4 + . ˆ . 9 ˝˛!#˝$˝˙˚%˛ˆ - the pioneer of idfc limited), and diana ... the central bank’s...

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P reoccupation of political heavyweights with the upcoming Assembly elections in five States could see the first half of the Budget Session of Parliament beginning Tuesday, going smoothly despite the Opposition vowing to corner the Government on demoneti- sation and several other issues. It is expected that after the Government presents the Union Budget on February 1, the focus will shift to the Assembly elections and big political players will resume their campaigning. Of course, the Opposition would like to raise enough issues to grab headlines to influence the polls, but given the fact that the first half of the session will come to an end on February 9, the floor manager of the Government should have a rel- atively easy task. At an all-party meeting on Monday, the Opposition par- ties vowed to raise the demon- etisation issue even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought their cooperation and hoped that Parliament would function despite differences over certain issues during elec- tion time. The Opposition parties also put on record their differ- ences with the Government on tabling the Union Budget on February 1, not just because of the Assembly polls, but also because the economic data of the third quarter will not be factored into the document. However, the Government defended itself by saying that the Supreme Court and Election Commission have already given their judgment in this regard and favoured pre- sentation of the annual budget as scheduled. After the Winter Session was washed out due to protests over demonetisation, Modi reached out to the Opposition on the eve of the Budget Session at the all-party meeting Continued on Page 2 T he Supreme Court on Monday handed over the management and supervision of the country’s richest sports body- the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) - to a team of four professionals led by former Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Vinod Rai. The panel, comprising his- torian Ramachandra Guha, Vikram Limaye (MD and CEO of IDFC Limited), and Diana Eduljee (former Captain of Indian Women Cricket team), was tasked to implement the reforms as ordered by the court on July 18, 2016. The Bench gave four weeks to the Committee to monitor com- pliance of the court’s order by the BCCI and other State crick- et bodies and submit a report to the court. A Bench of Justices Dipak Misra, AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud constituted the Committee of Administrators on the suggestions given to them by the amicus curiae Gopal Subramanium, senior advocate Anil Divan, the BCCI and some of the State cricket associations. Divan and Subramanium had initially pro- posed nine names as Administrators, but the list was pruned by the court to four, weeding out some names that exceeded 70 years of age. Rai, the Chairman of the Committee of Administrators, is aged 69, followed by Eduljee who is aged 61 years followed by Guha who is 59. After passing of this order, the court and the counsels appearing for different parties also discussed the fate of Lodha Committee. While the BCCI counsel senior advocate Kapil Sibal wanted to wind up the panel, the amicus curiae point- ed out the court’s January 2, 2017 order which had cut out a role for Lodha Committee to frame policies for BCCI. That judgment had also required the Lodha panel to set terms and conditions of the Administrators. The bench asked the CEO of BCCI to submit a proposal by March 27 on the terms and conditions, remuneration, etc., of the four administrators. Continued on Page 2 I n a major consolidation move, Britain-based telecom major Vodafone Plc on Monday said the company has initiated talks to merge its Indian unit with Idea Cellular in an all-share deal to create the country’s largest telecom oper- ator to take on Reliance Jio, which has stirred a fierce price war among telecom operators in the country. It is learnt that the merger of Vodafone — the world’s second-largest cellphone net- work operator — with the Aditya Birla Group’s Idea, India’s third-largest cellular operator, would create a com- pany with around 387 million users and form one of the largest telecoms companies in the world. In a statement, Vodafone said that the company is in talks with Idea about an all-share merger, but the deal under consideration excludes its 42 per cent holding in Indus Towers, a joint venture with Bharti and Idea. “Any merger would be effected through the issue of new shares in Idea to Vodafone and would result in Vodafone de-consolidating Vodafone India,” the company said, adding that there is no certainty that any transaction will be agreed, nor as to the terms or timing of any trans- action. With this move, shares of Idea Cellular surged a massive 26 per cent on the bourses on Monday after the global tele- com giant confirmed that it is in discussion to merge its India mobile business with Aditya Birla group firm. However, experts said that the above deal would help give Vodafone a listing opportuni- ty in India as Idea is already listed on the Indian bourses. P roviding a big relief to the citizen of the country, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday lifted restrictions on daily withdrawal of money from ATMs starting from February 1 and on current accounts and overdraft accounts with immediate effect but the weekly limit of 24,000 on savings bank accounts would remain. The Central bank’s move comes a day after the Election Commission expressed dis- sent against the RBI for not amending the rules for candi- dates in the poll fray for Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Goa and Uttarakhand. The election watchdog had urged the apex bank to allow candidates to withdraw 2 lakh per week for campaigning purpose. However, no specific circular was issued by the RBI to address the EC’s demand. The RBI also promised to review the weekly limit in the near future depending on the pace of remonetisation. “On a review of the pace of remon- etisation, it has been decided to partially restore status quo ante,” the RBI said, adding that cash withdrawal limit from ATMs stands withdrawn from February 1, 2017. D enied bail in cases as serious as murder and rape, self-pro- claimed godman Asaram Bapu suf- fered another jolt on Monday when the Supreme Court directed registration of a fresh case against him for forging a letter of the District J a i l Superintendent of Jodhpur to seek bail on medical grounds. In addition, the Court also imposed a fine of 1 lakh on the godman. Asaram, who moved a petition for bail through a parokar (someone who files on behalf of a person in cus- tody), had produced a letter pur- portedly written by the Superintendent of Jodhpur Jail on November 8, 2016 to support his claim for bail on medical grounds. F ive soldiers who were dug out from under tons of snow after being buried under layers of snow for sev- eral hours at a forward post in Machhil sector in Kupwara district on January 28 succumbed on the way to the Army’s Base Hospital in Srinagar on Monday, taking the Army’s toll to 20 in the recent snowfall-related inci- dents in Kashmir Valley. Sources said the soldiers who were unconscious when they were res- cued were treated for hypothermia i.e. dangerously low body temperature caused by prolonged exposure to extremely cold temperatures. Even though they needed urgent medical treatment they could not be immedi- ately airlifted to Srinagar due to inclement weather, sources said. The soldiers got trapped while they were on a patrol around an Army camp and a portion of the path caved in burying the men under thick layers of snow. Their condition was made worse by the continuous snowfall that added to the weight. Even though Army rescue teams were immediately rushed in, it took them several hours to retrieve the men. The soldiers were shifted to the local Army camp for initial treatment as the helicopters could not access the area to airlift them to Srinagar. On Monday, the soldiers were being evacuated to Srinagar but they could not survive. This is the third major tragedy to hit the Army in Kashmir in a week. Earlier, a Major of the Territorial Army died when an avalanche hit his camp at Sonamarg in Ganderbal district. A special Enforcement Directorate (ED) court sentenced former Minister Harinarayan Rai to seven year rigorous imprisonment and 5 lakh fine in a money laundering case here on Monday. The court sen- tenced Rai in 3.72 crore money laundering case lodged by ED in September 2009. The court found Rai guilty of laundering funds over 3.72 crore under section 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. “Rai was accused of laundering 4.83 crore but after chargesheets were framed he was found to be guilty of laundering 3.72 crore. The court has also slapped 5 lakh fine on him and in case of no payment of the fine he will have to serve an additional 18 months prison term,” said ED counsel SR Das. Rai was convicted and sen- tenced by the Special ED Court of BK Tiwari in the case that was heard for over seven years. As many as 33 witnesses were exam- ined during the hearings, added Das. The ED had attached prop- erties of Rai and his relatives. The case was lodged on September 4, 2009 after a huge money laundering scam during the regime of former CM Madhu Koda was unearthed. The case was being probed by the vigilance bureau involving five former min- isters and former CM Madhu Koda. Later it was handed over to CBI and ED. Rai is already serving 5-year jail term in disproportionate assets case sentenced by the CBI in December last year. The former Urban Development Minister, his wife Sushila Devi and brother Sanjay Rai, were sentenced 5-year term by a special CBI court. Rai was one of the three Independent legislators who had toppled the BJP government led by Arjun Munda in 2006, facilitating formation of the government led by Madhu Koda, an Independent member of the assembly. Rai was a minister from 2005 to 2009 in three governments led by Arjun Munda, Madhu Koda and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief Shibu Soren. T he State Government has come out with a big relief for ration beneficiaries whose biometric identifications often fail due to their deteriorated thumb impressions. Most of the biometric machines provided to the PDS dealers across the State are unequipped with iris scanners which every now and then do not identify beneficia- ries depriving them of their monthly food grain quota. Informing about this, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Saryu Roy assured the mem- bers in the House on Monday that the PDS shops would be provided with new machines in the next Budget. “We have gone a big way in modernising the pubic delivery mechanism in the State by introducing computers and distribution of food grains based on online and off-line modes. However, this has also brought out certain difficulties and reports about biometric machines not recognising thumb impression of working class and older people have come into light. Since the Aadhaar registration also records iris scan, we would introduce new machines in future for alternate verifica- tion,” said the Minister. The Government has introduced the biometric sys- tem in all 23,082 PDS shops across the State which has, the Minister claimed, stopped pil- ferage existing in the PDS sys- tem to a great extent. The Department has, at the same time, also made a provision of SMS based one-time password system if the thumb impression could not be recognised thrice. The Minister, on the occa- sion, mentioned that the mea- sures taken had succeeded in saving amount in the tune of Rs 700 crore to the Government. However, several members of the Assembly talked in great deal about the difficulty being faced by the rural masses who are often denied their monthly ration due to non-verification. A senior official of the Department added that fresh orders for iris scanner fitted machines would be placed. “We may also see if the exist- ing machines can be fitted with iris scanners,” said he. About 80 per cent of rural pop- ulation is covered under the Food Security Act rolled out in the State in 2015. The Minister went on adding that the Department was working to extend DBT in kerosene in seven districts from current four by March which later on would be spread across the State. “We are working to delete about 4-5 lakh such ration card- holders who are not lifting their ration despite having got enrolled. 12-13 per cent bene- ficiaries are like that who would be deleted from February so that fresh needy can be added,” said Roy and added that one would need to apply at Pragya Kendras for getting ration card which would be processed through ration card management system software. Referring to a probe conducted in salt scam by an Assembly Committee, the Minister assured the House that the report would be pre- sented by March for action. Informing about paddy procurement, the Minister said that registration system in place for farmers was necessary since paddy from outside the State was being routed here since the MSP is Rs 1600 per quintal in Jharkhand. “Till now 63,652 farmers have been registered for paddy purchase and 44,022 SMSs have been sent to them for the purchase. But only 5,500 farm- ers have turned up to sell paddy at the centres and we are requesting local krishak mitras and gram sabha members to make farmers aware about this,” said Roy while replying to Demands for Grants presented for the Department.

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Page 1: 4 + . ˆ . 9 ˝˛!#˝$˝˙˚%˛ˆ - The Pioneer of IDFC Limited), and Diana ... The Central bank’s move comes a day after the Election ... formation of the government

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Preoccupation of politicalheavyweights with the

upcoming Assembly electionsin five States could see the firsthalf of the Budget Session ofParliament beginning Tuesday,going smoothly despite theOpposition vowing to cornerthe Government on demoneti-sation and several other issues.

It is expected that after theGovernment presents theUnion Budget on February 1,the focus will shift to theAssembly elections and bigpolitical players will resumetheir campaigning. Of course,the Opposition would like toraise enough issues to grabheadlines to influence the polls,but given the fact that the firsthalf of the session will come toan end on February 9, thefloor manager of theGovernment should have a rel-atively easy task.

At an all-party meeting onMonday, the Opposition par-ties vowed to raise the demon-etisation issue even as PrimeMinister Narendra Modisought their cooperation andhoped that Parliament wouldfunction despite differencesover certain issues during elec-tion time.

The Opposition partiesalso put on record their differ-ences with the Government ontabling the Union Budget onFebruary 1, not just because of

the Assembly polls, but alsobecause the economic data ofthe third quarter will not befactored into the document.However, the Governmentdefended itself by saying thatthe Supreme Court andElection Commission havealready given their judgment inthis regard and favoured pre-sentation of the annual budgetas scheduled.

After the Winter Sessionwas washed out due to protestsover demonetisation, Modireached out to the Oppositionon the eve of the BudgetSession at the all-party meeting

Continued on Page 2

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The Supreme Court onMonday handed over the

management and supervision ofthe country’s richest sportsbody- the Board of Control forCricket in India (BCCI) - to ateam of four professionals led byformer Comptroller and AuditorGeneral (CAG) Vinod Rai.

The panel, comprising his-torian Ramachandra Guha,Vikram Limaye (MD and CEOof IDFC Limited), and DianaEduljee (former Captain ofIndian Women Cricket team),was tasked to implement thereforms as ordered by the courton July 18, 2016. The Benchgave four weeks to theCommittee to monitor com-pliance of the court’s order bythe BCCI and other State crick-et bodies and submit a reportto the court.

A Bench of Justices DipakMisra, AM Khanwilkar and DYChandrachud constituted theCommittee of Administratorson the suggestions given tothem by the amicus curiaeGopal Subramanium, senioradvocate Anil Divan, the BCCIand some of the State cricketassociations. Divan andSubramanium had initially pro-

posed nine names asAdministrators, but the listwas pruned by the court tofour, weeding out some namesthat exceeded 70 years of age.Rai, the Chairman of theCommittee of Administrators,is aged 69, followed by Eduljeewho is aged 61 years followedby Guha who is 59.

After passing of this order,the court and the counselsappearing for different partiesalso discussed the fate of LodhaCommittee. While the BCCIcounsel senior advocate Kapil

Sibal wanted to wind up thepanel, the amicus curiae point-ed out the court’s January 2,2017 order which had cut outa role for Lodha Committee toframe policies for BCCI. Thatjudgment had also required theLodha panel to set terms andconditions of theAdministrators.

The bench asked the CEOof BCCI to submit a proposalby March 27 on the terms andconditions, remuneration, etc.,of the four administrators.

Continued on Page 2

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In a major consolidationmove, Britain-based telecom

major Vodafone Plc onMonday said the company hasinitiated talks to merge itsIndian unit with Idea Cellularin an all-share deal to create thecountry’s largest telecom oper-ator to take on Reliance Jio,which has stirred a fierce pricewar among telecom operatorsin the country.

It is learnt that the mergerof Vodafone — the world’ssecond-largest cellphone net-work operator — with theAditya Birla Group’s Idea,India’s third-largest cellularoperator, would create a com-pany with around 387 millionusers and form one of thelargest telecoms companies inthe world.

In a statement, Vodafonesaid that the company is in talkswith Idea about an all-sharemerger, but the deal underconsideration excludes its 42per cent holding in IndusTowers, a joint venture withBharti and Idea. “Any mergerwould be effected through the

issue of new shares in Idea toVodafone and would result inVodafone de-consolidatingVodafone India,” the companysaid, adding that there is nocertainty that any transactionwill be agreed, nor as to theterms or timing of any trans-action.

With this move, shares ofIdea Cellular surged a massive26 per cent on the bourses onMonday after the global tele-com giant confirmed that it isin discussion to merge its Indiamobile business with AdityaBirla group firm.

However, experts said thatthe above deal would help giveVodafone a listing opportuni-ty in India as Idea is alreadylisted on the Indian bourses.

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Providing a big relief to thecitizen of the country, the

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) onMonday lifted restrictions ondaily withdrawal of moneyfrom ATMs starting fromFebruary 1 and on currentaccounts and overdraftaccounts with immediate effectbut the weekly limit of �24,000on savings bank accountswould remain.

The Central bank’s movecomes a day after the ElectionCommission expressed dis-sent against the RBI for notamending the rules for candi-dates in the poll fray forPunjab, Uttar Pradesh,Manipur, Goa andUttarakhand. The electionwatchdog had urged the apexbank to allow candidates towithdraw �2 lakh per week forcampaigning purpose.However, no specific circularwas issued by the RBI to

address the EC’s demand.The RBI also promised to

review the weekly limit in thenear future depending on thepace of remonetisation. “On areview of the pace of remon-etisation, it has been decidedto partially restore status quoante,” the RBI said, adding thatcash withdrawal limit fromATMs stands withdrawn fromFebruary 1, 2017.

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Denied bail in cases as serious asmurder and rape, self-pro-

claimed godman Asaram Bapu suf-fered another jolt on Monday whenthe SupremeCourt directedregistration of afresh caseagainst him forforging a letterof the DistrictJ a i lSuperintendent of Jodhpur to seekbail on medical grounds. In addition,the Court also imposed a fine of �1lakh on the godman.

Asaram, who moved a petitionfor bail through a parokar (someonewho files on behalf of a person in cus-tody), had produced a letter pur-portedly written by theSuperintendent of Jodhpur Jail onNovember 8, 2016 to support hisclaim for bail on medical grounds.

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Five soldiers who were dug out fromunder tons of snow after being

buried under layers of snow for sev-eral hours at a forward post inMachhil sector in Kupwara district onJanuary 28 succumbed on the way tothe Army’s Base Hospital in Srinagaron Monday, taking the Army’s toll to20 in the recent snowfall-related inci-dents in Kashmir Valley.

Sources said the soldiers whowere unconscious when they were res-cued were treated for hypothermia i.e.dangerously low body temperaturecaused by prolonged exposure toextremely cold temperatures. Eventhough they needed urgent medicaltreatment they could not be immedi-ately airlifted to Srinagar due toinclement weather, sources said. The

soldiers got trapped while they were ona patrol around an Army camp and aportion of the path caved in buryingthe men under thick layers of snow.

Their condition was made worseby the continuous snowfall that addedto the weight.

Even though Army rescue teamswere immediately rushed in, it tookthem several hours to retrieve the men.

The soldiers were shifted to thelocal Army camp for initial treatmentas the helicopters could not access thearea to airlift them to Srinagar. OnMonday, the soldiers were beingevacuated to Srinagar but they couldnot survive.

This is the third major tragedy tohit the Army in Kashmir in a week.Earlier, a Major of the Territorial Armydied when an avalanche hit his campat Sonamarg in Ganderbal district.

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Aspecial Enforcement Directorate(ED) court sentenced former

Minister Harinarayan Rai to sevenyear rigorous imprisonment and �5lakh fine in a money laundering casehere on Monday. The court sen-tenced Rai in �3.72 crore moneylaundering case lodged by ED inSeptember 2009.

The court found Rai guilty oflaundering funds over �3.72 croreunder section 4 of the Preventionof Money Laundering Act. “Raiwas accused of laundering �4.83crore but after chargesheets wereframed he was found to be guiltyof laundering �3.72 crore. Thecourt has also slapped �5 lakh fine

on him and in case of no paymentof the fine he will have to serve anadditional 18 months prison term,”said ED counsel SR Das.

Rai was convicted and sen-tenced by the Special ED Court ofBK Tiwari in the case that washeard for over seven years. As

many as 33 witnesses were exam-ined during the hearings, addedDas. The ED had attached prop-erties of Rai and his relatives.

The case was lodged onSeptember 4, 2009 after a hugemoney laundering scam duringthe regime of former CM Madhu

Koda was unearthed. The case wasbeing probed by the vigilancebureau involving five former min-isters and former CM MadhuKoda. Later it was handed over toCBI and ED.

Rai is already serving 5-yearjail term in disproportionate assetscase sentenced by the CBI inDecember last year. The formerUrban Development Minister, hiswife Sushila Devi and brotherSanjay Rai, were sentenced 5-yearterm by a special CBI court.

Rai was one of the threeIndependent legislators who hadtoppled the BJP government led byArjun Munda in 2006, facilitatingformation of the government ledby Madhu Koda, an Independentmember of the assembly.

Rai was a minister from 2005to 2009 in three governments ledby Arjun Munda, Madhu Kodaand Jharkhand Mukti Morcha(JMM) chief Shibu Soren.

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The State Government hascome out with a big relief

for ration beneficiaries whosebiometric identifications oftenfail due to their deterioratedthumb impressions. Most of thebiometric machines providedto the PDS dealers across theState are unequipped with irisscanners which every now andthen do not identify beneficia-ries depriving them of theirmonthly food grain quota.

Informing about this, Foodand Civil Supplies MinisterSaryu Roy assured the mem-bers in the House on Mondaythat the PDS shops would beprovided with new machines inthe next Budget.

“We have gone a big way inmodernising the pubic deliverymechanism in the State byintroducing computers anddistribution of food grainsbased on online and off-linemodes. However, this has alsobrought out certain difficultiesand reports about biometricmachines not recognisingthumb impression of workingclass and older people havecome into light. Since the

Aadhaar registration alsorecords iris scan, we wouldintroduce new machines infuture for alternate verifica-tion,” said the Minister.

The Government hasintroduced the biometric sys-tem in all 23,082 PDS shopsacross the State which has, theMinister claimed, stopped pil-ferage existing in the PDS sys-tem to a great extent. TheDepartment has, at the sametime, also made a provision ofSMS based one-time passwordsystem if the thumb impressioncould not be recognised thrice.

The Minister, on the occa-sion, mentioned that the mea-sures taken had succeeded insaving amount in the tune of Rs700 crore to the Government.

However, several members ofthe Assembly talked in greatdeal about the difficulty beingfaced by the rural masses whoare often denied their monthlyration due to non-verification.

A senior official of theDepartment added that freshorders for iris scanner fittedmachines would be placed.“We may also see if the exist-ing machines can be fittedwith iris scanners,” said he.About 80 per cent of rural pop-ulation is covered under theFood Security Act rolled out inthe State in 2015.

The Minister went onadding that the Departmentwas working to extend DBT inkerosene in seven districtsfrom current four by March

which later on would be spreadacross the State.

“We are working to deleteabout 4-5 lakh such ration card-holders who are not lifting theirration despite having gotenrolled. 12-13 per cent bene-ficiaries are like that who wouldbe deleted from February so thatfresh needy can be added,” saidRoy and added that one wouldneed to apply at Pragya Kendrasfor getting ration card whichwould be processed throughration card management systemsoftware. Referring to a probeconducted in salt scam by anAssembly Committee, theMinister assured the Housethat the report would be pre-sented by March for action.

Informing about paddyprocurement, the Minister saidthat registration system in placefor farmers was necessary sincepaddy from outside the Statewas being routed here since theMSP is Rs 1600 per quintal inJharkhand.

“Till now 63,652 farmershave been registered for paddypurchase and 44,022 SMSshave been sent to them for thepurchase. But only 5,500 farm-ers have turned up to sellpaddy at the centres and we arerequesting local krishak mitrasand gram sabha members tomake farmers aware aboutthis,” said Roy while replying toDemands for Grants presentedfor the Department.

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From Page 1called by the Government

that was attended by all majorparties except for the TMC.

Modi said it (Parliament) isa ‘mahapanchayat’ whichshould function despite differ-ences which may crop up dur-ing the election season.

Rejecting the Opposition’sallegations that the Budget willimpact the upcoming Assemblyelections, the Government said

that the Budget will be pre-sented as scheduled. “TheSupreme Court and ElectionCommission have already giventheir judgment on this. TheGovernment’s efforts will be thatthe Budget should benefit alland takes the country forward,”said Parliamentary AffairsMinister Ananth Kumar. UnionFinance Minister Arun Jaitleywill present the Budget onFebruary 1.

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Some cricket associationsassociated suggested that simi-lar to office bearers of their asso-ciations who held posts in hon-orary capacity, the Adminis-trators too should provide theirservice pro bono. But the Benchdismissed the suggestion.

The court also dismissed asuggestion from the Centre toinclude Sports Secretary asone of the Administrators. Thecourt said that the July 18judgment expressly excludesGovernment servants frombecoming administrators incricket bodies.

Page 3: 4 + . ˆ . 9 ˝˛!#˝$˝˙˚%˛ˆ - The Pioneer of IDFC Limited), and Diana ... The Central bank’s move comes a day after the Election ... formation of the government

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The State Government hasdecided to spend �1000

crore lying with DistrictMineral Foundation Trusts(DMFT) formed especially incoal and iron ore belts of theState for providing clean andpotable drinking water toaffected populace.

Minister for DrinkingWater and Sanitation ChandraPrakash Chaudhary whilereplying in the Assembly toDemands for Grants for theDepartment on Monday saidthat initiative would help theState in achieving its goals.

“During 2017-18 our planis to provide piped drinkingwater to 35 per cent of our pop-ulation which would be takenup to 50 per cent by 2020.About �1000 crore of DMFTfunds would be used for thispurpose in the mining areasaffected badly due to coal andiron ore excavations,” said theMinister.

Chief Minister RaghubarDas also intervened, sayingthat the mineral bearing areaswere languishing for develop-ment. “We have vast region inthe form of Kolhan, coal beltand Singhbhum that have suf-fered a lot but still are far from

development. The Cabinet hasprovided powers to DC for

sanctioning projects up to Rs 1crore, to DMFT up to �5 crore,

to Department up to �15 croreand to the Cabinet for above

that for spending out of theDMFT,” said he.

Chaudhary went on reiter-ating the pledge of theGovernment to make the StateODF by 2018 while two dis-tricts- Lohardaga andRamgrah- would get the tag byMarch, 2017.

“On the front of irrigation,we are working on Konar,Bhairavi, Upper Sankh projectswhich would be made opera-tional during 2017-18. Waterfrom Sone River is beingbrought to dry Palamu region.We have taken up 53 schemesto repairing banks of canals forthe first time,” said he.

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������������������������ ���������"�����&�������������� ���+��������� ���������$������������$������� ����#���+������ ��!������ ��� ��� �&�� ���� ����������$�����������! 2�������/��0��������

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After paying tribute toMahatma Gandhi at

Morhabadi Ground, Ranchi onhis death anniversary onMonday, Jharkhand PradeshCongress Committee launchedrenewed attack on old linesduring one day Jan VednaSammelan organised there.Hundreds of Congress workersled by Congress ImplementationCommittee Chairman and for-mer Union MinisterSubodhkant Sahay accompa-nied by former and sittingMLAs, MPs and office bearersfrom districts sat together inSammelan to question policiesof central and StateGovernments.

A resolution to celebrateBirth Centenary of ex-PMIndira Gandi with full of pro-grammes across the State wasalso passed during theSammelan.

Taking Prime Minister’sstatement in which he hadbegged 50 days to bring situationafter demonetization back tonormalcy seriously, the party hasdecided to organise Jan VednaSammelan at any roundabout ofevery Block of all 24 districts ofthe State. The leaders presentthere in Sammelan atMorhabadi Ground on Mondayincluded State CongressPresident Sukhdev Bhagat, StateIn-charge BK Hariprasad,Deputy In-Charge TarachandBhagoda, Party Leader inJharkhand Assembly Alamgir

Alam, All India CongressCommittee (AICC) Secretaryand MLA Paresh Dhanani,Rajyasabha MP Chhaya Vermaand Pradeep Balmuchu, ex-Minister Gitashree Oraon andrepresentatives of district andblock level workers among oth-ers.

Sahay led the attack by ask-ing questions from PMNarendra Modi over demoneti-zation and Raghubar Das overCNT/SPT Acts amendmentefforts. “Demonetization hasbroken backbone of rural econ-omy and amendment efforts ofCNT/SPT Acts have resulted infirings and killings of innocentpeople. Demonetization remainsone of the biggest frauds inrecent times, launched to helpjust a handful of big companies.More than 100 people lost theirlives and there appeared noworries or feeling of remorse togovernment over it,” said Sahay.

Sharpening attack on uniongovernment policies, Bhagatsaid that PM couldn’t giveanswer to questions raised byCongress Vice President RahulGandhi over demonetization.He also questioned move ofamendment efforts in CNT/SPTActs by State government.

Before that, Sahay and otherCongress leaders paid tribute toMahatma Gandhi on his DeathAnniversary on Monday. Sahaysaid that the society needed tofollow teachings of MahatmaGandhi. He said that the societywas increasingly losing follow-ers of Gandhi idealism.

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Chief Minister Raghubar Dashas called upon students to

keep their hands off the dirtypolitics.

Addressing a function heldat Audrey House to felicitate thenewly elected members of AkhilBhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad(ABVP) in the university elec-tions in the State, Das pointedout that dirty tricks of politicalparties are often responsiblefor misguiding the young mind.

Blaming his predecessorsfor doing politics over domicilepolicy, Das said, “The domicilepolicy of Jharkhand was heldback for 15 long years badly hit-ting the development of thisState. Political parties often tar-get youths misguiding themon different agendas. Youthsmust stay away from these dirtytricks and focus on the advance-ment of the State.”

Sharing his own experi-ence with the ABVP officebearers and students, the CMasked the young brigade touphold the rich legacy of ABVP.“I began my career as a studentleader. All the elected repre-sentatives must realize that theyhave a great level of responsi-bility on their shoulders.Moreover, it is not only theresponsibility of university offi-cials to bring the change, but

also the student leaders shoulddevote themselves bringing pos-itive transformation in studentslives,” added Das.

The CM, on the occasion,also claimed that the StateGovernment is putting all itseffort to boost the higher andtechnical education sector inevery possible way adoptinginnovative methodologies.Taking cue from the GrossEnrollment Ratio (GER) at thenational level that is 22 per centat present, Das said, “The State

GER is just eight per cent; weneed to work piously to improvethis. Jharkhand governmenttargets to achieve 22 per centGER ratio by 2022. The Stategovernment has planned tospend Rs. 700 crore on skilldevelopment scheme.”

The CM also assured thatchildren belonging to Schedulecastes and Scheduled tribes willget more privilege to uplifttheir lives. Das asserted thatABVP members have put abrake on the activities of sever-

al anti- national elements acrossthe nation and asked the officebearers to stay away from thecheap publicity.

ABVP leader SunilAambekar emphasized on stu-dents welfare while taking theState towards new dawn where-as Ranchi University (RU) VC,Dr. RK Pandey urged the stu-dent leaders to support theuniversity in its major endeav-ors that will eventually help theuniversity in fetching betterranking at the national forum .

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Cow vigilantes took my hus-band away from me. But

whatever was left behind for me,the hope and courage to takeorphaned life of my small kidsahead was snatched away bynone other than those law vig-ilantes, who bore the responsi-bilities to have faith in system themost,” said dejected and dis-tracted Saira Bibi, whose hus-band Mohammad MajloomAnsari was found hanging froma tree in Jharkhand’s Jhabar vil-lage under Balumath PoliceStation of Latehar on March 16,

2016.Besides Bibi, family mem-

bers of Minhaz Ansari fromJamtara district, who wasallegedly beaten to death inpolice custody on October 8over a so-called objectionablesocial media post, were alsoupset over the way the policeofficials appeared to familymembers or any of those whoshowed interest in the case. Kinof Rupesh Swansi, anotherminor allegedly beaten to deathyet again in police station itself,said while expressing their viewsin a programme named InsafConvention organised on

Monday by Awami Insaf Manchthat they were more harassed bythe system than the circum-stances itself.“We have gonethrough tremendous pressure,different in nature and in degreeafter we started seeking justicefor us. It is almost a year nowthat I lost my husband who washanged to death by cow vigi-lante. The accused are on bail,roaming wild and we are suf-fering for our daily bread andbutter after losing lone breadearner,” added Bibi. However,she expressed faith in justice,believing that it would be deliv-ered on time.

Speakers in the event, CPI(M) General SecretaryDeepankar Bhattacharya andhis party MLA Rajkumar Yadav,MLA Aroop Chattarjee, JNUStudents Union Joint SecretaryTabrez Alam, Activist DayamaniBarla and dozens of others did-n’t miss the chance to hit thegovernment questioning its poli-cies so far.

Bhattacharya said thatJharkhand was moving towarda mass movement against anti-people policies of State govern-ment and Prime MinisterNarendra Modi. “Saffron ideol-ogy backed radicalism is on the

verge of destroying social har-mony of the State, and deprivedand minorities are having noway forward to combat it divid-ed,” said Bhattacharya.

Notably, the police hadarrested five suspects in con-nection with alleged murder ofcattle trader Majloom Ansariand a minor Imtiyaz Khan inBalumath. Among the fiveaccused, one Mithilesh PrasadSahu was associated with localcow protection vigilante group.Others identified as PramodKumar Sahu, Manoj KumarSahu, Awdesh Sahu and ManojSahu are all on bail.

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Atribal youth allegedlycommitted suicide at

Jaridih locality here on Sundayevening and his body wasfound hanging from a tree. Itappears that the youth tookhis own life with his own belt,said Radha Kumari, Officer incharge of Jaridih police sta-tion.

Soon after getting infor-mation, a team led by RadhaKumari reached the spot andrecovered the body. Thedeceased was identified asGambhir Marandi son ofParmeshwar Marandi belong-ing to Kasmar.

Radha Kumari told ThePioneer that it seems to becase of suicide though no sui-cide note was recovered fromthe spot. EOM

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The visiting chief of the SriLankan Navy on Monday

assured New Delhi that hiscountry will not allow anyactivities on their soil thathurts Indian interest.

“We assure the IndianGovernment that nothingagainst India will happen in SriLankan land and waters aroundit,” Sri Lankan Navy chief ViceAdmiral RC Wijegunaratnesaid when asked about thedocking of Chinese submarinesin Lankan waters. He assertedthat the Chinese presence inLanka was purely for econom-ic reasons and India shouldhave no reasons to worry.

“We have also invited Indianfirms,” Wijegunaratne saidadding that security at theColombo Port City would beentrusted to the Sri LankanNavy and not the Chinese as isbeing speculated. Later, in an

interaction with media he hopedthat training of Lankan defencepersonnel at the Defence ServiceStaff College at Wellington inTamil Nadu will restart.

The Lankan Navy chief ison an official visit to India fromJanuary 29 to February 2 toexplore new avenues for navalcooperation apart from con-solidating exiting bilateral navalrelations between the twocountries. During his visitWijegunaratne held meetingswith the Navy chief AdmiralSunil Lanba and the DG of theIndian Coast Guard and othersenior officials of the Indian

forces and Defence Ministry.The Admiral is also travel

to Goa where he will be visit-ing Naval War College and GoaShipyard Limited besides inter-acting with Flag OfficerCommanding Goa Area. Hewill further visit the TrainingCommand of the Indian Navybased at Kochi, where he wouldbe briefed on training aspectsand visit various training facil-ities and professional schools.During his visit to Kochi,Wijegunaratne would interactwith Sri Lankan Naval person-nel undergoing training inIndia.

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Health groups on Mondaycalled upon the

Government to end the hos-pital-doctor-pharma firms’nexus causing hefty increase inprices of stents at the cost ofpatients as revealed by therecent data published by theNational PharmaceuticalPricing Authority (NPPA) onits website.

Stents which are smallexpandable tubes used to treatnarrowed or weakened arter-

ies in the body offers an attrac-tive option in treating heartdisease. As they have gainedincreasing acceptance in India,health activists have beendemanding check on theirprices.

“We have consistentlyhighlighted the uncon-scionable prices that patientsacross the country are payingfor stents that are pushingpatients and their families intoincreasing indebtedness orleaving them without life-sav-ing treatment.”

“The pricing data whichwas submitted by the industryto the NPPA has made it clearbeyond doubt,” said Dr MiraShiva of the All India DrugAction Network (AIDAN).

The data indicates that bythe time the patient gets thestent, the increase from theoriginal cost of the stent isoften in the range of 1,000-2,000 per cent, with hospitalsenjoying unimaginably hightrade margins.

“With the evidence ofover-pricing now crystal clear,the government must actimmediately to control theprices of these life savingdevices as envisaged underthe constitution” advocateBirender Sangwan said at apress conference here.

The activists also demand-ed that the price fixation ofcoronary stents should be lim-ited to two categories - BareMetal Stents and Drug Eluting

Stents with the ceiling prices tobe fixed on the basis of theCGHS reimbursement rates.

Malini Aisola of AIDANalleged that there were alsoattempts, primarily by foreigncompanies and cardiologistsacting on their behalf, toexclude from price control thehighest priced stents, which alsohappen to dominate the market.

Echoing similar views DrArun Mitra and Dr GS Grewalof the Alliance Of Doctors ForEthical Healthcare (ADEH)stressed upon probe into med-ical establishments for cor-rupt practices and profession-al misconduct of office bearersof the Cardiological Society ofIndia indulging in “unethicallobbying”.

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The BJP and the Congress onMonday accused each

other of helping Vijay Mallya.The ruling party dragged informer Prime MinisterManmohan Singh and thenFinance Minister PChidambaram alleging that the“corrupt hands” that helpedthe absconding liquor baron getbank loans belonged to them.

Rejecting the charges, bothSingh and Chidambaram saidit was the ruling party thatallowed Mallya to flee abroadovernight.

The BJP also pointed fin-gers at Congress presidentSonia Gandhi and vice-presi-dent Rahul Gandhi on theissue.

BJP spokesperson SambitPatra asked Sonia and Rahul toexplain at whose behest Mallya’sdefaulting company got loans.Patra dragged the Congressleadership into the row, alleg-ing that then PrincipalSecretary to Prime MinisterPulok Chatterjee would “snatchfiles” from Singh to take it to 10Janpath, Sonia Gandhi’s resi-dence.

“The hands which pulledthe strings to ensure that Mallyareceived loans are visible now.It belonged to Chidambaramand Singh. Did the hands of 10Janpath also pull the string?

Sonia and Rahul Gandhi shouldcome out in public to say atwhose behest the loans weresanctioned to KingfisherAirline,” he said.

“It was after one such letterMallya had written to Singh onNovember 14, 2011 that thePrime Minister told the mediathat ‘we have to find ways to getKingfisher out of trouble’,” Patrasaid.

In another letter, he soughtSingh’s intervention to get fundsfrom banks released immedi-ately, the BJP spokespersonsaid. According to Patra, in oneof the letters, Mallya said he wasvery “relieved” and “pleased”,apparently referring to devel-opments in the interim. A topPMO official had spoken toMinistries concerned followinghis letter to Singh and Mallyahad mentioned it, he said.

Patra cited another letterthe liquor baron allegedly wroteto Chidambaram in March2013, seeking his interventionto get NOC from the SBI,which headed the consortiumof banks which had given unre-covered loans to the airline, andits subsidiaries as his liquorcompany was in talks withDiageo for a deal.

Refuting the charges, Singhand Chidambaram said it wasthe NDA that allowed Mallya toflee the country. They told themedia that it was a routine

thing for captains of industry towrite letters to the Governmentwhich were marked to appro-priate authorities and that theydid not violate any law.

“I think what I have donewas done with full satisfactionof mind that we were not doinganything which was against lawof the land,” Singh said addingall Prime Ministers and otherMinisters received representa-tions from the industry.

“In normal course, we passon these to appropriate author-ities. It was a normal, routinetransaction and therefore theletter that is being talked aboutis nothing but an ordinarypiece of letter which any gov-ernment in my position wouldhave dealt with,” Singh said.

Chidambaram, on his part,said hundreds of such repre-sentations received by theGovernment were not dealtwith by Ministers themselves.“No Minister can deal with each

one of these representations.They are marked down todepartments and officers con-cerned, who will then takeappropriate follow-up action,”he said.

The former FM also saidthere was “absolutely nothingwrong” if somebody soughtsome policy changes or want-ed forbearance to be shown. “Ifletter to PMO is marked downto Principal Secretary to PMand Principal Secretary fowardsit to department concerned,these are normal,” he claimed.

Congress spokespersonRandeep Surjewala asked theruling party to explain who wasresponsible for allowing Mallyato escape at a time when theconsortium of lenders hadmoved against him for recoveryof over �9,000 crore.

“Was Vijay Mallya tippedoff to run away from India bya high ranking official inside theModi Government?” he asked.

Surjewala also claimed BJPsupported and voted for Mallyato get him elected to RajyaSabha in June 2010. He alsowanted to know if it was truethat the businessman was oncethe working president ofSubramanian Swamy’s JanataParty. Swamy is now in BJP andlocked in a legal battle with topCongress leadership includingSonia and Rahul Gandhi in theNational Herald case.

“Why did Modi govern-ment permit Diageo plc, whichnow owns United Breweries,make payment of USD 40Million as part of agreementdated 25.02.2016 as also receivethis money in an offshoreaccount? What has action hasModi government takenagainst Diageo plc and UnitedBreweries?” he asked.

Surjewala said, “Instead oflevelling senseless allegations,BJP needs to come forward andanswer questions.”

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Former Prime MinisterManmohan Singh on

Monday questioned theGovernment’s economic poli-cies and said that ‘India is notin good shape’. Unveiling aresearch document on the stateof the Indian economy, Singhpointed that even internation-al bodies and rating agencieshave projected a lower eco-nomic growth. The BJP coun-tered the allegations by sayingthat Modi’s Government had“turned around” a fragile econ-omy it had inherited when itcame to power in 2014 even asit said they “needed no certifi-cate” from the two “failed econ-omists”.

“International MonetaryFund (IMF) has said growthwill slip to less than 6.6 percent,” Singh said releasing‘Real State of Economy’, adocument the Congresshas drawn up. FormerFinance Minister PChidambaram was pre-sent on the occasion.

“Tomorrow is the daywhen the Governmentwill present its economicsurvey. We thought it agood idea that we shouldalso bring out a docu-ment that sets out whatwe consider is the realstate of the economy,”Singh, a former RBI gov-

ernor who has been critical ofModi Government’s decision toinvalidate old banknotes of�1,000 and �500, said

“Indian economy is not ingood shape is now obvious.The IMF has projected that thegrowth rate of India this cur-rent fiscal year will not be 7.6per cent but 6.6 per cent.Several other agencies havemade similar projections,”Singh said.

Union Ministers VenkaiahNaidu, Piyush Goyal andNirmala Sitharaman counteredthe Congress’s charges. Naidusaid there was no need of cer-tificate of these people. “Notsurprised by criticism ofManmohan andChidambaram, both are failedeconomists,” he asserted.

While Goyal claimed theeconomy had seen a vastimprovement since the currentGovernment assumed powerfrom the previous Governmentunder Singh, Sitharaman calledthe Congress’s press briefing a“damp squib”.

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The Congress should complete the processof holding its organisational elections by

June. According to a recent communication tothe Indian National Congress, the ElectionCommission has said the process of holdingorganisational polls should be completed byJune. Since September, 2015, Congress has ontwo occasions urged the poll panel to allow itto defer its internal elections.

The Commission has said it would grant nofurther extension and the internal polls shouldbe over “latest by June 30, 2017”. Congress hasalso been asked to submit the list of its new officebearers by July 15 to the Commission.

With the Commission refusing to grant fur-ther time to Congress to hold the organisationalpolls, the demand to anoint Rahul Gandhi asparty chief could gain momentum after theAssembly elections are over on March 8.

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In the wake of the new Reserve Bankof India (RBI) order lifting the with-

drawal limits for current accounts, theElection Commission has advised can-didates contesting Assembly polls infive States to open current accounts totide over the currency crunch in meet-ing election expenses. Such a movewill help candidates to have enoughhard currency as well as overcomeproblems faced with the existing Rs24,000 per week cash limit set on sav-ings accounts.

The RBI on Monday announcedlifting of daily restrictions on cashwithdrawals from ATMs as well as cur-rent accounts. The latest move comesclose on the heels of the ElectionCommission expressing its displeasure

to the RBI for rejecting the request toenhance the cash withdrawal limit forcandidates to Rs two lakh per week.

After the decision of the RBI, theElection Commission has asked allcandidates to open current accountsfor meeting election expenses.

Candidates are bound to open anelection account for meeting poll-related expenditure which is monitoredby the EC. Since there is no mentionof any specific category of account thatneeds to be opened, candidates most-ly opt for savings account.

With the central bank putting inplace limits on cash withdrawals in thewake of note ban, candidates are fac-ing problems in meeting expenseswhere hard cash is required. The ECsaid the facility be extended till March11, the day of counting.

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The issue of judicial appoint-ments continues to drive a

wedge between the judiciaryand the Centre as the SupremeCourt on Monday refused tobuy the Government’s assur-ance of full cooperation in fill-ing up vacancies on the condi-tion that the Court shouldstop hearing a bunch of PILspending with it on the samesubject.

The proposal from theCentre was brought before thenew Chief Justice of India JSKhehar by the AttorneyGeneral Mukul Rohatgi whenhearing began on a bunch ofPILs seeking filling up ofvacancies in higher judiciary tocurb pendency.

Rohatgi said, “I am per-sonally of the opinion that it is

not right to have parallel pro-ceedings. Government is look-ing into the issue and we are inconversation with the CJI onthe administrative side. Sincethe government is seized of theissue, it will be appropriate notto hear these cases on the judi-cial side.” Rohatgi pointed outthat during the pendency of thematter, the Centre was filingstatus reports indicating peri-odic decisions taken by LawMinistry on clearing of rec-ommendations forwarded byCollegium.

To allay all concerns,Rohatgi said, “Whenever theChief Justice of India wants anyinformation on vacancy,appointment, etc, we will beprompt to make it readily avail-able.”

But the bench of CJIKhehar and Justice NV

Ramana did not find the pro-posal suitable. Going aheadwith the petition, the benchinformed Rohatgi, “After allow-ing a petition to be enter-tained, we cannot disallow it atthis stage. After all, they areprojecting the cause of judi-ciary. How can we run awayfrom this cause.”

Rohatgi raised the issue ofMemorandum of Procedurethat is pending considerationwith the apex court sinceAugust 2016. A-G was of theview that once MoP issue is set-tled, problems of transparency,seniority, age, etc will be settled.The bench posted the matterafter one month. When Centresought an adjournment beyondJune, the bench said, “Let us seehow things move. We will con-sider your request on the nextdate.”

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court onMonday forced the Centre to roll backits order appointing EnforcementDirector Karnal Singh for a period often months when the law provides fora mandatory term of two years.

The bench of Chief Justice JSKhehar and Justice NV Ramana foundthe Centre to be on the wrong side oflaw in issuing the appointment orderof Singh on October 27, 2016. Theappointment gave Singh a tenure tillAugust 31, 2017, the effective date ofhis retirement.

A PIL filed by one Uday BabuKhalwadekar pointed out fault with theappointment order issued by theDepartment of Personnel and Training(DoPT). It was submitted by the peti-tioner’s lawyer senior advocate HarishSalve that the order was contrary toSection 25(d) of Central VigilanceCommission Act 2003. The said pro-vision mandates a two-year tenure forthe Director, Enforcement Directorate.

The petitioner further argued that

the ED handles an important task ofprobing money laundering cases whichinvolve huge stakes and require mon-itoring over months and years. It is forthis reason, ED Director must beassured of a secure tenure.

Attorney General Mukul Rohatgiinformed the bench that theGovernment was open to issuing afresh appointment order in line withthe provision of Section 25 of CVC Act.However, he justified the presentappointment as being in line withFundamental Rule 56 of the ServicesRules. The bench put its foot down thatwhen a law was clear that Directormust enjoy a two-year tenure, theCentre cannot rely on a Rule to defeatthe purpose of the Act.

“We are of the view that a statutoryrule cannot override a legislative enact-ment and that Section 25 of CVC Act willhave overriding effect on any other lawin force,” the bench said. The Courtallowed Centre to issue a fresh appoint-ment order within a week. ���

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The Supreme Court on Monday remained firmon its order directing enquiry against former

CBI Director Ranjit Sinha who sought recall of theorder against him by taking refuge under a recentdecision of the apex court discarding the Sahara-Birla diaries as “irrelevant” as evidence in orderto direct prosecution against political functionaries.

The apex court had last week directed the pre-sent CBI Director to investigate whether any crim-inality was committed by Sinha. The Courtformed a prima facie view that Sinha influencedprobe in cases pending with him by meeting cer-tain accused in the coal scam at his residence, asrevealed by the visitor logbook at his residence.Senior advocate Vikas Singh who appeared forSinha said, “Supreme Court is one. How can anenquiry be sustained against me after the order inSahara-Birla diaries?”

The bench headed by Justice MB Lokurrejected the plea. It also asked CBI to file chargesheet in all pending coal scam cases by February-end.

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GOA MANIPURUTTARPRADESH

UTTARAKHANDPUNJAB

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Panaji: In a crackdown on surrogate pollcampaigning on the social media,Election Commission officials in Goa onMonday told the State police to initiateaction against three Facebook pages forposting political content ahead of theupcoming state polls.

In a statement, the Chief ElectoralOfficer for Goa said directions have been issuedto the Cyber Cell of the Goa Police to initiate actionagainst three Facebook pages ‘Let’s talk issues — Wake upGoa’, ‘Fat Chalchi na’ and ‘Mission Goa’.

These pages have been posting political matter “withoutany certification from the media certification and monitor-ing committee concerned”, in violation of the Model Code ofConduct. IANS

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Corruption and liquor ban issues have helped many politi-cians to come to power in India in the past decade. But,

in the three-cornered electoral contest in Punjab, the D-fac-tor, or simply put, “rampant drug abuse”, is the key issue onwhich the campaign of the two rival claimants to power —the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is being run.

The drug menace in Punjab is perhaps the biggest sin-gle issue in the February 4 Assembly polls with all politicalparties acknowledging drug addiction as a major problem inthe State and also promising in their election manifestos toput an end to this problem.

Even as the politicians differs on the extent of drug abusein Punjab, the drug issue has given enough ammunition tothe Opposition parties — the Congress and the AAP — totarget the SAD-BJP combine for its failure to check the inflowof drugs in the State.

Ever since the name of Cabinet Minister Bikram SinghMajithia cropped up in the drug trade, he along with the SAD-BJP combine, had to face the brunt of allegations of letting drugsmafia flourish in Punjab in the last ten years. Both the AAPand the Congress have been targeting him like never before forhis alleged involvement in drug trade even though he is notunder the scanner of even a single investigating agency so far.

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has been raisingthe drug problem whenever he visits Punjab and it has beenalmost five years when he first raised it to target the rulingalliance in the State. In his campaign in 2017 elections too,he blamed the ruling Akalis for failing to actagainst the drug problem, and went onto say,“Yeh election, Punjab mein drugs ko khatamkarne ka election hai.”

Making “drug abuse” a key pollissue, the AAP, went a step ahead andreleased an audio message of its con-vener and Delhi Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal, who is speaking flu-

ent Punjabi to promise the Punjabis to put an end to drugtrade besides warning Majithia that he will be put behind barsby April 15, if the AAP forms Government in the State.

Last year, movie Udta Punjab also courted much con-troversy thanks to its subject — the menace of drug addic-tion in Punjab and the objection of the State Government ofbeing portrayed negatively.

Though the drug abuse remains a key issue dominatingthe Punjab political discourse, the exact numbers of citizensconsuming drugs has remained mired in controversy.

“The drug abuse is a major problem in Punjab and thus,has become a key election issue. There is unemployment andyouth are getting addicted to drugs…Further, to buy drugs,youth are indulging in criminal activities… Basically, all thisis a chain reaction… And, youth of Punjab is trapped in thismenace,” Gurpartap Singh Mann, spokesperson and secre-tary, Punjab Congress told The Pioneer.

The Congress leader said drug-peddler Jagdish SinghBhola had accused Majithia of being involved in drug traf-ficking racket, yet the Akalis did not take any action againsthim. The Congress has vowed to end the drug problem inPunjab, when it comes to power, he added.

Bikram Singh Majithia, who is also Deputy Chief MinisterSukhbir Badal’s brother-in-law, has been a long-time target ofthe AAP on the drug issue. Majithia has also filed a defama-tion case against Kejriwal over his controversial remarks.

AAP’s candidate Himmat Singh Shergill, who is contestingfrom the high-profile Majitha constituency against SADheavyweight Bikram Singh Majithia, often mentions the lat-

ter as a drug lord in his speeches. Shergill, a prominentlawyer said Majithia is involved in a multi-crore

drug trafficking racket and should be punishedfor ruining the lives of Punjab’s youth. The AAP

has vowed to eliminate the drug menace inPunjab besides putting Majithia behind barsafter winning the Assembly election, he said.

The ruling SAD, however, continue torefute opposition’s claims on drug issue.

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Panaji: NCP supremo Sharad Pawar has scotched rumours that hisparty was cosying up to the BJP, saying it will never support thesaffron party nor join hands with communal forces and com-promise on secularism. “There are rumours being spread thatNCP is growing close to BJP. This is absolutely false news.The NCP will never support BJP,” he said addressing a pub-lic meeting in Vasco on Sunday night where he was canvassingfor his party candidate Jose Philipe D’Souza.

“We will never compromise on secularism. The NCP will never bewith the communal forces. Those who are favouring and spreading com-munalism, we will never be with them,” said Pawar, who was recently honouredwith the Padma Vibhushan, country’s second highest civilian award. With ShivSena chief Uddhav Thackeray calling off their two-decade-old alliance withthe BJP, speculation was rife that it could look at NCP to fill the crucialgap ahead of civic polls in Mumbai and other places in Maharashtra. PTI

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On a day when he appeared before acourt in Maharashtra’s Bhiwandi city

in connection with a defamation casefiled by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh(RSS) leaders, Congress vice presidentlater lashed out at the RSS and BJP in anelection rally speech in Goa’s Mapusatown, while also promising to deliver acorruption-free and inclusiveGovernment in the coastal State.

“I do not know what is the reason.They do not smile. They speak well. Butit appears that the world is angry. Likehow people are happy in Goa, they areangry. I thought about it a lot. People ofBJP ideology, why are they so angry? Theanswer is, they think they know every-thing,” he said.

“In Parliament, when there is dis-cussion they say ‘you do understand this’.They believe they know everything. Andwhat happens is when the truth emergesto be something else they get angry,”Rahul also said.

Recalling his appearance on Mondaymorning at the Bhiwandi court, follow-ing a defamation suit filed against him foralleging that the RSS was linked to theassassination of Mahatma Gandhi, Rahulsaid the Congress leaders who hadaccompanied him to the court room wereall smiles and carefree, while the RSS lead-ers who had filed the defamation caseagainst him were solemn.

“Today I was in Bhiwandi. My caseis going on. My RSS case. There wereCongress people. I was there. AshokChavan was there. Sanjay Nirupam wasthere. (both Maharashtra Congressleaders) The man who had filed the casewas sitting behind me. Their other folkwere there too. Where members of theCongress were smiling, RSS leaderswere sitting seriously,” Rahul said.

The Congress VP also hit out atModi accusing him of not listening to thevoices of others, while also calling hima liar on issues related to employmentgeneration and elimination of corruption.

“But Modi has not told anyone,speak out your ‘Mann ki Baat’... DidModiji ask anyone in Goa, tell me whatis in your heart. This is not Modiji orRSS or BJP style, but this is the Congress

style,” Rahul said.Referring to a poll

speech made by Modion Saturday, when

the Prime Ministersaid the BJP-ledGovernment inGoa had providedample jobs andwiped out cor-ruption, Gandhi

said, “The wholeof Goa knows that

the Goa Governmentdid not give jobs to

youth and yet PM says it.”

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BJP stalwart and one of the prospective ChiefMinisterial candidates of Uttarakhand Satpal

Maharaj faces Chaubattakhal test for his maid-en entry into the State Assembly with Congresscandidate Rajpal Singh Bisht giving a tough fightto him. Moreover, BJP rebel Kavindra Ishtwal isalso making things tough for him.

Before defecting to the BJP in March 2014,Maharaj was a prominent Rajput leader of theCongress party from Uttarakhand and was a UnionMinister in the Congress Government in 1996-97.

In the Assembly elections of 2017 the BJPhas not brought forward any face fromUttarakhand and refrained from fielding anyMember of Parliament (MP) as party candidatefrom any Assembly segment. Three MPs —Major General BC Khanduri, Bhagat SinghKoshyari and Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank— are also former Chief Ministers and per-

petual contenders for topposition in case the BJP

is able to form

Government in the State. However, the party asked Maharaj to

contest from Chaubattakhal, denying tick-et to former State party chief and sittingMLA Tirath Singh Rawat. Political observerssaid by doing so the party has made it appar-ent that it sees in Maharaj a possible CM .

Located in Garhwal hills, ChaubattakhalAssembly constituency consists of about 150 vil-lages located between eastern and westernNayyar Rivers. The Congress has reposed itsfaith in Rajpal from here who had lost to TirathSingh Rawat in the elections of 2012.

Rajpal is hammering home on the fact thatMaharaj has defected from the Congress and thathis past record in development is very poor.

His supporters are telling villagers thatMaharaj would devote no time to the con-stituency if he gets elected. Rebel BJP leaderKavindra has refused to budge to the pressureof High Command to withdraw from the con-

test in favour of Maharaj and is expected toeat into to the votes of BJP.

Interestingly, Chaubattakhal is one ofthe few assembly constituencies of the

State where the number of female vot-ers outnumbers men due to whichboth these leaders are going all outto woo them. The area has a con-siderable population of the ex-ser-vicemen and it is interesting tonote that while the BJP leaders aretelling the veterans that theCentre has given the benefit ofOROP, the Congress is brow-beating the BJP by claiming that

the party has not delivered on OROP.

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Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD)seemed to have come of age

and no longer wants to playsecond fiddle in the UPAssembly election 2017. Partysources said the RLD is bank-ing on turncoat leaders toupset the apple cart of its rivalsin the election. It has declaredits candidates on 230 seats tillnow and the announcement ofcandidates for the rest of theAssembly seats is going on.

“The RLD had given tick-ets to leaders who switchedtheir loyalty and climbed theRLD bandwagon. The leadersgiven ticket included thosefrom Samjawadi Party, BahujanSamaj Party and even BhartiyaJanta party. The poll strategistof the RLD think that theturncoats will fare better in theelection and the party willimprove its ‘number’ after theAssembly election,” they said.Sources, however, said the

Congress-SP alliance mayprove a set back to the RLDprospectus in West UP.

They said the RLD had notan impressive number in thelast Assembly election and sothe party’s effort to ‘seal the dealon its own terms were marred.A senior party leader said theRLD is focusing on West UPand its aim is to gain maximum

success in the block.“West UP is looked as a

stronghold of the RLD. If partyfares well in the Assembly elec-tion, it will brighten the party’sprospectus. At some places, wehave given tickets to thosewhose winning chances arevery fair. We hope to reach todouble digit in the election thistime,” he said.

The party’s media in-chargeAnil Dubey said the announce-ment of the contestants wasbeing done in a phase wise man-ner. He said the claims made bythe SP, BSP and BJP had beenexposed and the public willteach them a good lesson in theelection. Dubey hoped thatparty’s fortune would shine inthe Assembly election.

Also, the party has pitchedJayant Chaudhary as a ChiefMinisterial face.

With Congress as alliancepartner, it had contested on 46seats in UP Assembly election2007 and bagged nine seatswhile polled second on 15seats. At 20 seats it got itsdeposits forfeited and had ashare of 2.33 per cent. Theparty’s vote per cent in seatscontested was 20.05.

A master of cobbling upalliance in country’s poll spec-trum and using the ‘seized’opportunity to his benefits,RLD supremo ChaudharyAjeet Singh in previous assem-bly election had stitched analliance with the Congress butchose to foray the prospect inWest UP only where the RLDruled the roost till 90s. Harpingon pet agenda to fight forfarmers, the RLD had good fol-lowing in West UP and it usedto give close fight to its rivalsin the election.

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Bollywood actor RajpalYadav, who is entering into

the political arena after floatingSarv Sambhav Party in theUttar Pradesh State Assemblyelections, will be in Lucknowon Tuesday to hold sabha forhis party.

Yadav told The Pioneer thatit took him two years to under-stand what he wanted to do byparticipating in politics. Theparty is contesting on 320 seats.

“I sowed the seed in 2017though the work on it hadbegun in 2015. I wanted tochange the way politics is beingperceived today where it is noth-ing but a Machiavellian game of“sam dam dand and bhed”, how-ever for me it is not “Rajniti” but

“Niti Raj” where politics is allabout policies and the win ofgood over evil” he said.

Yadav said he named hisoutfit “Sarv Sambhav” whichimplied that all are unitedunder the same belief. “I haveoften wondered that when eventhough we have been scientif-ically advanced we have still notbeen able to create blood ormake blood then who are we todivide blood. It was with thisemotion that I created the SarvSambhav Party that connectsall. I am pained to see that thereare eight lanes for the big vehi-cles but just one lane in the vil-

lages,” he said. He said he keeps 150 days

for his work, 150 days for his pol-itics and 65 days for his family.

“When I had entered theindustry then people asked mewhether I wanted to becomeAmitabh Bacchan or any otheractor but I told them that Iwanted to become only RajpalYadav. Today also instead ofbeing a publicity manager forother parties I would ratherhave my own party,” he said.

On why he was not inter-ested in contesting the elections,he said he would rather makeefforts for all the candidates.

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The euphoria of grand road-show was yet to evaporate

when Chief Minister AkhileshYadav came to know about‘Netaji’(Mulayam Singh Yadav)planning to meet some jour-nalists. “Is it a Press confer-ence,” he asked one of hisaides, who looks after themedia in Samajwadi Party.

Around 8 pm he wasinformed that a news channelwill interview Netaji. And innext hour Mulayam declaredhis opposition to SamajwadiParty-Congress alliance.

The statement came at atime when the party has start-ed revving up its campaign towin hearts and minds of thevoters in the State.

The workers were in ‘josh’after witnessing chemistrybetween Congress vice-presi-dent Rahul Gandhi andAkhilesh Yadav. The catchline,“ÜP ko yeh saath pasand hai”(people of UP liked thisalliance). Moreover, the state-ment has come at a time whenthe roadshow held in threeAssembly constituencies by theSP got good response.

Was Mulayam’s statement aresult of frustration?

Mulayam definitely knewabout what is coming as theroadshow was planned inadvance and the media hadstarted writing about it andchannels had discussions onPrime Time.

If he had reservationsabout the alliance, why he didnot react before the joint Pressconference? There was no sig-nal from 5, Vikramaditya Marg,

that Mulayam will oppose itpublically and can even ask theparty workers to vote againstthe alliance.

In fact, Congress strategistPrashant Kishore had first metMulayam in Delhi inSeptember and after that hemet Akhilesh in Lucknow

Akhilesh camp believesthat Netaji probably did notrealise that the roadshow willget such a response. “Themilling multitude that swarmedVijay Rath carrying Akhileshand Rahul comprised SP youth.Netaji must have seen those pic-tures in television and in frus-tration gave such statement,’ ayoung Samajwadi leader said.

Mulayam in his statementhad said he is against thisalliance and will not campaignfor this. He said the Congresshas failed the people. “TheCongress has ruled the coun-try for long and has neverworked for the development of

masses. If India is backwardtoday it is because of theCongress,” he said in his state-ment.

Is Mulayam really angrywith Congress? Does he actu-ally believe the country is lag-ging behind because ofCongress? If that’s so why didhe take Congress help tobecome Chief Minister of UttarPradesh for the first time in1989? He even kept Congress-led UPA afloat for 10 years andeven supported the ManmohanSingh Government to inknuclear deal despite his oppo-sition to US policies.

So - it cannot be Congressthat made Mulayam fuming.He must be angry becauseAkhilesh has come out of hisshadow and was now negoti-ating of his own. Rahul, in hisPress conference, threw enoughhints suggesting that he waskeen to forge an alliance withAkhilesh.

GOA MANIPURUTTARPRADESH

UTTARAKHANDPUNJAB

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Aday after woman softwareengineer was strangled to

death with a computer cable ather workstation on the Infosyscampus in Pune, a visitingpolice team arrested a securi-ty guard from Mumbai in theearly hours of Monday, in con-nection with the incident.

Twenty-three-year-oldRasila Raju OP was foundstrangled late on Sundayevening on the 9th floor ofInfosys’ facility in phase II ofthe Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Parkat Hinjewadi located on theoutskirts of Pune city.

“We have arrested thesuspected,” Pune’s DeputyCommissioner of Police (zone-3) Ganesh Shinde said.

Identifying the arrestedsuspect as one Bhaben Saikia(26), a security guard whohails from Assam, the Punepolice said that Bhaben hadadmitted to strangling Rasila todeath, in a fit of rage. Bhabenallegedly killed Rasila after sheobjected to him staring at herand threatened to complainagainst him to her superiors.

Quoting the informationgathered from the Infosys offi-cials, the police said thatthough Rasila had a day off onSunday, she had come in towork on a project and was intouch with colleagues at thecompany’s Bengaluru office.

However, when her super-visor based in Bengaluru failed

to get through to her overphone late on Sunday evening,the officials at the Hinjewadioffice were asked to look out forher. Upon a search, Rasila wasfound stranguled to death byusing a computer cable.

The police identified thesuspect on the basis of CCTVfootage. Acting on a tip-off, thepolice rushed a team toMumbai to track downBhaben, who had fled the sceneafter Rasila’s murder.

According to police, therelevant CCTV footage showedthat Rasila entering the roomwhere her workstation is locat-ed at 3.05 pm. She came out fora break around 5 pm.

Patna: Filmmaker Sanjay LeelaBhansali after being roughed upin Rajasthan during the shoot-ing of Padmavati has not onlygot support from his own fra-ternity but also from an unex-pected quarter. RJD supremoLalu Prasad strongly con-demned the attack on him by thevolunteers of Karni Sena whilehis son and Bihar Deputy ChiefMinister Tejashwi Prasad Yadavoffered the filmmaker to comeBihar and select locations for theshooting without any fear.

The father-son duo werealso critical of the media forkeeping “silence” on the assaulton filmmaker in a BJP-ruledState and expressed their anguishon the social media. PNS

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Strongly rejecting the idea oftinkering with the status of

Article 370 which grants specialstatus to the state of Jammu andKashmir in the constitution ofIndia J&K Chief MinisterMehbooba Mufti Monday saidArticle 370 would be preservedin its form and efforts to diluteit would not be allowed.

In a veiled snub to heralliance partners in the stateMehbooba cautioned againstthe activities of some elementstrying to disturb peace in theState. She said Article 370 rep-resents the pluralistic ethos ofthe State and disturbing itwould go not only against theinterests of the State and but thecountry as well.

Replying to the discussionon demand of grants for theDepartments under her charge,the Chief Minister appealedmembers cutting across partylines to play their role in coun-tering the activities of such ele-ments.

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Dissent has come up fromwithin the party itself

against Kerala CPI(M)’s allegedhypocrisy over the issues ofharassment and victimisationof students at the private LawAcademy Law College atThiruvananthapuram by itsmanagement, said to be closeto the Marxist leadership andthe allotment of Governmentland to the Academy.

“It (the law college issue) isindeed a public issue and notjust a student-college prob-lem,” veteran Marxist and for-mer Chief Minister VSAchuthanandan told newsmen on Monday, thus pushing his own party, theCPI(M), which had taken theofficial position that it wasstrictly an issue between thestudents and the college man-agement.

Gandhinagar: Tension created in South Gujarat city Surat onMonday following a chopped head of a cow calf found fromMaharana Pratap chowk.

The calf ’s head triggered on the road triggered communaltension in the diamond city and in order to control the situa-tion police had to resort to baton-charging and required to lobaround 40 tear-gas shells. A police sub-inspector injured in theprocess as angry crowd pelted stone haphazardly. At least 20protesting the killing of cow calf were detained on the charge ofsetting butcher shops ablaze. PNS

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Angered by the stated effects ofdemonetisation and more angered

with the CBI for arresting party’s leaderin Parliament Sudip BandopadhyayMamata Banerjee has asked theTrinamool Congress MPs to step upan-ti-Narendra Modi campaign in Delhi.

As the first step the TMC will boy-cott the opening two days of BudgetSession. This will be followed by sustainedagitation against the Modi-Governmentboth inside and outside Parliament.

Senior BJP leader Kalyan Banerjee

on Monday said the Chief Minister hadasked the MPs to boycott the House onthe first two days of the Session.

“The TMC MPs will not be presentin Parliament on the first two days ofthe Budget Session in protest againstdemonetisation which has ruined thecountry’s economy and hit the poorhard,” said Kalyan also the party ChiefWhip in the Lok Sabha, adding, “Ourparty will also protest against the wayour senior leader Sudip Bandopadhyaywas illegally arrested by the CBI justbecause he was at the forefront of theanti-demonetisation campaign.”

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The fight against corruptionseems to have gained

momentum in Assam as thesleuths of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption grilled two Ministersof former Congress Governmentin last ten days. While formerSocial welfare minister AkonBora was grilled earlier lastweek, the officials of the depart-ment grilled former CongressMinister Gautam Roy for hisalleged nexus in some financialanomalies in the department.

Roy was grilled for fourhours on Monday by differentofficials of the Vigilance andAnti-Corruptions. The Ministerarrived in the office of the

agency around 11 amon Mondayand was released only after 3 pm.The Investigating agency mightsummon the Minister again,officials said.

While Akon Bora wasSocial Welfare DepartmentMinister for over six years, Royand another senior Congressleader Ajanta Neog and formerCM Tarun Gogoi also held theportfolio of Social Welfaredepartment for sometimes,during which time over �2,000crore have been siphoned offfrom the department. Thescam involving over �2,000crore was unearthed only inNovember last year, particu-larly after the BJP Governmenttook charge in the State.

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Notwithstanding the MNS’keenness to have seat

adjustments with the Shiv Senafor the forthcoming BMC polls,Sena president UddhavThackeray said on Mondaythat his party had not receivedany formal proposal from theRaj Thackeray-led party andalso indicated that his party hadno plans to have any alliancewith other political party forthe civic polls.

A day after senior MNSleader Bal Nandgaonkar visitedThackeray’s residence“Matoshri”, met senior ShivSena leader Subhash Desai andpresented a proposal seekingseat adjustments with the Sena,Uddhav said he had not receivedany formal proposal from theRaj Thackeray-led party.

Confirming that he indeedgone to “Matoshri” on Sunday,Nandgaonkar said that theMNS had made an “un-condi-tional” proposal to the Senaleadership. “ We are not insist-

ing on specific number of seats.We have told them ( the Sena)that we are ready to accept theseats that are offered to us bythe Sena, as part of the seat-sharing arrangement,”Nandgaonkar said on Monday.

When his attention wasdrawn to Uddhav’s coldresponse to the MNS’ propos-al, Nandgaonkar said:“Through the proposal, I madean attempt to bring twoThackeray cousins together.From Uddhav Thackeray’sresponse, it is clear that myattempt has failed”.

Nandgaonkar is a closeconfidant of Raj Thackeray.Informed MNS sources saidthat Nandgaonkar had madeproposal to the Sena leadershipat the behest of Raj.

It may be recalled that onJanuary 10, Raj himself gone onrecord saying that that hisparty was open to alliances forthe BMC polls, thus triggeringspeculation that the MNS waskeen to have a tie-up with theShiv Sena in the polls.

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Kochi: Kuruvattur village nearKunnamangalam in Kerala’sKozhikode district, to wherethe 23-year-old IT profession-al, Rasila Raju, belonged to isin a state of shock and griefafter hearing the news abouther murder on Sunday on theInfosys campus in Pune whereshe was working.

Till Monday evening, hergrandfather and grandmotherhad not been told about thetragedy as relatives and villagerswere unsure about how theywould react to the news.

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Congress vice-presidentRahul Gandhi on Monday

appeared before a Bhiwandicourt in connection with adefamation case filed againsthim by an activist for allegingthat the RSS was behind theassassination of MahatmaGandhi. The court adjournedthe hearing for March 3.

Rahul appeared before theBhiwandi court while he wason his way to Panjim to cam-paign for the Goa Assembly

polls. Rahul’s appearance beforethe court coincided withGandhi’s death anniversary.

Talking to mediapersonsafter his appearance before thecourt, Rahul said, “I rememberGandhiji today... My fight is thatagainst an ideology that killedGandhi and those who haveremoved his (Gandhi’s) photo-graph from the calendar.(Despite these efforts) Gandhijiwill stay in the heart of India for-ever..They have killed Gandhibut they cannot erase him...”

The court is hearing a com-

plaint filed by Rajesh Kunte, whois the secretary RSS’ Bhiwandiunit, against Rahul for the state-ment made by the latter. At thatrally, Rahul had said, “RSS kelogon ne Gandhiji ko goli maari”.

Rahul — who had inSeptember last year withdrewhis petition before the SC seek-ing dismissal of defamationcase filed Kunte and told thecourt that he ready to tried oncharges of defaming the RSS —had earlier appeared beforethe court of Judge Tushar Wazeat Bhiwandi in 2016.

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Page 8: 4 + . ˆ . 9 ˝˛!#˝$˝˙˚%˛ˆ - The Pioneer of IDFC Limited), and Diana ... The Central bank’s move comes a day after the Election ... formation of the government

Adetailed analysis ofthe sources of fund-ing of political partiesin India between2004-2005 and 2014-

2015 by the Association ofDemocratic Rights (ADR) andNational Election Watch hasthrown up sufficient evidence tostrengthen the argument thatthere is need for stricter laws toinject transparency into fundingof political parties and to makethem far more accountable to thetax authorities and the ElectionCommission of India.

The ADR analysis has comeup with some startling findings.The total income of national andState parties in the country dur-ing this period was �11,367 crore,but as much as �7,833 crorecame from “unknown sources”!Among the national parties, theIndian National Congress, whichheaded the coalition that ruledthe country for a decade from2004, collected as much as �3,323from unknown sources, constitut-ing 83 per cent of its total income.

The Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) on the other hand earned�2,126 crore, which made up for65 per cent of its total income,from anonymous sources. Thedonations received by theCommunist Party of India(Marxist) CPI(M) and even theAam Aadmi Party (AAP) was wayabove 50 per cent of the funds col-lected. Among regional parties, theSamajwadi Party in Uttar Pradeshdid very well for itself, collecting�766 crore during this period, butthe bigger worry was that close to94 per cent of this money camefrom unknown sources.

The analysis has thrown upseveral more disturbing facts:The income of national partiesfrom unknown sources increasedby 313 per cent from �274 crorein 2004-2005 to �1,131 crore in2014-2015. During the same peri-od, the income of regional partiesfrom unknown sources shot upby 652 per cent from �37 crore to�281 crore.

Even more worrying is thefact that the Bahujan Samaj Party(BSP), which raised such a hueand cry over demonetisation,“was the only party to consistent-ly declare” that it received nodonations above �20,000. As aresult, 100 per cent of the dona-tions which came to the partyduring this period, came from“unknown sources”, although theparty’s total income jumped fromfive crore rupees to �112 croresince 2004. This constituted a riseof 2057 per cent in the party’s

income and all of it from anony-mous donors!

These conclusions are indeeddamning and provide proof, ifproof were needed, to show thatpolitical funding is the fountainhead of corruption and genera-tion of black money in the coun-try and that the problem is nowgetting out of hand. PrimeMinister, Narendra Modi’s driveagainst corruption and blackmoney can get an impetus only ifthis issue is addressed honestly bythe political establishment.

Prime Minister Modi hasindicated more than once that heis willing to take the bull by thehorns, by stating publicly that hewants transparency in politicalfunding. The ElectionCommission has flagged thisissue and argued for tougherlegal measures to regulate thefunds of political parties.

Chief Election CommissionerNasim Zaidi has suggestedamendments to the election lawto put an end to anonymousdonations. The problem existsbecause currently, the law permitsa political party to protect theidentity of any person who

donates less than �20,000 to theparty’s coffers. Since parties arenot required to disclose the namesof such donors, most of them haveexploited this loophole in the law.

The gross misuse of this pro-vision can be seen in the humon-gous amounts of cash depositedby parties in their bank accountsby just stating that these funds arethe aggregation of small dona-tions from party supporters. Theaccounts of political parties forthe years 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 which have been analysedby ADR, show that as much as 71per cent of funds collected bypolitical parties in India camefrom undisclosed sources.

Another indicator is thatdonors generally tend to becomemore generous when a party is inpower. For example, the totalfunds collected by the BJP in2013-2014 — the period duringwhich the political winds beganblowing in its favour — was�674 crore or 44 per cent of thefunds collected by political par-ties. This rose to �970 crore or 52per cent of the total in 2014-2015when it was well entrenched inpower. The Congress on the

other hand collected �598 crorein 2013-2014 (39 per cent) and�593 crore (32 per cent) in 2014-2015, the year in which its LokSabha tally slumped to 44.

Since as much as 71 per centof the funds fall in the anonymouscategory, it is reasonable to pre-sume that most of this is general-ly “black” money, which has beenearned illicitly by the donors.These are payments made by busi-nessmen and industrialists andcontractors to their favourite polit-ical parties and it is fair to presumethat this is given either in the hopeof securing Government contractsor as an expression of gratitude forcontracts secured.

This is indeed the fountain-head of political corruption andmust be addressed if the politicalsystem needs to be cleansed.The Election Commission hassuggested that the upper limit foranonymous donations be slashedto �2,000. Even this may providean escape route for parties, butthis suggestion can be consideredto begin with. Side by side, asZaidi has suggested, there is needfor stricter norms in regard tomaintenance of accounts by polit-ical parties and audit of accounts.

On December 31 last, thePrime Minister said political par-ties must respect the feelings ofhonest citizens and understandtheir anger. They must shun the“holier than thou” attitude andwork towards transparency inpolitical funding. Earlier, at apolitical rally in Kanpur, Modiasked the Election Commissionto pursue the issue and said what-ever the outcome, the Governmentwould take this forward.

The Election Commission’sproposals have been receivedwell by political parties. TheCongress announced that it sup-ported any step which increasedaccountability of political parties.Taken together, this should be awin-win situation because forthe first time the country has aPrime Minister who is aggressive-ly pushing for reforms to curbflow of black money into politicsand this has been endorsed by allthe major political parties.

Further, the ElectionCommission is ready with legisla-tive measures needed to end themenace and this initiative has thefullest backing of the LawCommission and judiciary.Therefore, this is a propitiousmoment to strike. What are wewaiting for?

(The writer is Chairman,Prasar Bharati. Views expressedhere are personal)�

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Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Raising farmers plight”(January 30). According to arecent report by the NationalCrime Records Bureau titled,‘Accidental Deaths and Suicides inIndia in 2015’ it was found thatfarmer suicides in our countryhas surged from 5,650 in 2014 to8,007 in 2015 — a 42 per centincrease in just one year.

This report must serve as aneye-opener for our Government.It is unfortunate that we faillabour intensive sectors like farm-ing, micro and small enterprisesthat cater to the livelihoods in thiscountry. India should give prior-ity to labour intensive technolo-gy to generate employment whichcan increase the purchasing powerof the people, boost market, stopcolossal food wastage and, there-fore, redress farmer’s agony of notbeing able to market their harvest.

Sujit De Kolkata

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Sir — Former American VicePresident Joe Biden should be arole model for Indian politicians.On one occasion, Biden, during

his tenure as America’s VicePresident, even thought of sellinghis house to meet medicalexpenses for his son Beau Biden,who was fighting cancer (unfor-tunately, he died later).

It was the greatness of the thenAmerican President Barack Obama,who assisted him, rather than usepublic funds for personal needs.Biden, during his long career as aSenator, never claimed a singlepenny from the public exchequer.Recently, Obama too was seenbehaving like an ordinary citizenduring his vacations. He stood inqueues at restaurants and groceryshops. After retirement, he shiftedto a small rented accommodation.

The world’s largest democra-cy, India, should follow theworld’s oldest democracy,America, in snatching all prince-ly facilities available to politicalrulers at least after retirement.Then only they can realise prac-tical problems of the common cit-izens ruled by them.

SC Agrawal Delhi

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Sir — This refers to the editorial,“Kejriwal’s callous remark”(January 26). Delhi Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal has once again

referred to the Prime Minister asa “psychopath”, which nobody, noteven his bitterest critics, barringWest Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee, has ever daredto do. In a democratic country likeIndia, we enjoy right to freedomof speech, but there is an etiquette’infringement threshold, whichneeds to be maintained. AndKejriwal has failed to do so.Hence, people have stopped tak-ing him at face value.

Sagar SinghNew Delhi

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Sir — Prime Minister NarendraModi, during his monthly radioprogramme, ‘Mann Ki Baat’,spoke on a subject of utmostimportance to the largest seg-ment of our society — the stu-dents. With an eye on schoolexaminations round the cor-ner, Modi advised the studentsto treat examinations as a festi-val and not as a burden. Withsuch an attitude, the students arebound to feel motivated and willdo well in the examinations.

CK SardanaBhopal

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The Delhi DevelopmentAuthority (DDA) whichis facing flak for turning

down appointment of a differ-ently abled man recently, seemsto have, either taken too light-ly or preferred to ignore the coreof Prime Minister NarendraModi’s Mann Ki Baat, sharedwith the countrymen onDecember 27 last year.

Addressing the 15th editionof Mann Ki Baat, the PrimeMinister had urged the nation toaddress the persons with disabil-ities as divyang, meaning divinebody, saying they are endowedwith extraordinary power incertain other ways.

He also spoke about therecently launched ‘AccessibleIndia’ programme to maketransport, hospitals, schoolbuildings, parkings and liftsdisabled-friendly.

However, instead of takinga cue from his heart-to-hearttalk, aiming to seek empower-

ment of the people with specialneeds, senior officials with theDDA under the Union Ministryof Urban Development, didnot blink even once when theydischarged Rishi Raj Bhati with-in 24 hours of him joining theagency, citing that he would beunable to carry out his duty asDirector (PR) as it required‘field work’.

However, what they forgotto appreciate is that Bhati, whois polio-afflicted, had not onlybeen efficiently working withthe Department of TranscoLimited, Delhi Government,for the past several years, butalso earning accolades fromhis seniors for his performance.

The incident needs to beseen in a larger context, for thediscriminatory attitude can-not said to be limited to theDDA only.

Instead of becoming a rolemodel for the private sector inproviding equal job opportuni-

ties to the sector, evenGovernment organisations likeDepartment of Personnel andTraining (DoPT) too have beenin the news for being insensitiveto their cause.

It is only after that the jobaspirants have fought, taken theauthorities to the court, thatthey have got their rightful claim.Some were lucky, others weren’t.

For instance, professor-turned-IAS aspirant Ajit Kumar,a visually challenged had to fighta three year battle to claim hisrightful place in the Civil ServicesExamination (CSE).

Rigzin Samphel, a 2003batch Uttar Pradesh cadre IASofficer, secured the chair hewas entitled to, after a longlegal wrangle.

His right leg damaged in achildhood accident, Samphelhad ranked second among theScheduled Tribe candidates in2003. In 2005, he was allottedthe Uttar Pradesh cadre.

M Satish, who passed CSE-2001 with 249th rank, was notallotted a post, cadre or serviceeven after waiting for months.

It took an order from thePrime Minister’s Office (PMO)for the DoPT to make him anIRS. Perumal Ulagnathan,ranked highest among the phys-ically challenged in CSE-2005,too had to fight for his rights.

Similarly, the journey of IraSinghal, topper of the CSE-2014,has not been easy. Four yearsback, in 2010, her candidaturewas cancelled for the IndianRevenue Service, due to her dis-ability. Ira has scoliosis, or cur-vature of the spine, since birth.

According to the 2011Census, the country’s disabledpopulation has increased by 22.4per cent between 2001 and 2011.The number of disabled, whichwas 2.19 crore in 2001, rose in2011 to 2.68 crore —1.5 croremales and 1.18 crore females.

Most of the disabled are

those with movement disability.According to the census, 20.3 percent of the disabled are move-ment disabled, followed by hear-ing impaired (18.9 per cent)and visually impaired (18.8 percent). Nearly 5.6 per cent of thedisabled population is mentallychallenged, a classification intro-duced in the 2011 census.

It is hoped that the Rights ofPersons with Disability Bill,which was passed in December2016 by Parliament, will ensurerights and dignity to those whowere ignored and stigmatised allthese years, as been pointed outby Prime Minister Modi.

Soon after the passage of theBill, Modi described it, andrightly so, as a “landmarkmoment”, saying that it will addtremendous strength to‘Accessible India Movement’.

The Act, whose rules arebeing framed by the UnionMinistry of Social Justice andEmpowerment, also has provi-

sion, among many other rights.“Under the Act, the types of

disabilities have increased, and atthe same time provisions foradditional benefits have beenintroduced,” Modi had tweeted.

He said, there are strict pro-visions for penalties for offencescommitted against persons withdisabilities, and violation of pro-visions of the new law.

However, right messagesneed to be send from the PMOitself, everytime Governmentofficials are found violating therights of the divyangs.

For charity begins fromhome. Unless, rights and respectof the people with special needslike that of Bhati are secured asenvisaged under the new legisla-tion in right earnest, coiningwords like divyangs, and launch-ing programmes like ‘accessiblecampaign’ will just remain a lipservice for them.

(The writer is SpecialCorrespondent, The Pioneer)

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We know by now thatPrime MinisterNarendra Modi likestaking big, dramaticdecisions. We can argue

about the success and failures of thestrikes across the Line of Control and theimpact of demonetisation. Did the firststop terror attacks? No. Did it send a mes-sage to the likes of Hafiz Saeed. Sure, itdid. And demonetisation may not havebeen the devastating nuclear attack onIndia’s cash economy that some thoughtit would be, but has it established a ‘newnormal’? Yes, it has.

And while the Opposition shedcrocodile tears and disruptedParliament to score political browniepoints, three months on, things havesettled down. The results of India’s list-ed companies do show somewhat of animpact as growth numbers will bedepressed, according to various stud-ies. But what the scare-mongers fail totell you is that subsequent growth willbe higher. But will that stop the argu-ments? No, we as Indians love argu-ing and writing Op-ed’s. Ad nauseum.

But for his next big-bangannouncement, once this election cycleis done, may I be bold enough to sug-gest one. And this is something I believewill have cross-party approval. Lastyear, a number of people died on Indianroads. Close to 1,50,000 people died —an average of 450 a day. With increas-ing numbers of motor vehicles, our laximplementation of traffic rules and ourdelightful demographic dividend, thisnumber is only going to grow. One cansafely predict that in 2017, the averagenumber of Indians dying on our roadsevery single day will touch close to 500.

Think about that for a second.Because in 2016,l only 271 people died

in air crashes across the world — thelargest death toll occurring when aplane carrying the Chapecoense footballteam crashed. And that tragedy fetchedglobal headlines. But think of the brokenfamilies and lives that are shatteredevery single day in India because a busfalls into a gorge or because a badly-loaded school van has an accident. Thisis not a topic that enthuses television ana-lysts who confuse entertainment withnews, so we don’t discuss it. But road acci-dents are one of the leading causes ofdeath of young people in India.

The past week alone has seen somedevastating accidents in the capital andits neighbouring cities. An accident a fewdays ago in Ghaziabad, which involvedan autorickshaw and an expensive sportsutility vehicle snuffed out four young livesin an instant. And some of these accidentsget reported breathlessly for a day or soin the newspapers before the rough andtumble of political news takes over. Ifthere has been a major accident in asmaller town, even when a bus loadedwith passengers fall down a gorge, it bare-ly warrants a mention in large citynewspapers. And hyperactive newsanchors will recycle old news, but roadsafety barely warrants a mention.

We need immediate action toimprove road safety in India. We needorder on our roads, because the chaos thatmunicipalities, States, courts and theUnion Government have allowed tofester for decades has led to a rotten stateof affairs. A rotten state of affairs that isso rotten that punishments for traffic vio-lations are a joke, and there is possiblyonly one city in India with a degree oforganised traffic — Chandigarh. And thesimple reason behind Chandigarh hav-ing the most organised roads in India issimple: It is the fear of punishment.

Take two simple things which areroutinely violated across India — the firstis the lack of sensitivity towards wearinghelmets and the secondly the near uni-versal acceptance of triple-riding onmotorcycles. The lack of the fear of pun-ishment and what can only be describedas the selfish attitude of most drivers onthe road is enabled by poor policing. Thesad fact is that traffic police in most partsof the country are not well trained anddo not bother with small everyday vio-lations. But to blame them alone wouldbe unfair, as governance has also failedin improving road safety.

Take the advent of battery-powerede-rickshaws. There is little doubt of thetremendous utility of such vehicles pro-viding low-cost, low-pollution last-mileconnectivity. However, the manufactureof such vehicles has become a cottageindustry, with little regard to passengerand pedestrian safety. In cities acrossIndia, drivers of these vehicles drive atnight without any lights whatsoever to ekeout some extra range.

Minus any form of warning otherroad users of their impending approach,particularly in poorly-lit streets andsometimes major arterial roads wherethey are not supposed to ply, these vehi-cles are a menace and often an unlicencedsilent death-trap. And we have allowedour famous jugaad to break onto ourroads, vegetable vendors repurpose oldscooters to have motorised carts withoutany approvals.

So, what can be done to improve thesituation? Not only do we need an over-all national direction towards road-safe-ty we also need proper cooperative fed-eralism, as road policing is a state sub-ject. And this should be an apolitical ini-tiative, because, when it comes to savinglives as well as combating the the eco-

nomic costs of traffic mismanagementand accidents, there must not be politics.And a way to start would be to strictlyenforce road rules.

One reason why there is lax enforce-ment of road rules is that the political classgets involved. A crackdown on helmetsin cities raises the hackles of random low-level politicians. They claim that theseguidelines are discriminatory againstthe poor and the middle-classes whobreak the rules. Little do they realise thatthe enforcement of such rules would helpsave lives. Lives of voters. Across thecountry, we allow dangerous drivinghabits and overloaded vehicles to festerlike open wounds because that is the waythings are apparently.

Also, very crucially, there needs to bestrict prosecution of those in large carswho have accidents. There is a widespreadbelief in this country that those who com-mit wanton road disasters get away withhomicide because of their wealth andaccess to power, just take the case of afamous film-star. Even high-profile caseswhich eventually get prosecuted due torare instances of media pressure, takeyears to wind through courts.

There needs to be an urgent effort bythis Government on road safety. This willnot stop accidents, but if this country, ifNarendra Modi has the ambition ofpulling it up by its bootstraps into an eco-nomic success story, that needs to be dis-played on our roads. We talk with prideof the colour and chaos of this country,but we should not be proud of the chaoson our roads. We cannot be proud of thefact that our young people are dying intheir thousands every week. We shouldstop wringing our hands and do some-thing about it.

(The writer is Managing Editor, The Pioneer)

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In a major consolidationmove, Britain-based tele-

com major Vodafone Plc onMonday said that the com-pany has initiated talks tomerge its Indian unit withIdea Cellular in an all-sharedeal to create the country’slargest telecom operator totake on Reliance Jio whichbroke a fierce price waramong telecom operators inthe country.

It is learnt that themerger of Vodafone -- theworld’s second-largest cell-phone network operator --with the Aditya Birla Groupfirm - India’s third-largestcellular operator would cre-ate a company with around

387 million users and formone of the largest telecomscompanies in the world.

In a statement issued byVodafone said that thecompany is in talks withIdea about an al l-sharemerger, but the deal underconsideration excludes its42 per cent holding inIndus Towers, a joint ven-ture with Bharti and Idea.“A ny m e rge r wou l d b eeffected through the issueof new shares in Idea toVodafone and would resultin Vodafone de-consolidat-ing Vodafone India,” thecompany said, adding thatthere is no certainty thatany transact ion wil l beagreed, nor as to the termsor timing of any transac-tion.

With this move, sharesof Idea Cellular surged amassive 26 per cent on thebourses on Monday afterthe global telecom giantconfirmed that it is in dis-cussion to merge its Indiam o bi l e b u s i n e s s w i t hAditya Birla group firm.

On BSE, the stock alsojumped 25.90 per cent toclose at �97.95. During theday, it gained 29.2 per centto �100.50.

However, experts saidthat the above deal wouldhelp also give Vodafone alisting opportunity in India,

as Idea is already listed onthe Indian bourses. “As faras debt levels are con-cerned, the merged entitywould have net debt of�7 1 , 8 0 0 c rore . As onS e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 6 , Id e aCellular had reported rev-enues of �9,225 crore, mak-

ing a loss of �43 crore forthe three months. However,this deal may face troubleover a breach of spectrumlimits that could force themerged entity to sell offvaluable airwaves in a fewcircles,” said the experts.

Since its entry in India

i n 2 0 0 7 , Vo d afon e h a sbecome number 2 operatorin the country, but its jour-ney has been tumultuous asit is locked in a legal battlewith the Government overa $2 billion retrospectivetax claim over its acquisi-t ion of Vodafone Indiafrom Hutchison in 2007.

It had written downvalue of business by 5 bil-lion pound ($3.35 billion)late last year. The Britishfirm has pumped in morethan $7 billion into theIn d i a u n i t . B a c k e d byIn d i a’s r i c h e s t m a n ,Reliance Jio Infocomm isoffering free voice calls anddata till March and hasnotched up 74 mi l l ionusers. It has already invest-ed over $25 billion and is

investing another �30,000crore or $4.8 billion.

As far as stake break-upis concerned, the AdityaBirla group owns 42.2 percent stake of Idea whileMalaysian carrier AxiataGroup Bhd has a 19.8 percent. But Vodafone IndiaLtd is a wholly-owned unitof Vodafone Group Plc.

Idea rose as much as 29per cent, the most since theshares began trading in2007, taking the company’smarket valuation above $5billion. Vodafone gained asmuch as 4.1 per cent.

In a separate BSE filing,Idea Cellular also said itplans to raise Rs 500 crorethrough non-convertibled e b e nt u re s on pr i v at eplacement basis.

���� �0�-�Finance Minister ArunJaitley will on Wednesday presenthis fourth and perhaps the mostchallenging Budget that may lookto soften blow of currency ban withtax and other sops as he seeks torevive growth.

While largely sticking to fiscalconsolidation roadmap, Jaitley willpresent the Budget for 2017-18 amidstrong headwinds caused byGovernment decision to invalidate86 per cent of the currency and thenewly elected US President makingprotectionist noises.

Topping the list of sweetenerscould be the hike in Income Taxexemption limit to �3 lakh fromcurrent �2.5 lakh as the Minister willlook at putting more money inhands of people to not just create afeel good atmosphere but alsocheck the disruptive impact ofdemonetisation on demand, supplychains and cratered credit growth.

Alternatively, he may raise thededuction limit for interest paid onhome loans to �2.5 lakh from �2lakh currently. A higher medicalrebate may also be on the cards.

Besides tax break, there couldeven be a universal basic income inthe Budget, industry officials and taxexperts said.

But cutting 30 per cent corpo-rate tax rate to lift sagging invest-ments may not be easy given thatGovernment’s official estimate of 7.1per cent GDP growth for the cur-

rent financial year does not take intoaccount the chaos wrought bydemonetisation.

While revenue collection tar-gets for the current fiscal mayexceed, there are doubts if Jaitleymay project any substantial jump intax receipts in 2017-18.

Also, the rising oil prices are acause of worry for him, leaving himwith very little fiscal room tomanoeuvre social and infrastructureschemes.

Incentives or schemes for farm-ers and rural India, women andsocial sectors like health and edu-

cation may be cornerstone of hisbudget given that five importantstates including Punjab and UttarPradesh will be voting within daysof his Budget presentation.

Besides agriculture, the FinanceMinister may also announceschemes for boosting domesticmanufacturing and promoting startups.

Tax experts and economistssaid Jaitley may hike the service tax(currently at 15 per cent) to alignwith the GST regime.

It will be keenly watched if hemakes any changes to the tax

regime on investments in equities.At present, gains from transactionsin shares held for less than 12months are considered short-termcapital gains and are subject to 15per cent tax.

Gains on holdings above 12months qualify for long term cap-ital gains benefits and are exempt-ed from tax.

Tax experts said ending taxbreaks on equity gains may turnsentiments sour towards the capi-tal market. There is a thought thatthe 1-year limit for long term couldbe changed to two years but the taxrate is likely to be kept at zero.

He will have to juggle numbersto remain largely within the fiscalconsolidation roadmap. The currentyear’s fiscal deficit target of 3.5 percent of GDP is mostly likely to bemet on back of surge in tax receiptsfrom 7th Pay Commission grant toemployees and tax amnestyschemes.

It remains to be seen if he willnarrow the deficit, the widest in Asia,in 2017-18 to 3 per cent plannedpreviously.

He may continue to piggybackon public spending, especially oninfrastructure, as he looks to reversethe investment collapse. A roadmapon GST, that will not just turn Indiainto one market with one tax ratebut also improve tax complianceand check evasion, may figure inJaitley’s Budget speech. ���

;�� �+�����&(3/�35��#� �� � ����� �����0 ���#��?�����

���� �0�-� The Budget docu-ments will have a different look thistime with the Finance Ministrydeciding to introduce the conceptof ‘composite outflow’ of funds onGovernment schemes by doingaway with ‘plan and non-plan’ dis-tinction.

Different ministries and depart-ments as well as the StateGovernments have already beenprovided with the ‘Guidance noteon Plan and non-Plan merger’ forclassification on public expenditure.

The Budget documents for2017-18 fiscal, to be tabled byFinance Minister Arun Jaitley in theLok Sabha on February 1, is beingprepared in the light of new classi-fication.

The Modi Government hasalready replaced the erstwhilePlanning Commission with NitiAayog, thus giving a new focus toboost economic development.

With the removal of the dis-tinction, the expenditure figures inthe Part B of the ExpenditureBudget document will reflect the‘composite’ position of public out-flow in four categories -- General,Social, Economic and others.

According to sources, theGovernment has decided to mergeplan and non-plan expenditure inthe budgetary classification to ensurethat adequate funds are made avail-able for running and maintenanceof capital structures created underthe government schemes.. ���

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Vodafone India on Mondaymoved Delhi High Court

alleging that telecom regulatorTRAI had failed to prohibit “bla-tant violation” of its tariff orders,directions and regulations byReliance

Jio Infocomm Ltd (RJIO) bypermitting it to continue with its

free offers.Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva,

before whom the matter came up,listed the matter for hearing onFebruary one as RJIO had notbeen made a party in the matter,saying any order the court pass-es would affect the telecom com-pany.

Thereafter, on the oral plea ofVodafone, RJIO was made a

party.Vodafone has claimed that

the Telecom Regulatory Authorityof India (TRAI) has also failed toimplement Department ofTelecommunications’ (DoT) cir-culars which lay down that all tar-iffs must be compliant of inter-connection usage charges (IUC),non-discriminatory and non-predatory.

“That the free i.E. Zero tar-iff plan/promotional offer ofsaid Operator (Jio) with nocharges at all for services, isipso facto non-compliant withthe ‘floor’ as stipulated byTRAI in its own tariff orders,is IUC non-compliant, preda-tory and discriminatory andthus violates the TRAIs tarifforders and regulations.

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����-�In an attempt to identify thefake deposits and resultant tax evasionduring the note-ban period, theIncome Tax department has floateda request for proposal to select twomanaged service providers (MSPs) fordata analytics.

As per the RFP or the request forproposal, the department intends toselect two MSPs to help in data ana-lytics relating to demonetisation andone MSP for business process man-agement.

The data to be analysed by MSPinclude cash deposited in banksbetween November 9 and December30, in one or more current account ofa person or �2,50,000 in one or moreaccounts of a person.

The selected MPS will also haveto analyse the information about cashdeposits during the pre-note ban peri-od between April 1 and November 9.

This data source can enableidentification of accounts where thecash deposited after the note-banannouncement is not in line with theearlier period. Expected volume ofsuch accounts is 30-40 lakh.

Moreover, 20-30 lakh non-PANdata are also likely to be analysed bythe agencies as part of the assignment.

Suspicious transaction reports(STRs) are submitted to the FinancialIntelligence Unit (FIU) when thereporting entity detects suspicionwhich is primarily based on imple-mentation of various red flag indica-tors.

Expected volume of such trans-actions to be analysed is around 2 lakhSTRs having 2-4 lakh unique accounts.

Cash transaction reports (CTRs)

are submitted to FIU when cashdeposits or withdrawal in the accountexceeds �10 lakh during a month.Expected volume of such reports tobe analysed by the selected MSPs isaround 30-50 lakh having 20- 35 lakhunique accounts.

According to the department,reporting entities are also required toprovide specific data on the basis of spe-cific requests. Such kind of specific typesof deposits, numbering over 1 crorewill also be analysed by the MSP.

As part of post-noteban exercise,the I-T department needs to analyseinstances of deposits and seek infor-mation to identify possible cases of taxevasion, the RFP document, floatedon January 24.

It will be opened for pre-proposalqualification on February 3, thedepartment said.

The department intends toenhance its capability to utilise largevolumes of demonetisation relateddata which include statement offinancial transactions in Form61A, non- PAN data in Form 61,suspicious transaction reports, cashtransaction reports and informationrequest by leveraging services of

experts in data analytics and busi-ness process management, it added.The note ban-related data will beused to enable theend-to-end e-ver-ification to optimise its resourcesand reduce compliance cost for tax-payer, the department documentsaid.

Moreover, the exercise will helpthe department leverage services ofexperts in data analytics and busi-ness process management for effec-tive utilisation of data. Besides, thedepartment wants to promote vol-untary filing under the PradhanMantri Garib Kalyan Yojana(PMGKY) using targeted cam-paign, it said.

Finally, the department wantsto create deterrence for high riskpersons/groups not availingPMGKY. It will also help smoothimplementation of online verifica-tion mechanism.

Cash transaction data will becompared with information inITD databases to identify target seg-ment where cash transaction doesnot appear to be in line with the tax-payer profile, the document said.

The information in respect oftarget segment will be pushed to theonline portal seeking explanation ofsource of funds. Thus, taxpayer willbe able to submit online explanationwithout any need to visit I-T office.In some cases, the target segmentwill be selected for verificationbased on approved risk criteria. Ifthe case is selected for verification,request for additional informationand its response will also be com-municated digitally. ���

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Toyota lost its crown as theworld’s top-selling automak-

er in 2016, company figuresshowed on Monday, with theJapanese giant overtaken byVolkswagen as the industry pre-pares for an uncertain tradeenvironment under USPresident Donald Trump.

The German automakermoved back into the top spotdespite being hit by a massiveemissions cheating scandal thatrocked its reputation.

The carmaker, once aparagon of German industry,was plunged into its deepest-ever crisis after it emerged inSeptember 2015 that it installedemissions-cheating software inmillions of diesel engines world-wide.

However, the crisis seemedto have little effect on the firm’sstanding with drivers as itannounced this month thatannual sales rose 3.8 per cent in2016.

The results were boosted bystrong performance in Chinawhich helped push total sales to10.3 million, after slipping to9.93 in 2015. VW group alsoincludes the brands Audi,Porsche and Skoda.

Toyota today said it sold10.175 million vehicles world-wide last year, a 0.2 per centincrease.

The annual figures come asthe industry faces an uncertainoutlook year with PresidentTrump threatening punitive tar-iffs on imports into the United

States in a bid to force them tomanufacture and hire there.

Trump targeted Toyota inone his fiery tweets, criticisingits ongoing project to build anew factory in Mexico andthreatening it with painful tar-iffs.

He has also pledged toreview several trade deals that hesays are detrimental toAmerican workers.

Japan’s Kyodo News agencyreported that Toyota CEO AkioToyoda will meet JapanesePrime Minister Shinzo Abe onFriday, ahead of the latter’sscheduled summit next weekwith Trump.

Toyota said it could notcomment on the report, whileJapan’s chief governmentspokesman Yoshihide Sugawould not confirm it.

Toyota shares ended flatMonday.

“Toyota has problems inChina, whereas VW is verystrong in China and is using itas en engine of growth,” saidHans Greimel, Asia editor forAutomotive News.

“That’s the difference thatmatters,” he told AFP.

“They might be neck-and-neck right now but maybelong term you have to be a bigplayer in China, and Toyota isstill playing some catch-upthere.”

“In the US, another keymarket, Toyota has a big advan-tage over VW but it is runningout of steam because it is notable to tap the boom there forSUVs as much as its rivals.”

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After Bharti Airtel and Paytm,State-owned India Post

Payments Bank kick-started itsoperations by beginning its pilotservices in both Raipur andRanchi on Monday, offeringattractive interest rate upto 5.5 percent for its depositors. The pay-ments bank expects to expand itsfootprint to over 650 branchesacross the country by September2017.

India Post has become thethird entity to receive a final licenselast week from the Central Bankto start its payment bank opera-tions. Country’s largest telcom ser-vice provider Bharti Airtel anddigital payments firm Paytm arethe other two to have received thelicense while only Airtel has start-ed operations so far.

The payment bank waslaunched simultaneously inRaipur and Ranchi over a videoconference by Union FinanceMinister Arun Jaitely in presenceof Telecom Minister Manoj Sinhaand other dignitaries there in.

Hoping the payment bank agreat success, Jaitely said, “BySeptember 2017, it will spread allacross the country. It will reach alldoorsteps in rural India to caterthe banking need of the people ofIndia. As ‘dakiyas’ or postmen are

identity of delivering all theGovernment information, I hopelakhs of postmen will convertthemselves into banks and smalldepositors will compete with thenormal banking system in thefuture.”

However, India PostPayments Bank (IPPB) ChiefExecutive Officer (CEO) APSingh, appointed by theGovernment recently, said, “Thebank will offer an interest rate of4.5 per cent on deposits up to�25,000; 5 per cent on deposits of�25,000-50,000 and 5.5 per centon �50,000-1,00,000. TheGovernment has sanctioned�800-crore equity for thePayments Bank, of which it hasalready infused �275 crore.”

“The 650 branches will beumbrella branches that will mapall the 1.55 lakh post offices in thecountry. Also we will progressivelyput smartdevice with each of the3 lakh postmen,” Singh added.

IPPB is the third entity to

receive payments bank permitafter Airtel and Paytm. Airtel haslaunched its commercial opera-tion across India with an invest-ment of �3,000 crore offeringinterest rate of 7.25 per cent ondeposits, free money transferfrom Airtel to Airtel numberswithin Airtel Bank, money trans-fer to any bank account in thecountry.

Paytm, promoted by VijayShekhar Sharma and backed byChinese e-commerce majorAlibaba, plans to roll out pay-ments bank with initial invest-ment of about �400 crore.

Asked about AirtelPayments Bank offering attrac-tive deposit rate, Singh said, “Itis public money which is build-ing India Post Payments Bank.The Governments don’t com-pete with corporates, they canscheme the market, we willnurture it from below. Our pri-mary role is to deepen andbroaden the market.”

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���� �0�-�With the avia-tion regulator DGCAreviewing airlines’ on-timeperformance (OTP) mech-anism at four airports,budget carrier SpiceJettoday called for applyingsame rules for all playersand making the systemmore efficient.

“If data is challenged,do it in a better way ... Aslong as rules are same foreverybody, then there is noproblem,” SpiceJetChairman and ManagingDirector Ajay Singh said onMonday.

His comments cameagainst the backdrop ofDirectorate General ofCivil Aviation (DGCA) set-ting up a committee latelast year to look into theOTP monitoring systemof domestic carriers at fourairports of Delhi, Mumbai,Hyderabad and Bengaluruafter another budget carri-er IndiGo complained thatthe current system wasflawed.

OTP is one of the sev-eral measures to deter-mine an airline’s opera-tional efficiency. It indi-cates whether an airline isoperating its flights ontime or not.

“If the system can bemade more efficient, please do(review it),” Singh said. ���

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NEW DELHI: The Service TaxDepartment will auction liquorbaron Vijay Mallya-led now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines' cor-porate jet in March to recoverdues of �535 crore. The depart-ment in Mumbai has invitedonline global bids for sale ofCorporate Jet Airbus A319 sta-tioned at the MumbaiInternational Airport belonging toKingfisher Airlines, which hasalready been attached by it.

The bidding will be con-ducted by MSTC, the sellingagent of the Service TaxDepartment, on March 15-16, anauction notice stated. As part ofthe pre-bid verification, bidderscan seek clarification from the

department regarding the air-craft, its particulars, equipmentand any related documents atleast 24 hours prior to submis-sion of bid in the e-auction.

“The bidder will not raise anydispute regarding the terms andconditions of the e-auction orabout the particulars of the aircraftor contest the same once he hasbeen declared as the successfulbidder for the aircraft,” said theguidelines for the e-auction. Theprospective bidders shall have tosubmit interest free pre-BidEarnest Money Deposit (EMD) toMSTC by March 14. EMD forIndian bidders has been kept at�50 lakh while it will be $75,000for foreign players. PTI

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The Commerce and IndustryMinistry is planning to

release the next edition of itsconsolidated FDI policy docu-ment soon, incorporating allthe changes made over thepast year. “The next edition ofthe consolidated FDI policy cir-cular of 2017 is due to beissued this year, which wouldincorporate all the changeseffected in FDI policy...,” theDepartment of Industrial Policyand Promotion (DIPP) said.

DIPP, which is under theMinistry of Commerce andIndustry, is the nodal agency onFDI policy. It compiles all poli-cies related to India’s FDIregime into a single documentto make it simple and easy for

investors to understand.Investors would otherwise haveto go through various pressnotes issued by the industrydepartment and RBI regula-tions to understand the policy.The government updates thepolicy every year. DIPP has alsoinvited public comments on thedocument.

FDI is considered crucialfor economic development andIndia has taken several steps toattract such funds. Last year, theGovernment tweaked norms inover a dozen sectors includingdefence, civil aviation and sin-gle brand retail. FDI inflowsduring April-September of thecurrent financial year grew by30 per cent to $21.62 billionfrom $16.63 billion in the sameperiod a year earlier.

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NEW DELHI: The Departmentof Telecom is likely to seek clar-ification from telecom regulatorTrai on �3,050 crore cumulativepenalty recommended by it onservice providers Bharti Airtel,Vodafone and Idea Cellular. ADoT panel, set up to study andrecommend action on penaltysuggested by Trai, is likely to seekclarification as to whether theregulator considered 90-dayperiod that is given to telecomoperators for providing Point ofInterconnection to Reliance Jiofrom the date of request, asource said.

In August, Jio had submittedto Trai that it will need 12,727 net-work interconnection for mobileservices and 3,068 points forSTD call facility before commer-cial launch of its services. Thecompany launched commercialservices on September 5. Trai’srecommendation came on com-plaint by Reliance Jio that over 75per cent of calls on its networkwere failing as incumbents werenot giving sufficient points of

interconnect that would helpcomplete calls. The issue is like-ly to be discussed by inter-min-isterial Telecom Commission aswell which is scheduled to meeton February 6. In October Traihad recommended imposingtotal penalty of �3,050 crore onBharti Airtel, Vodafone and Ideafor allegedly denying intercon-nectivity to newcomer RelianceJio that led to deterioration inquality of service.

As per Trai’s recommenda-tion, the penalty for Airtel andVodafone works out to about�1,050 crore each, while in caseof Idea Cellular it comes to about�950 crore. The regulator stoppedshort of recommending cancel-lation of their telecom licencessaying it may lead to ‘significantconsumer inconvenience’. DoTthen sought legal opinion fromAttorney General (AG) onwhether it has powers to imposepenalty in the case. The AGopined positively saying that theDoT can impose penalty on thethree telecom operators. PTI

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MUMBAI: The Ajay Piramal-ledPiramal Enterprises will demergeits healthcare and financial ser-vices businesses soon, a top com-pany official said on Monday.“We want to ultimately look atPiramal Enterprises as separatebusiness for pharmaceuticals andfinancial services. In the mediumterm we will do that. All ouracquisitions, and in some waysmoving up in value chains andgetting more critical mass aresteps towards that,” PiramalEnterprises Chairman AjayPiramal told reporters here.

Declining to give a time-line,Piramal said “we have not yetfixed time line. I think the Boardwill decide, but the direction ismoving towards that.” AjayPiramal curtailed his presence inhealthcare after he sold erstwhilePiramal Healthcare's domesticformulations division for $3.7 bil-lion to Abbott in 2010. The com-pany entered into the financebusiness through strategic invest-ments and joint ventures. PTI

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Aconsortium of lenders ledby IDBI Bank has put on

sale 55 per cent stake in aGMR-built gas based powerproject in Andhra Pradeshwhich they had acquired lastyear following debt restructur-ing. Lenders had last year con-verted a part of their debt intoequity in GMR RajahmundryEnergy, that operates a 768 MWnatural gas-based power plant atRajahmundry in AndhraPradesh. GMR RajahmundryEnergy is a unit of GMRInfrastructure.

Following the conversion,lenders got 55 per cent stake inthe project while the promoters

holding was reduced to 45 percent. The project still has a debtof �2,366 crore. In a pre-bid doc-ument, IDBI Capital said a con-sortium of lenders, led by IDBIBank, plans to sell 55 per cent ofthe equity stake of the companyissued pursuant to the strategicdebt restructuring guidelines.

“IDBI Capital invites offersfrom interested parties who maybe willing to buy 55 per cent ofthe equity shares and take overthe management and control ofthe company and the project,”the pre-bid document said, as itasked potential bidders to sub-mit their expression of interest.The bidders who would be eli-gible for bidding for the projectshould have a consolidated net

worth as a Group company as onMarch 31, 2016 or December 31,2016, at least �500 crore and debtto equity ratio should not begreater than 3:1.

If the bidder is a fundhouse, then its asset undermanagement or committedcapital as on March 31, 2016 orDecember 31, 2016 should beat least �1,000 crore. Thepower plant project was com-pleted in 2012, but the com-missioning of the project wasdelayed due to unavailabilityof gas supply on account ofunprecedented fall in gas pro-duction in KG-D6 basin whichled to cost over-runs. Theproject was fully commis-sioned in October 22, 2015.

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MUMBAI: Mortgage leaderHDFC on Monday reported a 13per cent rise in consolidated netprofit at �2,728.66 crore for theDecember quarter, driven by ahealthy improvement in credit off-take and higher margins that tosome extent was whittled down bya marginal rise in dud assets.

On a standalone basis, netrose 11.95 per cent to �1,701.21crore in the third quarter ofFY17, while standalone incomerose to �8,137.18 crore from�7,268.44 crore. Consolidatedincome rose to �14,981.41 crorefrom �12,253.9 crore a year ago,while the standalone incomeclimbed to �8,137.18 crore from�7,268.44 crore earlier.

While there was a marginalrise in bad loans, with gross NPArising to 0.81 per cent, or �2,341crore in absolute terms, from 0.72per cent a year-ago, Vice-Chairman and CEO Keki Mistrysaid the numbers are higherbecause the lender has not takeninto consideration the 90-daygrace period the regulators havegiven to borrowers for repaymentas well as the grace period givento lenders post the note ban. PTI

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NEW DELHI: Worried overdomestic coking coal price hikeeffected by state-owned CIL, thecountry’s largest steel maker SAILon Monday said it is in negotiationswith the miner on the issue as it isdifficult for the company to absorbthe increase. “We are under nego-tiations with them and workingmodel will come out,” SteelAuthority of India Ltd (SAIL)Chairman PK Singh told PTI onCoal India Ltd’s recent hike in cok-ing coal prices. CIL arm BharatCoking Coal Ltd this monthincreased the prices of coking coalby about 20 per cent. PTI

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MUMBAI:The Sensex on Mondaylogged its first drop in five sessions,slipping 33 points, after investorstook profit and adopted a cautiousline ahead of the Economic Surveyand the Union budget amid weakglobal leads. It is due to be releasedon Tuesday and the budget onWednesday. Investors across theglobe were spooked after USPrez Donald Trump imposedimmigration curbs that sparkedcriticism, adding to fears that his‘America First’ policy may provedestabilising for the world. PTI

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As protests continued toswirl over the temporary

immigration ban slapped onrefugees and citizens fromseven predominantly Muslimnations, President DonaldTrump has asserted that hisexecutive action is meant toprotect America and rejectedthe criticism that it is a Muslimban.

“To be clear, this is not aMuslim ban, as the media isfalsely reporting. This is notabout religion -- this is about

terror and keeping our countrysafe,” Trump said in a statementon Sunday, adding his orderdoes not target over 40 otherMuslim-majority nations acrossthe world.

Significantly, Trumplikened his order to PresidentBarack Obama’s six-month banof refugee visas for Iraqis in2011, and said the seven coun-tries now targeted – Iran, Iraq,Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syriaand Yemen – are the very ones“previously identified by theObama administration assources of terror”.

Saying the US will startissuing visas to citizens of theseseven countries once moresecure policies are implement-ed over the next 90 days, Trumpspoke of his “tremendous feel-ing” for the victims of Syria’s

humanitarian crisis. While his“first priority will always be toprotect and serve our country”,Trump said that as President, hewould “find ways to help allthose who are suffering”.

But Democrats were farfrom reassured and a topSenator was getting set onMonday to move two Bills torescind Trump’s immigrationorder and clip his executiveauthority. “The first bill imme-diately rescinds the order. Thesecond limits executive author-ity under the Immigration andNationality Act,” said SenatorDianne Feinstein, who is alsothe top Democrat on theJudiciary Committee.

Senate Democratic LeaderCharles Schumer saidDemocrats, though short ofnumbers, might well be able topass legislation overturning theban if some Republicans cameon board. At a news conference

in New York on Sunday, anemotional Schumer choked upas he vowed to “claw, scrap andfight with every fibre of mybeing until these orders areoverturned”.

As many as 10 RepublicanSenators have either voicedtheir reservations or plainlycriticized Trump’s action, but itremains to be seen how manyof them will actually vote insupport of Feinstein’s Bills. Thetwo sharp critics of Trumpwithin the Republican fold,John McCain and LindseyGraham, said in a joint state-ment that the executive orderwill “only embolden terroristsand will do more harm thangood”.

Trump lost little time to hitback at the two senior Senatorsin a Monday morning tweet,calling them wrong and weakon immigration. “The twoSenators should focus their

energies on ISIS, illegal immi-gration and border securityinstead of always looking tostart World War III,” Trumpcommented in a clear referenceto their hawkish positionsagainst Russia and its leader,Vladimir Putin.

The White House, mean-while, sought to get its acttogether on Sunday after pro-viding little clarity for the wholeof Saturday over the detentionsof arriving passengers fromthe seven countries that trig-gered major protests outside ahost of US airports.

Only 109 people out of325,000 arriving in US air-ports daily were detained andheld for questioning, Trump’stop aides maintained on Sundaytalk shows and claimed that theinitial confusion was all overand that implementation ofthe immigration order was nowproceeding smoothly.

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Islamabad: At least onePakistani soldier was killedwhen terrorists operating fromAfghanistan targeted a borderpost in Khyber tribal district, thearmy said on Monday.

Terrorist fired at the border

post in Khyber district, criticallyinjuring soldier Waqas.

Army said the injured sol-dier was shifted to theCombined Military Hospital inPeshawar where he succumbedto injuries. “Terrorists are resort-

ing to fire from across the bor-der taking advantage of weakborder control on Afghanistanside. There is a requirement tocheck terrorists’ freedom ofmovement on Afghan side ofthe border,” it said. PTI

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Washington: Saudi Arabia’sKing Salman has backed USPresident Donald Trump’srequest to have safe zones inwar-torn Syria and Yemen asthe two leaders agreed tostrengthen bilateral coopera-tion and “rigorously” enforcethe Iranian nuclear deal, theWhite House has said.

“The President requestedand the King agreed to supportsafe zones in Syria and Yemen,as well as supporting otherideas to help the many refugeeswho are displaced by the ongo-ing conflicts,” the White Housesaid after Trump and the Saudi King had their first tele-phonic conversation on Sunday.

During the conversation,the two leaders reaffirmed thelongstanding friendship andstrategic partnership betweenthe US and Saudi Arabia.

“They agreed on the

importance of strengtheningjoint efforts to fight the spreadof radical Islamic terrorismand also on the importance ofworking jointly to address chal-lenges to regional peace andsecurity, including the con-flicts in Syria and Yemen,” theWhite House said.

Trump and Salman agreedon the importance of “rigor-ously” enforcing the JointComprehensive Plan of Actionwith Iran and of addressingIran’s “destabilising regionalactivities”.

Trump voiced support forthe Kingdom’s Vision 2030economic programme. Bothleaders expressed desire toexplore additional steps tostrengthen bilateral economicand energy cooperation.

“The two leaders also dis-cussed an invitation from theKing for President Trump tolead a Middle East effort to

defeat terrorism and to helpbuild a new future, economi-cally and socially, for the peo-ple of the Kingdom of SaudiArabia and the region,” theWhite House said.

“The President and KingSalman closed by underscoringtheir personal commitment tocontinued consultations on arange of regional and bilateralissues,” it said. PTI

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Mohamed Abrini, the “manin the hat” bombing sus-

pect caught on security cam-eras during the Brussels airportattack, has been charged inFrance over the November2015 jihadist massacres inParis, his lawyers said onMonday. Belgium handedAbrini over to the Frenchauthorities for a day so that hecould face charges related to thedeaths of 130 people in theFrench capital. The 32-year-oldwas taken under armed guardto the Palais de Justice in Pariswhere he was charged by aninvestigating magistrate.

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The former secretary of NaziGermany’s propaganda

boss Joseph Goebbels diedaged 106 last week, onInternational HolocaustRemembrance Day, the makerof a documentary about hersaid on Monday.

Brunhilde Pomsel died onJanuary 27 in a care home inthe southern city of Munich,said Christian Kroenes, whoconducted extensive interviewswith her for his 2016 film “AGerman Life”.

Pomsel, who worked forGoebbels as a secretary, typistand stenographer from 1942-45, had insisted she had no ideaof the Holocaust that claimed

the lives of six million Jewswhile it was happening.

“We knew nothing,” shesaid in the film.

“We ourselves were alltrapped in a vast concentrationcamp,” she said about the total-itarian state of Adolf Hitler.

As one of half a dozen sec-retaries in Goebbels’ office,Pomsel was among the last eye-witnesses to the inner circle oftop Nazis.

In “A German Life”, sheinsisted she felt no guilt andalso said: “I could not put upresistance -- I was too much ofa coward.”

She told AFP last year thatshe had once cheered on Hitler,in 1933, adding “we didn’tknow then what lay ahead”.

Washington: Jihadist groups,including Islamic State sympa-thisers, have hailed the Trumpadministration’s ban on travelto the US from seven Muslim-majority nations saying itwould persuade AmericanMuslims to side with theextremists, according to amedia report.

Comments posted to pro-Islamic State social mediaaccounts predicted that USPresident Donald Trump’sexecutive order would per-suade American Muslims toside with the extremists, TheWashington Post reported.

One posting hailed Trumpas “the best caller to Islam,”while others predicted thatTrump would soon launch anew war in the Middle East.

“(Islamic State leader Abu

Bakr) al-Baghdadi has theright to come out and informTrump that banning Muslimsfrom entering America is a‘blessed ban,’” a posting to apro- Islamic State channel on Telegram, was quoted as saying.

The writer compared theexecutive order to the US inva-sion of Iraq in 2003, whichIslamic militant leaders at thetime hailed as a “blessed inva-sion” that ignited anti- Westernfervor across the Islamic world.

Several postings suggestedthat Trump was fulfilling thepredictions of Anwar al-Awlaki, the American born al-Qaeda leader and preacherwho famously said that the“West would eventually turnagainst its Muslim citizens,” thereport said. PTI

Dhaka: A 72-year-old woman,believed to be a Sufi mystic, wasfound with her throat slit in herhouse in Dhaka, police said onMonday, amid a series of sys-tematic assaults in Bangladeshtargeting minorities, Sufis andbloggers.

Nurjahan Begum, wholived alone, was found dead inher tin-roofed house near theMartyrs’ Graveyard in the cap-ital’s Mirpur last evening, policeofficer Farukul Islam said. “Herthroat was slit,” the Daily Starnewspaper quoted Islam assaying. The body was sent toDhaka Medical Collegemorgue for an autopsy. PTI

Paris: Air France has blocked15 passengers from Muslimcountries from traveling to theUS because they would havebeen refused entry underPresident Donald Trump’s newimmigration ban.

Air France said in a state-ment it was informed Saturdayby the US Government of thenew restrictions, and had nochoice but to stop the passen-gers from boarding US-boundflights. AP

Geneva: US President DonaldTrump’s travel ban on citizensfrom mainly Muslim coun-tries is illegal and “mean-spir-ited”, the United Nationshuman rights chief Zeid binRa’ad Zeid al-Hussein said onMonday. Zeid, who rarely com-municates on Twitter, said in atweet that “discrimination onnationality alone is forbiddenunder human rights law”,adding that “the US ban is alsomean-spirited and wastesresources needed for propercounter-terrorism.”

Trump on Friday signed anexecutive order suspending thearrival of all refugees for at least120 days, Syrian refugees indef-initely -- and barring citizensfrom Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia,Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90days. The measures introduceda week after his inaugurationwere fiercely criticised overthe weekend, although UNreactions were largely tepid.AFP

Washington: NASA’s newspace-based radio system cantrack aircraft in real time acrossthe globe, an advance thatcould make air travel saferand ensure that flights can bequickly located in case ofmishaps.

NASA’s powerful radiocommunications network

allows us to receive data suchas pictures of cryovolcanoes onPluto — or tweets from astro-nauts aboard the InternationalSpace Station (ISS).

However, to send largerquantities of data back andforth faster, NASA engineerswanted higher-frequencyradios that can be repro-

grammed from a distance usingsoftware updates.

“A reconfigurable radio letsengineers change how the radioworks throughout the life ofany space mission,” saidThomas Kacpura, AdvancedCommunications Programmemanager at NASA’s GlennResearch Centre in the US. PTI

Washington: For the first time,the Trump administration hasindicated that Pakistan couldbe included in a list of Muslim-majority countries from whereimmigration to the US hasbeen banned by PresidentDonald Trump. “The reason wechose those seven countrieswas, those were the sevencountries that both theCongress and the Obamaadministration identified asbeing the seven countries thatwere most identifiable withdangerous terrorism takingplace in their country,” WhiteHouse Chief of Staff ReincePriebus said. PTI

New York: Protests againstDonald Trump’s controversialtravel ban on people travellingto the US from seven predom-inantly Muslim nations inten-sified today, with thousands ofangry demonstrators gatheringat many airports and streetsamid mounting lawsuits andrumblings in the RepublicanParty over the President’s exec-

utive order.Protesters in large numbers

gathered outside the WhiteHouse and raised slogans like‘This is what America lookslike!’, ‘The people united, willnever be divided’ and ‘No hate,no fear, refugees are welcomehere,’ as they waved theAmerican flag and held plac-ards. PTI

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India’s most prestigious fashionweek is back with a bang andit’s the first LFW of the year. So

get ready to indulge in some fash-ion therapy that aims to redefinethe future of fashion and integrateIndia into the global fashion world.

To a burgeoning band of fashion-minded urbanites, a cluttereddesign space offers plenty of diver-sity to navigate. From practicalprêt to high-end artisanal and a lotin-between, fresh talents undoubt-edly bring variety to the fashion

front every season. Embracingthe hard-to-impress world of styleare these young designers who arescheduled to showcase their col-lections at Lakmé Fashion Weekthat begins on February inMumbai.

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Taking cue from Lakme’s theme, AnitaDongre is putting together the ‘Alchemy’ col-

lection inspired by the glistening sands of Rajasthanand the unique flora and fauna of the state.

“It feels great to collaborate with the Lakmé teamfor the Grand Finale for the first time. I am excit-

ed about theargan oil trendin beauty andlook forward tobringing alive theliquid goldtheme throughmy designs,” saidthe designer.Anita has createddesigner wearthat leaves unfor-gettable impres-sions on theworld, and yet, isversatile enoughto transcend peo-ple, places andoccasions. A linethat effortlesslyfuses a variety ofstyles, silhouettes and designs to offer customers afashion that is global chic.

Talking about the collaboration, Purnima Lamba,head of Innovation at Lakmé said, “Anita’s organicapproach made her a natural collaborator as welaunch our argan oil lipsticks range. She works close-ly with traditional artisans in showcasing Indian aes-thetics with a modern sensibility. We look forwardto seeing her interpretation of liquid gold at the finale.”

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Afusion of organic and freshtones brings Tarun Tahiliani’s

Spring Summer collection 2017 tolife this season. Inspired byMughal gardens and architecture,the Spring Summer collectionaptly titled Chashme Shahi revealsclothes that transform into abreathtaking aria of fantasy andromance. Representing theateliers timeless craft combined

with a modern muse, skillfullypresented in an array of elegantcool garments to create anoffering reminiscent of summerand all that it brings with it.“Chashme Shahi, a spring offreshness and lightness, of pareddown finesse, restraint andelegant draping, spring flowersand delicate chikankari. Asdressing in the day becomes morecasual, the collections move moretowards the evening – changes in

lifestyle heralds a change infashion”, said Tarun Tahiliani.

Defining the new summer sil-houettes and exploring fantasythrough form with lehenga-skirts,kurtas, concept saris and asymmet-rical hemlines, the collection isimbibed with a fresh and youthfulsimplicity.

Handloom saris, kurtas, offshoulder tops and tunics in soft cot-tons, silk, georgettes, chanderi andcrepe jerseys radiate sheer sophis-

tication and chicness – translatinghis signature daywear looks intoevening wear.

Rules get rewritten on colourblocking with the studio’s uniquetake on the trend - easy separatesthat include scarves, skirts, tees,tunics and kurtas in tones of red,ivory, black and jade that can bepaired up to create various permu-tations and combinations, function-ing f lawlessly in a modernwardrobe.

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Does a traditional sarithat has taken months

of craftsmanship, becomeuseless once certain parts ofit are weathered by timeand use? “My multiple visits to theDelhi blind school Diwalimela made me meet awoman from the Waghricommunity of Gujarat, sell-ing quilt and patch-workart made from worn-outsaris. Upon a candid con-versation, she describedhow women in villagestrade these shreds for alu-minum utensils.

‘Seamless’ derivesinspiration from millions ofthese unusable, unclaimedpieces of heritage by chang-ing their identity and giv-ing it a new purpose andlife,” Amit told us.

The collaborationbetween AM.IT withLakmé Salon, saw its incep-tion with mutual sensibil-ities about presentingsomething unique and rel-evant with an environmen-tally conscious approach.

“In the hope toincrease their lifeline,ripped patola saris wererestored by using modernindustrial treatmentsthrough responsible designethics to fortify them andarrange them as a newentity. An unusable sarican be made more mean-ingful by changing its appli-

cation to evoke new feel-ings and express new val-ues. Here, Lakmé Salondisplays unconventionalhairdos that will createvogues out of discardedindustrial materials.Vintage weaves areintegrated withu n c o nv e n t i o n a lindustrial materialsderiving coloursfrom the traditionalpatola which includewine, rust, teal, olive,khaki, mustard andink blue and accen-tuated them withsimilar metallictones. Theu n s t i t c h e dnature of the sariis modernisedwith struc-tured silhou-ettes and thefluid natureof handwo-ven silkchanderiand ikatfind ag r e a ts u p -p o r tf r o mnylon meshes,poplins, tapestry andfaux leather braids.Taking cue, Lakméaims to redefine theway we wear our hairand put forward a newtrend for the eco-con-scious millennial,”explained Amit.

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Drawing inspirationfrom the first bloom

of summer as it mirrors thefreshness of nature at itsblossoming best is howKarn Malhotra sums uphis collection. Powder andaqua blue mirrors the calmof a clear sky, flamingorange reflects the vibran-cy of the golden sun, whiledeep green is as invigorat-ing as a serene forest patch.These hues amalgamatein a range of high fashion,short evening dresses,jumpsuits, separates andgowns, to create a couturecollection crafted to per-fection. Fine summer silkslike crepe and chiffonalong with polyester blendsand georgette feature bringalive patterns inspired fromthe summer floras. Subtleuse of ruffles, layers,frills and glass bead tas-sels adds a feminineyet edgy touch to hisavant-garde imagi-nation. The collec-tion features solids,a two-tone dia-mond checkprint and a hintof colour block-ing, in a mix ofKarn’s signatureclean cuts andflowing fluidforms with hintsof vintage andmodern ele-ments alike.

Talking aboutthe trends, he told us,“Sequins and shimmer willcontinue to be in vogue in 2017. From makingan elegant appearance in form of tassels andembellishments in cocktail dresses, jumpsuitsand gowns in collars and cuffs. The silhouetteswill be a combination of structured and flowyto depict the modern power woman.”

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Hang a painting not on you wall, but onyour neck. That’s the suggestion jewellery

designer Simran Juneja from Inaayat Jewelsseems to be making. Accessory brand InaayatJewel have collaborated with — Sufiyaanwith Madamme Hall for the fashion extrava-ganza. Together they will put up a show onFebruary 2. Sufiyaan is the Ajrakh artisan whosupplies fabric to Madamme Hall and help tobuild her collection.

The collection is inspired by the tribalcommunities from all across the world, tak-ing the essence of their lost aesthetic legacy andmixing it up with the contemporary touch. Allthe products are 100 per cent handcrafted justlike the old traditional way of jewellery mak-ing, when something is hand-made it is verylikely that the craft person is deliberate andmindful about each and every step.

“I feel proud and happy for myself and forall those artisan who give part of their creativesoul to the handcrafted goods. A platform iswhat gives recognition to an artist and artisans.I am privileged to represent and promotehandcrafted jewellery on the most reputedplatform,” said designer Simran.

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The UAE-based fastfashion retailer

Splash, will be showcas-ing its SpringSummer’17 collectionat the fashion week.For the first time, aretail brand willunveil its collection

with a runway show.Scheduled for February3, the collection is aperfect choice for urbanand chic fashion afi-cionados who will bespoilt for choice with anarray of clothing, acces-sories, bags, sunglassesand other productsfrom the brand. Therunway looks are

designed to give tips andcues to fashionista’s onhow to dress up effort-lessly this season. “Ourassociation with LFW isan exciting one for us asthis is our second associ-ation with a leading fash-

ion week, starting withFashion Forward inthe Middle East.

With our show at LFW weaim to create visibility forthe brand in India and thefashion we present thattakes its cues from leadingtrends showcased each sea-son,” said RazaBeig, CEO, Splash.

Page 14: 4 + . ˆ . 9 ˝˛!#˝$˝˙˚%˛ˆ - The Pioneer of IDFC Limited), and Diana ... The Central bank’s move comes a day after the Election ... formation of the government

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The purity of his colourshave a soothing effect onone’s mind and the

dream-like images transportone to another world. Standingin front of his canvas, you arelikely to experience a barrage ofemotions all at once. PareshMaity’s boats, rural landscapesand faces are as much about aninward journey as they areabout the numerous travels hehas undertaken and continuesto do so. For Paresh colourskeep coming in and going, onecan witness this with his com-plete white project in Banaras.

The current exhibition atthe Taj Mahal Hotel includes arepertoire of canvases and enor-mous installation (that only fitinto container). We stand face-to-face with an eight-and-a-half-feet-tall installation of aface, Sounds of Silence, madeusing 4,000 golden bells. He alsounveiled his book World ofWatercolours which is a collec-tion of all his works.

His exhibited works —watercolour paintings — havean old-world charm. Boats,river banks, and dupatta-cladwomen remain recurring ele-ments, and primary coloursdominate many of them. Theseare remnants of visuals thatParvesh was exposed to as achild, growing up in scenicTamluk in West Bengal. His firsttryst with art was moulding wetclay after watching artists mak-ing sculptures of goddesses Kaliand Durga. With no artist in thefamily, and no role model to fol-low, Paresh paved his own way.Even as he worked on gettinghis lines right, he continued tomaintain an impressive acade-mic record.

One is certainly happy andfeel uplifted when he/she seeshis work. The first thing he doeswhen he wake ups in the morn-ing is open the curtains and letthe light come in. He feels suchpositive energy and wants topass it on. Light has a distinc-tive character in his art. On hiscanvases, the emphasis of lightcan be seen vividly. He is one ofthose artists, who prefers towork in broad daylight and inhis initial years, he used to paintoutdoors. He has sat in Banaras,Santiniketan, Himachal, Veniceand other places and observedlight for hours.

On painting and its chal-lenges, he says, “It is itself a trig-ger for me. I can paint anywhereand anytime. The day I can’t, Iget very annoyed. I feel at peacewhen I paint. And you can getlost while painting a larger-than-life work. You don’t knowwhere to begin and where tostop. On not being drawn to‘cutting edge’ art I believe inmyself. I believe in tradition andI like my work to be rooted. Imight be able to create art inanother language but that won’tbe mine.”

Looking back, Pareshrealised that as he shifted fromone place to another, his style of

painting transformed. In myformative years, he was inspiredby two very famous watercolourists from Britain —Joseph Mallord William Turnerand John Constable. By thetime he settled in Delhi, hisworks became more figurative.

Inspiration comes easy forMaity, and so does the resilienceto complete the works — a fewof which take over a year to per-fect. With no television, mobilephone or the Internet, Maity hasmanaged to keep his routineimmune to distractions. A stick-ler for discipline, he starts paint-ing at dawn, and wraps upwork at the first sign of dusk —a routine that he followed evenas an artist-in-residence atRashtrapati Bhavan in 2015.Art, he says, is a 24x7 profession— extending even as part ofdinner conversations with hiswife and artist Jayasri Burman.

He is always at a loss for words in frontof an art work or the sound of music.

The world around may have transformed,but certain things remain the same for him.He too is often racked with anxieties ofbeing alone of loss and death. But art giveshim hope.

For 10 years the artist worked with thesingle color — Black. Akhilesh used dif-ferent surface colors on which he used thesingle colour black to bring out his expres-sions. Through this the artist was tryingto understand the tonality of the color.Artist Akhilesh Verma, who turned 60recently, is celebrating it with an exhibi-tion titled The Past WasYesterday.

In the work Beyond that Ink on Paper,the artist has worked with black only, thenhe began to use the paper brown and withthis he introduced a second colour in hisworks. In Where to go Ink is a work onBitumen paper and it is used here as a frag-ile waterproof, which is difficult to workon, but the texture attained in the end isworth working on. Lyrics Gouache onpaper, created with colour mixed withwater is not transparent but opaque. Thepaper here is black and on that redgouache colour is used.

The show, at Aakriti Art Gallery,consists of 62 works including paintingsand drawings and sculptures which werecreated by the artists between 1974 till2015. To him abstraction itself was themedium and the goal. “My journey as anartist went through different phases andit was after many experimentation that Ifound my oeuvre. I found deeply affectedby colours around me, the bougainvillaeablazed a gaudy magenta and skies werebright blue. I was surrounded and obsessedby colours. Seeing Raza’s exhibition I wasmore convinced that Indian colours hadto be a part of my narrative,” the artist says.

His paintings do not scream for atten-tion and have little to offer to the casual,hurried viewer. “At a glance, my paintingsappear to tread the mid path between fig-urative and abstract as; one tries to under-stand the several possible forms thatemerge from the mosaic of patterns. I wantto encourage onlookers to relate to theworks by having a dialogue with colours,forms and textures,” he says.

Based in Bhopal, the artist’s careerspans over forty years. I came to Bhopalin 1982 when Bharat Bhavan had firstopened its doors. I found the city fascinat-ing; the undulating landscapes, the vastlakes and the eccentricities of the people.When I resigned from Bharat Bhavanfriends in Delhi and Mumbai asked me tocome and settle down there but the slowpace of the town was something I had

grown accustomed to and was reluctant toleave. Life could wait,” he chuckles.

His favourite poet is Rumi, whoseinfluence could be find in some of theworks. “Around you there a change in theway people think, feel and behave. I amreminded of the Kashmiri poet AghaShahid Ali’s words: “I had still not learnedthe style of nomad — to walk between therain drops to keep dry”, says the artist whois an author as well.

“While I paint, the images and colourbefore me are my immediate realities andmy fantasies come to life. Momentarily theworld outside fades away, the stentorianchoices of the television anchors predict-ing doomsday recedes. In its place, themagnificent strains of Pandit KumarGandharva fill my room and as the musi-cian’s voice ebbs and soars, I sing as longas I paint,” he says. The show concludes today.

There is a mask series in Parsing- TheMind’s Eye, artist Vijay Kowshik’s exhi-

bition. Through the works he attempts tonarrate how the habit of wearing masks hasbecome natural for people. He says thatmask is something that we see in everyday’slife, which is the attitude of many of us toother people and the environment. Andeven the mask keeps changing which is nat-ural.

The show, progressing at IndiaInternational Centre, is a collection ofaround 50 works of glass and light. He hascreated the mask series in 2016, twoamong the works this year where as therest are from his old collection. The artisthas kept all of them untitled. “Why thereshould be a title, naming a work implieslimiting people’s imagination. It’s veryinteresting to see people interpreting awork based on their life and background.They would start thinking in so manyways,” he smiles.

In three other works what is narratedis the feeling of being lost in a big city:“When one comes from a village to a citylike Delhi, Mumbai or Bangalore, howwould they feel? It’s all about the feeling ofbeing lost in a big city, nothing else; evenfear. These are my works which I createdduring my stay in the US, Slovak andHungary.”

On choosing glass as the medium hesays, “I used to work with ceramics longtime back. I had a mentor in ceramics-Devi Prasad- who was my father’s classmate. Then I started experimenting withglass and I was very fortunate that I gotinvitations from many countries like Italy,France, Hungary, Sweden and Slovak towork with the medium. I worked in the USas well for a year to work on a project.Hence over the years I began to like andunderstand the medium.”

So how friendly the medium is for anartist?, “If you understand a medium onhow it behaves and moves, it becomesfriendly with you. Then you can take outwhatever your creativity demands from it.Then you and the medium would be mov-ing in the same direction. In the beginningit would be as difficult as a painter sketch-ing on the canvas.”

The artist has made some of theworks interactive with music in the show.One can listen to music while touches thoseworks - “Music reminds of the time whichI have spent in churches and cathedrals. Ihave done installations there as well.” Inanother work what is coming out, whileyou touch, is the screaming of a womanwhich the artist describes as response toatrocities on women.

The show has certain abstracts as well.“Creating abstract with glass is as tough oreasy as you make any other work,” he says.There are portraits also in which people areseen broken. Then there is a panel which

he calls Mahabharata: “I tried to representthe partition of India through that, com-paring it with the incidents in the epic. InMahabharata also war and divide werecaused by some vested interests, otherwiseboth the pandavas and kauravas could betogether.”

There is one series of torso, which isthe result of particular period of work;‘When you start working on certain thing,then a series of it will follow. Only thingis that you need to feel the work, dependson what is happening within you. Thenhe asks, pointing to a work, what does itlook like?. When we say like a lion, hechuckles and reacts; “Yes it could be or evena tiger.” The only specific work in the show,which he calls more realistic, is that ofBuddha.

There is a work on B C Sanyal as wellwhich the artist created when the formerturned 100. He says that it’s the accumu-lation of experience over the years thatdetermines the time to create a work.

The exhibition will conclude on Friday.

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After making another comeback to inter-national cricket with aplomb, veteranpacer Ashish Nehra dismissed the age-

related criticism, saying a practice match is allwhat he needs to get into the groove.

Nehra scalped two batsmen in successive ballsand added one more later in the second Twenty20against England, which India won by five runs.

"Whether I'm playing 50 overs or T20 or if I'mbowling in the nets with a single stump to aimat, I've never felt short of match practice. It takesme only one game to get back into the groove,"asserted the 37-year-old left-arm pacer.

Nehra played in the World T20 championshiphosted by India in early 2016 and then the sub-sequent Indian Premier League before taking abreak from cricket to undergo a knee surgery.

"I will play domestic cricket in the comingmonths - 50 overs and T20 and there's IPL toofor two months. I believe if you've been playingso much for so long, match practice is very impor-tant whether you're a bowler or batsman.

"People like me or MS Dhoni who are notplaying Test cricket right now, we have to playdomestic games and ultimately experience doesmatter," he said.

Nehra dismissed the notion that age isagainst him and said it was just a number and hewill keep playing as long as he's fit.

"Regarding age, unfortunately in India, if youkeep performing well then people will praise you.And if the team loses couple of matches, then peo-ple won't criticize the rest of the 15 but will sayAshish Nehra should be dropped. It doesn't makea difference to me but age is just a number.

"I know how hard it is to stay fit because I'ma fast bowler and I bowl in the beginning and endboth. But I'm enjoying my game and till my bodyis fit, I'll keep trying and playing.

I played the last game after 7-8 months but Ididn't feel I was short of practice or anything.When you are playing day in and day out, you getbetter with time but I personally don't feel thatrusty or anything," he said.

About last night's game that India won froma difficult position, Nehra said when a team wasdefending a small total early wickers were a mustand he got them.

"When you are defending a score like 145, itis important to pick up a wicket up front, whichwe got in my over. It puts pressure on the bats-man. With the wicket slow, if you take two-threewickets early then the batsman will be on theback-foot.

"If Amit Mishra had not bowled a no-ball, wecould have been in the game earlier. When BenStokes hit two sixes and a four, they were ahead.

It keeps going up and down. You cannot say any-thing in a T20 till it's over," he said referring toMishra dismissing Stokes but the ball beingdeclared a no-ball.

Nehra said the key to bowling well at thedeath, for which he praised teammate and man-of-the-match Jasprit Bumrah, is to "keep backingyourself mentally".

"You practice the skills in the nets, but I per-sonally feel as a bowler it is mental toughness thatcounts. It is not the first time that Jasprit and Iare bowling together in the death. It's always dif-ficult for a bowler to bowl four overs in the deathwith a wet ball.

"When I came they needed 32 off four overs,and I knew this has to be over where we have topull it off. Luckily it happened that over went forfive or six and Ben Stokes got out. We were backin the game, but my last over was fine till the lastball went for a six. Had I picked up a wicket, wewould have had 15 to defend in the final over andJasprit Bumrah's bowling is not easy to score. Hestill did the job."

Nehra said Bumrah's speciality was in deathover bowling.

"I was confident after (Jos) Buttler got out thatJasprit will do the job. I have been playing T20swith him for the last one year and he backs him-self in the death.

“Bumrah's strength is bowling with the oldball - whether it's the slower ball or yorker. He'slearning day by day and he will only get betterfrom here.

"In the one-day series we saw 350 and 380were scored but Bumrah still bowled five or atleast three overs in the end. He will have to bementally strong from here that in a match with360 or 380 being scored, you will probably be hitfor 75-odd runs if you bowl four overs in the end.His growth will be an asset in the coming timefor Indian cricket."

Asked to compare his own bowling with thatof younger teammate, Nehra said they are "com-pletely different bowlers."

"He may bowl a one-off over with the new ballwhereas I bowl three overs up front because Iknow that the team wants me to strike early, espe-cially while defending such a 130-140 types total.I need to pick wickets early in such games. If youdon't do that, it's highly unlikely that you cancome back in such games.

"On the other hand, Bumrah is an excellentbowler and his speciality is bowling at death. Justlike Lasith Malinga - he was an asset with the oldball. Bumrah has a slightly awkward action so anew batsman can't really pick him easily.

“He has a good slower one and a yorker.Bumrah is a very important player in this team,whether it's ODIs or T20s."

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Fit-again wicketkeeperbatsman Wriddhiman

Saha is expected to make acomeback into the IndianTest team as the nationalselection committee head-ed by MSK Prasad decideson the 15-member side forthe one-off Test againstBangladesh, here onTuesday.

Wriddhiman was outwith tendonitis after thesecond Test against Englandin Visakhapatnam but hasmade a strong comeback indomestic cricket with anunbeaten double hundredto guide Rest of India toIrani Cup triumph.

Chairman of selectorsPrasad has recently declaredthat Wriddhiman is stillIndia's "No 1 keeper inTests" but the committeewill certainly keep ParthivPatel's recent form in mind.

With two half-centuries

against England and his 90and 143 in the Ranji Trophyfinal, Parthiv may just finda place in the final 15 forthe match as it will be selec-tor's way of showing that hehas their confidence.

Jayant Yadav, MuraliVijay — both have recov-ered from their injuries.Jayant has already playedtwo T20 matches in theSyed Mushtaq Ali Trophyagainst Punjab and

Himachal Pradesh and willplay the two-day warm-upgame for India A which willtest his bowling fitness inlonger format.

The likes of KL Rahul,Cheteshwar Pujara,

Chennai triple centurionKarun Nair are certaintiesin the side.

Ajinkya Rahane, whoalso sustained a thumb frac-ture before the final Test isalso expected to be back inthe squad and it will beinteresting because he willhave to fight for a slot withKarun.

Hardik Pandya mighttake the all-rounder's slotwhile Mohammed Shami'srehabilitation is still on.

So in a nutshell one canexpect six specialist bats-men — Kohli, Vijay, Rahul,Pujara, Rahane and Karun.The two all-rounders areexpected to be Jayant Yadavand Hardik Pandya whileUmesh Yadav, BhuvneshwarKumar, RavichandranAshwin and Jadeja will bethe four specialist bowlers.

The fight for the 15thplace will be likely betweenIshant Sharma and AmitMishra.

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Opener Himanshu Rana'simpressive century (101)

went in-vain as England U-19defeated India U-19 in theopening game of the five-matchseries, here on Monday.

Chasing a total of 256 set bythe visitors riding on a DelrayRawlins hundred, India lostteen sensation Prithvi Shaw(9) early but Haryana lad Ranahit 12 boundaries and a six inhis 87-ball knock as India wereall out for 233 in 42.5 overs.Right-handed Shubhman Gillmade 29 off 27 balls.

India colts had a middleorder collapse with SalmanKhan (8), Mayank Rawat (0),stumper Het Patel (20) goingback to the pavilion early.

KL Nagarkoti brought thehosts back into contention with37-run innings, but it was toolate as England was rewardedfor bowling in right areas asthey bundled out the Indiacolts with more than sevenovers to spare.

Skipper Matthew Fisherwas the most successful bowlerfor England colts as he snatched

4 wickets conceding 41 runs.Henry Brookes, Rawlins andHolden grabbed two wicketseach.

Earlier, put into bat at theWankhede stadium, Englandwere tottering at 13 for 3 in theseventh over with opener Max

Holden (3), one down GeorgeBarlett (3) and Euan Woods (2)falling cheaply.

However, opener HarryBrook stuck a half century (51off 75 balls) with four bound-aries to help his side come outof trouble.

But it was an unbeatencentury by No 6 Rawlins, whoensured that the visiting teampast the 250-run mark on apitch, which had some assis-tance for the bowlers.

Rawlins, took on the Indianbowlers and played round thepark, in his quick fire knock of107 off 88 balls as he stuck 8boundaries and five toweringsixes.

After the match centurion,Rawlins told reporters,"Originally, I am fromBermuda, I had a dream to playfor England when I was young,so I came over and I am thank-ful to England for backing meand selecting me on this tour,"he added.

"At the age of 14, I was quiteyoung (when I came toEngland). Not bad standard (ofcricket in Bermuda) but I want-ed to push myself, see how farI can go," said Rawlins.

"We were long time prepar-ing for this tour. Tour to Dubaiand quite a few camps. To startlike was brilliant and the moodin the dressing room is out-standing," said the left-handedbatsman.

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Former Indian women's team captainDiana Edulji was "expecting" a role

in revamped BCCI but is now gearingup for a "new challenge" after beingnamed one of the four administratorsby the Supreme Court. Edulji's mainfocus will be on promotion of women'scricket, a cause that she has championedover the years and also the formationof a Players' Association, which she feelsis a must for looking after the well beingof cricketers.

"I was asked by amicus curaeGopal Subramanium whether I wouldlike to be a part and I had said "yes". Iwas expecting a role but I was surprisedafter being named in administratorspanel. It is a huge responsibility givento me by the Apex Court and I will liketo do justice," Edulji told PTI during aninteraction on Monday. She said that herdomain will be much more clearerwhen she gets terms of reference as perthe reforms that are supposed to be car-ried out.

"I have not yet received my termsof reference in black and white. I havethree esteemed colleagues in the fourmember team. It will be our collectiveresponsibility to take Indian cricket for-

ward." Asked about her experience inadministration, Edulji said that man-aging various railways teams over theyears have given her experience,although BCCI is a bigger ballgame. "Ihave managed 40 Railways teams andthat has given me some administrativeexperience. But definitely BCCI ishuge body and the pressure will beentirely different. Obviously, theendeavour for each one of us is to takeIndian cricket forward and that's whatwe will be looking at," the 61-year-oldsaid.

One of the doyens of Women'scricket in India, Edulji had played 20Tests between 1976 and 1991 apart from34 ODIs.

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New Zealand overcame one of the greatest allroundperformances in one-day cricket history by Australian

rookie Marcus Stoinis to win the first match of theChappell-Hadlee series on Monday by a threadbare sixruns.

Playing in only his second ODI, 16 months after hisfirst, the 27-year-old Stoinis almost single-handedly lift-ed Australia to victory, scoring 146 not out off 117 ballsbatting at No.7, and taking three vital wickets for 49 runs.

Stoinis came to the wicket with Australia 54-5 in the13th over chasing New Zealand's 286-9. He batted throughthe next 34 overs, dominating five partnerships to spurhis team to the brink of victory. His unbeaten total wasthe highest by an Australian batting at No. 7 in a one-day interational. Foregoing singles and even twos,Stoinis resolved to hit Australia home with fours and sixeson the short boundaries at Eden Park and, after hittingnine fours and 11 sixes, he had come within one shot oftying the game when his last batting partner was lost.

Australia's cause looked lost at 226-9 after 44 overs,but Stoinis then put on a remarkable 54-run last wicketstand in four overs with paceman Josh Hazlewood, whodid not face a ball in the entire partnership. Australia need-ed seven runs to win with a comfortable three overs inhand, but their hopes ended then when Hazlewood wasrun out at the non-striker's end by Kane Williamson.

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England captain Eoin Morgan says the umpire'sdecision to rule Joe Root out LBW at a crucial

juncture cost them the second Twenty20 againstIndia and they will raise the issue with the ICC matchreferee.

Umpire C Shamsuddin had adjudged well-setRoot leg before wicket off Jasprit Bumrah in the lastover when the batsman had actually edged the ball."It's extreme frustration absolutely. It shiftedmomentum in the 20th over. Losing a batsman whohas faced 40 balls to the first ball on a wicket that'snot that easy to time the ball on is quite a bit of ahammer blow," said Morgan.

"It proved very costly andall things considered, a cou-ple of decisions did not go ourway. We still should havewon the game, that's the bigpositive for us, but the fact wedid not do it is really disap-pointing. We have the oppor-tunity to do before the nextgame as feedback is giventhrough the match refereeon a report," he added.

He also did not believe hegot out to a rash shot whenwell set. "No I don't think so.I really played well tonight.We produced a really good bowling performance ona wicket that suited India more than us. I think inthe chase we were always in a reasonable position.We built partnerships till the end. We should havewon the game," he said. "We will draw a line on ittomorrow and move on before Bangalore," he added.England needed 24 off last two overs, got 16 of thosein the 19th bowled by Ashish Nehra before fallingshort of the target in the last over from Bumrah inwhich both Root and Jos Buttler got out to handIndia a five-run win. Asked if it was disappointingthat DRS is not present in T20 games, he said "Alittle bit yeah. Even if it's only available for WorldCup Games (it will be good)."

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Batting legend Sachin Tendulkar onSunday picked India as the favourites for

the upcoming Test series against Australiabut warned the hosts that it would be a mis-take to take the team from Down Underlightly.

India will play a four-Test series againstSteve Smith's men starting February 23 inPune. Australia have been enduring mixedfortunes in Test cricket of late, losing toSouth Africa before beating Pakistan.

"The last thing one would like to do isunderestimate your opposition and Australiais a strong side. Yes, to play in Indian con-ditions it would be difficult and Australianplayers have also acknowledged that, whichis a compliment to the Indian team, the waythey are playing but you cannot take thingsfor granted," Tendulkar said here launching'Sachin by Spartan' range of sporting equip-ment and sportswear.

"I have no doubt that our team will pre-pare to their best of the ability and deliverwhen it matters.Australian aregoing to betough to handleand that's howit has alwaysbeen. But Ithink I am con-fident of Indianteam" he added.

He alsoemphasised onthe fact thatpeople shouldspend more time in the gyms and less timeon dining tables.

@�� ������ �����*� ����+��� �0�*�0���He saw the epic match only in bits and

pieces but Sachin Tendulkar says he couldwell understand what veterans RogerFederer and Rafael Nadal might have feltduring their Australian Open final clash.

Federer defeated Nadal in a memorablefive-setter on Sunday to end a five-year-oldGrand Slam drought and add an 18th Majortrophy to his cabinet.

"I had lot of injuries and there weresome tough times. In 2005-2006 (in) one ofthe press conferences I was posted a ques-tion 'so when are you going to retire?' andbest years came after that, the biggest thingin my life happened after that, the 2011World Cup," Tendulkar recalled. "And Icould actually understand what both thoseathletes (Federer and Nadal) were feelingand Federer actually said in his post matchspeech that both of them never thought theywill be standing in the middle of the courtbut it was all about enjoying the sport," headded.

Tendulkar, a self-confessed Federerfan, said the two greats showed why theyremain a force in world tennis.

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Roger Federer dropped hintsthat his great career may bedrawing to a close after his age-

defying win over his Grand Slamnemesis Rafael Nadal at theAustralian Open.

The 35-year-old Swiss admittedhis return to Melbourne wasn't guar-anteed after he ended a five-year waitfor his 18th major title by beatingNadal in a thrilling five-setter.

He told the Rod Laver Arenacrowd: "I hope to see you next year,but if not, then it was a wonderfulyear here and I couldn't be happiertonight."

Federer has been rebutting sug-gestions of retirement for severalyears, but he said he was now awareinjuries could force him off thescene.

The Australian Open marked hiscomeback from a six-month injurybreak, the longest of his career, afterhe underwent surgery for the firsttime last February.

"This is all about, you know,knowing that I have only so muchtennis left in me," he told reporters,when asked about the comment in hisacceptance speech.

"If I do get injured, you know,maybe if I miss next year, whoknows what happens... You neverknow when your next Grand Slam isgoing to be, if ever. You never knowif you're going to have an opportu-nity at this stage."

Federer added: "Look, I've had atough year last year. Three five-set-ters are not going to help. I just meantit the way I meant it.

"There wasn't something plannedbehind it, that this is my lastAustralian Open. I hope can I comeback, of course. That's my hoperight now."

Federer, now four titles clear ofNadal and Pete Sampras on the all-time major-winners' list, was troubledby injury during the tournament andhe said he had been carrying anupper leg problem since the secondround.

Unusually for the Swiss, he tooka medical timeout in the final as wellas during his five-set semi with StanWawrinka. He also went five sets withKei Nishikori in round four.

He said Sunday's 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 win ranked alongside his 2009French Open victory, which complet-ed a career Grand Slam and ended a

run of three defeats in the final."I think this one will take more

time to sink in. When I go back toSwitzerland, I'll think, 'Wow'. Themagnitude of this match is going tofeel different," he said.

"I can't compare this one to anyother one except for maybe theFrench Open in '09. I waited for theFrench Open, I tried, I fought. I triedagain and failed. Eventually I madeit. This feels similar."

Fittingly it was Nadal whopushed Federer to one of the biggestachievements of his career, after hisGrand Slam chances had been large-ly written off.

It was a redemptive win asFederer has struggled against Nadal,losing four straight major finals to thefearsome left-hander since hisWimbledon victory in 2007.

"Rafa definitely has been veryparticular in my career. I think hemade me a better player," Federersaid.

"Him and a couple more playershave done the most to do that to mebecause the way his game stacks upwith me, it's a tricky one. I've said thatopenly.

"It remains for me the ultimatechallenge to play against him. So it'sdefinitely very special.

"I said that also before the finals:if I were to win against Rafa, it wouldbe super-special and very sweetbecause I haven't beaten him in aGrand Slam final for a long, long timenow."

�� �0������*� �7���4��� �� -� Rafael Nadal has beendropped from Spain's Davis Cupteam because of fatigue following theAustralian Open.

The Spanish tennis federationsays it will replace Nadal withFeliciano Lopez for next weekend'sbest-of-five series at Croatia after arecommendation by the team doctor.

Nadal lost to Roger Federer inSunday's Australia Open final in fivesets. Doctor Angel Ruiz Cotorro saysthe decision took into considerationthat Nadal played a significant num-ber of matches after a four-month lay-off because of a wrist injury.

Spain captain Conchita Martinezsays Nadal "needs to recover from hisrecent efforts and certainly will bewith us again in the next rounds."

The other Spanish players areRoberto Bautista, Pablo Carreno andMarc Lopez.

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Roger Federer always believedhe had more Grand Slam

titles left in him.He just didn't think it would

happen like this, playing in hisfirst tournament following a six-month injury layoff. Or against hisbiggest rival in the game, RafaelNadal. "I said that also before thefinals: if I were to win against Rafa,it would be super special and verysweet because I haven't beatenhim in a Grand Slam final for along, long time now," Federer saidafter beating Nadal in theAustralian Open final 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.

A decade, to be exact.Federer's last win over theSpaniard in a major final came atWimbledon in 2007. Nadal hadbeaten him in four consecutiveslam finals since then.

Both Federer and Nadal alsodidn't expect to be in this positionat the Australian Open, comingoff long layoffs last season torecover from injuries.

Federer has rarely missedsignificant stretches with injuriesthroughout his career. This is theman, after all, who played in arecord 65 consecutive GrandSlams — a streak that was brokenwhen he withdrew from lastyear's French Open with a backinjury. In recent years, however,he's acknowledged making mis-takes by playing through paininstead of taking time off to heal.

SERENA'S NEXT GOAL?:Serena Williams felt like it took a"really long time" to win her 23rdGrand Slam title and break her tiewith Steffi Graf on the all-timemajor winner list, so she wants toenjoy the victory and not lookahead. How about winning No. 24and pulling even with MargaretCourt, who holds the record formost major titles? She doesn'tknow, and doesn't want to talkabout it yet. The elusive calendaryear Grand Slam? "I don't thinkabout that either," she said. "Justone at a time."THE 30-FUN FACTOR: Serenaproved it's possible to keep win-ning majors at 35 - or as she likesto call it, "30-fun." Indeed, the 30-somethings were having fun at theAustralia this year. VenusWilliams, 36, and Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, 34, joined Serena in thesemifinals, becoming the oldestthree women to reach the finalfour in Melbourne in Open era.The old guard did well on themen's side, with 30-somethingsFederer, Nadal and Wawrinka allmaking the semis, too.DJOKOVIC'S SLIDE: NovakDjokovic hasn't been himselfsince capturing last year's FrenchOpen. Just what's bothering him,though, remains unclear. Thesix-time champion seemed tolack intensity in his defeat toUzbek wild card Denis Istomin inthe second round, his earliest lossat a Grand Slam since 2008. Andhe was tight-lipped afterward, too.

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The Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour includesa number of top international stars including

World No 6 Dmitrij Ovtcharov of Germany andWorld No 8 Vladimir Samsonov of Belarus.

The India Open, being organised by 11EvenSports Pvt Ltd with the support of the Table TennisFederation of India, will take place here fromFebruary 14 to 19. Total prize money of $120,000will be up for grabs in the tournament.

The rich field will be led by two Top 10 play-ers, Ovtcharov of Germany and Samsonov ofBelarus. The women's challenge will be spearhead-ed by the Hongkong duo, World No 14 Doo HoiKem and World No 19 Ching Lee Ho making it oneof the most thrilling sports events in the country.

Germany's Ovtcharov, the 2012 Olympicbronze medallist and winner of team Bronze in 2016Olympics will be the top seed and is expected to bethe firm favourite given his current form. Indian fansare familiar with him as he has already played hereonce, in the 2010 ITTF Pro Tour. He clinched thetitle that year and will be eager to make it a granddouble during this foray. The 28-year-old is a sea-soned campaigner, having won eight EuropeanChampionshipgold medals,including six inteam events.

He is howeverlikely to face stiffcompetition fromSamsonov ofBelarus, easily themost experiencedand accomplishedplayer on the ros-ter. He went all theway to the quarter-finals in the recent-ly concludedHungarian Open, underlining the fact that he is aforce to reckon with even at 40 years.

The Indian challenge will be spearheaded byAchanta Sharath Kamal and the young SoumyajitGhosh. Eleventh seeded Sharath is India's most pro-lific player in table tennis, having won multiple titlesat the international level; Soumyajit, on the otherhand, is considered the future of Indian table ten-nis. Ghosh, who is currently 23 years old, has alreadyrepresented India in two consecutive Olympics. TheIndian charge in the women's category will be ledby 21-year-old Manika Batra along with the expe-rienced Mouma Das.

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Real Madrid saw its rivals falter andthen did its part against Real

Sociedad, winning 3-0 with a goal andan assist by Cristiano Ronaldo toincrease its lead in the Spanish league.

Madrid opened a four-point gap onBarcelona and Sevilla, which failed towin their matches earlier Sunday.

Second-placed Barcelona needed alate equaliser by Luis Suarez to draw atReal Betis 1-1, while 10-man Sevilla lost3-1 at Espanyol.

Fourth-placed Atletico Madrid washeld to a scoreless draw at promotedAlaves on Saturday, staying 10 pointsoff the lead.

Madrid's advantage could becomeeven bigger as it has a game in hand atValencia.

"We are not thinking about whatthe other teams are doing," Madridmidfielder Casemiro said.

"We have to do our part and keepwinning."

Ronaldo set up Mateo Kovacic'sopening goal with a clever through ballin the 38th minute, then scored him-self with a neat chip shot over thecharging goalkeeper in the 51st.

Alvaro Morata netted the third witha diving header in the 82nd, only 10minutes after he had a goal disallowedfor offside.

Ronaldo, who was jeered by somefans early in the match at SantiagoBernabeu stadium, also had a goal dis-allowed for offside in the 90th.

Real Sociedad played a man downfrom the 74th as Inigo Martinez wasshown a second yellow card for a hardfoul on Casemiro.

It was the fourth win in the last fiveleague games for Madrid, which wascoming off elimination against CeltaVigo in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals.

�����.�0�<29���7�00��Sevilla could have provisionally

moved into first place had it won ear-lier at Espanyol, but it had to play near-

ly the entire game with a man down asNicolas Pareja was sent off in the sec-ond minute after conceding a penalty.

Jose Antonio Reyes converted thepenalty to put the hosts ahead, andGerard Moreno and Marc Navarroadded goals for Espanyol after Sevillaequalised through Stevan Jovetic.

"The red card that early changed thegame completely," Sevilla defenderSergio Escudero said.

The result snapped Sevilla's five-game winning streak in the league.

It was Espanyol's second consecu-tive victory, leaving the club fromBarcelona in ninth place.

��0����529��������>�>����Seventh-placed Athletic halted a

three-game winless streak with a come-from-behind victory over relegation-wary Sporting Gijon.

Veteran striker Aritz Aduriz scoredthe winner by converting a penalty kickin the 71st minute at San MamesStadium.

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Hockey India (HI) onMonday made it clear that

it will not be willing to play anybilateral series against Pakistanuntil Pakistan HockeyFederation (PHF) tenders anunconditional apology for theunprofessional behavior of itsplayer after the semi-final matchof the 2014 Champions Trophy.

PHF Secretary ShahbazAhmad had recently allegedthat their team was denied par-ticipation in the junior WorldCup last year in Lucknow onlybecause of the ChampionsTrophy semifinal incident inBhubaneswar. After the victoryagainst India, some Pakistaniplayers had taken off their shirtsand made obscene gestures at thecrowd.

However, Hockey Indiainsists that the sole reason forPakistan missing the World Cupwas their late visa applications.

"The matter of the Pakistanteam not participating in theUttar Pradesh Men's HockeyJunior World Cup 2016 wascompletely a matter of Rules andRegulations regarding visa appli-cations and other formalities notbeing adhered to by the PakistanHockey Federation within therequired stipulated period oftime," a Hockey India state-ment said.

"The Pakistan HockeyFederation failed to submit thevisa applications for their team60 days prior to the start of thetournament as per the requireddeadlines as stipulated in thepermissions of the Governmentof India.

"Since Pakistan HockeyFederation failed to adhere tothe deadlines for the submissionof their visa's, Hockey Indiacannot be blamed for the con-sequent rejection of invitationby FIH. FIH also sent numer-ous reminders for PakistanHockey Federation for the sub-mission of the Pakistan teamsvisa, the decision of FIH towithdraw the Pakistan Hockeyteam from the Hockey JuniorWorld Cup 2016 was solely attheir discretion and has noth-ing to do with Hockey India,"the statement added.

On the issue, RP Singh,Spokesman Hockey India,Athlete Representative on theExecutive Board of Hockey Indiasaid, "It is a shame that PakistanHockey Federation has againraised the issue of the misbehav-

ior of the Pakistan Hockey teamduring the FIH ChampionsTrophy in 2014 as an excuse andopportunity to blame HockeyIndia for their own incompe-tence that resulted in thePakistan team not participatingin the Hockey Junior World Cup2016."

He added: "In light of thisand the perpetual lies told byPakistan Hockey Federation toblame others for their own inef-ficiencies, Hockey India hasagain taken the decision to notplay any bi-lateral series againstPakistan unless they submit anunconditional regret in writingfor the lewd and unprofession-al behavior of the Pakistan teamduring the FIH ChampionsTrophy 2014 and their habit oftelling perpetual lies to mediaregarding Hockey India.”

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