new ˘ ˇ ˆ˘ ˙ ˝ ˛ ˚ ˆ ˆ˛˛ · 2020. 10. 19. · called me ‘hungry and ill-clad ......

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S ending a strong message to China by brushing aside its objection, the Malabar series of naval exercises this year will see the participation of Australia too, a clear signal about the forging of closer cooperation among the Quad nations against the backdrop of Beijing’s expansionist designs. So far, only India, the US and Japan used to take part in the annual exercise. Australia had participated in the exercise in 2007 as a non-permanent member. But, subsequently, China claimed that with Australia joining the exercise, the Quad is getting militarised and may pose a threat to Chinese interests especially in the Pacific region. Given Beijing’s reserva- tions, India had been with- holding Australia’s participa- tion since then despite the lat- ter’s keenness. Not anymore. The Defence Ministry on Monday made it clear: India seeks to increase cooperation with other countries in the maritime security domain and in the light of increased defence cooperation with Australia, “Exercise Malabar 2020” will see the participation of the Australian Navy. It also said that the mem- bers collectively support a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific and remain committed to a rules-based international order. The “non-contact — at sea” format-based exercise is expected to be held in Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea. Sources said it was likely to be held in two phases in the first week of November and then after a fortnight. The proposal for Australian participation was mooted three years back and since then talks were on at var- ious levels of the Government. The exercise will strengthen the coordination between the Navies of the participating countries, officials said. The exercises started in 1992 as a bilateral Indian Navy- US Navy exercise. Japan joined the exercise in 2015. The move to include Australia comes at a time when India and China are engaged in a military stand-off for the past more than five months at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh. The two sides have held several rounds of talks to break the stalemate but no success so far. Moreover, the announce- ment comes days after Foreign Ministers of Quadrilateral Strategic Dialogue or Quad met in Tokyo. The issue of Australia’s inclusion in the Malabar exer- cise had come up for discussion there between S Jaishankar, Mike Pompeo (US), Marise Payne (Australia) and Toshimitsu Motegi (Japan). Japan and the US had been pressing for Australia’s inclu- sion for the past few years. Also, the nod for Australian participation by India comes days before the annual 2+2 talks between the Foreign and Defence Ministers of India and US are likely to take place in New Delhi on October 26-27. In his opening remarks at the Quad meeting on October 6, Jaishankar had said New Delhi is committed to peaceful resolution of disputes, rules based world order and respect for territorial integrity. He also said the four democratic countries favour a free and open India-Pacific region. Jaishankar, however, refrained from naming China. This was the second Minister level meeting of the Quad countries in the last two years. Moreover, the two-day conclave was the first against the backdrop of ongoing ten- sion between India and China at the LAC in Ladakh and coro- navirus pandemic. Jaishankar had held a two- hour long bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on September 10 in Moscow to end the logjam at the border. Spelling out India’s stand, he said it was for advancing the security and economic interests of all countries having legiti- mate and vital interests in the region. “It is a matter of satis- faction that the Indo-Pacific concept has gained increasingly wider acceptance,” he said. Highlighting the growing importance of the Quad, he also said the fact that the four Foreign Ministers were meet- ing in person, despite the glob- al pandemic, is “testimony to the importance that these con- sultations have gained, partic- ularly in recent times”. He added, “Our world is signifi- cantly different today than what it was when we last met in New York in September 2019.” T he row over veteran Congress leader Kamal Nath referring to Imarti Devi, his former party colleague and now a Minister in the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP Government, as an “item” esca- lated on Monday with his refusal to tender an apology for his statement, claiming he did not insult anyone. The National Women’s Commission “strongly con- demned the irresponsible and disparaging statement made by Nath, Leader of Opposition in Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly”. It sought an expla- nation from the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and forwarded the matter to the Election Commission for further action. Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani slammed Nath for trying to justify his utterance and the Gandhi family for remaining silent while Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Jyotiraditya Scindia sat on a “silent dharna” in Bhopal. Chouhan appealed to Congress president Sonia Gandhi to immediately remove Nath from all party posts. Devi is the State’s Women and Child Development Minister and was one of the 22 MLAs loyal to Scindia and who resigned in March, bring- ing down the Nath-led Government in Madhya Pradesh. She subsequently joined the BJP and is now a party candidate for the bypoll in Dabra, a seat reserved for Scheduled Caste candidate. “I said something… it was- n’t to insult anyone... I just did- n’t remember the (person’s) name...this list (in his hand) says item no.1, item no.2, is this an insult? Shivraj is looking for excuses, Nath doesn’t insult anyone, he’ll only expose you with truth,” Nath brazened it out on Monday. Addressing a rally in Dabra on Sunday, the Congress leader had allegedly called Devi an “item” leading to a massive backlash ahead of the keenly- contested bypolls to be held on November 3. “Suresh Raje is our candi- date and is not like her... What’s her name? You know her bet- ter and should have warned me earlier... What an item!,” Nath had said in Hindi. While Devi said she was targeted for being a Dalit, Union Minister Irani said, “I can’t find any justification that Nath (former MP CM) can give for using such derogatory word against a woman political leader. I don’t think Gandhi family will take action against him. Be it Nath or Digvijaya Singh, these are the people who keep fire burning in Gandhi family’s kitchen.” For their part, while Chouhan held a two-hour protest in Bhopal, Scindia and other party members protest- ed in Indore. The BJP has also complained about Nath to the Election Commission. “With your cheap state- ment, Congress’ crooked and despicable mentality has come to the fore again. You have not just disrespected Devi, but each and every girl and sister of Gwalior-Chambal region,” Chouhan tweeted. He also slammed Nath for his “feudal” mindset. “Devi is the daughter of a farmer who began doing labour in her vil- lage and has since emerged as a public representative in build- ing the nation. First, Congress called me ‘hungry and ill-clad’ and now she has been called an ‘item’. This shows the feudal mindset of Nath,” the Chief Minister said. A t a time when the Line of Actual Control (LAC) remains tense, the Indian Army on Monday apprehend- ed a Chinese soldier in the Chumar-Demchok area of Eastern Ladakh and took him in custody. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) soldier will be returned to the Chinese Army “as per established pro- tocol after following due pro- cedure”, the Army said here. It also said in a statement that the soldier identified as Corporal Wang Ya was pro- vided medical assistance including oxygen, food and warm clothes “to protect him from the vagaries of extreme altitude and harsh climatic conditions.” Sources said the soldier inadvertently strayed into India, he was questioned thoroughly as to how he crossed over. The Army said it also received a request from the PLA about the whereabouts of the missing soldier. As per established protocols, he will be returned back to Chinese officials at the Chushul - Moldo meeting point after completion of formalities, the Army said. F ormer Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister and sitting Parliamentarian from Srinagar Farooq Abdullah, who recent- ly began another “political” innings under the banner of “People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration” to fight for the restoration of Article 370, was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Srinagar for about seven hours in con- nection with a money laun- dering case linked with a multi- crore scam in the Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) on Monday. However, reacting to the summons issued by the ED, a day after the signatories of “Gupkar Declaration”, Farooq’s son and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti both termed it “political vendetta”. Angry Omar posted a tweet in which he said the ED action was “...nothing less than political vendetta” and came days after the formation of the Gupkar declaration. On the other hand, Farooq, who regretted skipping his lunch during the day, repeat- edly requested media with folded hands not to link the Gupkar declaration with the routine questioning by the offi- cials of the Enforcement Directorate. Farooq had appeared before the ED in the same mat- ter to respond to their list of questions in July last year. Official sources said Farooq’s statement will be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED case is based on an FIR filed by the CBI, which booked former JKCA office- bearers, including general sec- retary Mohammed Saleem Khan and former treasurer Ahsan Ahmad Mirza in the multi-crore scam. D elivering an unprecedent- ed judgment for “unprece- dented times” the Calcutta High Court on Monday banned the entry of general public inside Durga Puja pan- dals throughout Bengal and directed the State administra- tion to convert all the Puja pan- dals into “no entry zones.” The decision came against a Public Interest Litigation filed by Advocate Sabyasachi Chatterjee and will be applic- able to about 37,000 Durga puja pandals, big and small all across the State. Out of these there are about 3,500 puja pan- dals in Kolkata alone. Delivering the order, Bench of Justices Sanjib Banerjee and Arijit Banerjee said the puja pandals should be treated as containment zones and direct- ed the State administration to mark 5 metre area around small pandals and the 10 metre area around bigger pandals as the limit till which the gener- al people can reach. Even the entry of the club members has been restricted. The court directed the admin- istration to collect the names of 25 persons each from puja committees beyond which no one would be allowed to enter the puja premises. I n a setback to the LDF Government in the State, the Kerala High Court here on Monday dismissed pleas chal- lenging the Centre’s decision to lease out the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport to Adani Enterprises, holding that there was no valid ground to inter- fere with the policy decision. A division bench compris- ing Justices K Vinod Chandran and CS Dias rejected argu- ments by the State Government and other petitioners against the Centre’s move to lease out the airport to Adani Enterprises through public pri- vate partnership (PPP) for a period of 50 years. M adhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, BJP MP Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and other party leaders observed two-hour maun vrat (vow of silence) on Monday to protest against former CM Kamal Nath's 'item' remark against State Minister Imarti Devi. Chouhan along with State Ministers Narottam Mishra, Bhupendra Singh, Vishwas Sarang and some women mem- bers of the BJP began the 'maun vrat' (silent fast) at Minto Hall in Bhopal at 10 am. BJP's Rajya Sabha member Scindia and Lok Sabha member Shankar Lalwani sat on the silent protest at Regal Square in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Indore city. Besides, Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Madhya Pradesh BJP presi- dent Vishnu Dutt Sharma, senior party leader Prabhat Jha along with some other leaders staged a similar protest in Gwalior. Ahead of the November 3 by-elections in the state, Nath while addressing a poll meeting on Sunday in Gwalior's Dabra town, where the Congress is up against Imarti Devi, said his party candidate was a "simple person" unlike his opponent who is an "item". Chouhan later hit out at Kamal Nath over his remark against the minister, saying it shows the "crooked and despi- cable mentality of the Congress. "With your cheap state- ment, Congress' crooked and despicable mentality has come to the fore again. You have not just disrespected Smt Imarti Devi, but each and every girl and sister of Gwalior-Chambal region," Chouhan said in a tweet in Hindi on Sunday. "Kamal Nathji, who gave you the right to play with the respect of women?" he asked in the tweet. Imarti Devi and 21 other MLAs loyal to Scindia had resigned from the Congress and the state Assembly and joined the BJP in March this year, in the process bringing down the Kamal Nath-led Government. T he National Human Rights Commission issued notices to the Chief Secretary, Director General of Police and the Director General of Prisons, Madhya Pradesh after taking suo motu cognizance about the allegations made by a woman on five cops for gang-rape in lockup. It is mentioned in the news report that a 20-year-old woman has leveled allegations that she was kept in lock-up for 10 days in the month of May this year and was subjected to rape by 5 police personnel including the Police Station Incharge and SDPO of Mangawan area of Rewa dis- trict of Madhya Pradesh. The woman, as mentioned in the news report, was an accused in a case of murder and presently she is lodged in judicial custody. The incident occurred in the month of May and it came to the knowledge of the District Judge after a period of five months. Even the prison warden did not have the courage to report the matter to the higher authorities It is further added that as alleged by the victim woman, she was subjected to rape from May 09 to 21, 2020 while the police contradicts, to be arrest- ed on May 21. Female consta- ble had protested at that time but she was rebuked by her seniors. The Commission consid- ered the vulnerable position of the victim. She was in police custody when she was alleged- ly subjected to utmost cruelty and sexual assault by the 5 police personnel. Even a protest made by a female police official went in vain. Very seri- ous allegations have been lev- eled by the victim woman. Public servants from the law enforcement agencies, who are supposed to safeguard the cit- izens specially the women and the people from the vulnerable classes of the society have allegedly committed the heinous crime against a woman in their custody. The Commission has directed that the matter may be investigated by a senior police officer not below the rank of the Deputy Inspector General of Police. RNI Regn. No. MPENG/2004/13703, Regd. No. L-2/BPLON/41/2006-2008

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Page 1: New ˘ ˇ ˆ˘ ˙ ˝ ˛ ˚ ˆ ˆ˛˛ · 2020. 10. 19. · called me ‘hungry and ill-clad ... restoration of Article 370, was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Srinagar

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Sending a strong message toChina by brushing aside its

objection, the Malabar series ofnaval exercises this year will seethe participation of Australiatoo, a clear signal about theforging of closer cooperationamong the Quad nationsagainst the backdrop ofBeijing’s expansionist designs.

So far, only India, the USand Japan used to take part inthe annual exercise. Australiahad participated in the exercisein 2007 as a non-permanentmember. But, subsequently,China claimed that withAustralia joining the exercise,the Quad is getting militarisedand may pose a threat toChinese interests especially inthe Pacific region.

Given Beijing’s reserva-tions, India had been with-holding Australia’s participa-tion since then despite the lat-ter’s keenness. Not anymore.The Defence Ministry onMonday made it clear: Indiaseeks to increase cooperationwith other countries in themaritime security domain andin the light of increased defencecooperation with Australia,“Exercise Malabar 2020” willsee the participation of theAustralian Navy.

It also said that the mem-

bers collectively support a free,open and inclusive Indo-Pacificand remain committed to arules-based international order.

The “non-contact — atsea” format-based exercise isexpected to be held in Bay ofBengal and Arabian Sea.Sources said it was likely to beheld in two phases in the firstweek of November and thenafter a fortnight.

The proposal forAustralian participation wasmooted three years back andsince then talks were on at var-ious levels of the Government.The exercise will strengthen the

coordination between theNavies of the participatingcountries, officials said.

The exercises started in1992 as a bilateral Indian Navy-US Navy exercise. Japan joinedthe exercise in 2015.

The move to includeAustralia comes at a time whenIndia and China are engaged ina military stand-off for the pastmore than five months at theLine of Actual Control (LAC)in Eastern Ladakh. The twosides have held several roundsof talks to break the stalematebut no success so far.

Moreover, the announce-

ment comes days after ForeignMinisters of QuadrilateralStrategic Dialogue or Quadmet in Tokyo.

The issue of Australia’sinclusion in the Malabar exer-cise had come up for discussionthere between S Jaishankar,Mike Pompeo (US), MarisePayne (Australia) andToshimitsu Motegi (Japan).Japan and the US had beenpressing for Australia’s inclu-sion for the past few years.

Also, the nod forAustralian participation byIndia comes days before theannual 2+2 talks between the

Foreign and Defence Ministersof India and US are likely totake place in New Delhi onOctober 26-27.

In his opening remarks atthe Quad meeting on October6, Jaishankar had said NewDelhi is committed to peacefulresolution of disputes, rulesbased world order and respectfor territorial integrity.

He also said the fourdemocratic countries favour afree and open India-Pacificregion. Jaishankar, however,refrained from naming China.

This was the secondMinister level meeting of the

Quad countries in the last twoyears. Moreover, the two-dayconclave was the first againstthe backdrop of ongoing ten-sion between India and Chinaat the LAC in Ladakh and coro-navirus pandemic.

Jaishankar had held a two-hour long bilateral meetingwith his Chinese counterpartWang Yi on September 10 inMoscow to end the logjam atthe border.

Spelling out India’s stand,he said it was for advancing thesecurity and economic interestsof all countries having legiti-mate and vital interests in the

region. “It is a matter of satis-faction that the Indo-Pacificconcept has gained increasinglywider acceptance,” he said.

Highlighting the growingimportance of the Quad, healso said the fact that the fourForeign Ministers were meet-ing in person, despite the glob-al pandemic, is “testimony tothe importance that these con-sultations have gained, partic-ularly in recent times”. Headded, “Our world is signifi-cantly different today thanwhat it was when we last metin New York in September2019.”

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The row over veteranCongress leader Kamal

Nath referring to Imarti Devi,his former party colleague andnow a Minister in the ShivrajSingh Chouhan-led BJPGovernment, as an “item” esca-lated on Monday with hisrefusal to tender an apology forhis statement, claiming he didnot insult anyone.

The National Women’sCommission “strongly con-demned the irresponsible anddisparaging statement madeby Nath, Leader of Oppositionin Madhya Pradesh LegislativeAssembly”. It sought an expla-nation from the formerMadhya Pradesh ChiefMinister and forwarded thematter to the ElectionCommission for further action.

Union Women and ChildDevelopment Minister SmritiIrani slammed Nath for tryingto justify his utterance and theGandhi family for remainingsilent while Madhya PradeshChief Minister Shivraj SinghChouhan and JyotiradityaScindia sat on a “silent dharna”in Bhopal. Chouhan appealedto Congress president SoniaGandhi to immediately removeNath from all party posts.

Devi is the State’s Womenand Child DevelopmentMinister and was one of the 22MLAs loyal to Scindia andwho resigned in March, bring-ing down the Nath-ledGovernment in MadhyaPradesh. She subsequentlyjoined the BJP and is now aparty candidate for the bypollin Dabra, a seat reserved forScheduled Caste candidate.

“I said something… it was-

n’t to insult anyone... I just did-n’t remember the (person’s)name...this list (in his hand)says item no.1, item no.2, is thisan insult? Shivraj is looking forexcuses, Nath doesn’t insultanyone, he’ll only expose youwith truth,” Nath brazened itout on Monday.

Addressing a rally in Dabraon Sunday, the Congress leaderhad allegedly called Devi an“item” leading to a massivebacklash ahead of the keenly-contested bypolls to be held onNovember 3.

“Suresh Raje is our candi-date and is not like her... What’sher name? You know her bet-ter and should have warned meearlier... What an item!,” Nathhad said in Hindi.

While Devi said she wastargeted for being a Dalit,Union Minister Irani said, “Ican’t find any justification thatNath (former MP CM) can givefor using such derogatory wordagainst a woman politicalleader. I don’t think Gandhifamily will take action against

him. Be it Nath or DigvijayaSingh, these are the people whokeep fire burning in Gandhifamily’s kitchen.”

For their part, whileChouhan held a two-hourprotest in Bhopal, Scindia andother party members protest-ed in Indore. The BJP has alsocomplained about Nath to theElection Commission.

“With your cheap state-ment, Congress’ crooked anddespicable mentality has cometo the fore again. You have notjust disrespected Devi, buteach and every girl and sisterof Gwalior-Chambal region,”Chouhan tweeted.

He also slammed Nath forhis “feudal” mindset. “Devi isthe daughter of a farmer whobegan doing labour in her vil-lage and has since emerged asa public representative in build-ing the nation. First, Congresscalled me ‘hungry and ill-clad’and now she has been called an‘item’. This shows the feudalmindset of Nath,” the ChiefMinister said.

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At a time when the Line ofActual Control (LAC)

remains tense, the IndianArmy on Monday apprehend-ed a Chinese soldier in theChumar-Demchok area ofEastern Ladakh and took himin custody. The People’sLiberation Army (PLA) soldierwill be returned to the ChineseArmy “as per established pro-

tocol after following due pro-cedure”, the Army said here.

It also said in a statementthat the soldier identified asCorporal Wang Ya was pro-vided medical assistanceincluding oxygen, food andwarm clothes “to protect himfrom the vagaries of extremealtitude and harsh climaticconditions.” Sources said thesoldier inadvertently strayed

into India, he was questionedthoroughly as to how hecrossed over.

The Army said it alsoreceived a request from thePLA about the whereabouts ofthe missing soldier. As perestablished protocols, he willbe returned back to Chineseofficials at the Chushul -Moldo meeting point aftercompletion of formalities, theArmy said.

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Former Jammu & KashmirChief Minister and sitting

Parliamentarian from SrinagarFarooq Abdullah, who recent-ly began another “political”innings under the banner of“People’s Alliance for GupkarDeclaration” to fight for therestoration of Article 370, wasquestioned by the EnforcementDirectorate (ED) in Srinagarfor about seven hours in con-nection with a money laun-dering case linked with a multi-crore scam in the Jammu &Kashmir Cricket Association(JKCA) on Monday.

However, reacting to thesummons issued by the ED, aday after the signatories of“Gupkar Declaration”, Farooq’sson and National Conferenceleader Omar Abdullah andPDP president MehboobaMufti both termed it “politicalvendetta”.

Angry Omar posted atweet in which he said the EDaction was “...nothing less thanpolitical vendetta” and camedays after the formation of theGupkar declaration.

On the other hand, Farooq,who regretted skipping hislunch during the day, repeat-

edly requested media withfolded hands not to link theGupkar declaration with theroutine questioning by the offi-cials of the EnforcementDirectorate.

Farooq had appearedbefore the ED in the same mat-ter to respond to their list ofquestions in July last year.

Official sources saidFarooq’s statement will berecorded under the Preventionof Money Laundering Act(PMLA).

The ED case is based on anFIR filed by the CBI, whichbooked former JKCA office-bearers, including general sec-retary Mohammed SaleemKhan and former treasurerAhsan Ahmad Mirza in themulti-crore scam.

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Delivering an unprecedent-ed judgment for “unprece-

dented times” the CalcuttaHigh Court on Mondaybanned the entry of generalpublic inside Durga Puja pan-dals throughout Bengal anddirected the State administra-tion to convert all the Puja pan-dals into “no entry zones.”

The decision came againsta Public Interest Litigationfiled by Advocate SabyasachiChatterjee and will be applic-able to about 37,000 Durgapuja pandals, big and small allacross the State. Out of thesethere are about 3,500 puja pan-dals in Kolkata alone.

Delivering the order, Benchof Justices Sanjib Banerjee andArijit Banerjee said the pujapandals should be treated ascontainment zones and direct-ed the State administration tomark 5 metre area aroundsmall pandals and the 10 metrearea around bigger pandals asthe limit till which the gener-al people can reach.

Even the entry of the clubmembers has been restricted.The court directed the admin-istration to collect the names of25 persons each from pujacommittees beyond which noone would be allowed to enterthe puja premises.

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In a setback to the LDFGovernment in the State,

the Kerala High Court here onMonday dismissed pleas chal-lenging the Centre’s decision tolease out theT h i r u v a n a n t h a p u r a mInternational Airport to AdaniEnterprises, holding that therewas no valid ground to inter-fere with the policy decision.

A division bench compris-ing Justices K Vinod Chandranand CS Dias rejected argu-ments by the State Governmentand other petitioners againstthe Centre’s move to lease outthe airport to AdaniEnterprises through public pri-vate partnership (PPP) for aperiod of 50 years.

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Madhya Pradesh ChiefMinister Shivraj Singh

Chouhan, BJP MP JyotiradityaScindia, Union MinisterNarendra Singh Tomar andother party leaders observedtwo-hour maun vrat (vow ofsilence) on Monday to protestagainst former CM KamalNath's 'item' remark againstState Minister Imarti Devi.

Chouhan along with StateMinisters Narottam Mishra,Bhupendra Singh, VishwasSarang and some women mem-bers of the BJP began the 'maunvrat' (silent fast) at Minto Hallin Bhopal at 10 am.

BJP's Rajya Sabha memberScindia and Lok Sabha memberShankar Lalwani sat on thesilent protest at Regal Square infront of the Mahatma Gandhistatue in Indore city.

Besides, Union MinisterNarendra Singh Tomar,Madhya Pradesh BJP presi-dent Vishnu Dutt Sharma,

senior party leader Prabhat Jhaalong with some other leadersstaged a similar protest inGwalior.

Ahead of the November 3by-elections in the state, Nathwhile addressing a poll meetingon Sunday in Gwalior's Dabra

town, where the Congress is upagainst Imarti Devi, said hisparty candidate was a "simpleperson" unlike his opponentwho is an "item".

Chouhan later hit out atKamal Nath over his remarkagainst the minister, saying itshows the "crooked and despi-cable mentality of the Congress.

"With your cheap state-ment, Congress' crooked anddespicable mentality has cometo the fore again. You have notjust disrespected Smt ImartiDevi, but each and every girland sister of Gwalior-Chambalregion," Chouhan said in atweet in Hindi on Sunday.

"Kamal Nathji, who gaveyou the right to play with therespect of women?" he asked inthe tweet.

Imarti Devi and 21 otherMLAs loyal to Scindia hadresigned from the Congress andthe state Assembly and joinedthe BJP in March this year, in theprocess bringing down theKamal Nath-led Government.

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The National Human RightsCommission issued notices

to the Chief Secretary, DirectorGeneral of Police and theDirector General of Prisons,Madhya Pradesh after takingsuo motu cognizance about theallegations made by a womanon five cops for gang-rape inlockup.

It is mentioned in the newsreport that a 20-year-oldwoman has leveled allegationsthat she was kept in lock-up for10 days in the month of Maythis year and was subjected torape by 5 police personnelincluding the Police StationIncharge and SDPO ofMangawan area of Rewa dis-trict of Madhya Pradesh.

The woman, as mentionedin the news report, was anaccused in a case of murderand presently she is lodged injudicial custody. The incidentoccurred in the month of Mayand it came to the knowledgeof the District Judge after aperiod of five months. Even the

prison warden did not have thecourage to report the matter tothe higher authorities

It is further added that asalleged by the victim woman,she was subjected to rape fromMay 09 to 21, 2020 while thepolice contradicts, to be arrest-ed on May 21. Female consta-ble had protested at that timebut she was rebuked by herseniors.

The Commission consid-ered the vulnerable position ofthe victim. She was in policecustody when she was alleged-ly subjected to utmost crueltyand sexual assault by the 5police personnel. Even aprotest made by a female policeofficial went in vain. Very seri-ous allegations have been lev-eled by the victim woman.Public servants from the lawenforcement agencies, who aresupposed to safeguard the cit-izens specially the women andthe people from the vulnerableclasses of the society haveallegedly committed theheinous crime against a womanin their custody.

The Commission hasdirected that the matter may beinvestigated by a senior policeofficer not below the rank ofthe Deputy Inspector Generalof Police.

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Under the scathing attackfrom the BJP over his

remark on Shivraj CabinetMinister Imarti Devi, MPCCchief Kamal Nath tried to clar-ify his stand in a political rallyin Khandwa on Monday.

Nath who was talkingabout party candidate UttamPal Singh saying the public hadreposed faith in Congress cou-ple of years ago but he couldnot remember then Congresscandidate’s name (Mandhataseat) and said, “Mujhe to naambhi yaad nahin, agar kuchh aurkah dunga to kahenge aapneapman kar diya.”

“The other day, I had saidsomething but not with theintention of insulting anyone.

I was not able to rememberperson’s name,” said Nath.

Referring to the leaderspresent on the dais, the MPCCchief reading out the list ofspeakers said so and so leaderwas item number one todayand so and so was item num-ber 2 and 3, so whether it’s aninsult to someone?

The Congress veteranaccused Chief Minister ShivrajSingh Chouhan of trying to findexcuses to attack him andadded, “Kamal Nath kisi kaapman nahin karta, main tosachchai ke sath aapki pol khol-ta hun.” As I expose others, theyhave nothing to counter me,added the senior leader.

He accused opponents oftalking trash saying at times theysay, Kamal Nath drinks cocacola. “Yes I drink coca cola, If Istop doing so, whether farmerssuicides will stop and youths willstart to get jobs,” quipped thesenior leader with a smile.

BJP opposing the ‘item’remark for party candidateImarti Devi had organisedsilent protests against Nathacross Madhya Pradesh. CMShivraj even wrote to AICCchief Sonia Gandhi urging herto act against Nath as she wasa woman herself and held ahigh constitutional post.

BJP spokesperson RahulKothari hit back at Nath’s expla-nation, “Chori upar se sinazori.If you don’t remember the name,you will call someone, item.Shameful.” In tears, ministerImarti Devi had asked whatwas her fault if she was born ina poor family and was dalit.Saying that Sonia Gandhi wasalso a mother, she urged AICCpresident Sonia Gandhi to expelKamal Nath from party askingof women are subjected to suchinsult, how can they makeprogress?

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Under the latest and popu-lar online series of Indira

Gandhi Rashtriya ManavSangrahalaya entitled 'Exhibitof the Week’ the MAJJUS, adecorative wooden almirah,collected from1990 , The aahirCommunity of – Sapeda,Kutch, Gujarat ItsMeasurement -– Height –111.5 cm., Width – 44 cm .dis-played in the audience as theFourth Exhibit of the month ofOctober.2020 through officialwebsite, Facebook, Instagramand twitter page of the IGRMS.

In this regard PraveenKumar Mishra, Director,Indira Gandhi RashtriyaManav Sangrahalaya (NationalMuseum of Mankind), saidthat initially this series willfocus on the masterpieces fromits collection which are con-sidered as unique for their

contribution to the culturalhistory of a particular ethnicgroup or area. Majjus is a dec-orative dowry chest used by the

Ahir community of Gujaratduring marriage ceremony.

Regarding this objectSudeepa Roy said that the rec-

tangular wooden chest standson four legs and has carving offloral designs on the entirefacade.

The front of the chest isdivided into three rectangularsections with floral incisionsand coloured circular and rec-tangular shaped mirrors areinlaid within the floral inci-sions. Out of these the centralone has two doors. The frontlegs are decorated by perforat-ed thin iron plates fixed in cir-cular manner.

The edge of the chest islined with iron strips at regu-lar intervals. Two female figuresare depicted on either sidecarrying pot on their head. Thebase is decorated by a row ofbud-shaped motifs. It is used asa storage cupboard as well as itsflat top serves as a stand for pileof mattresses. This typical chestamong the Ahirs is used to giveas a dowry item.

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Five persons were injured ina violent clash that took

between family members overownership of property atHinotia on Sunday; AshokaGarden police have startedinvestigation.

Police said that Sahela andher in-laws have dispute overownership of house and duringthe discussion at the housefamily members attacked withsharp edged weapon. Theinjured escaped with minorinjuries in the attack.

According to the police,after Sahela’s husband Javed’sdeath family members wantedequal distribution of housewhile Sahela and her familymembers wanted 60 percent of

house in her name which wasthe reason behind dispute.

Sahela used to live with herparents in Itwara and used tovisit the part of the house sheused to dwell with Jawed andclaimed that part should beprovided to her.

On Sunday afternoonSaleha and her family memberscame for discussion with thefamily members of Jawed overthe dispute of house where aquarrel between the Saleha

and her inlaws occurred andwas soon joined by familymembers from both the partieswho attacked with sharp edgedweapons. The injured wererushed to hospital and weredischarged after treatment.Both the groups involved in theclash have lodged complaintsagainst each other.

Police have registered acase under section of assaultand attacking with sharp edgedweapons.

Based on the complaint bySaleha a case was registeredagainst Sajid, Sadiq, Sarwar,Mumtaz, Rubina, Rehana,Arbaaz and Azhar while on thecomplaint of Mumtaz policehave booked Tanveer, Naajma,Saleha, Samad, Abdula, Bariand others.

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Avirtual meeting of SupremeCourt on Road Safety was

held. Chairman of theCommittee, Abhay ManoharSapre instructed the nodaldepartments to make substan-tial and effective efforts con-tinuously for road safety toreduce the number of roadaccidents and deaths.

He expects that all thenodal departments will takenecessary precautionary mea-sures for road safety. ChiefSecretary Iqbal Singh Bainssaid that effective action inrespect of road safety will beensured at the state level soon.

Action plan regardingCovid-19 was also discussed inthe meeting. In view of roadsafety, deliberations at lengthon high-way patrolling, chil-dren school education, trainingon road safety for engineersand road safety staff, installa-tion of SLD Device and imple-mentation of New MotorVehicle Act took place in themeeting.

In the virtual meeting, apresentation on action taken tillnow, related to road safety wasalso made.

In the presentation, actiontaken against traffic violators,road accidents happened dur-ing lockdown period, actionplan for unlocking during coro-

na pandemic, future actionplan for nodal departments,improvement and action underroad safety, improvement inblack spots by identifying them,road safety audit, crash barri-er, rumble strips, sign boardsand future plan were covered.

Information was given bythe Urban Administrationdepartment about the trafficmanagement system to be setup, public transport company,rectification of black spot andawareness campaign.Information was given by thehealth department about theambulance operated by it.

Similarly, the Transport

department gave informationabout the automatic driving testcentre, automated vehicle fit-ness centre, vehicle locationtracking, speed limit device, e-challan system and awarenesscampaign.

Information about makingstudents aware of road safetywas given in the meeting by theSchool Education department.

Members of the committeeDGP Vivek Johri, AdiitionalChief Secretray HealthMohammad Suleman,Additional Chief SecretaryHome Rajesh Rajoura, ADGPTRI D.C. Sagar and officers ofother nodal departmentsattended the meeting.

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Nishatpura police havebooked a miscreant for

stealing a purse carryingvalaubles worth �20000 inNishatpura area on Sunday;victim was targeted while wait-ing for her husband after hisbike ran out of petrol.

According to the policebag of the victim HumeraKhan of Qazi Camp was stolenwhile she was waiting for herhusband who had gone tobring petrol for the bike whichran out of petrol.

A complaint was lodged bythe victim with the police andin her complaint she stated thatwhen she along with husbandhad gone to visit her relativeand when they were on theirway back bike ran out of petrol.Her husband went to bringpetrol leaving her and babywhich she was carrying andwhile she was waiting a mancame and took purse which shekept over the bike and beforeshe could understand miscre-ant escaped. The locals tried tochase him but failed to catchhim.

The police have registereda case under section 379 of theIPC and have started furtherinvestigation.

The footages of CCTVcameras installed in the near-by areas would be searched inthe further investigation. It ispossible that the miscreant hadfollowed the victim andattacked at the spot when shewas waiting at the spot.

The habitual offenders ofthe area and nearby areaswould be quizzed in the inves-tigation.

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Weather conditions wit-nessed a pleasant change

after rainfall was witnessed atfew places in the State capitalproviding relief from hot andhumid conditions at the start ofthe week; Met department toldtemperatures would dip in thenext 4-5 days.

The change in weathercondition is induced by systemover Bay of Bengal and gradu-ally in the active systems tem-peratures would dip further.

Shahdol division haverecorded dip in the night tem-peratures while other divisionsrecorded temperatures werearound same level. The lowestnight temperature was recordedin Mandla at 18 degree Celsius.

Bhopal, Ujjain, Indore andJabalpur divisions recordedrainfall in the past 24 hours andrainfall is likely to witness.

Uneasiness in the weather

condition could be accounted tosignificant rise in Sagar,Hoshangabad, Bhopal, Ujjainand Gwalior divisions while veryhigh in Shahdol and Jabalpurdivisions. Few regions have wit-nessed good amount of rainfall,which recorded Rawti 9 cm, Tal8 cm, Depalpur, Khacrod,Neemuch 7 cm, Ratlam andNaagda cm in the past 24 hours.The Met department has issuedwarning of thundery activitiesand lightening in Indore andUjjain divisions.

State capital witnessed par-tial cloudy weather conditionsand dry conditions. The tem-perature difference is around 9degree Celsius making nightsand wee hours cold. The daytemperature was recorded at34.3 while night was recordedat 23 degree Celsius.

In the state highest day tem-perature was recorded at 37degree Celsius in Khajuraho,Nowgong, Damoh, Datia, Gunaand Gwalior.

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Full dress rehearsal of PoliceCommemoration Day

which will be celebrated onOctober 21 was held onMonday morning at the mar-tyr's memorial site at Lal ParadeGround ; DGP Vivek Johrireviewed parade and otherarrangements of PoliceCommemoration Day.

The Governor of MadhyaPradesh Anandiben Patelwould be Chief Guest of theprogramme organised at 8 am.

The Chief Guest wasplayed by the Head ConstableRamchandra Kushwaha duringthe Fuldress rehearsal for PoliceMemorial Day on Monday.The final practice parade was led by Indian Police Service Aditya Mishra. The parade 2 IC

is Shashank Gurjar. The paradeincludes woman platoon spe-cial armed forces and districtforces, men platoon of specialarmed forces, police band pla-toon and dog squad.

Additional Director Generalof Police SAF, Milind Kanaskar,Inspector General of PoliceSatish Kumar Saxena, Deepika

Suri, Deputy Inspector Generalof Police,. Deepak Verma, MLChahari, Commandant SeventhBattalion, Sachin Atulkar, OSDof Governor, Akhil Patel andother senior police officers werepresent. During this period,patriotic songs were played bythe police band, the paid floraltribute to the martyrs.

On October 21, 1959, acontingent of CRPF personnel,led by Sub Inspector KaramSingh, was killed in anencounter with the ChineseArmy at an altitude of 16,000feet at the hot springs ofLadakh when 10 soldiers werekilled in an encounter with theChinese Army. In his memory,this day is celebrated by all thepolice units of the country.

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Protesting negligence ininvestigation and not taking

action on the responsible offi-cials and supress the matter bythe administration theCongress party staged a sit-inagainst the administration.

Congress spokespersonVivek Soni said that due to thenegligence of the police and theGovernment, such a big inci-dent took place in the citywhere 16 people died due todrinking adulterated alcohol,but this figure is being report-ed from 35 to 40 people.

An attempt has been madeby the Government to suppressthe entire matter and is tryingto garner praises by transferproceedings of SP, ASP andSuspension of CSP, TI.

No assistance has beenprovided to the family of the

victims so far, by the adminis-tration.

In the protest against this,city Congress PresidentMahesh Soni, led by DistrictCongress President KamalPatel, staged a sit-in at GopalMandir on Monday, during

which Mahesh Soni said thatdue to the negligence of policeand administration, such a bigincident happened in the city,from Kharakua .

He also expressed disbeliefin the investigation of the SITand demanded a probe by the

High Court Judge, ChairmanKamal Patel, despite such a bigincident, the government hasso far only transferred SP, ASPand suspension of CSP, TI.

Former MLA Dr.Batukashankar Joshi also tar-geted the BJP, saying that in theCongress government, KamalNath had continuously cam-paigned against criminals.

He said that HomeMinister Narottam Mishra isthe minister in-charge of Ujjaindistrict, who also has greataccountability towards them,should also resign on moralgrounds.

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who is posted in DistrictHospital, has been accused ofasking for a bribe of 15 thou-sand to treat an old man.These allegations were made bythe son of the patient. In thisregard, he has also submitted avideo complaining to UjjainADM. In this video , the con-versation about transaction ofmoney from old patient andthen taking money is clearlyvisible.

Ujjain Collector has sus-pended the doctor after takingcognizance of the incident afterthe video of Dr. Ajay Nigamwent viral. Ratanlal Rathore, aresident of Sethi Nagar, Ujjain,was troubled by the infection ofheart and langs, after which hewas admitted to the districthospital for treatment on 10October. Where doctor AjayNigam demanded 15 thou-sand from the elderly patient inthe name of treatment. Threethousand rupees were takenfrom the patient in two sepa-rate installments.

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Page 3: New ˘ ˇ ˆ˘ ˙ ˝ ˛ ˚ ˆ ˆ˛˛ · 2020. 10. 19. · called me ‘hungry and ill-clad ... restoration of Article 370, was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Srinagar

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Gau Shala Nirman(Construction of Cow

Shelter) is complementary totemple construction and onlyPrime Minister Narendra Modiand Chief Minister ShivrajSingh Chouhan can build GauShalas, said Protem SpeakerRameshwar Sharma at thestone laying ceremony of GauShala worth �30 lakh at SarwarGram Panchayat and roadworth �14 lakh.

Addressing the program,Protem Speaker RameshwarSharma said that the construc-tion of Gau Shala is comple-mentary to the construction ofthe temple and as much as goodand virtuous as construction ofthe temple is as much as thevirtue gained from the construc-tion of the Gau Shala. Takingcare of the cow deities in which33 crore Gods and Goddesseslive and concern about theirfood and drink is also theresponsibility of every Hindu.

Sharma said that withoutthe cooperation of MinisterNarendra Modi and the farmerson of Madhya Pradesh ChiefMinister Shivraj SinghChauhan, who was carrying for-ward the resolve of cow serviceacross the country, constructionof cow house was impossible.

Certainly cow shelterbuilding is being done contin-uously with the willingness ofModi and Shivraj. It is worthnoting that cow houses arebeing constructed in various

gram panchayats of HuzurAssembly. Sharma has pledgedto construct cow shelter build-ing in each gram panchayat ofHuzur assembly.

On the occasion SeniorBJP leaders Ramesh Verma,Banwari Lal Sharma, MandalPresident DharmendraMewada, Manoj Kambar,Hemant Birtheria, SarpanchLal Singh Meena, SanjayParashar, Subhash Sharma andothers were present on theoccasion.

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Crime branch have arrestedfour drug peddlers and

recovered Rs 66300 cash, 10 kgCannabis and two motorbikesfrom their possession near Fandatoll plaza on Sunday.

Acting on a tip off regardingfour persons trying to sell drugsteam rushed to the spot andnabbed the drug peddlers andwhen they were searched 10 kgof Cannabis was recovered fromtheir possession.

The nabbed accused wereidentified as Kamlesh Mewada,Rajendra Mewada, Kapil Meenaand Vikram Mewada. One of thenabbed accused KamleshMewada has been booked underNDPS Act by Bairagarh police.

Police said that the details ofprocurement and delivery ofthe drugs would be searched inthe further investigation. Afterthe initial investigation policehave registered a case under sec-tions 8 and 20 of the NDPS Act.

During the investigationpolice have found that thenabbed accused are involved inagriculture work to evade arrestand wanted to make fast money.

The four accused were ontwo motorbikes which weretracked and nabbed by thepolice. The accused were carry-ing backpacks in which theywere carrying drugs.

Meanwhile, Crime branchpolice nabbed twelve gamblersnear farm house at Airport roadand recovered Rs 58600 fromtheir possession in the night onSunday. Acting on a tip off,regarding gambling, nine miscre-ants twelve nabbed who werecaught gambling.

The details of the nabbedgamblers would be investigatedin the further investigation. Theraid was conducted in the mid-night when the accused weregambling. The police have reg-istered a case under section13(A) of the Public GamblingAct.

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Aminimum of five-yearimprisonment, hefty fines,

registration of case are expect-ed to be some of the strict pro-visions the Punjab Governmenthas included in the proposedbill, the ruling Congress partyis likely to table in the Houseon Tuesday to negate theCentre’s three farm laws.

Aimed at nullifying therecent central farm legisla-tions, the Bill is expected tohave “better deals” and “safe-guards” for the farmers likeensuring procurement of theirproduce, retaining mandi sys-tem, assuring minimum sup-port price (MSP), among oth-ers.

Sources has informed ThePioneer that imprisonment forat least five years has been pro-posed in case any company orthe businessman procures thefarmers’ produce on ratesbelow MSP. Besides, it hasbeen learnt that the

Government has also includedheavy fines for procuring pro-duce below MSP.

Available information alsosuggests that a provision to reg-ister cases against the privatecompany or the businessmanmay also be included in theproposed Bill.

That is not all! It has alsobeen learnt that to procure anyproduce, the company or trad-er need to seek theGovernment’s permission, andit would decide which compa-ny can procure produce fromwhich mandi and how much.

Notably, even as day beforethe Government is expected tomove the Bill, the Ministers areholding meetings with thefarmers’ bodies.

The opposition partieshave been crying hoarse for notproviding the copies of the“important” Bill, maintainingthat without this, a thoroughdebate and fruitful discussionwould not be possible.

The State Government has

all along been claiming that itwould come up with a stronglegislation to negate theCentre’s agriculture laws that itwould stand the scrutiny of theSupreme Court.

All eyes are glued onPunjab as it would be the firstState Government to bring ina Bill against the Central farmlaws. The Congress govern-ments of Rajasthan andChhattisgarh too are slated topresent their own versions offarm Bills by convening theirassemblies, tentatively onNovember 2.

Targeting the Centre andthe BJP, Punjab Congress pres-ident Sunil Jakhar on Mondaysaid that the Assembly shouldpass a unanimous resolution“condemning the humiliatingtreatment” meted out to thefarmers’ representatives by theNarendra Modi Government atthe national capital. “In doingso, the BJP has insulted not justthe farming community butPunjab itself,” he added.

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Punjab Vidhan Sabha onMonday paid tributes to all

the farmers who have lost theirlives during the ongoing agita-tion in protest against theCentre’s draconian agricultur-al laws on the first day of thetwo-day special session.

Shaurya Chakra AwardeeBalwinder Singh Sandhu,known for bravely fighting themilitancy in Punjab, was alsogiven homage by the House,besides several other eminent

personalities that lost theirlives during the interveningperiod of the two sessions.Sandhu was killed by uniden-tified assailants outside hishouse in Bhikiwind on October16 (Friday). Initially, these ref-erences were not included inthe original list but were addedwith the permission of SpeakerRana KP Singh on the requestof Finance Minister ManpreetSingh Badal.

Speaker Rana KP Singhread the names and brief back-ground of all the personalities given homage, following which

all the members observed atwo-minute silence as a markof respect to the departed soulsduring the obituary references.

Tributes were paid to mar-tyr Lance Naik Karnail Singh;doyen of science-literature con-fluence in Punjabi language —writer Kuldip Singh Dhir;Punjabi University Patiala’s for-mer Vice Chancellor JoginderSingh Puar; and noted musi-cian Kesar Singh Narula —father of acclaimed singerJaspinder Narula, who had all

died recently.Lance Naik Karnail Singh

had attained martyrdom dur-ing an operation to flush outmilitants on September 30 inKrishna Ghati sector of Jammuand Kashmir.

The House also paidrespects to freedom fightersMahinder Singh, Sardar Singh,Rai Singh Patanga, MahinderSingh, and Hemraj Mittal,while remembering theirunparalleled contribution tothe freedom struggle.

Members also paid tributes

to Sardarni Davinder Kaur,deceased mother of KhannaMLA Gurkirat Singh Kotli;Pathankot MLA Amit Vij'sfather Anil Vij; GarhshankarMLA Jai Kishan Rori’s fatherChaudhary Chain Singh, andSaravjit Kaur Manuke’s fatherSardar Gurbant Singh whohad all died recently.

The Speaker, after the obit-uary references, moved a res-olution for conveying the con-dolences of the House to theirrespective families, which waspassed by voice vote.

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Deputy Chief MinisterManish Sisodia said that

Art and Culture should play itspart in making the societystand against hatred and vio-lence.

In his first virtual meetingof the Delhi Cultural PolicyAdvisory Committee onMonday, Sisodia said, violenceand hatred is increasing and anall-round collapse of the moralfabric is evident. In such a sit-uation, the Government ofDelhi is formulating a compre-hensive cultural policy toensure meaningful contribu-

tion of art and culture towardstransforming the mindset ofthe society.”

“The art and culture is themedium to put forward thetruth in the most raw form andthrough this new CulturalPolicy, the Delhi governmentaims to change the mindset ofthe society,” said the Educationminister citing the example ofthe famous play ‘MaskharaMauliyar’ In this play,, the pro-tagonist says - "Who will stopme, if I tell the truth in myhumour?

Sisodia said that the Delhigovernment wants to createsuch a cultural atmosphere in

Delhi where there are somegood activities happening everyday. Just like people take theirguests to cinemas and restau-rants , now people of Delhi willhave many options to go to cul-tural events

Actor Manoj Vajpayee saidin the meeting that it has beenhis dream for a long time thathe would advise the govern-ment he has a close relationshipto introduce theatre educationin schools.

Advising to bring the chil-dren of slums and squares intothe mainstream through the-ater education, he said thatthere are various types of dance

and music programs happen-ing at every other metro stationand streets in Paris.He also sug-gested to provide space forartists to perform in Delhi sothat Delhi can be elevated as acultural capital.

Sisodia said that Delhibelongs to everyone, so the cul-tural diversity and heritage ofthe entire country should bereflected in the cultural eventsof Delhi.

The government ofKashmir or Bihar or any otherstate can remain focused on thelanguage and culture of itsown state, but Delhi has thedistinction of being the nation-

al capital. Therefore, peoplefrom any part of the countryshould get a glimpse of an arrayof the cultural diversity symbol-sing India.. The government isworking fast to make Delhi avibrant center of art and cul-ture.

The advisory committeeconsists of personalities andexperts from the field of art andculture. These include actorsManoj Bajpayee and JavedJaffrey, Art and Policy expertPooja Sood, JNU's School ofArts and Aesthetics Professor,Ira Bhaskar. Also, AshwiniKumar, principal of DelhiCollege of Art, social activist

Vineet Nagar, folk dancer BinaVyas are also in the committee.Similarly, music producerBreen Desai, art expertAbhinandita Dayal Mathur,artists and researchersBhagwati Prasad and LatikaGupta, artist and educationistAastha Chauhan are also apart of the committee.

In the meeting, Sisodiasaid that we do not want torestrict art and culture tomere events, but through it wehave a dream to change ourmindset.

Artists have brought aboutmajor changes in the past andtoday we expect a greater role

from the people who representthis field. Shri Sisodia saidthat the formulation of this cul-tural policy is an unprecedent-ed step towards working andpromoting the cultural land-scape and history of our coun-try.

Through this, a roadmapwill also be sought for the cre-ative economy of Delhi.

In the meeting, Sisodiasaid that our government hastaken many steps to advancearts and culture.

But until now there is noclear structure of these activi-ties. This is the reason why wewant to create a holistic cultur-

al policy so that it is possible tocreate a better cultural environ-ment in a systematic way.

“Earlier, cultural activitiesin Delhi were limited to MandiHouse and Red Fort. The Delhigovernment successfully usedit to reach various areas ofDelhi through 'Dastak' andother programs,” the DeputyChief Minister said mentioningthe missed call system to pro-vide information about cultur-al programmes to the generalpublic and expand the overallreach.

Notably, more than 80,000people registered for the pro-grammes.

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At a time when winter airpollution has become a

serious public health hazard,Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal on Monday encour-aged all political parties forstrong political will power todefeat pollution in a shorterspan.

Pertinently, governmentagencies - SAFAR ( MoES )CPCB have notified farm firea major contributor marking12-22 percent stubble fireadding concentration in pollu-tant values which may triggerdouble risk to human lungsamid Corona.

Keeping political differ-ence side, Kejriwal urged allministers of neighbouringstates to work hard and makehonest efforts together so thatpollution caused due to stubblecan be substantially reduced ina short period.

Agreeing with UnionEnvironment Minister ShriPrakash Javadekar that stubbleburning is a big problem,Kejriwal asserted on to dealwith pollution problem in short

time.”if all the state govern-ments have the political will,the issue can be resolved with-in a short span of time,”Kejriwal said.

Listing steps being taken bydifferent state governments tostop farmers from burningstubble, he said on the recom-mendation of Pusa Institute, hisgovernment started sprayingchemicals which will convertthis stubble into manure.

There are many factories inHaryana and Punjab which areconverting stubble to CBG,coal and coke. “ We must notconsider stubble as a liabilitybut need to transform it into anopportunity; if all state govern-ments adopt these conversionmeasures, it will benefit thefarmers monetarily and gener-ate employment.”

Suggesting the UnionEnvironment Ministry to holdmonthly meeting with ChiefMinisters of states which areaffected by burning stubble tofind out more such solutions,he said,”Yesterday I heard thestatement of Union environ-ment Minister Shri PrakashJavadekar where he said that air

pollution does not happen dueto one state due to the wind,pollution affects all the neigh-bouring states of north India.I completely agree with hisviews and I believe that all thestate governments should cometogether and launch a battleagainst air pollution."

He said, "But Javadekaralso said that the problem of airpollution cannot be solved inone day and it will take a min-imum of four years to solve theissue of air pollution. I do notagree with this statement. Ibelieve that if all the state gov-ernments come together and allthe political parties work hon-estly by keeping aside theirpolitical bias then we can com-bat the issue of air-pollution inless than four years."

Kejriwal said, "First let metalk about the issue of stubbleburning and now the SupremeCourt of India has also accept-ed that stubble burning is themajor cause behind this air pol-lution. Earlier some politics washappening regarding the issueof stubble burning but now theSupreme Court has observedthat the key reason behind the

spike in air pollution duringthis time of the year is the stub-ble burning. The air pollutiondue to stubble burning is notrestricted to Delhi but it affectsentire North India.

I am more worried aboutthe farmers who burn the stub-ble because the toxic air gener-ated from the burning affectstheir family. I think that thesolution of stubble burning isalready there because the sci-entists have come up with var-ious solutions. But I feel thatthere is a lack of political good-will to embrace these technolo-gies to stop the stubble burn-ing."

Sharing ideas of processingthe agricultural residue andusing it for different means,Kejriwal said scientists havedeveloped a chemical thatdecomposes stubble and turnsit into manure.

There is no need for farm-ers to burn stubble. Secondly,there is a factory at Karnalwhere stubble is getting con-verted to compressed bio-gas(CBG). This gas can be usedjust as CNG.

“This means that we can

produce CNG like gas from thestubble. Why can’t we adoptsuch technology? This factorybuys the stubble from the farm-ers. This way the farmers alsoget money and their incomeincreases,” he added.

Interestingly, Kejriwal pro-moted the idea of buying stub-ble and production of gaswhich coal companies can use.“Eventually, the IGL(Indraprastha Gas Limited)buys this gas. In Punjab, thereare around seven such factorieswhich are making coal andcoke from the stubble. Peoplefrom these factories go to thefield of the farmers, cut thestubble and pay the farmers onRs.500 per acre basis. Laterthese companies sell the coal tothe NTPC."

He said, "This means thatfrom stubble we can producecoal, coke, CNG and card-boards. If the state govern-ments of India start utilisingthese new technologies bywhich rather than burning thestubble the farmers canincrease their income by sell-ing the stubble then it can puta halt on this problem.”

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Gurugram: The GurugramPolice claimed to have arrest-ed two key accused includinga wanted criminal in connec-tion with the murder case of aliquor contractor on September2 of thie year..

The accused had allegedlygunned down the contractorover an old rivalry at JatauliMandi village in Pataudi onSeptember 2, the police said onMonday.

The arrested accused havebeen identified as Ujjawal andJeevan both are residents ofGautam Buddh Nagar districtin Uttar Pradesh.

The Haryana police hadannounced a bounty of Rs5,000 on Ujjawal's arrest.

In connection with theincident the police have arrest-ed 7 criminals on September10.

A team of crime branchFarrukhnagar led by InspectorIndravir nabbed both the crim-inals from Wazirpur bus standafter a tip-off.

During the interrogation,the accused revealed thatAbhishek of Jatauli village alongwith his fellow gang membershad planned the murderIndrajeet on August 30.

“According to the plan, onSeptember 2, Abhishek alongwith Ujjawal and Jeevan hadshot dead Inderjeet whileanother youth identified asVikram suffered bullet injuries.Abhishek and Inderjeet had anold rivalry.

In 2019 Abhishek had also

attacked Inderjeet but he wassaved. A case in this regard hadbeen filed at Pataudi police sta-tion,” said Preet Pal Sangwan,ACP (crime) of the Gurugrampolice.

In this case Abhishek hadbeen proclaimed offender (PO)who is still absconding. Areward of Rs 50,000 / - has alsobeen declared by the HaryanaPolice on the arrest of accusedAbhishek,” Sangwan said.

On September 2, a case wasfiled by the deceased’s brotherJaibhagwan. In his police com-plaint he alleged that Abhishek,Harender, Rohit, Sagar, Akhil,Krishan alias Gugan all ofJatoli Mandi village werebehind the incident.The com-plainant had told the police thatAbhishek and his aides havecriminal backgrounds.

An FIR had been registeredagainst the culprits under rel-evant section of the IndianPenal Code (IPC) including theArms Act at the Pataudi policestation on September 3.

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Haryana on Monday regis-tered eight more Covid-19

fatalities as the death toll dueto the coronavirus in the Statereached 1648, officials said.On Sunday, the state did nothave any casualties.

There were 1201 freshcases which pushed the totalinfections to 151,234, a bulletinsaid.

Of the fresh deaths, oneeach were from Charkhi Dadri,Fatehabad, Sirsa, Bhiwani,Gurugram, Panipat, Hisar,Panchkula, the state healthdepartment said in a healthbulletin.

A total of 1160 Covid-19

patients were cured andreleased from the hospitalsafter recovery, taking the totalcount to 139, 511. Among thedistricts which reported a bigspike in the cases wereGurugram (228), Faridabad(153), Rewari (132) and Hisar(118). There are 10,075 activecases in the state and the recov-ery rate is 92.25 percent.

NO COVID FATALITY INCHANDIGARH, 40 FRESHCASES

No COVID-19 relatedfatality was reported inChandigarh during the past 24hours as the city reported 40fresh cases on Monday. “Thedeath toll stood at 208 and the

total case tally reached 13686 inChandigarh”, statedChandigarh HealthDepartment’s evening bulletin.

Earlier, it was on

September 26 when noCOVID-19 fatality was report-ed in the city. A day before, theunion territory had reportedone COVID-19 related fatalityand 64 positive cases.

According to the bulletin,“There were 861 active cases tillthe evening. 63 patients haverecovered in the past 24 hourstaking the total number ofrecoveries to 12617. The recov-ery rate was recorded at 92.1percent while the active ratio ofcases was recorded at 6.2 per-cent which means for every 100confirmed cases, 6 are current-ly infected in the city.” 95776samples have so far been test-ed in the city. The report of 127was awaited, the bulletin added.

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Since the time Covid-19 pan-demic hit the State, people

have continued to celebratefestivals with their own twistswhile observing adequate pre-cautions. Filled with religiousfervour, many residents ofUttarakhand are also celebrat-ing this Navratri differentlythan in the past years. Whilesome are organising Keertanson Zoom, others are planningto feed homeless and needy onAshtmi and Navami to cele-brate Kanya Pujan.

"My mother organisesKeertan of goddess Durgaevery Navratri for the firstseven days but this year, it was

not possible while maintainingphysical distancing among allthe devotees in our home.

Therefore, we decided toorganise a small Keertan gath-ering everyday digitally for 30to 40 minutes to sing bhajans,"said Haldwani resident,Anuradha Bohra. She addedthat only 50 per cent of the totaldevotees join them in digitalKeertan but it makes thesewomen feel connected duringthe times when they are phys-ically secluded from theirfriends in their homes duringthe festival.

Regarding the Kanya Pujantradition, many said that theywill cook the meal and distrib-ute among homeless and needy

while others stated that theywill donate money to organisa-tions working for the welfare ofyoung girls. "I notice many chil-dren begging near temples,especially during festivals.

Therefore, I will cook thedishes for Prasad and my sonswill distribute it among thosechildren. Since safety is crucialin the current times, we will pre-pare packets of the food beforedistributing them," said a Roorkeresident, Geetanjali Sharma.Meanwhile, some people saidthat they will organise KanyaPujan in their homes whileobserving all the precautionarymeasures as this tradition is animportant part of Navratri.

According to a Haridwar

resident Pankaj Payal, it is fineto do Kanya Pujan at homewhen everything has returnedto normal. "Everyone is goingto malls, markets or every pub-lic places then what is wrong infollowing a tradition by invitingfew kids to a meal. We cannotforget our tradition for fear ofCovid. All we need to do is fol-low the basic safety protocols ofsanitisation, physical distancingand use of face masks while welive our regular life," said Payal.However, most of the parents ofthe young girls who are gener-ally invited for Kanya Pujanstated that they will refrain fromsending their daughters to oth-ers' home due to the risk ofCovid-19.

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Page 4: New ˘ ˇ ˆ˘ ˙ ˝ ˛ ˚ ˆ ˆ˛˛ · 2020. 10. 19. · called me ‘hungry and ill-clad ... restoration of Article 370, was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Srinagar

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Prime Minister NarendraModi on Monday urged

students to use their knowledgeobtained through education atvarious stages of their real life.Modi termed real life as agreat university which teachesvarious ways for applicability ofknowledge. He also said hisGovernment is concentratingon the infrastructure creationand structural reforms in theeducation sector reforms andthe National Education Policywould give new direction andnew strength to the reforms inthe education sector.

The Prime Minister wasspeaking at the centenary con-vocation ceremony of MysoreUniversity through video con-ference from New Delhi.

The PM said the Universityof Mysore is the centre of thegreat education system ofancient India, the aspirationsand capabilities of future Indiaand has realised the vision of“Rajarshi” Nalvadi KrishnarajaWadiyar and M Visvesvaraya Ji.He referred to stalwarts likeBharat Ratna Dr SarvepalliRadhakrishnan, who taught atthe University. “Education

throws light at difficult times inlife,” Modi said quoting thegreat Kannada writer andthinker Goruru RamaswamyIyengar.

He said continuous effortsare being made so that India'sEducation system caters to theneeds of the 21st centurywherein infrastructure creationand structural reforms weregiven special focus. He said tomake India a Global Hub forHigher Education and to makeour youth competitive, effortswere made qualitatively as wellas quantitatively.

He said even after so manyyears of independence, in 2014,there were only 16 IITs in the

country. In the last 6 years, onan average, a new IIT has beenopened every year. One ofthem is also at Dharwad,Karnataka. He also said as of2014 there were only 9 IIITs, 13IIMs and 7 AIIMSs in thecountry whereas in the subse-quent 5 years, 16 IIITs, 7 IIMsand 8 AIIMSs were eitherestablished or in the process ofbeing created.

Modi said efforts in high-er education over the last fiveto six years are not limited toonly opening new institutionsbut work has also been done ongovernance reforms in theseinstitutions to ensure genderequality and social inclusive-

ness. He said the first IIM Act

gave more rights to IIMs acrossthe country. The NationalMedical Commission has beencreated to bring more trans-parency in medical education.Two new laws are also beingenacted for bringing in reformsin Homeopathy and otherIndian medical practices. PMexpressed happiness that at alllevels of education in the coun-try, the Gross Enrolment ratioof girls is more than boys.

Modi said the focus of theNational Education Policy ismultidimensional to make ouryouth competitive through aflexible and adaptable educa-

tion system. He said Skilling,Reskilling and Upskilling arethe greatest need of the hour.Being one of the best educationinstitutes in the country, thePrime Minister urged theUniversity of Mysore to inno-vate according to the newemerging situation. He urgedthe institute to focus onIncubation Centres,Technology DevelopmentCentres, “Industry-academialinkage” and “Inter- discipli-nary research”. He requestedthe University to promoteresearch on Local Culture,Local Art and other socialissues along with related glob-al and contemporary issues.

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The CBI has booked BSPMLA Vinay Shankar Tiwari

and his wife Reeta Tiwaribesides two private firms inconnection with an allegedbank fraud to the tune of Rs 754.24 crore and conduct-ed searches at their premises on Monday.

Besides the MLA and hiswife, a private individual AjeetPandey as also two privateentities arraigned as accusedare Gangotri Enterprises Ltdand Royal Empire MarketingPvt Ltd.

The agency conductedsearches at the residence ofChillupar (Gorakhpur) MLATiwari, who is son of former minister and astrongman from Gorakhpur,Hari Shankar Tiwari, and the office of the Lucknow-based company, GangotriEnterprises Ltd.

Officials said the searcheswere also spread out in Noidaat the premises of another

accused firm, Royal EmpireMarketing Pvt. Ltd, and another accused director inGangotri Enterprises, AjeetPandey.

“The Central Bureau ofInvestigation has registered acase on a complaint from Bankof India against two privatecompanies based atLucknow/Noida (UttarPradesh), its Directors andunknown others on the allega-tions of committing misap-propriation, cheating and caus-ing loss of Rs 754.24 crore(approximately) to the consor-tium of banks,” the CBI said ina statement.

“It was alleged that the pri-vate company having its cor-porate office at Mahanagar,Lucknow (Gangotri EnterprisesLtd) was engaged in the construction of roads,bridges and flyovers etc. It wasfurther alleged that the company availed credit facili-ties from a consortium of banks led by Bank of Indiafrom time to time,” the

agency said.It was also alleged that the

company was supposed to routeall its transactions through theTrust & Retention Account andthe company was not doing thesame. It was further alleged thatthere were irregularities in thefinancial statements of the com-pany, it said.

Searches were conductedon Monday at the premises ofthe accused/company at Noidaand Lucknow which led torecovery of several incriminating documents.Investigation is continuing, it added.

After scrutiny of the seizeddocuments, the agency willsoon summon the accusedpersons for questioning in con-nection with the probe.

Based on the recovery ofthe property documents of theaccused and tallying them withtheir Income Tax returns, theagency may register a separatecase for possession of dispro-portionate assets against them,officials added.

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Without giving a firm date-wise time-table for Haj

2021, Union Minister ofMinority Affairs MukhtarAbbas Naqvi on Monday saidthe holy pilgrimage will dependon national-internationalProtocol Guidelines due toCovid-19 pandemic conditions.The Union Minister said awhole set of procedures for theHaj would change on account of

the pandemic.While chairing Haj 2021

review meeting here, Naqvisaid Haj is scheduled for June-July 2021, but the final decisionregarding Haj 2021 will betaken in due course keeping inview necessary guidelines to beissued by the Saudi ArabiaGovernment and theGovernment of India in view ofcorona pandemic to ensurehealth and well-being of thepeople.

Naqvi added HajCommittee of India and otherIndian agencies will formallyannounce Haj 2021 applica-tion process and other relatedpreparations after a decision istaken by the Saudi ArabiaGovernment on Haj 2021.

The Minister said the entireHaj process might witness a sig-nificant change in view of nec-essary guidelines.

“These include accommo-dation, transport, health and

other facilities both in India andSaudi Arabia”, he said.

Naqvi said health and well-being of the pilgrims is of theutmost priority for theGovernment due to coronapandemic.

The Indian agencies willensure necessary arrangementsin this regard. The IndianGovernment and HajCommittee have started neces-sary preparations to ensurehealth and well-being of the pil-

grims. The Minister said due to100 per cent digital Haj processof India, Rs 2,100 crore havebeen returned through DBTmode, without any deduction,to 1,23,000 people after cancel-lation of Haj 2020 due to coro-navirus.

The Saudi ArabiaGovernment has also returnedabout Rs 100 crore regardingtransportation.

Secretary, Minority AffairsMinistry PK Das and other

senior officials of the Ministry;Joint Secretary, External AffairsVipul; Joint Secretary CivilAviation Ministry SK Mishraattended the review meeting.Besides, Dr Ausaf Sayeed,Indian Ambassador to SaudiArabia; Y Sabir, Acting ConsulGeneral in Jeddah; MA Khan,CEO Haj Committee of Indiaand other officials from HealthDepartment, Air India etcattended the meeting throughvideo conferencing.

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As part of the Atma NirbharBharat Package to revive

the rural and agriculture econ-omy, as many as 1.5 crorefarmers, including fishermenand dairy farmers, have been benefited with sanctionedcredit limit of Rs 1.35 lakhcrore under the Kisan CreditCards (KCC).

In May this year, the UnionFinance Minister NirmalaSitharaman announced a con-cessional credit boost worth Rs2 lakh crore to 2.5 crore farm-ers through KCC issued by thegovernment.

It is expected that the samewill help in reviving the ruraleconomy and accelerating agri-cultural growth. The schemeprovides an additional liquid-ity of Rs 5 lakh crore in thehands of farmers, who are suf-fering from the recent down-turn of economy.

The KCC scheme waslaunched to prevent farmersfrom getting loans on highinterest rates charged viamoney lenders in the unor-ganised sector.

Under the scheme, farmerscan avail a loan as and whenthey require. The scheme waslaunched in August 1998 andwas prepared by National Bankfor Agriculture and RuralDevelopment (NABARD).

The Government providesinterest subvention of 2 percent and Prompt RepaymentIncentive of 3 per cent to thefarmers, thus making the cred-it available at a very subsidisedrate of 4 per cent per annum.

The Government has takenmajor farmer friendly steps byextending the benefits of KCCwith interest subvention in2019 to Animal Husbandryincluding Dairy and Fisheriesfarmers for their working cap-ital requirement and raising theexisting limit of collateral freeagriculture loan from Rs 1lakh to Rs 1.60 lakh.

“While ensuring conve-nient and cost-effective creditdelivery to farmers, the ongo-ing campaign will also beinstrumental in driving therural economy and furtheraccelerating agricultural pro-duction and allied activities,besides enhancing the incomelevel of farmers. This will alsogo a long way in fulfilling theobjective of food security forour country,” the Ministry saidin a statement.

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With the Covid-19 pan-demic bringing into

focus the urgent need to boosthealthcare facilities in ruralareas, a unique scheme,“Ayushman Sahakar”, wasunveiled on Monday. It offerseasily-accessible low-interestloans to cooperatives and star-tups keen to venture into anarray of health related facilitiesthat would ensure last-miledelivery of healthcare servicesacross the country.

The apex autonomousdevelopment finance institu-tion, National CooperativeDevelopment Corporation(NCDC), under the UnionAgriculture Ministry, hasalready created a loan kitty ofRs 10,000 crore for the purposeaiming to boost the provisionof healthcare services by coop-eratives which largely com-prise farmers in the country.

Launching the schemeonline, Union Agriculture

Minister of State ParashottamRupala said that AyushmanSahakar would revolutionise theway healthcare delivery takesplace in rural areas. He also gavea call to the existing cooperativesto take up healthcare services asan activity for farmers.

Talking to media, SundeepNayak, Managing Director ofNCDC, said, “This schemealigns itself with the focus ofthe National Health Policy,2017, covering the health sys-tems in all their dimensions-investments in health, organi-zation of healthcare services,access to technologies, devel-opment of human resources,encouragement of medical plu-ralism, affordable health care tofarmers etc.”

In fact, co-operatives arealready playing an increasing-ly important role in various sec-tors such as fisheries, sugar,dairy, textile and agri-process-ing among a few others. In thehealth sector, the NCDC has sofar financed a few hospitals run

by cooperatives across thecountry.

“The idea is to expand theumbrella particularly at a timewhen there is an imminentneed to strengthen healthcarefacilities in the rural area in thewake of Covid-19 outbreak.The scheme has comprehen-sive approach-hospitals, health-care, medical education, nurs-ing education, drug stores,paramedical education, healthinsurance and holistic healthsystems such as AYUSH.Ayushman Sahakar schemefund would also assist cooper-ative hospitals take up med-ical/Ayush education,” heexplained.

“Even if doctors cometogether to form a cooperativeand start a hospital or a centrewith physiotherapy services,we would be able to supportthem,” he said.

Talking about the eligibili-ty for availing the loan, Nayaksaid, “As our original guidelinesgo, a cooperative has to be

three years old for gettingNCDC finance, for this start-upscheme. So, this is a greatscheme for start-ups. Besides, ifthese start-ups are founded bywomen or those with disabili-ties, they would get an interestsubvention of 2 per cent.”

Any Cooperative Societywith suitable provision in itsbyelaws to undertake health-care related activities would beable to access the NCDC fund.The NCDC assistance will floweither through the StateGovernments/UT administra-tions or directly to the eligiblecooperatives. Subsidy/ grantfrom other sources can bedovetailed, the official added.

Nayak pointed out that theco-operative is a complete busi-ness model that competes inthe market like any other andexisting cooperatives hospitalshave shown that they havebeen earning good profits whilereinvesting in improving ser-vice quality, so ensuring its sus-tainability.

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Ahead of festivals and thewinter season, the World

Health Organization (WHO)on Monday cautioned againstany relaxation of responseactions following the recentslight decline in Covid-19 casesin the South-East Asia Region.It said the pandemic continuesunabated and our response onlyneeds to be strengthened furtherto curtail virus transmission.

The co-circulation of sea-sonal influenza and Covid-19in the winters may presentchallenges for health systemsand health facilities, since bothdiseases present many similarsymptoms, according to thehealth experts. “There shouldbe no complacency in view ofthe declining numbers in recentweeks. The Region still reportslarge numbers of Covid-19cases. We need to continue todo our very best to curtail thepandemic,” said Dr PoonamKhetrapal Singh, RegionalDirector WHO South-East AsiaRegion in a statement here.

The upcoming festival sea-son and the approaching win-ter/cold season threatens toaggravate the situation if we letour guards down, she said.

Member countries havebeen making concerted effortsscaling up capacities for time-ly detection, testing, tracingcontacts, isolating the affectedand providing hospital care tothose who need it. “Our relent-less efforts need to continuewith more vigor,” the RegionalDirector said.

This festive season we mustcontinue to take responsibility

as individuals of the need tomaintain physical distance,hand hygiene, cough etiquetteand wear a mask when andwhere needed. People mustremember the three Cs —avoid crowded places, avoidclosed settings and avoid con-fined and enclosed spaces withpoor ventilation.

Many of the same mea-sures that are effective in pre-venting Covid-19 are also effec-tive for preventing influenza,including physical distancing,hand hygiene, covering coughs,ventilation and masks.

For the third week in a row,the WHO South-East AsiaRegion has registered 6 - 8 percent decline in the number ofCovid-19 cases, mainly due toa decrease in reported casesfrom India and Bangladesh.

Home to one-fourth of theworlds' population, the Regionhas reported over 8 million ofthe nearly 40 million casesglobally, mostly from the mostpopulous countries which alsoface unique demographic andgeographic challenges.

In India, the number ofnew coronavirus infectionsreported daily dropped below60,000 for the second timethis month, while the numberof fresh fatalities registeredacross the country dippedbelow 600 almost after threemonths, the Union HealthMinistry data said.

The total cases mounted to75,50,273 with 55,722 infec-tions being reported in a day while death toll climbedto 1,14,610 with 579 fatalitiesbeing registered in a span of 24 hours.

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Aplea has been filed in theSupreme Court seeking

direction to the Centre toframe model pacts for builderand agent buyers to protect cus-tomers and bring in trans-parency in the realty sector intune with the Real EstateRegulatory Authority (RERA)Act 2016.

The plea filed by 62 homebuyers has also sought a direc-tion to all the states to enforce‘Model Builder BuyerAgreement’ and ‘Model AgentBuyer Agreement’ and to take steps to avoid “mental,physical and financial injury”to customers.

The plea has madeMinistry of Housing and UrbanAffairs, DLF Southern Homes

Pvt. Ltd.(Begur Omr Home PvtLtd) and Annabel Builders &Developers Pvt. Ltd as partiesin the case.

“Promoters, Builders andAgents use manifestly arbi-trary one-sided agreementsthat do not place customers atan equal platform with them,which offends Articles 14, 15,21 of Constitution. There havebeen many cases of deliberateinordinate delays in handingover possession and customerslodge complaints but policedon’t register FIRs, citing arbi-trary clauses of the agreement.

“Builders issue reviseddelivery schedule again andagain and adopt arbitraryunfair restrictive trade prac-tices. All this amounts to crim-inal conspiracy, fraud, cheating,criminal breach of trust, dis-

honestly inducing delivery ofthe property, dishonest misap-propriation of property andviolation of corporate laws,” said the plea, filedthrough advocate AshwaniKumar Dubey.

Due to deliberate excessivedelays in possession, real estatecustomers are not only suffer-ing from mental and financialinjury but also from brazen vio-lation of their right to life andlivelihood, the plea said.

The PIL contended thatmany developers across thecountry still follow a common practice of pre-launching a project withoutsecuring requisite approvalsfor the project from the author-ities, and term it as ‘soft launch’or ‘pre-launch’ etc. thus, open-ly violating the law but no

action has been taken againstany builder till date.

“It is necessary to statethat registration of the projectwith the regulatory authorityhas been mandatory before it is launched for sale,and for registration, the basicpre-requisite is that the devel-oper must have all the requisiteapprovals.

“Thus the buyer is pro-tected as the project is ring-fenced from the vagaries ofnon-approvals or delays inapprovals which are one of themajor causes of delay for theproject,” the plea said.

The plea has also soughtdirections to compensate thebuyers for losses incurred dueto inordinate delays on the partof Promoters-Builders and torecover their money.

New Delhi: A plea has beenmoved in the Supreme Courtseeking urgent hearing of thePIL seeking directions to gov-ernment authorities for imple-menting top court’s directionsregarding appointment ofInformation Commissionerswithin a stipulated time and ina transparent manner.

An application has beenfiled by RTI activist AnjaliBhardwaj for urgent listing ofthe PIL filed by her on fillingup of vacancies in CentralInformation Commission(CIC) and the StateInformation Commissions(SICs), in view of top court’sDecember 16, 2019, order.

On December 16, last year,the top court had directed theCentre and state governmentsto appoint information com-missioners within three monthsin the CIC and the SICs, andsaid there was a need to evolveguidelines to stop misuse of theRight to Information Act.

The urgent hearing appli-cation of Bhardwaj said that theDecember 16, last year order hasnot been complied with and thenumber of vacancies at the CIChave now increased to six andeven the post of the ChiefInformation Commission hasbeen vacant since August 27,2020, “frustrating the order ofthis Court as well as citizens fun-damental right to information”.

It said that as of October15, 2020, the number of pend-ing appeals/complaints beforethe CIC is more than 36,600.

The application said, “It isfurther submitted that it appearsthe UOI is resorting to issuingfresh advertisements instead of

filling all the advertised vacantposts in a bid to cause unduedelay in the appointments there-by frustrating peoples’ right toinformation”.

It said that no reasons havebeen furnished by the Centreas to why four vacancies werenot filled pursuant to the adver-tisement dated December 12,2019 and the order of this courtdated December 16, 2019. Itclaimed that Centre after fillingone vacancy at the CIC hasnow put out a new advertise-ment dated July 12.

The application claimedthat even the State governmentsfailed to comply with the direc-tions given by this court videJudgment dated February 15,2019. “The State InformationCommission (SIC) ofMaharashtra is functioning withonly five commissioners andthere is a backlog of nearly60,000 appeals/complaints asof July 31, 2020”, it said, addingthat these vacancies were notfilled despite direction from thetop court given in its February15, last year verdict. The apexcourt, in its February 15, last yearverdict, had said that selectionof information officers shouldinclude people of eminencefrom various other fields and notbe limited to bureaucrats and theexercise be conducted in a trans-parent manner.

It had also directed theCentre and eight states -- WestBengal, Orissa, Maharashtra,Gujarat, Nagaland, AndhraPradesh, Kerala and Karanataka— to fill up the vacancies of ICsin the CIC and SICs without anydelay within a period of onemonth to six months. PTI

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The Supreme Court onMonday asked the

Maharashtra State DisasterManagement Authority(SDMA) to decide on the rep-resentation by Nanded gurud-wara management board seek-ing to hold Dusshera processionamid Covid-19 pandemic.

A bench headed by JusticeL Nageswara Rao, whichassembled during the Dussheravacation of the apex court tohear the matter, said the deci-sion will have to be taken onthe basis of ground situation.

The bench, also compris-ing Justices Hemant Gupta andAjay Rastogi, asked the gurud-wara management to file itsrepresentation with the SDMAby Tuesday.

The gurdwara manage-ment board can move theBombay High Court if it is notsatisfied with the decision ofthe SDMA, it said.

The top court was hearing aplea by ‘Nanded SikhGurudwara Sachkhand ShriHazur Abchalnagar Sahib Board’seeking permission to carry outthe customary procession onaccount of the 300-year oldevent — ‘Dusshera, Takht Isnan,Deepmala and Gurta Gaddi’ —with certain conditions. Theplea has said that “GurdwaraTakhat Shri Hazur Abchalnagaris a pious place of world fame forbeing the last place of tenth SikhGuru Shri Guru Gobind Singhji Maharaj, where he grantedholy seat of Guru to theGurugranth Sahiv ji before goingto Sachkhand”.

The MaharashtraGovernment has told the apex

court that allowing Nandedgurudwara to hold Dussheraprocession will not be a “prac-tically feasible option” amidCOVID-19 and the state hastaken a conscious decision ofnot allowing religious functionsto check the spread of virus.

During the hearing onMonday, the advocate appear-ing for the petitioner said thatthe Centre has issued guide-lines on the issue and the statetoo has not raised objection tolimited gatherings. Referring tothe guidelines, he said for mar-riage 50 people are allowed andthe gurdwara managementboard is not asking for “publicparticipation” and there will beonly as many people and on alimited route.

“Your contention that thestate government is not oppos-ing the procession is wrong,”the bench said, adding that 40-50 people in the procession isokay but who will control thecrowds if the gatheringbecomes bigger on the road.

The petitioner’s counselsaid the management hasreduced the procession route to1.5 km and its timing can befixed in the evening to ensurea small congregation; more-over, the proceedings would betelecast. “State is saying there isa health risk,” the bench said.

Senior advocate DevduttKamat, who appeared forMaharashtra along with state’sstanding counsel Sachin Patil,referred to the number ofCOVID-19 cases and deaths inthe state as well as in Nandedarea and said that authoritieshave not allowed any kind ofreligious gatherings amid thepandemic.

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Page 5: New ˘ ˇ ˆ˘ ˙ ˝ ˛ ˚ ˆ ˆ˛˛ · 2020. 10. 19. · called me ‘hungry and ill-clad ... restoration of Article 370, was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Srinagar

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KOCHI/CHENNAI: Chief MinisterPinarayi Vijayan claimed on Mondaythat Kerala was doing exceedinglywell in controlling the Covid-19 pan-demic. “Union Health Minister HarshVardhan was praising Kerala for theeffective methods deployed by us incontrolling Covid-19. Our perspectiveis that he was praising the State,” saidVijayan during his media briefing onMonday.

The Union Health Minister duringhis weekly interaction on Sunday hadcriticised the Kerala government for itsfailure to sustain the initial momentumof the preventive measures to containCovid-19. “The union minister is notaware of what happened in Kerala after-wards. There were certain people inKerala who wanted to derail the Coronapandemic preventive measures whichwere being implemented by the Kerala

Government,” said Vijayan.Viijayan disclosed that on Monday,

5,022 new persons were diagnosedwith Covid-19. “There are 92,731Covid-19 patients undergoing treat-ment in various hospitals,” he said. Butthe number of samples tested onMonday were just 36,599 samples.

Neighbouring Tamil Nadu sus-tained its Covid-19 control measuresfor the third week in succession. Thebulletin released by the directorate ofpublic health and preventive medicinestated that 3,536 new persons werediagnosed across Tamil Nadu onMonday while 49 persons succumbedto the pandemic. The number of activepatients in the State as on Monday were38,093. Chennai tested 885 positivecases while the number of patients test-ed positive in Coimbatore came downto 290. PNS

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The gold smuggling scam andthe unauthorised Quran and

date import cases are destined tofizzle out in the coming months, asenior member of the probe agencytold The Pioneer on condition ofanonymity.

“The investigation process isslow because of the non-coop-

eration by some of the suspectsand those who have been arrest-ed. Though it is known that the toppolitical leadership in the State isinvolved in these scams, docu-mentary evidence is slow to comeas this involves many agencies. Ason date, we are not in a positionto interrogate the ConsulateGeneral office staff because of theirdiplomatic immunity,” said theofficial.

He said though Fasal Fareedand two more members werequestioned by the NIA team inUAE, it will take a long time for theextradition of these people.“Though they are in the custodyof the UAE Police, we are in thedark why these persons are notbeing dispatched to India. TheUAE authorities have their owninterests,” said the official.

Meanwhile Kerala HighCourt on Monday asked theCustoms and EnforcementDirectorate not to arrest MSivsankar, the former principalsecretary to Chief MinisterPinarayi Vijayan, till Friday.

While hearing a plea movedby Sivsankar who sought antici-patory bail from the arrest byCustoms , the judge asked theCustoms Department whether it

had any documentary evidencelinking the petitioner with smug-gling and terrorist related activities.Sivsankar is alleged to have linkswith gold smuggling scam, moneylaundering charges and Quranimport cases.

Senior lawyer K Ramkumarrepresenting the CustomsDepartment told the court that theCustoms needed some more timeto explain and furnish its stance inthis case to which the judge askedthem to come with the same onFriday when he would hear thecase.

Sivsankar who had beenadmitted to the Medical CollegeHospital because of “severe back-pain” was discharged from thehospital and left forThiruvananthapuram when hewas told about the court directive.

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The Hathras incident hasnot cooled down yet that

such a shocking incident hascome to light again in Aligarh.A six-year-old child has beenaccused of raping a girl of sameage in the kwarsi area. The inci-dent is said to be six days old.The police got into actionwhen the parents of the girlcomplained to the police.Shortly, the girl was sent formedical examination.

Also, the police went to thehouse if accused child andquestioned him. At themoment, a lawsuit has beenfiled. A medical examination

will be conducted on the age ofthe accused child. Only thenwill the further action be decid-ed.

A man living in an area of??Anoopshahar Road in Kwarsiarea has three children. Themiddle child is six years old.Her mother reached the policestation and told that her daugh-ter had been raped by a neigh-bour. She told that the incidenttook place on October 12 ataround 3.30 pm.

The girl was playing at thedoor of the house. Then herball went to the neighbor'shouse. When she went to getthe ball, she was caught by thechild of the family living there.

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Acocktail of Press and socialmedia made an impact in

Kerala at an unbelievable speed.The Pioneer in its Monday editionhad carried a report with photo-graph of how high-end low floorbuses of Kerala State RoadTransport Corporation weredumped in the garage uncared andunattended for months. The entirefleet of buses were covered withshrubs and wild growth of bushesgrown around the parking space.

Kuttan Pillai, a farmer in theState drew the attention of ChiefMinister Pinarayi Vijayan onSunday through a tweet about thecondition of these public sectorvehicles. He had offered to launchcultivation of snake gourds in thespace between the buses on alease basis and this found manytakers.

It is not known whether themessage received the chief minis-

ter. But the management of KSRTCtook instant action and removedthe entire bushes, shrubs and wildgrowth around the buses. By noon,

the garage at Ernakulam CentralBus Station wore a new look devoidof even a grass.

The management felt that

growing snake gourds in the garagemay bring in some money to thefarmer and the government. Butthey do not want the hundreds of

employees attached to the garagebeing thrown out of their liveli-hood. The staff of the loss makingcorporation thought that theyshould not allow the “fence itself toeat the crop”.

“We got an order from theheadquarters atThiruvananthapuram this morningto get rid of the entire wild growthand clean the garage whatever thecost may be. Till yesterday, nobodyhad uttered anything about thisgarage but the entire situationchanged overnight. The companymanagement rang up many timesto find out what was happening,”a staff member told this newspaper.

Kuttan Pillai was all praise forthe report. “I never knew theKSRTC runs this fast. We areindebted to The Pioneer ,” he saidin a tweet on Monday.

Thanks to Pillai’s uncondi-tional offer catalyzed by the report,the powers that be saw the writingon the wall of the garage.

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At a time when agitations in support ofjust one capital at Amaravati have

crossed 300 days, some people and Dalitorganisations are also protesting in supportof the capital city trifurcation.

Dalit organisations are carrying outprotests at Mandadam and Tallayapalem inTullur Mandal, demanding decentralisa-tion.

Vadithya Shankar Naik, a Dalit rightsleader criticized former Chief Minister NaraChandrababu Naidu that he is only work-ing for the progress of one section of thepeople.

“He never did justice to north Andhraand Rayalaseema regions,” said Naik. Hesaid Naidu is blocking the sanction of the

land to the poor people in the capital region,which demonstrates his so-called lovetowards the poor.

Parisapogu Srinivasa Rao, AP MadigaReservation Porata Samiti (MRPS) leaderquestioned the Left parties as to why theyare supporting Naidu, who is allegedlyobstructing the sanction of free land to thepoor.

Amaravati region MRPS convenorMallavarapu Nagayya Madiga, Chette Raju,state Mala Mahanadu leader Satta YohanRaju and other leaders protested in supportof three capitals for the southern state.

Earlier, several minority rights organ-isations' representatives have also protest-ed in Mandadam, in support of the threecapitals, not very far from where the localpeople are demanding one capital.

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Bhadohi (Uttar Pradesh): Acase of gangrape has beenlodged against jailed MLAVijay Mishra, his son VishnuMishra and another relative inBhadohi, the police said.

A woman, in her mid-thirties lodged the report at theGopiganj police station onSunday, alleging that Mishrasexually assaulted her severaltimes at gunpoint in 2014. Shesaid that his son Vishnu Mishraand his relative Vikas Mishraalso raped her.

Krishnanand Rai, inspectorof Gopiganj police station, said

the case was registered againstVijay Mishra, his son VishnuMishra and relative VikasMishra under sections 376D(gang-rape), 342 (wrongfulconfinement) and 506 (crimi-nal intimidation) of the IndianPenal Code (IPC). The allegedvictim has been sent for amedical examination.

A senior police officer saidthe woman, who belonged toVaranasi, alleged that she wascalled for campaigning inBhadohi during the 2014 gen-eral election. She alleged thatwhen she tried to resist rape,

the accused threatened to killher.

The officer said the womanmoved to Mumbai feelingthreatened by the MLA fear butcame back to the state to file thecase when she learnt that hewas in jail in another case.

Vijay Mishra was arrestedin August in an alleged case ofproperty grabbing and is cur-rently in Agra jail.

Mishra won the 2017assembly election as a candi-date of the Nirbal IndianShoshit Hamara Aam Dal(NISHAD) party. IANS

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Ayouth in Meerut district attacked his father andslashed his neck with a knife when the latter asked

him not to play PUBG, a Chinese gaming app which hasbeen banned by the Centre, police said on Monday.

The father was severely injured in the incident andlater, the accused, identified as Amir, also stabbed him-self with the knife. Both, father and son have been admit-ted to the Meerut Medical College.

According to reports, the incident took place onThursday in Jamnanagar in Kharkhoda town of the dis-trict but was not reported to the police immediately.

The youth attacked his father, Irfan, after he askedhim to refrain from spending long hours at gaming. Upsetwith his father's criticism, Amir picked up a knife andslashed his father in the neck multiple times. Later, healso slashed himself in the neck.

Circle Officer Devesh Singh said the youth slashedhis father's neck when he asked him not to play the game.The youth is also in critical condition.

The family of the youth said he was addicted to drugsand was undergoing treatment, said Inspector ArvindMohan Sharma.

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Agra: After months of hiatus due to Covid-19 pandemic,secondary schools from class 9 to class 12 havereopened in Agra in compliance with strict measuresand protocols. An official said that special teams havebeen constituted to inspect the schools premises andalso to review the arrangements of sanitisation and socialdistancing norms inside the classrooms.

Students have been asked to bring their own foodand water bottles, along with consent letters from par-ents. Meanwhile, the recovery rate in the city has nowgone up to 90.78 per cent. The samples' positivity rateis 2.84 per cent. The number of active cases is 485.

The famous Banke Bihari temple in Vrindavan willremain shut 'indefinitely' from Monday, barely two daysafter it was reopened for devotees.

The temple had reopened on Saturday, the first dayof 'Navratri', after a seven-month closure due to the lock-down. More than 25,000 devotees turned up to offerprayers at the famous temple. IANS

Lucknow: The Samajwadi Party hasstarted preparing for the 2022 Assemblyelections in Uttar Pradesh.

Party President Akhilesh Yadav hasinvited applications from potential can-didates for the Assembly polls.

Aspiring candidates can submitapplications from Monday until January26, 2021 at the party's state headquartersin Lucknow. The 47 Assembly segmentsthat were won by the SP in 2017 and theseven seats where by-elections are sched-uled to be held on November 3, areexempted from this process and appli-cations for these constituencies will notbe accepted, said party spokesmanRajendra Chaudhary.

This, party sources said, implies thatalmost all the sitting MLAs of the partywill be re-nominated for the next

Assembly polls.Meanwhile, the decision of the

party to invite applications from aspir-ing candidates, has put those sittingMLAs of other parties -- who were plan-ning to switch over to the SP for the nextelections -- in a dilemma.

A two-term BJP MLA, who spokeon condition of anonymity, said, “It is dif-ficult for me at this stage to join the SPbecause that would deprive me of myAssembly membership and there is stilla one-and-a-half-year term left. I willhave to negotiate with the SP leaders andthen decide what is to be done. There aremore than a dozen sitting MLAs fromvarious parties who want to contest the2022 elections on the SP ticket.”

Meanwhile, the SP has alreadyrevamped its party organisation and the

frontal units Akhilesh Yadav has beenworking during the lockdown, con-necting with party workers virtually.

“The party is busy consolidating theorganisation at the booth level and partypresident has asked leaders and work-ers to connect to the people at the grass-roots level and understand and addresstheir problems,” said Chaudhary.

The Samajwadi Party has alreadyannounced its decision to go it alone inthe next Assembly elections though itmay opt for seat adjustment with small-er parties. In the ongoing by-elections forseven Assembly segments, the party hasleft the Bulandshahr seat for theRashtriya Lok Dal. Akhilesh has alreadyannounced that he would leave theJaswantnagar seat for uncle ShivpalSingh Yadav. IANS

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Parties at Goa's night clubs shouldnot start right away, but tourism

activity should be conducted bymaintaining social distancingnorms, Chief Minister PramodSawant said on Monday.

Sawant's comments came a dayafter photographs of dance-floors ofleading night clubs in Goa packedwith party-goers went viral onsocial media.

The Chief Minister also saidthat in light of the viral photos, theGoa Home Department would beissuing instructions to the clubs tomaintain social distancing.

“Home department will giveinstructions to maintain social dis-tancing. Right now, parties shouldnot start.

Tourism activity should be car-ried out with social distancing,”Sawant told reporters on the side-lines of a function in Panaji.

Goa is one of the leading beachand nightlife tourism destinationsin the country, whose nightclubslocated along the coastal belt, arepopular with locals as well astourists.

The state currently has report-ed a total number of 40,746 con-firmed cases out of which 3,283 areactive.

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The Centre is determined toimplement Citizenship

Amendment Act and it will takeplace at any cost, BJP nationalpresident JP Nadda said onMonday.

Nadda who promised a wholelot of things in a meeting of partyworkers in Siliguri said that “ourGovernment is different fromthe one led by Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee whoseTrinamool Congress oppressesthe people for four years andoffers doles in the last one yearbefore the elections … we per-form that we promise. So CAA issure to happen and the process ison,” complaining how the“Hindus were discriminatedagainst by the Chief Minister

earlier on and now realising thatit had backfired she is trying tobefool them with small conces-sions.”

Speaking about the delay of itsimplementation he said “due tocorona situation the process gotdelayed but it is very much in theGovernment’s agenda and will beimplemented … for which rulesare being framed and soon theprocess will start.”

Saying that the NarendraModi Government had per-formed on most promises he saidhow 8 crore people had been ben-efited from the Prime MinisterKisan Sanman Nidhi which was“unfortunately stopped frombeing implemented in Bengal byChief Minister Mamata Banerjee,”adding, “now it is your responsi-bility to throw the TMCGovernment and bring in the BJP

so that all the schemes can beimplemented.”

Attacking the TrinamoolGovernment, Nadda said how theChief Minister had not onlyblocked one central scheme “butall the central projects like theAyushman Bharat that has bene-fited 55 crore people have beenstopped from coming to Bengal…It is for the people to take a vowthat after the next April the BJPGovernment will be in place inBengal so as to implement all suchpeople’s schemes.”

The Modi Government hadbrought a whole lot of reforms soas to improve the quality of livesof the people of India he saidadding how2.2 crore people gotelectricity in their houses. “In yourstate about 1000 villages have nopower and the BJP is determinedto reach power to their houses,” he

said recounting how alarge number of reforms had

been carried out by the ModiGovernment.

“In the case of labour laws wehave done away with many ofthem like the Plantation LabourAct. We have now added it with the Minimum Wages Actso that even the plantation work-ers will get the wages like theirother counterparts,” he saidpromising projects for theGorkhas, Rajbanshis and othergroups residing in NorthBengal.

Saying that various aspira-tions of the people of NorthBengal related to Railway con-nectivity will be addressed soonhe said that Railway MinisterPiyush Goyal will soon sit with theMPs of North Bengal and addresstheir issues.

Srinagar: Jammu& Kashmir onMonday reported427 new Covid-19 cases, takingthe UnionTerritory's coron-avirus tally to88,369, while ninedeaths in the past24 hours took theUT's Covid deathtoll to 1,388.

A statementissued by the Information andPublic Relations Departmentsaid that of the 427 positivecases reported on Monday, 169were from Jammu division and258 from Kashmir division.

Out of the total cases,78,667 have recovered com-pletely. On Monday, 781

patients, 417 from Jammu divi-sion and 364 from Kashmirdivision, were discharged fromdifferent hospitals.

The number of active casesin the UT stands at 8,314 now,of which 3,189 are from Jammudivision and 5,125 fromKashmir division. IANS

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In what came as a huge reliefto the state health authorities,

the Covid 19-triggered deathsdropped to 125 and the inflec-tions plummeted to 5,984 inMaharashtra on Monday, evenas the total number of infec-tions in the state crossed a grim16 lakh milestone.

A day after the state logged150 deaths, the Covid-19 curveappeared to be flattening, as thedeaths came down to as low as125 and infections dropped toa low of 5984. Both the fatali-ties and infections recorded onMonday were the lowest dur-ing the last four months.

With 125 fresh deaths, thetotal number of deaths mount-ed from 42,115 to 42,240.

Similarly, with 5984 freshinfections, the total number ofinfections breached the 16lakh-mark as the total casesincreased from from 15,95,381to 16,013,65.

Of the total 125 deathsreported on Monday, Mumbaiaccounted for a maximum of43 deaths, followed by 15 inPune and 14 in Thane.

In the lower range, therewere seven deaths in inSolapur, 6 each in Amravatiand Nagpur, 5 in Jalna, 4 eachin Ahmednagar, Sangli andNanded, 3 in Kolhapur, 2 eachin Raigad, Nashik and Sataraand one death each in Palghar,Jalgaon, Ratnagiri,Aurangabad, Akola, Yavatmal,Chandrapur and Gadchiroli.

With 43 deaths, the Covid-

19 toll in Mumbai rose from9,785 to 9,819 while the infect-ed cases went up by 1,234 totrigger a jump in the totalnumber of infections in themetropolis from 241,935 to2,43,169.

On a day when 15,069people were discharged fromvarious hospitals in the state,the number of people dis-charged from various hospitalsafter full recovery since the sec-ond week of March this yearwent up to 13,84,879. Therecovery rate in the state rosefrom 85.86 per cent to 86.48per cent.

Meanwhile, the mortalityrate in the state stood at 2.64per cent. The number of “activecases” in the state droppedfrom 1,82,973 to 1,73,759.

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The Tamil Nadu government onMonday announced �10 crore aid

to Telangana for relief works in flood-affected Hyderabad and other districts.

Chief Minister E.K. Palaniswamiconveyed in a letter to his Telanganacounterpart K. Chandrasekhar Raothat he has ordered immediate con-tribution of �10 crore from the ChiefMinister's Public Relief Fund as a tokenof support.

The Tamil Nadu government willalso send blankets and mats as reliefmaterials to the affected families.

Palaniswami wrote that the heavyrains and unprecedented floods in thecity of Hyderabad and in certain dis-tricts of Telangana have caused exten-sive damage to property and have takena toll on people's lives.

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Page 6: New ˘ ˇ ˆ˘ ˙ ˝ ˛ ˚ ˆ ˆ˛˛ · 2020. 10. 19. · called me ‘hungry and ill-clad ... restoration of Article 370, was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Srinagar

The recent judgement ofthe Supreme Court onthe petitions pertainingto the three-monthprotests, held in Shaheen

Bagh in South Delhi earlier this year,should clear the air in respect of theprevailing debate on how far one cango while exercising the right to dis-sent. The key point is that the occu-pation of public thoroughfares whileregistering a protest is not acceptableindefinitely.

This judgement will have long-term implications on how politicalbattles will henceforth be foughtwhen they spill out onto the streets,because if the right to protest is anuntrammelled right, the constitu-tional scheme could get disturbed.

The judgement of the three-judge Bench, comprising JusticesSanjay Kishan Kaul, AniruddhaBose and Krishna Murari, said thatArticle 19 was one of the corner-stones of the Constitution whichconferred two treasured rights oncitizens — the right to freedom ofspeech and expression under Article19(1)(a) and the right to assemblepeacefully without arms underArticle 19(1)(b). “These rights, incohesion, enable every citizen toassemble peacefully and protestagainst the actions or inactions of theState. The same must be respectedand encouraged by the State, for thestrength of a democracy such as ourslies in the same.” However, it notedthat these rights were subject to rea-sonable restrictions. Referring to anearlier judgement of the court, itsaid, “each fundamental right, be itof an individual or of a class, doesnot exist in isolation and has to bebalanced with every other contrast-ing right. It was in this respect, thatin this case, an attempt was made byus to reach a solution where therights of protesters were to be bal-anced with that of commuters”.

The court declared that democ-racy and dissent go hand in hand,but then the demonstrationsexpressing dissent have to be in des-ignated places alone. “The presentcase was not even one of proteststaking place in an undesignated area,but was a blockage of a public waywhich caused grave inconvenienceto commuters. We cannot accept theplea of the applicants that an inde-terminable number of people canassemble whenever they choose toprotest.” The blockade had resultedin the closure of the Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch, including theOkhla underpass, from December

15, 2019, onwards.The central argument of those

who objected to the ShaheenBagh protest, including Dr NandKishore Garg, who petitioned thecourt, was that the protesters hadblocked an important thorough-fare and caused enormous incon-venience to commuters. Theright to protest should not resultin the infringement of the rightto free movement of other citi-zens. Dwelling on this issue, thecourt said: “We have, thus, nohesitation in concluding thatsuch kind of occupation of pub-lic ways, whether at the site inquestion or anywhere else forprotests, is not acceptable and theadministration ought to takeaction to keep the areas clear ofencroachments or obstructions.”

The court recalled the historyof protest during the freedommovement. It said: “What mustbe kept in mind, however, is thatthe erstwhile mode and mannerof dissent against colonial rulecannot be equated with dissent ina self-ruled democracy. Our con-stitutional scheme comes withthe right to protest and expressdissent but with an obligationtowards certain duties.” This is asignificant observation by theapex court. In fact, Dr BRAmbedkar, who headed theConstitution DraftingCommittee, dwelt on this veryissue in his concluding remarksin the Constituent Assembly onNovember 25, 1949, before theAssembly put its final stamp ofapproval on the Constitution.

In that speech, Dr Ambedkarmade two observations, whichare very relevant to the presentdebate on democracy and dissentin the country. He said: “The con-

demnation of the Constitutionlargely comes from two quarters,the Communist Party and theSocialist Party.” The commu-nists do not like it because theywant a Constitution based on theprinciple of dictatorship of theproletariat. “They (the commu-nists) condemn the Constitutionbecause it is based on parliamen-tary democracy.” The Socialistswant to nationalise all privateproperty without payment ofcompensation. Second, they wantfundamental rights in theConstitution to be absolute andwithout any limitations, “so thatif their party fails to come intopower, they would have theunfettered freedom not merely tocriticise, but also to overthrow theState”.

Just substitute the Congressparty for the Socialist Party andit will appear as if Dr Ambedkaris talking about what is happen-ing in India in the year 2020where political parties, whichhave been rejected by the elec-torate, want to foment trouble onthe streets to disturb the demo-cratic process. Let us not forgetthat the Congress party’s voteshare has crashed to less than 20per cent and the vote share of thetwo communist parties has hitrock bottom and touched a lowof 2.50 per cent.

The second aspect DrAmbedkar highlighted relatesto the modes of protest. He toldthe citizens what they must do ifthey wish to maintain democra-cy not merely in form but also infact. The first thing we must dois to hold fast to the constitution-al methods to achieve our socialand economic objectives. “Itmeans we must abandon bloody

methods of revolution. It meansthat we must abandon themethod of civil disobedience,non-cooperation and satyagra-ha.” These methods were okaywhen there were no constitution-al methods of protest. “But whereconstitutional methods are open,there can be no justification forthese unconstitutional methods.These methods are nothing butthe grammar of anarchy and thesooner they are abandoned, thebetter for us.”

The Shaheen Bagh mode ofprotest falls into the categorymentioned by Dr Ambedkar —organising a blockade to preventpeople from using an importantpublic thoroughfare and dis-rupting normal life. And letthere be no confusion about theprimary intent of those whopromoted this “grammar of anar-chy” — their dissatisfaction withthe peoples’ verdict of 2014 and2019 — more than anything else,and their desire to unsettle a dulyelected Government. The objec-tions to the CitizenshipAmendment Act were just afaçade.

Instead of promoting suchchaos for several months, itwould have been better for theprotesters to move the SupremeCourt against the law made bythe Parliament. That would bethe appropriate constitutionalresponse that would have passedmuster with Dr Ambedkar.

Hopefully, the apex court’sjudgement should put an end tothe Shaheen Bagh mode ofprotests and restore some orderin the way we express dissent.

(The writer is an author special-ising in democracy studies. Viewsexpressed are personal)

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���������� �����Sir — Maharashtra GovernorBhagat Singh Koshyari’s letter toChief Minister UddhavThackeray on re-opening tem-ples in the State was meant toserve two purposes — to drawthe Hindutva concept of religiousidentity back to the discussion,and the other, to bolster the corepitch of the BJP. In truth, hiswords give credence to the sus-picion that the values enshrinedin the Constitution of India areunder siege indeed. The Frenchadage, “the legislator becomes thetransgressor”, aptly describes theGovernor’s epistle, as he hadcome close to denouncing theConstitution.

Koshyari’s letter unsettles eventhe ardent believers of Hinduism.He declares one is not a Hinduuntil and unless he or sheembraces the Hindutva doc-trine. Koshyari told Thackeraythat the latter had become a “sec-ular” Hindu, and thus, forsakenhis claim to be in the Hindutvastable. The country is now in direneed of a collective Oppositionforum and a stable, cogent leaderto save the very fabric of democ-racy.

Haridasan RajanKozhikode

��� ��� �������Sir — New Zealand’s PrimeMinister Jacinda Ardern deliv-ered the biggest election victoryfor her Labour party in half acentury. With all votes tallied,Ardern’s party won 49 per cent,bringing 64 seats and an outrightparliamentary majority. This isthe highest result that any partyhas achieved since the current

political system was introducedin 1996. On the other hand, theopposition National Party wasable to secure only 26.8 per centand just 35 seats in the 120-seatAssembly. The resounding victo-ry is due to Ardern’s progressive,democratic governance, her lead-ership in successfully curbing thespread of COVID-19 in thecountry, as well as her handlingof the massacre of 51 worship-

pers at two Christchurchmosques and a fatal volcanoeruption. Having a solid interna-tional following with her promo-tion of issues, including women’srights, social justice and multilat-eralism, Ardern has become arole model to many. However,there has been some criticism ofher economic policies. Also, asummer season with no interna-tional tourists will be a major test

for her. For now, she is ready toform a Government within threeweeks but has declined to com-ment on whether she wouldrule alone or form a coalition.

Khushboo VedUjjain

���������������Sir — With the onset of winterbegins the yearly theatrics of whois responsible for the rising pol-lution in Delhi. While the BJPclaims that there is more pollu-tion due to local factors, the StateGovernment blames the rulingparty at the Centre and Congressof forming an alliance to allowstubble burning. Amid all thispolitical gamble, the rising airpollution continues to affect thequality of life and subsistence ofthe city’s inhabitants. The Centreshould initiate a joint plan withthe support of the StateGovernments of Delhi, Haryana,Punjab and Uttar Pradesh tomake Delhi pollution-free. Theyshould also have a permanentban on firecrackers and not justfor the festive season.

Amit Singh KushwahaSatna

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The United Nations’ SustainableDevelopment Goal (SDG) 7.1aims to ensure universal access

to affordable, reliable and modernenergy services by 2030. India’s jour-ney so far has been remarkable inachieving near-universal access toelectricity in the last one decade. Asper the “Saubhagya” dashboard, 99.9per cent of rural households in thecountry have been electrified and lessthan 20,000 homes lacked electricityaccess as of March 2019, but as perNSS-76, more than six per cent house-holds in rural areas and one per centin urban areas had no access to elec-tricity till December 2018.

A majority of the States haveabove 97 per cent access, but larger

States such as Uttar Pradesh (UP),Jharkhand and Odisha still lag behindthe national average. Rural areas of UPand Jharkhand are most deprived with80 and 85 per cent access to electric-ity respectively.

According to the National FamilyHealth Survey (NFHS)-4, in 2015-16,Bihar ranked at the bottom of all Stateswith just 60 per cent of its householdshaving access to power. Since then, ithas made significant progress inexpanding its electricity access tonear-universal coverage in the lastthree years. But despite attainingnear-universal electrification for themajority of States, securing continu-ous and quality supply of power toremote villages and poorest house-holds still remains a big concern.

Compared to electricity access,larger variations can be observed in theaccess to clean fuel among the States.Meghalaya, West Bengal, andEmpowered Action Group (EAG)States, excluding Uttarakhand, still lagin providing universal access to cleancooking fuels, and every secondhousehold has no access to it. This sig-nificantly low national average posesa core developmental and health chal-

lenge. Even Kerala, despite its high liv-ing standards, has witnessed glaring-ly low progress in this aspect. Also, asper NSS-76, there exists a blatant,countrywide rural-urban divide in theaccess to clean fuel.

On average, the beneficiaries ofthe Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana(PMUY) go for only 3.1 LPG cylinderrefills in a year. For the year 2019-2020,around 4.14 crore families neveropted for a refill of more than threecylinders. Madhya Pradesh, UP andRajasthan fared the worst in thisregard. According to the informationgiven in the Rajya Sabha recently, sincethe beginning of the new financial yearin April till August, around 1.84 crorefamilies refilled their LPG cylindersonly once. This information came ineven as the Government claimed ofproviding free cylinders to the poorduring the lockdown. Hence, thechallenge further remains to not onlyincrease the access to cleaner fuels forhouseholds, but to increase the over-all consumption per family.

Energy production of all typescontributes to about 70 per cent of car-bon dioxide (CO2) emissions acrossthe globe. Energy-related CO2 emis-

sions grew 1.7 per cent in 2018 toreach a historic high of 33.1 gigatonsof CO2 globally. It was the highest rateof growth since 2013, and 70 per centhigher than the average increase since2010. However, the global energydemand in the first quarter of this yeardeclined by 3.8 per cent relative to thefirst quarter of 2019, resulting in fiveper cent lower CO2 emissions as well.But this seemingly desirable change,that was mainly caused by the nation-al lockdowns, may not continue formore than a few months.

To sustainably move towards abetter future, it is now essential thatwe cope with our energy needs, giv-ing due consideration to the environ-ment that has been long neglected andcontinues to be so. The energy tran-sition from conventional to renewablesources is the biggest need of the hour.Owing to this, SDG target 7.2 aims toincrease the share of renewable ener-gy in the global energy mix by 2030.

Among the BRICS nations, Brazilhas been leading the way in the shareof renewable power in its total ener-gy mix, drawing advantage from itshigh potential of electricity productionfrom wind and solar energy sources.

India’s share of renewable energy in itsfinal energy consumption stands at32.2 per cent as of 2017 and has beensuffering a decline for the last manyyears. Even though India’s share ofrenewable energy is higher than coun-tries like Russia, the US, China, Japanand Europe, the decline in this sharemust be controlled. Whereas forcountries mentioned above, in orderto be able to sustain the share ofrenewables in their total energy mix,intense efforts for increasing thatshare must be realised too.

The Energy Statistics 2020 hasreported a substantial growth in therenewable energy share in the totalinstalled electricity generation from13.4 per cent (2015-2016) to 17.7 percent (2017-2018), owing to significantinvestments and expansions made inwind and solar power generation. Arecent International Energy Agencyanalysis shows that in 2018, India’sinvestment in solar energy was greaterthan in all fossil fuel sources of elec-tricity generation put together. SDG-7.3 aims to double the global rate ofenergy efficiency by 2030. Energyintensity indicates the amount ofenergy needed to produce one unit of

the GDP, where a smaller value isalways desirable, as it points towardsgreater energy efficiency.

India has made significantprogress in delivering energy efficien-cy. It has done better than majoreconomies, namely China, the US,Russia and several European countries.It has showcased exemplary perfor-mance on this front and achieved anenergy intensity level of 4.1 to 5.1megajoules per US dollar (MJ/$) thatis even lower than the global averageof 5.4 MJ/$. Energy efficiency andincreasing share of renewables are fun-damental in achieving several othersustainable development goals.Without accelerated clean energyinnovation and transition towardsrenewables, the 2030 agenda seemsfar-fetched.

As the nation faces the grim eco-nomic impact of the pandemic, ener-gy efficiency offers several opportuni-ties to provide the much-neededboost to the economy in the form ofemployment generation and so on,although a great deal of uncertaintyexists with regard to SDG-7.

(The writers are researchers,International Institute for Population)

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The Finance Ministry is building pressure on the15th Finance Commission (15th FC) to allowgreater flexibility while fixing the fiscal deficit

(FD). It wants to adopt a flexible, range-bound FDtarget instead of a fixed number. With this aim inmind, the Modi Government is reviewing the FiscalResponsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act.The issue was discussed at the Economic AdvisoryCouncil (EAC) of the 15th FC, wherein the chair-man, NK Singh, cited a similar practice followed bythe Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) with +/- two percent inflation target while deciding its monetary pol-icy. The immediate prompt for this is the sharp con-traction in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) byabout 24 per cent in the first quarter of the currentfinancial year (FY) and a corresponding steep reduc-tion in tax collections even as the expenditure com-mitments are on the upswing (courtesy the two stim-uli already given). As a result, on May 8, theGovernment raised its gross market borrowing tar-get for the FY 2020-21 to �12,00,000 crore, up fromthe �7,80,000 crore provided for in the Budget onFebruary 1.

Of this, the Government had already borrowed�7,66,000 crore during the first half of the currentFY and plans to borrow the remaining �4,34,000crore by January 2021. At �12,00,000 crore, the bor-rowing limit is already set at about 5.8 per cent ofthe GDP — 2.3 per cent higher than the budgetedFD target of 3.5 per cent. With this and demand foryet another Stimulus III gaining ground, it is not sur-prising that the Finance Ministry is building pres-sure on the 15th FC. During the current year, we havean extraordinary situation, so one can understandthe desperation. But it is important to recall here thatin his budget speech for 2016-17, the then FinanceMinister Arun Jaitley had announced theGovernment’s intent to review the FRBM Act(2003) with a view to make the target flexible (thatthe announcement was made following the year2015-16, when it had achieved the FD target of 3.9per cent, sounds a bit anomalous). He had set up acommittee under NK Singh (it included among oth-ers, the then Chief Economic Adviser, ArvindSubramanian, and the then Deputy Governor, RBI,Urjit Patel) to examine the issue.

The committee recommended a “glide path” forthe next six years, beginning 2017-18. It recommend-ed a FD target of 2.5 per cent, revenue deficit 0.8 percent, combined Centre-State debt ceiling of 60 percent and a Central debt ceiling of 40 per cent for2022-23. Further, it fixed three per cent FD to beachieved during 2018-19. It also allowed theGovernment to breach the target — by up to 0.5 percent — in case of “far-reaching structural reformswith unanticipated fiscal implications.”

In the amendment to the FRBM Act videFinance Bill 2018-19, even while retaining the “escapeclause” to cover unanticipated events, theGovernment adopted the glide path of achievingthree per cent FD by 2020-21 instead of 2018-19mooted by the committee. Further, it set the debt limitof 40 per cent for the Centre to be reached by 2024-25 instead of the committee’s mandate of 2022-23.

This cherry-picking may be seen in the back-drop of the Government missing the FD target for2017-18 by 0.3 per cent and seeing no hope of achiev-ing three per cent during 2018-19 as recommend-ed by the committee. While presenting Budget 2020-21, Sitharaman has already invoked the escape clauseof the FRBM Act to relax the FD targets for FY 2019-

20 from 3.3 per cent Budget Estimate (BE)to 3.8 per cent in the Revised Estimate(RE) and for FY 2020-21, from three percent as per the glide path required underthe Act to 3.5 per cent. The one big thingthat she did last year was reducing theCorporate Tax rate, which meant a rev-enue loss of close to �1,50,000 crore annu-ally. The reform was far-reaching andstructural but one wonders whether thiswas an event not anticipated by theGovernment.

Ironically, the above numbers do notgive the true picture of the FD as a lot ofexpenses, despite being a liability of thesovereign Government, are kept off its bal-ance sheet. These are deferred subsidy pay-ments (DSPs) and extra-budgetaryresources (EBRs), a nickname for borrow-ings by Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs)and other agencies of the Government onits behalf. Including these off-balance sheetitems, the FD for 2017-18 and 2018-19would be about 5.9 per cent and 5.7 percent respectively. For 2019-20, includingDSPs alone, FD would be 5.1 per cent. AddEBRs and the deficit will gallop. For 2020-21, the likely deficit of 5.8 per cent is exclu-sive of DSPs and EBRs.

There is a short provision in theBudget: Food subsidy about �1,03,000crore and fertiliser subsidy around �80,000crore. Plus, there will be a huge shortfallin proceeds from disinvestment by at least�1,50,000 crore as big ticket sales such asBharat Petroleum Corporation Limited(BPCL) and Life Insurance Corporation(LIC) are unlikely to go through duringthe current year. This adds up to two percent, taking the total to 7.8 per cent.Including EBRs, the FD could touch 10 percent. Already, under the existing dispen-sation of FD being a fixed number, the

Government has a lot of leeway — explic-it as well as not so explicit. On the explic-it side, we have seen the fiscal consolida-tion glide path made fairly liberal to suitthe budget math as also the revised FDbeing significantly higher than the target— yet going unpunished (for instance,during 2008-09, the actual FD was six percent against the target of three per cent asper the FRBM Act, 2003). On the not soexplicit side, DSPs and EBRs have beenused to camouflage the true deficit.

If the FD range gets embedded in theFRBM Act, this will amount to giving legalsanction to slippages. It will defeat the verypurpose of fixing a target which is to oblig-ate the Government to keep the excess ofits expenses over revenue within a spec-ified limit. The moment the law itself pre-scribes a range, say of three per cent-3.5per cent, even the most discerningGovernment will take the higher end ofthe range as the benchmark as from a legalstandpoint, violation will happen onlywhen the actual exceeds 3.5 per cent.

To put it differently, providing for arange is a more subtle and sophisticatedway of embedding in the legislation a morerelaxed target without catching the atten-tion of the not so discerning eye.

The comparison with inflation target-ing under the monetary policy to justifyFDI range is not all fours. While, the FDtarget has a direct bearing on budgetingby the Centre (a swing of 0.1 per centeither way makes a difference of �20,000crore in its borrowing limit), inflation tar-geting by the RBI does not impact thefinances of banks. For a proper compar-ison, we need to look at the RBI mandat-ed “provisioning” for a loan that becomesan NPA. That is a fixed number, say 25 percent (for an account remaining unpaid for

up to one year), not a range. It is argued that a range brings an ele-

ment of predictability in knowing how farthe Government can go in expanding itsborrowing programme and the resultantimpact on crucial parameters like bondyields, interest rate; hence helpful inboosting investor confidence. This is a friv-olous argument. Whether it is one fixednumber or a range, there is predictabili-ty in both the scenarios. The difference isnotional as in a range, one looks at theupper end. Unpredictability arises whenthings such as DSPs/EBRs are done out-side the FRBM framework; sadly, those areswept under the carpet.

Another argument in support ofrange is what some experts describe asreinforcing “counter-cyclical” objectives.Put simply, when the economy is on adownswing, then the Government needsto undertake major investment to rein inthe slide and put the economy back on thegrowth trajectory. It is primarily to tack-le extraordinary situations such as duringthe current year that a 0.5 per cent cush-ion is permitted as per the 2018-19amendment to the FRBM Act.

The incorporation of FD range doesnot offer anything better than what isalready there in the FRBM law—fixednumber FD target plus escapeclause—unless it is the intent of mandarinsin the Finance Ministry to have both,namely range as well as the escape clause.That would be disingenuous. The 15th FCshould refrain from going for a range-bound FD. The extant arrangementshould continue with suitable increase inthe permissible breach under the escapeclause. All hidden slippages such as DSPsand EBRs should be prohibited.

(The writer is a policy analyst)

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Bangkok: Thai authoritiesworked Monday to stem agrowing tide of protests callingfor the Prime Minister to resignby threatening to censor newscoverage, raiding a publishinghouse and attempting to blockthe Telegram messaging appused by demonstrators.

The efforts by PrimeMinister Prayuth Chan-ocha’sgovernment to drain the stu-dent-led protests of supportand the ability to organisecomes as they have grown inthe capital and spread aroundthe country, despite an emer-gency decree, which bans pub-lic gatherings of more thanfour people in Bangkok, out-laws news said to affect nation-al security and gives authori-ties broad power to detainpeople.

The mostly young protest-ers have gathered en masseacross Bangkok the past sixdays to push their demands,which also include a contro-versial call for reform of themonarchy.

The protesters charge that

Prayuth, an army commanderwho led a 2014 coup, wasreturned to power unfairly inlast year’s general electionbecause laws had been changed

to favour a pro-military party.The protesters say a constitu-tion written and passed undermilitary rule is undemocratic.

But their more recent

demand for checks and bal-ances on the monarchy hasdeeply angered conservativeThais — and broken a taboosince the monarchy is consid-

ered sacrosanct and tough lawsprotect it from insult.

It has also raised the risk ofconfrontation in a countrywhere calls for political changehave a history of being metwith military intervention oreven violence.

Authorities are nowincreasingly turning to cen-sorship to try to clamp downon the demonstrations afterprotesters heckled a royalmotorcade last week in a onceunthinkable scene.

With protesters starting togather for three new rallies inBangkok on Monday evening,a top official with the NationalBroadcasting andT e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n sCommission confirmedreports that the agency hadbeen ordered to block access tothe messaging app Telegram.

Suthisak Tantayothin saidit was in the process of talkingwith internet service providersto discuss doing so, but so farthe encrypted messaging appfavored by demonstrators theworld over was still available in

the country.Police also searched the

office of a publishing house thathandles books by Thai and for-eign scholars with sometimescontroversial perspectives.

Same Sky publishing housesaid police took away copies ofthree titles that had been soldat a recent book fair in a bun-dle it called Monarchy Studies,and asked their publisher tocome for questioning at theirstation.

Deputy police spokesmanKissana Phataracharoen alsoconfirmed an order signed bythe chief of police that couldallow officials to block access tonews sites that give what hecalled “distorted information.”

Under existing laws, theNational Broadcasting andT e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n sCommission and the Ministryof Digital Economy and Societyare empowered to ban broad-casts and block internet con-tent. Police themselves canalso do so under the emergencydecree, which went into effectOctober 15. AP

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New York: Democratic presi-dential candidate Joe Biden isnot good for India as he couldbe soft on China, US PresidentDonald Trump’s son said at anevent to celebrate the “success”of his book that talks about graftallegations against the Bidens.

Trump Jr is leading the re-election campaign of his 74-year-old father. The presidentialelections in the US are slated tobe held on November 3.

“We have to understand thethreat of China and no oneknows that probably better thanIndian-Americans,” Trump Jr,told a select group of support-ers from the community at theevent in Long Island, New York.

In his book “LiberalPrivilege”, he has documentedallegations of corruption againstBiden’s family, particularlyagainst his son Hunter Biden.

“When you look at our

opponents in this race… youthink the Chinese gave HunterBiden $1.5 billion … because hewas a great businessman, orbecause they knew the Bidenscould be bought, and thereforesoft on China,” he said.

Trump Jr was referring tothe latest allegations of corrup-tion against the Biden family asrevealed by The New York Post.

“Therefore, (Joe Biden is)bad for India,” he said in hisaddress at the meet and greetevent along with KimberlyGuilfoyle, who is leading thefund-raising efforts of Trump’sre-election campaign.

The book, signed copies ofwhich were handed out to par-ticipants of the event, reflects,according to Trump Jr, on the“corrupt practices” of the Bidenfamily. PTI

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New York: DescribingPresident Donald Trump asIndia’s “good friend”, a groupof Indian-Americans haveurged the community mem-bers across the country tosupport and vote for theRepublican leader in theNovember 3 elections.

Al Mason, co-chair of theTrump Victory IndianAmerican FinanceCommittee, on Sunday saidthe Indian-American com-munity has emerged as aforce to reckon with for thefirst time in the history of theUS presidential election.

“Your support will con-tribute to President Trump’swin,” he said.

“This is a historical elec-tion where we all e have tomake a simple choice. Do wewant better economy, lesstaxes and smaller govern-ment, then let’s re-electPresident Trump? You want tohave a good friend for India,first time ever, let’s electPresident Trump,” said emi-nent Indian businessmanChintu Patel. PTI

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London: The number of con-firmed COVID-19 cases acrossthe planet has surpassed 40 mil-lion, but experts say that is onlythe tip of the iceberg when itcomes to the true impact of thepandemic that has upended lifeand work around the world.

The milestone was hitMonday morning, according toJohns Hopkins University,which collates reports fromaround the world.

The actual worldwide tallyof COVID-19 cases is likely tobe far higher, as testing hasbeen variable, many peoplehave had no symptoms andsome governments have con-cealed the true number ofcases. To date, more than 1.1million confirmed virus deathshave been reported, althoughexperts also believe that num-ber is an undercount.

The U.S., India and Brazilare reporting by far the high-est numbers of cases — 8.1 mil-lion, 7.5 million and 5.2 millionrespectively — although theglobal increase in recent weeks

has been driven by a surge inEurope, which has seen over240,000 confirmed virus deathsin the pandemic so far.

Last week, the World HealthOrganization said Europe had areported a record weekly high ofnearly 700,000 cases and said theregion was responsible for abouta third of cases globally. Britain,France, Russia and Spainaccount for about half of all newcases in the region, and countrieslike Belgium and the CzechRepublic are facing more intenseoutbreaks now than they did inthe spring.

WHO said the new mea-sures being taken across Europeare “absolutely essential” in stop-ping virus from overwhelmingits hospitals. Those include newrequirements on mask-wearingin Italy and Switzerland, closingschools in Northern Irelandand the Czech Republic, closingrestaurants and bars in Belgium,implementing a 9 pm curfew inFrance and having targeted lim-ited lockdowns in parts of theU.K. AP

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that it has complained toCanada for allegedly condon-ing anti-China comments thatappeared in Canadian mediafollowing controversial remarksmade by the Chinese ambas-sador.

Ties between the coun-tries are at their lowest point inyears amid China’s outrageover Canada’s detention of a topexecutive of Chinese telecomsgiant Huawei. Last week,China’s ambassador to Canada,

Cong Peiwu, branded pro-democracy protesters in HongKong as violent criminals andsaid if Canada grants them asy-lum it would amount to inter-ference in China’s internalaffairs.

“If the Canadian side real-ly cares about the stability andthe prosperity in Hong Kong,and really cares about the goodhealth and safety of those300,000 Canadian passport-holders in Hong Kong, and thelarge number of Canadian

companies operating in HongKong SAR, you should supportthose efforts to fight violentcrimes,” Cong said last week ina video news conference fromthe Chinese Embassy inOttawa.

Cong was asked whetherhis remarks amounted to athreat, to which he replied,“That is your interpretation.”On Saturday, the Toronto Sunpublished an editorial callingon Cong to either apologize orleave Canada. AP

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Athens: A prosecutor onMonday recommended that allformer lawmakers of Greece’sextreme right Golden Dawnparty who have been convict-ed and sentenced to prison forleading or participating in acriminal organisation shouldbe allowed to remain freeuntil their appeal has beenheard.

Prosecutor AdamantiaEconomou argued that none

of the former lawmakers wasa flight risk or at risk of re-offending while they remainout of jail, and said most hada clean criminal record priorto this.

A f inal decision onwhether the sentences will besuspended pending appeal isto be made by the panel ofjudges trying the case follow-ing summations by defenselawyers, and is expected either

Monday night or Tuesdaymorning.

The lengthy sentencingprocedure caps a marathon,politically charged five-yeartrial that involved 68 defen-dants, dozens of lawyers andencompassed four cases,including the fatal stabbing ofa left-wing Greek rap singer,and physical attacks onEgyptian fishermen and left-wing activists. AP

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Karachi: Pakistan’s deposedprime minister Nawaz Sharif ’sson-in-law Capt (retd)Muhammad Safdar was onMonday briefly arrested fromhis hotel room in Karachi, a dayafter he staged a protest at thetomb of the country’s founderand attended a joint oppositionrally.

“Police broke my roomdoor at the hotel I was stayingat in Karachi and arrested CaptSafdar,” said Safdar’s wifeMaryam, who addressed thelarge anti-government rally inthe port city on Sunday.

She said she was asleepwhen the police “barged in” herhotel room where he was stay-ing with her husband.

Safdar was arrested a dayafter he raised slogans atPakistan’s founder MohammadAli Jinnah’s (Quaid) mau-soleum just before the secondrally of the PakistanDemocratic Movement’s(PDM) – an alliance of 11opposition parties.

After much hue and cry onthe political scenario with the

Pakistan People’s Party-ruledSindh government distancingitself from the arrest, Safdar wasreleased by a judicial magistrateagainst surety bonds of Rs100,000.

Maryam told reporters thatshe would leave Karachi withher husband as he had beenreleased on bail.

“Aboard the f light toLahore. Thank you Karachi!You won me over,” she tweet-ed.

Maryam said theOpposition parties will con-tinue their protests until PrimeMinister Imran Khan isremoved from power.

Safdar was arrested after afirst information report (FIR)was registered against him,Maryam and 200 others forviolating the sanctity of theQuaid’s mausoleum.

Complainant WaqasAhmed alleged that the PML-N leaders, along with 200 oftheir followers, reached theQuaid’s grave where Safdarjumped over the grill sur-rounding it. PTI

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Paris: French police onMonday raided the homes ofdozens of suspected Islamistterrorists three days after thebeheading of a teacher whohad shown his pupils car-toons of the ProphetMohammed, the interior min-ister said.

The raids came a day aftertens of thousands of peopletook part in rallies country-wide to honour teacherSamuel Paty and to defendfreedom of expression.

Gerald Darmanin said theswoop on Islamist networkswas designed to send a mes-sage that “enemies of theRepublic” would not enjoy “aminute’s respite”.

He said over 80 investiga-tions had been launched foronline hate speech following theattack, which has drawn paral-lels with the 2015 massacre atCharlie Hebdo satirical maga-zine, where 12 people weregunned down for publishingthe Mohammed cartoons.

That attack -- the first ina string of assaults that havekilled over 240 people inFrance -- brought over a mil-lion people onto the streets ofParis to denounce extremism.

On Sunday, people againcongregated on Place de laRepublique in Paris, whereworld leaders had marchedalongside the French in 2015.

Some in the crowd chant-ed “I am Samuel”, echoing the2015 “I am Charlie” rallyingcall by supporters of freespeech.

Paty, 47, was murdered onhis way home from the schoolwhere he taught in a suburbnorthwest of Paris on Fridayafternoon.

A photo of the teacher anda message confessing to hismurder was found on themobile phone of his killer, an18-year-old Chechen manAbdullakh Anzorov, who wasshot dead by police.

Eleven people are beingheld over the attack, includinga known Islamist terrorist andthe father of one of Paty’spupils who had railed againsthim online and called for hisdismissal.

Darmanin accused the twomen of having issued a “fatwa”against Paty, using the term foran Islamic edict that wasfamously used to describe the1989 death sentence handeddown against writer SalmanRushdie by Iran’s AyatollahKhomeini.

“They apparently launcheda fatwa against the teacher,” theminister told Europe 1 radio.

Anzorov’s family arrivedin France when he was sixfrom the predominantlyMuslim Russian republic ofChechnya. AFP

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The Supreme Court isagreeing to review a

Trump administration policythat makes asylum-seekerswait in Mexico for U.S. Courthearings.

As is typical, the court didnot comment Monday inannouncing it would hearthe case. Because the court’scalendar is already fullthrough the end of the year,the justices will not hear thecase until 2021. If Joe Bidenwere to win the presidentialelection and rescind the pol-icy, the case would becomelargely moot.

Trump’s “MigrantProtection Protocols” policy,known informally as “Remainin Mexico,” was introduced inJanuary 2019. It became a keypillar of the administration’sresponse to an unprecedent-ed surge of asylum-seekingfamilies at the border, draw-ing criticism for having peo-ple wait in highly dangerousMexican cities.

Lower courts found thatthe policy is probably illegal.But earlier this year theSupreme Court stepped in toallow the policy to remain ineffect while a lawsuit chal-lenging it plays out in thecourts.

More than 60,000 asy-lum-seekers were returnedto Mexico under the policy.

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Investments in key compo-nents of 5G network on mid

or low-band spectrum withpan-India coverage is estimat-ed to be about �1.3-2.3 lakhcrore, according to a report byMotilal Oswal FinancialServices.

The total capital expen-diture or capex requirementwhen it comes to 5G rollout forMumbai alone is seen at�10,000 crore, and �8,700 crorefor Delhi, it said.

According to the tele-com report from Motilal OswalFinancial Services, for midband or low band spectrum,overall capex requirement forpan-India coverage wouldhover at �1.3-2.3 lakh crore.

Based on the TRAI’s lat-est reserve price, capexrequirement for obtaining 100MHz mid band spectrum inMumbai would be about�8,400 crore, which could go

up further if the bidding priceis higher than the base price.

Assuming about 9,000sites would be required for cov-erage, the total capex require-ment for the sites would be�1,800 crore - taking the totalcapex to �10,000 crore, it said.

Similarly, capex estimatefor 5G rollout in Delhi wouldbe �8,700 crore – assuming100MHz mid band spectrum atbase price.

The Indian telecomindustry is seeing capex peakout - particularly for Bharti andReliance Jio - and increased freecash flows (FCF), the reportsaid but added that risks have,however, started emerging dueto the increased costs toward5G upgrade and the upcomingspectrum renewal.

Investments in three keylarge components for a 5Gnetwork – spectrum, sites andfiber on mid/low band spec-trum with pan-India coverage– would stand at �1.3-2.3 lakh

crore which should reduce to�78,800 crore and 1.3 lakhcrore, for coverage of onlymetros and category ‘A’ circles,it said.

Even assuming rolloutstarting from FY23, a stag-gered deployment over thenext 4-5 years - in line with 4Ginvestment trend - may insu-late the impact to a largeextent.

The expiry of spectrumfor Jio’s 115MHz quantity in the800MHz band acquired/sharedfrom RCOM in 19 circles,Bharti’s 57 MHz quantity in the1,800 MHz band and VodafoneIdea’s 37.8MHz/6.2Mhz quan-tity in the 1,800MHz/900MHzband are “attractive good qual-ity spectrum” and would be upfor renewal over the next 6-12months, Motilal Oswal reportnoted. This would costJio/Bharti/Vodafone Idea Rs28,000 crore/Rs 12,900 crore/Rs8,300 crore at reserve price, itsaid.

Katra: Dr Jitendra SinghHon’ble Minister of State(Independent Charge) of theMinistry of Development ofNorth Eastern Region, Ministerof State in the Prime Minister’sOffice, Minister of State in theMinistry of Personnel, PublicGrievances and Pensions todayinaugurated 09 days “NavratraFestival” at Katra. The inaugural function wasattended by Sh.K.K.Sharma, Hon’ble Advisorto Lieutenant Governor, Sh.Sanjeev Verma, DivisionalCommissioner, Jammu,Sh. Ramesh Kumar, CEO, ShriMata Vaishno Devi ShrineBoard, Smt. Indu Kanwal Chib,Deputy Commissioner, Reasiand Sh. R.K.Katoch, Director

Tourism, Jammu. While speaking on the

occasion, the Hon’ble Ministerappealed the stakeholders ofTourism Sector to come for-ward and work in synergy forthe revival of the TourismIndustry.

This will help to boost theeconomy of the UnionTerritory of J&K which is stag-nated due to COVID -19 pan-demic.

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Equity benchmarks made awinning start to the week

on Monday as banking andfinancial counters saw robustbuying amid largely positivecues from global markets.

The 30-share BSE Sensexended 448.62 points or 1.12 percent higher at 40,431.60. Thebroader NSE Nifty surged110.60 points or 0.94 per centto finish at 11,873.05.

ICICI Bank was the topgainer in the Sensex pack,jumping 5.33 per cent, fol-lowed by Axis Bank, NestleIndia, SBI, HDFC, IndusIndBank, ONGC and Kotak Bank.

On the other hand, BajajAuto, TCS, M&M, Bharti Airteland Maruti were among thelaggards, shedding up to 2.12per cent. In the Sensex pack,23 constituents logged gainswhile seven closed in the red.

The domestic marketopened on a positive notetracking largely positive cuesfrom global markets, traderssaid. During the afternoon ses-sion markets held on to open-

ing gains with sustained inter-est seen in banking, financial,oil and gas, metals and realtystocks. Bourses in Hong Kong,Tokyo and Seoul ended on apositive note, while Shanghaiclosed lower after the release ofChina’s GDP numbers.

China’s economic growthaccelerated to 4.9 per cent overa year earlier in the latest quar-ter as a shaky recovery from thecoronavirus pandemic gath-ered strength. The economy“continued the steady recov-ery”, China’s National Bureau ofStatistics said in a report.However, it warned that “theinternational environment isstill complicated and severe”. Italso said China still faces “greatpressure” to prevent a resur-gence of the virus.Meanwhile,stock exchanges in Europeopened on a positive note.“Domestic markets witnessedsharp recovery in the backdropof strong rebound in heavy-weight financials space, whichwas in focus today led bystrong numbers reported byHDFC Bank and positive com-mentary by the management.

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To attract potential suitors,the Government will ease

asset valuation norms for AirIndia by allowing bidders to putin offers on an enterprise valuebasis, a source said on Monday.

To begin with, the govern-ment is likely to further extendthe deadline for putting in apreliminary expression of inter-est for the loss-making nation-al carrier to December 15. Thesource said bids will be soughton an enterprise value basis -a popular valuation methodol-ogy for takeover deals.Enterprise value (EV) is a mea-sure of a company’s total value,often used as a more compre-hensive alternative to equitymarket capitalization.

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The head of the EuropeanCentral Bank says that the

economic recovery “risks los-ing momentum” due to the sec-ond wave of coronavirus infec-tions and that the chief mone-tary authority for the eurocountries could add more stim-ulus if that becomes necessary.

Christine Lagarde wasquoted as saying in an inter-view with the French newspa-per Le Monde that “the secondwave of the pandemic in

Europe, notably in France,and the resulting new restric-tions are adding to the uncer-tainty and weighing on therecovery. “ “Since therebound we saw over the sum-mer, the recovery has beenuneven, uncertain and incom-plete and now risks losingmomentum,” she said in theinterview published Monday inEnglish on the ECB’s website.

Lagarde said that “theoptions in our toolbox have notbeen exhausted. If more has to

be done, we will do more.” TheECB is already supporting theeconomy with a pandemicemergency program of bondpurchases that are pumping1.35 trillion euros (USD 1.58trillion) in newly createdmoney into the economy.

Analysts think the bankmay eventually add more stim-ulus due to weak inflation andslowing growth from theupsurge in infections, alongwith any new restrictions ontravel and activity that may beimposed by governments toslow the spread.

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Stressing the need for capitalexpenditure (capex) by

Central Public SectorEnterprises (CPSEs), UnionFinance Minister NirmalaSitharaman has said that theyneed to scale up their capexboth in the current and thenext financial year.

The Minister also said thatbetter performance of CPSEscan help the Indian economy ina big way to recover from theimpact of COVID-19.

During a videoconferencemeeting with Secretaries of theMinistries of Petroleum andNatural Gas and Coal, along

with the CMDs of 14 CPSEsbelonging to these ministries, toreview the capex in this finan-cial year, Sitharaman told theSecretaries concerned to close-ly monitor the performance ofCPSEs in order to ensure thecapital expenditure to the tuneof 75 per cent of the capital out-lay by the end of Q3 of FY 2020-21 and make appropriate planfor it. She noted that that morecoordinated efforts are required

at the Secretary-level in theministries and CMDs in CPSEsto achieve capex targets.

In FY 2019-20, against thecapex target of Rs 1,11,672crore for these 14 CPSEs, theachievement was Rs 1,16,323crore -- 104 per cent.

The capital expenditure tar-get for 2020-21 is Rs 1,15,934crore. Mentioning the signifi-cant role of CPSEs in giving apush to the growth of the Indianeconomy, the Finance Ministerencouraged the CPSEs to per-form better to achieve their tar-gets and to ensure that the cap-ital outlay for FY 2020-21 isspent properly and within time,said an official statement.

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State Governments’ deficit isseen higher at 5 per cent, up

from earlier estimate of 4.5 percent of gross state domesticproduct (GSDP) as Covid-19continues to suppress eco-nomic activities resulting inlower resource mobilisationand higher state expenditure,Kotak Institutional Equitiessaid on Monday.

In a research report onpublic finance, the brokeragesaid that finances of state gov-ernments remain weak with asample of 16 states suggestingthat revenue receipts fell 11.4pet cent during 4MFY21, withbulk of the decline comingfrom tax revenue (23 per cent).

During the April-July peri-od, tax collection on 16 iden-

tified states stood at Rs 2,90,900crore as against Rs 3,79300crore in the same period of pre-vious year, a drop of over 23 percent. The biggest fall has beenin GST collection that fell fromRs 1,14,600 crore in April -Julyof FY20 to Rs 84,200 crore inthe four month period of FY21,a drop of 26 pet cent. The stateshave also witnessed a sharpdecrease in sales tax revenueduring the period during toslowing down of economicactivities across sectors. Thelower revenue has come at atime when Covid-19 hadincreased the need to spend tokeep the wheel of the economymoving amidst the pandemic.

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While the NationalCompany Law Tribunal

(NCLT) is yet to give theirassent to the bid submitted byKalrock Capital and MurariJalan for Jet Airways, the factthat the lenders voted for thedeal means that approvals fromNCLT and other governmentauthorities might come soon.Sanjay Mandavia, a former JetAirways pilot who had thelosing bid has congratulated thewinners although mediareports have emerged where heclaims that his plan was better.However, submitting a winningbid for whatever assets remainof the once storied airline,there is no guarantee that theairline will fly again. The win-ning bidders have promisedlenders not just some money,although the banks will take a

massive haircut on theiradvances to Jet Airways butalso some equity.

How the winning bidderswill get Jet Airways flying againis however a mystery and whilethey will come up with moreconcrete plans in the comingweeks, there has been onemassive change in the eighteenmonths since Jet Airways’ col-lapse, the Coronavirus and thesubsequent collapse in air trav-el. At the same time, assumingthat ‘brand loyalty’ remainstowards Jet Airways and oldflyers will come streaming backto the airline should not bemade. Jet’s most loyalty high-tier passengers on major met-ropolitan routes have allswitched their loyalties over toVistara, if they still care aboutservice, but increasinglyIndiGo, because the behemothof Indian skies has built a rep-

utation for reliability. Jet Airways did not even

control their frequent flyerprogram, which has now beenrebranded ‘InterMiles’, thehigh-end passenger data pos-sibly does not even reside withthe airline. Even more impor-tantly, Jet’s demise in 2019 waspreceded by the airline losinghundreds of large corporatedeals, these massive deals forthousands of seats annuallyinjected a lot of money into theoperations. Corporates willwait for Jet Airways 2.0 toestablish themselves beforeeven considering coming back.With most of India’s top 500companies having huge con-tracts with IndiGo whose net-work and frequency meansthat it will be increasinglyunlikely for them to be weanedoff.

No large airline in the

world, and Jet was a large air-line with almost 140 aircraft inits fleet at the peak, has recov-ered from bankruptcy afterclosing operations. And not justin aviation, where the revival oficonic brands like Pan Amhave failed, resurrectingbrands, particularly servicebrands is not easy. It might haveworked in a situation where airtravel was still growing, but airtravel has taken a massive tum-ble during the past few monthsand even as things slowly startgetting back to normal, pas-senger numbers are down mas-sively. In September 2020, thenumber of daily departuresstood at 1,311 daily, less thanhalf the 2,874 departures inSeptember 2019 and load fac-tors, while rising over the pastfew months, was still belowtwo-thirds. After the collapse ofJet Airways last year, the

remaining airlines had madehay as planes ran full and faresskyrocketed. Now, it appearsthat the financial situation atmost Indian airlines with theexception of IndiGo is dire, andthere is a good chance that one,maybe even two airlines mightnot survive the pandemic.

That said, there are somepositives for the new owners ofJet Airways. The collapse inpassenger demand is notlocalised to India and is aworldwide issue, as a resultthere are hundreds of relative-ly young aircraft parked on theground, not even includingthe 500 or so Boeing 737 MAXplanes that were groundedbefore the pandemic. It isunlikely that air travel willrecover for another 18-24months even if a vaccine isapproved tomorrow. So thenew owners of the airline will

be able to find some good leasedeals on aircraft. At the sametime, Jet Airways, if it indeedrestarts, will also be able to findslots at crowded airports likeDelhi and Mumbai becausedemand is heavily down. Ofcourse, this depends on theability of the new manage-ment to convince airports andthe Ministry that they meanbusiness. Landing and take-offslots belong to the public justlike telecom airwaves and bybuying Jet Airways’ assets itdoes not mean that old slotscan be magically restored. Butif Jet Airways gets off theground soon, they might beable to pick up some primeslots, like the airline once hadin Mumbai.

It may not be a bad idea forJet Airways 2.0 to begin as amore regional-focussed carri-er as the airlines collapse

removed service to severalsmall cities, particularly fromMumbai and rivals have notreally plugged those gaps, forexample, Jet Airways had astrong network of flightsbetween Mumbai and severalmedium-sized towns in Gujaratand Maharashtra.

Alternatively, Jet owns afew long-haul planes, in factthey sold their building inBandra-Kurla Complex to buyout six Boeing 777’s and pos-sibly the rise of non-stop trav-el post-pandemic could seethem transform into a boutiqueinternational airline. Going upagainst IndiGo’s reach on mostsectors as well as Vistara’s ser-vice standards will not be easyand as sentimental as somepassengers might be about thebrand, that will not be enoughto fill the planes or make a prof-it. But one hopes for the best.

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The rupee slipped by 2paise to close at 73.37

against the US currency onMonday due to some dollardemand and uncertaintyrelated to the US fiscal stim-ulus and presidential elec-tions.

The local unit openedat 73.38 against the US dol-lar at the interbank forexmarket and moved in a nar-row range of 73.35 to 73.42in the day trade.

Meanwhile, the dol-lar index, which gauges thegreenback’s strength againsta basket of six currencies, wastrading 0.17 per cent lower at93.52.

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New Delhi: Keeping in mindglobal environmental issues,particularly climate change,Mangalam Cement Limited,one of leading cement manu-factures, has launched envi-ronment friendly premiumquality cement MangalamPromaxX.

The eco-friendly PPCcement with an advanced i-PSD technology will result indense concrete with higherstrength, leading to lower heatof hydration, water conserva-tion and sustainable durabil-ity of structures, said compa-ny president (operations)Sunil Sachan.

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Page 10: New ˘ ˇ ˆ˘ ˙ ˝ ˛ ˚ ˆ ˆ˛˛ · 2020. 10. 19. · called me ‘hungry and ill-clad ... restoration of Article 370, was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Srinagar

Heartburn, indiges-tion, and acidityare one of themost uncomfort-

able situations that resultfrom many causes. Doctorsusually recommend usingantacids for a short period oftime to overcome this. Butare these antacids harm-less? Yes, they are harmlessif the consumption is limit-ed to the extent that it doesnot trigger their side effectsin the body. What are theside effects of frequent andlong-term use of antacids?Read on to get an answer tothis.�What is acidity?

The stomach is respon-sible for digesting the foodthat you eat. In order todigest all the componentspresent in food, the stomachsecretes gastric juice. One ofthe components of this juiceis Hydrochloric acid.Although the acid is neces-sary for digestion, if itsamounts raise in the stom-ach, you suffer from acidity.When this acid enters differ-ent organs of the body (otherthan the stomach), it canlead to conditions like heart-burn and GERD.� The role of antacids andacid reducers in curingacidity

Antacids are over-the-counter medications thatneutralise the acid producedin the stomach. Antacids aregenerally composed of salts

of minerals like sodium,calcium, magnesium, andaluminium. These salts havethe potential to neutralisethe acid. Similar to antacidsare the acid-reducers thatreduce acid production byinhibiting acid production.� Side effects of long-termuse of antacids

When antacids were dis-covered, several researchesconducted on the effects oftheir long-term use statedthat they could only be usedfor a short time to subsidethe acidity. Thus, the use ofantacids must be restrictedto a limited time period(according to your doctor’sprescription). Here are theseven side effects that arisedue to prolonged use ofantacids:� Impaired bowel move-ments

Overuse of antacid cancause constipation as well asdiarrhoea according to thetype of antacid you con-sume. Calcium and alu-minum-containing antacidshave been known to causediarrhoea if consumed forthe long-term. Magnesiumcontaining antacids can alsolead to recurrent diarrhoeaas a result of their pro-longed consumption.�Muscle and nerve func-tion impairments

Antacids are packedwith minerals like calcium,magnesium, and phospho-rous. These minerals are

released in the bloodstreamthrough antacids. Whenthere is an imbalance ofthese electrolytes in theblood, it directly affects thenerve and muscle functions.This can result in muscleweakness, tenderness, and

pain. The symptoms canget severe with long-termuse of antacids.� Elevated blood pH

Antacids containingbicarbonate salts of calciumand sodium can make theblood alkaline by elevatingits pH when absorbed in thebloodstream. In order tocompensate this alkalinitybody slows down respirationthat leads to severe fatigueand tiredness due to raisedlevels of carbon dioxide inthe blood.� Increased risk of GI tractinfection

As antacids reduce thestomach's acid, its prolongeduse can affect one of theimportant host defensemechanisms of the body.They can also change the pHof the stomach and affect thegut microbiota. This canlead to frequent GI tractinfections like gastroenteri-tis and diarrhea as a result ofthe infection caused by awide range of pathogenicbacteria. � Impaired digestion andmineral absorption

Prolonged use ofantacids can lead to adecreased amount of acid inthe stomach. Hence, thefood you eat does not getdigested properly, and it canenter the esophagus result-ing in nausea and vomiting.Apart from this, overcon-sumption of acid blockerscan impair the absorption of

minerals like zinc, iron, andmagnesium.�Kidney stones

The hard, crystallinemineral depositions in thekidneys are termed as kid-ney stones. The higher theconsumption of antacids,the higher is the amount ofcirculating minerals in theblood that further deposit inthe kidneys. These stonescan lead to severe back painand bleeding during urina-tion.�Vitamin B12 deficiency

Long-term consump-tion of acid blockers canreduce the absorption ofvitamin B12 in the body.Moreover, it also affects thegut microbiota that isresponsible for the produc-tion and absorption of vita-min B12 in the body. Nervefunction can get affecteddue to Vitamin B12 deficien-cy, which may lead to con-ditions like dementia

Although antacids arenow available over-the-counter, it is not advisable toconsume them for a longerperiod of time. Prolongeduse of them can lead tounimaginable damage to thehuman body if the amountsand frequency are not regu-lated. Do not consider aone-time prescription as alifelong prescription forantacids.

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/�� �����������The year 2020 has brought in its wake a new and widespread prob-

lem of infection with deadly Coronavirus. Even though the dis-ease is continuing to take millions of lives worldwide, unfortunate-ly, there is no cure on the horizon and vaccines are still in pipeline.As is said, every problem teaches us something new. This globalpandemic has taught us to take greater care of our health. Thanksto the technology and a widespread media coverage, every personwas aware of the important role of strong immunity in mitigatingthe effects of the virus.

There are many myths regarding ways to boost up our immuneresponse, particularly in our country. Medically, on the contrary,this has been still a matter of curiosity among scientists all overthe world. People not only took vitamins and probiotics, but alsostarted using supplements, herbs and many indigenous nuskhasin the hope to improve their immunity. The rationale for the ram-pant use of these products is based on the common belief that theseproducts are natural and hence safe. Even many members of themedical community are advocating regular use of vitamins and sup-plements as preventive tool.

There is an increase in Gastrointestinal (GI) complaints seenin recent times. Though, there is now data showing COVID-19 pre-senting with GI symptoms like diarrhoea, loss of appetite,nausea/vomiting and abdominal pain as the major complaints. But,many of these symptoms were seen even in those not infected withthe virus. Restricted movement, lack of exercise and increased stressbecause of lockdown arefew of the most important factors seen in

these patients. Many patientsshared a renewed interest incooking during the lockdownperiod which led to not onlyincrease intake of starchy foods,but also binge eating at times.These alterations in lifestyle ledto increase in dyspeptic symp-toms and poor digestion inmany patients. It also led toincrease in fatty liver in manypatients.

There are still a large chunkof patients, who were very par-ticular of their eating habitsand were regular in home exer-cise/yoga sessions, but still facedsimilar complaints. Few weeksback, a young male of around 32years age, came to my OPD with

complaints of bloating, non-specific pain abdomen, nausea andbelching. There was also history of disturbed bowel symptoms. Hewas physically fit and was doing regular yoga throughout this lock-down period. His investigations were also grossly normal.Subsequently, we came across many similar patients. Few of thesepatients even had mild liver injury. On retrospective analysis, wefound one similar history in all these patients. There was increaseintake of so called immune boosters, including kadas, green tea,turmeric and other indigenous products. Though, there is dearthof data regarding the true prevalence of drug injury in India; butthere are reports of liver injury from the use of Ayurvedic herbalmedicines procured from local stores or on the internet that havebeen published or presented. Thus, a strong suspicion came to mind,that the use of these seemingly harmless products, in excess, maycause damage. There was similar experience among many othermedical providers, who attested to its occurrence. The exact patho-physiological mechanism behind these symptoms in COVID timesis however uncertain.

There is a real need to educate the Indian population that theseindigenous products are not without side effects, and thus shouldbe taken (if needed) in a controlled manner. A regular physical activ-ity, balanced diet, avoidance of starch and carbs, relaxation ther-apies and the use of immune boosters only in moderation may nothelp improve your immune system but also keeps your digestivesystem healthy.

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� ��������� Thegrapefruit is a citrus fruitwith a flavour that can rangefrom bittersweet to sour. It islow in calories, yet high innutrients. It is known for itshigh content of Vitamin C,which has antioxidantproperties known to protectyour cells from harmfulbacteria and viruses.Thus, it can alsohelp to boostyour immunesystem.

It alsohelp in aid-ing weightloss. It con-t a i n sfiber,

which helps with appetitecontrol by promoting fullnes,thereby managing weight.

Eating grapefruit regular-ly may have the potential toprevent insulin resistance,which can lead to Diabetes.

It can also improve hearthealth by reducing risk factorsfor heart disease, such as highblood pressure and choles-

terol.

All of us have had aheadache sometimeor the other. The

throbbing and the pain thatcomes with it is unbearable.Some of it can be stressand tension relatedand here is whatone can do.

Drink plen-ty of water.Dehydration is acommon causeof tensionheadaches andmigraines. Drinkingwater has been shownto relieve headache symp-

toms within 30 minutes tothree hours.

If you wear your hairin a tight ponytail, try

loosening the hair. Believeit or not, it does work.

Have some tea or coffee.If you catch the headacheearly, it could ease your

headache pain.A few minutes of mas-

saging neck and temples canhelp ease a tension headache,

which may result fromstress.

Eat gingeror better havetea and putginger in itto ease thepain.

S o m etimes, people

get headachesdue to sleep

deprevation. Getpropper sleep.

If you are prone toheadaches try and avoid eat-ing processed foods, eatingcold food like ice cream anddairy products like butter-milk, sour cream, and yogurt.

Apply or inhale lavenderessential oil. This can easemigraine pain.

Headaches are a commonoccurrence, especially if one is

stressed. Given the presentpandemic, popping pills may

not be the right thing to do.ROSHANI DEVI shares tips

that can help ease the pain

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It has been more than half a year since theworld stopped due to the lockdown. The

intensity of the pandemic is so drastic thatthe whole globe is facing the repercussions.Not only personal lives, even the professionsof all sorts are affected. From big companiesand conglomerates to medium and smallenterprises including the disorganised sector.

All the workload has shifted on the dig-ital space with a new term quite in trend iswork from home. In this phase, a lot haschanged. And it is axiomatic that lifestylehabits will be affected too.

Everything from eating to waking uphas changed dramatically. People havebeen more careless than ever. And it hasstarted to affect their performance of worktoo. It is already very difficult to thrive insuch situations and work normally when sit-ting in a closed space. And the unpleasantchange in the lifestyle just makes it more dif-ficult.

One thing that has been affected in thelifestyle on a much greater level is the sleepschedule and timing. A good quality sleepis the need of the hour

Studies have shown that good sleepenables decision-making and complexthinking. You function better and you areable to give a hundred percent when itcomes to your work.

Also, lack of sleep can make some vac-cines less effective. With the vaccineslaunch-ing anytime now, we don't need anythinggoing against us now.

Here are some tips for a better and ful-filling sleep:

A sleep schedule is must: Create a rou-tine and follow it. It gives a sense of nor-malcy and calms the overall self. A consis-tent sleep schedule cannot be ignored.Follow the same wake-up and lie-downtime. Once your body gets into the habit ofa sleep schedule, you will have a fulfillingsleeping experience.

Sleep hygiene: Check your sleepingenvironment and get rid of things that candisturb your sleep. A good sleeping envi-ronment includes:� Cool temperature� Minimal light� A comfortable mattress and pillow� No digital devices around� Using the bed for the sole purpose ofsleeping

Relax yourself physically and mental-ly: Thousands of thoughts are one of themain causes of sleep delay at night. In sucha scenario, the relaxation of the overall bodyis a must. Try deep breathing, yoga, guid-ed meditation, reading,or calming music torelax yourself. Also stay away from the news.It creates negativity. Restrict yourself to afew trusted resources, so that you don'tcompletely cut off from the outside world.

People have been taking sleep forgranted by abusing the sleeping pattern andit has begun to influence their work.Also,bad quality sleep affects the overall func-tioning of the body and degrades mental &physical wellness. So keeping in mind theconsequences, everyone should focus ongood quality sleep for their wellbeing.

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FOR THAT�'7-'�;�3�''�

Keeping in mind the importance of highimmunity today, Plix has come upwith handpicked products will boost

your immunity, nourish your body and fuelit with wholefood multivitamins. Boost yourVitamin C naturally, get the goodness of greensfrom 21 superfoods, manage your weight withapple cider vinegar and strengthen your bodywith Plant protein.

The box consists of Plix Apple CiderVinegar — it’s the world’s first effervescent one,Plix Green Elixir — the effervescent tablets andone stop solution for getting all your proteins,antioxidants and multivitamins all in a deli-cious drink, Plix Vitamin C — which consistsof 1000mg of amla Vitamin C and 10 mg zincand it has no added sugars or preservatives andPlix Strength Plant protein which is a great wayto recover after your workout is by refuelingyourself with a post workout protein shake andwhat better then drinking the natural good-ness. It contains digestive enzymes Bromelain(pineapple) and papain (papaya) that resultsin fast protein breakdown, better digestion,and good gut.

Overall Benefits of the immunity box:�Detoxifies body�Stress Relief�Weight loss�Alkalizes and balances pH�Makes your skin glow�Better gut health�Helps balance sugar levels�Decreases inflammation�Increased energy levels�Nourishes body.

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./��� In line with its motto of ‘Educating and

Advocating for Well Being of CommonMan’ the AHPI has recently established the‘AHPI Patient’s Grievance Redressal Forum’,with a view to educate as well as listen tothe grievances of patient as consumers,while availing services from private health-care providers. Along with patients’ rightsas consumers, medical, negligence is someof the issues that need to be resolved withsome mediation, as legal complexities ofsuch grievances are generally out of the basicunderstanding of the patients and their fam-ilies.

The AGRF will provide them guidanceand help; it will work as a mediatorbetween concerned hospitals and patientsand keep them well informed which willhelp to make the process smooth withoutunwanted delays and save precious time ofboth parties. Dr Devi Shetty, Patron, AHPIinaugurated the forum in the presence of

Dr Alexander Thomas, President,AHPI,Cdr Navneet Bali, National Convener,AHPI, RP Singh, Secretary General ofQuality council of India (QCI), Dr VenkatRao,Chairman, AHPI Patients GrievanceRedressal Forum and Dr Girdhar Gyani,Member Secretary, AHPI. All AHPI statechapter representativesalso participated inthe programme.

Dr Devi Shetty said that: “The nationbuilding exercise basically depends uponmultiple institutions like Court of law,Government, Educational institutions.Today we may take such institution forgranted but back in time some people hadstarted some of the institutions with viewof making our lives comfortable, and overthe years such institutions became essen-tial. Initially every great institution startswith a crazy idea. Some people believe init and some may not, but it makes historyif it honestly adds to the value of mankind.”

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Page 11: New ˘ ˇ ˆ˘ ˙ ˝ ˛ ˚ ˆ ˆ˛˛ · 2020. 10. 19. · called me ‘hungry and ill-clad ... restoration of Article 370, was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Srinagar

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If you are missing pandal-hopping, justgo online where Kolkata’s extravagantshowcases of artistry and imagination

are being live-streamed daily. If you aremissing pushpanjali, then sign up withcommittees online which will guaranteethat the priest offers it on your behalf whileyou chant mantras in your room. If youmiss the cuisine, look around your neigh-bourhood. Community women are turn-ing home chefs to deliver Bengali delica-cies. As for dressing up and flashing a mil-lion watt smile, there’s Zoom, where youcan change the backdrop to that of a pujaof your choice. As for the cultural pro-grammes, those too have been recorded foryou to tune into. This is the puja in the newnormal but if we really want to imbibe theessence of the goddess, then we must realisethat she is dynamic herself.

During this time, Durga Puja organ-isers around the city, every year, are seenworking round the clock on the decor, andsetting up idols and pandals, making theNavratris a cause-oriented festival throughdistinctive and relevant themes. One couldeasily spot people playing the dhunuchinaach, doing pandal-hopping till latenights, playing dhaakis, sindoor khela andtaking part in many other cultural activi-ties, revelling in the festivities. This timethere is more heart and devotion minus thefrills.

Robin Bose, General Secretary of theDelhi Durga Puja Samiti (the oldest intown), also known as the Kashmere GateDurga Puja, shares that this year, pandalsare being set up within the prescribed size.“We are only doing the kalash puja and notthe murti puja this time so that there is alesser crowd. We are doing only 10 per centof what is done every year. You can verywell imagine the difference now. I reallyhaven’t seen any such thing happen in ourlifetime. This is the very first time we arewitnessing festive celebrations to be so low-key given that we wait for this season all

year,” he says, pointing towards the pan-demic as the major reason. “Another issuewas that of sponsors. We didn’t have any.Even the active members were not willingto participate this time. You can blame itall on the economic slowdown. While someare facing pay cuts, some don’t have jobs,”adds he.

Although the Central governmentgave a green signal for conducting scaleddown celebrations a few days back, therewas little or no time left to put everythingtogether. “Planning and organising DurgaPuja is a huge responsibility, which takesat least a months time. Even the oldestRamlila committees have backed outbecause they didn’t have enough time. Timeconstraints are big,” Bose says.

Celebrations in the famed ChittaranjanPark are being confined to the Kali Mandironly. “We don’t have a pandal. We will wor-ship the goddess inside the temple with anearthen pot and coconut and camphor onits top. The celebration will be on a smallscale and with the priests only. They willcarry all the procedures of the puja system-atically,” confirms an organiser.

As COVID-19 has changed our veryway of living, festivities are also going dig-ital. “Everything is majorly going to beonline this time. We are live streaming thepuja proceedings. People can registerthemselves beforehand so that they cansimultaneously carry out their rituals athome, following the priest who will per-form the rituals at the temple. We will doFacebook live, Instagram live and Zoom forour committee members and the public atlarge,” says Durga Puja organiser andfounder member of Paschim Vihar BengaliAssociation, Mahadeb Das, who feels thatdigital is the only way out this year as itsdifficult to ensure people follow the nec-essary precautions and social distancingnorms in a festive mood.

Even at the Antaranga Durga Puja atMayur Vihar, in order to avoid large social

gatherings, there won’t be any typical pan-dal set-up with big idols. Suvankar Mitra,general secretary of the committee, sharesthat the organisers are just going to do thekalash puja in a very limited area. It’s allgoing to be live, he says. “We’ll post every-thing live on our social media pages. Wehave also planned a cultural programmebut that too online. We have requested fora subscription of �500 from our members,”adds he.

“I’m honestly very scared about what-ever is happening in Kolkata. The celebra-tion seems to be on a very grand scale there.It’s very dangerous. Remember theCOVID-19 situation in Kerala after Onam?The state was doing just fine but then thefestival came and the numbers just doubledup. Hence, we discussed this with our man-agement committee, where some suggest-ed completely stopping the puja. However,we decided to do it remotely and online,

which could turn out to be helpful in fol-lowing all the precautionary measuresand government guidelines. We are try-ing to deliver the personal touch virtu-ally,” Mitra tells us.

Colonel Basu, Dwarka Puja head,Dwarka, feels that it would have beenreally difficult to mount the traditionalset-up. For him, the major challengewould have been to train the volunteersto guide people, who tend to be indisci-plined, without being rude. He tells usthat he was ready with three plansbefore the government’s decision andguidelines came out. However, post theorder issued on Sunday, Basu finallydecided to go with his first plan. Says he,“This plan includes a small pandal ofthree feet. There is seating arrangementtoo, which keeps the social distancingnorms in check. We will live-stream thepuja proceedings on giant screens. There

will be e-pushpanjali, pre-packed bhogand only the residents of the society willbe allowed to take part in the celebra-tions.”

Das shares about the arrangementsmade at the temple in case people try toforcibly come inside. “There are two dif-ferent lanes for entry and exit, where onlyone person can be present at any giventime. There are barricades beyond whichpeople can’t go. No entry is allowed with-out face masks. Social distancing must bemaintained at all times. Thermal screen-ing, sanitisation and other such safetymeasures — everything has been keptready,” adds he.

Since this year there is no extravagantaffair, which in turn means fewer fundsused, while many have not taken anydonations at all, Das is utilising his pujafunds to help the COVID-affected. Nowthat offering would redeem us indeed.

Written, directed and pro-duced by Akbar and Azam

Quadri, the film Shahzada Ali isbeing released for the first time tothe public. The film has had pre-miers at various film festivals.

In the film, Ali is played byIzhaar Khan, Gangs of Wasseypur

fame. Nidhi Bisht of The ViralFever plays the role of a parent.

The film is a moving tale of aninnocent boy who wants to enjoyand explore life but is curbed toplay outdoor with other kidsbecause of his physical ailment. Aliloves cricket and insists his father

to buy him a bat. But any form ofphysical activity is detrimental tohis health. So his mother makes upa story and tells him that the kidswho play outside their home anddon’t obey their parents areattacked by the devil. She tells himthat the evil soul resides in theirheart and makes them sufferthroughout their life. On the con-trary, children who listen to theirparents are blessed by god.

Speaking on the story of thefilm, Akbar and Azam said, “Thefilm was shot in Chhatarpur,Delhi, and is based majorly on theviewpoint of a child and the worldhe sees around him. There was atime when there used to be filmsmade from the viewpoint of chil-

dren but that’s not the case any-more. It is an attempt to give voiceto that viewpoint that even thoughyou watch the film from the view-point of a children, there’s somuch more to it.”

Speaking about the main plotthe brothers said that children livein the world of stories which theyare told. The story of the film isabout a child who believes andlives in the stories told to him.”

The process of filmmakingwas a tedious one for them as itwas their first film. They sharedabout the burden of managingeverything right from produc-tion to the creative part to work-ing with a child actor. (The film isstreaming live on MXPlayer.)

THE GODDESS BEAMS INTO YOUR HOME�<?3@� 3@�7(� ���������)�������,�������������������������������������������������!����� ���������!�������������������������������

Actors Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol starrerDilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ),

directed by Aditya Chopra, completes 25years today and the film’s leading lady opensup about why the film is hailed as a lovedromantic film.

Kajol says, “I think the film is timelessbecause everybody identifies somewhere downthe line with Simran (played by Kajol) and Raj(played by Shah Rukh). People like these char-acters.”

The character Simran made an attempt toredefine the portrayal of women on screen. Shewas traditional yet modern in her outlook andpeople could relate to her hugely. Says Kajol,“Honestly, I thought Simran was a little bor-ing but I realised that there’s a glimpse of thatcharacter in almost everybody we know. Youwant people to instill confidence in you thatyou are doing something right. So, yes Simranwas like that. She was a little old-fashioned butcool.”

The actor adds, “While we were shootingfor this film, we never thought that we weremaking something that will be recalled evenafter 25 years. We just thought we are going tomake a cool film together and hopefully, it willbe a hit film. I don’t think anyone of us everrealised the kind of impact the film would haveon people when they see it.”

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Page 12: New ˘ ˇ ˆ˘ ˙ ˝ ˛ ˚ ˆ ˆ˛˛ · 2020. 10. 19. · called me ‘hungry and ill-clad ... restoration of Article 370, was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Srinagar

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Kings XI Punjab captainKL Rahul lauded his

pace spearheadMohammed Shami forhis ability and clarityof thought to bowl sixyorkers in the SuperOver while defendingjust five runs in theirdramatic IPL matchagainst Mumbai Indians.

“He (Shami) was veryclear he wanted to go withsix yorkers. He has beenphenomenal, and keepsgetting better every game.It is important that seniorplayers win the games forthe team,” Rahul said atthe post-match presenta-tion.

Rahul, who was namedman of the match for his77, expressed happiness atthe victory but said his sidewould not want to make ahabit of winning like this.

Even in the last gameagainst RCB, KXIP

could have finishedthe job earlier thanthey eventually did.

“It is not thefirst time. But wedon’t want tomake a habit out ofit. We will take thetwo points in theend. It doesn’talways happen theway you plan soyou don’t reallyknow how to staybalanced.

“I was justhoping we getover the l inebecause the boys

have been workingreally really hard. In

the games that we havelost, even then we haveplayed well and just notbeen able to get over theline.”

On his side win-

ning two back-to-back closematches, he said, “We stillwant to take it one game at atime. It is sweet after the kindof matches we have lost but

the talk in the dressing roomis to focus on the process.

“We know we need towin everything from here,but we can’t forget the

processes that lead to a win.”Mumbai Indians bats-

man Kieron Pollard saiddespite loss his side playedgood cricket.

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The nail-biting winover defending

champions MumbaiIndians was certainly amorale-lifter but the inconsistentKings XI Punjab have anothertough battle at hand when theytake on table leaders DelhiCapitals here on Tuesday.

Having lost two tight gamesthey should have won at the startof the season, KXIP managed toget on the right side of the resultsin the last couple of games,although it was too close for com-fort by their own admission.

Needing seven off the last twoovers with nine wickets in hand,they should have wrapped thegame against RCB much beforethe last ball and even in the IPL’sfirst double Super Over againstMumbai Indians on Sundaynight, the K L Rahul-led sidecould have closed it outin regulation time.

Death bowingand the form ofstar player GlennMaxwell in ashaky middle-orderremain a concern fora team that needs towin its remainingfive games tomake theplay-offs.

The factthat KXIPhave struggledthis seasondespite havingtournament’stop two run-gettersin openers Rahul(525) and MayankAgarwal (393) bestsums up their errat-ic run.

On a positivenote, the successful

return of Chris Gaylehas reduced the bur-den on the shouldersof the star openers,especially allowingRahul to play more

freely.Nicholas Pooran has shown

his lethalness time and again butis yet to play a match-winningknock and the pressure is increas-ing on Maxwell the batsman, whois proving to be more useful as aspinner operating in the power-play.

However, the team is likelyto stick to him in the gameagainst Delhi Capitals.

Delhi are clearly the team tobeat in the tournament and have

gained in confidence with aclose win against ChennaiSuper Kings on Saturday.

While Prithvi Shaw needsto be back among the runs

after a couple ofducks, his openingpartner ShikharDhawan elevatinghis game bodes

well for the teamthat has won seven

out of the nine match-es it has played.

Axar Patel hasshown his utility not just

with the ball but also with thebat. His three sixes off Ravindra

Jadeja helped Delhi get over theline in the final over finishagainst CSK.

With an envious bowlingline-up, Delhi have shown theycan defend even below-par totals.Playing in the absence of aninjured Rishabh Pant, time isrunning out for Ajinkya Rahaneto make an impact.

The match went into a SuperOver last time the two teams metand more than Delhi, KXIP willbe hoping that it doesn’t come

to that again.

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Rajasthan Royals produced afine bowling effort to restrict

three-time champions ChennaiSuper Kings to a modest 125 forfive in an Indian Premier Leaguematch here on Monday.

Opting to bat, CSK never gotgoing and lacked the fire powerto put up a decent score afterbeing reduced to 56 for four in 10overs.

Ravindra Jadeja top-scoredfor CSK with a 30-ball unbeaten35 and skipper Mahendra SinghDhoni, playing in his 200th IPLgame, made a run-a-ball 28 whileadding 51 runs for the fifth wick-et.

Jofra Archer (1/20) was ter-rific with the new ball but hewould be disappointed with hisouting on the field.

Besides Archer, the spin duoof Shreyas Gopal (1/14) andRahul Tewatia (1/18) were eco-nomical in the middle overs,

while young Kartik Tyagi (1/35)too was impressive. Dhoni’s deci-sion to bat first backfired as RR

picked up wickets at regular inter-vals to make life difficult forCSK.

CSK lost the in-form Faf duPlessis (10) in the third over,caught by Jos Buttler off Archerand then an over later, ShaneWatson was sent back by Kartik.

Opening the batting again,Sam Curran made 22 off 25 ballsbefore being dismissed by Gopal.

After that, a lot depended onAmbati Rayudu but he too disap-

pointed, perishing in the next overoff Tewatia’s bowling as CSKslumped to 56 for four.

Dhoni and Jadeja tried theirbest to resurrect the innings andthen up the ante, but it proved tobe too little too late.

Dhoni was run out in searchof a double in the 18th over.

Kedar Jadhav continued tostruggle with the bat as RRbowlers didn’t give the CSK bats-men any leeway.

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The big-hitting Chris Gayle revealed that hefelt “angry and upset” going in to the Super

Over after Kings XI Punjab were in a comfort-able position to win the IPL match againstMumbai Indians in regulation period.

Chasing 11 runs in the second Super Over,the Universe Boss cracked a six off the first ballbefore opener Mayank Agarwal smashed succes-sive fours to give KXIP their second consecutivewin. “No, I wasn’t nervous. I was a bit more angryand upset that we got ourselves in this position.But it’s a game of cricket and these things do hap-pen,” Gayle told Agarwal and MohammadShami during a post-match show forIPLT20.Com.

“Even when we were going out to bat (in thesecond Super Over) you asked me ‘who is goingto face the first ball’. I was like ‘Mayank you real-ly asked that question? It has to be the boss whofaces the first ball’,” Gayle added.

For Punjab, Shami bowled a brilliant firstSuper Over, defending five runs which was fol-lowed by Chris Jordan conceding 11 runs in thesecond.

“Shami is the man of the match for me. Todefend six runs against Rohit (Sharma) and(Quinton) de Kock, that’s fantastic. That’s a greatjob.”

“I have faced you in the nets and I know thatyou can nail those yorkers, and nail them well.Today he came and delivered and brought ithome for us,” Gayle added.

Shami, who nailed his yorkers in the SuperOver to allow MI to only equal KXIP’s score, saidwith the margin of error being so less he justfocussed on what he knew he could do best.

“It was very difficult. When you get 15-17runs to defend in the Super Over, it’s a differentmatter altogether. You believe at the back of yourmind that you can do it.

“But when the margin of error is so less, youfocus on what you can do best. I believe a lot inmyself. When I was going back on the top of mymark every ball, I was saying to myself, ‘This lastball was great. The next ball will be great too’. Irepeated that six times,” Shami added.

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Liverpool’s Premier Leaguetitle defence was rocked on

Sunday when the club con-firmed key defender Virgil vanDijk has suffered knee ligamentdamage amid reports theDutchman could miss the restof the season.

Van Dijk, who will requiresurgery, hobbled off after ashocking challenge fromEverton goalkeeper JordanPickford in a 2-2 draw in theMerseyside derby on Saturday.

“The centre-back dam-aged knee ligaments followingan incident involving Bluesgoalkeeper Jordan Pickfordafter six minutes at GoodisonPark,” Liverpool said in a state-ment. “Van Dijk was requiredto be substituted and furtherassessment on the injury hasrevealed an operation will beneeded. “No specific timescaleis being placed upon his returnto action at this stage.”

It will at the very least bemonths before Liverpool’s tal-ismanic presence at the backreturns, leaving Jurgen Klopp

with a major problem to solveto keep the Reds’ season ontrack.

Van Dijk struck an upbeatnote in a statement released onsocial media, saying: “I’m nowfully focused on my recoveryand will do everything I can tobe back as quickly as possible.

“Despite the obvious disap-pointment, I’m a firm believerthat within difficulty liesopportunity,” he continued,adding: “I’m going to makesure I return better, fitter andstronger than ever before.”

Van Dijk has been pivotalto Liverpool’s resurgence sincemaking a then world record£75 million move for a defend-er from Southampton inJanuary 2018.

The 29-year-old has start-ed the last 94 league games tobring a defensive solidity thatwas lacking during Klopp’sfirst two years at Anfield.

Since then Liverpool wonthe Champions League in 2019and ended a 30-year wait towin the Premier League earli-er this year.

With the summer transferwindow only just closed, Kloppwill have to wait until Januaryto bolster his now threadbareoptions at centre-back.

Joel Matip and Joe Gomezhave consistently struggledwith injuries themselves.Midfielder Fabinho could bedrafted into defence.

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Aston Villa claimeda fourth straight

win to open thePremier League seasonas Ross Barkley scoredin stoppage time tosecure a 1-0 victoryover Leicester.

Having scoredseven goals against Liverpool before the inter-national break, Villa just needed one to main-tain its 100% start and move a point behindfirst-place Everton with a game in hand.

Barkley collected a pass from JohnMcGinn, drove forward and sent in a shot from25 yards that found the bottom corner in thefirst minute of added-on time at the King PowerStadium.

The England midfielder has scored in bothof his games since joining on loan from Chelsea.

“It was touch and go whether he startedtoday,” Villa manager Dean Smith said.

“He had a knock to the knee but (it was)a great goal and a real battling performance bythe whole team.”

Villa last won its first four games of a top-flight campaign 90 years ago.

It was a game of few clear-cut chances, withfourth-place Leicester lacking a cutting edgewithout injured striker Jamie Vardy.

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Uncapped batsman AbdullahShafiq earned a maiden call-up

on Monday but senior playersSarfaraz Ahmed, Shoaib Malik andMohammad Amir were left outfrom Pakistan's 22-man probableslist for the ODI and T20 seriesagainst Zimbabwe next month.

Shafiq, 20, was rewarded for hisstrong showing for Central Punjabin the recently-concluded NationalT20 Cup.

The top order batsman fromSialkot finished as the seventh mostsuccessful batsman in the NationalT20 Cup with 358 runs with astrike-rate of over 133.

He scored a century on his T20debut, becoming only the secondplayer in history to make a centu-ry on both first-class and T20debuts.

Shafiq was included in place ofMalik, while Rohail Nazir wasnamed as Mohammad Rizwan'sback-up wicketkeeper.

Sarfaraz, who was overlookedfor almost entire England tourdespite being part of the squad, hasbeen encouraged to feature in thefirst-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy,

starting October 25, to rediscoverbetter form ahead of the NewZealand tour.

Pace duo of Hasan Ali andNaseem Shah were not consideredfor selection as they are recoveringfrom injuries.

"A few leading performers mayfeel disappointed that they havebeen unable to break into thesquad. But, I want to reassure themthat they will remain in considera-tion for the New Zealand tour andearly next year's home series,"Misbah said.

"Seniors like Shoaib Malik andSarfaraz Ahmed have not beenpicked for this series, but I want tocategorically state that their careersare not over by any means as per-formance remains the only criteri-on for selection.

"We have followed the samephilosophy while leaving outMohammad Amir and UsmanShinwari so that bowlers likeMohammad Hasnain, Musa Khanand Haris Rauf can get an extend-ed run." The 50-over matches willbe played at the Pindi cricket stadi-um on October 30, November 1 and3, followed by three T20Is at theGaddafi stadium on November 7, 8and 10.

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MATCHES 25KINGS XI PUNJAB 14DELHI CAPITALS 11

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Chennai SuperKings’ match

against RajasthanRoyals on Mondaymarked the 200thappearance ofMahendra Singh Dhoniin IPL but, as is his wont,the skipper playeddown the milestoneand said he was obliv-ious to it.

“You spoke about it andthat’s how I got to know,”

CSK skipper Dhoni toldpresenter DannyMorrison at the toss.

The two-time WorldCup winning captainadded, “It feels good butat the same time it’s justa number. I feel fortu-

nate to play for such along time without manyinjuries.”

Dhoni has been the cap-tain of CSK since the inception

of IPL in 2008. When thefranchise was suspended for

two years, the veteran repre-

sented Rising Pune Supergiant.Earlier this month, he over-

took Suresh Raina (194 games)to become the player with mostappearances.

In 199 games, the formerIndia captain amassed 4,596runs, which includes 23 fifties,with a highest score of 84 notout. His strike-rate reads 137.67.

With 215 maximums,Dhoni also ranks third in thelist of big-hitters in the tourna-ment after Chris Gayle (333sixes) and AB de Villiers (231sixes).

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Mumbai Indians all-rounder Kieron Pollard

feels that pace spearheadJasprit Bumrah has taken overthe mantle from Sri LankanLasith Malinga to become thelynchpin of the four-time IPLchampions’ bowling attack.

After picking up the cru-cial wickets of KL Rahul,Mayank Agarwal andNicholas Pooran in the stipu-lated 20 overs, Bumrah (3/24)bowled an excellent SuperOver against Kings XI Punjab,conceding just five runs.

However, it was not

enough as Mohammad Shamibowled an equally impressiveover to lead the match to a sec-ond Super Over in which

KXIP snatched a win.“He’s a world-class crick-

eter. He has been number onein a couple of formats for along period of time. He haslearned and has grown leapsand bounds for us at MumbaiIndians...We have comfort inhim,” Pollard said at the post-match press conference.

“A couple of years ago, wehad a fit and fair LasithMalinga and he (Bumrah)has taken over that mantlenow,” he added.

Malinga, the highest wick-et-taker in the IPL, opted outthis year citing personal rea-sons.

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Disciplined Royals restrict CSK to 125/5

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