· 2019-05-19 · arch-rivals BSP and SP joining hands to pose a formidable challenge to the BJP...

12
A bki baar 300 paar”, was Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s war cry during his whirlwind campaigning across the country. On Sunday, as many as six exit polls forecast the same. Suggesting a “Modi wave” bigger than that of 2014, the pollsters gave a maximum of up to 365 seats to the BJP- led NDA and predicted it would bulldoze the Congress even in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh — where the Opposition party recently won the Assembly polls — to storm back to power at the Centre. As for the UPA, the poll- sters forecast a bleak prospect giving the entire alliance as less as just 60 seats and pegging its highest tally at 162. The Congress-led alliance seem- ingly has gained in Punjab, Kerala and Tamil Nadu but if the exit polls hold true, the Congress, which was at its lowest tally of 44 seats in 2014, may not touch the three-figure mark this time too. Only two pollsters said the BJP-led NDA would fall short of the majority mark of 272 seats in the Lok Sabha. In the politically crucial Uttar Pradesh with 80 Lok Sabha seats, the pollsters have come up with a mixed bag of results indicating the com- plexities involved at the ground level. If India Today-Axis gave the BJP-led NDA a maximum of 68 seats and News 24- Today’s Chanakya said its tally could even cross the 70-seats mark, then ABP-Nielsen gave the NDA as less as 22 Lok Sabha seats and the SP-BSP- RLD alliance a high of 56 seats, something which should cheer up the Opposition camp. In battleground West Bengal, the BJP is said to be headed towards making major gains at the expense of the Trinamool Congress with India Today-Axis forecasting as high as 23 seats for the saffron party. However, News18-IPSOS gave the BJP only a marginal gain pegging just 3-5 seats to it and forecasted a sweep by the TMC. The BJP has given it all in Bengal, which is one of the States besides the North-East where it intends to offset prob- able losses in UP or elsewhere. The results in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal would be most keenly awaited. It was riding on its stupendous performance of bagging 71 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in UP that the BJP under Modi came to power in 2014. But with arch-rivals BSP and SP joining hands to pose a formidable challenge to the BJP, any major dent in its tally in the Hindi heartland would severely impact its chances of returning to power. NDA winning more than half of the 80 seats in UP would go on to confirm that mutual transfer of Yadav and Jatav votes of SP and BSP did- n’t materialise in entirety. The surge of NDA in 2019 general elections is linked mostly to BJP doing exceed- ingly well in States like Maharashtra, Haryana, Bihar, Karnataka besides Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh — the three Congress-ruled States. While the BJP was in close contest with the Congress in Rajasthan and MP, it was wiped out in Chhattisgarh. But the pollsters have given BJP the edge in the Naxal-affected State now. Even in Karnataka, where Congress is again ruling (in an alliance with JD-S), the poll- sters suggest the NDA could even bag all the 28 seats. In Maharashtra, where the BJP-Shiv Sena is predicted to be sweeping the polls, Prakash Ambedkar’s ‘Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi’ , a Dalit-Muslim for- mation, which contested about 37 seats, may have severely dented Congress-NCP chances in most of the 48 seats. The BJP-SS combine could win 38- 42 seats, leaving just 6 to 10 for Congress-NCP. In Haryana, some of the exit polls have forecast defeat of former Chief Minister Bhupender Singh Hooda with his son and sitting MP Depender Singh Hooda fight- ing hard to save his Rohtak seat. The BJP seems to have gained by consolidating its non-Jat votes in the State. As per exit polls it is the Hindi-heartland which has backed Prime Minister Narendra Modi who seemed riding a “pro-incumbency wave” even after much debat- ed rising figures of unemploy- ment and agrarian crisis in many States. Assam in the North-East is giving the BJP 7 out of 10 seats while Gujarat is said to have voted for Modi to the hilt as exit polls leave only one or two of the 26 seats for the Congress. Elections to 542 seats of the Lok Sabha ended on Sunday. The Election Commission has deferred election for Vellore in Tamil Nadu over allegations of misuse of money power. E ven as exit poll surveys have predicted a return of the Modi-led NDA Government, BSP chief Mayawati is likely to meet Congress president Rahul Gandhi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Monday fol- lowing efforts by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu to ensure an Opposition alliance dispensation at the Centre. Naidu on Sunday held a second round of talks with top Opposition leaders, includ- ing Rahul, Sonia and NCP chief Sharad Pawar. Mayawati’s meeting with the Congress leadership is seen as a significant outreach and breaking of ice after the BSP chief carried out an acrimo- nious campaign that was unsparing of the Congress and even kept it out of the Mahagathbandhan in UP. Sources said Mayawati, who nurtures prime minister- ial ambitions and has made no bones about the fact, is said to have agreed to meet the Congress leadership to ensure that an Opposition alliance must come to power anyhow. At the same time, she knows her PM ambitions can’t be ful- filled without the Congress’ help, sources added. Naidu is the ‘chief facilitator’ of the Mayawati-Sonia meeting. Mayawati recently said all the votes of the alliance would go to the Congress in Amethi and Raebareli, the constituen- cies of Rahul and Sonia. Mayawati’s meeting with the Congress is part of the series of meetings among Opposition parties lined up ahead of the Lok Sabha results on Thursday. The last time Mayawati had exchanged greetings with the Congress leadership was during the oath ceremony of JD(S)-Congress coalition Government led by HD Kumaraswamy in Karnataka. But thereafter the Congress and the BSP failed to agree on seat-sharing for the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections leading Mayawati to vent her anger on the grand old party which formed the Government. Mayawati then joined hands with her rival Samajwadi Party but kept out the Congress. T he BJP, which won all seven seats in the Lok Sabha election in national Capital five years ago, may lose one seat, though majority of the exit polls have projected that the ruling party at the Centre will again make a clean sweep in Delhi. The Congress could get one seat while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is projected to draw blank. After many futile rounds of talks for a pre-poll tie-up, which could have improved the prospects of the alliance, the Congress and the AAP went to polls on its own. The bone of contention was AAP’s insistence for tie-up in Haryana and Punjab also, but the Congress didn’t rise to Kejriwal’s bait, fearing loss of ground to the AAP in the two States. It led to the triangular fight among the BJP, the AAP, and the Congress in Delhi. The Congress has been hesitant over forming an alliance with the AAP in Delhi after its internal survey found that Congress’ chances of win- ning seats in Delhi would be grim if it joins hands with the AAP. The finding could be dependent on the fact that both parties have the same voter base in Delhi. T he long-drawn 2019 Lok Sabha polls concluded on Sunday with the seventh and last phase witnessing a 63.52 per cent voter turnout amid incidents of violence reported from West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab, where a Congress activist was killed. Bengal, despite bombs being hurled and clashes between TMC and BJP work- ers, recorded the highest voter turnout (73.51 per cent). Bihar recorded the lowest (53.36 per cent) turnout. The last phase, which will decide the fate of 918 candi- dates, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saw EVM glitches and poll boycott at some booths. According to the Election Commission (EC), Himachal Pradesh recorded 70.23 per cent turnout, Madhya Pradesh 73. 86 per cent, Punjab 63.67 per cent, Uttar Pradesh 58 per cent, Jharkhand 71.16 cent and Chandigarh 63.57 per cent. In Bengal, rival groups threw crude bombs in Bhatpara. The tense situation was brought under control when police used batons. Violence was reported in all the seven phases in Bengal. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused BJP workers and Central forces of “intimidating voters” during the seventh phase poll saying she has never seen “such a thing before.” Meanwhile, in Basirhat the BJP alleged that 100 voters were barred from casting their votes and a BJP camp was set to fire in Barasat. BJP’s North Kolkata can- didate Rahul Sinha said a crude bomb was hurled near Girish Park in the constituen- cy around noon. Police, how- ever, said crackers were burst in the area, and polling under- went peacefully. In Kolkata South, TMC candidate Mala Roy alleged she was stopped from entering polling booths. Sporadic clashes were reported in Kolkata and its sur- rounding areas. BJP candidate Nilanjan Roy in Diamond Harbour constituency alleged his car was vandalised in Budge Budge area. Similar reports came in from Jadavpur constituency, where BJP can- didate Anupam Hazra’s car came under attack by uniden- tified men. EVM malfunctioning was reported from across Punjab and Bihar. Violent clashes between workers of various parties in Punjab, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh were report- ed. In the Nalanda seat, a mob ransacked a polling booth and held an official hostage for an hour as they boycotted the polls. Clashes were also reported from Sasaram, Karakat, Arrah and Jehanabad. Congress and Akali-BJP workers clashed in Talwandi Sabo in Bathinda and Gurdaspur. At Talwandi Sabo, Akalis alleged that shots were fired by ruling party workers. According to reports, one Congress worker was killed in a poll-related violence in Khadoor Sahib seat in Punjab. In UP, the turnout in Modi’s constituency Varanasi was 57 per cent, while in Gorakhpur, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s turf, it was 56.47 per cent. Violence erupt- ed in Chandauli Lok Sabha constituency, where State BJP chief Mahendra Nath Pandey is seeking re-election. M any of Odisha’s districts have turned into a blast furnace as temperature at 11 stations crossed the 40-degree Celsius mark on Sunday. The maximum day temperature was recorded over 40 degrees in several districts, especially western region. Titilagarh continued to top the maximum temperature chart with the highest day temperature of 44.5 degree. The other stations tem- peratures are Chandbali 39.2 degree, Cuttack 39.4 degree, Bhubaneswar 39.7 degree, Angul 42.1 degree, Jharsuguda 43. degree, Sambalpur 44.4 degree, Sundargarh 41.5 degree, Hirakud 43.3 degree, Talcher 42.1 degree, Bhawanipatna 43 degree, Balangir 44 degree, Phulbani 41.8 degree, Malkangiri 42 degree, and Sonepur 44 degree. There seems to be no respite in sight for the next cou- ple of days as the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Office issued a ‘yellow warning’ for Balangir, Subarnapur, Nabarangpur, Nuapada, Bargarh, Sambalpur, Deogarh and Jharsuguda districts. People were advised to stay indoors. The maximum day tem- perature is likely to be above normal by 2 to3 degree Celsius in the remaining districts dur- ing the next three to four days, the SRC said. A s scheduled by the Election Commission of India (ECI), re-polling was held in 34 booths under different Assembly segments across the State on Sunday. The elections in these booths had earlier been can- celled during the third and fourth phases of polls held on April 23 and April 29, respectively, due to various reasons, including violence. Re-polling was held in nine booths under the Jajpur Lok Sabha constituency which includes five booths in Bari Assembly constituency, two in Binjharpur and one each in Sukinda and Dharmasala Assembly segments. In Cuttack, fresh polling was conducted at four booths in Athagarh, one in Badamba and four in Mahanga Assembly constituency. Re-polling was held at one booth in Salepur Assembly constituency under the Kendrapara LS seat. Besides, re-polling was held at four booths in Baripada and one in Bangiriposi Assembly constituency. Three booths in Puri, two each in Baleswar and Dhenkanal, one each in Bhubaneswar, Keonjhar and Jagatsinghpur LS seats also went to re-polling Meanwhile, the Election Commission has made elabo- rate administrative and security arrangements for counting of votes to be held on May 23. As many as 172 platoons of Special Armed Police and 69 companies of Central Armed Police will be deployed at counting centres across the State, informed DGP Dr RP Sharma after a high-level review meeting held on Saturday. Alls SPs have been asked to set up control rooms with nec- essary VHF sets and other communication facilities near the counting centres, he said. “Already 69 companies of central paramilitary forces have been deployed in several dis- tricts for the security of the strong rooms where EVM and VVPAT machines have been kept. Additional 12 companies are expected to reach the State shortly,” said a senior police official. SPs have also been asked to ensure proper barricading, installation of CCTV cameras both inside and outside count- ing centres, robust patrolling system and extra security mea- sures for victory processions, the official added.

Transcript of  · 2019-05-19 · arch-rivals BSP and SP joining hands to pose a formidable challenge to the BJP...

Page 1:  · 2019-05-19 · arch-rivals BSP and SP joining hands to pose a formidable challenge to the BJP ... have turned into a blast furnace as temperature at 11 stations …

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

Abki baar 300 paar”, wasPrime Minister Narendra

Modi’s war cry during hiswhirlwind campaigning acrossthe country. On Sunday, asmany as six exit polls forecastthe same. Suggesting a “Modiwave” bigger than that of 2014,the pollsters gave a maximumof up to 365 seats to the BJP-led NDA and predicted itwould bulldoze the Congresseven in Rajasthan, MadhyaPradesh and Chhattisgarh —where the Opposition partyrecently won the Assemblypolls — to storm back to powerat the Centre.

As for the UPA, the poll-sters forecast a bleak prospectgiving the entire alliance as lessas just 60 seats and pegging itshighest tally at 162. The

Congress-led alliance seem-ingly has gained in Punjab,Kerala and Tamil Nadu but ifthe exit polls hold true, theCongress, which was at itslowest tally of 44 seats in 2014,may not touch the three-figuremark this time too.

Only two pollsters said theBJP-led NDA would fall shortof the majority mark of 272seats in the Lok Sabha.

In the politically crucialUttar Pradesh with 80 LokSabha seats, the pollsters havecome up with a mixed bag ofresults indicating the com-plexities involved at the groundlevel. If India Today-Axis gavethe BJP-led NDA a maximumof 68 seats and News 24-Today’s Chanakya said its tallycould even cross the 70-seatsmark, then ABP-Nielsen gavethe NDA as less as 22 LokSabha seats and the SP-BSP-

RLD alliance a high of 56seats, something which shouldcheer up the Opposition camp.

In battleground WestBengal, the BJP is said to beheaded towards making majorgains at the expense of theTrinamool Congress with IndiaToday-Axis forecasting as highas 23 seats for the saffronparty. However, News18-IPSOSgave the BJP only a marginalgain pegging just 3-5 seats to itand forecasted a sweep by theTMC. The BJP has given it allin Bengal, which is one of theStates besides the North-Eastwhere it intends to offset prob-able losses in UP or elsewhere.

The results in UttarPradesh and West Bengalwould be most keenly awaited.It was riding on its stupendousperformance of bagging 71 ofthe 80 Lok Sabha seats in UPthat the BJP under Modi came

to power in 2014. But witharch-rivals BSP and SP joininghands to pose a formidablechallenge to the BJP, any majordent in its tally in the Hindiheartland would severely

impact its chances of returningto power. NDA winning morethan half of the 80 seats in UPwould go on to confirm thatmutual transfer of Yadav andJatav votes of SP and BSP did-

n’t materialise in entirety.The surge of NDA in 2019

general elections is linkedmostly to BJP doing exceed-ingly well in States likeMaharashtra, Haryana, Bihar,

Karnataka besides Rajasthan,Madhya Pradesh andChhattisgarh — the threeCongress-ruled States. Whilethe BJP was in close contestwith the Congress in Rajasthanand MP, it was wiped out inChhattisgarh. But the pollstershave given BJP the edge in theNaxal-affected State now.

Even in Karnataka, whereCongress is again ruling (in analliance with JD-S), the poll-sters suggest the NDA couldeven bag all the 28 seats.

In Maharashtra, where theBJP-Shiv Sena is predicted to besweeping the polls, PrakashAmbedkar’s ‘Vanchit BahujanAghadi’ , a Dalit-Muslim for-mation, which contested about37 seats, may have severelydented Congress-NCP chancesin most of the 48 seats. TheBJP-SS combine could win 38-42 seats, leaving just 6 to 10 forCongress-NCP.

In Haryana, some of theexit polls have forecast defeat of

former Chief MinisterBhupender Singh Hooda withhis son and sitting MPDepender Singh Hooda fight-ing hard to save his Rohtakseat. The BJP seems to havegained by consolidating itsnon-Jat votes in the State.

As per exit polls it is theHindi-heartland which hasbacked Prime MinisterNarendra Modi who seemedriding a “pro-incumbencywave” even after much debat-ed rising figures of unemploy-ment and agrarian crisis inmany States.

Assam in the North-East isgiving the BJP 7 out of 10 seatswhile Gujarat is said to havevoted for Modi to the hilt asexit polls leave only one or twoof the 26 seats for the Congress.

Elections to 542 seats of theLok Sabha ended on Sunday.The Election Commission hasdeferred election for Vellore inTamil Nadu over allegations ofmisuse of money power.

����� ��������

Even as exit poll surveyshave predicted a return of

the Modi-led NDAGovernment, BSP chiefMayawati is likely to meetCongress president RahulGandhi and UPA chairpersonSonia Gandhi on Monday fol-lowing efforts by AndhraPradesh Chief Minister andTDP leader N ChandrababuNaidu to ensure an Oppositionalliance dispensation at theCentre. Naidu on Sunday helda second round of talks withtop Opposition leaders, includ-ing Rahul, Sonia and NCPchief Sharad Pawar.

Mayawati’s meeting withthe Congress leadership is seenas a significant outreach andbreaking of ice after the BSPchief carried out an acrimo-nious campaign that was

unsparing of the Congress andeven kept it out of theMahagathbandhan in UP.

Sources said Mayawati,who nurtures prime minister-ial ambitions and has made no

bones about the fact, is said tohave agreed to meet theCongress leadership to ensurethat an Opposition alliancemust come to power anyhow.At the same time, she knowsher PM ambitions can’t be ful-filled without the Congress’help, sources added. Naidu isthe ‘chief facilitator’ of theMayawati-Sonia meeting.

Mayawati recently said allthe votes of the alliance wouldgo to the Congress in Amethiand Raebareli, the constituen-cies of Rahul and Sonia.

Mayawati’s meeting withthe Congress is part of theseries of meetings amongOpposition parties lined up

ahead of the Lok Sabha resultson Thursday.

The last time Mayawatihad exchanged greetings withthe Congress leadership wasduring the oath ceremony ofJD(S)-Congress coalitionGovernment led by HDKumaraswamy in Karnataka.

But thereafter the Congressand the BSP failed to agree onseat-sharing for the MadhyaPradesh Assembly electionsleading Mayawati to vent heranger on the grand old partywhich formed theGovernment. Mayawati thenjoined hands with her rivalSamajwadi Party but kept outthe Congress.

�������

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

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

������������������������������������������������������������������������� ���� �������������������������(()�(�*������� ���+���������)�)*����+��,-,��������������������������((���������������+.��������������./�����./������ �0��%1 2� ����(/���������������� ���������������(.����������������������������������(�����������������(.��������������/��!"#��$�%���&�'���������������������.+ ��������������.+�������������. �3�������������������������������������.� ��������������. �������������/+�����4������& ����������������������./.����������������.�������������(�

��� ���� �������� ������� �������������������������������������������������������������������������� ���� ����������������������*����������������.�����������������������(�����������������������������*+����������������. .���!"#��$�%���&�'����������������(+����������������.����������������������/��3�������������������������������..����������������.����������������������*�������5�!����������������������������*����������������. �(

���� �����

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

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

0 '('�'��'���1��

&�������������&��#�'����&!"�*� ��!1!�/!##�'))�("#!�&�!���'�$����*���)��!�$�2334"#����'������!����/�-�'���5334"#�����'�������&�������$�&��*!���'##!���

�� � ��������������

�������������������������������������������������� �����������������������!"#��$�%���&�'���������������������������������.)�3�������������������������������������������������./�������������� ���� ��������������������)�.(������������)�..���������������������������������������������������������������.+�������������� ������������������������������/����������������.�

��66������� ��������

The BJP, which won allseven seats in the Lok

Sabha election in nationalCapital five years ago, may loseone seat, though majority ofthe exit polls have projectedthat the ruling party at theCentre will again make a cleansweep in Delhi. The Congresscould get one seat while theAam Aadmi Party (AAP) isprojected to draw blank.

After many futile roundsof talks for a pre-poll tie-up,which could have improvedthe prospects of the alliance,the Congress and the AAPwent to polls on its own. The

bone of contention was AAP’sinsistence for tie-up inHaryana and Punjab also, butthe Congress didn’t rise toKejriwal’s bait, fearing loss ofground to the AAP in the twoStates. It led to the triangularfight among the BJP, the AAP,and the Congress in Delhi.

The Congress has beenhesitant over forming analliance with the AAP in Delhiafter its internal survey foundthat Congress’ chances of win-ning seats in Delhi would begrim if it joins hands with theAAP. The finding could bedependent on the fact thatboth parties have the samevoter base in Delhi.

��������������%������!&� "��'������������ ���(

)������*�!�!���� �����"�������%����������

����� ��������67-�7���

The long-drawn 2019 LokSabha polls concluded on

Sunday with the seventh andlast phase witnessing a 63.52per cent voter turnout amidincidents of violence reportedfrom West Bengal, Bihar, UttarPradesh, Madhya Pradesh andPunjab, where a Congressactivist was killed.

Bengal, despite bombsbeing hurled and clashesbetween TMC and BJP work-ers, recorded the highest voterturnout (73.51 per cent). Biharrecorded the lowest (53.36 percent) turnout.

The last phase, which willdecide the fate of 918 candi-dates, including PrimeMinister Narendra Modi, sawEVM glitches and poll boycottat some booths.

According to the ElectionCommission (EC), HimachalPradesh recorded 70.23 percent turnout, Madhya Pradesh73. 86 per cent, Punjab 63.67per cent, Uttar Pradesh 58 percent, Jharkhand 71.16 cent and

Chandigarh 63.57 per cent.In Bengal, rival groups

threw crude bombs inBhatpara. The tense situationwas brought under controlwhen police used batons.Violence was reported in all theseven phases in Bengal.

West Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjeeaccused BJP workers andCentral forces of “intimidatingvoters” during the seventhphase poll saying she has neverseen “such a thing before.”Meanwhile, in Basirhat theBJP alleged that 100 voterswere barred from casting theirvotes and a BJP camp was setto fire in Barasat.

BJP’s North Kolkata can-didate Rahul Sinha said acrude bomb was hurled nearGirish Park in the constituen-cy around noon. Police, how-ever, said crackers were burstin the area, and polling under-went peacefully. In KolkataSouth, TMC candidate MalaRoy alleged she was stoppedfrom entering polling booths.

Sporadic clashes werereported in Kolkata and its sur-rounding areas. BJP candidateNilanjan Roy in DiamondHarbour constituency allegedhis car was vandalised inBudge Budge area. Similar

reports came in from Jadavpurconstituency, where BJP can-didate Anupam Hazra’s carcame under attack by uniden-tified men.

EVM malfunctioning wasreported from across Punjaband Bihar. Violent clashesbetween workers of variousparties in Punjab, Bihar andMadhya Pradesh were report-ed. In the Nalanda seat, a mobransacked a polling booth andheld an official hostage for anhour as they boycotted thepolls. Clashes were alsoreported from Sasaram,Karakat, Arrah and Jehanabad.

Congress and Akali-BJPworkers clashed in TalwandiSabo in Bathinda andGurdaspur. At Talwandi Sabo,Akalis alleged that shots werefired by ruling party workers.According to reports, oneCongress worker was killed ina poll-related violence inKhadoor Sahib seat in Punjab.

In UP, the turnout inModi’s constituency Varanasiwas 57 per cent, while inGorakhpur, Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath’s turf, it was56.47 per cent. Violence erupt-ed in Chandauli Lok Sabhaconstituency, where State BJPchief Mahendra Nath Pandeyis seeking re-election.

� !��"�##��������(�'��� ')�"�##�%�.��&'7�����������'���&'�%��!�)��8999-�(�����*��&�� !��"�##��&'7��$����/���$�0+!)�4����!�����+��:'!'&�'!��

�7��;��!�$#��� !��"�##�)'���,��/���$<�!(������/!�)&��**�&��+-�#�$������*���)!'#(��!'�=�/'!���������!*��&�/��#��!����!##��"!��!�$����!��' !������&��>2��

0 �('���,��##'&

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

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

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

����� 3�83���,���

Many of Odisha’s districtshave turned into a blast

furnace as temperature at 11stations crossed the 40-degreeCelsius mark on Sunday.

The maximum day temperature was recorded over40 degrees in several districts,especially western region.

Titilagarh continued to topthe maximum temperaturechart with the highest daytemperature of 44.5 degree.

The other stations tem-peratures are Chandbali 39.2degree, Cuttack 39.4 degree,Bhubaneswar 39.7 degree,Angul 42.1 degree, Jharsuguda

43. degree, Sambalpur 44.4degree, Sundargarh 41.5degree, Hirakud 43.3 degree,Talcher 42.1 degree,Bhawanipatna 43 degree,Balangir 44 degree, Phulbani41.8 degree, Malkangiri 42degree, and Sonepur 44 degree.

There seems to be norespite in sight for the next cou-ple of days as the Special ReliefCommissioner (SRC) Officeissued a ‘yellow warning’ forBalangir, Subarnapur,Nabarangpur, Nuapada,Bargarh, Sambalpur, Deogarhand Jharsuguda districts.People were advised to stayindoors.

The maximum day tem-perature is likely to be abovenormal by 2 to3 degree Celsiusin the remaining districts dur-ing the next three to four days,the SRC said.

����� 3�83���,���

As scheduled by the ElectionCommission of India

(ECI), re-polling was held in 34booths under differentAssembly segments across theState on Sunday.

The elections in thesebooths had earlier been can-celled during the third andfourth phases of polls held onApril 23 and April 29, respectively, due to variousreasons, including violence.

Re-polling was held in ninebooths under the Jajpur LokSabha constituency whichincludes five booths in BariAssembly constituency, two inBinjharpur and one each inSukinda and Dharmasala

Assembly segments.In Cuttack, fresh polling

was conducted at four boothsin Athagarh, one in Badambaand four in Mahanga Assemblyconstituency.

Re-polling was held at onebooth in Salepur Assemblyconstituency under theKendrapara LS seat.

Besides, re-polling washeld at four booths in Baripadaand one in BangiriposiAssembly constituency.

Three booths in Puri, twoeach in Baleswar andDhenkanal, one each inBhubaneswar, Keonjhar andJagatsinghpur LS seats alsowent to re-polling

Meanwhile, the ElectionCommission has made elabo-rate administrative and securityarrangements for counting ofvotes to be held on May 23.

As many as 172 platoons ofSpecial Armed Police and 69companies of Central ArmedPolice will be deployed at

counting centres across theState, informed DGP Dr RPSharma after a high-levelreview meeting held onSaturday.

Alls SPs have been asked toset up control rooms with nec-essary VHF sets and othercommunication facilities nearthe counting centres, he said.

“Already 69 companies ofcentral paramilitary forces havebeen deployed in several dis-tricts for the security of thestrong rooms where EVM andVVPAT machines have beenkept. Additional 12 companiesare expected to reach the Stateshortly,” said a senior policeofficial.

SPs have also been asked toensure proper barricading,installation of CCTV camerasboth inside and outside count-ing centres, robust patrollingsystem and extra security mea-sures for victory processions,the official added.

��$������#���� �����%�"���������������91&���$"'�&���!� $��5�'�$�"&�9�5�:�&��;��<�

!� ��� ������������ �������� ��������������'��!�&��5�'���&5���� ��;�,�%

=�1�� ��������' 5 $�#��2>$��6� ���!����'&����'������(

������������� ���

�)��*+��

��8���?��-8�,��3-��-�,������@��%�,��%�,�,

����,�--7-����A�%-�?��,�����%�A�������8��

��& 9' �>$��6� ���!����'6

B� &��%�&� +�#%��*������ �(.B��'�,"'$1 '9����&' ��5��!!��$ #��

�"#���1���?'�����������8%7�-� 3�-�����3�83���,���

���%�����8� %����<����������8� �A����3����C�A����

���',#!�&���8?@5���������������� �����������

��������.�-� ������ ���>3-�>389A�������8@��2

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

��./.�/������������C8<<����8�

Page 2:  · 2019-05-19 · arch-rivals BSP and SP joining hands to pose a formidable challenge to the BJP ... have turned into a blast furnace as temperature at 11 stations …

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

�������B�.�������6��������������������B��� ����'):C ���&"��&��5�&1��� �1"�"� �� ��%����9��1�'��� ��5�"�1 9�9���1���1��&���'������,"� ����'�9>��1����$� �����D�&7"� '�,�&1�@� ���$����� '��&"��&@�1 �����5'���7��1�'� 9 '>����$����9��� &���$ �����!���$���1��1�������&��!��1������'�5�'���91�"'�>�����$��'� $1���&1��$����9��1��&��� ��5�"��1���1 9�9���&1�'���>��1��!���$���"�!�$&����&�&��#�� �$ ����5��"�$�����:�'�E5 �������:� 55 �'F� ��!�'�&1��!'����� '���:��&�9 &��>

�����������B�-�@3�����������������������������'"'�'C�%"'����&��' �1�91� &�' � �:��� 9����&1��� 1 2 �! � '� �&����&���� �9� &�$'�$����� ���&���99��&1 &���'���!�&&���5'�� �# �#���#"�1���,"� �>��5&�'5���9�&1�����5&���9�$'�$������ ��99�@���$ ����5�'����&1��?�'��&��! '&��&� #�"&��&>���&� ���55�'��&��55�$� ���'��$"���&1��$'�$������ ���*��99�>

��������������BB���������A� ��������������;"���C ������'���� �� ��5�"���� �� &�!� �1����"��'�&1�C��!�'��, � '�!���$������&����7�' !"&����&'�$&���,"� �>���& �# '3�1�'"2�G�+H@� �'�����&��5�C��!�'�@�� �������9�5'���1���1�����$��&1'���� ��� ��1���5 �����1 �����9��� �!���$��$��!� �&���&1��'�9 '�>����� ���"�!�$&���&��1 :��#���2�����>�����:�'@�&1���� $&'� ���#�1����"'��'�� ����&�&��#�� �$�'& ���>�����$��'� $1����!�&��'�$��:�9��5�'� &��� ��#�9 � �!'�#���&��&1���$���&>

�����������B��6�6���� 4�������&�,'���/'�C �1��7����&�'����5� &�'� ���5�'�? �� 55�$&���!��!�����"'�����&'�$&@��$�"��9������ ���&'"$2���5����� 21��'�2�9�� &�'#�&&���� ������ 21�#��$"�&�! $2�&�>�1��� &�'� �����'��1 �����:�'�&��&1����&'�$&� �����&' &����5��"'�>�� D� , #1 ���� ��7�� ��7,,�5�"��'�'��$1"& �, � & �� ��!'���&>

����������� ������ ������������������� ������������������������� !��������"�� ���#�$!%���&�'��(� !)$&% �&!&�*+(� !)$&% �,%%��$-��(������������./-�����-�������������0/��� ���������1�������������))2%)�������$0�3���$4�������#�5��������6�����"�� ���#�$!%�����6�����(����������7�������6�����(��������7�57�/�����8756�9:&��!:&&)!%�057�;7�<0796��7������6��(�������7����������(���=���(��- �20�-�� ������("�/����2�������������(��>�����4����8�����(��� �"�����9�� "�#�� "�������3����/���#4����$�����&������(���$)����)%%���--��������8�����(*$,�������� ��8540�9��-"����/�$&��,���;��������(��&�$)?!@?��2)?!@@������A��#8�����()��*���������������/�������*�B �7������A��#&& �� �'���������(�%&&$&,) )),�&,) )))�&,) ))%�

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

����� 3�83���,���

Ace sprinter from Odisha,Dutee Chand, has come

out with a startling revelationthat she is in a same-sex rela-tionship with a girl reportedlyfrom her hometown Jajpur.

The fastest Indian womanis the first athlete to acknowl-edge her lesbian relationship inmedia.

In an interview, Dutee forthe first time spoke out for therights of the LGBT communi-ty and about her own same-sexrelationship after the SupremeCourt decriminalised Section

377 of the Indian Penal Codelast year.

“I have found someonewho is my soul-mate. I believeeveryone should have the free-dom to be with whoever theydecide they want to be with. Ihave always supported therights of those who want to bein a same-sex relationship. It isan individual person’s choice.Currently, my focus is on theWorld Championships and theOlympic Games, but in futureI would like to settle down withher (friend),” Dutee has said.

“There is no greater emo-tion than love and it should notbe denied. The Supreme Courthas also struck down the oldlaw. I believe nobody has the

right to judge me as an athletebecause of my decision to bewith who I want

. It is a personal decision,

w h i c hshould berespected. Iwill contin-ue to striveto winmedals forIndia ati n t e r n a -t i o n a lmeets,” shewas quotedas saying.

“ Iwanted tobe withs o m e o n ewho will

encourage me to continuebeing a sportsperson. Mujhekisi ka sahara bhi chahiye (Ineed someone who will sup-

port me on the personal front),”she said.

However, Dutee has notrevealed her partner’s name norhas she stated when her mar-riage would take place.

Notably, Dutee had gonethrough severe mental traumaafter she was dropped from the2014 Commonwealth Gamesin India under the InternationalAssociation of AthleticsFederations (IAAF) rules onthe ground of hyperandro-genism.

However, she had movedthe Court of Arbitration forSport in Lausanne against herban notice. Later, the IAAFwithdrew the rules allowing herto return to 100m and 200mevents.

+�������!�����%�����

�"����'!������ �����!������ �����������!

����� ������

The Paradeep PhosphatesLimited (PPL) contributed

�1.25 crore to the ChiefMinister’s Relief Fund forutilisation in relief and restoration works in Fani-affected areas.

PPL Chief OperatingOfficer Ranjit Sing Chughhanded over a cheque of theamount to CM Naveen Patnaikat the State Secretariat inBhubaneswar on Friday. ChiefFinancial Officer Sailesh Pati,General Manager (HR)Jagannath Khuntia and Corporate Affairs head Sudhi Ranjan Mishra were present.

�������������(,-.������

����� 3���,���

Judge of POCSO court ofBaleswar Ajanta Sadangi on

Saturday convicting a rapeaccused sentenced him to 10years’ rigorous imprisonment(RI) and fine of �5,000 and indefault, RI for 3 more months.

The convict , DebabrataMajhi (26) was facing thecharge of raping a minor girl onFebruary 23 ,2016. The 14-year-old victim is a native ofBaripada. When she had goneto answer nature’s call at around

8 pm during her stay in hermaternal uncle’s house atAvana, the accused allegedlyraped her.

On the compliant of thevictim’s mother, the Soropolice after initiating an inves-tigation had arrested accusedMajhi. Special PP , POCSO,Pranab Kumar Panda said, “The court delivered the judg-ment after examining 12 wit-nesses and 28 documents,”adding this is the 8thconvictionby the court since January thisyear.

�����%������������(/���������

����� 3���,���

A15 -year-old girl of Baliapalblock on Saturday sus-

tained critical injuries aftershe was attacked with a razorblade by a youth, when sheobjected his rape attempt.

She is currently undergoing treatment at a hos-pital here in a serious condi-tion. The victim, a resident ofKachuapara village underBaliapal police limits, haddeveloped a relationship withone Muna of Baleswar townover Facebook.

They had been talkingover phone with each other forover six months. After thecouple developed an intimacylater, the boy called up the girlto elope with him on the pre-text of marriage on Saturday

night.When she reached the

location, the youth forced herto have physical relationshipwith him before marriage.When she opposed it, the youthmade several attacks on herwith a sharp weapon injuringhis neck and ear severely.

The accused later fled thespot, leaving her in a pool ofblood on the road at Hasimpurvillage. The girl was rescued bylocals and sent to hospital.Police launched a manhunt tonab the accused.

����� 3������8�

Anewly-married man washacked to death by uniden-

tified miscreants at Aladi vil-lage under the JagannathPrasad police station inGanjam district on Saturday.

The deceased was identi-fied as Dinabandhu Swain.Three masked men intercept-ed Swain when he was on his

way to the village pond to takea bath in the evening andattacked him with sharpweapons. It was suspected thatSwain was brutally murderedby his own relatives over someland dispute.“My brother waschased by three miscreantsand later they hacked him todeath. We do not know muchabout the incident,” said a relative of the deceased.

(.���������������%���������������%�!���0��� ����"��������#�������� �������������

��%���������������������1������'�!�'&�����!"&���"�!�$&���#�1����$���&

����� �8�

Construction of the threechariots Nandighosh of

Lord Jagannath, Taladhwaj ofLord Balabhadra and Debadalaof Devi Subhadra, is now goingon in full swing ahead of thecoming annual Rath Yatra hereon July 4.

The work began soon afterthe power supply in the holytown, which was battered byCyclone Fani on May 3, was

restored partially.Due to unavailability of

electricity, large logs could notbe sliced as per requirement forthe construction of the chari-ots. Now, the temple carpentersand Rupakar servitors havebegun work.

While nine ‘Tumba’ and‘Bindha’ works for theNandighosh Rath have beencompleted, construction of six‘Tumba’ of the Taladhwaja andfive ‘Tumba’ of Debadalana

chariot are almost over.Similarly, ‘Kanaguja’ work ofthe three chariots has begun fromNrusingha Chaturdashi.

Chief carpenters, BijayaKumar Mohapatra andNarasingha Mohapatra aresupervising the works. Bhoi servitors aresupplying logs of different sizesfor the construction of wheelsof all the three chariots.

����� 3�83���,���

Aspecial squad of theCommissionerate police

nabbed a person from Gujaraton Sunday in connection withthe death threat to Rajya Sabhamember AnubhavMohanty.

The accused was identifiedas Kalia Barik, a native of theKhallikote area in Ganjam dis-trict. He is a mason and wasstaying in a rented house at

Jhanjirmangala in Cuttack city,police sources said.

He had allegedly threat-ened the BJD MP onWhatsApp demanding a ran-som of Rs 10 lakh on April 30.He had asked Mohanty for �10lakh and threatened to killhim in case the latter failed topay the amount.

The matter came to thefore after Mohanty registered acomplaint with the Purighatpolice in Cuttack.

��� � 3�83���,���

Damodar Rout is not sureabout his victory in the

elections. The former BJDleader, who joined the BJP onthe eve of the elections, hascontested from the Erasama-Balikuda Assembly con-stituency on the ticket of hisnew party.

When asked, Rout toldmedia on Sunday that he isuncertain about his electoralsuccess. However, he said theBJD would win the Paradipseat, where his son Sambit

Routray is the ruling partycandidate.

Notably, Rout was electedfrom Paradip in the last polls

as the BJD nominee.But interestingly, Rout con-

fidently volunteered to predictthat the State is going to havea “hung Assembly”.

The BJD cannot win up to73 seats while the BJP wouldget a maximum of 60 and theCongress would have 25 to 30seats, he said.

In such a situation, NaveenPatnaik, who “does not haveideological commitments”, islikely to align his BJD with theCongress to form a coalitiongovernment, Routpredicted.

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

�� ��!����""#�$�"�%���#�&

' ��'�$��� ��� �!��$#%�(�) ���*�+�*%*�#,�-�

�"(��� .#")/ ''�$#%�(��0 ��1��#�&�' ��'2�� �'��(

����� 3������8�

The Anchalika Bikash Parishad, MarwadiMahila Samiti, Nature Lovers Odisha,

Boxing Odisha and Mahatma Helping Handsjointly in association with the MKCG MedicalCollege Hospital organised a voluntary blooddonation camp for the sixth time here on Sunday.

The aim of the camp was to encourage theyouths to donate blood during the summer asscarcity of blood is seen in the blood banks inthis season.

As many as 24 donors, including four firsttimers, donated blood in the camp.

Brahmapur DFO Ashish Kumar Beheragracing as chief guest motivated the donors.Among others, Chandan Jani, SibaramPanigrahi, Deepak Patra, Sagar Kumar Patra,Brijesh Majhi, M Venkat Ramna, S Babu, ASuresh, M Adarsh, Sushil Kumar, Sunia Goudaand Srinivas Rajan were present.

While five other camps were held earlier, atotal of 119 units of blood were collected fromall six camps.

$� ������� �����% #� �� �� �������"���� �&�"������� ������'�# � �

������3��<���

More than 10,328 trees havecut for construction of

Biju Expressway from Sohela inBargarh district to Nuapadacovering a distance of 120 km.

As per forest guidelines, theOdisha Forest DevelopmentCorporation (OFDC) shouldundertake plantation twice asmuch of the trees cut in theconstruction of road.

This should be tenfold ofthe trees cut in industrial sec-tor.

But here, the OFDC hasneglected its duties, while plan-tations are shown to have been

undertaken in pen and paper,alleged locals led by environ-mentalist Gopal Sahu.

They demanded a probeinto the plantations scam by theVigilance department. They

also demanded that the OFDCshould rope in local organisa-tions and NGOs in plantationof roads and in industrial sectors, besides their maintenance.

��� � �8�����

With the temperaturecrossing 40 degree

Celsius in Khariar town, com-muters get great succour whenthey trace the drinking waterdistribution point opened infront of the Government Girls’High School at Khariar by theEducation Department.

The Scouts and Guides ofNuapada district is running thepoint with support of theDistrict Education Office,Nuapada, since Wednesdaylast, which was inaugurated byNuapada DEO Laxman Bhoi.

"We had the plan to run thepoint for six days, but it hasbeen extended to ten daysnow," informed the DEO.

The involvement of schoolstudents in the activity makesthe whole endeavour encour-aging. "I am very happy to bea part of the programme. I feel

very happy, while giving a glassof water to a thirsty personapproaching us," said UzmanNishar, a class 10th student.

Her friends Mamata,Lopamudra and Ayusmanequally gleam with joy whenhanding over a glass of Jal jeeraor Dahi Pana to the unknowncommuters. "This should con-tinue till the end of May," theyopined.

"Since there is hardly anyclean and safe drinking watertaps in public places insideKhariar town, this water sup-ply point has turned into a life

saving point for people work-ing or traveling, who otherwisewould fall back upon unhy-gienic water or buy plasticwater bottle from road sideshops being unaware of thewater quality," said DistrictTraining Commissioner(DTC), Guide Sunita Sahu.

She along with AshokBehera, DTC, Scouts, BijayaNaik, DDC, Scouts, MaheshDandasena, Secretary of ScoutsDistrict Executive Committee,and Senior Rover RoshanPanda has been providing fulltime to run the water point.

����� ���%���

The Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) has been inforce in the MCL coalfields areas to maintain peace and has-

sle-free production and dispatch of coal. Also, the aim is to reachfor the production target.

It was observed that strikes conducted by several unionsthrough political hands caused huge losses. All the companieslike NTPC, Nalco, TTPS, JSPL, and other power production unitsin or outside the State are taking coal to produce power for theirown consumption and supplies to electricity companies. But asthe coal mines are frequently affected by agitations, supply of coalis hit. The ESMA remains in force from May 15 and will con-tinue for next six months. In this period mass agitations andstrikes will be strictly prohibited in the mines area of Talcher.

���������������� ������������� �� ��)�"�&��$����$&������

$ �!��

( ������������������ �����)*� %���"&�'��9�&�'����5

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

2������$������+���!�����������

�*�#,��� ���*��$�'��#� "�#%/�) ��� 3#%��'��#�(#"�� �4�##(�(%/�")���

'%** /��'�'��/���3�#,�4�##(��'�' "��"�� �4�##(�4�"5'��"����'�' �'#"

+� ����� ���������������������

Page 3:  · 2019-05-19 · arch-rivals BSP and SP joining hands to pose a formidable challenge to the BJP ... have turned into a blast furnace as temperature at 11 stations …

�������������������� ����� � !�� "#

�����������DD%@>E���BB�����������BB����5������� �B�%'"$� ��#�����$&����&��5�"'������#���$��&�&"�$������� ����� �","� ��'�$�'���� ��:�' ��� >�.�!�'�$�&�&"'�"&���&1��' : 2"'�$1�&�!!�9���&1� ���&&����:�'�+/�!�'�$�&>��1��#�!����@�#�������'��!����9���(�!����9��& &���@���'��1��������&1��>��1�'����'�������'�!�'&��5�����9��&$1����1�$1���'��'����:��������� &���@� $$�'��9�&����$&���%����������55�$� ��>�3����$&������'��1�������' : 2"'�$1�G+/>.+�!�'�$�&H@�,"�"'�G )>/�H@��1�'"! ' 2"�' ��G />� H� �-&& !�� ' ��G .>��H>��� :�' 9��+/>�(�!�'�$�&�!����9�� �'�$�'������&1���(�!����9��& &�����1�'��'�!����1 ��#����'��'���5�''� ���@��$�"��9� ���9����''�9"� '�&���� ��&�$1�$ �����"��@'�!�'&����"'�9�&1�����$&����1�������!'����+>

���� �B������BB����������C�DF%?8E���BB������ :�' 9���5� *>+��!�'�$�&�!����9�� ��'�$�'������&1��#�����$&����&��&���7 ' & 2 ������#���$��&�&"�$���@�%1�$1���� �7"�9��@���,"� �>��1����%1�$1����'�9��&�'��� �:�&�'�&"'�"&��5 �>(�!�'�$�&@�7"�9���+�>((�!�'�$�&>��1���"&$�����5�&1��#�!���������2����&��1 :�� �#� '�9���&1���& #���&���5�&1��C�,�%�9'����$� ��&��<�:�'��&���&1��,& &�>

����������� �B������BBC�DF%>FE �������:�&�'�&"'�"&��5� *>.*�!�'�$�&�� ��'�$�'���� &��!��5�'�&1�� D�������#���#�!����1������,"� �@�<� 0��%1��5����$&�' �-55�$���5�'���>��1��$��&�&"�$��1 ���:�'�..@����:�&�'�@� �!����9�� ��1���� &�(��#��&1�@��&�� ��@� ���9�&1 &�&1�����'$���@�1�$1�#�9 � &� �@�� ��!� $�5"�>��1��#�!����� ���$����& &���"��&��&1���� &1��5�5�'��'�%1��5�����&�'�� �1 '�� ''�2 '��� '$1�� �&1����� '>

������BBC�?9���������������-:�'�+)�!�'�$�&�!����9�� ��'�$�'������&1��'�!����9�����:�!����9��& &������%1 �' 9�'�������#�����9��&�"��'�&1��%1�&&��'��2�, #1 �$��&�&"�$������1' ��' ���1�,"� �@��55�$� ���� ��>&�'��&�9��@��&�� ���>�(�!�'�$�&������&1 �&1��&�& ��:�&���!������"'�9�&1�����$&����1�������!'�����@� $$�'��9�&��&1���55�$���5�&1�,& &��%1��5����$&�' ��-55�$�'>

�&��

B������

���

���

,� ��$������+������������������� % ���� �� ���� � � ���������� � ��� �� �� % �� �� ��- � )���� �� �.������)�� ��� �� ��,� ��+�����������)���� �� �

,� ��/�� ����������� ���� � ������ �

���������������������� ��������% � ����� ��%� ����� "# ��% � ������ ��� ��0���� ,��� ��+������������ � � �, ���#�� ,� ��,����

%0$��� ���% ���$�� �� �,� �� ��#��� � �� �� ����� ����� ������������� ����� � 1��+�����������-���"�� � ��

��������������� 7-�7���

Close on the heels of the exitpolls giving BJP a remark-

able breakthrough in Bengal,State Chief Minister MamataBanerjee rejected its findingssaying “gossip” of exit polls wasbeing done to match a likelyEVM tampering by the BJP.

Even as most Bengali newschannels put BJP’s tally between12 and 23 pulling downTrinamool Congress’ seat to“anywhere between 20 and 25seats” the Chief Minister said “Idon’t trust Exit Poll gossip. Thegame plan is to manipulate orreplace thousands of EVMsthrough this gossip. I appeal toall Opposition parties to beunited, strong and bold. We willfight this battle together.”

She said, “When I saysomething I say with somethought behind it,” adding “no

one is God’s angel to presagethings. In 2016 they had near-ly got us defeated. There is aplan in it. This is a conspiracy.They are trying to feed this tothe market to establish thetruth.”

Secondly she said, “theconspiracy is to dishearten theopposition move so that theycannot activate their alliance.”This “gossip will shoot up theshare market” from tomorrowbecause some business houseshave huge stake in it.”

She reminded how PrimeMinister Narendra Modi had ina meeting said that TMC MLAswere in contact with him andafter May 23 the StateGovernment would fall adding“there is a conspiracy going onagainst democracy and against Opposition parties andagainst Bengal.”

She said that she had spo-

ken to many national leadersand everyone was supportingher view.

“I appeal and advice all theopposition leaders to keep a watch on the strongrooms and the EVM to thwarta foul play.”

One of the popular Bengalichannels gave 24 seats to TMC,16 to the BJP and 2 to theCongress. The Left for the firsttime after Independence draw-ing a blank according to thepost-poll survey seeing its voterpercentage going down toabout 5 per cent from 30 per-cent in 2014.

Another channel put thetoll for TMC to 28, Congress to3 and BJP to 11. A third chan-nel said the BJP would get 19seats, the TMC would get 22seats and the Congress wouldmanage only 1 seat ofBehramopre.

���� ��������

Vice-President M VenkaiahNaidu on Sunday mocked

at the exit polls, saying theywere not exact polls. “Exitpolls do not mean exact polls.We have to understand that.Since 1999, most of the exitpolls have gone wrong,” theVice-President pointed out.

Naidu addressed an infor-mal meeting of well-wishers,who felicitated him in Guntur.

Referring to the ongoinggeneral elections, he said everyparty exuded confidence (overvictory). “Everyone exhibits hisown confidence till the 23rd(day of counting). There will beno base for it. So we have to waitfor 23rd,” he remarked.

“Country and the stateneed an able leader and stableGovernment, whoever it be.That’s what is required. Thatsall,” Naidu observed.

The Vice-President also saidchange in society should startwith political parties. “If democ-racy has to strengthen andsomething good has to happento people elections, selections,candidates, parties all should dis-

charge their duties responsiblyand properly,” he noted.

The Vice President lament-ed that civility has become acasulaty in the present politicaldiscourse. “There is a lot ofdegeneration in the speeches ofpolitical leaders. They areresorting to personal abuses.One is not an enemy to theother in politics, they are onlyrivals... They are forgettingthis basic fact,” he said.

Expressing anguish overthe behaviour of elected repre-sentatives in Parliament andstate legislatures, he said, “Seehow MPs are behaving inParliament and MLAs inAssembly, irrespective of theparties. Panchayat and civicbodies’ members follow them.”The Vice-President also foundfault with political partiesannouncing freebies to winover the electorate.

“The way parties are behav-ing.. You have been given a man-date for five years. You have towork. Without doing that, youannounce freebies at the lastminute. I am always opposed toit. Free power means, no power,”Naidu observed.

���� <-��7��8�

Amid the ongoing voting forthe last phase of Lok Sabha

polls on Sunday, Uttar PradeshChief Minister Yogi Adityanathclaimed that the BJP will formthe next Government at theCentre under Prime MinisterNarendra Modi with a “massivemandate” of “300 plus seats” ofthe BJP and “400 plus” of theNDA allies.

“Polling on 67 Lok Sabhaseats in UP has already been held,and voting was held on 13 seatstoday. I can say with confidencethat on May 23, when the elec-tion results will be declared, theBJP under the leadership ofModiji will accomplish its targetof securing 300-plus seats on itsown, and 400-plus seats on thestrength of its allies,” saidAdityanath after casting his vote.

“In UP, the BJP will be suc-cessful in achieving the targetof 74-plus seats,” said the chiefminister, adding “the festival ofthe democracy should be treat-ed enthusiastically”.

Asked whether the theChief Minister’s remarksamounted to influencing vot-ers or flouting the model codeof conduct after the end of

campaign, UP Chief ElectoralOfficer L Venkateshwarlu toldPTI in Lucknow that theElection Commission will lookinto it of it gets any complaiunton the matter.

“No complaint has yet beenreceived in this connection. Ifwe get any complaint, we willseek a report from the localadministration in this regardand look into it,” he said.

Adityanath was among thefirst voters to exercise his fran-chise here on Sunday. He casthis vote at the PrathmikVidyalaya near JhoolelalTemple in Gorakhpur at 7 am.

Speaking to reporters aftercasting his vote, the chief min-ister said, “People are fightingthis election for the nation’sinterest and if someone cannotunderstand it, his IQ (intelli-gent quotient) is questionable.The entire election revolvedaround Modiji. With bigachievements of his govern-ment during the last five years,the BJP will win the election.”

“This is the first electionwhich hinged on Modiji. Allthrough the seven phases of thepolls, I found it centred aroundPrime Minister Modi,” the CM said.

���� �����

Bihar Chief Minister NitishKumar on Sunday repudi-

ated arch rival Lalu Prasad’sclaim that he had sent poll-strategist-turned politicianPrashant Kishor for rap-prochement owing to uneasewith the BJP.

Kumar also said he waslooking forward to the forma-tion of a new Government byPrime Minister Narendra Modiat the Centre and his JD(U)joining it.

The Chief Minister, how-ever, made it clear that his partywill stick to its stand on issueslike Article 370, Uniform CivilCode and the Ayodhya dispute,which was at variance with thatof the BJP.

The JD(U) chief, who hada low-key presence during thegeneral elections, talked indetail on varied issues, includ-ing condemning BJP Bhopalcandidate Pragya Singh Thakurdescribing Mahatama Gandhi’sassassin Nathuram Godse as“patriot”, and also questionedthe long-drawn polling inintense heat condition.

Terming Thakur’s remarkson Godse as “nindaneeye”(condemnable), he hoped that

the saffron party would con-sider taking action against her.

Replying to queries fromjournalists outside a polling sta-tion near the Raj Bhavan, wherehe cast his vote, Kumar dis-missed the recent statement bysenior Congress leader GhulamNabi Azad, who had hinted atthe possibility of a post-poll tie-up with the JD(U) in the eventof the elections throwing up ahung Parliament.

The CM said though heshared “excellent personal rela-tions” with the veteran leader,the latter’s words did not carrymuch weight within his ownparty. “Hum kyon bhejenge (whywould I send),” replied Kumarcurtly, when asked about thejailed RJD supremo’s contro-versial claim in his recently-pub-lished autobiography that hehad sent Prashant Kishor as hisemissary to discuss theprospects of a realignment, afew months after he returned tothe BJP-led NDA in July, 2017.

“It is a fact that PrashantKishor does keep meeting peo-ple from various political par-ties. He has to as a talentedpolitical strategist. But, he for-mally joined our party only in September last year,”Kumar said.

���� ��������

Social media platforms,including Facebook, Twitter

and WhatsApp, removed atotal of 909 posts during theLok Sabha election, followingdirections from the ElectionCommission (EC).

Facebook alone took down

650 posts, followed by Twitter(220), ShareChat (31), YouTube(five) and WhatsApp (three),Director General (Commu-nications) in the EC DhirendraOjha said on Sunday, after theseventh and final phase ofpolling was concluded.

Of the 650 posts takendown by Facebook, 482 were

political messages posted dur-ing the “silence period”.

The “silence period” starts48 hours before the hour set forconclusion of polling in a par-ticular phase. The seventhphase of polling came to a closeat 6 pm on Sunday, so the“silence period” had begun at6 pm on Friday for this phase.

As many as 73 social mediaposts were political advertise-ments in the “silence period”,two were violative of the ModelCode of Conduct, 43 wererelated to voter “misinforma-tion”, 28 were dubbed as thosecrossing the limits of decency,11 were related to exit polls and 11 were hate speeches,

Ojha said.There were also 647 con-

firmed cases of paid news, ofwhich the maximum of 342were reported in the first phaseitself, he added.

During the 2014 Lok Sabhapolls, 1,297 confirmed cases ofpaid news were reported, Ojha said.

$�'2�� �� �+���� ��% ���2�% #���� �� �2��������������� ��+� ��������0�������� ��+� �� �'����� ���������$��# ��'����

��������������������� ������!������"

3����455�������� ���������������� ���� ��� ��������������������

)����� ������� ��2����������� ��� ������� �� ��� �������� �����������

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

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

Page 4:  · 2019-05-19 · arch-rivals BSP and SP joining hands to pose a formidable challenge to the BJP ... have turned into a blast furnace as temperature at 11 stations …

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

�������� ��� ���������

Political parties have spentover �53 crore on digital

platforms like Google andFacebook since February 19during the ongoing Lok Sabhacampaign till May 17. BJP is thetop spender on Google andFacebook advertisement, fol-lowed by DMK. According toFacebook's Ad Library Report,there were 1.21 lakh politicalads with a total spending ofmore than �26.5 crore betweenFebruary and May 17 this year.Similarly, ad spend on Google,YouTube, and partner proper-

ties since February 19 stood at�27.36 crore with 14,837 ads.The voting for the last and finalphase was completed onSunday. In terms of geogra-phies, according to the report,the maximum money on elec-tion ads has been spent inAndhra Pradesh (�5.23 crore),followed by Tamil Nadu ( �4.43 crore) Telangana ( �2.03crore) and Delhi ( �2.81 crore)for the period.

BJP spent over �17.10 croreon 12,002 advertisements onGoogle plateform and �4.23crore on over 2,500 ads onFacebook. The BJP spent oncampaigning a combination ofvideo, print and digital ads onsupporting pages pages like'My First Vote for Modi', 'BharatKe Mann Ki Baat' and 'Nationwith NaMo' too, 'Main BhiChowkidar', BhrastacharMitane ke liye, Naya Bharat

Banane ke liye, Vishwa meinSamarth dikhane ke liye Deshka maan badane ke liye andAtankwad ko harane ke liyesurakshit rashtra banane keliye and , infused over Rs 4 croreon ads on the social network-ing platform that has well over200 million users in India. OnGoogle's platforms, it has spentmore than �17 crore. TheDMK, which is second inspending on digital plateformwith the expenditure of Rs 4.10crore on 266 advertisements.

The Congress spent �1.46crore on Facebook for 3,686ads. It shelled out another�2.71 crore on Google's plat-forms with 425 ads. while YSRCongress Party of Rs 2.31crore. Meanwhile, Congresshas been highlighting thepromises made by its PM can-didate Rahul Gandhi throughmultiple digital advertisements.

The pro-Congress page "BandeMein Hai Dum" spent Rs 2.59lakh for drumming up supportfor the grand old party onFacebook and the Indian YouthCongress spent �6.52 lakh onthe social media platform.

As per Facebook's data,Trinamool Congress has spent�29.28 lakhs. Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) shelled out �13.62 lakhfor 176 ads on the Facebookpage. Interestingly, Google'spolitical ad dashboard showedthat Auburn Digital Solutionswas running AAP campaignsand had spent �2.18 crorefrom February 19 onwards.

Google enforced its electionads policy for India in February,which requires advertisers toprovide a certificate issued bythe Election Commission (EC), or anyone authorised by it,for each ad they wish to run. Anadvertiser must first be verified

by Google before submittingthis pre-certificate for adver-tisement.

Amid increased politicaladvertising on social mediaplatforms, the ElectionCommission (EC) has givendirections for close tracking ofexpenditure by political partiesand candidates on these plat-forms during elections. In acommunication to chief elec-toral officers of all states andUnion Territories on April 18,EC said "ad transparencyreports" from Google,Facebook, and Twitter, amongothers, should be closely stud-ied. The poll panel has con-veyed to all states that parties'payments for social mediacampaigns should be trackedand assessed. It must also beensured that these reflect cor-rectly in the accounts of partiesand candidates.

����� ���������

Expressing concern that thestate's ruling TMC may tar-

get a section of voters afterpolling is over, the BJP onSunday requested the ElectionCommission to order the pres-ence of central armed policeforces in the State till the ModelCode of Conduct period ends.

BJP leader and UnionMinister Nirmala Sitharamantold reporters that elections insix of the nine seats, which haveundergone elections on Sunday,were marred by violence.

Citing media reports andother feedback, she said BJPcandidates have been attackedand accused TrinamoolCongress (TMC) workers of notletting voters, who are opposedto the Mamata Banerjee-ledparty, enter polling booths.

"The EC should take cog-nisance of it. Since ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee hasbeen openly talking about

revenge, TMC workers havebeen beating up people and weare afraid that they will starttargeting voters after the pollsare over. The central armedpolice forces should be there tillthe end of the Model Code ofConduct," she said.

The MCC will remain inforce till May 27, according tothe EC.The counting of votes isdue on May 23.

Sitharaman was joined bynominated Rajya Sabha MPSwapan Dasgupta who said,"In West Bengal, the violenceunleashed by the TMC as partof its 'badla' strategy won't end."

"Central forces mustremain in the state as long asthe Model Code is in operationtill end-May," he said.

����� ���������

Pre-monsoon rainfall fromMarch to May, a phenom-

enon vital to agriculture in sev-eral parts of the country, hasrecorded a deficiency of 22 percent. The India MeteorologicalDepartment (IMD) recorded75.9 millimetres of rainfallfrom March 1 to May 15 asagainst the normal rainfall of96.8 millimetres, which comesto around minus 22 per cent.From March 1 to April 24, theIMD recorded a deficiency of27 per cent. According to IMDdata, the deficiency has fallenover the last fortnight due torains over east and northeastIndia.

Meanwhile, the southwestmonsoon has advanced intoSouth Andaman Sea and con-ditions are favourable for it toreach the North Andaman Seaand the Andaman Islands inthe next 2-3 days, the IMD said.

Of the four meteorologicaldivisions of the IMD, the southpeninsula, which comprises allthe southern states, has record-ed pre-monsoon deficiency of46 per cent - the highest in thecountry.

This was followed by 36per cent in the northwest sub-

division that covers all thenorth Indian states - it was 38per cent from March 1 to April24, but has dropped by 2 percent due to rainfall across sev-eral parts.

The deficiency in the eastand northeast region that cov-ers eastern states of Jharkhand,Bihar, West Bengal, Odishaand northeastern states wasseven per cent. There was nodeficiency in the central region

which comprises states ofMaharashtra, Goa,Chhattisgarh, Gujarat andMadhya Pradesh.

However, from March 1 toApril 24 the pre-monsoon rain-fall recorded in the centraldivision was five per cent thannormal. The region has alsobeen witnessing intense heatwaves and several dams in theMarathwada region ofMaharashtra have reached zero

storage level. Pre-monsoon rainfall is

important for horticulturecrops in some parts of thecountry. In states like Odisha,ploughing is done in the pre-monsoon season, while in partsof northeast India and theWestern Ghats it is critical forplantation of crops.

Laxman Singh Rathore,former director general of theIMD, said in parts of northeast

India and the Western Ghats,pre-monsoon rainfall is criticalfor plantation crops. There willbe "moisture stress" incase of adeficit, he said.

Crops like sugarcane andcotton, planted in central India,survive on irrigation and alsorequire supplement of pre-monsoon rains, Rathore added.

"In the forested regions ofHimalayas, pre-monsoon rain-fall is necessary for plantationslike apple. Due to moisture,pre-monsoon rainfall also helpsin minimising the occurrenceof forest fires," he said.

�������������

Names of Rajya Sabha members, whomoved an impeachment motion

against a high court judge, and those whowithdrew it can't be disclosed as it wouldbe a breach of parliamentary privilege, theCentral Information Commission has held.

Chief Information CommissionerSudhir Bhargava gave this order on a peti-tion filed by S Malleswara Rao, who hadsought to know from the Rajya SabhaSecretariat the number of MPs who hadsigned and moved the impeachmentagainst Justice C V Nagarjuna Reddy, andthose who withdrew it. Reddy retired fromthe Hyderabad High Court last year.

The Rajya Sabha Secretariat had citedSection 8(1) (c) of the RTI Act to deny theinformation.

The section exempts from disclosureinformation which can cause a breach ofprivilege of Parliament or a state legislature.

Bhargava said in order to enable theParliament or a state legislature or their

individual members to perform their func-tions effectively and without any impedi-ments or interference from any quarter, cer-tain privileges are conferred upon them inthe Constitution under articles 105 and 194.

Quoting noted British constitutionaltheorist Thomas Erskine May, Bhargava

said, "Parliamentary privilege is the sumof the peculiar rights enjoyed by eachHouse collectively is a constituent part ofthe High Court of Parliament... And bymembers of each House of Parliamentindividually, without which they cannotdischarge their functions."

"The commission notes that giving anotice of motion by any member in thecourse of discharge of his parliamentaryduties is covered within the meaning andscope of the term 'Proceedings inParliament'," the commissioner said.

He said the disclosure of details of mem-bers who gave the motion and some whosubsequently withdrew their names underthe RTI may open the parliamentary con-duct of such members to public scrutiny.

"Such disclosure may not only indi-rectly influence the members in dischargeof their parliamentary duties, but has a ten-dency to influence their independence inthe future performance of their duties,thereby would cause breach of privilege,"Bhargava said.

����� ���������

LJP chief and Union MinisterRam Vilas Paswan on

Sunday spoke against polling inApril-May, saying extreme hotcondition in the period is notappropriate for elections as heasked political parties to evolveconsensus for polls to be heldin either February orNovember.

Earlier in the day, BiharChief Minister and JD(U) pres-ident Nitish Kumar also ques-tioned the long drawn pollingin intense heat conditions andsuggested general electionshould be held in two or threephases either in February-March or October-November.In his tweets,Paswan said people are nowa-days more aware about votingbut April-May is not an appro-priate period for Lok Sabha orassembly polls as the period isextremely hot and results in alower turnout.

"After a new government isformed after the elections,leaders of all political partiesshould seriously consider hold-ing the polls either in Februaryor November. It will facilitatecampaigning. People will castvotes in comfort, boosting theturnout. It will strengthendemocracy," the Lok JanshaktiParty leader said.

In his comments, Kumaralso disfavoured gap betweenvoting days.

He stressed on a constitu-tional provision for conduct ofelection at a more suitabletime and said he will write a let-ter to his counterparts in otherparties after completion of cur-rent election to reach a con-sensus over the issue.

The seven-phase LokSabha election, which startedon April 11, is ending Sunday.

Campaigning has beenespecially exacting in stateslike Bihar, Uttar Pradesh andWest Bengal as they haveundergone polls in every phase.

����� ���������

Out of the 600 foreignersincluding 200 hardcore

maulvis (Muslim religiouspreachers) deported byColombo post the suicidebombings there, over a 100were Indians who, along withthose from Pakistan andMaldives, were suspected to beengaged in radicalization in theSri Lankan mosques.

Besides the Indians, clericsfrom Pakistan and Maldiveshave also been deported inlarge numbers owing to theirterror links that emerged afterserial suicide bombings inColombo on Sunday Easterlast month that took a toll ofover 250 persons including 11Indians. Besides the 200 maul-vis, the 400 other individualsare also suspected to have trav-elled on tourist visas but havebeen essentially been engagedin radical preachings, sourcessaid.

Sri Lankan authorities haveidentified about 1,200 suchindividuals who are beingscreened for terror links anddepending upon antecedentverification more such clericsare likely to be deported to therespective countries.

The revelation of theIndian maulvis in radicalizationactivities in the island nationhas set alarm bells ringing inthe security establishment hereas they apprehend the interna-tional terror groups might havedeveloped a hub of suchtransnational radical preachersin the country.

The deportations beganon Tuesday after the Sri Lankanauthorities informed therespective foreign missions onthe issue. By Thursday, the 600such radicals were deported tothe respective countries.

Pakistani clerics have infil-trated the mosques in the

region including in Sri Lanka,Bangladesh, Myanmar andMaldives and even in some ofthe ASEAN countries. Theseclerics are being exploited bythe Pakistani Inter-ServicesIntelligence for the largerdesign of implementing stateagenda of sponsoring terror inthe neighbourhood, sourcessaid.

The sources said such rad-ical clerics are also part of thetransnational radicalizationnetworks of the internationalterror groups like the Al Qaedaand ISIS who have a long termagenda of radicalization andsubsequently recruit them intotheir fold for their terrordesigns, including logisticsmanagement chain and fund-ing through illegal narcoticssupply chain.

During the last over twoyears, Indian clerics in largenumber, as revealed by the SriLankan deportations, are alsotaking up jobs of Islamicpreaching in foreign shores.

In the wake of the devel-opment, the challenge for thesecurity agencies is two-fold,one to keep tabs on their activ-ities after their deportationand secondly to establish theirrole and extent of involvementin radicalization during theirstay in Sri Lanka, insiders said,adding the Indian securityagencies will have an oneroustask ahead to contain theimpact of the deported radicalclerics.

They said counter-terror-ism and security-related issuescome under the domain of thesecurity agencies in so far as SriLanka is concerned as anyadverse activity there has adirect bearing on the securitycalculus in South India, espe-cially Tamil Nadu.

Ahead of carrying out thesuicide bombing in Colombo,chief National Thowheed JamatZaharan Hashim had stayed inSouth India for three monthsbut remained undetected by theIntelligence Bureau.

+����������+����� ��%��������� ���� ����6++%�7���������� �����������������+���������� ���� �859 ���� ��������� ��������������9���������������� ������ �������������� ���� ����������������������� �� ���������� ��������� ���"���/�� ���� ������������:�����"����� �"��� ��+����� ��;���� �9���� � �����<584������ ��8=9<=2�<584���������������������������� ���������>98>:�3����������� ��++%����������9�� ����%���� ��������� �������������

�������� ��� ��������

Cash, drugs, liquor and pre-cious metals worth �3449.12

crore were seized by enforce-ment agencies since the LokSabha polls were announced onMarch 10. The quantity of drugsand narcotics seized by the pollbody is equal to the weight of 19adult male Asiatic elephants(an adult male Asiatic elephantweighs nearly 4000 -4500 kg).The seized quantity ofdrugs/narcotics is 76521.09 kgworth over �1270.37 crore.

According to flying squad ofthe EC, the contrabands beingcirculated/seized in Gujarat,Delhi and Punjab are of a muchsuperior quality than the onesbeing supplied elsewhere.

In 2014, the overall seizurewas �1,206 crore, DirectorGeneral (Election Expenditure)in the EC Dilip Sharma said onSunday after the seventh and thefinal phase of polls. For the cur-rent elections, two more heads-precious metal like gold and

freebies/other items-have alsobeen added under which theseizures are being made.

As per data, 184.3 lakh litreliquor worth of over �294.91crore was seized across thecountry which will fill roughlyfive and-a-half Olympic-sizedswimming pools. BetweenMarch 10 and May 19, �839.03crore in cash, precious metals,including gold, worth �986.76crore and "freebies", includingsarees, wrist watches, aimed atinducing voters worth �58.56crore were seized, he said. Thetotal comes to �3449.12 crore.

Tamil Nadu has topped thelist of states from where themaximum amount of cash,liquor and narcotics have beenrecovered by the EC during theongoing Lok Sabha elections,followed by Gujarat and Delhi.

As per data, EC seized max-imum value seizures (�950.03crore) have been made inTamilNadu, followed by Gujarat(�552.72 crore) and Delhi(�426.10 crore). In Tamil Nadu,

the total cash seizure was�227.13 crore while preciousmetals, gold and jewellery of3113 kg worth of �709.67 crorewas seized during the polls.Mizoram and Lakshadweep arethe two states from where nocash has been recovered.

Political parties as well asindependent candidates useambulances and other vehiclesfitted with flashing lights tocarry cash and other items tolure voters. EC observers, sur-veillance teams and enforcementagencies raid airports, high-ways, railways stations, hotelsand farm houses if there is anysuspicion of illegal money.Accepting money to vote or notto vote for a candidate is a pun-ishable offence with prisonterms, fines or both. The use ofmoney in elections has increasedin the last few years. A Delhi-based NGO, Centre for MediaStudies (CMS), has estimatedthat all political parties in 2019would together spend over�60,000 crore.

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

) �������%���������������������� ������������ � ����!+�#����� �*�����������&�+�+

� �����������?@��������� �����;,2�'�����2�-������

���/���������0������,�����112���0�,��,3

��&'����1�&$���&����& !!'�!'� &�5�'����$&���@� ���� ��

'�����������>55����������2�������<55�������� �������� �� �/ ������������

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

.#�#*4#� %��#/��� '��0 ��( "��,� (��4#%�62����'%����"(�0�(%��'

7 �"$��� 2��� '#%��$ '�

*#"'##"���'�(0�"� (��"�#�#%��� "(�*�"

� ���"(��#"(���#"'�/ �,�0#%/�4� �,#/����#�/ ������ �#/��� "(�*�"� ���"(���

"(�*�"��'��"('�"��� �" +���8&

(�3'2��� ��7��'��(

9%#��")��/���'���#"'���%��#"���� #/�'����#*�'��/'5�" 7�32����/)�0��'��(2

:��/���* "��/3��/�0�� ) ��'�� �'%*�#,��� �� �%���//�)��'� ";#3 (�43� ����#%' ��#�� ���0 �3��'��

�#"'���% "����/��#,��� ���)�.#%/��#,���/���* "�<<<� "(�43* *4 /'�#,� �����#%' �#,��/���* "���"(�0�(%���32

$���#%��$������� 3���""#�(�'���/) ��� �/�,%"���#"'<:�

�!��'� "��#0 /�6<6���/�#"�6�2����('�#"��##)� ����,#/*��"(���<�&�/�#"�#0 /��21����('�#"���� 4##5

��������% ��) ��� ����� ������ ��� �� ������ ���������������������������� 2�)��� ��� �#� �%��2����������� ������ ��� ��% ���� � ��,� � ����)���$���������� � ���

��'� � �,�&1 ' � �&���'�!�'&�'��&1 &����$&����������5�&1������� &�@��1�$1�1 :�

"��'9������$&�����,"� �@���'��� ''��

#��:����$�

Page 5:  · 2019-05-19 · arch-rivals BSP and SP joining hands to pose a formidable challenge to the BJP ... have turned into a blast furnace as temperature at 11 stations …

�������������������� ����� � !�� "# $#/�(�1

�6��� ��,��<�-�

President Donald Trump hasdeclared himself “strongly

Pro-Life”, days after two USstates passed tough new restric-tions on abortions, but saidexceptions should be made forpregnancies resulting from rapeor incest.

The US president spelledout his position on abortion —set to feature prominently atnext year’s election — in hisfirst comments on the hot-but-ton issue since Alabama’sGovernor signed a near-totalban on the termination ofpregnancy.

“As most people know, andfor those who would like to

know, I am strongly Pro-Life,with the three exceptions —Rape, Incest and protectingthe Life of the mother — thesame position taken by RonaldReagan,” Trump tweeted late onSaturday.

Trump, who is seeking toexpand on his conservativesupport ahead of his re-electionbid, added: “The Radical Left,with late term abortion (andworse), is imploding on thisissue. We must stick togetherand Win for Life in 2020.”

Alabama’s governor onWednesday signed a near-totalprohibition on abortions wide-ly seen as the country’s mostrestrictive ban, and theMissouri legislature on Friday

made the procedure illegalfrom eight weeks of pregnan-cy.

Neither make exceptionsfor rape or incest — only forcases where the mother’s life isin danger.

Republican-led legislaturesin Georgia, Ohio, Mississippi,

Kentucky, Iowa and NorthDakota have also enacted lawsbanning abortion from themoment a fetal heartbeat isdetected.

Supporters hope that legalbattles over the laws will reachthe Supreme Court, as theypursue the long-sought con-servative goal of overturning itslandmark 1973 abortion ruling,known as Roe v Wade.

Roe v Wade guaranteeswomen’s rights to abortion aslong as the foetus is not viable— around 24 weeks of preg-nancy.

Trump, a bombastic, twice-divorced billionaire, won overthe evangelical vote during his2016 campaign by promising to

appoint anti-abortion justicesat the Supreme Court.

He has since brought twoconservative appointees to thehighest court in the land —Neil Gorsuch and BrettKavanaugh — shifting the bal-ance of the nine-person bench.

In a series of tweets on thedeeply polarizing issue, Trumpsaid the US had “come very farin the last two years” on abor-tion, and praised “two greatnew Supreme Court Justices”.

On Sunday, defenders ofwomen’s reproductive rightsare set to march in protestagainst Alabama’s new abortionlaw in four of the Southernstate’s cities, including the cap-ital Montgomery.

�����0�$����� �������������)��,����,����

���� �83�

Saudi Arabia does not wantwar but will not hesitate to

defend itself against Iran, a topSaudi diplomat said on Sundayamid heightened tensions inthe Persian Gulf after attacks onthe kingdom’s energy sector.

Adel al-Jubeir, the Ministerof State for Foreign Affairs,spoke a week after four oiltankers — two of them Saudi—were targeted in an alleged actof sabotage off the coast of theUnited Arab Emirates and daysafter Iran-allied Yemeni rebelsclaimed a drone attack on aSaudi oil pipeline.

“The kingdom of SaudiArabia does not want war inthe region and does not strivefor that... But at the same time,if the other side chooses war,the kingdom will fight this withall force and determinationand it will defend itself, its cit-izens and its interests,” al-Jubeir told reporters.

A senior Iranian militarycommander was similarlyquoted as saying his country isnot looking for war, in com-ments published in Iranian

media on Sunday.Fears of armed conflict

were already running highafter the White House orderedwarships and bombers to theregion earlier this month tocounter an alleged, unexplainedthreat from Iran.

The US also has orderednonessential staff out of itsdiplomatic posts in Iraq.

But President DonaldTrump appears to have soft-ened his tone in recent days,saying he expects Iran to seeknegotiations with his adminis-tration. Asked on Thursday ifthe US might be on a path towar with Iran, the presidentanswered, “I hope not.”

The current tensions are

rooted in Trump’s decision lastyear to withdraw the US fromthe 2015 nuclear accordbetween Iran and world pow-ers and impose wide-reachingsanctions, including on Iranianoil exports that are crucial to itseconomy.

Iran has said it wouldresume enriching uranium athigher levels if a new nucleardeal is not reached by July 7.

That would potentiallybring it closer to being able todevelop a nuclear weapon,something Iran insists it hasnever sought.

Energy ministers fromOPEC and its allies, includingmajor producers Saudi Arabiaand Russia, are meeting in

Saudi Arabia on Sunday to dis-cuss energy prices and pro-duction cuts.

Iran’s oil exports areexpected to shrink further inthe coming months after theUS stopped renewing waiversthat allowed it to continueselling to some countries.

OPEC and non-OPEC oilproducers have productioncuts in place, but the group ofexporters is not expected tomake its decision on outputuntil late June, when they meetagain in Vienna.

Saudi Arabia’s KingSalman, meanwhile, has calledfor a meeting of Arab heads ofstate on May 30 in Mecca todiscuss the latest developments,including the oil pipelineattack.

The kingdom has blamedthe pipeline attack on Iran,accusing Tehran of arming therebel Houthis, which a Saudi-led coalition has been at warwith in Yemen since 2015. Irandenies arming or training therebels, who control much ofnorthern Yemen, including thecapital, Sanaa.

“We want peace and sta-bility in the region, but wewon’t stand with our handsbound as the Iranians contin-uously attack. Iran has to

understand that,” al-Jubeir said.“The ball is in Iran’s court.”

Al-Jubeir also noted that aninvestigation, led by the UAE,into the tanker incident isunderway.

The state-run Saudi newsagency reported Sunday thatUS Secretary of State MikePompeo called Saudi CrownPrince Mohammed bin Salmanto discuss regional develop-ments.

There was no immediatestatement by the StateDepartment about the call.

An English-language Saudinewspaper close to the palacerecently published an editori-al calling for surgical USairstrikes in retaliation forIran’s alleged involvement intargeting Saudi Arabia’s oilinfrastructure.

The head of Iran’sRevolutionary Guard, Gen.Hossein Salami, was quotedSunday as saying Iran is notlooking for war, But he said theUS is going to fail in the nearfuture “because they are frus-trated and hopeless” and arelooking for a way out of thecurrent escalation.

His comments, given toother Guard commanders,were carried by Iran’s semi-offi-cial Fars news agency.

&���������0����������$������ ������

Across Iran’s capital, the talkalways seems to come back

to how things may get worse.Battered by U.S. Sanctions

and its depreciating rial cur-rency, Iran’s 80 million peoplestruggle to buy meat, medicineand other staples of daily life.

Now they wonder aloudabout America’s intentions as itrushes an aircraft carrier andother forces to the region overa still-unexplained threat itperceives from Iran.

The Associated Press spoketo a variety of people onTehran’s streets recently, rang-ing from young and old,women wearing the all-encom-passing black chador to thoseloosely covering their hair.

Most say they believe a warwill not come to the region,though they remain willing todefend their country. Theythink Iran should try to talk tothe US To help its anemiceconomy, even as they seePresident Donald Trump as anerratic and untrustworthyadversary.

“Trump is not predictableat all and one doesn’t know how

to react to him and what is theright thing to do against him,”said Afra Hamedzadeh, a 20-year-old civil servant and uni-versity student. “Since he con-trols the global economy we aresomehow left with few options.”But opinions vary acrossTehran, depending on whetheryou speak to someone comingout of Friday prayers, in theback of a shared taxi cab, orexiting the coffee shops popu-lar with young people.

“If America could do any-thing, it would have done manythings by now,” said the chador-wearing Zoherh Sadeghi, a 51-year-old housewife coming outof prayers.

“It can’t do anything. Itcan’t do a damn thing.” That’san opinion shared by 35-year-old office worker MassumehIzadpanah.

“When someone keeps try-ing to scare you it means thatthey think they are not yetready for war. When someonereally wants war it starts the warright away. Like when Iraqattacked us, all of a suddenbombs were dropped,” she said.

“But right now Americajust says, ‘I’m coming,’ to scare

Iran.”A young nation, many

across Iran were alive for itsbloody 1980s war with Iraq, aconflict that began when dic-tator Saddam Hussein invadedand dragged on for eight years.That war, in which Saddamused chemical weapons andIran launched human waveattacks, killed 1 million people.

Since Trump withdrew theU.S. From Iran’s nuclear dealwith world powers last year,state television increasingly hasfocused attention on that war’swounded.

In Tehran’s southernJavadieh neighborhood, veter-an Mohammad AliMoghaddam said he was readyto fight again.

“I would encourage mythree sons and grandsons to goto defend Iran too,” saidMoghaddam, a 58-year-oldwelder. Arezou Mirzaei, a37-year-old mother of two in cen-tral Tehran, is more worried.

“I think the Governmentshould do something to avoidwar,” Mirzaei said. “If war wasgood, then Afghanistan andIraq would not be the mess thatwe see on TV.”

4���������)��,����,�,��������������#�������5��������

��=�������=�����

��� �����BB�89��6���� ���������������!'C �&��� �&��)�!��!�����'�2�������1��9"��� && $2��� 5��1�� '2�&����'&1� �&����$' &�$���!"#��$��5�%�9��� '�� 2����#�'&@���$ ���55�$� ��� �����,"� �>����9'�"!�1 �$� �����'��!���#���&�@�#"&�&1�'�9��� '�"��&"'��!'�:�$��1 �#���1�&���&1��! �&�#��&�'$���" ��:����$��#�&��������&� ��5'���&1����� � ����"�$���"�&���>

���������������BB������ �B���!�����'�!���C ����9�'� !� $�2��!�'�� ��2�������, &"'� ���� � && $2���&1�8�&���� &���0��& #���I &������������ ��@�&1��8��� ��>�1��:�$&���E�"$$"�#���&��1����"���5������9�&1�� '��� && $2�#��"���&�5���� �� �� &�F�����#"2&"@� ��& &���&�� ��>����9�'� �!� $�2��!�'�� �� ����D"'��>�8��,�$'�& '��<��' ��&����<"&�''���� ��E���!��� �����F�#��&1�� �� "�&@��1�$11��� ���$�"��� ��"&�&�� �� '$'���>�� ���! ' &���$���&, &"'� �@�&1'���%1 �� !� $�2��!�'����'����"���>

��=���

���� �-��-�

British Prime MinisterTheresa May on Sunday

promised a “new and improveddeal” that she hopes will see hercontroversial Brexit agreementthrough Parliament when itcomes up for a fourth vote inthe first week of June.

Writing in ‘The SundayTimes’, May said it was “truly”decision time for MPs when theWithdrawal Agreement Billreturns to the House ofCommons and claimed thatshe would not simply be askingthem to “think again” but willbe asking them to consider animproved package of measuresthat honours the June 2016 ref-erendum result in favour ofBrexit.

“When the WithdrawalAgreement Bill comes beforeMPs, it will represent a new,bold offer to MPs across theHouse of Commons, with animproved package of measuresthat I believe can win new sup-port,” she writes.

“I will not be simply askingMPs to think again. Instead Iwill ask them to look at a newand improved deal with freshpairs of eyes - and to give ittheir support,” she said.

May, who is weighed downby mounting pressure fromher backbench MPs to lay outa clear timetable for her exitfrom Downing Street after thefourth vote on her withdrawalagreement with the EuropeanUnion (EU) next month,revealed that she was open toholding a series of indicativevotes in Parliament in a last-ditch effort to try and see herdeal through.

“The Cabinet will consid-er the details of those changesnext week. It will also consid-er whether holding votes inParliament to test support forpossible solutions would be auseful prelude to MPs consid-ering the legislation,” she said.

The beleaguered BritishPM has been struggling tosurmount the opposition to thecontroversial Irish backstopclause in the agreement, whichthe EU sees an insurance pol-icy against a hard borderbetween its member-countryIreland and the UK after Brexit.However, the Brexiteers with-

in her own Tory party haveconsistently voted against itover fears that it could be usedas an excuse to keep Britain tiedto EU norms even after its exitfrom the 28-member Europeaneconomic bloc.

May warned that eventhough her new package will bea stronger proposition, it wasimportant for the parliamen-tary arithmetic to fall intoplace to avert a chaotic no-dealBrexit and leave the EU with adeal in place by the latest dead-line of October 31.

“While the deal MPs are tovote on will be different, thedynamics of their decision willremain the same. A majority ofMPs are against leaving with-out a deal; whatever you thinkof that as an outcome,Parliament will do all it can toblock it,” she said.

The Conservative Partyleader also used the interven-tion to make a plea for theEuropean Parliament electionsscheduled for next Thursday,when opinion polls indicatethat her party will be punishedat the ballot box in favour of thenewly-formed anti-EU BrexitParty.

She said: “I hope thateveryone who wants to seeBrexit delivered in a responsi-ble way as soon as possible willvote for the only party that canactually deliver that: theConservative Party.

“The other parties standingin this election either cannotdeliver Brexit or have so far

refused to do so. Only theConservatives can and will.But whatever the result onThursday, it will then be forMPs to take a decision.”

Earlier this week, theOpposition Labour Party hadcalled off the cross-party talksinitiated after May’s lastCommons defeat in an effort toarrive at a parliamentary con-sensus on Brexit.

Labour leader JeremyCorbyn blamed her “weak”leadership, which is now on atime-bound clock, for the fail-ure of the talks.

May asserted that the talkshad succeeded in finding some“common ground” withLabour, which would feed intothe improved package of assur-ances to support her with-drawal agreement.

“Some other issues haveproved to be more difficult, inparticular the question of a sec-ond referendum. The fact isthat while nine out of tenConservative MPs have backedthe Brexit deal, there is a muchbigger split on the Labourbenches on a so-called ‘people’svote’,” she noted, in reference toa demand by many LabourMPs for a compulsory secondreferendum on any Brexit dealto give the British peopleanother say over the issue.

“We had a people’s vote in2016 - and the people are stillwaiting for their decision to beimplemented,” said May, whohas remained firmly opposedto another referendum.

�����������3��%&���� ������4������ ��!������������

,�� �.�������������������� �� �������������� ��������� ��� ����� ���������������� ������� ���� �������������/��� �������� � "�

���� ���3-8���

Backed by “quiet Australians”and defying exit polls, the

ruling Conservative Coalitionled by Prime Minister ScottMorrison staged a “miracu-lous” victory in the generalelection on Sunday, devastatingthe opposition Labor Party,forcing its leader Bill Shortento resign.

Around 16 millionAustralians swarmed to thepolling booths across the coun-try on Saturday to elect thenation’s 31st prime minister, inwhat was widely referred to asthe climate-change election.

The latest results showedthat the Conservative Coalitionhas won 74 seats while laboursecured 66. A party needs 76

seats for a simple majority inthe 151-member House ofRepresentatives. It was notclear if 51-year-old Morrisonwill require the support ofindependent MPs to govern.

But an independent, HelenHaines, who won from the seatof Indi, said that she would beworking with the Coalition inthe scenario of a hung parlia-ment. Haines said she was verydetermined to work with thegovernment on addressing cli-mate change.

Morrison along his wifeJenny visited a church inSydney’s Sutherland Shire onSunday in his electorate ofCook where he thanked hislocal voters.

“I have always believed inmiracles... For me and for mygovernment, for all of my teamit’s all about you...Tonight isabout every single Australian,”a beaming Morrison told hissupporters.

At his victory party inSydney, the ConservativeCoalition leader said, “Tonight

is about every single Australianwho depends on their govern-ment to put them first. Andthat is exactly what we aregoing to do.”

In his speech, Morrisonalso paid tribute to “the quietAustralians” who voted for hiscoalition.

“It has been thoseAustralians who have workedhard every day, they have theirdreams, they have their aspi-

rations, to get a job, to get anapprenticeship, to start a busi-ness, to meet someone amaz-ing,” he said.

Morrison had wooed vot-ers by saying if re-elected, theCoalition would deliver a sta-ble economy, more jobs and taxcuts. He also promised fundsfor women’s career initiativeand domestic violence andconservative plans to deal withclimate change.

“Our government will getback to work just as GladysBerejiklian got back to work inNew South Wales, just a fewmonths ago,” he told his sup-porters.

Meanwhile, US PresidentDonald Trump congratulatedMorrison on his election vic-tory.

President Trump congrat-ulated Prime MinisterMorrison on his Coalition’svictory in Australia’s federalelection, White House deputypress secretary Judd Deeresaid.

“The two leaders reaf-firmed the critical importanceof the long-standing allianceand friendship between theUnited States and Australia,and they pledged to continuetheir close cooperation onshared priorities,” Deere said.

Centre-left Labor Partyleader Bill Shorten, who cam-paigned heavily on reducinggreenhouse gas emissions, con-ceded his defeat and said hewould resign as the party

&��������������#���� � ����������

3A�������������������� ����B�� ������.��������

���� 7���%�

Pakistan Prime MinisterImran Khan’s dream of the

cash-strapped country becom-ing self-sufficient in oil hasbeen dashed after no reserveswere discovered in the ArabianSea off the Karachi coast, mediareports said on Sunday.

The drilling work at Kekra-1 well in deep sea near Karachihas been stopped after no oil orgas reservoir could be found,according to Special Assistantto Prime Minister Khan onPetroleum Nadeem Babar.

Pakistan was hopeful offinding large oil and gasreserves in its territorial watersin the Arabian Sea. US oil giantExxon Mobil, Italy’s ENI and acouple other companies wereinvolved in drilling an ultra-deep oil well.

Babar told Geo News thatthe process of drilling up tomore than 5,500 meters wascompleted on Kekra-1 (IndusG-Block) off Karachi coast.

Babar said the office of DG

Petroleum Concessions hasbeen apprised of the results ofdrilling.

He said that the cost ofdrilling project, which has nowbeen abandoned, remainedover USD 100 million.

In March, Prime MinisterKhan had said Pakistan wouldnot need to import oil afterreserves were found nearKarachi coast.

“We are hopeful of findinglarge reserves of gas and oil inthe sea near Karachi. Thenation should pray for this andI will soon share good newsregarding this,” Khan had said.

“God willing the reserveswill be so large that we will notneed to import any oil,” he said.

Khan said he believes thatif big oil reserves are discov-ered, most of Pakistan’s eco-nomic problems will beaddressed and then there willbe no stopping in the country’sprogress.

Around four months ago,Italian firm ENI, the operatorof the Kekra-1 offshore block,

started drilling in a joint ven-ture with US firm ExxonMobil,one of the world’s largest oiland gas firm, and the Pakistanstate-owned Oil and GasDevelopment CompanyLimited (OGDCL) andPakistan Petroleum Limited(PPL).

Each of the four firms hasa 25 per cent participatinginterest in the block.

The drilling was carriedout in ultra-deep waters some280 kilometres away from theKarachi coast.

The well was spudded onJanuary 13 this year, targetinga carbonate reservoir with aprognosed total depth of 5,660metres.

Some surveyors had foundthe block ‘Indus-G’ similar tothe Indian offshore BombayHigh oilfield, which produces350,000 barrels per day ofcrude oil, while othersdescribed it as similar to theones in the oil- and gas-richKuwait, the Express Tribunereported.

������%��$���5����&������&��������� ���$�"����$$������!���

�6��� �����

Austria’s PresidentAlexander Van der Bellen

on Sunday called for freshelections in September after acorruption scandal embroil-ing the far-right brought downthe coalition Government inspectacular fashion.

Just days before key EUelections, Vice-ChancellorHeinz-Christian Strache wasforced to resign in disgraceSaturday following explosiverevelations from a hidden cam-era sting.ConservativeChancellor Sebastian Kurz —whose 18-month coalition withthe far-right Freedom Party(FPOe) had been held up as aEuropean model — reacted bypulling the plug on their union.

“My preference is for earlyelections in September, if pos-sible the beginning ofSeptember,” Van der Bellentold journalists on Sunday afterholding talks with Kurz.

����������.,�����0����������������6��0��,����

��"��������!������4��%����%��

G���(����"��"#��:��/-'���*����&����/&��/��#�#!:�����:��/-���'(������$#;���4B!*�-�/!�&��&���&���

� )�"�!����0 '"�-���)���'���"����)�!�$��&��B!*���*�&��(��&���0 �&���'(�"��!�!����':���,;���'#��'$'�-H���("��/�����

#'�������'����';

Page 6:  · 2019-05-19 · arch-rivals BSP and SP joining hands to pose a formidable challenge to the BJP ... have turned into a blast furnace as temperature at 11 stations …

US President Donald Trumprecently signed an executiveorder on ‘Securing theInformation andCommunications Technology

and Services Supply Chain’ that effectivelywalked the talk on clamping down on thegrowing Chinese presence and influence.While the order itself was ostensibly country-agnostic and company-agnostic, the unmis-takable target was a leading Chinese compa-ny, Huawei. Predicated under security con-cerns, the statement from the White Housesaid that the order, “declares a national emer-gency with respect to the threats against infor-mation and communications technologyand services in the United States (US) and del-egates authority to the Secretary of Commerceto prohibit transactions posing an unaccept-able risk to the national security of the US orthe security and safety of its people.” Soon, theUS Commerce Department added Huawei tothe ‘entity list’ of banned organisations.Against the backdrop of the ensuing US-China trade wars, this latest American salvohas huge implications for Chinese productsand services going forward, as it questions theconstruct of “Made in China,” given the inex-tricable and complex Government-industryinterlinkages that beset the ownership, inter-ests and operations of major Chinese organ-isations.

Unlike most unilateral decisions initiat-ed by Trump, this executive order had bipar-tisan support across the political divide, sym-bolising the overwhelming threat perceptionswithin the US that are emanating from China.The Huawei action was looming for sometime and the US had been sabre-rattling onthe same with other Western powers. WhileAustralia had acceded to the warning andbanned the organisation earlier, the Europeannations were sceptical about the US’ serious-ness. Given that the Chinese multi-nationalhad outmanoeuvered the European compa-nies like Ericsson and Nokia in grabbing mar-ket shares across emerging markets of Africa,Latin America and Asia — the expectationof reciprocal protectionism would rise with-in Western capitals to support their ownorganisations as the Chinese state does.

The US went as far as threatening its alliesto withdraw “intelligence” inputs unless theystopped using the Chinese manufacturers likeHuawei for building their 5G infrastructure.At the heart of the fears is the new internetarchitecture that could possibly “link” indus-trial equipment, personalised data, securitycameras and civic facility details among oth-ers and transport the data dump to a repos-itory in China, from where a apocalypse-likesituation of a virtual “shutdown” of Americanmilitary-economic-civic infrastructure couldbe effected if China so wanted in a crisis!

Given the Chinese ambition, investmentsand strategic outlook, such fears of data pro-tection are not entirely unfounded. Expectedly,the Chinese have likened the US move to a“cold war mentality” and alluded to the US

fears as unsubstantiated paranoia.Given the construct of the organ-isation itself and the rules govern-ing its principal place of originand headquarters ie, China, it iscertainly obliged and vulnerableto the diktats of its Ministry ofState Security.

Like most Chinese offerings,the winning appeal of Huaweiwas in its cost-effective technol-ogy and terms of trade. However,the recent move has added a‘non-commercial’ angularity ofdealing with Chinese companies.Last year, the global list of top 500companies, as measured byFortune magazine, had anunprecedented 120 Chinesecompanies making the cut (justshy of 126 by the leading nation,US). This sudden emergence ofChinese companies owes its suc-cess in huge measure to the com-plex commercial-political wiringof Chinese organisations that baf-fles most corporate-watchers asto their real ownership and con-trol structures. Founded in 1987by a former People’s LiberationArmy (PLA) officer, RenZhengfei, who now owns onlyone per cent of share, it hasgrown into a $106 billion globalconglomerate with a mammoth$14 billion dedicated towardsR&D. Despite its immense size,scale and the competitive inten-sity of its domain, it still grew ata staggering 21 per cent over theprevious year. Today, it serves 45of the top 50 telecom operators

worldwide and its networkalready reaches one-third ofhumankind. Somewhere, ques-tions abound about such rapidrise, access and the ‘invisible-hand’ that drives such surrealgrowth. Given its formidablepresence and invaluable necessi-ty in the infrastructure of somethird-world countries, it will notbe easy to ‘ban’ its products acrosssuch countries — though it cer-tainly marks the beginning oflarger implications for ‘Made inChina’ that go beyond a corpo-rate entity.

Partly on account of genuinefears and partly on account of theescalating trade war, the recentUS move has drawn the firstblood on what was hithertowhispered as a need to counterthe Chinese juggernaut. In abarely veiled threat, the Chinesehave reminded the US about itsown vulnerabilities withAmerican organisations likeQualcomm, who generate overhalf of their revenues from China,as indeed the likes of Intel andApple, who rely on Chineseparts and market! Many ofChina’s strategic sovereign imper-atives like the ‘One Belt, OneRoad’ or in this case, the ‘DigitalSilk Road’, which promises hyperspeeds and capacities of 5G(promoting ‘Internet of Things’)communication, envisages a piv-otal role for organisations likeHuawei. The sovereign intent onbecoming a Cyber and Artificial

Intelligence (AI) superpower hasfuelled the Chinese State to sup-port and fund many aggressiveand audacious investments thatmake the world nervous, giventhe known Chinese ambitionsand penchant for means. Thetemerity and commitmentbehind developing cutting-edgetechnology that could have mul-tiple “spin-off” usage and data-sharing has the Western worldworried.

The Chinese are past mas-ters in reverse engineering andsourcing technology licitly andillicitly, especially in matters ofdefence equipment and overallsecurity preparedness.However, due diligence andcare has to be ensured with evi-dentiary proof of potential mis-use or “leakage” before censur-ing or ascribing any questionson the Chinese organisations asit should not violate the prin-ciple of fairplay in the globaleconomy. The onus is now onChina to demonstrate trans-parency and unveil its controland command structuresbehind its corporates as alsoconvince the wary world of itsintentions and ambitions.Unfortunately, it will be an uphillbattle for China given its histo-ry and its prevailing instincts toconvince the world, otherwise.

(The writer, a military veter-an, is a former Lt Governor ofAndaman & Nicobar Islands andPuducherry)

)��������� ��������������� ����(������ ��� �� ���� ���� �������� ��*���� +���� ,*+- ��� ���� ����

���������������������������������������� ��� $������ ������ #��������������������������������(����(���������������������������������.$������!�����&����� ���/���������� ����.%��0���&����������������������/������ ���������������������� ��������� ����������������������� ��������������(����� �(

�������� �����������������������������0������1�����������������������������2��������������� ���������������������2����������#������� ,2#-���������#������������������������������� ����������������������������3�������������������������������������������������������������������"������������������������ ������� ��"���� ����������������������� ������� �

4������������#������������������������������������������������������ ������ ������������������������������������������(���������������������*����+�������0��������!�����������#����������!������������ �����������������������������������������$��� ������������������������ �����$������ ��������������������������� ��������������������������������!���������������������������� ����������*+�����������#��������������������������2#������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������*+����������������������������#����������������������������4����(�����������������������563���������������������� 2������������� (������� ����(��&�����������57������#������������������ #�������������������������������������������������������������*+���������8�����������"��������������������������� ������(������ ���������������������1�������3����� ��������������������������������������������������2� ���������������������������������������������������9�������������� ���2�����5(63��������������� ���������������������#������� ������������%��0��������� ������� ����� (��������������+������������������������������������(����������������

:�� ��������������������� ������������������������� � �������������������������������� ���

��������������2���������������������������;������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������������������������������ �����5�������������� ����� ��� ����� ������� ���������������������������������������������������������������������(����������������2������������������

�����<����������������������������������������������(�������������������������������������������������������������(�������������������������������������� ��������5������&������������������������� �����������������8� =>������������������������2�$���8������ ������8�������������������������� ����������������������� �����������������������=?67�)�������������������������� ���"����������������������� ��������������� �������������������������������������&����(�������������������������������������������������������� ���������������������&�������������������������������������(� ����������������������������������2�������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������2�������0������(������������������������������������������������������������(8���������������������������������������������������������������������������:����������4������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������#����� ����(������������������������������������� ���������(�������)����������������� ��������� �������������������������(

�������������������������*+(2������������2����������������� ���������������������������� ������������������������2�����������������������������������2������������������������������������������ ��������������������������*����=?67��������������(������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������2��������������������������������������������#������������������*+(���������(��������������������������#������������������� ��������������������� ������������������������������������������� ����0����������������������8�����������������8����������������=?67����������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� �2��������������������������� ��������������(������������� ������������2���������(������� ��� �������������������������������������������������(��������� ��������������������������(�������������������������������� ���������3����������������������������(�������������+��������������������������������������������������������������������#��������������2�������������������������������� ����������������� ���������������������(� �� � ������ ��� �� ��� ������� �� ������ ����� �� >�@ �� ����#��������� ����������������������� ������������������������(���� �A�������������������������������������������� ������������������ �������������������� ������� �2������������ �2������������ ��������������������*+�����������������������������0�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������#��������������������������������������)����� ����&������������� �(���������������������������������������������������������������<�&���������������

7���������� �����+!�����������!�������������$�����"�!����!���������������"!����%��� ��%!����!����%��������!��"���"�����!��

��������������

Sir — This refers to the editorial,“Ocean of darkness” (May 16).The Election Commission’s (EC)decision — an unprecedentedstep of invoking the rarely usedArticle 324 — to snip campaigntime by 19 hours for nine con-stituencies in West Bengal thatwent to polls on Sunday, citing anatmosphere of “fear and hatred”,is likely to add fuel to simmeringpolitical flames. Safety and secu-rity of voters being of prime con-cern, the EC’s decision was basedon the site reports of independentelection observers.

All parties should share theblame for the politics of divisive-ness and distraction. But thereally disturbing element in thiselection has been the questionablerole of the EC, which, far frombeing perceived as an institutionof independence, came to beseen as a tool in the hands of thepolitical class. It will take a longwhile for the institution to recov-er its credibility. The 2019 electionhas, therefore, shown that whiledemocracy is safe, it is not in par-ticularly good health.

KS JayatheerthaBengaluru

�������������

Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Best left alone” (May 18).Pragya Singh Thakur, the terroraccused in Malegaon blast case,has emphatically announced thatNathuram Godse is a patriot andwould remain a patriot forever.The BJP, which nominated her tocontest the Bhopal seat as if

there was no other worthy per-son in the party to be fielded,should hang its head in shame forthe encomium paid by its ‘sadhvi’nominee to a murderer. If the saf-fron party was truly ‘national’ andrespected the Father of theNation, it should have debarredher from contesting the polls.

Shalini GeraldChennai

����������������

Sir — It is rather disturbing thatthere are reportedly 7,928 can-didates with criminal cases inthe electoral fray. Self-declara-tions have been given by 1,500.There are serious criminal casesagainst 1,070. If 1,500 candidateshave given declarations, theremaining 6,428 are mum.

While it may not be fair to barthose facing criminal cases incourts from contesting the elec-tions, candidates, who have con-cealed that they are facing crim-inal cases, should have beenbarred from contesting.

The number of candidatesfacing such cases may be high ifpolitically motivated complaintsare lodged and charges are cookedup to prevent a candidate fromcontesting. Some hiding theirrecords bear testimony to howloosely the law has been enacted.Such gaps must be sealed.Necessary amendments, if needbe, must be moved.

KV SeetharamaiahHassan

�����������������

Sir — The rising number of sui-cides and mental health issuesamong young ones need to betaken seriously. It is unfortunatethat a young life full of potentialis lost. Social media platformsmust have adequate safeguards.

Kunal SinghVia email

� � � � � � 8 � � 9 � � � � � � � !

)))*���% �����*���5 $�#��2>$��6� ���!����'��J =�1�� ��������'��J ��& 9' �>$��6� ���!����'6

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

�-

+!%�����!���"������"�

�+, -./�0 �����

3����9�9� ����$"&�:���'��'�&��!'�&�$&��&���&��'2��5'���5�'��9���!�� 9�@�&1��8,�1 ���' �&1��5�'�&�#��������1 &�� ��1�&1�'&���1��!�'��� �� �����&��$�"&�'�%1����� �#�&���

� = � � � � � � �

� � � � � � � � = � �� � � � � � � � = �

�����������������������������

�1��� '�5�'�� &�� &1�� ���&�'� �@� E-$� � �5� � '2���FG� ����H>��1�����$&���%��������0��G�%H���$������&��$"'& ������$&����'�9�#���)�1�"'����&1�

���$��&�&"�$���������&�3�9 ��&1 &���&�&��!����'�$�&���� ���1�����"D"�&�5���>��:���&��@��&�� ��& 2�&��#��5�&�&1��31 ' &�� �C & �� '&��G3C�H>�&�� ����& �&1�'�!'��5�&1 &� &1�����$&�' ��#����� �����9�&1�3C�0��#����9>�&����$�� '�&1 &�&1���%�5�����&1���� ������5�'����$&����'�9� �����!��� �&��1"'�� ��5�'��'�������&�'�� '��' ������&��5���1�1���' �����>

�1 &�� ��������� ���&��:�$ &����5��'&�$���(./&��$"&��1�'&�&1��$ �! �9�!�'���� ��K'���:�0���<� D��:�7"� '� ���'�$�! ��,�$'�& '���&'��31 && $1 '� #"&�����!� '��!"��1��&�&��&1�����1��"�� �1���:�����$����7��2 & � ��$'� &���&1��K5� '�!��$1����>0

��#����1 �� �� ���"����&1 &� &1��!����! ���1 �#���'��"$���&��&1����& #���1��&0��� !��9>��1��!�'�$�!&���&1 &�&1��$���������$������#� & &�#'� $1�5�&1��������%�����5�%��"$&�#��&1��3C�� ������� � ��:���!� ��9�5����� &�� ���! '&�����&�����$��&�� &1�

%��&�&"&�� ��#�����&��$'���#���&��#"&� �����"#:�'&��&1�� $&�&�� �5� &1�� ���$&��� !'�$���>� �1�� %���������1�'2����&��'��!���#���&���1���&�$ ���&��& 2�9� $&����&1��$��!� �&�����9��� 9 ��&�� '��' ������ �3C��$1��5����&�,1 1@�&��>�%��&�&"&�� ��#�������1�"�� �1�'��&��&1��%��&�&"&�����&1�"&�� :�'�9��5�����$�' $�����&��#�� ��:�� ��2�$2�9�'�#"�&��>

���'7!�� !#�������������

����-�8,�,�-��-�����%���,���-

���-�,���������,�����%A

����8���������%-���-�����%-�����,��8%�8��,

3����%-��-����,��,��,-�%-���%�

�������A�-����-?����������-�,����

��3�-�,>8�?-��8�����A@

������3����8�����3�����

?-��%���

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

����:����� ��6��:���!��&���� �2�9;�������"����&1���'��������&�'L��5�'�&�!'���$�5�'�$�M�&����2����2��&1��� �&�!�������5����� �� ���� 1 ��#��&���$ �&��������&� ���5�' ���>

�'('1/'�!��'��;�#�'���N�21����1�A � :

�1��3C�������9�&�����"'���'���#��������!�'�� ���$"'�&���55�$�'����� ����2���' �< �1�>���������$"�'�&���55�$�'��'�!�'&�&��3C�>

��#&!��&!�*� !�!����N�':���7�D'�� �

7 � ��� � ������&����5�� ��"�����&��#�����&�5���� �� �&����9�&�!�'��>�?�'�&1 &�1������1 :��&��'� �� ���&"���5�' &��� �&� �1"�'����� '�>

��!��� !�!����N<�'�' D�,�91

�1��� $�5�$�1 ��&1����' � "&1�'�&��&���55�'� ������5�'�&1��'��&��5�&1����'��>��� #���"&��������&��� :��&1�� $�5�$�&��� :��&1����'��>�

�����)���'�;4�����'#�N�&����<"&�''��

#������!��#����������4���������3����� ����4����������������&�5��������������6"������

Page 7:  · 2019-05-19 · arch-rivals BSP and SP joining hands to pose a formidable challenge to the BJP ... have turned into a blast furnace as temperature at 11 stations …

7�����$��������5

�����B��� � ��-������ �B��� ��B� �+��������6������������%�.�����������

6��������.�����������%0�� ���� ����������6

�+��������.�B

�+������������������+���.�����+������������.�����%�����B���6���B���������������������B�����������+������� ���B%0��������B��������B��������

,-.1.=����� ,-.1�

Leadership in internet-driven technologyfirms has long been viewed as a bastionof male domination. Latest figures by

Statista, a German online portal for statistics,confirm that tech is still not a “woman’sworld” as the female lot still form a minorityin its workforce. Figures are even more schis-matic when we consider the percentage ofwomen occupying leadership positions in thetop tech companies of the world. While inNetflix, women hold an encouraging 43 percent of the leadership positions, the picturebecomes bleaker as we consider the percent-ages for Facebook (30), Apple (29), Google (26)and Microsoft (20). All these data are well belowthe desired level of 50 per cent that depicts gen-der parity.

This trend is, however, not specific to bigtech companies only. Even the start-up andentrepreneurship ecosystem has witnessedbiased trends against women. According toSilicon Valley Bank’s ‘Women in TechnologyLeadership 2019’ report on tech executives inthe US, the UK, China and Canada, while 56per cent of start-ups have at least one woman in an executive position, only 40 percent have minimum one woman on the boardof directors.

These trends highlight the need to bringmore and more women in technology space,especially in leadership roles. The imperativegoes beyond the narrative of just maintaininggender parity. Technological advancementconstantly needs new and diverse knowledge,perspectives and intellectual and technologi-cal innovations. With technologies likeArtificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things(IoT) and Robotics seeing tremendous growth,wherein we are trying to make machinesthink like humans, it is essential to bring ele-ments of diversity, inclusivity and heterogene-ity in the world of intelligence.

If “intelligence” in the world of technolo-gy is largely shaped by a homogenous group of“men”, it is more likely that “thinking” of tech-nology will adapt the inherent conscious orunconscious biases and prejudices of the sec-tion. This is largely because AI learns and repli-cates from the training data. The algorithmsdeveloped will, thereby, imbibe the prejudicespresent in the data. It is, hence, essential thatmore women become part of the core teamsdeveloping technology to make the future ofintelligence unbiased.

It is also found that diversity in tech andbusiness leadership positions positively affectprofits of the firms. A 2016 study at PearsonInstitute for International Economics demonstrated a positive correlation betweenwomen at the C-suite level and f irm profitability. According to their research, a firmwith 30 per cent women at C-suite level lead-ership can expect a 15 per cent boost to theirprofitability.

Apart from bringing in more diversity,inclusivity and profitability to the firms,women bring fresh perspectives, narratives, cre-ativity, flexibility, visibility, responsibility anddynamism to the firm. Further, a report fromFirst Round Capital found that companies witha woman on their founding leadership teamsoutperformed all-male companies by 63 percent. Women may be a minority in tech buttheir power and presence is definitely rising inthe world. According to the Forbes’ 2018 list ofworld’s 100 most powerful women, 20 are fromthe tech industry. The cohort of women in lead-ership positions in tech is substantially increas-ing in this list of power women. The list sawthe likes of Susan Wojcicki, CEO YouTube, whofigured as the seventh most powerful womenin the world, closely followed by IBM CEOGinni Rometty and Facebook’s COO Sheryl

Sandberg, figuring in the 10th and11th position in the list.

China’s Jean Liu, president, DidiChuxing and India’s Roshni NadarMalhotra, CEO, HCL Enterprises,also featured as 10 most powerfulwomen in tech according to the samelist. All these prominent executiveshave been celebrated not only for theirleadership skills but also for changingthe face of the industry and fordemonstrating utmost responsibilityand sensitivity in dealing with theadverse situations.

The rise of women in leadershippositions has partly been attributed tothe strategic move by companies.According to this manoeuvre, womenare promoted to a C-suite positionwhen likelihood of failure is more,especially when a company is goingthrough exceptionally challengingtimes, a concept now widely known asglass cliff. While cases like that ofYahoo CEO Marissa Mayer might givecredence to this theory, glass cliffshould be viewed by women as an effi-cacious opportunity to break theglass ceiling. A shining example of thisis Anne Mulcahy, CEO of Xerox from2001 to 2009, who successfully man-aged to turn the company around afterbeing promoted at a time when Xeroxwas tottering on the verge of bank-ruptcy. In fact, Harvard BusinessReview study had found that whilemen were preferred to head a success-ful company by respondents (67 percent), majority (63 per cent) opined

that woman should take over the com-pany in crisis. Glass cliff rather thanbeing viewed as a trap for ambitiouswomen should be seen as chance forwomen to break the stereotype anddemonstrate their mettle.

As we strenuously emphasise theneed for women leaders in internet-driven tech industry, it is also imper-ative to address why there is lack ofthem thereof. Undeniably, factors like difficulty in balancingdemanding leadership jobs and fam-ily life, lack of flexible work hours,biased perceptions and thinking ofimmediate career options than plan-ning long term career goals play animportant role.

Similarly, women also face prob-lems in getting good mentors as menget wary to mentor women due to fearof allegations of sexual harassmentand exploitation. The main reason,however, why technology leadershipstill remains a male bastion, lies in theconcept of comparative advantagethat both the genders respectivelyhave. While women are considered tobe adept at managing people, men areconsidered to be more skilled at man-aging technology. As an economicprinciple, it is most profitable and effi-cient to allocate resources accordingto comparative advantage thatresource has, especially if the oppor-tunity cost of allocating resources toopposing trades is high.

Industries work on the principleof profitability, which explains their

natural learning towards male leader-ship. Hence, most of the tasks likefund raising, hard negotiating andproduction processes, which formthe core of leadership decisions, areusually male dominated. Whereas,processes like managing humanresource, communications, managingrisk in which women thrive, althoughvery important, may not necessarilybe considered core attributes.

However, this should not be con-strued to imply that women and menshould only function within thesesocial constructs. Wherever, it’s achoice between a more skilled womanand less skilled man or vice-versa,preference should be given to skill andmerit. Therefore, it is essential forwomen to come out of their comfortzones and imbibe those attributeswhich are core characteristics ofbecoming leaders.

The need for bringing morewomen in technology no longerremains a question of equality alone,it has now become a necessity, too.Both men as well as women will needto change their attitudes and attribut-es to bring in more women in theindustry. Diversity and inclusion aregoing to be the keywords in drivingthe world of technology and womencan definitely be prognosticated toplay a significant role in this new eraof intelligence.

(The writer is a Research Associateat OP Jindal Global University and aChapter Leader at ISOC)

5$����!���������������!���� ����!�������"�����"��$����&����3�!����4�%���������!������ ��������������!��������,��5&��$�������&���������������������$���������������&������������� ����

�"��3'�' �� � � � � . = � � 7 �

2���� �)������������)���

234..� �>��

�1��9'� &�!���'�� � ��5�$&�� ����&��:�'�#���>�1��8,��������$�!&��>�3"&��5� � &���'�� ��

���5�'���9@��:�&" �����&�#�$������� �

�,��������,,��-����������?-�

�-����������,������

���������������%����8,��A@��,���������

�-������,,��A�������,��%7�-?�����

�����-?>8�����3�A@?�%�-�,��7��??%8��A��3����%�<�������<������,��

C-3,�����?���A�?�@���%7�-?

?��43����-�7�-8�,@�3�,�����%���-�,

�������7�<�-?�������

%������-��-�,�����������<

�-�<�����%������<-��,

���A�����-�������-��

%��� ������� �� ��� ����� ����� �����B ���� *+$������������#���������+�������*������������)����� ��������������#���&������ ����

�� ���%�������������������������� ��� �������������*+���� ��� ���������������������#����������������������������������� ���� C���� 1������ �� ������� ��������� �������� �� ��*������� ��0������������������������� ��.�����&:��������67D?��6E7?�������������������������=�F??����������������

)������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������7G�����������������/��������6�???������������!������3���������%���� ,����������$������-���������������:������������ 6G??�������������==���=@����������������������������������������������� ���� �

+������������������� ��������������(6G??���������������������������������������� �6=����������������������������������������(���(�(������������#� �����������+���������������������� �������� �������������������������� ������������������:����&��������������(� �2����+������������������ ��������6E? �������3 �� ���� ��������/������������������:������������ ������������� ������������� ������������� ����������������� ���������������������������������/���������������

#�������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������������� ���������������5����������H1� ����&������������������������������������ ��H1���������(��� ��������������5������������������������������ ��������� �� ����"���I�������B�� ��������������������������� ��������������������������������4�� ��������������I������������B

����J�������������������������*+� �������0�����%�������<�� ���$�������+������2��"� �������������������0�����,���3������ ����������-��6D6=��8������6D7F��+������6DED�#��������I�����������B�����*+�������������������#������������ ������ ���������������������#������%���1��������������������������K�����1���3���� ���������������*+����������������������������������������������������������������������2������������������������������ ������������������������

#� ���� ���� ����� ������ �� ��� � #����������������(�������������������������������������������������������8����:��������������������(�����0���������������������������������������������������������������������L��� ����������������������������5�������������������������L����������� �������2�����������2����������������8����:�������I��������B

1� �����#�������������������������������I�������B�������������������;�����������������(������������<�������:� ����L�����I�����������(��������B����*+H#��������������������������(�������������������������I4������������������������(�����+����������������������������� �B1� H1�����&����������� �� ��� ������ �� ��*+���� �� �������������H�������&��������������*+��� ����� ���(���(������������� �� H

I+���+������������������ ���������������������L����������������������2�������B1� HL�����(����������� �������������2�������+�������������������� ������+�������������2����������(����� �L�����&����������������������� (����� �� ���I4����������� ���������B#��� �� �� ������������������������������ �������� ����������(������������� �������������&������� ����������� ������� ��� ������ ��� �������� ��� #� ���&������ ���� ����������

4���#���������������������������������������!������������������MI4��������� ���������������"������� ��� 2 ��� ��"�������� � �� ��� ����� ��� �B$������� ����������������� ����(�� ���� ��������������� ��� ���������������� �����������

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

In recent times, India has earned thedistinction of being the “pharmacyof the world” for championing the

cause of supplying affordable drugs tomany countries. The pace at which the“pharmacy of the world” is growing,there’s no denying that India is utilis-ing its full potential. That the domes-tic market grew by �1.1 trillion in 2016-2017 and that India accounts for 20 percent of the global export volumespeaks volumes about our place in theglobal market. The Indian pharmaceu-tical market (IPM) is expected togrow at 9-12 per cent CAGR between2016 and 2021. Owing to an increasein Government spending in the health-care sector and with the launch ofschemes like Ayushman Bharat, thedomestic market is expected to witnessfurther expansion in the near future.

However, this is just one side of thestory. On the other side, standard pro-cedures, as mandated by the WorldHealth Organisation (WHO) and alsorequired by Western drug-regulatingauthorities like the Food and DrugAdministration (FDA), to approve abatch of drug upon its import, are oftensidelined.

However, while exporting thesame batch of drugs, India fulfils themandatory requirements — GoodLaboratory Practices (GLP), Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)and Good Clinical Practices (GCP).

India’s stand on quality drugmanufacturing: Many manufacturingunits are reportedly not compliant withthe WHO’s version of GMP for phar-maceutical products, neither do theyfollow good laboratory practices. Whilethere are 12,000 manufacturing unitsin India, only 25 per cent of them com-ply with GMP standards. And there areonly a few nationally-accredited labo-ratories in India.

The demand for 62,000 pharma-ceutical products requires adequate andindustry-specific drug testing labora-tories to be put in place. However, atpresent, only around 47 test facilities arelisted and which have been certifiedunder the National GLP programme,of which six central laboratories sam-ple around 8,000 drugs per annum.This has resulted in insufficient output.The industry has been unable to sati-ate mass demand.

One significant yet unintended

spill-over of low output, low-qualitypharmaceuticals is the rise to anotherbeast-drug-resistant disease. When astrain of tuberculosis, for instance, isexposed to substandard levels of med-icine that isn’t strong enough to con-tain it, the strain evolves into resistingfurther antibiotic action. Therefore,with the existing multiplying problemsthat the pharmaceutical industry faces,it is certain that drug resistance wouldfurther plague India’s health profile.

The case of Jan Aushadhi:Another push by the Government, theJan Aushadhi multi-purpose stallswere launched in 2015 under thePradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi

Pariyojana Kendra scheme, which cat-apulted the growth of “generics-only.”The programme aims at making qual-ity medicines available at affordableprices for all, particularly the poor anddisadvantaged, through exclusive out-lets so as to reduce out-of-pocketexpenses in healthcare.

But a move such as this, promis-ing to bring healthcare within the reachof the common man, has been marredby its own set of complications. Fivemedicines have been recalled from JanAushadhi stores in the last 20 days alonedue to quality lapses. There were sixother recalls between January andMarch, taking the total to 11 in just the

first four months of 2018 while therewere 11 recalls in all of 2017.

Such frequent drug recalls areunusual in India where a single recallcan land a company in serious trouble,including legal action, an export banand financial losses. Drugs are typical-ly recalled if the product is defective,contaminated, contains a foreign object,fails to meet specifications or is mis-branded. There are also other issues ofquality, partiality in procurementmodalities and irrational combinationsthat affect the timely availability/sup-ply of the right kind of drugs.

By opening Jan Aushadhi centreswithout supply and quality assurancesand without substantially increasing thehealth budget, any mass movement toachieve universal health coverage isbound to fail. Can we afford to be care-less on the quality aspect of drugs justto introduce cheaper variants of a drug?It is this question that is looming largein the Indian pharmaceutical markettoday.

Leaving a patient confused is nota sign of a healthy pharmaceuticalecosystem: Adding to the woes is thelack of awareness among patients as

they struggle between the efficacy ofbranded and non-branded generics.The latest blow by the Government wasto make it mandatory for doctors toprescribe generic salt, giving leeway tothe chemist nexus to grow to furtherincompetence and lowering qualitystandards. All efforts meant to achieveuniversal health coverage somehowmissed the basic but crucial factor ie,quality. The gamut of “generics only”is finding an anchor in the subconti-nent but is disturbing to the state of mil-lions, who expect quality over just price.

The systemic sidelining of brandsentering the domestic space by push-ing hard for cheaper alternatives can-not be seen in a socio-welfare spirit.Irrespective of export or domestic dis-tribution, a drug must be manufacturedunder the safety protocols enlisted bythe WHO. It’s not fair to suddenly stopa patient from consuming a drug thathas fostered trust based on results. Weare nowhere near to relying solely on“generics” since they do not meet safe-ty standards of their exported versions.

(The writer is Project Officer, Capacity Building and M&E,UNDP)

'"����!���������$����%�!�������������������� �������������������������� � ����������������� ������������������ ������������ ��� ���������������������

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

�������������������� ����� � !�� "#

)))*���% �����*���

�=�� ��� � �>�

�8����$&���� '�� �$1 $��&�'��1 !��3'�&��1�!���&�$�>�1����1�"���#�� �'�D�$&���5�3'���&@�&1��! '&����&1 &$ �! �9���5�'��&� ��&1�! '&����&1 &����� &�&���!����&1��1 '�1��&:�'���>��&1��'�91&���9 '' &�:�@�&1�������$&���� '� ��� #�"&�&1��3'���&�! '&� ��&1��# &&���5�'�&1����'��� ��'�1�!>�� ���'�# � $���!�'�!�$&�:�@&1�"91@�&1��� '�� #�"&����&1�9��"$1�#�99�'>����� �������� ���������

��%���%���-��,������-��%,

Page 8:  · 2019-05-19 · arch-rivals BSP and SP joining hands to pose a formidable challenge to the BJP ... have turned into a blast furnace as temperature at 11 stations …

*#" 3���������������������� ����� � !�� "#

�� � ��������

Regulator Sebi and stockexchanges have beefed up

their surveillance mechanismto check any manipulativeactivities in the market thisweek in view of the high-octane election related eventslined up.

The heightened surveil-lance and monitoring systemsare already in place forMonday, the first trading ses-sion after the announcement ofexit poll results, while theywould be further ramped up onThursday, when the final

results will be declared, a seniorofficial said.

The poll results are likely tohave a bearing on trading andincreased monitoring helps tokeep in check possible manip-ulations and excessive volatil-ity in the markets.

Manipulators tend toexploit such volatile situationsin the stock markets.

The enhanced vigil onthe markets will continue tillMay 23, when the results ofthe Lok Sabha polls will bedeclared.

According to the official,movements in Nifty futures

and options on the Singaporeexchange will also be closelymonitored. Trading inSingapore stock exchange startsmuch before Indian marketsopen and their trends general-ly have an impact on domesticmarkets.

The BSE Sensex soared537 points and the NSE Niftyreclaimed the 11,400 levelFriday in a broad-based rallyahead of the poll results.

During the week, theSensex gained 467.78 points, or1.24 per cent, and the Niftyadvanced 128.25 points, or1.13 per cent.

�� �������$�����,� �0��������������� ���� 3�C�<

China’s topdiplomat Wang

Yi has asked USSecretary of StateMike Pompeo notto go “too far” in its“damaging moves”against the Chineseinterests, sayingthat both countrieswill benefit fromcooperation andlose from conflicts.

S t a t eCouncillor and ForeignMinister Wang held a tele-phonic conversation withPompeo on Saturday, days afterUS President Donald Trumpsigned an executive order bar-ring American companies frominstalling the foreign-madetelecom equipment posing anational security threat, a moveapparently aimed at banningHuawei from US networks.

Beijing has warned of retal-iation against the order thateffectively barred Chinese tele-com giant Huawei from the USmarket.

The world’s top twoeconomies are locked in atrade battle that has seenmounting tariffs, sparking fearsthat the conflict could damagethe global economy.

Wang, noting that the UShas recently made remarks andtaken actions that are harmfulto the Chinese interests in var-ious fields including crackingdown on Chinese enterprises’normal operations throughpolitical measures, said Chinastrongly opposes such actions.

“We urge the US side notto go too far,” he told Pompeo.

History and reality have

shown that as two big coun-tries, China and the US willboth benefit from cooperationand lose from conflicts, Wangsaid, adding that cooperation isthe only right choice for thetwo countries.

The two sides should followthe direction set by the twocountries’ heads of state, man-age their differences on thebasis of mutual respect, expandcooperation on the basis ofmutual benefit, and worktogether in pushing forward aChina-US relationship based oncoordination, cooperation andstability, state-run Xinhua newsagency quoted Wang as saying.

China has always been will-ing to resolve economic andtrade differences through nego-tiations and consultations,which, however, should be con-ducted on the basis of equali-ty, he said, adding that China,in any negotiations, must safe-guard its legitimate interests,answer the calls of its people,and defend the basic norms ofinternational relations.

Wang stressed that Chinahas stated its firm opposition tothe US’ recent negative wordsand acts related to Taiwan,

and urged Washington to abideby the ‘one-China principle’and the three China-US jointcommuniques, and handleTaiwan-related issues careful-ly and properly.

The two sides alsoexchanged views on relevantinternational and regionalissues, the report said.

Wang emphasized thatChina, as a permanent memberof the UN Security Council, iscommitted to the de-nucleari-sation, peace and stability of theMiddle East.

The trade war betweenChina and the US escalatedafter Trump this monthincreased the import duty onChinese products worth $200billion from 10 per cent to 25per cent. China retaliated byslapping tariffs on $60 billionworth of US imports.

Trump has been demand-ing that China reduce the mas-sive trade deficit which last yearclimbed to over $539 billion.He is also pressing for verifiablemeasures for protection ofintellectual property rights(IPR), technology transfer andmore access to American goodsto Chinese markets.

���4���������$�������������� ��&�'!���������#�

���� �������

State-ownedBank of

Baroda (BoB)is consideringthe option ofrationalising8 0 0 - 9 0 0b r a n c h e sacross thecountry toimprove oper-ational effi-ciency, following its mergerwith Dena Bank and VijayaBank.

The merger of Dena Bankand Vijaya Bank with BoBbecame effective from April 1.

It does not make sense tohave branches of Dena andVijaya at the same locationwhen both have been mergedinto BoB, a senior bank officialsaid.

“There are cases wherebranches of three banks are atone location or one building.So these branches have to beeither closed or rationalised asduplication is a drain on effi-ciency,” the official said.

After comprehensivereview, BoB has identified 800-900 branches which needs to berationalised, the official said,adding that the lender couldopt for re-location and in somecases closure.

Besides, there is also needto close regional and zonaloffices of merged entities asthey would not be required.

The official further said,the bank needs to expand ineastern part of country as it has

strong presence in South, Westand northern part of the coun-try.

With the first ever three-way merger, BoB has nowbecome the second-largestpublic sector lender after StateBank of India with over 9,500branches, 13,400 ATMs, and85,000 employees to serve 12crore customers.

The consolidated entitystarted the operation with abusiness mix of over �15 lakhcrore on the balance sheet, withdeposits and advances of �8.75lakh crore and �6.25 lakh crore,respectively.

The maiden three-wayamalgamation is considered asthe major step in the consoli-dation of the public sectorbanking industry recom-mended in 1991 by theNarasimham Committeereport.

It is to be noted that whenState Bank of India (SBI) amal-gamated its five associate banksand Bharatiya Mahila Bank inApril 2017, it rationalised about1,500 branches across thecountry.

���� ��������

India has registered tradedeficit in 2018-19 with as

many as 11 RCEP membercountries — including China,South Korea and Australia - outof the grouping of 16 nationsthat are negotiating a megatrade pact since November2012.

The RegionalComprehensive EconomicPartnership (RCEP) bloc com-prises 10 Asean group mem-bers (Brunei, Cambodia,Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar,Singapore, Thailand, thePhilippines, Laos and Vietnam)and their six FTA partners -India, China, Japan, SouthKorea, Australia and NewZealand.

According to the provi-sional trade data, India’s tradedeficit — the differencebetween imports and exports— with three countries (Brunei,Japan, and Malaysia) has in factincreased marginally in 2018-19 as compared to the previousfiscal.

The trade gap with Brunei,Japan, and Malaysia hasincreased to $0.5 billion, $7.1billion and $3.8 billion, respec-tively in the last fiscal. It was$0.4 billion, $6.2 billion and$3.3 billion in 2017-18.

However, deficit withAustralia, China, Indonesia,Korea, New Zealand and

Thailand has narrowed in2018-19 as compared to thepreceding fiscal.

With Australia, China,Indonesia, Korea, New Zealandand Thailand, it narrowed to$8.9 billion, $50.2 billion, $10.1billion, $11 billion, $0.2 billion,and $2.7 billion, respectively, in2018-19, compared to $10 bil-lion, $63 billion, $12.5 billion,$11.9 billion, $0.3 billion, and$3.5 billion in 2017-18.

Interestingly, the trade sur-plus with Singapore ($2.7 bil-lion) in 2017-18 has turned intodeficit of $5.3 billion in 2018-19.

India has trade surpluswith Cambodia ($0.1 billion),Myanmar ($ 0.7 billion), andthe philippines ($1 billion) in2018-19.

India did not carry out anytrade with Laos in the previous

fiscal. Experts have mixedviews over the impact ofincreasing trade gap on India’sposition in negotiating megafree trade agreement.

An industry expert onthese negotiations said as thisis a comprehensive trade deal,India will get greater marketaccess in other countries notonly in goods, but in servicesalso.

On the other hand, someexperts said that India needs tobe cautious while negotiatingthe pact, as trade deficit isincreasing with several of theRCEP member nations, whichwould impact domestic man-ufacturers.

“Free trade pacts are notabout only giving marketaccess, but also getting thataccess in other countries. Ourexports to countries like

Singapore, with which Indiahas trade surplus, is notincreasing. In 2018-19, we havea trade deficit with Singapore,”said Biswajit Dhar, the profes-sor of economics at JawaharlalNehru University.

He said that as the strengthof the domestic manufacturingis weak, India would not beable to take advantage of suchfree trade agreements.

An official said that Indiadoes not have free tradeagreement with two of itsbiggest trading partners —the US and China — but thecountry has highest positivebalance of trade withAmerica, while it has highestdeficit with China.

RCEP negotiations, whichstarted in Cambodian capitalPhnom Penh in November2012, aims to cover goods,services, investments, eco-nomic and technical coopera-tion, competition and intellec-tual property rights.

Pressure is also mountingon India for early conclusion ofthe proposed trade pact.

Member countries arelooking to conclude the talks byend of this year but manyissues, including the number ofproducts over which dutieswill be eliminated, are yet to befinalised. Domestic steel andother metal industries wantsthese sectors to be kept out ofthe deal.

�� ������������ �����������88�%+/������������<58=984

���� ��������

The RBI’s ‘Payment SystemsVision 2021’ document

would act as a catalyst for pro-moting digital economy andinstill confidence among thegeneral public, fintech com-panies say.

Aiming at a ‘cash-lite’society, the Reserve Bank ofIndia last week released thevision document for ensuringa safe, secure, convenient,quick and affordable e-pay-ment system as it expects thenumber of digital transac-tions to increase more thanfour times to 8,707 crore inDecember 2021.

The RBI has said it willimplement the approach out-lined in the document duringthe period 2019 - 2021.

COO of Payworld PraveenDhabhai said the vision doc-ument has a focus on empow-ering payment systemproviders and at the sametime providing ease to con-sumers.

“We are confident withour vision as a payment systemprovider aligned with the reg-ulators, we will be able to con-tribute in increasing the digi-tal transactions penetrations

especially in the assisted seg-ment in smaller cities andrural Indian,” he said.

Navin Surya, ChairmanEmeritus, Payments Councilof India said: “Clarity in defin-ing outcomes in terms of scaleof digital and overall pay-ments vis a vis GDP is a verygood measurement to lookforward to and also assess theimpact of work done by allstakeholders.”

However, KYC simplicity,digital KYC and KYC bureau,as well as simplification ofexisting policies to enableNBFCs to issue credit cards ismissing from the document,said Surya, who is also thechairman of FintechConvergence Council.

Mandar Agashe, founderand vice chairman, SarvatraTechnologies, was of the opin-ion that the 24X7 helplinethat the RBI plans to set willhelp in instilling confidence incustomers regarding the dig-ital payments system.

Other than this, geo-tag-ging of payment system touch-points will help companiesunderstand where and whattype of transactions are takingplace, which will also lead tocurtailing frauds, he added.

�30��:�������$"��&��! ���&����&����&���!"'��9�& ���$����;�?�&�$1�5�'��

���� ��������

The GST Council is likelyto consider next month a

proposal for setting up anat iona l bench of theAppel late Authority forAdvance Ruling (AAAR) toreconcile the contradictoryorders on similar issuespassed by AARs in differentstates, a move aimed at pro-viding certainty to taxpayers.

Sources said the revenuedepartment is mulling onthe idea of a national benchof AAAR since it feels thatthe Authority for AdvanceRuling (AAR) mechanismin its current form is notserving its objective of pro-viding certainty to taxpayersunder the Go o ds andServices Tax (GST) regime.

“There has been a viewthat a second AppellateAuthor ity for AdvanceRuling needs to be set up. Itwould be a national benchonly to reconcile divergentverdicts passed by stateAARs. We will present theproposal before the GSTCouncil, which is expected tomeet in June,” an officialtold PTI.

The AARs in differentstates have passed about 470

orders, while AAARs havedisposed of around 69 casestill March 2019.

Out of the orders passedby AARs, contradictor yorders were passed in about10 cases, a couple of whichwere later clarified by theCentral Board of IndirectTaxes and Customs (CBIC).

The official further saidthe GST law would have tobe amended for setting up asecond appellate authoritysince the Act in its presentform does not provide for acentralised authority.

Setting up of a nationalbench of AAAR would helpbring certainty in the GSTera as divergent rulings byAARs leave the industryflummoxed about the taximplication of a particularbusiness decision.

“The composition of thenational bench of AAARwould be decided after thestates agree to the proposal,”the official added.

In view of the confusioncreated by contradictory rul-ings, the revenue depart-ment had last year too moot-ed a proposal to set up a cen-tralised appellate authorityfor advance ruling to bringuniformity in such cases.

�6� � C�����

Major crude producers areset to meet on Sunday to

discuss how to stabilise avolatile oil market amid risingUS-Iran tensions in the Gulf,which threaten to disrupt supply.

Key OPEC members andother major suppliers includingRussia will assess the oil mar-ket and examine compliance toproduction cuts agreed latelast year.

But the subject of Iran,which is not present, will dom-inate the one-day meeting ofthe OPEC+ group.

It comes days after sabo-tage attacks against tankers inhighly sensitive Gulf waters andthe bombing of a Saudi pipelineby Iran-aligned Yemen rebels.

The meeting also comes asthe full impact of re-instatedUS sanctions against Tehrankicks in, slashing the Islamicrepublic’s crude exports.

Hours before the meetingin Jeddah, host Saudi Arabiasaid it does not seek war withIran, but is ready to defend itsinterests.

The meeting is set to makerecommendations ahead of a

key OPEC summit in late June,to be attended by Iran.

President Donald Trumpsaid last month Saudi Arabiaand other OPEC members hadagreed to his request to boostoil production in order to tampdown rising prices.

Massive drops in exportsby Iran and Venezuela plus out-put cuts of 1.2 million barrelsper day, implemented by theOPEC+ group since January,have cut supply.

But UAE Energy MinisterSuheil al-Mazrouei said inven-tories were still building up.

He told reporters Saturdaythat the job of balancing themarket was not yet complete,a hint that any ramp-up in pro-duction could send pricescrashing as they did in late2018.

OPEC and theInternational Energy Agencysaid earlier this month thatglobal oil supply fell in Aprildue to US sanctions on Irantightened and OPEC+ pro-duction cuts.

The IEA said Iranian crudeproduction fell in April to 2.6million bpd, down from 3.9million before Washingtonannounced in May 2018 it

would withdraw from the 2015Iran nuclear deal and re-impose sanctions.

Iran’s output is already at itslowest level in over five years,but could tumble in May to lev-els not seen since the devas-tating 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war.

Energy intelligence firmKpler sees Iranian exportsplunging from 1.4 million bpdin April to around half a mil-lion barrels in May — downfrom 2.5 million in normal cir-cumstances.

Venezuela’s output is alsotumbling, down by over halfsince the third quarter of lastyear.

Kpler data shows OPEC+members have kept to agreedproduction cuts.

But exporters fear a rush toraise production to plug the gapleft by Iranian exports couldbackfire, triggering a new sup-ply glut.

Sunday’s meeting comesamid soaring Gulf tensionsafter the mysterious sabotage ofseveral tankers off the Emiraticoast and drone attacks,claimed by Iran-aligned Yemenrebels, which shut a key Saudicrude pipeline.

Both attacks targeted

routes built as alternatives tothe Strait of Hormuz, the con-duit for almost all Gulf exports.

Iran has repeatedly threat-ened to close the Strait in caseof war with the US, which saidthis month it was sending anaircraft carrier and strike groupto the region.

Saudi Arabia accused Iranof ordering the pipeline attacks,targeting “the security of oilsupplies... And the global economy”.

Saudi foreign affairs min-ister Adel al-Jubeir said Sundayhis country does not want warwith Iran, but was ready todefend its interests.

Riyadh “does not want awar, is not looking for it andwill do everything to preventit”, he told journalists in Riyadh.

Saudi Arabia calledSaturday for urgent meetingsof the Gulf CooperationCouncil and the Arab Leagueto discuss escalating tensions,government news agency SPA said.

It also said Crown PrinceMohammed bin Salman hadspoken with US Secretary ofState Mike Pompeo aboutenhancing security in theregion.

3�������������������������������� ���� ��������

<,��%�"$���� ��$�����'� &�� �#�$1��5��������&���&1O���:�&��9�:��$�'& �&��&��& �! ��'�

���� ��������

Corporate affairs ministryplans to introduce artifi-

cial intelligence system inthe MCA 21 portal as it seeksto make compliance processeasier as well as ensure rou-tine enforcement activitiesare done round-the-clock onautopilot basis.

MCA 21 is the electron-ic backbone for dissemina-tion of information to allstakeholders, including theregulator, corporates andinvestors. All filings underthe companies law are sub-mitted to the ministr ythrough this portal.

Corporate Af fairsSecretary Injeti Srinivas hassaid the ministry would lookto “ introduce Art i f ic ia lIntelligence in MCA 21 whenversion 3 of the portal isrolled out in about a year’stime”.

“It will look to rationaliseall the forms, follow the prin-ciple of single source of truth

so that one is not required tofill in known details again (asit will get filled automatical-ly) and also interlink data-bases , so that rout ineenforcement is done 24x7 onautopilot basis,” he said.

In the ministry’s month-ly newsletter, Srinivas alsosaid that MCA 21 allowselectronic filings of variousdocuments under CompaniesAct, 2013 and has fully auto-mated all processes related toenforcement and compliancemonitoring under the Act.

Earlier this year, the min-istry sought applications fromservice providers to developas well as operate the upgrad-ed version of MCA 21 system.

MCA 21 system wasstarted in 2006.

The first phase of the e-governance initiative of theministry was implementedby Tata Consultancy Servicesand the second phase is beingimplemented by Infosys forthe period from January2013-July 2021.

2�5� ������������������������������%������$#6���� ����

�� � ��������

India’s top refiner Indian OilCorp (IOC) will evaluate the

implications of US sanctions ifIran was to invest in its sub-sidiary Chennai refinery’s Rs35,700 crore expansion, itsChairman Sanjiv Singh said.

IOC plans to pull down the1 million tonnes per yearNagapattinam refinery of itssubsidiary Chennai Petroleum

Corp Ltd (CPCL) and build abrand new 9 million tonnesunit in the next five to six years.

National Iranian Oil Co(NIOC), which holds 15.4 percent stake in CPCL, is keen toparticipate in the expansionproject, Singh said.

Following US decision toreimpose economic sanctionson Iran, IOC will examine theimpact of NIOC investing fur-ther in CPCL.

%���� ��� � ��������� �� ������2�����������������,� ����!� �2���������'���� ��� � �������# �� �� �:����# �� �� �� ����,� ����!� ����� ���������� ���� ��� ���� ��� ����������������� ������������ � ������:����� �� ����������������,� ����!� ��������������%��������2�%�� ��+���2���/� ��+�������������������������A�������$���:�$������������������������ ��������,����������� ���� ����� ��������������� ���

�������J� ����������������� ����������B��J�������

��'9�'���! $&;�3�3���2��&��' &�� ����+���)���#' $1��

Page 9:  · 2019-05-19 · arch-rivals BSP and SP joining hands to pose a formidable challenge to the BJP ... have turned into a blast furnace as temperature at 11 stations …

�$&'�����B������@��1�����9� '�9"!�5�'�1�'���&�5��������� �� � ���1�����!�&'�5����&���1��&�5�'�&1��5���@�1�$1������#����'�$&���#��1�'�5 &1�' ��:�&�' �5���� 2�' '&��&��&'��-��!!���&����D �31 &&� ��, D ��"&&>

��� �&��2�&���& 9' �@!��&�9� �!1�&�9' !1��5&1��5���L��$� !#� '�@��1��'�&�;�E��� ������ ����5������ �� ���&1 &L����5 &1�'@���� ��������'�$&�'@�1����9�&1�$� !>��#�9���1��&�� �5���� ��� ��1����&��@�L��!�&'�5���>�5������2�� �&����"���&'��9�&�$���#� �#� "&�5"�@������@����&��� ����"& �>��1�!��� 2���&�&��&1��&�! ���5��5 ����1�!�L�� #���&��9�&�"! 9 �>F

�1�� $&'����� ���&���� �E&�"91�$���#>F

�$&'�������������L��� ���'��&��, &!"&��1 �$� '�5����&1 &�!���$�1 ���&�9�:��$�� $1�&�&�� $&�'��'�'�'��:'���1��� � $$"�����5����" ��1 ' ����&>

, &!"&��� ��@�E�1�'����'�'"��"'��&1 &�$�� �$1�&�1 ��#��9�:��&��� &�2 '�#��&1��!���$��#"&�&���0&>��1���� '��D"�&�5 ���'"��"'�� ����� '��9��9�&��& 2� $&��� 9 ��&�&1��>�� ����D"�&!� ��9�!��$1���9�$ ��9 ���>F

���$� �����&1 &�� ����E&'��9&��!"&�!'���"'����!���$�� ��������� ��9�&1��$ ��>F����1 �� ���'�5"&���&1��'�!�'&���1�$1��& &��&1 &�&1�'�� '���&�!'�!�'���&������L��& &���&���1�$1�'��� &�� "�1'��L�� ���9 &���>

�$&�'�.�BB�� �� 1 �� �2����'�$&�'���;�!�)&!��&�� ��� �&�"$1�5�3�����������5�'&1$���95������������

E������� ���1�&>>>�!���!��� '��9��9�&����:���&>�1 :��#���&'��9�&�������#��&�3��������:�'������&1���5���>�2��!�&����9���&$1��&1 &�1��1 ��&��9�:���& �5"���3��������5� :�"'@F�,��&1�� ��>

��� ����@�E1 :��#���:���&�9�� @����&�9� �1 9�9��"&>��1������&��!'���&�������&1�9>����L&2����1 &����� &�&����N�#"&�����1�"���& '&@�����1�"���!'��"$��&�&�9�&1�'>F

�1��5������� �&1'����9 ��:�#' &���:�� $&�� � !& &����5�&1����:�� �� &���$� ���$���:��>

� �/�,� (��#�'�##�,#/��������?� ���

@���*�#*�� � �3#4' '' ($����*�5 8%�<���#0 ��# +� /�* "�(�,, / "��#'* ����/#(%��'<�� 0 "��� �5'#�����* (����#���0 ���##5�����/ "(�")*�5 8%���"(�,�'��#"'�3� '<<<��#�������(#"A��*�''�#%��#"�"3���")<��%/�")��� (�32����/ , /��#���0 ��"��%/����##5<��#���/ , /���*�"�*��*�5 8%�<� ��"�)��'2����5 ��#�)#�������� 4#�(<BC��/���%��/��

�������������������� ����� � !�� "# 0�0����3�D

�*���B'��B$##(�#%����#������

Mati Diop was initially dis-appointed when she, byreading a news article,

discovered that she was the firstBlack female filmmaker in theCannes Film Festival’s prestigiouscompetition in its 72-year history.

“I hadn’t realised myself. I did-n’t know,” the 36-year-old French-Senegalese filmmaker said in aninterview. “My first reaction is thatI found it quite sad. I thought, ‘Oh,is it?’ So there’s still a long way togo before it becomes somethingcompletely natural and normaland something that’s not notice-able, the fact that I’m a Blackwoman.”

Diop’s milestone has beenenthusiastically celebrated inCannes, where she on Thursdaypremiered her feature film debutAtlantics. The film, which is com-peting for Cannes’ top honour, thePalme d’Or, focusses on thewomen left behind in Dakar whenmany of the local young men fleeSenegal for Spain by boat, unableto make a living at home.

But for Diop, her unique posi-tion in Cannes is a perplexing dis-tinction.

“What I realised, and I’m notused to this feeling, is that it hap-pened to me. I am not respon-sible for that. I haven’t doneanything specific for that. I’vejust made the film I wanted tomake,” said Diop. “I’m notembarrassed. I’m not proud. I

just take it as a pure fact.”Atlantics marks Diop’s first

feature as a director, but she’s pre-viously made five shorts, one ofwhich was the basis for her Cannesentry. That 2009 short bore thesame title but a different perspec-tive, concentrating on a youngman forced into a dangerousmigration.

“I was myself a witness of thesituation, quite a close witness,”said the Paris-based Diop, who 10years ago visited her family inSenegal. “It was a decade ago thatthere was this whole wave of a

young generation who were tryingto flee. They went towards Spainand many of them disappeared. Ineeded to tell this story. I hadalready dealt with it in my shortbut I felt I wasn’t done with it.”

Diop links her reconnectionwith Senegal to her birth as afilmmaker. She is the daughter ofSenegalese jazz musician WasisDiop and niece of the pioneer-ing Senegalese director DjibrilDiop Mambéty (Touki Bouki).Diop’s 2013 documentary AThousand Suns examined heruncle’s legacy and his 1972 film,considered a cornerstone ofAfrican cinema.

Diop has gradually formed herown aesthetic, one that sometimesbleeds documentary and fiction.A friend called “Atlantique, a fan-tasy documentary.” Diop prefers “acontemplative action film.”

“It was written as fiction butI don’t make this limit. I don’t

think it’s our business as filmmak-ers to draw these limits betweendocumentaries and fiction. Whenyou have the desire to make a film,you make it,” she says. “The real-ity that I described is so anchoredin social and political and eco-nomic terms, of course there is areal texture and embodiment ofthe subject and my approach it init that can be documentary-like.”

Atlantics is also dazzling andotherworldly, with waves of sorrowwashing up on Dakar shores.Mama Sane plays Ada, whoseboyfriend, along with his ship-mates, vanish at sea. After, a mys-terious specter haunts many ofthose who drove the young menaway. Diop compares the tale toUlysses.

“It’s a misunderstanding toconsider Penelope (of Ulysses) apassive figure who’s just waiting forher beloved to come back,” saidDiop. “What I found interesting isthat although these women arewaiting for these men to come,their life is transformed by theexperience of this loss. It’s howthese women can reconquer theirown life and reach a certain levelof emancipation through the lossthey experience.”

Diop has gradually come toterms with her history-making sta-tus in Cannes. On Friday, she toldreporters that maybe she is a lit-tle proud, and noted that JordanPeele’s films (Us, Get Out) havebeen enthralling for her. In theinterview, she cited Sofia Coppola’sThe Virgin Suicides as a guidepostto her.

“I must acknowledge thatmyself, when I was growing up, Ididn’t have a black or mixed racefilmmaker who would have beeninspirational to me,” said Diop. “It’simportant to have these kinds offigures. So if I may somedaybecome a kind of figure foryounger women, then that wouldbe wonderful. So I think that itdoes matter.”

C"�

That is one newspaperthat we do not get inMumbai, why is that?asks Arjun Kapoor assoon as I introduce

myself. When I get into the details,he immediately pipes in, “Shouldwe start an edition in the commer-

cial capital?” When I laugh andreply in the affirmative, he starts

discussing the similaritybetween the two cities, somuch so that the two couldbe twins. That is Arjun, as Idiscover over the course of

the next 15 minutes or so,interested in a whole lot of differ-ent issues which he can discuss witha clarity that is engaging.

The actor is in the capital topromote his forthcoming film,India’s Most Wanted, directed byRaj Kumar Gupta, and at the press

conference just before the inter-view, he does not miss answer-

ing any questions, somehumorously and others on amore serious note depend-ing upon the issue at hand.When a young reporterwants to know what

Malaika Arora, his rumouredgirlfriend, had to say about thefilm, without missing a beat,

Arjun replies, “I will tell you this onthe side,” as the entire hall reverber-ates with laughter.

Another reporter, introducingherself says, “I am fromHindustan...” when Arjun replies,“So am I.” When someone asks himhow he will appeal to the public towatch his film, he is quick toretort, “If I appeal, in this season,it will seem as if I am asking forvotes.” Not surprisingly, there islaughter, yet again.

But he does not let his humourpepper the proceedings when itcomes to the film, which is basedon a real life mission about the cap-ture of a terrorist by five ordinarymen “without firing a bullet.”When someone talks about theassociation of religion with terror,Arjun counters, “The genuine factof the matter is that world over,whether it is the incident in SriLanka or New Zealand, people aretrying to radicalise others andrationalise it by using religion tojustify it. There is no religionwhich justifies violence againstinnocents. Terrorism is terrorism.Using religion to instigate vio-

lence and terrorism gives an insightinto the base mindset of these menand women. We are a secularcountry and surnames do not mat-ter. We should remember that wehave been taught to be together asa country so why should we let any-one divide us on religion, caste andcreed?”

So when I point out that on hisTwitter handle, he has been askingpeople to say Vande Mataramwhich is one of the slogans, of late,that has been mired in controver-sy, Arjun gives me a patient hear-ing to explain my point of view andalso voices his views. “Patriotism isan emotion that is stirred withinyou on its own. It has nothing to dowith people who are trying to useit for their personal agenda. Ourintent has to be clear. If you wantto take 10 seconds to pay tribute topeople who keep India safe, it hasnothing to do with politics. Peoplehave the understanding to differ-entiate and you must respect thatunderstanding. Rather than beingdivisive, it unites,” he elaborates.

The promo of the film, whichreleases on May 24, is realistic withsubtle patriotism in evidence. Arjunagrees, “It is non jingoistic. That wasthe intent. It is grounded in reali-ty because that is how intelligencepeople operate. It’s not about theones who stand behind mics andspeak but about doers. These arebalanced individuals who do notsay Bharat Mata Ki Jai or Jai Hindor Desh ke liye jee jaan lutaenge afterevery third line. Their actionsspeak. I think it is contemporary.Understated is the new cool.”

He believes that what will go infavour of this film is rather thanspoonfeeding answers, it willencourage the audience to askquestions. “If you make cerebralfilms, you will open up and tap intoa larger mindset. A lot more peo-ple will ask good and interestingquestions and make relevant obser-vations. When you go back home,you will wonder the morality ofwhy these things happen, howpeople use religion to their advan-tage and how ground level realitiesare hidden from the commonman. There are a lot of questionsthat are worth diving into but filmsusually don’t make us do that. It isnice to pick up the morsel and biteinto it yourself,” says the actor whomade his debut with Ishaqzaade in

2012 opposite Parineeti Choprawith whom he stars next in DibakarBanerjee’s Sandeep aur PinkyFaraar.

We go on to discuss the spateof patriotic films that have come outrecently. He says, “Last year whenI signed it, the ecosystem of poli-tics was very different. Right now,we are in a patriotic swing, politi-cally and cinematically. But it justgot aligned rather than beingdesigned.”

He believes that there is a rea-son that the audience has warmedup to the idea of patriotic films,where there has been a flurry withParmanu, Raazi, Uri and RAW fol-lowing quickly one after the other.“Our youth are very restless.There is an adrenaline rush intheir veins and they do feel asense of patriotism. They havebecome numb to a lot of thingsthat they read about and see butcinema still has the power toventure deep into their soul.Earlier people felt that aray yekahaniyan kaun dekhna chahe-ga? People now want to knowhow India became ‘India.’ A filmlike Raazi is a part of contem-porary history and tells us aboutan incident which happened inour lifetime. People are moreintrigued by their own mother-land rather than looking at theWestern civilisation for inspi-rational answers, solutions andvalidation today,” he says andpoints out that there hadbeen a big void since Borderin 1997. “Chak De! India wasdifferently patriotic and beau-tifully so,” he adds.

While preparing for thisrole, Arjun did meet someofficers, though not the oneswho actually took part in themission because of securityreasons. “When I met themI realised that violence istheir last resort. It is calledIntelligence Bureau for areason as the word indicatesthe use of brains ratherthan physical strength.Mental strength means youhave to be able to getalong with people toget information,blend in the crowdand live a normal life.This role is not like that of a heroin a conventional film, rather this

is a common man,” he says.While Arjun has done shoots

at live locations in Finding Fannyand Aurangzeb or even for hisforthcoming Sandeep Aur PinkyFaraar, he says the experience herewas different for a reason. “Youneed to be responsible while youare portraying an existing person’slife. So when they see this, theyshould feel that justice has beendone. You cannot just walk in and

say the lines without havingthe emotional integrity. Youneed to build a moodwhich is difficult whenyou are shooting at livelocations because thereare logistical nightmares.But you have to stay hon-est, maintain your sanityand still deliver as Prabhatand not let the ArjunKapoor aura step in. I

think that the pay off is thatthe tone is consistent,” he

says.Arjun has his reason for

choosing this film. “I signed thislast February, so it was six yearsinto my professional life. As anentertainer, you feel a certainsocial responsibility. The feelingwas in the sub-conscious andyou can’t ignore it. I felt a certainrage when I read the story and theneed to tell it. It is not as if I wokeup in the morning and suddenlydecided to do a film on a terror-ist. When I read it, I realised theamount of filth which is there inour country, where the story of400 people having lost their liveshas disappeared. This man wascaught in 2013. We are sitting in2019 and he is alive. While the dueprocess of law should be fol-lowed and he should be given afair trial, the need is to ensure thatit is done within a time frame,”says Arjun who has supported ini-tiatives like the Earth Hour andhas helped raise awareness forconservation in the Sundarbansregion of the country. In 2017, hejoined hands with the globalmovement and campaign, ‘GirlRising,’ to empower women.

Arjun says that there is a waythat he goes about in choosing anyrole. “I look at whether as an audi-ence, I would want to watch thefilm. Then whether the director ison the same page as I am. So whenI am hearing something, does it

sound exactly the way I want to doit? Then whether my character isexciting. Sometimes the story canbe great but my character might notbe enough to bite into. So thesethree. And in that order.”

Actors do have a rich smorgas-bord to choose from now thanks tothe improvement in content. Arjunexplains, “Our audience is moreinterested in knowing about ourcountry and culture, so the storiesare now more richly embeddedwithin our own communities andtribes. Earlier, films were based inSwitzerland where the hero cameon a bike. We no longer lookWestwards for approval, inspirationor validation.” He also points outthat while the stories are more root-ed, there is also more exposure toworld content thanks to the digi-tal medium. “So, you are compet-ing with the West in a way. But wehave found our own stories. Streewill not work in a Western societyas they tapped into an interestingconnect where the older generationwill believe in a superstition whilethe youth shall mock it. Badhaai Howouldn’t be so taboo or funnyabroad. Similarly, a Ki & Ka wouldbe generic as house husbands existin the West. In India, it is a newconversation. The evolution of theaudience always dictates cinemapatterns,” he says.

Arjun, who has done 11 filmsin seven years, says that he does notwish to go any faster as it would bea difficult pace to do justice to anyrole. “I’ve done more films than mycontemporaries, whether it is Varun(Dhawan) or even SiddharthMalhotra. In the first three years, Ihad seven releases. As is bound tohappen, post that I was choosy.Sometimes films take long to bemade. Tevar took a year and afterthat I needed a break. After Ki &Ka, I hosted Fear Factor: KhatronKe Khiladi, a TV show for threemonths. Half Girlfriend neededthree-four months of preparation.So films get spaced out. Now whenI am shooting Panipat, I can'tshoot anything else because I ambald in the film. Every film takes atleast six to eight months. I think theaudience, too, don’t need an over-dose but a break. This year I havethree releases and last year, I hadone,” he says as he walks off readyto express his candid views toanother journalist.

'���"�������4�����������������$&'���� ����'�$&�'������-��� ���&1 &��&0��P"�&��� ��&1 &��1�����&1��5�'�&�3� $2�5�� ���5���� 2�'��

&1��$��!�&�&�����$&��� &�&1��5��&�: �����&�� .��� '�����1��&�'�

DIANA GLITTERS INGOLDActress Diana Penty,who is at the gala as apart of an associationwith Grey Goose, madea sparkling debut with aglittery gold ensembleat the film festival. Forher look, the Cocktailactress chose a ravishingmini golden tassel dressby Greek fashion design-er Celia Kritharioti.

She paired it withembellished sheer gold-en knee-length heeledboots by the samedesigner. The 33-year-old actress attended thegrand Chopard partywith nude make-up and lips. She com-pleted her look with sleek middle-part-ed hair.

HUMA DAZZLES INBLAZERS

Actress HumaQureshi presented herselfin two ensembles — asparkling black blazerdress with golden courtshoes, followed by a redblazer paired with a tulleskirt.

The actress’ forth-coming web series, Leila’strailer was released at thegala, which is set in theimaginary world ofAryavarta where there isgreat suffering, extremeand totalitarian rules ofengagement and fictionalextremes constructedaround an obsession with

purity, communal and divisive societal dra-mas and grit.

C"������

� � � � � � � � 9 � � � ; � � � � �

6�78�91-,.-.2�9 -0-1�1����"&1�1 :��#�$����"�#�&�� ���&��5�&1�9��&1 &�&1���'� �� #�"&� ������#"&�$��� ��&���1 ��&1��!���'�&��:�&"'�����!��&��&1��'���"�>����!������� &�&��2���1����� �#�$ ��K�� @0� $&�'���C8��7��--��&�����,�� ,�����

. � � � � � � � � � � � �

�����&�� �� #� �� �

Page 10:  · 2019-05-19 · arch-rivals BSP and SP joining hands to pose a formidable challenge to the BJP ... have turned into a blast furnace as temperature at 11 stations …

�������������������� ����� � !�� "# 0�0����3�$����%���&�6�

�4)�4����!��&"�9������ �

The biggest festival of Indiandemocracy, the elections,

are over and people are nowwaiting for the results. Almostevery party who contested inthis election, announced itspolicies and programmes in itsmanifesto if voted to power andare chosen to govern. Thesepolicies and programmesaddress various current issuesand major problems of the dayas well as the long-term devel-opment of the country or theState. In short, each party high-lights certain issues and in itspolitical wisdom, tries to offerthe best solution for it.

Some parties put greateremphasis on the importance ofbeing Indian and buying Indianor being Swadeshi whereas oth-ers emphasise that we mustcome out of the cocoon, liber-alise the country’s economy,invite foreign investment andparticipation in a big way andthus make the country compet-itive in the world’s markets.Some say that India’s securityultimately lies in being a non-nuclear power while othersstress that we as a countryshould not feel shy to openly gonuclear, as only strong nationssurvive. The economic policy ofsome parties, as published intheir manifesto, lays equalemphasis on rural as well asurban development while oth-ers feel that it is more prudentto focus on agro-rural develop-ment, as most of the populationin India lives in villages.

Some of them also suggestthat India should not blindly fol-low the western model butlearn from the mistakes madeby the west which have result-ed in dangerous levels of envi-ronmental pollution besidescausing other ills due to itsexcessive emphasis on theurban-industrial development.Thus, one would find a varietyof views expressed in the man-ifestos of different political par-ties. However, if we put togeth-er the plus points from the man-ifestos of all political parties, theend statement that wouldemerge would consist of the fol-lowing special features. Theparty would work for betterenvironment and take mea-sures to stop further deteriora-tion, that it would work for cre-ation of more employmentopportunities, better standard ofliving and reduction in crimeand corruption and work for abetter social order that has har-mony, that all would fully enjoyhuman rights, justice and basicfreedom and finally there wouldbe peace and good relationswith neighbours and hence,there would be stability andsecurity and no wars. So, in anutshell, the statement wouldmean that there would be puri-ty, peace and prosperity orhealth, wealth and happiness.This can be termed as theCharter of the people’s

demands. Now, if we ponderover this statement a bit moredeeply, we would come to theconclusion that health, wealthand happiness or purity, peaceand prosperity are indivisible.They all go together and theycannot exist in an enjoyableform if only some of the popu-lace have these and the rest donot. They cannot exist, if thereis no sovereignty and there isclash of interests due to any ofthese being in short supply.Thus, these have to be in abun-dance for people to experiencethe joy of life coupled with thebreath of freedom. So, if thereis disease and squalor in someparts of the country or if thereis hunger, poverty, pain or lackof peace in our neighbourhoodor even in any remote part of thecountry, we cannot have com-plete peace. Moreover, purity,peace and prosperity will beonly fleeting if there is no spir-ituality and if all the divinevirtues are not intact in humancharacter.

But unfortunately, noparty has published a mani-festo which talks of manbecoming divine. This isbecause little does any partyrealise that all its promises tothe electorate would remainunfulfilled if the citizens of thecountry do not have a greatcharacter. So, the new erawhich they promise to bringwould remain an unfulfilleddream as long as the nature ofthe people is not transformedinto something better. This isa task which they cannot per-form because they do nothave the magic wand of divineknowledge which transformshuman nature into the divineone. For it is the work of theSupreme who places beforemankind the partyless mani-festo of complete purity, peaceand prosperity or ever-healthy,ever-wealthy and ever happylife before all people irrespec-tive of their race, religion orcaste and community. Thisgoal can be realised by all sec-tions of society, provided theyhave purity in their life, basedon divine knowledge given bySupreme. This, then can beconsidered as the manifesto ofthe people and for the people.

7�!�����������4�"�5�8� ��8!�����7����!�� &5 "�!7����8��;� ������79���9�!7��&�9�<��5������9'���9� &�#��&�$�'����& $�@�� ��'�9��'��� '$1�'��1 :���:���!��� �� ��&��$1 '9��"!�&1�5�91&� 9 ��&�# $&�'� ���5�$&���"��9����$&'�$�&�>

�1�����$&'�$�5�����# ����'����9�$ ��&��������'"!&�#��5����5�$&��@��&�$ � ����!'�:�&��"$1�5�$&���@�� ���&1���&"���!"#���1�����&1��D�"' ��� ����5,"'9�'�>

3 $&�'� ��#��5����� '��&1��&1 &�5�'�����������"��@�$�"��9�#"'���'�!��&��"'9�$ ���5�$&���>��1����# $&�'� 9��' &��&1��'�������$&'�$�&�@�"��9�&1��'�������$&'�$�5�����&��$���"�$ &�� ��5�'��&1��#��5���@��1�$1�� 2���&1����'��1��&���� ����55�$"�&�&��&'� &>�

�1���'����9����$&'�$1���$ �������5�9��' &������:��&�5����$&'�$�&��"!��$�& $&���&1�#����5�"�����"$1� ����"�5�"����'�#����@��1�$1�����&���"91�&��1"'&��'����$&'�$"&��&1�! &��&@�� ���&1���&"��>��1��'��� '$1�'��#����:��&1 &�&1����$�:�'��1 ��&1��!�&�&� ��&��$'� &����9�5�$ &�$1 9����&1��� ��!1���$� ��&'� &�! &��&����&1�# $&�'� ���5�$&����1�$1� '��'����& &�&�� &�#��&�$�>

� ��������������!�9� ��"�5� �<�� �!7����9' &���5'���!���"&�9:�1�$����&1 &�#"'�5������5"���&�����$&'�$�:�1�$���@���� ���"��9����$&'�$�&��9��' &���"�& � #���$�"����9�5�$ &���'��"$��&1��$���$���5�$ '���!"��� '���������"��&�� �'�!���"&��@� ��� ��&"��>

�1���$�"����� ���&�����&���������!������ #��$��5'����'2�&1'�"91��������#"&� ������ ��&��#'� ����!'�:���&���&1��P" ��&�� ����9&1��5���5�>

�1��'��� '$1�'�@���&$1������"��� ��� :����'�91&�5'��&1��8�:�'��&���5�-&& � ���% � @� ������&1��1� �&1#��5�&�� ���$� &�����&1��'�:�9� ����$&'�$�:�1�$��@� �$��! '���&1�����&1�&1��$��&��5���! ��9�&1�����$&'�$:�1�$���$1 '9�9��5' �&'"$&"'��#�&����.���� ��.�.�>

�1���&"��@�!"#���1�����&1��&�' &�� ��C�"' ���5���$&'�$� ����#'�����1�$���@�5�"��&1 &���&1��� D�'�&���5!� "��#����$� '�����5�# � $���9'��&1@��1��&1��"�#�'��5:�1�$����'�������������&1��"�#�'��5�$1 '9�9��& &���@� �&1�'����� �!���&�:���&�#��5�&�&����$��&�>

5���"� '��#"������ &�&1����'2!� $�@��&� ���� ��&��$�"&�'!'��"$&�:�#�1 :��"'�#�������1 '��9���"'1� �&1@�� '�'��� '$1�'�>

�1���&"����1�����&1 &�������$ ����&1������$1 ' $&�'�����#�� �� $2�5�!'�#�������:�9� ��1�91 :��� $��$�!�9��&' &�9������2��'�2�9� �$�1����1��1 :�9� !'�#���� ����!�'��$�9�:�'�5'�P"�&��9 &�:�����&���>

E-:�' ��@��"'�'��"�&���1���&1������&��$�����'��&������!��"'��&�� ��&�!����5�#"����9�#"&� ����&1��'� ���$� &��$���P"�$��>��! '&�$"� '@�&1��5���9��1�91��91&�&1 &�:�$&���� &����� ���$� &����&�������&1�1� �&1�!'�#�����#"&� ������&1� �9'� &�'��2���1�����5��&�#�1 :�9���������&1�&1����!�$&�����$� �� ��'9 �� &�� ���'��@F�� �����#�'& �?�� @��'�5����'� &�&1�8�:�'��&���5�� �&��9�� ����9� �>

3"����9��������5�&1��� D�'��$$"! &�� ���&'������5�'��!������� ��&1���55�$&��$ �$��!'������&1��'���:���!��&� �1� �&1@� ������� ���&�'5�'����&1�&1�� $1��:���&��5�#�&1�!�'�� � ��!'�5����� ��9� ��>

�� '&� && $2��&1 &���&���1 !!����&1���'�9�&���&��#���'����:�'��&1 � &�91&@�� ''��� '$1�'�>

�1���&"��@!"#���1�����&1��D�"' ��'��������"���9�@���$"�����1���&�����5&1��� �� 55�$&����:�'�&��5� 55��$&���@�' 9�9�5'��� ���'9����&��1� '&� && $2�>�

?�'��� �!��@��&"������1�����&1 &� � !&�:�����"�'��!����@����1�$1�1�91����!�$� �����@�! &1�9��5�91&�9�$�������:���!��:�'����2�@� '��"��'�$�'$ �� $�&'��>

���� '$1�'��$��!������&"�����&1 &����2��� &�&1�$��$&���#�&����$�'$ �� �'1�&1��� �����"�'��!����>�E�1������K�&'�2�90� ���1�"���1 :��K'���: $�05�'�$���$ �� !!��$ &���@�5'���&' �!� &��&�: $$� &���@F�� ����&"�������'� "&1�'�%1'��&�!1,$1���'� @��'�5����'� &�&1��8�:�'��&���5�<��: >

����������� ��!"�����#����$%�!"�%$%&

�1��$1��$���5�9�&&�9� ���9� &1�������1� :�����5�"�$���#�� ���:��" �0��9��&�$�� 2��"!@�� �� ��&"��>�

?�'�&1���&"��@�!"#���1����&1��D�"' ��,$��&�5�$���!�'&�@�&1��$��&��&�����2����&��&1�1�'�& #���&���5���9����'�1�!�"��9��5�'� &���5'��(*@�(*�&���! �'��5'���&1��,�����1�������9��&'�>

E����"$1@�&1����5���9��1 :��� D�'���!��$ &�������:�' ����55�'�&�5������'�� &���&��"��'�& ��9���9�1"� ��&�' $&���&1'�"91�"&�1��&�'�� ��������'&����@F�? ���� ��>

��&1�"91���9�� ���&1�'�!�&�� '��$����1�"��1�������#�'�� $'����&1��9��#�@���&&������2���1��&1�����! $&��"'�� ������5�� ��1� �&1>�E��'1 !������!��!���1 :�� �1�91�'�� &��!'�!���&��&��$ '��5�'� �!�&&1 ��&1�'�@F�? ��� ����>��1��'��� '$1�'��5�"�$�$�'� $��' &����5���9����'�1�!�&��#���"$1�� '9�'�����&�$ ��&����&1 ��������&�$ ������N��"!!�'&�9&1��:����&1 &�9��&�$��������!� ��� �� D�'�'������&1�$1��$���5����9� ���9>

� ����$�$�'��$&����(�����$� �$%����$"%�

�� �� "��'�*�)��� /����"��� �'$#/(<C���5���#/(�"

�1������' @��1�$1�!���&�$ ��! '&����!'������&��#'�9@���"���'�� �� �"5"�5�������'� �� ����9� ��&1�� &"'���5�&1��!��!�������&&' �5�'���@�� �����CA-< 3�����78��� �78� C

Historian Thomas Fuller oncesaid, “One that would havefruits must climb the tree.”

When one mentions Leh, the picturethat comes to mind is a place with therugged terrain of the Himalayas andsparse vegetation.

On October 29, 2012, the peopleof Leh witnessed an event where anattempt, though a small one, wasmade to turn the perception around.Volunteers planted nearly one lakhLadakhi willow trees which was aworld record. Those saplings have nowgrown into trees and are locatedbetween the Hemis monastery(Ladakh’s largest monastery) and theIndus River. In 2017 at a tree planta-tion drive organised by the Leh ForestDepartment, hill council chief execu-tive councillor, Dr Sonam Dawa said,“the hill council has a road map to savethe environment by planting more treeson barren land and which also stress-

es upon the need for water conserva-tion.”

Environmental degradation hasnow become a serious issue for Ladakhand there is a need for more tree plan-tation which should be done on a reg-ular basis. Different types of trees likeapple, apricot, poplar, willow and wal-nut can easily be grown because the cli-matic conditions are suitable. Trees areuseful for oxygen and can control airpollution. The fruits are nutritious forhuman beings and the leaves can beused as fodder for the animals.

Thubstant Dolma from Phey vil-lage says, “We have different types ofapple trees. Due to the weather condi-tions, the apple harvest is good in ourvillage. Since the last few years we havestarted growing different types of veg-etables also. We are also trying hard togrow more trees and vegetables in thevillage.”

Stanzin Angmo from Nimoo vil-

lage says, “We can grow poplar trees toowhich are useful for wood and otherraw materials that are used for manu-facturing disparate goods such as fur-niture, doors, windows and decorativeitems. The trees prevent soil erosion.

We have been planting them near ourhouses for many years now.”

Tsewang Norboo from Stakna vil-lage suggests that we can plant trees inall the vacant places wherever one lives.“Trees save us from flood and manyother natural calamities. Trees arealready very less in number and if wecontinuously cut them, it can be veryharmful for both human beings as wellas for animals.”

Other villages have planted apricottrees which have the dual benefit of pro-viding fruit and improving the air qual-ity.

Ysetan Dolma from Ang villagesays, “Our village has lots of apricottrees. We need to plant different kindsof them. We have planted great num-ber of poplar saplings also for future use.Both these trees help us in so manyways with our livelihood. We are ableto sustain our lives from the sale of apri-cots and in future too we will contin-ue to get an income from them. Thereare not just environmental benefits butalso numerous economic benefits.”

Trees absorb harmful gases provid-ing us with fresher and cleaner air tobreathe. Air pollution is not just an essaytopic for a 2nd grader anymore but oneof the deadliest killers in India today.These days even a city like Leh has beenfacing air pollution due to shortage oftrees.

These days planting trees is becom-ing essential because human beings arecutting them indiscriminately them fortheir personal greed. Rapid industrial-isation, urbanisation and populationgrowth have contributed to thisdenudation to a great extent.Afforestation is good for larger bene-fit of society. In Leh district, the quan-tity of trees is very less, but we can eas-ily increase the number. The more treeswe plant, the better for us, we will beable to have a clean and green environ-ment. It helps majorly in sustaining thelivelihoods of many people in Leh.

Small business opportunities ingreen waste management and landscap-ing arise when cities value mulchingand its water-saving qualities.Vocational training for youth interest-ed in green jobs has also facilitatedemployment. This will also help inuplifting the poor by helping them toget a better income.

C+� ��� �;� �����

Badkhal lake in Faridabad,which was once a populartourist gateway for the

people of the national capital,has turned into a barren pieceof land for the past 20 years,thanks to illegal quarrying andmining in the area.

Now, various measures arebeing discussed at the govern-ment level to restore the lake,including construction of asewage treatment plant (STP),but damaged aquifers, lowgroundwater level and distur-bance of water catchment path-ways cast aspersions.

Also, experts feel thatrestocking of existing forestlands that have been depleted inall these years could hold key tobringing Badkhal lake back toits old glory.

Rajendra Singh, who wonthe Magsaysay Award in 2001and the Stockholm Water Prizein 2015, feels rejuvenation of thelake could be done through nat-ural ways.

“The source of water for thelake is forests and they are in adegraded state now. So there isneed to ensure greenery in thecatchment area for smooth flowof water,” said Singh, who is alsocalled the Waterman of India.

Badkhal lake was built soonafter the country gotIndependence in 1947 to facil-itate water supply to the near-by farms. In 1972, the Haryanagovernment built a resort off the

lake, which was a major touristattraction during the ‘70sthrough to the ‘90s.

Later, construction boom inthe National Capital Region(NCR) drove quarrying andmining in the area at a largescale. As illegal mining andquarrying mushroomed, thedownward water flow to the lakewas not just obstructed, butaquifers were also damaged, saidenvironment analyst ChetanAgarwal.

In addition, deforestationand rampant borewell diggingin the area owing to urbanisa-tion worsened the situation,leaving the lake high and dry.

“Mining and quarrying dis-turbed the aquifers in theupstream areas and createdsome amount of disturbance inthe pathway of waterflow. So lesswater must be coming to thelake now. Groundwater levelstoo have gone down to 150-200feet near the Badkhal lake. Sowater percolates in the groundvery fast. Also, shrinking offorests is a major cause of con-

cern,” Agarwal said.Damdama lake, which is

about 20 km from the Badkhallake, has also dried up for sim-ilar reasons.

The Aravali Range, which isconsidered to be the oldestrange of fold mountains inIndia, has witnessed damage to

the flora and fauna in thisregion, which is close to theAsola Wildlife Sanctuary, owingto excavation activities.

While the impact of miningactivities on the big carnivore inthe area — the leopard — hasnot been assessed properly yet,it has definitely taken a toll on

the population of birds and var-ious kinds of trees in the area,Agarwal said.

Ashraf Khan, a youngsterwho lives near the Badkhallake, said he never saw water init.

“My parents told me thatthere used to be water in the

lake earlier and people used todo boating during summers.However, I have never seen thelake full of water except for fewpuddles during monsoon,” hesaid.

“About two decades ago, theBadkhal lake would be filledwith water even during summermonths. Now, the tourists hard-ly go there,” a Haryana govern-ment official said.

The average booking ofthree-four rooms daily in the30-room resort run by theHaryana government, whichwould remain fully booked 20years ago, bears testimony to it.

The Indian Institute ofTechnology-Roorkee (IIT-R)was appointed last year to carryout geo-technical survey of thedried-up Badkhal lake underthe Smart City project. It hassubmitted its report to the gov-ernment recently.

The government is plan-ning to build a sewage treatmentplant to fill the lake. The projectis in the final stage of the ten-dering process, sources said.

However, experts are notimpressed with the plan. Singhsaid the government’s plan wasnot “revival” as claimed, but“renovation”. “It is renovation asit is a new physical work.However, if you want to reviveand rejuvenate the lake, youneed to ensure continuous flowof water into the lake,” he said.

C�")�

6�� ������������:������ �����������������%��(������(���������������������������������������%*�916.;-. 46.2;,$ ������������ ��������������������

"�)/+/����-�;3%�"���

��$"�"���%�!�"��%����8��!�'&��5����&1 &�'��&�$2�9��5�����&�9�5�'��&�� ���&1 &�1 :��#�����!��&����� ��&1������ '��$�"���1����&1��2���&��#'�9�9�3 �21 ��� 2��# $2�&���&������9��'�

?�8�,������,���?�-������,�%���3�,-���������8,��-�����%-��>,�����38,��,,�,��<�������,��

����<��������,������%��,����8��8�%��<������,������,���<Q8����,>�-%��-���

�����<�?-�����A-8��������,�����<�����C-3,�,��,-���<�����%-�-�%��

3���?��

Page 11:  · 2019-05-19 · arch-rivals BSP and SP joining hands to pose a formidable challenge to the BJP ... have turned into a blast furnace as temperature at 11 stations …

'�#/��66�������������������� ����� � !�� "#

�6��■ ���%��,���

Manchester City's treblewinners have been hailed

as English football's greatestever team after their FA Cupfinal demolition of Watfordcompleted an historic cam-paign.

Pep Guardiola's sidebecame the first English clubto win the Premier League, FACup and League Cup in thesame season thanks to theirswaggering 6-0 success atWembley on Saturday.

Equalling the record mar-gin of victory for an FA Cupfinal was the perfect way to capa remarkable year for City, whofollowed their record-breakingPremier League triumph in2017-18 with an even moreastonishing run this term.

They are the first Englishtop-flight side to register 50wins in all competitions in asingle season.

Guardiola's men alsoscored a record 169 goals in 61games this season, beatingtheir own previous best of156.

City now rank high on thelist of the greatest Englishteams of all-time.

Only a select few can claimto be on a par with City, an elitegroup that includes Arsenal's2004 'Invincibles', ManchesterUnited's 1999 vintage, whowon the Premier League,Champions League and FACup, and the Liverpool team of1984, who lifted the old FirstDivision, the European Cupand the League Cup.

The world's media wereunited in their praise forGuardiola's men, who havewon five of the last six domes-tic trophies.

Eurosport labelled City as

the country's greatest ever,writing: "They may not havewon the Champions Leaguebut the cold hard facts don't lie:Manchester City are the bestteam to ever grace Englishfootball."

The Guardian's BarneyRonay summed up City'smajestic form over the lastyear.

"Manchester City's historicFA Cup final win was almostswamped by the glowing list ofstatistics piling up aroundthem — but nothing can dis-

guise the scale of this achieve-ment and the brilliance of PepGuardiola's team," he wrote.

"Welcome to the neworder. Domestic games: played51, won 43. Domestic tro-phies: three out of three. Five-goal hauls: 11. Defeats sinceChristmas: one.

"Scan the history books,fan back to the big city clubs ofVictorian times, linger on thered-shirted eras of the last 50years.

"English domestic footballhas never seen anything quite

like this single-season hit fromManchester City. It turns outwe really do all live in a skyblue world now."

K��������� � ��LCity midfielder Kevin De

Bruyne came off the bench toscore in the FA Cup final, end-ing an injury-plagued seasonon a high for the Belgian.

De Bruyne insisted it ishard to compare different eraswhen it comes to rating the all-time greats.

But he was happy to reflect

on a truly breathtaking cam-paign for the treble winners.

"It has been an unbeliev-able season to win three titles.It says enough," De Bruynesaid.

"To compare generations isvery difficult. We are happy tobe in the conversation but weshould just enjoy the momentbecause it doesn't happen veryoften."

De Bruyne says it is"already an honour" to be con-sidered one of the best teamsin English football history, but

he won't indulge talk of goingone better by winning next sea-son's Champions League.

"It is not about topping it,it is about being consistent andtrying to achieve the best," hesaid.

"We are not starting theseason saying we want to winthree titles or four titles, wewant to play the way we playand do our best.

"It is not all about the endproduct, it is about the journeyand you appreciate it evenmore."

�6��■ ���%��,���

Vincent Kompanyannounced on Sunday

that he will leaveManchester City after 11trophy-laden years tobecome player-manager ofAnderlecht.

Belgian defenderKompany joined City in2008 and made 360 appear-ances, winning four PremierLeague titles, two FA Cups,four League Cups and twoCommunity Shields.

The 33-year-old signedoff with victory in the FACup final on Saturday,where the club captain lift-ed the trophy after Citythrashed Watford 6-0 tocomplete a domestic treble.

"As overwhelming as itis, the time has come for meto go. And what a season tobow out," Kompany said.

"I feel nothing but grate-fulness. I am grateful to allthose who supported me ona special journey, at a veryspecial club."

Anderlecht is theBelgian club whereKompany began his profes-sional career before joiningHamburg and he admittedhe is relishing the chance tomove into management.

"I choose to be gratefulfor the past but remainambitious and driven for thefuture. For the next threeyears, I will take up the roleof player-manager ofAnderlecht. Belgium'sfinest," he wrote onFacebook.

"This may come as asurprise to you. It's the mostpassionate yet rational deci-sion I've ever made."

Kompany has been rav-aged by injuries in recentyears and he featured in only

17 of City's 38 league gamesthis season because of mus-cle problems.

He also paid tribute tohis team-mates and manag-er Pep Guardiola.

"It's cliche to say it butit's also so true: without myteam-mates, I would havenever been here today," hesaid.

"We fought many battlestogether. Side by side. Ingood times and in bad. So toall of you, from the 2008-2009 squad to today'sdomestic treble winners: Iowe you guys!

"A special word also toPep and the backroom staff:you've been superb. You'vefollowed me through somuch hardship. You mademe come back strongerevery time. Thank you somuch."

In September, City willhold Kompany's testimoni-al match, from which he willdonate all profits toManchester's homeless.

���■ ��������

India need to consistently score goalsunder tight marking to narrow the

gap with top teams like Australia, saidcoach Graham Reid after his first majorassignment with the national team.

On their tour of Australia that con-cluded on Friday, India lost both thegames against the hosts after beatingthe A team.

Speaking about the tour compris-ing five matches, Reid, who wasappointed as India coach last month,said that the assignment in his homecountry was an opportunity for him tounderstand his team better.

"It was good to get a view of wherethe team (India are raked five) is at,compared to the World Number 2 side(Australia). They have been playingagainst world class oppositions on aregular basis in the FIH Pro-Leaguesince the World Cup last year, and thisshowed up in our two matches againstthem," he said.

"For me, those matches provideda good bench-mark as to the level wehave to be at as we move towards theOlympic qualification. So, in terms ofpreparation for our upcoming FIHMen's Series Finals (here next month),the tour was ideal.

"It provided me a great opportu-nity to view players at much closerquarters and under the pressure of aworld-class team. Our first quarter inthe first Match on Wednesday nightshowed me the level this team can play,we just need to do that on a more con-sistent basis. Not only across quarters

but across games," said Reid.The 55-year-old Australian said

that his team was focused on improv-ing its attack.

"Our ability to score goals undertight marking pressure will be criticalif we are to close the gap with teams likeAustralia. Over the next few weeks inBhubaneswar during our NationalCamp (starting on Monday), we needto create as many opportunities as pos-sible for our attackers to experience thistight pressure," he said.It will also becritical for our defenders to keepimproving this area from a defensivepoint of view. With speed and powerbecoming the dominant forces inWorld Hockey, we also need to keepimproving in these areas."

���� ���,

Monaco virtually made sure oftheir French Ligue 1 survival

with a 2-0 win over Amiens onSaturday while champions PSGsigned off their home campaignwith Kylian Mbappe scoring his32nd league goal of the season in a4-0 win over Dijon.

Radamel Falcao and AlexsanderGolovin scored in either half at theStade Louis II to take Monaco to 36points and three above the drop zonewith one match left to play.

Monaco, the 2017 champions,are not mathematically safe but theyhave a three-point lead over Caenwho occupy the relegation play-offspot with a goal difference of seven.

Guingamp were already rele-gated while Dijon were pushed to theedge of the trap door when they lost

4-0 at PSG.French World Cup winner

Mbappe, back from a three-matchban for a red card in the French Cupfinal, scored two of the goals to takehis league tally to 32 with one gameleft.

He is the first French player toreach that figure since Herve Revelliscored 31 for Saint-Etienne in the1966/67 season.

PSG were presented with theLigue 1 trophy for the eighth timeagainst a background of fireworksafter a win which preserved their 16-point lead.

Saturday's result was never indoubt after Angel Di Maria andEdinson Cavani had given PSG a 2-0 lead inside the first four minutes.

Suspended Neymar, the world'smost expensive footballer, watchedthe game from the stands before join-

ing his teammates in a lap of honourin front of their fans at the Parc desPrinces.

"We wanted to leave behind agood image before the end of the sea-son with the quality we have shownthroughout the campaign," said PSGdefender Thilo Kehrer.

"We did that by winning 4-0, itwas important for our supporters. It'sa great feeling to be league champi-ons."

Elsewhere, Lille made sure ofsecond place and a spot in theChampions League group stageswith a 5-0 rout of Angers.

Nicolas Pepe, who will leave theclub in the summer, scored twice totake his season tally to 22.

Lyon will finish third — enoughfor a Champions League preliminaryround place — after a 3-0 win overNice.

���■ <8�����

All eyes will be on six-timeworld champion Mary

Kom as 72 Indian boxers viefor honours against 200pugilists from 16 nations in thesecond edition of India Openbeginning here on Monday.

Asian Games championAmit Panghal and WorldChampionship Bronze medal-list Shiva Thapa will be amongthe other top Indian boxers inthe tournament which willserve as a preparatory meet forthe World Championships (anOlympic qualification event)from September 7-21 inYekaterinburg (men's) andfrom October 3-13 in UlanUde (women's), both inRussia.

Having opted out of theAsian Championships lastmonth in order to prepare forthe World Championships,2012 London OlympicsBronze medallist Mary Komwill make her competitivedebut at home in 51kg in the

$ 70,000 five-day meet at theKarmabir Nabin ChandraBordoloi Indoor Stadium.

"Yes, of course, there areexpectations from me. I feelmore confident in 51kg after

the last few months of rigor-ous training," said the starpugilist who had won Gold in48kg category at the first edi-tion in 2018.

While Mary Kom will be

India's biggest medal hopeyet again, Amit Panghal(52kg) will be looking to con-tinue his dominance afterwinning the AsianChampionships Gold.

Assam's Shiva Thapa(60kg), who created a recordby winning medals in fourconsecutive AsianChampionships, will be aim-ing to impress the homecrowd and so will AnkushitaBoro (64kg), a Gold medallistat the 2017 World YouthChampionship.

2017 World BoxingChampionships Bronzemedallist Gaurav Bidhuri(56kg) will be another bigmedal hope from India.

Keeping in mind theapproved weight categoriesfor Olympic qualification,some of the Indian pugilistshave changed their weightcategories including AsianGames Gold medallistPanghal, who has changedhis weight category from 49kgto 52kg.

Asian ChampionshipsBronze medallist Manisha

Moun will be fighting it out in57kg for the very first time.

Simranjit Kaur, a Silvermedallist at the continentaltournament in 64kg, hasswitched to 60kg as well andwill be competing with formerworld champion Sarita Devi,who added her eighth Asianmedal this year.

After her stunning perfor-mance at the AsianChampionships, where shebecame the first Indian to wina Gold in 81kg, Pooja Rani hasgone back to her originalweight category of 75kg.

The top international box-ers lineup includes AsianGames Gold medallist BaturovBobo, Asian Games championMirzakhalilov Mirazizbek,two-time WorldChampionships medallistJasurbek Latipov ofUzbekistan, Youth Olympicchampion Brian AgustinArregui of Argentina, worldchampion and reigning AsianChampionships Josie Gabucoof Philippines.

B��*��"�� -�,�1/�(3%�$*���.������� ��� ��/����������� ��.����� ������������ �� ��������������������������������������

������� ��� ��� ����� ���������������� ������� ��������� �� ��+���� ��� ��/�� ��� ���

#%<��=(��������<�"�� ��%�����5�����(

�6��■ �����

Real Madrid delivered asuitably dreadful end to

their miserable season, andGareth Bale was not evengiven the chance to say a like-ly goodbye, as ZinedineZidane's side were beaten 2-0 at home to Real Betis onSunday.

Zidane had indicated thiscould be Bale's final gameahead of an expected summerdeparture but the Welshmanwas left on the bench, madeto watch on as three substi-tutes came on ahead of him atthe Santiago Bernabeu.

None were able to reviveanother dreary and disjoint-ed Madrid performance,which concluded both theseason and first phase ofZidane's much-hailed returnas coach.

"The best thing for us isthat it's over and we canthink about next year," he saidafterwards. "Because thingswill change, for sure."

As the players saluted thefans at the end, they weregreeted by a chorus of whis-tles.

By then, Bale was alreadyoff down the tunnel, perhapsaware that any attempt at afarewell could be given aneven colder reception.

"I'm sorry, I didn't giveBale minutes today," Zidanesaid. "But I don't know what'sgoing to happen, I have tomake decisions based ontoday and the match."

"There are no excuses,"Zidane said. "It has been dif-ficult from the start of the sea-son and now at the end withme. That is the reality."

He has promised changeover the summer and many inhis squad here could leave —goalkeeper Keylor Navas, whowas the subject of severalaffectionate chants during thegame, as well as Nacho, Sergio

Reguilon, Isco, MarcosLlorente and Bale.

If this was to be Bale's lastappearance after six seasons,in which there have beennumerous injuries but sever-al trophies too, including fourin the Champions League, itseemed a sorry way not to saygoodbye.

Betis confirmed coachQuique Setien would notreturn next season, after a tur-bulent campaign saw the clubdrop out of contention forEurope and finish 10th.

Lionel Messi finished theseason as La Liga's leadingscorer with 36 goals, nettingtwice in a 2-2 draw at Eibar ashe earned the Pichichi awardfor a record-equalling sixthtime.

Marc Cucurella gaveEibar a surprise lead on 20minutes at Ipurua, drivingunder the body of reserveBarca goalkeeper JasperCillessen after a cushionedlay-off by Sergi Enrich.

Messi responded withtwo goals in as many minuteson the half-hour, applying apair of clinical finishes toassists from Arturo Vidal andIvan Rakitic.

Cillessen was again atfault though as Eibar levelledmoments before the break, theDutchman racing out his areato head clear only for PabloDe Blasis to volley superblyback over his head.

The draw meansBarcelona finish with 87points, six fewer than last year.They have not hit a lower totalsince coming third in 2008but it was still enough to endthe season 11 clear of AtleticoMadrid and 19 ahead of Real.

Ernesto Valverde's sidewill bid for a fifth consecutiveCopa del Rey next weekend,but nothing can eradicate thesense of disappointment, stilllingering from their night-mare in Europe.

������� �����0���/��3���0���

�����&���$�'��$����&�&��"��'�&�91&�� '2�9;�����

!������)������������������

�����9�'��������������"��!

Page 12:  · 2019-05-19 · arch-rivals BSP and SP joining hands to pose a formidable challenge to the BJP ... have turned into a blast furnace as temperature at 11 stations …

'�#/��6��������������������� ����� � !�� "#

�����■ �8�3�

With the ICC CricketWorld Cup 2019 just

around the corner, all eyeswill be on Team India which isseen as the most strong con-tender and on former captainMS Dhoni who is probably fea-turing in his last World Cup.Experts of the game believe thestumper will be a majorweapon in Captain ViratKohli's armoury.

Speaking on Star Sports,the tournament's official glob-al broadcaster which intro-duced a new show 'FAB 15' thatanalyses each player who ispart of the Indian World Cupsquad going to England, for-mer New Zealand cricketerBrendon McCullum said: "Heis invaluable to the Indianteam, he has a blueprint in hismind along with an approachto the game. He always puts theopposition under pressurewhen he arrives at the creaseand reads the game perfectly.His fitness has been great, andhe has been striking the ballbeautifully in the recent past."

On MSD's recent form asa wicketkeeper and batsman,former England batsman KevinPietersen said: "His calmnessgives him the ability to judge

what's in front of him, it does-n't matter what situation it is,he is just one of those guys whoyou know would hold onto theball when thrown at him."

"The best thing about IPLthis year was the rebirth ofMSD's batting, he took out allthe bowling attacks in front ofhim," he added.

���■ ��������

Senior India off-spinnerRavichandran Ashwin will be

tuning up for the inauguralWorld Test Championshipagainst West Indies by playing inEnglish County forNottinghamshire.

"Yes, Ashwin will be playingfor the Notts this season. TheCoA had already made it clearthat any centrally contractedcricketer will have automaticrights to play County cricket ifthat player gets an offer. Ashwin'sdeal is almost final and only theCEO needs to sign his NoC," asenior BCCI functionary privysaid.

After Test vice-captainAjinkya Rahane inked a dealwith Hampshire, it is the turn ofAshwin to play six division 1County games for theNottinghamshire side that alsohas England's premier fast bowlerStuart Broad in their ranks.

This will be Ashwin's secondstint in English County, havingplayed four games forWorcestershire during the 2017season.

It was a fruitful season backthen for the 32 year old, who got20 scalps in four games and alsoscored 214 runs.

The BCCI has been in touchwith the various county sides asthey want their top long formspecialists to play county cricket

every season during June andJuly.

As of now, Rahane, Ashwinand Cheteshwar Pujara (withYorkshire on three year con-tract) are certain to play thecounty games.

Umesh Yadav and IshantSharma may also feature in a fewgames if things fall in place.

As far as the youngsters areconcerned, Prithvi Shaw, Hanuma

Vihari and Mayank Agarwal willbe with the India A side in theWest Indies as a part of the shad-ow tour before the senior squadembarks on its journey.

World Test Championshipwill begin soon after the ICCWorld Cup with the Ashes inEngland starting the event, whilethe Windies tour India, and NewZealand hosts Sri Lanka — bothin July.

���■ �83��

South African fast bowler Lungi Ngidi wants toset the record straight against India in the

upcoming World Cup, saying his team "owes one"to the Virat Kohli-led side following its ODI seriesloss at home.

Visitors India had sealed a comprehensive 5-1 win over South Africa last year.

The Proteas were missing some key playersskipper Faf du Plessis, AB de Villiers and Quintonde Kock during that series and Ngidi believes a full-strength team will be able to return the favour whenthey clash with India on June 5 at Southampton.

"I believe we owe them one," the 23-year-oldsaid.

"I'm looking forward to India. When they camehere, they had a good series against us. So in mymind, I believe we owe them one. It would be a veryexciting game for me. I'm sure it will be for all theguys as well.

"They're a great team, don't take that away fromthem. But when they had a good series here, wewere missing a few players. With those guys back,we'll see how it evens out a bit," added the 23-year-old.

South Africa have never won the World Cupand Ngidi said it would be a dream come true ifhe can help the side to victory.

South Africa will open their World Cup cam-paign against hosts England and Ngidi said theywould want to send a statement to the hotfavourites.

"We are well-aware that they are probably undera lot more pressure than we are," said Ngidi, whohas picked up 34 ODI wickets at an average of 21.64.

"They are hosts, they're considered to befavourites and that's an advantage for us. We obvi-ously want to win, and if we do, it would send amassive statement."

�����■ 7-�7���

Pencilling in David Warner andSteve Smith into the top-order

could be a headache, but there isno doubt the pair would only makethe playing XI richer as they striveto defend their World Cup crown,feels former batsman SimonKatich.

While Warner has been in theform of his life, finishing the IPLas the highest scorer for SunrisersHyderabad, Smith stamped hisclass in the warm-up games againstNew Zealand.

"They are both quality playersand their records speak for them-selves. The hard part is theAustralian team has a problem ofplenty particularly in the top four.

"Both of them are top fourplayers. There is (Usman) Khawaja,(Aaron) Finch, Shaun Marsh, andthe two and these guys will try tofit into four slots. Then there isMaxwell, Stoinis. It's going to be atough selection call," Katich said.

For the defending champi-ons, the primary selection questioncentres on how to fit in AaronFinch, Usman Khawaja andWarner into the top three.

After the World Cup, Australiawill take on England in the Ashes.

"They will welcome back theexperience of Smith and Warner,"said Katich when asked about theoff-field baggage that comes alongwith the pair.

"The balance with the battingline-up is what they need to get

right," the 43-year old reiterated.Katich, who worked closely

with India's World Cup boundwicketkeeper batsman DineshKarthik during his time as assistantcoach of the Kolkata Knight Riders,also threw his weight behind the33-year old whose selection raiseda few eyebrows.

"There is a lot of talk aroundthat No 4 spot, and he is a guy wholikes to spend time in the middle.Once he is set, he is very hard tobowl to at the back end. He has gotall the tricks and he does have thetiming and power to clear therope," said Katich who has played56 Tests and 45 ODis for Australia.

"It's hard to judge a playerbased on T20 cricket with ODIcricket," he concluded.

���■ �8�3�

Former India opener Lalchand Rajput believes theVirat Kohli-led side has the best bowling attack

among the 10 teams to take part in the upcoming WorldCup, making it one of the favourites for the 50-overshowpiece event.

"I think India has got best bowling attack and wehave got a very well balanced team. We have got verygood all-rounders and if we look at any other team, Indiais best equipped for that," Rajput, who is also the men-tor of Triumph Knights Mumbai North East, said onSunday.

"….And if it is a good day our team, it is very dif-ficult to beat them. And Hardik (Pandya) is a great X-factor in the team and (Ravindra) Jadeja who can getgoing at the lower order, so overall I think we have gota very good chance and I think we should be in the topfour," added Rajput, who is now Zimbabwe's coach.

India begin their campaign against South Africa atSouthampton on June 5.

Rajput, who was the team's cricket-manager whenIndia lifted the inaugural T20 held in South Africa in2007, feels that this team has the a heavy top three inShikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and skipper Kohli.

Asked about the similarities between the World Cupwinning 2007 side and the current team, Rajput said,"As I said, there are lot of all-rounders, all-roundersmakes lot of difference and I think we have got goodall-rounders, the strikers as well, we got a very heavytop three (batsmen) and that's very important."

"Earlier also there was (Virender) Sehwag, Sachin(Tendulkar), now we have got Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit(Sharma) and Virat (Kohli) and then we have got theX-factor, somebody can really bang like a HardikPandya, (Mahendra Singh) Dhoni as usual a great fin-isher, so we have got a very well balanced team," saidthe former Afghanistan coach.

���■ ,��C-��L,�

Aretired Dwayne Bravo hasbeen included in the list of 10

reserve players by Cricket WestIndies (CWI) for the ODI WorldCup starting in England on May30.

Bravo, who had announcedhis retirement last October, andKieron Pollard, who hasn't playedan ODI since October 2016, founda place in the reserve list put up onthe website of Cricket West Indies(CWI) on Sunday.

Bravo, who plays for ChennaiSuper Kings in the Indian PremierLeague, featured in an ODI wayback in October 2014 and his lastmatch for West Indies was a T20Iagainst Pakistan in September2016.

It was under his captaincy thatthe West Indies team had returnedhome midway through a series inIndia in 2014 after a fallout withthe board.

Pollard, on the other hand, lastplayed an ODI in 2016 againstPakistan at Abu Dhabi. He last rep-

resented the regional side in a T20Iagainst India in November 2018.

Other players in the listinclude Sunil Ambris, JohnCampbell, Jonathan Carter, RostonChase, Shane Dowrich, KeemoPaul, Khary Pierre and RaymonReifer.

"The choice of players in thereserve list is to really cover ourbases and ensure we have a goodbalance in the pool of players thatcan be selected if replacements arerequired," said Interim Chairmanof Selectors Robert Haynes.

"We think the skill set in thispool is strong with a good blendof experience and upcomingyoung players who can be ready tocontribute when required."

The West Indies will have atraining camp in Southampton,England from May 19 to 23 to pre-pare for the World Cup.

The four-day camp, involvingthe entire 15-man squad, willinclude an additional warm-upfixture against Australia, whichwill be played on May 22 at theAgeas Bowl.

���■ �-��-�

The English crowd may throw sometaunts on Steve Smith and Warner dur-ing the World Cup but they are ready to

"face the fire", says Australia coach Justin Langer.Warner and Smith return to high intensi-

ty action at the showpiece event after servingout their one-year bans, imposed for their rolein last year's ball-tampering scandal.

Langer admitted that controlling the crowdis not their hands but urged the fans to treatWarner and Smith as human beings, prone tocommitting mistakes.

"We can't control the crowd. What I doknow? It may ramp up, it may heat up, but itwon't be any hotter than it was twelve monthsago. I've never seen anything like it so the boysare very well prepared. They've paid a heavyprice and we're always expecting to come hereand to face the fire and we're ready for that,"said Langer after team's first training sessionafter their arrival.

But what has been their preparation in deal-ing with the angry crowd response? to thisLanger said the Australian camp has to supportthem emotionally and ensure that Warner andSmith remain comfortable.

"What we've got to understand is thatthey're human beings as well. There's not toomany I've met in my life who like being booedor heckled or disliked so … they're humanbeings."

"We're going to have to care for them. Weare going to have to put an arm around themand make sure they're going ok. But what peo-ple say, whether it's in the crowd or social mediaor wherever there's nothing they can do aboutthat they can't control it but what we can do iskeep an eye on them and make sure they'regoing ok as people as much as cricketers."

Langer said Smith is hitting the ball as cleanas hard as he was doing it before the ban. Aproof of it was when Smith hit pacer PatCummins so hard that the ball sailed over andhit a car passing by on the Nottingham Road.

"As batsman it's brilliant. I watched SteveSmith batting against New Zealand in thosethree practice games, he's literally a master ofthe game, so it's nice to have him back.

"Dave's got that look on his eye, he's real-ly hungry, he's a great player as we all know, he'sso dynamic, he brings so much energy, andthat's what we ask from our players. You watchGlenn Maxwell field or bowl or bat — he bringsthe energy. Dave Warner always brings ener-gy to the contest. It's really nice to have himback."

("%)/%2�����!�%/"$-�3�;"+/�;�%/��)�/)'"���� � ���� ���� ������������ ��������� �������������� ����� �������2���������������������� ���

�����������������*�����*�����*�+ ���*

=��������� ��� ����#�����,6:

�7��!����!�����:���5���5�!�9�������+ !7���

:��������� ����������7���������� ��

�1���!"&���!!���&��"��'�!'���"'�;��$%"��"�

����������������3�0���!����

@�� ���"5� �"(��� ��'� )#�� 4 '�4#$��")������5��"(�$ ���0 �)#��� 0 /3�$ ��� 4���"� (� � �*<�E ��0 �)#��0 /3�)##(����8/#%"( /'�"(��,�$ ��##5�����"3�#�� /�� �*2�"(����'�4 '�� F%��� (�,#/�����B�C � �.� �� � !���