the North-East.Moreover, the permit is beingimplemented in Manipur aswell.

The draft Bill made it clearthat it is not applicable to the

tribals living in Assam,Meghalaya, Mizoram andTripula, the states found mentionin the Sixth Schedule of theIndian Constitution.

As per the Assam agreement,it has been decided to send backall those who have migrated toIndia after March 24, 1971. TheCitizenship Amendment Acthonours the agreement in toto.

The Act is applicable torefugees living across the coun-try, but not limited to Assamalone.

Those who faced repression inIslamic nations live in all states.The Argument that over 1.5 lakhBengali Hindus live in Assamand that the Act gives recogni-tion to all of them is not valid.

According to the Section 5 ofthe Indian Citizenship Act, everyeligible person can apply forIndian citizenship. TheAmendment Bill did not affect

any changes in Section 5 of theAct.

As per the rules, person of anyfaith, including Muslims, livingin the country can get citizen-ship. As per Section 6 of the Act,any person who lived in thecountry for five years canbecome a citizen of the country.

To prove staying in the coun-try for five years, certificates iss-ued by panchayats and municip-alities, Aadhaar card, post officeand bank savings bank accountsdetails, electricity and telephonebills suffice to prove the durationof residence in the country.Then, how can injustice be doneto person of any religion?

In fact, giving citizenship topeople of some faiths was notnew.

When Ambedkar was theLaw Minister, the ImmigrantsAct was passed in 1950. It advo-cates banishing of those whoenter the country illegally withmalafide intension and showleniency towards Hindus andSikhs who returned to India be-cause of disturbances in Muslimnations.

Y SATYAKUMAR BJP National Secretary

Opposition is misleading public on CAA

TRULY SPEAKING

VIJAYAWADA | TUESDAY | DECEMBER 17, 2019 nation 04SHORT READS

Asked time from AmitShah: KejriwalNEW DELHI: Delhi ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwal onMonday said he has soughttime from Union Home MinisterAmit Shah to discuss thedeteriorating law and ordersituation in the nationalcapital."I am very worried aboutthe deteriorating law and orderin Delhi. Peace should berestored immediately in Delhi -for this, I have asked HomeMinister Amit Shah for anappointment," Kejriwal said.Protestors torched four publicbuses and two police vehicleson Sunday as they clashed withpolice in New Friends' Colonynear Jamia Millia Islamia duringa demonstration against theamended Citizenship Act,leaving nearly 60 people,including students, policemenand fire fighters injured. Policeused batons and teargas shellsto disperse the violent mob, butdenied firing at them. However,videos of purported policefiring, injured students in theuniversity bathroom as well asfootage of them bleedingemerged on social media.

Maha: 10-year-oldgirl foils kidnapattempt in Thane

Woman dies afterfalling off Mumbailocal trainTHANE: A 22-year-old womanfrom Dombivali inMaharashtra's Thane district onMonday fell from a suburbantrain and died after beingrushed to a nearby hospitalwith severe injuries, police said.The incident happened betweenkilometres 47/17 and 47/15 onCentral Railway's suburbannetwork in the morning, saidInspector Satish Pawar ofDombivali railway police."Charmi Prasad, a resident ofBhopar in Dombivali, fell downfrom a train and was rushed toa hospital in Shastri Nagarwhere she succumbed tosevere injuries. We haveregistered an accidental deathcase," Pawar added.

THANE: A 10-year-old girlmanaged to foil a woman'sattempt to kidnap her inBhiwandi township ofMaharashtra's Thane district,police said on Monday. The girl,a Class V student, wasreturning from school close toher home in the township'sKongaon area at around 10amon Saturday when a burqa-cladwoman tried to kidnap her, anofficial said. "The woman pulledthe child's leg, causing her tofall. However, the child kickedthe woman and managed torun away. The girl's mothercame out of the house andraised an alarm which alertedothers," he said. The womanmanaged to escape from thevicinity and a kidnapping casehas been registered based onthe child's father's complaint,he added.

PNS n KOLKATA

Chief Minister MamataBanerjee alleged on Mondaythat a few people were paid bythe BJP to perpetrate violencein the state, even as she blamedat some powers from outsideWest Bengal "acting as friends"of the Muslim community forthe vandalism and arson.

The TMC supremo, wholed a mega rally from Red Roadto Jorasanko Thakur Bari, theresidence of Nobel laureateRabindranath Tagore in northKolkata, vowed not to imple-ment the amended CitizenshipAct and the NRC in Bengaland dared the Centre to dis-miss her government.

"There are some forces fromoutside the state, who are act-ing as friends of minorities andhave indulged in this violence.These forces are stooges of the

BJP, don't fall into their trap,"Banerjee told party members.

"As long as I am alive, I willnever implement the citizen-ship law or NRC in the state.You can very well dismiss mygovernment or put me behindbars but I will never implementthis black law. I will continueto protest democratically till

this law is scrapped," she saidhitting out at the BJP.

The chief minister also con-demned the police action onstudents at Jamia Millia Islamiain Delhi and said it should nothave happened. Slamming theBJP, Banerjee said the partyshould take care of the states itrules in Northeast before "lec-

turing others" on law andorder.

She also said that justbecause a few trains were set onfire, the Centre has stoppedrailway services in most partsof the state.

Banerjee, who has been atthe forefront in opposing theNRC and the citizenship law, isleading mega rallies crisscross-ing the city and neighbouringHowrah in protest against thelaw for three consecutive days,beginning with the Red Road-Jorasanko rally.

Governor Jagdeep Dhankharhas dubbed the rallies as"unconstitutional and inflam-matory act" and urged the chiefminister to devote time to"retrieve the grim situation".The state has seen several inci-dents of arson and vandalisationin the past few days by peopleprotesting against the law.

People took money from BJP forperpetrating violence: Mamata

Not only onion, prices of potatoand other vegetables on rise

NE, East regional parties take varied positions on CAAPNS n KOLKATA/GUWAHATI

The enactment of the new cit-izenship law has left BJP allyAsom Gana Parishad in aquandary following protestsin Assam, with the party decid-ing to move the Supreme Courtto scrap the Act, days afterbacking it in Parliament.

It, however, is still a partnerin the BJP- led NDA.

"We will take the legal routeto seek revocation of theamended Act as the indigenouspeople of Assam are apprehen-sive that their identity, languagemight come under threat,"AGP leader Kumar DeepakDas had told PTI on Sunday.

However, the party lookedlike a divided house with itspresident and state ministerAtul Bora appearing moreresilient and accomodative.

He said on Sunday that theBrahmaputra Valley should beexcluded from the purview ofthe law, which may be imple-mented in the Barak Valley.Barak Valley has vast Muslimpopulation, besides substantialnumber of Hindu migrantsfrom Bangladesh who stand

to benefit from the new law.The AGP had walked out of

the NDA in January this yearfollowing the passage of theCitizenship (Amendment) Billby the Lok Sabha. It, however,returned to the NDA fold as theBill expired with the dissolutionof the 16th Lok Sabha. It con-tested the Lok Sabha and stateassembly elections in alliancewith the BJP.

Here is how other regionalparties stand on the issue ofCitizenship (Amendment) Act

(CAA) in the north east and east:Assam AIDUF: The party

led by Badruddin Ajmal, theLok Sabha MP from Dhubri, iscompletely against implemen-tation of the amended law.The party enjoys support of alarge number of Muslims inAssam.

Meghalaya NPP: The partyis a BJP ally but has some reser-vations over the law and itsleader and chief ministerConrad Sangma had met BJPchief Amit Shah after the pas-

sage of the CAB. Amit Shah hasassured the party that the state'sinterests will not be harmed.

Sikkim: Sikkim KrantikariMorcha: A constituent of BJP-ledNortheast Democratic alliance,the state's ruling party had votedagainst the CAB in Parliament.The party's stand is since Sikkimis covered under Article 371(F),where the state legislature's con-currence is necessary to imple-ment a central Act, it will notpass a resolution to make CAAapplicable to the state.

Tripura IPFT: The BJP allyis opposed to the law.

Mizoram: Mizo NationalFront, the ruling party in thestate is an NDA constituent. Itsupported the CAB. The stateis exempted from the purviewof the new law.

Manipur: No major region-al parties active in the state.Congress and Left are opposedto the CAA. Amit Shah hadsaid the state will be "protect-ed" as it will be brought underInner Line Permit (ILP). The

areas under the 'Inter Line'require Indians from otherstates to get 'Inner Line Permit'to enter or pass through them.The BJP rules the state.

Arunachal Pradesh: Thestate is covered under the ILPand is thus protected. The statehas a BJP government. Only AllArunachal Students Union,part of Northeast StudentsOrganisation (NESO), isopposing the Act.

Nagaland: The ruling NDPPis a BJP ally. The new law brings

Dimapur, hitherto the only dis-trict excluded from the ILP, underit. Since now the entire state isunder ILP, the party, which runsa coalition government with theBJP, backs the new law.

West Bengal: The rulingTrinamool Congress is vehe-mently opposing both CAA andNRC. It leader Mamata Banerjeeis one of the foremost oppositionvoices against the new law.

Bihar: Nitish Kumar's JD(U)supported the CAB inParliament but is opposed tothe National Register ofCitizens which the Centrewants across the country.

Odisha: Biju Janata Dal, thestate's ruling party is not anNDA ally but supported theCentre in the passage of thenew law.

Jharkhand: The oppositionJharkhand Mukti Morcha isopposed to the CAA on theground that religion should notbe the criteria for grant of cit-izenship to Hindus, Buddhists,Sikhs, Jains, Christians andParsis who fled to Indiabecause of religious persecu-tion in Pakistan, Bangladeshand Sri Lanka.

PNS n KOLKATA

Legendary Bengali actorSoumitra Chatterjee on Mondayappealed to people not to resortto violence while protesting theamended citizenship law. Hisappeal comes amid pitchedprotests against the amendedCitizenship Act in several dis-tricts of West Bengal, duringwhich agitators set fire to railwayproperties and torched buses onnational highways.

The Dada Saheb PhalkeAward recipient told PTI thatthough he does not understandmuch about politics, it is perti-nent to ask why so many peopleare protesting the Act vehe-mently. "What I gather (fromnews reports) is that this Act willoppress a large section of thepeople of this country," he said

on the sidelines of the promotionof a Bengali film in which he isthe protagonist.

On the violent protests acrossthe state, he said, "When peopleget angry, they do many things.Causing people to get enragedcould have been avoided. I urgethe agitators not to resort to vio-

lence while protesting the Act.Otherwise, we do not knowwhere the situation could leadto." Filmmaker Aparna Sen andseveral other Bengali intellectu-als had earlier said vandalisingpublic property was not theright way to protest.

"A movement at times takesextreme proportions when peo-ple get carried away, but this isnot the right way to protest, Senhad said on Saturday.

The filmmaker had said peo-ple should not set fire to publicproperties of the state to protesta decision taken by the Centre.

A group of intellectuals, con-sidered close to the rulingTrinamool Congress, had alsourged agitators not to resort toviolence while protesting theNRC and the amendedCitizenship Act.

Actor urges CAA agitatorsnot to resort to violence

PNS n MUMBAI

Union Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman onMonday cautioned against"jihadist, Maoist and sepa-ratist" elements getting into stu-dent activism, and assertedprotests fanned across thecountry will not derail theeconomic agenda.

The remarks come in thelight of continued protestsacross many universities inthe last few days following thepassage of the CitizenshipAmendment Bill. Sitharamansaid she is not aware of whathappened at New Delhi's JamiaMilia Islamia last night.

She hit out strongly againstthe “misguided” Congressparty for backing "fringegroups" at universities whichhave shown Maoist or sepa-ratist tendencies.

Sitharaman alleged that theparty which helped get free-dom for India and should bedisbanded after the indepen-dence does not have “nation

building” as its agenda andfocuses only on being “sub-servient” to one family.

“It is important of being surethat as a political party, we donot encourage in the studentmovements' garb, forces whichare against the country. Studentmovement/protest is one, butit is a totally different thing tohave jihadists or Maoists orseparatist movements also get-ting into it and we've to be waryof that,” she said, speaking at

the Times Network's IndiaEconomic Conclave here.

She also seemed to suggestthat the ongoing protests,which have been reported fromthe Northeast, West Bengaland the national capital, willnot hurt the economic agenda.

“I'm confident that HomeMinister Amit Shah and thePM are clearly seized of theway in which the society willhave to be holding the econo-my,” she said.

“There's no undermining ofIndia's unity and its economyis important...We can assureevery step is being taken inorder to ensure that India andthe economy go forwards andbenefit all,” she added.

Sitharaman said Amit Shahis speaking to leaders from theNortheast to address their con-cerns. On the spate of protestsagainst the government's movesat the universities, the formerstudent activist said such agita-

tions are due to the “idealism”of the young students andsought to differentiate agita-tions that hurt India's interestsfrom the regular protests.

To critic's allegations overthe CAA, Sitharaman coun-tered it they were sleeping, andmade it clear that the samemove was part of the manifestoahead of polls on which it wasvoted to power.

She said whipping up ofpeople's emotions on issues likeCAA only shows Congress'frustration because it has beencontinuously losing the polit-ical battles.

On the charge of running agovernment that works for thebenefit of a few industrialists,Sitharaman said the people ofthe country outrightly rejectedthis when they voted PrimeMinister Narendra Modi witha larger majority.

She said the allegations lev-elled by “soon to be” CongressPresident Rahul Gandhi arebaseless and have no resonancewith the people's wishes.

Must be wary of jihadists, Maoists, separatistsgetting into student activism: Nirmala Sitharaman

‘No one to begiven Indiancitizenshipautomatically’PNS n NEW DELHI

No illegal immigrants belong-ing to Hindu and other fivecommunities coming fromPakistan, Bangladesh andAfghanistan will be givenIndian citizenship automatical-ly but only after fulfilling thenecessary criteria, a seniorHome Ministry official said onMonday. The clarification onthe Citizenship (Amendment)Act came amidst widespreadprotests in d f ferentparts of the country against thelegislation. "The new act doesnot mean that all illegal immi-grants getting Indian citizen-ship automatically. They haveto apply for citizenship whichwill be processed by the com-petent authority.

Lot of lip serviceregarding Makein India: IAFchiefPNS n NEW DELHI

A lot of lip service is being doneregarding the "Make in India"program when it comes todeveloping indigenous armsplatforms in India, Air ChiefMarshal RKS Bhadauria saidon Monday, stressing that allorganisations and companiesshould work together forresults. During the "Aaj TakAgenda" program, the IndianAir Force (IAF) chief said,"Everyone has to work in thisdirection (of indigenous devel-opment). We have given oursupport. DRDO has to designa timeline... PSUs should beencouraged for private sectorparticipation." "Right now, inthis 'Make in India' and indi-genisation (program), a lot oflip service is being done.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Not just onion, retail prices ofpotato and other vegetableshave also shot up in the nation-al capital on Monday as recentwinter rainfall has damagedsome of the crops, according totraders.

At the Azadpur wholesalemandi here, prices of mainvegetables, especially onion,are ruling high in the range ofRs 70-90/kg, potato at Rs22/kg, tomato at Rs 18/kg.

For instance, wholesale rateof cabbage was quoting Rs 7-10/kg on Monday at Azadpurmandi, as against Rs 1.40-3/kg a year ago, cauliflower atRs 8-22.50/kg as against Rs 5-10/kg in the previous year,while carrot at Rs 4-23/kg asagainst Rs 2-12/kg, and cap-sicum at Rs 12-22/kg as againstRs 6-12/kg in the said period,

according to data from centralgovernment portalAgmarknet.

However in retail markets,the rates are much higherdepending on the quality andlocality. Onion is available atabove Rs 100/kg, potato at Rs35-40/kg and tomato at Rs60/kg in retail markets of thenational capital region. Pricesof other vegetables like gobi,

cabbage and spinach doublethe rates quoted in the whole-sale mandis.

"The supply of most of thevegetables, including potatoand tomato, has been affectedbecause of recent rains. This hasresulted in increase in prices,"Potato and Onion MerchantsAssociation at Azadpur mandiGeneral Secretary RajendraSharma told.

PNS n GUWAHATI

Suspension of internet servicesin Assam was extended byanother 24 hours on Mondayto prevent alleged misuse ofsocial media in disturbingpeace and maintainlaw and order inthe state, offi-cials said.

The statehas beenunder ani n t e r n e tblackout sinceWe d n e s d a yamid violentprotests against thecit izenship law."Internet services acrossAssam will remain suspend-ed till Tuesday," AdditionalChief Secretary (Home andPolitical department) Sanjay

Krishna told.This has been done as

"social media platforms likeFacebook, Whatsapp, Twitterand You Tube etc are likely tobe used for spreading of

rumours and also fortransmission of infor-

mation like pic-tures, videos andtexts that havethe potential toinflame pas-sions and doesexacerbate thelaw and order

situation".Internet ser-

vices were suspend-ed on Wednesday, ini-

tially for a period of 24 hoursin ten districts of the state, andwas extended for another 48hours across the state onThursday.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Following is the chronologyof events in the sensationalUnnao rape case in which aDelhi court Monday con-victed expelled BJP leaderKuldeep Singh Sengar forraping a minor girl.Jun 4, 2017: 17-year-old girl

allegedly raped by BJPMLA Kuldeep SinghSengar.

Apr 3, 2018: Rape survivor'sfather beaten up by somepersons and arrested infalse case of illegal armsact allegedly at behest ofSengar and 10 others.

Apr 8: Rape survivor tries toimmolate herself outsideCM Yogi Adityanath's res-idence, alleging policeinaction.

Apr 9: Rape survivor's fatherdies in custody.

Apr 10: Allahabad HC trans-fers rape case to CBI.

Apr 13: Sengar arrested.Jul 11: CBI files charge sheet

in rape case.Jul 17: Rape survivor, her

family write letter to CJIRanjan Gogoi expressingthreat and danger to theirlives allegedly by Sengar

and his men.Jul 28: Over-speeding truck

rams into car in whichrape survivor, her familyand their lawyer weretravelling, killing her twoaunts, leaving her andadvocate critically injured.

Jul 29: FIR registered atGurubuxganj police sta-tion in Raebareli againstSengar and 9 others inconnection with roadaccident.

Jul 30: Rape survivor's letterto CJI comes into light.

Jul 31: SC takes cognisanceof letter, seeks report from

its secretary general ondelay in placing it beforebench.

Aug 1: SC transfers five casesrelated to rape case toDelhi, directs trial courtto complete trial in 45days.

Aug 5: Day-to-day trial com-mences at Tis HazariCourt here.

-Rape survivor air-lifted toTrauma Centre, AIIMS, fromKing George 's MedicalCollege in Lucknow.Aug 9: Court frames charge

against Sengar and femaleco-accused Shashi Singhin rape case.

Sep 11: Special temporarycourt set up at AIIMS torecord statement of rapesurvivor.

-Sep 25: Rape survivor dis-charged from AIIMS.

Dec 6: Rape survivor shifts torented accommodation inDelhi arranged by DelhiCommission for Womenon trial court's order.

Dec 10: Court reser vesjudgement.

Dec 16: Delhi court convictsSengar for raping minorgirl. Acquits co-accusedShashi Singh.

Chronology of events in Unnao rape case

“I'm confidentthat HomeMinister AmitShah and the PMare clearlyseized of theway in which thesociety will haveto be holding theeconomy,”Sitharaman said

Internet suspended inAssam till today

The AGP had walkedout of the NDA inJanuary this yearfollowing the passage ofthe Citizenship(Amendment) Bill by theLok Sabha. It, however,returned to the NDA foldas the Bill expired withthe dissolution of the16th Lok Sabha

VIJAYAWADA | TUESDAY | DECEMBER 17, 2019 nation 05SHORT READS

Cow smuggler'sproperty seized inMuzaffarnagarMUZAFFARNAGAR (UP):Property worth Rs 50 lakh of acow smuggler was seizedunder the UP Gangster Act in avillage in Muzaffarnagar district,a senior official said. Imranallegedly extracted moneythrough illegal sources andbought property in Chaparvillage that was seized onSunday, according to DistrictMagistrate Selva Kumari J. Hewas held under Section 14(1)of the Act, the DM said.Meanwhile, SSP AbhishekYadav said a police teamreached the village and tookpossession of a plot and sevenbighas of agricultural land.Imran is a history sheeter andhas been involved in over adozen cases of cow smuggling,cow slaughtering and cheating,the SSP added.

HC sets aside election of AzamKhan's son

Entry, exit gates ofJamia Millia Islamiametro station closedNEW DELHI: Jamia MilliaIslamia metro station's entryand exit gates were closed onMonday following a protest bystudents against Sunday'spolice action. "Entry and exitgates of Jamia Millia Islamiaare closed. Trains will not behalting at this station," DelhiMetro Rail Corporation (DMRC)tweeted.

CAA: impractical',Centre should repealit, says Ashok GehlotJAIPUR: Rajasthan ChiefMinister Ashok Gehlot onMonday said the amendedCitizenship Act is "impractical"and therefore it cannot beimplemented. He alleged thatthe National DemocraticAlliance (NDA) government hasfailed to deliver on real issuesand is doing politics in thename of religion and not on thebasis of issues. "It isimpractical and therefore itcannot be implemented. Six-seven states have said this. Thegovernment should repeal it,"Gehlot said at a pressconference here. When askedwhether the Rajasthangovernment will implement theamended citizenship law, thechief minister said, "I have saidthat it is impractical."

ALLAHABAD: The AllahabadHigh Court on Monday setaside the election ofMohammad Abdullah AzamKhan, son of Samajwadi Partyleader Azam Khan, to the UttarPradesh Assembly. Justice S PKesarwani ruled that AbdullahAzam Khan was not qualified tocontest as he was below 25when he filed his nominationpapers as the SP candidatefrom Suar constituency in2017. The election petitionagainst him was filed byBahujan Samaj Party candidateBahujan Samaj Party candidateKazim Ali Khan. Abdullah AzamKhan's father Azam Khan is theLok Sabha MP from Rampur,the parliamentary constituencyunder which the Suar segmentfalls.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Delhi Police's crimebranch will investigate theJamia violence and peopleshould not pay any heed tosocial media rumours, DelhiPolice PRO MS Randhawasaid on Monday. Randhawamaintained that police used"maximum restraint, mini-mum force" despite being"provoked" by protesters.

"There was no firing, therehave been no casualties inJamia violence. The crimebranch will investigate Jamiaviolence. Thorough investiga-tion will be done andaccountability will be fixed,"he said at a press conference.

"Four DTC buses, 100 pri-vate vehicles and 10 policebikes were damaged duringthe violence. One policemanis in the ICU," he added.

Randhawa said the policeis keeping a watch on socialmedia.

"We are monitoring socialmedia. I appeal students andpublic at large to not pay anyheed to rumours," he said.

PNS n SHILLONG

After days of pitched protestsagainst the amendedCitizenship Act, the Meghalayacapital limped back to normal-cy on Monday with peopleseen thronging banks and mar-kets before the Christmas sea-son.

Curfew was lifted for 13hours in areas under Sadar andLumdiengjri police station lim-its in the hill town and will bereimposed at 7 pm on Monday,East Khasi Hills DistrictMagistrate M W Nongbri said.

The situation is returning tonormalcy and no untowardincident was reported duringthe curfew hours and when thecurfew was lifted, anothersenior district official said.

Long queues were seen atthe banks, who also replen-ished the ATMs with cash.

"We are open for businesstransactions as the prevailingsituation has improved," a bankofficial said.

Shops and business estab-lishments at major markets inPolice Bazaar and Iew Duh

areas of the town were seendoing brisk business before theChristmas season.

The Confederation ofMeghalaya Social Organisation(COMSO), an umbrella body

of all groups protesting the Act,expressed its happiness overthe state government's decisionto pass a resolution onDecember 19 seeking imple-mentation of the Inner Line

Permit (ILP) in the state.Members of COMSO, how-

ever, are continuing with theirpeaceful protests against theAct and are slated to hold a sit-in at Malki area on Mondayevening, its chairman RKharjahrin said.

"We will continue to protestagainst the citizenship law andwant 100 per cent exemptionof Meghalaya from itspurview," he added.

The demand for implement-ing ILP in Meghalaya grew instrength after Union HomeMinister Amit Shah promisedto extend the law to Manipur.

ILP is in place in Nagaland,Arunachal Pradesh andMizoram.

The Nagaland governmentrecently extended ILP toDimapur district, bringing theentire state under its purview.

Meghalaya had recently wit-nessed pitched protests againstthe amended Citizenship Actthat seeks to grant Indian cit-izenship to religious minoritiesof Bangladesh, Afghanistanand Pakistan escaping persecu-tion there.

PNS n JAMMU

Mercury dipped in most partsof Jammu and Kashmir, andLadakh on Monday with Drassemerging as the coldest placein the region at minus 27.20C,a Meteorological Departmentspokesperson said.

The weatherman has fore-cast dry weather in the plainsand the higher reaches of thetwo union territories for thenext four days.

Drass town, popularly

known as 'the gateway toLadakh', recorded a minimumof minus 27.20C, making it thecoldest recorded place in theregion, the spokesperson said.

The town is arguably thecountry's coldest inhabitedplace, officials said.

Drass plummeted to anunforgiving minus 600C onJanuary 9, 1995.

The spokesperson said Lehtown of Ladakh continued tofreeze at a low of minus 16.7 0C.

Srinagar, which witnessed an

unprecedented snowfall lastweek, marked a dip in the dayand night temperatures whichsettled at 5.8 0C and minus1.60C, respectively, he said.

The famous ski resort ofGulmarg in north Kashmirwas the coldest recorded placein Kashmir at a minimum ofminus 10.20C, while Pahalgamhill resort in south Kashmirrecorded a low of minus 100C,the spokesperson said.

The minimum temperaturein Jammu was 5.70C, he said.

PNS n KOLKATA

The impact of the agitationagainst the amendedCitizenship Act in West Bengalhas hit the common man hereas prices of essential com-modities, mainly perishables,have shot up.

Potatoes, onions and greenchillies are getting costlier incity markets than what theirprices were before the protestsbegan.

Radha Sikdar, a buyer atPaikpara market said, "If theprotests continue, prices willcontinue to increase whichwill pinch our pockets. Thegovernment should come upwith some measures to helpus."

Many transporters areapprehensive to ply trucksafter buses were torched in sev-eral parts of the state duringthe protests.

This has led to a reduction

in the availability of vehicles fortransporting agri-commodi-ties.

"Only 3 trucks of onions arearriving at Posta wholesalemarket for the last 3 days dueto a shortage in the availabili-ty of trucks. Onion prices havealready swung back upwards toRs 120 per kg.

"Despite availability of

onions in Bangalore andNashik wholesale markets,truckers are refusing to trans-port it," traders in Posta said.

Posta is Kolkata's biggestwholesale market.

Forum of TradersOrganisation general secre-tary Rabinbdranath Koleyattributed the rise of onionprices to short supply.

Meghalaya had recently witnessedpitched protests against the amendedCitizenship Act that seeks to grantIndian citizenship to religious minoritiesof Bangladesh, Afghanistan andPakistan escaping persecution there

Drass is India’s coldest inhabited place at -27.20CMERCURY DIPS IN J-K, LADAKH

PNS n PAKUR

In a blistering attack on theopposition camp, BJP nation-al president Amit Shah onMonday said the Congressand its allies have done little todevelop Jharkhand, andsought to know why theHemant Soren-led JMM couldnot wipe out Naxalism whenit was in power.

Addressing a poll meetinghere, he said it was the AtalBihari Vajpayee-led BJP gov-ernment that createdJharkhand, and the NarendraModi dispensation worked forits development after buryingNaxalism 20 feet under theearth.

Taking a dig at Congressleader Rahul Gandhi, Shah,who is also the Union homeminister, said he should givean account of the developmentwork carried out by his party.

The senior BJP leader

asserted that Sahebganj inJharkhand was once a tradecorridor for countries in Asiaand Europe, but "the Congress,during its rule in the state,ruined all business avenues".

"Rahul Gandhi keeps askingwhy we mention Kashmir(abrogation of article 370)during our rallies in the state.He is wearing Italian glasses,has no idea that youth fromthe state shed blood on theborders to protect country," headded.

Amit Shah saidthe Modi dispens-ation worked forthe developmentof Jharkhan afterburying Naxalism20 feet under theearth

PNS n PUDUCHERRY

Chief Minister of PuducherryV Narayanasamy on Mondaycalled upon LieutenantGovernor Kiran Bedi to stepdown from office as the Centrehad allegedly brushed aside herrecommendations on certainimportant issues and approvedthe decisions of the elected gov-ernment here.

Addressing reporters, theChief Minister, who has beenat loggerheads with theLieutenant Governor on vari-ous administrative issues eversince she assumed office in2016, said, "The decisions takenby the goverment to waiveloans due from farmers, raisethe age-limit from 22 to 24 forrecruitment to posts of policeconstables, setting up of statu-tory bodies like boards andcorporations and also to takeaction against a school head-master for irregularity in atten-dance were rejected by Bedi."

"She (Bedi) forwarded thesedecisions to the Centre for its

clarification and decisions,"the Chief Minister said.

"The Centre had rejected theLieutenant Governor`s nega-tive stand and our stand onthese issues was approved bythe Centre," he said.

Narayanasamy further saidthe Centre had also approvedof 'my granting of marks to thesenior officers including the

then Chief Secretary ManojParida and Secretaries PJawhar and P Anbarasu" underthe Annual ConfidentialReport.

"The Lieutenant Governorhad reduced the marks sanc-tioned by me under the reportfor these officers, but theCentre upheld the marks Igave to these officers rejecting

Kiran Bedi`s slashing thegrades," he said.

All this clearly showed thatBedi had lost the Centre`sfaith in her and hence 'owningmoral responsibility' she shouldquit office as 'she has noauthority or powers to run aparallel government and take astand contrary' to the decisionsof the elected government.

"I leave it to her conscienceand she must quit office as shehas been snubbed by theCentre for discarding govern-ment`s decisions," he said.

Narayanasamy charged theLt Governor with scolding andintimidating officers duringthe meetings she holds withthem and asks the officers totake action and report to her

on the implementation of herdecisions.

He said this was a clear vio-lation of the order of theMadras High court given inApril this year in a writ petitionfiled in the court.

The court had clearly statedthat the Lieutenant Governorshould not intervene in theroutine administration or gov-ernance of the Puducherryadministration.

He said he was also aghast atthe Lieutenant Governor hold-ing a meeting of police officersand beat officers of the policedepartment on Saturday in thePondicherry University "with-out my knowledge as there wasno formal communication tome about the meeting."

Narayanasamy says Centre has lost faith in BediCentre`s faith in Bedi and hence owningmoral responsibility, she should quitoffice as she has no authority or powersto run a parallel government taking astand contrary to us, Narayanasamy said

Prices of agri-commoditiesshoot up in Kolkata amidst stir

Delhi police toinvestigateJamia violence

NCP: Centre shouldre-think on CAAPNS n MUMBAI

The NCP on Monday attackedthe Centre over police crack-down on those protesting theamended Citizenship Act inDelhi, saying such "muzzling"of voices was unfortunate,and asked the BJP-led dispen-sation to re-think over the newlaw given the opposition to it.

It also said that the role ofpolice comes under scannerwhen peaceful protests turnviolent.

Unrest over the policecrackdown in Delhi's JamiaMillia Islamia and theCitizenship Amendment Act(CAA) rippled in angry wavesthrough the country onMonday with demonstrationsin several campuses, includingin Hyderabad, Lucknow,Mumbai and Kolkata.

The morning after violencebroke out in the national cap-ital, thousands of studentsacross India took to streetsdemanding a probe into theuse of teargas inside the Jamialibrary as well as police enter-ing the campus without per-mission from the universityauthorities.

NCP chief spokesperson

Nawab Malik said videos werecirculating on social mediawhich purportedly showedsome policemen torching avehicle.

He, however, did not spec-ify location where the vehiclewas torched.

"It has to be probed how theviolence was stoked. Thepolice's role comes under scanner when peacefulprotests turn violent," Maliksaid.

He said the BJP "does notunderstand" that people haveto be taken into confidencewhile running a government.

"The government shouldre-think on this, respecting thesentiments of people, or elsethe matter is before the judi-ciary," he said.

Thousands ofstudents acrossIndia took tostreets demandinga probe into theuse of teargasinside the Jamialibrary

Vajpayee governmentcreated J'khand; Modideveloped state: Shah

PNS n ALIGARH (UP)

As many as 21 people havebeen arrested in connectionwith the clashes between AMUstudents and police over theCitizenship Amendment Actand orders issued to complete-ly vacate all hostels of the uni-versity, officials said onMonday.

"We have arrested 21 per-sons in the matter. Named FIRhas been lodged against 56persons and others unidenti-fied, SSP Aligarh AkashKulhary told PTI over phonefrom Aligarh.

AMU Proctor Afifullahkhan said no student will beallowed to remain in the hos-tels as strict orders have beenissued to vacate all hostelscompletely.

Special arrangements havebeen made to evacuate the stu-dents from these hostels andabout 40 buses arranged toferry them to their home townsin the western districts, ADG(Agra) Ajay Anand told PTI.

Arrangements have alsobeen made for all long-distancetrains travelling to the easternand north-eastern states of thecountry, with no stoppage inAligarh, to halt here to enablestudents of these areas to leave

for their homes, the officialssaid.

UP Director General ofPolice O P Singh said Internetservices in Aligarh, Saharanpurand Meerut have been sus-pended.

Protests had broken out hereon Sunday night against theamended citizenship law, withhundreds of AMU studentsclashing with the police at a

campus gate, leading to theuniversity adminstrationannouncing closure of theinstitution till January 5.

Patrolling was intensifiedin the city following Sunday'sincidents and an uneasy calmprevailed on the AMU cam-pus.

Around 70 people, includingstudents, 20 police personneland AMU security guards,

were injured in the clashes.Among those injured in the

brick-batting are Aligarh DIGParminder Singh and SP (City)Abhishek.

District Magistrate ChandraBhushan Singh said Internetservices in the city will remainsuspended till Monday mid-night as a precautionary mea-sure.

In a statement, he said this

measure had to be taken fol-lowing reports that some mis-chievous elements were shar-ing incriminatory posts whichcould threaten law and order.

All schools and colleges havebeen closed as a precautionarymeasure, SP (City) Abhisheksaid, adding that police picketsand a magistrate have beenposted at all entry points to theuniversity campus.

Police said all business estab-lishments in the neighbouringmarket areas of the university,like Jamalpur, have kept theirshutters down. Markets in theold city, including the sensitiveUpper Fort area, are alsoclosed.

Police said allbusinessestablishments inthe neighbouringof the university,like Jamalpur,have kept theirshutters down.Markets in the oldcity, including theUpper Fort area,are also closed

Puducherry V Narayanasamy

21 into custody after clashesbetween AMU students, police

Ahead of Christmas, Shillong limps back tonormalcy; residents throng banks, markets

The statements of six ChiefMinisters belonging to partiesopposed to the Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP), that they “will notallow” the implementation of the

Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) intheir States, poses an open and grave chal-lenge to the Constitution and to India’sunity and integrity.

The opposition to the amended Actbegan with West Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee. Soon thereafter, KamalNath, Bhupesh Baghel and AmarinderSingh, the Congress Chief Ministers ofMadhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Punjabjoined in, followed by Pinarayi Vijayan ofKerala and Arvind Kejriwal of Delhi. All ofthem have said that they “will not allow” theamended Act to be implemented in theirStates. These statements smack of reckless-ness and do not augur well for the preser-vation of national unity and integrity.

The CAA grants citizenship to six non-Muslim communities from Pakistan,Bangladesh and Afghanistan, who are vic-tims of religious persecution in these Islamicnations. They are identified as Hindus, Sikhs,Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians, whofled these nations and entered India untilDecember 31, 2014. The amendment saysthey will not be treated as illegal immigrantsany more.

The legislative powers of the Centre andthe States are clearly demarcated in the UnionList, the State List and the Concurrent Listin the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.Entry 17 in the Union List says, “Citizenship,naturalisation and aliens,” meaning that allmatters pertaining to these issues are whol-ly within the legislative competence of theUnion Government.

Under the Constitution, no State has theright to reject a law made by the Centre with-in the legislative sphere allotted to it.Speaking on Centre-State relations, BRAmbedkar had told the ConstituentAssembly on November 4, 1948, that “thebasic principle of federalism is that the leg-islative and executive authority is partitionedbetween the Centre and the States, not byany law to be made by the Centre but by theConstitution itself. This is what theConstitution does.”

Those who are opposing the amend-ment argue that it violates Article 14 of theConstitution, which guarantees equalitybefore law and the equal protection of thelaws. In their view, the exclusion of Muslimsfrom these three nations constitutes aninfringement of this Article. Several individ-uals are already knocking on the doors of theSupreme Court, questioning the vires of theamendment and one will have to await theopinion of the apex court in the matter.

This law has nothing to do with Indiancitizens, irrespective of their religious affil-iation and those who oppose it are aware ofthis. This amendment does not deny the pro-tection of Article 14 to any citizen of India.

It appears the argument againstthe amendment is that itinfringes on the rights of Muslimcitizens of Pakistan, Bangladeshand Afghanistan. Is any nationobliged to ensure Constitutionalguarantees to the citizens ofother nations?

Second, while the amend-ment speaks of six communities,they are actually a class of per-secuted people, not merelyadherents of certain religions.There are also decisions of theSupreme Court that Article 14provides for reasonable classifi-cation.

The Centre’s decision toreach out to these communitiesmust be welcomed for two rea-sons. First, India has always beenhospitable to persecuted com-munities for millennia. Thearrival of Zoroastrians in the12th century is an example ofthat tradition. In recent times,after the Chinese moved intoTibet, India saw a flood ofTibetan refugees numberingover 80,000 in 1959-60.Thereafter, there has been asteady flow of Tibetan refugeesinto India and the UnionGovernment made special pro-visions for their settlement inDharamshala and in other partsof the country, includingKarnataka. Given the manner inwhich India handled the Tibetanrefugee issue, one would pre-sume this would be the template

to accommodate those comingin from the Islamic nations.

In other words, they will beaccommodated in other parts ofthe country. The fears that thesepeople will be a burden onAssam is, therefore, misplaced.Since this amendment talksabout a cut-off date of December31, 2014, the fear of fresh migra-tions is baseless. The benefits ofthis amendment will not beavailable to those who cross intoIndia in future.

Further, it is not realised thatthis amendment is consequen-tial to a couple of notificationsissued by the CentralGovernment in 2015 and 2016.The first notification said thatindividuals from these six per-secuted communities, whoentered India before December31, 2014, would be exemptedfrom the penal provisions of thePassport Act and The ForeignersAct. This meant that such peo-ple would not face criminalproceedings even if they did nothave passports and other validdocuments. Their entry andstay were regularised.

Thereafter, the CentralGovernment gave these peoplethe facility of long-term visas.The amendment became neces-sary because despite these noti-fications, these people were still“illegal migrants” as per the def-inition in the citizenship Act.Until this amendment is made,

these people cannot apply forIndian citizenship.

The real issue is not whysuch a law has been brought innow. The question to ask is: Whywas it not done earlier? Why didIndia, largely under theCongress’ rule since indepen-dence, turn a blind eye to theplight of adherents of Indic reli-gions and Christians in theseIslamic nations? Further, whyhas the Congress, which hasencouraged Bangladeshi Muslimmigrants and used them as avote-bank all these years, nowprotesting over this law.

The attitude of the Congressis in line with its Muslim appease-ment policy even though it is giv-ing it diminishing returns. Thisparty, which ruled the country formuch of the post-independenceera, is unable to digest its margin-alisation and is adopting an“after me the deluge” kind of anattitude. The only Constitutionaloption available to the opponentsof the amended law is to chal-lenge it in the Supreme Court,which has been done.

When the Congress encour-ages its Chief Ministers to open-ly declare that they will notimplement a Central law, theparty is playing with fire. It willbe wholly responsible for theconsequences.

(The writer is an author spe-cialising in democracy studies.Views expressed are personal.)

Another year of UN-sponsored climatetalks and another year of stagnationwhere nothing was achieved. Yes, 2019

will go down as the year when a Swedishschoolgirl stood up to global leaders and toldthem to feel some shame but global leaders,rather leaders of the world’s most importantcountries when it comes to climate change,have brushed her away. There have beenrecord wildfires in Australia and the US, heat-waves in Europe, droughts in South Americaand rapidly shrinking ice levels at the Poles. It

was believed that compromises and contingency plans would have been putinto place at Madrid but after days of smashing heads together, nothing wasachieved. The Paris deal of 2015 offered a framework for a new carbon marketunder the UN, but the details had not been worked out. Under it, those who haveno choice but to pollute a bit would be free to trade carbon credits with devel-oped countries. With no agreement reached, events like “Extinction Rebellion”in London, which brought the city to a standstill, are meaningless.

Partially, this is due to the Right-wing, nationalist turn the world has takenpolitically. Strongmen from our own Narendra Modi to Donald Trump, Xi Jinping,Vladimir Putin and now possibly Boris Johnson are ready to compromise ontheir nations and liabilities. After all, fighting climate change is an expensive busi-ness and nobody wants to foot the bill. It has become a game of passing theresponsibility on and telling the other guy what to do. For some Westerners, itis about countries like India and even those in the African continent which areforced to put off their dreams of development “for the sake of the planet.” Noneof the countries will utter a peep to their own people, whose vast consumptionoutweighs that of many Indians. It is true that there has been a dramatic rise inglobal carbon levels over the past few years, thanks to China, but was it wrongon its part to haul hundreds of millions out of extreme poverty? India’s moralimperative is first and foremost to end hunger and starvation and ensure that nochild is left behind. Unfortunately, this will have an environmental cost, one thatthis country will pay dearly due to rising sea levels. Yet, India will have to makesome compromises if it is to reduce the extent of climate-induced suffering. Therehas been a pivot towards huge investments in renewable energy and exploringnew technologies but this needs the developed world to be less hypocritical.

It is ironic that on a day the Irish rock bandU2 paid a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi’s phi-losophy of non-violence by singing Ahimsa

with AR Rahman in Mumbai, students in Delhi,protesting against the Citizenship AmendmentAct (CAA), were subjected to excesses of themost brutal kind in the name of keeping lawand order. It is ironic that both the US andFrance, the two Western nations that are per-ceived to have been curated by Modi 2.0’sdiplomacy, have issued travel advisories toIndia following the widespread protests on the

CAA. It is indeed ironic that the democratic right to dissent is being subjugatedto totalitarian clampdowns even at the first response stage. It is disgustingly iron-ic that the legitimate concerns of an entire student community are being attrib-uted to the alternative “isms” and ideologies that are inconvenient to the estab-lishment. Nobody is condoning the violence and arson that have been resortedto by extreme elements, outsiders even, and necessitates strict action. But tohound and scare the student fraternity as a whole is fascist and makes a mock-ery of our Constitution. To even classify their largely peaceful congregations asa menace to society is monstrously wrong. As images went viral of the policeentering the Jamia Millia Islamia University, ostensibly even without the V-C’sknowledge, barging into libraries and hostels where non-protesting students weregoing about the normal business of academic life and herding blood-streakedand panicked faces on a cold winter night, the iron fist forgot that it at least need-ed to wear velvet gloves. That containing violence was one thing, containing stu-dents’ right to be heard quite the other. All this naked display of aggression didwas to forge a pan-Indian solidarity among students, be it at Aligarh MuslimUniversity and Banaras Hindu University in Uttar Pradesh, IIT and TISS in Mumbaior at campuses in Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru and Kolkata. One of the stu-dents of Constitutional law summed it up, saying she was a Hindu but stood atthe forefront of an agitation against exclusionary policies that questioned theIndianness of her friends. It is this heart-breaking image that will stay over therhetoric of political aggrandisement and the Prime Minister’s rather facile dis-missal of troublemakers as identifiable by “what they wear.” Many student pro-testers, therefore, took their shirts off to reveal their janeus, not as a sign of majori-tarian guilt but as an assertion of what is right. As a democratic society, stu-dents or citizens have the right to protest peacefully and must be accorded thespace to do so. Vigilance and safe-keeping don’t mean turning oppressor. TheJamia episode was particularly about jackbooting on presumptions rather thanfinding out that the arsonists were not students as much. It also raises ques-tions about a differential approach towards students of perceived minority insti-tutions like Jamia and AMU and student protesters elsewhere.

This, then becomes bigotry of the worst kind, one that actually executes thedystopia of “otherisation.” Even known autocracies have been known to stepback faced with the tsunami of student activism. China did not unleash the Armyon Hong Kong students as the world gaze on it changed ever since its misad-venture at Tiananmen Square. And during the student-led anti-government protestsin Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei told the police to restrain itself even if it meant thatstudents burnt his posters or tore them apart. We cannot silence students becausethey do what we have trained them to do, to be fired by idealism, which we failat, to seek an equitable world and question status quo. They should not bepupeteered but seen as a barometer of our failures. As public movements gath-er momentum, we must also codify threshold levels for security personnel asto what demands excessive use of force against civilians. There is need for aprotocol on escalation, clearly defining situations and the extent of force to beapplied, using non-lethal means. It doesn’t matter which political party is in powerbut the police force simply cannot be politicised. A civil protest has the poten-tial to turn violent but the job of the police is to restore peace in a manner thatis mandated by law and with caveats. No police in a democracy can violate basichuman rights. As for the identity politics that’s being relentlessly pushed withbrute force, the ruling dispensation must realise that it has a mammoth verdictnow, doesn’t need tokenisms and can get down to doing what could be its trans-formative moment, develop India so that we forget that we had been just “crawl-ing” for 70 years. Divisiveness will not dignify even its smallest best efforts.

Politics over CAA

Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Take the lead” (December 16).In the wake of the abrogation ofArticle 370 and 35(A), theNarendra Modi Governmenttook every precautionary measureto thwart possible violence.Similar was the case ahead of theAyodhya verdict. It should havemoved with equal alacrity duringthe passage of the CitizensAmendment Bill (CAB).

Knowing that it was aninflammatory issue, it shouldhave prepared security personnelto make a distinction betweenpeaceful protests and wilful van-dalism of public properties. Also,there may be much anxiety aboutthe Citizenship Amendment Act(CAA) but not all religiousminorities are on their toes tocome back to India, leaving theirproperties in nations where theyhave settled. Only persecutedreligious minorities, who areunable to stay there, will be reha-bilitated. The National Register ofCitizens (NRC), too, does not aimto deport genuine citizens of thecountry. Only those foreignnationals, who have settled downin the country illegally, will be

deported. Opposition parties areworried about the vote-banksthey have nurtured. Of course, thelack of documentation bothers allIndians equally.

KV SeetharamaiahHassan

Humanitarian woes

Sir — The clash of civilisationswill no longer be a big bang eventbut will gradually escalatethrough infinitesimal attrition.

With increasing levels of migra-tion along open borders and thedemographic situation exploding,politically the Right and Leftwing factions have gelled into anamorphous entity.

Strategically, nanobots and

drones have been game changersbut conflict within technology-based societies will largely be sub-ject to massive collateral damageas shown in the popular sci-fimovie, The Surrogates. Europe isan emerging theatre to studysociological assimilation and therobustness of multi-cultural soci-eties. As in the past, when the twogreat wars had their epicentrehere, the future will also emergefrom this cauldron of humanity.

Anoop HosmathMysuru

Brexit blues

Sir — This refers to the editorial,“A Brexit mandate” (December15). It was Boris Johnson’s cam-paign promise to get Brexit donethat led to the Conservative Party’shistoric win in the UK elections. Itwill, however, be a fallacy to thinkthat Britain will be free to do what-ever it wants the moment the Billis passed. Its freedom will dependon the kind of relationship it wantswith the EU and other partners.

PrathnaVia email

P A P E R W I T H P A S S I O N

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op nionVIJAYAWADA | TUESDAY | DECEMBER 17, 2019

06

Cloud on citizenship

A SURYA PRAKASH

The CAA has nothing to do with Indian citizens, irrespective of their religious affiliation. It is anattempt to help persecuted minorities who have been victims in neighbouring Islamic nations

I don't think it is apt forany country to commenton the domestic matter ofIndia. We believe in free-dom of religion and it isnot for us to comment.

French envoy—Emmanuel Lenain

Our cinema can't be progressive. If you makecinema progressive, no one will watch itbecause our audience is still not ready.

Actor—Neena Gupta

We do have a long yearahead. It’ll be entertainingbecause my father will keepit so, I promise you that. Itwill be like Bollywood with alot less dancing.

American businessman—Donald Trump Jr

S O U N D B I T E

L E T T E R S T O TT H E E D I T O R

No respite for people from rising prices

After onions, a hike in milk prices is set to sour mat-ters for the common man. News reports that lead-ing milk suppliers like Mother Diary and Amul have

increased milk rates come at a time when people are alreadysuffering under deteriorating market trends. That theGujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, which sellsits products under “Amul” brand, too, has announced aparallel increase in its price further portends a worrisometrend that will soon have the common man finding almostall domestic requirements way beyond his reach.

For a Government that has time and again harpedon popularity as the only measure of its acceptability, itbetter take stock of its recent unpopular moves.Anguished over the inability of the Government to checksoaring prices of essential commodities, it is equallyimportant that people, too, realise the folly of giving intoUtopian fantasies and swearing by an administration thathas failed to deliver. Development for a common man com-mences from the kitchen. With soaring prices denyingeven a square meal a day, how can achche din be envis-aged? While people have been crying for attention, theGovernment has embarked on a path that is detrimentalto their interests. Let us not forget that successiveGovernments have done so solely on the strength of their

pro-common man agenda. Time and again it has beenobserved that common man’s problems have been theonly poll plank that works. Parties exploit them for elec-toral gains — something to be used and then uncere-moniously dumped when the purpose is served. The BJPGovernment has been no different. As much as theGovernment is guilty of overlooking the problems andinterests of the people, the latter, too, is responsible fornot standing up for their rights.

Pachu MenonMargao

THE REAL ISSUE ISNOT WHY SUCH A

LAW HAS BEENBROUGHT IN NOW.THE QUESTION TOASK IS: WHY WAS

IT NOT DONEEARLIER? WHY DID

INDIA, LARGELYUNDER THECONGRESS’RULE SINCE

INDEPENDENCE,TURN A BLIND EYETO THE PLIGHT OF

ADHERENTS OFINDIC RELIGIONSAND CHRISTIANS

IN THESE ISLAMICNATIONS?

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

Climate breakdownThe positive effects of thesecond informal summitbetween Chinese and Indianleaders are gradually show-ing and bilateral relationsare developing steadily.

Chinese Ambassador —Sun Weidong

The excessive and arbitrary use of violence against protestingstudents, who just want a voice, is simply unacceptable

Maybe leaders do not like being lectured by ateenager but the world cannot afford failure

Jackboots vs Ahimsa

Don’t be ivory towers

THE CONGRESS AND ITS ALLIES ARE STOKING FIREOVER THE CITIZENSHIP ACT BUT PEOPLE OF THE

NORTHEAST HAVE REJECTED VIOLENCE. —PRIME MINISTER

NARENDRA MODI

INSTEAD OF LISTENING TO THE PEOPLE, THE BJPGOVERNMENT IS REPRESSING STUDENTS ANDJOURNALISTS IN THE NORTHEAST, UP AND DELHI.—CONGRESS GENERAL SECRETARY (UP) PRIYANKA GANDHI VADRA

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

Three of India’s leading central universities,located in the Capital, are going through aphase of student-faculty unrest. While stu-

dents at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) areopposing the recent fee revision, Delhi University(DU) teachers have hit the streets demandingabsorption of ad-hoc teachers, disbursal of suspend-ed pensions and promotion. Over the past few days,Jamia Millia Islamia has erupted too, with studentsdenouncing the Citizenship Amendment Act(CAA). According to the agitators, the issues whichhave rattled theses campuses violate notions of inclu-sivity, individual dignity and impartiality, as guar-anteed by the Constitution. However, even as thedramatic visuals of demonstration keep trickling inand many decry the situation as “unprecedented”,one needs to admit that Indian universities havenever been immune to such turbulence.

During the days of the Civil DisobedienceMovement in the 1920s, “nationalist” universitiessuch as Jamia were conceptualised and establishedas pockets of resistance. Over the years, these insti-tutions have offered the most trenchant critique ofauthority, whether British or Indian. From theIndependence struggle to the JP Movement, andfrom Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee to Arun Jaitley, uni-versities have supplied both leadership and spineto mass movements in India. However, the state ofaffairs in 2019 begs an important question: Wasthere ever such a phase in modern India when pub-lic sympathy for State-funded universities hadshrunk to the extent it has today?

The custom of criticising universities is near-ly as old as the history of modern education in India.As harbingers of change, these institutions have oftenbeen accused of corrupting time-honoured tradi-tions and causing social anarchy. In a scene fromSunil Gangopadhyay’s celebrated historical novelThose Days, which portrays the lives of several leg-endary reformer-educationists in 19th centuryBengal, Scottish philanthropist David Hare bemoansthe conservatives of Calcutta who believe that“book-learned women are liable to lose their hus-bands.” However, this suspicion has moved beyondthe realm of superstition and has now developedinto an incisive politico-economic critique. Over thepast few years, particularly in rural and semi-urbanareas, this criticism has reached a fever pitch. Themajority appears to have bought the argument thatsubsidising universities is wastage of tax-payers’money, since these institutions foment secession-ist and pro-Naxal sympathies. And that the “age-ing” researchers, who inhabit these campuses, aremere shirkers. Unfortunately, nothing seems to havebolstered public estimation of these universities ortheir students — not their dominance of theNational Institutional Ranking Framework, posi-tions in the Union Cabinet or even a Nobel Prize.

Arguably, had it not been for its proximity tonewsrooms in Delhi and Noida, the State electionin Delhi, the notoriety which JNU has acquired since2016 and the agitation at the three universities wouldhave evaded media attention. Although DU catersto nearly 300,000 students and a large number ofstudents at JNU and Jamia come from extremelyunderprivileged backgrounds, news of unrest hasfailed to trigger a national debate on the need toprotect institutions which continue to provideaffordable education in India.

There is no denying, that part of the problemlies in uncharitable portraiture by certain news chan-

nels, misinformation peddled on social-media and a voyeuristic interest in cam-pus life. But these aren’t the only ones tobe blamed. Popular culture, cinema andby extension, public imagination aresated with several problematic represen-tations of the idea of a university.

First, in a number of films, universi-ties are depicted as breeding grounds forextremists and delusional idealists, typi-fied by JNU and its bespectacled jholachhaap (cloth bag-toting) students. Thefamous thief-scene from the filmRaanjhanaa (2013), where studentsindulge in a futile night-long debate intothe origins of delinquency, is a snideremark on the culture of debates that uni-versities pride themselves on. Second, infilms such as Haasil (2003) and Gulal(2009) and the recent web-series Mirzapur(2018), universities are portrayed as bat-tlegrounds of violent student politics,puppeteered by corrupt musclemen. Athird variety emerges in Karan Johar’sfairyland colleges, exemplified by theStudent of the Year franchise. Of late,thanks to the army of technocrat-turned-comedians, and films such as ThreeIdiots (2009) and Chhichhore (2019),engineering colleges are being imaginedas zoos of quirky characters, lechery andsuch. In a country where cinema, televi-sion and now YouTube define the scopeof reality for millions, such representationshave dented their public perception.

At the same time, mass media haspersistently, if not deliberately, shiedaway from portraying the challengesand the disappointments of university life.No mainstream film speaks of those non-glamorous, bookish-students who wagedaily battles against social sanctions,poverty, joblessness and an endlessly frus-trating bureaucracy in the academia. NoTV-show or web-series examines the exis-tential struggles of thousands of tempo-

rary professors across India who areforced to spend their lives in perpetual fearof termination. University life is notromantic enough to the viewers exceptwhen presented in one of the aforemen-tioned templates. Perhaps no film or bookportrays the agony of university teachersbetter than Anita Desai’s In Custody(1984). But then again, outside the aca-demic circuit, how many have evenheard of this book?

The academic fraternity lacks thewherewithal to contest media hostility ormisrepresentation. Nevertheless, theymust reach out to the community at largeand share their stories. While many pro-fessors have become spokespersons ofmajor political parties, and in that capac-ity, they appear routinely on national tele-vision, rarely, if ever so, do they speak ofthe challenges they face in their profes-sional lives as educators and mentors.These “ambassadors” must utilise televi-sion to highlight the difficulties faced bytheir students, colleagues and institutions.The participation of professors in text-book production, school pedagogy andsocial movements, which has latelydeclined, must be reinvigorated as well.

Unfortunately, the university ecosys-tem insinuates the semblance of a universeunto itself. It creates the illusion that if allis well inside the campus, things are wellelsewhere too. And that the fight for high-er education is as much an emotional sub-ject to people outside, as it is to the aca-demic fraternity. But we need to break outof this chimera. At a recent DelhiUniversity Teachers’ Association protest,when I advised a colleague against rais-ing a certain slogan which has attractedconsiderable popular condemnation overthe past few years, he argued that it wasraised with an objective to educate themasses. It is important to realise thatrespect for popular sentiments or simplic-

ity of expression does not tantamount tosurrender of ideas, however indispensableor progressive they might be. Eventhough perception management is nottheir forte, academicians must speak a lan-guage which the common people under-stand and respect. Through popular arti-cles, public debates, parent-teacher meet-ings and maybe, even a YouTube chan-nel, they have to find ways to engage withthe community they so sincerely serve.

As the President of India pointed outrecently, universities shouldn’t behave likeivory towers. At the same time, given thelegacy of universities and their enormouscontribution to society-building in India,it is important that the Government andthe university administration honourthe circumstances of their origin. Theywere imagined as centres of criticalthinking, and they must remain so. It wasprecisely this culture of dissent andprotest in the universities which militat-ed against State oppression during thedark days of Emergency and saw to it thata reinvigorated democracy was restoredin the country. Had it not been for thisspirit of rational inquiry and the desire toquestion the sacrosanct, our progresstowards ensuring social justice wouldn’thave been half as successful. It is, there-fore, imperative that the Governmentgives a patient hearing to the students andthe academic fraternity. It must constituteforums and coordination committees toengage students on policy decisionswhich concern them. Contrary to popu-lar perception, they aren’t always delusion-al idealists or virulent anarchists. Besides,even from the perspective of law andorder, a controlled outlet of pent-up sen-timents, as philosopher Mikhail Bakhtinhas argued, is preferable to the viciouscycle of mob arson and State reprisal.

(The writer teaches English at DelhiUniversity)

Academicians must speak a language which the common man understands and engage withthe community through articles, debates, meetings and maybe even a YouTube channel

analysis 07F I R S T C O L U M N

Saved byvigilance

KARAN BHASIN

The best central banker is one which ensuresthat any financial recession or slowdown can besuitably prevented while ensuring price stability

GAUTAM CHOUBEY

AT THE SAMETIME, GIVEN THE

LEGACY OFUNIVERSITIES

AND THEIRENORMOUS

CONTRIBUTION TOSOCIETY-BUILDING

IN INDIA, IT ISIMPORTANT THAT

THE GOVERNMENTAND THE

UNIVERSITYADMINISTRATION

HONOUR THECIRCUMSTANCESOF THEIR ORIGIN.

THEY WEREIMAGINED ASCENTRES OF

CRITICALTHINKING, AND

THEY MUSTREMAIN SO.

IT WAS PRECISELYTHIS CULTURE

OF DISSENT AND PROTEST IN

THE UNIVERSITIESWHICH MILITATED

AGAINST STATEOPPRESSIONDURING THE

DARK DAYS OFEMERGENCYAND SAW TO

IT THAT AREINVIGORATED

DEMOCRACYWAS RESTORED

IN THE COUNTRY

There has been a lot of talk regarding a potential economic reces-sion and the global slowdown in 2019 gave credence to such ahypothesis, even as equity markets world over attained newer

highs. There were no apparent reasons behind the likelihood of a down-turn, except for years of unconventional monetary policies combinedwith increased uncertainty due to the ongoing trade war. Many felt,and perhaps rightly so, that the low levels of capacity utilisation dueto trade disruptions would eventually impact investment in these coun-tries, thereby slowing their economies. The causality was correct andwe witnessed a substantial slowdown in China, Europe (includingGermany) and other South Asian economies that are heavily depen-dent on exports and international trade. The fact that there was an addi-tional uncertain element of whether Brexit would happen and if so,under what terms for the Eurozone, further compounded the situa-tion. Intuitively, investments (and even consumption) are likely to takea hit when there’s increased uncertainty and therefore, a decelerationwas eminent in these economies. However, many of these economieshave their own set of domestic problems that have afflicted their growthrates. A classic example would be China which has seen an increasein its wages, making it relatively less competitive. This occurred simul-taneously with its practice of exchange rate manipulations. No won-der there is a trade war that resulted in a prolonged period of tariff uncer-tainty as China has been known to bend the rules to its advantagethrough levy of serious Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs).

Despite many countries facing domestic bottlenecks to growth,there’s been a consistent argument that a recession is imminent becauseof these trade-induced uncertainties. However, certain international devel-opments are important. Last week, the US-China trade talks arrivedat the first phase of a potential trade deal. This implies limited ad-hocchanges in trade policies for the foreseeable future, thereby reducinguncertainty. The trade war is likely to be behind us till at least the US2020 elections and therefore, the outlook for the coming financial yearshould be better than the one before. Similarly, the recently-conclud-ed UK elections have resulted in a conservative victory as Boris Johnsonemerged as the Prime Minister with full majority. Johnson has beena poster-boy for the Brexit campaign and was adamant on getting itdone even with a minority Government. Though the fractured Parliamentfailed to agree to a deal with the EU, thereby making Brexit a reality,a full majority ensures that it will finally happen. It also implies that theexit from the EU would come with a deal between UK-EU which willreduce the initial cost of this disruption. All of this is likely to result inreduced uncertainty in the Euro-region.

Leading central bankers have moved to accommodative mone-tary policies over the last year as they braced themselves for a likelyeconomic recession due to unpredictable trade policies. Some of themhave even argued for a more active fiscal policy over the last coupleof months. With these two developments, the root cause of uncer-tainty is removed.

However, some vulnerability exists as equities have continued torally despite earnings not catching up. Therefore, the only concern atthe moment is to do with financial markets and their stability. As longas markets continue to be stable there is little scope for an econom-ic recession and to ensure this, growth needs to revive. Perhaps, thescale of the 2008 economic crisis resulted in central bankers realis-ing the importance of being extremely vigilant and since then, we’veseen them ensure macro-financial stability. The positive policy storythroughout 2019 is that central bankers perhaps have learnt their les-son from the 2008 global meltdown. They’re more proactive, open totaking bold policy choices and politically savvy enough to navigate thecomplex web of policymaking.

A consequence of this is that somehow, central banks saw a reces-sion coming in 2019 and they took corrective measures well in advance.Through these measures, they have managed to ensure that the reces-sion doesn’t hit us for now. This illustrates an increasingly importantrole played by central bankers. It is important to note how, during theJackson Hole Economic Symposium, leading central bankers had advo-cated a trade deal which was originally outside their purview. The factthat a deal has happened only reinforces their importance. While 2019redefined the role of monetary masters the world-over, back home inIndia, we continued to be conservative with our fiscal policy whichseems to have prolonged the recovery. Though we have bottomedout, there is an excellent lesson for the RBI from the experience ofother central banks over the last year. Unconventional policies shouldnever be a strict “no” but they must be embraced from time to time.After all, the best central banker isn’t one that ensures just price sta-bility for economic recovery but one which ensures that any financialrecession or economic slowdown can be adequately prevented whileensuring price stability. Hopefully, as our central bank evolves, we willwitness it playing an increasing role to ensure just the same.

(The writer is a New Delhi-based policy researcher)

Not just a believer of the hetero-dox school of economicthought, even a stickler for

classic political economy can’t negatethat “dialectics” has not ceased to influ-ence the course of history and mate-rialism. While Hegel, Marx and Engelshad their interpretation of it, now ina different context, when the “late stagecapitalism” is shaping up regional geo-strategic and economic considerationsin unprecedented ways, the necessityto comprehend the “contradictions”well is something essential.

As globalisation is in the processof travelling extra miles, leadingeconomies are willingly making effortsto go beyond bilateral and other con-

ventional economic diplomacyarrangements. Playing safe with theregional cooperation framework alarge economy gains disproportionate-ly out of the sentimental grouping ofunequal participants. China has beena formidable player on this turf, so itsensed the criticality of India’s non-affirmative positioning on the much-touted Free Trade Agreement (FTA)experiment called the RegionalComprehensive EconomicPartnership (RCEP). However, RCEPbeing a China-dominated association,had to receive India’s response as perits “enlightened self-interest” to keephistory in perspective, house in orderand domestic manufacturing business-es shielded.

Prime Minister Narendra Modihad summed it up eloquently when hesaid, “Whenever I try and gaugeIndia’s interest in light of her joiningRCEP, I do not get an answer in theaffirmative. Neither Gandhiji’s policyof self-reliance nor my wisdom allowsme to join RCEP.” He made the state-ment based on realistic considerations.Among them, one was a silent confes-sion that India’s economy is passing

through a rough phase.Noticeably, India’s GDP growth

has been slowing down for five con-secutive quarters. It is believed that theeconomy was severely hit by demon-etisation and the Goods and ServicesTax (GST) and the core manufactur-ing and real estate sectors have losttheir way. India joining the RCEPwould have exposed its inability tocome to terms with challenges of anew regional framework that wastotally bereft of anything promising forthe industry in the country.

Also, RCEP keeps conflictingintent with the existing regional andsub-regional associations, such asSouth Asian Association for RegionalCooperation (SAARC), South AsianSub-regional Economic Cooperation(SASEC), Bangladesh, Bhutan, Indiaand Nepal (BBIN) and Bay of BengalInitiative for Multi-Sectoral andTechnical and Economic Cooperation(BIMSTEC).

India’s decision not to join RCEPwas a conscious one, after calculatingall the costs and gains that usuallycome with entering a new arrange-ment. Delivering the recent Ramnath

Goenka Memorial Lecture in NewDelhi, India’s External Affairs MinisterS Jaishankar made his statement on it,saying, “And it was that no agreementat this time was better than a badagreement. It is also important torecognise what the RCEP decision isnot. It is not stepping back from theAct East Policy, which in any case isdeeply rooted in distant and contem-porary history.”

He further added, “Our cooper-ation spans so many domains that thisone decision does not really under-mine the basics. Even in trade, Indiaalready has Free Trade Agreementswith 12 of the 15 RCEP partners. Noris there really a connection with ourIndo-Pacific approach, as that goeswell beyond the RCEP membership.”

What the Minister made out wasa narrative that India didn’t miss on“grand strategy.” In fact, this wasclose to the reality, as it was not an ideawhose time had come. RCEP was notjust a matter of trade for India; it wasrelated to strategy and foreign policyas well. While India was at the brinkof taking a decision on it, its neigh-bours, especially Nepal, watched the

proceedings closely. Nepal, whichhas been grappling with high tradedeficit and low manufacturing base,would not have gained much fromIndia’s entry into RCEP and the pos-sibility of cheap goods from member-countries being dumped into it.

As Nepal is passing through adevelopmental phase where the mode,locale and scale of production have tosee a big shift for reciprocating massaspirations, it should aim to work witha model that combines “Make inNepal” with “Make for Nepal”. Onlythis can lead towards an inclusive andsustainable growth agenda. A moreinward-looking approach for industri-al activities, eyeing both domestic andinternational markets, is the need ofhour. Moreover, policy-makers inNepal must think seriously over theunchecked outbound migration,which is causing enormous losses toits own prospects.

India’s tryst with FTAs has beendisappointing. Take, for instance, theIndo-ASEAN FTA, the Indo-KoreaFTA and the Indo-Japan FTA.Notwithstanding the initial excite-ment, in practical terms, FTAs have

proved to be a faulty arrangement forthe country. The experience of manyother countries has not been bettereither. The fault lines can be spottedin the “late stage capitalism” that neces-sitates developing countries to goahead with the public policy of devel-oped and saturated economies. Oneof the common issues with regionalassociations is that there is little scopefor a level playing field, as for the pro-tectionist measures, they only offer“double-standards.”

To maintain parity, an experimentlike RCEP must offer fair competitionto other member-countries not luck-ier than China in protecting theeconomy and playing comfortably inthe world. To make RCEP or any newformation, a positive factor for theAsian Century, the strategic and eco-nomic fundamentals have to be ascer-tained. Simply put, whims and fanciesdon’t help the grand plan. Above all,what matters is the fairness in intentand working for a shared goal. WithRCEP, this was and is missing.

(The writer is a New Delhi-basedpublic policy professional and colum-nist.)

Re-shape regional economic tiesTo maintain parity, an experiment like RCEP must offer fair competition to other member countries

not luckier than China in protecting the economy and playing comfortably in the world

ATUL K THAKUR

VIJAYAWADA | TUESDAY | DECEMBER 17, 2019

www.dailypioneer.com

F O R E I G N E Y E

Youth activism isunstoppable around theworld and tries to pick upwhere Governments havefailed. Young people areresourceful and they areable to divert attention totheir cause using differentforms of social media andother unconventionalchannels. They focus onwhat is important to them,be it climate justice,democracy, equality, LGBTrights, or social andeconomic equity.

(Courtesy: South ChinaMorning Post)

YOUTH ACTIVISMIS UNSTOPPABLE

VIJAYAWADA | TUESDAY | DECEMBER 17, 2019 money 08

CAPSULE

Sebi bans Trade IndiaResearch's proprietorNeha Gupta fromcapital mktsNEW DELHI: Regulator Sebihas barred Trade IndiaResearch's proprietor NehaGupta from the capital marketsfor promising assured returnsto lure clients into subscribingmultiple packages in order tomaximise fee for her ownbenefit. The order comes afterthe Securities and ExchangeBoard of India (Sebi) receivedseveral complaints againstGupta. Following this, theregulator conducted apreliminary examination intothe activities of Gupta andfound that she acted in afraudulent manner with clients'-- selling them non-existentproducts, creating fakeportfolio for clients andshowing profit in such aportfolio. Further, theemployees of Gupta used fakenames in dealing with clients.Moreover, she was chargingher clients unreasonable fees,arbitrary and not consistentwith the pricing policy, theregulator said in its orderpassed on Friday.

Essar Steelresolution to boostQ3 number: SBI chiefNEW DELHI: State Bank ofIndia Chairman Rajnish Kumaron Monday said the resolutionof Essar Steel will boostprofitability in the third quarterof the current financial year.Besides, resolution of otherstressed assets which are inthe pipeline will have positiveimpact in the fourth quarter,he said. The resolution ofEssar Steel is a huge positivefor the economy, he said. "ForMSMEs, I think the Insolvencyand Bankruptcy Code (IBC) isnot the right route. It is morefor the bigger corporates.MSMEs should have arehabilitation...we are not infavour to take them to theNCLT because it will burdenthe system unnecessarily,"Kumar said.

WPI inflation risesto 0.58 pc in NovemberNEW DELHI: Wholesale pricesbased inflation rose to 0.58 percent in November, as against0.16 per cent in October due toincrease in prices of foodarticles. The annual inflation,based on monthly wholesaleprice index (WPI), was at 4.47per cent during the samemonth a year ago (November2018). The rate of price risefor food articles rose to 11 percent during the month asagainst 9.80 a month earlier,while for non-food articles iteased 1.93 per cent from 2.35per cent in October, showedthe data released by theMinistry of Commerce andIndustry on Monday.

PNS n HYDERABAD

A 15 per cent corporate tax ratefor services companies in SEZs,setting up a fund for deep-techstartups and establishing clus-ters to demonstrate design-to-manufacturing capabilities oftech firms were some of the keydemands made by the IT sec-tor at the pre-budget consul-tation on Monday.

Representatives from the IT,startups and mobile devicessectors met Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman to putforward their demands fromthe Budget next year.

"What we have suggested isthat given that they havereduced the manufacturingcorporate tax rate to 15 percent...the fact that the SEZsunset is happening, at least forthe new services companies inSEZs, if you make it 15 (percent), then you will have onecomposite rate in SEZ for bothmanufacturing and services,"Nasscom Senior Director andPublic Policy Head AshishAggarwal told PTI after theover two-hour meeting.

He added that combinedwith other criteria like employ-ment and investments over aperiod of time, SEZs can drive

further growth. Aggarwal said another rec-

ommendation made was todrive innovation and growthfor deep-tech startups in thecountry.

"Set up a fund for deep-techcompanies...it is no longerjust about low-value jobs. Thefocus is on deep-tech. Chinahas attracted a lot of invest-ment. Globally, we see a tril-lion dollar opportunity till2035 in deep-tech, so settingup a fund for enabling accessof capital to deep-tech star-tups," he added.

Nasscom has also suggestedsetting up innovation clusterswhere "design-to-manufacture"capabilities of engineering andIT companies can be demon-strated.

"So you walk in with an ideaand go out with a prototype.Such clusters do exist globallyand this can be used as anopportunity to showcaseIndia's capabilities as a sector,"he said adding there wereother areas as well where clar-ity has been sought by theindustry body.

Indian Private Equity and

Venture Capital AssociationPresident Rajat Tandon said thebody's demands were primar-ily around clarity and consis-tency of rules.

"Our demands have beenprimarily around clarity andconsistency, so that confidenceof international stakeholders isthere and hopefully, we can seemore investments coming in.We are at the tip of the iceberg,and the minister has been veryassuring," he added.

He said clarifications wereneeded around areas like cer-tain treaties, sunset clausesand if pool of capital can beincreased from investmentsdone by global pension fundsthat can "further help build theecosystem".

Vishakha Saigal, VicePresident and Head at RelianceJio, pointed out that it is impor-tant that a robust data centreinfrastructure is created to

meet the burgeoning datademand seen in the country.

"It is very important to havea robust data structure andcomplete infrastructure inIndia because without that,nothing is going to hap-pen...Our current data centrecapacities, they are extremelyless, the demand is already out-stripping the supply," she said.

Saigal noted that India isalready the largest data con-sumer in the world and hasoutpaced even developedcountries.

"So if we don't catch up ondata centre infrastructure inIndia, it is very difficult toachieve our target for USD 1trillion (digital) economy," shesaid.

Saigal highlighted that it isalso important to create an"enabling PoS (point of sale)infrastructure" in areas whichare under- penetrated.

Representatives from the IT, startupsand mobile devices sectors metFinance Minister Nirmala Sitharamanto put forward their demands from theBudget next year

IT industry seeks 15% corporatetax rate for services cos in SEZs

Quality, value for money factors behind brand loyaltyPNS n NEW DELHI

Product quality, consistencyand value for money are themost important criteria whichinfluence brand loyalty of con-sumers in India, says a newstudy.

The survey by KPMGrevealed that 47 per cent Indianconsumers remain loyal to afavourite brand even after a badexperience.

"The study in India revealedthat when a consumer is loyalto a brand, 93 per cent will rec-ommend it to their family andfriends," Harsha Razdan,Partner and Head, ConsumerMarkets and Internet Business,KPMG in India, said in a state-ment.

"The fact that over 55 per

cent of consumers in India saythey will buy from theirfavourite company even if it ischeaper and more convenient

to buy from a rival company isfurther proof that loyaltyendures," Razdan said.

The survey included over

18,000 consumers in 20 coun-tries, with 1,721 being fromIndia.

The results showed that 84per cent of the respondents inIndia believe in loyalty pro-grammes and are more likely tobuy new products offered bythe company.

Brand loyalty doesn't onlyearn companies repeat businessfrom their loyal customers -

over 86 per cent of con-sumers globally saidthey would recom-mend a brand theyloved to friendsand family, saidthe study titled"The truth aboutcustomer loyalty -The world's con-sumers reveal whatkeeps them coming back".

In terms of earning cus-tomer loyalty, 59 per cent of theconsumers surveyed globallysaid they are loyal to theirfavourite brand because of apersonal connection comparedto 74 per cent in India.

Three in four consumersglobally said their loyalty wasdriven by product quality com-pared to 81 per cent in India,

66 per cent consumersglobally as compared

to 74 per cent in Indiasaid their loyalty wasdriven by value formoney and 57 percent consumersglobally as com-

pared to 73 per centin India said their loy-

alty was driven by cus-tomer service.

In terms of earning customer loyalty,59 per cent of the consumerssurveyed globally said they are loyalto their favourite brand because of apersonal connection compared to 74per cent in India

FMCGs top listof GST plaintsPNS n NEW DELHI

Fast-moving consumer goods(FMCG) firms have toppedthe list of customers com-plaints list for over-chargingever since the new indirect taxregime Goods and ServicesTax (GST) was rolled out onJuly 1, 2017.

Restaurateurs came second,followed by entertainment andmedia firms.

As per official data, as manyas 42 consumer complaintswere registered against variousFMCG companies with manyof them found to be not pass-ing the benefits of lower taxrates.

As GST rates were cutacross various categories in theGST Council meetings toreduce tax incidence on con-sumers, the companies wereexpected to pass on thebenefit by loweringprices in proportionto the rate reduction.

It was, however,found that many com-panies had not passedon the benefit of lowertax and indulged in profi-teering. Complaints were laterfiled against them and the GSTanti-profiteering watchdogNational Anti-profiteeringAuthority (NAA) took up thecases.

Some of the FMCG majorslike Hindustan Unilever Ltd(HUL), Procter & GambleIndia (P&G) and Nestle were

found to have profiteered fromthe lower tax regime.

In the latest case, the NAAlast week ordered Nestle todeposit Rs 73.15 crore withConsumer Welfare Fund fornot passing GST rate reduc-

tion benefit to con-sumers. The FMCGmajor has, however,said that it will con-sider appropriateaction after study-

ing the same.Experts said that it

is very difficult for FMCGcompanies to assess the exactimpact of the lower tax giventhat they have multiple simi-lar products in one category.

Moreover, they sell productsfor as low as Rs 2 for a sham-poo pouch and when the rateis lowered they are not in theposition to exactly assess theimpact on price.

As per officialdata, as manyas 42 consumercomplaints wereregisteredagainst variousFMCGcompanies withmany of themfound to be notpassing thebenefits oflower tax rates

PMC BANK SCAM

ED chargesheet on HDIL promotersPNS n MUMBAI

The Enforcement Directorateon Monday filed a charge sheetagainst Housing DevelopmentInfrastructure Ltd (HDIL) pro-moters RakeshWadhawan and SarangWadhawan in connec-tion with the multi-crore Punjab &M a h a r a s h t r aCooperative (PMC) Bank scam.

The agency submitted itscharge sheet, running into

around 7,000 pages, before aspecial court set up under thePrevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA).

The Wadhawans have beenbooked under various provi-

sions of thePMLA.

The two wereinitially arrestedby MumbaiPolice's Economic

Offences Wing (EOW), whichwas probing the scam, andlater taken into custody by the

ED in October this year.The PMC Bank, which has

around 16 lakh depositors,was placed under an RBIadministrator on September 23for six months due to massiveunder-reporting of dud loans.

The bank, over a long peri-od of time, had given morethan Rs 6,700 crore in loans toHDIL, which is 73 per cent ofits total advances, and whichturned sour with a shift in thefortunes of the now bankruptcompany.

PNS n MUMBAI

Vedanta Resources ChairmanAnil Agarwal on Monday saidif the government reduces itsstake in public sector companiesand banks to 50 per cent, theywill work more efficiently.

Currently there are 14-15banks and around 40-45 com-panies in the country wheregovernment has a significantstake.

"Government has no busi-ness to be in the business,"Agarwal said during a firechat at the india economic con-clave 2019.

He said his companyacquired four governmentcompanies and all of them arethree times more productive.

"Today government holds onan average 87 per cent stake inthese companies includingbanks. If they bring downtheir holding to 50 per cent

they will get USD 1 trillion andbecome much bigger," Agarwaladded.

He further said even if they(government) give up 5-10per cent stake in each of thecompanies to the private sec-tor, it will do much better.

"When we talk to the gov-ernment (regarding stake sale)they say we will sell the asset.But what I feel is government

should not be revenue mind-ed and should go in a very sim-ple manner and let wealth becreated," he added.

Agarwal further said thegovernment is sitting with thelargest and best reserves of oiland gas and coal along withgold and diamond and thecountry is spending aroundUSD 500 billion for import ofresources, which will go up to

USD 1 trillion."It is not that the govern-

ment company can't functionvery well but it is importantthat they make them free. Socompanies that are into oil andgas or those like Coal India canbe given to someone else.

"Even government law saysif the government control orholding is reduced to 50 percent then CAG and all otherextra audit goes away and theCEO can work independently.

When we talk to thegovernment (regardingstake sale) they say

we will sell the asset. But what Ifeel is government should notbe revenue minded and shouldgo in a very simple manner andlet wealth be created

—ANIL AGARWAL SURESHVedanta Resources Chairman

‘Govt has no business to be in business’

‘IBC saved 160companies frompremature death’PNS n NEW DELHI

The Insolvency andBankruptcy Code (IBC) hassaved 160 companies frompremature death, and itsimplementation will also helpin pushing economic growthhigher by a few percentagepoints, according to a seniorofficial.

M S Sahoo, Chairperson ofthe Insolvency andBankruptcy Board of India(IBBI), said the companiesresolved under the codefetched "210 per cent of theirliquidation value and if thecompanies were liquidated,they would have got at the best100 per cent and the additional110 per cent is a bonus".

The code, which providesfor resolution of stressed assetsin market-linked and time-bound manner, came intoforce in 2016.

"Of the 160 companies thathave been resolved, one-thirdof them were defunct or underBIFR (Board for Industrialand Financial Reconstruction),and balance two-third were indistress which, if not attended,would have gone to closure.This code enabled to savethese 160 companies frompremature death," Sahoo toldPTI on Monday.

According to him, theimplementation of the codewith all its features wouldpush up the growth rate by afew percentage points.

As many as 21,136 applica-tions have been filed under thecode. About 9,653 casesinvolving a total amount ofapproximately Rs 3,74,931.30crore have been disposed of atpre-admission stage of IBC,the government said onSunday.

About 2,838 cases wereadmitted into the corporateinsolvency resolution process(CIRP) and out of them, 306cases have been closed "byappeal/review/withdrawn", it

had said.Following the implementa-

tion, several markets, includ-ing those for insolvency pro-fessionals and registered val-uers, have developed.

"Even the scope of profes-sionals like advocates, char-tered accountants haveincreased. There is a hugemarket for capacity build-ing...," he said on the sidelinesof a conference on 'Insolvencyand Bankruptcy Code, 2016:Impact on Markets and theEconomy'.

The conference has beenorganised by the IBBI andVidhi Centre for Legal Policyin partnership with the Facultyof Law and the CommercialLaw Centre, HarrisManchester College at theUniversity of Oxford.

Licious raisesUSD 30 million inSeries 'E' fundingPNS n BENGALURU

Fresh meat and seafood brandLicious announced onMonday it has raised USD 30million in Series E fundinground.

The round was led bySingapore-based Vertex GrowthFund ("Vertex Growth") alongwith existing investors 3one4Capital, Bertelsmann IndiaInvestments, Vertex VenturesSoutheast Asia and India, andSistema Asia Fund.

The funds would be deployedtowards expanding to a greaternumber of Indian cities, aug-menting capabilities in the exist-ing markets, strengtheningomnichannel presence andpowering new product launch-es, especially in the ready- to-eatcategory, Licious said in a pressstatement.

The company said it wouldalso focus on upgrading theIndian meat and seafoodecosystem by bolstering tech-nological intervention, expand-ing its pool of employees andtraining them on niche skillsthat the industry needs.

Co-founders of LiciousVivek Gupt and AbhayHanjura were quoted saying:"The fact that 92% of theIndian meat and seafoodindustry is still unorganisedindicates the huge, under-served community that exists,as well as the opportunitythat this sector has to offer."

The traditional meat andseafood industry is in direneed of tech intervention,quality standardisation and askilled talent pool, they said inthe statement.

Currently, Licious, a 2,000-employee-strong company, ispresent in seven cities andprocesses more than 17,000orders a day. The companysaid it has clocked in a growthrate of 300 per cent year-on-year and aims at reaching atarget of Rs 1,000 crore by2023.

Indo Wagenplans pan-IndiaexpansionPNS n NEW DELHI

Three-wheeler battery-oper-ated e-rickshaw manufacturerIndo Wagen plans to expandacross the country by 2021, atop company official said. IndoWagen, a venture of city-basedZeniak Innovation IndiaLimited, has its manufacturingplant in China and an assemblyunit at Howrah in West Bengal."We are presently operating innine states of the country. Weplan to expand to 15 states innorth and central India by 2020and to 20 states by 2021", CEOof Zeniak Innovation RajeevKumar Srivastava said. He toldreporters here on Monday thatIndo Wagen would also have 10warehouses by March 2020,adding that the e-rickshawindustry in India is growing ata CAGR of 20%.

GST impact will take time: DebroyPNS n NEW DELHI

The impact of GST ongrowth will take timeand results will not bevisible overnight,according to BibekDebroy, Chairman,Economic AdvisoryCouncil to the PrimeMinister (EAC-PM).

Noting that Goods andServices Tax (GST) is a work

in progress, he said that whenit was introduced, there were

people who said thenew indirect tax

regime would leadto incrementalGDP growth of1.5-2 per cent.

"This isregarding the fact

that the estimate wasdone by NCAER

(National Council of Applied

Economic Research) for theninth Finance Commissionfor terminal ideal GST, where-as GST -- which is work inprogress - may take 20 years.It is not that you are going toget 1.5-2 per cent (additional)GDP growth overnight," hesaid on Monday.

India's GDP growth ratehas fallen to an over 6-year lowof 4.5 per cent in the secondquarter of current fiscal.

As many as21,136applications havebeen filed underthe code. About9,653 casesinvolving a totalamount ofapproximately Rs3,74,931.30 crorehave beendisposed of at pre-admission stageof IBC, thegovernment said.

When I see these people work hard,I just have a drive in me to help

them out. I came to know that wecan make at least a few colours ofour ownat home, so I decided I’d

give it a try since it’s for a goodcause anyway. This is the same case

with my paintings.RAVI CHUNCHULA

ARTIST

The butterflies inmy artworksignify elementsof nature whicharecircumstantial.They arewitnesses,mutespectators to the everydayhappenings of life. That’show I portray thesignificance of thebutterfly in my art.When it comes tothe purpose behindmy art, I alwayshold on to the beliefthat most artists aremore sensitive thanthe rest of the peoplePRATUL DASHARTIST

akshmiNambiar, thedirector and cura-tor of SrishtiGallery, held anexhibition themed

‘The butterfly effect’, whichaims to bring forth this veryidea and how it is relevant inthe lives of common people.

The exhibition bringstogether nine artists fromacross the country namelyDigbijayee Khatua, DineshPimple, Malavika Reddy,Nishant Dange, Pratul Dash,Sujith SN, PrasantaBandyopadhyay, Priti

Vadakkath and RaviChunchula. All the artistshave aesthetically presentedtheir renditions of the but-terfly effect whilst alsoexploring other socially rel-evant topics.

We spoke to Pratul Dash,an artist by profession whohas exhibited his work at theexhibition, about what heintended to convey to theviewer, through his art. Heresponds, “When it comes tothe purpose behind my art, Ialways hold on to the beliefthat most artists are moresensitive than the rest of thepeople. By sensitivity I meansensitivity towards one’s sur-roundings, an awareness andconsciousness towards theworld around you. And thissensitivity comes with socialresponsibility. Art in itself isa social responsibility. Thusmy artwork is often socio-political or socioeconomic innature.”

“The butterflies in my art-work signify elements ofnature which are circumstan-tial. They are witnesses, mutespectators to the everyday

happenings of life. That’s howI portray the significance ofthe butterfly in my art,” headds.

Ravi Chunchula is yetanother artist whose mediumis just as fascinating as hiswork. “I use rice paperinstead of regular canvas. Ialso make my own ink usinghomemade ingredients. Inthis particular painting, Iused tea (decoction) to bringout the browns. The paper ismade by poor people basedin Kolkata, thus buying thisbenefits them while beingnature-friendly.”

When asked whether hisdecision to use such a medi-um was a conscious choice tocontribute to nature andsociety he said, “To be hon-est, I never thought of it thatway. When I see these peoplework hard, I just have a drivein me to help them out. Icame to know that we canmake at least a few colours ofour own at home, so I decid-ed I’d give it a try since it’s fora good cause anyway. This isthe same case with my paint-ings.”

Giving further details ofthe nature of his painting, hesaid, “My paintings are most-ly humorous and satirical innature. I used to work as acartoonist in BBC Delhi. Thathelped me recognise my styleas it is the basic requirementfor a cartoonist to be able toreach out to the audiencethrough humour and satire.My paintings are inspired bynature. Though the paintingsare a light-hearted satire ofsociety, the paintings are onlyan afterthought. It is up to theviewer to create their ownnarrative and opinion oneach piece.”

Each of the artists’ paint-ings that were exhibited atthe gallery gave a differentand distinct message to theaudience. ‘The ButterflyEffect’ is the idea that thesmallest of things can have atremendous impact on life.The artists were invited toexplore the complexity of thecause and effect of variousdeeds through art. And restassured, each painting isbound to leave a far-reachingimpact on its viewers.

he city recentlyplayed host to avocal recital as atribute to LateLegend UstaadAmir Khan.

Over 150 music aficiona-dos attending the event weremesmerised by singersSanhita Nandi and KarthikaAnagha.

While Karthika sang inBihag, Hamsadhwani,Hamsanandi and MarathiAbhang Ragas, Sanhita enter-tained classical music loversin Shudh Kalyan Malkaunsand one light Classical inKhammaj.

Karthika is a Carnatic clas-sical vocalist and a recipientof the Bal Shree Award, anational award given by thePresident of India for chil-dren excelling in creativefields.

Sanhita is a prominentHindustani classical vocalistof the Kirana Gharana.

They were accompanied byRahul Deshpande on harmo-

nium, Harijit Singh on tabla,Kolanka Sai on violin andKarra Srinivas onMridangam.

The event was organised inassociation with ICCR andSurmandal as a part of theirseries for paying tributes tolegends, in association with‘Our Sacred Space’.

Chandravadan, Retd IAS,Dr Kundra, of AutismAshram and AradhanaKarhade Sastry, an eminentsinger attended the event.

e all rememberour school annualdays which startsoff with a keynoteby our principalfollowed by a few

other chief guests who are asconfused as we are. Thenthere’s the march past, theusual song and dance anddepending on your school,dinner.

But many schools in thecity have managed to makeeven an annual day interest-ing. With growing technolo-gy and increasing knowledge

among children, schools are increasingly shunningthe routine celebrations andare thinking out of the box.One such example is St.Peters High School thatturned its annual day cele-brations into anInternational YouthLeadership Programme.

“When school functionsbecome routine and mun-dane, something uniquemust happen to make theminteresting and useful. Wetook it as an opportunity toteach lessons of conflict,

stress, failure management,fitness, leadership skills andothers. We don’t want ourannual day to be mere enter-tainment,” said Dr KSuvarna, principal of theschool.

“We have identified 22 bestpractices adopted by a fewschools from across theworld such as Pakistan,Kenya, Australia, Japan,Mexico, Tibet, Israel,Thailand, Netherlands, anddemonstrated them usingsound, song, storytelling,action, drama and dance to

inform, educate and enter-tain students and their parents through our celebrations. We haveinvolved as many as 1,500students, from Grade 4 to10,” adds Suvarna.

Practices such as ForestBathing, Curb ClimateChange, Singing BowlTherapy, Laughing Yoga,Creation of Zero HungerZones and much more wereshowcased by the students.

Students who presentedthe plays urged other schoolsto take up this practice.

A classical ode toUstaad Amirkhan

AN ART APARTThe Butterfly Effect:

It is the little things in life that get magnifiedinto bigger issues and these little things come

together and contribute towards creatingsomething as magnanimous as fate itself. Such

is the concept of the ‘butterfly effect' whichbravely professes how it is the small things such

as the flapping of a butterfly's wings on onecontinent causes a hurricane on some other,

writes ANUSHKA PRADEEP

L

TAN OTHERWORLDLY

ANNUAL DAY EXPERIENCEApart from usual song and

dance, this school has taken adifferent approach for their

annual day by hosting new toolsof learning such as

“Earthpreneurs”, “Eduration”,“Art Integrated Learning”, “Laugh

for no reason” “EducationBeyond Books” and many others

W

TuesdayDecember 17, 2019

Follow us on@TheDailyPioneerfacebook.com/dailypioneer

rithik Roshan’s film Super 30 may soon becomeBollywood’s first film to be remade in Hollywood,reports suggest. The film also starred MrunalThakur and Pankaj Tripathi in important roles.

An Asian Age report quoted a source as saying,“Super 30 is one of the finest subjects that has come

out from India in the recent past. And with Indian storiesfinding worldwide acceptance, this subject too is expect-ed to work globally. A Hollywood major has showninterest in the subject, and writer Sanjiv Dutta isexpected to pen the film in English once the castingfor the central character is finalised after the studiohires the director. Anand Kumar is expected to be apart of this film too because it is based on his life.”

Another report also suggested that agents fromtop officials from a production company in Americamet Shubhashish Sircar of Reliance Entertainmentrecently. They reportedly discussed prospects of aHollywood remake of the film that was produced byReliance.

Directed by Vikas Bahl, Super 30 told the story ofmathematician Anand Kumar who runs a coaching

centre for underprivileged kids in Bihar and helps themqualify the entrance exams for the much-coveted IITs.

Speaking about Hrithik’s performance in the film, Anandhad said, “The journey has been very special and Hrithik ji

has completely taken over the soul of my character. Each time Iwatch the film, his brilliance just surprises me. From my pain to

my happiness, I feel I am looking at myself on the screen. Theresponse that I have been receiving from the audience has been

extremely overwhelming.”

ammootty’s Tamil film Peranbu hasbeen named as the top Indianmovie of 2019 in a list released byIMDb, in which Ranveer Singh andAlia Bhatt’s Gully Boy secured thirdposition.

IMDb on Monday unveiled the top 10Indian movies of 2019 as determined byIMDb customer ratings. The ratingsare determined by customers whorank films and TV shows on a 10point scale. To rate a title, customerscan click the “Rate This” star on anyfilm or TV show title page onIMDb.

Vicky Kaushal’s Uri: The SurgicalStrike, the war-based drama thattraces the real-life events of the 2016Uri attack and its aftermath, is onsecond spot.

Gully Boy, India’s official entry forthe 92nd Academy Awards, is third in

the list, followed by Article 15,Chhichhore, Super 30, Badla, The

Tashkent Files, Kesari and Lucifer.“It’s wonderful to see such a diverse list of

films resonating with IMDb fans this year,including the #3 customer-rated film Gully Boy,

which is India’s official entry for the 92nd Academy Awards,” said Col Needham, IMDb

Founder and CEO.

ondemning the police crackdown inside Jamia Millia university, sev-eral film industry insiders, including one from Hollywood, onMonday rallied behind the university’s students and said the govern-ment is trying to stifle voices of dissent against the CitizenshipAmendment Act.

Hollywood star John Cusack joined prominent namesfrom the Hindi film fraternity, including director Anurag Kashyap,Taapsee Pannu, Konkona Sensharma and Sudhir Mishra, in express-ing his anger over Sunday's violence inside the campus.

Thousands of students across India took to the streets demand-ing a probe into the use of teargas inside the Jamia library as wellas police entering the campus without permission from universi-ty authorities on Sunday.

Jamia turned into a battlefield on Sunday as police enteredthe campus and used force to quell student protests against theAct.

Many on social media noted the usual silence of top stars,directors and producers in Bollywood but there were many whovoiced their support for student protests.

Serendipity star Cusack also took note of the videos frominside the campus, which were circulated widely on social media.

“Reports from Delhi are — it was a war zone last night -Fascism is not a joke — we use the word with the understanding,it's deadly,” he said in a series of tweets after first asking for the con-text of the protests.

Director Anurag Kashyap, who had left Twitter in August this year,returned to the social media platform to voice his anger over the waystudent protests were handled.

“This has gone too far... (I) can't stay silent any longer. This government isclearly fascist... and it makes me angry to see voices that can actually make a dif-ference stay quiet...,” he tweeted.

10

Vijayawada Tuesday December 17, 2019 what’s brewing?

C

Mammootty's PERANBU topsIMDb 2019 list of Indian movies

Hollywood star joins Tapsee, Kashyap,

Konkona to speak up for Jamia students

Hrithik Roshan's SUPER 30 likelyto be remade in Hollywood

M H

FUN TIME

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

CALVIN AND HOBBES

l Each row and column cancontain each number (1 to 9)exactly once.

l The sum of all numbers inany row or column mustequal 45.

Yesterday’s solution

ollywood star Daniel Craig will be seensporting grey hair in the upcomingfilm No Time to Die. In the film’strailer, Craig, who has playedthe spy in the last fourmovies,

sports his grey locks but also appears to have hints of several other hair colours, reports mir-ror.co.uk.

Commenting on the differentstyles, one fan commented, “Itwas really odd looking at thetrailer because It looked like Iwas watching different movies.I get that they want to keepBond looking young but actu-ally Bond with a salt and pep-per look is really cool.”

Also, Craig is the first everJames Bond to have grey hair. He will also be seen sporting atleast eight different looks in thefilms.

No time To Die is the 25th Bondflick, and is directed by new-age mav-erick and Emmy-winner Cary JojiFukunaga, who made mark calling theshots on True Detective.

— IANS

H

Daniel Craig to sport eight differentlooks in NO TIME TO DIE

he filming of AlaVaikunthapuramlo, starringAllu Arjun, is over except fora song, which will be shot inRamoji Film City, shortly.With the film’s release date

nearing, the makers have decided to ampup promotions further. We hear they’veplanned a couple of events on a massivescale to heighten buzz surrounding theproject, a family drama peppered withhumour and action. While one will be amusical night which will be held onDecember 28 this month in Hyderabad,

wherein songs from the film and fromother Bunny films will be performed bynoted singers, the other will be the cus-tomary pre-release event which will beheld on January 5 in Visakhapatnam.Venues for both the events haven’tbeen finalised yet. The Vizag eventmight likely see either of MegastarChiranjeevi or Ram Charan gracing it.

Interestingly on January 5, the makersof superstar Mahesh Babu-starrerSarileru Neekevvaru too have announceda pre-release event at LB Stadium,Hyderabad.

ith Pawan Kalyan setto stage his actingcomeback with PinkTelugu remake, thebuzz surroundingthe film is electric.

While we’ve already reportedthat it was launched in alow-key ceremony atproducer Dil Raju’soffice in

Hyderabad lastweek, the lat-est is thatPawan, whowill bereprisingAmitabhBachchan’srole from theoriginal, hasallotted 20 days forthe film. “Pawan hasinformed the productionhouse that his portionsshould be wrapped up inflat 20 days and asked theteam to plan accordingly.He might be willing to

give another five days if shootdoesn’t go according to plan,but he has made it clear thathis time shouldn’t be wasted atany cost with delays on sets.The film will go to sets in thefirst half of January and direc-

tor Venu Sreeram will com-plete key portions of

the other actorsbefore Pawan

joins the sets inFebruary,”informed asource.

On the cast-ing front, thesource added

that afterNivetha Thomas

and Anjali, the mak-ers have roped in

Ananya (Mallesham fame)and Shatru for other support-ing roles.

The untitled film, a jointproduction venture betweenBoney Kapoor and Dil Raju,will have music by SS Thaman.

riter ChinniKrishna, whowas in the newsearlier this yearfor his acidictirade against

Megastar Chiranjeevi, willbe turning producer.Announcing his produc-tion house name ChinniKrishna Studios inHyderabad on Monday,the writer, who pennedthe stories of films likeNarasimha Naidu, Indraand Gangothri in the past,said his maiden produc-tion is titled Kingfisher, anemotional-action drama.“Since 2014 I’ve seen peo-ple who cheated me andwho cheated others. I’vedocumented their deedsin a piece of paper. Thefilm will help such peopleto come out of that pettymindset and lead life asgood humans,” the writersaid. He added the idea ofhis production house is toencourage young talentedactors and technicianscutting across differentcastes and religions.While he hasn’tannounced theKingfisher’s director’sname, a little birdieinforms us that it will behelmed by Karuna Kumarwho is awaiting therelease of Palasa 1978.

Earlier, Chinni KrishnaStudios logo was unveiledby ParuchuriGopalakrishna, VijayendraPrasad and B Gopal.

promising talent, RajTarun’s career receiveda jolt with three flops— Rajugadu, RangulaRatnam and Lover —in a row. Reason

enough for him to contemplate abreak from film atmosphere andtake stock of his career. “I decidedto take a small break and come-back with a good film. Also, Ioffered my hair to lord

Venkateswara aroundthe same time and

the break period got extended abit. I utilised the break to travel alot. I’ve explored north east Indiaand spent time close to nature. Igot a reality check because of it. Iused to fret over things unneces-sarily and decided to approachthings in a calmer demeanour,” hetells us candidly.

Upon return, while he did lis-ten to a lot of stories, none caughthis fancy like Iddari Lokam Okate,which opens this Christmas. Thefilm is a remake of a 2011 Turkishromantic drama Love LikesCoincidences, which told the storyof star crossed lovers whose livesare intertwined by a series ofcoincidences. “Producer BekkemVenugopal and director GRKrishna asked me to watch theoriginal, with an intention toremake it. I liked it immensely.The script was ready by then andI was narrated it. I felt it was theright film after the break. Later Igot to know Dil Raju garu wouldbe producing it. I was happy,” hebeams, adding that he is playing aphotographer in the film. “Thebasic story and characterisationshave been retained from the orig-inal. Only some elements of theoriginal script have been tailoredto suit Telugu nativity. The last 30minutes of the film will be on

another level.”Effusive in his praise for his co-

star Shalini Pandey in the film, hepromises that she will be revela-tion of sorts once the film opens.“She carried the role with utmostease. She would shed tears foremotional scenes without the helpof glycerin. Initially, I got intimat-ed by her and felt whether I couldmatch up to her acting prowess.However, after shooting for threedays, we developed a certainsense of rapport and it helped ourchemistry,” he shares.

The actor will have a releaseearly 2020 as well, as he haswrapped up filming talkie por-tions for Vijay Kumar Konda’sOrey Bujji. He has his plate fullfor the rest of year, with projectslike Dream Girl Telugu remake forSuresh Productions and a film forAnnapurna Studios. He admits tobe in discussions with GA2Pictures for another film. Is hekeen on making up for the gap?He points out that it wasn’t a con-scious decision to sign multiplefilms but as he liked all thescripts, it was instant yes fromhim. “Moreover, I was concernedabout being typecast. I would like to come out of my comfortzone and do something different.Some of my new singings arehelping me to that end,” heinforms.

He is also keen on goingbehind the camera and fulfill his direction desire. “I writescripts regularly. In fact, I havesome stories ready with me butno story is making me to keepacting aside and switch to direc-tion. I wouldn’t be acting in mydirectorial for sure. I want tomake films that are close to realitylike Iddari Lokam Okate. Excepthorror, I can handle all other gen-res,” he ends.

Raj Tarun sharesabout his journeyfrom taking a breakafter three flops in arow to making acomeback withIddari LokamOkate,working withShaliniPandey andothers, reportsNAGARAJGOUD

Vijayawada Tuesday December 17, 2019

ANNOUNCING HISPRODUCTION HOUSE NAMECHINNI KRISHNA STUDIOSTHE WRITER, SAID HISMAIDEN PRODUCTION ISTITLED KINGFISHER, ANEMOTIONAL-ACTIONDRAMA

A

T

11

tollywoodTravelling helped

me to get a realitycheck: RAJ TARUN

Producer Bekkem Venugopal anddirector GR Krishna asked me towatch the original, with an intentionto remake it. I liked it immensely.The script was ready by then and Iwas narrated it. I felt it was the rightfilm after the break. Later I got toknow Dil Raju garu would beproducing it. I was happy

Karthikeya to lockhorns with Ajith

e might be reel-ing under con-tinuous flops,with his latest90 ML too tank-ing, but

Karthikeya continues toattract crazy offers. AfterGA2 Pictures recentlyannounced that he wouldbe spearheading their newproduction Chaavu KaburuChallaga to be directed byshort filmmaker KoushikPegallapati, we’ve nowlearnt that he is in talks forTamil superstar Ajith’s nextwith Khakee director HVinoth. Apparently, thedirector was impressed byKarthikeya’s turns in Rx100and Gangleader and feltthat he was the ideal fit tobe his film’s powerfulantagonist who takes Ajithhead-on.

A source says, “InitiallySJ Suryah was consideredfor the part but he couldn’ttake it up. Vinoth laterdecided on Karthikeya. Theactor was shared the scriptand he liked it. However,an official agreement tothis end hasn’t been signedbut Karthikeya hasexpressed hisinterest todo thefilm.He

understands the star powerof Ajith and felt that thefilm could help his careermoving forward. Also, hedoesn’t differentiatebetween a supporting roleand a main role as long as arole has something for himto show his acting chopsand it was evident with hissupporting act inGangleader.”

Titled Valimai, the film,a joint production venturebetween Boney Kapoor andZee Studios, is believed tohave a racing backdrop andwill be shot in locationslike Hyderabad, SouthAfrica, Budapest andMiddle East. Right now,

the film, to have music byYuvan Shankar Raja, ison sets in Hyderabad.Ileana D'cruz is tippedto be the leading lady.

— NG

H

A musical nightby team Ala

Vaikunthapuramlo

Writer ChinniKrishna turnsto productionW

W

PAWAN allots 20days for Pink remake

VIJAYAWADA | TUESDAY | DECEMBER 17, 2019 sport 12

AFP n CAPE TOWN

South Africa on Monday named sixuncapped players in a 17-man squad for

the first two Tests against England, start-ing at Centurion on December 26.

Five players who played in a recent 3-0 series defeat in India were dropped, whilefast bowler Lungi Ngidi was not consid-ered because of a hamstring injury.

The squad will assemble for a trainingcamp tomorrow, with three of the playersto be released to play for South Africa Ain a three-day match against England inBenoni, starting on Friday.

The uncapped players are openingbatsman Pieter Malan, who may get hischance if Aiden Markram has not fullyrecovered from injury, top-order batsmanRassie van der Dussen, all-rounder DwainePretorius, fast bowlers Dane Patersonand Beuran Hendricks and wicketkeeper-batsman Rudi Second.

The squad is the first to be named bya selection panel which includes new coachMark Boucher, assistant coach Enoch

Nkwe, captain Faf du Plessis and indepen-dent selector Linda Zondi. Despite thelarge number of uncapped players, thereare no major surprises in a squad whichincludes the core of the players who haverepresented South Africa in recent times.

Three of the dropped players werespin bowlers — Senuran Muthusamy,George Linde and Dane Piedt — who wentto India primarily because of conditionsthere. Keshav Maharaj is the only spinnerin the squad for the England Tests.

There is no place for top-order bats-man Theunis de Bruyn, who played inseven of South Africa’s most recent nineTests, or wicketkeeper-batsman HeinrichKlaasen.

Regular Test top-order batsman TembaBavuma, Malan and all-rounder AndilePhehlukwayo will play for South Africa Aagainst the tourists, while others, includ-ing Markram, are likely to be released toplay for their franchises in four-daydomestic matches, starting on Thursday.

PTI n CHENNAI

Often accused of not puttingenough premium on his wick-et, rising Indian batsman

Rishabh Pant says he has now under-stood that there is no concept of “nat-ural game” in international cricketwhere one has to play according to thesituation.

Pant’s reckless strokeplay at cru-cial junctures, leading to soft dis-missals, as well as poor work behindthe stumps have been the talkingpoints and a matter of concern for theIndian team.

But the 22-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman from Delhi finally camegood and struck his maiden ODI halfcentury, albeit in a losing cause, in thefirst one-dayer against West Indies.Pant said he is constantly trying toimprove his game.

“I’ve realised after playing a fair bitat international level that unlike atamateur levels of cricket, there isn’tanything like a natural game. At theinternational level, you have to playaccording to the situation or what theteam demands,” Pant said at the post-match press conference.

“It’s my learning curve, I’m think-ing that. From team’s point of view,whatever I can do to help my teamwin, to have a good score on the score-board, that’s what I was focussing on.In the end, I got some runs,” he added.

He said he will continue to focuson his game rather than think aboutthe “talk going around” about him.

“As an individual and as a player,I want to focus on my processes. Allthe talk going around, they’re goodand sometimes they’re not. At themoment, I’m concentrating on my

game and that will hold me in goodstead,” said Pant who scored 71 off 69deliveries for his maiden ODI half-century.

Asked what kept him goingdespite the constant criticism, Pantsaid it was all about believing in him-self and following the process ofgrowth.

“I will always tell a person that youhave to believe in yourself. It doesn’t

matter what people say around you.Sometimes you don't get runs, some-times you get runs but the process isalways important,” said the wicket-keeper-batsman.

Asked how important this knockwas in the current circumstances, hesaid every innings was important forhim and he wanted to improve everyday.

"Personally, if I play for India,

every innings is important for me. Asa youngster I want to improve eachand every day," Pant said.

Pant has been greeted with chantsof 'Dhoni, Dhoni' by crowds at vari-ous stadiums but not here.

"Sometimes it's important whencrowd supports you. From an individ-ual point of view, I was trying toimprove myself every day but I was-n't getting there. I am not saying I got

there, but I try to improve."Pant, who revived the Indian

innings after the loss of three quickwickets in the company of Shreyas Iyer(70), said the idea was to stitchtogether a partnership and stay longeron the crease.

"At the start, (Shreyas) Iyer and Iwere thinking of first stitching togeth-er a partnership and taking the gameto the 35th-40th over because a 50-over game is a fairly long one.

"Our idea was that the longer ourpartnership will be, it'd help us in cap-italising late in the innings," said Pantwho plays for Delhi Capitals in theIPL.

Asked if the Indian bowling line-up was missing pace spearhead JaspritBumrah, Pant backed the current lotand said they were learning. Bumrahis currently recovering from a stressfracture of the back and is expected tobe fit for the tour of New Zealand nextyear.

"Bumrah is a top bowler. Everyoneknows that. He's out because of aninjury. The other bowlers who are play-ing here aren't doing badly. As young-sters, these guys are learning," Pant rea-soned.

"Bumrah has now become anexperienced bowler. He has learnt quitea bit having played so much of inter-national cricket. These players will alsolearn as they go along," he said.

On his thought process on and offfield, he said, "If I'm practising I thinkabout cricket. If I'm off the field, I'mnot thinking about it too much.

"I talked to the team managementand they told me, 'just calm yourself,see what you can do around to improveyour game, improve your fitness, justtry to improve yourself in every way'."

PTI n KARACHI

Prolific Pakistan batsmanBabar Azam wants to

achieve the “legend” status thatVirat Kohli has acquired butconcedes that despite the often-repeated comparisons, he isstill some time away from get-ting anywhere close to theIndian captain.

The 24-year-old is a self-confessed fan of Kohli spokeabout his aspiration to emulatethe world’s No 1 Test and ODIbatsman.

“Look he (Kohli) hasalready achieved a lot. He is alegend in his country. Honestlythere is no comparison with meright now but eventually I alsowant to get where he is today,”Azam said.

“The media and peoplehave drawn comparisonsbetween me and Virat Kohli butI realise that I still need to getmore runs in red ball cricket tobe ranked among the top play-ers. That is why in recentmonths I have been focusing alot on getting consistent scoresin Test matches,” he added.

Babar, who scored his sec-

ond Test hundred in the lastthree games on Sunday, said hewanted to be a batsman who,like Kohli, could win morematches for his team.

“I don’t feel any pressure if

anyone compares me with Kohlior (Steve) Smith. I am nowmore focused on my batting andI spend hours watching videos

of my innings. I catch my mis-takes and then I try to ensure Idon’t commit them again thenext time,” he said.

PTI n CHENNAI

Swashbuckling West Indies batsman ShimronHetmyer described his match-winning 139

against India in the first one-dayer as the bestknock of his career but said he would have beenhappier had he finished off the game.

Hetmyer was out in the 39th over after stitch-ing 218 runs for the second wicket with fellowcenturion Shai Hope (102 not out), with the WestIndies at the stage needing 59 runs from 11.2overs with eight wickets in hand.

“This is my highest score in internationalcricket, so this would be the best one. It’s alwaysnice chasing a score than a setting one. Chasingand taking the team home is a much better feel-

ing. Sad that I didn’t finish the game, but it’s awork in progress for me,” Hetmyer said.

He said he just kept it simple and batting withHope also made it easier as they have goodunderstanding between them.

“We just keep it simple because we’ve playedwith each other for quite a while now. So, I knowhis game and he knows mine. So, basically whenwe’re batting together, most of the time, I’m theaggressor and he’s the person who sticks aroundand bats around,” said Hetmyer who faced 106deliveries during his knock.

“And if he gets the boundary ball, he puts itaway. For us, it’s always nice batting with some-one like him because he’s going to make sure youget the strike as much as possible and it’s easi-

er to execute,” he added.His career-best knock also came just before

the IPL auction on December 19 but the 22-year-old batsman said he was not thinking muchabout the upcoming cash-rich T20 league at themoment.

Asked if he was trying to prove a point witha ton days before the IPL auction, he said for himit was about enjoying his batting.

“To me it’s about enjoying my batting, it’scricket, sometimes you score runs and sometimesyou don’t. Didn’t have the best IPL (2019 sea-son), it’s a nice experience, it always helps youto come back much stronger from there. I justtry as much as possible to put that behind me,”he said.

PTI n DUBAI

Indian skipper Virat Kohliretained his top spot among

batsmen while the injuredbowler Jasprit Bumrah slippeda rung to sixth in the latestICC Test rankings issued onMonday.

Kohli (928 points) is 17points clear of Australia'sSteve Smith who scored 43and 16 in the first Test againstNew Zealand which Australiawon by 296 runs.

Cheteshwar Pujara (791)and Ajinkya Rahane (759)held on to their fourth andsixth spots respectively.

Australia batsman MarnusLabuschagne continued hissurge, entering the top five inthe list of batsmen after scoresof 143 and 50 in the PerthTest.

Labuschagne, who nar-rowly missed joiningPakistan's Zaheer Abbas andMudassar Nazar in scoring atleast 150 in three successiveTest innings, has gained threeslots to occupy fifth place.

He has overtaken compa-triot David Warner and is thesecond-highest rankedAustralia batsman after SteveSmith.

Pakistan batsman BabarAzam reached the top 10 forthe first time, moving from13th to ninth position after hisunbeaten knock of 102 againstSri Lanka in the drwan firstTest. He is currently No.1 inthe T20I rankings and second

in the ODIs.Opener Abid Ali's unbeat-

en 109, which made him thefirst male cricketer and onlythe second after formerEngland woman opener EnidBakewell to score centuries onboth Test and ODI debuts, hasentered the rankings at animpressive 78th position.

Among the bowlers,Bumrah, who has been outsince the start of the homeseries against South Africadue to a stress fracture, slippedto the sixth spot in the listheaded by Australia's PatCummins.

Neil Wagner's seven wick-ets against New Zealandhelped him reclaim third posi-tion among bowlers with acareer-best tally of 834 ratingpoints. Tim Southee is back inthe top 10 after his nine-wicket match haul.

Another Australianbowler Mitchell Starc's effortof 9/97 in the first Test has lift-ed him to a career-best fifthspot and career-best 806 rat-ing points. Josh Hazlewoodhas moved from eighth to sev-enth position.

India's Ravindra Jadeja,meanwhile, remained at num-ber 2 behind Jason Holder ofthe West Indies among Testall-rounders.

In the ICC World TestChampionship, India standon top with 360 points, wayahead of Australia (216), SriLanka (80), New Zealand (60)and England (56).

PTI n VISAKHAPATNAM

Virat Kohli is the cricketingequivalent of soccer super-

star Cristiano Ronaldo for hissheer commitment towardsthe game even though a K LRahul can consider himself atpar with the India captain interms of talent, feels WestIndies batting icon Brian Lara.

One of the greatest bats-men to have played the gameand for many, the best left-han-der of all-time along with SirGarfield Sobers, Lara says heis in awe of how Kohli hashoned his skills to take battingto an “unbelievable level”.

“I think it has got a lot todo with Virat’s outstandingcommitment besides hispreparation. I don’t think he isany more talented than a KLRahul or a Rohit Sharma buthis commitment to preparehimself properly stands out. Heis, for me, the cricketing equiv-alent of Cristiano Ronaldo,”Lara told PTI during an exclu-sive interaction.

“His fitness level and hismental strength is unbeliev-able.” For the 50-year-old Lara,who scored nearly 12,000 runsin Test cricket, Kohli can fitinto the best teams of any era— be it Clive Lloyd's‘Unbeatables’ of the ‘70s or SirDon Bradman's ‘Invincibles’ of1948.

“His batting skills areunbelievable. He is a guy youcannot leave out in any era. Ifa guy is averaging 50 plus in allversions of the game, then thatis something which is unheardof,” the legend said.

Another player Larapraised was English all-rounder Ben Stokes, whoenjoyed a stellar run in theWorld Cup and the Ashes.

Lara himself has been apart of some of the most mem-orable fourth innings chasesagainst Australia where hebatted with the tailenders.

Therefore, it wasn’t sur-prising to see Lara gush aboutStokes’ Ashes-saving 135 not

out at the Headingley.“It was an unbelievable

innings that he played. Youmust give him the credit notonly for that innings but alsofor his 84 not out in the ODIWorld Cup final. He came upthrough a very rough periodcouple of years back (Bristolpub brawl and subsequentsuspension) and he has shownthe mettle to put things asideand soldiered on as a cricketer.”

Talk about West Indiescricket and how most of thetalented players are being luredby private leagues, Lara refusedto call them “mercenaries”.

“Certainly not,” said Lara,who didn't agree with theview, saying some of the illus-trious predecessors in the late‘70s had already set the prece-dent by joining Kerry Packer'sWorld Series Cricket (WSC).

“Each cricketer has tomake a choice. Back in the dayin late '70s, there was KerryPacker and there was an exo-dus of cricketers. I can’t say thatthere’s something that's new.

“Not everyone will beplaying for the West Indies. Soif you can make a living play-ing T20 leagues then why not?

I don’t see it as a mercenaryact,” Lara said.

However, he wants CricketWest Indies (CWI) to draw aplan that would keep young-sters interested in Test cricketkeeping their below-par showin the longest version duringthe past few years.

“I am hoping that WestIndies don't have to getinvolved in a lower Test level.Series like West Indies vsAustralia (Worrell Trophy),West Indies vs England(Wisden Trophy) have alwayshad a legacy created over theyears,” he said.

“West Indies have 5 to 6million people, differentislands, different politics. Youhave seen Usain Bolt run forJamaica and not for the WestIndies. Cricket is the only uni-fying force but still has itsproblems to keep it unified interms of getting the infra-structure needed,” Lara said.

The lure of private leagueswill be there but then it’s thecustodians of the game in theCaribbean, who need to takethe initiative and show theworld that they care abouttheir players, Lara said.

“...It’s a situation where asa youngster, you have anopportunity to go out thereand make a living for yourself.So hopefully, it doesn’t do toomuch damage but it stillbelongs to West indies board,the power to ensure that itdoesn't happen,” he asserted.

“A youngster may want todo different things, (but) if youhave a structure in place, I amsure you can have the effect ofwhat the baggy greens have inAustralia.

“Look at the currentIndian cricket team. They havethe most exciting T20 league(IPL) and yet they are excitedabout Test cricket as well as allthe versions of the game,” hesaid.

He is not averse to con-tributing actively to West Indiescricket but then he wants CWIto decide how badly they wanthis services.

“It depends on CricketWest Indies to decide on whoall they want in their set-up.Over the years there has beena lot of involvement by formercricketers. As far as I am con-cerned, it might be in the hori-zon, you never know,” he said.

Kohli retains top spot

Need to play acc to situation: Pant

India's Rishabh Pant, right, bats during the first one day international cricket match between India and West Indies BCCI/Twitter

It was my best knock: Hetmyer

Shimron Hetmyer reacts after playing a shot AP

Babar Azam raises his bat PCB/twitter

India captian Virat kohli in action BCCI/Twitter

Babar wants to match Virat’s statusYasir wants to play Test against IndiaPTI N KARACHI

Pakistan leg-spinner YasirShah on Monday said it is

“unfortunate” to have not got achance to play red ball cricketagainst India since making hisdebut and he is now eagerlywaiting to test his skills againstthe likes of Virat Kohli in Testmatches.

Shah, 33, who has 207wickets from 37 Tests, hasnever played a Test againstIndia since his Pakistan debutin 2011.

“It is unfortunate and I feeldisappointed when I thinkabout the fact that I have notplayed a Test against India.Even the white ball matcheshave been far and few againstthem in recent years,” he said.

“I would like to play

against them because theyhave some top players and fora leg-spinner it is always enjoy-able when you are bowling tooor getting wickets of high pro-file players (like Kohli),” hesaid.

Pakistan toured India inthe winter of 2012 for a shortlimited over series, but the twoteams have not played a Testagainst each other since theMumbai terror attacks in 2008.

Yasir shah poses for a photo Twitter

SA include Six uncapped players for Eng Tests

Indian captian Virat Kohli celebrates with teammates BCCI/Twitter

Pieter Malan raises his bat CSA/Twitter

Kohli is cricketing versionof Ronaldo: Lara