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In setback for Prez Trump,Louisiana re-electsDemocratic gov Edwards

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JMM’s Hemant Sorensays allies are desertingBJP as a ‘sinking ship’

NATION | Jharkhand

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THE ASIAN AGENEW DELHI MONDAY 18 NOVEMBER 2019

Yami Gautam’sversatility is gettingnoticed

Max: 29OCMin: 16OCRH: 45%Rainfall: Nil

Forecast: Strong winds

WINDOWS

WEATHER

ASTROGUIDE

Jammu: A soldier was killedand two more were injured

in a suspected IED blastnear the Line of Control in

Akhnoor sector here onSunday, a defence

spokesperson said. Theexplosion took place when

an Army team was on a rou-tine patrolling duty in thePallanwalla area, he said.The official identified the

deceased soldier asHavaldar Santosh Kumar, aresident of Pura Bhadauria

village near Agra. Full report on Page 4

Former Australian PM TonyAbbott pays his respects atthe Golden Temple inAmritsar on Sunday. — AFP

Vikari: DakshinayanaTithi: Kartika Bahula Shasti till

5.06 pmStar: Pushyami till 10.17 pm

Varjyam: 6.43 am to 8.16 amDurmuhurtam: 12.23 pm to

1.08 pm and 2.37 pm to 3.22 pm

Rahukalam: 7.30 am to 9 am

SUNSET TODAY 5.27 PMSUNRISE TOMORROW 6.46 AMMOONRISE TOMORROW 9.41 PM

MOONSET TODAY 11.52 AM

Soldier killed in IED blast near

LoC in Akhnoor

Islamabad: Former PakistanPrime Minister Nawaz Sharif

will leave for the UnitedKingdom on Tuesday, daysafter the Lahore high court

ordered to remove hisname from the travel ban

list. Sharif would depart toLondon via an air ambu-

lance of Qatar Airlines on Tuesday.

Sharif will leavefor UK tomorrow

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia onSunday put a value of up to $1.71 trillion on energy

giant Aramco in what couldbe the world’s biggest IPO,

but missed Crown PrinceMohammed bin Salman’s

initial target of $2 trillion.Full report on Page 9

Aramco declares$1.71tn valuation

COUNTERPOINT

RNI No. 57290/94, Regd No: DL-SW-05/4189/15-17 Vol. 26 No. 272 | 32 PAGES | `5.00

25

■ Citizenship Bill to be moved ■ Let Farooq, PC attend: Opp.

AGE CORRESPONDENTNEW DELHI, NOV. 17

With the Oppositionpreparing to corner thegovernment over the eco-nomic slowdown, jobless-ness and farmers’ dis-tress, among other issues,Prime Minister NarendraModi pledged on the eve ofthe Winter Session start-ing Monday that the gov-ernment was ready to dis-cuss all issues on the floorof the House. Also, theRajya Sabha will be cele-brating its 250th session.

A series of meetingstook place on Sunday,which also included anall-party meeting calledby the government and ameeting of the rulingNDA, that the PM hailedas an alliance represent-ing “India’s diversity andthe aspirations of 130crore Indians”. The BJP’soldest ally, the Shiv Sena,was incidentally missingfrom the NDA meet as thetwo parted ways over thechief minister’s post inMaharashtra.

The Winter Session,starting two weeks afterthe Supreme Court’s land-mark judgment on thecenturies-old RamJ a n m a b h o o m i - B a b r iMasjid dispute, is likely tosee the government’smanagers trying to pushthrough some key bills,including the controver-sial Citizenship(Amendment) Bill.

“Attended the all-partymeeting earlier today.This time, we mark the250th session of the RajyaSabha. In both Houses, weshall have constructivedebates on ways toempower citizens and fur-ther India’s develop-ment,” the PM tweeted onSunday.

At the all-party meetingconvened by the govern-

ment on Sunday morning,Mr Modi said the mostimportant job of theHouse was to discuss anddebate and this sessionshould also be as produc-tive as the last one. Healso emphasised that the250th session of the UpperHouse “provided a uniqueopportunity for highlight-ing the unique strengthsof the Indian Parliament

as well as the IndianConstitution, in providingan overarching frame-work of governance insti-tutions for a diverse coun-try like India”. He alsosaid the session was beingheld as India was celebrat-ing the 150th birthanniversary of MahatmaGandhi.

However, someOpposition MPs demand-

ed that fellow MP andNational Conference pres-ident Farooq Abdullah,who is under detention inJammu and Kashmir,should be allowed toattend the House. Thegovernment, sources said,gave no definite responseon this matter. FormerJammu and Kashmirchief minister Farooq■ Turn to Page 4

Opp. will corner govt onslowdown, farm issues

AGE CORRESPONDENTNEW DELHI, NOV. 17

The controversialCitizenship (Amen-dment) Bill and the lawprohibiting electroniccigarettes are among the27 new bills that the gov-ernment plans to bringin the Winter Session ofParliament whichbegins on Monday.

In addition, the govern-ment will try to getpassed 13 bills that arepending in the twoHouses.

Parliamentary affairsminister Pralhad Joshisaid on Sunday thatwhile 27 bills will betaken up for introduc-

tion, consideration andpassing, two bills arepending in the LokSabha and 10 in theRajya Sabha. Besides,one financial item relat-ing to the first batch ofsupplementary demandsfor grants for 2019-20 toowill be discussed andpassed during the ses-sion.

Out of the new bills,two will replace existingordinances on theProhibition of ElectronicCigarettes and Taxationof Law (Amendment) oncorporate tax rate cuts.Both have to be passedduring the WinterSession.

■ More on Page 3

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Congress leaderGhulam Nabi Azad, parliamentary affairs ministerPrahlad Joshi and home minister Amit Shah during anall-party meeting in New Delhi on Sunday.

— PRITAM BANDYOPADHYAY

27 bills listed in session,2 to replace ordinances

AGE CORRESPONDENTNEW DELHI, NOV. 17

The separation betweenthe BJP and the Shiv Senahas now reached theParliament. Shiv SenaMPs are being allottedseats on the Oppositionside in both Houses ofParliament as its ministerhas resigned and the partyis working out an alliancewith the Congress andNCP to form governmentin Maharashtra, parlia-mentary affairs ministerPralhad Joshi said onSunday.

Mr Patel said, “ShivSena’s minister hasresigned from the NDAgovernment. They are notattending today’s NDAmeeting and working outan alliance with theCongress and the NCP. Soit is natural that they willbe allotted seats on theOpposition side.” ShivSena’s lone minister inthe Modi government,Arvind Sawant, hadresigned on November 11.

■ More on Page 3

Sena MPs tosit with Opp.after walkingout of NDA

MANOJ ANANDGUWAHATI, NOV. 17

The Asom SongramiMancha, a platform ofcivil society leaders andactivists, has threatenedthat the ruling BJP willface a movement biggerthan the 1980s’ Assam stu-dents’ agitation if itpushed the Citizenship(Amendment) Bill inParliament.

A day before the WinterSession of Parliament isgoing to start, Morchaexecutive president AdipPhukan said:“Irrespective of our differ-ences in ideology, the civilsociety organisations andvarious unions from

across the state will standunited against theCentre’s move to pass thebill. The BJP will face thebiggest mass movementafter the Assam agita-tion.”

The BJP-led Central gov-ernment is set to intro-duce a new version of the

bill — a key BJP promiseaimed at granting citizen-ship to persecuted non-Muslims fromBangladesh, Pakistan andAfghanistan.

The AASU-led Assamagitation was a massmovement against theinflux of foreigners, espe-cially from neighbouringBangladesh. It started in1979 and ended with sign-ing of the Assam Accordin 1985.

Saying that the BJP hadpromised to grant citizen-ship to lakhs of infiltra-tors, specifically Hindus,in the name of religiouspersecution of refugees,Mr Phukan alleged thatthe BJP was trying to

recognise Hindumigrants, who enteredAssam to grab land and toavail of economic oppor-tunities, as refugees. “Ifthe infiltrators wererefugees, the BJP shouldalso make their namespublic and point out thecamps in which they wereaccommodated,” MrPhukan said.

He claimed chief minis-ter Sarbananda Sonowaland his deputy HimantaBiswa Sarma were mis-leading the people ofAssam to remain in thegood books of the RSS andthe BJP leadership inNew Delhi. Mr Phukanwent on to claim that the■ Turn to Page 4

AMAL JAYASINGHECOLOMBO, NOV. 17

Gotabaya Rajapaksa,who spearheaded thebrutal crushing of theTamil Tigers a decadeago, stormed to power onSunday but promised tobe a President for all SriLanka’s races and reli-gions after a divisiveelection.

Seven months afterIslamist extremistattacks that killed 269people, Mr Rajapaksawas elected Saturday onthe back of a nationalistcampaign promisingsecurity and to crushreligious extremism inthe Buddhist-majoritycountry. This also marksthe return of the power-ful Rajapaksa dynastyknown for its pro-Chinatilt.

Mr Rajapaksa’s tri-umph will alarm SriLanka’s Tamil andMuslim minorities aswell as activists, journal-ists and possibly some inthe international com-munity following the2005-15 presidency of his

older brother MahindaRajapaksa. On SundayGotabaya Rajapaksa, 70,thanked all voters in anelection that heightenedethnic and religious ten-sions in a country thatonly a decade agoemerged from a brutalcivil war that cost 100,000

lives. “I am consciousthat I am also thePresident of those whovoted against me,” hesaid as he was formallydeclared the hands-downwinner with 52.25 percent of the vote.

“It is my duty to serveall Sri Lankans withoutrace or religious discrim-ination,” he said. “Ipromise to discharge myduties in a fair manner.”

Mr Premadasa, 52, ofthe ruling party, ■ Turn to Page 4

Gotabaya elected asnew Sri Lanka PrezTo take oath today ■ PM Ranil is likely to quit

Sri Lanka’s President-elect Gotabaya Rajapaksawaves at supporters as he leaves the election com-mission office in Colombo on Sunday. — AFP

Assam groups warn of huge stir‘Anti-Citizenship Bill movement to be bigger than ’80s Assam agitation’

A man pushing a cart in a flooded street near Rialto bridge in Venice during “acquaalta”, or high water, of 160 centimetres (over five feet), on Sunday. Venice wasbraced on Sunday for an unprecedented third major flooding in less than a week,with sea water due to swamp the already devastated historic city where authoritieshave declared a state of emergency. — AFP

Hong Kong, Nov. 17:A police officer wasstruck by an arrowfired by a Hong Kongprotester on Sunday,as fierce clashesraged around a cam-pus which has turnedinto a base for a pro-democracy move-ment whose unre-lenting protests haveplunged the city intoturmoil.

Protests havetremored through thefinancial hub sinceJune with many inthe city of 7.5 millionventing fury at erod-ing freedoms underChinese rule. — AFP

■ More on Page 11

HK cop hit byarrow firedby protester

AMIR HAVASITEHRAN, NOV. 17

President HassanRouhani warned Sundaythat riot-hit Iran couldnot allow “insecurity”after two days of unrestkilled two people and sawauthorities arrest dozensand restrict Internetaccess.

“Protesting is the peo-ple’s right, but protestingis different from rioting.We should not allow inse-curity in the society,” hesaid. Mr Rouhani defend-ed the controversialpetrol price hike that trig-gered the protests — aproject which the govern-ment says will finance

social welfare spendingamid a sharp economicdownturn. The unresterupted on Friday, hoursafter it was announcedthe price of petrol would

rise to 15,000 rials perlitre (12 US cents) from10,000 for the first 60litres, and to 30,000 rialsfor any extra fuel boughtafter that each month. Itis a rise many consumerscan ill afford, given thatIran’s economy has beenbattered since May lastyear when PresidentDonald Trump unilateral-ly withdrew the US from a2015 nuclear agreementand reimposed cripplingsanctions. The petrol planis expected to generate300 trillion rials ($2.55 bil-lion) per annum, fromwhich the governmentsays about 60 millionneedy would receive pay-ments. — AFP

New Delhi, Nov. 17:Delhiites got somerespite from pollu-tion on Sunday as theair quality in the cityimproved to “poor”category from the“severe.” The AirQuality Index (AQI)in Delhi at 9 am onSunday stood at 254against an AQI of 412at the same time onSaturday. Delhi CMArvind Kejriwal onSunday asserted thatthere is a “verystrong correlation”between stubbleburning and pollu-tion in north India ashe attributed theimprovement in airquality to dip in casesof setting cropresidue afire.

Meanwhile, theUnion environmentministry will hold ahigh-level meeting onMonday over thealarming pollutionlevels in Delhi andnearby areas withofficials of the statesin the region.Environment secre-tary C.K. Mishra willchair the meet.

— PTI■ More on Page 13

Delhi’s airimproves,Centre callsmeet today

S.A. ISHAQUIHYDERABAD, NOV. 17

The All-India MuslimPersonal Law Board(AIMPLB) on Sundaydecided that it wouldmove the Supreme Courtseeking a review of itsverdict on the Ayodhyamatter. The executivecommittee of the board,which met in Lucknowon Sunday, also decidednot to accept the grant offive acres of land forbuilding a new mosque atan alternative site sinceit was against the tenetsof Islam.

While the meeting wasto be held at Darul UloomNadwatul Ulama(DUNU), the board’sheadquarters, it wasshifted to the nearbyMumtaz Degree College,which the organisersclaimed was due to the“efforts of the districtadministration to stallthe meeting”.

Zafaryab Jilani, seniormember of AIMPLB andconvener of the All-IndiaBabri Masjid ActionCommittee (AIBMAC),

claimed the case had beenfiled in court on behalf ofall Muslims, and theboard, representing thesentiments of the commu-nity, wanted to exerciseits constitutional right tofile a review petition. MrJilani, in reply to a ques-tion, said that Mr RajivDhawan, senior lawyer,would continue as theirlawyer and would try tofile a review petitionwithin 30 days of the judg-ment, that will beDecember 9.

Arshad Madani, presi-dent, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, who attended theboard meeting, toldreporters that he fullyapproved of the decisionto file a review petition.“Though we do not havemuch hope and know that■ Turn to Page 4

Muslim bodiesseek review ofAyodhya ruling

BJP is conspiringto uproot theAssamese commu-nity, its languageand culture

— AdipPhukan,

Asom SongramiMancha chief

WINTER SESSION STARTS TODAY

Won’t accept 5 acres for mosque◗ The All-IndiaMuslim PersonalLaw Board (AIM-PLB) to moveSupreme Courtseeking a review ofits Ayodhya verdict

◗ Lanka will workclosely on security:Prez-elect to India

PAGE 4

Protesting isthe people’sright, but

protesting is differ-ent from rioting.We should not allow insecurity in the society

— HassanRouhani,

Iran Prez

Riots erupt in Iran, lead todeaths after fuel price hikes

Today’s Supreme Court Order says the obvious.That, when the Speaker disqualifies a legis-lator under the Tenth Schedule, the disquali-fied legislator is only disqualified for thetime being; he could contest the upcomingby-poll and should he win, he could simply

return to the balance term of the House from which hewas disqualified. This case was unique in many waysand so, the Supreme Court must have found it easier toreach a decision.

For instance, in this case, the legislators had submit-ted their resignation and were keen to get out of theHouse. They were instead, disqualified by the Speakerand thrown out. In either scenario, they were out of theHouse. In most other cases, the MLAs had wanted tostick to their membership of the House while here, thedisqualified MLAs were not legally aggrieved except bythe differences between a resignation and disqualifica-tion. By the time this matter came up for judgmenttoday, the bypoll itself was announced and scheduled

and so, the Supreme Courtdid not find much of a com-plication once they saw thatthe Tenth Schedule does notimpose disqualification forthe rest of the term of theHouse. So, the Speaker’s

Order to the effect that the disqualification will run until2023 has been set aside.

Also, the Supreme Court has observed that the Speakerhad enough material with him to find that those MLAshad indulged in anti-party activity and so, were coveredby the clause 2(1)(a) of the Tenth Schedule – ‘voluntarilygiving up membership of the House’. Though the Speakergave lesser time to these MLAs to give their response, theSupreme Court has held that that alone is not a reason tointerfere with the Speaker’s Order. Also, the SupremeCourt has held that if a person is liable to be disqualified,he cannot escape it by simply submitting his resignation.Though the Supreme Court has said nothing at all aboutthe Yediyurappa tapes that were submitted to it at the fagend, it appears that the Supreme Court was very stronglyinfluenced by it. Yediyurappa is the Chief Minister ofKarnataka; he is not some low-ranking politician gossip-ing in the corridors, he spoke in a closed-room publicgathering of his party men and, he was, of course, thebiggest beneficiary of those 17 MLAs defection. His ownadmission of the BJP party engineering and managingthe defection could not have gone unnoticed by theSupreme Court.

At this stage, it is reasonable for the public and con-cerned citizens to be disappointed with the fact that aMLA that is thrown out of the House for indulging inanti-party activity is given a fresh opportunity to contestin the by-poll and if elected, to go back to the same termof the House from which he was thrown out. That disap-pointment should not be directed towards the SupremeCourt but should be directed towards the Parliament thatdid not express itself clearly while bringing in the Tenth

Schedule. There are severalother disqualifications underboth the Constitution and theRepresentation of People Act,1951 and they all specify theterm of disqualification. Also,whereas the Tenth Scheduledoesn’t specify the term, theParliament is free to amend theTenth Schedule if it wishes to.

Finally, soon after the SupremeCourt’s judgment came out, mostof the 17 MLAs greeted the judg-ment on Television and thatalone would tell you that theyare unbelievably foolish and Godalone knows why such foolishpeople – who cannot even distin-guish between winning orlosing a critical case inthe Court - are elected asour representatives. TheSupreme Court had justsaid that the Speaker’sassessment that thoseMLAs have indulged inanti-party activity isbased on sufficient mate-rial and yet, those veryMLAs thought they weregiven a victory by theSupreme Court.

At this point, thoseMLAs are undoubtedlyfree to contest the pollsas ‘damaged goods’ andwhether the public willreward or shun them isto be seen now. At anyrate, unlike a typical by-poll, these by-polls areequivalent to a generalelection itself, as the out-come in these by-pollswill decide upon whoforms or continues torun the StateGovernment. Needless tosay, the Speaker did whatno other Speaker in Indiahad done so far – express-ly specify the end of theterm as the period of dis-qualification. He over-stepped his authority andit is good that theSupreme Court has setaside that part of hisOrder.

The Supreme Court stand on the statusof the 17 disqualified KarnatakaMLAs was on expected lines. Whilethe Court upheld their disqualifica-tion it has lifted the ban on their con-testing elections during the term of

the current Assembly. This implies that theywould be free to contest the by-elections duenext month.

The verdict of the Supreme Court opens up a‘world of possibilities’, which merit detailedattention.

In the first place, the 17 disqualified MLAs nowbeing eligible to contest the by-elections wouldimmediately place pressure on the BJP toaccommodate those who are keen to enter theelectoral fray. If the Supreme Court had upheldthe Speaker’s decision, the BJP would have hada convenient excuse not to nominate them bytaking shelter in the ban on their contesting.Now with that ‘pretext’ not available, the BJPwould find it very difficult to deny them their‘reward’ for helping bring down the Congress-JDS coalition government and come to power!Further, with these disqualified former MLAslikely to openly join the BJP, the factors thatmotivated their decision to invite disqualifica-tion become patently transparent. Will those dis-qualified be formally adopted and endorsed bythe central leadership of the party or leave it tothe state leadership to nurture and care for thenew entrant will be an interesting to watch andsee.

Secondly, the internal contradictions withinthe BJP would now clearly come out in the open.Many of those from the BJP who were defeated

by the 17 disqualifiedMLAs have alreadybeen appeased andaccommodated bybeing given plum postsby the BJP govern-ment. This of coursedoes not guarantee thatthey would participateactively in the by-pollcampaign of those whodefeated them less thana year and a half ago.Many others have notyet been rewarded andcontinue to put pres-sure for the BJP ticketin the constituenciesgoing to the by-polls. How does the BJP recon-cile the claims of the old ‘loyalists’ with the new‘converts’ will be keenlywatched.

Thirdly, all the 17 seatsthat face by-polls wereseats held by theCongress/JDS. Some ofthem were won by theseparties by quite impressive margins. Many ofthose seats had not seen a strong BJP presencein previous elections. The by-elections wouldindicate whether the personality of the disquali-fied MLAs can actually swing the seat towardsthe BJP or did they win the last time around,simply because of the support that the partyenjoyed in that constituency.

Fourthly, this set of by-elections will also helpgauge the public mood on elected representa-tives switching political sides. The recent SataraLok Sabha by-poll in Maharashtra showed thatvoters do not take kindly to party switching bytheir elected representatives. Would that trendbe repeated in Karnataka or would those whoswitched political sides be able to convince thevoters of the rationale behind their decision.

Finally, if past political history is any indica-tion, the developments after the BJP came topower in the state in 2008 seems to be comingback to haunt the party. A decade ago, the BJPmanaged to hold on to power thanks to‘Operation Kamala’ and the support of ‘new con-verts’ to the party. Will the same trend be repeat-ed? Will the BJP retain its majority in the stateon account of those who switched sides or willtheir presence be the factor that causes bothinternal turmoil within the party and push theparty to a minority status? The by-elections –the choice of candidates, the cut and thrust ofthe campaign as well as the direction of theresults will help address all these questions.

PAGE

2SpecialTHE ASIAN AGE MONDAY | 18 NOVEMBER 2019 | NEW DELHI

The anti defection law, Tenth Schedule, the jurisdiction of the Speaker... Karnataka politics set off an intense discussion on all three aspects as the Supreme Courtweighed in and gave the go-ahead to the 17 MLAs, disqualified by then speaker Ramesh Kumar, to contest the December 5 assembly bypolls. The BJP is elated asit can look to their support — if they win the bypolls — to shore up their numbers. The Opposition Congress and JD(S) will be straining every sinew to wreck theirpoll prospects. DC taps eminent political and legal experts on this momentous verdict, as our elected representatives across the country look to the main chancewith the winning party.

■ IT IS REASONABLE FORTHE PUBLIC ANDCONCERNED CITIZENS TOBE DISAPPOINTED WITHTHE FACT THAT A MLATHAT IS THROWN OUT OFTHE HOUSE FORINDULGING IN ANTI-PARTY ACTIVITY IS GIVENA FRESH OPPORTUNITYTO CONTEST IN THE BY-POLL AND IF ELECTED, TOGO BACK TO THE SAMETERM OF THE HOUSEFROM WHICH HE WASTHROWN OUT. THATDISAPPOINTMENTSHOULD NOT BEDIRECTED TOWARDS THESUPREME COURT BUTSHOULD BE DIRECTEDTOWARDS THEPARLIAMENT THAT DIDNOT EXPRESS ITSELFCLEARLY WHILEBRINGING IN THE TENTHSCHEDULE.

■ THIS SET OF BY-ELECTIONS WILLALSO HELP GAUGE THE PUBLIC MOODON ELECTED REPRESENTATIVESSWITCHING POLITICAL SIDES. THERECENT SATARA LOK SABHA BY-POLLIN MAHARASHTRA SHOWED THATVOTERS DO NOT TAKE KINDLY TOPARTY SWITCHING BY THEIR ELECTEDREPRESENTATIVES. WOULD THATTREND BE REPEATED IN KARNATAKAOR WOULD THOSE WHO SWITCHEDPOLITICAL SIDES BE ABLE TOCONVINCE THE VOTERS OF THERATIONALE BEHIND THEIR DECISION.

In their judgment on theKarnataka MLAs disqualifica-tion case, the three judge bench

of the Supreme Court comprisingof Justices Ramana, SanjeevKhanna, and Krishna Murariobserved: “horse-trading and cor-rupt practices associated withdefection and change of loyalty forlure of office or wrong reasonshave not abated. Thereby the citi-zens are denied stable govern-ments. In these circumstances,there is need to consider strength-ening certain aspects, so that such

undemocratic practices are discouraged and checked.” Unfortunately, the learned judges missed out on a pre-

cious opportunity to discourage and put a check on suchundemocratic practices. They agreed with the Speaker’sdecision to disqualify the MLAs but did not validate his

decision to disqualify the MLAs from contesting furtherelections to the Karnataka Legislative Assembly in its cur-rent term. However, if they had accepted this decision ofthen-Speaker Ramesh Kumar, they would have strength-ened the Anti-Defection Law and fulfilled their stated goal.

Clearly, the Speaker was innovating when he extend-ed the MLAs disqualification till the end of the tenure ofthe Assembly. Such a provision is not provided underArticle 191 (2) of the Constitution which contemplatesremoval of members of a State Legislature when dis-qualified under the 10th Schedule. But, in the light of therealpolitik of defections in India, this was an innovation

that would have achieved thegoals of the Anti-Defection law

in letter and spirit.The purpose of the anti-defection law is to prevent the

MLA from negating the voter’s faith. When a voter castsa vote for an MLA candidate, that vote is both for the per-son and for the party. We are not in a position to separatethe two. When the Speaker, acting in a quasi-judicial

capacity, determines that an elected candidate has left aparty because of inducements rather than a point ofprinciple, then a suitable penalty needs to be devised. Inthis instance, the Yediyurappa tapes have revealed horsetrading, and he is the inventor of the infamous“Operation Kamala.” Judicial activism would havehelped counter these egregious violations of democraticverdicts. In other contexts, the Supreme Court hasframed rules to strengthen laws. It could have done thesame here as well.

After all, the Speaker is the custodian of the pro-priety of the House and should be entrusted with powerswhich can allow him to effectively discharge his duties.An election is a social contract between the voters and theelected representative. The voters elect an individual tobe their representative for five years. Any resignation byan MLA in the absence of cogent and lawful reasons vio-lates that social contract. Elected representatives willhave no incentive to honour their part of the contract ifthe punishment is not punitive enough. Allowing a dis-qualified MLA to immediately seek re-election does littleto deter defections aimed at blackmailing or toppling gov-ernments.

Thus, the Speaker, who already has tremendous powerunder the Anti Defection Law, must be empowered to takenecessary actions where constitutional and moral viola-tions have taken place, as per his discretion. Such was theneed of the hour. Clearly, in this instance, the learnedjudges have missed out an opportunity to stem the con-tinuing rot in the domain of electoral politics.

Did our judges miss a chance to stem the rot in the system?■ Any resignation by an MLA in the absence of cogentand lawful reasons violates that social contract. Electedrepresentatives will have no incentive to honour theirpart of the contract if the punishment is not punitiveenough. Allowing a disqualified MLA to immediatelyseek re-election does little to deter defections aimed atblackmailing or toppling governments.

Prof. Rajeev GowdaRAJEEV GOWDARAJYA SABHA MP

AGE DEBATE

SANDEEP SHASTRIPRO VICE CHANCELLOR,

JAIN UNIVERSITY

K.V. DHANANJAYSUPREME COURT

ADVOCATE

The Lord Ayyappa shrine atSabarimala is now open forthe two-month-long Mandalapilgrimage. In the contextwhere The Supreme Court of

India deferred the verdict on theSabarimala issue of entry of womenof all age groups to offer prayers at theshrine, it is apt to look into the intri-cacies of the entry restriction that isimposed on the of women of specificage group.

Every set of beliefs are human madeand our traditions come from a set ofbeliefs. The tradition of Sabarimalaprohibits women of age group 10–50inside the temple. This custom ofSabarimala temple has been prevalent

since the inception, which is admittedfor the past several centuries. Thoughthese are prescriptions, there areother dimensions to be understoodthat has nothing do with genderinequality or exploitation or discrimi-nation.

Hinduism is a religion or a way oflife that has always worshipped theSupreme through a multitude of godsand goddesses rather than a monolith-ic and a presumed male identity. TheHindu traditions and customs placewomen in the forefront and forwomen, these rituals are a greatsource of pride and empowerment,giving a sense of control and com-mand over the happenings of theirlives. The current emphasis on genderequality and rational thinking is notappropriate to the question of whywomen of age group 10–50 are notallowed inside the Sabarimala temple.There are temples in India which donot allow Men to enter either on alldays or during special occasions.

The entry of women of age group10–50 inside the Sabarimala temple islimited with the view to preserve thecharacter, Naishtika Brahmachari

(Perpetual celibate) of the deity. Theusage and practice is primary to pre-serve the sacred form and character ofthe deity. There are many other tem-ples dedicated to the worship of LordAyyappa, where the deity is not in theform of a ‘Naishtika Brahmachari’. Inthose temples, the mode and mannerof worship differs from SabarimalaTemple, since the deity has manifest-

ed himself in a different form. ExceptSabarimala, there is no similarrestriction on the entry of women inthe other Temples of Lord Ayyappa,where women of all ages can worshipthe deity. It is believed and practicedthat young women should not offerworship in the Sabarimala temple sothat even the slightest deviation fromcelibacy and austerity observed by the

deity is not caused. In SrimadAyyappa Bhagavatham, one of themajor scriptures in Malayalam aboutLord Ayyappa, it is mentioned thatLord himself undertook the 41-dayVratham or austerity before he wentto Sabarimala temple.

The whole process of the pilgrimageobserving a 41-day Vratham beforeembarking on the temple pilgrimageis to replicate the journey of LordAyyappa. Women in the mentionedage group will not able to take the 41-day Vratham, owing to the physiologi-cal reasons. It is also a practice thatthe Sabarimala Temple is open toevery devotee who can take the 41-dayvow of celibacy and discipline, irre-spective of faith, the deep devotionthey profess to the deity.

Sabarimala temple is located in themiddle of the forest and women dur-ing the period of physiological atten-tion, that is again specifically attribut-able to women of the prescribed agecategory would have difficultly to trekmountainous terrain in the dense for-est that too for several days. One couldargue that women have even con-quered most of the things or more

than what men could do. But peoplewho understood uniqueness behindSabarimala pilgrimage holisticallywould prefer to stick to their beliefsthat are followed as a practice, as thissubject cannot be thought from onlyone dimension.

The matter of entry to a temple isonly for the certain age of women, notwomen as a class due to the abovethree reasons. This practice belongs toa completely different domain of spir-itual science. Sabarimala is a uniquepilgrimage. It is not a question ofblind faith of a society or makingwomen inferior. In my view, therestrictions kept for women inSabarimala need to be understood inthe right context.

The writer – Maidhily Varrier is ateacher of Hindu religious scrip-

tures. She is an Engineer by profes-sion. She has co-authored “Prabodh”-an introductory book for Children to

understand the basic concepts ofHinduism. She is also the daughter of

Sri. Thrayakshara Chaithanya,author of Srimad Ayyappa

Bhagavatham

Maidhily Varrier

By invitation

Sabarimala: Stairway to heaven or to women’s empowerment?

A win FOR BJP AND the disqualified, really?

PAGE

3NationMONDAY | 18 NOVEMBER 2019 | NEW DELHITHE ASIAN AGE

Raising issueRS Chairman Venkaiah Naidu expresses concern over absenteeism of members in parliamentary standing committees

Turncoats will betaken back into

Nationalist CongressParty only on merit

— Jayant Patil,

NCP’s Maharashtra unit chief

SHORT TAKES

Balasore: Two youths — ArunKumar and Jagannath Parik

of Gunapur village inOdisha’s Balasore district —

have turned models for theirlocals by adopting a newaquaculture technique to

produce pearls in freshwater-bodies like ponds andcreeks. Normally, pearls are

collected from mussels livingin saline water bodies, espe-

cially seas and oceans.According to reports, Arun

and Jagannath came to knowabout the new aquaculture

technology from some tech-nicians who are engaged

pearl polishing work. A pieceof pearl is sold at `500 –

`600 in market.

Bhubaneswar: A 44-year-oldwoman presumed dead woke

up at the cremation groundin Kaniapali village under

Polsara block of Ganjam dis-trict. She was then taken to

the Polsara CommunityHealth Centre where doctors

declared her dead. Dukhi’sfamily members examined

her condition and presumedher to be dead. They took herto the cremation ground and

prepared the funeral pyre.Minutes before putting Dukhion the pyre, one of her rela-

tives noticed some move-ment in her hands. LaterDukhi was rushed to the

Polsara Community HealthCentre in an ambulance. After

examining the woman, doc-tors declared her dead.

Satna (MP): A 21-year-oldwoman dacoit, who was car-

rying cash rewards on herhead, was arrested on

Sunday from a forest area near here, police said.

The dacoit, Sadhana Patel,was wanted by the police in

Madhya Pradesh and UttarPradesh. Both the states had

announced `10,000 eachcash reward on her, police

said. “Patel was the kingpinof a gang of male dacoits.

They had committed robberies and kidnapping for

ransom,” SatnaSuperintendent of Police

Riyaz Iqbal told reporters.“Based on a tip-off,

we arrested her from Kadianjungle,” he added.

Patna: Bill Gates, billionairephilanthropist and Microsoft

co-founder, on Sundaypraised Bihar government’s

progress in fighting poverty and disease in the

last 20 years, saying onlyfew places have been able

to surpass the achievementsmade by the state.

The co chair andtrustee of the Bill

and Melinda GatesFoundation, who ison a visit to Bihar,

said this at a meet-ing with Chief

Minister Nitish Kumar here.“Over the past 20 years, few

places have made moreprogress against poverty

and disease than Bihar.Compared to her motherborn two decades ago, a

child born today in Bihar istwice more likely to reachher fifth birthday,” a press

release quoted Bill Gates assaying. The Bill and MelindaGates Foundation was com-mittted to working with thestate government to ensurehealth and education for all

children, the release said.“Now, we have to make sure

that all children are able togrow up healthy and get a

good ed cation. And ourfoundation remains commit-

ted to working with thestate government to makethat happen,” the release

said. —PTI

BILL GATES HAILSBIHAR FOR FIGHT

AGAINST POVERTY

Woman presumeddead wakes up

Youths opt tech to produce pearl

Dacoit carryingcash reward held

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Union home minister Amit Shah and others atParliament Library Building in New Delhi on Sunday after attending an all-partymeeting ahead of the Winter Session. — PRITAM BANDYOPADHYAY

Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray along with his wife Rashmi pays tribute at thememorial of Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray on his 7th death anniversary inMumbai on Sunday. — PTI

AGE CORRESPONDENTNEW DELHI, NOV. 17

Controversial Citizenship(Amendment) Bill and leg-islation prohibiting elec-tronic cigarettes areamong the 27 new Billsthat the government isplanning to bring in theWinter Session ofParliament that begins onMonday. In addition tothis, the government willtry to get clearance for 13pending Bills.

Union minister for par-liamentary affairs, coaland mines, Pralhad Joshisaid on Sunday that while27 Bills will be taken upfor introduction, consider-ation and passing, 2 Billsare pending in Lok Sabhaand 10 in Rajya Sabha forclearance. Besides, onefinancial item relating tothe first batch of supple-mentary demands forgrants for 2019-20, too, willbe discussed and passedduring the Session.

Out of the new Bills, twowill replace existing Ordinances on the Prohibitionof Electronic Cigarettesand the Taxation of Law(Amendment) on corpo-rate tax rate cuts. Both arerequired to be passed dur-ing the ensuing WinterSession.

The government had inSeptember banned e-ciga-rettes to “protect the popu-lation, especially theyouth and children, fromthe risk of addiction”. In abid to check economicslowdown, finance minis-ter Nirmala Sitharaman

had also announced cut incorporate tax rate from 30per cent to 22 per cent forexisting companies, and25 per cent to 15 per centfor new manufacturingcompanies.

However, it is the Bill toamend the CitizenshipAct, 1955 that is expectedto see major uproar inboth Houses.

The Citizenship (Amen-dment) Bill 2019 seeks toallow Hindu, Sikh,Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, andChristian illegal migrantsfrom Afghanistan,Bangladesh, and Pakistan,eligible for Indian citizen-ship. The proposed Bill ina way excludes Muslimsfrom the three neighbour-ing countries from acquir-ing Indian citizenship.

Besides, The PersonalData Protection Bill, TheMedical Termination ofPregnancy (Amendment)Bill, The Insolvency &Bankruptcy (Second)Amendment Bill is alsoexpected to be taken upduring the session thatwill see 20 sittings spreadover 26 days.

Govt seeks nod for 27 new billsCitizenship (Amendment) Billexpected to see major uproar

AGE CORRESPONDENTNEW DELHI, NOV. 17

The separation betweenthe BJP and Shiv Sena hasnow reached theParliament. Shiv SenaMPs are being allottedseats on the Oppositionside in both houses of par-liament as its ministerhas resigned and theparty is “working out” analliance with theCongress and NCP to formgovernment in Mahar-ashtra, ParliamentaryAffairs Minister PralhadJoshi said on Sunday.

After the all-party meet-ing, Mr Patel said, “ShivSena’s minister has

resigned from the NDAgovernment. They are notattending today’s NDAmeeting and working outan alliance with theCongress and the NCP. Soit is natural that they willbe allotted seats on theOpposition side in bothhouses.”

Shiv Sena had said onSaturday that it would notattend a meeting of NDAconstituents on the eve ofthe winter session ofParliament, making clearthat its exit from thenational-level BJP-ledalliance was almost cer-tain.

Shiv Sena’s lone minis-ter in the Narendra Modi

government, ArvindSawant, resigned onNovember 11. “I havelearnt that the meeting (ofNDA constituents) isbeing held on November17. We had already decid-ed against attending themeeting considering thedevelopments inMaharashtra...our minis-ter resigning from theCentral government,”Shiv Sena MP Mr SanjayRaut said.

According to sources, allthe three Shiv Sena MPsin the Rajya Sabha havebeen allocated seats on theopposition side, while inthe Lok Sabha it is yet tobe done.

Sena MPs being allottedseats on Opp. side: Joshi

New Delhi, Nov. 17: Theshadow of an imminentdivorce between the BJPand the Shiv Senaloomed large over anNDA meeting on Sundayahead of the Parliamentsession, with alliespitching for a mecha-nism to improve coordi-nation and PrimeMinister Narendra Modidescribing the rulingalliance as “one big fam-ily”.

In his introductoryremarks at the meeting,not attended by theSena, Mr Modi said NDAallies may have differentideologies but they arelike one big family andshould not get unsettledby small differences.

Later he tweeted, “Hada very good NDA meet-ing. Our alliance repre-sents India’s diversityand the aspirations of130 crore Indians.Together, we will leaveno stone unturned inushering a qualitativechange in the lives ofour farmers, youngsters,Nari Shakti and thepoorest of the poor.”

The meeting, alsoattended by Union homeminister Amit Shah andBJP’s working presidentJ.P. Nadda, was calledfor better floor manage-ment and coordinationduring the winter ses-sion, beginning on

Monday. Various NDA allies,

including newlyappointed LJP presidentChirag Paswan, desiredto have a convener orcoordination committeeto sort out differences.

“I personally felt theabsence of Shiv Sena inthe meeting today, it wasone of the oldest allies ofNDA. It’s a matter ofconcern that the TeluguDesam Party left thealliance first and thenthe Rashtriya LokSamata Party,” MrPaswan said.

He said what happenedbetween the BJP andShiv Sena inMaharashtra could havebeen avoided if therewould have been bettercoordination amongNDA allies. “But all ofus (allies) will worktogether in the upcom-ing session and moresuch meetings shouldhappen,” he said. —PTI

New Delhi, Nov. 17: Withthe BJP facing alliancetrouble in Jharkhandahead of the assemblypolls, the JMM-led opposi-tion coalition’s chief min-isterial candidate HemantSoren said on Sunday theallies of the saffron partyare deserting the “sinkingship” as they know whichway the wind is blowing.

Mr Soren, a former chiefminister and the workingpresident of the Jharkha-nd Mukti Morcha (JMM),accused the BJP of raisingemotive issues like nation-alism to divert attentionfrom their “misrule”,asserting that the electionwill be fought on stateissues such as land acqui-sition and unemployment.

“This is not Lok Sabhaelection, this is a state elec-tion. Central issues domi-nate in Lok Sabha polls,which have happened andfor which the mandate hasbeen given. Now, state elec-tions will be fought onissues of the states,” hetold PTI in an interview.

“We can’t talk of theChotanagpur Tenancy andthe Santhal ParganaTenancy Acts in Jammuand Kashmir or inGujarat. We can’t talk offorest rights elsewhere. Soif not in state polls, wherewill state issues be raised?If everywhere nationalismwill be talked about, thenwhere will the problems ofthe state be taken up?” MrSoren asked.

He is leading the opposi-tion alliance comprisingthe JMM, the Congress

and the Rashtriya JanataDal (RJD).

According to thealliance’s seat-sharingarrangement, the JMMwill contest 43 seats,Congress 31 and RJD inseven constituencies.Asked if the SupremeCourt's Ayodhya verdictcould have an impact onthe polls, Soren said thematter is old and now it isover.

“It has no relevance tothe state polls. The courthas given its verdict and itis not right to make this apolitical issue. The issuehas been solved and every-one has to abide by it,” the44-year-old leader said.

Asserting that the peopleof Jharkhand will no

longer be “duped” by theRaghubar Das-led govern-ment and they will vote forchange, Soren pointed tothe alliance trouble theBharatiya Janata Party(BJP) is facing in the state.

“Look at the condition oftheir alliances. The AllJharkhand Students Un-ion, which was in powerwith the BJP, has fieldedits candidates against theBJP. The JD(U) is fightingseparately, so is the LJP,”he said. “They sensedefeat. AJSU is the B-teamof the BJP. They enjoyedpower for five years andnow they see which waythe wind is blowing. Theallies are deserting thesinking ship of the BJP,"Mr Soren said. — PTI

SRIDHAR KUMARASWAMINEW DELHI, NOV. 17

Due to the principle of“collective leadership”, itis “inconceivable” thatChina can launch warslike the United States didduring the presidency ofGeorge W. Bush, a seniorChinese academician hassaid.

Interacting withreporters in New Delhi inthe presence of diplomatsfrom the Chinese Embassy,senior Chinese academi-cian Prof. Zhang Weiwei —currently the Director ofthe China Institute at theFudan University — said,“China has collective lead-

ership. It is inconceivablein China’s political systemto have a leader likeGeorge W. Bush wholaunched two wars, twosilly wars, the Afghan warand the Iraq war.... attremendous cost to theUnited States. The politi-cal structure (in China)will not allow this. It is acollective decision.”

George W. Bush was thePresident of the US from2001 to 2008, and theAfghan and Iraq warswere launched by the USin his first tenure in powerfrom 2001 to 2004.

Prof. Zhang is part of ateam of Chinese academi-cians visiting India and

their views are being seenas significant even thoughit is not being officiallyregarded as the views ofthe Chinese Government.

As reported earlier,another academician fromthe team Prof. LinMinwang — of theInstitute of International

Studies at China’s FudanUniversity — had alsoarticulated his reserva-tions on the concept of“Ïndo-Pacific” as well asfour-nation “Quad” in theregion—comprising theUnited States, India, Japanand Australia.

Foreign policy observerspoint out that it is well-known that China prefersthe term “Asia-Pacific” forthe region rather than“Indo-Pacific”.

Prof. Lin had raised ques-tions on the inclusivenessof the Quad and ques-tioned why other nationslike South Korea or theASEAN nations were notinvited by the US to join it.

The Quad, short for“Quadrilateral” refers tothe four-nation informalgrouping that stands forfreedom of navigation inthe Indo-Pacific region.

Meanwhile, Prof. Zhang’sviews on the maturity andrestraint of the Chineseleadership are also beingseen as significant, giventhe bouts of military ten-sion between China and itsneighbours in the past twoyears.

China and India hadbeen involved in a militaryface-off at Doklam inBhutanese territory twoyears ago following whichmaters were resolved andboth sides pulled back.

NDA allies batfor improvedcoordination

I personally feltthe absence ofShiv Sena in themeeting today, itwas one of theoldest allies ofNDA.

— ChiragPaswan,

LJP president

They sense defeat.AJSU is the B-teamof the BJP. Theyenjoyed power forfive years and nowthey see which waythe wind is blowing.

— HemantSoren,

JMM president

◗ The Personal DataProtection Bill, TheMedical Termin-ation of Pregnancy(Amendment) Bill,The Insolvency &Bankruptcy (Sec-ond) AmendmentBill is also expectedto be taken up dur-ing the session.

◗ George W. Bushwho launched twowars, two silly wars,the Afghan war andthe Iraq war.... attremendous cost tothe United States,Prof. Zhang Weiweisaid

■ Opp. CM candidate says Jharkhand elections will be fought on state issues

BJP allies deserting sinking ship: Soren

■ Prof. Zhang is part of a team of Chinese academicians visiting India

‘China’s structure doesn’t allow US-like wars’

AGE CORRESPONDENTMUMBAI, NOV. 17

Former chief ministerDevendra Fadnavis onSunday faced the wrath ofShiv Sena supporterswhen he visited ShivajiPark to pay respect toSena patriarch BalThackeray on his seventhdeath anniversary onSunday.

Sena supporters shout-ed, mi punha yein (I willbe back), mocking the slo-gan he had made during acampaign for the VidhanSabha polls.

Some workers of theShiv Sena, which recentlysnapped ties with theBJP, standing close to theformer CM’s convoy

shouted in MarathiFadnavis’ assembly pollcampaign slogan: ‘I willbe back (as CM)’ alongwith the Sena’s tradition-al ‘Chhatrapati ShivajiMaharaj ki jai’ war cry.

Other BJP leaders,including Vinod Tawdeand Pankaja Munde,accompanied MrFadnavis on this occa-sion.

He, however, left thevenue without reacting tothe jeers. Mr Fadnavisalso did not speak to themedia.

There were no Senaleaders, except UddhavThackeray’s PA MilindNarvekar, when hearrived at the ShivajiPark.

Uddhav pays tribute to Sena patriarch Fadnavis heckled atBal Thackeray event

New Delhi, Nov. 17:Union home ministerAmit Shah on Sundaysaid the Narendra Modigovernment is commit-ted to bring all rounddevelopment to thenewly created UnionTerritory of Ladakh andabrogation of Article370 was the right step inthis direction.

The home ministersaid new hydro electricand solar power projectsplanned for Ladakh at acost of `50,000 crore willproduce 7,500 MW powerand will be completed inthe next four years.Shah made the com-ments as he launched,through video confer-ence, a special winter-grade diesel for the highaltitude region whichfaces sub-zero tempera-tures during the wintermonths.

“The NDA governmentled by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi is com-mitted to bring the Leh-Ladakh region, whichwas neglected for thelast 70 years, at par withthe rest of the country,”he said.

The home minister saidthat when the abrogationof Article 370 wasannounced, the PrimeMinister had said it wasa right step to acceleratedevelopment in Jammuand Kashmir andLadakh. Mr Shah said bybringing change in thestatus of Ladakh andenhancing the budgetallocation, all-round dev-elopment of the regionhas been ensured. — PTI

AGE CORRESPONDENTHYDERABAD,NOV. 17

AsaduddinO w a i s i ,president ofthe All IndiaM a j l i s - e -Ittehadul Muslimeen(AIMIM), and Lok Sabhamember from Hyderabadon Sunday said that hehad persuaded the AllIndia Muslim PersonalLaw Board (AIMPLB) tofile a review petition onthe Supreme Court’sAyodhya verdict. MrOwaisi had flown toLucknow to participatein the AIMPLB meeting.

On the day of the ver-dict, November 9, MrOwaisi had said that hewould certainly per-suade the MuslimPersonal Law Board toseek a review of the ver-dict.

A senior leader of theMIM told this newspa-per, “Mr Owaisi isalways at the forefront toprovide help to MuslimPersonal Law Board. Henot only provides hisvaluable advice, but isalso generously helpingthe Board with funds.After the judgment ofthe Allahabad HighCourt on the Ayodhyadispute, the board haddecided to challenge thejudgment in the apexcourt, but it had notfunds to bear the expens-es of advocates’ fees andother expenses, as it hasno source of income.”

‘Abrogationof Art. 370right stepfor Ladakh’

Persuadedboard to filereview plea,says Owaisi

Bangkok, Nov. 17:Defence minister RajnathSingh on Sunday heldtalks with US DefenceSecretary Mark T. Esperhere on a range of strate-gic issues including situa-tion in the Indo-Pacificregion and ways to fur-ther bolster bilateral secu-rity cooperation.

The meeting took placeon the sidelines of theASEAN DefenceMinisters’ Meeting-Plus(ADMM-Plus), a platformcomprising ASEAN andits eight dialogue part-ners including India.

The defence ministeralso held separate bilater-al meetings with hisJapanese counterpart

Taro Kono,Au s t r a l i a ncounterpartLinda Reynol-ds, Thailand’sDeputy PrimeMinister Gen-

eral Prawit Won-gsuwanand New Zealand’s Defen-ce Minister Ron Mark.

The broad focus of themeetings was to add fur-ther momentum to bilat-eral defence cooperation.In the meeting with Esper,Singh reaffirmed NewDelhi's vision for a free,open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region based on arules-based order andrespect for sovereigntyand territorial integrity.

— PTI

Rajnath holds talks withUS defence secy Esper

AYODHYA ISSUE

PAGE

4NationMONDAY | 18 NOVEMBER 2019 | NEW DELHITHE ASIAN AGE

Indefinite sit-inNarmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkarlaunches indefinite sit-in, seeks relief for those displaced by the Saradar Sarovar Dam

Give `2,500 per acre to Haryanafarmers for not

burning stubble — Bhupinder Singh Hooda,

Former Haryana CM

SHORT TAKES

Lakhimpur Khiri, UP: Touristsvisiting the Dudhwa National

Park will not be able toenjoy elephant safari this

season as most trained jumbos have been

deployed in patrollingduties, the park administra-

tion said on Sunday.According to park deputy

director Manoj Sonkar,another major reason to put

restrictions on the safari isthe aggressive nature of

male elephants, which maypose a serious threat to the

safety of riders. Mr Sonkarsaid the decision in this

regard was taken after sev-eral incidents of elephantschasing their mahouts and

attendants came to fore.— PTI

Barwani, MP: A couple, theirtwo-year- old daughter and

two relatives were killedafter their car was hit by a

truck at Tejgati village nearhere on Sunday, the police

said. Another minor daugh-ter of the couple was injuredin the mishap that occurredon Mandwada Road, around26 km from here, the police

said. “The victims weregoing to Khargone district

from Anjad area of Barwanidistrict when the truck com-ing from the opposite direc-tion rammed into their vehi-

cle, killing them on thespot,” sub-divisional officer

of police A.S. Jamra said.The driver of the truck fled

from the spot, he said. — PTI

Jaipur: A minor was alleged-ly raped by her uncle in asleeper bus when she was

on her way to Jaipur alongwith her mother and a few

relatives, the police said onSunday. The girl, a student

of Class 5, narrated the inci-dent to her mother, who

filed a complaint with thepolice on Saturday, stationhouse officer said. She was

returning home fromMadhya Pradesh, along with

her mother and the relatives,when the incident took

place in Jawahar Circle areahere on Friday, the SHO

said. A medical examinationof the girl has been done

and a probe is underway, theofficer said. — PTI

New Delhi: India has grantedvisa-on-arrival facility to the

citizens of the United ArabEmirates (UAE) with an aimto enhance people-to-peo-

ple contacts and trade rela-tions, officials said on

Sunday. The visa-on-arrivalfacility for the nationals of

the UAE came into effectfrom Saturday. It will be

available for a period of upto 60 days with double

entry for business, tourism,conference and medical pur-poses, a government officialsaid. This facility is aimed at

further strengthening peopleto people contacts and

trade relations as well asstrategic ties between the

two countries. The interna-tional airports where the

facility will be available arein Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata,

Chennai, Bengaluru andHyderabad. The visa-on-

arrival will be available onlyto those UAE nationals whohave earlier obtained an e-Visa or a normal paper visa

for India, irrespective ofwhether the person actually

visited India or not. ThoseUAE nationals visiting India

for the first time are advisedto apply for e-visa or a nor-

mal paper visa, another offi-cial said. For detailed infor-

mation, one can visithttps://indianvisaonline.Gov.In/visa/visa-on-arrival. — PTI

UAE CITIZENS CANNOW GET INDIAN

VISA ON ARRIVAL

3 of family, 2 kindie in MP mishap

No jumbo safari inDudhwa this season

Minor girl rapedby uncle in bus

Indian cricket team’s head coach Ravi Shastri offers rituals at Shri Mahakaleshwartemple in Ujjain on Sunday. — PTI

■ Continued from Page 1Abdullah was detainedunder the Public SafetyAct in September.

“The Prime Minister,while responding to spe-cific issues raised by therepresentatives of vari-ous political parties, saidthat the governmentwould work together withall parties in a construc-tive manner to addresspending legislation andframe policy solutions forspecific issues on the envi-ronment and pollution,the economy, the agricul-ture sector and farmers,”the parliamentary affairsministry said in a state-ment. Mr Modi also toldMPs at the all party-meet-ing that constructive dis-cussions in Parliamentalso keeps the bureaucra-cy alert.

After the meeting, sen-ior Congress leader andLeader of the Oppositionin the Rajya SabhaGhulam Nabi Azad saidthe government takes adifferent stand when itcomes to taking up issuessuch as unemployment,the economic slowdown,the condition of farmersin the House. NationalConference’s Hasnain

Masoodi said they raisedthe issue of FarooqAbdullah’s detention atthe meeting and stressedthat the government wasunder a constitutionalobligation to ensure hisparticipation in theParliament session. MrAzad also sought to knowhow an MP can bedetained illegally and alsodemanded that formerfinance minister and sen-ior Congress leader P.Chidambaram be allowedto attend Parliament. TheLoP said there had beeninstances in the past whenin similar cases MPs havebeen allowed in the House.

The all-party meetingwas also attended by BJPpresident and Unionhome minister AmitShah, Union ministerThawarchand Gehlot andseveral senior Oppositionleaders like Adhir RanjanChowdhury, Ghulam NabiAzad and deputyCongress leader in theRajya Sabha AnandSharma. TMC’s DerekO’Brien, LJP’s ChiragPaswan, SamajwadiParty’s Ram Gopal Yadav,TDP’s Jayadev Galla andYSR Congress’ V. VijaysaiReddy also attended the

meeting. The meeting wasmoderated by parliamen-tary affairs ministerPralhad Joshi and hisMoS Arjun Meghwal.

The PM also attendedthe NDA leaders’ meet,where the Shiv Sena hadno representation. TheBJP and the Shiv Senahave parted ways over theMaharashtra CM’s post.

After the NDA meeting,LJP chief Chirag Paswansaid an NDA convenershould be appointed toensure better coordina-tion among the alliancepartners.

Earlier, the BJP parlia-mentarey party executivealso met, also attended bythe PM, party presidentAmit Shah and workingpresident J.P. Nadda.

After the NDA meeting,Rajya Sabha Chairman M.Venkaiah Naidu held ameeting of the floor lead-ers of various parties todiscuss events to mark the“historic 250th session” ofthe Upper House begin-ning Monday. He alsovoiced concern over theabsenteeism of membersin parliamentary standingcommittee meetings, say-ing that “we must not lettheir standards drop”.

Opp. to corner govt onslowdown, farm issues

Sabarimala, Nov. 17:Braving rains, thou-sands of devoteesoffered prayers at theLord Ayyappa templehere on Sunday, the sec-ond day of the annualtwo-month-long Mand-ala-Makaravilakku pujapilgrimage season.

After chief priest A.K.Sudheer Namboothiriopened the sanctumsanctorum at 3 am andperformed special pujas,including “Neyyabhis-hekam” among others,the hill shrine wasthronged by large num-ber of devotees through-out the day.

The “Nadapanthal”(area where peoplequeue up for darshan)and “Sannidhanam” wit-nessed huge crowddespite the heavy rain inthe evening. Police con-trol room officials said atotal of 25,125 footfallswere recorded till 5 pmon Sunday.

“Arrangements werefine.. But the rain wasunexpected. Manyincluding children gotdrenched,” a devoteefrom Andhra Pradeshsaid.

The temple was openedfor the annual pilgrimseason on Saturday, daysafter the Supreme Courtdecided to refer to a larg-er bench re-examinationof religious issues incl-uding those arising outof its 2018 verdict liftinga centuries-old ban onwomen of menstruatingage visiting the hill topshrine. — PTI

New Delhi,Nov. 17: ADelhi courthas soughtr e s p o n s efrom theEnforcementDirectorateon the bail plea of RatulPuri, nephew of MadhyaPradesh chief ministerKamal Nath, in a moneylaundering case relatedto the VVIP chopperscam.

Special Judge ArvindKumar issued notice tothe ED and directed it tofile a reply by November22, when the court willnext hear the matter.

Mr Puri moved the bailplea through advocateVijay Agarwal onSaturday, saying he wasnot required for furtherinvestigation and nopurpose will be servedby keeping him in cus-tody.

The EnforcementDirectorate recentlyfiled a supplementaryprosecution complaintagainst Ratul Puri andJaspreet Ahuja in the`3,600-crore Agusta-Westland VVIP chopperdeal case.

In January 2014, Indiahad scrapped a contractwith Finmeccanica’sBritish subsidiary,AgustaWestland, forsupplying 12 VVIP chop-pers to the Indian AirForce, over allegedbreach of contractualobligations and chargesof kickbacks worth`423crore being paid tosecure the deal. — PTI

SRIDHARKUMARASWAMINEW DELHI, NOV. 17

Sri Lankan President-elect Gotabaya Rajapaksaassured India that hewould work closely with itto ensure “developmentand security” during aphone call made by PrimeMinister Narendra Modito him on Sunday to con-gratulate him on his spec-tacular electoral victoryin the presidential elec-tions held in Sri Lanka onSaturday. PM Modi alsoinvited Mr Rajapaksa toIndia and the invitationwas accepted, the min-istry of external affairs(MEA) said. The referenceto “security” in the MEAstatement is being seen assignificant. Sri Lanka hadsuffered terror attacksearlier this year and failed

to preventit despitea d v a n c ei n t e l l i -g e n c ewar ningsfrom NewDelhi. But

the other interestingaspect is New Delhi’s secu-rity concerns, particularlyregarding the issue of ear-lier movement of Chinesesubmarines in Sri Lankanwaters.

It may be recalled thatduring the presidency ofMr Gotabaya Rajapaksa’sbrother MahindaRajapaksa a few years ago,Chinese submarines werefound moving in SriLankan waters then andIndia had expressed itsconcerns at that time. TheRajapaksa brothers wereoften seen earlier as hav-ing a pronounced pro-

China tilt which hadcaused some anxiety toNew Delhi but India ishoping that its policy ofactive engagement withSri Lanka will addressthis issue effectively. NewDelhi has also been under-taking development proj-ects in the island nationwhich is also India’s mar-itime southern neighbour.

Meanwhile, in a state-ment, the MEA said,“Prime MinisterNarendra Modi congratu-lated President-elect ofSri Lanka GotabayaRajapaksa over telephoneon his electoral victory inthe presidential electionsheld in Sri Lanka onSaturday. Conveying thegood wishes on behalf ofthe people of India and onhis own behalf, the PrimeMinister expressed confi-dence that under the able

leadership of MrRajapaksa the people ofSri Lanka will progressfurther on the path ofpeace and prosperity andfraternal, cultural, histor-ical and civilisational tiesbetween India and SriLanka will be furtherstrengthened. The PrimeMinister reiterated India’scommitment to continueto work with theGovernment of Sri Lankato these ends.”

“Mr Rajapaksa thankedthe Prime Minister for hisgood wishes. He alsoexpressed his readiness towork with India veryclosely to ensure develop-ment and security. ThePrime Minister extendedan invitation to Mr.Rajapaksa to visit India athis early convenience. Theinvitation was accepted,”the MEA added.

Lanka will work closely onsecurity: New Prez to IndiaPM Modi congratulates Gotabaya Rajapaksa, invites him to India

New Delhi, Nov. 17:Justice Sharad ArvindBobde, who would takeoath as the 47th ChiefJustice of India onMonday, has decided sev-eral key cases and waspart of the recent historicverdict that cleared theway for the constructionof a Ram Temple at thedisputed site in Ayodhya.

Justice Bobde, 63, whowould succeed CJI RanjanGogoi, would prefer a con-servative approach on theissue of disclosing the col-legium’s entire delibera-tions on rejection ofnames for appointment inthe higher judiciary.

The CJI-designate, in aninterview to PTI, had saidthat people’s reputationcannot be sacrificed justto satisfy the desire of cit-izens to know.

On the issue of hugevacancies of judges incourts across the countryand lack of judicial infra-structure, Justice Bobdewishes to take to the “logi-

cal end”the stepstaken byhis prede-cessor CJIGogoi.

J u s t i c eGogoi hadtaken note

of vacancies and lack ofinfrastructure in courtsand has been monitoringthem by issuing direc-tions to all states andrespective high courts todo the needful.

A five-judgeConstitution Bench, ofwhich Justice Bobde wasalso a part, rendered aunanimous verdict to putthe curtains down on thevexatious Ayodhya landdispute which was pend-ing in courts since 1950.

A nine-judge bench ofthe apex court headed bythe then CJI J.S. Kheharand which includedJustice Bobde held unani-mously in August 2017that the Right to Privacywas a constitutionally

protected fundamentalright in India.

Justice Bobde will have atenure of over 17 monthsas the CJI and is due toretire on April 23, 2021.

Hailing from a family oflawyers from Maharash-tra, he is the son of emi-nent senior advocateArvind Shriniwas Bobde.

Justice Bobde has beenchosen following the ruleof seniority and his namewas recommended byJustice Gogoi in a letter tothe Centre.

His “Warrant ofAppointment” was signedby President Ram NathKovind following whichthe law ministry issued anotification naming thejudge as the next head ofthe Indian judiciary.

Justice Bobde also head-ed a three-member in-house committee whichgave a clean chit to CJIGogoi on a sexual harass-ment complaint against

him by a former apexcourt staffer. — PTI

Justice Bobde will takeoath as 47th CJI today

New Delhi, Nov. 17: Shoot-at-sight orders have beenissued to security forcesdeployed across LWEaffected states after a“serious and new” threatof possession and opera-tion of drones by Maoistcadres came to lightrecently, officials said onSunday.

The latest directive by aunified command of secu-rity and intelligence agen-cies at the Centre comesin the wake of a maidenincident where drones orunmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs) were seen hover-ing over a strategicallyimportant CRPF camp inthe worst Naxal-violenceaffected district of Sukmain Chhattisgarh’s southBastar region.

As per official communi-cation shared by groundforces, official sourcessaid, “Small red and whitelight emitting drones”were seen flying near theCRPF camp in Kistaramand Pallodi last month atleast four times in threedays.

The drones emitted a“low whizzing sound” thatdrew attention of campguards after which offen-sive position was taken bytroops and an alert sound-ed across all the nearbycamps anticipating possi-ble trouble by Naxals.

However, sources said,the mini-UAVs soon disap-peared from the sky abovethe CRPF camps evenbefore they could beaimed at and shot.

The development rangalarm bells in the securityestablishment leadingintelligence agencies to avendor in Mumbai who issuspected to have sold thedrones to some unidenti-fied persons, possiblyNaxal cadres. Inquiries inthis context are ongoing,sources added.

Agencies are particular-ly concerned as the twocamps where these droneswere spotted are locateddeep inside the Naxalhotbed, do not have properroad connectivity and wit-ness regular movementsof armed Maoist cadres asthe area shares borderwith Odisha, Maharas-htra and leads to the jun-gle corridor of AndhraPradesh. — PTI

In a first, Naxals use dronesover CRPF camp in Bastar

Devoteesbrave rains tooffer prayersat Sabarimala

Notice to EDon Puri bailplea overcopter scam

Jammu, Nov. 17: A sol-dier was killed and twomore were injured in asuspected IED blastnear the Line of Controlin Akhnoor sector hereon Sunday, a defencespokesperson said.

The explosion tookplace when an Armyteam was on a routinepatrolling duty in thePallanwalla area, hesaid.

The official identifiedthe deceased soldier asHavaldar SantoshKumar, a resident ofPura Bhadauria villageof Agra in UttarPradesh.

Both the injured wererushed to the hospital,he said.

Officials said the blasthappened near the bor-der fencing in theIndian territory.

The improvised explo-sive device (IED) isbelieved to have beenplanted from across theborder and detonatedwhen some Army per-sonnel were movingtowards a forward post,they said, adding thatthe condition of one ofthe injured was stated tobe “serious”.

Meanwhile, rail servic-es in the Kashmir Valleyresumed fully onSunday — over threemonths after being sus-pended due to securityreasons- as the trainchugged from Srinagarto Banihal through therestive south Kashmir,officials said.

The train passes thro-ugh Srinagar stationand the stations in southKashmir before reach-ing Banihal. — PTI

Hyderabad, Nov. 17: A“tipsy” woman from Nag-aland allegedly tried tobite a policewoman afterbeing detained based on acomplaint that she wassemi-clad, drunk and cre-ated a ruckus in public.

A video of the incident,which happened onSaturday night and hassince gone viral, showedthe woman trying to“bite” one policewomanand roughing up the oth-ers while being broughtunder the control at the

Banjara Hills station.In the video, the accused

in her 30s was purported-ly heard threatening thepolicewomen. The womanclaimed she works in asoftware firm in the city,though she did not pro-duce any document in thisregard, the police said.

She was brought to thestation after residents ofZaheera Nagar informedthe police that a drunken,half-clad woman was cre-ating a nuisance in thearea. — PTI

‘Tipsy’ woman createsruckus at police station

Soldier killed inblast near LoC

Ratul Puri

■ Continued from Page 1BJP, being motivated bythe RSS, was conspiringto uproot the Assamesecommunity, its languageand culture. “To achievethis, the BJP is trying tooutnumber the indige-nous Assamese people byproviding citizenship toHindu Bengalis who infil-trated into Assam fromerstwhile East Pakistan,”said Mr Phukan, who alsosaid the BJP’s sole objec-tive was to marginalisethe Assamese in theirown land.

The Morcha leader,seeking an united move-ment to block the passageof the bill, also regrettedthat if the Congressreturns to power, they(Congress) would advo-cate granting citizenshipto Muslims again on

“humanitarian grounds”.Mr Phukan added: “Weare forced to struggle forsurvival in our own land;and we are betrayed byour own leaders. They areneither vocal for theinterests of the Assam-ese, neither in Dispur norin Delhi. Their intentionis only to remain in powerand follow the dictates ofthe RSS.”

The bill, posted on theofficial website of LokSabha, seeks to “amendthe definition of illegalmigrant, reduction in thenumber of years of resi-dency period to obtainIndian citizenshipthrough naturalisationand empower the Centralgovernment to cancel theregistration of OverseasCitizen of India card incase of any violation”.

■ Continued from Page 1the petition would be dis-missed, we would still filea review petition. It is ourright,” he said.

Reacting to the BabriMasjid case plaintiffIqbal Ansari’s refusal tofile a review petition, MrJilani said the board wasexercising its constitu-tional right and there wasno politics in the issue.He claimed Mr Ansariwas “probably being pres-sured by the districtadministration to not filea review petition”.

Referring to the need fora change of venue of themeeting, Mr Jilanialleged officials from the district administra-tion had tried to stop the meeting at DUNU, sothe venue had to bechanged. Members who

arrived at the originalvenue were taken to thenew venue and the mediawas not informed, healleged.

The Muslim PersonalLaw Board spokespersonssaid the Supreme Courtverdict was “self-contra-dictory, and added: “Thecourt has accepted thefact that namaz wasoffered on site and thatidols were forcibly placedat the site on the night onDecember 22-23, 1949. Thejudges ignored the factthat under waqf rules, amosque cannot be shifted.There was also no proofof any temple under thedomes of the demolishedmosque.”

They also said that theyhad not contested the caseto secure an alternativepiece of land.

Groups warn of stir Bodies seek review

■ Continued from Page 1conceded the race and con-gratulated Mr Rajapaksaand urged him to imple-ment his manifesto prom-ising tax cuts, free foodrations and subsidies tofarmers.

Mr Rajapaksa, who willsucceed PresidentMaithripala Sirisena for afive-year term, will besworn in as the seventh

executive President of SriLanka on Monday at theancient north-centralBuddhist pilgrim town ofAnuradhapura.

The turnout inSaturday’s vote was 83.7per cent.

The election resultsshowed that minorityTamil and Muslim com-munities had overwhelm-ingly voted for ruling

party candidate SajithPremadasa, who came adistant second with 41.99per cent of the vote.

Mahinda Rajapaksa,with Gotabaya — nick-named the “Terminator”by his own family — effec-tively running the securi-ty forces, ended a 37-yearcivil war with theLiberation Tigers ofTamil Eelam. His decade

in power was also markedby alleged rights abuses,murky extra-judicialkillings and closer tieswith China.

“I didn’t sleep all night,”said student Devni, 22, oneof around 30 people whogathered outside MrRajapaksa’s Colombo resi-dence. “I am so excited, heis the President we need.”

— AFP

Gotabaya elected as Lanka’s new Prez

PAGE

5News+MONDAY | 18 NOVEMBER 2019 | NEW DELHITHE ASIAN AGE

New Delhi: The IndiraGandhi Government todaysurvived a censure motionon Rabat in the Lok Sabhatoday by an overwhelmingmajority of 306 votes to 140.

The motion moved by Mr.Piloo Mody (Swa.) soughtto arraign the Governmentfor the failure of its foreignpolicy, specially in regardto the Rabat episode.

The voting patternshowed that even leavingout 43 members of the twoCommunist parties, theGovernment could securethe support of a majorityin the House with the helpof Independents and otherparties.

The tally worked out to263 members excluding theCommunists out of a totalstrength of 518 in the LokSabha and 448 memberspresent and voting on themotion today. There weretwo abstentions.

The result was receivedwith loud thumping oftables by members of theruling Congress.

The voting results fallsshort of the Syndicate’sexpectations though it hadnot expected theGovernment to be defeatedon the issue.

The five-and-a-half hourdebate witnessed a hard-hiting intervention byExternal Affairs MinisterDinesh Singh who main-tained that theGovernment’s decision toattend the Rabat Islamicsummit was no departurefrom the late Mr. Nehru’spolicy.

Mr. Singh said this ques-tion was considered indepth during Mr. Nehru’stime in 1955 and it wasdecided that India shouldnot normally participate inreligious conferences. Butif political conferenceswere held under religiouslabel, India should partici-pate in them.

Indira govt survives

censure motion

50 YEARS AGO IN

India’s slipping to the102nd position of 117countries in theGlobal Hunger Index2019, down from the

rank of 95 in the 2018index, perhaps raisedmany eyebrows. Moreover,Bangladesh and Pakistan,once part of a unifiedIndian polity, have leftIndia behind, by being at88 and Pakistan at 94respectively, though all thethree are still in the cate-gory of “serious” hunger,according to the report.

Now, how have India,Pakistan and Bangladesh,who share a common his-tory, chartered the des-tinies of people, women inparticular, within theirrespective geographicallimits?

In the UNDP’s humandevelopment indicators(HDI), 2018, India is aheadat the 130th position in theoverall ranking, whileBangladesh is at 136 andPakistan at 150, among the189 countries evaluated.But, in several key dimen-sions of human well-being, Bangladesh hasshown better outcomesthan India and of course,Pakistan, the country ofits immediate origin.

Bangladesh has regis-tered an increase of 75.1per cent in HDI value from1990 to 2017, while it was 50per cent for India and 39per cent for Pakistan dur-ing the same period. Eventhe loss in HDI value dueto existing inequalities islesser for Bangladesh,which is about 24.1 percent, while it is 26.8 percent for India, and 31 percent for Pakistan, which ishigher than the SouthAsian average of 26.1 percent.

In terms of life expectan-cy at birth, a crucial indi-cator of overall health sta-tus, it was 74.6 years forfemales and 71.2 years formales in Bangladesh in2017, and it had surpassedthe South Asian average of70.9 years for females and67.8 years for males. Both

India and Pakistan remainbelow the South Asianaverage with 70.4 years forfemales and 67.3 years formales and 67.7 years forfemales and 65.6 years formales respectively.Bangladesh has alsogained longevity nearly by14.4 years, India by 11years, and Pakistan 6.5years during the last threedecades. A newborn inBangladesh is more likelyto see her fifth birthdaythan her Indian orPakistani counterparts. Inunder-five mortality rates,India, now matches theglobal average of 39 deathsper 1,000 live births, andalso could reduce the gen-der gap in mortality by 2.5per cent, but Bangladeshhas already gone muchahead by reducing thedeath rates to 32 per 1,000live births, while Pakistanis lagging behind with 61.2deaths per 1,000 livebirths.

Today Bangladesh’sschool-age children canexpect to stay in school 5.8years longer, while, it is 4.7years in India, and inPakistan 4 years. However,in case of girl children, theexpected years of school-ing in India is slightly bet-ter, which is 12.9 years forgirls and 11.9 years for

boys, while it is 11.7 yearsfor girls and 11.3 years forboys in Bangladesh. InPakistan, for a girl, it is 7.8years and 9.3 years for aboy. In women’s educationat the secondary level,Bangladesh has the high-est performance of 44 percent in South Asia, andboth India and Pakistanwith 39 per cent and 27 percent respectively remainbelow the South Asianaverage of 39.8 per cent.

NotwithstandingIndia’s whoopingjump of 266.6 percent in GrossN a t i o n a lIncome (GNI)per capita(between 1990-2017), there is ahuge gender gapin India in percapita income,which is `2,722 for afemale and `9,729 for amale. The gap is furtherwide in Pakistan with`1,642 for a female and`8,786 for a male. ButBangladesh could narrowdown the gap considerably,having GNI per capita at`2,041 for females and`5,285 for males.

Women in the politicalsphere, both inBangladesh and Pakistan,however, have gone ahead

with higher representa-tion in Parliament, with20.7 per cent and 20.2 percent respectively, andIndia could improve itstally only marginally to14.36 per cent in the 2019election from 11.6 per centin 2014.

In the GenderDevelopment Index orGDI, 2017, a “gender-sensi-tive extension of the HDI”,Bangladesh achieved a

higher GDI valueof 0.881, while

it is 0.841 forIndia and0.750 forPakistan.It alsomanagedwell withregard to

w o m e n ’ spar ticipa-

tion inlabour, account-

ing for 33 per cent,which is 27.2 per cent forIndia and 24.9 per cent forPakistan as per the UNDPreport, 2018. In case ofIndia, what is worrying isthat the recent NSSO-con-ducted periodic labourforce survey (PLFS) dataindicated that the femaleLabour ForceParticipation Rate (LFPR)has fallen to a historic lowof 23.3 per cent in 2017-18,

possibly due to the rise inthe rates of higher educa-tion enrolment. In case ofPakistan, a 2016 AsianDevelopment Bank (ADB)report said that “lowfemale participation informal employment is dueto several restrictions onphysical mobility due tothe factors of safety andcrime, availability oftransport, etc, apart fromother socio-cultural andreligious norms…”.

Bangladesh, for the thirdconsecutive year,remained at the 47th rankamong 144 nations as perthe World EconomicForum’s Global GenderGap Index (GGGI), 2017,and topped the SouthAsian countries in genderequality, while India’sposition nosedived from87th to 108th, and Pakistanfigured at the 143rd posi-tion, being the last, butone country.

Former Indian high com-missioner to Bangladesh,P.K. Chakravarty, whilecommenting on women’sbetter performance inBangladesh, said that“large scale women’semployment in the ready-made garment sector ledto their emancipationfrom patriarchal socialpractices and also contri-

butions of thousands ofNGOS helped in achievingbetter health and educa-tion and financial inclu-sion at the grassroots,apart from the govern-ment incentives to girlchild education”.Commenting onPakistan’s lopsided genderrepresentation, SushantSareen, senior fellow,Observer ResearchFoundation, said that “it isthe deeply-rooted patri-archy that hindered theprogress of ordinarywomen, and only a fewelite-class women couldmake some headway...”.

Now, India has remainedfor years a top performingcountry in South Asia interms of annual GDPgrowth and also is aspir-ing to become a $5 trillioneconomy by 2024, yet interms of gender parity, ithas miles to go, while acomparatively youngnation like Bangladeshhas fuelled its economicgrowth on the strength ofhuman resources, womenin particular.

The writer is a formerdirector-general of

Doordarshan and AllIndia Radio and a former

press secretary to thePresident of India

Taipei: Relations between Taiwanand the Chinese mainland remainrocky in the run-up to Taiwan’s elec-tions in January, with Taiwan’s“assertive lady president” Tsai Ing-wen set to challenge Beijing bypressing for Taiwan’s participationin various world bodies affiliated tothe United Nations. In order tobreak out of its perceived interna-tional isolation due to the OneChina policy followed by most coun-tries including India, Taiwan —under her stewardship — hasembarked on an ambitious New Southbound Policy since 2016that focuses on boosting trade tieswith 18 nations that include the 10Asean (southeast Asian) nationsand six south Asian nations includ-ing India, besides Australia andNew Zealand.

The next show of strength fromTaiwan is expected to take placesoon in the Spanish Capital Madridwhich will play host to the UNFramework Convention on ClimateChange (UNFCCC) Conference ofParties (COP) from December 2 toDecember 13. “Although not a signa-tory party to the convention,Taiwan will still send a delegationto the Madrid Summit,” Taiwanannounced recently. Taiwan’s “envi-ronmental protection administra-tion minister” Chang Tzi-chin said,“As a result of the current politicalsituation, Taiwan has been barredfrom participating in the UNFCCCwhose 25th session of the COP willbe held in December. Neverthelesswe continue to pursue means ofmaking contributions to the inter-

national community.”But this is not the only occasion.

In September this year, Taiwan hadstrongly pushed for its participationin the International Civil AviationOrganisation (ICAO). The ChineseGovernment has blocked Taiwan’sparticipation, referring to the One-China Principle and arguing thatonly sovereign nations can partici-pate in activities of UN-affiliatedagencies. Taiwan had also in Maythis year accused the Chinese gov-ernment of using its political cloutto force the UN not to invite it(Taiwan) to the forthcoming sessionof the World Health Assembly(WHA), the decision-making body ofthe UN’s World Health Organisation(WHO), in Geneva, Switzerland.

Cross-straits ties, the term used todescribe the complex relationshipbetween the Chinese mainland andTaiwan, has mostly been frosty, if

not downright hostile through thedecades. Exactly 70 years ago, thethen Kuomintang (KMT) chief Gen.Chiang Kai-shek had retreated tothe island of Taiwan off the coast ofmainland China after losing thecivil war to chairman Mao Tse-Tung’s communists. Taiwan some-how managed to survive as a de-facto separate entity due to theUnited States which has extendedenormous support to it through the decades.

Just four years ago, the cross-straits ties appeared headed for bet-ter times. In November 2015,Taiwan’s then “president” Ma Ying-jeou — who belonged to the KMT —held a famous meeting with ChinesePresident Xi Jinping in Singapore,the first cross-straits meeting at thehighest level since the end of theChinese civil war in 1949. But thedefeat of the KMT candidate in elec-

tions in 2016 brought to power TsaiIng-wen, the “first-ever lady presi-dent” in the island from theDemocratic Progressive Party(DPP) who has not hesitated to challenge Beijing, unlike her predecessor.

Referring to the success of the“New Southbound Policy” launchedby Ms Tsai, Taiwan said it has gen-erated some impressive numbers in “just two years”.Taiwan recently announced thattrade between Taiwan and these 18nations “amounted to US$ 117 bil-lion in 2018, a 22 per cent increasefrom 2016”.

It is, therefore, with much interestthat the elections in Taiwan inJanuary will be watched globallywhen Ms Tsai will battle a chal-lenger from the KMT which ironically now is seen as soft onmainland China. Speaking to thisnewspaper in Taipei recently, international relations expert DaleJieh felt there is a need to improvethe cross-straits relationship andbring about a balance in tiesbetween Taiwan and mainland China on the one handand with the 18 nations with whichTaiwan is boosting trade ties as part of the New SouthboundPolicy on the other. It is an electionthat Beijing too will be closelywatching.

Bangladeshi garment factory workers — PTI

■ India hasremained for years a top performingcountry inSouth Asiain terms ofannual GDPgrowth andis aspiring tobecome a $5 trillioneconomy by2024. Yet interms ofgender parity, it hasmiles to go,while a compara-tively youngnation likeBangladeshhas fuelledits economicgrowth onthe strengthof humanresources,women inparticular.

Pollutants in the airare making ourcities increasinglyhostile to our good

health and well-being.Respiratory and lung ail-ments have become com-mon health hazards.Among the other organsof the body, the skin isone of the first to bear thebrunt of air pollutants,which not only attack theskin surface, but also leadto an accumulation oftoxins. In fact, they arepotent skin irritants.There are both long- andshort-term effects of pol-lutants. Chemical pollu-tants hasten visible age-ing signs and also disruptthe normal balances ofthe skin and scalp, lead-ing to problems like dry-ness, sensitivity, rashes,acne, irritation or allergicreactions. All of us wholive and work in urbanareas need protectivebeauty care. For workingwomen, the job mayinvolve traveling long dis-tances to work. The skinis thus more exposed tothe pollutants in the air.

Cleansing of the skinassumes more impor-tance in order to get rid ofthe impurities and pollu-tants that are depositedon the skin. If you have a

dry skin, use a cleansingcream or gel. For oilyskins, cleansing milk orface wash may be used.For oily skin, also use afacial scrub after cleans-ing. Look out for productswith ingredients like san-dalwood, eucalyptus,mint, neem, tulsi, aloevera, and so on, when youbuy cleansers. The anti-toxic and tonic propertiesof such ingredients havehelped in clearing theskin congestion and erup-tions that result fromexposure to chemical pol-lutants. Aloe vera, forexample, is also a power-ful moisturizer and ananti-oxidant. So are ingre-dients like apricot kerneloil, carrot seed, wheatgerm oil, and so on.

After cleansing, wipethe skin with rose watermixed with witch hazelin equal quantities, usingcotton wool. This com-pletes the cleansingprocess and refreshes theskin. Soak cotton wool inchilled rose water andtone the skin with it, pat-ting briskly. It alsoimproves blood circula-tion to the skin surfaceand adds a glow. Greentea also makes a goodskin toner. If there is arash or eruptions, add a

little rose water to san-dalwood paste and applyon the face. Wash offwith plain water after 15minutes.

Nowadays, activatedcharcoal is used to detox-ify the skin. It may beavailable at a chemistshop. Mix activated char-coal with aloe vera geland rose water. Apply athin layer on the face,avoiding the lips andarea around eyes. Washoff after 20 minutes.

Use a scrub twice aweek. Take sesame seeds(til), dried mint (pudina)leaves and honey. Crushthe sesame seeds coarselyand powder the driedmint leaves. Mix themwith a little honey andapply on the skin. Leaveon for 5 minutes. Rub gen-tly and wash off withwater. Sesame seeds actu-ally have sun protectiveproperties and alsosoothe the skin. Mint hasantiseptic properties andprevents rashes caused bypollutants.

Cover creams form abarrier between the skinand pollutants. A covercream containing sandal-wood would be ideal, as itwould form a transparentprotective cover, verymuch like foundation.Sandalwood soothes theskin and protects it fromskin irritation and erup-tive conditions. It suits allskin types.

The writer is a pioneer-ing herbal beauty entre-preneur who has taken

the herbal heritage ofAyurveda worldwide

Poison in the air? Keep your skin safe

Sridhar Kumaraswamimeanwhile

Archana Datta

focus

● The defeat of the KMTcandidate in elections in2016 brought to powerTsai Ing-wen, the ‘first-ever lady president’in the island from theDemocratic ProgressiveParty (DPP) who has nothesitated to challengeBeijing, unlike her predecessor, Ma Ying-jeou

ODDLY ENOUGH

Melbourne: A pigeon hasbeen pinching poppies from

the Tomb of the UnknownSoldier at Australia’s national

war memorial in Canberraand using them to build a

colourful nest in the lead-upto Remembrance Day com-

memorations. The day ismarked on Nov. 11 each year.

— Reuters

Pigeon offers reminderof WW1 anniversary

Bangladeshhas registeredan increase of

75.1 per cent in HDIvalue from 1990 to2017, while it was

50 per cent for India

Bangladeshi women steal a march over Pakistanis, and Indians too!

Beijing watches as Taiwan led byassertive Tsai heads for Jan polls

Shahnaz Husain

aside

President Tsai Ing-wen (left) will be facing off against Kuomintang’s Han Kuo-yu

The best homilyabout the role ofParliament inan electoraldemocracy, and

that too a legislature thatis almost wholly modelledon the practices and codesof Westminster, is that itbelongs to the Opposition.That was all too evidentin the House of Commonslegislation that stoppedBoris Johnson from bull-dozing his way over a “no-deal” Brexit.

The Opposition in theUnited States Congresshas been equally success-ful in holding PresidentDonald Trump to accountand initiating impeach-ment proceedings. Theidea of the Opposition isso strongly embedded inthese systems that votingwith the Opposition is nota cardinal sin. In contrast,parties in India tend to beinflexible. Positions onceadopted remain largelyunchanged. What doestend to happen is thatcompromises are workedout on the basis of a con-sensus that is achievedthat does not compromisethe original stand.

The BJP, however, haslittle time for suchniceties. It railroaded theOpposition in theMonsoon Session with its303-seat majority. It didnot send even one piece oflegislation to committeeto allow the Opposition tohave time to work its wayto agreeing on the pro-posed laws. The fact thatover three months afterits unseemly hurry in leg-islating the end ofArticles 370 and 35A,thereby dismemberingJammu and Kashmir,and making Ladakh a sep-arate Union territory,normality is nowhererestored speaks for whyacting in haste makes forrepentance. Not that theBJP is willing to admit itis clueless about howJammu and Kashmir willreturn to normal, theoccupation will end andan elected governmentwill take responsibilityfor running the new

Union territory.Given this backstory,

the Winter Session ofParliament starting Mon-day will be a sessionwhere the BJP, minus theShiv Sena’s 18 MPs whowill sit in the Opposition,is set to make morechanges to the principlesand structure of theIndian State. From theMonsoon Session, it is evi-dent that the BJP is on amission to legislate asmuch of its election mani-festo “Sankalp Patra”vows that are vehementlyopposed by the significant-ly weakened Opposition.

The course for the BJPin its second term hasbeen set; it is oath-boundto fulfil its agenda asannounced in the mani-festo. That was obviouswhen all it took for thetransfor-m a t i o nof India’smap bychangingJ & K ’ sstatus and its breakupwas railroaded throughParliament and declaredthe law, in less than eighthours.

Top of the list of legisla-tion in the Winter Sessionwill be further changes tothe essential structure ofthe Indian State. TheCitizenship AmendmentBill for the “protection ofpeople of religiousminorities” is in reality alaw to exclude theMuslim minority fromprotection. The bill as list-ed in the BJP’s manifestois only for Buddhists,Sikhs, Jains and of courseHindus. It is glaringlyobvious that the BJP hasno commitment to pro-tecting minorities; it hasan agenda of strippingMuslims, as the largestminority, of all and everyprotection under theConstitution. As an inter-pretation of the BJP’sintentions, this mayappear to be a harsh judg-ment; but the impact ofthe Citizenship Bill willbe just that.

There is reason to besuspicious of the BJP’s

intentions. Its manifestois specific. By prefacingthe rollout of NationalRegister of Citizens forborder states with theCitizenship AmendmentBill, the BJP is expectingto bamboozle illegals whohave sneaked into Indiaby promising effortlessinclusion. Just as it hopesthat the opposition tosuch legislation fromstates like Meghalaya,which fears an influxdiluting its cultural andethnic identity, can besoothed away.

By framing the influx ofillegals as triggering an“adverse impact on localpeople’s livelihood andemployment”, the BJP isstanding on its head theincontrovertible evidencethat proves that migrantsare cheap labour andneeded because the localpopulation either choosesnot to perform those tasksor it is too expensive.Internal migration res-earch confirms thatlabour from Bihar isessential for the survivalof Mumbai, despite theShiv Sena’s rhetoric.

Internalm i g r a -t i o nresearchconfirmsthat as

much as the Tea Tribes,the Muslims werebrought and settled inAssam because industryand agriculture neededthem. Even if the BJP andits entranced vote basechooses to ignore the evi-dence, labour contractorsand those they serviceknow the facts very well.

The hectic legislativeschedule of the BJP ontransforming the essen-tial structure and estab-lishing a proto Hindurashtra with lawfulapproval, albeit of a brutemajority of 303 seats,masks a curious andintriguing deletion.Development has been

removed from the to-dolist. The deletion is notsurprising. The manifestoor Sankalp Patra focuseson vague and wispy offers— vows to double farmerincomes, enable access tomore credit (and there-fore more debt, as thoughthe farmer was notalready in despair andchoosing suicide), devel-opment of agriculture’sallied sectors, linkingagriculture and technolo-gy, increasing irrigation.

Rising inflation and thecommon woman’s hard-ships in feeding youngfamilies, rising unem-ployment, contraction ofthe economy, the shameand misery of malnour-ished and stunted chil-dren, declining numbersof women’s participationin the labour force haveno place the idyllic rajyathat the BJP haspromised its voters.These realities are tooimmediate and politicallyawkward for the party inpower, for over five yearsnow, to handle as part ofits claims of successfullyrunning the country.

The economy and theconsequences of its dis-tressing state, quantifiedby ratings by agencieslike Moody’s that keepfalling, overall growththat all estimates show tobe shrinking to the pointwhen it is mortifyinglyclose to what was oncescornfully described asthe “Hindu rate ofgrowth” notwithstand-ing, the Narendra Modigovernment and the BJPsteered clear of address-ing the most urgent prob-lems in India today.

Before, during and afterthe elections, the BJP andits army of associates andspokespersons were pro-mising that India wouldsoon become one of theBig Five in terms of thesize of the economy. Thatthis particular claim,repeated ad nauseam, hasbeen abandoned for now,is a pointer to the BJP’sawareness that it is doingbadly. Poverty, economicdeprivation and exclu-sion, unemployment areuncomfortable truths.The Winter Session willtest how the Oppositionaddresses these and whatthe BJP does to evaderesponsibility.

The writer is a seniorjournalist in Kolkata

Anew development seen in Hong Kong last week was the arrival onthe streets of the island city — which has enjoyed iconic status asa centre of world trade long before the transfer of the British-runterritory to the People’s Republic in 1997 — of soldiers of the

People’s Liberation Army. In August, around 12,000 soldiers were moved toHK, supposedly on a “rotational” basis.

The PLA soldiers stepped out of their barracks in shorts and T-shirts tohelp clear debris from the protests that rocked the city for five months andturned especially violent in recent weeks. Last week, before the troopscame out in an unusual street-cleaning role, the police fired live ammuni-tion on student protesters who, in turn, used petrol bombs.

The pro-Beijing city government didn't ask for the troops. Their use in aseemingly civic role is thus apt to be seen as a veiled warning to the pro-testers that Beijing won’t hesitate to use harsh measures against them forseeking democracy and the end of intervention from the Communist sys-tem in the rest of China.

The Basic Law — or constitution — promulgated with the post-colonialChinese takeover was under the dictum of “one country, two systems”, giv-

ing HK’s people a large measure of personalautonomy — in politics and business — notknown in the mainland. Beijing’s inten-tions become suspect when, earlier thisyear, it sought to amend a law throughwhich certain suspects were to be extradit-ed to mainland China for trial.

The law was withdrawn recently, but theprotests have mounted in intensity. HK’sprotests were student-driven but profes-sionals and the working poor too havejoined in, although class demarcations inHK don’t appear as sharp as in many othersocieties. Besides use of harsh measures bythe police, the pro-Beijing administrationhas used pro-government protesters tocounter the pro-democracy protests, but

anti-government local actions have become intense.Are the HK protests of a similar register as some of the landmark devel-

opments in Tibet and Xinjiang? This is unlikely. In terms of the scale ofresentments, the latter two are to do with ethnic, national and religiousquestions that are mixed up with human rights violations of minority com-munities. However, HK bears a greater resemblance to what happened atTiananmen Square, the gateway to Beijing's Forbidden City, where onJune 4, 1989 the police and the military fired bullets into mostly studentpro-democracy protesters. The more extreme estimates place the deathcount in “thousands”.

But neither the Chinese authorities nor HK’s people are likely to forgetthat the day after Tiananmen around 70,000 people in HK maintained apeaceful vigil in memory of the students who fell in Beijing.

If the Communist authorities wish to avoid rude jolts, they need to adopta conciliatory posture. Luckily for Beijing, there’s little scope in HK, orTibet or Xinjiang, for trans-border armed infiltration, as seen commonly inboth Afghanistan or Kashmir in India.

18 NOVEMBER 2019

India has made an intriguing choice of chief guest for Republic Day 2020in Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro. The invitation to the BrazilianPresident in the course of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to that

South American country for the Brics summit last week has stoked a con-troversy, to say the least. Those opposing him have gone to the extent ofcalling him “homophobic, misogynist and a bigot”.

Mr Bolsonaro was also in the news for his overt support to forces thatmay have set thousands of fires in the Amazon rainforest, seen as a threatto the world’s ecology. Curiously, he had then got support for his pro-busi-ness policies from northern neighbour Donald Trump. In sum, MrBolsonaro doesn’t seem to be a leader India should roll out the red carpet for.

The government may not have gauged the antipathy to Brazil’sPresident in reaching out to South America, from where Brazil is India’sbiggest trading partner with over $6 billion, a bit in Brazil’s favour inexports to India. The tilt to the right wing is a given thanks to the ideolo-gy of the present leadership in Delhi. As one of those furthering the newpolitical phenomenon of “strongmanship” worldwide, the BJP-NDA mayfind in Mr Bolsonaro a kindred soul.

History shows that in recent decades India pinned its choice of R-Daychief guest in terms of strategic and trade interests, and spread its searchfar and wide. The nation even had Pakistan’s governor-general MalikGhulam Muhammad as chief guest in 1955, which is unthinkable amidtoday’s cold war with our neighbour. There are, however, strategic rea-sons for India to look closer to home in choosing a ceremonial guest. Byany standards, Mr Bolsonaro isn’t one who is widely admired.

Why Bolsonaro for R-Day?

PLA soldiers’ deploymenta warning to Hong Kong

THE ASIAN AGET. VENKATRAM REDDY

Editor in Chief

Printer & Publisher: T. VENKATESWARLU

THE ASIAN AGE offices are located at:New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru National Youth Centre, 219 Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, New Delhi-110002. Phone: (011) 23211124.Mumbai: Sigma House, # 43, Ground Floor, R. A. Kidwai Marg, Near Wadala Rly Station, Wadala (West), Mumbai -400 031 Phone (022) 24195301 Fax (022) 24195347Kolkata: 4th Floor, Chowdhury Building, 8/1A Little Russel Street, Kolkata 700 071.Phone: (033) 2289 0676/77 Fax (033) 2289 0686Registered as a newspaper at the Post Office in the United KingdomAir surcharge for Kathmandu and J&K `1Published and Printed on behalf of and for◗ Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited, Jawaharlal Nehru National Youth Centre, 219 Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, New Delhi 110 002 at BFL Infotech Ltd., C-9, Sector-III, Noida -201301.◗ Mumbai: Dangat Media Pvt Ltd, Plot No 22, Digha MIDC, TTC Industrial Estate Area, Vishnu Nagar, Digha, Navi Mumbai-400708.◗ Kolkata: Satyajug Employees Cooperative Industrial Society Ltd, 13/A, Prafulla Sarkar Street, Kolkata 700 072. ◗ London: Quickmarsh Ltd, 8th Floor, Block 2, Elizabeth House, 39 York Road, London, SE1 7NQ.RNI Registration number: 57290/94Postal registration numbers: DL(S)-05/4189/15-17

The pro-Beijing citygovernment didn’t ask

for the troops. Theiruse in a seemingly

civic role is thus apt tobe seen as a veiled

warning to the protesters that Beijingwon’t hesitate to use

harsh measuresagainst them...

c m y k c m y k

The world is a tragedy to those who think, acomedy to those who feel

We are not expendable. We are not flowersoffered at the altar of profit and power.

HORACE WALPOLEMIND POWER

RASHIDA BEE PAGE

6EditMONDAY | 18 NOVEMBER 2019 | NEW DELHITHE ASIAN AGE

Though the Congress is now inserious talks with the SharadPawar-led NationalistCongress Party and the Shiv

Sena for the formation of a coalitiongovernment in Maharashtra, there isno end to the discussion on what tookso long for the grand old party tocome on board. While various rea-sons are being cited by party insid-ers, they have been predictably hesi-tant to admit that the decision wasdelayed because Congress presidentSonia Gandhi was trying to get intouch with Rahul Gandhi for hisfeedback but was unable to do so ashe was travelling abroad. The Nehru-Gandhi scion may have steppeddown as party chief but, from allaccounts, Sonia Gandhi does nottake any major decision without con-sulting him. Meanwhile, Congressleaders have been busy explainingthat Sonia Gandhi could not haveoffered unilateral support to the ShivSena till she was formallyapproached by its chief UddhavThackeray. It was only after he spoketo her that she called a meeting of theCongress working committee to dis-

cuss this issue. The decision was alsodelayed when Mr Pawar informedSonia Gandhi on the phone that, con-trary to reports, the NCP had notgiven its letter of support to the ShivSena ahead of its meeting with thegovernor. Maharashtra Congressleaders, who were in favour of align-ing with the Shiv Sena, got an earfulfrom Sonia Gandhi as they had citedMr Pawar's consent to strengthentheir argument.

Avideo, showing how PrimeMinister Narendra Modi vir-tually ignored Punjab chief

minister Amarinder Singh on hisarrival in the state for the inauguralceremony of the opening of theKartarpur Sahib corridor, has goneviral. People in Punjab are upset thatwhen Mr Modi landed, he barelyacknowledged the chief ministerwith a cursory namaste and thenwent on to shake hands with the oth-ers who had lined up to welcomehim. They maintain that this was anopen insult to a democratically elect-ed chief minister and that Mr Singhshould have made a noise about it.

While pointing to how Mr Modi hadignored the Punjab chief minister,people in Punjab are quick to drawattention to the courtesies extendedto former minister Navjot SinghSidhu by Pakistani Prime MinisterImran Khan at the inaugural cere-mony of the Kartarpur Sahib corri-dor despite the ongoing cold warbetween New Delhi and Islamabad.In fact, Sidhu's rousing speech on theoccasion has made him a hero inPunjab as the Sikh community isconvinced that the Pakistan govern-ment had provided access to itsrevered shrine only after the PunjabMLA put in a word with his formercricketing buddy Imran Khan.

The manner in which the Modigovernment is proceeding withits plans for a new Parliament

building and development/redevel-opment of New Delhi’s Central Vista— the four-kilometre stretch fromthe Rashtrapati Bhavan to IndiaGate — has caught the attention ofthe newly-constituted parliamentarystanding committee on urban devel-opment. The panel’s members,

which includes Digvijaya Singh andKumar Ketkar, are set to seek clarifi-cation on a host of issues relating tothis massive and a highly expensiveproject at its next meeting. Membershave especially taken note of the factthat the details of the works havebeen kept under wraps and thatthere has been no effort to get inputsfrom members of the public, archi-tects, designers and urban planners.Urban development ministerHardeep Puri has gone on record tosay that a number of bhavans, cur-rently housing government officeswill be demolished but no one knowswhich buildings will be knockeddown. Since there is no clarity in thisregard, it is being speculated that theNational Archives and NationalMuseum, both heritage buildings onJanpath, are among those whichhave been earmarked for demolition.In fact, former culture secretaryRaghavendra Singh, who has beenappointed CEO of development ofmuseums and cultural spaces, isalready in talks with experts aboutmoving the National Museum to analternative site.

The construction of a newParliament building may taketime but it appears the staff is

already being prepared to work in anew “five-star” style environment.To begin with, railway employees,who have been deputed to man theParliament House canteens, wererecently sent to the MauryaSheraton for special training on,among other things, how to lay atable and serve a meal. The waiterscame back impressed with thetraining and the hotel’s infrastruc-ture but were not sure if it will bepossible to put their newly-acquired skills into practice. Afterall, there is little comparisonbetween a five-star hotel and theParliament House canteens whichare cramped and overcrowdedespecially when the session is on.This is not the first time that aneffort has been made to upgrade thecanteens, improve the service andsmarten up the waiters with newuniforms but to little avail.

The writer is a Delhi-based journalist

Rahul delayedCong Maha bid;

snub by Modiangers Punjab

Momentum of inertia,govt remains in denial

The hectic legisla-tive schedule of theBJP on establishing

a proto Hindu rashtra with lawfulapproval masks a

curious and intriguing deletion.

Development hasbeen removed from

the to-do list.

MUSLIMS VICTIMSTHE MUSLIM COMMUNITY inIndia is in turmoil. In the last 150days, they have been systematicallytargeted by government policies anddecisions. Yet there is no leader whocan communicate its deep sense ofbetrayal to the authorities. Eventhose from within the communityitself find themselves unable to gobeyond the role of party stooges.They only approach the communitywhen they need votes. AsaduddinOwaisi of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen seems to be thesole exception. He has agitatedagainst the post-Godhra riots, andcriticised the Ayodhya verdict, thenew triple talaq law, the NationalRegister of Citizens and theCitizenship Amendment Bill, as wellas the watering down of Article 370.Muslims everywhere vest theirhopes in him.

Mahmudul Hasan Gorakhpur, UP

BANKRUPTCY BLUESNECK-DEEP in debt and facingmounting losses, it is not surprisingthat Anil Ambani and four otherdirectors of debt-ridden telco,Reliance Communications, havethrown in the towel and resignedfrom the company. In February2019, the company had filed forbankruptcy as it was unable to sellassets to repay its debt. While eldersibling Mukesh is going full steamahead, it has been downhill for AnilAmbani, saddled as he is with prob-lems galore. What a fall from gracefor the younger Ambani!

N.J. Ravi ChanderBengaluru

LETTERS

WATER VIGILANCEWater distress is a lotabout development, envi-ronment and infrastruc-ture. A new study hasfound piped drinkingwater supplied in 13 statecapitals to be "undrink-able", Mumbai being theonly metropolis wherepeople can drink tapwater safely. This is nogood news. The entiresupply chain needs to berelooked at with appro-priate policy changes.Ground-level institutionsmust be empowered andmade more responsible inthis regard.

Tarique AnwarBengaluru

`500 for the best letter of theweek goes to Bhavesh Prajapat

(Nov. 14). Email: letters@asianage.com

Subhani

Anita Katyal

Shikha Mukerjee

Political Gup-Shup

WINTER SESSIONTHE REAL ISSUES

PAGE

7OpedMONDAY | 18 NOVEMBER 2019 | NEW DELHITHE ASIAN AGE

NEW CHIP MUTUAL CHILDWord SPY

Stock from a relatively young technology company

A child born to a couple who already have children from previous marriages

Soon after India reorganisedthe former state of Jammuand Kashmir (J&K) into thenew Union territories (UT) of

Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh,China went ballistic.

Geng Shuang, a spokesman ofChina’s ministry of foreign affairs,told the media: “China deplores andfirmly opposes this. This is unlaw-ful and void and this is not effectivein any way and will not change thefact that the area is under Chineseactual control”. He urged India to“earnestly respect Chinese territor-ial sovereignty and uphold peaceand tranquillity in the borderareas”.

China’s territorial “integrity”refers not only to Beijing’s claimsover the Aksai Chin and some otherplaces up to (and in some casesbeyond) the Line of Actual Control(LAC), but to the areas illegallyceded by Pakistan to China in 1963.

India’s external affairs ministryanswered sharply: “We do notexpect other countries, includingChina, to comment on matters thatare internal to India, just as Indiarefrains from commenting on theinternal issues of other countries,”declared the ministry’s spokesman.Referring to the Shaksgam Valley,he pointed out that China had “ille-gally” acquired Indian territories.

One understands why the newmaps released by the governmentirritate China, as this virtuallyopens up another sector to be nego-tiated along the Indo-Chinese dis-puted boundary.

In the new maps, the Leh districtof Ladakh includes the districts ofGilgit, Gilgit Wazarat, Chilhas andTribal Territory of 1947, in additionto the known areas of Leh and ofcourse the Aksai Chin, occupied byChina since the mid-1950s.

Why is the mention of Shaksgaman issue for Beijing?

An agreement was signed onMarch 2, 1963 between Pakistan andChina about portions of Kashmir’sboundary with Xinjiang.

A secret note prepared by theMEA’s historical division men-tioned that “any such agreementwill be ab initio illegal and invalidand will not bind India in anyrespect”. The note observed that thepreamble states that the partieshave agreed to formally delimit anddemarcate the boundary betweenXinjiang and the contiguous areasof Pakistan; the latter based herright on the fact that these areaswere under her “actual control”.

However, as the Indian noteexplained: “Under internationallaw, the right of entering intotreaties and agreements is anattribute of sovereignty.Furthermore, a sovereign cannotpresume to exercise sovereign func-tions in respect of territory otherthan its own. Having regard to theUN resolutions of January 17, 1948and August 13, 1948 and January 5,1949 (UNCIP Resolutions) it is clearthat Pakistan cannot (and does not)claim to exercise sovereignty inrespect of J&K.”

The 1963 MEA note clarified that

according to the terms of the UNResolutions, “Pakistan cannot pur-port to exercise even ‘actual control’over the defence of these areas”.

It quoted a statement of the UnitedNations Commission for India andPakistan (UNCIP): “The Commissiondid not ignore India’s claim to theright to safeguard the security of theState, nor did it put into question thelegality of the Jammu and KashmirGovernment” (UN Doc S/1430). Inother words, the UN acknowledgedthe Instrument of Accession signedby Maharaja Hari Singh.

The legal conclusion was that“Pakistan’s claim to ‘actual control’… can only mean that she has hadrecourse to a line of action which isillegal and inconsistent with the UNResolutions, [it was] reaffirmed byher as late as May 2, 1962.”Occupying a land by force or wardoes not give the titles of that landto the occupiers.

The historical division comment-ed further on Pakistan’s mala fides:“The conclusion of this ‘agreement’amounts to compromising the sov-ereignty of the state of J&K, whichPakistan has no business to do;even though Article 6 of the agree-ment includes provision for itsrenegotiation after the final settle-ment of the Kashmir question.”

It is strange that the governmentsof China and Pakistan announced

the agreement on the eve of impor-tant Indo-Pak talks on Kashmir.

On March 5, 1963, speaking aboutChina during a Calling AttentionMotion in the Lok Sabha, the IndianPrime Minister stated: “If one goesby these maps, Pakistan has obvi-ously surrendered over 13,000square miles of territory.”

Nehru rightly remarked: “Theagreement claims to be provisional,and yet so much haste has beenshown in concluding it. It is signifi-cant that it is not subject to ratifica-tion. Thus, the National Assembly,the press and the public of Pakistanhave been given and will be givenno opportunity to examine theterms of this agreement.”

About China, he added that: “Inspite of its professions that it hasnever involved itself in the disputeover Kashmir or its absurd claimthat the boundary negotiationshave promoted friendship betweenthe Chinese and Pakistani peopleand are in the interests of Asia andworld peace, it is directly interfer-ing in Indo-Pakistan relations. Bydoing this, China, is seeking toexploit differences between Indiaand Pakistan … to further its ownexpansionist policy.”

Unfortunately, India did not havethe wisdom to break the negotia-tions with Pakistan at that time,though the note pointed out thatDelhi objected to Article 1 whichsaid that the boundary in thisregion “has never been formallylimited”; already on May 10, 1962,Delhi had clarified that “the inter-national boundary alignment in thesector west of the Karakoram Passof the boundary of J&K state ofIndia follows well-known naturalfeatures — has been recognised inhistory for all these years.”

Interestingly, the joint China-Pakistan survey of the “donated”areas was conducted in1987 only, 24years after the territory was offeredto China; it means that in 1963,

Pakistan did not even know theexact magnitude of her gift.

The traditional boundary runsalong the watershed dividing thetributaries of the Yarkand river andthat of the Hunza river; then it con-tinues to the Kilik, Mintaka,Karchanai, Parpik and Khunjerabpasses. It later crossed theShaksgam river and after passingthe Aghil mountains, it follows theAghil, Marpo and Shaksgam passesup to the Karakoram Pass.

It was observed that no Chineseauthority had ever reached theseareas, “the Mir of Hunza (inKashmir) exercised authority inthis region and maintained postsand collected revenue”.

The conclusion was that Pakistan,by her own admission as well as bythe UN resolutions, “has no right toact on behalf of any part of J&K. TheUNCIP has clearly recognised thelegality of the J&K government andthe right of India to safeguard thesecurity of the state;” it was just anattempt by Pakistan to formallylegalise her control over the north-ern areas of J&K. Sir Owen Dixon,who in 1950 had been nominated bythe UN as the official mediatorbetween India and Pakistan forKashmir, had termed Pakistan’saction as “inconsistent with inter-national law”.

The historical division concluded:“Since the basis of her claim to con-trol over these areas has itself origi-nated in illegalities, it is clear thatshe cannot use this illegal basis inorder to substantiate her claims tonegotiate on behalf of these areas.”

It is this historical wrong that thenew maps published by the govern-ment are trying to rectify …at leaston paper.

The writer is based in South India for the past

42 years. He writes on India, China, Tibet and Indo-French relations.

As wind is the cause for waves in theocean, desire is the cause for waves(disturbance) in the mind. Thedesireless mind is peaceful, calm

and relaxed but desires (including unful-filled past desires) disturb this calmness.Unfulfilled desires irritate and frustrate themind and fulfilled desires generate newdesires causing expectations, anxiety andworries. And out of new desires, only few getfulfilled and others remain unfulfilled andwe get caught in this vicious cycle of fulfilledand unfulfilled desires.

However, everyone needs some basicamenities in life such as a house, money tobuy food and clothing, a personal vehicleand bit of entertainment plus savings to take

care of future exigencies. But theconfusion is how to differentiatebetween desire and necessity andstrike a balance between them.

Necessity is out of compulsion tolive, desire is out of competition.Desire springs up from the ever-active unsatisfied senses and men-tal comparison with what othershave and what we don’t have. Desire is neverconstant but ever increasing. Runningbehind desire is like that deer which runsafter an illusory desert mirage wherein uponarriving at the identified spot it finds noth-ing and the mirage is visible further away atanother spot.

There lived a rich man in a villa and in theopposite side lived a poor man in a hut. Therich man’s wife used to observe the peace atwhich the poor man and his wife lived butthat peace she never felt neither in herselfnor in her husband. Once when her guru(spiritual master) visited her house, shesought to know as to why is it that eventhough they eat rich and healthy food, yetthey fall sick and the poor couple hardly ateanything yet remained healthy, they slept inair conditioned bedrooms yet got sleep with

difficulty but the poor couple sleptlike logs of wood even in the hut,their future was well secured, yetthey always lived in someunknown fear and the poor couplelook fearless as if they are highlysecured.

To answer the question, the mas-ter asked the rich lady to put some

gold coins in a bag and ordered it to be keptquietly in the poor man’s hut in the night.Next day he left while saying that she shouldobserve the poor man for the next twomonths. A couple of days later, she noticedthat the poor man, who used to come backhome early evening, had started comingback late in the night. Occasionally, shestarted hearing some quarrels between thepoor man and his wife. She observed fallinghealth and wrinkles of tension on the poorman’s face.

The rich man’s wife was amused at thesedevelopments as she thought that after get-ting gold coins the poor couple will look evenmore happier and healthier but the reverseof that had happened. Upon enquiry shecame to know that the poor man after find-ing those gold coins in his house desired to

add some more to them so as to secure hisfuture, buy a house and other luxuries toenjoy. And towards this he started workingdouble-shift, cutting down on his food andstarted consuming alcoholic drinks to over-come his stress. He also forced his wife towork and earn so as to save more money.

This changed attitude brought a lot ofstress on the poor couple. They had no timefor each other. They forgot what they hadand started getting bothered for what othershave and they don’t have.

They forgot to live in the present and start-ed living in the future, thus losing thesecured zone of contentment, losing theirgratitude to God and getting entangled inillusory competition and eventually losingpeace.

This is why it is often said by saints andscriptures, that desire is the main cause ofmental disturbance!

Sadguru Rameshji is a modern age spiritual guru and the force behind

Poorna Ananda, a Hyderabad-based centre for spiritual evolution and joyful

living. He can be contacted atwww.poornaananda.org

The truth about Ladakh’s Shaksgam:Correcting historical wrongs in J&K

Desire: The main cause of mental disturbance

The cruelty inPakistan overSharif’s health

Some cruel little boys tormentinsects by pulling out theirwings. Once a video wentviral showing a young French

Algerian torturing a cat. He wasarrested and jailed. Occasionally,these nasty tendencies remain partof a person’s character, and inflict-ing suffering gives him a perversepleasure. Others think this vicious-ness is part of their job of controllingthose in their power.

It is this last attitude that hadprobably motivated the govern-ment into preventing Nawaz Shariffrom seeking medical treatmentabroad. The whole business ofdemanding an outrageous suretybond of `7 billion reeks of ransom.

Just as we have a duopoly of powerbetween a seemingly elected govern-ment and the security establish-ment, the government appears toshare authority with the judiciary.Thus, even though the legal processto enable Sharif to leave the countryhas been completed, he has run intoa tangle of red tape spun by NAB andthe Cabinet. Nobody appears toaccept responsibility for his releaseand travel abroad. Clearly, this caseis a hot potato, but somebody needsto step up as Sharif is far too ill to betreated like a political football. (TheLahore high court on November 16ordered the Imran Khan govern-ment to remove Nawaz Sharif’sname from the Exit Control List.)

Many in the government and theso-called punditry pooh-poohSharif’s medical condition asminor, and as a ploy to escape themany legal cases he faces. I justhope they never suffer from this ail-ment. Although I’m no doctor, I,too, have a low platelet count(though mercifully not as low asSharif’s), and can attest to thefatigue and energy loss this causes.

While we sink deeper into the holewe have dug for ourselves, theestablishment remains the ele-phant in the room. But despite ourmany reservations about this con-troversial institution, it remains anessential bond that’s holding thecountry together.

There remains no consensus onour direction and goals, and noeffort at building one. This govern-ment, with its narrow agenda ofvendetta and vindictiveness, seemsincapable of addressing the hugeproblems that face the country. Aleader with an open mind and a bigheart would have been more gener-ous to his political rivals to bringthem closer. But Imran Khan’s arro-gant and perpetually angry tempera-ment excludes such a possibility.

A depressing sign of his intoler-ance is evident in the ongoingcrackdown on the media. His com-ment that our media is freer thanits British counterpart would havebeen laughable had it not been soridiculous. TV interviews arepulled off the air in midstream, andsome anchors banned.

Welcome to the New Pakistan.

By arrangement with Dawn

Why is the mention ofShaksgam an issue forBeijing? An agreement wassigned in 1963 betweenPakistan and China aboutportions of Kashmir’sboundary with Xinjiang. Asecret note prepared by theMEA’s historical divisionmentioned that ‘any suchagreement will be illegal’.

IrfanHusain

SadguruRameshji

Claude Arpi

PAGE

8TechnomicsMONDAY | 18 NOVEMBER 2019 | NEW DELHITHE ASIAN AGE

Links in biosTikTok has begun a limited test of a feature thatlets users add links to their bios and posts, whichcan direct audiences to products or services

SHORT TAKES

GALAXY S11MAY RECORDVIDEOS AT 8K

New Delhi, Nov. 17: WhileSamsung is expected to launchthe Galaxy S11 smartphoneduring the fag end ofFebruary, the rumour mill isabuzz with speculations aboutthe smartphone’s features.Now, XDA Developers seemsto have discovered support for8K videos in Samsung’s owncamera app.

Among other revelation, thereport said that the app alsohas references to 108MP pho-tos.

Samsung, which officiallyunveiled the 108MP mobilecamera sensor earlier thisyear, till date, hasn’t used thesensor on any of its ownphones. However, this newrevelation has further excitedthe Galaxy fanbase.

Another bit of code insidethe Samsung Camera appmakes reference to a 20:9aspect ratio display, which ispossibly a reference to the dis-plays of upcoming SamsungGalaxy phones

It's worth emphasizing thatfinding something buried inthe code of an app isn't exactlyofficial confirmation – it's notclear which handsets thesecode snippets are referringtoo, and Samsung couldchange its plans. — Agencies

USERS CAN NOWPROGRAM

SONY’S AIBONew Delhi, Nov. 17: In theworld of personal compan-ions, Sony’s robot dog, Aibo,ranks quite high. However,most people are quite wary tospeed $2,900 for such a vanityitem.

Now, Sony, which seems toheard complaints about Aibo’suselessness, has rolled out a2.50 update that enables,among other things a web-based interface for program-ming actions.

While beginners can use avisual programming kit thatuses blocks to create actions,seasoned programmers canparticipate in a developer pro-gram. However, the updatewon’t allow users to entirelymodify the personalty ofAibo. It can be used to ‘train’the robot dog to do some spe-cific actions. — Agencies

COD: MOBILE TO GET ZOMBIES

MODE SOONNew Delhi, Nov. 17: Moveaside, PUBG. Call of Duty ishere to rule the mobile scenealso. After smashing all down-load records, the COD Mobile’sofficial Twitter account,recently announced that thefan favourite Zombies modewill finally be making its wayto the game on November 22.

For those unfamiliar,Zombies is a game modewhere up to four players arerequired to survive waves ofattacking zombies in a certainlocation where they can alsobuild or repair barriers toslow down the invasion.

Killing zombies and repair-ing barriers will award play-ers with points, which couldbe used to purchase betterweapons, character perks, andto unlock new areas of themap.

Traditionally, the Zombiesmode offers an unlimited num-ber of rounds which will onlyend when all players are elimi-nated. Aside from its releasedate, the developers did notreleased any additional detailson what content is to beexpected. — Agencies

AGE CORRESPONDENTMUMBAI, NOV. 17

WhatsApp, the messagingservice that pretty muchevery android and iOS useruses as their primary text-based communication toolhas been facing issues cur-rently. The brand, nowowned by Facebook cameunder the crosshairs whena recent scandal came tolight in India. Now there isyet another threat from theapp that targets bothAndroid and iOS users atlarge.

A bug discovered by a

security researcher lastmonth allowed attackers touse malicious GIF files topossibly access user con-tent. The GIF sent by theattacker once downloadedon your phone, couldaccess the gallery and sendback images to the attacker.

Now Facebook has con-firmed another vulnera-bility. The companydescribes it this way – “astack-based buffer over-flow could be triggered inWhatsApp by sending aspecially crafted MP4 fileto a WhatsApp user.” Thismeans that when such

malware is sent to yourphone from an attacker,disguised as a video file,the file itself could triggerremote access which theattacker could use to con-

trol your device remotely.The attacker may also usethe file to simply eaves-drop on your communica-tions, in which case youwouldn’t even noticesomething is wrong untilit is too late.

The best way to current-ly make sure that you arenot targeted by any suchvulnerabilities that pop uptime and time again is toalways stay updated to thelatest version ofWhatsApp, which ensuresthat the app version youhave is up-to-speed withfixes and patches for all

such bugs out there.A good practice to follow

is to keep automatic-down-loading turned off. Sincemalware can now be dis-guised as both picturesand videos, not havingthese files in your phone’slocal storage is the ulti-mate precaution you cantake. Download images,videos and recordingsonly from trusted sources.Beware of forwarded mes-sages that often come withaccompanying clickbaitmessages that will try tolure you into downloadingthese files.

New spyware targets WhatsAppDisguised as videos, the spyware, threatens both Android and iOS users

San Francisoco, Nov. 17: Ever-expanding Googlebecomes a gaming compa-ny Tuesday with thelaunch of its Stadia cloudservice that lets peopleplay console-quality videogames on a web browseror smartphone.

The internet giant hopesto break into the globalvideo game industryexpected to top $150 billionthis year, with cloud tech-nology that could broadenaudiences attracted by richnew features as well asease of access with nomore need for consoles.

But analysts say Stadia’soutlook is uncertain as itsfaces rivals such asPlayStation Now in anemerging and highly-com-petitive market.

Stadia plays into a trendin which content — rang-ing from blockbuster filmsto work projects — lives inthe cloud and is accessiblefrom any device. “All ofthese new services aremerely pointing out thatwe don’t need sophisticat-ed hardware in the hometo access entertainment,”said Wedbush Securitiesequity research managingdirector Michael Pachter.

Google last month soldout of “Founder’sEdition” kits, which arepriced at $129. Each kitcontains a Stadia con-troller and a pendant-shaped Chromecast Ultrawireless connectiondevice that plugs into tele-vision sets.

Stadia games areplayable using GoogleChrome web browser soft-ware on computers.

It also works withGoogle-made Pixel smart-phones from the second-generation onward, andon televisions.

Stadia Pro subscrip-tions, priced at $10 amonth in the US, will beavailable in 14 countriesin North America andEurope.

ALL IN THE GAMEBut analysts say Stadia

could wind up as another“bet” that Google walksaway from if it fails to liveup to expectations.

“Stadia will live or die byits content,” said Ovumsenior analyst GeorgeJijiashvili.

“The announced 12launch titles are under-whelming.”Subscriberswill be able to buy gamesthat will be hosted atGoogle data-centers, butsome free games will beavailable to subscribers,starting with “Destiny 2:The Collection.”Stadia onsmartphones will workwith WiFi connectionsrather than rely on mobiletelecom services.

Being able to play with-out lags or interruptions isparamount to gamers, andflawed internet connec-tions could cause frustra-tion. Internet speed willalso determine how richin-game graphics can be.

Some promised featuressuch as integration withYouTube will not be inplace at launch. “Stadiaappears to be rushed outthe door before fully readyand, worryingly, Google isrisking falling short on itspromises,” Jijiashvili said.“These shortcomings how-ever would be easily over-looked if Google can deliv-er a very reliable and high-quality game streamingservice.”Google appearscommitted to doing justthat, according to Ubisoftsenior vice president ofpartnerships Chris Early.

The French video gamegiant has been workingwith Google and its gamesare among titles coming tothe service.

“From what I have seen,their plans are too deep;they are too good, and theyare too invested,” Early

said. “They are not callingit quits any time soon.” Heexpects a long launch peri-od during which Googlewill beef up Stadia. “Ifthere is a one-day problemat launch, it isn’t the endof the world; it isn’t evenclose,” he said, stressingthe potential for Stadia tolet people play withoutinvesting in consoles.

But Pachter questionedwhether subscriptionswere the right approach.

“The right model is payas you go or pay for thegame and play unlimitedwithout a subscription,”Pachter said.

“Amazon will try one ofthose and will win thestreaming wars.”Amazonhas game studios but noonline game service.

BATTLE BREWINGUS technology veteran

Microsoft has been testinga Project xCloud onlinegame platform.

“Next year, we’ll bringProject xCloud toWindows PCs, and are col-laborating with a broadset of partners to make

game streaming availableon other devices as well,”Microsoft corporate vicepresident KareemChoudhry said in anonline post.

Sony InteractiveEntertainment last monthslashed the price of itsPlayStation Now cloudvideo game service byabout half in the US to $10monthly.

Japan-based Sony alsoboosted the library ofgames that PlayStationNow users can accessthrough its consoles or onpersonal computers pow-ered by Windows software.

Sony and Microsoft arealso poised to release new-generation video gameconsoles next year.

“While we expect dedi-cated consoles to eventual-ly lose relevance in theface of cloud gaming serv-ices, there’s no guaranteethat it will be Google’sservice — rather thanSony and Microsoft’s —that catalyzes this trend,”said Ovum senior analystMatthew Bailey.

— AFP

Google enters battlefor cloud gaming martStadia out to liberate games from console shackles

AGE CORRESPONDENTMUMBAI, NOV. 17

It’s a regular day in ourlives. As non-nativeEnglish speakers, we’rereading a new ShashiTharoor tweet and wedon’t understand whathe means by it. Take forexample, ‘farrago’. (Didyou really know what itmeant before it wentviral?)

If you’re a millennialor a tech-savvy boomeryou’re going to flip outyour phone and look upthat word. Now youknow the meaning, how-ever, would you knowhow to say it should itever come up in a con-versation?

Search engine Googleshall now help youactively improve yourpronunciation on itsinterface. While previ-ously users could hearthe pronunciation of aparticular word by click-ing on the speaker iconby the side of a word,now using machinelearning Google willactively listen to andimprove your pronunci-ation.

Google’s SeniorProduct Manager TalSnir explains, “…Speechrecognition technologyprocesses spoken wordsby separating them intoindividual soundbites.Using machine learning,it then cross referencesyour pronunciation withthe pronunciation itexpects.”

The feature is current-ly available in Englishand should soon roll outto Spanish followed byother languages as well,he said. With this, thetech giant alsoannounced that it shallbe adding visual aides toits searches, with rele-vant images popping upwhen a particular wordis looked up.

NOW, GOOGLETO PRONOUNCEWORDS BETTER

AGE CORRESPONDENTMUMBAI, NOV. 17

Microsoft’s CortanaVoice Assistant is aboutto be shut down formany major marketsacross the globe includ-ing the UK, Canada andAustralia for the iOSand Android interface.The app will still bepresent on Windowsmachines. The newscomes after various sup-port posts in the above-mentioned countriesconfirmed the same.

While the standaloneapp will cease to exist,Cortana will be integrat-ed deeper in theMicrosoft 365 office appswhich would leave thestandalone app withoutmuch use of its own.

Any content inCortana’s database willstill be accessible onMicrosoft Windows butnot in the app, whichwill soon be gone and inMicrosoft Launchereither. Post-January31st, MicrosoftLauncher will have anew version that willfunction without theCortana app.

The name ‘Cortana’was adapted from theHalo video-game serieswhere Cortana is anartificial intelligencewith the same voice asits window’s counter-part.

IT’S TIME TO BID FAREWELLTO CORTANA

AGE CORRESPONDENTwith agency inputsHYDERABAD, NOV. 17

While we may have enter-ed the era of subscription,the problem of hijackedaccounts is only set toincrease as our digital sub-scriptions grow in num-ber. Now, Disney+, whichwas recently launched,have after the initial hic-cups have a new problemin hand as hackers havewasted no time to hijack

thousand of accounts thatare now being offered forfree on hacking forums,Zdnet reports.

According to the report,while some of theseaccounts are being offeredfor free, others are beingsold for as high as $11.

The video streamingservice, which waslaunched on November12, is currently availableonly in the US, Canada,and the Netherlands.However, it was marred by

technical issues. Manyusers reported beingunable to stream theirfavorite movies andshows.

But hidden in the floodof complaints about tech-nical issues was a smallerstream of users reportinglosing access to theiraccounts.

Many users reportedthat hackers were access-ing their accounts, log-ging them out of alldevices, and then chang-

ing the account's emailand password, effectivelytaking over the accountand locking the previousowner out.

Complaints like the onesabove flooded social net-works like Twitter andReddit.

UP FOR SALE!The speed at which

hackers have mobilized tomonetize Disney+accounts is astounding.Accounts were put up for

sale on hacking forumswithin hours after the ser-vice's launch.

As of this article’s writ-ing, hacking forums havebeen flooded with Disney+accounts, with ads offer-ing access to thousands ofaccount credentials.

Prices vary from $3 peraccount to as much as $11— which, by the way, ismore than what a legiti-mate Disney+ accountcosts from Disney, whichis $7.

On an unrelated note,Disney Plus is set tolaunch in India after nextyear’s IPL. However, thecatch is the Disney Pluscontent would be madeavailable via Hotstar andnot as a standalone app,according to a report onTechCrunch.

The report further saidthat Hotstar, which hasover 300 million sub-scribers, may increase thesubscription charges to`2,000 from `999.

Disney Plus content would be made available in India after next year’s IPL via Hotstar

AGE CORRESPONDENTwith agency inputsHYDERABAD, NOV. 17

Last week, security firmKryptowire, in a gargan-tuan disclosure, revealed146 vulnerabilities in pre-installed software across29 Android smartphonemakers, Wired reports.

According to the report,most smartphones mak-ers install their own UIover the vanilla Androidas well as their own apps.However, some of thisbloatware have their ownvulnerabilities and thusputs the users at risk.

While most of the 29companies operate main-ly in Asia, heavyweightssuch as Samsung, Asus,Sony and Xaiomi werealso named. Among theIndian smartphone mak-ers, Lava had the dubiousdistinction along withwidely-used brands suchas Infinix, Tecno andCoolpad.

While the bugs vary inseverity and scope — andin some cases, the manu-facturers dispute thatthey’re a threat at all —they illustrate an endem-ic problem for Android,one that Google hasacknowledged.

The vulnerabilitiesKryptowire turned up, inresearch funded by theDepartment of HomelandSecurity, encompasseverything from unautho-rized audio recording tocommand execution tothe ability to modify sys-tem properties and wire-less settings. What makesthem so pernicious,though, is how they get on

phones, and how hardthey are to remove.

“We wanted to under-stand how easy it is forsomeone to be able to pen-etrate the device withoutthe user downloading anapplication,” saysKryptowire CEO AngelosStavrou. “If the problemlies within the device,that means the user hasno options. Because thecode is deeply buried inthe system, in most casesthe user cannot do any-thing to remove theoffending functionality.”

Many of the vulnerabil-ities Kryptowire foundenable apps to do thingslike change settings with-out your knowledge orconsent. “We believe thatif you are a vendor youshould not trust anybodyelse to have the same levelof permissions as youwithin the system,” saysStavrou.

“This should not be anautomatic thing.”

Android phonescome with bugs

Hacked Disney+ accounts are already up for sale

You might want to rethink plugging inyour phone to one of the public USBpower charging stations.

The issue isthat publicUSB ports canpotentially behacked sothat theyinstall data-stealingmalware ontoyour phonewhile youcharge up.Called “juice-jacking,” thehack couldresult inscammersgetting accessto yourpasswords,personalinformationand more.

According to Bruce Schneier, a securitytechnologist and Fellow at the BerkmanCenter for Internet and Society atHarvard University, you could alsopurchase a USB condom, a device thatprevents data exchange through a USBcable by cutting off data pins and onlyallowing power pins to connect through.

If you do use one ofthe ports (don’t!), makesure you’re not agreeingto give the port accessto data on your device.

Depending on yourdevice, you might see apop up when youconnect asking if youtrust the device. You do not.

A better option isalways to simply plugyour phone or tablet intoan AC outlet instead.

Things like portablebatteries can also beyour friend and can helpprovide a little juiceeven when you’re out inthe world away fromoutlets as a whole.

Brands such asXiaomi, Infinix,Tecno, Coolpadand Lava are wide-ly used in India. Bigger playerssuch as Sony, Asusand Samsung havealso been namedin the listGoogle said, “Weappreciate thework of theresearch commu-nity”

STOP USING PUBLIC USB PORTSTO CHARGE YOUR PHONE

ALL STUFF STADIA WON’THAVE AT LAUNCHIN AN AMA ON REDDIT, GOOGLE’S REPRESENTATIVESCONFIRMED THE FEATURES THATWON’T BE PRESENT AT THELAUNCH OF THE VIDEO GAMESTREAMING SERVICE

BUDDY PASSES

Founders Editions ofStadia are supposed to comewith “buddy passes” so thatpeople can give a friend athree-month Stadiasubscription to play gameswith them, but those passeswon’t actually be sent outuntil weeks after launch.

STADIA CONTROLLEREveryone who pre-ordered

Stadia will get their codes tosign onto the service startingNovember 19 and will beable to play on their phonesor Chrome desktop browserwith a keyboard and mouse.However, the packagescontaining the controllersand Chromecasts will havestaggered shipping, sent outin the order pre-orders werereceived.

STREAM CONNECT, STATE SHARE, AND CROWD PLAY

The main features that allowplayers to join in one another’sgames and make Stadia morethan just glorified remote play. STADIA’S ACHIEVEMENT SYSTEM

The service will still recordwhen you hit various milestonesin games, but you won’t actuallyget notifications for them or seethem displayed anywhere until“shortly after launch.”SUPPORT FOR EXISTINGCHROMECAST ULTRAS

At launch, only the ChromecastUltras that ship with Stadiacontrollers will have the updatedfirmware required to streamgames.FAMILY SHARING

While parents will be able tocontrol what their kids can accesson their accounts, multiple peoplein the same house won’t be ableto share games on the serviceuntil later on.

MONDAY | 18 NOVEMBER 2019 | NEW DELHI

■ Overseas sales down 8.8% in April-October

SANGEETHA GCHENNAI, NOV. 17

Apart from handicraftproducts and jute prod-ucts, all the other textile-related products contin-ued their downward slidein exports in the month ofOctober. However, theindustry expects that withthe easing of trade ten-sions between the US andChina, exports would see apositive growth by the endof the fiscal.

Cotton yarn, made-upsand handloom productswere down by 6 per cent inOctober and by 12.5 percent between April andOctober. Man-made yarn,fabrics and made-ups weremarginally down for themonth and declined 5.69per cent during the seven-month period.

Textiles and apparelswere down by 3.21 per centand of this textile exportsslid 4.15 per cent. For theseven-month period, tex-tile exports were down 8.84per cent. Though apparelexports were down inOctober, during the seven-month period it was mar-ginally up over last year.

Production of textilesand clothing in Septemberalso was down by 2.6 percent and almost flat for the6-month period.

“The exports are stillsluggish, but the drop hasbeen lesser compared toearlier months. The tradetension between the USand China are easing andthis has improved theChinese imports, especial-ly yarn. The GST refundsare also taking a longertime to reach theexporters,” said SidharthRajagopal, ExecutiveDirector, Texprocil.

Carpets witnessed thesteepest decline in per-centage terms — 16.87 percent. A saving gracewas handicraft exports,

which grew by 7.66 percent. Jute product exportsalso went up by 9.75 percent.

The industry expectsthat the exports willimprove in the comingmonths and that it mightsee a positive growth bythe end of the fiscal.

“If the US-China tradeissues settle down, thedemand would improve.Once the exporters receiverefunds, their cash flowand bottomline willimprove. They will be ableto price products morecompetitively. If the cot-ton prices also remainrange-bound, by the end ofthe fiscal we might seepositive growth inexports,” he said.

RITWIK MUKHERJEEKOLKATA, NOV. 17

Kolkata’s homegrownclinical research start-upClinimed Lifesciencesclaims to have come upwith a patented naturalproduct---basically awheat plant-based com-pound--to cure tha-lassemia, a blood disor-der. The trial is nearlycomplete and the com-mercial launch is expect-ed in the next two-to-three months, said Dr.Swati Dasgupta, Co-Founder and JointDirector (ClinicalOperation), ClinimenLifesciences.

She said her contractresearch organisation(CRO) that provides clini-cal research services on aglobal scale had done suc-cessful trial tests on miceand then human bodies.

Dr. Dasgupta said thefinal approval from theAyush Ministry for theproduct’s commerciallaunch is expected anyday now, though approvalfrom the United StatesFood and DrugAdministration couldtake up to eight months.Since the product isderived from a wheatcompound, Clinimen can

launch the product inIndia once the go-aheadcomes from the AyushMinistry, she said.

Interestingly, Clinimedhas also conducted Phase-1 clinical study ofmetastatic colorectal can-cer and it has screened 58per cent patients--amongthem 76 per cent are ran-domized--in a global scaleand became the highestrecruiter from India forthe study. The resultshave been submitted tothe US FDA. She saidClinimed, being a globalscale CRO, ensures that a

global trial will movesfaster to market.Clinimen, she said, has arecord of ‘screen failures’of below 3.5 per cent onan average.

Dr. Dasgupta said thecompany is continuouslytesting new anti-micro-bial activities of newdrugs and analysing dif-ferent microbiologicalactivities of molecules byvarious techniques. Themain objective is to devel-op new therapeutic drugsfor threatened diseasessuch as cancer.

“We have a different

‘apoptotic pathway’ forestablishment of newdrugs by Invitro CellCulture method and wepractise Invio MiceModel to study the exactimmunological statusand toxicity level of aparticular drug on ani-mal body. Currently, weare developing monoclon-al antibodies which tar-get various proteins thatinfluence cell activitysuch as receptors or otherproteins present on thesurface of normal/can-cer cells, which will helpcreate a new era of treat-ment strategy,” said Dr.Dasgupta.

Clinimen is currentlypreparing a new drug as asyrup for iron overloadedpatients, applyingaurvedic procedure,which will be a large-scale production of itsown, said Dr. PriyabrataDas, Joint Director(Clinical Operation).

The research companyhas recently been listedamong the top 20 CROcompanies byBioSpectram, an Asia-Pacific publisher, for 2019and has also tied up withNetaji Subash ChandraBose Cancer Hospital’sresearch laboratory fortesting of new molecules.

Unusedtravelallowanceis taxable

Know ifyou arefinanciallycomplacent

Textile exportscontinue slide

MATTHEW MARTIN &JAVIER BLASNOV. 17

Saudi Arabia put a valua-tion on state-owned oilgiant Aramco of between$1.6 trillion and $1.71 tril-lion, well below the $2 tril-lion target sought byCrown Prince Mohammedbin Salman since he firstmooted an initial publicoffering in 2016.

Aramco will sell just 1.5per cent of its shares on thethe local stock exchange,the Tadawul, somewhatless than expected. At thelower end of the pricerange, the offer would fallshort of a record, comingin just below the $25 billionraised Alibaba GroupHolding Ltd.’s in 2014.

While the target valua-tion will make Aramco theworld’s biggest public com-pany by some distance,overtaking Apple Inc., theplans are a long way fromPrince Mohammed’s ini-tial aims: a local and inter-national listing to raise asmuch as $100 billion for thekingdom’s sovereignwealth fund.

In a sign Aramco will relyheavily on local investorsafter receiving a tepidresponse from internation-al money managers, theshares won’t be marketedin the US and Canada asoriginally planned. Japan’salso off the list.

Aramco Chief ExecutiveOfficer Amin Nasser kick-ed off the IPO’s final phaseat a presentation for hun-dreds of local fund man-agers in Riyadh. The road-show is expected to moveon to Europe this week.

Nasser called it “a his-toric day for Saudi Ara-mco, for Tadawul and thekingdom of Saudi Arabia,”he said. “We are excitedabout the transition tobeing a listed company.”

The final version of theprospectus didn’t identifyany cornerstone investors,though the company is stillin talks with MiddleEastern, Chinese andRussian funds.

Aramco will need to leanheavily on local wealthyfamilies, some of whomhad members detained inRiyadh’s Ritz-Carlton hotelduring a so-called corrup-tion crackdown in 2017, toget the job done.

Foreign investors had al-

ways been skeptical of the$2 trillion target and recen-tly suggested they would beinterested at a valuationbelow $1.5 trillion. That wo-uld offer a return on theirinvestment close to otherleading oil and gas compa-nies like Exxon Mobil andRoyal Dutch Shell.

The new valuationimplies Aramco, which haspromised a dividend of atleast $75 billion next year,will reward investors witha dividend yield of between4.4 per cent and 4.7 percent. Exxon Mobil pays adividend yield of justunder 5 per cent, whileShell pays 6.4 per cent.

Saudi Arabia has beenpulling out all the stops toensure the IPO is a successto a skeptical audience. It’scut the tax rate for Aramcothree times, promised theworld’s largest dividendand offered bonus sharesfor retail investors whokeep hold of the stock.

“Aramco’s price rangetakes into account someuncertainties that weren’tfully absorbed when theIPO was first floated,” suchas governance, said JaafarAltaie, Managing Directorof Abu Dhabi-based consu-ltant Manaar Group. “Thelower range reflects uncer-tainties. It takes into accou-nt issues of supply that arevery fluid, and demand th-at doesn’t look good now.”

— Bloomberg

Aramco valuation falls short ofCrown Prince’s $2 trillion target

New Delhi, Nov. 17: Thegovernment is consideringto re-introduce restric-tions on royalty paymentsfor technology transfer inview of excessive outflowof such funds to overseascompanies, sources said.

A proposal in this regardwill soon be circulated bythe Department forPromotion of Industry andInternal Trade (DPIIT) forinter-ministerial consulta-tion, sources said.

According to the propos-al, limits could be imposedon royalty payments incase of technology trans-fer or collaboration involv-ing foreign entities eitherdirectly or indirectly.

A similar proposal wasmooted by the departmentlast year. That time it hadproposed that royaltyshould be capped at 4 percent of domestic sales and7 per cent of exports forthe first four years; and forthe next three years it sho-uld be 3 per cent of localsales and 6 per cent ofexports.

But the Finance Ministryhad raised objections overthe proposal saying itcould send a negative sig-nal to foreign investors.

The increase in outflowof these payments startedafter the governmentliberalised the FDI policyin 2009. It had removed thecap and permitted Indiancompanies to pay a royalty

to their technical collabo-rators without seekingprior government appr-oval. Royalty is paid to a fo-reign collaborator for thetransfer of technology,usage of brand or trade-marks.

In April 2017, a surge inroyalty outflow promptedthe government to set upan inter-ministerial groupto analyse payment normsand see whether there isexcessive payout by Indiancompanies to foreign col-laborators. Proposing the-se restrictions, the depart-ment had argued that thecurbs would help increasethe profits of domesticcompanies, mainly in theautomobile sector, preventdepletion of foreign excha-nge reserves, protect theinterest of minority share-holders and increase rev-enue for the government.

Before 2009, royalty payments were regulatedby the government andcapped at 8 per cent ofexports and 5 per cent ofdomestic sales in the caseof technology transfercollaborations. They werefixed at 2 per cent ofexports and 1 per cent ofdomestic sales for use oftrademark or brand name.

Auto major MarutiSuzuki pays an averageroyalty of around 5.5 percent of its net sales to itsparent Suzuki.

— PTI

Royalty payment on techtransfer may be capped

RITWIK MUKHERJEENOV. 17

At a time when thedemand for organic agriproducts, including tea, isheading northward world-wide, the Centre seems towell set to bring in andpass two long pendingbills — the PesticidesManagement Bill, thatwill replace theInsecticides Act, 1968 andthe Seeds ManagementBill. The move stems fromthe government’s con-cerns over the sale of spu-rious seeds and pesticidesand the PesticidesManagement Bill wouldseek to regulate the pesti-cide sector by fixing pricesand setting up a regulato-ry authority.

In less than a year ago,India lost nearly 26 per centof its tea business to the US

with the US revising itspermissible pesticides’ list,and a major portion ofIndian orthodox tea, meantfor the US exports, gettingdisqualified for a US entry.Going by the Tea Board ofIndia statistics, Indian teaexports to the US declinedby 33 per cent — from 11.68mkg to 7.84 million kg(mkg), while income fromexports to the US duringthe period was down 26 percent — from $48.40 mn to$35.97 mn. Mind you thatIndian orthodox teas,under normal circum-stances, fetch one of itsbest prices in the US whichusually hover around $ 4.60a kilo. It is more than 50 percent higher than what akilo of the average Indiantea sells for every year.

It is not just the US, butthe European Commissionalso defines MRL as the

highest level of a pesticideresidue that is legally tol-erated in or on food or feedwhen pesticides areapplied correctly. While 34different varieties ofchemicals, used in pesti-cides and for treating thetea leaves are permitted,chemicals like DDT and

Lindane are banned in theUS. The licence permit-ting Endosulfan has alsoexpired and is not likely tobe renewed. Tea, havingchemicals like Ethion,Tetradifon andTriazophos, are deniedentry into the US as well.

The Tlabs chain ofresearch laboratories,operated by the TeaResearch Association(TRA) has been strictlymonitoring tea quality andpesticides residue levelunder the Foods SafetyStandards Authority ofIndia (Fssai). The TRA-operated Tlabs chain hasalso got Fssai accredita-tion to do that. These Tlabsoperate on both ends toinvestigate quality of teaaccording to pesticidesparameters in one lab andquality parameters in theother lab. Various quality

parameters being moni-tored by Fssai include pes-ticide residues, presence ofheavy metals, iron fillingsand toxic substances.

Tlabs also has collabora-tion with various industrybodies across the worldthat deal with tea includ-ing Tea & Herbal InfusionsEurope, UK, the Iran TeaAssociation. Significantly,both the UK and Iran arelarge importers of Indiantea. Indian tea exportersare currently worried overincreasingly erratic pay-ments from Iran owing tothe banking sanctionsimposed by the UnitedStates. However, these wor-ries and anxieties notwith-standing, India exported41 mn kg of tea to Iran inthe first eight months of2019, up from 18 mn kgexported in the first eightmonths of 2018.

New Delhi, Nov 17:Telecom operator BhartiAirtel has withdrawn itsbid to purchase assets ofReliance Communic-ations (RCom) afterterming the move of com-mittee of creditors toextend the bid submissiondeadline on the request ofReliance Jio as “extreme-ly unfair” and “biased”.

Without namingReliance Jio, BhartiAirtel Director (Finance)Harjeet Kohli in a letter toresolution professionalAnish Niranjan Nanavatysaid his company’s requ-est to extend the deadlinewas turned down by thecommittee of creditors(CoC) of RCom but surpr-isingly, the dates have be-en extended to accommo-date submission by a bidder.

“Given the complexitiesinvolved in the proposedtransaction, vide our let-ter dated October 31, 2019,we requested for an exten-sion of time to submit theresolution plan fromNovember 11, 2019, tillDecember 1, 2019... Disa-ppointingly, our requestfor extension was rejectedby CoC,” Kohli said.

Bharti Airtel, BhartiInfratel and private equi-ty firm Varde Partnershave already submittedtheir bids for assets ofReliance Communica-tions, while Reliance Jiohas sought extension ofthe asset sale deal dead-line by another 10 days.Airtel has placed condi-tional bid to buy RCom’sspectrum, while BhartiInfratel has submittedbids for mobile towers.

The CoC extended thedeadline by 10 days andhas decided to open thebid now on November 25.

“To our utter shock, wehave learnt that the CoChas now decided to extendthe submission timelineto November 25, 2019,until 1200 hours, solelybased on the request ofanother potential bidder,”Kohli said.

He said that since BhartiAirtel's request was for-mally declined by theCoC, the company wasconstrained to submit thebids under due hastewithout the benefit of suf-ficient time to complete

the resolution plan withinthe set deadline.

“We find this conduct,inequitable, questionableand against the spirit ofwhat should be a highlytransparent process. Tosay the least, it is extreme-ly unfair and rather bias-ed...We hereby formallywithdraw our resolutionplans while reserving allrights, including the rightto submit our resolutionplan afresh within thenew deadline communi-cated now,” Kohli said.

RCom tried to sell assetsto various companies,including Reliance Jio, toclear debt but the dealsdid not crystallise.Reliance Jio cancelledagreement to buy RComassets, including spec-trum, as it did not want tobear the past liabilities ofthe debt-ridden firm.

Later, the insolvencyproceedings againstRCom started on a pleafiled by Swedish telecomgear maker Ericsson afterthe company failed toclear its dues.

RCom Chairman AnilAmbani has tendered hisresignation on Saturdayafter the firm posted aconsolidated loss of Rs30,142 crore for theSeptember quarter due toprovisioning for liabili-ties after the apex courtruling on statutory dues.

This was the second-highest loss posted by anyIndian corporate till date.

The National CompanyLaw Tribunal has handedover the control of thecompany to an insolvencyresolution professional.

Sources estimate thatRCom Group’s total secur-ed debt is around Rs 33,000crore. Lenders have sub-mitted claim of around Rs49,000 crore in August.

— PTI

Kolkata start-up developsplant-based thalassemia cure

Bharti Airtel withdrawsbid for RCom assets citing

unfair, biased conduct

quickBITES

INDICATORS %Sensex 40,356.69 +0.17Nifty 50 11,895.45 +0.20S&P 500 3,120.46 +0.77Dollar (`) 71.78 -0.26Pound Sterling (`) 92.43 -0.27Euro (`) 79.14 -0.20Gold (10gm)* (`) 38,875▼149 -0.38Brent crude ($/bbl)* 63.30 +1.64IN 10-Yr bond yield 6.519 +0.061US 10-Yr T-bill yield 1.845 +1.653

* As of 9:30 pm IST

Jaypee: NBCCoffers more land& flats to lendersNBCC sweetened its bid for Jay-pee Infratech, by offering lenders1,426-acre land and also provid-ing half of 3,000 benami flats,sources said. NBCC, which sub-mitted its resolution plan onSunday, also offered 75 per centof 858 acres that is expected tobe transferred back to JaypeeInfra from Jaiprakash Associates.It would also sell Rs 1,750 croreworth unsold Jaypee Infra flats.

FPIs infuse over`14,400 cr intostocks this month

Foreign portfolio investorspumped in a net sum of Rs19,203 crore into the domesticcapital markets in the first halfof November amid encouragingdomestic and global factors.FPIs infused a net Rs 14,435.6crore into equities and Rs4,767.18 crore into the debtsegment during November 1-15,taking the total net investmentto Rs 19,202.7 crore.

MF investment inequities halves to`56K cr in Jan-OctMutual fund investment in stockshalved to Rs 55,700 crore in thefirst 10 months of 2019 becauseof lower retail participation.Fund managers had boughtshares worth Rs 1.12 lakh croreduring Jan-Oct 2018, Sebi datashows. Vidya Bala, of Prime-investor, said, “Despite marketsmoving to new highs ...retailinvestors have not seen any pos-itive impact on their wealth."

Draft Ind. policy targets $1 tn valueaddition in mfg

Printed & Published by T Venkateswarlu on behalf of DeccanChronicle Holdings Limited. Printed atBFL Infotech Ltd, C-9 Sector 3, Noida-201301. Published at 219, N D Tiwari

Bhawan, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg,New Delhi-110002.

Editor: T.Venkatram Reddy, RNIRegistration number 30074/09, Air sur-

charge Re 1. © All rights reserved.Reproduction in whole or in part with-out written permission of The Editor,Financial Chronicle ® is prohibited.

Money

The Department for Promotionof Industry and Internal Trade(DPIIT) has prepared an initialdraft industrial policy, whichtargets to raise value additionin the manufacturing sector to$1 trillion by 2025, an officialsaid. The policy envisions tocreate globally competitivebusiness enterprises. The initialdraft policy is being circulatedto seek views of different min-istries and departments.

CommodityCompass

Profit king

Source: Moody’s Investors Service, Bloomberg

■ 2018 net income

Saudi Aramco’s profit = Apple+Google+Exxon Mobil

$ 120bn10080604020

0

Saudi

Aramco

AppleSam

sungAlphabetJP Morgan

Chase Shell Exxon

Mobil

Pesticide restrictions may benefit tea sector

BrokersBYTES

MONDAY | 18 NOVEMBER 2019 | NEW DELHI

10FinancialMONEY

QI am a retired officer drawing a pension of`31,000 per month. Presently, I am work-ing as a consultant in a private firm. They

have agreed to pay `43,000 as consultancy feesand `4,000 towards conveyance charges towardsmy travelling expenses from my home to theoffice by my own car. Please suggest how to cal-culate the income-tax on pension, consultancyfees and conveyance charges for the financialyear 2019-2020.

NARESH GOPAL Via email

A) The consultancy fees received by you as a con-sultant will be taxed under the head “Profits &Gains from Business or Profession”. You will beeligible to claim any expenditure incurred whol-ly and exclusively for the purpose of carrying outyour business or profession. However, the excessof conveyance amount to the extent not incurredalso needs to be included in your total incomesince the amount is already claimed as expendi-ture by the concerned firm. The pension amountreceived will be taxed under the head “salaries”and you are eligible to claim a standard deduc-tion of `50,000 under Section 16(ia) from theincome for the financial year 2019-20 as against`40,000 earlier. You need to calculate yourincome-tax liability after claiming deductionsunder Chapter VI A — under Section 80C, 80D,80G etc. The total income arrived after claimingthe above deductions will be taxed depending onthe threshold limit applicable to you for the rele-vant financial year.

QMy company has made arrangements for agroup mediclaim insurance with NationalInsurance Company. As a result, there is a

substantial reduction in the premium which ispaid by the company and recovered from oursalary. The insurance company issues thereceipt in the name of the company. Will it bepossible for me to claim deduction in respect ofthe premium that is recovered from me underSection 80D of the Income-Tax Act? Can theemployer take cognizance of the same in deduct-ing tax at source?

GARWESHWAR Via email

A) Section 80D of the Income-Tax Act allowsdeduction in respect of medical insurance pre-mium paid by an assessee by cheque in the pre-vious year out of his income chargeable to tax.This insurance premium should have been paidto effect or to keep in force an insurance on thehealth of the assessee or his family where suchassessee is an individual. There should be no dif-ficulty in claiming a deduction in respect of thepremium paid by the employer to the NationalInsurance Company and recovered from theemployee so long as the employer has made thesaid payment by cheque. Since the premium isrecovered from the employee’s salary, it can defi-nitely be said that the premium is paid out of theincome chargeable to tax of the employee. Theemployer can also consider the same as a deduc-tion while computing the tax that is to be deduct-ed at source. For the purposes of this section, theterm “family” includes the spouse or parents ordependent children of the assessee.

QI returned to India in September, 2014,after staying in the US for 15 years. Duringmy stay abroad, I had invested in mutual

funds out of my income earned in dollars. Theseinvestments in mutual funds were made in theUS which I am holding even now. What will bethe implications if I sell these units now andrepatriate this money into India? I have alsotaken an insurance policy in the US which islikely to mature shortly. What will be tax impli-cations if the maturity proceeds are also repatri-ated?

RAVI RANJANVia email

A) Your residential status as per Section 6 of theIncome-Tax Act will be that of a “resident andordinarily resident” (R&OR) in India.Accordingly, your gain, if any, from the sale ofunits of mutual fund held in the US will be tax-able in India. However, you will be eligible to takecredit for any taxes paid in US on such gain, forcomputing your tax payable in India. The creditthat could be taken will be the lower of the taxpayable on such income in the US or in India. Asregards the maturity proceeds of life insurancepolicy, normally it will be exempt under Section10 (10D) of the Income-Tax Act, subject to certainexceptions provided in that section.

(The writer is a chartered accountant. He can be reached at info@rathiandmalanis.com)

Unused travelallowance taxable

■ Tax mattersKamal Rathi

Aurobindo has15 days to replyto FDA noticeAurobindo’s Unit IV plant hasreceived 14 observations fromthe USFDA in a recent inspec-tion. This is the company'skey injectable formulationsplant and has around 47pending filings, which makesup 30 per cent of overall fil-ings. Although we do notknow the nature of observa-tions yet, the sheer number ison the higher side and likelyto keep investors nervousuntil details emerge. Thecompany believes none ofthe observations are relatedto data integrity. The compa-ny has around 15 days torespond to the observations,which will be subsequentlyfollowed up by a classifica-tion of the inspection. Anyescalation of 483, if at all, canimpact future growth mean-ingfully. Currently, over 50per cent filings for ARBP arefrom Unit I, IV, IX, XI, whichare under the USFDA scanner.In addition, ARBP has slowinggrowth concerns from FY22due to a large US base afterthe Sandoz acquisition.The next key monitorablesare classification of Unit VIIand Unit IV observations. Thebroking house maintains holdon the stock with a targetprice of `500.

Broking firm: EmkayRating: HoldClosing price: `410.05

Worst appearsto be over forAshok LeylandAshok Leyland is focusing onretaining profitability andpreserving cash over theshort term, on reducingvolatility and growing busi-ness over the long term. Thecompany is BS6-ready withdifferentiated solutions offer-ing lowest total cost of own-ership (TCO) for its cus-tomers. The modular plat-form is likely to provide itwith a competitive advantageby facilitating better TCO andreturn on investment to cus-tomers. Light CommercialVehicles (LCA) businessappears set to expand in theaddressable market by fillingproduct gaps. DomesticM&HCV volumes appear tohave bottomed out, and sys-temic inventory is now verycomfortable. Green shootsare visible, although it is diffi-cult to ascertain the timing ofa sustainable volumes recov-ery. Although the worstappears to be over for thecommercial vehicle industry,volumes are likely to remainvolatile due to the upcomingBS6 transition. The brokinghouse maintains its buy rat-ing for the stock with a targetprice of `95.

Broking firm: Motilal OswalRating: BuyClosing price: `79.50

HDFC Life plansto increase itsmarket reachHDFC Life Insurance CompanyLtd is one of the leading play-ers in the domestic life insur-ance sector with a strong pres-ence across India. As onSeptember 30, 2019, it had 40individual and 11 group prod-ucts in its portfolio, along witheight optional rider benefits.The company has consistentlygrown over the years with adiverse and innovative productmix and multi distributionchannel including agency,direct and bancassurance.During FY 2019, total premiumwas `29,186 crore, registering asolid growth of 24 per centyear-on-year, on the back ofhealthy new business andincreased renewal premium.Profit after tax (PAT) stood at`1,280 crore in FY 2019, reflect-ing a growth of 15 per centyear-on-year basis. In effort toseize market opportunities,HDFC Life looks to drivegrowth on the back of severalinitiatives. In terms of macroscenario, the domestic lifeindustry has plenty upside asIndia remains significantlyunder-insured, both in terms ofpenetration and density. Thebroking house reiterates buyrating on the stock with a tar-get price of `710 per share.

Broking firm: AnandrathiRating: BuyClosing price: `577.65

Retirement is 20 years from now. Healthinsurance is not taken care off byemployer. The disposable surplus of `10lakh can be invested in the followingmanner every year for the next 15 years:■ Term assurance of `1 crore may betaken for about 20 years which shall costabout `25,000 per year.■ Contribute `1.5 lakh per year in PPF inthe name of his son for the next 15 yearswhich shall be valued at `44.37 lakhgrowing at 8.1 per cent at maturity.■ Unit linked pension plan may be under-taken so as to gain on an upside, with a 15years horizon. A sum of about `1.05 lakhper year over 15 years will yield a futurevalue of `30.79 lakh with eight per cent ayear growth.■ Invest in an SIP of balanced (equity anddebt) of `75,000 per month aggregatingto `9 lakh over the next 15 years. Thisshall help create a corpus of ̀ 1.35 crore atcost (`2.64 crore) in value terms ifgrowth is aimed at eight per cent a year.This will help him to build up the retire-ment corpus fully.■ The PPF and pension plan can be usedto buy an immediate pension policy atretirement.■ Bank deposits may be converted into atax free bond upto an extent of `50 lakhimmediately, maturing 12 years fromdate.

NET WORTHAsset ValueSavings `80 lakhPF `33 lakhHouse `160 lakhCar `27 lakh

TOTAL `300 LAKH

WHERE DOES SHESTAND NOW?

SATISH, 45 years

PROFESSION: Private employeeDEPENDENTS: Two Income `24 lakh

Expenses: `14 lakh(includes household expenses) Net disposableincome `10 lakh

■ Financial planningBy L. Ravindran

WHILE PLANNINGIS CRITICAL TOOUR FINANCIALWELL-BEING, IT

HAS BECOMEINEVITABLE IN THEUNCERTAIN TIMESWE NOW LIVE IN.

DR RAVINDRANANALYSES YOURFINANCIALS AND

LAYS OUT AROADMAP

FOR ACHIEVINGFINANCIAL GOALS.

FUNDS REQUIRED TO MEET GOALS

`5.3 CR

PLAN OF ACTION

FINANCIAL GOALS (AT CURRENT COSTS):

Expenses At costPost-retirement expenses `4.80 croreChild’s education and marriage `0.50 crore

(L. Ravindran is a certified financial planner and managing director of Wealthmax Enterprises Management Pvt Ltd.Readers can send their queries to ravind0099@gmail.com)

ASSUMPTIONS

(I) LONGEVITY HAS BEEN PROJECTED AT 85 YEARS; (II) THE RETIREMENT IS PLANNEDAT AGE 60; (III) COST OF LIVING GROWS AT 8% PER ANNUM, WHILE EARNINGS ONSAVINGS AND INVESTMENTS GROW AT 10 PER CENT PER ANNUM (III) INCOME ISASSUMED TO BE GROWING AT 8% IN LINE WITH INFLATION.

INTEREST RATES ON PERSONAL LOAN

Lender’s Name Floating Rate (%) EMI (In `)

HDFC Bank 10.75 - 21.3 2,572 - 3,113

ICICI Bank 11.25 - 22.0 2,597 - 3,151

Kotak Bank 11.5 - 24.0 2,609 - 3,260

SBI 10.55 - 14.95 2,563 - 2,781

Axis Bank 12.0 - 24.0 2,633 - 3,260

Punjab National Bank 9.95 - 14.50 2,534 - 2,758

IDBI Bank 9.65 - 14.0 2,519 - 2,733

Bank Of India 10.5 - 13.5 2,560 - 2,708

Union Bank 10.10-13.2 2,541 - 2,693

Canara Bank 11.6 - 15.3 2,614 - 2,798

FOR TOP 10 BANKS BY MARKET CAPITALISATION EMI ON LOAN UP TO `1,00,000 FOR 4-YEAR TENURE

The EMI range is indicativeand has been calculated on thebasis of interest rate range asprovided in the table. Theactual EMI could include otherfees and charges as per thebank’s terms and conditions.The interest rates are based onthe profile of salaried individ-ual and pensioners for unse-cured personal loan.

—Compiled by BankBazaar.comvia respective bank's website as

on Oct. 30, 2019.

financiallycomplacent

Financial planninginvolves visualisingthe future. In whatways will the worldchange in 30 years?

How much should you save forretirement? In which cityshould you buy a house? It’simportant to keep seekinganswers to these questions. Thefuture’s an unpredictable place.You don’t want an unexpectedturn of events to take you bysurprise and catch you finan-cially unprepared. You must,therefore, guard against com-placency. The going may besmooth for you now, but it maynot be so forever. Complacencycan hurt you financially. Let’slook at some ways in which youcan get complacent with yourmoney.

NOT SETTING FINANCIAL GOALS

Financial goals help you findfocus in your

f i n a n c i a l

life. These goals tellyou how muchand by when youwould requiremoney at any lifestage. For example,you have calculatedthat if you retire in 30 years’time, you’ll require a retire-ment fund of `5 crore to main-tain your current lifestyle.Similarly, you may be able tocalculate that you need `30 lakhin 10 years to put your childthrough college. Without goals,you wouldn’t be able to findfinancial direction, save taxes,make profitable investments, orbe able to find funds right whenyou need them. So go ahead —set the goals that will defineyour life.

LIVING WITHOUT A BUDGET

Financial goalsare ends. Yourincome providesthe means. Butwithout a budget,you can’t use themeans to get to the ends.Budgets help you map what youearn, spend, save, and invest.They also tells you much you

need to borrow or whereyou need to cut

back. Yourd o m e s t i cbudget isthe 30,000-feet per-spective ofy o u rfinanciallife you

must have in order to manageyour money better. Without theperspective, the goals, or thediscipline, you will struggle tomanage your money well.

NOT KEEPING A TAB ON YOUR BILLS

The budget provides you a bigpicture view of your financiallife. But it’s also important tokeep track of the tinier details.Your bill payments must ideallybe automated so that they’resettled before the due date, free-ing you up from the has-sles of bill tracking.However, thisdoesn’t meanthat youshould forgolooking atyour billsaltogether.Always readt h r o u g hyour utilitybills, creditcard and bankstatements, andany other state-ments to ascertain thatwhat you’re paying is as peryour expectations, and nocharges have been slipped inwithout your consent.Complacency about your billswould mean you may end upbeing exploited by your serviceprovider in some way.

STICKING TO THE SAME JOBWITHOUT ANY GROWTH

Sticking to a job that is finan-cially rewarding is a good

idea. However, nots e e k i n go p p o r t u n i -ties to learn

and not seek-ing growth is

not a great idea.In a world wheret e c h n o l o g i c a lleaps happenevery fewmonths, it isabsolutely impor-

tant to keep updatingyour knowledge andskillset to remaincompetitive in theworkforce. Notdoing so would lead tostagnation and eventual-ly when your skills become out-dated, your finances would beimpacted.

NOT REVIEWING YOURINVESTMENTS

Investments should bereviewed periodically — at

least once a quarter. Everyyear, as your income

increases, you muststep up your invest-

ment contribu-tions. This willhelp you acceler-ate towards yourfinancial goalsand also avoidspending the addi-

tional income. Youmust track your

investments for theirrate of return, various

risks from stock markets,inflation, interest rate fluctua-

tions, currency volatility and soon. Whenever there is a prob-lem and your investment isn'tperforming as per expectations,you must step in to take correc-tive actions. Continuing on abad investment plan could haveseveral, terrible consequencessuch as losing your money, get-ting a poor rate of return, andnot being able to redeem theinvestment in your time ofneed.

Last but not least, it is sheerfinancial complacency whenyou know that insurance isimportant to protect your lovedones from future eventualities,but you still don't buy coverage.Having health insurance isamong your financial priori-ties, and so is owning terminsurance if you have depend-ents. You can keep financialcomplacency away by beingaware of your financial priori-ties, acknowledging your risks,and working towards overcom-ing them.

— The writer is CEO,BankBazaar.com

■ Money talk Adhil Shetty

Know if you are

THEBUDGET

PROVIDES YOU ABIG PICTURE VIEW

OF YOUR FINANCIALLIFE. BUT IT’S ALSO

IMPORTANT TO KEEPTRACK OF THE TINIER

DETAILS. SO KEEPTRACK OF YOUR

BILLS.

PAGE

11WorldMONDAY | 18 NOVEMBER 2019 | NEW DELHITHE ASIAN AGE

Call for rulesEuropean Union and non-European Union immi-grants will face the same rules after Brexit,says British prime minister, Boris Johnson

As long as Trump ispresident, the

security and future ofthe US is at risk

— Joe BidenFormer Vice President, US

IN BRIEF

Dhaka: At least seven peoplewere killed and eight others

injured in a gas pipelineexplosion at a house in

southeastern Bangladesh onSunday, police said. The

explosion occurred on theground floor of a five-storey

building in Patharghata ofChattogram city at around

8:30am, a police officer toldbdnews24.com. Pedestrians

also suffered injuries afterthe outer walls of the build-

ing collapsed during theexplosion. A shop just across

from the building was alsodamaged in the blast, the

report said. It was not imme-diately clear what caused

the explosion. The gas riserof the building was located

beside the boundary wall atthe bottom of the structure

where the explosionoccurred, police said. Maybe

there was a problem withthe gas riser. The explosionmight have been triggeredby cooking activities in the

morning or from a discardedcigarette butt, he was quot-

ed as saying. — PTI

US & South Korea postpone joint drill

EU to help Pak forFATF action planIslamabad: The European

Union has offered technicalassistance to Pakistan for the

implementation of theFinancial Action Task Force

(FATF) action plan by thecountry, according to a

media report. A joint pressrelease issued at the conclu-

sion of the 10th session ofthe European Union-PakistanJoint Commission in Brusselson Friday said the two sidesemphasised the importance

of the implementation ofFATF action plan by

Pakistan, the Dawn reported.Global terror financing

watchdog FATF last monthretained Pakistan on its Grey

List till February next yearfor its failure to take actionagainst money laundering.

Bangkok: The US and SouthKorea will postpone joint air

drills in an act of goodwilltowards the nuclear-armed

North, US defence secretaryMark Esper said here onSunday. North Korea has

long protested joint militarydrills, which it condemns as

preparations for militaryinvasion, and has set

Washington an end-of-yeardeadline to come up with a

new offer in deadlockednegotiations on its weapons

programmes.

Johannesburg: South Africanunions on Sunday called onall aviation workers to join

striking South AfricanAirways (SAA) staff after the

cash-strapped airline failedto meet their demands. The

country's embattled flag car-rier has been losing 52 mil-lion rand ($3.5 million) perday since more than 3,000

workers started an open-ended strike on Friday forc-

ing the airline to cancel hun-dreds of flights. Talks with

unions ended without resolu-tion on Saturday, prompting

threats of further action.“In response to this deliber-ate provocation by the SAA

board and its executive man-agement, (the) NUMSA

(metalworkers' union) is inthe process of consultingworkers for a secondary

strike in aviation,” NUMSAspokeswoman Phakamile

Hlubi-Majola told reportersin front of the SAA head-

quarters in Johannesburg.Unions first threatened to

strike after SAA announcedthis week that almost 1,000employees could lose their

jobs as part of a restructur-ing process. Talks with

management deadlockedafter they failed to agree on

wage hikes.

Hong Kong, Nov. 17: TheHong Kong police onMonday warned for thefirst time that they mayuse “live rounds” afterpro-democracy protestersfired arrows and threwpetrol bombs at officers ata besieged university cam-pus, as the crisis engulfingthe city veered deeper intodanger.

Protests have tremoredthrough the global finan-cial hub since June, withmany in the city of 7.5 mil-lion people venting fury ateroding freedoms underChinese rule.

China has repeatedlywarned that it will not tol-

erate the dissent, andthere have been concernsthat Beijing could send introops to put an end to thespiralling unrest.

Three protesters havebeen shot by armed policein the unrelenting monthsof protests. But all in scuf-fles as chaotic street clash-es played out — and with-out such warnings beinggiven.

A day of intense clashes,which saw a police officerstruck in the leg by anarrow and protesters meetpolice tear gas with vol-leys of petrol bombs,intensified as night fell.

Clashes rolled across

Kowloon, with the epicen-tre around the Hong KongPolytechnic University

(PolyU), where scores ofdefiant demonstrators setlarge fires to prevent

police from conducting athreatened raid on thecampus.

They hunkered downunder umbrellas fromoccasional fire from watercannon and hurled molo-tov cocktails at anarmoured police vehicle,leaving it ablaze on a fly-over near the campus.

The police declared thecampus a “riot” scene — arioting conviction carriesup to 10 years in jail — andblocked exits asspokesman Louis Lauissued a stark warning ina Facebook live broadcast.

“I hereby warn riotersnot to use petrol bombs,

arrows, cars or any deadlyweapons to attack policeofficers,” he said.

“If they continue suchdangerous actions, wewould have no choice butto use the minimum forcenecessary, including liverounds, to fire back.”

The police said they firedat a car late Sunday thathad driven at a line of offi-cers near the campus —but the vehicle reversedand escaped.

Protesters at the campusappeared resolute — atwist in tactics by a leader-less movement so fardefined by its fluid, unpre-dictable nature. — AFP

A man sits on a boat in a flooded St. Mark Square in Venice, Italy, on Sunday. Venetians are bracing for another exceptional tide in a season thatis setting new records. Officials are forecasting a 1.6m surge of water on Sunday through the lagoon city. — AP

Gearing up for exceptional tide

Washington, Nov. 17:Louisiana re-elected itsDemocratic governorSaturday in a fresh blow toUS President DonaldTrump, who campaignedheavily in the state amidthe ongoing impeachmentinvestigation into his con-duct as president.

The setback comes dur-ing one of the mostfraught weeks in Trump'spresidency as the House ofRepresentatives staged theprobe’s first public hear-ings.

It also follows PresidentTrump's three visits to thestate to stump forRepublican challengerEddie Rispone, aLouisiana businessman.

US media declaredincumbent Governor JohnBel Edwards the winnerby a narrow margin, with51.3 percent of the vote.Rispone ended the nightwith 48.7 percent, accord-ing to the New YorkTimes.

For Trump, who wonLouisiana by 20 percent-age points in 2016,Rispone's defeat marks anembarrassing drubbing,especially for a presidentwho has frequently boast-ed that his star power isenough to propelRepublicans to victoryaround the country.

A similar campaign onbehalf of Kentucky'sRepublican Governor MattBevin flopped last week,with Democrat AndyBeshear winning the pollsafter a nail-biting contest.

Edwards said in his vic-tory speech that “ourshared love for Louisianais always more importantthan the partisan differ-ences that sometimesdivide us.” “And as for thepresident: God bless hisheart,” he said, drawingcheers and laughter.

Trump, who is battlingimpeachment inCongress, described the

contest in Louisiana as aproxy for the widerD e m o c r at - Re p u bl i c a nstruggle ahead of the 2020presidential election.

“If you want to defendour values, our jobs, andyour freedom, then youneed to replace radical lib-eral John Edwards,” hesaid.

In a speech in Bossier

City last Thursday, Trumprailed against hisDemocratic opponents as“maniacs” and a “bunchof mad people,” statingthat Louisiana is “notgoing to let them destroyour country and rob yourchildren of their future.”

On Saturday evening,Rispone conceded the gov-ernor's race. — AFP

Cops warn of ‘live fire’ if they face deadly weapons

Venice, Nov. 17: Venice’siconic St. Mark’s Squarewas ordered closed onSunday as the historiccity suffered its thirdmajor flooding in lessthan a week, while rainlashing the rest of Italyprompted warnings inFlorence and Pisa.

Venice’s latest “acquaalta”, or high water, hit150 cm on Sunday, lowerthan Tuesday’s 187 cm —the highest level in half acentury — but still dan-gerous.

“The water has stoppedrising,” tweeted mayorLuigi Brugnaro, who hasestimated damage so farfrom the invading saltwater at over one billioneuros.

“High of 150 cm...Venice is working torestart,” Mr Brugnarosaid after the sea waterswamped the already dev-astated city whereauthorities have declareda state of emergency.

High tides were forecastto reach a maximum of110 cm for the comingdays, giving the authori-ties and citizens the

opportunity to assess thedamage as shops andSaint Mark’s Squarereopened late Sunday.

To the south, Tuscanypresident Enrico Rossitweeted a warning of a“flood wave” on the Arnoand said boards werebeing installed on theswollen river’s banks inPisa “as a precautionarymeasure”.

The Italian army tweet-ed photos of paratroopershelping to bolster riverdefences in Pisa, withauthorities monitoringthe same river inFlorence after heavy rainmade it rise dramaticallyovernight.

Flooding from the Arnodevastated Renaissancejewel Florence in 1966,killing around 100 people.On Sunday, civil protec-tion units in Florenceadvised citizens “not tostand near the Arno’sriverbanks”.

Firefighters tweeted foo-tage of a hovercraft beingdeployed to rescue stra-nded citizens in southernTuscany’s Grossetanoprovince. — AFP

St. Mark’s shutas water againinvades Venice

Washington, Nov. 17: Atop US official restrictedaccess to the summary ofDonald Trump’s Ukrainecall that triggered animpeachment probe, fear-ing it would damage thepresident, testimonyreleased on Saturdayshowed.

White House Ukraineexpert Timothy Morrisontold House investigatorshe knew immediately howsensitive the call waswhen he heard Trumppress Ukraine's PresidentVolodymyr Zelensky toinvestigate former USvice president Joe Biden.

Morrison said in hisOctober 31 deposition thathe had asked NationalSecurity Council lawyersto review the call becausehe thought it would be“damaging” if it leaked.

“I recommended to themthat we restrict access tothe package... that we didnot need quite so manypeople to have access tothe package,” saidMorrison, who left theNSC a day before testify-ing.

The conversation, whichtook place on July 25while the White Housewas withholding militaryaid to Ukraine, is central

to the House impeach-ment inquiry into Trump.

Democrats leading theprobe say the call summa-ry shows the presidentabused his office by bully-ing a vulnerable ally intointerfering on his behalfin the 2020 US election.

The investigationthreatens to make Trumpthe third US president tobe impeached, althoughthe Republican-controlledSenate would need to con-vict him to remove himfrom office.

Morrison said howeverthe summary had beenplaced on a highly classi-fied system.

Don aide restrictedUkraine call access

RUSSIAN STRIKESKILL 9 IN SYRIA,CLAIMS MONITORBeirut, Nov. 17: Airstrikes by Syrian regimeally Russia on Sundaykilled nine civilians inthe jihadist-run enclaveof Idlib in the northwestof the country, a warmonitor said.

Five of the victimsdied in the village of Al-Malaja in southern Idlibprovince while the otherfour were killed in raidson the town of Saraqebin the east, according tothe Syrian Observatoryfor Human Rights.

A number of peoplewere wounded, someseriously, the monitor'shead Rami AbdelRahman told AFP,though he was unable tosay how many.

The Idlib region, hometo around three millionpeople including manydisplaced by Syria'seight-year civil war, iscontrolled by the coun-try's former Al-Qaedaaffiliate.

The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham jihadist alliancealso controls parts ofneighbouring Aleppoand Latakia provinces.

The region is one ofthe last holdouts ofopposition to forces ofSyrian President Basharal-Assad.

A ceasefire announcedby Russia has largelyheld since late August.

But the Observatorysays 48 civilians --including 16 children --have been killed inRussian air strikes onthe region since thestart of November.

The Britain-basedmonitor, which relies onsources inside Syria,says it determines whocarries out an air strikeaccording to flight pat-terns. — AFP

PRESIDENT GETS ANNUAL PHYSICAL EXAMWashington, Nov. 17:President Donald Trumpcontinues to be “healthyand energetic withoutcomplaints”, the WhiteHouse said on Saturdayafter he underwent anunscheduled medical testat a military hospital,ahead of a busy 2020 presi-dential campaign.

Trump, 73, spent aroundnearly two hours at theWalter Reed NationalMilitary Medical Centerin a Bethesda, a Marylandsuburb of Washington DC.

The president remainshealthy and energeticwithout complaints, asdemonstrated by hisrepeated vigorous rallyperformances in front ofthousands of Americansseveral times a week,White House PressSecretary StephanieGrisham told reporters ina statement.

The president alsostopped by to say hello tothe medical staff ofWalter Reed, to share histhanks for all the out-standing care they provideto our Wounded Warriors,and wish them an earlyhappy Thanksgiving, shesaid.

Before leaving he metwith the family of a spe-cial forces soldier injuredin Afghanistan.

This was the president'sninth visit to Walter ReedNational Military MedicalCenter, Grisham said.

The White Housedescribed it as a routinemedical examination.

Anticipating a very busy2020, the president is tak-ing advantage of a freeweekend here inWashington, DC. — AFP

Donald Trump

■ John Bel Edwards wins with 51.3 per cent of the vote Leaked China papers reveal‘no mercy’ in Xinjiang: NYTBeijing, Nov. 17: A rareand huge leak of Chinesegovernment documentshas shed new light on asecurity crackdown onMuslims in China'sXinjiang region, wherePresident Xi Jinpingordered officials to actwith “absolutely nomercy” against sepa-ratism and extremism,The New York Timesreported.

Human rights groupsand outside experts saymore than one millionUighurs and other mostlyMuslim minorities havebeen rounded up in a net-work of internmentcamps across the far-west-ern region.

The 403 pages of inter-nal papers obtained by theTimes provide anunprecedented look intothe highly-secretiveCommunist Party's con-

troversial crackdown,which has come underincreasing internationalcriticism, especially fromthe United States.

The documents includepreviously unpublishedspeeches by Xi as well asdirectives and reports onthe surveillance and con-trol of the Uighur popula-tion, the newspaper saidon the weekend.

The leak also suggeststhat there has been somediscontent within theparty about the crack-down. The documentswere leaked by anunnamed member of theChinese political estab-lishment who expressedhope that the disclosurewould prevent the leader-ship, including Xi, from“escaping culpability forthe mass detentions”, theTimes said.

In a 2014 speech to offi-

cials made after militantsfrom the Uighur minoritykilled 31 people in a trainstation in southwesternChina, Xi called for an all-out “struggle against ter-rorism, infiltration andseparatism” using the“organs of dictatorship,”and showing “absolutelyno mercy”, according tothe daily. The internmentcamps expanded rapidlyfollowing the appointmentin 2016 of a new partychief in Xinjiang, ChenQuanguo.

Chen, according to theTimes, distributed Xi'sspeeches to justify thecrackdown and urged offi-cials to “round up every-one who should be round-ed up”. The trove ofleaked documents includ-ed a guide to answeringquestions from studentswho had returned home toXinjiang. — AFP

Iran leader backsgas price increaseDubai, Nov. 17: Iran’ssupreme leader supportsthe government's deci-sion to increase gasolineprices and says that thosesetting fire to public prop-erty during protestsagainst the hikes are ban-dits backed by the ene-mies of Iran, the coun-try's state televisionreported Sunday. Thecomments by AyatollahAli Khamenei came a dayafter protesters angeredby Iran raising govern-ment-set gasoline pricesby 50 per cent had blockedtraffic in major cities andoccasionally clashed withpolice. That came after anight of demonstrationspunctuated by gunfire, inviolence that reportedlykilled at least one person.The report quotedKhamenei as saying thatthose violent protesters

were supported by count-er-revolutionaries andIran's enemies abroad.Khamenei also acknowl-edged some were upsetabout the higher prices.He urged security forcesto implement their tasks,without elaborating.Khamenei's descriptionof some protesters andhis instructions to securi-ty forces suggest authori-ties may be preparing toquash the demonstra-tions that began onFriday and quickly spi-raled out across the coun-try. The protests have putrenewed pressure onIran's government as itstruggles to overcome theUS sanctions stranglingthe country's economyafter President DonaldTrump withdrewAmerica from Tehran'snuclear deal. — AFP

Blow to Trump, Louisianare-elects Democratic gov

GAS PIPELINEEXPLOSION IN

B’DESH: 7 DEAD

Threat to shut airways in SA

Hong Kong police officer hit by arrow as protesters dig in at campus; fires rage around besieged institution

Protesters react as police personnel fire teargas nearHong Kong Polytechnic University on Sunday. — AP

Published by T. Venkateswarlu for and on behalf of Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited at Jawaharlal Nehru National Youth Centre, 219 Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, New Delhi 110 002. and Printed by him at BFL Infotech Limited, C – 9, Sector – III, Noida – 201301. Editor – T. Venkatram Reddy,RNI Registration number 57290/94, Price in Nepal - Nep. Rs. 20.00 per copy.

PAGE

12NewsmakersMONDAY | 18 NOVEMBER 2019 | NEW DELHITHE ASIAN AGE

Sharing secretsKristen Bell admits sharing Frozen 2 secrets withher kids ahead of the release but warned them thattheir teeth would fall out if they revealed to anyone

IN BRIEF

Los Angeles: Rapper-turned-gospel singer Kanye West performed songs from his

new album Jesus is King forhundreds of inmates at two

jails in Houston, Texas. Westand his troop performed for

more than 200 male inmatesat one jail facility

and then held aconcert for a

smaller crowd of female inmates in

another prison.According to the

HollywoodReporter, Harris

County Sheriff EdGonzalez said

West’s representatives askedjail officials about doing

secret shows. West shookhands with a number of the

inmates during his visit. Many inmates were moved totears during the performanc-

es. The musician reportedlyused a secret tunnel to reachthe facility where the female

inmates are being held. Texasgovernor Greg Abbott tweet-ed on Saturday that it wouldbe “great if other artists fol-lowed Kanye’s lead.” “WhatKanye West does to inspirethe incarcerated is transfor-

mative,” Abbott said. “Savingone soul at a time. Inmates

who turn to God may getreleased earlier [because] ofgood behavior & may be less

likely to commit futurecrimes.” The concerts were

reminiscent of jailhouse gigsby Johnny Cash. — PTI

Los Angeles: Andy Weir’sgraphic novel Cheshire

Crossing is getting a filmadaptation. Amblin Partners

has picked up the movierights to the book, with

Erin Cressida Wilsonattached to write the script.According to the HollywoodReporter, Michael De Luca is

producing the adaptation.The story revolves around

Dorothy from The WonderfulWizard of Oz, Alice of Alice’s

Adventures in Wonderlandand Peter Pan’s Wendy, whomeet in boarding school for

troubled young ladies.— PTI

KANYE WESTPERFORMS IN

HOUSTON JAILS

No one should usesteroids. People

misuse them which isbad for health.

— Salman Khan,

Actor

Cheshire Crossinggets movie adaption

London: Black Panther starChadwick Boseman says

he never imagined acting onstage or in front of the cam-

era as he wasn’t ‘’raised to bethe centre of attention’’. Theactor, who became a globalstar with his Marvel stint asBlack Panther aka T’Challa,

the king and protector ofWakanda, said he always had

a story or a song playing inhis head but he never

thought of pursuing career inthe entertainment industry. “Ididn’t see myself on stage, or

in front of camera.” — PTI

‘Wasn’t raised to becentre of attention’

London: Hollywood starCharlize Theron says she

wants to fall in love, but willnot compromise to be in arelationship. Theron said inher 20s she thought it was

okay to modulate herself depending on her partner

but, now in her 40s, theactor doesn’t dream of a

“perfect” equation. “I’d loveto meet somebody and that

is something I even think can happen. I’m just not willing

to compromise if somethingdoesn’t feel right. That’s

something that has definitelychanged for me after I got to

my forties.” — PTI

Theron ‘will notchange to find love’

Kanye West

Geneva: The gradual acid-ification of the subarcticregion of the Pacificocean, is causing a signifi-cant increase in the pro-duction of nitrous oxide,an ozone-depleting green-house gas, according to astudy.

The researchers, includ-ing those from the SwissFederal Institute ofTechnology Lausanne inSwitzerland, studied theproduction of nitrousoxide near the Hokkaidoand the Kuril Islands —disputed territoriesbetween Japan and Russiain the northern Pacificocean.

The rising levels of car-bon dioxide in the atmos-phere due to human activ-ities increases the acidityof the ocean, according tothe researchers.

The study, published inthe journal NatureClimate Change, revealedthat if Ph — which has ascale from zero (mostacidic) to 14 (most alka-line) — keeps falling at thecurrent rate of 0.0051units per year, the nitrousoxide produced in thisPacific region may rise by185 per cent to 491 per centby 2100.

The researchers addedthat the greenhouse effectof nitrous oxide, formingin these regions, is 298times greater than that ofcarbon dioxide.

As part of the study, theycollected samples at fivedifferent sites off thecoast of Japan, from thesubarctic region to thesubtropical region.

When they lowered thesamples’ pH levels, it trig-gered a natural process inwhich microbes in thewater converted ammoni-um into nitrate andnitrous oxide.

“Our study providesadditional proof that ris-ing carbon dioxide emis-sions are disrupting natu-

ral biogeochemical cycles,which are highly sensitiveto changes in the environ-ment. However, our con-clusions are valid only forthe part of the Pacificthat we examined,” saidstudy senior authorFlorian Breider fromEPFL.

Breider said additionalresearch is needed toascertain whether thesame process is occurringin other parts of theworld. Developing modelsof this process, taking allenvironmental variablesinto account, may helpscientists obtain criticalinformation for predict-ing future climate,Breider said. — PTI

Arctic Ocean acidificationmay emit harmful gasesLead to increase in nitrous oxide, an ozone-depleting gas

London: Britain’s PrinceAndrew provoked abacklash Sunday follow-ing an extraordinary TVinterview in which hedenied having sex withan alleged victim of theconvicted sex offenderJeffrey Epstein, as pub-lic relations expertsbranded the hour-longexchange “disastrous”.

Queen Elizabeth II’ssecond son was lambast-ed from all quarters forhis lack of judgementand empathy with thevictims, his extraordi-nary defence that he wasat a high street pizzarestaurant, never sweat-ed and claim that heonly stayed at the sexoffender’s home becausehe was ‘too honourable’.

The unprecedentedinterview was the firsttime Andrew hasanswered questionsabout Virginia Robert’sallegations.

It was a PR gambleintended to clear hisname but in attemptingto justify his relation-ship with Epstein,Andrew appearedSunday to have openedhimself up to evengreater criticism.

Roberts, now Giuffre,claims she was forced tohave sex with the royalon three occasions — inLondon in 2001 when shewas 17, in New York andon Epstein’s privateCaribbean island.

PR consultant MarkBorkowski said theexchanges were “likewatching a man in quicksand” and that he had“never seen anything sodisastrous”. — AFP

Andrew drawsbacklash after‘disastrous PRgamble’ on TV

Vatican City: PopeFrancis has agendas bothpastoral and personal forhis trip to Asia, wherehe’ll appeal for globalnuclear disarmament atthe sites of the atomicbomb and minister to twotiny Catholic communi-ties that have sufferedgruesome periods of per-secution.

Emphasising the dignityof life is also on Francis’to-do list for his trip toThailand and Japan thatbegins Wednesday, giventhe scourge of humantrafficking in Thailandand Japan’s use of capitalpunishment and high sui-cide rate.

As a young Jesuit,Francis dreamed of beinga missionary in Japan,inspired by the courage ofJapan’s HiddenChristians, who bravedtwo centuries of persecu-tion to keep their faith

alive. “In some way, this isthe fulfilment of hisdream,” said the Rev.Bernardo Cervellera, edi-tor of AsiaNews, aVatican-affiliated newsservice.

In Thailand, Francis willalso be reunited with hissecond cousin, Sister AnaRose Sivori, an Argentinenun who has lived inThailand since 1966 andwill serve as Francis’ offi-cial translator there.

Here are some highlights

of Francis’ pilgrimage,his fourth to Asia and onethat could also touch onthe Vatican’s delicate rela-tions with China.

One of the highlights ofthe trip will be Francis’prayer at the memorial ofthe 26 Nagasaki Martyrs,who were crucified in 1597at the start of a two-centu-ry wave of anti-Christianpersecution by Japaneserulers. Francis’ ownJesuit order had intro-duced Christianity to

Japan with the arrival ofSt. Francis Xavier on thearchipelago in 1549. Afterconverting more than aquarter-million Japanese,missionaries were bannedat the start of the 17th cen-tury. Japanese Christianswere forced to renouncetheir faith, suffer tortuousdeaths or go underground.

Francis will greet somedescendants of theseHidden Christians, whosestory was recounted in the2016 Martin Scorsese filmSilence.

Francis will also honourThailand’s World War II-era martyrs, who werevictims of anti-Christianpersecution by Thais whoviewed Christianity as for-eign and associated withFrench colonial powers.

Francis will pray at thesanctuary for Thailand’sfirst martyred priest,Nicolas BunkerdKitbamrung. — AP

With nukes, martyrs and reunion on platter, Pope Asian agenda both personal & pastoral

NEWS NUGGETS

New York: Lichens, com-posite organisms in whichalgae and fungi live togeth-er as one life form, mayhave come into existencemuch later in the Earth’shistory than previouslythought, according to astudy which suggests theyevolved millions of yearsafter plants colonisedland.

The study, published inthe journal Geobiology,noted that until now scien-tists thought lichens weresome of the first organ-isms to start moving toland from aquatic habitats— changing the planet’satmosphere and helpingform the terrain for mod-ern plants.

The researchers said thespecific questions of whenlichens evolved, and howmany times fungi evolvedthe ability to form symbi-otic relationships withalgae remained con-tentious until now. — PTI

London: Terry O’Neill,the photographer whorose to fame in the1960s as achronicler ofthe celebritiesand public fig-ures whodefined the era,has died at theage of 81.

O’Neill, who wasawarded a CBE lastmonth for services tophotography, died athome on Saturdaynight after a long ill-ness, the Guardian

reported. He hadprostate cancer.

He was known for hispictures ofmusicians, mod-els and actors,from the Beatlesand the RollingStones toBrigitte Bardotand Sean

Connery. He later pho-

tographed AmyWinehouse, NicoleKidman and NelsonMandela as well as theQueen. — Agencies

PHOTOGRAPHER OF SWINGING60s TERRY O’NEILL DIES AT 81

Arkadelphia, US: TwoArkansas chemistryprofessors have beenarrested and accused ofmaking methampheta-mine, according to theClark county sheriff ’sdepartment, CNNreported. Terry DavidBateman, 45, andBradley Allen Rowland,40, both associate pro-fessors of chemistry at

Henderson StateUniversity inArkadelphia, Arkansas,were taken into custodyFriday afternoon. Theyface charges of manu-facturing methamphet-amine and using drugparaphernalia. Both professors havebeen on administrativeleave that startedOctober 11. — Agencies

2 U.S. CHEMISTRY PROFESSORSARRESTED FOR MAKING METH

‘LICHENS MAYHAVE EVOLVEDAFTER PLANTS’

Sydney: Black Eyed Peasmusician Will.i.am hasaccused a flight attendantfrom Australia’s nationalcarrier Qantas of beingracist and rude to him ona flight.

The musician said hewas met by police atSydney Airport onSaturday after an incidentwith an “overly aggres-sive flight attendant” whohe says was upset withhim because he couldn’thear her through his

noise-cancelling head-phones.

He tweeted a photo of apolice officer and said:“This is how your greeted

when you land fromBrisbane to Sydney flying@qantas with a#RacistFlightattendant.”Qantas rejected the allega-tion saying that the inci-dent had nothing to dowith race. “There was amisunderstanding onboard, which seems tohave been exacerbated bywill.I.Am wearing noisecancelling headphonesand not being able to hearinstructions from crew,”airline said. — AP

Black Eyed Peas star accusesQantas attendant of racism

W e l l i n g t o n :B r i t a i n ’ sPrince Charlesand his wifeC a m i l l aarrived in NewZealand onSunday for aweeklong trip,during whichthey plan tovisit the city ofChristchurchand the his-toric treaty grounds atWaitangi, where thenation’s founding docu-ment was signed.

It is the couple’s thirdjoint visit to NewZealand and their firstin four years.

Their plane had landedin Auckland on Sundayafternoon. Their publicduties were due to beginMonday when theyplanned to lay a wreathat the Mount RoskillWar Memorial. The cou-ple is due to meet withPM Jacinda Ardern onTuesday. — AP

After Indiavisit, Charleson NZ trip

Jaipur: Thousands ofbirds have died at India’slargest inland saltwaterlake from suspected botu-lism, officials saidSunday.

The 8,000 carcasses werefound over the last fewdays in and aroundRajasthan state’sSambhar Lake, about 80kilometres from the capi-tal Jaipur.

“Veterinary expertsfrom the RajasthanUniversity of Veterinaryand Animal Sciences haveindicated that the deathsoccurred due to botu-lism,” state forest depart-ment’s principal secre-tary, Sreya Guha said.

Avian botulism, a natu-rally occurring neurotox-in activated in warmweather by bacteria insilt, is passed along to

waterbirds throughinfected bugs, causingparalysis or death. It isnot contagious tohumans.

The government isawaiting a detailed analy-sis of the dead birds fromthe Indian VeterinaryResearch Institute as wellas a report from a south-ern India laboratory onthe water’s heavy metaltoxicity. Officials suspectthe birds had been feedingon maggot-infested car-casses, contributing totheir death.

Thousands of carcasseshave been fished out ofthe water and buried butthere are fears more couldbe lying on the bed of thelake. A 70-member teamhad been formed to recov-er and dispose of thebirds. — AFP

Botulism likely led to death of birds at Sambhar salt lake

Charles

Camilla

Prince Andrew

Elephants are forced to perform a battle re-enactmentduring the annual Surin Elephant Round-up festival inSurin, Thailand, on Sunday. — AFP

Hot-air balloons during the XVIII International BalloonFestival at the Metropolitan Park in Leon, Mexico, onSaturday. — AFP

Helena Bonham Carter (left), acast member in the Netflixseries The Crown, and anattendee (above) shows offher skirt and handbag on thered carpet at a gala screeningof the show in Los Angeles onSaturday. — AP

Actors present an opera in the Capitol during a gala aspart of the celebration of the 500 years of the city inHavana, Cuba, on Saturday. — AP

A cosplayer at the ComicCon Colombia 2019 inMedellin onSaturday.

— AFP

Alex Kapranos, ofFranz Ferdinand, at the

Corona Capital musicfestival in Mexico City

on Saturday. — AP

Emily Ratajkowski (left)and Paris Hilton at the13th Annual Go Gala atNeueHouse Hollywoodin Los Angeles onSaturday.

— AP

� Emphasising thedignity of life is alsoon Francis’ to-do listfor his trip toThailand and Japanthat begins Wed,given human traffick-ing in Thailand andJapan’s use of capitalpunishment and highsuicide ratePope Francis

� Study says if Ph — which has a scale fromzero to 14 — keeps falling at the current rateof 0.0051 units per year, the nitrous oxide pro-duced in this Pacific region may rise by 185%to 491% by 2100

Will.i.am

New Delhi: A 13-year-oldboy, who ran from his house

in Bihar and reached Delhidue to his poor perform-

ance in studies, was reunit-ed with his family. DCP

(PCR) Sharat Kumar Sinhasaid that on late Thursdaynight the newly launched

Prakhar vehicle staff saw adistressed minor boy nearJhandewalan mandir. Thestaff consoled the victimafter which he disclosed

that he is a resident ofBhagalpur, Bihar and he had

run away from his villageafter his father had shownunhappiness over his poor

performance in exams.Local police was informedabout the incident and the

relatives were alsoinformed. After proper veri-fication, the boy was hand-

ed over to his localguardian in presence

of local police.

Ivory Coast needtwo penalties tobeat Niger

SPORT | Football

14 15GUIDE TO FORTUNE

SHORT TAKES

■ Illinois ■Propelling pencil ■5

THE ANSWERS TO TODAY’S GUIDE TO FORTUNE

1Between 1997 and 2004,Barack Obama served

three terms in the Senateof which US state?

■ Idaho ■ Illinois■ Indiana

2What was invented inBritain by Sampson

Mordan and Gabriel Riddlein 1822?

■ Fountain pen ■ Propelling pencil ■ Kaleidoscope

3How many hearts doesan earthworm have?

■ 0 ■ 5 ■ 1

NEW DELHI MONDAY 18 NOVEMBER 2019

DELHI SPECIAL ‘Role inMarjaavaanwas powerful’

DELHI AGEMatinee 25

Minor reunitedwith family

New Delhi: With the arrestof four armed criminals, the

Delhi Police has recoveredtwo country made pistols

with three live cartridges, abutton operated knife,

seven mobile phones and astolen two-wheeler from

their possession. Theaccused were identified as

Vinay (23), Deepak (27),Gourav and Ajay (24). Vinaywas previously involved in a

case while Gourav wasinvolved in two cases and

Ajay in four, said DCP(South) Atul Kumar Thakur.

The staff of PS SangamVihar arrested Gourav andAjay with the weapon and

five mobiles. In the secondincident, the staff of PS

Maidan Garhi arrested Vinayand Deepak during check-ing and recovered a pistol,knife and two mobiles, the

DCP aaded.

4 held with pistols,knife & 7 mobiles

Tick the answer and checkthem below.

Prithvi slams 50 on return from doping ban

SPORT | Cricket

Air quality improves due tostrong winds, but still ‘poor’AGE CORRESPONDENTNEW DELHI, NOV. 17

Delhiites got some respitefrom pollution on Sundayas the air quality in thecity improved to “poor”category from the“severe” category.

The national capital wit-nessed a dip in pollutionlevels on Saturday morn-ing even as the air qualityin the city remained in the“severe” category.

The air quality index(AQI) in Delhi at 9 am onSunday stood at 254against an AQI of 412 atthe same time onSaturday. The AQI inFaridabad was 228,Ghaziabad 241, GreaterNoida 192, Noida 224 andGurgaon 193.

Delhi chief ministerArvind Kejriwal onSunday asserted thatthere is a “very strong cor-relation” between stubbleburning and pollution innorth India as he attrib-uted the improvement inair quality to dip in casesof setting crop residueafire.

Mr Kejriwal and the rul-ing AAP have been at theforefront of blaming stub-ble burning in neighbour-ing Punjab and Haryana asone of the major reasonsfor high levels of air pollu-tion during winters inDelhi.“A very strong corre-lation can be seen betweenstubble burning and thespike in air pollution inNorth India. As soon asstubble burning began inthe first week of Oct, theAQI started rising. Nowthat burning is coming toan end, air quality is alsoimproving’” the chiefminister tweeted.

In another tweet, thechief minister said, “ Thestubble burning has

stopped and with it, theair quality in Delhi hasimproved. “A few peoplesay that stubble burningcontributes only 5 percent to air pollution inDelhi. So with reductionof only 5 per cent, has theair quality indeximproved from over 500 to200? Rather than doingpolitics on pollution,there is a need to addressthe issue together withgood intentions”.

The BJP has been hittingout at Arvind Kejriwalgovernment for “not doinganything” to control airpollution in the past fiveyears and bringing in odd-even road rationingscheme as Assembly pollsare approaching.

Senior BJP leader andRajya Sabha MP VijayGoel said if the Kejriwalgovernment thinks stub-ble burning is the mainreason for harmful airquality in Delhi then why

did it resort to the Odd-Even scheme.

The Delhi governmentwill take a final call onMonday whether or not to

extend the scheme, whichwas implemented fromNovember 4-15, consider-ing the current situationof air pollution.

AGE CORRESPONDENTNEW DELHI, NOV. 17

A 32-year-old man wascharred to death aftera fire broke out at ashoe factory in OuterDelhi’s Narela, offi-cials said. The bodywas beyond recogni-tion and it was sus-pected to be of securi-ty guard MangalMandal, a resident ofBihar, they said.

Chief fire officerAtul Garg said 24 firetenders were rushedto the spot. The fire-fighters started dous-ing the fire first onthe ground floor andthen broke the win-dows for the smoke tocome out. The firewas brought undercontrol within anhour and was fol-lowed by the coolingoperation,” he said.

Around 4.45 pm,Mandal’s body wasfound near the stairson the top floor of thefactory, the officialsaid, adding that thefloor’s gate waslocked from inside.

“The factory owner,Praveen Kumar, toldthe police that it was aholiday on Saturdayand only Mandal wassupposed to be insidethe factory,” said DCP(Outer North) GauravSharma. Mandal hadbeen working in Delhifor the past 10 years.

AGE CORRESPONDENTNEW DELHI, NOV. 17

The Jawaharlal NehruStudents’ Union (JNUSU)has appealed to students ofother universities to joinits march to Parliament onMonday, to protest againsthostel fee hike and otherissues affecting highereducation.

The students’ union willbe marching from theJNU towards Parliamenton Monday, when the win-ter session will begin.

“At a time when feehikes are rampant acrossthe country, students haveemerged as the first line ofdefence for inclusive edu-cation. We invite all stu-dents of Delhi, to join usas we march on foot fromJNU to Parliament on thefirst day of the winter ses-sion of Parliament,” the

JNUSU said.It also appealed to stu-

dents outside Delhi toorganise agitations onMonday to mark a nation-al day of protest, “to safe-guard education as aright, and oppose itstransformation into acommodity”.

Police said they havemade adequate securityarrangements along theroute of the march. Policepersonnel will bedeployed at all entrypoints leading towards

Parliament from all possi-ble routes starting fromsouthwest district, a sen-ior police official said.

The Delhi Police has reg-istered an FIR in connec-tion with the “vandalism”off administration blockof JNU last week, officialssaid on Sunday.

A section of JNU teach-ers on Sunday said theJNU administration wasopen to dialogue withelected hostel representa-tives but not with the“non-notified” students’union to end the standoffby students over the hikein hostel fees. UmeshKadam, the dean of stu-dents, said he has not yetnotified the students’union.

JNU Vice Chancellor MJagadesh Kumar hasurged students to end theprotest.

JNUSU appeals students ofother varsities to join strike

AGE CORRESPONDENTNEW DELHI, NOV. 17

With the arrest of threepersons, the Delhi Policeclaimed to have busted agang of cheats who hadprocured 28 Hondascooties on ‘hire-pur-chase’ basis after gettingloan from HindujaLeyland Finance Limitedon the basis of forgedpapers.

Six vehicles have beenrecovered from their pos-session.

The trio was identifiedas Sunil Kumar (25),Harish Dhingra (40) andMohd. Sualeheen (28).Sunil worked as a market-

ing agent of HindujaLeyland Finance Limited.Harish worked as a sharebroker but later turnedinto a cheat after lossesand Sualeheen is a dealerof old tyres in JamaMasjid area.

A complaint wasreceived that Sunil alongwith his associates hadobtained loan after pro-viding fake documents ofcustomers of variousshowrooms of HondaActiva. During interroga-tion, Sunil told the nameof his associates whowere also nabbed.

It was revealed thatHarish was the master-mind behind the fraud

who would lure market-ing agents of financecompanies who used towork in automobile show-rooms and facilitate loansfor the prospective buy-ers.

The gang would sell outthe vehicles to buyerswho want to use the vehi-cles in inner colony roads

only and don’t go outsidetheir boundary so thatthey are not checked andchances of recovery ofvehicle by the financecompanies became veryless.

Harish would give Sunil`25,000 out of which`10,000 was deposited ascash down payment andremaining money was theprofit share of Sunil.

Harish used to charge`35,000 from Sualeheenfor each vehicle who inturn sells the same foraround `40,000-45,000.

Thus the end user wouldget a new Honda Activacosting around `75,000 fora throwaway price.

� JNUSU alsoappealed to stu-dents outside Delhito organise agita-tions on Monday tomark a national dayof protest

3 held for for duping finance company

‘Missing’ posters of BJPMP Gambhir surfaceNew Delhi, Nov. 17:“Missing” posters ofBharatiya Janata Partylawmaker GautamGambhir, who drew criti-cism for skipping a cru-cial meeting two days agoon pollution, purportedlysurfaced across Delhi onSunday.

“Missing. Have you seenthis person? He was lastseen eating ‘jalebis’ inIndore. The entire Delhi islooking for him,” the mes-sage on the posters statedalong with a picture ofGambhir, the Lok SabhaMP from East Delhi.

These posters croppedup after the cricketer-turned-politician skippeda meeting of the parlia-mentary standing com-mittee on urban develop-ment on Friday over airpollution in the NationalCapital Region.

Pictures of Gambhir,who appears on sportschannels for cricket com-mentary, enjoying ‘jalebis’in Indore on the same dayalso surfaced on socialmedia.

Only four MPs of a 28-member parliamentary

panel attended the keymeeting to discuss the airpollution crisis in theNational Capital Region.The meeting was ulti-mately called off as law-makers and bureaucratswere absent.

Meanwhile, a close aideof the BJP MP allegedthat the posters were ahandiwork of the AAPthat “has not been able todigest the humiliatingdefeat of its candidate,Atishi, at the hands ofGautam Gambhir in theLok Sabha election.

According to GauravArora, Gambhir was inhis constituency till lastWednesday. He inaugurat-ed two schools of the EastDelhi MunicipalCorporation (EDMC) andattended other pro-grammes before leavingfor his fixed assignment.

“The AAP and its lead-ers are baffled by the workdone by Gambhir in ashort span of five monthsin East Delhi after win-ning the election,” Aroraadded.

— PTI

Man charredto death inNarela shoe factory fire

■ Handiwork of AAP, alleges close aide

BJP MP Vijay Goel with supporters during a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi onSunday. — ASIAN AGE

AGE CORRESPONDENTNEW DELHI, NOV. 17

Over 70 per cent parentsin Delhi and NCRbelieve there should be ascheduled “smog break”in schools fromNovember 1-20 everyyear, according to a newsurvey.

The survey, with nearly10,000 respondents fromDelhi-NCR region, hasalso found that parentswant that leaves of thesmog break be compen-

sated with reduction ofleaves from the summer,winter, and springbreaks combined toensure the study calen-dar is not affected.

“From Delhi,Faridabad, Ghaziabad,Noida, and Gurgaon, 74per cent parents wantthat there should be ascheduled smog breakfrom November 1-20every year when the airquality is at its worse,”says the findings of thesurvey.

Correlation between stubble burning and spike in pollution: Kejri

74% parents want annual‘smog break’ in schools

� The trio was identi-fied as Sunil Kumar(25), Harish Dhingra(40) and Mohd.Sualeheen (28). Sunilworked as a market-ing agent

AGE CORRESPONDENTNEW DELHI, NOV. 17

The Delhi police has bust-ed a fake call centreallegedly involved in dup-ing foreign nationals byposing as Canadian policeofficials and has arrested32 people from Moti Nagararea in connection withthe scam, the police saidon Sunday.

Fifty-five computers, 35mobile phones, and illegalsoftware along with otherequipments have also beenseized, it said.

On November 15, thepolice said it receivedinputs about some fraud-sters who posed asCanadian police officialsover the phone and dupedforeign nationals on thepretext of saving themfrom social insurancenumber (SIN) violations.

SIN is a nine digit num-ber that is required towork in Canada or to haveaccess to government pro-grammes and benefits, thepolice said.

A complaint was alsoreceived in this regard byone of the Canadiannationals, Elvis Henry,against the fraudsters whoallegedly duped him of$13,500 through the SINscam, it added.

The police, along with ateam of the department oftelecommunications (DoT)officials, raided the callcentre set up at West

Delhi’s Moti Nagar, where-in one Jasjot Singh,Sarabjot Singh, and SagarJain were found supervis-ing the activities of thecallers who were engagedin making and receivinginternational calls, saidadditional deputy commis-sioner of police (West)Sameer Sharma.

During sustained inter-rogation, the supervisorsdisclosed that they imper-sonated as Canadianpolice officials and target-ed Canadian nationalsthrough voice over inter-net protocol (VoIP) calls,he said. Victims wereasked to hand over themoney, either throughBitcoin, ATMs, and giftcards including thoseoffered by credit cardcompanies.

Raids are being conduct-ed to nab the otheraccused, including theowners of the call centreRaja, Sushil, Naveen,Bunny Arora, andPankaj, the police said.

Fake call centrebusted, 32 held

Posters of BJP MP Gautam Gambhir put up after hefailed to attend a key meeting on pollution called by aparliamentary panel in New Delhi on Sunday. — PTI

� During interroga-tion, the supervi-sors disclosed thatthey impersonatedas Canadian policeofficials and target-ed Canadian nation-als through voiceover internet proto-col (VoIP) calls

AGE CORRESPONDENTNEW DELHI, NOV. 17

A 19-year-old physio-therapy student diedwhen his speeding caroverturned after hittinga kerb and ramming intoa water tanker in south-east Delhi in the earlyhours of Sunday, policesaid.

Ansh Girdhar, a resi-dent of KalkajiExtension, was return-ing home when the inci-dent occurred on theOkhla Estate Road,police said, adding thatthey were informedabout it around 3.29 am.

According to prelimi-nary investigation,Girdhar was driving hisBaleno car at high speedand lost control in orderto save his vehicle froma tree trunk lying on theroad. The car hit thepavement and then awater tanker parked onthe roadside, followingwhich it overturned, anofficer said.

The teenager wasrushed to the All IndiaInstitute of MedicalSciences where he suc-cumbed to his injuries,deputy commissioner ofpolice (Southeast)Chinmoy Biswal said,adding that the car wasfound in a severely dam-aged condition at theaccident site.

Girdhar was pursuinga physiotherapy coursefrom an institute atVasant Kunj. A case hasbeen registered at theGovindpuri and thebody has been handedover to the family.

Student diesafter car hits tanker,turns turtle

Pandit Birju Maharaj presentingthe ‘Sumitra Charat Ram Award’for lifetime achivement todancer Sonal Mansingh in NewDelhi on Sunday.

— BIPLAB BANERJEE

AGE CORRESPONDENTNEW DELHI, NOV. 17

A Delhi court has admit-ted a plea filed by theparents of the 2012-gan-grape victim, seekingtransfer of the case toanother judge.

The victim’s parentshave sought the court’sdirection to the TiharJail authorities to expe-dite the execution of therape convicts.

The court will hear thematter on November 25.They moved the applica-tion since the earlier twojudges hearing the mat-ter got transferred andthe matter is gettingadjourned continuously,the plea said.

The special fast trackcourt—set up to hearcases of sexual harass-ment cases exclusively—of the Patiala Housecourt, is currentlyvacant and no judge hasbeen appointed till now.

The application saidthat the victim’s parentsapproached the courtsince the convicts haveexhausted all legal reme-dies.

In December last year,the parents of Nirbhaya,the 23-year-old para-medic who was gan-graped in December2012, approached thecourt to fast-track theprocedure to hang all the four convicts in thecase.

Nirbhaya case: Courtadmits parents’ plea

■ Protest march to Parliament today

NNeeww DDeellhhii,,NNoovv.. 1177::

M a y a n kAgarwal’s attack-ing game inTests could openthe door for hisselection inIndia’s limited

overs squads forthe assignmentsagainst West Indiesnext month.

There is a schoolof thought thatAgarwal could be an

option, preferably forthe three-match ODI

series against the WestIndies in December, in casevice-captain Rohit Sharmatakes a break to rejuvenatehimself ahead of the bigaway tour of New Zealandearly next year.

Rohit has been continu-ously playing for a whilenow and the only break hegot was the two Test match-es in the West Indies. TheIndian vice-captain will beintegral to the team’s plansacross formats during theNew Zealand tour when itwill play five T20Internationals, three ODIsand two Tests.

For the limited oversmatches against WestIndies, it will only be fair ifthe selectors think of giv-ing Virat Kohli and RaviShastri with anotheroption in Agarwal, who hasa fantastic List A record of13 hundreds at a 50-plusaverage and 100-plus strike-rate. One more factor thatcould go in Agarwal’sfavour is Shikhar Dhawan’sprolonged bad patch andthe need to have anotherback-up option, apart fromKL Rahul, ready.

Agarwal was sent as a latereplacement for VijayShankar during the WorldCup and though he didn’tget a game in the UnitedKingdom, the move was an

indicator that theKarnataka batsman, for hisattacking game, is also inthe selectors’ white ballscheme of things.

Many feel that Agarwalcould be seen as a long-term option keeping inmind the 2023 ODI WorldCup in India, asDhawan, given hisd e t e r i o r a t i n gform, might notbe around then.

Former Indiaplayer andcricket analystDeep Dasguptasees no harm intrying outAgarwal in theshorter formats,and the bilateralseries against theWest Indies couldbe the right plat-form.

“It would be a greatthing if the Indianteam management hasMayank in mind as anopening option. In fact,he is a natural white ballplayer, who has wonder-fully transformed andadapted to the needs ofred ball cricket,”Dasgupta said.

“If you look atMayank, his talentwas never questioned.He always had therange of strokes fromdrives to the horizontalbat shots. It was justthat in the earlier parthe was getting out play-ing cameos, but not any-more,” he added.

Agarwal had had adream start to his Testcareer with two doublehundreds in his kittyeven before completing10 Test matches.However, what hascaught everyone’s atten-tion is the eight hugesixes that he hit duringhis 243 against

Bangladesh in the openingTest in Indore.

So can Agarwal be triedin the T20s too, keeping theWorld T20 in mind, those inthe know of things feel thatit could be KL Rahul andRohit Sharma, who lookthe best fit for the tourna-ment Down Under nextyear. Many also believe thatthings could change forAgarwal if he is able to

have a good IPL. But fornow, it’s the 50-over game

that awaits. — PTI

Mayank inches closerto limited-overs call-up

MMuummbbaaii,, NNoovv.. 1177::Returning to competi-tive cricket with a bangafter serving a dopingsuspension, youngPrithvi Shaw says he isnow completelyfocussed on letting hisbat do the talking toforce his way back intothe Indian team.

“Now I will focus onscoring as many runsas possible and wingames for the team,”said Shaw, who playedhis first game afterserving a back-datedeight-month suspen-sion by the BCCI forfailing a dope test.

In his comebackmatch, Shaw made astroke-filled 39-ball 63to help Mumbai thrashAssam by 83 runs in aSyed Mushtaq AliTrophy game.

“I will just keep scor-ing runs. It is all aboutthe selectors and whatthey think. My job is toscore runs and wingames for the team,”the 20-year-old openingbatsman said whenasked about his returnto the national team.

Shaw, who made adream Test debut witha century and a fifty inthe two matches he hasplayed so far, has noother option but to pileup tons of runs toreclaim his Test spot asRohit Sharma andMayank Agarwal havegrabbed their chancesin his absence.

Shaw was bannedfrom all forms of crick-et by the BCCI for a(retrospective) periodof eight months in Julyafter failing a dope testduring the Mushtaq AliTrophy in March andhis ban ended onFriday.

Talking about the banperiod, Shaw said theepisode was definitely“hard and upsetting”but it is a thing of thepast now. “I had neverthought that somethinglike this would happen.I was obviously upset.For the first 20-25 daysafter I was banned, Iwas not able to under-stand how did it hap-pen,” he said.

“Time passed by. Iwent to Londonand chilled outthere as I wasnot allowed topractice tillSeptember 15.After that I sta-

bilised myself and keptmyself mentallystronger by tellingmyself these threemonths would pass.But each day was hard,it was getting longer.It’s all past now.”

Shaw said that formerskipper Rahul David,who is the head ofcricket in Bangalore’sNational CricketAcademy, helped himin his comeback.“There was nothing inmy mind. I couldn’thave done anythingabout the ban. Afterreturning fromLondon, Rahul(Dravid) sir called meto the NCA for train-ing. There I wentthrough a series of fit-ness tests like yo-yo,”he said.

“Under Rahul sir a lotof focus was on fitness.I had to clear all my fit-ness tests. What alsohelped was that duringthe nets good bowlerswere available likeKuldeep Yadav, Bhuvi(Bhuvneshwar Kumar)and Varun Aaron.Besides, Rahul sir wasalways there for guid-ance and mentalissues.”

He said apart from hisfather Pankaj, a lot ofcricketers and coachessupported him duringhis hard days.

“There obviouslywas a period when Iwas not feeling toowell. But then as theday of return camecloser, I started toget my acts together.

“If I had gone intoa shell at that pointof time (ban) Iwould have feltpressure. Butwhatever happensit’s for good.”

— PTI

SHORT TAKES

‘Abusive’ Pattinsonbanned for a Test

T10 is not goodfor cricket: Doshi

SSyyddnneeyy:: Australia fast bowlerJames Pattinson was suspend-ed on Sunday for player abuse,ruling him out of the first Test

against Pakistan this week withskipper Tim Paine saying hehad let down the team. The

paceman was found guilty ofbreaching Cricket Australia’s

code of conduct duringVictoria’s Sheffield Shield game

against Queensland last week.It was not clear what he said,

but the governing body charac-terised it as “personal abuse of

a player while fielding”. TheAustralian and the Sydney Daily

Telegraph said it allegedlyinvolved a homophobic slur.

— AFP

MMuummbbaaii:: Former India left-armspinner Dilip Doshi on Sundayexpressed his disapproval for

T10 cricket, saying anythingbeyond T20 will have an

adverse affect on the sport.The 71-year-old Doshi, who

played 33 Tests and 15 ODIs,was speaking on the sidelines

of ‘Tata Literature Live’ here inthe presence of former

Australian umpire Simon Taufeland commentator Ashis Ray.

When a participant asked aboutthe T10 format, Doshi said,

“T20 is the lowest ceiling in myview or maintaining still someof the aesthetics of the game.Once you go lower than that,

you will have to make hugecompromise and I think the

game would suffer from thatcompromise,” Doshi said.

Taking a dig at the T20-drivenshorter formats of the game, hesaid players with incomplete orbad action are winning Man-of-

the-Match awards these days. — AFP

A good balanceand committed

footwork is the keyto success in

Australia.— Mickey Arthur, former

Pakistan coach

PAGE

14MONDAY | 18 NOVEMBER 2019 | NEW DELHI

Cricket

Prithvi slams fifty onreturn from dopingban, says focus is onscoring runs

Comeback Shaw

Record dealChris Green has signed the longest deal inBBL history after Sydney Thunder signed theoff-spinner for a further six seasons

James PPattinson

THE ASIAN AGE

The Indian ‘seam’ teamgave the world ofcricket a reality check

once again. Their role inIndia’s innings and 130-runvictory against Bangladeshhas given cricket analystsfood for thought the waythey have bowled on goodbatting pitches. To tacklethree fast bowlers on sub-continental pitches wouldnever have been a problemfor any international bat-ting team in the past and itwas never a point to ponder,forget worry about.

The decimation of SouthAfrica and Bangladesh inthe last two months, by bigmargins has put the casefor Team India veryhigh when it comes torankings in the WorldChampionship of Testcricket. The successfuleffort in the fourhome Tests doeshave it’s genesisin the equal bal-ance that teamIndia possessesand what themanagement hasworked towards.

The batting hasbeen simply phe-nomenal withMayank Agarwal,Rohit Sharma andAjinkya Rahanecoming tops withcameos by othersincluding ViratKohli and

Cheteshwar Pujara. Thereal value, however, hasbeen from the bowlingdepartment. The hard workput in by the team coaches,particularly bowling coachBharat Arun, is bearingfruit the first signs ofwhich were seen when webeat Australia Down Under.

During the 2018 tour ofEngland, the Indianbowlers got major break-throughs early in theinnings in most Test match-es but somehow splutteredand gasped when it mat-tered most. More often thannot, they allowed the tail towag a bit more often than

they should havewhich cost India the

series which, interms of raw results,looked completelyone sided towardsEngland. A similarvein of getting earlywickets and floun-dering a good startwas also seen when

the teamt o u r e dS o u t h

Africa.Even as

the teamwon an odd

Test match in atough awayseries’ like inEngland andSouth Africa, itnever looked like

they were ready

to wrap up and come on top.There were two obstacles,the mental toughness tokeep up the pressure on theopposition and the twenty-wicket barrier. WhenNathan Lyon nicked IshantSharma into the gloves ofRishabh Pant at MelbourneCricket Ground, India notjust created history of beat-ing the Aussies in a Testseries for the first time butearned themselves tremen-dous self belief.

Coming back to India asheroes having won themace of the number oneteam in the InternationalCricket Council Test rank-ings, the biggest ask facingthe team and its manage-ment was to maintain theirposition. Particularly asthey were also to begin theWorld Championship ofTest cricket. From cam-paigns on fast bouncier andseaming pitches in SouthAfrica, England andAustralia, their 2019 cam-paign would be mostly onflatter surfaces in the subcontinent barring a tour ofthe Caribbean.

The team balance, onthese slower surfaces wouldbe based on the right com-bination of spin and pace.What has stood out as far asthe Indian bowling is con-cerned their complete focuson the right areas to bowl tobatsmen and the concen-trated effort at being con-sistent. Many years ago, ina conversation with KarsanGhavri who was then thebowling coach with theNational Cricket Academy,the former Indian pacerhad mentioned that we didhave the arsenal but werefiring the same in the

wrong direction.“The day our bowlers

bowl the correct line andlength with consistency,you will see the difference,”he had said. Ghavri, whowas an attacking bowlerwith a never-say-die atti-tude, was prophetic andconfident that the day, weare seeing now, was justaround the corner. Thebiggest value-add one hasseen in the four Tests(against the Proteas andBangladesh) so far is thatthe Indian attack keepsgoing for the jugular notallowing the opposition anyleeway. A much neededattribute that was missingfrom the Indian teams ofthe past.

In a post match interviewafter the Indore Test, thethree Indian pacers werecomplimenting one anoth-er, giving due credit to eachother for the victory. Thetake home of that was thatthis Indian team has a verydifferent approach, one ofattack and strategic plan-ning. For the first ball to bebowled by a spinner comingin the 24th over just showsthe dominance of theIndian new-ball attack.That too on an Indianpitch.

The way the absence ofJasprit Bumrah has notbeen felt and the how thespinners, R. Ashwin andRavindra Jadeja, have com-plemented the pacersshows India is now ready towrap the current series andtake on tougher opponentsin their den. The forthcom-ing tour to New Zealandwould be a great indicatorof India’s real challenge inthe Test championship.

Indian attack gives no leewayHemant KenkreSilly Point

DDuubbaaii,, NNoovv.. 1177:: SpeedsterMohammed Shami andopener Mayank Agarwalon Sunday achieved theircareer-best positions inthe latest ICC TestRankings after contribut-ing in India’s innings and130-run victory overBangladesh in the firstTest in Indore.

Shami’s bowling figuresof 3 for 27 and 4 for 31 lift-ed him eight places to sev-enth position. His 790 rat-ing points are the thirdbest for an India pacebowler with only KapilDev (877) and JaspritBumrah (832) havingrecorded more points.Double centurionAgarwal, meanwhile,climbed to the 11th spotafter his player-of-the-match effort of 243 inIndia’s only innings.

— PTI

Shami & Mayankrise to career bestrankings in Test

Pos Player Rating1 Steve Smith (Aus) 9372 Virat Kohli (Ind)9123 K. Williamson (NZ) 8784 C.Pujara (Ind) 7905 A. Rahane (Ind) 759

TEST BATTING RANKINGS

Pos Player Rating1 P. Cummins (Aus) 9082 K. Rabada (SA) 8393 Jason Holder (WI) 8144 J. Bumrah (Ind) 8025 J. Anderson (Eng) 798

TEST BOWLING RANKINGS

KKoollkkaattaa,, NNoovv.. 1177:: TheCountdown for India’s first-ever Day/Night Test beganon Sunday with the City ofJoy turning pink and BCCIpresident Sourav Gangulyunveiling ‘Pinku-Tinku’,the much-awaited event’sofficial mascots.

Ganguly was seen posingwith the match ticket andthe mascots at the EdenGardens, making it a bighit among kids ahead ofthe historic Test againstBangladesh. A giant pinkballoon was also released atthe Eden Gardens and itwill be seen floating in thesky till the end of the his-toric India-BangladeshTest.

City’s important land-marks — the Shahid Minar,the tallest building ‘42’ andsome Kolkata MunicipalityCorporation Parks — alsowere illuminated with pinklights. A ferry with pinkball illumination was alsoseen plying on the Hooghlyand it will keep makingtrips between the iconicHowrah bridge andVidyasagar Setu everyevening till the match day

on November 22. The Tata Steel building

will have 3D Mapping fromNovember 20, while theMeasurers’ Club hasalready turned pink atnight and others are set todo the same. Besides this, adozen billboards across thecity, six LED boards andbranded buses will also beseen from Monday onwardsto further increase aware-ness and interest about theTest that has already got amindboggling response, aCricket Association ofBengal (CAB) statement

said. CAB has joined hands

with Kolkata-based cre-ative agency Creocraft tocreate vignettes of cricketon the inside walls of theEden Gardens, which willsay the story behind everycricketer. Over 20 artistsstudying at Indian ArtCollege are working dayand night to paint this ideaon the walls. With the twoteams arriving here in thenext 48 hours, all roads inthe ‘City of Joy’ lead to theEden.

— PTI

Countdown begins for D/NTest as Kolkata turns pink

The way we saw the variation of pacebowling by (Mohammed) Shami, Ishant(Sharma) and (Umesh) Yadav, they will

get a lot of advantage with this pink ball.Wherever you play, you get that extra breezein the evening. India will take a lot ofadvantage of that.

— AMINUL ISLAM, former Bangladesh captain

There obviously was a period when Iwas not feeling too well. But then asthe day of return came closer, I

started to get my acts together. "If I hadgone into a shell at that point of time (ban)I would have felt pressure. But whateverhappens it's for good.

— PRITHVI SHAW

IInnddoorree,, NNoovv.. 1177:: SkipperVirat Kohli, Rohit Sharmaand the much-vauntedpace trio skipped trainingwhile some of the remain-ing team members prac-tised under lights on thecentre wicket of HolkarStadium here on Sunday,gearing up for India’s firstDay/Night Test.

Besides Kohli and Rohit,the trio of MohammedShami, Ishant Sharma and

Umesh Yadav were alsogiven a break afteraccounting for 14 of the 19Bangladesh wickets in theopening Test here, whichIndia won by an inningsand 130 runs.

Also giving the traininga miss were first Test dou-ble centurion MayankAgarwal and wicketkeeperSaha, Pujara, R.Ashwinand Ravindra Jadeja.

— PTI

Captain Kohli, Rohit and pace trioskip training under lights in Indore

Mayank AgarwalPrithvi Shaw en route to his fifty against Assam in theSyed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in Mumbai on Sunday. — PTI

Mohammed Shami

SSaaoo PPaauulloo,, NNoovv.. 1177:: (AFP)Max Verstappen made a“big statement” by beat-ing both Ferrari andMercedes to qualify onpole position for Sunday’sBrazilian Grand Prix,according to his formerRed Bull team-mateDaniel Ricciardo.

Ricciardo, now withRenault, was knocked outin Saturday’s Q2 sessionand was left to watch thefinal shootout from thepaddock where he toldreporters how impressedhe was with theDutchman’s scintillatinglap.

“Not too bad, huh?” hesaid. “That’s fun! I’m stilla fan of the sport sowatching here it’s excit-ing. I want to be out there,but if I can’t be out there,I’m going to be a fan for 10minutes.

“It’s never perfect, but itlooked clean. Theyshowed a bit of his on-board in the second sectorand it looked clean.

“It’s a big statement forthem to do it here inBrazil. I know he more orless won the race lastyear, but on one lap that’sa big performance.”

Verstappen, who hadsuggested Ferrari’s recentdecline in qualifying pacemay have been due to

‘ c h e a t i n g ’to gain

e x t r ap o w e r ,

topped all three qualify-ing sessions.

After Saturday’s session,Ferrari’s SebastianVettel, who starts second,hit back by pointedly not-ing Red Bull had shownexceptional straight-linespeed.

Ferrari had reeled offsix consecutive pole posi-tions before the UnitedStates Grand Prix, thoughin Mexico, was courtesyof Verstappen penalty.

Fast straights

On Friday, at Interlagos,Ferrari were again veryfast on the straights, butthis was diminished onSaturday, a curiosity thatre-focussed attention onthe Italian team and led toMercedes technical direc-tor James Allisonobserved Verstappen andRed Bull had “done a bet-ter job” to take pole posi-tion on a day when newly-crowned six-time champi-on Lewis Hamilton quali-fied third. — AFP

PAGE

15MONDAY | 18 NOVEMBER 2019 | NEW DELHITHE ASIAN AGE

SHORT TAKESCoach sacked forruthless 27-0 win

MMiillaann:: The coach of an Italianjunior league team was sacked

on Saturday for inflicting ahumiliating 27-0 defeat on their

opponents. Paolo Brogelli,president of Invictasauro, a

team based in Grosseto,Tuscany, slammed his team’s

win over rivals Marina Calcio as“disrespectful”. “We learned

with amazement and regret thescore of the match in which our

junior team scored 27 goals,”Brogelli said in a statement

reported in the Italian press.“The values of youth team foot-

ball are antithetical to such athing. “The opponent must

always be respected and todayit has not happened. As presi-

dent I sincerely apologise tothe Marina team. Our board has

decided, unanimously, to sack(coach) Mr. Riccini. “Our coach-

es have a duty to train and,above all, to educate children.This has not happened today.”

— AFP

Mexico stun USto secure spot

TTookkyyoo:: Mexico edged theUnited States 3-2 after 10

innings on Sunday to take thirdplace at the WBSC Premier 12

baseball tournament and quali-fy for the Tokyo 2020

Olympics. Matthew Clark’s solohomer for Mexico at the bottom

of the ninth tied the bronzemedal match 2-2, sending it to

extra innings. Efren Navarro'ssingle to centrefield at the bot-tom of the 10th drove home the

winning run to seal the centralAmerican country's Olympic

berth. Hosts Japan, with a 4-1win-loss record in six-nation

Super Round, and South Korea(3-2) will face off in the final

later of the World BaseballSoftball Confederation (WBSC)

Premier 12 tournament. OneOlympic place for the Americas

and one for Asia were up forgrabs, meaning South Korea

have also secured their berthby virtue of Japan already

being qualified as hosts.Taiwan finished fifth in the

standings with Australia sixth. — AFP

Just hit it well. Irongame was on.

Wedge game wason and I got hotwith the putter.

— US professional golfer HarrisEnglish in USPGA Mexico event

ResignedConor O’Shea has resigned from his role as Italy headcoach with immediate effect. The Irishman’s contracthad been due to run through to the end of May 2020

SportVerstappen’s polea ‘big statement’

LLooss AAnnggeelleess,, NNoovv.. 1177:: PaulGeorge delivered 37 pointsin his home debut as theLos Angeles Clippersscored the second mostpoints in franchise histo-ry with a 150-101 rout ofthe short-handed AtlantaHawks on Saturday.

This was expected to bethe first game together forKawhi Leonard andGeorge, who was makinghis much anticipatedhome debut with his newteam, but Leonard sat outwith a nagging knee prob-lem.

George, who scored 25points in the first half,converted 10 of 17 shotsfrom the field overall,including six of 11 three-pointers in the wire-to-wire victory in front of acrowd of 19,000 at StaplesCenter Arena. He alsomade all 11 of his freethrows in just 20 minutesof playing time.

George scored 33 pointsin his season debutThursday in a loss to theNew Orleans Pelicans.

George, who missed theinitial 11 games rehabbingfrom offseason surgery onboth his shoulders, is 21 of21 from the line in twogames.

“It means everything,”said George, who grew upin Palmdale, California,100 kilometres northeastof Los Angeles. “I couldn’twait to get in front of thiscrowd.

“I couldn’t wait to behome.”Lou Williams, whomade 15 of 15 free throws,had 25 points off thebench for the Clippers,who bounced back afterlosing their previous twomatches.

The Clippers ledthroughout, including a12-point cushion at thehalf. They seized com-mand in the third quarterby outscoring the Hawks38-20 and their biggestlead of the game was 52points.

Trae Young scored 20points for Hawks whohave been besieged by dis-cipline and injury prob-lems this season.

In Minneapolis, JamesHarden scored 49 pointson a career-high 41 shotattempts as the HoustonRockets won their seventhstraight game with a 125-105 victory over theMinnesota Timberwolves.

Harden shot eight of 22from three-point rangeand the team shot 19 of 49

on threes overall. Headded six assists and fiverebounds in 39 minutes ofplaying time for his fifth40-plus game during thecurrent win streak.

“We wanted to come hereand win this game and weshowed it,” Harden said.

Point guard BenMcLemore carried over

the momentum of his sea-son-high 21 point perfor-mace on Friday by scoring20 against theTimberwolves.

McLemore nailed a pairof free throws with 1:29remaining in the third togive Houston their firstdouble-digit lead of thecontest, 89-79

Austin Rivers and ChrisClemons scored 19 pointsapiece for the Rockets,who also received acareer-best 16 reboundsfrom Isaiah Hartenstein.

Karl-Anthony Towns tal-lied 27 points with 15rebounds to pace theTimberwolves, while JakeLayman scored 21. — AFP

WWaasshhiinnggttoonn:: Former NFL quar-terback Colin Kaepernick,

whose kneeling protest duringthe national anthem became a

major controversy, displayedstrong passing skills at a

Saturday workout and vowedhe’s “ready to play” after nearly

three years out of the league.The 32-year-old former San

Francisco 49ers star ditchedthe NFL’s planned private work-out for a throwing session at anAtlanta-area high school, show-ing top-level accuracy and armstrength while making his casefor a comeback before scouts

from eight NFL clubs. “I appre-ciate you all coming out. It

means a lot to me,” Kaepernicksaid. “My biggest thing with

everything today is making surewe had transparency with what

went on. We weren’t gettingthat elsewhere so we came out

here.”The NFL planned a closedsession for Kaepernick at the

Atlanta Falcons training facilitywith scouts from 25 NFL teams

attending and plans to send avideo of the drills to all 32 NFLclubs. But Kaepernick switchedplans about 30 minutes beforethe scheduled start, saying he

had concerns over a liabilitywaiver the league wanted himto sign as well as not having a

public workout. Kaepernick’srepresentatives plan to send avideo of the workout to everyNFL club. Eric Reid, a former

49ers teammate who has sup-ported him through his forcedabsence, tweeted: “There’s no

way we would allow the NFL tocontrol the narrative of Colin’s

workout,” and added, “Wealready knew Colin’s arm talent

was elite. Some doubted andnow you have roof.”Kaepernicktook no questions but thankedscouts from several teams who

attended his session. — AFP

KAEPERNICK‘READY TO

PLAY’ IN NFL

Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (front) goes up for a shot past Los Angeles Clipperscenter Ivica Zubac during the first half of an NBA game in Los Angeles. — AP

Ivory Coast need two penalties to beat NigerJJoohhaannnneessbbuurrgg,, NNoovv.. 1177::Ivory Coast needed twopenalties to defeat Niger 1-0 Saturday in the lastmatchday one qualifier forthe 2021 Africa Cup ofNations in Cameroon.

Max-Alain Gradelmissed the first spot-kickduring the opening halfafter grabbing the ballfrom Arsenal forwardNicolas Pepe, who won thepenalty and wanted to takeit. Out-of-favour AC Milanmidfielder Franck Kessiewas entrusted with thesecond spot-kick, awardedfor handball midwaythrough the second half.

Niger goalkeeperKassaly Daouda, who hadbrilliantly foiled Gradel,could not do it again, goingthe wrong way as Kessieplanted the ball in the leftcorner.

It was an unconvincingperformance by the 1992

and 2015 African champi-ons, given they are ranked56th in the world, 51 placesabove Niger.

Niger were playing forthe first time underFrenchman Jean-GuyWallemme who was onlyappointed last week.

The 52-year-old formerdefender previouslycoached CongoBrazzaville, threeAlgerian clubs and one inMorocco.

Ivory Coast share firstplace in Group K withMadagascar, who beatEthiopia 1-0 inAntananarivo thanks to afirst half goal from RayanRaveloson.

Stunning Nigeria

The Malagasy team werethe surprise package ofthe 2019 Cup of Nations inEgypt, stunning Nigeria

and surprising theDemocratic Republic ofCongo before losing toTunisia in the quarter-finals.

Coach Nicolas Dupuis,who combines coachingMadagascar with manag-ing a French lower leagueclub, was rewarded with anew four-year contract.

He was satisfied with thetentative performanceagainst Ethiopia given thepoor state of the nationalstadium pitch and limitedpreparations.

“We need a new venuebecause the pitch we usedtoday was unplayable,”said the 51-year-old whorose from obscurity toworldwide recognitionduring the 2019 tourna-ment.

“Now we face a difficulttrip before playing NigerTuesday. We must managefatigue,” he added. — AFP

Hawks fall prey

RECORD CROWDAT WOMEN’SGAME IN BRAZILSSaaoo PPaauulloo,, NNoovv.. 1177::Brazilian women’s soccerset a new attendancerecord on Saturday withmore than 28,000 fanspresent at the ArenaCorinthians stadium towatch the second leg ofthe Sao Paulo state cham-pionship final.

Corinthians beat localrival Sao Paulo 3-0 infront of 28,862 fans,Corinthians tweeted.Match tickets had beengiven out for free duringthe week.

Corinthians had wonthe first leg 1-0.

The previous record wasset in 2017 at Manaus’Arena Amazonia in thesemi-finals of theBrazilian championshipwhen Iranduba lost 2-1 toSantos in front of total25,371 fans inside the sta-dium. — AP

FORMULA || ONE

ASIAN TOUR GOLF

AFRICAN CUP QUALIFIERS

Ivory Coast’s Serge Aurier (left) and Mahamane Cisse (centre) vie for the ball withNiger’s Kourouma Fatoukouma during the African Cup of Nations 2021 qualifier. — AFP

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands givesa thumbs up after taking pole position on Saturday. — AP

English grabs one-strokelead after Rd 2 in MexicoMMeexxiiccoo CCiittyy,, NNoovv.. 1177::Harris English closed withback-to-back birdies, thelast of them a 25-foot chip-in to seize a one-stroke leadafter the second round ofthe USPGA MayakobaClassic.

English on Saturday fireda bogey-free seven-underpar 64 at Playa del Carmen,Mexico, to stand on 13-under 129 after 36 holeswith Vaughn Taylor secondon 130 and Brendon Toddanother stroke adrift.

“Might have missed twogreens today,” English said.

“Just hit it well. Irongame was on. Wedge gamewas on and I got hot withthe putter a little bit. It wasawesome.

“I feel like if I keep play-ing like this, I’m in a goodspot.”

All play Thursday was

washed out by rain so thosemaking the cut will try tocomplete 36 holes onSunday but are faced with alikely Monday finish.

English seeks his thirdtour title and the first sincehe won the 2013 MayakobaClassic by four strokes overcompatriot Brian Stuard.

The American has pro-duced three top-six finishesin four starts during thebeginning of the 2019-20USPGA campaign, sharing

third at the Greenbrier andsixth at the SandersonFarms Championship inSeptember and fourth atlast month’s Houston Open.

English made threebirdies in a row betweenthe second and fourthholes, added another at thesixth and began the backnine with another at thepar-3 10th.

That set the stage for hisclosing birdies at 17 and 18,the latter from just off thegreen.

“I was just trying to shoveit up there close and it wentin,” English said. “Whenyou get one to go in likethat, it’s icing on the cake.”

New Zealand’s DannyLee, who opened with a 62for the 18-hole lead, wassharing fourth on 132 withAdam Long and RobbyShelton. — AFP

It’s a big statement forthem to do it here inBrazil. I know he (MaxVerstappen) more or lesswon the race last year,but on one lap that’s abig performance.

— DANIELRICCIARDO

Red Bull driver

■ Clippers post 49-point win over struggling AtlantaRICE JR STOODDOWN OVER‘BAR INCIDENT’SSyyddnneeyy,, NNoovv.. 1177::Australia’s NationalBasketball Leagueblocked Glen Rice Jr fromplaying Sunday after theformer WashingtonWizards guard was report-edly arrested over analtercation at a bar.

Rice Jr, the son of three-time NBA All Star GlenRice, was due to play forhis new club New ZealandBreakers in Perth againstthe Wildcats.

But barely an hourbefore tip-off the NBLordered that he be stooddown.

“The NBL has directedthe New Zealand Breakersto stand down Glen RiceJr from today’s gameagainst the Perth Wildcatsfollowing an incident inAuckland last Thursday,”it said in a statement.

“The incident has beenreferred to the BasketballAustralia integrity unit toconduct an investigation.Rice Jr is not preventedfrom training or otherclub commitments.”NewZealand media reportedthat Rice Jr, who onlyjoined the club a fortnightago, was arrested onThursday over an allegedassault at an Aucklandbar, with Breakers chiefexecutive Matt Walsh con-firming the incident.

“Like anyone on theteam we’ll give him thebenefit of the doubt, inno-cent until proven guilty,”Walsh told 1 News. — AFP

●● English fired abogey-free 7-underpar 64 to stand on13-under 129

●● He seeks third tourtitle and first sincehe won the 2013Mayakoba Classic

Korean teen pips Shiv, ChikkaNNuuhh ((HHaarryyaannaa)),, NNoovv.. 1177::A double-bogey on thelast hole proved costly asIndian golfer Shiv Kapursigned off tied secondalong with compatriot SChikkarangappa at thePanasonic Open Indiahere on Sunday.

Kapur (70), who lost outin a playoff at theThailand Open last week,was again denied victorythis week as he concededa one-shot lead to 17-year-old Korean sensationJoohyung Kim, who fireda seven-under 65 to bagthe top honours with atotal of 13-under-203.

Kapur andChikkarangappa (67)ended with a total of 12-under 204 at the ClassicGolf and Country Clubhere. Indians VikrantChopra (10-under-206) andVeer Ahlawat (eight-under-208) claimed

career-best finishes oftied fifth and tied eighthrespectively.

Kim, who earned hisAsian Tour card for theremainder of the 2019 sea-son after claiming threewins on the AsianDevelopment Tour (ADT)

this year, continued hishot streak in India withrounds of 70, 68 and 65 atthe USD 400,000 eventwhich was contested over54 holes.

“I’m really speechless. Ithas been a dream of mineto play on the Asian Tour

ever since I was young.It’s really wonderful tocome here, be in con-tention and win,” said theKorean, who became thesecond youngest AsianTour winner.

Kapur (67-67-70), whowas in a three-way leadafter the penultimateround, mixed five birdieswith a bogey and a dou-ble-bogey on Sunday.Kapur, the 2017 PanasonicOpen India champion,was leading by one shottill he hit his tee shot outof bounds on the 18th.

The Dubai-based golferfinally missed a 20-feetbogey putt that would’vetaken him into a playoffwith Kim.Chikkarangappa (69-68-67) produced his bestround on Sunday tosecure the joint runner-up position, his best forthe season. — PTI

Joohyung Kim of Korea plays a shot during the weath-er affected final round of the Panasonic Open. — AFP

PAGE

16GamesMONDAY | 18 NOVEMBER 2019 | NEW DELHITHE ASIAN AGE

Adios BerdychFormer Wimbledon runner-upTomas Berdych has announcedhis retirement from tennis

PPaarriiss,, NNoovv.. 1177:: TheNetherlands, Germanyand World Cup finalistsCroatia expanded a list ofbig hitters to qualify forEuro 2020 on Saturday asthe trio booked theirplaces at next summer’sfinals.

Austria also made itthrough to the multi-hosttournament, which kicksoff in Rome on June 12,with 16 sides now ensuredof a spot at the 24-teamevent and only four placesremaining from the mainqualifying route.

They join other bignames such as worldchampions France, Spain,Italy and England, withEuropean championsPortugal one win awayfrom qualification.

Ronald Koeman’s resur-gent Dutch needed a pointto qualify for their firstmajor tournament sincecoming third at the 2014World Cup and got whatthey needed in a scrappygoalless draw withNorthern Ireland inBelfast.

However they were farfrom the flamboyant outfitthat has so often thrilledin Group ‘C’, and surviveda huge scare when StevenDavis smashed a first-halfpenalty high over the bar.

The Dutch dominatedpossession and stoppedthe hosts from having asingle shot on target butfailed to create muchthemselves.

Davis’ spot-kick blunderleft Michael O’Neill’s sidethird and hoping for a wayinto the tournament viathe playoffs.

The draw allowed fiercerivals Germany to movetop in the group as ToniKroos hit a brace in a sim-ple 4-0 win over Belarus inMoenchengladbach whichsaw them qualify for theEuros for the 13th time ina row.

A deft back-heeled goalfrom defender MatthiasGinter just before thebreak and impressive fin-ishing by Leon Goretzkaand Kroos gave theGermans a comfortablethree-goal lead early in thesecond half.

Manuel Neuer produceda superb save to keep outBelarus’ Igor Stasevich’spenalty before Kroos drib-bled through the defenceto claim his second goalseven minutes from time.

CCRROOAATTIIAA RRAALLLLYY PPAASSTTSSLLOOVVAAKKIIAA FFOORR AA WWIINN

Croatia survived a scareto secure their place in theEuros after coming frombehind beat Slovakia 3-1in Rijeka.

The World Cup runnersup needed just a point toensure qualification fromGroup ‘E’ but RobertBozenik stunned thehome crowd when hetapped the away sideahead in the 32nd minute.

However it was one-waytraffic in the second halfand Croatia’s qualifica-tion was never in doubtonce Nikola Vlasic drilledhome the leveller.

Bruno Petkovic headedthe hosts in front and IvanPerisic sealed the threepoints with a thumpingfinish with 16 minutesleft. — AFP

Germany’s Toni Kroos (left) kicks the ball past Stanislav Dragun of Belarus during their UEFA Euro 2020 Group ‘C’qualification match in Moenchengladbach on Saturday. Germany won 4-0. — AFP

Stefanos Tsitsipas kicks the ball as he celebrates his 6-3,6-4 win over Roger Federer in their ATP World Tour Finalssemifinal match at the O2 Arena in London on Saturday.

— AP

Belgium’s Eden Hazard celebrates after scoring a goalduring their Euro 2020 Group ‘I’ qualification matchagainst Russia at the Gazprom Arena in SaintPetersburg on Saturday. Belgium won 4-1. — AFP

SHORT TAKES

I’m frustrated, Icouldn’t play better.I threw it away. He

played better today. — Roger Federer after his 3-6, 4-6

loss to Stefanos Tsitsipas in thesemifinal of the ATP Finals

Paddler Harmeet wins in Indonesia

MMuummbbaaii:: Experienced Indianpaddler Harmeet Desai contin-

ued his good run in the interna-tional circuit as he staved off astrong challenge from his com-patriot Amalraj Anthony to win

the gold medal at the ITTFChallenge Indonesia Open 2019

played in Batam, Indonesia onSunday.

In an all-Indian Men’s Singlesfinal which saw two of India’s

most prominent players go upagainst each other, it was

Harmeet who started on thefront-foot winning the opening

game 11-9 before losing thenext game 9-11 allowing Amalraj

to draw level.Ranked 104 in the world,

Harmeet, however took controlof the proceedings and won thenext two games by an identical

margin of 11-9 to go 3-1 up inthe match. Amalraj reduced thelead by winning the next game

12-10, but the reigningCommonwealth TT Championdid not make any further mis-

take and won the 6th game 11-9to seal the match 4-2 and win

his second international title ofthe year.

Indian boxers win7 medals at AsianUUllaaaannbbaaaattaarr,, MMoonnggoolliiaa:: It rained

gold for India at the AsianYouth Boxing Championship asall five of the country’s women

finalists emerged victoriouswhile two men signed off withsilver medals here on Sunday.

Naorem Chanu (51kg), Vinka(64kg) Sanamacha Chanu

(75kg), Poonam (54kg) andSushma (81kg) fetched the yel-

low metal for the country in aphenomenal sweep.

Among the men, Selay Soy(49kg) and Ankit Narwal

(60kg) settled for the secondplace after going down in their

respective summit clashes.India signed off with 12

medals in the event with bronzecoming from Arundhati

Choudhury (69kg), KomalpreetKaur (+81kg), Jaismine (57kg),

Satender Singh (91kg) andAman (+91kg).

Poonam defeated China’sWeiqi Cai to open India’s gold

account, to which Sushmaadded one by going past

Kazakhstan’s Bakytzhankyzy.Naorem Chanu got the better

of another Kazakh AnelBarkyah. — PTI

JAMES BEATSRAMKUMAR IN

PUNE EVENTPPuunnee:: Indian challenge in the

singles competition ended aftersixth seed Ramkumar

Ramanathan went down to sec-ond seed James Duckworth of

Australia in the semifinal of theKPIT MSLTA Challenger event

here on Saturday.Duckworth, who is making a

comeback after four operations,will meet fifth seed Jay Clarkeof Britain in the final. It will bean all Indian affair in the dou-bles final after local boy Arjun

Kadhe made it to his maidenfinal pairing Saketh Myneni.

They will meet the top seeds,Ramanathan and Purav Raja.

In the singles semifinal,Duckworth defeated

Ramanathan 7-6 (7/8), 6-2 in an1 hour 35 minute encounter. In

the other semifinal, 21-year-oldfrom Derby in England, Jay

Clarke, ousted Roberto Ortegaof Spain 6-3, 6-2 in an hour

hour and 17 minutes to enter hissecond Challenger final of the

year.Ramanathan broke in the first

game but Duckworth brokeback in the sixth to level scores

at 3-3 .Both held serves in aclose match to force a tie

break. The Indian had a setpoint at 6-5 in the tiebreak but

but missed a low volley. Heanother low volley to go down

a match point at 7-8 butDuckworth served a double

fault to make it 8-8. Anunforced error on the backhand

saw Ramanathan go downanother set point at 8-9 before

a uperb forehand cross courtsaw Duckworth seal the

tiebreak. — PTI

Thiem tameschamp Zverev

Shagun grabs pole positionNNeeww DDeellhhii,, NNoovv.. 1177::Shagun Chowdhary shottwo rounds of 25 to grabthe pole position on dayone of the women’s trapqualifiers at the 63rdNational ShotgunShooting Championshiphere on Sunday.

The seasoned Shagun,representing ONGC, shotthe same score of 71 asPunjab's RajeshwariKumari, but two perfectrounds of 25 includingthe third and final roundof the day, saw her claimthe top honours at the DrKarni Singh ShootingRange.

Intense competition isbuilding up as the finalsbeckon after two morequalifying rounds onMonday, with Bihar’sShreyasi Singh closelyfollowing on 70 and thelikes of India's only WorldCup medallist SeemaTomar also in the top sixwith a score of 67.

Defending champion

Varsha Varman, however,was way behind in the 52-strong field with a 57.

In the junior women’strap, Shefali Rajak of

Madhya Pradesh was ontop of the chart with a 65,while Haryana's SuhanyaSingh, who shot 64, wasclose behind.

Day two of competitionswill see the senior andjunior women’s trapfinals.

1144 SSHHOOOOTTEERRSS AATT IISSSSFFWWOORRLLDD CCUUPP FFIINNAALL

Meanwhile, arriving withits biggest-ever squad,India will field a shooterin each of the 10 Olympicevents in the internation-al shooting federation’sseason-ending Word CupFinals, beginning inPutian, China fromTuesday.

The prestigious tourna-ment determines the sea-son’s best shooters acrossevents, and India is field-ing a 14-member squadfor as many as 19 starts.

The Indian team haslanded in the Chinesecity. Only the world’s top-ranked shooters in eachdiscipline are entitled toparticipate in the tourna-ment. The first of the 10finals are scheduled forTuesday. — PTI

LLoonnddoonn,, NNoovv.. 1177:: DominicThiem beat defendingchampion AlexanderZverev to join RogerFederer’s conquerorStefanos Tsitsipas in thefinal of the ATP Finals inLondon.

The Austrian fifth seedsaw off the big-servingGerman 7-5, 6-3 onSaturday after Greece’sTsitsipas, making hisdebut at the tournament,had earlier beaten Federer6-3, 6-4.

Thiem is playing in hisfourth ATP Finals but dur-ing his first three trips tothe season finale, he wononly three matches andnever advanced out of thegroup stage.

Zverev landed 75 per centof his first serves butThiem was tougher in thebig moments, breaking inthe 12th game of the open-ing set and in the sixthgame of the second set.The Austrian saved fourbreak points on his serve.

The seventh seed, 22,regrouped and settled backinto his serving rhythm atthe beginning of the sec-ond set but was brokenagain to trail 2-4.

Thiem unflustered, fend-ed off a couple of breakpoints and served out totake the match.

“This is a big, big dreamcoming true for me, it isone of the biggest and mostprestigious tournaments ofthe whole year and I’m get-ting the chance to play thefinal,” said Thiem.

TTSSIITTSSIIPPAASS HHUUMMBBLLEESSFFEEDDEERREERR

Earlier, Tsitsipas, 17 yearsyounger than Federer,ended the 38-year-old’shopes of securing a sev-enth year-end title. Federerwas unrecognisable from

the player who dominatedDjokovic in his finalround-robin match, strug-gling on serve and hitting atotal of 26 unforced errors.

But Tsitsipas belied hisyears with a performancefull of confidence and grit,saving 11 out of 12 breakpoints during the match.

Tsitsipas, ignoring loudsupport for Federer, brokethe Swiss at the first timeof asking, taking advan-tage of two missed over-heads.

The Greek was forced todig deep in a dramatic 13-minute final game of thefirst set in which he savedtwo break points and need-ed seven set points to closeit out 6-3.

At 4-5 down in the second,Federer knew he had tobreak Tsitsipas for only thesecond time in the match.The Greek slipped to 15-40down but Federer againcould not take advantageand Tsitsipas won. — AFP

Lee claimsHong OpentournamentHHoonngg KKoonngg,, NNoovv.. 1177::Home favourite LeeCheuk-yiu battled to vic-tory over Indonesia’sAnthony Ginting tosecure a shock Hong KongOpen win as the city’spro-democracy protestsraged nearby on Sunday.

Lee, 23, came from agame behind and thensaw off championshippoint in a thrillingdecider before winning16-21, 21-10, 22-20 to lift hisfirst major trophy. Lee’stitle run, which includeswins over Viktor Axelsenand Kidambi Srikanth,comes after he appearedto show support for theprotesters.

Meanwhile, Chen Yufeifought to a hard-won 21-18, 13-21, 21-13 win overRatchanok Intanon to winthe women’s singles title.

— AFP

CR7 chases100th goalmilestoneLLiissbboonn,, NNoovv.. 1177:: CristianoRonaldo travels toLuxembourg on Sundaywith the objective of help-ing reigning championsPortugal qualify for Euro2020 and the 100-goalmark for his countrywithin his reach.

The former Real Madridstar is also eager to provehe is not a player indecline after his angryreaction to being substi-tuted by Juventus coachMaurizio Sarri in the pasttwo games.

The five-time Ballond'Or winner, who turns 35years in February,responded in typicallydefiant fashion with ahat-trick in Portugal’s 6-0win over Lithuania onThursday.

It brought his tally to 98goals in 163 games, toclose in on Iranian strikerAli Daei’s world record of109 international goalsscored between 1993 and2006.

“I hope that tomorrow(Sunday) he’ll score themost goals in his career,”Portugal coach FernandoSantos told Saturday’spre-match press confer-ence.

The symbolic centuryremains within arm’sreach of the striker whodespite the passing yearshas lost none of his lethalfirepower.

— AFP

I will decidewhen toquit: KarimMMaaddrriidd,, NNoovv.. 1177:: RealMadrid striker KarimBenzema has told FrenchFootball Federation presi-dent Noel Le Graet he andhe alone will decide whenthe time to end his inter-national retirement hascome.

After Real coachZinedine Zidane called forBenzema’s four-yearFrance exile, caused byhis alleged part in anattempt to blackmailMathieu Valbuena, to endthis week, Le Graet toldFrench radio Benzema’sadventure with theFrench team was fin-ished.

“Noel, I thought you did-n’t interfere with the deci-sions of the Francecoach,” said Benzema onTwitter.

“Please understand thatI and I alone will call anend to my internationalcareer.” Benzema, whois of Algerian origin,added that Le Graetshould “let me play forone of the countries forwhich I’m eligible” if hethinks the 31-year-old isdone.

Benzema has not playedfor France since 2015.Coach Didier Deschampshas maintained Benze-ma’s omission is in thebest interests of theFrench squad, who wonlast year’s World Cupwithout him. — AFP

Seema Tomar (left) and Shagun Chowdhary are allsmiles after their women’s trap qualification at the63rd National Shotgun Shooting Championship.

LLoonnddoonn,, NNoovv.. 1177:: Afterdominating the tennisworld for so long, RogerFederer thinks the sport’sBig Three could face theirtoughest challenge yetfrom a new generation in2020.

Federer’s 2019 seasonended with a semifinalloss to Stefanos Tsitsipason Saturday at the ATPFinals, having seenNovak Djokovic andRafael Nadal eliminatedin the group stage of thetournament this week.

Tsitsipas, a 21-year-oldGreek who is playing atthe ATP Finals for thefirst time, is among thosewho may finally end theunprecedented era ofdominance by that trio.

Other youngsters at theseason-ending tourna-ment include AlexanderZverev and DaniilMedvedev at 23.

However, it’s not thefirst time that the 38-year-old Federer has faced talkabout a talented crop ofyoungsters. “It’s the samequestion every year at theend of the year,” Federersaid about the new gener-ation. “But does it feellike this year might be thebest year yet? Possibly. .But then I look at the listof who finished WorldNo.1, who has been WorldNo.1 all these years, andit’s just crazy that it’salways one of us. But weare not getting younger,”Federer added. — AP

NEXT GEN CAN BEAT US IN 2020, SAYS FEDERER

Toni nets brace to take side into Euro finalsGermans Kroos

This is a big, big dreamcoming true for me, it isone of the biggest andmost prestigious tourna-ments of the whole yearand I’m getting thechance to play the final.

— DOMINICTHIEM

after his 7-5, 6-3 win over

Alexander Zverev