dissident aap leaders bhushan, yadav expelled from...

CIRCULATED THROUGH : TORONTO, MARKHAM, SCARBOROUGH, RICHMOND HILL, VAUGHAN, WOODBRIDGE, ETOBICOKE, NORTH YORK, MALTON, REXDALE, BRAMPTON, MISSISSAUGA, OAKVILLE, HAMILTON, MILTON, STONEY CREEK, BURLINGTON

YUDHVIR JASWAL, GROUP EDITOR YMEDIA WITH INDIAN PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI AT THE DINNER RECEPTION HELD ATALLSTREAM CENTRE, TORONTO.

PROUD TO BE A PAGE

AFTER EXPULSION, YADAV,BHUSHAN DESCRIBE AAP AS KHAP

DISSIDENT AAP LEADERS BHUSHAN, YADAV EXPELLED FROM PARTY

ONTARIO - A young and dynamic Rober t H. Lagerquist Senior PublicSchool Grade eighter, Japneet Kaur was offered to serve as a Legisla-tive Page during the 1st Session of the 41st Parliament in the monthsof March-April 2015.This oppor tunity hasnot only Japneet buther parents ex-tremely proud. APage is a grade 7 &8 student selectedfrom among hun-dreds of applicantsacross Ontar io towork in the Legis-lat ive Chamber atQueen ' s Pa rk .Pages act as mes-senge rs o f t heHouse, per formingmany he lp fu l du-t i es fo r t heSpeaker, Memberof Provincial Par-l i amen t and theHouse o f f i ce rs .Pages collect and deliver official documents, deliver impor tant mes-sages and deliver glasses of water. A Page is someone dependable,hardworking, friendly, enthusiastic, and an excellent team player.Details of the program as how to apply can be found on the OntarioLegislative web site which is: http://educationportal.ontla.on.ca/en/page-program

Dharamvir Gandhi sacked, Bhagwant Mann appointed as leader in Lok SabhaNew Delhi, (IANS) It was the end of the road for Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP)founder-leaders, Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav, with the party ex-pelling them for "anti-party activities".Besides, Ajit Jha and Anand Kumar were also removed from the party.The development came late on Monday night following separate replies ofBhushan and Yadav, to the show-cause notice for organising an anti-party meet in Gurgaon last week.The National Disciplinary Committee met on April 20, 2015 at 6 pm at514, VP House to decide on the complaints against Yadav, Bhushan,Kumar and Jha.On the request of the respondents, the committee had earlier extendedthe deadline for submitting their explanations by one day, that is, to 3 pmon April 20, 2015.However, the committee received the responses of Yadav, Bhushan andKumar while Jha failed to furnish his response within the prescribedtime. The committee carefully considered responses furnished by Yadav,Bhushan and Kumar and found them unsatisfactory.

The committee reached the unanimous conclusion that Yadav, Bhushanand Kumar had indulged in gross indiscipline and anti-party activities. Theyhave violated the Code of Conduct detailed in Article VI A (a) of Party'sConstitution.The committee was of the view that Jha had failed to furnish his response ina stipulated time despite sufficient time at his disposal.After examining the evidence put before it, the committee was of the unani-mous view that Jha was also guilty of gross indiscipline and indulging in anti-party activities.The committee, therefore, has decided to expel all the four members from theparty.Earlier, Bhushan and Yadav described the party's show cause notice as a"pre-scripted drama where the outcome is already decided and well-known".Bhushan accused AAP's general secretary Pankaj Gupta of accepting Rs.2crore donation from shell companies and Ashish Khetan of writing a plantedstory in a national magazine defending a telecom company, allegedly in-volved in 2G spectrum scam.

Dinner reception hosted to greet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Allstream Centre, Toronto. (From L to R) MPP Indira Naidoo-Harris; Arun Seth;Tiger Jeet Singh, renowned wrestler; Reeti Mishra; Indian Consul General Akhilesh Mishra; Tiger Ali Singh, renowned wrestler; Senator Asha Seth;Yudhvir Jaswal, Group Editor YMedia; Naval Bajaj and MPP Harinder Malhi.

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Minister Oliver Tables Balanced-Budget, Low-Tax Plan for Jobs,

Growth and SecurityEconomic Action Plan 2015 supports jobs and

growth, helps families and communities prosper,and ensures the security of Canadians

OTTAWA: Minister of Finance Joe Oliver today tabled Economic Ac-tion Plan 2015, the Harper Government¡¦s balanced-budget, low-taxplan for jobs, growth and security. Economic Action Plan 2015 will:* Fulfil the Harper Government¡¦s promise to balance the budget in2015. The Government will return to balanced budgets while main-taining the lowest federal tax burden on Canadians in over half acentury.* Support jobs and growth by making Canada more competitive andallowing job-creating businesses to thrive; making new and innova-tive investments that build on the Government¡¦s historic support forinfrastructure; and training a highly skilled workforce that responds tothe evolving needs of employers.* Help families and communities prosper by continuing to provide taxrelief and other support for hard-working families and individualswhile enhancing opportunity for all.* Ensure the security of Canadians by supporting the Canadian ArmedForces and protecting Canadians from the threat of terrorism at homeand abroad. Balancing the Budget:* The deficit has been reduced from $55.6 billion at the height of theGreat Recession to a projected surplus of $1.4 billion for 2015¡V16.* The Harper Government paid down $37 billion in debt before theGreat Recession, an important reason why Canada¡¦s total govern-ment net debt burden is the lowest of any Group of Seven (G-7)country and among the lowest of the G-20 countries.* Balanced budget legislation will be tabled to enshrine in law theHarper Government¡¦s responsible fiscal management policy that is cre-ating jobs and putting more money back into the pockets of Canadians.* A balanced budget allows the Harper Government to cut taxesfurther for Canadian families and individuals.Supporting Jobs and Growth:* Reducing the small business tax rate to 9 per cent by 2019¡Xputtingan estimated $2.7 billion back into the pockets of job-creating smallbusinesses and their owners between now and 2019¡V20.* Providing manufacturers with a 10-year accelerated capital costallowance to encourage productivity-enhancing investment in ma-chinery and equipment.

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I CONTD. ON PAGE 11

2 MidWeek MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2015

MidWeek 3MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2012

MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2015 s p e c i a l r e p o r t

MODI MEETS CANADIAN CEOS,

BANKERS, VISITS KANISHKA MEMORIAL

HARPER AND MODI AT THE AIR INDIA MEMORIAL SITE IN HONOUR OF THE AIR INDIA AND NARITA AIRPORT VICTIMS. (PHOTO BY JASON RANSOM)

Toronto, (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi kept a busy final dayschedule in Canada last Thursday, meeting Canadian CEOs, bankersand pension fund managers to seek investment for India and alsopaid a visit to the Kanishka Air India Memorial site here. Modi metCanadian bankers and pension fund managers at a roundtable here onThursday and pitched for investments in India. He also met MarkWiseman (CEO, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board)."Business before breakfast PM @narendramodi meets bankers, pen-sion fund managers & pitches for investments from Canada," tweetedSyed Akbaruddin, spokesperson of the external affairs ministry. "De-mand to do business with India has gone up exponentially; India nowon top of our list- Canadian investors to PM," he added. Justin Trudeau,Leader of the Liberal Par ty of Canada, accompanied by his daughter,called on Modi.Later, both Modi and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper went tothe Kanishka Air India Memorial, where both laid flower wreaths andmet the relatives of the victims who had gathered there. The memo-rial is dedicated to the 329 people, mostly Canadians of Indian-origin,who were killed in the June 23, 1985, terror-hit Air India plane crash.The memorial was built in 2007. The Air India flight 182 was blown upby militants. Modi arrived in Toronto from Ottawa last Wednesdaywhere he addressed a 10,000-strong crowd of Indo-Canadians.

PM marked successful visit to Canada by In-dian Prime Minister Narendra ModiVancouver - Prime Minister Stephen Harper marked the conclusion of a highly productive visit to Canadaby Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India. The two-day visit, which included stops in Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver,was Prime Minister Modi's first visit to Canada since taking office and the first bilateral visit by an Indian PrimeMinister since 1973.During the visit, Prime Minister Harper and Prime Minister Modi committed to elevate the bilateral relationship to astrategic partnership and further broadened its scope through a number of important initiatives.The leaders also saw the completion of memoranda of understanding in a range of areas, including civil aviation, railregulation, education and skills development, and space cooperation, and projects focused on maternal, newbornand child health. Canada and India also finalized all steps necessary for the entry-into-force of the Social SecurityAgreement, which will take place on August 1, 2015.Prime Minister Harper also welcomed Prime Minister Modi's announcement that India will issue visas upon arrival,which will make it easier for Canadians to travel to India.On the margins of the visit, several commercial agreements between Canadian and Indian companies were an-nounced. With a combined value of over $1.6 billion, these agreements will benefit a range of sectors, includingaerospace and defence, education, energy, mining, infrastructure, sustainable technologies, and information andcommunications technology. They further demonstrate the significant growth taking place in the Canada-Indiabilateral commercial relationship.One commercial agreement involving Saskatchewan-based Cameco will see the company supply India with overseven million pounds of uranium over the next five years. This deal was made possible due in part to the Canada-IndiaNuclear Cooperation Agreement negotiated by our Government.Prime Minister Harper and Prime Minister Modi welcomed the progress made on negotiating a Bilateral ForeignInvestment Promotion and Protection Agreement and agreed to intensify discussions to finalize the outstandingissues.The prime ministers also participated in several cultural events where they met with members of Canada's vibrantIndo-Canadian community. During these events, Prime Minister Harper paid tribute to the tremendous contributionsthis community continues to make to our country's social, cultural and economic landscape.The leaders issued a joint statement reaffirming and further expanding the scope of the new strategic partnershipbetween Canada and India.Quick Facts" Canada and India have long-standing and positive bilateral relations based on shared values of democracy,pluralism and a mutual interest in expanding trade." India is Canada's largest trading partner in South Asia and is a priority market under Canada's GlobalMarkets Action Plan." With bilateral merchandise trade totalling nearly $6.3 billion in 2014 in addition to the over $1.5 billion inbilateral services trade in 2013, a market of more than 1.2 billion people, and a predicted economic growth of 7.5 percent in 2015, India represents exciting opportunities for Canadian businesses." Canada's approximately 1.2 million Indian diaspora community is one of the largest Indian diasporas in theworld." Prime Minister Harper first met Prime Minister Modi on the margins of the G-20 Summit in Australia inNovember 2014. Prime Minister Harper also visited India in November 2012 and November 2009." This is the first bilateral visit to Canada by an Indian Prime Minister since 1973."With its expanding population and impressive economic growth, India represents tremendous opportunities forCanadian companies. But we have only begun to scratch the surface of our true commercial potential. That is whyPrime Minister Modi and I were pleased by the scope and volume of bilateral initiatives and commercial agreementsthat took place during his visit. These initiatives will help to further strengthen our relations." - Prime MinisterStephen Harper"Canada and India enjoy a special friendship, underpinned by a vibrant Indo-Canadian community, whichcontinues to make tremendous contributions to our nation's cultural and economic fabric. It was a plea-sure this week to meet with Prime Minister Modi and members of the Indo-Canadian community to fur thercement the strong bonds that unite our countries." - Prime Minister Stephen Harper

HARPER AND MODI BEING GREETED BY LOCAL MEMBERS OF THE INDO-CANADIAN COMMUNITY UPON THEIR ARRIVAL AT THELAXMI NARAYAN TEMPLE (PHOTO BY JASON RANSOM)

Members of the Vancouver Indo-Canadian community greeting Modi upon their arrival in BritishColumbia. (PMO photo by Jason Ransom)

Stephen Harper with Narendra Modi; Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade, and Tony Clement, Presi-dent of the Treasury Board, during the business roundtable meeting with CEOs. (Photo by Jason Ransom)


TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2015s p e c i a l r e p o r t

MODI HEADS HOME AFTER TEMPLE,

GURUDWARA VISIT IN VANCOUVER

Prime Minister Stephen Harper along with Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, being greeted by large crowds before the two leaders delivered remarks in Toronto. (PMO photo by Jason Ransom)

Harbourfront Hotel.At the Gurudwara, Modi and Harper had their heads covered in piecesof cloth in deference to the Sikh tradition not to enter bare headed.Both were presented a yellow saropa, or a scarf of honour, and asword each by the gurudwara authorities. Both the leaders stood withhands folded in prayer. Canada has 1.2 million Indian diaspora, withmost concentrated in Vancouver.Modi, in his address to the gathering at the gurudwara, spoke aboutthe reconstruction of the gurudwara at Lakhpat in Gujarat during histenure as chief minister. He said the gurudwara at Lakhpat, whereGuru Nanak had stayed for 15 days, had been damaged in the 2001ear thquake and had been reconstructed successfully. Modi said: "Weshould fill life with colours of humanity and serve mankind."Modi and Harper also visited the Komagata Maru Museum. The mu-seum is in memory of the steamship of the name that reachedVancouver in 1914, carrying 376 passengers from Punjab, BritishIndia. Of them 24 were admitted to Canada, but 352 other passengerswere not allowed to land and the ship was forced to return to India. Atthe Laxmi Narayan temple in Vancouver, Modi and Harper were pre-sented with shawls and the priest put vermillion marks on their fore-heads.In his remarks at the temple, Modi thanked the Canadian prime min-ister and the people of Canada for the warm welcome and hospitalitythey had accorded him. He said the Supreme Cour t of India haddescribed Hinduism as a way of life. He exhor ted the gathering tolive life scientifically, in balance with nature, and with compassion.Modi said the United Nations recently adopted June 21 as the Interna-tional Day of Yoga with 177 countries co-sponsoring India's resolu-tion. The prime minister said Yoga had great potential to help theworld overcome the stress of modern life, and urged people to spreadthis message. Modi visited France, Germany and Canada during hisApril 9-17 three-nation tour.

Vancouver, (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi headed home afterending his three-nation tour, with the final day spent in the city ofVancouver in British Columbia, visiting a temple and a gurudwaraand attending an official dinner hosted by Canadian Prime MinisterStephen Harper.In his final tweets before emplaning for India, Modi said: "I leaveCanada with immense satisfaction. This visit will fur ther enhanceIndia-Canada ties. A big thanks to the people of Canada.""A special thanks to @pmharper- a fine host, a wonder ful human

being and a very dear friend," he wrote on his twitter handle@narendramodi. Besides visiting the two religious institutions con-nected with the diaspora, Modi also met British Colombia PremierChristy Clark.The Canadian prime minister, who has been a constant companion ofModi throughout his Canadian tour, received him at Vancouver Inter-national Airpor t, and accompanied him to the Gurudwara Khalsa Diwanon Ross Street and the Laxmi Narayan temple in Vancouver. Harperhosted an off icial dinner for Modi at the Pinnacle Vancouver

BOTH PRIME MINISTERS AT THE GURDWARA KHALSA DIWAN TEMPLE. (PHOTO BY JASON RANSOM)

PREMIER CHRISTY CLARK PRESENTS PM MODI WITH 100 YEAR JOURNEYBOOK AS THE OFFICIAL GIFT FROM THE PROVINCE OF BC

VANCOUVER - On April 16, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's economic, social, and culturalvisit to Vancouver, Premier Christy Clark presented the 100 Year Journey book as the official giftfrom the Province of British Columbia. The commemorative publication includes 100 selected sto-ries of British Columbia's South Asian pioneers spanning the past century. A single copy of the hardcover edition was specially hand made for the occasion.At a private meeting held shor tly before Canada's official state dinner for the visiting Prime Minister,the BC Premier discussed the experiences of South Asian Canadians as an impor tant par t of Canada'spast, present and future."I met with Prime Minister Modi to talk about strengthening cultural, social and of course economicties between British Columbia and India. I presented him with the book, the 100 Year Journey whichis filled with so many inspiring stories of pioneers who came here and endured some of the mostdifficult circumstances, stuck with it, and decided to stay. And because they did, they helped usbuild a much better and richer country. We were lucky to have them come. These stories matter.These stories inspire." she said.

INDIAN PRIME NARENDRA MODI WITH BARRIE MP PATRICK BROWN WHO IS ALSO PC PARTYLEADERSHIP CANDIDATE IN ONTARIO. RAJESH KUMAR RAINA, INDIAN CONSUL (COMMERCIAL) WITH DR V.I. 'LUCKY' (CIF).



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2015 s p e c i a l r e p o r t

YUDHVIR JASWAL, GROUP EDITOR YMEDIA AT ADINNER RECEPTION HOSTED TO GREET INDIAN

PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI

Yudhvir with Jason Kenney, Minister of National Defence and Minister for Multiculturalism.

Yudhvir with Chris Alexander, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.

Yudhvir with Ruby Dhalla, former Member of Parliament.

Yudhvir with Tiger Jeet Singh and Tiger Ali Singh, renowned wrestlers

Yudhvir with Sim Bhullar, first player of Indian descent to play in an NBA game. He is 7 feet 5 inches tall.


TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2015community

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath names MPP Jagmeet Singh as Deputy LeaderQUEEN'S PARK - Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath has appointed MPP JagmeetSingh as Deputy Leader."I'm proud to name Jagmeet Singh as Deputy Leader. I know that having himserve in this impor tant role will help to fur ther broaden the reach of our par ty withpeople outside of politics; from young people to bay street professionals," saidHorwath.It has been over a decade since Ontario's NDP Caucus had a Deputy Leader."Jagmeet Singh has been a dynamic force ever since being elected in 2011, anda proven agent of change. He has inspired increased political par ticipation in ageneration of youth who view him not only as a community leader, but as amentor.""When New Democrats championed the demand for a province wide reduction ofAuto Insurance rates and pushed for greater awareness regarding precariousemployment created by temporary job agencies Jagmeet was at the forefront.With him as our Deputy Leader, New Democrats will continue delivering forOntarians," said Horwath."I'm so honoured to belong to a par ty that commends members for standing up forwhat is right and just. Over the past few years we have worked continuously tonot just voice the concerns of the community but achieve actual change. Asdeputy leader I will continue the fight for fairness across the province," saidSingh. The announcement follows new critic assignments announced last month.Singh is currently the NDP Critic for the Attorney General and Government andConsumer Services. He has represented Bramalea-Gore-Malton since 2011 andhas always been a fighter for human rights and a strong voice for vulnerableOntarians. Jagmeet Singh is an accomplished mixed mar tial ar tist, criminaldefense attorney and was listed as one of Toronto Star's Top 12 people to watchfor 2012, named in the Queen's Park Briefing 2013 as one Ontario's 75 mostpowerful people and featured in Toronto life Magazine's "Toronto's 50 Most Influ-ential People" as one of the 5 youngest rising stars.This appointment marks the first time a turbaned Sikh will occupy a DeputyLeader position in Canadian politics.



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2015 community

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVEOutside Sales (Food Oils)

We are looking for aggressive, highly motivated and energized indi-viduals for our B2B outside sales role. Numerous South Asian lan-guage skills will be given preferance.

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Qualifications:- Motivated, self starters and driven sales people.- Minimum 2 to 3 years professional work experience. B2B salesexperience preferred. Food Industry even better-Individuals are expected to come to the office a minimum of one dayto make calls and appointments. Min 1 day per week Sales Meetingand reporting of results.- Proficient in Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)-CRM Experience- Strong oral and written communication skills- Must have a tolerance for change; this is an active and fast-pacedenvironment- Must be motivated, personable, ambitious and able to maintain anoptimistic attitude- Must be able to make presentations to customer- Must have driving license G.

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At time of approval: Company Car and Cell Phone will be provided.

ONTARIO INCREASING GO TRANSITSERVICE ALONG ALL CORRIDORS

PREMIER WYNNE ANNOUNCES THE NEW GO REGIONAL EXPRESS RAIL WITH MINISTER DEL DUCA IN BARRIE (PREMIERPHOTOS).

ONTARIO - Through its Moving Ontario Forward plan, the government isinvesting in improvements across the GO Transit network to increase transitridership, reduce travel times, manage congestion, connect people to jobs,and improve the economy. Funding through Moving Ontario Forward willalso be used to build priority rapid transit projects that will connect to GOTransit and other systems across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area(GTHA).On April 16, 2015, Ontario moved ahead with its plan to unlock the value ofcertain public assets. The net gain provides Ontario with approximately $4billion, which will go to Trillium Trust, where every dollar is set to build newtransit and other priority infrastructure projects through Moving Ontario For-ward.Together with other asset optimization strategies, this would provide Ontariowith $5.7 billion, or about $2.6 billion more from asset optimization thanpreviously assumed. This increases Ontario's total commitment to MovingOntario Forward from $29 billion to $31.5 billion. This is part of the province'splan to invest more than $130 billion over 10 years in public infrastructure,which represents the largest infrastructure investment in Ontario's history.The government is working with its agency, Metrolinx, to bring RegionalExpress Rail to the GO rail network. Regional Express Rail is the province's10-year initiative that will give people throughout the GTHA new travel op-tions, with faster and more frequent GO rail service and electrification oncore segments of the GO rail network.Construction of a new, second track on a section of GO Transit's Barrie line ispart of the broader Regional Express Rail initiative. Grading and bridge andculvert work is already underway on this second track, with constructionexpected to be complete in 2017.Regional Express Rail will allow for 15-minute two-way, all-day service toAurora, and new two-way hourly service to Barrie during the midday, eve-nings and weekends. The new six-kilometre section of track will run adjacentto the existing track between York University GO Station and Rutherford GOStation. Currently, there are 70 weekly trips on the Barrie line; over the nextfive years, that number will grow to more than 200. Over the next 10 years,weekly trips across the entire GO rail network will grow from approximately1,500 trips to nearly 6,000.Maximizing the value of public assets is part of the government's plan forOntario. The four-part plan is building Ontario up by investing in people'stalents and skills, building new public infrastructure like roads and transit,

creating a dynamic, innovative environment where business thrives, andbuilding a secure retirement savings plan.When it comes to transit and transportation, we're looking at the big picture.Creating better transit options and getting more people out of their cars ishelping transform the way people in the GTHA move, while driving economicgrowth, reducing greenhouse gas pollution and improving quality of life.Adding this second line to the Barrie corridor will help get people wherethey're going faster.Kathleen Wynne, Premier of OntarioThe government is expanding access to transit and building the necessaryinfrastructure for now and for the future. People using the Barrie GO corridorwill benefit from more train trips and future two-way service. This is furtherproof of our government's commitment to making the daily commute andquality of life better for Ontario families.Steven Del Duca, Minister of TransportationWe are transforming the GO rail network - the backbone of regional rapidtransit in the GTHA - to give people a faster, more convenient way to connectto the things that matter. Adding a second track to this section of the Barrie GOline is an important first step in bringing frequent, two-way service to com-munities along the line.Bruce McCuaig, President and CEO of MetrolinxThis is great news for the people of Barrie. Two-way, 30-60 minute service onweekdays, evenings and on weekends between Allandale-Waterfront Sta-tion and Union Station is a great step forward. I look forward to even more GOservice improvements in the future.Ann Hoggarth, MPP for BarrieQuick Facts" The government's Moving Ontario Forward plan will make $31.5billion available over the next 10 years for investments in priority infrastruc-ture projects across the province and is expected to support over 20,000 jobsper year, on average, in construction and related industries." Under Moving Ontario Forward, around $16 billion is being allo-cated to projects in the GTHA. Transit expansion and improvement projectsalready underway in the GTHA include Union Pearson Express, EglintonCrosstown LRT, York VIVA Bus Rapid Transit and Union Station Revitalization." Adding the second track on the Barrie line will cost approximately$17.4 million. Planning and design work is also underway to bring more traintrips and two-way service to the rest of the Barrie corridor.

Harper Government looking forseveral families not registered forenhanced child care benefitScarborough - An estimated 200,000 families with children areeligible to receive money under the Harper Government's proposedenhanced Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB), but are at risk of notreceiving the benefit unless they apply. In Toronto, for example, thereare an estimated 32,000 families who are not registered. TheHonourable Pierre Poilievre, Minister of Employment and Social De-velopment, today asked for help from the media and the public toencourage families to apply for the benefit.The majority of families with children, approximately 3.8 million, areknown and will automatically receive the enhanced UCCB or be con-tacted by the Government to confirm their information. However, manyeligible families are not currently captured by the Government's UCCBsystem and may miss out on receiving money that is owed to themunless they apply. In 2015 alone, this represents potentially millions ofdollars in unclaimed benefits.

Tax planning - cut and dried!DESK REPORT

Toronto - Though everyone residing in Canada is aware of filingtheir taxes on annual basis, some just wake up from their deepslumber as the dates approach nearer. Sometimes it is too lateto file one's taxes. That is the case of sheer negligence and thusone faces the music by paying 5% to 10% extra as a penaltyimposed by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). This was high-lighted by Char tered Ac-countant Harcharan SinghGrover, CPA, CA in a sit-ting with Midweek.He said: "I would like tohighl ight three main is-sues always missed bysome of our communitymembers who ge t t hebr unt of i t la ter. F i rst lythey are never preparedand do not come to anaccoun tan t p repa red .Secondly, they never keep their receipts securely and lastlytake too long to file taxes and therefore become victims ofheavy fines by CRA."Advising community, Harcharan maintained tax planning andbeing prepared to file taxes on proper dates is an absolutemust to avoid hassles later. He said: "One should be verycareful with fi l ing tax returns and must always seek theadvice of a professional accountant who might take a littlemore fee but will give the right advise that can save onefuture trouble." He added that Even someone is doing taxesat his/her own or a family friend is doing for them, a visit toprofessional accountant after 2- 3 years can help them find-ing more dollars in tax savings.Harcharan stressed upon the point of proper record keepingsaying every expense should be well documented and sup-por ted with receipts. In the absence of receipts, it becomesquite a task to prove to CRA that actually the said amountwas spent on what is being proposed. Corporations are moreorganized as they have proper book keeping depar tmentsbut it is all the more essential for self-employed to keeptheir bills as the depar tment can demand those any time.Thus to save oneself embarrassment, he suggest keepingall the bills for at least three years.He also mentioned how lack of awareness amongst diasporaresults in heavy penalties levied by CRA. With proper aware-ness one can avoid them. Delay in filing often triggers audit bythe CRA that means additional cost for the client. He advisedeveryone to file returns on time and pay taxes on timely basisto maintain a clean record.



BY MP PARM GILL

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New Delhi, (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi's three-nationtour was marked by several high points - the surprise an-nouncement on purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets in France,clinching a five-year uranium supply deal with Canada, pushingthe Make in India initiative in Germany, assuring all of the easeof doing business in India, not forgetting the rockstar connectwith the Indian diaspora. The tour has led to "positive achieve-ments" and led to a por trayal of a self-confident India, sayanalysts.As Modi returns home af ter his long April 9-16 tour, the visithad several other notable points. Modi paid tribute to thethousands of Indian soldiers killed in World War I at the NeuveChapelle memorial in France, becoming the first Indian primeminister to do so.He raised the pitch for India seeking a UN Security Councilpermanent seat, terming it as India's "right" and listed out thereasons, during a civic reception by the Indian community inParis. In Berlin, Modi said at a civic reception that India would"set the agenda" for the climate change talks in Paris this year,as India has traditionally always followed the principle of"reuse" and "recycle" and never believed in wastage of re-sources. At the same event, Modi made a significant statement,saying that India's secularism is based on strong foundationsand it can never be shaken.Modi also strived to establish a personal connect with the threeleaders. With France's President Francois Hollande, the "nao pecharcha" moment during a cruise on River Seine grabbedeyeballs. In Canada, Modi got Prime Minister Stephen Harper totravel by Air India One from Ottawa to Toronto and the two

leaders jointly addressed the thousands of ecstatic Indians atthe Ricoh Coliseum in an event reminiscent of the MadisonSquare Garden event in New York last year. Besides, Modimingled everywhere with Indian expatriates and also clickedselfies with them, helping strike a personal chord."In different ways all the three visits have produced positiveresults for India; besides strengthening the idea, which Modihas done successfully, that India is becoming more attractiveas an investment destination, which is critical for his develop-ment plans in India," former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal toldIANS.On Modi strongly pitching for a UNSC seat, Sibal said that thismarked a "change in tone". "Earlier India has been lobbying,now his tone is different; I will not beg for it, I deserve it andgiving reasons for that. This is par t of his general approach of aself-confident India which is now willing to make effor t tobecome par t of the big power league."Former envoy Sheel Kant Sharma termed the agreement onuranium as "path-breaking", especially as Canada had put Indiaoff nuclear cooperation following the 1974 peaceful nuclearblast. "And now they have come full circle and are sellinguranium to us, for five years. And Canada has also agreed onthe same terms which we have with US, they are also notinterested in the tracking issue, which has been raised by someother countries. In that sense it is the completion of the processthat star ted in 2005, of India's mainstreaming; India can geturanium from the major uranium suppliers," Sharma, who hasbeen India's representative at the International Atomic EnergyAgency (IAEA), told IANS.According to Sibal, "Canada is the third country from which wewill get raw uranium; and considering the history of our rela-tions with Canada on the non proliferation front, this is a verymajor strategic step forward".Noted strategic exper t C. Uday Bhaskar termed the uraniumagreement significant in relation to India's growing energyneeds to boost growth and development and the "symbolism aspoignant", in the backdrop of Canada having suspended nuclearcooperation following the 1974 nuclear test.On the Rafale deal, Bhaskar, told IANS that it "will providemuch-needed platform infusion to the Indian Air Force's deplet-ing fighter squadron strength."India clinched a deal to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets in fly away

condition in Paris. Bhaskar, who is director, Society for PolicyStudies (SPS), said "it was a deft political decision to manage acomplex exigency - both in relation to India's composite militarycapability and the tangled techno-commercial negotiations overthe 126 MMRCA deal concluded by the UPA government".Sibal said the Rafale deal "is a step that will bolster ourstrategic par tnership with France".In Germany, Modi's main thrust was economics. He heldmeetings with German CEOs and jointly inaugurated the Indiapavilion at the Hannover Messe with German Chancellor AngelaMerkel. "He passed on the core message that India is open forbusiness and he will make doing business in India easier, andalso promised that he will have mechanisms put in place thatwill facilitate the entry of German businessmen into India, "said Sibal.On his connect with the diaspora, Sharma says that Modirealizes the value of the diaspora in the way he reaches out tothem, meets them and shakes hands with them. "It helps themidentify with the prime minister of India, as one who rose up theladder to the top, and most of the diaspora have also come upthe hard way."

MODI'S THREE-NATION TOURPROJECTING A SELF-CONFIDENT INDIA

Opening New Markets for Business in Canada

ONTARIO - Small and medium-sized businesses represent 99% of allbusinesses in our great country, and account for nearly 90% of jobs inthe private sector. Canadians rely on small and medium-sized enter-prises to make a living and help make ends meet.That's why our Conservative Government has announced a number ofnew measures to help these businesses expand, create jobs andexplore new expor t oppor tunities for their goods and services aroundthe world.One such measure is a new expor t market development program.This program will provide direct financial assistance to entrepre-neurs who are pursuing new expor t oppor tunities and markets, espe-cially in high-growth, emerging markets. It has the potential to assistbetween 500 and 1,000 Canadian expor ters per year.In addition, the Canadian Trade Commission Service (TCS) will re-ceive new staffing and programming resources to fur ther assist Ca-nadians doing business with the world. With 160 trade offices in Canadaand around the world, the TCS does impor tant work - such as provid-ing expor t advice and guidance to entrepreneurs. Also, this new ex-pansion will provide the oppor tunity to add new trade commissioners

in priority markets going forward.These announcements build on our Conservative Government's strongrecord of suppor t for small and medium-sized business. We havekept taxes low, maintained the freeze on Employment Insurance pre-miums, and worked to reduce red tape and administrative bur-dens. Meanwhile, with one in five jobs directly dependent on ex-por ts, these announced measures also build on our Government'ssuppor t for trade. Since 2006, we've concluded trade agreementsor concluded negotiations of trade agreements with 38 countries,bringing the total to 43. This includes our agreement with theEuropean Union, which is the world's largest economy and theworld's largest impor ting market for goods. Indeed, our Govern-ment has del ivered the most ambit ious pro-trade plan in ourcountry's history.As Parliamentary Secretary for International Trade, I will con-tinue to work hard so our Conservative Government is helpingcreate jobs and oppor tunities for hard-working Canadians by de-livering results for small and medium-sized businesses.

Modi paid tribute to the thousands of Indian sol-diers killed in World War I at the Neuve Chapellememorial in France, becoming the first Indian primeminister to do so. He raised the pitch for India seek-ing a UN Security Council permanent seat, term-ing it as India's "right" and listed out the reasons,during a civic reception by the Indian community in Paris.In Berlin, Modi said at a civic reception that India would "setthe agenda" for the climate change talks in Paris this year, asIndia has traditionally always followed the principle of "reuse"and "recycle" and never believed in wastage of resources. Atthe same event, Modi made a significant statement, sayingthat India's secularism is based on strong foundations and itcan never be shaken.



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY


canadaMAYOR JOHN TORYDURING ANNOUNCEMENTOF PAYE PARTNERSHIPWITH STARBUCKSCANADA IP10

Premier Wynne met with IndianPrime Minister Narendra Modi

416-907-4420

Premier Kathleen Wynne met Wednesday with Indian PrimeMinister Narendra Modi ahead of his community event atToronto’s Ricoh Coliseum. She was joined by Ontario’s Ministerof Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure, BradDuguid and Associate Minister of Health and Long Term Care,Dipika Damerla.Premier Wynne expressed her interest in suppor ting par tner-ships between Ontario companies and institutions and theirIndian counterpar ts.Wynne said: “I was delighted to meet today with Indian PrimeMinister Narendra Modi as par t of his visit to Canada. We both

share a desire to deepen the excellent relationship we alreadyenjoy, thanks in no small par t to the tremendous contributionsof the over 700,000 Indo-Canadians who call Ontario home.”After the meeting, Premier Wynne joined 10,000 members of theIndo-Canadian community to hear Prime Minister Modi’sspeech at Ricoh Coliseum. Wynne said: “As the leader of theworld’s largest democracy and one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, Prime Minister Modi delivered a speechthat spoke to the hear ts of the community about taking Indiaforward. The excitement and the energy in the room is some-thing I will always remember from this historic visit.”

COTND. FROM PAGE 1* Increasing the Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption to $1 million forowners of farm and fishing businesses.* Improving access to financing for Canadian small businesses throughthe Canada Small Business Financing Program.* Expanding the services offered through the Business DevelopmentBank of Canada and Expor t Development Canada to help small andmedium-sized businesses.* Providing $14 million over two years to Futurpreneur Canada insuppor t of young entrepreneurs.* Suppor ting the Action Plan for Women Entrepreneurs to help womenbusiness owners succeed.* Helping innovative companies grow and create jobs through theVenture Capital Action Plan.* Suppor ting provinces and territories to facilitate the harmonizationof apprenticeship training and cer tification requirements in targetedRed Seal trades.* Investing in world-class research and development by providingover $1.5 bi l l ion in funding over f ive years to advance theGovernment¡¦s renewed science, technology and innovation strat-egy.* Continuing to provide $5.35 billion per year on average for provin-cial, territorial and municipal infrastructure under the New BuildingCanada Plan.* Investing $750 million over two years star ting in 2017¡V18, and $1billion per year thereafter, for a new Public Transit Fund aimed at

MINISTER OLIVER TABLES BALANCED-BUDGET, LOW-TAX PLAN FOR JOBS,

GROWTH AND SECURITY

Leader Justin Trudeau with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modiand his daughter, Ella-Grace. (courtesy facebook)

building new public transit infrastructure to reduce congestion andfight gridlock in large cities.Helping Families and Communities Prosper:* Increasing the Tax-Free Savings Account annual contribution limitto $10,000, effective for 2015 and subsequent years.* Reducing the minimum withdrawal factors for Registered Retire-ment Income Funds to permit seniors to preserve more of their retire-ment savings to better suppor t their retirement income needs.* Suppor ting seniors and persons with disabilities by introducing theHome Accessibility Tax Credit to help with renovation costs to maketheir homes safer and more accessible, so that they can live indepen-dently and remain in their homes.* Enhancing access to post-secondary education by expanding theeligibility for Low- and Middle-Income Canada Student Grants to stu-dents in shor t-duration programs. * Making the Canada Student LoansProgram work for families by reducing the expected parental contri-bution under the needs assessment process.* Suppor ting the most vulnerable in our communities by providing$150 million over four years, star ting in 2016¡V17, to support socialhousing in Canada by allowing social housing providers to prepaytheir long-term, non-renewable mor tgages without penalty.* Improving access to print materials for the visually impaired.* Providing $5.7 million over five years to help secure new marketaccess for Canadian seal products.* Ensuring veterans and their families receive the suppor t they needby: providing a new Retirement Income Security Benefit to moder-

ately to severely disabled veterans; expanding access to the Perma-nent Impairment Allowance for disabled veterans; enhancing the Earn-ings Loss Benefit for disabled par t-time Reserve Force veterans; cre-ating a new tax-free Family Caregiver Relief Benefit to recognizecaregivers; and increasing the level of individualized support to vet-erans.* Extending Employment Insurance Compassionate Care Benefits fromsix weeks to six months to better suppor t Canadians caring for gravelyill and dying family members.Ensuring the Security of Canadians:* Increasing National Defence funding by providing the CanadianArmed Forces with close to $12 billion over 10 years, thus ensuringthat Canada can continue to field a combat-capable military ready toserve at home and abroad.* Supporting the deployment of the Canadian Armed Forces by pro-viding National Defence with up to $360 million in 2015¡V16 in orderto counter ISIS.* Countering terrorism by providing additional resources to the RoyalCanadian Mounted Police, the Canadian Security Intelligence Serviceand the Canada Border Services Agency.* Enhancing Canada¡¦s capacity to gather foreign intelligence.* Protecting the integrity of our borders and facilitating legitimate travelto Canada for low-risk travellers from select visa-required countries.Quick Facts* A typical two-earner Canadian family of four will receive tax relief andincreased benefits of up to $6,600 in 2015 because of the HarperGovernment¡¦s tax cuts and increased benefits.* The Government has lowered taxes every year since coming into of-fice. In fact, the overall federal tax burden is now at its lowest level inmore than 50 years.* Over 1.2 million more Canadians are working now than at the end of therecession in June 2009. The majority of these net new jobs have beenfull-time positions in high-wage, private-sector industries.* Canada has demonstrated one of the best economic performancesamong G-7 countries over the recovery.* Real GDP (gross domestic product) is significantly above pre-reces-sion levels¡Xthe best performance in the G-7.* The World Economic Forum rated Canada’s banking system as thesoundest in the world for the seventh year in a row in its annual GlobalCompetitiveness Report.* According to KPMG, total business tax costs in Canada are the lowestin the G-7 and 46 per cent lower than those in the United States.* Bloomberg has ranked Canada the second most attractive place in theworld to do business.* Four credit rating agencies¡XMoody¡¦s Investors Service, Fitch Rat-ings, Standard & Poor¡’s and DBRS¡Xhave reaffirmed their top ratings forCanada, and it is expected Canada will maintain its AAA rating in the yearahead.Quote“Economic Action Plan 2015 will create jobs, growth and long-term pros-perity. It is a balanced budget, just as we promised, and it cuts taxes forhard-working individuals and families. It is a prudent and prin-cipled plan that will see Canadians more prosperous, more se-cure, and even more confident in our country¡¦s place in theworld. Canadians can rest assured that under the strong leader-ship of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Canada¡’s fiscal house isin order.¨ - Joe Oliver, Minister of Finance

ECONOMIC ACTION PLAN 2015 SUPPORTS JOBS AND GROWTH, HELPS FAMILIES ANDCOMMUNITIES PROSPER, AND ENSURES THE SECURITY OF CANADIANS


TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2015c a n a d a

MAYOR JOHN TORY DURING ANNOUNCEMENT OF PAYE PARTNERSHIP WITH STARBUCKS CANADA (COURTESY FACEBOOK).

COMMERCIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS AND AGREEMENTSBETWEEN CANADIAN AND INDIAN FIRMS

Toronto - The following commercial agreements and announce-ments were welcomed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper andNarendra Modi, Prime Minister of India. The deals, which arevalued at over $1.6 billion, cover a wide range of sectors, includingaerospace and defence, education, energy, mining, infrastructure,sustainable technologies, and information and communicationstechnology.Air CanadaAir Canada announced that it will reinstate its direct Toronto-Delhiflight on Boeing 787 Aircraft commencing in November 2015,making it easier and faster for visitors and business people totravel back and for th between Canada and India.AMP Solar Group Inc.Ontario-based AMP Solar Group signed a memorandum of under-standing with SUN Group to jointly develop, own and operate over500MW of solar assets in India over the next three years. This willresult in the investment of over $1 billion into new energy infra-structure in India.Azzimov CorporationQuebec-based Azzimov Corporation, an alumnus of the Governmentof Canada's Trade Commissioner Service's Canadian TechnologyAccelerators initiative, signed a joint venture par tnership with O4Digital Media to offer India's first and largest online video shoppingplatform. The estimated value of this agreement is $50 million overthe next three years.Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ)Quebec-based institutional fund manager CDPQ announced it willopen a Mumbai office in 2016 as par t of its push to expand itspresence in selected markets and invest strategically, in line withthe core trends driving the world economy.CamecoSaskatchewan-based Cameco signed an agreement with India'sDepar tment of Atomic Energy to supply over seven million pounds

of uranium to India over the next five years. At today's uraniumprice, this contract is valued at over $350 million. The supplycontract was made possible by the Canada-India Nuclear Coopera-tion Agreement which came into force in September 2013.Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB)The CPPIB announced that it plans to open a Mumbai office inOctober 2015. As of December 31, 2014, CPPIB managed over $238billion in investment assets for the Canada Pension Plan on behalfof 18 million Canadians.Canadian SolarOntario-based Canadian Solar announced that it will invest in afacility for solar cells and modules in India. This entails an invest-ment of $70 million.Clearford IndustriesOntario-based Clearford announced the following four projects:" a memorandum of understanding with InfrastructureLeasing & Financial Services Limited under which the ClearfordOne Sanitation system will be used to collect and treat wastewaterin Gujarat, pursuant to the Government of India's commitment toprovide toilets and bathrooms to every household;" a memorandum of understanding with IVRCL Ltd. that willsee collaboration on joint sanitation projects. The first proposedproject is a sewage treatment project for Jawaharlal Nehru Techno-logical University new campus in Kalagiri;" an agreement with St. Xavier's College to build a sewagetreatment plant for its campus in Kolkata; and," an agreement with the Indian Institute of Technology for asewer treatment pilot project at its Kharagpur campus.CMC Electronics Inc.Quebec-based CMC Electronics Inc. will supply Hindustan Aeronau-tics Limited with integrated cockpit display systems for India's newdomestically-produced Hindustan Turbo Trainer (HTT-40) aircraft.The deal is valued at $20 million.

Darram Inc.Quebec-based Darram Inc. is par tnering with the Taj Group to opena five-star health spa in 2016 near Rishikesh. This eco-friendlydestination resor t, with an investment of $30 million, will imple-ment a joint Indo-Canadian design that adheres to the world's bestsustainable development practices.Fanshawe CollegeOntario-based Fanshawe College signed a summer programagreement with IILM Institute for Higher Education for 90 graduatestudents to travel to Fanshawe College in July 2015 to under take afour-week summer program in Digital Marketing and GoogleAnalytics.SKILLSdoxThe Times of India Group signed an agreement to invest $29 millionin SKILLSdox India Private Ltd., a subsidiary of Ontario-basedSKILLSdox, in order to direct millions of new learners intoSKILLSdox's online educational marketplace, opening up onlineeducation oppor tunities across India.Tata Consultancy Services Co-Innovation NetworkTata Consultancy Services Co-Innovation Network announced that itwill set up a new innovation lab in Toronto. The investment of $100million is expected to help facilitate the commercialization of newtechnologies.

CONSUMER PRICESROSE BY 1.2% IN THE 12MONTHS TO MARCHOntario - The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 1.2% in the 12months to March, after increasing 1.0% in February.Lower gasoline prices continued to be the largest downwardcontributor to the CPI in the 12 months to March, posting a19.2% decline. However, the decline in March was smaller thanthe 21.8% year-over-year decrease observed in February.Excluding gasoline, the CPI increased 2.2% on a year-over-yearbasis in March, matching the rise the previous month. On a non-seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the gasoline price index rose6.3% in March, following a 9.4% gain the previous month.Prices rose in seven of the eight major components in the 12months to March, led by higher prices for food, followed byincreases in the household operations, furnishings and equipmentindex and the shelter index. The transpor tation index, whichincludes gasoline, posted its fifth consecutive year-over-yeardecline.Consumers paid 3.8% more for food in March compared withthe same month a year earlier. Prices for food purchased fromstores were up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis, led by an 11.8%increase in meat prices. Higher prices for fresh vegetables(+6.4%) and fresh fruit (+2.1%) also contributed to the gain.Prices for food purchased from restaurants rose 2.8% year overyear in March.Shelter costs rose 1.4% year over year in March, led by thehomeowners' home and mor tgage insurance index, which wasup 9.1%. Consumers also paid more for rent (+1.4%), proper tytaxes (+2.2%) and electricity (+3.0%). In contrast, fuel oilprices were 15.2% lower in March compared with the samemonth the previous year.Transpor tation costs decreased 3.9% in the 12 months toMarch, af ter falling 5.0% in February. Lower gasoline priceswere the largest downward contributor in both months. Con-versely, prices for the purchase of passenger vehicles rose1.8% year over year in March, following a 1.0% decline theprevious month.Consumer prices rose in eight provinces in the 12 months toMarch, with Ontario posting the largest increase. Among the

Atlantic provinces, three recorded year-over-year gains in their CPIs in March, followingdeclines the previous month. Prince EdwardIsland was the exception, recording its four thconsecutive decline. Consumer prices inAlber ta also decreased year over year. Year-over-year declines in gasoline prices wereobserved in every province.Ontario's CPI rose 1.6% in March comparedwith the same month a year earlier. Naturalgas prices were up 25.7% in the province inthe 12 months to March. This year-over-yearincrease mainly reflected a 33.6% monthlyrise in natural gas prices in April 2014,which followed prolonged cold weather. Inaddition, on a year-over-year basis, theindex for homeowners' home and mor tgageinsurance increased more in Ontario than atthe national level.The Bank of Canada's core index increased2.4% in the 12 months to March, after rising2.1% in February. The seasonally adjustedcore index rose 0.4% on a monthly basis inMarch, following a 0.1% increase in February.



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY


CONGRESS WILL OPPOSELAND BILL TOOTH ANDNAIL: SHASHI THAROORIP12india

PUNJAB DEPUTY CHIEF MINISTER SUKHBIR SINGH BADAL PAYS OBEISANCE AT THE GOLDEN TEMPLE IN AMRITSAR (IANS) YECHURY IS NEW CHIEF OFCPI-M, VOWS TOSTRENGTHEN PARTYVisakhapatnam, (IANS) Senior leader Sitaram Yechury wasunanimously elected the new general secretary of theCommunist Par ty of India-Marxist (CPI-M) on Sunday -- thelast day of the par ty's 21st Congress here. He resolved tostrengthen the par ty to meet the challenges faced by thecountry and the organisation.At the meeting of the new Central Committee (CC) on the lastday of the par ty's 21st Congress, outgoing general secretaryPrakash Karat proposed Yechury's name and S. RamchandranPillai seconded it.The 91-member CC, the highest executive body of the par ty,unanimously approved Yechury's installation as the par ty chief.The election of 62-year-old Yechury came after Pillai, who wasrepor tedly in the fray for the top par ty post, withdrew therebyensuring that the par ty continued its tradition of electing itsleader unanimously.

India well on path to economicrecovery: Arun JaitleyWashington, (IANS) The Indian economy is on a recovery pathwith 7.4 percent growth in the first three quar ters of the lastfiscal with the new NDA government committed to maintainingoverall macro-economic conditions, Finance Minister ArunJaitley said here."The Indian economy is now clearly on a recovery path. We arecommitted to maintain overall macroeconomic conditions on asustained basis so that the Indian economy is able to achieveand sustain growth of 8 percent and above," Jaitley said in hisaddress on Saturday to the International Monetary and Finan-cial Committee.He said India's growth recovered to 7.4 percent in the first threequar ters of 2014-15 as compared with 7.0 percent during thesame period of 2013-14.Advance estimates have placed the country's gross domesticproduct growth for the full fiscal 2014-15 at 7.4 percent.Inflation in the country has also moderated significantly, headded.Jaitley said the consumer price indexed (CPI), or retail, infla-tion declined to 5.2 percent in March 2015 from 11.2 percent inNovember 2013.In terms of the flexible inflation targeting framework adoptedrecently, the Reserve Bank of India will seek to bring the infla-tion rate to 4 percent by the end of a two- year period star tingfiscal 2016-17, Jaitley told the IMF.

AFTER EXPULSION, YADAV,BHUSHAN DESCRIBE AAP AS KHAP

DISSIDENT AAP LEADERS BHUSHAN, YADAV EXPELLED FROM PARTY

Dharamveer Gandhi sacked, Bhagwant Mann appointed as leader in Lok SabhaCONTD. FROM PAGE 1He reiterated that the AAP's actions were reminiscent of Stalinistpurges, where in the early years after the Soviet Revolut ionStalin's acolytes were both the accusers and judges of the dissi-dents both in the par ty and the government."I received your 'Show Cause Notice' around midnight on April 17.Frankly, I have been in a dilemma on whether to respond to thiscommunication. On the one hand it appears par t of a pre-scripteddrama where the outcome is already decided and well-known,"Yadav said in his lengthy reply, indicating that he would be oustedfrom the par ty.After expulsion, Yadav, Bhushan describe AAP as khapAfter being expelled from their Aam Aadmi Party on Monday night foranti-party activities, Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav lambastedthe party, describing it as a Khap Panchayat (kangaroo court).Although the two leaders termed their expulsion from the par ty asillegal, they said they would not contest it in the cour t.The AAP late Monday night removed Bhushan, Yadav, Ajit Jha andAnand Kumar for anti-par ty activities.A for tnight af ter its historic victory in the Delhi polls, the par typlunged into a crisis, with its founding members Bhushan andYadav accusing its chief Arvind Kejriwal of having developed "dic-tatorial tendencies".Speaking at a press conference here on Tuesday, Bhushan, ac-companied by Yadav, said: "It is no longer AAP. It is Khap.""Ideally we can approach the cour t against all that they did. Thereconstitution of the national disciplinary committee, the removal

of Admiral Ramdas as the par ty Lokpal - everything was illegal.The question is why should we spend our energy in cour t?" headded.The two leaders said though they were sad over their expulsion,they felt relieved as the "drama" is now over.Without mincing words, Bhushan went on to describe Kejriwal asa "dictator" who along with his "coterie" takes decision in thepar ty.React ing to Bhushan 's and Yadav 's a l legat ions, AAP leaderAshutosh later said the dissident leaders had disrespected AAP'sPolitical Affair Committee -- its key decision making body."The leaders should have some shame as they have disrespectedthe Polit ical Affairs Committee (PAC), National Executive andNational Council they were a par t of. They should not talk aboutdemocracy now," he said.Detailing about the procedure of expulsion, Dinesh Waghela, amember of AAP's National Disciplinary Committee, said the com-mittee had gone through the replies of the rebel leaders properly."We found that Bhushan, Yadav, Anand Kumar and Ajit Jha hadindulged in anti-par ty activities. We unanimously decided to ex-pel all the four rebel leaders from the par ty," he said."An e-mail in this connection was sent to all the four expelledleaders on Monday night," he said, adding: "We will resend thecopy of expulsion letter to them if they have not received it ear-l ier."The par ty also termed the allegations levelled against its leadersPankaj Gupta and Ashish Khetan by Bhushan as "baseless", say-

ing the par ty would not order any inquiry against them.Bhushan accused AAP's general secretary Pankaj Gupta of ac-cepting Rs.2 crore donation from shell companies and Khetan ofwriting a planted story in a magazine defending a telecom com-pany, allegedly involved in the 2G spectrum scam.Meanwhile, Khetan, in response to Bhushan's allegation againsthim, said the charges are baseless, and added that if the allega-tions were proved, he would quit public life."If Shanti Bhushan or Prashant Bhushan provide any proof regard-ing their allegations against me, I will quit the public life. If theyfail in giving any proof, they should also quit the public life. Thecharges made against me bear no truth," Khetan told repor ters.AAP appoints Bhagwant Mann as leader in Lok SabhaRemoving its Patiala MP Dharam Vira Gandhi from the post ofleader of the par ty in the Lok Sabha, the Aam Aadmi Par ty onTuesday appointed Bhagwant Mann, an MP from Sangrur, in hisplace, par ty sources said on Tuesday.The decision comes af ter par ty on Monday expelled its foundingleaders Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav for "anti-par tyactivit ies".Gandhi had been critical of the par ty leadership over the wayBhushan and Yadav were removed from decision-making bodiesof the par ty. The AAP has four members in the Lok Sabha and allof them are from Punjab.


TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2015i n d i a

MUMBAI SLUMDWELLERS,HIGH-RISE RESIDENTSPROTEST NEW CIVIC RULESMumbai, (IANS) Slumdwellers and residents of skyscrapersprotested against the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation'sproposed new development plan (DP) and development controlrules (DCR) at Azad Maidan here on Monday.The civic corporation's new proposal has kicked up a ragingcontroversy among all sections, political parties and the gen-eral public as it has created confusion and uncer tainties in theminds of the masses, said Maharashtra Societies Welfare As-sociation (MSWA) spokesperson Sunil Sharma."A lot of anxious people have been inquiring with us about theramifications of the proposed DP and DCR, seeking clarifica-tions and wanting to know how they would be affected," Sharmasaid at the protest meeting.An awareness programme has also been launched to informpeople about the BMC proposal, said Ramesh Prabhu, chair-man of the Affordable Housing Welfare Organisations of India(AHWOI), which jointly carried out the protest with MSWA.The programme would inform people on the impact of the BMCproposal on the people of the city at various places, the issuesaffecting slum rehabilitation, regularisation of transfer docu-ments, tenanted premises and cluster development, cessedbuildings, MHADA (Maharashtra Housing and Area Develop-ment Authority) buildings, fungible floor space index (FSI), hesaid."Under the proposed DP and DCR till 2034, there are manydiscrepancies and restrictions on use of FSI which would ren-der slum rehabilitation as unviable, besides reduction of otherfacilities that were given earlier, charging huge premium whichwould make housing unaffordable," Prabhu pointed out.The protesters have demanded scrapping of the proposed DPand DCR by the BMC, which has also been severely criticisedby all political par ties in the state.

RAHUL GANDHI ATTACKSMODI OVER LAND BILLNew Delhi, (IANS) Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi onSunday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of seeking toreturn "debt of industrialists" and vowed to fight for farmers'interests and against the "weakened" land bill in his first pub-lic rally after returning from a 56-day leave of absence. TheBJP hit back, wondering how many times the Congress willlaunch him.The Congress sought to put the Narendra Modi government onnotice over its land bill with all its top leaders - Sonia Gandhi,Rahul Gandhi and Manmohan Singh - signalling the par ty'sintention to make it a rallying point in the par ty's effor ts torevive itself electorally after the debacle in the last Lok Sabhaelection."How Modi won the election? He took loans of thousands ofcrores from big industrialists from which his campaigningwas done. How will he meet the obligation? He will do it bygiving (them) your land. He wants to weaken the land bill,"Rahul Gandhi said at a well attended Kisan-Khet Mazdooorrally at the Ramlila Maidan here.The rally was also seen as an occasion to highlight RahulGandhi's role in taking up causes of farmers and in getting theland bill passed in 2013 during the rule of United ProgressiveAlliance. He alleged in his 25-minute speech that the govern-ment wants that farmers do not get adequate price for theircrops, do not get fer tiliser and are not able to stand on theirfeet. "Then, they will purchase your land and give it to indus-trialists... He (Modi) showed that in Gujarat model land can betaken. What he (Modi) did in Gujarat, he wants to do it inIndia... Modi wants to weaken the foundation. This is Modi'smodel -- weaken the foundation, then attach a ladder to thebuilding, paint it and show to the world though the building isweak from inside." Speaking extempore, Rahul Gandhi saidthe Congress was firmly with the farmers and the poor. "Wher-ever there is attempt to snatch their land, Congress leaderswill be there. I will be there."Rahul Gandhi took exception to the repor ted remarks of Modithat he wants to remove "kachra" (dir t) of the past 50 yearsand said such words do not behove the post of prime minister.The Bharatiya Janata Par ty reacted strongly to Rahul Gandhi'sjibes at Modi. "How many times will the Congress launchRahul Gandhi," BJP leader and union Minister Ravi ShankarPrasad asked. He accused Rahul Gandhi of insulting the popularmandate of the last Lok Sabha election and sought an apologyfrom him.

OBAMA'S 'CHADAR' PRESENTEDIN AJMER SHARIF DARGAH

Ajmer/Mumbai (IANS) A 'chadar' (sacred cloth) sent on behalf of thepeople of United State of America and President Barack HusseinObama, was ceremonially presented at the Dargah Ajmer Sharif onMonday morning. The 'chadar' was presented by Haji Syed SalmanChishty, the 'Gaddi Nashin' to mark the 803rd annual Urs celebrationsof Hazrat Khawaja Moinudeen Hasan Chishty, a revered Sufi saint.US Ambassador to India, Richard Verma, had handed over the 'chadar'on behalf of President Obama to Haji Chishty in New Delhi last week."On behalf of the United States government, I convey greetings ofdeepest friendship and respect to the community of Dargah AjmerSharif and the people of Ajmer," said a message from Verma whichwas read out on the occasion.A 'chadar' from President Barack Obama and the American peoplebeing presented at the Ajmer Sharif Dargah on Monday (IANS)."On this day, the 803rd Annual Urs of Hazrat Khawaja MoinudeenHasan Chishty, our thoughts are with the community in Ajmer and wegive thanks for the work of the Dargah Ajmer Sharif and its legacy of

striving for understanding, peace, and respect between all faiths andpeoples of the world," the message said.Quoting President Obama, it added: "Whatever our beliefs, whateverour traditions, we must seek to be instruments of peace, and bringinglight where there is darkness, and sowing love where there is hatred.On behalf of the US government, Verma commended the Dargah AjmerSharif for its commitment to these noble goals and conveyed the good-will of the American people and partnership of the US Embassy in theirwork to make the world a better place."It's a historic day and a welcoming moment. It's the first ever gesture ofextending spiritual greetings of peace to Ajmer Dargah Sharif from a non-South Asian country's Head of State," a pleased Haji Chishty told IANS,on the gift of the 'chadar'.The 32-year-old Gaddi Nashin explained that such 'chadars' and offeringsare received with much respect and grace from presidents or primeministers and other top leaders of several South Asian countries, includ-ing regulars like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

New Delhi, (IANS) As parliament reconvenes this week after the intra-ses-sion break, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said on Sunday that the party willoppose the land acquisition bill "tooth and nail" as well as any "divisive andconfrontational" policies of the Narendra Modi government.Tharoor also termed Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's address at afarmer's rally here as a "new boost" to the party's momentum. Tharoor, aCongress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, said the par ty had been "veryconstructive in parliament" and had supported the BJP-led NDA on theinsurance bill. "We supported those issues which we believe were in thenational interest. We believe the amendments in the land acquisition billare not in the national interest; and we will oppose it tooth and nail inwhatever forums that are available to us; in this case the committees aswell as Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha," Tharoor told IANS. He said: "When-

ever they (government) brings in anything that is divisive or confronta-tional, we will rise to the challenge; where they are doing things we arewilling to consider positively we'll be constructive. "We are not like theBJP that brought a no confidence motion against the UPA government,while as we know from WikiLeaks, simultaneously assuring Americanenvoys that they really did not mean it. That kind of hypocrisy in theopposition we don't have." To a question on Rahul Gandhi's speech at afarmers' rally, his first after his 56-day-long absence, Tharoor said Con-gress workers "felt very inspired and positive about" the development."My impression is that we have not only had a success, but the momen-tum when that has already begun with Sonia Gandhi's effor ts earlier,when we marched to Rashtrapati Bhavan earlier; that momentum hasbeen given a new boost by what's happened today; and it will continue.

Parliament is also starting," he said. On March 17, SoniaGandhi had led an opposition march against the land billto Rashtrapati Bhavan.To a question on Rahul's long absence, Tharoor told IANS:I don't want to speak for any individuals. It's not right; Rahul-ji will speak for himself, but from the party's point of view,with the leadership very much in charge, the president andthe vice president,everyone is lookingforward to showingthe nation that weare not only backbut that we neverwent away."Asked about voicesin the party sayingthat Sonia should re-main the par typresident, Tharoorsaid: "I don't want totake a position onthat, it isn't neces-sary; we have themboth and we arelucky to have themboth." He added:"Inevitably, in everyparty at some pointin the future, therewill be a genera-tional change; andwhen that will bedepends on theleadership."

CONGRESS WILL OPPOSE LAND BILLTOOTH AND NAIL: SHASHI THAROOR



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2015 i n d i a

MODI DISCUSSES GOVERNMENTSCHEMES WITH BJP MPS

New Delhi, (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi told BJP MPs onSunday that "they are not there for power but to serve people" andasked them to believe in "janata (public) and nobody else"."We have not come here for power, we are here to serve the country,"Modi said, adding that they must believe in people and nobody else.He also said that the government should always be thankful to thepeople for reposing their faith in it and electing them with a completemajority. He told them what the poor of the country wanted from thegovernment. "Is it bad to dream that every poor of the country has hisown house and toilet," he said.Talking about his government's plans and schemes, the prime minis-ter said it was taking steps to make life easy for the poor and Dalits ofthe country.

If a daughter of a Muslim or a Dalit remains uneducated the entireplan to take the nation forward is defeated, he said while discussinghis 'Beti bachao' (Save Daughter) scheme.He also discussed the coming parliament session and how the MPsshould defend government policies.Modi has already asked par ty MPs to visit their constituencies andtake feedback on various government policies.The prime minister also discussed with them his recently concludedthree-nation tour and India's success in rescuing Indians from Yemenand lauded ministers Sushma Swaraj and V.K. Singh for their effor tsfor the same.The meeting assumes significance as it comes just days before theModi government completes a year in office.

New land bill will check distress migration, createjobs: Rural Development Minister Birender SinghNew Delhi, (IANS) The new land bill will enable faster growth andcheck distress migration from rural areas by creating local employ-ment, Rural Development Minister Birender Singh has said whilehoping that the legislation will be passed in the Rajya Sabha sessionbeginning next week.Birender Singh, 69, accused the Congress of blocking the new landacquisition bill only for political considerations as it touches 70 per-cent of population.He said Congress-led United Progress Alliance (UPA) government gotthe land bill passed in 2013 "in a hurry" with over 50 "drafting errors"as it wanted to reap benefits of the legislation in last year's Lok Sabha

elections. Enumerating benefits of the new bill which has been dubbedas "anti-farmer" by Congress and some opposition parties, BirenderSingh said its enabling provisions will give boost to infrastructure,manufacturing and employment.The bill enables the state governments to take "situation-specificsteps" for development of their states while, at the same time,safegauarding the interests of farmers, he said."It takes care of the imperatives of growth and employment on the onehand, and interests of the farmers on the other. The bill is the need ofthe hour. If we do not seize our oppor tunities, the world will not waitfor us," Singh told IANS in an interview.

Singh, who joined BJP last yearafter serving Congress for sev-eral decades, said that during thestate ministers' conference heldin June 2014 almost all the par-t ic ipants had emphat ical lybrought out that the acquisitionunder the 2013 Act was ex-tremely difficult.The new bill provides creation ofland bank, compensation at twoto four times of market rate to theland owner in case of acquisitionas also resettlement and rehabili-tation."It empowers various depar t-ments of state and Centre to ac-quire land to build irrigation ca-nals, roads, rural housing, infra-structure such as agricultural-produce transpor tat ion hubs,warehouses and agriculture sup-por t facilities. The proposed in-dustrial corridors will also helpcreate employment locally whileboosting country's GDP growth,"Singh explained to remove mis-conceptions about the purpose ofthe bill.He said the bill does not permitacquisition by the government forprivate players but allows thegovernment to create industrialcorridors where industries andenterprises will come up to ushergrowth.Though contribution of agricultureto GDP reduced from 30 percentto 14.5 percent in two decadesfrom 1990-91, nearly half thecountry's population is still be-lieved to be dependent on agri-culture for sustenance.A study by Centre for Study ofDeveloping Societ ies (CSDS)found that given an option major-ity of farmers in the country would

prefer to take up some other work. Poor income, bleak future andstress were among the main reasons identified for their desire to giveup farming and migrate to cities.Singh said benefits of the new bill will be felt in the coming monthsand years and will prove "worth of our policies."The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisi-tion, Resettlement and Rehabilitation (Amendment) Bill, 2015 waspassed in the Lok Sabha in the first half of budget session with nineofficial amendments. It has not yet been taken up in the Rajya Sabhawhere the National Democratic Alliance government lacks majority.Singh said Congress was opposing the bill merely for the sake ofopposing it."Congress is saying that we want the 2013 Act without any changes.There is only political angle and that's why there is political resis-tance or 'blockade'."The minister said political par ties calibrate their stand on variousissues from time to time and opposition par ties would not like to be"on the wrong foot" on the land bill."I think it will be passed. We have diligently gone through each sug-gestion that we received and have brought nine amendments in LokSabha. If there is anything in the interest of farmers, we have noobjections (in accepting it)," he said.Singh, grandson of Sir Chhotu Ram who was a prominent pre-par ti-tion politician and a champion of interests of farmers, said he will notallow any injustice to farmers."There cannot be injustice to farmers while I am there...The bill isdefinitively pro-farmer," Singh said.Asked about the possibility of government going for a joint session ifthe bill is not passed in the Rajya Sabha, he said: "We have notthought about it."The land ordinance was re-promulgated earlier this month as the billwas not passed in the first half of budget session. The Rajya Sabhawas prorogued to enable repromulgation of the ordnance.The new bill provides for removal of consent clause for acquiring landfor cer tain sectors including defence and affordable housing.

CENTRE FOCUSED ONSERVING POOR: MODINew Delhi, (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sundaytold BJP MPs that his government was focused on serving thepoor and asked them to believe in the people and nobody else.Addressing a workshop of BJP MPs on welfare of the poor, Moditook a jibe at his critics and said there were some with a "con-genital habit" of criticising the BJP and those "with perver tedmindset" were spreading "lies" about the initiatives of the gov-ernment, including the land acquisition bill.Modi said his government's decisions were guided by "rashtraneeti" (national interest) and not "rajneeti" (politics) and calledupon the MPs to directly connect with the poor.Modi addressed the MPs hours before Congress leaders SoniaGandhi and Rahul Gandhi addressed a farmers' rally here inwhich they accused the National Democratic Alliance govern-ment of being "anti-farmer", "anti-poor" and "pro-industralists".The prime minister asked the MPs to spread the word about thebenefits of government schemes and said the government wascommitted to providing "housing for all" and schools and hospi-tals for the poor. Referring to the losses faced by the farmersdue to unseasonal rains, Modi said the government had in-creased input subsidy by 50 percent and relaxed eligibility cri-terion for relief. He said procurement norms had been relaxed toallow procurement of wheat crop which lost its sheen.Modi said decisions taken by the government for the benefit ofthe poor were not being duly publicised.Modi took a veiled dig at former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi forhis remarks that only 15 paise in a rupee sent from the Centrereaches the beneficiaries and said task of a leader was not justto diagnose a disease but to treat it.He said the BJP was in power to serve the people and not forcomfor ts of power. "We have not come here for power, we arehere to serve the country," he said, adding that the governmentwas committed to the welfare of the poor.The prime minister said his government wanted that moremoney should go to the rural areas and the purchasing power ofpeople there should also increase.He said the US, the World Bank and the International MonetaryFund have recognised India as the fastest growing economy.Citing data about drop of inflation since his government came topower in May last year, Modi said drop in prices help the poor."Everything is so clear," he said.Referring to the schemes initiated by his government for thebenefit of the poor, including Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana,Beti Bachao Beti Padhao and toilets for all, Modi said MPs shouldsee that schemes were being effectively implemented in theirareas and the intended benefits reached the poor.

Brief moment ofembarrassment for CongressNew Delhi, (IANS) In what is being widely termed as an em-barrassing moment for the Congress, a large group of farmerswas seen leaving the venue as soon as party president SoniaGandhi began to address the "Kisan-Khet Mazdoor" rally here.A group of farmers wearing pink turbans, believed to beformer Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda'ssuppor ters who were issued a pink turban code for therally, lef t Ramlila Maidan just as par ty vice-president RahulGandhi finished speaking and Sonia Gandhi took over themicrophone. While the sudden dispersal of the pink-tur-baned group raised curiosity, the Congress par ty sought todownplay the movement."It can happen in any rally. People lef t due to the hardweather. This is not an issue at all," par ty leader MeemAfzal told a news channel.Echoing the view, a police official told IANS that althoughthere were over 50,000 people who attended the rally onSunday, many lef t the ground before the end as "it was toohot to stand for long hours".Incidentally, after the Congress's rout in 2014 Haryana stateassembly election under Hooda's leadership, Sonia Gandhiappointed Kiran Choudhary, a known Hooda detractor, asleader of the Congress legislature par ty. Hooda, however,continues to hold sway in the state unit of the par ty.

MEMBERS OF SHIROMANI AKALI DAL (SAD) STAGE A DEMONSTRATION AGAINST UPCOMING FILM NANAK SHAH FAKIR INAMRITSAR (IANS).


TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2015w o r l d

CHINESE PRESIDENT XI JINPING (L, FRONT) IS WELCOMED BY PAKISTANI PRIME MINISTER NAWAZ SHARIF UPON HIS ARRIVALIN ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (IANS).

Ukraine accuses pro-Russiansrebels of launching attacksKiev, (IANS) The Ukrainian military on Sunday accused pro-Russian rebels of bombarding its positions with heavy arma-ment, including missile launchers, which are ostensibly pro-hibited under the Minsk peace accord signed last February.The rebels were understood to have used Grad missile launch-ers, along with heavy ar tillery and mor tars of more than 100mm calibre, which were weaponry that should have been with-drawn in accordance with the separation of forces agreement,Spanish news agency Efe repor ted.The attacks were conducted at several towns in the Donetskregion, the main insurgent bastion, including Avdiivka andShirokino, both of which are near the strategically impor tantUkrainian-government-controlled city of Mariupol on the Sea ofAzov. In addition, Ukrainian government positions were attackedusing Grad missile launchers in the neighbouring Lugansk re-gion. The attacks wounded three soldiers, one of them seri-ously, and two civilians. Tensions along the line of separation ofthe forces have been on the rise in recent days with accusa-tions by either side of truce violations, especially in the areaaround the Donetsk airpor t and the town of Shirokino.Several Ukrainian soldiers died last week in combat with insur-gent militias, who accuse Kiev of preparing an offensive to re-take Donetsk. Last Monday, the foreign ministers of Ukraine,Russia, France and Germany agreed to the withdrawal of tanks,armoured vehicles, mor tars and "heavy weapons of at least100 mm calibre" from the combat zone.

Yemen's Houthis vow toconfront Saudi-led offensiveSanaa, (IANS) Yemen's Shia Houthi rebel group on Sundayvowed to confront the offensive by the Saudi-led coalition andSunni tribal fighters.Rebel leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi condemned Saudi Arabiafor interfering in Yemen's domestic affairs, and said, "We candecide our politics, form our government," according to a Xinhuarepor t. "We took government institutions to protect those fromAl Qaeda... they asked us to withdraw from ministries and fromsouthern provinces in order to let Al Qaeda seize them... andthat will not happen," he said.Military sources said that the Houthi leader was hiding in themountainous regions in Yemen's nor th Saada province thatborders the oil-rich Saudi Arabia. Yemen's exiled PresidentAbd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi named Prime Minister Khaled Bahahvice president last week in the Saudi capital of Riyadh. Bahahsaid negotiations involving all Yemeni political par ties wouldnot be held until Hadi returned to Aden and the Houthis dis-armed. On the same day, deadly fighting between the pro-Haditribal militia and Houthi gunmen erupted in the southern por tcity of Aden, killing at least 12 people and wounding dozens ofothers, medical sources told Xinhua.

CHINA PLANS $45 BN INVESTMENTSIN PAKISTAN, SIGNS 51 MOUS

Islamabad, (IANS) Pakistan and China on Monday signed 51 agree-ments and Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) for cooperation indiverse fields with visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping scheduled tounveil a $45-billion investment plan that can help Pakistan end itschronic energy crisis and transform it into a regional economic hub.Xi, who arrived in Pakistan on Monday on a two-day visit, and Paki-stan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif witnessed the signing of the agree-ments in Islamabad.The two leaders also unveiled plaques of eight projects to be under-taken in Pakistan with Chinese assistance.The projects and agreements relate to China-Pakistan Economic Cor-ridor, energy, infrastructure, agriculture, research and technology,education and other fields.The prime minister said the agreements and MoUs signed by the twocountries have sound financial and technical backing.He reaffirmed that friendship with China was the cornerstone ofPakistan's foreign policy.He said there were strong public sentiments driving the two coun-tries' relations, which provide a sound basis for their strength.Sharif said the most prominent hallmark of Pakistan-China relation-

ship was consistency and resilience, irrespective of political devel-opments, changes in the two countries and major regional and inter-national developments.Pakistan-China ties have remained robust. Relations between thetwo are based on shared ideals and principles of mutual trust, mutualbenefit and respect, he said.In his remarks, President Xi said the main objective of his visit was tofurther cement and give new boost to the strategic par tnership andfriendly ties with Pakistan.He assured Sharif that China would continue playing its par t for sus-tainable socio-economic development of Pakistan with particular fo-cus on development in Balochistan province.The Chinese president said special attention would be paid to fur therstrengthen economic strategic par tnership with Pakistan in next 10years. The Chinese president will unveil a $45-billion investmentplan that can help Pakistan end its chronic energy crisis and helptransform it into a regional economic hub.The investments offer a real oppor tunity to change the scope Sino-Pakistan relationship "from geo-politics to geo-economics", said Fed-eral Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal.



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY


Zareen and Daisy all setto scorch the screen

Hrithik 'proud' to receive award for HRX

Hit And Run Case: Salman's defensegives a shocking twist to the case

RANVEER SINGH, PRIYANKA CHOPRA AND ANIL KAPOOR GOT TOGETHER TO WATCH THE TRAILER OF DIL DHADAKNE DO INMUMBAI (IANS).

Actor Hrithik Roshan is 'proud' toreceive Brand Visionary of the YearMale award at the InternationalAdver tising Association (IAA) Awardsfor his brand HRX.The actor launched his clothing brandin February along with a video titled"Defeat Defeat" which features the starovercoming obstacles. He took toTwitter to share the news about theaward with his fans.He wrote: "Proud 2 rec d award frm@jayantsinha RT @hrxbrand: BrandVisionary Of The Year Male At#IAAAwards For #HRX (sic)"Meanwhile, the actor is shooting for"Mohenjo Daro", directed by AshutoshGowariker.

Giving a sensational twist to theongoing re-trial of Bollywood ac-tor Salman Khan in the accidentcase, h is lawyer Shr ikantShivade on Friday argued that oneof the victims could have diedbecause of the impact of the carfalling off while being lifted by acrane. Salman's vehicle hadrammed into the American Ex-press Bakery in Bandra Westearly morning of September 28,2002. One pavement dweller,Nurulah Mahboob Sharif, died inthe accident while Munna MalaiKhan, Kalim M. Pathan, AbdullahRauf Sheikh and Muslim Shaikhsustained injuries."There are incriminating circum-stances to suggest that the cardropped on the persons who wereunder it when it was being liftedwith the help of a crane broughtin by police after the accident,"Shivade said in his ongoing finalarguments in the case before Ad-dit ional Sessions Judge D.W.Deshpande.He fur ther pointed out that the in-

jury cer tificates of the four peoplesuggested that the injuries werebecause of "friction" and "drag-ging", the autopsy of the deceasedvictim Sharif showed that he was"crushed"."He (Shar i f) was crushed assome heavy object fell on him,"Shivade told Judge Deshpande,

adding that the car weighedaround 3,000 kg.Shivade pointed to the autopsyrepor t which suggested that thehead, chest, lungs, thorax, larynx,t rachea and bronchia werecrushed completely."Can a person in such a conditioncry for help," he said, suggesting

that Sharif could have died be-cause of the impact of the car fall-ing off while being lifted by thecrane. He also termed as "mis-leading" the statement of one ofthe injured witnesses, who saidSharif was below the car andscreamed and shouted til l thecrane lifted the vehicle.

Zareen Khan and Daisy Shah, who feature in 'Hate Story 3', withSharman Joshi are getting in shape for the film.The 'Hate Story' franchise is known for its intimate and bold scenes.As the third outing will also have the duo indulge in dare-to-barescenes, the makers have told them to get fit for the roles. The film,produced by T Series and directed by Vishal Pandya, is slated to goon the floors later this year.'Hate Story' (2012) starred Bengali actress Paoli Dam who featured ina controversial poster with her bare back while 'Hate Story 2' (2014)had Surveen Chawla and Jay Bhanushali in a no-holds-barred perfor-mance.Incidentally, Zareen and Daisy, who are both Salman Khan's discov-eries, and have always been in the news about their large body types.Zarine was nicknamed Fatrina because of her similarity with KatrinaKaif during the shoot of her debut film 'Veer' in 2010. Daisy who wasseen with Salman in 'Jai Ho' (2014) also had to contend with weightyissues talk.

The outspoken and blunt Rakhi Sawant detests any comparison withadult film star-turned-Bollywood actress Sunny Leone, and says sheshould instead be compared to the likes of international icons Jenni-fer Lopez and Madonna.At the shooting of a video album, Rakhi, who was dressed in a reveal-ing ensemble, hit back at a mediaperson who asked her if her come-back song will give tough competition to Sunny who has been makingwaves in B-Town.To that Rakhi said: "Please don't compare me with Sunny Leone be-cause I have achieved (my popularity) by dancing, performing, doingreality shows and also by winning hear ts of the audiences. I never didany adult film or anything else to achieve this. I hope you all under-stand."She was also clear about whom she wants to be compared with."I am glamorous and very much upfront. I think you can compare mewith Jennifer Lopez, Madonna," said the item girl-actress who hasgrooved to songs like "Pardesia" and "Dekhta hai tu kya".

RAKHI PUBLICLYDEMEANS SUNNY



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'Broken Horses' - Intelligently tamed

IS MANOJ BAJPAYEE INPRODUCTION NOW?Mumbai, (IANS) The film production bug has bitten Manoj Bajpayee too -- theactor is producing a thriller, starring himself with the versatile Tabu. He saysthe new feather in his hat is a "natural progression. I think production was anatural progression for meafter acting in film for 20years. I cannot disclosemuch about my first produc-tion as it's a thriller and itwould mean revealing thestoryline -- you will have towatch the film," Manoj said.Manoj's banner is ManojBajpayee Productions Pvt.Ltd., and the first venture un-der it is yet untitled.

Mumbai (IANS) - Vidhu VinodChopra's English Film "BrokenHorses" is a different, yet emo-t ional ly packed take on theAmerican Wild West, set some-where near the Mexican border.With heavy doses of bromance,the tale delves on the bond be-tween two orphaned brothers. Itexplores their sensitive and caringnature towards each other.Narrated in a linear fashion, it isthe story of Buddy Heckum, a sen-sitively hooked slow learner, hismusically inclined younger brotherJacob Heckum, who is also knownas Jackey, and a conniving gang-ster Julius Hench, who in order tosafeguard his own interests triesto separate the two brothers. Thisforms the crux of the tale.Fifteen years ago after the death oftheir father Gabriel Heckum, theSheriff of this border town, the boysare left to fend for themselves.Jul ius takes Buddy under hiswings and instigates him with,"There are lots of bad people outthere, somebody got to stopthem... Miguel Stanton killed yourdad and you cannot let him getaway. You kill him."

Buddy takes revenge. This "job"was his initiation into the crimeworld. And in order to protectJackey from his world of crime,the ever caring older brotherpacks him off to New York to lethim pursue his dream of becom-ing a violinist.Years later, Jackey plans to getmarried and sett le down withVittoria (Maria Valverde). Buddyinsists that Jackey return home

to have a look at the surprisewedding gift he has in store forthem. The gift was "a promise hehad made". Jackey obliges. It isthen, when he is in his hometown,that Jackey learns about Julius'sinister plan and the film garnersmomentum."Broken Horses" is Christopher G.Marquette's turf. He engages youas Buddy and gets you hooked.He alternates between a simple-

ton and a pigheaded revenge-seeking mercenary hitman withequal ease and grace. AntonYelchin as his younger brother issincere. The fear and concern forhis brother is palpable on screen.Well mounted with good produc-tion and technical values, the filmhas an inexplicable gentleness tothe narration, very characteristicof Vidhu Vinod Chopra. It will ap-peal to the emotionally inclined.

Movie Review

CAST: KALKI KOECHLIN, REVATHY, SAYANI

GUPTA;

DIRECTOR: SHONALI BOSE (AND NILESH

MANIYAR)

RATING: *****

MARGARITA WITH A STRAWA MOVING TALE OF A SPECIAL LIFEAt the end of this exquisitely designed film I wasn't sure whether Ihad just watched a film about a very special life of a specially-abled girl who can't move a limb without her mother's help but hasthe hots for... let me see, at least two boys and one woman. And,we are still counting.Or, was I watching an extraordinary rendition of the mother-daughter relationship done in shades so distinctive and deep thatyou leave behind a par t of your being with the film when you leavethe theatre even as you take home something invaluable with you.Margarita With A Straw, so named because its cerebral palsy-afflicted stubbornly spirited heroine would have the cocktail in atumbler with a straw, but have she will, is a film that leaves youprofoundly enriched.The film creates a crisscross of complicated relationships amonghuman beings who seek normalcy in their strenuously challengedlives both within their homes and outside.But the beauty of it is, the tangles in which human beings findthemselves in their quest for kinship tends to solve itself in the end.It's the way life works, so what's the big deal? Says this remark-able film. Shonali Bose's film never stops to wonder what Laila'slife would have been like had she been ...well, normal. Beingnormal!... Now that's a question which the film's brilliantly writtenscript, never stops to enter tain.Non-judgemental to the core and never fearful of peering intoforbidden areas of the humam psyche(in one of the many bravelyexecuted sequences Laila pleasures herself away from hermother's watchful eyes after watching porn clips on her laptop),Margarita With A Straw blends commentary on dysfunctional liveswith that sense of profound yearning which comes to any individualwho aspires to go beyond his or her allotted space in life.Laila's aspirations take her through a geopolitical emotional andsexual journey that finally leaves her and us, wiser.All three levels of Laila's education are textured into the plot with aminimum of fuss. Shonali Bose cuts through moments and mon-tages from Laila's life with luminous austerity.We see more than what meets the eye. Not only because the film'seditors (Monisha Baldawa and Bob Brooks) have done their jobseffectively but also because this film believes in saying a lot aboutthe quality of human life without wasting time in self-pity.Tears, you will see, don't get a chance to roll down cheeky cheekshere. It is precisely because the film refuses to ruminate on thetragic grandeur of life that it creates a sense of unassuming dignityin the lives that we see on screen, none more bravely and emphati-

cally dignified in adversity than Laila.As played by the exceptionally gifted Kalki Koechlin Laila is bit of atease...not just with men but with life as well. Kalki makes everyencounter in Laila's life from Delhi University to New York Univer-sity special and memorable.I specially cherish the mother-daughter scenes between Revathiand Kalki. They are hear twarming and hear tbreaking because theynever forget to be completely truthful to the given (tragic) contextwhile striving to be supremely cinematic.This is as oppor tune a moment as any to say Kalki in the centralpar t shines in a space where her character's disability assumes nopre-ponderance.This is a major transcendental triumph for the actress, as much ofher speech is spoken in a slur. Kalki takes Laila beyond the worldof words. It is those eyes...The goddamned wounded eyes. Theyserve as a window to Laila's soul.Every actor playing character as varied as Laila's kid brother to herSardarji father seems pre-destined to play the par t that has chosenthem. Debutant Sayani Gupta as Laila's militant friend brings to hercharacter an undeniable scrupulosity.But it's Kalki and Revathy who hold the delicate plot together. Theirscenes together, and apar t, moved me in ways I've not been movedin a movie for a very long time.The film's emotional affluence is matched by its technical finesse.The ar t work and locational detailing unfussy and matter-of-fact, aswell as the casting of every character is so correct, you wonderhow the director got it so right with so little self-congratulations.Sip and savour the delicate tastes of life in Margarita With a Straw.This is a moving hear twarming lyrical and yummy tale of a girl sosassy,she defines the eternal quest to seize the day.After watching her flash her middle finger at a poor unsuspectingwoman for sympathizing with her disability I am sure of one thing --No one after watching this film would ever dare to tut-tut at awheelchair again.Not unless you enjoy being ridiculed for thinking 'normal' is allabout standing on your feet and sleeping with members of theopposite sex.And do give a standing ovation to Kalki. That girl in yellow bootshas thrown off those flashy shoes got onto a wheelchair andwheeled herself into eternal fame. Kalki's performance and the filmleft me speechless.Kalki made me forget Laila is damaged. She left me confused aboutthe definitions of the normal.


TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2015b o l l y w o o d

IMRAAN HASHMI AND AMYRA DASTUR PROMOTE THEIR UPCOMING FILM MR X ON THE SETS OF BBC PRODUCTIONS KAISIYEH YAARIYAN IN MUMBAI (IANS).

HELEN IS UNBELIEVABLE ONSCREEN: MALAIKAMumbai, (IANS) Actress-producer Malaika Arora Khan, alsoknown for her dancing skills, says there is nobody like yesteryear'sdancing diva Helen.Asked how she reacts when people compare her to Helen, who ismarried to the former's father-in-law Salim Khan, Malaika told IANS: "Idon't think there is any comparison. If anybody says something, I takeit as a huge compliment because at the end of the day there is nobodylike Helen aunty. She is unbelievable on screen."While Helen remains Malaika's all-time favourite, the latter is also allpraise for actress Deepika Padukone. "For me, my favourite is DeepikaPadukone. She is amazing, she is very good and is a brilliant actor. Sheis fantastic and has come a long way," said Malaika, who impressedmany with her dance moves in the song "Chaiyya chaiyya" from ShahRukh Khan-starrer "Dil Se..".

SONAM BEGINS FILMINGNEERJA BHANOT BIOPICMumbai, (IANS) Actress Sonam Kapoor has begun shooting forthe biopic of Neerja Bhanot, a Pan Am chief purser who was gunneddown by terrorists when Flight 73 was hijacked in Karachi in 1986.Sonam feels humbled to be a part of the biopic, which is ace photogra-pher Atul Kasbekar's debut production."Day 1 of #NeerajBhanot thank you @foxstarhindi and @BlingLive formaking this possible... Let the journey begin! #nerves #excitement#humbled (sic)," the 29-year-old actress tweeted recently.Kasbekar wished for good luck for the film and tweeted: "#NeerjaBhanotHer story begins today... Wish us luck."Actors Riteish Deshmukh and Dia Mirza and former Balaji TelefilmsCEO Tanuj Garg also wished good luck for the film, which also featuresShabana Azmi.Riteish wrote: "@atulkasbekar congrats my friend -this debut waswaiting to happen Mr producer.""To my @atulkasbekar @findingshanti @piyasawhney!!! May this beall that you hope for it to be :) lots of love and good wishes! #Neerja,"Dia tweeted.While Garg shared on his offical Twitter page: "All the best.@atulkasbekar.@sonamakapoor .@AzmiShabana #teamBling for #NeerjaBhanot.Happy shooting!! A blockbuster biopic on its way!"

IT'S THE BEST TIME TO BEWITH AARADHYA: BIG BMumbai, (IANS) Megastar Amitabh Bachchan says it is thebest time to be with his three-year-old granddaughter Aaradhya,who is a curious child and very mature for her age. Aaradhya is Abhishekand Aishwarya's daughter and the 72-year-old grandfather said that heloves spending time with her."The little one gets precocious by the hour.. and talks non stop… with asmany questions as one could possibly imagine… it's the best time to bewith her. Her homemade stories, her banter of what she feels about situa-tions, her friends, her family, her toys and her home…!! These are indeedthe happiest days of their lives… before they get exposed to this big badworld! (sic)," Big B wrote on his official blog. Abhishek and Aishwarya, whogot married in 2007, welcomed Aaradhya in 2011.

I'm not an item number person: Preity ZintaNew Delhi, (IANS) Preity Zinta loves toshake a leg, but dancing to itemnumbers in films is not what theactress is aiming for. Asked if shewould like to do another item numberafter "Happening" from Salman Khan-starrer "Main Aurr Mrs Khanna" (2009),Preity told IANS: "The only reason I didthe last item number is because I loveSalman and he is my buddy. I would doanything for him.""Having said that, I'm not really anitem number person. I'm an actor. MyUSP is that I can per form. I don't minddancing. I love to dance but I'd rathercome to your house and dance or go toa club and dance," she added. But the40-year-old all geared up for dance, danceand more dance in her new role as a judgeon Star Plus' reality show "Nach Baliye 7".She will share the judges' panel withchoreographer Marzi Pestonji and authorChetan Bhagat. Celebrity couples will taketo the dance floor to present innovativeperformances week by week to win thetrophy.



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY


80 PERTOSA DRIVE, UNIT 12,BRAMPTON ONT., L6X 5E9

b o l l y w o o d

FRENCH DIRECTOR LUC BESSON, JURY CHAIRMAN ADDRESSES OPENING CEREMONY OF THE FIFTH BEIJING INTERNATIONALFILM FESTIVAL (BJIFF) (IANS).

Satish Kaushik inAmritsar after 12 years

for Udta Punjab

Freida Pinto avoids mirrorsLos Angeles, (IANS) Actress Freida Pinto says she isn't inter-ested in the way she looks and often avoids looking at herreflexion in the mirror. The "Slumdog Millionaire" star isn't interested inconstantly checking her appearance and is aware her beauty often worksagainst her when it comes to landing gritty roles, although she is keen tochange people's opinions of her in the industry, reports femalefirst.co.uk."It's not necessarily the way I see myself. In fact, I don't even like tolook at myself in the mirror. But I'm aware of the perceptionand I always say that if it 's because of that one line in'Slumdog...' where Latika is described as 'the most beautifulgirl in the world', then I have to do everything that I can tochange that perception," Pinto said.

MUMBAI, (IANS) Actor-filmmaker Satish Kaushik is going toAmritsar after over a decade for Abhishek Chaubey's Udta Punjab."On the flight to Amritsar to join the cast of movie #UdtaPunjab...going to golden temple city after 12 years... Jo bole so nihaal,Satsriyakaal," Satish tweeted recently. The upcoming film starsShahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and Kareena Kapoor.

WE ACCOMPLISH MORE THAN HOLLYWOODCAN IN OUR BUDGET: EMRAAN HASHMI

New Delhi, (IANS) After having worked with Academy Award-winningdirector Danis Tanovic in the film "Tigers", Bollywood actor EmraanHashmi, who is geared up for his latest Hindi sci-fi release "Mr. X", saysthat in a given budget, Bollywood does more than what Hollywood pro-ductions can achieve. "Mr. X" touches upon the concept of an invisibleman, but Emraan, who along with his co-star Amyra Dastur, was recentlyon the sets of MTV's "Kaisi Yeh Yaariyan" to promote his film, doesn'twant to "end up comparing it with 'Hollow Man'"."It starts and ends with the invisibility and that's the only common factorbetween the two films. But as far as budgets go, they (Hollywood) obvi-ously have mega budgets for their films, they have a world audience...We are limited to a Hindi-speaking audience.""But I think in what we have, and the budget that we're given, we do morethan what they can accomplish in that budget," Emraan told IANS in aninterview over phone from Mumbai.Produced by Vishesh Films and directed by Vikram Bhatt, "Mr. X" fea-tures Emraan as an invisible man, seeking revenge for all the wrongdone to him.Agreeing that shooting for films with visual effects is very time consum-

ing, Emraan said it was fun since he has a special interest in high-on-VFXfilms."It just is very cumbersome shooting for a film which is in 3D and hasvisual effects and stuff. It's very time consuming and I was prepared forthat. It's still fun because I'm interested in visual effects and I love 'Mr.India', so that was one incentive to do this film," he said.Emraan, who feels that the concept of invisibility hasn't been incorpo-rated in Indian cinema as much, feels the film will be as engaging for theadults as it will be for the youth."Even for adults, the film takes you back to the days when you saw filmslike 'Mr. India'. It's a fun film! There are a few dark scenes in it but thereare lighter moments as well," said the actor, who has impressed audi-ences with films like "Jannat", "Gangster" and "Once Upon A Time InMumbaai".Apart from "Mr. X", which also stars Arunoday Singh in a key role and willrelease on Friday, Emraan is looking forward to the release of "HamariAdhuri Kahani", in which he appears alongside Vidya Balan. He will alsobe star ting with "Azhar", which is expected to hit the screens in the firstquarter of 2016, in June.



TORONTO TIMINGS

KNIGHTS CONQUERDAREDEVILS BY SIX WICKETS

New Delhi, (IANS) Skipper GautamGambhir led from the front with aresponsible half century, asKolkata Knight Riders outsmartedDelhi Daredevils by six wickets inan Indian Premier League matchhere on Monday.Delhi boy Gambhir (60; 49b, 8x4)mixed aggression with caution tohold the innings together and setup the victory for the title holders,who reached 147 for four with 11balls to spare in reply to a modest146 for 8 posted by the Daredevilsat the Feroz Shah Kotla.Romping home to their third win infour matches, the Knights nowmove up to the third spot. A rungbelow are the Daredevils with twovictories in five outings.After a cautious start, Gambhir ex-ecuted some classy shots allaround the park, but at the sametime rotated the strike with well-run singles through measurednudges and pushes.Gambhir was involved in a 31-runstand with opener Robin Uthappa(13) before the wicketkeeper-bats-man and Manish Pandey (0) fell topacer Domnic Muthuswami (twofor 18) in the fifth over.

Suryakumar Yadav (24) andGambhir brought the chase backon track with a 48-run partnership,as Kolkata Knight Riders reached79/2 at the halfway stage.Yadav departed immediately after,but Yusuf Pathan (40 not out; 26b,6x4, 1x6) teamed up with Gambhirto nip in the bud whatever hopesDelhi had nur tured of making amatch of it.The duo added 65 runs off only 47balls, and separated only when thevisitors were three short of victory.Gambhir tried to cut Imran Tahir,and ended up inside edging on tohis leg stump.Ryan ten Doeschate (3 not out)picked up the winning runs byworking the ball to deep backwardsquare leg.Earlier, put in to bat, Delhi Dare-devils batsmen failed to conver tgood starts into big knocks as theKnights' bowlers came up with agood show.The home side lost opener MayankAgarwal (1) and one down batsmanJ P Duminy (5) cheaply, before theother opener Shreyas Iyer (31; 24b,3x4, 6x1) and Manoj Tiwary (32;28b, 54) steadied the ship with a

36-run partnerhip. But just when itseemed Iyer was shaping up for abig score, he was foxed by astraight one from leg spinnerPiyush Chawla.The next wicket stand betweenTiwary and Yuvraj Singh alsolooked promising, even thoughthere was never any free flow ofruns, as the hosts reached 69 for 3at the halfway stage.But after the duo had put on 37 runs,Tiwary failed to negotiate a shortball from Morne Morkel and endedup giving an easy catch to shortmid wicket.Delhi were 95 for four in the 14thover.Yuvraj Singh (21) departed soonafter and Delhi added 43 runs inthe last five overs, with Knightbowler Sunil Narine leaking 12 and20 runs in the 17th and 19th over ofthe innings.Man of the match Umesh Yadav,who had gone wicketless till then,got double success in the last over,giving away only three runs. He fin-ished with impressive figures of 2for 18. Piyush Chawla (2 for 27) andMorne Morkel (2 for 30) were theother successful bowlers.

Shah Rukh Khan, Mamata Banerjee cheer on KKR winKolkata, (IANS) Kolkata Knight Riders co-owner and Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan congratu-lated his team for playing a “mature innings” as they beat Delhi Daredevils in an Indian PremierLeague match on Monday. “Always & Everytime...a mature innings... @GautamGambhir. & my man@iamyusufpathan in the thick of things again. Morne & Umesh deadly. Love KKR,” SRK posted onsocial networking site Twitter. Kolkata Knight Riders beat Delhi Daredevils by six wickets in an IndianPremier League match at the Feroze Shah Kotla ground here on Monday.West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lauded the “Happy New Year” actor for his team’s feat.“Congratulations @iamsrk for another @KKRiders win,” she posted on Twitter.

I'm just focusing on my line and length: YadavNew Delhi, (IANS) High on confidence after his superb World Cup per formance, Kolkata Knight Riderspacer Umesh Yadav said he was focusing on his line and length to outsmart batsmen in the ongoingIndian Premier League. Having finished with the man of the match award against Delhi Daredevilshere on Monday, the 27-year-old Yadav said he used the pace and bounce of the Feroz Shah Kotlawicket. "I'm just focussing on my line and length, that's it. I had a lot of confidence from the World Cup.I just wanted to use the pace and skiddy bounce on this wicket,” he said.

GAUTAM GAMBHIR AND YUSUF PATHAN PUT ON 65 RUNS FOR THE FOURTH WICKET, DELHIDAREDEVILS V KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS, IPL 2015, DELHI.



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY


MUMBAI INDIANS NOTCHFIRST WIN IN IPL 8

GLAD WE PICKED EARLYWICKETS, HOPE WE

CAN CONTINUE DOINGTHAT: HARBHAJAN

Bengaluru, (IANS) Mumbai Indians put in their best performance sofar to chalk up their first win in five matches of the 2015 Indian Pre-mier League T20 tournament as they defeated a fighting Royal Chal-lengers Bangalore by 18 runs here on Sunday.Playing with a positive intent, Mumbai Indians, thanks to half-centu-ries by Lendl Simmons (59, 44b, 9x4, 2x6) and India Under-19 captainUnmukt Chand (58, 37b, 8x4, 2x6) along with a 15-ball 42 (3x4, 4x6) byskipper Rohit Sharma, piled up 209 for 7 after being asked to bat first.In reply, the RCB were never really in the hunt despite cameos bySouth Africans AB de Villiers (11b, 5x4, 3x6) and David Wiese (47 notout, 25b, 6x4, 2x6). They could only manage 191 for seven as theMumbai Indians attack, spearheaded by off-spinner Harbhajan Singh(3 for 27) restricted the hosts. The RCB chase stuttered and nearlystalled with Chris Gayle, dropped twice, making just 10 runs off 24balls, before being bowled by the crafty Harbhajan Singh, who broughtinto play his vast experience and guile to contain the rival batsmen.At the other end, opener Manvinder Bisla (20), Kohli (18) and DineshKar thik (18) threw their bats around but did not stay long enough tomake a difference as RCB slid to their second defeat in three matches.Thus, it was left to de Villiers to do a rescue act as the South Africanblasted a 11-ball 41 (5x4, 3x6) before lofting seamer Jasprit Bumrah

straight to Kieron Pollard at long-on, and with his exit, RCB's hopes ofeven making a match of it, much less win, sank despite some heavyhitting by Wiese in the latter half of the chase.Earlier, the Mumbai Indians batsmen took advantage of wayward RCBbowling as Simmons and Chand laid the foundation with a 72-runpar tnership for the second wicket after the early exit of Par thiv Patel(12). Later, Rohit Sharma, coming in at No.4 instead of his customaryopening slot, and Chand added 63 runs for the third wicket to ensurea 200-plus total.While Simmons unleashed a flurry of power-packed shots, Chand,having switched from Delhi Daredevils with whom he had a disap-pointing season last year, excelled with well-timed shots and Sharma,as usual, was all class as the trio took the RCB bowling to the clean-ers.The hosts derived some solace when South African all-rounder DavidWiese, playing his first game this IPL season, picked up three wick-ets in his final over, the 19th of the innings when he dismissed KieronPollard (5), Ambati Rayudu (0) and Rohit Sharma in four deliveries toadd to the wicket of Par thiv Patel for a haul of 4 for 32. Leg-spinnerYuzvendra Chahal did well to pick up two for 28, but with other bowlersleaking runs, his impact was almost negligible.

Bengaluru, (IANS) Awarded man of the match for claiming threewickets for 27, Mumbai Indians' offie Harbhajan Singh on Sun-day said he was glad the visitors took early wickets to rattle thestrong Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batting line-up inthe Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015 encounter.Mumbai Indian beat RCB by 18 runs to clinch their first victoryof IPL 2015."I am glad that we picked early wickets. Hopefully, we cancontinue to do that, Harbhajan said at the post match presenta-tion ceremony.The 34-year-old played his 100th IPL match on Sunday. Whenasked about the feat, he said, "It's something which I am happyabout. Really happy to be playing for MI. It is good to be doingsomething for the team. The first six overs."When asked about the impor tance of Chris Gayle's wicket whichhe claimed, Harbhajan said: "We were on target and didn't wantGayle to get going. They had some serious players, ABD isbatting in a different league, but the star t was impor tant."

WE HAVE LOT OF THINGS TO LOOK AT: KOHLIBengaluru, (IANS) Slipping to their second defeat in three matches, Royal Challengers Banga-lore skipper Virat Kohli on Sunday said his team needed to work on lot of areas includingbowling, approach to batting and conceding too many extras.Kohli, however, was full of praise for AB de Villiers and David Wiese. For their scintillatingbatting. De Villiers struck 41 of 11 deliveries, while Wiese made an unbeaten 47. "It was enter-taining how AB and Wiese played it out in the end. A lot of things went wrong except for whatthose two did."We should have had a better approach in our batting. We need guys to play the way AB did,Wiese also backed himself and played positive cricket," said Kohli at the post-match presenta-tion ceremony. He said while some of the batsmen got out unluckily "at wrong times", "We havea lot of things to look at, including the bowling. We bank on our opening stand and the star t weget, that's one area we need to improve in as well. We gave too many extras and we need to lookat that," Kohli said.

HARBHAJAN SINGH IS CONGRATULATED AFTER PICKING A WICKET, ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE V MUMBAI INDIANS,IPL 2015, BANGALORE.

CHRIS GAYLE ATTEMPTS TO PULL THE BALL, ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE V MUMBAI INDIANS, IPL 2015, BANGALORE.

PERU, ARGENTINA, BOLIVIATO HOST 2016 DAKAR RALLYParis, (IANS) The 2016 Dakar Rally will kick off on January 3 inLima, Peru, before racing on through Bolivia and crossing thefinish line in Rosario, Argentina, on January, organisers haveannounced. At a press conference here Thursday, the AmaurySpor t Organisation (ASO) unveiled next year's route, which willbypass the flood-ravaged nor thern Chile, which formed par t ofthis year's trek, but return to Peru after an absence of two years,repor ts Xinhua. Representatives of the three South Americanhost countries were on hand for the unveiling."Argentineans are very happy to have the Dakar again in ourcountry," Argentina's tourism minister Enrique Meyer said onThursday. He added the rugged off-road race "is the world'sbiggest tourism showcase. For featuring the landscapes, cul-ture and warmth of our people."Some 1.3 billion people around the globe follow the highs andlows of the often dangerous endurance race on television, henoted. In Argentina, the route will take competitors to the nor th-west city of Salta, situated 1,152 metres above sea level, for aday of rest, and to the central riverside city of Rosario for thefinal stretch. Organisers said the route mapped out for 2016 will"explore Bolivia in a completely new manner," by taking driversacross its high plains to famed Lake Titicaca. Bolivian cultureminister Marko Machicao described the lake as offering an "in-teresting stage" for the competitors.Peru's minister of foreign trade and tourism, Magali Silva, cel-ebrated the race's return to the Andean country, saying it willbring several "benefits for the price of one," including highertourism revenues and greater world exposure. The exact routeswill be announced later this month in each of the par ticipatingcountries. Next year's rally will mark the 38th edition of thelegendary race, originally known as the Paris to Dakar Rally. Itwas moved to South America in 2009 when political unrest inAfrica made it too dangerous to hold there, according to theorganisers. The rally organisers also announced a $50,000 dol-lar donation to an association working to reconstruct areas de-stroyed by the recent floods.

ENGLAND REMAINSTRONG DESPITE WORLDCUP DISASTER: FLINTOFFLondon, (IANS) Former all-rounder Andrew Flintoff has said En-gland are as "strong as we've ever been" despite a miserableWorld Cup campaign.England were knocked out of the quadrennial event in the groupstages, unable to beat a full-member nation in the six-weektournament.But Flintoff said he believes England are "on the cusp of some-thing special" and that the early World Cup exit shouldn't weighit down."I played in four World Cups and we were terrible in all of them,"Flintoff told BBC on Thursday."But it seems that the side that is playing, they seem to carry thebaggage around for everyone else's World Cup before them. Itdidn't go well, obviously, however that's gone now and the sidecan now focus on Test cricket." England are currently playingthe first Test of a three-match series against the West Indiesaway in the Caribbean. "They're playing in the West Indies, they'vestar ted quite well. They've got a series against New Zealandand then everyone is talking about the Ashes already," the formerall-rounder said. "I look at the team England has got, I look at thebatters, I look at the bowlers with Jimmy Anderson leading theside, and I think we're probably as strong as we ever have been.I think they're just lacking a little bit of confidence."He said if England are to challenge Australia in the five-Testmatch Ashes series star ting July 8 in Cardiff, the skipper needsto get back among the runs. "The captain will hopefully star tscoring some runs," he said.



RAJASTHAN THRASH CSK BYEIGHT WICKETS IN IPL

Ahmedabad, (IANS) A superlative opening-batting display from skip-per Shane Watson (73) and Ajinkya Rahane (76 not out) helpedRajasthan Royals maintain their unbeaten run in the Indian PremierLeague (IPL), winning their fifth consecutive match, beating ChennaiSuper Kings (CSK) by eight wickets at the Sardar Patel Stadium hereon Sunday.Chasing a 157-run target for victory, Royals didn't blink even oncewith the experienced opening pair thrashing the hapless CSK bowlers,putting on a 144-run opening par tnership, to stroll to the target with 10balls to spare. With the comfor table victory, Royals maintained their100 percent win-record in the campaign, perched at the top of thestandings with a maximum 10 points from five games. Chennai re-mained just a rung below Royals with six points from four matches.Royals captain Watson recovered to play his first game of this year'sIPL after missing four matches with a hip injury.And he looked in no discomfor t whatsoever, car ting the CSK bowlersall over the ground, hitting six boundaries and four sixes. Rahane wasalso in no mood to play the sheet anchor role as he was equallyaggressive -- six fours and two sixes -- to give CSK a royal hiding.Earlier, CSK captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and chose tobat, with his team posting a fighting total of 156/4. Dhoni's decision to

bat first under sweltering conditions was believed to be correct buthis hopes of a strong star t were dampened soon.Kiwi Dasher Brendon McCullum (12) was dismissed in the third overby Royals' veteran spinner Pravin Tambe (1/36).That was a big blow for CSK but to make matters worse, Indiammiddle-order batsman Suresh Raina (4) perished soon, followed bySouth African Faf Du Plessis (1).But it was the wicket of West Indian opener Dwayne Smith (40), in the10th over, that was the biggest setback for CSK. Royals bowlers weredisciplined and kept a tight leash on the CSK batsmen. The onus wason the fif th-wicket par tnership of Dhoni (31 not out) and Dwayne Bravo(unbeaten 62) to lend some sense of respectability to the CSK in-nings. The experienced duo were successful in their endeavour, put-ting up an unbeaten 91-run stand off 65 balls.They didn't take any par ticular risk and played themselves in beforelaunching into extravagant strokes in the last three overs. Bravo waspar ticularly impressive, hitting the formidable Royals attack to allcorners of the ground to propel his team them to a competitive total.Royals' South African pacer Chris Morris was the most impressivegiving away a miserly nine runs off his four overs, and claimingRaina's wicket.

IT WAS JUST AN OFF-DAY FOR US: DHONI

Ahmedabad , (IANS) After losing their first game in the ongoingIndian Premier League (IPL) on Sunday against the RajasthanRoyals (RR), Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MahendraSingh Dhoni said it was just an off-day on the field.Opting to bat first, Chennai could only manage 156/4 in their 20overs, which the Royals easily overhauled with eight wicketsand 10 balls to spare. "It was an off-day for us. We star ted well,but I went in and ate up too many deliveries," Dhoni said, refer-ring to his uncharacteristic knock of 31 from 37 balls at thepost-match presentation ceremony.The skipper said after RR's good star t it got difficult to stopthem. "They had a good star t and after that it got difficult to stopthem, they rotated the strike well." Dhoni also believed playingback-to-back matches took a heavy toll on them, especially insuch hot conditions and added there was nothing wrong withthe pitch."It was quite a good wicket, under the light, it gets slightly bet-ter. It played how we thought it would play. It was a back-to-back game for us after Mumbai, and the heat could have been afactor (behind the flat display) because of the 4 p.m. star t. Butwe have to come back strong," he said. Lauding the effor ts ofWest Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, who top-scored with anunbeaten 62 off 36 balls, he said: "It was hear twarming to seeBravo do well.""If he continues this way, I can come in at four and expressmyself early. Bravo released a lot of pressure of me and with(Ravindra) Jadeja and (Ravichandran) Ashwin to follow, it givesour batting potency."

AJINKYA RAHANE AND SHANE WATSON PUT ON A 144-RUN OPENING STAND, RAJASTHAN ROYALS V CHENNAI SUPER KINGS,IPL 2015, AHMEDABAD.

I AM ENJOYING MYBATTING: RAHANE

Ahmedabad, (IANS) Adjudged Man-of-the-Match for his splen-did knock, Rajasthan Royals' (RR) opener Ajinkya Rahane onSunday said he was just "enjoying" his stay at the crease.Rahane was unbeaten on 76 from 55 balls as he caressed theChennai Super Kings bowlers with ease to the ropes in an In-dian Premier League encounter at the Sardar Patel Stadiumhere and help his side overhaul the target of 156/4 with 8 wick-ets and 10 balls to spare."I was enjoying my batting. It's a funny game, you should tryand b at really well till you are in this kind of form," Rahane saidat the post-match presentation ceremony. Speaking on his skip-per and opening par tner Australian all-rounder Shane Watson,who blasted a 47 ball 73, he said: "Opening with Watson is apleasure. He dominates the opposition, I was just trying to givethe strike to him."The 26-year-old added he likes keeping things simple out in themiddle and he likes playing the role of a sheet anchor. "I like tokeep my batting simple. Getting runs in the first 6 overs isimpor tant, but then my job is to anchor the innings," he said.

KINGS XI BEAT ROYALSVIA SUPER OVER, END

WIN-STREAKAhmedabad, (IANS) Kings XI Punjab came from behind to beattable-toppers Rajasthan Royals via the Super Over and end theirfive-match unbeaten streak in the Indian Premier League (IPL)at the Sardar Patel Stadium here on Tuesday.With the scores tied at 191 at the end of regulation period, thematch went into the Super Over where Kings XI scored 15/1.In reply, the Royals lost both their available wickets to end at 6/2 in 0.3 overs and lose their first match in six games in the 2015edition of the Twenty20 tournament.Earlier in the evening, Kings XI opted to field but things did not goaccording to plan as Ajinkya Rahane (74) and skipper ShaneWatson (45) put up a brilliant 95-run opening-wicket partnershipfor the Royals.The par tnership set up the platform for the home team to put upa big total on the board, which they did eventually. Though Watsonperished in the 12th over, five short of a half-century, right-handed Rahanetop-scored, hitting two sixes and six boundaries in his 54-ball innings.The Royals lost quite a few wickets towards the end but a couple of cameosfrom Karun Nair (25), Deepak Hooda (19), and all-rounder Stuart Binny (12not out) took the home team past the 190-run mark.It was not the best of days for the Kings XI bowlers with all of themgoing for more than six runs per over. Though pacer SandeepSharma was economical with figures of 4-0-25-1, it was spin-ner Axar Patel who picked up 2/30 from his four overs.In reply, Kings XI did not star t well as they lost captain VirenderSehwag (1) cheaply in only the second over.Though opener Murali Vijay (21) played his par t for the team,the real contributions in the chase came from big-hitters ShaunMarsh (65) of Australia and David Miller (54) of South Africa.By the time Miller, who smashed five huge sixes and one bound-ary, got out, the visitors were well within touching distance ofthe target.In the end, Kings XI needed 14 off the last over, being bowled byJames Faulkner. Axar Patel (12 not out) and Mitchell Johnson(13 not out) did enough to push the match into the Super Over.

AXAR PATEL HITS IT TO THE POINT BOUNDARY, RAJASTHAN ROYALS V KINGS XI PUNJAB, IPL 2015, AHMEDABAD

MAYANK AGARWAL PUSHES THE BALL BACK INTO PLAY, SUNRISERS HYDERABAD V DELHI DAREDEVILS, IPL 2015, VISAKHAPATNAM.

Decide in June on Pakistan's Najam Sethi as ICC president

MICHAEL JHONSON WITH HIS WIFE ON THE RED CARPET OF THE LAUREUS WORLD SPORTS AWARD CEREMONY AT THEGRAND THEATER (IANS).

Dubai, (IANS) The International Cricket Council (ICC) said onThursday it would take a decision in June on appointingPakistan's Najam Sethi as its president to fill the vacancycaused by Mustafa Kamal's resignation."The board accepted the resignation of former PresidentMustafa Kamal, effective from April 2 and confirmed that noreplacement would be appointed for the remaining weeks ofKamal's term. "The full council of the ICC will consider theappointment of Najam Sethi as ICC president when it meets inBarbados at the end of June," the international governing body

of cricket said in a statement. Sethi is currently the head ofPakistan Cricket Board's executive committee while Kamal isan ex-Bangladesh Cricket Board chief.The ICC also revised the procedures with bowlers repor ted withsuspected illegal bowling action including provisions thatshor tened the turnaround time from a bowler being repor ted tothe test results being announced (35 days reduced to 24 days)."Shor ten the turnaround time from a bowler being repor ted tothe test results being announced (35 days reduced to 24 days);and enable the ICC to recognise suspensions from domestic

competitions, as long as the bowler has been assessed by theMember using the ICC testing protocol at an ICC-accreditedtesting centre," said the statement.The ICC also said Nepal would host the U-19 Cricket World CupQualifier 2015 provided the Cricket Association of Nepal'sadministrative capacity to stage the event without glitches."Nepal has been approved as host of the ICC U-19 CWC Qualifier2015, however, this approval is conditional on the ICC beingsatisfied with the Cricket Association of Nepal's administrativecapacity to deliver the event successfully."

Cities announce Community Torchbearers for Pan Am Games Torch RelayWATERLOO - With just under 100 days until the star t of the TORONTO2015 Pan Am Games, Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo are prepar-ing a series of community celebrations to welcome the Pan Am GamesTorch Relay to the region on June 18 and 19.The three cities are proud to announce George Aitkin (Cambridge),Mandy Bujold (Kitchener) and Stephanie Zhang (Waterloo), as theirrespective community torchbearers for the TORONTO 2015 Pan AmGames Torch Relay, presented by President's Choice® and OLG.Cambridge's George Aitkin is a long-distance runner who began com-peting when he was 14 years old. Now 62, George has competed inover 1,200 races at both the provincial and national level, and contin-ues to be an active member of the running community in Cambridge."George is an inspirational member of our community, whose pas-sion for spor t and dedication to coaching continually inspires newgenerations of athletes" said Cambridge Mayor Doug Craig. "We'rehonoured to have him represent Cambridge as our community torch-bearer in the Pan Am Games Torch Relay."Kitchener's Mandy Bujold is an amateur boxer who has representedCanada at the highest level. She won a gold medal in the women'sflyweight category at the 2011 Pan Am Games and at the 2014 Com-monwealth Games in Glasgow she won bronze."We are honoured to have Mandy Bujold carrying the Pan Am flameas Kitchener's community torchbearer," said Kitchener Mayor BerryVrbanovic. "Mandy's many successes representing Canada - andKitchener - in global competition embodies the very best of the PanAm Games."Waterloo's Stephanie Zhang is an avid swimmer who represented thecity, and Canada, with pride at the 2015 International Children's Gamesin Lake Macquarie, Australia. She competed in five swimming eventsat the games, and made the 'B' swim finals in the 100m fly. Stephaniefinished third overall winning a bronze medal."Stephanie Zhang is an excellent ambassador to Waterloo," said Wa-terloo Mayor Dave Jaworsky. "She embodies the traits of a Pan Amathlete as a dedicated and well-rounded spor tsman and will repre-

sent the Pan Am torchbearers with the same pride as she showed inthe entire process of the International Children's Games in Australia."During the 41-day torch relay, each of the 3,000 torchbearers willcomplete, on average, a 200-metre relay segment. The torch will becarried by more than 60 modes of transportation and exceed 5,000kilometres on the road and 15,000 kilometres by air."The torch is a unique symbol of the Pan Am Games and carries apowerful energy that will unite Canadians," said Saäd Rafi, chief ex-ecutive officer, TO2015. "The torchbearers will proudly carry the flame

through more than 130 communities, igniting the Pan Am spirit asthey go."Featured on the torch are the United We Play! pictograms - colourfuldepictions of people in motion -symbolizing the assembly of athletesthrough the celebration of spor t and culture. The aluminum torchstands 65 centimetres high and weighs 1.2 kilograms (or roughly thesame weight as a baseball bat). With a burn time of 10 to 12 minutes,the flame can withstand winds of up to 70 kilometres per hour and isvisible in all kinds of weather conditions.

WOULD CHOOSE MESSI OVERRONALDO: PELESao Paulo, (IANS) Brazilian football legend Pele has said hewould pick Argentine forward Lionel Messi over his Por tuguesecounterpar t Cristiano Ronaldo because of the former's ability tocreate more oppor tunities than just score goals.Ronaldo is the leading goal scorer in La Liga this season with 38strikes and 12 assists while Messi has scored 34 times and setup 15. Pele says he does not want to choose between the twobest forwards in the world but feels the Barcelona star has aslight edge."It's not that I like one of Messi or Cristiano more. When peopleask me, I always say that you cannot compare them," Pele wasquoted as saying by Spanish radio station ondacero.es."Cristiano is a great player, more forward, more of a scorer.Messi is a player who makes goals but also creates chances asa weapon in behind. The two would be very important but if I hadto choose one it would be Messi." The three-time World Cup-winner lauded the effor ts of countryman Neymar, who the 74-year-old believes has Messi and Ronaldo within touching distance."Neymar is reaching the level of the best. He does not have the sameexperience as Messi or Cristiano. Sometimes people forget players likeAndres Iniesta. It is very easy to play on a team with great players. It isan excellent school for Neymar," he said.



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