TRUMP SHOW A PAGE 12
CONTINUED ON A PAGE 12
U.S. President DonaldTrumpwillvisitIndiaonFebruary24and25,asperanoffi��cialannouncementfromtheWhiteHouseonMonday.
Mr.TrumpandFirstLadyMelania Trump will visitNewDelhiandAhmedabad.The White House said AhmedabadwaschosenforthevisitasGujaratwashometoPrime Minister NarendraModiandplayedan“importantrole”inMahatmaGandhi’slife.
“The President and TheFirstLadywilltraveltoNew
Delhi and Ahmedabad,which is in Prime MinisterModi’shomeStateofGujaratand played such an importantroleinMahatmaGandhi’slifeandleadershipoftheIndianindependencemovement,”astatementfromthe
Offi��ceofthePressSecretarysaid.
Confi��rming the visit, theMinistry of External Aff��airsin statement on Tuesdaysaid,“Duringthevisit,PresidentTrumpandtheFirstLady will attend offi��cial engagementsinNewDelhiandAhmedabad, Gujarat, andinteract with a wide crosssectionofIndiansociety.”
PrimeMinisterModiandMr.Trumphadspokenoverthe weekend, the WhiteHousesaid.
U.S.PresidentTrumpconfi��rmsIndiavisitonFebruary24,25He and wife Melania will travel to Ahmedabad and Delhi
Sriram Lakshman
Washington
DonaldTrump
ArvindKejriwalandhisAamAadmiParty(AAP)werevotedbacktopowerwithamassivemandateintheDelhiAssemblyelectionasthepartywon62seatsinthe70memberHouse.
The party dropped justfi��veseatsandlessthanapercentage point in vote sharefromitsstellar2015showing.
Despiteahardfoughtandbittercampaignthatsawbigguns,includingPrimeMinister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister AmitShahaddressrallies,theBJPmanaged to win only eightseats, up fi��ve from its 2015tally. The Congress, yetagain, failed to open its account — the party’s candidates looked set to forfeittheirdepositson63ofthe66seatscontested.
Speakingafterthevictory,Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwalsaid,“ThepeopleofDelhihavegivenbirthtoanewkindofpolitics—thepoliticsof work. This is a vote forthose who build schools,whoprovideelectricityandhealthcare.Thisaugurswellforthecountry.”
Ministers post winsTheAAPsecured53.57%ofthevoteshare,whiletheBJPgot38.5%andtheCongress4.3%. Though three of theAAP’sincumbentMinisters—ManishSisodia,KailashGahlot and Satyendar Jain —were trailing after the fi��rstfewroundsofcounting,theywentontoretaintheirseats.
Raghav Chadha, AtishiMarlena and Dilip PandeyfromtheAAP,wholostinthe2019 Lok Sabha election,strodeintotheAssembly.
Ontheotherhand,formerAAP Minister Kapil Mishra,
wholeftthepartyandfoughtonaBJPticket,wasdefeated.Anil Bajpai, also a formerAAP legislator,however, retained his Gandhi Nagarseat.
DelhiBJPchiefManojTi
wari, while accepting responsibility for the dismalperformance, argued thatthepartyhadbeenabletoincreaseitsvoteshare.“Icongratulate Arvind Kejriwal...In comparison to 2015, the
BJP’s vote share has registered an increase, which isthe result of the hard workputinbyitsworkers...theseresults also seem to heraldthedawnofanewpoliticalerainthecity,whichhasbe
come bipolar instead oftriangular,”hesaid.
AAPsweepsDelhiwith62seats,BJPtrounced
Jaideep Deo Bhanj
Jatin Anand
NEW DELHI
■ BJP wins 8 seats, 5 more than
2015, with 38.5 % vote share
■ AAP gets 53.6%, marginally
below its 54.2% share in 2015
■ Congress candidates likely
to lose deposits in 63 seats
WINNING FORMULA A EDITORIAL
CONTINUED ON A PAGE 12
CMYK
wednesday, february 12, 2020 Delhi
City Edition
22 pages O ₹��10.00
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CBI gives clean chit toRakesh AsthanaNEW DELHI
TheCBIonTuesdayfi��leda
chargesheetinacaseof
allegedbriberyagainstit*
formersecondincommand
RakeshAsthanaandothers,
givingacleanchittohimand
anotheroffi��cial.“The
investigationhasnot
revealedanyroleofpublic
servants,”saidaCBIoffi��cial.
NEWS A PAGE 12
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NEARBY
Supreme Court to hearOmar sister’s plea todayNEW DELHI
Apetitionfi��ledbySara
AbdullahPilot,thesisterof
formerJ&KChiefMinister
OmarAbdullah,willbeheard
byathreejudgeBenchofthe
SupremeCourt,ledbyJustice
N.V.Ramana,onFebruary12.
Shehasapproachedthecourt
againstthegovernment’s
movetochargehimunder
thePublicSafetyAct.
NEWS A PAGE 12
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
Kafeel Khan releasedfrom Mathura jail on bailGHAZIABAD
KafeelKhan,thepaediatrician
whowasarrestedonJanuary
29fromMumbaiformaking
aninfl��ammatoryspeechat
AligarhMuslimUnversity
againsttheCAA,wasreleased
fromMathurajailonTuesday
afterbeinggrantedbailbyan
Aligarhcourt.
NORTH A PAGE 2
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HC seeks Centre’s replyon Jamia violence pleaNEW DELHI
TheDelhiHighCourton
TuesdaysoughttheCentre’s
responseonapetition
seekingacourtmonitored
probebyacommitteeinto
thepolicecrackdownat
JamiaMilliaIslamiaon
December15lastyear.
CITY A PAGE 3
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CongratulatingArvindKejriwalforhisresoundingvictory,OppositionpartiessaidtheBJP’sdefeatshowedthatpoliticsofpolarisationdidn’tpaydividends.WestBengalCMMamataBanerjee,inatweet,said,“Leadersplayingonfaiththroughhatespeechanddivisivepoliticsshouldtakea cue,asonlythosewhodeliverontheirpromisesarerewarded.”A page 13
‘AreferendumonBJPpolitics’
TheDelhiAssemblyelectionresultscouldprovideareasonforBiharChiefMinisterNitishKumartosmile,saypoliticalanalysts.TheBJPledNDA’scrushingdefeatatthehandsoftheAAPwouldnowemboldentheJanataDal(United)chieftodriveaharderbargainforseatswiththeBJP,intheupcomingAssemblyelectionintheState,theysay.A page 13
Nitishgetsareasontosmile
AamAadmiPartylegislatorandLeaderoftheOppositioninthePunjabAssemblyHarpalCheemaonTuesdaysaidtheparty’svictoryinDelhiwasaclearmessagethatpoliticsofhatredisnotacceptedbypeopleastheyhavevotedfordevelopment.AAP,hesaid,wouldreplicatetheDelhimodelinPunjabinthe2022Assemblyelection.A page 2
Politicsofhatredrejected
TheBJP’ssixthconsecutivelossinanAssemblypoll—althoughthepartymanagedtoformagovernmentinHaryana—pointstoaveryrealproblemfortheparty.TheStatelevelnarrativeofthepartyhasnotbeenasappealingasthatofPMModiatthenationallevel,somuchsothatevenMr.Modi’scampaigndidnotmanagetolifttheparty’sfortunes.A page 13
Lackoflocalnarrative
TheSupremeCourtonTuesday allowed the Union government to approach thetrial court for issuance of afreshdatefortheexecutionofthedeathsentenceoftheNirbhayagangrapeconvicts.
AppearingbeforeathreejudgeBenchledbyJusticeR.Banumathi,SolicitorGeneralTusharMehtasaidtheNirbhaya convicts were tryingthepatienceofthenation.
Mr.Mehtamadeachillingreferencetohowpolicemenwhogunneddownthe fourgang rape and murder accused in Hyderabad werecheered by people, calling
the incident a symptom ofpeople losing faith in theprocessoflaw.
“Thiscase[Nirbhaya]isof2012andIamstillstrugglingto execute the death sentence. They [convicts] areacting in tandem to misusethelawbyfi��lingonepetitionaftertheother…Peoplewillstophavingfaithinthejudicialsystem.Sevenyearshavegonebyandtheconvictsarestillplayingthejudicialsystem… It is in situations likethisthatpeoplecelebrateencounterkillings,”Mr.Mehtasubmitted.
TheSolicitorGeneralsaidconvictsMukesh,VinayandAkshay have seemingly ex
hausted remedies. Thefourth,PawanGupta, isyettofi��leamercypetition.
Fresh pleaMr.Mehtasaidapleatofi��xanewdatefortheexecutionsin the trialcourtwould immediatelyseeoneortheoth
erofthefourconvictsmovecourtinabidtofurtherprolongtheprocess.
Asindicated,withinafewhoursof thehearing,Vinaymoved the Supreme Courtchallenging the rejection ofhis mercy petition by thePresident.
Mr. Mehta stressed thattheSupremecourtshouldinstead focus on the government’s appeal to allow thefourconvictstobeseparatelyexecuted.Thecourtissuednoticetothefourconvictsonthis point and scheduled ahearingforFebruary13.
Solicitor General calls for separateexecutions of Nirbhaya case convicts
Legal Correspondent
NEW DELHI
Steel will: TheparentsoftheNirbhayarapecasevictimoutsidetheSupremeCourtinNewDelhiinDecember. * PTI
A DelhicourtonTuesdaysoughttheresponseofthefourdeathrowconvictsintheNirbhayagangrapeandmurdercaseafterapetitionwasfi��ledbythevictim’sparentsandtheDelhigovernmentseekingissuanceoffreshdeathwarrant.PTI
Victim’skinmovecourt
BabulalMarandi’s
JVM(P)tomergewith
BJPonFebruary17
page12
Coronavirustollin
Chinacrosses1,000,as
WHOsees ‘gravethreat’
page14
Theeconomyis
notintrouble,says
NirmalaSitharaman
page16
deGrandhomme,Guptill
andNichollshelpNZ
whitewashIndia
page19
OPPORTUNITIES A PAGE 15
ELECTORAL DICHOTOMY
A DATA POINT
Students of Gargi Collegestagedastrikeandboycottedclasses for the second consecutive day on Tuesday inprotestagainsttheFebruary6 incidentwhentheywereal
legedlyharassedandsexuallyassaultedoncampusduringacollegefestival.
Several students andteachers from diff��erent departmentsheldameetingtoconstituteafactfi��ndingcommittee. Ashna, a fi��nalyear
student,said,“Ageneralbodymeeting[ofstudentsandteachers]washeldtoconstituteacommitteewhichwouldinvestigatetheeventsthathappenedduringthefest.”
GargiCollegestudentsboycottclassesStaff Reporter
New Delhi
DETAILS ON A PAGE 3
AllsittingMinistersinDelhi’sAamAadmiParty(AAP)government as well as theSpeakeroftheLegislativeAssembly retained their seatsin the Assembly election.Andallof them,except theChiefMinisterandtheDeputy Chief Minister, also recorded a rise in their voteshare compared with thepreviouselection.
SomeMinisters,includingManishSisodia,KailashGehlot, Satyendra Jain, andSpeaker Ram Niwas Goelemerged victorious in tightcontests — all of them winning with a margin of lessthan 10,000 votes. Others,including Arvind Kejriwal,GopalRai,RajendraPalGautamandImranHussain,wontheirseatswithcomfortablemarginsofmorethanatleast20,000votes.ChiefMinisterKejriwal, who won by margin of 21,697 votes, saw adrop of 3.04 percentagepointsinvoteshare.
Scare for SisodiaDeputy Chief Minister Sisodia, who encountered thelargestdropinvoteshareof4.31percentagepointsfrom2015,wonafteraneckandneckbattlewiththeBJP’sRavinderSinghNegiinthePatparganjconstituency.Mr.Sisodia, who had won by amargin of 28,791 votes in2015,lookedtobelosingtheseatasMr.Negimaintainedaleadinthefi��rst10roundsofcounting.However,onceheovertookhisrivalinround11in the afternoon, he man
agedtoholdonandwonbyamarginof3,207votes.
Similarly, Speaker Goeltrailedinthefi��rst11roundsof counting in the Shahdraconstituency before thetrendreversedandhemanaged to win by a margin of5,294votes.
HealthMinisterSatyendraJain more than doubled hismarginofvictory, retainingtheShakurBasticonstituency with a margin of 7,592votes over the BJP’s candidateS.C.Vats.
Transport Minister Gehlot,whowonfromtheNajafgarh constituency, was thebiggest gainer in terms ofvoteshare,improvingonhispreviousvictoryby15.6percentagepoints.
InSeemapuri,MinisterofTourism Rajendra Pal Gautamwonbythelargestvotemarginamongallministers— at 56,108 and a 2.78 percentage point increase invoteshare.InBalimaran,MinisterofFoodandCivilSuppliesImranHussainwonbya margin of 36,172.MinisterofLabourGopalRaiwontheBabarpurseatbyamarginof33,062.
All AAP Ministers sansCM and his deputy see rise in vote share Speaker, too, emerged victorious
STAFF REPORTER
New Delhi
RamNiwasGoel
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Government can seek fresh execution dates, says SC
A special court here onTuesday sentenced BrajeshThakurand11others,includingthreewomen,tolifeimprisonment for the sexualand physical assault of girlinmatesofashelterhomeinMuzaff��arpur,Bihar.
AdditionalsessionsjudgeSaurabh Kulshreshtha alsoimposedafi��neof₹��32lakhonThakur.
Six others were sentenceduptosevenyearsinjail.RosyRani,whowassentencedtosixmonths’imprisonment,hasalreadyservedtheterm.Therefore,shehas
beenreleased.Thecourthadearlierheld
ThakurguiltyundertheProtectionofChildrenfromSexualOff��ences(POCSO)Act.
Thechargesincludedaggravatedpenetrativesexualassault,gangrape,rapeandother relevant provisionsundertheIndianPenalCodeandtheJuvenileJusticeAct.
VijayKumarTiwari,Guddu Patel, Ramanuj ThakurandKishanKumarwerealsoconvictedofa*ggravatedpenetrative sexual assault,rape, gangrape and otherrelatedoff��ences.
Thakur, 11 others get lifeterm in shelter home case6 others sentenced up to 7 years in jail
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI
CONTINUED ON A PAGE 12
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DELHI THE HINDU
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 20202EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
NORTH
TheRajasthanAssemblywitnessednoisyscenesduringthebudgetsessiononTuesday, when the OppositionBJP members fi��rst questioned the governmentabouttherevenuelossafterDeepika Padukonestarrermovie Chhapaak was declaredtaxfreeandlaterboycottedtheQuestionHourontheir supplementary questionsnotbeingallowed.
BJP MLA from BeawarShankarSinghRawataskeda writtenquestionaboutthefi��lm,buthewasnotsatisfi��edwiththereplyofParliamentary Aff��airs Minister ShantiDhariwal. When Mr. Dhariwal said that declaring
Chhapaak taxfree was a“policydecision”inviewofthe movie’s message to thesocietyinsupportofacidattacksurvivors,Mr.Rawatallegedthat thedecisionwastakenbecauseofMs.Padukone’s “politicalinclinations”.
Speaker C.P. Joshi expungedMr.Rawat’ssupplementary question and saidhewouldnotallowanyquery which had no connectionwith theoriginalquestion and pertained to theDepartmentofCulture.Anynew question should beasked separately throughthe proper procedure, heruled.
Mr. Dhariwal told theHouse that the tax calcula
tiontofi��ndouttherevenuelosscouldonlybedoneafterFebruary20.TheBJPmembers entered the well andraisedslogans,whileLeaderof the Opposition GulabChandKatariatriedtospeakontheissue,buttheSpeakerdidnotallowhim.
Ms.Padukone’svisittoJawaharlalNehruUniversityinDelhi to express solidaritywith the students attackedbysomemaskedpersonsonthe campus on January 5hadledtoacontroversy.
After theuproar, theBJPmembers demanded thattheir right to ask questionsshould be protected by theSpeaker and staged a walkout, boycotting the QuestionHour.
Rajasthan Assembly witnessesnoisy scenes over ChhapaakBJPmembersboycottQuestionHourasquerieswerenotallowed
Mohammed Iqbal
JAIPUR
Aam Aadmi Party MLA andLeaderof theOpposition inthePunjabAssemblyHarpalCheemaonTuesdaysaidtheparty’svictoryinDelhiwasaclearmessagethatpoliticsofhatredisnotacceptedbypeople as they have voted fordevelopment.
AAP,hesaid,wouldreplicatetheDelhimodelinPunjab in the 2022 Assemblyelection.
Development agenda“People have rejected thepoliticsofhatredpeddledbythe Bharatiya Janata PartyandvotedfortheKejriwalgovernment’s developmentagenda,”hesaidhere.
Party’s political aff��airscommittee chairman HarchandSinghBarsatsaidthehistoricvictoryofAAPinDelhihadredefi��nedthepolitical
narrativeacrossthecountrybyrejectingthedivisiveforcesthatarehellbentondestroying the social fabric ofthecountry.
“The unprecedented victoryofthepartyhassentouta message loud and clearacross the country that theelected governments wouldhavetoworkharderforbettermentofeducation,healthcare,cheaperelectricity,safetyandsecurityofwomen,”hesaid.
Collective wisdomSikhradicaloutfi��tDalKhalsa’sspokespersonKanwarpalSinghsaidthepeopleofDelhiintheircollectivewisdomhavedefeatedtheBJP’sHindutva agenda by reposingfaith inAAP.“TherejectionoftheBJPgovernment’sdecisive,bullyandfascistpoliciesisasevereblowtoModiShahduo,”hesaidinastatement.
Politics of hatred not acceptable,says Punjab AAP on Delhi winThepartywillreplicatethemodelinStateAssemblypollsin2022:HarpalCheema
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
CHANDIGARH
AAPworkersoff��eringsweetstoeachotherinAmritsaronTuesday,aftertheparty’swinintheDelhiAssemblyelection.
* AFP
After Deoband, the protestagainst the Citizenship(Amendment) Act and NationalRegisterofCitizenshasspread to Gangoh town ofSaharanpur.Addressinghundredsofprotesters,MaulanaMahmoodMadani,secretary,Jamiat UlemaeHind, saidthe government had let theConstitution down by making a law that diff��erentiatedamongreligions.
“Instead of speaking thelanguage of arrogance, thegovernment should introspect,”hesaid.
Praising the women whoare protesting against the
“blackAct”,hesaidtheyhadshown “great courage”. Heensured full support of theJamiat.
Reminding the protestersofthesignifi��canceoftheIdgah ground of Gangoh, Mr.Madanisaid,“Iamstanding
ataplacewhereHazratRasheedAhmadGangohihadsaidthattheywouldprovidetheBritishrulerswithyouthwhowould happily kiss thenoose.”
InDeoband,socialactivistUzmaNaheedaddressedthewomen protesting againsttheCAAonMondaynight.“IamsurprisedandhappythatMuslim women who remained quiet for centurieshavespokenouttosavetheConstitution,” she said. Shesaidherforefathershadseveral opportunities to go toPakistanorsomewhereelse,buthergrandfathersaidtheyshould work to strengthenIndia.
Protest against CAA-NRCspreads to Saharanpur townJamiatUlemaeHindsecretarypraiseswomenprotesters
Special Correspondent
Ghaziabad <> I am standing at a
place where
Hazrat Rasheed
Ahmad Gangohi
had said that they
would provide the
British rulers with
youth who would
happily kiss the
noose
Maulana Mahmood Madani
JamiatUlemaeHindsecretary
WaterconservationistRajendra Singh on Tuesday saidunless society took it uponitselftoconservewaterandtakeownershipofresources,revivalofriversandstreamswasnotpossible.
Draft BillSpeakingattheNationalWaterRightConventiontodiscussthedraftoftheRighttoWater Bill in Madhya Pradesh,hesaid,“Untilnow,activists been working alone.But with the government’ssupport, on the one handwaterbodies could be protected,andontheotherwater use could be madejudicious.”
Mr. Singh, known as the‘WatermanofIndia’,whoisadvisingthegovernmentontheproposedlaw,said,“Ownership of water bodiesamongmasseshasledtothe
revivalofseveralriversinaparchedStatelikeRajasthan.With such laws, the modelcould be replicated acrossthecountry.”
Underthelaw,headded,streams,riversandotherwaterbodies would be identifi��ed, panchayats roped in,people would take the leadandaneff��ortwouldbemade
tocurbminingonriverbeds.Pointing to the waning
waterresourcesintheState,Chief Minister Kamal Nathsaid,“ElevenoftheMunicipalCorporationsandCouncils get water once in fourdays, 50 get once in threedaysand117getonceintwodays.It’sabigchallenge.”
Despite rain, he added,streamsandriversweredryingupowingtonegligence.“Asmanyas65damsintheState have dried up due tounavailability of water and164reservoirshavemetthesamefate.Insteadofmovingahead,wearegoingback.”
Mr. Nath said new technologies must be leveragedindevisingstrategiestoconserve water. “Technologiessuch as producing waterfromaircouldbeuseful.Butthose valid 20 years ago,aren’trelevantanymore.Sothereisanimminentneedtofi��gure out where new tech
nologiescouldbeused,”hesaid.
Stating that his politicallife was inextricably linkedtowater,Mr.Nathrelatedananecdote from 1979 inChhindwaradistrict.“Istartedmypoliticalcareerduetowater problems. One nightas I walked on the road, Imet 1520 women carryingearthen lamps and plates,waiting at a spot for threehours.Theysaidoneoftheirsonscouldfi��ndaprospectivebride as the water sourcewas12kmaway.Thiswasalessonforme,andIdecidedto join politics to make mycontribution.”
Mr. Nath cautioned thatthe next generation wouldnotforgiveusforournegligence.“Duringthe1992RioEarthSummit,Ihadsaidthetalkofenvironmentandforestswasincompletewithoutthe issue of water beingraised.”
Societymusthelpconservewater:expertWithgovt.’ssupport,waterbodiescanbeprotected:RajendraSingh
M.P.ChiefMinisterKamalNathaddressingtheNationalWaterConventioninBhopalonTuesday.
* A.M. FARUQUI
Staff Reporter
Bhopal
Fortysevendiff��erentlyabledandunderprivilegedcouplestiedtheknotatamasswedding ceremony and took apledge against the dowrysysteminUdaipur.NarayanSeva Sansthan, a philanthropic institution, organised the ceremony on Sundayforpersonswhomithashelped out through correctivesurgery.
ThirtyofthemarriedcoupleswereskilledthroughtheSansthan’s vocational training programmes. The institution has also recruited afewcouplesbyoff��eringthemjobs which fi��t their capacities,makingthemfi��nanciallyindependent andemployable.
Duringtheceremony,thecouples were given householditemsandsaris.
Narayan Seva Sansthan
presidentPrashantAgarwalsaidtheinstitutionhadsofarorganised34massweddingsin which over 2,000 diff��erently abled couples weremarried.
“Suchpeoplefi��nditdiffi��cult tomarrybecauseoffi��nancial constraints andphysical diffi��culties. Thisplatform has enabled them
tofi��ndtheirsoulmateswhowouldsupportthemintheirstruggle,”hesaid.
Mr. Agarwal said the objectives of mass weddingsweresocialinclusion,accessible atmosphere and accountability of every diff��erentlyabledpersoninorderto help the couples lead anormal life and become a
partofmainstreamsociety.RamuKumariandGanpat
from Pratapgarh, both ofwhom suff��ered from polioand had lost their fathers,werehopefulthattheirmarriage would initiate a newphase of their lives. ArvindandSonamfromBarabankitook a pledge not to takedowry and generate publicopinion against the socialevil.
The Narayan Seva Sansthanhastakenupactivitiessuchasartifi��ciallimbdistribution, corrective surgery,skill education, health caresupport, free food off��eringand talent nurturing alongwithmassweddingceremoniesforthediff��erentlyabledto bring them to the mainstream.Mr.AgarwalsaidtheSansthan had launched theWorldofHumanityFoundation for nurturing theirskills.
Diff��erentlyabledcouplestietheknotatmasswedding
ThirtycouplesweregivenvocationaltrainingbyNGONarayanSevaSansthan
CouplesatthemassweddinginUdaipur. * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT.
Special Correspondent
JAIPUR
0DISCLAIMER:Readersarerequestedtoverifyandmakeappropriateenquiriestosatisfythemselvesabouttheveracityofanadvertisem*ntbeforerespondingtoanypublishedinthisnewspaper.THGPUBLISHINGPVTLTD.,thePublisher&Ownerofthisnewspaper,doesnotvouchfortheauthenticityofanyadvertisem*ntoradvertiserorforanyoftheadvertiser’sproductsand/orservices.InnoeventcantheOwner,Publisher,Printer,Editor,Director/s,Employeesofthisnewspaper/companybeheldresponsible/liableinanymannerwhatsoeverforanyclaimsand/ordamagesforadvertisem*ntsinthisnewspaper.
Delhi Weather
Delhi City
Safdarjang
Palam
max
23
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min
06
06
07
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All rights reserved.
Delhi Palam Today22ºC Shallow fog/mist during cold morning is likely. The day will be windy and pleasant.
Delhi Palam Tomorrow 24ºC Pollution level may improve due to strong winds. Dry and pleasant weather is expected to prevail.
Timings
DELHI
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 12
RISE 07:03 SET 18:09
RISE 21:38 SET 09:20
THURSDAY, FEB. 13
RISE 07:02 SET 18:10
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FRIDAY, FEB. 14
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KafeelKhan,thepaediatrician who fi��rst came intothe spotlight as a whistleblower in the case ofdeathsofseveralinfantsatthe BRD Hospital in Gorakhpur, was releasedfromMathurajailonTuesdayafterbeinggrantedbailbyanAligarhcourt.
Dr. Khan was arrestedonJanuary29fromMumbai for making an infl��ammatory speech at AligarhMuslim Unversity againstthe Citizenship (Amendment)Act.
ChiefJudicialMagistrateKarunaSinghgrantedhimbailonabondof₹��60,000to ensure the off��ence wasnotrepeated.
Kafeel Khanreleased fromjail on bail
Special Correspondent
Ghaziabad A teacherinSaharanpuronTuesday claimed threat toherlifeafternearly200residents entered the schoolcampus and protestedagainsthervisitingShaheenBaghinDelhiwherewomenareprotestingagainsttheCitizenship(Amendment)Act.
NahidZaidi,whoteachesEnglish at Asha ModernSchool, told reporters thatshewassuspendedfromtheschool forvisitingShaheenBagh on January 19 andspeaking to the media. “Isaid many things but onlyselectivefootagewasshownbythemedia.Somepeoplewhodon’tlikemeputitonsocialmediaandcreatedafalse opinion against me,”shesaid,addingthesuspen
sionwasrevokedonlywhenthepoliceintervened.
Ms. Zaidi said she hadtaughtatmanyschoolsandnevermadeadiff��erencebetween Hindu and Muslimstudents.“IhavetaughtalmosthalfofthecitybutstillI am being targetted.” Shesaid she lived alone andtherewasa“threat”toherlife. On Monday, she said,around 200 residents enteredthecampusandraisedslogansagainsther.
Vineet Bhatnagar, Superintendent of Police (City),Saharanpur, told The Hin-du, “We have spoken toboththeschooladministration and the teacher. Shewasnotsuspended.Anexplanationwassoughtabouthercomments.Thereisnothreattohersecurity.”
Teacher claims threat forvisiting Shaheen Bagh Special Correspondent
Ghaziabad
CMYK
THE HINDU DELHI
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2020 3EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
CITY
Students of Gargi Collegestagedastrikeandboycotted classes onTuesday in protestagainst the February 6incidentwhentheywereallegedly harassed andsexually assaulted oncampusduringacollegefestival.
Several students andteachers from diff��erentdepartments held ameeting on Tuesday toconstituteafactfi��ndingcommittee. They alsodemandedthatanInternalComplaintsCommittee be set up in thecollege.
Ashna, a fi��nalyearstudent,said,“Ageneralbody meeting [of studentsandteachers]washeldtoconstituteacommittee which would investigate the eventspriortothefest,eventswhichhappenedduringthe fest and specifi��ccomplaints against thecollegeadministration.”
The committee willsubmitit*fi��nalreportbyFebruary15,sheadded.
“Onestudentandafacultymemberfromeachof the 17 departments
wereelectedtothecommittee.Wewantafairinvestigationandthecommittee will look into allaspects before submittingthereport,”saidMs.Ashna.
Festival budgetThestudentsalsoaskedthe administration toprovideabreakdownofthebudgetofthefestival,withanemphasisonthe funds allocated forsecurity. They said thestrike would continueonWednesdayaswell.
Several students recounted events whichunfoldedafteragroupofmen entered the campus and began molestingandharassingthem.
Preeti, another stu
dent,said,“Wewantsafer educational spaces.LookatwhathappenedinJawaharlalNehruUniversityandJamiaMilliaIslamiaandnowonourcampus.Whentheprincipal was approached,shesaidthatifwedon’tfeel safe we should notattendthefest.Howcanone turn the tables onstudents?Isitnottheadministration’s responsibility to protectstudents?”
Asked about theprobe into the case, apolice offi��cer said thatinvestigation is underwayandCCTVfootageisbeingscannedforcluesonthesuspects.
(All names changed toprotect their identity)
Gargi students boycottclasses for second dayFactfi��ndingpanelformedtoprobeeventsduringfest
Staff Reporter
NEW DELHI
Studentsburnaneffi��gyofGargiCollegeprincipaloutsideArtsFacultyonTuesday. * BIBEK CHETTRI
TheDelhiHighCourtwasonTuesdayinformedbyTwitterthatthepetitionbysenioradvocateSanjayHegdeinrelationtothe suspension of his account was notmaintainable.
Senior advocate Sajan Poovayya, appearingforTwitter,soughttimetosubmitit*responseontheissue.JusticeNavinChawlaallowedTwittertosubmitit*notewithintwoweeks.
Mr. Hegde’s lawyer urged that theTwitter account data of his client mustnot be deleted. The court did not passanyorder,butsaidthedatashouldnotbedeleted,ifithasn’tbeendonesoalready.
Hegde’spetitionuntenable:TwitterStaff Reporter
New Delhi
Settled dispute amicably,Subodh Gupta tells HCNEW DELHI
ArtistSubodhGupta,who
hadpostedsexual
harassmentallegationsmade
byseveralwomenagainst
him,informedtheHighCourt
onTuesdaythattheyhave
settledtheirdispute
amicably.Mr.Guptahadfiled
a defamationsuitagainst
Instagramhandlefollowing
publicationofanonymous
sexualharassment
allegationsagainsthim.
IN BRIEF
The Delhi High CourtonTuesdaysoughttheCentre’sresponseonapetition seeking acourtmonitoredprobeby a committee intothe police crackdownat Jamia Millia Islamiaon December 15 lastyear.
A BenchofChiefJusticeD.N.PatelandJusticeC.HariShankaralso issued notice toDelhigovernmentandpolice seeking theirstand on the petitionfi��ledbyaJamiastudentwho lost vision in his
oneeyeintheviolenceand is battling to savesightintheother.
MdMinhajuddin,inhis petition, has alsosought compensationcommensurate withhis qualifi��cations forthe injury suff��ered byhimandalsotheregistration of an FIRagainst police personnelinvolvedintheincident. He has alsosought directions totheauthoritiestobearexpenses of his treatment and to providehim a permanent jobcommensurate withhisqualifi��cations.
JMIviolence:HCseeks
Centre’sreplyonpleaCourtmonitoredprobesought
Staff Reporter
New Delhi
TheHomeMinistrysaidonTuesday that two roads inDelhi — one at ShaheenBagh and the other atChand Bagh — have beenblocked by protesters, butno assessment has beenmade about the loss incurredtothegeneralpublicduetotheblockade.
“Appropriate steps aretaken by Delhi Police tomaintain public order. Noassessmenthasbeendoneabout the loss incurred topublic due to blocking ofroad,” Union Minister ofState for Home G. KishanReddysaidinLokSabha.
‘Loss due toroad blockadenot assessed’
Special Correspondent
New Delhi
Talk: Seminar on SinoIndian Competition in the Indian Ocean: TheScopeforSmallStateAgencybyDr.Pradeep Taneja, Deputy Head, TheSchoolofSocial&PoliticalSciences,University of Melbourne, at SeminarRoom, Institute of Chinese Studies(ICS),CivilLines,3p.m.
Exhibition: “ColourfulHarmony”,agroup show of painting by Anamika,PrakashAnegundiandShashiLataatConventionCentreFoyer, IndiaHabitatCentre(IHC),11a.m.7p.m.
Exhibition: “MappingMemories”,ashow of paintings and silkscreenprintsbyMadanMeenaatTriveniGallery, Triveni Kala Sangam, 205,TansenMarg,11a.m.8p.m.
Exhibition: “Aarambh”, a groupshow of sculptures and painting atAlturaashArtGallery,147,DLFSouthCourt,Saket,11a.m.7p.m.
Exhibition: “Trails of Materials”, agroup show of paintings and sculpturesbySatishSharma,AnjuKaushikand Rubkirat Vohra at ShridharaniGallery, Triveni Kala Sangam, 205,TansenMarg,11a.m.8p.m.
Screening: TheTestament,amultilingual fi��lm, will be screened at TheSteinAuditorium,IHC,7p.m.
(Mail your listings for this columnat [emailprotected])
DELHI TODAY
CMYK
M ND-NDE
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DELHI THE HINDU
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 20204EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
CITY
“ThisisavictoryofallDelhiites...theyhavegivenbirthtoa newformofpolitics:kaamki rajneeti [politicsofwork],”declared Aam Aadmi PartynationalconvenerArvindKejriwal fromamakeshiftstageat the AAP headquarters ashis party hurtled toward astellar win in the Delhi AssemblypollsonTuesday
“PeopleofDelhi,youhavedonewonders... I loveyou,”theAAPchiefsaidwhileblowing a kiss to hundreds ofcheeringsupporters.
In a sixminute address,Mr.Kejriwal said:“Iwant tothank the people of Delhi,they have trusted their sonforthethirdtime.Thisisnotmy win, it is a victory of allDelhiites, it is the victory ofallthosefamiliesofDelhiwhoconsideredmetheirsonandgave us this huge mandate.
Thisisthevictoryofallthosefamilies who are getting 24hours of electricity, whosechildrenaregettinggoodeducation,whoaregettinggoodtreatmentathospitalsinDelhi,”hesaid.
“ThepeopleofDelhihavegivenbirth toanew typeofpolitics:kaam ki rajneeti [pol
iticsofwork],”headded.Theparty’scampaignhad
focusedontheworkdonebyAAPinthepastfi��veyears.
“ThepeopleofDelhihavesentamessagethatonlypeople who build schools, give24hourelectricity,buildmohallaclinics,andgivewatertoevery house will get votes,”
Mr. Kejriwal said, adding:“This isnot justavictoryofthepeopleofDelhi,this isavictory of Bharat Mata andtheentirecountry.”
The AAP chief said Hanuman has blessed the peopleofDelhi.“TodayisTuesday,itisHanuman’sday,HanumanhasblessedDelhitoday,ma
ny thanks to Hanuman. Wethe people of Delhi requestGodtoshowusthepathoverthe next fi��ve years, give usstrengthsothatthetwocrorepeopleofDelhicantogethermaketheCapitalagoodandbeautifulcity,”hesaid.
“IthankthepeopleofDelhi... and all volunteers whoworkeddayandnight...andmy family who also workedhardandsupportedme.Today is my wife’s birthday. Ihave eaten the cake, I willserve you people also.” hesaid, putting a hand aroundhiswifeSunitaKejriwal.
HewasjoinedatthestagebyhistwochildrenaswellasAAPleadersSanjaySinghandGopalRai,amongothers.
“ThepeopleofDelhi,withgreat hope, have given usthesemanyseatsandnowwehave to work hard for thenextfi��veyears,”hesaid,adding:“Wewillworktogether,I cannotdoitalone.Areyouready?”
‘This is the birth of kaam ki rajneeti’ Delhiiteshavetrustedtheirsonforathirdtime,saysAAPchiefArvindKejriwalStaff Reporter
New Delhi
AAPnationalconvenerArvindKejriwal(centre)withhiswifeSunitaandseniorpartyleaderManishSisodiaoff��ersprayersattheHanumanMandirinConnaughtPlaceonTuesday. * PTI
AstheAamAamiPartyswepttheDelhiAssemblyelectionsonTuesday,theparty’sfuturecourse was evident from theposters at its headquarterswhichread:“JoinAAPtobuildthenation”,evenasAAPDelhiinchargeGopalRaiurgedpartyworkersacrossthecountrytogearupto“bringchangetothewholeofIndia”.
Addressing volunteers atthe party headquarters, Mr.Rai said the end to “hatespreading”politicsoftheBJPhasstarted fromDelhi.“Thefi��ghthasonlybegun.Iwantto
tell you and the volunteersacross the country: gear up,not just Delhi, the wholecountryneedschange...makepreparations,whatDelhicando,thewholecountrycando.Forthis,doworkinyourvillage,mohalla,cityandalongwithArvindKejriwal,takethisstormofchangetotherestofthecountry,”hesaid.
Calling party chief ArvindKejriwal“Delhi’snayak”,Mr.Raiaddedthatthe“politicsoflove has won... The brigadethat does hatredspreadingpolitics in the country, AmitShahandhissupporters,hasbeendefeated,”hesaid.
WeneedtobringchangetoIndia,saysRai
Staff Reporter
New Delhi
AAP looks to scale up
ReferringtoBJPleaderscalling AAP chief Arvind Kejriwala“terrorist”during theelection campaigning, AAPMPSanjaySinghonTuesdaysaid:“YoursonArvindKejriwal was called a terrorist.Mr.Kejriwalhadsaidon[February] 11 our two crorestrong family will say thattheirsonKejriwalisnotaterroristbutastrongnationalist.”
Alluding to the BJP, Mr.Singh, also the Delhi Assembly elections incharge,said: “they had termed theelection as a HindustanPakistan match and now Hindustanhaswon”.Headded:“TheyhadsaiditwasaHindustanPakistanmatch.Hindustan has won, Hindustanhas won, Hindustan haswon.”
Laterinthedaywhileaddressing the media, Mr.Singh termed AAP’s “bigwin”avictoryof“love”.“Itisa winforthetwocrorepeo
ple of Delhi... personal attacks on Mr. Kejriwal costotherpartiesdearly.TheBJPusedmoney,powerandliquor,butthetwocrorepeopleofDelhihasgiventhemafi��ttinganswer,”saidMr.Singh.
Seniorparty leaderManishSisodiaafterdefeatinghisBJP rival from Patparganjseat tweeted: “Being in government and providingqualityeducationisrealpatriotism.”Hetoldreporters:“IamhappytohavewonthePatparganj seat again. The
BJP indulged in politics ofhate.ButIthankthepeopleofPatparganj.Today,Delhi’speople have chosen a government that works forthem. They have explainedthetruemeaningofnationalismthroughtheirmandate.”
HealsothankedthepeopleofDelhionTwitter.
Addressing volunteers,partyleaderRaghavChadhasaid“onaTuesday,BajrangbalihastaughttheBJPalesson”.
(With PTI inputs)
Delhi proved Kejriwal not aterrorist, says Sanjay SinghOppn.hadclaimedelectionwasaHindustanPakistanmatch
Staff Reporter
New Delhi
AAPworkerscelebratevictoryintheDelhiAssemblypollsatpartyheadquartersonTuesday. * R.V. MOORTHY
Asearlyas7a.m.onTuesday,evenbeforethecountingbegan, supporters of the AamAadmi Party started gettingreadyforcelebrationsatthepartyheadquartersastheexitpollshadshownaclearvictoryforthem.
Space crunchAstheresultsstartedtotricklein,thecrowdatthepartyoffi��cestartedincreasingfroma few dozen to hundreds ofsupporters toapointwheretherewasnospaceinsidethepremises for any more people.
As the volunteers spilledoverontotheroads,thepolice had to block vehicularmovementoutsidethepartyoffi��celeadingtoITO.
The party had set up atemporarystageontheoffi��ceterraceandastrendsstartedshowing a clear win for theparty, its leaders addressedthe hundreds of volunteers,
whohadgatheredat theoffi��ceby12p.m.A28yearoldAAP volunteer since 2012,BabitafromMadanpurKadarJJColonysaidthepartywononlyonthebasisoftheworkdone.“Mytwodaughtersarestudyinginthe‘schoolofexcellence’runbytheDelhigovernment in our slum,” Ms.Babita,anAnganwadiworker,said.
Many AAP supporterswere dancing to the tune of“lagerahoKejriwal”—AAP’selectionsong—withparty’sfl��ags and brooms in theirhands.
CM addresses volunteersAmidloudcheersofAAPsupporters, party convener Arvind Kejriwal addressed thevolunteersat3.30p.m.fromtheterracebeforeleavingforHanuman Temple in ConnaughtPlaceat5p.m.
Multiple MLA elects alsotookoutseparatevictoryprocessions in their respectiveAssemblyconstituencies.
CelebrationsinsideAAPoffi��cebeganearlymorning
Policeblocktraffi��coutsidepartyoffi��ce
Staff Reporter
New Delhi
At6p.m.onMonday,34yearoldMeenaksh*tomarputheroneyearoldsonAvyaanTomartobedearlyonlytowakehimupinthesmallhoursofTuesday. Ms. Tomar drewAvyaanamoustacheusingkajal and made him wear ablackmuffl��er,apairofspectacleswithoutglassesandanAAPtopi.
TheTomarslefttheirMayurViharhouseat 5a.m. forChiefMinister’sresidenceinCivilLines.Fromthere,theyheadedtowardsthepartyoffi��ce at ITO. People gatheredinside the offi��ce premisesstarted addressing the toddleras“chotta [young]Kejriwal”andhesoonbecamethecentreofattractionwithmanyqueuinguptoclickselfi��eswith him as he played withballoons.“Ourdaughterhaddressed up as little Kejriwalwhen the AAP national convener [Arvind Kejriwal] hadwontheelectionin2015,”thetoddler’s father Rahul toldThe Hindu.“Weareusingthesamemuffl��erforourson,”he
added.“Itisuptothemtodecide
what to become but if mychildrencando10%ofthesocialworkthatKejriwaldoes,thenitwillbegreat.Iwillbehappy,”Mr.Tomarsaid.
Whenaskedabouttheideabehind dressing up his children as Kejriwal, he said:“Whentheyunderstandthattheirparentshavearolemodel,thentheywillalsobeinterested in it.” By 4 p.m.,Avyaan,wastiredandstarted
crying.Hismothersaid:“Thesecurity guards had told usthat ‘sir [CM]wants tomeethim’andwearewaitingforit.Mysonisverytiredandwillnowstartcrying.”
By 4.50 pm, after somefailed attempts to meet Mr.Kejriwal, the family decidestoleavethepartyoffi��ce.“Wehave been waiting from 2p.m. to meet him. Theyshould have told us earlier,”Mr.Tomarsaidbeforeleavingtheoffi��ce.
At AAP HQ, ‘Chhota Kejriwal’ holds court
Peoplequeueuptoclickselfi��eswithoneyearoldAvyaan
Staff Reporter
New Delhi
Youngest cheerleader: AvyaanbeingheldupinthecrowdatAAPheadquartersonTuesday. * R.V. MOORTHY
The AAP on Tuesday saidthatonepersondiedinanattack at Mehruali AAP MLANaresh Yadav’s convoy. Theincident happened near VasantKunj.
The party added that theMLAissafe.“Mr.Yadav'scon
voy was attacked. AshokMannhasbeenkilled.Mr.Yadavwasonhiswaybackfromvisiting a temple," tweetedAAPMPSanjaySingh.
“Theywere ina jeepandshotswerefi��redatthem.Onepersondiedandanotherpersonhassuff��eredinjuries,"anAAPworkertoldThe Hindu.
AAPsaysonepersonhasdied
staff reporter
new delhi
‘AttackonMLA’sconvoy’
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THE HINDU DELHI
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2020 5EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
CMYK
M ND-NDE
CITY
In the end, Shaheen BaghcouldnotswingtheDelhiAssemblyelectionsinfavourofthe BJP. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his campaign stressing the manyachievementsofhisgovernment did the trick for hisAamAadmiParty(AAP).
The poll results is a setbackforUnionHomeMinisterAmitShah,whomadeithis mission to ensure thatMr. Kejriwal was denied athirdterminoffi��ce.
UnionMinisterofStateforFinanceAnuragThakurwasbanned from campaigningfor 72 hours for raising thesloganof“deathtotraitors”onJanuary30,whilehewasearlierremovedfromthelistof the BJP’s starcampaigners.
Mr. Shah repeatedly saidDelhi’s voters should pressthe “lotus” button on theelectronicvotingmachinesothatthe“current”wasfeltinShaheenBagh,where thousandsofpeoplearepeacefully protesting against theCAANRCNPRregime.
Mr. Shah personally addressed52publicmeetings,roadshowsandstreetcorner
meetings,U.P.ChiefMinisterYoyiAdityanathaddressed12publicmeetingsinDelhiandPrimeMinisterNarendraModi spoke at three publicmeetings, including one onRamlilagrounds.
At one time, it appearedthatthefi��ringincidentsinJamiaandtheentryofmaskedhoodlumsinJNUonJanuary
5 (noarrestshavebeenmadeby the Delhi Police in thematter so far)could lead tomoreviolence.TheElectionCommissionofIndiaonlyintervenedtoremovetheDCPinchargeoftheJamiaMilliaIslamiaarea.
In an interview to TheHindu before the poll, Mr.Kejriwal only spoke of his
workandthefactthathewasgoing to the people on thebasisofhisperformance.Hewas critical of Mr. Shah onDelhi’sdeterioratinglawandorder situation but did notdirectly criticise Prime Minister Narendra Modi. HewasperhapsconsciousofthefactthatthosewhovotedforMr.Modiat theCentresaid
time and again they wouldbackMr.KejriwalinDelhi.
FortheBJP,thedefeat inDelhi comes close on theheels of the loss in Jharkhand,whereagainitstressedonCAANRCandRammandir. In Delhi too, Mr. Shahpromised at several publicmeetingsthataRamtemplewould be constructed inAyodhyainfourmonths.
It’s evident that whatworkedfortheBJPintheLokSabhaelectiondidnotworkforitinDelhiorJharkhand.The voter clearly has diff��erentinterestsandobjectivesin national and Assemblyelections.
ThoughtheBJPsucceededin raising its vote share byabout seven percentagepointstoaround39%inthecurrent polls (counting wasonatthetimeofwriting),theAAPlostbarelyapercentagepointfromits2015tally.
ThegapbetweentheAAPandtheBJPismorethan12percentage points and theCongresstoohaslostnearly5%ofthevotesince2015.
Interestingly, in 2013,whentheBJPgot33.07%of
thetotalvotescast,itwon31seats, while in 2015, with32.19%votes,itmanagedonly three. In 2013, the Congress too got a healthy24.55%ofthevoteandeightseats,whilein2015itcouldnot open its account, withjustunder10%ofthevote.
A threecornered contestin Delhi could have helpedtheBJP,buttheCongressdida massivefavourtotheAAPbynotcampaigning.
Likein2015,theCongressvoter turned out in largenumbers for the AAP whilethepartyunderSheilaDikshit came second in the 2019LokSabhapoll,pushingtheAAPtothirdposition.
Finally, Mr. Kejriwal wasthe face of the AAP and itsgovernance.
TheBJPfailedtosettleforany leader in Delhi, chastened perhaps with its projection of Kiran Bedi aheadof the 2015 poll. It’s somewhatofamysterywhyapowerful, organised andwealthy party like the BJPcouldnotbuildupayoungerleadershipinDelhi.
Meanwhile, it is celebrationallthewayattheAAP’sheadquarters in Rouse AvenueinNewDelhi.
Why Kejriwal’s AAP was able to retain DelhiThe Chief Minister has been the face of the party, with focus on its performance
Amit Baruah
new delhi
AAPworkerscelebratingthehugevictoryintheDelhiAssemblyelections,attheparty’sheadquartersinNewDelhionTuesday. * R.V. MOORTHY
NEWS ANALYSIS
Buried in countless discussions on the failure of hatecampaign against ShaheenBaghand thevictoryof theAam Aadmi Party’s politicsof “kaam” has been the actual role of the women ofShaheen Bagh. The UnionHomeMinister’sexhortationtodeliver“electriccurrent”toShaheenBagh,thechantingof“golimaro”andtheactual attacks by stray shooters, crafting seditioncharges against individuals,have contrasted singularlywiththepicturesofrowsofwomensittingwithchildren,wavingthefl��agandcopiesoftheConstitutionandmostofall, dedicated to peacefulprotest. The importance ofthis cannot beunderestimated.
Hate as strategySpeakingatapanelontheresultsoftheDelhielectionsona television channel, Seshadri Chari, a senior BJP spo
kesperson, described thecommunally vituperativecampaignofhispartyas“nothate politics but strategy”.This is a chilling statement.Theproblem,however,isnotonlyitsquestionablemorality–animportantifnotscaryissue–butthefailureofthestrategy.
Clearly,asstrategy,ithashad its uses. The BJP voteshareinthe2020Delhielections has been reasonableenough.Butitfailedtoproduceacuttingedgepreciselybecausethestrategydidnotextend beyond the rhetoricofincitement.Itwasthedeliberate commitment topeaceful protest by the women satyagrahis – ordinarymothers, homemakers,youth – that staved off�� anyviolent counterresponse.Counterfactuallyspeaking,iftherehadbeentheslightesthintofviolentresponse,thespiral of violence and com
donebyAAP.Itbecamesoeffectivethatthegroundcampaigners of the BJP had totakerecoursetoquestioningthe wisdom of providing“freebies”totheelectorate.
ForBJPaggressivepolarisation has been importantfor both electoral victorywhilecombiningthiswithestablishing the aff��ective andideological foundationsofafutureHinduRashtra.Butifcommunalpolarisationdoesnot work as an issue, whatelse will the BJP have in itselectoral kitty? Delhi hasshownthatapurelynegativecampaignofdiscreditingtheagenda of its rivals will notdo.Norcanitstepbacknow,forthereputationofitsShahModi leadership has beenbuilt on its authoritarianstubbornness to defend itspositions.ThereistoomuchnowatstakefortheBJPleadershipandtoolittleammunitionatit*disposal.
Pradip Kumar Dattateaches political science atJawaharlal Nehru University
estswerecarriedoutbytheyouthofdiff��erentcommunities,becomingaplatformforvoicing dissatisfactionagainst a governance perceived to be highhanded,regulative of lifestyles andunabletoprovidejobs.
The Delhi elections providedanopportunitytobeginacounterinitiativebytheBJP.TheBJPruledStateshadput down the protests withanironhand.
Shaheen Bagh providedanopportunitytoinitiateanideologicalcounteroff��ensiveagainsttheprotests.Theonlyproblem–whichfi��nallydefeatedtheBJPstrategywasthatitwasdominatedbywomen who refused to beprovoked.
The unresponsiveness ofthese women was complemented by the careful distancingoftheAAPfromtheprotesters.BothoftheseputBJPoutonalimb.Moreimportantly, it allowed the focus to be put on a positiveelement, that is, the work
India’s elections. It hasraisedquestionsofnationalintegrity, portraying ShaheenBaghasacentreofterroristandantinationalactivity – and then going on toassociatethisunpleasingfi��ctionwithAAP.ChiefMinisterArvind Kejriwal himself hasbeenaccusedofbeingaterrorist.Thebasicelementsofthis campaign are by nomeans new. Over time, anyopposition to the BJP hasbeen progressively labelledas antinational. This hasprovidedamomentumofa*ggressiontoBJP’snationwidecampaigns.
Testing groundFor BJP, Shaheeh Bagh wasthetestinggroundofanewuse of communal mobilisation.Withinlessthanayearof its massive general electionvictory,theBJPgovernmenthasfacedthestrongesteverprotestthathasspreadacrosstheentirecountryonthe issue of the CAANRC.Mostimportantlytheseprot
eratelynationalisedtheelections. Beginning with thePrime Minister, organisedand coordinated by theHome Minister and deployingaphalanxofChiefMinisters and over 200 MPs, theBJPcampaignhasbeenoneofthemostcommunalvituperativeeverinthehistoryof
tinuously faced the fear ofviolent ejection by the police.It isthesilentcontributionoftheShaheenBaghwomen that remainsunremarked upon in thehighdecibel commentariesontheelectionresults.
It raises a diffi��cult questionfortheBJPnow.Itdelib
munal polarisation wouldhave been uncontrollable.The strategy of hate wouldthenhavebeenunstoppable.It would have upended thepoliticsof“kaam”.
ItmayberecalledthatthewomenhavecarriedondespitenoactsofsolidarityfromAAP;instead,theyhavecon
The victory of the Shaheen Bagh womenThe silent contribution of the peaceful protesters went missing in high-decibel commentaries on the election results
Pradip Kumar Datta
AntiCAAprotestersatShaheenBaghonTuesday. * PTI
COMMENT
Failing to project a ChiefMinisterial face, failing tocounter the Aam AadmiParty’s power and watersubsidies, using a localelectionasa“launchpad”for national issues, andstarcampaigners“overshadowing” local candidatesweresomeoftheproblemsin the BJP’s campaign inthe Assembly polls, saidpartyinsiders.
The Delhi BJP hadthoughtthat240oddMPscanvassing in the Capitalwouldfurthertheirchancesbut“unwarrantedcom
ments” made by these“outsiders”aswellassomelocalMPsdidalotof“damage”,addedsources.
“Asignifi��cantissuewiththecampaignwasthedecision not to project a CMface; the other big issuewasthekindofcommentsmade by some star campaigners such as AnuragThakurandParveshSahibSingh,”saidapartysource.
“The events of seniorleaders ended up becoming platforms to push theBJP’snationalagenda...localissuesfoundbriefornomentionatall,”saidanotherpartysource.
‘BJP campaign failedon many fronts’ Local issues got buried: party sources
Jatin Anand
New Delhi
AamAadmiPartyworkersholdupaposterduringvictorycelebrationsonTuesday. * R.V. MOORTHY
Inarepeatof2015,theCongresswasdecimatedintheDelhiAssemblyelectionsonTuesdaywithitsvotesharefallingfrom9.7%to4.27%.A totalof63outof66Congress candidates forfeitedtheirdepositthistime.
Arvinder Singh LovelyfromGandhiNagar,Devender Yadav from Badli andAbhishekDuttfromKasturbaNagarweretheonlyoneswhomanagedtosavetheirdeposits.
Even sitting ChandiniChowk MLA Alka LambawhoswitchedfromtheAamAadmi Party to the Congresslostherdeposit.
The party’s strategy ofpromising voters a throwbacktoa“Congresswalidilli”andhighlightingachievements during the 15yeartenure of Chief MinisterSheila Diksh*t failed tostrikeachordwithvoters.
RahulGandhi’sfourelec
tion rallies in which hepushedtheparty’splanstogenerate employment forthe youth failed to garnersupportfromthevoters.
DelhiCongresschiefSubhashChopratookresponsibilityforthedefeatandsaidthat the party would needtointrospectonwhatwentwrong. He blamed politicsofpolarisationfortheparty’sfallinvoteshare.
The Congress contestedtheelectionsthistimeinalliancewiththeRashtriyaJanata Dal (RJD), fi��ghting on66seatsandleavingfourforitsally.
63 out of 66 Congresscandidates lose depositParty’s pitch failed to win over voters
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI
EmptyseatsattheDelhiCongressoffi��ceonTuesday.
In eight constituencies, allof which were won by theAamAadmiParty,themargin of victory was above40,000votes.Ontheotherhand, seven of the BJP’seight winning candidatescouldsecureonlyamarginoflessthan17,000votes.
Thelargestmarginofvictory was seen in BurariwhereAAPsSanjeevJharetainedhis seatwith88,158votes. Mr. Jha improveduponhis2015resultswhenhe won by a margin of67,950votes.
Thesecond largestmargin of victory was seen inOkhla,dominatedbymembers of the Muslim communityandhasbeenasiteof indefi��nite protestsagainst the Citizenship(Amendment)Act.
Here,AAP’sAmanatullahKhan won by a margin of71,827votescomparedtoa
marginof64,532inthepreviouselections.
In Matia Mahal, also aMuslim majority constituency,ShohaibIqbalwonbyamarginof50,241votes,comparedtothemarginof26,096votesbyAAP’sAsimAhmed Khan in the previouselections.
Minister Rajendra PalGautamwonwithacomfortablemarginof56,108votesinthereservedconstituency of Seemapuri , improving on the vote margin of
48,821.InSangamVihar,saidto
bethelargestunauthorisedcolonyinthecity,AAP’sDineshMohaniyadefeatedtheBJP candidate by a marginof42,522votes,asmalldipin the victory margin of43,988in2015.
In Sultanpur Majra, MukeshKumar,wonbyamarginof48,052votes.WhileinVikaspuri,thepartycandidate won by a margin of42,058 votes, in Deoli thevictorymarginwas40,173.
Burari candidate wins by largest margin of 88,158 votes
Staff Reporter
New Delhi
AAP conquers eight seats by margins of over 40,000 votes
NineAssemblyConstituencyseatswitnessedaclosecontestbetweentheAamAadmiPartyandtheBJPwithcandidateswinningbyamarginoflessthan5,000votes.
AAP won seven out ofthesenineseats.
Inatleastsixofthem,thepartysawadropinthemargin with which the candidates won as compared tothe 2015 polls. In one seat,however,themarginofvictoryincreasedfortheparty.
The least margin recordedwasontheBijwasanseatwhere AAP’s BhupinderSinghJoondefeatedBJP’sSatPrakashRanaby753votes.
TheLaxmiNagarseatalsosawaclosefi��ghtwithBJP’sAbhay Verma defeatingAAP’s Nitin Tyagi by 880votes.InAdarshNagarconstituency,AAPcandidatePawanSharmawonbyamargin of 1,589 votes againstBJP’sRajKumarBhatia.
Mr. Sharma was electedfrom the constituency in
2015 too but had won by amarginof20,741votes.
TheKasturbaNagarconstituencysawAAP’sMadanLal defeat BJP’s RavinderChoudhry by a margin of3,165votes.Inthelastelection, Mr. Lal had won by amarginofover15,800votes.
SeniorAAPleaderManishSisodia got reelected fromPatparganj by a margin of
3,207 votes by defeatingBJP’sRavinderSinghNegi.
Mr.Sisodiahadwonbyamarginof28,791votesinthe2015elections.
BJP’s Rekha Gupta fromheShalimarBaghlostouttoAAP’sBandanaKumaribyamarginof3,440votes.
The 2015 elections hadseen Ms. Kumari win theseatby10,978votes.
Chhatarpur AAP candidate Kartar Singh Tanwardefeated BJP candidateBrahm Singh Tanwar by amarginof3,720votes;inthepreviouselectionstheformer had won by a margin of22,240votes.
The outlierInKrishnaNagar,S.K.BaggaofAAPwonbyamarginof3,995 votes by defeatingBJP’s Anil Goyal — an improvement from his 2015electionresultwherehehadwon by a margin of 2,277votes. The Badarpur seatsawBJP’sRamvirSinghBidhuridefeatAAP’sRamSinghNetajiby3,719votes.
AAP, BJP candidates win by margins of less than 5,000 votes
Staff Reporter
New Delhi
AAPleaderManishSisodiagotreelectedfromPatparganjbyamarginof3,207votes. * PTI
9 constituencies see close contest
CMYK
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THE HINDU DELHI
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WEST
The Special InvestigationTeam, probing the casewherea25yearoldwomanlecturer was burned todeath by a stalker at Hinganghat in Wardha districtlast week, would fi��le acharge sheet within twoweeks,asenioroffi��cialsaidonTuesday.
The victim, Ankita Pisudde, a resident of Hinganghat town,wassetafi��reallegedly by her stalker VikeshNagrale(27)onFebruary3.ShediedonMondayina Nagpur hospital, where
had been undergoingtreatment.
TheSITheadedbyWardha Deputy Superintendent
of Police Trupti Jadhav ishandlingthecase.
Whencontacted,Ms.Jadhav said that statements of
sixwitnesseshavebeenrecordedandevidences fromthe crime spot have alsobeenrecovered.
The charge sheet wouldbe fi��led within two weeks,shesaid.“TheaccusedisinpoliceremandtillFebruary20andwewillfi��lethechargesheetbeforetheendofthatperiod,”Ms.Jadhavsaid.
She also dismissed reportsinasectionofthemediathattheaccusedwasaccompanied by a couple ofpersonsatthetimeofcrime.
Accordingtoinformationgatheredbytheprobeteam,the accused executed thecrimealoneandwasnotaccompanied by any person,theoffi��cialsaid.
TheStategovernmentonMonday appointed re
nowned lawyer Ujjwal Nikam as the special publicprosecutorinthecase.
Making the announcement in Mumbai, Chief MinisterUddhavThackerayassured that the case, whichhas triggered widespreadpublic anger and outrage,willbetried ina fast trackcourt toensurespeedy justicetothevictim.
During his decadeslongcareer, Mr. Nikam (66) hashandledseveralhighprofi��lecases likethe1993Mumbaiserialbombblastsandfi��lmproducer Gulshan Kumar’smurdercase.
The woman was set onfi��rebytheaccused,whowaslaterarrested,whileshewasonwaytohercollegeonFebruary3,policeearliersaid.
Lecturer burning case: charge sheetwithin two weeks, assure policeAccused in policeremand tillFebruary 20
Membersofthewomen’swingoftheBJPtakingoutasilentmarchinPuneonTuesdaytocondolethedeathoftheyounglecturerinWardhaonMonday. * MANDAR TANNU
Press Trust of India
Nagpur
With the Aam Aadmi Partyscoring another landslidevictory in Delhi Assemblypolls, Goa Chief MinisterPramodSawantonTuesdaysaidvotersmayhave fallenfor freebies announced beforetheelectionsbytheArvindKejriwalgovernment.
The BJP leader said thattheAAPgovernmentinDelhi failed to provide pollutionfreeairandcleandrinking water, which are basicnecessities.
“Weacceptpeople’sverdict.Maybe,peoplewanteda governmentthatgivesfreebies fromtheirowntaxes,”Mr.SawanttoldreportersinPonda town of North Goadistrict. Mr. Sawant, whocampaignedinDelhiforthe
Assemblypolls,saidtheKejriwal government failed toprovidecleanairandwaterto citizens of the nationalcapital.
GoaForwardParty(GFP)chiefVijaiSardesaisaidDelhiites have rejected “divisive” issues. “Congratulationsto#Delhi’slocalparty
@AamAadmiPartyand@ArvindKejriwal for this resounding victory. It’s heartening to see the peopleemphatically supporting apartythatchampionedlocalissues and local development rejecting the nationaldivisive issues #DelhiPolls2020,”hetweeted.
Press Trust of India
Panaji
AamAadmiPartyworkerscelebratetheDelhiresultsinfrontofthepartyoffi��ceinNagpuronTuesday. * S. SUDARSHAN
Delhi voters may have fallenfor freebies, says Goa CM
A Pakistani national hasbeenapprehendedby theBorder Security Force(BSF)forillegallyenteringKutch district after crossingtheIndiaPakistanborder, an offi��cial said onTuesday. The accused,ShoaibAhmed(38),aresidentofShahNawazBhuttocolony inKarachi townofPakistan’sSindhprovince,appearedtobeadrugaddict,hesaid.
Some Pakistani currency,anidentitycardand150gramsofa“sniffi��ngpowder” were seized from hispossession,theBSFsaidina release. “The PakistaninationalwasapprehendedwhenhetriedtoenterIndianearDholaviraonMondaynight. He was held fromnearborderpillarnumber1024by theBSFpatrollingteam. He appears to be adrug addict,” InspectorGeneral,BSF,GujaratFrontier,G.S.Maliksaid.Hewashanded over to the localpolice on Tuesday morning,theoffi��cialsaid.
Pak. nationalarrested forentering Indiaillegally
Press Trust of India
Bhuj
The Ministry of Earth Sciences(MoES)isplanninga‘decadalforecast’systemalongthelinesoftheUnited Kingdom’s Met Offi��ce toensurebetterpredictabilityintheclimatetimescale,saidDr.M.Rajeevan,Secretary,MoESrecently.
Speakingonthesidelinesofthe6th International Conference onClimateServicesbeingheldatthePunebased Indian Institute ofTropicalMeteorology (IITM),Dr.Rajeevan said the system, basedon a coupled climate model,wouldfi��rstbetakingshapeintheform of a research programmeandwouldbeoperationalonlyafteritsmeritshadbeenevaluated.
“Thisisanewideawithmorerelevancetopresentclimateforecastingneeds.So,giventheneedforlongerrangepredictionfor10or20years,wewillbestartinga
new programme in the countryusingacoupledclimatemodelbyutilising signals emanating fromdeep oceans to predict decadalclimatechanges,”hesaid.
Refusingtoelaborateontheoperational aspects of the programme, Dr. Rajeevan said thesystemwouldbeexploredasaresearchprogrammetobetakenupbyIITMalongwithcollaborationfromtheIndiaMeteorologicalDepartmentandotherentities.
“The operational part will bediscussedlater.First,wewillhaveto conduct signifi��cant researchanddeterminethesystem’seff��ectiveness,”hesaid.
The World Meteorological Organizationhassetupglobalproducing centres, coordinated bytheU.K.MetOffi��ce,forannualtodecadalprojectionsthatarealready providing globalscaleinformation.
“As there isa lot fundamentalwork[onthedecadalforecastingsystem] that has already beendone,wefeelIndiashouldnotlagbehind,”Dr.Rajeevansaid.
Once the system was established,itwouldinitiallyfunctionfor longrange forecasting at thenational level and the model, ifsuccessful,wouldlaterbedownscaledtothestateorevendistrictlevel,hesaid.
Dr.Rajeevansaidtherewereanumber of gaps in the understanding of regional climate variability and its connections toglobal phenomena like IndianOceanDipole.Indianforecasters,he said, faced a challenge inmaintaining the quality of climateobservations,andthereisaneedonthepartofresearcherstodevelopapplicationsforspecifi��csectorsbasedontheavailableclimateforecast.
System based on need for long-term predictions; will begin as research
Shoumojit Banerjee
Pune
Ministry of Earth Sciences may goin for decadal forecast system
TheBombayHighCourtonTuesdayissuedsummonstoNCP leader Rohit Pawar,grandnephewofNCPchiefSharad Pawar, seeking hisresponsetoanelectionpetition alleging malpracticesandcorruptiononhispartduring last year’s State Assemblypolls.
A singleBenchofJusticeS.M. Gavhane of AurangabadBenchoftheHighCourtwashearingapetitionfi��ledby former MLA Ramdas
Shindeseekingdisqualifi��cationofRohitPawarasMLAfromKarjatJamkhedseat.
Mr. Shinde, who waselectedfromthesameconstituencyontwooccasions,inhisplea,fi��ledthroughadvocates S.B. Talekar andMadhaviAyyappan,claimedthat Mr. Pawar would nothave won the polls but forcorruptpractices.
Justice Gavhane, afterhearingbriefarguments,issuedsummonstoMr.Pawardirectinghimtofi��lehisaffi��davitbyMarch20.
HC summons to RohitPawar on Assembly win Press Trust of India
Aurangabad RightwingorganisationHinduJanajagrutiSamiti(HJS)onTuesdayappealedtotheyouthtocelebrateFebruary14as“parents’day”,insteadofValentine’sDay.Italsosubmittedamemorandumto theadditionalcollectorofNorthGoaandoffi��cialsfromtheStateadministration.
“Thisdistortedversionofloveisbeingmadepopularamongyouth togainsomebusiness,andasaresult,theyounggenerationisdrawntowardssensualityandimmorality,”theorganisationstated.
Incidentsofteasing,havebeenreportedonValentine’sDay,theoutfi��tsaid.Thereisarisein“malpractices” such as consuming alcohol,drugs, and smoking. Even sale of contraceptivesgoesup,itclaimed.
Observe ‘parents’day’ on Feb. 14: HJS PressTrust of India
Panaji
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DELHI THE HINDU
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 20208EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
SOUTH
SriLankanPMworshipsatTirumalaTIRUMALA
SriLankanPrimeMinister
MahindaRajapaksaon
Tuesdaytookpartinthe
Astadala Padapadmaradhana
seva, aweeklyritual,at
thehilltempleofLord
Venkateswaraalongwithhis
sonYosh*taRajapaksaand
otherdignitariesonTuesday.
A teamofTTDofficials,led
byexecutiveofficerAnil
KumarSinghal,accordedhim
a traditionalreception.Mr.
Rajapaksawaspresented
withamementoand
‘ladduprasadam’.
IN BRIEF
EightheldforrapingwomaninTelanganaWARANGAL
A 24yearoldwomanwas
allegedlyrapedbynine
peopleatMahabubabadin
Telangana.Eightofthem
werearrestedonMonday.
Threedaysago,thewoman
hadarrivedattheMahabub
abadrailwaystation.Asshe
didn’thaveenoughmoneyto
gotohervillage,shephoned
anacquaintanceseekinghelp.
Heaskedhertomeethim
somedistanceaway.She
tookanautorickshawtothe
spot,whereshewasrapedby
heracquaintance,anauto
driver,andhisfriends.PTI
Keralatribalmanwins₹��12crorelotteryKannur
A memberoftheKurichiya
tribalcommunityinKannur
haswonthe₹��12croreKerala
ChristmasNewYearBumper
lotteryoftheState
government.Thewinner,
PorunnanRajan,52,who
residesatPuralimala,told
The Hindu thathewasindire
needofmoney.Hewasin
debtafterborrowingmoney
forthemarriageofhis
daughterandotherpurposes.
Mr.Rajan,whohastwo
daughtersandason,
wantstopayoffhisloans
andbuildanewhouse.
Within24hoursofallocatingportfoliostonewlyinductedMinisters, Karnataka ChiefMinister B. S. Yediyurappamodifi��ed some of them onTuesday, to placate thosewhowereupsetovernotgetting “prominent” subjects,including new entrants totheBharatiyaJanataParty.
BJP sources said thechangescameaftermostofthe new Ministers met theChiefMinister inBengaluruonMondaynight,andprotestedthe“rawdeal”metedout to them. Some told Mr.YediyurappathattheywouldrathercontinueasjustMLAs.
Onlythreeofthe10newlyinducted Ministers had gotprominent portfolios inMonday’sallocation.
“ThoughtheChiefMinisterdidnotyieldtopressureforportfoliosoftheirchoice,heagreedtomakemodifi��cations,”aseniorBJPleaderexplained.
PatilgetsagricultureThe major change was thatofB.C.Patil,whowasgivenAgricultureasagainstForest
that was allocated on Monday.Infact,AgriculturehadbeentakenawayfromDeputyChiefMinisterLaxmanSavadiandgiventoHomeMinister Basavaraj BommaiadditionallyonlyonMonday.
SmallScaleIndustriesandSugar allotted to K. Gopalaiahwerewithdrawnandhewas allotted Food and CivilSupplies,whichwasgiventoAnandSinghonMonday.Mr.Singh has now been givenForest,EcologyandEnvironmentDepartment,earliergiven to C.C. Patil who alsoholdsMinesandGeology.
Shivaram Hebbar, whohad been allotted Labour,hasgotSugaralsonow.Shrimant Balasaheb Patil hasbeen given the additionalportfolio of Minority Welfare,whichwasearlierwith
Animal Husbandry MinisterPrabhuChauhan.
Urban Development MinisterByrathiBasavaraj,too,has something to cheerabout as his portfolio hasnow been strengthened byaddingKarnatakaUrbanWater Supply and DrainageBoardandKarnatakaUrbanInfrastructureDevelopmentand Finance Corporation.TheChiefMinisterhaskeptSmall Scale Industries withhim, along with other keydepartments.
Four new Ministers werekept out of the rejig. MajorWater Resources MinisterRamesh Jarkiholi has beenuntouched,asalsoCooperationMinisterS.T.Somashekhar, Medical Education MinisterD.Sudhakar,andK.C.NarayanaGowda.
Yediyurappa placates newMinisters with portfolio rejigTheyhadmethimtoexpressanguishovernotgetting‘prominent’berths
Special Correspondent
BENGALURU
B.S.Yediyurappa
Who would have thoughtthat the better way to increase productivity is to allow employees to take aquick postprandial nap attheworkplace?Apaperpublishedrecentlybythenonprofi��t National Bureau ofEconomicResearch(NBER),basedinCambridge,Massachusetts, U.S., argues thathigherqualitysleepduringapower nap improves economic and psychologicaloutcomesoveranincreaseinthenumberofhoursofsleep.
Thepaper,byPedroBessone et al, was based on aprojectthatmeasuredsleepamong 452 low incomeadults in Chennai, and ack
nowledges “generous funding and support” from thegovernment of Tamil NaduandtheMassachusettsInstituteofTechnologybasedAbdulLatifJameelPovertyAction Lab, among others.“Adults in Chennai havestrikingly low quantity andquality of sleep relative totypical guidelines: despitespendingeighthoursinbed,theyachieveonly5.6hoursper night of sleep, with 32awakenings per night,” thepaperstates.
Sleepeffi��ciency“Sleepeffi��ciencyiscalculatedbydividingthesleepyouaregettingbythetimespentin bed, expressed as a percentage,”explainsDr.N.Ra
makrishnan, senior consultant, sleep management,Apollo Hospitals, here. Justover fi��ve hours out of eighthours in bed is not goodsleep effi��ciency, he adds.Thatmeanssleepeffi��ciencywasonly70%inthesample,which, the authors argue,was“muchlowerthaninU.S.populations or even thosewithdisorderssuchassleepapnea”.
As part of the study, thesubjectswererecruitedforafulltime dataentry job foronemonth.Theresearchersthen crossrandomised thesampleintotwotypesofinterventionstoincreasesleep:nightsleeptreatments,andanap treatment that gavethem,daily,anopportunity
tional minutes per night —rather than improved sleepeffi��ciency. Naps were eff��ectiveatincreasingsleep—88%of individuals fell asleep atsomepointduringtheirallottednaptime,yieldinganaverage of 13 minutes of napsleepperday.Thiswasofahigher quality than nightsleep,theNBERrecords.
ProductivityupIncreasednightsleepdidnothave any measurable positive impacts on a range ofoutcomes.Naps,ontheotherhand,increasedworkproductivityby2.3%,boostedameasure of attention, andimprovedpsychologicalwellbeing. It also emerged thatnapsincreasedpatience,and
actuallyresultedin14%higher deposits in a savings account,saysthepaper.
“There is no doubt thatbothqualityofsleepandthehoursyougetareimportant.But,lyinginbedisnotequaltosleep,”Dr.Ramakrishnanexplains. “In this particularstudy, the environmentsmight have contributed agreatdealtothebenefi��tsderivedfromthenap.”Inalowincomegroup,heargues,theenvironmentsinwhichpeople get their night’s sleepmaynotbeidealforadisruptionfree sleep. In contrast,when they were allowed torestinadisruptionfreeenvironment at the workplace,they might have derivedgreaterbenefi��tsfromit.
totakeahalfhournapintheafternooninaquietspaceintheoffi��ce.
The nightsleep interventions increased sleep by anaverage of 27 minutes pernight, but this increase intimeasleepwasentirelydrivenbygreatertimespentinbed — on average 38 addi
AdultsinChennaihavestrikinglylowquantityandqualityofsleeprelativetotypicalguidelines,saysU.S.basedgroup
Ramya Kannan
Chennai
Benefi��tsofpostlunchnapatworkratedhighlybystudy
A 50yearold man, whofeared that he had contracted novel coronavirus(nCoV),allegedlycommittedsuicidenearSrikalahastitowninA.P.onTuesday.
Balakrishna had beenadmittedtoahospitalinTirupati for fever and doctorssuggestedthatheweara mask to prevent thespread of the viral infection. This made him suspectthathehadcontractedthevirus.Apprehensiveofinfectingothers,hekeptaway from his family. Heleft his house on Mondaynightandallegedlyhangedhimselffromatree.(Thoseindistresscancall100.)
SuspectingnCoV attack,man kills self
Special Correspondent
TIRUPATI
TheSupremeCourtonTuesdayconfi��rmedtheKarnataka government authorities’decisiontodemolishrestaurants, hotels, guest housesand other buildings constructedinVirupapuraGaddi, an oval islet formed byTungabhadra river and located west of the HampiWorldHeritagesite.
Spellingreliefforconservationists and a victory forthe State government, aBenchofJusticesMohanM.ShantanagoudarandR.SubhashReddyconcluded thatthe constructions were inviolationof theMysoreAncient and Historical Monuments and ArchaeologicalSites and Remains Act of1961.
AgreeingwiththeKarna
taka High Court decisionthattheHampiWorldHeritageAreaManagementAuthoritywasempoweredtoorder the demolition of theillegal buildings, the courtordered the authorities toproceed with their demolitionworkwithinamonthofthisjudgment.
“Itisincumbentupontheauthoritynottoturnablindeye,” Justice Shantanagoudar, who authored the verdict,held.
Thecourtupheldthevalidityofa1988Statenotifi��cation that “clearly indicatestheentirevillageofVirupapura Gaddi as a protectedzone”. It said a place neednotnecessarilyboastamonumenttobeprotected.
“It ispossibleforcertainareas to be protected independentoftheexistenceof
monuments,ifthereisareasonablebeliefthattheycontainruinsorrelicsofhistorical or archaeologicalimportance,” the courtobserved
HistoricalimportanceThecourtfurthernotedhowtheArchaeologicalSurveyofIndia had itself recognisedthehistoricalimportanceofVirupapuraGaddi.
“It appears that the government had consideredthe comprehensive geographicalentityofthearea,including attributes like itslandscape, prehistoric vestiges and water systems.Thus, the 1988 notifi��cationissuedunderSection19(3)ofthe1961ActdeclaringVirupapuraGaddiasaprotectedareacan’tbesaidtobewithoutbasis,”thecourtsaid.
ItsaysconstructionswereinviolationofMysoreAct,1961Krishnadas Rajagopal
NEW DELHI
SCbacksmovetodemolishrestaurantsnearHampisite
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THE HINDU DELHI
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NATION
Weather WatchRainfall, temperature & air quality in select metros yesterday
Temperature Data: IMD, Pollution Data: CPCB, Map: INSAT/IMD (Taken at 18.00 Hrs)
ForecastforWednesday: ThunderstormaccompaniedwithlightninglikelyatisloatedplacesoverJammu.Heavyrain/snowlikelyat isolatedplacesoverKashmir.
city rain max min city rain max min
Agartala................—....28.2....10.5 Kozhikode....................—....35.5....23.8
Ahmedabad...........—....31.0....15.5 Kurnool .......................—....32.7....20.2
Aizawl...................—....17.9........ — Lucknow......................—....24.1......7.1
Allahabad..............—....26.7......8.0 Madurai .......................—....35.0....22.5
Bengaluru .............—....30.4....16.4 Mangaluru ...................—....36.4....21.9
Bhopal ..................—....27.7....11.5 Mumbai .......................—........ —....22.9
Bhubaneswar.........—....28.4....12.9 Mysuru ........................—....30.0....18.8
Chandigarh ...........—....22.0......7.3 New Delhi ...................—....23.0......5.9
Chennai ................—....31.6....22.6 Patna ..........................—....25.4......9.3
Coimbatore ...........—....31.9....21.9 Port Blair.....................—....31.6....25.7
Dehradun ..............—....23.6......6.0 Puduch*erry ............... 1.0....31.7....22.3
Gangtok................—....14.6......5.7 Pune............................—....29.8....17.6
Goa.......................—....35.2....21.4 Raipur .........................—....28.0....12.8
Guwahati ..............—....28.2....11.2 Ranchi .........................—....25.5......7.5
Hubballi ................—....31.0....19.0 Shillong.......................—....15.6......5.0
Hyderabad ............—....28.3....20.0 Shimla.........................—....15.9......4.1
Imphal ..................—....22.9......4.9 Srinagar.......................—......7.5.... -0.2
Jaipur ...................—....25.1....10.4 Thiruvananthapuram.........—....34.4....23.4
Kochi ....................—....33.6....25.2 Tiruchi.........................—....34.5....22.4
Kohima .................—....16.4......6.6 Vijayawada ............... 0.4....30.8....22.4
Kolkata .................—....27.0....13.5 Visakhapatnam .............—....28.8....22.8
(Rainfall data in mm; temperature in Celsius)
Pollutants in the air you are breathing Yesterday
CITIES SO2 NO2 CO PM2.5 PM10 CODE
In observation made at4.00 p.m., Ballabgarh,Haryana recorded an overallair quality index (AQI) scoreof 396 indicating ahazardous level ofpollution. In contrast,Tirupati, Andhra Pradeshrecorded a healthy AQIscore of 43
Ahmedabad..... 57 .69 .36 ..174 .132 ....*
Bengaluru ....... ..— .42 .67 ....50 ...78 ....*
Chennai .......... ..7 .20 .17 ....71 .....— ....*
Delhi .............. 33 .83 .63 ..395 .357 ....*
Hyderabad ...... ..2 .64 .33 ....99 ...90 ....*
Kolkata........... 12 .80 .24 ..266 .243 ....*
Lucknow ......... ..7 .76 106 ..319 .....— ....*
Mumbai .......... 14 .30 .40 ....98 .113 ....*
Pune............... 61 .18 .71 ....74 ...74 ....*
Visakhapatnam 10 .30 .46 ....95 ...95 ....*
Air Quality Code: * Poor * Moderate * Good (Readings indicate average AQI)
SO2: Sulphur Dioxide. Short-term exposure can harm the respiratory system,
making breathing difficult. It can affect visibility by reacting with other air
particles to form haze and stain culturally important objects such as statues
and monuments.
NO2: Nitrogen Dioxide. Aggravates respiratory illness, causes haze to form by
reacting with other air particles, causes acid rain, pollutes coastal waters.
CO: Carbon monoxide. High concentration in air reduces oxygen supply to
critical organs like the heart and brain. At very high levels, it can cause
dizziness, confusion, unconsciousness and even death.
PM2.5 & PM10: Particulate matter pollution can cause irritation of the eyes,
nose and throat, coughing, chest tightness and shortness of breath, reduced
lung function, irregular heartbeat, asthma attacks, heart attacks and premature
death in people with heart or lung disease
Bhim Army chief ChandraShekharAazadonTuesdaymoved the Supreme CourtforareviewofitsFebruary7judgmentreiteratingthesettled law that an individualcannotclaimreservationinpromotionasafundamentalright.
ThejudgmentbyaBenchledbyJusticeL.NageswaraRao isbasedonaseriesofConstitution Bench verdicts,fromtheIndiraSawhneycasein1992toM.Nagarajjudgmentinmid2000s.
However, Mr. Aazad hasargued in his review petition that theFebruay judgmentwould“actasatoolinthehandsoftheoppressorsto further oppress and exploit the SC, ST, OBC andthe economically weakersections, causing further
marginalisation within society,therebydefeatingtheendeavourtobringequalitybetweenthecitizensofthiscountry by the framers ofourConstitutionparticularly those of Babasaheb Dr.BhimRaoAmbedkar.”
‘Not a mandamus’TheSupremeCourthadobserved that State governments were not bound tomakereservations.Eventhecourtscannot issueamandamus directing the Statestoprovidereservations.
“Thereisnofundamentalrightwhichinheresinanindividual to claim reservationinpromotions.NomandamuscanbeissuedbythecourtdirectingtheStategovernmenttoprovidereservations,”theCourthadobserved in its February 7verdict.
SC’sorderonquotainpromotionschallengedBhimArmychiefseeksreview
Legal Correspondent
New DelhiThenumberofpeoplewhodied while cleaning sewersandseptictanksinthecountryincreasedbyalmost62%from 68 in 2018 to 110 in2019,accordingtoareplygivenbytheSocialJusticeandEmpowerment (SJE) Ministry to the Lok Sabha onTuesday.
National surveySJEMinisterofStateRamdasAthawale replied to thequestionaskedbyBharatiyaJanataPartyMPsAnilFirojiya,MohanbhaiKalyanjibhaiKundariya and Lallu Singhabout the incidents of manual scavenging, which isbanned under the ProhibitionofEmploymentasManual Scavengers and theirRehabilitationAct,2013.
The reply said a total of14,559 manual scavengers
hadbeenidentifi��edbyMunicipalities and Gram Panchayats in 13 States from20132014 till January 31,2020.Apartfromthat,anationalsurveywasconductedin 194 districts in 18 Stateswhere 48,345 manual scavengers were identifi��ed tillJanuary 31, taking the totalto62,904.
Whilesaying“therehavebeen no reports regarding
deathofpersonsduetomanualscavenging”,theMinister’sreplystatedthattheNationalCommissionforSafaiKaramcharis had receivedreports about the death ofpeoplecleaningsewersandseptictanks.
Thesecaseswerereportedfrom18StatesandUnionTerritories, while 13 Statesand UTs submitted “nilreports”.
Damini Nath
NEW DELHI
Cleaningofdrains&septictanksclaims110livesin2019
The Maharashtra government sparked off�� acontroversy by including real estate developersShahidBalwaandVinodGoenka—whowereaccused and later acquitted in the 2G spectrum scam — in a committee to review issuesoftherealestatesector.
The committee wassetupfollowingameetingofindustryrepresentativeswithChiefMinister Uddhav Thackeray.TheMVAgovernmentlater denied having included the two on thepanel.
Maharashtrarealtypanelsparksarow
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Mumbai
An Army veteran was shotdead by his daughter afterheopenedfi��reatherandhiswife, seriously injuringthem at their home here,policesaidonTuesday.
Chetram, 45, was shot
deadbyhisdaughterwhenhetriedtofi��reathissonafter an argument with hiswifelateonMonday.
“While Chetram, a retired soldier, died on thespot,hiswifeanddaughterarebattlingfortheirlivesata hospital,”policesaid.
Armyveteranwhoopenedfi��reonfamilyshotdeadbydaughter
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
Mathura (U.P.)
DriverofbusinvolvedinmishapatGanjamheldBERHAMPUR
Thedriverofthebusthat
touchedan11kvlivewirein
Odisha’sGanjamdistricton
February9,causingthedeath
of10persons,wasarrested
bythepoliceonTuesday.The
arresteddriverhadjumped
outofthebustoescape
whenhefoundthatthetop
ofitsgoodscarriagehad
comeintocontactwithahigh
voltagepowercable.
HCseeksgovt.standonpleatobanacidsaleNEW DELHI
TheDelhiHighCourton
TuesdaysoughttheState
government’sstandonaplea
byanacidattacksurvivor,
whohasallegedthatthe
chemicalwaseasilyavailable
despitetheSupremeCourt’s
directionstoregulateitssale.
Shealsoallegedthatthe
statutoryruleswhich
regulatethesaleofacidwere
notbeingimplementedby
theauthorities.PTI
FatherofrapevictimshotdeadinU.P.FIROZABAD
Thefatherofarapevictim
wasshotdeadinFirozabad
districtofUttarPradeshand
thefamilysuspectedthe
accusedintherapecasetobe
behindthekilling,policesaid.
Hisdaughterwasrapedsix
monthsagoandaman
identifiedasAchaman
Upadhayawasmadethe
accusedinthecase,SSP
SachinPatelsaid.PTI
Chief Minister Edappadi K.Palaniswami’s announcementonSundaylastthattheCauverydeltaregionwouldbedeclared ‘ProtectedSpecial Agricultural Zone’(PSAZ) may not aff��ect variousongoingprojectsinthedistricts,includinghydrocarbonexploration.MrPalaniswamihadsaidno“newprojects such as thehydrocarbonproject”wouldbeallowedindeltadistricts.
The primary intention ofthegovernment is toprohibit any “fresh” attempts atexplorationofgasandmineralsintheCauverydeltare
gion,seniorbureaucrats indicated. “This is wetlandecology and such explorations would aff��ect agricul
ture severely. Moreover,suchexplorationswouldalsoleadtoseawaterintrusion.”
Sincetheongoingprojects
intheCauverydeltahavealready obtained necessarypermissionfromtheauthoritiesconcerned,theymaynotbeaff��ectedbytheannouncement,” informed sourcessaid.
The proposed ₹��50,000crore investment in Cuddalore by Haldia Petrochemicalswouldbeallowedsince“the unit is outside” theCauvery delta core region.Besides, it isonlyreplacinganotherprivateplayer.
CM yet to clarifyTheChiefMinisterhassofarnotclarifi��edaboutthefateofthe ongoing projects in theregion. The proposed PSAZ
wouldcovertheentireNagapattinam, Tiruvarur andThanjavurdistricts.
The remaining fi��ve districtswouldbecoveredonlypartially.
The declaration was toprimarily to stop “local exploitation of undergroundmineralsandgas.”Thatway,refi��neries could be allowedsince they would only useimported oil, offi��cialsexplained.
Though the contours ofthepolicyareyettobeoutlined,sourceshintedthatinfrastructureprojectssuchaslayingofroadsandrailwaysandconstructionofbridgeswouldnotbeaff��ected.
Agrizonemaynotaff��ectongoingT.N.projects
Offi��cialssaygovernmentonlyintendstobarfreshattemptsatexplorationofgas,minerals
Dennis S. Jesudasan
CHENNAI
Afi��lepictureofanexploratorywellnearNeduvasal.
Bediholdsconsultationswithfi��scalpolicyexpertsPUduch*eRRY
Lt.GovernorKiranBediheld
consultationswithfiscal
policyexpertsdeputedby
theMinistryofHomeAffairs
totakestockofthestressed
financialsituationinthe
UnionTerritory.Concerns
overlossmakingPSUswere
raised.
IN BRIEF
CMYK
M ND-NDE
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DELHI THE HINDU
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 202010EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EDITORIAL
The Delhi resultHastheIndianvoterattainedmaturity?Iamconfi��dentthatthisishappeningifoneistogobyrecenttrendsinStateelections.ItwasonlyrecentlythattherulingpartyattheCentreconsolidateditspositionwithamassivemajority.ButtheoppositeseemstobehappeningwiththeStatepolls:thevoterappearstobeclosingthedoorontherulingparty.Istherearealisationthatthetopleadershipoftherulingpartyisonlyfullofrhetoricandthereisnocoordinationbetweenwhattheysayandwhathappens?Thepeaceandtranquillityofthecountryhavebeendisturbedbywhimsicalpolicies.Itwouldnotbeanexaggerationtosaythatthereisconfusionandanairofuncertainty.Theredoesnotseemtobeanyvisibleeff��ectsofdevelopmentalprogrammes.FollowingtheDelhiresult,theCentral
governmentshouldstopitsstrategyofignitingpassions.TheIndianNationalCongressshouldpullupitssocksandworkwithzealandenthusiasmtoinformtheelectoratethatitistheonlyalternativethatcantaketheBJPheadon.Ananda Rao Mukkala,
Vijayawada,AndhraPradesh
■ AAP’srefreshingapproachtocampaigning—purelybasedoncivics,completelybereftofanythingtodowithidentity,religionorcaste—isunheardofinmodernIndia,eveninKerala,aStateconsideredprogressive.Indeed,theAAP’sbiggestunsaidcontributioncouldjustberestoringfaithinpolitics,aprofessionoftenassociatedwithgangstersandsycophancy. AnothermostfascinatingaspectofthevictoryshownissimmeringangerandapalpabledistancingoftheyoungergenerationfromtheBJP’smedievaloutlook.Theparty’sgreedforpowerisnowsounbridledanditsambitionsoaudaciousthatit
deliberatelyinvokedthemostdangerousmantrastobefuddlepeopleandcreatehatredwherenoneexisted,atleastnotinanysignifi��cantform.DelhiisnotjustanotherStateorcity.Itistheheartofthecountry.Letushopethatthemenwhomatterinthiscountrywillheartheheartbeats.Javvadi Lakshmana Rao,
Visakhapatnam
■ Democracyisstillalive.DelhiisaminiatureIndiawithdiverseculturalandcosmopolitangroupsdrawnfromallStatesofIndia.TherejectionoftheBJP’selectioneering givesthosewhoaregenuinelyinterestedinthenation’swelfarehope.Socialandreligioustolerancehasbecomeapracticalnecessity.TheDelhielectionresultshavealso establishedemphaticallythelongcherishedideasofculturalpluralisminwhichawidevarietyofculturalformsandreligionscoexist.G. Stanley Jeyasingh,
Nagercoil,TamilNadu
■ ThepeopleofDelhihavegivenabefi��ttingreplytothedivisivepoliticsemployedbytherulingpartyattheCentre. Willtheleadershipnowunderstandthatthepoliticsofhateandreligiondoesnotcuticeespeciallyinanenvironmentofunemploymentandeconomicdoom?Delhishowsthatelectionscanstillbefoughtandwonontheagendaofdevelopmentdespitemanyprovocations.Thisshouldalsoserveasabenchmarkforfutureelectioncampaignsandshowthemirrortopartiesthatindulgeinhatemongering.ThenexttestisBihar.Maqsood Haider,
Noida
■ AAPmayhavemuchtobehappyaboutbutwhatcannotbelostsightofisthatithaslostseats;theBJPhasimproveditstallywhichshowsthatit*nationalpolicieshavestillbeenwelcomedbytheelectorate.TheCongresshascomeacropperandhasbeenalmost
anyendorsem*nt,goodorbad.Insultingnationalleadersshouldbemadepunishableinlaw.H.N. Ramakrishna,
Bengaluru
Asia and the OscarsItisheartwarmingthatSouthKorea’sParasite,becamethefi��rstforeignfi��lmtowinthebestpictureandinternationalfeaturecategoryintheOscars(‘Life’page,February11).ItisarecognitiontoAsianfi��lmsalso,whichlaymoreemphasisonfamilialbonds.ThechangingtrendofHollywoodtoincludemoreactorsfromothercountriesandthenawardanOscarisproofthattheworldistrulybecomingavillage.Indianfi��lmmakersshouldunderstandthatthoughcinemaisamassentertainer,qualityisimportant.Ouraudiencetoohasmatured.Wealsohavearichcultureandfi��neactors.T. Anand Raj,
Chennai
writtenoff��asapoliticalparty.Theabsenceofapromisingleader,theabsenceofconstructiveandpositiveworkandtheinabilitytoreconstructthepartyastherearenograssrootlevelworkersareallevident.V. Lakshmanan,
Tirupur,TamilNadu
Leader denigrationItisunfortunatethatleadersmakesuchunsavourycommentsaboutpeoplewhofoughtforthefreedomofthecountry(OpEdpage,“ThecalumnyagainstGandhi”,February11)AftercritiquingNehru,itnowseemstobethetragicfateoftheFatheroftheNationtosuff��ersuchtaunts.Thefreedomstrugglewasneitheran“adjustment”norafavourdonebythecolonialmasterstoIndia.Millionsoffreedomfi��ghtersdidnotsuff��erimprisonment,lossoffamilylife,death,bulletsorlathichargesinvainforsuchappallingcomments.MahatmaGandhiwasoneofthetallestworldleadersandhedoesnotneed
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters emailed to [emailprotected] must carry the full postal address and the full name or the name with initials.
To read more lettersonline, scan the QR code
Srinivasan Ramani
One of the more diffi��cultthingstodoinanyelectionsince2014istoforeground
electoral issues related to whatthey are supposed to be actuallyabout—theabilityofthecontendingparty togoverneff��ectively. Ithas been relatively less cumbersomeforopposingpartiestomakea markinStateswheretheBharatiyaJanataParty(BJP)hastostandonitsrecord,butfarmorediffi��cultforpartiesthatarealreadyinpowertoretainthem.OnlytheBijuJanataDalinOdisha,theTrinamoolCongress (TMC) in West BengalandtheTelanganaRashtraSamitiandAllIndiaAnnaDravidaMunnetraKazhagam(inStateswheretheBJPisweak)havemanagedtoretainpowerandeventheseparties, barring the TMC, had shiedawayfromtakingastrongoppositionalpositiontotheBJP.
Poll strategiesThe Aam Aadmi Party (AAP),whichhasbeenabugbearoftheBJP,notonlyretainedpowerwinning62ofthe70seatsintheDelhiAssemblyelection,butalsoman
agedtonearlyemulate itsstrongperformancein2015whenitwon67seats.Thisisacreditnotonlytoitsgovernancerecordbutalsoitsabilitytoturntheelectionintoareferendum on its tenure. TheBJP’s strongest point in recentelectionshasbeentoset the terrain of political discourse in therunup to the polls and force itsopponent to contest on thosegrounds.Aiding this strategyhasbeentheBJP’smachinethatprovidesitanorganisationalsuperioritywhichisbuttressedbyfi��nancialpower unmatched by otherparties.
TherunuptotheDelhielectionfeatured a noholds barred campaignbytheBJPthatsoughttoforegroundtheculturaljingoistnarrative of the Citizenship(Amendment)Act(CAA),thedilutionofArticle370,andthedemonisationoftheprotestsagainsttheCAAandtheNationalRegisterofCitizensembodiedintheShaheenBaghsitin.Thecampaignstrategywasbasedonacalculusthathadworkedbefore.TheBJPhad,onlyin May 2019, managed to win56.6%ofthevotesinDelhi,harpingonthegovernment’sdecisiveactionfollowingthePulwamaterror attacks. In recent Assemblyelections,thedeftuseofBackwardClasspoliticshadbeencombinedwiththevirulentuseofthe“Hindutva”cardandthishadmoreoftenthannot,workedintheBJP’s
favour. AAP, on the other hand,hadtriedtopositionitselfasaparty that was evasive or malleablewith respect to ideology. DelhiChief Minister and AAP founderArvindKejriwalhasindeedarticulatedtheimportanceoftakingonthepoliticsofhatredandcommunaldiff��erentiation,buthisparty’semphasishaslargelybeenonhisgovernment’srecordondeliveringbasicservicestoanurbanelectoratewithoutrecoursetoidentitarian biases. While doing so, AAPdid not seek to actively engagewiththeBJP’sfocalissuessuchastheCAA/NRCandthenatureoftheprotestsagainstthisamendment.Meanwhile the desperate andreactiveattemptbytheBJPtoresorttocalumnyagainstAAP’sleadershiponlybackfi��red.
In trying to set the discourseduring the elections to be basedon its governance record, AAPprovided the Delhi voter a clearchoice— wouldtheyendorsethestepstakenbytheregimeorwouldtheyjudgeitintermssetbytheBJPanditscommunaldiscourse?This
wasapivotalachievementbytheAAPandsetstheparty’svictoryasoneachievedinmuchmorediffi��cult circ*mstances compared toitstriumphin2015oritsstrongforayintoelectoralpoliticsin2013,graduatingfromacivilsocietyledmovementagainstcorruption.
Party trump cardsIn2015,AAPhadmanagedtoswaythe Delhi electorate and build amulticlass coalitional supportbase—oftheurbanpoorandthemiddleclasswith itspromisesofdeliveringonacorruptionandpatronage free governance thatwould reducecostsofbasicservices such as water supply andelectricity.
In 2020, it managed to retainthe support of this coalitionthroughactualdelivery,bydevotingasignifi��cantportionofitsbudget allocations to education,health, water supply and sanitation.Thegovernment’semphasisinbringingparticulargreaterequity in primary education throughthe ramping up of infrastructureand better learning outcomes ingovernmentschools,bringingbasicprimaryhealthcaretocolonieswheretheurbanpoorlivedintheform of “mohalla clinics” andmeasures for aff��ordable and safepublic transport paid great dividends.Thiscanindeedbeamodelfor other urban centres in thecountry,providedtheadministra
tioninthesecitiesareempoweredto allocate resources that wouldaddress glaring needs for thecities.
Yet, the lack of an ideologicalcoreorevenanattempttotakepositionsonvariousnationalandinternationalissueshasdisabledtheparty’sambition togrowbeyondthe metropolitan borders of India’sNationalCapitalTerritoryregionandwhichhasresultedinitsdeclineintheonlyStatewhereitmade a mark beyond Delhi — inPunjab.Thepartystartedasacoalition of technocrats/managerswho promised good governanceand social movementorientedideologueswhosoughttoresuscitate a fl��ailing social democraticspaceintheIndianpolity.Butthesplit in 2015, that led to activistslikeYogendraYadavandPrashantBhushan leaving the party, reduced it only to the former whohadtomakethebestofthelimitedspaceingovernmentintheUnionTerritory in order to survive. TothecreditofMr.Kejriwalandhiscolleagues, their governance hashelpedthemretainpublicsupportwithinDelhi,butthereisstilltimeforthepartytoevolveifitneedstoexpandbeyondthecapitalregionand capture the imagination ofother progressive and liberalmindedpeople in therestof thecountry.
[emailprotected]
CelebrationofapivotalachievementIntryingtosettheDelhipolldiscoursetobebasedonitsrecord,AAPprovidedtheDelhivoteraclearchoice
PTI
Beingboththesymbolicspacethatholdsthereinsofpowerover the nationstate and a
geographicalplacethathostsmillionsofeverydaylives,Delhiispoliticallysplit.LocalelectionsinDelhi are neither simply provincialnor straightforwardly national.TheSufi��saintNizamuddinAuliya’sfamouswords,“HunoozDillidoorast”(Delhiisdistantyet),applytothecityitself.Thoughtheycoexist in thesamecity, thediff��erentavatars of Delhi can be quite farfromeachother.TheelectionstotheDelhiStateAssemblyhaveunderlinedasneverbeforethevastgulf between the national powercentreandtheregionalState.
Study in contrastsThe Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)contested the Delhi election asthoughitwasanextensionofthe2019 Lok Sabha campaign. TheAamAadmiParty(AAP)foughttheelection as though it was aboutmunicipal matters such as waterand electricity and nothing else.The Indian National Congress(INC) pretended that it was notpretending to fi��ght the election.These contrasting styles of campaigningpointtothelargerchallenges facing not just our politybut the very idea of India today.Butbeforelookingatthereasonswhythisisso,aquicklookattheresult.
AAP won 62 of 70 Assemblyseats, with the BJP bagging 8,
whiletheINCexperiencedanevenmoreemphaticwhitewashthanin2015.Butdotheseresultssupporttheswiftandsureconclusionsthatare already being drawn by thepundits? Has achieving a secondlandslidewintrulyvindicatedtheAAPstrategyofpresentingitselfasa nonideological managementconsultancythatrefusestoengagewiththeburningpoliticalissuesoftheday?
Doesasecondsuccessivedefeatin its Lok Sabha stronghold —whereitwonallsevenseatsinthepasttwogeneralelections—meanthattheBJP’spoliticsofhatehasfi��nally failed? And does a repeatroutinaStatethatitruledfor15yearsimplythattheINCmustnowbeissuedapoliticaldeathcertifi��cate? Though the details will becomeclearonlylater,itdoeslookliketheimmediateanswertoeachofthesequestionsmustbeaqualifi��edno.
Evenbeforetheresultsweredeclared,itwasclearthatthiswasanelection where the manner inwhichBJPconducteditscampaignwas more important — almost —than the outcome. It is hard tocomeupwithanotherStateelection where electioneering hasbeensofullofshrill,hatefi��lledaggression designed to incite violence.
Infact,theBJPtrieditshardesttomakethiselectionintoanantiminorityvendettacentredontheprotestsatShaheenBagh.Itsformidablemediaresourcesweredeployed to paint all opposition totheCitizenship(Amendment)Act,2019, or CAA, 2019, and the NationalRegisterofCitizens(NRC)asantinational, terroristinspired,andbasedonpaidprotesters.Thepublic language of politics wasmadetoplumbnewdepthsasse
nior leaders repeatedly said anddid things that violated everynormofbasicdecency.Theeventual outcome of this contestseemedtopaleintoinsignifi��cancein the face of the new norms ofpoliticalengagementthatwerebeingenforced.
ButthedefeatoftheBJPinDelhidoesnotnecessarilymeanthatthese tactics have backfi��red, oreventhattheyhavefailed.Itonlymeansthattheydidnotsucceedinthisplaceatthistime.ThebigbonusfortheBJPisthatit*strongestopponent did not oppose thesetactics.Infact,AAPoftenseemedasifitwasplayingadiff��erentkindofdogwhistlepoliticsthatwassaying, in eff��ect, “Don’t worry, wehavenoproblemwithcommunalpolitics,butpleasedon’taskustosayitopenly.”
Now that it has won big, thispolicyofnonengagementisbeingpresented as an astute strategy.But its shorttermelectoralgainsneedtobecomparedtoitsmediumterm political costs. The BJPhasbeensosuccessfulinredrawingthetermsofpoliticaldiscoursethatnotonlyAAPbutmostotherpoliticalpartieshavebeenforcedtotakeafewstepsinthesamedi
rectiontopolishtheirmajoritariancredentials.
Regional versus nationalTheconsequencesof thisplayitelectorallysafestrategyarevisiblein the impasses of a polity splitbetweentheregionalandnationallevels. A party with local rootsstrong enough to sweep two Assembly elections could not evengettosecondplace intheparliamentary elections — AAP placedthird in the Lok Sabha polls, behindtheINC.Ontheotherhand,despite having lost several Stateelections, the BJP continues tohaveanirongriponthenationalpolityandenjoysanunchallengedmonopoly over agendasetting atthislevel.Inthepast,ourpsephologistpunditsnoddedwiselyatthisemergingsplitinourelectoralsystemandtoldusthatit*howedtheshrewdness of the Indian voterwhowaspursuingdiff��erentprioritiesatthetwolevels.Today,whenall our institutions are being underminedandapervasiveclimateofimpunityforbigotryisbeingestablished, this interpretationseems not just unhelpful butdangerousinitscomplacency.
The irony is that the last twomonthshavewitnessedtheemergenceofaremarkablepoliticaleffervescence that defi��es all theusualframeworksofdefi��nition.Itcannotbecalledamovementforthat word suggests somethingcoordinatedandplanned.Norareits objectives classifi��able in theusual terms. Having crystallisedaroundoppositiontotheCAAandNRC,thisnewenergyandsociallyrootedresolveisvisiblenotonlyinnamed places such as ShaheenBaghbutalsoinnumerousunfamous locations in campuses,neighbourhoods,townsandcities
acrossIndia.Thisamazingpolitical eff��ervescence is raising questionsaboutpoliticswithacapitalP,remindingusthatthebedrockof citizenship is a shared sovereigntythatweallinheritfromthefoundingmomentofourrepublic.Becauseithassuccessfullymobilised this hitherto untouched yetpricelesspoliticalcapital,thismoment demands engagement intermsfarmoreseriousthanthoseallowedbypragmaticselfpreservingelectoralism.
Congress’s optionsThis remarkable moment is alsoonewhichoughttoencouragetheINCtotakemorerisks,sinceitisnowapartywithlittlelefttolose.Itstaleisperhapswithoutprecedentinmodernworldhistory—aparty which could eff��ortlesslycommanda25%voteshareintheworld’s largestelectorate, isnowon the verge of political irrelevance.Ifitisabletodrawenergyfromthismomenttoremakeitself,itmayreclaimitsrightfulplaceinourpolity.
Iftheywanttoremainrelevantin the India of tomorrow, all thenonBJP parties have to remindthemselvesthatpoliticshastobeaboutmorethanwinningthenextelection,howeverimportantthatmaybeasanimmediategoal.Formulasthatwinelectionsmaynotensurelongtermrelevance.Afterall, fascists can also make trainsrun on time and provide regularsuppliesofwaterandpower.So,aswe celebrate the welldeservedvictory of the AAP, we must remindourselvesthattheotherDelhiisstillfaraway.
Satish Deshpande teaches Sociology at
Delhi University. The views expressed are
personal
TheotherDelhiisdistantyetTheDelhielectionshaveonlyunderlinedthevastgulfbetweenthenationalpowercentreandtheregionalState
Satish Deshpande
AP
BymakingNewDelhitheirfi��rststopabroad,Sri
Lanka’snewPresidentGotabayaRajapaksa,who
visitedinNovember,andPrimeMinisterMahin
daRajapaksa,afterafi��vedaytour,havesignalledhope
ofbeginninganewIndiaSriLankachapter.Contraryto
theirlaststintwhichendedin2015,whenMahindaRa
japaksawasPresident,andhisyoungerbrotherGota
baya was Defence Secretary, and ties underwent a
strainforseveralreasons,NewDelhitoohasindicated
thatitwouldliketomakeafreshstart,workingondeve
lopmentprojects,includingajointIndiaJapanpropo
salfortheEastContainerTerminalatColombo.Mahin
da Rajapaksa has also discussed extending the
$400millionLineofCreditandIndia’s furtherassis
tancefornationwidehousing.Airconnectivity toSri
Lanka’s north and east is already being improved —
thereisafl��ightfromIndiatoJaff��na,andanotheronebe
ingproposedforBatticaloa.Onsecurity,Mr.Rajapaksa
and Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed intelli
gencesharing,trainingandtheutilisationofaspecial
$50millionLineofCreditextendedbyIndiaafterlast
year’sEasterSundaybombings.India,SriLankaand
theMaldivesareexpectedtorevivetheirtrilateralon
security,includingjointmaritimesecuritytalksandan
titerrorcooperation.Finally,Mr.Rajapaksa reaffi��rmed
hisbeliefthatamongSriLanka’sfriendships,Indiais
seenasa“relative”,giventheirhistoryandculture.
Thebonhomieispalpable,butthefaultlineswereal
sovisible.PrimeMinisterModisaidIndiahopesthat
the“expectationsoftheTamilpeopleforequality,jus
tice,peace,andrespect”wouldberealisedandthatde
volutionofpowersaccordingtothe13thamendment
wouldbe taken forward.Mr.Rajapaksahasgivenno
commitment on this and said, in an interview to
The Hindu,thathefavouredthe13Abutnotsolutions
thatwere“unacceptabletothemajority[Sinhala]com
munity”.India’scaseforthespecialstatusfortheNorth
andEastalsocomesacrossascontrarytotheModigo
vernment’sstrongstandaboutremovalofthespecial
statusforJammuandKashmir.Mr.Rajapaksahasruled
outtakingforwardtheMoUsignedbyhispredecessor
RanilWickremesingheallowingIndianparticipationin
energyandinfrastructureprojectsinTrincomalee;an
Indian stake in “Mattalaairport” isnoton thecards
either.However,ofnoteishisappealforIndiatohelp
SriLankadealwithitsdebtcrisis—nearly $60billion
outstandinginforeignanddomestic,andabout$5bil
lionayearin repayments.NewDelhimust considerhis
request for a threeyear moratorium and be upfront
aboutit*response,incontrasttothepastwhenNew
Delhididnottakeupanoff��ertodevelopHambantota
port,andcededspacetoChina.Ignoringorrebuffi��ng
thenewrequestcoulddamagebilateraltiesfarmore.
First callIndiaandSriLankasharecloseties,
butdistrustanddiff��erencesremain
ThespectacularvictoryoftheAamAadmiParty(AAP)
intheDelhiAssemblyelectionismatchedinitsintensi
tybytheresoundingdefeatoftheBharatiyaJanataPar
ty(BJP).Havingbeeninpowerforthelastfi��veyears,
AAP’ssecondconsecutivevictoryisnotanelectoralen
chantment of a startup, but an endorsem*nt of its
trackrecord.Alongtheway,itsfounderandDelhiChief
MinisterArvindKejriwalhasperfectedapoliticalco*ck
tailthatturnedouttobethemostpotentcountertothe
toxic religious polarisation that the BJP has come to
champion.HisgovernancebroughtsuccourtoDelhi’s
poorestandthemostvulnerable intheformofbetter
andaccessibleeducation,healthcareandwaterinpar
ticular.Itisclearthattheyvotedwiththeirfeet,and
reinvestedtheirfaithinthemaverickpolitician.Ona
strongfootingontheadministrativefront,Mr.Kejriwal
deployed his characteristic dexterity to sidestep the
BJP’slandmineswiththeiraimofcommunalpolarisa
tion.Intheprocess,henarrowedpoliticstoaneffi��cient
deliveryofpublicservicesandeitherskirtedaroundall
contemporaryissuesofwiderimport,ortacitlysided
withthemajoritariansentimentsonthem.Devoidofa
governancestory,theBJPdraggedelectioneeringtoa
newlowtomarginallyimprovefromits2015tally.To
thatextent,theDelhioutcomeexposesthelimitsofdi
visivepoliticsandincentivisessensitivegovernance.
ToreadtheDelhiresultasasetbacktoHindutvapol
iticsandacelebrationofgoodgovernanceemptiedof
allpolitics,however,willbeamisleadingexaggeration.
True,Delhiisthelatestinaseriesofblowsagainstthe
BJPsinceits2019parliamentaryvictory,butitmustbe
fl��atteredbythemannerinwhichitsstrongestopponent
didnotdirectlytakeiton.AAPdidnotcontesttheBJP
onquestionsitframed.AAP’ssuccesshasnotbeenin
defeatingthepoliticsoftheBJP,butinskirtingitalto
gether.Nevertheless,thelessonthattheBJPislikelyto
learnfromDelhiisthathyperventilatingonnationalist
causesisnotasuffi��cientconditionforvictory,particu
larlyinStateelections,andgovernancedoescount.Re
peatedelectoralupsetsmightspursomevoicesofdis
sent in the BJP, hitherto muffl��ed. Prime Minister
NarendraModiandHomeMinisterAmitShahmayhave
toreworktheirpoliticalidiominordertoholdsway.
TheymightevenborrowfromtheAAPplaybook,butit
willbethenonBJPpartiesincludingtheCongressthat
drewablankforthesecondtimeinDelhi,thatwillbe
dissectingtheresultsforcluestoawinnablenonBJP
plank.Butitwouldbeamistaketoconcludethattaking
onmajoritarianismbythehornsisapoorstrategy.The
lesson is thatanyeff��ectiveoppositiontotheBJPwill
havetodevelopanalternativepoliticsthatcentrestages
people’severydayconcerns,andtheirhopesandex
pectationsaboutlifeandlivelihood.
Winning formula AAPwononitsgovernancerecord,butit*
tacticsdonotunderminetheBJP’spolitics
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OPED
TheIndianScienceCongressmetatNagpuron12120andthefi��vesucceedingdays.ThiswastheseventhCongressandtheprevioussixsessionswereheldatCalcutta,Madras,Allahabad,Bangalore,LahoreandBombayrespectively.NagpurisalmostatthecentreofIndiaandonehastogoasnearasBombayorCalcuttainordertoreachthatplace.
Onaccountofthevisitationofplague,theManaging Committee were forced to alterthe arrangements they had made for thelodgingandboardingofthedelegatesfromthevariouspartsofthecountry.Attheeleventhhour, theMadrasandGujaratidelegates were lodged at Roberton’s Bungalow—a commodious building whichaccommodatednearly fortydelegates, theBengaldelegateswenttotheBengalischoolandothermakeshiftarrangementshadtobemade.Thecommitteewouldhavedonebetteriftheyhadtakenintotheirbodyoneortworepresentativesofthediff��erentProvincesoratleastconsultedsuchpeoplewithreferencetoaccommodation,boardingetc.atdiff��erent stages.Muchcredit isdue toMr.A.R.P.Iyer,theactingGovernmentAgriculturalChemistatNagpur,forleavingnostoneunturnedinlookingtotheconvenienceandcomfort of the Madras and Gujarat delegates.
A HUNDRED YEARS AGO FEB. 12, 1920.
The Indian Science Congress.
MahatmaGandhisecuredtheparticipationofthousandsofhouseholdsinthefreedomstrugglewhenhelaunchedthecivil disobedience movement. For everyhouseholdtoday,richorpoor,education has the same relevance as saltdidin1930.ThisisseenintheresoundingverdictgivenbytheDelhielectoratein the Assembly election to the AamAadmiParty(AAP),whichbuiltit*governancemodelaroundeducation.
Inthelastfi��veyears,theDelhimodelofeducationhascaughttheattentionofpeople in Delhi and beyond. For toolong,therehavebeentwokindsofeducationmodels inthecountry:onefortheclassesandanotherforthemasses.TheAAPgovernmentinDelhisoughttobridge this gap. Its approach stemsfromthebeliefthatqualityeducationisa necessity,notaluxury.Hence,itbuilta modelwhichessentiallyhasfi��vemajor components and is supported bynearly25%oftheStateBudget.Thevalidationofthismodelnowcreatesapathwayforthenextsetofreforms.
Key components of the modelThefi��rstcomponentof theeducationmodelisthetransformationofschoolinfrastructure. Dilapidated schoolbuildings that lack basic facilities notonlyindicatetheapathyofthegovernment, but also signifi��cantly lower themotivationofteachersandtheenthusiasmofstudents.TheAAPgovernmentsoughttochangethisbybuildingnew,aesthetically designed classroomsequippedwithfurniture,smartboards,staff��rooms,auditoriums,laboratories,libraries,sportsfacilitiesandsoon.
Thesecondcomponentisthetraining of teachers and principals. Apartfromthefactthataforumwascreatedto encourage peer learning amongthem,severalopportunitiesweregivento teachers for their professionalgrowth. They visited Cambridge University;theNationalInstituteofEducation,Singapore; IIMAhmedabad;andother models of excellence in India.TheexposuretonewpedagogyandleadershiptrainingenabledDelhi togra
duallymoveawayfromauniformtrainingmodel forall to learningfromthebestpracticesinIndiaandabroad.
The third component involved engagingwiththecommunitybyreconstitutingschoolmanagementcommittees(SMC).TheannualbudgetofeachSMCis₹��57 lakh.TheSMCscanspendthismoneyonanymaterialoractivity,suchasevenhiringteachersonashorttermbasis.Regulardialoguebetweenteachersandparentswas initiated throughmegaparentteachermeetings.Guidelines are provided on how to engagewithparents. Invitations formeetingsaresentthroughFMradio,newspaperadvertisem*nts,etc.
Four,therehavebeenmajorcurricular reforms in teaching learning. In2016,theAAPgovernmentnotedthattherewasanearly50%failurerate inClass 9 and admitted that the poorfoundationalskillsofchildrencouldbethereason for it.Special initiatives toensurethatallchildrenlearntoread,write and do basic mathematics waslaunched and made part of regularteachinglearningactivitiesinschools.Similarly,a‘happinesscurriculum’wasintroduced for all children betweennurseryandClass8fortheiremotionalwellbeing.Further,an‘entrepreneurship mindset curriculum’ was introducedtodeveloptheproblemsolvingand critical thinking abilities of childreninClasses9to12.Apartfromthesenewcurricularinitiatives,thefocusonexisting subjects too ensured betterperformanceinBoardexaminationsbyClasses10and12.
Fifth, there was no fee increase inprivate schools. While the fi��rst fourcomponents impacted nearly 34% ofchildreninDelhi’sgovernmentschools,arbitrary fee hikes earlier impactedabout40%childrenwhogotoprivateschools. In the past, almost all the
schools increased their fee 815% annually.TheAAPgovernmentnotonlyensuredtherefundofabout₹��32croreto parents which was excessivelychargedbyprivateschools,italsoensuredthatanyfeehikeproposalwasexamined by authorised chartered accountants. Thus, for two years noschoolwasallowedtoraiseitsfee.
Agenda 2.0In the words of Manish Sisodia, theleader of the Delhi education model,“havingbuiltthefoundationofeducation”,thefocusnowwillshiftto“education as foundation”. Going forward,therewillbethreekeyareasofreformapart from consolidating the gains ofthepast.First,thesyllabusofClasses1to8willbereviewedtoemphasisefoundationallearningskills,the‘happinesscurriculum’andthe‘deshbhakti’curriculum.Thus,apartfromensuringthatallchildrencanfl��uentlyread,writeanddo mathematics, the focus will be tobuildemotional resilience inchildrenand ensure that they internalise ourcoreconstitutionalvaluesbythetimetheycompleteeightyearsofschooling.Apart fromthat,earlychildhoodcareandeducationwillbedeepenedfurtherthroughAnganwadis.Therewillalsobenurseriesinallgovernmentschools.
Second,aDelhiEducationBoardwillbesetuptopromotelearningthatencourages critical thinking, problemsolving and application of knowledgeamongchildren.Thiswillpreparethemtotacklethechallengesofthe21stcenturywithanentrepreneurialmindset.Additionally,forthosewhohavegraduatedfromDelhischoolsintherecentpast,programmeslikespokenEnglish,softskillsandsoonwillbeinitiatedtoraisetheiremployabilityopportunities.
Third, specialised schools will becreatedineachofthe29zonesofDelhito nurture the aptitude and talent ofchildren in the areas of science andtechnology,literatureandlanguage,visualandperformingarts,andsports.
Now that Delhi has decisively acknowledgededucationasatopagendaofgovernance, the natural expectationfromthegovernmentwouldbetoensurethatallchildrengeteducationthatpassesthetestofquality,opportunityandequity.
ShailendraSharmaisPrincipalAdvisorto
DirectorEducationatDirectorateofEducation,
GovernmentofNCTDelhi
TheAAPgovernmentbelievesthatqualityeducationisanecessity,notaluxury
TheDelhimodelofeducation
Shailendra Sharma
RA
ME
SH
SH
AR
MA The massive public campaign in 2011
demanding an independent anticorruption ombudsman resulted in thepassageoftheLokpallaw.ThepoliticaldividendoftheagitationwasreapedatthenationallevelbytheBJP,whichvociferouslysupportedthedemandforaneff��ectiveLokpalandrodetopowerin2014ontheplankofanticorruption.
MorethansixyearsaftertheLokpallawreceivedthePresident’sassent,theinstitutionoftheLokpalisyettoplayanysignifi��cantroleintacklingcorruption in the country. The manner inwhichtheLokpalhasbeenemasculatedby thecurrent regimecloselymirrorstheunderminingofotherinstitutionsofoversightandaccountability.
The preambular statement of TheLokpalandLokayuktasAct,2013notesthatthelawhasbeenenactedtoensurepromptandfairinvestigationandprosecutionincasesofcorruptionagainstpublicservants.TheLokpalwasenvisioned to be independent. It was accordedahighstatureandgivenextensive powers including the power toinquire,investigateandprosecuteactsofcorruption.
Delay in appointmentsFormorethanfi��veyears,thechairpersonandmembersof theLokpalwerenot appointed. The governmentclaimedthatsincenoonecouldberecognisedastheLeaderoftheOpposition(LoP)afterthe2014generalelection, the committee responsible forselectingmembersoftheLokpalcouldnotbeconstituted.Thismaladycouldhavebeeneasilyremediedbyeitherrecognising the leader of the single largestpartyinOppositionintheLokSabha as the LoP, or by amending theLokpallawtoallowtheleaderofthelargestOppositionpartytobeamemberofthecommitteeintheabsenceofarecognisedLoP(thiswasdonefortheselectioncommitteeoftheCBIDirector).However,neitherrecoursewastaken.
ThechairpersonandmembersoftheLokpalwereappointedonly inMarch2019afteracontemptpetitionwasfi��led
intheSupremeCourtfollowingthefailureofthegovernmenttocomplywiththe2017rulingofthecourttoinitiatetheprocessofmakingappointments.
A truncated selection committee,withouttheLoP,wassetup.ThePrimeMinister, Speaker, and the then ChiefJusticeofIndiaappointedMukulRohatgi,whohadearlierservedasAttorneyGeneralofIndiaduringtheBJPregime,as theeminent juriston theselectionpanel.TheleaderofthelargestOppositionpartyintheLokSabhawasinvitedformeetingsoftheselectioncommitteeasa‘specialinvitee’,whichhedeclinedongroundsthatitwasmeretokenism.
Thefourmemberselectioncommittee,havingapreponderanceofrepresentativesoftherulingpartywithaninherent bias towards recommendingcandidates favoured by the government,selectedtheChairandmembersoftheLokpal.ThemannerinwhichtheappointmentsweremaderaiseddoubtsabouttheindependenceoftheLokpalevenbeforeitbecameoperational.
Despite the fracas over appointments,manyhadhopedthatonceconstituted,theLokpalwouldneverthelessbeasignifi��cantoversightbodytocheckcorruption and the arbitrary use ofpowerby thegovernment.More than10monthslater,however,evidencesuggests that the Lokpal is a nonstarter.Tilldate,thegovernmenthasnotmaderules prescribing the form for fi��lingcomplaintstotheLokpal.TheCentralgovernmenthasalsofailedtoformulaterulesregardingassetdisclosurebypublicservants.
Inordertoensureindependentandcredible action on allegations of corruption, the Lokpal was empoweredunderthelawtosetupitsowninquirywing headed by a Director of Inquiryanditsownprosecutionwingheaded
byaDirectorofProsecution.However,informationaccessedunder theRighttoInformationActhasconfi��rmedthatthe inquiry and prosecution wings oftheanticorruptionombudsmanareyettobesetup.TheLokpalhasalsonotappointedtheDirectorofInquiryorProsecution. Further, regulations whichtheLokpalwasobligatedtomakeunderthe lawareyet tobemade, includingthosespecifyingthemannerandprocedureofconductingpreliminaryinquiryandinvestigation.
ThewebsiteoftheLokpalstatesthatit*crutinised1,065complaintsreceivedtillSeptember30,2019anddisposedof1,000. Since necessary procedures tooperationalisethelawareyettobeputinplace,thelegalveracityofthedecisionsoftheLokpalcouldpotentiallybechallengedinacourtoflaw.
Failure to meet expectationsWithouttherequisiterules,regulationsand machinery in place, it is not surprising that the Lokpal has failed tomeetexpectations.Inrecenttimes,theonlyreasonfortheLokpalbeinginthenewshasbeentheresignationofitsjudicialmember,JusticeDilipB.Bhosale,forundisclosedreasons.
ThefailuretooperationalisetheLokpalinaneff��ectivemannerlaysbarethelackofpoliticalwilloftheBJPgovernment.IttooknearlyhalfacenturyfortheLokpallawtobeenactedfromthetimetheneedfortheoversightinstitutionwasfi��rstarticulated.Itisanybody’sguesshowmuchlongeritwilltakebeforeIndiahasaneff��ective,independentandempoweredLokpal.
AnjaliBhardwajandAmritaJohriare
transparencyandanticorruptionactivists
associatedwiththeNationalCampaignfor
Peoples’RighttoInformation
Sixyearson,LokpalisanonstarterThenecessaryrules,regulationsandmachineryarestillnotinplace
Anjali Bhardwaj & Amrita Johri
SP
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DATA POINT
WhenPrimeMinisterNarendraModiwelcomes U.S. President DonaldTrumptoIndia thismonth,themostmemorableimagesmaywellextendbeyondbearhugginganda‘HowdyTrump’rally.Thetwoleadersareexpectedtosignafi��rstevertradeagreement.Onsubstance,theagreementwillnotbeabigonebutthatisbesidethepoint.AU.S.Indiatradedealwillhavehistoricsignifi��cance,especiallyifitushersinaperiodofstrongcollaborationtoadvanceasharedbilateraltradeagendaandeff��ectivelyresolvestroublesastheyarise.
TherestorationofIndia’sGeneralisedSystemofPreferencesbenefi��ts,pricingofmedicaldevices,andagriculture tradeareall important,buttheyarejustthetipoftheiceberg.Ifthe two sides continue eff��orts toachieve incremental outcomes, thestartofnegotiationsonacomprehensivefreetradeagreement(FTA)couldevenbeacrediblescenario.Presently,thisisnotthecase.
Incremental outcomesWhatmight initial incrementaloutcomesbe?Themostobviouscandidatesareintellectualpropertyrights(IPR),digitaltrade,andinvestment.Ideally thereshouldberoomtoseriously consider better ways to encourageskilledprofessionalstoworkintheother’seconomy.
Noneof theseareaswillbeeasy.That said, there are already somesharedinterests.Forexample,Indiainvests in theU.S.andcontinuestoseek U.S. investment in India. Bothare grappling with the appropriatescope and approach for regulatingelectronic commerce issues in thisdigitalage.IPRhashistoricallybeenan area of contention between thetwo,butdiscussionsonIPRhaveprogressedwellinrecentyears.
Withrespecttoinvestmentissues,specifi��callyforeigndirectinvestment(FDI),thisisanimportantmomenttodomoretoencourageitthansimplywelcoming it. Ideally, the twosidesshould move ahead to negotiate anagreement on investment mattersthatcanprovidegreatertransparency,predictability,andregulatorycertainty to investors from the othercountry.Butitappearsthatthetraditionalapproachthroughwhichcountries pursue commitments on FDI,
bilateral investment treaties, or‘BITs’(bilateralinvestmenttreaties)isoff��thetable.TheTrumpadministrationhasputaholdonnegotiatingadditional BITs and appears to besuspiciousofhowwelltheybalanceU.S. interests. The Indian government is similarly sceptical of BITs,having cancelled all existing onessoonafteritcameintooffi��ce.
A new approachInfact,thetwosidesmightfi��ndcommon ground in devising a new approachtoinvestmentissues,atleastuntiltheyresumetheirworkonBITs.A startingpointshouldbetoreviewwhattheyhavedoneintheirrecentFTAs. The recently concluded U.S.MexicoCanadaAgreementcontainsa novelapproachoninvestment,notably its abandonment of investorstatedisputesettlementwithrespecttotheU.S.andCanada.Similarly,theRegional Comprehensive EconomicPartnership, which India had beennegotiating with ASEAN, Australia,China, Japan, Korea, and New Zealand,doesnotincludeinvestorstatedispute settlement. While IndiachosenottojointheRegionalComprehensive Economic Partnershipwhenitwasconcludedattheendoflastyear,itappearstohavebeenonboard with the FTA’s investmentprovisions.
A U.S.Indiainvestmentagreementcouldfocusonfairtreatmentforinvestorsfromtheothercountry,regulatorytransparencyandpredictability, and approaches for resolvingconcernsshortofinvestorstatedispute settlements. At a later stage,most likely when the two are prepared to negotiate a more comprehensive bilateral FTA, they can gofurtheroninvestmentmatters.
Fornow,however,theyshouldfocusonwhatisdoable.Anew,hybridapproachoninvestmentwouldbeasubstantialstepintherightdirection.Itwillbecriticaltosustainmomentumcomingoutofafi��rsttradedealwhenthetwoleadersmeetinDelhi.IfIndiaandtheU.S.failthistest,thetrade relationship is more likely tolanguishthanblossom.
MarkLinscottisaSeniorFellowwiththe
SouthAsiaProgramattheAtlanticCouncil;a
SeniorAdviserwithTheAsiaGroup;anda
formerAssistantU.S.TradeRepresentative
forSouthandCentralAsianAff��airs
A new approach on investment ForIndiaandtheU.S.,thiswillbecriticaltosustainmomentumcomingoutofafi��rsttradedeal
Mark Linscott
TheodysseyofKenyabornIndiangirlRanjanVaid–whohadbeenrefusedentrytoBritainandtohernativecountry–endedlastnight [February10]atLondon’sHeathrowAirport.The21yearoldgirlhadbeenshuttledononeairlineandthenanother,fromonecountrytoanotherforanentireweekandatotalof17,000milesbeforeBritainyesterdayfi��nallydecidedtoletherinforthreemonths. Ranjan burst into tears and collapsedintothearmsofherbrother,Shantilal,whogreetedherattheairport.“Sheistiredandhungry,shehasbeenlivingonrollsandcoff��eeforaweek.Shehasnotsleptfor48hours,”hesaid.AlthoughsheholdsaBritishpassport,shewasdeniedentryintoBritainbecauseKenyanAsiansalsorequireanentrycertifi��cate,whichshedidnothave.Kenyarefusedtotakeherback,becausewhensheleftshefailedtoobtainareentrycertificate.MeanwhilesomeKenyanAsians,whoworkinanhonorarycapacityfortheBritishHighCommissioninNairobionAsianproblems,haveappealed to theBritishHomeSecretary,Mr.JamesCallaghan,toeasetheir“desperate”situationbyallowingthemandtheircolleaguestoenterBritain.
FIFTY YEARS AGO FEBRUARY 12, 1970
Kenya girl’s odyssey ends
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NEWS
FROM PAGE ONE
Oneaccused,Vicky,wasacquitted. Among those convicted were Dillip KumarVerma,thenchairmanoftheChildWelfareCommitteeinMuzaff��arpur,itsthenmemberVikasKumarandChildProtectionOffi��cerRaviRoshan.Twoothers,RamaShankar Singh and Ashwani,were convicted of criminalconspiracy and abetting
rape. Thakur’s accompliceShaistaPraveen,InduKumari, Manju Devi, Minu Devi,Chanda Devi, Hema Masih,NehaKumariandKiranKumariwerealsofoundguiltyof abetting rape and alliedoff��ences.
Theshelterhomewasrunby a nongovernmental organisation, “Sewa SankalpEvamVikasSamiti”.
Thakur,11othersgetlifeterminshelterhomecase
U.S. President DonaldTrump’s maiden visit to IndiawillstartonFebruary24at theSabarmatiAshram inAhmedabadandtheinaugurationofthenewSardarVallabhbhaiPatelStadium,thelargestcricketstadiumintheworld.
Mr.TrumpandPrimeMinister Narendra Modi willholdthe“Kem chho Trump”(HowdyTrump)eventatthestadiumwithapproximately1.25 lakh people witnessingthe special programmeaimedatshowcasingtheModiTrumpbonhomie.
Mr.Trumpwillbeaccom
paniedbyFirstLadyMelaniaTrump.Accordingtosenioroffi��cialsinGandhinagar,Mr.Trumpwillfl��ydirectlytoAhmedabad where Mr. Modiwill receive him at the airport.TheywillthenvisittheSabarmatiAshramwherethePrimeMinisterwilltakethePresidentandtheFirstLadyaroundinthesprawlingAshram,includingHridayKunj,Gandhiji’shouse,wheretheywilloperateaspinningwheel(charkha).
During their visit to theAshram, Mahatma Gandhi’sfavourite hymn, “VaishnavJan to”willbeplayedinthebackgroundmusic.
From the Ashram, the
Prime Minister will accompany the President and theFirstLadytothemaineventat the stadium in the evening.Theeventincludesaseriesofculturalpiecescurated by highprofi��le agencies
andartistes.Insiders told The Hindu
thattheeventwillbeonthelines of the “Howdy Modi!”publicreceptionaccordedtoMr.ModiinHoustonduringhisvisittotheU.S.lastSep
tember. Mr. Trump participatedintheeventattendedby around 50,000 people,mostlyIndianAmericans.
City gears upPreparations have been under way in Ahmedabad forthelasttwoweekswithdiff��erentagenciesassignedtasks,including decorating theareas near the SabarmatiAshramandthecricketstadium,sprucinguproads.TheHomeDepartmentismakingelaborate security arrangementsfortheVIPevent.
As per the instructionsfrom the PMO, the Gujaratgovernmenthasdirecteditsdepartmentsandagenciestoensure that a crowd of 1.25lakh is organised for theevent.Thestadium’sseatingcapacityis1.10lakh;15,000
peoplewillbeseatedonthegroundinfrontofthestage.
“People from across thecountry, includingtopbusiness executives, will be attendingtheevent,”asenioroffi��cialoverseeingthepreparationstoldThe Hindu.
In the last one week,teams from U.S. Embassyanddiff��erentagenciesoftheCentralgovernment,including theMinistryofExternalAff��airs,havevisitedAhmedabadtooverseepreparations.
Since Mr. Modi becamePrimeMinister in2014,Ahmedabadhasemergedasthepreferred venue to host foreign dignitaries, includingPresident Xi Jinping of China, Prime Minister ShinzoAbeof JapanandPrimeMinister Benjamin NetanyahuofIsrael.
1.25lakhtoattend‘KemchhoTrump’showU.S.President’stwodayvisitwillbegininSabarmatiAshraminAhmedabad
Mahesh Langa
AHMEDABAD
Getting ready: Workersgivingfi��nishingtouchestotheSardarPatelStadiumatMoterainAhmedabad. * VIJAY SONEJI
LokSabhaSpeakerOmBirlaon Tuesday informed theHousethathehadreceivedthe notice of privilege motionmovedbytheCongressagainstSocial JusticeMinisterThawarChandGehlotforhis statement on the SupremeCourtorderontheissueofreservationinpromotionfortheSCs/STsandtheOBCs.
“The issue is under myconsideration,”hesaidafterCongress leaderAdhirRanjan Chowdhury raised thematter.
OnMonday,theCongress
accused Mr. Gehlot of misleadingtheHousebystatingthatthecasepertainedtoadecisionoftheUttarakhandgovernment in 2012 whentheCongresswasinpower.The Minister had also informedthattheCentrewas
notapartytothecase.Stating that itwasamis
leadingargument,CongressMPsnotonlymovedaprivilegemotionbutMr.Chowdhury also read out thenamesofadvocateswhor*presented the BJP governmentintheSupremeCourt.However, the Speaker cuthimbyshort,statingthatthemotion was under hisconsideration.
TheLokSabhaalsoelectedMahuaMoitraoftheTrinamoolCongressandManishTewarioftheCongresstothe JointCommitteeof twoHousesonthePersonalDataProtectionBill.
ReceivedprivilegemotionagainstMinister:SpeakerCong.movedthemotionforhisstatementonquotaissue
Special Correspondent
New Delhi
ThawarChandGehlot
SPG only secures PM and CRPF 56 VIPsNEW DELHI
TheSpecialProtectionGroup
(SPG)onlyhasthePrime
Ministerunderitscover,
whiletheCRPFsecures56
importantpeopleinthe
country,thegovernment
informedParliamenton
Tuesday.Withoutnaming
PrimeMinisterNarendra
Modi,MinisterofStatefor
HomeG.KishanReddysaidin
a writtenreplythattheSPG
protectsonlyoneperson.
Accordingtoarecent
amendmenttotheSPGAct,
theforcenowprotectsthe
PrimeMinisterandmembers
ofhisimmediatefamily
residingwithhimathis
officialresidence.
IN BRIEF
No bar on Indians visitingJ&K: Home Ministry NEW DELHI
Therearenorestrictionson
anyIndiancitizenvisitingthe
UnionTerritoryofJammuand
Kashmir,thegovernment
informedParliamenton
Tuesday.Inresponsetoa
questiononwhenthe
governmentproposedto
allowIndiandelegatestovisit
JammuandKashmir,Minister
ofStateforHomeG.Kishan
ReddytoldtheLokSabha
thatthereisnobaronany
Indiancitizenvisitingthe
UnionTerritory.Hesaidavisit
oftheheadsof15foreign
missionstoJammuand
Kashmirwasorganisedon
January9and10becauseofa
requestfromthem.
A petitionfi��ledbythesisterof the former Jammu andKashmir Chief MinisterOmarAbdullah,SaraAbdullahPilot,willbeheardbyathreejudgeBenchoftheSupremeCourt, ledbyJusticeN.V. Ramana, on February12.Shehasapproached thecourt against the government’smove tochargehimunderthePublicSafetyAct(PSA).
Theother judgesareJustices Mohan M. ShantanagoudarandSanjivKhanna.
Ms.Pilothasurgedfortheissuanceofawritofhabeascorpus to theauthorities toforthwith produce Mr. Abdullahbeforethecourtandsethimatliberty.
Thepetition,representedbysenioradvocatesKapilSibal and Gopal Sankaranarayanan,wasmentionedbefore a Bench led by JusticeRamanaonMonday.
Ms.Pilothassaidshewasgravelyconcernedaboutthewelfare,safetyandsecurityofherbrother.HewasalreadyunderdetentionfromAu
gust 5 last — the day theCentreremoved thespecialrightsoftheKashmiripeopleunder Article 370 — whenthePSAwasslappedonhimonFebruary5,2020.
Ms.Pilothassaidshewasshocked to learn that justlikewhathappenedtotheirfather, the government hadimposedafreshleaseofdetention under the PSA onherbrothertoo.
ShehasnotedthatMr.Abdullah’sdetentionfromAugust5underSection 107oftheCr.PC(securityforkeeping the peace) was sche
duledtoendonFebruary5.His release was imminent.Hehadservedthemaximumperiodofdetention.OnFebruary5,theExecutiveMagistrate,insteadofreleasinghim,orderedhisfurtherdetention under Section 8 ofthe PSA, 1978, in an “arbitraryexerciseofpower”.
Ms.Pilotaskedwhatwasthepointofdetainingamanalready detained throughthe long months of lockdownsuff��eredacrossJammuandKashmir.
Infact,shehassaid,inthepast six months, there had
beennoeff��ortbytheauthorities to verify the truth behindthe“information”thatMr. Abdullah is a threat topeace. On the other hand,therearereamsofmaterialintheformoftweetsandpublicstatementsvouchingforhis exemplary conduct tomaintainpeace.
Ms.Pilothassaidthereisdanger to her brother’s lifeandliberty.
The government, in itsPSAdossieronMr.Abdullah,hasdescribedhimasathreatto public safety. It said hewas “planning activitiesagainst the Union government”. It also highlighted“his popularity and potentialtodrawvoterstopollingbooths”.
The petition has arguedthatthedetentionorderisillegalasitconfl��ates‘governmentalpolicy’with the ‘Indian State’, suggesting thatanyoppositiontotheformerconstitutes a threat to thelatter.
“This is wholly antithetical to a democratic polityandundermines the IndianConstitution,”ithassaid.
SCtohearOmarsister’spleatodayShehadapproachedthecourtafterthegovernmentdetainedhimunderPSA
Tight security: ACRPFsoldierstoppingvehiclesnearacheckpointinSrinagaronTuesday. * NISSAR AHMAD
Legal Correspondent
NEW DELHI
The Centre informed theLokSabhaonTuesdaythatit had no information onany group called the‘TukdeTukdeGang’.
Minister of State forHome G. Kishan ReddysaidtheMinistryhadnoinformationonwhethertheterminologywasbasedonspecifi��cinputsfromlawenforcement agencies. “Nosuchinformationhasbeenbroughttothenoticeofthegovernmentbyanylawenforcementagency.”
Hemadetheremarksinresponse to the questionsfrom Congress membersVincent H Pala and JasbirSingh Gill. They askedwhether an organisation,called ‘Tukde TukdeGang’,hadbeenidentifi��edand catalogued by theHome Ministry; whethertheterminologywasbasedon specifi��c inputs; andwhether the Ministry orany intelligence agencyhaddrawnupalistofsupposed leaders and membersofthegroup.
‘NodetailsofTukdeTukdeGang’
Special Correspondent
New Delhi
The Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik), led byBabulalMarandi,willmergewiththeBJPinRanchionFebruary 17. Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJPpresidentJ.P.NaddawillattendthefunctiontobeheldatPrabhatTaraMaidan.
“Ameetingoftheparty’scentral committee has unanimously approved themerger with the BJP,” Mr.Marandi, the party’s president,toldjournalistsinRanchionTuesday.
Mr.Marandihasbeenthefi��rst tribalChiefMinisterofJharkhand after the Statewas created from Bihar inNovember2000.Butheleftthe BJP in 2006 and had
fl��oatedtheJVM(P).Earlier, Mr. Marandi ex
pelled MLAs Pradip YadavandBandhuTirkeyfromtheparty for “antiparty activities”.Mr.YadavrecentlymetCongressleadersSoniaandRahulGandhiinNewDelhi.
HeislikelytojointheCongress.“TheexpulsionofPradipYadavandBandhuTurkeyhasalsobeenapprovedby the central committee,”Mr.Marandisaid.Intherecentelectiontothe81member Assembly, the JVM(P)won three seats, includingonebyMr.Marandi.
Makeover attempt Askedabouthis role in theBJP,Mr.Marandisaid,“Whatever responsibilities theparty entrusts me with, I’lldo my best to fulfi��l them.”After itwasdefeated in therecent Assembly election,theBJPistryingtoreviveitsleadershipwithatribalface.It is also likely to elect Mr.Marandi as its LegislaturePartyleader.
MarandiledJVM(P)tomergewithBJPonFebruary17AmitShahandpartypresidentJ.P.Naddawillattendevent
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
PATNA
BabulalMarandiwasthefi��rsttribalChiefMinisterofJharkhand.
ThegovernmenthasdecidednottosendtodetentionchildrenwhowereexcludedfromtheNRCinAssambutwhoseparentswereincluded, the Lok Sabha was informedonTuesday.
Union Minister of Statefor Home Nityananda Raisaidtheapprovedstandardoperating procedures fordisposal of claims and objectionshadaspecifi��cprovisionforchildrenleftoutoftheNRC,whiletheirparentshadbeenincluded.
“The AttorneyGeneralstated on January 6, 2020,before the Supreme Courtthatthechildrenofparents
includedintheNRC,Assam,will not be separated fromtheirparentsandsent toadetention centre, pendingdecision on the application,” he said in a writtenreplytoaquestion.
TheNRCwascarriedoutinAssamunderthesupervisionoftheSupremeCourt,andaround 19 lakhpeoplewereleftoutofthefi��nallistpublished in August 2019.Thoseexcludedcouldchallenge the decision beforethe Foreigners’ Tribunals.TheStateNRCCoordinatoris yet to issue certifi��ed copiesofexclusiontotheapplicantsandtheprocessofchallengingtheorderisyettobegin.
CentrenottodetainchildrenleftoutofNRCGovernmentclarifi��esinLokSabha
Special Correspondent
New Delhi
TheCBIonTuesdayfi��ledachargesheet inacaseofalleged bribery against itsformersecondincommandRakeshAsthanaandothers,giving a clean chit to himandanotheroffi��cial.
“The chargesheet hasbeen fi��led against accusedManojPrasad.Theinvestigation has not revealed anyroleofpublicservants.Responsestothelettersrogatory sent overseas are stillawaited,”saidaCBIoffi��cial.
Hearing at HC ThemovecameadaybeforethematterwastocomeupattheDelhiHighCourtwhich,inJanuary,pulleduptheCBIforthedelayandsetafour
week deadline for submission of the chargesheet inthelowercourt.
TheFIRwaslodgedinOctober 2018 amid a turf warbetweenthethenCBIchief,AlokKumarVerma,andhisdeputy that saw both of
themaccusingeachotherofcorruptionandmisconduct.Both were shunted by thegovernmentfollowingaCentral Vigilance Commissionrecommendation.
TheFIRnamedMr.Asthana;thethenCBIDeputySuperintendent of Police, DevenderKumar;Dubaibasedinvestment banker Manoj;andhisbrother,SomeshPrasad, as accused. It was allegedthatHyderabadbasedbusinessman Sana SathishBabuhadpaidover₹��3croreinbribetogetreliefinacaseagainstmeatexporterMoinQureshi.TheCBI,whicharrestedManojonOctober16,2018, got Mr. Babu’s statementrecordedbeforeamagistrate,allegingbribeswerepaidinfi��veinstalments.
CBIgivescleanchittoRakeshAsthanaincaseofbriberyFIRlodgedinOctober2018amidhisturfwarwithCBIchief
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI
RakeshAsthanawastheCBI’ssecondincommandwhenthecasewasfi��led.
Educomp case: CBIconducts searchesNEW DELHI
TheCBIonTuesday
conductedsearchesin
connectionwiththecase
againstEducompSolutions
Limited(ESL)andothersfor
allegedlycheatinganSBIled
consortiumof13banksof
₹��1,955crore.Thosenamedin
thecasearethecompany,its
managingdirectorShantanu
Prakash,guarantorJagdish
Prakash,subsidiaryEduSmart
ServicesPrivateLimitedand
directorsVijayKumar
ChoudharyandVinodKumar
Dandona.“Thesearcheswere
carriedoutateightplacesin
Delhi,Dehradunand
Gurugram,”aCBIofficialsaid.
TheLokSabhaonTuesdaypassed the Constitution(Scheduled Tribes) Order(Amendment)Billbyvoicevote.ItseekstoincludetheParivara and TalawaracommunitiesintheSTcategory.
TheSidditribesofBelagavi and Dharwad in Karnataka would also be included in the category,apart from those living inUttarKannada.
Tribal Aff��airs MinisterArjun Munda assured themembers that thegovernment would take cognizanceoftheirdemandsforinclusion of communitiesfromtheirStates.
BilltoincludemoretribesinSTcategory
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI
“During a phone call overthe weekend, PresidentTrump and Prime MinisterModi agreed the trip willfurtherstrengthentheUnited StatesIndia strategicpartnership and highlightthe strong and enduringbonds between the AmericanandIndianpeople.”
The Hindu has learnedthatIndia’snewlyappointedAmbassadortotheU.S.,Taranjit Singh Sandhu, whopresentedhiscredentialstoMr. Trump last week, alsohandedoveranoffi��cialinvitationtothePresidenttovisitIndia.(TheWhiteHousehadwaitedforthispriortoannouncingthevisitoffi��cially.) Preparations are underway in India.Americansecurityteamswithscannersand equipment arrived inIndialastweek.
TheIndianandU.S.sidesaretryingtoputtogethera
limitedtradedealwhichMr.Modi and Mr. Trump willsign during the visit. Thetwo leaders could not signon the dotted line whentheymetonthesidelinesoftheUnitedNationsGeneralAssemblyinSeptember,andtalks had continued sincethen.
SourcesclosetothenegotiationstoldThe Hindu lastweek that while they were“hopeful” a deal would bereachedbeforeMr.Trump’svisit, it was not a given, asthereweregapsinthenegotiatingpositionsof thetwosides.
A defencedealisalsoreportedlyonthecards.Indiais preparing to approve a$2.6 billion deal for 24MH60Seahawkhelicoptersfrom Lockheed Martin, accordingtoaReuters report.
(With inputs from Suhasi-ni Haidar in New Delhi)
Trumpconfi��rmsIndiavisitonFeb.24and25
A 20yearold man, believed to be the son offormerArunachalPradeshChiefMinisterKalikhoPul,wasfounddeadinthebedroomofhisfl��atinBrightoninEnglandonSunday.
Local police offi��cialssaid there were no suspicious circ*mstancesaround the death of ShubansoPul,whichseemstoimplyapossiblesuicide.
“At3.41p.m.onSunday,thepolicewerecalledtoanaddressinFalmerwherea20yearoldmanwasfounddead in a bedroom,” thepolice said. “There werenosuspiciouscirc*mstances.ThecoronerforBrightonandHovehasbeen informed,”theysaid.
The coroner will nowopenaninquest.
KalikhoPul’ssonfounddeadinU.K.
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
London/Itanagar
TheissueofrepatriationofRohingyamigrantshasbeendiscussed with Bangladeshatthehighestlevelandbothcountries have agreed ontheneedto“expeditetheirsafe,speedyandsustainablerepatriationtotheirhomesin Myanmar”, Minister ofState for Home NityanandRaiinformedtheLokSabhaonTuesday.
The Rohingya belong toRakhine State in Myanmarbut more than a millionhavetakenrefugeinBangladeshandsomeinIndiafollowing a campaign of violenceagainstthem.
Inawrittenreply,Mr.Rai
said there were reports ofsomeRohingyamigrantsindulginginillegalactivities.
The Minister said theCentrehad issuedperiodicinstructionstotheStatestoask the law enforcementandintelligenceagenciestoidentifyillegalmigrantsandrestrictthemtospecifi��edlocationsasperprovisionsoflaw.
InresponsetoaquestiononthenumberofRohingyalivinginIndia,Mr.Raisaid,“Sinceillegalmigrantsenterthe country without validdocuments..., the data onthe number of such illegalmigrantslivinginthecountry is not maintained centrally.”
Delhi,DhakaforspeedyreturnofRohingya‘Numberofillegalmigrantsnotknown’
Special Correspondent
New Delhi
BJP sources, however,blamedtheparty’sstrategyofnotprojectingachiefministerial face against Mr.Kejriwal, not being able tocounter the AAP’s powerandwatersubsidyschemesand “unwarranted comments”againstMr.Kejriwalbyseniorpartyleaders—in
cludingMinisterofStateforFinance Anurag Thakur —fortheresults.
“All that thesestarcampaigners ended up doingwas overshadowing the local candidate; they alsotookthefocusawayfromlocal issues,” a BJP insidersaid.
AAPsweepsDelhiwith62seats,BJPtrounced
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THE HINDU DELHI
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2020 13EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
NEWS
TheBharatiyaJanataParty’s(BJP) sixth consecutive lossin an Assembly poll — although the party managed toformagovernmentinHaryana — points now to a veryrealproblemforthepartyinupcomingAssemblypolls.
Whether in a direct fi��ghtwith the Congress or a regional player like the AamAadmiParty(AAP),theBJP’sperformance in State electionshasbeensubparasperits own previous records.The Indian voter acrossStatesseemstobemakingavery clear distinction between State and nationallevelelections,asmadecleareven by the Assembly pollsinOdisha,wheretheBijuJanataDal’s(BJD)NaveenPatnaikwonarecordfi��fthterminthemidstofaModiwave.
Newly elected BJP presidentJ.P.NaddadoeshaveaproblemonhishandsastheStatelevel narrative of thepartyhasnotbeenasappealingasthatofPrimeMinisterNarendraModiatthenationallevel,somuchsothatevenMr. Modi’s campaign inJharkhandandHaryanadidnotmanagetolifttheparty’sfortunes.
One reason put forward
byBJPsenior leaders is thefact thatStateunits inbothJharkhand and Delhi havehad festering issues of infi��ghting,asdidthetheMaharashtraunitofthepartygoing into the polls. Many ofthese issues were not addressed and, specifi��cally inDelhi, it was felt that whileLokSabhaMPManojTiwariwasmadeStateunitchiefasa concession to the large
number of Poorvanchalivotes,itwastheoldPunjabileadership of the BJP thatprevailed. “Even when issues are addressed, it hasbeen cosmetic,” said asource.
AccordingtopoliticalanalystRahulVerma,theBJPgoing into polls without Mr.Modi’s strong presence is aproblem for the party.“PrimeMinisterModiisthemost charismatic face thattheBJPhasandhasaprovenrecordofaff��ectingthevote,butwhenitcomestofacesinthe State level, the Oppositionhasanadvantage,whichisgoingtobethecaseintheupcomingelectionstoo,”hesaid.
The most importantpoint,apartfromthelackof
a strongfaceinStates,isalsothe lackofa localnarrativefortheBJP,makingitrelyonnational issues time andagain.
“Every election has onenarrativethatdominatesoveranotherandinthelastfewelections, the Opposition’snarrative has been strongboth in terms of aspirationandperformance,”saidaseniorBJPleader.
WhilethenationalnarrativeoftheBJPisinnoperil,Stateelectionsarejustasimportant if the BJP wants todominateIndianpolitics.Forthat, Mr. Nadda may wellhavetodipintotheplaybookof the old BJP led by latePrime Minister Atal BihariVajpayee and senior BJPleaderL.K.Advani,whenthelast crop of strong regionalleadershipwascultivatedbytheparty.
BJP’s losses point to lack of local narrativeThe party continues to rely on Prime Minister Modi and national issues for its campaigns
Downbeat mood: TheBJPoffi��ceinNewDelhiworeaquietlookonTuesday. * SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
Nistula Hebbar
New Delhi
NEWS ANALYSISThe Opposition parties inunison congratulated AamAadmi Party (AAP) convenorArvindKejriwal forhisresounding victory in theDelhi Assembly elections.TheysaidtheBJP’sdefeatinthe elections showed thatpolitics of polarisation anddivision didn’t pay dividends.
RajyaSabhafl��oor leaderof the Biju Janata Dal Prasanna Acharya said, “TheBJPclaimstobethebiggestpoliticalpartyoftheworld.Andithasbeendefeatedbythe smallest party in thecountry. This shows thebeautyofIndiandemocracyand maturity of Indianvoters.”
WestBengalChiefMinisterandTrinamoolCongressPresidentMamataBanerjeewas one of the earliest tocongratulate Mr. Kejriwal.She told reporters, “TheCentrewithall itsagenciesandbruteforcecouldnotdowhat it wanted to do.” Describing the outcome as a“victory for democracy”,shestatedthattheBJPwaslosing in all places whereelectionswereconductedaspeople were rejecting its“narrowdivisivepolitics”.
“People want jobs, people want roti, kapda andmakaan[food,clothingandshelter].Peoplewantdevelopment,”shesaid.
The Congress, whichdrew a blank in the elections,wasallpraiseforMr.Kejriwal. Former CongresspresidentRahulGandhi, ina tweet,congratulatedhim,whileformerFinanceMinisterP.Chidambaram,inaseriesoftweets,saidtheDelhiresults were a booster fortheconfi��denceoftheOppositionthattheBJPcouldbedefeatedineveryState.
Rashtriya Janata Dal,which fought four seats in
Delhi, also complimentedMr.Kejriwal.“Youhavedefeated negative & blatanthatepoliticsdecisively.Yourverdictmarksthedefeatofpolitics of polarisation anddivision. I sincerely hopetheBJPtakesacuefromthisresultandshunscommunalism&bigotryonceforall“,tweeted Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly and RJD leader TejashwiYadav.
Development agendaDMK President M.K. Stalincalled the Delhi results aclear vindication of development over communalpolitics.
CPI(M)generalsecretarySitaram Yechury said theAAP had given a befi��ttingreplytotheBJP’spoliticsofhateandviolence.
CPI general secretary D.Raja called it a defeat forPrime Minister NarendraModi and Home MinisterAmit Shah who, he said,concentratedalltheirenergiesontheDelhipolls.ThiswasadefeatfortheBJPnarrative on the Citizenship(Amendment) Act and theNational Register for Citizensthatwasusedforcommunalpolarisation,hesaid.
MaharashtraChiefMinister Uddhav Thackery saidthepollresultsshowedthatpeopledidn’twanttolistento‘mannkibaat’(Mr.Modi’smonthly radio show) anymore but preferred ‘jan kibaat’instead.
NationalistCongressParty chief Sharad Pawar alsoaccusedtheBJPofpolarisation. The people of Delhihadrejectedthesaff��ronparty’s divisive policies, hesaid.“TheresultsoftheDelhipollsindicatethatwindsofchangeareblowinginthecountry,” Mr. Pawar commented, adding that theBJP’s “arrogance” hadprovedtobeitsundoing.
Oppn. views results as a referendum on BJP’s‘politics of polarisation’
Kejriwal gets praise from all quarters
Special Correspondent
New Delhi
Bihar Chief Minister NitishKumar’sJanataDal(United)lostthetwoseatsofBurariandSangamVihar that theparty had contested in alliancewiththeBharatiyaJanata Party in the Delhi Assembly election, but theoverallresultislikelytoprovideareasonforMr.Kumartosmile.
TheBJPledNDA’scrushing defeat in Delhi wouldnowemboldentheJD(U)todrive a harder bargain forseatswithitsalliancepartner,theBJP,intheupcomingAssemblypollsinBihar,politicalanalystssay.
“WiththerecentpolldebaclesforBJP,fi��rstinJharkhandandnowinDelhi,Nitish Kumar would be in astrongerpositiontobargainformoreseatsintheupcoming State Assembly elec
tions,”saidpoliticalanalystAjayKumar.
When the resultsemerged on Tuesday, Mr.Kumar reacted with justthreewords:“Janata malikhai (thepublicissupreme)”.
NawalKishoreChaudhury, another political observer, said, “In the presentscenario, after the JharkhandandDelhipollresults,NitishKumarcouldpitchformoreseatsthantheBJP,andtheBJPwillhavenooptionbut to concede to his demands.”.
Delhi poll result maywork in JD(U)’s favourNitish could seek more seats in Bihar
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Patna
NitishKumar
West Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee on TuesdaycalledDelhiChiefMinisterandnationalconveneroftheAamAadmiParty(AAP)ArvindKejriwalandcongratulated him for his party’soutstandingshowintheDelhiAssemblyelections.
Targets BJPShealsotooktheopportunity to target the BJP, sayingthose “playing on faiththroughhatespeechanddivisivepoliticsshouldtakeacue”fromthepollresults.
SpeakingtojournalistsinKolkata before leaving forBankura,theChiefMinistersaidshemaintainedgoodrelationswithMr.Kejriwal.
“Despite much religiousfanaticism and narrow
hatredpolitics,itisavictoryof the people. The Centrewith all its agencies andbrute force could not dowhat it wanted to do. TheBJP is losing in all placeswhere elections are beingconductedaspeoplearerejecting its narrow, divisivepolitics. People want jobs,
people want roti, kapda,makaan [food,clothingandshelter],peoplewantdevelopment,”shesaid.
Ms. Banerjee describedthe Delhi poll results as a“victoryofdemocracy”andsaid that politics should beforpeace,developmentandwelfareofthecountry.
‘Drop CAA, NRC’Laterintheday,addressinga publicrallyatBankura,Ms.BanerjeesaidtheBJPisnowgraduallybecoming“astatelessentity”andadded thatin2021,Bengalwilldrivethelastnailintoitscoffi��n.
SheurgedtheBJPtowithdraw the Citizenship(Amendment)Act.“TheBJPshould now roll back theCAAanddropplansforcarrying out a nationwideNRC,”shesaid.
Mamata hails Kejriwal’s big win in Delhi electionsBengal CM says people have rejected narrow, divisive politics
Shiv Sahay Singh
KOLKATA
WestBengalChiefMinisterMamataBanerjeeatarallyinBankuradistrictonTuesday.
* PTI
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DELHI THE HINDU
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 202014EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
SUDOKU
Solution to puzzle 12855 Solution to yesterday’s Sudoku
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
Kartikaipengal,themaidenswhobroughtupLordMuruga,wantedtoacquiretheashtamasiddhis(eightextraordinarypowers).LordSivatoldthemthatthesewerediffi��culttoattain.Ordinarymortalscannotattain theashtamasiddhis,saidR.Narayanan, inadiscourse.Saintswhohavethesesiddhis,usuallydonotdisplaythem.Theeightsiddhisareanima,mahima,garima,laghima,praapti,praakaamya,Isitvaandvasitva.Animaistheabilitytomakeoneselfsmallerthananatom.Mahimaistheabilitytomakeoneselflargeratwill.Garimaistheabilitytoincreaseone’sweight.Laghima,likewise,istheabilitytodecreaseone’sweightatonce.
Praaptiistheabilitytogowhereveronepleases,wheneveronewishesto.Praakaamyaistheabilitytoobtainanythingatwill.Thisincludestheabilitytoexitone’sbodyandinhabit another. Isitva is the power to create, protect anddestroy.Vasitvaistheabilitytocontroleverything.Fromareadingofthesepropertiesoftheeightsiddhis,itseemsasifnonebyGodHimselfcanhavethesesiddhis.Buttherehavebeensaintswhohavehadthispower.Thirumoolar,forexample,waseasilyabletoleavehisbodyandenteranother’s.
Arunagirinatha says that if one reads Thiruppugazh,whichhewroteinpraiseofLordMuruga,thentheashtamasiddhiswillcomewithinone’sreach.HesaysthatifwereadtheThiruppugazh,weneednotfeardeath.Wewillnotexperiencesorrow.Weneednotfearourenemies.ArunagirinathapraysthatwhenYama,thegodofdeathcomeswithhisrope,toseparatethesoulfromthebody,LordMurugashould appear, with the comforting words “Do not beafraid.”Hesaysthatheconqueredthethreemalamsandobtainedjnana,andthenthroughMuruga’sgrace,hesangtheThiruppugazh.
FAITH
GreatnessofThiruppugazh3 Americanmagazine’sback
issue(4)
4 Ultimatelypositiveandso
allinclusive(5)
6 Shehaslessonstolearnand
teststopass(10)
7 Listener,asaconsequence,is
worldly(7)
8 Thisisjustnoton!(3)
11 Greekcharacterabducting
modelisseenasadisgrace
(6)
14 Peasantinhelicopterhovering
aroundIsraelicity(10)
16 Maleanimalgetsmeat
regularlyincontainer(6)
18 Inanundertone,drunktosay
oneisnotin(5,4)
20 Clothesapppearcrumpledon
many(7)
22 Iretainstrangedisinclination
toact(7)
24 Lambasteasaintpropagating
rubbishallaround(5)
26 Objection’supforawkward
boat(3)
27 Atfi��rst,sufferingmotorists
observegrimyindustrialhaze
(4)
13 SufferingSydinFrancevery
hardyinextremitywith
disease(9)
15 BagelsDadstuffedinto
carryall(9)
17 Wisepersonleavesonekind
(5)
19 Saint’sassistantissober(5)
21 Cleaningwomantakesone
runawayfl��irtsuspiciouslyin
skilift(9)
23 Practicethatmakespupilssee
moreclearly(9)
25 Note:Memsahibleftsahibout
(4)
28 Stillgreen,auntgripednoend
repeatedly(6)
29 Friendbumpedintoallbuttop
ofplant(8)
30 Gangleader’sreal,withering
angrylook(5)
31 Standstill—bytheway,an
insectisinextremely
agreeablesurrounding(8)
■ DOWN
1 Confi��nestreacherousalliesand
headofsquadholding
commandingofficerback(9)
2 Formerpoettogiveafull
account(7)
(set by Gridman)
■ ACROSS
1 ChapsfromBelgiummislead
toparmyofficeraboutsetter
(8)
5 Capital—thewayit’sfi��xed(5)
9 FancieslimitsoverAsianstaple
(8)
10 Fakirdisturbedabouthot
croppingseason(6)
12 Scoffatnofemalebarbarian
(4)
THE HINDU CROSSWORD 12856Log on to crossword.thehindu.com for more puzzles
Sudan agrees to handover Bashir to ICC KHARTOUM
Sudanhasagreedtohand
overoustedautocratOmar
alBashirandotherstothe
InternationalCriminalCourt
(ICC)forallegedwarcrimes
inDarfur,atopofficialofthe
newrulingbodyhassaid.
Bashir’slawyersaidthe
exPresidentrefusedtohave
anydealingswiththeICC
becauseitwasa“political
court”.AFP
ELSEWHERE
Iran celebrates 1979Islamic RevolutionTEHRAN
Hundredsofthousandsacross
Iranmarkedtheanniversary
ofits1979IslamicRevolution
onTuesdayamidgrowing
tensionsbetweenTehranand
theU.S.“Itisunbearablefor
theU.S.toacceptthevictory
ofa*greatnationandthata
superpowerhasbeendriven
outofthisland,”President
HassanRouhanitoldthe
gathering.AP
Iraqi commander killed inU.S. strike rememberedBAGHDAD
IraqiofficialsonTuesday
commemoratedAbuMahdi
alMuhandis,thesenior
commanderkilledinlast
month'sU.S.dronestrikethat
targetedpowerfulIranian
generalQasemSoleimani.
Muhandiswasthedeputy
headoftheHashedalShaabi,
a loosenetworkof
paramilitarygroups.AFP
15 Rohingya refugees die after boat capsizes DHAKA
Atleast15Rohingyarefugees
diedandmanymorewere
missingafteravesselpacked
withpeopletryingtoreach
MalaysiacapsizedintheBay
ofBengal,aBangladeshcoast
guardofficialsaidonTuesday.
About70peoplehavebeen
rescuedalive,saidHamidul
Islam,theofficial.REUTERS
ThecoronavirusoutbreakinChinamaybeoverbyApril,thecountry’sseniormedicaladvisersaidonTuesday,butdeathssurpassed1,000andthe World Health Organization(WHO)warnedofa*globalthreatpotentiallyworsethanterrorism.
Theworldmust“wakeupandconsiderthisenemyvirusaspublicenemynumberone,”WHOchiefTedrosAdhanom Ghebreyesus toldreporters.
Astheepidemicsqueezedthe world’s secondbiggesteconomy, Chinese fi��rmsstruggledtogetbacktoworkafter the extended LunarNewYearholiday,hundredsof them saying they wouldneedloansrunningintobillionsofdollarstostayafl��oat.
Companylayoff��swerebeginning despite assurancesbyPresidentXiJinpingthatwidespread sackings wouldbeavoided,assupplychainsforglobalfi��rmsfromcarmanufacturers to smartphonemakersruptured.
China’sforemostmedicaladviser on the outbreak,Zhong Nanshan, told Reutersthatthenumberofnewcases was falling in someprovinces and forecast theepidemic would peak thismonth.
“I hope this outbreak orthiseventmaybeoverinsomething like April,” addedMr.Zhong,83,anepidemiologistwhowonfameforhisrole in combating an outbreakofSevereAcuteRespiratorySyndromein2003.
WorldstocksresumedrisingtowardsrecordhighsonMr.Zhong’scomments.
TheWorldHealthOrganization(WHO)saidonTuesday1,017peoplehaddiedin
China, where there were42,708cases.Only319caseshave been confi��rmed in 24othercountriesandterritoriesoutsidemainlandChina,with two deaths: one inHongKongandtheotherinthePhilippines.
Mr. Tedros was less sanguine, saying the coronavirus should be regarded asakintoaterroristattack.
Renamed COVID-19
“With99%ofcasesinChina,this remains very much anemergencyforthatcountry,but one that holds a verygrave threat for the rest oftheworld,”hesaid.
The fi��rst vaccine was 18monthsaway,saidtheWHOboss,urgingglobalunity toprevent“farmorecasesandfar higher costs” from thedisease — now offi��ciallynamed COVID19 by theWHO.
Mr.Tedrossaidthat“co”standsfor“corona”,“vi”for“virus” and “d” for “disease”,while“19”wasfortheyear, as the outbreak wasfi��rstidentifi��edonDecember31,2019.
Coronavirusposes‘verygrave’threattotheworld,saysWHO‘Number of cases in China falling, epidemic may be over by April’; over 1,000 dead
Reuters
GUANGZHOU/Geneva
Fighting back: AresearcherworkingonavaccineforCOVID19,attheImperialCollegeSchoolofMedicine,London. * AFP
Chinadeniedinvolvementinany hacking activities onTuesdayaftertheU.S.indictedfourmembersoftheChinese military for allegedlybreakingintothecomputernetworksoftheEquifaxcredit reporting agency andstealing the personal informationoftensofmillionsofpeople.
The Justice DepartmentaccusedBeijingonMondayof engineering one of thebiggesthacksinhistorytargeting consumer data ofsome145millionAmericans.
Foreign Ministry spokesmanGengShuangsaidChinawascommittedto“fi��rmlyopposeandcombatcyberattacks of any kind,” addingthatitisastaunchdefenderofcybersecurityanditsinstitutions“neverengageincybertheftoftradesecrets.”
Mr.GengalsoturnedtheaccusationbackontheU.S.,
saying past events hadshown Washington is “engaginginlargescale,organized and indiscriminate cyberstealing, spying andsurveillanceactivitiesonforeign governments, enterprisesandindividuals.”
“Chinaisalsoavictimofthis,”Mr.Gengsaid.
TheaccusationisthelatestagainstChinesesuspectedofbreachingthecomputer networks of Americancorporations,includingsteelmanufacturers,ahotelchain
and a health insurer. Itcomes as the Trump administration has warnedagainst what it sees as thegrowing political and economic infl��uence of China,andeff��ortsbyBeijingtocollectdataforfi��nancialandintelligence purposes and tosteal research and innovation.
Experts and offi��cials saythetheftrepresentsBeijing’sinterest in accumulating asmuch information aboutAmericansaspossible.
U.S. ‘indicted’ four military hackers for personal data theft
Associated Press
BEIJING
Data breach: U.S.accusedChinaofstealingconsumerdataofsome145millionAmericans. * REUTERS
China denies role in cybertheftfollowing Equifax accusations
Dozensofcars inan IsraeliArabvillagewerevandalisedovernight, police said onTuesday, with sloganssprayed on a mosque indicating the involvement ofJewishextremists.
The slogans “Jews awaken”and“Stopassimilating”werescrawledonamosqueandanotherbuildinginJish,a smallvillageintheGalileejustsouthofIsrael’sborderwithLebanon.
Police said they were investigatingtheincident.
Thetyresofover150carswerepunctured,JishcouncilheadEliasEliassaid,adding
thatitwasnotthefi��rsttimethemixedMuslimandChristian village had beentargeted.
PrimeMinisterBenjaminNetanyahu “fi��rmly con
demned”theJishvandalismandslogans,vowingto“fi��ndtheoutlawsandbringthemtojustice.“Wewon’ttolerateanyattacksonourcitizens,”hesaidinastatement.
Car tyres were punctured, slogans scrawled on mosque
Agence France-Presse
Jish
Hate crime: AbuildingonwhichslogansweresprayedovernightinthenorthernIsraeliArabvillageofJish. * AFP
Arab village in Israel vandalisedby suspected Jewish extremists
An antiterrorism court inPakistanonTuesdayacceptedapleabyMumbaiattackmastermind and JamatudDawachief( JuD)Hafi��zSaeedtocluballsixterrorfi��nancingcasesagainsthimandhisaides,andannouncetheverdict on completion of thetrial.
The antiterrorism courtor ATC had indicted SaeedandothersonDecember 11in terror fi��nancing case indaytodayhearings.
“TheantiterrorismcourtofLahoreacceptedthepleaofSaeedandhiscloseaidesseekingdelayintheverdict
in two concluded terror fi��nancingcasesagainst themtill the trial in other foursuchpendingcases iscomplete,”acourtoffi��cialsaid.
Accordingtothepetition,four other terror fi��nancing
cases against Saeed, ZafarIqbal, Yahya Aziz, AbdulRehmanMakkiarependingbefore the same ATC. “Asevidence has been in progress, the court may announcetheverdictinsixcases, including the onesalreadyconcludedoncethetrialiscompleted,”itsaid.
The deputy prosecutorgeneral opposed Saeed’splea and argued that thetrialintwocasesagainsthimandothershasalreadybeencompleted and under thelawthecourtmayannouncethe verdict. He requestedthe court to reject Saeed’splea and announce theverdict.
Pak.courtacceptsSaeed’spleatoclub6terrorfi��nancingcasesVerdict delayed even as trial concluded in two cases
Press Trust of India
Lahore
Hafi��zSaeed
Britain will end the automatic early release of convictedterroristsundernewfasttrackedlegislationtobeintroducedtoParliamentonTuesday.
The new Bill follows anattackearlierthismonthbyanIslamistmilitantjustdaysafter he was set free halfway through his jail term,despiteauthoritiesbelievinghestillposedathreattothepublic.
The government had already promised tougherrules on terrorism afteranother former convictkilled two people andwoundedthreebeforebeingshot dead by police near
London Bridge inNovember.
The emergency measures, which the governmentwants tobecomelawby the end of the month,will mean convicted terroristscannotbereleasedbefore the end of their sentence without anassessmentofwhethertheyare still a risk. They willhave to serve at least twothirdsoftheirsentencebeforebeingassessed.
The government saidaround50peoplecurrentlyin jail would see their releaseblockedasaresultofthechangetothelaw
Thegovernmentplanstoboostderadicalisationmeasuresinprison.
U.K.unveilslawstostopearlyreleaseofterroristsBill comes after recent London attacks
Reuters
London
Prosecutors on Mondaysought U.S. President Donald Trump's longtime adviserRogerStonetoserveasentencebetweensevenandnineyearsinprison.
Stone is due to face sentencing by U.S. DistrictCourt Judge Amy BermanJacksononFebruary20,after a jury in Novemberfound the selfproclaimeddirty trickster guilty on se
vencountsof lying toCongress, obstruction and witnesstampering.
ThegovernmentsaidthatunderU.S.sentencingguidelines,hefacesarangeofsevenyearsandthreemonthstouptonineyears,andtoldJacksonhe“shouldbepunishedinaccord”withthose.
Mr.Stoneisoneofseveralpeople close to Mr. Trumpwho faced charges stemming from thenSpecialCounselRobertMueller'sin
vestigation into Russian interferenceinthe2016presidentialelection.
Duringthetrial,prosecutorspressedtheircase thatStone lied to lawmakersabouthisoutreachtoWikiLeaks—thewebsitethatdisclosedmanyhackedDemocratic emails ahead of the2016 election that provedembarrassingtoDemocraticrivalHillaryClinton—toprotectMr.Trumpfromlookingbad.
Govt.seeks7to9yearsinjailforTrumpallyRogerStoneHe faced charges in Mueller’s probe into 2016 presidential poll
Reuters
WASHINGTON
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A teamofU.K.scientistsbelievetheyareamongthefi��rsttostartanimaltestingofavaccineforthenewcoronavirus.
ResearchersatImperialCollegeLondonsaidtheirgoalwastofi��ndawaytohaltthespreadofvirus.“Atthemomentwehavejustputthevaccinethatwe’vegeneratedfromthesebacteriaintomice”.
U.K.teamtests
vaccineonmiceAgence France-Presse
London
AnIndiannationalhasbeendiagnosedwiththenovelcoronavirusintheUAE,bringingthetotalnumberofconfi��rmedinfectioncasestoeight,thecountry’sHealthMinistryhassaid.
TheUAEMinistryofHealthandPrevention
(MoHAP)saidonMondaythattheIndiannationalwasinfectedafterheinteractedwitharecentlydiagnosedperson.
OnSunday,theMinistrysaidthattwonewpatients,a ChinesenationalandaFilipino,hadbeendiagnosedwiththediseaseandwerebeingtreated.
Press Trust of India
Dubai
Indian national infected
with coronavirus in UAE
A 33yearoldChinesewomaninfectedwithcoronavirushasgivenbirthtoahealthybabygirlwithnoinfectioninnorthwestChina’sShaanxiProvince,statemediareportedonTuesday.
TheChinesewomanwasinthe37thweekofpregnancywhenshegavebirthviacaesareantoababyweighing2,730g.
Theinfant,whosefi��rstnucleicacidtestassociatedwiththenovelcoronaviruswasnegative,isreceivingintensivecare.
Infected mother in Chinagives birth to healthy baby Press Trust of India
Beijing
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Asfi��rstimpressionsgo,this one is aboutmaking those im
pressionswithadegreeofanonymity.Itiscalled“thewrittenresume”.
From a piece of paper,usuallyanA3sizesheetora couple of them, the resumehascomea longway.Now,thereisoftentheoption of presenting it in adigital format. However,technologyhasnotdetracted from the challenge ofwritingone. Ifanything, ithasbecomemorechallenging than ever, as resumesnavigating the digital watershavetobealotcrisperand more to the point, giventheshrinkingattentionspans.
Though it can’t be verbose, it has to give theprospective employer asense of what the candidatehasachievedthroughhiscareer—thelongerthecareer, themorechallenging the write. However,mostexperiencedandtoplevel professionals chooseto grapple with the taskthemselves,onereasonbeing that they are likely tobeknownintheirindustrycirclesandalsolikelytoreceive recommendationsfrompeers.
The professional touch Fresh, earlycareer andmidlevel professionalsusuallyneedthatpowerfulintroduction,andtheyaresaidtobelikelytoseektheservices of professionalresumewriters.
Freshersworld.com, aTeamLeasecompany thatoff��ers resume writing services,getscloseto50,000registrations on its portalevery day, and a majorityofthemarefromfreshers.
“In a day, nearly 1,000peopleseekthisserviceonour portal. In this group,60% opt for the paid service,” says Kaushik Banerjee,vicepresidentandbusiness head, TeamleaseandFreshersworld.
Manyengineeringcolleges, he says, engage us forbulk writing of resumes.Usually, in this case, projects undertaken by studentshavetobepresentedinanimpressivemanner.
Social media boost
vice,wasbiddingforatender.
“The CVs of nearly 100employees with the company had to be improved,andtheworkhadtobecarriedout inashortspanoftime; these employeesweregoingtobepartoftheproject and the companywanted the skillsets theybrought to the table to beshowcased prominently,”saysAmrita.
The career journeyOn LinkedIn, she says,therewouldbecompaniesthat would want resumewriters towrite thecareerjourneyoftheirexecutives.
“Sometime we visitthem to understand theirwork culture or the information is provided to usthroughemail,”shesays.
Staffi��ng companies, recruitment agencies andthose off��ering returningmothers a platform tomake a career comeback,
engage resume writerseither to have workshopsdonefortheirclients,ortopromotetheirprofi��les.
“Aresumewriter’sprimaryrole is tohighlight thecandidate’s brand value —this isusuallydonebylisting out the results theyhave achieved and thechallengestheyhaveovercome,”saysAmrita.
Anotherchallengefacedbyresumewritersishavingtotweakresumesofhighlyexperienced professionalstobringcertainskills theypossessintosharperfocus.
“Reverse chronologicalresumeisthemostsoughtafter format. Here, a jobseeker’s work history andaccomplishments are presented in reverse chronologicalorder,withthemostrecent work experienceand achievement listedfi��rst. The candidate’s responsibilities and accomplishments are listed employerwise. In contrast,
says, is being increasinglyusedtooptimisethechancesofaresumeshowingupinmostjobsearches.
“We use AI and createsecondary skillsets for acandidateandmapittothejob. So, even if the candidate has missed highlightingcertainskills,technology comes to the aid,” saysSahaye, adding that thecompany also uses machinelearningtohelpemployers fi��nd the right candidates more quickly andhirefaster.
the functional format isabout grouping achievementsbasedonskills,”saysNeena.
ATS optimisationIn this day and age whenresumes “pop up” onscreens more often thanlandonthetableinaphysical form, a resume can’thaveawinningedgeunlessitisATSoptimised.
An applicant trackingsystem(ATS)helpstofi��lterresumes based on certainskillsets that an employerislookingfor.
Vikramjit Singh Sahaye,founder and CEO, HiringPlug,saysit’stoughtobeatanATSandhisadviceistokeep the resume simpleandtothepoint.
“Mostapplicanttrackingsystemsonlyreaddataandkeywords,andsodon’tbeovercreative or strive topresentyourskills inadifferentlight,”saysSahaye.
Artifi��cial intelligence,he
Liffy Thomas
ILLUSTRATION: SEBASTIAN FRANCIS
The power of an irresistible introduction
● MakesureyourresumeisATSfriendlyasitisthefi��rst“critic”acandidatewillfaceafterhehassubmittedhisresume.ThechoiceofkeywordsandthewayinwhichtheskillsarepresentedareamongthemajorfactorsensuringATSfriendliness.● Whenonehashadalongcareerandthereforethelistofachievementsisboundtobelengthy,thecandidatehastoconsciouslyfocusonwritinganextremelycrispresume.For,withoutthisrudder,thecandidateislikelytodwellatlengthonamajorityofachievements,andtherebyruntheriskofsoundinglongwinded.Thebestoftheachievementsshouldbehighlighted,thesecondandthirdbesttouchedupon,andtherestignored.● Resumessetinthereversechronologicalformatusuallyworkbest,astheycomewitha senseofimmediacy,presentingthelatestachievementsfi��rst.Thisformatachievesimmensevalueintoday’scorporateword,astechnologicalshiftshappenmorequicklythaneverbefore.Againstthisbackdrop,listingthelatestachievementinvolvingamorecurrenttechnologicalskillfi��rstassumessignifi��cance.● Dataspeaksalot;andsoifyouarehandlingaproject,mentionitssizeandvalue.
Points toponder
Resumewritingisbecomingamorespecialisedskill,thankstothedemandsofthedigitalworld
Unlike in the past, theresume today is multilayered. Social media profi��les of candidates have tobe factored in, while writingresumesforthem.
“As hiring managerswant the LinkedIn profi��leas part of the application,weoff��erservices likewriting the summary for thepage and also providing acoveringletter,”saysNeenaMody, resume consultantatStepitUpResumes.
Sharper focusWhilepresentingtheircredentials to prospectiveclients, some companiesusuallyhaveprofessionallywritten resumes of theirkey employees, as part ofthe“pitchpackage”.
Here is a classic example.
AmritaKolay,acertifi��edresume writer, had a recentassignmentwherethecompany that had optedfortheresumewritingser
CMYK
wednesday • february 12, 2020
Avtar Group is inviting nominations forthe fi��fth edition of
‘Best Companies for Women in India’ (BCWI).
As in the previousyears, it is associatedwith Working Mother, aUnited Statesbased global gender parity champion, to list and showcase 100 best companieswith a special spotlighton the Top 10 Best Companies.
According to a pressrelease, every edition ofthe study has had over300 companies participating in this “comprehensive gender analyticsexercise with millions ofdata points and hundreds of benchmarkingreports.”
Last year, Most Inclusive Companies Index(MICI) was introducedfor companies that participated in BCWI to off��erinsights on organisa
tions’ inclusiveness encompassing otherstrands of diversity —PWD, LGBTQA andGeneration.
The application formhas close to 300 questions, and requires applicantcompanies to provide data of highordergranularity on theirpractices, programmesand policies to ensuregender inclusion at theirworkplaces.
A company that hasits operations in Indiawith a minimum of 500employees in its Indianoperations (men, womenand third gender included) can register to participate in the study.
The last date for submitting applications isMay 31, added the release.
For details, visithttp://
www.avtarinc.com/bcwi.html
AnannualexercisethatissustainedbyAvtarGroupandWorkingMother,itisinitsfi��ftheditionnow
Calling for nominations to ‘BestCompanies for Women in India’
Conference onvolunteering Volcon, a national conferenceonvolunteeringorganised by iVolunteer inassociation with Bhumi,is based on the theme‘Volunteerengagementasa social change multiplier’.
The event is aimed atcompanies, nonprofi��ts,intermediariesandotherswho engage with at least1,000 volunteers everyyearorhavetheabilitytosignifi��cantly increase thenumber of volunteers inthecountry.
The twoday conference is being held fromFebruary 14 in Chennaiandmorethan100organisations are expected toparticipateinit,saysarelease.
Ways of integrating volunteeringintotheorganisationalculture;buildingleadership through socialchange; and tracking employee volunteer engagement will be among thediscussion points for corporates,saidarelease.
For details, visitwww.volcon.in.
Celebrating womenprofessionals Safejob, a training, skilling and consulting fi��rm,haslaunchedacampaign,‘Dhasu Woman’, to celebrate Women’s Day.Launched in associationwith the Women Entrepreneurship Platform, aNITIAayoginitiative,itinvites women from all agegroupstoparticipateinit.
According to a release,DhasuWomanisaninitiative aimed at celebratingwomenprofessionalswhohave not only made amarkbutalsocontributedsignifi��cantly to the progess of their respectivespecialisations. Around30best storieswillbeselected and woven into amusic video that will bereleasedonWomen’sDay.
Participants have toclick a selfi��e, registertheir names on www.dhaansuwoman.com andshare theirpictureonSafeducate website/Facebook page/Instagrampage with the hashtag#DhasuWoman.
The last date for submitting entries is February20.
NEWS BYTES
While gender paygap is consideredan issue plaguing
most industries, there areindications that in the gigeconomy,thisgapismuchsmaller. As per a report,theparticipationofwomeninthefreelanceworkforcehas been gaining momentum. Equally signifi��cant isthefi��ndingthattheaveragewage for women in thefreelance workforce ishigherthantheoverallaverage.
Theseareamongthekeyfi��ndings of a Global Freelancer Income ReportbroughtoutbyPayoneer.
On an average, womenfreelancers earn 84% ofmen’s earnings across allfi��elds, and while there isroomforimprovement,thegap is much smaller thanthe 64% average for allworkers reported by theWorld Economic Forum,saysthereport.
However, there are industryspecifi��cnuancesinvolved,andtherearefi��eldswhere the gender gap remainspronounced,including fi��nance and project
management fi��elds. Women earn more than meninmarketingandwebandgraphic design, says thereport.
Over 7,000 freelancersfrom 150 countries werepart of the survey, whichprovidesnewinsightsintothe world of freelancers,theirmotivationsandhowthe workforce empowerscollaboration by connecting top talent withbusinesses.
The popularity of freelancingisattributedtothepotential for greater jobopportunity, independence,higherincomesanda promisingmoveinthedirectionofwageequality.
A growing market In India, GovernmentschemeslikeStartupIndia,SkillIndiaandDigitalIndiaencourage young individualstostarttheirownbusinessesandworkas freelancers.
Asperthereport,oneinevery fi��ve Indian freelancersisawoman.While83%of the freelancers workfromhome,17%workfrom
coff��ee shops, coworkingspaces, libraries and privateoffi��ces.
MostofthewomeninIndia engage themselves inonlinemarketplaceswithamajorchunkoftheclientsbased in theUnitedStateswith the average workinghours ranging between 2and 2.5 hours. Web andgraphic design (25% respondents), IT (20%) andprogramming(15%)arethetopthreecategoriesofdomains for Indianfreelancers.
Young workforceThefreelanceworkforceisyoung,withnearly70%ofthe freelancers surveyedbeingundertheageof35;and 21% under 25. Thisyouth movement is evenmore pronounced in Asiawhere 82% of the respondents are under 35, compared to North Americawhere the number is stillhighbutcloserto47%.
Workers at the beginning and end of their careersaremost likely tobeexclusively freelancing.While experienced work
erscommandhighpay,thatgapcouldcloseinthefutureas freelance opportunitiesprovide those with lessyearsofexperiencetheability to sharpen and honetheirskills.
Additionally, educationdoesnotnecessarilycorrelate with high earnings forfreelancers,asthosewithabachelor’sdegreedonotdemand higher salaries thanthose without, indicatingthat the future of work valuesreviews,referencesanda richportfolioasmuchastraditional educationalachievements.
Average hourly rate The worldwide averagehourlyratechargedbyfreelancers is $21, higher thanthe$19averageratereported in Payoneer’s 2018 surveyandsignifi��cantlyhigherthantheaveragesalariesinmany of the countries surveyed,saysthereport.
While freelancers areearning more, businessesarealsobenefi��tingbybeingable to source toptalentwithout concern for locationoroverheadcosts.
A ‘GlobalFreelancerIncomeReport’seemstosuggestthatitcan
Canthegigeconomyaddresstheissueofgenderpaygap?
CMYK
BUSINESSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
DELHI THE HINDU
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 202016EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
NIFTY 50
PRICE CHANGE
Adani Ports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374.20. . . . . . . . . 5.95
Asian Paints. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1878.10. . . . . . . . . 8.60
Axis Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 749.95. . . . . . . . . 8.85
Bajaj Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3145.45. . . . . . . 42.15
Bajaj Finserv. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9731.60. . . . . 104.60
Bajaj Finance . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 4749.35. . . . . . . 27.60
Bharti Airtel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534.30. . . . . . . . -4.40
BPCL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481.00. . . . . . . . -4.45
Britannia Ind . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 3134.70. . . . . . -20.90
Cipla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450.60. . . . . . . . . 5.85
Coal India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179.35. . . . . . . . . 0.50
Dr Reddys Lab . . . . . . . .. . . . 3191.20. . . . . . . 42.10
Eicher Motors. . . . . . . . .. 19009.25. . . . . . -48.00
GAIL (India). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129.15. . . . . . . . . 7.35
Grasim Ind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 759.30. . . . . . . . . 1.75
HCL Tech. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 610.65. . . . . . . . . 5.75
HDFC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2435.15. . . . . . . 20.85
HDFC Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1240.60. . . . . . . . . 0.30
Hero MotoCorp . . . . . .. . . . 2396.45. . . . . . . 10.75
Hindalco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193.65. . . . . . . . . 2.80
Hind Unilever . . . . . . . . .. . . . 2152.65. . . . . . . . -6.65
ICICI Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539.75. . . . . . . . . 5.80
IndusInd Bank . . . . . . . .. . . . 1292.65. . . . . . . 17.70
Bharti Infratel . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 248.80. . . . . . . . . 9.00
Infosys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 773.55. . . . . . . . . 0.35
Indian OilCorp . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 116.05. . . . . . . . . 0.25
ITC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212.60. . . . . . . . . 2.05
JSW Steel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288.75. . . . . . . 10.85
Kotak Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1677.45. . . . . . . . . 8.15
L&T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1286.90. . . . . . . . . 1.60
M&M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524.05. . . . . . . . -4.35
Maruti Suzuki . . . . . . . . .. . . . 7033.75. . . . . 140.85
Nestle India Ltd. . . . .. 15997.15. . . -175.05
NTPC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116.85. . . . . . . . . 3.35
ONGC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106.80. . . . . . . . . 0.60
PowerGrid Corp . . . . .. . . . . . 189.50. . . . . . . . . 2.90
Reliance Ind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1452.75. . . . . . . 17.15
State Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324.35. . . . . . . . . 5.85
Sun Pharma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418.55. . . . . . . . -1.75
Tata Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169.75. . . . . . . . . 0.85
Tata Steel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 444.10. . . . . . . . . 0.30
TCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2153.40. . . . . . . . -8.55
Tech Mahindra . . . . . . .. . . . . . 819.95. . . . . . . . . 6.30
Titan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1270.70. . . . . . . 13.50
UltraTech Cement. .. . . . 4466.45. . . . . . . 52.70
UPL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 576.65. . . . . . . . . 2.55
Vedanta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140.75. . . . . . . . . 0.45
Wipro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241.25. . . . . . . . . 0.35
YES Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36.85. . . . . . . . -0.70
Zee Entertainment . . . . . . 231.30. . . . . . . . . 0.85
EXCHANGERATESIndicative direct rates in rupees a unitexcept yen at 4 p.m. on February 11
CURRENCY TT BUY TT SELL
US Dollar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 71.08. . . . . . . 71.40
Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 77.57. . . . . . . 77.92
British Pound. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 91.88. . . . . . . 92.29
Japanese Yen (100) . .. . 64.70. . . . . . . 65.00
Chinese Yuan . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 10.19. . . . . . . 10.24
Swiss Franc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 72.69. . . . . . . 73.02
Singapore Dollar . . . . . . .. . 51.23. . . . . . . 51.47
Canadian Dollar. . . . . . . . .. . 53.48. . . . . . . 53.73
Malaysian Ringitt . . . . . .. . 17.19. . . . . . . 17.28
Source:Indian Bank
BULLIONRATES CHENNAI
February 11 rates in rupees with pre-vious rates in parentheses
Retail Silver (1g) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50. . . . . . . (50.1)
22 ct gold (1 g) . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 3872. . . . . . (3891)
market watch
11-02-2020 % CHANGE
Sensex dddddddddddddddddddddd 41,216 ddddddddddddddd0.58
US Dollardddddddddddddddddddd 71.28 ddddddddddddddd0.03
Gold ddddddddddddddddddddddddddd 41,269 ddddddddddddd-0.27
Brent oil ddddddddddddddddddddd 54.30 ddddddddddddddd0.84
IN BRIEF
Infosystobuy Simplusfor$250millionBENGALURU
Infosyshasenteredintoadefi��nitiveagreementtoacquireSimplus,aSalesforcePlatinumPartnerthatoff��ersservicessuchascloudconsulting,implementation,dataintegration,changemanagement.The$250millionacquisitionisexpectedtocloseduringthefourthquarteroffi��scal2020,subjecttoclosingconditions.SimplusbringstoInfosysSalesforceexpertise,industryknowledge,solutionassets,deepecosystemrelationshipsandabroadclientele.
TVSSrichakraprofi��tskidsonslowdownCHENNAI
TVSSrichakraLtd.reporteda43.22%dropinstandalonenetprofi��tforthethirdquarterendedDecember2019to₹��13.40croreduetolowervolumesonaccountofeconomicslowdown.Duringtheperiod,revenuefromoperationsdeclined 13.77%to₹��500.75crorecomparedwiththecorrespondingyearearlierperiod.Thecompanywasabletobringdownthecostofmaterialsconsumedby30%to₹��283.46croreandfi��nancialcostsby17%to₹��8crore.
Korean automaker SsangYong Motor Company, asubsidiary of Mahindra &Mahindra,whichiscurrentlyfacingsteepheadwindsandlossesinitsdomesticmarketandworsenedbythecoronavirus syndrome now, hasdrawnupathreeyearturnaround plan to get back toprofi��tabilityby2022.
Theplanincludeswaystoreduce capex, consideringsynergies between SsangYong Motor Company andFordMotorsanddevelopingnew markets in Russia andVietnam to increase exportvolumes, Pawan Goenka,MDofMahindra&MahindraandchairmanofSsangYongMotorCompanysaid.
He said the company ex
pected a funding of 450 to500billionKoreanWon(upto₹��3,000crore), throughacombination of equity andborrowingforafullrecovery.
“We do hope that thisfunding would be arrangedby March end. The threeyearrecoveryplanhasbeen
approved by the companyboard,” Dr. Goenka said.SsangYongisintalkswiththeKorea Development Bank(KDB)toraisethefunds.However,aclearpictureontheapprovalofthefundingisyettoemerge.
Mr.Goenkasaidconsider
ingthecurrentmarketsituation it would be untenablefora full recovery forSsangYongduringcalendaryear2020, but a full recoverycouldbeexpectedin2022.
“Material cost reductionwouldfetchthecompany8090billionWonintwoyearswhich should help achievean improvement of 23% inSsangYong’s operating margins,” Mr. Goenka said. Goingforward,SsangYongisalsoexpectedtoworkcloselyas part of the alliance withFordtodeveloptwoSUVs—codenamed CSUV and theBSUV — on all new platforms. The MahindraFordpartnershiphasjustreceivedthe Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) clearanceforthejointventure.
On the domestic market,
Mr.Goenkasaid thespreadof coronavirus may havesome impact since somepartsareimportedfromChina.Iftheproductionnormalises in the next few days,thingswouldstartreturningtonormalcy,hesaid.“Else,itmaybeachallengetodeliverBSVIvehiclesontime.”
Hesaidwhilethesituationcurrently was one of ‘waitandwatch’,automakersmayhave to look at alternatesourcingmarketsifthesupplysituationworsened.
For faster and cost eff��ectiverolloutofelectricvehiclesinIndia,Mr.Goenkahasoff��ered all Indian OEMs,namelyTataMotorsandAshokLeyland,to‘coown’Mahindra Electric, which hasacquired considerable expertiseinthisfi��eld.
M&MKoreanarmdrawsup₹��3,000cr.turnaroundplanSsangYongMotorCompanyfacessteepheadwinds,hopestoregainprofi��tabilityby2022withstrategy
Revvingup:PawanGoenka,M&MMD,andV.S.Parthasarathy,CFO,atapressmeetinMumbaionTuesday. * PAUL NORONHA
Lalatendu Mishra
MUMBAI
SyndicateBankhaspostedafourfold increase in its netprofi��t to ₹��435 crore duringthethirdquarterendedDecember 2019 due its focuson MSMEs and recoveriesandreductioninNPAs.
In Q3, total income increased 3.93% to ₹��6,316.57crore.GrossNPAsdroppedto 11.33%at₹��25,330.10crorecomparedwiththeyearearlierperiod’s12.54%.
Net NPAs stood at₹��12,514.32 crore, down to5.94% fromthe6.75%ayearago.
The quarter saw bank’soverallcosttoincomeratiodeclining from 71.68% to52.06%. Total business increased 7% to ₹��5,00,971crore as on December2019It’s domestic business
increasedto₹��4,44,033crorecompared with ₹��4,04,304crore.
Total deposits increasedto ₹��2,77,368 crore against₹��2,59,064 crore a year agowhile totaladvancesroseto₹��2,23,603 crore against₹��2,08,847crore.
Retailandagricultureadvances grew7%and10%respectively, according to thelender.
SyndicateBank’sQ3profi��trisesfourfoldLenderfocussesonNPAreduction
Special Correspondent
Bengaluru Allahabad Bank on Tuesdayreportedanovertwofold jump in standalonenet lossfortheDecemberquarterat₹��1,986.26croreon higher bad loans andprovisioning.
TheStateownedlenderhadreportedanet lossof₹��732.81croreinthecorresponding OctoberDecemberperiodofthepreviousfi��scal.
Total income (standalone) during the quarterunder review grew to₹��4,860.35 crore from₹��4,756.88croreinthesameperiodof201819.
The bank’s gross nonperforming assets (NPAs)roseto18.93%ofthegrossadvancesbytheendoftheDecember quarter asagainst17.81%earlier.
AllahabadBankQ3netlosswidens
Press Trust of India
New Delhi
IDBIBankpostedanetlossof₹��5,763croreforthequarterendedDecember31,2019onaccountofaonetimehitof₹��6,273croreforexercisingthe option for lower tax,compared with a loss of₹��4,185crorereportedduringthesameperiodofthepreviousyear.
Thiswasthe13thstraightquarterlylossforthelender.
However,thebankpostedprofi��tbeforetaxforthefi��rsttime in 13 quarters, whichwas₹��756crore.
Rakesh Sharma, MD andCEO,IDBIBank,saidthelenderhasmadeanacceleratedprovision of ₹��1,679 croreduringthequarter.
This helped the bank tolowerratioofnonperforming assets (NPAs) to 5.25%fromthe14.01%intheyearagoperiodand5.97%aquar
terago.Withthis,thebankishopefulofcomingoutoftherestrictions under promptcorrectiveactionof theReserveBankofIndia.
NetNPAof6%isatriggerforsuchrestriction.
NPA ratio still highThegrossNPAofthebankis28.72%asatDecemberendcomparedwiththe29.67%ayear ago. Mr. Sharma saidthetheratioremainedhighasthebank’sloanbookcontracted as it was unable togrow its assets due to PCArestrictions.
“Recovery during thequarter, which was ₹��3,136crore, was higher than theslippages, which was ₹��2,113crore,”Mr.Sharmasaid.
Total recovery, includingfrom written off�� accountsand upgradation, was over₹��3,500crore.
LoanstoDHFLSlippagesduring the quarter includeloanstoDewanHousingFinance Corporation (DHFL)and Jain Irrigation. Goingahead, the bank expectsslippages to remain within₹��800croreaquarter.
Mr.Sharmaalsoinformedthat the bank had receivedbinding bids for selling itsstakeinIDBIFederalLifeInsuranceCompany.
The lender holds a 48%stakeintheinsuranceentity.
Thedealisexpectedtobeconcluded latest by the secondquarterofthenextfi��nancialyear.
Lendertakes₹��6,273cr.hitforchoosinglowertaxoption
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Mumbai
IDBIBank againpostsloss
The Centre has released₹��81,043 crore as GST compensationtoStatesforAprilSeptember2019,MinisterofState for Finance AnuragSingh Thakur said onTuesday.
In a written reply to aquestionintheRajyaSabha,he said GST compensationcess collection had shownan upward trend since October2019.
GST compensation cessof₹��7,607crorewascollected inOctober,₹��7,727croreinNovember,₹��8,331croreinDecemberand₹��8,637croreinJanuary.
For201920,theamounttargeted to be collectedfromcessinGSTwas₹��1.09lakhcrore.Ofthis,₹��70,534crore has been collectedbetween AprilDecember2019.
TheamountofGSTcompensationreleasedtoStatesfor AprilSeptember 2019stoodat ₹��81,043crore,Mr.Thakursaid.
For201819fi��scal,thenetcollectionofGSTcompensation cess stood at ₹��95,081croreasagainstthetargetof₹��90,000 crore. For full fi��scal,thegovernmenthadreleased₹��81,141croretostatesascompensation.
For 201718, the net collection from cess stood at₹��62,612crore,asagainstthetargetof₹��61,331crore.Thecompensation amount releasedtostateswas₹��48,785crore.
Under GST law, Stateswereguaranteedtobepaidforanylossofrevenueinthefi��rstfi��veyearsofGSTimplementation,whichcameintoforceonJuly1,2017.
Theshortfalliscalculatedassuming a 14% annualgrowthinGSTcollectionsbyStatesoverthebaseyearof
201516.“Forprovidingsuchcom
pensation to States, compensation cess is being leviedoncertain luxuryanddemeritgoodsasperprovisionsinSection8oftheGST(Compensation to States)Act, 2017, and compensation cess is being creditedinto a nonlapsable FundknownasGoodsandServicesTaxCompensationFundwhichformspartofthePublic Account of India,” Mr.Thakursaid.
Fraudulent claims As many as 634 cases offraudulentGSTrefundclaimby exporters amounting₹��1,912 crore had been detected by the central taxauthorities between July2017andJanuary2020,Parliament was informed onTuesday.
In a written reply to aquestionintheRajyaSabha,Mr. Thakur said of this,₹��238.97crorehadbeenrecoveredbytheCentralGSTauthoritiesfromtheentitieswhich claimed the fraudulentrefunds.
A totalof35personshadbeenarrestedby theCGSTauthorities,headded.
“Thegovernmenthastaken measures to use dataanalytics to identify riskytaxpayers and verify thembeforesanctionofrefunds,”Mr.Thakuradded.
Statesgiven₹��81,043cr.asGSTcompensationforAprilSept.:ThakurCesscollectionupsinceOctober
Press Trust of India
New Delhi
AnuragSinghThakur
Theeconomyisnotintrouble,FinanceMinisterNirmala Sitharaman told the LokSabhainherresponsetothedebateontheUnionBudgetonTuesday,highlightingsevenmacroeconomicindicatorsassignsofrevival.
These ‘green shoots’ includedhigherforeigninvestment, improvement in industrial output and GSTcollections,alltimehighforex reserves and an upbeatstockmarket.
Defending her government’shandlingof theeconomy, Ms. Sitharamanlashedoutatformerfi��nanceministerandCongressMPP.Chidambaram, saying shehad nothing to learn fromthe‘competentdoctors’whogave ‘faulty remedies’, resultinginamountainofnonperforming assets (NPAs)anddoubledigitinfl��ation.
In both Houses of Parliament, the Finance Ministerciteddatatoshowimprovements in foreign direct investment(FDI)fl��owsandnetforeignportfolioinvestment(FPI), growth registered bythe Index of Industrial Production (IIP) after severalmonths of contraction,healthyforexreserves,ariseingrossGSTcollectionsanda 5%growthinmarketcapoftheBSESensex.
IntheLokSabha,shealsooutlined details of the government’s initiatives todrive the four engines ofgrowth, public and privateinvestment, public consumption,andexports.
In the Rajya Sabha, however, she embarked on astinging attack against Mr.Chidambaram and the UPAgovernment’s economicrecord.
“I heard former FinanceMinister’sspeechwithgreat
intent and keenness. Therewasmoresarcasmthancontent,” she said, adding thather government would not“repeatthefaultyremedies”prescribed by UPA government during the economiccrisisof200809.
ShesaidtheUPAgovern
ment’sactionsthenhadledtothetwinbalancesheetcrisisfacedbybanks,mountingnonperforming assets andfl��eeingdefaulters.Therewasa fl��ightofcapitalandforeigninvestment in 201213, shesaid.
Rebuttingchargesoffudg
ingaccounts,sheinsteadaccusedtheUPAofshiftingtheburdenofoilbondsontothebooks of oil marketingcompanies.
Ms.Sitharaman,however,refusedtoansweraquestionby Congress leader AnandSharma.“Thehon’bleministersaidthatin201920fi��scaldefi��citwas3.8%(ofGDP)andrevenue defi��cit was 2.4%.Outoftheborrowedmoney,thecapitalexpenditurewas1.4%. This time, she has reduced the fi��scal defi��cit to3.5%.Therevenuedefi��cit ispeggedat2.8%.Thatleavesonly0.9%forthecapitalexpenditure.Canyouclarify,”Mr.Sharmaasked.
Reacting to Ms. Sitharaman’s speech, Mr. Chidambaram said that her unwillingness, or inability, toanswer a straightforwardquestion spoke volumesabouttheFMaswellasthegovernment.
Economynotintrouble,assertsFMPointsto‘greenshoots’inIIPgrowth,GSTcollectionsandhigherFDI;slamsUPA’s‘faultyremedies’
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI
FinanceMinisterNirmalaSitharamanspeaksinLokSabhaintheresponsetothedebateontheBudgetonTuesday. * PTI
Moody’sdowngradesIndusIndBankMUMBAI
ConcernsoverafurtherdeteriorationinassetqualityhaveledMoody’sInvestorsServicetorevisedownitsoutlookonIndusIndBankto‘negative’from‘stable. Theprivatesectorbank’sratinghasbeenaffi��rmedattheearlieroneof‘Baa3/P3’,theagencysaid.Baa3denoteslowestratingininvestmentgradeonlongtermcorporateobligationwhichcarriesmoderaterisks,theagencysaid,addingthebankhadahighexposureof8%tothetroubledrealtysector. PTI
MeiKunisaplaceyouwanttogowhenyoumustpleaseawiderangeofpalates.
Touted as a fi��ne dining experience,thefoodandserviceishowever more familystyle: youwouldn’tfeeluncomfortablechoosing a spoon and fork over chopsticks,andthe largebowlsofriceand noodles that make up the
‘bulk’ofanyIndianmeal,tasteofasophisticatedversionofthekindofChinesefoodwithwhichmostofusgrewup.
WouldIdrive25kmfor it?Unlikely.WouldIdropbyifI’minthevicinity?Possibly.
The vibe: WhatMeiKunhasgoingforit,isitslargespaceandpicture windows that look out ontotrees—theyhelpyouignorethesomewhatoutdatedgreigeinteriors.
DespitebeinginTheLeelaAm
bienceConventionHotel,youcanpicture a large joint family comeandwhileanafternoonawayhere.There’s no painfully loud musicandnopretentiousness.
Do try: Thewhitefungicoconutsoup,whichisreallyamealbyitselfandtakesgoodcareofchangeofseasoncolds.
Thebao,whichlookedandtastedlikeacloud;thesucculentkungpaochicken.Thestarthough,wasalotus stem ‘starter’, with a sweetsaltycoatingofoats.It’sthesortoftasteandtextureyouwanttokeepnibbling on. The date pancake,though a tad sweet, had a crispycasingandsoftheart.
Skip: Thedimsums,whichhadtoothick‘skins’ thatoverpoweredthe stuffi��ng; the Singapore Crabthat came in some red gravy, obscuring the sweet fl��esh of thecrustacean.
Go with: Extendedfamily.Space bar: 42coversHow much? ₹��3,000 for two,
sansalcoholReach: Mei Kun at The Leela
Ambience Convention Hotel, 1CBD,MaharajSurajmalRoad,nearYamunaSportsComplex;driveorcabit.
Sweet and salty
MeiKunmanagestoexudeafamilyvibedespitebeinginaconventioncentre
Sunalini Mathew Sophisticated throwback Whitefungi coconut soup and the lotusstem starter (right) * SUNALINI MATHEW
CMYK
M ND-NDE
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THE HINDU DELHI
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2020 17EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
SHOWCASE
Asian architecture Documentary filmmaker and historian Sohail
Hashmi will deliver a lecture titled The Song of
Stones. The talk will look at the evolution of
medieval architecture in North India. There will
be a special emphasis on the synthesis of South
and Central Asian architectural styles, and the
emergence of a new vocabulary of architecture.
Venue: Amaltas Hall, India Habitat Centre
Time: 7 p.m.
LECTURE
Valentine specialMiss Nora, a pan-Asian restaurant, has launched
a week-long special menu for Valentine's Day.
This will feature an array of specially curated
dishes and drinks. On until 14th February, the
menu includes Love Bird Soup, Valentine Sushi,
Crispy Love Niblets, Stir-fried Plum Chicken,
Magic Love Balls, and more.
Venue: Rcube Monad Mall, Rajouri Garden
Time: 12 noon - 11:30 p.m.
F&B
Sculpture showPrayas is a group show of sculptures that
showcases the work of 17 students of the Triveni
Kala Sangam. The pieces are made in bronze and
fibre glass, and explore various themes.
Participating artists include Anita Malik,Bhawani
Dhar, Chitra Singh, Kiran Chopra, Manavi Prabha,
Ritu Kwatra, Sandeep Thakran, and Surbhi Jain.
Venue: Triveni Kala Sangam, Mandi House
Time: 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.
EXHIBITION
Desserts for Valentine’s DayWith Valentine’s Day around the corner,
AnnaMaya, the European foodhall at Andaz Delhi
is offering an exclusive dessert counter until 14th
February. The themed sweets on offer include
Adam's Folly, an apple creamy mousse; Love
Bites, a dessert filled with strawberry and jelly; A
Pot of Goodness, a pot of black forest, and more.
Venue: Asset No.1, Aerocity
Time: 24 hours
FOOD
World of birdsThis evening, children’s writers Arthy Muthanna
Singh and Mamta Nainy along with wildlife
biologist, Kaustubh Srikanth will be releasing
their latest book titled Birds in Your Backyard and
Beyond. The book gives children a glimpse into
the world of sparrows, birds, and other avian
adventurers.
Venue: WWF India Auditorium, Lodhi Gardens
Time: 6 p.m.
BOOK LAUNCH
5 EVENTS WORTH YOUR WHILE
The 68-year-old sports and casual-wear brand Fred Perry
launched in India earlier this month. Originally founded by
the British tennis player Fred Perry, the first player to
complete a Career Grand Slam (wherein a player wins all
four Grand Slam singles titles in the ATP circuit at least
once), the brand opened its first store in Delhi. The label’s
logo is the now-famous laurel wreath, based on the original
symbol of the Wimbledon, a tournament that Perry went
on to win thrice consecutively between 1934-1936.
Fred Perry enters the country at a time when sporting
brands have established their athleisure niches, and those
like Uniqlo have made a comfortable mark in the
casualwear space beyond the Zaras and H&Ms, and in a
slightly different price bracket, the brief resurgence of
Westside. They launch with their SS2020 collection, which
is made in collaboration with the Amy Winehouse
Foundation, a charity set up in memory of late singer-
songwriter Amy Winehouse that works against drug and
alcohol misuse in youth. “2020 marks 10 years of
collaboration with the Amy Winehouse Foundation. With
reference to Amy’s very first designs for Fred Perry, each
piece is rooted in the singer’s signature detailing which
includes pin-up silhouettes, a
long button placket, turn up
cuffs and embroidered love
hearts — a reference to her
distinctive tattoos,” says
Richard Gilmore, managing
director, Fred Perry.
Their original Fred Perry shirt however, hasn’t once
changed in the 70 years of its existence. Calling the shirt “a
true piece of subcultural uniform”, Gilmore talks about the
idea of the brand as symbolised by this shirt: it takes the
viewer “from sportswear to streetwear”.
“What inspired Fred also inspired a generation of tennis
players. And then inspired a generation of rebels,
musicians, film-makers and full-circle back to sports stars,”
he adds.
The Delhi store hopes to “become a part of the
nieghbourhood”, engaging with emerging artists from the
city. Gilmore stresses focus also on a marketing brief — this
opening up of the store will be “a catalyst for a new
generation of Fred Perry advocates,” he adds.
In the 1960s, Fred Perry was a brand that mod culture in
Britain embraced. Till 2009, tennis player Andy Murray
sported Fred Perry kits. The brand’s consistent presence
with various subcultures and sporting icons through British
history is clear.
In India, they will stock track jackets, T-shirts and T-shirt
dresses, caps, shoes, bags, belts, and more.
Fred Perry Delhi, DLF Promenade Mall, No. 3 Nelson MandelaRoad, Vasant Kunj
Vangmayi Parakala
Breaking in
Iconic tennis player Fred Perry’s eponymous 68-year-
old label just landed in India
PRODUCTS
Contact us at [emailprotected]
FOOD REVIEW
Telugu comedy actor Ali will don the role of A.P.J. Abdul
Kalam in a new biopic. This will be his 1, 111th film, marking
his entry into international cinema. The biopic will be
among the five projects produced by Los Angeles-based
film and media house Pink Jaguars Entertainment. The
formal announcement was made in New Delhi in the pres-
ence of Prakash Javadekar, Minister for Information and
Broadcasting. The details of the other four films will be an-
nounced eventually in Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad.
PREVIEW
Ali as APJ
Artist. Writer. Musician. Scientist.Raconteur—therearemultiplefacetstoManoharDevadoss.“Infact,the offi��cial who called to tell methatIhavebeenawardedthePadmaShrisaidtheawardscommitteewasinadilemmaaboutwhichcategorytoputmein,beforetheysettledfor‘Art’!”hechuckles.
At83years,withseveralbooksandawardsbehindhim,Iasktheselftaughtartistwhograduallylosthis vision to retinitis pigmentosaand a cataract, what the PadmaShri — the fourth highest civilianaward in India — means to him.“Theaff��ectionandlovethatIenjoyfromsomanypeople (my friendsfromAravindEyeHospital,ShankaraNethralayaand institutionslikemyalmamater—theAmericanCollege, Madurai and of course, mychurchinSanThome)arerewardsinthemselves,nowthisisanadditionalone.However,IdomissmydearwifeMahemaatthistime...”
Hesaysheparticularlycherishesa letterofcommendationfromthePrimeMinisterwhichreads,“Thecollectivecontributionsofyourlatewifeandyouareindeedamatterof
pride…”Whatateamtheywere:aninspirationtoall,inloveandinart.
“Justthreedaysafterourninthwedding anniversary in 1972, Mahemabecameaquadriplegic,inacar accident,” recalls Devadoss.“Aroundtwoyearsafterthat,myvision began to fade. But we nevergaveup.Infact,wegrewcloserinourtrials.”
Overcoming adversity“During that diffi��cult time, it wastheloveshoweredonusbycountlesspeoplethatkeptusgoing”saysDevadoss.“Startingwiththedoctorcouplewhor*scuedusfromtheaccidentsite,theteam atJIPMERPondicherry, the young medicos atCMCVellorewholiterallypartiedinourroom,cheeringusupthroughrehabilitation,thesteadystreamofvisitorsfromOberlinCollege,U.S.,where we with our daughter Sujahad spent two extremely happyyears,” he says all rallied aroundthemforsupport.
TherewerealsothemembersoftheyouthfellowshipatCSISt.Thomas English Church who visitedfrequently.“Theyevendroveustopicnicsandmovies—itisbecauseofeveryactofkindnessthatwetri
umphed.MymothercaredforMahemaasherowndaughter.”
Age of innocenceI ask him the secret to his evercheerfuldisposition,andhelooksbacktohishappyboyhoodinMadurai—capturedsowellinhisbookGreen Well Years that he startedwritingwhenhehadalmostcompletelylosthisvisionin1983.
“Ifyouhadn’thadcataract,youwouldnothaveabook.Youwouldhavespentallyourtimedrawing...”Mahemawouldoftensay,andthishelpedhimseethebrightersideofthings.“Whenmyvisionwaspartiallyrestoredaftersurgery,Iwentonanoverdrive,producingsomanyartworks,thatIevenhadanartexhibition,”hesays.
Devadossstartedsketchingtreesandeverydayobjectsattheageoffi��ve. He transitioned to copyinggreatworksofartlikeMichelangelo’sDavidandBertelThorvaldsen’s
Christus frombooks,experimentingwithwatercolours.
Thefi��rstmilestoneinhisartisticjourneywastheintricatepenandinksketchoftheJubileeChapelinTheAmericanCollege,duringhisfi��nalyearin1956,asa19yearold.“This drawing evoked far greaterenthusiasmfromthestudentsthaneventheones Ididof thecollegebeauty,Bhavani,”recallsDevadossinhisbook Multiple Facets of MyMadurai.Itwasprintedonthecover of the college magazine andcametobehissignaturestyle.
Butitislovethatbroughtouttheartistinhim.WhenhemetMahemathroughamutualcousin,Devadossputhistalenttogoodusebyillustrating almost every letter hewrotetoher.
Mahema,agoldmedallistinFineArts,wastheperfectimpetustohisartisticgenius.“In1966,wedidagreetingcardwithmyoilpaintingofa120ftlongcountryraftonthe
Buckingham Canal near PulicatLake.Manyfriendswanted it,andsowedecidedtodomoresuchheritagecardsandgivetheproceedstocharity.Idrew,shewrotethetext,anditcontinuedevenaftertheaccident,for42yearsuntil2007,whenwesoldarecord33,000cards.”
SpeakingabouthisloveforMaheasheaff��ectionatelyreferstoher,Devadossaffi��rmsthattheirswasamarriagefi��lledwithgenerousdosesoflaughter. “We used to tease eachother, had nicknames, and couldlaughevenduringthelaborioustaskofhavingtoturnMahemainbedevery three hours (to prevent bedsores).”Itwasalsoarelationshipofmutual respect: “Mahema read tome,evenasIsketchedwithlimitedvision.”
He had devised a contraptionaboveherbed,sothatshecouldseehisdrawings.“Evenonthenightsheenteredeternalsleepin2008,MahemaaskedtoseethedrawingIwasmaking of the Clock Tower at theMadrasUniversityandwaspleasedwithit,”hesays.
Devadoss looks forward to twonew publications this year — Ma-dras Inked —aprofuselyillustratedbookonlandmarksinChennai,coauthoredwithSujathaShankarandChallenges, Resilience & Triumph,onhislifewithMahema.
“Thoughmylastartworkwasin2009,Icoulddrawsimple,semiabstractsketcheswithhelp,evenuntilsixmonthsago.I’malsowritingfourlove stories,” says Devadoss, whodictates his thoughts to his secretarySheela.Heplaystheharmonicaevery day and has been learningCarnaticmusicandevenperformedatanengagement.
Drawnto
LOVEArtistManoharDevadoss,recentlyawardedthe
PadmaShri,onhowhislossofvision,deepaff��ectionforhiswifeandthekindnessof
strangersinspiredalifetimeofart
Sketches from anextraordinary life
(Clockwise from right)Manohar and MahemaDevadoss; oil painting
of the raft onBuckingham Canal;sketch of American
College, Madurai; theartist * SPECIAL
ARRANGEMENT
......................................................................................................
The fi��rst milestone in
his artistic journey
was the intricate pen
andink sketch of the
Jubilee Chapel, The
American College
Fabiola Jacob
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DELHI THE HINDU
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 202018EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
SHOWCASE
Aprilia SXRAnimportanttwowheelerthatmadeitsdebutattheExpowas
theApriliaSXRmaxiscooter.SettolaunchthisSeptember,themaxiscootergetsalarger
footboardandbiggerseatthanconventionalscooters,which
shouldappealtocomfortorientedbuyers.TheSRwillbe
availableintwovariants–theSXR125andtheSXR160–andis
expectedtobepositionedbetweentheVespaandthe
ApriliaSRrange.
Hyundai CretaOneofthebiggestrevealsattheExpowastheallnewCreta.Thesecondgenmodelfeaturesaradicalnewdesign,repletewithsquaredoutwheelarches,asplitheadlightsetupfl��ankingHyundai’strademark‘cascading’grille,asplittaillampdesign,andfl��ashyalloywheels.Whiletheinteriorisyettobeoffi��ciallyrevealed,expectthecartobewellequippedwithapanoramicsunroofandBlueLinkconnectivitytech.EngineoptionsareexpectedtobesharedwiththeSeltos.
Kia Sonet concept
KiawillbelookingtoemulatethesuccessoftheSeltoswiththeSonetcompactSUVthat’lllaunchlaterthisyear.WhileitisbasedonthesameunderpinningsastheHyundaiVenue,theSonetgetsauniquedesignwithalotofwhatyouseeexpectedtomakeittotheproductioncar.Kiadidn’trevealtheinteriorbutwecantellyoua10.25inchtouchscreen(segmentlargest)willbepartofthepackage.
Tata HBX conceptTatahadtwoconcepts—therebornSierra,andtheHBXconcept.BasedonTata’sALFAplatform,theHBXisnearproductionevolutionoftheH2Xconceptthatmadeitsdébutatthe2019Genevamotorshow.StylingremainsquiteclosetotheH2Xconcept,butwithanumberofdesigndetailstoneddownforamoreproductioncarlook.TheHBXpreviewsaproductionpetrolonlymicroSUVtositbelowtheNexon.
Maruti Futuro-e conceptMaruti’sfuturisticconceptpreviewsa
CretarivallingSUV.Adeviationfromthecarmaker’sdesignlanguage,theFuturoe’sdesignmixesuprighttraditionalSUV
likedesignelementswithsportiertoucheslikefullwidthlightclustersatthefront
andback,andasharplyrakedcoupéroofline.
AUTO EXPO 2020
Stars at the show
We take a look atsome of theconcepts,production cars andbikes from the expoin Greater Noida
Hero Electric AE-47 e-bike
Theelectrictwowheelerthatgarneredmostinterestattheshow
wasHeroElectric’sAE47ebike.TheAE47ispoweredbya6kW
motor,withthecompanyclaiminga topspeedof100kph,anda
060kphtimeof9sec.Italsohasanimpressiveclaimedrangeof
85kminPowermode,and160kminEcomode.Fullchargeto100percentissaidtotakejustfour
hours.Expectalaunchlaterthisyear,withpricesupwardsof₹��1.2
lakh.
Jaiveer Mehra and
Firoze Irani
Skoda Vision IN,
VW Taigun conceptsSkodaandsisterbrandVWshowcasedtheirupcomingmidsizeSUVs,underpinnedbytheshared,Indiaspecifi��cMQBA0INplatform.TheVisionINconceptfromSkoda(inphoto)hadthelookofaproperconcept,repletewithanilluminatedgrilleandbadge,a glassroof,4seatcabinandmore.TheTaigun,ontheotherhand,lookedmoreclosetoproduction.Bothmodelswillarriveinproductionformnextyearandwillbepoweredbythebrand’sTSIturbopetrolengines.
Compass versus Octavia
AmitAgarwal,Bengaluru: Iwantanautomaticcar with a good engine, at about ₹��30 lakh.WhichoneshouldIpickbetweentheJeepCompassandtheSkodaOctavia?Doyousuggestanyothermodel?■ Bothcarsarecompletelydiff��erent.OneisahardasnailsSUVandtheotherisapremiumsedan.Soitreallyboilsdowntoyourneeds.Forlongdistances,especiallyonroughroadsandabitoff��roadtoo,theCompasswilltacklediffi��cultterrainfarbetterthantheOctavia.Ifyourusageismainlyinthecity,withoccasionalhighwayrunning,theSkodaisbetter.Overall,itisamorerefi��ned, smoother and a more comfortable car todrive.
BS-VI model available
AryanAbrol,Faridabad: ShouldIbuytheToyotaInnovaCrystaavailablenow,orwaitforthefacelift?Ifi��ndthecurrentonealittleold.■ YoumissedtheopportunitytobuythecheaperBSIVInnovaCrysta,whichhasjustbeenreplacedwiththeBSVImodelthatgetsonlythe2.4dieselandnotthemore powerful 2.8 of the former. There is no otherchangewith theBSVImodel.The faceliftwill comearoundOctober,sowaitforitifyoufi��ndthecurrentonealittledated.
Volkswagen Polo sold out
Ranveer,Sangli: I’mlookingtobuythetwodoorVolkswagenPoloGTI.Butsinceithasbeendiscontinued,canIgetonebyorder?I’mabigfanofthecarandwouldreallylovetoownone.■ Unfortunately,thelastlotofPoloGTIssoldoutovera yearagoandtherearenoplanstoimportmore.Yourbestbetistotryandfi��ndausedone.Thiswillbediffi��cultthough,asownersdon’twanttopartwiththeirGTIs.However,keepaconstantlookout,youmaygetlucky.
Hormazd Sorabjee is the editor of Autocar India. Mail your
feedback and queries to [emailprotected]
Q AND A WITH HORMAZD
CMYK
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THE HINDU DELHI
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2020 19EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
SPORT
A fewdecadesago,IndianUniversitiesweresteppingstonestointernational cricket. The Rohinton BariaandVizzyTrophieswerehotlycontested,andplayerslikeBishanBedi,SunilGavaskar,MohinderAmarnath,KapilDev,DilipVengsarkar,Aunshuman Gaekwad, Sanjay Manjrekaremerged.
New nurseryThe new nursery of Indian crickethas been the Under19. Within sixmonthsofleadingIndiatotheworldtitle in2008,ViratKohliplayedhisfi��rst international for the seniorteam. More players have comethroughtheUnder19system—Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, RohitSharma,CheteswarPujara,RavindraJadeja,ShikharDhawan,K.L.Rahul,Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant — thanthroughuniversitycricket.
Thisindicatesboththedeclineofuniversity cricket and the plannedgrowthoftheagegroupsystem.
Where the university stars were,atonetime—theglamourboys—itisnowtheunder19playerswhoarefet
edandaroundwhomfascinatingoriginstoriesarewritten.YashasviJaiswal, PlayeroftheTournament andtopscorerattherecentWorldCupinSouthAfrica,is,at18,alreadyaheroicfi��gure.Hesleptinatentforthreeyears,andsoldpani puri attheAzadMaidan in Mumbai, all the whilekeeping his longterm visionuncluttered.
NowheisonthefringesoftheNationalteam,wasboughtbyRajasthanRoyalsfor₹��2.4croreintheIPL.Itisaheartwarmingstory.
The cricket board’s handling ofunder19has,inrecentyears,probably been more professional, morecompassionate than their handlingof anything else. By putting RahulDravid in charge, and giving him alargely free hand it showed theplayers both respect and concern.DravidcoordinatedwiththeNationalcoachesRaviShastriandAnilKumble, and the pipeline from the Under19totheseniorlevelbecamefreeof the usual impediments to asmooth transition like quotas andpoliticsandpoorjudgements.
Dravid’s personality also meantthatplayerswereeducatedinmuchmore than the forward defence orthe curling legbreak. He has reverence for the game and what itmeans.ItisdoubtfulifthefracasthatfollowedtheendoftheWorldCupfi��nal on Sunday would have takenplace had he been present at thevenue.
Bangladesh’svictorywaswelldeserved,and it isgood for thegamethatateamlowerdownthepeckingorderinworldcricketshouldstunfavouritesIndiawhohavewonthetitlefourtimes.ItisawinthatcandoalotforBangladeshcricket,withmanyoftheir heroes graduating to seniorlevels.
Bad taste in the mouthYet,intheend,thetenseday’scricket leftabad taste in themouthbecauseofplayerbehaviour.AlthoughtheBangladeshcaptainsaidsomething that has been interpreted tomeanhewasapologising,Iamnotsosure. He did use the word “sorry”,but it could have been that he wassorrythatsuchathinghappened.InternationalcaptainsattheUnder19level, may not fully appreciate thenuancesofthelanguage;inanycaseitwasconvenienttobelievehewasapologising and that only one sidewastoblame.
Clearly the International CricketCouncil thought otherwise and thevideo footagedidsuggest thatbothteamswereinvolved.Bycallingoutthree Bangladeshi and two Indianplayers,theICCmadethatclear.
You can see this as immatureplayers(inbothageandexperience)reactingtovictoryordefeat,andtherefore let it go as “one of thosethings.” But these players are onestepawayfromplayingfortheseniorteam,andsuchbehaviourhastobe
punished now. To see a bunch ofteenagersbehaveinthismanneronasportsfi��eldisnauseating.
Thetensionhadbeenbuildingupforawhile.Abigchunkof theresponsibility,therefore,shouldrestontheumpireswhocouldhavenippedthetroubleinthebudhadtheybeenmore proactive and pulled up theplayers during the course of thematch.Itispartoftheirjobdescriptiontokeepthingsonanevenkeelonthefi��eldofplay;suchunrulybehaviourisseldomspontaneousandgathers steam over the day. Thatshould be clearer to the men incharge than anyone sitting in thestandsorwatchingontelevision.
That India had both the tournament’shighestscoreranditshighestwickettaker(RaviBishnoi)isarefl��ection of the depth in Indian cricket.Losingafi��nalisnocrime.WhatIndiasometimesgetswrongistheinjurymanagement and workload of theunder19players.
A warningOne of the heroes of India’s 2018WorldCupwin,thefastbowlerKamleshNagarkotti’swords(inaninterviewlastyear)arepoignant."At19,Imustberunninginandbowlingfast.ButhereIam,notplaying,notstudying,outinjured,awayfromhome,allbymyself,andtryingtogetfi��tevenasmyfriendsareplayingintheIPLandforIndiaA.Itistough.”
Thatisawarningtoo.
How India’s U-19s became the new glamour boys
BETWEEN WICKETSsuresh menon
Indian players enjoyed agooddayattheoffi��ceinthe$162,000 Bengaluru OpenATP Tennis Challenger atKSLTA Stadium here onTuesday.
WhileSakethMyneniandNikiPoonachaknockedouthigherranker opponents,Sumit Nagal underlined hisclass with a comfortablewin.
Poonachacreatedahugestir,takingoutfavouriteLukasRosol64,26,63inthesecond round. Rosol, whofamouslyupsetRafaelNadalinthesecondroundofWimbledon2012,struggledtogetgoingagainstPoonacha.
ForPoonacha,ranked937placesbelowRosol,thiswasthebiggestvictoryofhiscareer.“Ireceivedawildcardfor this tournament, and Iwantedtomakethemostofit.Thiswin isahugeconfi��dence boost,” the 24yearoldPoonachasaid.
As the crowd began toswellintheeveningsession,Nagal took centrestage.Armedwithacrushingforehand,NagalwhippedTunisia’sMalekJaziri60,64.Jaziri made the mistake ofdropping too many shortballs,whichNagalhadlittletrouble dispatching forwinners.
Nagalranaroundtheballtogethisforehandintoplay— a ploy that worked well.“My forehand is mystrength. I’m not going todefeatanyonewithaserveandvolley game,” Nagalsaid.
The22yearoldNagal,however, must be worriedabouthisweakserve,whichconceded sevendoublefaults.
Jaziri,whor*achedacareerhigh world ranking of42onlyayearago,madetoomanyunforcederrors.Jaziriwasunhappywithafewlinecalls,buthisprotestshadlittleimpactontheoutcomeofthematch.
Myneni, meanwhile, recorded a 63, 63 win oversixthseededRussianEvgenyDonskoy. Sasikumar MukundwastherareIndiantodisappoint,losing57,36to
IlyaIvashkaofBelarus.
Theresults:Secondround: Sa-keth Myneni bt Evgeny Don-skoy (Rus) 6-3, 6-3; Sumit Na-gal bt Malek Jaziri (Tun) 6-0,6-4; Yuichi Sugita (Jpn) bt Va-clav Safranek (Cze) 6-4, 6-3;Niki Poonacha bt Lucas Rosol(Cze) 6-4, 2-6, 6-3; Ilya Ivashka(Blr) bt Sasikumar Mukund 7-5,6-3.
First round: Benjamin Bonzi(Fra) bt Manish Sureshkumar6-2, 6-3; Stefano Travaglia (Ita)bt Filippo Baldi (Ita) 6-2, 6-1;Abhinav Shanmugam bt DanielMasur (Ger) 7-5, 6-3; JulianOcleppo (Ita) bt Anirudh Chan-drashekar 6-2, 6-1.
Doubles(fi��rstround): Frederi-co Ferreira Silva (Por) & NikolaMilojevic (Srb) bt Sriram Balaji& Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan 6-7(1), 7-5, [10-8]; C. Hsieh (Tpe) &D. Molchanov (Ukr) bt N.Prashanth & Vishnu Vardhan6-3, 7-6(6); Purav Raja & Ram-kumar Ramanathan bt PrajwalDev & Adil Kalyanpur 6-2, 6-2.
Poonachapostsbiggestwinofcareer,dumpsRosol
BENGALURU OPEN
Ashwin Achal
Bengaluru
Holdingcentrestage: Sumit Nagal had little troublecapitalising on Malek Jaziri’s errors. * SUDHAKARA JAIN
Nagal rolls over Jaziri
Inastunningreversaloffortunes,NewZealandinfl��ictedanOneDayInternationalserieswhitewash(30)onIndiawithafi��vewicketvictory inthethirdandfi��nalmatchonTuesday.
Flying startHenryNichollsscored80off��103ballsandMartinGuptillmade 66 off�� 46 as the hostscored300forfi��vein47.1overs. Colin de Grandhommesmacked 58 not out off�� 28ballsat theendtohelpsealthewinwith17ballstospare.
Earlier, India had scored296forsevenafterbeingputin,thankstoK.L.Rahul’s(112)fourthODIhundred.
New Zealand got off�� to afl��yingstartasGuptillandNicholls put on 50 off�� just 40balls. Overall, they scored106forthefi��rstwicket.
Guptillsmackedsix4sandfour6sastheIndiannewballbowlers facedanonslaught.ShardulThakurandNavdeepSaini struggled to fi��nd theirrhythm and were taken forruns, while Jasprit Bumrahfi��nished the series wicketless.YuzvendraChahal(347)provided the breakthrough,bowlingGuptillinthe17thover.Nichollsscoredahalfcenturyoff��72balls.
He added 53 runs withKaneWilliamson,butChahalstrucktwiceandRavindraJadeja removed the informRoss Taylor cheaply. NewZealandwasreduced to 189forfourinthe33rdover.
de Grandhomme thensmashed a halfcentury off��only 21 balls. His knock includedsix4sandthree6s,ashis 31run fi��fthwicket partnershipwithJimmyNeesham(19)cameoff��only31balls.
Earlier, Rahul’s fi��rsthundredatNo.5helpedanchor India’s innings. He hit
nine4sandtwo6s,andrescuedIndiafrom62forthree.
He put on 100 withShreyasIyer(62,63b)forthefourth wicket, and 107 withManishPandey(42,48b)forthefi��fth.HamishBennettfi��nishedwithfourfor64.
India made another poorstart. Kyle Jamieson bowledMayank Agarwal, who hassuff��eredatorridtourthusfar.
ThebigblowcamewhenViratKohliwasoutintheseventhover.PrithviShawprovidedtheinitialfl��ourishwith40 off�� 42 balls, but he wasrunout going for a secondruninthe13thover.
Shreyasthenbattedsteadilyandreachedhishalfcentu
ry off�� 52 balls, his third 50plusscoreinthisseries.Buthecouldn’tcarryon.
Onus on RahulIt was down to Rahul then,whocrossed50off��66balls.His stand with Pandey progressedwellasIndiareached250inthe45thover.
Rahul’shundredcameoff��104balls,andheperishedina bid to accelerate. This iswhere India’s innings fellapart, as Pandey also holedout off�� Bennett shortlyafterwards.
Taylor was adjudgedPlayeroftheSeries for his194runsinthreeinningsandbeingdismissedonlyonce.
A sweep for a sweep, Kiwis exact sweet revengeFirstblankingforIndiainafullODIseriesinNewZealand;Rahul’scenturygoesinvain
INDIA IN NZ
Press Trust of India
Mt. Maunganui
Thedespatcher: Colin de Grandhomme’s onslaught sealed the match for New Zealand. * AFP
INDIAPrithvi Shaw run out 40 (42b,3x4, 2x6), Mayank Agarwal bJamieson 1 (3b), Virat Kohli cJamieson b Bennett 9 (12b,1x6), Shreyas Iyer c de Grand-homme b Neesham 62 (63b,9x4), K.L. Rahul c Jamieson bBennett 112 (113b, 9x4, 2x6),Manish Pandey c Santner b Ben-nett 42 (48b, 2x4), RavindraJadeja (not out) 8 (7b, 1x4),Shardul Thakur c de Grand-homme b Bennett 7 (6b, 1x4),Navdeep Saini (not out) 8 (6b,2x4); Extras (b-1, w-6): 7. Total(for 7 wkts. in 50 overs): 296.
FALLOFWICKETS1-8 (Agarwal, 1.6 overs), 2-32(Kohli, 6.4), 3-62 (Shaw, 12.1),
4-162 (Shreyas, 30.3), 5-269(Rahul, 46.4), 6-269 (Pandey,46.5), 7-280 (Shardul, 48.2).
NEWZEALANDBOWLINGSouthee 9-0-59-0, Jamieson10-0-53-1, Bennett 10-1-64-4,de Grandhomme 3-0-10-0,Neesham 8-0-50-1, Santner10-0-59-0.
NEWZEALANDMartin Guptill b Chahal 66(46b, 6x4, 4x6), Henry Nichollsc Rahul b Shardul 80 (103b,9x4), Kane Williamson c Agar-wal b Chahal 22 (31b, 2x4), RossTaylor c Kohli b Jadeja 12 (18b,1x4), Tom Latham (not out) 32(34b, 3x4), James Neesham cKohli b Chahal 19 (25b, 1x4,1x6), Colin de Grandhomme
(not out) 58 (28b, 6x4, 3x6);Extras (b-1, lb-2, w-6, nb-2): 11.Total (for 5 wkts. in 47.1 overs):300.
FALLOFWICKETS1-106 (Guptill, 16.3), 2-159(Williamson, 27.1), 3-186(Taylor, 31.5), 4-189 (Nicholls,32.5), 5-220 (Neesham, 39.3).
INDIABOWLINGBumrah 10-0-50-0, Saini 8-0-68-0, Chahal 10-1-47-3,Shardul 9.1-0-87-1, Jadeja 10-0-45-1.
Toss: New Zealand.
ManoftheMatch: Nicholls;ManoftheSeries: Taylor.
New Zealand won by fivewickets with 17 balls to spareand clinched series 3-0.
SCOREBOARD
IndiacaptainViratKohlionTuesday berated his bowlersfortheirmediocreperformanceashetriedtoexplain the team’s fi��rst ODIseries whitewash in overthree decades, saying thevisitors lacked composureallthrough.
The fi��vewicket defeatheremeantIndialosttheseries03toaninjuryplaguedNewZealandthathadbeendefl��atedbya05whitewashofitsownintheT20format.
Missed chances“Thegameswerenotasbadasthescorelinesuggests.Itboilsdowntothosechancesthat we didn’t grab,” Kohlisaid.
“With the ball, we werenot able to make breakthroughs,wewerenotatallgood on the fi��eld. We haven’t played so badly butwhenyoudon’tgrabthosechances,youdon’tdeservetowin,”hesaid.
Theineff��ectivenessofthe
bowlerscanbegaugedfromthefactthattheteam’spacespearhead Jasprit Bumrahfi��nishedtheserieswithoutawicket and the attackcouldn’t dismiss the complete rival lineup evenonce.
Kohli lauded New Zealandforbouncingbackafterthe T20 hammering. “NewZealand played with a lotmoreintensity,”hesaid.
He is looking forward tothe Test series, which beginsonFebruary21.“Ithinkbecause of the Test Championship, every match hasthat much more importance.Wehaveareallybalanced Test team and wefeelwecanwintheseries,”hesaid.
Kane Williamson, whomissed thefi��rst twogamesduetoinjury,waslavishinhispraiseforhisteam’sgrit.
“An outstanding performance, very clinical. Indiaputusunderpressure,butthe way the guys foughtbackwiththeballandkeptthemtoapartotal,”hesaid.
Wedidn’tdeservetowin,saysKohli
Standingtall: Rahul’s century provided some consolationon a day when nothing much went right for India. * AFP
Press Trust of India
Mt. Maunganui
India will fancy its chancesofclaimingthewomen’sT20TriserieswhenitfacesAustralia in the summit clashhereonWednesday.
After failingtofi��re inunison in itsfi��rst three leaguematches, India produced agoodbattingshowtorecorda sevenwicketwinonSaturday,whichtooktheHarmanpreetKaurledside into thefi��nal.
Smriti Mandhana continued to be the batting bulwark along with Harman
preet, but the mosthearteningthingwasthat16yearoldShafaliVermacamegoodinthelastgameagainstAustralia.
Thehomesideposted173forfi��ve,butIndiaoverhauledthetargetin19.4overs,largelydue toShafali’s49off��28balls and Smriti’s 55 off�� 48balls.
Jemimah Rodrigues alsocontributedwithaquickfi��re19ball30 tohelpIndiachasedownthetarget.
Bowlers doing well
The Indian bowlers havebeendoingwellinthistournament with the likes ofDeepti Sharma and Rajesh
wari Gayakwad producingconsistentperformances.Theteams(from): India: Harmanpreet Kaur(Capt.), Shafali Verma, SmritiMandhana, Jemimah Ro-drigues, Veda Krishnamurthy,Taniya Bhatia, Deepti Sharma,Shikha Pandey, Pooja Vastrakar,Rajeshwari Gayakwad, RadhaYadav, Richa Ghosh, ArundhatiReddy, Harleen Deol, NuzhatParween and Poonam Yadav.Australia: Alyssa Healy, BethMooney, Ashleigh Gardner, MegLanning (Capt.), Ellyse Perry,Rachael Haynes, Jess Jonassen,Delissa Kimmince, AnnabelSutherland, Georgia Wareham,Megan Schutt, Nicola Carey, So-phie Molineux, Erin Burns andTayla Vlaeminck.
Match starts at 8.10 a.m. IST.
Stagesetforenthrallingfi��nal
Impactplayer: Shafali Verma, who is back in her groove, willhave a crucial role to play. * GETTY IMAGES
IndiawillbebuoyedafterbeatingAustraliainpreviousgame
TRI-SERIES
Press Trust of India
Melbourne
India forward Lalremsiamihasbeennamedasthe2019FIHWomen’sRisingStarofthe Year, the InternationalHockey Federation (FIH)saidonTuesday.
The 19yearold attackertook theprizeaheadofArgentina’s Julieta JankunasandFrederiqueMatlaoftheNetherlands, who fi��nishedsecondandthirdrespectively, the FIH said in astatement.
TheplayerfromMizoram
got40%ofallthevotescast.She got 47.7 % of her votesfrom among national associations, while the media,fans/players contributed28.4% and 36.4%respectively.
Lalremsiamifi��rstcameinto the wider hockey consciousness at the HockeyWomen’sWorldCupin2018when she was one of thestandout players of thetournament.
SincethenshehasbeenattheheartoftheriseoftheIndianwomen’shockeyteam.
LalremsiamiisFIHRisingStarofYear
Lalremsiami. * GETTY IMAGES
Press Trust of India
Lausanne
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DELHI THE HINDU
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 202020EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
SPORT
NBA:SonyTen1(SD&HD),5.30a.m.Women’sT20Itriseriesfinal:AustraliavsIndia,SonySix(SD&HD),8.10a.m.RanjiTrophy:UttarPradeshvs Himachal Pradesh, StarSports2(SD&HD),9.30a.m.ISL:StarSports2(SD&HD),7.30p.m.South Africa vs England:1stT20I,SonySix(SD&HD),9.30p.m.
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onMondaywitha137126
defeatofMinnesota
Timberwolves.Theresults:Hornets87btPistons76;Nets106btPacers105;Magic135btHawks126;Raptors137btTimberwolves126;Bucks123btKings111;Jazz123btMavericks119;Nuggets127btSpurs120;Heat113btWarriors101;Lakers125btSuns100.AGENCIES
IN BRIEF
RANJI FINAL ROUND
FIXTURESCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
GROUPADelhi v Rajasthan (New
Delhi);GujaratvAndhra(Nadiad);HyderabadvVidarbha(Hyderabad);PunjabvBengal(Patiala).
GROUPBKarnatakavBaroda(Ben
galuru); Mumbai v MadhyaPradesh(Mumbai);SaurashtravTamilNadu(Rajkot);Uttar Pradesh v Himachal(Lucknow).
GROUPCChhattisgarh v Services
(Raipur);Jammu&KashmirvHaryana(Jammu);MaharashtravUttarakhand(Baramati);OdishavJharkhand(Cuttack);AssamvTripura(Guwahati).
PLATEMizoram v Goa (Barasat);
PondicherryvNagaland(Puduch*erry);ManipurvChandigarh (Kolkata); ArunachalPradeshvMeghalaya(Dibrugarh); Sikkim v Bihar (Cuttack).
Ontheeveofthefi��nalroundof Ranji Trophy leaguematch against Rajasthan,Delhi isnoteven lookingatanalmostimprobablemathematicalpossibilityof makingthequarterfi��nals.
Having collected just 18pointsandplacedtiedninthwithdefendingchampionVidarbha,Delhihasmoreuncontrollable factors to dealwith than the controllableonesinitspathtotheknockoutstage.
Inall,therearefi��vequarterfi��nalspotsfor18teamsdividedintotwoElitegroups.
The requirementsFirst of all, Delhi needs tobeat Rajasthan (16 points)withabonuspointandkeepup a quotient higher thanKarnataka(25).
It has to then hope thatPunjab (24) and Karnatakalose,UttarPradesh(20)andTamilNadu(19)arelockedindrawn encounters and Vidarbha does not gain a bonus.
Inshort,fartoomanyresultshavetofavourDelhitohelpitsqualifi��cation.
Inanycase,barringafew
matches, Delhi has dishedout toomanyordinaryperformancestomeritaplaceinthe lasteight. Injuriesto its
pace bowlers hurt the sidethroughouttheseason.
Delhi’s toporder battinghas failed more often than
not.TwomatcheswhereDelhirosetotheoccasion,andwon,cameathomeagainstHyderabadandVidarbha.
Rajasthan, on the otherhand,isoutofthereckoningfor a place in the lasteightstage,withfourdefeatsinsevenmatches.
Consolation
Now, much like Delhi, it islookingforaconsolationoffi��nishingonahigh.
Delhihasmadeachangein the squad with spinnerShivank Vashisht coming inforleftarmseamerKulwantKhejroliya.Sincethepitchislikelytoassistthespinners,Delhi’s decision looksjustifi��ed.
ForRajasthan,AshokMenaria (512 runs), RiturajSingh (22 wickets), TanveerUlHaq(21)andS.K.Sharma(19) have been major contributorstotheteam’slimitedsuccessthisseason.
It is much like Delhi, forwhichNitishRana(477runs)and Simarjeet Singh (26wickets) have stood out inthemidstofsome inconsistentperformers.
Delhi,Rajasthanlooktofi��nishonahighNeitherteamhasarealisticchanceofmakingthequarterfi��nals
RAKESH RAO
NEW DELHI
RANJI TROPHY
Change: DelhiwillbringinspinnerShivankVashishtforleftarmseamerKulwantKhejroliyainitsclashagainstRajasthan. * FILE PHOTO: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
TwoIndians—AkashSinghandRaviBishnoi—andthreeBangladeshplayerswereonTuesdayfoundguiltyofbringingthegameintodisreputeandhandedsuspensionpointsfortheuglyonfi��eldconfrontationthatmarredtheUnder19WorldCupfi��nalinPotchefstroom(SouthAfrica)onSunday.
AkashandBishnoi,alongwithBangladesh’sTowhidHridoy,ShamimHossainandRakibulHasan,werefoundguiltyofbreachingtheICCCodeofConduct.
“FiveplayershavebeenfoundguiltyofaLevel3breachoftheICCCodeofConductforPlayersandSupportPersonnel...(they)werechargedwithviolatingArticle2.21ofthecode,whilstBishnoireceivedafurthercharge
ofbreachingArticle2.5,”theICCsaidinastatement.
“Bishnoiacceptedalevel1chargeofbreachingArticle2.5foraseparateincidentduringthematch,whereheusedlanguage,actionsorgestureswhichdisparageorwhichcouldprovokeanaggressivereactionfromabatter,”saidtheICC.
“Forthishereceivedafurthertwodemeritpointsmeaningsevendemeritpointswillremainonhisrecordforthenexttwoyears.”
OnesuspensionpointmeansaplayerwillbeineligibleforoneODIorT20I,U19orAteammatch.
Theywillbeappliedfortheforthcominginternationalmatchestheplayersaremostlikelytoparticipateineitherattheseniororunder19level.
Fiveu19playershandedsuspensionpointsAkash,Bishnoi,Hridoy,Shamim
andRakibulfoundguilty
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
DUBAI
SledgingmayhavebeenAustralia’s ‘gift’ to cricket, butthe behaviour of playersfrom India and BangladeshduringandaftertheICCUnder19 World Cup fi��nal onSunday has left a few Indiagreats and administrators‘shocked’.
The West Indians neverhad to sledge. “That look,eyebrows raised, hands onhips,andaviciousbouncerpast your nose would givethe message,” rememberedKapilDev,whoadmittedhewasshockedat themannerinwhichtheIndianandBangladesh juniors conductedthemselves.
Control the aggression“I welcome aggression.Nothing wrong in it. But ithastobecontrolledaggression.Youcan’tcrossthelineof decency in the name of
beingcompetitive.Personally, I would say it was unacceptablethatyoungstersputup such obnoxious displayon the cricket fi��eld,” henoted.
Mohammad Azharuddin,who led India in 47 Tests,wasalsocriticalofboththeteams. “How can you dothis? You just keep abusingtheopponent,rightthroughthe game, in the name ofplaying hard. Australiansplayedhardalwaysbutwithoutgettingpersonal.Wehadfastbowlerswhodidnotbelieve inusingcusswordstopumpthemselvesuporupsetthebatsmen.”
Unpleasant sightKapil,oneofthegreatestthegame has known, wantedtheyoungsterstorememberthattheyrepresentthecountryandhavetosetexamples.“You all can lip read whatthey were uttering. I don’t
want to take names but itwas unpleasant to see. Theboys were wasting theirenergybyindulginginneedlesssledging.”
Another great, Sunil Gavaskar,hasalwaysbeencriticalofthepoorbehaviouronthe fi��eld by modern cricketers.Hewouldnever fail toquestion the act of bowler
liketoseetheBoardtotakesomestrict action to setanexample.Cricketisnotaboutabusingtheopponent.Iamsurethereisenoughreasonfor these youngsters to bedealtwithfi��rmly,”saidKapil.
Azharuddin hoped thesupportstaff��wasaskedtoexplain. “I would take actionagainst the errant playersbutalsowanttoknowwhatrole has the support staff��played in educating theyoungsters. Act before it istoo late. These youngstersarethefutureofIndiancricket. They have to be disciplined.”
abusingthebatsmanongettinghiswicket.
Kapil also held similarviews. “When you have gotthebatsmanoutwhatistheneedofcursinghim.Haven’tyouwonyourbattlebygettinghimout?”heasked.
Kapil and Azharuddinwanted the Board and thecoachestoactfast.“Iwould
Indiagreats‘shocked’byyoungsters’conductYoucan’tcrossthelineofdecencyinthenameofbeingcompetitive:Kapil
VIJAY LOKAPALLY
NEW DELHI
KapilDev.* FILE PHOTO: M. VEDHAN
Mohd.Azharuddin.* FILE PHOTO: V.V. SUBRAHMANYAM
<> How can you do
this? You just keep
abusing the
opponent, right
through the game, in
the name of playing
hard
Mohd. Azharuddin
SportsMinisterKirenRijijuonMondaysaidattheParliament that lifelong pensionsarebeinggiventoathletesunderthe‘PensiontoMeritorious Sportspersons’scheme.
He informed the RajyaSabha that 627 sportspersonsarecurrentlyreceivingmonthlypensionsunderthescheme. Indian sportspersonswinningmedalsat internationalsportingorparalympic events are eligibleforlifelongpensionuponre
tirement, or after attainingthe age of 30 years, whicheverislater.
In a written reply to aquestion, Rijiju said thatmonthly pensions, rangingbetween ₹��12,000 and₹��20,000, are being disbursedundertheschemetomedal winners at eventssuchastheOlympicGames,CommonwealthGamesandAsian Games, World CupsandWorldChampionships.
He also said the governmentiscomingtotheaidofformer sportspersons whoarestruggling.
Lifelongpensionbeinggiventoathletes:RijijuPress Trust of India
New Delhi
WorldrapidchampionKoneru Humpy and fellow Indian Dronavalli Harika settledforcontrastingdrawsinthe fourth round of theCairns Cup chess tournamenthere.
Humpywasheldtoa37movedrawbyKaterynaLagno of Russia in a GrunfeldDefencegamewhileHarikacouldnotforceawinagainstAmerican Irina Krish in aPaulsen Sicilian game onMonday.
Quiet gameHumpy and Lagno shared
the point in a quiet gamewhileHarikaandKrushbattleditoutfor44movesbeforesigningthepeacetreaty.
WorldchampionJuWenjun posted her fi��rst win inthe 10player tournament,gettingthebetterofValentinaGuninain59moves.
Former world championMariyaMuzychukheldleaderNanaDzagnidzeinaRichterRauzer encounter, leavingthelatterstillatthetopof the standings. YoungAmericanCarissaYip’smiserycontinuedasshelosttoformer world championAlexandraKosteniuk.
While Dzagnidze leads
withthreepointsfromfourrounds, fourplayers—Wenjun, Lagno, Muzychuk andHarika — are close behindwith2.5.Humpyisseventhwithtwopointsandwillfacea tough task against Dzagnidzeinthenextround.
Harika meets Gunina inroundfi��ve.
Theresults:
Fourth round: Mariya Muzychuk (2.5) drew with NanaDzagnidze (3), K. Humpy (2)drewKaternyaLagno(2.5),JuWenjun(2)beatValentinaGunina (1), D. Harika (2.5) drewwithIrinaKrush(1.5),AlexandraKosteniuk(2)beatCarissaYip(0).
HumpyandHarikaheldtodrawsinCairnsCupPress Trust of India
St. Louis (USA)
Divij Sharan and Artem SitakofNewZealandcausedafl��utter, shocking top seedsAustinKrajicekandFrankoSkugor76(3),63intheprequarterfi��nalofthe$804,180ATP tournament onTuesday.
In the $275,000 WTAevent in Hua Hin, AnkitaRainabeganwellbutKatarzynaKawaofPolandralliedto a 36, 60, 61 victory inthefi��rstround.
Theresults:Firstround:
$804,180 ATP, New York,USA: ArtemSitak(Nzl)&DivijSharanbtAustinKrajicek(US)& FrankoSkugor(Cro)76(3),63.
$275,000WTA,HuaHin,Thailand: KatarzynaKawa(Pol)btAnkitaRaina36,60,61.
$15,000 ITF men, Sharm ElSheikh, Egypt: Piotr Matuszewski (Pol) & David Poljak(Cze)btMehlulliDonAyandaSibanda(Zim)&AryanGoveas75,46,[102].
$15,000 ITF men, Monastir,Tunisia: RishabAgarwalbtSebastianPrechtel(Ger)63,62.
SharanandSitakstuntopseeds
SPORTS BUREAU
NEW YORK
INDIANS ABROAD
KanoutehelpsAizawlbeatTRAUAIZAWL
AbdoulayeKanoute’sbrace
(75th&87th)poweredAizawl
toa20winoverTRAUin
theirILeaguematchon
Tuesday.Withthematch
headingforadraw,Kanoute
steppedinandswungthe
contestAizawl’sway.At
Imphal,IndianArrowsheld
hostNerocatoagoalless
draw.PTI
FootballlegendPeleisexperiencing “a kind of depression” and barely leaveshome anymore becausehealth problems have lefthimunabletowalknormally, his son said in aninterview.
“He’s pretty fragile intermsofhismobility...andthatmakeshimsuff��erakindofdepression,”Edinhosaidof his 79yearold father,who has had a series ofhealth problems in recentyears.Justimagine,he’sthe‘King,’ he was always suchanimposingfi��gure,andnowhe can’t walk normally. Hegets very shy, very embarrassed about that,” his sonsaid in an interview published on Globoesporte-.com onMonday.
Pele, the pride of Brazilian football and the onlyplayer to win three WorldCups(1958,1962and1970),
isconsideredbymanytobethegreatestfootballerofalltime.Hehasbeeninandoutof hospital in recent yearsforvarioushealthissues.
He never fully recoveredfrom one of his hip operations, leaving him dependent on a walker, Edinhosaid.“He’sdoingabitbetterthan when he was in awheelchairrecently,buthestillhasahardtimegetting
around,”saidEdinho,49.Pele’spublicappearances
havegrownincreasinglyrarewith age. Last April he travelledtoParisforapromotional appearance with KylianMbappe,buthadtobehospitalisedshortlyafterforkidneyproblems.
In2014,hewasplacedinintensivecarefordialysisaftercontractingasevereurinaryinfection.
Peleexperiencingdepression:sonAgence France-Presse
Rio de Janeiro
Vagariesoflife: HealthproblemshaveleftPeleleadingareclusivelifeandsuff��ering“aformofdepression". * AFP
DaleSteynisdeterminedtobe part of South Africa’ssquad for the T20 WorldCupinAustraliainOctoberandNovemberafterswitchinghisfocusfromTestcrickettotheshortestformofthegame.
South Africa’s alltimeleading Test wickettakerwill be 37 by the time theglobalshowpiecestartsandhasnotplayedinternationalcricketsincelastMarch.
But,hesaidonTuesday,he was looking forward tohis comeback in the fi��rstT20I against England onWednesday.
“I love playing cricket,”he said. “I wake up everyday and I can’t see myselfdoing anything else rightnow.”Steynsaidhehaddiscussedsomeoptionsforlifeaftercricketbutthatwassomething for the future. Aslong as that drive is stilltheretoplayatthehighestlevel,togetbattersout,fox
them and outsmart themandthatkindofstuff��,ifIcando that I’m going to continuetodothat,”hesaid.
Steynwasselectedforthe2019 Cricket World Cup inEngland and Wales butdidn’tplayagamebeforereturninghomewithashoulderinjury.
SteynsetssightsonWCAgence France-Presse
East London
Stillgotit: DaleSteynsayshecan’tseehimselfdoinganythingelseatthemoment. * GETTY IMAGES
K. Srikanth spearheadedIndia’s 41 mauling of Kazakhstan in its openinggroup match of the Asiateam badminton championships here onTuesday.
Srikanth, Lakshya Senand Subhankar Dey wontheirmatcheseasilywhilethedoublespairswononeandlostone.
The women’s team didnottravelforthecompetition.Theresult:Men:GroupB: India4btKazakshtan1(K.SrikanthbtDmitriyPanarin2110,217;LakshyaSenbtArturNiyazov2113,218;SubhankarDeybtKhaitmuratKulmatov2111,215;H.S.Prannoy& ChiragShettylosttoNiyazov & Panarin 2118, 1621,1921;M.R.Arjun&DhruvKapilabtNikitaBragin&KhaitmuratKulmatov2114,2118).
IndiabeatsKazakhstan
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
MANILA
Delhi and District CricketAssociation ombudsmanJustice(Retd)DeepakVermaonTuesdayappointedformerchiefElectionCommissionerNavinChawlaaselectoral offi��cer for theelectionofpresident,treasureandotherposts.
DDCA president RajatSharma had resigned inNovemberwhile(BJPMLA)Om Prakash Sharma wasdisqualifi��edastreasureaccordingtoLodhaCommittee Recommendations forholdingpublicoffi��ce.
Chawlaispolloffi��cer
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI
GURUGRAM: ChandniSrinivasan overcame stiff�� resistance from Sahiba Singhfora63,67(4),62victoryin the girls prequarterfi��nalsof theAsianunder14tennistournamentatBaliawasonTuesday.
Theresults:Girls(prequarterfi��nals): TamannaTakoriabtRajaSarvagnya60,62;SamikshaDabasbtJanviAsawa60, 60; Shruti Ahlawat btShagun Kumari 61, 61;Saummya Ronde bt SanjanaDevineni57,62,61;RidhiChoudharybtJeeteshKumari67(2),60,75;JoLeenSaw(Mas) bt Sahiba Taneja 60,61;ChandniSrinivasanbtSahibaSingh63,67(4),62.
Chandniadvances
Aswidelyanticipated,incumbent secretary Bharat SinghChauhanand fourmembersof his panel have been dulyelected unopposed to theprincipalpostsoftheAllIndiaChessFederation(AICF).
SinceM/s.AjayPatel(president), Vipnesh Bhardwaj(vicepresident), BharatSingh Chauhan (secretary),Arun Singh ( jointsecretary)andNareshSharma(treasurer)werefoundtobetheonlynomineeswithvalidnominationpapers,suchanannouncementwasoncards.
An order issued late onTuesday evening by MadrasHigh Courtappointed Returning Offi��cer Justice F.M.Ibrahim Kalifulla stated:“Havingregardtothesaidul
timate outcome of the Election process for the Offi��ceBearers of All India ChessFederation(AICF)fortheperiod 20202023, the proposedelectionscheduledon23.02.2020cannottakeplaceand the same is declared assuch.”
In his order under “ProceedingsoftheReturningOffi��cer”,theformerjudgeofSupremeCourtstated,“Form6inrespectofthepostsofpresident, honorary secretaryand treasurer consists of asinglecandidateonlyforthethree posts. The number ofpoststobefi��lledindisputablyfor each of the above threeposts is one post only. The
numberofcontestingcandidatesinForm6forthepostsofpresident,honorarysecretary and treasurer beingequal, all such contestingcandidates should bedeemed to be duly electedunopposedtothosepostsasperpara9(1)oftheNationalSports Development Code,2011.
There, it has become unnecessary to take a poll forelectiontosuchposts.
“Inrespectofthepostsofvicepresident and jointsecretaries, here again the arrangementinForm6revealsthat as against six posts ofvicepresident and six postsof jointsecretary, the nameof only one candidate eachrespectively alone could bearranged.Therefore,thereisnoscope forapoll forelectiontothesaidpostsofvicepresidentandjointsecretaryalso.”
Chauhan,fourotherselectedunopposedAICF ELECTIONS
RAKESH RAO
NEW DELHI
<> ...the proposed
election scheduled
on 23.02.2020
cannot take place
and the same is
declared as such