* +ˆ , rni regn. no. chheng/2012/42718, postal reg. no ... · the maharashtra political crisis saw...

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The Maharashtra politicalcrisis saw no prospect of an

early resolution even as NCPchief Sharad Pawar metCongress president SoniaGandhi in New Delhi onMonday and discussed thepossibility of stitching a historicNCP-Congress-Shiv Senaalliance to keep the BJP out ofpower in the financial hub ofthe country.

The Pawar-Sonia meet hasnot led to any breakthroughthat could bring the Shiv Senacloser to the Chief Minister’schair. Sources said while Pawaris ready for forming such ananti-BJP alliance inMaharashtra, the Congress wasdivided on joining hands withthe Sena fearing it could dentthe party’s secular credentials.

In the meeting that lastedover half an hour, sources saidthe two leaders discussed thepossibilities of forming an alter-native government and supportthe Shiv Sena in case “it decidesto move out of its alliance” withthe BJP.

“We decided to meetagain.The mood of the peopleis against the BJP, notfavourable to the BJP,” Pawartold reporters.

Reiterating that peoplehave given them a mandate tosit in Opposition, Pawar said hebriefed Sonia on the politicalsituation in Maharashtra.However, he said, “We have notdiscussed exactly about the

formation of Government.”According to sources, both

side, however, sought to explorethe scenario if Sena choses to“walk out of the alliance”. Thiscould mean Sena withdrawingits Minister from the NDAGovernment at the Centre.

At the same time,Maharashtra Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis on Mondaymet party president Amit Shahand said there was need to forma Government in the State.

“There is need to form theGovernment in Maharashtra atthe earliest. I am sure, I amconfident that the Governmentwill be formed,” Fadnavis toldreporters after the meeting.

He later met BJP generalsecretary Bhupendra Yadav,who was in charge of electionsin Maharashtra.

The BJP-Sena stand-off

appears to be reaching a climaxwith the Shiv Sena pressuringits senior ally for 50-50 power-sharing and the NCP lookingat possible opening in thepower game and play a role asa kingmaker.

The NCP with 54 and theCongress with 44 seats in 288-strong Maharashtra Assemblyhave the clout to install aGovernment, backing eitherof the two warring allies in theState.

Meanwhile, a Shiv Senadelegation comprising partyspokesperson Sanjay Raut andparty leader Ramdas Kadammet Maharashtra GovernorBhagat Singh Koshyari, dis-cussed the current politicalsituation.

Talking to the media, Rautsaid, “We have urged theGovernor to expedite the

process of formation of a newGovernment in the State. Wehave told him clearly that wewill not create any impedi-ments in the formation of anew Government in the State.”

Expressing his view of theGovernor, Raut said, “It hasbeen a tradition inMaharashtra that the Governorhas over the years acted verymuch under the ambit ofConstitution. The Governordoes not belong to any politi-cal party. He takes a neutralstand. From what I understoodafter speaking to him, aftermany years Maharashtra hasgot a very experienced personas a Governor who has goodunderstanding of the country,politics and law.”

The strategy behind theShiv Sena meeting theGovernor is to ensure that if

the BJP did not come forwardto stake a claim to form theGovernment, the latter shouldinvite outgoing Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis, who hasbeen re-elected as the BJP’sLegislature Party leader, toform the Government.

Given that the BJP has notinitiated talks with the ShivSena for formation of aGovernment in the State, it isquite likely that Fadnavis maytry to form the Government without the sup-port of the Shiv Sena in thehope that he would musternumbers during the course oftime, somehow prove hismajority.

The BJP, which won 105seats, has claimed that togeth-er with 15 Independentsor smaller party MLAs, it hasa total strength of 120 MLAs.

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The Supreme Court onMonday directed neigh-

bouring Punjab, Haryana andUttar Pradesh to stop stubbleburning and all constructionand demolition activities aswell as garbage and waste burn-ing in the Delhi-NationalCapital Region (NCR) till fur-ther orders.

A Bench of Justices ArunMishra and Deepak Guptadirected the Chief Secretaries ofthe three States as well as theDistrict Collectors and thepolice machinery to ensurethat not even a single instanceof stubble burning takes placethere henceforth.

The Bench said in case ofviolation of its directionsregarding steps to curb stubbleburning, it would haul up theentire administration, rightfrom the Chief Secretary to thegram panchayat and sarpanchlevel, and they all would be heldresponsible.

The top court summonedthe Chief Secretaries of Punjab,Haryana and UP on November6 saying the time has come to“fix accountability” for thiskind of situation which violatesthe right to life of citizens.

The top court further said�1 lakh penalty will beimposed on construction ordemolition activities in Delhi-NCR and the offendersinvolved in garbage or wasteburning would be penalised by�5,000.

“People in Delhi-NCR arelosing precious years of theirlives and cannot be left to die

due to the atrocious pollutionsituation which reflects ashocking state of affairs” the SCsaid on Monday.

The court issued a series oftough punitive directions tocurb the alarming pollutionlevels in Delhi-NCR, regionand said citizens cannot be evacuated from thenational Capital.

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Faced with criticism and out-cry by veterans about vari-

ous issues like withdrawingincome tax exemption on dis-ability pension, opening up ofcantonment roads, and ‘OneRank One Pension (OROP),’the Army is mulling a code ofconduct for them.

The controversial movecomes at a time when the ex-ser-vicemen have vocally raisedtheir grievances in the media,leaving the Services embar-

rassed. Besides issues like with-drawing the income tax exemp-tion on disability pension, vet-erans in the recent past also crit-icised the move to do away withproviding scholarships to thewards of serving personnel,especially gallantry medal win-ners. The vociferous protestultimately forced theGovernment to restore the pro-visions.

As regards the proposal,sources said all serving officerswill have to give an undertakingon retirement that they will

adhere to a code of conduct orethics after their superannua-tion. Those violating the pro-posed code of conduct willinvite punishment or not is yetto be firmed up. At present, theArmy Act covers only the offi-cers serving in the force and notthe veterans. Once they hangtheir boots, ex-servicemen arecovered by the normal law of theland like Indian Penal Code,sources said.

Trying to justify the code ofconduct, sources said the needfor it was felt after some retired

officers gave comments on thesocial media thereby givingadverse publicity to the Army.They also said consultationswere on with the serving officersregarding such a code of con-duct and at a later stage the viewsof the ex-servicemen will beelicited.

They also tried to backtheir point of view about thecode of conduct by saying thatan officer once retired keeps hislast rank and it is anticipated thatthey will abide by the proposedorder.

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Taking serious note of theChhattisgarh Government’s

tapping the phones of the sus-pended senior IPS officerMukesh Gupta and his familymembers, the Supreme Courton Monday observed, “no pri-vacy is left for anybody”.

It asked the StateGovernment as to whetherright to privacy of a person canbe violated like this.

A Bench of justices ArunMishra and Indira Banerjeeasked the ChhattisgarhGovernment to file a detailedaffidavit explaining as to whoordered the tapping of phonesand the reasons for it.

“What is the need to do likethis? No privacy is left foranybody. What is happening inthis country,” the bench said,adding, “can privacy of some-body be violated like this?Who ordered this? File adetailed affidavit”.

The top court also tookexception to a separate FIRlodged against an advocate whois representing the IPS officerbefore the apex court.

It stayed the investigationagainst the lawyer and said thatno coercive steps be takenagainst him till further orders.

The bench also told senioradvocate Mahesh Jethmalani,representing IPS officer Mukesh

Gupta, not to politicise theissue by dragging the name ofChhattisgarh Chief MinisterBhupesh Baghel in the matter.

The top court directed thatthe Chief Minister’s name bestruck off from the memo ofparties in the petition.

In the petition, the IPS offi-cer has arrayed the name ofChhattisgarh Chief Minister asone of the respondents.

Gupta is accused of unlaw-ful phone tapping and in viola-tion the provisions of IndianTelegraph Act during the inves-tigation of civil supplies scamunearthed in 2015.

The court had on October25 restrained the StateGovernment from interceptionof telephones of Gupta and hisfamily and granted him protec-tion from arrest in the caseslodged against him.

The top court had also toldthe State Government that its

earlier interim orders of stay onfurther investigation in twoFIRs lodged against Gupta, willcontinue till further orders.

The top court had howeverrefused to quash the FIRs againstthe 1988 batch IPS officerincluding one of FCRA violationby a trust running a eye hospi-tal, founded by his father.

On February 9, this year,two IPS officers fromChhattisgarh, including SpecialDGP Mukesh Gupta, were sus-pended after the EconomicOffences Wing of the police reg-istered an FIR against them foralleged criminal conspiracy andillegal phone tapping duringthe Civil Supplies Corporationscam probe in 2015.

The officers, who was sus-pended is then NarayanpurSuperintendent of PoliceRajnesh Singh.

The case was lodged on thebasis of the investigation carried

by a Special Investigation Team(SIT), constituted by theCongress Government, to probethe alleged multi-crore civilsupply scam unearthed duringthe previous BJP Government.

Gupta and Singh werebooked under sections 193(false evidence), 201 (causingdisappearance of evidence ofoffence, or giving false infor-mation to screen offender), 466(forgery), 471 (Using as genuinea forged), 120B (criminal con-spiracy) and other relevant sec-tions of IPC and under provi-sions of Indian Telegraph Act.

However, Gupta had deniedall charges and said all actionsin the investigation of scam weretaken in accordance with lawand with due permissions fromcompetent authority.

The alleged scam wasexposed in February 2015when the ACB and the EOWconducted simultaneous raidsat 25 premises of the CivilSupplies Corporation.

The incumbent BhupeshBaghel government had onJanuary 8 this year set up a 12-member SIT under Inspector General of Police,ACB and EOW, SRP Kalluri toprobe the alleged multi-crorescam citing that some points,including political involve-ment, were left uncovered in the previousprobe in the case.

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Senior Opposition leaders methere on Monday to discuss the

slide in the economy as well as theongoing RegionalComprehensive EconomicPartnership (RCEP) negotiationsin Bangkok and the agreement’simplications for India. The tim-ing of the meeting coincidedwith Prime Minister NarendraModi’s participation in theSummit.

There was no representationfrom the Samajwadi Party, theBahujan Samaj Party and theAam Aadmi Party in the meetingwas convened by Congress leaderGhulam Nabi Azad, who is theleader of opposition in the RajyaSabha.

After the meeting, Azad saidthat the Opposition will hold ajoint protest on issues such aseconomic slowdown, RCEP, farmdistress and unemployment dur-ing the upcoming Parliamentsession. He also said Oppositionparties will meet again soon todiscuss the issue of snooping anddecide on the future course ofaction on the issue.

According to sources, dis-cussions focussed on the jointopposition’s strategy to corner theGovernment on poor economicindicators and India’s decision toconsider signing the RCEP. Theleaders at the meeting were delib-erating on a strategy to take onthe Government both inside andoutside Parliament.

The Congress leader said

Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government dealing withRCEP is like a “compounderoperating on a patient” in absenceof a registered Doctor. Criticisingthe government, Azad said thatboth RCEP and GST were theschemes coined by the Congressand were in progress but theModi Government implementedit badly in haste. “The Free TradeAgreement and RCEP, we werenot against it, in fact, it started inour time. The doctor had given

the dates to the patient foroperation and meanwhile,the doctor got transferredand compounder operatedon patient,” said Azad.

“The interest of ourcountry should have beenprotected. Our Milk prod-

ucts, agricultural products,marine products etc should allhave been protected. We have atrade deficit of US Dollar 70Billion with China. China isdumping its products in worldmarkets after RCEP several prod-ucts of China would be dumpedin Indian markets. Will Chinaallow access to our products in itsmarkets? There is no discussionon this issue,” said Azad.

Ahmed Patel and RandeepSurjewala of the Congress were

present in the meeting whichwhich also saw the presence ofRLSP chief and former Unionminister Upendra Kushwaha CPIgeneral secretary D Raja,CPI(M)’s T K Rangarajan, RJDleader Manoj Jha, TMC’s Nadeemul Haque, DMK’s T R Baalu, andSharad Yadav. Congress presi-dent Sonia Gandhi and NCPleader Sharad Pawar were notpresent at the meeting. Sourcesclose to Pawar said he was busyin a parliamentary standing com-mittee meeting. The Congressplans to hit the streets fromTuesday till November 15 tohighlight the “failures” of the BJPGovernment at the Centre onissues such as “economic slow-down, rising unemployment andfarm crisis”.

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Maintaining that stubbleburning is not responsi-

ble for air pollution in Delhi,the Agriculture Ministry hasasked States to identify causesfor the rising pollution and takemeasures.

Union AgricultureMinister Narendra SinghTomar on Monday asked StateGovernments of Delhi, UttarPradesh, Haryana and Punjabto identify other causes for therising pollution as crop residueburning is not responsible fac-tor to air pollution.

The Minister maintainedthat incidents of stubble burn-ing have fallen after the launchof a central scheme to buy farmmachinery to switch to clean-er methods of getting rid of thecrop residue. In the current fis-cal, the Centre has released�248 crore, �175 crore and�97.54 crore to Punjab,Haryana and Uttar Pradesh,respectively, under the scheme.Last year, it has released �575crore to them. Delhi-NCR has

been engulfed in a thick blan-ket of smog since the Diwalifestival on October 27.

Speaking on the sidelinesafter laying the foundationstone for the construction ofAgricultural ScientistsRecruitment Board (ASRB) inPusa Complex, the Tomar saidthat Stubble burning alone isnot responsible for pollution.“To address this issue, theModi Government haslaunched a scheme underwhich farmers of UttarPradesh, Punjab, Haryana andDelhi are being provided sub-sidy to buy farm machinery toswitch to cleaner to stop stub-ble burning,” the Minister said.Machines are being provided invillages and “there has beenreduction in stubble burning.Its contribution to pollution hasalso come down,” he said and

urged the neighbouring StateGovernments to create moreawareness among farmers andimplement the central scheme.

“I have written to the StateChief Ministers for properimplementation of the scheme.I hope State Governments willdo,” he added.

When asked farmers arebeing held responsible for pol-lution in Delhi, Tomar said:“Neither one person nor oneclass is responsible for pollu-tion. To get rid of pollution,everyone should think andwork seriously.”

There is a need for the StateGovernments to take measuresto contain pollution. “In thisdirection, all are trying butunfortunately the problem stillremains,” he added.

On the Punjab ChiefMinister’s demand to incentivisefarmers to stop stubble burning,Tomar said, “I don’t agree withwhat Captain Amrinder (Singh)says. The whole world knowswhat happens if subsidy is givenunless there is no solution forstubble clearance.”

New Delhi: In view ofthe dangerous pollu-tion levels in thenational Capital, notedAgriculture ScientistMS Swaminathan onMonday suggested to the ChiefMinisters of Delhi, Haryana,Punjab and Uttar Pradesh to setup rice bio parks to create eco-nomic value for the stubble. Ina series of Tweets, he suggest-ed that like in many countries,rice straw can be used formanufacturing paper, cardboard and production of ani-mal feed.

He pointed out that inSouth India, instead of burningthe rice straw, the farmers useit as animal feed.Swaminathan, popularlyknown as father of India’s greenrevolution and Chairman ofNational Commission forFarmers said that there is nopoint in blaming of farmers forstubble burning and he askedthe Chief Ministers to help thefarmers to convert stubble intoincome and employment.

“The air pollution in Delhihas become a matter of publichealth concern nationally andinternationally. Farmers arebeing blamed by many includ-

ing the Chief Ministerof Delhi for burningstubble and therebycausing atmosphericpollution. In SouthIndia stubble is not

burnt as there’s economic valueas animal feed. For years Ipointed out many economicuses of rice straw. We shouldadopt a do-ecology approachwith farmers to convert ricestubble into income ratherthan making them agents ofeco-disaster, he said.

Swaminathan pointed outthat MS SwaminathanResearch Foundation’s(MSSRF) rice bio park inMyanmar, which was inaugu-rated President of India hasshown how stubble can be uti-lized to make products includ-ing paper, cardboard and ani-mal feed. “I suggest that theDelhi, Haryana and UPGovernments put up RiceBioParks where farmers canconvert stubble into incomeand employment. We shouldstop blaming farmers since itwill take us nowhere. Insteadwe should propose methodswhich are economically & eco-logically desirable,” saidSwaminathan. PNS

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The slugfest between Centreand the Delhi Government

over the bad air quality in theState continued with UnionEnvironment Minister PrakashJavadekar on Monday lashingout at the AAP dispensationasking whether it was followingthe Central Pollution ControlBoard’s (CPCB) directivesaimed at combating the severeair pollution in the nationalCapital.

Responding to questionsover rising air pollution in theDelhi-NCR region, Javadekarsaid his ministry has alreadyheld several meetings with theneighbouring States of Punjab,Haryana, Uttar Pradesh andRajasthan over stubble burning.

Delhi-NCR has beenengulfed in a thick blanket ofsmog since the festival of Diwalion October 27.

“Pollution is genuine prob-lem. When I became theEnvironment Minister, I calleda meeting of all five statesregarding the issue. Seven toeight such meetings have

already been held. Anotherone will happen soon.

“The Delhi Governmentmust check out the directionsgiven by CPCB regarding pol-lution and should tell howmuch has it followed,” the min-ister said.

A slew of recommenda-tions have been given by a 10-member anti-pollution taskforce led by CPCB MemberSecretary Prashant Gargava totackle air polllution in theDelhi-NCR region.

“Delhi Government is ask-ing why have we given 40,000machines to a population of 22lakh farmers, I want to say thatwe have given �1,100 crores.Instead of spending �1,500crore on advertisements, theDelhi government should givethis amount to farmers toaddress the issue of pollution,”he told reporters after attend-ing an event here.

Meanwhile, Union HealthMinister Harsh Vardhan, whois a doctor by profession, tookto Twitter to impart someadvice on how to counter pol-lution-related problems.

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India and Russia will review the entiregamut of their defence and strategic ties

during Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’sthree-day visit to Moscow beginning onTuesday. He will also co-chair the 19theInter-Governmental Commission onMilitary and Military Technical Co-oper-ation set up some years back to promotejoint defence manufacturingin India.

The visit assumes significance asRussia is the most time tested ally of Indiafor last many decades. Moreover, theIndian armed forces use weapons andallied systems of Russian and erstwhileSoviet Union origin.

In fact, the Russian origin weapons

inventory in India is more than 70 per cent.

Giving details of Singh’s visit, defenceministry officials said here on Monday, theminister will hold extensive discussionswith his counterpart General Sergei Shoigucovering all areas of military-to-militarycooperation and defence industrial coop-eration.

Singh is also scheduled to inaugurate,along with Russian Minister of Industryand Trade Denis Manturov, ‘India-RussiaDefence Industry Cooperation Conference’.

The Conference will discuss ways topromote defence industrial cooperationbetween India and Russia, technologytransfer and investment in India in defenceindustry under the ‘Make in India’ programme.

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In an effort to hard sell theforthcoming international

Defence exhibition, Def Expoheld every two years in India,Defence Minister RajnathSingh on Monday held here around table conference withAmbassadors and AefenceAttaches of 80 countries. Thenext DefExpo, the 11th so far,will be held in Lucknow inFebruary next year. The objec-tive of the high-powered meet-ing on Monday was to show-case the growing defenceindustry in the country and ris-ing business opportunities inthe manufacturing sector.

Giving details of the con-ference, Defence Ministry offi-cials said the event was a majoroutreach to the Defence man-

ufacturing industries of theworld. It was aimed to outlinethe arrangements made forthe mega exhibition and elicitsuggestions from the envoys tofurther improve the experience.

Addressing the conference,the Defence Minister said theDefExpo will not only providecountries with the opportuni-ty to showcase their equipmentand platforms, but also be ableto explore the strengths andcapabilities of India’s defenceindustry for meeting opera-tional goals.

Observing that India’sdefence sector has maturedand is exploring mutually ben-eficial partnerships with friend-ly countries to set up industriesin India and abroad, Singhsaid, DefExpo will showcasethe government’s intent to

achieve a turnover of USD 26billion in aerospace anddefence goods and services by2025.

He added the event willshowcase India’s plans forDefence Industrial Corridors inUttar Pradesh and Tamil Naduwhere investment commit-ments of about USD 1 billionhave already been received.More than 100 business eventsand seminars are being plannedwith over 1,000 exhibitorsexpected at the mega event.

Singh also urged theAmbassadors to impress uponthe captains of their respectivedefence industries to partici-pate in DefExpo 2020 in a bigway so as to “dive deep into thestrategic and business oppor-tunities available and to estab-lish strategic partnerships”.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi and his Japanese

counterpart Shinzo Abe onMonday reviewed the evolvingsecurity scenario in the Indo-Pacific and agreed to further bolster bilateral coop-eration in third countries forpeace, prosperity and develop-ment in the region.

The two leaders held ameeting on the sidelines of theEast Asia Summit here duringwhich China’s fast expandingmilitary and economic expan-sionism in the Indo-Pacificregion figured prominentlyamong several other key issues,officials said.

Without giving specificdetails of the talks, the ExternalAffairs Ministry said the twoprime ministers reaffirmedtheir commitment towards afree, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region based on a rules-based order.

“They agreed to furtherstrengthen the bilateral coop-eration, including in thirdcountries, for achieving theshared objective of peace, pros-perity and progress of theIndo-Pacific region,” it said ina statement.

The resolve by Modi andAbe to work towards a stableIndo-Pacific came in the midstof rising disquiet among severalmember countries of the 10-nation ASEAN over China’sincreasing assertiveness in maritime limits in theregion.

The ministry said the twoleaders also deliberated oninaugural ‘two-plus-two’ Indo-Japan foreign and defence min-isterial dialogue later thismonth in India, noting that itwill help provide impetus to thesecurity and defence coopera-tion between the two sides.

In a tweet, Modi said it wasalways wonderful to meet “myfriend PM Abe.”

“Our meeting today wasvery good. We exchanged viewson multiple subjects includingfurther boosting the econom-ic partnership between ourcountries,” he said.

In a tweet, External AffairsMinistry SpokespersonRaveesh Kumar said the twoleaders prepared the ground for

India-Japan two-plus-two dia-logue and the annual summit in their “good discus-sion.”

The MEA said PrimeMinister Modi conveyed toAbe that he eagerly lookedforward to welcoming theJapanese prime minister inIndia next month for the annu-al India-Japan summit.

Modi also said that he wasconvinced of the success of theforthcoming annual summit infurther deepening the India-Japan special strategic andglobal partnership, accordingto the MEA.

It was the third meetingbetween Modi and Abe in thelast four months. Their previ-ous meeting was in Vladivostokin Russia in September.

“The leaders welcomed theincreasing economic engage-ment between the two coun-tries, propelled by high-levelexchanges. The leaders alsoreviewed the progress onMumbai-Ahmedabad HighSpeed Rail project and reaf-firmed their commitment toadvance mutual efforts to facil-itate the smooth implementa-tion of the project,” the MEAsaid.

It said Modi also congrat-ulated his counterpart on therecent coronation of JapaneseEmperor Naruhito, while Abewarmly recalled the participa-tion of President Ram NathKovind in the ceremony.

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The East Asia Summit, agrouping of 18 countries

including India, on Mondayvowed to scale up efforts to dealwith terrorism, radicalisationand transnational crimesincluding by ramping up coor-dination with anti-terrorwatchdog FATF and relevantUN agencies.

At the end of its 14th sum-mit here, the powerful bloccame out with a declarationlisting measures to be taken bymember countries to dealwith various security challenges facing the region aswell as on ways to counter nar-ratives of the terrorgroups.

The East Asia Summit isthe premier forum in the Asia-Pacific region to deal withissues relating security anddefence.

Since its inception in 2005,it has played a significant rolein the strategic, geopoliticaland economic evolution ofEast Asia.

Islamabad: A 178-memberdelegation has arrived inPakistan from the UK to takepart in the upcoming 550thbirth anniversary of GuruNanak Dev - the founder ofSikhism, slated to be held at theKartarpur Sahib Gurdwara inPunjab province. Soon afterlanding on Sunday, the 178-member group left for theGurdwara Janam AsthanNankana Sahib and GurdwaraSucha Sauda in Sheikhupuradistrict, Dawn news reportedon Monday. IANS

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Over one thousand Sikhs from India arrivedat Gurdwara Punja Sahib in Pakistan’s

Hassanabdal city on Sunday as part of the ‘NagarKirtan’, a religious procession, held to mark the550th birth anniversary of Sikhism founderGuru Nanak Dev. The gurdwara in PunjabProvince was decorated with colourful lights andpilgrims performed various rituals.

Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) DeputySecretary Shrines Imran Gondal said that morethan 1,100 Sikhs crossed the border throughWagah on October 31 via Ludhiana and Amritsar,the Dawn reported.

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Pakistan on Monday rejected as “baseless”the media reports about the presence of

alleged terrorist “training camps” in Punjabprovince’s Narowal district near the famedKartarpur Sahib gurdwara, calling them a“malicious” propaganda campaign.

According to reports, intelligence agencieshave spotted terrorist training activities in theborder district of Narowal in Pakistan’s Punjabprovince, the same district where KartarpurSahib Gurdwara is situated.

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Indian PrimeM i n i s t e r

Narendra Modi andMyanmar’s StateCounsellor AungSan Suu Kyi dis-cussed issues relat-ing to the opera-tionalising of theSittwe port, beingbuilt by New Delhi, as well asa section of the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit TransportProject and border demarca-tion.

During the talks on Sundayevening, the leaders cordiallyexchanged views on extendingcooperation between the twocountries, exchange of high-level visits, continued con-structive assistance from India,and ASEAN-India coopera-tion, based on common inter-est. They also discussed otherissues including cementingbilateral relations, trade, trans-port, operation of the SittwePort, a sector of Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport

Project, demarcation of theremaining part of the commonborder between Myanmar andIndia, arriving at a cross-bor-der traffic agreement, upgrad-ing of a female police trainingschool in Yamethin, capacity-building for public servants,and human resources devel-opment, said Mizzima, aMyanmar news outlet.

Suu Kyi reaffirmed theimportance her Governmentattached to the partnershipwith India, and her apprecia-tion of India’s consistent andsustained support for thewidening of democracy anddeepening of development inMyanmar.

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RAIPUR | TUESDAY | NOVEMBER 5, 2019chhattisgarh 03

(English translation of around50-year-old Chhattisgarhi poem byLate Dr Narendra Dev Verma himself)

Arpa and Pairi, the streamsAnd the great Mahanadi flow,Indrawati washes your feet,I salute thee, O my land,My Mother ChhattisgarhHills and mountains areA ‘bindia’ on your foreheadThe sun and the moon, your eyesYou are enriched with golden paddyYour ‘sari’ is greenThe wind flutters the fall of your ‘sari’I salute thee, O my land,My Mother Chhattisgarh.Raigarh your crown, ceremoniousAnd beautifulSurguja and Bilaspur are your feetRajnandgaon is your new beltI salute thee, O my land,My Mother Chhattisgarh.

The fair and the dark are yourSons alikeLuria Muria, farmers andtheir wives-Lifelong is their toilThey never rest a while.The youth mingle with the earthand dirt,O my abodeYou alone embrace themAnd you alone take them in your lapI Salute thee, O my land;My mother Chhattisgarh.You invited the nude and the beggars,And placed them at your breastThey sucked your bloodAnd have become sleekThey have turned bullocks out ofyour sonsYour earners die prematureI salute thee, O my landMy Mother Chhattisgarh.

State’s official song:‘Arpa Pairi Ke Dhar’

Life size statues of a tribal folk troupe installed at ‘Shilpagram’ of the cottage industries department has become a center of attraction for the visitorsin the statehood function, Rajyotsava. It has also become a ‘selfie’ point. The function undergoing at Science College ground in the state capital willend on Tuesday. Pioneer Photo

STAFF REPORTER nRAIPUR

Chhattisgarh’s bustling cap-ital, Raipur has always

been in news for its poor airquality. This festive season thescenario was not so different.In fact the air quality has fur-ther worsened.

Though ChhattisgarhEnvironment ConservationBoard (CECB), state pollutionagency has reported drop inpercentage of pollution ofboth air and noise. But as perthe study being underway forcommunity participation,jointly by Chhattisgarh StateHealth Resource Centre,Kalibadi, Raipur and SocialResearch Centre, Bangalore,the data points out a differentscenario.

As per data available, thequality of air during theDiwali week in Raipur even

crossed the ‘Severe’ barrier asper Indian standards of meas-urement in both PM2.5ug/m3 and PM10 ug/m3.

Dr Prabir Chatterjee,Director, SHRC said it is thethird study being conductedin the state. Earlier, separatestudy was conducted forhealth impact due to air quali-ty at Raipur and Korba. Thiscurrent study is being under-taken to ensure communityparticipation in future forreduction in air pollution. Theair quality monitoring stationshave been installed across theRaipur city.

As per data available fromOctober 15 to October 30, theair quality started to deterio-rate from October 17, peakedin October 27 and started todrop by October 30. Certainareas of city reported ‘severe’situation in both PM 2.5 and

PM10 categories. During rainsbetween the period, whichlashed the city there was dropin pollution levels as per data.For example at AIIMSCampus, Urla Industrial Areaand Rishabh Nagar and PawanVihar Colony-2 on October16 and 17, the range was from104 to 176 ug/m3.

The PM10 category dataon October 27, the highestlevel (severe) was reported atBharat Mata Chowk, AnandNagar with 620 ug/m3 maxi-mum (average 344 ug/m3),followed by Rishabh Nagarand Pawan Vihar Colony-2with 458 ug/m3, Ekta Chowk,Katora Talab 427 ug/m3,Shikshak Colony, Daganiya410 ug/m3, Janata colony,Gudhiyari 405 ug/m3,UNICEF, Civil Lines 403ug/m3. The lowest was report-ed in Shambhav Warehouse,

New Industrial Area of 68ug/m3. The other areasreported range from 104 to325 ug/m3 showing result ofmoderately, poor and verypoor quality of air.

Similarly, in PM2.5,Bharat Mata Chowk, AnandNagar recorded 552 ug/m3maximum (average 308ug/m3) , followed by RishabhNagar and Pawan ViharColony-2 with 397 ug/m3,Ekta Chowk, Katora Talab 376ug/m3, Janata colony,Gudhiyari 363 ug/m3,UNICEF, Civil Lines 329ug/m3, Rishabh Nagar andPawan Vihar Shikshak Colony327 ug/m3. The lowest wasreported in ShambhavWarehouse, New IndustrialArea of 70 ug/m3. The otherareas ranged from 290 to 116ug/m3 which fall under poorto very poor quality of air.

Raipur’s air qualityis severe: Report

CSPCL launches‘Mor Bijli App’, Morchhat Mor Bijli’RAIPUR: The stall put up byChhattisgarh State PowerCompany Limited (CSPCL) atRajyotsav celebrations being heldat science College grounds, hasbecome a center of attraction forthe people.

The theme of the CSPCLStall is outstanding consumerservice- based on MahatmaGandhi’s philosophy- “A con-sumer is the most important vis-itor on our premises. He is notdependent on us. We aredependent on him.”

At the stall, informationregarding services being extend-ed by the Chhattisgarh statepower companies like “ Mor BijliApp’ , Mor chhat Mor Bijli ‘, etchave been displayed apart fromdetailed information on statepower infrastructure, schemesrun for the benefit of farmersand general consumers and poorapart from beautiful depiction ofChief Minister’s UrbanElectrification Scheme.

STAFF REPORTER nRAIPUR

Chhattisgarh BJP Membersof Parliament and senior

BJP leaders will skip a meetingof all Members of Parliamentfrom Chhattisgarh and all thepolitical parties convened byChief Minister BhupeshBaghel on November 5.

The meeting was called todiscuss farmers’ issues mainlyseeking assistance fromCentre to sanction the pro-curement of paddy at `2500

per quintal and others relatedissues.

Baghel also called a meet-ing of farmers’ body.

According to BJP sources,keeping in view of impendingSupreme Court’s verdict onAyodhya issue, which isexpected on November 10,the BJP central leadership hascalled an urgent meeting ofparty leaders from BJP-ruledstates and also former chiefministers and organisationleaders at New Delhi.

BJP vice president andformer chief minister RamanSingh, Leader of OppositionDharamlal Kaushik, BJP statepresident Vikram Usendi,general secretary organisa-tion Pawan Sai and othershave left for New Delhi toattend the meeting.

Before leaving for Delhi,former CM Raman Singh saidno information or intimationhas been given for all-partymeeting. No MP of BJP isparticipating in the meeting.

He said he is unaware forwhat reason the meeting hasbeen called. He lamented thatin major events, BJP MPs aredenied invitation and they arecalled only when the rulingparty needs them.

Leader of OppositionDharamlal Kaushik saidChief Minister should firsthold the survey of lossesincurred by farmers due toextended rains in harvest sea-son. Nothing of this sort hasbeen done.

BJP to skip all-partymeeting called by Baghel

STAFF REPORTER n RAIPUR

Chhattisgarh OlympicAssociation (COA) will hold

its special general body meetingon November 6 at 11.00 AM atHotel Vennington Court, JailRoad, Raipur as the existingbody has surpassed its tenure.

The election was due inOctober 2019.

According to Bashir Khan,vice president, COA, agenda ofthe meeting will be moving noconfidence motion against out-lived (existing) executive com-mittee of COA in view of comple-tion of its tenure on October 25,2109. The second agenda will beconfirmation of members of StateSports Association(s)/Games andDistrict Olympic Association ofCOA. The third agenda iselections/nominations andconfirmation of new executivecommittee for 2019-23.

Meanwhile, in a letter to

COA, IOA secretary generalRajeev Mehta on holding theelection has clarified as per theIOA constitution clause 28, StateOlympic Association 28.1 “TheState Olympic Association shouldformulate their constitution inconsonance with the IOA consti-tution. No provision of constitu-tion of State Olympic Associationshould be in contradiction to theconstitution of the IOA.”

Further, the letter stated thattenure of election in IOA is fouryears and only affiliated memberunits and the IOC members arepermitted to vote in the electionsand there is no voting right forlife members.

A sports delegation alreadycalled on Chief MinisterBhupesh Baghel to head theCOA and some of associationmembers are likely to back thismove as earlier the then CMRaman Singh was made the COApresident.

COA special generalbody on November 6


Amid the ongoing spat overpaddy procurement between

the ruling Congress and the BJP,Member of Parliament fromRaipur Sunil Soni on Mondayadvised the Bhupesh Baghel ledstate government to makecordial relations with the Centerinstead of going forconfrontation with it.

Talking to media persons, hesaid “Congress government inthe state is playing politicalgimmick and was trying to createconfusion among state populaceover the paddy issue.”

Refuting the charges of theCongress, he further said, “Therewas no step motherly treatmentfrom Union government towardsChhattisgarh and it has samepolicy for all the states”.

For progress of the state andits people there should be goodrelations between the stategovernment and the Center, headded.

Regarding meeting called byChief Minister, Soni said he hadno information about it and ifthe invitation reached the party(BJP) it will decide what to do.

Shun confrontation, make cordialrelations with Centre: Raipur MP


Urban Administration MinisterShiv Kumar Daharia has instruct-

ed the concerned officials to completethe pending water augmentationschemes so that residents of urbanareas in the state could get the potablewater easily.

He was on Monday reviewing theworks of the department at a meetingheld at new circuit house. Daharia alsoinstructed to extend the pipe lines tomake the potable water available to thecitizens of urban localities.

In the meeting, Daharia becameangry over the slow pace of work in

Jagdalpur Municipal Corporation andhe issued a show cause notice to thecommissioner of the corporation,Arvind Kumar Ekka. He alsoexpressed his distress over the state ofaffairs at Raigarh MunicipalCorporation and gave a strong warn-ing to its commissioner, RajendraGupta.

Daharia also reviewed constructionof work-sheds under Pauni Pausarischeme and cowsheds (Gauthans) forstray cattle, housing schemes forEconomically Weaker Section (EWS)and work for distribution of land titlesin urban areas of the state.


Around 2,500 people haveundergone free health

check-up in the state healthdepartment’s pavilion at theongoing Rajyotsava, officialsinformed here on Monday.

According to the healthdepartment officials, bloodsugar, blood pressure andhaemoglobin (HB) tests arebeing done completely free at thedepartment’s stall and based onthe results doctors are providingconsultations to the patients.

Starting from November 1,so far about 2,500 people haveundergone free health test.

Not only adults but childrenbetween one and three years arealso being weighed at the stall.Out of the total 263 weighedchildren parents of those foundbelow the required parameterswere provided consultation toimprove the diet of their chil-dren. The parents were alsoasked to contact nearest healthcentre, officials said.

Apart from the health check-ups people are being made aware

about their health status throughon the spot games. In past threedays more than 350 people havetaken part in these games andwinners were provided with giftson the spot, officials claimed.

In the pavilion, five doctorsfrom All India Institute ofMedical Sciences (AIIMS),Raipur and two doctors fromhealth department are providingtheir services. Four lab techni-cians, staff nurses, ANM and twopharmacists are also available inthe pavilion, officials informed.

Over 2,500 people undergo freehealth check-up in Rajyotsava

Complete water augmentationschemes on priority: Minister

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Punjab Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh on

Monday reiterated that theCentre should give financialassistance to farmers to weanthem away from the practice ofstubble burning.

He also lashed out at theCentre for its alleged apathet-ic attitude towards the problemof paddy residue burning.

“The ball is in the Centre’’scourt and it should take con-crete decisions to resolve theproblem,” he said when askedto comment on the issue offinding a lasting solution topaddy straw burning.

The Chief Minister under-lined the need for financialassistance to farmers to gradu-ally bring a halt to the practiceof stubble burning, pointing outthat 75 per cent of Punjab’sfarmers had land holdings ofless than two acres and it wasnot viable for them to managethe paddy straw scientifically.On Sunday, he had tweeted,“Compensation by CentralGovt to the farmers for stubblemanagement is the only solu-tion in the circumstances. I hadwritten to PM @NarendraModiji on 25th Sep & had written tohim yesterday as well. The Central Govt has to step inand find a consensus to resolvethe crisis.” In September, he hadwritten to PM Modi, seekingcompensation of �100 perquintal paddy to motivatefarmers against stubble burn-ing in open field.

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Just about a week ahead of theinauguration of the much-

awaited Kartarpur Sahib corri-dor, Punjab Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh on Mondayminced no words to say thatPakistan’s “sudden” decision toaccept the 70-year-old demandfor opening the passage indi-cated an “ulterior motive”.

He, at the same time, alsoreiterated his stand to be cau-tioned against “Pakistan’s nefar-ious designs as evident in theopening of the KartarpurCorridor and other recent ini-tiatives of their government tomark the 550th prakash purb”.

“The Sikh community hadbeen asking for opening of thepassage to the sacred Kartarpurshrine for the past 70 years butPakistan’s sudden decision toaccept the demand indicated anulterior motive, aimed atputting a wedge between theSikh community by exploiting their religious sen-timents,” he said.

He added, “While I do notexpect Pakistan to dare to doany mischief through the cor-ridor, it is important, as a bor-der state, for Punjab to remainon alert.” The Chief Ministermaintained that Punjab was keeping close tabs on the situ-ation and was maintainingheightened alert. CondemningCapt Amarinder for “trying tosabotage Kartarpur Corridor”,SAD president Sukhbir Badaldubbed the Chief Minister’sstatement as “crass political”.

“It is shocking that anelected Chief Minister is play-ing with the faith of crores ofSikhs by raising questions onthe very existence of theCorridor. The chief ministerhas changed his statements onthe Corridor repeatedly. Firsthe opposed it. Then he wel-comed it and said he wouldlead the first jatha to Pakistan.Now three days before its his-toric opening, he has again casta shadow on its viability whichhas hurt Sikh sentiments and isa direct interference in theirreligious affairs,” he said.

Asking the Chief Ministerto behave responsibly, Sukhbirsaid, “Your antics are not onlybringing disrepute to you butalso causing confusion andconcern about the Sikh com-munity. You are needlessly try-ing to create a fear psychosisamong Punjabis by referring torepeated threats from the ISI.

Let me assure you, these threatsare well known to the UnionGovernment and our securityforces are well equipped to han-dle them. You should not usethese threats as a tool to denythe Sikh community the real-ization of its ‘ardas’ to have‘khule darshan deedar’ ofGurdwara Darbar Sahib at Sri

Kartarpur Sahib”.The SAD president said the

Chief Minister was resorting tosuch statements solely to deflectattention from the sin com-mitted by him by defying theedict of Sri Akal Takth Sahib tojoin in the main celebrationsbeing organised on November12 by the SGPC.

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Giving cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh

Sidhu his due, Pakistan PrimeMinister Imran Khan hasextended the first formal invi-tation to his friend from thecricketing days.

The first invite with serialnumber 1, from the “PrimeMinister of the IslamicRepublic of Pakistan for theInauguration Ceremony ofGurudwara Darbar SahibKartarpur Corridor, Narowal,Pakistan on Saturday, 9November, 2019”, through the“High Commission forPakistan, New Delhi” was sentat Sidhu’s Amritsar residence.

Sidhu’s much talked aboutvisit in August 2018 to attendImran Khan’s swearing in cer-emony had revived the hopesof opening the Kartarpur cor-ridor — a fact acknowledged byPakistan but apparently not bythe Indian Government and hisown party.

Notably, Sidhu’s name didnot find a place in the list offirst batch of pilgrims fromIndia to the GurudwaraKartrapur Sahib in Pakistan,even as the party has sent thenames of all its MLAs and MPs.

Punjab Chief MinisterCapt Amarinder Singh hadmaintained that Sidhu had alsobeen invited to join the all-party ‘jatha’ going from Punjab

to Kartarpur Sahib via the cor-ridor on November 9.

“The DeputyCommissioners had contactedthe MLAs in their respectivedistricts, and the Amritsar DChad been pursuing the matterwith Sidhu’s office, but the lat-ter had failed to respond,” CaptAmarinder had stated.

Already, Sidhu had,through a letter to PunjabChief Minister Singh and theUnion Ministry of ExternalAffairs, sought the permissionto visit Pakistan. Amarinderhad told that Sidhu’s “requestletter” had already been for-warded to the Chief SecretaryKaran Avtar Singh for neces-sary action on the same day.

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Haryana Chief SecretaryKeshni Anand Arora on

Monday called upon theDeputy Commissioners andall-district officers of the State to give their utmost con-tribution towards environmentprotection.

Presiding over a meeting with the DeputyCommissioners and all-dis-trict officers held throughvideo conferencing here, theChief Secretary directed theofficers to carry out intensivecampaign to prevent increasingpollution problem.

She said with the help ofmobile parties, officers shouldimmediately reach the area

where stubble burning is beingdone and strict action shouldbe taken against those doingstubble burning.

She also directed theDeputy Commissioners to pro-vide a report of the FIRs filed,by evening, against the farm-ers involved in stubble burning.She said that fire brigadeshould reach the earliest at theplaces where stubble is beingburnt, and control the fire. Shesaid expenses of the firebrigade should be chargedfrom the farmers.

Apart from this, GramSabhas should also be organ-ised in the villages for the nexttwo to three days in which thenames of the farmers whoburnt stubble should be

informed by the sarpanch andso that his action should bestrongly condemned in thepanchayat. She said the villagesecretary, patwari andNumberdars should also beinvolved and help to improvestubble management.

The Chief Secretary addedorders should be strictly fol-lowed to prevent pollutioncaused by construction, brick-lins, broken roads, stubble,garbage, vehicle jams, illegalparking, etc.

She said water should besprayed on trees to reducepollution level. If there is ashortage of water fountains ina district, they can apply forthis by writing a letter to theheadquarters, she added.

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There is an increase of morethan 37,000 new voters

this Assembly election inPalamu in comparison to thenumber of total voters enu-merated for the Lok Sabhaelection held in April-Maythis year.

A press note issued fromthe district public relationoffice read there were 14, 21,729 voters in Palamu for theLok Sabha election which isnow 14, 59, 278 voters.

District returning officercum deputy commissionerPalamu Shantanu KumarAgrahari said the increase innumber of voters is a happysign but it will be far happiermoment when eligible votersdo come out of their housesand cast votes, which is duehere on November 30.

He said various motiva-tional programmes for increasein voting percentage have beenlined up like night Kabbadi formen and body building com-petition.

Both the events are inbetween third and fourth week.

Sources said the increasein voters has so far not seenany more number of booths

which was 1795 in Lok Sabhaelection and this figure is samethis assembly election heretoo.

If Agrahari is concentrat-ing on preparations for thepolling SP Palamu Ajay Lindais taking a detour of the dis-trict to gauge security require-ment and risks there for itstackling. Linda said areasfalling in Chetma, Dagra,Kooh Kooh Pathra, NaudeehaKala Pahar etc are all understrict eyes of the nearest policestations and security campsthere.

The SP said, “I rode on abike in areas falling on the bor-der of Bihar and saw the loca-tions of the booths, clusters,routes and retreats.” He said heinspected geo positions atSalaiyya where he went on bikea far off pace just meters awayfrom Bihar and spoke to peo-ple there to bolster their con-fidence in voting.

Sources said the adjoiningstates like Bihar ChhatsgarhUP West Bengal and Odisha,where incidentally there is noelection and hence problem of

sneaking in of rebels fromBihar Chhatisgarh and Orissais too high.

Linda agreeing to this sit-uation said, “We will do all onthe borders that we have withChhatisgarh Bihar and UP tofoil any entry of rebels andcriminals as well.”

The SP conceded that avast area in Palamu is highlyprone to ambush and boobytraps but hastened to assurethat security forces will abortany design of rebels.

Daltonganj Assembly con-stituency has Bhandariya andBadgad segments which aretoo close to Chhatisgarh’sAmbikapur.

Similarly Panki andChhaterpur Assembly con-stituencies are close to Bihar’sBarachatti and other areas ofGaya district.

Palamu’s HussainabadAssembly constituency hasriver connectivity with Biharand there have been occur-rences of sneaking in here ofcriminals and illicit weaponsfrom Rohtas by means of smallwooden hand driven boats.

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Police and paramilitaryforces will soon started

night domination in naxal-hitPatamda and Bodam in view ofthe polling.

The move followed intelli-gence inputs that the Dalmasquad of CPI - Maoist has

increased its movement in theareas in remote villages ofPatamda and Bodam whichhad almost been free from thenaxal activities.

"By visiting repeatedly intoany particular area, naxals willincrease their influence amongthe villager, and the villagers,"said the officer.

He pointed out the nax-als are suspected to haveincreased the movement keep-ing the elections in view of theelections which is detrimentalto conducting free and fair elec-tions here.

A senior police officialsaid: “At the time when theelection, joint operation ofpolice and paramilitary is allessential as rebels will tend toconcentrate on the Singhbhumside of the border during thetime.

The joint anti-insurgencyoperation at Patamda,Dalmaand Ghatshila region will keepthe area largely free from activ-ities ofnaxals in the wake of theelections." He said as there area large number of villagers,who have shifted their basefrom the naxals to the police,it is the duty of the policeadministration to instill a senseof confidence among such vil-

lagers.CRPF officer confirmed

they will start the exercise ofnight domination in the diffi-cult terrain in Patamda. "Wehad been carrying out longrange patrolling in the junglesduring the day, but now we willstart the exercise of night dom-ination in the night. In theexercise, the forces will bestaying throughout the night inthose villages where the naxalsare reported to have visitedclandestinely," said the officer.

He pointed out by follow-ing the tactic the paramilitaryforces are instilling a confi-dence among the villagers andat the same time preventing therebels from entering into thevillages.

Notably, Patamda hasbecome one of the attractionsof political leaders who makea bee-line there for wooing thevoters.

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Ateam of Elect ionCommission of India

(ECI) officials led by SeniorDeputy Elect ionCommissioner Umesh Sinhareached Bokaro to check thepreparedness for the upcom-ing Assembly elections. TheECI officials are on two daysvisit to Jharkhand to checkthe poll preparedness.

Team including DeputyElect ion CommissionerSudeep Jain, Arvind Anandand CEO Jharkhand VinayKumar Choubey todayrushed Bokaro to meet thepoll panel, district officials,police officers and represen-tatives from political partiesof North Chotanagpur regionof Jharkhand to check theirpreparedness," said a districtadministration official.

The visit is part of a "rou-tine" procedure ahead of theelections in any poll-boundState, the official said.

Legislative Assembly elec-tions are due to be held inJharkhand from 30November to 20 December2019 (five phase) to elect the81 members of LegislativeAssembly; results will bedeclared on 23 Decemberthis year.

B okaro DeputyCommissioner MukeshKumar, DIG Prabhat Kumar,SP Bokaro P Murugun wel-comed the officials at BokaroAirport.

Later they rushed atBokaro Niwas for reviewmeet ing. B eside othersDeputy Commissioners andSuperintendents of Police ofDhanbad, Hazaribagh,Koderma, Giridih, Chatraand Ramgharh were presentin the meeting.

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Iran announced on Mondayits latest violations of the

nuclear deal with world pow-ers, saying that it now operatestwice as many advanced cen-trifuges banned by the 2015accord and is working on a prototype that’s 50 timesfaster than those allowed by the deal.

The announcement cameas the country marks the 40thanniversary of the 1979 USEmbassy takeover that starteda 444-day hostage crisis.

By starting up theseadvanced centrifuges, Iran fur-ther cuts into the one year thatexperts estimate Tehran wouldneed to have enough material

for building a nuclear weapon— if it chose to pursue one.

The comments by AliAkbar Salehi, the head of theAtomic Energy Organisation ofIran, came ahead of an expect-ed announcement by Tehran ofthe new ways it would breakthe accord.

Already, Iran has brokenthrough its stockpile andenrichment limitations, tryingto pressure Europe to offer it anew deal, more than a yearsince President Donald Trumpunilaterally withdrew Americafrom the accord.

Speaking to state TV, Salehisaid Tehran is now operating 60IR-6 advanced centrifuges —twice as many as before. Sucha centrifuge, an IR-6, can pro-

duce enriched uranium 10times as fast as the first-gener-ation IR-1s allowed under the

accord. The nuclear deal lim-ited Iran to using only 5,060first-generation IR-1 cen-

trifuges to enrich uranium byrapidly spinning uraniumhexafluoride gas.

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The whistleblower whoraised alarms about

President Donald Trump’s deal-ings with Ukraine and touchedoff the Democratic-ledimpeachment enquiry is will-ing to answer written questionssubmitted by HouseRepublicans, the person’slawyer says. But PresidentDonald says that’s not goodenough. Trump himself refusedto provide anything but writtenanswers in response to limitedquestions during the specialcounsel’s investigation intoRussian interference duringthe 2016 election.

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Forty-one migrants werefound alive in a refrigerated

truck in northern Greece onMonday, said police, who arrest-ed the driver. The migrants, ofapparent Afghan origin, weremostly in good condition butseven received first aid in hos-pital, the police said. “The truckcontained men and boys.Identifying their nationality willrequire a couple of days,” apolice source told AFP.

The truck was stopped bypolice on the Egnatia motor-way between the towns ofXanthi and Komotini.

The driver, a man fromGeorgia, was arrested.

Local media reported thatpolice were also seeking a sec-ond man from Turkey in con-nection with the incident.

The discovery came after39 people, all believed to beVietnamese nationals, werefound dead in a refrigeratedtruck in Britain last month,highlighting the risks of illegalmigrant routes to Europe, evenfor those avoiding periloustravel by sea.

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Washington and Beijingtraded tit-for-tat barbs

over the disputed South ChinaSea at a regional summit inBangkok on Monday, with theUS accusing the fellow super-power of intimidatingclaimants in the resource-richwaterway.

China hit back with aveiled criticism of the US,accusing it of ratcheting up ten-sions in the waters, a key glob-al shipping route.

Beijing lays claim to hugeswathes of the sea where it isaccused of building militaryinstallations and fake islands,and ramming fishing vessels.

The US has long accused itof bullying fellow claimants —Vietnam, Taiwan, Philippines,Malaysia and Brunei — callingfor freedom of navigation inthe area.

US National SecurityAdviser Robert O’Brien dou-bled down on America’srhetoric against China onMonday, speaking at theAssociation of Southeast AsianNations (ASEAN) summit.

“Beijing has used intimi-dation to try and stop ASEANnations from exploiting theiroffshore resources,” he said,addressing an ASEAN meetingon Monday.

“Big countries should notbully other countries,” he latertold reporters.

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Several Southeast Asian lead-ers snubbed a meeting with

US officials on Monday afterPresident Donald Trumpdecided not to attend a region-al summit in Bangkok.

Just three leaders from the10-member Association ofSoutheast Asian Nations(ASEAN) showed up to the ses-sion, along with a host of for-eign ministers.Trump has beenaccused of turning his back onAsian allies for pulling out of amajor trade pact, as fellowsuperpower China pursues itsown deals and investment pro-jects in the region.

Washington did not sendtop officials to the weekendASEAN summit, instead dis-patching commerce secretaryWilbur Ross and NationalSecurity Adviser RobertO’Brien.

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President Donald Trump hasinvited Southeast Asian

leaders to a “special summit” inthe United States early nextyear after skipping their ongo-ing annual summit in Thailand.

Robert O’Brien, theNational Security AdviserTrump sent in his stead, includ-ed the invitation in a letter fromTrump that he read at a US-ASEAN meeting on Mondayon the sidelines of the summitof the 10-nation Association ofSoutheast Asian Nations.

Monday’s meeting with theUS would normally would beattended by Presidents orPrime Ministers.

In a pointed adherence todiplomatic protocol, seven of10 Southeast Asian countriessent their Foreign Ministersinstead.

Only host Prime MinisterPrayuth Chan-cha of Thailandand the Prime Ministers ofVietnam and Laos joinedO’Brien and the foreign min-isters sent by other countries.

BAGHDAD: Anti-governmentprotesters clashed with Iraqisecurity forces on a third majorbridge in Baghdad on Monday,with at least one protesterkilled and two dozen wound-ed as gunfire echoed throughthe streets. An Associated Pressreporter saw dozens of pro-testers racing through thestreets carrying several wound-ed people. Some protestershurled rocks at security forces,who responded with tear gasand fired a water cannon.

The protesters have beentrying to breach barricades onbridges leading to the heavily for-tified Green Zone, where thegovernment is headquartered.They appeared to have crossedthe Al-Ahrar Bridge and reachedthe headquarters of Iraq’s state-run TV on other side. Police andhospital officials said at least oneperson was killed and 24 wound-ed in the clashes on the bridge,where security forces used liveammunition, rubber bullets andtear gas grenades. AP

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Tehran: Iranian forces willnot only target US but also itsallies in case of aggressionagainst Iran by Washington,Iran’s Armed Forcesspokesman has said. “Anyplace and any territorial pointsheltering the interests of theUnited States and its allieswould be threatened (in caseof aggression against Iran) asIran has proved that it is capa-ble of doing this,” AbolfazlShekarchi was quoted as say-ing by Press TV. IANS

Brussels: The EU warned itssupport for Iran nuclear dealdepends on Tehran fulfillingits commitments, after Iranianofficials announced a majorincrease in enriched uraniumproduction. Following a seriesof steps away from its com-mitments under the 2015accord, the head of the Iranianatomic energy agency saidMonday that production ofenriched uranium hadreached five kilos a day andtwo new advanced centrifugeshad been developed. AFP

Tehran: German ForeignMinister Heiko Maas saidIran’s latest step away from its2015 nuclear deal with worldpowers risks completelybreaking the entire agree-ment. Hass said Iran’s decisionMonday to operate a greaternumber of advanced cen-trifuges “unacceptable.”Speaking to reporters inHungary, he said “ultimatelyIran is doing nothing less thanputting the entire nuclearagreement at risk.” AP

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#�� + �� )��Washington: The Trumpadministration is sanctioningmembers of Iranian supremeleader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’sinner circle. Separately, admin-istration is issuing an up to $20million reward for informationabout missing former FBI agentRobert Levinson. He disap-peared in Iran in 2007 but theIranian Government has neveracknowledged arresting him.Senior administration officialsannounced the new steps againstIran on Monday as the countrymarks the anniversary of the USEmbassy takeover 40 years ago.The officials spoke only on con-dition of anonymity accordingto White House policy. AP

Recently, Congress leader PriyankaGandhi Vadra claimed that SardarVallabhbhai Patel was a dedicat-ed Congress leader and a closeassociate of former Prime

Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. She also mockedat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for try-ing to appropriate the Sardar’s legacy.

Priyanka Gandhi is not the first from herparty to shower encomiums on SardarPatel and question the legitimacy of the BJPto celebrate his life. Many others have donethis over the last five years but it appears tobe a case of too little, too late because nobodyis buying this line. The reasons why theCongress’ present-day claims vis-a-vis theSardar sound hollow are many but there isone prime explanation – the insecurity andpettiness of the Nehru-Gandhis since thedays of Nehru. But before we address thisissue, let’s take a brief look at the extraordi-nary achievements of the unifier of India.

Sardar Patel is hailed as the Bismarck ofIndia because he took upon himself theunenviable task of integrating over 560princely States, who had the option duringIndia’s Independence day to remain indepen-dent or join Pakistan or India. Even if a fewof these princes had exercised the first twooptions, the unification of India would havebeen in doubt.

For example, the Nizam of Hyderabadand the Nawab of Junagadh decided toaccede to Pakistan and the ruler of Bhopalwanted to proclaim independence. Patelcoaxed, cajoled and when necessary, pres-surised these princes to fall in line. But forhis cool determination and single-mindedcommitment to the unification of the coun-try, the idea of India would never have takenoff. The India, which woke up to freedomin August 1947, would have been in tatters.Therefore, we owe our geographical andpolitical unity to Patel. He achieved this stu-pendous task despite failing health and hedied on December 15, 1950.

Let us take the Kashmir issue. WhileNehru was dilly-dallying and wonderingwhat to do, Sardar Patel got the Maharaja ofthe former State to sign the Instrument ofAccession and took a firm stand to fly outthe first contingent of troops to Srinagar onOctober 27, 1947, a day after it was signed.

Such was the situation that the thenGovernment was not sure whether this air-craft could land at the Srinagar airportbecause hordes of Pakistani infiltrators hadmoved into the former State. Luckily, the firstbatch of soldiers was able to land and securethe airport for the arrival of several morecontingents. The Indian Army then fannedout and re-captured many of the townsseized by the Pakistanis.

Meanwhile, even as the Army kept dri-ving out the intruders, Nehru took the fate-ful decision to move the United Nations, thusinternationalising the issue.

In fact, there is much more to the per-sonality of Sardar Patel than just being a

“man of steel.” He was a disci-plined soldier of the Congress,probably much more disciplinedthan Nehru because of the extra-ordinary sacrifice he made in1946. That year, the Congresshad to elect its new chief, whowould also become independentIndia’s first Prime Minister. TheAll India Congress Committeecalled for nominations fromthe 15 Pradesh CongressCommittees. Twelve of themvoted for Sardar Patel, whileother committees voted fornone. Thus, Nehru did not getthe support of a single PradeshCongress Committee. Despitethis, he made it known toMahatma Gandhi that he wouldnot play second fiddle to anyone.Gandhi, for reasons best knownto him, wanted Nehru as PrimeMinister and asked Sardar Patelto step down. Patel obliged.This was indeed a huge sacrificefor the sake of the unity of theCongress.

Since the Congress func-tioned like a private limitedcompany, owned and controlledby the Nehru-Gandhis, it dideverything since 1947 to belittlethe contributions of party lead-ers not belonging to this familyand exaggerating the achieve-ments of those who belonged toit. Although Nehru is hailed asa great democrat, this process

began in his lifetime itself.Among those who fell victim tothis family’s attempt to obliter-ate the great achievements ofothers were Sardar Patel, BRAmbedkar, Subhash ChandraBose, Lal Bahadur Shastri andmany others, including PVNarasimha Rao, one of thegreatest Prime Ministers Indiahas produced.

Sardar Patel gave us a uni-fied India yet Nehru did notconfer the Bharat Ratna on himafter it was instituted in 1954.Instead, Nehru gave it to him-self in 1955. Again, formerPrime Minister Indira Gandhigave herself the Bharat Ratna in1971 and it was conferredposthumously on Rajiv Gandhiin 1991 but none of them con-sidered either Sardar Patel orAmbedkar, who were worthy ofthe nation’s highest honour.

Finally, it was left to non-Congress Governments toaccord this honour to these twogreat Indians.

Nehru also ordered theUnion Government officers notto attend Sardar Patel’s funeralin Bombay in December 1950.

Similarly, the family wasmost unnerved by the phe-nomenal popularity andachievements of two PrimeMinisters — Lal BahadurShastri, who led the country to

victory in the India-Pakistan warof 1965 and PV Narasimha Rao,who between 1991 and 1996,ended militancy in Punjab andbailed out India, which wassinking into an unknown eco-nomic abyss after having mort-gaged gold to the Bank ofEngland for just $200 million.When he demitted office, India’sforeign exchange reserves stoodat over $50 billion. He was alsothe chief of the Congress for fiveyears. Yet, when he died in2004, “The Family” orderedthat Rao’s body would not enterthe premises of the party’sheadquarters on Akbar Road.

Fortunately, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s decision tobuild the world’s tallest statue forSardar Patel in Kevadia inGujarat and his efforts toenlighten the people have turnedthe focus on Patel’s huge contri-bution.

The people are also nowacquainted with the pettinessand cunning displayed by asingle political family over sevendecades to mask the achieve-ments of the “iron man ofIndia.” Try as they might, theycan never retrieve him becausehe now dwells in the hearts of abillion grateful people.

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

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Sir — The President of Indiaissued a notification that the mapof the country had been redrawnto depict the newly-formed UnionTerritories (UT) of Jammu &Kashmir (J&K) and Ladakh.

But the big question is, will theUnited Nations (UN) recognisethis new political map of J&K andLadakh UTs? As it is China is notfalling for Indian assurances on theLine of Actual Control (LAC)and is interpreting the bifurcationas a challenge to Aksai Chin andits China-Pakistan EconomicCorridor in Pakistan-occupiedKashmir (PoK). Pakistan hasalready refused to accept the newmap and China is sure to counterit its own version. Another roundof pow-wow awaits.

Bidyut Kumar ChatterjeeFaridabad

�� Sir — This, refers to the report“Delhi pollution 3-year high”(November 4). A week after Diwali,Delhi’s Air Quality Index shot upto 625 on Sunday, the highest levelit has touched in three years.Twenty-one of the 37 air quality

monitoring stations recorded theAQI between 490 and 500 with airquality sensors at Aya Nagar,Ashok Vihar, Anand Vihar andAurobindo Marg peaking at 7

pm. In the National CapitalRegion, Faridabad with AQI (493),Noida (494), Ghaziabad (499) andGreater Noida (488), Gurugram(479), residents choked on toxic air.

A public health emergency hasalready been declared in thenational Capital and people arecomplaining of breathing prob-lems. Even 37 flights were divert-

ed due to the heavy smog.However, even as the citizens con-tinue to suffer, the DelhiGovernment and the CentralGovernment are indulging in ablame-game. It’s sad that whensomething as fundamental as thehealth of our children and theelderly is at stake, we are bickeringirresponsibly. The Governmentshould devise a more robust, per-manent solution to tackle theproblem of pollution, just like theUS and China.

T Anwar Bengaluru

��Sir —The present crisis of govern-ment formation in Maharashtra isa sad reminder of a similar episodein Karnataka and is indicative ofthe malice that has penetrated ourpolitics. Politicians don’t seem tobother either about their ideologyor negating the verdict of theelectorate. As such hoisting on thepeople a Chief Minister from apolitical party with minimumseats is becoming a norm thanexception.

BP SrivastavaNoida

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The trans-community is not happy with theTransgender Persons (Protection of Rights)Bill, 2019 and some of its provisions are being

widely debated, criticised and opposed by it. “Somemay see it as positive socio-cultural change but thelegal aspect of this Bill is bad,” says Anirudh Gupta,an activist and member of the trans-community.Is the Government listening to these voices?

What has majorly upset the trans-communi-ty is that the Bill was drafted without taking anyinputs from it and there are many loopholes thatneed to be plugged.

The right to self-identification: The mainconcern of the community is that the Bill doesn’tgrant it the right to determine gender. Instead, itsmembers have to present their cases before aDistrict Magistrate (DM) to get certified as a trans-gender. Prior to applying for an identification cer-tificate, the Bill mandates them to secure a med-ical certificate from the area’s Chief Medical Officerconfirming their orientation. This, the communi-ty believes, is in gross violation of the 2014 SupremeCourt verdict in the National Legal ServicesAuthority vs Union of India case. The ruling haddirected the Central Government to allow trans-genders to determine their own gender irrespec-tive of hormonal or surgical interventions. This isalso contrary to another provision of the Bill thatthey would have the right of self-identification.

Shanthi Muniswamy, a member of the com-munity, says, “How can a screening committee beauthorised to confirm whether or not I am a trans-gender? The lawmakers should be sensitive. Whatif they need to prove their genders to officers andconfirm it with a certificate? There is no such lawfor a male and female. Then, is it justified to makeit a rule for the third gender?”

No room for appeal or review after rejectionby the DM: As per the Bill, if the DM refuses toacknowledge the medical certificate, the appellantwill not get the certificate of identification. Theapplication will not be reviewed after that. The factthat the petitioners will not have any forum toappeal to has the trans-community up in arms. Thisprovision is unjust to an extent where it will notonly deprive these individuals of their basicrights but even their identity. The trans-commu-nity has fought this battle of identity since birthand hasn’t succumbed to societal pressure. But asthis battle goes legal, its members will legally haveto live with the same situation and same identityfor the rest of their lives. Lawmakers need toacknowledge the fact that the rejection of a per-son not being a transgender can be due to sever-al reasons, including corruption and medical neg-ligence. In all legal matters, the Constitution accordsevery person the right to appeal to higher author-ities and even to the Supreme Court (SC). TheGovernment assigns a public prosecutor foralleged criminals. So the question arises why thisbasic right is being denied to the third gender?

If this Bill is for the emancipation of transgen-ders, then why are their basic rights differing fromthat of other citizens on the basis of gender? Thisin a way, violates Article 15 of the IndianConstitution, which prohibits discrimination ongrounds of race, caste, sex or place of birth.

Sex work is an issue which the Bill fails toaddress: Isn’t sex work a harsh reality of our soci-ety? The streets of Central Delhi at midnight areflooded with sex workers, including transgenders.The Government has failed to address this issue.

The extent of exploitation of transgen-ders in this trade is beyond imagination.They are beaten up, sexually assaultedand thrown into the streets. Their com-plaints are barely registered in such casesas a transgender getting molested orraped is not something that society wantsto accept.

A major explanation of this negationby society lies in the argument that thesex trade is exploitative, irrespective ofthe gender. But when we talk of womenin prostitution and rehabilitating them,then why aren’t we talking and thinkingabout transgenders the very same way?How can there be such a stark demar-cation of exploitation and brutalitybased on gender? Have we found a newcategory that we can discriminate? It isimportant to accept that trans people aremarginalised in layers. More than a meredrafting of a Bill, the Government needsto empower transgenders economicallyand socially.

Discrimination over the com-plaints of sexual harassment betweenwomen and transgenders: TheTransgender Persons (Protection ofRights Bill), 2019 states the period ofpunishment for sexual harassment andassault on a transgender to be sixmonths which can exceed up to two yearsin prison with penalty. A period of oneto five years is the least imprisonmentwhen the same cases are lodged for anassault on a woman.The punishment forsexual assault, harassment and bondedlabour is comparatively stringent incase of heterosexuals as compared totransgenders.

Definition of family: The Bill does-n’t recognise hijra households where theyall feel protected and find a sense ofbelonging. The Bill defines a family as agroup of people related by blood, mar-

riage or adoption. The community doesnot find this in consonance with the real-ity of their lives, where trans-children aremostly abandoned and disowned at atender age. Grace Banu, a transgenderwoman from Tamil Nadu, said “that myfamily got me admitted in an asylum afterknowing about my gender.” Since then,she herself has adopted seven trans-kids.Stories like these are neither rare norunreal. Therefore, how can the definitionof the family be so unreal and incom-plete?

Awareness in households, publicoffices, educational institutes, hospitalsand police stations: Despite making lawsand drafting Bills, there have been anumber of cases where transgenders havebeen harassed and discriminated inGovernment institutions.

The case of Shanavi Ponnusamy, atrans woman from Tamil Nadu, comesto mind. She was allegedly denied the jobof cabin crew by Air India despite clear-ing the exam. Another widely knowncase is of K Prithika Yashini, the firsttranswoman Sub-Inspector in India. Ittook an order from the Madras HighCourt for the Tamil Nadu RecruitmentBoard to appoint her.

Unfortunately we have a huge num-ber of cases like these where the basicopportunities of education and livelihoodof the transgenders have been ques-tioned. Therefore, there is a huge demandof sensitisation in all walks of public andprivate sphere.

The question arises, Are theMinisters themselves ready for this Bill?Why is this issue being discussed amidsome or the other scuffle? The historyof this Bill reflects the loopholes everysingle time it is drafted. The TransgenderPersons (Protection of Rights) 2018consisted of many lacuna such as illog-

ical and narrow defining of the transgen-der which was, “Somebody as not nei-ther wholly male nor wholly female.” Itcriminalised begging on the streetsexclusively for the transgenders. TheNational Council for TransgenderPersons was to have a psychiatrist in thepanel along with the DM. How then arethe Government and the so-called pol-icy makers any different from any otherill-informed person, who sees it as a men-tal illness which is to be treated by a psy-chiatrist. If the aim is to pass a Bill justfor the sake of having another law in thecountry, then it will face the same fate asmany other pre-existing laws. Forinstance, despite decriminalisation ofArticle 377, recently RasikaGopalkrishnan and Shivani Singh, twofemales in their early twenties, werethrown out of a Chennai hotel late atmidnight for holding hands and hugging.It is one of the trillion examples of theflawed implementation of laws.

This subsidiary and secondaryapproach towards deliberating and draft-ing a Bill for transgenders will result ina half-hearted implementation, leadingto forged data and stereotypes. It is cru-cial to realise that rights and justice havelately been denied to the “Third Gender”despite being recognised in 2014. It ishigh time for the Government to pay therequired attention while deliberating therights of these individuals. This is a mat-ter of identity, life, right and fight of ahuge part of society. The realisation thatit is not just any other issue will help theGovernment in taking all concerns intoaccount which will ensure better possi-bilities of the law being implemented onthe ground.

(The writer is post graduate scholar,Department of Political Science, Universityof Delhi)

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As the sun sets, a child jingles afew coins in his tiny hands,which are his earnings for

working 14 hours straight at a Delhi-based bangle manufacturing unit. Ithas been just a few months since hemoved to Delhi, with a bhaiyya(brother) from his village. Little didhe know that his bhaiyya had deviseda cunning ploy to push him into thedark and dingy world of child labour.Confined to the factory, he would toilall day and through the night to makebangles that would one day adorn thearms of women.

This is the story of Ashiq, aneight-year-old boy from the hinter-lands of Bihar, and that of thousandsof children like him, who are traf-ficked every year and forced to liveand unlawfully work in deplorableconditions. Among the children whoare rescued from bonded labour, traf-ficking and abuse, trauma is often adominant factor impacting theirdecisions, making them unsociableand aloof, even after being freed andrepatriated. The stigma associatedwith being rehabilitated often push-

es the children to believe that theyhave committed a crime. Their cop-ing mechanism fails to help them re-integrate with other children in thecommunity and they often end upgrowing into dysfunctional adults.

In the past decades, however,organisations, Government andNGOs have been working diligentlyat the grassroots with an aim to intro-duce mechanisms that would notonly ensure full protection of therights of children working as labour-ers in brick kilns, circuses, textile fac-tories, bangle factories and the car-pet industry but also help in rebuild-ing their lives.

A Nobel Peace Prize for India in2014 for fighting for the rights of chil-dren and youth was an importantturning point. Apart from the pub-licity that the movement receivedbecause of the award bestowed uponKailash Satyarthi, this period was alsomarked by a significant step forwardin the field of protection of childrights by way of improving andamending the existing child protec-tion laws such as the Juvenile Justice

Act, the POCSO Act and other pro-visions that support children in dis-tress. These amendments have furtherhelped a great deal towards creatinga safer environment for children insome communities while others stillremain vulnerable to incidences oftrafficking, forced labour and sexu-al abuse.

Currently, under the Child andAdolescent Labour (Prohibition andRegulation Act) 1986, children res-cued from labour may receive mon-etary benefits from the Governmentof up to �15,000, in addition to theirback wages. If the children are foundto have been bonded in their employ-ment, there are additional provisionsfor benefits of up to �3,00,000 underthe Central Sector Scheme for theRehabilitation of Bonded Labourers,2016. The nature of the rehabilitationsupport available today is plainlyfinancial, and the funds rationed bythe Government for providing for thesurvivors of child labour fall short byalmost 60 per cent.

When the rescued children arereunited with their families, they are

often looked down upon by their par-ents and society. Not only this, theemployers also threaten the parents.They are often made to believe thatbeing rescued means getting caughtand the child is responsible for theloss of income. For impoverished par-ents and children, this translatesinto direct pressure and they give into the threats of the employers. Insuch situations, factors such as delayin receiving compensation, lack ofawareness among parents about theavenues open for their children,social stigma and lack of communi-ty support, unavailability of educa-tional and vocational opportunities,poverty and the family’s lack ofaccess to social security schemesforces them to re-enter the world oftrafficking and slavery.

Since it’s known that the vulner-ability of a potential victim stemsfrom the lack of a feeling of security,it’s really important that the child isempowered and safe, once backhome. A comprehensive rehabilita-tion process must be implementedthrough a series of interventions that

span mental, social, psychological,physical, aptitudinal and scholasticgrowth of the children.

With a goal to offer proper reha-bilitation, shelter homes have been setup across the country that offer sup-port to survivors of the heinouscrimes of trafficking and forcedlabour. Many shelter homes also runprogrammes to provide immediatecare and protection to rescued chil-dren.

Rehabilitation programmes haveto be more efficient than the short-term solutions that focus only on pro-viding immediate care and support.There should be a pragmaticapproach towards designing pro-grammes with realistic time-framesthat must replace the current short-term yet seemingly never-endingprocesses. A comprehensive rehabil-itation policy that addresses the cur-rent challenges must be introduced.Besides this, efforts must be made totrain the stakeholders for effectiveimplementation of laws related tochild rights and protection. There isalso a need for comprehensive

research since there is hardly any doc-umentation on ideal rehabilitationpractices. An advocacy campaignmust be launched to ensure allocationof adequate funds for effective reha-bilitation of children. To operate ona scale as big as required, adoption oftechnology to efficiently deliver ser-vices is imperative.

The need of the hour is to makeconcerted efforts at the district levelin order to create maximum impact.District-level centres should be madewith facilities such as hostels, whereapart from lodging, a holistic learn-ing environment is provided to chil-dren. It is equally important to pro-vide counselling resources to parents.Awareness-building initiatives arealso necessary in order to ensure thatthe activities of agents are monitored.A lot of this work can be executedthrough consultants and volunteersoperating at the panchayat, block anddistrict level in partnership with thelocal administration. This will notonly help us research the issues in-depth but also get to the root causesof child trafficking and the mindsets

that cause problems in proper reha-bilitation.

Today, after years of continuous-ly learning about the problems facedby children, we have developedinsights in fields that not only direct-ly impact their protection and devel-opment but also provide a con-ducive environment for growth. Wehave greater understanding of howdeep-rooted the problems are. TheBal Mitra Grams’ participation-basedmodels have thrown up results.

It has taken India years to recog-nise the effects of child labour andgive at least some attention it reallydeserves. The significant reforms inthe child rights and protection poli-cies have been pivotal in the fightagainst child labour. However, we stillneed greater collective effort to beempathetic towards children in need.This would certainly secure thefuture generations. They are morethan capable of striking gold out ofwhatever they get.

(The writer is former Chairperson,Bihar State Commission for Protectionof Child Rights)

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New Delhi: The SupremeCourt on Monday expressedserious concern over theChhattisgarh Government tap-ping the phone of a senior IPSofficer — and allegedly also ofhis two daughters — and won-dered if “somebody’s privacycan be violated like this”.

“No privacy is left for any-body. What is happening in thiscountry?” the top courtobserved.

It asked the StateGovernment as to who orderedfor interception of the phonesof the senior police officerMukesh Gupta and his familymembers and directed it to filea detailed affidavit explainingthe reason for the action.

During the previous hear-ing in the case on October 25,Gupta had alleged that his andhis two young daughters’phones were being intercepted.

The State Government hadadmitted that his phone wasbeing tapped as he has beenevading arrest in two caseslodged against him. TheGovernment had denied inter-cepting the officer’s daughters’

phone though. The court hadthen restrained the state gov-ernment from intercepting thephones of Gupta and his fam-ily and granted him protectionfrom arrest in the cases lodgedagainst him.

But it had refused to quashthe FIRs lodged against the1988 batch IPS officer includ-ing one for alleged FCRA vio-lation by a trust running a eyehospital, founded by his father.

During the hearing onMonday, a bench of justicesArun Mishra and IndiraBanerjee asked theChhattisgarh government if an

individual’s phone can be inter-cepted just to trace him.

“Everyday something ishappening. What is the need ofthis? No privacy is left foranybody. What is happening inthis country,” the bench said,adding, “Can privacy of some-body be violated like this?Who ordered this? File adetailed affidavit”.

The top court also tookexception to a separate FIRlodged against an advocatewho is representing the IPSofficer before the apex court.

Senior advocate MaheshJethmalani, appearing for

Gupta, informed the benchthat the Chhattisgarh police hadcome to arrest his client and hislawyer Ravi Sharma called upthe police to know under whichFIR he was being arrested.

The bench said that thelawyer, as an officer of thecourt, has every right to knowfrom the police that underwhich FIR or provisions of law,his client was being arrested.

It stayed any further inves-tigation against the lawyer andsaid that no coercive action betaken against him till furtherorders.

The bench also toldJethmalani, and senior advo-cate Neeraj Kishan Kaul who isappearing for the Chhattisgarhgovernment, not to politicisethe issue by dragging the nameof Chhattisgarh Chief MinisterBhupesh Baghel in the matter.

Senior advocate VivekTankha and Chhattisgarhstanding counsel Sumeer Sodhialongwith advocate general S CVerma told the bench that theChief Minister has nothing todo with the case and his nameshould be struck off from the

list of parties.The top court said that

politicising the case would nothelp anybody and directed thatthe CM’s name be removedfrom the memo of parties inthe petition.

In the petition, the IPS offi-cer has named the ChhattisgarhChief Minister as one of therespondents.

Kaul said that Gupta hadmanipulated the death of hissecond wife which tells muchabout his conduct.

Jethmalani objected toKaul’s submission and said thedeath happened in 2001 and hisclient has been exoneratedthree times in the case.

“Maybe his (Gupta) con-duct is very bad but that doesnot give any right to anybody totap his phones,” the bench said.

“You have exceeded every-thing. This is not good. This isshocking. Person’s right to pri-vacy cannot be breached in thisfashion,” the bench said andordered that the stay on furtherinvestigation in the two FIRslodged against Gupta to con-tinue till further orders. PTI

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New Delhi: The KarnatakaCongress on Monday requestedthe Supreme Court, hearing the17 MLAs’ disqualification case,to take on record a fresh audioclip in which Chief Minister BSYediyurappa is purportedly hit-ting out at his party leaders fornot recognising the “sacrifice” ofthe disqualified Congress-JD(S)MLAs, because of whom the BJPcould come to power.

A bench headed by JusticeNV Ramana said it will consultChief Justice Ranjan Gogoi forconstituting the bench onTuesday to consider the freshmaterial given by the KarnatakaCongress.

A purported audio clip ofYediyurappa expressing anguishagainst leaders at a recent partymeeting in Hubballi over theiropposition to giving tickets tothe disqualified Congress-JD(S)MLAs for the December 5Assembly bypolls in 15 con-stituencies had surfaced lastFriday.

In the audio, he is purport-edly saying that the rebel

Congress JD(S) MLAs, whowere later disqualified, werekept in Mumabi during thefinal days of the coalition gov-ernment under BJP nationalpresident Amit Shah’s watch.

Bypolls to 15 out of 17 seatsrepresented by disqualifiedMLAs, whose resignation andabsence from trust vote lead tothe fall of Congress-JD(S) coali-tion Government and madeway for BJP to come to power,will be held on December 5.

Amid opposition fromlocal party leaders in these 15constituencies, Yediyurappahad recently assured that tick-ets would be given to the dis-qualified MLAs if they wishedto contest for BJP and had

appointed party contenders forthe tickets there as heads ofboards and corporations.

Stating that it was a differ-ent matter whether the BJPwins or loses an election, hesays the disqualified MLAshave given the party an oppor-tunity to come to power byresigning the MLA’s posts andhave even moved the SupremeCourt with a plea that their res-ignations be accepted.

After the fall of the coali-tion Government, the thenSpeaker KR Ramesh Kumarhad disqualified them asMLAs, ruling that they cease tobe MLAs with immediate effecttill the expiry of the 15thassembly (in 2023). The dis-qualified MLAs have chal-lenged it in the Supreme Court.

The top court had onOctober 25 reserved verdict onthe batch of petitions chal-lenging the disqualification ofthe 17 Karnataka MLAs beforethe trust vote moved by theprevious HD KumaraswamyGovernment. PTI

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New Delhi: The SupremeCourt on Monday dismissedthe parole plea of Vikas Yadav,who along with his cousinVishal Yadav is serving a 25-year jail term for killing busi-ness executive Nitish Katara in2002.

A bench comprising ChiefJustice Ranjan Gogoi andJustice Surya Kant did notallow the plea of Vikas who hadsought parole for four weeks onthe grounds that it was his con-stitutional right and he hadspent around seventeen-and-half years of total 25 years jailterm awarded to him in thecase.

“You have been sentencedfor 25 years of imprisonment,complete it,” the bench saidwhile dismissing his paroleplea.

The bench, meanwhile,also dismissed another plea ofVikas in which he had chal-lenged the constitutional valid-ity of the Delhi High Courtorder awarding him the jailterm without any remission.

The plea had said that thecourts are not permitted underthe statute to specify the time

limit of the imprisonment andput a condition that the jailterm will operate without anygrant of remission.

“The petitions are dis-missed,” it said.

On October 3, 2016, theapex court had awarded a 25-year jail term without any ben-efit of remission to Vikas Yadavand his cousin Vishal Yadav fortheir role in the sensational kid-napping and killing of Katara.Another co-convict SukhdevPehalwan was also handeddown a 20-year jail term in thecase.

Prior to this, the DelhiHigh Court, while upholdingthe life imprisonment awardedto Vikas and Vishal Yadav bythe trial court, had specified a30-year sentence, without anyremission, to both of them. Ithad awarded a 25-year jailterm to third convict Pehalwan.

During the brief hearingon Monday, the bench askedYadav’s counsel as to why hewanted to go out on parolewhen he has been awarded 25years of jail term by the apexcourt, that too without anyremission. PTI

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Aizawl/Agartala: An organi-sation of Bru refugees living inTripura claimed that a four-month-old baby died in a reliefcamp on Monday taking thetotal number of people losingtheir lives “because of starva-tion” to six and three otherinmates have been hospitalised.

The displaced people con-tinued with their road blockadefor the fifth day demandingresumption of free ration andcash-dole to them, which theCentre has stopped sinceOctober following commence-ment of the repatriation of therefugees to their homelandMizoram.

Tripura government offi-cials, however, said four Bruinmates of the relief camps havedied so far and medical teamshave been sent there.

They also said free rationsand cash-dole will not beresumed as per the order of theMinistry of Home Affairs.

“Six people died and three

persons were hospitalised dueto deprivation of free rationand cash-dole by the Centre

from October due to the ongo-ing repatriation scheduled to beconcluded on November 30,”

Mizoram Bru DisplacedPeople’s Forum (MBDPF) said.

MBDPF general secretary

Bruno Msha told PTI overphone that a four-month-oldgirl died in Hamsapara reliefcamp on Monday morning.

Three persons including anelderly man and a child ofNaisingpara camp died of star-vation on Sunday, Mshaclaimed.

Two inmates ofNaisingpara had died onThursday.

Sub-Divisional Magistrate(SDM) of KanchanpurAbhedananda Baidya said fourrefugees had died sinceThursday. The SDM had saidon Saturday that an enquirywas being conducted to ascer-tain the cause of death of thetwo inmates of Naisingpararelief camp on Thursday.

“Two medical teams havealready reached refugee campsto check the health condition ofthe refugees, especially thechildren,” Baidya said.

Tripura Additional ChiefSecretary Kumar Alok also

went to Naisingpara and helda meeting with refugee leadersto discuss the death of therefugees and the road blockade.

Road communication fromAnanda Bazar to Kanchapurvia Dasda has collapsed due tothe blockade, an official said.

Mizoram officials on dutyat Kanchanpur said the agitat-ing Brus were not blocking theroad targeting trucks carryingessential goods but trying tostop Mizoram officials who arethere repatriate the Bru families.

In the meeting, Alokurged the Bru leaders to with-draw the blockade which hasaffected the people of Dasda,Ananda Bazar and its adjacentareas, at the earliest.

“As per an agreement, thosewho repatriate to Mizoramwithin the next three days will get �25,000 extra. There isno question of resuming freeration to the refugees as direct-ed by the MHA,” Baidya said,quoting Alok. PTI

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Mumbai: Amid the stalemateover Government formation inMaharashtra, a Marathi daily,widely seen inclined towardsthe RSS, on Monday likenedShiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut to‘Betaal’, the mythological ghostknown for challenging KingVikramaditya with his wittyriddles.

Coming down heavily onRaut, Tarun Bharat , the

Nagpur-based publicationbelieved to be close to theSangh and its political exten-sion BJP, said he was hurtingthe chances of BJP-Senaalliance to come to power inMaharashtra.

Without naming Raut, itcalled him a “joker” and said“his attempts to portray a pic-ture that Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis is isolated

in the BJP is nothing but pureentertainment”.

Raut, the Sena’s RajyaSabha member and executiveeditor of its mouthpiece‘Saamana’, has been at the fore-front of voicing his party’sdemands over equal distribu-tion of power and sharing theChief Minister’s post with theBJP in the next MaharashtraGovernment.

He mocked the BJP onmultiple occasions by askingquestions like “Itna sannatakyon hai bhai...” (why is thereso much silence), using thepopular dialogue fromBollywood blockbuster“Sholay”, on the economicslowdown.

On Monday, Tarun Bharat

published an editorial titled‘Uddhav and Betaal’. The term‘Betaal’ is also used in Marathiwhere it means a personindulging in loose talks.

“Late Balasaheb Thackerayspent his entire life for wrestingpower from the Congress andNCP. But this Betaal is tryinghard to shatter his dreams andthere will be no disappointmentlike this to see the Sena drag-ging behind one loud-mouth,”the Marathi daily said.

Referring to Mahabharat, itsaid the Sena leader’s firstname — Sanjay — was also thatof a character from the epicwho gave a “live relay” of thewar between the Pandavas andKauravas to blind KingDritharashtra. PTI

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Nagpur: A court here onMonday issued notice toMaharashtra Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis on a pleaalleging non-disclosure oftwo criminal cases by him inan election affidavit.

The development cameafter the Supreme Court, onOctober 1, directed the mag-istrate’s court to go ahead withthe application filed by city-based lawyer Satish Uke seek-ing initiation of criminal pro-ceedings against Fadnavis inthe matter.

The magistrate’s court onMonday said the case wouldbe held as a summary crimi-nal case, and issued notice toFadnavis.

“Process (notice) is issuedagainst accused (Fadnavis)for offence punishable undersection 125A ofRepresentation of People Act,1951,” magistrate SD Mehtasaid in the order.

The Chief Minister hasbeen given time till December4 to respond to the notice.

Uke has contended thatthe BJP leader filed a false affi-davit in 2014 by not disclos-ing two pending criminalcases against him. PTI

Mumbai: Independent MLARavi Rana, who has extendedsupport to the BJP inMaharashtra, on Mondayclaimed that “some 25 MLAs” ofthe Shiv Sena were in touch withhim over formation of the nextGovernment.

The MLA from Badnera inAmravati district dubbed theSena as “very arrogant” andclaimed the Uddhav Thackeray-led party will split and nearly twodozen MLAs will join the BJP ifChief Minister DevendraFadnavis forms the next gov-ernment without its saffron ally.The Sena has 56 MLAs.

Rana, along with his wifeNavneet Kaur Rana, theIndependent Lok Sabha mem-ber from Amravati, metGovernor Bhagat SinghKoshyari here.

Speaking to reporters afterthe meeting, the MLA said,“The Shiv Sena has been veryarrogant in the last five years.Fadnavis should put a check toit. “In fact, there are some 25

MLAs of the Shiv Sena who arein touch with me for govern-ment formation. If Fadnavisforms a Government withoutthe Shiv Sena, in the next twomonths there will be a split in theSena and some 25 MLAs wouldjoin the party.” Rana slammedsenior Shiv Sena leader SanjayRaut, who has been at the fore-front of vociferously articulatingthe demand for equal distribu-tion of power and sharing theChief Minister’s post, saying heis a “parrot” of the party andneeds to be reined in. PTI

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Mumbai: With the Shiv Senaseeming firm on its demand ofsharing the Chief Minister’spost in the next MaharashtraGovernment, a BJP Ministeron Monday said some of hisparty leaders are willing for are-election in the State.

The BJP leaders expressedthis view during a reviewmeeting held in Dhule districton Sunday, state Tourism andFDA Minister Jaykumar Rawaltold a television channel.

“The party workers saidsenior leaders of the BJPshould not have forged analliance (with the Sena)...Giveus a chance again, we will con-test again and win this time,”said Rawal, who is consideredclose to Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis.

The meeting in Dhule was

attended by several BJP lead-ers, workers and candidateswho contested the recentAssembly polls, he said.

“Many of them are angryas we could not contest in someseats due to pact with the Senaand lost with a thin margin insome segments,” the Ministersaid. The BJP and its ally ShivSena are caught in a stalemateover the Chief Minister’s post,with the Sena demanding anequal division of the top post’stenure and the BJP rejecting it.

Unlike the last Assemblyelections, the BJP and theShiv Sena this time foughtelections in alliance with eachother. The BJP won 105 seatsand the Shiv Sena 56.

The term of the existing13th State Assembly ends onNovember 9. PTI

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With only National flagfluttering atop civil sec-

retariat complex, Darbar moveoffices reopened in Jammu onMonday amid tight securityarrangements to prevent anyterror strike.

Dogra folk dancers, per-forming traditional Kud dancein their finery, greeted newlyappointed LieutenantGovernor GC Murmu andsenior officers outside the civilsecretariat complex as theyarrived here to attend theiroffices.

Unlike previous years, nomajor protest demonstrationwas organised in the vicinityof the civil secretariat complex.Quick reaction teams andparamilitary forces weredeployed in large number ofguard the entry gates of thecivil secretariat complex.

On his arrival, Lt-Governor GC Murmu inspect-ed the ceremonial ‘Guard ofHonour’ by a contingent ofJ&K Police lead by a Dy SPrank woman off icer DrSunniya Wani.

He was later greeted byChief Secretary, BVRSubrahmanyam, DirectorGeneral of Police, DilbagSingh, AdministrativeSecretaries and a large numberof officers and employees ofthe Civil Secretariat.

Later, Lt. Governor held ameeting with AdministrativeSecretaries where discussedimportant and urgent admin-istrative issues. In another

meeting, Lt. Governor inter-acted with all the officers ofthe Civil Secretariat andsought their suggestions forfurther improving the qualityand pace of work, in an openhouse.

Lieutenant Governor reit-erated the resolve of theGovernment for tirelesslyworking towards ensuringresponsive and good gover-nance at all levels. He advisedthe officers to keep publicwelfare as a central mottowhile discharging their duties.

Lt. Governor also visitedthe Police Headquarters wherehe received a Guard ofHonour. Dilbag Singh, DGP,and other senior Police officersinteracted with the Lt.Governor and briefed himabout the law and order sce-nario and multiple challengesbefore the J&K Police.

Lt. Governor praised therole of the J&K Police formaintenance of law and orderand complimented the Forcefor peaceful conduct of elec-tions to the Panchayat andUrban Local Bodies. Headvised the Police Officers tostay alert and deal firmly withthe elements inimical to thesafety and security of state andstressed stern action againstpeople involved in economicoffences. He appreciated thesynergy existing between thePolice, Army, Central ArmedPolice Forces and CivilAdministration and urgedworking with same zeal formaintenance of peace andsecurity in J&K.

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Astreet vendor fromSaharanpur in Uttar

Pradesh was killed while threeSSB personnel and 14 othercivilians received injuries in agrenade attack on Hari SinghHigh Street in Srinagar onMonday.

The deceased street vendorwas identified as Rinku Singhby the local police. He wasearning his livelihood by sell-ing items of daily use.

Meanwhile, two seriouslyinjured civilians, identified asAijaz and Fayaz Ahmed, werebeing treated in SMHS hospitaltill the time last reports came in.

Large number of local res-idents were present in the areato purchase items of daily needwhen unidentified terroristshurled a grenade on SSB per-sonnel, deployed there on secu-rity duty around 1.27 pm.

This is the second grenadeattack in the same area in thelast one month. Five civilianswere injured in a similargrenade attack on October 12.

The aim behind targeting

local residents and security per-sonnel was to spread panic in thearea, witnessing routine businessactivity during day time.

Soon after the grenadeattack took place senior policeand officers of paramilitaryforces rushed to the area toassess the ground situation.Recently, police had arrested alocal terrorist from Sopore.He was tasked to throwgrenade in busy markets andpetrol pumps. In a statementpolice spokesman said, “returnof normalcy and opening of

shops is unnerving the terror-ists and their handlers sittingacross in Pakistan”.

In another incident, policeon Monday claimed they hadunearthed a terrorist hideoutinside Apple orchard in Soporearea. According to police, thehideout belonged to Lashkar-e Toiba terrorists Sajad Hyderof village Brat. Police said, theapple orchard was owned byhis maternal uncle. Police said,Sajad Hyder used to bring,hide and even train newrecruits inside the hideout.

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In an incident that shockedthe city, an on-duty woman

Tahsildar was set ablaze by aman at her office inAbdullapurmet on Mondayafternoon. According toreports, Vijaya Reddy, theTahsildar or Mandal RevenueOfficer (MRO), was alone inher office when she wasattacked by Kurra Suresh, whoset her on fire.

The officials fromRachakonda police said thatthere had been a falloutbetween the two of them over7 acres of land near Bacharamvillage. Vijaya Reddy was thefirst Tahsildar after the forma-tion of the AbdullapurmetZone. She was allegedly accusedof harassing Suresh for notdoing registration. Meanwhile,Suresh claimed before policethat she had asked for a bribe.

While Vijaya’s body wasshifted to Osmania GeneralHospital as per procedure, theassailant’s condition was alsosaid to be critical as he wasinjured in the incident.

Rachakonda PoliceCommissioner MaheshBhagawath said that there willbe a thorough and scientificinvestigation in this case. We

have learnt that dispute over aland was ongoing in the HighCourt, which could be theaccused’s motive to carry outthe attack by reportedly pour-ing kerosene over her at theoffice.

“This is a daylight murderof a Government official andthe accused will not be spared.We will see what all has led tothis incident. The man isalready in our custody. We arealso probing if anyone hadprovoked him. We will finishthe investigation in a limitedtime and take it to a fast track

court for swift punishment andsee that he is hanged for thecrime,” he said.

ACP Vanasthalipuram, SJayaram, said that the accusedhad suffered 63 per cent bodyburns and is being treated.“Two people were injured in thewhole fiasco including Suresh.We are collecting statementsfrom all the witnesses to pro-ceed with the investigation.We have already booked casesunder section 302 (murder) and307 (attempt to murder) of theIPC against the accused. Theevidence gathered from the

scene of offence, includingcloth and bottles etc are beingsent to laboratory to test” saidthe official.

Senior police officials andDistrict Collector Ranga Reddyvisited the spot. Meanwhile,Condemning the incident,Education Minister Sabita Indrasaid “Stringent punishment willbe given to the accused. If thepublic have any trouble withofficials, it should be brought tothe attention of the higher-upsto deal with the problem. Theseheinous acts will only makethings worse. We will order a

probe soon.”The Minister urged the

District Collector and the PoliceCommissioner to look into thematter and investigate whathad led to such a heinouscrime.

In June this year, ForestRange Officer Ch Anitha wasattacked by a mob while per-forming her duty as a fight hadbroken out in Sarsala villagebetween officials and forestdwellers in Kagaznagar subdi-vision of Asifabad district.

The brawl was the result ofa conflict over a plantationdrive taken up by the StateGovernment. In the commo-tion, Anita was attacked by amob with sticks which wascaught on video. The mob hadbeen led by TRS leader KoneruKrishna, the brother of SirpurMLA Koneru Konappa.

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Days after five workers fromBengal were gunned down

by terrorists in Jammu &Kashmir, the Mamata BanerjeeGovernment on Mondayensured the return of 138panic-stricken labourers fromthe Valley amid tight security.

Out of 138 labourers whoreturned to Kolkata by JammuTawi Express, five are fromAssam, senior State MinisterFirhad Hakim who receivedthem and escorted them out ofthe Howrah Station said, blam-ing the Centre for the currentsituation.

“They (Centre) have messedup the situation and commonpoor citizens of the country haveto bear the brunt,” he saidadding “Chief Minister MamataBanerjee is feeling relieved afterensuring the return of thelabouers from Bengal who weretrapped in Kashmir.”

The Monday’s develop-ment came a week after ter-rorists at Kulgam district ofJammu and Kashmir shot deadfive workers from Bengal.

“We found them in utterpanic,” Hakim said adding“now at least their family mem-bers will be relieved that theirsons have returned home.”

Echoing him a workerfrom Birbhum said, “now weare feeling relieved to havecome back home. We were

spending sleepless nights inthat State,” adding he wouldnever go to Kashmir again.Another worker from NorthDinajpur said the Army “camein the midnight and took usaway to their camp from wherewe were taken back to Jammu.We are happy that Mamata didihas done so much for us.”

Apart from reserving awhole bogie and escorting thereturnees back to Kolkata theState Government alsoarranged for them breakfastand five buses to ferry them

back to their home towns.When asked about their

earnings in Kashmir one ofthem said “we go there towork as we manage �12,000 to�15,000 every month. Out ofthat almost seventy five percentwe are able to send back home.”

Meanwhile, thousands ofsupporters of TrinamoolCongress Youth Congress onMonday took out a massivecandle light procession protest-ing the killing of Bengali citi-zens in Kashmir and demand-ing Government action to con-

trol the situation in the Valley.Shantanu Sen, a TMC MP

and doctor, who led the pro-cession said “We stronglyprotest against the killing ofgeneral people in Kashmir andthe candle light march is anopinion building measure.”Another leader said “the Centreshould learn from BengalGovernment how to controldisturbance. Mamata Banerjeesuccessfully controlled the sit-uation in Jangalmahal andDarjeeling Hills. The Centreshould take a cue from that.”

Ayodhya: Ahead of theSupreme Court verdict on theAyodhya land dispute case, thelocal administration hasimposed a ban on any eventmarking a “victory” or “mourn-ing” over the judgement.

In a series of restrictions,District Magistrate Anuj KumarJha on Saturday ordered againstthe use of social media to“insult” deities or to installidols and hold processions relat-ed to Ram Janmabhoomi.

He also extended tillDecember 28 the prohibitoryorder issued on October 12,mentioning apprehension ofbreach of peace ahead of theverdict.

The prohibitory order wasearlier imposed till December10. Those violating it would bebooked under Section 188 of theIndian Penal Code (disobedi-

ence of an order by public ser-vant).

The district magistrate hasalso banned hoarding andblack-marketing of ration, cere-als, vegetables, fruits, eggs andedible oils.

According to the order, alltypes of gatherings in privateand public places that couldhamper communal harmonyhave been banned. The districtmagistrate also barred “victorycelebrations” and “mourningprocessions”

“No attempt should beallowed to make any insultingremarks on great personalities,deities and gods on any socialmedia platform such asInstagram, Twitter andWhatsApp. Besides, no instal-lation of idols of any deity willtake place without permissionfrom the district administra-

tion,” the order stated.It said the restrictions were

imposed in view of festivals andother events during this period,including Chhath Puja, KartikPurnima, Chaudhari CharanSingh's birth anniversary, GuruNanak Jayanti, Eid-ul-Miladand Christmas.

The order, which was firstmade public on October 10, hasnow been revised with a set of30 detailed instructions. It hasput a complete ban on anyevent, public programme, pro-cession, rally and wall paintingsrelated to Ramjanmabhoomi.

The order has categorical-ly barred all individuals, exceptgovernment officers, from car-rying licensed weapons, unlesspermission is sought from thedistrict administration.

“No individual will keepacid or any item that compris-

es potent explosive substance orchemical formula. Also, no onewill carry stones, pebbles, bro-ken glass pieces or even emptybottles,” stated the order.

According to it, there wouldalso be a complete ban on anyevent, rally, street-corner meet-ing and cultural programme inthe district during this period.

There is a ban on throwingany non-vegetarian leftovers ata public place. “Besides, no saleor consumption of meat, fishand eggs will take place onKartik Purnima, Chaudahkosiand Panchkosi Parikrama Meladuring this period,” the orderstated.

Chief Justice of IndiaRanjan Gogoi is expected todeliver the verdict in the BabriMasjid-Ram Janmabhoomi landdispute case before his retire-ment on November 17. PTI

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The ongoing internal squab-bles within the bureaucra-

cy of YSR Congress partyGovernment in AndhraPradesh headed by YS JaganMohan Reddy led to the abrupttransfer of Chief Secretary LVSubramanyam on Monday.

Subramanyam was shunt-ed out of his post by the sameIAS officer Praveen Prakash,Principal Secretary (Political)in the Chief Minister’s office(CMO), against whom he hadissued a show cause noticethree days ago.

This is for the first time inthe history of Telugu States orany State that a CS has beentransferred abruptly. Normally,senior IAS officers towards thefag end of their career areappointed as CS and they retirefrom the civil services as CS.

Subramanyam, who is stillleft with five moths servicebefore he retires, was trans-

ferred as director general of APHuman ResourcesDevelopment Institute atBapatla in Guntur district, aninsignificant post for hisstature.

He was asked to handover the charge of chief secre-tary to another senior IAS offi-cer Neerabh Kumar Prasad,chief commissioner of landadministration. A 1983-batchIAS officer, Subramanyam isthe senior most IAS officer inthe State. He was ignored bythe previous TDPGovernment headed by NChandrababu Naidu in theappointment as chief secretary.Naidu preferred Anil KumarPunetha as the CS.

Interestingly, Subramanyamwas appointed as chief secretaryby the Election Commission ofIndia just a week before the LokSabha elections in April. He wasallowed by Jagan to work as thechief secretary because of hisseniority.

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Thiruvananthapuram: KeralaChief Minister Pinarayi Vijayanon Monday said it was not pos-sible for the state to bring in anylegislation to circumvent theSupreme Court verdict per-mitting women of all agegroups into the SabarimalaLord Ayyappa temple.

The apex court verdict ofSeptember 28 last year was notsimilar to that of the rulingrelated to Jallikattu or bullockcart race, he told the stateassembly in response to a ques-tion by the opposition UDF.

“The Supreme Court ver-

dict regarding the Sabarimalawomen entry is the one relat-ed to that of the fundamentalrights. The state government isbound to implement the apexcourt order,” Vijayan said.

The Supreme Court had inSeptember last year paved theway for entry of women of allages into the Ayyappa templeat Sabarimala, lifting the ban onwomen in the age group of 10to 50 from worshipping at theshrine.

A review petition has beenfiled against the September28, 2018 verdict and the top

court is expected to deliver itsorder on it later this month.

Barring women in men-strual age would amount to theviolation of their fundamentalrights and would go against theConstitution, the chief minis-ter said.

As per legal opinionreceived by the StateGovernment, it was not possi-ble to bring in any legislation toget around the verdict, he said.

Those who talk about bring-ing in legislation on Sabarimalawomen entry were “cheating”devotees, he said. PTI

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Mumbai/ Alibag: Five people,including a 3-year-old boy anda father-daughter duo, werekilled and 40 injured when abus fell into a valley on the oldMumbai-Pune highway inMaharashtra early on Mondaymorning, police said.

The mishap took placenear the Amrutanjan bridge inDasturi in Khandala ghat ataround 5 am, said seniorInspector Dhanaji Kshirsagarof Khopoli police station,adding that the bus fell into avalley 30-40 feet deep.

The private bus, carrying47 passengers, was movingfrom Karad in Satara district toMumbai and the accident waspossibly due to the driver los-ing control while navigating theghat stretch, said the official.

“Five people were killedand 40, including the driver,received injuries. They werereturning from Karad postDiwali vacations,” he said

Police identified thedeceased as Sarvadnya SachinThorat (3) from Karad, SnehaJanardhan Patil (15) and herfather Janardhan RamchandraPatil (42) from Ghatkopar inMumbai, Sanjay Shivaji Rakshe(50) from Powai and PramilaRamchandra Mohite (50) fromKarad.

The injured have beenadmitted in NagarpalikaHospital in Khopoli, LokmanyaHospital in Pune, PavanaHospital in Talegav and MGMHospital in Navi Mumbai. PTI

Itanagar: The ConsultativeCommittee on CitizenshipAmendment Bill (CAB) set upby the Arunachal PradeshGovernment on Monday heldan all-party meeting thatvowed to protect the rights ofthe state's indigenous people.

Held under the chair-manship of Home MinisterBamang Felix, the meetingwas attended by representa-tives of six political parties -the BJP, Congress, NPP, JD(U),PPA and the JD(S), besides allmembers of the committee,an official release said here.

The parties pledged toprotect the indigenous peo-ple's rights and shared theiropinions on the CAB whileFelix requested them to sub-mit their views in writing tothe member secretary of theconsultative committee at theearliest.

The nine-member panelwould meet communitybased organisations and stu-dents' unions on Tuesdayand Wednesday respectively,

the home minister said.Felix said the views offered

by various stakeholders wouldbe taken into considerationbefore finalising the commit-tee's recommendations to besubmitted to the state govern-ment, the release said.

The recommendationswill be based on the provisionsof the Constitution and vari-ous laws and rules that protectthe interests of indigenouspeople of the State. PTI

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Housing sales declined 9.5per cent during July-

September period across ninemajor cities to 52,855 units onlow demand as economic slow-down and liquidity crisisweighed on buyer sentiment, aPropEquity report said.

This is the fourth suchreport that has shown fall inhousing sales during the thirdquarter of the 2019 calendaryear.

PropTiger and Anarock,which are a major brokeragefirms in housing segment, havereported 25 per cent and 18 percent fall in housing sales,respectively, during July-September period. Real estateconsultant JLL India, which isa dominant player in leasing ofcommercial properties, sawone per cent decline.

According to data analyt-ics firm PropEquity, housingsales stood at 52,855 units dur-ing July-September 2019, down9.5 per cent from 58,461 unitsin the year-ago period.

“Demand has been defi-nitely impacted in the lastquarter with buyers delayingtheir decisions,” Samir Jasuja,founder and managing directorat PropEquity said.

“The downtrend observedwas mainly due to the eco-nomic slow down as well as theliquidity crisis in the market,”the report said.

PropEquity said that real

estate market is currently anend user-driven market withcustomers preferring ready tomove-in or nearing completionproperties.

“Furthermore, consumersare now looking for developerswith excellent track records interms of quality and execution,”it added.

New launches too fell 24per cent to 32,834 units. Unsoldhousing stocks came down to6,01,785 units from 6,21,806units at the end of June quar-ter. As per the PropEquitydata, housing sales fell in sevencities and increased only in twocities.

Chennai saw the maxi-mum fall of 25 per cent inhousing sales at 3,060 unitsduring July-September 2019as against 4,080 units in theyear-ago period.

Housing sales dropped 22per cent in Mumbai to 5,063units from 6,491 units, followed

by Hyderabad that saw 16 percent decline to 4,257 unitsfrom 5,067 units.

Kolkata witnessed a 12 percent fall in sales to 3,069 unitsfrom 3,487 units, while Noidasaw 11 per cent decline to 990units from 1,112 units.

Sales in Bengaluru, too,went down by 9 per cent to9,843 units from 10,816 units.Thane saw 9 per cent dip insales to 10,714 units from11,773 units.

However, Gurugram wit-nessed 7 per cent rise in salesto 1,190 units from 1,112 flatsand Pune saw one per centincrease to 14,669 units from14,523 apartments during theperiod under review.

PropEquity, which isowned by PE Analytics, is anonline subscription based realestate data and analytics plat-form covering over 1,15,225projects of 32,745 developersacross over 44 cities in India.

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Infosys on Monday said it isyet to receive any evidence to

corroborate anonymouswhistleblowers’ complaints thatalleged unethical practices bythe company’s top manage-ment.

“With respect to theanonymous complaints, there isno prima facie evidence thatthe company has received untildate to corroborate any of theallegations made,” Infosys toldthe National Stock Exchange.

On October 24, the NSEsought clarification from the ITmajor on the whistleblowers’allegations and why the com-pany had not disclosed thesame to the exchanges.

In its response, the compa-ny said the audit committee hasalready engaged law firm,Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas& Co, to investigate the matter,and had also started consulta-tions with an independentinternal auditor, Ernst & Young.The independent internal audi-tor was given a mandate toreview certain processes onthe basis of the allegation in theanonymous complaints.

“... Given the circumstancesat this stage, where there iscomplete absence of primafacie evidence and the anony-mous complaints are still underinvestigation, the company isnot in a position to determinethe concreteness, credibilityand materiality of the anony-mous complaints,” Infosysnoted. The company also said

it would keep stock exchangesinformed about the matter onthe basis of the findings of theinvestigation.

Shares of Infosys rose 3.23per cent to close at Rs 710.10apiece on the NSE.

In October, Infosysinformed the stock exchangesof having received anonymouswhistleblowers’ complaintsalleging certain unethical prac-tices by the top management.

Infosys Chairman NandanNilekani had said the whistle-blower complaint datedSeptember 20 as well as anundated complaint had beenreceived by one of the boardmembers on September 30.

In the letter, datedSeptember 20 and signed by‘Ethical Employees’, it wasalleged that CEO Salil Parikh aswell as Chief Financial OfficerNilanjan Roy engaged in forcedrevenue recognition from large

contracts not adhering toaccounting standards.

The complaints wereplaced before the audit com-mittee on October 10, and tothe company’s non-executiveboard members on October 11,also the day when Infosysannounced its second quarterresults.

US market regulator SEChas also initiated a probe on thematter, while Rosen Law Firmhad said it was preparing a classaction lawsuit to recover loss-es suffered by Infosys investorsin the US.

Back home, the Securitiesand Exchange Board of India(Sebi) had sought additionalinformation from the compa-ny, while the National FinancialReporting Authority (NFRA),part of the corporate affairsministry, — is looking intoalleged accounting lapses at thefirm.

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Some vendors of BSNL andMTNL are mulling to move

insolvency pleas against thestate-run firms for non-pay-ment of dues, estimated to bearound �20,000 crore, a seniorindustry body executive said onMonday.

The pending payments areagainst the supply of telecomgear and other goods to BSNLand MTNL as well as �45,000-crore rural broadband projectBharatNet, PHD Chamber ofCommerce TelecomCommittee chairman SandeepAggarwal told PTI.

“The total pending pay-ment of BSNL and MTNLvendors is around �20,000crore. Banks have startedputting pressure on vendors toclear their dues. All vendorswill jointly stage a protest onNovember 19. If payments arenot made within 10 days there-after, they will approach NCLTfor liquidation of BSNL andMTNL,” Aggarwal claimed.

Email queries sent to BSNLand MTNL over the pendingdues of vendors remainedunanswered till the filing of thestory.

The Telecom ExportPromotion Council on October31, 2019, wrote to the admin-istrator of Universal ServiceObligation Fund (USOF) topay long-pending dues ofaround �2,000 crore to variousvendors. USOF manages the

BharatNet project. These vendors include

Sterlite Technologies (�500 croredue), Tejas Networks (�314crore), HFCL (�219 crore),Paramount Wires and Cables(�168 crore), VNL (�150 crore)etc, according to the letter.

In a letter to telecom min-ister Ravi Shankar Prasad,Paramount said its bankers arepressuring the company toclear their dues at the earliest.

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Representatives of someemployee unions and offi-

cer associations of BSNL andMTNL met Telecom MinisterRavi Shankar Prasad onMonday and offered their fullsupport to the relief package,VRS and asset monetisationplans announced by the gov-ernment recently, sources said.

It may be recalled that thegovernment last month hadapproved a plum �69,000 crorerevival package for BSNL andMTNL that includes mergingthe two loss-making firms,monetising their assets andgiving VRS to employees sothat the combined entity turnsprofitable in two years.

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Australian Prime MinisterScott Morrison on Monday

said the door will remain “wideopen” for India to join the 16-nation RegionalComprehensive EconomicPartnership (RCEP) if itdecides to do so, as the otherswere on board in finalising thedeal without New Delhi.

Morrison and TradeMinister Simon Birminghamare in Bangkok to discuss theRCEP during the ASEANsummit.

The possible delay in firm-ing up the RCEP during thethree-day summit in the Thaicapital has been attributed toIndia’s “new demands” on mar-ket access, and tariff relatedissues. India has been forcefullyraising the issue of market

access as well as protected listsof goods mainly to shield itsdomestic market as there havebeen fears that the country maybe flooded with cheap Chineseagricultural and industrialproducts once it signs the deal.

“The door will always beopen to India,” Morrison wasquoted as saying by theAustralian Associated Press(AAP). He also said that thedeal would be bigger and bet-ter with India in it.

“It has always been ourview, and the view of manywho sit around the table, thatthis is a bigger and better dealwith India in it,” Morrisonsaid.

“I think patience is thevirtue in this,” he added.

When finalised, the RCEPwould become the world’slargest free trade area, com-prising half of the world pop-ulation and will account fornearly 40 per cent of the glob-al commerce and 35 per cent ofthe GDP.

The RCEP includes the 10ASEAN states — Indonesia,Malaysia, the Philippines,Singapore, Thailand, Brunei,Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar andCambodia — along withChina, India, Japan, SouthKorea, Australia and NewZealand.

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State-owned Life InsuranceCorporation (LIC) on

Monday permitted its policy-holders to revive their lapsedpolicies of over 2 years, a movethat will help improve persis-tency ratio.

The policies that havelapsed for more than two yearsand were not allowed to berevived earlier can also berevived now, LIC said in a state-ment.

After the Irdai Product

Regulation 2013, which cameinto effect from January 1,2014, revival period wasrestricted to two consecutiveyears from the date of firstunpaid premium, during whichthe policyholder is entitled to revive policywhich was discontinued due tonon-payment of premium, itsaid.

Earlier, all policies takenafter January 1, 2014 could notbe revived if they remained inlapsed condition for a periodexceeding two years.

New Delhi: Passengers flyingIndiGo faced long queuesacross airports on Mondaymorning after the airline’s serv-er collapsed.

“Our systems have beendown across the network sincemorning. As a result, we areexpecting our operations to beimpacted across the airports.All efforts are being made toresolve the issue at the earliest,”the airline said in a statement.

The largest carrier by fleetsize and market share, IndiGosaid it was proactively inform-ing passengers about the situ-ation. The airline offers close to1,500 daily flights and connects60 domestic destinations and23 international destinations. Ithas a fleet of around 245 aircraft. IANS

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Petrol prices dropped forthe fourth consecutive day

across the four metros onMonday, while diesel pricesalso registered a decline after atwo-day break. Petrol prices inDelhi, Mumbai and Chennaiwere reduced by nine paise perlitre, while in Kolkata there wasa reduction of eight paise perlitre. Diesel prices, on the otherhand, were reduced by fivepaise in Delhi, three paise inKolkata and Mumbai, and twopaise per litre in Chennai.

According to the IndianOil website, petrol prices inDelhi, Kolkata, Mumbai andChennai have come down to�72.65, �75.37, �78.33 and �75per litre respectively.

New York: McDonald’s chiefexecutive officer has beenpushed out of the companyafter violating company policyby engaging in a consensualrelationship with an employee,the corporation said.

The fast food giant onSunday said former presidentand CEO Steve Easterbrookdemonstrated poor judgment,and that McDonald’s forbidsmanagers from having roman-tic relationships with direct orindirect subordinates.

In an email to employees,Easterbrook acknowledged hehad a relationship with anemployee and said it was a mis-take.

“Given the values of thecompany, I agree with theboard that it is time for me tomove on,” Easterbrook said inthe email. AP

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The Reserve Bank onMonday issued compensa-

tion guidelines for whole-timedirectors and chief executivesof foreign, private, smallfinance, payments banks andlocal area banks mandatingthe cash component of variablepay at 67 per cent.

Banks should continue toformulate and adopt a com-prehensive compensation pol-icy covering all their employ-ees and conduct annualreviews, RBI said, adding thenew guidelines will be effectivenect April.

The regulator said if thevariable pay is up to 200 per-cent of the fixed pay, at least 50percent of it should be in non-cash, and if the variable pay isabove 200 per cent, 67 percent

of it should be paid via non-cash instruments.

It also wants banks to claw-back the non-variable pay com-ponents if there is divergencein provisioning for NPAs orasset classification exceeds theprescribed threshold for pub-lic disclosure.

“The policy should coverall aspects of the compensationstructure such as fixed pay,perquisites, performancebonuses, guaranteed bonuses,severance package, share-linked instruments likeemployee stock option plans,pension plans, and gratuity,”RBI said in a notification.

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The Bombay High Court onMonday sought to know

from the Reserve Bank of Indiawhat steps it has taken to pro-tect the interests of depositorsof the crisis-hit Punjab andMaharashtra Cooperative(PMC) Bank.

A division bench of JusticesS C Dharmadhikari and R IChagla was hearing a bunch ofpetitions filed by the bankdepositors, challenging restric-tions imposed by the RBI onwithdrawals.

On September 23, the RBIimposed regulatory restric-tions on the PMC Bank for sixmonths over alleged financialirregularities. The withdrawallimit for account holders wasinitially �1,000 per each cus-tomer for six months, whichwas later raised to �10,000and then to �40,000.

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Manchester City captainDavid Silva looks set to

miss the top of the table clashwith leaders Liverpool onSunday due to injury, said Citymanager Pep Guardiola.

The 33-year-old Spanishattacking midfielder in his lastseason with the club suffered amuscular injury towards theend of the first-half of Saturday’s2-1 win over Southampton.

Guardiola, whose side trailLiverpool by six points in thetable, disclosed no more aboutthe nature of the injury but itnormally entails an absence ofjust under two weeks.

“David Silva was injured,”said Guardiola. “Five minutesbefore the first half ended he toldme he had a muscular problem.

“When he has a muscularproblem and cannot play moreminutes it is because he hassomething and when it is amuscular problem it is always aminimum of 10-12 days.”

Guardiola, whose side alsofaces a Champions Leagueclash with Italian outfitAtalanta today, admittedLiverpool’s home record of not

having lost at Anfield sinceJanuary 2017 is a dauntingprospect.

Liverpool have also not beenbeaten in the league since theirloss at the Etihad last January andhave dropped just two points thisterm — a 1-1 draw with City’sneighbours Manchester United.

“How many centuries andthey don’t lose at Anfield? We

will see,” he joked.“Now we go to Italy and

when we come back we go toAnfield. Many things are goingto happen and there are a lot ofgames to play,”" he added, ,denying the match would be piv-otal as to who wins the titleGuardiola also ruled out takingAtalanta for granted and puttingout a second string team for thegame at the San Siro.

Victory would secure City aplace in the knockout stages.

“Do you think we can priori-tise four titles in one season if weprioritise games?” said

Guardiola.“We’re going to play

with the best team pos-sible to win at Atalanta

and after we go to Anfield.“The best way to go to

Anfield is to play a good gameagainst Atalanta, who have beenfighting with the top clubs inItaly for the last two or three sea-sons.”

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Lewis Hamilton clinched hissixth world title, but not inthe style he hoped for on

Sunday when he finished secondbehind his triumphant Mercedesteam-mate Valtteri Bottas in aneventful United States Grand Prix.

The 34-year-old Briton foughtwith ferocious determination towin from fifth on the grid, but was

unable to resist the Finn, who start-ed from pole and, with a two-stopstrategy, had fresher tyres in thecritical final laps.

After leading twice, Hamiltonwas passed by Bottas with threelaps remaining and then resistedRed Bull’s Max Verstappen to takehis 150th podium finish and his31st successive finish in the points.

It sealed his sixth title, leavinghim one adrift of Michael

Schumacher on seven.Hamilton added the 2019 title

to previous triumphs in 2008,2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018.

“I can’t believe it, thanks a lot,”Hamilton said over the team radioas he moved out of a tie for fivetitles he held with Argentina’sJuan-Manuel Fangio.

He added: “It’s just over-whelming if I’m really honest. Itwas such a tough race today,

Valtteri did a great job. As an ath-lete I feel as fresh as can be. We’llkeep pushing for the rest of theseason.”

“I didn’t know if it would bepossible but I worked as hard as Icould here with my team back atthe factory.

My mum, dad, step-mum andstep-dad and my family are hereand it’s an honour to be here withsix titles with those greats.

‘NEVER GIVE UP’“My dad told me when I was

like six or seven never to give upand that’s kind of the familymotto.”

It was Bottas’s fourth win ofthe season and the seventh of hiscareer.

“It’s a good win,” said theFinn. “Personally, I failed on mytarget this year, but Lewis deservesit. He’s had a good season.”

Hamilton parked his Mercedesin a space “reserved for the cham-pion” before leaping into the armsof his family and friends.

Verstappen finished thirdahead of Charles Leclerc of Ferrari— some compensation to teamboss Mattia Binotto on his 50thbirthday following the early retire-ment, with broken suspension, ofSebastian Vettel — with AlexAlbon fifth in the second Red Bull.

Daniel Ricciardo was sixthfor Renault ahead of the twoMcLarens of Lando Norris andCarlos Sainz, Nico Hulkenberg inthe second Renault and ToroRosso’s Daniil Kvyat.

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Bayern Munich onSunday sacked coach

Niko Kovac, a day after theGerman champions suffered ahistoric 5-1 loss againstEintracht Frankfurt — theirworst Bundesliga defeat in adecade.

“FC Bayern Munich haverelieved head coach NikoKovac of his duties,” the clubsaid in a statement.

The “mutual decision”was taken following talkswith club president UliHoeness, chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, sport-ing director HasanSalihamidzic and Kovachimself.

“The performances ofour team in recent weeks andthe results have shown us thatthere was a need for action,” saidRummenigge.

“We all regret this develop-ment. I would like to thankNiko Kovac on behalf of FCBayern for his work, particular-ly for last season’s double win.”

Assistant coach Hansi Flickwill take charge of the team“until further notice”, the state-ment added.

The 48-year-old formerCroatia international said itwas the right move for theside who sit in fourth placein the table after a series ofdisappointing matches.

“I think this is thecorrect decision for theclub at this time,” Kovacsaid.

“I would like to thankFC Bayern for these past 18months. During that time

our team won the Bundesliga,the DFB Cup and the

Supercup. It was a good time. Iwish the club and the team allthe very best.”

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Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has dis-missed Manchester City boss Pep

Guardiola’s allegation that Sadio Mane is adiver ahead of next weekend’s clash betweenthe Premier League title rivals.

Mane was booked after failing to wina penalty and then provided an assist beforescoring the winner in a last-gasp 2-1 vic-tory at Aston Villa on Saturday.

Guardiola, whose side also scored lateto beat Southampton, said of the Senegalinternational: “Sometimes he’s diving,sometimes he has this talent to score incred-ible goals in the last minute.”

Klopp, preparing the European cham-pions for their Champions League clashagainst Genk today, brushed it off, sayingon Monday: “I am not 100 percent sure ifhe spoke about Sadio or us in general.

“I didn’t hear Sadio’s name or knowhow we could have known so quick aboutany incident in the game.

“I can say Sadio is not a diver. Therewas a situation in the Aston Villa gamewhere he got contact and went down.Maybe it was not a penalty but there wascontact, it’s not as if he jumped over a legand went down.”

Klopp also refused to countenance talkabout next Sunday’s top-of-the-table clashwith City, currently six points behind hisside in second place, with the tie at hometo Genk to negotiate.

Liverpool are second in Group E on sixpoints after three matches, one behindNapoli.

“I am absolutely not in the mood todayto talk about Man City,” said Klopp.

Asked if he was banning the wordsManchester City until after Tuesday’smatch, Klopp said: “You can say the wordsMan City, you just cannot think about it.

“I don’t have to tell them that City ison Sunday, tomorrow is Genk.

“I don’t doubt my players at all. I wouldfeel a bit embarrassed if I had to tell them‘Don’t think about Man City already’.”

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Rafael Nadal’s return to the worldnumber one position for the eighth

time in his career was confirmed whenthe ATP rankings were released onMonday.

The Spaniard leapfrogs NovakDjokovic even though the Serb sealedhis fifth Paris Masters title on Sundaywith a 6-3, 6-4 victory over CanadianDenis Shapovalov.

Nadal, whose last stint at the topended a year ago on November 4, 2018,withdrew from his semi-final againstShapovalov in Paris with an abdomi-nal muscle strain.

Djokovic slips down the rankingsbecause he loses the points that he wona year ago in London when Nadal wasabsent. The 2019 battle between Nadal,winner of the French and US Opens,and Djokovic who triumphed inAustralia and Wimbledon, is set to goto the wire as either could still finishthe year at number one.

If the Spaniard does not play orfails to win a round-robin match at theWorld Tour Finals, Djokovic mustclaim two group-stage victories andmake the final to pass him.

Djokovic would also be sure of theyear-end top ranking should he winthe tournament and Nadal does notreach the semis.

Nadal first reached number one on

August 18, 2008 when he was just 22.He has spent 197 weeks at the top, thesixth highest in ATP history behindRoger Federer (310), Pete Sampras(286), Djokovic (275), Ivan Lendl(270) and Jimmy Connors (268).

Gael Monfils returns to the top 10for the first time since February 2017after reaching the semi-finals in Pariswhile 20-year-old Shapovalov climbs13 places to a career-high 15.

BARTY TOPS END-OF-SEASONAshleigh Barty of Australia tops

the end of season women’s tennis rank-ings, a day after her triumph in theWTA Finals in Shenzhen, China.

With 7,851 points, Barty, who hastopped the rankings since earlySeptember, eclipsed second-placedKarolína Plíšková (5,940 points) byalmost 2,000 points.

Naomi Osaka (5,497) held on tothird place from Simona Halep, whomoved up one spot to fourth on 5.462points.

Barty dominated Elina Svitolina inSunday’s final in Shenzhen, winning 6-4, 6-3 to collect the richest prize inwomen’s tennis of $4.4 million (4meuros).

Svitolina rose two places to sixthin the rankings while Kiki Bertensmoved up one to ninth at the expenseof Serena Williams who slipped to 10thspot.

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Cenk Tosun’s header eight minutesinto stoppage time salvaged a 1-1

draw for Everton against Tottenham ina match overshadowed by a brokenankle suffered by Everton midfielderAndre Gomes.

Spurs’ Son Heung-min was showna straight red card for his foul on thePortuguese international, but the injuryoccurred as Gomes’s momentum sawhim crash into Serge Aurier.

“It is a bad moment for us as agroup and as a team. It’s more than afootball game, this is the most impor-tant thing right now,” said Evertonmanager Marco Silva.

Tottenham led 1-0 at that stagethanks to Dele Alli’s strike just after thehour mark.

The injury to Gomes proved aturning point with Son visibly upseteven before he was shown a red card.

“He (Son) is devastated and intears,” said Alli. “It’s not his fault. Sonis one of nicest people you’ve ever met.He can’t even lift his head up, he’s cry-ing so much.”

Later on Sunday, Everton con-firmed the 26-year-old formerBarcelona star Gomes had broken hisright ankle and will undergo surgery onMonday.

“Everton Football Club can con-firm Andre Gomes will undergosurgery after sustaining an ankle injuryin today’s game with TottenhamHotspur,” the Merseysiders said in astatement.

“After undergoing hospital tests, itwas confirmed he had suffered a frac-ture dislocation to his right ankle. Theclub will provide further updates in duecourse.”

Tottenham manager Mauricio

Pochettino said his club had the utmostsympathy for Gomes.

“We feel very sorry,” he said.“Was a really bad situation, very badluck how he landed in the action.

“We can only send our bestwishes and (we are) devastated forthe situation.”

However, Pochettino believedthe red card shown to Son was harsh,particularly as referee Martin Atkinsonhad first produced a yellow card priorto seeing Gomes’s injury.

“I cannot agree with the red cardof Sonny,” added Pochettino.

“VAR must help the referee, I don’t

know what is going on and what hap-pens with this tool. Rather than help

the referee it is creating more confu-sion.”

Both managers were left frus-trated at the use of VAR as bothsides saw a strong penalty claimturned down in the second halfdespite a lengthy delay to review

the incidents.A point does little to improve a

poor start to the season for either sidewith Everton still hovering just oneplace above the relegation zone, whileSpurs remain in the bottom half in 11thwith 13 points from their first 11 games.

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Jamie Vardy is playing with asmile on his face after “little

adjustments” helped him rock-et to the top of the PremierLeague goalscoring charts,according to Leicester bossBrendan Rodgers.

The 32-year-old formerEngland marksman took histally to 10 league goals withthe Foxes’ second goal in their2-0 win over Crystal Palace onSunday which took them backinto third place in the PremierLeague.

Leicester are ahead ofChelsea on goal differenceand six points clear of fifth-placed Arsenal, whom theyhost next weekend, in theearly battle for a place in nextseason’s Champions League.

Vardy’s goal was an idealresponse to taunts from thePalace fans over his wifeRebekah’s public falling-outwith former friend ColeenRooney, wife of formerEngland captain Wayne.

“Jamie is so thick-skinnedand is just one of those boys —that makes him better,” saidRodgers.

“He knows he has taken awee bit of stick over a coupleof games but he is very con-centrated on his game andvery focused in the game.”

Rodgers, who left Celticafter a successful spell to takeover at Leicester after Claude

Puel was sacked last season,said Vardy’s form hadimproved due to minorchanges.

“Firstly from a defensiveperspective he is not having topress the whole back four,” saidRodgers.

“He is a guy who will runall day for you. Now it is a lotmore synchronised in how wewant him to press and he isdoing short bursts of pressing,which he is very good at.

“He is so clever at settingtraps to press so he is a realfocal point in that aspect.

“He is a really top strikerat this level and we have donesome little adjustments whichhave helped him, but he isplaying with a smile and real-ly enjoying his football andthat is always important as aplayer.”

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Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has called for an “openconversation” on VAR after another weekend of

controversy in the Premier League as he prepares histeam to face Ajax in the Champions League.

Chelsea, who are fourth in the Premier League,endured a nervy end to their match against Watfordon Saturday after their 2-0 lead was halved by a VAR-awarded penalty converted by Gerard Deulofeu.

VAR also confirmed an offside decision againstLiverpool’s Roberto Firmino during their 2-1 win atAston Villa. The forward was flagged because his armpit“was marginally ahead of the last Villa defender”.

Lampard, speaking ahead of his side’s gameagainst the Dutch champions at Stamford Bridge todaysaid tweaks needed to be made over the use of the tech-nology.

“I think the use of the screen on the side of the pitchcan be a help because we’ve seen this weekend in thePremier League decisions that firstly they’ve taken along time to get to, which seems to bring in the factthat there’s an element of doubt,” he said.

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If the Board of Control forCricket in India (BCCI)

revolutionised T20 cricketby introducing the IndianPremier League (IPL), theyare looking to take it onestep further by bringing inthe concept of Power Playerin the next edition of thecash-rich league. Teams willbe allowed to substitute aplayer at the fall of a wick-et or at the end of an overat any point in the game.

A senior BCCI officialsaid that the concept hasalready been approved, butwill be discussed further inthe IPL Governing Councilmeeting that will take placeat the BCCI HQ in Mumbaitoday.

“We are looking at ascenario where a team willnot name the Playing XI.They will announce the 15and a player can be substi-tuted at either the fall of awicket or at the end of theover at any point in the

game. While we are lookingto introduce it in the IPL,trying the concept first inthe upcoming Mushtaq AliTrophy could be the idealway forward,” the officialsaid.

Explaining how the ideawill actually change thegame, the official said theconcept has the capacity tochange match situations andinduce out-of-the-boxthinking and strategisingfrom the two teams andengage even the fans further.

“Imagine you need 20

runs off the last six balls andyou have Andre Russell sit-ting in the dug-out as hewasn’t a hundred percentand wasn’t part of the orig-inal XI. But now, he can justwalk in and go slam-bangand win you the game.

“Similarly, say you needto defend six runs off thelast over and you havesomeone like a JaspritBumrah sitting in the dug-out. So, what does the cap-tain do? Brings in Bumrahat the end of the 19th overand there you go. The con-cept has the potential tochange the game,” the offi-cial said.

Apart from deliberat-ing on this concept at theIPL GC on Tuesday, themembers will also reviewthe 2019 edition of the cash-rich league. The team willalso discuss how to go aboutmaking the next edition ofthe league bigger and betterwhen it comes to not just thegame, but also fan engage-ment.

��#��

He failed to help Tigers get past thefinish line when his team suf-fered a heartbreaking one-run

defeat against India during the 2016 ICCWorld T20 match on March 23 inBengaluru. But senior batsman and themost experienced player available in theBangladesh line-up during first Twenty20 match at Arun Jaitley stadium onSunday, Mushfiqur Rahim buried thedemons of past and take visitors tomaiden win over Men in Blue in theshortest format of the game.

The former skipper’s unbeatenknock off 60 runs which came in 43 ballshelped Bangladesh win the first-everT20 match against India in the ninthattempt.

Speaking after the match during thepress conference, wicket-keeper batsmantermed historic win as ‘great moment’.

“This is a great moment forBangladesh cricket because we haven’twon against them (India) in the T20 for-mat. We were missing a couple of keyplayers but the way youngsters sticktogether and all the bowlers bowled inthis track is outstanding. They set thegame.”

“And when we were chasing, it wasstill a defendable score because the wick-et wasn’t that easy to bat on, especiallywith the new ball and also later becauseof the quality of Indian spin attack butwe stick to the plan of taking the gamedeep and get the result in our favour.”

The senior pro added that “We hadnothing to lose coming into this gameand also in the series, so that gives us agreat cushion and freedom to play ourpotential and fearless cricket.”

The 32-year old said the strategywhile chasing was, one of the top fourbatsmen had to stay at the crease till 18or 19th over so that it gets easy to go forbig hits in the final over’s and that iswhat happened in the game also.

Rahim, who came to bat at 4, scoredfour consecutive boundaries in the 19thover bowled by Khaleel to take his sidejust a boundary short of the target.

“When I and Shomu (SoumyaSarkar) were batting in the middle, wehad a chat that if one of us stay till the19th over, we can get close to the target

because then we will need just one big16 plus or 20 runs over to take thingsunder control.”

Two years back in almost the simi-lar situation, needing two runs off lastthree balls, Bangladesh choked, butthis time they came prepared to dealwith such situation and Mushfiqur said,“As long as you are learning from yourmistakes that is the important part. Afterthat incident (World T20 match) I havebeen closing the games probably on 3-4 occasions in T20I and ODI format, sothat gives me a lot of confidence and alsoa bit of experience of what to do whenthe similar situation arrives rather thanwhat I did in the past.”

“I had a chat with Riyadh bhai(Mahmudullah) before the start of 20thover, making sure we get some ones andtwo’s and close in,” he added.

Discussing the impact of the win,the wicketkeeper-batsman said, “Wecame here to compete in each game. Playconsistent cricket and improve each day.After this win, we are now surely look-ing to win another game or two. And ifwe can fill the gaps in our death bowl-ing where we give 10-15 extra runs today(on Sunday), nothing is impossible inthe next couple of games also. We willtry our level best to take the series.”

He was pleased with the pacers’ per-formance and offer special praise to AfifHossain for his spell.

“It was a great start by our seamers.They haven’t played much in recenttimes but all of them chipped in and Afifbowled really well.”

Rahim said the “last two weeks werethe most difficult” in his 15-year career,referring to players’ protest followed byShakib Al Hasan’s two-year suspensionby the ICC for breaching anti-corrup-

tion code.“In my 15 years career, the last two

weeks were the toughest I face. So beforeleaving Bangladesh, I told journaliststhat everything can come on the righttrack if we win a couple of matches there(in India) and play really well. That’swhat we have done and it brings smileand calmness in our team and also thewhole nation, so we will try to contin-ue this form,” he concluded.

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Punam Raut starred with thebat before spinners put up a

fine performance to set upIndia's comfortable 53-run winover West Indies in the secondICC Women’s ChampionshipODI here.

India were able to defend amodest 191 by bowling outWest Indies for 138 in 47.2 oversand level the three-match ODIseries 1-1 here on Sunday night.

The spin troika of — left-arm orthodox RajeshwariGayakwad (2/27), leg-break spe-cialist Poonam Yadav (2/26)and off-spinner Deepti Sharma(2/25) returned with two wick-ets each to restrict the hosts tobelow-par score.

Opting to bat, India beganon a shaky note with openersPriya Punia (5) and JemimahRodrigues (0) departing cheap-ly, leaving the side reeling at 17for 2 in nine overs.

However, Punam (77), whowas the top scorer for India, andskipper Mithali Raj (40) andvice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur(46) steadied the ship putting upa modest target on the board.

Punam and Mithali shareda 66-run stand, scoring fourboundaries each before ShenetaGrimmond dismissed the latter

in the 29th over.Punam then joined forces

with Harmanpreet. The duokept the scoreboard movingwith a 93-run partnership beforethe Indian vice-captain wasbowled off an Aaliyah Alleynedelivery in the 48th over.

For West Indies, Alleyne(2/38) and Afy Fletcher (2/32)picked two wickets each, whileShabika Gajnabi (1/23) andGrimmond (1/22) scalped onea piece.

Chasing 192, West Indiesgot off to a bad start losing open-er Stacy-Ann King (6) in thefourth over. The home side wasstruck with a major blow in the25th over when opener NatashaMcLean (15) retired hurt.

Captain Stafanie Taylor (20)then joined ShemaineCampbelle in the middle butwas unable to lead her side tovictory as she was caught infront of the wickets by PoonamYadav.

The Indian bowlers led bythe spin trio of RajeshwariGayakwad (2/27), PoonamYadav (2/26) and Deepti Sharma(2/25), kept striking at regularintervals to deny West Indies ofa substantial partnership.

Campbelle (39) top-scoredfor West Indies as the home sidefolded for 138 in the 48th over.

��

Former India batsman Yuvraj Singh onMonday slammed the MSK Prasad-led

national selection panel, saying there is adefinite need for having better selectorsas the current committee’s “thinking interms of modern-day cricket” is not up tothe mark.

“We do need better selectors, for sure.

Selectors’ job is not easy. Whenever theyselect 15 players, there will be talks thatwhat will happen to the other 15. It’s a dif-ficult job but their thinking in terms ofmodern-day cricket is not up to the mark.It’s my opinion,” Yuvraj told reporters.

“I am always in favour of protectingthe players and being positive about them.By talking negative about your players andteam doesn’t show you in true light. Thecharacter only shows when things aregoing wrong and you motivate the play-ers. In bad times, everyone talks bad. Wedefinitely need better selectors,” he said.

All-rounder Vijay Shankar was India’ssurprise pick in the World Cup squad buthas not made a comeback since recover-ing from an injury. Yuvraj took anotherjibe at the five-member panel.

“In between, there was your VijayShankar, now he has vanished. You playhim and then remove him. How can youmake players this way? You cannot pro-duce players by giving them just three offour innings, you have to give somebodya longer run,” he added.

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Kedar Jadhav conjuredup a well-calculated

86-run knock before left-arm spinner ShahbazNadeem claimed fourwickets as India B liftedthe Deodhar Trophy witha comprehensive 51-runwin over India C in thefinal, here on Monday.

Electing to bat, IndiaB recovered from earlyjolts to post a competitive283 for 7, courtesy well-compiled fifties by Jadhavand Yashasvi Jaiswal (54)and a 33-ball 45 fromVijay Shankar down theorder.

The bowlers led byShahbaz Nadeem (4/32)and Mohammed Siraj(2/43) then joined theparty as India B restrict-ed India C to 231 for 9 tocomplete the victory.

India C lost skipper,20-year-old Shubman Gill(1), who on Mondaybecame the youngest cap-tain to lead a side in theDeodhar Trophy final,surpassing Virat Kohli’s

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Kidambi Srikanth has decided togive China Open a miss but top

Indian shuttlers P V Sindhu and SainaNehwal will have their task cut outwhen they begin their campaign at the$700,000 event, beginning here today.

Former world number oneSrikanth was pitted against reigningtwo-time world championship andnumero uno ranked Kento Momotaof Japan in his opening round but hepulled out of the tournament.

Srikanth will now feature at theHong Kong Open World Tour Super500, next week.

Sindhu and Saina will once againbe India’s best bet as they look to putup a good show this week.

All eyes will also be on men’s dou-bles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddyand Chirag Shetty, who had reachedthe finals at the French Open lastmonth.

Both Sindhu and Saina had madeearly exits in three successive tourna-ments at China, Korea and Denmarkbefore somewhat regaining formwith a quarterfinal finish at theFrench Open and the duo will be des-perate to go deep in the draw.

Sixth seed Sindhu will begin hercampaign against Germany’s YvonneLi, while eighth seed Saina will openagainst China’s Cai Yan Yan.

Sindhu is likely to face eitherthree-time World Champion CarolinaMarin or World number one Tai TzuYing in the quarterfinals if she clearsthe initial rounds.

Saina, on the other hand, mightcome across Japan’s second seedAkane Yamaguchi in the last-eight buthas to trump her opponents in the firsttwo rounds.

The BWF World Tour Super 750tournament will also feature a host ofIndian male shuttlers as they vie forhonours this week.

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)��5��(��out by Ruturaj Gaikwad andAxar Patel, whileSuryakumar Yadav toocouldn’t reach double figuresafter being bowled byNadeem in the 16th over.

Dinesh Karthik (3) alsodisappointed as his stay last-ed only 10 balls with India Cslumping to 77 for five in the18th over.

Last match’s hero AxarPatel then joined hands withGarg and shared 63 runs.However, Garg became avictim of Siraj after he triedto play a big shot only to seehis stumps disturbed.

Once Patel walked backto the hut in the 35th over, itseemed all over for India C.Jalaj S Saxena (36 not out)and Mayank Markande (27)took the team across the200-mark but scoring atmore than 10 runs an over inthe remaining over provedtoo tall a task for the tail-enders as India C endedtheir innings at 232 for 9.

Earlier, medium pacerIshan Porel (5/43) returnedwith a five-wicket haul butIndia B still managed to posta decent score on the board.

10-year-old record.After Gill’s departure, Mayank Agarwal

(28) and Priyam Garg (74) added 54 runsbefore the opener was sent back by Nadeemin the 12th over.

In the next over, Virat Singh, who hadscored a superb 76 in the last match, was run

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Indian team paid the price forRishabh Pant’s poor DRS calls

against Bangladesh and skipper RohitSharma says that he doesn’t want tojump to a conclusion yet whether theyoungster is good enough to taketricky review decisions.

India did not review the decisionwhen the umpire turned down anlbw appeal against Mushfiqur Rahimin the third ball of the 10th over,bowled by leg-spinner YuzvendraChahal.

Rahim was on six at that timeand went on to make an unbeaten 60to lead Bangladesh to a comfortableseven-wicket win.

“Of course, Rishabh is young andhe will need time to understand. It’stoo soon to judge whether he canmake those decisions. Plus, thebowlers as well. It’s a combinationwhen the captain is not in the rightposition to make that decision,”Rohit said at the post-match confer-ence.

In the last ball of that Chahal’sover, when the umpire turned downa caught behind appeal againstSoumya Sarkar, Rohit reviewed thedecision on Pant’s insistence but lostit since there was no edge.

“When you are not in the rightposition (as a fielder), you have totrust your bowler and the wicket-keeper. Based on that, you have tomake that decision, whichever formatyou play.”

Rohit felt that 148 was a defend-able score had they been smart on thefield.

“We would have defended it if wewere smart on the field. A couple ofdecisions we did not get it right onthe field and that went against us.That’s where we lacked in decisionmaking,” he said.

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