Sense of hatred prevails: Priyanka - Daily Pioneer

CAPSULE

SC: VEHICLES POLLUTEMORE THAN CRACKERSNew Delhi: The Supreme Courton Tuesday observed that thepeople seemed to be “runningafter” firecracker industries andautomobiles were perhaps“bigger” contributor to pollution.

THERESA MAY CLAIMSBREXIT BREAKTHROUGH London: UK Prime MinisterTheresa May claimed to havesecured the breakthroughrequired to get her Brexit pactvia a crunch vote in Parliamenton Tuesday evening.

ED REFUTES CLAIM OFINACTION AGAINST NIRAVNew Delhi: The ED on Tuesdaysaid it was proactively pursuingall issues pertaining to theextradition of Nirav Modi, the main accused in the $2billion PNB scam, from the UKas it dismissed media reportsthat Indian agencies “did notrespond” in time when Britishinvestigators extended help.

PNS n AHMEDABAD

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra onTuesday used her first pub-

lic rally after assuming chargeas Congress general secretaryto launch a scathing attack onPrime Minister Narendra Modiat his home turf over “unkeptpromises and spread of hatred”in the country.

Congress president RahulGandhi too slammed the ModiGovernment in his concludingspeech, but focus of the day wasdefinitely on Priyanka.

“Our institutions are beingdestroyed. Wherever you see,hatred is being spread,”Priyanka said amid a round ofapplause from the massivecrowd.

“Nothing matters more tous that you and I protect thisnation, work for it and moveforward together,” the Congressleader said in the presence ofher sibling, Rahul, and moth-er, UPA chairperson SoniaGandhi, at the rally near Adalajvillage in Gandhinagar.

Priyanka said the ModiGovernment did not fulfil itspromises of providing jobs tocrores of people in the countryand advised people to be vigi-lant, treat their vote as a“weapon” and ask right ques-tions. With this mega rally, theCongress sounded its poll buglefor the April-May Lok Sabhaelections.

“I am saddened by what ishappening in our countrytoday. I want you all to be more

aware. That is the best sign ofpatriotism. Your vote is yourweapon. You are not supposedto harm someone with thatweapon. But it will make youstronger,” she said.

In her address, she askedpeople not to fall prey to“meaningless issues” and askedthem to broach the right ques-tions. “You are going to decideyour future in this election.Don’t fall prey to meaninglessissues. Focus on issues that willmake you grow, like how youthwill get jobs, how women willfeel safe and what should bedone for farmers,” she said.

Launching an attack onthe Modi regime in the PrimeMinister’s home State, Priyankasaid it did not “fulfil” itspromises of providing jobs tocrores of people.

“You need to take decisionswisely. Question those whomade tall promises. Ask whathappened to the promise ofcreating two crore jobs. Whathappened to the promise ofdepositing `15 lakhs in yourbank accounts?” she said.

On the ensuing Lok Sabhapolls, Priyanka said peopleshould raise the right issues andtake wise decisions.

Rahul accused the PrimeMinister of corruption in thedeal for 36 Rafale jets withFrance and said the PM gave`30,000 crore to his “friend”Anil Ambani.

With Lok Sabha polls duein a month now, the Gandhiscion said the party has decid-

ed to do something historic in2019. “If they can give all themoney to rich, we can givemoney to the poor. I want toassure everyone, we will formthe Government in 2019 andwill implement minimumincome guarantee,” RahulGandhi said.

Continued on Page 7Related report on P6

PNS n LUCKNOW

Amid speculation that therecould be a “respectable”

place for the Congress in theUttar PradeshMahagathbandhan, BSP chiefMayawati on Tuesday made anemphatic assertion that that herparty would not have any elec-toral tie-up with the Congressin any State for the Lok Sabhapolls beginning April 11.

In a statement released onTuesday, Mayawati said, “It isbeing made clear again that theBSP will not have any electoralalliance with the Congress inany State.”

Her remarks came on a daywhen the highest policy-mak-ing body of Congress —Congress Working Committee(CWC) — met in Ahmedabadand gave a clarion call to oustthe Modi Government.

Referring to her party’spre-poll alliance with theSamajwadi Party in UP,Mayawati said it is based on“mutual respect” and “honestintentions”. She went on toadd the SP-BSP alliance wasperfect enough to defeat theBJP, especially in Uttar Pradesh.

The SP and the BSPstitched together an alliance inUP recently, keeping theCongress out, though the twoparties decided not to field anycandidate in Rae Bareli andAmethi — the stronghold ofthe grand old party.

Of the 80 Lok Sabha seatsin UP, the SP would contest 37and the BSP 38, leaving threefor Ajit Singh-led Rashtriya LokDal (RLD).

The BSP would be fieldingits candidates mostly in west-ern UP, including Saharanpur,Bijnore, Nagina, Amroha,Meerut, Gautam Buddh Nagar,

Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Agraand Fatehpur Sikri. Besides, itwould contest Aonla,Shahjahanpur, Dhaurahra,Sitapur, Misrikh, Mohanlalganj,Sultanpur, Pratapgarh,Farrukhabad, Akbarpur, Jalaun,Hamirpur, Fatehpur,Ambedkarnagar, Kaiserganj,Shrawasti, Domariyaganj, Basti,Sant Kabir Nagar, Deoria,Bansgaon, Lalganj, Ghosi,Salempur, Jaunpur,Machhlishahr, Ghazipur andBhadohi.

Addressing party leadersfrom various States in NewDelhi, Mayawati said whileseveral parties were eager for analliance with the BSP, her partywould not do anything formere electoral gains as it couldharm the BSP movement.

The election will pit theBJP-led National DemocraticAlliance (NDA) against a com-bination of Opposition parties,including the Congress, theLeft and several regional forces,with the latter still trying tostitch up a grand alliance tominimise the division of votesagainst the ruling combine.

Continued on Page 7

PNS n NEW DELHI

It was a day of defections. OnTuesday, over half a dozen

politicians, including formerTrinamool Congress MPAnupam Hazra and SujayVikhe Patil, son of Leader ofOpposition in MaharashtraAssembly Radhakrishna VikhePatil, Congress MLA DulalChand Barar and CPI(M) MLAKhagen Murmu joined the BJPwhile Patidar leader HardikPatel joined the Congress.

Hazra had won the 2014Lok Sabha elections fromBolpur in West Bengal. Alongwith him, Bgada legislatorDulal Chandra Bar of theCongress and Habibpur MLAKhagen Murmu of the CPI(M)joined the BJP in presence ofparty’s general secretaryKailash Vijayvargiya. The TMCleadership had expelled the

Bolpur MP for anti-party activ-ities on January 9. Besidesthese three leaders, variousmembers of a minority com-munity from Bengal joinedthe BJP.

In a major embarrassmentfor the Congress, Sujay VikhePatil, son of the Leader ofOpposition in MaharashtraAssembly Radhakrishna VikhePatil, joined the BJP in

Maharashtra in the presence ofChief Minister DevendraFadnavis in Mumbai.Reportedly, the developmentcomes after NCP chief SharadPawar, whose party is inalliance with the Congress inthe State, rejected Sujay’srequest to contest the pollsfrom Ahmednagar Lok Sabhaseat.

Continued on Page 7

SAUGAR SENGUPTA n KOLKATA

West Bengal Chief Ministerand TMC chief Mamata

Banerjee on Tuesday releasedthe list of party candidates forall the 42 Lok Sabha seats in theState. The TMC has sent out amessage to the women elec-torate earmarking 41 per centseats for them.

Among other features ofthe TMC list are five faces fromBengal cine world.

Besides, the party hasdropped five sitting MPs fromits candidates’ list. Among theMPs dropped or who haveopted out are Jadavpur MPSugato Bose who is also thegrand nephew of Netaji SubhasChandra Bose, South KolkataMP and State TMC presidentSubrato Bakshi, Basirhat MPIdris Ali, Midnapore MP and

veteran Bangla actor SandhyaRoy, and Uma Soren.

Among the new faces areveteran party leader and StatePanchayat Minister SubrotoMukherjee ( Bankura), actress

Nusrat Jehan (Basirhat) andBangla matinee idol MimiChakrabarty, who is likely totake on CPI(M)’s SujanChakrabarty from Jadavpur.

Continued on Page 7

CHANDAN PRAKASH n NEW DELHI

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’snational convener and

Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal on Tuesday ruled outpossibility of any electoralalliance with the Congress inthe national Capital andannounced that his party willcontest all the seven Lok Sabhaseats on the issue of fullStatehood for Delhi.

Kejriwal launched ascathing attack on the BJP andPrime Minister NarendraModi. He said the BJP has nointention of giving Delhi fullStatehood. Modi needs toexplain why he did not fulfillhis promises, Kejriwal told themedia persons.

Accusing the PM of notfulfilling his promise made inBJP’s 2014 manifesto to grantfull Statehood to Delhi, hesaid his party will take up thisissue in the coming days.

“The people of Delhi havemade up their mind that theway people of Telangana,Uttarakhand, Jharkhand andother States achieved Statehoodthrough relentless struggles,the people of Delhi will followa similar path for full Statehoodand will not rest till theyachieve their goal,” he said.

Stating the party’s internalsurvey, he said the AAP will bewinning with huge majority onall seven seats.

Listing four reasons forwinning Lok Sabha seats inDelhi, he said the first reasonis the Government has donegood work in Delhi. Secondlypeople in Delhi are very eagerto see Delhi get full Statehoodand they can see that AAP isserious about it, he said.

He said thirdly, accordingto the party internal survey, 56per cent of the people believethat the conduct of the BJP inthe conflict between India and

Pakistan has portrayed theparty in a “negative” light.

Listing out the fourth rea-son, he said, “The Congress didnot put the country first andrefused to form an alliance.

Therefore Hindus were anywaynot going to vote for theCongress,” He said according tosurvey Muslims had somedoubts but now even they havecome in support of the AAP.

Kejriwal said the LokSabha elections are extremelyimportant for the people ofDelhi. “The people of Delhikept voting for different partiesin the Lok Sabha elections, but

all Central Governmentsdeceived them and people ofDelhi during last 70 years gotnothing except exploitationand humiliation,” he said

Kejriwal said father ofIndia’s Constitution, Baba SahibBhimrao Ambedkar hadfamously stated that every voterhas a single vote and the valueof each vote will be equal,irrespective of the State, reli-gion or caste of the voters.

“Today, however, the coun-try is witnessing blatant con-tempt of the Constitution; thevalue of voters of Delhi hasbeen reduced to half. People ofDelhi have been subject tostep-motherly treatment sincelast 70 years,” he added.

Delhi is the State whichgives second highest tax col-lection to the Central pool.People of Delhi pay close to`1.5 lakh crore in Income Tax,and in return, Delhi gets onlya paltry `325 crore, he said.

Kejriwal said for a smallState like Goa, which has a pop-ulation of only 15 lakh, theCentre provides `3,200 crore,`1.5 lakh crore for UttarPradesh. For Delhi, which hasa population of over two crore,Centre provides a paltry sum of`325 crore each year for the last20 years.

Had Delhi been a full State,police would have beenaccountable to the electedGovernment, he asked.

“We promise that whenDelhi will be a full State,women will be able to step outof their homes without feareven in night,” he said.

The ruling party hasdeclared names of candidateson six of the seven seats inDelhi. A senior AAP leadersaid the name of the seventhcandidate for the West Delhiseat would be announced onlyafter BJP and Congress declarethe names of their candidates.

Sense of hatred prevails: Priyanka

Cong leader assails Modi Govt for ‘unkept promises, destroying institutions’

TMC LS list out: 41% seats goto women, 5 cine stars in fray

Over half dozen defect toBJP; Hardik joins CongExpelled TMC

MP, Maharashtra

LoP’s son switch

loyalty to BJP

Kejriwal puts to rest any scope for Cong handshake

PM exploiting national security to hide colossal failures: CongPNS n AHMEDABAD/NEW DELHI

The Congress on Tuesdayalleged that Prime Minister

Narendra Modi was “cynicallyexploiting” the issue of nation-al security to divert attentionfrom his “colossal failures” and“persistent falsehoods”. Thestrong attack on the PrimeMinister came in a party reso-lution passed at the CongressWorking Committee (CWC)which was chaired by party

president Rahul Gandhi andattended by all senior leaders,including Sonia Gandhi,Manmohan Singh, AhmedPatel, Ghulam Nabi Azad, andPriyanka Gandhi Vadra.

“Congress party expressesits strong disappointment thatthe Prime Minister is cynical-ly exploiting the issue of nation-al security, on which we are allunited, to divert attention fromhis colossal failures, bogusclaims and persistent false-

hoods,” the resolution passedby the CWC said.

The CWC sends a “sternand unequivocal” message toIndia’s enemies that the coun-try stands united and resoluteas one to confront and defeattheir nefarious agenda, it said.India is a resilient democracy,proud of its brave armed forces.It shall never be defeated byforces of violence and terror,the resolution said.

Continued on Page 7

PTI n NEW DELHI

Christian Michel, the allegedmiddleman in the

AgustaWestland chopper scamcase, claimed in a Delhi courton Tuesday that former CBISpecial Director RakeshAsthana met him in Dubai andthreatened to “make his life hellinside jail” here if he did not toethe line of the agency.

The statements were madeby Michel before Special JudgeArvind Kumar, who allowedthe Enforcement Directorate tointerrogate him inside TiharJail in Delhi on Wednesday andThursday.

“Sometime back RakeshAsthana met me in Dubai andthreatened that my life wouldbe made hell in the jail and

that’s whatis going on.My nextd o o rinmate is(gangster)C h h o t a

Rajan... I don’t understandwhat crime I have committedto be put along with the ter-rorists and those who havekilled several people,” he said.

Michel, who was broughtbefore the court in pursuanceto production warrant issuedagainst him, also told the judgethat he was put in the prisonwith 16-17 Kashmiri separatistleaders but it was denied by thejail authorities which said hewas shifted to high-risk prisonconsidering threat to his life.

Continued on Page 7

Asthana met me in Dubai,

threatened to make my

life hell: Michel to court

Congress party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra speaks during a public meeting at Adalaj in Gandhinagar on Tuesday AP

Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Hardik Patel wave after the latter joined theCongress party at Adalaj in Gandhinagar on Tuesday AP

Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal State and Trinamool Congressparty leader, gestures as she announces the party candidature for the Lok Sabhaelections, in Kolkata on Tuesday AP

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal flanked by his Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and AAP leader Gopal Rai addressesthe media in New Delhi on Tuesday Ranjan Dimri | Pioneer

No poll tie-upwith Congress,reiterates Maya

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Opp defaming Army: Pandey

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

Hitting out at oppositionleaders, state BJP president

Mahendra Nath Pandey saidthat some leaders were defam-ing the valour of Army andquestioning surgical strike inquest of votes and the people ofthe country would give a befit-ting reply to them in the com-ing elections.

Speaking at a functionwherein some leaders, includ-ing former MPs, joined the BJP,Pandey said that the SP-BSP-RLD alliance was a grandalliance of corrupt parties.“They supported the Congressduring the UPA regime andwhen they governed UttarPradesh, these parties allowedcrime to flourish,” he alleged.

“It is a history that goondaraj prevailed during the SP andBSP regimes. Both Mayawatiand Akhilesh governmentswere the most corrupt govern-ments which affected develop-

ment of the state,” Pandeyalleged.

The BJP leader said thatgovernments of Modi and Yogihad implemented policies tobenefit crores of poor, youthand farmers. “In the election,people will give a befittingreply to those who are spread-

ing misinformation campaign,”he said. On Tuesday, amongthose who joined the BJP wereformer SP MP Yashvir SinghDhobi (Bijnore), former MLAand senior RLD leader VanshNarain Singh Patel, formerMLA and BSP leader MitiyariLal Devesh (Agra), former BSP

leader, who contested againstNarendra Modi in Varanasi in2014, Vijay Prakash Jaiswal,former DG SN Chak, formerIncome Tax CommissionerRam Samujh and dozens ofother leaders from theCongress, RLD and also socialworkers.

Leaders of different parties join the BJP in the presence of state preident Mahendra Nath Pandey Pioneer

UP alliance to be itchy for BJP


With the successful stitch-ing of alliance after 25

years and settling contentiousissue of seat-sharing, theBahujan Samaj Party-Samajwadi Party -RashtriyaLok Dal (RLD) combine is setto launch its campaign with theobjective of reviving the spiritof 1993 for the consolidation ofSchedule Caste-OtherBackward Class and Muslimsvotes.

The combine is hesitant ofusing the shrill war cry of theBSP frequently raised in its for-mative years --- 'Tilak, terra aurataller……' Instead they are set torevive the slogan of 'Vote ham-mer raj tumhara, nahi chalega’,a slogan coined by BSP founderand Mayawati's mentorKanshiram.

Announcing pre-pollalliance with the SamajwadiParty on January 12, BSP chiefMayawati had dropped a clearhint of the campaign strategyand punch line of the alliance.She had reminded the peopleabout alliance between the twoparties in 1993 UP Assemblyelections.

“In 1993, the alliance hadoutsmarted the BJP that was rid-ing the crest of Ram temple waveat that time. The alliance willrepeat the same feat by crushingthe BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabhaelections,” she had said.

While addressing a jointpress conference with Mayawati,Akhilesh had said: “We havelearnt our lessons from the BJP.They have taught us the arith-metic of castes. Now, our arith-metic is perfect." Akhilesh washinting at the combined votebanks of three parties that com-prise Dalits, Muslims,Backwards and Jats.

Mayawati and the alliancepartners have substantive reasonto feel upbeat and confidentabout their electoral prospects in2019 elections.

Though the BSP and RLDdrew a blank and SamajwadiParty won only 5 Lok Sabhaseats in 2014 Lok Sabha polls,the combined vote share of thethree parties was 42.98 per centagainst 42.63 per cent of the BJP.

Moreover, of the 78 seatsthat the alliance is contestingnow, its combined votes exceedthe BJP’s on a total of 42 seats.In 2014, the BJP had bagged 71

seats while its ally Apna Dal won2 seats.

Akhilesh has been citing theoutcome of bypoll on three LokSabha seats in 2018 and oneAssembly seat to make his point.The victory of SP candidates inthe bypolls at Gorakhpur andPhulpur Lok Sabha seats, con-sidered to be the stronghold ofthe BJP, paved way for thealliance.

The BSP announced sup-port to SP candidates in thebypoll which halted the BJP’svictory chariot setting the stagefor an alliance of regional par-ties.

Terming the SP-BSP allianceas the beginning of a new era instate politics, Mayawati had saidthat it would trigger a newpolitical revolution in the coun-try. “It’s not only the alliance oftwo parties but also of commu-nities that have been exploitedand harassed under the BJP gov-ernment,” she had said.

Mayawati invoked Daliticon Bhimrao Ambedkar andsocialist ideologue RamManohar Lohia to send a mes-sage to supporters of both theparties. Conscious that bringingYadav and Dalit voters on the

same platform in a short dura-tion will be a major challenge forthe alliance, Mayawati andAkhilesh issued instructions tooffice-bearers to hold joint meet-ings across UP.

A BSP leader said: “With anorganisation network on theground, the alliance plans toconvert it into well-oiled cam-paign machine before Mayawatiand Akhilesh launch electioncampaign.”

IT raids on ex-bureaucrat


Amidst allegation of Centralinvestigation and other

law-enforcing agencies relatedto economic offence winglaunched a crackdown againstopposition parties, particular-ly, Samajwadi Party andBahujan Samaj Party. Thesleuths of the Income Taxdepartment conducted simul-taneous raids in over dozenestablishment and offices relat-ed to former bureaucrat NetRam, known for his proximi-ty with BSP chief Mayawati.

The raids which startedearly Tuesday morning, con-tinued till the time of filing thereport. Besides, Net Ram, theraids were also carried outagainst a prominent businesshouse of Lucknow, having sev-eral outlets across the district.

Sources in the IT depart-ment confirmed that theLucknow and New Delhi res-idences of Net Ram wereamongst the dozen places raid-ed by IT sleuths. IT officialssaid the raids were unleashedfor suspected tax evasion run-ning into over 100 crore of

rupees. More than a dozenlocations were searched bythe team members, officialsconfirmed.

Considered close to theBahujan Samaj Party chief,the 1979-batch IAS officer waspart of a group of powerfulbureaucrats in UP. He wasprincipal secretary to ChiefMinister Mayawati during her2017-12 tenure. Interestingly,her closeness with Mayawati isalso evident from the fact thatNet Ram is also likely to con-test the coming Parliamentelections on a BSP ticket.

Bhim Army chief arrested


Bhim Army chiefChandrasekhar 'Rawan’ was

arrested by Saharanpur policefor taking out a rally sans per-mission from the local admin-istration on Tuesday morning.Agitated with his arrest, hun-dreds of supporters took toSaharanpur-Delhi highway,staged a huge road blockadeand also pelted stones. Seniorpolice officers later reached thespot with additional force andsomehow cleared the blockade.

The arrested leader was

taken to the district hospitaland was later shifted to a pri-vate hospital under tight policesecurity.

Chandrasekhar wanted tojoin Kanshiram’s anniversarycelebrations in New Delhi onFriday. He had plans to take outrallies and announced tooppose both Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and Cabinetcolleague Smriti Irani to defeatboth in the coming polls.

On Tuesday morning, asRawan tried to take out a rallywithout permission from theSaharanpur administration, the

local officials intercepted therally and arrested him fromDeoband area of Saharanpur.

The news of Rawan’s arrestsoon spread and within notime, hundreds of his support-ers converged at the site andstaged a huge protest demon-stration.

In the meantime, Rawan,who had respiratory problem,was first taken to governmenthospital but after his conditiondeteriorated, he was shifted toa private hospital. Heavy policeforce was deployed inSaharanpur and adjoining dis-tricts and a strict vigil wasbeing kept to ensure that noexigency took place.

RLD targets BJP

on nationalism


Lambasting the BJP forpropagating a debate on

nationalism, state RashtriyaLok Dal president MasoodAhmad said that the rulingparty had put up a facade ofbeing a nationalist, dumping itsmuch-touted poll plank ofdevelopment.

“The BJP has dropped theissue of development now as itleaders know that they standexposed in the public for mak-ing hollow promises. Now thesame BJP leaders debate aboutnationalism and pose them-selves to be patriotic in thetruest sense. During the lastfive years, several of our sol-diers were killed while thoseheading the government kepttouring countries across theworld squandering publicmoney. Then they neverspared a thought for patriotismand now that their ploys havefailed, they are vocal on thisissue,” Masood said withoutnaming Prime MinisterNarendra Modi.

Masood said that the per-formance of BJP’s five-yeargovernment at the Centre wasthat it did not implement anyof its announcements men-tioned in its manifesto.

“The BJP failed to getRam temple in Ayodhya con-structed, cleaning of Gangaunder Nirmal Ganga Project,

2 crore jobs for unemployed,bringing black money stashedin foreign countries in 100 daysand giving Rs 15 lakh to eachcitizen etc. All announcementsof the BJP proved to be miragefor the countrymen. Nowanticipating the party's defeatat the hand of contestants of SP,BSP and RLD, BJP leaders arehiding behind nationalism,”Massed pointed out.

The RLD leader addedthat the BJP leaders' concernfor nationalism was a farce andwas aimed at gaining votes inthe Lok Sabha elections. “Butthe public has become wiseafter the poor experience ofBJP’s misrule. They will unseatthe party in the elections,” hesaid.

Explaining the winningarithmetic, Masood said thatthe alliance demolished thesafest and strongest turf of theBJP in the last four byelectionsin UP.

Masood Ahmed

Sakshi in combative mood


In a veiled threat to the partybrass, BJP MP from Unnao

Sakshi Maharaj said that if hewas denied a ticket fromUnnao, 'the party would haveto face serious consequences',which would not be pleasantfor the party.

The threat came in theform of a letter dated March 7written to state BJP presidentMahendra Nath Pandey. SakshiMaharaj confirmed that hehad written to Pandey andpeople close to the state BJPchief also admitted to receivingthe letter.

There were rumours thatthe party might deny ticket toover 50 per cent of sitting MPsthis time because of their non-

performance. The list couldinclude Shakshi Maharaj, whorecently faced media flak for hisindecent behaviour during thecremation of a Pulwama mar-tyr.

In his two-page letter,Sakshi Maharaj justified hisdemand seeking re-electionsaying that he was the onlyOBC face of the party inUnnao. Pointing towards casteequations in Unnao, Sakshiclaimed that it was tilted in hisfavour. To buttress his point,the MP even said that thatelected lawmakers of the BJPfrom Unnao were eitherThakur, Brahmin, Vaishya,Paasi or Dhobi.

“Before I came to Unnao,the representation of the BJP inUnnao was minimal. After I

became MP, the party gainedground and now there are sixMLAs and one MLC. If theparty takes some other deci-sion, crores of party workersacross the state will get hurt,and the result of which will notbe good for the party,” SakshiMaharaj mentioned in his let-ter.

The BJP MP also stresedthat he was not interested incontesting from any other con-stituency of Uttar Pradesh.The BJP MP from Unnao con-cluded by mentioning: "Underthese circumstances, I urgeyou to give me ticket fromUnnao once again. I assure youthat I will win this seat for theBJP by a margin of five lakhvotes. I believe you will do jus-tice with me.”

IAS officer suspended

for violating rule


Averting a political controversy in the run-up to Lok Sabha elections, the state govern-

ment suspended IAS officer and Commissionerof Consolidation department Sharda Singh.

The officer was penalised for inserting anadvertisement for the recruitment of 1,364 lekh-pals in Consolidation department without anymention of the posts reserved for OtherBackward Castes.

The suspension order was issued by

Additional Chief Secretary of Department ofPersonnel and Appointment Mukul Singhal. Theorder said that the issuance of the advertisementwithout mentioning reservation quota for OBCshad caused a huge resentment among candidatesof the social category besides causing embarrass-ment to the state government.

Singhal maintained that the officer commit-ted a serious irregularity which prima facie vio-lated Rule 3 of All India Service (Conduct) Rules,1968.



District MagistrateKaushal Raj Sharmasaid they had set a target

to increase polling percentage inLucknow to 75 per cent in theforthcoming Lok Sabha elec-tions and it will be done throughseveral SVEEP activities. At apress conference in Collectorateon Tuesday, District MagistrateKaushal Raj Sharma spokeabout the arrangements forelections.

The DM said that not onlypolitical leaders but people ingeneral were also supposed toadhere keep the model code ofconduct in mind. The DM saidthat residents must not encour-age wall paintings and postersin their surroundings as it wasnot allowed and, at the most,they could use a detachable ban-ner or flag only after taking per-mission from officials con-cerned. He said people shouldnot carry huge amounts in cashand if they were carrying Rs50,000 or more in cash, theymust be in possession of rele-vant documents. “If they fail toreveal the source of cash, theywill find themselves in soup,” theDM said. Sharma said that anycitizen could take a photo orvideo if the model code of con-duct was being violated any-where and share it with theElection Commission officials.“We will begin awareness cam-paign regarding this drive calledc-vigil shortly. The flying squadwill immediately react to thevideos and the picturesuploaded,” he said.

The model code of conductcame into effect on March 10and the nominations will beginin Lucknow from April 10 to 18.By April 22, withdrawal ofnames will be completed andthe nominated candidates willbe declared by 3 pm the sameday,” he said. The DM said thatpolling would be held inLucknow on May 6 and allkinds of preparations had beenmade for that day. “A total of35,78,127 voters will exercisetheir franchise and our endeav-our is that they should know onwhich booth they are registered.We want that polling percentageto go above 75 per cent,” he said.

The DM said that therewere 3,516 polling stations inthe nine Vidhan Sabha con-stituencies in the district. In thecity, there are five Vidhan Sabhaconstituencies and the DM willbe the RO for these. In ruralarea, Mohanlalganj will have the

CDO as RO. “There is also aSitapur constituency which willbe governed by the Sitapur dis-trict. The result of this con-stituency will be procuredonline and the results will bedeclared from Lucknow itself,”the DM said. Sharma said theyhad already met the members ofpolitical parties and they hadbeen informed in detail aboutthe model code of conduct.

“After the candidates aredeclared by the political parties,a meeting of these candidatesand their agents will also beorganised. Letters have alsobeen written to the variousgovernment departments andthey have been informed as tohow they have to implement themodel code of conduct. Noposters and banners projectinggovernment schemes will be puton these departments or pho-tographs of the Prime Ministerand Chief Minister. Everybodyshould get an equitable form ofpublicity,” he said.

The DM said that LMC,LDA, Awas Vikas and CanttBoard had removed posters,banners and related poll mate-rial from walls and the carriedout in their area. The exercisewas also held at railway/Metrostations and the airport.

Meetings have been heldwith cellular network providers,people who print publicitymaterial and also representativesfrom banks, and they will alsobe holding a meeting for cash-carrying vans so that thesepeople do not face any problem.

He said the flying squadhad already started workingand the static squad would startworking from the date of nom-ination of the candidates. Thecontrol room has started work-ing in shifts. The DM said thatthe calendar of activities hadalso been scheduled and wouldbe released soon. The politicalparties will also be informedabout the dates when the EVMrandomnisation is carried out.


With Holi just about a week away andshops selling colours propping up in

the city, former scientist from Indian insti-tute of Technology (IITR) Mukul Dassaid that the combination of two synthet-ic colours made it even deadlier and there-fore, it should be avoided.

Stressing that synthetic colours wereharmful, he said: “When two syntheticcolours come together, they produce a syn-ergy which is more harmful and oneshould keep this in mind while playingHoli.” The scientist recommended the useof herbal colours and those which can beprepared at homes. “These include beet-root colours, those made from hibiscus,palash and mehendi. Using vegetable-based colours while playing Holi willalways be safe,” he opined.

Das said one could prepare beetrootcolour by boiling beetroot in water till itturns pinkish violet. “One can then add adash of perfume and spray it through thesprinklers. It not only provides a beauti-ful colour but only smells good,” headded. About the colours available in themarket, he said, “The wet colours are crys-tals of Roadamine B, Malachite green,

metal violet, Auramine, Methyl blue andorange. The silver paint contains a lot oflead up to 160 ug per gm, which is veryhigh because this should not have any leadcontent at all.” About the hazardouseffects of these colours, Das said they wereextremely harmful. “The metallic conta-minants can cause dermatitis, lead can

result in neurological disorders and evendamage kidneys. In case the colour enterseyes, it can cause partial blindness,” he said.

The scientist said one should avoidusing paints as colours because they con-tain lead and chromium. “Both these met-als can be highly toxic and harmful for kid-neys,” he added.


Chain-snatchers targetedfour women in different

parts of the city on Mondayand Tuesday. In Madiaon, twounidentified bike-borne mis-creants snatched the gold chainof a 14-year-old girl on Tuesdayand pushed her down when sheresisted. The victim, who putup a brave front to save her goldchain, suffered injuries andwas taken to a hospital fortreatment. She was said to be ina traumatic state.

The 14-year-old girl, iden-tified as Prachi Sonkar of sec-tor Q in Madiaon, had gone tosee a friend who lives near RamRam Bank crossing. She toldthe police that the miscreantstargeted her when she reachedthe crossing. “It happened in amoment. The bike-borne mis-creants came near me andthen the pillion-rider snatchedmy gold chain. I tried to savemy chain and the miscreantpushed me down and snatchedit from me before speeding off,”the girl told the police.

She said commuters cameforward to help her and theycalled her parents. “I sufferedbruises and I was admitted tohospital,” she said. The police

said a case was registered andthe police were scanningCCTV footages in the area.“We are yet to get any lead,” thepolice said.

Elsewhere, in Gudamba,the miscreants looted a goldchain from an Unnao resi-dent, identified as Kiran, onTuesday. Reports said Kiranhad visited the city to attend awedding at her brother’s housein Kalyanpur locality. In thenight, Kiran went to UnityCity crossing for some work.When she was returning, themiscreants snatched her chainand sped off.

On Monday, two chain-snatching incidents werereported in Jankipuram andPara police areas. InJankipuram, a bike-borne mis-creant snatched the gold chainof a 60-year-old woman whilein Para, 30-year-old Manishawas deprived of her chain.

MAN KILLED IN ROAD MISHAP

A 30-year-old man diedafter a speeding DCMrammed into a tanker underBanthra police station onTuesday. The deceased, iden-tified as Jai Dev Singh (35) ofMathura, was a dumper driver.The incident occurred around6 am when the tanker wasgoing to Mathura fromLucknow. When the tankerreached Harauni petrol pump,a speeding DCM coming frombehind knocked it frombehind. Singh fell off the vehi-cle and was injured. Passersbyassembled the site andinformed the police. BanthraSHO Brijesh Singh said Jai Devdied on the spot while theDCM managed to flee. “Thehunt for the errant driver ison,” he added. An FIR hasbeen registered against theDCM driver.

Aim is to ensure more than

75% polling in city: DM

`11.3 lakhrecovered from SUVPIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

In compliance with themodel code of conduct,

the Lucknow police and fly-ing squad took act ionagainst two contestants ofdifferent political partiesand two others on Tuesday.The team recovered Rs 11.3lakh f rom a man atPolytechnic crossing inGhazipur police area. Apolice team was tipped offabout a man carrying cashin an SUV. The team laid atrap and nabbed the man,identified as RaghvendraDubey of Sushant Gold Cityin PGI police station area.The team also impoundedthe vehicle (FordEndeavour).

In Mohanlalganj, a casewas registered against a con-testant, Jagdish PrasadGautam from ManvatawadiSamajwadi Party, for viola-tion of model code of con-duct while an unidentifiedman in Nigoha was alsobooked. Action was alsotaken against national pres-ident of Sarvodaya BharatParty Girish Pandey andhis driver Saroj KumarGupta. Besides, the teamremoved 2500banner/posters and alsoremoved 150 black filmsfrom four-wheelers.

14-year-old girl among fourtargeted by chain-snatchers

‘Combination of synthetic colours

more hazardous: IITR scientist

Shops selling sprinklers and colours have started coming up in the city

Man poisons

self to death

after verbal

spat with wife

Lucknow (PNS): A 30-year-old man ended his life after con-suming some poisonous sub-stance allegedly following a tiffwith his wife in Bhagwatipuramlocality under Indira Nagarpolice station on Tuesday.

The deceased, identified asMukesh Kumar Verma (30),was a property dealer. Accordingto police, Mukesh had a verbalspat with his wife Asha afterwhich he went into a room. “OnTuesday morning, Mukesh didnot come out of his room. Hiswife Asha (26) knocked thedoor but did not get anyresponse, so she sought help ofneighbours. When the neigh-bours broke open the door,Mukesh was found lying in anunconscious state. He wasrushed to Ram Manohar LohiyaHospital where he died duringtreatment in the afternoon,” thepolice said. Mukesh was said tobe a liquor addict and it was amajor cause of tiffs between thecouple as Asha was stronglyopposed to his addiction. Thepolice said they were told by thefamily of the deceased that thecouple had no cordial relationsfor the past few months and theyused to lock horns over pettyissues off and on.

The girl, identifiedas Prachi Sonkar ofsector Q inMadiaon, had goneto see a friend wholives near RamRam Bank crossing

Police conducting a vehicle checking drive in view of the model code of conduct atHazratganj on Tuesday Pioneer


Butterfly andSparrow Week fromtomorrow

Lucknow (PNS): TheWildlife Institute of LucknowUniversity wil l organise‘Butterfly and the SparrowWeek’ from February 14.Coordinator Amita Kannaujiasaid the programme wouldkick off with a car campaignon sparrows and butterflies.

“We will be setting up astall at the zoo and LucknowUniversity gate (No. 4) for dis-tribution of butterfly hostplants, sparrow roost plants,sparrow houses, sparrowwater pot, sparrow feed potand sparrow feed like kakunand dhan,” she said. An exhi-bition will be held at the zooon sparrows and butterflies.

“Sparrows will also becounted by city denizens inand around their gardens orhouses from 6:30 am to 7:30am. They can send the countto the institute,” she said.

She said all the competi-tions would be held online.The number of sparrows hasdeclined over the years butnow it is showing an upwardtrend, thanks to several effortsbeing made for their conservation.

Kannaujia said a studywhich they conducted recent-ly showed that many areaswere dense, highly developedand surrounded by irregularrings of diminishing develop-ment. She pointed out thatanalysis of land use data con-firmed that house sparrowoccurrence decreased withincreasing levels of buildings,and their presence increasedwith the areas having non-cemented, unplastered or oldhouses having ample space fornesting.

DANCE-DRAMA ON VAJPAYEE STAGED

‘Atal Path’, a dance-dramabased on the poems of formerPrime Minister Atal BihariVajpayee, was staged at RaiUmanath Bali auditorium onTuesday. Naushad Sammanwas conferred on nine theatrepersonalities for their contribu-tion to theatre. The programmewas organised with the supportof Urdu Akademi. Those whowere conferred with theNaushad Samman includedAsia Zamani, Vilayat Jafri,Puneet Asthana, Shabi Jafri,Jitendra Mittal, Chitra Mohan,Rajveer Ratan, Sardar NaqviLal, and S Rizwan. Previously,this award was given toKhayyam, Kalyanji-Anandji,Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, PtShiv Kumar Sharma, HemaMalini, Rekha Bhardwaj, RajBisaria, Surya MohanKulshreshtha and JugalKishore. The dance-dramawas directed by Anand Sharmawhile the music was given byAditya Lipton. Nawab MasoodAbdullah played the role ofVajpayee.

ANNUAL FESTThe Institute of Co-

Operative and CorporateManagement, Research andTraining (ICCMRT), held itstwo days annual fest ‘Parwaaz— Let the Wings Rise High’.Several students from variousB-schools and universities ofLucknow are participating andgetting a platform to displaytheir creative skills in variedfields. The fest was inaugurat-ed by special secretary, Co-Operatives (UP), Mohd Junaid.

DRISHTIThe students of Bachelors

of Arts in Journalism and MassCommunication, ModernGirls’ College of ProfessionalStudies (MGCPS), havelaunched the premier episodeof their original web seriescalled ‘Drishti’. The series iswritten by Nikita Arya, direct-ed by Vanshika Dwivedi and

produced by Anjali Shukla.The star cast includes AmritaRai, Hemant Singh Rajput andVaibhav Singh. Post screening,the team initiated a pledgeceremony to sensitise the audi-ence about nation-building.

MoU SIGNEDA memorandum of under-

standing (MoU) was signedbetween Central Institute forSubtropical Horticulture andBundelkhand University,Jhansi. CISH is a nationalrepository of germplasmresources of mango and guavawhile Bundelkhand Universitya renowned institution in aca-demics. This MoU is an initia-tive which will serve as a plat-form for undertaking studentexchange programmes as wellas collaborative research pro-jects targeting the develop-mental activities and improve-ment of resources for poorfarmers of Bundelkhand.Besides, the collaboration is aneffort towards bridging the

gaps between academiciansand researchers in differentareas of science.

SEMINARCouncil of Science and

Technology organised a semi-nar on latest trends in biotech-nology for the benefit of UP atCV Raman auditorium, VigyanBhawan, on Tuesday. Therewere three sessions —‘Biotechnology in Medicineand Health’, ‘Biotechnology inAgriculture Engineering’, and‘Biotechnology for DevelopingRenewable Energy Sources andWaste Recycling’. Dr NS Vermafrom KGMU spoke about theintervention of biotechnologyfor the cure of diabetes. “Thefriendly bacteria of our bodycan be engineered in such away that they start producinginsulin and it can cure diabetescompletely. Dr Shubha Phadkeof SGPGI discussed variousgenetic diseases and thepromise biotechnology holdsfor their cure.


Over a dozen of ongoingprojects of Lucknow

Development Authority (LDA)have come to a halt after themodel code of conduct cameinto effect in view of the forth-coming Lok Sabha elections.The worst-affected project isthe one at Gomti NagarExtension where the worksfor drainage system, streetlights, road laying and con-struction of pavement (esti-mated cost Rs 5 crore) weregoing on. The LDA adminis-tration has stopped the moneydue to the code of conduct,leaving the residents annoyed.They came out on the roads inprotest.

A delegation of residents’welfare association, led bypresident Nandlal Mishra, metLDA Vice-Chairman PN Singh

to apprise him of the workshaving come to halt. The Vice-Chairman explained the situ-ation to the delegation and saidthat the work would begin onwar-footing after the LokSabha elections.

Another problem whichhas surfaced is that the farm-ers under Sultanpur housingscheme have started demand-ing plots and compensation atthe earliest. The farmers wereagitated after a rumour wasspread by a group of peoplethat they would be deprived ofthe compensation and plots.

A group of farmers metthe LDA Vice-Chairman andthreatened to launch a protestif they were deprived of ade-quate compensation andplots. The Vice-Chairmanfailed to convince them evenafter two hours of talks onTuesday. Singh sought the

help of local MP KaushalKishore to ask the farmers tobe patient and assured themthat their compensation andplots would be given to themby June. The Vice-Chairmanurged the farmers not to payheed to rumours. The secondrounds of talks will be held onWednesday. Other projectswhich hang f ire are onKanpur Road, Rajajipuram,Aishbagh Vrindavan scheme,Priyadarshi and Sitapur Roadprojects.

The bidding for BakshiKa-Talab project will now beheld in June. It was supposedto be held after March 15. TheLDA administration willdevelop the project with thehelp of private partners. TheVice-Chairman said the LDAadministration was bound towork in accordance with thelaw and EC guidelines.


Lucknow Metro RailCorporation (LMRC) is tar-

geting over one lakh passengersper day in the coming days.Managing director KumarKeshav, while talking to ThePioneer, said they were gettingan extremely good response asof now. He said they hadexpected around 70,000 pas-sengers to start with and thesemany passengers would helpthem recover the operationalcosts.

“The response is extreme-ly good and all kinds of passen-gers are coming, includewomen, elderly people andyoungsters. However, we willmake efforts to increase thefootfall to one lakh per day,” hesaid. Asked whether theyintended to slash the fares toattract more passengers,Keshav said it was not possible.“We are giving a certainamount of facilities to passen-gers and thus the fares are jus-tified. The facilities includedrinking water and air-condi-tioned coaches. We are tryingto provide this mode of trans-port to passengers who want totravel with a certain set of facil-ities not provided in othermodes,” he said.

The LMRC MD said thefares were at par with DelhiMetro. “The corridors in theDelhi Metro are long but on anaverage, people travel 7-8 kms,”he said. On how they plannedto increase the ridership,Keshav said they were selling3,000 Metro cards each day.

“People will soon understandthe utility of Metro and theywill select the same for theirmode of transport,” he added.

Meanwhile, LMRC onTuesday concluded ‘NationalSafety Week 2019’ aimed at cre-ating awareness and conscious-ness among people. LMRC

felicitated winners of a quizcompetition and the best per-forming contractors during theclosing ceremony at its admin-istrative building in GomtiNagar. Addressing the gather-ing, the LMRC MD said:“Safety is not something to betaken for granted; it should

reflect in our everyday routineand not be a matter of just oneday.” Meanwhile, 50 womenmembers of UP PollutionControl Board Employees’Association, along with theirmale counterparts, took aMetro ride as part of their envi-ronment awareness campaign.

They were welcomed bywomen employees of LMRC atthe Bhootnath station. Theyraised awareness about the roleand significance of using Metroto reduce pollution levels in thecity, importance of plantation,saving the sparrows and lessuse of mobile phones.

DIVINE EDUCATION CONFERENCECity Montessori School, Rajajipuram

Campus I, organised ‘Divine EducationConference’ at Kanpur Road auditorium onTuesday. CMS founder Jagdish Gandhi inaugu-rated the function and honoured the students

who secured top positions in annual examina-tions and excelled in other competitions. Thestudents presented an array of scintillating edu-cational-cultural items, leaving the audiencemesmerised. The grandparents of childrenwere the special invitees.

LMRC targeting over 1 lakh footfalls

SCHOOLSCAN

CITYBRIEFS

Members of UP Pollution Control Board Employees’ Association during their awareness drive on board a Metro train on Tuesday

Artistes staging a dance-drama at Rai Umanath Bali auditorium Pioneer

MoU signed between CISH and Bundelkhand University

Secretariat depts tobe shifted to ChakGanjaria by 2022

Several LDA projects stalled

due to model code of conduct

Allahabad (PNS): A teamof Central Bureau ofInvestigation (CBI) arrestedtwo senior Railway officials ofAllahabad division of the NorthCentral Railway (NCR) fortaking bribe late on Sundaynight. The officials includedsenior DSTE (Signalling)Neeraj Puri Goswami andDSTE (East) PK Singh. They

were caught red-handed whiletaking bribe Rs 6 lakh and Rs4 lakh respectively. The CBIofficials interrogated them aftertaking them into custody andchecked documents in theirchambers till late night andlater took them to Lucknow forfurther investigation. The offi-cials were arrested following acomplaint by a contractor who

had informed the CBI that theofficials were demandingmoney to pass bills. Followingthe complaint, the CBI made aplan to trap the officials. As perthe plan, the contractor calledone of the officials at BalsonCrossing to hand over themoney. Here the CBI teamcaught him taking the bribefrom the contractor.

2 senior rly officials caught taking bribe


The troika of Bahujan SamajParty, Samajwadi Party and

Rashtriya Lok Dal is gearing upfor a joint campaign for LokSabha election from April.

In the first phase, votingwill be carried out in westernUP constituencies on April 11and hence Mayawati, AkhileshYadav and Ajit Singh willlaunch their campaign fromthis region. Joint rallies areexpected to boost the cadres ofall these parties for the upcom-ing polls.

The RLD is geared up toput up a strong fight on thethree seats of Muzaffarnagar,Baghpat and Mathura. Joint ral-lies of the alliance are expect-ed to start from Meerut LokSabha seat, considered to be theheart of western UP. The con-stituencies going for polls in the

first phase are located in closeproximity to Meerut.

Samajwadi Party chiefAkhilesh Yadav said that lead-ers of the SP-BSP alliancewould stick to their schedulesand dates for joint rallies will beannounced soon.

But sources claimed that SPand BSP brass were finalisingcandidates for the constituen-cies going to polls in the firstphase. Campaigning of the SP-BSP alliance is expected tobegin once the candidates forUP and a few other states werefinalised.

SP ANNOUNCES TWO MORE CANDIDATES

SP announced two morecandidates for Lok Sabha elec-tions on Tuesday. Ramji LalSuman will be the SP candidatefrom Hathras (reserved) seatwhile Rajendra S Bind willcontest from Mirzapur seat.Ramji Lal Suman is a seniorBSP leader and a former MPfrom Ferozabad seat. Withannouncement of two morecandidates, the SP has declareda total of 11 candidates.

As per the grand allianceseat-sharing formula, the SPwill contest 37 seats, BSP 38while Rashtriya Lok Dal willfield its candidates on threeseats. The alliance has decidednot to field its candidates fromAmethi and Rae Bareli repre-sented by Congress chief RahulGandhi and UPA chairpersonSonia Gandhi respectively.


Adding fuel to the fire in theraging controversy over

Lok Sabha poll dates clashingwith Islamic holy month ofRamzan, Samajwadi Partyleader Azam Khan in aprovocative statement said thatMuslims were tenants in thiscountry. "Why did the ElectionCommission fail to takeRamzan into considerationwhile finalising the Lok Sabhapoll dates. Why are we treatedlike tenants in our own coun-try?” he asked.

Khan sought to raisedoubts over the poll panel andsaid it had taken into consid-eration other festivals in thepast and hence why did it notdo the same in case ofMuslims? “They should havecertainly taken care of it. After1947, we stayed back on ourown, we could have gone toPakistan, Hindus could nothave. Earlier, the RSS used tosay that it would make us sec-ond and third grade citizens,today we call ourselves tenantsin this country,” Khan said.

Amid this controversy, a

section of Muslim leaders saidthat the controversy wasuncalled for and unnecessary.Their refrain was that politicalparties should not use theMuslim community andRamzan for whatever reasonsthey had.

A cleric said that Muslimswould definitely fast in Ramzanand would keep doing theirregular work during the fast."They go out and lead a normallife. They work and go to theoffice. My analysis is that thismonth which increases spiritu-alism in Muslims, will lead tomore voting percentagebecause they will be free fromworldly duties," he added.


The departments of UPSecretariat pertaining to

law and order, general admin-istration, finance, and policymaking will be shifted toChak Ganjaria on SultanpurRoad. The decision has beentaken in public interest and tomaintain secrecy of day-to-day functioning of thesedepartments.

The proposal was movedby Chief Minister YogiAdityanath to ensure secrecyand prevent leaks. ChiefSecretary Anup ChandraPandey had written to LDAVice-Chairman PN Singh asking for a land inChak Ganjaria October lastyear.

The Chief Minister hadsaid that there was a scope ofleaks as offices of the above-mentioned departments weresituated in the heart of the cityand the same be shifted to asafer site where staffers couldwork in peace without anyinterference by visitors. Aspecial feature of the newsite is that the entry of peoplewould be restricted. Even theofficers won’t be allowed to

enter the premises unlessrequired or called by theChief Minister or ChiefSecretary for any work.

The LDA Vice-Chairmansaid a land measuring 200acres was selected for thispurpose and the ChiefSecretary was informed inDecember last year. A surveywas conducted and the sitewas okayed in January earli-er this year.

The Vice-Chairman saidthat the LDA administrationswung into action and tookseveral measures to the makethe proposed site fit for civilconstruction. Asked aboutthe estimated budget, he saidthe LDA administrationwould only transfer the landto the state government. Hesaid the officials and engi-neers had selected the land inaccordance with the guidelineset by the government.

The LDA administrationhas prepared the detail reportand submitted it with theChief Secretary. The project isexpected to be formallylaunched in June after theforthcoming Lok Saba elec-tions conclude and is likely tobe completed by 2022.

Muslims treatedlike tenants inIndia: Azam

SP-BSP-RLD gearing up

to hit campaign trail

LUCKNOW | WEDNESDAY | MARCH 13, 2019 nation 05

PNS n NEW DELHI

Describing Congress standagainst terrorist as dubi-

ous, Union Finance MinisterArun Jaitley on Tuesdayclaimed that the Oppositionparty’s leaders had played intothe hands of Pakistan duringthe recent Indian Air Forcestrike at Balakot in Pakistan.

In a blog, Jaitley said theCongress party is one with theGovernment on condemningPulwama terror attack resultingin death of 41 CRPF jawans,but is disturbed about airstrikes in Balakot, Pakistan.

He said the Congress hasrepeatedly rubbished the sur-gical strikes of September 2016and contends that they haveeither taken place in the pastalso or alternatively they nevertook place under PrimeMinister Modi.

“On the air strikes, theirconduct is even more dubious,”the minister said.

While giving “lip sympa-thy” to the Indian Air Force forthe first two days, the Congressstarted a multi-pronged attackand questioned the success ofthe strikes.

“This was a self-goal by theCongress in domestic politics.This was also playing into thehands of Pakistan where state-ments of Congress leaders,including Rahul Gandhi, were

played out on television chan-nels in Pakistan.

“Pakistan Governmentcited these statements to bolstertheir own falsehood,” Jaitleysaid in the blog titled ‘Agenda2019 - Part - 2: Prime MinisterModi’s Evolving NationalSecurity Doctrine’. He said theCongress had no structuredplan during ten years of UPAon how to deal with the prob-lems of Jammu and Kashmir.

“Prime Minister NarendraModi inherited this as a lega-cy issue. He experimented theconventional method of tryingto soften the relationship withPakistan in a hope that wisersense would prevail, butPakistan responded withPathankot, Uri and Pulwama.

“He encouraged the main-stream political parties of theValley to be a part of thenational coalition in Kashmir

but unfortunately the doubletalk of support from Delhiand the pressure from theJamat-e-Islami were to thedetriment of anti-separatistspolicy,” Jaitley said.

The Finance Minister alsosaid the BJP-led Government,both at the Centre and inChhattisgarh, had a consis-tently strong position againstthe Left wing extremism.

“From JNU toChhattisgarh, the Congress hasstruck a deal with them. Thereare increasing instances of Leftwing extremists activelyencouraging the KashmiriJehadis in the Kashmir valley.

“The Congress does notoppose the idea of a pro-activeapproach in destroying terror atits point of origin. It is disturbedwith regard to the political fall-out of this pro-active approachon the image of PM,” he said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Following the implementa-tion of the model code of

conduct, several Governmentwebsites, including that of thePrime Minister’s Office, havetaken down pictures of thePrime Minister and otherUnion Ministers, but someMinistries are yet to comply.The Election Commission alsowrote to all Ministries, depart-ments and Chief Secretaries ofall States and Union Territoriesthat all references of Ministersor political parties or politiciansavailable on the Centre andState websites should beremoved.

The EC also made it clearthat rest house, dak bungalowand other government accom-modations in the States/UTswhere election have beenannounced or are taking placecan be given to the politicisa-tions having “Z” plus or abovecategory of security. This shallbe subject to condition thatsuch accommodation is notalready allotted or occupied bythe election observers.

The Lok Sabha electionswill begin from April 11 andthe announcement of the date

for polling means the modelcode of conduct comes intoimmediate effect. It remainsoperational till the process isconcluded.

The MCC states that theparty in power — whether atthe Centre or in the States —should ensure that it does notuse its official position forcampaigning.

Ministers and otherGovernment authorities cannotannounce financial grants inany form. No project or schemewhich may have the effect ofinfluencing the voter in favourof the party in power can beannounced, and ministers can-not use official machinery forcampaign purposes.

In a letter written to theCabinet Secretary and chiefsecretaries of states, the EChad asked them to ensurethat photographs of “politicalfunctionaries” on official web-sites are removed or hiddenimmediately. The PMO web-site took down pictures ofPrime Minister NarendraModi and so did the site ofPress Information Bureauwhich disseminatesGovernment information tothe media.

But the website of the LawMinistry still carries the pic-tures of Law Minister RaviShankar Prasad, his juniorminister PP Chaudhury and alink to PM’s ‘Mann ki Baat’

monthly radio address.Similar is the case with the

website of Ministry ofMinority Affairs where pic-tures of minister MukhtarAbbas Naqvi and his juniorminister Virendra Kumar aredisplayed.

Central and respective stateGovernments have been askedto remove all unauthorisedpolitical advertisements in theform of writings on walls,posters, hoardings, bannersand flags from public proper-ty and public spaces such as air-ports, railway stations, busstands, municipal buildings,government offices and buseswithin three days of announce-ment of poll dates.

PNS n NEW DELHI

All India Anna DravidaMunnetra Kazhagam

(AIADMK) has accusedPuducherry Chief Minister VNarayanasamy of violating themodel code of conduct (MCC)by extending freebies to publicin form of pre-dated chequesfrom Chief Minister’s relief fund.

In a letter addressed to EC,AIADMK MLA VaiyapuriManikandan alleged that thoughthere are no adequate funds inthe account, bank authoritieshave been instructed to notbounce the cheques and wait forthe account to be credited.

Manikandan has allegedthat even though there are noadequate funds in the bankaccount, the bank authoritieshave been instructed not tobounce the cheques and keepthem waiting until sufficientamount is credited. “The bank

authorities release payments asand when the account is re-filled.The pending amount will bereleased soon after the receipt offunds, without catching the eyesof anybody,” reads the letter.

Since the money transfer istaking place in a phased man-ner, no one could blame thechief minister for violating theMCC, Manikandan said,adding that Narayanswamyhad been misappropriating theCM relief fund.

The AIADMK MLA fur-ther requested the ECI to inter-

vene and stop the funds’ trans-fer from the CM relief funduntil the completion of the LokSabha polls.

Elections to 39 Lok Sabhaseats in Tamil Nadu and thelone Puducherry segment willbe held on April 18, the secondof the seven phases of pollingacross the country for a total of543 seats. The AIADMK isheading the NDA in TamilNadu, whose constituents arethe BJP, PMK, DMDK, PuthiyaTamizhagam and PuthiyaNeethi Katchi.

The party has allottedseven seats to PMK, five to theBJP, four to the Vijayakanth-ledDMDK, and one each toPuthiya Tamizhagam andPuthiya Neethi Katchi in thestate, thus leaving 21 for itselfas of now. The lone Puducherryseat has been allotted toAINRC, headed by formerchief minister N Rangasamy.

PTI n NEW DELHI

Allaying the fears of over 40lakh persons whose names

were not included in the draftAssam NRC, the ElectionCommission of India (ECI) onTuesday told the SupremeCourt that exclusion will notaffect their voting rights in theupcoming Lok Sabha pollsprovided their names feature inthe electoral rolls.

The top court asked theECI to clarify what action it willtake if a person’s name is notincluded in the final AssamNational Register of Citizens(NRC) to be published on July31, but it features in the elec-toral rolls.

A bench of Chief JusticeRanjan Gogoi and JusticesDepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanaasked the ECI to provide it thedata by March 28 about theaddition and deletion of namesfrom voters’ list as revised inJanuary for 2017, 2018 and2019.

At the outset, the benchasked the ECI secretary, whohad been summoned by thecourt, what will be the status ofthe persons whose names donot feature in the draft NRCbut feature in the electoralrolls.

On March 8, the apex courthad asked the poll panel sec-retary to appear before it forTuesday’s hearing in connec-tion with a PIL alleging thatseveral categories of persons inAssam have been deprived ofvoting rights ahead of the LokSabha polls.

The secretary replied that

exclusion will not have anybearing on the voting rights ofsuch individuals.

Senior advocate VikasSingh, appearing for the ECI,said it had already been statedthis in 2014.

He pointed out that thecourt should not entertain thispetition filed by Gopal Seth andSusanta Sen, residents ofAssam, as contrary to theirclaims, their names were neverdeleted from the electoral rollsin the past three years.

Any observation from thecourt in this kind of petitionwould amount to huge adversepublicity for the ECI as if itwere doing something wrong,Singh said.

The bench said it wouldfurther hear the matter onMarch 28.

New Delhi: The SupremeCourt on Tuesday asked theCentre to explain in two weekswhy it has not set up a perma-nent mechanism to monitorthe undue accretion of assets byelected representatives asdirected by it last year.

On Feb 16 last year, the apexcourt had said the undue accre-tion of assets by lawmakers wasa “sure indicator” of the beginningof a failing democracy, which ifleft unattended, would lead to thedestruction of democracy andpave way for “rule of mafia”.

It had then asked for a per-manent mechanism to monitorthe undue accretion of wealthby lawmakers.

On Tuesday, hearing a con-tempt plea filed by NGO ‘LokPrahari’, it said it was not issu-ing any notice but seeking areply from the secretary of leg-islative department of the Unionof India why the court’s direc-tions were not complied with.

The NGO has claimed thatcertain directions issued bythe court on Feb 16 last yearhave not been complied with.

The court also asked thesecretary to explain what hisdepartment has done withrespect to non-disclosure orpart disclosure of assets whichwould amount to “undue influ-ence” under the Representationof People’s (RP) Act.

A bench of Chief JusticeRanjan Gogoi and justicesDeepak Gupta and SanjivKhanna asked the secretary toexplain why Form 26, whichevery candidate is required tofill during his nomination,does not contain a declarationon whether he or she has suf-fered any kind of disqualifica-tion under the RP Act. PTI

PTI n NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court onTuesday observed that the

people seemed to be “runningafter” firecracker industries andautomobiles were perhaps “big-ger” contributor to pollution.

It also asked the Centrewhether there was any compar-ative study on pollution causedby vehicles and firecrackers.

While expressing seriousconcern over loss of jobs ofpeople involved in manufactureand sale of firecrackers, a benchof Justices SA Bobde and SANazeer said, “We do not wishto generate unemployment.”

“Is there any comparativestudy on what proportion ofpollution is caused by fire-crackers and what proportionis caused by automobiles? Itseems you are running afterfirecrackers, but bigger pollu-tion contributor is perhapsvehicles,” the bench toldAdditional Solicitor GeneralANS Nadkarni, who wasappearing for the Centre.

The top court said, “Youmust tell us some way of pre-venting unemployment also. Wecannot have people unemployedand hungry. There are areaswhere firecrackers can be used.”

“We cannot give them(those who have lost jobs)money. We cannot supporttheir families. Unemploymentis there,” the bench said.

The bench also raised aquestion as to how manufac-ture of firecrackers could bestopped if the trade is legal andpeople have licence to carry outthe business.

“Nobody has tested this inrelation to Article 19 (whichsays all citizens shall have theright to practise any profession,or to carry on any occupation,trade or business). If the tradeis legal and you have the licencefor this, then how can you stopthis? How can you leave peo-ple unemployed?” the benchobserved.

The court was hearing a pleawhich has sought a completeban on use of firecrackers acrossthe country on the ground thatit gives rise to pollution.

The apex court had lastyear said people in the countrycan burst firecrackers onlyfrom 8 pm to 10 pm on Diwaliand other festivals, and hadallowed the manufacture andsale of only “green crackers”which have low emission oflight, sound and harmfulchemicals.

During the hearing onTuesday, the ASG told thebench that the Petroleum andExplosives Safety Organisation(PESO) and other expert agen-cies were experimenting andthey have come up with com-position of “green crackers”.

Cong disturbed with air

strikes on Pak: Jaitely

LS polls code: PM pictures taken down

PTI n NEW DELHI

The Centre on Tuesday jus-tified in Supreme Court its

recent law granting 10-per centquota for Economically WeakerSections (EWSs), saying it wasbrought in to promote “socialequality” by providing “equalopportunities in higher educa-tion and employment to thosewho have been excluded byvirtue of their economic status”.

The Government said thenew law will not be covered bythe Indra Sawhney versusUnion of India (popularlycalled Mandal Commissionverdict) of 1992 as provision forreservation was made afteramending the Constitution.

“That the ConstitutionAmendment (103rd) Act 2019was necessitated to benefit theeconomically weaker sectionsof the society who were notcovered within the existingschemes of reservation, whichas per statistics, constituted aconsiderably large segment ofthe Indian population,” an affi-davit filed by the Centre said.

ARCHANA JYOTI n NEW DELHI

Against the backdrop ofPrime Minister Narendra

Modi’s clarion call to the sci-entists to find a ‘concrete solu-tion’ to deal with the problemof stubble burning, the coun-try’s premier research agency,Council of Scientific andIndustrial Research (CSIR) haspitched in for conversion ofpaddy biomass into green ‘bio-coal’ to be used in thermalpower plants as one of the pos-sible environment-friendlysteps to check the menacewhich chokes Delhi and NCRregion, particularly during win-ters.

Scientists from one of theCSIR’s labs, National PhysicalLaboratory (NPL) in a studypublished in the latest editionof The Current Science, saidthis conversion of paddy stub-ble into green product biocoalthrough torrefaction processwould also help farmers toearn money using the agricul-ture residue.

They maintained that thebiocoal which has the calorif-ic value equivalent to that ofbituminous coal can be used asan alternative fuel in thermalpower plants. By optimizingthe processing parameters oftorrefaction process, desiredcalorific value of torrefiedproduct has been archived, asper the study conducted inHaryana. It also pointed outthat 10 per cent use of torrefiedproduct with coal can consume140 million tonnes of ricestraw and as a consequence, itreduces the consumption offossil fuels.

If adopted, the technologywhich is already in vogue in thewestern countries can helpreduce not only consumptionof fossil fuels, but also cutdown the environmental pol-lution and greenhouse gas(GHG) emission. Similarly,residue of other crops likewheat, sugarcane, oilseed,maize and cotton which isestimated to be around 500million tonnes in the country,

can be used as biocoal in ther-mal plants after torrefaction.

The suggestion holdsimportance given that present-ly, to dispose the rice straw formaking field ready for nextcrop, farmers are burning it inthe fields itself particularly inStates like Punjab, Haryana,Uttar Pradesh, Jammu Kashmirand Uttarakhand posing lot ofenvironmental, health and eco-nomic issues.. This despiteState Governments’ offers suchas subsidy, machines as well aswarning to impose penalty incase of violation.

However, the team of sci-entists comprising of SRDhakate, Abhishek K Pathak,Prateek Jain, Mandeep Singh, BP Singh, KM Subhedar, SSSharda and RK Seth, said that“once farmers get monetaryincentive for the waste, burn-ing can be stopped in the fieldsand it can be used as a sourceof renewable energy and thecountry can become self-reliantfor energy generation.”

Modi had last December

while addressing the farmers’conclave “Krishi Kumbha” inLucknow through video con-ferencing too raised his con-cerns on increasing smogcaused by stubble burning as heurged scientists to find concretesolution to stubble burning.

Being agriculture-basedcountry, India generates morethan 600 million tonnes ofbiomass waste from differentcrops and produces 140 milliontonnes of rice straw aloneannually.

Most of the stubble burn-ing takes place over three weeksin October-November, releas-ing particulates and smog-forming carbon monoxide andnitrogen oxide, which driftfrom the fields over almost theentire Indo-Gangetic plain.This pollution contributesaround 12-60 per cent of par-ticulate concentrations depend-ing on the generation of otherpollutants in different loca-tions, winds, temperature andother local factors, according toreports.

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Tuesday hit back atFinance Minister Arun Jaitley saying “Modi is chaos”. His remarks camea day after Jaitley said the choice before voters in the general electionswould be either “Modi or chaos”, Sibal tweeted, “A Minister on possibleoutcome of 2019: It’s Modi or chaos. Forgetting that Modi is chaos. MostObsessive Divisive Individual,” Sibal wrote in his tweet in an apparentreference to Modi. The PM Narendra Modi-led NDA Government will beseeking a second term as 900 million people are expected to vote in theLok Sabha elections beginning April 11. Counting of votes will be taken upon May 23. PNS

Modi is chaos, Sibal hits back

PTI n CHENNAI

The DMK on Tuesday urgedthe Election Commission

to hold byelections to threevacant assembly seats alongwith the voting for 18 othersegments scheduled on April18, claiming there was “nolegally sustainable reason toomit them”.

A memorandum to thiseffect was submitted to ChiefElection Commissioner SunilArora at the ElectionCommission office in NewDelhi by a DMK delegationheaded by party Rajya SabhaMP Tiruchi Siva, party sourcessaid here.

“In all the three cases,there are no orders from anycourt restraining the ECI fromconduction by-elections to theassembly constituencies. Merependency of an election peti-tion is not a bar under law forconducting by-elections,” DMKpresident M K Stalin said in thememorandum.

On March 10, the EC hasannounced the schedule for theLok Sabha elections and bypollsto 18 assembly seats in TamilNadu, leaving out the three seg-ments which are also vacant.

State Chief ElectoralOfficer Satyabrata Sahoo hadsaid bypolls were not scheduledfor the seats as election peti-tions related to them werepending in the Madras HighCourt.

The DMK memorandum,a copy of which was released tomedia here, said the EC hadconducted bypolls in the past

despite pending election peti-tions.

“There is no legally sus-tainable reason as to why threeconstituencies alone have beenomitted,” it said.

At a meeting of its districtsecretaries, MPs, and MLAshere Monday, the DMK hadadopted a resolution whichsaid not holding bypolls to thethree assembly constituencieswas “anti-democratic.”

While Ottapidaram andAravakurichi were representedby disqualified AIADMKMLAs Sundararaj and SenthilBalaji (he is now with theDMK), Tiruparankudram leg-islator A K Bose died last year.

Petitions challenging theirelections are pending in theMadras High Court.

The byelection to the 18seats are crucial for rulingAIADMK which has 114MLAs excluding the Speaker inthe 234-member assembly with21 vacancies. Opposition DMK(88) and its allies together have97 members.

SC HOLDS ADVOCATEGUILTY OF CONTEMPT New Delhi: The Supreme Courton Tuesday held advocateMathews J Nedumpara guilty ofcontempt for taking a seniorlawyer’s name to allege that sonsand daughters of judges weregiven priority in awarding ‘senioradvocate’ designation, sayingthat he has attempted tobrowbeat the courts and hisconduct deserves severepunishment.

APEX COURT AGREES TOHEAR DMK’S PLEANew Delhi: The Supreme CourtTuesday agreed to hear DMK’splea seeking a direction to theElection Commission to issue anotification for by-elections tothree vacant assembly seats inTamil Nadu. A bench of ChiefJustice Ranjan Gogoi andjustices Deepak Gupta and SanjivKhana said it will hear thepetition on March 15.

SC ACCEPTS PLEAAGAINST CENTRE, ECNew Delhi: The Supreme Courton Tuesday listed for hearing onMarch 14 a plea seeking initiationof contempt proceedings againstthe Centre and the ElectionCommission (EC) for allegedviolation of the apex court’sSeptember 25, 2018 judgmentdirecting all candidates to declaretheir criminal antecedents to thepoll panel before contestingelections.

AK MOHANTY TAKESOVER AS BARC CHIEF

Noted scientist AK Mohanty onMonday took over as theDirector of the Bhabha AtomicResearch Centre (BARC) fromKN Vyas, Chairman, AtomicEnergy Commission andSecretary to Department ofAtomic Energy. Dr Mohanty wasdirector, Saha Institute ofNuclear Physics, Kolkata.

SEMINAR ON LOGISTICINDUSTRY ORGANISEDNew Delhi: To keep the buddingyoung professionals abreast withthe growth and opportunities inLogistic Industry, the CII Schoolof Logistics and Amity Universityorganised a seminar on“Megatrends and Career Scopein Logistics and Supply ChainManagement” on the Universitycampus on Tuesday. Dr. AnitaKumar, Director, CII School ofLogistics, Sunil Arora, VicePresident - ACAAI & MD, DeltaAir Freight (P) Ltd and AdityaGupta, Business Head, TVSLogistics Services Ltd addressedthe seminar.

INSHORT

SC asks Centre whyit has not createdmechanism tomonitor assets oflawmakers

DMK petitions EC seeking bypoll in 3 vacant Assembly seats

Vehicles appear to

cause more pollution

than firecrackers: SC

CSIR bats for green ‘biocoal’

Exclusion from draft AssamNRC will not affect votingrights for LS polls: ECI to SC

EWS quota:

Centre justifies

decision in SC

AIADMK accuses PuducherryCM of violating code of conduct

On March 10, theEC has announcedthe schedule forthe Lok Sabhaelections andbypolls to 18

Assembly seats inTamil Nadu,

leaving out thethree segments

which are also vacant

THE TOP COURTASKED THE ECI TO

CLARIFY WHATACTION IT WILL

TAKE IF A PERSON’SNAME IS NOT

INCLUDED IN THEFINAL ASSAM

NATIONAL REGISTEROF CITIZENS (NRC)TO BE PUBLISHEDON JULY 31, BUT ITFEATURES IN THE

ELECTORAL ROLLS

It was brought in

to promote “social

equality” by

providing “equal

opportunities in

higher education

and employment to

those who have

been excluded by

virtue of their

economic status”

It also askedthe Centre

whether therewas any

comparativestudy on

pollution causedby vehicles and

firecrackers

The AIADMK MLA

further requested

stop the funds’

transfer from the

CM relief fund until

the completion

of LS polls

Law Ministry still

carries pictures

of Union Law

Minister Ravi

Shankar Prasad


PTI n PATNA

The Opposition GrandAlliance in Bihar appeared

under strain on Tuesday whena senior Congress leader assert-ed his party was not dependenton allies in the State, drawingsharp reactions from the RJD,which questioned the nation-al party’s commitment todefeating the BJP in the LokSabha election.

Congress Legislature Partyleader Sadanand Singh, also amember of the recently con-stituted State election com-mittee, said, “The party hasemerged stronger under theleadership of Rahul Gandhi. Ifseat-sharing does not workout, there will be no problem.Hum kisi ke bhi mohtaj nahinhain (we are not dependent onanybody).”

Singh cited the example ofUttar Pradesh, where theCongress is gearing up to go italone after being dumped bythe Bahujan Samaj Party andthe Samajwadi Party, arch-rivals who have buried thehatchet and formed an allianceto take on the BJP.

“Rahul Gandhi had said inthe context of UP that the partywill be playing on the frontfoot. We are game for that inBihar as well,” Singh added.

Reacting to the Congressleader’s comments, RJD nation-al vice-president ShivanandTiwary said, “The grand oldparty must make up its mindon whom it wants to fight.Does it want to defeat the BJP

or engage in a fight againstthose who are committed tothwarting the saffron party.

“Our party has the biggestjanadhar (support base) inBihar. The Congress can belit-tle us at its own peril. Moreover,it will also have to answer thevoters who wish to get rid ofthe BJP.”

A senior Congress leadercamping in New Delhi, mean-while, told PTI over phone thatthe two parties could not reacha consensus over seat alloca-tion. “We had initially sought15 seats out of 40 seats in Bihar.But RJD supremo Lalu Prasadinsisted that we contest only 10.Our party leadership couldhave agreed to make conces-sion for one or two seats, but itis not possible for us to forgofive,” he said on the conditionof anonymity.

“He (Prasad) is taking it for

granted that Yadavs andMuslims are going to vote enmasse for the RJD and our rolewould be limited to cutting intoupper caste votes. That is toosimplistic a calculation,” thesenior leader said.

“Prasad does not under-stand that the Congress is themain choice of Muslims andnot the RJD in many con-stituencies. He is also giving toomuch importance to birds ofpassage like UpendraKushwaha (RLSP), Jitan RamManjhi (HAM) and MukeshSahni (VIP), without realizingthat they cannot be reliedupon,” he claimed.

“If our allies do not showa sense of proportion, then wemay have to go it alone eventhough we do not want such athing to happen. It should beclear in the next couple of days,”he added.

PTI n BENGALURU

Hitting out at cr it icsopposing his actor son

Nikhil Kumaraswamy con-testing from Mandya in theLok Sabha elections, ChiefMinister HD Kumaraswamyon Tuesday said “systematic”campaign was being runagainst his candidacy.

Facing flak for promotinghis son, Kumaraswamy saidthose posting on social mediaare not voters. The real vot-ers are in villages and it isthey who will decide, headded.

Claiming that there was a“systematic” campaignagainst Nikhil’s candidature,he said several top political

leaders , includingYeddyurappa and himself,were born somewhere, whiletheir political activities areelsewhere.

“Pro and contra viewswill be everywhere. Severalleaders who were born some-where, have won from else-where and have become

members (of Parliament andAssembly),” Kumaraswamysaid to a query about theopposition to Nikhil’s candi-dacy.

Speaking to reportershere, Kumaraswamy saidUnion Minister SadanadaGowda, who was born inMangaluru, has become anMP from Bangalore North,Yeddyurappa, born inMandya, was doing politicsfrom Shivamogga, and he,born in Hassan, was doingpolitics in Ramanagara.

“Anyone can contest fromanywhere. I can understandwhat all is happening sys-tematically as though therewas opposition in Mandya (toNikhil’s candidacy),” he said.

PTI n MUMBAI

Rahul Gandhi’s “chowkidarchor hai” jibe against Prime

Minister Narendra Modi hasmiffed the security guards asso-ciation, which has askedMumbai police to file a caseagainst the Congress presi-dent, police said. TheMaharashtra Rajya SurakshaRakshak Union submitted anapplication at the Bandra-KurlaComplex (BKC) police stationhere Monday, claiming theremark was an “insult” to secu-rity guards, a police official saidon Tuesday. The association hasclaimed that during his rally at the MMRDA groundshere earlier this month, Gandhisaid that “chowkidar chor hai”(the guard is the thief ), police said.

Pune: A day after NationalistCongress Party (NCP) presi-dent Sharad Pawar opted out ofthe Lok Sabha elections, freshpressures mounted on him toreconsider his decision onTuesday.

This time it was anothergrand-nephew Rohit Pawar,who publicly appealed to Pawarto enter the electoral fray.

Rohit Pawar, son of busi-nessman Rajendra Pawar,penned a short post on hissocial media accounts, appeal-ing to his grand-uncle to fightthe ensuing Lok Sabha elec-tions, saying that “it is thedesire of lakhs of party work-ers also”.

On Monday, Sharad Pawarvoluntarily decided to step outof the parliamentary poll raceand instead it is widely expected that anothergrand-nephew, Parth Pawar,son of former Deputy ChiefMinister Ajit Pawar, will con-test from the Madha con-stituency. PTI

Thiruvananthapuram: A day after thepoll authority here gagged parties fromraising the Sabarimala issue in the runup to the elections, a political slugfestappeared to loom over Kerala’s politi-cal horizon with the BJP and Congressopposing the move and ruling CPI(M)backing it.

Senior BJP leader KummanamRajasekharan, who arrived here onMonday to a rousing reception afterresigning as Mizoram Governor, said thematter was about beliefs and added thatthe BJP would approach the ChiefElection Commissioner on this issue.

“The directive not to use theSabarimala issue during the time of elec-tions is baseless.

The issue being raised here is thatof freedom of religion... It is the issueof freedom of worship and about ritu-als and beliefs,” he told reporters here.

The senior saffron party leader, whowas at the helm of several campaigns inthe past like a drive against an inter-

national airport at Aranmula, said thematter was not confined to the hillshrine alone, indicating his party wasnot prepared to immediately toe the pollauthority’s diktat.

However, the ruling CPI(M) hasbacked the Chief Electoral Officer’s

stand. The Opposition Congress, whichhad extended support to Lord Ayyappadevotees at the time of the Sabarimalaagitation, came out against state ChiefElectoral Officer Teeka Ram Meena’sdirective, asking how such a grave issueshould not be raised during the elec-tions.

Meena on Tuesday said whether itwas the Sabarimala temple, a church ormosque, these should not be used tosolicit votes as it would be a violationof the model code of conduct. Reactingto the directive, BJP state general sec-retary K Surendran had already saidMonday the state government’s stand onthe Sabarimala issue would surely be anelection issue. PTI

PTI n AHMEDABAD

UPA chairperson SoniaGandhi on Tuesday

accused Prime MinisterNarendra Modi of playing the“victim card” as she said peo-ple of the country were the vic-tims of his “wrong policies”.

She was speaking at theCongress Working Committee(CWC) meeting at the SardarPatel National Memorial here.

According to sources, thesenior Congress leader in heraddress lashed out at the ModiGovernment for ‘politicising’issues related to national inter-est. She also called for high-lighting the achievements ofthe previous UPA Governmentalong with emphasising on the

need to move forward in pro-viding a new vision for thecountry.

Former Prime MinisterManmohan Singh, who alsoaddressed the meeting, talkedabout the agrarian crisis, ham-pered industrial growth andunemployment under the pre-sent regime at the Centre.

The meeting started with atwo-minute silence in memo-ry of the victims of Pulwamaterror attack.

The top Congress leader-ship paid their respects toMahatma Gandhi at theSabarmati Ashram here.

The day also marks theanniversary of the famous‘Dandi March’ started byMahatma Gandhi from

Sabarmati Ashram on March12, 1930.

The CWC meeting is beingheld in Gujarat after a gap of 58years. It was last held in theState at Bhavnagar in 1961. Theparty will also hold a publicmeeting in Adalaj inGandhinagar district of Gujaratwith the slogan of ‘Jai Jawan, JaiKisan’.

Security personnel walk in front of hoardings displaying Congress president Rahul Gandhi, senior party leader Sonia Gandhiand DMK leader MK Stalin at the venue of DMK-Congress alliance poll campaign ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, inNagercoil on Tuesday PTI

Modi playing ‘victim card’: Sonia

Ahmedabad: UPA chairpersonSonia Gandhi and Congresspresident Rahul Gandhi onTuesday visited the museum atthe Sabarmati Ashram hereand termed the place as “veryinspiring”.

After attending a prayermeet at the ashram to pay theirrespects to Mahatma Gandhi,both the leaders visited themuseum in the premises andwrote their remarks in the vis-itors’ book.

“It is most inspiring for meto visit this museum... We areinspired by him (MahatmaGandhi), his life, his sacrifice,”Sonia Gandhi wrote in the

book. Rahul Gandhi lauded themuseum authorities for keep-ing the essence of the Father ofthe Nation alive at the place.

“A very inspiring place.Thank you for keeping theflame of our leader alive,” hewrote in the visitors’ book.

Senior Congress leaderswere at the ashram to attend anall-religion prayer meet aheadof the party’s working com-mittee meet and a public rally.

The party leaders sought togive a symbolic message to thepeople of the country byremembering Mahatma andhis ideals of non-violence andtolerance. PTI

(Right) Congress supporters duringparty’s public rally in Gandhinagar onTuesday PTI

Sonia, Rahul say museum atSabarmati Ashram ‘very inspiring’

Congress president Rahul Gandhi,party leaders Sonia Gandhi, ManmohanSingh, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra andothers visit Gandhi Ashram inAhmedabad on Tuesday PTI

❝ The party has emerged stronger under theleadership of Rahul Gandhi. If seat-sharing does notwork out, there will be no problem. Hum kisi ke bhimohtaj nahin hainSADANAND SINGH, CONGRESS

❝ We had initially sought 15 seats out of 40 seats in Bihar. ButRJD supremo Lalu Prasad insisted that we contest only 10. Our partyleadership could have agreed to make concession for one or two seats,but it is not possible for us to forgo fiveSENIOR CONGRESS LEADER

❝ The grand old party must make up its mind onwhom it wants to fight. Does it want to defeat theBJP or engage in a fight against those who arecommitted to thwarting the saffron party

❝ Our party has the biggest janadhar (support base) inBihar. The Congress can belittle us at its own peril. Moreover, it willalso have to answer the voters who wish to get rid of the BJPSHIVANAND TIWARY, RJD

Not dependent on allies inBihar: Cong; RJD hits back

Chowkidars approachcops on Rahul’s jibe

‘Systematic’ campaign on againstmy son’s candidacy: K’taka CM

Chennai: Congress PresidentRahul Gandhi on Wednesdaywill begin the campaign for theLok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadufrom Nagercoil. Leaders ofCongress allies including DMKPresident M.K. Stalin and oth-ers will share the dais with

Gandhi at Nagercoil inKanyakumari district. TheCongress will fight the electionsas part of DMK-led front thatincludes MDMK, CPI, CPI-M,VCK, IUML, IJK and KDMK.It may be recalled Stalin hadproposed Gandhi’s name as the

Prime Ministerial candidate.The Congress has got nineLok Sabha seats in Tamil Naduand the lone seat inPuducherry. Arriving here inthe morning, Gandhi will inter-act with the students of StellaMaris College for Women.

RaGa to address rally in TN today

Pawar faces

family push to

fight poll, may

not relent

Political slugfest looms over EC’s gag order on Sabarimala


A view of snow covered mountains in Manali on Tuesday PTI

Shimla/Dharamshala: Manaliand Kufri recorded sub-zerotemperatures on Tuesday fol-lowing snowfall in the higherreaches of the state and light tomoderate rainfall in other partsthe previous day, theMeteorological Department(Met) said.

At 30 cm, Kothi recordedthe highest snowfall from 5.30pm on Monday to 8.30 am onTuesday, followed by 24 cm inKalpa, 15 cm in Keylong, 10 cmin Khadrala, 9 cm in Manali, 6cm in Pooh, 3 cm in Kufri and2 cm in Dalhousie, the Metcentre in Shimla said.

However, a sunny morningbrought relief to some parts ofthe State on Tuesday, it added.

The minimum tempera-ture in Manali and Kalpa was

recorded at minus 3.8 andminus 3.6 degrees Celsiusrespectively, it said.

Keylong continued to bethe coldest place in the statewith a low of minus 8 degreesCelsius. The minimum tem-perature in Kufri was minus 0.5degrees Celsius, whereas theminimum temperature inDalhousie and Shimla was 2.1and 3.3 degrees Celsius respec-tively, the Met centre said.

There was light to mediumrainfall in most parts of thestate throughout Monday.

The highest amount ofrainfall was recorded inChamba at 42 cm, followed by35 cm in Banjar, 22 cm in Solanand 20 cm each in Shimla,Mashobra and Bharmaur, thedepartment added. PTI

New Delhi: Congress generalsecretary Priyanka GandhiVadra tweeted for the first timeon Tuesday, over a month afterjoining Twitter. She put out twotweets in quick succession —one on Mahatma Gandhi’sSabarmati Ashram and the otherquoting the Father of the Nationagainst violence.

“In the sim-ple dignity ofSabarmati, thetruth lives on,”she said in herfirst tweet postedover a monthafter she joinedTwitter onFebruary 11.

Her second tweet was aquote from Mahatma Gandhi,“I object to violence becausewhen it appears to do good, thegood is only temporary; the evilit does is permanent.”

Priyanka Gandhi, who was

appointed AICC general secre-tary in-charge Uttar PradeshEast, had garnered a massiveresponse on joining Twitter,attracting over one lakh follow-ers on the social media platformwithin 10 hours. Comparingher first-day popularity on themicro-blogging website to that ofTamil superstar Rajinikanth,

senior Congressleader ShashiTharoor had hailedher as a “new super-star on social media”.

Currently, shehas over 2,33,000followers. As ofnow, she followsseven accounts,

including the Congress’ officialhandle and those of her broth-er and party chief RahulGandhi, Jyotiraditya Scindia,Sachin Pilot, Ashok Gehlot,Randeep Singh Surjewala andAhmed Patel. PTI

PTI n NEW DELHI

India on Tuesday groundedBoeing 737 Max 8 aircraft in

light of the Ethopian Airlinescrash, in which 157 peoplewere killed.

SpiceJet has around 12 ‘737Max 8’ planes in its fleet, whileJet Airways has five.

“DGCA has taken the deci-sion to ground the Boeing737-MAX planes immediately.These planes will be groundedtill appropriate modificationsand safety measures are undertaken to ensure their safe operations,”the Ministry of Civil Aviationsaid in a tweet.

“As always, passenger safe-ty remains our top priority. Wecontinue to consult closelywith regulators around theworld, airlines, and aircraftmanufacturers to ensure pas-senger safety,” it added.

On Sunday, a 737 MAX 8aircraft operated by Ethiopian

Airlines crashed near AddisAbaba killing 157 people,including four Indians.

This was second such crashinvolving the 737 MAX 8 air-

craft in less than five months.In October last year, an aircraftoperated by Lion Air crashedkilling over 180 people inIndonesia.

Chandigarh: If election can-didates serve a cup of tea anda samosa to their supporters,the snack must cost them atleast Rs 18, Punjab’s electionoffice has determined.

As part of its poll expen-diture monitoring process, thestate poll panel has approvedthe rates for 171 items and ser-vices, including tea (Rs 8 percup) and samosas (Rs 10apiece), so that the politicalparties or their candidates don’tquote a lower price while sub-mitting their poll expenditurebills, said officials.

“There is a need to deter-mine the expenditure by can-didates,” Punjab’s chief electoralofficer S Karuna Raju said. Forthis standard rates for itemsused during elections have tobe fixed, he added.

He said the views of therepresentatives of all politicalparties were taken before final-ising these rates.

A Lok Sabha candidate ispermitted to spend up to Rs 70lakh as poll expenditure.

The Election Commissionof India deploys senior IndianRevenue Service officers tomonitor the poll expenditure so

that the candidates don’t crossthe limit. The rates have beenfixed by a committee under thechairmanship of JalandharDivisional Commissioner onthe directions of Punjab’s chiefelectoral officer, a spokespersonfor his office said.

The rate list, rolled outTuesday, included prices ofvarious other eatables too,including ‘burfi’ at Rs 200 perkg, biscuits at Rs 150 per kg,bread pakoras at Rs 10 a piece,sandwiches at Rs 15 a piece and‘jalebis’ at Rs 140 per kg.

The monthly charges forrenting offices in rural andurban areas have been fixed atRs 5,000 and Rs 10,000.

The poll panel has also fixedthe prices of other widely-usedpoll-related materials like fabricand papers for banners andposters. The rate list has fixedprices of all possible material,including fabric banners at Rs 8per square feet, standard clothflags at Rs 30 a piece, woodencutouts at Rs 30 apiece, medium-quality flex frames at Rs 50 persquare feet, flower badges at Rs15 per piece, hoardings with ironframe at Rs 15 per sq ft and flagswith rod at Rs 9 per piece. PTI

Chandigarh: Punjab ChiefMinister Amarinder Singh saidon Tuesday former PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh was“never in the reckoning”, reject-ing reports that the Congressmay field him from Amritsar inthe Lok Sabha polls.

He also denied any alliancetalks with the Aam AadmiParty (AAP) or any other partyfor the polls in the State.

“The Congress did notneed any alliance in Punjab,nor was it in talks with anyparty on the same,” he said.

Earlier in the day, AAPsupremo Arvind Kejriwal saidin Delhi that his party and abreakaway outfit of theShiromani Akali Dal (SAD) arein talks for an alliance inPunjab for the Lok Sabha polls.

Amarinder Singh, whoturned 77 on Monday,described his meeting with theformer prime minister in Delhias a courtesy call, during whichhe briefed him about Congress’plans in Punjab.

“Former Prime MinisterManmohan Singh was never inthe reckoning for candidatureas he had made it clear that hewas not interested in contest-ing elections,” the chief minis-ter said here.

He along with party’s in-charge for Punjab affairs AshaKumari and state Congresschief Sunil Jakhar had metManmohan Singh in NewDelhi on Sunday and accord-ing to some reports, they urgedhim to contest the Lok Sabhaelections from Amritsar.

PTI

No poll tie-up with Congress...

From Page 1The BJP has worked out a

seat-sharing formula with itsnew allies and old partners --by making concessions to themin states like Bihar -- while theopposition parties were yet toarrive at a deal in several States.

While the saffron allianceunder Prime MinisterNarendra Modi hopes to make

history by returning to powerfor a second term, theOpposition was hopeful ofunseating the Government byraising questions on its per-formance on a host of issues,including economic growth,employment, corruption andsocial harmony.

Meanwhile, reports con-firmed that the BSP is sticking toold-fashioned electioneering,shunning fancy ‘raths’ and holo-grams, and keeping away frompublic relations companies that

offer such high-tech options.Instead, the party would bank onpublic meetings by supremoMayawati and booth-level cam-paigning by its workers.

BSP leaders said instruc-tions have been given on lay-out of hoardings and banners.The candidate’s photo shouldnot be bigger than those ofparty founder Kanshi Ram orMayawati. Kanshi Ram’s photoor a picture of the BSP pollsymbol has to be put next toMayawati’s on the poster.

From Page 1The court took note of

Michel’s submission allegingmental torture inside the jail anddirected Tihar jail authorities toproduce the CCTV footage andreports by Thursday based onwhich he was shifted to a high-security ward.

The court said a jail officialwill remain present andMichel’s lawyer will also beallowed limited access duringinterrogation for half an hourin the morning and in evening.

While seeking to quizMichel, the ED’s special publicprosecutor NK Matta told thecourt that after the accused wasremanded in judicial custody,certain subsequent facts anddevelopments came to theknowledge of the ED throughexamination of witness andprocurement of certain docu-ments.

“It is thus necessary for theED to interrogate and record

the statement of the saidaccused u/s 50 PMLA, who iscurrently in the custody ofthis court, and/or to confronthim with the documents/state-ments so recorded. The samewould enable the ED to ascer-tain and unearth the relevantaspects of the case under inves-tigation,” ED’s lawyerSamvedna Verma told thecourt.

The court had soughtMichel’s presence before it afterhis lawyer alleged mental tor-ture inside the jail. “It is perti-nent to mention here that at thehigh risk cell in the jail num-ber 1 there are two policeguards always watching theapplicant 24 hours. He is notallowed to neither interact norwalk around in the prison.The liberty of the applicant iscompletely curtailed by thejail authority without any rea-son,” the accused told the court.

The jail authorities denied

the allegations made by theaccused and told the courtthat he was put in high securi-ty jail because there was seri-ous apprehension of attack onhim. “He has been providedwith each and every facilitygiven to others. He is put in aseparate cell because he mightbe attacked if he remains withothers,” the authorities said.

Michel was arrested by theED on December 22 last yearafter his extradition fromDubai. The court previouslylashed out at the jail authoritiesfor failing to justify the shiftingof Michel to a high-security cellin isolation, saying it will startan inquiry if it does not get aproper response.

Michel is among the threealleged middlemen beingprobed in the chopper scam byED and Central Bureau ofInvestigation. The others areGuido Haschke and CarloGerosa.

PM exploiting nationalsecurity to hide...

From Page 1“An atmosphere of fear and

insecurity is all pervasive par-ticularly among women, stu-dents, academics, writers andthe business community; thereare deliberate attacks on theconstitutional and other safe-guards for Scheduled Castes,Scheduled Tribes, OBCs andminorities; and there is subver-sion of all institutions of gover-nance,” the strongly wordedresolution said.

The Congress said it willapproach the people of Indiawith humility to seek theirsupport in the general electionsfor itself and its allies in dif-ferent States.

The party said it seeks a“mandate for better gover-nance and accountability, torepair the grave damage causedto our democratic polity, econ-omy and society by the ModiGovernment, a mandate forchange to restore the health ofthe Indian economy, for job

creation, social justice and har-mony”.

Briefing reporters after theCWC meeting, senior partyleader Anand Sharma said theCongress is committed torestoring the health of theIndian economy which hasbeen collapsing due to the“monumental mismanage-ment” under Prime MinisterModi and his Government.“The working committee hasmet in the backdrop of terrorattacks. The nation has spokenin one voice. The PM is seek-ing to divide the nation. ThePM is questioning the com-mitment and patriotism of hisand the BJP’s political oppo-nents ahead of the elections,”Sharma said.

The Prime Minister isexploiting the emotions andsentiments of the people todeflect attention from his failureand non-deliverance of promis-es made in 2014, he alleged.Congress president RahulGandhi has said the party willnot allow Prime Minister Modito once again “mislead andbefool” the people, Sharma said.

Sense of hatred...

From Page 1He also recalled how Modi

announced notes ban withoutany discussion. “And in one dayhe broke the spine, the entre-preneurial spirit of Gujarat.He made crores of people job-less, and he did so while laugh-ing. And he said he was doingto wipe out black money. Didyou see any one with blackmoney in those lines? It was thecommon people, mothers andmazdoors,” Rahul Gandhi saidin over Modi’s demonetisationannouncement

Without naming the fugi-tive billionaires like VijayMallya, Nirav Modi and MehulChoksi and others, RahulGandhi said while Modi canwaive Rs 3.5 lakh crore debt of15 individuals but cannot waivefarmers’ loans. “Arun Jaitley(Finance Minister) says it is notour policy. Farmers pay insur-ance premium and only those15 people benefit,” he men-tioned also taking on Jaitley.

On the choice of Gujaratfor the CWC meeting and firstpublic rally of Priyanka, RahulGandhi said the party choseGujarat because India is wit-nessing a fight between twoideologies and you’ll find bothof them here.

“On one side, there isGandhiji, who gave everythinghe had to make this countrywhat it is today. MahatmaGandhi and Gujarat has madethis country. And today thereother powers trying to weakenthe country,” he said. He alsoraked up the issue of unem-ployment and said is at a 45-year-high.

Over half...From Page 1

After joining the party, Sujaylauded PM Narendra Modi andBJP president Amit Shah fortheir leadership and also thankedCM Fadnavis for giving him achance to serve the BJP. He saidthat youth and women supporthis decision to join the BJP. Headded that the decision to leaveCongress had been difficult as hisfamily has been associated withthe party for a long time.

“I am impressed with PMModi’s leadership. We cancount on BJP,” Sujay said whileaddressing reporters after join-ing BJP. He said, “I’ve taken thisdecision against my father’swishes. I don’t know how muchmy parents will support thisdecision, but I’ll try my best tomake my family proud byworking under the guidance ofBJP. The CM and other BJPMLAs were supportive andhelped me take the decision.”

Meanwhile, Patidars leaderHardik Patel who led a move-ment for reservation inGovernment jobs and education

for Patidars in Gujarat, joinedthe Congress party in presenceof its president Rahul Gandhi.Hardik Patel’s outfit PatidarAnamat Andolan Samiti, whichwas at the forefront of agitationfor reservation benefit inGovernment jobs and collegeadmissions, had declared itssupport to the Congress party inthe local body elections in 2015and Assembly polls in 2017. TheBJP has called him an agent ofthe Congress since the begin-ning of the quota agitation inJuly 2015.

Patel has indicated that hewants to contest the Lok Sabhaelection 2019 from theJamnagar seat. The 25-year-oldleader’s plans to contest the LokSabha election, the schedule ofwhich was announced by theElection Commission of Indiaon Sunday, may be possibleonly if he clears legal hurdles.He has been convicted and sen-tenced to two years in a riotcase connected to the 2015Patidar quota agitation, whichbars him from contesting polls.

As many as four Congresslegislators - Jawahar Chavda,

Parshottam Sabariya, VallabhDharaviya and Ashaben Patel- have resigned from the grandold party and joined the BJP inthe past month, suggestingthat Operation Lotus is head-ed to retain all 26 Lok Sabhaseats in Gujarat.

In fact, Manavadar CongressMLA and Ahir strongmanChavda was inducted into theVijay Rupani Cabinet hours afterhe joined the BJP on March 8this year. Chavda is a four-timeMLA from Manavadar con-stituency and a prominent leaderof the Ahir community. He hadresigned as MLA as well asfrom the Congress and joinedthe BJP. Congress MLA fromDhrangdhra Assembly con-stituency Sabariya joined the BJPon Monday as did Dharaviya -Congress MLA from JamnagarRural. Former MP from Naginain Uttar Pradesh, Yashvir SinghDhobi of BSP, former UPMinister Vansh Naraya Pateland Gotiyari Lal of BSP, joinedthe BJP. Congress MLAChirumarthi Lingaiah fromNakrekal, also joined theTelangana Rashtra Samiti.

TMC LS list out:41% seats go towomen, 5 cinestars in fray

From Page 1The TMC has five actors in

its list. Bangla superstar Deb,Birbhum MP Shatabdi Royand Bankura MP Moon MoonSen will contest for second,third and second time in that

order. Sen will be fielded fromAsansol against BJP leader andMinister Babul Supriyo.

While releasing the party’scandidates’ list on Tuesday,Bengal Chief Minister MamataBanerjee said her party haddecided to field candidates inAssam, Jharkhand, Odisha andBihar. When asked as towhether this could pose prob-lem for anti-BJP parties,Banerjee said TMC being anational party reserved its rightto contest from anywhere

adding “if the Congress cancontest from multiple Stateswhy can’t the TMC. We willcontest in a manner that it willnot harm other parties”.

TMC will contest fromJamshedpur, Rajmahal, Ranchiand Dhanbad in Jharkhand,Karimganj, Silchar, Dhubri,Kokrajhar, Barpeta andGuwahati in Assam, Bhadrakand Bhubaneshwar in Odishaand Kishanganj andMaharajganj in Bihar, she said.

India grounds Boeing

737 Max 8 planes

Mumbai: NCP chief SharadPawar on Tuesday said theBJP may emerge as the singlelargest party in the Lok Sabhaelections, but Prime MinisterNarendra Modi is unlikely toget a second term in office.

He was talking to reporterson the sidelines of a functionhere. “BJP may emerge as thesingle largest party post par-liamentary elections and willhave to seek support of allies (toform the Government). In thatscenario, PM Narendra Modi isunlikely to get a second term,”Pawar said.

The former UnionMinister said he will meetsome regional parties across thecountry on March 14 and 15 in

New Delhi, where further strat-egy of ‘mahagathbandhan’(grand alliance) will be dis-cussed.

When asked about someregional parties going awayfrom the Congress and NCPalliance in Maharashtra, Pawarsaid, “I appreciate the PWP forextending support to the NCPin the Lok Sabha election.NCP has also held talks withthe Swabhimani ShetkariSanghatna (SSS) for seat-shar-ing, but the farmers’ front hassome expectations from theCongress as well. It will bedecided by these two parties.”

On Monday, Pawar hadsaid he will not contest nextmonth’s Lok Sabha election.

The 78-year-old veteran politi-cian had said as two membersof his family are going to con-test the polls, “somebody hadto step back.”

However, Pawar had earli-er announced that his partyworkers wanted him to contestfrom Madha constituency inSolapur district, currently rep-

resented by NCP leaderVijaysinh Mohite Patil.

Reacting to Pawar’sannouncement of not contest-ing the Lok Sabha polls,Fadnavis had said the NCPleader “sensed the change in theair”, and decided to rethink onplans to contest Lok Sabhapoll from Madha LS seat.

On the CM’s remarks,Pawar said, “It is childish to callmy decision as defeat as I havewon elections 14 times, includ-ing the Assembly and LokSabha elections that I contest-ed so far. On the other hand,late Prime Minister Atal BihariVajpayee and (BJP veteran)LK Advani had tasted defeat.”

PTI

BJP may win most seats, but 2nd term for Modi unlikely: Pawar

Asthana met me in Dubai, threatened

to make my life hell: Michel to court

Amaravati: The ElectionCommission was on Tuesdayurged to stop the release ofTelugu movie “Lakshmi’s NTR”on the ground that this couldimpact the coming Lok Sabhaand Assembly elections inAndhra Pradesh.

In his petition to the pollpanel, Devibabu Choudhary, aworker of ruling TDP, soughtorders to stop the controversialmovie of well-known film-maker Ram Gopal Varmawhich is slated for release onMarch 22. Choudhary lodgeda complaint against the filmwhich is based on events thatoccurred in party founder andformer Andhra Pradesh CMNT Rama Rao’s life after hissecond marriage.

He complained the filmhas portrayed N ChandrababuNaidu in negative light and thiscould influence the voters anddemanded that the film’s releasebe stopped till April 11. IANS

EC urged to stop‘Lakshmi’s NTR’till Andhra elections

p SpiceJet has around 12 ‘737 Max 8’ planes in its fleet, while JetAirways has five

p DGCA has taken the decision to ground the Boeing 737-MAXplanes immediately. These planes will be grounded tillappropriate modifications and safety measures are undertaken to ensure their safe operations, the Ministry ofCivil Aviation said in a tweet

EC’s poll season rates in

Punjab: Samosa up at

`10/piece, tea `8/cup

Amarinder: Manmohannot contesting fromAmritsar, no Cong-AAPalliance in Punjab

Cold conditionsprevail in higherreaches of Himachal

Priyanka Gandhi putsout her first tweet

SAUGAR SENGUPTA n KOLKATA

In an opaque suggestion link-ing Prime Minister Narendra

Modi’s western frontier policy toupcoming general electionsBengal Chief Minister MamataBanerjee on Tuesday warnedthere could be yet “anotherstrike” before the stretched outelectoral process could con-clude. She would not howeverexpand the term “strike” saying,“I am not going into details of thatstrike and it is for you to assumewhat kind of strike it could be.”She insisted the deliberately“prolonged electoral processwould provide another oppor-tunity to the NDA Governmentto go in for yet another strike,”so as influence the public mind,before “appealing to the right-thinking media who have notbeen coerced into submission toremain impartial and present thenews in perspective.”

Banerjee who went all gunsblazing against the ModiGovernment Banerjee said thedispensation that was loudlybragging about its patriotic fer-vor and alertness should firstexplain the theft of crucial doc-uments pertaining to the Rafaleaircraft deals. “How can aGovernment which cannotsecure its defence documents,will secure the country’s bor-ders?” She asked.

BJP planninganother ‘strike’ to win polls, says Mamata

P A P E R W I T H P A S S I O N


facebook.com/dailypioneer | @TheDailyPioneer | instagram.com/dailypioneer/

op nionLUCKNOW | WEDNESDAY | MARCH 13, 2019

08

Aplethora of sweeping phraseol-ogy — “game-changer,” “para-digm shift” and even “callingPakistan’s nuclear bluff ” — hasentered the strategic discourse

post-Balakot, signalling a turning point inIndia-Pakistan military balance. Like thesurface surgical strikes, the aerial pulveri-sation of Balakot deep inside Pakistan mayturn out to be a one-off also. However, nei-ther the solitary surgical strikes nor theBalakot bombing will end cross-border ter-rorism. It will curb the menace and lead todiplomatic dividends to prevent Indiafrom repeating a military action that theinternational community fears could trig-ger the nuclear threshold.

Continuing its 30-year-long counterinsurgency campaign, India must frame asustained strategy based on the political aimof destroying/degrading Pakistan’s terror-ist infrastructure while fully sanitising itsown side against terrorist strikes. Israelis callthis mowing the grass. The strategy mustintroduce covert capacities for clandestineoperations to hurt Pakistan’s militarythough India will find it easier to disincen-tivise Pakistan from its fatal attraction toterrorism as an instrument of state policydiplomatically than militarily. Not onecountry criticised India for the defensivecross-border counter terrorism operationswhile Pakistan was censured by severalcountries with even its all-weather allyChina merely mentioning “respect forsovereignty.”

Two things are clear: Pakistan cannotbe completely isolated diplomatically; ter-rorist organisations are Pakistan’s strategicassets and military equaliser and while theymay lie low for some time, they cannot bewished away.

Pakistan’s decision to releaseAbhinandan as a peace gesture was the but-ton for de-escalation. A Pakistani delega-tion will arrive tomorrow for KartarpurCorridor conversations. It will soon be busi-ness as usual as India begins to fight bit-ter electoral battles for the next eight weeksto determine whether Balakot will givePrime Minister Narendra Modi the deci-sive majority for another term. Public moodat present is overwhelmingly for his returnto power. The imponderable is what willModi do if there is another mass casualtyterrorist attack in the run up to electionswhose footprint cannot be traced toPakistan. Or there is a dramatic Rafaleexposure pointing at him.

In the first case, air strikes might appearto be the most appropriate instrument ofresponse once the signature on the enve-lope is deciphered. The IAF has consistent-ly complained that the inherent flexibilityand non-escalatory character of air powerhas not been recognised (this has to betaken with a grain of salt). It recalls the his-toric folly of Nehru not employing the IAF

in 1962. Former Air ChiefMarshal Fali Major this monthat the India Today conclaveadvocated the use of helicoptergunships in support of Army ineliminating terrorists inKashmir — many of whom arePakistanis. I have been sayingthis for over a decade: usearmed helicopters to give quickclosure to hostile engagementsin Kashmir. Air strikes inPoK/Pakistan may not workagain as Pakistan Air Force willnot be caught napping. Further,Pakistan’s strategic assets will bere-located close to populationcentres, some even embeddedclose to cantonments. IAF mayhave opened a strategic windowbut another air strike will befraught with risks of attritionand escalation.

What stood out duringBalakot is that India, while win-ning the air battle lost the bat-tle of narratives. Pakistan’s DGISPR, Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor,started his campaign of fakenews within minutes of the airstrikes against our own disor-ganised presentations 14 hourslater. Foreign Secretary VijayGokhale’s terse statement withno questions taken left multi-ple doubts after Ghafoor hadbelittled the damage caused byour air strikes. Similarly MEAspokesperson accompanied byan IAF officer, who did notutter a word, also appearedwithout anything new or use-ful to add. Later, at a chaotic tri-service briefing, some picture

emerged about the air battles,prospects for escalation (Indiawill respond only if Pakistanescalates) and likely damageassessment — targets that weredesignated had been destroyed.This was reiterated by the AirChief who added that IAFdoes not make any estimate ofcasualties and it is for the gov-ernment to give out details of

damage and casualties.In Pakistan, not just

Ghafoor but both PrimeMinister Khan and ForeignMinister Qureshi were address-ing domestic as well as theinternational audience. NoIndian minister said a word atany formal interaction withthe media. The military com-pletely lost the media plot,having done impressive dailymedia briefings during Kargil.Not for nothing is the interna-tional media challenging India’sclaims of damage and casual-ties.The government says ithas the data but will not put itout as the enemy will find outIAF’s technology advantage.In the perception battle,Pakistan has won hands down.

The rush and race to brandthe landmark air strikes as thenew normal will be premature.Twenty-four-year-old Ashutosh— a proficient professional cardriver — was highly wound upduring Balakot. He told me,“Why can’t we send armedHindu fighters (RSS) into PoKto take the battle to the otherside.” He said he was ready togo to the border to fightPakistan. I thought he would doa great job. He also said for thenext five years, the governmentshould spend all-out on themilitary instead of developmentand welfare schemes to makethe armed forces big andstrong. If only governmentshad invested 2.5 to 3 per centon defence for the last 10 years

Pakistan would dare not havecontinued its proxy war. Indiahas spent peanuts on defenceand modernisation in the fiveyears of this government. BJPpresident Amit Shah is militar-ily so illiterate when he claimsthat crossing the `3 lakh croremark in defence is a bigachievement when it is only 1.5per cent of GDP and funds formodernisation are next tonothing after inflation andcommitted liabilities. PrimeMinister Modi constantly rais-es the OROP flag, which is awelfare measure and not aforce multiplier.

Yet both were the first topoliticise the Army, milkingfirst the surgical strikes andnow going to town over Balakotair-strikes; this time Modi evenclaiming “Modi ne mara hai.”The IAF, which carried out theair strikes, is forgotten. Crasspoliticisation of the military isthis government’s way of per-petuating cardinal sin. TheElection Commission must gobeyond banning militarisedbanners to outlawing mentionof military operations. But whocares for the sanctity of an apo-litical, professional and seculararmed forces as long as elec-tions are won piggy-backingthem.

(The writer is a retiredMajor General of the IndianArmy and founder member ofthe Defence Planning Staff, cur-rently the revamped IntegratedDefence Staff)

Afew short months ago, aviation ana-

lysts were amazed that there were no

fatal crashes of large commercial air-

craft in 2017. That seems a long time ago

now as 2018 saw several horrific incidents

and was punctuated by the crash of a Lion

Air plane in Indonesia. Now this year has

begun with a bad incident of an Ethiopian

Airlines plane crashing soon after takeoff

in an accident eerily reminiscent of the

Indonesian tragedy. And given that both air

disasters involve the relatively new Boeing

737 Max 8 variant, the question that some regulators are asking is whether

the new aircraft is safe? In China, one of the world’s largest aviation mar-

kets, the regulator has stopped flights of the 737 Max until some answers

are found from both the Indonesian and Ethiopian accidents, where over

300 people have died. Questions are being asked whether the Indian civil

aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), should

also ground the 737 Max in India where 15 of the planes operate for SpiceJet.

Whatever decision they take, the two incidents have shaken traveller con-

fidence in the 737 Max, the fourth-generation of the extremely popular Boeing

737, an aircraft being built since the the 1960s. Boeing had made some

modifications to the flight control software of this new iteration because of

the fact that this plane had its engine mounted further ahead of the wing

than previous versions and this apparently changed some physical char-

acteristics of flying the aircraft. However, it appears in the Indonesian inci-

dent, which was steered by an Indian, that the pilots were not trained in

some of the changes as these were deemed non-essential given that much

of the flying characteristics were similar to the earlier 737 Next-Generation

(NG) aircraft. It remains to be seen whether it was a similar case in Ethiopia

or something completely unrelated.

Thankfully in both cases, aircraft accident investigators are doing their

job well and one expects that answers will be found. Until they are found

though, it may be a good idea for the aircraft to be temporarily grounded

while pilots are given more adequate training in the changes on the 737

Max. This might send schedules asunder and impact fares negatively but

safety of the flight and that of the travelling public is what matters the most

and it is time that the DGCA, not a regulator with the best reputation, to

step up and take decisive action.

For all practical purposes, alliance talks

between the Congress and the Aam

Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi have dissi-

pated into thin air, striking a crucial blow to

the entire Opposition front at a time when it

is recalibrating its pitch for the general elec-

tions in the face of a nationalist surge set off

by the ruling BJP. It seems the Congress is

yet to reconcile its long-term prospects with

short-term expediency, considering the

grand old party has had its influence in the

city for decades and hopes to rebuild itself

in the power capital than cede its base completely to others because of a

poor showing in 2014. However, the Congress must remember that the AAP

is more than just a disruptor. It came second in the Lok Sabha polls of 2014,

won the state elections subsequently and reduced the Congress to a rump

from the high of a seven-seat win in 2009. In the process, 2014 in Delhi was

a clean sweep by the BJP. The AAP has only consolidated its hold in Delhi

as a State Government that has delivered on its promises and the Congress

cannot wish it away despite bringing back old warhorse Sheila Dikshit at the

helm. Besides, its voteshare is progressively going up. AAP insiders indicate

that since the party came second in all seven seats in 2014, it was not will-

ing to give more than two seats to the Congress in Delhi — New Delhi and

Chandni Chowk — while extending benefits in Haryana and Goa. The Congress,

however, wanted at least three seats. Now that the AAP has announced can-

didates from six seats, more like a pressure tactic, the Congress has decid-

ed to go it alone. And though party president Rahul Gandhi has exhorted cadres

to win all seven seats, it is an uphill task considering that the party does not

even have a single MLA in the city. So the triangular fight again gives BJP an

opportunity to go for the home run.

While the Congress understandably is worried about its larger issue of

identity and stitching up its torn matrix, the problem is that in the end it appears

a selfish pursuit to the voter. Even more so when the rapprochement efforts

for a workable mahagathbandhan against the BJP are coming from the AAP

and the Congress looks like it is entitled to its high perch. In fact, Rahul has

stayed away from sharing a platform with AAP’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal

until he decided to meet him for a common minimum programme meeting,

egged on by TMC chief Mamata Banerjee and NCP’s Sharad Pawar. AAP lead-

ers across ranks have expressed their commitment to dethroning the BJP, say-

ing that sole purpose guided them to partner with the Congress. They say

that though the BJP’s vote share has shrunk a little from the 44 per cent it

had in 2014, it won’t have as big an impact as the splitting of votes between

the AAP and Congress. Even if the 2014 results are taken as a reference point,

and assuming the Congress and AAP maintain their vote shares from that

time, the alliance could have won six out of seven seats. So the Congress is

appearing as the only spoiler while the others seem to be in mission mode.

The same conundrum continues in Uttar Pradesh, the swing state for this big

verdict and where BSP chief Mayawati doesn’t want a deal. Though the

Congress is trying to manage seat-sharing hiccups in other states, UP yields

the numbers and Delhi is notional pride. And this being a polarised election,

the vote has to be en bloc than split between like-minded partners. In fact,

the Congress has had a very difficult time justifying its subservience to the

federal front parties, all of whom are its rivals in respective states, at the nation-

al level. It is caught between the devil and the deep sea, appear opportunist

or destroyer, none of which works for its image. Then there is the contrast

to the BJP, which while running away with the nationalist narrative, effective-

ly stymieing any party from even critiquing it on this front, has consolidated

its allies even better by yielding to their stridency at times. And now with NCP

chief Sharad Pawar also out of the electoral race in Maharashtra, the Congress

has got to rescue itself or risk being called the architect of a mahamilawat.

Delhi imbroglio

The Congress-AAP alliance is over with Rahul Gandhiexhorting party cadres to win all seven seats

Modern flights are unbelievably safe, so crashes ofthe Boeing 737 Max should worry flyers, regulators

Team India’s flaws

Sir — While the Australians, totheir credit, didn’t give in to thescoreboard pressure, despite hav-ing lost two wickets for 12 runs,it was a series of missteps that ledto India’s demise while UsmanKhawaja and Peter Handscombwent about rebuilding theinnings. Both players saw out thepacers and then they startedpicking runs off YuzvendraChahal and Kuldeep Yadav. Inthat time, the batsmen crossedtheir individual half centuries andthe partnership between themswelled beyond the 100-runmark. I think the next match willbe very interesting and Indianplayers will show their powerfulsmashes to telling effect.

Mohd IntekhabVia email

Cong must look within

Sir — This is with reference toyour editorial, “Olive branchseason” (March 11). It is quiteright that the Congress party hasto make adjustments withregional parties since its perfor-mance in 2014 was far below sat-isfactory. It won only 44 seats

and could not even get the sta-tus of the Opposition party.The party cannot take credit forthe win in three states in theHindi belt as it won on anti-incumbency and local issues.The Rafale charges against Modiring hollow. During the time itwas in power, the Congress didnot taken action against terror-ist. This has had a negativeimpact in the long run besides

paving the way for the growth ofhome-grown terror. The partydid not introspect over its fail-ures during the last five years. Itis proceeding with the singularaim of dislodging the presentgovernment.

Prime Minister NarendraModi’s decisive, instant andtough response to Pakistan afterthe Pulwama strike has not onlyimproved India’s image but there

is a surge in his popularity in thecountry. Modi seems to be adecisive leader and the party hasa roadmap for national issuesunlike the coalition governmentby the UPA I and II where cor-ruption reigned. Despite someshortcomings, hopefully Modiwill come back for a secondterm.

Sravana RamachandranChennai

Get practical

Sir— This refers to the editorial,“Ayodhya breather” (March 9). In2010, the 2-1 majority verdict of aSpecial Full Bench of the AllahabadHigh Court ruled that the disput-ed land in Ayodhya, where theBabri Masjid stood until December6, 1992, shall be divided into threeequal parts and given to each of thethree plaintiffs. The Bench assert-ed that the place where the idol ofRam Lalla had been kept in amakeshift temple was the birthplaceof Lord Rama “as per faith andbelief of the Hindus.” It took 10years for the Supreme Court to starthearing the petitions filed by the lit-igants. The court has sent thematter to a mediation panel admit-ting that primarily it wasn’t aboutland but religious sentiments.However, it is unlikely to bear fruit,nor will a court decision settle theissue once for all. The only solutionis that all the parties should take apractical stand. No court order canremove the makeshift temple ofRam Lalla and construct a Masjidthere or in its vicinity.

MC JoshiLucknow

Don’t misuse our forces

ASHOK KUMAR MEHTA

Crass politicisation of the Army is this government’s way of perpetuating cardinal sin.

The EC must go beyond banning militarised banners, outlaw mention of operations

L E T T E R S T O T H E E D I T O R

We can’t lose any more soldiers

Our Prime Minister has rightly cautioned terrorist groups,saying “Enough is enough, we can’t keep suffering till eter-nity” (March 11) India can no longer afford to bow to ter-rorism and will never do so again. The time has now cometo tame Pakistan, which hosts terrorist bases as its bargain-ing chip in the region. Right from 1971, Pakistan has beenplaying with fire. Thousands of Indians, including soldiers,have lost their lives. We need to show the world that ourpeace is our strength and not our weakness. We shouldunderstand who we are dealing with. If we go soft, we willcontinue to be a target. While terrorists do not consider theloss of life as anything big but the lives of our brave jawansare valuable. How long will this game of hide and seek con-tinue? Our Army is a precious jewel and we can’t afford tolose any more of our soldiers. The whole world must beunited to fight this menace of terrorism. Unless we act tough,they won’t change.

VINOD C DIXITAhmedabad

INDIA MUST FRAMEA SUSTAINED

STRATEGY BASEDON THE POLITICAL

AIM OFDESTROYING/

DEGRADINGPAKISTAN’STERRORIST

INFRASTRUCTUREWHILE FULLY

SANITISING ITSOWN SIDE AGAINSTSTRIKES. ISRAELIS

CALL THIS MOWINGTHE GRASS

Send your feedback to:[email protected]

Trouble in the sky

We’ve resolved todefeat the ideology offascism, hatred, angerand divisiveness. Nosacrifice is too great.

Congress President—Rahul Gandhi

The BJP politicisedPulwama but it is caus-ing damage to itself.There's a notion it ishelping it. Not true..

Delhi Chief Minister—Arvind Kejriwal

But it (terrorism) is not justa threat to India andAfghanistan. Terrorism islike cancer. Soon, it will besomeone else's.

Afghan diplomat—Hamdullah Mohib

S O U N D B I T EHe (PM) had something tosay to us, which was, that ifpossible, we should choosecontent that has in it a mes-sage of an inclusive India.

Actor—Ranveer Singh

The real value company

THE PARTY HAS EMERGED STRONGER UNDER THE

LEADERSHIP OF RAHUL GANDHI. IF SEAT-SHARING

DOES NOT WORK OUT, THERE WILL BE NO PROBLEM.

—CONGRESS LEADER

SADANAND SINGH

OUR PARTY HAS THE BIGGEST JANADHAR

(SUPPORT BASE) IN BIHAR. THE CONGRESS CAN

BELITTLE US AT ITS OWN PERIL.

—RJD NATIONAL VICE-PRESIDENT

SHIVANAND TIWARY

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

India has a huge railway network — its full tracklength can circle the equator one-and-a-halftimes while the total distance it covers daily

equals three and half times the distance to themoon! It carries more than 25 million passengersevery day, more than the entire population ofAustralia. It is also the world’s ninth largest employ-er, serving even the farthest locations in India.However, the Railways incurred a loss of `4,000crore in the last three years. Does that mean it isnot valuable as an organisation and does not addto the GDP and growth of our economy? Theanswer is no. It is, in fact, a very valuable compa-ny but the worth is not reflected in the reporting.Here comes the significance of IntegratedReporting (IR), which brings about improved cohe-sion and efficiency in the corporate reportingprocess as it allows a business to incorporate itsvalue creation in a holistic manner, the outcomeof which is efficient and productive allocation ofcapital.

Integrated Reporting is able to bring in thevalue generated by a business by integrating thefinancial and non-financial performance of a com-pany in a single report. This helps in providing agreater context to the non-financial data such ashow the company performs on environmental,social and governance (ESG) parameters, how sus-tainability is embedded in the core business strat-egy and so on. It is important to note that IntegratedReporting doesn’t only mean merging financial andsustainability reports into one report. Its true mean-ing is to link sustainability strategy to business strat-egy and help the company and its stakeholdersidentify the non-financial priority areas.

For some years now, the limitations of the cur-rent reporting practices have been felt by both theinvestors and other stakeholders and there has beena significant drive towards more transparent, rel-evant and comprehensive reporting practices. InIndia, the Companies Act 2013, Corporate SocialResponsibility Legislation, SEBI ListingRequirements, Business Responsibility Reportingand so on are some of the key regulatory devel-opments that are focussed on improving the qual-ity of disclosures and increasing business account-ability towards societal issues.

SEBI has taken a step forward in this direc-tion by its circular dated February 2017, where ithas encouraged the top 500 companies to adoptthe Integrated Reporting framework. The circu-lar delivers on the IOSCO Principle 16 that states,“There should be full, accurate and timely disclo-sure of financial results, risks and other informa-tion that is material to investors’ decisions.” SEBIrecommends that Integrated Reporting may beadopted on a voluntary basis from the financial year2017-18 by the top 500 companies, which arerequired to prepare Business Responsibility Report(BRR). The information may be provided in theannual report separately or by incorporating inManagement Discussion & Analysis or by prepar-ing a separate report (annual report preparedaccording to framework). Subsequently in 2017,SEBI formed the Kotak committee to help improvecorporate governance in listed companies.

Apart from regulators, corporates have alsostarted to understand the importance of the changein reporting practices to not only focus on finan-cial capital but to demonstrate the value created

by the entity while operating within itseconomic, social and environmentalsystem. The intended change requires anin-depth understanding of all the build-ing blocks of the value creation processof business to enable corporates todevelop a reporting model, which givesan insightful picture of its performanceand is considered sufficient to assess thequality and sustainability of their perfor-mance. In India, information on emis-sions management, water conservation,energy reduction, human rights and sim-ilar topics are included in the annualreport or published in a separateSustainability Report (SR). The transitionfrom CSR to SR focussed on movingfrom philanthropic social impact tostating the impact on natural and humancapital. This is inclusive of all material-ly relevant capital, connecting them tobusiness risks, decisions and outcomesin the short, medium and long-term.

Drivers for adoption of IntegratedReporting comprise both pull and pushfactors. Stakeholder groups such asinvestors, customers and so on candemand greater level of disclosure. Onthe other hand, regulations and compli-ance standards such as those by stockexchanges, government regulatory bod-ies and so on can act as another driverfor adoption of Integrated Reporting.

The International IntegratedReporting Council (IIRC), the globalcoalition of regulators, investors, compa-nies, standard setters, the accounting pro-fession and NGOs, has given a series ofsix principles and content elements forpreparing an integrated report:

1. Organisational overview andbusiness model: What is the businessmodel of an organisation and how doesit create and sustain value in the short,medium and long-term?

2. Operating context, includingrisks and opportunities: What are thecircumstances under which the organi-sation operates, including the keyresources and relationships on which itdepends and the key risks and opportu-

nities that it faces?3. Strategic objectives and strategies

to achieve those objectives: Where is thestrategic orientation of an organisation,and how is it going to achieve it?

4. Governance and remuneration:What is the organisation’s governancestructure and how does it support thestrategic objectives of the organisationand relate to its approach to remunera-tion?

5. Performance: How has the organ-isation performed against its strategicobjectives and related strategies?

6. Future outlook: What opportu-nities, challenges and uncertainties is theorganisation likely to encounter inachieving its strategic objectives, andwhat are the resulting implications for itsstrategies and future performance?

The creating and sustaining thebusiness model of an organisation, in theshort, medium and long-term, requiresthe businesses to interact with externalfactors, its relationships and use ofresources.

In doing so, businesses consider sixcapitals: financial capital, which is thepool of funds available to the organisa-tion; manufactured capital, manufacturedphysical objects, as distinct from natur-al physical objects; intellectual capital,which is the intangibles that providecompetitive advantage; natural capitalthat includes water, land, minerals andforests and biodiversity and ecosystemhealth; and social capital, which is therelationship established within andbetween each community, group ofstakeholders and other networks toenhance individual and collective well-being. It also includes an organisation'ssocial licence to operate, in addition tothe human capital.

This Integrated Reporting, then,will include a lot more information abouthow the company fits within the envi-ronment and society and how it createslong-term value. The focus will movefrom being merely concerned withreporting the past in financial terms to

considering the past and short, mediumand long-term futures in a connectedstrategic manner. It will be tailored to thereporting entity’s specific circumstancesand likely have a greater degree oftransparency.

According to IIRC, the integratedreports can be developed on the basis ofcertain guiding principles. 1. Strategic focus: An Integrated Reportprovides insight into the organisation’sstrategic objectives, and how thoseobjectives relate to its ability to create andsustain value over time and the resourcesand relationships on which it depends.2. Connectivity of information:Connections between the different com-ponents of the organisation’s businessmodel and external factors. 3. Future orientation: Assessment ofexpectations and prospects. 4. Responsiveness and stakeholderinclusiveness: Insight into the organisa-tion’s relationships with its key stakehold-ers and how it responds to their needs.5. Conciseness, reliability and materi-ality: It provides concise, reliable infor-mation that is material to assessing theorganisation’s ability to create and sus-tain value in the short, medium and long-term.

We have the responsibility to leavea better future to the next generationwhen we are witnessing a transition toa sustainable society from a consumerone, where there is a requirement forcompanies to determine their strategieswithin the framework of the develop-ment criteria.

The management should monitorand manage both financial and non-financial elements across the wholevalue chain (from design and supplychain to operation and from consumerpurchases to the end of the product life-cycle) rather than focussing on financialperformance only. The goal is to ensurethat financial and non-financial data areintegrated.

(The writer is Assistant Professor,Amity University)

Creating and sustaining an organisation's business model, in the short and long-term,requires it to interact with external factors, its relationships and use of resources

analysis 09F I R S T C O L U M N

Toll is legally

sanctioned loot

SHIVAJI SARKAR

Nobody answers why toll is needed for 30 yearswhen every flyway in the country has recovered

the investment in three years

HIMA BINDU KOTA

INTEGRATEDREPORTING IS

ABLE TO BRING INTHE VALUE OF A

BUSINESS BYINTEGRATING THE

FINANCIAL ANDNON-FINANCIALPERFORMANCE

OF A COMPANY INA SINGLE

REPORT. THISHELPS IN

PROVIDING AGREATER

CONTEXT TO THENON-FINANCIALDATA SUCH AS

HOW THECOMPANY

PERFORMS ONENVIRONMENTAL,

SOCIAL ANDGOVERNANCE

(ESG)PARAMETERS,

HOWSUSTAINABILITYIS EMBEDDED IN

THE COREBUSINESS

STRATEGY ANDSO ON

It’s a never-ending exposure. No, it is not a defence deal but more

serious. The IL&FS exposure is apparently expanding everyday

from the initial `91,000 crore. Now, the regulator IRDAI says it

is established that insurers are not safe. LIC alone has over ̀ 13,000

crore exposure to IL&FS. In other words, this money of insuring

people as of now is lost and chances of redemption are thin.

The functioning of IL&FS has been queer as it virtually gave

unsecured loans to road builders, who were supposed to collect

toll and repay it. The toll was collected alright but the loans were

never repaid. So much so that now road construction and the toll

collected to operate them could emerge to be the largest proce-

dural scam, possibly larger than the 1992 Harshad Mehta stock

scam. It thrives on the State acquiring land with public money, build-

ing roads with NHAI money in participation with some private agency

and then leasing out the public-funded project to the private play-

er for 30 years! Nobody answers why toll is needed for 30 years

when not only the Delhi-Noida-Direct flyway but also many others

recovered investment in three years. The high toll, parking charges,

airport tax and other levies are leading to exploitation of the mass-

es. It helps groups engaged in the collection of all these, who thrive

at the cost of public-funded companies or the model called PPP,

which simply means private pilferage of public wealth. The toll gates

across the country have become exploiters’ den and for unknown

reasons, despite those in power knowing it, they are unwilling to

remove these in the name of “facilitation of development.” These,

in reality, have become conduits for generating black money through

legally sanctioned avenues.

That IL&FS and NHAI are not alone is testified by another

Supreme Court observation on the Haryana Assembly amending

the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA) 1900, removing protec-

tion to the forest cover in Aravalli and thus opening up more than

28,000 acres of land in Gurugram and Faridabad to private builders.

The court asked the government to not act on the amended pro-

visions and described the move as a misadventure by the State

Government.

Misadventure it all is, be it the IL&FS, rampant clearance of pro-

visions for road and real estate development, the Haryana amend-

ment of PLPA or Jewar airport-like projects in Uttar Pradesh. The

Haryana action was aimed at virtually looting the pristine environ-

mental preserve of the Aravallis for the benefit of a few developers

and their cohorts. It is none of their concern that the NCR is suf-

fering severe environmental degradation as aquifers are choked and

forests devastated, so long as the sharks benefit. And who pays

for it? The common man. He is huddled into this degraded space

and his cars and other wealth is confiscated for the benefit of indus-

trialists and auto makers. In fact, the worst is happening in Uttar

Pradesh. The entire stretch of Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr, Noida, Hapur,

Meerut, Agra and Aligarh are being turned into desert as a mesh

of roads, highways, expressways and airports are constructed.

No lesson has been taken from the collapse of the Jaypee group

which took loans of over ̀ 95,000 crore in building Yamuna express-

way and large townships. Now it is in trouble looking for an exit

through acquisition again by government agencies. In monetary terms

alone, the nation has lost over several lakh crore in such ill-thought

of non-projects. If the GDP is today shrinking to 6.7 per cent, these

mega failures are responsible for it.

IL&FS does not have the money to pay back. Rating agencies

have classified the equity of IL&FS as “junk”, which means it is

absolutely unredeemable. But in February, the National Company

Law Appellate Tribunal ordered that IL&FS and its group compa-

nies will not be classified as NPAs as that allows the company to

look for write-offs. There have been many defaults by the compa-

ny in the past with its Managing Director (MD) and many directors

resigning. The equity structure of IL&FS is that of LIC and two for-

eign investors from Japan and Abu Dhabi, who own about 36 per

cent of equity. While ways are being found to protect the funds of

foreign investors, the common man’s money deposited with LIC

and SBI is virtually lost. It is strange that major stakeholders like

LIC, SBI and Central Bank did not see the warning signs or act to

stop this. Financial analysts estimate that ̀ 57,000 crore is the NPA

or money virtually lost. In the case of the Jaypee group, the expo-

sure is `75,000 crore.

The RBI in 2016 found an over `5 lakh crore exposure in the

real estate and infra locked in NPAs. A big group alone has `1.21

lakh crore unredeemable debts. Many of these have linkages with

IL&FS. So be it Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, the NCR and many other

large metros across the country, irregularities are being allowed with-

out a check. A national discussion is needed to stop perpetual loot

and regression of the development process.

(The author is a senior journalist)

All set to win her sixth Lok Sabhaelection since 1999, the 72-year-old Congress matriarch Sonia

Gandhi is far from her long speculat-ed retirement. Rumours have beendoing the rounds for the past year thatshe was ready to hang up her bootsfrom active politics due to her ill healthand also to give space to her son. It wassaid that since she has handed over thebaton to her son Rahul Gandhi andalso inducted her daughter PriyankaGandhi Vadra in active politics, thetime was ripe for her to bow out.

Sonia herself indicated her retire-ment as early as December 2017when she declared, “My role is toretire.” Though she has been keepinga low profile since then and taking a

back seat, her role, as the final arbitra-tor in case of any dispute in the party,remains unquestioned. Many expect-ed her not to contest the Lok Sabhaelections this time. Contrary to this,her name was in the first list of can-didates from Uttar Pradesh. Her can-didature from Rae Bareli proves thatthe Congress cannot do without Soniafor some more time, as the partybelieves that she can still pull the votes.

Sonia has been toying with theidea of complete retirement frompolitics since she turned 70 in 2016.She is said to have shared her planswith those close to her. However, theparty kept pressuring her and delay-ing her plans until Rahul Gandhi sta-bilised himself as the party chief. Forthe past year and more, she hasstopped meeting party leaders anddirected those who called on her toRahul. Her public appearances havereduced drastically over the past year.She did not campaign in the fiveAssembly polls last year. Her last elec-tion rally was in Hyderabad before theTelangana Assembly polls inDecember. She has withdrawn herselfcompletely from day-to-day party

activities. However, the post Pulwamaand Balakot airstrikes and the currentpolitical situation have forced her tochange her plans of retirement andhence her re-nomination from RaeBareli.

Sonia Gandhi has grown from thepolitical novice that she was in 1998,when she took over the party, tobecome the party matriarch today. Shehas emerged as one of the tallestnational leaders and has found aniche for herself in the party as well

as in the national scene. She has beenthe longest party president for 19 years.The party won the Lok Sabha electionsin 2004 and 2009 under her leadership.She is seen as the binding force to keepthe party united. The Congress isbanking on her experience and matureguidance to keep a balance betweenits young and old guard. The pressurefrom the old guard was also one of thereasons for Sonia’s contesting electionsas the latter is still not comfortable withthe new set-up. Though Rahul has

accommodated the old guard, they feelthat a new group, consisting of SamPitroda, the party’s data analysisdepartment chairman PraveenChakravarty and Jairam Ramesh,have taken over decision-makingleaving them to watch helplessly. Theold guard is aghast at their tall claimslike training seven lakh booth levelworkers in about three weeks.

Sonia’s retirement plans werenever final. Even at the time of hand-ing over the party in December 2017,Congress chief spokesperson RandeepSurjewala said that Sonia would onlyretire from her role as party presidentand not from politics. “Her blessings,wisdom and innate commitment toCongress ideology shall always be ourguiding light,” Surjewala posted onTwitter.

Second, her role in dealing withother Opposition parties is importantas leaders like Sharad Pawar, MamataBanerjee, Sitaram Yechury and othersstill respect her. Many alliance partnersand prospective allies would prefer tonegotiate with her rather than RahulGandhi. Her ability to put together theUPA in 2004 and 2009 are proof of her

negotiating skills. Therefore the partywould like her to play the role ofcementing alliances, before as well asafter the ensuing elections, given herequation with senior leaders of sever-al parties and her political stature.

Third, she has just launched herdaughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra inactive politics. Her dramatic entry wasinterrupted after the Pulwama andBalakot airstrikes. Though there wererumours that Sonia would retire andPriyanka would contest from RaeBareli, it now appears that Priyankawould only work for the campaign andbuild up the party. Priyanka also needsthe support of her mother until shestabilises. It is Sonia’s objective toensure that her two children work intandem and take the party forward.

Therefore, Sonia continues to bethe party mentor and the queenmother as also the Leader of theCongress Parliamentary Party and theUPA chairperson. The Congress needsher now more than ever as every voteand every seat matters.

(The writer is a senior politicalcommentator and syndicated colum-nist)

The hand that steadies the cradleSonia Gandhi may be toying with the idea of retirement from politics but the Congress needs her on many counts — to

bridge the new and old guard, negotiate with the Opposition front and chaperone Priyanka in the post-Pulwama scenario

KALYANI SHANKAR

LUCKNOW | WEDNESDAY | MARCH 13, 2019


F O R E I G N E Y E

The Center for Disease Controland Prevention has logged atleast six measles outbreaks sofar this year, across five states,involving more than 100patients. Both houses ofCongress have held hearingswhile more states haveconsidered limiting vaccineexemptions for school-agechildren and several socialmedia platforms have pledgedto block anti-vaccinepropaganda andmisinformation from sites.(New York Times editorial)

MEASLESOUTBREAK

LUCKNOW | WEDNESDAY | MARCH 13, 2019 avenues 10

QUOTE OF THE DAY

The mark of higher education

isn't the knowledge you

accumulate in your head. It's the

skills you gain about how to

— Adam Grant

The simple meaning of wordpharmacovigilance is to keepwatch on drug’s fate. WHO

(World Health Organisation) sayspharmacovigilance is the scienceand activities relating to the detec-tion, assessment, understanding andprevention of adverse effects or anyother drug-related problem.Essentially making the field ofPharmacovigilance a science relatedto drug safety with regards to theadverse effects it can result in.

Today, pharmacovigilance takescenter stage whenever a new drug isdeveloped. These professionals keepa close eye on new drugs during itsclinical trials and even test medica-tions already on the market. A lot ofdrugs are either withdrawn from themarket or never allowed into themarket thanks to pharmacovigi-lance. It is thanks to these profes-sionals that the medications that thegeneral public consume are generallysafe.

Therefore, we can conclude thatthe main aim of pharmacovigilanceis to:n Improve patient safetyn Enhance patient care in terms of

medicines usedn Contribute to the evaluation of

advantages, applications, sideeffects, harm, effectiveness, andrisk of medicines

n Encourage safe, balanced andeffective use of various medicines

The next question is how dopharmacovigilance professionalswork?

Let’s imagine for a moment, thatpeople have started reporting seriousside-effects after consuming a drugnamed XYZ. When such side-effectsare reported, pharmacovigilanceprofessionals step in to collect theright data by recording the side-effects of medication and talking tothe patients and healthcare profes-sionals in this situation. Then theycreate a report and send this reportto the right regulatory authorities orbodies.

Since the necessary introductionof pharmacovigilance has been done,let’s dive deeper into this career pathand evaluate what a professional canexpect in this field.

According to Business World,India is one of the third largest pro-ducers of pharmaceuticals. The phar-maceutical industry in India isexpected to reach $55 billion by2020. Therefore, it’s easy to see whypharmacovigilance professionals inIndia have a bright career ahead ofthem. People that have studiedpharmacovigilance can find employ-ment in various organisations like:n Pharmaceutical Companies

(MNCs & the Indian ones) &Biotech companies

n Contract Research Organisations(CROs)

n Regulatory Authorities such as

DCG, FDA & CDSCOn Clinical Research Organisationsn Pharmacovigilance Units in

Medical Colleges & Hospitalsn KPOs (Knowledge Process

Outsourcing) such as Accenture,Cognizant, SciformixCorporation, iGATE etc.According to Career India, some

of the top pharmaceutical companiesrecruiting pharmacovigilance pro-fessionals are — Dr Reddy’s lab,Cipla, Ranbaxy Laboratories,Johnson & Johnson, MatrixLaboratories Ltd, Pfizer, Ranbaxy,Asian Clinical Trials , Merck,Clinigene, Novartis.

Initially, the remuneration that afresher may receive depends on hisacademic background. Therefore, adegree from a reputed university isimportant. As a fresher who hasstudied pharmacy or life science, youwill be involved in creating a casewhen required, and reviewing med-ications for minimum safety infor-mation.

After two to three years you willhave built various skill sets likemedical coding, narrative and sci-entific writing, a good understand-ing of medical terms, understandingof various regulatory affairs, andmore. These skill sets will allow youto move up to becoming a DSS(Drug Safety Scientist)

You could also, after learninghow to be a good narrative writer

choose to pursue a career as a writeror PSUR (Periodic Safety UpdateReport) and PADER (PeriodicAdverse Drug Experience Reports).Furthermore, you could also chooseto become an Aggregate ReportScientist.

After about seven to ten years ofexperience, you can also work as ateam lead or manager depending onthe organisation you work for. Lastly,with a background of nine to tenyears, you can also acquire positionslike Director or Vice-President in anorganisation. nHow to pursue a career in phar-macovigilance: Aspirants who havegraduated from life sciences degreelike pharmaceutical sciences, med-ical, biotechnology, microbiology,biochemistry, genetics and others areeligible to pursue a course in phar-macovigilance. You can also chooseto pursue a diploma course in phar-macovigilance after your graduation.However, the duration of thesecourses can vary.

In conclusion, pharmacovigi-lance is a fantastic career opportu-nity for pharmacy, medical, and lifescience graduates. You will spendyour career researching drugs thatcan be potentially harmful to thegeneral public. Thereby, you will bea person saving lives from behind thecurtains.

The writer is Assistant Professor,MIT School of Pharmacy

BE VIGILANTBE VIGILANTBE VIGILANTBE VIGILANT

Resilience programme for schoolsPNS n NEW DELHI

The Bihar Education Project Council(BEPC), Government of Bihar, and

CorStone announced a next phase partner-ship that will benefit over 100,000 school-children in the state of Bihar.

Together, the BEPC and CorStone willwork to expand CorStone’s Youth First andGirls First resilience programmes acrossGovernment middle schools and KasturbaGandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) in all ninedivisions of the state over the next three years.

CorStone’s Youth First and Girls First pro-grammes center around a unique compre-hensive resilience and adolescent healthtraining curriculum delivered through aninnovative teacher-facilitated peer group

model. The programme integrates evidence-based practices from the fields of emotionalresilience, positive psychology, social-emo-tional learning, and conflict resolution withadolescent health training to improve men-tal and physical well-being, school engage-ment, self-advocacy, social skills and rela-tionships among youth.

“The new Bihar is eager to progress.Weassure all possible support to CorStone forundertaking these resilience programmes, andalso for scaling up this programme to includemore schools when required. Considering theexcellent work they have done in the past sixyears, the Government of Bihar is ready tosupport CorStone in their mission,” saysKrishna Nandan Prasad Verma, StateEducation Minister, Government of Bihar.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Star Network hasannounced the third edition

of its bespoke Star WritersProgramme, #TheWriteMove,which represents a unique andperhaps most significant oppor-tunity in India for aspiring writ-ers alike to make a career in cre-ative writing for television.

They will be trained andnurtured to become the futurestorytellers for television in Indiaby some of the best experts,under the aegis of Star India.

Gaurav Banerjee, President,

and Head, Hindi GEC at StarIndia, said: “Writing is at theheart of great television, which,to take the next big leap, needsthe best set of potentially greatwriters. However, there exists animmense training gap in India,and hence the Star WritersProgram is our attempt to iden-tify the next set of truly talent-ed writers and arm them with theart and craft of television screen-writing.”

Star Writers Program is aseven-month, full-time courseand internship in televisionscreenwriting, and open to both

-aspiring and experienced writ-ers. The shortlisted candidates,selected after a rigorous selectionprogram, will undergo trainingand an internship and willreceive a monthly stipendthroughout the course.Successful completion of theprogram will be followed by atwo-year writing contract withStar.

Alumni writers from theStar Writers Program have beenpart of the writers’ rooms forshows like Kaal Bhairav, NimkiMukhiya and Nazar from theStar Network.

Vimarsh 2019 held at VPCI3rd edition of Star writer’s programmeThe Former President of

India, Pranab Mukherjeewas the chief guest of the event,held at Paintal MemorialGolden Jubilee Auditorium,Vallabhbhai Patel ChestInstitute, North CampusUniversity of Delhi.

Dr Kavita Sharma, Headand Dean, Department ofCommerce, DU, DK Aggarwal,Senior Vice President, PHDC-CI, Ajay Shankar, FormerSecretary, DIPP and RamananRamanathan, Mission Director,Atal Innovation Mission, NitiAayog were also present andshared their insights on role of

disruptive innovations andentrepreneurship.

Pranab Mukherjee said: “Asuccessful business and anentrepreneur not only brings anew product and concept in themarket but improves all marketefficiency. I believe job creationand growth of economy mustgo hand in hand, otherwisedemocratic dividend will not beable to provide job to ourneedy unemployed youth. Weneed to encourage our youngentrepreneurs to come up withtheir disruptive innovations tosolve the problem of unem-ployment.

COMPUTER SCIENCEThe Manav Rachna

University is inviting appli-cations for its ComputerScience & Engineering pro-grammes for the session 2019.

Duration: Four years forBTech Computer Science andEngineering and two years forMTech ComputerEngineering.

Eligiblity: Pass in ClassXII examination with at least60 per cent marks in aggregatein five subjects for BTechComputer Science andEngineering and minimum50 per cent marks or equiva-lent CGPA in BE/BTech inComputer Science &E n g i n e e r i n g / C o m p u t e rTechnolog y/InformationTechnology/MCA or equiva-lent for MTech ComputerEngineering.

How to apply: Log on tomanavrachna.edu.in.

Last date to apply: April17, 2019.

PG DIPLOMA MANAGEMENTThe XLRI — Xavier

School of Management invitesapplications for PostgraduateDiploma in Management(PGDM) for working execu-tives & business owners forthe batch 2019 to 2022.

This programme isdesigned with the objective toimpart high-quality of man-agement education and pro-vide general managementperspective to the partici-pants.

The programme struc-ture comprises mainly week-end classes to help them-maintain balance betweentheir work, personal life andlearning rigor to the bestextent feasible.

Duration: Three yearsweekend programme.

Eligiblity: Candidateshaving three years bachelor’sdegree or equivalent in anydiscipline recognised by auniversity or a deemed uni-versity and a minimum workexperience of two years inmanagerial/supervisory/exec-utive/ownership role.

Fees: `10.72 lakhLast date to apply: March

31, 2019.

HOTELMANAGEMENT The DelhiParamedical and ManagementInstitute (DPMI) announcesthe commencement of admis-sions for its one year fulltime Diploma in Front OfficeOperations (DFO), Food &Beverage (DFB), and HouseKeeping (DHK). This course provides syllabusthat combines theory andpractice of Hotel Industry.

Duration: Three years forBSc programme and two yearsfor MSc programme.

Eligiblity: Candidateswho have recently passedClass XII from any recognisedboard and wants to work inhotel management industrycan enroll for these courses.

How to Apply: The appli-cation forms may be obtainedfrom admission office of DelhiParamedical and ManagementInstitute, New Ashok Nagar,Delhi.

Last date to apply: March13, 2019.

BSC INTERIOR DESIGNThe Manav Rachna

International Institute ofResearch and Studies invitesapplications for its BScInterior Design programmefor the session 2019-20.

Duration: Three years Eligiblity: Pass in Class

XII examination/equivalentexamination with at least 50per cent marks in aggregate inf ive subjects includingEnglish as compulsory subjectalong with four subjects withthe highest score out of theremaining subjects.

How to Apply :Candidates can apply onlineby visit ingmanavrachna.edu.in or offlineby visiting the admissionsoffice.

Last date to apply: April17, 2019.

Once you are done with yourMBA entrance exam, it’s

common that you will be calledfor the next rounds — groupdiscussion and personal inter-view. These rounds are designedto assess your interpersonalskills, mental aptitude, and yourability to communicate yourthoughts clearly.

Here are a few tips that canhelp you make an impressionduring your group discussion:nImprove your general andcurrent affairs knowledge: Mostof the topics you’ll be asked tospeak about during your groupdiscussion will surround a cur-rent national or international sit-uation. To avoid being dumb-struck during the group discus-sion, it’s necessary that you areaware of all the current eventshappening around you and inthe world.nTake the lead: The panel eval-uating the group discussionremembers the first person whospeaks. Be that person. Introduceyourself, other people in yourteam, and then assert your pointof view. However, don’t take aninitiative if you aren’t well versedwith the topic. If you aren’t con-fident and familiarised with thetopic, the panel will pick up onyour lack of awareness.nBe open to listening: If some-

one else presents a fair point, youmust agree with them.Remember, it’s not about havingthe most to say; it’s about show-casing your leadership skills. Agood leader is someone who isopen to listening to others anddoes not hesitate to modify theirviews when required. You mustbear in mind that others inyour GD team are just as com-petent as you are, if not more.nDress suitably: Avoid dressingin casuals during your group dis-cussion round. Dressing up casu-ally gives the perception that youare not earnest about being apart of the business school.nRead a lot: While you arepreparing for your group dis-cussion and subsequent rounds,

assure that you read as much aspossible. Read the newspaperevery day and learn about cur-rent issues in the world. This willhelp you stay prepared andupdated for the group discus-sion.

Now, let’s take a look at howyou can ace your personal inter-view. The most important thingto prepare for is how you willdeliver your answers. Here are afew common questions that youmay be asked during your inter-view. nTell us about yourself.

This question isn’t an open-ing for you to share your entireeducation and life history. It’s anopportunity to talk briefly aboutyour relevant background, expe-

rience, accomplishments, andanything else that is importantand relevant to the school or pro-gram you have applied for.Remember to limit your answerto only two to three minutes. nWhy do you desire to pursuean MBA?

This question is the perfectopportunity to explain yourmotivations behind seeking anMBA degree and how this degreecan benefit your career. You canhighlight the skills you want togain during the two-year MBAprogramme. nWhy are you drawn to thisprogramme?

Summarise all the reasonsbehind why you think a partic-ular business school is fitting foryou and your aspirations. Talkabout other important factorslike location, faculty, culture, cur-riculum, industry exposure, andplacements. You can also speci-fy any additional aspect of theinstitution and program thatmakes it an ideal fit for yourcareer goals.

In conclusion, it is importantyou remember that group dis-cussions and personal inter-views are intended to showcaseyour managerial skills. Stay com-posed, confident and honest.

The writer is Assistant Director, Dr DYPatil B-School

It is vital for the MBA aspirants to crack the group discussion and personal interview rounds. AMOL GAWANDE tells you few tips and tricksthat will help students in the long run

Make an impression

NIDHI PANT tells youreasons why

agriculture is a goodoption

Arecent economic survey mentionedthat agriculture sector is set to

grow by 2.1 per cent in the current fis-cal year and the growth rate is sus-pected to become even better in the fol-lowing years.

Remote-controlled drones, pow-erful exposing cameras, and severalother technologies used to controlbiomass development and fertilisa-tion standing of the crops have givena new definition to farm management.These devices are even helpful inunderstanding the health of crops andcollect data from time to time to cal-culate their growth.

Unlike the previous years, agri-culture in coming years is no longergoing to be viewed as only growingcrops or even animal husbandry. It willalso include a discipline that empha-sises on the areas such as entrepre-neurship, geography, social scienceand conservation.

Students from different parts of thecountry are taking an active interest inthe future of agriculture and how theycan be a part of it.

Agriculture economy or Agronomy

is a discipline that focuses on plant andsoil sciences, helping agencies to lookout for ways in which they can get bet-ter and faster yields by sustainably opti-mising the farm. Working with busi-ness to finds ways to both optimisingyields and foster sustainable farming.It also make use of applied economicswith precise research and explore waysto maximise the utilisation of naturalresources in the fields.

Among many emerging careeropportunities that can benefit the stu-dents as well as the sectoral scenario ofIndia, is Data Scientist. Since data existseverywhere, in agriculture a data sci-entist is required to understand processbehavior and buyers’ behavior to cre-ate patterns that can help improve busi-ness operations.

Another breaking-through pro-fession is Robotic Programming. Asrobots are already taking over thehuman machines in order to performmedical procedures, modern errands,

research space, defuse bombs, andmore unreasonable and risky tasks, itis imperative to have them on lands.Not just the usual robots, buthumanoid robots that can walk, talk,and express feelings like us are mak-ing their way to fields. With this fieldmoving towards agriculture havingincredible potential, there is a demandfor practitioners to manufacture andprogram them. Robotics engineering,hence, gives the information of hard-ware building, machine learning, neur-al systems, PC programming, com-puterised reasoning, mechanicaldesigning, to make a specialist.

In countries where land producecover the major source of revenue, anundergraduate-level understanding ofagriculture is as important as the landitself. And when these rich lands movetowards modernity and sustainability,the industry is bound to grow.

The writer is Co-founder, Science for Society,S4S Technologies

With the advancement of pharmacovigilance, CHANDRASHEKHAR D BOBADE talks

about the scope and prospects of the programme

THEREMUNERATIONTHAT A FRESHER

MAY RECEIVEDEPENDS ON HIS

ACADEMICBACKGROUND.THEREFORE, A

DEGREE FROM AREPUTED

UNIVERSITY ISIMPORTANT

Till the soil

TIPTOP

As a leader, you should look inward andfocus on your own abilities andshortcomings, and ask yourself how you

can find ways to empower and inspire yourteam. Here are some ways to turn theconversation inward and focus on developingleadership skills:

Be passionate: When you displayauthentic enthusiasm and passion for the endresult, your people will keep moving towardtheir goals. Employees respond to those whoare eager to help them learn and grow. Showpassion for everything you do, including inyour pursuit in learning how to developleadership skills. Your desire will be clear toyour employees, and inspire them to improve

leadership skills, too.

Be a role model: People respectsomeone who walks the walk. Show thosearound you exactly what you'd like to seethem do. The strongest message you cansend to your team is to model the behaviorsyou'd like to see.

Recognise your strength: No leader isborn with all necessary skills to succeed. Ittakes time and effort to improve leadershipskills, and it begins with a thoroughexamination of your strengths andweaknesses. A strong knowledge of yourinnate gifts and abilities means you can putthem to work for you, while anunderstanding of your weaknesses providesyou with areas you know you can improve.

Set goals and execute them: Even the

most formidable leaders don't come up withsuccess out of nowhere. The grandest visionwill never get off the ground if you don't plota path to get there. Invest time in clarifyingyour goals and solidifying them. Formulatingthe right plan and setting meaningfulbenchmarks along the way gives you a mapto follow, a methodology that will guide yourbusiness through the next week, month, yearand decade. Once you achieve a goal, looktowards another; constant striving to meetthat next benchmark will give you and youremployees a sense of meaning and pride.

Admit your failure: Even the most

powerful, inspiring leaders make mistakes.When you recognise an error, admit it openlyand take action to correct it. Be open aboutyour failures; discuss them and learn fromthem. Learning from your failures sends apowerful message to those around you. Theyunderstand that you will lead well even whenyou make a mistake. Those wondering howto improve leadership skills should learn howto recognize successes and failures.

Motivate others: If you're complainingabout every little detail and can only see theworst-case scenario at the end of every plan,you have little chance of inspiring others. An

employee who feels you do not believe inthem will not perform well, and can evencreate a domino effect of poor morale acrossthe business. Instead, believe in others andwhat they are capable of. Inspire andmotivate them to work harder and reachgreater heights. Improve leadership skillsthroughout your business by generating andfocusing positive energy, even when thingsaren't going according to plan.

Find your purpose: When developingleadership skills, it's essential that you knowwhy you're putting time and effort into yourchosen goal. What drives you? Yourimmediate response may be simple: A largerpaycheck from a job well done or theprestige that comes from higher rank. But

step back for a moment. Why do you wantthat larger paycheck? Is it so your familyfeels more secure? Perhaps you want to leadbecause you feel you can help others bydeveloping products and services that theyneed, or you see a place where you cancause positive change in your industry. Theseare all higher purposes, and by identifyingyour own, you can better operate as aconfident and knowledgeable leader.

As you sharpen effectiveness as a leader— whether that's in a professional orpersonal capacity — you'll strengthen theefforts you put into your own goals.

The writer is Pallavi Prakash, Founder-CEO ofKnowledge Seed Learning Center &

a Motivational Speaker

LUCKNOW | WEDNESDAY | MARCH 13, 2019 avenues 11

M I N D I T

The Faculty of Scienceat the University ofStrathclyde, Glasgow isoffering scholarshipstowards course tuition feesin each year of study of afull-time undergraduateprogramme. Value: £2000per year

Eligibility: To applyfor a scholarship, candi-dates must: Be available tocommence their academicstudies in the UK by thestart of the academic yearin September-October2019. Hold an offer ofstudy on an UG course inthe Faculty of Science,University of Strathclyde.Be paying full internation-al fees. Subject —Chemistry, Computer andInformation Sciences,Mathematics and Statistics,Pharmacy and BiomedicalSciences, Physics, ForensicScience.

For more informationvisit: [email protected]

Application deadline:The last date to aply isSeptember 16, 2019.

The University ofMelbourne invites appli-cations for theInternational GraduateMerit Scholarships for allinternational students whoapply to a coursework pro-

gramme with-in the Faculty of

Business & Economics,to receive a 25 per cent to50 per cent fee waivers forthe duration of the course.

Eligible Course orSubjects: Commerce, eco-nomics, and managementcourses are eligible for thisscholarship.

Eligibility: Must:Applicants must be aninternational student.

How to apply: You willbe automatically consid-ered for this award if youare applying to a course-work programme withinthe Faculty of Business andEconomic.

Application deadline:Open for 2019

Applications are invit-ed for British Council-IELTS Award to study atan undergraduate or post-graduate level at an institu-tion of higher education inGermany. Internationalstudents are eligible toapply for this award.

How to apply: Takethe IELTS test at a BritishCouncil authorised centrein Germany and receive anofficial Test Report Form(TRF) dated between June2, 2018 and May 28, 2019issued by the BritishCouncil in Germany.

Application deadline:The last date to submit thecompleted online applica-tion form by 14:00(German time) on June 10,2019.

Speech pathology and audiology areallied health careers. The profession-als are qualified by special training,

education, skills and experience to providehealthcare service. However, the practi-tioners are not physicians but are calledspeech pathologists and audiologists andwork with people who have speech disor-ders due to problems like cleft palate orother medical conditions. The job involvesexamining and cleaning the ear canal, fit-ting hearing aids, counseling on adjustingto hearing loss and training on the use ofhearing instruments. To practice one needto have Bachelors/Masters degree inAudiology and be registered with IndianSpeech and Hearing Association orRehabilitation Council of India. A few col-leges to study:nSri Ramachandra College ofPhysiotherapy, Chennai. Course: BScHearing, Language and Speechn Indian Institute of Health Educationand Research, Patna. Course: BScHearing, Language and Speechn Institute of Speech and Hearing,Bengaluru. Course: BSc Hearing,Language and Speechn Institute of Health Sciences,Mangalore. Course: BSc Hearing,Language and SpeechnAli Yavar Jung National Institute for theHearing Handicapped, Mumbai. Course:BSc Hearing, Language and SpeechnTopiwala National Medical College andBYL Nair Charitable Hospital, Mumbai.

Course: BScHearing, Language

andSpeech

STUDY CENTRES ANDROID APP DEVELOPMENT AT OMNINOSSOLUTIONSLocation: Mohali, Panchkula, Chandigarh Stipend: `8,000-`10,000/per monthLink: internshala.com/i/214768Application deadline: March 21, 2019

ILLUSTRATION AND ANIMATION ATSELFLEARNLocation: Work from HomeStipend: `20,000 permonthLink:internshala.com/i/214769Application deadline:March 21, 2019

FINANCE ATSHOPCLUESLocation: GurugramStipend: `5,000-`8,000 per monthLink: internshala.com/i/214770Application deadline: March 21, 2019

CORPORATE SALES AT JAITRAVELSLocation: RanchiStipend: `5,000 per monthLink: internshala.com/i/214771Application deadline: March 21, 2019

DIGITAL MARKETING AT LIMEROADLocation: GurugramStipend: `5,000 per monthLink: internshala.com/i/214772Application deadline: March 19, 2019

CONTENT WRITING AT EQUIERA SOLUTIONSLocation: BhubaneswarStipend: `4,000 per monthLink: internshala.com/i/214773Application deadline: March 21, 2019

OPERATIONS AT URBANCLAPLocation: BengaluruStipend:`7,000 per monthLink: internshala.com/i/214774Application deadline: March 21, 2019

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)Roorkee is hosted a TrainingCourse on Energy Efficiency and

Conservation for African Nationalsunder the India Africa ForumSummit-III.

The training course involved 50participants from 12 Africancountries which were identified andselected by Indian Missions inrespective countries and sponsoredby Ministry of External Affairs. Theparticipants were from differentGovernment organisations who areresponsible for energy conservationand efficiency programmes in theirown country.

Experts from IIT Roorkee,Bureau of Energy Efficiency, EnergyEfficiency Services Limited, stateelectricity regulator, nationalproductivity council, Indianrenewable energy developmentagency, UREDA and UPES sharedtheir expertise and experiences.

Smartivity Labs has introduced14 new unique learning-based,engagement-driven toys. These

products range from the insightfulconcepts of its three core segments— STEM Learning to BlendedLearning and Augmented Reality —which are designed to thrill, delight

and impartfundamentallearning(s)for children inthe agebracket of 3 to14 years.

These

products encourage kids toexperience joy and pride of makingtheir own toys and the inspire themto take interest in STEM fields.

By creating cutting-edgeengagement activities for youngminds, the products enables theperfect amalgamation of thephysical and digital world to beenjoyed by children across thecountry. One can choose learning-based and engagement-driven toysand activities which strengthen achild’s cognitive and social skills.The products are crafted to makelearning more fun and experiential.

OP Jindal Global University (JGU),India and the University of

Wollongong (UoW), Australia havesigned a Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) for strategicpartnership through which studentsand faculty members from eachuniversity may spend some time atthe other in short or longer termexchange programmes.

The objective is not only tobegin a solid partnership betweenJGU and UoW but also to provide a

strong platform for engagementbetween the two universities thatwould qualitatively impact thelearning and growth of studentsand faculty alike.

The partnership allows JGUand UoW students to undertakeexchange opportunities at the otherinstitution. For faculty andresearchers, it allows for jointresearch and joint teaching, whileencouraging collaboration ininternational publications.

Mahatma EducationSociety’s Pillai

Group of Institutions,a Mumbai based notfor profit trust thatmanages overorganised aFIFA/CIES/Pillai sportssummit — Sport andthe Development of aNation — to launchFIFA/CIES executive

programme in SportsManagement inpartnership with CIES(The InternationalCentre for SportsStudies, Switzerland),a body for SportsManagementEducation.

A Memorandumof Understanding(MoU) was signed by

Pierre Cornu,President, CIES and DrKM Vasudevan Pillai,Chairman-Pillai Groupin the presence ofMinister for Educationand Sports,Government ofMaharashtra, VinodTawde and otherprofessionals from thesports industry. K

IIT College of Education andWorld Citizen Science Instituteorganised a workshop — Hindi

an International language — inwhich Professor LiudhimlaKhokholoa of the Indian PhilologyDepartment of Moscow UniversityRussia gave a lecture on Hindilanguage. The aim of the workshopwas to make children aware of thegrowing level of Hindi and to tellthem that it is popular like Hindi,English, German, French and Chineselanguages.

SS Agarwal, Director, KIITCollege said: “Due to its simplicityand ease Hindi language has becomean international language today, it isgetting involved in the popularlanguage of the world.”

INDO-AFRO SUMMIT-IIIFUN AND EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING FOR KIDS

MOU FOR STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP

SPORTS MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME

WORKSHOP ON HINDI

IN BRIEF

nWhat is the programme about?We are one of the largest poverty

alleviation programmes in India. Wehave impacted more than 10 lakh chil-dren and young people in the last 20years. The Childhood to Livelihoodprogramme works with children andyoung people living in poverty, in India,taking them from a childhood full ofchallenges to a life with meaningfullivelihoods. We equip children andyoung people in the age group of 12 to18, with the skills and knowledge theyneed to grow up and move out ofpoverty.

Through our sports activity-basedcurriculum, we equip children with lifeskills, making them confident, resilient.Our youth-centred livelihoods pro-gramme connects the aspirations andpotential of young people to availablemarket opportunities. We build theiremployability skills and map job poten-tial based on individual strengths andmobility.nWhat is the impact it has had?

There was a 28% point’s increase inthose attending school regularly, with81 per cent reporting attending schoolfive days a week at end line, as com-pared to 63% at baseline. In the pro-gramme, less than 5% of girls drop outof school by Class 8 (age 14). In India,40% of girls drop out of school by Class8 (age 14), 95% girls do not get mar-ried before the age of 18. In India, 30%of women were married before the ageof 18, 79% of young people trained inthe Magic Bus Livelihoods Programmeare placed in salaried work with anaverage income of `9700nWhat are the challenges the youthface?

The challenges faced by young peo-ple today are lack of a quality educa-tion and a lack of job opportunities.Lack of proper sanitation in schoolsalso leads to many girl children to dropoff from the education system.nWhat is the importance of activity-based curriculum today?

A sports activity based curriculumis important to equip children andyoung people with life skills they needto help them fight challenges in thecommunities they live in or to help

them earn a better livelihood. Througha sports activity based programme,engaging children becomes easier.They are able to understand how topractically impart these skills in theirreal life situations. nWhat role can parents play?

The most important roles areplayed by the parents as they are theimmediate support structures of thechildren. To ensure the change broughtto each child is transformational, par-ents are the biggest participants in theprogramme. nThis not be balanced with theoret-ical studies as well?

It is indeed very important forevery child to have strong academics.We can then be assured that the childis engaged in class, is productive andwilling to regularly attend school andcomplete her secondary education.The Magic Bus programme ensures allparticipants complete their secondaryschooling. nWhat are some of the sectors wherethese kids find jobs?

Some of the sectors where theyoung people on our programme havebeen placed are: IT enabled Services;Retail; Quick Service Restaurants;Hospitality; Banking, Financial Servicesand Insurance and Healthcare.

‘Strong academics

need of the hour’

Jayant RastogiGlobal CEO, Magic Bus

SHALINI SAKSENA speaks withJAYANT RASTOGI about theimportance of activity-basedcurriculum today

This year, over 15 lakh aspiringstudents have registered forthe NEET 2019 exam, which

will be held on the May 5, 2019. Thisis a record-breaking number andalmost 2 lakh more than last yearitself.

At present, the Governmentand private colleges in most Stateschoose their MBBS and BDS can-didates based on NEET score. Theexam is an extremely tough examwith its vast syllabus, tricky ques-tions, and negative marking schemefor incorrect answers.

In spite of this, the number ofapplicants has constantly been onthe rise. Why the sudden jump inthe number of applicants? There aretwo reasons for this 14 per cent risein applicants.

Hours before the applicationdeadline for the exam closed, theSupreme Court announced thatstudents above 25 years of age areeligible to take the exam. To helpthese students complete their appli-cation forms.

The second reason is, that

NEET is now a mandatory exam forall students who want to pursuetheir MBBS and BDS coursesabroad.

With this sudden rise in appli-cants, the number of students com-peting for a single rank has alsoincreased. This means, that studentswill have to learn better, aim high-er, and attempt as many questionsas they can while maintaining a highpercentage of accuracy. Practice isthe key to a high score. s a NEETaspirant, you only have two monthsbefore your final exam. Spend asmuch time practising as you can.

nPrioritise the chapters thatyou practice based on the weightagethat exam authorities have given inthe past.

nDownload an app that givesyou adaptive practice. In simplerwords, these apps create uniquelearning paths for every studentdepending on their unique needs.If your basics are weak, it will cre-ate questions that build your fun-damentals. As you improve, it willkeep raising the level of questions

until you ace the tricky ones.nTake a mock test every day for

at least a month.nIn the last month before your

exam, you should start taking mocktests at the same time of the day asyour final exam.

nEnsure that you take it in atime-bound, exam like environment

nDevelop answer strategies -Which subject will you attempt first?What is the most amount of timethat you should spend answering aquestion?

nKeep evaluating your incor-rect answers. Make a note of con-cepts that you keep getting wrong.Moreover, categorise your incorrectanswers.

nDid you start solving it cor-rectly and then get confused?

nDid you have no idea how tosolve the question?

This will help you prioritiseyour revision. Since NEET hasnegative marking, accuracy is asimportant as volume.

nMake short notes and flash-cards of formulae, diagrams, and

other concepts that you keep gettingwrong. Have a look at these duringyour last minute revision.

nEnsure that you understandthe concepts instead of rote learn-ing them. There's no room fordoubts!

nClarify your doubts immedi-ately.

nWhen you just have about 60days left before an extremely criti-cal exam, you cannot wait for yourteachers to free up time so that youcan clarify your doubts.

nGet your doubts solvedimmediately, or else you will keeprepeating the same mistakes inevery mock test that you take.

nYou can download a doubtson chat app to clarify your doubtsinstantly, 24X7.

nHere, you can chat withexperts at any time of the day ornight and they will answer yourquestions.

nKeep your mind calm, stayfocused, and give it your best shot.

The writer is VP, EducationalContent Head, Toppr

NEET and clean tips

Only two months are left for NEET exam that is tough with a vast syllabus,

tricky questions and negative marking. RAJSHEKHAR RATREY shares tips

on how one can get that perfect score

GET YOURDOUBTS SOLVEDIMMEDIATELY, ORELSE YOU WILL

KEEP REPEATINGTHE SAME

MISTAKES INEVERY MOCK TEST

THAT YOU TAKE.YOU CAN

DOWNLOAD ANAPP TO CLARIFY

THEM

money 12LUCKNOW | WEDNESDAY | MARCH 13, 2019

BUSINESS CORNER

FACEBOOK HUBS TO SUPPORT STARTUPSNew Delhi: Social media platform Facebook Tuesday launched 'Facebook

Hubs', an initiative to foster innovation and offer support for budding entre-preneurs. Facebook Hubs will extend support for startup community by host-ing mentor hours and conducting trainings, workshops, discussions across 20locations. The locations would be in Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Bengaluru, Mumbai,Hyderabad, Pune, Navi Mumbai and in Goa, it said in a statement. The socialmedia platform said it has partnered with 91springboard for a year-long pro-gramme to help startups and entrepreneurs scale their businesses. The initia-tive includes co-working community hosting, planning and organising structuredactivities like learning and skill development programmes for budding entre-preneurs. “We have already worked with hundreds of startups through our var-ious programmes and by teaming up with 91springboard we hope to reach outto more, to fuel India's startup ecosystem with a vision to build businesses oftomorrow,” Satyajeet Singh, Head of Product Partnerships, Facebook India andSouth Asia said. Facebook Hubs will be part of a global network for training andmentoring facilities for startups, developers, small and medium businesses, cre-ators, and job seekers, the statement added.

YATRA TO REVIEW TAKE OVER PROPOSAL OF EBIXNew Delhi: Yatra Online Inc, the parent company of Gurugram-based online

travel firm Yatra.com, said Tuesday it has received a proposal from Ebix Inc toacquire all of its outstanding shares and will review the offer. US-based softwarefirm Ebix Inc on Monday announced that it had offered to acquire Yatra OnlineInc for USD 336 million (over Rs 2,345 crore). “Consistent with its fiduciary duties,and in consultation with its independent legal and financial advisors, the com-pany's Board of Directors will review and consider the proposal to determinethe course of action that it believes is in the best interest of the company and allof its shareholders,” Yatra Online Inc said in a statement. Company sharehold-ers do not need to take any action at this time, it added. “Citi Group Global MarketsInc is acting as financial advisor to the Company and Goodwin Procter LLP isacting as legal counsel,” the statement said. Ebix Inc has sent a letter to the Boardof Yatra Online, Inc outlining offer to acquire 100 per cent of the outstandingstock of Yatra Online for USD 7 per share on a debt-free basis, the US basedsoftware firm had said in a statement.

SEBI LIFTS FOREIGN INVESTMENT CAP IN CORPORATE BONDSNew Delhi: Markets regulator Sebi on Tuesday withdrew the 20 per cent

limit on investments by Foreign Portfolio Investors in corporate bonds of an enti-ty. In a notification, the regulator said the restriction is being withdrawn in accor-dance with a circular issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). In June last year,the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had mandated that no ForeignPortfolio Investors (FPIs) shall have an exposure of more than 20 per cent of itscorporate bond portfolio to a single corporate. However, the central bank inFebruary lifted the restriction in view of market feedback.

Sensex shoots up 481 points

PTI n MUMBAI

The BSE benchmark SensexTuesday soared over 481

points on intense buying main-ly in financial, energy and tele-com stocks amid strong foreignfund inflows and positive glob-al cues.

The 30-share BSE gaugesettled 481.56 points, or 1.30per cent, higher at 37,535.66.The broader NSE Niftyreclaimed the psychological11,300-level and closed withgains of 133.15 points, or 1.19per cent, at 11,301.20.

In the Sensex pack, BhartiAirtel was the top performer,surging 4.61 per cent. Other gainers included ICICI

Bank, IndusInd Bank, L&T,Sun Pharma, RIL, HDFC duo,Tata Motors and M&M --climbing up to 3.69 per cent.

Bucking the overall trend,Bajaj Finance, Infosys, ONGC,NTPC, Coal India, Yes Bank,Bajaj Auto, SBI, HeroMotoCorp and TCS fell asmuch as 1.13 per cent.

Sectorally, the BSE realtyindex topped the chart, surging2.60 per cent, followed by tele-com, bankex, healthcare andfinance indices.

The market has been mov-ing from strength to strength inthe last couple of weeks withimpressive performances acrossmarket breadth on the back ofreduced political uncertainty,"

Devang Mehta, Head-EquityAdvisory, Centrum WealthManagement, said.

The much awaited flows ofmoney from the foreign insti-tutional investors seem to havestarted at least for the timebeing, which is a prominentfactor leading to this pre-elec-tion rally, he added.

On a net basis, foreigninstitutional investors (FIIs)bought shares worth a net of Rs3,810.60 crore on Monday,provisional data available withBSE showed.

On the global front, mostcentral banks have been adopt-ing a softer stance and with lowinflation and declining interestrate scenario in India and an

expected earnings recovery onthe cards, there is an expecta-tion that Indian equities receivereasonable foreign money allo-cations, Mehta added.

In Asia, Hong Kong's HangSeng jumped 1.46 per cent,Shanghai Composite Index1.10 per cent and Korea's Kospigained 0.89 per cent. Japan'sNikkei ended 1.79 per centhigher.

In the Eurozone,Frankfurt's DAX was up 0.28per cent and Paris CAC 40 rose0.28 per cent. London's FTSEfell 0.32 per cent in early deals.

Global crude benchmarkBrent crude futures rose 0.98per cent to USD 67.23 per bar-rel.

Taxpayers can comparetax liability declared infinal, summary GSTreturns forms: GSTN

New Delhi: The GST Network Tuesday saidbusinesses registered under GST can now com-pare the tax liability declared as well as input taxcredit claimed in their final and summary salesreturns forms. The GSTN, which handles thetechnology backbone for the new indirect tax, hasprovided a facility to the taxpayers to view anddownload a report on tax liability as declared intheir form GSTR- 1 (final sales return) and asdeclared and paid in their return filed in formGSTR-3B (summary sales return). While GSTR-1 for a month is filed by the 11th day of the suc-ceeding month, GSTR-3B is filed and taxes paidby the 20th day of the succeeding month.

GSTN, in a statement said, since GSTR-1 andGSTR-3B are filed independent of each other, aneed was felt to provide facility to view liabilitydeclared in both the forms at one place.

The new facility enables the taxpayers to viewthese two liabilities in one table for each returnperiod at one place, which can be compared. Thiswill enable taxpayers to make good of any dif-ferences between the two forms filed by them onGST portal, GSTN said.

Further, the GSTN has also provided tax-payers information regarding data of Input taxcredit (ITC) as claimed in their form GSTR 3Band as accrued in form GSTR 2A, based on thereturn uploaded by the supplier. This function-ality has been provided in Returns dashboard onthe GST Portal to taxpayers under the headings“Comparison of liability declared and ITCclaimed”. “This facility will help taxpayers in rec-onciling their liability and ITC details quickly.They can view the monthly comparison as wellas cumulative comparison upto the month, onthe GST Portal in the tables provided. This willhelp them in taking corrective steps," GSTN CEOPrakash Kumar said.

PTI n NEW DELHI

Start-up Resolver IndiaTuesday launched a portal to

help in speedier resolution ofconsumer complaints.

Speaking at the launch here,Resolver India co-founder andChief Executive Officer (CEO)Pratyush Singh said the com-pany's goal is to break down thewalls between consumers andbusinesses by building trust andunderstanding through a speedyand jargon-free process.

“Resolver.in is powered bymachine learning and artificialintelligence (AI) which guidesconsumers and supports organ-

isations by making recommen-dations on what their next stepsshould be and when to takethem,” Singh said.

Resolver said it has a proventrack record and is the preferredresolution tool of millions ofconsumers in the UK with over3 million case files closed and acustomer satisfaction rate of

over 98 per cent in the UK.Resolver India (previously

known as Expertily), which is anIndian start-up, has receivedfunding from Resolver GroupUK."With India leading to growinto one of the top-3 consumermarkets in the world from USD1.5 trillion at present to nearlyUSD 6 trillion by 2030, we see

India as a tremendous oppor-tunity," said James Walker, CEOand founder, Resolver GroupUK.

The British HighCommissioner to India SirDominic Asquith said the busi-ness promises to help both con-sumers and businesses all acrossIndia resolve all manner ofcomplaints more effectively.

"I hope to see it soonbecome a household name inIndia," Asquith said.

Resolver India said itexpects to initially receive themajority of complaints related totravel, banking, insurance, tele-com and real estate.

Resolver said it has a proven track recordand is the preferred resolution tool ofmillions of consumers in the UK with over 3million case files closed and a customersatisfaction rate of over 98 per cent in theUK

Resolver launches portal to address consumer grievances

Script Open High Low LTPRCOM 5.50 5.54 5.09 5.12SUZLON 7.54 7.60 7.00 7.17LT 1352.00 1402.80 1352.00 1389.10BOMDYEING 117.00 134.30 117.00 129.40RELIANCE 1317.10 1333.00 1315.50 1329.85JETAIRWAYS 253.40 254.70 240.00 245.65ICICIBANK 378.50 389.00 377.15 388.20DHFL 134.00 135.75 128.50 128.90HDFCLIFE 368.80 377.30 368.80 371.45IBREALEST 77.50 84.85 77.50 81.35JPASSOCIAT 6.60 7.00 6.57 6.71BHARTIARTL 333.00 354.00 329.10 350.80AVANTI 451.00 486.90 444.55 448.65SPICEJET 83.75 84.40 78.40 78.80CGPOWER 39.10 43.20 37.45 42.45ESCORTS 750.00 806.00 746.90 798.05GRAPHITE 458.90 482.40 458.90 471.40SBIN 289.00 289.75 285.30 286.50ASHOKLEY 94.00 95.50 92.65 93.10DLF 179.00 187.95 177.50 187.15IFCI 14.03 14.16 13.70 13.84YESBANK 237.10 239.15 235.00 235.70INFY 709.90 714.75 705.70 706.90NBCC 59.80 62.90 59.75 61.15RPOWER 12.02 12.29 11.84 11.92SOUTHBANK 15.70 15.81 15.22 15.30CUMMINSIND 751.50 767.90 740.00 746.30SUNPHARMA 462.50 471.60 462.05 470.10TATAMOTORS 184.00 186.00 183.80 184.75RELCAPITAL 192.90 195.25 188.30 189.70INDUSINDBK 1518.00 1585.50 1511.50 1571.00IBULHSGFIN 728.00 732.50 713.20 719.30MARUTI 7104.00 7229.00 7102.00 7153.95KEC 275.15 291.85 274.45 288.90ZEEL 456.00 472.35 453.40 463.65RELINFRA 134.00 135.30 129.80 131.25NTPC 150.90 156.50 150.30 151.10TATASTEEL 523.30 530.00 519.95 524.15MANPASAND 104.85 121.50 104.85 120.20HEG 2220.00 2284.60 2205.00 2220.90JINDALSTEL 172.00 173.75 169.40 171.15KOTAKBANK 1257.95 1272.00 1252.00 1262.60PNB 86.35 87.20 84.80 85.35M&M 685.00 693.05 684.00 688.40AXISBANK 739.35 749.15 737.85 742.25AUROPHARMA 752.90 785.55 743.80 772.65IDEA 34.65 34.85 33.55 34.25EDELWEISS 174.90 181.00 172.10 178.70HAVELLS 746.55 780.35 746.40 766.90HINDPETRO 265.00 272.20 260.70 261.70DBL 605.50 630.00 604.15 620.90

CANFINHOME 312.80 325.25 310.25 315.95FORCEMOT 1834.00 1863.00 1773.00 1783.25TITAN 1074.60 1096.25 1070.80 1083.30GODFRYPHLP 1032.50 1079.80 1020.65 1050.50INFIBEAM 44.90 46.35 43.80 44.30BAJFINANCE 2815.00 2815.00 2745.00 2753.75WOCKPHARMA 443.70 450.20 434.40 438.55JAICORPLTD 110.30 115.25 109.95 112.75GUJGAS 143.00 153.50 143.00 152.30BPCL 387.00 394.40 384.35 389.95SUNTV 623.90 625.80 614.10 618.40UNIONBANK 83.95 85.90 82.00 82.55HINDUNILVR 1722.00 1739.00 1715.65 1734.10JKTYRE 93.15 97.30 93.00 96.25RAIN 107.55 114.95 107.40 111.45DMART 1489.95 1523.80 1482.00 1506.20ITC 293.05 295.55 293.05 294.55NCC 103.70 104.95 101.65 103.30INDIANB 270.05 275.65 266.50 269.10PRSMJOHNSN 97.25 104.00 97.25 99.25VEDL 178.70 180.20 177.45 178.25POWERGRID 196.00 202.00 194.30 196.05HDFCBANK 2145.00 2174.90 2137.45 2170.60WIPRO 261.50 263.30 260.40 261.25L&TFH 146.70 148.60 145.75 146.85BANKINDIA 93.50 94.60 91.40 92.45INFRATEL 319.00 322.55 309.35 316.60RADICO 399.00 408.00 395.85 403.25TCS 2018.00 2024.90 2003.35 2012.55ONGC 155.00 155.80 151.20 152.20FEDERALBNK 92.40 92.60 90.00 90.30NIACL 224.00 224.00 199.20 206.55BEL 92.50 93.65 90.70 91.15ADANIPOWER 51.90 53.25 51.35 52.30IOC 154.90 156.40 153.00 154.00TECHM 810.00 813.25 801.55 804.75

TRIDENT 67.65 71.85 67.40 70.90GRUH 281.60 286.25 267.75 271.65ANDHRABANK 27.25 27.80 26.90 27.10AJANTPHARM 986.00 1057.65 986.00 1042.55BIOCON 626.05 640.95 625.05 634.80UJJIVAN 338.90 342.60 333.40 335.60IDFCFIRSTB 50.90 50.90 49.05 49.80BBTC 1298.80 1373.25 1291.00 1363.50GNFC 299.80 309.75 299.00 308.20VENKYS 2345.00 2389.00 2295.00 2310.80SPARC 196.00 202.80 195.30 196.70MOTHERSUMI 173.00 175.50 165.90 167.90IBVENTURES 290.90 300.00 285.25 287.20EXIDEIND 227.65 232.60 224.95 230.45ADANIPORTS 353.40 364.90 352.45 360.85ABFRL 226.00 236.45 225.30 226.90JSWSTEEL 294.20 298.00 290.00 292.10HINDALCO 203.60 206.70 202.05 203.25ADANIGREEN 36.50 40.70 36.40 39.15PCJEWELLER 80.95 81.90 79.70 80.25PEL 2684.00 2707.55 2601.05 2637.00KEI 399.45 440.00 399.45 432.10VOLTAS 630.00 630.95 617.00 621.60RNAM 203.75 209.45 199.50 200.70GODREJCP 730.00 735.00 715.55 722.95EICHERMOT 23100.00 23341.15 22336.00 22482.95JUBILANT 851.00 856.00 828.00 834.55ICICIPRULI 340.50 353.60 340.05 342.00DABUR 444.00 454.50 444.00 446.05BANKBARODA 116.55 117.85 114.30 115.30ULTRACEMCO 4060.00 4145.65 4050.65 4098.55MCX 735.50 778.70 735.50 773.30ICICIGI 997.70 997.70 965.50 981.95INDHOTEL 145.50 152.00 144.00 150.95BATAINDIA 1341.00 1374.00 1341.00 1368.95GLENMARK 618.00 640.00 617.80 633.55ADVENZYMES 192.20 193.50 183.25 186.40COALINDIA 244.35 246.35 241.45 242.70HFCL 24.35 25.20 24.05 24.50LUPIN 796.70 810.55 794.70 800.85OIL 180.00 181.35 178.65 180.80JUBLFOOD 1377.00 1382.10 1343.60 1349.45VIPIND 447.50 452.25 440.00 442.50RECLTD 134.85 137.10 132.50 133.05BAJAJCON 349.75 367.00 314.80 316.65STRTECH 274.40 279.25 273.00 276.90HEROMOTOCO 2830.00 2840.00 2794.00 2811.90SUNTECK 425.00 451.25 425.00 434.80TATAPOWER 72.05 73.90 72.00 73.35BANDHANBNK 513.10 525.00 504.60 521.05SAIL 55.20 55.95 54.75 55.10HDFC 1910.00 1936.00 1900.60 1931.95PNBHOUSING 884.95 935.00 870.00 886.10ASIANPAINT 1418.50 1444.35 1418.50 1427.25BAJAJFINSV 6818.00 6879.00 6783.45 6836.40BRITANNIA 3174.00 3179.30 3125.00 3133.70ACC 1610.00 1628.00 1585.70 1591.20KAJARIACER 567.20 595.85 567.20 586.80KTKBANK 125.80 128.05 123.05 124.90ALBK 57.00 58.40 54.15 54.95GICRE 257.95 277.50 255.30 259.45BHEL 70.50 71.35 69.60 69.85INDIACEM 105.00 105.50 102.50 102.95AMBUJACEM 233.00 236.90 231.00 233.35RBLBANK 638.00 642.70 630.60 632.70IDBI 46.00 46.00 44.45 44.75PHILIPCARB 178.70 182.75 178.10 179.15NATIONALUM 54.65 55.45 54.00 54.45PVR 1544.95 1640.00 1544.95 1634.70HUDCO 45.50 47.50 45.50 46.05KSCL 438.95 447.70 433.80 436.95GICHSGFIN 259.00 277.40 256.65 268.60TVSMOTOR 510.00 510.65 494.30 497.50RCF 59.95 61.40 59.10 59.30INDIGO 1300.00 1305.00 1264.80 1274.60STAR 446.00 453.10 442.25 446.05CADILAHC 332.60 342.95 332.60 336.35WELCORP 127.75 127.75 121.40 122.95CENTURYTEX 885.00 907.55 881.00 902.05CHOLAFIN 1374.95 1389.90 1344.50 1368.80ISEC 245.05 254.00 245.00 252.70APOLLOHOSP 1208.50 1211.00 1137.05 1155.15LICHSGFIN 508.00 512.05 500.00 503.85GMDCLTD 92.00 94.25 91.05 91.60TATACHEM 593.15 594.95 583.00 584.95NAUKRI 1806.75 1864.00 1786.90 1833.90TATAGLOBAL 203.60 206.20 203.10 204.95BALKRISIND 911.00 941.95 909.55 934.00SIEMENS 1062.00 1064.80 1048.80 1051.90SBILIFE 601.10 634.00 601.10 619.40HEXAWARE 338.60 341.40 335.10 339.55BLISSGVS 172.00 179.00 169.10 175.80DEEPAKNI 261.00 265.80 260.20 264.20BAJAJ-AUTO 3025.00 3025.00 2982.95 2991.35M&MFIN 444.50 452.65 437.00 438.45BEML 920.00 925.80 902.50 906.30DISHTV 39.00 39.75 38.25 38.80GUJALKALI 533.00 542.05 525.00 526.70ORIENTBANK 97.80 99.05 95.30 97.00DIVISLAB 1699.00 1728.35 1693.95 1699.15BHARATFORG 536.90 536.95 526.95 529.30MUTHOOTFIN 599.00 605.00 589.15 592.35JUSTDIAL 553.70 561.45 550.60 555.50PARAGMILK 258.90 262.70 254.90 256.45PFC 112.00 113.90 110.10 110.75CANBK 262.00 263.30 255.20 256.40NMDC 111.00 113.00 110.70 112.00INTELLECT 192.85 201.30 192.85 198.10ENGINERSIN 116.00 116.80 113.20 113.80

MEGH 65.65 67.55 65.15 65.50NOCIL 141.20 144.00 139.40 140.65GAIL 354.90 357.20 349.10 353.65WHIRLPOOL 1602.75 1633.00 1571.00 1589.70LEMONTREE 88.00 88.00 82.80 83.15REPCOHOME 467.00 473.15 455.25 458.80CHAMBLFERT 171.00 171.00 168.95 169.65ITI 97.10 100.20 96.60 97.15TATAELXSI 965.15 971.50 956.20 960.25HCLTECH 1005.10 1018.75 1005.00 1012.50NAVKARCORP 48.25 48.70 45.25 45.55MARICO 349.95 353.20 348.90 350.85CONCOR 495.00 506.85 490.00 501.70EIHOTEL 203.90 207.00 200.95 201.45FSL 46.30 46.60 45.45 45.65PETRONET 240.00 243.40 237.10 239.15FCONSUMER 51.70 51.70 48.60 49.35JISLJALEQS 63.50 63.90 61.45 62.75TATAMTRDVR 94.00 94.30 92.30 93.10WESTLIFE 376.90 390.70 372.15 389.05IPCALAB 931.00 940.80 917.65 923.55CIPLA 541.00 543.50 537.60 539.10CASTROLIND 164.05 168.65 163.55 166.95ASHOKA 138.90 149.80 138.90 142.35UPL 895.00 907.00 893.60 898.70MRPL 71.55 73.85 71.55 73.15SHANKARA 469.00 487.00 465.00 470.75MANAPPURAM 118.50 121.05 118.25 119.20ABCAPITAL 100.30 100.75 98.25 99.00GRANULES 113.30 115.50 111.65 113.50NATCOPHARM* 575.00 597.00 575.00 585.20EQUITAS 132.50 134.65 130.50 134.05REDINGTON 96.40 100.85 96.40 99.30THERMAX 1028.95 1078.00 1010.50 1047.00WELSPUNIND 63.65 66.05 62.50 65.20MOIL 165.20 168.55 164.00 164.60JSWENERGY 69.85 71.20 68.75 69.70OBEROIRLTY 480.85 494.50 480.85 484.20SRF 2379.00 2402.55 2355.20 2374.35GRASIM 828.95 837.45 823.20 830.00MINDTREE 929.70 936.00 911.85 916.50CEATLTD 1154.80 1168.55 1145.30 1153.55NESTLEIND 10299.90 10500.00 10271.00 10435.85LINDEINDIA 524.85 524.85 501.20 506.30DRREDDY 2647.00 2676.30 2638.30 2666.65DELTACORP 259.00 260.00 252.70 254.05BAJAJHLDNG 3300.00 3385.20 3300.00 3349.65NIITTECH 1330.00 1341.60 1318.90 1322.85ITDCEM 138.00 143.40 134.20 135.10SCI 38.85 39.65 37.90 38.35MGL 896.00 913.25 893.00 904.80GODREJIND 545.00 545.00 503.95 530.80UBL 1382.70 1405.00 1382.70 1397.85APOLLOTYRE 218.00 228.00 218.00 226.65OMAXE 206.75 206.75 205.55 205.65EMAMILTD 398.30 406.90 398.00 400.10HINDCOPPER 50.50 51.25 50.00 50.30LTI 1654.80 1656.95 1625.00 1636.75IRB 154.50 157.00 150.00 151.10IDFC 41.70 42.30 41.40 42.05KNRCON 241.40 255.00 238.75 245.65JMFINANCIL 87.00 87.35 77.55 81.65SRTRANSFIN 1270.00 1283.00 1263.00 1271.85HINDZINC 272.50 277.25 272.45 274.35COLPAL 1277.20 1300.50 1274.30 1282.60MAHINDCIE 241.60 246.80 236.05 240.05PERSISTENT* 676.00 691.00 670.10 677.45GSFC 102.20 105.30 102.20 104.40TORNTPOWER 256.30 260.35 255.10 256.80ADANITRANS 217.70 217.80 213.20 214.25TORNTPHARM 1794.90 1855.50 1789.30 1845.60BAJAJELEC 506.00 510.00 497.20 507.55DCAL 212.00 218.70 204.20 206.75GMRINFRA 17.40 17.60 17.05 17.20J&KBANK 46.80 47.00 45.90 46.35BERGEPAINT 307.40 312.95 306.10 308.90RAYMOND 813.00 828.05 810.40 816.20DCBBANK 201.85 204.00 199.15 200.20SUVEN 269.75 270.00 258.00 261.00COCHINSHIP 387.00 397.00 381.50 389.65GODREJPROP 710.95 729.00 706.10 712.75CHENNPETRO 263.75 268.65 261.50 262.80TRENT 343.15 363.80 339.05 359.45ALLCARGO 107.85 111.40 107.00 108.80HIMATSEIDE 204.80 206.35 196.60 198.05PIDILITIND 1144.95 1147.55 1125.00 1130.25LAURUSLABS 371.85 371.95 360.00 363.55HSCL 124.35 125.50 123.45 124.05IGL 303.00 303.00 293.55 297.40VINATIORGA 1700.00 1740.00 1680.60 1699.20SADBHAV 236.00 247.40 236.00 245.85PAGEIND 23955.00 24299.00 23900.00 24144.35JAMNAAUTO 63.65 63.90 62.60 63.05RALLIS 165.80 166.15 161.55 164.45BHARATFIN 958.35 997.10 954.40 987.75FRETAIL 445.65 454.50 443.40 446.60DCMSHRIRAM 457.25 460.75 450.85 452.10GUJFLUORO 1039.75 1061.00 1039.75 1054.30MHRIL 237.00 247.90 229.40 244.20MPHASIS 1000.00 1001.50 979.00 988.85BIRLACORPN 533.10 547.70 532.00 543.15IOB 15.50 15.68 15.06 15.22KANSAINER 478.00 487.50 470.00 473.25JINDALSAW 93.80 95.70 93.40 93.95SYMPHONY 1365.50 1380.00 1325.50 1336.90VGUARD 219.80 224.00 219.80 221.50CROMPTON 229.00 238.10 228.85 229.55PNCINFRA 151.50 158.20 150.50 157.35NAVINFLUOR 652.85 675.95 650.10 673.45

AUBANK 592.60 597.70 581.00 586.85SYNDIBANK 39.00 39.30 38.05 38.50DEEPAKFERT 140.90 141.65 138.30 139.25SOMANYCERA 370.15 390.85 359.00 386.20COROMANDEL 519.90 519.90 477.20 484.95ASTRAL 1229.00 1264.00 1229.00 1241.25PRESTIGE 204.00 211.30 203.90 205.55GREAVESCOT 136.05 136.90 132.00 132.90SOBHA 443.00 457.00 443.00 447.35TAKE 137.00 142.00 135.30 138.35NHPC 25.40 25.65 24.95 25.00BDL 282.30 290.00 280.60 286.00FORTIS 135.95 142.65 135.90 141.65TATACOMM 611.20 623.70 610.00 620.35UFLEX 227.00 230.10 223.70 225.95WABAG 333.00 339.90 326.00 329.05RELAXO 764.25 764.25 743.30 754.45HSIL 248.90 259.80 247.00 257.90GESHIP 294.40 306.00 287.80 301.65IBULISL 348.00 350.00 329.15 336.40GODREJAGRO 520.00 525.00 518.00 521.95LTTS 1555.00 1560.00 1535.60 1547.60MOTILALOFS 603.70 618.65 602.25 607.45TATAMETALI 675.45 688.95 670.00 674.30RAMCOCEM 737.05 749.00 734.10 738.90MFSL 430.30 438.20 427.00 430.40GSPL 173.85 181.90 173.85 180.10PIIND 1015.00 1036.95 992.65 1008.60MINDAIND 347.05 354.00 344.00 350.65GPPL 90.90 93.30 90.90 92.15KPRMILL 598.55 609.75 585.00 606.50GHCL 247.95 249.50 242.10 243.15HEIDELBERG 181.00 182.50 177.60 181.50CENTURYPLY 193.60 200.50 193.50 196.50EIDPARRY 212.00 218.00 211.65 215.25MMTC 29.05 29.45 28.50 28.70SYNGENE 591.50 596.55 590.10 592.95SREINFRA 33.80 33.80 32.05 32.30ABB 1271.00 1280.10 1250.00 1256.65AARTIIND 1496.75 1505.00 1470.00 1475.15LAKSHVILAS 73.55 74.60 69.15 70.15KALPATPOWR 416.00 428.00 416.00 426.05RAJESHEXPO 604.75 613.75 601.75 603.00TV18BRDCST 37.30 37.50 36.30 36.60AEGISLOG 208.55 212.00 203.55 205.70JKLAKSHMI 345.60 360.75 344.15 355.55TATACOFFEE 93.55 94.75 92.80 93.10MAXINDIA 63.50 65.15 63.05 63.35EVEREADY 208.95 209.70 205.00 205.30NLCINDIA 70.65 72.90 70.65 72.10ENDURANCE 1175.00 1182.00 1160.00 1167.95MAHLIFE 376.95 393.50 376.95 382.50CENTRALBK 34.80 35.00 34.00 34.40JAGRAN 110.00 113.10 109.10 112.20INOXLEISUR 309.00 315.00 303.70 308.25CORPBANK 29.80 30.65 29.75 29.85PTC 81.15 81.55 80.00 80.40MRF 58100.00 58223.95 56900.00 57210.55AIAENG 1811.25 1811.25 1731.20 1743.80MAGMA 118.20 121.35 116.25 117.30LAXMIMACH 6349.95 6395.10 6215.00 6242.80ZENSARTECH 226.00 226.00 214.10 223.30GLAXO 1320.00 1331.00 1279.00 1316.35FINCABLES 456.00 472.50 455.00 465.90IEX 161.55 164.30 160.30 161.70HERITGFOOD 521.70 532.00 512.50 525.70SHK 155.40 158.45 153.30 154.35OFSS 3450.00 3490.75 3435.60 3459.15SUNDRMFAST 527.00 530.35 518.10 526.75ITDC 301.30 303.70 290.25 293.70COFFEEDAY 291.80 291.95 286.80 287.50FORBESCO 2494.40 2494.40 2310.05 2331.60KRBL 372.90 376.95 365.30 371.35JSLHISAR 95.40 97.30 94.90 95.60TEJASNET 179.45 184.95 177.65 180.60BOSCHLTD 19233.65 19422.55 19001.60 19068.00NH 224.00 224.95 214.60 216.15GREENPLY 152.20 154.15 151.15 153.25PFIZER 3214.20 3247.40 3190.00 3217.55SJVN 24.65 24.85 24.30 24.40CENTRUM 35.65 36.10 34.50 35.15JSL 43.50 44.00 42.70 42.95TTKPRESTIG 9000.00 9255.00 9000.00 9122.75BAYERCROP 4303.00 4344.90 4280.00 4324.65HAL 694.50 700.00 690.00 693.10LUXIND 1320.00 1341.00 1302.05 1323.35AMARAJABAT 749.65 752.30 743.00 746.05BALMLAWRIE 191.90 193.00 187.45 189.60BASF 1440.00 1445.00 1417.20 1430.55FDC 178.85 187.00 178.55 181.40SCHNEIDER 103.90 106.20 102.20 105.40NBVENTURES 106.90 109.40 104.50 105.35ISGEC 5255.00 5547.95 5255.00 5361.25TNPL 221.75 224.20 218.60 218.95VBL 817.70 825.30 811.00 815.55CARERATING 1008.00 1011.60 989.05 1009.55PHOENIXLTD 639.95 656.60 620.00 633.25MERCK 3550.00 3550.00 3458.15 3465.65NILKAMAL 1405.00 1437.00 1405.00 1417.60CRISIL 1437.15 1515.00 1437.15 1493.20ASTRAZEN 2004.00 2025.00 1933.00 1938.75SONATSOFTW 335.00 338.25 330.20 332.50LALPATHLAB 1049.90 1069.15 1049.05 1056.70ORIENTCEM 89.00 92.00 87.50 88.60ALKEM 1741.00 1763.00 1735.00 1740.70TIMETECHNO 103.75 107.40 100.00 104.45SUPREMEIND 1140.00 1150.00 1127.25 1139.95SHARDACROP 383.40 389.90 378.00 387.00QUESS 784.75 796.00 782.50 789.10

APLAPOLLO 1394.20 1400.00 1370.00 1379.20CYIENT* 683.00 691.90 683.00 688.15LAOPALA 216.90 219.50 211.10 213.60VMART 2829.95 2830.00 2771.50 2791.20SANOFI 5625.00 5840.00 5625.00 5737.50TIFHL 508.80 523.15 488.70 493.65SUPRAJIT 225.00 229.00 220.40 225.05UCOBANK 19.45 19.65 19.15 19.25KIOCL 153.25 157.85 146.55 149.50THYROCARE 533.45 540.55 528.00 533.45CAPPL 412.95 414.00 397.00 406.90THOMASCOOK 223.00 224.15 221.35 222.45NAVNETEDUL 110.10 111.10 108.00 109.60TVSSRICHAK 2285.05 2347.75 2260.00 2282.05ATUL 3360.00 3360.00 3303.00 3313.15DBCORP 208.90 208.90 197.30 199.15SHRIRAMCIT 1708.60 1746.25 1655.30 1718.95CUB 188.30 189.35 187.50 188.40SUDARSCHEM 347.60 355.00 343.00 348.25PGHH 10309.20 10568.60 10239.20 10468.10BLUESTARCO 658.00 672.45 658.00 664.30MAHABANK 13.91 13.91 13.41 13.48INDOSTAR 358.80 358.80 350.10 353.25ABBOTINDIA 7390.75 7490.00 7321.00 7352.00MINDACORP 145.35 148.90 145.35 146.50VTL 1093.80 1100.60 1077.05 1082.80JBCHEPHARM 342.75 342.75 335.65 336.60ZYDUSWELL 1313.70 1326.00 1285.20 1304.25JYOTHYLAB 190.60 191.35 188.50 189.65NETWORK18 35.30 36.00 35.15 35.80GDL 129.60 130.65 126.00 127.05ELGIEQUIP 259.95 260.00 250.00 253.35SUNCLAYLTD 3050.00 3260.00 2971.55 3141.90SUPPETRO 218.00 224.05 215.35 221.15GSKCONS 7179.95 7220.00 7164.10 7191.70TATAINVEST 842.05 852.70 842.00 847.25INOXWIND 76.60 76.60 74.25 76.20FLFL 439.25 448.40 439.20 441.75MAHLOG 502.55 505.15 490.00 497.15FINOLEXIND 547.00 547.00 536.25 541.75TIINDIA 384.00 385.80 376.65 382.45HATSUN 699.90 717.00 697.15 703.35APLLTD 555.25 555.55 550.00 550.40CCL 298.00 300.40 295.90 299.45SWANENERGY 110.00 112.00 108.90 110.80JKCEMENT 831.00 850.00 831.00 844.20CARBORUNIV 391.05 391.20 384.00 386.70WABCOINDIA 6330.00 6438.65 6310.30 6375.503MINDIA 24800.00 24897.00 24445.55 24467.10ASTERDM 153.20 156.90 153.20 154.25SHREECEM 18248.20 18248.20 17900.00 18006.55TIMKEN 586.00 595.00 585.00 586.80MONSANTO 2660.00 2660.00 2619.10 2653.80GET&D 289.95 291.50 284.15 287.60SKFINDIA 1960.00 1980.00 1935.00 1957.50ECLERX 1113.00 1113.00 1091.50 1093.15TVTODAY 340.00 350.00 336.60 341.30HONAUT 22185.75 22788.00 22185.75 22640.70UNITEDBNK 11.26 11.49 11.20 11.25IFBIND 936.20 950.00 923.20 938.40GAYAPROJ 170.00 172.50 168.20 170.05GRINDWELL 600.00 600.00 585.05 589.20AKZOINDIA 1738.00 1796.55 1737.95 1783.05TEAMLEASE 3025.00 3030.00 2950.85 2994.15GILLETTE 6513.05 6526.75 6481.10 6514.85GALAXYSURF 1107.15 1131.00 1107.15 1126.05GEPIL 848.35 855.00 846.00 854.05SCHAEFFLER 5500.00 5500.00 5377.00 5410.75ASAHIINDIA 269.55 273.10 268.00 270.05SHOPERSTOP 472.50 484.05 472.50 482.25DHANUKA 440.95 445.75 433.30 438.10CERA 2648.90 2648.90 2579.25 2598.65GULFOILLUB 869.00 869.00 850.00 854.20NESCO 455.00 466.80 454.20 460.95TRITURBINE 113.85 118.90 113.00 117.85JCHAC 1990.00 2039.35 1969.15 2012.95MAHSCOOTER 3305.75 3388.00 3305.75 3376.30ESSELPRO 111.95 113.90 111.00 111.15BLUEDART 3256.40 3295.00 3227.00 3247.55SHILPAMED 378.65 380.80 375.00 376.35ERIS 659.85 661.95 654.00 656.95SIS 835.90 860.25 830.00 859.30STARCEMENT 101.40 102.00 100.20 100.35APARINDS 669.20 669.25 658.00 661.50SFL 1385.00 1422.00 1375.40 1383.30RATNAMANI 894.85 894.85 882.05 889.90SOLARINDS 1045.70 1045.70 1028.20 1033.30

NIFTY 50

SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY 50 11231.35 11320.40 11227.00 11301.20 133.15BHARTIARTL 332.80 354.00 329.35 350.50 16.70ICICIBANK 378.00 389.00 377.35 388.70 12.85INDUSINDBK 1526.00 1585.00 1510.75 1563.70 49.10LT 1355.00 1403.00 1355.00 1389.00 42.45ADANIPORTS 352.55 365.15 351.60 361.30 10.00SUNPHARMA 463.00 471.65 462.00 471.00 11.55RELIANCE 1316.90 1334.00 1314.25 1330.85 26.75HDFCBANK 2147.00 2175.00 2137.00 2168.00 39.55ZEEL 458.00 472.65 453.10 461.05 8.05HDFC 1914.90 1936.65 1900.10 1926.25 28.70TATAMOTORS 184.40 186.00 183.55 184.45 2.60DRREDDY 2647.00 2676.00 2638.00 2663.00 36.85HINDUNILVR 1718.90 1739.00 1718.80 1736.00 21.05HINDALCO 203.00 206.90 202.10 203.50 2.45POWERGRID 194.65 202.00 194.65 196.60 2.30ULTRACEMCO 4063.90 4147.95 4050.50 4095.00 45.85BAJAJFINSV 6858.00 6891.00 6791.80 6860.00 76.40AXISBANK 738.70 749.00 738.55 742.60 8.10TITAN 1074.95 1095.95 1072.00 1080.25 11.05KOTAKBANK 1260.45 1272.00 1253.10 1262.00 12.45HCLTECH 1007.10 1019.50 1000.05 1014.00 9.60VEDL 178.90 180.35 177.30 178.30 1.20MARUTI 7097.00 7232.00 7096.00 7130.30 48.40ASIANPAINT 1422.00 1445.35 1421.20 1428.00 8.20ITC 294.00 295.65 293.15 294.50 1.55M&M 686.90 693.10 683.35 684.40 3.35WIPRO 261.00 263.35 260.15 260.95 1.20BPCL 388.40 394.40 384.30 388.80 1.75TATASTEEL 524.40 530.50 521.00 523.00 2.35UPL 900.00 906.90 893.65 898.00 1.30NTPC 150.80 156.35 150.20 151.40 0.00GRASIM 831.90 838.60 826.20 827.30 -0.20SBIN 289.20 289.90 285.75 287.30 -0.05GAIL 354.40 357.50 349.10 351.45 -0.30COALINDIA 245.00 246.90 241.20 243.10 -0.30BAJAJ-AUTO 3012.00 3020.80 2981.35 2997.00 -3.55IOC 155.00 156.45 153.00 153.50 -0.20TECHM 811.00 813.75 801.15 805.70 -1.45IBULHSGFIN 729.50 732.90 715.20 717.00 -1.95TCS 2014.05 2024.80 2003.00 2009.10 -5.70CIPLA 541.90 543.65 537.30 538.00 -2.10HEROMOTOCO 2840.00 2849.40 2790.10 2802.85 -11.90YESBANK 238.00 239.20 235.00 235.10 -1.20INFY 709.00 714.95 705.60 706.75 -4.50ONGC 154.00 155.60 151.10 151.80 -1.20JSWSTEEL 294.05 298.00 290.05 290.10 -2.55HINDPETRO 265.90 272.60 260.60 261.00 -2.40INFRATEL 319.50 322.70 309.00 316.00 -3.70BAJFINANCE 2808.80 2816.65 2745.50 2753.00 -38.05EICHERMOT 23001.00 23355.00 22272.90 22369.90 -602.55

SE 500B

NIFTY NEXT 50

SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY NEXT 50 28261.15 28427.35 28156.40 28208.30 120.75DLF 179.00 188.70 177.60 187.10 10.25PGHH 10274.00 10610.00 10248.50 10600.00 412.40GICRE 256.50 277.00 256.50 261.00 10.10AUROPHARMA 759.80 785.90 742.85 775.50 24.75HAVELLS 748.70 769.90 746.60 764.95 22.35BANDHANBNK 513.90 526.50 504.00 525.00 13.70BIOCON 625.00 641.95 624.00 638.00 15.00CONCOR 496.05 507.00 489.70 502.05 8.55OIL 179.95 181.30 178.50 180.55 2.80DMART 1490.00 1522.70 1483.00 1504.30 22.10L&TFH 146.50 148.85 145.65 146.70 2.00CADILAHC 333.30 342.80 333.30 336.35 3.50SRTRANSFIN 1270.00 1285.00 1261.20 1272.50 13.05COLPAL 1279.00 1303.20 1275.00 1285.50 13.15GODREJCP 728.90 734.80 721.25 729.00 6.25HINDZINC 273.00 277.50 272.55 273.50 2.25OFSS 3463.90 3499.00 3432.75 3469.90 27.50MCDOWELL-N 579.90 588.40 576.30 578.70 4.50NMDC 111.25 113.10 110.60 111.65 0.85ICICIGI 987.00 996.90 973.05 987.00 7.35DABUR 448.00 454.70 444.70 445.35 3.05LUPIN 794.55 810.80 794.55 800.70 5.40MARICO 351.40 353.00 348.55 349.95 2.15IDEA 34.50 34.75 33.65 34.35 0.15SHREECEM 18101.00 18216.95 17960.50 18005.00 29.95LICHSGFIN 505.00 512.70 501.00 502.00 0.15SIEMENS 1064.00 1066.00 1050.40 1055.00 -1.35SBILIFE 623.00 634.90 612.00 621.50 -0.95ASHOKLEY 94.05 95.50 92.60 92.90 -0.15AMBUJACEM 233.75 237.10 232.35 232.75 -0.55BOSCHLTD 19150.00 19421.95 19005.10 19048.00 -52.30BRITANNIA 3165.90 3178.80 3120.90 3125.05 -8.40SUNTV 618.55 625.75 613.30 615.00 -1.85PETRONET 242.00 243.70 237.40 238.40 -0.80SAIL 55.65 56.00 54.65 54.85 -0.20BHEL 70.45 71.35 69.55 69.75 -0.30PIDILITIND 1145.15 1149.40 1128.00 1132.00 -6.15ABCAPITAL 100.85 100.90 98.35 99.25 -0.70BANKBARODA 116.95 117.80 114.45 115.05 -1.00BEL 92.20 93.70 90.70 90.85 -0.80ACC 1612.50 1626.85 1587.70 1590.20 -14.05ICICIPRULI 344.70 353.95 340.10 341.00 -3.35ABB 1273.70 1281.00 1244.00 1251.95 -14.25NIACL 210.00 219.00 197.20 203.00 -2.40MRF 58100.00 58253.65 56801.00 57030.20 -678.10NHPC 25.50 25.70 24.90 25.00 -0.35PEL 2682.00 2707.00 2607.55 2617.00 -38.30MOTHERSUMI 172.95 175.60 165.65 168.00 -4.00INDIGO 1305.00 1308.35 1261.65 1267.25 -34.70HDFCLIFE 367.55 376.85 367.55 370.50 -20.00

world 13LUCKNOW | WEDNESDAY | MARCH 13, 2019

Bolton: Pakistan assures US to

deal ‘firmly’ with all terrorists

PTI n WASHINGTON

Pakistan has assured the USthat it will deal “firmly” with

all terrorists operating from thecountry and take steps to de-escalate tensions with India,according to National SecurityAdviser John Bolton. The assur-ance was given by PakistanForeign Minister ShahMehmood Qureshi during aphone call on Monday, Boltonsaid on a day when ForeignSecretary Vijay Gokhale calledon US Secretary of State MikePompeo here and discussedthe need to bringing thoseresponsible for the Pulwamaattack to justice and the urgencyof Pakistan taking meaningfulaction against terrorist groupsoperating on its soil.

“Spoke with Pakistani FMQureshi to encourage mean-ingful steps against JeM andother terrorist groups operatingfrom Pakistan,” Bolton said ina tweet. “The FM assured methat Pakistan would deal firm-ly with all terrorists and willcontinue steps to de-escalatetensions with India,” he said.

Tensions flared up betweenIndia and Pakistan after a sui-cide bomber of Pakistan-basedJaish-e-Muhammed (JeM)killed 40 CRPF personnel inKashmir’s Pulwama district onFebruary 14. In Islamabad,Pakistan’s Foreign Office saidthe purpose of Qureshi’s callwas to provide Bolton Pakistan’s

perspective on the “recentregional developments.”

Qureshi said that PakistanPrime Minister Imran Khandecided to hand over the IndianAir Force pilot as a gesture ofgoodwill towards India.Pakistan wished peace and sta-bility in the region, he was quot-ed as telling the US NationalSecurity Adviser. The foreignminister also informed Boltonthat Pakistan’s HighCommissioner to India hasreturned to Delhi after consul-tations. During talks betweenGokhale and Pompeo, theUnited States continued tomaintain pressure on Pakistan,according to a readout of themeeting issued by the StateD e p a r t m e n t . “S e c r e t a r yPompeo and Foreign SecretaryGokhale discussed the impor-tance of bringing those respon-

sible for the (Pulwama) attackto justice and the urgency ofPakistan taking meaningfulaction against terrorist groupsoperating on its soil,” StateDepartment

Deputy SpokespersonRobert Palladino said. Pompeoaffirmed that the United Statesstands with the people andgovernment of India in the fightagainst terrorism, he said.

“They noted the strength ofour partnership and discussedways to further enhance coop-eration, including on counter-terrorism,” Palladino said.Secretary Gokhale conveyedIndia’s appreciation to the USGovernment and to SecretaryPompeo personally for the firmsupport that India receivedfrom the US in the aftermath ofthe terrorist attack in Pulwama,the Ministry of External Affairs

said in a statement on themeeting. Secretary Pompeoexpressed his understandingof India’s concerns regardingcross-border terrorism, it said.“They agreed that Pakistanneeds to take concerted actionto dismantle the terrorist infra-structure and to deny safehaven to all terrorist groups inits territory. They also agreedthat those who support or abetterrorism in any form should beheld accountable,” the statementsaid.

Amid mounting outragein India over the Pulwama ter-ror attack, the Indian Air Forcecarried out a counter-terroroperation, hitting the biggestJeM training camp in Balakot,deep inside Pakistan onFebruary 26. The next day,Pakistan Air Force retaliatedand downed a MiG-21 in anaerial combat and capturedIndian pilot, who was handedover to India on March 1.

The escalation of tensionsbetween the two nuclear-armedneighbours prompted the majorpowers to intervene and urgedboth Pakistan and India to de-escate. Secretary of StatePompeo was directly in touchwith the leadership of bothIndia and Pakistan to de-esca-late tensions. The internation-al community also mountedpressure on Islamabad to actagainst the terror groups oper-ating from the country and stopproviding safe havens to them.

2 pilots killed in China’s navalplane crashBeijing (PTI): Two Chinesenavy pilots were killed Tuesdaywhen their plane crashed dur-ing a training mission in thesouthern island province ofHainan, the military said. Thecrash happened during a train-ing exercise over rural Ledongcounty in the southern islandprovince.

There were no casualtieson the ground and an investi-gation is underway to ascertaincause of the accident, the navysaid in a statement.The PeoplesLiberation Army’s (PLA) offi-cial statement did not specifythe type plane that crashed,although unverified witnessaccount online said it was atwin-seat Xian JH-7 “FlyingLeopard”, Hong Kong-basedSouth China Morning Postreported.

The JH-7, which enteredservice with the navy and airforce in the 1990s, has beeninvolved in a number of fatalaccidents over the years, itsaid. China’s worst military airaccident in recent years hap-pened in January 2018. At least12 crew members died when aPLA Air Force plane, believedto be an electronic reconnais-sance aircraft, crashed inGuizhou in the southwest ofthe country. Military com-mentators have previously saidthat China’s drive to improve itscombat readiness, whichincludes the building of newaircraft carriers and warplanes,has resulted in a serious short-age of qualified pilots. To fillthe vacancies the Chinese mil-itary has started a majorrecruitment drive and intensivetraining programme for pilots,the report said.

‘Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes will remaingrounded until security clearance’Beijing (PTI): China said onTuesday that Boeing 737 MAX8 planes will not be allowed tofly until their security is guar-anteed, as it ruled out any pol-itics behind its decision toground nearly 100 such aircraftafter the deadly EthiopianAirlines crash.

China’s civil aviation regu-lator on Monday ordereddomestic carriers to ground allBoeing 737 MAX 8 planes, cit-ing flight safety, a day after anaircraft of similar model oper-ated by the Ethiopian Airlinescrashed in Addis Ababa killingall 157 passengers and crew,including 10 Indians andIndian-origin Canadians. The

crash of Ethiopian Airlinesplane came five months afteranother Boeing 737 MAX 8 ofLion Air crashed in Indonesiathat killed 189 passengers andcrew. Reports said there weresimilarities between theEthiopian and Indonesian aircrashes as they both occurredduring take-off, involving newaircraft that had just beendelivered.

Apart from China,Indonesia and Ethiopia havealso ordered the airlines toground their Boeing 737 MAX8 planes. “As for China, theCivil Aviation Authority ofChina (CAAC) has said thatthey will stay in touch with the

US and Boeing,” ChineseForeign Ministry spokesmanLu Kang told a media briefinghere.

After guaranteeing thesecurity of the aircraft, they willresume operations. So we don’thave a time table yet. “Onlyafter we confirm that there isno risk for security can weresume their operation. It isshows our sense of responsi-bility for passenger safety,” hesaid. In a bid to rule out anypolitics behind China’s deci-sion, Lu pointed to severalother countries and airlinesthat have grounded the partic-ular aircraft after Sunday’s acci-dent due to safety concerns.

Six Indians in Canada among 157 dead in Ethiopian Airlines crashOttawa (PTI): The “trip of alifetime” to a safari park inKenya turned into a nightmarefor six members of a familyfrom India in Canada who per-ished when the Nairobi-boundEthiopian Airlines planecrashed minutes after take-offfrom Addis Ababa.

The Boeing 737 took-offfrom Bole InternationalAirport on Sunday and lostcontact six minutes later beforecoming down near Tulu Faravillage outside the Ethiopiantown of Bishoftu, killing all 149passengers and eight crew onboard, including tourists andbusiness travellers. The victimsincluded Pannagesh Vaidya,73; his wife Hansini Vaidya, 67;their daughter Kosha Vaidya,37; her husband Prerit Dixit,

45; and their two children —Anushka and Ashka —Brampton Mayor PatrickBrown was quoted as saying bythe Canadian BroadcastingCorporation.

While the Surat-basedVaidya couple were Indiannationals, their daughter, hus-

band and two children wereCanadians of Indian-origin.The family who were living inCanada, heading for a safarivacation, were about to expe-rience “the trip of a lifetime” inKenya when the tragic loss hap-pened. “This is an unbelievablytragic situation for this family,”

Brown said in a statement. “Asmore details become known, Iwill provide a further update onhow Brampton residents canassist this family. Our thoughtsand prayers are with themduring this time of sorrow andreflection.”

The flags at city hall willremain at half-mast until fur-ther notice in honour of thefamily, Brown said in a messageon Twitter. “It’s a huge tragedy,”Manant Vaidya, son ofPannagesh, said.

“I lost my parents, I lostmy sister. I don’t have anyoneelse now.”

Manant said his sister, whobecame a Canadian permanentresident in 2003, wanted to takeher children to Kenya to visither birthplace.

Manant Vaidya is joined by his wife Hiral, left, as he speaks to a Canadian Pressreporter about losing his two parents, sister, brother-in-law, and two young nieces inthe crash of an Ethiopian Airlines jetliner Sunday, at his home in Brampton, Ontario,Monday AP

‘No date set for Trump-Xisummit, tradenegotiations on’Washington (PTI): No date hasbeen set yet for a summit meet-ing between US President DonaldTrump and his Chinese counter-part Xi Jinping, the White Housesaid on Monday noting that thetrade negotiations between thetwo countries still continues.

“In terms of whether or not

we have a date set, not yet. We’recontinuing the negotiations withChina. When we have anannouncement for the two lead-ers to sit down, we’ll certainly letyou know,” White House PressSecretary Sarah Sanders toldreporters at her news conference.

She was responding to ques-tions on reports that a summitmeeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lagoresort in the US state of Florida hasbeen put off as China considersthe US President as “unreliable” inview of him walking away fromtalks with North Korean leaderKim Jong-un. Sanders ridiculedsuch a view.“I would say that’sabsurd. The President is going tomake a deal if it’s a good deal. He’sgoing to make a deal if it’s in thebest interest of America. If hedoesn’t feel like it’s a good deal, it’snot worth just signing a piece ofpaper,” Sanders said. She arguedthat the President didn’t feel likewhat was on the table was enough.

“The President is 100 percent committed to denucleariza-tion of the Peninsula, and he’sgoing to make sure that whatev-er we do furthers that process.We’ll see what happens withNorth Korea, the same way we’regoing to see what happens in thenegotiations with China. They’reongoing,” she said. Trump is goingto make sure whatever deal the USgets is in its best interest — that it’sfair and reciprocal trade; that it pro-tects intellectual property; andthat it actually has safeguards tomake sure that the Chinese followthrough with whatever commit-ments that they make, Sanders said.The two leaders will sit down fortalks only when the negotiations arecomplete, she asserted.

‘Diplomaticprotection ofjailed motherwon’t makethings easier’Tehran (AFP): Iran’s foreignministry warned the UK onTuesday that giving diplomaticprotection to a British-Iranianmother jailed in Tehran wouldnot make the situation “easier”,state news agency IRNA report-ed.

Britain on Friday extendedthe status to Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was arrested inTehran in 2016. “What is certainis that the British government’smove lacks goodwill and is in noway constructive or positive,”said ministry spokesman BahramGhasemi on Tuesday. “If it does

not make the situation morecomplicated, it will surely notmake things easier.” Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who worked for theThomson Reuters Foundation —the media organisation’s philan-thropic arm — is serving a five-year jail sentence for sedition. Shehas denied all the charges againsther.

Diplomatic protection is ararely-used mechanism allowinggovernments to seek protectionfor their citizens on the groundsthat they have been wronged byanother state.Britain’s ForeignSecretary Jeremy Hunt said Fridaythat London would take the“extremely unusual” step ofextending diplomatic protectionto the jailed mother.

This would signify the “for-mal recognition by the Britishgovernment that her treatmentfails to meet Iran’s obligationsunder international law”, he said.

UK says changes to Brexitdeal agreed with EUAP n STRASBOURG

Prime Minister Theresa Maysaid Monday she has

secured “legally binding” guar-antees from the EU designed toget the Brexit deal through theBritish parliament and avert achaotic withdrawal. Sheannounced the move after alate evening dash to Strasbourgto hammer out the changeswith top European officials, asthe clock ticked down toBritain’s scheduled divorcefrom the bloc on March 29.

European Commissionchief Jean-Claude Junckerwarned that the stakes wereincreasingly high, ahead of avote by British lawmakers onthe deal on Tuesday. “Thechoice is clear: it is this deal, orBrexit may not happen at all.Let’s bring the UK’s withdraw-al to an orderly end,” the for-mer Luxembourg premier toldreporters, sitting next to May ata late-night press conference inthe French city.

“There will be no thirdchance.” The three-part pack-age of changes effectively aimsto resolve a key sticking pointfor British MPs over the so-called backstop plan to keepopen the border between EUmember Ireland and the Britishprovince of Northern Ireland.

“Today we have securedlegal changes,” May toldreporters after the talks withJuncker and the EuropeanUnion’s chief negotiator MichelBarnier.

“Now is the time to cometogether, to back this improvedBrexit deal, and to deliver onthe instruction of the Britishpeople.” UK lawmakers willstudy the new proposals beforeholding a vote on the divorcedeal Tuesday, with just 17 daysremaining before Britain’splanned split from the blocafter 46 years.

Britain’s House ofCommons overwhelminglydefeated the deal in Januaryand was expected to do soagain on Tuesday withoutmeaningful change. Anotherdefeat in parliament could seeBritain sever ties with its clos-est trading partner on March29 with no new arrangements,causing huge disruption onboth sides of the Channel.

It would also raise the pos-sibility of postponing Brexit,after May promised to allowMPs a vote later this week onwhether to accept a “no deal”scenario or request a short

delay from the EU. Juncker saidhe recommended the deal tothe EU Council, which repre-sents member states, and thatIrish Prime Minister LeoVaradkar was prepared to backthe changes on the backstop.Brexit-supporting MPs reactedcautiously to news of theagreement, but said they want-ed to examine the detail.

“We will certainly analysethat very, very carefully,” saidNigel Dodds of NorthernIreland’s Democratic UnionistParty (DUP), part of May’scoalition government. TheDUP’s support is crucial if thedeal is to pass the House ofCommons.

May’s trip to Strasbourgcaused concern among someMPs, who had complainedthey may not have enoughtime to scrutinise what Mayagreed before being asked tovote.

“Is this incompetence or isthis just contempt for parlia-ment?” said opposition LabourMP Yvette Cooper. May’s ini-tial deal was struck after 18months of tough negotiations,and covers Britain’s financialsettlement, expatriate rights,the Irish border and plans fora transition period.

But MPs rejected it inJanuary by a massive 432 votesto 202, with many of May’sConservatives rebelling againsther. The Commons later senther back to renegotiate thebackstop.

This would keep Britain inthe EU customs union andparts of its single market untiland unless another way —such as a trade deal — is foundto avoid frontier checks.

Juncker said May and hehave agreed a “legal instru-ment” to ease British concernsover the backstop.

Many MPs fear it is a “trap”to keep them tied to EU rules,but Brussels has rejected callsfor a time limit or unilateral exitclause.

“It is harder to leave thebackstop than it is to leave theEU,” claimed Conservative MPJacob Rees-Mogg, an influen-tial Brexiteer.

May has promised Britainwill leave the EU whateverhappens on March 29, butmany MPs fear that a “nodeal” exit would wreak eco-nomic havoc.In the face of acabinet revolt, she promisedthat if her deal is defeatedagain then MPs will vote on “nodeal” on Wednesday and thenon Thursday, on delayingBrexit.

Any postponement wouldhave to be approved by theleaders of the other 27 nations,who are next meeting at aBrussel’s summit on March 21and 22 — a week before Brexitday. Nigel Farage, who spear-headed the campaign that ledto Britons voting in the June2016 referendum to leave theEU, held firm.

“This is all words andtwisted meanings. Nothing haschanged. Reject. Reject. Reject,”Farage tweeted.Britain’s mainopposition Labour Party alsocame out against the agree-ment.“This evening’s agree-ment with the EuropeanCommission does not containanything approaching thechanges Theresa May promisedparliament,” Labour leaderJeremy Corbyn said.

British Prime Minister Theresa May, left, poses for the media with EuropeanCommission President Jean-Claude Juncker in Strasbourg, France, Monday. AP

Google paid $45 mn to its ex-India-bornexecutive accused of sexual misconductSan Francisco (PTI): Techtitan Google agreed to pay itsformer India-born top execu-tive Amit Singhal a whoppingUSD 45 million as an exitpackage when he resigned fromthe company in 2016 afterbeing accused of sexual harass-ment, according to a mediareport. The previously undis-closed amount was in the sep-aration agreement for Singhal,a senior vice president who ranGoogle’s search operations untilearly 2016.

The amount was revealedon Monday in a shareholderlawsuit accusing the board ofdirectors of Alphabet, the par-ent company of Google, ofshirking their responsibilitiesby agreeing to pay executivesaccused of misconduct insteadof firing them for cause, theNew York Times reported. Thelawsuit was part of the falloutover how Google has handledsexual harassment cases, itsaid. The lawsuit was filed in

January in California SuperiorCourt with redactions in thepassages referring to boarddiscussions. An amended ver-sion was filed on Mondaywithout the redactions.

According to the amend-ed suit, Google agreed to paySinghal USD 15 million a yearfor two years and betweenUSD 5 million and USD 15million in the third year as longas he was not employed by acompetitor. He agreed to takea job at Uber about a year afterhis departure, then resignedfrom the ride-hailing companya few weeks later when the sex-

ual harassment claim at Googlebecame public, the report said.Frank Bottini, an attorney forthe shareholders, said theboard-approved payments werean “abdication of responsibili-ty”. A Google spokeswomansaid Monday that the compa-ny had “made many changes toour workplace and taken anincreasingly hard line on inap-propriate conduct by people inpositions of authority”.

“There are serious conse-quences for anyone whobehaves inappropriately atGoogle,” she said. Singhal leftGoogle after an employee saidhe had groped her at an off-siteevent. Google investigated theallegation and found thatSinghal had been inebriated.The company also concludedthat the employee’s accountwas credible. At the time,Singhal said he wanted tospend more time with his fam-ily and focus on his philan-thropy, the report said.

Washington (PTI): Most peopledo not verify whether a newpiece of information is accurateor fake before sharing it onsocial media, regardless of age,social class or gender, a study hasfound. Researchers at OhioUniversity in the US found thatseveral factors can be used todetect misinformation, otherwiseknown as “fake news,” on socialmedia.

The study, published in thejournal Behaviour &Information Technology, foundthat, by looking at certain factors,it is possible to predict if some-one is likely to share misinfor-mation based on the same fac-tors.

“This is a pioneering studythat helps understand why indi-viduals would share misinfor-mation on social media using atheoretical lens and informationliteracy factors,” said M LaeeqKhan, a professor at OhioUniversity. “Fake news andmisinformation could be right-ly termed as the major issues ofour time. Almost every otherstudy in this realm falls short of

highlighting the vital role ofindividuals in halting the spreadof misinformation,” Khan said ina statement.

To test the researchhypotheses that predict the shar-ing of misinformation, Khanextended his work from a USframework to gather data inIndonesia. Indonesia is notonly one of the largest socialmedia markets in the world, thecountry has caught news head-lines for fighting misinformationand hoaxes, especially during itselection season, researchers said.

The study asked partici-

pants to rate their perceivedinternet skills, self-esteem andinternet experiences as well astheir attitudes towards fact-checking online information,belief in reliability, and howoften participants shared infor-mation without fact checking.

There were 396 participantsin the study, which found thatage, social class and gender didnot play a huge part, but rathermedia and information literacywas found to be the biggest fac-tor in recognising misinforma-tion. “The important role ofinformation literacy is often

taken for granted. It was foundthat information verificationskills such as simply Googlingsome new piece of informationand not sharing it right awaycould prove beneficial in haltingthe spread of misinformation,”Khan said.

“In addition, informationverification attitude greatly mat-tered,” he said. Those who havea strong belief in the reliability ofthe information are more likelyto share information onlinewithout verification, researcherssaid.

“Online users must possessan attitude of healthy skepticismwhen any information comestheir way.

Such an attitude of infor-mation verification by individu-als can prove to be a major coun-terweight to the rising misin-formation online,” Khan said.While many respondents saidthat they felt it was important toshare verified information, somedo not have the media or infor-mation literacy to accuratelyassess whether information theyare sharing is in fact correct.

People don’t verify fake news before sharing

Amit Singhal

Zaghari-Ratcliffe

sport 14LUCKNOW | WEDNESDAY | MARCH 13, 2019

AFP ■ WELLINGTON

Injured Kane Williamson could sitout the third Test againstBangladesh beginning on Saturday

in Christchurch and might have todelay his departure for the IndianPremier League (IPL), New Zealandsaid on Tuesday.

Captain Williamson suffered ashoulder injury while fielding inBangladesh's first innings of the sec-ond Test in Wellington.

Coach Gary Stead said scans haddetected a tear to Williamson's leftpectoral minor muscle in his shoulder.

"There's obviously irritation anda wee bit of bleeding, it's not a majorinjury," Stead said.

"We're hopeful that he will recov-er quickly, and the thing for us is tomake sure he doesn't aggravate it anymore. He will come to Christchurchand we will make an assessment thereon whether he plays."

With the series already won, Steadsaid New Zealand would take a "safe-ty first" approach, particularly with thisyear's World Cup on the horizon.

"No player wants to give up theirspot in the Test team. But I think it'ssafe to say that we will probably err onthe conservative side, and if there's any

chance of risk then we're likely to pullhim from that game."

Williamson is due to fly to Indiaafter the Bangladesh series to join upwith the Sunrisers Hyderabad in themoney-spinning Twenty20 IPL.

"If things progress as we hope,then still going to the IPL shouldn't bea problem to him," said Stead.

"But he's also aware that if he's notquite 100 per cent, then we willpotentially hold him back as well andmake sure that he is right before hegoes on that plane."

AFP ■ MADRID

Zinedine Zidane said henever had any doubtsabout returning to RealMadrid after he replacedthe sacked Santiago

Solari as coach on Monday."When the president called

me the first thing I thought was:go," Zidane said at a press confer-ence at the Santiago Bernabeu. "Icould not say no, I never had anydoubts about going back."

Zidane has been given a con-tract until June 2022, just ninemonths after he resigned at the endof last season, having led Madridto an historic third consecutiveChampions League triumph.

Solari's dismissal was expectedafter three consecutive homedefeats — to Barcelona, twice, andAjax — deemed Madrid's seasonall-but over before the middle ofMarch.

But Zidane coming back, withonly 11 games left in La Liga andalmost nothing to play for, is a sur-prise, particularly after he left onthe incredible high of yet anotherEuropean triumph.

"I left because a change wasneeded at the end of last season, forthe good of everyone, after winningso much," Zidane said.

"I returned because the presi-dent called me. I love him and Ilove this club, so here I am."

Zidane inherits a squad thathas evolved even in the short timehe has been away, with CristianoRonaldo gone and the likes ofThibaut Courtois, Vinicius Juniorand Sergio Reguilon all enjoyinggreater prominence this season.

The challenge will be forZidane to oversee a period ofchange in the summer, when olderplayers could be replaced andyounger talents brought through.

"I do not want to forget whatwe won but I also do not forget allthe things we did badly last year,"Zidane said.

"We lost in the league and cup,we won the Champions League,fine, but I know where I am.

"We will change things, forsure, for the years to come. But nowis not about that — the importantthing is I am back. We will havetime to talk with the president, with

the club, about what we can do."

BALE QUESTIONImmensely popular with

most of the players, Zidane'sappointment will almost cer-tainly lift morale in the dress-ing room, following a week inwhich Sergio Ramos has arguedwith the club's presidentFlorentino Perez and beeninvolved in a spat with Marcelo.

Gareth Bale was one of thefew to suffer during Zidane'sprevious spell in charge, withthe pair barely on speakingterms in the run-up to theChampions League final.

Bale's future now appears inserious doubt unless their rela-tionship can be quicklyrepaired.

Instead it was Ronaldo thatdeparted and Zidane now takesover a team missing thePortuguese's goals and in needof reform.

On the possibility ofRonaldo following him back toMadrid, Zidane said: "That isnot the issue for today. We have11 games to play, then we willsee. We all know Cristiano, hishistory at this club is one of thebest. But today is not for talk-ing about these things."

Despite Madrid's domi-nance in the ChampionsLeague, there is ground tomake up in La Liga, whereBarcelona are on course to sealtheir eighth league title in 11years.

Madrid sit 12 points adriftof them in the table despite a 4-1 victory over Real Valladolidon Sunday, which proved to beSolari's final game in charge.

Familiar problems, includ-ing a lack of goals and a leakydefence, resurfaced in Februaryas a defeat at home to Gironawas quickly followed by lossesto Barcelona in the league andcup, and humiliation by Ajax inthe last 16 of the ChampionsLeague.

"I do not blame anybody,"Zidane added. "(Julen)Lopetegui and Solari wanted todo the best for the club. It wenthow it went. The only thingnow is to look forward."

AFP ■ MADRID

Zinedine Zidane has returned as Real Madrid boss,just over nine months after walking out on the clubfollowing a third consecutive Champions League tri-

umph.Here, a look at managers who returned to their for-

mer clubs:

Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid)(2016-18, 2019—)

Zidane enjoyed a remarkable start to top level man-agement after being appointed in 2016, steering the clubfor whom he starred as a player between 2001 and 2006to an unprecedented three successive Champions Leagues.

He also guided Madrid to a league crown at theBernabeu in 2017 but a year later the Frenchman quit justdays after the club claimed a record-extending 13thEuropean title. Now he returns to replace Santiago Solari,who was sacked after a disastrous week that saw Realknocked out of the Champions League and suffer leagueand cup defeats to Barcelona.

Jupp Heynckes (Bayern Munich)(1987-1991, 2009, 2011-2013,2017-2018)

Heynckes has won four Bundesligatitles as Bayern coach — the first in1989 and the most recent just last year.

He left for a third time after seal-ing an incredible 2013 treble ofChampions League, Bundesliga andGerman Cup titles, and returned to leadBayern out of a crisis in 2017 whenCarlo Ancelotti was sacked.

Marcello Lippi (Juventus)(1994-1999, 2001-2004)

Lippi won three Serie A titles and only the secondChampions League crown in Juventus' history in the 1990s,before leaving to join their great rivals Inter Milan.

But it did not take long for him to return after beingsacked by Inter, as he replaced Carlo Ancelotti in Turin,going on to take Juve to another Champions League finalin 2003, where they lost on penalties to AC Milan.

Kenny Dalglish (Liverpool)(1985-1991, 2011-2012)

'King Kenny' became man-ager for a second time atAnfield in 2011, two decadesafter an emotional resigna-tion following theHillsborough disaster brought

the end to his first, trophy-laden stint.Dalglish led the Reds to the 2012 League Cup, which

remains their only trophy since 2006, but left at the endof the 2011-2012 season after a disappointing eighth-placedleague finish.

Matt Busby (Manchester United)(1945-1969, 1970-71)

Busby was one of the game's greatest ever managers,having survived the tragic Munich air disaster in 1958 thatdecimated his much-loved 'Busby Babes' side to helpUnited become the first English winners of the EuropeanCup 10 years later.

He retired the following season, but briefly returnedto the Old Trafford dugout after the sacking of WilfMcGuinness.

Fabio Capello (Real Madrid)(1996-1997, 2006-2007)

Capello led Real to the Spanishtitle in his first season in charge, andsigned key players such as ClarenceSeedorf and Roberto Carlos, only tobe sacked.

He returned to the Spanish cap-ital 10 years later and helped Realend a four-year wait for a major titleas he won La Liga in 2007, but wassacked again just weeks later

Leonardo Jardim (Monaco)(2014-2018, 2019-)

Jardim led Monaco to the 2017 French title and despitelosing a host of key players, took his side to second placelast season. He was then dumped and replaced by ThierryHenry after a dreadful start to the current campaign.

However he returned just three months later to replaceHenry, who was sacked in January after a dreadful runof results.

Jose Mourinho (Chelsea)(2004-2007, 2013-2015)

Mourinho won major titles in all three seasons of hisfirst spell at Chelsea, and returned in 2013 amid great fan-fare, declaring himself "the happy one".

He won the Premier League title in his second sea-son back, but was sacked a second time after a catastroph-ic start to the Blues' title defence in 2015.

Claudio Ranieri (Roma)(2009-2011, 2019-)

Feted for his 2016 Premier League title win with LeicesterCity, on Friday Claudio Ranieri returned to his hometownteam Roma, where in 2010 he almost pipped JoseMourinho's treble-winning Inter to the Serie A title.

Roma were top of the league at half-time on the finalday of the season but fell short after Inter won at Siena, beforelosing the Coppa Italia final to Mourinho's outfit. He resignedin February the following year amid a poor run of results.

AFP n MADRID

Spanish media on Tuesday hailedZinedine Zidane's surprisingrestoration as Real Madrid coach

as the "return of the hero" and saidthe "saviour" was also the "last shot"of the struggling European champi-ons.

Real president Florentino Perez"had pulled from his hat a rabbitcalled Zinedine Zidane," wroteBarcelona daily Mundo Deportivo.

Another Barcelona-based daily,Sport, said "Zizou" is "the saviour"who is also Real's "last shot to survivetheir crisis."

In Madrid, sports daily Marcawrote: "He is back and his priority isto rescue and revitalise a strugglingsquad that has been on a downwardspiral ever since his departure onMay 31, 2018."

"Zidane was the standoutfavourite for Florentino Perez and theReal Madrid president was willing todo whatever it took to get him backon side," continued Marca.

"It seems it only required twoconversations to twist his arm."

AS, a Madrid-based paper, quot-

ZIZOU rekindles REAL love affairThree time defending Champions League winning coach returns to Bernabeu after struggling La Liga giants sack Solari following CL exit

Who couldn’t

stay away

Zinedine Zidane poses with the UEFA Champions League trophy after Real Madrid beat Liverpool 3-1 in Kiev AP

“I DO NOT WANTTO FORGET WHAT

WE WON BUT IALSO DO NOT

FORGET ALL THETHINGS WE DID

BADLY LAST YEAR.WE LOST IN THE

LEAGUE AND CUP,WE WON THECHAMPIONS

LEAGUE, FINE, BUTI KNOW WHERE I

AM. WE WILLCHANGE THINGS,

FOR SURE, FORTHE YEARS TO

COME. BUT NOW ISNOT ABOUT THAT

— THE IMPORTANTTHING IS I AM

BACK. WE WILLHAVE TIME TO

TALK WITH THEPRESIDENT, WITHTHE CLUB, ABOUT

WHAT WE CAN DO”

‘Unprecedented Power’

AFP ■ WELLINGTON

Short-ball specialist Neil Wagnerengineered an innings victoryover Bangladesh in what New

Zealand called "an ideal two days" inthe rain-shortened second Test towrap up the series with a game tospare.

After the first two days werewashed out, the match finished in thefirst session of the final day inWellington as New Zealand complet-ed a fifth consecutive series win for thefirst time.

In the face of Wagner's relentlessbouncer barrage, Bangladesh were allout for 209 to give New Zealand vic-tory by an innings and 12 runs to gowith their innings and 52-run win inthe first Test.

"It was an ideal two days," saidTim Southee, who took over theNew Zealand captain's armband afterKane Williamson left for treatment toan injured shoulder.

"With the amount of time that waslost through rain, a lot of peoplethought it was going to be tough towin a Test inside three days but weknew there was always going to be alittle bit of assistance in the wicket.

"The batters need a lot of credit forthe way they put us in such a strongposition yesterday that we only need-ed to bat once. I think that was thebackbone of another Test win for us."

Of the 20 Bangladesh wickets tofall, Wagner took nine, including fivefor 45 in the second innings.

Bangladesh resumed on Tuesdayat 80 for three.

They advanced to 112 beforeTrent Boult removed Soumya Sarkarfor 28 and Wagner made sure theremaining wickets fell quickly.

Only captain Mahmudullah Riyadand Mohammed Mithun, who scored67 and 47 respectively, offered seriousresistance.

"We didn't commit and back our-selves," said Mahmudullah, addingthey had discussed "the Wagner fac-tor" before arriving in New Zealandand he believed his batsmen "have theskill level" to handle the short-ball tac-tic.

"We were handling him well butthen we gave it away. We have to batwith more guts for longer periods. Anumber of our batsmen are playinghalf-hearted shots, or we are notcommitted. We are in two mindswhether to play a shot or not.”

Wagner's demolition secures series

Spanish media reports Zidane has been assured to be fully in charge of every

Kane doubtful for 3rd Test

ed Zidane as saying: "I couldnot say no."

"The incoming boss hasalso been assured that he willbe fully in charge of everyaspect of the running of theteam, including signings,"wrote AS, pointing out thatthis was "unprecedentedpower" for a Real Madridcoach.

"Zinedine Zidane'sreturn as Real Madrid coachbanishes the spectre of JoseMourinho, who a jitteryFlorentino Perez had beentoying with bringing back,"wrote Alfredo Rebeno in AS,adding that Zidane "brings acrucial measure of peace tothe Bernabeu."

Rebeno also said theproblems at Real stemmed

not from the departure ofZidane last summer but thesale of Cristiano Ronaldo.

"(Zidane) worked won-ders in his first stint with 'LosBlancos' and now, 284 dayslater he is back where it allstarted for him back in 2001and everyone connected withthe club will be hoping thathis second spell in charge willbe just as fruitful as his first,"wrote Marca.

‘3 SUPERSTAR SIGNINGS'News of Real's coup and

photos of Zidane also cov-ered the front pages of gen-eral newspapers in Spain.

"Zidane is back at RealMadrid with carte blanche torenew the squad," wrote ElPais saying the Frenchman's

task is to "lift a team that are livingtheir darkest hours."

The Spanish media quickly start-ed speculating which players Zidanewanted to keep, which ones might beon the way out and who he might askPerez to buy.

AS said Zidane had beenpromised "three superstar signings."

Marca wrote that "the squadwill play for their future," adding thatSpain midfielder Dani Ceballos, whohad criticised Zidane, might be introuble and asked readers who wasthe biggest loser, with a list thatincluded Ceballos, Gareth Bale andnewly added goalkeeper ThibautCourtois.

Sport reported that when askedif he wanted Kylian Mbappe orNeymar from Paris Saint-Germain,Perez laughed and said: "Zidane isFrench so he could do somethingwith Mbappe."

Sport listed Mbappe as one of thefour top targets. The other three areEden Hazard of Chelsea, who theysaid Real had already agreed a firmoption on, Paul Pogba of ManchesterUnited and Sadio Mane of Liverpool.Christian Eriksen of Tottenham wasanother name cited by some papers.

sport 15LUCKNOW | WEDNESDAY | MARCH 13, 2019

INDIA U-23 GO DOWN 0-1 TO QATARDoha: The Indian under-23 football team couldn't convert the chancesthat came its way and suffered a narrow 0-1 loss to Qatar in apreparatory match ahead of the AFC Championship Qualifiers inUzbekistan. Monday evening's game was India's first under thetutelage of new coach Derrick Pereira. Despite the chances created byPereira's men, it was Qatar, which got the breakthrough close to thehalf time break, when a Salmin Atiq pass from the right was met byAmro Abdelfatah Surag, who made no mistake. With this preparatorygame done, the team will now turn its attention to the AFC U-23Qualifiers later this month.

JOSHNA BEATS NICOL DAVID FOR 3RD TIMECairo: India's leading squash player Joshna Chinappa pulled off asensational win over eight-time world champion Nicol David in a firstround match of the $107,000 Women's Black Ball Squash Open. TheIndian, playing with a lot of fire and purpose, got the better of theMalaysian legend 11-8, 11-6, 12-10 in a match played on Mondaynight. It was Joshna's third win over 21st-ranked Nicol, who will retireat the end of the season. The 16th-ranked Indian had also beaten Nicolduring the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia. Joshna was in great touchin the first two games before Nicol bounced back to put up a fight inthird.

RAHUL RISES IN T20 RANKINGS Dubai: Indian opener KL Rahul's two impressive knocks in the recentlyconcluded two-match T20 series against Australia helped him climb to fifthin the latest ICC Rankings for T20 batsmen on Tuesday. Rahul, who madea comeback to international cricket after a brief suspension scored 47 and50 in the two matches and gained a spot in the latest rankings. In thebowlers' list, Kuldeep Yadav, who was rested for two T20 Internationals,dropped a place to fifth. Pakistan's Babar Azam and Afghanistan's RashidKhan remained in top positions in batsmen and bowlers' list respectively.Pakistan (135) enjoys a 13-point lead over second-placed India (122) withEngland remaining at third place with 121 points.

RANIERI OFF TO WINNING START Rome: Claudio Ranieri got off to a winning start as Roma coach withStephan El Shaarawy and Patrik Schick's first-half goals enough tosqueeze past lowly Empoli 2-1 on Monday to keep in touch with theChampions League places. Eusebio Di Francesco was sacked after theteam's elimination in the Champions League last-16 last week withRanieri returning to the club he coached for 18 months until February2011. The 67-year-old former Roma player was welcomed back to theStadio Olimpico with a banner reading "Good luck Mister Ranieri"."I thank the fans, as they gave us a big hand this evening," said Ranieri.Captain Daniele De Rossi, Kostas Manolas, Lorenzo Pellegrini andCengiz Under were all out injured with Edin Dzeko, Federico Fazio andAleksandar Kolarov suspended.

HOCKEYLUKCNOW: Trial to select Uttar Pradesh Sub-Junior women’s team willstart at Saifai stadium on March 17. Uttar Pradesh Hockey secretary RPSingh said that the selected team would participate in the 9th HockeyIndia Sub Junior women’s National Championship 2019, to be held atHisar from April 6.

SPORTS COLLEGE QUALIFYLUKCNOW: Guru Govind Singh Sports College beat Integral University by23 runs to qualify for the next round of Red Bull Campus Cricket on Tuesday.BRIEF SCORES:

GGSSC: 156 (Fahad Ahmed 47, Vasu Gupta 37, Vikas Yadav 24; AhmedAli 22/2)IU: 133 (Brajesh Kashyap 40, Talib Khan 29, Kashan Alam 17; AtulVishwakarma 23/2, Rohit Shakya 24/2, Aditya Pratap Singh 36/2)

DRAGON FC ENTER SEMISLUKCNOW: Dragon FC edged past Milani FC 1-0 to enter the semi-finalof the 2nd Grace Loggerheads Football League at La Martiniere groundon Tuesday. In another quarter-final match, State United beat CanttSporting FC 2-1.

SINGLES

AFP ■ INDIAN WELLS

World number one and defend-ing champion Naomi Osakapowered past American

Danielle Collins 6-4, 6-2 on Monday tobook a fourth-round meeting with resur-gent Swiss Belinda Bencic at Indian Wells.

Japan's Osaka, whose second straightGrand Slam title at the Australian Openpropelled her to the top of the rankings,win first career title came at this presti-gious WTA premier mandatory event lastyear, advanced to a meeting with Bencic,the 23rd seed who defeated RussianEkaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2.

Bencic stunned two-timeWimbledon champion Petra Kvitova inthe final at Dubai last month to captureher first WTA title in four years.

She won the WTA title in Torontoin 2015 before a series of back and wristinjuries saw her slide down the rankings.

In other third-round action, three-time Grand Slam champion AngeliqueKerber came from a set down to beatRussian qualifier Natalia Vikhlyantseva3-6, 6-1, 6-3.

VENUS RISINGShe'll be doing the same in the

round of 16 against Aryna Sabalenka,the ninth seed from Belarus who defeat-ed Lesia Tsurenko 6-2, 7-5.

Seven-time Grand Slam winnerVenus Williams also found it tricky fac-ing fellow American Christina McHalefor the first time, but she pulled backearly breaks in each set to win 6-2, 7-5.

She'll fight for a quarter-final berthagainst Mona Barthel, a 7-5, 1-6, 6-4winner over Julia Goerges in an all-German contest.

Fifth-seeded Czech KarolinaPliskova relied on a solid service gamein a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Belgian qual-ifier Ysaline Bonaventure.

She next faces Estonian AnettKontaveit, who was leading 5-0 against11th-seeded Anastasija Sevastova whenthe Latvian retired from their match.

AFP ■ INDIAN WELLS

Ailing world number threeAlexander Zverev crashed out of

the ATP Indian Wells Masters, whereNovak Djokovic's third round matchwas suspended by rain with onegame completed.

Jan-Lennard Struff, ranked 55thin the world, notched his firstvictory over Zverev in five tries,breaking him once in the first setand three times in the second for a6-3, 6-1 victory.

Zverev, the owner of threeMasters 1000 titles who has nevermade it to the quarter-finals atIndian Wells, said he would nowfocus on recuperating and preparingfor the Miami Masters, where he'llbe hoping to improve on his runner-up finish to John Isner last year.

Struff next faces 13th-seededCanadian Milos Raonic, who ralliedfrom 4-1 down in the third set tobeat US qualifier Marcos Giron 4-6,6-4, 6-4.

World number one NovakDjokovic, playing his firsttournament since grabbing a recordseventh Australian Open title inJanuary, completed just one gameagainst unseeded German PhilippKohlschreiber before rain sweptacross the California desert.

The winner will face in-formFrenchman Gael Monfils, whorolled past Albert Ramos Vinolas 6-0, 6-3.

Monfils won his eighth career

title at Rotterdam in February,followed up that performance with arun to the semi-finals in Dubai.

Lucky loser MiomirKecmanovic of Serbia continued tomake the most of his unexpectedopportunity, beating fellow SerbianLaslo Djere, the 30th seed, 6-2, 7-6(7/3).

PRAJNESH EXITSPrajnesh Gunneswaran's terrific

run at the Indian Wells Masters cameto an end following a straight setdefeat against big-serving Ivo Karloviceven as the left-handed Indian is con-fident of replicating success at the bigstage consistently.

The Indian qualifier fought hardbefore losing 3-6 6-7(4) to the tallCroat, who fired 16 aces in the one

hour and 13-minute contest."It was very difficult to return his

big serve. I had some chances, I didnot take them and that's pretty muchwhat decided the match," Prajnesh,ranked 97, said as he could not con-vert any of the two break chances.

It was Prajnesh's maiden appear-ance at an ATP Masters event and hebagged 61 ranking points with his stu-pendous effort, which will catapulthim to new career-best rank of 82.

"Overall, it was very good run. Iam confident I will be able to do thisagain. Obviously time will tell. Overa period of time I should be able todeliver such results consistently. I amnot sure if it will always be at theMasters, or a 250 (tournament) or aGrand Slam. I hope it happens at thebigger events."

AFP ■ MUNICH

Jurgen Klopp bringsLiverpool to Germany toresume their battle against

Bayern Munich with the hostsbilling on Wednesday'sChampions League last 16return leg as an all or nothingshowdown.

After a goalless draw atAnfield in the first leg threeweeks ago, everything is to playfor at Munich's Allianz Arena.

Klopp knows what awaitshis Reds in the highly-chargedarena where Bayern tend to raisetheir game and away teams facea barricade of whistles whenev-er they touch the ball.

"The four goals are all welland good," said Klopp afterLiverpool's 4-2 win on Sunday

at Burnley, with RobertoFirmino and Sadio Mane bothscoring twice. "But what doesthat have to do with Munich? Itwill not be so easy to score fourgoals there as well."

The 51-year-old has a mod-est record of nine wins, fivedraws and 16 defeats in 30games against the Bavarians —as coach of either Liverpool orformer clubs Mainz andDortmund — dat-ing back to 2004.

However, in hisseven seasons withD o r t m u n d ,between 2008 and2015, Klopp managed animpressive four wins, plus adraw and four defeats, from ninegames in Munich.

He tasted victory on his last

visit to the Allianz Arena in April2015 when Dortmund beatBayern on penalties in the semi-final of the German Cup.

Klopp knows that his team

must walk tall at Bayern's home."It's a much more positive

moment for Bayern. They aretop of the table and winninggames comfortably again,"

Klopp told Liverpool's website.Bayern have hit form, win-

ning their last three games witha goal ratio of 12-1 since thefirst-leg draw.

"But if we are at our best, wecan be exceptional."

Liverpool fans hope Reds'striker Mo Salah has a red-let-ter day in Munich after just onegoal in his last eight games.

His lack of goals has notstopped Liverpool staying incontention for the PremierLeague title as Mane andFirmino have filled the breach.

The Liverpool match is seenas a season-defining tie for theGerman champions.

The five-time winners lastfailed to get through the last 16stage in 2011 and confidence ishigh after they moved into top

spot in the Bundesliga at theweekend for the first time sinceSeptember.

Bayern will be without thesuspended Thomas Mueller, butJames Rodriguez will slot seam-lessly into the attacking midfieldrole.

The tie needs no addedspice, but Jerome Boateng andMats Hummels are still smart-ing after Germany coachJoachim Loew told them, alongwith Mueller, that their interna-tional careers are over.

The centre-backs will havea point to prove againstLiverpool.

At the other end, the Reds'Dutch defender Virgil van Dijkwill have to subdue Rodriguezand Bayern's record-breakingstriker Robert Lewandowski.

AGENCIES ■ NEW DELHI

This series was billed asthe last chance forIndia to experimentwith their ODI squadbefore going into the

2019 World Cup in England,starting May 30. But coming intothe last game of the series at theFerozeshah Kotla againstAustralia on Wednesday, ViratKohli and boys will also havepride at stake with the serieslevel at 2-2.

Losing an ODI series athome will definitely not be idealpreparation for a team touted asone of the favourites to win theWorld Cup.

The series started with thehome team showing completedomination in the first twogames, before Aaron Finch and

boys made a comeback with aquality win in Ranchi. But notdone with registering just a win,the Aussies showed that they arehere to make a statement as theychased down India's total of358 with 4 wickets in their kitty.

Ashton Turner was the star

of the show for sure as he hit anunbeaten 84 off just 43 balls totake the visitors home at thePCA Stadium on Sunday. Butmore than the loss to Australia,it was the inability to defend 358that will give Kohli sleeplessnights. Yes, there was due on the

outfield under lights and thatmade bowling difficult forIndia's wrist spinners, but then,they are professionals and mustcope with conditions on offer.

While the bowling left a lotto be desired, the opening part-nership between Rohit Sharmaand Shikhar Dhawan augurswell for the team going into theshowpiece event. While the twohad looked a little out of sync inthe previous games, Rohit (95)and Dhawan (143) showed thatthe top-order is in for business.

But the question mark overthe No 4 slot remains unsolvedand former India skipper SouravGanguly rightly said that thespot is still up for grabs asAmbati Rayudu failed to drivehome the advantage this series.

The Mohali ODI can't becounted as the top two batted till

the 31st over and after that it wasmore about swinging the bat toglory. But it will be interesting tosee if Kohli continues to push KLRahul in at No 3 and comes inhimself at the fourth spot. Themove didn't work in the fourthODI as the platform was set forthe batsmen to go for the kill andit was more about smashing theball than building an innings.

Another area that needs tobe looked at is the spot of thewicket-keeper. While all is goodtill MS Dhoni is around, RishabhPant left a lot to be desired withhis glovework in Mohali. Twostumpings that should have beencompleted with utmost easewere missed, let alone Pant's fail-ure to handle the low bounce attimes. While it is no worry atpresent as Dhoni is only restingfor these two games, it is a mat-ter that will need immediateattention if Dhoni indeed walksinto sunset post the World Cup.

The pace bowling depart-ment might enjoy some littlemovement upfront with somerain in the air in the Capital. Buteven without that, the fast bowl-ing department has done its joband they will once again look tohold fort at the Kotla.

The Indians decided to givetraining a miss on Tuesday andthat shouldn't be too much of aworry as the boys have beenplaying non-stop. The wicket atthe Kotla is once again expect-ed to be a high scoring one withturn coming into the game in thesecond half.

For the Australians, it will beabout once again showing theworld that this team hasregrouped well and mean busi-ness going into the World Cup.With the likes of Steve Smith,David Warner and Mitchell Starcnot even part of the squad, thisis ominous signs.

To come down to India andchallenge the Men in Blue inalmost every game is no meanfeat and they will once againlook to sign off on a highbecause after all, the Indians aretouted as one of the favourites towin the trophy.

PTI ■ NEW DELHI

Emboldened by Australia's remarkableturnaround in the ODI series againstIndia, vice-captain Alex Carey

Tuesday said they are "really confident" ofentering the ICC World Cup with a squadgood enough to play like defending cham-pions.

The five-match series is poised at 2-2, thanks to Australia's back-to-back winsafter staring down the barrel at one stage.

"As a player in the Australian cricketside we have been working hard in the last12-18 months. Some success has started tocome our way. We are really confidentmoving with the squad we take to theWorld Cup," Clarey said on the eve of theseries-deciding game.

Carey said it will only add to thestrength of the side when Steve Smith andDavid Warner rejoin the side after servingout their bans.

"Those are definitely some big namesthat might come back into the line. Theguys that are in the side are performingwell, so it's only healthy for Australiancricket that the guys in the side are play-ing well and these guys that have done real-ly well in the past have definitely put theirhand up for selection when they are avail-able."

He said he was not surprised by theway the Australian batsmen tackled India'sformidable spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahaland Kuldeep Yadav, who have tormentedbatters with their guile in recent times.

"There has probably been a fair bit ofmedia (analysis) about Australia playingagainst spin in the past. We have workedreally hard on playing spin bowling in thenets over 12-18 months. I guess to seesome reward, again it's no surprise, but the

guys are doing so much hard work off thefield," said Carey.

The match will be played on a FerozShah Kotla wicket which may assist slowbowlers. Carey, though, said they are capa-ble of handling whatever is thrown atthem.

"We played some local Indian bowlersthat we tried in the nets, so I guess it's real-ly a good experience. Guys getting outthere in the middle to have the confidenceto take on their spinners got to be a greatconfidence tomorrow (on Wednesday)."

He said the strength of the Australianteam at the moment is that they have plen-ty of options.

"We take a lot of confidence that wetrust the batters to perform their role.When Ashton did that the other night hedid really well. They (Indians) are worldclass bowlers and I am sure they want tobounce back and it's up to our batters tohave a game plan to negate that. We trustthe players to perform their role and takeon the best bowlers in the world and doa good job."

Carey said it will be a contest to watchfor since they have the momentum andIndia would be keen to bounce back aftertwo defeats.

"We were out under pressure early inthe series. Some games were really closeand now we have the series level at 2-2. Itis obviously exciting going into tomorrowwith the series on the line. Obviously (wewill) take some momentum from the lastgame. The boys are felling confident.

"India are going to bounce backquickly but I guess for us we thought weplayed some pretty good cricket in the firsttwo games and we just fell short so to havethe series at 2-2, really excited. I am real-ly looking forward to and so are the guys."

FINAL SHOWDOWN

India face bouyant Aussies in series deciding ODI today at Feroz Shah Kotla

India vs Australia

Live from 1:30pm IST

STAR SPORTS 1 NETWORK

ODIS AT KOTLA

Team P W L N/R Success%

India 19 12 6 1 65.78

Australia 5 2 3 - 40.00

Ind v Aus 4 3 1 - 75.00

IND-AUS AT KOTLADate Result

02-10-1986 India won by 3 wickets

22-10-1987 India won by 56 runs

14-04-1998 Australia won by 4 wickets

31-10-2009 India won by 6 wickets

Faisel Features

Our hardwork of 18 monthsis paying dividends: Carey

Australian vice captain Alex Carey shake hands with former Australian opener Matthew Hayden AP

OSAKA KEEPS TITLE

DEFENCE ON TRACK

Klopp wary of Munich return with Liverpool

Bayern vs Liverpool

Live from 1:30am IST

SONY TEN 2 NETWORK

Ailing Zverev toppled against Struff

16LUCKNOW | WEDNESDAY | MARCH 13, 2019the pioneer

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