Delhi monday, february 13, 2017

www.thehindu.in Regd. DL(ND)-11/6110/2006-07-08 RNI No. TNENG/2012/49940 ISSN 0971 - 751X Vol. 7 No. 37 CITY EDITION 28 Pages Rs. 8.00 ●

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Printed at Chennai, Coimbatore, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Madurai, Noida, Visakhapatnam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Vijayawada, Mangaluru, Tiruchirapalli, Kolkata, Hubballi, Mohali, Allahabad, Malappuram and Mumbai

BRIEFLY Home Ministry’s website hacked NEW DELHI: The website of the

Ministry of Home Affairs was hacked on Sunday. The authorities blocked it for the rest of the day. The Ministry, however, denied that the website had been hacked, saying it was “down for repair.” The website was blocked by the National Informatics Centre as soon as the hacking was noticed in the morning. NEWS | PAGE 12

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Single-point military adviser soon? NEW DELHI: The Centre is keen

on appointing a single-point military adviser within the year to promote synergy among the Services. But there are apprehensions that it would end up being another ceremonial post in the absence of a clearcut authority.

쐍 NEWS | PAGE 12 Family of three found dead in Begampur NEW DELHI: A couple and their minor daughter were found dead at their rented home in Begampur’s Rajiv Nagar Extension on Sunday morning. The bodies of the mother and daughter, which bore strangulation marks, were found on a bed. The man, meanwhile, was found hanging. The police now suspect that the man killed them both before committing suicide himself.

쐍 CITY | PAGE 3

Sasikala presents legislators before media, denies coercion More MPs join Panneerselvam group, as leaders trade charges

HYDERABAD: Indian off-spinner

SHARATH S. SRIVATSA

쐍 SPORTS | PAGE 18 EDUCATIONPLUS 4 Pages

METROPLUS 4 Pages

CLAIMING MAJORITY SUPPORT: AIADMK interim general secretary V.K. Sasikala, flanked by MLAs, speaking to the media at a resort in Koovathur on East Coast Road on Sunday. — PHOTO: PTI resort for the first time since Tuesday. The AIADMK leader earlier held a meeting with the party MLAs at the resort. When asked how many MLAs were with her, Ms Sasikala evaded a direct reply. She said, “You can count for yourself.” [While separately addressing her legislators, she repeatedly claimed 129 of them were

present.] When asked how long the MLAs would remain at the resort, Ms Sasikala angrily asked the reporter, “Which paper are you from?” and went on to say, “So you have some information (about government formation) in advance?” Earlier on Sunday, five Lok Sabha members and one Rajya Sabha member joined Mr.

Panneerselvam’s faction, taking the number of MPs to 10. The Lok Sabha MPs who switched camps were B. Senguttuvan (Vellore), J. Jayasingh Thiyagaraj Natterjee (Thoothukudi), R.P. Marutharajaa (Perambalur), S. Rajendran (Villupuram) and Parthiban (Theni).

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Congress intolerant of the mandate of the people, says Venkaiah Naidu ‘When PM responded to Oppn. criticism, House was stalled’

Ravichandran Ashwin on Sunday created a record by claiming 250 Test wickets in the least number of matches in his 45th Test, eclipsing legendary Australian fast bowler Dennis Lillee. Lillee had completed the milestone in 48 Tests.

SRINAGAR: Restive south Kash-

CHENNAI: AIADMK interim

Ashwin fastest to reach 250 wickets

BENGALURU: The Union Minis-

ter for Urban Development, and Information and Broadcasting M. Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday said the Congress was stalling Parliament as it was yet to reconcile itself with its defeat in the Lok Sabha polls and had become intolerant of the mandate of the people. “I went to Sonia Gandhi’s [Congress president] residence, seeking cooperation. We are also in touch on a

Clashes break out after the killing of four militants PEERZADA ASHIQ

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

general secretary V.K. Sasikala on Sunday denied that party MLAs were being held captive at a resort on the East Coast Road to prevent them from joining the faction of Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam. Presenting the MLAs, allegedly confined at the Golden Bay Resorts in Koovathur since Tuesday night, before the media, Ms. Sasikala declared that they were all by her side of their free will. “You see for yourself how independent they (the AIADMK MLAs) are and talk freely and are sincere that there should not be any disrepute to the government,” Ms. Sasikala told journalists, who were allowed inside the

South Kashmir seethes after 7 die in Kulgam encounter

Venkaiah Naidu speaking at The Huddle in Bengaluru on Sunday. — PHOTO: K. MURALI KUMAR party-to-party and leader-toleader basis,” the Minister said at the concluding session of The Huddle here. “However, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi re-

sponded to the criticism by the Opposition, Parliament was not allowed to function,” he added. In his conversation with the Editor of The Hindu Raghavan BusinessLine, Srinivasan, who pointed to the lack of a national consensus resulting in stalling of Parliament, the Minister said: “The Opposition must have its say and the government should have its way because the mandate is with the government.”

mir was seething again after seven people, including four militants and two soldiers, were killed in an encounter in Kulgam, 70 km from Srinagar, on Sunday. It all began when four militants, who were holed up in a house in Nagbal village of Frisal area, were surrounded by the security forces during the night. A gunfight erupted on Sunday morning when they opened fire at a search party. “The terrorists had taken the owner’s son hostage. We had no option but to storm the house,” said Army Brigadier R. Chakarwarty. “While doing so, two soldiers and a civilian were shot by the terrorists. Later, all the terrorists were killed by the security forces.” Clashes broke out in south Kashmir after the news of the killing of the four militants spread. Eyewitnesses told The Hindu that the security forces “fired into the crowds to break up the fastspreading protests.” According to figures released by two hospitals in south Kashmir, 15 civilians were treated, including 12

Jawans being deployed near the encounter site at Frisal in Kulgam district on Sunday. — PHOTO: NISSAR AHMAD with bullet injuries. One of the injured civilians, identified as Mushtaq Ibrahim, a resident of Srigufwara, succumbed to injuries in a Srinagar hospital. From Lashkar, Hizb “Two militants belonged to Hizbul Mujahideen and two others were associated with the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT),” said Brigadier Chakarwarty. “Their death is bound to impact the morale of the terrorists.” The four slain militants were all residents of Kulgam. The civilian was identified as Ashiq Reshi, a government employee and father of a three-month-old child. An Army spokesman identified the deceased soldiers as

Lance Naik Bhandoriya Gopal Singh, 33, and Sepoy Raghubeer Singh, 32. Three more soldiers sufered injuries. Opposition National Conference leader Ali Mohammad Sagar said Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti had claimed that she ordered the forces to exercise restraint while dealing with civilians. “Sunday’s incident showed the reality. Why was the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) not followed?” he asked. J&K government spokesman Naeem Akhtar said the government “will look into the matter and find out the circumstances that led to such a situation.”

3 held for robbery at Satyarthi’s home SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI: The police on

Sunday claimed to have cracked the case of the burglary at the apartment of No-

bel Peace laureate Kailash Satyarthi, with the arrest of three brothers from Sangam Vihar. On February 7, the brothers allegedly broke into the Kalkaji apartment and

took away articles, including the citation of the recognition and a replica of the Nobel medal.

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쐍 CONTINUED ON PAGE 15 쐍 MORE REPORTS ON PAGES 14 & 15

No action yet on proposal to hike President’s pay VIJAITA SINGH NEW DELHI: For over six months

now, President Pranab Mukherjee has been drawing less salary than a Joint Secretary in the Government of India as a proposal to increase the salaries of the President, the Vice-President and Governors has been gathering dust in the Prime Minister’s Oice (PMO). The Home Ministry had proposed an increase in the salary of the President from the current ₨1.5 lakh to ₨5 lakh per month. Similarly for the Vice-President, the proposal was to increase the salary from ₨1.1 lakh to ₨3.5 lakh per month. Though the file to increase the salary of the two constitutional posts was moved six months ago, it was stuck in the PMO, an oicial said. Queries to the PMO went unanswered. The boost in salary is commensurate with the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission, implemented last year. The Commission gave its report to the government in 2016 and proposed an average increase of 14% in salaries of all government employees. The Commission submits its report once every 10 years. CM YK

A proposal to hike salaries of President, Vice-President and Governors is stuck in the PMO “When we realised that the President is drawing a salary less than even a Director-level oicer in the Government of India, we calculated the hike to be ₨5 lakh. The Cabinet Secretary, the seniormost in the government hierarchy, gets ₨2.5 lakh currently,” said a senior government oicial. An oicial said the delay in processing the proposal could be due to a similar proposal to hike the salaries of parliamentarians — as recommended by a joint committee on salaries and allowances of members of Parliament — meeting with severe criticism. The committee headed by BJP MP Yogi Adityanath had recommended a hike in salary of the MPs from current ₨1.4 lakh a month to ₨2.8 lakh a month. “Once the PMO clears the files pertaining to the President’s salary, it will be sent to the Parliament for approval before getting a sanction from the union Cabinet,” said the oicial. ND-ND

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THE HINDU MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2017

Hold agencies, contractors culpable for accidents

Slum residents not quite at home in Dwarka

Road safety experts say agencies should be penalised for faulty road design and poor maintenance Page 4

Relocated from Patparganj, residents face problems regarding commute, power and water supply Page 5

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Deadlock continues at JNU campus Administration accused of ‘undertaking systematic misinformation campaign to hide seat cuts’ ing in mind all the sociallyinclusive admission policies of JNU while adhering to the 2016 UGC Gazette Notification. “Less marks for VIVA, deprivation points and concession to the OBC, SC and ST categories are still part of the policy. We, however, will follow the UGC notified upper limits on how many research scholars a faculty can guide,” said the administration.

STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: Protesting Jawa-

harlal Nehru University (JNU) students have accused the university administration of “undertaking a systematic misinformation campaign to hide their sinister moves to arbitrarily push the agenda of seat cuts and scuttling of reservations”. The students have been protesting by organising a sit-in at the Administration Block against the university’s decision to change the admission procedure by adopting the University Grants Commission’s May 2016 notification. ‘Covering letter’ The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) said the administration has claimed that the admission policy has been arrived at after taking the opinion of the UGC and legal considerations. However, they added, the administration does not have a covering letter from the UGC to substantiate this claim. “We reiterate that any change in admission policy without due discussions and deliberations in the Academic Council of the university, which is the statutory body for any such decision,

AISA to hold ‘Love Without Fear’ meet STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: Raising the issue of

attack on women’s autonomy in and outside campus spaces, the All India Students’ Association (AISA) will hold a public meeting on Monday, the eve of Valentine’s Day, at Delhi University’s Faculty of Arts. Surveillance Dubbed “Love Without Fear,” the meeting will attempt to address various strictures and institutionalised surveillance that a woman is constantly faced with, both inside and outside the campus. Other serious issues With women’s autonomy at the centre of discussion, the meeting also proposes to raise some other serious issues such as inter-religious and homosexual relationships being censured by different social and legal institutions. The event is slated to be addressed by various intellectuals, poets, cultural activists and representatives from the theatre society of Kamala Nehru College. The society’s play was recently disqualified from Sahitya Kala Akademi’s Mahavidhyalaya theatre festival on controversial grounds.

‘Criminal trespass’ The university added that the agitating students have no basis for occupying the administration building and stopping the staf and oicials from entering it. “This trespassing is criminal and violation of law of the land,” said the administration via a statement.

UNHAPPY: The JNU students have been protesting by organising a sit-in at the Administration Block against the university’s decision to change the admission procedure by adopting the University Grants Commission’s May 2016 notification. FILE PHOTO: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR will be resisted,” said a JNUSU statement. V-C slammed The students also attacked the Vice-Chancellor for tweeting and trying to mislead the community by saying that the number of seats would not be cut. “In reality, the so-called

vacancy list for MPhil/PhD students published on the JNU website clearly shows massive reduction in intake/ admissions. The V-C has claimed that the fear of seatcuts is being pushed by a ‘section of students’. However, information provided by the university on its website clearly indicates seat

cut,” said the students. They added that they would continue their sit-in until the V-C answers their queries, including why he was bypassing discussions at JNU statutory bodies like the Academic Council. The administration said the new JNU admission policy has been made keep-

JNUTA seeks clarification Reacting to the university’s claims, the Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers’ Association (JNUTA) said: “We have been requesting an appointment with the UGC Chairperson ever since he returned from leave. It’s time the UGC ‘clarified’ whether JNU has sent it a single letter about the regulations and whether it has ever replied.”

A weekend full of sun and literature the atmosphere of peace and afection.

DEEKSHA TERI NEW DELHI: The city saw

literature lovers enjoying books and the weekend sun at the fifth edition of the Delhi Literature Festival. “The timing of the festival [ahead of Valentine’s Day] is simply perfect as it celebrates our love for books,” said Vidya Malhotra, who was at the festival. Dedicated to Delhi The first day opened with a session dedicated to the city and saw author Swapna Liddle talk about her book “Chandni Chowk: The Mughal City of Old Delhi”. This year, the festival was attended by many authors, poets and bureaucrats including poet Ashok Vajpeyi, Delhi Culture Minister Kapil Mishra, National Book Trust chairman Baldeo

BOOKED: The fifth edition of the Delhi Literature Festival, held over the weekend, was attended by authors, poets, bureaucrats and book lovers. — PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT Bhai Sharma, poet Ashok Chakradhar, NITI Ayog CEO Amitabh Kant, writers William Dalrymple, Taslima Nasreen and and Tarek Fatah, and popular authors Ravinder Singh and Ira Trivedi. Various discussions The festival saw

discussions on various topics, including demonetisation, the relevance of public libraries, branding for Make in India and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Sessions on Urdu poetry and Dastangoi, coupled with discussions on modern day love, added to

The JNU factor Speaking at the festival, author Avijit Ghosh said everyone is “looking at Jawaharlal Nehru University through the prism of student-activist Kanhaiya [Kumar] only”. He feared that the “political side” of JNU might completely overshadow its “social side”. “JNU has a social side. It has a life made of people who come from diverse backgrounds. And believe me, not everyone wants to be Kanhaiya. But it’s Kanhaiya who dominates the mindscape and we see JNU through the prism of Kanhiya today,” said Mr. Ghosh. He also talked about his book titled “Up Campus, Down Campus,” a fictional tale of a group of JNU students.

Treatment at AIIMS likely to get costlier STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: The Union Finance

Ministry has asked the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to undertake a review of its user charges, which have not been revised since the last 20 years. AIIMS deputy director V. Srinivas said the institute has

been demanding additional allocation of ₨300 crore under non-plan expenditure. AIIMS had recently convened a meeting, during which the feasibility of the revision of user charges was discussed. The move to hike the user charge has been opposed by some faculty members, who

said that AIIMS caters to the poorest of the poor. Meanwhile, Mr. Srinivas said, AIIMS is still examining the proposal. The institute currently generates ₨101 crore from user charges, which include out-patient department charges, diagnostic tests at various departments, radi-

ology charges, etc. “The Ministry of Finance has observed that there is large deviation between the Budget estimates and the revised estimates. The Ministry has, therefore, advised AIIMS to undertake a review of its user charges. They have not been revised since 1996,” said Mr. Srinivas.

AAP government celebrates success of ‘Reading Melas’

Some relief, cab strike called of partially

STAFF REPORTER

NEW DELHI: The

NEW DELHI: The Delhi govern-

ment’s ‘Reading Melas’ ended on Sunday with ‘success ceremonies’ being held in several parks, government schools and other community spaces. The events saw children demonstrate enhanced reading skills in front of their beaming parents in the audience. Commenting on the initiative, Education Minister Manish Sisodia said: “The ‘Reading Melas’ are a remarkable example of the transformative consequence that a partnership between the government and community can achieve.” “The vision of the Education Department was implemented by the parents of the children studying in government schools through SMCs [school management committees], with the support of the Department. I am elated by the scale of success achieved by the Reading Melas,” added Mr. Sisodia. CM YK

BETTER LIFE: Kids demonstrate their enhanced reading skills at a ‘success ceremony’ in Delhi on Sunday. PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT The ‘Reading Melas’ were started with the aim to improve the learning and reading skills of the students. Thousands of children, accompanied by their parents, joined the celebration along with SMC members. Over 1,000 ‘Reading Melas’ were held over the past four

months each Sunday. The children were felicitated for regular attendance. SMC members thanked the parents for their active support to the government’s efforts and the hundreds of volunteers who joined the ‘Reading Melas’ to make them a grand success.

indefinite strike by drivers working with app-based cab aggregators was on Sunday called of partially as five unions agreed to run taxis in DelhiNCR following the Delhi government’s assurance. However, Sarvodaya Driver Association of Delhi (SDAD), which claims to represent 1.5 lakh of drivers, said that it has not withdrawn its strike, which will continue on Monday. As five unions, out of six, have withdrawn their support from the strike called by SDAD, commuters who had been finding it diicult to hire cabs for the last three days, may find some respite from Monday. The development comes after a delegation of drivers’ unions met Transport Minister Satyendar Jain, who assured them of fulfilling most of their demands. Thousands of drivers are on indefinite strike since Friday to protest against “low fares” and “lack” of basic

GREAT IMPACT: Exhibits at artist Jitish Kallat’s show, titled ‘Here After Here’, at the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA). — PHOTOS: V. SUDERSHAN

A thought-provoking retrospective JAIDEEP DEO BHANJ NEW DELHI: In a mid-career ret-

rospective that contains over two decades worth of thought-provoking works, artist Jitish Kallat’s show titled “Here After Here” at the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) here continues to have an impact on visitors long after they leave the gallery. Unique interpretation With over hundred works spread across two galleries, the paintings, photographs, sculptures, installations and collages are set up like a maze that the viewer has to navigate. The artist has provided a unique interpretation to iconic speeches, everyday events and the socio-political milieu. The exhibition does not follow a chronological trail as artworks from various moments in Kallat’s career are given pairs that are not immediately obvious to source new meanings. While some of his works are based on the transient present, others reach into history and overlay the past onto the present through citations of historical utterances. Famous speeches In his trilogy titled “Public Notice”, Kallat took excerpts from famous speeches, including Jawaharlal Nehru’s “Tryst with Destiny”, Mahatma Gandhi’s speech before the historic Dandi March and Swami Vivekananda’s speech at the first World’s Parliament of Religions, and turned them into art installations. Kallat hand-inscribed Nehru’s speech using rubber glue on acrylic panels before setting them on fire. The

skeleton of the incinerated speech brought to focus the failure of the Nehruvian dream. The work, created in the aftermath of the Gujarat riots, evoked the agonising violence and arson unleashed during sectarian riots since Independence.

burden they carry and each pocket tells it’s own story of the unknown person. A similar approach to story-telling in “365 Lives” looks at evidence wounds sustained during minor and major vehicular collisions in a crowded metropolis.

‘Sculptural palindrome’ In “Anger at the Speed of Light and Circadian Rhyme 2,” Kallat uses miniature human figures to tell a story. In “Circadian Rhyme 2,” the figures are frozen in awkward positions associated with security checks. The artists calls the placement of the images a “sculptural palindrome”. The work evokes moments of border checks, surveillance and paranoia. The other sculpture — created with miniatures — freezes a moment of rioting. The frenzied Lilliputian mob showcases the absurdity of human violence and the fear that underline bursts of anger and violence.

The moon At the heart of the exhibition is “Epilogue,” a photo display of eaten rotis representing the moon. The rotis represent the 22,889 moons Kallat’s father saw in his lifetime and the lone moon at the end of the display represents the last moon his father saw. To commemorate the exhibition, a monograph published by the NGMA was also released with an anthology of essays on Kallat’s works by Catherine David, Ranjit Hoskote, Peter Nagy, Deepak Ananth, David Elliott, Susan Leask, Natalie King and Homi K. Bhabha. The show is curated by Ms. David, the deputy director of Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris. The show is on at NGMA, Jaipur House, till March 14. The gallery will remain closed on Mondays and national holidays.

Bulging pockets The artist also has on display photo-collages of closeups, including one of bulging pockets of shirts worn by faceless people, titled “Cry of the Gland”. The pockets are weighed down by the

RUNAWAY SERVICE: Last year, the airport handled a record 55.64 million passengers, which is the highest ever in India. FILE PHOTO Five of six drivers’ union have withdrawn from the strike. PHOTO: R. V. MOORTHY

amenities from app-based taxi aggregators.

IGIA enters big league, is 12th busiest airport in the world STAFF REPORTER

Next step “The Transport Minister has assured us that their fares from the existing ₨6 per km will be increased. He also assured us that app-based cab aggregators, including Ola and Uber, will not charge 25% commission on every booking,” said Balwant Singh, president of Rajdhani Tourist Drivers’ Union. Mr. Singh said that on Tuesday, Mr. Jain has called a meeting with drivers’ unions and representatives of Uber and Ola. — PTI

DELHI: Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), the busiest in the country, is now also among the top 15 busiest airports in the world. Private airport operator Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) on Sunday said it was the 12th busiest airport worldwide in November 2016 as per the latest report published by International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). “An Indian airport has

NEW

entered the big league of top-15 airports in the world for the first time. The Delhi airport also recorded the highest growth rate of 19.1% in November 2016 globally,” said a DIAL spokesperson. Major achievement He added: “This is another major achievement after the Delhi airport crossed the 50million passenger mark during the same period in November.” “Last year, the airport handled a record 55.64 million passengers, which is the

highest ever in the country.” Atlanta airport busiest According to the ICAO ranking based on passengers handled by airports, Atlanta airport in the USA is the world’s busiest, followed by Beijing and Tokyo airports. The airport has also reached an average of 1,185 air traic movements per day, the highest in the country. The Delhi airport connects to 127 destinations worldwide and is the hub for major airlines such as Air India, Vistara, IndiGo and SpiceJet. ND-ND

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Give safety certificate or face action: NDMC to CP traders Decision comes a day after the roof of an unoccupied building in L-Block collapsed, the second such incident at the commercial centre within a span of 10 days

Cops blame restaurant for collapse

DAMINI NATH NEW DELHI: Business owners in

Connaught Place will be asked to submit certificates of structural stability for their buildings within a week or face action, including sealing, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) said on Sunday. The civic body’s decision came a day after the roof of an unoccupied building in Connaught Place’s L-Block collapsed. This was the second collapse at the heritage commercial centre within a span of 10 days after the first floor of a building in C-Block gave way on February 2. Fortunately, no one was hurt in both incidents, which sparked of a greater debate about safety. Seven days’ time Senior NDMC oicials said that the civic body would dispatch letters to traders in Connaught Place on Monday, asking them to submit structural safety certificates within a week. A senior oicial said that premises found unsafe as per the NDMC Act could be sealed. As per the notice, a copy of which is with The Hindu, Section 258 of the NDMC Act allows the chairperson to take action if a building is found structurally unsound. Though a similar directive was issued after the first incident, the oicial said that no trader had submitted the certificate as of Sunday evening. “The onus lies on the owners of the building. They cannot endanger the lives of people,” the oicial added. The NDMC, meanwhile, has plans to probe the L-

The onus lies on the owners of the building. They cannot endanger the lives of people NDMC official

STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: The police have re-

jected the claims of Unplugged Courtyard about the restaurant having nothing to do with the collapse of a ceiling adjacent to it on Saturday night. According to the police, preliminary investigation had suggested that it was the restaurant’s expansion plan that led to the weakening of the infrastructure. Owners booked “Their claims notwithstanding, we have booked the owners of the restaurant for endangering the safety of others. Our teams, as well as experts from the New Delhi Municipal Council, visited

the spot. There were construction and repair activities going on,” said B.K. Singh Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi). Amit Kapoor, manager of Unplugged Courtyard, however, maintained that the restaurant’s rooftop had been sealed for 10 days. He added that no construction activity had been carried out. No arrests for now Mr. Singh, meanwhile, said that no arrests were on the cards for now. But, he did say that the owners would be called in and questioned in the presence of technical experts. “We have been speaking to civic oicials. First, we have

Police said initial probe hinted at the restaurant’s expansion plan leading to the damage to out whether they [the restaurant] had permission to carry out repairs. If yes, we need to see if they deviated from the terms of permission. That seems to be the case here as the load-bearing wall between the pillar and column seems to have been dismantled,” said Mr. Singh. Experts consulted He added that the police had been informed about the restaurant’s plan to increase seating space. The damage,

he said, could have been caused while undertaking these modifications. “We are trying to track down the architect and contractor,” said Mr. Singh. Having consulted experts, the police said they had found that the arc-like structure of the building needed a diferent treatment even while carrying out repairs as these buildings did not use iron girders for support. Removing a single brick without exercising caution could prove to be detrimental. The collapse was reported around 10.30 p.m. on Saturday night, after which the restaurant was evacuated. Three fire tenders had been rushed to the spot.

Traders seek permission to renovate non-heritage building in the Connaught Place area was denied permission to paint his establishment. “Despite eforts, permissions were not given. We will ask for a blanket approval to carry out minor renovations,” said Mr. Badhwar.

DAMINI NATH NEW DELHI: With two

GIVING WAY: The collapsed roof at L-Block, Connaught Place, on Sunday. PHOTO : R. V. MOORTHY Block incident. A six-member committee formed to investigate the reason behind the first collapse, however, has not submitted its report yet. While the investigation is carried out, construction activity would be stopped, said the oicial. In case of the C-Block incident, the

additional load of diesel generators, mobile towers and air-conditioning units on the roof could have led to the roof giving way, the preliminary inquiry found. Khan Market under scanner On Sunday, the NDMC reiterated that installation of heavy infrastructure on

the roof would not be permitted. Oicials said that Khan Market, which was built in 1950, would also be inspected for safety. Khan Market, too, has seen an expansion over the years with first-floor flats being converted into restaurants and shops.

building collapses in the last 10 days, traders in Connaught Place have asked the authorities for permission to renovate the 84-year-old commercial centre in order to improve structural safety. Early on February 2, the first floor of a building in C-Block, next to Jain Book Agency, had collapsed. While the NDMC denied ongoing construction at the site, shopkeepers in the area said there had been some activity in the weeks prior to the collapse. But just as the dust was settling on that incident, the roof of a building in L-Block, adjacent to Unplugged Courtyard, collapsed on the night of February 11. According to NDMC oicials, the building housed Odeon Sweets and had been vacant for years. The civic body said there was no

AGE CATCHING UP? On February 2, the first floor of a building in C-Block, next to Jain Book Agency, had collapsed. FILE PHOTO: SHANKER CHAKRAVARTY

ongoing construction work. Traders in Connaught Place said the two incidents only highlighted the need for repairs and maintenance on the buildings, which were completed in 1933. ‘Tough to get approval’ “We have been asking the NDMC and the Heritage Conservation Committee of the Delhi Urban Arts Commission

permission to renovate buildings. But, it is very diicult to get approval,” said Vikram Badhwar, honorary secretary of the New Delhi Traders’ Association. One of the traders said on condition of anonymity that he had applied for permission for minor repairs to his showroom in July 2016, but was granted approval only in January 2017. In another case, Mr. Badhwar said, a trader at a

Civic body denies charges The NDMC, however, denied the allegation that it had prevented owners from strengthening buildings. According to information from the Chief Architect’s oice, no applications for permission to strengthen buildings had been received. There had been applications for internal or finishing works. In the last two months, 12 were approved by the Heritage Conservation Committee. In six cases, the committee is in the process of approving, while documents were found incomplete in four cases.

Family of 3 found dead in Begampur 1 detained in Kashmere Gate murder case STAFF REPORTER

SHUBHOMOY SIKDAR

Police suspect that the man killed his wife and daughter before committing suicide

NEW DELHI: A couple and their minor daughter were found dead at their rented home in Begampur’s Rajiv Nagar Extension on Sunday morning. The bodies of the mother and daughter, which bore strangulation marks, were found on a bed. The man, meanwhile, was found hanging.

residence. The trio were then rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors pronounced them dead on arrival. The police say that the incident was likely to have happened on Saturday night. Babloo, meanwhile, said that he last saw the family alive on Saturday night when they were watching TV like most other days. “The note purportedly written by Gupta did not have any details that could reveal anything about the family, for instance, if Gupta was stressed or facing a financial crisis,” said the oicer.

Note recovered The police now suspect that the man killed them before committing suicide. Lending further credence to the police’s theory was a hand-written suicide note that was recovered. Believed to have been written by the man, who held himself responsible for the action, the note requested the police to not harass anyone for what he described was a ‘collective action by all three members of the family’. ‘Suicide pact’ According to the note, the trio had willingly entered into a suicide pact. However, little is known about why and under what circumstances the family took the extreme step. No apparent problem The Hindu spoke to neighbours, relatives, and even the police, all of whom said that there was no apparent problem that Rajesh Gupta, his Uma and their daughter Shweta faced. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Rohini) M.N.

MURKY SCENARIO: Though a note said the family had willingly entered into a suicide pact, the police have been unable to ascertain the circumstances leading to the deaths. PHOTO: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA

Tiwari said the incident came to light around 9.15 a.m. on Sunday when one of the neighbours, Babloo, came by to collect his keys. Babloo lives on the first floor of the single-storey house where Gupta lived on the ground floor. Both of them were tenants. Neighbours shocked “The main entrance is common. It is locked up from inside every night and the keys remained

with him [Gupta]. Usually, I would find it open as the Guptas were early risers. Since that was not the case today, I assumed the change was because it was Sunday. When I went to check, I found the door unlatched. I was shocked upon entering the house,” he said. The police team that arrived at the spot said it had to break open the main entrance before they could get to the door leading to the Gupta

Came to Delhi 12 years ago Hailing from Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh, the deceased had moved to the Capital 12 years ago in search of a livelihood. He initially worked as a taxi driver, but later purchased a tempo and transported goods from one place to another. ‘No financial crisis’ “After my brother-inlaw had an accident some months ago, he employed a driver. There was no financial crisis as my brother-in-law earned not less than ₨20,000 every month even after after clearing all regular expenses,” said Keshav Gupta, a relative of the deceased.

The businessmen brothers had been stabbed on the head and neck multiple times

NEW DELHI: The police on

Sunday managed to detain one of the two absconding servants employed by the now-deceased businessmen brothers — Raj Kumar Manchanda and Devendra Manchanda. The siblings were found murdered at their shop in north Delhi’s Kashmere Gate, and are questioning him. Motive was personal: cops A senior police oicer confirmed that one of the two servants had been detained and was being questioned. According to police sources, the motive behind the murder appeared to be personal as suggested by the brutality involved. The brothers had been stabbed on the head and neck multiple times. The police, however, have ruled out robbery as

Man arrested NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police

have arrested a 40-year-old man and recovered three pistols, one revolver and 44 live cartridges from him. Jay Parkash, a resident of north-west Delhi, is allegedly involved in many criminal cases. He was nabbed by the police following a tip-of regarding the robbery of a sedan from Dwarka, the police said. “He has a track record of committing ofences and is involved in many criminal cases in Delhi-NCR. Three pistols, one revolver and 44 live cartridges have been recovered from his possession. An FIR has been registered under the Arms Act,” the police said. — PTI

lice, who discovered the bodies lying next to each other after breaking open the door.

DOUBLE MURDER: The family of the businessmen brothers, who were killed at their shop in north Delhi’s Kashmere Gate, in Rohini on Sunday. PHOTO: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA the motive. This is because the brothers’ money and jewellery had not been taken away. The family said that both the brothers had left home in the morning, Raj Kumar leaving an hour after Devendra citing some pending work.

A senior police oicer said that the men had gone to their shop. The family, which was concerned after several calls to the brothers went unanswered, reached the shop to find it locked from the inside. They then called the po-

‘Planned murder’ The police then launched a search for the employees working at the store. They were informed that Maqsood and Sonu were missing. Without disclosing which of the two was detained, the police said that it had come to the fore that they planned and executed the murder. However, the police are looking for confirmation on this. The last rites of the brothers were done on Sunday.

DELHI TODAY Talk: “Erich Fromm’s involvement with Zen Buddhism: Psychoanalysts and the Spiritual Quest In Subsequent Decades” by Prof Alan Roland, psychoanalyst, author, artist from the US. Discussants: Dr. Madhu Sarin and Dr. Ashis Nandy at IIC, 6:30 p.m. Dance: Kathak Recital By Swati Wangnoo Tiwari at IIC, 6:30 p.m. Exhibition: “Emotions & Expressions”, solo show of paintings, drawings and photography by Gurdeep Dhiman at IHC, 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. Exhibition: “One Man Show”, solo show of paintings and drawings by Aminul Haque at Lalit Kala Akademi, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. Exhibition: “Unison”, a group art show of paintings, sculptures and photography at Artizen Art Gallery, Pearey Lal Bhavan, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Photography: “Enigma - Street stories of Delhi”, solo photography show by Ahmed Firoz, at IHC, 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Screening: “The Healing”, Serbian film screening at IHC, 7 p.m. (Mail your listings for this column at [email protected])

Published by N. Ram at Kasturi Buildings, 859 & 860, Anna Salai, Chennai-600002 and Printed by S. Ramanujam at HT Media Ltd. Plot No. 8, Udyog Vihar, Greater Noida Distt. Gautam Budh Nagar, U.P. 201306, on behalf of KASTURI & SONS LTD., Chennai-600002. Editor: Mukund Padmanabhan (Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act).

CM YK

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Gurugram roads a nightmare for pedestrians, drivers ASHOK KUMAR

On many roads, the zebra crossings have either faded away or are obstructed by Metro pillars

GURUGRAM: In 2015, Haryana

witnessed 11,000 road accidents in which 4,900 people died. Gurugram accounted for around 10% of the deaths, out of which a majority were pedestrians. In 2016, Guruguram saw 410 road accident in which 420 people were killed, including 195 pedestrians. The gruesome figures have prompted the Haryana government to take steps to reduce road accident fatalities by adopting ‘Vision Zero’, a road traic safety project that aims to ensure zero fatalities or serious injuries in road traic. Infrastructure unsafe However, the basic road infrastructure in Gurugram continues to be unsafe and poorly planned, including zebra crossings, speedbreakers and poorly designed intersections. On many roads, including the newly constructed highspeed Gold Course Road, there are no zebra crossings CM YK

DANGEROUS WALK: In 2016, Guruguram saw 410 road accident in which 420 people were killed, including 195 pedestrians. FILE PHOTO or speed-breakers. On other roads, the zebra crossings have either faded away or are obstructed by Metro pillars and railings. “Walking is a fundamental right because irrespective of mode, everybody is a pedestrian at sometime or another. Yet we don’t take any significant measure in planning, construction or maintenance of walkways for pedes-

trians. Crossing the road is the biggest deterrent to safety of pedestrians as studies show that over 66% of pedestrian accidents happen while crossing the road. A zebra crossing is meant to facilitate the safe crossing of pedestrians, but the lack of quantity and quality makes it counterproductive,” said Sarika Panda Bhatt, Transport and Road Safety Expert,

World Resources Institute, India. Unscientifically planned Zebra crossing also acts as speed-breakers as its blackand-white stripes are meant to prompt the driver to slow down in order to let pedestrians cross the road. However, most zebra crossings on roads of Gurugram are planned unscien-

tifically, said Ms. Bhatt. Also, many zebra crossings end at the road median, which are so high that some people are unable to climb it. “There is a very high slope so many people are unable to climb it. Besides it is tilted, so hopping onto it in a rush amid Gurugram traic is difficult and dangerous,” said Ms. Bhatt. There have been incidents where people have had near accidents while climbing the road medians. At other places, zebra crossings end in front of Metro pillars, trees or shrubs. Ms. Bhatt added that not a single speed-breaker in Gurugram was designed as per standards of the Indian Roads Congress, and most of them have no markings, which lead to accidents. “We are looking at smart

cities now with sustainable roads that cater to all users, including pedestrians. Now that roads are being refurbished, sustainable designs need to be used. This is especially important for Gurugram where the rate of road accidents is very high,” said Ms. Bhatt. Poor design She pointed out the HUDA City Centre, Bakhtawar Chowk and Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road were perfect examples of poor road and intersection design. Lack of co-ordination in traic signal timings and delay in repair of dysfunctional signals also hampers the smooth flow of traic. Sudhir Chauhan, senior town planner, Municipal Corporation Gurgaon, said that shortage of staf hampered the maintenance of zebra crossings and speedbreakers. “We do not have enough staf for regular maintenance of zebra crossings and speed-breakers, but any complaint is promptly attended to”.

Cong slams AAP, BJP in district conventions STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: In the run-up to the

municipal polls, the Delhi Congress held four districtlevel conventions across the city on Sunday. The conventions were held at Babarpur, Krishna Nagar, Patparganj and Karol Bagh. Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Ajay Maken, who addressed the conventions, said Delhiites wanted the Congress back in power. ‘People feel betrayed’ “People are tired of the 10 years of misrule by the BJP in the municipal corporations and the two years of the AAP in the Delhi government,” said Mr. Maken. Referring to the 2015 Delhi Assembly polls and the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Mr. Maken said that voters had wanted to give Arvind Kejriwal and Narendra Modi a chance as both of them had made big promises. “All the dreams have been shattered. The people feel

Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken at a convention in Delhi on Sunday. PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

betrayed by PM Modi and Chief Minister Kejriwal. People are disillusioned and want the stable and able government of the Congress back,” Mr. Maken said. Hitting out at the Centre for the “disastrous” implementation of demonetisation, Mr. Maken said that the “ill-planned” drive had left people in the lurch. Mr. Maken also criticised Mr. Kejriwal and his Cabinet for leaving Delhi to campaign in other States. Mr. Maken told party workers that they would have to go door-to-door to tell people of how the BJP and the AAP had “stalled development”. ND-ND

THE HINDU MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2017

Centre, Delhi govt have failed at governance: Swaraj India STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: Swaraj India leaders Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan on Sunday accused the Centre, the Delhi government and the municipal corporations of having “failed” in governance at the ‘Jawaab Do Hisaab Do’ rally held at Ramlila Maidan. Hundreds thronged the venue wearing yellow bandanas or holding yellow flags and shouted slogans against the BJP ad AAP. Even rebel AAP MLA from Timarpur, Pankaj Pushkar, who supports Swaraj India, spoke against the State government and the municipal corporations. They alleged that the Centre, the AAP government and the three BJPruled Municipal Corporations of Delhi have failed in providing security to women, permanent jobs to teachers and garbage removal, respectively and the people of Delhi have “rejected” them.

Municipal polls Swaraj India, which will be contesting the municipal polls in Delhi in April, pointed out the “irregularities” in the three layers of governance on the concluding day of its month-long ‘Jawaab do, Hisaab do’ campaign. “Our door-to-door survey results show that citizens of

The AAP did not fulfil the promises it made to the people of Delhi. Be it a corruption-free government, a strong Lokpal or full Statehood for Delhi CM YK

MAKING A POINT: People at the 'Jawab Do, Hisaab Do' rally, organised by Swaraj India at Ramlila Maidan on Sunday; (right) Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan seen during the rally PHOTOS: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA

Delhi are disappointed with all three levels of governance,” Swaraj India’s national president Yogendra Yadav said. Accountability from govt Party leader Prashant Bhushan said the people have sought accountability from the government as it was on the basis of their votes that they had come to power. “The AAP did not fulfil the promises it made to the people of Delhi. Be it the promise of a corruption-free government, ending the VIP culture, bringing in a strong Lokpal, full Statehood for Delhi or making Delhi safe for women or proving permanent job for teachers, the Delhi government has failed on fronts,” Mr Bhushan alleged. No confidence motion The party also passed a “no confidence motion” against the Centre, the state government and the Cor-

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porations during its campaign in which citizens demanded accountability from the government. In the “no confidence motion” against the BJP-led central government, they demanded safe and secure environment and full statehood for Delhi besides non interference in matters of local administration through the Lieutenant Governor. ‘CM should resign’ In the second no confidence motion, it demanded

that the AAP-led Delhi government either sought confidence of the people through a referendum or resign. “Mr Kejriwal should resign if his party doesn’t win at least 136 seats of the 272 in the Municipal polls,” Mr Yadav demanded. Thirdly, they raised the issues of garbage disposal, sanitation issues and absence of basic facilities, while resolving to eliminate corruption and the Inspector Raj prevalent in the three civic agencies.

CORRIDORS OF POWER Matter of chance The South Delhi Municipal Corporation's latest initiative to boost clean energy can be traced back to a chance meeting of top oicials a few months ago. On February 10, the SDMC signed a memorandum of understanding with PTC India Ltd. to set up a solar power plant in Faridabad, on a vacant plot of land that the civic body owns. Announcing the project, the chairman and managing director of PTC India, Deepak Amitabh, told oicials of both organisations as well as the media about how the plan took shape. He said that he met SDMC Commissioner Puneet Kumar Goel, who was earlier posted in the Power Ministry, a few months ago, with regard to a personal problem. A resident of Panchsheel Park, he said that there had been several robberies near a park in his neighbourhood. He met Mr. Goel to ask the SDMC to construct a boundary wall to prevent such incidents. It was at this meeting that the two, who have known each other for years, began talking about what could be done with the land that was lying unused. From there, the plan to set up a 2.5 MW solar power plant was set in motion. Something the leaders and oicials of the SDMC touted as a historic step started out as a chance conversation between old acquaintances. ■■■

Letting off steam Psychologists and men of medicine have often compared the human body to a pressure cooker. If allowed to vent, the body functions normally,

but too much pressure can threaten to blow of the lid. Recently, the Delhi High Court used the same analogy while hearing the petition filed by the wife of BSF jawan Tej Bahadur Yadav, who had uploaded videos about the poor quality of food being served to soldiers. Sharmila had sought production of her husband, whom she feared to be under arrest or missing. During the hearing, the court emphasised on a meeting between the man and wife, even as the Centre called the petition frivolous. “You see, we don’t want to go into the videos or what was shown in them,” the judge told the Additional Solicitor General. “There are many aspects of human behaviour when under stress,” said the Bench. “You know about the concept of a pressure cooker?” the judge asked the ASG with a smile. ■■■

Chief secy asks HODs for online review reports STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: The Chief Secret-

ary, M.M Kutty, has directed all heads of departments to review progress in their respective areas and upload the status reports online. The decision was taken at a recent meeting of principal secretaries, secretaries and heads of departments, chaired by the Chief Secretary. The information pertaining to progress report on AAP government's cabinet decisions will be uploaded through the Cabinet Decision Monitoring System. “The Chief Secretary has

directed that implementation of the Cabinet decisions be reviewed frequently and status report uploaded online through the Cabinet Decision Monitoring System,” the minutes of the meeting stated. Mr. Kutty has also directed all heads of departments to remove “old and irrelevant” information on their department websites. “All the Pr. Secretaries/Secretaries/ HODs were directed to update the websites of their departments regularly. Old/irrelevant information shall be removed...,” minutes of the meeting stated.

Social media ties

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is in Bengaluru since February 7 and is undergoing naturopathy there, has been quite active on social media. According to sources in the party, Mr. Kejriwal is unable to cut-of from the daily news, thanks to the reelections being conducted in some booths in Punjab. (Contributed by Damini Nath, Akanksha Jain, Maria Akram)

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Festive hues

24-year-old doctor talks about his battle with Drug Resistant Tuberculosis BINDU SHAJAN PERAPPADAN NEW DELHI: “My battle with TB

was not just physical, but also mental and emotional. I was partially blind and deaf, and I developed thyroid disorders. To top it all, there was depression and frustration,” said Saurabh Rane, a 24year-old doctor who fought an extreme form of Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (DRTB). Talking about the recent digital release of ‘The long run: a marathon to defeat TB’, a short film that chronicles his struggle, Mr. Rane said: “When I looked around for inspiration or hope, I found none. TB survivors seemed shrouded in silence. That’s why I wanted to tell my story.” Inspiring others Explaining the need to make a film about his jour-

ney, he said that the aim was to inspire those afected by the disease and reducing the stigma attached to it. Mr. Rane said that he was just 21 years old when he contracted the disease. “Not only did I fight TB successfully, but I also ran a half marathon while on treatment. Later, I undertook one of India’s most challenging treks. It’s a story I want to tell,’ said the young doctor. Short film released The film also marks the launch of the Survivors Against TB (SATB) campaign, which is a community-led movement. The group includes Mr. Rane and other TB survivors who have defeated tuberculosis in its severest forms. Based on their experience, these survivors advocate with key stakeholders on the changes necessary to

Not only did I fight TB, but I also ran a half marathon while undergoing treatment Saurabh Rane

make TB care more accessible and patient-centric. “Saurabh’s film and other such patient narratives will inspire others to speak out and realise that they are not alone” said Chapal Mehra, convenor of the campaign. Reaching out Recently, the SATB also reached out to the Prime Minister’s Oice (PMO) and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare with suggestions on what needed to be done to address India’s

TB crisis. “As survivors we know the battle; we know what patients need. There is an urgent need to incorporate survivors’ perspective in TB policies in the country. Hopefully, the government will listen,” says the group. ‘Call to action’ The campaign has also released these suggestions as a ‘Call To Action’ on its website. The petition includes critical action points, which the survivors have developed based on seven key areas — public awareness within communities, early and accurate diagnosis, addressing drug-resistant TB, providing nutrition and economic support, creating a robust health information system, engaging the private sector, and prioritising changes in TB treatment.

COLOUR BLAST: People at the Surajkund mela in Faridabad on Sunday. PHOTO: PTI

Court to hear argument DTC driver jailed for one year He has been convicted in money laundering case for the death of a NIRNIMESH KUMAR

NEW DELHI: A court here has

NIRNIMESH KUMAR NEW DELHI: A Special court will on

February 27 begin hearing arguments on framing charges against LIC agent Anand Chauhan in a money laundering case. “Advocate for the accused seeks one more adjournment for scrutinising the documents. Request allowed. Put up the matter for February 27,” Special Judge Virender Kumar Goyal said. The court had last year taken cognisance of the charge-sheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate. The Directorate filed the charge sheet for ofences under Sections 3 (money-laundering) and 4 (punishment for the ofence) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The Directorate alleged that Chauhan had helped Himachal

Last year, the court took cognisance of the charge sheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh to convert tainted money into untainted one by facilitating the purchase of life insurance policies worth ₨5 crore. There is a disproportionate assets case lodged by the CBI against Mr. Singh accusing him of amassing unaccounted money of about ₨10 crore. The investigating agency is yet to file a charge sheet in the case. The Enforcement Directorate had filed the charge-sheet on the basis of allegations in the CBI FIR.

maintained one-year imprisonment to a DTC driver for causing the death of a woman in an accident in the Walled City in 2002. The bus had jumped the traic signals when it was red and crushed the woman. She was crossing the road along with her son at the traic junction. The driver, Bharat Bhushan, had come in an appeal against a Magistrate court order. The Magistrate had also asked the driver to pay a compensation of ₨50,000 to the legal heir of the victim. Argument dismissed The counsel for the accused argued that the woman had come under the bus after losing balance while standing on the central verge.

woman in an accident in the Walled City in 2002 He said that photographs available on record clearly reflected that no tyre marks of the vehicle had been found at the spot, indicating that Bhushan had not been driving rashly. Special Judge Hemani Malhotra, however, dismissed the defence argument. “I am of the considered opinion that there is no infirmity in the impugned judgment of conviction... and order on sentence. Both are accordingly upheld. Appeal stands dismissed. Convict be taken into custody for undergoing the sentence awarded by the trial court,” the Judge said.

NGT asks about method for checking fuel adulteration NEW DELHI: After several

fuel impurity and also name the laboratories being used to do so.

laboratories across the country said they did not have facilities to test impurities in petrol and diesel, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas to spell out the methodology followed to check adulteration. A Bench headed by Justice Jawad Rahim directed the Ministry and oil marketing companies to file an aidavit informing the Tribunal about the process followed to test

Aidavit sought “It is spelt out that some more information with regard to the methodology being followed by the laboratories to test the nature of adulterated pollutant in fuel, and laboratories whose service are being taken for analysis of samples, may be furnished to the Tribunal in the form of an aidavit by the Ministry and oil marketing companies. We grant three weeks’ time

STAFF REPORTER

Green panel was hearing a plea seeking directions to inspect fuel quality at petrol pumps to do the needful,” the NGT said. The green panel was hearing a plea filed by Delhi resident Cherub Singla, seeking directions to inspect fuel quality at petrol pumps across the country, especially in cities facing acute air pollution. Additional Solicitor-

General Tushar Mehta appeared on behalf of the Ministry and oil marketing companies. The matter has now been listed for hearing on March 9. Panel formed Earlier, the NGT had constituted a committee comprising oicials from the Central Pollution Control Board, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, and State pollution control boards to conduct an inspection at 10 petrol pumps across DelhiNCR and analyse samples from there.

30% cast work on ‘Statue Of Unity’ done NEW DELHI: Nearly 30% work

on casting of the monumental bronze statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, billed as the world’s tallest sculptural work, has been completed, says noted artist Ram Sutar. Sutar was commissioned to craft the artistic modellings for the majestic 522-ft-high ‘Statue of Unity’ that will be installed on Sadhu Bet near Sardar Sarovar Dam in Gujarat. The sculptor, who turns 92 on February 19, and known for his iconic statues of Mahatma Gandhi, one of which sits in the lawns of Parliament, is being assisted by his son Anil (59) in this project. “It was my dream to sculpt the tallest statue in the world and with ‘Statue of Unity’ I have come closer to realising that dream. The bronze statue would stand as a symbol of inspiration for generations and about 30 per cent of the casting work has been completed,” Ram Sutar said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid its foundation on October 31 on the birth anniversary of the ‘Iron Man’ The project is expected to be finished by 2019. “The casting work is being done in a foundry in China. For the final statue, we made iterative scale models of 3 ft, 18 ft and 30 ft statues. The CM YK

MASTER STROKE: Sculptor Ram Sutar in front of sculptures created by him, during an exhibition at the AIFACS gallery on Sunday. PHOTO: PTI face itself would be 70-ft in height and we have made a scale model of 15 ft for final rendering,” Anil said. The father-son duo, who hail from Maharashtra, work out of their studio in Noida, where an impressive statuary of iconic personalities greet visitors. “We were also selected for the Chhtrapati Shivaji Maharaj grand memorial, planned to be built in Arabian Sea, of the coast of Mumbai. The last date to receive the tender for the contractor’s job is February 14. “Once that is decided, we will begin working with them for this project. For this, 25 ft and 50 ft scale models would be used before designing the

final statue,” the sculptor said. Mr. Modi had laid the foundation for this Rs. 3,600crore grand memorial last December. Main feature The proposed memorial’s main feature will be an imposing 192-m-tall statue of a triumphant Maratha king riding a horse. The statue will be surrounded by an art museum, amphitheatre, auditorium, exhibition gallery and other facilities. Ram Sutar, a gold medallist from Sir J.J. School of Arts, built one of his first statues -‘The Bodybuilder’ in 1948. This art and other striking

scale models of his past works are being celebrated at an ongoing exhibition - Ram Sutar Retrospective - at the All India Fine Arts & Crafts Society here. Besides, various models of Gandhi, tall statues of Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, all in standing pose, a seated B R Ambedkar, and his other celebrated works have been showcased. During his career, spanning over six decades, he (Ram Sutar) has designed nearly 700 statues, out of which 350 include those of Gandhi, in various sizes and poses, like standing, sitting, thinking, walking, in busts,” Anil said. - PTI ND-ND

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Nabha jailbreak mastermind nabbed CHANDIGARH: Four gangsters,

including the “mastermind” of last year’s Nabha jailbreak, were on Sunday nabbed from a house in Dhudike village of Moga district in Punjab, the police said. “Gurpreet Singh Sekhon, who had escaped from the Nabha jail last year, and three gangsters have been arrested,” Punjab Police, AIG (Counter Intelligence) Gurmit Singh Chauhan said on Sunday. The three others who have been arrested are Manvir Sekhon, cousin of Gurpreet, Rajwinder Singh and

He was allegedly involved in several murders, kidnapping, extortion cases, according to cops Kulwinder Singh from the house of an NRI, the oicer said. Acting on a tip-of, 25 policemen, including 10 members of the police’s Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team, nabbed the gangsters, Mr. Chauhan said. “Our operation was so precise that we did not give the gangsters time to retali-

ate or draw their weapons,” he said, adding four weapons and two cars were seized from them. With the nabbing of Gurpreet, so far three of the six Nabha jail escapees have been apprehended. Earlier, Khalistan Liberation Force Chief Harminder Singh Mintoo was nabbed from Nizamuddin railway station in Delhi and Neeta Deol from Indore in Madhya Pradesh. On November 27, Mintoo, another terrorist Kashmir Singh, and gangsters Amandeep Dhothian, Vicky Gounder, Gurpreet Sekhon

and Neeta Deol had escaped from the Nabha jail after armed men in police uniform tricked the sentries into opening the gates and bolted out with the inmates firing a hail of bullets. Gurpreet was the mastermind of the jailbreak and he was allegedly involved in several murders, kidnapping, extortion cases. Manvir and Rajwinder had attacked the jail oicials to free the inmates, the police said. Kulwinder, a resident of Bathinda, had taken care of the logistics to facilitate the escape of six prisoners, they said. PTI

First phase of Odisha rural polls today STAFF REPORTER BHUBANESWAR: Over 58 lakh eli-

STIR MESS: Jat protesters block traffic on the Panipat- Rohtak national highway during their agitation for reservation at Jassia village in Rohtak on Sunday. PHOTO: PT

Ball now in Haryana govt’s court, says Jat leader ‘Dharnas will continue in the State till our demands are met’ CHANDIGARH: There was no end in sight to the Jat agitation in Haryana seeking reservation in education and government jobs which entered its 15th day on Sunday. Sit-ins and dharnas continued in many areas across the State, a day after a meeting between representatives of a Haryana governmentappointed committee and leaders of the agitation remained inconclusive. Addressing a dharna in Rohtak district, Yashpal Malik, president of the All India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti (AIJASS), which is spearheading the agitation, said: “The ball is now in the government’s court. The dharnas will continue till our demands are met.” Even though the agitation remained peaceful, traic had to be diverted near the Makrauli toll plaza and some other points in Rohtak dis-

The stir seeking quota in education and government jobs entered its 15th day on Sunday trict in view of large numbers of vehicles carrying protesters in the area. Besides seeking quota in education and government jobs under the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) category, the demands of the Jats include the release of those jailed during last year’s agitation, withdrawal of cases slapped during the protest and government jobs for the kin of those killed and injured while taking part in the stir. There is also a demand of action against BJP MP from Kurukshetra constituency Raj Kumar Saini for his alleged anti-Jat rants.

Some Jat activists have alleged that the administration was trying to exert pressure for restricting the participation of volunteers in dharna by sending notices. Mr. Malik said the government should intervene and stop exerting pressure on the agitators. February 19 would be observed as ‘Balidan Divas’ in the memory of those who lost their lives during last year’s agitation. The Jats have been staging their main protest at Jassia village in Rohtak district. The Rohtak-Panipat National highway71A on which tractor-trolleys and motorcycles were parked at some points, blocked the traic movement and the police had to divert the traic away from the side. Despite the prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC, which bans assembly

of five or more persons at public places, a convoy of tractor-trolleys and motorcycles passed through Rohtak district with DJ system belting out songs and protesters, especially the youths, raising “Jat Ekta Zindabad” slogans. The BJP government in the State had earlier this week formed a five-member committee, headed by Chief Secretary D. S. Dhesi, to hold talks with the agitating Jats. Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has said the talks between the governmentappointed oicers’ panel and the Jats would continue in the second round and all points would be discussed. The main opposition party in Haryana, the INLD, has openly come out in support of the agitating Jats this time and asked the government to meet their demands.-PTI

Two killed in panther attack; shoot orders issued ALWAR: Two persons were mauled to

death by a panther near the Sariska forest area here on Sunday following which the Forest Department issued a shoot-at-sight order. Three teams are in the field to trap the panther. The action was taken after a panther killed two persons on Sunday, Alwar Collector Muktanand Agrawal told PTI. Field Director, Sariska forest, R.S. Shekhatwat said after killing a 36year-old woman, the panther attacked two more persons in Paid village. A 50-year-old unidentified elderly

man died in the attack while the other is out of danger, he said. Shanti Devi (36) was mauled to death by a panther on Sunday morning when she was working in an agricultural field in Jaitpur Brahman village, Pratapgarh police said. Last week, two women were killed by a panther in Raipuria village close to the Sariska forest. They were identified as Shanti Bai (55) and Birdi Bai (45) respectively, oicials said. Following the attacks, two panthers were trapped from Sariska forest area and sent to Jaipur, oicials said. Lalsot MLA and the State chief of

National Peoples Party, Kirori Lal Meena, visited Jaitpur Brahman village to take stock of the situation and sought compensation from the district administration and the Forest Department for the victim’s family. Four women and a man have been mauled to death in panther attacks in the recent past. “The incident occurred as the Forest Department failed to take timely action. If the panther has turned maneater then it should be investigated at the earliest. We have sought a compensation of Rs 10 lakh and a job for a family member of the deceased,” Mr. Meena said. PTI

‘Govt. has no objection to colonies for Kashmiri Pandits’ JAMMU: The Narendra Modiled government at the Centre has no objection to setting up of homeland, township or colonies for the rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Sunday. Addressing a conference of Kashmiri Pandits (KP) here, he said it is for them to decide what they want. The KPs on Sunday demanded implementation of the 1991 Margdarshan resolution which allows carving out of a homeland for seven lakh KPs with union territory status in Kashmir.

No objection “Whether colonies would be made or clusters or a homeland, whatever will be made (in Kashmir Valley for rehabilitation of KPs), the Modi government will have no objection. Union Home Ministry will have no objection. But please tell me what is to be set up,” Mr. Singh said. CM YK

Demanding implementation of the Margdarshan resolution, two organisations of displaced KPs - Panun Kashmir and Youth All India Kashmiri Samaj(YAIKS) also demanded the Modi government to initiate a structured dialogue process with their leadership on a comprehensive political agenda of the community. “This year, the KP community is entering 28th year of its exile, after having sufered persecution, genocide and ethnic cleansing resulting into their exodus from Kashmir in 1989-90. “In 1991, a Marghdarshan resolution was passed envisaging a free and full flow of Indian Constitution in territory (to be carved out) in Kashmir (for KPs) and called for action,” they said in their charter of demands. President of Panun Kashmir Ashwani Chrungoo, YAIKS chief R K Bhat and All India Kashmiri Pandit Conference (AIKPC), in a joint memorandum, handed

over a “comprehensive political agenda” to Mr. Singh and J&K State JP president Sat Sharma at the seminar here on Sunday. “Indigenous people” Terming KPs as “indigenous people of Kashmir”, who are the first stakeholders to the territory, he said that the government is aware of their diiculties and all the issues would be addressed in timebound manner.-PTI State BJP chief Sat Sharma said that displaced KPs will settle in Kashmir this year or the next year and as per their conditions, “if your want Panun Kashmir and homeland, it will be as per your conditions. And we will raise your voice in the Assembly and Parliament.” During the function, senior KP leader and president AIKPC H N Jattu was conferred the ‘Pandit Amarnath Vaishnavi Samman’ for his lifetime achievement in espousing the cause of KPs. - PTI

Home guard’s body found STAFF REPORTER BERHAMPUR: The decomposed

body of a missing police home guard was discovered in an unused pond under Chamakhandi police station in Ganjam district on Sunday. The deceased was identified as Tukuna Pradhan (35). Tukuna had been missing since December 27. His family members had filed a complaint at Chamakhandi police station. A bike was also recovered from the pond along with the body. According to SDPO Ramesh Sethi, it is suspected that Tukuna may have missed the road and fallen into the pond covered by aquatic vegetation. The police have registered a case of unnatural death. However, his family alleges that Tukuna was murdered. They blocked the road in front of Chamakhandi police station for some time demanding proper investigation. They ended their road blockade after intervention of police oicials.

gible voters will decide the fate of candidates fighting in 188 zilla parishad zones and 1,506 panchayats in the first phase three-tier election panchayat raj elections scheduled to be held on Monday. Polling parties have already reached their respective places on Sunday evening while polling will take place between 7 am and 12 noon on Monday. Voters will exercise their franchise through ballot papers, instead of Electronic Voting

Machines. Elections will be held for 188 Zilla Parishad zones, 1,506 gram panchayats and 20,369 wards in 29 districts. As many as 716 candidates are in the fray for 188 zilla parishad zones under 65 blocks of 29 districts for first phase of elections. Highest 72 candidates are contesting elections in Mayurbhanj district followed by Ganjam where fate of 50 candidates will be sealed in ballot boxes. Cancelled in five zones The State Election Commission cancelled election in five zones on account of dif-

Cong demands Mamata’s apology for Mannan ‘assault’ KOLKATA: Demanding an apo-

logy from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for eviction of Opposition leader Abdul Mannan from the West Bengal Assembly last week leading to his illness, State Congress president Adhir Chowdhury on Sunday described Ms Banerjee’s visit to an ailing Mr Mannan as a ‘drama’. Mr Chowdhury also said that Ms Banerjee’s visit on Saturday to the hospital where Mr Mannan has been admitted was a decision taken only after all-round criticism her government faced. Mr Mannan was taken ill and hospitalised on February 8 when he was evicted from the Assembly by the marshals during a scule between the Congress MLAs and the security staf. Threat to boycott Mr Chowdhury on Sunday demanded that the Chief Minister tender an apology for the incident and threatened to ‘boycott’ Assembly proceedings. “This is her (Mamata’s)

ferent reasons. Elections in Chitrokonda-1 and Chitrokonda-2 zones in Malkangiri district have been cancelled in the wake of threat issued by the left wing extremists. Similarly, complying the Orissa High Court order, the Commission also put of elections in Komna-2 zilla parishad zone in Nuapada district. Other zones where elections have been cancelled include Gania-8 zone of Nayagarh and Polsara-19 zone. Although election will be held in Belapada-26 zilla parishad zone in Bolangir dis-

trict, result will not be declared as per court direction. Jharkhand CM campaigns Campaigning reached a peak in other zones. Addressing a rally at Kushalda in Udala block of Mayurbhanj district, Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das said, “17 years is not a small period and the development scenario of villages should have been changed during these years. But it is disappointing that a regional party like Biju Janata Dal has done only politics whereas poor villagers and tribals are left in the lurch.”

A huge respite

“Her visit to the hospital is a decision taken only after allround criticism her government faced” drama. She should have gone to see Mannan (da) on the day the incident happened. She decided to go only after people started criticising,” Mr Chowdhury told reporters. “Instead, she should have apologised for the entire episode or else we will boycott the Assembly,” he said. The Congress leader alleged that not only Mr Mannan was assaulted by the marshal, but Congress MLAs, including Pratima Rajak, were also ‘molested’. He said that in protest against the incident, the Congress on February 15 would hold a rally from Wellington to the Assembly. Asked whether the Congress would boycott Assembly from tomorrow, he said, “They will be there in the Assembly but continue with their protests.” - PTI

Bhaskar Pathak with his wife at the Boko police station on Sunday. Mr Pathak was kidnapped allegedly by extremists on February 3 and was rescued last night.- PHOTO: PTI

Cold conditions persist in the northern States NEW DELHI: Cold conditions

prevailed in the hilly regions of the northern States as also in the plains of Punjab and Haryana while elsewhere the mercury recorded a marginal rise. It was a pleasant day in the national Capital with the minimum temperature settling at 8.4 degrees Celsius, two notches above the season’s average, even as foggy conditions in the morning afected train services. The maximum temperature settled two notches above normal at 24.6 degrees Celsius. Trains running late Eighteen north-bound trains were running late by at least two hours and eight others have been rescheduled due to foggy conditions, said a Railway spokesperson. The visibility was recorded at 600 metres at 5.30 a.m. which improved to 1000 metres after three hours, a MeT oicial said. The biting cold wave conditions continued unabated in higher hills and tribal areas of Himachal Pradesh though mercury rose marginally and foothill areas had some relief. The local MeT oice has forecast dry weather in the State over the next six days but rain or snow at isolated places on February 15 and from February 17 onwards as another fresh western disturbance is likely to afect western Himalayan region

from February 14 night onwards. There was marginal improvement in the minimum temperatures and Keylong and Kalpa in tribal Lahaul and Spiti and Kinnaur districts recorded a low of minus 10.6 degree and minus 3.6 degree, while Manali shivered at zero degree C. Cold weather conditions continued to prevail in most parts of Punjab and Haryana and several places in the two States recorded below normal minimum temperatures. Severe chill While Amritsar reeled under severe chill at 4 degrees Celsius, two notches below normal, Karnal was the coldest place in Haryana at a low of 4.8 degrees Celsius, five notches below normal. Cold weather conditions continued to prevail in most parts of Punjab and Haryana on Sunday, with Amritsar reeling under severe chill at 4 degrees Celsius. While the minimum temperature in Amritsar went down two notches below normal, Karnal was the coldest place in Haryana at a low of 4.8 degrees Celsius, down five notches from normal limits. Most places in both the States recorded below normal minimum temperature, a MeT Department oicial said here. Bathinda (4.5 C), Faridkot (4.6 C) and Gurdaspur (5.7 C) also registered below normal minimum temperature.- PTI ND-ND

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Women’s conclave in A.P. ends on a low note NWP fails to adopt much-awaited Amaravati Declaration; no mention of International Icon and achievers’ awards nor Speaker Kodela Sivaprasada Rao, who is Chairman of the conclave, touched the topic. Chaotic scenes were witnessed outside the main venue at the Pavitra Sangamam where the event was organised, as participants jostled with one another to get their certificates of participation.

G.V.R. SUBBA RAO VIJAYAWADA: The three-day Na-

tional Women’s Parliament (NWP) ended here on a lacklustre note, with the meet postponing the adoption of the much-hyped Amaravati Declaration. The NWP did not present the widely publicised International Woman Icon and 12 best ‘young achievers’ awards either. Worse, thousands of girl students who participated in the three-day event were not given even the certificate of participation. This left them utterly disappointed on the concluding day of the conclave on Sunday. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, referring to the Amaravati Delcaration, said: “The State government entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)

MEETING OF MINDS: A.P. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu with Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan at the National Women’s Parliament on Sunday. — PHOTO: CH.VIJAYA BHASKAR with U.N. Women. They will compile and process the proceedings and discussions. They will submit a report in three months.” Range of issues At the valedictory, an oicial read out a cursory list of the issues that had come up for discussion. They in-

No ostracism at Azhikkal temple, says CPI(M) SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT KANNUR: P. Jayarajan, Com-

munist Party of India (Marxist) Kannur district secretary, has denied that the Azhikkal Pampadi Alinkeezhil temple here practises ‘untouchability’ and discrimination against the Scheduled Castes. After visiting the temple, Mr. Jayarajan, in a statement on Sunday, called upon Bharatiya Janata Party leaders to refrain from making “false allegations.” His visit was triggered by a fast by Dalit activists under the aegis of the Janadhipathya Rashtriya Sabha (JRS), alleging that Dalit families were ostracised in connection with a temple procession managed by a committee controlled by the CPI(M). Kerala BJP president Kummanan Rajasekharan had

CM YK

lent support to the JRS agitation. ‘Customary practice’ Referring to the controversial ‘ezhunnallippu’ (ritual procession), which the JRS alleged was not visiting the households of Dalits, Mr. Jayarajan said as in many ‘kavus,’ the ‘ezhunnallippu’ in the Azhikkal temple also visited only some households as part of the custom. Only the general body of the temple devotees had the right to change the custom, he said adding that even the local BJP had agreed to the general body’s decision. A BJP worker had been part of the temple committee for 10 years. The BJP leaders owed an explanation on why the conduct of the ‘ezhunnallippu’ had not changed when he was on the committee, Mr. Jayarajan said.

cluded women’s age of marriage, malnutrition-related problems, poor sanitation in schools, social development, equal access to resources, and digital literacy. There was a not word from the organisers on the ‘young achievers’ awards and the International Woman Icon. Neither the Chief Minister

Irate students Though the organisers started issuing the certificates, a near-stampede like situation ensued at the registration counters forcing the oicials to abandon the plan. Vijayawada Police Commissioner Gautam Sawang tried to pacify the irate students, saying they would be issued certificates. He even gave them his mobile phone number to contact in case they did not receive the certificates within a week.

STAFF REPORTER

‘Park women at home’ remark raises a storm P. SUJATHA VARMA VIJAYAWADA: Speaker

Kodela Sivaprasada Rao’s remarks about women’s safety have drawn strong condemnation on social media. Dr. Rao sparked a controversy with his remark at a meeting a couple of days ago. Ironically, it was called to inform the media about the arrangements made for the National Women’s Parliament. Dr. Rao said crimes against women would not happen if they were parked at home like cars.

“If a car is parked at home, accidents can be avoided. Today, women are exposed to society and this increases the chances of rape, harassment ... If they don’t leave home, all of this can be avoided.” Alka Lamba, AAP MLA from Delhi, tweeted that it was unfortunate that a man of Dr. Rao’s standing talked of parking women at home. She boycotted the final day of the women’s meet on Sunday in protest. Youth, especially girls, condemned Dr. Rao’s stand in strong words.

Now, kickback charge in flyover project SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Yeddyurappa says Karnataka CM received ₨65 crore from promoters of the steel flyover

BENGALURU: In a scathing at-

tack on Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Bharatiya Janata Party State president B.S. Yeddyurappa on Sunday accused him of receiving a kickback of ₨65 crore from the promoters of the proposed steel flyover project in Bengaluru. At a press conference, Mr. Yeddyurappa said BJP members would move an adjournment motion in both the Houses of the State legislature on Monday. Mr. Yeddyurappa who had, a few days ago, accused Mr. Siddaramaiah of paying ₨1,000 crore to the Congress high command to retain his post, pointed out that the alleged kickback of ₨65 crore was mentioned in the same diary in which there was a mention of funds transferred to the high command. Alleging that the total commission received from

A file picture of residents opposing the construction of the steel flyover in Bengaluru. — PHOTO: K. MURALI KUMAR the steel flyover promoters by various persons was ₨150 crore, Mr. Yeddyurappa said all these transactions were mentioned in Congress MLC Govindaraju’s diary, which was seized by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The ED conducted raids on the

Case against five for Kerala student’s death

residence of three MLCs, including Mr. Govindaraju, a close aide of Mr. Siddaramaiah, recently. ‘Genuine documents’ Mr. Yeddyurappa challenged the Chief Minister to refute the “very presence of

the diary in question”. Refuting allegations that the ED had leaked information to him at the behest of the Centre, he claimed he had received information about the kickback from Congress leaders and senior bureaucrats, who were “frustrated with rampant corruption.” “The documents and information made available to me are genuine and I will release them at an appropriate time, if Mr. Siddaramaiah refuses to respond to the allegations,” the BJP leader said. He sought to know whether “the Chief Minister will step down, if the diary seized has an entry on a payof of ₨65 crore”.

THRISSUR: The Kerala police

will register a case against five persons in connection with the death of Jishnu Pranoy, a student of the Nehru College of Engineering, Pambadi. The case will be registered under Section 306 (abetment of suicide) of the Indian Penal Code, police sources said. A special meeting of the investigation team took the decision after more than a month of Jishnu’s death. The police ruled out the allegation by the college authorities that Jishnu was caught copying in the examination. In their explanation to the police and the human rights commission, the college authorities said, on January 6, the invigilator had caught Jishnu copying in the examination. He had been summoned to the oice and

advised not to repeat the malpractice. The college authorities said they did not inform the A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technological University as they did not want to spoil the student’s future. They also denied the allegation of mental and physical torture. Copying charge dismissed However, the KTU team and the police, which visited the college and the examination hall, ruled out the possibility of copying. The police collected statements from 230 people, including students and teachers. The investigation team then decided to add IPC Section 306 in the FIR. There were widespread complaints by students and relatives of Jishnu on the delay in taking action against those who were responsible for his death.

‘IT raids show Congress regime is highly corrupt’ STAFF REPORTER

The Bharatiya Janata Party has alleged that the recent IT raids on the ruling Congress leaders in Karnataka, which resulted in the unearthing of a huge quantum of unaccounted money, is a pointer to the rampant corruption in the Congress dispensation. In a press conference on Sunday, BJP State president B.S. Yeddyurappa referred to the recent IT raids on three Congress leaders — Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi, MLA MTB Nagaraj and Congress Women’s Wing President Lakshmi Hebbalkar. However, the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee Working President Dinesh Gundu Rao described the IT raids on its leaders as “political vendetta at its worst” and “mis-

BENGALURU:

use of the IT Department.” The recent search and seizure operations on the premises of Hoskote Congress MLA N. Nagaraju have allegedly led to the uncovering of concealed income of nearly ₨190 crore, according to the sources. Mr. Nagaraju and his family members have allegedly admitted to concealed income exceeding ₨120 crore, apart from ₨70 crore received on land sales, where no capital gains were paid. Mr. Nagaraju is the second Congress legislator to come under the Income Tax Department scanner in less than a month, after search operations against Small Scale Industries Minister Ramesh L. Jarkiholi. Mr. Nagaraju, a close follower of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, is one of the richest legislators in the State.

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NATION

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3 held for robbery at Satyarthi’s home

Two CRPF jawans held in Agartala on rape charge Brothers arrested three days after incident, but police yet to recover original Nobel Prize citation SYED SAJJAD ALI SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT AGARTALA: The police arrested

three persons, including two CRPF jawans, on the charge of raping a woman in Agartala. A court sent the jawans to jail and the third accused was granted conditional bail. A police oicer said on Sunday that Samir Das lured the woman by promising her help in getting a house for rent here on Friday. She hails from a locality on the outskirts of the city and was looking for an accommodation for her family. He took her to a house at Krishnanagar where a woman ofered her a glass of water. She fell unconscious after drinking it. Later, she lodged a complaint of rape with the West Agartala women police station against Samir Das and others.

NEW DELHI: The police on Sunday claimed to have cracked the case of the burglary at the apartment of Nobel Peace laureate Kailash Satyarthi, with the arrest of three brothers from Sangam Vihar. On February 7, the brothers allegedly broke into the Kalkaji apartment and took away articles, including the citation of the recognition and a replica of the Nobel medal. However, the police noted that the citation was not among the items recovered from Vinod (35), Sonu (28) and Rajan (25). The trio had also burgled two other apartments in Aravali Apartments, where Mr. Satyarthi stays. Till Sunday evening, the police were questioning the trio on the whereabouts of

Police displaying the Nobel prize replica and other recovered items in New Delhi on Sunday. PHOTO: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA. the citation, which Mr. Satyarthi had earlier described as being of national importance and had requested the suspects to return it. Describing the process of zeroing in on the accused, Joint Commisisoner of Police (South Eastern Range)

R.P. Upadhyay said the CCTV footage, though available, was not of much help as the faces of two accused were covered while the face of the third person was not very clear. “We looked up the profile of those who had recently

Married woman can also ask tenant to vacate: SC KRISHNADAS RAJAGOPAL NEW DELHI: A tenant cannot

refuse to vacate a house saying his landlady is married and has her husband’s home to live in, the Supreme Court has held. Marriage will not extinguish the landlady’s bona fide need to re-take possession of rented premises, a Bench of Justices Dipak Misra and R. Banumathi held in a 12-page judgment recently. The case concerns eviction suit proceedings filed by Nidhi against her tenant who runs a hotel on rented premises at Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh. Nidhi wanted repossession of the rented portion of her house so that she could

‘Marriage doesn’t take away right to re-possess property just because husband has house’ accommodate her ailing grandparents from the village. She said she and her sisters wanted a separate room to study undisturbed. Prolonged litigation Her tenant Ram Kripal Sharma, through his legal heirs, countered that the family was influential and lived in a palatial house — Kath Mahal — which had huge halls and plenty of rooms. On the other hand, the tenant said, his family survived on the earnings from the hotel. As the

litigation dragged on — for 20 years, since 1987 — Nidhi and her sister got married and moved away. The fact that they were married went against them when the case reached the Allahabad High Court. HC verdict The High Court agreed with the tenant that there was no need to release the rented portion as Nidhi and her sister were married and lived away from the ancestral home. The court held that their “alleged need disappeared long back.” It said Nidhi’s husband was a senior-level government servant and had a separate residential accommodation for his family. Setting aside the High Court decision, Justice

Banumathi, who wrote the verdict for the SC Bench, held that just because a woman was married it did not mean that she no longer had her own personal need for space. Merely because her husband had been allotted a government accommodation, Nidhi’s need for more space would not automatically come to an end. Bona fide requirement “She requires the scheduled premises for herself as well as for her parents and grandparents and her bona fide requirement has not been properly considered by the High Court,” Justice Banumathi concluded. She ordered the tenant to vacate the rented premises within a month.

been granted bail in connection with cases where similar modus operandi was used. And from a list of 50 suspects we zeroed in on Rajan who had been involved in a burglary case in Shivalik Apartments and had been arrested earlier. We tracked his movements and we found that he and his two brothers had travelled a fair bit and had even started living elsewhere,” said Mr. Upadhyay. Rajan was the first one to be tracked down and questioned. He purportedly admitted to his involvement and that of his elder brothers —who also have criminal records. Vinod, Sonu and Rajan have 10, eight and six cases respectively of burglary and robbery against them, said Mr. Upadhyay. The brothers used to live in a slum which was cleared by he DDA to construct Ara-

vali Apartments and were therefore, aware of the topography of the area, police said. In a span of nearly two hours, they targeted three houses in the early hours of February 7. “I had complete faith in the government, the police and the people of this great nation. I thank the Delhi Police for the brilliant and speedy recovery of the items stolen from my residence and I hope that the Nobel citation is recovered soon as well. Nothing can deter my mission to work towards my children,” said Mr. Satyarthi reacting to the development. According to the police, the accused had not realised the value of what they had stolen but from media reports, they were sure that they had “done something big” and were wary of disposing of the stolen articles.

Sushma seeks report on death of Indians in UAE NEW DELHI: External Afairs

Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday sought a report from the Indian embassy in the UAE regarding three Indians who reportedly sufocated to death in diesel tanks in the Gulf nation. “@cgidubai has informed me about the unfortunate death of three Indian nationals Kishan Singh, Mohan Singh and Ujendra Singh, all employees of Al-Ameer Used Oil Trading, in a diesel tank in Sharjah. It appears the cause of death is sufocation,” Ms. Swaraj tweeted. “I have asked our mission to follow up investigation by the police,” she added. Khaleej Times on Sunday reported: “The Sharjah police are investigating the death of three Indians whose bodies were found in diesel tanks in the Al Saja’a area in

The three, workers of an oil company, reportedly died of suffocation in diesel tanks in Sharjah Sharjah. After receiving an alert, police dispatched their team, an ambulance and forensic experts.” “The bodies were shifted to forensic laboratory for autopsy to determine the cause of the death,” the report said. “The police launched a thorough investigation to rule out criminal acts behind their death,” the report added. Ofering her condolences to the bereaved families, Ms. Swaraj said: “Our mission will provide them all assistance.” — IANS

Multi-role chopper model to be unveiled at Aero India expo

SHOWCASING PROWESS: IAF's Surya Kiran team during a rehearsal ahead of Aero India expo in Bengaluru.— PHOTO: PTI DINAKAR PERI NEW DELHI: Hindustan Aero-

nautics Limited (HAL) will reveal the mock-up of India’s first indigenous multi-role helicopter at the Aero India exhibition, beginning in Bengaluru next week. The medium-category helicopter is sought after by the services, and such helicopters have so far been imported. “The main attraction of HAL’s indoor pavilion on 1,282 sqm is a mock-up of the Indian Multi-Role Helicopter,” HAL said in a statement last week. Production on demand HAL is expected to put up the initial design before the services for their response, and the “design and development will commence based on a firm demand from the Army and the Air Force.” It is planned as a twin-engine helicopter in the 10tonne category, capable of flying at a height of 15,000 feet, and with a range of 500 km. It can perform several tasks, including counter-insurgency operations, casualty evacuation and combat search and rescue. “It is envisaged as per the operational requirements of the military and to suit the high altitude requirements of the Army and the Air

Force. The preliminary design phase is under way,” defence sources said. The helicopter is designed to carry 24 fully equipped military personnel or 18 persons in the VVIP role. “It can be a good substitute for the Russian built Mi-17, which is in use, and also fit the Navy’s requirement for medium-lift helicopters,” the sources said. HAL is building the 5.5tonne Advanced Light Helicopter Dhruv, which is operational in large numbers. The Light Combat Helicopter is in an advanced stage of induction and a Light Utility Helicopter is under development. Long-range aircraft A proposal to develop six long-range surveillance aircraft on the Airbus A330 platform is due to go before the Defence Acquisition Council this month, Defence R&D Secretary and DRDO Chairman S. Christopher said on Sunday. DRDO expects to develop the AWACS (air-borne warning and control systems) after the proposal is approved by the CCS and the purchase deal is signed, Dr. Christopher said on the sidelines of the Aero India seminar. (With inputs from Bengaluru)

Maharashtra mining activists earn police wrath

FOR A CAUSE: A file photo of Gadchiroli tribals taking out a protest against mining operations in the district. — PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT PAVAN DAHAT NAGPUR: Six activists leading a local protest

against mining projects in Maoist insurgencyhit Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra have earned the wrath of the police after a case of gang rape they raised turned out to be false. Activist Sainu Gota, his wife Sheela Gota, Ramdas Jarate, his wife Jayashree Jarate and Mangesh Holi have been charged under Section 364 (A) of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly abducting two tribal girls belonging to Chhattisgarh and forcibly taking them to a lawyer in Nagpur. Former PMRDF (Prime Minister Rural Development Fellow) of Gadchiroli, Mahesh Raut, has also been charged under Section 120 (B) of the IPC for “conspiring” with the activists. They had accused the C-60 (special antiMaoist unit of the Maharashtra police) commandos of “sexually assaulting” the two girls in the third week of January. They also launched a campaign against the police and filed two habeas corpus writ petitions in the Bombay High Court through human rights lawyer Nihalsing Rathod. However, in a dramatic development, both the girls were found at Mr. Rathod’s oice in Nagpur on January 28, after which the police arrested Mr. Gota, his wife Sheela and Mangesh Holi. Mr. Jarate and his wife were also arrested from Gadchiroli after the girls denied in the High Court that they were raped. ‘Rearrest illegal’ Five of the six activists have been arrested and are in jail. Mr. Mahesh Raut has applied for an anticipatory bail and is untraceable. “The five activists were granted bail by the court, but the police arrested them again. Sainu Gota was rearrested illegally right after his bail,” said Mr. Rathod. Mr. Rathod also raised questions about legality, as the case filed in the Sitaburdi police station of Nagpur was shifted to Gadchiroli. Gadchiroli district Superintendent of Police Abhinav Deshmukh did not respond to calls from The Hindu. All the activists have been vocal against the proposed mining projects in Gadchiroli. Mr. Raut and Mr. Jarate had recently organised a public meeting in the Surjagad area of Etapalli division to oppose the mining in Surjagad hills by Lloyd Metals. CM YK

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EDITORIAL

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2017

A dyad of dynasts The Congress strategy to play second fiddle to the Samajwadi Party ofers it a window of opportunity at a time of decline. The Akhilesh Yadav-Rahul Gandhi combine might have tapped into a new constituency M O N D AY , F E B R U A RY 1 3 , 2 0 1 7

SHIV VISVANATHAN

Solar power breaks a price barrier

I

n another barrier-breaking development, the auctioned price of solar photovoltaic (SPV) power per kilowatt hour has dropped below ₨3 to ₨2.97 in Madhya Pradesh, providing a clear pointer to the future course of renewable energy. The levellised tarif — factoring in a small annual increase for a given period of time — for the 750 MW Rewa project over a 25-year period is ₨3.29, which is less than half the rate at which some State governments signed contracts in recent years. The progress of this clean source of energy must be deepened with policy incentives, for several reasons. Arguably, the most important is the need to connect millions of people without access to electricity. A rapid scaling-up of solar capacity is vital also to meet the national goal of installing 100 gigawatts by 2022, a target that is being internationally monitored as part of the country’s pledges under the Paris Agreement on climate change. It will also be transformational for the environment, since pollution from large new coal-based power plants can be avoided. There is everything to gain by accelerating the pace of growth that essentially began in 2010, with the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission. Yet, performance has not matched intent and the target of installing 12 GW solar capacity in 2016-17 is far from attainable, since it fell short by almost 10 GW as of December. A glaring lacuna in the national policy on renewables is the failure to tap the investment potential of the middle class. While grid-connected large-scale installations have received maximum attention, there is slow progress on rooftop solar. Clearly, adding capacity of the order of more than 10 GW annually over the next six years towards the 100 GW target will require active participation and investment by the buildings sector, both residential and commercial. This process can be kick-started using mass participation by citizens, with State electricity utilities being given mandatory time frames to introduce net-metering systems with a feed-in tarif that is designed to encourage the average consumer to invest in PV modules, taking grid electricity prices into account. The experience of Germany, where robust solar expansion has been taking place over the years, illustrates the benefits of policy guarantees for rooftop installations and feed-in tarifs lasting 20 years. SPV costs are expected to continue to fall, and tarifs paid both for large plants and smaller installations require periodic review. At some point, significant subsidies may no longer be necessary. That scenario, however, is for the future. Currently, India needs a lot more good quality power, which renewables provide. Solar power is an emissions-free driver of the economy, generating growth in both direct and indirect employment. A lot of sunlight remains to be tapped.

Indian politics currently seems to be a battle between a juggernaut and a footnote. Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) constitute the historical juggernaut while a hesitant Congress currently seems to be reduced to a footnote.But politics never follows a predetermined script; there are always surprises, those little bundles of hope. Politics teaches you, especially electoral politics with its wide repertoire of tactics, that you can indeed make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. The recent happenings in Uttar Pradesh are an illustration of this. What was portrayed as a family quarrel actually worked well for the country. Instead of creating continuities in dynastic politics, a la Mulayam Singh, what we had was a meeting of two dynasts to create a fresh initiative. The Congress and the Samajwadi Party (SP) created an electoral understanding which is transforming a dynasts’ meeting into something new and efervescent. A quarrel that was deeply implicated in the mire of U.P. politics involving Amar Singh and the usual epidemic of Yadav politicians suddenly appeared to become a spring cleaning exercise, an opportunity for youth to test their mettle against an older political style. True, the Congress is secondary, and still looks like it is playing second fiddle to the SP, yet its very secondariness has helped create a sliver of dynamism for a party that is seemingly moribund. The Congress is no longer just a monolith but a quilt patch of interests. U.P. politics proved the wisdom of Tolstoy that happy families are all alike, while unhappy families are each diferent in their own way. The Congress understood the unhappiness of Akhilesh Yadav and provided therapy for it. Second, one senses, and I admit it is not totally a rational feeling,

A governance plank being put forth by the new alliance is challenging the development promise of the BJP which has been hurt by demonetisation that Rahul Gandhi promises to be more interesting and realistic with a touch of Sonia Gandhi and a dose of Priyanka Gandhi. A revitalised Mr. Gandhi might prove an interesting possibility in the future. A generational change There is also another point to note. Mr. Yadav and Mr. Gandhi might be an unlikely and even temporary duo but they suggest a need for freshness, for something untrammelled or reminiscent of the soiled politics of Mr. Shah and Mr. Singh. Their power to organise and destabilise is never in doubt, but often there is an occasional sense that they could be passé.

What is equally intriguing is the silence, or what I call the media secondariness, of Ms. Mayawati of the Bahujan Samaj Party. A shrewd politician, she has often said that her constituency does not read a newspaper or have much to do with the media. Yet, one senses that she is keeping her cards close to her chest, hoping to drive a ruthless bargain as the nature of the field changes. One must admit that the logic of the family drama, which had all the power of a longplaying serial on TV, with the Yadav family, appearing like skeletons in a closet, mutes even the presence of Mr. Modi. For all his taunts asking the Opposition to fight him on the development plank, he almost becomes a side show. The Yadav-Gandhi combine, with the Congress as an active hyphen, might be the only answer, to show that U.P. is not restricted to an Amar-Amit politics. I admit that it is almost a symbolic opposition but as two youth, they might ofer the possibility of a diferent era. There is a shrewdness here on both sides. For Mr. Yadav, it is an attempt to throw of the burden of family politics. At one level, it appears like minor changes in messages and roles, but it at least ofers the possibility of something new in politics. For once, the litany of complaint, contempt and mourning that surrounded Mr. Gandhi and the Congress has been muted. He has not quite pulled a magical rabbit out of the hat for the Congress, but he has created a smaller but still vibrant possibility. As some wise critics say in politics, second best is sometimes better. It also reveals Mr. Gandhi’s understanding that while the Gandhis might still be the first family in politics, and the Congress still wallows in secondariness and nostalgia, U.P. might lead to a tinkering of ideas, a rethinking in Congress politics. It is a question of perceptions, but perceptions are defining politics today. The U.P. electoral battle is also creating a diferent nuance of distinctions and diferentiations. Critical to this is what almost looks like a disjunction between development and

CARTOONSCAPE

One China check for Donald Trump

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resident Donald Trump’s stated commitment to honour the One China policy signals a softening of his administration’s approach towards Beijing. Earlier, Mr. Trump had given enough indications that he would pursue a radically diferent policy towards Beijing by reviewing the One China policy, a cornerstone of Sino-U.S. relations. First, he accepted a congratulatory call from the Taiwanese President, breaking 37 years of American practice and thereby infuriating Beijing. Later, in an interview, he declined to endorse the One China policy unless he saw progress from Beijing in its trade and currency policies, triggering speculation that he would improve ties with Taiwan and use the policy as a bargaining chip. Such speculation was efectively killed last week when Mr. Trump took a 180-degree turn on China in his first telephone conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping. It is not clear what made Mr. Trump change his mind. Some reports suggest that ever since he accepted the call from the Taiwanese leader, Beijing drew a One China red line for further cooperation on key issues between the two countries. It took three weeks for the Trump-Xi conversation to take place after the former took office, a relatively long time given the importance of bilateral ties between the world’s largest economies. Mr. Trump had talked to at least 30 world leaders before he got Mr. Xi on the line. The administration had taken clear measures to ease tensions with Beijing, largely caused by Mr. Trump’s remarks. The White House first sent belated Chinese new year greetings to Mr. Xi and released the letter to the public. Only then did both leaders speak. This could well be a reality check for Mr. Trump in his future engagement with China. For Beijing, the One China policy is the bedrock of its engagement with the world. Picking a fight with China over an issue it deems most sensitive in its security parlance in the initial days of his presidency shows bad diplomatic judgment on the part of Mr. Trump. It would unnecessarily escalate tensions between the two countries. This doesn’t mean the U.S. should accept Chinese terms on all global issues. There are areas where both can cooperate, such as in dealing with global conflicts; areas where they compete, such as in trade and investment; and areas where they disagree, such as the South China Sea dispute. The challenge before Mr. Trump is to address these issues with Beijing without disrupting the existing equilibrium in Sino-U.S. ties. CM YK

governance. The demonetisation issue, as Mr. Gandhi has consistently emphasised, has devastated the poor in U.P. While Mr. Modi might sing hosannas to a digitalised, developed world, his performance scores on the governance issue are low. Oddly, thanks to stacks of well-placed advertisements, Mr. Yadav might score more. A governance plank of the new alliance is challenging the development promise of the BJP. I think demonetisation has taken the shine of the BJP’s promise, creating a certain culture of anxiety. In fact, Mr. Gandhi criticises the ‘Make in India’ campaign saying that everything we use is actually made in China but when the SP-Congress combine comes to power, products will be made in Kanpur, Jhansi, Lucknow and Saharanpur. Listening to it, one literally wants to believe him. The two protagonists seem to fit in tandem, each striking a diferent note. Mr. Yadav is literally saying that the coalition will change the direction of the country’s politics. Mr. Gandhi, as a more acerbic campaigner, has almost created a little cameo role for himself and the Congress. There is a sense that Mr. Modi has demonetised the value of his own politics. In a society which valorises youth and change, he might begin sounding like yesterday’s newspaper. Suddenly Mr. Gandhi’s attacks on the BJP, from being inept, communicate a new confidence, a new possibility for the Congress. Maybe it might even redefine the Congress from the huge coalition of the Nehru-Indira years to a set of pragmatic contracts, making it more alert to the possibilities of survival and contestation. Two readings One can read politics in U.P. in two ways. One can read it solely as a contestation of numbers, of a zero-sum game of victory and loss. But secondary readings are possible, suggesting that in the future these readings might emerge out of their current secondariness. One senses Mr. Modi and the BJP are dissatisfied that the SP drama is emerging out of the travails of a dismal family struggle. One senses a nervousness in Mr. Modi’s dismissal of Mr. Yadav and Mr. Gandhi. His promise of a Kesariya Sagar, of turning U.P. into a sea of electoral safron sounds desperate. Yet dismissing them as two princes in waiting, or invoking the history of the Congress, seems inadequate. Mr. Modi’s new acronyms of SCAM (Samajwadi, Congress, Akhilesh and Mayawati) and VIKAS [Vidyut (electricity), Kanoon (law and order) and Sadak (roads)] only sets the basis of an acrimonious battle. Akhilesh Yadav has his own coinage of SCAM as “Save Country from Amit Shah and Modi”. It is not a question of who wins but which organisation gains and grows up. Here the Congress seems to score some points. Somewhere there is a sense of new moves and gambits. The battle of the old players — Mulayam Singh Yadav, Ms. Mayawati, Mr. Modi, Mr. Shah and Mr. Singh — suddenly appears distracted by this new coalition. By creating a youth manifesto, they might have tapped into the makings of a new agenda and constituency. I admit these are straws in the wind but the possibility of a weave is clear. The tragedy is that one hopes that politics does not become a choice between SCAMS, as Akhilesh Yadav has hinted. The scam will remain; the question is can the Congress move on with its acts of tinkering towards more promising constructive solutions? Shiv Visvanathan is Professor at Jindal Global Law School and the Director of the Centre for the Study of Knowledge Systems, O.P. Jindal Global University.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters emailed to [email protected] must carry the full postal address and the full name or the name with initials.

Political turmoil The watch-and-wait approach by Tamil Nadu Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao to find a way out of the political crisis in Tamil Nadu is warranted. It is apparent that he is looking at a long-term stable arrangement. Against this backdrop, AIADMK interim secretary V.K. Sasikala’s allegation is unfair and unwarranted (“Swearing-in delayed to split party”, Feb.12). In fact her move to bundle MLAs of to a resort near Chennai is strange. She must understand that the Governor is not just thinking about numbers but also keeping his options open in view of the Supreme Court’s judgment in the wealth case. Issuing a veiled threat is provocative and unjustified. K.R. Srinivasan, Secunderabad

The Constitution may have a provision for an unelected “leader” of a party in the majority to be sworn in, but this is also a case where a sword of Damocles hangs over her head in the form of the Supreme Court’s judgment. The Governor is well within his rights to weigh the consequences of a possible adverse judgment. It was only recently that young people demonstrated the power of their opinion on the sands of the Marina. It is their future which is at stake now and their balanced view is important. They should ensure that democracy functions without shackles in Tamil Nadu. V.N. Ramachandran, Coimbatore

The majority being claimed by one of the factions seems to be a mirage, with most of it melting slowly under strong public opinion. The heavens are not going to fall if the Governor

chooses to wait for a couple of days as it is in the best interests of democracy. Incidentally, there appears to be a gross disconnect between the leadership of the party, the cadres, and the common man. S.V. Venkatakrishnan, Bengaluru

Ms. Sasikala may be perceived to be unpopular, not “qualified” to lead the State, and come with the baggage of a still-to-be decided court verdict determining her future. Such extraneous considerations should not in any way justify the procrastination by the Governor to arrive at a decision. The State’s administration has ground to a halt as law makers are now in two groups making all out eforts to retain power. What if the Supreme Court decides to transfer the assets case back to Karnataka? Will the Governor wait again? V. Subramanian, Thane, Maharashtra

Raj Bhavan is not doing any favour to the people of Tamil Nadu by delaying government formation. Months of inactivity and prolonged confusion have changed the dynamics of politics in a State long known for its political bipolarity. Even if the evolving situation leads to a vertical split in the AIADMK, the ministry formed by either of the two factions will be short-lived as switching allegiances will continue in proportion to the ofers of money and power. It would be a hard task for any leader to pass the floor test to stay in power. The Governor has made his position more complex. One senses that the State is heading towards another election. Haridasan Rajan, Kozhikode

As a Delhi-ite who stayed in Tamil Nadu for a while, I am pained to see how another calamity, this time man-made, is afecting the common man. None of the two leaders can hope to emulate Jayalalithaa. I hope that the glorious people of Tamil Nadu are not swayed by the unfolding drama and make it clear that they want stable governance. Amal K. Mandal, New Delhi

One wishes that Ms. Sasikala has an inner voice that tells her that there are limits to the use of money and muscle power which can only acquire the narrow-minded and selfish MLA but not the will of the people. The Governor too should observe the people’s will — either give Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam the time he needs to demonstrate his majority or dissolve the State Assembly and call for fresh elections. Given the events following the split, the Governor should be aware of the grave danger being posed to democracy. M.M. Karthik, Modakkurichi, Erode, Tami l Nadu

Most people seem to be talking about only Mr. Panneerselvam or Ms. Sasikala. No one seems to be concerned about what is in store for the State of Tamil Nadu over the next four years. A split in the party seems inevitable. Above all, the administrative machinery under a divided ruling party will be crippled at a time when the State is facing serious problems. The leaders in the AIADMK have lost their credibility irretrievably. In one way or other each one of them has betrayed the people of the State who voted them to power. A fresh

election may be held after a phase of President’s Rule and the droughtlike situation eases. M.R. Anand, Chennai

The events show that most political parties have become centred around one person; without his/her existence, its survival as an entity becomes bleak, which is not a sign of a stable democratic system. It’s unfortunate that the people of Tamil Nadu are witnessing the true colours of their politicians for whom position and power matter more than the great responsibility they bear — of safeguarding the well being of the people. B. Vinutna, Ongole, Andhra Pradesh

Despair in inequality The genuine concerns of Vice President Hamid Ansari are not at all unfounded as data shows that eight of the richest persons in the world own as much wealth as half the world’s population combined (The Huddle — “Ansari warns of public despair fuelled by inequality”, Feb.11). Another finding is that even in the U.S., the per capita annual income of the poor and middle class has been steadily decreasing in the last eight years. The trajectory of economic growth is only helping a few. The government does have a primary social responsibility in initiating remedial measures to bridge this widening gap. Sridhar Raghunatha Rao, Bengaluru

Core values The newspaper industry may be in a spot of trouble given growing

competition from the visual/ electronic media (The Huddle — “Return to the core values of journalism: Media veterans”, Feb.11). After the advent of social media, most youngsters prefer accessing news and other media content using their mobile phones. On the other hand, newspapers retain their charm and acceptance among those in their middle age and above. Nothing can replace the satisfaction of going through a newspaper. Competition is also blurring the importance of fair reporting. One of the foibles of the print industry is in making a mountain out of a molehill. The print industry needs to guard against this: “If our newspapers... could discriminate between news value of a bicycle accident in Clapham and that of a capsize of civilization...” — which is usually quoted as “Newspapers are unable, seemingly to discriminate between a bicycle accident and the collapse of civilization”. It is unfortunate that there was no mention of paid news. R. Sridharan, Chennai

Kohli’s transformation That Virat Kohli has finally proved himself to be a master and be in consistent form spells good news for cricket fans (‘Sport’ — “Kohli’s record double, Saha’s century bury Bangladesh”, Feb.11). He continues to be the top run getter in T-20 and one day matches and the backbone of India’s batting line up. His staggering average in all three formats of the game of cricket speaks volumes about his grit and determination. Abhisheck Ramaswamy, Navi Mumbai ND-ND

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2017

FROM THE READERS’ EDITOR

Consistency, clarity and flair Next week, this column will migrate from the Perspective page to the Editorial page and the Editor is expected to announce some exciting new changes. In the entirety of its journey of 139 years, this newspaper has remained contemporary yet classic by efA.S. fecting periodic design changes and taking a lead to PANNEERSELVAN embrace new technology without compromising its core values that are intrinsically wedded to the cardinal principles of journalism. While I wait for the Editor to unveil the new plans, I would like to share a sliver of information that would please readers like Duggaraju Srinivasa Rao from Vijayawada, who asked us to explain the rationale behind the difering usage of quotation marks in diferent pages of this newspaper. Mr. Srinivasa Rao looked at the Vijayawada edition of The Hindu (January 24, 2017) to point out inconsistencies in the usage of punctuation marks. The front page headline was: CBI ordered to probe ‘abuse of oice’ by its former chief. But when the continuation of the same news appeared on page 10, the entire headline was within inverted commas. Using quotation marks He then went on to point out headlines that had only a defining word or words within inverted commas and an equal number of headlines that were statements of political leaders and were entirely within quotation marks. “My understanding is, a quote is used when a statement comes from an individual and inverted commas are used when the words used are diferent from the language in which the entire story is running,” he wrote. He wanted a clarification about the usage in diferent ways of quotation marks and inverted commas. Mr. Srinivasa Rao was correct While the style sheet helps to about inconsistencies, though bring about a sense of each usage read individually is consistency, it has no rules both grammatically and contextually correct. I would like to that hamper experimentation or assure him that such inadvertdeny space for creativity ent stylistic variations will come to an end soon because the newspaper has just adopted a new, extensive style sheet that addresses some of these issues. Like most major newspapers, The Hindu too is guided by a style sheet. Unlike the design change which takes place every decade, the style sheet revision cycle is long. The last style book of The Hindu was produced in 1990, a year before the Indian economy was liberalised and the Soviet Union dissolved. It was aimed at ensuring consistency of usage — of spellings, capitalisation, punctuations and abbreviations. The foreword of the 1990 edition read: “The book is not necessarily to settle disputes of an academic character… ‘Style’, as it is used here, does not refer to literary style.” Our new style sheet The style sheet that is now being adopted by The Hindu is diferent from other style sheets adopted by Indian newspapers which draw almost wholly from the ones developed by Western newspapers or agencies. The Editor explained how this new style guide was created organically — out of debates, discussions, and doubts that have surfaced in the newsroom. According to him, the credit for putting this together should go entirely to P. Jacob, Senior Managing Editor, even if the latter prefers to see this as “the outcome of an institutional efort that has involved editors and journalists”. Though this edition of the style sheet is much more exhaustive, the editorial team considers this a work in progress given the fact that the way we use language is dynamic in nature. Coming back to Mr. Srinivasa Rao’s query, the style sheet has detailed entries for both the use of quotations and quotation marks. It spells out the in-house ground rules in an unambiguous manner. There is a cautionary note that says: “The word ‘quote’ is a verb, and its use as a noun is colloquial. Use ‘quotation’ as the noun.” In this column on quotation marks, I have tried to follow the rules set out in the new style sheet. The entry first sets the basic premise for the use of quotation: “No change is to be made in a quotation even to bring it in line with house style, in other words, it is against ‘cleaning up’ quotations. A direct quotation eliminates the need to be concerned with issues of editorial style. Readers may have a right to assume that every word between quotation marks is what a speaker or a writer said. ‘Approximate’ quotations can undermine readers’ trust, since they may turn up worded diferently elsewhere. Above all, it should be ensured that the intent of the speaker has been preserved.” The style sheet asks the writers and subeditors to stick to single quotation marks in headlines and second decks but double in captions, and to use single quotation marks when it is a quotation within a quotation. In the last paragraph, ‘cleaning up’ and ‘approximate’ were within double quotation marks, but I have changed it to single quotation marks because they are quotations within a quotation. The style sheet also functions as an explainer of the trajectory of typography from the early metal typefaces to the present virtual keyboards. For instance, it makes a distinction between “straight quotes” and “curly quotes”. It attributes straight quotes to the typewriter era, which was constrained by physical space and mechanical limitations. It bats for “curly quotes” as they are legible and sharp. I think the defining aspect of this style sheet is that while it helps to bring about a sense of consistency, it has no rules that hamper experimentation or deny space for creativity. [email protected]

FROM THE ARCHIVES (dated February 13, 1967)

Four gored to death in ‘jallikattu’ Four youths were gored to death by race bulls at the annual “jallikattu” held at Thennalur village in Manaparai sub-taluk, about 40 miles from here [Tiruchirappalli], yesterday [February 11]. Thousands of persons had gathered from far and near to witness the race in which about 500 bulls participated. “Jallikattu” is a rural sport in which bulls are let loose in the field with prize money tied to their horns. Any daring man could claim the prize after taming the bulls.

Dependence on foreign assistance The Vice-President, Dr. Zakir Hussain, to-day [February 12, New Delhi] deprecated the tendency of completely depending on foreign collaboration for our economic development projects. Inaugurating the 40th annual session of the Institution of Engineers (India), Dr. Hussain regretted that industries had no clear desire to systematically train young men for bigger tasks. “While I am all in favour of collaboration with foreign countries, I deprecate the tendency of completely depending on them,” he said. “One gets the impression that there is a lack of confidence in the ability of young men to apply CM YK

what they have learnt.” It was interesting to note that these very men have been able to make significant contributions in countries abroad whenever they have had the opportunities. “We must build our own reservoir of talented men in the country and the only way to do so, in my view, is to give them the opportunities to grow,” Dr. Hussain said. Professional men of experience have an obligation to society and “that is to nurture talent with confidence and courage.” The Vice-President said that scientific research in the country had grown enormously since Independence, but the development of engineering research had not kept pace with this growth except in certain fields.

Inscriptions of Asoka found near Kandahar A French archaeologist has discovered two inscriptions of Asoka near Kandahar in Afghanistan. Their discovery confirms the belief that Asoka’s message spread throughout his empire upto Kandahar. The archaeologist, Prof. DupontSommer, has said that one of the inscriptions is in Greek and the other in Aramaic, used at that time. They said that due to the initiative of the king, the people desisted from meat-eating and had acquired more respect for parents and other elders.

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PERSPECTIVE

An uphill task for Marine Le Pen The far-right candidate would have to convince the French that she is both radically diferent and more of the same of terrorist attacks — have done little to change this. So, while it is no longer taboo to vote for a far-right party, it is still not usually considered a “serious” vote. This is most obvious in the party’s startling paucity of elected oicials. There are over 560,000 elected positions in France — from local councillors to European MEPs (Members of the European Parliament) — of which 2,059 are currently held by the Front National. That is a mere 0.003%. This institutional weakness is manifest at both the local and national level, and it is a severe break on the party’s ambitions. Mr. Trump succeeded because he could lean on the vast infrastructure of the Republican Party and its voters; Marine Le Pen has had to rely on her charisma alone. Without alliances and the ability to appeal to floating voters, she faces an uphill task.

EMILE CHABAL

Whatever anyone says, the Front National is a party heading straight for middle age. At the time of its first success in the municipal elections of 1983, the Cold War was in full swing, Donald Trump was a 37-year-old aspiring property tycoon, the word ‘Brexit’ had not been invented, and the French music charts were dominated by songs from Michael Jackson’s seminal album ‘Thriller’. It is somewhat ironic, then, to hear Marine Le Pen repeatedly claim her position as an outsider. She isn’t — and nor is her party. The French have been voting for, fighting against or ignoring the Front National for over 30 years. Two generations of voters have been brought up in the shadow of Europe’s longest-standing far-right party. Ms. Le Pen has even managed to get herself embroiled in a series of corruption scandals, the ultimate hallmark of any accomplished French politician. So why are so many people convinced that she can win this year’s presidential election? Making the impossible possible Part of this is a well-founded fear amongst European and North American liberal elites that the impossible has become possible. Mr. Trump’s unexpected victory has galvanised the farright all over the world and Brexit has shown the potential electoral power of anti-immigrant populism. This is certainly what Ms. Le Pen is counting on and she has been working hard to clean up her — and her party’s — image. Ever since she took control of the Front National in 2011, she has purged the anti-Semitic, racist and fascist language that has traditionally blighted its rallies and manifestos. She has helped to recruit thousands of young activists. And she has hired canny advisers like Florian Philippot to give her advice on political strategy. This has been accompanied by sustained eforts to modify the party’s ideas. Already before she took over the reins of power, the Front National had abandoned its commitment to free market economics and embraced an explicitly protectionist, anti-European line to appeal to working-class voters. She has continued in this vein in the hope of capturing widespread discontent in

WEIGHT OF THE PAST: “The vast majority of French voters have, time and again, demonstrated their aversion to radical change.” A woman walks past a poster of Front National party president Marine Le Pen in Denain, northern France. FILE PHOTO: AFP

Unlike the Americans or the British, the French have a strong memory of political instability and radical politics France with globalisation and austerity. The anti-immigrant idea of “national preference” remains a core part of the party’s platform — as it always has been — but it is no longer framed in terms of mass deportation of foreigners. Instead, Ms. Le Pen wants to penalise employers for hiring foreigners and limit nonFrench access to public services. To the untrained eye, this does not look so different to discriminatory immigration policies already in place in countries like the U.K. On social issues, too, she has softened the party line. Despite opposition from Marion Maréchal-Le Pen — Marine Le Pen’s niece and one of only two Front National members of parliament — the party has mostly abandoned its strict anti-abortion position and it has sidelined one of its signature policies, the reinstatement of the death penalty. These changes appear to have had the desired electoral efect. In the first round of the 2012 presidential election, Marine Le Pen scored 17.9%; in the 2014

European elections, the party scored 24.8%; and, in both rounds of the 2015 regional elections, the party scored over 27%. Today, the Front National makes much of the fact that it considers itself to be the “biggest party in France”. Numbers talk But statistics can be deceptive. Spectacular though such electoral progress might appear, there are all kinds of problems. For a start, the Front National has always performed better in elections with low turnouts. Second, and more important, the party does not benefit from the necessary vote reserves to win run-ofs in a two-round electoral system. In the past ten years, the party has repeatedly failed to increase its vote share in the second round of an election. If Marine Le Pen manages to get 30% in the first round of the presidential election in April, it will be an extraordinary achievement. But she will, in all likelihood, get 30% again in the second round, which would mean an emphatic defeat for her. There are deeper issues as well. Long-time surveys of French public opinion indicate clearly that, at best, 30% of respondents identify with the Front National’s views and favourable external events — like the recent wave

Weight of the past There is one last point that makes a Marine Le Pen victory in 2017 unlikely: the weight of the past. Unlike the Americans or the British, the French have a strong memory of political instability and radical politics. The electoral system of the Fifth Republic was forged in the 1950s out of the political crises of the Fourth Republic and the violence of decolonisation, which led to a virtual civil war. It was specifically designed to stabilise France’s volatile political culture and sideline extremist parties. At the time, the main threat was the far-left — in particular, the French Communist Party, which was poorly represented at a national level despite its substantial vote share. Today, this same system keeps the far-right at arm’s length. Of course, there is always the possibility that an extremist candidate or movement could ‘break’ the system. But the vast majority of French voters have, time and again, demonstrated their aversion to radical change. They did so after the protests of May 1968 and they did so again after Marine Le Pen’s father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, squeezed through to the second round of the presidential election in 2002. This means that, for Marine Le Pen to win, she would have to convince the French that she is both radically diferent and more of the same. For now, at least, this seems an impossible task. Emile Chabal is a Chancellor’s Fellow in History at the University of Edinburgh and the author of ‘A Divided Republic: Nation, State and Citizenship in Contemporary France’.

Sex ofender registries don’t work They have failed to reduce sex crimes in countries where they exist, and have resulted in severe hardships to former ofenders SHRUTHI RAMAKRISHNAN

Last month, Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi once again reiterated the need to set up a national sex ofender registry after a convicted sex ofender allegedly confessed to raping hundreds of girls for over 10 years in New Delhi. These registries are not a novel suggestion. They have been operational in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and a few other English-speaking countries for more than a decade. Sex ofender registration laws typically require ofenders convicted of a sexual ofence to periodically check in with law enforcement agencies, such as the police, informing them about where they are residing, their place of employment, and provide details of their physical description. In addition, these laws often place severe restrictions on where a previously convicted sex offender can reside and work. This in theory is meant to aid oicials to track and monitor former sex ofenders. The laws in the U.S. and South Korea go even further. They allow the public to access these records so that the community may be aware of a sex ofender in their locality. This data is generally accessed through websites that will provide you the name, physical description, address, and photo of all the sexual offenders near you. Ms. Gandhi has vouched for a similar system in India where the public can have access to such records. Impact on crimes While sex ofender registration laws and public access to these records create a sense of security to parents and residents, they have failed in making any significant diference in sex crimes. Sometimes they create more harm than good. Even in the U.S., where stringent registration laws with public access have been around for over 30 years, several independent studies arrive at the same conclusion: that these registers are simply not reducing sex crimes. A comprehensive study conducted by J.J. Prescott and J.E. Rockof in 2010 conclude that although basic registration laws through which oicials may track former ofenders shows a marginal re-

NO PLACE FOR REFORM: “Former convicts often face threats, harassment and violence from other members of the community.” A sign put up in Wapello, Iowa, in response to Megan’s Law in the U.S. which requires information to be made available to the public regarding registered sex offenders. PHOTO: CC BY SA 3.0; BILLWHITTAKER duction in recidivism (namely, reofending) by 1.1%, public notification laws, through which the public have full access to this data, undo this efect and instead result in an actual increase in reofending. J.J. Prescott and J.E. Rockof in their report note that, “notification laws may harden registered sex offenders, however, making them more likely to commit additional sex offences, perhaps because criminal behaviour is relatively more attractive for registered sex ofenders living under a notification regime.” The failure of these registries to show any empirical evidence of reducing crimes or reducing recidivism is significant while comparing the tremendous associated costs and damage they impose on law oicials and former convicts. With no positive outcomes from these registries, these laws disproportionately result in severe hardships to former ofenders. As a consequence of being on the register, former convicts often find it very diicult to gain meaningful employment and have very limited options in finding housing as many localities are proudly branded as ‘Sex Ofender-Free Zones’. Several studies find that because of open and free public access to these registries, former convicts often face threat, harassment and violence from other members of the community. Their status as former sex ofenders has the efect of stigmatising them for life, rendering reformation and a digni-

As a result of being on the register, former convicts find it difficult to gain meaningful employment and have limited options in finding housing fied life after prison impossible. A troubling aspect of Ms. Gandhi’s suggestion is that she wants to include even juveniles and persons standing on trial for sexual ofences to be on the register. The hasty proposal to include even undertrial persons on the register ignores a basic consideration for civil rights of an accused person and the disproportionate impact it would have on their lives while only being accused of an ofence. Similarly, the proposal to put children on a sex ofender register displays a complete lack of understanding of their rights under the Constitution and our international obligations under the UN Convention for the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Framing sexual ofences More importantly, before proposing a sex ofender registry it is significant to have a look at how our sexual offences have been framed. At present, the Protection of Children From Sexual Ofences Act, 2012 criminalises consensual sexual intercourse with minors and between minors. Two 17-year-olds who have consensual sexual intercourse with each other can be im-

prisoned for a minimum term of seven years under this law if convicted. A brief look at the cases registered under POCSO Act is suicient to tell us that most special courts are now barraged with romantic cases instigated through complaints filed by objecting parents. In the state of the current law, a person could possibly face the consequences of being on the register for a lifetime for having a consensual sexual relationship. To efectively tackle the incidence of sexual ofences will require a hard look at our own institutional failure in tackling these cases. The rate of conviction for the ofence of rape is at an abysmal 29% and worse still, the rate of pendency for rape cases is at a staggering 86.2% (National Crime Records Bureau, 2015). A study conducted by the Centre for Child and the Law, NLSIU (2016) on the functioning of children’s courts in Delhi found that 67.5% of victims do not even testify against the accused. The study further found that conviction resulted only in 16% of the child sexual abuse cases in Delhi. With a poor conviction rate and a majority of cases still pending before courts, how would a register aid in preventing sexual ofences by former convicts? Even in the present case, where the former convict allegedly confessed to raping hundreds of girls over a period of 10 years, we must question why the investigative machinery failed completely. What happened to the complaints and investigations into these cases assuming that at least some of them registered a complaint? Why did it take a decade for them to nab a dangerous criminal? Where is the institutional set-up and mental health evaluations to deal with violent sex ofenders and paedophiles? In the background of weak investigative and institutional machinery and overwhelming evidence showing that these sex ofenders registries simply don’t work, Ms. Gandhi’s suggestion that the recent attacks in Delhi could have been prevented if a national sex ofender registry had been implemented seems far-fetched and unrealistic. The Delhi attacks expose the glaring gaps in our existing systems that need to be urgently addressed before we jump to formulating new solutions. Shruthi Ramakrishnan is an advocate & independent legal researcher. She may be contacted at [email protected]. ND-ND

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NEWS

FROM PAGE ONE

Sasikala presents MLAs before media The sole Rajya Sabha MP R. Lakshmanan, was sacked as AIADMK Villupuram North District secretary even before he arrived in Chennai to meet Mr Panneerselvam. Ms. Sasikala appointed Law Minister C.Ve.Shanmugam in his place. Ms. Sasikala in her address to party MLAs declared that she was a lioness and had, along with the late Jayalalithaa, seen prisons in Chennai and Bengaluru only to emerge to govern again; hence none could could intimidate her. “The government is here (129 MLAs at the resort). I have taken a vow. If you are all with me, we will form the next government and go to Amma’s (Jayalalithaa) memorial, and take a group photo with the Cabinet ministers and legislators and march to the Fort (St George) and unveil the portrait of Amma in the Assembly. That will be the befitting tribute to our leader,” she said. Later, speaking to journalists, she alleged that those who had left her faction and rivals had deliberately supplied “wrong information” to the media that the MLAs at the resort were kept in captivity. Claiming that the legislators were in touch with their families, she alleged there were threats to some MLAs’ children. When a reporter asked for her comments on about the delay in the Governor’s decision to invite rival factions to form the government, someone in the crowd rudely asked the reporter to shut up. Ms. Sasikala then responded:

“The entire world knows why there is a delay. You would also know.” To a query on her next course of action, she said, “You will see that for yourself. You are going to be here. You wait and watch.” Ms Sasikala also pointed out that the Raj Bhavan had denied sending any report when asked about the Governor’s report to the Centre. To a query on whether she had plans to stage a protest if she was not invited to form the government, she said, “We are working towards that.” Questioned about the impending verdict of the Supreme Court in the disproportionate assets case, in which she is one of the accused, Ms. Sasikala said, “Let it come, we shall see. (Why) are you coming to a conclusion even before it comes,” she said. Earlier, before heading out to Koovathur, Ms. Sasikala said her party believed in democracy. “Even while Amma was in power, I witnessed the challenges and diiculties she faced. So, all these events are not new to me. After MGR’s death too, there were efforts to break the party. Ms. Jayalalithaa has worked hard and nothing can break our party. You all know how diicult it is for a woman to be in politics,” she said. Countering Ms Sasikala’s claims, Mr Panneerselvam alleged that the MLAs at the resort were being tortured. He questioned the need for Ms Sasikala to visit them for a second consecutive day, if she had the confidence of forming the government.

Police deny permission for Owaisi’s rally PUNE: AIMIM chief and MP

Asaduddin Owaisi has been denied permission to hold a public rally in one of the wards of the city ahead of the February 21 municipal election. The Khadak police station denied the permission citing that the area (which was identified by AIMIM for the

rally) was “sensitive” because of its mix population and since Mr. Owaisi’s speeches were “inciting” and “communal” in nature, there could be a threat to his life. AIMIM has fielded 25 candidates for the poll to Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).-PTI

NEW DELHI: The website of the

Ministry of Home Afairs (MHA) was hacked on Sunday, prompting authorities to temporarily block it. The MHA, however, denied any hacking saying it was “down for repair”. The hacking incident came to light when the Ministry lodged a complaint with the Delhi Police. Though a case was not registered, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police initiated an en-

quiry. A police oicer said a team had been constituted and it was looking into the hacking. The website was blocked by the National Informatics Centre immediately after the hacking was noticed in the morning. It remained down for the rest of the day. Computer emergency response teams are looking into the incident, an oicial said. In the evening, the Ministry spokesperson said, “The MHA website had technical problems which according to the NIC will be set

Indira Gandhi was considered the least likely to take over as Prime Minister by the American intelligence service AMIT BARUAH NEW DELHI: Indira Gandhi was considered the least likely in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)’s list of dark horses to become Prime Minister after Lal Bahadur Shastri’s sudden death in 1966 while Congress president K. Kamaraj “probably” had the broadest support in the party. Eight days after the CIA made this assessment on January 11, 1966, Indira Gandhi was elected the leader of the Congress legislature party defeating Morarji Desai by 355 votes to 169 and became the country’s third Prime Minister.

Kamaraj’s limitations “Kamaraj probably has the broadest support within the [Congress] party, but his limited formal education, and inability to communicate freely in either Hindi or English, would limit his efectiveness as a prime minister,” a declassified CIA briefing paper stated.

Give details of tours, PM tells his Ministers NEW DELHI: Prime Minister

Narendra Modi has asked his ministerial colleagues to give details of tours, if any, undertaken by them during the last three months, an exercise aimed at ascertaining whether they promoted demonetisation and other initiatives, sources said. Mr. Modi is learnt to have given the directive at a recent Cabinet meeting, sources said. They have been asked to submit the details by Monday. Minister for Rural Development Narendra Singh Tomar has been directed to coordinate with the Ministries for this task. “All the Ministers have been asked to submit details of their outstation tour programmes of the last three months. If not on tour, they should mention if they were in Delhi and attended oice. “The exercise is also aimed at knowing if they were balancing oice work and field duties,” a source said. — PTI

UNEXPECTED ENTRY: Indira Gandhi was elected leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party in a straight contest with Morarji Desai in 1966. Picture shows Indira Gandhi receiving greetings from MPs after the election results. — FILE PHOTO: THE HINDU ARCHIVES Arguing that the Congress would have a problem in finding a successor acceptable to major factions in the party, the CIA assessed that former Finance Minister Desai, Defence Minister Y.B.

Chavan and party chief Kamaraj were front-runners for the top job. Desai, the agency believed, had been losing political strength after losing the leadership race in the wake

right by late evening.” Last month, suspected Pakistan-ailiated operatives had hacked the oicial website of the elite National Security Guard (NSG) and defaced it with a profanityladen message against the Prime Minister and anti-India content. More than 700 websites of various Central and State government departments were hacked in the past four years and a total of 8,348 persons were arrested for their involvement in cybercrimes, according to oicial data.

DINAKAR PERI

CM YK

Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviews the tri-services guard of honour at Kochi in 2015. — FILE PHOTO ing another ceremonial post in the absence of a clear-cut role and authority over the Service chiefs. However, discussions are still continuing on whether it should be a Permanent COSC or a five star Chief of Defence Staf (CDS) with specific functions. Some diferences There is general consensus that it is high time India had its single-point milit-

ary adviser and greater coordination among the three services. The source observed that India had two adversaries who have managed to achieve this and it is not right for India to remain so. There are still some diferences between the Services on the CDS. But that, sources said, will always be there and it is ultimately a political call. “Once the note on it is ready, it will be discussed and de-

of Jawaharlal Nehru’s death in 1964 and evoked some “strong opposition” within the party. “Chavan took over the Defence Ministry from Krishna Menon in 1962, has built up the armed forces,

and shares the credit with Shastri for what most Indians consider a military victory over Pakistan last fall,” the CIA held. On those it believed were dark horses who might be picked as compromise candidates if there was a deadlock, the agency named three persons — Information & Broadcasting Minister Indira Gandhi, Steel Minister Neelam Sanjiva Reddy and Home Minister Gulzarilal Nanda. “Reddy is the likeliest of these.” The CIA was convinced that a “he” would succeed Shastri, who died in Tashkent after signing an agreement with Pakistani President Ayub Khan. “A new Prime Minister will do everything he can to maintain and improve good relations with the United States,” the paper said. Policy continuity All the candidates for the prime minister’s job were in “substantial agreement” on major policies.

“The diference lies in whether a strong leader or a weaker compromise choice takes over. Forcefulness and personal predilections will play some role in the implementation of policies.” If the CIA wrongly assessed Indira Gandhi as a dark horse for prime minister, it rightly believed that India would eventually develop nuclear weapons. “We continue to believe, however, that eventually security considerations will lead India to develop its own nuclear weapons,” the paper stated. Shastri’s legacy, the Tashkent agreement with Ayub, would probably “ease relations with Pakistan for a while” but India will “remain unwilling” to make any substantial concessions on Kashmir. “Shastri vigorously resisted Pakistan on the Kashmir issue, but in general he favoured and worked for an improvement of relations. Some of his potential successors may take a harder line,” the paper added.

‘Naxals possess lethal edge in using IEDs’ Maoists are resolute, aggressive and well-adapted to jungle terrain: Report NEW DELHI: Naxalite groups

continue to be “lethal and resolute” in terms of using improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and other technology devices to perpetrate bloodshed and have caused maximum deaths of security personnel and civilians last year. According to a report prepared by the National Bomb Data Centre (NBDC) of the

federal counter-terror force NSG, there was a 26% increase in IED blast incidents in 2016 as compared to 2015 and human casualties have increased by 3% in the same period. As many as 112 deaths due to explosive blasts were reported in the country last year, with the maximum of 73 coming from the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) theatre, 14 from the insurgency-hit areas of the northeast, five from Jammu and Kashmir and 20 from the rest of the country. “LWE-hit States accounted for 65% of

Breaking ground

‘High-intensity explosives are the most preferred form used by extremists to inflict casualties’ total fatalities [73 personnel], while other States accounted for 35%. The higher fatalities ratio in the LWE-hit States indicate that the Maoists are lethal, resolute, aggressive and well-adapted to the jungle terrain,” according to the report, published last week. The “high rate of casual-

ties have been caused by explosion of high-intensity IEDs.” A concern A total of 337 blasts of various kinds, including IEDs and other bombs, were reported last year that injured 479 people across the country, the report said, adding the corresponding figure for 2015 was 268 and 457, respectively. The report also reveals that in 2016, 83% of all IED blasts were triggered by the Naxals and other ultras using “high explosives,” which is a

cause for concern. “More than 80% of blast incidents, which took place in LWE-hit areas and northeastern States involved high explosives,” it said. The NBDC of the National Security Guard (NSG), which is the nodal postblasts investigation organisation of the country, assessed that “high explosives are the most preferred form of explosives used by the Maoists/insurgents/extremists to inflict heavy casualties on the targeted people/ security forces or properties.” — PTI

Telangana village in shock after murder of youth in U.S. GOLLAPUDI SRINIVASA RAO WARANGAL: The tiny Vangapa-

OFF TRACK: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley laying the foundation for a project in Vadodara district of Gujarat, where he has adopted four villages. — PHOTO: PTI

Single-point military adviser soon? NEW DELHI: The government is keen on appointing a singlepoint military adviser within the year to promote synergy among the Services. The issue was discussed in detail during the recent combined commanders’ conference chaired by Prime Minster Narendra Modi. The government is also intent on creating theatre commands for greater interoperability within the Services, which is likely to be an “incremental step”. “Generally, the guideline is that it should be done this year. The general discussion is on the mandate and how the operational command looks like. There is a degree of clarity emerging,” a defence source said. While there was consensus on having a permanent Chairman, Chiefs of Staf Committee (COSC), who will also be a four star oicer, there have been apprehensions that it would end up be-

THE HINDU MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2017

CIA thought Kamaraj would succeed Shastri

Home Ministry’s website hacked, oicials deny claims SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

NOIDA/DELHI

bated.” In addition to the CDS, the government is also looking at various other measures to bring in synergy between the Services. This includes set up theatre commands to integrate air, land and sea assets under one operational entity to improve eiciency as well as optimise resource utilisation. One view is that the commands across various geographic regions of the country should be put in place along with the CDS for real progress to happen. “Of course, there will be theatre commands,” another source observed. But it will be an incremental step beginning with greater cooperation and communication before taking on a more structured shape. Then there is the long pending issue of specialised commands for special operations, space and cyber domains. They are rolling out soon, one source said. “They won’t be at the command level as initially envisaged.”

BSF hands over 65-year-old man to Pakistan CHANDIGARH: In a goodwill ges-

ture, the Border Security Force (BSF) has handed over a 65-year-old Pakistani national, who had inadvertently crossed into Indian territory two days ago, back to his country. BSF men at the Barreke outpost in Ferozepur sector apprehended Mohammad Ali, resident of village Sheru Khana in Pakistan, on February 10 as he strayed across the international boundary, entered Indian territory and came close to the security fence, a BSF oicial said on Sunday. Pakistan Rangers were contacted on Saturday and Ali was handed over on humanitarian grounds. Suspected spy detained Meanwhile, Hazi Khan, suspected to be a spy, was detained by the intelligence wing of the Rajasthan police near the border in Jaisalmer district on Sunday. — PTI

had village on the city outskirts woke up to a rude shock on Sunday that their fellow villager — Mamidala Vamshi Reddy who went for studies — has been killed by unknown miscreants at California in the U.S. last night. The 24-year-old youth, who was pursuing MS, was doing a part-time job. He was returning home when unknown miscreants shot him dead, according to information reaching here. The U.S. police called up the family back here in Vangapahad and informed about their son’s killing. A sobbing Sanjeeva Reddy, the victim’s father said that his son called him a few hours ago and said he would be coming home in four days. He said it was unimaginable that he would have to hear such a news. “A few hours earlier, he called me. I pursuaded him to come back as he is the only son and wanted him to stay

IRREPARABLE LOSS: The inconsolable mother of the victim in Vangapahad village, Warangal, on Sunday. — PHOTO: M. MURALI here in India,” he said sharing his grief. The parents were planning to get him marry of next year and was on looking for a suitable match. Rakesh Reddy, a neighbour of the family said, the youth went to the U.S. in September 2015 to puruse MS. He was doing a parttime job to make his ends meet. “It is shocking to know that the boy is no more. He was a promising boy and the only son in the family,” he

Taiwan for upgrading diplomatic ties KALLOL BHATTACHERJEE NEW DELHI: Taiwan is likely to

urge India to upgrade diplomatic ties in the coming weeks. Taiwanese sources said the request will be communicated to Indian interlocutors on Monday and Tuesday by a high-level Taiwanese parliamentary delegation which arrived in the capital on Sunday. “The visit of senior members of parliament and business leaders is an indicator of the government of President Tsai Ing-Wen and the new Southbound policy of Taiwan which is aimed at reviving Taiwan’s ties with Southeast Asia and India,” said a senior Taiwanese diplomat who informed that since the swearing-in of Donald Trump as the U.S. president, several countries including Japan have decided to upgrade ties with Taiwan.

The delegation met the local Taiwanese community in the capital at a gala dinner on Sunday, which was attended by representatives of major Taiwanese electronic companies, think tank professionals and policy makers. The delegation is led by Kuan bi-Ling, president of the Taiwan India Parliamentary Association and a leading woman MP of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party. She is accompanied by members of parliament, Chen Man-Li and Wu YuChin. President Trump’s phone conversation with President Tsai in December had triggered a diplomatic row, with Beijing calling upon the Trump administration to adhere to the “one China” policy. However, Taiwanese oicials pointed out that India too had in the past demanded respect of Indian sovereignty from Beijing.

said. Large number of villagers thronged the house and joined the parents in the mourning. Kazipet Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) B. Janardhan paid a visit to Vangapahad and consoled the family members. Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Kadiam Srihari expressed shock at the killing of Vamshi and said the State government would initiate process to get the body of the deceased back home at the earliest.

Man can’t claim married sister’s property: SC LEGAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI: A property inher-

ited by a woman from her husband cannot be claimed by her brother, the Supreme Court has said. A Bench of Justices Dipak Misra and R. Banumathi referred to the provision of the Hindu Succession Act. “Language used in Section 15 clearly specifies that the property inherited from the husband and fatherin-law would devolve upon the heirs of husband/fatherin-law from whom she inherited the property,” the Supreme Court observed. Uttarakhand HC order The verdict came on an appeal filed by a man challenging a March 2015 order of the Uttarakhand High Court that found him to be an unauthorised occupant in a property in Dehradun where his married sister, now dead, was a tenant. ND-ND

ELECTIONWATCH

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THE HINDU MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2017

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UTTAR PRADESH, UTTARAKHAND, PUNJAB, MANIPUR, GOA

Adityanath unleashes Hindutva blitz There is no saffron wave as in 2014, but the firebrand MP’s whistle-stop tour across the western districts is re-awakening old enmities SMITA GUPTA HASANPUR (AMROHA): The 44-

year-old, five-time MP, Yogi Adityanath, has never been a favourite of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) top brass. Wary of his individualistic style and strong personal following, they fear that — given an opportunity — he could emerge as a pan-Uttar Pradesh leader. But in the present elections, for the first time, he has been deployed outside

INFOCUS his native Purvanchal to canvass votes in western U.P., with the party even placing a private plane at his disposal. BJP sources pointed out that he was, belatedly, invited to Lucknow to address a press conference and then fielded late in the campaign season as a star campaigner. Once the BJP leadership realised that demonetisation was working against it in

U.P., its candidate-selection had led to a mini-revolt among workers in many districts, and the Jats of the western districts had decided to vote against the party, it decided to go back to its tried and trusted Hindutva agenda. A crowdpuller Yogi Adityanath, a powerful orator, was clearly the man for the job, someone who could bring back these issues into the electoral discourse. Today, across western U.P. — in areas that cover the first two phases of polling in the State — he is drawing impressive crowds, just as his brand of dog whistle politics has done in the past. The mahant of the Goraknath Mandir, Yogi Adityanath also heads the 15year-old Hindu Yuva Vahini (HYV), a Bajrang Dal-style militia, particularly efective in the east U.P. districts of Deoria, Kushinagar, Maharajganj, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar

PM recalls statehood struggle in the hills STAFF REPORTER

Reigniting the “wounds” of the struggle for statehood, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Sunday said it was former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee who gave Uttarakhand statehood while the Congress was opposing it. “The current Chief Minister [Harish Rawat], who is now pleading for votes and posing to be an Uttarakhand lover, had said that the State would be formed over his dead body,” Mr. Modi said. “Can you trust a man who has no sentiment for the State — a man who had said that the hills [of Garhwal and Kumaon] rather have a separate Development Authority than be given statehood?” he said at a rally in Garhwal’s Srinagar region. Attacking the CongressSamajwadi Party alliance in U.P., Mr. Modi recalled the Rampur-Tiraha firing case of

DEHRADUN:

N.P. Singh, the Amroha mandal president of the Hindu Yuva Vahini, campaigning at Hasanpur in Amroha, Uttar Pradesh. — PHOTO: SANDEEP SAXENA and Siddharthnagar. Here, its activists have been known to convert minor incidents into communal conflagrations. ‘Ghar wapsi’ row For some years, now, the HYV been expanding westwards, gaining notoriety: a

Polarising politics Is the Yogi making an impact? In the village of Mangrola, in the Hasanpur assembly area, Suresh Singh, a Gujjar farmer talks of his fear of Muslims stealing cattle and his approval of Akhilesh Yadav as Chief Minister in the same breath. So who is he voting for? “The SP,” he says, adding, “but many Gujjars are voting BJP.” This kind of ambivalence crops up in other villages in the area, especially among the non-Yadav backward castes. There is no safron wave as was evident in 2014, but the Yogi’s whistle-stop tour in this region is re-awakening old enmities.

STAR APPEAL: BJP MP Hema Malini campaigning for Rajpur candidate Khajan Das at a public meeting in Dehradun on Sunday. Uttarakhand will go to the polls on February 15. — PHOTO: VIRENDER SINGH NEGI

SHAMLI: Kairana recorded a

Displaced villagers can swing the outcome in Pratapnagar

NEW DELHI: Elections in one constituency each in

Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand were postponed on Sunday following the death of candidates. The Election Commission said here that following the death of Samajwadi Party candidate Chandrashekhar of the Alapur (ST) constituency, the election there has been postponed. Similarly, due to the death of BSP candidate Kuldeep Singh in a road accident, the election to Karnaprayag seat has been postponed. The polls in both places were to be held on February 15. As per law, if candidates of a recognised party die, the election is countermanded and party is given time to field a new candidate. The new poll dates will be announced later. — PTI

DEHRADUN: A website to enrol for unemployment

PRATAPNAGAR (TEHRI DAM AREA): A

STRUGGLE CONTINUES: Muzaffarnagar riot victims continue to live in inhospitable conditions at the Al-Falah Colony in Kairana, Shamli district. — PHOTO: RAJEEV BHATT We will vote for the person who works for us. The candidate matters, not the party,”says Mr. Dilshad. The BJP MP has promised the colony a school and better roads, he adds. Another riot victim accused the ruling SP of disregarding them. “How will we vote for him [the SP candidate] when he does not come here? Hukum Singh came here thrice,” says Abdul Karim. Supported by the Tayyab Trust from Deoband and the U.K.-based organisation, Majlis Alfalah, Mr. Dilshad is working on expanding the colony and providing it with employment opportunities. Young boys and girls are provided vocational training — sewing, handloom and construction. A senior administrative official from Kairana admitted that names of some inmates got excluded from the list and that the State would take action. He, however, said that the number was not much. “We got complaints from Daberi Khurd and have lodged an inquiry,” the Kairana SDM said.

board flashes the details of a bridge being built to connect the two sides of Tehri district separated by the reservoir. The construction of the bridge had started in 2007 but a decade later, after involvement of several consulting-executing agencies, and spending ₨138 crore, the Dobra-Chanti suspension bridge remains at the heart of problems and the politics of Pratapnagar. “In the past decade the construction work has been on and of several times. It started again, last year, but I don’t think it’ll be completed even this year [2017],” said Vijender Singh Bisht of Saur Uppu village. While construction work progresses on the 440metre-long bridge, drawing on expertise of agencies from South Korea and Ukraine, there is a boat ferrying villagers across the halfkilometre wide reservoir. “The boat is available every two hours. To use the boat after 5 p.m., the villagers call up the district authorities in New Tehri [town] for permission,” Sheeshpal Rana, also a resident of Saur Uppu, said. Tehri’s Pratapnagar and Ghansali constituencies are most afected by the 42 sq. km. Tehri reservoir. Some parts of the reservoir that fall under Uttarkashi district’s Gangotri constituency have also been impacted.

BADAUN (U.P.): The downfall of those who had “befooled” the people promising “achche din” has started, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said on Sunday, attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and asked him when will he do “kaam ki baat.” . “He says ‘mann ki baat’ on TV and radio, I want to ask him as to when will he do ‘kaam ki baat’ [talk of something worthwhile],” Mr. Yadav said at an election rally here. “We could have got majority alone, but after alliance with the Congress we will comfortably win over 300 seats,” Mr. Yadav said. Referring to the Badaun rape case of two sisters, Mr. Yadav said a CBI probe had given a clean chit to the State government and also exposed “a conspiracy to defame” it. — PTI

Website for jobless shut on EC orders

KAVITA UPADHYAY

‘Person matters, not party’ “The SP MLA did not do anything for the riot victims. Whatever we got was from Hukum Singh. The colony had no electricity but he ensured that we got 40 electric poles and four transformers.

Polls in two seats postponed

Do ‘kaam ki baat’, Akhilesh tells Modi

In 2012, BJP lost to Cong. by 542 votes: the same set is in fray this time too

any toilets. They visit the nearest fields to relieve themselves. Water supply is also not proper — seven out of the 10 hand pumps are functional, and filthy drains run over the kutcha compound, leaving inmates with the risk of infectious diseases. The colony is built on 27 bighas of land donated by Haji Dilshad, a major farmer from the Muslim Gurjar caste. He was the caretaker of the Malakpur camp and today manages life and finance in the colony. Mr. Dilshad says that the inmates of the colony did not get their voter cards as the administration feared that they would vote for the BJP candidate — MP Hukum Singh’s daughter Mriganka Singh — and not the SP’s Nahid Hasan, who are locked in a tight battle.

corruption, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday asked why Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave tickets to tainted leaders who were thrown out of the Congress. The Congress leader, who held a 75-km roadshow here ahead of February 15 polls in Uttarkhand, said Mr. Modi had no right to talk about corruption as “tainted” former Congress leaders now adorned BJP’s ranks. “We had thrown out trash from Uttarakhand but Modi has lifted it and put it in his party,” he said. Criticising the Prime Minister for his raincoat barb against his predecessor Manmohan Singh, the Congress leader said the words he chose did not match the dignity of the office he holds. — PTI

LUCKNOW: In Uttar Pradesh many bigwigs, including Samajwadi Party patron Mulayam Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, were missing from the campaign trail. After the family tussle, SP leader Shivpal Yadav also chose not to campaign for the party and remained confined to his constituency Jaswant Nagar (Etawah). SP star campaigners in the previous elections, Amar Singh and Jaya Prada, too gave the campaigning a miss. Another senior SP leader and Rajya Sabha member, Beni Prasad Verma, is not seen campaigning as his son Rakesh Verma has been denied ticket from Ram Nagar seat of Barabanki. In the BJP camp, senior leaders such as L.K. Advani too have not addressed even a single meeting. Bollywood star Shatrughan Sinha, who has campaigned in previous polls, was also missing from action. —PTI

October 1994 where the State police had opened fire on Uttarakhand statehood activists. Many activists were killed in the incident and women were raped at RampurTiraha in Muzafarnagar district. ‘SP committed atrocities’ “When the andolan [agitation] for statehood was at its peak in Uttarakhand, the women, youngsters, men, all were on the streets [demanding statehood]… In Rampur-Tiraha our women were raped, people were killed. The SP government had committed those atrocities and look at the Congress, it is now sitting in SP’s lap [in U.P.],” the Prime Minister said. On Sunday, in his last day of rallies in poll-bound Uttarakhand, Mr. Modi reached the heart of Garhwal and Kumaon to “request” the people to vote for the BJP to “ensure development” of the “backward State”.

Modi took in the trash we threw out: Rahul HARIDWAR: Hitting back at BJP on the issue of

Stalwarts missing from campaign trail

OMAR RASHID

CM YK

had’ campaign) if it comes to power in U.P. Of course, the Yogi adds his own twist saying that the culprits will be hung.

Dream girl’s here

In Kairana, riot victims miss out on voting decent 69.36 % voting in the first phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls but the inmates of Alfalah Colony in Daberi Khurd were not among them. The 230-odd families, roughly 1,000 people, living here did not exercise their franchise — they claim their names were not on the voter list though they had valid documents. The colony houses victims of the 2013 Muzafarnagar riots who shifted here from the Malakpur relief camp in the summer of 2014. Islamu’s brother was killed and his son had a narrow escape during the riots, his entire family displaced by the violence that polarised the entire western region of the State. While he is today forced to live in deplorable conditions, Islamu is also upset that he could not vote. “I have an Aadhar card. People here have ration cards. But the administration did not include my name in the voter list. We spent 10 days doing the rounds of the oices, but the BLO [Booth Level Officer] did not even bother to come here,” says Mr. Islamu, a backward caste Muslim. The inmates allege that the administration excluded their names from the list to ensure that they did not vote against the ruling SP, which the riot victims here blame for neglecting them after they were displaced. They say that while their names were included in the pradhan elections, they were not allowed to vote even then. More than three years after the riots, the inmates live in deplorable conditions. The colony has no proper roads, not a single school, or

few months back they arrived at Bhootpuri, a village in Bijnor district, to organise ghar wapsi for some locals who had converted to Christianity. N.P. Singh, the HYV’s Moradabad mandal incharge, whom I meet

minutes after the Yogi delivered a powerful speech in Hasanpur, proudly recalls that incident. He then turns to the subject of his leader: “This is the first time Yogiji has been invited to campaign in an election. He didn’t come in the 2012 Assembly polls or in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. He came only once for some by-elections.” A key staple in Yogi Adityanath’s current speeches is a commitment to prevent western U.P. from following Kashmir’s example in “expelling Hindus”: this is a reference to the BJP’s continuing claim that in Muzafarnagar’s Kairana, Hindus are being driven out by Muslims, even though this has been disputed by the district administration. He also promises that the BJP will constitute anti-Romeo squads (another name for the safron family’s ‘love ji-

POLLDIARY

LONG TREK: As work on the Dobra-Chanti bridge is not yet over, villagers of Pratapnagar have to travel up to 80km to reach the district headquarters in New Tehri. — PHOTO: KAVITA UPADHYAY Rajeshwar Painuly of the Tehri-based Dobra-Chanti Pul Banao Sangharsh Samiti has been actively advocating the cause of the DobraChanti bridge for the past six years. Mr. Painuly, who was associated with the BJP, was expecting ticket. However, after the BJP denied him candidature, he decided to contest the polls as a candidate of the Indian Business Party. “Had the BJP named Painuly ji as its candidate from Pratapnagar, it would have gone in the party’s favour, but now he might eat into the votes of the BJP and the Congress,” Mahipal Negi, a political observer, said. In Pratapnagar, the 2012 election was a close contest between the Congress’ sitting MLA Vikram Negi and the BJP candidate Vijay Panwar, who lost to Mr. Negi by only 542 votes. This time too, the two candidates have been fielded by the BJP and the Congress. In Madan Negi — another

village under the Pratapnagar constituency — Prem Dutt Juyal has been demanding rehabilitation for 1,336 reservoir-afected families living on sinking land, and in damaged houses.

allowance cards in poll-bound Uttarakhand has been shut down on the orders of the Election Commission, Chief Electoral Officer Radha Raturi said. The move comes following the EC’s letter to the DGP asking him to take action in the matter. As part of Chief Minister Harish Rawat’s nine ‘sankalps’ (commitments) announced ahead of February 15 polls, if the Congress returns to power it would provide one job per household for a youth between 18-35 years of age by 2020. It also aims to provide a monthly allowance of ₨2,500 for every jobless person of that age group through a ‘Berozgari Bhatta Card’ (unemployment allowance card). Taking cognisance of reports that ‘berozgari bhatta cards’ were being distributed at the Congress’ public meetings, Additional CEO V. Shanmugham had sent a letter to the party seeking explanation. — PTI

POLLSTAT

Fear of landslips Apart from Madan Negi, 80 villages in the vicinity of the Tehri reservoir have also been exposed to frequent landslips and land sinking due to erosion caused by the reservoir water. The villages await rehabilitation as the court mulls over “who, among the district authorities and the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation Limited (THDC), must pay for the rehabilitation of the dam-affected villagers,” Tehri District Magistrate Indudhar Baurai, who is also the Director of Rehabilitation, said. “In the past five years the Congress MLA [Vikram Negi] did nothing for the reservoir-hit people. Therefore, I have told all the people [in Madan Negi] to vote for the BJP candidate [Vijay Panwar],” Mr. Juyal said. ND-ND

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THE HINDU MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2017

Survival guide for fledglings

FROM THE WINGS #TheHuddle becomes a pan-Indian top trend

What should start-ups do when the markets are down? Prime the business model to perform better

The Huddle got good response online. The hashtag #TheHuddle was trending on Twitter on Day 1 and Day 2 of the event. It was a pan-Indian top trend on Saturday, and was among the top 5 on Day 1. There were more than 4 lakh impressions on social media sites including Twitter and Facebook.

K. GIRIPRAKASH BENGALURU: Most successful start-

Reports of Day Three of The Hindu’s thought conclave in Bengaluru

ups were launched during the recession and hence the current phase is perhaps the best for entrepreneurs to roll out more. Participating in a debate on “India’s start-up story: Where do we go from here?” at The Huddle here on Sunday, Mahesh Murthy, cofounder of Seedfund, said start-ups which got launched when the markets were doing well could sometimes fall into a false sense of security. Hence when the markets were down, there was enough time to tweak the business model and make it stronger to perform better when the situation improved. Rajiv Lochan, Managing Director and Chief Executive Oicer of The Hindu Group, who moderated the discussion, set the tone of the debate, pointing out how the newspaper headlines about startups swung from the mega funding they received to the taps running dry, reflecting their evolution in the country. K. Ganesh, co-founder and chairman of Portea Medical, said startups had seen multiple cycles. “Hence, to get worried about swinging from huge euphoria to complete depression is unwarranted. There is a lot of sanity which is coming into the sector,” Mr. Ganesh said. Making an impact Anu Acharya, chief executive officer of Mapmygenome, said it was important to build a good business and make an impact. “It takes time to build a company. For me, build-

Heat and humour

Rajiv Lochan, MD and CEO, The Hindu Group, greets K. Ganesh, co-founder and chairman, Portea Medical; Anu Acharya, CEO, Mapmygenome; Mahesh Murthy, co-founder, Seedfund; and Ananth Narayanan, CEO, Myntra and Jabong, at The Huddle in Bengaluru on Sunday. — PHOTO: K. MURALI KUMAR ing a company is not to follow the money trail, but to make an impact and not worry about whether people are listening or not, but at some point they will,”she said. Ananth Narayanan, chief executive oicer of Myntra and Jabong, said start-ups like his had created a sustainable business based on a combination of India-specific innovation and technology, which had resulted in an ecosystem for entrepreneurs to take risks. Mr. Murthy spoke of how a copyand-paste culture had set in among the start-ups in India. “Take what is in the U.S. and copy and paste it here. It has worked in China and Russia because of the environment

there,” he said. However, to replicate it here may not always work. Mr. Ganesh, however, said taking good practices from the so-called copy-and-paste model and evolving one’s own unique model was one way out. For example, the cash-on-delivery model was an India-specific model, which had worked very well for the Indian consumers. “There are good things to be learnt from what has worked in the U.S. There is nothing called a copy-and-paste model. We should be slightly more generous with our

start-ups before judging them,” he said. Mr. Murthy countered it by pointing out that 15 to 20 years ago, the markets were a lot more forgiving, but today, just two or three start-ups dominated each sector and hence one should create a model for the market that the startups were playing in. Agreeing with Mr. Ganesh, Mr. Narayanan pointed out that the country’s fashion industry was mostly unbranded and hence his start-up came up with private-label initiatives, which had worked. Earlier, there were 10 to 15 start-ups in the space, but one had seen a consolidation since then because

those which survived came up with India-specific innovation, he said. All the panellists agreed that the start-ups which were critical about capital dumping by foreign-based ventures were not being fair as those against the practice too had received funds from overseas. To a question from the audience about the reason for the lack of funding for non-technology startups, Mr. Murthy said most investments were driven by tenure and it became necessary to find start-ups which could give returns within a span of eight to 10 years. Most tech start-ups had a better chance of giving better returns within that timespan.

A thought for the beasts in our lives Is the voice of the bull heard in jallikattu debate? Is it right to say that the sport alone will help preserve native breeds? VEENA VENUGOPAL BENGALURU: “The discussion of an-

Asit Oberoi, group president and global head, Transaction Banking Group, YES Bank; R. Chandrashekhar, president, NASSCOM; Sameer Nigam, CEO, PhonePe; and Sharad Sharma, co-founder of iSPIRT, with Raghavan Srinivasan, Editor, The Hindu Business Line, at The Huddle on Sunday. — PHOTO: K. MURALI KUMAR

Big Change: As wallets go digital, so does the nation India is expected to leapfrog the world in digital payment technology PEERZADA ABRAR BENGALURU: When John Collison,

one of the brothers who co-founded the U.S.-based online payment service Stripe Inc, wanted to gain insights about cutting-edge payment technology, he flew to India to understand the Unified Payment Interface (UPI), an ambitious project to bring digital banking to 1.2 billion people in the country. The co-founders of Stripe, who have joined the ranks of the world’s youngest billionaires, have set up an oice in the country to take the UPI’s learnings and implement them in their home market in the U.S. The UPI allows a customer with a bank account to transfer money using a smartphone as easily as sending a text message. India is expected to leapfrog the world in digital payment technology, said top industry experts and tech entrepreneurs at the The Huddle session on “Cashless India: A road map for the future” here on Sunday. Sharad Sharma, co-founder of the software product think tank iSPIRT, said nowhere in the world was a system using digital as a basis to solve problems at the bottom of the pyramid. He said even in the U.S., digital CM YK

was a technology meant for the elite. “If we succeed, we will become the beacon for the rest of the world,” Mr. Sharma said. The Centre has roped in Mr. Sharma, Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani and other tech entrepreneurs as invitee members of a committee to help get more Indians to adopt digital payments. He said that by April, the number of wallet-UPI transactions was going to exceed debitcard transactions. “We are witnessing a change never experienced in the past in India and outside,” said R. Chandrashekhar, president of the IT trade body NASSCOM.

Mr. Sharma said that going cashless was imperative. This is because, despite nationalisation and target banking, financial inclusion had not reached millions of families in India yet. “We can ignite growth among 400 million people,” he said. Asit Oberoi, group president, Transaction Banking Group, Yes Bank, said that managing cash involved a huge cost and digitisation created a lot of eiciencies. “Our kids are growing up using the Internet. They are going to be more comfortable with digital [transactions],” he said. Sameer Nigam, co-founder of PhonePe, a Bengaluru-based mobile payments company, said the government’s ID platform Aadhaar had ofered a lot of con-

venience to the citizens. “Convenience trumps giving up your little bit of privacy right,” he said. However, is the Indian financial system ready for the digital payments? Mr. Sharma said the banking system was going to change more in the five to 10 years than it had changed in the past 50 years. “Let’s not make the past as the predictor of the future. That is a fallacy that is no more appropriate. Remember India embraces change,” he said. He asked who would have thought Aadhaar would become the quickest system to reach a billion people even faster than what messaging app WhatsApp could achieve. However, Mr. Chandrashekhar said that becoming a cashless society was not going to be a smooth ride. There are challenges such as lack of reliable Internet connectivity and cybersecurity issues. “What happens when people face problems. Is there a quick remedy and is there quick justice?” He said there was a need for raising awareness of security among the people.

imal rights in jallikattu has been misunderstood,” Amala Akkineni, animal rights activist and actor, said at The Huddle here on Sunday. Speaking via video from Hyderabad, Amala said film stars and other celebrities had defended jallikattu because the film industry was funded by politicians, and the stars did not want to wreck the fortunes of their movies. “We know that the tails of the bulls are broken, that chilly powder is rubbed into their eyes and they are forcibly fed country liquor. The animal is overwhelmed and does not know what is happening. But now tempers have flown and perhaps, it is not a good time to discuss this. But there will be another time, when the voice of the bull is heard. That discussion will happen in the future, and it’s perhaps best to have that in court,” Amala said. At the session on “Do animals have rights?”, Norma Alvarez, social and environmental activist, said that legally, the challenge was that the Supreme Court had already spoken on the matter. “What is being challenged in the Tamil Nadu Act is if it directly and deliberately opposed the Supreme Court judgment. That is what the SC has to now look at and resolve,” she said. Outside the jallikattu argument, the need to protect indigenous species is a significant one. Though the traditional Indian way has been to treat animals as part of the family, government policy has always viewed livestock from a production orienta-

tion. “It is from this emphasis on production that foreign breeds are brought in to supplement indigenous ones. We have a strong culture of pastoralism and agripastoralism. But this culture is diminishing, though it is one of the most climate-resilient and lowimpact forms of raising animals. In Kutch, where I work, there are bufaloes that have been adapted to the arid climate. They survive on very little water and they graze at night, because it is too hot during the day. There is a very broad range of animals that we should look at preserving,” Abi Tamim Vanak, animal ecologist and conservation biologist, said. Ms. Alvarez pointed out the logical fallacy of the argument that jallikattu alone would help preserve indigenous species. “Tractors and chemical fertilizers have done more to threaten the breed of indigenous cattle. And then to say I want to use bulls for entertainment in order to preserve an indigenous species is wrong,” she

The session on start-ups was full of heated debates laced with some good humour. The high point was when panellists Mahesh Murthy and K. Ganesh, who, according to moderator Rajiv Lochan, never agree on any issue, surprisingly batted against the critics of capital dumping. When someone from the audience pointed out that there was only one woman entrepreneur among the panellists, Mr. Ganesh quipped that it was actually his wife, Meena (in photo), who was invited for the session but as she could not make it, he was invited in turn. “You can actually see why I represent the glamour part of our business,” Mr. Ganesh said.

The scars still show When Syed Kirmani (in photo) took the catch to dismiss Faoud Bacchus in the finals of the 1983 World Cup, an excited Krishnamachari Srikkanth rushed in to celebrate. “Srikkanth jumped on me and sunk his spikes into my boots. I realised much later that my toes were bleeding. I have the scars to prove it,” Kirmani said to an apologetic Srikkanth.

said. The panel deliberated on the troubles with the animal birth control (ABC) campaign that was intended to control the stray dog population. Population control “ABC has not been working at all. We have started and stopped so many times. And if we don’t control the population, nature will. Right now, there is a canine distemper breakout in Bangalore. That will kill lots of dogs. In Kerala, they are killing eight or 10 dogs in a very cruel fashion. And what that means is that the two or three dogs left behind, will be extremely scared of people and will be prone to attacking humans. And they will reproduce and build a breed of more vicious strays,” Ashwin Sameeran, who runs Enablers, a stray rescue NGO, said.

Ashwin Sameeran, founder trustee of Enablers, an NGO; Norma Alvarez, social activist; and Abi Tamim Vanak, conservation biologist, at The Huddle on Sunday.— PHOTO: K. MURALI KUMAR

YES Bank is the title sponsor of The Huddle. SRM University, Amaravati, is the Powered-by sponsor, NDTV the television partner, Air India the airline partner, Prestige Group the supporting partner, SAIL the session sponsor, Da Milano the bespoke partner, Parker the writing instrument partner, and Wizrcraft the event partner. Zebronics and Anand Prakash are the gift partners. ND-ND

THE HINDU MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2017

1983, the year that turned Indian cricket around ASHWIN ACHAL

Preview to miracles India’s first match of the campaign, against the mighty West Indies, turned out to be a preview of miracles to come. Batting first, Kapil’s men racked up 262 for eight in 60 overs. West Indies cruised to 67 for two in 22 overs, before rain interrupted play. “When we resumed play the next day, the conditions had turned from sunny to overcast. The ball was doing all sorts of tricks. The West Indies batters were clueless,” Binny, who took three crucial wickets in that encounter, said. The underdogs recorded a 34-run victory, and it was of to the races. Next came one of the mosttalked-about knocks in the history of the sport. Down and out at 17 for

CM YK

When silicon does not bind Bengaluru SHARATH S. SRIVATSA K.V. ADITYA BHARADWAJ BENGALURU: Is there a class divide

A bits-and-pieces team became world champions through sheer grit

BENGALURU: After India won the 1983 Cricket World Cup, the nation was uplifted by an undeniable feeling of patriotic fervour. In the opinion of Krishnamachari Srikkanth, this was the greatest positive to emerge from that remarkable feat. At The Huddle session here on Sunday, the audience was treated to anecdotes from three members of that squad: Syed Kirmani, Roger Binny and Srikkanth. Historian and cricket writer Mukul Kesavan was the moderator. “The morning after we won, we walked on the streets of London as world champion. That proud feeling of being an Indian resonated among our fellow countrymen all around the world,” Srikkanth said. Before the tournament began, however, the Indian players were not a confident lot. “We saw it as a flight to New York, with a stopover in England. We thought that we would exit before the knockout rounds, and then head to New York for a holiday. Only Kapil Dev believed in us. He is the ultimate hero of that team,” the opening batsman said.

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WORLD CHAMPIONS: Krishnamachari Srikkanth, Syed Kirmani, and Roger Binny recall the heady days of the 1983 World Cup at The Huddle in Bengaluru on Sunday. — PHOTO: K. MURALI KUMAR five against Zimbabwe, Kapil smashed an incredible 175 not-out from 138 balls to rescue his side. Kirmani, who put on 126 runs with his skipper for the ninth wicket, said, “I was eating toast before having a shower, when someone yelled at me and asked me to pad up quickly. Our innings had just started, so I thought someone was playing a prank on me. I realised soon enough that this was no joke. I went out and told Kapil to just play his shots. And Kapil went bang, bang, bang. It was amazing,” Kirmani said. “Our manager, Hanumant Singh, a superstitious man, ensured that every player stayed in the same position until our in-

nings ended. Srikkanth was standing near the boundary line with his wife. The poor guy wanted to attend nature’s call, but Hanumant refused him permission,” Kirmani laughed and said. For the trio, it is the final that stands out. It was Srikkanth (38, 57b) who topscored against a fearsome West Indian bowling attack. “I asked Jimmy [Mohinder Amarnath], ‘Yaar, how the hell do I face Micheal Holding, Joel Garner, Andy Roberts and Malcolm Marshall?’ Jimmy replied, ‘Chika, just play your shots da.’ I had the licence to kill,” Srikkanth said. And how about Balwinder

Sandhu cleaning up Gordon Greenidge with that deadly inswinger, Kirmani recalled, “I ran up to congratulate Ballu [Sandhu] and said, ‘Yaar, what an in-swinger that was!’ Ballu replied that he actually wanted to bowl an outswinger, and requested me not to tell anyone about this.” Enter Sir Viv Richards. The original master blaster quickly got going, and the 184-run target began to look woefully inadequate. “The way Viv was smashing it through cover, I thought that West Indies would win before the tea break,” Srikkanth said. Once again, Kapil would save the day. An outstanding catch cut Viv’s knock short. The Windies crumbled soon after, and India had achieved the impossible. “Our cricket board announced a cash award of Rs. 25,000. It was big money for us, and we celebrated with great joy. Imagine that!,” Srikkanth said.

in India’s silicon city? If so, how to get around it? The larger civic issues such as water supply, mobility and air quality that afect every citizen can break the perceived class and language divides in Bengaluru, social activists say. “The city is not inclusive. The elite and the poor have diferent ideas [for the direction the city should take] and their interests often compete with each other, leaving fewer means for them to protest together. That is why we see disparate protests. However, there are some issues like water and mobility that bring all of us together,” Rohini Nilekani, writer and philanthropist, said at the conversation on “Bangalore vs Bengaluru: The tale of two Indian cities” at The Huddle here on Sunday. Ms. Nilekani was analysing why the city was not united during last year’s four massive protests — the one by garment workers, the Cauvery agitation, the Steel Flyover Beda (No Steel Flyover) campaign and “ORR Rising”. Issue-based unity Naresh Narasimhan, architect, who coordinated the campaign against the flyover, said the city was divided culturally, but came together depending on the issue.

“The Steel Flyover Beda campaign was inclusive, which is why it is a successful campaign. People across the spectrum felt strongly against mis-governance,” he said. Vinay Srinivasa of the Alternative Law Forum said the city was so structurally divided that not many had friendships across the classes. “The middle class in the Cantonment area can speak to the middle class in the Old City, but it fails to have communication with other classes in its part of the city,” he said. “When the garment workers’ protest erupted, social media users expressed their angst at

the roads being blocked. However, they were not interested in understanding the low-wage structure of the garment workers or the sexual harassment at the workplace. They did not understand that these workers were fighting for their Provident Fund rights,” he said. On the issues such as the insider-outsider debate, conflict with Africans and the language barrier raised by T.M. Veeraraghav, Resident Editor, The Hindu, Bengaluru, who moderated the session, Pawan Kumar, filmmaker, said migrants normally observed the happenings in the city rather than take part in the civic movement.

Rohini Nilekani, philanthropist; Naresh Narasimhan, architect; Vinay Sreenivasa of the Alternative Law Forum, Pawan Kumar, filmmaker; and T.M. Veeraraghav, Resident Editor, The Hindu, Bangalore, at The Huddle on Sunday. — PHOTO : K. MURALI KUMAR

FROM PAGE ONE

Congress intolerant of the mandate of the people: Venkaiah “They [Congress] are not able to digest the fact that Mr. Modi, who has no prior international and national experience, is becoming increasingly popular both inside and outside India,” Mr. Naidu alleged. Taking a dig at the Opposition for ‘only raising slogans’ within Parliament, he said: “Dynasty is nasty for democracy but tasty for some.” He also said the Communist parties had become ‘irrelevant.’ Ofering an example on how the government was reaching out to other parties, Mr. Naidu said: “To gather support to the GST Bill ahead of Parliament’s nod, the Prime Minister spoke to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister late J. Jayalalithaa seeking her support. While she expressed apprehension over manufacturing States losing out in the GST regime, he convinced her. In return, she promised to abstain from voting.” To bring a broader national consensus, he said the NDA government allowed States to decide on matter of acquiring land for projects, which showed the Union Government’s flexibility. Mr. Naidu said: “Citizens are aghast at what is happening in Parliament. The public opinion, media and the opinion of enlightened people should change the way parliamentary proceedings are conducted. “The time has come for debate, discussion and arriving at solutions,” he added. Mr. Naidu, who listed the ‘achievements’ of the Modiled NDA government, said it was interested in creating wealth and welcomed businesses to succeed.

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THE HINDU MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2017

Switzerland votes on relaxed citizenship laws

N. Korea test fires ballistic missile

GENEVA: Switzerland voted on Sunday on whether to make it easier for third generation immigrants to become citizens, after a campaign tainted by anti-Muslim messages and charges of religious prejudice. Preliminary results pointed to the measure being approved, in what would be a defeat for the far right nationalist Swiss People’s Party (SVP), which put issues of Islam and national identity at the centre of the debate. The government as well as most lawmakers and political parties supported the proposal that would allow the grandchildren of immigrants to skip several steps in the lengthy process of securing a Swiss passport.

SEOUL/WASHINGTON:

Italian immigrants According to a migration department study, less than 25,000 people in the country of about eight million currently qualify as third generation immigrants, meaning they have at least one grandparent who was born here or acquired Swiss residency. Nearly 60% of that group are Italians, followed by those with origins in the Balkans and Turkish nationals. Debate on the proposal had nothing to do with religion at the outset, said Sophie Guignard of the Institute of Political Science at the University of Bern. It was the SVP, a party repeatedly accused of demonising Islam, that focused on the risks of more Muslims becoming citizens and the possible “loss of Swiss val-

Steinmeier chosen as German President BERLIN: German lawmakers

elected Frank-Walter Steinmeier by an overwhelming majority on Sunday to be the country’s new President. Mr. Steinmeier, Germany’s former Foreign Minister, was elected in Berlin by a special assembly that was made up of the 630 members of Parliament’s lower house and an equal number of representatives from Germany’s 16 States. The German President has little executive power, but is considered an important moral authority and symbol of the country as its host for visiting dignitaries. “Let’s be brave, because then we don’t have to be afraid of the future,” Mr. Steinmeier said in his acceptance speech. German Chancellor Angela Merkel congratulated Mr. Steinmeier and said she was convinced he would be an excellent President who would have the support of the vast majority of the people. Mr. Steinmeier (61), a Social Democrat, had the backing in the election of Ms. Merkel’s “grand coalition” of centre-right and centre-left parties. — AP

A win for ‘Yes’ will make it easier for third-generation immigrants to become citizens

Swiss voters casting their ballot in Obersaxen on Sunday. — PHOTO: AP ues”, Ms. Guignard told AFP. Polls closed at midday and most in the wealthy Alpine nation had already voted by mail. The gfs.bern polling institute reported that the early trend indicated a win for the “Yes” camp. Eight cantons including major population centres like Geneva, Zurich and Basel voted to approve the measure with two small cantons voting “No”, final results showed. A change to citizenship laws requires a constitutional amendment, meaning the Yes side needs to win both a majority of votes and a majority of Switzerland’s 26 cantons. Sunday’s referendum is one of four each year for voting on subjects afecting federal as well as local laws and institutions. The No camp faced heavy criticism over a widely-distributed poster showing a woman staring out from a

black niqab with a tagline urging voters to reject “uncontrolled citizenship”. The SVP is not oicially responsible for the poster. It was commissioned by the Committee Against Facilitated Citizenship, which has several SVP members including in leadership positions. The co-chair of that committee and an SVP lawmaker, Jean-Luc Addor, urged people to vote against the measure on grounds that one day most third generation immigrants will not be of European origin. Political initiatives that either directly or implicitly target Muslims may be on the rise in the West, notably including U.S. President Donald Trump’s travel ban against seven mainly Muslim countries, which was undone in court last week. But in Switzerland such moves are nothing new. The SVP in 2009 successfully persuaded Swiss voters to approve a ban on new mosque minaret construction, while religiouslycharged messages have been a part of multiple referendums on immigration since. Polls before the vote had indicated a win for proponents of the citizenship measure but the No camp had gained ground in recent weeks. — AFP

Japan calls it ‘absolutely intolerable’; U.S. President Donald Trump assures Tokyo of full support North Korea fired a ballistic missile into the sea early on Sunday, the first such test since U.S. President Donald Trump was elected, and his administration indicated that Washington would have a calibrated response to avoid escalating tensions. The test was likely to have been of an intermediaterange Musudan-class missile that landed in the Sea of Japan, according to South Korea’s military, not an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), which the North has said it could test at any time. The launch marks the first test of Mr. Trump’s vow to get tough on an isolated North Korean regime that last year tested nuclear devices and ballistic missiles at an unprecedented rate in violation of United Nations resolutions.

‘An expected provocation’ A U.S. oicial said the Trump administration had been expecting a North Korean “provocation” soon after taking oice and will consider a full range of options in response, but these would be calibrated to show U.S. resolve while avoiding escalation. The new administration is also likely to step up pressure on China to rein in North Korea, reflecting Mr. Trump’s previously stated view that Beijing has not done enough on this front, the oicial said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “This was no surprise,” the oicial said. “The North

A television channel in Seoul shows file footage of North Korea’s missile launch. — PHOTO: AFP Korean leader likes to draw attention at times like this.” The latest test comes a day after Mr. Trump held a summit meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and also follows Mr. Trump’s phone call last week with Chinese President Xi Jinping. “I just want everybody to understand, and fully know, that the United States of America is behind Japan, our great ally, 100%,” Mr. Trump told reporters in Palm Beach, Florida, speaking alongside Mr. Abe. He made no further comments. Mr. Abe called the launch “absolutely intolerable” and said North Korea must com-

Being an Arab lawmaker in Israel JERUSALEM: It has never been

easy being a lawmaker who identifies as Palestinian in the Israeli Parliament, but today it is harder than ever, Arab Israeli MPs say. In recent months they have seen their colleagues discuss banning the early morning Muslim call to prayer and vote to legalise the seizure of hundreds of acres of Palestinian land in the West Bank by Jewish settlers. They have faced criticism and threats from fellow members of Israel’s Parliament, the Knesset, some of whom refuse to even speak to them. More discrimination Ahmed Tibi, a veteran lawmaker in his fifth term, said the situation in Parliament is at its worst since he was first elected in 1999, with tensions whipped up by a “right-wing extremist” government. The government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that came to power following elections in 2015 is widely considered the most right-wing in the country’s history. The 2015 election also saw Arab Israeli parties form a common political front for the first time since the cre-

With 13 MPs, Joint Arab List is the third-largest parliamentary block in Israel’s Parliament

Arab Israeli leaders holding placards, with text in Arabic that translates to: “Vote for the Joint List, for a new tomorrow on March 17” ahead of elections in 2015. — FILE PHOTO: AFP ation of Israel in 1948. They founded the Joint Arab List, a coalition that ranges from Islamists to communists and even a Jewish parliamentarian. With 13 MPs out of 120, it is now the third-largest parliamentary block, but is beset by internal divisions. Five more Arab Israeli parliamentarians belong to other parties. Making up around 18% of Israel’s population, Arab Israelis are descended from Palestinians who remained on their land after Israel was established. They have full voting and legal rights but say the state systematically discriminates

against them. Mr. Tibi said the atmosphere in Parliament is increasingly hostile, with some members even refusing to talk to others. He said tensions spiked during three wars with Palestinians in Gaza since 2008. In December, the chairman of Mr. Netanyahu’s Likud party, David Bitan, said he would prefer if Arab Israelis did not vote, accusing them of “representing Palestinian interests” rather than those of the state of which they are citizens. Mr. Tibi said he has been the target of calls for violence. Right-wing Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman once said he should be put

before a firing squad, he said. Sometimes Arab MPs score points. Aida Touma, for example, broke a glass ceiling in 2015 when she became the first Arab to chair a standing committee in the Knesset. “It means big challenges, as I belong to a parliamentary minority and a national minority within the state,” she said. But their colleague Basel Ghattas is now facing prosecution. Mr. Ghattas was accused of illegally bringing mobile phones to prisoners in an Israeli jail. But despite the challenges, parliamentarian Abdallah Abu Maarouf said it is important that Arabs continue to represent their interests in Parliament. ”We were living here before Israel was founded, but now we are 20% of the population,” he said. ”As citizens, we have the legitimate right to work to change the policies of discrimination against Arabs in Israel,” he said. “So we won’t leave this platform.” — AFP

ply with UN Security Council resolutions. China is North Korea’s main ally but has been frustrated by Pyongyang's repeated provocations, although it bristles at pressure from Washington and Seoul to curb the North and its young leader, Kim Jong Un. China’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Mr. Trump and his aides are likely to weigh a series of possible responses, including new U.S. sanctions to tighten financial controls, an increase in naval and air assets in and around the Korean peninsula and accel-

erated installation of new missile defence systems in South Korea, the administration oicial said. But the oicial said that given that the missile was believed not to have been an ICBM and that Pyongyang had not carried out a new nuclear explosion, any response will seek to avoid ratcheting up tensions. Mr. Trump has pledged a more assertive approach to North Korea but given no clear sign of how his policy would difer from Mr. Obama’s so-called strategic patience. In January, Mr. Trump tweeted “It won’t happen!” after Mr. Kim said the North

was close to testing an ICBM, but his aides never explained how he would do so. The missile was launched from an area called Panghyon in North Korea’s western region just before 8 a.m. (2300 GMT Saturday) and flew about 500 km, the South’s Oice of the Joint Chiefs of Staf said. “Our assessment is that it is part of a show of force in response to the new U.S. administration’s hard-line position against the North,” the oice said in a statement. A South Korean military source said the missile reached an altitude of about 550 km. While Seoul initially said the missile was probably a medium-range Rodong, it later said the launch was likely of a Musudan, which is designed to fly up to 3,0004,000 km. The North attempted eight Musudan launches last year. Only one of those launches — of a missile that flew 400 km in June — was considered a success by oicials and experts in South Korea and the U.S. Mr. Kim said in his New Year speech that the country was close to test-launching an ICBM and state media have said such a launch could come at any time. The comments prompted a vow of an “overwhelming” response from U.S. Defence Secretary James Mattis when he travelled to South Korea earlier this month. Once fully developed, a North Korean ICBM could threaten the continental U.S., which is about 9,000 km from North Korea. — Reuters

U.S. denies visa to Pakistan Senate’s deputy chairman ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Senate

deputy-chairman and leader of one of the largest Islamic parties in the country was denied a U.S. visa, leading to the cancellation of a twomember delegation’s planned visit to New York to attend a meeting of the InterParliamentary Union at the UN headquarters. Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, the deputy-chairman and the secretary-general of Jamiat Ulema Islam, was scheduled to lead a twomember Senate delegation at IPU meeting being held on February 13 and 14 at the UN. “The visa of Haideri was put on hold in what can be termed a technical refusal,” The Express Tribune reported, quoting its sources. Senator Lt. Gen. (retd) Salahuddin Tirmizi — who was to accompany Mr. Haideri — was granted a visa just two days earlier. The visit of the two Senators has now been cancelled

Deputy-chairman of Pakistan’s Senate Abdul Ghafoor Haideri. — FILE PHOTO: AP on the direction of Pakistan’s Chairman Senate Raza Rabbani who had taken notice of the issue. Citing oicial sources, the paper said the Senate Secretariat had applied for oicial visas for them two weeks ago. “They said when the Senate Secretariat checked

with the U.S. Embassy about the status of Haideri’s passport through oicial channels, it was told that the U.S. authorities would get back to it by Tuesday, clearly meaning that Haideri could not travel to the U.S. to attend the IPU conference,” it said. “It is a technical refusal,” a top Senate oicial said. Earlier, the Senate Secretariat said that there was a delay in issuance of visa to the deputy-chairman and the Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani had taken notice of the issue. Mr. Rabbani issued directives to his secretariat not to entertain any U.S. delegation or diplomat till the issue was resolved. “No delegation, member of Congress or diplomat of the U.S. will be welcomed by the Senate of Pakistan, Senate Standing Committees and the Senators in their oicial capacity till this issue is resolved,” Mr. Rabbani said. — PTI

Chinese-Indonesian’s rise worries community members ical style has led some prominent Chinese-Indonesians to denounce him for disrupting Indonesia’s delicate ethnic balance.

JON EMONT JAKARTA: The race for Gov-

ernor of Jakarta has consumed Indonesia’s ethnic Chinese, who are divided about whether Basuki Purnama, known universally by his Hakka Chinese nickname, Ahok, is good or bad for them. Chinese-Indonesians make up between 1 and 4% of the population of Indonesia, a majority Muslim nation. Despite that small number, the minority is resented because of its perceived economic success; many of the nation’s wealthiest tycoons are ethnically Chinese. A stepping stone The governorship is widely seen as a steppingstone to the presidency, and Islamist eforts to stop Mr. Basuki, a Christian, led to anti-Basuki rallies in the capital that were among the largest protests in recent memory. Mr. Basuki (50) has risen higher than any other CM YK

Jakarta Governor Basuki ‘Ahok’ Purnama. — FILE PHOTO: AP Chinese-Indonesian politician since the nation began transitioning to democracy in 1998. He received nationwide attention for exposing corrupt bureaucrats and pushing back against the rise of conservative Islam, including by prohibiting Jakarta public schools from requiring female Muslim students to wear a head scarf. Mr. Basuki’s brash polit-

Spike in hate speech The tense political situation has contributed to a spike in hate speech toward ethnic Chinese, who tend not to be Muslim. One of the rallies concluded with the looting of stores in a Chinesedominated Jakarta neighbourhood. Tobias Basuki, a researcher at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta, said one reason that Jakarta’s Governor was polarising was that he freely expressed his Chinese cultural identity, whereas most other Chinese-Indonesian politicians were more discreet. Complicating things for Chinese-Indonesians, the Governor’s rise has overlapped with China’s growing assertiveness as a Pacific power. — New York Times News Service ND-ND

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BUSINESS

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THE HINDU MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2017

‘Housing sales fell 40% in Nov.-Dec.’

ONGC’s Mozambique deal under the lens

Govt. seeks industry data on visa issue

The monthly average housing sales in the top nine cities fell 40% in the November-December period, says realty portal PropTiger.com. — PTI

ONGC’s purchase of Videocon’s stake in a Mozambique gas field came under the Oil Ministry’s lens on charges of overpayment. — PTI

The Centre has sought detailed business data from industry to take up concerns over the visa issue with the U.S. — PTI

Commerce Dept. special arm may drive foreign trade policy

INTERVIEW  SURESH PRABHU

China is way ahead of India in terms of railway investment SUHASINI HAIDAR SOMESH JHA

Trade strategy is now being piloted by the PMO & the External Affairs Ministry and systems. Given their extensive involvement with DGFT and institutional memory, DGFT is best placed to continue with its role in providing policy inputs and aiding the policy formulation process,” the report recommended.

ARUN S NEW DELHI: India’s future trade

(policy) model should have the Commerce Department at the helm, supported by ministries including External Afairs and Finance, while a ‘transformed’ Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) should be the apex body for all trade promotion activities for the country, according to a government-commissioned report. India’s foreign trade strategy and policy is currently being piloted predominantly by the Prime Minister’s Oice and External Afairs Ministry. Frost & Sullivan report The report — prepared by the global consultancy firm Frost & Sullivan and submitted on December 23, 2016, to the commerce & industry ministry — also makes a strong case for a higher profile for the Indian Trade Service (ITS) in matters of trade policies & systems. At present, the oicials belonging to the Indian Administrative Service, Foreign Service and Revenue Service evidently have a relatively superior role over ITS cadre regarding decisions on crucial trade policy matters. The report proposed that “… a dedicated ministerial arm under Department of Commerce will deal exclusively with trade-related policy inputs, their formulation and their rollout with the bulk of implementation work handled by a digital platform.” The Frost & Sullivan report advocated that “the operational implementation of

STRATEGY SHIFT: The new plan proposes a superior role for the ITS cadre on crucial trade policy matters. — FILE PHOTO the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) should reside with the department of commerce providing the trade community one single entity to deal with.” The FTP should be considered a “dynamic document,” according to the report. It added that any change necessitated with respect to the ongoing requirements must be approved by the (commerce) departmental arm responsible for policymaking. “Once approved by all ministerial stakeholders including the Department of Commerce, Department of Revenue and Ministry of External Afairs, a single communication should be issued by the departmental arm dedicated to FTP,” it stated. Small, yet eicient It observed: “The Prime Minister’s preferred model of a small and yet eicient government acting as a facilitator for businesses is most relevant and applicable to the DGFT. Furthermore,

there is a critical need to transform the current DGFT by taking a holistic view of the existent trade environment in the country.” The report mooted that a transformed DGFT should be made accountable for all trade promotion activities for India — providing services such as trade representation in foreign countries, research & development, market intelligence, business matchmaking services as well as public relations, advertising and marketing services. The ‘DGFT 3.0’ — with DGFT pre- and post-liberalisation being the earlier two versions — should also provide (foreign trade) monitoring and training services, hold export promotion campaigns, industrial trade fairs and ensure greater focus on small and medium firms, the report suggested. “The ITS is the only dedicated cadre within the Ministry of Commerce that has professionals with deep knowledge of trade policies

Centre plans to invest ₨2,200 cr. in electronic technology start-ups YUTHIKA BHARGAVA NEW DELHI: The Centre is tar-

geting an investment of about ₨2,200 crore by 2019 in start-ups working on new technologies in the electronic sector under the Electronics Development Fund (EDF), a senior government oicial said. The EDF is a ‘fund of funds’ that works with venture capitalists to create funds, known as ‘daughter funds,’ which provide risk capital to companies developing new technologies in

the area of electronics, nanoelectronics and IT. The EDF would put in 10% of the capital in ‘daughter funds’ and the rest would be invested by venture capitalists. Hence, a targeted investment of ₨2,200 crore by the government will help mobilise ₨22,000 crore for the ‘daughter funds,’ which will then invest primarily in start-ups. “One of the major issues that we have had in India is that we have not had big VC funding coming in,” IT Secretary Aruna Sundararajan

said. “Mostly it has gone into e-commerce and e-tailing. That is not enough. We need to create IPR also. To create IPR… there are a large number of tech start-ups, people working in nano-technology etc… but the problem is who will fund them, because it is almost like R&D, until they commercialise,” she added. She said that the results had been very encouraging as, in one year, the government had been able to mobilise ₨6,870 crore, of which the government’s share has been ₨687 crore.

India is way behind China on investment in railway, including border infrastructure, says Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, even as he defends the government’s delivery record in MoUs with other countries such as Japan, China and Korea.

‘Recruit professionals’ Noting that the DGFT needs to re-skill its resources to be successful, the report said: “Future recruitment should focus on professionals with experience and qualifications in trade and commerce from reputed institutions.” The report comes at a time when India’s goods exports have not yet recovered fully from the impact of a prolonged contraction from December 2014 to May 2016, as well as the government’s demonetisation exercise early November. “For an improvement in India’s performance on the ease of doing business – currently ranked 130 out of 190 countries and particularly on the parameter of ‘trading across borders’ (where India is) currently ranked at a dismal 143 – it is imperative to deploy digital technology to transform the experience of doing trade in the country,” according to the report. It also comes in the backdrop of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) stating in December 2016 that “… the number of new trade-restrictive measures being introduced (by WTO Member countries) remains worryingly high given continuing global economic uncertainty and the WTO's downward revision of its trade forecasts.”

• In terms of India’s ambitions abroad, where does the Indian Railways hope to grow? We already have connectivity with Bangladesh and we would like to improve on that with more lines. Also with Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar. The budget allocation for the North-East has increased dramatically just to take this in. Connecting to our neighbours is definitely a priority.

• How much is competition with China an issue for you? China has invested every year what we plan to invest in five years. Till 2014, when we came to power, they would invest in 6 months what we did in 5 years. We will now increase our investment to $142 billion over the next five years, and we are on track to do that, but that will still be nothing compared to China’s investment. China is way ahead of us in terms of railways investment. In any case, if India wants to have overall infrastructure of a good quality, we must step up railway infrastructure. We are always constrained by the fact that the

Finance Ministry will have limited resources, and won’t be able to give us more investment. So, for the first time we have looked at extra-budget resources. In the Finance Minister’s budget speech, he said they would allocate ₨1,31,000 crore for railways, of which the gross budgetary support is ₨55,000 crore. So the balance will come from extra-budget resources which is part of the Consolidated Fund of India. Finance ministry has told us to raise the funds ourselves, which we can do at a cheaper rate. The question you are asking is very valid, which is about China’s deep infrastructure spending which is much greater than ours.

• Particularly when it comes to border infrastructure, given how Chinese railway comes right up to its frontiers with India in Tibet, along Arunachal Pradesh etc, how will the railways compete? We are working closely

with the Ministry of Defence on this and the MoD will take calls on what lines are important for them, and we will support them fully on all these strategic issues.

• Do you think India would also consider linking up with the Chinese lines that are being laid for the OBOR (One Belt One Road) project for neighbourhood connectivity? Again, physical connectivity can always be discussed by the Railways, but strategic issues go beyond that. So there has to be the larger perspective and the MEA and MoD will decide on these things. We, as the Ministry of Railways, would be able to implement their decisions. There is a plan to connect Asia on one side and Eurasia on the other…that is already a plan. But it’s not going to happen in a hurry since the investment required will be huge. But certain ideas are there: for example the plan to link to Myanmar by railway will take us to South-East Asia as well. Eventually though, our domestic agenda..., the huge backlog of investments in India itself will come first and will take years to cover. Whatever you see today in terms of problems in the Railways is a result of a lack of investment in the Railways for decades. It is inconceivable that we can solve the problem of decades in a few years.

• You are the first Rail Minister of India to not

Second PSB recapitalisation plan on the anvil The aim is to ensure banks remain solvent and comply with global capital adequacy norms

NEW DELHI: The government

plans to come out with ‘Indradhanush 2.0’, a comprehensive plan for recapitalisation of public sector lenders, with a view to make sure they remain solvent and fully comply with the global capital adequacy norms, Basel-III. ‘Indradhanush 2.0’ will be finalised after completion of the Asset Quality Review (AQR) by the Reserve Bank, The review is likely to be completed by March-end. Impact on stocks The RBI had embarked on the AQR exercise from

December 2015 and had asked banks to recognise some top defaulting accounts as non-performing assets (NPAs) and make adequate provisions for them. It has had a debilitating impact on banks’ numbers and their stocks. The central bank has set a deadline of March 2017 to complete the AQR exercise.

“Post (the) Asset Quality Review (AQR) exercise by the RBI to clean up the balance sheets of PSBs, the numbers are being re-looked at and a revised programme of capitalisation will be issued as part of ‘Indradhanush 2.0’,” said a Finance Ministry document. Under ‘Indradhanush’ roadmap announced in 2015, the government had announced an infusion of ₨70,000 crore in state-run banks over four years while they will have to raise a further ₨1.1 lakh crore from the markets to meet their capital requirement in line with

global risk norms, known as Basel-III. 75% funds released In line with the plan, public sector banks were given ₨25,000 crore in 2015-16, and a similar amount has been earmarked for the current fiscal. Besides, ₨10,000 crore each would be infused in 2017-18 and 2018-19. The government has already announced fund infusion of ₨22,915 crore, out of the ₨25,000 crore earmarked for 13 PSBs for the current fiscal. Of this, 75% has already been released to them. — PTI

present a Rail Budget. Do you feel bad about it? If you look at my first two Budgets, this is a continuation of the same thing. It doesn’t matter as long as the Railways benefit.

• What about the other end of the spectrum? The MoU for Ahmedabad-Mumbai rail has been signed at ₨97,000 crore, but it begs the question, couldn’t the money be spent on other areas where the Railways needs to spend? Is that money available for other public service obligations, then? Will Japan give us this money for other projects?

• Is it viable at all? The fact is that for such a short route you may need to charge over ₨3,000 per ticket which is more than the airfare at present… This is what the feasibility study by NITI Aayog says, you should ask them. JICA (Japanese International Cooperation Agency) has also accepted the study.

• Another issue for these international agencies is delivery, particularly on land acquisition delays. On this project, Maharashtra refused to give land identified for the train terminals, for example. How do you plan to work around this? That was not a problem from the Railways side. We have reached out to them and now Maharashtra and Gujarat governments are discussing this issue and they are on board to find land. There are issues but we are able to solve them.

Paytm to hire 100 for travel vertical SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI: Mobile payments

and e-commerce firm Paytm plans to hire 100 people in Bengaluru to support ‘tremendous’ growth in its travel vertical. Paytm said that more than 10 million travel tickets were booked on its platform since its introduction a few months ago. The firm added that its travel vertical crossed $500 million in annualised gross merchandise value in January 2017. Paytm is eyeing a four-fold growth in the space by the year-end.

Pai asks investors to question Infosys cash pile $3.4 billion to shareholders over the two years through share buy-backs and dividend, following investor activism. Infosys has recently come under fire from founders like N.R. Narayana Murthy who have publicly raised concerns on alleged corporate governance lapses at the company.

NEW DELHI: Infosys’s former CFO

T.V. Mohandas Pai on Sunday exhorted institutional investors to raise questions about the huge cash pile on the company’s books and on governance issues, saying investors have an obligation to protect their investment. “Capital allocation is very important. Institutional investors should raise those questions. They have a duty... institutional investors should raise questions on governance because it concerns the company’s reputation,” Mr. Pai said. Infosys had liquid assets, including cash and cash equivalents and investments worth ₨35,697 crore (about $5.25 billion) on its books at the end of December 2016. He asserted that founders, who hold 13% stake in the Bengaluru-based company, had raised these questions like any

T.V. Mohandas Pai other investor would. Mr. Pai, along with former colleague V. Balakrishnan, had sought a $1.8 billion buy-back in 2014. Mr. Pai explained that shareholders all over the world ask questions about capital allocation when growth slows down for listed companies that have too much cash on the books. Last week, Cognizant’s board approved a plan to return

Interim chair suggested Mr. Balakrishnan on Sunday said an interim chairman should be appointed at the earliest to ‘efectively’ engage with Infosys’ co-founders. “I think the founders had raised certain issues on governance, which had happened in the last two years and I said the right way for the Board...is not to take a confrontation approach. Somebody has to take responsibility for all the lapses. That is why I had suggested chairman stepping down, get-

ting an interim chairman and efectively engaging with founders and come to a conclusion,” he said. SEBI keeping watch Meanwhile, markets regulator SEBI said it was keeping a “close watch” on all developments with a “special focus” to ensure that minority investors’ interests were safeguarded. “SEBI is keeping a close watch on the developments at Infosys and has asked stock exchanges to seek clarifications on various media reports relating to the company, its founders and top management team,” a senior oicial said. SEBI will also take into account the views of proxy advisory firms and various institutional investors to understand the issue and before making any direct intervention in the matter. — PTI

Limaye to get ₨8 crore package at NSE NEW DELHI: Leading stock exchange NSE has proposed a pay package of ₨8 crore per annum for its new chief Vikram Limaye and will seek approval of its shareholders on March 7 for his appointment and remuneration package. At an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders, the National Stock Exchange will seek their approval for Mr. Limaye’s appointment as managing dir-

CM YK

ector and chief executive oicer for five years. Recently, NSE’s board approved the appointment, which is also subject to clearance from the market regulator SEBI. NSE will also seek the shareholders’ nod at the EGM for the remuneration package to be paid to Mr. Limaye, who is joining the exchange from IDFC Ltd. As per the EGM notice sent to

the shareholders, the compensation package payable to him would include a fixed pay component of little over ₨6 crore per annum and variable pay of ₨2 crore per year, taking the total pay to about ₨8 crore. This variable pay of 25% of total pay is as per a median performance level of ‘A—’. There are five grades of performance level, namely A+, A, A—, B+ and B. — PTI ND-ND

18 |

SPORT

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2017

Telecast schedule

Pochettino slams Spurs

Aleix Vidal to miss rest of season

India vs Bangladesh: One-off Test; STAR Sports 1, 3 & HD 1, 3, 9.30 a.m.; HIL: STAR Sports 2, 3 & HD 2, 3, 7 p.m.; NBA: Sony Six & Sony Six HD, 6.30 a.m. (Tuesday).

Liverpool was better than us and fully deserved to win. We started the game very sloppy. The whole team was poor. It is about balance and today it was poor. That is the truth. — Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino delivers a withering assessment of his team’s defeat.

Barcelona’s Aleix Vidal will take no further part in the La Liga champion’s quest for a treble this season after suffering a dislocated right ankle that will keep him out for five months.

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India throws down the gauntlet; uphill task for the visitors CRICKET / Mushfiqur stands up to the Indian attack with a ton in the first innings; Ashwin eclipses Lillee’s record A. JOSEPH ANTONY HYDERABAD: Riding on skipper

Mushfiqur Rahim’s century, Bangladesh rustled up 388 less than quarter of an hour before lunch on the fourth day of the Paytm one-of Test at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium on Sunday. India, which declared its first innings at 687 for six, followed suit in the second on 159 for four at the stroke of tea, throwing down the gauntlet. The visitors left to muster 459 for victory, were 103 for three at close. The day had barely crawled out of bed when Bangladesh sufered another blow. Mehedi Hasan, all of 19, but hardly the nervous novice on Saturday, was beaten neck and crop by a beauty from Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The ball cut in viciously from outside the of. The leg stump was uprooted and was thrown some distance, much like debris from a seismic disaster. The morning had Mushfiqur written all over it, as he turned eloquent spokesman for the weak against the mighty. The Bangladesh skipper stood up to a domineering Indian attack, out to tame, if not torment him. If leadership is taught best by personal example, the Bogra-born batsman was a walking lesson on the subject, turning bat into wand and weapon, warding of threats to team and self. The Indian pacemen probed his weakness for the short ball

IN SAFE HANDS: Ajinkya Rahane takes a smart catch to dismiss Mominul Haque off R. Ashwin. — PHOTO: K.R. DEEPAK but pragmatic in approach, he ducked and swerved out of harm’s way. A glance fetched Mushfiqur his fifth century, the gaze skywards that followed more than fleeting. A wan smile signalled relief. If he had cramped his batting to fit it to the team’s cause, the climb to three figures freed his arms enough to loft Ashwin over the long-on hoardings, a liberty not too many batsmen would want to take. The crafty Chennai virtuoso

would exact revenge not much later, luring Bangladesh’s topscorer to feather a catch to Saha behind the woodwork. Big leap

From a 2011 debut against the West Indies in Delhi, Ashwin, with Mushfiqur’s scalp, made the big leap to becoming the fastest in the game’s history to fell 250 victims, eclipsing the great Dennis Keith Lillee, who made the milestone in 48 Tests against Ashwin’s 45.

After India chose to bat again, Taijul Islam turned out to be Bangladesh’s opening gambit for the lone over before lunch. A spring in its step was seen after Taskin Ahmed took down Murali Vijay and K.L. Rahul, the duo dabbing at deliveries in and out of the corridor. Sixes from Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane and Ravindra Jadeja gave enough indication of India’s intent. Kohli was caught by mid-wicket Mahmudullah

Ashwin is a bowler who thinks like a batsman: Pujara V.V. SUBRAHMANYAM HYDERABAD: Cheteshwar Pujara is

hopeful that India will take the remaining seven wickets on the final day of the Test on Monday. Speaking to the media at the end of the fourth day’s play, Pujara said India was aware that Bangladesh had batted well in difficult conditions for bowlers. “The wicket has started turning now, slightly on the slower side. It should offer more assistance to the spinners tomorrow [Monday],” Pujara said. On India not enforcing the follow-on, Pujara said that since the Indians had fielded for more than a 100 overs, the idea was to give at least a session’s break to the bowlers and also let the batsmen score as many as possible between the lunch and tea breaks. “We knew that we had to bat only for one session taking some risks which otherwise would not be the case in a Test,” Pujara said. “The target was to score 150-200 runs before making the declaration.” Commenting on off-spinner R. Ashwin’s world record of becoming the fastest to reach the 250-wicket mark in Tests, Pujara said he is a tough customer for any opposition. “I congratulate him on setting

Full members of BCCI and CoA seek clarity G. VISWANATH MUMBAI: The Committee of Ad-

ministrators (CoA) is likely to seek clarity on some recommendations made by the Justice Lodha Committee before it starts the process of enforcing reforms in cricket. The CoA will meet in Delhi on February 17 to consider a number of matters. One thing probably weighing on its mind is whether it is the ‘government minister/servant or public servant’ who is ineligible to be part of the BCCI Apex Council and management committee of the full member associations. Most full members are not even sure if the BCCI Apex Council recommendation applies to them also. The Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) elected five office bearers (as per Lodha Committee recommendations) and six more executive committee members. It also has a male and female representative from the players association. The State Accountant-General’s oice has not nominated its representative to the committee. Following a High Court order, the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) conducted its elections on January 17, but only as per the Lodha recomCM YK

mendations for five oice bearers and one executive committee member. “The matter is in court. The results have not been declared, many members have filed further petitions because the elections were held without amending the HCA constitution,” said a former oice bearer of the association. MCA’s queries The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has also sought clarity from the CoA on (1) if it has to follow the BCCI Apex model, (2) the status of the office-bearers who have completed eight years, if they are eligible to contest the next elections and should they win, do they have to demit oice after the first year (because of the nine year cumulative rule), and (3) the status of the managing committee members (who have never been oice bearers) who have completed nine years. Similarly, Madhav Ranade, EC member of the Maharashtra Cricket Association has also raised a number of queries. The CoA took some decisions on matters related to the IPL-10 at a meeting in Delhi before Vinod Rai, CoA chairman, left for USA. A call the CoA has to take is whether the IPL Governing Council is required at all.

this world record. He is very smart. A bowler who thinks like a batsman,” the India opener said. “I don’t think Ashwin was desperate in the first innings when Bangladesh batted well. He understands the situations where he should bowl tightly. He did bowl to a plan. One should always remember that we as a bowling unit have a plan,” added Pujara. Bangladesh batting coach Thilan Samaraweera hoped his team would not let the momentum shift in the first one hour on Monday. “I just hope the players stay calm and be mentally tough. It is important for us to come good as a unit” he said. When asked to make a comparison between Ashwin and the Sri Lankan great Muttiah Muralitharan, Samaraweera said they were two different and great bowlers. “Muttiah set a benchmark for others to follow with his 800wicket haul in Test cricket. “It is like [Sunil] Gavaskar setting it for Sachin [Tendulkar] and he in turn setting it for [Virat] Kohli in batting,” he said. “I must say Ashwin is a very smart bowler with lots of variations which can trouble the best of batsmen,” added Samaraweera.

of Shakib Al Hasan, the southpaw not much later knocking down Rahane’s middle stump. After a barren first innings, Shakib had whirled his way back among the wickets. His bag would have been bigger had Mehedi held an overhead chance from Jadeja close to the ropes at cow corner. Going for the cup that cheers, India called a halt, setting the visitors a not too steep target with 135 overs left to be bowled. Tamim Iqbal’s batpad snick of Ashwin was

HOCKEY INDIAN LEAGUE

Waveriders beat Lancers KAMESH SRINIVASAN NEW DELHI: Mandeep Singh’s

amazing stickwork, with two minutes left, clinched a 6-4 victory for Delhi Waveriders over second-placed Kalinga Lancers in the Hockey India League here on Sunday. After leading 3-0 at halftime following Talwinder Singh’s early strike and a penalty corner conversion by Justin Reid-Ross, Waveriders looked to have lost the momentum after two strikes by Dharamvir Singh and captain Moritz Fuertse for Lancers in the third quarter. However, Waveriders equalised through a stinging shot by Rupinder Pal Singh, who converted the team’s eighth penalty corner. The team had managed to convert only one of the seven penalty corners in the first half, and it was a bolt from the blue for the host. Of course, converting penalty corners was a tough proposition for both teams on one end as it was diicult to trap the boun-

EURO LEAGUES

Mane’s double sinks Spurs; Chelsea held by Burnley Premier League leader Chelsea moved 10 points clear at the top on Sunday despite being held by Burnley in an entertaining game played amid flurries of sleet and snow. Pedro gave Chelsea an early lead from a pass by Victor Moses but the home side fought back well and equalised midway through the first half with a superb curling free kick by Robbie Brady, making his full debut. Matt Lowton and Andre Gray missed good chances as Burnley sought to maintain its impressive home record, while the defence restricted further opportunities for Antonio Conte's side. On Saturday, Liverpool belatedly kick-started its year and damaged Tottenham’s slender title hopes as Sadio Mane struck both goals in a 2-0 victory at Anfield. Mane, whose absence at the African Nations Cup coincided with Liverpool’s slump, scored in the 16th and 18th minutes and only Tottenham keeper Hugo Lloris prevented the Senegalese completing a first-half hat-

snapped up by Kohli at gully. The umpire wasn’t convinced but a DRS appeal for the opener’s dismissal was upheld. Soumya Sarkar’s two successive boundaries of Bhuvneshwar invited speedy reprisal, a steepler in the next ripping into the opener’s helmet. Bangladesh sufered its next reversal when Sarkar’s edge of Jadeja was raked up by Rahane in the slips, low to his right. An lbw verdict against Shakib of Jadeja was overturned following a referral.

ON TARGET: Talvinder Singh’s early field goal provided Delhi Waveriders the momentum. — PHOTO : R.V. MOORTHY cing ball that often jumped awkwardly. Quite cleverly, Justin flicked one gently high to catch the defence and the goalkeeper of guard for the only penalty corner conversion that consolidated Waveriders’s position in the first-half. As time was ticking, Mandeep made repeated attempts and followed up on the rebound to flick one home and send the crowd into a de-

The Bengal derby turns out to be a damp squib

LONDON:

AMITABHA DAS SHARMA SILIGURI: East Bengal and Mo-

HIGH-QUALITY STUFF: Sadio Mane gave a dazzling display of his skills with two goals in the first 18 minutes against Tottenham at Anfield on Saturday. — PHOTO: AFP trick as the visitors buckled. The results: Premier League: Burnley 1

(Brady 24) drew with Chelsea 1 (Pedro 7); Swansea City 2 (Mawson 36, Olsson 45) bt Leicester 0. Saturday: Liverpool 2 (Mane 16, 18) bt Tottenham 0. La Liga: Villareal 1 (Bruno 62-pen) drew with Malaga 1 (Charles 14); Leganes 0 lost to Sporting Gijon 2 (Canella 67, Burgui 83). Saturday: Athletic Bilbao 2 (Muniain 71, Aduriz 90) bt Deportivo la Coruna 1 (Emre Colak 42); Osasuna 1 (Sergio Leon 33) lost to Real Madrid 3 (Ronaldo 24, Isco 62, Vazquez 90+3). Serie A: Crotone 0 lost to AS

Roma 2(Nainggolan 40, Dzeko 77); Inter Milan 2 (Eder 14, Candreva 54) bt Empoli 0; Palermo 1 (Chochev 41) lost to Atalanta 3 (Conti 19, Gomez 26, Cristante 78); Sassuolo 1 (Matri 24) lost to Chievo Verona 3 (Inglese 39, 56, 67); Torino 5 (Falque 2, Ajeti 9, Belotti 15 & 61, Ljajic 53) bt Pescara 3 (Ajeti 73-og, Benali 75 & 83). Saturday: Fiorentina 3 (Valero 41, Babacar 62, Bernardeschi 80-pen) bt Udinese 0. Bundesliga: Wolfsburg 2 (Arnold 50, Didavi 73) bt Hoffenheim 1 (Zuber 26); Freiburg 2 (Grifo 32, Philipp 77) bt Cologne 1 (Modeste 39). — Agencies

lirium. For a team that drew a blank from its first four matches, Waveriders have really recovered lost ground to stay in the race. The fact that in the normal course it would have been a 4-2 victory for Waveriders proved its domination. The results: Delhi Waveriders 6 (Talwinder Singh 2 (FG), Manpreet Singh 2, Justin Reid-Ross, Rupinder Pal Singh) bt Kalinga Lancers 4 (Dharamvir Singh 2 (FG), Moritz Fuertse 2 (FG)).

hun Bagan played out a safe goalless draw in a ninth round match of the I-League at the Kanchenjungha Stadium here on Sunday. The traditional rivals, meeting for the 352nd time in a history spanning 96 years, could not live up to the intensity associated with their derby clash and put caution over aggression. In the first half, the teams focused more on limiting the number of attacking moves on either ends. Bagan earned four corners of which only two bothered the East Bengal custodian T.P. Rehenesh. The first one happened in the 14th minute when Rehenesh had to stretch himself full length to palm out a swerving shot from Haitian Sony Norde, who saw his second efort in the 33rd minute meeting the same fate. The combination of Scotsman Darryl Dufy and Norde in the Bagan attack was inefective as did

the coordination between East Bengal’s Haitian midfielder Wedson Enselme and Trinidad and Tobago striker Willis Plaza. Compared to the team’s last outing in the AFC Cup against Colombo FC, Bagan coach Sanjoy Sen made a few changes bringing in goalkeeper Debjit Majumder and defenders Pritam Kotal, Eduardo Ferreira (Brazil) and Subhasish Bose. For East Bengal, seasoned Mehtab Hossain returned to Trevor Morgan’s side after serving a one-game suspension. Bagan earned the first chance in the 15th minute when Norde set up a back centre which was met by Kotal with a nice first-timer. But Rehenesh came up with a superb block to keep East Bengal out of danger. Next, it was the turn of Majumdar in Bagan goal to bring up a beautiful save when Plaza came close to scoring on an assist from Wedson. After the draw, East Bengal remained on top with 20 points in eight matches and Bagan behind with 17 from seven. The result: East Bengal 0 drew with Mohun Bagan 0.

Padmini stuns Danielian National champion Padmini Rout produced a nice finish to her second game against Armenia’s Elina Danielian for an impressive 15-0.5 victory in their two-game mini-match and advanced to the second round of the women’s World chess championship here on Sunday. However, fourth seed D. Harika will have to play the tie-break games, of shorter time duration, on Monday against Bangladesh’s Akter Liza Shamima. For the second successive day, their game ended with honours even. Playing white, Harika let go of an opportunity to gain a pawn, but erred immediately on the 29th move. Thereafter, she defended the position until Shamima let the advantage slip on the 38th move. The draw was agreed at this stage. After having escaped with a draw playing with black on Saturday, Padmini was in her element with the white pieces and scored a comprehensive 29-move victory in CaroKann. Padmini, rated 2387, was comfortably placed and headed for a better endgame. But Elina, rated 2444, committed a blunder with her queen on the 28th move. Padmini quickly seized the moment with a rook that left Elina staring at a one-move mate or the loss of queen for a rook. She resigned immediately. In the second round, Padmini is due to meet the winner of the on-going match, between eighth seeded Chinese Zhao Xue and lowerranked Argentine Ayelen Martinez, which stands locked at 1-1. — Sports Bureau

TEHRAN:

Services men, Rlys women win VARANASI: Services men and

Railways women won the Federation Cup volleyball championship here on Sunday. The results (finals): Men: Services bt Kerala 15-25, 25-20, 25-19, 25-19. Women: Railways bt Kerala 25-17, 25-17, 18-25, 29-27.

Indian duo bags title TEHRAN: The Indian doubles

pair of Arjun Madathil Ramachandran and Ramchandran Shlok won the men’s doubles title at the 26th Iran Fajr badminton tournament here on Sunday. The second-seeded Indian pair defeated the fifth-seeded Indonesian duo of Kenas Adi Haryanto and Muhammad Reza Pahlevi Isfahani 11-8, 11-8, 11-9 in just 25 minutes. — PTI ND-ND

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SPORT

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2017

That’s My Class poised for hat-trick

Durant leads Warriors to win

HYDERABAD: That's My Class, who is in good form, may complete a hattrick in the Godolphin Barb Million (1,400m), the chief event of the races to be held here on Monday (Feb. 13).

LOS ANGELES: Kevin Durant re-

turned to Oklahoma City on Saturday, but shut out the noise to lead Golden State Warriors to a 130-114 victory over his former NBA team Thunder. The results: Boston Celtics 112 bt Utah Jazz 104; Houston Rockets 133 bt Phoenix Suns 102; Dallas Mavericks 112 bt Orlando Magic 80; Golden State Warriors 130 bt Oklahoma City Thunder 114; Cleveland Cavaliers 125 bt Denver Nuggets 109. Philadelphia 76ers 117 bt Miami Heat 109; Milwaukee Bucks 116 bt Indiana Pacers 100. Los Angeles Clippers 107 bt Charlotte Hornets 102. — Agencies

1 PRINCE KHARTOUM PLATE (1,400m), 4-y-o & over, rated 46 to 70 (Cat. II), 1-15 p.m.: 1. Rebellion (6) Md. Sameeruddin 60, 2. Miracle King (5) I. Chisty 59.5, 3. Top Contender (4) Suraj Narredu 59.5, 4. Leading Legend (1) Beuzelin 57, 5. Negress Pearl (2) Akshay Kumar 54 and 6. Silver Dollar (3) Ajeeth Kumar 52.5. 1. Leading Legend, 2. Miracle King 2 MOTHER'S BOY PLATE (1,200m), (Cat. II), 3-y-o only (Terms), 1-45: 1. Amorous White (2) P. S. Chouhan 59.5, 2. On The Fire (9) P. Trevor 55.5, 3. Proud Warrior (1) N. Rawal 55.5, 4. Southern Crown (3) Deep Shanker 55.5, 5. Top Link (7) Suraj Narredu 55.5, 6. Treasure Striker (10) K. Mukesh Kumar 55.5, 7. Lucky Nicky (4) Kiran Naidu 54, 8. Sarvatra (8) I. Chisty 54, 9. Vallee Sceptre (6) Akshay Kumar 54 and 10. Vancouver (5) Beuzelin 54. 1. Amorous White, 2. Sarvatra, 3. Top Link

ON TOP OF THE WORLD: The Indian team won its second T20 World Cup for the Blind with a commanding performance in the final in Bengaluru on Sunday. — PHOTO: G.P. SAMPATH KUMAR

Harpreet stars for Central

India keeps crown

AMOL KARHADKAR MUMBAI: Harpreet Singh scored

a match-winning 42-ball 62 (2x4, 4x6) to help Central Zone stun West Zone in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 championship. The target of 161 may not have been herculean but considering the situation he found himself in made it a memorable outing for the Madhya Pradesh left-hander. Coming in to bat at 44 for two, Harpreet played second fiddle to Ambati Rayudu. However, once Rayudu left with Central at 79 for three in the 11th over, it was time for Harpreet to take over. He switched gears in the 13th over with a straight six of Tambe and the shots kept flowing till he was dismissed with the match all but sealed. The scores: West Zone: Parthiv Patel c Harpreet b Choudhary 16, Priyank Panchal c Wankhede b Mishra 12, Shreyas Iyer c Rawat b Sharma 7, Kedar Jadhav c Sharma b Dhaliwal 8, Irfan Pathan (run out) 4, Aditya Tare c Wankhede b Choudhary 40, Deepak Hooda (not out) 49, Abhishek Nayar c Harpreet b Mishra 2, Shardul Thakur c Sharma b Choudhary 9, Pravin Tambe (not out) 2, Extras (lb-7, w-4): 11; Total (for eight wkts. in 20 overs) 160. Fall of wickets: 1-25, 2-38, 3-48, 4-48, 5-61, 6-108, 7-118, 8-151. Central Zone bowling: Ankit Rajpoot 4-0-33-0, Aniket Choudhary 40-47-3, A.C.P. Mishra 4-0-28-2, Karn Sharma 4-0-24-1, Sohraab Dhaliwal 4-0-21-1. Central Zone: Naman Ojha c Iyer b Chaudhary 11, Mahipal Lomror b Chaudhary 14, Ambati Rayudu st Patel b Tambe 24, Harpreet Singh c Jadhav b Pathan 62, Mahesh Rawat (not out) 30, Sohraab Dhaliwal (not out) 6, Extras (b-4, lb-6, w-8): 18; Total (for four wkts. in 18.2 overs) 165. Fall of wickets: 1-33, 2-44, 3-79, 4-150. West Zone bowling: Irfan Pathan 4-0-39-1, Shardul Thakur 3.20-33-0, Ishwar Chaudhary 3-0-20-2, Pravin Tambe 4-0-27-1, Abhishek Nayar 4-0-36-0.

Andhra enters semifinals VIZIANAGARAM: Andhra beat Hi-

machal Pradesh by four wickets to enter the semifinals of the Col. C.K. Nayudu (under-23) Trophy on Sunday. The scores: At Vizianagaram: Himachal Pradesh 127 & 262 in 57 overs (E.C. Sen 89, P.S. Khanduri 67, K.V. Sasikanth seven for 66) lost to Andhra 193 & 200 for six in 76 overs (G.R. Gnaneswar 82 n.o., Naren Reddy 45). At Valsad: Kerala 161 & 254 in 78.4 overs (Salman Nizar 67, Fabid Ahmed 60, Akshay Chandran 58, A.J. Tandel six for 55) vs. Gujarat.

3 GODOLPHIN BARB MILLION (1,400m), 3-y-o only (Terms), 2-15: 1. That's My Class (3) Akshay Kumar 58.5, 2. Fashion

CRICKET / Defeats Pakistan in final of T20 WC for Blind N. SUDARSHAN BENGALURU: Prakasha Jayara-

maiah, with an unbeaten 99 (60b, 15x4), led India to an emphatic nine-wicket win over Pakistan and helped it retain the T20 World Cup for Blind title at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Sunday. Set 198 to win, India romped home with 14 balls to spare, with Prakasha, the local lad, quite aptly finishing things of with a winning boundary. Even though he ended up agonisingly short of a deserved century, the innings was worth its weight in gold. Pakistan, after electing to bat, would have hoped to score more than the 198 it did, for, in most of its matches until the final, it had scored in excess of 300. In fact, till Badar Munir (57, 37b, 8x4, 1x6) was at the crease, it looked set to post an imposing total.

But, when Munir became the second man to go, with Pakistan on 118, it triggered a collapse from which it never recovered. Ketan Patel bowled an excellent four-over spell conceding just 29 runs and claiming two wickets, including that of Munir. The Indian fielding too, was outstanding. In reply, the duo of Prakasha and skipper Ajay Kumar Reddy (43, 31b, 4x4) put on 110 for the opening wicket in 10.1 overs before the latter departed. If Pakistan had hoped that Ajay’s run out would put the brakes on India, it was not to be, as Ketan, played the ideal foil rotating the strike impressively and giving Prakasha the bulk of the scoring opportunities. There was a nervous moment when Ketan was struck on the jaw and had to retire hurt. But there were no hiccups, as Prakasha, in the com-

pany of D. Venkatesh, completed the job in fine fashion. “In the 2012 T20 World Cup, 2014 ODI World Cup and Asia cup, India lost to Pakistan in the league stage. But, we won the final against them on all three occasions,” said Prakasha. “This final was not a big challenge for us because 198 was not a huge target. “Had we won the toss, we would have chosen to bowl first. But, luckily Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat and that turned out to be crucial.” The scores: Pakistan 197 for eight in 20 overs (Badar Munir 57) lost to India 200 for one in 17.4 overs (Prakasha Jayaramaiah 99 n.o., Ketan Patel 26 retd. hurt). Awards: Man-of-the-match & best wicketkeeper: Prakasha Jayaramaiah; player of the series: B1 category: Riasat Khan (Pak); B2: Badar Munir (Pak); B3: Suranga Sampath (SL).

All too easy for Gambhir, Dhawan AMOL KARHADKAR MUMBAI: Gautam Gambhir may

have been past his prime, especially in the shorter formats. Shikhar Dhawan may have lost his place in the Indian side in two of the three formats. But the Delhi openers’ association of 103 set up North Zone’s facile win against South Zone in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 championship. Wankhede Stadium saw a decent turnout on Sunday afternoon, primarily to watch Yuvraj Singh bat. But with the left-handed duo on song, followed by Rishabh Pant toying with the South bowlers, the spectators had to make do with watching Yuvraj knocking a few balls after North overhauled the target of 174 with eight balls to spare. Gambhir started the chase creaming three boundaries — a pull, a drive and a streaky edge to third-man — of R. Vinay Kumar in the opening over. Dhawan repeated the hat-trick of boundaries with successive cuts and a lofted drive over covers, of S. Arvind in the fourth. Once the two most experienced bowlers failed to strike, the leg-break duo of M. Ashwin and D. Swaroop Kumar ofered little challenge. Both the leggies preferred googlies over leg-breaks but still were punished by Dhawan and Gambhir. Ashwin finally foxed Dhawan with a googly for

High (2) Beuzelin 54, 3. Palace On Wheels (4) Suraj Narredu 54 and 4. Hope Is Eternal (1) P. S. Chouhan 50. 1. That's My Class, 2. Palace On Wheels 4 NILGIRIS PLATE (Div. II), (1,100m), 4-y-o & over, rated upto 30, 2-45: 1. Rohini (2) Md. Ismail 60, 2. Dawning Hope (8) Rohit Kumar 59, 3. Proud Princess (6) Sai Kumar 59, 4. Top Sprint (5) Deepak Singh 57, 5. Fortune Star (4) Aneel 56, 6. Aalishaan (3) Akshay Kumar 55, 7. Cannon King (1) Kunal Bunde 54, 8. War Lady (9) G. Naresh 52.5 and 9. Exclusive Star (7) B. R. Kumar 50. 1. Fortune Star, 2. Dawning Hope, 3. Top Sprint 5 AMARNATH GUPTA MEMORIAL CUP (Div. II), (1,400m), 5-y-o & over, rated 46 to 70 (Cat. II), 3-20: 1. Kohinoor Thunder (10) Rohit Kumar 60, 2. Dancing Farha (7) G. Naresh 58, 3. Sketch Of Beauty (2) Ajeeth Kumar 57.5, 4. Azarenka (6) P. Trevor 56.5, 5. Cloud Dancer (8) Akshay Kumar 56.5, 6. Rock Heights (9) Kuldeep Singh 56.5, 7. Aston Doulton (4) Md. Sameeruddin 55.5, 8. Market Leader (5) I. Chisty 55, 9. Kalinda (3) Deepak Singh 54, 10. Green Striker (1) B. R. Kumar 53.5 and 11. Shivalik Bird (11) P. S. Chouhan 53. 1. Market Leader, 2. Green

Striker, 3. Shivalik Bird 6 CHARON PLATE (2,000m), 4-y-o & over, rated 46 to 70 (Cat. II), 3-50: 1. Carolina Moon (3) A. A. Vikrant 61, 2. Elysian (5) Kuldeep Singh 60, 3. Coruba (4) A. S. Pawar 59, 4. Dahilos (9) I. Chisty 57.5, 5. Nautanki (1) A M Tograllu 56.5, 6. Ashwa Ashoka (7) Akshay Kumar 56, 7. Euro Zone (2) P. S. Chouhan 54, 8. Vijay Vidyut (6) P. Gaddam 53.5 and 9. Princess Of Dreams (8) Beuzelin 53. 1. Ashwa Ashoka, 2. Euro Zone, 3. Elysian 7 NILGIRIS PLATE (Div. I), (1,100m), 4-y-o & over, rated upto 30 (Cat. III), 4-20: 1. Cannon Hope (4) Kunal Bunde 60, 2. Whisper (7) A. S. Pawar 59.5, 3. Shivalik Arrow (9) Kiran Naidu 59, 4. Yes Baby (8) G. Naresh 59, 5. Divine Heights (6) N. Rawal 57, 6. Mexican Rose (2) Ajeeth Kumar 55.5, 7. Invasion (3) Md. Ismail 54.5, 8. Oh Pharaoh (1) P. Gaddam 52.5 and 9. Princess (5) B. R. Kumar 52. 1. Divine Heights, 2. Yes Baby, 3. Shivalik Arrow 8 PAKHAL CUP (1,400m), 4y-o & over, rated 26 to 50 (Cat. III), 4-55: 1. Gangadhar (6) G. Naresh 61, 2. Avantika (10) Beuzelin 60.5, 3. Olympic Hero (11) A. S. Pawar 60.5, 4. Raja Hindustani (3) P. Trevor 58.5, 5.

Mangalyaan claims feature event HYDERABAD: Mangalyaan (P.Ajeeth Kumar up) won the first division of the Grace And Strength Plate, the main event of the races held here on Sunday (Feb. 12). The winner is trained by A.Sharma and owned by M/s T.Rakesh Reddy & Hanumantha Rao Yerramsetty. 1. ROYAL PRINCE PLATE (1,400m), 5-y-o & over, rated upto 30: Sensational Girl (Sai Kumar) 1, Buckshee (Akshay Kumar) 2, Green Olive (Khurshad Alam) 3, Steyn Memories (N. Rawal) 4. 1-1/4, 3-3/4, 1-3/4. 1m 29.04s. Rs 17 (w), 7, 7 and 25 (p), SHP: Rs 17, FP: Rs 48, Q: Rs 19, Tanala: Rs 391. Favourite: Buckshee. Owners: M/s S.Prasad Raju, K.Mallikarjuna Rao & B.S.Reddy. Trainer: KSV Prasad Raju. 2. RED RUFUS PLATE (1,600m), (Cat. II), maiden 3-y-o only (Terms): Rajneeti (Deep Shanker) 1, Lost And Found (I. Chisty) 2, Supremo (S. Sreekant) 3, Somerset (Akshay Kumar) 4. Nk, nk, hd. 1m 41.19s. Rs 22 (w), 6, 5 and 35 (p), SHP: Rs 18, FP: Rs 40, Q: Rs 15, Tanala: Rs 386. Favourite: Lost And Found. Owner and trainer: Mr Laxman Singh. 3. REPUBLIC PLATE (1,800m), 4-y-o & over, rated 26 to 50 (Cat. III): Al Sadr (K. Mukesh Kumar) 1, Valee Tiger (Akshay Kumar) 2, Vijays Splendour (Gopal Singh) 3, Samba (P. Gaddam) 4. Shd, 2-1/4, hd. 1m 55.67s. Rs 18 (w), 8, 25 and 13 (p), SHP: Rs 69, FP: Rs 252, Q: Rs 167, Tanala: Rs 9626. Favourite: Pentagon. Owners: M/s T.Rakesh

Reddy, Premanand Sugandhi, B.Naveen Kumar & Ashok Rupani. Trainer: A.Sharma. 4. GRACE AND STRENGTH PLATE (Div. II), (1,600m), 4-y-o & over, rated 66 to 90 (Cat. II): Tiger (Akshay Kumar) 1, Western Wind (K. Mukesh Kumar) 2, O Ms Akilah (N. S. Rathore) 3, Movie Moghaul (P. Gaddam) 4. 1/4, 3, ns. 1m 39.12s. Rs 28 (w), 9, 6 and 10 (p), SHP: Rs 19, FP: Rs 97, Q: Rs 56, Tanala: Rs 457. Favourite: Western Wind. Owners: M/s Syed Aminuddin Zohair & Nirmal Singh. Trainer: Deshmukh. 5. M. C. E. M. E. ROLLING TROPHY (Div. II), (1,200m), 4-y-o & over, rated 46 to 70, (Cat. II): Without Makeup (Ajit Singh) 1, Big Flash (Deepak Singh) 2, Platinum (Md. Ismail) 3, Manoveg (I. Chisty) 4. 1, 1, 1. 1m 12.28s. Rs 14 (w), 8, 39 and 10 (p), SHP: Rs 236, FP: Rs 840, Q: Rs 410, Tanala: Rs 4991. Favourite: Without Makeup. Owner: Mrs Junaid Ali Khan. Trainer: N.Ravinder Singh. 6. M. C. E. M. E. ROLLING TROPHY (Div. I), (1,200m), 4-y-o & over, rated 46 to 70 (Cat. II): Dream Vision (Beuzelin) 1, Dream Girl (N. Rawal) 2, Bharat Queen (B. R. Kumar) 3, Ragas Ajalias (Mukesh Kumar) 4. 2-1/4, shd, nk. 1m 12.25s. Rs 10 (w), 6, 16 and 15 (p), SHP: Rs 45, FP: Rs 68, Q: Rs 64, Tanala: Rs 618. Favourite: Dream Vision. Owner: Mr S.Pathy. Trainer: D.Netto. 7. GRACE AND STRENGTH PLATE (Div. I), (1,600m), 4-y-o & over, rated 66 to 90 (Cat. II): Mangalyaan (P.Ajeeth Kumar) 1,

Morning Miracle (A. S. Pawar) 2, Flower Roll Up (Beuzelin) 3, Vista (P. Gaddam) 4. 5-1/4, 1-1/4, shd. 1m 38.30s. Rs 27 (w), 9, 8 and 11 (p), SHP: Rs 23, FP: Rs 96, Q: Rs 52, Tanala: Rs 274. Favourite: Morning Miracle. Owners: M/s T.Rakesh Reddy & Hanumantha Rao Yerramsetty. Trainer: A.Sharama. 8. AMARNATH GUPTA MEMORIAL CUP (Div. I), (1,400m), 5-y-o & over, rated 46 to 70 (Cat. II): Bharat King (B. R. Kumar) 1, Dandy Girl (Aneel) 2, Grand Canyon (A. A. Vikrant) 3, Legend (Sai Kumar) 4. 1-1/4, 1-3/4, nk. 1m 26.85s. Rs 234 (w), 28, 42 and 12 (p), SHP: Rs 231, FP: Rs 3894, Q: Rs 2031, Tanala: Rs 49,607. Favourite: Legend. Owner: Mr. A. K.Jaiswal. Trainer: A.Sharma. 9. MOSSY BANKS PLATE (Div. I), (1,200m), 4-y-o & over, rated 26 to 50, (Cat. III): Amazing Venus (B. R. Kumar) 1, Prime Time (Akshay Kumar) 2, In Command (Md. Ismail) 3, Symbol Of Gold (Khurshad Alam) 4. Nk, 3-1/4, 3-1/4. 1m 12.78s. Rs 19 (w), 7, 8 and 19 (p), SHP: Rs 20, FP: Rs 57, Q: Rs 22, Tanala: Rs 827. Favourite: Prime Time. Owners: M/s Kudithi Mahender Reddy, Rammohan Belde & Premanand Sugandhi. Trainer: A.Sharma. Jackpot: (i): 30%: Rs 1493 (31 tkts), 70%: Rs 12,000 (9 tkts), (ii): 30%: Rs 2186 (63 tkts), 70%: Rs 18903 (17 tkts). Treble: (i): Rs 389 (72 tkts), (ii): Rs 433 (65 tkts), (iii): Rs 2665 (17 tkts).

B Fifty Two, Dancing Prances wins MUMBAI: B Fifty Two (P. Trevor up) won the Deltin Eclipse Stakes Of India, and Dancing Prances (A. Imran Khan up) claimed the Dr. S.C. Jain Sprinters’ Championship, the two stellar attractions of Sunday’s (Feb. 12) afternoon races. B Fifty Two is owned by M/s. Hemant S. Dharnidharka, Dinesh G. Virwani & Mr. Shapoor P. Mistry rep. Manjri Horse Breeders’ Farm Pvt. Ltd. and trained by Imtiaz Sait. Dancing Prances is owned by M/s. Ashok Ranpise, Dinsha P. Shrof, Solomon F. Sopher & Mrs. Mozelle Kelly and trained by Altaf Hussain. 1. KOKU-KIKA TROPHY (Div. I), (1,400m), Cl. IV, rated 20 to 46: Makino (Neeraj) 1, Angel Girl (A. Imran Khan) 2, Celestial Light (C.S. Jodha) 3 and Top Wizard (Ajinkya) 4. Not run: Sir Desmond and Abu Al Bukhoosh. 2-1/4, 2, 6-1/4. 1m 24.55s. Rs. 46 (w), 17, 13 and 15 (p), SHP: Rs. 48, FP: Rs. 140, Q: Rs. 54, Tanala: Rs. 184 and Rs. 80. Favourite: Angel Girl. Owners: M/s. Parag C. Mengale, Ashutosh S. Pethe, Tushar Mengale, Amit Vilas Malvadkar & Mrs. Magansingh P. Jodha. Trainer: Adhirajsingh Jodha. 2. SONNY BRAR TROPHY (1,600m), Cl. II, rated 60 to 86: Traherne (C.S. Jodha) 1, Khayyam (J. Chinoy) 2, Pugnacious (Neeraj) 3 and Mekong Delta (Trevor) 4. Nk, 1/2, 2-1/4. 1m 38.12s. Rs. 81 (w), 37 and 28 (p), SHP: Rs. 41, FP: Rs. 657, Q: Rs. 202, Tanala: Rs. 2,177 and Rs. 267. Favourite: Mekong Delta. Owners: Mr. & Mrs. Shapoor P. Mistry rep. Majri Horse Breeders’ Farm Pvt. Ltd. & Mr. Rajesh Monga. Trainer: S.K. Sunderji. 3. DELTIN ECLIPSE

PULLING HIS WEIGHT: Gautam Gambhir underlined the value of experience with a rapid 81 to put North Zone on the path to victory over South. — PHOTO: PTI ’keeper Vishnu Vinod — who got a game since Dinesh Karthik had to rush to Chennai owing to a bereavement in the family — didn’t falter. By then, the damage had been done and Dhawan had also earned applause for a fifty. Gambhir and Pant continued cruising towards the target, with the latter sending one from Vinay into the stands to stamp the victory just after Gambhir was cleaned up by Arvind. In the afternoon, Ricky Bhui’s sensible batting and Vijay Shankar’s late charge helped South Zone to set up a total of 173 for five. All through the innings, an experienced North bowling unit kept striking regularly, thus avoiding any of the South batsmen from running away with the game. The scores: South Zone: Tanmay Agarwal c Yuvraj b Dagar 25, Mayank Agarwal c

& b Dagar 32, Vishnu Vinod c Dhawan b Harbhajan 1, Ricky Bhui c Harbhajan b b Nehra 50, Hanuma Vihari c Dagar b Nehra 18, Vijay Shankar (not out) 34, R. Vinay Kumar (not out) 9; Extras (lb-2, w-2): 4; Total (for five wkts. in 20 overs) 173. Fall of wickets: 1-51, 2-58, 3-65, 4-119, 5-150. North Zone bowling: Ashish Nehra 4-0-35-2, Mohit Sharma 4-038-0, Pradeep Sangwan 4-0-33-0, Mayank Dagar 4-0-31-2, Harbhajan Singh 2-0-13-1, Parvez Rasool 2-0-21-0. North Zone innings: Shikhar Dhawan st Vinod b Ashwin 50, Gautam Gambhir b Arvind 81, Rishabh Pant (not out) 33, Amit Pachhara (not out) 5; Extras (b-1, w-6): 7; Total (for two wkts. in 18.4 overs): 176. Fall of wickets: 1-103, 2-164. South Zone bowling: R. Vinay Kumar 3.4-0-39-0, S. Arvind 4-032-1, M. Ashwin 4-0-23-1, Basil Thampi 3-0-28-0, D. Swaroop Kumar 2-0-28-0, Vijay Shankar 1-0-9-0, Hanuma Vihari 1-0-16-0.

STAKES OF INDIA (Gr.2) (2,000m), 4-y-o & over: B Fifty Two (Trevor) 1, Alaindair (Srinath) 2, Jack Frost (Sandesh) 3 and Remember Me (S. Amit) 4. Lnk, 2-1/4, dist. 2m 06.26s. Rs. 62 (w), 23 and 10 (p), SHP: Rs. 38, FP: Rs. 146, Q: Rs. 28, Tanala: Rs. 119 and Rs. 65. Favourite: Alaindiar. Owners: M/s. Hemant S. Dharnidharka, Dinesh G. Virwani & Mr. Shapoor P. Mistry rep. Manjri Horse Breeders’ Farm Pvt. Ltd. Trainer: Imtiaz Sait. 4. LITTLE HEARTS MILLION (1,400m), Cl. III, rated 40 to 66: Carbonara (Sandesh) 1, Sawgrass (Santosh) 2, Miss Saigon (Ajinkya) 3 and Elegant Beauty (Yash Narredu) 4. Nk, 1-1/4, Lnk. 1m 24.14s. Rs. 54 (w), 19, 45 and 15 (p), SHP: Rs. 123, FP: Rs. 1,295, Q: Rs. 1,440, Tanala: Rs. 2,936 and Rs. 1,258. Favourite: Miss Saigon. Owners: Mr. Homi F. Mehta, Mrs. Anaheeta H. Mehta, Mrs. Liane M. Luthria, M/s. Jehangir Homi Mehta & Milan Luthria. Trainer: Imtiaz Sait. 5. MID DAY TROPHY (1,400m), Maiden 3-y-o only: Windsor Forest (Suraj Narredu) 1, Rochester (Trevor) 2, Angels Touch (P.S. Chouhan) 3 and Gazino (Yash Narredu) 4. 1-1/4, Nk, 2. 1m 24.30s. Rs. 19 (w), 13, 10 and 38 (p), SHP: Rs. 24, FP: Rs. 27, Q: Rs. 10, Tanala: Rs. 138 and Rs. 141. Favourite: Windsor Forest. Owners: Mr. Pallon S. Mistry rep. Manjri Horse Breeders’ Farm Pvt. Ltd. & Mr. D.R. Thacker. Trainer: P. Shrof. 6. DR. S.C. JAIN SPRINTERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (Gr.2) (1,200m), 4-y-o & over: Dancing Prances (A. Imran Khan) 1, Gold

Bag (Srinath) 2, Your Royal Majesty (Trevor) 3 and Renee (Sandesh) 4. 3/4, sh. hd., 1/2. 1m 10.11s. Rs. 34 (w), 14, 27 and 13 (p), SHP: Rs. 82, FP: Rs. 162, Q: Rs. 36, Tanala: Rs. 950 and Rs. 315. Favourite: Holy Smoke. Owners: M/s. Ashok Ranpise, Dinsha P. Shrof, Solomon F. Sopher & Mrs. Mozelle Kelly. Trainer: Altaf Hussain. 7. DR. JAGJIT SINGH TRIBUTE SALVER (1,200m), Cl. IV, rated 20 to 46: Irish Bailey (Sandesh) 1, Orla (Ajinkya) 2, Rain Dancer (Parbat) 3 and Adeline (Bhawani) 4. 2, Snk, sh. hd. 1m 11.96s. Rs. 44 (w), 17, 21 and 82 (p), SHP: Rs. 62, FP: Rs. 220, Q: Rs. 264, Tanala: Rs. 4,825 and Rs. 4,135. Favourite: Silk Baby. Owners: M/s. Nozer Panthaky & Mukul Sonawala. Trainer: Dallas Todywalla. 8. KOKU-KIKA TROPHY (Div. II), (1,400m), Cl. IV, rated 20 to 46: Chizzler (Yash Narredu) 1, Aeolus Maximus (Dashrath) 2, Slam Dunk (Hanumant) 3 and Bay Of Love (C.S. Jodha) 4. Not run: Royal Eclair and Its A Deal. 4-3/4, 1, 1/2. 1m 24.42s. Rs. 25 (w), 13, 14 and 26 (p), SHP: Rs. 36, FP: Rs. 103, Q: Rs. 47, Tanala: Rs. 333 and Rs. 153. Favourite: Chizzler. Owners: Mr. Jaydev M. Mody rep. J.M. Livestock Pvt. Ltd & Mr. J.F. Tapia rep. Clover Livestock Pvt. Ltd. Trainer: M. Narredu. Jackpot: (70 per cent): Rs. 2,832 (259 tkts.), (30 per cent): Rs. 503 (625 tkts.). Treble: (i): Rs. 324 (41 tkts.), (ii): Rs. 316 (80 tkts.). Super jackpot: (70 per cent): Rs. 61,400 (10 tkts.); (30 per cent): Rs. 11,441 (23 tkts.).

Secret Art (5) I. Chisty 57.5, 6. Darakhshan Setarah (12) Akshay Kumar 57, 7. Wine N Dine (9) C. P. Bopanna 55.5, 8. Cannon Grey (4) Kunal Bunde 54.5, 9. Proud Image (8) Sai Kumar 54.5, 10. Mountain Of Light (2) P. Gaddam 53, 11. Dear Friend (1) N. Rawal 52 and 12. Old Faithful (7) Kiran Naidu 51. 1. Raja Hindustani, 2. Darakhshan Setarah, 3. Secret Art 9 MOSSY BANKS PLATE (Div. II), (1,200m), 4-y-o & over, rated 26 to 50 (Cat. III), 5-30: 1. Magnum (5) Rohit Kumar 60, 2. Royal Dynamite (13) P. Trevor 59.5, 3. Born To Do It (3) Md. Ismail 58.5, 4. Vijays Triumph (6) P. Gaddam 57.5, 5. Golden Image (4) A. A. Vikrant 57, 6. Vijay's Empress (2) Gopal Singh 57, 7. Ikigai (9) Akshay Kumar 56.5, 8. Space Ship (14) Aneel 56.5, 9. Gorgeous Lady (8) Deepak Singh 56, 10. General Salute (12) I. Chisty 55.5, 11. Good Confidence (7) B. R. Kumar 54, 12. Beauty Flash (11) Khurshad Alam 53.5, 13. Moonflash (10) G. Naresh 50 and 14. Sweet Story (1) N. S. Rathore 50. 1. Royal Dynamite, 2. Ikigai, 3. Magnum Day's best: Amorous White Double: That's My Class Ashwa Ashoka Jkt (1): 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5; (ii): 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9; Tr (i): 1, 2 & 3; (ii): 4, 5 & 6; (iii): 7, 8 & 9; Tla: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9.

Cantons sign up Yusuf Pathan NEW DELHI: Yusuf Pathan be-

came the first Indian cricketer to play for a foreign Twenty20 league when the 34-year-old all-rounder was on Saturday unveiled by Kowloon Cantons for the second edition of the Hong Kong T20 Blitz, to be played from March 8 to 12. Apart from Pathan, Cantons has already signed up Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi, England’s Tymal Mills and Scotland’s Calum MacLeod. Both the BCCI and the Baroda Cricket Association have given a NOC to Pathan. — ANI

Adil beats Vijayant CHANDIGARH: Adil Kalyanpur

beat Davis Cupper and third seed Vijayant Malik 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the second and final qualifying round of the ITF men’s Futures tennis tournament here on Sunday. With the cream of Indian tennis, except for Saketh Myneni and Ramkumar Ramanathan, congregating for the first professional event of the season in the country, there will be no dearth of interesting matches. Top seed Yuki Bhambri will be the favourite. The results: Qualifying singles (second and final round): Haadin Bava bt Tejas Chaukulkar 6-3, 6-1; Mohit Mayur bt Anvit Bendre 6-3, 6-1; Adil Kalyanpur bt Vijayant Malik 1-6, 6-4, 6-1; P.C. Vignesh bt Jayesh Pungliya 3-6, 7-5, 6-2; Siddharth Vishwakarma bt Alex Solanki 6-4, 6-3; Shahbaaz Khan bt Taha Kapadia 6-1, 6-4; Paramveer Singh Bajwa bt Ansu Bhuyan 6-2, 5-7, 7-6(5); Anirudh Chandrasekar bt Sunil Malik 6-1, 6-2. — Special Correspondent

61st Cavalry triumphs NEW DELHI: Ravi Rathore and

Akhil Sirohi scored five goals between them to help 61st Cavalry to a 6-2 victory over Jindal Panther in the final of the Sawai Man Singh Gold Vase eight-goal polo tournament at the Jaipur Polo ground here on Sunday. The results (final): 61st Cavalry 6 (Ravi Rathore 3, Akhil Sirohi 2, Navjit Sandhu) bt Jindal Panther 2 (Miguel Saravia, Raghav Rao).

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1 Contemporary pout is awkward on romantic encounter (2-2-4) 2 Robert takes possession of left sphere (4) 3 Orient queen for festival (6) 4 Spoke in low and inarticulate voice,"Mother lost blood" (7) 5 Quantities of compounds containing silver with a bit of europium (8) CM YK

ACROSS

6 Explorer encountered during India-Zanzibar voyage (4) 9 For starters, new yellow lingerie's on tough elastic material (5) 13 Yeomen Warders have no complaints for consumer (5) 15 His ma converted some followers of Christianity (5) 17 No agency can make a toxic compound (8) 19 Ere mover moves in for good (8)

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20 Dishevelled ibis lit in capital city (7) 22 Famous voice actor's established network between Bunny and Coyote, to start with (5) 24 Sign up for silent revolution (6) 26 Sharpen gardening tool without strain at last (4) 28 Hammer part, possibly manufactured by end of June in prison (4)

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slaughtered hen after some zakuska (8) Who bawls irritatedly for lavabo? (8) On edge, Mao's worried about benign tumour (6) Criminal female joins European secret police’s elite section, initially, and comes clean (9) Lug novice to nobleman (4)

Conflict of evil and good The Kanda Purana, an inspired work of Kachiappa Sivachariar of Kanchipuram, is believed to be the authentic Tamil version of the advent and life of Muruga as found in Vyasa’s Skanda Purana. This voluminous work reveals the myriad facets of Muruga, who is associated not only with power, strength and victory but is also the embodiment of jnana. It is a source of solace, inspiration and faith to many. The main purpose of the incarnation of Muruga is the slaying of Soorapadman and his brothers who begin to harass the celestial beings as a matter of routine. But the deeper significance of the Lord’s war with the demons is His role in helping each one overcome individual evil tendencies and ego that are sure hurdles to salvation, pointed out Dr. Sudha Seshaiyan in a discourse. The asuras typify the evil tendencies in people and when these are allowed to grow, they can be detrimental to the good aspects in life. The aim of the asuras is to gain uncontrolled power over the entire universe and when this is attained through severe penance as boons, it feeds their ego. When enveloped in this ego-centered selfishness, coupled with unassailable power, it is easy to become blind to the truth of the more powerful compassionate Lord. Muruga’s war with the demon is shown to be a long drawn out one with challenges aplenty. But divine power always prevails and the evil is subdued. Muruga splits the demon in the form of a tree and the two pieces become a peacock and a cock. Muruga accepts the peacock as his vehicle and the cock as the flag sign. The message is that the demon is not doomed or killed; but he undergoes an inner transformation and acknowledges the greatness of the power of good over evil.

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14 Monitor lizard found by Ann in Indian state (6) 16 'Cos, alien model appears in convoluted clue (7) 18 Modified rapiers for an ambitious person (7) 21 I, a famous Soviet security chief, get Portugal and Spain (6) 23 Russian leader's military upgrade cut short for consuming

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7 Ring friend for a precious stone (4) 8 Rebelling National Guard releases cranky gran and gets lots of praise (9) 10 Ute boy is confused? Certainly! (3,3) 11 Stun, intoxicated beadle holding last letter, a couple of times (8) 12 The French king's weird source for the Niagara falls (4,4)

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THE HINDU CROSSWORD 11929

Sudoku is a mind game and a puzzle that you solve with reasoning and logic. Fill in the grid with digits in such a manner that every row, every column and every 3x3 box accommodates the digits 1 to 9, without repeating any. ND-ND

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THE HINDU MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2017

New non-toxic batteries could last over a decade

U.K. varsity offers PhD in chocolate!

‘Loaves’ church in Israel reopens after 20 months

Scientists have developed a new non-toxic flow battery that stores energy in organic molecules dissolved in water and could run for over a decade.

A United Kingdom university is offering a £15,000-per-year grant for the perfect course for chocoholics — a PhD in chocolate.

The church in Israel where Christians believe Jesus performed the miracle of the loaves and fishes reopened on Sunday, 20 months after an arson attack by Jewish extremists.

Manga legend Jiro Taniguchi dies at 69

‘New Zealand beached whale crisis over’ News comes as a relief for exhausted volunteers, who spent three days comforting the animals FAREWELL SPIT (NEW ZEALAND):

Jiro Taniguchi PARIS: Jiro Taniguchi, a legend

in Japan’s comic art of manga, died in Tokyo on Saturday at the age of 69, leaving behind an international following for his exquisite line drawing of scenes from everyday life. The artist’s French publisher Casterman announced his death on its website, adding that he had been seriously ill, as it expressed its deep condolences to his family. Taniguchi first shot to fame in Japan at the end of the 1980s with the first volume of The Times of Botchan, which centres around Natsume Soseki, one of Japan’s greatest writers. Just over a decade later, he hit the international manga scene with A Distant Neighbourhood, about a Japanese salaryman who travels back to his childhood — widely seen to this day as his masterpiece. Critics have also praised his gentle subject matter for standing in stark contrast to the usual fare of high school romance or sometimes violent pornography consumed by some of Japan’s manga fans. — AFP

CM YK

NOIDA/DELHI

Whale rescuers were cautiously optimistic Sunday that the current wave of mass beachings in New Zealand was over, after hundreds of the creatures died after being stranded ashore. The crisis began early Friday when a pod of 416 whales were found stranded on the 26-km Farewell Spit, with hundreds more following them over the weekend. The shallow, sweeping spit is believed to interfere with the whales’ navigation systems and is a regular scene of mass strandings. As low tide approached early Sunday evening, around 300 pilot whales were heading out of Golden Bay in the northwest of the South Island and swimming towards the deep-water safety of Cook Strait. “It’s good news. The pod is swimming well away,” Department of Conservation regional conservation manager Andrew Lamason told AFP. “They’re the exact words,” he added, when asked if he was cautiously optimistic the crisis was over. “We’ve

A volunteer cares for a pilot whale during the mass stranding at Farewell Spit. — PHOTO: AFP pulled our boats out of the water.” The news came as a relief for the hundreds of exhausted volunteers, who had spent three days comforting the stranded animals and keeping them cool while waiting to refloat them on the high tide. Late Saturday afternoon,

Second World War bomb sparks mass evacuation THESSALONIKI: A massive evac-

uation has begun in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki so experts can defuse a 500-pound unexploded Second World War bomb. Police went house-tohouse on Sunday morning, ringing bells and knocking on doors to remind people living within a 1.9-km radius of the bomb site to leave their homes. Most were leaving in their cars, but some were being transported by bus to

schools, sports halls and cultural centres elsewhere in the city, where they can get food and shelter. Authorities believe about 75,000 people will be evacuated, most from the western suburb of Kordelio. A state of emergency has been declared in the area and about 1,000 police and 300 volunteers are helping in the evacuation. Trains have been halted in the area and church services have been cancelled. — AP

when rescuers believed the situation to be under control, about 240 whales moved around a small flotilla of boats and a human chain of rescuers standing in the water trying to herd them away. They beached themselves about three kilometres from the Friday stranding.

By Sunday morning most had managed to refloat themselves and at high tide volunteer workers were able to get the remaining animals back into the water where boats were used to guide them towards the other survivors. Many volunteers gathered on the shoreline

broke down in tears on hearing the latest strandings appeared to be over. Louisa Hawkes, from the environmental group Project Jonah that has been assisting with the rescue, told them it was only natural they would feel emotionally drained. “The stranding might be winding down but the emotions are still quite close to the surface. There have been some really hard moments,” she said. Mr. Lamason estimated 666 whales beached themselves “but that will get the conspiracy theorists going,” he added, referring to the figure which is the reputed Biblical reference to the devil. There were references on social media in New Zealand suggesting the strandings and a 5.2-magnitude earthquake early Sunday near Kaikoura, which was severely damaged by a 7.8 earthquake in November, may have been linked. Similar questions were raised in 2011 when 107 pilot whales beached themselves on Stewart Island of the coast of the New Zealand mainland. — AFP

Baldwin’s gig as Trump stumps daily SANTO DOMINGO/NEW YORK: Alec

Baldwin does a pretty convincing Donald Trump impersonation — just ask a newspaper in the Dominican Republic. El Nacional published an apology on Saturday after mistakenly running a photo of the actor doing his impression of the U.S. President on “Saturday Night Live” instead of Mr. Trump himself. Accompanying an article in its Friday edition headlined in Spanish: “Trump says settlements in Israel don’t favour peace,” a photo

The page where the wrong photo was carried. — PHOTO: AP of a scowling Baldwin in a blond wig appears next to a photo of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In a statement posted on

its website, the Dominican newspaper said a photo of Mr. Baldwin imitating Mr. Trump — over the caption “Donald Trump, President of the USA” — was published on page 19 and the mistake went unnoticed by the newspaper’s staf. “El Nacional apologises to its readers and anyone who felt afected by the publication of the photo,” the statement said. Mr. Baldwin on Saturday presided as the guest host of the NBC comedy show, serving up yet another Trump masquerade. — AP

STAR TREK Udaan sequel may be finally made in 2020

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ctor Rajat Barmecha says after his Bollywood debut Udaan in 2010, his director Vikramaditya Motwane (in picture) had discussed shooting its sequel 10 years later. “After finishing Udaan, Vikram and I used to joke that we will start shooting its sequel 10 years later in 2019. It started off as a joke, but there was some seriousness attached to it from where I see it,” Rajat told PTI. The 27-year-old actor, who will reprise his role as Kartik in Bindaas web series Girl in the City 2, says he and Motwane talked about exploring the chances of making the second instalment inspired by Hollywood filmmaker Richard Linklater’s Before trilogy. “We were pretty intrigued by Linklater’s approach of creating every part of the ‘Before’ series, where parts were released in gaps of ten years. We had thought of doing something similar. Both as an actor and individual, it will be super exciting if a trilogy happens.” — PTI

J.K. Rowling tears apart Piers Morgan

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ovelist J.K. Rowling and TV personality Piers Morgan were locked in a public fight on Twitter after he defended Donald Trump’s travel ban during his appearance on a talk show. Morgan accused Rowling of being “superior, dismissive and arrogant,” and the writer attacked what she described as the “fact-free, amoral, bigotry-apologism of [a] celebrity toady.” It all started when the Harry Potter author retweeted a video of Morgan’s appearance on an episode of ‘Real Time With Bill Maher’ during which he was shut down by Australian comedian Jim Jefferies, who swore at the TV personality for claiming Trump’s controversial immigration order is not a “Muslim ban.” “Yes, watching Piers Morgan being told to f-off on live TV is exactly as satisfying as I’d always imagined,” Rowling tweeted. — PTI

The connection between Moonlight’s leads

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he three leads of the movie Moonlight share a role, but they never shot together. The three actors who play the character Chiron, the protagonist, through the three stages of his life — Trevante Rhodes, 26, Ashton Sanders, 20, and Alex R. Hibbert, 12, hadn’t properly meet until after the film was finished. The only link between the three actors, as director Barry Jenkins, explains, was their eyes. “I really wanted them to be different people. Same character, different people. But there was this spiritual, cosmic connection through the eyes,” Jenkins said. A timeless story of human connection and self-discovery, Moonlight chronicles the life of a young black man as he struggles to find his place in the world while growing up in a rough neighbourhood in Miami, Florida. — IANS

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