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JOURNALISM OF COURAGESINCE 1932

DA ILY FROM: AHMEDABAD , CHAND IGARH , DELH I , JA IPUR , KOLKATA , LUCKNOW, MUMBAI , NAGPUR , PUNE , VADODARA

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2020, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 22 PAGES `6.00 (`8 BIHAR & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

CHRISTMASIN VALLEYAtStMary'sChurch inGulmarg, JammuandKashmir,ontheeveofChristmasonThursday.ShuaibMasoodi

JOURNALISM OF COURAGESINCE 1932

The IndianExpress wishes

its readersMerry

Christmas

11 Opp parties issue jointstatement against Govt:who is spreading untruths?

MANOJCGNEWDELHI, DECEMBER24

EVEN AS West Bengal ChiefMinisterMamata Banerjee hasbeen coordinating withOppositionleaderstoholdajointrally of anti-BJP leaders inKolkata, the CPM on Thursdayworkedbehindthescenestoget11 parties, including the NCP,DMKand the Congress, to issueajointstatementagainsttheBJPgovernmentonthe farmlaws.Thejointstatementcameon

a day the Congress high com-mandgaveitsBengalunitthego-ahead for entering into a seat-sharingdealwiththeLeftpartiesfor the forthcoming Assemblyelections inBengal.

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

HARIKISHANSHARMANEWDELHI, DECEMBER24

A DAY after farmer unions,protesting at Delhi’s bordersagainst the new farm laws, saidthey are open to talks if amoreconcrete proposal is made, thegovernment respondedThursday saying it is ready for“logical resolution” of all issuesraisedbythe farmers.In a letter to 40 representa-

tives of farmer unions, Vivek

Aggarwal, Joint Secretary,Ministry of Agriculture andFarmers’Welfare,urgedthemtodecide the timeanddate for thenext round of talks, and also

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

BUSINESS AS USUAL

BYUNNY

MINISTRYSENDSLETTERTOFARMERUNIONS

THEWORLD

PEARLKILLING:PAKCOURTORDERSOMARSHEIKH’SRELEASEPAGE16

NIRUPAMASUBRAMANIANMUMBAI,DECEMBER24

ANARMY officer of the rank ofMajorhasbeenfoundculpableinthekillingofthreeRajourilabour-ers,who security forces initiallyclaimed were terrorists, inShopiandistrictofJ&KinJulythisyear,TheIndianExpresshaslearnt.The three, one of thema16-

year-old, had gone to theValleyfrom their hometown Rajouri,looking for work. They werekilled in Amshipora, a village inShopian district, in the earlyhoursof July18.In September, a Court of

Inquiry found prima facie evi-dence that “powers vested un-der the AFSPA 1990 were ex-ceeded”andthe“dosanddon’tsof Chief ofArmyStaff (COAS)as

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Amshiporakillings: foundculpable, Majorto face action

Outrage as IIM-A to raze iconicdorms designed by Louis KahnRITUSHARMA&SHINYVARGHESEAHMEDABAD,NEWDELHI,DECEMBER24

A CONTROVERSY has eruptedover a decision by the IndianInstitute of Management,Ahmedabad, to bring down 18studentdormitoriesbuiltbyleg-endaryAmericanarchitectLouisKahn on the old campus— alsocalled "heritage campus"—andreplacethemwithnewbuildings.Theplantoreplacethebuild-

ings,builtinthe1960s,withnewonesareonthegroundthattheyhavesufferedstructuraldamageover the years, including in the2001earthquake.Thenewbuild-ingsarealsoexpectedtoaccom-modatemorestudents—inplaceof theexistingdorms,whichcanaccommodate500students,theplan is to build 800 studentroomsinanewhostelcomplex.Thedecisionwas taken even

as theMumbai-based SomayaandKalappa Consultants (SNK)wasalreadyworkingonrestoring

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

DesignedbyLouisKahnontheoldcampus.NirmalHarindran

Delhi Police searchoffice of Pracha, lawyerin several riot cases

ANANYATIWARI&APURVAVISHWANATHNEWDELHI, DECEMBER24

THESPECIALCellofDelhiPolicesearched the Nizamuddin Eastoffice of lawyer MahmoodPrachaThursday.Pracha’sfirmLegalAxisisde-

fendingseveralpersonsaccusedin different cases related to the

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

MahmoodPracha

ENSECONOMICBUREAUMUMBAI,DECEMBER24

WITH THE INDIAN economypulling out of the Covid pan-demic’s “deep abyss”, the realGDPisexpectedtobreakoutintopositive territorywitha slendergrowth of 0.1 per cent inOctober-December 2020 (Q3),and rise marginally to 0.7 percent in January-March 2021(Q4), according to an RBI studyonthe ‘Stateof theEconomy’.An update of the economic

activityindex(EAI)inRBI’s now-castingassessmentexercisefur-ther shows that in the first half

of 2021-22, the economywillclock a growth rate of 14.2 percent on top of the 0.4 per cent

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

ABENDINGoftheCovid-19curve,anda'method'tothestimulusimpartedbythegovernmentseemstobemakingadifference.Astringof liquiditymeasurespluscash/kindsupporttothemostvulnerableintheinitialmonthswasfol-lowedbycalibratedmovestosupportinvestmentandconsumptiondemand,which,theRBIstudysays, isslowlyshowingresults.

WhatworkedforgrowthE●EX

PLAINED

FROMTHE

PUNJABFIELDS

AN EXPRESS SERIES PART3PAGE8

Three farmlawshavenorelationtoMSP-basedprocurement,saysministry

Tell uswhen youwant to talk,ready for ‘logical’ solution: Govt

In firsthalf of2021-22,GDPgrowth likely tobe14.2percent

Growth to break intopositive territory inQ3, says RBI study

Violatesdueprocessof clients, saylawyers;policeallege forgedpapers

New Delhi

THESECONDPAGE2 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,DECEMBER25,2020

Growth to breakinto positiveterritory in Q3, saysRBI studygrowthrate in thesecondhalf of 2012-20.“Overthemonthgoneby,moreevidencehasbeen

turnedintoshowthattheIndianeconomyisbreakingout amidstwinter’s lengthening shadows towards aplace in the sunlight,” the study said. The economydipped by a record 23.9 per cent in the June quarterbut thecontractionnarroweddownto7.5percent intheSeptemberquarter.The National Statistical Office’s (NSO) end-

Novemberreleasedeliveredapleasantsurprise–thepandemic-imposed retrenchment of Q1 of 2020-21turnedout tobemuchshallower inQ2andtheecon-omyisreflatingatapacethatbeatsmostpredictions,it said.Two factors are blessing this turning of the page:

one, a bending of the Covid infection curve, and sec-ond,a‘method’tothestimuluswhichstartedwithliq-uidity/guaranteeandcash/kindsupporttotheecon-omy, which is now transiting in a calibrated fashiontosupport investmentandconsumptiondemand.The RBI paper said the fourth bi-monthly resolu-

tion of themonetary policy committee (MPC) didmaintainstatusquoonthepolicyrateandstance,buta powerful messagewas conveyed: growth projec-tionswererevisedupwardsby200basispoints fromOctober. If theyhold, the Indianeconomywill clockagrowth rate of 14.2 per cent in the first half of 2021-22 on top of 0.4 per cent in the second half of 2020-21, thestudysaid.On thewhole, the above-the-line fiscal stimulus

will likelyboost growthbyclose to2per centof GDPin 2020-21. In other words, it is prudent to look be-yondthevolatility inherent inhighfrequencyindica-tors,theRBIsaid.“Companiesaredoingsoalready–ananalysisof12-monthsaheadforwardearningsrevealsimprovement in the outlook for a large number ofcompanies,” it said.Goingforward,inthesecondhalfof2020-21,while

the fisc is likely tobenefit frombetter receipts in linewith normalisation of economic activity, the pushgiven through various expendituremeasures by theGovernment, essentially on-budget ones throughAtmaNirbhar 2.0 and 3.0 is likely tomaterialise, theRBI studysaid.Gross fiscal deficit toGDPratio is likely tomoder-

ate from14.5percentofGDPinthefirsthalf of 2020-21 to10.4percentofGDP in thesecondhalf of 2020-

21, the RBI said. Taking into account these develop-mentsandassumingmajorexpenditurepush–partlyinQ3andmostly inQ4,basedonGDPgrowthaspro-jected in the Reserve Bank’s December 2020mone-tary policy review, the Q3 and Q4 combined fiscaldeficit are projected at 8.3 and 12.4 per cent of GDP,respectively, with corresponding 50 per cent confi-dence intervalestimatedat7.8-8.8percentand11.6-12.9percent, it said.Thebuild-upofcombinedfiscaldeficitinH1:2020-

21 is sharper, but attributablemostly to thedevelop-mentsinQ1.Goingforward,withtheseverest impactof Covid on government finances already realised inQ1, there is scope for Centre and states to continuewiththecounter-cyclicalfiscalsupport,whichisnec-essary tosustain themomentumof recovery, theRBIstudysaid.TheaverageGFDforthestatesthatmadepost-out-

breakbudgetpresentationsis4.6percentofGSDPvis-a-vis 2.4 per cent for states presenting their budgetbeforetheoutbreakof thepandemic. InQ1andQ2of2020-21,thefiscaldeficit forstateswasat5.0percentand2.5per centof quarterlyGDP, respectively,muchhighercompared topreviousyears, it said.

Outrage as IIM-A toraze iconic dormsdesigned by LouisKahnthe existingdorms, alongwith theVikramSarabhaiLibrary, thefacultyandadministrativeblocksandtheclassroom buildings, based on a competition it hadwonin2014.Lastyear, thefirmwonaUNESCOawardfor the library restorationwork.Somaya,oneof thefoundersofSNK,confirmedto

The IndianExpress: “Iwasnot awareof thenewbid”Amid theuproar over IIM-A's decision, an online

meetingscheduledonThurdaytoopenthenewbidswasputoff.Justifying the decision to bring down the dorms,

IIM-ADirectorProfErrolD'Souzawrotea11-pagelet-ter onWednesday to the institute's alumni, citingmultipleproblemsintheexistingstructurethatmadeit "unliveable", among them "concrete and slabsfalling from the roofswith damaging consequencesfor the livesof the residents".When contactedwith questions on the decision,

D’Souza told The Indian Express, “I have written tothealumniyesterday.Thequeriesyouhaveraisedareanswered in that letter.”Architecture experts, students and faculty, how-

ever,expresseddeepanguishthatKahn's iconicworkon thecampus shouldbebroughtdown.Revered as one of theworld’s finest architects of

the 20thCentury, Kahn is known to create powerfuland evocative compositions of geometry and space.The IIM-A campus is a choreography of form, lightandshadowinbrick.Kahn,who first came to India in 1962at the invi-

tationof IIM-Afounder-directorVikramSarabhai, asconsultant for the National Institute of Design, gavehisbuildings apoise fewcouldachieveat the time.Hiswork--beittheSalkInstituteinCalifornia, the

Kimbell Museum in Texas, or the Phillips ExeterAcademyLibraryandDiningHall inNewHampshire-- allowedpeople to explore quiet corners in the in-betweenspaces.WilliamWhitaker, curator and collectionsman-

agerof theArchitecturalArchivesof theUniversityofPennsylvania'sWeitzmanSchoolofDesignthatman-agesKahn'sarchives,said, “TheIIM-Arevivedapres-tigious award fromUNESCO for the conservation ofthe Vikram Sarabhai Library. The award also calledouttheschool’scommitmenttoitsarchitecturalher-itageasamodel for India. It isabitter ironytoseetheadministrationturntheirbacksontheirownaccom-plishments. The school and the dorms are a unit.Remove one and themagic dissipates, never to re-turn.”Rabindra Vasavada, one of the first architects to

joinKahnasassistantinthe1960s,callstheideaofde-molishingthedormitoriesanerasureofhistoryitself.“Kahnwas always in search of the roots of insti-

tutions... Inthiscase, itwasaninstitutionof learning.Hesaweverystudentasadisciple.Thatvaluewasen-shrined in every dormitory, where 10 of them livedtogether. Out of their classrooms, the dormitorieswereaspacewherepeoplecouldgettogethertoshareideas, without any sense of exclusivity,” saysVasavada.Inhislettertothealumnigroup,D'Souzahad,how-

ever,wonderedif itwas"appropriate... tocolonisefu-tureperceptionsof livingspaces".“We have grappledwith questions as towhywe

should presume that the past is not changeable andwhywe should assume that future generationswillvaluethings inexactly thesamewaythatpastgener-ations have,” D'Souzawent on to say, adding, "In to-day’sworld,ourexperienceisthatstudentshardlyusethesesharedspacesastheyhavegravitatedtovirtualmodes."Ahmedabad based architect Riyaz Tayabji said,

"Thesearebuildingsofgreatarchitecturalsophistica-tion. Their sheer frugality in a time of sparsemeansshowedus that great architecture is not a luxury butcouldbeachievedwith thebarestof resources."A facultymember at IIM-A said, “Among thema-

jor issues is that theculturalheritageassociatedwith

thecampuswillbe lost.Wecanunderstandthattheyaredoingthisbecauseof increasingstudentcountbutdoing awaywith thesewill alsomean losing the so-cial andcultural aestheticsof thecampus.”

Delhi Police searchoffice of Pracha,lawyer in severalriot casesDelhi riots inFebruary thisyear– thesecases include

those in which sections of the stringent UnlawfulActivities(Prevention)Act(UAPA)havebeeninvoked.InAugust,policetoldaDelhicourtthatPrachahad

forged documents and instigated aman to deposefalselyinacaserelatedtotheriots.AdditionalSessionsJudgeVinodYadav, in anorder, had said “itwouldbeappropriate if thematter is investigated by an inde-pendentagencylikeCrimeBranchorSpecialCell”.AnFIRwas filed in thematter.AccordingtoPracha’sassociate,advocateDigvijay

Singh,thelawfirmishandlingnearly150riot-relatedcases, including one filed against student activistGulfisha Fatima,who is in judicial custody in aUAPAcase.Additional PRO (Delhi Police) Anil Mittal said,

"During the course of a bail matter pertaining to anaccused in the Northeast Delhi riots, use of a forged

notary stampand creationof allegedly false/manip-ulated evidence at the hands of certainmembers oftheBarwasnoticed. TheSpecialCourthadobservedthat this required thorough investigation. Pursuantto this, a criminal caseunderappropriate sectionsoflawwas registeredand investigationwas takenup.”“During the course of investigation, searchwar-

rants to look for electronic and other evidence fromthe premises of twomembers of the Bar were ob-tained from the Court and the same are being exe-cuted in a professional manner at one location inNizamuddinandanother atYamunaVihar," he said.The searchwarrant, issued on December 22 un-

der Section 93 of the CrPC, states, “This is to autho-rise and require investigating officer of this case tosearch for the said incriminating documents andmetadataofoutboxofemail ID…wherevertheymaybefoundwhether incomputeror intheoffice/prem-ises…includingoutboxofemail ID…aswellasotheroffices/premises where presence of such evidenceare detected during the search/investigation, and, iffound, to produce the same forthwith before thiscourt.”Policemen barred entry to Pracha’s Nizamuddin

Eastofficewhilethesearcheswereon. Intheevening,fromthesecondfloorbalcony,Prachasaid,“Myphonehas been seized. I am being threatened. I have toldthemtheycantakethings frommycomputers, frommyofficeandevenmyhome.Attheendoftheday,theConstitutionwillwin. It isnotsoweak…Wewillen-sure that eachandevery riot victimgets justice.”LawyersworkingwithPrachafiledanapplication

withCMMPankajSharmaagainst theseizureofma-terial. It is expected tobeheardFriday.The application seeks a clarification from the IO

of thesearchwarrant, stating that the teamis “beingcompelled toprovide allegeddocuments and is alsobeing told that in failure to do so all the computers,documents etc at the saidpremiseswill be seized”.Senior advocate Indira Jaising, in a Twitter post,

describedthesearchesas“adirectattackonthe fun-damental right of the right to legal representation”andsaid “all lawyersmust condemnthis attack”.Senior advocate Chander Uday Singh said: “This

raidwillhaveachillingeffectonlegalrepresentationif lawyers’recordsarerandomlysearchedandseized.”Lawyer PrashantBhushan said: “The targetingof

lawyers who are defending those who have beenframed is the next step in this conspiracy to frameprotestors, activists and their lawyers in the guise ofan investigation.”

Amshipora killings:found culpable,Major to face actionapproved by the Hon’ble Supreme Court have beencontravened”.TheSummaryofEvidencethatfollowedwascom-

pleted lastweek, and it found that theMajor shouldbe triedundervarious sections.The recommendations of the Summary of

Evidence have been forwarded to Lt Gen Y K Joshi,GOC-in-C, Northern Command, sources told TheIndianExpress.Thenextstepintheprocess isacourtmartial.A Defence spokesperson said Thursday: “The

process of recording the ‘summary of evidence’ hasbeencompleted.Thesameisbeingexaminedbytheconcernedauthorities in consultationwith legal ad-visors forproceeding further.Indian Army is committed to ethical conduct of

operations. Further details will be shared in aman-nersoasnottoprejudicetheproceedingsunderArmylaw.”The Amshipora incident took place in the early

hours of July 18. A Major and two soldiers of 62Rashtriya Rifles formed the initial encounter party,andwere later reinforcedby teamsof the J&KPoliceandCRPF.OnJuly19, theCommanderof12SectorRRhelda

press conference to announce that three terroristshad been killed in the encounter, which had takenplace following a cordon-and-search operation inAmshiporaon“specific input”tothe62RRunitaboutthepresenceof terrorists in thevillage.TheArmygaveadetailedaccountsayingthesecu-

rity forces had been fired upon, that there was ex-changeof fire,andduringtherecoveryofbodies, theyhadfoundarms,ammunitionandIEDmaterialatthehideout.This version began unravellingwhen a family in

Rajouri filed amissingperson's complaint inAugustabout threeof its familymembers– ImtiyazAhmed,AbrarAhmedandMohdIbrar–whohadtravelledtoKashmir to look foremployment in July, andwere intouchwith them overmobile phones until July 16.The family had been unable to contact them there-after.According to the family, they had seen photo-

graphs of the bodies from the encounter, and hadidentified themas their threemissingmembers.This led to an uproar in the Valley as well in

Rajouri, and in the Gujjar community. The Army setupaCourtof Inquiry,whilethepolicecarriedouttheirown investigation.The men had been buried at a graveyard in

Baramulla, where unidentifiedmilitants suspectedto have infiltrated from Pakistan, are interred. TheirbodieswereexhumedinOctoberforDNAtests,whichconfirmed the family's claims.

FROMPAGEONE

Govt says ready for logicalresolution of farmer issues

11 Opposition parties issuejoint statement against govt

“give details of other issues onwhichyouwant tonegotiate”.“The Government of India

againwantstoreiterate itscom-mitment that it is ready for logi-cal resolutionof all issues raisedby the agitating farmerunions,”hesaid.WritingtotheMinistryaday

earlier, farmer unions had saidthatapart fromthethreecentralActs, “your ‘proposal’ onMinimum Support Prices hadnothingclearorconcretewhichdeserved a response from ourside. On Minimum SupportPrices, you had proposed a‘writtenassurance’with regardto continuing the current pro-curement system. However,farmers’ organisations are de-manding a legal guarantee thatall agricultural commoditieswill be purchased only at MSPor above, that too at an MSPfixed with C2+50% formula asper the National Farmers’Commissionrecommendation.When the Government sendsthe draft of such a legislation(for legally guaranteed realisa-tionof remunerativeMSPforallagricultural commodities andfor all farmers), we will give adetailed reply without any de-lay.”Seeking a legal guaranteeon

MSP, theunionsarenowlinkingMSPto the“C2+50% formula”.In a memorandum to the

AgricultureSecretaryonOctober

14, union representatives hadlisted five demands, of whichthreewererelatedtoMSP,whichincludedimplementationof theSwaminathan Commission re-port “to fix MSP with C2+ 50%formulae"; andmakeMSP andstate procurement of all crops alegal rightof farmers.The Commission for

Agricultural Costs and Pricesprojects three kinds of produc-tion cost -- A2, A2+FL, and C2 --for every crop, both at state andall-Indiaaverage levels.A2 covers all paid-out costs

directly incurred by the farmer— in cash and kind— on seeds,fertilisers, pesticides, hiredlabour, leased-in land, fuel, irri-gation, etc.A2+FL includes A2 plus an

imputed value of unpaid familylabour.C2 is amore comprehensive

costthatfactorsinrentalsandin-terest forgone on owned landandfixedcapitalassets,ontopofA2+FL.Referring to theMSP-related

demandoftheunions,Aggarwalwrote,“Thethreelawsrelatedtoagricultural reformshaveno re-lation to theminimum supportprice-basedprocurementnordothesehaveanyeffectonthesys-temofMSP-basedprocurementsystemalready there before theenactmentof these three laws.”“Thiswasmentionedinevery

round of talks. It was also clari-

fiedthatthegovernmentisreadyto give a written assurance re-garding the continuation of thepresent system of MSP-basedprocurement,”hesaidinthelet-ter.“It does not seem logical to

put any new demand on thissubject, which is removed fromthenewagricultural laws.Butasstatedearlier, thegovernment isready todiscuss all issues raisedbyyou,”Aggarwal said.On the unions stand on the

Electricity Amendment Act andthe issue of stubble burning, hesaidthegovernment isreadyfortalksonadditionalissues–otherthan issues identified at theDecember 3meeting betweenthegovernmentandtheunions.He said the government is

ready todiscuss the issues,withgood intentions and an openheart, toendtheagitation.A day earlier, reading from

thelettersentbyfarmerleaders,SwarajIndiapresidentYogendraYadav told the press at Singhuborder: “We urge the govern-mentnot to repeat thosemean-ingless amendmentswhichwehave already rejected, but tocome up with a concrete pro-posal in writing, so that can bemadeanagendaandtheprocessof negotiation can be started assoonaspossible.Wearewaitingfor the government to proceedwithanopenmindandcleanin-tentions.”

So far, Banerjee has reachedout to NCP chief Sharad Pawarandisplanningtoinviteregionalleaders such as AAP’s ArvindKejriwalandDMK’sMKStalintotheKolkata rally.Her attempt torallyOppositionleadersaheadoftheelections--tosignalthatsheis leading the battle against theBJP -- is worrying for theCongress-Left, which is tryinghard to turn thebattle into a tri-angular fight.The joint statement issued

on Thursday – signed byCongress’sRahulGandhi,Pawar,DMK’s T R Baalu, J&K PAGDpresident Farooq Abdullah, SPchief Akhilesh Yadav, RJD’sTejashwi Yadav, CPM generalsecretary Sitaram Yechury, CPIgeneral secretary D Raja,CPI(ML) general secretaryDipankar Bhattacharya,Forward Bloc’s DebabrataBiswas and RSP’s ManojBhattacharya–slammedPrimeMinisterNarendraModi for ac-cusingtheoppositionpartiesoflying to farmers about the newfarm laws.Thesearethesame11parties

that had earlier issued a state-ment supporting the BharatBandh called by farmer unions

on December 8. As in the past,the AAPwas not a signatory toThursday's statement.“The PrimeMinister’s accu-

sations are a complete travestyof truth... Many of us had op-posed these Agri Laws whenthey were being enacted inParliamentwithout discussionsor proper consideration. MPswho sought a vote were sus-pended,” thestatement said.“Amongst themany unsub-

stantiated accusations made,one of them is that those whospoke of agrarian reforms inelectionmanifestos earlier butare now opposing. Yes, we arefor reforms, butwhat sort of re-forms? Opposition parties seekreforms to strengthen Indianagriculture; enhance the pros-perity of our farmers; and en-surecontinuedfoodsecurityforourpeopleandthecountry.Thepresent farm laws underminetheseveryobjectives,”thestate-ment said.Slamming the government

for accusing the opposition ofspreading lies on theMSP, thestatement read, “The PMclaimsimplementingtheSwaminathanCommission Report in this re-gard. This Report had recom-

mended anMSP of C2+50 percent, while this government, atbest, implements A2+50 percent.Infact,thisgovernmenttoldtheSupremeCourtitsinabilitytoimplementC2+50percentMSP.Who is spreadinguntruths?...”Hailing the “unity, grit and

determination”beingshownby“lakhs of farmers from Delhi’sneighbouringstatesinthemidstof aseverecoldwaveinapeace-ful manner", the statementcalled for a repeal of the newlaws, alongwith the Electricity(Amendment) Bill 2020."Following this, discussions onagrarianreformsmustbeheldbytheCentralgovernmentwiththefarmersandallstakeholders.Onthe basis of these consultations,newenactmentsmaybeconsid-eredbyParliament, if necessary,by convening a special or a jointsession,” theysaid.Separately, senior Congress

leader Rahul Gandhi led a partydelegation to President RamNath Kovind, seeking his inter-vention for repeal of the threefarmlaws.Amemorandumsub-mitted by theparty said an "au-tocraticModi government"wasrefusing to hear the "agony andanguish"of the farmers.

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

Whattheresultsof theDDCpollsmeanforJammu&KashmirNEWEPISODEEVERYDAY

In today’sepisodeof the3Thingspodcast,wedecodetheresultsof theDDCpolls, thefirstelectoralexercise totakeplace in J&Kafter theabrogationof its special status

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EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, DECEMBER24

FIFTY-ONE lakh people inDelhi— comprising healthcare staff,frontlineworkers, people withco-morbidities and those agedabove50years—willbeadmin-istered Covid-19 vaccine in thefirstphase,ChiefMinisterArvindKejriwal saidonThursday.Addressing awebcast on the

rollout of the vaccine, expectedearly next year, in the nationalcapital, Kejriwal said the admin-istrationhas identifiednearly allthe51lakhcitizensunderthe“pri-oritycategory”forvaccination.TheDelhigovernment’splan

isinlinewiththerecommenda-tions made by the NationalExpert Group on VaccineAdministration of Covid-19(NEGVAC).Kejriwal saidDelhihasmade

the necessary arrangements toreceive and store the vaccinedoses in two separate facilities:an existing cold storage facility,and the Rajiv Gandhi SuperSpecialityHospital,whereanareaof about 5,000 squaremetres isbeingusedasastoragecentre.He said 1.2 crore doses are

needed to cover priority cate-gories in the firstphase.KejriwalsaidDelhihasabout

3lakhhealthcareworkers,6lakhfrontlineworkers, andabout42lakhpeoplewhoareagedabove50yearsorhaveco-morbidities.“Wehave identifiednearlyallofthem and the identificationwork will be wrapped up in aweek,”hesaid.Those identifiedwill be con-

tactedviaSMS.“Thegovernmentwill informthemabout the timeandvenueofvaccination,”hesaid.Over the last few weeks,

teams comprising ASHAwork-ers, teachers and civil defencevolunteers have been carryingoutdoor-to-doorsurveys,collect-

ingthenamesandcontactdetailsof those agedabove50andper-sonswithco-morbidities.“Rightnow,Delhihastheca-

pacity to store 74 lakh vaccinedoses and this is being aug-mented.Inthenextfivetosevendays,thecitywillbeabletostore1.5 lakhdoses,” saidKejriwal.The government has also

made a separate plan to ensuremedical help in theeventof thevaccine triggering any adversereaction.Three vaccine candidates —

BharatBiotech’sCovaxin,SerumInstitute-Oxford’s Covishieldand the Pfizer’sm-RNA vaccine— are in the fray for emergencyuseauthorisation.


EASTDELHIBJPMPGautamGambhirThursdaystarteda 'JanRasoi' canteenatGandhiNagarmarket toprovidefoodtotheneedyatRe1perplate.Hesaidfivetosixmorecanteenswill be opened in different parts of his con-stituency,withthenextonetocomeupinMayurVihar.Stating that the canteen is being runwith his own

moneyand that of hisNGOGautamGambhir founda-tion, he said: “The Jan Rasoi will serve nutritious, hy-gienic foodtotheneedyatRe1perplate.Atotalof500personswill be provided food each day; second serv-ingswill alsobegiven.”On the menu is rice, daal, vegetable curry, and

sweetsonspecialoccasions,saidanaideof theMP.Thecanteenwill be open from11.30 am to 3 pmand foodcouponscanbeavailedat theentrance.Keeping social distancing inmind amid the pan-

demic, the canteenwill feed 50 people at a time, saidthe cricketer-turned parliamentarian. “The tokenamountof Re1 ismeant topaywages to staff runningthekitchens,”he told reporters.Speakingabouttheinitiative,hesaid:“Ihavealways

felteveryonehastherighttohealthyandhygienicfoodirrespectiveof caste, creed, religionor financial condi-tion. It is saddening to see the homeless anddestitutenotbeingable togeteventwosquaremealsaday.”While there are various government-runcanteens

in other states that provide subsidised food, Gambhirsaid this is the first initiative startedwithout govern-ment funding in thecapital.

TheEastDelhiMPatthecanteeninGandhiNagar

CMduringthewebcast

Fraternity of Army Educational Corps expresses

profound grief and sorrow on the sad demise of

Lt Col Shravan Kumar Misra (Retd) on

21 Dec 20. He will always be remembered for his

selfless and dedicated service to the Corps.

We pray to the Almighty to bless eternal peace to

the departed soul and give strength to the

bereaved family

Maj Gen Devesh GaurAddl DG AE & Col Comdt

and All Ranks of Army Educational Corps

OBITUARYLt Col Shravan Kumar Misra (Retd)

(19-12-1949 to 21-12-2020)

THECITY3 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,DECEMBER25,2020

2 arrested for cheating AIIMS doc

TOTAL CASES

6,20,681Total Vacant

HOSPITAL BEDS 18,770 16,019VENTILATORS 1,523 899

Dailycases Recoveries Deaths TestsDec23 871 1,585 18 87,861Dec24 1,063 1,120 37 89,920Total 7,909* 6,02,388 10,384 81,22,974

*Total active cases

CORONAVIRUS IN THECAPITAL

51 lakh people to get vaccinein first phase, says Kejriwal

609coldchainpoints

3,500healthcareworkerstobeinvolved

1.15crdosescanbestored

1.2 crdosesneededinphase1

2crpopulationofDelhi

PRIORITY CATEGORIES3lakhhealthcareworkers6lakhfrontlineworkers42lakhovertheageof50/withco-morbidities

THEPLAN


THEDELHI governmentwill approach IGI Airport au-thorities over five Covid positive passengers from theUnitedKingdomgoinguntraceableafter landinginthenationalcapitalonTuesday.WhilethreewerelaterfoundinDelhi,twoweretracedtoPunjabandAndhraPradeshrespectively.DelhiHealthMinisterSatyendar Jaintoldreporters

thathecametoknowaboutthefliersslippingoutfromtheairportfromthenewspapers.TheIndianExpresshadonThursdayreportedthatthepassengerswerebroughtbacktothecityonWednesday.“Isawitinthepapersto-day.Flightoperationsandsecuritycomeundertheair-port authorities. A person should not havemovedoutdespite testingpositive,” Jain told reporters.OntheroleoftheDelhigovernment-appointednodal

officer at the airport, he said, “We are quarantining allthosewhoaretestingpositive.Thematter(ofslippingout)willberaisedwiththeairportauthorities.”Aseparatein-stitutional facilityhas alsobeen set upat the LokNayakHospitalforfliersfromUKtestingpositive, Jainadded.The Delhi airport ismanaged and operated by the

GMRgroup-ledDIALand itssecurity ishandledbytheCISF. CISF DIG (IGI airport) Sachin Badshah said, “TheCISFhasnoroleonthearrivalside.Personnel just facil-itate thearrivingpassengers.” (withPTI inputs)

Govt to approachIGI on fliers fromUK slipping out

NewDelhi:DelhiPolicehasarrestedtwomenforallegedlyposingaspersonnelfromapackersandmoverscompanyandtakingthehouse-hold items of an AIIMS doctor, along with Rs 12,000 as deliverycharge, and later forcinghimtopayRs42,000.ENS

MP Gambhirlaunches ‘JanRasoi’ canteen

New Delhi

4THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,DECEMBER25,2020

THECITYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

SAKSHIDAYALGURGAON, DECEMBER24

TOTEACH children the need tomaintain cleanliness and hy-giene and imbibe an eco-friendly lifestyle, theMunicipalCorporation of Gurugram(MCG), earlier this week,launched a ‘Family SanitationChallanBook’usingwhichchil-

dren will be able to penalisetheir relatives “inplay” for irre-sponsibilityorviolations inthisregard.According to MCG officials,

the challan bookswill be avail-able as both hard and softcopiesandthepenaltieswillbein the form of chocolates, toys,ice creamandbooks, insteadofmoney.The book was launched by

MCGMayor Madhu Azad andMCG Commissioner VinayPratap SinghonWednesday.“Withthis initiative,ouraim

istoteachchildrenthesevaluesand practices through play, tomake themvigilant and to cre-ate an atmosphere in house-holdswhereinpeopleareawareandkeep checking eachother,”said MCG Joint CommissionerDheeraj Kumar.

Anofficial saidthatchildren— named ‘Sanitation Captains’— can challan their familymembers if they violate rules,suchasusingplasticcarrybags,not segregating waste, throw-ing wet waste into the dry

waste dustbin, or throwingwaste in theopen.“Weareprintingaround100

hard copies of the book, whichis completely environmentfriendly,withnoplasticandpa-per binding. We have kept itcompletely eco-friendly andbiodegradable... We have alsocreatedanonline linkthatpeo-ple can use to download thechallanbook.Thiswillalsohelp

usmaintaindata onhowmanypeople are actively using thesebooks,” said the JointCommissioner.“Our effort is to ensure that

thebooksreachsomepeople ineach ward. Our teams work indifferentwardsandwewill getthemtodistributetheseaswell.They will also make peopleaware of how to use thesebooks,” he said.

FAMILY SANITATION CHALLAN BOOK

With challan book for kids, MCG hopes to impart lessons in cleanliness

SOURAVROYBARMANNEWDELHI,DECEMBER24

HIGH-RESOLUTION cameras todetect “defects” on the tracks,real-timemonitoring of trainequipment, remote handling ofemergencyalarmsandagradedremovalofdrivers'cabins—sev-eralupgradesarebeingmadebytheDelhiMetrointherun-uptothecountry'sfirstdriverlesstrainlaunch.DMRCexecutivedirectorAnuj

Dayal said Prime MinisterNarendraModiwillflagoffthedri-verlesstrainserviceonthe37km-MagentaLine (JanakpuriWest toBotanicalGarden) onDecember28, and will also be launchingthe fully operational NationalCommonMobilityCardfortravelonthe23-kmAirportExpressLine(NewDelhitoDwarkaSector21).TheCommissionerofRailway

Safety (CMRS) has stipulatedmanyconditionsthatwillhavetobe fulfilled by theMetro beforeintroducing completely ‘unat-tendedtrainoperation’(UTO),thetechnical termused to describethe final stageof driverless serv-ices. The CMRS gave its nod forUTOlaunchonDecember18.According to a copy of the

CMRS clearance, seen by TheIndianExpress,“Therailchecksys-temconsistingofhigh-resolutioncameratodetectraildefectsmustbe commissionedbefore imple-mentationofUTO...”Sourcessaiddefectsontracks

cannot be captured with the

placement and resolution of thecameras currently installed. Thebandwidth capacity to relayfootage in real time to the com-mandcentreswillalsohavetobeaugmented.Asaresult,completetransition to driverlessmode isstillsometimeaway.Fornow,theMetro plans to equip one traineachonMagenta andPink Lineswiththesecameras.“The above requirement is

prerequisite to implementationofUTO.Presently,wearegoingtostart driverless operation. Therewill be a roving attendant onboard.Hence, thosecamerasarenotessential at this stage.DMRCis, however, planning to installRail Check Systemon one traineach on lines 7 and 8 shortly,”DayaltoldTheIndianExpress.The Union Ministry of

HousingandUrbanAffairsissueda gazette notification onDecember16,addingUTOmodeof operation in the Metro

RailwaysGeneralRules,2020.Under the previous norms,

unattendedordriverlesstrainop-erationswerenotallowed.AspertheCMRSclearance,ini-

tially the trainswill have “rovingattendants”,whowill be trainedto interveneandoperate trains ifrequired,likeincasesofemergen-cies.This isamongthe fivestipu-lationslaiddownbytheCMRS.“Roving attendants shall be

present in the cab till cab parti-tion is removed and all drivercontrol panels are covered, butwill not take any action for nor-maloperation,” it says.Currently,driversoperateout

ofcabins,locatedatthefrontandback of every train,which blockout the view of the tracks fromthefrontandendcoaches.Followingitstransitiontothe

driverlessmode,theMetroplansto remove the partitions andcoverthecontrolpanels.Thiswilleffectively allow passengers to

view the tracks as trains zipthrough elevated lines and un-derground tunnels. The CMRShasdirectedtheMetrotoensurethat the on-board cameras arekept free of moisture to ensureclear visibility at the commandcentre so that the footagecanbecontinuouslymonitored.“DMRC has engaged a con-

sultant (consortium of SystraMVA and Systra France) for in-spection and reviewof systemsforimplementationofUTOoper-ation. The report and its compli-anceshallbesubmittedtoCMRSatthetimeof implementationofUTOoperationonthemainline,”thereportadded.

DMRCisrollingoutdriverless trainsontheMagentaLine

Insteadofmoney,penaltiesare intheformofchocolates,toys, icecreamandbooks

Accordingtosources,de-fects on tracks cannot becapturedwith the place-ment and resolution ofthecamerascurrentlyin-stalled. The bandwidthcapacity to relay footagein real time to the com-mand centres will alsohavetobeaugmented.Asa result, complete transi-tiontodriverlessmodeisstill some time away. Fornow, theMetro plans toequip one train each onMagenta and Pink Lineswith thesecameras.

Techupgrade

PM to flag off country’s first-everdriverless Metro train on Dec 28

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,DECEMBER24

THEDELHIHighCourtThursdayissuednoticetotheDelhigovern-ment and theCrimeBranch in apetition seeking a court-moni-tored probe by a SpecialInvestigationTeam(SIT) into thedeathof 23-year-oldFaizandur-ingtheNortheastDelhiriots.Priorto his alleged detention at a po-lice station in February, Faizanand four others — as seen in avideo—were allegedlymade to

sing the national anthem andVandeMatarambyagroupofpo-licemen,whoalsohit themwiththeir lathis.Hediedat ahospitalwithinhoursofhisrelease.Seeking a status report from

theCrimeBranchontheprogressin the probe, Justice SureshKumar Kait fixed the case forhearingonFebruary1.The petition was filed by

Faizan’smother Kismatun (61),representedbyadvocatesVrindaGrover andSoutik Banerjee. Thepetition stated that Faizanwas“targeted,brutallyassaulted”and

“injured by the policemen” atKardampuri.Itfurthersaidhewassubsequently“illegallydetained”in an injured condition at JyotiNagarpolicestationonDecember24anddeniedtimelycriticalmed-icalcare,resultinginhisdeathonFebruary26atahospital.“The taunts and abuses used

bythepolicealludedthat the in-juredmen,simplybyvirtueofbe-ingMuslims, were unpatrioticand being ‘taught a lesson’,” itcontends,whilereferringtocon-tentsof thevideoclip.The petition claimed the in-

vestigation by theCrimeBranchin the past ninemonths was a“sham”. The petition said policecarried Faizan andother injuredmen fromKardampuri bridge toGTBHospital, and from there tothepolicestation,addingthattheroad taken by the police vehicleisapublic route linedwithcom-mercialestablishmentsandotherbuildingswithCCTVcameras.“However,theCrimeBranch...

madeagenericandunsubstanti-atedassertionthat,‘duringinves-tigation,neitheranygovernmentCCTVnor any private CCTVwas

found installed in the area’...,” itsubmitted,addingthateverypo-licevehiclehasalogbookrecord-ingpersonneltravellinginit.The petition also states that

thedutyrosterat JyotiNagarpo-licestationwouldalsoreveal thenamesof thepolicemen.Whilearguingthatadetailed

narrationofthefactsbyFaizantohismotherrightbeforehisdeathamountstoa ‘dyingdeclaration’,the petition alleged that theCrimeBranchhas,however, “par-roted” the police narrative per-tainingtohis illegaldetention.

BJPDENIESCLAIM,ACCUSESAAPOFORCHESTRATINGRUCKUS


THEDELHIJalBoard(DJB)head-quarters at Jhandewalan wasvandalised on Thursday, in thepresenceofDelhiPoliceofficials,allegedlybyagroupledbyDelhiBJP chief Adesh Gupta. A groupof close to 100 people enteredthe building around noon,breakingtheglassdoorofthere-ception, andmade their way toDJB vice-chairman and AAPleaderRaghavChadha’soffice.Chadha, whowas not in his

officeduringtheincident,allegedthat themob broke computers,printers and benches, attackedstaffmembersandmanhandledwomen employees. The BJP,however, alleged AAPworkerscreatedruckus.DelhiPolicesaidtheydetained

around30menfromthespot.DCP(Central) SanjayBhatia said, “Wereceived information that a fewBJPworkerswere protesting atDJBHQ.Wedetained around30menfromthespot.Actionwillbetakenasperlaw.”

Police refused to reveal thenames of those detained butsenior officials said Gupta wasamong the 30. Theywere laterreleased.PoliceareyettoregisteranFIRastheyareawaitingafor-mal complaint fromDJB.On thevideos showingDelhi

BJP chief Adesh Gupta in thegroup,anofficersaid,“Wehaven’tdecided the courseof actionyet.Weareinvestigatingthematter.”

Chadha alleged, “They saidyour ChiefMinister is becomingtoosupportiveoffarmersandhasbeen speaking in their favour...TheythreatenedussayingifAAPdoesn’tstopsupportingfarmers,then BJP goonswill attack all ofus...TheyalsosaidAAPshouldfol-low the directions of PMNarendraModiorelseviolentat-tackswillcontinueonitsleaders.”Videos shared by AAP show

Gupta delivering a speech toabout 100 people outside themaingate,aspoliceofficialsguardthegatefrominsidethecomplex.Groupsofmenthenpushthegateopen, allowing the crowd andGupta to enter the complex, aspoliceofficials,whoareoutnum-bered,followthem.Amidslogansof“Adeshji,keepupthestruggle,we arewith you” and “Kejriwalresign”, the group shatters theglass in themain reception areausingchairsandrushesinside.In another video shot from

insidethebuilding,Guptacanbeseen walking with a group ofmen andwomenwho are rais-ingslogans inhis support.A DJB employee alleged,

“Four-fiveemployees, includingwomen,had locked themselvesinside a room and put a sofaagainst the door. Themob keptbanging on the door, askingthemtoopenup.Afemalesecu-rity staffer was punched orshoved in the faceaswell.”Responding to the incident,

Gupta alleged supply throughwater tankers in the capital hasbeenstalledforthepast22days:

“I had gone there but officialsdidn’tmeetmeatfirst;someof-ficialsmetme later.Noneof ourworkerswereinvolvedinthevi-olence. We staged a peacefuldemonstration outside theheadquarters against the DJB’sRs25,000-coretankerscam,butAAPworkersforciblybargedintothepremises,vandalisedtheof-ficeandattackedBJPworkers.”Healsosaidfiveworkerssus-

tained injuries in theattack.Chadha, meanwhile, said,

“DJBwill initiate legal proceed-ings. However, the proceedingswill be handled byDelhi Police,whose officers were alreadypresentthereandtheattackhap-penedontheirwatch...Policearenowwaiting forus to fileacom-plaint. This shows how serioustheyareaboutinvestigatingthis.”OnDecember 11,more than

twodozenmenhad forced theirway inside the official residenceof Deputy CMManish Sisodia,with AAP claiming they werefrom the BJP. The BJP acknowl-edgedprotestingoutsideSisodia’shouse but denied that itswork-ershadenteredthepremises.

DJB vice-chairmanRaghavChadhaexamines thedamagetotheoffice

DJB office vandalised, Chadha saysBJP behind attack; Gupta in video

JNUSUopposesnewpharmacyoncampusNewDelhi:TheJawaharlalNehru UniversityStudents'UnionThursdayprotested against theopeningofanApollophar-macyshopinsidethecam-pus. They alleged themovewas donewithoutapproval of the CampusDevelopment Committeeandwas a bid to furtherprivatisation, keeping atbay JNU's 'ProgressiveShop Allotment Policy'whichgivespreference tothose from the margin-alisedanddeprivedback-grounds.RegistrarPramodKumardidnot respondtocallsandtexts.ENS

GivemoretimeforHSRP,fuelstickers:HCNewDelhi:TheDelhiHighCourtThursdaysuggestedtotheAAPgovernmenttogivemore time to peopleto obtain colour-codedfuel stickers and high se-curity registration platesbeforeitstartsfiningthemRs5,500fortheviolations.The bench said the Delhigovernment should notcreate panic among citi-zens.PTI

BRIEFLY

SUKRITABARUAHNEWDELHI, DECEMBER24

WITH THE protest sites at bothTikriandSinghuborderslocatedclose to slum settlements, andwith large quantities of plasticwaste being generated at bothplaces, scrap collectors fromnearbyslumsareanoccupiedlot.At anygiven timeof theday,

multiple scrap collectors canbeseen walking through theprotest sites looking for plasticbottles. OnMonday afternoon,Neelamstoodoutsideabustlinglangar centre at Singhu borderwhere lunchwas being served,withasack full of plasticbottlesalmostas tall asher.“I live near Kundli village. I

usedtogofromfactorytofactorycollectingscraps,gettingenoughtosell foraroundRs250perday.Ever since this protest began, Istopped going on my usualroutes and have been cominghereat8amandstaying till lateintheevening.Sincetherearesomany people using plastic bot-tles and plates, I’m collectingenough from here alone to sellforRs500perday,” shesaid.She brings her one-year-old

daughtertothesiteatmealtimeeveryday,andbothofthemhavebeeneatingatthelangars.Soareentire families and neighbour-hoods from the nearby jhuggi-jhopri colonies.Rabia comes to the Singhu

protest sitewith her neighbourShakilaandtheirchildren—eachwith theirownsacks.“Wecomeat7amandstayfor

acoupleofhours.Wecomeagainat 1 pmand stay for twohours.Earlierweused to go to coloniesandNarelamanditocollectscraps— enough to make around Rs100-150 per day. There is a lotmoretobecollectedhere.Wecol-lect scrapworthRs250-300perday.We are storing these in ourhomes fornow.Wesell to aper-sonwhocomesfromSonipat,buthe hasn’t been able to comeyetbecauseoftheblockade,”shesaid.At Tikri border too, Shahid

Khan,acontractualwastepicker,looks for plastic bottles, card-boardand leftover food. “I carrythepackets inmy thelaandseg-regatethewasteathome.Everythree months I sell them to acontractor. ImakeRs20,000-Rs

25,000for threemonths. I thinkit would amount to a lot morethis time since there is a lot ofwaste.Wemake themost fromplasticbottles,”hesaid.The Indian Express has re-

portedthat themassivevolumeof solid waste generated at theprotestsites—disposableplates,glasses and packets, and foodwaste—ismore thanwhatmu-nicipalworkers can collect on adailybasis.Some groups are currently

focusing on distributing essen-tial itemsinsteadofcookedfoodat both sites.While not produc-ingfoodwaste,thisisgeneratinglargequantitiesofcartonseveryday. Some of these are beingused as fuel for desi geysers setup in the bath area; the rest arebeing collected by a group ofwomenscrapcollectors.

(Inputs fromAshnaButani)

Scrap collectors at protestsites have their hands full

AwomancollectsdiscardedbottlesatSinghu.AbhinavSaha

Man made to sing anthem: Plea seeks probe into death

0-50 Good

ANANDVIHARSevere

0 500

451AQIPM:2.5

PUNJABIBAGHSevere

0 500

SHADIPURVery Poor

0 500 500

51-100 Satisfactory 101-200 Moderate 201-300 Poor 301-400 VeryPoor 401-500 Severe

DWARKA- SECTOR8Severe

0

440AQIPM:2.5

385AQIPM:10

437AQIPM:2.5

FORECAST: Dec25Mainlyclearsky.Moderate todensefog inmorning

S K Y WA T C H

MAX:220.6°Cabovenormal

MIN:52.9°Cbelownormal

At Singhu, support fromMaharashtra, Tamil NaduSOMYALAKHANINEWDELHI,DECEMBER24

KASHMIR SINGH fromPunjab’sFerozepur and J Arul fromTamilNadu’sThiruvallurdidnotunder-stand aword they said to eachotherbackstageatSinghuborderbut the wide smiles and nodsthey exchangedwere enough toforge a friendship.Meanwhile,Chandu Raut (57) fromMaharashtra’sNagpur sportedablackturbanthataSikhprotestertied on his head, as he spokeaboutthe2018KisanmarchfromNashik toMumbai— a distanceofaround200kmthathecoveredonfoot.On Thursday, farmers from

Tamil Nadu and Maharashtratook the stage, albeit briefly, in ashowofsolidarity.“At least 25 of us, who are

members of the All India KisanSabha (AIKS) in Tamil Nadu,reached Delhi Wednesday, toshowoursupporttoourbrothersfromPunjabandHaryana.Thisisacontinuingstruggleforallfarm-ersofthecountry,”saidArul,whois the state committeememberofAIKSinThiruvallurdistrict.In the afternoon, Arul ad-

dressedprotesters inTamil—ona stage that has mostly seenspeechesinPunjabi–whichwasmetwithapplausefromprotest-ers. “I saidwe arewith them inthis struggle.Whenwe go backhome, we will hold similarprotests on December 29,” hesaid.Earlier, themenwerestaying

at a lodge near Singhu. OnThursdaymorning, theymovedto the trolleys of farmers fromPunjab’sMoga. “We are able tocommunicatewitheachotherviaGoogle Translate,” said P Balaji(26). His parents are farmers inTamilNaduandtheygrowsugar-caneandrice.Around 2,000 farmers from

Maharashtra,who started theirmarch fromNashik three daysago in support of the ongoingprotests in the capital, are ex-

pectedtoreachShahjahanpur inRajasthan—130 kmaway fromDelhi — by Friday afternoon,where they will join otherprotestingfarmers.Meanwhile,around12mem-

bers from a farmers’ union inMaharashtra reached SinghuWednesday to represent the2,000 farmers.ManoharMuley,state committee member ofMaharashtraRajyaKhetMazdoorUnion,fromNagpur,said,“WhileinNagpur,wereadaboutthecoldwave in Delhi... No one men-tionedhowwarmtheprotestsiteis because of our farmers fromPunjabandHaryana.”Muley,whoalsosportedatur-

banlikeRaut,wentonstageintheafternoon and spoke about thesupport to the protests by farm-ersfromMaharashtra.He said, “I walked from

Nashik toMumbai in 2018 andsleptontheroads,infields...Here,

therearesomanyarrangements.We are here for eight days, andwill most likely send anothergrouplater.”Accompanying Muley and

RautwasDigambarDiwate(44),a teacher fromMaharashtra’sRamtek district, whose parentsarefarmers.Hesaid,“Thegovern-ment is trying to suppress farm-ers—be it those fromPunjab orMaharashtra.WereachedSinghuonWednesday and have donethreeralliestoday.”Apart from the unions from

Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu,TumulKatara(47)fromGujarat’sVadodara, who is amember ofthe All India Democratic YouthOrganisation, and Sriram Sen(24), amember of the All IndiaDemocratic Students, fromMadhyaPradesh’sGuna,wereattheprotest.“These farm laws are anti-

farmersandanti-people.Iamnotafarmerbutthisisacauseevery-onemust fight. At least 15 of ushavecomefromGujarat,andwewill leaveSunday,”saidKatara.Sen,whoseparentsarefarm-

ers, said he’s been at the bordersinceDecember 8 and is stayinginaPunjabfarmer’strolley.“Iamhere as long as the farmers arehere.There’snogoingbacknow,”hesaid.

(AboveL-R)Diwate,Raut,Muley fromMaharashtra;JArul fromTamilNaduonstagewithaunionmember

New Delhi

5WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,DECEMBER25,2020

Be The Love And Light This Christmas!

■■ PRASHANT SOLOMON

WHEN Jesus was born, a great star appearedin the sky over Bethlehem to herald thecoming of Christ.Three wise men from the

East saw this star and came on their camels to meetand worship the newborn babe. They found him in amanger and gave him gifts.They recognised this childas a Divine soul.

This year, on December 21, 2020, a sign in theheavens was given as there was a conjunction ofJupiter and Saturn in Aquarius. The brightest seensince the year 1226. It is also said that this is heraldingthe Age of Aquarius, which is believed to be a newera where there will be a powerful surge of spiritualconsciousness on the planet.

Christmas is a great day to look at the year gone byand process everything you experienced in that partic-ular year. Christmas is a day that we celebrate thebirth of Jesus Christ but it is also a day that we cele-brate the year gone by as we prepare for the comingyear ahead. Should Christmas of the year 2020 beany different? Well it is different because the year2020 has been an unprecedented year!

It started off in a grand way. The beginning of anew decade. Like the years 1717, 1818 and 1919 be-fore it, 2020 is one of those years that comes onlyonce every 101 years, where the first two digits are thesame as the last two. The next time this type of yearcomes by will be in 2121. So right from the begin-ning, 2020 came with something unique in our collec-tive minds. But what a ride it’s been. Nobody couldhave imagined all the things that would happen.

A global pandemic spread throughout the planetand forced nations to lock down. Covid 19 broughtthe whole world to its knees. New terms that werehardly of any consequence in our global conscious-ness last Christmas have been branded into our col-lective global consciousness like - masks, lockdown,travel bans and social distancing.

We all were forced to stay at home and that leftus no choice but to look inwards and introspect.Many people fell into depression, loneliness and sad-ness. People all around the globe suffered financialchallenges because of lost jobs and failing busi-nesses. People got infected and fell sick and hun-dreds of thousands bid goodbye to this planet andset sail back to the spiritual realms from which wehave all come.

But despite all this, there was something interest-ingly good about the year. 2020 was a great gift tohumankind!

We all experienced something together as aspecies. It taught us valuable lessons. It made us re-alise in the most dramatic and almost cinematic waythat the important things in life are our relationshipswith each other and that we are all literally ‘in thesame boat’. Videos and social media posts from var-ious platforms popped up showing us how the lock-down affected people’s lives in remote corners ofthe world and this brought a strange type of relief,

joy, happiness and camaraderie. It has shown us thatwe are quite literally all equally vulnerable and thatas the fictional Jack Shephard from the famous TVshow Lost says, “If we can’t live together, we are go-ing to die alone!”

The virus sees not one's religion, financial condi-tion, gender, political views, nationality, caste, creed orcolour. The virus is the great leveler.

Not just the virus but many other things that hap-

pened in the world this year strengthened the bondof people all over the world. There were riots, floods,fires, earthquakes, hurricanes in various parts of theworld. But despite that, there was hope! Forthrough a mass scale global effort of science de-spite the odds, the year 2020 has seen both virusand vaccine!

Remember earlier when I mentioned we are all‘in the same boat’? There is a story of Jesus in the

Bible about this:JESUS CALMS THE STORM (Luke 8:22-25)One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go over tothe other side of the lake.” So they got into a boatand set out. As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squallcame down on the lake, so that the boat was beingswamped, and they were in great danger.

The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Mas-ter, Master, we’re going to drown!”

He got up and rebuked the wind and the ragingwaters; the storm subsided, and all was calm.“Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples.

In fear and amazement they asked one another,“Who is this? He commands even the winds and thewater, and they obey him.”

In times of crisis, it is natural to be afraid. It is naturalto get negative thoughts. But this is the time to pray forfaith. For faith leads to perseverance, tenacity and res-olutions of the challenges we face.

Christmas is a time to reflect and process the eventsof the year. What did you learn spending time withyourself? What did you learn about your loved onesand family? Have you counted how many things thereare to be thankful for? Going forward, how will youchange yourself in order to change the world for thebetter? We are all very lucky to be living in these highlyspiritual and eventful times.This is a year that historianswill be writing about for centuries. It is a year thatmarks the beginning of a new era of humanity.

2020 has been a year unlike no other experiencedby anyone alive on this planet.

On this Christmas Day 2020, I bring you goodnews! We will survive and things will get better. Wehave all gotten through this together. We rememberthose who we have lost but we know they are stillalive in the spiritual realms, where we will all returnsomeday. But there is no hurry. There is much to dostill.

You are not alone! Even if it feels like that some-times. The ride can be scary but we are in it together.This year has been called by many as the ‘Great Awak-ening’. For many have felt our connection. We aresouls who have come here to explore and bring thelove and light of God to everyone else.

This Christmas let us celebrate the lessons welearned this year. Let us celebrate our connection.Thisyear like never before, we felt connected as a globalcivilisation.We realised that the important things in lifeare not connected to material things but they are con-nected to freedom, to exploring, to seeking, to learn-ing, to loving and to being one world connected to-gether.

Like the star that shone the night of Christ’s birth, letyour light shine! Let the love and light of Christ be re-born within you! Keep introspecting within and soonlike the wise men found the Christ child, we may findthe Divine light and love of God within us or the Christconsciousness within us.

Let us be thankful to God to be alive! Let us bethankful that we are all connected! Let us aim to doour bit to make the world a better place.After 2020, wenow welcome 2021. In this new year, let us resolveto tackle our individual, local, national and globalproblems without being afraid and having hope andfaith that things will get better.

Peace be unto you and yours! Be God’s Love! BeGod’s Light!

I wish you a Merry Christmas and a very HappyNew Year 2021.

ADVERTORIAL

Prashant Solomon is the Managing Director of Chintels India Pvt. Ltd. He is also an author and freelance journalist. You can reach him at [email protected]@prasol @prasol YouTube: Prashant Solomon Website: www.prashantsolomon.com

New Delhi

GOVT&POLITICS6 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,DECEMBER25,2020

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEKOLKATA,DECEMBER24

ADAYaftertheTMCheldapub-licmeeting on his home turf inEast Midnapore, BJP leaderSuvendu Adhikari led a road-show in the same area and de-clared that the saffron partywouldwinmore than200seatsinnextyear’sAssemblypolls.On Thursday, Adhikari cov-

ered a five-km distance in hishometown Contai amid hugefanfare. Party leaders SaumitraKhanandJoyPrakashMajumdarand hundreds of partyworkersattendedtheroadshow.“Thosewhoarecriticisingme

should look in themirror first.They had joined the TMC fromotherparties.ThistimeTMCwillcome second.Wewill win over200seats,” saidAdhikari.Chief Minister Mamata

BanerjeeisscheduledtoaddressarallyatNandigram-Adhikari'sAssemblyseattillheresignedasMLArecently, in January.During the road show,

Adhikari’sfollowersraisedaslo-gan, "Hare Krishna Hare Hare,BJP ghare ghare"-meaning thatthe “BJP has entered everyhome.”

MANOJCGNEWDELHI, DECEMBER24

THECONGRESShighcommandonThursdaygave thegreensig-naltoitsWestBengalunittoen-ter intoaseat-sharingpactwiththeLeftpartiesfortheforthcom-ing Assembly elections to takeon the ruling TrinamoolCongress and an aggressive BJP.WhileasectionofCongresslead-ers believe a Congress-Left al-liance could enduphelping theBJP,theparty'sstateunitwasve-hemently opposed to any pactwith the TMC and had been in-sistingona tie-upwith theLeft.WestBengalCongresspres-

identAdhirRanjanChowdhurytoldTheIndianExpressthattheBJPandtheTMChave thesame“political DNA” and assertedthat the Congress and the Leftparties “occupy the secularspace” in Bengal and still en-joyedthesupportof a largesec-tion of the populationwho be-lieve in secularism and liberaldemocracy.Hesaid it is theme-dia which is projecting theAssembly elections as a fightbetween the TMCand theBJP.“Theimpression(ofastraight

fight between the TMC and theBJP)hasbeengainingbecauseofmediahype. Because themediaistryingtoprojectthatonlytwoforces are there. But that is farfromtherealityandfarfromthetruth. InWest Bengal, the Leftand the Congress... they occupythe secular space and still enjoythe support of a large section ofthe population who believe insecularismandinliberaldemoc-racy. So certainly we have ourownconstituentsthatwillbere-flectedinthecomingelections,”hesaid.On possible division of anti-

BJPvotes,Chowdhurysaid, “Wehaveto fightagainst theBJPand[Chief Minister] MamataBanerjee both becausewehavebeensubjectedtopersecutionbythe ruling dispensation inWestBengal.MamataBanerjeeisare-gionalpoacherwhiletheBJPisanationalpoacher.Botharewelladeptinpoach-

ingoperationsintheoppositioncamps. To that extent, they areverymuch similar in their ap-proaches,”hesaid.Hesaiditwasnottherespon-

sibility of the Congress party tokeeptheanti-BJPvotestogether.“On the one hand, we are

subjected to atrocities and per-secution byMamata Banerjee...ontheotherhand,onthealibioftheBJP... [wehavebeenasked]toallywiththeTMC.Thiscannotbedone...becausewehavebeenleftbetweenthedevilanddeepsea.We have to carve out our ownspace because the space hasbeen snatched upon by theMamata Banerjee government.

Andnowsheisfacingthemusic.ThewayMamata poached ourpeople and dismantled our or-ganisation... thesameployisbe-ing employed by the BJP. Theyare identical in their politics ofdestruction. Both are the samein their attitude. Their politicalDNAisquite identical,”hesaid.AskedaboutBanerjee’smove

to rally opposition leaders likeSharad Pawar andMK Stalin inher fight against the BJP on theissue of federalism, he said,“Federalism in India is certainlyinperil.ThatiswhyourCongresschief ministers also extendedsupporttoMamataBanerjee.Asfarasfederalismisconcerned,allthe Opposition-ruled states areinperil.Thatiswhyallhavetobeunitedonthataccount.That isadifferentkettleof fish.”“Pawarji isaseniorleader.He

thoughtitprudentthatontheis-sue of federalism all the statesruled by the Opposition shouldbeunited.Thatiswhyhehasex-tendedhisopinion.... It isacom-mon issue. There is nothing ex-traordinary in thisapproach.”Asked howmany seats will

the Congress contest,Chowdhurysaid,“Thatstagehasnot come. During the course ofdiscussions, factoring in otherconsiderationslikewherewearestrongandall...wewillzeroinonthenumberandchoiceof seats.Everything has been left to thestate leadership... nothing hasbeen imposedonus.”“First of all we have to dis-

cuss and decide amongst our-selvesthatthismanyseatshavetobedemanded.Thereafter,wewillproposetotheLeftparties,”he said.

BJP,TMChavesameDNA,saysAdhir

Bengal Conggets nod forpactwith Left


NOBELLAUREATERabindranathTagore's vision is the essence ofAatmanirbharBharat, or self-re-liant India, Prime MinisterNarendraModisaidonThursday.Addressingafunctiontomark

the centenary celebrations ofVisva-BharatiUniversitythroughvideo conferencing, the PrimeMinister said, “Guided byGurudev [Tagore], Visva-Bharatipresented a strong image ofIndiannationalistsentimentdur-ing Independence. GurudevwantedhumanitytobenefitfromIndia's spiritual awakening.AtmanirbharBharatvisionisalsoaderivativeof thissentiment.”FoundedbyTagore in1921in

Santiniketan,Visva-Bharatiisthecountry'soldestcentraluniversity.Itwasdeclared a central univer-sityandanInstitutionofNationalImportance by an Act ofParliamentinMay1951.The PrimeMinister said the

Visva-BharatiUniversity,BanarasHinduUniversity,AligarhMuslimUniversity,DelhiUniversity,JamiaMillia IslamiaUniversity,AndhraUniversity,AnnamalaiUniversityand several other universities

cameupinthesameeraandgavemomentum to India's thirst forknowledge. “Today, asmore andmorepeoplearegettinggooded-ucation,wenowhave towork tobuild a strong andwisenation–onethatisself-reliant,”hesaid.Governor JagdeepDhankhar

was present at the event inSantiniketan.EducationMinisterRameshPokhriyaljoinedthepro-grammevirtually.In his speech, the Prime

MinisteralsohighlightedTagore'slinkswithhishomestateGujarat,perhaps in a retort to ChiefMinisterMamataBanerjee,whohasrepeatedlysaidshewillnotal-lowBengaltobeturnintoGujarat.“WhenIspeakaboutGurudev,

I cannot help but talk about theconnection between Gurudev

andGujarat.Heusedtofrequentlyvisit his elder brotherSatyendranath Tagorewhowasposted there... He stayed inAhmedabad for a long time.During such a period, hewrotetwopopular poems.Hewrote aportion of Kshudhita Pashan inGujarat,”hesaid.“Not only this, Gujarat’s

daughter Srimati HutteesinghwasmarriedtotheTagorefamily.When Satyendranath Tagore’swife JnanadanandiniDeviwasinGujarat,shesawwomendrapingthe pallu of saree on their rightshoulders,whichshefeltcumber-some and improvised the stylebringing the pallu on the leftshoulder.Womenempowermentorganisations candosomemoreresearchonthis,”hesaid.

PrimeMinisterModiaddresses thegatheringduringthecentenarycelebrationsofVisva-BharatiUniversity.PTI


CHIEF MINISTER MamataBanerjee on Thursday said shewas not invited to Visva-Bharati University’s centenarycelebration that was attendedby Prime Minister NarendraModi virtually.“I didn't receive any kind of

invitationfortheprogrammesohowcan I attend it?,”she said atapressconference.TheBJPwasquicktoproduce

a letter of invitation from theuniversity to the ChiefMinister,andalleged that shewas“disre-specting”RabindranathTagore’sinstitution.TheBJPalsoclaimedthat Visva-Bharati UniversityVice-Chancellor BidyutChakrabarty sent the letter.Responding to a question in

this regard, Chakrabarty said,“Even if the invitation, as yousuggest,wassentonWednesdaynight, should that be the deco-rum?After all, she (Mamata) isthechiefministerof a state.”

Meanwhile,theCMtweeted:“Visva Bharati University turns100.Thistempleof learningwasRabindranath Tagore’s greatestexperimentoncreatingtheidealhumanbeing.Wemustpreservethevisionandphilosophyofthisgreatvisionary.”Mamata Thursday also an-

nouncedanagro-industrialparkin Singur, the place where shehad launched her campaignagainst the then Left Front gov-ernmentoveradecadeagooverlandacquisition.

PM at Visva-Bharati: Tagore’s vision isessence of Atmanirbhar Bharat mission

Not invited to centenaryevent at varsity: Mamata

ChiefMinisterMamataBanerjeeaddressesapressconference inKolkataonThursday.ParthaPaul

BengalCongchiefAdhirRanjanChowdhury

FORBOTHtheCongressaswellasLeftparties,theup-coming assembly elec-tions inWest Bengal is abattle for survival. Thehigh-octanecampaignbytherulingTMCandtheBJPsaw the Left gettingsqueezed out in the LokSabha elections and theCongressplunging to twoseats. The parties hadfoughttheelectionssepa-rately. Having decided onthealliance, thetwohopeto arrest the decliningtrendandposeachallengetoboth theTMCandBJP.

Battle forsurvivalE●EX

PLAINED


THE CPM on Thursday wel-comedtheCongress'decisiontoenter into an electoral alliancewiththeLeftFrontinnextyear'sAssembly polls inWest Bengal.CPMisbiggestconstituentoftheLeft Front in Bengal. Other con-stituents are- CPI, Forward BlocandRSP.The state Congress unit had

earlierrecommendedthismovewhichwas also favoured by theLeftparties inBengal.The two parties had con-

tested the 2016 Assembly pollstogetherinthestatebutfailedtomakemuchofanimpact.Theal-liancewon only 76 seats of thestate's 294 seats. The Congresswon44 seats and the Left Frontbaggedonlyget32seats.However, in 2019 Lok Sabha

polls the alliance between boththe parties did not materialiseresulting in thedismal electoralperformances.Welcoming themove, state

CPM secretary SurjyakantaMishra toldmediapersons thatthetimehascometostrengthenthe alliance to the grassrootslevel."Wewereanywayholdingtalks with Congress on the al-

lianceandhavebeenorganisingjoint movements. Now, theyhaveformallyannouncedtheal-liance. Nowwe have to take itforward.Wehave to strengthenthis unity of secular for demo-cratic forces to the grassroots.Wewillraisepeople'sissuesandtogether with the Congress wewill intensify ourmovement inthestate.Meanwhile, hours after the

announcement, a section ofCongress leaders saidChowdhuryshouldbethechiefministerial candidate of thisLeft-Congress alliance.Congress MLA Nepal Mahatawrote inhis twitterhandle thatAdhir Chowdhury is the ChiefMinisterial faceof thisalliance.Ontheotherhand,Congress

MLA and Leader of theOpposition in state AssemblyAbdul Mannan said, "All IndiaCongressCommitteehas takenthe decision on the alliance.Now let it also decide on thechiefministerial candidate.TheLeftFront leaders,how-

ever, said it is too early to dis-cuss such matters. ForwardBloc state secretary NarenChatterjee said, "I will not sayanythingonthis. TheLeft FrontChairman Biman Bose willspeak on this."

On home turf,Suvendu saysBJP will winover 200 seats

CPM welcomes Congdecision to enter intoelectoral alliance

New Delhi

GOVT&POLITICS 7WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,DECEMBER25,2020

The Ballabgarh Cooperative Milk Producers' Union LimitedAN ISO 9001:2015 & ISO 22000:2005 Certified Unit)

Short Term Re-QUOTATION NOTICESealed Re-Quotation are invited from the suppliers/authorised

dealer/manufacturers for supply of following item on Annual RateContract basis as per detail given below.

Sr.No. Description of the Items EMD01. Polythene Scrap Rs. 10000.00

02. Empty SMP Bags with liner Rs. 10000.00

Detailed specifications of above items alongwith other terms &conditions can be held from this office free of cost on written requeston any working day between 10.00 A.M. to 4.00 P.M. The interestedparties may send their detailed offer along with Earnest Money asmentioned above in the shape of Demand Draft in favour of "TheBallabgarh Coop. Milk Producers Union Ltd., Milk PlantBallabgarh" payable at Ballabgarh/Faridabad so as to reach to thisoffice on or before 14.12.2020 by 2.30 P.M. in sealed cover super-scribed with the word, "Quotation for (Name of item) & due on14.12.2020". The above Said Quotation was opened on dated14.12.2020 but there is minium bids has not been received on thetime of opening of Quotation, So the period of submission ofQuotation is further extended upto 04.01.2021 at 2.30 P.M. and thesame will be open at 3.00 P.M. on the same day at Milk Plant,Ballabgarh in the presence of the party who may like to be present.The successful quotation will have to lift the material within a weektime from the date of finalization and as per the terms and conditionlaid down in the order. The above said material can be inspected onany working day from 10.00 A.M. to 4.00 P.M.G.S.T. would becharged extra as applicable.The undersigned reserves the right toaccept/reject any/all Quotation without assigning any reason. NoQuotation will be considered without earnest money. ConditionalQuotation will not be accepted. If the date of opening declared as hol-iday then Quotation will be opened on next working day.

Sd/-Chief Executive Officer,Milk Plant, Ballabgarh.1090/7/HRY

Date : 24.12.2020Place : Patna

Authorized OfficerIndian Overseas Bank

Regional Office: 2nd & 3rd Floor, Naseema House, West Gandhi Maidan, Near Biscoman Bhawan, Patna - 800001. Ph.: 0612-2219216SALE NOTICE FOr SALE OF IMMOVABLE PrOPErTIES

[Under Proviso to Rule 8(6) of Security Interest (Enforcement) Rules 2002]E-Auction Sale Notice for Sale of immovable Assets under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets andEnforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 read with proviso to Rule 8 (6) of the Security Interest (Enforcement) Rules, 2002.Notice is hereby given to the public in general and in particular to the Borrower(s) and Guarantor(s) that the below described immovableproperty mortgaged/charged to the Secured Creditor, the constructive possession of which has been taken by the Authorised Officerof Indian Overseas Bank, Secured Creditor, will be sold on "As is where is”, “As is what is" and "Whatever there is" on Dates asmentioned below (date of the sale) for recovery of dues as mentioned hereunder due to the Secured Creditor from the below mentionedBorrower(s) & Guarantor(s).

Name of theBorrower/Guarantor &

BranchDescription of the Immovable Property

Reserve PriceEMD of theProperty

Bid IncreaseAmount

Amount mentionedin the notice (Plusfuture interest &expenses to becalculated further)

E-auction DateTiming ofE-auction

Bid submissionlast date

Shri Brajesh Kumar (Borrower &Mortgagor) S/O Shri Dinesh Choudhary,Vill.-Bhavnathpur, P.O.-Rannuchak,Makandpur, P.S.-Akbarnagar, Dist.-Bhagalpur-812006.2. Shri Dinesh Choudhary (Borrower),Vill.-Bhavnathpur, P.O.-Rannuchak,Makandpur, P.S.-Akbarnagar, Dist.-Bhagalpur- 812006Guarantor: Shri Nitesh Kumar S/o DineshChoudhary,Vill.- Bhavnathpur, P.O.-Rannuchak, Makandpur, P.S.-Akbarnagar, Dist.-Bhagalpur- 812006B/o: Bhagalpur (BIHAR)

All part and parcel of thepropertyadmeasuring 15½ decimal of land standsin the name of Mr. Brajesh Kumar S/oShri Dinesh Choudhary, Khata No.313,Khesra No.816, Thana No.59, At-Mouza-Bhavnathpur, Rannuchak, Makandpur,Bhagalpur-812006 under registeredSale Deed No.3968 of 2009 dated18.04.2009. (As per valuation reportactual measurement is 15.00 Decimals).Bounded by: North-Road, South-SelfPurchaser, East-Sukho Bhagat, West-Chedi Choudhary.

`25,00,000/-`2,50,000/-`25,000/-

`17,12,696/-*as on 17.12.2020and interest thereon

29.01.202111.00 AM to12:00 PM27.01.2021

1. Mrs. Chanda Devi (Borrower &Mortgagor) W/o Amarkant Singh andResident of Moh-Baigna, Ward No.-24,Katihar, Pin-8541052. Mr. Amarkant Singh (Borrower) S/oJagnnath SinghResident of Moh-Baigna, Ward No.-24,Katihar, Pin-854105B/o: Hardayal Road, Katihar

All that part and parcel of the propertyconsisting of land & residential buildingsituated at Khata No.191, Khesra No.-91,PS-83, Mauja-Baigna, Tauzi-1172, Ward-22, Prabhat Nagar, Dist.-Katihar, in theName of Smt. Chanda Devi, W/o AmarKant Singh as per Sale Deed-335 dated13.01.2005 registered at SRO Katihar.Extent of the site: 2 Decimal 1 Kari.Boundaries (as per Sale Deed No.335dt. 13.01.2005): North-Dhaneswari Devi,South-Champa Devi, East-Lakkhi Mahto,West-10 Feet Road.

`15,55,000/-`1,55,500/-`50,000/-

`23,96,164/-as on 18.12.2020and interest thereon

29.01.202111.00 AM to12:00 PM27.01.2021

Sh. Ashok Ray (Borrower/Mortgager),S/O Sh. Sahdeo Ray, R/O-Village-Belhar,Post-Darihara, Dist.-Saran, Bihar-841247B/o: Hajipur (BIHAR)

Commercial vacant land situated atVillage and Anchal-Aurai, Sub registry-Katra, DSRO & Dist.-Muzaffarpur,Rev. Thana No.97, Khata No.-842,Khesra No.-537, Area-10 decimals &Khata No.842, Khesra No.-536, Area-10 Decimal, Total Area 20 decimals inthe name of Ashok Ray. Boundaries:North-Rasta Pakka Main Road, South-Rameshwar Rai, East-Rameshwar Rai,West-Shop of Vinod Rai.

`17,60,000/-`1,76,000/-`50,000/-


29.01.202111.00 AM to12:00 PM27.01.2021

M/s H Handloom FabricsProp.: Md. Hafizuddin (Borrower/Mortgagor) S/o Late Md. Aziz, At-Kilaghat Sarai, Tatarpur, Bhagalpur, Dist.-Bhagalpur-812001Guarantor: Mrs. Rozi Khatoon At-Kilaghat, Sarai, Tatarpur, Bhagalpur, Dist.-Bhagalpur- 812001B/o: Tilkamanjhi (BIHAR)

All that part and parcel of the propertyconsisting of Mouza-Pista, Thana-Jagdishpur, District-Bhagalpur, extent of16 decimal of homestead land togetherwith pucca single storied house standingthereon, sale deed no.346, dated08.01.2013, Khata No.169, Khesra No.01,Halka No.-02, Jamabandi No.-311, ThanaNo.204, Within the registration subdistrict Bhagalpur & District-Bhagalpurin the name of Md. Hafizuddin S/o Lt.Md. Aziz. Bounded as per deed: North-Md. Unush & others, South-Jiyauddin,East-Md. Safik & others, West-Road.

`1,10,06,500/-`11,00,650/-`1,00,000/-


29.01.202112.30 PM to01:30 PM27.01.2021

M/s Maa Kalratri Motors,Prop.: Shri Sushil Kumar S/o ShriKapileshwar Prasad Singh, At- Adalpur,Dighikala, Hajipur, Distt: Vaishali, State-Bihar 848115.Guarantor: Sri Sanjeev Kumar Sah, S/oLate Rajendra Sah, At-Thahra Gopalpur,PS-Waini, Block-Pusa, Dist-Samastipur(Bihar)B/o: Samastipur

All that part and parcel of the propertysituated at Adalpur,Po- Hajipur, Vaishaliconsisting of Khata No-60,127, KhasraNo. 304,306 Thana No-139, JamabandiNo. 755 within the registration sub-districtHajipur and DistrictVaishaliin thename of Shri. Sushil Kumar S/O- Shri.Kapileshwar Singh. Boundaries:-Onthe North by Ram Prasad Singh, Onthe South by Rameshwar Singh, On theEast by 18 feet Road Bihar Govt., Onthe West by Ramchandra Singh.

`29,32,900/-`2,93,290/-`50,000/-


29.01.202111.00 AM to12:00 PM27.01.2021

For Detailed terms and conditions of the sale, please refer to the service providers linkhttps://www.mstcecommerce.com/auctionhome/ibapi or bank's website www.iob.in or https://publishtenders.gov.in

(Govt. of India undertaking)

Circle Sastra Centre: Biharsharif, Ramchandrapur, Nalanda, Bihar- 803101Possession Notice (For Immovable Property)

Whereas, Punjab National Bank/ the Authorised Officer/s of the Punjab Nationa Bank under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of FinancialAssets & Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002, and in exercise of powers conferred under Section 13 read with the Security Interest(Enforcement) Rules, 2002, issued demand notice/s on the dates mentioned against each account calling upon the respective borrower/s to repaythe amount as mentioned against each account within 60 days from the date of notice(s)/ date of receipt of the said notice(s).The borrower having failed to repay the amount, notice is hereby given to the borrower and the public in general that the undersigned has takenSymbolic possession of the property described here in below in exercise of powers conferred on him under sub-section (4) of Section 13 of Actread with Rule 8 of the Security Interest Enforcement Rules, 2002 on the date mentioned in the account.The borrower’s /guarantor’s /mortgagor’s attention is invited to provisions of sub-section (8) of section 13 of the Act in respect of time available toredeem the secured assetsThe borrower/s in particular and the public in general is hereby cautioned not to deal with the property/ies and any dealing with the property/ies willbe subject to the charge of Punjab National Bank for the amounts and interest thereon.Sl.No.

Branch/Name of theaccount

Name ofMortgagor’s /hypothecator

Description of the property mortgaged Date ofDemandnotice/

PossessionNotice

Amt O/S as onthe date of NPA

1. BO: HarnautSmt Usha Devi,W/o-Sri RajeshChaurasiya,At-Machhariyawan,P.S-Fatuha, Dist-Patna, Pin:803201

Smt Usha Devi,W/o-Sri RajeshChaurasiya, At-Machhariyawan,P.S-Fatuha, Dist-Patna, Pin:803201

EM of property covered under deed no.5910 dated 12.04.2013,Khata no -23, Khesra no-177, Thana-215, area-3.59 decimallocated at mauza-Rupaspur, in name of Smt Usha Devi W/o-Sri Rajesh Chaurasiya. Boundary: N-Ram Suhawan Singh,S-Jagat Prasad, E-Mukesh Singh, W-jagdish Prasad & ChhotePrasad.

22.01.2020/21.12.2020

Rs.13,69,611.00+ intt. & othercharges w.e.f.01.06.2019

2. BO: HarnautSri Surender Singh,S/o-Late Ram IshwarSingh, At-Diri Par,P.S-Karay Parshuray,Dist-Nalanda, Pin:803110

Sri Surender SinghS/O-Late RamIshwar Singh,At-Diri Par, P.S-Karay Parshuray,Dist-Nalanda, Pin:803110

EM of property covered under deed no.5556 dated 11.06.2014,Khata no -250, Khesra no-2492, Thana-213, Tauzi no.-2188,area-3.125 decimal located at mauza-Samnahua Dih, in nameof Sri Surender Singh S/o- Late Ram Ishwar Singh. Boundary:N-Niz Lekhkari, S-Bishwamohan Kumar Singh Hal Kharidar,E-hunder then NH31, W-Rabindra Singh Bagairah.

22.01.2020/21.12.2020

Rs.13,15,714.00+ intt w.e.f.

01.06.2019 &other charges

if any.

3. BO: HarnautSmt Krishna Devi,W/o-Sri MundrikaSingh, At-Uttra(Bhagwatpur)Po-Bheriya, Ps-Chandi, Dist- Nalanda

Smt Krishna DeviW/o-Sri MundrikaSingh, At-Uttra(Bhagwatpur)Po-Bheriya,Ps-Chandi, Dist-Nalanda

EM of property covered under deed no.2931 dated 26.04.1985,Khata no.-82, Khesra No.-858, Tauzi no.-13055 Thana no.-280,Area-8.0 Decimel located at mauza-Uttra(Bhagwatpur), in thename of Smt Krishna Devi w/o-Sri Mundrika Singh. Boundary:N- Sri Rameshwar Singh, S-Sri Bharash Chauhan & DripalChauhan, E-Arjun Mahto, W-Road.

22.01.2020/21.12.2020

Rs.11,93,289.00intt w.e.f.


if any.

4. BO: HarnautSmt DharamshilaDevi, W/o-SriRavindra Prasad,At-Rupaspur,P.S-Chitsora, Dist-Nalanda, Pin: 803110

Smt DharamshilaDevi, W/o-SriRavindra Prasad,At-Rupaspur,P.S-Chitsora,Dist-Nalanda, Pin:803110

EM of property covered under deed no.6157 dated 18.06.2015,Khata no -239, Khesra no-3210, Thana-208, area-15.625decimal located at mauza-Dihri, in name of Smt DharamshilaDevi W/o- Sri Ravindra Prasad. Boundary: N-khata, S-Raushankumar Purchaser, E-Niz Vendor, W-Baikunth Prasad.

22.01.2020/21.12.2020

Rs.11,60,261.00intt w.e.f.


if any.

5. BO: ChandiM/s Jai Thakur BabaAutomatic Rice Mill,Prop:- Sri Ajay Kumar,S/o-Sri Chandrapal,At-Rukhai, Ps-Chandi,Po-Rukhai, Dist-Nalanda

Sri Ajay KumarS/o-Sri Chandrapal,At-Rukhai, Ps-Chandi, Po-RukhaiDist-Nalanda

EM of property covered under deed no.6226 dated 04.08.2012,Khata no.-54, Khesra No.-2847, Thana no.-199, Area-25Decimel located at mauza-Rukhai, in the name of Sri AjayKumar S/o-Sri Chandrapal. Boundary: N- Paien, S-MannuPaswan, E-Krishna Prasad & Paien, W-Survy Alang.

11.02.2020/21.12.2020

Rs.38,93,371.96+ intt w.e.f.


if any.

6. BO: NoorsaraiM/s Mahesh BodyBuilders,Prop.- Sri MaheshSingh, S/o LateLakhan Singh,Vill-Badhar, Po-Charuipar, P.S-Noorsarai, Dist-Nalanda

Sri Mahesh Singh &Shri Vikas Kumar,Vill-Badhar,Po-Charuipar,P.S-Noorsarai, Dist-Nalanda

1. Hypothecation of fix & furniture, plant & machinery, stocksand entire asset lying at unit.2. EM of property covered under Revenue receipt no.222781dated 05.05.2017 Khata no.-183 Khesra No.-31, Thana no.-36,Area-6.5 Decimel located at mauza-Charuipar, in the name ofSri Mahesh singh & Sri Vikas kumar. Boundary: N- Road S-Ramvilash Singh, E-Uma singh, W-Pankaj Singh.3. EM of property covered under Revenue receipt no.222781dated 05.05.2017 Khata no.-184 Khesra No.-44, Thana no.-36,Area-8.5 Decimal located at mauza-Charuipar, in the name ofSri Mahesh singh & Sri Vikas kumar. Boundary: N- JainandanSingh,S-Uma Singh , E-Gali, W-Road.

02.03.2020/21.12.2020

Rs.20,98,588.12+ intt w.e.f.


if any.

7. BO: SheikhpuraSmt Anuradha Devi,W/o-Sri Bhola PrasadYadav,Mohalla-GirihindaJakraj Asthan Road,Po-Sheikhpura, Dist-Sheikhpura- 811105

Sri Bhola PrasadYadav, S/o-LtMahaveer Yadav,Mohalla-GirihindaJakraj Asthan Road,Po-Sheikhpura, Dist-Sheikhpura-811105

EM of property covered under deed no.1610 dated 29.03.2017,Khata no.-84, Khesra No.-64, Thana no.-191, Area-2.0 Decimellocated at mauza-Grihinda, in the name of Sri Bhola PrasadYadav S/o- Lt Mahabir Prasad Yadav. Boundary: N-Ram KishunYadav Manpur, S-Road District Board, E-Ramnandan Yadav &Others, W-Rasta & Parti Gaimajarua.

10.02.2020/22.12.2020

Rs.10,86,477.00+ intt w.e.f.01.11.2019 &other charges

if any.

8. BO: BarbighaShri Sudhir Kumar,At-Chand Kuan,P.O+P.S-Barbigha,Dist-SheikhpuraPin-811101

Hypothecator:Shri Sudhir Kumar,Morthagor: SmtMamta Kumari, W/oShri Sudhir Kumar,At-Chand Kuan,P.O+P.S-Barbigha,Dist-SheikhpuraPin-811101

1. Hypothetication of fix and fixtures, plant &machinery, stocksand entire assets lying at unit.2. EM of property covered under deed no.5878 dt. 02/09/2015,Khata no -93, Thana no-62, Khesra no-440, area-3.5 Decimellocated at Mauza-Narayanpur, Tola-parsobigha, p.s- barbigha,Dist-Sheikhpura in name Smt Mamta Kumari W/o- Sh. Sudhirkumar. Boundary: N-Mahesh prasad, S-Road, E-Road,W-Surender prasad.

26.02.2020/22.12.2020

Rs.7,29,387.87+ intt w.e.f.


if any.

9. BO: SohsaraiMd. Hashim FarukiS/o-Late Md RizwanFaruki,Mohalla-KohnasaraiPs-Laheri, Dist-Nalanda, Pin: 803101

Md. Hashim FarukiS/o-Late Md RizwanFaruki,Mohalla-Kohnasarai,Ps-Laheri,Dist- Nalanda,Pin: 803101

EM of property covered under deed no.4164 dated 28.03.2012,Khata no.-63, Plot No.-333, Thana no.-114, Area-1.921 Decimellocated at mauza-Hazipur, Makhdumpur, in the name of Md.Hashim faruki S/o- Late Md. Rizwan Faruki. Boundary: N-NizAdhikar in same plot,S-Niz 4ft. wide Rasta of vendor, E-PresentPurchaser Md. Ashraf, W-4ft. wide rasta by vendor & after thatpurchaser Md. Mansoor Alam.

02.01.2020/23.12.2020

Rs.10,16,721.00+ intt w.e.f.


if any.

Place : BiharsharifDate : 25.12.2020

Authorised Officer:- Sri Atulya KumarFor Punjab National Bank, Circle Sastra Centre, Biharsharif

GOVT. OF BIHAR

BIHAR COMBINED ENTRANCE COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION BOARDI.A.S. Association Building, Near Patna Airport, Patna-14.

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MOP-UPdkWmUlsfyax ls lEcfU/r vko';d lwpukfoKkiu la[;k&BCECEB(UGMAC)-2020/10,oa 2020/11 fnukad 22.12.2020ds Øe esaUGMAC-

2020 ls lEcfU/r lHkh vH;fFkZ;ksa @ laLFkkuksa @ loZlk/kj.k dks lwfpr fd;k tkrk gS fd UGMAC-2020 ds vk/kjij f}rh; pØ (2nd round) lhV vkoaVu mijkar ukekadu dh frfFk 26-12-2020 rd foLrkfjr gksus ds dkj.k] vk;ksftrdh tkus okyh Mop-up dkWmUlsfyax ls lacaf/r Publication of Merit list / Uploading of updated seatmatrix/ Proposed date of Offline Counselling dk iwoZ fu/kZfjr dk;ZØe fuEuor~ iqufuZ/kZfjr fd;k tkrk gS_Ø- dk;ZØe iwoZ fu/kZfjr frfFk iqufuZ/kZfjr frfFk(i) Publication of Merit list / Counselling Programme : 26.12.2020 26.12.2020 (8:00 P.M.)

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Government of India)11, Mansingh Road, New Delhi 110 001

Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA)inviting application for a Fellowship in the memory ofShri Devendra Swaroop to study “Bhartiya GyanParampara” (Indian Knowledge Tradition).The Fellowship will be for a period of two years.Further details; like Remuneration, Age limit, EssentialEducational Qualifications, Experience, JobResponsibilities are available at our websitehttp://ignca.gov.in/.Last date of application is 15 January, 2021davp 09118/11/0003/2021 HoD (KN)

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EXPRESSNEWSSERVICELUCKNOW,DECEMBER24

CHIEFMINISTERYogiAdityanathonThursdayhitoutattheLeftistsand socialists, accusing themofbetrayingthecountry.Speakingatakavisammelan

organised on the eve of formerPrime Minister Atal BihariVajpayee's birth anniversary inLucknow,theBJPleadersaidthat“Ramisthecentreofoursanatanparampara” andnothingcanbeexpected from those who fortheir own political benefits callRamcommunal.CallingtheRamTemplebeing

built in Ayodhya a Rashtra

Mandir, Adityanath said, “Inbhavonkopehchannekaprayasishdesh ke andar vampanthiyon neaursocialistsnekiyahota,tosamb-havta desh ke prati vishwasghaatkarne aur desh ke prati na-makharami karne ka avsar inkokabhi nahimila hota (Only if theLeftistsandsocialistswouldhavetriedtounderstandthesefeelings,theyprobablywouldneverhavegottheopportunitytobetrayandbeungrateful tothecountry.”

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEVADODARA, DECEMBER24

FORMERBJPMLAMotilalVasavahaswritten to the sarpanchesof121villages around theStatueofUnityinNarmadadistrict,urgingthem tooppose the inclusionofthe areas under eco-sensitivezoneaspera2016notificationofthe Ministry of Environment,Forest and Climate Change(MoEFCC).Vasava, who also leads the

BJPparty’stribalcell inthestate,hasaskedthesarpanchestousethe upcoming gram sabhas inthe villages to pass resolutionsagainst thegovernmentorder.In a letter to the sarpanches

of 121 villages of the “eco-sen-sitivezone”inNarmada,Vasavahas reminded the tribal com-munitiesof therightsbestowedupon themby theProvisions of

the Panchayats (Extension toScheduled Areas) Act, 1996 orPESA, a law enacted by theGovernmentof India for ensur-ingself-governancethroughtra-ditionalgramsabhasforpeopleliving in theScheduledAreasofIndia as per Schedule V of theConstitution.In his letter, Vasava has said,

“Thegramsabhasarecomingupin your respective villages be-tweenDecember28toFebruary6...Thegraveissuefacingusasofnow is the inclusion of the vil-lages in the eco-sensitive zone.You must remember that thegovernmenthasgrantedyoutherightstoprotectyourproperties,junglesandotherpossessionsasindigenouscommunitiesunderSchedule V of the Constitutionaswell as the special PESA Act.The state government, by theway of the central governmentnotification to include the area

under the eco-sensitive zone, istrying to establish its title onyour lands. I trust that youwillusethepowerthat thePESAActgives you to pass resolutions inyour respective villages by tak-ingintoconfidencethevillagersto oppose this governmentmove."Vasava’s letter comes a day

after BJP MP from Bharuch,Mansukh Vasava, alsowrote toPrimeMinister NarendraModiseeking revocation of the noti-fication and “releasing”Narmada district from the eco-sensitivezone.Theareahasseenprotests fromvillagerssincethedistrict administration begansending notices to the grampanchayats for the implemen-tationof thenotification,whichinvolves the inclusion of thestategovernmentasaco-ownerof the village lands on revenuerecords.


INDIA ON Thursday said twocargo vessels with a total of 39Indians on board have been onanchorage in Chinesewaters astheywerenotallowedtounloadtheir cargo though some othershipshavemanagedtodoso.“There is a considerable

amount of stress on the crewmembersonaccountof this un-precedentedsituation,”Ministryof ExternalAffairs spokespersonAnuragSrivastavasaid.Srivastavasaidbulkcargoves-

selMVJagAnandisonanchoragenear Jingtang port in Hebeiprovince of China since June 13andhas23Indiansailors.Anothervessel, MV Anastasia with 16Indiannationalsas itscrew, isonanchorage near Caofeidian portin China since September 20,waitingfordischargeof itscargo,hesaidatamediabriefing.“Our Embassy in Beijing has

been in constant touch withprovincial and central govern-ment authorities in China, re-questing that the ships be al-lowedtodockand/orthecrewbeallowedtobechanged,”hesaid.Srivastava said the Chinese

authorities have conveyed thatcrew change is not being per-mitted from the ports on ac-countofcoronavirus-relatedre-strictions imposed by the localauthorities.“We also understand, how-

ever, that some other ships,which arrived after Indian shiphad arrived, have actuallyman-agedtodischargecargoandleave.Thereasonsforthisarenotclear,”he said, adding India has takennoteof theChinese foreignmin-istry’s statementonWednesdayabouttheprovisionofnecessaryfacilitationandassistance.

MEA: 2 cargoships with 39Indians strandedin China waters

Oppose inclusion of areas aroundstatue under eco-sensitive zone:ex-BJP MLA to sarpanches Yogi

Adityanath

Ram Mandir is RashtraMandir: Adityanath

STATUEOFUNITY

New Delhi


GOVT&POLITICSWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

DELHICONFIDENTIAL

SETTING RHYTHMPOET-TURNED-POLITICIANKumarVishwashas foundanewadmirer in the ruling BJP. On Thursday, BJP’s Uttar PradeshPresidentSwatantraDevSinghshoweredhimwithpraiseforhis “brilliantpoetry recitation”at aprogrammeorganisedontheeveof thebirthanniversaryof formerPrimeMinister, lateAtalBihariVajpayee.Incidentally,thecomplimentsforthefor-mer AamAadmi Party leader come days after the AAP an-nouncedthatitwillfighttheupcomingUPAssemblyelectionin2022.

OFFERING CONDOLENCESBALOCH ACTIVIST KarimaMehrab— popularly known asKarimaBaloch—avocalcriticofPakistanArmy,wasfounddeadthisweekinToronto,Canada.NewDelhi,whichusuallyrefrainsfromcommentingonindividualdeathsexceptforworldlead-ers, on Thursday expressed condolences to her family.WhilethelocalpoliceinTorontohaveruledoutanyfoulplay,Baloch’sfamilyhassoughtaprobeintothecircumstancesofherdeath.

STAR SHOWTHECONCLUDINGsessionof the India InternationalScienceFestival tomorrow is set to be a star-studded event. ActorAmitabh Bachchan, filmmaker Shekhar Kapur and eminentwildlife activist and film director Mike Pandey have beenroped in by the government for the concluding session.Prominentwildlifechannelsparticipatedandscreenedtheirfilmsover thepast fewdays in the festival.


BJP RAJYA Sabha MP SonalMansinghhassoughtabreachofprivilegenoticeagainstDelhiChiefMinisterArvindKejriwal, takingissuewithhisspeechonthecon-tentious farm laws in theDelhiAssemblywhere he also tore acopyof theBills.Mansingh,quotingKejriwal's

speech, filed a complaintwithVice President VenkaiahNaidu,theChairmanof theRajyaSabha,onWednesday. ChairmanNaiducaninduecoursetakecognizanceofthecomplaint,andforwardittothe privilege committee of theUpper House. The Rajya Sabha

maythenasktheDelhiAssemblytotakeactionagainstKejriwal.Mansingh said in the letter

thattheRajyaSabha,“...inausual(sic)showofunity,passedtheseBillsunanimously,takingintoac-countthefactthattheseBillsareoriented towards thewelfare offarmerscommunityinthecoun-try.”

TheBillswerepassedviavoicevote on September 20with sev-eraloppositionmembersprotest-ingintheWellandothersseekinga division of votes. Rajya SabhaDeputyChairmanHarivanshcitedlack of order caused by theproteststoruleoutadivision.Mansinghallegedintheletter,

that Kejriwal, on December 17,“deliveredaspeechtherebycast-ingseriousaspersionsontheover-all working of Rajya Sabha andmadeunwarranted andunsub-stantiatedallegationsagainsttheChairman.”Mansingh’s notice also says,

“Kejriwalafteruttering...blasphe-mouswords in the LegislativeAssemblyofDelhi,torethecopiesofallthethreeFarmBills.”


SENIORCONGRESSleaderRahulGandhi on Thursday led a partydelegationtoPresidentRamNathKovind, seekinghis interventionfor repealof thethree farmlaws.Rahul then launched a sharp at-tackonPrimeMinisterNarendraModi,callinghim“incompetent”and accusing his government oflabellingthosewhostooduptoitas terrorists. “One day if MohanBhagwat stands up...he alsowillbecalledaterrorist,”Rahulsaid.While Rahul, Leader of the

Opposition in Rajya SabhaGhulamNabiAzadandCongressleaderinLokSabhaAdhirRanjanChowdhurymet the President,the police prevented seniorCongress leaders – among themMPs and AICC office bearers --from marching towardsRashtrapati Bhawan from theAICC headquarters. The policetookmany of them, includingCongress general secretaryPriyanka Gandhi, into custodyand shifted them to theMandirMarg police station in buses be-forereleasingthem.RahulsaidthePrimeMinister

will have to listen to the farmers

protestingatDelhi’sborders.“BJPandNarendraModihave

only one goal. And the farmersand labourers have understoodthat. NarendraModi ismakingmoney for two-three-fourcronycapitalistswhoareclosetohim,”Rahulsaid,addingthatthePrimeMinister did not pay heed to hiswarningsonthethreatof coron-avirus andhis suggestion not tohandle the pandemic in a cen-tralisedway. “Hedidn’t do it. Hecausedthousandsandthousandsofpeopletodiebecausehedidn’tdo it. And afterwards after I saidit in the press conference he didit. So thepoint is youhavean in-competent man who is con-trolledbycertainotherpeople...”Toaquestionaboutthedeten-

tion of Congress leaders andwhetheritwasright inademoc-racy,hesaid, “Whichdemocracyare you talking about? Are youtalking about India? There is nodemocracy in India. DemocracyinIndia...itmaybeinyourimagi-nationbutnot inreality.”Priyanka said it is “sin” to

brand farmers anti-nationals. “Ifthe government is calling themanti-nationals, then the govern-mentisasinner.”

FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com


THE BJP on Thursday targetedCongress leader Rahul Gandhi,who led a party delegation toPresident Ram Nath Kovindagainst the Centre's farm laws,calling him “perpetually young,frustrated and agitated”.WhileUnionministerPrakashJavadekarchallengedGandhitoadebate,BJPnational spokespersonSudhanshu Trivedi said no gov-ernmenthaddonemoreforfarm-ersthantheBJP.The BJP pointed to old

speechesof RahulGandhi, SoniaGandhi andManmohan Singhwheretheyareseentobearguingfor reforms, andagainstmiddle-men in agriculture, accusing theCongressofchangingstance.“IchallengetheCongressand

RahulGandhiforanopendebate.IwillprovehowtheCongressal-ways ignored farmers' interestsand how Modi empoweredthem,”Javadekarsaid.On Gandhi's demand for a

Parliamentsessionwherethelawsshouldbe repealed, theministersaid: “WhenParliament is inses-sion,Congressmembersobstructanddonottakepartinadebate.”

Union AgricultureMinisterNarendraSinghTomarpointedtotheCongress2019electionman-ifestowherehesaidtheCongresshadpromised the endof APMC,ensuringtradewithoutmanditaxandpromotionof contract farm-ing. “Now I want to ask RahulGandhi if he lied in2019or is ly-ingnow,”Tomarsaid.Party spokesperson Trivedi

called Gandhi “perpetuallyyoung, disenchanted, agitatedand frustrated”.AttackingGandhiforhiscom-

ments that Indiawasan“imagi-narydemocracy”,Trivedisaid, “Iwanttobringtohisattentionthatit was the anniversary of thecountry's tallest farmer leaderand former Prime MinisterChoudharyCharanSinghandto-morrowis thebirthanniversaryof Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Did theCongress not charge both ofthemwith sedition? Did theybothnotgoto jail?”

RAAKHIJAGGALUDHIANA,DECEMBER24

AFTERSTAGINGprotestsoutsidepetrol pumps and retail outletsof Reliance, protesting farmersin Punjabhavenowstarteddis-connecting power supply to Jiomobile towers disrupting thetelecom giant's services in sev-eralpartsof thestate.Farmers owing allegiance to

different farmers’ unions haveshutthepowersupplytoseveralJio towers in Nawanshahr,Ferozepur, Mansa, Barnala,Fazilka, Patiala andMoga dis-tricts in last threedays.InFerozepur,thepowersup-

ply to the cellular transmission

towerswas cut by farmers sep-aratelyunderthebannerofBKU(Ugrahan)andBKU(Dakaunda).In Nawanshahr, farmers un-

der the banner of Kirti KisanUnion (KKU) disconnectedpower supply to 11 Jio mobile

towers.In most of the villages in

Barnala and Bathinda, farmerslocked the gates of towers aftersnapping thepowersupply.Jagmohan Singh Patiala,

working groupmember of AllIndia Kisan SangharshCoordination Committee, said,“Our teams in the field are con-ducting surveys to find inde-pendent towers of Jio... our tar-get will be only suchindependent towers.”Jio Telecommunications re-

fusedtocommenttillthetimeoffilingof this report.A Venuprasad, CMD, Punjab

StatePowerCorporationLimited(PSPCL) did not respond to re-quest for comment.

Democracy in Indianot in reality... PMincompetent: Rahul

Congress leaderRahulGandhimetthePresident toseekrepealof thethree farmlaws, inDelhi.AbhinavSaha

VANDITAMISHRACHANDIGARH,AMRITSAR,DECEMBER24

FORNOW, the farmers’ protestsin Punjab against the Centre’sthree farm laws are bringing to-gether,despitetheirdifferentandoftenconflictinginterests,sectionsofbigandsmallfarmers,landlessagricultural labourers and com-mission agents. It’s amoment ofunity,too,forPunjab’snotoriouslyfragmentedfarmunions.The agitation is rippling out-

sidethefarmsector—joining,forinstance, the theatre group inAmritsar,tothetraderinthecity’sfamedwholesaleclothmarket.Aplaywritten in theearly1950s isseeingarevivaltoday,saysKewalDhaliwal, who runs ManchRangmanch in Amritsarwhichhas been performing at theprotestsites.In Joginder Baharla’s “Harian

Saunnian”, Punjab’s twomaincrops, “Harian" and “Saunnian"(personification of rice andwheat),talktothefarmer,askhimwhy he remains poor eventhoughheworkssohard.“Duringperformances now, audiencessingalongwiththechorus,‘saadekhet, saade khet (our fields,ours!)’”,saysDhaliwal.And in the city’s Tahli Sahib

Bazaar, cloth merchant AjayKumarArora says: “I belong to afamilyofbusinessmenbutabout70per cent ofmycustomers arefromthevillages. If theygetgoodmoney for the crop, they buymore…”Butonesetofactorsisconspic-

uously leftout,andleftbehind—Punjab’spoliticalparties.

Seentohaveawakenedlatetotheagitation,accusedofspeakinginmany voices, they are beingturnedawayfromtheprotestsitesandvillages,forcedintotheroleofcheerleaders,lefttomountparal-lel protests, like the Congress’sPunjabMPs at JantarMantar. Orengage, likeArvindKejriwal andAmarinderSingh,inTwitterspats.Going ahead, thismarginali-

sation of the political player hasimplications for the futureof thestate and the political party. Allpartieswill have to address thedisillusion, towinback thepeo-ple’strust.Intheimmediateterm,asthe

protests continue, it couldmeanthat thepolitical partywill havelittleornosayinacrucialcalcula-tion thatwill decide the timingand content of the resolution:Whendothecostsof themobili-sationbegin to outweigh the in-vestmentsbeingmadeinit?As the ruling party at the

Centre,theBJP,ofcourse,isontheother side of the fence.With theShiromani Akali Dal exiting theNDAoverthefarmlaws,theBJPisonitsownagaininastatethatre-sistedtheModisweepin2014andagainin2019.Butitscurrentisolationinthe

state ismade ofmore than justthat. In its longstanding alliancewiththeSAD,therewasamoreorlesstidydivisionofpoliticallabour— the BJP focused on the urbanHindu areas,while Akalis drewtheirstrengthprimarily fromtheSikhpeasantry.ThesplitwiththeSADmeans,

therefore, that theurban-centricBJP looks unable to bridge thecommunication gulf with theprotesting farmers camping at

Delhi’sbordersorinthevillages.Asitsearchesforconspiracies

andOthers,theBJPalsolookslikeapartyinsullendenial.InChandigarh,formerMPand

memberoftheBJPnationalexec-utive, Satya Pal Jain, talks of “alobby, anti-BJP and anti-Modi”.“Theydidprachar(publicity),liketheydidagainst theCAA—aapkizameen chali jaayegi, the corpo-rateswill take awayyour land…this propaganda, started by theAAP and a hardliner section ofSikhs,wentdownbelow.CaptainAmarinder Singh cashed inon ittocornerboththeSADandtheBJPinonestroke.ThencametheSAD

somersault”.TheBJP,hesays,feels“letdown”bytheSAD.To this cast of characters,

whichalsoincludes“Leftist”kisanunionleaders,Jainaddsthecom-mission agent or arhtiya, “whofeelsmost adversely affectedbythenewlaws”.But the BJP, says Jain, sees in

thiscrisisanewopportunity.“Thiswill be ultimately sorted out bytheCentre,andthecreditwillgototheparty.”Itwillgiveitanoppor-tunity to expand its base on itsowninPunjab,asitdidinHaryanaandHimachal,and“anewexper-imentwillstart,”saysJain.SeniorAkalileaderandformer

PunjabeducationministerDaljitSingh Cheema contests the BJPclaim that the SADhad belatedsecondthoughts.Hispartybeganobjectingeversincetheintroduc-tionof theordinances, he says—met farmunions, conveyed thefeedback to the Modi govern-ment, askedforaselect commit-tee.Now, a cornered SAD,which

posteditspoorestevertallyinthe2017assemblyelections,winningonly15 seats out of 117, is fallingbackonitstraditionalanti-Centrepolitical tackandrhetoric—only

thistimeitisnotdeployedagainstoldenemyCongressbutnewlydi-vorcedpartnerBJP.“Whatwastheneedtodothis

(bring the laws),” Cheema asksand answers his ownquestion:“One after another, there is en-croachmentbytheCentreonstatepowers.Thefederalsystemisbe-ingundermined,thereasonisar-rogance”.The second termof theNDA

hasbeen“verydifferent”,butthis“violation of the constitutionalspirit”was visible earlier too, hesays—and cites centrally spon-sored schemes, centralisationofpowersinGST,implementationoflaws like UAPA. These are“Emergency waale halaat(Emergency-likecircumstances)”,it’s the same “IndiraGandhi pol-icy”.Like theothers, theCongress,

too, seems to have been caughtoff-guard. Yet its bind is a specialone:Itisinpowerinthestate,andyetnotpowerfulontheissueroil-ing it currently— it holds feworno cards in the face-off betweenthe Centre and the farmers ofPunjab.“Procurement in this state is

done like clockwork. If youwentup in a chopper, youwould seePunjab fieldsallyellow,andafter10-12 days, therewould be nograin standing. It is awell-oiledmachinery”, says Sunil Jakhar,president of the Punjab PradeshCongressCommittee.Therearecorruptionsandin-

efficienciesintheFCI,hesays,andasleaderoftheOpposition,hehadtaken his concerns to the CAG.“Butyouneedtocorrect,notdis-mantle”, he says. The govern-ment’s“promotionofcorporates”

ishavinganunintendedeffect,hesays: “You have now paintedthemasbigvillains”.If Congress handwringing

highlightsthepredicamentofthepoliticalmainstream in Punjab,the sideliningof theAamAadmiPartyunderlinesthetamingofthealternative.Only threeyears ago, in2017,

theAAPhadsucceededinturningthetwo-corneredPunjabcontestinto a triangular one on an anti-establishment platform, emerg-ingas thesecond largestparty initsdebutassemblyelectioninthestate.Nowitstandsalongsidethemainstreamparties—ontheout-sideofthefarmers’protests,look-ingin.SaysLeaderoftheOpposition

in the Punjab Assembly AAP’sHarpal Singh Cheema: “Thisstartedwiththefarmunions,thenwespokeup.”WhenCheemasays,“wesup-

ported the kisan jathebandiyan(farmermobilisations), jab un-honekiyatohhamnekiya”—it isboth a factual description of thesequenceof events andan inad-vertent admission of the AAP’sfailuretoseizethemoment,orthemovement.CheemareactstotheBJP’s in-

sinuation of an “AAP-Khalistanilobby”:“Inthelastassemblyelec-tion, too, the Congress called usKhalistani and the BJP called usUrbanNaxals. The agencies arewith them,why don't they jailus?”Butinthismoment,theAAP’s

realchallengemaylie inwhathesays next: At the sites of theprotests, “we have to sit in theback,wecan’tevensitinthefront,theydon’t letusspeak”.

FROMTHE

PUNJABFIELDS

AN EXPRESS SERIES PART THREE

VARINDERBHATIA&SUKHBIRSIWACHCHANDIGARH,DECEMBER24

WITH PRESSUREmounting onthe BJP-JJP government inHaryana over the farmers'protests, Deputy ChiefMinisterDushyant Chautala onThursdayoffered to act as amediator be-tweenthefarmersandtheCentretoresolvethestandoff.Thiscameonadayagroupof

villagersusedshovels todamagea temporary helipad in his con-stituencyUchana in Jind–oneofthedistrictsthathasseenfarmersgathering in protest against thethreenewfarmlaws–wheretheyclaimedChautalawastovisitlaterin the day. They also releasedvideosofthehelipadbeingdugup.However, a leader from

Chautala's JJP denied any visitplans.“Therewasnoofficial pro-gramme of the Deputy ChiefMinister to go toUchana today.Instead, hewas addressingpressconference here in Chandigarh.Then he flew to Delhi. Severaltimes there are tentative pro-grammes, like social engage-ments at a partyworker's place.The Uchana programme couldhavebeenoneof those...,”hetoldTheIndianExpress.Chautala,meanwhile,toldre-

porters that theprotesting farm-ers should talkwith the govern-ment and reach a solution. “Nosolution canbe reachedwithouttalks,”hesaid.“WhentheUniongovernment

ismakingeffortsinthisregard,the40farmerunionswhoareleadingtheseprotests should also comeforwardandparticipateintalksfor

thebettermentof farmers. Ihopetalkswill beheld in thenext fewdaysandthatwouldleadtoapos-itiveoutcome,”hesaid.In reply to another question,

hesaid,“Changesneedtobemadeintheagriculturelawsandinthisregardwritten suggestionshavebeenmadetotheCentreandtheCentre also agreed to the same.The government is ready to in-clude the guarantee of MSP inwriting,tomakeamendmentsto

Electricity Amendment Billamong other demands. If theCentregivesmeresponsibility tomediateonthosechangesthatarenotbeing included, Iamreadytodotheneedful.”Chautala's statements came

evenas farmerunionscontinuedtobuildpressure,raisinganti-gov-ernment slogans outside resi-dencesofseniorBJPandJJPleadersintheirrespectiveconstituencies.Theoffertomediateassumes

significanceasBJPleaderandfor-merUnionminister ChaudharyBirenderSingh–withwhosefam-ilytheChautalashaveengagedinpoliticalcontestsoverthepastfewdecades–hasannouncedsupportto theprotesting farmers. In fact,SinghsatonadharnaatHisaronThursday,whichwas organisedby his Chaudhary Chhotu RamVicharManch in support of thefarmers. This cameaweek afterhe joined a similar dharna inRohtakdistrict.The familiesof Chautala and

Singh,bothofwhomclaimtocham-pionfarmers'causes,havefoughtelectoralbattlesfromUchanaKalanassemblyseatandHisarparliamen-taryconstituencyformanyyears.Most recently,ChautaladefeatedSingh’swifePremLatafromUchanaintheOctober2019Assemblypolls.FewmonthsbeforethatBirenderSingh’s son and BJP candidateBrijendraSinghdefeatedChautalafromHisar.Singh's open support to the

protesting farmers may buildpressureonChautalaasneitherhenor his legislatormotherNainaChautala has joined any suchprotestuntilnow.Singh,however, is yet togeta

warmresponse– therewas thinattendanceatThursday'sdharna–largelybecausehisMPsonisyetto showup in favour. BrijendraSinghwaspart of a three-mem-berpanelofBJPMPsformedafewmonthsagototalktotheagitators.Birender Singh’s support to theagitation is being seen as an at-tempttopacifytheangryfarmers,at least, in Hisar constituencywhere some khap groups haveannouncedsocialboycottofbothhimandChautala.


THE PETITIONER whomovedthe Supreme Court for removalof the protesting farmers fromborders of Delhi has made asmany as 43 farmer outfits par-tiestohispleaandservedcopiesof thepetitionuponthem.Advocates Om Prakash

Parihar and Dushyant Tiwari,who represent the petitionerRishabh Sharma, filed a revisedlistof parties in the topcourtonDecember22.The petitioner had initially

made only the Centre, the gov-

ernmentsofDelhi,UttarPradeshand Haryana and theCommissioner of Police, Delhi,partiestohispetition.Whenthematter came up for hearing onDecember 16 before a benchheaded by Chief Justice S ABobde, the court suggested thatitwouldalso like tohear farmerorganisationsonthe issue.Issuing notice on the peti-

tionsthatday,thecourtallowedimpleadmentofeightfarmeras-sociations that are part of theprotests.Government sources said

this listwasonly representativeas no one was sure howmanyoutfitswerepartof theprotests.

43 farmer outfits madeparties in plea to removeprotest from Delhi borders

Rahul forever young,agitated, says BJP,dares him to debate

BJP sees plot, others lend weight but socially distanced

Sonal Mansingh seeks breachof privilege action on Kejriwal

Farm laws:Aspressuremounts,Dushyantoffers tobemediator

Protestersdigupahelipad inUchana,DeputyCMDushyantChautala’sconstituency.TheysaidChautalawasscheduledtoarrivethereonThursday—aclaimthe JJPdenied.Express

SADleaderDaljitSinghCheema,Congress leaderSunil Jakhar

PrakashJavadekar

MansinghraisedKejriwal’sspeech inDelhiHouse

In stir against Reliance, farmerssnap power supply to Jio towers

PowersupplyofmobiletowerbeingsnappedinKotlalluvillageofMansa

New Delhi

EXPRESSNETWORK 9WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,DECEMBER25,2020

ABHISHEKANGADRANCHI,DECEMBER24

FROMCOLLECTIONofelectricityduesthatarebecomingaburdenon the poor to providingmorejobs, and conducting panchayatelections on time, amajority ofCongress MLAs met ChiefMinister Hemant Soren for thefirst time since the governmentwasformedinJharkhandandap-prisedhimofproblemstheyfaceaspublic representatives.The Jharkhand Mukti

Morcha-ledgovernmentwillan-nounce its first year’s achieve-mentsonDecember29.Sources in the Congress

LegislativePartysaidtheparty'sJharkhand in-charge, R P NSingh, arrangedthemeeting.AnMLAwhowaspartof the

meeting said: “Onemajor issuewas themanner of collectionofelectricity dues from the poor.The Covid-19 pandemic has al-ready broken their backs, andpeopleinvariousconstituenciesarefeelingoverburdenedbyno-ticesservedbytheelectricityde-partmentondues.Weaskedthe

CMtogoa little slowonthis.”With pending dues running

into nearly Rs 5,600 crore, theDamodar Valley Corporation iscarrying out outages in variousparts of the state. Recently, theUnion PowerMinistrywrote tothe Jharkhand government andasked it to pay the dues toDVC,otherwise as per agreement theRBI would deduct Jharkhand'smoneyinfourequalinstallments.At a recent departmental re-

viewmeeting,Sorenhadcalledforself-relianceinpowergeneration.Another CongressMLA said

thattherewasaproblemwiththepanchayatelectionsnextmonth.The legislators saidworks in thepanchayatswouldcometoahalt.ThediscussioncameonthebackofaletterfromPanchayatiRajdi-rector Aditya Ranjan to deputycommissioners,statingpanchayatpolls couldnot be completedontimeduetothepandemic.

AVANEESHMISHRALUCKNOW,DECEMBER24

THE START of the constructionof aRamtemple inAyodhyahashitanotherhiccupaftertestsre-vealedthatstructuralpilesmadetobeartheweightof thetempledid not give desired results, ac-cording to Shri RamJanmabhoomi Teerth KshetraTrust.TheTrust,whichwasformed

to facilitate the construction ofthe Ram temple following theSupreme Court's verdict in theRam Janmabhoomi-BabriMasjidtitlesuit, isnowtryingtofindalternativeways for it.Theteamoftechnicalexperts

thatincludepeoplefromseveralrenownedinstitutesliketheIITs,NITs, the Central BuildingResearch Institute (CBRI) inRoorkee, and engineers fromcompanies likeLarsen&Toubro(L&T) and Tata Consulting

Engineers (TCE)arealready fac-inghurdlesinformof loosesanddue to water flow on the westside of garbhagrih of the pro-posed temple.The foundation design, fi-

nalised and submitted by theL&T, comprised plain cementconcrete raft resting on about1200 cement concrete piles go-ing 20 to 40 metres deep andaround1metre indiameter.“The drawing was of 1,200

pillars and we did a testing.

Someof thepillarswereputun-derground till around 125 feetandweretestedafteraround28days,whichis therequiredtimeas per engineering norms.Weput 700 tonnes of weight onthem along with creating anearthquakesituation,butthetestpiles did not give us the desiredresults.Thereadingsonthema-chine were not what wewanted... If the pile testing re-sults were just a little different,wewouldhavegivenago-ahead

(for the constructionwork). Buttheyweremuch different fromwhatweexpected,”Rai said.He saidwith the Saryu river

flowing on thewest side of thegarbhagrih, water and loosesandarepresent close towherethe pillars are to stand. “Thestructure's strength cannot beensured on loose sand. That iswhy the experts are having dis-cussionsonhowtostopthewa-ter from reaching the temple,andmakeastrongfoundation..”

AVISHEKGDASTIDARNEWDELHI, DECEMBER24

PRIME MINISTER NarendraModi will virtually inauguratethelargestsectionof theEasternDedicated Freight Corridor atmidday on December 29 tolaunch the operations of one ofthe largest rail infrastructureprojects in India.The351-kmKhurja-Bhaupur

(Kanpur) section of the EasternDedicated Freight Corridor isready and necessary trials andtesting have already been con-cluded.Modiwilldedicatetothe

nationthenewrail freightcorri-dor along with Uttar PradeshChiefMinisterYogiAdityanath.Alongwith the section, the

PMwill alsounveil the state-of-the-artOperationControlCentreof theEasternDedicatedFreightCorridor,basedinPrayagraj.Thecentre,withgalleriesofmultiplescreens, will keep track of alltrainmovement in real time onthe freight corridor and enableseamlessplanningofoperations.TheKhurja-Bhaupursection,

aftertheinauguration,willseeasubstantial number of freighttrains and container traffic di-vertedtothefreightcorridor,re-

sulting in not just fastermove-ment of goods but also decon-gestion of the existing railwayline carrying traffic to NorthIndia.Asa run-up to the inaugura-

tion, work was expedited andtrialrunswereconductedearlierthismonth.Thefirstcoal-loadedtrain comprising 59 wagonswithtonnageof4893tonnesranfor Nabha Power House inPunjabonDecember10.The 352-km section Modi

willdedicatetothenationisbuiltatacostofRs5,750crore,fundedbytheWorldBank.Thenewsta-tionsinthissectionareBhaupur,

Kanchausi, Achalda, Ekdil,Bhadan, Makhanpur, Tundla,Hathras, Daudkan and Khurja.Someoftheimportantindustrialareas that straddle this sectionare Aligarh, Khurja, FirozabadandAgra.Sixty-eight level crossings

have been eliminated in thisstretch, augmenting speed andsafety, the Dedicate FreightCorridor Corporation says. Thesectionhas19majorbridges,414minorbridges,sevenrailwayfly-overs. A Tata-Aldesa JVwas re-sponsible for civil construction,while Alstomhas done the sys-temswork.

PRESSTRUSTOFINDIASRINAGAR,DECEMBER24

TWO JAISH-E-MOHAMMADmilitants including a PakistaninationalwerekilledThursdayinan encounter with securityforces in Baramulla district ofJammuandKashmir,policesaid.Thegunfightensuedafterthe

militants fired upon a searchteamofsecurityforces,drawingretaliation.Securityforceshadlaunched

a cordon-and-search operationinWanigam Payeen in Kreeriarea of Baramulla district innorthKashmirThursdaymorn-ing, apolice spokesmansaid.One of the slain ultras was

identified as Abrar alias Langoowho, according to sources, is aPakistani national. The secondmilitantwasAmirSiraj,aresidentof Sopore, thespokesmansaid.Hesaidthemilitantswereaf-

filiatedwith JeM.Asperpolicerecords,themil-

itants were involved in severalterror-related cases, includingattacks on security forces andcivilianatrocities, hesaid.

New Delhi: India Thursday de-scribedNepalPrimeMinisterKPSharmaOli'sdecisiontodissolveParliament and call for freshelectionsasan“internalmatter”that is for the country to decideasper itsdemocraticprocesses.MEA spokesperson Anurag

Srivastava said India will con-tinue supporting its neighbourinmoving forward on the pathofpeaceanddevelopment. "Wehave noted the recent politicaldevelopments in Nepal. TheseareinternalmattersforNepaltodecide as per its democraticprocesses," Srivastavasaid.ENS

Temple runs into construction hiccup: Structural piles not up to mark

PM to launchDFC section in UPPak nationalamong 2 JeMmilitants killedin J&K gunfight

Oli decision isNepal’s internalmatter: MEA

HemantSoren

AHEADOFJHARKHANDGOVT’S 1STANNIVERSARY

Cong MLAs meet CMSoren, air grievances

New Delhi

EXPRESSNETWORK10 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,DECEMBER25,2020

GOVERNMENT OF MAHARASHTRAEXECUTIVE ENGINEER, PUBLIC WORKS DIVISION, BHANDARA

(Phone No. 07184-252412)

Online e-tenders in B-1 forms for following works are invited by the ExecutiveEngineer, Public Works Division, Bhandara from the elligible contractors. Tender doc-ument may be downloaded at Govt. Website http://mahatenders.gov.in. Rights to acceptor reject the tender without assigning any reason reserve with Executive Engineer,Public Works Division, Bhandara.Sr Name of Works Estt. cost. Earnest Cost of Class ofNo. (Rs. in money E-Tender Contractor

Lakhs) (Rs. in documentsLakhs)

1 Construction of Minor Bridge of 120.93 1.21 1120.00 Class-IV &Pahungaon To Bhagadi Road VR-82 aboveIn Km. 0/200 in Ta. LakhandurDist. Bhandara

2 Construction of Minor Bridge of Tai 110.44 1.10 1120.00 Class-IV &(Khu) To Bothali To Bhagadi Road aboveODR-91 In Km. 2/050 in Ta. LakhandurDist. Bhandara

3 Construction of Minor Bridge Of Kitadi 99.95 1.00 1120.00 Class-IV &Masal Virli Road MDR-39 In Km. 5/200 abovein Ta. Lakhani Dist. Bhandara

Note.:-1. Other terms & condition can be seen in the bidding documents.2. The details tender notice can be viewed and downloaded online directly from the

e-tendering portal http://mahatenders.gov.in.3. The bidder shall submit the Hard Copy of Tender Document (Technical &

Financial Envelope) in sealed Envelope with in 72Hrs. on the last date of submis-sion at the office of tender opening authority.

Sd/-Executive Engineer

Public Works Division1605 Bhandara

E-TENDER NOTICE No. 23 of 2020-2021

BRIEFLY

UTTARPRADESH

Gangrapevictim‘raped’bycopShahjahanpur:Anallegedgangrape victim has ac-cused a police sub-insp-ector of raping herwhenshewenttoapolicestationtolodgeacomplaint.ADG,Bareilly AvinashChandrahasorderedaninquiryintothecomplaintofthewom-an,whomethimWedne-sday. The 35-year-oldwoman told reportersThursdaythatonNovem-ber 30,while shewas onherway toMadanpur onfoot,fivemencameinacar,draggedher to a field andrapedher. PTI

MAHARASHTRA

HeadconstableshootsselfPalghar:Apoliceman al-legedlyshothimselfinsideapolice station inMahar-ashtra’sPalghardistrictonThursday, anofficial said.HeadconstableSDBhoye,attached to Tulinj policestationinNalasopara,shothimselfinaroomonthest-ationpremises,policesaid.In his 40s, Bhoyewas onnightduty.Furtherprobeisunderway,policesaid. PTI

KERALA

MalayalamfilmdirectordiesKochi:Malayalamfilmdirec-torShanavasNaranippuzha(37),whosufferedaheartat-tackafewdaysago,diedataprivatehospitalhere,filmindustrysourcessaidThurs-day.Shanavas(37)wasfromNaranipuzhainMalappur-am district. Shanavas’smovie‘SufiyumSujatayum’wasthefirstMalayalamfilmreleasedonOTTplatformduringtheCovidlockdown.KeralaculturalministerAKBalan condoled his un-timelydemise,sayingitwasahuge loss for theMalay-alamfilmindustry. PTI

ShanavasNaranippuzha

297DAYSSINCEPANDEMICBEGAN

TRACKING INDIA’SCOVIDCURVE

CASES:1,01,23,778TESTS: 16,53,08,366 | RECOVERIES: 96,93,173

ACTIVE CASES:2,83,849DEATHS: 1,46,756

DEC23CASES DEATHS RECOVERIES TESTS24,712 312 29,791 10,39,645

STATESWITHRISINGACTIVECASESACTIVECASES RISEINLASTWEEK

Haryana 1,05,230 97,567Kerala 62,867 4,636Odisha 2,991 306

STATESWHEREACTIVECASESAREDECLININGACTIVECASES DECLINEINLASTWEEK

Maharashtra 54,573 6,881Delhi 8,003 5,258WestBengal 15,689 4,454

STATESREPORTINGMAXIMUMCASESONDEC23 TOTAL

Kerala 6,169 7,21,511Maharashtra 3,913 19,06,371WestBengal 1,628 5,41,624

STATESREPORTINGMAXIMUMDEATHSONDEC23 TOTAL

Maharashtra 96 50,098WestBengal 34 9,473Kerala 22 3,000DataasonDecember23,releasedbyUnionMinistryofHealthandFamilyWelfare,IndianCouncilofMedicalResearchandstategovernments.Oftenthenumbersreleasedeverydaycontaindatafrompreviousdays

aswell.Assuch,trendsbasedondailynumbersareonlyindicativeandnotdefinitive

LALMANIVERMADEHRADUN,DECEMBER24

AVOIDINGANY armed personnel inkhakiwearorscratchypolice radios,childrencomingtotheDalanwalapo-licestationinDehradunwillsoonfindaseparateentrance leadthemtothefirst floor,where a designated roomwith toys, comic books and wallpaintingsofpopularcartooncharac-ters, fromMowgli toDoraemon,willhelp them feel comfortable in inter-actingwith thepolice and reportingany incidentwithout fear.Uttarakhand’sfirstchild-friendly

policestation,whichhasbeendevel-oped on the first floor of theDalanwalapolicestationpremises,isready foroperation.Chief Minister Trivendra Singh

Rawat was to inaugurate it onThursdaybut ashe is inhome isola-tion after testing positive for Covid

lastweek, a freshdate for inaugura-tionwill be decided after his recov-ery, authorities said.Unlikethewhitewallsofthemain

premises,thefloorispaintedinbrightcolours, and printedwindowblindsareset toreplacesolidcurtains.This ‘baalmitra police thana’ has

beendevelopedunderthesupervisionofUttarakhandChildRightProtectionCommission, and support has beentakenfromasocialorganisationingiv-ingthepremisesachild-friendlylook.Atrainingsessionwillsoonbeheldonchild-friendlypracticesforpoliceper-sonnelsothattheycanprovidecoun-selingtochildreninneed.“On this premises, children

caught inpettycrimesorothermat-terslikechildlabourwillbeprovidedcounselling. An environment hasbeencreatedso thatachilddoesnot

feeluncomfortableoranykindoffearwhileinteractingwiththepolice.Thepolicepersonnelwillbeincivildressand counselling of children for theirrehabilitationwillalsobedonethere,”said Usha Negi, Chairperson of theUttarakhand Child Right ProtectionCommission. Negi said that child-friendlypolicestationset-upisreadyfor operation. She confirmed a freshdate for the inaugurationwill bede-cidedafter theCMrecovers.Shweta Chaubey, SP (City) and

nodalofficerforthe ‘baalmitrapolicethana’, said itwill function as adedi-catedunit for juvenilesandtherewillbeaseparateteamofpolicepersonnelforinteractingwithchildrenandtheircounselling. By the timeother policestations get a similar set-up of theirown, children fromother areaswillalsobetakentoDalanwala,shesaid.

UTTARAKHAND

State’s 1st ‘child-friendly police station’ ready to open

This ‘baalmitrapolice thana’hasbeendevelopedundersupervisionof thestateChildRightProtectionCommission

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEPATNA,DECEMBER24

THE BIHAR Education Depart-ment Thursdaydirected all uni-versityVice-Chancellors,DistrictMagistrates andDistrict Educa-tionOfficers torestartoffline les-sons for students fromClasses 9to12 fromJanuary4with50percentcapacityinclassrooms.Allhighereducationalinstitu-

tions,privatecoachingcentresandengineering colleges have beenaskedtoadheretothedirective.Bihar EducationDepartment

PrincipalSecretarySanjayKumar,in anorder issuedThursday, laiddownstandardoperatingproce-duresforrestartinghigherclasses.Hesaid juniorclasseswouldalsostartfunctioningfromJanuary18afterareviewofthesituation.The official said that on any

givenday,onlyhalfoftheenrolledstudentswouldbecalledtoscho-ols. “A student of a governmentschoolwill be given twomaskseachand teacherswould alsobegiventraining inwaystopreventCovid infection,” saidKumar.Hesaidcoachinginstitutionswillha-vetosubmitacompliancereportof SOPs to the respectiveDMsatregularintervals.Forhighereducationalinstitu-

tions,medical leavenormshavetoberelaxed,saidthegovernmentorder that also instructed that“normof incentive or award formaximumattendancehas to bediscouraged”.Biharhasabout6,000govern-

ment schools and colleges forhigherclasses.

Arrest of Keralajournalist, 3others: Casetransferred toaddl district andsessions judge


THE MATHURA District andSessions Judge has directed totransferthecaseofKeralajournal-ist Siddique Kappan and threeothers, arrested and booked forsedition andunder theUAPA, tothecourtofAdditionalDistrictandSession Judge from the court ofChief JudicialMagistrate,whichwassofarhearingthecaseandex-tendingtheirjudicialcustody.Themovecameonthebasisof

an application moved by UPPolice’sSpecialTaskForce,whichis investigating the case. DistrictGovernment Counsel Shiv RamSinghsaidthecasehasbeentrans-ferredonapetitionoftheinvesti-gatingofficer.However, Defence Counsel

Shashwat Anand said the stategovernmentmoved an applica-tion as it “admitted their mis-take”. Anand said itwas the de-fence which cited jurisdictionwhile challenging the judicialcustody granted by the ChiefJudicial Magistrate in a habeascorpus plea filed in AllahabadHigh Court. “Citing the jurisdic-tion, we raised the issue inhabeas corpus apart from seek-ingbailfortheaccused.Thestategovernment has now admittedtheirmistakeandmovedanap-plication seeking transfer of themattertothecourtofAdditionalSessionJudge.WithTuesday’sor-der, it is clear thatcustodyof theaccusedtillDecember22wasil-legal,”Anandsaid.Siddique Kappan, Atiq-Ur-

Rahman, Masood Ahmed andAlamwere arrested inMathuraonOctober5whileontheirwayto Hathraswhere a 19-year-oldDalitgirlhadbeenallegedlygan-graped, leadingtoherdeathinaDelhihospital.UPPoliceclaimedthattheac-

cusedgatheredfundstoinstigateriots on basis of caste “as theyhavedoneonbasisof religion inprotest of CAA”. TheUPgovern-menthadearliersubmittedthatthefourwerepartof thePopularFrontof Indiaandformermem-bers of the Students IslamicMovementof India.The next date of hearing on

thehabeas corpus— filedonbe-halfofRahman,AhmedandAlam—isscheduledforJanuary5.

Offline lessonsfor classes 9-12to resume fromJan 4 in Bihar

ANANDMOHANJBIJNOR,DECEMBER24

DAYS AFTER her friend, withwhomshewaswalkinghomeaf-ter a birthday party in Bijnor inUttarPradesh,wasbookedunderthemonth-old anti-conversionlawandslappedwithchargesun-dersectionsof theSC/STAct,andthe Protection of Children fromSexualOffences(POCSO)Act, the16-year-oldstandsfirm.“Ihave told this to themagis-

trate, and I will say this again.Thosemenhad a problemwithmewalkingwithmyfriend.Theymadevideos ofmeandarenowcalling it love jihad. I didnothing

wrong. I went of my own freewill,”shetoldTheIndianExpress.Around10.30pmonDecem-

ber14,thegirl,aDalit,andherfor-mer classmate, aMuslim,werewalkingbackhomeafterafriend’sbirthdayparty,whentheywereal-legedlychasedbyagroupofmen,beatenwithsticksandquestioned.When it became apparent thatthey belonged to different reli-gions, theywereallegedlywhis-kedawaytoalocalpolicestation.TheFIR,registeredallegedlyon

acomplaintbythegirl’sfather,sta-tedthattheaccused“inducedthegirltoelopewithhim”withthe“in-tentiontomarryandconverther”.Thegirl’s fatherhas,however,

deniedhiscomplaint,allegingthat

police dictated the statement. “Itrustmy daughter completely.Whatwrong did she do?Whymustshebemadepartofpolitics?Isitunlawfulforaboyandagirltowalktogethernow?”The youth, whowas subse-

quentlybookedunderthemonthold anti-conversion law andcharges of abduction andundersections of the SC/ST Act, andPOCSOAct,isnowinajailinBijnor.Whilepoliceclaimthemanis

18yearsold,his familymembersmaintainheis17.Arun Kumar, StationHouse

Officer,Dhampur,where the FIRwas filed, said, “Theaccused is injudicialcustody.Ifheisminor,theywill have toproducedocuments

toshowthat.Wehaveinvokedap-propriate sections in this caseaf-terquestioningthegirlandonthebasisofherfather’scomplaint.”Blamingthelocalpradhanfor

allegedlypoliticisingtheincident,thegirl’sfathersaid,“Thisisallpol-itics. They made videos of mydaughterandfalselyclaimedthatthiswasacaseoflovejihad.Ihavebeen pradhan before and wasplanningtocontestagain.Butnowtheyhave shamedmydaughterandpolarised thevillage,”her fa-thertoldTheIndianExpress.Denying the father’s accusa-

tions, the pradhan said, “I waswith the girl’s fatherwhen thiscase came tomynotice. I helpedthem file the FIR. Youmust re-

member, hara hua pradhan hai(Heisapradhanwholost)”.Afewkilometersfromthegirl’s

house is aone-roombrickhousewhere the youth livedwith hisfamily—his foursiblings,andhismother.“I just want to see my son

again.Policehavefiledafalsecaseagainst him,” said the youth’smother, foldinghermatafterhereveningnamaaz.Whilehereldestsonworksas

afarmlabourer,anotherworksasa tailor in Dehradun. Heryoungest,nowinjail,usedtoworkin Jalandhar before shifting toDehradun,where he earned Rs5,000 amonth as awelder’s ap-prentice.Herhusbanddiedayear

agoof heartailments. The familyclaims the youth,whodroppedout after Class 3, is aminor buthavenodocumentstoproveit.Themother says thatwhen

shefellillwithtyphoid,shecalledher youngest son in Dehradunand asked him to visit her. HereachedonDecember9.“OnDecember14,mysonleft

in theevening, sayinghewasat-tending a birthday party andwon’t be home for dinner. Nowtheyareaccusinghimofconvert-ing a girl to Islam. This is com-pletelyfalse,”hismothersaid.“Everything is ruined for us

this year.Nowwehave to collectmoney to fight this case,” theyouth'sbrothersaid.

Myfreewill, saysgirl; fatherallegespolicedictatedcomplaint,asks ‘Is itunlawful forboy,girl towalktogether?’

Walkinghomewith friendafter birthdayparty,Muslimyouthbookedunder love jihad law

PRESSTRUSTOFINDIABENGALURU,DECEMBER24

INAU-turn, theKarnataka gov-ernmentonThursdaywithdrewits night curfeworder, hours be-foreitwastocommentintoeffect.Thedecision to imposenight

curfewforninedays from11pmto 5 am starting ThursdaywastakenonWednesdayinlinewiththe Centre’s advice, amid con-cernsoveranewCovid-19variantspreadingintheUK.Inastatement,ChiefMinister

BSYediyurappasaid: “Inviewofthepublicopinionthattherewasnoneedfornightcurfew, thede-cisionwas reviewed and afterconsulting with cabinet col-leaguesandseniorofficials it hasbeen decided towithdraw thenight curfew.” Yediyurappahadinitially announcedWednesdaythat thenight curfewwill be im-posed fromDecember 23 untilJanuary 2between10pmand6am.Changesinnightcurfewdatesandtimingwereannouncedlater

withYediyurappatweetingthatitwill be imposed fromDecember24toJanuary1,2021,between11pmand5am(5am,January2).OnThursday,Yediyurappaap-

pealed to the people to exerciseself-restraint by wearing facemasks, handhygiene and socialdistancing toprevent the spreadofthecoronavirus.Thedecisiontoimposenight curfewhaddrawnflakfromtherulingaswellastheoppositionparties.Termingthenightcurfewasa

measure to ‘cover up’wrongdo-ingsoftheBJPgovernmentbydi-vertingpublicattention,Congressstate chief DKShivakumar said,“Thisisagovernmentwhichisnotaccountable.Ittriestodivertpub-lic attention through variousmeans.Howdoes thenight cur-fewhelp containing the coron-avirus,”Shivakumarasked.BJPlegislatorAHVishwanath,

whoisaspiringtobecomeamin-ister, also criticised the govern-ment’s decision. “I request thegovernment toreconsider itsde-cision to impose night curfew.

Someof thedecisions shouldbetakenaftermuchdeliberationbe-cause it’s a government for thepeople,"hetoldthemedia.Another senior BJP leader,

Vijayapura MLA BasanagoudaPatilYatnal,alsourgedthegovern-menttoreconsideritsdecision.Earlier in the day, Karnataka

HealthMinister Dr K Sudhakardefendedthegovernment'smoveto imposenight curfewsaying itwasdoneontheadviceofthetec-hnicaladvisorycommittee(TAC)for Covid-19. Speaking to re-porters,hesaid,“TheTAChadrec-ommended imposingnight cur-fews from 8 pm onwards as aprecautionarymeasure.However,aftermuchdeliberationwede-cidedtorestrictmovementof in-dividualsfrom11pmto5am.”Reacting to criticism of the

move, Sudhakar sought toknowwhatimportanteconomicactivi-tiestakeplaceatnight.“Whenallessentialservices,healthcarefacil-itiesandtransportarewellinplace,Iwould like to knowwhomthenightcurfewisgoingtoaffect?”

EVENING MIDNIGHT MASS AMID COVIDPreparations forChristmasservicesatStXavier’sCatholicchurch inAhmedabadWednesday.Withthenightcurfewinplace, thechurchconductedmidnightmassat6:30pmwith150registeredattendees.Socialdistancingnormswere followed. NirmalHarindran

Karnataka withdraws night curfeworder in view of ‘public opinion’

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEMUMBAI,DECEMBER24

TheMaharashtra governmentmight reopen the suburban lo-cal trains for the general publicfromJanuary.Minister forReliefand Rehabilitation VijayWadettiwar said the govern-ment has recently allowed the

resumptionofwater sports, en-tertainment and amusementparks in thestate.“The decision on the local

trainswill be taken at the earli-est.Thechiefminister’sattemptis to start the locals for the gen-eralpublicfromthefirstweekofJanuary,” saidWadettiwar.Officials, however, said the

decisionwillbe takenonlyafterascertaining the spread in thestate, ifany,of thenewvariantofCovid-19, found in the UnitedKingdom.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEPUNE,DECEMBER24

AFTER AN appeal to local resi-dentsandagovernmentnotifica-tionurgingpeopletonotvisittheJaystambhonJanuary1nextyear,Pune District Collector RajeshDeshmukhonThursday issuedaprohibitory order under Section144 of the Criminal ProcedureCode(CrPC),1973,asperwhichnooutsiderwouldbeallowedtovisitthewarmemorialinPernevillagebetween12pmonDecember30to6pmof January2,2021.The order mentions that a

‘symbolic’ programme, tomarkthe anniversary of the Battle ofBhimaKoregaon,will be held atthe Jaystambh that day. OnlythosewithpassesissuedbyPuneRuralPolicewouldbeallowedtoattendtheprogramme.Alongwith Perne, the order

alsorestrictstheentryofoutsiders

toTulapur,Bakori,WadhuKhurd,Kesnand, Kolwadi, Dongargaon,Fulgaonvillages(allundertheju-risdictionof Lonikandpolice sta-tion) and Koregaon Bhima,Dingrajwadi, Sanaswadi, VadhuBudruk,PimpleJagtap,Wajewadi,Apti,Wadegaonvillages(intheju-risdictionofShikrapurpolicesta-tion)during thisperiod.Nobookstalls,foodstalls,banners,boards,hoardings,publicmeetings,ralliesormarcheswill be allowedneartheJaystambhorthesevillages.Even thosewho attend the

programmeatJaystambhhavetofollowallguidelinesissuedbythestategovernmentduetothepan-demicsituation,statedtheorder,addingthattheyhavetoleavethearea immediately once the pro-grammegetsover.Actionwill be taken against

thosefoundspreadingwrongin-formation or rumours on socialmedia about the programme,warned the district administra-

tion. It alsowarnedagainst “hatemessages,sloganeeringorboardsthatcauseanykindof tension”.Thosewhoviolatethedistrict

collector’sorderswouldfacelegalaction under Section 188 of theIndianPenalCodeandsectionsoftheEpidemicDiseasesAct.On December 22, the state

Homedepartment had issued anotification, stating that thepro-gramatJaystambhwillbeshownlive onDoordarshan and othermedia platforms. The govern-menturgedpeoplenottovisittheJaystambh, in viewof the Covidsituation, and instead pay theirtributesfromhome.OnJanuary1everyyear,Dalits,

mainlyfromAmbedkariteMaharcommunity,visittheJaystambh,awarmemorialerectedbytheBri-tish inmemory of soldierswhofoughtagainstPeshwasintheBat-tleof KoregaonBhima. The2018eventwasmarkedby clashes, inwhichonepersonwaskilled.

BHIMAKOREGAONBATTLEANNIVERSARY

Collector’s order under Sec 144: Nooutsider allowed at Jaystambh on Jan 1

Suburban local trains may open forpublic in Jan, says Maharashtra minister

Minister forRelief andRehabilitationWadettiwar

New Delhi

EXPRESSNETWORK 11WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,DECEMBER25,2020

POSITIONS HELD

1951 Founder-Member, Bharatiya Jana Sangh (B.J.S)1957 Elected to 2nd Lok Sabha1957-77 Leader, Bharatiya Jana Sangh Parliamentary

Party1962 Member, Rajya Sabha1966-67 Chairman, Committee on Government Assur-

ances1967 Re-elected to 4th Lok Sabha (2nd term)1967-70 Chairman, PublicAccounts Committee1968-73 President, B.J.S.1971 Re-elected to 5th Lok Sabha (3rd term)1977 Re-elected to 6th Lok Sabha (4th term)1977-79 Union Cabinet Minister, ExternalAffairs1977-80 Founder - Member, Janata Party1980 Re-elected to 7th Lok Sabha (5th term)1980-86 President, Bharatiya Janata Party (B.J.P.)1980-84 1986 and 1993-96 - Leader, B.J.P. Parliamen-

tary Party1986 Member, Rajya Sabha; Member, General Pur-

poses Committee

Remembering the journey of a poet, patriot and a gifted orator

* ( READ. ENGAGE. DELIVER.) IS THE MARKETING SOLUTIONS TEAM OF THE INDIAN EXPRESS GROUP

ADVERTORIAL *An initiative by

ATAL JI and i shared a very warm relationship whenever wemet. I recall one particular incident when he was alone at hisresidence.Along with my friend Pawan Sharma, i went tomeet him. He met me very warmly. I took his hand in myhand and started looking at it. Bemused, he asked me, "i donot have the luck line in my hand which can make me thePrime Minister". I responded, i see it clearly and he will defi-nitely be the Prime Minister.He jokingly remarked, that nowi am also a fortune teller, to which i said that i have credibleinformation from a close source that the then PresidentShankar Dayal Sharma ji will invite the single largest party toshow strength at the floor and stake claim.Few days later,albeit for a very brief period,Atal ji became the Prime Minis-ter of the country for the first time.

Sh.Nand kishore garg

1988-90 Member, House Committee; Member, BusinessAdvisory Committee

1990-91 Chairman, Committee on Petitions1991 Re-elected to 10th Lok Sabha (6th term)1991-93 Chairman, PublicAccounts Committee

1993-96 Chairman, Committee on ExternalAffairs; Leaderof Opposition, Lok Sabha

1996 Re-elected to 11th Lok Sabha (7th term)1998 Atal Ji again became Prime Minister for a period of

13 months from 1998 to 1999.

1999 In 1999 general elections BJP-led NDA won 303seats out of the 543 seats in the Lok Sabha securinga comfortable and stable majority. On 13 October1999, Sri Vajpayee Ji took oath as Prime Ministerof India for the third time.

PRESSTRUSTOFINDIALAHORE,DECEMBER24

MUMBAI TERROR attackmas-termind andbanned Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeedwas on Thursday sentenced to15 and a half years in jail by ananti-terrorismcourt inPakistanin one more terror financingcase.The Anti-Terrorism Court

(ATC) of Lahore also imposed aPakistani rupees (PKR) 200,000fineonSaeed.The70-year-oldradicalcleric

has already been convicted for21 years imprisonment in fourterror financingcasesof late.“On Thursday an Anti-

TerrorismCourt (ATC)of Lahoresentencedfive leadersof Jamat-ud-Dawa, including its chiefHafizSaeed, inanotherterrorfi-nancing case...for 15 and a halfyears,” a courtofficial toldPTI.Now, Saeedwill have to un-

dergo collective imprisonmentof over 36 years in five terror fi-nancingcasesattheKotLakhpatJail in Lahore. His punishmentwill run concurrently in thesecases. There are reports that heisgiven 'VIPprotocol' in jail.Saeed, a UN-designated ter-

rorist on whom the US hasplaceda$10millionbounty,wasarrestedonJuly17lastyearintheterror financingcases.The other four JuD leaders

convictedonThursdayareHafizAbdus Salam, Zafar Iqbal, JuDspokesperson Yahya MujahidandMuhammadAshraf.Each convicted person has

alsobeen finedaPKR200,000.


OBSERVINGTHATexpressingdis-sentonlawandordersituationisa“hallmarkofaconstitutionallib-eral democracy” like India, theAllahabadhighcourthasquashedanFIR against apersonwhohadallegedly tweeted that UttarPradesh Chief Minister YogiAdityanath“hastransformedthestate intoa jungleraj inwhichnolawandorderprevails”.Expressingdissentonthelaw

andordersituationinthestateisa “hallmark of a constitutionalliberaldemocracylikeours,con-stitutionally protected underArticle 19 of the Constitution”,theBenchofJusticePankajNaqviand Justice Vivek Agarwal ob-servedwhilequashingtheFIR.Thecourtwashearingawrit

petitionfiledbyYashwantSinghwho had been booked underSection 66-D (offence of cheat-ingbypersonationbyusingcom-puter resource) of theInformationTechnologyActandSection500 (defamation) of theIPC. The FIR against Singhwaslodged at Bhognipur PoliceStation in KanpurDehat districtonAugust2.

In the FIR, policehadallegedthat Singh had referred to vari-ous incidents of abduction, ran-som call and murders in histweet.In an order passed on

November 23 and uploaded re-cently on theHighCourt'sweb-site, theBenchobserved thatnooffence under the applied sec-tionswasmade out against theaccused and quashed conse-quentialproceedings.“Weafteranalysingtheabove

provisions, qua allegationmadein the FIR do not find even re-motely a commissionof offenceunderSection66-D, as saidpro-visionrelatestocheatingbyper-sonation,” theHighCourtsaid.Singh's lawyer, Dharmendra

Singh, had told the court, “Theright to comment on the affairsoftheStateiswellwithinhiscon-stitutionalrightenvisagedunderArticle 19 of the Constitution ofIndia. Mere dissent does notamount to criminality. The FIRwaslodgedmalafidelyonlywithaviewtocoercethepetitionertostop expressing his dissentagainst theStategovernment....”The additional government

advocate, arguing on behalf ofthe state government, had op-posedthepetition.

Expressingdissenton lawandordersituationhallmarkof aconstitutionalliberaldemocracy, saysAllahabadHC

HCquashes FIRover ‘junglerajin UP’ tweet

Terror financingcase: HafizSaeed sentencedfor over 15 years

PRESSTRUSTOFINDIANEWDELHI, DECEMBER24

FORMER UNION minister M JAkbar onThursday told aDelhicourt that there was no meet-ingbetweenhimandjournalistPriyaRamani inthehotelwheresheallegesthathesexuallymis-behavedwithher.Akbarmadethesubmission

during the final hearing of acriminaldefamationcomplaintfiled by him against Ramani,whohadaccusedhimof sexualmisconduct20years agowhenhewas a journalist.Akbar subsequently re-

signed as a Union minister inOctober 2018.Senior advocate Geeta

Luthra, appearing for Akbar,said:“Themomentameeting isdenied, further questions arenotwarranted.Noneof thesug-gestions are warranted. Themeeting in the hotel is denied.What part of the incident hasnot been addressed? They saycomplainant has avoided themeeting. When I (Akbar) havedenied it, where is the issue ofnot addressing?”LuthrasaidthatwhenAkbar

has denied themeeting, “therecan't be a question of whethersofa was blue or pink...Completely misleading to saythat I didn't address”.She said, “You (Ramani)

haven't proved any date, hotelregister, CCTVor ticketof entryin car parking. You haven'tproved anything.”The hearing remained in-

conclusiveandthecourtwill re-sume the proceedings onJanuary4.

No meeting withRamani in hotel,Akbar tells court

DEBRAJDEBAGARTALA,DECEMBER24

SOON AFTER it released threefencingworkers abducted fromnear the Indo-Bangladesh bor-der, the banned NationalLiberation Front of Tripura suf-fered a significant blowThursday when four of its topleaders surrendered before thestatepolice.The surrendered militants

are the NLFT-Biswamohan fac-tion's "assistant foreign secre-tary"RathanKalai aliasReuben,"assistant organizing secretary"JoySadhanJamatiaaliasJara,"as-sistantpublicityandinformationsecretary"MadhuRanjanNoatiaaliasYafungand"deputychiefofarmy staff" Kukila Tripura alias

Yarung. Director-General ofPolice V.S. Yadav said these fourwere among the top ten com-mandersoftheNLFT.Theoutfit'sBiswamohan faction, based inBangladesh, is suffering fromlowcadrestrengthandisreelingunder a financial crisis, the offi-cial said.TheyhavelaiddowntwoAK-

56rifles,oneAKBayonet,fourAKmagazines, 119 rounds of AKammunition,awirelesshandsetand1.5lakhKyat(Myanmarcur-rency), theDGPsaid.The surrender came just a

day after the return of the bor-der fencing workers. SubhashBhowmik (48), Subal Debnath(37) and GanaMohan Tripura(37) were working on an un-fenced patch of the border inDhalai district on December 7

when theywere taken away bythe militants at gunpoint intoBangladeshi territory.Tripura shares an 856-km-

long border with Bangladesh,around 67 km of which is un-fenced.Assistant Inspector General

of Tripura Police, SubrataChakraborty, said thethreeper-sonswere releasedWednesdaydue to "continuous operations"by the local police andother se-curity forces as well as the"tremendous pressure"mounted on overgroundwork-ersof the insurgentoutfit.Bangladeshi security forces,

too,conductedextensivesearchoperationswithintheirterritory,whichforcedtheultrastoreleasethehostages, theofficial said.Sourceswhodidnotwish to

benamedclaimedthataransomwaspaidtosecurethereleaseofthe abductees. This was deniedbyseniorpoliceofficialsoversee-ing thecase.The abducted personswere

employedas awork supervisor,a labour contractor and a JCBmachinedriver.NLFTwas formed onMarch

12,1989tofight fora"sovereignTripura". It was banned in 1997under the Unlawful Activities(Prevention)ActandlaterunderthePreventionofTerrorismAct.The insurgent outfit suffered adebilitatingsplit inAugust2019when 88members broke awayand laid down arms before thestate government. A small fac-tion of the outfit, theBiswamohangroup,stillremainsactive.


INDIA AND China have agreedthat the next round of militarytalks should be held soon forworking towards an “early andcomplete” disengagement oftroops along the Line of ActualControl (LAC) in eastern Ladakhin accordancewith the existingbilateralagreementsandproto-cols, the Ministry of ExternalAffairs saidonThursday.MEA spokesperson Anurag

Srivastava said the diplomaticandmilitary talks have helpedboth sides to enhance under-

standing of each other's posi-tionsonthe issue.Lastweek,thecountriesheld

another round of diplomatictalks under the framework ofWorking Mechanism forConsultation and Coordination(WMCC) on India-China borderaffairs.In the virtualmeeting, both

sides agreed to continue worktowardsensuringcompletedis-engagementof troops inall fric-tionpointsalongtheLACineast-ern at the “earliest”. He wasreplyingtoquestionsontheoverseven-monthborder standoff.

FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com

TRP scam: BARC’s former CEO held

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEMUMBAI,DECEMBER24

THE MUMBAI police crimebranch on Thursday arrestedParthoDasgupta, former CEOofBroadcast Audience ResearchCouncil(BARC),fromPune,takingthetotalarrests inTRPcaseto15.This comesdays after theCrimeIntelligence Unit of the crimebrancharrestedRamilRamgarhia,theformerCOOofBARC.The police are probing their

roles in helping channels likeRepublic TV in increasing theirTRPs.While thepoliceearlier ar-rested 12 persons involved inhelping six channels and filed achargesheetagainstthem,thefo-

cus has now moved to theWhatsApp chats that the policefoundon thephones of someofthearrestedaccused.An officer said, “We found

WhatsAppgroups that had sen-ioremployeesoftheRepublicinitwheremethodsto improveTRPsby various underhandmethodswerediscussed.Thesearrestsarelinkedtothosechats.”Dasguptawas arrested from

Pune.HewillbeproducedbeforethecourtforcustodyonFriday.APISachinVaze,whoisinves-

tigatingthematter,refusedtore-veal thespecific roleofDasguptaonThursday.Intheirchargesheetthepolicehavenamedsix chan-nelsaspayingtogivetheirTRPsaboost.

MEA: India, China agree next roundof military talks should be held soon

Tripura: 4 top NLFT leaders surrender,abducted border fence workers return

New Delhi

12WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

BURY THE LEGACYGovernmentshouldabidebyarbitrationpanelverdicts inVodafoneandCairncaseandendretrospective taxation

I NITS2014electionmanifesto,theBJPhadattackedthethenCongress-ledUPAgov-ernmentforunleashing“taxterrorism”and“uncertainty”inthecountry,whichnotonly “negatively impacts the investment climate”, but also “dents the imageof thecountry”.Sixyears later, thesignalsthatemanatesuggestthatratherthanushering

in a “nonadversarial and conducive taxenvironment”, theNarendraModi government iscontinuingwiththehighlycontentiouspoliciesoftheUPAgovernment.OnThursday,itwasreported that thegovernmenthas filed anappeal at the Singapore seat of thepermanentcourtofarbitrationchallengingthejudgmentintheVodafoneretrospectivetaxationcase.Thegovernment’smovecomesadayafteritlostthearbitrationcasetoCairnEnergyovertheret-rospectivelevyof taxesandwasaskedtopaydamagestothetuneof$1.2billion.Whilethegovernmenthas said it is studying the award, applying theprinciple of uniformity of ap-proachsuggeststhat it is likelytoappealtheverdict intheCairncaseaswell.Thiswouldbeamistake, andwould send thewrong signal to the investor community. Thegovernmentshouldaccepttheorders,andensureaproperburialtotheissueofretrospectivetaxation.TheCairnissuepertainstotaxdemandoncapitalgainsmadebythecompanyinthere-

organisationof its business. The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) at TheHaguehasmaintained that the issuewasnota taxdispute, buta tax-related investmentdispute, andhenceitfellunderitsjurisdiction.Thecourtnotedthatthedemandwasinbreachoffairtreat-mentundertheUK-Indiabilateral investmenttreaty. Ironically, thetribunalorderalsotooknoteofargumentsmadebyBJPleadersonretrospectiveamendmentsandinternationaldis-putes—formerfinanceministerArunJaitelyhadlikenedthemtotaxterrorism. InthecaseofVodafone,theSingaporeseatofthePCAhasheldthatIndia’sretrospectivedemandofcap-italgainsandwithholdingtaxfromthefirmwas“inbreachof theguaranteeof fairandeq-uitable treatment”. In fact, in the Vodafone case, the SupremeCourt held in 2012 thatVodafone’s interpretationof theIncomeTaxAct,1961wascorrect.Thethenfinanceminis-ter, PranabMukherjee, circumvented the rulingproposing anamendment to the FinanceAct,givingthetaxdepartmentthepowertoretrospectivelytaxsuchdeals.Hopingthatdomesticcourtswilloverturnthearbitrationawardwouldbeunwise,and

willbetreatedasawarningbyinvestors.Theapproachhastobeoneofcompliancewiththeverdict,ratherthanfindingwaystobypassit.Thegovernmentmustdistanceitself fromtheissueofretrospectivetaxationthathascausedmuchdamagetoIndia’sreputation.

MY SCHOOL VS YOUR SCHOOLUPandDelhiministers sparringovereducation ispolitics

morewelcomeandinspiring

W HATDOESTHEIndianvotertrulywant?Herexpectationshaveranged,over decades, from theminimumof bijli-paani-sadak and naukri totheover-archingdreamofvikastoanyarrangementthatconformstothe calculus of caste and religion. Surprisingly, for a countrywith a

largeyoungpopulation,educationhasrarelybeenconsideredthestuff of excitingpoliti-calcontests—evenif itmakesasignificantdifferencetoopportunityandincome.Andsoit isbothnovel andheartening tosee theeducationministersofDelhi andUttarPradeshsparringoverthestateofpublicschoolingintheirrespectivestates.MuchofithastodowiththeAamAadmi Party’s decision to contest UP assembly polls in two years fromnow. InDelhi, theAAP’spushto funnel resources intothepublic schoolsystemhasnotonlyseenchangesingovernmentschools—butalsoreapedelectoralbenefits.TheAAP’spitchtoUPledtoachallengefromstateeducationministerSatishDwivedi,whoinvitedDelhieduca-tionministerManishSisodiatovisitgovernmentschools inUPtoseetheircredit-worthystate for himself. Sisodia promptly turned up at Lucknow,where hewas stopped byUPpolice fromcarryingouthissurveys.Opticsaside,thereisnobettertimethanthispandemic-struckyeartomakeeducationa

matterworthfightingover.Severalsurveysaswellasanecdotalreportshaveflaggedanation-widecrisisinlearningtriggeredbytheclosureofschools.Thatcrisisislikelytobemoreacuteinthenorthernstates,which,evenbeforethepandemic,laggedbehindthesouthinthepro-visionofpublicschooling.Forinstance,theNitiAayog’sSchoolEducationQualityIndex(SEQI)2019rankedUPrightatthebottomofthelargestates.AnanalysisofASERreportsfrom2006to2014alsoshowsasharpfallinthealreadylow-readinglevelsinUP’sgovernmentschools.Thegeographicaldivide in learningisanoutcomeofhistorical investmentsmadeinpublicschoolinginstateslikeKerala,KarnatakaandTamilNadu.SouthernIndia’shead-startined-ucation,arguably, isalsothankstoalarger,moreeffectivepoliticsofsocial justice.TheDelhigovernmenthasdonewelltowalkonthatpath.Educationis,notsurprisingly,apoliticalhard-sell,giventhedifficultyinquantifyingitsgains

andgivenhowtangleditisinsocialbottlenecksofcasteandgender.ButforUttarPradeshandDelhi,anexchangeofreparteebetweentheirministersmightservetobringeducationsomewelcomepoliticalattention.At the least, itwillbearefreshingchangefromapoliticssoac-customed to the feverpitchof identity that it neglects the grimmaterial realities holdingIndia’saspiringyouthback.

DEAR SANTAThisyear, adults toohaveawishlist forChristmas—ashotof

Covidvaccineamongother things

T HISMORNING,CHILDRENacrosstheworldheavedasighofrelief.TheWorldHealth Organisation was indeed right when it clarified on December 16thatSantaClaus (orFatherChristmas inmoreanglophile countries), is im-mune toCOVID-19.His immunity clearly extends to thenewstrain that is

emergingoutof theUnitedKingdom.The joyof children—broughtaboutbyasenseofinnocenceandwonder,nodoubt,butalso,perhaps, fromall thepresents—isalsobring-ing intosharprelief theneed forSantaClaus toexpandhis remit.At theendof ayearofisolation and uncertainty, of economic precarity and fear about the future, adults tooneeda little generosity.Between last Christmas and this one, theworld has changed. There is less shopping

thisyear—joblossesandsalarycutssawtothat—andinsteadofhugs,acommunalmealand laughter around the hearth, there are forced smiles and overcompensated gaietyovervideocalls.Butdespiteannushorribilis, therearemanythingstocelebrate—things,in fact, that are alwaysworth cherishing. ThosewhohaveavoidedCOVIDcanbreathe asighof relief.And for the rest,withouthaving tobesuperficial atgatherings, grown-upsnowknowwhotheir real friendsare.So,sincethemostimportantthingsarethingsmoneycan’tbuy,whatcanSantabring

adultsthisyear?Couldhe,perhaps,shimmydownthechimneywithasalaryincrementor, for thosewho lostwork, a job? If that’s too ambitious, perhaps just a small party attheNorthPole,whereadults canenjoya little revelry away fromthe rugrats— learningfromhomehas takena toll onparents too.But there is something thatwouldbeeasiestof all, andparticularly suited to Santa’s unique set of skills— speedy, same-night deliv-ery being key among them. Could he, please, just leave a shot of vaccine under theChristmas tree?

Fallacy of central model

Milind Sohoni

ChakshuRoy

Curriculamodelatthenational-leveldoesn’tdojusticetostateorlocal-levelproblems,issues

THE LAWMAKERS MUST WORKState legislatureshaveanabysmalrecordintermsofnumberofsittingsperyear

RECENTLY, THE AICTE, an agency of theMinistry of HumanResourceDevelopment,whichregulatesengineeringeducationinthecountry,cameupwithanewschemetosup-portthewritingandproductionofengineeringtextbooks in 21 regional languages. There istheusualdownloadableapplicationformandscoring sheet to be filled by active or retiredprofessorsfromAICTE-approvedinstitutions.ThesupportofferedisaboutRs2lakh.But thereare twocatches. The first is that

thetextbooksshouldpreferablybeforacourseintheAICTEnationalmodelcurriculum.Now,itiswell-knownthatthemodelcurriculumisnotveryrelevant.Infact,ithasnoplaceatallforanyregional content.Thus, thenuancesof ir-rigationinMaharashtra,forexample,thebasicplanning framework, the schedule of thepatkaris(canaloperators)andtheworkingsofthepaaniwapar sanstha (wateruser associa-tions)arealllost.Thesamestoryrepeatsitselfinotherareasofengineering.Thisperpetuatesthe disconnect betweenwhat is taught andwhatispracticedandhasledtotheemploya-bilitycrisisintheIndianeconomy.Theschemecouldhavebeenanopportunitytoaddressthislacunaif itweretorelaxtheadherencetothemodel curriculum. Thatwould allow the in-clusionofregionalcontent,andthattoointhelocal language, the use of local formats anddocuments, and linkageswith practitionersandlocalagencies.Thiswouldachieveacloserconnectionwiththepracticeofengineering.Thesecondproblemisthathighereduca-

tiondepartmentsofthestatesarenowhereinthepicture.Thisjeopardisesthesuccessofthescheme,even if goodtextbooksdocomeout.Firstly, universities have their owncurriculawhichaffiliatedcollegesfollow.Theseareusu-ally vettedbypeerswithin the system.Mostuniversitiesandstatehighereducationdepart-mentswouldwelcomeasystematicdevelop-mentoftextbooksintheregionallanguagefora selected set of basic courses. The currentschemedoesnotensurethatthiswillhappen.Thus, a better strategy forAICTEwouldhavebeentorequestthestatestomakeaproposal,to set the guidelines and tomonitor theirprogress.AsumofRs1croreperyear, for five

years,wouldhaveallowedthestatestocomeupwitharotatingpanelofwriters,supportedbyaprofessionalteamwhichworkstoaplan.SowhydidAICTEnotthinkof this?The fact is that such obduracy is routine

for MHRD, and also the Department ofScience and Technology (DST). Grants aremade to individual faculty members andsometimes, institutions. The state depart-ments, fromeducation to industries, cannotconveytheirprioritiesorinterests.Moreover,mostoftheopen-endedfundsareavailableatthe Centre. For example, the annual fundswith DST exceed Rs 4,000 crore whileMaharashtraoperatesanS&TbudgetofaboutRs60crore.Thus,theagendaforhigheredu-cationandscienceissetattheCentreandhaslittle to dowith problemswhich the statesface or the innovations needed there.Moreover,many grants go to facultymem-bersintheelitecentrallyfundedinstitutionswhohavelittleunderstandingoforinterestinthe regional problems. As a result, profes-sional practices inmost state departmentssuchasirrigation, transport,orpublichealthhavebeenstagnantfordecades.Thepeopleinthe states, which ismost of us, continue tosuffer.Andyetwecontinuewiththisregime.Perhaps, the seedof thiswas sownat the

timeof the birth of India as an independentnation. Itwas then that sciencewas cast as anationalprojectandnotas the livingpracticeofacommunity. Itcreatedadichotomy—thecentralisedstate, it's scientistsandprofessorsworking in elite institutions on theone side,and thepeople on the other, as recipients ofthebenefitsofsciencebutnotasparticipants.But there alsowas a social narrative. Sciencewasbutonepartofthebroaderprojectofmod-ernising Indiawhichwas to be guided by awell-intentioned, internationally connectedelitesituatedinDelhi.Thestateswereseenasswampsofvestedinterests,parochialinthink-ingandhighlyunequalandexploitativeinso-cial relations. They couldnotbe trustedwiththewelfareof theirownpeople, let alonede-liverthebenefitsofscience.Thislogicperme-atesmany central programmes as they findwaystoreachtheso-calledultimatebenefici-

arywhilebypassingthestateapparatus.Suchbulldozer thinking is also evident in theNationalEducationPolicy2020.The fact is that several stateshaveproved

themselves to bequite capable of deliveringwelfare to their people.Mostdevelopmentalinnovations suchas the anganwadi,mid-daymeals, watermanagement, consumer andproducer cooperatives, have come from thestates.Andtheyhavedonethis throughtheirownpolitical, social and cultural institutions,withoutthebig-ticketinvestmentsinsciencefromtheCentreorthesupportofitselitehighereducationinstitutions.It is the elite central institutions and sci-

entific agencieswhich have uniformly be-come the centres of mediocrity and decay.Bolstering them is amoribund bureaucracyand a narrow intellectual class incapable ofhonest work.Witness the absence of anystudyofmostpublicaspectsofthepandemic—fromthenumberofhospitalbedsrequired,or thesafetyof rail travel tocounting theac-tualnumberof deaths.The lackof studyhasled to chronic informality, poorwages andwidespreadhardship.Whathasemergedisaregressive politics of centralisation of goodintentionsandhandoutsforanever-increas-ing number of projected beneficiaries. TheAICTEschemeismerelyanillustrationofthisoveralldecrepitude.What is tobedone?Wemustaccept that

stateswereneither bornequal, nor are theirdevelopmental trajectories similar.Next, thecentralisedsystemof science isbroken. Ithasbeen a severe drag on the development ofmanystateswhileproviding little systematicguidancetotheothers.Theembeddedhierar-chy is suckingout the creativity of our youthandcausingstressanddisaffection.Weneedamoreaccountable anddecentralised system.An immediate first stepwouldbe todevolvemuchof thepowersofMHRDandits institu-tionsand the fundsavailablewithDST to thestates. Thiswouldactuallybe in linewith thespiritandintentofouroriginalConstitution.

Thewritera facultyat IITBombay iscurrentlyondeputation to IITGoa

THEKERALAgovernorandthegovernmentof the state are at loggerheads again. Thisis the second major conflict between thetwo this year. The first, at the beginning ofthis year, was concerning the governor’saddress to the state legislature. Thegover-nor’saddress iswrittenbythegovernment.GovernorArifMohammadKhan,whilede-livering the address in the legislative as-sembly, stoppedbefore readingoutapara-graphof theaddress.Theparagraphrelatedto the Kerala government’s opposition tothe Citizenship Amendment Bill.Interrupting the address, Governor Khansaid that he was of the opinion that theparagraph did not relate to policy or pro-grammes.Buthewentontoreadthepara-graphtohonour thewishof thechiefmin-ister despite his disagreement.Thecurrentconflictiswithregardstothe

summoning of the state legislature. TheKerala governmentmade a recommenda-tion to the governor for summoning thestate's legislature foraone-daysession.Thegovernmentwantedtodiscussthesituationarisingoutof thefarmers'protest intheleg-islativeassembly.Mediareportssuggestthatthegovernor turneddown thegovernmentonthegroundsthatthereisnoemergentsit-uation forwhich the state assembly shouldbecalled tomeetat shortnotice.Earlier thisyear,theRajasthangovernorhadrejectedtherecommendation of Chief Minister AshokGehlot's government to call a session. The

chiefministerwantedasessionof the legis-laturecalledsothathecouldprovehismajor-ityonthe floorof thehouse.The Constitution is clear: The govern-

menthas thepower toconvenea sessionofthe legislature. The council ofministers de-cides the dates and the duration of the ses-sion.Theirdecision is communicated to thegovernor, who is constitutionally bound toactonmostmattersontheaidandadviceofthe government. The governor then sum-mons the state legislature tomeet for a ses-sion. The refusal of a governor to do so is amatterofconcern.Sucheventsrequirecare-fuldeliberationtopreventthemfromsnow-balling into a constitutional crisis. But theeventsinKeralaandRajasthanareanaberra-tion.Theyshouldnotdistractusfromthedis-malrecordofthesittingsofstatelegislaturesin thecountry.In the last 20 years, state assemblies

across the country, on average,met for lessthan30days inayear.But states likeKerala,Odisha, Karnataka are an exception. TheKeralaVidhanSabha,forexample,hasonanaveragemet for 50 days every year for thelast10years.Thetrendacrossthecountry isthatlegislaturesmeetforlongerbudgetses-sions at the beginning of the year. Then forthe rest of the year, they meet in fits andspurts and pay lip service to the constitu-tional requirement that thereshouldnotbeagapofsixmonthsbetweentwosessionsofalegislature.Theblameforthedeclineinthe

sittingdaysofthestatelegislaturesrestswiththegovernment.Legislaturesarearenasfordebateandgiv-

ingvoice topublic opinion.As accountabilityinstitutions, they are responsible for askingtoughquestionsofthegovernmentandhigh-lightinguncomfortable truths. So, it is in theinterest of a state government to convenelessersittingsofthelegislatureandbypasstheirscrutiny. Lesser number of sitting days alsomeansthatstategovernmentsarefreetomakelawsthroughordinances.Andwhentheycon-vene legislatures, there is little timeforMLAstoscrutiniselawsbroughtbeforethem.Continuousandclosescrutinybylegisla-

tures is central to improving governance inthecountry. Increasingthenumberofwork-ingdaysforstate legislatures isafirststepinincreasingtheireffectiveness.Onewaytodothat is by convening legislatures tomeet allaround the year. Inmanymature democra-cies,afixedcalendarofsittingsof legislatures,withbreaksinbetween,isannouncedatthebeginning of the year. It allows the govern-menttoplanitscalendarforbringinginnewlaws. It alsohas theadvantageof increasingthetimefordebateanddiscussionintheleg-islative assembly. Andwith the legislaturesitting throughout theyear, it gets ridof thepolitics surrounding the convening of ses-sionsof a legislature.

Thewriter isheadofoutreachPRSLegislativeResearch

It is the elite centralinstitutions and scientificagencies which haveuniformly become thecentres of mediocrity anddecay. Bolstering them is amoribund bureaucracy and anarrow intellectual classincapable of honest work.Witness the absence of anystudy of most public aspectsof the pandemic — from thenumber of hospital bedsrequired, or the safety of railtravel to counting the actualnumber of deaths. The lackof study has led to chronicinformality, poor wages andwidespread hardship. Whathas emerged is a regressivepolitics of centralisation ofgood intentions andhandouts for an ever-increasing number ofprojected beneficiaries.

Legislatures are arenas fordebate and giving voice topublic opinion. Asaccountability institutions,they are responsible forasking tough questions ofthe government andhighlighting uncomfortabletruths. So, it is in the interestof a state government toconvene lesser sittings of thelegislature and bypass theirscrutiny. Lesser number ofsitting days also means thatstate governments are free tomake laws throughordinances.

FOUNDED BY

RAMNATH GOENKA

B E C A U S E T H E T R U T H I N V O L V E S U S A L L

§ §

THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,DECEMBER25,2020 WORDLYWISEThethingaboutChristmas is that italmostdoesn'tmatterwhatmoodyou're inorwhatkindofayearyou'vehad—it's a fresh start.— KELLY CLARKSONTHEEDITORIALPAGE

HM’S ASSAM OFFERHOMEMINISTERZAILSinghannouncedhisinvitation “without condition” to leaders ofthe Assam agitation to discuss the foreignnationalsissue,whichhasdisturbedthestatefortolong.Hewantedtheothersidealsonotto put any conditions. ‘‘Let them come andwewill talk,” he told the Rajya Sabha andwelcomedOppositionmembers’helpinthematter. Zail Singh’s invitation came half anhouraftertheHousehadheatedlydebatedacalling-attentionmotionofAKSharma(Ind)andothersfornearlytwohours.Thecriticsofthe government had felt frustrated in theirattempt to get assurances on several pointsIncluding an end to “repression’’ by the

CentralReservePoliceforceandresumptionof talks.

BJP ECONOMIC VISIONANECONOMICSYSTEMwitha largemeas-ure of decentralisation, emphasis on dis-tributive justiceand ln-built checks topre-vent exploitation and the growth ofmonopolieshasbeenenvisagedInthedrafteconomicpolicystatementof theBharatiyaJanata Party for its forthcoming session atBombay. The draft economic policy state-ment has been prepared by a nine-mancommittee appointed by the party presi-dent, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, with KanwarlalGuptaasconvener.Thestatementhasdwelt

at length on the burning issues of the na-tional economic scene — hyper-inflation,lowrateofeconomicgrowth, risingvolumeofunemployment, increase inthepercent-age of population below the poverty line,andgross inequalities.

COLD WAVEPART OF NORTHERN Indiawas in the gripof acoldwaveasheavysnowfall in thehillsand intermittent rain in plains continuedfor the second day. The night-long heavysnowfall blocked traffic on the Jammu-Srinagarhighway. IndianAirlinescouldop-erate only one service to Srinagar becauseof badweather.

DECEMBER 25, 1980, FORTYYEARSAGO

New Delhi

13THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,DECEMBER25,2020 WHATTHEOTHERSSAY

“Rather than wasteful bailout loans, Mr Sunak would be better off taking publicequity stakes in stricken companies, ending austerity in local government, andlaunching a national recovery council of industrialists and trade unions alongwith civil-society groups.” —THEGUARDIANTHE IDEASPAGE

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

Thank you for nothing A Le Carrelesson for France

“Shouldwe be free to burnKorans,mock thepassionately held religions of others?Maybewe should—but shouldwealso be surprisedwhenthebelieverswehaveoffendedrespondin fury? Icouldn'tanswer thatquestionat thetimeand,withallgoodwill,Istillcan't.ButIamalittleproud,inretrospect,thatIspokeagainsttheeasytrend,reckoningwiththewrathofout-ragedwestern intellectuals, andsuffering it inall itsrighteousglory.”—JohnLeCarre,2012

IN1989,AS theColdWarwasdrawing to aclose,thecontoursofanew“clashofcivilisa-tions”werebeingdefined.SalmanRushdie’sThe Satanic Verses, published ayear earlier,hadangeredpeopleacross theworld for itsseemingly cavalier attack on ProphetMohammad,andAyatollahKhomeini,Iran’ssupreme religious leader, issued the infa-mous fatwaagainst thewriter.Manycoun-tries, including India, banned the book forfear of “hurting religious sentiments”.Rushdie became a symbol of resistanceagainstaperceivedmedievalmindset;are-vanchistreligiositythatpitsitselfagainsttheideaofliberaldemocracyandfreespeech.Insomesenses, the cleavageswroughtby theSatanic Verses controversy have onlywidened. “Islamism”, “fundamentalism”,“Islamic extremism” are the great “Other”,likeSauroninTheLordoftheRings,somethingthe “Menof theWest”must fight tomain-tainthevirtuesof theworld.Themostrecentthreat-to-liberal-values

call has come fromtheEmmanuelMacrongovernmentinFranceintheaftermathoftheunconscionablemurderofateacher,SamuelPaty, inOctober.Since2015,beginningwiththeattackandkillingsintheofficesofCharlieHebdo, over 250peoplehavebeenkilled interroristattacksbyreligiousextremists.Thelatest move in this battle against whatMacronhascalled “Islamic separatism” is aproposed lawwhichwould allow the statetomonitorMuslims, their religiousgather-ingsandorganisations,allowpolicegreaterimpunity,includingwhileactingagainsthatespeechwhenitemanatesfromMuslims.For those who empathise with the

French, thereactionbytheMacrongovern-ment is understandable, both as apoliticalnecessityaswellasasecuritymeasure.Yet,talkof the “enemywithin” (PrimeMinisterJeanCastex) isnotmerepolitical rhetoric. Itbetraysanideaofcitizenshipandrepublicanvaluesthatisdeeplyinsularandwhichrelieson what social anthropologist PierreBourdieu calledmeconnaissance ormis-recognition.Simplyput,meconnaissance is a formof

hegemonybywhichtheinterestsofapartic-ularsectionofsocietyarepresentedasauni-versalvalue.Inthecurrentcontext,thatinter-estisofthesecurity-stateandideologiesthat

seektoconsolidatepoliticalpowerattheex-penseoftherightsofindividualcitizens.Thismisrecognition is basedon creating a falsedichotomy.DuringtheColdWar,thefalseop-position was between “freedom” and“tyranny”for theWestandbetween“bour-geoisedemocracy”andequalitybehindtheIronCurtain.Now,itisbetweenaformofni-hilismthat emanates fromreligionand thestateasaprotectoragainstthisrisingtide.The first step in taking away individual

rightsinthisprocessisbyrobbingcitizensoftheirindividuality.Hence,aMuslimcitizen—inIndia,asmuchasinFrance—isdefinedbyherMuslimnessmorethanherIndian-nessor French-ness. Once such a hyphenatedidentityisputinplace,aformofaprioricrim-inalisationisoftenattachedtoacommunity,andtherightsofcitizenswhobelongtoitaregraduallytrammelled—whetherbylawsto“protect liberal values” or prevent “love ji-had”. In contrast, the European Union’sTerrorismSituationandTrendReport,anan-nualdocument,hasrepeatedlyrecordedin-cidentsofviolencebyright-wingextremists,aswell aspropagandaagainst refugeesandminorities in France and the rest of Europe—yet,itisunlikelythataspeciallawtomon-itor Caucasian citizenswill beput inplace.Theircitizenship,afterall,isnothyphenated.Itwasadisagreementoverthishypocrisy

that became the source of oneof themostwell-knownliteraryfeuds. In1997,anargu-mentunfolded in the letters columnof TheGuardian. John LeCarre, the greatest expo-nentoftheespionagenovelwhodiedearlierthismonth, tookexception towhathe sawas thepointlessprovocationsof TheSatanicVerses.Hewas,ofcourse,pilloriedbyRushdieandtheliteraryestablishmentoftheday.ButLeCarrewho, as a spy andanovelist, dealtwiththesubtleentrapmentsofideologyandtheimmoralitiesofnationalism,perhapsun-derstoodbetterthanmostthatthecertaintiesof“universalvalues”mustbetemperedwithavirtuethatisalltoorare—respect.ItwasnotLeCarre’s case,nor is itof this

article, that violence and terror donot de-servearesponse.NordidhesupportthecallforRushdie’smurderorthebook’sban.Thequestionwas, and continues to be, of thelarger ethos bywhich certain citizens arepaintedastheother.Itcannotbethecase,forexample,thatagaurakshakoracrazedgun-maninanAmericanschoolistheproductofhisupbringing,mentalhealthand thevari-ousfailuresofstateandsocietywhilethebar-barityofsomeonefromaminoritycommu-nity is because of his “radicalisation” andreligion.Thevaluesof theFrenchRevolutionand

the French Republic have found echoesaround theworld, including in our ownConstitution. A basic corollary of liberty,equalityand fraternity is thatunlike funda-mentalists, the states that adhere to thesevaluesdonotinlaw(and,ideally, inculture)differentiatebetweencitizens according totheirreligiousorpoliticalbeliefs.Whenthoseprincipleserode,theresultscanbedevastat-ing: Just look at what has happened toPakistan,particularlyafterthereignofZia-ulHaq,andwhatishappeninginIndiatoday.

[email protected]

Withanewlawtomonitor Islamicseparatism,Francebetraysan ideaof citizenshipandrepublicanvalues that isdeeply insular

There’svery little thatwasredeemingorcheerfulabout the last10months.But times like thisarepreciselywhenweneeda list thathelpsusbegrateful,whenallhas failed

THEVERYBESTpartof thisveryworstyearisthat it's been terrible for everyone. Right?Eventhetrillionaireswhousechampagneintheir bidets, have lost friends and family.Even themost cruel, powerful and ruthlessleaders have fallen sick. One of them evenlosthiselection(please,Lord, lettherebenoproofingerror in that sentence!).Still. There's really nothing redeeming

orcheerful tosayabout the last10months.Times like this arewhenwe need this list.Progressing from least to worst, be grate-ful that…1: … you no longer need to dress for

work, because you're slumming in front ofyour computer, at home. No under-wiredbras,nohigh-heeledshoes,noskin-cloggingmakeup.Noties,noscratchyunderwear,nostinky socks, no suffocating suits. No rustyrazors to cut faces or underarms, no after-shave lotion to sting your skin, no deodor-antstostainthebrasyounolongerwear.Bestof all, everyone you know is in exactly thesamecondition.2.…yourchildrenareathome,soyouno

longer need to drive them to school, makepackedlunchesordolaundrywhentheyre-turn,muddiedandcrumpled.3.…your childrenarehome, so youcan

exerciseyourvocalchords,roaringatthemattop volumewhen they drive youmad be-cause they're not doing their schoolwork.Andnoonewill complain or call the police,because they're all doing the same, in theirhomes. Including thepolice.4. … you're already divorced or wid-

owed/widowered!Or else, fromwhat yourfriends tell you, you know that if youwerestill married, you'd be plotting tomurderyourpartner.5.…you'restillmarried!Andyoucanen-

joyall theexcitementofplottingareallyde-viousmurder.6. … you have children, and, therefore,

youhave continuous reminders about howmuchworseit istobeachildinthiserathanit was for you. Children everywhere todayare forced to survivewith parentswho aregettingdivorcedormurderingoneanother.Orchillingout in theasylum.7.…youhaveparentswhose behaviour

ever since thepandemicbeganhasbecomeso vicious and unforgiveable that you canhate themforever. In thisway, youwill saveyourselftheheartbreakyouwouldotherwisefeelwhenleavinghometogetmarriedortogotocollegeor towork.Youwillnothavetofacethetraumaof lookingafterthemintheirold-age — particularly if, as is the case insomefamilies,theyhavecleverlymanagedtomurderoneanother.8.… that you're single andhaveno chil-

dren to despise or spouses tomurder. Afterall,murder is not only a very serious crime,but it takes up a great deal of time, energyand,quiteoften,money.Really,thishasbeenan excellent year for recluses. Not only areyou entirely comfortable being alonethroughthesilentreachesof thenight—andthe equally silent reaches of the day— but

youareforonceinthepositiontosmilecon-descendinglyatallyourwhining,complain-ing extroverted friends, who are forced towrap themselves around their pets or theirgianthot-waterbottles for comfort.9.…thatyou'resinglebecauseyou'velost

everyoneinyourfamilytoillnessand,there-fore, have no reason to find other andmoreviolentmeansof getting ridof them.Really,this is such a very grim reason for beinggrateful,thatit'strulytastelessofmetoevenmention it. Indeed, youmight consider be-ing grateful that we've nevermet, becauseotherwise you would be forced to call upyour local assassin service (www.terminal-dispatchers.com)andarrangetocrossmeoffthedirectoryof the living.10.… that you've lost your job and your

home, thus driving your family away fromyou.Thismeansthatyou'vebeensparedthehorror of losing them in other ways (seeabove). Being homeless and despised byeveryoneyouknowmeansthatyou'refinallyfreeofallworldlyattachment.Youcanthrowaway your now useless credit cards andemptywalletstoembracethehighest levelsof spiritual advancement. You can achievemaximumfitnessbywalkingatyourleisureto the Himalayas, while starving along theway.Onceyou're there, youcan findaplaceby the side of an icymountain stream andcontemplate infinity.11. … that you've been thrown into

prisonforyourmisdeedstowardsyourfam-ily(seeabove),becauseyoucanfinallywritethatbook thatyou'veneverhad the timeto

get around to, all these years. You can learnyoga,orelseadegreeinlaw.Thedegreewillcomeinusefulforfightingyourcaseincourt.Onceyou'reoutof lock-up, you'll havea lu-crative professional life ahead, defendingothers likeyourself.12.…thatyoulive inacountrythatsup-

ports thedeathpenalty andhavebeen fast-trackedtowardsthegallows,because—howlucky!—youpleadedguilty.Asaresult, youwon'thavetimetocatchCOVID-19, therebyrisking a nasty, uncomfortable end, in theprisonhospital.13.…thatyou'rebeingexecutedandwill

thus be relieved of yourmiserable life veryefficiently. Ican'tguaranteethatit'llbepain-lessbutitwillbequick,especiallycomparedto COVID-19 deaths. Victims of the diseasetypically take around three days from starttofinish,whereasyoushouldbegoneinlessthan fiveminutes. Even thoughwehavenoconfirmed accounts of existence (such as itmightbe)intheafterlife,manyaccountssug-gestthat,asafriendputitrecently,“thegrassis greeneron theother side”. Thismayhavea lot todowith thegrasson this sidehavingbeen burnt away by fires or riots or lack ofwater. Seriously? Almost anything on theother side would be better than what wehaveendured thisyear.14.… that you've read this list because

whatever you read next will be morecheerful!

Padmanabhan isanauthor,playwrightandcartoonist.

VICTIMS’ REDRESS

THIS REFERS TO the editorial, ‘JusticeasRelief’ (IE,December24).TheIndiancriminal justicesystemisnotbeenvic-tim-oriented.Therecent judgmentbytheDelhiHighcourtcangoa longwayin ensuring that victims are not ig-nored and their grievances are ade-quately addressed. The major high-light of this judgement is VictimImpact reports (VIR) for determiningthe amount of compensation, whichwill be done by the Delhi state legalserviceauthority (DLSA).Theaccusedwill be required to compensate asperhis capacity to be determined by theDLSA. However, it would have beenmore feasible for the victims if theythemselves are allowed to make VIRbefore the courts or at least heard di-rectly before the court.

SarachanaSisodia

BJP DEFEATEDTHIS REFERS TO the editorial,‘Message fromJ&K’ (IE,December24).The DDC poll outcome has taken thewindoutof theBJP’s sails.Despite thesaffron party’s attempts to demoniseand intimidate the regional main-stream parties’ leaders. The abroga-tion of Article 370 has brought oppo-nents together, which the BJP didn'tcounton.TheBJPmust realise that itsunilateral and anti-democratic poli-cies inKashmirarecounterproductiveand take correctivemeasures.

DeepakSinghalNoida

BEDI IS RIGHTTHIS REFERS TO the report, ‘Bediwants his name removed from Kotlastand over Jaitley statue’ (IE,December 24). That legendary spin-ner and former captain Bishan SinghBedi is peevedwith theDDCA’s deci-sion on theArun Jaitley statuemakesperfect sense. Bedi isdead right inhisprotest. If this isallowedbytheDDCA,similar requests may pour in fromother state sports federations too.While thevotersareagainst thestatueculture, thenewproject to install stat-ues of ex-presidents of sportsFederationswould tarnish the imageof notonlyour stadiumsbutevenourcountry. Such a move should benipped in the bud.

NViswanathan,Coimbatore

LETTER TO THEEDITOR

THEREARE55centraluniversities,thecrownjewels of the Indian academic system. Theyare endowedwith prime land, extensivefunding from the central government andthere isa long lineof studentswaiting togetin.Here, facultyhave securityof tenure, andtheirjobfullyprotectsfreespeech,sotheyarethemost vocal among academics. Amongthem are the handful of real universities inthe country— vishwavidyalayas or universi-tas, that focus on all themajor branches oflearning,where cross-disciplinary research,sonecessarytosolvecomplexmodernprob-lems,cangenuinely takeplace.Yet,theyareinturmoil. Inrecentyears,six

vice-chancellors (VCs) of central universitieshave been sacked. Another five have beencharge-sheeted. Some of these institutionshaveseentheirglorydays,yetincreasingly,theenergyisgoingoutofthesystem.Thelocusofinnovationhasswitchedtonewandinnovativeprivateuniversities.However,notasinglenewprivateuniversityhassofarbeenabletocreateatruebroad-basedviswavidyalayawiththefullrange of humanities, social andnatural sci-ences and the professional disciplines.Therefore, to save academia in India, centraluniversitiesmustbesaved.It istemptingtoblametheproblemsona

fewbad apples in the leadership. But if theproblems are so pervasive, then the chal-lengesmustbesystemic.Theresponseofac-ademicswhoarewitnesstothisdeclineistoblamea lackof autonomy.But in reality, it is

acrisisof accountability.Eachof the55 central universities is gov-

ernedbyaseparateAct.Whiletherearediffer-ences, the broad structure is as follows. TheVisitoroftheuniversityisthePresidentofIndia.Onhis behalf, theMinistry of Education rec-ommendsaneminentcitizenasthechancel-lor, whose role is mostly ceremonial. TheMinistryalsoconstitutesasearchcommitteethat typically interviewsmultiple candidatesandcomesupwitha list of three candidates.From this list, the government picks a VC.Separately, and throughadifferentprocess, asenateorcourtischosen.Technically,thisisthegoverningcouncil(GC)oftheuniversity,whichwillusuallyhavenomineesfromvariousstake-holders,includingthegovernment,faculty,stu-dents,andcitizens.Theuniversity'sworkiscar-riedoutbytheexecutivecouncilchairedbytheVC,whoalsoappointstheregistrar.Aseparatefinance committee is constituted, headedbyachief financeofficer,whoisoftenacivil ser-vant on secondment to the university. Thisarrangementisdesignedtomaintainfinancialchecksandbalances.But this iswhere themajorproblemsbe-

gin. TheGChasno say in the selectionof theVC.Further,theGCtypicallymeetsonlyonceayear. If anyworkgetsdone in thismeeting, itis amiracle, since theGCof DelhiUniversity,calledtheSenate,forexample,has475mem-bers,probablyaworldrecord.Intheory,theVCpresentsandgetsapprovalfortheannualplanoftheuniversityfromtheGC.Inpractice,after

muchgrandstandingonbothsides,theplanisrubberstamped. After that, throughout theyear,thereisminimaldirectionormonitoringfrom the GC, whichmay ormay notmeetagain.Therearetypicallynoquarterlyupdates,andthereislittleoversight.Underthecircum-stances,thehighnumberoffailuresshouldnotcomeas a surprise, since effectively, there isminimalgovernance.Bycontrast,thenewIIMBillverysensibly

limits the GC to atmost 19members. Theyare expected to be eminent citizens, withbroad social representation and an empha-sis on alumni. This GC chooses the director,providesoverallstrategicdirection,raisesre-sources,andcontinuouslymonitorshisorherperformance.WithintheguidelinesprovidedbytheGC,thedirectorhasfullautonomybutalso fullaccountability.This arrangement is based on the best

globalexamples, includingHarvard.Today,mostpeopledonotknowthatHarvard toowasasarkariuniversityuntil150yearsago,thatwasdyingaslowdeath. It isa fascinat-ing story that I have documented else-where.Whenitsgovernancewasreformedbycreatinganempoweredboardcompris-ing its most successful alumni, this smallprovincial university soon becameworld-class.Thereasonwassimple:Noonekneworcaredmoreabout theuniversity than itsalumni boardmembers. They brought dy-namism,oversight, andresources.Thecre-ationof a journey toworld-class statusbe-

ganwith the governance reform.Accordingly, the governing councils of

all central universities, IITs, and all othercentral institutions,needtoberestructuredbyanActof Parliament.Themosteminentalumni of these institutions must bebrought on their boards. IIT Delhi has justannounced a billion-dollar endowmentcampaign. This campaign is being spear-headedby itsmost successful alumni, overa dozen of whom have created Unicorns,or billion-dollar companies. If these indi-viduals are cordially invited to join its GC,not onlywill thismoneybe raisedquickly,but it will also be spent well. The dy-namism and exposure that these alumniwillbring to the tablewillpromptly lead toworld-class innovations.Thewarrior-poetRahim,whoknewalot

about administration, famously said — eksaadhe sab sadhai, sab saadhe pat jaaya,Rahiman mool hi seenchiye, phoole phaleaghai. Ifyouaccomplishonebigthing,every-thing gets accomplished, but if you try andfix everything at once, then nothing getsfixed; as in plants, water the roots, and thewholeplantprospersandyieldsflowersandfruits. To allow central universities, the IITsand other public institutions to truly blos-som,we need to reform their Governance.There isno timetowaste.

Thewriter ispresidentanddirectorofMICA,Ahmedabad.Viewsarepersonal

The first step isgovernancereformformoreautonomyandaccountability

Saving the public universityShailendraRajMehta

Aakash Joshi

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LIGHT

Be grateful that yourchildren are home, so youcan exercise your vocalchords roaring at them at topvolume when they drive youmad because they're notdoing their schoolwork. Andno one will complain or callthe police, because they're alldoing the same, in theirhomes. Including the police.

New Delhi

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II,,BBaasswwaarraajj S/OChandrashekar,R/o 2-4-55, Narayanapur,Gurmitkal(Rural), Yadgir,Gurmitkal, Karnataka-585214,have changedmynameandshall hereafter beKnownasAvikKairav. 0070725068-1

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0120010770-1

II,, hitherto knownasDivyanshPrakashSrivastava, S/ODeveshPrakashSrivastava,R/OE- 501, Orchid, Valley offlowers, Thakur village, nearevershinedream park,Kandivali east,Mumbai,Maharashtra-400101, havechangedmynameandshallhereafter be knownDivynshPSrivastav. 0120010769-1

II,, YogeshKumar S/o,No14622662WExHav/ACP-1 SarojKumarKaushik,R/oB-30,SanjayEnclave, Uttam-Nagar,Delhi-59,have changedmyname toYogesh for,all purposes.

0040558648-5

II,, VidhiManglik aliasVidhiKeshavGuptaW/oKeshavGupta,R/o 103, Second-Floor,Vaishali,Pitampura, Delhi-110034, have changedmynametoVidhi Gupta. 0040558658-7

II,, VibhaVatsD/ODhiraj KumarVats,W/OSanjeevKumarSharma. R/o I-171,StreetNo-13,Lalita Park,LaxmiNagar,EastDelhi,Delhi-110092havechangedmynameandshallhereafter beKnownasVIBHASANJEEVSHARMA.

0070725056-1

II,, T.R. Anil S/oThundiparambilRaghavanR/oC-1/63nearDwarkaMadhuVihar, UttamNagar,WestDelhi-110059, haschangedmyname toThundiparambil RaghavanAnil. 0070725022-1

II,, SurendraSingh s/oKirtanSingh, R/o-31/991, DDA-Flats,Madangir, Delhi-110062,havechangedmyname toSurenderSinghRawat, permanently.

0040558658-2

II,,AArraavvYadav, S/o-Rishi RajYadav, R/oH.No.206, VijayantEnclave,Sector-29,G.B.Nagar,U.P.-201301,havechangedmyname toAravRajfor all futurepurposes.

0040558648-3

II,, SastikaDasD/OBishnuPadaDas,W/OChayanBenerjeeR/oNABODALCLUB,2NOBENGALCHEMICAL,Barasat(m),North24Parganas,West Bengal-700127,have changedmynameandshall hereafter beKnownasSwastikaBanerjee.

0070725070-1

II,, SanjayGupta S/OGauriShankerGuptaR/O.H.NO-5708,Gali.No-80,RegarpuraKarolBagh,Delhi-110005,changedmynametoSanjayKumarGupta. 0040558653-1

II,, SWETASINGH,W/O.VATSALKUMARSINGH,ADD-FLAT.NO.5B/526, AFNOEAPARTMENTS,PLOT.NO.11,SEC-7,DWARKA, SOUTH/WESTDELHI-110075, changedmyname toSHWETASINGH,permanently. 0040558653-3

II,, SUDIPTAPALS/OSUDARSHANCHANDRAPAL, R/oP6G.CGhoshRoad,SouthDumdum,(M)North 24Parganas,WestBengal-700048, have changedmynameandshall hereafterbeKnownasSUDIPTOPAUL.

0070725063-1

II,, SUBASHCHANDS/OSUDARSHANKUMAR,R/o T-235,E-2/2B, ROAD.NO-20,BALJEET-NAGAR,DELHI-110008,have changedmynametoSUBHASHCHAND.

0040558658-3

II,, BHUPENDRASINGHKASVAS/OKARANSINGH, R/o LILLI KARASTA,HALDEENA,MALAKHERA,ALWAR,RAJASTHAN-301406, declare thatNameofMinehasbeenwronglywrittenasBHUPENDRASINGHKASBAinmy10THClassCertificateno-1108903. Theactual nameofMine is BHUPENDRASINGHKASVA,whichmaybeamendedaccordingly.

0070725057-1

II,, Rita Singh,W/o-RajinderSingh,R/o-C-83, NeelamberApartmentOpp.SainikVihar,Pitampura, NewDelhi-110034,HaveRita Jairathbefore-marriagename,both in useareoneand the sameperson.

0040558658-9

II,, RishiMishra S/oBrahmDevMishraR/o-D-325, SecondFloor, Front-Side,NawadaHousing-Complex,Uttam-Nagar,NewDelhi-110059,have changedmyfather’s name fromSub.BrahmDevMishra toBrahmDevMishra,for all futurepurposes.Sub.BrahmDevMishraandBrahmDevMishraoneof thesameperson. 0040558573-1

II,, Rinku s/oBachey Lal R/oC-10,DDA-Flats, Garhi East ofKailash,NewDelhi-110065,havechangedmyname toRinku LalKanojia, permanently.

0040558658-1

II,, RekhaRaniMalhotra,W/oShriVirendraKumarMalhotra, R/o-1162, VivekanandNagar,Ghaziabad,(U.P.),have changedmyname toRekhaMalhotra.

0040558648-1

II,, RameshKumar S/OShankerLal R/OK-438, NearGaganCinema, SunderNagri, Delhi-93have changedmyson’s namefromAnubhav toAnubhavKashyap (DOB03.11.2006) forall futurepurposes.

0040558599-1

II,, RAVINDERSINGHBHATIA s/oRANJEETSINGH,H.NO-2E-213-D,WARDNO-11, NEAR-DAYANANDSCHOOLN.H.2, FARIDABADHARYANA-121001,havechangedmyname toRAVINDERSINGH.

0040558653-8

II,, PraveenKumar, S/oDharamBeer, R/oA-12, ChetakAppt.,Sector-9, Rohini, Delhi-110085,have changedmynametoParveenSahni.

0040558658-8

II,, PramodKunwar S/oRamBahadurKunwarR/oH.No-3,StreetNo-9/2, Shakit ViharMeethapur Jait Pur, Jaitpur,SouthDelhi-110044, declarethat nameofmineandmywifehasbeenwronglyWittenasParmodKunwar andSaralaKunwar inmyminor soneducation certificate Theactual nameofmy is PramodKunwarandSarlaKunwar,whichmaybeamendedaccordingly. 0070725075-1

II,, PrakashKumariW/OGurbaxSinghR/OH.No-661, 2nd-FloorDr.MukherjeeNagarDelhi-110009,changedmyname toPrakashKaur.

0040558626-3

II,, SheelaRani GuptaR/o 30,TagorePark, Dr.MukherjeeNagarDelhi-110009 havechangedmyname toSheelaGupta for all purposes.

0040558489-1

II,, PradeepKumar Shrivastav,S/oRadhaMohanPrasad,H.No.76-B,Gali.No.4,Laxmi-Market, Laxmi-Nagar,Delhi-110092, have changedmyname toPradeepKumar.

0040558653-6

II,, PRAMODKUMARAGGARWALS/OASHOKAGARWAL, R/OHNO.251,BFF,GALINO.12C,RAJENDRAPARK,NANGLOI, DELHI-110041.CHANGEDMYNAMETOPRAMODAGARWAL.

0040558626-5

II,, No-4191580YHavBeerBahadurYadavS/oSatydeoYadavR/oRousadaBallia,BiltihraRoadRS, UP-221715, inmyservice recordmywife`snamehasbeenwronglywrittenasKausalyaDeviwhichis her incorrect name, informthatmywife`s correct nameasKaushalyaDevi for all futurepurposes. 0040558671-1

II,,Manjuw/oKrishanKumarR/o-2/146, GeetaColony, Delhi-110031,have changedmynametoManjuBala, permanently.

0040558658-4

II,,ManishKumar S/o,No14622662WHav/ACP-1,S/oSaroj KumarKaushik, R/o,B-30,Sanjay EnclaveUttam-Nagar,Delhi-59,have changedmyname toManish for,allpurposes. 0040558648-6

II,, KishaverNiazi,w/oMuinulHasanNiazi,R/oG-54/5,Block-G,DilshadColony,Delhi-110095,have changedmynametoKishwar Jahan,permanently. 0040558658-6

II,, KAVYASWAMYAD/OMR.ARJUNSWAMY,R/OA-57, DBLOCK,VASANTVIHAR,NEWDELHI-110057,HAVECHANGEDMYNAMETOKAVYASWAMY.

0040558648-2

II,, JYOTI KUMARRAI S/ORAMLALRAI, H.NO-A2A/2,TYPE-1,TELECOM-COLONY,JANAKPURI, DELHI-110058,havechangedmyname to JYOTIKUMAR. 0040558653-7

II,, JYOTI,W/O-Bhaskar SinhaR/O-502,PlotNo.C-58/18,SharadKunj,Sector-62,Noida, GautamBudhNagar, 201307,U.P. havechangedmyname to JYOTISINHA for all purposes.

0040558648-4

II,, Hitherto knownasShilpaKumari Sadh,W/oNimeshKumar Sadh,R/o-11/17Street.No.1,WestAzad-Nagar,KrishnaNagar, Delhi-110051,have changedmynameandshall hereafter be knownasShilpaSadh.

0040558653-2

II,, HasanZainNiazi,s/oMuinulHasanNiazi,R/oG-54/5, Block-G,DilshadColony,Delhi-110095,have changedmynametoHasanZain, permanently.

0040558658-5

II,, GurbaxS/OSaran shahSinghR/OH.No-661, 2nd-FloorDrMukherjeeNagarDelhi-110009,changedmyname toGurbaxShahSingh. 0040558626-2

II,, GeetaRaghav,W/oAshokKumarR/o-289, AE-Block, PatelGarden,MohanGarden,N.Delhi-59,have changedmyname toGeetaDevi.

0040558653-5

II,, CharanjeetArora, s/o ThakurDass,R/OCharanjit AroraNGR-072,DLFNewTownHeights,Sector-90,Gurgaon, (Haryana)-122505,have changedmynametoCharanjit Arora.

0040558648-7

II,, AvritaKaurChadha,W/OJasveen shahSinghR/O.H.No-661, 2nd FloorDrMukherjee-NagarDelhi-110009, changedmyname toAvritaKaur.

0040558626-1

II,, AleyammaAbrahamW/O-AbrahamMathewMavanalR/O-Flat.No.486, DDAFlats,Pocket-3, Sector-19,Dwarka,NewDelhi-110075,have changedmynameto Jiji Abraham for all,futurepurposes. 0040558626-6

II,, ASHOKKUMARAGGARWALS/ORAMPRATAPAGARWALR/O2/29,SUNDER-NAGAR,GOPAL-NAGAR, SURAKHPUR-ROAD,NAJAFGARH,DELHI-110043. CHANGEDMYNAMETOASHOKAGARWAL.

0040558626-4

II NimmiKhuranaW/oSh. DineshKhuranaR/o 11061, Doriwalan,East ParkRoad, Karol Bagh, S.O.Central Delhi, Delhi-110005,have changedmynameNimmiKhurana toSoniaKhurana forall purpose. 0040558571-1

II Neeraj TanwarS/O, RamdhanR/o 1137,gali No. 2,phase2,laxmanVihar, Gurgaonhavechangedmyname toNeeraj forall purposes. 0040558617-1

II HarishChandraS/ORamaNandR/ORZD1A/48C, GaliNo.5,Mahavir Enclave, Part-1,NewDelhi-110045. havechangedmyMinor Son’s namefromJATIN toSACHIN for allpurposes. 0040558601-1

II ChamanS/O, BijenderR/o 280Kishorpur(18) PalwalHaryanaPin 121102 have changedmyname toChamanDagar for allpurposes. 0040558603-1

I, RamDassS/OBabaHarpalDass, R/o 11/3,49MishraBuilding, Near Station,Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh-244001,declare thatNameofMineandMyFather hasbeenwronglywrittenasRamDassandBabaHarpal Dass inmyPancardno-EFUPD0136M. Theactual nameofMineandMyFather areRamdasWalia andRavi PalWalia,whichmaybeamendedaccordingly.

0070725060-1

PPEERRSSOONNAALL

SSIITTUUAATTIIOONNVVAACCAANNTT

LLOOSSTT&&FFOOUUNNDD

Classifieds

PUBLIC NOTICEIt is hereby informed M/s Talwar & Associatesthrough as partners Shrt R.K. Anand S/o LateShri Roshan Lal Anand and Shri Chetan R.Anand S/o Shri. R.K. Anand both Resident ofC-70, NDSE Part-2, New Delhi-110049 is thesole owner of Property No-14 Block 3,Jhandewalan, Block E Scheme measuring217.5 Sq yds (Mix Land Use) Ground Floor:Shop or small workshop upper floors:Residential and for office purpose by virtue oflease deed executed on 22.9.1972 andpartnership dated 17.11.2008.The original documents such as (i) leasedeed of plot No. 14 Block 3, JhandewalanBlock E Scheme, New Delhi (ii) MutationLetter wherein sale permission was grantedby lessor vide letter ND S/6(18)56 dated24.3.1965 & Transfer Deed 5.5.1965 (iii)partnership deed dated 6.1.1965 executedbetween five partners namely Smt. ShantyTalwar W/o Shri M.L. Talwar, Smt. KantaTalwar W/o Shri B.L. Talwar, Smt. Rita TalwarW/o R.K Talwar, Romesh Anand W/o Shri.R.G Anand and Smt. Chander Chawala W/oShri L.R. Chawla (iv) Dissolution deed dated30.9.1978 of the above said plot has beenlost/misplaced, FIR/NCR to this effect hasbeen lodged in Police Station PS CrimeBranch, New Delhi on 10/07/2020, If anybodyfinds these documents please inform R.KAnand or Chetan R. Anand S/o Shri R.KAnand both residents of C-70, NDSE Part-2,New Delhi-110049, Tel. No. 9810216161.Any other claimant has no right in theaforesaid property, if anybody has anyclaim/objection the same may be filed to theDy. Director (old scheme Branch) DDA, BlockA, Second Floor, Vtkas Sadan, INA Colony,New Delhi-110023 within 15 days from thedate issue of this notice.

Sd/-YUDHISHTER LAL

ADVOCATED-6259/2017

PUBL IC NOT ICETo be known to all that I Smt. Santosh SharmaW/oLate Sh. Baldev Raj Sharma R/o Flat No. 149C,Block GGI, Vikas Puri,New Delhi 110018 ,Owner/Allotty of property has applied forconversion of the aforesaid flat from lease hold tofree hold inDDA,The original DDAdocuments i.e.Demand latter etc of the above said flat has beenlost.An N.C.R 830153/2020 dated: 21/12/2020 tothis effect has been lodged with Delhi Police, AnyPerson(s) claiming any right, interest, having anyobjection or found in possession of originaldocuments, may write/contact with above namedperson at above address/Phone No. 9810455888within 15 days from the date of publication of thisnotice. The person claiming any right, interest,objection with respect to this property, canpersonally inform or write to Deputy Director LABor Director (H)-1D-Block, 3rd Floor, Vikas Sadan,INA,NewDelhi-110023.

Sd/- B.B.N.DEO, ADVOCATES.R.IIND, B COMPLUS, JANAKPURI, N.D.58

PUBLIC NOTICEThis is for the information of general publicthat my client(s) S. JOGINDER SINGH S/OS. DAYAL SINGH AND SMT. NIAMAT KAURW/O S. JOGINDER SINGH has disownedand debarred their son namely VARINDERSINGH and his wife namely SURJIT KAURand their children from all his/her movableand immovable properties and also from M/sGujral Brothers at W-58/2, Maya Puri Phase-II New Delhi with immediate effect becauseof their constant fighting at home and outsideand loss of my clients mental peace,harassment, torture, cruelty, atrocitiescommitted by them against my clients.Anybody dealing with them shall do so athis/her own risk, cost and responsibilitiesthereto. My clients shall not be responsible inany manner for the same.

Sd/- H.K. BABBAR (Advocate)DG-3/409, Vikaspuri, N.D.-18

PUBLIC NOTICEThis is to inform to the General Public atlarge that my clients (1) Shri Vicky BajajS/o Shri KL. Bajaj and (2) Smt. MadhuBajaj W/o Shri Vicky Bajaj both R/oD-23B, Rajdhani Park, Nangloi, Delhi-110041 have severed all their relationssocially, financially in all respects withtheir daughter namely Ruppal Bajajbecause she is not obedient to myclients since long time and alsodebarred and disowned her frominheriting any movable and immovableproperties owned by my above saidclients. Any person dealing with her willdo so at his/her/their own risk.

Sd/- PARDEEP KUMAR (Advocate)Office: Shop No.6 Plot No. 7A, DDA

Building, District, Centre Janak PuriNew Delhi-110058

PUBLIC NOTICETo whomsoever it may concern that Sh RamKumar Bhardwaj S/o Late Sh Parmanandrecorded owner of 50% share in Plot No. 549,Sector 7, Sonepat, HUDA, Haryana has expiredon 08.11.2019 and has left a registered Will infavour of his wife Smt Krishna Bhardwajbequeathing his share in said property. Said SmtKrishna Bhardwaj has applied for sanction ofmutation involving share of Sh Ram KumarBhardwaj in the said plot in her favour on thebasis of said registered Will. Anyone having anyobjection to the said transfer shall file his / herclaim within 30 days from the date of thispublication before the Estate Officer, HUDASonepat, Haryana along with relevantdocuments, otherwise the property shall betransferred in name of applicant as per rules andpolicies and thereafter no claim shall beentertained.

Sd/-Rahul Sharma Adv.

D/98/2010

PUBLIC NOTICENotice is hereby given to thepublic at large, on behalf of myclient, Mr. Dhruv Choudhary(“Owner”) of Built up First Floorof Property no. 66, areameasuring100 Sq. Yds., out of Rect. no. 28,Killa no. 12, situated in the RadheyShyam Park, in the area of VillageKhureji Khas, Illaqa Shahdara,Delhi-110051 by virtue of Gift Deeddated 14.10.2020 executed by Mr.Narender Kumar who was ownerthrough Will dated 18.02.2008executed by Mrs. Shyama Devi.Now, my client intends tomortgage the said property toSHFL. If any person (s) having anyobjection regarding the sameabout the said Property /ownership rights/Title Or claim,please raise objection withdocumentary proof within 07 daysof Publication at the belowaddress.Mohd. Khairul Hussain AdvocateChamber no. 214, 2nd, Floor, OldLawyers Chamber, DELHI High

Court,Sher Shah Road, New Delhi

PUBLIC NOTICEThis is to informed that my client Mr.Vipin Kochar son late H.L. Kocharresident C-59, Shivaji Park, WestPunjabi Bagh, New Delhi-110026,Neither he is owner of Property No.C-59, Shivaji Park, West Punjabi Bagh,New Delhi-110026, nor has he evermortgaged this property to RavinderSingh alias Moldi S/o Seva Singhreisident of 13 NWA club Road, PunjabiBagh Extension New Delhi, and he hasnever been given any rights withrespect to property to anyone.That the publication made by RavindraSingh alias Moldi, in regard to the saidproperty in the metropolis edition of TheIndian Express newspaper onThursday, 10 December 2020 NewDelhi, is unture, baseless and factious.My clients revoke this publishedinformation.By publishing this type of information,Ravinder Singh alias Moldi has not onlymisleads the public at large but hasalso damaged the reputation andhonour of my client. My client is alsotaking legal action against RavinderSingh alias Moldi for this act done byhim.

Sd/-R.K. LAMBA

AdvocateEnrol. No. D/2133/04

Ch. No. 833, Lawyer’s ChamberDwarka Court Complex,

New Delhi 110075Mob. 9899328383

PUBLIC NOTICEBE IT KNOWN TO ALL THAT OUR CLIENT MS MODESTAKERKETTA HAS SHOWN HER INTEREST TO PURCHASEPROPERTY BEARING ENTIRE GROUND FLOORALONGWITH CAR PARKING SPACE WHICHCOMMENCES FROM 22 FT UPTO 60 FT (0 FT TO 21 FTBEING COMMON SPACE FOR STAIRS ETC) AFTERENTERING FROM THE FRONT MAIN GATE OF STILTFLOOR ON GROUND FLOOR OUT OF PLOT NO NIL-15-B,MALVIYA NAGAR, NEW DELHI FROM ITS OWNER MSKULDIP SINGH.THE BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SAID PROPERTY IS ASUNDER:-MRS SATWANT KAUR ACQUIRED THE FREEHOLDRIGHTS, TITLE & INTEREST IN THE SAID PROPERTY BYVIRTURE OF CONVEYANCE DEED EXECUTED BY L&DOIN HER FAVOUR WHICH WAS DULY REGISTERED ON04.11.2000 VIDE REGN NO. 10251 IN BOOK NO. IVOLUME NO. 2163 ON PAGES 45-48.MRS SATWANT KAUR DURING HER LIFETIME, MADE AWILL ON 21.10.2002 IN FAVOUR OF HER THREE SONSNAMELY S. KULDIP SINGH (BEQUETHING GROUNDFLOOR PORTION). S. INDERJIT SINGH AND S.CHARANJIT SINGH.MRS SATWANT KAUR DIED ON 08.01.2006 AND AFTERHER DEATH, MRS PARMAJEET KAUR (DAUGHTER OFLATE SATWANT KAUR) RELINQUISHED HER UNDIVIDEDSHARE IN FAVOUR OF HER THREE BROTHERS VIDERELINQUISHED DEED DATED 03.05.2012 DULYATTESTED BY SOLICITOR AT ONTARIA, CANADA ANDSTAMPED BY THE COLELCTOR OF STAMPS, DELHI ON24.05.2012.A PARTITTION DEED WAS EXECUTED BETWEEN S.KULDIP SINGH, S. INDERJIT SINGH AND S. CHARANJITSINGH WHICH WAS DULY REGD ON 03.11.2006 VIDEREGN NO 15374 IN BOOK NO. 1.AFTER RECONSTRUCTION/ REDEVELOPMENT OF THESAID PROPERTY, ANOTHER PARITTION WASEXECUTED BETWEEN S. KULDIP SINGH, S. INDERJITSINGH AND S. CHARANJIT SINGH WHICH WAS DULYREGD IN THE OFFICE OF SUB- REGISTRAR-VA, NEWDELHI ON 22.7.2013 VIDE REGN NO. 3816 IN BOOKNO. I.AS PER WILL AND TWO PARTITION DEEDS, S. KULDIPSINGH IS THE OWNER OF ENTIRE GROUND FLOORPARTION OUT OF THE SAID PROPERTY.IF ANY PERSON/LEGAL HEIR/CLAIMANT HAS ANYRIGHT, TITLE ON INTEREST IN THE SAID PORTION OFTHE SAID PROPERTY, HE/SHE/THEY MAY CONTRACTTHE UNDERSIGNED WITH DOCUMENTARY PROOFWITHIN 15 (FIFTEEN) DAYS OF PUBLICATION OF THISNOTICE AND AFTER THAT NO CLAIM AGAINST THESAID PORTION OF THE SAID PROPERTY SHALL BEADMISSIBLE.

Sd/-RAVI CHOPRA

ADVOCATE9811020745

OFFICE NO. 1, FIRST FLOORDDA MARKET POCKET-A-1MAYUR VIHAR-III, DELHI-96

PUBLIC NOTICEMy Client- Ramesh Chand R/oRD-72, Ravidas Nagar, Narela,Mamoor Pur, Delhi-110040severed all relations anddebar/disinherited his son- OmBir Singh from his all movable,immovable properties due to hisextreme hostile behaviour. Myclient will not be responsible forOM Bir Singh’s acts.Sd/- VINOD KUMAR MANGAL

(ADVOCATE)Chamber No. 680, Ist & IInd

Floor Western Wing,Tis Hazari Court, Delhi-110054

PUBLIC NOTICEInformation is given to general public atlarge that my client Smt. HimanshiSharma of Freehold Residential Plot no.152-A area measuring 50 sq. yds out ofKhasra no. 204min Situated at VillageChandrawali Alias Shahdara in the abadiof Jagat Puri Mandoli Road IllaqaShahdara Delhi. By virtue Sale Deeddated 07.06.2019 as Doc no. 3308 Volno. 3049 Page no. 104-112 SR IVAInitially Smt. Kuntal Kumari w/o Sh. GianChand Sharma owner by Plot no. 152Aarea measuring 100 sq. yds. by virtue ofGeneral Power of Attorney dated10.01.1974 after the Death Smt. KuntalKumari died on 30.10.2013 her husbandSh. Gian Chand Sharma died on19.05.1988 leaving behind following thelegal heirs namely Sh. Madhu SudanSharma s/o Late Sh. Gian ChandSharma executed Sale Deed dated07.06.2019 in favour of Smt. HimanshiSharma w/o Sh. Tarun Sharma and Builton First floor without roof rights sold to beSmt. Ladlee Pandey w/o Sh. PankajKumar Pandey and the same property isgoing to be financed by AAVASFINANCIERS LIMITED (Formerly knownas AU Housing Finance Ltd.) BranchRajendra Place New Delhi.If any person(s) have any objection(s) orclaim(s) with respect to the right, title orinterest in the Said Property then contactus within 7 days from the date ofPublication of this notice and or the sameto the undersigned if found by any one.

Sd/- NAVEEN KUMAR VERMA(Advocate)

F-211, Sector-3, Vaishali, Ghaziabad,Uttar Pradesh- 201010

II Deepali BhatiaW/oLateMaheshBhatia R/oWZ-586A,Gali No.1, Sri Nagar, ShakurBasti, Near Rani Bagh, Delhi-110034 have lostmyall Originaldocuments of abovesaidProperty. FindersmaycontactatMobileNo.9711188083.

0040558572-1

II,, ANKITAGOYALD/oNarendergoyal R/o-B-301/H st.no-9,Ashok-nagar, shahdara,Delhi-93,have lostmyoriginalcertificate/marksheet class-10th(2015) Rollno-8657443class-12th(2017) Rollno-9619912, CBSE-DELHI.

0040558626-9

II,, Lost theoriginal-allotmentletter,plot buyer agreementdated-12-09-1984, payment-receipts&possession-letter byDLF,ofmypropertyNo.T-7/21,DLFPhase-3, Gurugram,Haryana-122002. Finder pleasecontact:Nikkhhil Arora,9999670088. 0040558648-8

II,,MONAD/o-Vijay kumarR/o-B-299 st.no-10,Ashoknagar,Shahdara,Delhi-93,havelostmyoriginalcertificate/Marksheet class-10th(2015) Rollno-8658082class-12th(2017) Rlllno-9640007,CBSE-DELHI.

0040558626-8

II,, Parveenkumar,S/oBanarsiDass, House.No.683P,Sector-15,Sonipat, Haryana,Declare thatmyabovePropertypapers(Mapsenctionletter,Re-Allotment-letter,DeedofConveyance&GPA),havebeen lost atNarela,Delhi on 21/12/20.Founder please contact-9711047471. 0040558648-9

LLoosstt Original-PropertyRegd.DocumentsNo.1525AddBook.No.1, VolumeNo.3115,Page-156-159Regd.On-12/07/1999 in the office of SV IVbetweenAnil KumarBhasinandTriptaRani KapoorProperty.No.1/7345 St.No.7,EastGorakh-Park, ShahdaraDelhi-110032, foundermayinformMohiniMadan,W/oYashMadan#8076885462.

0040558653-10

LLoossttmyOriginal PerpetualLeaseDeedof Plot.No.H-1190,Narela Industrial Complex,Delhi-110040. Finder contact-Rajiv KumarGoel.Mob.9811049265.

0040558653-9

LLoosstt original-Allotment LetterandReceipt of Plot.No.B-B36/18(IDNo.10302),TDI City,Kundli, Haryana, FinderContact:ManjuBalaMakhija,w/oVinay-Makhija,R/o-9/10,Vikas-Colony, NearMukherjee-Nagar, Delhi,Mob#9811048053.

0040558658-12

MULTIPLEVACANCIESIINNSSAdvertisingAgencyRequired(FRESHER/EXPERIENCED)Manager (Event, Hoarding,DigitalMedia) Clerk, Field BoywithD.L. # 9315933605,9213474731. 0040558100-3

HAFFKINE BIO PHARMACEUTICALCORPORATION LIMITED

(Procurement Cell)Tel. No. : 022-24100478

e-mail : [email protected] Donde Marg, Parel, Mumbai-400 012 (INDIA)

TENDER NOTICEDate : 23.12.2020

MANAGING Director (Procurement Cell), Haffkine BioPharmaceutical Corporation Ltd., Mumbai invites tenders in twoenvelope system from eligible bidders for following items forvarious Health Institutions in Maharashtra.

For detailed information, the interested bidders may visit the website https://mahatenders.gov.inFor e-tendering help/information, please contact.Web site : https://mahatenders.gov.inContact No. : 1800-233-7315, 91-7878107985, +91-7878107986,+91-7878007972 and +91-7878007973E-mail : [email protected]

Sd/-(Dr. R. M. Kumbhar)General Manager-I,

Haffkine Bio PharmaceuticalCorporation Ltd.,

DGIPR/2020-2021/1597 (Procurement Cell), Mumbai

Sr.No.

TenderNo.

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15SENSEX: 46,973.54 ▲ 529.36 NIFTY: 13,749.25 ▲ 148.15 NIKKEI: 26,668.35 ▲ 143.56 HANG SENG: 26,386.56 ▲ 43.46 FTSE: 6,493.11 ▼ 2.64 DAX: 13,587.23 ▲ 169.12

THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,DECEMBER25,2020

ECONOMYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

GOLD`49,624

RUPEE`73.55

OIL$51.29

SILVER`66,954

Note:Gold, silverratesatDelhi spotmarket;goldper10g, silverper1kg;Brentcrudeasof0000IST

Internationalmarketdatatill1930IST

AASHISHARYANNEWDELHI, DECEMBER24

THE INDIAN government haschallenged the verdict deliv-ered intheVodafoneretrospec-tive taxation case by theSingapore seat of PermanentCourt of Arbitration of TheHague, sources in the know ofthe development told TheIndian Express.The decision to file the ap-

peal inacourt inSingaporewastaken after “top ranking” offi-cialsmetwithofficials fromtheDepartment of Telecomm-unication(DoT)andMinistryofFinance, and instructed themnot towait on the issue, one ofthe sources said.The sources, however, did

notspecifyas towhenthechal-lenge was filed. Beginning

September 25, when the ver-dictwasdelivered, Indiahad90daysor tillThursday,December24, to file the appeal.On Wednesday, India was

handed its seconddefeat in theretrospective taxation case af-ter the Netherlands seat of thePermanentCourtofArbitrationof The Hague ruled that theIndiangovernment’s retrospec-tive tax demand against theglobal oil and gas major was“inconsistent” with the UK-India bilateral treaty.Like the Vodafone judg-

ment, the international tribu-nal once again said that India’sdemandof retrospective taxonCairnEnergyPlcwas“inbreachof theguaranteeof fair andeq-uitable treatment”. In additionto that, in both the judgments,the international arbitrationtribunal has held that India

must not make any more at-tempts to recover “the allegedtax liability or any interest andorpenaltiesarising fromthisal-

leged liability throughany other means”.Earlier this year, on

September 25, The PermanentCourt of Arbitration at TheHague’s Singapore seat hadruled that India’s retrospectivedemand of Rs 22,100 crore ascapital gains and withholdingtax imposed on the telco for a2007dealwas“inbreachof theguarantee of fair andequitabletreatment” that the companywasentitled for its investmentsin the country’s mobile tele-phone business.The international arbitra-

tion tribunal had then alsoruled that the Indian govern-ment must reimburse 4.3mil-lionpounds toVodafoneGroupfor costs incurred on legal rep-resentation and assistance aswellas for feespaidbythecom-pany to the arbitration court.

Following the ruling,Vodafone Group said that “thetribunal held that any attemptby India to enforce the tax de-mand would be a violation ofIndia’s international lawobliga-tions”. “This was a unanimousdecision, including India’s ap-pointed arbitrator Mr RodrigoOreamuno,” a companyspokespersonhad then said.The Vodafone Group retro-

spective taxation case datesbackto2007whentheUPAgov-ernmenthadraisedaninitialtaxdemandofRs7,990croreincap-ital gains and withholding taxagainst Vodafone Groupwhenthe company had acquired 67per cent of stake in HutchisonWhampoa for $11billion.India had then said that

VodafoneGroup ought to havetaken into account the capitalgains and withholding taxes

andwas, therefore, liable topayRs22,100crore including inter-est and penalties.The company had, on the

other hand, said that it wouldnot have to pay the taxes sinceIndia and the Netherlands hadsigned a bilateral investmenttreaty (BIT) in 1995, which ex-emptedsuchinvestments fromtaxation.However, the Income Tax

department continued to senddemand and recovery noticesto the company, which chal-lenged them first in theBombayHighCourtand later inthe SupremeCourt.In 2012, the SupremeCourt

ruled that the VodafoneGroup’s interpretation of theIncome Tax Act of 1961was correct and that it did nothave to pay any taxes for thestake buy.

RETROSPECTIVETAXATION:APPEALFILED INASINGAPORECOURT

REUTERSNEWYORK,DECEMBER24

THE BRITISH pound rose onThursday as Britain and the EUclinchedafreetradedeal,whileaglobal gaugeof stocksedgedup-wardamidinvestoroptimismto-wardeconomicgrowth.Sterling momentarily ex-

tendeditsclimbagainstthedollaronthenews,risingasmuchas0.94per cent, but then pared gains.Analysts said the pound’s 5 percent rally since earlyNovembermeantthatmuchoftheBrexitre-lief hadalreadybeenpriced intothecurrency.Still, thepoundwaslastup0.35percentat$1.3547.The trade deal helped

Europeanequitiesedgehigheras

well. The STOXX index rose0.13percent.OnWallStreet, theDowJonesrose70.04points,or0.23percent, to 30,199.87, the S&P 500gained13.05 points, or 0.35 percent, to3,703.06, andtheNasdaqadded 33.62 points, or 0.26 percent, to 12,804.73 as of 1:20pmEDT. Trading inUS stockswill beclosedonFriday.

MFs seektax sops

Mrs Bectors Food closes106% higher on debutENSECONOMICBUREAUMUMBAI,DECEMBER24

SHARES OF Mrs Bectors FoodSpecialtiesmadeastellardebuton the bourses on Thursdaywith listing day gains of105.73per cent.ThestockopenedatRs500on

the NSE, 73.61 per cent higherthan its issuepriceofRs288andhittheuppercircuitatRs600be-foreclosingthetradingsessionatRs 592.5 apiece. This is the thirdbest listingdaygain afterBurgerKing India andHappiestMindsTechnologies,whichsawgainsof125per cent and123.5 per cent,respectively.The IPO ofMrs Bectors Food

Specialtieswas foranamountofRs540croreandwassubscribed198.02times.ExpertsbelievetheIPOlistinggainscanbeattributedtotheall-timehighsinthemarketand strong retail participation.Hemang Jani, head-equity strat-egy, broking and distribution,MotilalOswalFinancialServices,saidthe listinggainscouldbeat-tributed to the euphoria in themarketandretail frenzy.FE


THEMUTUALfund(MF)industryhassoughtparityintaxtreatmentofmutual fundsandUnit LinkedInsurancePlans(ULIPs)andahikeinthresholdlimitforwithholdingtax (TDS)on incomedistribution(dividend)onmutualfundunits.The Association of Mutual

Funds in India, in its pre-Budgetmemorandum, proposed thatthresholdlimitforwithholdingtaxonincomedistribution(dividend)onMFunitsshouldberaisedfromRs5,000toRs50,000perannumanda capof 15per cent on sur-chargeon incomedistributiononunits fromequityMFschemes inhandsofnon-corporatetaxpayers.

REUTERSDETROIT,DECEMBER24

AUS regulator ruledonWednesday thatMahindraandMahindraLtd’snewdesignfor itsRoxoroff-roadutilityvehicledidnotinfringe the intellectualproperty rightsofFiatChryslerAutomobiles’ Jeepbrand, sixmonthsafterbarringsaleofoldermodels.The International Trade Commission

(ITC) said thepost-2020Roxormodeldidnotviolate the “tradedress”of FCA’s JeepWrangler SUV, accepting an administra-tivelawjudge’sOctoberrecommendationthat design changesmade byMahindrameant an earlier cease-and-desist ordershould not apply to newermodels. “TherulingvalidatesMahindra’sredesignofthehighly popular Roxor off-road vehicle,”Mahindrasaid inastatement. “Mahindraisnowpermittedtomanufactureanddis-tributetheredesigned2021Roxor.”

“While FCA is disappointedwith thecommission’s decision regarding the re-design,webelievewewillbesuccessful inappealingthisdecision,”FCAsaidinastate-ment. Tradedress consists of theuniquecharacteristics thatmakeaproduct standapartandisgenerallyacceptedasidentifiedwiththatproductbythepublic.Forexam-ple,FCAseestheJeepWrangler’sboxybodyshape, frontgrilleandroundheadlightsasdistinct to thebrand. In June, the ITCruledMahindrainfringedontheintellectualprop-ertyrightsofFCA’s2019-modelJeepbrand.

REUTERSHONGKONG/BEIJING,DEC24

CHINAHASlaunchedanantitrustinvestigation intoAlibabaGroupandwillsummonthetechgiant’sAntGroupaffiliatetomeetincom-ing days, regulators said onThursday,inthelatestblowforJackMa’se-commerceandfintechem-pire.Theprobeispartofanaccel-erating crackdownonanticom- petitive behaviour in China’s

booming internet space, and thelatestsetbackforMa,the56-year-old former school teacherwhofoundedAlibaba.In an editorial, the ruling

Communist Party’sPeople’sDailysaidif“monopolyistolerated,andcompaniesareallowedtoexpandinadisorderlyandbarbarianman-ner,theindustrywon’tdevelopinahealthy, and sustainableway”.Shares inAlibabafellnearly9percentinHongKong.


THEBULLrallycontinuedforthethird day in a row with thebenchmark Sensex soaring an-other 529 points amid reportsabout the government’s plan tobegin vaccination and hopes ofthe Brexit deal between the UKandEuropeanUnion.Thebench-mark Sensex soared by 1.14 percent to 46,973.54 and the NSENiftyindexgained148points,or1.09 per cent, to 13,749.25 onsustainedbuyingsupport.TheSensex,whichcrossedthe

47,000-level in intra-day tradingagain,hasnowrecoupedthelossesafter the 1,400-point crash onMonday. Foreign investors in-vestedRs1,225crore instocksonThursdaywhiledomesticinstitu-tionspulledout close toRs1,900crore. “Sustained foreign inflowsandtherecovery in theeconomyaregoodsigns for themarkets toconsolidate further,” saidveteranstockbrokerPawanDharnidharka.Thegovernment’splantoset

logistics ready to vaccinatefrontline health workers in thefirstphaseboosted the investorsentiment. Momentum inEuropeanmarkets on hopes ofBrexit deal also helped indicesto trade higher. Financials andpharma sector contributed tothe rally. “Volatility noticed atthe start of the week vanishedby the end of theweek as con-cernovernewstrainofvirusre-

duced, development on the USstimulus and vaccination,” saidVinod Nair, head of research,Geojit Financial Services.Volumes on the NSEwere a

bit lower than recent average.Broadmarket indiceslikesmall-andmid-cap indicesunderper-formed.Climbing for the second

straightsession,therupeedartedup21paisetoendat73.55againsttheUSdollar on Thursday amidsustained foreign fund inflowsandpositivedomesticequities.Attheinterbankforexmarket,

therupeeopenedat73.66againsttheUS dollar andwitnessed anintra-dayhighof73.54andalowof73.66.Thedomesticunitfinallyfinishedat73.55,registeringariseof21paiseoveritspreviousclose.

BRIEFLYGoldbondissueat`5,000Mumbai:The issueprice forthenext seriesof sovereigngoldbondshasbeenfixedatRs5,000pergramofgold,theReserveBankofIndiasaidinastatementonThursday.TheSovereign Gold BondScheme2020-21-Series IXwillbeopenforsubscriptionfromDecember28,2020toJanuary1,2021.

CentralBanktoexitJVNew Delhi: State-ownedCentral Bank of Indiawillexit housing finance jointventureby selling its entirestakeof over64per cent toCentrumHousing FinanceforRs160crore.

IL&FSgetsnodtosellChinaassetNew Delhi: IL&FS onThursdaysaidithasreceivedapproval fromJustice (retd)DK Jain,who is overseeingtheresolutionprocessofthegroup, forsaleof itsChineseroadassetChongqingYuheExpresswayCo(CYEC).

SebifinesNDTVpromotersNewDelhi:SebionThursdayimposed a total penalty ofRs 27 crore onNDTV pro-moters, Prannoy Roy andRadhika Roy, aswell as onRRPRHolding for violatingvarioussecuritiesnormsbyconcealing informationfromshareholders regard-ingcertainloanagreements.

ListingsonmobileboosterstogoMumbai:Withmobilenet-workboosters becomingamajorreasonforpoorservicequality, theDepartment ofTelecomhas asked onlinesellerstopulldownlistingsofsuchequipment, anofficialstatementsaidonThursday.

Fintechgroup’scodeofconductMumbai:AdayafterRBIrap,agroupingoffivefintechsonThursday cameoutwith acode of ethical conduct fordigital lendingwhichwillsafeguard consumer rightsandinterests.PTI

‘Housing sales: Festive boost inDec qtr, but Covid hit to pinch’Salesof residentialpropertiesareestimated togrow51percentacross sevenmajor cities inOctober-December, asagainst thepreviousquarter, on festivedemand, JLL India said

21,832units in housingsales during

December quarter asagainst 14,415units inJuly-September

48%drop in housingsales in 2020 to

74,451 units from143,923units fromprevious year asdemand slumped in allseven cities

InBengaluru, sales fell to10,440units in 2020 from26,453units last year

Chennai sales declined to6,983units from13,967units

Delhi-NCRdemanddipped to15,743units from29,010

InHyderabad, sales decline to9,926units from16,025

Kolkatawitnessed sharp fall indemand to2,568units from7,463units.

Mumbai sawhousing sales of19,545units in 2020asagainst 32,138units last year

Punewent down to9,246units from18,867units

Source: JLL India/PTI

51%improvement inresidential sales,with recovery evenlyspread among allseven cities

AlibabafounderJackMa.

Indexgains forthirdday inarowto46,973

47,10047,00046,90046,80046,70046,60046,50046,400

14:48PM47,052.67

46,743.49

46,973.54

Open Close

11:32AM 46,539.12

SENSEX

New virus strainfails to constrainSensex; Re up 21p

THEVODAFONEGroupretrospective taxationcasedatesback to2007whentheUPAgovern-menthadraisedan initialtaxdemandofRs7,990crore incapital gainsandwithholding taxagainstVodafoneGroupwhenthecompanyhadac-quired67percentofstake inHutchisonWhampoa for$11billion.

Casedatesbackto2007E●EX

PLAINED

Vodafonecase: Indiachallenges ruling

I

GOVERNMENT OF INDIADEPARTMENT OF SPACEConstruction & Maintenance Group,ISRO HQ, LPSC Campus, 80 Ft. Road,HAL II Stage, Bengaluru - 08Ph: 080-25037-387/193

Name of work Construction of Training Facilityat ISITE, Marathahalli,Bengaluru-Civil & PH Works

Tender Notice No. CMG/ISRO-HQ/C/C/11/2020-21Date: 24.12.2020

Estimated Cost Rs.1388.00 lakhsPeriod of Completion 4 (Four) Monthsin monthsPeriod during which From 18.10 Hrs on 24.12.2020the tender document To 23:59 Hrs on 02.01.2021can be downloadedLast date and time Up to 14:30 Hrs on 06.01.2021for receipt of tendersDue date and time 15:00 Hrs on 06.01.2021for opening of tendersInterested tenderers may please refer www.tenderwizard.com/ISRO Also detailed notice inviting tender (NIT) for eligiblecriteria and other details, which can be downloaded fromwebsite www.isro.gov.in

Sd/- Group Head CMG, ISRO HQ

BRIEF TENDER NOTICE

73.667573.5488

Open Close

RUPEE

TheIPOofMrsBectorsFoodSpecialtieswasforRs540croreandwassubscribed198.02times

BREXIT’S LONGSHADOWOVERUKMARKETSThe impact onUKfinancialmarkets of theBrexitvote andyears ofnegotiationshasbeenprofound

STOCKLAGGARDSUKdomestic-focusedcompanysharesareonlyuparound6.8%indollartermsfromearly-2016levelswhiletheFTSE100is4.5%lower—that’sagainstan80%gainfortheS&P500andanalmost60%riseforworldstocks

STERLING’SWILDRIDEThepoundhashadseveralbriefforaysbelow$1.20—its

lowestlevelsince1980

WEAKERFINANCESWithalargecurrentaccountdeficitanda

debt-to-GDPbeforeCovidabove80%,it isreliantoninternational investors’confidenceintheUKeconomySource:Reuters

■ The International TradeCommission (ITC) said thepost-2020Roxormodel didnot violate the “tradedress”of FCA’s JeepWrangler SUV.

‘NOTRADEDRESSVIOLATION’

US regulator allows M&M to sellnew Roxor models in Jeep case

China launches antitrust probeinto Alibaba over ‘monopoly’

GAINSFACTOREDINPOUND

▲ 1.3547 0.35%

DOWJONES

▲ 30,199.87 0.23%

Asof01:20pmEDT

Brexit deal fuelssterling, recoveryhopes propel stocks

New Delhi


THEWORLDWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

FRANCE

Elysee:MacronnolongershowsCovidsymptomsParis: French PresidentEmmanuel Macron isshowing nomore symp-toms of Covid-19, theElysee office said onThursday. Macron, 43,cannowendhis quaran-tine afterhe self-isolatedforsevendaysatthepres-idential retreat of LaLanterne, close to thePalace of Versailles, theofficesaidinastatement.Hehadtestedpositiveforthe coronavirus on Dec.17, prompting a track-and-trace effort acrossEuropefollowingnumer-ous meetings betweentheFrench leaderandEUheads of government inrecent days.Macron suf-fered headaches, a drycough and tiredness forseveraldays.REUTERS

MacrontestedpositiveforthecoronavirusonDecember17

TOPOFTHEWORLD

TUNISIA

20deadaftermigrantboatsinksAT LEAST 20 Africanmi-grants died when theirboat sank off Tunisia onThursday as they tried tocross theMediterraneanto the Italian island ofLampedusa, a Tunisiansecurity official said. Thecoastguard rescued fivepeopleandwassearchingfor about 20 others whowere still unaccountedfor, the official toldReuters. The coastlinenear the Tunisian portcityof Sfaxhasbecomeamajordeparturepointforpeople fleeing conflictandpoverty inAfricaandthe Middle East andsearching for a better lifeinEurope.REUTERS

AUSTRALIA

FBremovescelebritychef’spageforCovidconspiraciesFACEBOOK SAIDThursday it has removedthe page of Australiancelebritychefturnedcon-spiracy theorist PeteEvans for spreadingmis-informationaboutCovid-19, the tech giant’s latestmove to police false con-tentabout thepandemic.Evans, a former judge onprime time Australiancooking shows with alarge catalogue of cook-books,hasbecomeoneofthecountry’smostpromi-nentspreadersofbaselessclaimsquestioningCovid-19, calling it a “hoax” and“BS” to his millions offollowers.REUTERS

JOSEFFEDERMAN&JALALHASSANBETHLEHEM,DECEMBER24

BETHLEHEMONThursdayush-ered in Christmas Eve with astream of joyous marchingbands and the triumphant ar-rival of the top Catholic clergy-man in the Holy Land, but fewpeopleweretheretogreetthemas the coronavirus pandemicandastrictlockdowndampenedcelebrations in the traditionalbirthplaceof Jesus.Similarsubduedsceneswere

repeatedacrosstheworldasthefestive family gatherings andpacked prayers that typicallymark the holiday were scaledbackorcancelledaltogetherdue

to thecoronavirus.InBethlehem,officialstriedto

make themostoutof abadsitu-ation.“Christmasisaholidaythat

renews hope in the souls,” saidMayorAntonSalman.“Despitealltheobstaclesandchallengesdueto corona and due to the lack oftourism, thecityofBethlehemisstilllookingforwardtothefuturewithoptimism.”Raw,rainyweatheraddedto

the gloomy atmosphere, asdozensofpeoplegatheredinthecentralManger Square to greetLatin Patriarch PierbattistaPizzaballa.“Despitetherestrictionsand

limitationswewanttocelebrateasmuchaspossible,withfamily,community and joy,” saidPizzaballa, who was to lead asmallMidnightMass gatheringlaterintheevening.“Wewanttoofferhope.”Thousandsofforeignpilgrims

usuallyflocktoBethlehemforthecelebrations. But the closure ofIsrael’sinternationalairporttofor-eign tourists, along withPalestinian restrictions banningintercity travel in the areas theyadministerintheIsraeli-occupiedWestBank,keptvisitorsaway.Therestrictionslimitedatten-

dancetodozensof residentsandasmallentourageof religiousof-ficials. Evening celebrations,whenpilgrimsnormallycongre-gate around the Christmas tree,were cancelled, andMidnightMasswaslimitedtoclergy.The coronavirus has dealt a

heavy blow to Bethlehem’stourism sector, the lifeblood ofthe local economy. Restaurants,hotels and gift shops have beenshuttered.REUTERS

MARKLANDLER&STEPHENCASTLELONDON,DECEMBER24

BRITAINANDtheEuropeanUnionstruckahard-foughttradeagree-mentonThursday, settling abit-ter divorce that stretched overmore than fouryearsandsettingthetermsforapost-Brexit futureas close neighbours living apart,accordingtoBritishofficials.Thedeal,whichmustberat-

ifiedbytheBritishandEuropeanParliaments, came together inBrussels after 11 months ofgrindingnegotiations,culminat-ing in a last-minutehaggle overfishingrightsthatstretchedintoChristmas Eve, just a week be-foreayear-enddeadline.Despite running to thou-

sands of pages, the agreementleaves critical parts of the rela-tionship to beworked out later.Anditwillnotpreventsomedis-ruption to trade across theEnglishChannel,sinceBritishex-ports will still be subjected tosome border checks, addingcostsforcompaniesandcausingpotentialdelaysatports.But it is nonetheless a land-

mark in the long-runningBrexitdrama—thebookendtoBritain’sdeparturefromtheEUinJanuary

and ablueprint for howthe twosideswill coexist after severingdeep ties built upover a 47-yearrelationship. A failure to come totermscouldhave left BritainandtheEUinabitterstandoff.If approved, the agreement

would take effect on January 1,four-and-a-halfyearsafteranar-rowmajorityofBritonsvotedtoleave the European Union,plungingtheircountryintoran-corousdebateandpoliticaldivi-sionsoverhowtodo it.For Prime Minister Boris

Johnson of Britain, whowon alandslideelectionvictoryin2019

vowing to “get Brexit done,” thedeal allows him to fulfill thatpromise.Buttogetthere,Johnsonhad tomake significant conces-sions, especially on rules that

cover state aid tobusinesses andrightstofishinBritishwaters.Until the end of this year,

Britain had agreed to continueabidingbymost of the rules and

regulationsoftheEUwhilenego-tiators hashedoutnewarrange-ments to govern a vast cross-Channeltrade.GiventheEU’smuchgreater

size and economic muscle, itsnegotiators were able to insistthatBritainstayalignedwiththebloc insomecritical respects.Londonwillsubscribeto“level

playingfield”principles,whichareintendedtopreventBritishcom-paniesfromgaininganunfairad-vantageovertheirEuropeancom-petitors through state aid or byenjoying less strict environmen-talorlabourlaws.NYT

Breakthrough:UK,EUagreeBrexit tradedeal

YUBARAJGHIMIREKATHMANDU,DECEMBER24

CHINA’S AMBASSADOR toNepal,HouYanqi, onThursdaymet Pushpa Kamal Dahal‘Prachanda’, who parted wayswith Prime Minister K PSharmaOli followingthedisso-lution of Nepal’s Parliament.Hou, sources said, assured

PrachandathatChinawaswill-ing to work with the NepalCommunistParty faction ledbyhim“to furtherChina-Nepal re-lationsandNepal’sprosperity”.Her meeting with

Prachanda comes two days af-ter her meeting with NepalPresident Bidhya DeviBhandari.Previously, when Oli was

under pressure from his ownparty members, Hou had per-sonally intervened to ensurethat the Prime Minister re-mained in power.“Ambassadorof thePeople’s

RepublicofChinaHouYanqimetChairman of the NepalCommunistPartyPushpaKamalDahal ‘Prachanda’thismorning.They discussed the issues of bi-lateral concerns,”BishnuRijal, aleader close to the Prachandafaction tweeted.A number of political party

leadershadtermedtheChineseenvoy’s seriesofmeetingswiththe ruling party leaders as in-terference in Nepal’s internalpolitical affairs.The NCP and the Chinese

Communist Party had built a“fraternal relationship”. Global

Times,aChinesepaperreflectingtheviewsoftheCPC,hadbroughtout a report lastmonth that theoppositionNepali Congresswasinvolvedinfomentinganti-Chinasentiments inNepal.However, in a recent piece

in the wake of the split in theNCP, the paper said that Chinahadnopreference to anypolit-ical party, and that it wanted astable government inNepal.ItsaidChina’scooperationto

Nepalshouldnotbeseenas“in-terferenceinits internalaffairs”.Hou repeated nearly the

same sentiments during hermeeting with Prachanda, whois now the chairman aswell asthe leaderof theParliamentaryParty, afterhavingremovedOlifrom that position.

—WITHPTIINPUTS

MAGGIEHABERMAN&MICHAELSSCHMIDTDECEMBER24

US PRESIDENT Donald Trumpdoled out clemency to a newgroup of loyalists onWednesday, wiping away con-victionsandsentencesasheag-gressively employed his powerto override courts, juries andprosecutors to apply his ownstandardof justice forhis allies.Onerecipientofapardonwas

afamilymember,CharlesKushner,the fatherofhisson-in-law, JaredKushner. Twootherswhowerepardoneddeclined to cooperatewith prosecutors in connectionwith the special counsel’sRussiainvestigation: PaulManafort, his2016 campaign chairman, andRogerStone,hislongtimeinformaladviserandfriend.Theywere themost promi-

nentnamesinabatchof26par-dons and three commutationsdisclosedby theWhiteHouse.Also on the list released on

Wednesday was MargaretHunter, the estranged wife offormer Republican lawmakerDuncan Hunter. Both of themhadpleadedguilty tochargesofmisusing campaign funds forpersonalexpenses.Duncan Hunter was par-

donedby Trumpon Tuesday, aspartofafirstpre-Christmaswaveof grants of clemency to20 con-victs,morethanhalfofwhomdidnotmeettheJusticeDepartment

guidelines for consideration ofpardons or commutations. Theyincluded a former Blackwaterguard sentenced to life inprisonforhisroleinthekillingof17Iraqiciviliansin2007.Thepardons toManafortand

Stoneonthesamedaywillbepar-ticularly stinging for the former

special counsel RobertMuellerandhis team.Neitherman everfullycooperatedwithprosecutorsdespiteenteringguiltypleas,leav-ing investigators to believe thatprivatediscussionofpardonsandpublicstatementsbyTrumpmayhavecompromisedtheirabilitytouncoverthefacts.NYT

REUTERSWASHINGTON,DECEMBER24

US PRESIDENT Donald Trumpvetoedabipartisandefencepol-icyBillonWednesdayandraisedthe prospect that the UnitedStates could face a governmentshutdown during a pandemic,stirring new turmoil inWashington as he headed toFlorida forChristmas.Angry at his fellow

Republicans inCongress, Trumpsoughttorefashiontwocomplexpieces of legislation that passedCongressbywide,bipartisanmar-ginsaftermonthsofnegotiation.Trumpfollowedthroughona

threattovetothedefenceBillanddemandeddramaticchangestoa$2.3trillionpackagethatfundsthefederalgovernmentandprovidesnearly$900billionincoronavirusaid. If Trumpblocksthespendingpackage,largepartsoftheUSgov-ernmentcouldstarttoshutdownnextweek.HouseDemocratsonThursdaytriedtobringchangesto

Bill thatwouldincreasedirectaidpayments to $2,000perperson,aligningwithTrump’swishes,butmembers of Trump’s ownpartyblockedthateffort,worseningthedeadlock.Trumpsaidhevetoedthede-

fence policy Bill, which haspassedeveryyearsince1961,be-causeheobjectedtoliabilitypro-tectionsforsocialmediacompa-niesunrelatedtonationalsecurityanddidnotwanttorenamemil-itary bases that are currentlynamed for generalswho foughtfor the pro-slavery ConfederacyduringtheCivilWar.

AgreementmustberatifiedbyBritishandEuropeanparliaments;keydetails tobeworkedout later

Trump gives clemency to moreof his allies, including Manafort,Stone and Charles Kushner

(Clockwise fromleft)CharlesKushner, fatherof Trump’sson-in-lawJared;PaulManafort, Trump’s2016campaignchairman;andRogerStone,his longtimeadviserand friend.AP

Pardonsmostly just for friends

ITISnotunusualforUSPresidentstousetheirpardoningpowertowardtheendoftheirterm,andmanybeforeTrumphaveuseditnotjustincasessug-gestedbytheJusticeDepartment,butalsoforthebenefittheirownfriendsandallies.However,accordingtoan

expertquotedbytheNewYorkTimes,60outof65peoplepardonedbyTrumpbeforeWednesdayhavehadapersonalorpo-

liticaltietothePresident.SuchahighpercentageofpardonstoalliesisunprecedentedandhasattractedcriticismevenfrominsideTrump’sparty.

US Presidentwarns Iran ofretaliation afterattacks onembassy in Iraq

HELENECOOPERWASHINGTON,DECEMBER24

US PRESIDENT TrumpwarnedIran on Wednesday that hewouldholditaccountable“ifoneAmerican is killed” in rocket at-tacks in Iraq that theTrumpad-ministration andmilitary offi-cialsblamedonTehran.InaTwitterpostthatcameaf-

terameetingwithseniorofficials,Trumpsaid that Iranwasbehindrocket attacks on theAmericanEmbassy inBaghdadonSunday.“Some friendly health advice toIran,” Trump tweeted. “If oneAmericaniskilled,IwillholdIranresponsible.Thinkitover.”His post was followed by a

statement from US CentralCommand,which called the at-tacksthelargestinadecade.“TheDec. 20, 2020, rocket attack onthegreenzoneinIraqwasalmostcertainly conducted by anIranian-backed rogue militiagroup,” thestatementsaid.NYT

Trump vetoes defenceBill, raises prospect ofgovernment shutdown

TrumpisheadedtoFloridaforChristmas.Reuters

China envoy meets Prachandaamid political crisis in Nepal

MARKLANDLERLONDON,DECEMBER24

IT TOOK11gruelingmonths fornegotiatorsfromBritainandtheEuropeanUniontohammeroutthe terms of a post-Brexit tradedeal. But inmany respects, thedeal is already four and a halfyearsoutof date.Theworldhas changed radi-

callysinceJune2016,whenanar-rowmajorityof people inBritainvoted to leave the EuropeanUnion, temptedbyanargumentthatthecountrywouldprosperbythrowing off the bureaucraticshacklesofBrussels.In thosedays, thevisionof an

independentBritain—freetode-velopnext-generationindustrieslike artificial intelligence andcutits own tradedealswith theUS,Chinaandothers—wasanallur-ing pitch. TheBrexit buccaneersvowedtocreatea“GlobalBritain”.Thatwasbefore theanti-im-

migrantandanti-globalist-fuelledrise of US President Trumpandother populists leaders whoerectedbarriers to tradeand im-

migrationandcountriesturnedin-ward.Itwasbeforethecoronaviruspandemicexposedthevulnerabil-itiesoffar-flungsupplychains,fu-ellingcallstobringstrategicindus-tries back home and throwingglobalismintoretreat.Intheanxiousdawnof2021,

buccaneers are out of fashion.Theworld isnowdominatedbythree gargantuan economicblocs — the US, China and theEuropean Union. Britain has fi-nalised its divorce from one ofthem,leavingitisolatedatatimewhen the path forward seemsmoreperilous than itoncedid.While the deal averts tariffs

andquotasongoodscrossingtheEnglishChannel,itisatheartaboutdisentangling neighbourswhohad becomedeeply integratedoverdecades.Thatestrangement,analysts say, is bound toweakentiesbetweenthetwosidesinotherareas,likesecurityanddiplomacy.BritainhasalsopromoteditselfasachampionofdemocraticvaluesinplaceslikeHongKong,standingalongsidetheUS.Butinalesshos-pitableworld,itmaynotfindmanyalliesforthatkindofwork.NYT

Brexit is finally done, butthe world has changedsince the 2016 referendum

BritishPMBoris Johnson(left), aswellasEuropeanCommissionPresidentUrsulavonderLeyenandchiefBrexitnegotiatorMichelBarnierannouncedtheagreementof thetradedeal inpressconferences inLondonandBrussels respectively.Reuters

Wehave takenbackcontrol of our destiny.People said itwasimpossible, butwehavetakenback control...Wewill be an independentcoastal state.”

BORISJOHNSONBRITISHPRIMEMINISTER

Itwas a longandwindingroad.Butwehavegot agooddeal to show for it. Itis fair, it is a balanceddeal, and it is the rightand responsible thing todo for both sides.”

URSULAVONDERLEYENEUROPEANCOMMISSIONPRESIDENT

PRESSTRUSTOFINDIAKARACHI, DECEMBER24

INA surprisemove, a Pakistanicourt on Thursday ordered therelease of British-born al-Qaeda leader Ahmed OmarSaeed Sheikh and his threeaides,whowereconvictedandsentenced intheabductionandmurder case of US journalistDaniel Pearl.A two-judge bench of the

Sindh High Court, presidedover by Justice K K Agha, di-rected security agencies not tokeepSheikhandotheraccusedunder “any sort of detention”anddeclaredallnotificationsofthe Sindh government relatedto their detention “nulland void”.Thecourtobserved that the

four men’s detention was

“illegal”.In April, a two-judge Sindh

High Court bench commutedthe death sentence of 46-year-old Sheikh to seven years im-prisonment. The court also ac-quitted his three aides who

were serving life terms inthe case almost two decadesafter they were found guiltyand jailed.However, the Sindh govern-

ment refused to release themand kept them in detentionunder the Maintenance ofPublicOrder.Their continuousdetention

was challenged in the SindhHigh Court, which orderedtheir release.However, it askedtoplace theirnamesontheno-fly list so that they could notleave the country. It alsodirected them to appearbefore the court wheneversummoned.Pearl, the38-year-oldSouth

Asia bureau chief for TheWallStreet Journal, was abductedand beheadedwhile hewas inPakistan investigatingastory in2002 on the links between the

country's powerful spy agencyISI and al-Qaeda.A three-judge apex court

bench headed by JusticeMushirAlamishearing theap-peal by the Sindh governmentandthe familyof theslain jour-nalist against the acquittal ofSheikh.The US has been mounting

pressureonPakistan,demand-ing justice for Pearl.Pearl's murder took place

three years after Sheikh, alongwith Jaish-e-MohammadchiefMasood Azhar and MushtaqAhmedZargar,was releasedbyIndia in 1999 and given safepassage to Afghanistan in ex-change for the nearly 150 pas-sengers of hijacked IndianAirlinesFlight814.Hewasserv-ing a prison term in India forkidnappings of Westerntourists in the country.

Daniel Pearl killing: Pak court ordersrelease of Omar Sheikh, three others

Pearlwaskilled in2002

Israel imposingthird nationalCovid lockdown

MAAYANLUBELLJERUSALEM,DECEMBER24

ISRAELWILL impose a thirdna-tional lockdowntofightsurgingCovid-19 infections, PrimeMinister Benjamin NetanyahusaidonThursday,asthecountrypursuesavaccinationcampaign.The restrictions will come

into effect on Sunday eveningand last for 14 days, pending fi-nalcabinetapproval,astatementfromNetanyahu’soffice said.They include the closure of

shops, limited public transport,a partial shutdown of schoolsand a one-kilometre restrictionon travel fromhome, except forcommuting toworkplaces thatremain open, and to purchaseessential goods.REUTERS

Covid dampens Christmas joy in Bethlehem

APalestinianNational securityunit isdeployed inMangerSquare,adjacent totheChurchof theNativity, traditionallybelievedbyChristians tobethebirthplaceof JesusChrist, intheWestBankcityofBethlehemonWednesday.AP

New Delhi

EXPLAINED YOURMONEY

CORONAVIRUSDASHBOARD

A STUDY in Canada hasfound that women aresufferingmorethanmenduring the months ofCovid-19 isolation, withpoorer sleep andmoreanxiety, depression andtrauma, while also feel-ing more empatheticthanmen.ConductedbyUniversity of Calgary re-searchers with theHotchkiss Brain Institute, the studyhas been published in the journalFrontiers inGlobalWomen’sHealth.The findings are based on an on-

linesurveyof573Canadians(112men

and 459women, meanage25.9 years) betweenMarch23andJune7. Inastatement on the re-search, theUniversity ofCalgary saidmore than66%of thesurveypartic-ipants reported poorquality of sleep, morethan 39% reported in-creasedsymptomsof in-somnia,andanxietyand

distresswere increased in thewholesample. Sleep, depression and anxi-ety symptomsweremore prevalentinwomen.

Source:UniversityofCalgary

PAPERCLIP

NEWRESEARCH

Covid-19 isolation impactedwomen more, survey finds

INDIAACTIVECASES 283,849

INDIATOTALCASES : 10,123,778Source:MinistryofHealth&FamilyWelfare,updatedat11pmonDec24

Dec14 Dec24LAST 10 DAYS

360,000

310,000

260,000

KAUNAINSHERIFFMNEWDELHI,DECEMBER24

IN EMERGING information about the newvariantof thecoronavirusSARS-CoV-2circu-latingintheUK,onemutationhasbeenofpar-ticular concern. The variant, called VUI202012/01 and reported as being capable oftransmitting fasteramongpeople, isdefinedby asmany as 14mutations and three dele-tionsinitsgeneticmaterial.Ofparticularcon-cern isonemutation,N501Y.While thevari-ant’s potential to impact testing andvaccination results are still being studied,health authorities are largely optimistic thatmosttestsandvaccineswillstillwork.

Whatisamutation?Amutationmeansanalterationingenetic

material.InanRNAvirussuchasSARS-CoV-2,proteins aremade of a sequence of aminoacids.Suchaviruscontainssome30,000‘basepairs’,whicharelikebricksplacednexttoeachothertoformastructure.Analterationinthisbase canbeamutation, effectively changingtheshapeandbehaviourof thevirus.IntheUKvariant,onemutationhasmade

thevirusmorelikelytobindwithhumanpro-teinscalledreceptors.This iscalledN501Y.

WhatisN501Y?In simplewords, the amino acid repre-

sentedbytheletterN,andpresentatposition501 in thecoronavirusgenetic structure, hasbeen replaced in that positionwith anotheramino acid, represented by Y. The positionwherethisalterationhastakenplaceisinthespikeprotein’sreceptor-bindingdomain.(Itisthespikeproteinof thevirus thatbindswiththehumanreceptor.)Therefore,themutationhasincreasedthe

binding affinity of the coronavirus. Themu-tatedvirusreportedlyaccountsfor60%of re-cent infectionsinLondon.According to the Global Initiative on

SharingAvian InfluenzaData (GISAID) data-base,thesamemutationinthereceptorbind-ingdomainhasbeenindependentlyreportedinseveralcountriesincludingSouthAfricaandAustralia. Sequence analysis has shown thatthismutationoriginatedseparatelyintheUK

andSouthAfrica.

Whatabouttheothermutations?Mutationsarecommon,but themajority

ofthemcausenoalterationinthestructureofthe proteins they encode— these are called‘synonymous’mutations, as they eventuallytranslate to the same amino acids. Anothertype is ‘non-synonymous’mutation,whichcouldresult inanaminoacidchange.In the variant circulating in theUK, there

aresixsynonymousalterationsandfourteennon-synonymousmutations. In addition,there are three ‘deletions’— amino acids re-movedfromthesequence.AccordingtheWorldHealthOrganization

(WHO), other thanN501Y,mutations that“mayinfluencethetransmissibilityofthevirusinhumans”areP681HandHV69/70.

AndwhatareP681HandHV69/70?P681H:Thismutationhasoccurredinthe

aminoacidpresentat681—anotherpositionin the receptor-binding domain. Here theaminoacidPhasbeenreplacedwithH.TheUSCentersforDiseaseControl(CDC)hassaidthisisasite“withhighvariabilityincoronaviruses”,and this specificmutationhas also emerged

spontaneouslymultiple times.TheWHOhassaidthismutationisof“biologicalsignificance”.Researchers have earlier shown that this

mutationcanpromoteentryintorespiratoryepithelial cells and transmission in animalmodels.Recent samplessequencedat theAfrican

Centre of Excellence for Genomics ofInfectiousDiseases, Redeemer’s University,NigeriahasshowntheP681Hsequencethere.However,researcherssaythatatpresent,they“do not have evidence to indicate that theP681H variant is contributing to increasedtransmissionof thevirus inNigeria”.HV69/70:Thismutationistheresultofa

deletionofaminoacidsatpositions69and70.Thesepositionsareagaininthespikeproteinof thevirus. Thisdeletionhasbeenobservedin France and SouthAfrica aswell. The CDChassaid : “Thisdoubledeletionhasoccurredspontaneouslymany times, and likely leadsto a change in the shape of (i.e., a conforma-tionalchangein)thespikeprotein”.Researchers on behalf of COVID-19

Genomics ConsortiumUK (CoG-UK),whichred-flagged the newvariant in theUK, havesaidintheirpreliminaryreportthatthisdele-tionwas also seen in amink-associatedout-

break inDenmark. In humans, this deletionhas been associatedwith anothermutation,N439K,which again occurred the receptor-bindingdomain.TheWHOhashighlighted that this dele-

tion can affect the performance of someRT-PCRteststhatdetectthenovelcoronavirus.

HowcanitaffectRT-PCRtests?TheWHOhassaidthatthedeletionatpo-

sitions69/70hasbeenfoundtoaffecttheper-formanceofsomediagnosticPCRassaysthatuse an ‘S gene target’ (in the ‘S’ or spike pro-tein).However,theWHOhasalsosaid,“mostPCR assaysworldwide usemultiple targetsandthereforetheimpactofthevariantondi-agnosticsisnotanticipatedtobesignificant”.TheCDC,too,hassaidthatmostcommer-

cialPCRtestshavemultipletargetswheretheydetectthevirus,sothatevenifamutationim-pactsoneofthetargets,theotherPCRtargetswillstillwork.In fact, infection triggered by the new

strainintheUK,too,wasdetectedbythecon-ventionalRT-PCRtest.“Laboratories using in-house PCR assays

thattargettheSgeneof thevirusshouldalsobe aware of this potential issue. In order tolimittheimpactonthedetectioncapacitiesinthecountries,anapproachusingdifferentas-says in parallel ormultiplex assays targetingdifferentviralgenes isalso recommendedtoallow thedetection of potential arising vari-ants,” theWHOhadrecommended.

Willit impactvaccinedevelopment?TheCDChassaidvaccinesapprovedbythe

US Food andDrugAdministration (FDA) are“polyclonal”,producingantibodiesthattargetseveralpartsof thespikeprotein.“The viruswould likely need to accumu-

latemultiplemutations in the spike proteintoevadeimmunityinducedbyvaccinesorbynatural infection,” ithassaid.AndtheWHOhassaid:“Laboratorystud-

ies are ongoing to determinewhether thesevariantviruseshavedifferentbiologicalprop-erties or alter vaccine efficacy. There is notenough informationatpresent todetermineifthisvariantisassociatedwithanychangeinseverityofclinicaldisease,antibodyresponseorvaccineefficacy.”

17WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

ONDECEMBER18,PresidentXiJinpingastheChairmanofChina’sCentralMilitaryCommi-ssion(CMC)promotedfourofficerstothera-nkof General, includingGeneral ZhangXu-dong,thenewCommander,WesternTheatreCommand (WTC). GenZhanghas replacedGenZhaoZongqiwhoretiredatage65.TheWTC is a very important Theatre

strategically, being the largest of the fiveTheatreCommands. Itsareaofresponsibil-ity includes China’s two sensitive states,Tibet and Xinjiang, besides the completeborderwithIndia.TheWTCwascreatedby

amalgamating theerstwhileChengduandLanzhouMilitaryRegionsasasequeltotheprocessof ‘theaterisation’,partof thepath-breaking military reforms initiated byPresidentXi since2013.Given the ongoing standoff and tense

situation on the LAC in the Ladakh Sectorfor the last sevenmonths, there has beenspeculation on the significance of thechange of guard, particularlywith respectto the profile of the new incumbent, thetimingof theturnover, impactontheoper-ational situation, and prospects of break-through in thedeadlockednegotiations.

The new incumbentWhile General Zhao, a 1979 Vietnam

Warveteran,servedmostlyinTibet(includ-ingcommandofTibetMilitaryDistrictandGroup Army), General Zhang apparentlyhasnopreviousexperienceintheWesternTheatre. He commanded 79 Corps in theNorthernTheatreoppositetheRussianbor-derin2017-18,andisbelievedtobeamech-anisedwarfareexpert.General Zhang also served as Deputy

Commander of the CentralTheatreCommand,whichisre-sponsibleforthesecurityofthecapitalBeijing.HewasalsotheDeputy Commander of themega ceremonial Paradeheldin 2019 to commemorate the70thanniversaryofthefound-ingof thePeople’s Republic ofChina(PRC).Giventhefast-trackpromo-

tionsduringthelastfewyears,and the fact that he has as-sumedcommandofthestrate-gically important WTC at acomparativelyyoungageof58,GenZhangmustbeseenasarisingstar,andwellupwiththeCMC.WhereasGenZhaoisamemberof the19thCentralCommitteeoftheCommunistPartyofChina(CPC),theapexbodythatelectsmemberstotheall-powerfulPolitburo and CMC, Gen Zhang is not.However, it is customary for all seniormili-taryofficerstobemembersoftheCPC,asthePeople’s LiberationArmy is the armyof theChineseCommunistParty.

Timing of the changeGen Zhao had taken over

theWTC in 2016, and is be-lieved to have been the brainbehindtheDoklamstandoffin2017. Although due to retiretowards the middle of thisyear, hewas given an exten-sioninviewofthesituationonthe LAC. The timing of theturnover has been plannedwith due deliberation, as nomajoroperationsareexpectedduringwinter.GenZhangwill,therefore, get adequate timetosettledowninhisnewjob.

Impact on LAC situationAsthePLA’soperationsinLadakharebe-

ingoverseendirectlybytheCMC,notangiblechange is likely on the prevailing situationontheground.Also,alltheothercommand-ers in the WTC, including the PoliticalCommissar GenWu, CommanderGroundForcesLtGenXuQiling,CommanderPLAAirForceLtGenWangQiang,andCommander

SouthXinjiangMilitaryRegion(SXMR)MajGenLiuLin,whosetroopsareinvolvedinthecurrent incursions, remainthesame.Evenwithregardtothetalksonthedis-

engagement andde-escalationprocess, nobreakthroughisexpectedinthenearfuture,as thePLAcontinues to insist on the IndianArmypulling back from the Kailash Rangefirst,evenwhiletheChineseremainunwill-ingtodiscusstheDepsangSub-sectorwheretheyhavegainedsignificantadvantage.Maj Gen Liu Lin, who represents the

WTCat the Corps Commander-level talks,hadtakenovertheSXMRin2019afterserv-ingasitsChiefofStaff.Heiswellversedwithboth the operational dimensions and thecomplexitiesofthedisengagementprocess.Therefore, the current state of impasse isexpected tocontinue.

The big pictureThecommandtenuresinthePLAgener-

allyvaryfromthreetofouryearsandevenbe-yond,whichenablesthecommanderstoma-ke effective contributions in enhancing thecombat-readinessof theirunitsandformat-

ions.AsTheatrecommanders in thePLAre-port directly to theCMC,GenZhangwouldhavebeenassignedaclearmissionandtaskstobeachievedoverthenextcoupleofyears.PresidentXiastheCommander-in-Chief

hasgivenaclarioncall tothePLAtobeonaparwith theUSArmyby2027. In thecom-ingyear,theCPCwillbecelebratingitscen-tenary,whichwillbefollowedbythecrucial20thpartycongressin2022.Asthegeneralsecretary of the CPC, Xiwill be required toshowcasehisachievements.AstheCommanderofWTC,GenZhang

will thereforehavehis task cut out, andhecanbeexpected to sparenoeffort toprovehimself.TheIndianArmedForceswillhaveto continuously enhance their operationalpreparedness,besidesworkingtowardsre-mainingfullygearedtoeffectivelyrespondtoany futurechallengeandeventuality.

MajGen(retired) (Dr)GGDwivedi isaveteranofthe1971War;hehascommandedBattalions in

Siachen-Chushul, and formationson theLOC/LAC;andhas servedasDefenceAttachéChina

andNorthKorea

Mutated virus vs tests, vaccinesSIMPLYPUTQUESTION&ANSWER

Thecoronavirusvariantcirculating intheUKisdefinedbymanymutations.Whichonesareofparticularconcern?WhyhasWHOadvisedthat itmayevadesomePCRtests,andcanit impactvaccination?

Investors need not panic over Covid-19 news flows

@ieExplained#ExpressExplainedIf there are questions of current or contemporary relevance that youwould likeexplained, pleasewrite to [email protected] EXPLAINED

THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,DECEMBER25,2020

339,820

283,849

MajGen (Dr)GGDwivedi

ANEXPERTEXPLAINS

Gen.ZhangXudong.www.mod.gov.cn

NewChinese commander on LAC:what itmeans for standoff

Aphialof thePfizer-BioNTechvaccineatGuy’sHospital inLondon.While thevirushasmutated insomeareas,mostvaccines targetmultipleparts.AP

ASHARP1,400-pointfallinthestockmarketsonMondaybroughttotheforetheconcernsof investorsabouttheviruscontinuingtoex-ist aroundthemandat thesametimeaboutthe otherwise rising trend in themarkets.Although investors have been reaping thebenefitsoftherisingmarkets,therehasbeena bit of anxiety around a broader sense thatthemarkets are running ahead of broadereconomicfundamentals.Thefall inthemar-kets did not extend beyondMonday, how-

ever: stability returned quickly alongside afundflowbyforeignportfolio investors.While the fall was driven by concerns

around a new, more potent variant of thecoronavirus, investors must keep inmindthatsuchmutationsareonlytobeexpectedduring the courseof thepandemic, and it isimportant for themnot to panic.While daytradersneedtoreacttosuchnewsflowsandsquare off their positions or cut down theirlosses,thereisnosuchcompulsionforlong-termretail investors. Theyneed to justwaitout thatmarketvolatility.

Whywastherepanic?Thesharp37%fall intheSensexandNifty

between February 1 andMarch 23, 2020 isstill fresh in investors’ memory, and hencetherewillbeconcernsaroundanyfreshnewsaboutCovid-19oranewvirusstrainthatcanimpact our lives and hurt the economy,whichareotherwiseslowlyreturningtonor-

malcy.So,whennewsbrokeofthenewcoro-navirus variant and countries started an-nouncing travel restrictions to and fromBritain, the first reaction was one of fear,which ledtothesharpfall inthemarketsonMonday.Atonepoint, theSensexwasdownby over 2,000 points or 4.3% over Friday’sclosing, inlinewitha2-3%dropinEuropeanmarketsonMonday.Even as investors have been riding the

high tide, there is a feeling that themarketsare runningaheadof thebroadereconomicfundamentalsandtheGDPrecoveryisstillawork in progress. This has been keepingmany of them on the edge, and some areevengoingforprofitbooking.Thoughprofitbookingisagoodidea,investorsmustdothatonly if theywant togo forasset reallocationorwanttoutilisethemoneytomeetcertaingoalssuchasbuyingacarorahouse,orkids’higher education. Booking profits with theideaofre-enteringwhenthemarketisdown

maynotworkout.

So,howshouldyoutakethenewsaroundCovid?In February andMarch 2020, Covid-19

wasanewunknown.Asresearchstartedde-tailing the potency of the virus andmarketparticipants and investors started seeing itsimpact on human life, their livelihood andtheeconomy—includingtravelrestrictions,lockdowns, social distancing, closure of of-fices and near halt of industrial activitiesacross countries — themarkets started re-actingtoitmorevigorously.However,asthemonthsprogressed,theworldfoundawaytolivewith the virus, scientists developed atleast four vaccines (till date), economic ac-tivity resumed, andmarkets bouncedback.The excess liquidity in the global markets(initially meant to support the respectiveeconomiesunderduress)alsofounditswayinto stock markets worldwide and lifted

themhigherand faster thanexpected.Amid all the anxiety, the news of a new

more potent virus variant on MondaybroughtbackthememoriesofMarchandin-vestors pressed the panic button. It is, how-ever,importanttokeepinmindthatCovid-19oranewstrainisnolongeranunknown;wehaveallgonethroughthedrillandlearnedtolivewithitoverthelastninemonths.Sothereis no cause for pressing the panic button. Aretail investorneeds toanalyse thesituationcarefullybeforetakingacalltoexit,andevenbefore exiting, heor shemust figureout theoptions fordeployingthat fund.

Whyshouldyounotpanic?When indoubt, investors should simply

refertothetwobiggesteventsthatthemar-kets facedoverthelast12years—theglobalfinancial crisis in2008andthepandemic in2020. Both impacted the markets world-wide.If theimpactof theglobalfinancialcri-

siswas limited largely to the finance indus-tryglobally,thepandemiccontinuestohaveamuchdeeper impactandhashitevery lifeinsomewayor theother.Sowhatdotheseepisodestellus?During

the2008crisis, theSensexlost41%betweenSeptember 1 and October 27, but then re-gaineditsAugust2008closinglevelof14,500afterninemonthsi.einMay2009.Bytheendof December 2009, the Sensexwas up 20%overtheindexclosingvalueinAugust2008.Similarly,althoughtheSensexlostaround

37%betweenFebruary1andMarch23,2020,itregaineditsprevioushighlevel—over41,000in January 2020—aroundmid-November.Currently, theSensex is tradingat11%higherthanthehighsithadseeninJanuary2020.Investorsshouldalwaysrememberthese

twoeventsandtheirimpactonthemarkets.Shorttermcrasheventsdohaveabearingonday traders, but for retail investors, there isnoreasontopanic.

Sandeep Singh

Themarketcrashedearlier thisweekamidnewsaboutthenewvirusvariant.Butasthe2008financialcrisisandthispandemichaveshown,marketsdorecover

Note: TheDec23 figure in this graph isbasedon thegovernmentupdateonDec24

New Delhi

OFFICE OF THE ENGINEER-IN-CHIEF (CIVIL),ODISHA

NIRMAN SOUDHA, UNIT-V, BHUBANESWARINVITATIONS FOR BIDS (IFB)

File No-B-IV-H-(H&D)-31/2019 Lr. No. 41221 / Bhubaneswar, the 23rd Dec. 2020Invitation for Bids

Bid Identification No. E.I.C. (B) - 07/2020-21

Sd/-Engineer-in-Chief (Buildings)

Odisha, BhubaneswarOIPR-34117/11/0011/2021

B-565

1. The Chief Engineer (Buildings) Odisha, Bhubaneswar, on behalf ofGovernor of Odisha, invites percentage rate bids in double coversystem in ONLINE MODE only, for Construction of Building worksas detailed below.

2. Nature of work : Building works3. No. of work : 01 no.4. Bid Cost. : R 10,000/- (each)5. Class of Contractor : Super

6. Availability of Bid Documentsin the website

: From dt. 30.12.2020 to 17.00Hours of dt. 27.01.2021.

7. Date of Opening of Bid : Dt. 29.01.2021 at 11:30 AM.

8. The Bidders have to participate in ONLINE bidding only. Furtherdetails can be seen from the website: https://tendersodisha.gov.in.Any addendum / corrigendum / cancellation of tender can also beseen in the said website only.

STATE ELECTION COMMISSION HARYANANirvachan Sadan, Plot No. 2, Sector-17, Panchkula

Fax-0172-2585904, Telephone: 0172-2584810www.secharyana.gov.in

SHORT TERM TENDER FOR THEPRINTING OF BALLOT PAPERS

e-tenders are invited from the Security Presses approved byR.B.I./ I.B.A having their own Web Offset Printing Machine withprevious experience of printing of ballot papers for the printing ofabout 2 Crores and 1.5 lacs ballot papers in respect of Panchesand Members of Panchayat Samitis and Zila Parishads for thePanchayat General Elections to be held in the near future, thedetails of which can be seen in the terms and conditions of the ten-der form.

Tender Form can be downloaded from the e-ProcurementPortal i.e. https://etenders.hry.nic.in. The last date forsubmission/uploading of completed e-tenders will be 21.01.2021upto 11.00 A.M. The Technical Bids shall be opened in the pres-ence of tenderers or their authorised representative(s) at 11.30A.M. on the same day.

Any other information regarding tender and tender form can behad from the Superintendent, Panchayat Branch of the StateElection Commission Haryana on any working day during theoffice hours.

STATE ELECTION COMMISSION, HARYANA1087/4/HRY

Lett. No.: TS-MOD-83/2020 Dated- December, 17, 2020Re E-Tender Notice

Online E-bids of the following instrument for Forensic Science Laboratory, Agra U.P are invited fromeligible and registered Firms/Manufacturers/Authorized dealers by Superintendent of Police, SCRB UP,Lucknow. This Re-tender is in continuation of E-tender No. TS-MOD-83/2020 -

Bid documents are available on the website http://etender.up.nic.in, http://eprocure.gov.in andhttp://uppolice.gov.in from 29-12-2020 to 12-01-2021. E-Bids can be uploaded up to 12-01-2021 at12.00 noon. Technical bids will be opened on 12-01-2021 at 14.00 Hrs.All informations regarding E-Tender are available on website http://etender.up.nic.in,http://eprocure.gov.in and http://uppolice.gov.in.

UPID NO.158056 DATE-23.12.2020www.upgov.nic.in

Sd/-(Anil Kumar Singh)

Superintendent of Police,SCRB. UP. Lucknow

(Chairman- Purchase Committee)

´fbd»fÀf °fIY³feIYe ÀfZ½ffEa ¸fb£¹ff»f¹f CXØfSX ´fiQZVf, »fJ³fDY8½ffa °f»f MXf½fSX, ´fbd»fÀf ¸fb£¹ff»f¹f, A¸fSX VfWXeQ ´f±f, ¦fû¸f°fe³f¦fSX d½fÀ°ffSX »fJ³fDY-226002 e-mail: [email protected]

Tender No. Name of the Instrument Qty. EMD (in Rs.) Tender Cost with 18% GST (in Rs.) Period of Work1. TS-MOD-

83/2020PCR Machine 02 5500.00 1200.00 According to

Conditions

GOVERNMENT OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR

OFFICE OF THE MATERIALS MANAGEMENT (PURCHASE-1st)SHER-I-KASHMIR INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL

SCIENCES, SOURA, SRINAGARPhone No. Direct: 0194-2403929, (Telefax: 0194-2403929)

(Exchange: 0194-2401013 Ex. 2275)E-mail: [email protected]

Subject: Rectification of Typographical errorsRef: This office E-N.I.T. No. SIMS 325 (P 1st)

Drugs tender 07 of 2020 Dated: 12.12.2020In continuation to this office corrigendum issued

under No. SIMS 325 (P 1st) Drugs Tender 07 of2020-10159-10165, Dated: 22.12.2020 may readas under:

The typographical error occurred to the clause04 of check list is rectified to the extent: pleaseread “Scanned copies of Earnest Moneyequivalent of Rs. 1,00,000/- (One Lac) in theshape of CDR/FDR pledged to DirectorFinance SKIMS Soura Srinagar and TenderFee of Rs. 2,000/- (Two Thousand) in theshape of Bank Draft or Pay-in-slip CD-34 J&KBank SKIMS”, in place of Scanned copies ofEarnest money equivalent of Rs, 1,00,000/- (OneLac) for each group in the shape of CDR/FDRpledged to Director Finance SKIMS SouraSrinagar and Tender Fee of Rs. 2,000/- (TwoThousand) in the shape of Bank Draft or Pay-in-slip CD-34 J&K Bank SKIMS.

Sd/-Materials Management Officer,

Purchase-I, SKIMS.

No. SIMS-325-(P 1st) Drugs Tender07 of 2020-10204-210-5844-47Dated: 24.12.2020SIMS-5846

NOTICEBOARD CORPORATE ASSOCIATE DIARY A P P O I N T M E N T S , M O V E M E N T S , C E L E B R A T I O N S , H O N O U R S

E V E N T S , A N N O U N C E M E N T S , L A U N C H E S , C S R I N I T I A T I V E S , A P P O I N T M E N T S , M O V E M E N T S , C E L E B R A T I O N S

Two teams from NTECL-Vallur emerged as winner and runnerUp at the 4th edition of All India Management Association(AIMA) Young Managers Simulation (YMS) (2020).

AWARD – NTPC- VALLUR

POSOCO in association with FITT, the industrial interfaceorganization at IIT Delhi, has launched the 9th edition of thePOSOCO Power System Award 2021. PPSA seeks torecognize research in power systems & related fields in bothDoctoral/Master categories in all the technical institutionsoffering post-graduation in power systems in India. Fifteenawardees in the PPSA-Doctoral category will be awarded acash prize Rs.1,00,000/- for each shortlisted project alongwith certificates. Similarly, 15 awardees under PPSA-Mastercategory will be awarded with a cash prize of Rs. 40,000/- foreach shortlisted project along with certificates. The call forapplications is open from Dec. 10 – 31, 2020.

NLCIL AK Jain, Secretary to GoI, Ministry of Coal, visited theJoint Venture Power Project, NUPPL in Kanpur recently toreview the progress of the project, along with senior officials ofNLCIL & UPRVUNL. MP D S Bhole, MLA, Ghatampur, U NPaswan, A Tiwari, DM, Kanpur Nagar & Arunkumar, SDM werealso present on the occasion. The project progress wasreviewed at site along with R Kumar, CMD, NLCIL, S Pandian,MD, UPRVUNL, S John, Director, NLCIL & Mohan Reddy, MD,NUPPL. Secretary Coal also inaugurated the Gate complex ofthe NUPPL project.

IRCTC recently announced the launch of New Tourist Train,Jyotirling Yatra Ex Jalandhar on 27th Jan. 2021. In 7 Nights - 8Days tour, tourists will be visiting the tourists places likeMahakaleshwer Jyotirling, Omkareshwer Jyotirling, NageshwerJyotirling, Somnath Jyotirling, Dwarkadheesh Temple & Sab-armati Ashram. Interested tourists may opt SL Class packageat a Cost of Rs.7,560/- Per Person, whereas AC Class Packa-ge is open for the booking at a cost of Rs. 12,600/- per Person.

BHEL is organising a series of interactive workshops,titled ‘BHEL Samvaad’, under the guidance of theDepartment of Heavy Industry (DHI). The first in theseries of online workshops on collaborativemanufacturing was conducted recently that saw a cross-section of Indian Industries, Industrial houses andMSMEs coming together to dwell upon the next steps forincreased cooperation in indigenous manufacturing.Chaired by Arun Goel, Secretary (HI), the workshop wasattended by more than 80 participants, comprising seniorrepresentatives of Industry Chambers like CII, IEEMA,FICCI, PHDCCI, ASSOCHAM, etc., BHEL’s vendors, otherMSMEs, and other leading industries.

Tata Power-DDL is providing consultancy services toAfghanistan's national power Utility – Da AfghanistanBreshna Sherkat (DABS). DABS manages electric powergeneration, import, transmission and distributionthroughout Afghanistan. The program would help indeveloping the roadmap for an effective and reliabledistribution network in Afghanistan. Tata Power-DDL’ssupport towards capacity building and training of femaleengineers from Afghanistan’s National Power Utility hasbeen highlighted by the World Bank in its Blog -blogs.worldbank.org/

DoPPW In a major relief to all Central Govt Pensioners,DoPPW has extended the date of giving Annual LifeCertificate, which is mandatory for continuity of Pension,from November 30, 2020 to February 28, 2021. This wasin addition to Pensioners aged 80 years and above whohave been given an exclusive window from October 1onwards to give their Life Certificate and avoid the majorrush in the Pension Disbursing Banks from 1st Novemberonwards. The IPPB is now fulfilling the major initiative ofDoPPW, viz. DLC from Home by roping in 1,89,000Postmen & Gramin Dak Sevaks and obtaining Digital LifeCertificate from Home of Pensioners.

NBT India Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, Minister ofEducation, recently inaugurated the virtual edition of 9thInternational Adolescent Summit 2020: Life Skills, Health,Safety & School Wellbeing. The International AdolescentSummit is being held till 12 January 2021 on the virtualplatform, with various programs for all age-groups. Thefour-week event gives a chance to the students andteachers to interact with other schools from all over thecountry.

DS Mishra, Secy, MoHUA & K Rizvi, CMD, HUDCO signed aMoU in the presence of M. Nagaraj, Dir (Corp. Planning) & DGuhan, Dir. (Fin) for setting key targets for the financial year2020-21.

MOU - HUDCOSteel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan emphasized the role ofSAIL steel plants in Mission Purvodaya to drive develop-ment of eastern India, during his Durgapur and IISCO steelplant visit recently.

VISIT - SAIL

Minister of External Affairs, Dr. S Jaishankar & Youth Affairs &Sports Minister, Kiren Rijiju, laid the Foundation Stone ofSquash Courts at Major Dhyan Chand Stadium, Delhi, to beconstructed by NBCC.

FOUNDATION STONE – NBCC

NTPC has been conferred “Excellence” in CII-ITC Sus-tainability Awards 2020 in CSR Domain. The recogni-tion was received by DK Patel, Dir. (HR) in presence of ASThakur, MoS for Finance & Corporate Affairs.

AWARD - NTPCCanara Bank recently inaugurated “FRUITS”(FarmerRegistration and Unified Beneficiary Information Sys-tem) Portal, a project of e-Governance, Govt. of Kar-nataka at NABARD, Karnataka Regional Office.

INAUGURATION - CANARA BANKNBCC won "The Energy And Environment FoundationGlobal Green Building 2020" Award for Project “MahatmaGandhi International Conference Centre, Niamey, Niger”. RChaudhari, Dir. (Comm), NBCC, received the award.

AWARD - NBCC

The 63rd AGM of NAFED was held in New Delhi recently.Sanjeev Kumar Chadha, MD, tabled a brief of activities car-ried out by NAFED during 2019-20.

MEETING – NAFED

Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of PNG and Steel, inaugu-rated the new Lube Blending Plant at Kolkata recently, in thepresence of SM Vaidya, Chairman, IndianOil.

INAUGURATION - INDIANOILMinister for PNG & Steel Dharmendra Pradhan dedicatedthe 8th producing Basin of India, Bengal Basin, to the na-tion. He was joined by JS Mahato, MP, LS; S Shanker,CMD, ONGC and Directors of ONGC during the event.

DEDICATION - ONGC

GOVERNMENT OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR

OFFICE OF THE MATERIALS MANAGEMENT (PURCHASE-1st)SHER-I-KASHMIR INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL

SCIENCES, SOURA, SRINAGARPhone No. Direct: 0194-2403929, (Telefax: 0194-2403929)

(Exchange: 0194-2401013 Ex. 2275)E-mail: [email protected]

Subject:Technical & Financial/ BOQCorrigendum

Ref: This office E-N.I.T. No. SIMS 325 (P 1st)Drugs tender 07 of 2020 Dated: 12.12.2020

In continuation to this office corrigendum issued underNo. SIMS 325 (P 1st) Drugs Tender 07 of 2020-10159-10165, Dated: 22.12.2020 may read as under:Rectification of typographical errors/modifications:

Sd/-Materials Management Officer,

Purchase-I, SKIMS.

Sr. Item Group Incorporated RectifiedNo. Code in and to be

Corrigendum read as

01. SAAO-38 Group “A” Tab Anithymocye Inj.Sales Globulin 25 mg. Anithymocyte

Counter Globulin25 mg.

No. SIMS-325-(P 1st) Drugs Tender07 of 2020-10171-177-5841-43Dated: 23.12.2020SIMS-5843

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE EDUCATION AND RESEARCH PUNE(An Autonomous Institution of the Ministry of Education, Govt. of India)Dr. Homi Bhabha Road, Pune - 411 008 l www.iiserpune.ac.in

18 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,DECEMBER25,2020

New Delhi

19WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,DECEMBER25,2020

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SPORTWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

VISHALMENONDECEMBER24

THEMCGdoesnothavethenotoriousBay13anymore.Itwasdismantledandreplacedbyaglitzy state-of-the-art hospitality arena lastyear.Besides,thestadiumwillbeonlyupto30per cent fullwhen India take onAustralia inthesecondTestonSaturday.However,theim-posing1,00,000-seaterisacolossalamphithe-atreandplayingherecomeswithitsinherentchallenges. The intimidating size and over-whelmingpresencecanexposeeventhemi-nutestshortcomingsinaplayer.TheMCGhasrarelybeenahappyvisit for

tourists.Justtoputthingsinperspective,SouthAfrica in 2008, England in2010 and India in2018aretheonlythreevisitingteamstohavedefeatedAustraliaatthisvenuethiscentury.After theAdelaidehammering, India un-

derAjinkyaRahanecaneithergetintimidatedandcrumbleat this imposingvenue likesev-eralteamshaveinthepast.Ortheycanorches-trateastunningturnaround.Theycanseekin-spiration from their spirited all-roundperformancetwoyearsagothatvaultedthemtoaresoundingserieswin.In his pre-departure presser,whenKohli

was askedabout the challengesof playing inAustralia,hequipped:“Playing inhugestadi-umsandinfrontofsuchhugecrowdsisalwayschallenging.But if youdowellhere, youearntheirrespect,andthatissomethingthat’sreallysatisfyingforanycricketer.”FromMichaelAtherton toKLRahul, they

haveallbeensubjectedtorelentlesstauntsandavolleyofvitriolicabusefromtheMCGcrowd.Rahul,whomadehisTestdebutsixyearsago,has spoken indetail abouthis harrowingex-periencetobcci.tv.“The crowd is really against uswhenwe

playhere.Theylovetheircricket,butmakeourlives on the ground really hard. This iswhycricketinAustraliaissoexciting.WhenIplayedmy first Test inMelbourne, Iwas standing atdeepsquare-legboundary,andoneoftheguysinthecrowdasked:‘Mate,what’syourname?’Theysaidhelloandall, but in10seconds, thewhole section started chanting, ‘Rahul is awa&$#r’,”herecollects.Atherton, in an interview to The Times,

London, said: “Younever forget thecrowd. Inthe1990s,IplayedthreeTestsinfrontof80,000peopleandtheatmospherewasincredible.Asaplayer, itwas inspiring. It racks up tension,putsyouontheedgeandmakesyousharperand, ideally,better.”Thepandemic-forcedisolationisexpected

toaddpressureontheplayers.SteveSmithhasnotmetwifeDaniWillissinceAugust31,before

leavingforEnglandonawhite-balltour.FromtheretotheIPLandbackinAustralia,Smithhastravelled from one bubble to another.ChristmasDay, on the eveof theMelbourneTest,istraditionallyanoccasionwhenfamiliesof Australian players and coaching and sup-port staff get together for lunch after a brieftrainingsessioninthemorning.Notthisyear,thankstothepandemic.“It’sthefirsttimein50yearsI’vebeenwith-

outmy family (for Christmas),” head coachJustinLangersaid. “There’sanumberofplay-ersandthestaffwhoarewithoutfamiliesthisyear. It’soneofthesacrificeswehavetomakein2020.It’snotidealbutit iswhatit is.”Team India alsohas a lot to ponder. It ar-

rives at the hallowed turf on the back of acalamitousbatting implosionat theAdelaideOval.Trailing0-1,theywillbewithouttheirtal-ismanic captainVirat Kohli and senior pacerMohammedShami. Thedodgy formof theirbatsmenandvisionsof 36/9will add to theirplight.ButLangerandhistroopswon’t liketolettheirguarddown.“Indiahadthebetterofusreallyforthefirst

twodaysofthe(Adelaide)game,”Langersaid.“Wewere in for a real armwrestle of a Testmatch.So, itwasamazinghowthingsturnedaround.Weknowhowgooda team India is,we knowwe’ve got to keep improving,” theformer opener said. “We’ll have to startwellBoxingDaymorningand thenbe consistent,becauseweknowIndiawill fightback.”

MCGwill lookdifferent,with far fewerspectators,but Indiahas taskcutout

Tokyo-bound athletes, coaches should bepriority for vaccine: Parliament panel

(Myperspective)hasonlyshifted inthe last12monthssincethewholeBlackLivesMatterthingstartedtotakeoff. Iwasprobablysomeonewhohadmyheadinthesandalittlebit...That'sreallyopenedmyeyestothingsandissuesour Indigenouspeople,blackpeopleandpeopleofallsortofdifferentculturesgothrough.”

TIMPAINE,AUSTRALIACAPTAIN,ONTHEBLMMOVEMENT

CROSSWORD4311

ACROSS1 Onewould feelputout tobetreatedso(7)

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12 It soundshighlyunnatural (8)14 It is involvedwithaplanthat isflexible (6)

15 Tell astoryconcerning thedead?(6)

17 Changingtriangle formation(8)

18 Likeonewitha largeareaofland(4)

21 Adrinkingplace inpoint(3)

22 Realistic scienceexam(9)24 Backa favourite I’d foundnotsohot (5)

25 Makesone’sownwings?(7)

DOWN1 Writingdirections forexample(5)

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5 Estimatedvalue(8)

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13 Nothingdaunted, Iprintedadifferentversion(8)

14 Akeyplayer (7)16 Acapital rankArabshold(6)

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23 Onewhoconfronts thoseengaged inarow(3)

ARIES(Mar21-Apr20)Yourstarsbegintolooksimultaneouslymorerelaxedandmorepassionate,

whichmeansthatyoumaybepropelledhead-long intoaboutof sheerpleasure.Creativeactivitiesnowrequireboundlessenergyand limitlesscommitment. In fact, there'sroomfordeepsatisfaction ineventhedullestof duties.

TAURUS(Apr.21-May21)Theprospectof amoveofhomeorsomeothermajordomesticupheaval

mustnowlookmoreattractive.At thevery leastyoushouldbringasmuchcolour intoyourhomeandfamily lifeasyoupossiblycan.That'snomorethanyoudeserve.Plus,what'sgoodforyoucouldberightforeveryone.

GEMINI (May22- June21)It's decision time.Oris it? The fact is thatwhile youmaybepushed intomaking

a choice, probably anemotional one, it looks verycertain thatwhatever isagreednowwill be alteredagain nextmonth.Mind you,youwill very soonmakeunexpected gains in a personalarea. That's the goodnews.

CANCER(June22- July23)This is certainly araremoment ofpassion. If all is calmon the surface,

beware, for underneathyou're like a seething volcanowaiting to erupt. It seems thatyour emotional securityis at stake. You just need to feelthat you're appreciated.That's all.

LEO(July24-Aug.23)There'sa realplanetary traffic jaminyoursigntoday,withplanets

shufflinghere, thereandeverywhere.Youmaypermityourself aspellof confusion,andbyallmeanswallowinyouremotions. If thereareimportantmatters todealwith,call theexperts.

VIRGO(Aug.24-Sept.23)Onepositivewaytouseyourcurrentplanetaryenergy istodip intomystical

andspiritual realities,searching for thepatternunderlying yourday-to-dayaffairs. Somesortof selflessinvolvement inacharityorothernobleenterprise isnowincreasingly likely.

LIBRA(Sept.24-Oct.23)Everythinghingesaroundwhat friendsfeel, sayanddo.Thefact is, though, that

theymaybesayingonethinganddoingsomethingelse!Onewayor theother,yoursocialstarsare lookingmore intensethanatanytimesince lastyear.If there'sanychancethatyoucanhelpsoothea lovedone'snerves,pleasedoso.

SCORPIO(Oct.24-Nov.22)Theprofessionaldimension inyourhoroscope is lookingsostrongthat, if

you'reunhappyatwork, thepressure tochange jobs inmid-streammaybe irresistible. It'salsonowtimetoseekstatus inyourcommunity.Perhapsyou'llbe turningtheclockback,completingatask thatyoubegana longtimeago.

SAGITTARIUS(Nov.23-Dec.22)This isoneof thoseraremomentswhenyouall tooeasilygetstuck insomesortof

dogmaabout thewaypeopleshouldbehave. If youget tooupsetaboutrulesandarbitraryexpectations,you'llmissoutontherichnessofday-to-dayhumanexperience.You'll alsosacrificeapassingopportunity.

CAPRICORN(Dec.23- Jan.20)Theredoesnowseemtobesomesortof turningpoint inyour financialaffairs,

perhapsonewhichwill colouryourprosperity for theyears tocome.Don'tbeafraid to turntheclockback for, if you lay thepast torest, youwillbemuchbetteratdealingwiththepresent.

AQUARIUS(Jan.21-Feb.19)Youreallymustlistentootherpeople today,andevenbendover

backwards toseetheirpointsofview.Thismaygoagainst thegrain,but isagoodstrategybecauseyouneedto letpartnersget thingsoff theirchest.You'llbeable to taketheleadagainassoonas theairis cleared.

PISCES(Feb.20-Mar20)Busytimes lieahead.There isagreatdealofworktodo,andthatdoesn'tonly

refer topaidemployment.Relationshipshavetobeworkedataswell, andyoushouldremember that thebestpartnershipsmustbebasedongenuinelysharedactivitiesand interests.

SUDOKU4333

DifficultyLevel1sInstructionsTosolveaSudokupuzzle,everydigitfrom1to9mustappear ineachofthenineverticalcolumns, ineachoftheninehorizontalrowsandineachofthenineboxes.

DifficultyLevel1s=Veryeasy;2s=Easy;3s=Medium;4s=Hard;5s=VeryHard;6s=Genius S

OLU

TIONSUDOKU4332

Givenbelowarefour jumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemtotherespectivesquaresbelow.Selecttheletters intheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtogettheanswerforthegivenquip.To______istoseparatemoredistinctly,toconnectmoreclosely-HugoVonHofmannsthal(4,6)

SOLUTION:AERIE,COURT,MUSKEG,GROWTHAnswer:Togrowmatureistoseparatemoredistinctly,toconnectmoreclosely-HugoVonHofmannsthal

EIAER EGKSMU

CUORT HORTGW

SolutionsCrossword4310:Across:1Racecard,5Otic,9Lenin,10Minimum,11Masterstroke,13Icarus,14Pursue,17Heart-to-heart,20Unfrock,21There,22Palm,23Stiletto.Down:1Roll,2Cantata,3Construction,4Remark,6Tempo,7Competes,8Instrumental,12Highjump,15Serpent,16Pocket,18Awful,19Veto.

JUMBLEDWORDS

OVERTHEHEDGE byMichael Fry&TLewis

CALVIN&HOBBES byBillWatterson

MARVIN byTomArmstrong

DAYTODAY BYPETERVIDAL

MARY, CHRISTMASSix-timeworldchampionandOlympicmedallistMaryKomcelebratesChristmasEvewithfamily.RenukaPuri

PRESSTRUSTOFINDIANEWDELHI,DECEMBER24

APARLIAMENTARYpanelonThursdayrecom-mendedputtingathletes,coachesandsupportstaffgoingforthe2021TokyoOlympicsinthepriority group for theCOVID-19 vaccinationprocess. The committee also voiced concernoverlargenumberofvacanciesofcoaches,say-ing they shouldbe filledup in a time-boundmanner so thatOlympicpreparationsdonotsuffer.TheTokyoOlympics are slated tobeheld

fromJulynextyear.Thepanel has also recommended identi-

fyingtrainingfacilities, stadiaandsportscen-tresforOlympicqualifiedathleteswhichhavenot opened yet. It said the closed centresshouldbereopened"attheearliest"ortheath-letes shouldbe relocated toalternate centreswhichhaveopened.The department-related parliamentary

standing committee onEducation,Women,Children,YouthandSportsheadedbyVinayP

Sahasrabuddhe submitted its report on"Preparation for Olympics 2021" to RajyaSabhaChairpersonMVenkaiahNaiduthroughvirtualmode.The report saidmedical staff and other

medical equipment such as X-Ray andMRImachinesshouldbemadeavailablewithinse-lectSportsAuthorityof Indiaandothertrain-ingcentres."Thiswill ensure that athletesdonot lose

anytimefortreatmentandrecovery.Thiswillalso keep them from travelling to hospitalswhere the chances of contractingCOVIDarethehighest," itobserved.Thepanel pointedout that due to coron-

avirus-triggered lockdownandtravel restric-tions, therewas loss of international andna-tionalcompetitionexposurewhichhashugelyaffectedthetrainingof theathletes."The department and National Sports

Federationsmust ensure that players get anopportunity toplaymaximuminternationaltournamentsbeforethe2021Olympicgames."Internationalcompetitionsshouldbeac-

corded priority as they prepare athletes for

pressuresituationstheymayfindthemselvesinduringactualOlympics," itsaid.Thecommitteeobservedthattravellingto

farawaytournamentsisabigchallengeforath-letes. Countries suchas France andGermanythathosttournamentsathome,haveproducedmorechampions, itpointedout."Indiashouldhostmoreinternationaltour-

naments so that players can reduce travel tocollectmorepointsandmoveuptherankingladder. Also, a larger number of athletes canbenefit from the same amount that Indiaspendson sendingathletes abroad for expo-sure,"thereportobserved.The standing committee also recom-

mendedcreationof "bio-bubbles" intrainingfacilities so that "athletes canbe isolated in asecure environment and trainwithminimalpossibilityofbeinginfected."It proposed giving individualised pro-

grammestoathletescapableofreachingfinalsormedalhopefulsandalsoprovidingforsend-ingthemabroadassoonaspossibleina"bub-ble environment"where top scientific infra-structureisavailable.

Samering,unusualBoxingDay

ThoughtheMelbourneCricketGroundwillbeonlyupto30percent fullwhenIndia takeonAustralia inthesecondTestonSaturday,playingat the imposing1,00,000-seateramphitheatrecomeswith its inherentchallenges.AP File

Melbourne: Cricket Australia onThursday saidMelbourne has beenplacedonstandbytohostthethirdTestbetweenIndiaandAustraliaifSydney'sCOVID-19 situation renders it "unten-able"despiteeffortsbeingmadetocon-tinuewith the original schedule. ThefateofthethirdTesthasbeenshroudedinuncertaintysinceearlierthismonthafter a outbreak in the northernbeachesinSydney,whichisscheduledtohostthethirdTestfromJanuary7."CAhasreaffirmeditscommitment

togiving it thebest chance toplay thethird Vodafone Test at the SydneyCricket Ground and the fourthVodafoneTest at theGabbaasper theoriginalschedule,"CAsaid."ShouldthepublichealthsituationinNSWrenderplayinginSydneyuntenable,CA'spre-ferredcontingencyplanistoworkwiththeVictorianGovernment toplay thethirdVodafoneTest at theMelbourneCricketGroundfollowedbythefourthVodafoneTestattheGabba."A final decisionwould bemade

during theBoxingDayTest. PTI

MCG standby venuefor Sydney Test

New Delhi

VolLXXXIXNo.39Regd.No.DL-21046/03-05R.N.I.No.506/57. PrintedandPublishedbyR.C.MalhotraonbehalfofTheIndianExpress(P)LimitedandPrintedatTheIndianExpress(P)LimitedPress,A-8,Sector-7,Noida-201301andPublishedatTheIndianExpress(P)Limited,MezzanineFloor,ExpressBuilding,9&10,BahadurShahZafarMarg, NewDelhi-110002.Editorialoffice: TheIndianExpress(P)Limited,MezzanineFloor,ExpressBuilding,9&10,BahadurShahZafarMarg, NewDelhi-110002.Phone:0120-6651500.Advertisingoffice: TheIndianExpress(P)Limited,B1/B,Sector-10,Noida-201301.Phone:0120-6651291.ChairmanoftheBoard:ViveckGoenka,ChiefEditor:RajKamalJha,Editor:UnniRajenShanker,Editor(Delhi):RakeshSinha** **ResponsibleforselectionofNewsunderthePRBAct.Copyright: TheIndianExpress(P)Limited.Allrightsreserved.Reproductioninanymanner,electronicorotherwise,inwholeorinpart,withoutpriorwrittenpermissionisprohibited.TheIndianExpress®

If COVID-19 impactsschedule, BCCI tocompensate playersEXPRESSNEWSSERVICEKOLKATA,DECEMBER24

THEBCCI has decided to compensate crick-etersif itfailstoholdanyotherdomestictour-namentotherthantheSyedMushtaqAliT20TrophyduetotheongoingCovidsituation inIndia.ThiswasdecidedattheAnnualGeneralMeetinginAhmedabadonThursday.Thisinitiativeisexpectedtobenefitmore

thanathousandmenandwomencricketers.TheBoard,however,hasn’truledoutthepos-sibility of holding the Ranji Trophy or theVijayHazareTrophyandwill takeacalldur-ingoraftertheSyedMushtaqAliT20tourna-ment tobeplayed fromJanuary10-31.“Weare still veryoptimistic abouthold-

ing the Ranji Trophy.Members agreed thatitisveryimportant.Butif theCovidsituationworsens, then theVijayHazareTrophy (50-overformat)couldbetheeasieroptionratherthanholding four-daymatches. But thedo-mesticplayerswillbecompensatedif there’sno other domestic tournament apart fromthe SyedMushtaq Ali Trophy,” SaurashtraCricket Association (SCA) president JaydevShah, who attended themeeting, told TheIndianExpress.AspertheBCCIpressrelease,thegeneral

body decided to “form aworking group inorder to compensate the players,match of-ficials and others involved in cricketing ac-tivity if they are not able to participate dueto cancellation of cricketmatches/tourna-ments owing to COVID-19”. The women’sdomesticmatchesandmen’s juniorcricket,it is learnt, would be played during the IPL,fromMayonwards.

10 IPL teams from2022The AGM also authorised the IPL

GoverningCounciltoincludeupto10teamsin the IndianPremierLeague. “Giventhe lo-gistical challenges and also an increasednumber ofmatches in themiddle of a pan-demic,we are likely to expand the IPL from2022. Themembers agreed in principle asregardstotheIPL’sexpansiontocatertoandcreate awider talent pool,” said a BCCI offi-cial.

T20World Cup taxmattersTo ensure that the next ICC T20World

CupisplayedinIndia inOctober-November2021, the BCCI would bear the tax liability,

whichcangoupto$124million,accordingtotheAGMpapers.As per the host agreement, the BCCI is

“obligated to” deliver the InternationalCricketCouncil(ICC)afulltaxexemptionforhostingtheWorldCup.Else,thetournamentwill move out to the United Arab Emirates,or the ICCwill debitmoney fromthe Indianboard’s revenue share. The game’s globalbodyhassetDecember31asthedeadlineinthis regard.“Our revenue share fromthe ICC is $390

million. Ifwefail todelivera full taxexemp-tion, then a little over $100millionwill goaway from our share over twoWorld Cups(2021 T20World Cup and 2023 50-overWorld Cup). The office-bearers asked themembers if wewanted to host or not.Wesaidwewanttohost,”theSCApresidenttoldthispaper.TheBCCIisstillnegotiatingwiththegov-

ernment for taxexemption.

Cricket in OlympicsThe BCCI is not averse to cricket’s inclu-

sion in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, butthe members want certain clarificationsfromthe ICCbefore takinga finaldecision.TheAGMalsodecidedtoincreasethere-

tirementagefordomesticmatchofficialsandscorers from 55 to 60, while raising the in-surance cover for retired First-Class crick-eters to Rs 10 lakh. Rajeev Shukla has beenelectedBCCIvice-president.

Former Indiamediumpacer ChetanSharmawillbethenewchiefselectorafterhewaspicked for the senior se-lectionpanelonThursday,alongwithAbey Kuruvilla and DebashishMohanty(bothex-Indiaseamers),bytheCricketAdvisoryCommittee(CAC)comprisingMadan Lal, Rudra PratapSinghandSulakshanaNaik.The new selectors will join Sunil

JoshiandHarvinderSinghinthepanelandSharma,whohasplayed23Testsand65ODIs,will be thechairmanbyvirtueof thenumberof Testsplayed.

ENS

Chetan Sharma newchairman of selectors

With the ongoing festiveseason inching closerto the year-end festivi-

ties, two big celebrations are onthe cards for many on the occa-sion of Christmas and New Year.Christmas celebrates the birth ofJesus whom Christians believe isthe Son of God.Celebrated acrossthe globe by Christians and non-Christians alike,Christmas is“oneof the most important days of theyear for Christians, along withEaster when the death and res-urrection of Jesus are observed.”The traditions of celebratingChristmas differ from country tocountry,but they nearly always in-clude “a feast, giving gifts orcards, and enjoying church orpublic festivities such as singingChristmas carols and songs.Santa Clause is a tradition inmany countries of the world.”

Since every festival in India iscelebrated with great pomp andshow, Christmas is no exception.It’s a festival that spreads themessage of brotherhood and loveand is celebrated across the soci-ety with great merriment. On thisday, people visit churches andcathedrals that are embellishedwith flowers, colourful lights andother decorations. Folks sendChristmas greetings to theirfriends and families in farawayplaces. People decorate theirhomes to the hilt with Christmastrees, wreathes with bright reddecorative bulbs, bells and othersmall trinkets.People hang beauti-

ful star-shaped paper lamps ofvarious colours and sizes out-side their homes.

And when it comes to cele-brating festivals, one automati-cally turns to shopping. Duringthis hugely popular festival,shops and bazaars are deckedup to do good business by offer-ing mega discounts and offers.Generally, markets are jam-packed with huge crowd as peo-ple scurry to buy new clothes,gifts (exchanging gifts is an age-old Christmas practice and peo-ple choose gifts for their lovedones with great thought and af-fection), a variety of things tocook, Christmas decorations,among other things. In the midstof celebrations, don’t becomelackadaisical and do followCOVID-19 precautionary andpreventive measures to have aworry-free Christmas celebra-tions this year.

Christmas is all aboutcelebrating brotherhoodThis is a festival that is celebrated across theglobe with a lot of cheerfulness and festivities

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MIHIR VASAVDADECEMBER 24

WHILE RENOUNCING his membershipwith the Delhi and District CricketAssociation and asking for the removal ofhis name froma stand at Feroz ShahKotlaStadium, former India captain BishanSingh Bedi lamented that India does nothonour its sportspersons the samewayasrest of theworld.Nearlyall greatvenues in theworldho-

noureminent sportspersons inwayoneoranother. In India, though, cricket stadiumsarenamedaftereveryoneexceptcricketersandahandful arenamedafterheroes fromother sports.

Politicians

9 number of stadiums named after for-merPrimeMinister JawaharlalNehru.Of them, 8 - New Delhi, Chennai, Kochi,Indore, Guwahati, Margao, Pune andGhaziabad–havehosteddomestic and in-ternational cricketmatches.

3number of arenas named after IndiraGandhi (Guwahati, New Delhi andVijayawada)andRajivGandhi (Hyderabad,Dehradun andKochi).

■When India hosted the 2017 under-17 football World Cup, four out of the sixvenuesusedwerenamedafter theNehru-Gandhi family – the Nehru stadiums inKochi, Delhi and Margao, along with theIndiraGandhiStadiuminGuwahati,whichis one of the three stadia named after theformer PrimeMinister.

■A life-size portrait of RajivGandhi inhis cricket gear hangs at the entrance ofthestadiumnamedafter the formerPrimeMinister in Hyderabad.

2number of grounds named after AtalBihariVajpayee (NadaunandLucknow)andSardarPatel (ValsadandAhmedabad)each.

■TheFerozShahKotlaStadiuminNewDelhi was renamed Arun Jaitley Stadiumlast year.

■Kozhikode'sEMSStadium,whichhashosted 1987 Nehru Cup and is home to I-League sideGokulamKerala, is namedaf-ter communist leader and first chief min-ister of Kerala, EMSNamboodiripad.

Administrators

4number of stadiums that get theirnames from cricket administrators;Chennai’sMAChidambaram,Bengaluru'sChinnaswamy, Mohali's IS Bindra andMumbai's Wankhede stadiums get theirnames from the eponymous former pres-idents of the cricket board.

Other personalities■Thereare stadiumswhichhave links

with the British Raj. The iconic EdenGardens derives its name from the sistersof the former Governor-General of IndiaLord Auckland, Emily and Fanny Eden.Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium, mean-while, named after the then BombayGovernor, Lord Brabourne.

2number of venues named after musicmaestros: Guwahati’s Dr BhupenHazarika Cricket Stadium and Delhi’smulti-purpose Thyagaraj Stadium, whichis dedicated to Carnatic composerTyagaraja.

1number of stadium that gets its namefrom an executive: Jamshedpur’sKeenanStadium,which isnamedafter the

formergeneralmanagerof TataSteel, JohnLawrence Keenan.

Sportspersons

0number of cricket stadiums that arenamed after a cricketer.■ There are,

however, twocricket grounds thathonour hockey leg-ends – Lucknow’sKD Singh ‘Babu’Stadium andCaptain Roop SinghStadium in Gwalior,the venue whereSachin Tendulkarbecamethe first cricketer to scoreadoublecentury in ODIs.

2numberof hockeystadiumsnamedaf-ter Major Dhyan Chand, in New Delhiand Lucknow.

1numberof football stadiumnamedaf-ter a footballer, the BhaichungStadium inNamchi, Sikkim.

Politicians, officials, musicians... everyone but cricketers

NewDelhi’s JawaharlalNehruStadium,whichhostedthe2010CommonwealthGamesopeningandclosingceremonies, isoneofninevenuesnamedafter theformerPrimeMinister. Express file

SPORT21 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,DECEMBER25,2020

CavanifiresManUtdintoLeagueCupsemisLondon:ManchesterUnitedleftitlatetobooktheirplaceintheLeagueCupsemi-finalswitha2-0winatEverton,whileTottenhamjoinedtheminthelastfourafterbeatingStoke3-1onWednesday.OleGunnarSolskjaer'ssidedominatedforlongperiodsoftheirquarter-finalatGoodisonPark,butittookuntilthe88thminutebeforeEdinsonCavanibrokethedeadlock. Anthony Martial baggedUnited's secondgoal instoppagetime.ForTottenham,Wales forwardGarethBalemadethemostofararestarttoputthe teamahead but Alli was at faultwhenhis flamboyant flickwas inter-cepted in the build-up to JordanThompson's equaliser for Stoke. BenDaviesputTottenhambackinfrontwithhisfirstgoalsince2017beforeEnglandcaptainHarryKanesealedSpurs'placeinthesemi-finals. AFP

RealwinfiveonthebouncetogojointtopMadrid: A towering header fromCasemiro and an added-time strikefromKarimBenzemasawRealMadridbeat a stubbornGranada side 2-0 athomeonWednesday tonotch a fifthconsecutiveLaLigavictoryandgolevelonpointswithleadersAtleticoMadrid.Real have 32 points from 15 gamesheading into a seven-daybreak frommatches,levelwithAtleticowhoaretopongoaldifferenceandhavetwogamesinhand.

Sun'sdopingbanreferredbacktoCASChineseswimmerSunYanghashadhiseight-yearbanfordopingviolationsre-ferredback to theCourtof Arbitrationfor Sport (CAS) after theSwiss FederalSupreme Court upheld his appealagainst thebanon thegroundsof biasbyoneof theCASpanel. Thedecisioncouldpotentiallyclear thewayforSuntocompeteatnextyear’sdelayedTokyoOlympics,dependingonwhenthecaseisheard.SunwasbannedforeightyearsbyCASinFebruaryafter itacceptedanappeal from theWorld Anti-DopingAgency (WADA)against adecisionbyswimminggoverningbodyFINAtoclearhimofwrongdoingforhisconductdur-inga2018test. REUTERS

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CHRISTMAS is one such festival that transcendscommunities and unites them in one globalcelebration. Observed with much gusto

among people of all faith,Christmas is a hugely pop-ular festival across the globe. On Christmas, peoplethrong to churches and cathedrals in scores to attendprayers and Mass. On this day, people from othercommunities too visit churches to pay their obeisanceto Jesus Christ.

Christmas represents a great way to develop bondsbetween people in a society. Since there is an under-lying feeling of family that comes with celebratingthis festival, people always seem to bond well duringChristmas.This is just one of the things that is an in-trinsic part of Christmas that can help build support forone another.

The season of preparing for Christmas is called Ad-vent and begins on a Sunday about four weeks beforeChristmas. The Christmas Season (called Christmas-tide) ends 6 January or theTwelfth Day after Christmas,

in which Epiphany is remembered. In many coun-tries,“the season for retail stores to sell gifts, food,greeting cards, Christmas trees, and decorationsbegins almost a month before the Christmas Day.”

Being a cultural festival, preparations for Christ-mas start early for most people so that celebrations be-gin on the eve of Christmas.People usually buy deco-rations, food, and gifts mostly for children in thefamily and friends. Some families shop for matchingChristmas outfits for everyone.“The common prepa-rations include decorations of the place with Christmastrees, lighting. Before decorations begin, the housemust be deep cleaned.The Christmas tree brings theChristmas spirit in homes.”

The traditions of celebrating Christmas differ fromcountry to country, but they nearly always include“afeast, giving gifts or cards, and enjoying church orpublic festivities such as singing Christmas carolsand songs. Santa Claus is a tradition in many coun-tries of the world.”

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