Imran Khan's party forges ahead in Pakistan polls - WordPress ...

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thursday, july 26, 2018 Delhi

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Cong. MP Rajeev Gowda

throws a challenge to

Finance Minister

page 10

Hardik Patel, aides get

two-year jail term in

Visnagar rioting case

page 11

President Trump

calls Chinese trade

practices “vicious”

page 12

Four Indian batsmen

notch up half-centuries

in warm-up game

page 15

Pakistan’s fl��amboyantcricketerturnedpoliticianImran Khan’s Pakistan TehreekeInsaf (PTI) was leading in 105 seats, while itsmain rival Pakistan MuslimLeagueNawaz (PMLN) wasway behind with 71 seats inan election marred by adeadly suicide attack and allegations of manipulationsby the powerful military.

Hours after polling beganfor the general elections, anIslamic State suicide bomberblew himself up outside apolling station in Bhosa Mandi area of Balochistan’s provincial capital, Quetta, killing 31 people, includingpolicemen.

In separate incidents, fourpersons were killed in pollrelated violence. Clasheserupted between rival parties outside several pollingstations, reports said.

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) of former presidentAsif Ali Zardari was leadingin 39 seats, a sign indicatingthat he could be a ‘kingmak

er’ in case of a hung parliament, according to media reports.

According to the latesttrends available for 267 ofthe National Assembly’s 272seats, independents wereleading in 23 seats.

Polling was postponed intwo constituencies after thedeath of candidates in terrorattacks.

Meanwhile, PMLN spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb raised objectionsover the counting processand alleged that her party’sagents were being forced outfrom the polling stations inseveral constituencies.

“The counting process isbeing carried out behindclosed doors and changesare being made to Form45,”

she alleged while talking toreporters.

PPP’s Maula Bux Chandioalso claimed that his party’sagents were not allowed inside polling stations in Badinwhile Pak Sarzameen Partyleader Raza Haroon madethe same claim about thetreatment meted out to theiragents at diff��erent pollingstations across Karachi.

Opposition Leader in Senate Senator Sherry Rehmanalso raised objections overthe counting process.

Responding to the allegations, the provincial electioncommissioner in Punjab saidpolitical leaders should refrain from levelling such allegations without having anysubstantial proof.

The Muttahida MajliseAmal (MMA) — an alliance oftraditional religious partiessuch as JamaateIslami ledby Qazi Hussain Ahmed, andJamiat UlemaeIslamFazlheaded by Maulana FazlurRehman — was leading in sixseats each.

Imran Khan’s party forgesahead in Pakistan pollsNawaz Sharif ’s party trails in voting marred by bomb attack, clashes

Press Trust of India

Islamabad

Awaiting their turn: Women queuing up to cast their vote at apolling booth in Peshawar on Wednesday. About 106 millionpeople were registered to vote in the election. * REUTERS

DEFEAT ‘INIMICAL FORCES,’ SAYS

PAK. ARMY CHIEF A PAGE 12DELHI METRO A 6 PAGES

The protest by the Marathas, seeking reservation for their community, turned violent onWednesday also, with police personnel being attacked in Thane and Mumbai. Police usedbatons and teargas shells to break up the mobs. * VIBHAV BIRWATKAR (PAGE 7)

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Rage over quota

The Madras High Court onWednesday set aside an order, passed by a specialcourt for CBI cases here onMarch 14, discharging former Union Minister DayanidhiMaran, his elder brother Kalanithi Maran of Sun TV andfi��ve others from the BSNL illegal telephone exchangecase.

Justice G. Jayachandranallowed a revision petitionpreferred by the CBI andconcurred with AdditionalSolicitor General G. Rajagopalan that the accusedought not to have been discharged when there was suffi��cient material to prosecutethem.

‘Erroneous decision’He held that the lowercourt’s decision was “erroneous, illegal and perverse.”The only opinion any “judicial mind” could form, onthe basis of the chargesheetand supporting documentsfi��led by the prosecutingagency, was that “there aregrounds to presume all theseven accused have commit

ted off��ence,” the judge saidand directed the specialcourt to frame charges andcomplete trial within 12months. The judge alsoquestioned counsel’s arguments that the former Telecommunications Ministerhad rendered yeoman service to the nation by takingthe broadband facility to every nook and corner, butwas being hounded by theCBI for political reasons.

Unconvinced by the submission by senior counsel,representing Mr. DayanidhiMaran, Justice Jayachandransaid: “For the sake of rhetoric, one may make such sub

missions but the records before us speak otherwise.Accused3 (Dayanidhi Maran) by virtue of the offi��ce,might have been instrumental in popularising thebroadband facility. It doesnot mean that he can claimprivilege of unlimited usageof that facility for him, forhis brother and his businessestablishment free of cost.”

“In a democratic country,an elected representativecan never think like that.Nor the judicial system tolerate and entertain suchthought,” the judge said.

Madras HC sets aside their discharge by a special court

Mohamed Imranullah S.

CHENNAI

The judge said the lower court’s decision to free the Maranswas “erroneous.”

Marans to face trial in illegalphone exchange case

CONTINUED ON A PAGE 10

Three minor sisters allegedly died due to “malnutrition/ starvation” in east Delhi’s Mandawali on Tuesday.

Doctors in the preliminary postmortem report said“the cause of death is malnutrition/starvation and itscomplication”, confi��rmedPankaj Singh, DCP (East). Amedical board has been

formed to reconduct thepostmortem to confi��rm theexact cause of death andsubmit its report.

He added that no foulplay was suspected as no injury marks were found ontheir bodies. Mansi (8), Shikha (4) and Parul (2) werefound dead at their oneroom house in Mandawali.

Three minor sistersdie of ‘starvation’STAFF REPORTER

NEW DELHI

A 19yearold sportspersondelivered a fi��vemontholdfoetus inside the lavatory ofa fl��ight from Guwahati toNew Delhi on Wednesday.

The police said they wereinformed about the discovery of a foetus by an AirAsiamanager and that offi��cersboarded the aircraft once itlanded in Delhi. The womanwho had delivered the foetus had boarded the fl��ightfrom Guwahati, a police offi��cer said.

The foetus was found inthe lavatory and was detected by one of the fl��ight attendants. Security and medical

teams were informed as thefl��ight was scheduled to landat the IGI airport.

“The foetus has been sentfor postmortem and the woman has been sent for medical examination. No case hasbeen registered. We have informed the woman’s familymembers about the situation,” said a senior police offi��cer.

AirAsia, in its statement,said that a newborn wasfound lifeless and abandoned in one of the lavatories when the aircraft wasbeing prepared for landing.A suspect has been heldback by the police for further investigation, it added.

Foetus found in lavatory of

Delhibound AirAsia fl��ightSTAFF REPORTER

NEW DELHI

DETAILS A DELHI METRO PAGE 1

A CBI special court on Wednesday sentenced to deathby hanging two police offi��cers for torturing to deathUdayakumar, 26, at the Fortpolice station here in 2005.

Special judge Nazar handed down the capital punishment to K. Jithukumar andS.V. Sreekumar, both seniorcivil police offi��cers. Udayakumar’s 67yearold mother,Prabhavathi Amma, was incourt when the judge passedthe sentence. The accusedwept when they realised thegravity of the order.

The judge said he foundno mitigating circumstancesto reduce the quantum ofpunishment. “Law enforcersare the protectors of life andproperty, and not death

dealers.” Here, he said, theyhad killed an innocent intheir custody. “They deserveno clemency,” the judgesaid, ruling that the crimefell in the rarest of rare category that deserved death.

The court also sentencedtwo retired SPs , K. Haridasand E. K. Sabu, and one serving Deputy Superintendentof Police, Ajith Kumar, tothree years in prison for having attempted to cover upthe crime by registering afalse case of theft againstUdayakumar, suppressingevidence and falsifying station records.

The accused had apprehended Udayakumar from anearby public park alongwith one Suresh Kumar, ahistorysheeter, on September 27, 2005.

Two to hang in Kerala for

death of man in custody3 others sentenced to 3 years in jail

Special Correspondent

Thiruvananthapuram

No action based on draftNRC: Centre to AssamNEW DELHI

The Home Ministry has

advised Assam that no action

should be initiated by the

administration or the police

based on the draft National

Register of Citizens to be

published on July 30.

NEWS A PAGE 11 DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

NEARBY

The sixdayold indefi��nitestrike by transporters acrossthe country has pushed upthe prices of vegetables andfruits and started impactingfactory operations at someplaces, according to tradersand industry associations.

“The prices of fruits andvegetables and other itemshave gone up by 12% to 15%and some people have started resorting to black marketing,” said Ashok Patel, president, Fort Merchants’Association in Mumbai.

No fresh suppliesHe added that no fresh supplies had arrived for about aweek. “This time, the tran

sporters are serious and thegovernment must look intotheir grievances. They areharassed by corrupt government offi��cials. The government is fully aware of theproblems of the transportersbut does not want to listen,”said Mr. Patel.

Mohan Gurnani, chair

man, Chamber of Associations of Maharashtra Industry & Trade, said businessesacross the State and thecountry’s fi��nancial capitalwere beginning to feel thepinch.

“The situation is gettingbad. Stocks are depleting,”Mr. Gurnani said.

The All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC),which is organising thestrike, said it would continuethe stir until all demandswere addressed.

In Bengaluru, wage labourers who help load andunload farm produce in thecity’s wholesale marketssaid their daily income hadplummeted.

Nationwide truckers’ strikehurts manufacturing tooPrices of vegetables, fruits see a jump of 12% to 15%


MUMBAI

Out of action: Trucks parkedat a terminal in Bengaluru onWednesday. * PTI

CONTINUED ON A PAGE 10

Don't get imprisoned by hate, says RahulNEW DELHI

“You can fi��ght someone with

all your might but hate is a

choice,” Congress president

Rahul Gandhi said at the

launch of senior journalist

Karan Thapar’s book Devil’s

Advocate: The Untold Story

on Wednesday.

NATION A PAGE 7DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

https://t.me/pdf4exams https://www.estore33.com/ https://t.me/TheHindu_Zone_official

A ND-NDE

NOIDA/DELHI THE HINDU

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Eyeing a fi��fth consecutiveterm in Odisha, where Assembly polls will be held simultaneously with the LokSabha elections in 2019,Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal president Naveen Patnaik seems to have alreadygot into the poll mode to stayahead of the OppositionCongress and the BJP.

Mr. Patnaik has started inaugurating roads, bridges,hospitals and other projectsin diff��erent parts of the Stateto guard againstantiincumbency.

Irrigation projectHe inaugurated a medium irrigation project in Sundargarh district on Wednesday.The project will provide irrigation cover to 5,750 hectares in Gurundia and Baneiblocks.

On Tuesday, the Chief Mi

nister launched a massiveplantation drive under the‘Green Mahanadi Mission’ inBoudh and Subarnapur districts to rejuvenate the river.

On Thursday, he is scheduled to inaugurate themuchawaited Gurupriyabridge that would link themainland with 151 villages inthe cutoff�� areas in Malkangiri district. The bridge is likely to open road link to the

last Maoist bastion in theState.

Under the ‘Ama Gaon,Ama Vikas’ (our village, ourdevelopment) programmethat was launched on thebirth anniversary of late BijuPatnaik on March 5, Mr. Patnaik sanctioned 21,960 projects to be implemented at acost of ₹��547.74 crore in 101 of314 blocks in the State by directly interacting with thevillagers through videoconferencing.

Apart from strengtheningthe BJD at the district levelby inducting many prominent leaders from other parties, Mr. Patnaik has alsoreached out to the peoplethrough the newlystarted‘Ama Mukhyamantri, AmaKatha’ (Our Chief Minister,our issues) programmewhich involves discussion onissues of importance.

He also announced a banon the use of plastic bags,

polythene and singleuseplastic in the State startingGandhi Jayanti through thisprogramme on July 10.

Three-party StateAs Odisha virtually continues to remain a threepartyState since 2009, when theBJD snapped ties with theBJP, the leaders of the Congress and the BJP are busyfi��ghting a perception battle –each trying to fi��nish secondin the electoral race in the future. While the Congress isstruggling to regain thestrength it lost due to infi��ghting, the BJP has been working hard to occupy the second position in Odishapolitics since it fi��nished second in the Zilla Parishadpolls in 2017. The Congressmay remain in the secondspot if it manages to have analliance with the Left andother small parties in theState before the polls.

Eye on Assembly polls, Naveengoes on an inauguration spree The Biju Janata Dal leader announces schemes to reach out to people

Prafulla Das

BHUBANESWAR

Naveen Patnaik * FILE PHOTO

A gruesome incident of honour killing of two teenagedlovers that took place morethan a month ago in Odisha’sKoraput district has nowcome to light.

The mutilated bodies ofthe victims were found onthe railway track betweenKotpad and Kusumi stationson June 21. Initially it seemedlike a case of suicide, but police investigation revealedthat the girl’s family hadmurdered the duo andthrown the bodies on thetrack. Both the victims wereminors studying in the sameschool.

Five persons, includingthe girl’s father and herbrother, were arrested by thepolice on Tuesday.

According to Koraput Superintendent of Police Kunwar Vishal Singh, the girl’sfather had met him on July10 and alleged that hisdaughter had been murdered. However, investigation and interrogation of thearrested persons revealeddetails of the gruesome plot.

Same schoolBoth victims were residentsof Mundaguda village andstudents of Kusumi HighSchool. They were allegedlyin a romantic relationshipwhich was opposed by thegirl’s family.

The police said her familymembers had initiallyplanned to kill the boy but later decided to eliminate bothof them.

On June 20, the fi��ve locat

ed the youngsters togetherand dragged them to a deserted jungle area by the sideof a railway track near Kusumi. According to policesources, the father, brotherand three cousins of the girlwarned the teenaged loversto snap their ties or face direconsequences. When theyoungsters refused, theywere attacked with sticksand axes.

According to the autopsyreport, the boy received injuries from sharpedged weapons on his legs and hands.He died on the spot. The girlwas strangulated with herchunri, the police said.

To make it look like suicide, their bodies werethrown on the nearby railway track that were later runover by passing trains.

Five held for honour killing Girl’s family killed the duo, threw bodies on rail tracks: police

Staff Reporter

BERHAMPUR

Two more members of aninterState gang of armedrobbers were nabbed bythe police in an exchangeof fi��re at Sanaghati onNH16 in Ganjam districton Wednesday.

They were identifi��ed asRajesh Reddy of Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh,and Susant Pradhan ofGanjam district. Cash totalling ₹��2.5 lakh, two revolvers, three rounds of liveammunition and a carwere seized from them.Both were injured in thefi��ring. According to SDPORamesh Sethi, two policepersonnel were also injured in the exchange offi��re.

Two moreinter-Staterobbers held

Staff Reporter

BERHAMPUR

West Bengal Transport Minister Subhendu Adhikarisaid on Wednesday that theState government is toyingwith the idea of reintroducing doubledecker buses inthe city with a new feature —these buses would be opentop like those in London.

There are plans to ply fourto fi��ve doubledecker busesinitially and the TransportSecretary was sent to London to do a survey, Mr. Adhikari said in the Assembly.

He later told reportersthat these buses would haveno roof like those in Londonand that it was not decidedyet whether these buseswould be for tourists visitingthe city.

The Transport Ministersaid bid quotes would also

have to obtained from thebus manufacturers.

Doubledecker buses usedto ply in the city earlier butthe services were phasedout.

During the Question Hoursession, Mr. Adhikari saidduring Left Front rule, the

State transport corporationshad a total of 2,500 buses. Atpresent, the number hasgone up to 3,200 despitewithdrawing old and ricketybuses from the roads.

He said helicopter services would start at Purulia andTarapith from Kolkata soon.

Will be open-top vehicles like those in London: MinisterPRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Kolkata

A double-decker bus in London. * FILE PHOTO

Double-decker buses mayreturn to Kolkata roads again

The West Bengal government on Wednesday proposed to build crematoriafor animals to prevent disposal of dead bodies in Ganga and other waterbodies,said a statement by the Water Resources and Ganga Rejuvenation Ministry.

The proposal came upduring the review of projects under Namami Gangeprogramme in Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal byWater Resources and GangaRejuvenation Minister NitinGadkari.

He instructed the contractors to speed up thework and complete projectsby December 2018. He also

urged the offi��cials of theCentral and State governments to resolve all issuesthat are obstructing thework in any way.

Mr. Gadkari said that he,along with his Deputy Minister Satya Pal Singh, will inspect the sites during thecoming months and monitor the progress of theprojects.

The Minister also reviewed the progress of 20projects under the Patna Riverfront Developmentwhich is nearing completion. So far, 16 ghats, 4.8 kmpromenade and a buildingfor audiovisual programmes have already beenconstructed under the Patna RFD.

“The Union Minister appreciated the proposal ofthe West Bengal offi��cials tobuild crematoria for animalsto prevent the disposal ofbodies of animals into theriver Ganga and other waterbodies,” a statement said.

Disposal of dead bodiesof animals is one of the reasons for pollution in Ganga.

In West Bengal, the ongoing projects to create Sewage Treatment Plant (STP)capacity of 80 MLD and under tendering projects for204 MLD STP capacity werereviewed by the Minister.

The work on 15 ghats andfour crematoria are underprogress and offi��cials wereinstructed to complete it byDecember 2018.

Bid to prevent disposal of bodies in the Ganga: GadkariPress Trust of India

New Delhi

Bengal proposes crematoria foranimals to check pollution

Two incidents of rape of minor girls have come to thefore in Darjeeling over thepast three days. Five persons have been arrested inconnection with thesecases.

On Sunday, a 49yearoldman allegedly assaulted athreeandahalfyearoldgirl. The accused was arrested on the basis of acomplaint by the child’smother and sent to judicialcustody.

In another incident, fourpersons were arrested inconnection with the rape ofa 16yearold girl at Phulbariin Darjeeling on Saturday.The accused, all in their30s, were arrested on Sunday by Darjeeling policeand remanded in 14 days ofjudicial custody. Darjeelingpublic prosecutor PranayRai said that all the accusedhave been booked under relevant sections of the Protection of Children fromSexual Off��ences Act. Hesaid that though there areno fasttrack courts in Darjeeling, he would try to getthe trial completed in thesecases as early as possible.

Two minorgirls raped inDarjeeling


Kolkata

EAST


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THE HINDU NOIDA/DELHI

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DELHI Timings

Thursday, July 26

RISE 05:39 SET 19:16

RISE 18:14 SET 04:11

Friday, July 27

RISE 05:40 SET 19:16

RISE 19:00 SET 05:01

Saturday, July 28

RISE 05:41 SET 19:15

RISE 19:41 SET 05:52

‘Committed to protecthuman life, cows’LUCKNOW

Days after a man was

allegedly lynched in

Rajasthan by cow vigilantes,

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister

Yogi Adityanath said his

government was “equally

committed” to protecting

human life and to the cow. PTI

IN BRIEF

Doctors’ strike entersthird day in M.P.BHOPAL

Health services in Madhya

Pradesh remained affected on

Wednesday as the strike of

junior doctors attached to

government hospitals

continued on the third day,

even as the High Court

termed it “illegal”. PTI

At least four alleged cattlesmugglers transporting adead buff��alo were assaultedby a mob here in the earlyhours of Wednesday, thepolice said.

Villagers allegationVillagers alleged that themen were caught in villageNagla Mandhata while theywere transporting the buff��alo’s carcass in a pickup van.

They were, however, rescued by the police who intervened in time, HasayanSHO Jitendra Kumar said.

‘Animal poisoned’The owner of the buff��alo alleged that the animal hadbeen poisoned by the four

cattle smugglers.

Tough actionSuperintendent of PoliceSushil Ghule said tough action would be initiated if itwas found that they werecattle smugglers.

The incident, which tookplace before dawn in Hathras district, about 200 kmfrom Delhi, assumes signifi��cance as it came against thebackdrop of a backlash overthe death of a man attackedby cow vigilantes inRajasthan.

Centre’s advisoryThe Centre had put out anadvisory on Tuesday asserting that States need to takemeasures against such incidents.

‘Cattle smugglers’assaulted by mobPolice managed to rescue the quartetHathras (U.P.)

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

The Haryana government onWednesday moved the Supreme Court seeking earlyhearing in the matter relatedto its row with Punjab overthe SatlujYamuna Link (SYL)canal.

The matter was mentioned before a Bench comprising Chief Justice DipakMisra and Justices A.M.Khanwilkar and D.Y.Chandrachud.

The Bench asked Haryana’s counsel to approach theapex court registry for listingof the matter before an appropriate Bench.

The apex court had earlier granted the Centre time

to explore the possibility ofan amicable solution to theSYL canal row between Punjab and Haryana.

On July 11, the apex courtsaid it was obligatory for

Punjab and Haryana to respect and execute its orderson the SYL canal issue.

The controversial 1981 watersharing agreement cameinto being after Haryana wascarved out of Punjab in 1966.For eff��ective allocation ofwater, the SYL canal link wasconceptualised and bothStates were required to construct their portions withintheir territories.

Haryana constructed theportion of SYL canal in itsterritory. However, Punjab,after the initial phase,stopped the work, leading toa spate of litigations.

In 2004, the Congress government in the State cameout with the Punjab Termi

nation of Agreement Actwith the intention to terminate the 1981 agreement andall other pacts relating tosharing waters of the Raviand Beas rivers.

The apex court had fi��rstdecreed Haryana’s suit in2002 asking Punjab to honour its commitments withregard to water sharing inthe case.

Verdict challengedPunjab had challenged theverdict by fi��ling an originalsuit that was rejected in2004 by the Supreme Courtwhich asked the Centre totake over the remaining infrastructure work of the SYLcanal project.

Haryana moves SC seekingearly hearing in SYL caseCourt had earlier granted Centre time to work out an amicable solution

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

New Delhi

Haryana Chief MinisterManohar Lal Khattar. *

The police have arrestedtwo persons in connectionwith a Dalit man’s murderin Rajasthan’s Barmer district last week. The 22yearold victim, Kheta Ram, wasbeaten to death at Ramsarby the relatives of a married Muslim woman withwhom he reportedly hadan illicit aff��air.

While two of the accused, Pathai Khan and Anwar Khan, were arrested,seven others were detained on suspicion of involvement in the crime.

A hunt was launched fortracing the main suspect.Kheta Ram’s postmortemreport has revealed that hewas severely beaten andthe attackers had tried tostrangulate him.

Two held forDalit man’smurder


JAIPUR

Indian National Lok Dal leader Abhay Singh Chautala onWednesday blamed the ruling BJP government for thedeteriorating law and ordersituation in Haryana.

Mr. Chautala, who is alsothe leader of the Oppositionin the State Assembly, expressed concern over the reported rise in narcotics tradein the State.

“A large section of the society have fallen victim tothe drug abuse, particularlythe youth. The drug menaceis on the rise due to the connivance of the administra

tion with the drug peddlers,”he alleged.

Mr. Chautala said incidents of rape cases acrossthe State only goes on to reveal that there's no fear of

law. “It is shameful thatneither a young child of sixyears nor a 60yearold woman is safe in the State,” hesaid, adding that his partywould forcefully raise the is

sue of deteriorating law andorder situation in the coming Vidhan Sabha session.

The INLD leader alsofl��ayed State's Agriculture Minister O.P. Dhankar for drawing a parallel between PrimeMinister Narendra Modi andlate Chaudhary CharanSingh and late ChaudharyDevi Lal with regard to serving farmers' interest.

“While both the leadershad honestly worked for thewellbeing of the farmersand villages, Mr. Modi hasonly tried to befool farmersby making false claims aboutthe increase in MSP,” allegedMr. Chautala.

INLD to raise law and order situation Abhay Chautala expresses concern over reported rise in narcotics trade SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

CHANDIGARH

INLD leader Abhay Chautala with party leaders addressingthe media in Chandigarh on Wednesday. * AKHILESH KUMAR

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesdaysaid that the Justice RanjitSingh (retd) Commission report on the sacrilege cases inthe State will be tabled in thenext session of the Assemblyand legal action will be takenagainst all those found guiltyby it.

Capt. Amarinder said thatthe government had so farreceived the fi��rst part of thereport, which was under legal scrutiny. He said the remaining parts are expectedsoon and once received, thecomplete report would be

tabled, along with the actiontaken report, in the ensuingsession of the Vidhan Sabha,according to an offi��cialstatement.

The Justice (retd) RanjitSingh Commission had sub

mitted the fi��rst part of his report, pertaining to Bargarisacrilege incident and theBehbal Kalan fi��ring incident,along with some other important cases, to the ChiefMinister on June 30.

SAD panel reportThe commission was set upin April 2017 by the Chief Minister to investigate the various incidents of sacrilegeof the Guru Granth Sahiband other religious texts, after rejecting as "inconclusive" the fi��ndings of the ZoraSingh Commission set up bythe previous Shiromani Akali DalBJP government.

‘Sacrilege report in next session’Legal action will be taken against the guilty: Amarinder

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

CHANDIGARH

Punjab Chief MinisterAmarinder Singh. *

Days after a Chandigarhbased 22yearold woman alleged sexual assault by atleast 40 men over four daysin the Morni Hills area of Haryana’s Panchkula district,the police have arrested herhusband under the ImmoralTraffi��c (Prevention) Act.

Panchkula DCP RajenderKumar Meena on Wednesday said that the Special Investigating Team, whichwas set up for probing thecase, found informationduring the probe that ledthem to suspect the role ofthe victim’s husband.

“The probe revealed thatthe victim, her husband andthe accused had telephonic

conversations during theperiod of the incident. Wehave arrested the husbandand invoked several sections under the ImmoralTraffi��c (Prevention) Act besides Section 370 of theIPC,” said Mr. Meena.

Kept captive“The victim’s husband wasproduced in the court todayand sent to police custodyfor three days. We are probing the matter from all possible angles,” he added.

The woman in her complaint had alleged that shewas kept captive at a guesthouse in Kaimbwala villagein the Morni area and rapedby at least 40 men in turnsbetween July 15 and July 18.

Gang-rape victim’shusband in custody40 men had allegedly assaulted her


CHANDIGARH

A court in Punjab’s Mansadistrict on Wednesdayawarded death sentence to aman in connection with therape and murder of a sixyearold girl, describing thecase as “rarest of rare”.

The court of AdditionalSession Judge Jaspal Vermaheld accused Kala Ram aliasKala Singh guilty of the abduction, rape and murder ofthe girl in year 2016, saidJaswant Singh Grewal, thevictim’s counsel.

The judge observed in theorder that the faith of the so

ciety by such a “barbaricact” of the convict gets totally shaken and its cry for justice becomes loud and clear.

“The off��ence was not only inhumane and barbaricbut it was a totally ruthlesscrime of rape followed bycoldblooded murder. It isan act of taking advantage ofabsolute innocence. Thesexually assaulted minor ofsix years could not haveshown any kind of resistance. The rape of minor girlchild is nothing but a monstrous burial of her dignityin the darkness,” the judgewrote in the order.

Man sentenced todeath for child rape Punjab court terms it ‘rarest of rare’

Press trust of india

Chandigarh

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

Regd. DL(ND)-11/6110/2006-07-08 ● RNI No. TNENG/2012/49940 ● ISSN 0971 - 751X ● Vol. 8 ● No. 177


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SOUTH

No ‘arjitha sevas’ duringlunar eclipse in TirumalaTIRUMALA

The TTD has dispensed with

the performance of all

daytime ‘arjitha sevas’ on July

27 in connection with the

lunar eclipse. Even though

the celestial event, which is

termed as the longest lunar

eclipse in the century, is

scheduled to take place

between 11.54 p.m. and 3.49

a.m., the hill temple, as is the

precedence, will be closed six

hours prior to its occurrence.

With this, the main doors of

the temple will be closed at 5

p.m. on July 27 and reopened

only at 4.15 a.m. on July 28.

IN BRIEF

After Nipah, kala azar nowworries Kozhikode officialsKOZHIKODE

Around two months after the

Nipah outbreak at

Sooppikkada in the

Changaroth grama panchayat

of Kozhikode district, a man in

the same hamlet has been

diagnosed with kala azar or

Leishmaniasis. According to

sources, the 42yearold

infected person had been

under treatment at a private

hospital in Kochi for fever.

Leishmaniasis was diagnosed

after detailed tests were

conducted.

One more Kerala priestaccused of rape gets bailKOCHI

The Kerala High Court on

Wednesday granted bail to Fr.

Job Mathew, a priest of the

Malankara Orthodox Syrian

Church and second accused in

the case relating to

molestation and rape of a

woman. Justice Raja

Vijayaraghavan, while

granting the bail, said no

purpose would be served by

keeping the priest in judicial

custody further, as it

appeared that his presence

was not required for an

effective investigation.

The prohibition on the entryof women of a certain age into the Sabarimala temple isnot based on misogyny, butthe celibate nature of the deity, senior advocate K. Parasaran, appearing for the NairService Society, told the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

Addressing a ConstitutionBench, led by Chief Justice ofIndia Dipak Misra, he disagreed with the court’s observations about extendingArticle 25 (2) (b) — opening oftemples to women in thename of social reform andwelfare.

‘Not gender-based’The Article holds that thefreedom of conscience andreligion will not stand in theway of any law mandatingthe “throwing open of Hindureligious institutions of a public character to all classes

and sections of Hindus.”Mr. Parasaran said that

unlike what the court believes, this Article stoodagainst the caste system. Itwas meant to allow Hindusof all castes into temples. Itwas a weapon against theyesteryear practice of denying “lower caste Hindus” entry into temples. The Articledoes not extend to women. Itdoes not mention gender. Inshort, the basis of the Articleis the abolition of castebased exclusion and not genderbased exclusion.

Countering the court’s

earlier observations that itwould lift the ban on women’s entry into the Sabarimala temple on the basis ofArticle 25(2)(b), Mr. Parasaran explained that this Article speaks of “Hindu religious institutions.” Had theArticle meant women, itwould have encompassed allother religions. The fact thatit mentions only templesmeans it is only intended toabolish the castebased discrimination.

Interestingly, Mr. Parasaran pointed out how Article15(2) of the Constitution,

which prohibits discrimination on the basis of caste,gender and religion, doesnot include religious institutions on its list of “publicplaces.”

Article 15 (2) says no citizen should be restricted access to public places. Religious institutions are missingfrom the rather long list ofpublic places mentioned inthe Article, he said, countering the Bench’s observationsthat the Sabarimala templewas a public place and women could not be denied entry there.

Urging the court to listento the voices that want toprotect tradition, Mr. Parasaran said the Lord Ayyappa atthe Sabarimala temple is a“Naishtika Brahmachari”and devotees who come tooff��er him worship should appear to be brahmacharis.Hinduism, he said, is a faithof tolerance and not discriminatory.

The women in Kerala arehighly educated and follow amatriarchal system. Theychoose to accept the prohibition out of respect for theageold tradition, he said.

‘Sabarimala ban not based on misogyny’‘Restriction is dueto the celibatenature of deity’

Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI

Bone of contention: A fi��le picture of the Sabarimala temple.

Giving his party MPs a patfor exposing what he calledthe double standards of theBJP on the Special CategoryStatus (SCS), Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday exhorted them tocontinue the fi��ght both inParliament and outside anddismissed the allegationthat he compromised on theSCS as false propaganda.

In a teleconference withthe MPs, Mr. Naidu said theTDP could muster the support of all parties and thatby moving the noconfi��

dence motion had broughtthe BJP’s reneging on itscommitments into sharp focus at the national level.

He told the MPs not tolose any opportunity tohighlight the plight of A.P.

Staff Reporter

Vijayawada

Continue fi��ght forSCS, Naidu tells MPs

N. Chandrababu Naidu

Various Hindu organisationshave called a dawntoduskhartal in Kerala on July 30,asking the State governmentto change its stand on theissue of women’s entry into

the Sabarimala temple. “Ifthe court allows women toenter Sabarimala, we willstop them at Pampa. Thosewho support entry ofwomen are looking atpolitical gains,” the groupssaid.

Hindu outfi��ts planhartal on July 30 Staff Reporter

Thrissur

Rajesh D. Bangera, the 10thperson to be arrested for themurder of journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh, allegedly imparted weapontraining to youth recruitedby Amol Kale, a key suspect,and is believed to be one ofhandlers of suspected gunman Prashant Waghmore.

“He trained Kale’s boysand showed them how tohandle guns and fi��re at asafe range for eff��ective results,” said a source fromthe Special InvestigationTeam (SIT), which is probing the case. Bangera, 50,works as a second divisionassistant in the EducationDepartment in Mangaluru.He was arrested from his hometown in Madikeri. He wasin possession of two licensed fi��rearms. “He is anactive member of rightwingHindu outfi��ts and would attend meetings where he often expressed his ideology,which hinged on the beliefthat Hinduism had to be safeguarded. He would instigate people to take uparms,” the source added.

It was through thesemeetings that he met Kale,who is from Pune in Maharashtra. According to investigators, the two reportedlybonded over their commonideology and soon Bangerastarted training people. Heallegedly helped Kale identify potential recruits.

‘To protect ideology’The SIT is yet to confi��rmwhether the ammunitionBangera provided to Kalewas used to kill Gauri.

“We still have to ascertainwhether Waghmore wastrained by Bangera,” said anSIT offi��cer. “What we doknow is that Bangera, on theinstructions of Kale, con

ducted weapon training sessions in forests in DakshinaKannada, Kodagu, Belagaviand Vijayapura districts. Over the last two years, theytrained people in Goa, Puneand in other parts of Maharashtra,” he added.

After they were trained,the youth were sent back totheir native towns and askedto ‘hibernate’ till they werecalled for a job. “Money wasnot the driving force, as people were brainwashed tothink that they were protecting their ideology.”

Plot to kill Bhagavan According to the SIT, Kalewas the chief handler of thecell that funded and provided weapons for the murderof Gauri. The police have also linked him to the plot toassassinate Mysurubasedrationalist and author K.S.Bhagavan.

At the time of his arrest,they recovered a diary withtwo hitlists containing 26names of people across thecountry, who were ‘identifi��ed’ for their perceived antiHindu stand.

Apart from Gauri andProf. Bhagavan, the list included Jnanpith awardeeGirish Karnad and Veerabhadra Chennammalla, aHindu seer who led themovement for the antisuperstition bill in Karnataka,SIT sleuths claim.

He was arrested from Madikeri


Bengaluru

Gauri Lankesh

‘Rajesh impartedweapon training’

The Centre on Wednesdaydenied any discriminationwhile allocating relief assistance to the States in dealingwith natural disasters, andsaid that the amount allocated had seen a quantumjump under the present government.

Responding to a debateon the fl��ood situation andother natural disasters, Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said that in the

case of Kerala, the Centrecould consider enhancingthe assistance after the Central government team submitted its report. The debatewas initiated by P. Karunakaran of the CPI(M), who alongwith K.C. Venugopal of theCongress, demanded thatthe fl��oods in Kerala be declared a natural calamityand that the Centre enhancethe assistance over andabove that stipulated by theState Disaster Relief Fund.

Mr. Rijiju said that the

funds were allocated inkeeping with norms, but added that while he “cannotchange the relief items…there has been a quantumjump in the Central assistance”. “We will considerenhancing the relief afterthe Central team submits itsreport,” said Mr. Rijiju.

He said Kerala was facingan unprecedented fl��ood situation, and an interministerial team, including a JointSecretary of the Home Ministry, would visit the State.

‘Amount allocated for natural disasters has seen a quantum jump’


NEW DELHI

No discrimination ingiving aid, says Centre





NATION

Digvijaya to presenthimself before police BHOPAL

Peeved at being called anti

national, senior Congress

leader and former Madhya

Pradesh Chief Minister

Digvijaya Singh will be

appearing before the police

here on Thursday. Mr. Singh’s

supporters across the State

have begun to arrive in

Bhopal and they will

accompany him. PTI

IN BRIEF

Rawat pays tribute toKargil martyrs DEHRADUN

Uttarakhand Chief Minister

Trivendra Singh Rawat on

Wednesday paid tribute to the

soldiers who laid down their

lives in the 1999 Kargil

conflict. Kargil Vijay Diwas is

observed on July 26 every

year, marking successful

conclusion of the war with

Pakistan in the KargilDrass

sector of Jammu and Kashmir

in 1999. PTI

Bihar cop held foraccepting bribePATNA

A police officer was today

caught redhanded while

accepting a bribe of ₹��10,000

in Bihar’s Nalanda district, a

release issued by the

Vigilance Department said

here. Madan Yadav, a sub

inspector of Ekangar Sarai

police station in Nalanda

district, had sought ₹��20,000

from a local to help him in a

case, it said. PTI

Haryana govt. constitutesinter-district council CHANDIGARH

The Haryana government has

constituted an interdistrict

council, under the

chairmanship of Chief

Minister Manohar Lal Khattar,

to identify the developmental

priorities of the State. The

interdistrict council will

prepare district specific action

plans. PTI

The draft Coastal Regulation Zone notifi��cation of2018 needs to be scrappedand replaced with a comprehensive Coastal RightsAct, in consultation withtraditional coastal communities, says the NationalFishworkers Forum.

In its current form, thedraft notifi��cation woulddisplace more than 3,800fi��shing villages and overforty million fi��shworkers, itsaid.

In a meeting with parliamentarians from coastalStates on Wednesday, NFFgeneral secretary T. Peterpointed out that the earlierCRZ notifi��cations issued in1991 and 2011 have beenamended a total of 38times.

“Those amendmentswere for the benefi��t of industry or socalled ecotourism. It was never for thebenefi��t of those who actually depend on the coastfor their life and livelihoods,” he said, addingthat the latest amendmentof the CRZ 2011, notifi��edearlier this month, aimedto bring in many of the features of the draft CRZ 2018even while that notifi��cationis still in the stage of collecting public feedback.

Actual law “It is time to move awayfrom notifi��cations that canbe amended by the whimsof the executive, and bringin an actual law that willtake into account the needsof all stakeholders, especially fi��shworker communities, and be debated by ourrepresentatives in Parliament,” added NFF secretary Pradip Chatterjee.

Commerce and IndustryMinister Suresh Prabhupromised that the government was committed tofi��shworkers’ wellbeing.

Enact coastalrights law:fi��shworkers


NEW DELHI

The family of Brajesh Thakur, one of the 10 accused arrested in connection withthe alleged rape of 29 minorgirls living in a Staterunshelter home in Muzaff��arpurdistrict of Bihar, has alleged“conspiracy” in the entireepisode.

Thakur’s NGO, Seva Sankalp Evam Vikas Samiti, ranthe shelter home, BalikaGrih, from a building adjacent to his palatial residencewhere he lives with his family. It is from the same building that a vernacular newspaper, Pratah Kamal,owned by Thakur, comesout every morning. The arrests have not aff��ected thepublication of the daily.

No names in FIRThe campus wore a deserted look when The Hindu

visited it on Wednesdaymorning. Four Sports Utility Vehicles were parked onthe premises and an Alsatian dog was keeping awatch on every strangerentering the house.

Inside, Thakur’s daughter Nikita Anand was trying toput up a brave front. “It’s alla big conspiracy against myfather who is being mentallyand physically tortured. Hehas been in social service fora long time and is paying theprice for it. Is my father’sname there in the FIR,” sheasked.

The FIR (No. 33/2018)fi��led on behalf of the StateSocial Welfare Departmentat the women police stationdoes not name anyone. It isbased on a report of Tata Institute of Social Sciences,which, under the caption“Grave Concern”, states thatgirls of the shelter homecomplained of “violence and

being sexually abused”.“Do you think one would

be involved in such a heinous crime, if it has at allhappened, in a building adjacent to his house where hiswife, daughters and sonlive,” asked Ms. Anand. “It’sall being done under intensemedia pressure. In such a situation nobody listens to us. Irequest the district administration to conduct an impartial probe,” she said.

Infl��uential manA number of people in Muzaff��arpur, the commercialcapital of north Bihar, toldThe Hindu that Thakur has

been an infl��uential personwith strong political contacts. His father, late RadhaMohan Thakur, had foundedPratah Kamal in the early’80s. Thakur carried on hisfather’s legacy and, peoplesaid, used the power of thenewspaper, empanelled bythe State government, to cultivate his contacts in politicaland bureaucratic circles.

In 2000, he contested Assembly polls from Kudhaniconstituency on a Bihar People’s Party ticket, then anNDA ally, but lost. He latergot into social service andfounded the NGO which, in2013, was given the contract

of managing the aff��airs of theshelter home for girls.

In the Balika Grih building, a portrait of late RadhaMohan Thakur and a BiharHuman Rights Commissioncalendar was seen hangingon a wall in the verandah.The July page of the calendarhad a photo of three younggirls aiming for the sky. Ironically, on the fl��oor above, 29of the 42 inmates of the shelter home were allegedlyraped. All of them have nowbeen shifted to shelterhomes in other districts. Anhour later, the campus was

buzzing with activity aspolicemen, media personsand politicians crowdedthe premises.

Politicians turn upLeader of the Oppositionin the Assembly TejashwiYadav, along with Congress and HindustaniAwam Morcha leaders, inspected the shelter homeas Ms. Anand and her maternal aunt watched withdesolate eyes from a corner of their house.

The caravan of leadersleft the campus in a few

minutes. At the CircuitHouse, a few kilometresaway, Mr. Yadav looked agitated. “What’s with the Nitish Kumar government?Why can’t it hand over thecase to the CBI when UnionHome Minister RajnathSingh is ready for it,” heasked, with a ready answer:“It seems the governmentwants to shield someoneclose to them in the case.”

District Senior Superintendent of Police HarpreetKaur insisted the accusedhave been arrested based onthe evidences against them.“Nobody will be spared iffound involved in the case inany way,” she added.

It’s all a conspiracy, saysBrajesh Thakur’s familyDaughter of shelter home rape case accused says he’s paying price for social service

Amarnath Tewary

Muzaffarpur

The Muzaff��arpur shelter home where 29 minor girls wereallegedly raped. (Below) Leader of the Opposition in BiharAssembly Tejashwi Yadav visiting the place on Wednesday.

* RANJEET KUMAR

Weather WatchRainfall, temperature & air quality in select metros yesterday

Temperature Data: IMD, Pollution Data: CPCB, Map: INSAT/IMD (Taken at 09.30 Hrs)

Forecast for Thursday: Heavy/very heavy rain is likely at isolatedplaces over Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, east Rajasthan,Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur,Mizoram, Tripura, Gangetic West Bengal, coastal & south interiorKarnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala

city rain max min city rain max min

Agartala.............10.6.... 32.0.... 25.2 Kozhikode .............4.9.... 31.2.... 23.3

Ahmedabad...........18.... 31.5.... 25.2 Kurnool .................0.2.... 34.6.... 24.8

Aizwal ..................11.... 29.7.... 12.5 Lucknow.................16.... 31.7.... 25.8

Allahabad ............6.1.... 29.8.... 26.8 Madurai................... —.... 39.1.... 26.4

Bengaluru ............0.4.... 28.8.... 20.2 Mangaluru.............0.6.... 29.3.... 23.0

Bhopal...............19.7.... 25.8.... 23.0 Mumbai.................1.4.... 31.0.... 26.6

Bhubaneswar ..........2.... 33.8.... 27.4 Mysuru..................0.4.... 29.9.... 19.1

Chandigarh ............ —.... 33.2.... 27.6 New Delhi ............... —.... 32.2.... 28.0

Chennai ...............0.2.... 37.1.... 28.6 Patna ...................... —.... 33.0.... 25.7

Coimbatore............ —.... 31.3.... 22.5 Port Blair ..............1.1.... 30.3.... 26.2

Dehradun............... —.... 30.7.... 24.9 Puducherry.............. —.... 38.4.... 25.8

Gangtok.............30.4.... 21.3.... 17.8 Pune .....................0.4.... 26.8.... 21.9

Goa ....................... —.... 30.5.... 25.4 Raipur ..................... —.... 30.0.... 25.3

Guwahati .............5.6.... 35.5.... 25.5 Ranchi.................22.4.... 27.6.... 22.6

Hubballi................. —.... 27.0.... 21.0 Shillong.................0.4.... 24.2.... 17.8

Hyderabad ............. —.... 33.4.... 23.9 Shimla...................1.1.... 22.8.... 16.9

Imphal...............15.2.... 30.6.... 22.0 Srinagar .................. —.... 30.9.... 18.9

Jaipur ................85.4.... 31.1.... 24.6 Trivandrum ...........6.2.... 31.3.... 24.0

Kochi.................23.4.... 29.8.... 23.4 Tiruchi .................... —.... 37.8.... 27.4

Kohima..............18.8.... 24.0.... 18.0 Vijayawada .............. —.... 35.8.... 27.8

Kolkata................0.4.... 31.4.... 28.3 Visakhapatnam .....24.1.... 31.2.... 25.0

(Rainfall data in mm; temperature in Celsius)

Pollutants in the air you are breathing Yesterday

CITIES SO2 NO2 CO PM2.5 PM10 CODE

In observation made at4.00 p.m., Satna, MadhyaPradesh recorded anoverall air quality index(AQI) score of 255indicating an unhealthylevel of pollution. Incontrast, Singrauli, MadhyaPradesh recorded a healthyAQI score of 21

Ahmedabad ...... 25 .71 27 ....87 .....— ....*

Bengaluru......... 13 .21 72 ....46 ...59 ....*

Chennai ............ 16 .30 43 ....70 .....— ....*

Delhi ................ 33 .40 66 ..109 .156 ....*

Hyderabad ........ 10 .13 11 ....38 ...74 ....*

Kolkata............. ..4 .50 40 ....55 ...64 ....*

Lucknow........... ..9 .21 78 ....64 .....— ....*

Mumbai ............ ..— ..— 59 ..... — .....— ....—

Pune................. 36 .13 55 ....41 ...58 ....*

Vishakhapatnam 11 .47 41 ....71 .118 ....*

Air Quality Code: * Poor * Moderate * Good (Readings indicate average AQI)

SO2: Sulphur Dioxide. Short-term exposure can harm the respiratory system,

making breathing difficult. It can affect visibility by reacting with other air

particles to form haze and stain culturally important objects such as statues

and monuments.

NO2: Nitrogen Dioxide. Aggravates respiratory illness, causes haze to form by

reacting with other air particles, causes acid rain, pollutes coastal waters.

CO: Carbon monoxide. High concentration in air reduces oxygen supply to

critical organs like the heart and brain. At very high levels, it can cause

dizziness, confusion, unconsciousness and even death.

PM2.5 & PM10: Particulate matter pollution can cause irritation of the eyes,

nose and throat, coughing, chest tightness and shortness of breath, reduced

lung function, irregular heartbeat, asthma attacks, heart attacks and

premature death in people with heart or lung disease





CMYK

NATION

IndiGo grounds fi��veA320 neo aircraftMUMBAI

Low-cost carrier IndiGo on

Wednesday said it had

grounded five A320 neo

aircraft for an engine change.

These planes were expected

to be back in operation only

in the second half of August,

when engine manufacturer

Pratt & Whitney would supply

spares, it said. The airline did

not mention whether flight

services have been disrupted.

IN BRIEF

When it comes to the NilgiriMountain Railway (NMR) —which fi��gures in UNESCO’slist of World Heritage sites —Southern Railway seems toprefer pride to profi��t. Andthe latest in its eff��orts to addto the allure of the train service is the addition of a refurbished 25yearold coach,which promises an uber coolride for the passengers.

The coach (NMR87) hasbeen crafted by the GoldenRock Workshop in Ponmalai,Tiruchi, with worldclassamenities without its heritage value being compromised. To start with, the aesthetics of the coach has beenimproved by fi��tting it withseats similar to those that areused in the Uday AC doubledecker trains. Themed vinylwrappings, chairs with reclining facility, LED illumination, twofl��oor luggage racksand decorative vinyl stickerson the exteriors symbolisingthe charm of the NMR aresome of the new features toimprove the look and feel ofthe coach. The makeover hascome at a cost of ₹��1.8 lakh.

The coach, offi��cials believe, will attract more tourists to the Nilgiris, a perennial favourite given itsmagnifi��cent hills, valleys and

waterfalls, not to mentionthe scenic tea estates, richfl��ora and fauna and pleasantweather.

As part of value addition,the Udhagamandalam, Coonoor and Mettupalayam stations had been identifi��ed anddeveloped as heritage stations, offi��cials said. The stations, served by the NMR,will also get a facelift, withlandscaping, new benchesand view points. These stations have already gonethrough a makeover with alteration to the buildings andan improved circulatingarea, gardens, platforms andapproach roads. Further, for

the benefi��t of passengers,WiFi has been provided atUdhagamandalam, Coonoorand Mettupalayam.

The Heritage NMR museums at Mettupalayam andUdhagamandalam are also ahit among tourists. Plans areafoot to open ‘Coachteria,’ arestaurant, in one of thecoaches at Udagamandalam,besides catering stalls at theUdhagamandalam and Hillgrove stations.

Chartered servicesThe NMR trains are operatedby oilfi��red XClass steam locomotives between Mettupalayam and Coonoor. Acced

ing to the demands of railenthusiasts, 56 summer special services christened as‘Heritage Steam Voyage’were operated between Mettupalayam and Coonoorfrom March 31 to June 24 atweekends.

Southern Railway is readyto off��er chartered services bya coalfi��red steam locomotivehauled train betweenMettupalayam and Coonoorfor corporates and tour operators.

In order to increase services, in the fi��rst phase, twoadditional steam locomotives and 15 coaches are getting ready at the ICF, Avadi.

Nilgiri mountain train gets a cool, new lookThemed vinyl wrappings, reclining chairs, LED illumination and twofl��oor luggage racks among added facilities

V.S. Palaniappan

COIMBATORE

As part of the initiative topromote tourism throughthe hill railways, SouthernRailway is looking at a slewof innovations, besides newservices. It is also considering an increase in the faresto sustain the services.

Apart from the NilgiriMountain Railway (NMR),

the other four hill railwaysare the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR); theKalka–Shimla Hill Railway(KSR); the Kangra ValleyRailway (KVR); and theMatheran Light Railway(MLR). The NMR fare is lessthan those of the other hillrailways and the last farehike was four years ago, offi��cials said.

Four years on, NMRgears up for fare hikeMove to sustain the hill train service


COIMBATORE

A daylong bandh in Mumbaiby Maratha groups demanding reservation was called off��midday on Wednesdayamidst incidents of violencein the city.

Protesters attacked buses,indulged in arson and threwstones at local trains in several parts of Maharashtraduring the bandh. The MumbaiPune and MumbaiGoahighways were blocked forhours by the protesters.

Policemen injuredThree policemen, includinga Superintendent of Police,were injured in stone throwing. Several protesters werearrested for indulging in violence, the police said.

However, Virendra Pawar

of the Maratha Kranti Morcha, saw a conspiracy in theviolence. “We smell a political conspiracy as none of ouractivists was part of these incidents of vandalism. All theplaces where we announcedprotests were peaceful. Violence took place in areas

where protests were not announced and by people whoare not part of any of our organisations,” he said at apress conference in Dadar.

“The Maratha communityfaced insult and injustice forthe last two years. We organised silent marches. We are

the people who protect others. But this government hasforced stones and sticks intoour hands. We are left withno option but to protest,” hesaid. The speakers criticisedthe government for its “insulting remarks” against thecommunity.

While the bandh in Mumbai was called off��, the Morcha leaders said they wouldappeal to the organisers ofbandh at Thane and NaviMumbai to call off�� the bandhin their area.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis askedthe protesters to come forward for talks. He said his government was committed toproviding reservation butthe issue was pending beforethe Bombay High Court.

(With PTI inputs)

Maratha stir ends, but not violence Protesters attack buses and trains, block highways; Morcha sees conspiracy

Maratha groups protesting on the Sion-Panvel Highway nearKalamboli on Wednesday. * YOGESH MHATRE

Staff Reporter

Mumbai

A private pathological laboratory in eastern Assam’sGolaghat town had given apregnancy report to a manwho had gone for urine test.

Doctors had advised Jogeswar Bora, a 42yearoldfarmer on the outskirts ofthe town, to get his urinetested for a health complication. He did the test underthe Chief Minister’s FreeDiagnostic Services, which

was launched in 16 of Assam’s 33 districts in 2017, forall people, irrespective oftheir Above Poverty Line/Below Poverty Line status.

Under the scheme, theState government paid private hospitals or laboratoriesfor conducting medical testssuch as CT scan, Xray, bloodand urine tests.

Mix-up, says laboratoryThe Golaghat lab handed Mr.Bora the report after getting

his urine tested at the civilhospital.

“I had no idea what thereport contained until adrug store owner explainedit to me,” Mr. Bora said.

He then went to a privatemedical practitioner whotold him that it was a negative report of pregnancy,and “something somewheremust have gone wrong”. Thelaboratory said Mr. Bora’scase could have been causedby a mixup.

special correspondent

GUWAHATI

Assam farmer goes for urinetest but gets pregnancy report

What might have been alegup for book publishersto help reduce their carbonfootprint, might just endbeing a weakannouncement by thegovernment.

The GST Council hasannounced some ‘relief’ forpublishers in the form ofreduction in GST on ebooksales — from 18% to 5%. Thereduction is applicable onlyto books that have a printversion as well.

The announcement hasleft publishers perplexedbecause there appears to belittle clarity on what themove means for theindustry.

Most publishers,concerned with spirallingcosts, voice scepticism.Thomas Abraham,managing director, HachetteIndia, says, “It would havemade more sense if therather draconian 12% newGST levied on royalties hadbeen abolished, and the 12%GST on printing materialwas reduced, back to 5%.Both have come as a doublewhammy that have raisedcosts for publishers with norespite, as input tax credit isalso not available for books,because books are GSTexempt.”

Sanjiv Gupta, COO,Penguin Random House,seems to concur withAbraham. “In India,typically the cost of anebook is the same as theprint book. It’s a welcomestep but they should reducethe tax on printing of books.We had VAT earlier and thatwas 4% to 5% and someprinters were charging itand others were not. Ebooks worldwide havetouched 35% of the totalbusiness but it has comedown to 25%. In India, it hasstayed from 5% to 7%.”

So will the new GST help?There are many

questions. Will just oneprinted copy suffi��ce for abook to qualify for thereduced GST? And will itapply to fi��ction and nonfi��ction?

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Publishers scepticalover GST relief

Gauri Vij

Deborah Cornelious

Mumbai

Lower tax rate comes with a rider

E-readers are popular, but e-books have weak sales in India. * AP

OPS, Nirmala shouldresign, says Stalin CHENNAI

Following Tamil Nadu Deputy

Chief Minister O.

Panneerselvam’s revelation

that a military air ambulance

was used to airlift his brother

from a hospital in Madurai,

the Leader of the Opposition

and DMK’s working president

M.K. Stalin has demanded the

resignation of Mr.

Panneerselvam and Union

Defence Minister Nirmala

Sitharaman.

Stalin scotches rumourson Karunanidhi’s healthCHENNAI

DMK working president on

Wednesday sought to put at

rest news concerning the

health condition of party

leader M. Karunanidhi, saying

that they were “only

rumours”. “He is taking rest

after changing the

tracheostomy tube last

week,” he told reporters.

Man hacks son to death; arrested A 65-year-old farmer was

arrested on Wednesday for

allegedly killing his 42-year-

old son who was proving to

be a hindrance in continuing

his illicit relations with his

daughter-in-law in

Aurangabad district, the

police said. The accused

chopped the body of his own

son into pieces after allegedly

killing him with an axe at their

farm near Sillod village on

July 14, an official said. PTI

Mekhail Bora, son of Indrani Mukerjea, the main accused in the Sheena Boramurder case, told the Central Bureau of Investigationcourt that he learnt aboutSheena’s death from newschannels and if he hadstayed back in Mumbai hetoo would have died.

On the third day of hischief examination by CBIprosecutor Kavita Patil, Mr.Bora said that Ms. Mukerjea had come to meet himwhen he was he was hospitalised in Guwahati. Shetold him that she wantedhim to come to Mumbaiwith her but he refused.

After repeated coaxingfailed, she told him shewould stop giving him money. When he still refusedto join her, Ms. Mukerjealeft for Mumbai.

After that incident, Mr.Bora kept calling and messaging Ms. Mukerjea to atleast take care of her parents and his grand parents, Upendra Kumar Bora and Durga Rani Bora.

He told Judge J.C. Jagdalethat if he would have beenin Mumbai he would not bealive to give this testimony.Mr. Bora then identifi��edphotographs in courtwhich included childhoodphotos of Sheena and him,Ms. Mukerjea and theirfather, Siddhartha Das.

Bora: would have died if Istayed in city


Mumbai

“You can fi��ght someonewith all your might but hateis a choice. It is an activechoice that you make. Ifthere is even one thing thatour religion teaches us, it isthat you absolutely cannotget imprisoned by hatred,”Congress president RahulGandhi said on Wednesday.

Mr. Gandhi was speakingat the launch of senior journalist Karan Thapar’s bookDevil’s Advocate: The UntoldStory, which was unveiledby former Prime MinisterManmohan Singh.

“The atmosphere in India today, in my perspective, is coloured with a lotof hatred, anger and frus

tration,” he said. Emphasising the need to

eliminate “hate” and instead “fi��ght” confl��ictingviews, Mr. Gandhi said, “Imight disagree with Mr. Advani and I can fi��ght him on

every single inch but I donot need to hate him. I canactually hug him and fi��ghthim. I will take on the BJP,all of us will, and they willfi��ght us, but we do not needto hate them.”

Referring to the recentincident where he huggedPrime Minister NarendraModi in Parliament, Mr.Gandhi said: “Now whenever I come across BJPMPs, they sort of take twosteps back as they think Iwill hug them. But it is notsuch a bad thing.”

The event, moderated bysenior journalist RajdeepSardesai, saw Mr. Thaparrecount his experienceswhile interviewing severalleaders.

You can fi��ght, but don’t getimprisoned by hate: Rahul‘Prevailing atmosphere coloured by hatred and frustration’

Shinjini Ghosh

New Delhi

Rahul Gandhi speaking at abook launch in Delhi. * PTI





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EDITORIAL

Africa’s global outreach wasonce driven by its engagement with the developed

world. But this is changing as notonly are African countries seekingother partners but emerging powers in Asia are also growing in selfconfi��dence and seeing this as anopportunity to tap into. As the visits to Africa by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping this weekunderscore, both India and Chinaare shaping new narratives of engaging with Africa. Ahead of the10th Brazil, Russia, India, China,South Africa (BRICS) Summit in Johannesburg ( July 25), Mr. Modi visited Rwanda and Uganda whileMr. Xi’s itinerary included Senegaland Rwanda, with a stopover inMauritius.

Taking up the batonThis is Mr. Modi’s second trip tomainland Africa after his visit toMozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya in 2016. In the lastfour years, there have been 23 outgoing visits to Africa by the Presi

dent, the Vice President and thePrime Minister. While Uganda hasseen Prime Ministeriallevel visitsfrom India in 1997 and 2007, Mr.Modi’s visit to Rwanda is the fi��rstever Prime Ministerial visit to thefastdeveloping East African nation with which India elevated itsties to that of a strategic partnership last year.

Mr. Xi’s visit, his fi��rst to Africaafter being reelected in March,comes weeks after the fi��rst ChinaAfrica Defence and Security Forum last month in Beijing, whichsaw a host of African defence ministers and army chiefs in attendance.

For both China and India, bolstering economic ties are of paramount importance though Africa’strading patterns with the Asiangiants still remain rather traditional; Africa exports raw materialsand imports manufactured goods.While IndiaAfrica trade grewfrom $11.9 billion (20052006) to$62.66 billion (20172018), it is stillno match to China, which is nowAfrica’s largest trading partner($166 billion in 2011). The Indianprivate sector has yet to take fulladvantage of the investment climate in Africa.

Diff��erences in approachWhile trade and investments areonly part of the story, Indian engagement lays emphasis on thelong term — enhancing Africa’s

productive capacities, diversifyingskills and knowledge, and investing in small and mediumsized enterprises. China’s approach ismore traditional — resourceextraction, infrastructure development and elitelevel wealth creation. Both India and China arelaying emphasis on infrastructureand connectivity projects in priority regions of the world as the nextphase of economic globalisation.In China’s ambitious Belt and RoadInitiative (BRI), East Africa and theIndian Ocean Region are key focusareas.

India’s crossborder connectivity with Eastern African countriesand Indian Ocean island countriesis a natural extension of New Delhi’s desire to foster more robustpeopletopeople connections, increase investmentled trade andbusiness opportunities, andstrengthen bilateral partnerships.India is also seeking to reinvigorate its cultural links with EastAfrica under the rubric of Project‘Mausam’, an initiative of the Ministry of Culture, which seeks torevive lost linkages with the IndianOcean ‘world’ (East Africa, theArabian Peninsula, the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia). India’s African crossborder connectivity has three primary forms:maritimeport connectivity underthe government’s Security andGrowth for All in the Region (SAGAR) and the SagarMala initiative;

digital connectivity under the PanAfrican eNetwork project on teleeducation and telemedicine(launched in 2004), and air connectivity in the form of directfl��ights from Indian cities to Africandestinations.

India, Japan and many Africannations have also launched a trilateral initiative, the Asia AfricaGrowth Corridor (AAGC), to develop ‘industrial corridors’, ‘institutional networks’ for the growth ofAsia and Africa, and to promotedevelopment cooperation. Wherethe AAGC is a consultative initiative between three equal partners(India, Japan and Africa), the BRIis more of a topdown, unilateralapproach to secure Chinese interests, which would eventually traverse continental Asia to reachEurope.

Military tiesAfrica features signifi��cantly in thesecurity and geostrategic considerations of both India and China.

India’s security and defence cooperation with Africa is mainly limited to maritime cooperation in theform of antipiracy operations off��the coast of Somalia, deploymentof Indian forces to UN peacekeeping missions in Africa, regularshipping visits, and jointnaval patrolling in the Western IndianOcean Region. These are mainlywith Tanzania, Kenya, Mozambique, and the Indian Ocean island countries Mauritius, the Seychelles, Madagascar and Comoros.

China supports Africa’s militarytransformation by providingequipment, advanced technology,and independent capacitybuilding in security — and the ChinaAfrica Defence and Security Forum is an important development.

It is inevitable that as the centreof gravity of global politics andeconomics shifts to the IndoPacific region, emerging powers like India and China will begin to play alarger role in Africa. There are signifi��cant diff��erences in their approaches, and the challenge forthem would be to develop partnerships with African nations in a waythat makes Africa a part of theirgrowth stories to.

Harsh V. Pant is Director, Studies,

Observer Research Foundation (ORF),

New Delhi and Professor of International

Relations at King’s College London.

Abhishek Mishra is a Research Assistant

with ORF’s Strategic Studies Programme

Diff��erent messages, diff��erent methodsHow India and China are developing their engagements with Africa

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Harsh V. Pant &

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more letters online:

www.hindu.com/opinion/letters/

corrections & clarifications:

In a Business page story “Iran becomes India’s No. 2 oil supplier” (Business page, July 24, 2018), there was a reference to thewithdrawal by Washington from a 2005 nuclear deal with Tehran.It should have been 2015 nuclear deal.

A sentence in “What is the GDP defl��ator?” (Explainer, BusinessReview page, July 23, 2018) said: “Nominal GDP diff��ers from realGDP as the former doesn’t include infl��ation, while the latter does.”It should be recast to say: “Nominal GDP diff��ers from ... as theformer doesn’t adjust for infl��ation, while the latter does.”

It is the policy of The Hindu to correct signifi��cant errors as soon as possible. Please specify

the edition (place of publication), date and page. The Readers’ Editor’s office can be

contacted by Telephone: +91-44-28418297/28576300 (11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to

Friday); Fax: +91-44-28552963; Email:[email protected]; Mail: Readers’

Editor, The Hindu, Kasturi Buildings, 859 & 860 Anna Salai, Chennai 600 002, India.

All communication must carry the full postal address and telephone number. No personal

visits. The Terms of Reference for the Readers’ Editor are on www.thehindu.com

The Supreme Court is currently hearing oral arguments inIndian Young Lawyers Asso-

ciation v. State of Kerala, in whichrules that bar the entry of womenaged between 10 and 50 years intothe Sabarimala temple in Keralahave been called into question. Ata purely unrefl��ecting level the casemight well appear to us to be aneasy one to resolve. To prohibitwomen from entering a publicspace, from worshipping in ashrine of their choice, one wouldthink, ought to be anathema to thetenets of a constitutional democracy. But, as a study of the rival contentions made before the fi��vejudge Bench that heard argumentsshows us, the religious freedomclauses in the Constitution are possessed of a special complexity,which the court’s own past jurisprudence has turned into a quagmire of contradictions.

Freedom of religionGenerally, the right to freedom ofreligion of both individuals andgroups is recognised as an intrinsic facet of a liberal democracy.The Constitution memorialisesthese guarantees in Articles 25 and26. The former recognises a rightto freedom of conscience and aright to freely profess, practise,and propagate religion, subject tocommon community exceptionsof public order, morality, andhealth, and also, crucially, to theguarantee of other fundamentalrights. Article 25(2)(b) creates afurther exception to the right. Itaccords to the state a power to

make legislation, in the interests ofsocial welfare and reform, throwing open Hindu religious institutions of public character to allclasses and sections of Hindus. Article 26, on the other hand, whichis also subject to limitations imposed on grounds of public order,morality, and health, accords toevery religious denomination theright, among other things, to establish and maintain institutions forreligious purposes and to managetheir own aff��airs in matters ofreligion.

Until now, most cases involvinga bar of entry into temples have involved a testing of laws made infurtherance of Article 25(2)(b). Forexample, in Sri VenkataramanaDevaru v. State of Mysore (1958),the Supreme Court examined thevalidity of the Madras Temple Entry Authorisation Act of 1947,which was introduced with a viewto removing “the disabilities imposed by custom or usage on certain classes of Hindus against entry into a Hindu temple.” Thecourt upheld the law on theground that statutes made underclause 2(b) to Article 25 served asbroad exceptions to the freedomof religion guaranteed by both Articles 25 and 26.

Confl��icting claimsBut here, in Indian Young LawyersAssociation, the attack is to theconverse; it is to Rule 3(b) of theKerala Hindu Places of Public Worship (Authorisation of Entry)Rules, 1965, which states, “Womenwho are not by custom and usageallowed to enter a place of publicworship shall not be entitled to enter or off��er worship in any place ofpublic worship.”

It is by placing reliance on theserules that the Sabarimala templeprohibits women aged between 10and 50 years from entering theshrine. It claims, through the Tra

vancore Devaswom Board, that itsdeity, Lord Ayyappa, is a “NaisthikBrahmachari,” and that allowingyoung women to enter the templewould aff��ect the idol’s “celibacy”and “austerity”. At play, therefore,in the case is a clash between a series of apparently confl��ictingclaims: among others involvingthe temple’s right to decide for itself how its religious aff��airs oughtto be managed, the rights of acommunity of devotees who believe that a bar on women’s entryis an essential religious practice,and the rights of those womenseeking to assert not only theirfreedom to unreservedly enterand pray at the shrine, but alsotheir rights to be recognised asequals under the Constitution.

Traditionally, to resolve tensions of this kind, the SupremeCourt has relied on a very particular jurisprudence that it hascarved for itself to determine whatmanners of rituals and beliefs deserve special constitutional protection. This doctrine requires thecourt to defi��ne what constitutes, inits own words, an “essential religious practice”. Judging by itsreaction to arguments made in In-dian Young Lawyers Association, itappears that the Bench sees thiscanon as integral to how the caseought to now be decided. Indeed,the petitioners have argued thatthe ban enforced on menstruating

women from entering the Sabarimala shrine does not constitute acore foundation of the assumed religious denomination. On the other hand, the Devaswom Boardcontends that established customsdeserve respect, that this particular Lord Ayyappa in Sabarimala isa celibate, and that women ofmenstruating age are, therefore,forbidden from entering thetemple.

Deeper inquiryWere the court to enter into ananalysis of these rival claims, byconducting something akin to atrial on whether there exists a tradition as claimed that is essentialto the practice of religion, it wouldbe exceeding the remit of its authority, eff��ectively causing it toshoulder dogmatic power overtheology. Therefore, what we needis a subtler yet more profound inquiry. Once the court fi��nds that theSabarimala temple does not represent a separate denomination (thisclaim is a particularly diffi��cult onefor the Dewaswom Board to meet,given that the temple is otherwiseopen to the public at large), thecourt must ask itself whether itshould yield to the temple’s viewon an assumption that there doesexist a timehonoured custom prohibiting any women aged between10 and 50 years from praying atthe shrine.

On such a study, the court willundoubtedly notice that most policies of exclusion in India’s historyhave been defended as being extensions of a prescription of faith,of being rooted in culture and tradition. To defer to an association’sleaders in matters such as thesecan only, therefore, have the eff��ectof immortalising discrimination.As Madhavi Sunder wrote in a2002 paper, to side with “advocates of any singular vision of acommunity… will often have the

eff��ect of silencing (indeed, banishing) dissenters and narrowly defi��ning an association. Worse still, lawfavouring the autonomy of thegroup over the autonomy of the individual tends to have the harmfuleff��ect of favouring the view of theassociation proff��ered by the powerful over the views proff��ered byless powerful members of thegroup that is, traditionally subordinate members such as women,children, and sexual minorities.”

Indeed, Professor Sunder’s pioneering work on cultural dissentrepresents a fi��ne starting point inany bid to fi��nd a progressive solution to the dispute over temple entry. It’s easy to see the manifold attractions of a general policy oflimited judicial intervention inmatters of religion. But the courtshould see this as an opportunitynot to rationalise religious practices, but to overturn its existing passé ideas on the subject. Given theinexorable relationship in Indiabetween religion and public life,it’s time the court shattered theconventional divides of the publicand the private. If the court canlook beyond the essential practices doctrine and see this case forwhat it really is — a denial to women not only of their individualrights to freedom of religion but also of equal access to public space— it can help set the tone for a radical rereading of the Constitution.This can help the court reimagineits jurisprudence in diverse areas,making a meaningful diff��erence topeople’s civil rights across spectrums of caste, class, gender andreligion. Ultimately, the Constitution must be seen as representingnot a hoary conception of boundaries between the state and theindividual, but as a transcendentaltool for social revolution.

Suhrith Parthasarathy is an advocate

practising at the Madras High Court

The Sabarimala singularityIf the Supreme Court looks beyond the essential practices doctrine, it can lead to a radical rereading of the Constitution

Suhrith Parthasarathy

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Water managementThe report that the waterlevel at the Stanleyreservoir at Mettur in TamilNadu has reached its fulllevel is music to our ears(“Stanley reservoir reachescapacity”, July 24). It is aresult of nature’s bountybut also a reminder that westill have not been able tomanage our waterresources effi��ciently. Inaddition to aggressivelypromoting rain waterharvesting —a drive thatappears to have lost steam— we need to create moredams and lakes to storewater. Today we celebratetalk of converting seawaterto drinking water while weare nonchalant aboutallowing fresh water (fromperennial rivers of northIndia to monsoon inducedspate in the south) to fl��owinto the sea. Measures suchas estimating wateravailable in shallowaquifers, conserving deeper

aquifers, promotingconservation techniques,and redefi��ning the criteriafor recycling and reuse ofeffl��uents, installation ofwater meters, groundwaterdrafting, water auditing,effi��cient use of recycledwater and reuse of waterwill become crucial. R. Sampath,

Chennai

Art of writingIt is ironic that judgmentwriting is marred by“unnecessary remarks”being made about women(Editorial page, “The art ofwriting a judgment”, July24). In State of Punjab v.Gurmit Singh (1996) theSupreme Court deprecatedcasting stigma on thecharacter of a rapesurvivor. The art ofjudgment writing must betaught to students from dayone. Bharathan Boopathi,

Kolkata

■ The importance ofaccurate, simple and biasfree orders cannot bestressed enough. The ageoldexample of punctuationsaving a man from thegallows comes to mind. Thestory goes that a verdictread, “Hang him, not leavehim.” This became, “Hanghim not. Leave him.” G.M. James,

Chennai

■ An important function ofthe judiciary is to also makelitigants and the public beaware of their rights throughjudgment writing, but this islost sight of because of theoftentimes colossal lengthand complexity of verdicts. Itis also a fact that many fi��nd ithard to understandjudgments. As a lawgraduate, I do support theplea for concise and crispjudgments. This will alsohelp to law students.Yasharth Vikram,

Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh

Chennai accidentIt was distressing to read thereports, “Commuters onChennai train crushedagainst concrete fence; 4dead, 6 injured” and “‘Therewere severed body partsstrewn around’,” (both July25). It is a common sight tosee most local trains burstingat the seams. The inevitablehad to happen, resulting inirreparable loss. There aremany questions: why didn’tthe Railways act after thefi��rst incident the previousday? Why was there noprovision for extra coaches?Accidents do not happen.Accidents are caused.Thambusamy Mohan,

Chennai

■ It was horrifying to knowthat nothing was donedespite a gruesome incidenthaving occurred the previousday and at the same spot.The authorities must crackdown on footboard travel.The problems that

association could havehandled the issue better.Though racism existseverywhere, France is a fi��neexample of how Africanshave integrated themselveswith the French union andare now setting the pace forthe French football team.Finally, football is also a teamgame. To blame a singleplayer for defeat is childish. T. Anand Raj,

Chennai

commuters face due toinsuffi��cient coaches is causefor concern.Sangeetha Kamaleshwaran,

Salem, Tamil Nadu

Özil’s exitThe Mesut Özil episode is afi��ne example of why sportshould not mix with politics(Editorial, “Özil’s burden”,July 24). The midfi��elder hasperhaps only himself toblame given the perceptionaround the Turkish leader.The German football

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

The U.S. Congress’s report allowing the introduction of a presidential waiver of its controversialCountering America’s Adversaries Through Sanc

tions Act (CAATSA) will be greeted with a sense of reliefin both New Delhi and Washington. The two governments have been working hard to avert a standoff�� overthe issue. The matter was particularly heated with Indiamaking it clear it would go ahead with the S400 Triumfmissile system deal with Russia regardless of the U.S.law and the threat of sanctions. CAATSA, signed reluctantly by President Donald Trump last August wouldhave forced his administration to impose sanctions onany country carrying out signifi��cant defence and energy trade with sanctioned entities in Russia, Iran andNorth Korea. Mr. Trump had objected, arguing that thelaw took away his powers to decide on such matters. Indian delegations led by the Foreign Secretary had madea threefold case for the waiver: that no weapons Indiabought would be used against the U.S.; that the U.S.,which wants to partner with India in the IndoPacifi��c,would hamper India’s military abilities by applying thesanctions or denying the country crucial technology;and that India has signifi��cantly reduced its dependenceon Russian military hardware while increasing defencepurchases from the U.S., and it would be unfair if theU.S. rewarded the eff��ort with punitive measures. Aftermonths of testimony, including a fi��nal push for waiverfor countries like India, Indonesia and Vietnam by U.S.Defence Secretary James Mattis a few days ago, the Congressional committee has relented. The Joint Explanatory Statement of the Committee of Conference, whichreconciles House and Senate versions, has accepted theneed for waivers. The “modifi��ed waiver authority”, oramendment to Section 231 of CAATSA proposed byCongress, allows the President to waive sanctions incertain circumstances, for six months at a time, as longas he certifi��es that it is in the U.S.’s national security interests and does not “endanger” ongoing operations.

While the resolution of CAATSArelated sanctions iswelcome, it isn’t the only irritant in the U.S.India relationship that needs the attention of the External Aff��airsand Defence Ministers at the ‘2+2 dialogue’ with theirAmerican counterparts scheduled for September. Thesanctions proposed by the Trump administration forenergy trade with Iran still loom, as do possible punitive measures at the World Trade Organisation over tariff��s and countertariff��s the two countries have imposedon each other. New Delhi will also be aware that thewaivers are contingent on Mr. Trump’s continued support to Indian defence requirements. Given the capricious and unpredictable policy swings Mr. Trump hasshown, it will be prudent for New Delhi not to presumethat the problems over CAATSA have fully blown over.

Sanctions reliefThe resolution of the CAATSA standoff�� will let

India and U.S. address other bilateral issues

The legislation to amend the Right to EducationAct to give States the power to detain studentswho fail an examination in Class 5 or 8 is a nega

tive measure. Although many States want such achange, the amendment passed by the Lok Sabha goesagainst the view of many educationists, who argue thatit would weaken one of the progressive features of theRTE Act, which is to guarantee the continued presenceof the child in school during the formative learningphase. The proposed change will allow State Boards todeclare a student failed and detain her on the basis ofan examination, although Section 30(1) of the RTE Actholds out the assurance that no child shall be requiredto face any Board examination till completion of elementary education. There are genuine concerns onlearning outcomes produced by India’s schooling system. But these are determined not only by a student’seff��ort but also by the number and quality of teachers,processes for continuous assessment and, crucially, active engagement of parents and the community in encouraging excellence. It is the lack of attention to someof these determinants that has created what Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar calls a“broken” school education system. Detaining alreadydisadvantaged children can only break it further, andrender the RTE Act a dead letter.

The case to replace the nodetention provision withone that reintroduces examinations in grades 3, 5 and 8was made by a subcommittee of the Central AdvisoryBoard of Education set up to review the provision, butits assumptions were faulty. For one, it concluded thatthe crucial guarantee could be implemented only under ideal conditions, and these were not available,while the pioneering RTE Act wanted to extend it to allgrades within its purview. Yet, the provision is centralto the objects of the law, since it seeks to check dropouts and enable all children to attend school in orderto derive benefi��ts that go beyond rotelearning. In fact,in 2016 the NITI Aayog found, based on a study in Punjab, that bringing back detention in elementary schooling would increase the dropout rate, impacting thepoor and Dalits the most as they depended on government institutions. Besides, the proposed ‘cure’ maymake another problem worse: when parents are unableto ensure regular attendance of children due to socialcircumstances, it is inconceivable that detaining themfor nonperformance will act as an incentive to attendschool regularly. The move to introduce examinationsas fi��lters has not been fully thought through, and maybe a hasty response to demands from State governments which want to be seen as acting fi��rmly in favourof quality. Tinkering with the RTE Act without suffi��cientthought will erode a major constitutional achievement.

Detention no cureThe amendment to the Right to Education Act

will only undermine its intent





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DATA POINT

It is learnt that the Customs craft, I.N.S. Sukanya, which ranaground near the mouth of the Krishna in May, was abandoned by the Navy as all attempts to refl��oat it had failed. Twotugs and a Navy ship with 150 men made several attempts torefl��oat I.N.S. Sukanya for about three weeks under expert guidance without success. The Rs. 25lakh worth steamer of theCentral Board of Revenue was commissioned about a decadeago. The ship was manned and operated by the navy. The shipran aground in a sand bar called Mangaladani off�� Nizampatam. The nearest village is Lankevani Dibba. The rescue shipand two tugs could not come near I.N.S. Sukanya as the sea isshallow there. Fishermen belonging to the village near themouth of the Krishna who take their catch for sale to Nagayalanka village in Krishna district, told your Correspondent thatthe steamer was lying there abandoned and the two tugs and aship which were anchored two miles away in the sea had alsogone.

FIFTY YEARS AGO JULY 26, 1968

Customs ship abandoned

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FROM ARCHIVES

Conclusive proof of the diminution of the U boat menace is afforded by the Admiralty’s latest statement of losses of merchant tonnage. This reveals that the total losses in the world’smerchantmen for the month of June were 275,629 gross tons,comprising 161,062 British and 114,567 Allies and neutral.These fi��gures show a monthly drop in the world’s sinking of81,905 tons compared with May 37,786 compared with Apriland 125,834 compared with March, all of this year, while compared with the month of June last year the world’s drop is437,092. The purely British drops are 64,627 compared withMay, 67,005 compared with April and 63,604 compared withMarch of this year, and 271,333 compared with June of lastyear. Losses in the world’s tonnage including risk are lower forthe month of June 1918, than in any month since September1916.

A HUNDRED YEARS AGO JULY 26, 1918.

Submarine Campaign. Interesting Figures.Hotelling’s lawEconomics

Also known as the law ofminimal diff��erentiation,this refers to the economicobservation that competitors in a market economytend to off��er products thatare similar to each other.This is because businessesgenerally try to off��er products that will attract themost customers. A business that off��ers a peculiarproduct that appeals onlyto a tiny section of the population risks losing marketshare to its competitorswho off��er more standardproducts. So most businesses end up off��ering similar products that appealto most customers. Hotelling’s law is named afterAmerican economist Harold Hotelling who proposed it in his 1929 paper“Stability in competition”.

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CONCEPTUAL

Video: These plastic bags

dissolve in water

bit.ly/DissolvingPlasticBags

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MORE ON

THE WEB 3

The Israeli nationality law is now afact. Its full name is “Israel, the nation state of the Jewish people”. Itstates that Eretz Israel (historical Palestine) is the homeland of the Jewishpeople and that the state of Israel isthe nation state of the Jewish people.Furthermore, only the Jews have theright to selfdetermination in Israel.Hebrew is the only offi��cial language(until now Arabic was also an offi��ciallanguage) and Arabic has a specialstatus, which is undefi��ned in the textof the law. The law defi��nes futureJewish settlement, which somewould call colonisation, in historicalEretz Israel (Israel and the occupiedterritories) as of supreme nationalvalue and vision. It grants religiousand national communities the rightto maintain a segregated habitat inthe state (namely, the practice of having exclusive villages and towns forJews). These are the main points ofthe new law.

A historical overviewA closer deconstruction of this document reveals why this law changesthe nature of Israel and, more importantly, why it is ominous as far as thePalestinians are concerned. First,this law denies the fact that withinthe state of Israel, and indeed withinwhat is called Eretz Israel, there aretwo national movements. This totaldenial of the Palestinians’ right toPalestine as a future vision has to beseen in the wider context of the historical circumstances in which Israelwas born in 1948. Zionism was a settler colonial movement and Israel is asettler state. This means that Jewishcolonisation and the oppression ofthe Palestinians is on par with theEuropean destruction of the nativeAmericans or of the genocide of theaboriginals by the Australians. Thediff��erence is in the historical timing:the Zionist settler colonial project isan unfi��nished historical episode, asis the Palestinian resistance to it. Theproject has been quite successful: in1948, Israeli ethnically cleansed halfof Palestine’s population and tookover 78% of the land. The Palestinian

minority left under its control wasput under a harsh military rule onthe basis of British colonialist practices.

This same regime was imposed later on the Palestinians in the WestBank and the Gaza Strip which Israeloccupied in 1967. After the 1967 war,Israel stretched over the whole ofhistorical Palestine, but still ruledmillions of Palestinians despite its“success” in turning millions of theminto refugees over the years. The socalled peace process that ensued after 1967 from an Israeli point of viewwas meant to fi��nd the best way ofhaving as much of historical Palestine with as few Palestinians in it aspossible. This is not an easy task inour times as it had been during thedays of colonialism and imperialism— partly because of international sensitivity about ethnic cleansing andmainly due to Palestinian steadfastness. Even the most forthcoming Palestinian leaders and movementscould not accept the best solutionthat Israel had to off��er for the tensionbetween the Jewish state’s territorialambition and its demographic concerns. The twostate solution off��eredby some as a basis for peace is meantto allow Israel total territorial controlover autonomous Palestinian Bantustans that could be called a state.The intentional community may support this formula, but Palestinianscannot and will not accept it.

Attempting a new approachThe nationality law in many ways isan attempt for a new approach. It is

part of a strategy that was born out ofthe failure of the charade of twostates off��ered by Israel and thesearch for a new method for implementing the settler state’s vision. Thearchitect of this strategy that can becalled “unilateralism” is the formerIsraeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon.Its logic is that there is no need to negotiate with the Palestinians over thefuture, there is a need to decide whatpart of historical Palestine should beannexed to Israel and what parts canbe ruled from the outside. The fi��rststep in 2006 was to enclave the GazaStrip and take out the Jewish settlersfrom there (Sharon did not anticipatethat Hamas would take over the evicted Strip, but nobody in Israelwants to go back and rule Gaza directly). The “unilateralists”, who arethe vast majority of the Israeli policymakers today, do not wish to controldirectly the densely populated area A(the area designated under the OsloAccord as being part of the Palestinian authority exclusive rule), whichconstitutes less than 40% of the WestBank. The rest of the 60% of the WestBank and pre1967 Israel is now theJewish state. Parts of it still have to beoffi��cially annexed to Israel, but thiswill probably happen in the near future.

The nationality law defi��nes clearlyhow Israel will deal with the millionsof Palestinians under its direct rule.They will be citizens who will be tolerated only if they deny their national identity and the historical narrative. Despite the fact that they are theoriginal and indigenous inhabitants

of this country, they will be offi��ciallysecondrate citizens under an apartheid system that will not allow themto live in exclusive Jewish communities or have the same state benefi��ts,access to land, and freedom of movement and association as the Jewishcitizens. Thus, the limitation of freedom and rights articulated in thenew nationality law are guiding future governments not only in their attitude towards those who are todayPalestinian citizens of Israel, but alsothose who might fi��nd themselves under such a category when other Palestinian areas are annexed to Israel.

If any of these limitations, indeedif even one of them, had been imposed on Jewish citizens anywhere inthe world, Israel and its supportersworldwide would have cried out thatthe worst kind of antiSemitism hadreturned. Racism exists everywhere,of course, but institutionalised racism has been erased from almosteverywhere in the world. The last triumphant battle against such racismtook place in South Africa. It is nowonder that South Africa at the timeof apartheid had strong and excellent ties with Israel.

The world must reactIndia recently strengthened its tieswith Israel. The nationality lawshould remind Indian politicianswho their new bedfellows are. Forthose of us who struggle for justiceand equality in Palestine, India symbolised the way forward in its anticolonialist liberation campaign andits resistance in being drawn intoCold War imperialist politics. Tolerating a new apartheid state in WestAsia, with international and particularly Western immunity, will not helpthe Arab world get out of the horrifi��cbloodshed that it experiences thesedays. Such international support forracism in historical Palestine is onlygoing to add fuel to the fi��re that weare all trying to extinguish. The nature of that racism may have beenhard to detect in the past or from adistance, but today it has unfolded inall its inhumanity and ugliness andanyone with a modicum of decencyshould not stand by it. The world hashelped to abolish one kind of apartheid and it can do it again.

Ilan Pappe is a Professor of History, Director

of the European Centre for Palestine Studies,

University of Exeter, U.K.

International support for racism in historical Palestine is only going to add fuel to the fi��re

“The nationality law should remind Indian politicians who their newbedfellows are.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends theKnesset Plenary Hall session ahead of the vote on the national law. * AFP

Israel’s new law is a form of apartheid

Ilan Pappe

The Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005,has empowered millions of Indians to question governments and hold public functionaries accountable. Of the nearly six millionRTI applications fi��led every year in the country, a large proportion are by the poorest andthe most marginalised who seek informationabout their basic rights and entitlements,like rations, pensions and health facilities.The use of the law has not been limited to accessing information about delivery of basicservices, however. The RTI Act has beenused extensively by citizens to question thehighest offi��ces in the country — from the educational qualifi��cations of the Prime Ministerand assets of public servants to human rightsviolations and false claims made by government functionaries — and seek answers fromthem.

It is not surprising, therefore, that the RTIlaw has frequently faced a backlash from powerful vested interests. The latest attack onthe legislation is the proposal of the BJPledNational Democratic Alliancegovernment to amend it.

Why amend it?In complete contravention ofthe prelegislative consultation policy, the governmenthas drafted a bill to amendthe RTI Act. The proposedamendment bill, which wasbrought in surreptitiously, seeks to destroythe independence of Information Commissions — the fi��nal adjudicators under the law.

The RTI Act fi��xes the tenure of information commissioners at fi��ve years, subject tothe retirement age of 65 years. Further, Sections 13 and 15 of the law state that the salaries, allowances and other terms of service ofthe Chief of the Central Information Commission shall be the same as that of the ChiefElection Commissioner. Those of the CentralInformation Commissioners and State ChiefCommissioners will be on par with ElectionCommissioners. The Chief and other Election Commissioners are paid a salary equalto the salary of a judge of the Supreme Court,which is decided by Parliament.

The amendments seek to empower theCentral government to decide the tenure,salaries, allowances and other terms of service of all Information Commissioners in thecountry. The rationale provided for undertaking this step is that treating InformationCommissioners on par with functionaries of

the Election Commission is incorrect, as thelatter is a constitutional body while Information Commissions are statutory bodies.

This contention is inherently fl��awed. Theprinciple of statutorily securing tenure, andprotecting the terms of service by equating itto functionaries of constitutional bodies, isroutinely adopted to ensure independentfunctioning of statutory oversight institutions like the Central Vigilance Commissionand the Lokpal. The fi��xed tenure and highstatus conferred on Commissioners underthe RTI Act is to empower them to carry outtheir functions autonomously, without fearor favour, and direct even the highest offi��cesto comply with the provisions of the law.

Empowering the Central government todecide the tenure and salaries of Information Commissioners is a clear attempt to undermine their independence and to eff��ectively make Commissions function likeregular government departments.

The BJP came to power on the plank of anticorruption. The last four years, however,have witnessed repeated attempts to undermine the RTI Act.

Many vacanciesThe selection committee for the appointment of Central Information Commissionersis headed by the Prime Minster. Since May

2014, not a single Commissioner ofthe Central Information Commission has been appointed without citizens having to approach courts. Itwas without a chief for 10 months.The RTI Amendment Bill comes at atime when the Supreme Court hasissued notice to the government forfailing to fi��ll vacancies in the Commission. Out of a total sanctioned

strength of 11 Commissioners, there are currently four vacancies and four more are dueto arise in 2018, including that of the chief.Failure to make timely appointments is leading to huge backlogs of appeals and complaints resulting in inordinate delays in theCommission, which render the law meaningless for citizens.

The latest move to furtively subvert theRTI Act exposes the real intent of the BJP government – to not allow public scrutiny of itsactions. In the face of overwhelming publicand political opposition to the bill, the government has deferred its introduction inParliament for the moment. But whether thewill of the people prevails and the RTI law,which safeguards peoples’ fundamentalright to information, is immunised this timefrom legislative challenge remains to beseen.

Anjali Bhardwaj and Amrita Johri are RTI activists

associated with the National Campaign for Peoples’

Right to Information and Satark Nagrik Sanghatan

Muzzling informationThe RTI Act Amendment Bill must be junked

Anjali Bhardwaj & Amrita Johri

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This month marks the 100th year ofthe publication of the ‘Report on Indian constitutional reforms’, commonly known as the MontaguChelmsford Report (MCR). EdwinMontagu, then Secretary of State forIndia, had advocated for increasedparticipation of Indians in the British

Indian administration and had begun consultations nearly ayear earlier. After many meetings with Indian representatives, Montagu and the then GovernorGeneral, LordChelmsford, published the MCR on July 8, 1918.

The MCR stands out for proposing some of the most radical administrative changes and for giving provincial legislatures the mantle of selfgovernance. To this extent, the report advocated the need “to emancipate the localgovernments and legislatures from central control; and toadvance, by successive stages, in the direction of conferringresponsible government on the provinces.”

The MontaguChelmsford Committee visited Madras Presidency to gather the views of political leaders. T. Varadarajulu Naidu’s book, Justice Movement 1917, informs us that senior members of the Justice Party led by Sir Pitti Theagarayamet the Committee and made extensive demands, which included the “creation of municipalities and local body institutions with suffi��cient autonomy to handle their local issues... bereft of the intrusive control of the Government.”They further demanded that administration of the Presidency be eventually moved to the local legislature. To this end,they suggested that departments in administration beplaced under the control of legislatures.

Ultimately, the MCR established the framework for devolution of powers and gave credence to the cry for selfgovernance. This cannot come as a surprise because the reportrecommended that “the Provinces are the domain in whichthe earlier steps towards the progressive realisation of responsible government should be taken”. Another one of themost farreaching objectives of the report was to elucidatethe principle of accountable governance by directing thatthe “Government of India must remain wholly responsibleto Parliament.”

Thus was laid the platform for the development of a responsible government. However, in the 32nd session of theIndian National Congress, led by British theosophist AnnieBesant, there was strong opposition to the Montagu declaration as something that “was unworthy of England to off��erand India to accept.” However, Besant later accepted the reforms as essential for the progress of British India.

The MCR would go on to become the basis for the Government of India Act, 1935, and, ultimately, the Constitution.The key principles of responsible government, selfgovernance and federal structure grew out of these reforms. TheMCR on Indian constitutional reforms along with the Montagu Declaration are, thus, worthy claimants of the title of theMagna Carta of modern India.

The writer is an advocate, and spokesperson of the DMK

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India’s Magna CartaMarking the 100th year of theMontaguChelmsford Report

Manuraj Shunmugasundaram

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FAQ

What is the Rafale deal?

In September 2016, Indiaand France signed a €7.87billion IntergovernmentalAgreement (IGA) for 36Rafale multirole fi��ghterjets in fl��yaway condition.Among other things, thedeal also has a 50% off��setclause to be executed byDassault Aviation and itspartners in partnershipwith Indian companies.The basic cost of the aircraft is about ₹��680 crore(and a little over ₹��1,600crore per aircraft for thewhole deal). There are also Indiaspecifi��c aircraftmodifi��cations.

What is the political

controversy?

The Congress claims thatthis deal is very expensiveand without any technology transfer. The party implied that it would benefi��tthe Anil Ambani groupthat was selected by Dassault to execute part of theoff��set contract. The Defence Minister has asserted that no procedure has

been violated. It is a governmenttogovernmentdeal approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security, she said. The off��setdeal, she said, was onebetween two companiesand the government hadno role in it. In turn, theCongress has asked the government for the costbreakup in comparisonwith the earlier deal. TheMinister has refused toshare “classifi��ed information”, citing the 2008FranceIndia securityagreement.

What is this agreement?

In 2008, under the UPAgovernment, India andFrance signed a generalsecurity agreement concerning “the protection ofclassifi��ed information andmaterial in the fi��eld of defence.” Such an agreementseeks to safeguard the details of the platforms andtechnology shared, andprevent those details fromfalling into the hands of athird party. This agreement was further extend

ed this March. While theagreement does not specifi��cally refer to the detailsof cost, Article 4 of theagreement on securityprinciples says: “The receiving party shall not disclose classifi��ed information and material to athird party, state, individual or legal entity with athird State’s nationality…”It also states that access toclassifi��ed information andmaterial would be basedon “needtoknow” principle. So, to share pricingdetails of the deal in public, India would have toget inprinciple approvalfrom France. Followingthe controversy, Francesaid that provisions of thesecurity agreement applyto the IGA. In an interview, the French President said that if Indiawishes to share some ofthe critical information,France would not objectto it. However, he alsosaid, “In France, as in India, when an agreement isvery sensitive, we cannotreveal all the details.”

The minutiae of the Rafale deal

All about the 2008 FranceIndia security agreement

Dinakar Peri


CMYK

A ND-NDE




NEWS

FROM PAGE ONE

During the course of arguments, yet another seniorcounsel had wondered whya Minister for Telecommunications should not enjoy anexclusive telephone exchange when the DefenceMinister was permitted tofl��y in an exclusive aircraft ofthe Indian Air Force and theRailways Minister was entitled to travel in an exclusivesaloon in trains.

Answering it in his judgement, Justice Jayachandransaid: “To this argument, thelogical answer could be,‘Yes, if law permits’.”

“The corollary will be, iflaw does not permit, theyare liable for prosecution. Itis amply shown in this casethat law does not permit tohave the facilities enjoyedby the accused,” the Justicesaid.

Listing the infi��rmities inthe order of discharge, thejudge said the special courthad taken the decision onthe basis of an erroneousunderstanding of the prosecution case and by arrivingat a wrong conclusion as ifthe former Minister had ob

tained just one phone connection from BSNL andused it for SUN TV.

“It is not one phone connection mala fi��dely used bySUN TV. The case of the prosecution is that in violationof the rules, regulations andguidelines... several phoneconnections and addon benefi��ts were given to A3 (Mr.Dayanidhi Maran) and A7’s(Mr. Kalanithi Maran’s) business establishment illegally,” the judge said.

It was also the prosecution’s case that former ChiefGeneral Managers of BSNLK.B. Brahmadathan andM.P. Velusamy, the then Additional Private Secretary tothe Minister Vedagiri Gowthaman, Sun TV’s ChiefTechnical Offi��cer S. Kannanand electrician K.S. Ravi hadentered into a conspiracyand fabricated documentsto commit the off��ence.

The judge pointed outthat the special court haddischarged all seven accused from the case thoughthe Maran brothers as wellas Mr. Kannan had not fi��leddischarge petitions at all.

Marans to face trial inphone exchange case

“Our wages have been reduced to about ₹��200 a day,from ₹��600 earlier,” said Jnana Velu, a labourer in themarket.

In Chennai, the wholesale prices of some perishable vegetables and fruitshave crashed in the Koyambedu market even as arrivals have dried up. “Thoughthe government has arranged for ferrying supplies

through buses, they do notarrive on time leading towholesale prices of tomatoes crashing from ₹��30 a kilo to ₹��18 in just a day,” saidM. Thyagarajan president,Koyambedu Vegetable,Fruit and Flower Traders’Welfare Association.

(With inputs from bu-reaus in New Delhi, Benga-luru, Hyderabad and Chen-nai.)

Truckers’ strike hurtsmanufacturing too

Lok Sabha Speaker SumitraMahajan said on Wednesdaythat privilege notices againstPrime Minister NarendraModi and Defence MinisterNirmala Sitharaman wereunder her consideration.

She said she had receivedfi��ve privilege notices againstthe Prime Minister and fi��veagainst the Defence Ministerfrom members of Opposition parties for allegedly misleading the House on the Rafale deal during the debateon the motion of noconfi��dence against the Modi government.

She also said that four privilege notices had been re

ceived against ‘one person’ —meaning, Congress president Rahul Gandhi — andthese were also under her

consideration. The Speaker said this after

Congress leaders Mallikarjuna Kharge and Jyotiraditya

Scindia raised the issue oftheir notices after zero hourbegan.

The notices said that thePrime Minister and DefenceMinister had misled theHouse and that the notice ofbreach of privilege be accepted and referred to theprivilege committee forfurther proceedings.

Parliamentary Aff��airs Minister Ananth Kumar saidthat members from the government side should alsobe allowed to speak.

BJP chief whip AnuragThakur said that Congressleader Mr. Gandhi had misled the House during the debate on the noconfi��dencemotion.

Ball in Speaker’s court nowFive privilege notices against Modi and Nirmala, and four against Rahul Gandhi


NEW DELHI

Diffi��cult decisions: Speaker Sumitra Mahajan in the Lok Sabha in New Delhi on Wednesday. * PTI

With no sign of election forthe post of Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha, theUpper House is strugglingto fi��ll the presiding offi��cer’sposition.

In a meeting on Wednesday morning, the fl��oorleaders of all political parties recommended that apanel of chairpersonsshould be made to sharethe responsibility. The suggestion came a day afterRajya Sabha Chairman M.Venkaiah Naidu set a record of sorts by presidingover the house for the entire day.

There is no word onwhen the government isplanning to announce theDeputy Chairman’s election.

It has not started any negotiations with other political parties.

The Opposition too hasbeen cooling its heels andhas not held formal deliberations on who will betheir candidate.

“It is very clear that thegovernment does not havethe numbers in spite oflooking at various permutations and combinations.It is very unlikely that theelections will take place inthis session,” a senior Opposition MP said.

Crossing time limitAccording to sources, during the customary morningmeeting with fl��oor leaders,Mr. Naidu chided them fornot adhering to the time limit.

“The members insist onspeaking and no one adheres to the time limit,making time managementdiffi��cult for the Chair,” hesaid, according to anotherMP who was present in themeeting.

Mr. Naidu cited the example of the fourhourlong debate on Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday. Theagreedupon time for thedebate was twoandhalfhours.

No word onpoll for RSDy. Chairman


New Delhi

It was scheduled as a quiet,private meeting, but TamilNadu Deputy Chief MinisterO. Panneerselvam’s appointment with Defence MinisterNirmala Sitharaman onTuesday quickly generatedunwanted politicalanticipation.

Defence Ministry sourcestold The Hindu that a request for a meeting with theMinister was made byAIADMK leader V. Maitreyanfor himself and Mr. Panneerselvam about a week earlier.But Dr. Maitreyan wantedMr. Panneerselvam’s namekept out of the appointmentsheet of the Minister that iscirculated to the staff��.

According to a source inthe Ministry, he wanted onlyhis name to be disclosed forthe 2.30 p.m. meeting. Enquiries over who would bephotographing the eventand whether or not it wouldbe shared on the Minister’ssocial media account weremade by Dr. Maitreyan, asource said.

As to the purpose of the

meeting, nothing specifi��cwas mentioned. “The Minister had received a call fromMr. Panneerselvam aboutthe provision of an air ambulance to move his brotherfrom a Madurai hospital toApollo Chennai. The Minister was told that Mr. Panneerselvam had made arrangements for a private airambulance, but because of atechnical glitch, those arrangements collapsed. The Minister said that she wouldcheck if norms permitted theuse of armed forces air ambulance, and when that waschecked out, the air ambulance was despatched,” said

the source.Hours before the meeting,

Chief Minister Edappadi K.Palaniswami, apparently toquell speculation that themeeting held political import, made public the prospective meeting. Thisprompted rival factions inthe party to get in touch withthe Defence Minister askingfor separate meetings forthemselves. On the day ofthe meeting, Tuesday, bothDr. Maitreyan and Mr. Panneerselvam, despite theirown ‘blandishments’ thatthe meeting with the Defence Minister be kept quiet,told television channels that

it was a meeting on a privatematter, specifi��cally to thankthe Minister for the use ofthe Defence Ministryownedair ambulance.

“The Minister was confused over why the duoasked for the visit to be keptprivate and then made it public on their own. She decided therefore not to meetanyone,” said a source.

AIADMK leaders haveconfi��rmed that the appointment was sought essentiallyfor Mr. Panneerselvam, eventhough it was Dr. Maitreyanwho formally made the request. The purpose was indeed to thank the Ministerfor arranging the airambulance.

But they were keen thatthe details be kept confi��dential till Mr. Panneerselvamleft for New Delhi. Otherwise, AIADMK leadersfeared, the media wouldhave “indulged in unnecessary speculation.” The reason for making the purposepublic on the day of the visitwas the same: to dispel anynotion that the meeting waspolitical in nature.

A private meet that was not to beNirmala was told it would be a quiet aff��air, but AIADMK leaders went public


New Delhi

Nirmala Sitharaman O. Panneerselvam

Vijay Mallya has lost his attempt to appeal the decisionof a U.K. court relating to alawsuit brought by a consortium of Indian public sectorbanks seeking to recover£1.145 billion worth of assets.

The Court of Appeal onTuesday rejected the attempt to launch an appealagainst the ruling of JudgeAndrew Henshaw, at the Business and Property Courtsof the Queen’s Bench Commercial Court earlier thisyear, which allowed the registration of the BangaloreDebt Recovery Tribunal’s2017 order against Mr. Mallyain the UK, and the implementation of a WorldwideFreezing Order that prevent

ed him from removing — ordiminishing — his assets inEngland and Wales.

The May verdict was a legal victory for the 13 banks,led by the State Bank of India, whose case runs separately to the attempt by theIndian government to extra

dite Mr. Mallya back to Indiato face charges relating tofraud and moneylaundering.

In January 2017, the DebtRecovery Tribunal’s Bengaluru Bench allowed recoveryproceedings against Kingfi��sher Airlines Ltd and Mr.Mallya, directing them to repay ₹��6,203 crore to the banking consortium. The initialasset freeze order in Londonfrom November gave Mr.Mallya a £5,000 a week allowance to live on, which wasincreased to just below£20,000 following an application by his lawyers.

According to a court orderin June, relating to the case,High Court Enforcement Offi��cer or other enforcementagents acting through their

authority may enter Ladywalk, Vijay Mallya’s countryresidence, to search andtake control of goods belonging to him. A further orderalso from June required Mr.Mallya to pay the banks£200,000 (₹�� 1.8 crore) byJune 5 this year, towards thecosts of the legal case beingpursued against him

The separate extraditionhearing at Westminster Magistrates Court is set to continue next Tuesday, amid delays and following lastmonth’s surprising public intervention by Mr. Mallya inwhich he slammed the “blatantly false” allegationsagainst him, and highlightedhis attempt via the Karnataka HC to sell ₹��13,900 crore ofassets to repay creditors.

Appeal court rejects Mallya plea He was seeking to overturn ruling on Debt Recovery Tribunal order

Vijay Mallya

Vidya Ram

LONDON

The Election Commission onWednesday said all VVPATswould be delivered wellwithin the time required forpreparations ahead of the2019 Lok Sabha poll.

The manufacture and supply of machines are beingmonitored daily, said theelectoral body.

“While all required electronic voting machines(EVMs) will be delivered bySeptember 30, 2018, theVVPAT deliveries are delayed as the Technical Experts Committee on EVMsappointed by the Commission analyses the technologystabilisation issues in the in

itial batches and incorporates essential design improvements,” said theCommission.

“Even then, due to continuous monitoring at the highest level, including personalvisits by the Commission to

all the production units, allVVPATs shall be deliveredwell before the end of November 2018, well within thetime required for makingprepoll preparations,” theEC said.

In May 2017, the Commission placed an order of 16.15lakh VVPATs to the PublicSector Unit (PSU) manufacturers Bharat Electronics Limited and Electronics Corporation of India Limited, tomeet the requirements forthe 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

“Till date, 5.88 lakh unitshave been produced by thePSUs, which is 36% of the total quantity to be supplied,”said the Commission.

VVPATs will be ready for

Lok Sabha polls, says EC‘Manufacture and supply are being monitored daily’

The VVPATs are beingmanufactured by BEL andECIL. * B. JOTHI RAMALINGAM


NEW DELHI

The Opposition spared noeff��ort to embarrass the government with repeatedreferences to fugitive businessmen Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, Vijay Mallyaand Lalit Modi and alsopointed out the legal loopholes in the Fugitive Economic Off��enders Bill, 2018,before passing the legislation in Rajya Sabha onWednesday.

“I challenge Finance Minister Piyush Goyal tobring back at least one offender by 2019, or elsehang your head in shame,”Congress MP Rajeev Gowda said.

‘Bring back at least onefugitive’


New Delhi

Minister of State for HomeAff��airs Kiren Rijiju told Parliament on Wednesday thatMaoist groups and terroroutfi��ts such as the JaisheMohammad and the HizbulMujahideen were “usingchildren.”

However, there were noreports that children wereused as human bombs, hesaid during the QuestionHour in the Rajya Sabha.

In the Leftwing extremismaff��ected States suchas Chhattisgarh, Jharkhandand Bihar, there were reports that “some groupsuse children in their nefarious designs to destabilisethe State,” he said.

He added that the government was trying toopen schools and carry outskill development activitiesto bring the children inthose areas to the mainstream. “According to ourinformation, two other terror organisations, JaisheMohammad and HizbulMujahideen, have alsoused children,” he said.

‘Terror outfi��tsare usingchildren’


New Delhi

The Supreme Court said onWednesday that a government scheme for rape survivors should include childvictims of sexual assault.

A Bench of Justices Madan B. Lokur and DeepakGupta suggested that theCompensation Scheme forWomen Victims/Survivorsof Sexual Assault/OtherCrimes2018, proposed bythe National Legal ServicesAuthority, include child victims.

Senior advocate IndiraJaising, who has lent her expertise in the case for uniform compensation forrape survivors and voicedconcern about the dormantNirbhaya funds, said thescheme should be a source

of fi��nancial solace for victims of sex crimes and acidattacks during court trial.

Ms. Jaising agreed to fi��le acomposite note on thecourt’s suggestion to include children in thescheme in two weeks.

She said she would alsoaddress the aspect related toSection 228A of the IndianPenal Code, which dealswith disclosure of the identity of the victims of sexualoff��ences.

The scheme proposes auniform payment of ₹��5 lakhto the maximum of ₹��10 lakhto gangrape survivors inany part of the country. Similarly, in the case of rapeand unnatural sexual assault, the victim will get aminimum of ₹��4 lakh and themaximum of ₹��7 lakh.

Scheme must coverchild abuse victims: SCLegal Correspondent

NEW DELHI

If the 2014 campaign sawPrime Minister NarendraModi’s childhood depictedin the Bal Narendra series ofcomics, the preparations forthe 2019 poll will see his early life cinematically rendered.

The Rashtrapati Bhavanon Tuesday and the LokSabha secretariat on Wednesday held special screenings of the fi��lm Chalo JeetinHain, loosely based onPrime Minister Modi’s life.

Its lead protagonist is ayoung boy called ‘Naru’,whose father runs a tea stalland hails from a humblebackground. The narrativeis about ‘Naru’s’ search foran aim, a purpose in life,and his philosophical en

gagement with the works ofSwami Vivekananda and theRamkrishna Mission.

The fi��lm has been directed by Marathi fi��lmaker Magnesh Hadawale and has Mahaveer Jain and BhushanKumar as its producers. Thefi��lm makes references tofreedom fi��ghters BhagatSingh, Rajguru and Sukhdevas those who lived for others.

The fi��lm will have itsworld premiere on July 29on the Star Network.

Among those present atthe screening on Tuesdaywere President Ramnath Kovind and Union Ministers Piyush Goyal and Dharmendra Pradhan, among others.In the Lok Sabha, SpeakerSumitra Mahajan led MPsand others.

Now, a movie looselybased on Modi’s life Film will have its premiere on July 29


NEW DELHIGranting former Union Minister P. Chidambaram interim protection from arrest, the Delhi High Courton Wednesday asked theEnforcement Directoratenot to take any coercivesteps against him till August 1 in the INX Media money laundering case.

Justice A.K. Pathak, however, directed him tocooperate with the ED’sprobe as and when required and not to leave thecountry without thecourt’s prior permission.The court also sought theED’s response on the senior Congress leader’s anticipatory bail plea whichwas opposed by the agencyon the point ofmaintainability.

Chidambaramgets interimprotection


New Delhi

Congress president RahulGandhi stepped up pressureon the Centre with a tweetalluding to partial treatmentof Reliance Defence Ltd.headed by industrialist AnilAmbani.

Mr. Gandhi tagged a Na-tional Herald news reportwhich, quoting the recordsof the Corporate Aff��airs Ministry, said Mr. Ambanifl��oated his venture just 10days before Mr. Modi visitedFrance in 2015. It says theMinistry’s website shows itwas started with a paidupcapital of just ₹��5 lakh.

Ambani’s pleaBack in December 12, 2017,Mr. Ambani has written toMr. Gandhi denying the alle

gations that his RelianceGroup lacked experience toget the Rafale deal, and saidthe government had no rolein Dassault picking up hiscompany as a local partner.

Ambani, in the letter, saidhis group’s joint venturewith Dassault was to makecomponents and systemsfor the aerospace and defence sectors. “This jointventure with Dassault Aviation will lead to creation ofthousands of jobs in India,imparting of valuable training and skillsets to Indianengineers in aerospace/ defence manufacturing sector,and will also provide largescale business opportunitiesto hundreds of MSMEs,SMEs and startups in thecountry,” he wrote.

(With PTI inputs)

Rahul Gandhi steps uppressure on Rafale deal Hints at bias towards Anil Ambani fi��rm


New Delhi

The Directorate of Vigilanceand AntiCorruption (DVAC)on Wednesday informed theMadras High Court that it wasprepared to conduct a preliminary enquiry into a complaint lodged by DMK RajyaSabha member R.S. Bharathiaccusing Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam of having amassed wealth disproportionate to his knownsources of income since hebecame a member of the Legislative Assembly in 2001.

Justice G. Jayachandran recorded the submission madeby Advocate General VijayNarayan and disposed of apetition preferred by Mr.Bharathi seeking a directionto the Directorate of Vigilance and AntiCorruption toregister an FIR.

Since Arappor Iyakkam, anongovernmental organisation, had also lodged an identical complaint on December12, the judge said it couldprovide details to the investigating offi��cer.

The judge made it clear

that the preliminary inquiryshould be conducted in accordance with the guidelineslaid down by the SupremeCourt in the Lalita Kumariversus Government of UttarPradesh case on November12, 2013. That verdict hadmade it clear that preliminary inquiries should be timebound, and in any case, theyshould not exceed sevendays. If there is a delay, thereasons must be recordedclearly in the general diarymaintained in policestations.

When Senior Counsel N.R.Elango, representing Mr.Bharathi, wanted a specifi��cdirection to the DVAC tocomplete the inquiry withinseven days, the judge said:“Now that they have set thelaw in motion, wait for sometime. Let them take up the investigation and do it in theright sense. You shall also begiven an opportunity to participate in it. If they do notproceed properly or delaythe proceedings, you may approach the court onceagain.”

DMK MP, NGO had lodged complaints


CHENNAI

Ready for probe intoassets of OPS: DVAC


CMYK




NEWS

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Wednesday outlined 10 guiding principlesfor deepening India’s engagement with Africa to helpin its economic growth andtackle challenges such as terrorism and climate change.

Mr. Modi, who arrivedhere on Tuesday, addressedthe Parliament of Ugandaand said India was proud tobe Africa’s partner.

“Uganda is central to ourcommitment to the continent,” he said in his address,the fi��rst by an Indian PrimeMinister in the Parliament ofUganda.

He said Uganda, alsoknown as the “Pearl of Africa”, was a land of immensebeauty, great wealth of resources and rich heritage.

He said the two nationswere connected to each other by ancient maritime links,the dark ages of colonialrule, the shared struggle forfreedom and the uncertainpaths as independent countries in a divided world.

“Today, India and Africastand on the threshold of afuture of great promise: asconfi��dent, secure, youthful,innovative, and dynamic people,” he said, adding thatUganda was an example ofAfrica on the move.

He said India’s engagement with Africa would beguided by 10 principles anddescribed them in detail.

“We will strengthen ourcooperation and mutual cap

abilities in combating terrorism and extremism; keeping our cyberspace safe andsecure; and, supporting theUN in advancing and keeping peace,” he said.

Open oceansHe said India would workwith African nations to keepthe oceans open and free forthe benefi��t of all nations.

“The world needs cooperation and not competition in

the eastern shores of Africaand the eastern IndianOcean. That is why India’s vision of Indian Ocean security is cooperative and inclusive, rooted in security andgrowth for all in the region,”he said, apparently referringto China’s manoeuvres in theHorn of Africa, includingopening its fi��rst socalledsupport base on the continent in Djibouti last year.

“We will support our in

dustry to invest in Africa,”Mr. Modi said.

India will harness its experience with digital revolutionto support Africa’s development; improve delivery ofpublic services; extend education and health; spreaddigital literacy; expand fi��nancial inclusion; and mainstream the marginalised, hesaid. “We will work with youto improve Africa’s agriculture,” he said.

India proud to be Africa’s partner: PMModi outlines 10 guiding principles for deepening India’s engagement with the continent


Kampala

Cementing ties: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Ugandan President Yoweri K. Museveni atthe State House in Uganda on Tuesday. * PTI

Former VicePresident Hamid Ansari said on Wednesday that the present challenge is to uphold the mostcherished freedom to express an opinion.

He was speaking at a condolence meet organised bythe Bureau of Research onIndustry and Economic Fundamentals in memory ofjournalist Shujaat Bukhari,who was killed in Kashmiron June 14, 2018.

“His passing away ismourned by all.... Butmourning itself is notenough. We should realisethat we face a challenge. Thechallenge is our most cherished freedom — the freedom to express an opinion,”he said. “If that challenge develops further, then it is notone editor but every citizenwho is threatened by it.”

Referring indirectly to thekilling of journalist GauriLankesh in Bengaluru, Mr.Ansari said freedom was in

peril. Malini Parthasarathy,CoChair and DirectorEditorial Strategy, The Hindu

Group, said it was time toask why “all the peace dividend that had accumulatedbecause of earlier politicalinitiatives [in Kashmir] hasbeen wasted away”.

“It is important for us assembled here to ensure thatShujaat’s sacrifi��ce does notgo in vain. His assassinationis a chilling reminder of thevested interests and antidemocratic forces who do notwant democracy or peace to

fl��ourish in Kashmir,” Dr. Parthasarathy said. “We owe itto Shujaat and the people ofKashmir for whom he foughtso long and hard, to isolatethe hardliners and fascists,and build public momentumfor the revival of a politicalprocess and democracy inKashmir,” she added.

Journalists Muzamil Jaleeland Iftikhar Gilani recalledtheir long association withBukhari. Congress leaderManish Tewari and veteranjournalist Shekhar Gupta also spoke on the occasion.

Freedom of opinion inperil, says Hamid AnsariTribute paid to slain journalist Shujaat Bukhari Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI

Manish Tewari, Shujaat Bukhari’s relative Hafi��z Ayaz, MaliniParthasarathy, Hamid Ansari and Shekhar Gupta at amemorial ceremony on Tuesday. * SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

A local court in Gujarat onWednesday held Hardik Patel, Patidar quota agitationleader, and two of his aidesguilty and sentenced themto two years in jail in a rioting case in which a mob ledby him attacked a BJP legislator’s offi��ce in Visnagar townin 2015.

The Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti leader alongwith Lalji Patel and A.K. Patel has been found guilty ofrioting, arson, damage toproperty and unlawful as

sembly. Besides the sentence of imprisonment, thethree have been fi��ned₹��50,000. The court, however, granted bail to them withdirection that they will haveto fi��le an appeal in the HighCourt within a month.

In the complaint lodged

against 18 persons, Mr. Hardik was named as a key accused as he led a rally thatturned violent, resulting indamage to property and assault on some mediapersons. He and 17 others wereaccused of being part of amob of around 500 from thePatel community thatturned violent and vandalised Rushikesh Patel’s offi��ce,attacked journalists, andrioted. The incident occurred on July 23, 2015,when the Patel agitation demanding quotas in jobs andeducation was at its peak.


AHMEDABAD

Hardik Patel

Hardik gets twoyear term

The Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) of Antiguahas confi��rmed that MehulChoksi was granted citizenship in November 2017,more than two months before Punjab National Banklodged a complaint againsthim with the CBI.

The CBI sought detailsfrom Antigua after the External Aff��airs Ministry informed it that he had leftthe U.S. and was now in theCaribbean nation.

Responding to media reports, Antigua’s CIU issueda statement on Tuesdaystating that “after extensivevetting, Mehul Choksi wasgranted citizenship by registration in November2017”.

The unit said Mr. Choksi’s application was subjectto “robust due diligence international investigation,which is conducted oneach principal applicantand dependent, by reputable agencies, including theInternational Criminal Police Organisation and theCARICOM ImplementingAgency for Crime and Security”. The 2017 investigation revealed no derogatory information about Mr.Choksi, it said. “The CIU also confi��rms that on January 15, 2018, Mr. Choksiswore the Oath of Allegiance in Antigua, a requirement under the provisions of the Citizenship byInvestment Act”.

Choksi wasvetted, saysAntigua

Devesh K. Pandey

NEW DELHI

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

The Home Ministry has advised Assam that no actionshould be initiated by the administration or the policebased on the draft NationalRegister of Citizens (NRC) tobe published on July 30.

“There is no question ofreferring the persons whosenames do not fi��gure in thedraft NRC to the ForeignersTribunal as people are entitled to fi��le claims and objections and due opportunityhas to be given to them before fi��nal publication. Thequestion of referring any person to a detention centrebased on the NRC exercise also does not arise. The Stategovernment has been askedto issue clear instructions inthis regard to all administrative and police functionaries,” the Home Ministry saidon Wednesday.

On Supreme Court directions, the RegistrarGeneralof India (RGI) will publish thefi��nal list on July 30 to segregate Indian citizens living inAssam from those who hadillegally entered the Statefrom Bangladesh after March25, 1971.

The fi��rst draft containingthe names of 1.9 crore out of3.29 crore applicants was published on December 31 lastyear. The second and fi��naldraft is scheduled to be published on July 30.

52 to be deportedMinister of State for HomeKiren Rijiju informed Parliament on Wednesday that 52Bangladeshis currently in detention centres in Assamwould be deported on July30.

“The [Bangladesh] government has accepted theidentity of these people as itsnationals. These 52 peoplewill be deported on July 30from the Mankachar checkpost in Assam,” Mr. Rijijusaid.

In the past two years, 39Bangladesh nationals were

deported from Assam. Thetotal number deported in2013 was 5,234; the fi��gurewas 989 in 2014; 474 in 2015and 308 in 2016.

An offi��cial said the persons being deported werenot part of the NRC, whichcertifi��es the citizens of Indiaand not foreigners.

The Ministry has asked theAssam government andneighbouring States to ensure maintenance of law andorder in the runup to, andafter publication of, the draftNRC.

“Assam has been advisedto set up a Statelevel coordination committee under thechairmanship of the Chief Secretary to ensure coordination among State agencies,NRC authorities and Centralagencies. Roundtheclockcontrol rooms at the Statecapital and district headquarters are to be activatedto receive complaints andcoordinate prompt response,” the Home Ministrysaid.

An intensive public awareness campaign has beenlaunched to disseminate information regarding the NRCprocess, options available forindividuals whose names donot fi��gure in the draft NRC,and the procedure and timeline for fi��ling claims and objections so as to address theconcerns of people left out ofthe draft list, the Home Ministry said.

tered India with legal documents and might haveoverstayed, some as recentas three years back,” said theoffi��cial.

in detention camps. Theirnationality verifi��cation hasbeen done by Bangladeshwhich has issued transit documents for them. They en

“Those being deportedare not at all connected withthe NRC. They are alreadydeclared foreigners by theForeigners Tribunals and are

It’s not straight to detention centres for those not on NRCCentre says thosenot on the registercan fi��le claims andobjections


New Delhi A primary health centre(PHC) in western Assam’sSouth SalmaraMankachardistrict has come under thescanner for allegedlydestroying birthrelatedrecords after a complaintthat its offi��cials took moneyto issue fake birthcertifi��cates.

The complainants —advocates Anisur Rahmanand Azaharul Islam — saidthe PHC issued many birthcertifi��cates against the sameserial numbers. Suchduplication has made itdiffi��cult for people to provetheir citizenship as July 30,the date for publishing the

complete draft of theupdated National Register ofCitizens (NRC), draws near.

Many people hadenclosed birth certifi��cates asproof of citizenship. TheNRC, wary of fakedocuments, had on May 1issued a notifi��cation thatbirth certifi��cates issued byany entity other than thehealth department andmore than a year after thebirth of child would not belegally admissible.

In their FIR on Tuesday,the advocates said a sectionof offi��cials of the SouthSalmara PHC had destroyedthe birthrelated documentsof 25 years to “erase theirmisconduct”.

Assam PHC destroyedrecords, say advocatesSPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Guwahati

The government informedParliament on Wednesdaythat it had received no communication from the Interpol on the Red Noticeagainst Islamic preacher Zakir Naik.

Naik, chief of the IslamicResearch Foundation, whois wanted for alleged terrorrelated activities and hatespeech, is said to have beenin Malaysia since last year.

The Interpol issues RedNotices to locate and detectthe subject when travellingthrough international gateways and inform the agencyconcerned.

Minister of State forHome Hansraj GangaramAhir told the Rajya Sabhathat a request to issue theRed Notice was sent on May19, 2017. The agency soughtclarifi��cations on August 10and October 6 the sameyear.

“However, during the102nd session of the InterpolCommission from December 24 to 27, 2017, the Interpol opined that at that stageof the proceedings, the is

suance of Red Notice for Zakir Abdul Karim Naik’s arrest with a view to hisextradition was premature,since the chargesheet hadnot been fi��led till the sending of the original request.In view of the above Interpol opinion, a fresh warrantwas issued against Naik onNovember 24, 2017, and afresh request of Red Noticewas sent to the Interpol onJanuary 3, 2018. No furthercommunication has beenreceived so far,” Mr. Ahirsaid.

He said the provisionalarrest and extradition requests was sent to the Foreign Aff��airs Ministry of Malaysia, on January 19, 2018.

Extradition request was sent in January


New Delhi

Zakir Naik

No response fromInterpol on Naik: Ahir

‘World needs cooperationnot competition’KAMPALA

The world needs cooperation

and not competition in the

eastern shores of Africa to

ensure that the continent

does not turn into a “theatre

of rival ambitions” again,

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

said on Wednesday,

apparently referring to

China’s growing military

presence in the region.

Beijing, which is Africa’s

largest trading partner,

opened its first socalled

support base for its Navy on

the continent last year in the

Horn of Africa nation of

Djibouti last year. The base

follows decades of Chinese

investment in diplomacy in

Africa, which has raised

concerns in India. PTI

India to build GandhiHeritage Centre KAMPALA

India will build a Gandhi

Heritage Centre on a sacred

site in Uganda where a

portion of Mahatma Gandhi’s

ashes was immersed to pay

homage to the leader’s

universal and timeless values

of life, Prime Minister

Narendra Modi announced on

Wednesday. Addressing the

Parliament of Uganda, Mr.

Modi said Gandhi in his life

and beyond was one with

Africa and Africans and the

story of India’s own freedom

struggle was closely linked to

Africa. At the sacred site in

Jinja, 85 km from Kampala,

where a statue of Gandhi now

stands, a heritage centre will

be built, he said. PTI


CMYK




WORLD

Thai boys ordained asBuddhist novicesBANGKOK

Eleven boys from a soccer

team rescued from a fl��ooded

Thai cave were ordained as

Buddhist novices on

Wednesday in memory of a

volunteer diver who died.

The boys and their coach,

Ekapol Chanthawong, arrived

at the Wat Phra That Doi

Tung temple in Chiang Rai,

where they listened to

Buddhist chants before being

given saff��ron robes. Reuters

ELSEWHERE

Indian student dies ofinjuries in AustraliaMELBOURNE

Indian student Maulin

Rathod, 25, was killed in

Melbourne after visiting a

teenage girl he had met

through a dating site. Mr.

Rathod had visited the girl’s

house in Sunbury suburb on

Monday night and was later

found with lifethreatening

injuries. The girl, 19, has been

arrested and charged with

causing serious injury. PTI

U.S. President DonaldTrump called Chinese tradepractices “vicious” on Wednesday, his latest blast at theworld’s secondbiggest economy as the two sides slug itout in a deepening tradewar.

“China is targeting ourfarmers, who they know Ilove & respect, as a way ofgetting me to continue allowing them to take advantage of the U.S.,” Mr. Trumpsaid on Twitter. “They arebeing vicious in what will betheir failed attempt. Wewere being nice — until now!China made $517 Billion onus last year.”

Titfortat tariff��sThe U.S. earlier this monthimposed 25% tariff��s on $34billion worth of Chineseproducts, drawing a titfortat response from Beijingwhich targeted politicallysensitive U.S. agriculturalproducts. Washington hassince threatened tariff��s onanother $200 billion in Chinese exports, then uppedthat to $500 billion,prompting Beijing to vowfurther retaliation.

Mr. Trump has also accused Beijing of manipulating its yuan currency to giveits exporters an edge, acharge rejected by China.

On another front, Mr.Trump’s administration hashit even its close allies theEuropean Union (EU), Canada and Mexico, with levieson steel and aluminium exports to the United States,prompting retaliationagainst iconic U.S. products,including bourbon whiskeyand orange juice.

Mr. Trump’s latest tweetscame a day after his admi

nistration’s fi��rst acknowledgement that the aggressivetrade actions are causingdomestic pain, with the announcement of $12 billion inaid for farmers who havebeen the primary targets ofChinese retaliation.

‘No winner in trade war’Meanwhile, China’s President Xi Jinping on Wednesday said that there would be“no winner” in any globaltrade war, in a direct warning to Mr. Trump.

“A trade war should be rejected because there will beno winner,” Mr. Xi said atthe opening of a BRICS summit of emerging economiesin Johannesburg.

“Unilateralism and protectionism are mounting,dealing a severe blow tomultilateralism and the multilateral trading regime,” hesaid, without mentioningthe United States by name.

Leaders of the BRICSemerging economies — Brazil, Russia, India, China andSouth Africa — are holdingan annual threeday summit, with attention focusedon the threat of a U.S.ledglobal trade war.

Trump calls Chinesetrade practices ‘vicious’Accuses Beijing of targeting U.S. farmers

Agence France-Presse

Washington

U.S. President Donald Trumphas also accused Beijing ofcurrency manipulation. * AP

Pakistan Army chief GeneralQamar Javed Bajwa on Wednesday urged the people tovote to defeat the “inimicalforces” working against thecountry, amid charges of manipulation by the powerfulmilitary in the elections.

Gen. Bajwa and his wifeexercised their franchise inthe garrison city of Rawalpindi, the spokesperson forthe military’s media wingsaid. He urged the people to“come out and vote undeterred” in order to defeatenemy forces workingagainst Pakistan, DirectorGeneral InterServices PublicRelations Major General AsifGhafoor tweeted along witha picture of Gen. Bajwa at thepolling centre.

“We are target of inimicalforces working against Pak.We’ve come a long way in

our comprehensive nationaleff��ort to fail them. We are united & steadfast to defeatthem, and ‘TODAY’ throughour ‘VOTES’ Please come out& vote undeterred’, COAS,”the tweet quoted Gen. Bajwaas saying.

Malicious propaganda Once the voting ended, thespokesman tweeted again,congratulating the votersand for rejecting “all kinds ofmalicious propaganda”.

“Thank you fellow Pakistanis. World has seen yourlove & respect for Pak.Armed Forces & Law Enforcement Agencies today. Uhave rejected all kinds ofmalicious propaganda. Weare strong because we haveyour unfl��inching support.Our lives are dedicated to Pakistan and its People,” Mr.Ghafoor said. “Pakistan winsagain!”

The cliff��hanger vote pittedPakistan TehreekeInsaf ’sImran Khan against jailed exPrime Minister Nawaz Sharif ’s Pakistan MuslimLeagueNawaz and BilawalZardari Bhutto’s Pakistan Peoples Party. Early projections pointed to a hung Parliament, with Mr. Khan’s

party being expected to winbetween 94 and 102 seats.

As many as 11,673 candidates are contesting for a total of 849 seats of nationaland provincial assemblies inthe election. Gallup Pakistanestimated the turnout at between 50 to 55% in an electorate of nearly 106 million, si

milar to the previous contestin 2013.

The runup to the elections saw a massive crackdown on the media and allegations that the military hassecretly backed the campaign of Mr. Khan while targeting his political opponents.

The military has ruled Pakistan through various coupsfor nearly half of the country’s history since independence in 1947. Even duringthe civilian rule, the generalshave wielded enormouspower, setting the agenda forthe country’s foreign and security policies.

The Election Commissionof Pakistan (ECP) was criticised for deploying soldiersboth inside and outside ofpolling stations. In previouspolls, the soldiers were onlypresent outside the pollingstations.

Defeat inimical forces: Pak. Army chiefSays the military is the target of forces working against country; thanks voters for their support


Islamabad

Bloody disruption: A member of the bomb disposal unit at thesite of Wednesday’s suicide blast in Quetta. * REUTERS

Islamic State (IS) militantskilled about 100 people in aseries of attacks on governmentheld parts of southwestern Syria on Wednesday, including multiplesuicide blasts in Sweida city,the jihadist group and offi��cial sources said.

The coordinated attackswere the deadliest to hit government territory in manymonths. Some 96 peoplewere killed and 176 wounded in total, the head of theSweida health authority toldthe proDamascus Sham FMradio. The U.K.based SyrianObservatory for HumanRights said 156 people werekilled. The IS said in a statement that it had killed morethan 100 people.

Northeast of Sweida city,the jihadists launched simultaneous attacks on sev

eral villages where theyclashed with governmentforces, state media and theObservatory said.

In the city, at least two attackers blew themselves up,one near a marketplace andthe second in another district, state television said.State agency SANA said twoother IS militants werekilled before they could detonate their bombs. The Observatory said the dead included at least 41 civilians.

IS kills 96 people insouthwest SyriaReuters

Beirut

An area in Sweida, Syria,which was targeted onWednesday. * REUTERS

Donald Trump can be hearddiscussing with his personallawyer Michael Cohen howto buy the rights to the storyof a Playboy model, whosays she had an aff��air withthe now President, on a tapereleased on Tuesday byCNN.

The existence of the tape,secretly recorded by Mr. Cohen two months before the2016 election, was reportedlast week by The New YorkTimes, which said the FBIseized it during a raid on Mr.Cohen’s offi��ce this year.

ExPlayboy modelIt involves Karen McDougal,a former Playboy modelwho says she had a monthslong fl��ing with Mr. Trump after they met in 2006.

In the tape, Mr. Trumpand Mr. Cohen talk about

buying the rights to Ms.McDougal’s story, which shehad sold a month earlier toThe National Enquirer for$1,50,000. The tabloid never published the story.

Mr Trump lashed out atMr. Cohen on Wednesdayover the tape. “What kind ofa lawyer would tape aclient? So sad! Is this a fi��rst,never heard of it before?”Mr. Trump tweeted.

Hush money tape onTrump aff��air releasedAgence France-Presse

Washington

Donald Trump’s longtimelawyer Michael Cohen. * AP

A video taken by a Swedishstudent who fi��lmed herselfstopping the deportation ofan Afghan asylum seeker onboard a plane has gone viral.

In a video streamed liveon her Facebook account,Elin Ersson, who is studyingsociology at Gothenburg University, is seen refusing tosit down onboard a TurkishAirlines fl��ight heading to Istanbul.

“A person is going to getdeported to Afghanistanwhere there is war and he’sgoing to get killed,” Ms. Ersson, 21, tells disgruntledcrew members. The incidenttook place on Monday, airport authorities said.

“I am not going to sitdown until this person is off��the plane,” she says.

Her protest sparks complaints from some passengers. “I’m very sorry that aman is going to die and youare more worried about missing your fl��ight,” she tells a

Turkish Airlines crewmember.

‘Let him off��’Some passengers off��er support. A passenger is heardsaying in Turkish, “let himoff�� the plane or we all willgo”.

Ulf Mossberg, a spokesman at the Swedish Prisonand Probation Service confi��rmed the pilot eventuallydecided that Ms. Ersson, theAfghan asylum seeker in his

50s, and the escorts accompanying him had to leave theplane, thereby halting theplanned deportation.

Sweden has registeredaround 4,00,000 asylum applications since 2012 — withmore than one in eight coming from Afghanistan.

“I’m trying to change mycountry’s rules. I don’t likethem. It’s not right to sendpeople to hell,” Ms. Erssonsaid, tears running down hercheeks.

She is seen refusing to sit till the asylum seeker is let go


Stockholm

Taking a stand: Elin Ersson, a sociology student atGothenburg University, Sweden. * FACEBOOK

Swedish student’s protest on fl��ightsaves Afghan from deportation

Pakistan TehreekeInsafchief Imran Khan has beensummoned by the ElectionCommission of Pakistan(ECP) for allegedly breaching the secrecy of ballotwhile casting his vote at apolling station in NA53, Islamabad, according to media reports. Mr. Khan cameunder the scanner whenhe exercised his franchisein full view of the mediaand cameras.

The ECP has asked Mr.Khan to appear before it onJuly 30, Dawn reported.

Mr. Khan’s vote may alsobe cancelled by the ECP forallegedly violating the codeof conduct.

Imran Khansummonedby poll panel


Islamabad


CMYK

BUSINESSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE



NIFTY 50

PRICE CHANGE

Adani Ports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398.75. . . . . . . . . 6.15

Asian Paints. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1450.15. . . . . . -17.60

Axis Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 532.25. . . . . . -13.85

Bajaj Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2638.60. . . . . . -10.05

Bajaj Finserv. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6949.50. . . . . 121.80

Bajaj Finance . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 2705.05. . . . . . . . -8.30

Bharti Airtel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352.30. . . . . . . . -4.50

BPCL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395.65. . . . . . . . -1.30

Cipla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 623.90. . . . . . . . -3.45

Coal India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264.65. . . . . . . . -2.00

Dr Reddys Lab . . . . . . . .. . . . 2088.20. . . . . . . 10.60

Eicher Motors. . . . . . . . .. 27288.30. . . -409.50

GAIL (India). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364.65. . . . . . . . -1.15

Grasim Ind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 985.80. . . . . . -13.75

HCL Tech. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 964.30. . . . . . -27.30

HDFC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2000.85. . . . . . . 25.30

HDFC Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2170.35. . . . . . . 10.60

Hero MotoCorp . . . . . .. . . . 3110.05. . . . . . . . . 1.80

Hindalco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209.00. . . . . . . . . 1.40

HPCL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281.95. . . . . . . . -4.15

Hind Unilever . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1652.95. . . . . . -14.95

Indiabulls HFL . . . . . . . .. . . . 1307.40. . . . . . . 49.20

ICICI Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274.65. . . . . . . . . 0.30

IndusInd Bank . . . . . . . .. . . . 1965.05. . . . . . . 17.65

Bharti Infratel . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 286.90. . . . . . . . . 1.05

Infosys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1383.75. . . . . . . . . 6.60

Indian OilCorp . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 163.10. . . . . . . . -1.85

ITC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286.15. . . . . . . . . 0.50

Kotak Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1314.90. . . . . . . . . 2.65

L&T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1320.70. . . . . . . . -3.30

Lupin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 796.95. . . . . . -24.00

M&M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 910.10. . . . . . -10.30

Maurti Suzuki . . . . . . . . .. . . . 9758.95. . . . . . -73.50

NTPC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151.00. . . . . . . . -6.45

ONGC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159.05. . . . . . . . . 1.85

PowerGrid Corp . . . . .. . . . . . 175.65. . . . . . . . -2.10

Reliance Ind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1115.15. . . . . . . . . 4.20

State Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271.85. . . . . . . . . 5.00

Sun Pharma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 558.15. . . . . . . . -4.55

Tata Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257.85. . . . . . . . -0.95

Tata Steel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 536.00. . . . . . . . . 8.60

TCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1981.50. . . . . . -17.50

Tech Mahindra . . . . . . .. . . . . . 631.35. . . . . . -10.15

Titan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 865.90. . . . . . . . . 4.25

UltraTech Cement. .. . . . 4044.85. . . . . . -91.95

UPL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 637.75. . . . . . . . . 7.55

Vedanta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218.95. . . . . . . . . 2.70

Wipro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274.70. . . . . . . . . 1.75

YES Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382.90. . . . . . . . -1.45

Zee Entertainment . . . . . . 521.05. . . . . . . . -4.20

EXCHANGE RATES

Indicative direct rates in rupees a unitexcept yen at 4 p.m. on July 25

CURRENCY TT BUY TT SELL

US Dollar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 68.58. . . . . . . 68.90

Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 80.20. . . . . . . 80.58

British Pound. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 90.24. . . . . . . 90.66

Japanese Yen (100) . .. . 61.75. . . . . . . 62.04

Chinese Yuan . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 10.14. . . . . . . 10.19

Swiss Franc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 69.15. . . . . . . 69.48

Singapore Dollar . . . . . . .. . 50.33. . . . . . . 50.57

Canadian Dollar. . . . . . . . .. . 52.23. . . . . . . 52.49

Malaysian Ringitt . . . . . .. . 16.90. . . . . . . 17.00

Source:Indian Bank

BULLION RATES CHENNAI

July 25 rates in rupees with previousrates in parentheses

Retail Silver (1g) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41.7. . . . . . . (41.6)

22 ct gold (1 g) . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 2863. . . . . . (2863)

market watch

25-07-2018 % CHANGE

Sensex dddddddddddddddddddddd 36,858 ddddddddddddddd0.09

US Dollardddddddddddddddddddd 68.79 ddddddddddddddd0.22

Gold ddddddddddddddddddddddddddd 30,850 ddddddddddddddd0.03

Brent oil ddddddddddddddddddddd 74.14 ddddddddddddddd0.40

Former Fiat Chrysler chiefexecutive Sergio Marchionnehas died after a 14year career in which he helped torescue the carmaker, thenews arriving on Wednesdaymoments before the groupreported a surprisingly heavy fall in profi��t.

The announcement of thedeath of Mr. Marchionne,one of the auto industry’smost tenacious and respected CEOs, drew tributes fromrivals and tears from his closest colleagues, a collectivegrief that overshadowed abig selloff�� in Fiat Chryslershares.

He had fallen gravely ill after what the company haddescribed as shoulder surgery in a Zurich hospital. Hewas replaced as chief executive last weekend after FiatChrysler (FCA) said his condition had worsened.

FCA’s scheduled second

quarter earnings presentation, led by Mr. Marchionne’s successor andformer lieutenant Mike Manley, began on Wednesday afternoon with a minute’ssilence.

As eulogies fl��ooded in,FCA shares fell up to 10% asinvestors digested an unexpected 35% fall in net profi��t,well below market forecasts.

“Unfortunately, what we

feared has come to pass. Sergio Marchionne, man andfriend, is gone,” FCA chairman John Elkann, scion ofthe controlling Agnelli family, said in a statement.

Back from brinkMr. Marchionne rescued Fiatand Chrysler from bankruptcy after taking the wheel ofthe Italian carmaker in 2004and he multiplied Fiat’s va

lue 11 times through 14 yearsof canny dealmaking. Hewas due to step down at FCAin April next year.

“The best way to honorhis memory is to build onthe legacy he left us, continuing to develop the humanvalues of responsibility andopenness of which he wasthe most ardent champion,”Mr. Elkann added.

On Saturday, FCA namedJeep division head Mr. Manley, 54, as head of theworld’s seventhlargest carmaker, saying the Britonwould execute a strategythat Mr. Marchionne hadoutlined in June.

FCA has said Mr. Manleywill work to ensure a “strongand independent” future forthe group.

On Saturday, Mr. Marchionne was also replaced aschairman and CEO of Ferrariand chairman of tractormaker CNH Industrial, bothspun off�� from FCA.

Fiat Chrysler’s Sergio Marchionne diesFCA shares slide up to 10% as investors digest an unexpected 35% fall in profi��t

End of an era: Sergio Marchionne had multiplied Fiat’s value 11 times through 14 years of dealmaking. * REUTERS

Reuters

MILAN

Canara Bank’s net profi��t forthe three months endedJune rose 11.9% yearonyear(yoy) to ₹��281.49 crore on arevenue of ₹��1,319.46 crore.Net interest income (NII)grew 43%, the bank said in astatement.

“The NII growth is primarily due to the 15.1% yoygrowth in domestic creditbacked by a whopping36.2% growth in retail creditwhich, in turn, has contributed to the 14.9% yoy increase in interest incomefrom advances,” CanaraBank said.

Gross NPAs rise 18.6%While the total business registered a 11% growth to ₹��9.2lakh crore, its domestic business grew by a higher 13% yoy to reach ₹��8.63 lakh crore.

Global deposits rose

9.75%, while its domestic deposits increased 11.6%.

At the same time, thestateowned bank’s grossnonperforming assets(NPAs) rose 18.6% to₹��44,659.56 crore comparedwith ₹��37,657.76 crore duringthe same period a year earlier. Net NPAs rose 9.84% to₹��26,693 crore from₹��24,300.63 crore.

CASA deposits posted a9.1% yoy growth with the

savings bank deposits registering a 11.8% yoy growth.The CASA ratio stood at32.43%.

On the asset quality side,“signs of recovery were visible” with recovery and upgradations, backed by a 56%quarteronquarter improvement in cash recovery.

“The stressed assets ratiois sequentially down to12.1%, from 12.7%, highlighting the consistent eff��orts ofthe bank in improving theasset quality.

Further, the provisioncoverage ratio has improvedto 60.69% from 54.52%,” thebank said in the statement.

Further, the bank has calibrated its growth in the corporate sector by limiting itsexposure to sectors understress and incrementallygrowing its business onlywith those corporations thatare highly rated.

The stateowned lender’s net interest income rose 43%


Bengaluru

Canara Bank profi��t rises 11.9%

The initial public off��er(IPO) of HDFC Asset Management Company was fully subscribed on the fi��rstday of bidding.

As per NSE data, the issue was subscribed 1.03times till 5 p.m. on Wednesday with bids receivedfor 1.94 crore sharesagainst the 1.88 croreshares on off��er in the priceband of ₹��1,095 to ₹��1,100.

The mutual fund entityhad already allotted 66.53lakh equity shares to 61 anchor investors, including35 fund houses, at ₹��1,100per equity share aggregating to ₹��731.86 crore.

The IPO, worth almost₹��2,800 crore, would seeHDFC selling 85.93 lakhshares that will bring to itskitty about ₹��950 crore.

HDFC AMCIPO fullysubscribed


Mumbai

Formal employment, asmeasured by the number ofsubscribers in the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPFO), Employees’ State Insurance Scheme (ESIC), andthe National PensionScheme (NPS), witnesseddoubledigit growth in May2018, according to offi��cialpayroll data released by theMinistry of Statistics onWednesday.

10% growthThe data shows that 7,43,608new subscribers enrolled inEPFO in May 2018, up from6,76,147 in April, registeringa growth of 10%.

Within this, about 34% ofthe subscribers were in theage group of 1821 years, 25%

in the 2225 year age group,and 14.2% in the 2935 agegroup.

Similarly, the number ofnew subscribers in the ESICstood at 12,75,658 in Maycompared with 10,45,048 in

April, a growth of 22%. Heretoo, the 2225 age group contributed the highest proportion — 27.6% — of the newsubscribers, followed by the1821 age group, which accounted for 21% of the new

subscribers. The number ofnew subscribers in NPS grewto 56,336 in May 2018, from46,863 in April, a growth of20.2%.

In NPS, the highest contribution to the number of newsubscribers came from theabove 35 years age group,which made up 29.3% of thenew subscribers.

The Ministry of Statisticsand Programme Implementation, however, clarifi��edthat simply looking at thisdata would not provide acomplete picture of formalemployment in the country.

“As mentioned in the earlier series, the levels of employment are from varioussources, there are elementsof overlap and the estimatesare not additive,” the Ministry said in the release.

‘EPFO, ESIC, NPS subscribersgrew in double digits in May’Data doesn’t provide complete picture of formal employment, says Centre

TCA Sharad Raghavan

NEW DELHI

Quick jump: As many as 7,43,608 subscribers enrolled in EPFOin May, from 6,76,147 in April, a growth of 10%. * R. ASHOK

The National Company LawTribunal (NCLT) on Wednesday rejected a resolutionplan for Jyoti Structures anddirected the resolution professional to fi��le applicationsfor liquidation.

Jyoti Structures, an engineering, procurement andconstruction (EPC) fi��rm, isset to become the fi��rst out ofthe list of 12 companies thatwas handed to banks by theReserve Bank of India for resolution to be headed forliquidation.

80% haircut proposedAccording to bankers, theEPC fi��rm had a debt of morethan ₹��7,500 crore and morethan a 80% haircut was proposed. State Bank of India,ICICI Bank, Bank of India,

IDBI Bank were some of thelenders.

The detailed order fromNCLT on the issue wouldcome out on Friday whichwould throw light on thereasons behind the rejection

of the resolution plan. Therevival plan was submittedby a group of high networthindividuals (HNI) led by Sharad Sanghi.

Jyoti Structures may challenge the decision at the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).

On June 13, 2017, RBI hadrecommended the banks totake 12 defaulting borrowers, each with an exposureof ₹��5,000 crore or more, forinsolvency proceedings.These accounts contributed25% of the total gross nonperforming assets of thebanking system.

Some of the other borrowers in that list of 12 accountsinclude Bhushan Steel, EssarSteel, Lanco Infra, BhushanSteel and Power, Alok Industries, Electrosteel Steel andAmket Auto among others.

First in RBI’s ‘list of 12’ to face liquidation proceedings


Mumbai

The fi��rm may challenge thedecision at the appellatetribunal (NCLAT).

NCLT orders liquidation ofEPC fi��rm Jyoti Structures

The Securities and ExchangeBoard of India (SEBI) hasproposed allowing investorsto use the unifi��ed paymentsinterface (UPI) while biddingfor shares in an initial publicoff��er (IPO) to reduce the public issue timeline from thecurrent T+6 to T+3.

In a discussion paper released on Wednesday, thecapital market regulator saidthat while ASBA — application supported by blockedamount — helped in reducing the timeline two yearsback, UPI could help infurther bringing down the

overall IPO timeline. “In view of the signifi��cant

developments in the payment mechanisms, it is feltthat the unifi��ed payments interface (UPI)... could be incorporated with ASBA me

chanism to further improvethe effi��ciency of the (IPO)process,” stated the paper.

T+3 refers to a systemwherein the equity shareswould be listed on the bourses on the third day from theday the IPO closes for subscription. SEBI had reducedthe IPO timeline from T+12 toT+6 in January 2016 by making ASBA mandatory for allinvestors.

SEBI, however, said sinceUPI had a cap of ₹��2 lakh formoney transfer, institutionalinvestors and high net worthindividuals would be allowed to bid using the existing ASBA process.

Scrips can be listed on third day after subscription closesSpecial Correspondent

MUMBAI

SEBI proposes using UPI toreduce public issue timeline

The housing sector is seeinggreen shoots with growthseen in the unveiling of newhousing units as well as intheir sales in the fi��rst half of2018, according to a reportby Knight Frank, leadingproperty consultant.

The ‘India Real Estate’ report primary tracked property markets of eight cities— DelhiNCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru,Hyderabad, Pune andAhmedabad.

The number of projectsintroduced in the fi��rst sixmonths of the year was 46%higher with just under

92,000 housing units beingunveiled. This growth, however, comes on a lowerbase of 62,738 units in theyearearlier period.

Unsold inventory downSales of housing units rosemarginally by 3% to morethan 1.24 lakh units. Unsoldinventory level, as per thereport, declined by 17% to4,97,289 units. “Both salesand launches have grownover the past 18 months andare at their highest levelsince the demonetisationperiod at approximately1,24,000 and 92,000 unitsrespectively,” Knight Franksaid in the report.

‘Green shoots seen inhousing in H1 2018’ New projects, sales rise: Knight Frank


NEW DELHI

The government’s decisionto infuse ₹��11,336 crore in fi��vepublic sector banks willhelp meet the regulatorycapital requirements, ratingagency Moody’s said onWednesday.

“The infusions are creditpositive and will strengthenthe banks’ capitalisation.”

‘Weakest CET1 ratios’“These banks’ commonequity tier 1 (CET1) ratioswere the weakest among allpublicsector banks as of fi��scal 2018, and were at therisk of breaching the minimum regulatory capital re

quirement of 5.5% underthe Basel III norms,” Moody’s said. The banks thatwould receive the funds areAllahabad Bank, AndhraBank, Corporation Bank, Indian Overseas Bank andPunjab National Bank.

Infusion to help PSBsmeet norms: Moody’s‘5 banks risked breaching Basel rules’

sPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Mumbai


BUSINESSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE



IN BRIEF

Maruti to recall 1,279cars to check airbag faultNEW DELHI

Country’s largest car maker

Maruti Suzuki will recall

1,279 units of the new Swift

and new Dzire to check for a

possible fault in the airbag

controller unit.“1,279

vehicles [566 new Swift and

713 new Dzire] manufactured

between May 7, 2018 and

July 5, 2018 will be covered

in this campaign,” the

company said in a statement

on Wednesday. The

inspection and replacement

of the faulty part will be

done free of cost.

Rane Madras postsfi��vefold surge in profi��t CHENNAI

Rane Madras Ltd., a

component manufacturer for

the transportation industry,

has posted a 394% increase

in its standalone net profi��t

for the fi��rst quarter ended

June 30, 2018, to ₹��13.44

crore from ₹��2.72 crore in the

yearearlier period, due to

robust performance of

steering business. During the

period under review, the

company’s total income

stood at ₹��351.17 crore against

₹��275.80 crore, an increase of

27%.

Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro(L&T) reported a 36% jumpin fi��rstquarter net profi��t to₹��1,215 crore as a strong showing by the infrastructure business powered growth.

Revenue in the threemonths ended June grew18% to ₹��28,283 crore on theback of a pick up in execution momentum in projectbusinesses and robustgrowth in services vertical.

International revenueduring the quarter stood at₹��9,669 crore, accounting for34% of the total revenue, inline with previous year, thecompany said in a state

ment. Infrastructure, hydrocarbon and heavy engineering businesses aided thecompany in registering 37%growth in new order winsworth ₹��36,142 crore, refl��ect

ing a pick up in domestic ordering activity during thequarter. International ordersat ₹��9,404 crore constituted26% of the total order infl��ow.

L&T’s consolidated order

book stood at ₹��2,71,732 croreas on June 30 and international orders accounted for23% of the total order book.

Power segment hitAll the business segmentsperformed well except power, as the unit saw a mutedorder infl��ow of ₹��108 crore.

Revenue from the segment fell 39% to ₹��1,080 croreduring the quarter due to over capacity and aggressivecompetition in the sector.“The segment continues toface business headwindswith intense competitionbidding for the limited opportunities on off��er in a challenging environment,” Larsen said in the statement.

L&T net rises 36% to ₹��1,215 cr.as infrastructure spurs growthRevenue increases 18% to ₹��28,283 crore following a pick up in project execution


MUMBAI

Girding growth: Infrastructure, hydrocarbon and heavyengineering got new orders worth ₹��36,142 crore. * BIJOY GHOSH

In a battle to dominate cloudcomputing services, Googleis taking on rivals Amazonand Microsoft by wooingcustomers with its artifi��cialintelligence and securitytechnologies.

“Security is the numberone worry and AI is thenumber one opportunity,”Google Cloud CEO DianeGreene said at the GoogleCloud Next ’18 conference inSan Francisco, which sawthe participation of morethan 20,000 people comprising customers, partners,developers and Googlers.

“If you look a few yearsback, the infrastructure waslike driving around in ahorse and buggy,” said MikeMcNamara, chief information and digital offi��cer at retailer Target — a GoogleCloud customer — after hewas introduced by Ms.Greene to the audience.

‘3 performance cars’“Today you have got threeperformance cars parked inthe driveway. So you choosethe partner who suits yourorganisation. I think Targetand Google have a lot ofshared values,” he said.

Unity, a leading 3D gameand design developer platform, is also moving fromAmazon Web Services “toGoogle Cloud,” said Ms.Greene, who cofoundedand ran three successfultechnology companies including VMware.

This month U.S. retail major Walmart entered into astrategic partnership withMicrosoft for broader use ofAI and cloud technologies.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai said that AI holds enormous promise and the company is using it to rethink

and reimagine its own products ranging from search,maps, Gmail to Android.

“We call it an AI fi��rst approach and we want to bringthat approach and [its] power to all of you,” said Mr. Pichai, who made a surpriseappearance signaling the importance of the cloud computing business to Google.

The public cloud servicesmarket is projected to grow21.4% in 2018 to $186.4 billion, from $153.5 billion lastyear, according to researchfi��rm Gartner. The business isexpected to almost doubleto $302.5 billion in 2021.

“The cloud is going to be ahuge opportunity for Google... We are deeply investing for the long run and thebest is yet to come,” said Mr.Pichai.

Cloud infrastructureGoogle has spent $30 billionto improve its infrastructureover three years. This includes many football stadiumsized data centres, hundreds of thousands of milesof fi��beroptic submarine cables and hyperfast machinetomachine interconnects.Google has also invested inspecialised processors like

Titan and Tensor ProcessingUnit, Ms. Greene said, adding that Google’s big datatools like BigQuery can process an entire petabyte (1million gigabytes) in 3.7minutes.

Google has also alliedwith other companies to tapinto the moneymaking enterprise business. The fi��rmhas partnered with networking giant Cisco on a hybridcloud and an onpremiseversion of Kubernetes, anopen source project, thatwill ship soon.

“Our joint solution, CiscoHybrid Cloud Platform forGoogle Cloud, will be generally available next month,”said Urs Hölzle, SVP CloudInfrastructure.

Mountain View, Californiabased Google is also betting big to bring its healthcare machine learning tomarket. The fi��rm announceda partnership with the U.S.National Institutes of Health(NIH), to make it easier to access and analyse large biomedical data sets. The aim isto accelerate eff��orts to fi��ndcures for diseases.

(The writer is in SanFrancisco at the invitation

of Google)

Firm vying with Amazon, Microsoft for dominance of cloud

Peerzada Abrar

SAN FRANCISCO

Slice of the pie: AI is the number one opportunity, saysGoogle Cloud CEO Diane Greene. * BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Google bets big on AI,security in cloud battle

Karur Vysya Bank’s netprofi��t for the fi��rst quarterended June 30 fell 69% to₹��45.91 crore from ₹��147.97crore due to higherprovisioning.

During the quarter,gross nonperforming assets (NPA), as a percentageof gross advances, increased 7.44% from 4.27%in the yearearlier period.In actual terms, the grossNPA stood at ₹��3,563 croreagainst ₹��1,807 crore in theyear earlier period. NetNPAs grew 4.50% to ₹��2,088crore against ₹��1,189 crore.

Provisions other thantax were ₹��422.67 crore, upfrom ₹��233 crore. The provision coverage ratio for Junestood at 56.50%.

KVB Q1 profi��tfalls 69% onprovisioning


CHENNAI

RamCharan Group, a ₹��500crore conglomerate with asignifi��cant presence in industrial distribution, speciality chemical manufacturing and educationverticals, has inducted R.Natarajan, a member of theRNT Associates, into theboard of its holdingcompany.

Mr. Natarajan has joinedthe board of RamCharanCo., the holding companyof the group, as an independent member in chargeof strategy andgovernance.

Currently, Mr. Natarajanis the COOcumCFO of theUniversity of Californiaand Ratan N. Tata Fund(UCRNT FUND).

New boardmember forRamCharan


Chennai

JSW Steel reported an almost fourfold surge in Junequarter consolidated netprofi��t to ₹��2,339 crore.

Revenue for the periodincreased 25% to ₹��20,519crore as India witnessed arobust 9.2% growth in domestic steel demand duringthe fi��rst quarter led by higher government spending oninfrastructure and strongconsumer demand, thecompany said.

Margin improvesOperating EBITDA for thequarter improved 95% to₹��5,105 crore while EBITDAmargin stood at 24.9%.

Net debt increased by₹��1,070 crore during the

quarter, primarily due to a₹��865 crore marktomarketimpact of rupee depreciation. The weighted averageinterest cost during thequarter stood at 7.09%, saidJayant Acharya, director,commercial and marketingat JSW Steel.

The shares fell 0.5% toclose at ₹��316.65 on the BSEon Wednesday.

JSW Steel net surgesfourfold to ₹��2,339 cr. Revenue rises 25% on ‘robust demand’


MUMBAI

Ecom fi��rms to face taxaudit over GST refund NEW DELHI

The antiprofi��teering

authority has ordered audit

of major ecommerce fi��rms

like Flipkart, Amazon and

Snapdeal to fi��nd out whether

they have refunded the

excess GST collected from

the consumers. The Director

General of Audit of the

Central Board of Indirect

Taxes and Customs (CBIC)

will conduct an audit of all

major eplatform fi��rms and

submit its fi��ndings to the

authority. PTI


CMYK




SPORT

England is the place to perform. And Australia too. TheWest Indies was up therewhen it rattled the opposition with ferocious speedsters in the ’70s and 80s. Theseaming ball in New Zealandhas always been menacing.Not to forget Pakistan wherethe pressure was generatedmore off�� the fi��eld.

But England, to mostplayers, has thrown up thegreatest sphere of challenge.Kapil Dev, who made fourfull tours to England, acknowledges it vehemently.

“Session to session is whatI was taught when tacklingTest cricket. Each sessionproduces diff��erent tests. It isso strongly experienced inEngland. You are constantlyon trial and that’s the beautyof competing in England, intriguing at every step, literally.

“If a slip fi��elder is everalert and under intense scrutiny, it is in England. I have always enjoyed playing there,”Kapil told The Hindu.

Refl��ecting on his visits —1979, 1982, 1986 and 1990 —apart from the 1983 epic

World Cup triumph, Kapilsaid, “You feel like a complete cricketer if you perform in England.

“The bowler has to minutely mind his length andthe batsman has to monitorhis footwork astutely. It isgripping cricket.”

He was captain of the

team that beat England 20in the 1986 series.

Bowlers, felt Kapil, have tobe “patient” when exploringfor wickets.

“Good line and length isbasic, but patience is an artyou develop. Batsmen toohave to watch out and wait.

“You can’t just take guard

and launch into a coverdrive. That is a shot whichshould be avoided unlessyou have dug yourself in.Coverdrive in England canspell doom.”

As Kapil observed, halfthe battle for the batsman iswon when he decides not togo after the bowler. “Going

after the bowlers doesn’twork in England. The pitchand the conditions dictatethe course of the play.

“In no other part of theworld does weather playsuch an important part. Theplaying conditions changefour times a day and testyour temperament andskills.”

Kapil, who announced hisfi��rst appearance on Englishsoil with a fi��vewicket haul atBirmingham in 1979, learntto “respect” the oppositionduring his stints in England.

“You may go wicketlessthe whole day because thebatsmen are patient. Suddenly, one session may fetchyou three or four wickets because the conditions changeand favour the bowlers. It isso fascinating andintriguing.”

The former India captain,also rated one of the greatestallrounders ever, wants theIndian team to, “wait for thekill. Patience, more than anyother quality, will help youhunt successfully. I believethis team has a real chance toshine in England.”

Patience will help you hunt successfully: Kapil Dev You feel like a complete cricketer if you perform in England, says the Indian legend

Vijay Lokapally

NEW DELHI

Encouraging: Kapil Dev, who has had a great deal of success in England, believes the Indianteam has a real chance to shine in this series. * THE HINDU ARCHIVES

Pawan Shah smashed 282,the second highest individual score in U19 internationals, including six consecutive boundaries in anover, as India posted amammoth 613 for eightagainst Sri Lanka on the second day of the fi��nal ‘YouthTest’ here on Wednesday.

The Indian innings wasdeclared when Shah, an 18yearold righthander fromPune, was dismissed aftermissing out on a triplehundred. His 282 came off��332 balls with 33 boundaries and a six in just underseven hours.

He failed to beat Australian Clinton Peake’s 304not out against India inMelbourne in 1995, whichis still the highest score atthe U19 level.

The highlight of hisknock was six consecutiveboundaries off�� leftarmseamer Vichithra Perera inthe 108th over of the innings. The fi��rst boundarygot him to his doublehundred.

The last time six boundaries were hit in an overin any form of international cricket was way back in1982, when Sandeep Patildid it against Bob Willis inManchester in 1982. However, Willis had bowledseven balls in that particular over, including anoball.The scores: India U-19 613 foreight decl. (Pawan Shah 282,Atharva Taide 177, NikhilWadhera 64) vs Sri Lanka 140for four in 49 overs (MohitJangra three for 43).

Pawan Shahslams 282


Hambantota (Sri Lanka)

Britain’s Geraint Thomasmoved a step closer to winning the Tour de France after pushing Sky teammateChris Froome down thestandings on a 17th stagewon by Colombia’s NairoQuintana on Wednesday.

Thomas held an overnight lead of 1min 39sec oncompatriot Froome, buttook it to 2:31 after the fourtime champion crossed thefi��nish 1:36 behind Quintanaand nearly a minute off��Thomas.

Ireland’s Dan Martin(UAE) fi��nished second onthe stage at 28secs behindQuintana, with Thomasthird at 47 and SlovenianPrimoz Roglic (LottoJumbo) in fourth at 52.

Froome’s failure to stay

with Thomas in the fi��nal fewkilometres of the 16 kmclimb to the fi��nish of the Coldu Portet amid a series of attacks by rivals means the Kenyanborn Briton is in danger of fi��nishing off�� thepodium.

Dutch rival Tom Dumoulin, the 2017 Giro d’Italiachampion, fi��nished behindThomas but well ahead ofFroome to move up to second place.

Welshman Thomas willstart Thursday’s 18th stage,a mainly fl��at 171 km ridefrom TriesurBlaise to Pauwith a 1:59 lead on Sunwebteam leader Dumoulin, withFroome in third.

Friday’s stage is the fi��nalday in the mountains, buthas a downhill fi��nish in Laruns. The fi��nal podium placings will be decided by thepenultimatestage time trial,over 31 km, on Saturday.

Nairo Quintana wins 17th stage Geraint Thomas keeps his holdon the yellow jersey

Powering ahead: Nairo Quintana rides during a onemanbreakaway in the Portet pass. * AFP

TOUR DE FRANCE


Saint-Lary-Soulan

India’s coach Ravi Shastri onWednesday asserted that thecurrent team does not believe in complaining and willnot use tough conditions asan excuse for its performances in what is expected to be agruelling fi��veTest series.

There were reports thatthe Indian team management was not happy with thepitch and outfi��eld at the Essex county ground, the venue of its only warmupgame that was curtailed tothree days owing to a heatwave.

“My philosophy is verysimple — (in) your country, Idon’t ask questions. (In) mycountry, you don’t ask. I said(to groundsmen) leave it, anddon’t take anything off��,” saidShastri at a media conference on Wednesday.

“On this trip, you will nev

er see this Indian team givingan excuse regarding conditions or the pitch. Our challenge is to beat them. Wetake pride in performingwherever we go and we wantto be the best travelling sidein the world. The last to complain will be this Indianteam. I want to clarify this very clearly,” reiterated Shastri.

Dispelling doubtsHe further dispelled anydoubts about complaints regarding the pitch or the outfi��eld. “There was good grasson that (pitch). The groundsmen asked if we wanted thegrass to be taken off��. I said‘absolutely not’ (It is) yourprerogative. You give (thewicket), we play, so whenyou come to my country youcan never ask (about pitches).”

He said that searing heatwas a factor as far as ‘cricketing reasons’ are concerned,and the team wanted better

preparation ahead of the fi��rstTest starting in Birminghamon August 1.

“The game was reducedfrom four days to three because of the logistics and theweather prevailing. We hadan opportunity to practicethree days in Birmingham,which is the Test match venue. If we had played fourdays here we would have lostthat one day there because oftravel. As simple as that. Theprerogative whether to play atwoday, threeday or four

day game lies entirely withthe travelling team,” explained Shastri.

Shastri said the decision toshorten the game was madeduring practice on Tuesday.

“It was decided yesterday(during practice). We had achat (with Essex authorities)and once they explainedhow they had sold ticketsand everything. We werequite happy to play even atwoday game and use thatone extra day for practicehere. But they said ticketsand all that, so we said okay,‘we will play a threedaygame’”

“And travel on Saturday, tobe able to practice on Sunday. The reason is to get tothe Test venue because itwouldn’t have served anypurpose with an extra dayhere. An extra day there willgive us more familiarity withthe venue and the conditionswhere you are playing thefi��rst Test,” said Shastri.

‘We will never make excuses about pitch and conditions’

Passionate and professional: Ravi Shastri has categorically said the Virat Kohliled team doesn’t believe in fi��nding faults andtakes pride in performing wherever it goes * REUTERS

Shastri says the Indian team wants to be the best travelling side in the world

INDIA IN ENGLAND


CHELMSFORD

<> The game was

reduced from four

days to three

because of the

logistics and the

weather prevailing.

We had an

opportunity to

practice three days

in Birmingham,

which is the Test

match venue

IndiaPakistan rivalry insports such as cricket andhockey is the stuff�� of legend— played and watched withstrong emotions.

When India takes on Pakistan in the prequarterfi��nals of the world boys’ teamsquash championships atthe EA Mall here on Thursday, there will be not be a similar feeling, but it would beplaying on the minds of theprotagonists, the players.

Pakistan booked its placein the last16 at the ISAcourts here on Wednesday,after fi��nishing second inGroupF. The defendingchampion (2016), seededeleventh, lost to sixth seedCzech Republic 21 in themorning, and then blankedZimbabwe 30 in the eveningto end up second in its groupbehind the Czechs.

In the third and decidingmatch, Ondrej Vorlicek overcame Muhammad Uzair 114,116, 611, 114 to ensure theCzechs fi��nished at the top oftheir group. They will takeon Switzerland in the prequarterfi��nals.

Haris Qasim thrashed Marek Tanacek 115, 116, 116 inthe fi��rst rubber, before Abbas Zeb came back from being 02 down only lose hismatch to Viktor Byrtus intight fi��ve games 119, 115, 911, 411, 119.

India’s coach Deepak Mishra said India would be thefavourite going into theclash. “A lot will depend onour third player. It’s betweenUtkarsh [Baheti] and Rahul[Baitha]. Overall, I would sayit’s 7030 in favour of us,” hesaid.

“They will be under morepressure than us because wehave the home crowd backing us. We need to have theright amount of confi��dence.

All the players have told methat they are conscious ofplaying Pakistan. Rahulmight get the nod becausewe are playing Pakistan.”

Mohammad Yasin, Pakistan’s coach, said his team,being a new and young, willaim to play without any inhibitions.

The results: Group E: 12Switzerland bt 23Saudi Arabia 30(Miguel Mathis bt Osama Alotaibi 111, 112, 115; YannickWilhelmi bt Mohammad Almwled 115, 112, 112; Nils Roeschbt Abdulmajeed Boureggah113, 112, 111).

Group F: 6Czech Republic bt11Pakistan 21 (Marek Panaceklost to Haris Qasim 511, 611,611; Viktor Byrtus bt AbbasZeb 119, 115, 911, 411, 119;Ondrej Vorlicek bt MuhammadUzair 114, 116, 611, 114); 11Pakistan bt 24Zimbabwe 30(Haris Qasim bt Aedan Martin112, 112,115; Abbas Zeb btTayne Turnock 117, 112, 115;Muhammad Uzair bt AlfalfaPorter 1311, 118, 117).

India, Pakistan clash in pre-quarters

Home team holds the edge over its new and young rival

WORLD JR. SQUASHK. Keerthivasan

CHENNAI

Getting it right: Ondrej Vorlicek of the Czech Republic quelled the challenge of Pakistan’sMuhammad Uzair. * S.R. RAGHUNATHAN

Wicketkeeperbatsman Dinesh Karthik scored an aggressive 82 not out whilecaptain Virat Kohli warmedup nicely for the fi��rst Testagainst England with a halfcentury as India recoveredfrom early jitters to post 322for six on the opening day ofits threeday tourmatchagainst Essex here onWednesday.

Opener M. Vijay (53, 113b,7x4) and K.L. Rahul (58, 92b,12x4) were also among theruns after the visitors optedto bat.

Coming at No. 7 at the fallof Kohli (68, 93b, 12x4) in thesecond session, Karthiksmashed 14 fours from 94deliveries to remain not outon 82 along with Hardik Pandya (33 batting). Karthikstitched 114 runs with Rahulfor the sixth wicket to takeIndia’s score past the 300mark.

Kohli was instrumental inreviving the innings after thevisiting side was reduced tofi��ve for two in the third overand 44 for three in the 19th. The scores: India — 1st innings:M. Vijay b Walter 53, Shikhar

Dhawan c Foster b Coles 0,Cheteshwar Pujara c Foster bColes 1, Ajinkya Rahane c Fosterb Quinn 17, Virat Kohli c Choprab Walter 68, K.L. Rahul c Dixonb Nijjar 58, Dinesh Karthik (batting) 82, Hardik Pandya (batting) 33; Extras (b5, lb3, w1,nb1): 10; Total (for six wkts. in

84 overs): 322.Fall of wickets: 11, 25, 344,4134, 5147, 6261. Essex bowling: Coles 172312, Quinn 154271, Beard162800, Dixon 121500,Walter 150902, Nijjar 90361. Toss: India.

Karthik comes out guns blazing Kohli, Vijay and Rahul are among the runs too


Chelmsford

Double delight: Virat Kohli is all smiles after being chosen asthe Barmy Army’s international player of the year for 2017and 2018. * PICTURE COURTESY BCCI TWITTER PAGE


SPORTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE



SUDOKU

Solution to puzzle 12378 Solution to yesterday’s Sudoku

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

The Bhagavata Purana describes the state of mind of devotees in varying stages of realisation to show the hurdles inthe path to salvation. Prahlada is so full of inherent bhaktibut he is placed in a situation when his own father openlyassaults his spiritual belief. Dhruva, a mere child of fi��veyears, engages in severe penance and is blessed with the vision of the Lord. Devahuti, the devout wife of sage Kardama,represents the ordinary jivatma who realises that it is easy tobe deluded and deceived by the Lord’s Maya and longs forfreedom from bondage, pointed out Sri B. Sundarkumar in adiscourse. For how else is one to account for the way of lifeof many who are not aware of the passing of their preciouslife time and spend it in fulfi��lling worldly aims and aspirations without giving a thought to the reason and purpose ofone’s birth? Devahuti spends many years in devoted serviceto Kardama and then they beget nine daughters who aresuitably married off�� to rishis. At this point Devahuti expresses this regret to Kardama about how she has not sought thepath to salvation. Kardama tells her that soon the Lordwould be born as their son and He would enlighten herabout the spiritual path. When the Lord is born as Kapila,Kardama desires to lead the life of a sanyasi in the forest. Hetakes leave of Kapila, and with His grace, observes austerepenance and fi��nally reaches His abode.

Devahuti, who also desires liberation, is enlightened byKapila’s teachings that focus on devotion. Devotion helpsone to overcome attachments that fetter the jivatma, and devotion is fostered when one seeks the association of the wiseand saintly. Cleared of the delusions of samsara, Devahutipractises the path of meditation taught by Kapila, and is liberated. .

FAITH

Deluded by Maya3 Trick in page order (5)

4 Fancy independent accessory

for gun emptied (7)

6 Idea spent reviewing moderate

changes in water levels (4,5)

7 At home impose advice (5)

8 Reign did turn out to be

insulting (8)

11 Major constellation? (4)

15 Low intensity commotion —

upset about new feature (9)

17 Uprising about inventor

turned leader (9)

18 Strike containers returned by

attendant (8)

20 Foreign currency sent back to

hideout (4)

21 Dwells on breakfast items (7)

22 Sculpture standing without

resistance (6)

24 In the midst of a snake fi��ghter

partly (5)

25 Panic after losing opener to

mistake (5)

13 Annoyed and unsettled I tried

art (9)

14 Blunder right away

disassembling package (6)

16 Support along with press (7)

19 Rather maltreated clothing, it

could keep you warm (7)

21 On the way back, I viewed

sailor tucking into spicy sauce

(6)

23 One entering factory provided

force for one with a case (9)

25 Regularly excels getting a ton

of praise (5)

26 Fuss about lapse by handsome

young man (6)

27 Philanthropist with a liberal

belief saving institute (8)

28 Measure spirit with European

instrument (6)

29 Alienate sloppy sergeant (8)

■ DOWN

1 Firm breaking last electronic

cipher (6)

2 Lack of enthusiasm from girl

with appeal — guy loses head

(9)

(set by Lightning)

■ ACROSS

1 Ill spies could be … (8)

5 … released by peacekeepers

and brought together (6)

9 Rejected second act breaking a

process (8)

10 Thwart sham perfectly

concealed (6)

12 Doctor coloured liquid to get

beer say (5)

THE HINDU CROSSWORD 12379

Wolves sign Moutinho ontwoyear dealCAPETOWN

Premier League newcomer

Wolverhampton Wanderers

has signed Portugal

midfielder Joao Moutinho

from Monaco for £5m on a

two-year deal. The 31-year-

old follows Portugal

goalkeeper Rui Patricio to

Molineux and should partner

Ruben Neves in midfield. “It

was one of my objectives to

play in the Premier League,”

said Moutinho.

IN BRIEF

Pavard wins WC goal ofthe tournament awardPARIS

France right-back Benjamin

Pavard has won the 2018

World Cup goal of the

tournament award for his

stunning strike against

Argentina, FIFA announced

on Wednesday. The 22-year-

old ran onto a left-wing cross

from Lucas Hernandez and

sent a right-footed half-

volley spinning into the top

corner to level the eventual

champion’s last-16 tie with

Argentina at 2-2. AFP

Lee out of Asian Games,World ChampionshipsKUALA LUMPUR

Lee Chong Wei has pulled out

of the World Championships

and Asian Games because of

a respiratory illness, officials

said on Wednesday, after a

gruelling schedule in recent

months. The World No.2 has

been advised to rest and

undergo treatment after

competing in nine

tournaments so far this year.AFP

Mbappe reveals injuryduring World Cup fi��nal PARIS

France striker Kylian Mbappe

has revealed he played the

World Cup semifinals and

final with a back injury he hid

from his rivals. In an

interview with France

Football magazine. “It was

essential not to alert our

opponents, otherwise they

could have taken advantage

of that and targeted this

sensitive area. That’s the

reason why with the staff and

the players we kept it hidden,

even for the final.” The

19-year-old Mbappe picked

up the award for the best

young player at the World

Cup. AFP

Hockey: Women’s WorldCup, Star Sports 2 (SD & HD),4.30 p.m. onwards; India vsIreland, 6.30 p.m.Tour de France: DSport,5.30 p.m.TNPL: Star Sports 1 (SD &HD), 7 p.m.

TV PICKS

Brushing aside the disappointment of losing threeMajor fi��nals this year, P.V.Sindhu says she is determined to change the colourof her medal — from silver inthe last edition — to gold inthe badminton World Championships to be held laterthis month in China.

“The draw is really toughand you have to be patient.Fortunately, the preparations have been good and Ihope to get the momentumgoing from start to fi��nish,”said the 23yearold in an exclusive chat with The Hindu

after another demanding

training schedule at the GopiChand Academy here.

“As the event progresses itis only going to get tougher.Like always, it all boils downto how well you respond tothe challenge on a givenday,” said the World No. 3.

“I am pleased with theway I have been playing,though I may not be winningas many titles as one expects.Sometimes, it depends onthe shuttle and the wind conditions at the venue too.”

Sindhu says she doesn’twant to carry the tag of lastedition’s silver medallistwhen she enters the tournament. “That is past. You haveto live in the present and being in the circuit and havingbeaten some of the best, I am

confi��dent of defeating mostof them as I believe all thepreparations will come goodonce again.”

Not too concerned

She is not too concerned atmany of her big matches going into the third set, whereshe could struggle a bit.

“I don’t think it is the case.A lot of factors come intoplay in such situations. Sometimes, you need an element of luck too. I do believeI am playing really well.”

On the competition in women’s singles, Sindhu felt theChinese were not as dominant as before and that thereare some very good youngsters who could rattle thebest.

“Japan’s Minatsu Mitaniand Nozomi Okuhara (whobeat Sindhu both in the lastWorld’s fi��nal and ThailandOpen fi��nal recently) are doing really well. Then there isKorea’s Sung Ji Yun andWorld No. 1 Tai Tzu Ying ofTaipei, who always is a majorthreat. It is a good sign forworld badminton.”

Refl��ecting on the chancesof meeting Saina Nehwal inthe Worlds fi��nal, Sindhu feltit cannot be ruled out.

A challenge

“If that happens, it will be agreat day for Indian badminton. She has been playingwell and it will be a challenge. I am ready for such aclash if it happens.”

Sindhu determined to go the distance at Worlds The ace Indian shuttler believes she is playing really well

Will she do it? India’s P.V. Sindhu hopes to change the colour of her medal from silver in the lastedition to gold in the Worlds to be held later this month in China. * FILE PHOTO: AFP

BADMINTON

V.V. Subrahmanyam

HYDERABAD

HYDERABAD: M/s. T. RakeshReddy, Premanand Sugandhi,Kodali Venkateswara Rao & AshokRupani’s Symbol Of Gold (B. R.Kumar up) won the Fond HopePlate, the main event of the racesheld here on Wednesday ( July25). Kishore trains the winner.

1 CUPID PLATE (DIV. II),(1,400m), 3yo & over, rated

upto 30 (Cat. III): SHER AFGAN

(Arshad Alam) 1, Glorious Grey(Rohit Kumar) 2, All That Jazz (AjitSingh) 3 and Flowersfromabrook(Md. Ismail) 4. Not run: JasmineGarden. 23/4, nk and 11/2. 1m,30.60s. ₹��10 (w), 6, 30 and 11 (p),SHP: 133, FP: 369, Q: 222, Tla:2,200. Favourite: Sher Afgan.Owner: Dr. A. Jalaluddin. Trainer:Kishore.

2 RANI LAXMI BAI PLATE

(1,400m), maiden 3yo only(Cat. II), (Terms): SOUTHERN LEG-

ACY (Kuldeep Singh) 1, Wings OfEagles (Arshad Alam) 2, NimbleMind (Akshay Kumar) 3 andThat’s My Magic (Ashhad Asbar)4. Nor run: Honourable Guest. 4

1/2, nk and 11/4. 1m, 27s. ₹��7 (w), 5,12 and 9 (p), SHP: 42, FP: 55, Q:61, Tla: 223. Favourite: SouthernLegacy. Owner: Mr. Teja Gollapudi. Trainer: Laxman Singh.

3 WARANGAL PLATE (DIV. II),(1,400m), 4yo only, rated 26

to 46 (Cat. III): SARVATRA (AkshayKumar) 1, Exclusive Symbol (Arshad Alam) 2, Escobar (Rohit Kumar) 3 and Raajneeti (Tanwar) 4.11/2, 2 and 3/4. 1m, 28.42s. ₹��26(w), 7, 5 and 15 (p), SHP: 18, FP:105, Q: 55, Tla: 838. Favourite:Hope Is Eternal. Owner: Col. S. B.Nair. Trainer: Sequeira.

4 ARISTOCRACY PLATE (DIV. I),(1,100m), 3yo & over, rated

26 to 46 (Cat. III): REAL CHAMP

(Arshad Alam) 1, Lightning Fin(Deepak Singh) 2, Rose Petal (G.Naresh) 3 and New State(Koushik) 4. Not run: Lavenderand La Mer. 23/4, nk and 1/2. 1m,7.05s. ₹��18 (w), 8, 8 and 96 (p),SHP: 28, FP: 116, Q: 48, Tla: 2,802.Favourite: Staridar. Owners: M/s.Vinay Kumar & Ashok Rupani.Trainer: Kishore.

5 CUPID PLATE (DIV. I),(1,400m), 3yo & over, rated

upto 30 (Cat. III): GUIDING FORCE

(N. Rawal) 1, Fabulous Art (AkshayKumar) 2, Sisco (Gaddam) 3 andOwn Battle (B. Dileep) 4. 43/4, 11/4 and nose. 1m, 29.56s. ₹��8 (w),6, 7 and 14 (p), SHP: 12, FP: 15, Q:11, Tla: 104. Favourite GuidingForce. Owners: Dr. TeegalaVijender Reddy, M/s. SudheerReddy & Sharath Chandra ReddyMalipedhi. Trainer: Prasad Raju.

6 WARANGAL PLATE (DIV. I),(1,400m), 4yo only, rated 26

to 46 (Cat. III): MOZAMBIQUE

(Deep Shanker) 1, Apowerx(Ajeeth Kumar 2, Wannawin(Deepak Singh) 3 and MoneyTime (Akshay Kumar) 4. 2, hd and11/4. 1m, 27.74s. ₹��7 (w), 6, 12 and 8(p), SHP: 35, FP: 47, Q: 40, Tla:239. Favourite: Mozambique.Owners: M/s. Five Star ShippingCo. Pvt. Ltd. rep. by Mr. & Mrs. K.N. Dhunjibhoy & Mr. Z.K.Dhunjibhoy and Mr. Berjis MinooDesai. Trainer: Laxman Singh.

7 FOND HOPE PLATE (1,200m),4yo & over, rated 42 to 62,

(Cat. II): SYMBOL OF GOLD (B.R.Kumar) 1, Meritocracy (B. Dileep)2, Clarisa (Akshay Kumar) 3 andTitus (Deepak Singh) 4. 1/2, 3/4and 3/4. 1m, 13.83s. ₹��223 (w), 37, 9and 7 (p), SHP: 29, FP: 2,272, Q:1,009, Tla: 5,554. Favourite: Clarisa. Owner: M/s. T. Rakesh Reddy,Premanand Sugandhi, KodaliVenkateswara Rao & AshokRupani. Trainer: Kishore.

8 ARISTOCRACY PLATE (DIV. II),(1,100m), 3yo & over, rated

26 to 46 (Cat. III): SUPER DART

(Kuldeep Singh) 1, Icon Grey(Deepak Singh) 2, Indian Dreams(Rohit Kumar) 3 and Happy Together (Nakhat Singh) 4. 33/4, 3/4and 13/4. 1m, 7.45s. ₹��6 (w), 6, 8and 13 (p), SHP: 14, FP: 14, Q: 12,Tla: 70. Favourite: Super Dart.Owner: Mr. S. Pathy. Trainer: Laxman Singh.

Jkt: ₹��3,562 (126 tkts.), runnerup:1,241 (155 tkts.), Tr (i): 95 (598tkts.), (ii): 481 (109 tkts.), (iii): 337(316 tkts.).

Symbol Of Gold strikes it rich

Ajay Karthikeyan of TamilNadu was crowned thechampion after he playedout a draw with SankalpGupta of Maharashtra in thefi��nal round of the 44th National subjunior (under15)open chess at Kalyani onWednesday.

Ajay, the overnight leaderwith 8.5 points, securednine, which were enough tobeat the rest of the fi��eld.

All the fi��ve players challenging him in the secondposition (with eight pointseach) either played outdraws or lost their match tofall out of title contention.

Utsab Chatterjee of Bengaltook the second spot whileSankalp grabbed the thirdplace on tiebreak scores after tying on 8.5 points each.

With Divya Deshmukhcrowed the girls’ championwith a round to spare, shedid not exert much in the fi��nal round, which she lost toMeenatchi Rajam of TamilNadu. C. Lakshmi of Tamil

Nadu took the second spotwhile Meenatchi was third.

Important results (fi��nalround):

Ajay Karthikeyan (TN) 9drew with Sankalp Gupta (Mah)8.5; L. Srihari (Pud) 8.5 drewwith Utsab Chatterjee (Ben)8.5; Koustav Chatterjee (Ben) 8lost to Kushagra Mohan (Tel)8.5; Aronyak Ghosh (Ben) 8.5drew with Jayachandra SrinivasVellanki (TN) 8; Atri Chattopad-hyay (Ben) 8 drew with Ch. Kar-thik Sai (TS) 8; Tanmay Chopra(Del) 8 drew with Moksh AmitDoshi (Guj) 7.5; Kashish ManojJain (Mah) 7 lost to V.S. Raahul

8; Leon Luke Mendonca (Goa) 8bt R. Rathneesh (TN) 7.

Final placings (based on tiebreak scores): 1. Ajay (9); 2. Ut-sab (8.5); 3. Sankalp (8.5); 4.Aronyak (8.5); 5. Srihari (8.5);6. Mohan (8.5); 7. Raahul (8); 8.Koustav (8); 9. Jayachandra (8);10. Karthik (8).

Girls: 1. Divya Deshmukh (Mah)9; 2. C. Lakshmi (TN) 8.5; 3. V.Meenatchi Rajam (TN) 8.5; 4.M.K Poorna Sri (TN) 8.5; 5. L.Jyothsna (TN) 8; 6. Mrudul De-hankar (Mah) 8; 7. Salonika Sai-na (Odi) 8; 8. Sudipa Haldar(Ben) 8; 9. Eesha Ajay Sarda(Mah) 8.

Ajay takes the honours CHESS


KOLKATA

Young champions: Divya Deshmukh and Ajay Karthikeyan withtheir trophies. * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

The Delhi High Court hasagreed to the suggestion ofthe Yachting Association ofIndia (YAI), which wasagreeable to all parties, toconduct a selection regattain Jakarta, to select the 49erFx women’s sailing team forthe Asian Games.

The selection regatta isscheduled to be held fromAugust 4 to 8, with 57 beingthe race days.

Order challengedVarsha Gautham, with Shweta Shervegar as the crew,had challenged the originalselection of the team of EktaYadav and Shaila Charles,stating that the YAI had not

followed its own selectionnorms. Varsha and Shwetahad won the silver medal asagainst the bronze by Ektaand Shaila in the AsianChampionship, which wassupposed to be part of theselection process.

Justice Vibhu Bakhru hadordered that the IndianOlympic Association (IOA)take a decision on the subject as it was the fi��nal authority on fi��elding the teams forthe Asian Games.

On receipt of the court order and the minutes of themeeting of the emergencyselection committee held onJune 30 by the YAI, the IOAnominated Varsha andShweta as the team for theAsian Games on the basis of

the silver medal.This was challenged by

Ekta and Shaila, followingwhich the YAI had a meetingwith all parties.

Once the decision of thefresh selection regatta wasagreed, the IOA pleaded thatit may not be able to changenames at a later date, butwould make the best eff��ortsto do so.

The YAI has agreed to takecare of all the cost of the selection regatta in Jakarta, including the air fare, boarding and lodging of theparticipants.

It has also agreed, as perthe court direction, to inviteany other party that may beinterested in the race, tomake it competitive.

Delhi HC agrees to selection regatta Kamesh Srinivasan

NEW DELHI

Amateur Seher Atwalgrabbed the spotlight in theopening round of Leg 10 ofthe Hero Women’s Pro GolfTour, carding a twounder70 to claim the joint lead.

Seher, on a break fromcollege in the United States,was tied with Neha Tripathiand Tvesa Malik after Wed

nesday’s action at the CloverGreens golf course.

Seher made only one bogey all day, on the eighth,while Neha and Tvesa, whowere levelpar at the turn,sank three birdies each onthe back stretch.The scores (top six): 70: SeherAtwal (A), Neha Tripathi, TvesaMalik; 71: Amandeep Drall; 73:Gaurika Bishnoi, Vani Kapoor.

Seher Atwal grabs the spotlightSports Bureau

HOSUR

Seher Atwal.

Indian under20 footballcoach Floyd Pinto will takecharge of Indian Arrows inthe upcoming ILeagueseason, it was announcedon Wednesday.

Pinto to takecharge ofArrows


New Delhi

CMYK

A ND-NDE




SPORT


CMYK




SPORT

The Indian women’s hockeyteam would be aiming tomake amends when it takeson a lowerranked Ireland inits second game of the WorldCup, here on Thursday.

India had a bright chanceto score an upset win againstWorld no.2 England in itsPool B opener but settled fora 11 draw.

By virtue of its stunning31 stunning over the USA,Ireland is currently leadingPool B just ahead of Englandand India.

The Indians, on the otherhand, would be desperate toscore their fi��rst win in thetournament.

Goalkeeper Savita wasbrilliant under the bar to deny England on numerousoccasion.

The Indians did createmore chances from openplay against England andthat counted as a positive forchief coach Marijne.

A win will brighten itsknockout chances ahead ofits last fi��xture against USA onJuly 29.

India looks to makeamends against IrelandGoalkeeper Savita was brilliant versus England


London

Need to fi��re: Rani Rampalled India, seeking its fi��rst win, willhave its task cut out against Ireland. * PTI

WOMENS WC

India had a mixed day in offi��ce at the Russia Open as sixsingles shuttlers, includingSourabh Verma and Rituparna Das, progressed to theprequarterfi��nals of the$75,000 BWF Tour Super 100event here on Wednesday.

Eighth seed Sourabh de

feated compatriot Rahul Yadav Chittaboina 2321, 2111 inmen’s singles, while formerNational champion Rituparna dumped local Victoria Slobodyanyuk 2111, 2118 in awomen’s contest.

Also reaching the prequarterfi��nals were SiddharthPratap Singh, fi��fth seed Subhankar Dey, seventh seed

Mugdha Agrey and VrushaliGummadi in singles, whilemen’s doubles pair of ArunGeorge and Sanyam Shuklaalso entered the third round.

However, it was curtainsfor Ajay Jayaram, P. Kashyapand R.M.V. Gurusaidutt asthey suff��ered contrastinglosses in the second round.

While Subhankar ended

Ajay Jayaram’s campaignwith a thrilling 1521, 2114, 2115 win, fourth seed Kashyaplost 2112, 2111 to Japan’s Ryotaro Maruo and Russia’s Vladimir Malkov, seeded second, brushed asideGurusaidutt 2114, 218 inanother match.

The results: Men: Sourabh Verma bt Rahul Yadav Chittaboina

2321, 2111; Siddharth PratapSingh bt Bodhit Joshi 218, 2114; Subhankar Dey bt Ajay Jayaram 1521, 2114, 2115; RyotaroMaruo (Jpn) bt P. Kashyap 2112, 2111. Vladimir Malkov (Rus)bt R.M.V. Gurusaidutt 2114,218; Misha Zilberman (Isr) btPratul Joshi’ 2112, 1821, 2113;Pablo Abain (Esp) bt Chirag Sen2114, 1621, 2116. Doubles:Arun George & Sanyam Shukla bt

Vladimir Nikulov & Artem Serpionov (Rus) 2115, 2115.

Women: Rituparna Das bt Victoria Slobodyanyuk (Rus) 2111,211; Mugdha Agrey bt Yin FunLim (Mas) 2116, 2119; VrushaliGummadi bt Elena Komendrovskaja (Rus) 2111, 2116; ByeolLim Lee (Kor) bt Sai UttejithaRao 1421, 2115, 2118; KristinKuuba (Est) bt Vaidehi Choudhari 2113, 2115.

Mixed day for Indian shuttlers in Russian Open


Vladivostock (Russia)

Sourabh and Rituparna advance to the prequarterfi��nals

Ramkumar Ramanathanlost 64, 64 to Taylor Fritzof the US, world No. 65, inthe fi��rst round of the$748,450 ATP tennis here.Other results: First round:$748,450 ATP, AtlantaDoubles: Mike Bryan & FrancesTiafoe (USA) bt Jamie Cerretani (USA) & Leander Paes75, 61.

$250,000 WTA, Nanchang,China: Doubles: Jiang Xinyu &Tang Qianhui (Chn) bt SabinaSharipova (Uzb) & KarmanKaur Thandi 64, 61; Momoko Kobori & Ayano Shimizu(Jpn) bt JiaJing Lu (Chn) &Ankita Raina 63, 46, [108].

$15,000 ITF men, Jakarta:Niki Poonacha bt ChayanonKaewsuto (Tha) 63, 61;Alexander Babanine (Aus) btNitinn Kumar Sinha 63, 61;Aryan Goveas bt Aoran Wang(Chn) 63, 75; David AgungSusanto (Ina) bt Kunal Anand46, 63, 61; Siddharth Vishwakarma bt LancePierre DuToit (RSA) 63, 63.

Doubles: Connor Farren(USA) & Kaito Uesugi (Jpn) btNiki Poonacha & Nitin KumarSinha 67(8), 75, [1210]; Fitriadi Rifqi & Anthony Susanto (Ina) bt Kunal Anand & Anvit Bendre 46, 75, [106];Courtney John Lock (Zim) &Aryan Goveas bt LancePierreDu Toit (RSA) & Anurag Nenwani 62, 64.

$15,000 ITF women, Taipei:Eudice Wong Chong (Hkg) btAshmitha Easwaramurthi 60,62.

Ramkumarcrashes out

Sports Bureau

Atlanta

Instant reward seems to have become the norm as far as the annualsports awards are concerned.

The Sports Ministry, while announcing September 25 as the revised date for the National SportsAwards this year, also indicated thatoutstanding performances at theAsian games next month could beconsidered.

The Sports Day is traditionally celebrated on August 29 but with theAsian Games on then, the ministryhad decided to postpone the eventthis time. The Asian Games arescheduled from August 18September 2.

“The Sports Ministry has decidedto shift the date as it coincides withthe Asian Games. We want maximum participation at the awards ceremony so we wrote to RashtrapatiBhawan requesting for the changeof date and they agreed,” Sports Se

cretary Rahul Bhatnagar said, adding that performances at the quadrennial event could be consideredfor the sports awards.

Not the fi��rst timeWhile the last date for applying forthe awards was April 30 and rulesmandate taking performances overthe past four years into consideration, this would not be the fi��rst timethe government would use its discretion and recommendations toadd awardees to the list.

In 2016, four names were recommended for the Khel Ratna, including wrestler Sakshi Malik and gymnast Dipa Karmakar, afterimpressive outings at the Rio Olympics barely a few months before.This contrasts with 2004, when present Sports Minister RajyavardhanRathore had to wait a year to be conferred the Khel Ratna despite winning a historic silver at the AthensOlympics.

National sports awardsmoved to SeptemberNecessitated because of Asian Games

overlapping the traditional August date


NEW DELHI

Ananya’s fi��ve for 32 and Shipra Giri’s 72 went in vain asCentral Zone lost to EastZone by 15 runs in the BCCIinterzonal u19 girls’ crickettournament at the Stagground here. The scores:

East Zone 158 for nine in 50

overs (Poonam Nayak 48, Dhara Gujjar 41, Ananya fi��ve for 32)bt Central Zone 143 in 47.5 overs (Shipra Giri 72); North EastZone 27 in 18.5 overs (K. Preetifour for 3) lost to North Zone29 for no loss in 6 overs;

South Zone 110 for nine in50 overs (Hiral Solanki threefor 12) lost to West Zone 111 forsix in 38 overs (Nikita Aage36).

Ananya, Shipra’seff��orts in vainSports Reporter

Chennai

John Gregory, the Chennaiyin FChead coach, has bagged the ISLCoach of the Year award institutedby the Association of Indian FootballCoaches (AIFC).

The award was presented atAIFC’s inaugural awards at the DYPatil School of Medicine in NaviMumbai on Wednesday, a press notesaid here.

Gregory was recognised for guiding Chennaiyin FC to its second ISLtitle in March this year, in his fi��rst ever coaching stint in India.

“This award belongs to the entirecoaching staff��, management andeveryone else associated with Chennaiyin FC for the fantastic last season,” Gregory said in a video message from London.

He said he was excited to returnto India in a few weeks and begin anew campaign for the championsand defend the ISL title.

“The support of a body like AIFCis extremely important for the entirefraternity of coaches. From all of usat Chennaiyin FC, we would be gladto help aspiring coaches out there intheir endeavours,” he added.

Under Gregory, Chennaiyin FCwon its second ISL title in March, fi��nishing the campaign with an eightgame unbeaten run. The victory alsoensured CFC a place in the 2019 AFCCup.

John Gregory named ISL coach of the yearPress Trust of India

Chennai

John Gregory.* FILE PHOTO: BISWARANJAN ROUT

Chandigarh’s Sanbir SinghDhaliwal (codriver Gurpratab Singh Sandu) maintained his lead in the IsuzuRainforest Challenge 2018off��road event here onWednesday.

The four stages on thesecond day were challenging with steep verticalclimbs. Intermittent rainalso made conditionstough for the drivers, withthe track becoming slushyand slippery. There were afew breakdowns but Sanbirnegotiated the hurdles better than the others to ensure his lead. He logged687 points after the ninthstage.

Following him wasCoorg’s Jagat Najappa (codriver Chetan Changappa)with 669 points.

Mervyn Lim (codriverAlex Tan) of Mumbai madea dramatic climb from 14thplace to the third spot.With 567 points, Mervynpushed Gurmeet Virdi (codriver Kirpal Singh Joy) tofourth with 565 points.

Dr. Chaitanya Challa (codriver Sabarish Jagarappa)remained fi��fth with 526points while Chow UjjalNamshum (codriver Ingpeng Mein), who was thirdat end of the fi��rst day’sevent, slipped to sixth with514 points.

Sanbir Singhstays ahead

M.R. Praveen Chandran

Sanguem (Goa)

The newlyelected Delhiand District Cricket Association (DDCA) president RajatSharma on Wednesday announced a threememberCricket Committee to dealwith the State’s cricketaff��airs.

Former India openers Virender Sehwag and AakashChopra, along with Test leftarm spinner Rahul Sanghvi,have given their consent toinvolve themselves instrengthening Sharma’s effort to streamline theadministration.

The presence of GautamGambhir as a ‘special invitee’ in the Cricket Committee, according to Sharma,will need the approval of theOmbudsman, Justice BadarDurrez Ahmed, formerChief Justice of Jammu &Kashmir.

Gambhir was chosen lastyear as Government nominee by Union Sports Minister Rajyavardhan SinghRathore but could not takehis position in the DDCA Executive Committee due tothe ‘Confl��ict of Interest’clause.

Since Gambhir is yet toannounce his retirement,his nomination in the Committee, which will pick the

selectors and coaches forvarious teams for the forthcoming season, will needclearance by the Ombudsman.

The Cricket Committeeis, “authorised to form various selection committeesas per the recommendations made by the LodhaCommittee and the BCCIguidelines for State associations and to give valuableguidance to the Associationfor improvement of cricketin Delhi,” said Sharma.

A coupSehwag’s nomination withthe DDCA is seen as a coupsince he had steadfastlyavoided Ferozeshah Kotlaafter his retirement. “I hadclearly off��ered my supportonly to Mr. Rajat Sharma (atthe DDCA elections) andthis is a continuation of it.We will strive to ensure a decent job,” said Sehwag onhis role as chairman of thecommittee.

The convenor for thecommittee will be the ChiefExecutive Offi��cer. The DDCAhas advertised for the postsof CEO, Chief Operating Offi��cer, GMCricket Operationsand GMMarketing.

The appointments arelikely to be made by August1.

DDCA announcesthreemember panelSehwag to be the chairman

Vijay Lokapally

NEW DELHI Arsenal boss Unai Emerysaid Mesut Ozil has nothingbut respect from his teammates after his decision toquit Germany’s nationalteam.

“We are every player’sfamily. I’m very happy withhim. I’m looking at everyplayer and I think Mesut,he has here the respect ofevery player,” said Emery.

‘Ozil has therespect ofteammates’


Singapore

Serena Williams claims sheis the victim of “discrimination” by US dopingchiefs who are testing hermore than other players.

In a tweet on Wednesday the 23time Grand slamwinner reignited the discussion. “.....and it’s thattime of the day to get “randomly” drug tested andonly test Serena,” she posted on her offi��cial Twitterpage. “Out of all the playersit’s been proven I’m theone getting tested themost. Discrimination? Ithink so. At least I’ll bekeeping the sport clean#StayPositive,” she wrote.

Serena claims

‘discrimination’Agence France-Presse

Paris





LIFE

Longest ‘blood moon’eclipse at midnightPARIS

The longest total lunar

eclipse of this century will

coincide with Mars’ closest

approach in 15 years to offer

skygazers a thrilling

experience on Friday,

astronomers say. The partial

eclipse of the moon would

start at 11:54 p.m. on July 27

and the total eclipse would

start at 1 a.m. on July 28. It

will last for 103 minutes. PTI

IN BRIEF

Demi Lovato hospitalisedfor drug overdose LOS ANGELES

Pop star Demi Lovato was

rushed to a Los Angeles

hospital on Tuesday after an

apparent drug overdose, but

remained in stable condition,

reports said. A former Disney

child star, Ms. Lovato has

been open about her

struggles with addiction as

well as depression and eating

disorders. AFP

Hotel Mumbai, a movieabout the 2008 terrorist attacks on Mumbai, specifi��cally the siege of Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel, willhave its world premiere atthe Toronto InternationalFilm Festival that kicks off�� onSeptember 6. The AmericanAustralian production, directed by newbie AnthonyMaras, stars Dev Patel andAnupam Kher in major roles;Patel also happens to be oneof its producers. The fi��lm also stars Armie Hammer ofThe Social Network fame andthe British Iranian actressfrom Homeland, NazaninBoniadi.

Based on Victoria Midwinter Pitt’s 2009 documentary

Surviving Mumbai, in whichthe survivors recount theirordeals in detail, the fi��lm hasbeen partially fi��lmed in Adelaide and was shot in Mumbai in October 2016 and in JanuaryFebruary 2017. It hasparticipation of a bunch oflocal backroom talent from

Bollywood, specially as assistants in the art, sound, direction, production coordination and line productiondepartments.

India connectDev Patel also features in TheWedding Guest by the prolif

ic British director MichaelWinterbottom. He plays ayoung British Muslim on ajourney across India and Pakistan. Mia HansenLove’sMaya is another international fi��lm with an India connect.About a French war correspondent who heads to Indiaafter months of being heldhostage in Syria it has a newname, Aarshi Banerjee, debuting as Maya.

There are two Indian fi��lmsthat have made it to the fi��rstlist of gala and special presentation titles unveiled byTIFF on Tuesday. AnuragKashyap’s Manmarziyan(English title: Husband Mate-rial), a love traingle set inPunjab, starring AbhishekBachchan, Vicky Kaushaland Taapsee Pannu, will

Bradley Cooper’s remake ofA Star is Born with Lady Gaga, First Man by DamienChazelle, Steve McQueen’sWidows, High Life by ClaireDenis, If Beale Street CouldTalk by Barry Jenkins, Non-Fiction by Olivier Assayas,The Sisters Brothers by Jacques Audiard, Felix VanGroeningen’s Beautiful Boystarring Timothee Chalametand Steve Carell, WhereHands Touchby AmmaAsante, What They Had byElizabeth Chomko, TheFront Runner by Jason Reitman, The Hate U Give by George Tillman Jr., Hidden Manby Jiang Wen, Giant LittleOnes by Keith Behrman, Peter Hedges’ Ben Is Back starring Julia Roberts and Sha-dow by Zhang Yimou.

same name, Mouthpiece isone of Rozema’s most vibrant fi��lms, an honest andheartwrenching portrayal ofa young woman fi��nding hervoice after the passing of hermother.”

“That this movie was written, directed, shot, designed, edited, produced,and costume designed bywomen shouldn’t feel special, but it is — and makes itall the more sweet,” saidRozema.

Unlike Cannes, TIFF hashad no issues with the mediagiant Netfl��ix which has madeit grab a coveted title like Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma.Known to be a platform premiering future Oscar contenders and winners, TIFF’s lineup this year includes

have its world premiere,while Cannesreturned Nandita Das’ Manto will have itsNorth American premiere.

Women to the foreIn keeping with TIFF’s commitment to diversity, inclusivity and gender, the selection includes 13 featuresdirected by women, including the Special Presentationsopening fi��lm by Patricia Rozema, Mouthpiece, described as a “powerful andamusing look into the femalepsyche”. “We are thrilled tobe opening the Special Presentations programme withPatricia Rozema, an iconicCanadian fi��lmmaker,” saidCameron Bailey, Artistic Director of TIFF, adding,“Based on the play of the

Hotel Mumbai to premiere at Toronto International Film FestivalThe movie about the 2008 terrorist attacks on Mumbai, specifi��cally the siege of Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel, will be screened on Sept. 6

The fi��lm, directed by debutant Anthony Maras, has Dev Patel,in picture, and Anupam Kher in lead roles. * WWW.TIFF.NET

Namrata Joshi

MUMBAI

European Union judgeshave ruled that the fourfi��ngered shape of the KitKatchocolate bar is not distinctive enough to be trademarked.

KitKat maker Nestle, thefood multinational, hasbeen trying since 2002 to establish a European trademark for the snack. But theEuropean Court of Justice(ECJ) in Luxembourg onWednesday ruled against it.

That will come as a reliefto lovers of a Norwegianchocolate bar, the KvikkLunsj, that has a similarshape. Its maker, Mondelez,can continue to market andsell the 80yearold KvikkLunsj brand throughout theEuropean Union.

The snack was established in 1937, two years af

ter KitKat hit the shelves inthe U.K. Norway is not partof the EU, but as part of theEuropean Economic Area,takes many of the bloc’srules.

Nestle has already lost alegal bid in Britain — currently an EU member butset to leave next year — totrademark the Kit Kat shape

No ‘break’ for KitKat in EU trademark rowECJ: fourfi��nger shape not distinctive

Associated Press

LUXEMBOURG

The Norwegian chocolatebar Kvikk Lunsj can still besold throughout EU. * AP

Using a radar instrument onan orbiting spacecraft, scientists have spotted what theysaid on Wednesday appearsto be a sizeable saltladenlake under ice on the southern polar plain of Mars, a body of water they called a possible habitat for microbiallife.

The reservoir they detected — roughly 20 km in diameter, shaped like a roundedtriangle and located about1.5 km beneath the ice surface — represents the fi��rststable body of liquid waterever found on Mars.

Whether anywhere otherthan the earth has harboured life is one of the supreme questions in science,and the new fi��ndings off��ertantalizing evidence, thoughno proof. Water is considered a fundamental ingre

dient for life.The researchers said it

could take years to verifywhether something is actually living in this body of waterthat resembles a subglaciallake on the earth, perhapswith a future mission drillingthrough the ice to sample thewater below.

“This is the place on Mars

where you have somethingthat most resembles a habitat, a place where life couldsubsist,” said planetaryscientist Roberto Orosei of Istituto Nazionale di Astrofi��sica in Italy, who led the research published in thejournal Science.

“This kind of environmentis not exactly your ideal va

cation, or a place where fi��shwould swim,” Mr. Orosei added.

“But there are terrestrialorganisms that can surviveand thrive, in fact, in similarenvironments. There are microorganisms on the earththat are capable of survivingeven in ice.”

The detection was madeusing data collected betweenMay 2012 and December2015 by an instrumentaboard the European SpaceAgency’s Mars Express spacecraft that transmits radarpulses, which penetrate theMartian surface and ice caps.

Locations’s radar profi��le“This took us long years ofdata analysis and struggles tofi��nd a good method to besure that what we were observing was unambiguouslyliquid water,” said study coauthor Enrico Flamini, chief

scientist at the Italian SpaceAgency during the research.

The location’s radar profi��le resembled that of subglacial lakes found beneathEarth’s Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets.

Mars long ago was warmerand wetter, possessing significant bodies of water, as evidenced by dry lake beds andriver valleys on its surface.

There had been somesigns of liquid water currently on Mars, including disputed evidence of water activityon Martian slopes, but notstable bodies of water.

Mr. Orosei said the waterin the Martian lake was below the normal freezingpoint but remained liquidthanks in large part to highlevels of salts. He estimatedthe water temperature at somewhere between minus 10degrees Celsius and minus70 degrees Celsius.

Underground lake detected on Mars It is the fi��rst stable body of liquid water found on the red plant and is about 20 km wide

Reuters

Tampa

Pointer to life? An artist’s impression of the Mars Expressspacecraft over an actual image of Mars. * AFP

EU carmakers ‘infl��ating’emissions to skew goalsFRANKFURT

European Union carmakers

may be submitting “inflated”

figures for their vehicles’

carbon dioxide emissions to

soften future targets for

reducing the greenhouse gas,

European Commission

documents show. The

declared emissions are “on

average 4.5% higher than

measured values.” AFP


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