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tuesday, march 14, 2017
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Trump backer Shalabh Kumar says Indians have nothing to fear
Irom Sharmila to arrive in Kerala for month-long solitude
Pakistan will start its irst census in 19 years this week
Scotland’s leader Nicola Sturgeon seeks new independence referendum
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BJP stakes claim in Manipur Africans seeks probe into
NEARBY
Ibobi Singh inally quits after keeping everyone in suspense through the day
Parrikar to take over in Goa today
Shiv Sahay Singh Imphal
HC quashes case against Janardhana Reddy Bengaluru
In a major relief to former Minister G. Janardhana Reddy, the High Court of Karnataka on Monday set aside proceedings initiated by the Enforcement Directorate against him, his wife Lakshmi Aruna, and two mining companies with which the duo were associated, and also against attachment of their assets worth ₹900 crore. KARNATAKA 쑺 PAGE 4 DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
II PU paper circulates on social media
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday put forward the name of N. Biren Singh as the next Chief Minister of Manipur. The decision was taken at a meeting of BJP legislators in the presence of two Central ministers, Piyush Goyal and Prakash Javadekar, at a hotel in Imphal. The journalist-turnedpolitician and MLA from the Heingang constituency is considered one of the most prominent faces of the BJP in Manipur. He had left the Congress in October 2016 and joined the BJP.
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Images of the II PU accountancy question paper started doing the rounds on social media after the exam began on Monday. Raichur Superintendent of Police Chetansingh Rathod said three persons have been arrested. KARNATAKA 쑺 PAGE 4 DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
Manhole deaths: Three arrested BENGALURU
Three persons from Ramky Infrastructure Ltd. were arrested on Monday in connection with the death of three people while repairing a manhole at Kaggadasapura in Bengaluru recently. BENGALURU 쑺 PAGE 3 DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
METROPLUS 쑺 8 PAGES
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Meets Governor Immediately after being elected as the leader of the BJP legislature party, Mr. Biren Singh met Governor Najma Heptulla, staking his claim to form the first BJP government in Manipur. “This is a huge challenge. I left Congress because of misgovernance. I assure the people that our team will bring good governance to the people of Manipur,” the BJP leader said. Within hours of the developments at the BJP camp, Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh visited Raj Bhavan and tendered his resignation. Manipur, which gave a fractured mandate in the recent Assembly poll, has witnessed high political drama in the past two days. While
Prakash Kamat Panaji
Prominent face: N. Biren Singh, left, is greeted by Union Minister and BJP’s Manipur in-charge Prakash Javadekar in Imphal on Monday. RITU RAJ KONWAR the Congress has emerged as the single largest party with 28 MLAs in the 60member Assembly, three short of majority, the BJP got 21 seats. The BJP has the support of 4 MLAs each from the Naga People’s Front (NPF) and the National People’s Party (NPP) and one from the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP). However the disappearance of the lone independent MLA Ashad Uddin and the switching of sides by Congress MLA T. Shyamkumar has tilted the balance in favour of the BJP. The only Trinamool Congress MLA T. Robindro has also offered to support the BJP. After the BJP leadership
met the Governor, along with representatives of other parties, Mr. Ibobi Singh met the Governor late on Sunday night and staked claim to form the government. On Monday also, the suspense continued with reports that Mr. Ibobi Singh was not resigning. Earlier Ms. Heptulla said: “I told the CM that first you resign then only I can start the process of government formation.” Mr. Ibobi Singh even held a press conference stating that he had ample time and would resign in a day or two. CONTINUED ON 쑺 PAGE 10 U.P. AND AWAY 쑺 EDITORIAL
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Manohar Parrikar, who on Monday morning resigned as Defence Minister, will be sworn in as Chief Minister of Goa at Raj Bhavan at 5.15 p.m. on Tuesday. Mr. Parrikar, along with members of his Cabinet, will be sworn in by Governor Mridula Sinha, said sources in the Goa government here. According to a Raj Bhavan communication issued here late on Sunday evening, Mr. Parrikar had been asked to prove his majority by convening a session of the Assembly within 15 days of taking oath. BJP sources reiterated here that a majority of the Cabinet berths are expected to be offered to the coalition partners. “Preliminary talks about portfolio allocation with our partners were conducted by Nitin Gadkariji... 쑺 PAGE 10
CONTINUED ON IT’S A POWER GRAB BY BJP, SAYS GSM 쑺 PAGE 10
CONGRESS KNOCKS ON THE DOOR OF SC 쑺 PAGE 10
death of city businessman They suspect police brutality; police deny allegations Staff Reporter Bengaluru
Alleging police brutality, the African community in Bengaluru has demanded a probe into the death of a businessman, who, according to the police, died in a motor vehicle accident while fleeing from them in Kothanur early on Monday. The Nigerian Community of Students’ Association, Bengaluru, has identified the deceased as Ife Anyi, a businessman in his late 30s who hailed from Nigeria. Various groups of people from nations in Africa living in the city are alleging police brutality and say that fears of discrimination, which had peaked after an attack on Tanzanian students last year, have resurfaced. The police, however, have denied these allegations. Officials said the police tried to
circumstances leading to the death are < > The suspicious and we are not ready to accept the accident theory. It is a murder. The oicers involved should be brought to book and an independent probe conducted Bosco Kaweesi Legal adviser to All Africa Students Association Bengaluru
was a case of motor vehicle accident. We are < > Itready for an independent probe into the incident. The autopsy will reveal the truth Praveen Sood Commissioner of Police
rescue him after he fell from the bike while trying to flee from them as they were waiting for a drug bust. In a statement, the police said that a team from the CCB which was acting on a tip-off was waiting on Kothanur-Avalahalli Road to catch a drug peddler. Two persons on a scooter, including Mr. Anyi, are alleged to have spotted the policemen on the road, and attempted
to flee. “As they fled, the vehicle skidded. When the police reached the spot, they saw the pillion rider lying in a pool of blood while the rider had escaped,” the police claimed. He was declared brought dead at the Bowring Hospital. Members of the African community have demanded an independent inquiry. SEARCH FOR BIKE RIDER 쑺 PAGE 3
Curbs on cash withdrawal lifted SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT Mumbai
Restrictions on cash withdrawals, which came into effect from November 9, 2016, following the ban on highvalue currency notes, were lifted on Monday. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had announced the easing of restrictions during its bimonthly monetary policy review on February 8.
While the limits on current accounts were lifted earlier, restrictions on savings account deposits were lifted from Monday.
Currency in circulation Though there will be no restriction on cash withdrawals, currency in circulation is still far below the preNovember 8, 2016, levels. Following the decision to
withdraw the legal tender status of ₹500 and ₹1000 notes, 86.9% of the currency in circulation was rendered invalid, amounting ₹15.4 lakh crore. According to RBI data, the currency in circulation till the week ended March 3 was ₹11,984.1 billion which is 67% of the currency in circulation, pre-demonetisation. CONTINUED ON 쑺 PAGE 10
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No sign of drains even eight months after demolition drive Lack of drains and uncleared debris resulted in looding during the recent rain; BBMP Commissioner assures of completing works by second week of June Aditya Bharadwaj K.V. Bengaluru
How effective was the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s demolition drive to rid stormwater drains of encroachments? Not much, going by the recent spurt of rains, which saw flooding at a majority of the sites where the drive was undertaken. Eight months after BBMP started its demolition drive, it is yet to build drains along these stretches. Most of these stretches — cleared of encroachments in August 2016 — turned into virtual cesspools and lakes during the recent rains in the city. With the monsoon only two months away, it is feared that none of these rajakaluve stretches, that have been cleared of encroachments, will have drains to prevent further flooding. Citizens fear a repeat of the 2016 Julylike flash floods this year. E. Santosh, who lost a part of his three-storeyed building in Doddabommasandra in North Bengaluru last August, said that the civic body has not even cleared the debris
after the demolition. “There has been contradicting survey and village maps. But the civic body displayed such urgency in demolishing our buildings. If they don’t build the drains, what is the use of the demolition drive?” he asked. Sandeep K., another resident, said that prior to the demolition drive, there was no water-logging in the area. But now it has become a huge problem as BBMP is yet to build the drains to channelise flow of water. What happened at Doddabommasandra is not an isolated incident. Shaju Ayyappan Nair, a resident of Kasavanahalli, one of the areas that the civic body first struck, said that no work has been carried out on building a drain despite the demolition drive. “Now, almost every time it rains, the entire area turns into a giant puddle and the water stagnates,” he said. In R.R. Nagar too, uncleared debris and no work on drains, pose a safety hazard. A resident of the area said that a young boy re-
displayed < > BBMP such urgency in demolishing our buildings. If they don’t build the drains, what is the use of the demolition drive? E. Santosh, a Doddabommasandra resident
In a mess: Residents allege that the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike is yet to clean the rajakaluves — which were cleared of encroachments last year— of debris and build new drains. In picture is one such stormwater drain in Rajarajeshwari Nagar. K. MURALI KUMAR
cently fell into the ditch-like area when he was trying to cross it. The demolition drive in
R.R. Nagar was also left incomplete, as several properties in Ideal Homes Layout, that are alleged to be on
drains, are still not cleared. However, the civic body has undertaken work at a few places, which is still un-
der way. Wg. Cdr. (retd.) G.B. Athri, a resident near Avani, Sringeri Nagar, ground zero of last year’s floods, said that
the work on building a new drain is under way and hopefully will be completed before the onset of the mon-
soon. BBMP Commissioner N. Manjunath Prasad said of the 49 stretches of rajakaluves cleared of encroachments last year, work on building drains was under way at 19 stretches. “The projects for rebuilding drains at the remaining 30 stretches was recently approved by the empowered committee in the Urban Development Department. We would soon finalise the tenders and begin work. We are racing against time to finish rebuilding these drains by the onset of the monsoon,” Mr. Prasad said, assuring that works will be completed by the second week of June.
Customs inspector accused of rape Staff Reporter Bengaluru
An inspector posted with the Customs at the Kempegowda International Airport here has been accused of rape by a CISF woman constable also posted at KIA. The constable in her complaint against inspector Hemaraj Gurjar, has alleged that he suppressed the information that he was married and had an affair with her on the promise of marriage. “We have registered an FIR and are further probing the case,” said inspector of police, Bagalur.
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Manhole deaths: 3 arrested BWSSB’s internal report blames contractor for the incident Staff Reporter Bengaluru
Two persons on a scooter, including the victim, later identiied as Ife Anyi, allegedly spot the policemen
A team from Central Crime Branch waits on Kothanur-Avalahalli Road to catch a drug peddler
The duo go ahead of the police van, take a U-turn and allegedly try to lee from the spot
According to the police, the scooter skids. Police see the victim lying in a pool of blood. Rider escapes from the scene
African community cries foul They suspect that the Nigerian’s death was no accident; police are trying to trace the bike rider Staff Reporter Bengaluru
Following the death of a Nigerian businessman — identified as Ife Anyi by the Nigerian Community of Students Association — in the wee hours of Monday, the City Police Commissioner has appealed to the rider of the scooter to come forward to give his version of the events preceding the incident. According to the police, Mr. Anyi was riding pillion on a scooter that met with an acTimings
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cident , while the driver of the scooter fled the scene. However, Igwe Elvis, president of the Nigerian Community of Students’ Association, said that he has evidence to prove that Mr. Anyi was not killed in the accident. “The rider of the scooter has contacted us and claims there was no accident,” Mr. Elvis alleged, refusing to disclose the driver’s identity. Police Commissioner Praveen Sood said that the victim’s associate should come forward and provide
rider of the < > The scooter has contacted us and claims there was no accident Igwe Elvis, president, Nigerian Community of Students’ Association
details. Bosco Kaweesi, legal adviser, All Africa Students’ Association Bengaluru, said that police had asked them to identify the body on Monday morning, hours after the death. “The man had suffered a head wound at the
back of his head, which was still bleeding on Monday morning when we went to identify him. He also suffered injuries on his face. How can a man in an accident suffer injuries both on his face and back of his head?” he asked, giving voice to his suspicion that Mr. Anyi’s death was no accident. However, senior police officers have denied any police involvement and said they were open to any probe. “The autopsy of the body and the tracking down of the driver of the scooter will
throw more light,” a senior police officer said. Mr. Kaweesi said that two years of good relations between the police and the African community had deteriorated after a Ugandan woman was stabbed to death. “We have informed the Nigerian embassy and an official is expected to come down on Tuesday following which we will decide on the next step,” he said.
Three persons from Ramky Infrastructure Ltd. were arrested on Monday in connection with the death of three people while repairing a manhole at Kaggadasapura. K. Babu Reddy, Assistant General Manager (Projects), Ramky Infrastructure Ltd. and in-charge of their projects in Bengaluru, Vemula Anjaneyulu, a sub-contractor hired by the company, and N.T. Reddy, Manager (Projects), were
arrested by the Baiyappanahalli police. The police have booked them under Section 304 of the IPC (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and under sections of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Rehabilitation Act, 2013. “The FIR mentions unnamed BWSSB officials. We are probing,” a senior police officer said. Two labourers and a driver died after they entered the manhole on March 7. Meanwhile, an in-
ternal report by BWSSB has blamed the contractor entirely for the mishap. According to the report submitted to BWSSB chairman, the contractor executing the sewerage lines for the areas under the Karnataka Municipal Reforms Project — partially funded by the World Bank — had not followed standard operating procedures. “He had not brought to BWSSB’s notice about repairing a manhole. It was only after the incident that BWSSB was informed,” said an official.
Man stabbed to death
Tuesday, March 14
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RISE 06:28 SET 18:30 RISE 20:03 SET 07:36
A 38-year-old man was stabbed to death in a suspected case of a robbery gone wrong when the victim resisted a robbery bid in Annasandrapalya on Sunday night. The deceased has been identified as Raju, a construction worker from Tamil Nadu. At 11 p.m. on Sunday, Raju was taking a stroll near a playground, when he was obstructed by a gang of three men who tried to rob him. When Raju resisted the robbery bid, one of the miscreants stabbed him in the neck
Wednesday, March 15
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Oicials indiferent to projects and delays
IN BRIEF
Pratibimba, CM’s dashboard inaugurated recently, shows that a majority of key projects are accompanied by major delays
Single digit marks surprise BU students Staff Reporter Bengaluru
Steel flyover: NGT asks BDA to get eco nod BENGALURU
In yet another victory for the citizens of Bengaluru — who were protesting against the controversial steel flyover project — the National Green Tribunal has directed the BDA to obtain an Environmental Clearance certificate.
Officials skip meet over KCDC unit BENGALURU
A meeting over the contentious Karnataka Compost Development Corporation unit at HSR Layout turned into a protest after no official showed up on Monday. More than a hundred residents had turned up for an open house discussion. The plant is situated amidst densely populated areas. Residents have been voicing their concerns for more than two years now.
In limbo: The incomplete lyover at Okalipuram junction in Bengaluru.
Congress, JD(S) workers clash in Chintamani
Staff Reporter
KOLAR
Promises that are only on paper, incomplete flyovers and traffic clogging ‘signalfree’ corridors — when it comes to civic bodies attempting to fix the city’s woes, time seems to stand still. However, this time, it is from the horse’s mouth. Pratibimba, the Chief Minister’s dashboard that was inaugurated recently, shows that a majority of key projects are accompanied by major delays. The dash-
Bengaluru
Tension prevailed at Chintamani town in Chickballapur district on Monday as supporters of the Congress and JD(S) clashed with each other. The JD(S) workers were staging a protest in front of the taluk panchayat office against the Congress for “neglecting them while executing development works.” Irked by this, the Congress supporters picked up a quarrel. The police intervened and dispersed the crowd.
board predicts ‘timedelays’ based on the current rate of physical progress. The time delay is a useful way of gauging if the promises of civic bodies will be delivered. Take for instance BBMP’s promise of 127 skywalks by March 2018. Just 9 have completed in the six months since the project started. The dashboard predicts a delay of 34% beyond the deadline. A similar figure is marked against the March 31 deadline of Namma Metro Phase I.
SUDHAKARA JAIN
While BMRCL and the State government insist that the 72.4-km Phase II will start in December 2020, the dashboard has predicted a delay of 36%. Though construction has begun on extensions of existing lines, Pratibimba notes that just 8% physical progress has been recorded so far. The signal-free corridor on Chord Road has also seen a major delay. Though ₹50 crore has been allocated for the project, the BBMP has utilised just ₹15.85 crore. Consequently, there will be a
Court quashes money laundering case against Janardhana Reddy Special Correspondent
FROM THE COURT
In a major relief to former Minister G. Janardhana Reddy, the High Court of Karnataka on Monday set aside proceedings initiated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against him, his wife Lakshmi Aruna, and two mining companies with which the duo were associated, and also against attachment of their assets worth around ₹900 crore. The court declared that the ED had no jurisdiction to initiate proceedings and provisionally attaching their assets under the Prevention of Money Laundering (PML) Act, 2002 as the offences, booked against them for il-
legal mining and transportation of ore under the provisions of the other laws, were not declared as “scheduled offences” under the PML Act during the period in which Mr. Reddy and others allegedly committed those offences. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee and Justice Budihal R.B. passed the order while allowing the petitions filed by Mr. Reddy, his wife, and two companies — Obulapuram Mining Company Pvt. Ltd. and Bramhani Industries Ltd. The ED initiated proceed-
Lecturer takes photo of PU paper
ings against them in 2010 and their assets were provisionally attached by the adjudicating authority in 2014 on the prima facie reason that the assets were “proceeds of the crime” as defined under the PML Act. It was contended on behalf Mr. Reddy that certain offences under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulations) Act, the Forest (Conservation) Act, the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act were included under the PML Act declaring them as “scheduled offences” only with effect from June 1, 2009. However, the offences alleged against him and others were committed during
‘Lack of focus’ Staff Reporter Bengaluru
During the launch of the dashboard, the Chief Minister had said that people have a right to know what has been done. The dashboard, however, was released in the fourth year of his fiveyear term. “If this was done two years ago, we would have seen better progress on projects. We all knew there were delays, but officials and engineers continued to be lethargic,” says R.K. Mishra, member of the Technical Advisory Com-
mittees for BBMP and BDA. He said delays in land acquisition were compounded by apathy of officials. “For the Vellara-Hope Farm signalfree corridor, three underpasses were to be built. Funds for land acquisition were released only around two years ago. But since then, there has been no effort to even collect land documents,” he said. Now compare this with the ‘speed’ with which the government was proceeding with the controversial steel flyover project, he said.
Tumakuru school reopens
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‘ED has no jurisdiction to initiate proceedings under PML Act, 2002’ Bengaluru
65% delay beyond the September 2017 deadline. The BDA’s long-pending market development at Malleswaram and multi-level parking at Jayanagar are also delayed. Officials say urban works are ‘susceptible’ to delays considering the regulations around traffic diversions, cost of land acquisition and generating interest among contractors. “For skywalks, we called tenders multiple times before contractors expressed interest. Procedural problems of designs, consultants and coordination have led to delays in signal-free corridors,” says K.T. Nagaraj, BBMP (Central Projects) and formerly with the Major Projects division.
the period that ended in July 2007 and hence the ED could not have invoked provisions of PML Act with retrospective effect. However, Assistant Solicitor General of India Krishna S. Dixit contended that the process of attachment of assets is a civil action and hence PML Act could be invoked with retrospective affect for the offences committed prior to June 2009. But the Bench upheld the contention raised on behalf of Mr. Reddy and declared that the proceedings initiated by the ED was bad in law, while setting aside the proceedings as well as the orders of provisional attachment of the assets.
Vidya Varidhi International School at Huliyar in Chikkanayakanahalli taluk of Tumakuru district re-opened on Monday. It was closed last week after the death of three students and a watchman due to suspected food poisoning. According to officials, the school reopened to help students prepare for the Standard X (CBSE) final examinations that will start later this month. A total 63 students will be appearing for the exams in the school, which is also an examination centre. “Only the school has re-opened. The hostel remains closed,” said Gangesh, the tahsildar. The deceased were housed in the hostel. The watchman was posted at the hostel. The sole survivor of the alleged food poisoning incident, Sudarshan, was discharged on Sunday. The parents of the deceased students and residents of Thimmanahalli staged a protest on Monday demanding speedy justice.
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OBITUARY & REMEMBRANCE
Students of Bangalore University staged a protest on the Central College campus to mark their unhappiness with the evaluation of the 1st and 3rd semester B.Com and BBM examinations, the results of which were announced recently. The marks of many students were in single digits, which they said was absurd. Yashwini R., student union president of Maharani College for Women, said that in corporate environment and business ethics papers, many had got single digit marks. “Students were confident of obtaining better scores. We want a re-evaluation and we want authorities to give us photocopies without charging any amount.” Nandini V., 2nd year BBA student of Maharani College for Women, got single digit in one subject and failed in another. “Last year too, this happened. After re-evaluation, my scores increased. Why should students pay for the carelessness of evaluators?” The cost of re-evaluation is ₹890 per paper and ₹750 for photocopy of the reevaluated sheet. Following the protest, in-charge ViceChancellor Jagadish Prasad said the varsity would refund the fee if there is any change in scores after re-evaluation. The university has extended last date to apply for re-evaluation till March 23.
ASTROLOGY
CHANGE OF NAME
LEGAL NOTICE
CHANGE OF NAME
I, K.RADHAKRISHNAN, No.6−A/9, ALIG Flat, 2nd Floor, Nandini Layout, Bengaluru−560096, my son Adhithyan R have changed his name to Adhithyan R Menon vide affidavit dated 09.03.2017 before Notary Manohar Jeerige, Bengaluru.
DEATH ANNIVERSARIES
DEATH ANNIVERSARIES
Three held; college loses ailiation Staff Reporter Bengaluru/Raichur
Images of the II PU accountancy question paper started doing the rounds on social media over an hour after the exam began on Monday. The image showed a single sheet of the 18page question paper. Ruling out leakage, Primary and Secondary Education Minister Tanveer Sait called the incident a work of ‘mischief ’. He said no student benefited as all of them were inside the examination centre. Mr. Sait said a preliminary inquiry revealed that Siddanagoud, a part-time lecturer at two private PU colleges, entered the examination hall in S.R.S.V.S PU College in Manvi, Raichur district, posing as a member of the flying squad. “He clicked a picture at 11.40 a.m., more than an hour after the exam began, and sent it on WhatsApp to Mahesh, principal of Kalinga PU College, who forwarded it to a colleague Sharanabasappa. It was circulated among other people thereafter,” Mr Sait said. C.S. Vijay Rao, chief CM YK
superintendent of S.R.S.V.S PU College who works in Government Boys PU College, Manvi has been suspended for dereliction of duty. The department has lodged a police complaint against Siddanagoud, Mahesh and Sharanabasappa for loitering around the examination centre and criminal conspiracy. Superintendent of Police Chetan Singh Rathod told The Hindu that the trio have been arrested. As news of a leak spread in Raichur, students gathered on the streets and near examination centres. The DPUE has issued a circular reiterating its ban on carrying mobile phones and other electronic devices into an examination centre that covers students, invigilators and also visiting officials. C. Shikha, Director of DPUE, said that chief superintendents have been directed to conduct extra frisking to ensure that students don’t break the rules. The DPUE on Monday withdrew the affiliation of Kalinga PU College due to the involvement of staff in malpractice.
DEATH ANNIVERSARIES
I, NO. JC309242H Sub/Clk J.Arokia Samy have changed my Daughter name from Elza Theodacia to Elza Theodosia and my Son name from John Bernadio to John Bernadin vide affidavit dated 10.03.2017 sworn before Notary Meer Hassan, Bangalore. I, NO. 15328342P, L/Nk M.Manimaran have changed my Wife name from Muruga Lakshmi to S.Muruga Lakshmi and my Daughter name from Mahathi to M.Mahathi vide affidavit dated 09.03.2017 sworn before Notary Meer Hassan, Bangalore. I, NO. 15312707P Hav S.Pothappan have changed my Wife name from S.Utchinimahali to P.Uchinimahali and Son name from Dilip to P.Dilip vide affidavit dated 09.03.2017 sworn before Notary Meer Hassan, Bangalore. I, JC 311227M Nb/Sub M.Senthil Kumar have changed my Daughter name from Gowri to S.Gowri and my Son name from Kamalesh to S.Kamalesh vide affidavit dated 09.03.2017 sworn before Notary Meer Hassan, Bangalore. I, NO. 15327073F L/Nk L.Karthik Kumar have changed my Wife name from Punitha to Punitha.S vide affidavit dated 09.03.2017 sworn before Notary Meer Hassan, Bangalore. I, NO. 15328331H L/Nk C.Muthu Kumar have changed my Wife name from Roshini to Roshini.M vide affidavit dated 09.03.2017 sworn before Notary Meer Hassan, Bangalore. I, NO. 15300748M, Ex Nk Hanamappa Venkappa Aramani have changed my Son name from Venkatesh to Venkatesh.H.Aramani vide affidavit dated 10.03.2017 sworn before Notary Meer Hassan, Bangalore. I, PRAVEENA, R/at "Kshitij", Ex−Patel House, Thekkatte Post, Kundapura Taluk, Udupi Dist−576231 have changed my name to Praveen Krishnayya Shetty vide affidavit dt 11.03.17 sworn before Notary K.S. Giridhar, Bangalore
I, Miss Momi Bharali, D/o Sep Jagat Bharali R/at 904, DSC Platoon, ATT to AF Stn, Yelahanka, B’lore− 63 have changed my name from Miss Momi Bharali to Miss Momee Bharali, vide affidavit dated 3.3.2017 sworn before Notary H.Sridhar Rao, B’lore.
PUBLIC NOTICES
I, BEENA Kaushik spouse of MWO PK Sharma R/at SMQ 47/2, AF Stn, Yelahanka B’lore−63 have changed my name from Beena Kaushik to Beena Sharma vide affidavit dated 3.3. 2017 before Notary H.Sridhar Rao, B’lore. I, KAVITHA.G, W/o Parthipan.D, R/a No.E−253, New No.32, Kammagondanahalli, Jalahalli West, Bangalore− 560015, have changed my name to Kavitha.P, vide affidavit dated 20.01.2017 sworn before Notary T.C.Thimmaraja, B’lore. I, Laxmibai.I.Ullagaddi, W/o I.B.Menasinakai, R/a Gulagandi, Sirol Post, Taluk Roon, Dist Gadag, today at Bangalore, have changed my name to Laxmibai.I. Menasinakai, vide affidavit dt: 08.03.2017 sworn before Notary A.R.Muneer Ahmed, B’lore.
TENDERS
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THE HINDU
KARNATAKA 5
BENGALURU
TUESDAY, MARCH 14, 2017
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IN BRIEF
Eyeing next year’s polls, CM may present populist budget
B.K. Hariprasad quits as AICC gen. secretary
Weather Watch Rainfall, temperature & air quality in select metros yesterday
Special Correspondent Bengaluru
‘Increase honorarium of anganwadi workers’
For the irst time, total budget outlay is expected to cross ₹2 lakh crore Nagesh Prabhu
BENGALURU
Bengaluru
The Karnataka State Anganwadi Workers’ and Assistants’ Federation has urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to enhance monthly honorarium to anganwadi workers to ₹10,500, in the State Budget. The federation plans to hold ‘Bangalore Chalo’ programme on March 17 if the State government fails to enhance honorarium.
After a near wipeout of the Congress in the Uttar Pradesh elections, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is expected to present his last fullfledged Budget with a bundle of “please-all and populist” schemes, including crop loan waiver. All this, with an eye on next year’s legislative Assembly elections. The total outlay of the Budget for 2017-18 is expected to cross ₹2 lakh crore, for the first time. Only a handful of States have a Budget outlay of over ₹2 lakh crore. Last year’s Budget outlay was ₹1,63,419 crore.
Applications invited from art teachers BENGALURU
Bal Bhavan Society, Bengaluru, will conduct summer camps for children from April 14 to May 15 in Bengaluru. Children aged between 5 to 16 will be trained in various creative activities. Applications have been invited from eligible art teachers who have experience in painting, handicraft, music, dance, mehndi art, and craft making, and more. Call 22864189 for details .
Padayatra planned KOLAR
The district unit of Karnataka Dalit Sangharasha Samiti (Bheema Marga) has decided to hold a padayatra from Mulbagal to Kolar on March 16 to highlight the problems of Dalits in the district.
Record number Mr. Siddaramaiah, who will present his 12th Budget, which is a record number by any Finance Minister in the State, on March 15, is likely to announce waiver of crop loans up to ₹3 lakh borrowed from government-run cooperatives. This move is aimed at wooing farmers, a major vote bank. Farmers have been severely affected owing to droughts for the last three years. The proposal will cost the exchequer ₹10,500 crore, official sources said. About 23
lakh farmers have obtained farm loans from cooperative banks, and 33 lakh farmers have borrowed from nationalised banks (₹42,000 crore) during 2016-17. In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mr. Siddaramaiah expressed his willingness to waive farm loans borrowed from cooperative banks, and challenged the Centre to waive crop loans availed from nationalised banks. Unlike last year, this Budget is expected to
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Home sweet home
provide more sops to middleclass consumers. Sources said it would not burden the salaried class with additional taxes on petrol and diesel, transport vehicles, soft drinks, beer, liquor, entertainment, and cable services.
Pay scale revision In an attempt to win another major constituency – government employees – Mr. Siddaramaiah will announce constitution of a 7th Pay Commission to revise the
pay scale of over six lakh staff, sources said. Junior college teachers and policemen have been demanding hike in pay scale for the last few years. It is also learnt that Mr. Siddaramaiah will announce a slew of measures to woo AHINDA (Kannada acronym for minorities, backward classes and Dalits). A proposal was mooted to provide free admissions to students belonging to BPL families, who have secured CET merit seats, in professional courses under the government quota. This will cost the exchequer ₹5,100 crore a year, sources said. Earlier, many Ministers had advocated the need to announce new schemes targeted at unemployed youth that could brighten the party’s prospects cutting across castes. Education, health and rural development, and drinking water departments would incorporate most of novel schemes to complement the party’s vote-securing efforts, it is learnt. Sources said Mr. Siddaramaiah would also announce formation of new taluks, as some of the existing taluks were too big for ensuring effective delivery of services.
Owning moral responsibility for the dismal performance of the Congress in elections to zilla parishads of Odisha, B.K. Hariprasad on Monday resigned from the post of general secretary of the All-India Congress Committee and membership of AICC Working Committee. Mr. Hariprasad told The Hindu that the Congress had performed very badly in the zilla parishad elections. The BJP had shunted out the Congress from the position of the principal Opposition party. The ruling Biju Janata Dal had emerged as the single largest party winning 473 ZP seats, while the BJP secured 297 seats. The Congress won only 60 seats. The Congress leaders of Odisha had blamed Mr. Hariprasad, who is in charge of the State, for the party’s performance in the ZP polls. Asked whether he would quit the Congress, Mr. Hariprasad said: “I am a loyal party worker. Even in my wildest dream, I will not think of quitting the party.”
HDK takes social media route Plans live interactions on networking sites ahead of 2018 polls SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT Bengaluru
Former Chief Minister and JD(S) State president H.D. Kumaraswamy entered the world of social media on Monday with an eye on the 2018 Assembly polls. His first tweet on his account ‘nammahdk’ was a quote from poet Robert Frost, who was highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life. To claim that he had chosen the road less travelled, he tweeted:
Craft A painted stork carrying grass to build a nest in Mysuru.
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-I took the one less travelled by, And that has made all the difference.” This is not the first time that Mr. Kumaraswamy has taken the social media route to reach out to people. He made his presence felt in December 2011, but was not an active participant. Mr. Kumaraswamy will interact with the public on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, and SoundCloud. He will also have live interac-
tions once a month. He admitted that social media played a pivotal role in the BJP’s victory in the recent elections in Uttar Pradesh. A team of 35 techies are busy projecting Mr. Kumaraswamy’s works and the future plans of JD(S) on social media. People can chat with him, besides airing grievances. “The days of my availability on Twitter and Facebook will be made known shortly,” he told reporters.
Temperature Data: IMD, Pollution Data: CPCB, Map: Skymet
Forecast for Tuesday: Thunderstorm accompanied with squall likely at isolated places over interior Tamil Nadu and Kerala city rain max min Agartala ....... .....—.....28.3.....16.8 Ahmedabad .. .....—.....32.7.....12.8 Aizawl .......... .....—.....26.7 .....7.3 Allahabad ..... .....—.....28.3.....10.1 Bengaluru..... .....—.....34.0.....22.2 Bhopal ......... .....—.....29.2.....12.6 Bhubaneswar .....—.....30.6.....22.1 Chandigarh... .....—.....22.0 .....9.1 Chennai........ .....—.....33.1.....27.6 Coimbatore .. .....—.....35.7.....22.5 Dehradun ..... .....—.....23.7 .....6.9 Gangtok ....... .....—.....15.5 .....5.3 Goa .............. .....—.....32.4.....19.3 Guwahati...... .....—.....28.8.....12.4 Hubballi ....... .....—.....34.0.....17.0 Hyderabad.... .....—.....35.3.....18.2 Imphal ......... .....4.6.....25.7.....14.0 Jaipur .......... .....—.....26.7.....11.1 Kochi ........... .....—.....33.0.....25.0 Kohima ........ .....2.2.....22.2 .....9.0 Kolkata ........ .....—.....29.1.....18.6
city rain max min Kozhikode ..... .....—.....36.0.....24.2 Kurnool ......... .....—.....38.8.....23.0 Lucknow ....... .....—.....26.8 .....9.2 Madurai......... .....0.6.....35.3.....24.6 Mangaluru..... .....—.....33.9.....21.6 Mumbai......... .....—.....32.4.....15.2 Mysuru.......... .....—.....34.9.....18.2 New Delhi ..... .....—.....24.2 .....9.0 Patna ............ .....—.....27.4.....11.7 Port Blair ...... .....—.....32.6.....24.2 Puducherry.... .....—.....33.0.....25.6 Pune ............. .....—.....34.4.....10.9 Raipur ........... .....—.....32.2.....17.7 Ranchi........... .....—.....27.0.....13.8 Shillong ........ .....0.2.....18.9 .....6.4 Shimla .......... .....—.....13.4 .....3.0 Srinagar ........ .....—.....12.4 .....-0.2 Trivandrum ... .....—.....34.5.....25.4 Tiruchi .......... .....—.....38.9.....24.8 Vijayawada.... .....—.....36.0.....25.2 Visakhapatnam .....—.....32.6.....24.3
Particulate matter in the air you are breathing CITIES
SO2 NO2
CODE Ahmedabad ......... ..59...76 ..12....228.......—.....* Bengaluru............ ....7...29 ..45....... — .....50.....* Chennai............... ..11...24 ..21....144.......—.....* Delhi ................... ..33...36 ..40....151 ...152.....* Hyderabad........... ..47...24 ..37......92 ...123.....* Kolkata ............... ..15...35 ..41....... — .....68.....* Lucknow ............. ..23...39 ..76....262.......—.....* Mumbai............... ..43...57 ..53....... — ...250.....* Pune ................... ..21...29 ....4....211 ...142.....* Vishakhapatnam .. ..11.....5 ..28......79 .....91.....*
Yesterday
CO PM2.5 PM10
In observation made at 4.00 p.m., Nagpur, Maharashtra, recorded an overall air quality index (AQI) score of 304 indicating an unhealthy level of pollution. In contrast, Durgapur, West Bengal, recorded a healthy AQI score of 55
Air Quality Code: * Poor * Moderate * Good SO2: Sulphur Dioxide. Short-term exposure can harm the respiratory system, making breathing difficult. It can affect visibility by reacting with other air particles to form haze and stain culturally important objects such as statues and monuments. NO2: Nitrogen Dioxide. Aggravates respiratory illness, causes haze to form by reacting with other air particles, causes acid rain, pollutes coastal waters. CO: Carbon monoxide. High concentration in air reduces oxygen supply to critical organs like the heart and brain. At very high levels, it can cause dizziness, confusion, unconsciousness and even death. PM2.5 & PM10: Particulate matter pollution can cause irritation of the eyes, nose and throat, coughing, chest tightness and shortness of breath, reduced lung function, irregular heartbeat, asthma attacks, heart attacks and premature death in people with heart or lung disease (Individual pollutant data for various cities are averages for the previous day)
Activists appeal for water Staff Reporter Kolar
“Solve water problem by implementing irrigation project or grant permission for euthanasia to people of Kolar
and Chickballapur”, was the appeal made by Shashwata Neeravari Horata Samiti in a memorandum submitted to Deputy Commissioner K.V. Thrilokchandra.
M.A. SRIRAM
Attack on Yogesh Master: Two held Staff Reporter DAVANGERE
Two persons, said to be the members of Hindu Jagarav Vedike, have been arrested in connection with smearing black oil on the face of progressive writer Yogesh Master in Davangere. The arrests were made on Monday by four separate teams of police formed to enquire into the attack. The arrested have been identi-
fied as Chetan and Shivaprasad, both residents of Davangere town. According to police sources, the motive behind the attack was to humiliate and demoralise the author for his writings against the Hindu Gods. The teams have continued their search for the other accused. Davangere Superintendent of Police Bhimashankar Guled told The Hindu that
the police had intensified search operations based on the information provided by the arrested persons. He expressed confidence that they will be arrested soon. Mr. Master, author of controversial Kannada novel Dundhi, was attacked when he was having tea at a hotel after participating in a programme organised to remember the late journalist P. Lankesh.
Krishna for Delhi today to meet Narendra Modi To join BJP in the presence of Amit Shah Special Correspondent Bengaluru/mysuru
The former Chief Minister S.M. Krishna will leave for New Delhi on Tuesday to hold consultations with BJP top leaders before joining the party on March 15. According to sources in the BJP, Mr. Krishna is scheduled to meet party national president Amit Shah on Tuesday evening and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday morning. He is scheduled to join the party in the presence of Mr. Shah. Meanwhile, the 84-yearold leader visited MM Hills temple in Chamarajanagar district on Monday along with his wife. Sources said the BJP was unlikely to make any announcements regarding the position to be offered to Mr. Krishna. Mr. Krishna severed his nearly five-decade-old association with the Congress CM YK
on January 28. Meanwhile, the meeting of the BJP State unit’s highest decision-making body of the core committee is being held in New Delhi on Tuesday. This would mean that all the core committee members including State president B.S. Yeddyurappa and Union Ministers from Karnataka Ananth Kumar and D.V. Sadananda Gowda would be present when Mr. Krishna joins the party in New Delhi. A senior BJP leader explained that the core committee meeting had been scheduled in New Delhi as several members would have to be in the national capital to attend the Parliament session. Meanwhile, Mr. Yeddyurappa told reporters in Mysuru that he would reach New Delhi in time to welcome Mr. Krishna to the party. A BG-BG
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6 SOUTH
BENGALURU
THE HINDU
TUESDAY, MARCH 14, 2017
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IN BRIEF
Land acquisition by ex-MLC near Bandipur ‘illegal’; resort may be seized
₹19,000-crore jump in Telangana budget N. Rahul HYDERABAD
BBMP wants govt. to devolve more taxes BENGALURU
An order has been issued to coniscate the property in Mangala village of Gundlupet taluk Special Correspondent Mysuru
The BBMP on Monday demanded the State government devolve more taxes to the civic body to empower it financially. It spoke of resource mobilisation at the council meeting in the run up to its budget. The Leader of the Opposition in the Council Padmanabha Reddy said that the government was collecting ₹200 crore as entertainment tax, ₹504 crore as professional tax, and ₹328 crore as luxury tax from the city.
Puttingal tragedy: HC poser to Kerala police KOCHI
A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Monday directed the State police chief to file a report on whether it was necessary to hand over the probe in a case relating to the fireworks tragedy at the Puttingal temple to any other agency. Or was it necessary to regulate the present probe through the supervision of higher level officers.
Sabarimala to become national pilgrim centre
Nearly 40 acres of land near Bandipur acquired over 20 years ago by the former BJP MLC, G. Madhusudhan, has been deemed illegal by the Regional Commissioner of Mysuru and an order issued to confiscate the property. Chamarajanagar Deputy Commissioner B. Ramu told The Hindu that he had received the order and had directed the Gundlupet tahsildar to execute it. This followed a prolonged hearing pertaining to the case after which the Regional Commissioner M.V. Jayanthi stated in her order that the permission accorded by the then Nanjangud Assistant Commissioner on December 12, 1994 and January 1, 1995, facilitating the sale of land was in violation of the Karnataka Land Reforms Act.
K.A. Shaji
The Travancore Devaswom Board is awaiting the nod of the Union government to declare the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple a national pilgrim centre, Board president Prayar Gopalakrishnan said here on Monday. The TDB had approached Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make the declaration, he said.
Palakkad
HYDERABAD
Six persons were arrested from a Tollywood director’s office in Banjara Hills area here on Monday with demonetised currencies to the tune of ₹1.2 crore, the police said. The police suspect film director K. Ramakrishna as part of a racket, which is allegedly involved in exchanging scrapped notes. PTI
CM YK
then Nanjangud Assistant Commissioner on December 12, 1994 and January 1, 1995, facilitating sale of land was in violation of Karnataka Land Reforms Act Regional Commissioner M.V. Jayanthi’s order
The order said Mr. Madhusudhan had purchased the land around Mangala village citing he owned agricultural land at Eshwaragowdanahalli, near Nanjangud, but verification of the said land records indicated it was government land. Though the land at Mangala was ostensibly procured for agricultural purposes, it was also converted
Kerala completes work on irst check-dam across Bhavani
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
6 held with scrapped banknotes of ₹1.2 crore
< > Permission accorded by the
Notwithstanding stiff opposition from Tamil Nadu, the Kerala Irrigation Department has completed work on the first of the half-adozen check-dams proposed across the inter-State river Bhavani to address drinking and irrigation water shortage in Attappady. The check-dam at Thekkuvatta under Pudur grama panchayat will be commissioned soon. According to officials, the 77-metre long and one-anda-half metre high check-dam was constructed at a cost of ₹95 lakh. A ₹134.5-lakh lift project to irrigate 36 ha of land owned by a local tribal community will be implemented using the water. The check-dam is the first major initiative on the part
of the State to utilise 6 TMC water awarded from the Bhavani basin by the Cauvery Tribunal 10 years ago. The Supreme Court has ratified the verdict and allowed the State to move ahead with its check-dam proposals. However, stiff resistance from Tamil Nadu had delayed the work. The Irrigation Department is now planning to utilise 1.57 tmc water from the award. Work on another check-dam at Manjikandi will be completed within one month. Following acute drinking and irrigation water crisis in all 192 tribal hamlets of the Attappady block, the State government began efforts to construct the check-dams to draw water from the river that flows east before entering Coimbatore.
‘Politically motivated’ Special Correspondent Mysuru
The former BJP MLC, G. Madhusudhan, has said that the orders to confiscate his property was “politically motivated” but did not elaborate. “I have already approached the High Court and am confident of getting the orders quashed as
into a resort, noted the order. Mangala village is in the Gundlupet taluk in Chamarajanagar district and is part of the eco-sensitive zone of the Bandipur tiger reserve. When the proposal for ESZ around Bandipur came up a few years ago, the then Conservator of
the Regional Commissioner or the Deputy Commissioner have no locus standi on the issue and only the Assistant Commissioner who was empowered, has already cleared the transaction. Besides, the HC has held that my agricultural bona fides and conversion order was valid,” he said.
Forests B.G. Hosmath, who was recently shunted out by the CM after the forest fire incidents, launched a drive to clear illegal constructions in the zone. It was at this juncture that Mr. Hosmath discovered the “illegality” of this transaction, besides noting
that the resort was close to the elephant corridor. Mr. Hosmath sought the assistance of the then Assistant Commissioner of Kollegal, Basavaraju, and filed a revision petition. During the hearing, Mr. Madhusudhan objected to the petition on the grounds that it was barred by limitation and sought that the petition be dismissed, but the Regional Commissioner drew powers from the Karnataka Land Reforms Act, 1961, Section 118 A and went about verifying the legality of acquisition. While there is a bar on new resorts within the ESZ, it does not apply to the existing ones functioning as on the date of declaration of the ESZ around Bandipur. But the order has deemed the original transaction itself to be illegal and hence the resort is also set to be seized and shut down.
Telangana Finance Minister Etala Rajender on Monday presented the budget for 2017-18 in the Assembly with an estimated total expenditure of ₹1.49 lakh crore — ₹19,000 crore more than the 2016-17 estimates. A number of programmes, including two bedroom houses for the poor, were envisaged for implementation through extra-budgetary resources. Thus, the expenditure in 2017-18 would be significantly higher than the budgeted amount, Mr. Rajender said. The budget size was ₹1 lakh crore in 2014-15, ₹1.15 lakh crore in 2015-16 and ₹1.30 lakh crore last year. However, the revised estimates for last year showed the expenditure at only ₹1.12 lakh crore and revenue surplus of ₹199 crore. He attributed the reduction in revised estimates up
Another strike against ‘restrictions’ Students of Fatima Mata College in Kollam say CCTVs invade their privacy secretary Bibin B. say that the ‘undemocratic restrictions’ are being imposed under the autonomous status of the college.
Special Correspondent Kollam
Students of the autonomous Fatima Mata National College here launched an agitation on Monday demanding the scrapping of ‘unbearable restrictions that infringe on their liberties.’ A good number of women students from the college joined the agitation which was led by the college union. The students submitted a list of their demands in the form of a memorandum to college Principal Vincent Netto. The Principal replied that a decision could be taken only after consultation with the college management. The students’ demand for an immediate solution was turned down and they declared an indefinite strike.
Students of Fatima Mata National College in Kollam stage a protest on Monday seeking more freedom on the campus.
The women students allege that the whole campus is dotted with CCTV cameras in a manner that invades their privacy. They say there is a ban of sorts on talking to male students on the campus. They are asked to strictly remain inside the women’s
quadrangle during breaks and before the classes. Walking on the campus invites the wrath of the management, they allege. The students allege that they are fined even on flimsy grounds. College union chairperson Riya Mary Jojo and general
Principal’s version Prof. Netto said the quadrangle system at the college was very old and was meant to safeguard the privacy of women students. The system was welcomed by parents and students at large. He said the students’ present attitude was mysterious. He said he had suggested a parents’ meeting and the students’ demands be placed at the meeting. “But the students were averse to the suggestion.” The students want to leave the campus during class hours. The college allows this only with the permission of the teachers concerned.
All smiles: Finance Minister Etela Rajender before presenting the budget in Telangana Assembly. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
to ₹1.12 lakh crore to smaller grants from the Centre, sale of lands not materialising due to court cases, and failure to recover arrears of commercial taxes on account of litigation and demonetisation. The Finance Minister flagged off many schemes, including sheep-rearing, promotion of fisheries, welfare of handloom weavers, women, employees, journalists, SCs, STs, BCs and minorities, the implementation of Kalyana Lakshmi and fee reimbursement.
Kudla Express to run on newly laid line Special Correspondent Mangaluru
The demand for a faster train journey between Bengaluru and Mangaluru will soon be realised with the South Western Railway proposing to run Kudla Express, the soon-to-belaunched day train, on the newly laid Bengaluru-Hassan line. This will bring the travel time down to nine hours. At present, it takes about 11 hours going via Arsikere (400 km) and 12 hours via Mysuru (450 km). The zone is awaiting the Railway Board’s nod and available dates of dignitaries to commence the service, that will begin with as a triweekly, for want of rakes.
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THE HINDU
NATION 7
BENGALURU
TUESDAY, MARCH 14, 2017
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IN BRIEF
5 held for rape in Delhi Joy reigns as nation celebrates Holi The woman jumped of the balcony of a lat to escape Press Trust of India New Delhi
‘Pinarayi quip on Sainiks not to be expunged’ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
Kerala Speaker P. Sreeramakrishnan on Monday ruled out expunging Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s March 9 remarks in which he had wondered if the Shiv Sainiks, indulging in moral policing in Kochi, had been hired by the Opposition UDF. The Speaker said it was merely the CM’s “political opinion” and was not liable to be dropped. PTI
JNU student from TN commits suicide NEW DELHI
A 25-year-old M. Phil student of Jawaharlal Nehru University allegedly committed suicide in south Delhi's Munirka Vihar on Monday evening. The student, identiied as Muthu Krishnan from Tamil Nadu, was found hanging from the ceiling fan inside his friend's house. The police said that they have not found any suicide note so far.
Four minor girls charred to death in Gujarat GUJARAT
A ire allegedly caused by a gas cylinder leak killed four minor girls, all sisters, in a hut at Mulad near Surat in Gujarat. The incident occurred when their father Ramesh Patel, a vegetable vendor, was away, the police said. The deceased were identiied as Darshana,10, Mansi, 9, Tejashree, 8, and Rajashree, 8.
Mild tremors in Gujarat AHMEDABAD
Mild tremors measuring 4.4 on the Richter scale shook parts of north Gujarat on Monday. There were, however, no reports of any damage. According to the Institute of Seismology in Gandhinagar, the tremors were recorded at 3.52 p.m. and the epicentre was 32 km northwest of Deesa in the district.
Five men have been arrested for allegedly raping a 26-year-old woman in east Delhi’s Pandav Nagar area. The accused allegedly locked up the victim in a flat and raped her in turns till early on Monday and she jumped off from the balcony to escape, said a senior police officer. Based on the woman’s complaint, a case had been registered at the Pandav Nagar police station. The five accused work in different private call centres. The five — Lakshay Bhalla, Vikas Kumar, Naveen, Swarit and Prateek — have been arrested. While four of the accused work in call centres in Noida, Swarit works as an
engineer in Tech Mahindra. Police said the woman, a mother of two kids, was allegedly taken to the Pandav Nagar flat by Vikas. Vikas allegedly left the flat after telling the woman that he had some work and he would pick her up in the morning after finishing the work, police said. The woman lives with her two children in south Delhi’s Munirka area. In her statement, she told the police that she had known Vikas for the past few months. On Sunday night, Vikas met her in Munirka and asked her to accompany him to his friend’s house for a party. “The woman left with him and on the way met two of his friends. The three brought her to the flat
where their other friends were already present. The woman protested about the presence of others,” he said. Vikas later returned to the flat. The woman told the police that the five forced her to consume alcohol. When she got drunk, they allegedly locked her in the flat and took turns to rape her. They allegedly threatened her of dire consequences if she raised an alarm or attempted to escape from the flat. Around 5.30 a.m. the woman managed to reach the balcony and jumped. She alerted some passersby about the sexual assault. One of them informed the police. “The woman was admitted to the Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital. She has sustained minor injuries in the legs,” said the officer.
Press Trust of India New Delhi
Clothes were dyed with varied hues and a spirit of joy reigned supreme as the country on Monday played Holi. Revellers thronged thoroughfares smearing faces with coloured powder and children hurled water-filled balloons from rooftops to celebrate the festival of colours which heralds the advent of spring. People hugged each other wishing “Happy Holi” as streets were filled with groups singing and dancing to the accompaniment of drums.
Leaders’ greetings President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice-President Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended
Holy hues: Devotees celebrating Holi at the Swaminarayan Temple in Ahmedabad on Monday. PTI
Holi greetings to the people, saying the festival symbolises the spirit of harmony and prosperity. “Let this year’s Holi mark the beginning of a new phase of peace and prosperity in the country,” Mr. Mukherjee said.
Extending his wishes, Mr. Ansari said, “May this festival bring peace, harmony, prosperity and happiness in our lives.” Greeting the people, Mr. Modi hoped that the festival spreads joy and warmth everywhere.
Excluding minorities will hurt growth: Chidambaram Modi govt. failed to drive economic growth despite favourable conditions, former Finance Minister says Special Correspondent CHENNAI:
India cannot achieve economic growth in the longterm if it excluded the minorities and marginalised sections from the political process, cautioned veteran Congress leader and former Union Minister P. Chidambaram. Delivering the first annual lecture of The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy here on Monday, Mr Chidambaram in his speech, ‘Will India Get Uninterrupted Growth?’ pointed out that the BJP had not fielded a single Muslim candidate in the just concluded Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, despite the community constituting 19.3 % of the population in the State. “Is it possible to ensure long-term economic growth by excluding from the political process the largest com-
Former Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram being presented The Hindu's irst editorial by N. Ram, Chairman, KSL, in Chennai on Monday. N. Ravi, Director, Kasturi & Sons Limited, is also in the picture. B. JOTHI RAMALINGAM
munity or women or the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes,” he asked.
Faultlines deepened According to the former minister, under the BJP-led government, throughout last year, the social fault lines had multiplied and conflicts became the order of the day. If
the social fault lines multiply and deepen, the government cannot keep its eyes on the economy, and that is what happened in 2016, he said. Mr Chidambaram felt the Modi government had failed to seize the opportunity to drive economic growth despite favourable conditions when it came to power in
Now jawan’s video slams corrupt politicians
Army Major falls in stepwell, dies
‘I would not like them to touch my body’
Press Trust of India
Shoumojit Banerjee
Lance Havildar Ranjeet Gawade put up a hoarding in his native Mahalunge village with a poem titled Mi Kon (Who am I?).
he enumerates the selflessness and the single-minded dedication of the ordinary Indian jawan towards his country while serving on the front.
Not towards superiors Speaking to The Hindu, Lance Havildar Gawade, currently serving in Jammu and Kashmir, clarified that his statements were not directed towards military superiors or even the political or bureaucratic class as a whole. “I am an ordinary soldier and I want to put it on record that there is no
2014. In March 2014, though there were clear signs of recovery and the growth rate had climbed back to 6.54%, the new (BJP) government didn’t have a coherent plan for the way forward. Citing Swachh Bharat, International Yoga Day, Make in India, Stand Up India and similar programmes, Mr. Chidambaram alleged there was a lot of activity but none of them contributed to boosting economic growth. Religious conversions, ghar wapsi, the ban on cow slaughter, ban on sale and consumption of beef, love jihad, moral policing and other issues were the other distractions, he pointed out. “The obvious measures of reform were not taken up. The recommendations of the Finance Sector Legislative Reforms Commission were neglected. The Direct Taxes Code was put on the back burner.
Having opposed the GST when the BJP was in the Opposition, the government seemed reluctant to push the idea. Disinvestment was a crawl,” he alleged. The Congress leader added that the NPA scare, the stand off between the government and the RBI during the last year of the term of Raghuram Rajan, and demonetisation, which he described as the ‘most calamitous disruption, had all impacted growth. “None of the stated objectives of demonetisation was achieved or are they likely to be achieved,” Mr Chidambaram said, pointing to slowing economic growth rate, which slipped further in Q3 of 2016-17.
Bold reforms needed Making it clear that uninterrupted economic growth was not a given, the former Finance Minister said the govern-
ment was required to take bold and structural reforms and these cannot be accomplished by a few legislative or administrative changes. According to him there have only been 11 true economic reforms since 1991 and after 2014, he considered only the GST a true reform. Moderating an open session, Kasturi & Sons Limited Chairman N. Ram described Mr Chidambaram’s lecture as thought provoking, nuanced and interesting. In his introductory remarks Kasturi & Sons Limited Director N. Ravi said The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy in its four years of existence has supported 24 short term public policy scholars who have focussed their research on varied subjects including parliamentary democracy, financial inclusion and voting preferences, among others.
The paramilitary forces personnel did not celebrate Holi as a mark of tribute to the 12 CRPF personnel who were killed in a Naxal ambush in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh. The CRPF issued orders that no “regimental function related to Holi celebrations” will be observed at any field formation. It said the gesture was to express “solidarity” with the family members of the slain men and that the directions are to be followed by the “entire force in letter and in spirit.” In Mathura and Vrindavan, popular for their extravagant celebrations extending nearly a week, traditional practices, including the ‘lathmar holi’, were held as the cities soaked in multiple hues.
Driver held for death of Bengali singer Press Trust of India KOLKATA
The driver of the vehicle that met with an accident last week killing popular Bengali folk singer Kalikaprasad Bhattacharya was arrested, police said. Arnab Rout, who has been absconding since the police booked him under the IPC Section 304 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder), was arrested from Kasba in south Kolkata on Sunday night, a senior police officer said. “There was negligence on the part of the driver while driving on the expressway that led to the accident. Initial probe revealed the driver was dozing while driving following which the mishap happened... We need certain answers from him for our investigation,” he said.
Jodhpur
Pune
In another instance of members of the security forces resorting to social media to express frustrations about working conditions, a soldier from Maharashtra’s Kolhapur district has uploaded a short video saying that should he be killed in action or during active service, his body should not be touched by corrupt politicians and grasping bureaucrats. In a direct and dignified message, Lance Havildar Ranjeet Gawade, from Chandgad taluk, is seen saying that his wish should be regarded as his “final will.” “In the past year, reports [have surfaced] of jawans being mistreated, which has saddened me and others like me. Hence, it is my wish that in the event I am martyred, I would not like corrupt politicians and self-serving bureaucrats to touch my body. Not only me, but I’m sure this is the wish of several other ordinary soldiers,” Lance Havildar Gawade says. Lance Havildar Gawade had earlier put up a hoarding in his native Mahalunge village with a poem titled Mi Kon (Who am I?), in which
Paramilitary forces kept away as a tribute to 12 CRPF men killed in Sukma
comparable institution like the Indian Army when it comes to taking care of its soldiers. “My purpose of the hoarding and the video was to speak out against the mistreatment of jawans that has come to light recently, and is not directed against every politician and bureaucrat, but merely the corrupt ones in their lot,” he said. Referring to BSF constable Tej Bahadur Yadav’s case, Lance Havildar Gawade emphasised that such particular incidents of poor quality food being served were “isolated” ones.
An Army major visiting the famous ‘Toorji ka Jhalra’ stepwell here along with his colleagues fell into it and died last night, police said. The 28-year-old Army officer, Major Sanjay Kumar Dwivedi, lost his balance and fell into the stepwell and was drowned said police adding his body could be recovered only this afternoon. Police is awaiting the arrival of his family members from Dehradun, SHO Indra Singh said. Major Dwivedi was posted at the Signal Core in Jodhpur military station here. “After enjoying the burning of Holi in the city, all the three had dinner in a guest house and headed to a nearby ancient stepwell, Toorji ka Jhalra, past midnight, which is a tourist attraction in the city,” Mr. Singh said. While all the three stepped into the stepwell, Major Dwivedi suddenly lost his balance on the steps and fell into the water, the SHO said. His friends raised an alarm, which brought in the people to his rescue. Divers were roped in but they could only recover his body by afternoon, the SHO said.
Panthers yet to be traced at Smriti Van They have found better prey area Press Trust of India Jaipur
Around three panthers, spotted entering the Smriti Van bio-diversity Park over a week ago, continue to elude forest officials. Nearly 20 officials are camping in the park to track the panther movement that perhaps have found better prey area in the park than the Jhalana forest. CM YK
“Smriti Van has dense population of wild rabbits. It is a protected area and panthers have accommodated well in the park. We have seen movement of two matured panthers and one cub on Saturday night. “We have put a cage in the park but attempts have remained unsuccessful to trap them,” ACF Manphool Bishnoi said. A BG-BG
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8 EDITORIAL
BENGALURU
THE HINDU
TUESDAY, MARCH 14, 2017
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The art of building majorities The BJP’s ideology has more takers than before because it is framing the main issues for elections pradeep chhibber, rahul verma & harsh shah
I
n the post-Mandal era, Uttar Pradesh, the country’s most populous State that is made up of diverse regions, has rarely witnessed a landslide, leave alone of such dimensions, in an Assembly election. As the State went to the polls, there was a clutch of arguments marshalled by sundry political commentators on why the BJP could not repeat its huge sweep in the 2014 Lok Sabha election — the magnitude of which had surprised the party itself as much as its rivals. It was pointed out, for instance, that this was a State election, the implication being that a totally diferent political dynamic would be at play. Other factors such as the efect of demonetisation, the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance, and the fading appeal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi were thrown into the mix. As it turned out, none of this seemed to matter much as the results of the two elections were eerily similar — both in terms of the geographical spread of the victory and vote percentages. The BJP managed to efectively tap into segments among the Other Backward Classes and Dalits, besides its upper-caste vote base. The popularity of Mr. Modi contributed in no small measure to the election result, but the party succeeded by also feeding into the disgruntlement over the narrow social alliances forged by the SP and the BSP. The SP and the BSP, following their 2014 debacle, chose to make two tactical changes. By revolting against his father and party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, incumbent Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav presented himself and his party as agents of development. But he was unable to convince the electorate that the party had moved away from caste and, more speciically, Yadavled patronage. Despite the alliance with a weak Congress party, the SP’s support remained limited to its core traditional vote. The BSP tried a newer tactic, an abstract Dalit-Muslim alliance, and ran on the hope that ielding candidates based on identity would break the coalition of forces that had supported the BJP in 2014. But the expediency of this strategy based on caste and community failed, partly because of perceptions that BSP leader Mayawati was ambivalent about who she would join hands with in the event of a hung Assembly. U.P. is a communally sensitive State and the BJP — which failed to ield a single Muslim candidate — must not interpret the scale of the victory as an endorsement of majoritarianism or an excuse to raise the political pitch on divisive issues such as the Ram temple in Ayodhya. Going into the 2019 general election, Mr. Modi and his party will be closely monitored on how much they adhere to his promise of taking everyone along. The last thing that a “new India” needs is an escalation of denominational politics that raises unnecessary passions and subverts the developmental agenda.
End of a chapter The President’s removal from oice deepens South Korea’s democratic evolution
T
he removal of a sitting President in South Korea brings to a close one phase in the months-long popular mobilisation to enforce accountability among the high and mighty. This verdict by South Korea’s highest court, upholding Parliament’s vote to impeach Park Geun-hye, could well herald a new era in a land where it has for long been unthinkable to get the powerful to face justice even for serious crimes. Signiicantly, Parliament’s move in December to unseat Ms. Park by an overwhelming vote had been backed even by legislators from her conservative Saenuri party. Stripped of presidential immunity, Ms. Park could now face criminal proceedings on allegations that she was complicit in nefarious activities involving her close conidante. The chief accusation is that they solicited contributions to promote dodgy non-proit organisations in return for clearing questionable corporate deals. The protests last year by hundreds of thousands who sought action in the inluence-peddling scandal, as well as violent clashes that followed Friday’s judicial verdict, are an indication of how polarising a igure Ms. Park has been through her tenure since 2013. Her autocratic and whimsical rule was marked by ierce attacks on labour unions, smear campaigns against critics, and eforts to rewrite history textbooks. The most provocative foreign policy move was the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence, an American missile defence system, escalating regional tensions. China retaliated with calls for the boycott of South Korean imports. The divisions among her followers and detractors are as much ideological as they are intergenerational. A number of Ms. Park’s party supporters continue to harbour sympathies for the daughter of South Korea’s moderniser, the military dictator Park Chung-hee. But younger generations see the severing of all links with this authoritarian past as a necessary guarantee for the consolidation of democracy, three decades after return to civilian rule. The chaebols — South Korea’s highly inluential family-owned conglomerates — may have had economic motivations to lean heavily on political patronage during the country’s industrial ascendency and integration into the global market. But such cosy arrangements are proving to be untenable when exceptions of the past are sought to be institutionalised. The task of public cleansing in South Korea is far from over, as is evident from the ongoing criminal proceedings involving tycoons from its best-known corporations. The recent assertion of the independence of the judiciary from political interference and the capacity of legislators to uphold their authority are notable. It would be no surprise, therefore, if South Korea’s example becomes a model worthy of emulation elsewhere in the region. South Koreans are due to elect their next President by May — and by all indications, they are seeking to strengthen the country’s democratic institutions. CM YK
T
Explaining the rise The electoral success of the BJP raises an important question. Without being able to meet expectations built up in 2014, in the absence of a surging economy, and with the poor decision on demonetisation, how is the party achieving so much success? There is one obvious reason: Prime Minister Narendra Modi remains very popular while the Congress party’s leadership no longer resonates with voters. However, leadership is not the only factor. The BJP is acquiring hegemonic status in the Indian polity owing largely to ideological consolidation and its creation of an unparalleled election machine. The BJP’s ideology has more
takers than before because the party frames the main issues for the elections. Its long-standing ideological association with nationalism renders nationalism an issue on which it has a huge advantage over all other parties. Parties that are able to successfully shape election campaigns around their own issues ultimately succeed in winning elections. By placing a large emphasis on nationalism, the party has cleverly tailored its ideological message to be able to capture the imagination of a larger section of the public. It has opened ideological battlefronts in many diferent spheres — from universities to movie theatres — and promoted conlicts across the board. It has also placed a large emphasis on other issues that it has traditionally been associated with, such as national security and terrorism, patriotism and more recently, corruption. For a very long time the Jan Sangh and then the BJP relied almost exclusively on the hard-line Hindu nationalists who reside with its ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). This is no longer the case. Hindu traditionalists, those who are drawn to a conservative Hindu way of life but are largely opposed to the hard-line Hindutva world view and its intolerance towards other religions, have now shifted their support from the Congress to the BJP. This allows the BJP to win elections
without nominating a single Muslim, as it did recently in U.P.
Forging multi-caste coalitions The party has also revamped its electoral strategy, one focussed on widening its appeal by stitching together multi-caste coalitions. As is widely known, the BJP’s traditional social base is predominantly upper caste. To increase its support base, it has been building an electoral machine of its own at the local level in the form of caste-based coalitions. Fully aware that the party would not receive much support from the Muslims and perhaps even the Jatavs, the former traditionally associated with the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the latter with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), its leaders targeted the smaller groups that don’t have adequate representation in any of the larger parties. For instance, the BJP tied up with parties like the Apna Dal and Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, giving it the support of a large section of the Kurmi and Rajbhar populations, respectively. It also increased its ticket allocations to non-Yadav OBCs and non-Jatav Dalits. Its campaign was led by a galaxy of local and national leaders, together covering an eclectic set of caste groups — almost a Congressstyle coalition — but without the Muslims and some Dalit communities. The BJP’s active use of state patronage has also played a big role in
Risks of rapid expansion On the electoral front, this has translated into the BJP aggressively co-opting individuals and units of other parties to strengthen its leadership. From Rita Bahuguna Joshi in U.P. to Himanta Biswa Sarma in Assam, the BJP has taken in many rival leaders into its fold before elections. This resembles the strategy followed by the Congress in the 1970s, at the peak of Indira Gandhi’s rule. While in the short term, this strategy is giving the party immense electoral success
and helping it expand its footprint, just as it had done for the Congress back then, in the medium to long term it poses grave risks. Many politicians and smaller parties have joined the BJP bandwagon as it looks the most lucrative option electorally, and they may desert it at next chance. In addition, as the BJP continues to bring into its fold leaders and parties from outside its ideological umbrella, it risks diluting the content of its ideology over time. If uninhibited, this could also lead to tensions between the BJP and the RSS. The BJP has undoubtedly replaced the Congress as the dominant national party and the cornerstone of India’s political and electoral system. This development has squeezed the space for centre-left forces in India’s polity and has given popular legitimacy to the centre-right narrative on issues of nationalism, secularism and social justice. As Yogendra Yadav has rightly pointed out, the centre-left needs a new vocabulary on the issue of social justice as the BJP has managed to convince a large section of society that the left’s language on the issue reeks of biases based on caste and religion. However, in order for the BJP to remain the dominant national party for a sustained period of time, it too needs to introspect to ensure it isn’t compromising longterm success for short-term rewards. Going forward, it should continue to widen its social base while ensuring it doesn’t lose its ideological identity. Otherwise, it will only remain dominant as long as a Mr. Modi remains at the helm. As when individuals acquire larger salience over ideology and organisation in parties, it leads to their decline down the road. That is exactly what happened to the Congress. Pradeep Chhibber and Rahul Verma are with the University of California, Berkeley. Harsh Shah is an alumnus of the University of California, Berkeley
Competing to make up the numbers There is more to the Manipur mandate than irst meets the eye
Pradip Phanjoubam
T
rue to forecasts of what might happen in the event of a split verdict for the 11th Manipur Legislative Assembly, the advantage seems now to be with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Although the last word is still to be said, the BJP, using its clout as the party in power at the Centre, has managed to cobble together a slim majority even though it won less seats than the Congress. In an informal show of strength, the party’s representatives met State Governor Najma Heptulla and claimed the support of 32 MLAs, with a rider that more would be joining its camp — a hint that it would split the Congress and absorb a part of it. The luid situation has come about because in the House of 60, the Congress won 28 seats, just three short to return to power for a record fourth term, while the BJP could manage 21 seats, 10 short of the magic number.
Of the remaining 11, four were won by the National People’s Party (NPP), founded by the former Lok Sabha Speaker from Meghalaya, Purno A. Sangma, and now led by his politician son Conrad Sangma, four by the Nagaland-based Naga People’s Front (NPF), one each by Ram Vilas Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party, Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress, and an independent candidate. By constitutional norms, the Governor would most likely invite the single largest party, the Congress, irst to prove its majority. It should have been relatively easy for the Congress to get three more supporters to qualify to form the government, but there is more to this mixed mandate than meets the eye.
Wheels within wheels The NPF, which won its four seats on the campaign plank of carving out Naga-dominated areas of Manipur to become part of a Greater Nagaland, would not support the Congress which has been vehemently opposed to the idea. The LJP is an ally of the BJP at the Centre. This leaves the NPP, Trinamool Congress and the independent candidate, six MLAs in all, for the Congress to look for support.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Standing tall
Despite being the runnersup in the Assembly elections held in Goa and Manipur, it is unethical that the BJP is now trying to cobble up the requisite numbers by enticing regional parties and independents with the carrot of ministerial posts (“In Manipur, BJP cobbles up numbers” and “It’s oicial: Parrikar to return as Goa CM”, both March 13). The respective Governors too appear to be playing a political game by not inviting the Congress, the largest elected political party, irst. It appears that they are in a hurry to swear in a leader who claims to have the numbers with the letters of support and physical presence of the elected representatives. “All is fair in love and war,” and we could include politics in this too. Such is the hunger for power that political parties are bidding goodbye to ethics and norms.
There is a positive angle even when losing, for it helps one to iron out one’s laws. However, despite the humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha elections in 2014, most of the parties that were defeated this time round have still not learnt any lessons. One needs to compliment the BJP for going from strength to strength by sweeping elections, be it civic or Assembly. The party has worked extremely hard to reach this position and it is evident that its eforts are paying of. What the nation lacks now is the presence of a strong Opposition, which is a necessity.
D.B.N. Murthy, Bengaluru
However, there is a hitch. Under the stewardship of Assam Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, a former Congress leader who defected to the BJP to ultimately play an important role in pulling down the Tarun Gogoi government in the 2016 Assam Assembly elections, a group called the North-East Democratic Alliance had been formed last year which pledges allegiance to the NDA government. The NPP is a part of this group. The question was: Would the Manipur unit of this Meghalaya party feel obligated enough to honour this pledge in seeking alliances to form the government in the State? It seems the BJP has managed to convince the party they should. The Congress had the Trinamool which is opposed to the BJP and the inde-
pendent MLAs to win over, but here too the BJP seems to have sabotaged the prospect. The independent MLA, from the Jiribam constituency on the Assam border, was reportedly abducted by the BJP from Imphal airport after he arrived with a Congress leader. The Trinamool MLA too has reportedly decided to join the BJP. However, even if the Congress got their support, the coalition’s number would be 30, leaving the Assembly in a hopeless tie. The Congress may be trying to strike a deal with the NPP as a signed letter of support by the NPP produced by the Congress does suggest it did intend to go with the Congress. The NPP is new as it is, but very new in Manipur. Most of its leaders are disgruntled politicians from other established parties.
Speed bumps ahead Even if a BJP-led coalition does become a reality, it will not be without problems. The NPF has agreed to support the BJP but could also withdraw support if and when the question of a Greater Nagaland returns to the fore. It is also a foregone conclusion that such a scenario would come about sooner than later in the backdrop of the much-hyped but little known Framework Agreement
being negotiated between the Union government and the Naga militant organisation, the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (IsakMuivah). This is especially so as Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself pledged during the election campaign that no agreement with the NSCN(IM) would be allowed to afect Manipur territory. Probably this is also why the BJP is looking to splinter and absorb a portion of the Congress so that if it does form the next government, it will not be left at the mercy of the NPF. Again, under the anti-defection law, there is a ceiling on the size of State cabinets. For Manipur this is 12 including the Chief Minister, and accommodating party hopefuls and allies alike will be tough. Therefore, plenty of loyalty auctions, hopefully not too ugly, are to be expected in the next few days before a government is formed. Since the Congress can only make the majority mark with the NPP support, and the BJP keen to prevent this from happening, the NPP’s price tags as kingmakers would have already soared. Pradip Phanjoubam is editor, Imphal Free Press and author, ‘The Northeast Question: Conlicts and frontiers’
Letters emailed to
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Stooping to conquer
Balasubramaniam Pavani, Secunderabad
The resounding victory for the Indian National Congress in Punjab is a much-needed one for the troubled mainstream party (“The Congress’s Punjab lifeline”, March 13). Antiincumbency against the Badal family, the drug ■
PTI
The BJP’s landslide must not be interpreted as an endorsement of denominational politics
he State elections of 2017 clearly demonstrate that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has replaced the Congress as the principal national party in the country. It won massive victories in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, and emerged as a big player in Manipur. In Goa it remained the single largest party in terms of vote share despite a hugely unpopular outgoing Chief Minister. The only disappointment is Punjab where the party was routed with its senior partner Shiromani Akali Dal after ruling the State for 10 years. The spectacular performance of the BJP in U.P. should not detract from its formidable achievements in the recently concluded local elections, where it made huge strides in previously uncharted territory. In Odisha’s Zilla Parishad elections, the party expanded its footprint from 36 seats in 2012 to 306 in 2017, snatching second place away from the Congress to become a formidable contender to the long incumbent Biju Janata Dal. In Maharashtra, the BJP won eight of 10 municipal corporations with its total number of seats nearly equal to that of all other parties combined.
GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO
U.P. and away
strengthening its national footing. In States where the party has come to power, and even at the national level, it has actively worked to break down the existing patronage machinery and replace it with one of its own. For instance, in Maharashtra, a State ruled by the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) for more than a decade before the Devendra Fadnavis government assumed oice, the BJP has been steadily dismantling the patronage structures put in place by its predecessors. Through ordinances and amendments, the government has managed to severely weaken the hold of NCP and Congress leaders on the powerful cooperative bodies in the State, including the cooperative sugar factories which have been under the tight grip of NCP leader Sharad Pawar for decades. The government not only created a provision whereby it could appoint independent members to the boards of these bodies, but also imposed restrictions on the existing board members, hailing largely from the Congress or NCP, from contesting elections to particular cooperative banks. At the national level, the Modi government removed scores of previous United Progressive Alliance-era political appointees, particularly those notorious for their role in creating the large NPA (non-performing assets) problem facing the public sector banks today, and replaced them with its own people.
menace, failing law and order, and farmer suicides all worked against the SADBJP alliance. The Congress led by Amarinder Singh had many issues to exploit to the hilt. The absence of credible leaders in the AAP was what made it falter on the electoral trail. Perhaps the BJP could have tested the waters in Punjab by contesting separately to know its strengths. H.P. Murali, Bengaluru
■ The success of the BJP can be attributed to the special interest Prime Minister Narendra Modi took while campaigning. Other matters became minor. The increase in vote percentage in Manipur relects the popularity of the BJP. The Congress needs to pull up its socks and reinvent itself in the changing political environment.
D. Kishan Prasad Rao, Karimnagar, Telangana
■
While we are all busy
consumed by the victories of the BJP and the Congress, we seem to be missing the jolly good performance of the AAP. The Aam Aadmi Party is at the most a iveyear-old party when compared to giants such as the Congress and the BJP. It fought in two out of ive States and did reasonably well. I think they have every good reason to celebrate for having made a mark in Punjab. The Congress’s win is only on account of the anti-incumbency factor. If we look at the vote share in all the ive States, there is a good division of votes among the parties, which according to me marks the triumph of the Indian political system. C.A. Gopal Nathani, Gurugram
Venkaiah Naidu’s claim Union Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu’s claim that his party is now a “national party” is one which is unsustainable (“Message in the verdict”, March 13). It is a national party based on what the
Election Commission of India says. Which party or parties are not nationalist in our country? At the same time, nationalism should not be equated with chauvinism and jingoism, two characteristics that the BJP inherently possesses. A party which has given up the goal of self-reliance in the economy hardly qualiies for the nomenclature of being a nationalist party. The BJP is a party which swears by foreign direct investment in every area of economic activity in the country, while on the cultural front, it is bound by obscurantism and revivalism of the worst kind. It has nurtured storm troopers to attack individuals and groups which beg to difer from the BJP’s obscurantist views. Happenings in Kerala and Mangaluru are examples of this. The long and short of it is that the BJP is a political party like any other in the country. The narcissist
views of Mr. Naidu about his party have no substance. G. Ramakrishna, Bengaluru
Of-ield referral It is a disturbing sight every time the umpire makes a decision to have the batsman or the ielding side grouping to discuss the decision. As a sports fan who has been watching Test cricket for over three decades, I feel that the current systems of the game deprive a viewer of the real moments of a Test match. The rules are so lopsided that we seem to be moving from match to match ofering only what sells. The DRS episodes are so ugly that if things continue this way, we are likely to see technology making a complete takeover of the game. We must not forget that umpiring is judgment based on one’s cricketing skills. Pandithar Sivakumar Perumal, Pune
more letters online: www.hindu.com/opinion/letters/
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THE HINDU
OPED 9
BENGALURU
TUESDAY, MARCH 14, 2017
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Rewriting the U.P. equation
For a bold foreign policy
The election results are better understood in terms of caste consolidation, not religious polarisation
National interest is not served by avoiding problems left over by a previous global order
We’d be lying if we said we saw this coming. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies won 325 out of 403 seats in the 2017 U.P. Assembly election, a strike rate of 81%. This is the largest number of seats won by any party/coalition in U.P. since the Janata Party in 1977. In retrospect, the analysis of this extraordinary feat is remarkably straightforward. It is almost a repeat of the national election in 2014, when U.P. was in the grip of the ‘Modi wave’. The aggregate vote share of BJP and its allies was 41.4% in this election, a hair less than the 43.6% it received in 2014. Even their performance over the seven phases of this election closely mirrors their performance in 2014. They had a strike rate of 90% in phase 1 (93% in 2014), 75% in phase 2 (73%), 80% in phase 3 (75%), 83% in phase 4 (77%), 85% in phase 5 (85%), 67% in phase 6 (88%), and 80% in phase 7 (100%). Curiously, the BJP and its allies only slipped, in comparison to their gaudy 2014 performance, in the final two phases of the election where Yogi Adityanath and Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself were expected to deliver sweeps for their party. Of course, the BJP’s Hindutva strategy and the Prime Minister’s popularity are a large part of the story here. But Mr. Modi’s popularity was present in Bihar and Delhi as well, even though the BJP got routed in those elections. The real question is: why was the BJP so successful in U.P. as opposed to, say, Bihar?
The winning narrative It goes without saying that the electorate was most convinced by what the BJP had to offer. As a young man from the Rajbhar community outside Babina told us, “We need someone like Narendra Modi, who is with all castes.” The popular view of BJP in our travels was that of a caste-blind party, unlike the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) or the Samajwadi Party (SP), which are each broadly associated with one caste group ( Jatavs or Yadavs). The form of particularistic politics associated with the BSP and SP left a large swathe of the population disaffected and without a (political) home. The newest avatar of the BJP, in which it has sought to distance itself from purely upper-caste politics, was able to consolidate and mobilise these groups against both the BSP and the SP.
Mukul Sanwal
The strategic choices before us today are similar to the ones U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are facing: in a fast-changing world, national interest is not served by avoiding problems left over by a previous order. Prime Minister Narendra Modi needs to challenge long-established convictions on whether the elements of power in the next world order will revolve around diplomacy, force, or trade as the primary tool.
Safron sweep: “This is almost certainly the beginning of a new chapter in the storied history of the politics of Uttar Pradesh.” BJP workers celebrate in Varanasi, U.P., the party's win in the Assembly election. PTI
In the three previous State elections since 2000, the aggregate vote share of the four major parties — BJP, SP, BSP, and Congress — along with their allies, never rose above 84%. This means that in the State election, a significant proportion of voters (almost one in six) felt so unattached to the major players that they voted for independent candidates or small parties. In this election, 91.6% of all voters voted for one of the four major parties and their allies, most of this new vote likely going to the BJP (much like 2014 where the aggregate vote share was 93.2%). In short, the BJP effectively cannibalised the vote of the independent candidates and unaligned parties that were drawing voters who felt unattached to any of the major players. Five years ago, a 29.1% vote share was enough to give the SP a majority (224 out of 403) of seats; this time, the 28% vote share of the SP-Congress alliance was only good enough for 54 seats. The BJP has raised the bar; the particularistic politics of the past — and the vote shares associated with it — is unlikely to suffice in the future. Critics point to the role of religious polarisation in increasing vote share for the BJP and its allies; this is something that can be checked empiric-
ally. If results are driven by religious polarisation, the strike rate and the vote share of the BJP and its allies should be particularly large when the Muslim population is large (but not a majority), as Hindus rally against the Muslim community. In the 38 Assembly constituencies in districts that had at least 40% Muslim population, but not a majority, the strike rate for BJP and its allies dropped to 69% from 81% across U.P. Similarly, their average vote share in these constituencies dropped to 37.8% from 41.3% across U.P. Note further that the average Muslim population here is greater than the BJP’s vote share. Either the Muslim community is not as strategic as it is purported to be in keeping the BJP out of power, or some proportion of Muslims voted for the BJP this time. In short, while religious polarisation is certainly part of the BJP’s appeal, simplistic notions of polarisation or strategic voting by Muslims do not explain the results in the election. Rather, this election should be understood in terms of caste consolidation against particularistic politics.
of the Kurmi community, Akhilesh Yadav could never distance himself from the burden of local Yadav domination across U.P. Thus, the BJP’s caste consolidation largely failed in Bihar while producing a sweep in U.P. The SP’s alliance with the Congress never worked well either. There were 22 “friendly fights” in which both parties put up candidates in the same constituency. While the SP had a poor strike rate of 15% on an average vote share of 28.4% in seats contested, even these votes didn’t transfer to the Congress. The Congress’ strike rate was just 6% on an average vote share of 22.6% in seats contested. Mayawati’s BSP had a strike rate of just 5% and an average vote share of 22.2% in seats contested. No doubt each of these parties will have to reinvent itself and move beyond the particularistic politics with which it is associated if it wants to survive. Given the scale of this victory for the BJP, this is almost certainly the beginning of a new chapter in the storied history of the politics of Uttar Pradesh.
A new politics in U.P. Unlike Bihar, where Nitish Kumar was seen as more than just a leader
Neelanjan Sircar, Bhanu Joshi and Ashish Ranjan are ailiated with the Centre for Policy Research in Delhi
Moving to a multipolar world In the last 20 years, incomes of 80% of the population in the West stagnated while per capita income in China quadrupled, and India’s more than doubled. Society is ageing; technology is disrupting labour markets and business models. The digital economy is expected to provide one-quarter of global productivity by 2025 and will have the U.S., China and India reinforcing the multipolar order. The functioning of the global economy has affected the economic and political relationship between the large and small economies, reducing and increasing the leverage exercised by the U.S. and China, respectively. The China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which former U.S. President Barack Obama failed to weaken, and the New Development Bank of the BRICS could provide the required $8-15 trillion, marginalising the World Bank. China is projecting the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative as a replacement for the U.S.-led post-1950 multilateral institutions. Mr. Trump is understandably questioning the relevance of the United Nations for the U.S., favouring bilateral deals and forcing others to rethink the nature and role of international cooperation. He is resetting priorities away from peacekeeping, environment and human rights to trade. His ‘America First’ strategy has broad support within the U.S. Other rich countries like Japan and the U.K. are likely to adopt this new template doing away with concessions to others. There will be consequences for the World Trade Organisation, in particular if the WTO dispute resolution panels rule against the U.S., leading to a questioning of the rule-based system itself. Mr. Trump recognises that he cannot stop global trends and the diminishing returns from a reliance on diplomacy and force, exemplified by the failure of the U.S. ‘pivot’ in
containing China. Mr. Obama’s response to the entry of three billion Asians into the global economy was to attempt setting new trade rules outside the WTO. Mr. Trump has rejected this approach, favouring an employment-oriented deal around specific sectors much like the Obama-Xi understanding on climate change. The difference is that Mr. Trump is prepared to limit imports and boost exports even at the cost of upsetting long-standing agreements and allies. Mr. Trump is “willing to find new friends and to forge new partnerships where shared interests align”, rejecting the Cold War logic of containment, reliance on foreign bases and alliances. He sees China as the greatest threat, as the combination of military and economic strength creates a strategic situation where, like in the Cold War, the U.S. will need to seek a “constructive relationship” in Asia rather than dominance and may join the OBOR.
PTI
Neelanjan Sircar, Bhanu Joshi & Ashish Ranjan
Asian connectivity and India Mr. Trump is moving for a political deal with Russia and a trade deal with China. Chinese exports to the U.S. are already declining, the shift to a consumption-driven economy will open markets for U.S. goods, and the RMB is now a global reserve currency. India is more vulnerable with two-thirds of the exports of the $150-billion IT industry to the U.S. and the ‘Make in India’ strategy colliding with Mr. Trump’s priorities, requiring India to make strategic choices. As the multilateral order fragments into spheres of influence, we first need a bold vision on Kashmir and must not just seek to isolate Pakistan. We should join the OBOR, while maintaining our reservations on its branch passing through Kashmir, and become part of the growing Asian market. The nature of conflict is changing from direct clashes to disruption of critical infrastructure through remote attacks. With world-class cyber-space-biotech capability, we should reconsider large-scale purchases from abroad for massive investment in cybersecurity and the related digital economy that will make the ‘Digital India’ initiative into a ‘Digital Asia’ one. India expects nothing less from Mr. Modi. Mukul Sanwal is a former UN diplomat and currently Visiting Professor at the Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
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Market will ind its way
FIFTY YEARS AGO MARCH 14, 1967
Government must not intervene in the battle between cab aggregators and drivers as long as the law is not broken
A nineteen-member Cabinet headed by Mrs. Indira Gandhi was sworn in this morning [March 13, New Delhi]. Fourteen Ministers of State were also sworn in. The President Dr. S. Radhakrishnan administered the oath of allegiance to the Constitution and of secrecy to them. An announcement about the Deputy Ministers is expected to be made later. Five of the Cabinet Ministers are new additions and they are Dr. Triguna Sen, Vice-Chancellor of the Banaras University (Minister of Education), Dr. Karan Singh, Jammu and Kashmir Governor (Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation), Dr. V.K.R.V. Rao (Minister of Transport and Shipping), Mr. K.K. Shah (Minister of Information and Broadcasting) and Dr. M. Chenna Reddy, Andhra Pradesh Minister (Minister of Steel, Mines and Metals).
19-member Union Cabinet sworn in
K. Bharat Kumar
SHANKER CHAKRAVARTY
In the recent battle between cab aggregators and their drivers, the consumer seems to have been forgotten. Should the government intervene? But before we ask that, does it make sense to ban cab aggregators? Uber and Ola, the top players in India, have about 32,000 cabs plying in Chennai, according to a union member who participated in the recent drivers’ strike. Assuming a low average of six trips a day, as not all cabs ply daily, the city’s commuters make close to 2 lakh trips a day with them. Given the kind of presence cab operators have across the country — Uber has about 2.4 lakh drivers at any point — it may not be a great idea to ban such services. Should the government then regulate prices so that drivers earn better? Protesting driver unions in Chennai have demanded that the government ix a minimum of ₹100 for the irst 4 km in a standard ride. However, if two competing ride services help bring prices down for the commuter, why meddle with that model? Yes, for drivers who have spent savings or taken loans to buy a new car hoping that earnings will remain high, it is a let-down.
‘This is business’ One argument in favour of the drivers is that they may not be informed enough that the terms of business constantly change. Signing up with cab aggregators means entering a business partnership. The drivers bought, and continue to buy, new vehicles even as the terms of engagement have been changing over the last few months. For drivers across operators, the terms have changed from a minimum number of trips per day to a minimum fare amount per day and now operators have ixed a certain number of trips a week for drivers to enjoy incentives or ‘boosts’. One Uber driver said: “This is business. No one is forcing me to drive. If I don’t, someone else will.” In an ideal world, the cab aggregator would ensure that everyone got a good deal. But if that does not happen, the government has no business intervening as long as players act within the limits of law. After all, regulators don’t prevent a player from reducing prices just to protect revenues of other players. However, when service providers collude to ix prices above competitive levels, thus harming the consumer, the government should step in to break the cartel. Otherwise, let the market decide. If Ola does not change its terms of engagement with drivers, Uber may lure drivers away with better terms. If Uber refuses to drop its commission for every trip, as drivers now demand of it, its drivers may leave. On the lip side, even if commuter prices in a competitive environment charged by cab operators go up to astronomical levels, the government should not enter the picture. The market will ind its way. CM YK
ARCHIVES
A HUNDRED YEARS AGO MARCH 14, 1917
The Bengal Legislative Council: Interpellations CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
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CONCEPTUAL
ABSTRACT
Yin and Yang / Philosophy
Controlling HIV-like virus in monkeys
Yin and yang are the two opposing but equal forces that drive the universe in Taoist belief. They are not considered inherently good or evil, but complementary aspects of reality. Yin represents earth, darkness, femininity, passivity and reception; yang represents heaven, light, masculinity, activity and creation. There are other values and elements assigned to each, but these are the core tenets. The two parts as a whole form the Tao. Rather than work as opposites, they complement and exist in relation to each other. It is this duality that lies at the origins of many branches of classical Chinese science and philosophy.
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MORE ON THE WEB 80% of new U.P. MLAs are crorepatis http://bit.ly/2mjBBW3
Two anti-HIV antibodies together show positive results R. Prasad
In an interesting study, the immune system of monkeys was found capable of controlling HIV-like virus (Simian-Human Immunodeficiency Virus or SHIV) when treatment with a combination of two antiHIV antibodies was started three days after infection. The immune system of the animals was found to control the virus even after the anti-HIV antibodies were no longer present in the monkeys. In a paper titled ‘Early antibody therapy can induce long-lasting immunity to SHIV’ published on March 13 in the journal Nature, researchers from the National Institutes of Health and other institutes infected 13 macaque monkeys with the SHIV virus. Unlike earlier studies where intervention began late, the researchers started treating the monkeys with two broadly neutralising HIV antibodies from the third day of
infection. The monkeys were infused with the two drugs three times over a two-week period. Compared with controls, six monkeys were able to suppress the virus for 56 days to even six months; in one monkey, the virus was below detectable level for 150 days. Once the antibodies level dropped to a “very low” in the animals, the virus resurfaced. The time taken to rebound was directly related to the concentration of the neutralising antibodies in the plasma. Five to 22 months after the virus resurfaced, the immune system of the six monkeys spontaneously regained control of the virus and brought it down to undetectable levels for another five to 13 months. Four other monkeys could never fully regain complete control of the virus, but the viral load was at a “very low level” for more than two years. Of the 13 monkeys studied, 10 were able to benefit from two
neutralising antibodies administered. A particular kind of immune cells called CD8+ T cells were found to be higher in all the animals that were infected with the SHIV virus. To ascertain if CD8+ T cells were responsible for mediating sustained suppression of virus replication, the researchers purposely depleted the CD8+ T cells in the six monkeys. What followed was a sharp increase in the viral load in all the animals. This helped the researchers conclude that the CD8+ T cells controlled the virus multiplication following administration of the neutralising antibodies. Though SHIV infection in macaque monkeys differs from HIV-1 infection in humans, the researchers suggest that immunotherapy should be explored to control the spread of virus, contain the damage to CD8+ T cells, mobilise a robust immune response, and control HIV infection in humans.
At to-day’s meeting (March 13, Calcutta) of the Bengal Legislative Council, the Hon’ble Mr. Kerr, Chief Secretary replying to the question of the Hon’ble Mr. Bhabendra Chandra Roy said that Mr. Lionel Curtis spent some days during November last in Calcutta. He was the guest of Lord Carmichael during a part of his visit. Mr. Curtis discussed many matters of public interest with some of the principal European and Indian residents. So far as the Government were aware there were no Round Table groups in Bengal and should any such be formed, Government servants, under recent orders of the Government of India would not be permitted to become members. In reply to another question by the same member regarding newspapers under Government patronage it was stated that the Hon’ble Mr. Hornell, Director of Public Instruction, subscribed for 125 copies of the “Dacca Review” and 241 copies of “Siksha Samachar” at a cost of Rs. 670 and Rs. 600 respectively. CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
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10 NEWS
BENGALURU
THE HINDU
TUESDAY, MARCH 14, 2017
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FROM PAGE ONE
‘Finer details are being worked out by Parrikar’
Major Cabinet rejig on cards With Parrikar’s exit, Prime Minister may go in for a reshule after Budget session Nistula Hebbar
The finer details are being worked out by Mr. Parrikar himself in consultation with other party leaders,” a senior party leader said on Monday. After winning 13 seats in the February 4 election, in a fast-paced political development on Sunday, the BJP cobbled together a coalition of 21 legislators in the 40member House. This includes three MLAs each from regional parties, namely, the MGP and Goa Forward Party and two Independents. On Monday BJP general secretary Sadanand
Tanavade said the third independent Prasad Gaonkar from Sanguem constituency of south Goa had given a letter of support to Mr. Parrikar, addressed to the Goa Governor. This takes the BJP’s strength to 22. The BJP leaders here on Sunday had said the lone NCP MLA Churchill Alemao would also join the alliance in due course. The Congress which has won 17 seats thereby becoming the single largest party, has called the decision of the Governor as a “murder of legislative democracy.”
BJP leader stakes claim in Manipur According to senior officials in the Manipur administration, the Election Commission of India will issue a notification for constitution of a fresh Assembly in all five States on Tuesday, following which the Governor can summon any party to form the government. With both parties staking claim to form the government all eyes are now on who the Governor will call for proving majority on the floor of the House.
The BJP claims that it has the numbers to form the government. The Congress, however, insists that being the single largest party it should be allowed to go for a floor test. “As per the decision of the Supreme Court who has the numbers in the House cannot be decided by the Governor. It has to be decided on the floor of the House,” senior Congress leader C.P. Joshi, who is in Imphal, said.
Curbs on cash withdrawal lifted The decision to withdraw high value notes was aimed at eliminating corruption, black money, counterfeit currency and terror funding. According to a recent study by the RBI staff in the monetary policy department, about 78% of all consumer payments in India are
effected in cash. “It was, therefore, obvious that currency squeeze during the demonetisation period would have had some adverse impact on economic activity, although such impact was expected to be transient,” the study observed.
New Delhi
President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday accepted the resignation of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, who is set to take oath as Chief Minister of Goa on Tuesday, and allotted the Defence portfolio as additional charge to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. This was conveyed in an official communiqué from the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The departure of Mr. Parrikar from New Delhi and his Ministry has increased the chances of a larger Cabinet reshuffle after the second part of the Budget session which is currently under way and ends on April 12.
Manohar Parrikar Top sources in the government say that it’s quite possible that there will be changes in the Cabinet, and that at least one Chief Minister of a BJP-ruled State in
North India, could be moved to Delhi. A senior general secretary from the Central team of the BJP may be sent as a replacement Chief Minister there. “Once the Parliament session is done, a larger Cabinet reshuffle is possible. There is a serious evaluation of certain BJP-ruled States and how they are being run. For example Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje could be considered for a Central tenure. She had been Minister for Personnel in the Vajpayee government and party general secretary Om Mathur, who hails from that State, could be moved there. On the other hand, if anyone from Delhi is moved to Uttar
Pradesh or Uttarakhand, then too vacancies will be created in the Union Cabinet,” said the source.
PM’s grip unassailable “With the victory in U.P., Prime Minister Modi’s grip over both the party and the government is unassailable and we don’t anticipate any kind of protest even if powerful chief ministers are called to Delhi,” said a senior office-bearer in the BJP privy to these developments. The next national executive of the party is to be in April, right after the Parliament session is over. Much will be decided by then on the post-Assembly polls shake-up.
Congress knocks on SC’s door Party challenges Goa Governor’s ‘unconstitutional action’ of inviting Parrikar party in the State Legislature. It was imperative and incumbent for the Governor to have called the INC and ask its leader to prove its majority on the floor of the House,” the petition said.
Krishnadas Rajagopal NEW DELHI
The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear an urgent petition filed by the Congress challenging the “blatantly unconstitutional action” of Goa Governor Mridula Sinha to invite Goa BJP legislature party leader Manohar Parrikar as Chief Minister. The writ petition accused the Centre of using its political clout to defeat the mandate of the people and grab power by misusing the office of the Governor, who turned a Nelson’s eye to the fact that the Congress was voted the “single largest party in the State Legislature.” The actions of the Centre and the Governor sound the “death knell for democracy,” the petition said.
Special Bench Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar agreed to set up a Special Bench and hear the
It’s a power grab by BJP in Goa, says GSM Accuses Governor of louting spirit of Constitution
petition filed by Chandrakant Kavlekar, the elected leader of the Goa Congress Legislature Party, on Tuesday at 10.30 a.m. Mr. Parrikar is scheduled to be sworn in as Chief Minister on the same morning. “Assembly elections were held on 04.02.2017 and the results were declared on 11.03.2017. The BJP was voted out by the electorate exercising their democratic right to vote in favour of the Indian National Congress (INC) as the single largest
‘Shocking attempt’ Instead, the petition, filed by advocate Devadatt Kamat and settled by senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, submitted that political manoeuvring by the Centre using the Governor’s constitutional office between March 11 and 12 shows a “shocking and a brazen attempt to grab power violating the sacrosanct constitutional norms, conventions and principles guiding the discretionary powers of the Governor in a hung House.” “The respondents [Union of India and the State of Goa] virtually sought to strangulate the will of the people and have used the office of the Governor to suit their
6 children drown, 40 hurt in Odisha clashes Holi celebrations turn tragic
political needs... the Governor of Goa could not have ignored the single largest party (INC) with 17 seats and invited the BJP, which is a smaller party with 13 seats, to form the government,” the petition said. The total strength of the Assembly is 40 seats. The petition said the Supreme Court as the “sentinel” of constitutional norms and values should intervene and strike down the decisions taken by a Governor in her discretionary capacity if they were found to be arbitrary. The petition contended that the BJP had no pre-poll alliance with any of the other parties which now tow their line. It was the central BJP leadership which used its political clout to rope in the smaller parties and independents in Goa to cobble together the requisite majority in the State.
In Uttarakhand, BJP may try a new face ‘Ability to deliver will be the criterion’ Press Trust of India Dehradun
The BJP on Monday hinted that it might pick a relative greenhorn, rather than a party stalwart, for the Chief Minister’s post in Uttarakhand where it recorded a landslide victory winning 56 of the 70 Assembly seats. Battling the problem of plenty with as many as four former chief ministers in the party’s ranks besides a crop of young and promising leaders, making a choice for the top job in Uttarakhand is indeed a daunting task for the BJP. BJP leaders here indicated that the choice will be made by the party’s Parliamentary Board absolutely on the basis of the person’s ability to deliver on the promises made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the people of the State in the run-up to the Assembly elections. “As a strong Modi wave is believed to have swept the
B.C. Khanduri party to an absolute majority in the State, whoever is finally chosen as the Chief Minister will have to deliver on the promise of clean and efficient governance made by the Prime Minister to the people of the State,” a senior party leader said, requesting anonymity. The names of CM probables now doing the rounds include those of former CMs Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri, Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Vijay Bahuguna, besides Satpal Maharaj, Trivendra Singh Rawat and Prakash Pant.
‘Cong. should form govt. in Manipur’ Outgoing Deputy CM hits out at BJP Press Trust of India Imphal
Amid the BJP claiming support of 32 MLAs in the 60member Manipur Assembly, outgoing Deputy Chief Minister Gaikhangam on Monday said the Congress, being the single largest party, must be allowed first to form the government. “The Congress has emerged as the single largest party with 28 seats, so as per the Constitution the single largest party should be called first to form the government and
prove its strength on the floor of the House,” he said. Mr. Gaikhangam also described as “completely baseless” the reports that several Congress legislators, including Shyam Kumar, were in touch with the BJP and expressed a desire to support a BJP government. “The entire Congress is united and stand firmly behind Ibobi Singh. The reports of defection in the Congress are absolutely baseless and have been planted by the BJP to create confusion,” he said.
Police detain separatist leaders in Srinagar Protest against condition of prisoners in jails foiled
Press Trust of India Bhubaneshwar
Prakash Kamat Panaji
The Goa Suraksha Manch (GSM) on Monday accused Governor Mridula Sinha of violating the spirit of the Constitution by allowing the BJP to ‘grab power’ through a cobbled-up majority, when it was not even the single largest party in the recent Assembly election. Addressing a press conference here, GSM president Anand Shirodkar questioned the ‘undue hurry’ shown by the Governor in appointing ex-Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar as Chief Minister. Later party mentor Subhash Velingkar demanded that the Governor be shifted out of Goa before she indulges in “more such constitutional improprieties.” Simultaneously, the GSM leaders accused Mr. Parrikar
Mridula Sinha
of indulging in manipulation to capture power in the State. Mr. Shirodkar said: “The ex-Defence Minister has flouted the spirit of Parliamentary democracy by trying to promote a government of BJP without it being the single largest party and by reportedly indulging in horse trading.” Aam Aadmi Party’s Goa convenor Elvis Gomes on
Monday said the Election Commission of India (ECI) should henceforth just “auction” every seat to the highest bidder instead of conducting an election process where the role of money continues unabated. In his first press conference, after the AAP failed to win a single seat, Mr. Gomes claimed that the AAP had been confused about the expectations of the Goan electorate. He said the party had striven to offer an alternative to the Goan voters, including new faces, giving ticket to candidates without criminal antecedents and bypassing the communal and castebased formulas. “Beyond this what people want, we cannot understand. We will try to understand the people better,” Mr. Gomes added.
Holi celebrations in Odisha on Monday were marred by the drowning of at least six children and clashes, which led to around 40 persons being injured in eight separate incidents across the State. While three children drowned in Kendrapara district, one minor child drowned in Balasore district, Bhubaneswar, and Cuttack district, police said. Another child remains missing in Cuttack district. All the children lost their lives while bathing in water bodies after celebrating Holi, police said.
Eight clashes Group clashes were reported from at least eight places of the State in which at least 40 people were injured, police said. Police suspected that most of the group
Indo-Asian News Service Srinagar
During Holi celebrations on Monday.
clashes were linked to recently concluded panchayat elections. While 12 people were injured in a clash at Lunipada village in Ganjam district, seven others sustained injuries and a toll gate was ransacked in another clash near Pipili in Puri district. In another incident in Puri, three persons were injured in Dandamukundapur village in a clash over sprinkling of colours.
Jammu and Kashmir authorities placed top separatist leaders under house arrest in Kashmir on Monday to foil a sit-in called to highlight the plight of prisoners in the Valley. Senior separatist leaders Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, Muhammad Yasin Malik and Asiya Andrabi were placed under preventive detention. While the Mirwaiz and Ms. Andrabi were placed under house arrest, Mr. Malik was shifted to the Central Jail.
Forces on alert “Adequate deployments of police and Central Reserve Police Force have been made to maintain law and order in the city,” police said. The sit-in was called in the Maisuma area adjacent to the Lal Chowk was to high-
Up in arms: An activist of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference being detained during a protest in Srinagar on Monday. AFP
light the plight of prisoners in different jails of the State. In another development, two persons, who had es-
caped from Himachal Pradesh police custody, were arrested in Jammu district, police said.
‘Indians have no reason to fear under Trump’
Former sarpanch killed
They will beneit from the new wave of American economic growth, says Shalabh Kumar
Victim was kidnapped from home; assailants identiied
right time, in an appropriate manner, and said there is no place for racism in America. That is reassuring for HinduAmericans and Indian-Americans,” Mr. Kumar told The Hindu.
Varghese K. George Washington
There is anxiety and uncertainty among Indian-Americans following violence against the community in different parts of the country but U.S. President Donald Trump is committed to building good relations with them, said Shalabh Kumar, founder of the Republican Hindu Coalition (RHC) and a mega donor to the President’s election campaign. Mr. Kumar, who is reportedly a front-runner for the post of U.S. Ambassador to India, refused to comment on his chances. “I have nothing to say on that,” he said. “What I can say is that President Trump and Prime Minister Modi will take cooperation between India and the U.S in the fight against terrorism to an unprecedented CM YK
Shalabh Kumar
level.” Asked what could be the elements of such new cooperation, Mr. Kumar said the President believed in doing things discreetly. Mr. Kumar’s Twitter handle identifies him as the “bridge between Trump and Modi”. “The President has reacted to the murder of Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla in Kansas at the
‘Visa fears unfounded’ According to Mr. Kumar, Indian community has no reason to be concerned at all under the Trump presidency and all reports about restricting H-1B visas are unfounded or exaggerated. “There will be all types of Bills and debates. But the fact is that the U.S economy will grow rapidly under President Trump and this will require large number of IT professionals. Indians are going to benefit from this new wave of American economic growth,” he said. Meanwhile, a shop owned
by an Indian-American was the target of an arson attempt in Port St. Lucie in Florida in the latest incident of suspected hate crime in America. Richard Lloyd, 64, tried to set the shop on fire and wanted to “run Arabs out of our country,” according to the local police. The shop was closed when the incident happened on Friday morning and the man surrendered when the police arrived. A study by the South Asian American Leading Together (SAALT) linked more than 90% of the recent hate crimes to Mr. Trump’s rhetoric but Mr. Kumar said such a correlation was baseless.
Trump isn’t racist “Donald Trump does not have an iota of racism in him. He and his advisers
have great love and admiration for India and Hinduism,” Mr. Kumar said. He said the anxiety among the Indian-American community was the result of “biased media coverage and a Left-wing campaign to target the President.” “There is greed also at work. Activists and lawyers are trying to make a business out of this,” Mr. Kumar said. Mr. Kumar said the President’s chief strategist, Stephen Bannon, would play an “important role” in the U.S relations with India. Mr. Bannon is an avid reader of the Bhagavad Gita and Hindu and Buddhist philosophy, according to Mr. Kumar, who keeps in regular touch with him. “He really appreciates what is happening in India under Mr. Modi’s leadership.”
Peerzada Ashiq Srinagar
A former sarpanch was killed by unidentified gunmen in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Monday. The victim identified as Fayaz Ahmad Dar, a resident of Kakapora, was kidnapped by gunmen from his house early on Monday morning. “He (Dar) was later shot dead,” said the police. Sources said the armed men asked Dar to accompany him and was bundled into a car.
Hunt on for gunmen The bullet-ridden body was recovered from Pulwama’s Chew Kalan area. The police said the gunmen have been identified. “The efforts are on to nab the killers,” said the police. Dar was a former
Relatives of the deceased sarpanch mourn in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
sarpanch of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party. The killing comes at a time when the State was preparing for the upcoming Parliament and panchayat polls. “The mindless killings of
innocent people like that of Dar will benefit nobody and will lead us nowhere except to self-destruction,” said Abdul Haq, Minister for Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Law and Justice. A BG-BG
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THE HINDU
NEWS 11
BENGALURU
TUESDAY, MARCH 14, 2017
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IN BRIEF
Pakistani shelling Sharmila in search of solitude continues in Poonch
Activist to arrive in Attappady today, expected to remain there for a month K.A. Shaji
Attappady (Palakkad)
‘Glad over new record of women in U.P. Assembly’ NEW DELHI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday expressed happiness over the record number of women elected to the new Uttar Pradesh Assembly. “Glad that a new record has been set of highest women MLAs elected in the U.P. Assembly. Congratulations to all women MLAs,” he tweeted. IANS
Modi felicitated by world leaders for poll victories NEW DELHI
After the BJP’s impressive performance in the Assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has received felicitations from noted personalities and foreign leaders, including the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Mr. Modi thanked them in tweets. PTI
TCS staff member drowned AHMEDABAD
A 30-year-old employee of Tata Consultancy Services drowned in a swimming pool at Infocity near Gandhinagar on Monday, the police said. Shaishav Chauhan, who worked in the IT department of the firm, entered the pool after a Holi bash. PTI
Jitendra Singh says India will give a beitting response Special Correspondent Srinagar
As Pakistani shelling continues in Poonch in the Pir Panchal Valley in violation of the ceasefire, the bus service across the Line of Control remains suspended. Since Sunday, Pakistan has been firing mortar shells. The Trade Facilitation Centre at Chakan da Bagh was damaged on Monday, leading to the suspension of the bus service. An official spokesman said schools near the LoC had been closed as a “precautionary measure”. “There was unprovoked firing by the Pakistani Army in the Poonch sector from 6.40 a.m. on Monday with 82 mm mortars and automatic weapons,” he said.
No casualties “The Army took position and responded befittingly and intermittent firing is on at present. There has been no casualty on our side.” Monday’s ceasefire breach is the second in 20 hours and the third in four days. The Pakistani troops started shelling in the Krishnagati sector along the LoC on Sunday. On March 9, a jawan, Deepak Jagannath Ghadge, was killed when
Breach of promise: The Trade Facilitation Centre at Chakkan Da Bagh near the Line of Control in J&K that was damaged in mortar shelling by Pakistan on Monday. PTI Pakistan fired at Indian posts.
Minister’s assurance Replying to questions on ceasefire violations, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said: “The agencies concerned will take into cognisance the chain of events, and you should trust the Modi government to give a befitting response.” “Indian government and security agencies are capable of meeting any kind of challenge and you will see the results in days to come,” Mr. Singh, Minister of State
Dynasty doesn’t always fetch a win in elections
in the Prime Minister’s Office, told presspersons. He did not answer questions on the handing over of two boys from PoK to Pakistani authorities after the NIA dropped charges of conspiracy in the Uri terror strike. “I am not able to reply to such sensitive issues which has security ramifications,” he said. Under detention for nearly six months, they were freed after the NIA came to a conclusion that they had strayed into India after a tiff with their parents due to pressure of studies. (With inputs from PTI)
After her disastrous debut in politics, activist Irom Sharmila will move to the tribal region of Attappady in Kerala on Tuesday in search of “peace, tranquillity and solitude”. Ms. Sharmila will reach Agali in Attappady from the Coimbatore airport to spend a couple of days with her close friend of over 11 years, Basheer Madala a journalist-turned-activist. After spending a couple of days with Mr. Madala and his family, she will move to a rehabilitation centre close to the Vattalakki tribal hamlet, which is maintained by a social worker, Uma Preman. Ms. Sharmila is expected to spend a month at the centre.
Call for privacy “It all depends on the comfort level she would feel after reaching here. Though we tried our best to keep her visit a low-key affair, in view of her preference for solitude, the information was leaked and created a huge public response not just in Attappady but across Kerala,” Sabira, Mr. Madala’s wife, said. In the Manipur Assembly election, the “Iron Lady”, who won international at-
Going back a long way: Iron Sharmila with her friend Basheer Madala, a journalist-turnedactivist from Attappady. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
tention for her prolonged hunger strike seeking the repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in the north-eastern State, was able to secure hardly 90 votes against Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh in the Thoubal constituency. The 44-year-old activist has since announced quitting politics. “The news that she was able to secure only 90 votes, even fewer than the number for NOTA, has evoked strong sympathetic
responses from Keralites, especially those active on social media. We are undertaking a difficult task of ensuring her privacy and solitude in a State where she has more fans than in her home State,” Ms. Preman said.
A long trip It was as an office-bearer of a journalists’ union that Mr. Madala first travelled to Manipur 11 years ago and met Ms. Sharmila. “It is her first major long
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The sun also rises
journey outside Manipur, except for the Delhi trips as part of the hunger strike. I felt honoured when she accepted our invitation to be here in Attappady for one month to ponder over her future course of action,” he said. “Keralaites are aware of her 16-year-old fast demanding the repeal of the AFSPA. So we hope people would cooperate by not creating discomfort to her by attempting to meet her here,” he said.
CHRI seeks end to rights abuse New Delhi IANS
Relatives of former Chief Ministers face defeat in U.P. Pankaj Singh, son of Union Home Minister and another former Chief Minister Rajnath Singh, defeated the SP’s Sunil Choudhary by a huge margin of 1,04,016 votes in the Noida seat. Siddhartha Nath Singh, senior BJP leader and the grandson of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, contested from Allahabad West and defeated the BSP’s sitting MLA Pooja Pal.
Press Trust of India Lucknow
The just-concluded Uttar Pradesh polls turned out to be a litmus test for family members of former chief ministers and even of a former prime minister, with the electorate favouring only five of the eight candidates who were in the fray. Seven candidates had direct ties with either outgoing Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav or other former chief ministers. The BJP had fielded five such candidates who won — Rita Joshi from Lucknow Cantonment, Sandeep Kumar Singh from Atrauli, Pankaj Singh from Noida and Siddhartha Nath Singh from Allahabad West. From the Samajwadi Party, there were three such candidates. They were Shivpal Yadav from Jaswantnagar (brother of former U.P. CM Mulayam Singh Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav’s uncle), Aparna Yadav from Lucknow Cantonment (the younger daughter-in-law of Mr. Mulayam Singh) and Anurag Yadav (Akhlesh Yadav’s cousin). Apart from this, Lalitesh Pati Tripathi, the great grandson of former UP CM Kamlapati Tripathi, contested on the Congress ticket
Aparna Yadav, daughter-inlaw of Mulayam Singh, was routed in Lucknow Cantt.
from the Mariharan Assembly constituency. Ms. Rita Bahuguna Joshi, daughter of former Chief Minister and Congress stalwart Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna won defeating Aparna Yadav from the Lucknow Cantonment constituency on the BJP ticket. Ms. Aparna made her debut in electoral politics this year, while the former U.P. Congress chief, Ms. Joshi, contested on the BJP ticket. In Atrauli, the bastion of former Chief Minister Kalyan Singh, his grandson Sandeep Kumar Singh from the BJP defeated the SP’s Viresh Yadav.
Shivpal retains seat Mr. Shivpal Yadav retained his Jaswantnagar seat. The Assembly constituency is synonymous with SP founder, Mr. Mulayam Singh, who won the seat for the first time in 1967. Winning it eight times and losing on two occasions, Mr. Mulayam Singh vacated it for his brother Shivpal, who has won it continuously since 1996. In the Sarojini Nagar constituency on the outskirts of Lucknow, the BJP’s Swati Singh defeated Anurag Yadav of the SP by a margin of 34,179 votes. Grandson of former Chief Minister Kamlapati Tripathi, Laliteshpati Tripathi, who contested on a Congress ticket from Marihan, lost to the BJP’s Rama Shankar Singh.
Shikaras ready for rides in the Dal Lake against the backdrop of snow-capped mountains in Srinagar on Monday. The sun came out much to the respite of people, though nights continued to remain cold in the Valley. NISSAR AHMAD
RSS meet in TN to chalk out future plans Press Trust of India Coimbatore
RSS bigwigs will take part in a crucial three-day meet here from March 19 to chalk out the future plans of the Sangh and its allied outfits, in the wake of the BJP’s impressive show in the Assembly polls.
The Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha, the highestdecision making body, is meeting for the first time in Tamil Nadu. It will be jointly chaired by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and general secretary Suresh Bhaiyya ji Joshi. Various issues facing the country will be discussed.
At Pappu’s, a cup of tea and a platter of politics The shop in Varanasi is home to lively debate and is a stepping stone to many political careers 2014, Pappu’s name was suggested as a proposer. Politicians apart, many eminent Hindi writers and litterateurs, mostly from Benaras Hindu University, which is nearly two km from the shop, have been regular visitors. For local politicians and student leaders, Pappu’s tea shop is an important step in their careers. Hours are spent over a cup of lemon or milk tea, discussing politics.
Amarnath Tewary Assi Chowk (Varanasi)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have taken the political route to become an “adopted son” of Varanasi and Uttar Pradesh, but a “son of the soil” plays host to politics every day here, nurturing debate and discussion, careers and critics. While his given name — Vishwanath Singh — will evoke little recognition, just a mention of his popular nickname “Pappu” elicits instant recall: “Oh, Assi ka Pappu, chai dukan? [you mean Pappu of Assi, the tea shop?].” Pappu’s tea shop has no sign board, nor proper tables and chairs — a yellow tungsten bulb hangs from a soot-layered wire. But oldtimers will tell you that veteran socialist leader George Fernandes held a press conference for two hours at the tea shop over four cups of CM YK
Favourite haunt: Politicians, student leaders and litterateurs are regulars at Pappu’s tea shop in Varanasi. AMARNATH TEWARY
lemon tea when V.P. Singh was the Prime Minister. BJP leaders Kalraj Mishra and Sambit Patra too are patrons and more recently, the entire crew of a popular Bolly-
wood film, Mohalla Assi, were sipping tea at Pappu’s. Rumour has it that when Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to file his nomination papers from Varanasi in
Standing room only The room itself boasts just two wooden benches by formica-topped tables. Two more benches stand outside on the road. Regular visitors matter-of-factly squeeze themselves on the benches and get engaged in political debate. Some wait for hours for a chance to sit while others stand around. Noted Hindi writer Kashinath Singh’s popular novel
Kashi ka Assi is based on the everyday political discourse at Pappu’s. “Kashinath Singh, along with other great Hindi writers like Balraj Pandey and Chowkiram Yadav, has been regular visitors at my shop…” 67year-old Vishwanath Singh ‘Pappu’ told The Hindu on Sunday morning, a day after the Assembly poll result. “I graduated in politics listening to their everyday discussion and debate … I’ve been enjoying it and never mind their long sitting at the shop over just a cup of tea,” added Mr. Singh. “I’ve been voting for the BJP when it was the Jan Sangh in 1967 … ideologically I’ve been closer to the BJP much before Narendra Modi came on the mainstream political scene,” he said. In 2012, Mr. Modi’s flagship “Chai pe Charcha” television show held at this tea shop was one of the most popular.
On the occasion of Commonwealth Day, the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), an NGO, on Monday urged the intergovernmental organisation to ensure liberty and rule of law in its member-nations as in many of these countries, governance was marked by “abuse of power, corruption and human rights violations”. “The occasion (Commonwealth Day) will once again see member-states pronounce affirmations to the fundamental principles of the Commonwealth Charter — democracy, rule of law and human rights. Unfortunately, the reality is that these core values are currently under severe strain,” the organisation said.
Several injured in Agartala in Trinamool-BJP clash Prohibitory orders imposed in the city Syed Sajjad Ali Agartala
Several persons, including policemen, were injured as Trinamool Congress and BJP supporters clashed in Agartala on Monday evening. Subal Bhowmik, BJP’s vice-president in Tripura, sustained injuries, and his vehicle was smashed near the West Agartala police sta-
tion. Prohibitory orders were imposed in the city and security men were deployed in large numbers in the area. Trouble broke out after BJP supporters blocked the road outside the police station, demanding the arrest of the elder brother of TMC leader Sudip Roy Barman, who had allegedly roughed up a BJP leader. Mr. Bhowmik, who was
leading the protest, was injured as BJP and Trinamool Congress workers attacked each other. TMC women’s wing leader Panna Deb was also injured. Tension prevailed in several areas of the city as supporters of both parties refused to disperse. Senior officials were monitoring the situation.
Delegation of top Chinese artists returns from India Beijing team visits after ICCR extends invitation Press Trust of India Beijing
A 10-member delegation of top Chinese painters and artists visited India last week and interacted with their Indian counterparts in different cities. The delegation, which was led by Wu Shan Ming, member of China Academy of Arts, visited the country from March 5 to 11 and comprised artists from the Zhejiang Kaiming Art Gallery.
Painter Shen Shu The delegation included famous painter Shen Shu, who had earlier presented a portrait to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his
last year’s visit to Hangzhou to attend the G20 Summit. It also included distinguished painters from Shanghai led by Luo Wei Min and Zhang Yi Ren. Min, who is a student of eminent painter late Wang Zhijie, has contributed a set of paintings titled “India through Chinese Eyes”, the Indian Consulate in Shanghai said in a statement on Monday. The Chinese delegation visited at the invitation of the Indian Council of Cultural Relations. During the India tour, the delegation visited New Delhi, Rajasthan and Varanasi. and interacted
with Ambassador Amrendra Kathua, Director-General of the Indian Council of Cultural Relations. They also met several other leading artists from India. Workshops with Indian artists were also organised in Varanasi and Jaipur.
Culture week It is expected that the artists would attempt another set of impressions of their visit to India through a series of paintings to be put on display at the India Culture Week likely to be hosted in Hangzhou in mid-June this year, the consulate statement said. A BG-BG
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12 WORLD
BENGALURU
THE HINDU
TUESDAY, MARCH 14, 2017
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ELSEWHERE
Scotland seeks to exit U.K. First Minister Sturgeon to ask Parliament next week to approve referendum
‘Pak. should be declared state sponsor of terror’
Vidya Ram London
EU warns Erdogan following remarks The European Union (EU) on Monday warned President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to avoid inlammatory rhetoric as a diplomatic crisis between Turkey and the Netherlands deepened over the blocking of Turkish Ministers from holding rallies. Mr. Erdogan had twice accused Netherlands of acting like the Nazis, comments that sparked outrage. AFP
Talks under way with N. Korea: Malaysia KUALA LUMPUR
Malaysia said talks were under way on Monday for the release of nine citizens stranded in North Korea by a travel ban. “The negotiations with the North Koreans are ongoing,” Deputy-Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told reporters. “Our main priority is the safety of the nine Malaysians who are in Pyongyang,” he said. REUTERS
5 killed in Somalia car bombings MOGADISHU
At least five people were killed and 12 others injured in two separate car bombings in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu on Monday, officials and witnesses said. Witnesses said the toll from the blast which occurred along the busy Maka Al-Mukarama road could in fact be higher. AFP
Berlin airports on strike till Wednesday BERLIN
Ground staff at Berlin’s two airports will extend their strike until Wednesday morning, trade union Verdi said on Monday, stepping up action in a pay dispute that has already caused the cancellation of more than 1,000 flights since Friday. The strike at Tegel and Schoenefeld airports will now end on Wednesday at 0500 CET (0400 GMT). REUTERS
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will ask the Scottish Parliament for authority next week for a second referendum on Scottish independence. Criticising the “brick wall of intransigence” that her government had faced as it sought to find a deal that protected Scotland’s interests as Britain prepared to leave the EU, Ms. Sturgeon, leader of the Scottish National Party, said that Scotland needed to be given the choice about the “kind of country we want to be”, between the autumn of 2018 and the spring of 2019. “Brexit has made change inevitable… the choice I believe Scotland should have should be what kind of change we want,” she said in Edinburgh on Monday. While the 2014 referendum on independence was pegged as a “once in a generation” vote by former SNP leader Alex Salmond, the issue of independence resurfaced in the wake of last June’s referendum, when Scotland voted overwhelmingly (62%) to remain in the EU. In December, the Scottish government published a white paper “Scotland’s Place in Europe” calling for the U.K. to either remain in the single market or commit to an outcome that would enable Scotland to remain within it, which Ms. Sturgeon said represented a “significant compromise” on the part of her government. “U.K. membership of the single market was ruled out with no prior consultation with the Scottish government, or indeed with other devolved administrations — leaving us facing not just Brexit, but a hard Brexit,” she said on Monday. Ms. Sturgeon’s announcement comes sooner than expected, marking a dramatic twist of events as the govern-
Congressman Ted Poe has introduced bill in this regard Varghese K. George Washington
Freedom march: A pro-independence march in Edinburgh in 2013; the two lags; and Nicola Sturgeon. AFP ment prepares to trigger Brexit as early as Tuesday. The bill that would authorise the government to trigger talks on leaving the EU has returned to the House of Commons and was set to be voted on Monday evening.
Debating the details Ms. Sturgeon said that she would be calling for the vote in the devolved legislature next week that would enable her government to agree details of the procedure with Westminster, which would enable the Scottish Parliament to legislate for an independence referendum. She said the precise question to be put to the people should be up to the Scottish Parliament. She added that the suggested timetable — between 2018
China planning ive-fold increase in marine force
and 2019 — was to ensure that voters were able to make as informed a choice as possible, as the shape of the Brexit deal became clear. Leaving it to after Britain left the EU would make it difficult for Scotland that could face a lengthy period outside the EU. Any effort by Westminster to block it taking place would be like the government attempting to attempts to “puncture Scotland’s lifeboat”, having sunk the ship. While the Westminster Parliament could scupper those plans for a referendum, Ms. Sturgeon has previously warned that that would be “disastrous”. On Monday she noted the government’s previous stance, which was that the referendum should be “made in Scotland, by the people of Scotland”.
A second referendum would be “divisive and cause huge economic uncertainty at the worst possible time”, the U.K. government said in a statement on Monday. While Labour would not block a move to hold the referendum should it get the approval of the Scottish Parliament, “Labour will oppose independence because it’s not in the interest of any part of the country to break up the U.K.,” said Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn. While 55.3% of Scottish voters opted to remain in the U.K. in the 2014 independence referendum, recent polls have suggested that gap has narrowed. One poll by Ipsos-Mori published earlier this month found that 50% said they would support independence.
U.S. President Donald Trump will be more sympathetic to the demand on whether or not to declare Pakistan as a state sponsor of terrorism, U.S. Congressman Ted Poe said on Monday. Mr. Poe has introduced a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives seeking a review of U.S. ties with Pakistan, given its support for terrorism. “I cannot speak for the White House, but I do think the President Trump will be sympathetic to this demand,” he said. “Not only is Pakistan an untrustworthy ally, Islamabad has also aided and abetted enemies of the U.S. for years. From harbouring Osama bin Laden to its cosy relationship with the Haqqani network, there is more than enough evidence to determine whose side Pakistan is on in the war on terror. And it’s not America’s. It is time we stop paying Pakistan for its betrayal and designate it for what it is: a State Sponsor of Terrorism,” Mr. Poe told reporters on a conference call.
Terror funding “Pakistan is taking money from the U.S. and at least part of that money is going to terrorists who seek to attack America,” the Congressman said. Mr. Poe had co-sponsored a similar bill in September 2016, which lapsed. The Congressman from Texas said if Pakistan does not support terrorist groups as it claims, it should support the ‘Pakistan State Sponsor of Terrorism Act of 2017,’ since the review would give Pakistan an opportunity to come clean. If it is not sup-
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Pyrrhic victory
Ted Poe, Congressman from Texas. WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
porting terrorism, this will be its opportunity to prove it, he said. “The bill does not designate Pakistan a state sponsor of terrorism. It requires the President and the administration to make a determination one way or the other, based on a review of
evidence. Pakistan should welcome such a review,” he said. “Pakistan claims to be a victim of terrorism as terrorists carry out attacks in Pakistan too. This is the consequence of government harbouring terrorists,” Mr. Poe said. According to a U.S. State Department document, there are four main categories of sanctions that will follow a state sponsor of terrorism designation — “restrictions on U.S. foreign assistance; a ban on defence exports and sales; certain controls over exports of dual use items; and miscellaneous financial and other restrictions.” Due to various certification requirements that have been mandated for Pakistan in recent years, U.S. civil and military aid to Pakistan has seen a sharp decline in recent years — from $3.5 billion in 2011 to less than $1 billion in 2016.
Western civilisation under threat: Lawmaker Associated Press Washington
A veteran Iowa Republican Congressman said America can’t restore “our civilisation with somebody else’s babies” and warned of a liberal effort to break down Western civilisation. Rep. Steve King, in a tweet on Sunday, paid tribute to Geert Wilders, a Dutch politician who opposes immigration and has spoken against Islam. It came as the Dutch prepare for an election on
Wednesday. Mr. King, who has served in the U.S. House since 2003, said Mr. Wilders “understands that culture and demographics are our destiny. We can’t restore our civilisation with somebody else’s babies.” In an interview Monday on CNN, Mr. King said he stood by his remarks. King said, “I meant exactly what I said,” and noted that he delivers the same message to countries in Europe.
‘2016 the worst year for Syrian children’ UNICEF says 652 children were killed
Some of them will be stationed at Gwadar and Djibouti
Associated Press Atul Aneja Beijing
China is set to rapidly expand its marine corps and the Navy in anticipation of the development of its Maritime Silk Road (MSR), which covers the Pakistani port of Gwadar, and Djibouti in the Horn of Africa. The Hong Kong based South China Morning Post (SCMP) quoting “military insiders and experts” reported that China is planning a five-fold increase in its marine force — from 20,000 to 100,000 personnel.
Guarding CPEC These numbers are still well short of the 182,000 strong marine corps of the United States, which has an aviation component of 1,199 planes. Some of the Chinese marines would be stationed at Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, and the Pakistani
Netanyahu is faking history: Zarif
port of Gwadar, the starting point of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. “Besides its original missions of a possible war with Taiwan, maritime defence in the East and South China seas, it’s also foreseeable that the PLA Navy’s mission will expand overseas, including protection of China’s national security in the Korean peninsula, the country’s maritime lifelines, as well as offshore supply deports like in Djibouti and Gwadar port in Pakistan,” the daily quoted Li Jie, a Beijing based naval expert as saying. The SCMP write-up did not clarify whether China was considering a limited deployment of its marines, or had a larger plan of establishing a de facto naval base in Gwadar. Last week, the Pakistani daily, Dawn quoted Pakistan Army chief Gen. Qamar Ba-
Beirut
jwa as saying that the country’s security forces were “fully prepared” to meet all security challenges to projects of the CPEC and Chinese nationals living in the country.
Collaboration with Pak. He made these remarks on Saturday during a visit to the headquarters of the 15,000 strong Special Security Division (SSD), charged with the “security of Chinese on CPEC and non-CPEC projects”. The daily said that the SSD, formed after Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Islamabad in 2015, will provide security to Chinese personnel and projects throughout the country. The division has been established in close collaboration with China and the two sides are also cooperating to implement a multi-layered security plan.
Lost innocence: Iraqi children in Mosul’s recaptured Nablus neighbourhood, in front of an Islamic State billboard. AFP
The Gaza tailor who makes prayer caps for Jews Abu Shanab’s sewing factory has churned out 400 skull caps and 1,000 bow ties for devout worshippers in Israel greatly increase transport costs. Every shipment, no matter how small, must be sent separately.
Reuters
Agence France-Presse
Gaza
Tehran
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu of ignorance about history and the Jewish faith on Monday after he said ancient Persian rulers tried to destroy the Jews. Mr. Netanyahu had said that Persia had made “an attempt to destroy the Jewish people that did not succeed” some 2,500 years ago, an event commemorated by the holiday of Purim over the weekend. Mr. Zarif responded on Twitter, calling Mr. Netanyahu’s comments “bigoted lies” and saying Iran had saved the Jews on three occasions in history. “Netanyahu resorting to fake history and falsifying Torah. Force of habit,” he tweeted. CM YK
In Syria, last year was the worst yet for the country’s rising generation, with at least 652 children killed in 2016, the United Nations’ child relief agency said on Monday. UNICEF said at least 255 children were killed in or near schools last year and 1.7 million youngsters are out of school. One of every three schools in Syria is unusable, some because armed groups occupy them. An additional 2.3 million Syrian children are refugees elsewhere in the region. The figures came in a UNICEF report released ahead of the sixth anniversary later this week of the 2011 popular uprising against President Bashar AlAssad’s rule. The UNICEF report warns that for Syria’s young generation, coping mechanisms and medical care are erod-
It’s not easy doing business from Gaza but tailor Mohammad Abu Shanab has found a demand he can supply — his sewing factory is churning out religious skull caps, for devout Jewish men. Since Israel resumed importing clothing from Gaza in 2015, Mr. Abu Shanab has renewed commercial contacts to sell merchandise to neighbouring Israel. With salaries in Gaza much lower, Mr. Abu Shanab’s costs are very competitive.
Cross-border trade: Bow ties and skull caps, also known as ‘kippot’ or ‘yarmulke’, at a sewing factory in Gaza City. REUTERS
Worn by rabbis “We make all kinds of clothes and recently began making the skull caps that are worn by Israeli rabbis and Christian priests,” said Mr. Abu Shanab, adding that as far as Gazans were concerned, religion was not an
obstacle. “In the foundation of our religion, we believe in Christianity and Judaism, we believe in the prophets Musa [Moses] and Issa [ Jesus], so we have no problem making the head-wear even if they are for Jews or Christians.” Mr. Abu Shanab (61) added a new production line to cater to the increased demand, even as the pace remains slow and exporting goods from the blockaded territory is rife with bureaucracy. Israel imposes strict export procedures which
Design specifications So far, Mr. Abu Shanab has sent 400 skull caps, also known as ‘kippot’ or ‘yarmulkes’, and 1,000 bow ties to his Israeli client. Gaza factories also make goods according to design specifications of Israeli companies who send them the fabric. Mr. Abu Shanab said he is also in talks with an Israeli buyer to produce the long coats worn by ultra-Orthodox Jews. Before Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007, after defeating forces loyal to the party of President Mahmoud Abbas, the territory’s sewing sector was one the largest employers with over 900
factories employing around 40,000 people. But in the past decade, Israel and Egypt have imposed a blockade on Gaza and its two million people. Unemployment stands at 43% and 80% of the population is dependent on aid, according to the United Nations.
Risk of violence “Before [2007] I used to employ 70 workers but later I could keep only 10 to 15 of them,” said Hassan Shehada, another factory owner. “Today I have 50 workers and I can increase it to 100,” he said. But there’s still some way to go. Mr. Shehada said Israeli clients are afraid to trade with Gaza out of fear that another violent flare-up would force crossings to close and lead to financial losses.
A Syrian child in a damaged classroom in Idlib. AP ing quickly, driving children into child labour, early marriage and combat. Dozens of children are also dying from preventable diseases. A report released a week ago by the international charity Save the Children said Syrian youngsters are showing signs of “toxic stress” that can lead to lifelong health problems, struggles with addiction and mental disorders lasting into adulthood.
Pak. to begin irst census in 19 years Agence France-Presse Islamabad
Pakistan will this week embark on the enormous task of conducting its first census in almost two decades, after years of bickering between politicians concerned about power bases and federal funding. Pakistan is the sixth most populous country in the world, with an estimated 200 million people, but has not held a census since 1998, despite a constitutional requirement for one every decade. It starts on Wednesday and will deploy a team of more than 3,00,000 people and involve 55 million forms. It will be the basis for revising political boundaries and parliamentary seat allocations, while also giving a clearer picture about religious minority numbers. A BG-BG
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THE HINDU
BUSINESS 13
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IN BRIEF
Non-life premia set to increase Finances of 3 Coal India Consistent losses, falling interest rates may force insurers to go in for hike
arms may be hit this iscal
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA MUMBAI
Despite fuel price rise, airlines to thrive in FY17 MUMBAI
Airlines are likely to close the outgoing inancial year with 22-23% traic growth, making it one of the best for the sector, even though the pressure on their bottomline is increasing as oil prices are on a northward trend, said an ICRA report. “Airlines are maintaining healthy load factors backed by low fares. But since oil prices are on an uptrend, impact on proitability in Q4 is inevitable,” said ICRA. PTI
Digital mediums will lead in 5 years: EY India MUMBAI
Digital mediums are likely to surpass traditional ones by 2021-22, when smartphone penetration becomes 50% of the population, which will happen in 2019-20. The second contributing factor is when broadband equals one-third of the reach, which will happen by 202122. The third factor is parity between cost of the two services, EY India media advisory leader Ashish Pherwani said. PTI
U. Chowdhary to head CII Eastern Region KOLKATA
Umesh Chowdhary, vicechairman and managing director, Titagarh Wagons Ltd., has been elected the new chairman of CII, Eastern Region for the year 2017-18. Jagi Mangat Panda, managing director of Ortel Communications Ltd., is the new deputy chairperson of CII, Eastern Region for the same year, it was decided at at the irst meeting of the reconstituted Eastern Regional Council here recently, CII sources said. PTI
In view of the consistent losses arising from large claim settlements and other negatives like falling interest rates that will crimp their investment income, non-life insurers are planning to increase premium rates by 10-15% in certain segments to protect their bottomline. In fact, the insurance regulator, IRDAI, has also hinted at a premium hike especially in third-party motor premium and group health insurance from April 1 when most of the renewals take place in the domestic general insurance market. “I won’t be surprised if the premia go up as the pricing has already reached rock bottom,” IRDAI member (non-life insurance) P.J. Joseph told PTI. Insurers have zeroed in on over 10 such segments including pharma, power and cement under property and even group health insurance where they are planning to increase the premia going forward. Premia may go up in the range of 10-15% in these segments next financial year. “The market is so competitive that it gives us very little scope for increasing premia. Still, we are working very closely with GIC Re to increase the pricing of over 10 large loss-making portfolios,” National Insurance chairman and managing director Sanath Kumar said. “The floor price of over 10 segments are on our scanner for premium hike, which include pharma, power and cement. We may also see some price revision in group health insurance,” he said, adding, “however, increase will take place in the next financial year only, that too 1015%.” The largest non-life in-
Lower demand dampens performance of subsidiaries Special Correspondent KOLKATA
Delicate balance: Insurance companies have to maintain proitability at a time when investment yields are coming down. GETTYIMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO
surer New India is also set to hike premium in certain segments. “At New India Assurance, the premium hike may happen under segments like fire and group health in the new fiscal,” New India Assurance chairman and managing director G.Srinivasan said. “Premium rates have fallen much below the required rates and hence the rates will have to be readjusted,” he added.
New strategy Private sector non-life insurer SBI General is working on a three-pronged strategy. “The challenge today is that you have to maintain profitability at a time when investment yields are coming down,” SBI General man-
aging director and chief executive Pushan Mahapatra said. “So, in our bid to maintain profitability, we are working on a three-pronged strategy — better efficiency, better expense control and better selection — and pricing of risk being underwritten,” he added. As of end December, the company had an investment income of ₹251 crore, which rose from ₹192 crore a year earlier. But in a falling interest rate regime it is not certain whether the bottom line can be protected. However, SBI General’s chief financial officer Rikhil K. Shah said, “we do not see a fall in investment income this fiscal year from the previous one as we have locked
Pricol commissions new plant in Pune ket. It will also look at export of high-end products such as telematics. Mr. Sundararaman said India continued to emerge as a global auto hub. The facility has new technology pump production lines catering to domestic and export markets. Further, investments in electronics manufacturing will also contribute to the growing body control module and telematics business. Investments in
manufacturing lines for surface-mount technology-printed circuit boards will cater to the growing electronic cluster business in the two wheeler, commercial vehicle, off-road and tractor segments. According to Vikram Mohan, managing director, Pricol, the company is planning a total investment of ₹350-₹400 crore till 2020 to support its growth targets.
Coimbatore-based automotive components manufacturer Pricol recently commissioned a greenfield plant in Pune, set up at an investment of ₹15 crore. The new facility, spread over 6.58 acres, aims to generate ₹220 crore annual revenue in two years’ time. Pricol currently has six manufacturing plants in the
country, including three in Coimbatore, and one each at Manesar, Pune and Rudrapur. It also has manufacturing facilities in Jakarta, Indonesia and Sao Paulo. The investment in the new plant in Pune is only in plant and machinery. The building has been taken on lease, according to G. Sundararaman, president of Pricol Limited. The new plant will cater mainly to the domestic mar-
In T.N., Airtel opens 1 lakh SB accounts
Two-wheeler sales may shrug of demonetisation impact
PRESS TRUST of INDIA
Industry to grow by 7–8% in iscal FY17, says ICRA
Special Correspondent COIMBATORE
CHENNAI
in some of the gains during the year. However, we might see an impact on our yield next fiscal.”
‘Substantial pricing’ Bajaj Allianz said it had always looked at sustainable pricing. “We have always looked at sustainable pricing. The portfolios and policies underwritten have always been at a price that is commensurate with the risk,” Tapan Singhel, MD and CEO, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, said. “The company has never contested on pricing and will continue with its business model of prudent underwriting, efficient claims servicing, and risk based pricing,” he added.
The finances of three of the seven coal-producing subsidiaries of listed Maharatna PSU Coal India Ltd. may nosedive this fiscal due to poor production and sales. Available information suggested that the firms may either report a loss or a marginal profit this fiscal. The companies are the Nagpur-based Western Coalfields Ltd. (WCL), Asansol-based Eastern Coalfields Ltd. (ECL) and Dhanbad-based Bharat Coking Coal Ltd. (BCCL). Their financial trend became apparent during the third quarter when they reported losses. At least two of these companies — BCCL and ECL— came out of the BIFR fold about three years ago and while they still carry accumulated losses, they have been making operational profit for close to six years now and their net worth is positive after a financial recast by parent company CIL. Between April and February this fiscal, WCL , which seems to be the worst off, saw its output drop by 5.3% and its offtake decrease by 8.7%. BCCL’s output rose 2.6% but coal sales dropped by 3.2%. ECL’s output rose 2.3% and despatch, 12.6%. All the three companies were lagging behind their targets by a margin of between 3% and 14% in output and 6% and 19% in offtake. Sources said that poor coal demand was the main reason for this. Moreover, the fortunes of CIL and its arms were affected by the close to 50% drop in the eauction price in the last
Fluctuating fortunes: Coal india and its arms were hit by a 50% drop in e-auction prices in the last quarter. AFP
quarter. Lower demand by the power sector was the factor here, too. Poor performance of its subsidiaries and provisioning for higher wages (due to ongoing wage negotiations) dented CIL’s third quarter performance. CIL reported a 20% drop in net profit to ₹2,884 crore in the October-December 2016 quarter.
Share buy-back As a result of the muted physical and financial performance, these three subsidiaries have not participated in the recent programme of subsidiaries buying back their shares from CIL. The boards of other three subsidiaries have already
given their nod for the buyback following which the CIL Board, on March 11, approved the tender of the shares held by the company in three subsidiaries – MCL, NCL and SECL for about ₹4,000 crore.
Interim dividend Thus Coal India Ltd. would be paying ₹9,208 crore to the government this fiscal as interim dividend. It would pay another ₹2,369 crore on account of dividend distribution tax and ₹2,641 crore on account of its share buyback which was concluded in October last year (which amount has already been paid). The government now holds 79.1% of CIL’s equity.
Adani seeks coal mine railway inancing REUTERS TOKYO
Adani Enterprises has applied for financing from an Australian infrastructure fund to build a rail line that is part of a $16 billion coal project in Queensland, Australia’s Resources Minister said on Monday. Financing from the A$5 billion Northern Australian Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) would offer a boost to Adani
after some major banks said they would not participate in the controversial coal project. Since starting work on the Carmichael development over five years ago, Adani has battled opposition from green groups who say it will contribute to global warming. “(NAIF) is considering Adani’s proposal at the moment,” Matthew Canavan told Reuters in Tokyo on Monday, when asked if the
Indian company had approached the infrastructure fund. Mr. Canavan, visiting Tokyo to meet with buyers of Australian commodities, said Adani had not yet asked for financing for parts of the project other than the rail line. He did not disclose how much funding Adani had requested. Adani’s Australian unit was not immediately available for comment.
NAIF was set up by the Australian government last year to promote the economic development of Australia’s north by offering loans for infrastructure projects including airports, ports and railroads. Adani, which has secured the major state and federal government approvals it needs for Carmichael, has still to announce funding for the project.
Cotton looks stable in FY18: Ind-Ra PRESS TRUST OF INDIA MUMBAI
Airtel Payments Bank, offered by telecom major Bharti Airtel, on Monday announced that more than one lakh savings accounts were opened in 100 villages across the state of Tamil Nadu. Through the initiative, these villages in the southern state would have access to banking services along with the option of making digital payments, a company statement said here. “We are delighted to have taken formal banking services to these remote rural pockets of Tamil Nadu,” MD and CEO of Airtel Payments Bank, Shashi Arora said. “We are fully committed to the vision of Digital India and financial inclusion,” Mr. Shashi said. A network of more than 16,000 neighbourhood Airtel stores offer banking services to consumers. By introducing the service, Airtel Payments Bank will not charge any processing fee from its customers and merchant partners for digital transactions. The payments bank, which was the first such bank to go live, has committed an investment of ₹3,000 crore and plans to build digital payments with more than five million merchants. Payment Banks can accept deposits from individuals and small businesses up to a maximum of ₹1 lakh per account. CM YK
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA MUMBAI
The two-wheeler industry, which was on a fast track with high double-digit growth till October, is likely to shrug off the shocks from demonetisation and close the current financial year with a 7-8% growth, according to a report. The note ban–induced liquidity crisis has resulted in sales falling 11.3% between November and January. The conversion to BS-IV emission norms, which will come into effect from April, also resulted in some inventory correction taking place across original equipment makers from February. Overall, the industry closed the first 10 months of fiscal 2017 with a growth of 8.3%, which, although better than the industry growth rates over the past four fiscal years, remains a far cry from the double-digit growth prior to November 2016. “The impact of [the]note ban appears to have moderated with the industry limping back to normalcy as reflected by smaller volume contraction in January and expectations of flattish February and March. For the fiscal 2017, we expect the industry to grow 7-8%,” ICRA said in a report.
Deferred purchases The agency also expects some deferred purchases during Q3 and Q4 to result in better sales in fiscal 2018 leading to 8-10% growth during the year. “While the gap
Packing a punch: The conversion to BS-IV emission norms also resulted in inventory correction. GETTYIMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO
in growth rates will narrow, scooters will continue to outpace motorcycles sales in fiscal 2018,” the report said. During the note ban period, only moped sales have remained relatively insulated and maintained their double–digit growth, albeit on a low base, growing 26.8%. On the other hand, scooters, while continuing to outpace industry growth, have grown so far by 12.5% which is much lower than the 24.7% growth till September. Motorcycles, which had been on the path of revival from the contraction and flat sales reported since fiscal 2013, again returned to low growth levels of 5.1% in the aftermath of demonetisation, the report said. Overall, the agency reiterated its stable outlook for
the industry and over the medium term, the industry is expected to report a volume CAGR of 8–9% with demand expected to be driven by structural factors like favourable demographic profile, growing middleclass and urbanisation, besides moderate penetration levels.
Organised finance In the medium–term, ICRA expects increasing penetration of organised finance into smaller towns and rural centres supported by favourable interest rates to support demand. “We expect exports to clip at a CAGR of 8–10% over the next three years with a gradual pickup from next second half as key markets are showing signs of a recovery,” it said.
India Ratings (Ind-Ra) has maintained a stable outlook for cotton textiles for the next financial year following steady input prices, healthy capacity utilisation and healthy domestic demand. The agency has revised its cotton outlook to stable for fiscal year 2017-18 from negative for the fiscal year 2016-17. The status will stem from fiscal incentives and implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) that will improve the industry’s export competitiveness, Ind-Ra said. Favourable trade agreements with the U.S. and Europe will also lead to a significant increase in India’s exports and a higherthan-expected domestic demand would be positive for the sector, it added. Moreover, Ind-Ra said, the U.S.’ exit from the Trans-Pacific Partnership is likely to realign textile trade and investments, which were diverted to Vietnam over FY16-FY17, towards the Indian subcontinent. The stable cotton outlook is in view of an increase in acreage, a rise in supply in the first quarter of FY18 (due to demonetisation) and a decline in global inventory assisting with a balanced supply, Ind-Ra said. It also expects operating profitability levels of Indian cotton ginners and exporters to moderate in FY18. A BG-BG
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14 BUSINESS
BENGALURU
THE HINDU
TUESDAY, MARCH 14, 2017
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IN BRIEF
‘MFIs understand rural customers’
ChrysCapital sells CavinKare stake
‘Small inance banks with microinance experience can bring about inancial inclusion’
Promoter consolidates ownership
INTERVIEW | K. PAUL THOMAS
Oommen A. Ninan Thiruvananthapuram
Amazon Pantry unveiled in Chennai CHENNAI
E-commerce major Amazon introduced its grocery and household facility ‘Amazon Pantry’ in Chennai, taking the total number of cities that ofer such service to 29 across the country. Amazon Pantry customers in Chennai can shop for over 4,000 everyday essentials from over 250 brands of groceries and household products, according to a company statement. PTI
‘Indian companies least conident worldwide’ NEW DELHI
Indian companies are least conident worldwide when it comes to business optimism as just 16% of irms expect overall output to expand over the next year, says a survey. According to the Markit India Business Outlook, the level of conidence of Indian private companies signiicantly declined in February from that of four months ago. In October 2016, 25% irms were optimistic about business output. PTI
Urbanpod opens irst hotel in Mumbai MUMBAI
New-age travellers visiting the metropolis can now enjoy their stay in a Pod hotel at afordable rates with Urbanpod, which has opened its irst facility here in suburban Andheri with 140 units. Pod hotels feature small, pod-style rooms. The initial investment was done by promoters, and for expansion, the irm is open to investments. “We are looking at an average of ₹10-20 crore investment over the next three years,” Urbanpod co-founder Hiren Gandhi said. PTI
CM YK
RBI had given in-principle approval for 10 institutions to start small finance banks (SFBs) in the country. Among them was ESAF Microfinance, which was set to begin operations as a bank from March 17. In an interview, K. Paul Thomas, founder and chairman, ESAF Microfinance dwelt on the space that SFBs needed to fill. Edited excerpts: What is the significance of a small finance bank in India?
of inclusiveness. How do you justify your importance?
■ The financial inclusion agenda was first mooted about the year 2005. The Swabhimaan campaign was the first such initiative to cover villages with banking facilities. The initiative proved to be a failure due to lack of financial literacy and technologyrelated issues. A few years ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi furthered the agenda by launching Pradhan-Mantri Jandhan Yojana and later by sanctioning licences to launch Small Finance Banks and Payments Bank. The recent digital push that we witnessed can also be considered as part of the overall agenda. The fact, that 8 microfinance institutions were selected from a total of 10 SFB licences, was a great acknowledgment to the contributions made by the microfinance sector in the field of financial inclusion. Universal banks are not in a position to understand the needs of small-value customers. But, MFIs have been practising financial inclusion for a long time and hence are in a better position to serve the underserved. The credit requirements of these customers are really low. In a country where a majority of the population comes under the low-to-middle income group, this is absolutely important.
■
Many banks have started in India with the objective
Universal banks have found it difficult to deliver the last-mile connectivity mainly due to issues like lack of proper understanding of the rural population, shortage of appropriate human resources and cost issues. MFIs have employees who understand rural customers and they are always willing to slog it out to reach out to the poor. At ESAF, we give emphasis to client convenience and financial literacy. We deliver door-step service according to the convenience of the clients. Unlike universal banks, we have proved to be the true agents of financial inclusion. As we understand various lifecycle needs of rural customers better, we can develop products and services that aptly serve the assets and liability requirements of the customer. For decades, we have been catering to the smallvalue loan needs of the rural customer. Now, we have an opportunity to deliver the full bouquet of banking services to rural folk, as they were badly missing it for quite some time. As an MFI, we have set social targets for each branch apart from financial targets. We are bent on taking the same values forward and differentiating ourselves in a more meaningful manner in the banking space.
In India, co-operative banks have major presence and participation from people. You are likely to compete with them. How do you gather support to get business? ■ We are here to deliver a promise — the promise of offering personalised attention that has been missing from the entire banking scenario for a long time. This is important when banking is getting more transactional in nature. We know that the scenario is competitive. Hence, we give emphasis to branding and have adequate plans to build brand ‘ESAF’ through multiple platforms. As we communicated through an earlier campaign ‘we build the nation from the roots’, we will focus more on building the brand through community development. The proof of the pudding is always in the eating. So merely communicating without displaying the essence will only hamper our aspirations. So far we have grown mainly through word of mouth. The community initiatives we have envisaged for the bank will hopefully help us in delivering the same results. We have an interesting and innovative social product in the offing that can disturb the market dynamics. Co-operative banks are permitted to function only in a smaller geography and cannot offer banking services on a wide scale. On the technology side also they are lagging behind. We come with technologically advanced products and state-of-the art digital solutions. We combine the virtues of both co-operative banks and universal banks: the local
K.T. Jagannathan CHENNAI
banks have found it diicult to deliver < > Universal last-mile connectivity connect of cooperative banks and technological might of universal banks will reflect in SFBs. We don’t consider co-operative banks alone as our competitors. Maybe for a short time it may count. In the long term, we will consider competition on a wider horizon and will stay relevant to all categories of customers. In that context, RRBs and Local Area Banks have not really succeeded in picking up... ■ Failure of RRBs and LABs led to the formation of these new categories of banks. As I said earlier, the last-mile connectivity can well be executed by the SFBs, who were the leaders in the microfinance domain in various markets. In a country with more than 130-crore population, financial inclusion cannot be achieved through a single stroke. It’s an evolution. SFBs were born out of that evolution and hopefully, I believe this time the authorities have struck the right cord with
their objective. The RRBs and LABs were functioning under regulatory restrictions. Thankfully, all those constraints were removed for SFBs. Will you continue your micro-finance business? ■ Yes. Instead of microfinance we are moving in to micro banking. ESAF Microfinance and Investments (P) Ltd., the current company, will continue to be a core investment company. The biggest advantage of becoming a bank is that we can give higher loans and can encourage the savings habit among them. Going forward, ESAF Small Finance Bank will be the flagship brand of ESAF.
How many branches will you open in the initial stage? What are your expansion plans? ■ In the initial stage, we will open 85 flagship retail branches and 300 customer touch points through the year. In the long term, we have plans to reach around 500 branches by 2020.
The promoters of CavinKare Pvt. Ltd., a fast-moving consumer goods company, have bought out the entire holding that ChrysCapital — a home-grown private equity firm — held in the company, for an undisclosed sum. ChrysCapital had invested ₹250 crore in CavinKare in 2013. The investment, sources said, had delivered a return of a little more than two times in less than four years for ChrysCapital. With this, CavinKare will be fully owned by its promoters led by its chairman and managing director C.K. Ranganathan. “By providing ChrysCapital the exit option, I have effectively consolidated my ownership to 100% in the company,” he said. Mr. Ranganathan said the buy-out would give the promoters a lot of leeway and options to restructure the organisation, which currently produced personal care and food products. He, however, made it clear that any revamp could be considered only after a careful study of various possibilities. To a question, he said that CavinKare would consider assorted funding options going forward once the reorganisation was carried out.
Focus on results To a question, he merely said ChrysCapital was given the option at the time of its entry to go up to a maximum of 14% equity holding in the company. CavinKare roped in ChrysCapital in 2013 to bring in a greater degree of dynamism and progressiveness into the company. The investment came at a time when the company was
C.K. Ranganathan
looking to further strengthen its focus on the strategic direction and results. The buy-out by CavinKare’s promoter marks ChrysCapital’s first full exit for its sixth Fund, which entered its harvesting phase. The ₹1,350-crore FMCG company started its journey with the iconic Chik Shampoo brand in the 1980s. Occupying the top third position in the hair wash and hair colour market, the company has several ₹100 crore brands in the hair care space, including household names such as Chik, Indica and Meera. “At a time when growth in the personal care space has been muted for most companies, CavinKare has enjoyed a strong growth of 15% during the last few quarters,” said a statement from the company. “During the last decade, CavinKare has successfully transformed itself from a pure personal care player to a FMCG conglomerate with interests in the dairy, snacks, food and beverages businesses,” it said. ChrysCapital, it may be recalled, has raised its seventh fund accumulating $600 million from investors such as Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) and Harvard Management Company.
A BG-BG
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SPORT 15
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Pressure is on India: Lyon
IN BRIEF
‘We believe we can beat the best teams anywhere in the world’ Press Trust of India Ranchi
Australia’s leading spinner Nathan Lyon on Monday said the “pressure is right on India” in the ongoing fourmatch Test series and patted his team for its fighting display in the last two games. The series is poised at 1-1 with two more matches scheduled in Ranchi and Dharamshala.
Mahmudullah dropped for second Test DHAKA
Bangladesh has dropped batsman Mahmudullah Riyad from its squad for the second Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo, a senior cricket official said on Monday. “Mahmudullah is coming back home before the second Test as he is struggling with form,” chief selector of the Bangladesh Cricket Board Minhajul Abedin said. AFP
Cech leaps to the defence of Alexis Sanchez LONDON
Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech has dismissed media reports that striker Alexis Sanchez was laughing at the side’s collapse in the Champions League match against Bayern Munich last week. “I found it very disrespectful to the player. But obviously you can take a picture and you can interpret it the way you want, unfortunately. But we the players, we know exactly what he said and we know how he was hurting and he was as disappointed as anybody else.” REUTERS
Exceeding expectations: Nathan Lyon says ‘the young and inexperienced’ Australia has efectively silenced all critics. AP
Ashwin back as top all-rounder PRESS TRUST OF INDIA DUBAI
Klopp has no problems winning ‘ugly’ LIVERPOOL
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says he is happy for his team to win “ugly” during the remainder of the Premier League season if it brings results. “I would say you need to be ready for both. You cannot plan an ugly game. But yes, if we want to stay where we are, then we need to win football games and we can’t make the choice and say ‘yes or no we want to play this way’,” the German added. AFP
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India captain Virat Kohli slipped one place to fourth while R. Ashwin was back as the top all-rounder and maintained his number one place among bowlers in the ICC Test rankings released on Monday. Kohli (847 points) has had an ordinary Test series against Australia. New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson gained two places to reach second spot in the ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen. The latest rankings, which took into account performances in the first Test between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in Galle which the home side won by 259 runs, saw Williamson leapfrog Joe Root and Kohli after his fine knock of 130. Williamson, who was number-one ranked for a brief while in NovemberDecember 2015, is now on 869 points, 21 points ahead of third-placed Root (848) but a good 67 points adrift of table leader Steve Smith of Australia, who’s on 936 points.
The Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) has complained to BCCI joint secretary Amitabh Chaudhary that “audit firm Deloitte should have discussed and sought clarification from the respective associations on their observation and comments. “The audit report was to be kept in total privacy and custody of Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (BCCI attorney). We are aghast that this report has reached media organisations.” In a letter addressed to Chaudhary, SCA joint secretary Madhukar Worah said the Deloitte report leaked to
the media “without the knowledge of the party whose audit has been done with purpose to malign the reputation of State associations. “The ulterior motive of this leak seems to be to dent the prestige and reputation of the State associations and to create biased opinions against them.”
Inexperienced team The letter further says: “We feel sorry to state that the team appointed by Deloitte for auditing the SCA was quite inexperienced about how cricket associations function. “And for this reason, the SCA had repeatedly com-
plained to the notice of the BCCI. Also, we wish to inform that simultaneously SCA was audited by PricewaterCoopers (PwC) India and hence the SCA seeks to receive copies of both audit reports.” The SCA has sent copies of its letter to the Committee of Administrators, Anirudh Chaudhry (BCCI treasurer), Rahul Johri (BCCI CEO) and Prof. Ratnakar Shetty (general manager, Administration & Game, BCCI) and to all State associations. Most associations are upset that Deloitte did not conduct “exit meetings” with them before submitting the report to BCCI. In another development,
Strategy Lyon has bowled quite a bit over the wicket to India’s preponderance of right-handed batters. In Australia where bounce is more of a weapon than spin, Lyon often operates around the wicket to use the increased angle he creates to bring the bat-pad catchers into play. “It depends on the pitch. The last two pitches I’ve been able to get good bounce, sharp bounce and fast spin off the wicket as well. “If the wicket wasn’t doing that as much, then I’d look at the option of coming around the wicket.”
Stumper’s sharpness unafected despite drop in success rate, says Banerjee Kolkata
The Champions Trophy, to be held in three months’ time, would decide the fate of India’s most successful cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, his childhood coach Keshav Banerjee said here on Monday. “At the moment, his sole focus is on the Champions Trophy. If he’s successful there, I think he would go on till the 2019 World Cup,” Banerjee said at the launch of an under-14 cricket tournament. One of the best finishers in the world, Dhoni still has a sharp brain despite the drop in success rate, Banerjee felt. “It’s natural that with age, you would not hit the same strike rate. But his willpower and game-analysing sense are the two qualities that make him special. He’s out there playing domestic one-dayers (Vijay Hazare Trophy) to keep himself in shape ahead of the Champions Trophy.” Having surprised every-
Another Indian Cheteshwar Pujara is unchanged on sixth. Meanwhile, Ashwin also dethroned Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan from the top spot for all-rounders. Ashwin is now on 434 points, 31 ahead of Shakib (403).
He’s confident his finger ailment will be healed in time for the third Test. “I have bowled a lot of balls over the summer and it usually happens once or twice a year. It just split. It was pretty painful there for a bit,” Lyon said. “And you can’t bowl on (adhesive) tape — there are rules and laws, that you can’t bowl on tape so I wasn’t even considering that,” he was quoted as saying on the Cricket Australia website. “The last time I was here (in India, in 2013), the same thing happened in the third Test and I was able to play three days later. So I’m more
앫 One such callus was sliced open on the inside of Lyon’s right index inger during the second innings of the Bengaluru Test.
MELBOURNE
Press Trust of India
R. Ashwin.
앫 He’s conident his inger ailment will be healed in time for the third Test. CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
than confident of turning out for the next Test.” The ailment restricted him to fitness work and other drills and Lyon said he still had a bit of pain while bowling variations. “I’m able to bowl crossseam and stuff, so I can still try to spin it. But for variations and trying to get drift and drop and stuff — to go at the back of the ball — the way I bowl, (the finger injury) does impede it a little bit.”
앫 Off-spinners develop signiicant calluses on the top knuckle of their spinning inger.
Mitch Marsh may miss Ashes series
It says media leak has dented the prestige of State associations G. Viswanath
Hurt, but likely to play Lyon, who suffered cracked skin on his right index finger during the second Test, is confident he will be in the playing eleven for the third Test. Off-spinners historically develop significant calluses (thickened and hardened parts of skin) on the top knuckle of their spinning finger, and Lyon said one such callus was sliced open on the inside of his right index finger during the second innings of the Bengaluru Test.
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Champions Trophy may decide Dhoni’s fate: childhood coach
Saurashtra CA seeks audit reports Mumbai
Written off “There’s a lot of belief. There’s a lot of people who wrote us off, before we even got on a plane and landed in Dubai, let alone coming over here,” Lyon said. The off-spinner was quoted as saying in the Sydney Morning Herald, “We’re one win away from retaining the trophy and that’s what we are here to do. “The pressure is right on India — there’s no pressure on us. Everyone said ‘we were going to lose 4-0, they’re no good, they’re a young cricket team learning,’ but we believe we can beat the best teams anywhere in the world. “We proved that in the
first Test, we came close in the second Test and even that hurt — that’s probably the best thing about that game. “I think they’re feeling the pressure a little bit to be honest. And it’s good.” The Australians have left Bengaluru for Ranchi. Lyon, who India flummoxed with his off-spin in the first innings of the second Test, briefly spoke about the importance of reverse swing. “With our air speed and ability to get the ball reversing, and the earlier we can do that the better,” Lyon said.
the SCA has urged Johri to clear overdue payments so that it could make payments to players who represented the State in BCCI tournaments. Worah has pointed out that BCCI pays the match fees of cricketers who play in domestic tournaments and hence it has to remit money to all State associations so that they may pay the players’ fees. The SCA has also reminded Johri that he has to ensure payment of Rs. 30 lakh per IPL match as per the agreement with BCCI. “We sincerely hope that the pending matter is resolved and funds are released,” said Worah.
Still relevant: Keshav Banerjee feels that if Dhoni succeeds at the Champions Trophy, he could continue till the 2019 WC. PTI
one by calling it quits from Tests Down Under in late 2014, Dhoni stepped down from limited overs captaincy in January. “He never liked to be pushed so he called it quits before any one could point fingers at him in the Test format,” Banerjee said. “He never kept anyone in
the loop, even his best friend or parents did not know when he quit Tests.” Banerjee seemed unhappy with the way Dhoni was removed as skipper of Rising Pune Supergiants for the Indian Premier League season 10. “It appeared to me a decision by the team owners as
Dhoni did not have any choice now but to play this season (with Chennai Super Kings being suspended),” he said. Banerjee’s role in shaping Dhoni’s early days as a cricketer was documented in the biopic MS Dhoni: The Untold Story. A cricket coach at Dhoni’s alma mater, Jawahar Vidya Mandir at Shyamali in Ranchi, Banerjee persuaded a then Class VI football goalkeeper to become a wicketkeeper. The rest, as they say, is history. “He was known for his punctuality, discipline and he’s still the same, has not changed a bit,” he said. Having seen Dhoni rise from the school level, Banerjee urged the BCCI to encourage cricketers in under-14 age group. “I know they have a big facility (National Cricket Academy) in Bengaluru but we must look after U-14 kids. They need to be nurtured properly. They need some recognition and motivation,” he said.
CAS slaps life ban on doping ‘mastermind’ Portugalov Agence France-Presse LAUSANNE
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said on Monday it had issued a life ban against doctor Sergei Portugalov, an alleged mastermind of Statesponsored doping in Russian track and field. The Lausanne-based court said in a statement it had slapped Portugalov with a “lifetime period of ineligibility” beginning March 10, 2017, for having supplied athletes with banned substances. CAS said that Portugalov, who had served as the head of the Russian athletics federation’s medical commission, had been found to have viol-
Sergei Portugalov
FILE PHOTO
ated several articles of the IAAF anti-doping regulations, including the possession, trafficking and administration of prohibited substances. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) had recommended in a 2015 report that Portugalov take no part in any State sports programme after it found he had been key
to rampant doping among Russian track and field athletes. WADA said Portugalov was “very active in the conspiracy to cover up athletes’ positive tests in exchange for a percentage of their winnings.” The agency said that Portugalov administered the doping programmes and “even injected athletes himself.” Russia has been barred from international track and field competition, including the Rio Olympics, since November 2015 following the damning WADA report presenting evidence of Statesponsored doping in the sport.
Reuters
Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh requires reconstructive surgery on his shoulder injury which will sideline him for up to nine months and end his hopes of participating in this year’s Ashes series, local media reported on Monday. Marsh, a pace-bowling all-rounder, struggled with the shoulder injury throughout Australia’s home summer and was ruled out of Australia’s remaining two Tests in India last week. Surgery, which the Western Australian newspaper said was “vital” if he was ever to bowl at full pace again, would effectively put the 25-year-old out of contention for the home Ashes series, which starts in Brisbane in late November. Marsh was hailed as the solution to Australia’s lack of a quality all-rounder when he made his Test debut in late 2014 but has been widely criticised for his contributions in the longer format with returns of 674 runs and 29 wickets in 21 matches. During the first two Tests against India at Pune and Bengaluru, the western Australian scored 48 runs in four innings and bowled just five overs.
Durban stripped of 2022 CWG Agence France-Presse LONDON
The 2022 Commonwealth Games will no longer take place in Durban, South Africa, the BBC and other British media reported on Monday. South Africa sports minister Fikile Mbalula indicated that the government might withdraw its financial support because of the cost of staging the multisport event.
Real Madrid hufs and pufs its way back to the top Ramos heads winner against Real Betis as the side rallies to win AGENCIES MADRID
Real Madrid’s irrepressible Sergio Ramos headed it to a 2-1 come-from-behind win over Real Betis on Sunday as Zinedine Zidane’s side capitalised on Barcelona’s earlier defeat by Deportivo La Coruna to top the La Liga standings. A calamitous own goal from Real goalkeeper Keylor Navas had given Betis the lead in the 25th minute, just after the Costa Rican escaped a possible red card, although Cristiano Ronaldo CM YK
pulled the home side level in the 41st with a diving header. Betis had defender Cristiano Piccini sent off for a second booking in the 78th and three minutes later Ramos nodded in his 10th goal in all competitions this season, adding to his header in the 3-1 win at Napoli in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Navas lucky However, Madrid's win was mired in controversy as goalkeeper Navas was extremely lucky to avoid an early red
card before making a brilliant stoppage time save to deny Antonio Sanabria. Navas clearly cleaned out Darko Brasanac on the edge of the Madrid area as he raced from his goal after just 20 minutes, but referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz inexplicably waived play on. Real Madrid leads the standings on 62 points, Barcelona is second with 60 after suffering a 2-1 loss at Deportivo, and Sevilla is third on 57 following a 1-1 draw at home to Leganes on Saturday, while Real has a game
in hand on its title rival. “I would be happier if we scored two or three goals at the start,” said Real coach Zinedine Zidane. “But we remain calm because we know we can score at any moment “The opposition played in their own half, they defended well and caused us problems on the counter-attack. We’re happy with the result and we must congratulate the players because it wasn’t easy. “The pressure is there, it doesn’t end here, there’s still a lot to play for and we know
that,” Zidane told his club’s website. The results: La Liga: Real Madrid 2 (Ronaldo 40, Ramos 81) bt Real Betis 1 (Navas 25-og); Celta Vigo 0 lost to Villarreal 1 (Soldado 45); Real Sociedad 0 lost to Athletic Bilbao 2 (Raul Garcia 28-pen, Williams 56). Serie A: Palermo 0 lost to Roma 3 (El Shaarawy 22, Dzeko 76, Peres 90+1) Bundesliga: Hamburg 2 (Kostic 36, Wood 80) bt Borussia Monchengladbach 1 (Christensen 23).
Leading light: Skipper Sergio Ramos bailed out Real Madrid yet again.
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Djokovic and Federer advance
IN BRIEF
India goes down to Hong Kong
Nadal scores a steady win over Pella; Nishikori eases past Evans
Sports Bureau Agencies
past, which is great. I don't even have to think or talk about it.” Nadal was pleased with a “solid” opening effort against Pella, made trickier by the oven-like mid-day temperatures and the fact that Pella, like Nadal, is a lefthander.
Indian Wells
Novak Djokovic launched his bid for a sixth ATP Indian Wells Masters crown with a two-set triumph over Kyle Edmund as the stars shone on Sunday in the California desert. The 46th-ranked Edmund served for the second set at 5-3, but world No. 2 Djokovic broke him en route to a 6-4, 7-6(5) triumph.
Zidane defends Navas MADRID
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has hailed goalkeeper Keylor Navas’ contribution despite the latest in a series of blunders this season from the Costa Rican on Sunday. “The most important thing for me is the support Keylor received from his teammates. They know how important he is and in the end he made a great save to get us the three points,” he said. AFP
Tough clash His reward is a tough thirdround clash with former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro, a 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 winner over fellow Argentine Federico del Bonis. “I think I played very well in the first set,” Djokovic said. “Second set was obviously up and down. But credit to Kyle for playing some really aggressive tennis. “He made a lot of winners in the beginning and midway through the second. There was not much wrong I did. I did miss some forehands. But other than that, it was a very solid match. Good, quality tennis, a good test.” Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal also reached the third round, Federer flying through with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over France's Stephane Robert in just 51 minutes. Nadal opened his account
Wigan Atheltic sacks manager LONDON
Wigan Athletic became the latest club in English football’s second-tier Championship to sack its manager as Warren Joyce exited on Monday after just four months in charge. Former Manchester United reserve-team manager Joyce won just six out of 24 matches in charge of Wigan Athletic. AFP
Easy outing: Novak Djokovic breezed past Kyle Edmund to set up a third round match against Juan Martin del Potro. AFP with a steady 6-3, 6-2 victory over Argentina's Guido Pella. The three stars are packed together in a remarkable bottom quarter of the draw. But Djokovic said he can't afford to think about a possible quarterfinal clash with either of his longtime rivals with del Potro coming up. While Djokovic has won 12 of their 16 career meetings, the Argentine handed him a crushing two-tiebreak defeat in the first round of the Rio Olympics — a defeat Djokovic avenged in Acapulco this
month. “Big guy, big serve, big forehand,” Djokovic said of del Potro. “Definitely not the draw that you like early in the tournament and that you wish for, but it is what it is,” added Djokovic, who is trying to get back to the winner's circle after a shock second-round exit at the Australian Open and a quarterfinal loss to Nick Kyrgios in Acapulco. Ninth-seeded Federer, resurgent after a 2016 season marred by injury, downed
Bangladesh hopes for a memorable 100th It has struggled in the ive-day format, losing 76 of its 99 matches Agence France Presse
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Colombo
Nadal in an epic Australian Open final to secure his 18th Grand Slam title.
Speed bump He hit a speed bump in Dubai this month, failing to convert three match points in a third-round loss to Evgeny Donskoy — but he was firing on all cylinders against the 81st-ranked Robert. “Very happy,” said Federer, who missed Indian Wells last year with a knee injury that required surgery. “Knee is a thing of the
Playing solid “I didn't try to do amazing things. I tried to play solid,” the fifth-seeded Spaniard said. “For moments I played well. For moments I played a little bit less well. Important thing, I won, and I won in straight sets.” Nadal knows he'll have to turn up the intensity if he wants to end a hard court title drought stretching back to 2014. The bottom half of the draw also features fourthseeded Kei Nishikori of Japan, who eased past Britain's Daniel Evans 6-3, 6-4. But sixth-seeded Marin Cilic, who beat Nishikori in the 2014 US Open final, was an early casualty, beaten 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 by 19-year-old American Taylor Fritz. The jam-packed half of the draw is a contrast to the wide-open top half, which lost a lot of its lustre on Saturday when world No. 1 Andy Murray was stunned by 129th-ranked Canadian qualifier Vasek Pospisil.
“That's sport, no?” Nadal said. “Yesterday probably Andy didn't play his best match and Vasek served very well.” The results: Men: Second round: Taylor Fritz bt Marin Cilic 4-6, 7-5, 6-4; Malek Jaziri bt Marcel Granollers 7-5, 6-3; Jack Sock bt Henri Laaksonen 6-3, 0-6, 6-4; Grigor Dimitrov bt Mikhail Youzhny 6-4, 6-0; Lucas Pouille bt Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3, 6-2; Donald Young bt Sam Querrey 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Gilles Muller bt Jiri Veseli 7-6 (1), 6-1; Kei Nishikori bt Daniel Evans 6-3, 6-4; Rafael Nadal bt Guido Pella 6-3, 6-2; Fernando Verdasco bt Pierre-Hugues Herbert 7-6(5), 6-1; Steve Johnson bt Kevin Anderson 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (4); Roger Federer bt Stşphane Robert 6-2, 6-1; Nick Kyrgios bt Horacio Zeballos 6-3, 6-4; Alexander Zverev bt Facundo Bagnis 7-6(10), 6-3; Juan Martin del Potro bt Federico Del Bonis 7-6 (5), 6-3; Novak Djokovic bt Kyle Edmund 6-4, 7-6(5). Women: Third round: Dominika Cibulkova bt Kristyna Pliskova 2-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(4); Elina Svitolina bt Daria Gavrilova 6-2, 6-1; Svetlana Kuznetsova bt Roberta Vinci 6-2, 2-6, 6-1; Timea Bacsinszky bt Kiki Bertens 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(8); Caroline Garcia bt Johanna Konta 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(1); Karolina Pliskova bt Irina Begu 6-4, 7-6(2). Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova bt Barbora Strycova 6-3, 6-2; Garbine Muguruza bt Kayla Day 3-6, 7-5. 6-2.
NEW DELHI
Host India was delivered a shock 2-1 defeat by Hong Kong in the opening league match in Group D in the Asia-Oceania Junior Davis Cup under-16 tennis tournament at the DLTA Complex on Sunday. Sacchitt Sharma had levelled the scores after Shashank Theertha had lost the first singles. However, Hong Kong clinched the decisive doubles through Ki Lung Roger Ng and Sheung Yin Wong 6-4, 6-1. Sacchitt partnered Rithvik Chaudhary Bollipalli, late into the night on Sunday, after the two singles matches had lasted nearly six hours. After Monday’s rest day, action will resume on Tuesday with India playing New Zealand. Japan will be the third opponent for India, in its bid to be among the top two in the pool to make the knockouts. The top four teams from the tournament will qualify for the World Group finals in Budapest in September. The results (league): Hong Kong bt India 2-1 (Wai Yu Kai bt Shashank Theertha 6-3, 4-6, 7-5; Ki Lung Roger Ng lost to Sacchitt Sharma 7-6 (4), 4-6, 2-6; Ki Lung Roger Ng & Sheung Yin Wong bt Rithvik Chaudary Bollipalli & Sacchitt 6-4, 6-1).
Tottenham, Millwall to assist FA with probe into Son abuse
Vasisht Cheruku bows out
The player was taunted by Millwall supporters
Special Correspondent Bengaluru
Bangladesh will look to overcome its recent dismal form as the perennial minnow tries to make its 100th Test appearance an occasion to celebrate against Sri Lanka here. Test cricket’s newest entrant has showed occasional promise since it was drafted into the elite cricket competition in 2000 but has mostly embarrassed its loyal fans with a series of belowpar performances in the game’s most enduring format. Bangladesh goes into Wednesday’s Test at the P. Saravanamuttu Stadium trailing the two-match series 1-0 after last week’s crushing 259-run loss at Galle — its 76th defeat and the fourth in a row in 99 Tests. No other Test-playing country has lost so many times in its first 100 Test matches and the dubious honour highlights Bangladesh’s struggle in the five-day format over the past 17 years. So far it has won only eight Test matches, one more than New Zealand, which had only seven wins in its first 100 Tests, though the Kiwis managed to eke out 47 draws against Bangladesh’s 15. Five of Bangladesh’s eight wins came at home includ-
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Bangladesh trails the twoTest series 1-0
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Landmark match: Bangladesh, led by Mushiqur Rahim, centre, will hope to come good in the second Test against Sri Lanka. AFP
ing four against fellow struggler Zimbabwe. And it won just three of its 46 games abroad — two against an under-strength West Indies and one against Zimbabwe. The Tigers, as they are affectionately called by their fans, lost 21 consecutive Test matches between 2001 and 2004, the worst-ever losing run by a team which no other side has even come close to emulating. It has improved in recent matches, drawing the home series against England before dragging its last four Tests into the fifth day, which many saw as a mark of success. “We are doing the right thing, that’s why we have been competitive in all these
games,” coach Chandika Hathurusinghe told reporters here on Sunday. “Why have you raised your expectations? Because we are doing well, am I right? That’s what we all expect, and we are asking too much of a team that is still finding its feet in Test cricket. It is a fact,” he said. While Sri Lanka Cricket plans to help Bangladesh celebrate its 100th Test match, including hosting a dinner in its honour, the visitors want to focus on the game. “We’re trying to keep things simple because apart from the 100th Test, this is also an important game for us,” Bangladesh Cricket Board spokesman Jalal Yunus said in Dhaka. Former captain Habibul
Bashar, who played Bangladesh’s inaugural Test against India in 2000, said the team must win more games to prove their detractors, including former England player Geoffrey Boycott, wrong. “The best way to celebrate the (100th Test) occasion will be winning this game. Bangladesh needs this win more than anything else,” Bashar said. “We are now a strong side in limited over matches. But in Test cricket we must translate our potential into matchwinning feats.” The teams (from): Sri Lanka: Rangana Herath (Capt.), Dimuth Karunaratne, Niroshan Dickwella, Upul Tharanga, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Mendis, Asela Gunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal, Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Kumara, Nuwan Pradeep, Vikum Sanjaya Bandara, Dilruwan Perera, Lakshan Sandakan, and Malinda Pushpakumara. Bangladesh: Mushfiqur Rahim (Capt.), Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Imrul Kayes, Soumya Sarkar, Mominul Haque, Shakib Al Hasan, Sabbir Rahman, Mustafizur Rahman, Taijul Islam, Mehedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Mosaddek Hossain, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Subashis Roy, and Rubel Hossain.
Karnataka’s Vasisht Cheruku suffered a first-round exit at the hands of Karunuday Singh in the India F5 ITF Futures tennis tournament at the KSLTA tournament here on Monday. Vasisht won the first set but Karunuday rallied to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Fourth seed Mukund Sai Kumar made short work of Jeson Patrombon of the Phllippines, winning 6-3, 6-1. Fifth seed Vijay Sundar Prashanth defeated qualifier Jatin Dahiya 6-4, 7-5. Mumbai’s Aryan Goveas lost 6-4, 4-6, 2-6 to Hong Kit Wong of Hong Kong, while Mohit Mayur recovered from a set down to defeat Kaliyanda Poonacha 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. The top three in the draw, G. Prajnesh, Sriram Balaji and Vishnu Vardhan, open their singles campaigns on Tuesday. The results (first round): Men: Mohit Mayur bt Kaliyanda Poonacha 3-6, 6-4, 6-4; Karunuday Singh bt Vasisht Cheruku 3-6, 6-3, 6-4; Siddarth Rawat bt A. Shanmugham 6-3, 7-5; N. Vijay Sundar Prashanth bt Jatin Dahiya 6-4, 7-5; Rishab Agarwal bt Aditya Hari Sasongko (Ina) 6-0, 6-3; Mukund Sai Kumar bt Jeson Patrombon (Phi) 6-3, 6-1; Hong Kit Wong (HK) bt Aryan Goveas 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
shame to be talking about this. “We just want everyone to enjoy the game. It’s wrong in society and wrong in football.” Millwall fans were also accused by Wolves boss Paul Ince of aiming the same racist chants at South Korea’s Seol Ki-Hyeon in a match in 2005.
Agence France-Presse LONDON
Tottenham Hotspur and Millwall have both promised to assist a Football Association inquiry into the racist abuse directed towards Spurs forward Son HeungMin during Sunday’s FA Cup quarterfinal. South Korea star Son was taunted by Millwall supporters during Tottenham’s 6-0 victory at White Hart Lane and responded to the jibes with a hat-trick against the third-tier side. He was subjected to chants of “DVD” and “three for a fiver”, which were perceived as a racial slur against Asians who sell black market films in London.
Referee’s report According to British media reports, the FA will consider referee Martin Atkinson’s match report and also seek the observations of both clubs. A Tottenham spokesman said: “We strongly condemn the use of any racist language. “We shall be passing on all of our footage to the relevant authorities which can assist with the identification of anyone responsible for such chanting at yesterday’s game.” Meanwhile, a Millwall
Son Heung-Min.
AP
statement read: “Millwall have led the way on anti-discrimination initiatives and will continue to do so. “The club is assisting the FA with their investigation and will make no further comment until that process is complete.”
Not to be tolerated After the match, Millwall manager Neil Harris made it clear such taunts shouldn’t be tolerated. “Honestly I didn’t hear anything but myself and the club, we won’t condone that if there is,” Harris said. “I’m sure it will be investigated and left to the authorities. We want people dealt with harshly of course. It’s a
No complaint But Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino said Son hadn’t complained about the chants after the match. “No, Son didn’t say anything,” Pochettino said. “I didn’t hear (the songs). It’s difficult for me to understand the crowd.” Millwall remains under a separate investigation by the FA after Leicester complained about the opposition fans’ behaviour following the Lions’ surprise victory in the previous round. Each inquiry, however, will be treated as a separate entity. Millwall, based in south London, became notorious for mass acts of fan violence during the 1970s and 1980s, leaving the club with a reputation that its officials have tried desperately hard to shed in the years since.
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THE HINDU CROSSWORD 11954
(set by Aspartame)
14 Spy has one American dish (5) 1
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15 Half the battalion killed by weird fragment (7) 18 Turn clipped gun (7)
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21 Eastern sea’s waves get calmer (5) 13
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23 Lively Frenchman about to win one hundred (9) 15
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26 Practice at home (7) 25
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11 Starts treating underage mother — identiies diaphragm being swollen (5) 15 Movement that can rip pants? (8)
1 Editor at Germany extremely nervous (4) ■ ACROSS 9 Politico camps with doctor protesting for administrative body (10,5) 10 Y-young teetotaller’s drink with setter (7)
17 Article on Spain's model-actor (8)
29 Test without class toppers' score? 19 Thug mostly gave returns with Not happening! (11,4) a guarantee (8) ■ DOWN
CM YK
Nakkeerar’s powerful poem
8 Oversized copper gets longoverdue kiss (8)
16 Sort out mail (8)
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25 Food discount request to be considered (7) 21
FAITH
SUDOKU
20 There you go! Empty space inally given away to the Spanish (5)
22 Sly criminal took vehicle to ind one who frequents 3 I'm about to enter accommodating woods (6) homeland (8) 2 Skewer to crackle (4)
4 Ordinary person when put down? (6)
24 Chieftain to retire if a riot becomes national (6)
5 Round folder (8)
27 What model wife traded to become warmer (4)
12 Beverages you inally brought home (7)
6 Clear one rotten pastry (6)
13 Heartbreaking movie 'Motion' allegedly smuggled (9)
7 Unfettered desire for independence (8)
28 Brute king wearing accessory for the audience (4)
Solution to puzzle 11953 C A N N A B I S
O L A A N G Z U I N S H
S C P A L R O I N T N H G R E
O U R S T A S T R D A D E V I G A U R E S E M I E P I P I D H O A P Y R E C I I X A A N Q U I N G R N R O B R O K U A T E T I N G M
S T E M C E L L S W H E R E
H I D J E A O L S I F T E S A T I E V A A L
Solution to yesterday’s Sudoku N G A C T I O N G E R N T E R A E N C I E
Poet Nakkeerar’s poem — Thirumurugatrupadai — was so spiritually powerful, that it helped save lives, said M.A. Manickavelu, in a discourse. A demon once captured Nakkeerar and imprisoned him in a cave. There were already 999 people in the cave. The demon’s plan was that when the number of prisoners touched 1000, it would kill all of them and eat them up. So Nakkeerar’s entry into the cave was viewed with alarm by the already imprisoned people, for with his coming, the number of prisoners touched one thousand. But Nakkeerar remained unperturbed. He knew that his faith in Lord Shanmukha would see him through any crisis. So he composed Thirumurugatrupadai in praise of Lord Shanmukha, and the cave broke into many pieces. Lord Shanmukha killed the demon and all the demon’s prisoners were saved. Such is the power of the Lord’s name. The Tamil prefix ‘Thiru’ indicates auspiciousness. Muruga, the name by which Lord Shanmukha is popular in Tamil Nadu, means beauty and youthfulness. Atrupadai is a type of poetry, where the poet guides one to a generous patron. In Thirumurugatrupadai, Nakkeerar guides devotees to the six holy abodes of Lord Shanmukha in Tamil Nadu, which are known as arupadaiveedu. Thirumurugatrupadai begins with a description of Lord Shanmukha of the sacred shrine of Tiruparankundram. There are descriptions of the Lord’s handsomeness. It then goes on to say that when the demon Soorapadman assumed the form of a human being with the face of a horse, Lord Shanmukha took six different forms to kill him. The demon had hidden in a mango tree, which the Lord split with His spear, and killed the demon. The poet Nakkeerar in his Thirumurugatrupadai says that moksha is to be sought at the feet of the Lord, and that devotees should work for the welfare of others, selflessly. A BG-BG
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THE HINDU
SPORT 17
BENGALURU
TUESDAY, MARCH 14, 2017
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IN BRIEF
Sampaoli’s Sevilla fears ‘Shakespearean’ tragedy Post Ranieri, Leicester City has managed to ind fresh belief under the Italian folk hero’s old assistant and could prove dangerous at home Reuters LEICESTER
No grudges with Ranieri, says Shakespeare LEICESTER
Craig Shakespeare said there were “no grudges” between himself and Claudio Ranieri on Monday after he succeeded the Italian as Leicester City manager. “I bear no grudges, Claudio bears no grudges. We have to try and move on as a football club. As I said last week, when we spoke he wished me luck. We’ll probably be in contact and I have no problem with that.” AFP
Rockets down Cavaliers LOS ANGELES
James Harden exploded for 38 points as the Houston Rockets jolted LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers with a 117-112 victory on Sunday. Harden led the scoring and completed his 16th triple-double of the season with 10 rebounds and 11 assists. Other results: Celtics 100 bt Bulls 80, Pacers 102 bt Heat 98, Nets 120 bt Knicks 112, Trail Blazers 110 bt Suns 101, 76ers 118 bt Lakers 116. Agencies
Veron named in Estudiantes squad RIO DE JANEIRO
Former Manchester United and Argentina midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron has been named in Estudiantes’ football squad for its opening Copa Libertadores clash against Botafogo here on Tuesday. The 42-year-old announced in December that he would come out of retirement and donate his salary back to Estudiantes, where he is also club president. Veron was named in Estudiantes squad on Saturday, reports Xinhua. Veron, who won the Copa Libertadores with Estudiantes in 2009, retired from football in 2014. But he agreed to play again after supporters bought 65 per cent of viewing boxes at the club’s new stadium. IANS
Remember Claudio Ranieri? The man who penned the most romantic story in football annals by making Leicester City English champion and who walked away from Sevilla’s stadium last month believing he could write another in the Champions League. Well, if a week is a long time in football, three weeks between last-16 legs in Europe’s elite competition is a positive eternity with Ranieri already fondly consigned to history. It is to the chagrin of many in Leicester that its Italian folk hero has gone, denied the opportunity to try to guide it into the quarterfinals at the King Power Stadium on Tuesday. Instead, in his old assistant Craig Shakespeare, who on Sunday was handed the manager’s job until the end of the season, a city — and an impatient club board — now trusts.
Turning point At 2-1 down and with Jamie Vardy’s away goal offering a raft to cling to on a night when Leicester was outplayed, Ranieri had not unreasonably felt the result might be the turning point in a woeful season. Alas for the Italian he was right. The next day Leicester’s Thai owners ditched Ranieri
Diference maker: Jamie Vardy’s away goal could prove crucial for Leicester City when it hosts Sevilla on Tuesday. AFP and from that moment the entire complexion of this knockout tie was transformed. After the ‘Shakespearean’
age dawned, Leicester managed to find fresh belief to chisel out two crucial Premier League wins that has eased it away from the
relegation zone. At the same time, Sevilla’s refreshing drive for the Liga title hit alarming roadblocks with two draws so undistin-
guished that its demanding fans booed it off the pitch on Saturday after the home match against lowly Leganes finished 1-1. The setback prompted hand-wringing from coach Jorge Sampaoli, who warned that if it did not rediscover its fluidity in a hurry it would exit the Champions League. In Leicester’s revival, with 3-1 wins over Liverpool and Hull City, Sampaoli has noted with concern how it appears to have reverted to its disciplined, title-winning best. “We have a group of analysts who have produced a clear report of what happened in the Ranieri era, and what’s happening now with the complete about-turn in morale,” he told reporters. “The team (Leicester) is now back to being as dangerous as they were last year. Leicester have demonstrated that they’ll play this game as if it were a World Cup final and we know that by not winning by the margin we deserved in the first match, we’re going to be under a lot of pressure,” Sampaoli added. However, it is also a chance for Sampaoli’s own five-time Europa League champion to move closer to the long-cherished goal of proving it is good enough to annex a rather more significant continental trophy.
Reuters MILAN
Porto must follow in Barcelona’s footsteps and achieve a Champions League first on Tuesday if it is to overcome Juventus and reach the quarterfinals. The Portuguese league leader will have to claw its way back from a 2-0 home defeat in the first leg, something which has never been done in the knock-out stage since Europe’s top club competition was reformed in 1992. Juve’s recent home record makes the task even more daunting. The Serie A titleholder has not lost in its own stadium since a 1-0 defeat to Udinese in August 2015, a run of 45 games in all competitions. In European competition, it is unbeaten in the last 20 home games since losing 2-0 to Bayern Munich in the Champions League in April 2013. Porto, which has won its last nine league games and not conceded a goal in the last five, will not go
quietly, however. “We know it’s going to be difficult for us after the result in the first leg. “But a lot of things happen in football — we’ve seen it all,” said goalkeeper Iker Casillas on Facebook. Porto could also look nearer to home for inspiration, having itself themselves won 3-0 away to AS Roma at the start of this season. That win, its fourth in 13 visits to Italy, took it into the Champions League group stage against the odds after Roma had held it to a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the playoff tie. It remains to be seen how Porto coach Nuno Espirito Santo, a firm believer in the idea a team is built from the back, will approach a game where his side will need to take the initiative. “Everyone has to defend, from the centre forward to the goalkeeper, so that we can get convincing wins. It demands a lot of work and a lot of concentration.”
Mizoram has it easy over Maharashtra M.R. Praveen Chandran Panaji
Mizoram overcame last year’s runner-up Maharashtra 3-1 in a Group B match of the 71st National football championship, for the Santosh Trophy, at the GMC Stadium, Bambolim on Monday. From the time it conceded a soft opening goal early in the first half, Maharashtra was forced to play second fiddle to the 2013 champion which punished its rival for
an erratic and wasteful game. Lal Chhuanawma (6th minute), Lal Fakuzula (43rd) and Lal Sangbera (51st) scored for Mizoram, while Rahul Das netted for Maharashtra in the 12th minute. In another match in the same group, Punjab defeated Railways 2-1 at Navelim.
Goalie’s gaffe Mizoram went ahead due to Maharashtra goalkeeper Harshad Deepak Meher’s mistake. Defender Sebin Var-
ghese intercepted a long ball from the middle and backheaded towards Harshad. But the latter, who had strayed away from his line, was hopelessly stranded when the ball reached him. The goalkeeper managed to palm the ball over his head only for the lurking Lalchhuanawma to rush in and tap the ball home. Maharashtra regrouped and cancelled the strike quickly. A threatening move from the right flank saw the
SANTOSH TROPHY ball being relayed into the Mizoram goalmouth. The defence failed to clear and the loose ball came to an unmarked Rahul Das whose powerful right footer from top of the box was bang on target.
Abhishek’s lapses Maharashtra had an opportunity to go ahead in the 32nd minute when Shravan
Shetty tore down the left flank and send in a precise cross but Abhishek Ambedkar failed to connect. Abhishek again was the culprit in the 42nd minute when he ballooned the ball over the bar from close range after being fed by Aaron D’costa from the right flank. Mizoram again went ahead in the 43rd minute when Lalfakzuala volleyed home from inside the box with a first timer as Lalrinpuia hooked it into the box
BFC and Mohun Bagan clash, this time in AFC Cup A good start in the group stages will go a long way in determining which club progresses to the knockout rounds Ashwin Achal Bengaluru
Bengaluru FC (BFC) and Mohun Bagan will lock horns for the second time in four days, with the focus now shifting to an international competition. The two sides get their AFC Cup Group E campaigns underway, at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium here on Tuesday. This follows an ILeague encounter held at the same venue recently, which resulted in a goalless draw. BFC had lost in the final of the AFC Cup last year. A good start in these group stages will go a long way in determining which club progresses to the knockout rounds. Unlike last year, where the top two units made the cut from the fourteam pool, only the single outfit will qualify this time around. Mohun Bagan showed that it was content to sit back and hit on the
Porto faces a Herculean task
Gearing up: The Bengaluru FC team at a practice session at Kanteerava Stadium.
counter, which frustrated BFC no end during their ILeague fixture. Even with the visitor down to 10 men in the 70th minute,
BFC could not breach the Bagan defence, led by Eduardo Soares and Anas Edathodika. The BFC, attackers have their task cut out
G.P. SAMPATH KUMAR
once again. “Bagan defended well on Saturday, and I expect them to do the same. We are lacking when it comes to finishing our attacking
moves. “We have to keep working on that. If we can score and win tomorrow, it will change the entire dynamic of the side,” BFC coach
Albert Roca said. BFC striker Sunil Chhetri — he put on a glum face at the media interaction — was blunt in his assessment of a mediocre season so far. The most important reason why we have not been doing well is that we are not getting the goals. “In every match, we have at least three shots on goals and 10 attempts. But we have not been able to convert. If we don’t convert, we won’t win. Simple as that. It is important to get a fresh start in a new tournament,” Chhetri said. A confident Bagan forward Darryl Duffy stated, “We created chances in the previous match, and we hit the target frequently. “I hope we can do more of the same again, but perhaps move the ball faster in the final third. If we can execute that, we can take a one or two goal lead into half-time.”
from a thrown in. Any notion of a Maharashtra fightback quickly evaporated when Mizoram went ahead in the sixth minute of the second half. The hard-working La Fakuzula did the spadework as he cut through the defence from the right flank and squared the ball from near the touchline for Lal Sangbera to tap in. Mizoram thereafter played percentage football and concentrated more on pre-
serving its lead, while the Maharashtra attack lacked ideas or teeth to trouble the defence. On Tuesday, defending champion Services begins its campaign against West Bengal while Chandigarh takes on Meghalaya. The results: Mizoram 3 (Lal Chhuanawma 6, Lal Fakuzula 43, Lal Sangbera 51) bt Maharashtra 1 (Rahul Das 12); Punjab 2 (Manvir Singh 16, Rajbir Singh 60) bt Railways 1 (Rajesh Soosanayakan 59).
Constantine leads India training Press Trust of India Mumbai
The Indian national team got down to business as the players had their first training session ahead of an international friendly and the AFC Asian Cup Qualifier. The team went through the paces under the watchful eyes of head coach Stephen Constantine at the Andheri Sports Complex. Reflecting on the session, Constantine said, “For me these are the best moments when you are able to train with the national team. “It’s the thing which I do best. “The national team obviously is the mirror of a nation’s football and I think in these last two years we have
managed to make the nation proud. We still have a long way to go but our objective will be to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019.” 15 players have joined the national camp and the Indian players selected from ILeague clubs Mohun Bagan and JSW Bengaluru FC will be joining their teammates on Wednesday after their AFC Cup encounter. “It will be the same what I expect from them every time they come to the camp. At the camp its hard work, professionalism, and enthusiasm,” Constantine added. The team is currently gearing up for its international friendly against Cambodia in Phnom Penh on March 22.
Wavering mind let Lalith Babu down Obsession to cross the 2,600 barrier in FIDE ratings proved detrimental “Somehow I let the rating issue overshadow my game plan. For the past three years, I was aiming to cross the milestone and that impacted my performance,” he said. The Indian Oil Corporation officer said the obsession to cross the 2,600 barrier had caused him more disaster and the lacklustre show in Moscow had brought him down the rating ladder by around 20 points. “I am going to keep the 2,600 issue aside and concentrate on playing mistake-free, quality chess,” said a confident Lalith.
J.R. SHRIDHARAN VIJAYAWADA
Indian Grandmaster Musunuri Lalith Babu’s mission to Moscow was not a memorable one as he finished the Aeroflot Open, considered one of the world’s toughest chess tournaments, with just three points out of a possible nine.
Grey areas Abhijeet Gupta and Vidit Gujarati were the only Indian GMs who were able to muster 5.5 points from the tournament which saw Moscow’s GM Vladimir Fedoseev emerging victorious with seven points and thus Lalith is eager to iron out grey areas that he identified during the gruelling sojourn. “Interestingly, my grey areas are not technical, but more to do with the mind. My poor CM YK
Rectiication work: M. Lalith Babu, who has been in indiferent form of late, is working on improving his mental fortitude. FILE PHOTO
mind management took me down,” admitted the GM, who now has a FIDE rating of 2593. The 24-year-old agreed that
he was preoccupied with the urge to cross the 2,600 mark that has been eluding him for more than three years.
Mind management Lalith, a Commonwealth gold medallist, said it was time he concentrated on effective mind management and his interaction with senior players, sports
administrators, coaches and colleagues had helped him identify solutions. “Just like the body, the mind also needs rest and relaxation. A rehabilitated and rejuvenated mind enhances your performance and helps you achieve quick decision-making on the board. “I was just doing the reverse — giving more work to my mind,” he said. “I am taking yoga and meditation a bit seriously.” For the dejected GM, the recent Chessbase online blitz chess tournament has come as a boon. In less than three hours, he emerged the champion getting full points out nine rounds against some top GMs. “This victory is significant as it has boosted my sagging confidence,” said Lalith. A BG-BG
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18 LIFE
BENGALURU
THE HINDU
TUESDAY, MARCH 14, 2017
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IN BRIEF
Bringing up a pharaoh Second part of ancient Egyptian statue, believed to be of Ramses, lifted from site
Zee TV bags satellite rights to 2.0 for ₹110 crore
Associated Press Cairo
Retirees knit sweaters for chilly chickens MILTON (MASSACHUSETTS)
Sweaters for chickens? It sounds like a joke, but a plucky group of retirees in suburban Boston is keeping poultry warm during the winter. The chickens seem to like their sweaters as “egg production has jumped noticeably since the birds began wearing them.” AP
Thai turtle that gulped 1,000 coins on the mend BANKOK:
A sea turtle in Thailand dubbed 'Piggy Bank' for swallowing nearly 1,000 coins took swimming lessons on Monday as she embarked on a rehabilitation programme following the removal of the treasure trove. The coins, weighing 5 kg, were taken from her stomach in a seven-hour operation. AFP
The three-tonne torso of a massive statue that may be of one of Egypt’s most famous pharaohs was lifted on Monday from mud and groundwater where it was recently discovered in a Cairo suburb. The torso was pulled by a crane as dozens of workers supported it while being moved to land where it was covered by a white fabric. The first part of the colossus a large portion of the head was pulled up Thursday. The Ministry of Antiquities said the statue’s parts would be assembled at the Egyptian museum in central Cairo, where they would be pieced together and restored before being moved to the yet-to-open Grand Egyptian Museum near the Giza Pyramids. The statue is likely of Ramses II, who took the throne in his early 20s and ruled Egypt for 60 years
Talks on with Amazon Prime and Netlix for digital rights Udhav Naig Chennai
Colossal task: Egyptian workers raise the statue, recently discovered by a team of GermanEgyptian archeologists, in Cairo. AFP more than 3,000 years ago. He is credited with expanding ancient Egypt’s reach as far as modern Syria to the
east and modern Sudan to the south. The expansion earned him the title “Ramses the Great.” The statue was
discovered last week by a German-Egyptian archaeological team in the Cairo district of Matariya.
Actor Rajinikanth’s ₹350 crore film, 2.0, directed by filmmaker Shankar and scheduled for release on Deepavali this year, has joined the ₹100-crore club even before the release of the film’s official teaser. On Monday, Lyca Productions’ creative head, Raju Mahalingam, confirmed that the Tamil, Hindi and Telugu satellite rights have been sold for ₹110 crore to Zee Television. “The ₹110 crore deal is only for the film’s satellite rights. We are in talks with Amazon Prime and Netflix for the film’s digital rights,” said Raju Mahalingam. Despite the huge price tag, what is also interesting is that Zee Television has been given the rights only
‘Napalm Girl’ photographer Nick Ut to retire The Pulitzer Prize-winner was only 21 when he clicked the iconic image in a Vietnamese village
Excitement builds: A promotional poster for 2.0
for a period of 15 years. “Usually films are sold outright. We were able to sell it at such a price for 15 years,” he said. While the theatrical rights of the film are yet to be sold, it is believed that the Hindi rights alone could be sold for over ₹ 100 crore. “The negotiation for Tamil theatrical rights hasn’t even star-
Bereaved mother starts a seat-belt campaign Press Trust of India
Associated Press Los Angeles
Paris Mayor declares €1.5 million ‘war on rats’ PARIS
The Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, has said the city would spend €1.5 million to rid the French capital of rats. Under Ms. Hidalgo 10-point plan aimed at keeping the city’s streets clean, additional public ashtrays would be installed and new rat traps would be placed near garbage collection points. AFP
It would seem all but impossible to sum up one of the most distinguished careers in photojournalism in only four words, but that’s just what Nick Ut does when he says, “From hell to Hollywood.” And the Pulitzer Prizewinning photographer, who is retiring this month after 51 years with The Associated Press, has the pictures to prove it, the most famous being a stunning black-andwhite image from the Vietnam War that’s come to be known simply as “Napalm Girl”.
Fine lens: Nick Ut with the ‘Napalm Girl’ photograph in a frame in the background. AP
It’s the photo of a terrified child running naked down a country road, her body liter-
Japan’s decluttering guru has an app for tidying up
ally burning from the napalm bombs dropped on her village just moments before
Mr. Ut captured the iconic image. Mr. Ut was only 21 when he took that photo on June 8, 1972, then set his camera aside to rush 9-year-old Kim Phuc to a hospital, where doctors saved her life. He would go on to take literally tens of thousands more over the next 44 years, including images of practically every Alist celebrity who walked a Hollywood red carpet or entered a courtroom on the wrong side of the law. Warren Beatty once called Ut aside at a Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony to spend 30 minutes talking about the “Napalm Girl” photo. After
learning he was the one who took it, actor Joan Collins opened a bottle of champagne for Ut during a shoot at her home. “That picture changed my life. It changed Kim’s life,” he says of the pair’s chance meeting in a dusty Vietnamese village called Trang Bang. “I cried when I saw her running,” Mr. Ut once told an AP reporter. “If I don’t help her if something happened and she died I think I’d kill myself after that.” Now a 53year-old wife and mother of two who lives in Canada, Kim Phuc remains Mr. Ut’s close friend.
ted yet. Post-production is in full swing. The Japanese and the Chinese rights will be sold separately,” he said. Filming was wrapped up last year with the exception of minor shots. “Shankar and team will go to the U.S. to join the team that is working on post-production,” Mr. Mahalingam said.
London
An Indian-origin woman, who lost her 12-year-old son in a car crash in Britain nearly two years ago, has launched a ‘seat belt campaign’ in his memory to highlight the importance of wearing seat belt while driving. Ms. Sukhi Atwal has released CCTV footage of the crash in May 2015 to show the moment her son, Amar, was hit by a speeding taxi and flung because he was not wearing a seat belt. He died in a Birmingham hospital days later. “We will never get over the loss of Amar. He was
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Home is where mom is
such a bright, intelligent, fun-loving boy. He was an innocent victim of the crash and there is now a huge hole which can never be filled in our lives,” his mother told the ‘Birmingham Mail.’ “Wearing a seatbelt could have saved his life, at the very least it would have given him a better chance of survival. We can never get Amar back, but I just hope by encouraging both young and old to try and be as safe as possible, they won’t have to go through the heartbreak we have,” she said. Police have made a video featuring images of Amar and Ms. Sukhi that will be used during school talks.
Pokémon hunter lands in court Agence France-Presse Moscow
Kondo wants to knock on more doors around the world Reuters Austin (Texas)
The newest tool for internationally acclaimed organising guru Marie Kondo in her global battle against messy rooms is an app. “My goal is to have as many people as possible who can get the job done in tidying up,” she said in an interview after speaking at a recent technology conference in Austin, Texas. “To achieve that, I’m implementing various measures, one of which is the app to support decluttering,” said the woman whose name has been turned into a verb by followers who clean out clutter at home and say that they have “Kondoed” their closets. Ms. Kondo is known to global audiences for her best-selling books, including The Life-Changing Magic of
Marie Kondo.
REUTERS
Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing, which has been translated from Japanese to more than 40 languages, with more than 7 million copies sold worldwide. The app called “KonMari” was launched a few months ago and gives out organising tips, allows people to share before and after pictures, and provides a platform for her followers to socialise.
Ms. Kondo’s who earned a spot on Time magazine’s ‘100 Most Influential People’ list in 2015 call themselves Konverts. But her critics see her as an irritating presence with a cult-like following, harping on the glaringly obvious need to be better organised. Ms. Kondo has made an art of folding clothes into optimal shapes for storage and her KonMari disciples see her words as a philosophy about seeking a happier life by putting their homes in order. Ms. Kondo spends 80% of her time outside of Japan, but with the help of technology, she wants to knock on the doors of more homes around the world. “Tidying up is a broad theme that is relevant to anyone in any country,” said Ms. Kondo.
Russia put a blogger on trial on Monday on charges of offending religious believers and fomenting hatred by posting a video online that showed him hunting Pokémon in a church. Ruslan Sokolovsky, 22, faces up to seven years in prison over the YouTube video of him zapping Pokémon on a smartphone in a Russian Orthodox church in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg. The video which Mr. Sokolovsky posted in August 2016 has been viewed more than 1.6 million times on YouTube. He has pleaded not guilty in the case which has been compared to that of the Pussy Riot punk art group, whose 2012 “punk prayer” in a Moscow cathedral led to two-year prison terms. Safe space: A baby elephant stands close to its mother during Thailand’s national elephant day celebration in the ancient city of Ayutthaya on Monday. The elephants were given a bufet of bananas, pineapples and melons on the occasion. REUTERS
Archaeological ind turns metro station site into museum 2,000 years of history unearthed in central Algiers, where authorities have shown that development and history can go hand-in-hand named Martyrs Square after the country’s hard-won independence in 1962. Experts had believed that few pre-colonial artefacts remained on the site, but many of the ruins turned out to be surprisingly well-preserved, Mr. Stiti said.
Agence France-Presse Algiers
An archaeological treasure trove on the site of a planned metro station in central Algiers is set to become a museum, opening a window on 2,000 years of history. The site, close to the Algerian capital’s UNESCO-listed casbah, has yielded remains from the city’s Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman and French periods.
Spectacular view “It was spectacular,” said archaeologist Kamel Stiti, codirector of the excavations. “In one look, you could see two millennia of Algiers’ history.” The remains, on the location of a Roman port town called Icosium, were discovered in 2009 when the Ministry of Culture ordered surveys along the planned metro line. CM YK
Set in stone: Material found at an archaeological site in Martyrs Square in Algiers. Archaeologists have since discovered coins, weapons, a public building paved with 5th century mosaics and a large 7th century Byzantine necropolis containing sev-
eral dozen graves. They also found parts of the Ottoman-era Es Sayida mosque, which French authorities flattened in 1831, shortly after their conquest
AFP
of the North African country. The colonial government put a public square in its place and called it King’s Square and later, Government Square. It was re-
Where there is a will The 3,000-sq.m. site was deemed so important that the municipality adapted its plans for the metro station, a move Mr. Stiti said was a first in Algeria. The site will now become a museum incorporated into the station, which, in turn, will take up less than half its planned 8,000 sq.m. The tunnel will go as deep as 35 metres in order to work around the remains. The Martyrs Square station is set to open in November, part of an extension to the main metro line inaugur-
ated in October 2011. The museum will open shortly afterwards, covering 1,200 sq.m. and organised chronologically. Some of the remains will be exposed to a depth of over seven metres. “In Rome or Athens, museums present particular periods, whereas here the visitor can embrace the whole history of Algiers over 2,000 years,” Mr. Stiti said. He said the project showed that archaeology is not incompatible with development. “It gives added value. One accompanies the other without slowing it down,” he said. “So as not to delay the work, which would add costs to the subway project, archaeologists have worked hard, including on public holidays.” The National Archaeological Research Centre
(CNRA) and France’s National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP) have been working on the dig since 2013. More than 150 people of different nationalities and specialities have taken part, giving young Algerian archaeologists valuable opportunities to work on an important excavation. Aicha, 70, who lives near the site, said she is looking forward to seeing the museum open. “There will be no more hassle because of the building work, and I’ll be able to travel by subway and visit the museum with my two granddaughters,” she said. Said, a 50-year-old high school history teacher, said he hopes there will be guided visits for young people “so they can take ownership of our city’s several millennia of history.”
No offence meant “I didn’t aim to offend anyone,” Mr. Sokolovsky said in court, adding that he was ready to apologise if anyone was offended. He said he created the videos “with critical and polemical aims”. The Russian Orthodox Church has accused him of blasphemy over the stunt in a church built on the spot where the Bolsheviks shot Russia’s last tsar and his family in 1918. “I didn’t ask these people to watch my video clips,” Mr. Sokolovsky told journalists. “Who is the Russian Orthodox Church that I have to publicly repent in front of them?” Mr. Sokolovsky spent several months in prison ahead of the trial, though he is now under house arrest. Amnesty International has condemned the charges against him as “farcical” and called him a prisoner of conscience. He also faces a separate charge of illegally possessing a “spy pen” with a recording function. In court, he said that the pen is widely available and unsuitable for covert recording. A BG-BG
