`UZ IZ¶d HfYR_ # Z_ >¶afcR^ - Daily Pioneer

16
P rime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold talks in Tamil Nadu’s coastal town of Mahabalipuram on October 11-12 to deepen ties, including in the field of counter-terrorism, even as the second informal summit comes amid lingering unease in ties over Kashmir with India assert- ing that it is an internal matter. Hours after India and China announced Xi’s visit to India, the Chinese state media quoted the Chinese President as telling Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan during their meeting in Beijing that China has been “paying close attention” to the situation in Kashmir and the “facts are clear”. According to the Xinhua news agency, the Chinese President also hoped that the “relevant parties” can solve the issue through peaceful dia- logue. Reacting sharply to reports of Xi and Khan discussing Kashmir, External Affairs Ministry said Beijing is “well aware” of New Delhi’s position and it is not for other countries to comment on its internal affairs. Government sources also said there was no question of any discussion on the issue as it is India’s sovereign matter but added that Modi will update the Chinese President on the matter if there is a query. The summit in the ancient coastal town in southern India is also taking place against the backdrop of China’s growing trade friction with the US. Both leaders are likely to explore ways of expanding trade and business ties. India is expected to raise the issue of ballooning trade deficit in China’s favour, the sources said. They added that political relations, trade and ways to maintain peace and tranquili- ty along nearly 3,500 km long Sino-India border will be major focus areas in the talks. Strategic affairs expert Ashok Kantha said the summit between Modi and Xi in an informal setting in the midst of evolving geo-political power play in the region and beyond shows that both the leaders are taking ownership of the com- plex relationship. “The key aspect of the engagement will be how both the countries make incremen- tal progress in addressing their differences and end the cycle of ups and downs in the ties,” he told PTI. He said the India-China relationship is not only con- fined to bilateral ties, but has important regional and global dimensions. The first informal summit between the two lead- ers took place in the Chinese city of Wuhan last year months after a 73-day standoff between their armies in Doklam that had triggered fears of a war. The perception that India’s decision in August to withdraw Jammu & Kashmir’s special status, triggering tension with China’s ally Pakistan, clouded preparations for the summit gained ground as both sides could only announce the dates for Xi’s India visit on Wednesday, barely 50 hours before the Chinese leader lands in Chennai. “The forthcoming Summit will provide an opportunity for the two leaders to continue their discussions on overarch- ing issues of bilateral, regional and global importance and to exchange views on deepening India-China closer develop- ment partnership,” the MEA said in a statement. Continued on Page 4 T he State unit of the Congress, which had earli- er decided to contest the Block Development Council (BDC) elections in Jammu & Kashmir to strengthen the second tier of the Panchayati Raj Institutions, on Wednesday announced to boycott the polls. With their leadership under detention since August 5, the two regional parties from Kashmir valley, the National Conference and the Peoples’ Democratic Party have already indicated that they would stay away from the poll process in the “absence of conducive” political atmosphere in the State. The Congress decision has made the entire poll process a futile exercise as the BJP remains the only party in the fray for the BDC polls begin- ning October 24. In Jammu region, Jammu & Kashmir Panthers Party is the only sig- nificant player in the poll fray. Interestingly, the State lead- ership of the Congress party waited till the last day of the fil- ing of nomination forms, October 9, before making pub- lic their decision to boycott the local body polls. Addressing a Press confer- ence at the party headquarters in Jammu, J&K Pradesh Congress Committee chief GA Mir, flanked by senior party leaders and former Ministers, told the media, “The Congress party was keen on contesting the BDC polls in the larger interest of the State. Unfortunately, in the absence of conducive atmosphere in the State, we were forced to take this decision to stay away from the poll process”. Continued on Page 4 T he Supreme Court has exercised its inherent pow- ers under Article 142 of the Constitution to annul a mar- riage of an estranged couple, residing separately for over two decades, saying it was a case of irretrievable break down of wedlock. All efforts to continue the marriage have failed and there is no possibility of reunion because of the strained rela- tions between the parties, the top court said. A bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and MR Shah said that it appears that mar- riage between the husband and the wife has “irretrievably broken down” as they have been residing separately for last 22 years and it will not be pos- sible for them to live together. “Therefore, we are of the opinion that while protecting the interest of the respondent — wife — to compensate her by way of lump sum permanent alimony, this is a fit case to exercise the powers under Article 142 of the Constitution of India and to dissolve the marriage between the parties,” the Bench said. The court, in a series of judgments, has exercised its inherent powers under Article 142 of the Constitution for dis- solution of a marriage where the court finds that the mar- riage is “totally unworkable, emotionally dead, beyond sal- vage and has broken down irre- trievably, even if the facts of the case do not provide a ground in law on which the divorce could be granted,” the Bench said. In the recent verdict the court rejected the submission of the wife that unless there is a consent by both the parties, even in exercise of powers under Article 142 of the Constitution, the marriage can- not be dissolved on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage. The Bench said that if both the parties to the marriage agree for separation perma- nently and/or consent for divorce, in that case, certainly both the parties can move the competent court for a decree of divorce by mutual consent. “Only in a case where one of the parties does not agree and give consent, only then the powers under Article 142 of the Constitution of India are required to be invoked to do the substantial Justice between the parties, considering the facts and circumstances of the case,” it said. It said however that the interest of the wife is also required to be protected finan- cially so that she may not have to suffer and depend upon others. Continued on Page 4 T he Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a resettlement package under which one-time financial assis- tance of 5.5 lakh will be given to each of the 5,300 dis- placed families who had migrated from PoK and first settled outside Jammu & Kashmir before relocating themselves to the State. The Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the inclusion of the families from Jammu & Kashmir which were displaced in 1947 and had initially moved out of the State but later on returned and set- tled there in the Centre’s reha- bilitation package. These families were left out of the package approved by the Cabinet on November 30, 2016 for displaced families of Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) and Chhamb under the PM’s Development Package 2015 for Jammu & Kashmir. As per the estimates, in the wake of the 1947 Pakistani aggression in Jammu & Kashmir, 31,619 families migrated from PoJK to Jammu & Kashmir. Of these, 26,319 families settled in Jammu & Kashmir and 5,300 families initially moved to other parts of the country. Continued on Page 4 A fter the flood fury that wreaked its anger on near- ly 2 crore people across 14 States, the southwest monsoon finally began retreating on Wednesday. The monsoon withdrawal will be complete by October 20. The season ended with a 10 per cent higher rain- fall than the long term average. According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), this is the longest delayed withdrawal of mon- soon. “The most delayed with- drawal in the past years was recorded in 1961 (on October 1), followed by September 30, 2007,” the IMD pointed out. The normal date of the with- drawal is September 1. “The withdrawal started from Kapurthala, Ambala, Karnal and Churu on Wednesday. In view of the persistence of an anti-cyclonic circulation in the lower tro- pospheric level over north- west India, gradual reduction in moisture in the lower and mid tropospheric levels and reduction in rainfall, the south- west monsoon has withdrawn from some parts of Punjab, Haryana and north Rajasthan today, October 9, 2019, as against the normal date of September 1,” the IMD said. The excess rain this year has not only flooded several cities and towns but are also expected to cause extensive damage to standing kharif crops in States such as Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh. As per data of flood situa- tion reported by the Ministry of Home Affairs, over 1,700 people have died and crops in nearly 13 lakh hectare in these 14 States have been destroyed. Continued on Page 4 I n a Diwali gift to nearly 1.15 crore Central Government employees and pensioners, the Modi Government on Wednesday approved 5 per cent hike in dearness allowance. The hike benefitting 50 lakh employees and 65 lakh pensioners, to be effective from July 1, 2019, would result in an additional outgo of 16,000 crore annually for the Government The Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved releasing an additional install- ment of Dearness Allowance (DA) to Central Government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to pensioners — repre- senting an increase of 5 per- centage points over the existing rate of 12 per cent of the basic pay/pension — to compensate for price rise, an official state- ment said. The increase is in accordance with the accepted formula based on the recom- mendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission. “This is the highest ever 5 percentage points increase in DA in one go by the Central Government,” Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar told the media. Continued on Page 4

Transcript of `UZ IZ¶d HfYR_ # Z_ >¶afcR^ - Daily Pioneer

����� ������������

Prime Minister NarendraModi and Chinese

President Xi Jinping will holdtalks in Tamil Nadu’s coastaltown of Mahabalipuram onOctober 11-12 to deepen ties,including in the field ofcounter-terrorism, even as thesecond informal summit comesamid lingering unease in tiesover Kashmir with India assert-ing that it is an internal matter.

Hours after India andChina announced Xi’s visit toIndia, the Chinese state mediaquoted the Chinese Presidentas telling Pakistan PrimeMinister Imran Khan duringtheir meeting in Beijing thatChina has been “paying closeattention” to the situation inKashmir and the “facts areclear”.

According to the Xinhuanews agency, the ChinesePresident also hoped that the“relevant parties” can solve theissue through peaceful dia-logue.

Reacting sharply to reportsof Xi and Khan discussingKashmir, External AffairsMinistry said Beijing is “wellaware” of New Delhi’s positionand it is not for other countriesto comment on its internalaffairs.

Government sources alsosaid there was no question ofany discussion on the issue asit is India’s sovereign matter butadded that Modi will updatethe Chinese President on the

matter if there is a query.The summit in the ancient

coastal town in southern Indiais also taking place against thebackdrop of China’s growingtrade friction with the US.

Both leaders are likely toexplore ways of expanding

trade and business ties. India isexpected to raise the issue ofballooning trade deficit inChina’s favour, the sourcessaid.

They added that politicalrelations, trade and ways tomaintain peace and tranquili-

ty along nearly 3,500 km longSino-India border will be majorfocus areas in the talks.

Strategic affairs expertAshok Kantha said the summitbetween Modi and Xi in aninformal setting in the midst ofevolving geo-political power

play in the region and beyondshows that both the leaders aretaking ownership of the com-plex relationship.

“The key aspect of theengagement will be how boththe countries make incremen-tal progress in addressing theirdifferences and end the cycle ofups and downs in the ties,” hetold PTI.

He said the India-Chinarelationship is not only con-fined to bilateral ties, but hasimportant regional and globaldimensions. The first informalsummit between the two lead-ers took place in the Chinesecity of Wuhan last year monthsafter a 73-day standoff betweentheir armies in Doklam thathad triggered fears of a war.

The perception that India’sdecision in August to withdrawJammu & Kashmir’s specialstatus, triggering tension withChina’s ally Pakistan, cloudedpreparations for the summitgained ground as both sidescould only announce the datesfor Xi’s India visit onWednesday, barely 50 hoursbefore the Chinese leader landsin Chennai.

“The forthcoming Summitwill provide an opportunity forthe two leaders to continuetheir discussions on overarch-ing issues of bilateral, regionaland global importance and toexchange views on deepeningIndia-China closer develop-ment partnership,” the MEAsaid in a statement.

Continued on Page 4

��������� ��� �����

The State unit of theCongress, which had earli-

er decided to contest the BlockDevelopment Council (BDC)elections in Jammu & Kashmirto strengthen the second tier ofthe Panchayati Raj Institutions,on Wednesday announced toboycott the polls.

With their leadership underdetention since August 5, thetwo regional parties fromKashmir valley, the NationalConference and the Peoples’Democratic Party have alreadyindicated that they would stayaway from the poll process in the“absence of conducive” politicalatmosphere in the State.

The Congress decision hasmade the entire poll process afutile exercise as the BJPremains the only party in thefray for the BDC polls begin-ning October 24. In Jammuregion, Jammu & KashmirPanthers Party is the only sig-nificant player in the poll fray.

Interestingly, the State lead-ership of the Congress partywaited till the last day of the fil-

ing of nomination forms,October 9, before making pub-lic their decision to boycott thelocal body polls.

Addressing a Press confer-ence at the party headquartersin Jammu, J&K PradeshCongress Committee chief GAMir, flanked by senior partyleaders and former Ministers,

told the media, “The Congressparty was keen on contestingthe BDC polls in the largerinterest of the State.Unfortunately, in the absence ofconducive atmosphere in theState, we were forced to takethis decision to stay away fromthe poll process”.

Continued on Page 4

����� ��������

The Supreme Court hasexercised its inherent pow-

ers under Article 142 of theConstitution to annul a mar-riage of an estranged couple,residing separately for overtwo decades, saying it was acase of irretrievable break downof wedlock.

All efforts to continue themarriage have failed and thereis no possibility of reunionbecause of the strained rela-tions between the parties, thetop court said.

A bench of Justices SanjayKishan Kaul and MR Shahsaid that it appears that mar-riage between the husbandand the wife has “irretrievablybroken down” as they havebeen residing separately for last22 years and it will not be pos-

sible for them to live together.“Therefore, we are of the

opinion that while protectingthe interest of the respondent— wife — to compensate herby way of lump sum permanentalimony, this is a fit case toexercise the powers underArticle 142 of the Constitutionof India and to dissolve themarriage between the parties,”

the Bench said.The court, in a series of

judgments, has exercised itsinherent powers under Article142 of the Constitution for dis-solution of a marriage wherethe court finds that the mar-riage is “totally unworkable,emotionally dead, beyond sal-vage and has broken down irre-trievably, even if the facts of thecase do not provide a groundin law on which the divorcecould be granted,” the Benchsaid.

In the recent verdict thecourt rejected the submissionof the wife that unless there isa consent by both the parties,even in exercise of powersunder Article 142 of theConstitution, the marriage can-not be dissolved on the groundof irretrievable breakdown ofmarriage.

The Bench said that if boththe parties to the marriageagree for separation perma-nently and/or consent fordivorce, in that case, certainlyboth the parties can move thecompetent court for a decree ofdivorce by mutual consent.

“Only in a case where oneof the parties does not agreeand give consent, only then thepowers under Article 142 of theConstitution of India arerequired to be invoked to dothe substantial Justice betweenthe parties, considering thefacts and circumstances of thecase,” it said.

It said however that theinterest of the wife is alsorequired to be protected finan-cially so that she may not haveto suffer and depend uponothers.

Continued on Page 4

���������� ������������������������ ������ ����������������� ������� ��� �����

���������������������� � �!�������� ������������"��������#$���������������%���

&�'(($)*%����������������+,-.������&/&0��� ����� ��������

The Union Cabinet onWednesday approved a

resettlement package underwhich one-time financial assis-tance of �5.5 lakh will begiven to each of the 5,300 dis-placed families who hadmigrated from PoK and firstsettled outside Jammu &Kashmir before relocatingthemselves to the State.

The Cabinet meetingchaired by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi approved theinclusion of the families fromJammu & Kashmir which weredisplaced in 1947 and hadinitially moved out of the Statebut later on returned and set-

tled there in the Centre’s reha-bilitation package.

These families were leftout of the package approved bythe Cabinet on November 30,2016 for displaced families ofPakistan-occupied Jammu andKashmir (PoJK) and Chhambunder the PM’s DevelopmentPackage 2015 for Jammu &Kashmir. As per the estimates,in the wake of the 1947Pakistani aggression in Jammu& Kashmir, 31,619 familiesmigrated from PoJK to Jammu& Kashmir. Of these, 26,319families settled in Jammu &Kashmir and 5,300 familiesinitially moved to other partsof the country.

Continued on Page 4

������� �� ��������

After the flood fury thatwreaked its anger on near-

ly 2 crore people across 14States, the southwest monsoonfinally began retreating onWednesday. The monsoonwithdrawal will be complete byOctober 20. The season endedwith a 10 per cent higher rain-fall than the long term average.

According to IndiaMeteorological Department(IMD), this is the longestdelayed withdrawal of mon-soon. “The most delayed with-drawal in the past years wasrecorded in 1961 (on October1), followed by September 30,2007,” the IMD pointed out.The normal date of the with-drawal is September 1.

“The withdrawal startedfrom Kapurthala, Ambala,Karnal and Churu onWednesday. In view of thepersistence of an anti-cycloniccirculation in the lower tro-pospheric level over north-west India, gradual reductionin moisture in the lower andmid tropospheric levels andreduction in rainfall, the south-

west monsoon has withdrawnfrom some parts of Punjab,Haryana and north Rajasthantoday, October 9, 2019, asagainst the normal date ofSeptember 1,” the IMD said.

The excess rain this yearhas not only flooded severalcities and towns but are alsoexpected to cause extensivedamage to standing kharifcrops in States such as MadhyaPradesh, Maharashtra, WestBengal, Rajasthan, Bihar andeastern Uttar Pradesh.

As per data of flood situa-tion reported by the Ministryof Home Affairs, over 1,700people have died and crops innearly 13 lakh hectare in these14 States have been destroyed.

Continued on Page 4

&������� �"��� 12����� �3�����%���+/���4�!���%%�������������� ��������

In a Diwali gift to nearly1.15 crore Central

Government employees andpensioners, the ModiGovernment on Wednesdayapproved 5 per cent hike indearness allowance. The hikebenefitting 50 lakh employeesand 65 lakh pensioners, to beeffective from July 1, 2019,would result in an additionaloutgo of �16,000 crore annuallyfor the Government

The Cabinet meetingchaired by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi approvedreleasing an additional install-ment of Dearness Allowance(DA) to Central Governmentemployees and Dearness Relief(DR) to pensioners — repre-senting an increase of 5 per-centage points over the existingrate of 12 per cent of the basicpay/pension — to compensatefor price rise, an official state-ment said. The increase is inaccordance with the acceptedformula based on the recom-mendations of the 7th CentralPay Commission.

“This is the highest ever 5percentage points increase inDA in one go by the CentralGovernment,” Information andBroadcasting Minister PrakashJavadekar told the media.

Continued on Page 4

���������� ������������� ��������� ������������ ������������������������� ������������������ !��"��"�#�� ���$�%���"��"����&������'��#���("���)���"����*���������+�$�,��&"���%�-�".������������%����������/�$�'&�������$"��"�&0"��+�����"��!�'�/"�������*�%�����&���'����������������"$����$0��������"��%1

�����!������"���#��$���� ���"%"��������&�'() ������&��(�"��"���&��������&'���"����&�+��(�����������%����������"20����"��$��"��������(����"�/�������'"$��"����������$%�+��������*�+��("��������"����"�$�����(������������������"����������1� �� ����2��������345167'�"���!�*�"$��+�������� ���"��%.��&���89316:�'�"���1 �*+

������� ������ ������,+-.����������/0��/��) ���������"���!�����"$'�"��������&������������'�����9:�'���("$����&�"���������"���$,�'"��$������������%���������''$%��"���'�"����������+%���/%���"��"��(�%����*"��� �����!"��$��"���;������(�1

����. ���������������#� ���������� ����()��(� ��"�����&���"�"�����&"�� ���������������%���"��/��%�"$$���$�&"������"�����������%�*"$$�+���������&��+�����������2��'��$"�&�����%��$���"���!������"�/�(��������<,!����"�$�=7:���������<���$��'����������"�����'�$$���$$%�����1

�������

����������� ������������� ��������

�������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������� ���������������������� ��������������� ����������������� �!"

���������� � ������� �������� ������

�� �/���&��������������"��>"�"���2'������������"/��"��,�����"����$%��������������?�"��%����"��"���2'�����������"�������"��������+�$$���"������������"�"��"��,�"��#����/����������"����"����&�$���&&"��+��*�������"�����> ���(�'$����"������,�"������"�%����������$����%����&�����

��������7=0��%����������+��*�������"����&"���"����($�&������������"������������������*���������'����'�"����������"�#�����"�"���"������������*"�����*��@;#���'��"�$�������!���"����"�������"���*"��

,�"��#���$$%�-�("����!��$������'��'����"��������������&&"����"��������������+�����"�������$����$%�����������������������>"#����"��/"�"�������������%!�+���$%�5:�������+����������,�"�����$������$�����"�,�����"

567�5�4789 5::;6;��;<

�������� ������ ����!��!���!������� "

A�����"$%-"����� ����+��(1��&��"$%'"�����:����3���2

������������� ���

��760 +�

������B� ��<��� �B���,BB-�<��B�����-��,������-<B��

"�������&1��&��"$%'"�����

C�����,"�% 1��2�D6��33&/ D98C�"�� ����������2����"���''$"��+$�

-�+$"�����?��&����������,;�B� ��B-����������� ��<

<��,��<�-�< ,���� �<�����<���� �)��<�����E��)����

�3�('�)3�/4�*,"%������������ ��������������� ���������� ���������������� ����!"���#$%���

���������$���� ���������� �*+$�5+*67��.���*"��8

�7�5�57�=,���# �

���;� -B�

<�769+&-<� �<�����8� -<E�� �F��BE�;

�������������� ������������ ����������

�� �����

����������� ������ ����������������� ������������������������������������� �� �� �����!��"����#��� $����%&&'''(� �����)'&&%*'&&'*++���,,��������-�����).%/&�!��������-0$1����,�����#�%('&/'&�2��������)'&('%*3453''6*3455''����������7#����8�������$(&'�(&&!�����%�/�����92���:�;�����)����������10<!2<�=1<�;��� (�'';��)������������)���>���)��, �61�,�� �!����)��#����6�������������)��?��������8�� -�����)*��.�����!��!������#�������.�@ �<������8�� %((�'&��A���������)'+((%(/*�**/�(/*�***�(/*�**+�

���������� �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������� ��������������� �� ���������������������������������������������������������� ������������ ����� ��������������� ��������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� �������� �!����������������"���������� ���������������������������� �������������������� ���� ��������������������������������� �����������������������������#��������������������������� ���� ����$����%����&�������������������������� ��������������� �����������������������'����������������������������������� ���������������"��������������������(�����������������������������

�������������������� ��� ��!���"#$�%#"&

��##� ��� �� �� ��������

After the Centre refused togrant the go-ahead to the

scheduled visit of AAP nation-al convener to Denmark, theAam Aadmi Party (AAP) onWednesday hit out at the Centreand declared that it will take thisdiscriminatory treatment metedout to Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal and Ministers beforethe people and make it an elec-tion issue.

AAP senior leader andRajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singhalleged that the Centre keepscancelling official visits of AAPleaders without citing any rea-son. Singh said Deputy ChiefMinister Manish Sisodia wasalso denied permission to visitRussia where he was scheduledto speak about educationalreforms. Similarly, HealthMinister Satyendra Jain wasalso refused permission to visitAustralia to talk about healthreforms in Delhi, he said.

Singh's reaction came hoursafter Union Minister PrakashJavadekar said the permissionwas not given as the summit wasmeant for the "mayor-level"participants. Terming it a "lameexcuse", the AAP leader saidearlier former Delhi ChiefMinister late Sheila Dikshit also

attended the same summit whilebeing in the 'office'.

"The model of Delhi's edu-cational reforms is being dis-cussed across the world butSisodia and Jain both were notgranted permission to presentthe model to the world," Singhsaid.

The CM was expected tospeak at the C-40 Climate sum-mit on his Government's effortin lowering air pollution inDelhi and present the set of ini-tiatives taken by the AAP dis-pensation that led to the 25 percent reduction in air pollution.The summit was slated to beginon October 9 and end onOctober 12.

In the last few years, theDelhi Government has done aremarkable job by improvingthe quality of education andhealth. Now, every Government

school in the city is providedswimming pool, happiness cur-riculum and world-class hock-ey field for the students but theCenter is not allowing us toexplain it to the world aboutthese achievements, he said.

"Elections in Delhi areround the corner, AAP will takethis issue of not granting per-mission to CM and ministers topresent our good work beforethe world to the people ofDelhi. We will expose themotive and mindset of the BJP,"Singh said.

"Why the BJP is scared ofthe work done by the KejriwalGovernment. In the last fewyears, the Delhi Governmenthas done a remarkable job byimproving the quality of edu-cation and health but the Centredoes not want us to tell theworld about these achieve-ments," Singh asked? "This waythe BJP is not allowing the DelhiGovernment to hold the flag ofIndia high in front of the world,"he added.

Meanwhile, criticising thedecision of the centre, AAPnational spokesperson RaghavChadha termed it incorrect,ill-informed and misleading."C 40 is a group of the world'slargest cities that is committedto tackle climate change. The

frivolous reasoning supplied byJavadekar does not stand scruti-ny. Javadekar did not check hisfacts before speaking as in 2007the then Delhi Chief MinisterLate Sheila Dikshit had led theDelhi delegation for the summitwhich was held in New Yorkthat year. Various Mayors andChief Ministers from aroundthe world had participated inthat summit," he added.

Chadha further said thatJavadekar is clearly unaware ofthe administrative structure ofmajor cities and States. Citingthe example of theCommonwealth Games heldin Delhi in 2010 was inaugu-rated by then Delhi ChiefMinister whereas in other majorcities such events inauguratedby the Mayors.

Delhi BJP chief ManojTiwari said in a statement, "Thepeople of Delhi want to knowwhether he (Kejriwal) is a ChiefMinister or the mayor." "(The)Chief Minister himself tried toreplace the mayor of Delhi forthis visit," he said. Kejriwal wasto lead an eight-member dele-gation to the summit, to be heldfrom October 9-12. At the sum-mit, he was to speak on AAPGovernment's experience inlowering pollution level in Delhiand other related issues.

��� �����"!���211�����"�>��������������

��##� ��� �� �� ��������

The Delhi Government willcarry out a survey to esti-

mate the total demand for hous-ing the poor under its ambitiousproject — Mukhyamantri AwasYojna. For this, Delhi UrbanShelter Improvement Board(DUSIB) is undertaking a mas-sive demand survey in the 675slum clusters of Delhi.

"The app-based digital sur-vey captures information abouthouseholds living in slum clus-ters along with photographs oftheir personal identification cer-tificates like Aadhaar Card,Voter ID, electricity bill, etc.along with pictures of the fam-ily members," a statement fromChief Minister Office (CMO)quoted. "The survey has alreadycovered 1.25 lakh households inroughly 270 slum clusters, whowill be issued survey certificatesby the Delhi Government," thestatement said. It is being under-taken by an external agencyunder the supervision of DUSIBofficials, it said.

It stores all the informationon an online database along withgeo coordinates, which can beaccessed and verified online bythe officials, they added.

"The Delhi Governmentwill issue survey certificates to

each family living in 'jhuggi' clus-ters which will have the location,'jhuggi' number along with pho-tograph of the family.

"This survey will help theGovernment in estimating thedemand for construction ofhouses for the poor in the com-ing years," statement quotingUrban Development MinisterSatyendar Jain said.

The Government said theprimary focus of the'Mukhyamantri Awas Yojana -2015' is to rehabilitate the slumclusters within a radius of fivekilometres of the existing slumso that there is a minimum inter-ruption in the lives of peoplewho are rehabilitated.

According to DelhiGovernment, the survey is beingundertaken by an externalagency under the supervision of

DUSIB officials. The App-basedsurvey stores all the informationon an online database along withgeo coordinates which can beaccessed and verified online bythe officials, thus minimisingcases of error and fraudulentdata capture by surveyors.

Based on the eligibility cri-teria determined in the Policy,pucca flats will be allotted to thefamilies residing in slum clusters.

Notably, Only underextreme circumstances espe-cially when it is not possible torehabilitate the slum clusterwithin a five km radius will thesettlement be rehabilitated fur-ther away. The DelhiGovernment is also in theprocess of construction of 5,500new housing units for the eco-nomically weaker sections atprime locations in the city.

��##� ��� �� �� �<� <��

A13-year-old girl hasbecome pregnant after

allegedly being repeatedlyraped by two brothers for thepast six months at Sector 50 inGurugram. Police have regis-tered a First InformationReport (FIR) against the duoand efforts are on to bring themto justice.

The shocking incidentcame to the fore on Tuesdaywhen the 8 th standard studentof a Government school wasrushed to the hospital with hermother after the victim vom-ited continuously and hadabdominal pain. The doctorthen said she was six monthspregnant.

According to police, thevictim is originally from Biharand lives with his family in arented house at Sector-50.

The girl told the police that

she used to go to a shop nearher house and a young manworking there asked her tobefriend him. But the girlrefused. The accused threat-ened her that he will kill herbrother if she refuses to befriends with him. The girl laterstruck up a friendship with theaccused. The girl used to attendtuitions at a house which wassome distance from her home.The accused also used to live inthe same house, the victim toldthe police.

"One day while she wasgoing to tuition, the accusedtook her to his room and rapedher. After that whenever he gota chance, he used to rape her.

A few days later, the accusedintroduced his cousin and pres-surised her to befriend him too.The accused then went to hisvillage. However before leavingfor his village he introduced hiscousin who too threatened herof dire consequences and laterraped her on several occa-sions," Subhash Boken thespokesperson of GurugramPolice said.

"On Sunday, her motherbrought the girl to the hospitaldue to severe abdominal pain.There the doctor informed thefamily about her six-month-oldpregnancy. Later the incidentwas reported to the police,"Boken said.

"A case under Protection ofChildren from Sexual OffencesAct (POCSO) has been regis-tered against the accused andhunts are on to nab the culpritsand they will be arrested soon,"Inspector Shahid Ahmed, SHOsector-50 police station, said.

��##� ��� �� ����������

A28-year-old woman waskilled while her husband

and their minor daughter sus-tained injuries on Wednesdaymorning after a speedingBorder Security Force (BSF)staff bus hit their scooterfrom behind. The mishaptook place when they werepassing through the LodhiRoad flyover in South eastDelhi.

The deceased has beenidentified as Nelofer, a resi-dent of South east Delhi'sMadangiri area. Police saidthat her husband Zamil (39)and seven-year-old daughterare still undergoing treatmentand their condition is stated tobe stable. Police said Zamilworks as a hawker inMadangir area to earn hislivelihood.

According to ChinmoyBiswal, the DeputyCommissioner of Police(DCP), South East district, onWednesday around 11 AM a

police control room (PCR)call regarding an accidentover Lodhi f lyover wasreceived. EmergencyResponse Vehicle (ERV) wasdispatched for the spot.

"Zamil and her daughterwere taken to hospital while

Nelofer was declared dead onthe spot by CAT ambulance.During enquiry, it was foundthat the trio was going toKalavati Hospital inConnaught Place for the treat-ment of the minor girl. Zamil'sdaughter used to get fits since

the age of two and was goingunder treatment," said theDCP.

"When they reached atthe slope of Lodhi flyover, thealleged bus, which was goingto Pragati Maidan to drop theBSF staff from Tigri, hit the

Zamil's scooter from the rearside," said the DCP.

"On the basis of statementgiven by Zamil, a case undersections 279 (rash driving),337 (causing hurt by actendangering life or personalsafety of others) and 304A(causing death by negligence)has been registered at HazaratNizamuddin police stationand the accused bus driver,identified as Head ConstableRamesh Chander Sharma, hasbeen arrested," said the DCP.

"I got information regard-ing the incident onWednesday at around 10 AM.A BSF vehicle hit their scoot-er while they were on the waytowards Kalavati Hospital forthe treatment of their daugh-ter. Nelofer has died and herbody has been preserved atTrauma Centre. Doctors saidthat Zamil is out of danger ashe got some scratch injurieswhile his daughter, who hasbeen admitted at SafdarjungHospital, is in serious condi-tion," said Ashraf Ali (54), aneighbour of Zamil.

#�� �$%%%�������������������&����� ���� ���������

��##� ��� �� �� �������

In separate incidents, theDelhi Police PCR Unit has

nabbed two snatchers andreunited a 10-year-old missinggirl with her family.

In first incident, police per-sonnel deployed on PoliceControl Room (PCR) van,nabbed two snatchers-cum-rob-bers in South Delhi's Aya Nagar.Police said that the accusedwere caught within minutesafter the crime was reported.

The accused have beenidentified as Aman Sharma(25), a resident of Delhi'sMohammadpur area and ShailDangi (25), a resident of Ayanagar.

According to Sharat

Sinha, the DeputyCommissioner of Police(DCP), Police Control Room(PCR), on the eve of Dusherra(October 8) around 6 pm a

PCR deputed at Aya Nagarborder near Gurjar Chowkreceived a call regardingsnatching in the area.

"The caller informed thattwo men have snatched hispurse containing cash andother valuable documents andthey have entered in a houseat Aya Nagar area. Acting onthe call police team reachedthat spot," said the DCP.

"Police team managed tonab the two accused whowere inside the house and hid-ing. The duo was identified bythe complainant on the spot.A case under section379/411/34 of Indian PenalCode (IPC) was registeredagainst the duo at FatehpurBeri police station and theywere handed over to local

police for further investiga-tion," said the DCP.

On the other hand, inSagarpur area, the PCR per-sonnel found a 10-year-olddistressed girl.

"During patrolling, thepolice team noticed a minorgirl standing near a drain inSagarpur area. The police teamasked her about her parentsand address. Subsequently, aPCR call was also receivedregarding the missing girl.The family was contacted andafter initial probe, the girlwas reunited with her family,"said the DCP.

�������.��� ��������

Air quality in Delhi andNational Capital Region

(NCR) is likely to deterioratefrom October 12 onwards.Citing sporadic bio-mass burn-ing signatures in North Indiaover last one week and indica-tions of increased fire activityduring the last 24 hours as cap-tured from the satellite imagery,pollution monitoring organi-sation System of Air Qualityand Weather Forecasting AndResearch (SAFAR) has forecastdeterioration of air quality.

Besides few incidents ofagriculture residue burning,SAFAR also mentioned aboutthe evolving meteorologicalstate of affairs in northernplains, SAFAR said that the

wind speed has become slowand directions has becomevariable with predominatelyfrom the east — unfavorablefor the dispersion of SuspendedParticulate Matters (SPMs) inatmosphere.

Meanwhile, City's AnandViahr was on top categorywith value of ParticulateMatters (PM) 10 at 211 μg/m3measured by state pollution

monitoring agency — DelhiPollution Control Committee(DPCC).

Anand Vihar, RK Puram,Chandni Chowk, Karni stadi-um, Pusa road, Karol Bagh,Rajouri Garden, Punjbai Baghwere such areas which taggedunder 'Unhealthy' category bythe Air Quality Index (AQI) ofUS embassy on Wednesdayevening.

SAFAR, which measuredthe overall average concentra-tion of pollutants, has put airquality under moderate cate-gory with chances of air qual-ity deterioration after two daysin its Air Quality weather fore-cast.

"The overall air quality ofDelhi is in the moderate cate-gory, as forecasted. The wind

speed has become slow anddirection has become variablewith predominately from theeast," quoted SAFAR's state-ment on prevailing conditionsin atmosphere.

"Dry weather is likely topersist over the north-westIndian region and air qualitydeterioration is predicted to themiddle end of the moderatecategory for Thursday and fur-ther deterioration to the high-er end of the moderate catego-ry is expected for next twodays," SAFAR further high-lighted. "However, currentwind direction is not favouringany transport from the north-western region and hence anydrastic deterioration is notexpected until the end of thisweek," it stated.

����������������� �!"#�$� ��%&���'������

��##� ��� �� �� ��������

Delhi Lieutenant GovernorAnil Baijal on Wednesday

directed the three municipalcorporations to increase onlineservices for issuance of birthand death certificates in linewith the goal of 'Digital India'.

Baijal stated that there is ahuge potential to increaseonline issue of certificatesthrough wide publicity, simplerprocesses and user-friendlyinterface.

He also advised to incen-tivise issue of online certificatesand to upgrade existing soft-ware to provide additional fea-

tures for inclusion and correc-tion of names in Birth recordto further facilitate users.

The L-G directedMunicipal Commissioners toreview functioning ofRegistrars and Sub-Registrarsand ensure that the first copyof Birth certificates is provid-ed to the parents by the respec-tive hospitals at the time of dis-charge itself for hospital births.

"The L-G exhorted thatmunicipal bodies should braceup providing citizen servicesthrough online modes andpromote ease of living in accor-dance with vision of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi,"

Baijal said in a statement issuedby the L-G office. He furtherstressed that efforts of MCDs instreamlining issue of onlinebirth and death certificateswill go a long way in promot-ing 'ease of living' right fromthe time of birth.

The L-G office said approx-imately 10 lakh birth and deathcertificates are issued in Delhievery year. According to data,10,09,873 birth and death cer-tificates were issued by munic-ipal corporations last year, outof which 2,49,368 (24 per cent)were issued online and rest ofthe certificates were issuedoffline.

New Delhi: The Delhi HighCourt on Wednesday asked theCentre, the AAP Governmentand the municipal corporationshere to respond to a PIL seek-ing creation of a new landfillsite for dumping the solidwaste and garbage generated inthe national Capital.

A bench of Chief JusticeDN Patel and Justice C HariShankar issued notice to theEnvironment Ministry, theDelhi Government and thethree municipal corporationsseeking their stand on the pleawhich has also sought direc-tions to stop dumping of wasteat the existing landfills at

Ghazipur, Bhalswa and Okhla.The petition, which will be

heard next on December 9, hasbeen moved by NGO Anti

Corruption Council of Indiaclaiming that the existingsites are filled much beyondtheir capacity and also posea health risk to those livingnear them.

The petition has allegedthat chemicals from the land-fill sites have reached thegroundwater and contami-nated it leading to various ail-ments and water borne dis-eases in people living near-by.

It has also contendedthat the landfill site atGhazipur is just 8 metresshort of the 73 metre tallQutub Minar here. PTI

��##� ��� �� � ��������

North DelhiMunicipal

C o r p o r a t i o n(NMC) has attached 416 prop-erties over non-payment ofproperty tax worth �2,775.42lakh.

A senior NMC official saidthat the civic body attachedthese properties after ownersfailed to pay tax on time. "Thecivic body has attached 416properties since April 1st thisyear after their owners failed topay tax on time," he said,adding that NMC attached 125properties in last 15 days whichinvolved an amount of�1,090.55 lakh while detached28 properties after realising anamount of �262.04 lakh.

North DMC has alsoopened its all offices on allSaturday except gazetted holi-days to facilitate tax payers."Property owners are advised topay their due property tax intime as NMC has constituted aspecial team to consolidate alltypes of data available withother agencies too. GeospatialDelhi Limited (GSDL) data isalso being used for verify actu-al details of properties includ-ing cell towers, nature of use ofproperty," he said.

-+?�������������� ��%����@��%����

�� ���!�� ��� ���������������

#�$�#�������� ���������� �����������

"�������� �����������������������������%����������������& '()������*�� A���"�����%����������11�

��������������������������

+��,���*�����-������

������������������������������.�������������

������� �����#�$���������������������������

������& �����������������/������( � ���

������������� ��� ���� � ���� �� �����������������

�������������������������� ��� ��!���"#$�%#"&

&�'(($)*%������///

From Page 1Further, during the Indo-

Pak wars of 1965 and 1971, atotal of 10,065 more familieswere displaced from Chhamb-Niabat area. Of these 3,500families were displaced duringthe 1965 war and 6,565 fami-lies were displaced during the1971 war.

The 36,384 displaced fam-ilies covered under the packageapproved by the Cabinet in2016 included 26,319 displacedfamilies from PoJK settled inJammu and Kashmir and10,065 displaced families dis-placed from Chhamb-Niabatarea. The 5,300 displaced fam-ilies of PoJK who initiallymoved out of Jammu &Kashmir were not included inthe approved package in 2016but are now being included, thestatement said.

&������� �"��� 12����� �3�����%���+/���4�!���%%���������

From Page 1Briefing the media on the

decisions taken by the Cabinet,Javadekar said the decisionwould bring cheers to theGovernment employees on theeve of Diwali. BeginningJanuary 2019, the Governmenthad raised the DA/DR to 12per cent from 9 per cent.

The Government said thecombined impact on the exche-quer on account of both DAand DR would be Rs 15,909.35crore per annum and Rs10,606.20 crore in financialyear 2019-20 (for a period ofeight months from July 2019 toFebruary 2020). This will ben-efit about 49.93 lakh CentralGovernment employees and65.26 lakh pensioners.

The additional financialimplication on account of thisincrease in DA is estimated atRs 8,590.20 crore per year; andRs 5,726.80 crore in the currentfinancial year (from July 2019 toFebruary 2020). The addition-al financial implication onaccount of the DR to pension-ers is estimated to be Rs 7,319.15crore per annum and Rs 4,870crore in the current fiscal.

DA/DR is paid to CentralGovernment employees/pen-sioners to adjust the cost of liv-ing and to protect their basicpay/pension from erosion inthe real value. These are revisedtwice a year from January 1 andJuly 1.

�������� ������ �'''

Patna/Muzaffarpur: The Biharpolice has ordered closure of asedition case lodged againstnearly 50 celebrities, includingfilmmakers Shyam Benegal,Mani Ratnam and AnuragKashyap, and the complainantwould be prosecuted for level-ling “false” allegations, a toppolice official said.

The development comesafter a number of oppositionleaders and prominent per-sonalities condemned the filingof the FIR last week on thecomplainant by a Muzaffarpur-based advocate against thecelebrities who had signed anopen letter seeking PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’sintervention in “rising inci-dents” of mob lynching acrossthe country.

The Additional DirectorGeneral of Police(Headquarters), JitendraKumar, said on Wednesdaythe case was lodged atMuzaffarpur in the wake of theChief Judicial Magistrate’s orderunder Section 156(3) of theCrPC.

Under the provision, thepolice had “no option but to

register a case under sectionswhich the reading of the com-plaint discloses”, he said.

The ADG said the matterwas supervised by SSPMuzaffarpur. “The com-plainant could not producesupporting documents or evi-dence, not even the alleged let-ter written by the 49 persons,which may support his claim ofcommission of any offence,” he said.

“On this and other cir-cumstantial basis, the case isfound to be false and order hasbeen issued by him to investi-gating officer to submit FinalReport- False. Along with this,finding this to be an intentionalpurpose of complainant, pros-ecution under sections 182and 211 (of the IPC) will besubmitted against complainantfor lodging a false case,” theADG added. Those named asaccused by advocate SudhirKumar Ojha, who had filed thepetition on July 23, also includ-ed historian RamachandraGuha, actors SoumitraChatterjee, Aparna Sena andRevathi and light classicalsinger Shubha Mudgal. PTI

(����)���!��!�� � ��������!� ������ ��!��������

����������� ������������� ��������From Page 1

It directed the husband to pay the wife a lump sum perma-nent alimony amounting to Rs 20 lakh by way of demand draftwithin a period of eight weeks.

The husband has approached the apex court challenging theorder of Hyderabad High Court, which had dismissed his appealagainst the family court order rejecting his prayer to grant a decreeof divorce.

The couple had married in May 9, 1993 and a child was bornfrom the wedlock in August 1995. There were differences in opin-ion between the husband and the wife and according to the hus-band, cruelty was meted out to him. By 1997, the wife had leftthe house of husband and stayed at her parental house after whichthe husband filed a divorce petition in the year 1999 before theFamily Court at Hyderabad on the ground of cruelty.

The Family Court in 2003 dismissed the divorce petition byobserving and holding that the appellant — husband — failedto prove the cruelty by the wife. The Family Court also refusedto pass a decree of divorce on the ground of irretrievable break-down of marriage.

The husband challenged the family court order in the HighCourt which in 2012 dismissed his appeal.

From Page 1Government sources in

Delhi said Xi is expected toarrive in Chennai early after-noon on Friday. Modi willtake him to the famous worldheritage site of Shore templecomplex in Mahabalipuramand both of them will have ameeting at the site.

The effort would be tochart broader pathways fordevelopment as also deepenties in key areas, includingcounter-terrorism, sources said,adding the China-India

counter-terror exercise isexpected to be held later thisyear.

Both leaders will also wit-ness a cultural programme fol-lowing which Modi will hosta dinner for the Chinese leader.

On Saturday, both leaderswill have a one-on-one meet-ing followed by delegation-level talks. The ChinesePresident is expected to leavefor Nepal from Chennaiaround 2 pm on Saturday.

Xi will be accompanied byForeign Minister Wang Yi and

a polit bureau member of theChinese Communist Party.

On China’s objection to thedeclaration of Ladakh as aunion territory, the sourcessaid it was a demand of localpopulation and the decisionhas in no way changed therespective perception of theboundary between the twocountries.

The sources also termedthe visit of the Pakistan PrimeMinister to Beijing before Xi’sIndia trip as a “bilateral matter”and said Modi-Xi meeting is

“beyond one issue summit”and New Delhi does not seeImran Khan’s trip as an attemptby China to hyphenate theIndia and Pakistan relationship.

The broad objective of thesummit will be to find a broadpathway for future growth ofSino-India ties, they said,adding that there was no planto ink any pact or issue anyjoint communique after theModi-Xi meetings.

On China objecting to theIndian Army’s mega militaryexercise in Arunachal Pradesh,

the sources said it is an opera-tional issue.

The India-China borderdispute covers the 3,488-kmLine of Actual Control. Chinaclaims Arunachal Pradesh aspart of southern Tibet whileIndia contests it. Both sideshave been maintaining thatpending the final resolution ofthe boundary issue, it is nec-essary to maintain peace andtranquility in the border areas.

The two sides have alreadyheld over 20 rounds of bordertalks under the framework of

the Special Representatives dia-logue, set up to find an early solution to the borderdispute.

China criticised India’sdecision on Kashmir and itsForeign Minister Wang Yi evenraised it at the UN GeneralAssembly last month. Dayslater, Chinese Ambassador toPakistan Yao Jing said Chinawas working for Kashmiris tohelp them get their funda-mental rights and justice, com-ments which did not go downwell with New Delhi.

From Page 1The delayed onset of the

monsoons initially meant arainfall deficit of 33 percent inJune, but the season ended witha 10 per cent higher rainfallthan the long term average.

On the flip side, longermonsoon could also restockreservoirs and help replenishground water, helping assuagewater shortages in pockets ofthe country of 1.3 billion peo-ple and boosting production ofrabi crops.

The IMD said that themoisture level in the atmos-phere will reduce gradually in

the lower levels over the nexttwo days, giving way to dry and cooler air fromacross the border to fill thelower levels, suppressing rainfall.

“This would set up theright conditions for the mon-soon to exit from parts ofNorth-West India initially,before the withdrawal line cov-ers more areas over West,North-West, Central and EastIndia. By the time the linecrosses Central India, condi-tions would have evolved overthe Bay of Bengal, PeninsularIndia and the Arabian Sea for

the retreating monsoon(North-East monsoon),” IMD said.

The monsoon, meanwhile,has seen a number of otherrecords being made this year,the IMD said in a detailedreview at the end of what hasbeen an exceptionally produc-tive season.

After 1994, (110 per cent oflong-period average, or theLPA), the rainfall received dur-ing the just concluded 2019season is the highest seasonalrainfall received by the coun-try as a whole.

(The LPA is calculated on

the basis of the mean rainfallduring the four-month mon-soon season over the 50-yearperiod from 1951-2010. Itworks out to an average of 89cm for the country as a whole).

During 18 of the last 19years (2001-2019), North-EastIndia has received seasonalrainfall less than LPA with anexception of 2007 (110 of ofLPA), the IMD observed.

This indicates that the sea-sonal rainfall over North-EastIndia is passing through abelow normal epoch like it was during the early1950s to mid-1980s.

From Page 1Raising serious question marks over the

Government agencies, responsible for facil-itating the poll process, GA Mir toldreporters, “We had even approached theoffice of Chief Electoral Officer on October5, urging him to intervene and ask the StateGovernment agencies to facilitate the easymovement of political workers and restorecommunication lines. Till last evening, wewaited. None of our senior party leaders inKashmir valley and former Ministers,ground workers were released by theGovernment agencies. To complete the pollprocess we need active support of partyleaders and ground workers, he said.

“While majority of them remain underdetention we cannot think of participatingin the BDC polls”, he added.

GA Mir claimed it appeared that theseelections (Block Development Council

elections) are being held to facilitate onlyone party - ruling party.

“Our leaders are under detention. Wehave no other option but to announce thatwe are boycotting the election,” he said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party is contest-ing on 280 seats in the BDC polls.

The elections will be held on party basisand 26,629 panchs and sarpanchs are eli-gible to vote and contest for the post of BDCchairpersons.

Nearly 24 per cent (12,766) of the postsof panchs and sarpanchs are vacant due tovarious reasons, including resignations,deaths and non-conduct of the polls dur-ing the exercise held last winter. Over 18,000panchs and sarpanchs are eligible to takepart in the election in the Jammu division.

The Kashmir division has only 7,528elected panchs and sarpanchs.

In the Jammu region, there will be 2,703

voters in Jammu district, 2,687 in Rajouri,2,069 in Poonch, 893 in Samba, 2,186 inKathua, 2,072 In Udhampur, 1,339 inReasi, 1,150 in Ramban, 1,900 in Doda and1,016 in Kishtwar.

In the Ladakh region, there will have841 voters in Kargil and 744 in Leh. In theKashmir region, there will be 2,783 votersin Kupwara, 1,450 in Baramulla, 584 inBandipora, 374 in Ganderbal, 43 inSrinagar, 650 in Budgam, 132 in Pulwama,82 in Shopian, 168 in Kulgam and 763 inAnantnag.

As many as 69 BDC chairpersons’posts have been reserved for ScheduledTribe candidates, including 21 women, 25posts for Scheduled Castes (seven women)and 78 posts for women from the gener-al category.

Elections will be held for 310 of the 316blocks in the State.

���������� �� ������� ��������� ������

���������� �������������

����� ����

China is paying “close atten-tion” to the situation in

Kashmir and the “facts areclear,” President Xi Jinping hastold Pakistan Prime MinisterImran Khan on Wednesdayand hoped that the “relevantparties” can solve the issuethrough peaceful dialogue.

Xi, who is scheduled tovisit India on Friday to hold2nd informal summit withPrime Minister NarendraModi, assured Khan during ameeting here that the friend-ship between China andPakistan is “unbreakable androck-solid” despite changes in the international and region-

al situation.Khan’s visit to China comes

at a time when tensions havespiked between Pakistan andIndia after New Delhi endedthe special status of Jammu andKashmir on August 5.

Xi, who met Khan at theleafy Diaoyutai StateGuesthouse here, said China isready to work with Pakistan toforge a closer China-Pakistancommunity of shared future inthe new era.

Khan briefed Xi onPakistan’s views on Kashmir,hoping to avoid deterioration ofthe situation, saying thatPakistan values and appreciatesChina’s “objective and unbi-ased” position.

“The Pakistan side briefedthe Chinese side on the situa-tion in Jammu & Kashmir,including its concerns, posi-tion, and current urgent issues,”said a joint press release issuedat the end of Khan’s visit toBeijing. “The Chinese sideresponded that it was payingclose attention to the currentsituation in Jammu & Kashmirand reiterated that the Kashmirissue is a dispute left from his-tory, and should be properlyand peacefully resolved basedon the UN Charter, relevantUN Security Council resolu-tions and bilateral agreements,”the release said.

“China opposes any uni-lateral actions that complicate

the situation. The two sidesunderlined that a peaceful, sta-ble, cooperative and prosperousSouth Asia was in commoninterest of all parties. Partiesneed to settle disputes andissues in the region throughdialogue on the basis of equal-ity and mutual respect,” itadded.

Earlier, the official Xinhuanews agency reported thatPresident Xi told Khan that“China is paying close attentionto the Kashmir situation andthe facts are clear.”

“China supports Pakistanto safeguard its own legiti-mate rights and hopes that therelevant parties can solve theirdisputes through peaceful dia-

logue,” Xinhua quoted theChinese president as saying.

China has always viewedrelations with Pakistan as adiplomatic priority and willcontinue to firmly supportPakistan on issues concerningits core interests and of majorconcern to it, Xi said.

He called on the two sidesto maintain close high-levelexchanges, step up strategiccommunication and coordi-nate positions on major issuesin a timely fashion.

Xi also pledged to contin-ue to firmly advance counter-terrorism efforts so as to safe-guard security and stability, theXinhua report said. Khan saidPakistan highly values and

appreciates China’s objectivestance on the Kashmir issue.

Noting that China andPakistan are all-weather strate-gic cooperative partners, Xisaid, “No matter how the inter-national and regional situationchanges, the friendship betweenChina and Pakistan has alwaysbeen unbreakable and rock-solid, and China-Pakistancooperation has always main-tained strong vitality.”

Khan’s visit to China, thirdsince he took over as PrimeMinister in August last year,acquires significance as itcomes ahead of President Xi’shigh-profile visit to India forthe 2nd informal summit withModi at Mamallapuram near

Chennai on October 11 and 12.Beijing, the all-weather ally

of Islamabad, has backedPakistan over the Kashmirissue, with its Foreign MinisterWang Yi in his address to theUN General Assembly saying,“no actions that would unilat-erally change the status quoshould be taken”.

However, Foreign Ministryspokesman Geng Shuang onTuesday said the Kashmir issueshould be resolved bilaterally,significantly omitting its recentreferences to the UN and UNSecurity Council resolutions.

Geng’s comments markeda significant shift on whatChina has been saying onKashmir in recent weeks in the

aftermath of India’s move torevoke Article 370 of theConstitution.

India has categorically toldthe international communitythat its move on Kashmir was aninternal matter. India main-tains Kashmir is a bilateral issue and no third party has anyrole in it.

China and Pakistan have afine tradition of mutual supportand assistance, Xi said, accord-ing to state-run Xinhua newagency. Noting that Pakistanused to provide “selfless help” toChina when China was in dif-ficulties, Xi said now that Chinahas developed, it sincerely hopesto help Pakistan develop fasterand better.

� ����������������������������������*� ����������5����

0�������������� ���������� ����������������+����#��������������)������������������ 0�

��##� ��� �� �� ��������

A55-year-old man wasinjured after he allegedly

jumped on to the Metro tracksand was hit by a moving trainat Uttam Nagar East station onthe Delhi Metro’s Blue Line.The incident occurred onWednesday afternoon and itled to brief delay in Metro ser-vices on the corridor.

The victim has been iden-tified as Sanjeev Oberoi, a res-

ident of West Delhi’s Vikaspuriarea. Police said that Oberoi isundergoing treatment ofdepression. Blue Line connectsDwarka in Delhi to ElectronicCity in Noida. The train wasgoing towards Rajiv Chowkmetro station when the inci-dent occurred.

According to a seniorpolice official, after receiving apolice control room (PCR) callregarding the incident, a policeteam rushed to the spot.

Mumbai: A 62-year-old man,who worked as caretaker of abungalow of Bollywood actorSalman Khan, was arrested onWednesday in a three-decade-old theft case, a police official said.

Unit-4 of the city police’scrime branch arrested ShaktiSiddheshwar Rana from Khan’sbungalow in Gorai in western

suburbs. Rana and some oth-ers were allegedly involved ina theft and arrested by thecrime branch in 1990, said senior police inspectorNinad Sawant.

He was released on bail andthen became untraceable, thepolice officer said. A courthad issued a non-bailable war-rant against him but the police

could not track him down.Recently the crime branch

officials received a tip-off thatRana was living in a house inGorai beach area for last 20years, he said.

Probe revealed that Ranawas working as caretaker atSalman Khan’s bungalow, fol-lowing which the arrest wasmade. PTI

Basti (UP): A 26-year-old BJPworker and former studentunion leader was allegedly shotdead by two men here, spark-ing protests by his supporterswho set ablaze severalGovernment buses and policevehicles.

Kabir Tiwari, a former stu-dent union president of APNcollege, was attacked around 10am at Ranjeet crossing onMalviya road here, they said.He was taken to the districthospital from where he wasreferred to Lucknow. Tiwaridied on the way, they said.

After the incident, sup-porters of the BJP leader keptthe body in front of the citypolice station demandingimmediate arrest of theaccused. A mob of studentsdamaged 15 roadways busesand a police jeep, besides set-ting ablaze a police bike. PTI

&&����������B��������������"���B����

������������ ���/������� ���� �����12(��(� ����������

#$������� ����#�������������"������

��� ��!�������������������� ��� ��!���"#$�%#"&

���9��������������������� � ������(�:(-�/0��/��) ������-�����������%�*�����������<�G%� �+��������"���"��������������$$��/�������$$�*"�����������������&����"���"�"����<�&����&�$��"!�*���*����$�����������%���������������<���"�(��1���-�$������ ��"��,���������+�%�*������$�����$���������''������"����������������"����������"$����&"���"���'�'������������+%0�$���"���1

����������������.��9���������/0��/��) �������&�H$%���"��I�����������"���"�$0��$����$��������"��!�����,-J�K���"���������%!������"���< ���"������������*���������%"�������&�+�("$$"����*������("���'$���"������������%!�����%�����������"������*����*���H�$"��I���������"�������"�"��1�����*��#���������������/��$���H�$"&'��������������"��"��"���$��%�*�"��'��&����������< I!���"�,-J�K�&����'"����-��'$�#���&�����%#���������&"����"���"�$1

�� � � ����������.������.�1������/0��/��) ����<�G������� ����<���������'����,��'����"��J< <�,K�"�������+$"��������"/�H��&'���"�����I�G�+�������'����������"����&'$�%���*�������"���"���������&"���'"�/�$/"����������'����"��#�/��"�$�!�������"���$����%����"�$�������&'�����"������������������E��"�$������!���� �'��&��,�����������$��1

���������#� ��9����#� �������.�����/0��/��) ����,������+��(������,�����������,�B�����&+�"0+����������������$"����&'��%��"/�*�$��"�����&�-/����������$$����$%������"��� �������(������"������������������7:������+%���+&"��"�������������&����������/�"$"���$����*�"�����&�"������'�"�!����"�"�$���"�������������%1�����,��"�"���?<���&���,��"�&�����������"����"�����������(���/������,�"����2����"/��B��"������."����/���+��"���������&'��%�����������1

.�1���������

.��������1�����/0��/��) ?������&$�������������"/���"���&"���"������&������%�"����&��"��������&&��"���"������*���"�������"��������$"(���%�$���!��"��*�/������������&"�!�'�����"�$�"��"���.�������������������������������JB ?K�����"����&��!���� �/���&���������������%$������������ ��������+$�����"���#�������&���������/"���"�����������&��"��J ���K���/"��1�

������"

����� ��������

As the Congress remainsbeset with sharp differ-

ences even on a non-issue likethe “shastra pujan” of Rafale byUnion Home Minister RajnathSingh, BJP president AmitShah on Wednesday used it inpoll-bound Haryana to lash outat the Opposition party accus-ing it of being “against Indiantraditions”.

While senior Congressleader Mallikarjun Khargetermed the Rafale shashtrapujan in France as a “tamasha”by the Modi Government, hewas promptly dubbed an “athe-ist” by his own party leaderSanjay Nirupam, who just acouple of days ago voiced hisdisgruntlement with the partypublicly and singled out Khargefor it.

Reacting further, the BJPsaid the Congress is used toworshipping OttavioQuattrocchi, the alleged mid-dleman in the Bofors deal.This came after Kharge’s usageof “tamasha” (drama), pointingout that the Congress made nosuch display when the Boforsguns were purchased. “There isno need to do such “tamasha’’.When we bought weapons likethe Bofors gun previously pur-chased, no one went andbrought them while showingoff,” Kharge said.

Addressing an electionrally in poll bound Haryana,

Amit Shah took on the grandold party over its criticism ofthe “shastra pooja” and said,“Congress people felt bad aboutthis too. The Congress has tooppose whatever BJP does.”

“Should the shastra pujantradition be observed or not?Should we keep this traditionalive or not? Rajnath Singh jiperformed shastra pooja inFrance but the Congress peo-ple felt very bad about this too,”Shah said at the rally in Kaithalin Haryana.

Kharge even took a dig atthe Defence Minister’s sortie inthe fighter jet, saying,

“These people go, show off,sit inside (the aircraft)”.

Congress leader Udit Raj,a former minister of the BJP,also took a dig at DefenceMinister’s action, questioningwhat the world would think ofIndia after such a “supersti-tious” show.

Another Congress leaderRashid Alvi too termed as“drama” the performance ofshastra puja. “I want to say thatthis is a government of dra-matics. You are going to Franceand performing puja. Wasn’tthe Rafale jet coming to India?You are going to a foreigncountry and doing all thisdrama. The question is does theNarendra Modi Governmentand the BJP consider Atal(Bihari Vajpayee) ji its leader ornot. If it considers him theirleader, then he was the PrimeMinister for six years, but didhe do any such drama going toFrance,” Alvi asked.

He hit out at the govern-ment for “ignoring” the realproblems of the country suchas rising unemployment. “Youare not talking about theeconomy of the country, it iscoming down day by day,” hesaid.

����� ��������

Senior Congress leaders onWednesday raked up the

issue of party presidentshipyet again with former UnionMinister Salman Khurshid say-ing the party would have beenin a better position had RahulGandhi continued as its chiefand not quit after the 2019 LokSabha election results. Andwhile leader of the Congress inLok Sabha Adhir RanjanChowdhury said the partywould love to have the Gandhiscion back as chief of the party,another senior leaderJyotiraditya Scindia maintainedthe Congress needed intro-spection.

Highlighting that theparty’s future hangs in the bal-ance, Khurshid, however, saidonly Sonia Gandhi, the currentinterim Congress president,can transform the party as ithad won the elections in 2004under her watch. He went onto say that Rahul’s exit from theparty created an uneasy vacu-um and urged Sonia to con-tinue as the party chief.

“My personal view is thatSonia Gandhi should continueas AICC President, we havepleaded with her and we hopeour pleas are heard. We hopeshe remains our permanentpresident. She has kept inspir-ing us,” Khurshid said.

The former external affairs

minister also slammed thosewho left the party afterCongress suffered a crushingdefeat at the hands of the BJP.

“Many people left the partyafter Congress’ performance.Rahul left after our 2019 per-formance, we wanted him tocontinue but it was his decisionand we had to respect it. If hewould have stayed on it wouldhave been better for the party,”Khurshid said.

On losing to BJP in the LokSabha elections, he said thatthere are many upcoming elec-tions and the party now has toforget the past and be fully pre-pared for future elections.

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhurysaid that politicians like Rahulwho step down taking moralresponsibility are rare in presentday politics. Several Congressleaders both at the state and atthe central level had criticisedRahul for “walking away” fromthe party president’s post fol-lowing the party’s defeat in the2019 Lok Sabha polls.

“Yes I have heard about thestatements by certain leaders. Iwould just say, yes it wouldhave been good if Rahul stayedback as party president. But atthe same time, we must alsoappreciate the example ofmoral accountability, he has setfor everybody. Politicians likeRahul, who step down takingthe moral responsibility, are arare breed in Indian politics. All

of us should take lessons fromhim,” Chowdhury, a five-timeLok Sabha MP from WestBengal, told a news agency.

Scindia refused to com-ment on Khurshid’s remarksbut did not mince words in say-ing the party undoubtedlyneeds to do introspection.

����� ��������

Post-arrest of former FinanceMinister P Chidambaram

by CBI in connection with theINX Media scam, his son Kartiappeared before theEnforcement Directorate (ED)on Wednesday and was grilledby the agency in a relatedmoney laundering probe. Themove comes amid fresh leadsgathered by the ED in thecase.

Karti, the Congress MPrepresenting Sivaganga inTamil Nadu, was summonedfor a fresh round of question-ing in the case, officials said.

Karti appeared at anagency office here and whenquizzed by reporters, hequipped that he had come tosay hello to the investigators onthe occasion of Dussehra.

Karti was earlier ques-tioned multiple times by theED in connection with thecase and his statement wasrecorded under the Preventionof Money Laundering Act(PMLA).

The Central Bureau ofInvestigation (CBI) arrestedhis father and senior Congressleader P Chidambaram in thecase last month. The seniorChidambaram is currentlyundergoing judicial custody atTihar Jail.

On Wednesday, Karti wasquestioned on some fresh leadsobtained by the agency from

abroad.Last year, the ED had

attached assets worth Rs 54crore of Karti that were locat-ed in India, the UK and Spainin connection with the INXMedia case.

Agency sources had earli-er alleged that P Chidambaramand Karti were the “beneficialowners” of several shell firmsthat were incorporated in Indiaand abroad in connection witha Foreign InvestmentPromotion Board (FIPB)approval given to the INXMedia group duringChidambaram’s tenure as theUnion finance minister.

The alleged kickbacksreceived by the father-son duowere used to meet their “per-sonal expenses”. They put themoney in over two dozen for-eign accounts and acquiredmultiple immovable assets incountries such as Malaysia,the United Kingdom and Spainamong others, the ED hasalleged.

������#$����������"����

* �� ��26� ����@�������������!�����

#��������� ��%������������� �� �� �*����

��� � ��������

Even as mental health dis-orders are on the rise in the

country, at least 10 Statesincluding Delhi, Rajasthan,Haryana and Uttarakhand areyet to set up mandatory StateMental Health Authority(SMHA)to address the med-ical and rehabilitation needs ofthe sector. Ten per cent ofIndia’s population suffers frommental illnesses, and 90 percent of them remain untreat-ed.

What’s worst, none of theStates except Tripura has beenable to establish mental healthreview board as envisaged inthe Mental Health Act 2017.The Act that guarantees rightsof people affected by mentalillness also entrusts respectivestate governments to ensurefacilities for rehabilitatingthem.

It also mandates the Statesto have a functional authori-ty within nine months of thelaw coming into force, butmost of the States have missedthe deadline. The States arealso yet to draft the rules of theAct. The 19 States which haveset up SMHA are Manipur,

Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu ,Tripura, Uttar Pradesh,Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim,Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh,Assam, Maharashtra, Odisha,Punjab, Telangana,Uttarakhand, Mizoram,Gujarat, Kerala and Nagaland.

According to theGovernment reply to an RTIquery filed by Supreme Courtadvocate and mental healthactivist, Gaurav Kumar Bansal,only 19 States have set up StateMental Health Authority(SMHA) so far while onlyTriupra has constituted theMental Health Review Board.

The RTI reply shows thatthe Central Government hasno information on formula-tion of State Mental HealthRules as well as health regula-tions.

Concerned at the poorimplementation, Union SocialWelfare MinisterThaawarchand Gehlot haswritten to all the States to workfor raising awareness for pro-motion of mental health ofindividuals across the societycautioning that if ignored atinitial stage, it can take shapeof an epidemic.

In this connection, he

stressed that while promptclinical treatment is neces-sary to tackle the condition,whenever required there arenon-clinical measures such asyoga, community support andparticipation in positive activ-ities to prevent the mentalhealth disorders.

According to a survey of10,233 individuals conductedacross seven States by Delhi-based CIMBS in collaborationwith the World Federation forMental Health (WFMH),athough 43 per cent wereaware of a person with men-tal illness within their familyor friends, nearly 20 per cen-treported no mental healthfacility or clinic even within a50 km radius of their resi-dence.

Overall, only 49 per centhad a mental health facilitywithin a 20 km radius.Similarly, while 48 per centhad a person with a known addiction in their family orfriends, 59 per cent had no de-addiction service near theirhouse. Such distances aredeterrents that contribute to awide treatment gap, said DrSunil Mittal, psychiatrist andDirector, WFMH.

������� �� ��������

Within a fortnight theCentre has yet again

revised upward the rate ofapple procurement from �54 to�60 per kg almost meeting thedemand of apple growers/farm-ers under the MarketIntervention Scheme (MIS).As per the revised rate, �60, �44and �24 per kg have beenfixed for grade A, B and C vari-ety of apple with wood packing.The farmers/growers haddemanded �61 per kg forGrade A apple.

The State Government’srequest for a price of �70 perkg was rejected. The rate hasbeen revised according to thefruit grade and type of pack-aging material under MarketIntervention Scheme (MIS).

This wad decided at a highlevel meeting between Jammu& Kashmir Governor SatyaPal Malik and the and theNational AgriculturalCooperative MarketingFederation of India ( Nafed)chairman Bijender Singh atthe Raj Bhawan on Tuesdayevening. An order to thiseffect has been issued. Earlier,the rates were revised onSeptember 28.

As per the revised orderissued, the procurement ratefor apple revised within a fort-night to give better price to

apple growers in the Valley. Therate has been revised from�54, �38 and �15.75 per kg to�60, �44 and �24 per kg forgrade A, B and C varieties ofapple with wood grass packingrespectively.

Similarly, �59, �43 and �23per kg have been fixed forgrade A, B, and C for applewith cardboard tray packingrespectively. While �58 per kghave been fixed for grade A,�42 per Kg for grade B and �22for grade C with cardboardgrass packing.

According to the order,�40, �25 and �19 per kg havebeen fixed for grade A, B and Cfor Maharaji apple varietywhereas, for American applevariety �47 per kg have beenfixed for Grade A, �31 per Kgfor grade B and �17 for grade C.

J & K contributes nearly70-80 per cent of the overallapple production in India.Besides, the Nafed will lift 10to12 lakh tonnes of apple fromthe Valley this apple season.

The procurement has begun inthe backdrop of terrorists burn-ing some apple orchards tothreaten apple farmers.

Nafed chairman BijenderSingh told The Pioneer that hemet with J & K GovernorSatya Pal Malik and discussedbout the ongoing process ofprocurement and marketingof the apple produce from theValley by the Nafed and itsbenefit to the apple growerswho will be getting many timesmore remuneration for variousgrades of apple. Singh briefedMalik of the initiatives ofNAFED for promotion of co-operative marketing of agri-cultural produce, better pricerealisation for small and mar-ginal farmers and diversifica-tion of activities to make avail-able essential items of dailyneed to the consumers ataffordable rates.

Singh said that after Nafedinitiatives, several privatetraders have also started liftingapple from the Valley. Nearly

20,000-25000 tonnes applehave been procured after theabrogation of Article 370 fromthe valley.

Nafed has fixed appleprices to encourage more farm-ers to join the MIS scheme ofthe state government so thatapple growers could not be suf-fered due to lock down after theabrogation of Article 370 fromthe State.

According to theHorticulture department ofJammu & Kashmir, as many as3000-3200 farmers have regis-tered themselves with Nafedand State Government’sHorticulture Department.Jammu & Kashmir produced24.30 lakh metric tonnes offruit last year, out of which21.61 lakh metric tonnes werefrom Kashmir division. Theapple harvest was estimated at18.82 lakh metric tonnes.About seven lakh families aredirectly or indirectly engaged inthe fruit trade. Apples are cul-tivated on 3.87 lakh hectares inKashmir. It fetches �8,000 croreannually and supports sevenlakh families.

The Modi Governmenthad earlier announced that it islooking to procure about 12lakh tonnes or 60-70 per centof apples from growers so thatfarmers don’t suffer due todue to prevalent situation in theKashmir Valley.

New Delhi: The SupremeCourt has agreed to examinewhether High Courts havepowers to transfer to anotherState the enquiry into allega-tions of sexual harassmentpending with internal com-plaints committee (ICC) asalso the criminal case lodgedwith the police in the incident.

The apex court has soughtresponses of the Tamil NaduGovernment, other depart-ments and individuals associ-ated with the matter.

It was hearing an appeal byan IPS officer challenging theMadras High Court’s ordertransferring the enquiry by anICC under provisions of theSexual Harassment of Womanat Work Place (Prevention,Prohibition and Redressal) Act,2013 as well as an FIR lodgedagainst him by a senior ladypolice officer to Telangana for“fair, independent and unbi-ased” probe.

“Notice is issued to therespondents (lady police officerand others) on the point ofjurisdiction of the high court totransfer the proceedings forenquiry into the complaint ofsexual harassment, as well asinvestigation in FIR to be trans-

ferred to another State i.E.State of Telangana,” a bench ofjustices Indu Malhotra and RSubhash Reddy said.

The top court also stayedthe high court’s August 28order transferring the enquiryby the ICC and FIR lodgedagainst the IPS officer toTelengana.

The bench has posted thematter for further hearing nextweek.

The 44-year-old lady offi-cer, who was posted asSuperintendent of Police inTamil Nadu, had filed sexualharassment complaint inAugust last year against a seniorIPS officer posted in Chennai.

An ICC was constituted toenquire into the complaint.Later, the lady officer alsolodged an FIR against him.

A division bench of thehigh court dealt with the peti-tion filed by the IPS officer andtransferred the ICC enquiry aswell as the FIR to Telengana.

The lady officer had filedan affidavit in which she hadagreed to transfer of the ICCenquiry proceedings and theFIR to Kerala or any otherneighbouring State or NewDelhi. PTI

����� ��������

In a bid to help farmers buyfarm inputs ahead of rabi

sowing season by availing the�6,000 benefit under thePradhan Mantri KisanSamman Nidhi (PM-Kisan)scheme, the Modi Governmenton Wednesday extended theAadhaar seeding date tillNovember 30

The decision was taken atthe Cabinet Committee onEconomic Affairs (CCEA),headed by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi.

Under the PM-Kisanscheme, the government isproviding annually �6,000 inthree equal installments to 14crore farmers. The amount isdirectly transferred into thebank accounts of the benefi-ciaries through direct benefittransfer (DBT) mode.

Aadhaar seeding was man-dated to avail the installmentafter August 1, 2019. However,it was exempted to farmers ofAssam, Meghalaya and Jammu& Kashmir till March 2020.

“The mandatory require-ment of Aadhaar seeding wastaking time and therefore wehave relaxed the norm tillNovember 30,” Information

and Broadcasting MinisterPrakash Javadekar told mediaafter the meeting.

This will enable immediaterelease of benefit to a largenumber of farmers who are notable to avail the same due to themandatory requirement, he said.

The Minister further saidthat the PM-Kisan is an uniquescheme as about 14 crore farm-ers will get �87,000 crore.Already, 7 crore farmers havereceived the benefit. More than�27,000 crore has already beenreleased under the schemethrough the first instalment to6.76 crore, second instalment to5.14 crore beneficiaries and thirdinstalment to 1.74 crore benefi-ciaries, the statement added.

“The only two States whichhave not joined the scheme areDelhi and West Bengal,” headded. Javadekar said the exten-sion of the date will help farm-ers buy crop inputs for the forth-coming rabi sowing season.Since the farmers are still gear-ing up for the rabi (winter) sea-son, they are in dire need ofmoney to take care of variousfarming activities like procure-ment of seeds, preparation of soiland other activities like irrigation,maintenance and mobilisation ofmachinery and tools.

����� ���������

Referring to Khurshid’scomments, the BJP

attacked the opposition partyfor its lack of leadership andsaid its own members do notknow where their leader(Rahul Gandhi) has gone.Asserting that the BJP facesno challenge in the upcomingAssembly elections inMaharashtra and Haryanascheduled for October 21, BJPnational spokespersonNarendra Taneja said, “Youneed to exist on the groundto pose any kind of challengebut the Congress is just notthere. The morale of theircadre is very low. Their ownleader, Salman Khurshid, issaying that Rahul Gandhi isnot there. They have noleader and even the partydoesn’t know where RahulGandhi is.”

()������&*!� #+�"!!

5���; 51<�1�

������3��������4��������������$"+%������� ��.�����������3�� ������������������������

, -��".�"#/!���/0��!""/�#+�/��"�� � -��1

5�����������������4� ���6�$��� ��� ���%�������6�!���� ��������7������������4�����8������� ����������9�4:"��������������������������������1;<2�(�1;1=&�0�!������!���������/�������* �������������>��������%������������4� ���6�$��� ��� ���%������������������������������������ ����� �"#

%�������&��� ���'�(�����)����)* +&

���*5<1�<�A;�;

New Delhi: India on Wednesdayreacted sharply to reports ofChinese President Xi Jinping andPakistan Prime Minister ImranKhan discussing Kashmir, sayingBeijing is “well aware” of NewDelhi’s position and it is not forother countries to comment onits internal affairs.

The strong reaction cameafter the Chinese state mediaquoted Xi as telling Khan dur-ing the meeting that China has

been “observing” the situation inKashmir, and hoped that the“relevant parties” can solve theissue through peaceful dialogue.

“We have seen the reportregarding meeting of Xi withKhan which also refers to theirdiscussions on Kashmir. India’sposition has been consistentand clear that J & K is an inte-gral part of India. China is wellaware of our position. It is not forother countries to comment on

the internal affairs of India,”Ministry of External AffairsSpokesperson Raveesh Kumarasserted.

Xi, who is scheduled to hold2nd informal summit with PMModi on Friday, assured Khanduring a meeting here that thefriendship between China andPakistan is “unbreakable androck-solid” despite changes in theinternational and regional situ-ation. PTI

�����������������������������������"����/������� ��������&��70������("�����?��������� �

-,#������;���"��''����+���������"��&���%$������"���'��+�

)������������� ���������������������@A�����B;�����

��� ��,�������������������� ��� ��!���"#$�%#"&

����� ��,;�B�

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister YogiAdityanath will address rallies

on October 15, 16 and 18 in the run-upto the October 21 bypolls to 11 Assemblyseats in the State, the ruling BJP said on Wednesday.

According to state BJP media co-incharge Alok Awasthi, Adityanath willaddress rallies in the Gobindnagar(Kanpur), Manikpur (Chitrakoot),Lucknow Cantonment and PratapgarhAssembly constituencies on October 15.

The Chief Minister will address ral-lies in the Zaidpur-SC (Barabanki),Jalalpur (Ambedkarnagar), Balha-SC(Bahraich) and Ghosi (Mau) Assembly

constituencies on October 16, Awasthi said.

On October 18, Adityanath will be inthe Gangoh (Saharanpur), Rampur andIglas-SC (Aligarh) Assembly constituen-cies to address poll rallies, he added.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hasannounced candidates for 10 seats,while the Pratapgarh seat has been givento its ally, Apna Dal.

The bypolls will be held in theGangoh, Rampur, Iglas (SC), LucknowCantonment, Govindnagar, Manikpur,Pratapgarh, Zaidpur (SC), Jalalpur, Balha(SC) and Ghosi Assembly constituencies.

The Ghosi seat fell vacant followingthe resignation of its MLA PhaguChauhan, after he was appointed as thegovernor of Bihar.

2��3�4 ��!���/����#��0�� �//�"!!������"!�#".���""*

Hyderabad: The Telangana unit ofCPI on Wednesday said it willrethink on its support to the TRSin the October 21 HuzurnagarAssembly by-election if ChiefMinister K Chandrasekhar Raocontinued with his “oppressive”stand against striking transportcorporation employees.

The term “self-dismissal” of employees used by KCR willboomerang on him and he will beself-dismissed, CPI Telangana sec-retary Chada Venkat Reddy saidadding he should immediatelywithdraw such remarks.

“If KCR does not retract fromhis stance of removing RTCemployees, if he continues to followoppressive methods on employees,we will rethink (extending support)for Huzurnagar bypolls,” he said at

a Roundtable organised here byTelangana State Road Transport Corporation employees’unions.

Various employees and workersunions of TSRTC are on an indef-inite strike since October 5 inresponse to a call by the JointAction Committee (JAC), demand-ing merger of the RTC with the gov-ernment and recruitment to variousposts, among others.

The Chandrasekhar Rao-ledgovernment made it clear it has notintention of merging the loss-mak-ing PSU with it. The bypoll forHuzurnagar was necessitated by theresignation of Telangana PradeshCongress Committee President NUttam Kumar Reddy following his election to Lok Sabha.

` ` PTI

�� ��������������������!+��������� �����?�+�����������+!������&���"

!������������ ��������������� �)��������������������!����� 0�

��� � �����

The Jammu & Kashmir BJP onWednesday slammed the Congress,

the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)and the National Conference (NC) for notcontesting the first-ever BlockDevelopment Council (BDC) polls beingheld in the State on October 24.

A notification was issued on Tuesdayfor the election of chairpersons of BDCin 310 blocks of Jammu & Kashmir, thefirst polls in the State after abrogation ofits special status on August 5.

State Spokesperson of BJP Brig (Retd)Anil Gupta said the “hollowness” of thethree parties had been exposed and theywere unable to digest the effort made byPrime Minister Narendra Modi tostrengthen democracy in the State.

“The power-brokers who have alwaysput their political interests above the inter-est of the common man and kept him dis-empowered are now scared of the emer-gence of new faces and new leadership inthe form of Chairmen of BDCs,” Gupta said.

“These Chairmen will fill the politi-cal vacuum created due to the currentleadership being obdurate,” Gupta said,adding Panchs and Sarpanchs dulyempowered will provide the grassroot

leadership and work for the bettermentof the people.

He said Panchayati Raj Institutions areinseparable part of our democratic systemand are meant to compliment the systemand not act as a parallel centre of power.

“This reality needs to be accepted bythe NC and the PDP as much as they needto accept the reality of abrogation ofArticle 370 and Article 35A. They needto reorient in order to remain relevant asmainstream political parties,” Gupta said.

Claiming that the Congress, the NCand the PDP have lost “complete contact”with the ground level workers, Gupta alleged that the parties had got soused to “drawing-room politics” thatthey have completely ignored grass rootworkers.

����� ��<�� ����

Pakistan should be worriedabout India acquiring

Rafale fighter jets, not theCongress, BJP spokespersonShahnawaz Hussain said hereon Wednesday.

Defence Minister RajnathSingh took symbolic delivery ofthe first Rafale aircraft inFrance on Tuesday.

“The Congress could notget Rafale jets for the countryfor one decade. They tried toput hurdles in its path whenthey were in Opposition,”Hussain alleged, speaking to

reporters here.Congress leader Rahul

Gandhi had made alleged cor-ruption in the Rafale deal amajor issue during this year’sLok Sabha elections.

On some Congress leaderscriticising Rajnath Singh per-forming “shastra puja” of theaircraft, Hussain said worship-ing weapons on Vijayadashamiis our tradition.

“It was Indian Air ForceDay and also Vijayadashamiwhen a Rafale jet was handedover. Worshiping weapons on Vijayadashami is a tradition and so our Defence

Minister did it,” the BJP leader said.

Asked about Opposition’scriticism that the BJP was turn-ing abrogation of Article 370and withdrawal of special sta-tus of Jammu & Kashmir intoan issue for Maharashtra elec-tions, Hussain denied thecharge.

“We revoked it (the con-stitutional provision) and wewill talk about that. Congressis making it a political issue.Maharashtra has contributed tonational security, so we aretelling people here about revo-cation,” he said.

����� ;B�;���

Buoyed by its stupendous performance inthe last Lok Sabha poll, the West Bengal

BJP is all set to achieve a record member-ship of one crore in the State, party lead-ers claimed on Wednesday.

The Bengal BJP unit has surpassed thetarget set by the Central leadership to enroll60 lakh members when the countrywidemembership drive began on July 6, accord-ing to the party sources.

Although the membership drive acrossthe country closed on August 20, it is on ina few states such as West Bengal, which arepriority states for the BJP, and the exercisein these states will continue till Decemberthis year, party leaders said.

As per the data released by the state BJPon August 22, the BJP had clocked 77 lakhmembership.

“As per the latest record 96 lakh peo-ple have applied for the BJP membership.By the beginning of November we would

cross one crore mark. The response amongthe masses is huge. Everyday we are receiv-ing thousands of applications,” a senior stateBJP leader said.

According to Tushar Ghosh, convenorof the BJP’s membership drive in Bengal,after the process of enrolling cadres getsover the process of sorting out would start.

“More than 90 lakh people so have havetaken the membership either online oroffline. According to the trend, we wouldsoon cross one crore mark, the target setby our state president Dilip Ghosh. So oncethis membership process gets over we wouldstart the process of verifying details andbackground,” Ghosh told PTI.

Since 2014 Lok Sabha poll, the BJP hasgrown by leaps and bounds in the state. In2009, the BJP in Bengal had garneredaround 1.75 lakh membership. The figureswent upto nearly 43 lakh during the mem-bership drive in 2014, when the party onits own bagged 18 per cent votes and twoLok Sabha seats.

1!�������# ������@���> ����3����%��������� �2#$�

Jammu: Jammu & KashmirCongress president GA Mir onWednesday accused the BJP-led Government at the Centreof destroying the State by unilaterally abrogating provisions of Article 370 andbifurcating it into two Union Territories.

The Jammu & KashmirPradesh Congress Committeechief said the situation in theValley is the “worst ever”despite claims of restoration ofnormalcy by the Government.

“Congress at the nationaland the State level has alreadymade its stand clear on thedevelopments of August 5 and 6 (when the special statuswas revoked under Article370). “It was done in an unde-mocratic and unconstitution-al manner under a conspiracyto destroy our beautiful Statewhich has its own identity

before independence of thecountry and became part ofIndia like other States postindependence,” Mir toldreporters in his maiden Pressconference after the abrogationof special status of the State.

Mir, who was releasedrecently after 55 days of housearrest, said he was not beingallowed to visit Kashmir, wherethe majority of the politicalleaders including three formerChief Ministers — FarooqAbdullah and Omar Abdullahof National Conference andPDP president MehboobaMufti are currently underdetention. “J&K was not theonly State enjoying special sta-tus under the Constitution. Atleast 10 other States of thecountry are enjoying specialstatus to safeguard land andcultural identity of the peopleand jobs,” he added. PTI

��� � �����

Jammu & Kashmir is at the crossroads of history and theNational Conference (NC) has a huge role to play to

ensure the welfare of the people of the State, the party saidon Wednesday.

Calling for intensified initiatives to restore normal-cy by winning over the hearts of the people, NC provin-cial president Devender Singh Rana said there was a need to reach out to the people and ensureharmony at all costs.

“The State is at the crossroads of history wherein theNational Conference has a huge role to play for welfareand well-being of the people, keeping in view their urgesand aspirations,” Rana said at a meeting here.

The party expressed concern over the lockdown oncommunication, detention of political leaders and restric-tions on liberty of people in Kashmir. It also sought imme-diate release of all detainees.

Rana pledged to uphold the distinct identity of Jammu,Kashmir and Ladakh, adding that unity in diversity hasbeen the greatest strength and hallmark of the State.

“Together we, the Dogras, the Kashmiris and theLadakhis, can meet the challenges and steer the state topeace and harmony,” he added.

��� � �����

The Jammu & Kashmir National Panthers Party(JKNPP) on Wednesday urged President Ram

Nath Kovind to postpone the Block DevelopmentCouncil (BDC) polls in the State till the communi-cation blockade in the Valley is lifted.

A notification was issued on Tuesday for the election of chairpersons of BDC in 310 blocks ofJammu & Kashmir, the first polls in the State afterabrogation of its special status on August 5.

Chief Electoral Officer Shailendra Kumar said theelections will be held on October 24.

“We urge the President to postpone BDC elec-tions as there is no communication in entire Jammu& Kashmir,” Chief Patron of JKNPP, Prof Bhim Singhtold reporters here.

“There is no telephone connection till today withthe political activists or districts in Kashmir Valleyas well as districts of Poonch, Rajouri, Doda, Kishtwarand Ramban even in Jammu province”, he added.

It was only a day before when the J&K admin-istration declared that it was releasing political prisoners from jails and directing schools to reopen,he said.

��. ����.������;B�;���

Already down in doldrums,the Left Front is planning

to revive its lost fortunes by launching prolonged campaigns post Durga Pujas.The campaign will start and continue till 2021Assembly elections.

According to sources, theCPI(M) is planning a host oflong marches in the State overa host of issues ranging fromemployment to rising inflationto workmen’s rights, preservation of secular fabric,adequate opportunity for edu-cation and so on.

The long marches willcover all districts and possibly all the blocks andpanchayats of the State beforeculminating at district headquarters and finally at theState capital, sources said.

“Bengal has been communally polarised byMamata Banerjee and the BJP.Now the Chief Minister is crying hoarse against theHindutva forces. But the wayshe stoked minoritism inBengal for the past severalyears and the way she sup-pressed Left movement gave

rise to Hindu right wing sen-timents in Bengal a State withliberal views and a State whichhad always rejected communalpolitics,” said CPI(M) leaderSujan Chakrabarty.

This was a “pre-plannedstrategy of Mamata Banerjee tomake place for the BJP. Shetried it by holding their handsdirectly from 1998 to 2008and when she failed to plantthem in Bengal she took a‘reverse strategy’: this time bystoking minority communal-ism which bore fruit angeringthe Hindus and pushing themtowards the BJP and to makethe BJP’s work easy. She pur-sued a policy of ruthless per-secution of the Left workerswho were forced to take shelter under the saffronumbrella because they were inpower in the Centre and theywere armed with the CBI,” aformer CPI(M) MP fromNorth Bengal said.

From an impressive 30percent vote share in 2014 theLeft Front’s vote percentageslumped to 7.5 percent in 2019with a majority of its decadesold sympathizers preferring tovote for the BJP. The Congressvote share came down from 10percent to 5 per cent.

��� � ��,;�B�

BJP candidate SudhanshuTrivedi was on Wednesday

elected unopposed to the RajyaSabha from Uttar Pradesh.

He has been elected to theRajya Sabha on the seat whichfell vacant following the deathof BJP stalwart Arun Jaitley.

Trivedi, who had filed hisnomination papers on Friday,was declared elected unop-posed on Wednesday, the lastday of withdrawal of names,special secretary to the VidhanSabha BB Dubey said.

He was personally presentto receive his certificate, Dubey said.

Senior Ministers in theYogi Adityanath Government,including Brijesh Pathak,Ashutosh Tandon, MohsinRaza and UP BJP vice-presi-

dent JPS Rathore were presentalong with Trivedi, who isNational spokesperson of the BJP.

Trivedi’s win was all butcertain due to the huge major-ity the BJP enjoys in the UttarPradesh Assembly.

Jaitley, who died in Augustthis year, was elected last yearand his tenure was till 2024.

Trivedi, who is equallyarticulate in Hindi as well asEnglish, is making his debut inParliament after being associated with the BJP for along period.

(�)� �*����� ���+�,������!���������� ������-*

����� -���

Ladakh BJP MP JamyangTsering Namgyal on

Wednesday said several peoplewanted to visit the region toexplore business opportuni-ties but only those who aregenuinely interested in tap-ping its resources, and not misusing them, can bewelcomed.

Speaking at an event herein Maharashtra, Namgyal saidthose people who wanted touse the resources in Ladakh forselfish purposes are not wel-come in the region.

After abrogation of Article370 and 35 A, several peoplewant to visit Ladakh to explorebusiness opportunities.

(�)���!�� ������ �.�!��� �������(�����

����� ��� ���<�

The Winter Session of theKarnataka legislature that

will begin on Thursday isexpected to be stormy,with theOpposition Congress andJD(S) likely to corner the BJPGovernment on a host ofissues, including flood relief.

This will be the second session for the BJP

Government after assumingpower, the last one being in Julyend, where Yediyurappaproved his majority on thefloor of the House andVishweshwar Hegde Kageriwas elected the new Speaker.

The Government has saidthe three-day session will primarily focus on discussionon the budget and its passage.

����� ��� ���<�

BJP MLA Basanagouda PatilYatnal, facing the ire of

party’s Central leadership overhis utterances on delay ingrant of Central aid for floodrelief, alleged on Wednesdaysome people in the party werehatching a conspiracy to unseatChief Minister BS Yediyurappa.

“You want one moremonth to go like this (withoutadequate flood relief from theCentre) and later remove

Yediyurappa. This is your con-spiracy,” Yatnal alleged withoutnaming anynbody. TheVijayapura MLA, who hadserved as a minister in AtalBihari Vajpayee Government,also charged the Central lead-ership with colluding with the“conspirators”.

“If you don’t want him(Yediyurappa as CM), call him,tell him that you are now 77-years-old which is against ourparty’s policy (to continue inelectoral politics), take his res-

ignation and select a newleader. Instead of doing this,you (central leaders) block therelief funds and encouragethose who are Yediyurappa’sopponents,” he said.

Days after the party highcommand served him a show-cause notice for his statements against PrimeMinister Narendra Modi andsome other senior party functionaries over delay ingrant of central aid, heappealed to the party leader-

ship to summon Yediyurappaand his “opponents”.

“You call both Yediyurappaand his opponents. You havethe capability to teachYediyurappa a lesson if he iswrong and also those whowant to unseat Yediyurappa,”he told reporters in Vijayapura.

Yatnal has upped the anteagainst the party leadership fornot releasing Central aid to theflood-ravaged districts ofKarnataka.

����� �� �<�

Uttar Pradesh BJP presidentSwatantradev Singh on

Wednesday said his party was oncourse to make a clean sweep in theupcoming by-elections for 11Aassembly seats. Singh claimed itwould be a one-sided contest.

“BJP workers in the entire Stateare a committed cadre and are work-ing for the party’s programmes ratherthan seeking personal gains.

“The Government of YogiAdityanath is committed for the pro-

tection of the poorest and margin-alised section of the society. The BJPwill make a clean sweep in the upcom-ing by-elections,” he told reporters.

He said that the party’s mainplank is to work for a clean India andmake the state plastic free.

Replying to a question regardingthe recent sensational murder inJhansi, the UP BJP chief said, “ThisGovernment has nothing to hide andthat is why we are holding a magiste-rial probe. The crime is connected tothe activities of the mining mafia andthe truth will not be suppressed.”

(�/0�����/��1�,��� ������� �2���)##

?�����������C������������� �

5 ����4 ���#��$ ��"�$��"� $�)6�7

()�������&�"�#�!�""4�4& ��#+�2��3�4 ��!�4����7!�����"��#���&0�"$

�������� -� �� ��-. '�+� �)� �-(�.)��

��������������������������������#�D%�� ����'0 �������� ���� � ������������

����� ��������-�<

Apolice team on Wednesday took former

Union Minister SwamiChinmayanand and the studentwho has accused him of rapeto the Forensic ScienceLaboratory in Lucknow fortaking their voice samples.

“Chinmayanand was takento Lucknow at 6 am and the lawstudent at about 9 am to FSL in the State capital for their voice test,” JailSuperintendent Rakesh Kumartold PTI.

“Two separate teams ofthe police have taken them toLucknow following courtorders to take their voice sam-ples,” Superintendent of Police,

Dinesh Tripathi said.Chief Judicial Magistrate

Omveer Singh on October 4had ordered that voice samplesof Chinmayanand, the law student and three others betaken.

The former UnionMinister, arrested by the SIT,was booked under section376C, a charge short of rape, onthe basis of the complaint filedby the 23-year-old woman whostudies at a college run by hisashram.

The woman has beencharged with extortion, fol-lowing a complaint by the 72-year-old Chinmayanand’slawyer that she and three oth-ers were demanding moneyfrom the leader.

+��� ����� ����������%�������������������&���������C

� �&"�!��4�"!� $�0�#����#�#/8!��/"#��� �3"���*"#

!���������������������'���������������� ���&�������

��� ��/�������������������� ��� ��!���"#$�%#"&

����� ��� ���<�

The visit by independentMP Sumalatha Ambareesh

to the BJP office in her con-stituency — Mandya — to attend a meeting onWednesday sparked specula-tion about her joining theAmit Shah-led party.

However, the actressturned politicianclarified thatshe had visited the office tothank party leaders and work-ers in the district for their sup-port in herelection.

The BJP had supportedSumalatha in Mandya duringthe Lok Sabha polls by notfielding any candidate.

“I will not join the partywithout informing themedia,because what is there in hidingsuch matters.Can I keep it secret

from you (media)..You will bethe first to know,” Sumalathatold reporters at Mandya aftervisiting the BJP office. She saidshe will seek BJP’s cooperationand support for the develop-ment of her constituency.

“Other than that as of nowto questions about joining thisparty or that party, supportingparties in the election (by-polls)- I don’t have answers.

Earlier I had visited BJPhead office in Bengaluru, eventhen similar questions wereraised..I’m not like other politi-cians, please don’t see melikethat,” she added.

Speculation has been rifeabout Sumalatha, the widow ofCongress leader and popularactor turned politician MHAmbareesh, joining the BJP forsome time now.

����� �����

Union Minister and Dalitleader Ramdas Athawale

said on Wednesday that hisoutfit had to continue to support the BJP-led ruling alliance in Maharashtraas there was no other option.

Athawale heads a factionof the Republican Party ofIndia (RPI), founded by Dr BR Ambedkar.

“I have no other politicalchoice, so I am with BJP in this(Maharashtra Assembly) elec-tion,” Athawale, known forhis candid way of speaking,told a Marathi news channel.

“But the association with

the BJP is not merely electoraland for power, I am with themover various social issues aswell,” he added.

The Union Minister ofState for Social Justice alsorefuted rumours of his wifeSeema entering into politics.

“She does attend some rallies and party functions. Itdoes not mean she will joinactive politics. She looks aftermy house and helps meremain active in politics,”Athawale said to a question.

Pune: Senior NCP leader AjitPawar on Wednesday down-played Congress veteranSushilkumar Shinde’s state-ment which had reignitedmurmurs about the merger ofthe Sharad Pawar-led partywith the Grand Old Party.

Shinde caused a flutter onTuesday when he said the NCPand the Congress will cometogether “because now they arealso tired and we are also tired”.

Ajit dubbed the remarksShinde’s “personal opinion”.“He is a senior leader ofCongress and he had expressedhis personal opinion. I heardwhat he said, and according tome, he had expressed what hethinks, which is his right,” said Ajit. PTI

����� �����

Maharashtra Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis said on

Wednesday that Opposition Congressand NCP have accepted defeat evenbefore votes are cast in the stateAssembly polls, as seen by Congressleader Rahul Gandhi’s absence fromcampaign.

He also said the NationalistCongress Party is “half- empty”, andwill be emptied fully afterthe poll results are out on October 24.

“They are already in defeatistframe of mind. I read in newspapersthat Rahul Gandhi is in Bangkok,” Fadnavis said at a rally atNer in Dhule district of northMaharashtra.

“He knows they are going to loseanyway, so why take the blame fordefeat? He is not ready to come here,”Fadnavis said.

��� .������� �����

On a day when the Maharashtra BJPvowed to “retire” him permanent-

ly from political and social life after theState Assembly poll outcome, 78-year-old NCP chief Sharad Pawar poked funat himself while sending out a strongmessage to the ruling saffron alliance:“Have I come old? Abhi to main jawanhoon... I will pack off everyone homefirst then I will go”.

Pawar’s age and State BJP’s vow toretire him became a talking point onWednesday, as the campaign for the October 21 Assembly polls pickedup pace.

State BJP president ChandrakantPatil set the ball rolling by saying thathis party would ensure that Pawar“retires from political and social life for-ever” after the State Assembly polls wereout on October 24.

“We will ensure that he (SharadPawar) permanently retires from socialand political arenas once the assembly

polls results are out,” Patil said as hetook swipes at Pawar while addressingan election rally for Shiv Sena candidatePrakash Abitkar in Radhanagari tehsilin Kolhapur district of westernMaharashtra.

Alluding to large desertions anddefections from the NCP ranks to theBJP-Sena alliance, Patil said: “it wouldnot be surprising if the generation nextof Pawar family switches over to the BJPin the coming years. If they do, we willcome them”.

Elsewhere at Wadgaon in Akoladistrict of eastern Maharashtra — bet-ter known as Vidarbha, Pawar was inhis element while campaigning for hisparty candidate Sangram Gawande.

After a welcome speech by a formerlegislator and office-bearer TukaramBidkar who in good faith describedPawar as “our beloved 80-year oldleader”, Pawar retaliated albeit in alighter vein, “All youngsters have grownunder my tutelage. I am happy withtheir progress. I liked everything in his

speech except one thing which I did notappreciate one thing he said about me.He said that I am an 80-year-old man.Have I become old?”. The crowd burstinto peals of laughter.

After advising his party colleaguenot to talk like that and asking the for-mer to remember that he was the partypresident, Pawar continued in lightervein: “Abhi tho main Jawan hu... I willpack off everyone home first then I willgo home”.

Pawar, who will turn 79 onDecember 12, has hit campaign trial forthe second time in the run-up to theState Assembly polls. Before theElection Commission came out with theschedule for the October 21 StateAssembly polls on September 21, theMaratha leader had toured severalparts of the state once.

Pawar has come in for a consider-able appreciation in the state politicalfor the enthusiastic manner in which hehas been campaigning for his party can-didate.

�� ���������� �,�������

Aseasoned Congress leaderin Kerala, who had served

as Minister for two terms hasraised a revolt against the present leadership of the partyincluding the Congress High Command.

KK Ramachandran, popu-larly known in the State asRamachandran Master, hassaid that there are no leaders

with ‘charisma’ in the Congress.There are no charismatic lead-ership in the party as of now.We had charismatic leaderslike Jawaharlal Nehru andIndira Gandhi in the past.Though Rajiv Gandhi gaveenough indications that hewould emerge as a leader withthe stature of Nehru and Indira, he turned out to be amajor disappointment,” saidRamachandran in an article hewrote for a popular Malayalam

newspaper.“Recently I happened to

read a book Sonia Gandhi, HerLife, Her Lies and HerManipulations authored by DrSubramanian Swamy. The book

has many controversial refer-ences, including that of theBofors scam. Swamy has men-tioned in the book that the realname of Sonia is Antonio.Though the book was pub-lished in 2011, till date not asingle Congress leader oractivist has challenged the con-tents,” pointed outRamachandran.

The former Congressleader alleged that the party hasfallen into the hands of a self-

serving caucus who has onlyvested interests. “The only gainmade by the Congress in the2019 Lok Sabha election wasfrom Kerala where the minori-ties cast their votes for theCongress because of their fearfor Narendra Modi. TheHindus cast their votes for theCongress because they weredisgusted with the CPI-Mwhich spoiled the serenity andsacredness of Sabarimala shrineunder the pretext of imple-

menting the Supreme Courtverdict,” said Ramachandran.

He lambasted the presentleadership of the party fornominating Rahul Gandhi asthe p[arty chief despite hisincapacity to occupy a seatwhich was once adorned bylegends like Mahatma Gandhiand Subhash Chandra Bose.“The election to the post ofAICC president itself wasmanipulated and held under athreat,” he said.

����� ,�����

Tamil Nadu Chief MinisterK Palaniswami on

Wednesday said the secondinformal summit betweenPrime Minister Narendra Modiand Chinese President in thestate on October 11 and 12 wasa matter of ‘pride’ and has raised its stature in the

global arena.Extending a warm wel-

come to the two leaders, herecalled the Chinese connec-tion to the host town ofMamallapuram and said it wasthe right choice for the ren-dezvous of the two leaders.

The earlier informal sum-mit was held in the Chinese cityof Wuhan last year.

The meeting of the twoleaders in the state to discuss on“improving cordial Indo-China ties” was a ‘pride’ forTamil Nadu and has raised itsstature in the global arena, hesaid. Palaniswami thanked thePrime Minister for selectingMamallapuram for the meet.

“I welcome both theseworld leaders on behalf of the

people of Tamil Nadu and the State Government,”Palaniswami said in an officialstatement.

He recalled the historicalfact that China and TamilNadu shared trade and cultur-al ties centuries ago, even asChinese emissary Yuan Suanghad visited the Pallavas, whoseport city was Mamallapuram.

����� -����

Bihar Deputy Chief MinisterSushil Kumar Modi on

Wednesday asserted that BJPhas “nothing to do” with a sedition case lodged inMuzaffarpur district againstnearly 50 renowned actors,filmmakers and intellectualswho had written a letter toPrime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his interventionin the rising incidence of moblynching.

In a statement issued here,Modi noted with dismay thatthe FIR was lodged upon thecomplaint of a “serial litigant”from the north Bihar town,who has filed countless peti-tions against well-known per-sonalities “including myself ”.

He charged the “awardwapasi and tukde tukde gangs”

with using the incident toallege that the Narendra Modigovernment at the Centre wasagainst the right to freedom ofexpression.

“He is a serial litigant whohas filed 715 PILs, besidespetitions against well-knownpersonalities like former PrimeMinister Manmohan Singhand actors Amitabh Bachchanand Hrithik Roshan. He hadeven filed a case against mefour years ago”, Modi saidwithout referring to theMuzaffarpur-based advocateSudhir Kumar Ojha by name.

�����/���������������� ���%������0,��

��):4/��:��&/34(;�3()4 <��:=�����0)����/>=/

'/�(&3/���/;�(>/��)>/4�(:40/�(>/�(�3���)>/49

�??��(3�(��/?�/44/@/(�$�3(;3�#(4:(A)3�:� (�&�93�('3/:�/@>����(�?()=:

*�����#���� ��������� � ��,��������� ��*������-����")�0 .(�.� �-.������+�.����-�+�)���)���.�&)��0����� �� �)�)��+� 0����01��.2 �-�''��) )�� ��&2����+ ���.����

����(�"������������������������������ ��� �&�!� ��

����������� .���.���������� �����

� ������

��������� ��7:���������� .������������#"Kolkata: The CBI onWednesday interrogatedNarada News portal CEOMathew Samuel in connec-tion with a sting operation heclaimed to have carried out fiveyears ago, agency sources said.

In the tapes that surfaced in2016, ahead of Bengal assem-bly polls, persons resemblingsenior Trinamool Congressleaders and IPS officer are seenaccepting money from repre-sentatives of a fictitious com-pany in return for favours.

Samuel, who had beenquestioned by the agency onearlier occasions, too, appearedbefore the CBI on Mondayafternoon at its Nizam Palaceoffice, the sources said.

The Central Bureau ofInvestigation (CBI) made itsfirst arrest in the case lastmonth, when it apprehendedIPS officer SMH Mirza, who is currently in judicial custody. PTI

���� ������������# ������%��� ������ �����������,������������

1� �������B�3�� ���2 < ������3���7���4�&*� $$�"-"�� #"�3"$ �"���+ 8�!��!�9:;��; �/������0���"�/"�

�����. ������� ���

# ��������������������������%����������� �?���������

#$� � �����!���������������1� �3���

China is a mighty country; we sawit on October 1 at the TiananmenSquare. On the occasion of the70th anniversary of the People’sRepublic of China (PRC),

President Xi Jinping was on the same wave-length as his predecessor Mao Zedong 70years ago, when he announced the founda-tion of the PRC. The morale of the parade was:“Power comes from the barrel of the gun.”

“No force can ever undermine China’s sta-tus or stop the Chinese people and the nationfrom marching forward,” said President Xifrom the rostrum of the Tiananmen Square.

The Chinese Premier reminded thosewho were present or watched the function that“70 years ago, Comrade Mao Zedong solemn-ly declared to the world that the PRC wasfounded and the Chinese people had stoodup. This great event completely reversedChina’s miserable fate born from poverty andweakness and being bullied and humiliatedover more than 100 years since the advent ofmodern times.” The Chinese State media wasecstatic as it said, “China had reaffirmed itscommitment to global peace and develop-ment.” It added, “We will continue to workwith people from all countries to push forjointly building a community with a sharedfuture for humanity.”

Many doubted as they watched in awe theDF-17 hypersonic ballistic missile (a hyper-sonic glide vehicle that can deliver bothnuclear and conventional payloads) and thenew-generation road-mobile DF-41, whichmade its debut in an official parade. Some15,000 troops from 59 units, 47 belonging tothe ground forces and a dozen air-bornesquadrons, participated in the parade. Xiinspected 580 new weapon systems, almostall of them were “Made in China”, proving thatBeijing’s military industry is truly becomingself-sufficient. It is a lesson that India has hope-fully noted a few days before the ChinesePresident visits Mamallapuram.

However, a backlash to China’s might hasstarted to manifest. A few days before theparade in Beijing, a telling incident took placein France, which showed that it is not justChina’s or the US’ neighbours who have toface difficulties to accept the so-called peace-ful rise of the Middle Kingdom. It lookedinnocuous but at the start of the French LigueOne’s football match between OlympiqueLyonnais (OL) and Nantes, an entire wing ofthe Gerland stadium in Lyon displayed a tifo,a gigantic graphic display organised by thou-sands (or tifosis) of fans. A Tibetan flag. Why?Simply because China is the club’s secondshareholder and the OL management haddecided to reschedule the match to 13:30hours for a broadcast in China (matches usu-ally take place at 17:30 or 21:00 hrs). Chinais simply mighty.

The supporters, known as the “badgones” (“gones” is the OL supporters’ nick-name) wrote on their Facebook page: “At thekick-off, we deployed a tifo representing theTibetan flag accompanied by a free Tibet ban-

ner. Beyond the crypto-politicaspect of this tifo, our objectivewas to remind everyone that thespectators and supporters are alsoactors of the match and respectis due to them as much as to a fewhundred thousand viewers at theother end of the planet.”

The message to Beijing con-tinued: “These Tibetan flags canpiss off the League and its newshareholders, which are underthe control of the Chinese State.But we will be delighted to renewthe experience…”

It is, perhaps, a sign of whatthe Financial Review calls a dan-gerous decade ahead as China’srise falters: “Economists, defenceplanners and security strategistshave begun testing the consensusaround China’s inevitable rise andhave come up with some surpris-ing predictions.”

ANI said it in differentwords: “China exhibits Cold Warmentality with huge militaryparade.” It added: “China regu-larly likes to point the finger at theUS for harbouring a ‘Cold Warmentality’ but nothing speaks ofmilitaristic ambitions and mar-tial glory as a large militaryparade. And no military specta-cle comes close to the size of theevent held in Tiananmen Squareon October 1.”

It is not only the Gaulishtribes who are revolting againstthe Chinese hegemonic mindsetin Hong Kong; lakhs of youngpeople refused to slip under theyoke of Beijing. The former

British colony has witnesseddefiant protesters for severalweeks. Interestingly, HongKongers took their campaignagainst Beijing to their stadium,booing the Chinese nationalanthem before the city’s soccerteam lost to Iran in its firsthome qualifier for the 2022World Cup.

The European Union (EU)recently issued a statement: “Theescalation of violence and contin-uing unrest in Hong Kong,including the use of live ammu-nition, resulting in critical injuriesto at least one person, are deeplytroubling. The EU maintains itsposition that restraint, de-escala-tion and dialogue are the onlyway forward.” It further observed:“Fundamental freedoms, includ-ing the right of assembly ofHong Kongers, must continue tobe upheld and the possibility tohold peaceful demonstrationsmust be ensured. These rightsmust be exercised peacefully.”

It is clear that the world willnot accept another Tiananmenmassacre. Though foreign offi-cials and experts applauded aspeech by Chinese President Xi,as Beijing reaffirmed its com-mitment to world peace anddevelopment, one cannot forgetthat communism killed millionsof its own citizens during thepast 70 years.

A French book, The BlackBook of Communism — Crimes,Terror, Repression, calculated thatmore than 94 million people were

killed by different communistGovernments around the worldsince 1917. The statistics of vic-tims include deaths through exe-cutions, man-made hunger,famine, war, deportations andforced labour. In China alone, 65million people died while theSoviet Union accounted for 20million. Cambodia and NorthKorea accounted for two millioneach. The list is long.

Meanwhile, the propagandamachine of the communistregime in Beijing works in fullsteam. It published a WhitePaper entitled, “SeekingHappiness for People: 70 Years ofProgress on Human Rights inChina.” One of the chapters is onthe “Splendid History of China’sHuman Rights Protection.”

The restive population of thewestern Muslim province ofXinjiang or the Tibetans, whosereligious freedom has been ruth-lessly stifled, will tell you anoth-er story.

All this should be kept inmind when President Xi arrivesin South India to “informally”meet Prime Minister NarendraModi. China is mighty andinnovative but it is fragile sim-ply because it is unable to takethe masses and the world along.Xi’s dream of a new era willremain as long as the MiddleKingdom does not allow aminimum freedom to its ownpeople.

(The writer is an expert onIndia-China relations)

!��������������������������� ������ ����� �� �������� � )�������� ���� ������ ��� �������

������������ � ���� ����� ��� ������ ������������� ������� ���������*���� �� )��������� $�������� +�������������� ,)$+�-��*����+����(����������� �������������������������������� ��������� �� �� ������� +������ !����, +!-���������������������������� �������������&��������������������������������������������(

�������������������������������.���������� ������)$+����������������������������� ������������ ��������������������������������������������������������������� � ���������������/�������������������������������������������������������������������������������)$+�����������%�����������������������������������������������������������������#�������������������������������������������� +!���������������������������(������������������������������� �����%���� �����%����������.���������

#���������������� ������������������0�� ������1����$����������������������������� �2���������������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������� �� ����������������������������������������� �������������(������(�����������������������������������)�������������������(��������������������������#������������������������������(���(����������������������������������������(�������!���������������)$+����������������� �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������#��������������������������������������3#�������������������������������������������������������(������������������������/����������������������4#�)$+�&������������������������������������������������������������������������#����������������������������������������������������������������(�������������������5������ ������������������������������������������������������������������"��������������

/ ��� �� �������� ����� ����$��� 6������ ������ 6��� ���+����$������7�8�����������

���������������������������������������������������������#�������(������ ��2���������������������������������������� ���(��(�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� �(������������������������+��������(��������������������������������(��������������������������������������(

������������/�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������(���������������������(���������7� �� ����������������������� ������� �� �����������(����������$�����������5���������������� ���������������������8����'9���������(������������������������������������������+���������������$�������(�������9������������*�������:��� ������������������ �������+����5������� ���������$�������������������������������9���������;����������������<�����������������������������1 �����������0�������������6���(7����������������������������5�������$��������������������������������� �=�������+����&�����������������>����������+������,>�+-���>�������������%�����������������������������&����������������������������������/��9������&���������������������������(������������������������������������ �������� ������������ ������+����������$���&�>����������� ,$>�-������� ��������������������������������5�������������������������������������������������������������� +����&�/�����!���5���������5�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������9���������&�������������6������7��������5����������������������� ���������������������������+����$�������������+��������������������������������(�����������+����($�������)�������+�������,+$)+-��%�����(/�������������������������� ����������������������1 �����(����������?�������������������������������������$�������������������(�����������������������������������������������������������5��������������������� �������5�������&�������������

#��������������5�������+���������������������������������������������+�������������������������������������1*����������������������������������������1�����6������������������������������������ ������� ��������+�����������������������������������9�������#����������������0���9�����������������#���������������������������� ���������/������������������������ �������*���!���������������������������(�������������������������������������� ������������� �5������������5��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������&��������� �������������������5�����������������������������������9������������� ���������������#�������������������������������������������5�������������������������������������������������������������������$���������&���������� 5��������������������� ���������������������0���9�����������������������#����������������������������6�������������#���� ����������������������������+��������(�������0���������������@%���������5������������������������������1*&�������� ���������������*�+��������������������� ��������������� ����5����&�����������0�������������������(����������������������������������������5�������������������������������� ����(>����������������������������������5���������������+�����5��������������������������������������������������������������������������$������������������������(���������6������������������������������������$������� �����������������������������������������������+������������������ ������������������*�6������7��� �����������������������

��������@���������

��������������

Sir — Ever since the abrogationof Article 370, there has been acomplete clampdown in theValley. Some positive signs are,however, emerging. Higher sec-ondary schools, colleges anduniversities have reopened andthe public transport system, too,has restarted.

Most importantly, in the firstmajor move signalling easing ofcurbs on detained Kashmiri lead-ers after Article 370 was abrogat-ed, a 15-member NationalConference (NC) delegation metdetained party leaders FarooqAbdullah and Omar Abdullah inSrinagar.

The NC delegation, whichwas permitted to meet theAbdullahs by the Jammu &Kashmir Governor, demandedthat they and other politicaldetainees be freed to revive thepolitical process in the State,where Block DevelopmentCouncil elections are scheduledfor October 24. It’s high time thatthe leaders must be freed withoutcompromising on security.

This bodes well for two rea-sons. First, their release will helpthe Government further its devel-

opmental cause, which will be dif-ficult to achieve without the sup-port of local leaders.

Second, it will send a strongmessage to the international com-munity that measures are beingtaken to restore normalcy. Thiswill further strengthen India’scase. Kashmir really needs toopen up.

TK NandananChennai

� ���������

Sir — This refers to the editorial,“Welcoming the Rafale” (October9). The first Rafale fighter jet hasnow formally joined Indian AirForces’ (IAF) inventory. This willhelp arrest the slide in the IAF’soperational capability and will, infact, enhance it. But India needsto emulate the example of China,

which developed J-20, an indige-nously made fifth generation aircraft.

Indigenisation is one area wenever pursued earnestly. Thecountry has a vibrant defencemanufacturing ecosystem thatcan help us achieve self-reliance.In this connection, Air ChiefMarshall RKS Bhadauria hassaid that India will not importthe fifth generation fighter jets,

implying that the country willventure to develop indigenous-ly. India must soon emerge asthe preferred destination forthe co-development and co-cre-ation of an indigenous defencemanufacturing ecosystem.

KV Seetharamaiah Hassan

����������������

Sir — With Assembly electionsin Haryana and Maharashtragetting closer, the internal crisiswithin the Congress has onlyworsened. The exodus of leaderscontinues and the leadershiphas failed to inspire confidenceamong party members. It isshocking that the grand oldparty is finding it difficult tokeep its flock together. The pre-sent crisis is a direct outcome ofthe leadership deficit at the toplevel. For a diverse country likeIndia, the presence of a strongOpposition is a must. TheCongress needs a leader who canpump life into it.

ZoyaVia email

� 1 � ; 6 � 5 9 A � 1 < < 5 7 �

���</����4� #""�<& �����+��(1��&��"$%'"�������L A�����"$%-"�������L "�������&1��&��"$%'"�����

�� ��������������������� ��� ��!���"#$�%#"&

�3

#����� ������ ���

�=�2>� ����

�������"���"��&"���%�+����$�������"$��+�������"����������+�����+$�������(������&�������������*��$���$���1�>"#������&��������*�����*"$$���&�"��"��'��'$��������������������&��������&�

��*��$����/��+���������"�<���$� ����"����%���+��(���'���%�'���"����1�����*��&����$����''���"���������2�&'$����&���$���������+"$"�%����������������/��%+��%1

��:=>/33��/(4/>����"��,��*����%�

��$������*����#&��+$�������"�/��"��+�����������"&J<��/���� "���K���"�����&������*���&�����+$�����"�*"���&%��������!������*��''���"/�����"�1�

���>����'"(��-���(���

���&��������*�����"������0�"���$��������"���$��"����"���������!�������"�����"'+��*����,�"�������-�("���������$*�%��+������+���(�+$��������(0��$"�1

��):/3/��>/3)4/:��>"��"�'"��

� � � � � 4 � " �

� � " " � � � " � "" � � � � � " � �

��� �������� ���������

��"������������������"���"�$!�H ,���/�������%�������*IJB���+���9K1����� �'��&��,����#���"����"/�������������������� �/���&���!� ��("��� "�� ��� ���'� ���

��$$"������������"����&+�"#������%!�"��*�$��&��+���'��0��'�!�&������&���������$����%�+��������1�������"�"����� ������&+�"�������<�"$� ,��'����"��� J��<,K� ����$����%����''���D!848�������"��"��������D!895�������"�����==0���������������'����������*���'"�(��������������0������"����������������������1��/����������������<,�����$�"&��������"������'$������D4!:::������������������"�%������&'���������������$���!��������%���&��������������������%�*"$$���(��%����������/�$�'1�

�����"��+�%������&'������"���"������������������������������� �/���&���������������/����'�$"�%� �������"����H�������1I�������!�����,�����$� �/���&����"��%�������&���'�*"�����$���$����"�"�"������������������1���"�"�������$��"�����'�������������$������ ����� �/���&����'�%"������������'�������������������1���������%��'"�����$������������+����*�$$�������"&��*������"��"����("��

����$����"�������"����$�+�$�*��&"��1���������&�����$�����$"����������/�$�'&�������������&��������������������0$��"��$���&���1���%������+�������������������$'���<,����"����*"���"���'��G���1��������$$!�"���������+�����"���������&+�"���������+������'�+$"�������'�����%���&1��������+�$���"����������������+������1

�/A/:4>(��&>(:(������

����,;�� ���B,���# �� ��

�� � ��<�����B���?� �1���?��

��) ���?B<������-�<�����

���� !�������� �,������BB;

-��,����?<��,�!��,�� �B���������� ��B��� ��,���# �B<������ #

�� ��B�< ���B��E���B�?�,�

�??,���� ��B�,,�-������ B0,�����

-��,�?���< ��B?���������;� �B�

��������������������&�/��/>3��?)�://>B=�()�2����

4���������������!�����"��� ����"���/���������/�����"��������&��������/�$�������������&%1� ����/������"��������������"�%'�������$�����*"��"��������"�$�*�����������������%1

������)/@� ������-�*��

3����������!����!�!��!�� ��������������� ������������������������������0��0������������������ ���

+���4)#���� �!�������������������������������������� ���/����'�+�� ��� � �������� �������������!���� � �*45

6�� ����������!����

��� ��������������������������2�����������.���������$�����������#� ��.��$�������

��������� ��.��������������������.��##2C���. �������� ����� ����� .��

�������������� ������������� ���������� D�������������������E���. ���F$������������������������������������������2C������������������ ���������

�%� ����"���%� �

Chinese President Xi Jinping is expectedto arrive in India to hold a second infor-mal summit with Prime Minister

Narendra Modi at Mamallapuram near Chennaifrom October 11 to 12 and pay a State visit toNepal on October 13. The Mamallapuram sum-mit is important for the country as it comesamid escalating tensions in the South Asianregion, especially between India and Pakistan,after the Modi Government abrogated Article370, revoking the special privileges given toJammu & Kashmir (J&K) by the Constitution.During the informal meeting, Modi and Xi areexpected to hold comprehensive talks on a hostof issues concerning bilateral relations andexchange views on regional and internationalmatters of importance.

Given the growing tension between NewDelhi and Islamabad post the abrogation ofArticle 370 and Beijing’s support to Pakistan,this meeting is critical from China’s standpoint,too, considering that India has managed to buildtrust and traction with its immediate neighbours— Bangladesh, Bhutan and Maldives.

In doing so, India’s “neighbourhood firstpolicy” has taken centrestage, as it did, soonafter Modi took oath for the second term thisyear. His first overseas visit was to the Maldives.This island nation has proven to be a litmus testfor Modi’s foreign policy, especially in terms offinding a friendly ground due to formerMaldivian President Abdulla Yameen’s closenesswith China. The political upheaval in theMaldives caused by the imprisonment of a num-ber of political leaders, including formerPresident Mohamed Nasheed, had raised strate-gic and political concerns in India at that time.The political instability in the Maldives had lim-ited India’s options and even though Nasheedhad called upon New Delhi to intervene, it hadabstained from making any moves in thedomestic matters of the island nation.

Nasheed had also alleged that Yameen want-ed to sell land to Beijing for the constructionof a Chinese base in the Indian Ocean and wasleading the country into debt by borrowingmoney from China for infrastructure projects.This had proved to be a critical time for India’smaritime security. However, with the newGovernment coming to power in the Maldivesin 2018 led by democratic President IbrahimSolih, the two countries have begun a new levelof engagement in the development and maritimesectors. This bonhomie was reflected inPresident-elect Solih’s invitation to Modi toattend his swearing-in ceremony.

The challenges for India have not been lim-ited to Pakistan and the Maldives only. Theincreasing Chinese presence in Sri Lanka alsohas New Delhi worried. The Chinese investmentin the Hambantota port and using it for strate-gic and commercial purposes is a well-account-ed Chinese debt-trap. After failing to repay theloans taken from Beijing for building the port,Sri Lanka leased it to China for 99 years. Thetransfer of the port and 15,000 acres of landaround it gave China control of territory just afew hundred miles off the shores of India anda strategic foothold along a critical commercialand military waterway. The Hambantota portcase is one of the most vivid examples of China’s

ambitious use of loans and aid to gaininfluence around the world — and ofits willingness to play hardball to col-lect.

However, to undo the damagecaused in recent years, Modi wasinvited to Sri Lanka this year, 28 yearsafter former Prime Minister RajivGandhi’s visit in 1987. From there,Modi sent a strong message to theworld community that India, alongwith its neighbours, would fight ter-rorism by visiting the St Anthony’sChurch in Kochchikade, where dead-ly attacks had killed hundreds of peo-ple during Easter celebrations. As anindicator of New Delhi’s growingclout, Modi also addressed the SriLankan Parliament during his visit andbecame the first Indian Prime Ministerand only the second foreign leaderafter British Premier David Cameronto visit Jaffna in the war-ravagednorthern province and hand overhomes built with the help of Indianassistance. Continuing India’s attemptto foster a strong relationship with itsneighbours under the “neighborhoodfirst policy,” Modi visited Bhutan forthe second time in August 2019 andheld a comprehensive discussion withBhutanese Prime Minister LotayTshering. He pointed out that “Bhutanhas a special place in the heart of 130crore Indians” as time and again,India’s friendship with it has stood firmagainst all odds. Despite the challengesthat had emerged during the Doklamdispute with China, the two countriesmanaged to keep their relationshipstrong. India’s equation with Bhutanhas not only been a success cultural-ly and historically but has also result-ed in great cooperation in sectors likehydroelectricity and infrastructuredevelopment. Though over the years

China has attempted to forge diplo-matic ties with Bhutan, fears of a Tibet-like saga repeating itself on its soil havealways kept Bhutan away from China.

Despite Beijing’s overtures toDhaka, India’s ties with Bangladeshhave remained strong and mutuallybeneficial. The recently-concludedvisit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinato New Delhi is a case in point as anumber of important pacts weresigned by the two neighbours. Thegrowing manufacturing industry inBangladesh is certainly a promisingalternative for India away from China.

In the case of Nepal, China hasbeen treading with caution. While ithas failed to formulate a unified SouthAsian policy due to its different inter-ests and equations with each of thecountries involved, attempts to attractthem have been made on a similar notesince the launch of the Belt and RoadInitiative (BRI). Under the initiative,China managed to bring Nepal onboard despite initial hesitation inKathmandu, which was reflected in thelast-minute decision by the Himalayankingdom just before the first BRISummit was to take place on May2015. Though at first, cooperationunder the initiative proved to bepromising, especially in building thetrans-Himalayan railway corridorbetween China and Nepal and provid-ing access to Chinese ports to Nepal,the feasibility of these projects is stillin question.

On the other hand, the ChineseForeign Minister and State CouncillorWang Yi’s visit to Nepal last month sawadvancement in Sino-Nepaleseengagement in various sectors. Theagenda of Xi’s impending visit toIndia and Nepal is obvious. One is tounderstand the regional environment

that has belied China’s expectations ingaining the desired results through theBRI. Second, China’s support toPakistan against India’s decision toabrogate Article 370 and a red carpetwelcome to Prime Minister ImranKhan before Xi’s trip to Chennai indi-cates continuity in Beijing’s strategiccooperation with Pakistan. In such asituation, China looks weak in its com-mitment to fight against global terror-ism. Third is the ongoing trade deficitbetween India and China. In 2018,India’s trade deficit with Chinaaccounted for $57.86 billion and in thecurrent year, India’s exports to Chinahave declined by 1.62 per cent. Tradehas been a strong point for the twocountries not waging war against eachother despite ongoing border dis-putes over the Line of Actual Control.Xi might assure India of a balancedbusiness as he did at the WuhanSummit.

With regard to Nepal, other thanthe BRI platform, relations haveimproved in the areas of security andinfrastructure development.

Considering the achievementsmade at the Wuhan Summit that hadhelped India and China normalisetheir chaotic relations amid theDoklam incident, the two leadersshould be able to reaffirm their com-mitments to abide by the “strategicguidance” issued at Wuhan tostrengthen communication, under-standing and trust-building during theupcoming summit. On the other hand,Xi will try to expedite the completionof Chinese projects in Nepal thathave been marred by delays and cor-ruption.

(The writer is doctoral candidate,Centre for South Asian Studies,Jawaharlal Nehru University)

%��7����������7��������6�������������!������ ������������8����*�����������������������������������������������������������#���� ����9�!�

����&� � �5� � � � " � � � � 6 �

� ����/"��#��3�#�&��!"�

������������

�"�������+���(��*���������G�"�����&"$%��%���&!�"�"���&"����"��!����"�$�&��"�����"��"�����������"�

$"/��!�$���$"���������+���&������'"��&"�

���� #��"�

�<������ ������� �<B� �-B��?B<��������

,�����B��� � ���<� �� ����,�B���<��� -��

B� B� ��B<��<� -��� �BE�<

��������B?�,�����,B��<B�1>�� ���� �<�

����B?�������,��

�� �� �� ������������

������ ����1����<� �<���B

��-��!�B���<����������<-���?B<�!

<����B� ���E��-<BE��������

�<�� �B? �,�<�)����

�?<� �<�,��<���E��B-����

5���������AB�C���������������� �����������������������������������������������������������������(����������0�������������������������������

�����������������������#�/������%����������� �����������6��������>������������������������������(���������� ������������������������)���������������� ���������*���������������%���������������������������������������

2������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ��������������(�������������������������������� �����������������5����������������*������������������������������������ ���������������������������� �� �������(� �����������������������������(��(�������������������@D�������5����������������������������������������������������� ���AEE�EEE�������������� �

+������ �������������������������������������������������� ������ � �������������������������1*����������������������%�������F��������������������������������5�5������AEGC���� � �����.���������������HEE���������������������������BC�BI����������(� �������������������������������2������������������������ ��������� ����5�����������������������(� ������������������1����������� �������������������������������������������������������������������� �������������������� �����������������(������� ��������� �� �������5���������6����0������� ���(*�������AEGD�����������������GH�C�����������������������������������������������������������GE�D������"����������������������#����� ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������(������������������

)��������������������������������������� ��J�������������������������� � ��������������������(��(��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� �������������>���(���������������������(��(��(������������������������������������ ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������5������������������������������������������������������������������ �������������������������� �5������������������������������������������$������������ ���������������������� ���������������������������������������������

5�������AEGC���� �����������������������������������������������������������������$������������(�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ����(���������������������������������������������������(�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������(������� ������������������������������������������ ������

2��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ����������������������5���������������������������������������"����� ������������������������������6��������������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������� �����*�������������������� ������������������������������������� ������������������� �����������������������������������������������������5�������������������������������,��������������-��������� ������������������������������ ���(������������������������������������$����������������������������������������������������� ������������� ��������������������������

$�������������������������������� (���������������)������� ����������������������������������������(����������������������������5��������������������������������� �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������(��������������� ��������������(��������������� ������������������������������������(����������������

,���������������� �������������������������������������������������-

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’srecent announcement that Indiawould phase out single-use plastics

by 2022 has given the industry a few moreyears to live but has deprived the environ-ment of that many years of freedom fromthis toxic material.

Experts were elated when Modi haddeclared from the ramparts of the historicRed Fort on August 15 that single-use plas-tic would be banned soon, as it had raisedexpectations of a major respite for the envi-ronment. However, the euphoria wasshort-lived and obviously pulling the plugon a widely used item on a short run-upwould have been difficult, particularly inthe current dismal economic scenario.Having said this, India would have donewell to have put the ban on a fast track as

single-use plastics are aprime threat to the environ-ment due to the sheer vol-umes in which they are used.And, in the absence of a strictdisposal policy and set-up,the accumulation of thistoxic substance is spirallingbeyond belief.

As a result, not only arebirds, animals and evenaquatic creatures sufferingafter unknowingly consum-ing the substance that chokesthem and also blocks theirintestines, humans are suffer-ing as micro-plastics entertheir bloodstream. Single-use plastics block guttersand storm drains, creatingmany civic problems.

The worst example ofsingle-use plastics is themulti-layered packaging usedfor storing tobacco productslike gutkha. Many other eat-ables like chocolates, biscuits, chips and liq-uid food products are also packed in them.

India has been toying with the idea ofbanning single-use plastic for a long time

but has always stopped short of biting theproverbial bullet. On World EnvironmentDay 2018, the then Environment MinisterHarsh Vardhan had announced that sin-gle-use plastics would be phased out by

2020. Later, that dead-line was revised to2022, no doubt underpressure from indus-tries who have been upin arms against the ban.

This is characteris-tic of an economy thatputs prosperity ahead ofenvironmental well-being. Industry bodieslike the Federation ofIndian Chambers ofCommerce andIndustry (FICCI) hadraised major concernsover the proposed ban.These bodies, workingat lightning speed, hadchurned up statisticalreports on how a banon single-use plasticswould have multi-fac-toral effects on indus-tries. It presents a curi-ous case as to why these

bodies never thought of bringing outreports on how single-use plastics werecausing harm to the environment. Industrybodies have had ample time to coordinate

with stakeholders and begin a meaning-ful research on alternatives for plastic pack-aging. But instead of this, these bodies arenow lobbying for further postponing theban. This raises a pertinent question as towho is batting for the cause of the envi-ronment? Could industry bodies not haveworked closely with the Government andthe corporate sector and found a viablealternative to plastic till now?

The Government and the NationalGreen Tribunal must pull up these bod-ies and ask for clarification on the one-sided reports presented by them insteadof capitulating to their demands andpostponing the ban. Unfortunately inIndia there is no apex non-profit represen-tative body that fights for the cause of theenvironment. As a result, nature hasalways and will continue to “adjust” witheveryone’s requirements. This flexibilitymight mean the ultimate demise of theworld as we know it today. But then, whois bothered? Not our political masters forsure.

The Father of the Nation, MahatmaGandhi, always relied on mass movementsas the basis for behavioural change. Thisis what we need today, a mass movementthat can inspire the common man to do

what neither the Government nor the cor-porate sector is able to do, bat for the envi-ronment with no intention for profit andno strings attached.

Once the people of the country beginthe movement for a better and cleanerenvironment, the vested profit-basedinterests will have to take a backseat. TheGovernment, too, will have to acknowledgethat since a clean environment is a basicright of every citizen, it must take priori-ty over other concerns raised by variouspressure groups.

The image of the Government will alsoimprove in the eyes of the common manwhen it prioritises the health of the peo-ple over the health of balance sheets of thecorporate sector. A ban on single-use plas-tic is a step in the right direction. But delayin implementation of the same is an evi-dence of the lack of concrete resolve. IfIndia could withstand demonetisationthat was implemented overnight andweather Goods and Service Tax-relatedcomplications, can it not manage withoutsingle-use plastics? It sure can. But theresolve of the people is ineffective withoutthe will of the Government.

(The writer is an environmentaljournalist)

%�����!��� �,�,������� ��!������&�'��()�*��%����+�(,%&-� ��#%-$�&%&-��.�����$ ��/$'(&���'.��� �%��%/ #�(�.�(����&�$�+� �* &��&��%&-#��'���.# ��%/��+�'#��$ 0��1'#�%���/��( #�22�/����3�&��(�+$)��$����. &�#��&�0�(��$�'-$���2�*(%&-%&-��'��(�.�(����&�$�+��%&-#��'���.# ��%/��+�(��/ '�%&-�$ (1�����$���&0%(�&1�&�4

�%� �����7

�������������������� ��� ��!���"#$�%#"&

���</����4� #""�<& �

�������������������� ��� ��!���"#$�%#"&( ��&%�

4���������������.����������������#�������/0��/��) -;� �'�����(����/���������,��"�&���@�&'M������"����"�����������,,�J��"�K����1!�����/������,- �!���B���+���7!�D:861������������1�B087:=4=8D:860- �����B���+���7!�D:86!�����"�������������+����"������+%������&"�"�����"/���"�"���%��������"���@��&'M��+�������"��!� �/���&���1������"�1���������("����/�����������������,��!��,,!����*����2����"/���"������J<��"���$�-��G����K�"��<�� ��"&"���!��$����,- �������������"�"���%����<�"$*�%�1 �'�����$����������$��@N=6#���������"��,"/"$����"����"������&���!;���(���������������1��������&�����$�"1����G�"������"���<�"$*�% ��/"���������"������"��8693�������*�����==�%��������,"/"$����"����"��*��(���2'��"����!����/"���"��<�"$*�%������"��������"�������"��/��"�����'��"�"��1����"��� ��"� �'��#�������������2����"/���"�������"������$��������".��"��!�����������������$$%���'��/"����'$���"��!����"��"�������2����"������&���������8D5�'��G����1�

����� �����

Benchmark indices made anemphatic comeback on

Wednesday after a six-sessionlosing streak as investors piledinto recently beaten downbanking and financial stocksahead of the earnings season.

The BSE Sensex surged645.97 points or 1.72 per centto end at 38,177.95, while thebroader NSE Nifty zoomed186.90 points or 1.68 per centto 11,313.30.

After a cautious start, thekey indices gained momentumin afternoon trade, led by bank-ing, financial and telecomcounters.

Sentiment got a furtherboost after the Cabinet hikedthe dearness allowance (DA)for central governmentemployees, which is expectedto prop up festive demand, ana-lysts said.

On the Sensex chart,IndusInd Bank was the biggestgainer, spurting 5.45 per cent,followed by Bharti Airtel, ICICIBank, SBI, M&M, Kotak Bank,Tata Steel and HDFC Bank.

On the other hand, Yes

Bank was the top loser with5.26 per cent decline. Otherlaggards were Hero MotoCorp,HCL Tech, ITC, TCS, Infosys,ONGC and Bajaj Auto, fallingup to 2.65 to per cent.

“Market recovered aftermany days of fall and rose com-fortably above 11,300-level.Banks outperformed as sharpfall in bond yield is indicatingfurther room for rate cutswhich will improve liquidityand consumption story.

“Further, a 5 per cent hikein DA by govt will add impe-tus to the festival demand.Going forward, the result sea-son will dictate the marketdirection and investors areexpecting some green shootson account of festival demandand good monsoon,” saidVinod Nair, Head of Researchat Geojit Financial Services.

Sectorally, BSE Telecomemerged as the biggest gainerwith a jump of 4.92 per cent,followed by banking (3.67 percent), finance (2.84 per cent),metal (2.12 per cent), realty(1.99 per cent), basic materials(1.95 per cent) and energy(0.98 per cent).

However, IT, consumerdurables and teck lost up to0.92 per cent.

In the broader markets, theBSE Midcap index shot up1.38 per cent, while the small-cap gauge gained 0.66 per cent.

The rupee was trading 3paise lower at 70.98 against theUS dollar (intra-day).

Brent futures, the global oilbenchmark, rose 1.08 per centto $58.77 per barrel.

Asian markets were mixedfollowing concerns over theUS-China trade negotiations,while European bourses were trading higher in earlydeals as investors digested earn-ings data.

<���@���?����%���*��� �&:&������ �� ����� �������!��� � ����� ����� ��������

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’sReliance Jio will, for the first

time ever, charge a small 6 paisaper minute for voice calls madeby its users to mobile phonenetworks of rivalssuch as Airtel andVodafone Idea torecover a chargethat could lastbeyond the previ-ously set December31, 2019 deadline.

Blaming regu-latory uncertaintycaused by TRAI reopeningsunset clause of the so-calledinterconnect user charge(IUC), Jio in a statement saidthe charge would last till suchtime that regulations requirepayments to rival networks forcompleting calls. Jio, however,said it will compensate theusers by giving free data ofequivalent amount.

Jio, which charges users onits 4G telecom network only fordata usage while voice calls toanywhere in the country arefree, said the new charge wouldnot be applicable on calls madeby its users to other Jio phonesand to landline phones as wellas on calls made using

WhatsApp, FaceTime andother such platforms. Incomingcalls from all networks willcontinue to be free.

Telecom regulator TRAI in2017 had slashed IUC to 6paise per minute from 14 paise

and had proposed toend the regime onDecember 31, 2019,after considering var-ious factors. But ithas now floated aconsultation paper toreview whether thetimeline needs to beextended.

������������B�����E��������� ����������������

����� ��������

Telecom operator BhartiAirtel on Wednesday said it

has raised $750 million (about�5,330 crore) from investorsbased in Asia, Europe and theUS through a hybrid financialinstrument.

Bharti Airtel said in astatement that “its wholly-owned subsidiary Network i2i Limited, has priced ... Offeringof $750 million 5.650 per cent subordinated perpetual securities.”

A perpetual bond is a fixedincome security with no maturity date that yields asteady f low of interest payments.

����� �������� ���E�

India has moved down 10places to rank 68th on an

annual global competitivenessindex, largely due to improve-ments witnessed by severalother economies, whileSingapore has replaced the USas the world’s most competitiveeconomy.

India, which was ranked58th in the annual GlobalCompetitiveness Index com-piled by Geneva-based WorldEconomic Forum (WEF), isamong the worst-performingBRICS nations along withBrazil (ranked even lower thanIndia at 71st this year).

Announcing its latest index,the WEF said on WednesdayIndia ranks high in terms ofmacroeconomic stability andmarket size, while its financialsector is relatively deep and sta-ble despite the high delinquen-cy rate, which contributes toweakening the soundness of itsbanking system.

India is ranked also high at15th place in terms of corporategovernance, while it is rankedsecond globally for sharehold-er governance, the WEF studyshowed. In terms of the market

size, India is ranked third, whileit has got the same rank forrenewable energy regulation.

Besides, India also punch-es above its development statuswhen it comes to innovation,which is well ahead of mostemerging economies and onpar with several advancedeconomies, the report said.

But, these positive metricscontrast with major shortcom-ings in some of the basicenablers of competitiveness incase of India, the WEF said,while flagging limited ICT(information, communicationsand technology) adoption,poor health conditions andlow healthy life expectancy.

The WEF said the healthylife expectancy, where India hasbeen ranked 109th out of totalthe 141 countries surveyed forthe index, is one of the short-est outside Africa and signifi-cantly below the South Asianaverage.

Besides, India needs togrow its skills base, while itsproduct market efficiency isundermined by a lack of tradeopenness and the labour mar-ket is characterised by a lack ofworker rights’ protections,insufficiently developed activelabour market policies andcritically low participation ofwomen.

����� -�<

India should provide anattractive business environ-

ment and not “terrorise us”with its tax and customs rules,the CEO of the French enginemanufacturer behind theRafale fighter jet told DefenceMinister Rajnath Singh onWednesday while announcingthat the company plans toinvest nearly USD 150 millionin the country.

French multinationalSafran, the manufacturer of theM88 state-of-the-art enginesfitted in the Rafale jets acquiredby India, gave a presentation of

its facility to the minister whotook a tour of the assembly line of the company near theFrench capital.

“Visited the EngineManufacturing Facility ofSafran at Villaroche near Paristoday. Safran is known for itsengine making capabilities.They have also developed theengine for Rafale,” Singh said ina tweet.

“Happy to meet some ofthe young and bright engineersof Indian origin working at theSafran manufacturing facility.Their technical knowledge andhard work is impressive andinspiring,” he said.

During the presentation,CEO of the Safran AircraftEngines Olivier Andriesrevealed plans for nearly USD150 million investment in thecountry towards training andmaintenance. However, theCEO called on India for moresupport on its tax structure.

“India is set to become thethird largest commercial mar-ket for aviation and we are keento create a strong maintenanceand repair base in India toserve customers,” Andries said.

“But we need to make surethat the Indian tax and customs system is not teror-rising us,” he said.

����� -�<

Defence Minister RajnathSingh on Wednesday said

India has taken a host of mea-sures to attract investments inthe defence manufacturing sec-tor and is open to any furthertax rationalisation that may berequired to encourage the“Make in India” initiative in thesector.

Addressing a delegation ofCEOs representing some ofFrance’s leading Defence industry majors at the end of his three-day visit to thecountry, the Minister also high-lighted the recent cut in cor-porate tax rate as well as thesteps taken to improve theease of doing business in India.

����� �������

The Chinese operators ofPakistan’s strategic Gwadar

Port and its free zone in therestive Balochistan provincehave vowed to make the coastalcity the single largest contrib-utor to the country’s nationaleconomic output in seven yearsby creating 47,000 jobs withnew investments worth bil-lions of dollars, according to amedia report.

China Overseas PortsHolding Company (COPHC)

Gwadar Chairman ZhangBaozhong said this on Tuesdayafter the Pakistan governmentstamped 23-year income taxholiday and exemptions ofsales tax and customs duties forthe Gwadar Port and busi-nesses to be set up at GwadarFree Zone, the Express Tribunereported.

“It (issuing of ordinance) isa turning point for Pakistan’seconomy and now billions ofdollars will be invested inGwadar,” Zhang told the medi-apersons.

Mumbai: A new researchreport co-authored by IMFchief economist Gita Gopinathclaims that the demonetisationexercise generated a decline innational economic activity ofroughly 2 percentage points inthe fourth quarter of 2016 andwas equivalent to a 200 basispoint interest rate hike.

The Reserve Bank of Indiahas since February 2019 deliv-ered a 135 basis point rate cutin order to revive economicactivity which fell to over a six-year low at 5 per cent duringthe April-June quarter.

“The magnitude of the

peak effect on output is com-parable to a roughly 200 basispoint tightening of the mone-tary policy rate based on themedian of estimates reviewedin Ramey (2016) of economet-ric studies of US data,” theresearch report said.

The Modi government’skey argument to justify demon-etisation was to reduce the useof cash which makes financialtransaction an expensive affairbut the research report con-cluded that in modern Indiacash continues to serve anessential role in facilitatingeconomic activity. IANS

%����� ����� ��� .;����!� ����&<���

407#10�7��;9595C;�;<<5� ;�

<�������������

> #7���"�� ��!"��!� #���.8��$��""#+�#"���#�$�&���"���"��!��?#��0

:���������������3������� �����������9������"����/&*�����������

(������������ � �=>?;�����,� �� ��,� ��

#�����,�� ��������1�������,����������������!�����!�������:>�;;;�9�� ����>����

> ����"�����((������ �"������D���3� ���(+?E-�

����� ��������

In a setback to IndiabullsGroup’s plans to enter the

banking space, the ReserveBank on Wednesday rejectedthe proposed merger ofIndiabulls Housing Financewith troubled private sectorlender Lakshmi Vilas Bank.

Speculations were rifeabout the fate of the merger,announced in April this year,after the Reserve Bank of India(RBI) imposed restrictions onLakshmi Vilas Bank due to itsweak financial health.

The regulator’s decisionalso comes against the back-drop of both the entities beingentangled in legal woes.

“...This is to inform that RBIvide their letter dated October9, 2019, informed that theapplication for voluntary amal-gamation of lndiabulls HousingFinance Limited and lndiabullsCommercial Credit Limitedwith the Lakshmi Vilas Bank

(LVB) cannot be approved,”the bank said in a stockexchange filing. The bank didnot cite any reason for rejectionof the merger proposal.

The Tamil Nadu-basedbank had sought approval formerger with IndiabullsHousing Finance from the RBIon May 7, 2019. The mergerproposal had received all nec-essary approvals, but the all-important nod from the RBIwas pending since May.

Last month, the bank wasplaced under PromptCorrective Action (PCA)framework of the RBI due tohigh level of bad loans, lack ofsufficient capital to managerisks and negative return onassets for two consecutiveyears.

The RBI move cameamidst the Delhi Police’sEconomic Offences Wing reg-istering a complaint against theboard of LVB alleging cheatingand misappropriation of funds.

-(%� �� �������%�������� @�� ����A����!����������B�� ���$��� �(���

����� ��������

Telecom operator BhartiAirtel on Wednesday alleged

that Jio’s decision to levy 6 paiseper minute on voice calls to rivalphone networks is geared to“force IUC to be brought down”,and said ongoing review of callconnect charges or IUC is con-sistent with TRAI’s previously-stated intent.

The comments by SunilMittal-led Bharti Airtel cameafter Jio blamed TelecomRegulatory Authority of India(TRAI) of regulatory flip-flopon the IUC issue whileannouncing a levy of 6 paiseper minute on voice calls madeto rival phone networks.

Jio has, however, also saidit will compensate customersfor the IUC charge by givingfree data of equal value.

Without naming Jio, Airtelin a statement said, "One of ourcompetitors has imposed arate of 6 paise for all off net callsmade to other operators tocover the termination charge ofIUC (Interconnect UsageCharge).

They have gone on to sug-gest that TRAI has re-openedthis issue”.

$����!��������%������58�������3�������1�����

( ��&%%����������� �������� ��� ��!���"#$�%#"&

4���!� ����������� �����������������!������%����2�%7A����� �� �� �B�

The largest emerging marketeconomies like India are

experiencing an even “morepronounced” effect of the glob-al downturn, new IMF chiefKristalina Georgieva has said,warning that the global econ-omy is witnessing “synchro-nized slowdown” which willresult in slower growth for 90per cent of the world this year.

The Managing Director ofInternational Monetary Fund(IMF) pointed out that thewidespread deceleration meansthat growth this year will fall toits lowest rate since the begin-ning of the decade.

She said the WorldEconomic Outlook to bereleased next week will show

downward revisions for 2019and 2020.

“In 2019, we expect slow-er growth in nearly 90 per centof the world. The global econ-omy is now in a synchronizedslowdown,” Georgieva said onTuesday in her curtain raiserspeech for the IMF and WorldBank’s annual meeting herenext week.

The headline numbersreflect a complex situation, shesaid.

Despite this overall decel-eration, close to 40 emergingmarket and developingeconomies are forecast to havereal GDP growth rates above 5per cent — including 19 in sub-Saharan Africa, the IMF chiefsaid.

In the United States and

Germany, unemployment is athistoric lows. Yet acrossadvanced economies, includingin the US, Japan and especial-ly the euro area, there is a soft-ening of economic activity, shesaid.

“In some of the largestemerging market economies,such as India and Brazil, theslowdown is even more pro-nounced this year. In China,growth is gradually comingdown from the rapid pace itsaw for many years,” Georgievasaid.

The precarious outlookpresents challenges for coun-tries already facing difficulties— including some of the Fund’sprogramme countries, shenoted.

The Reserve Bank of India

on Friday lowered India’s GDPgrowth estimate for the year to6.1 per cent from the earlier fig-ure of 6.9 per cent due to theon-going period of economicslowdown.

Georgieva called for usingmonetary policy wisely andenhancing financial stability.

“Now is the time for coun-tries with room in their budgetsto deploy — or get ready todeploy — fiscal firepower. Infact, low interest rates maygive some policymakers addi-tional money to spend,” shesaid.

Referring to a new IMFresearch, which shows howstructural reforms can raiseproductivity and generate enor-mous economic gains, she saidthese changes are the key to

achieving higher growth overthe medium and long-term.

“The right reforms in theright sequence could doublethe speed at which emergingmarkets and developingeconomies reach the livingstandards of the advancedeconomies,” Georgieva said.

While the need for inter-national cooperation is goingup, the will to engage is goingdown, she rued.

“Trade is a case in point.And yet, we need to worktogether. From safely adaptingto fintech, to fully implement-ing the financial regulatoryreform agenda, to fightingmoney laundering and thefinancing of terrorism,”Georgieva said.

Describing climate Change

as a crisis where no one isimmune and everyone has aresponsibility to act, she saidone of its priorities was to assistcountries as they reduce carbonemissions and become moreclimate resilient.

At the current average car-bon price of USD 2 per ton,most people and most compa-nies have little financial incen-tive to make this transition.Limiting global warming to asafe level requires a signifi-cantly higher carbon price, sheadded.

Bulgarian economistGeorgieva was confirmed lastmonth as Managing Directorof the IMF, becoming the firstperson from an emergingeconomy to head the globallender.

�����������+����������B���D8��������'�$$������ ��������

Leading stock exchanges BSE and NSE have announced trad-ing holiday on October 21 on account of assembly elections

in Maharashtra.They have announced trading holiday for capital markets,

futures and options and currency derivative segment, BSE andNSE said in separate circulars.

“On account of assembly elections in Maharashtra which isscheduled to be held on October 21, 2019, members are request-ed to note that exchange hereby notifies trading holiday for cap-ital market, futures & options and currency derivative segments,”NSE said.

The commodity derivative segment will be open only forevening session, it added.

��(��%��"'�"�(��'����*"�����"'��/"�������� ��������

MakeMyTrip onWednesday said it has

signed an agreement withtravel platform majorTripAdvisor to offer choicesfor local experiences at inter-national destinations to out-bound Indian travellers.

Indian travellers lookingto discover the world will nowhave over 250,000 bookabletours and activities from theonline travel firm to choosefrom when they visit

MakeMyTrip’s ‘Experiencesand Activities’ section, thecompany said in a statement.

“With the rollout of inter-national experiences withTripAdvisor on our platform,we are confident that we cannow empower Indian trav-ellers with more choices whenthey travel overseas whichthey can book online,”MakeMyTrip India, NewBusiness - chief business offi-cer Deepak Tuli said.

The company, however,did not share any financial

details of the agreement.In a similar vein,

TripAdvisor’s CountryManager of India Nikhil Ganjusaid: “As the world’s largestprovider of tours, attractionsand experiences, we are glad topartner with MakeMyTrip tohelp Indians discover theworld, whatever your budget,interests or destination.”

Great experiences make avacation truly memorable andTripAdvisor data shows thattravellers are increasinglybuilding immersive local expe-

riences into their itineraries,Ganju added.

MakeMyTrip aims to max-imise its reach to the 25 mil-lion Indian travellers goingoverseas and help enhancetheir overall journey with awide selection of in-destina-tion experiences, the state-ment said.

Aside from choice andconvenience, travellers willalso benefit from paying intheir home currency removingthe hassle of navigatingexchange rates, it added.

Script Open High Low LTPHDFC 1975.00 2004.90 1963.90 2001.50YESBANK 45.55 45.55 41.05 43.20SBIN 250.10 262.00 244.35 260.90ICICIBANK 418.00 438.40 417.40 436.60TITAN 1200.50 1236.05 1177.75 1229.65RBLBANK 304.00 311.55 280.85 309.75IBULHSGFIN 239.95 246.80 232.20 240.30INDUSINDBK 1241.80 1319.80 1236.75 1309.50AUROPHARMA 472.00 485.00 454.20 474.30ZEEL 250.25 257.80 240.70 245.90HDFCBANK 1191.00 1230.30 1190.15 1228.50BAJAJFINSV 8262.00 8345.00 8177.05 8312.55PEL 1470.05 1470.05 1330.20 1395.25TATAMOTORS 118.90 121.60 115.50 120.85RELIANCE 1311.90 1330.00 1293.15 1325.75BAJFINANCE 3924.95 4043.60 3880.00 4025.35TATASTEEL 323.80 338.00 320.30 336.35M&M 557.00 578.80 551.95 576.10MARUTI 6621.00 6741.85 6604.80 6721.10BPCL 491.45 495.50 482.05 492.75AXISBANK 673.80 689.40 664.60 686.30JINDALSTEL 93.75 98.20 92.00 97.55BIRLACORPN 533.25 542.55 525.65 527.65CENTURYTEX 862.50 935.90 862.50 924.60ASHOKLEY 64.25 69.75 64.25 69.10LT 1401.00 1432.50 1399.20 1426.75BANKBARODA 86.55 91.50 86.05 91.05TCS 2052.85 2056.70 2015.80 2020.65KOTAKBANK 1555.00 1626.80 1549.55 1608.30ONGC 126.70 127.10 123.95 125.95IDEA 5.19 5.97 5.16 5.84HDFCAMC 2700.00 2798.00 2686.15 2707.05JUSTDIAL 601.75 642.55 588.55 628.20ESCORTS 601.00 612.50 581.50 607.85L&TFH 79.70 83.80 78.60 83.45TATAPOWER 59.00 61.90 58.05 61.45HINDPETRO 308.50 319.55 302.20 314.45DLF 143.50 149.60 138.50 147.50BRITANNIA 2960.00 3070.85 2929.40 3061.05EQUITAS 102.90 102.90 97.40 100.75TATAELXSI 683.70 683.70 621.10 637.80SBILIFE 830.00 844.50 825.00 837.90INFY 793.50 796.00 779.00 784.00BHARTIARTL 342.90 360.70 339.10 359.25NCC 47.45 52.70 46.40 52.20HEG 920.30 933.35 858.00 912.95SAIL 31.80 32.90 31.30 32.70HEROMOTOCO 2699.00 2699.00 2590.00 2603.80CANBK 179.60 185.55 174.40 184.05ITC 252.85 252.85 246.50 247.10SUNPHARMA 379.00 387.60 374.40 383.55MOTHERSUMI 98.00 98.25 96.00 97.20GRAPHITE 275.00 280.00 255.00 271.70BEL 105.80 106.60 104.05 105.30MARICO 381.90 385.05 378.20 383.35PNB 57.20 58.85 56.30 58.50BANKINDIA 60.50 62.15 57.45 61.65JUBLFOOD 1320.00 1320.00 1251.90 1308.40HINDUNILVR 1942.65 1962.00 1941.40 1947.40SIEMENS 1481.05 1594.80 1481.05 1588.20DMART 1855.00 1871.80 1803.90 1820.10SRTRANSFIN 1065.00 1130.00 1052.20 1123.50RAYMOND 560.00 613.00 560.00 601.85APOLLOHOSP 1418.00 1431.70 1398.05 1423.80HDFCLIFE 576.20 586.70 573.90 580.40ULTRACEMCO 3876.00 4060.00 3872.80 4041.00VEDL 142.65 146.50 141.40 145.75BERGEPAINT 437.85 452.15 432.85 449.80STAR 310.75 316.60 288.00 312.85JSWSTEEL 207.70 213.70 206.00 212.85BHEL 43.00 43.95 42.35 43.65LUPIN 667.70 684.80 660.00 681.75ADANIGREEN 68.00 74.30 67.50 71.30ASIANPAINT 1723.00 1777.40 1723.00 1773.15ADANIPOWER 59.90 61.10 58.40 60.75VENKYS 1607.00 1675.50 1588.75 1644.25ADANIENT 136.00 139.60 134.20 138.95RAJESHEXPO 671.50 676.75 671.00 672.55IOC 147.80 150.05 147.10 148.15SPICEJET 119.50 120.00 114.90 117.20IDFCFIRSTB 37.50 38.75 37.10 38.40BATAINDIA 1681.90 1735.70 1662.30 1723.20COALINDIA 185.00 186.60 183.00 185.20EICHERMOT 17990.00 18295.10 17847.75 18236.75GRASIM 653.95 677.50 644.70 670.70IBVENTURES 109.85 109.85 103.30 109.10ICICIPRULI 458.00 458.00 441.95 449.75LICHSGFIN 373.15 380.50 363.00 378.35ACC 1429.80 1472.85 1417.00 1466.70LTI 1497.00 1510.95 1461.20 1501.05MGL 900.00 917.90 894.40 912.60INDIGO 1820.00 1820.00 1764.10 1795.80RECLTD 124.00 125.80 119.40 125.05ABB 1483.00 1507.10 1465.80 1486.85HINDALCO 182.00 186.95 181.15 186.00CREDITACC 672.75 674.10 647.60 667.20NIITTECH 1380.00 1386.20 1361.95 1371.15HONAUT 27505.00 27920.00 27500.00 27793.30DISHTV 16.90 18.70 16.60 18.40BIOCON 229.25 235.00 223.80 233.55CIPLA 408.55 427.25 408.00 423.50NAUKRI 2321.55 2420.10 2292.20 2395.55PIDILITIND 1370.00 1371.85 1333.80 1336.70SUNTV 460.00 473.30 452.70 471.30TORNTPOWER 277.85 284.65 277.85 282.85DRREDDY 2635.00 2674.50 2600.10 2663.20NBCC 33.50 34.15 32.25 33.85NTPC 116.50 118.05 115.50 117.35

TVSMOTOR 394.15 400.55 388.50 397.05EDELWEISS 78.70 78.70 72.20 72.85DELTACORP 159.55 171.00 157.50 169.40GLENMARK 289.90 292.90 281.00 290.40DHFL 28.55 28.70 26.05 26.05MANAPPURAM 133.30 140.70 133.30 139.95FEDERALBNK 84.90 86.35 84.05 85.90CONCOR 579.00 579.00 563.25 570.90NMDC 90.05 97.10 90.05 96.50UNIONBANK 49.55 51.55 48.30 51.10NATIONALUM 43.80 46.05 43.75 44.90UPL 581.00 584.45 574.00 581.70NESTLEIND 13650.00 13908.40 13600.00 13875.50IGL 350.70 362.90 350.70 361.05VOLTAS 672.00 685.00 657.85 681.25SRF 2655.05 2759.95 2648.80 2745.65AMBUJACEM 185.00 193.35 184.15 192.35UJJIVAN 296.80 305.95 292.10 304.80HCLTECH 1074.20 1074.20 1040.65 1050.90PETRONET 256.45 259.30 255.50 257.45WIPRO 238.20 239.55 236.50 237.70BEML 939.80 948.90 931.00 934.85PFC 94.50 95.95 93.00 94.55HAVELLS 665.00 675.35 655.50 671.15CHOLAFIN 291.00 298.00 285.05 296.10TECHM 705.20 713.50 702.10 711.45ESSELPRO 114.00 116.50 114.00 115.60IBREALEST 43.10 43.10 43.10 43.10TATAMTRDVR 53.25 53.75 51.00 53.50INDIACEM 81.10 81.90 79.80 81.25DABUR 432.95 445.35 431.50 443.25COLPAL 1465.00 1503.20 1458.50 1498.45SCI 39.35 43.00 38.20 42.20RNAM 279.90 281.90 270.60 273.25ADANIPORTS 401.80 402.75 391.75 400.20BOMDYEING 68.85 72.45 68.00 70.50ADANIGAS 131.50 138.30 131.05 136.25BOSCHLTD 13050.30 13381.25 13016.30 13258.65STRTECH 141.75 144.10 136.20 142.55POWERGRID 197.85 198.90 195.50 197.45M&MFIN 325.05 334.90 325.00 333.80MINDTREE 721.50 730.40 714.60 722.05WHIRLPOOL 1996.30 2072.00 1996.30 2055.40

TATAGLOBAL 273.50 273.50 264.60 269.85GMRINFRA 16.40 17.40 16.40 17.30SUNTECK 405.95 405.95 391.65 402.40BAJAJ-AUTO 2892.00 2913.25 2880.10 2894.95GODREJCP 670.65 675.00 658.30 672.45PCJEWELLER 32.50 32.60 30.90 31.55BLISSGVS 105.90 105.90 97.50 102.90BHARATFORG 428.80 438.20 418.90 432.25GAIL 130.00 133.00 128.55 132.20INFRATEL 246.60 259.80 244.70 255.50ITI 82.80 87.70 82.15 82.80DCBBANK 177.00 184.80 176.00 184.10WOCKPHARMA 239.35 243.50 230.00 238.05PVR 1792.00 1815.00 1782.00 1799.15SADBHAV 131.00 134.00 125.40 131.80IRB 67.80 68.30 64.75 65.95PAGEIND 21025.00 21641.75 20919.00 21514.85CUMMINSIND 563.50 578.00 562.05 568.80UBL 1275.00 1299.55 1246.50 1279.70RELCAPITAL 22.90 22.90 20.10 21.05APOLLOTYRE 164.00 169.80 162.70 168.75BALKRISIND 721.00 735.00 707.50 733.45GODFRYPHLP 936.30 988.00 930.10 970.05MCX 964.00 970.00 944.50 962.85CANFINHOME 376.70 393.25 376.20 390.70MUTHOOTFIN 671.55 689.50 665.10 685.45BBTC 1082.10 1110.35 1074.70 1092.45MRF 61143.70 61440.50 60355.00 61125.10ICICIGI 1162.45 1174.00 1145.85 1168.10DIVISLAB 1646.00 1654.65 1622.15 1650.75PTC 54.00 55.60 53.20 55.40SPARC 117.00 117.80 113.40 114.30HINDCOPPER 31.70 32.30 28.65 28.95JAICORPLTD 75.40 76.85 73.80 76.10TATACHEM 577.05 589.65 574.80 588.00NHPC 23.05 23.10 22.40 22.60CADILAHC 229.00 238.80 226.00 236.50TEAMLEASE 2976.05 3028.00 2944.80 2996.50HFCL 17.70 17.80 17.20 17.60RPOWER 2.41 2.46 2.30 2.32CEATLTD 927.00 946.45 917.90 937.90

ABCAPITAL 78.90 81.40 78.15 79.35SWANENERGY 106.35 106.35 103.75 106.00ADANITRANS 225.10 229.60 221.70 225.30OMAXE 191.90 191.90 189.60 189.75BLUESTARCO 811.00 828.20 803.05 811.90IDBI 29.25 30.15 28.85 29.85INDIANB 118.70 120.00 114.60 117.55ORIENTBANK 56.05 56.60 53.15 54.55HINDZINC 210.00 210.00 203.15 206.85OIL 143.60 147.25 143.60 146.30RELINFRA 26.05 26.05 24.00 24.30OBEROIRLTY 480.10 503.50 467.40 500.15PHILIPCARB 111.80 113.00 108.00 111.40HSCL 74.45 75.85 73.30 75.25DBL 383.50 383.50 370.45 373.10EXIDEIND 186.00 191.65 184.25 190.70ENGINERSIN 107.00 109.80 106.60 109.05HEIDELBERG 186.00 189.75 184.25 185.30JINDALSAW 78.75 85.80 77.25 84.90AIAENG 1675.90 1678.50 1635.10 1643.95BALRAMCHIN 155.30 156.65 150.60 154.30NOCIL 99.50 100.35 95.00 99.20VIPIND 453.30 458.65 450.40 453.35BASF 961.55 1020.00 961.55 996.50CASTROLIND 130.30 133.05 130.25 132.90SOBHA 425.00 467.60 405.30 456.55HEXAWARE 365.30 365.30 354.00 357.20TORNTPHARM 1609.00 1670.35 1609.00 1666.15JUBILANT 474.70 491.20 470.05 483.65IDFC 31.00 31.40 30.80 31.00FRETAIL 379.40 379.95 372.85 375.00NAVINFLUOR 694.00 705.00 685.65 695.70BANDHANBNK 480.15 484.00 471.00 480.55RAIN 85.75 88.00 82.85 86.65RAMCOCEM 705.60 709.75 696.15 705.35CARERATING 506.85 524.70 506.85 517.30INDHOTEL 156.00 158.45 153.00 154.05MFSL 409.50 417.50 405.45 415.55BLUEDART 2233.40 2305.00 2200.00 2275.95RCF 44.25 45.70 43.50 44.95KTKBANK 71.70 72.40 71.10 72.05COFFEEDAY 45.90 45.90 41.90 43.65IBULISL 100.40 100.40 100.40 100.40SHANKARA 278.45 294.35 266.50 281.70ABFRL 207.30 209.35 204.95 207.50CHALET 319.25 319.65 315.10 318.00JSWENERGY 61.95 63.40 60.00 61.55AMARAJABAT 684.45 695.00 673.90 693.65SUVEN 262.40 267.00 260.00 261.30RVNL 23.25 23.25 22.60 22.95VMART 1912.20 1952.20 1912.20 1936.45GODREJPROP 993.25 1021.00 980.00 996.70SUZLON 2.47 2.47 2.24 2.41SHREECEM 17964.30 18526.20 17841.05 18496.20LTTS 1603.00 1605.80 1563.95 1578.15CUB 222.50 223.60 218.75 222.05JISLJALEQS 17.40 17.40 16.00 16.15GNFC 191.60 199.50 190.00 198.90FORCEMOT 1080.00 1109.20 1075.00 1091.603MINDIA 19500.00 20300.00 19500.00 20202.70UFLEX 204.90 207.85 204.15 206.15REPCOHOME 296.40 303.75 293.50 302.85RITES 262.30 263.80 259.80 261.00NATCOPHARM 561.15 561.85 549.75 552.80DEEPAKNI 286.30 295.00 285.10 294.00ITDC 236.00 268.00 236.00 245.75GRANULES 104.50 104.50 101.05 101.60FCONSUMER 24.15 24.25 22.60 23.30AVANTI 352.00 358.00 344.00 354.95TRENT 490.00 506.85 480.25 503.05NILKAMAL 1190.00 1190.00 1170.00 1179.20AJANTPHARM 980.00 989.40 969.00 974.25RADICO 295.30 297.95 292.00 293.45SONATSOFTW 297.00 299.10 282.50 292.55JAMNAAUTO 35.00 36.25 34.90 35.45CHAMBLFERT 145.00 148.95 144.60 147.10ABBOTINDIA 10700.00 11052.10 10650.00 10994.55GSKCONS 8320.00 8390.00 8265.00 8348.55CROMPTON 254.05 261.70 252.20 259.15GSFC 74.95 75.50 72.70 75.15INFIBEAM 39.70 40.25 39.30 39.75MASFIN 677.00 724.55 669.05 706.90PNBHOUSING 553.75 554.05 540.30 547.55GMDCLTD 59.30 59.30 57.60 58.05MOTILALOFS 615.00 615.60 580.65 589.70PHOENIXLTD 716.10 716.80 703.25 712.85GODREJIND 386.05 387.45 381.40 384.25KEC 265.55 269.10 265.00 266.75KEI 535.00 535.00 527.00 529.65COCHINSHIP 330.90 338.40 330.45 335.80SUDARSCHEM 369.05 386.75 368.00 378.00FSL 46.05 46.75 45.60 46.50PIIND 1287.00 1316.20 1286.00 1306.95INTELLECT 179.20 183.80 176.40 181.50J&KBANK 32.30 33.10 31.95 32.20TAKE 101.60 103.80 98.55 100.95SOUTHBANK 10.60 10.60 10.34 10.40MEGH 47.10 50.20 47.10 49.85VINATIORGA 2197.00 2197.00 2143.20 2165.05MPHASIS 950.00 950.00 925.00 929.15ALBK 26.60 26.70 25.80 26.50SYMPHONY 1283.50 1313.30 1267.00 1296.95GLAXO 1340.00 1361.00 1335.90 1358.30MAHSCOOTER 4467.95 4528.00 4461.40 4517.25GESHIP* 291.00 294.00 280.05 292.15HUDCO 32.50 33.50 32.05 33.15GREAVESCOT 135.05 139.85 133.70 136.85MOIL 132.00 134.80 130.10 133.90FORTIS 137.50 141.30 137.50 140.05

TIMKEN 776.00 799.00 758.45 785.75MINDAIND 347.00 347.00 333.65 340.45JKTYRE 67.65 68.55 66.35 68.30TTKPRESTIG 6220.75 6220.75 6055.15 6095.05WABAG 255.00 256.15 246.00 247.40GUJALKALI 419.65 423.60 400.00 410.10JSL 33.20 35.85 32.65 35.00POLYCAB 669.60 674.95 664.65 666.55WELSPUNIND 50.85 50.85 49.10 50.00OFSS 3090.00 3111.50 3032.60 3100.00FINCABLES 365.30 366.35 352.70 359.25NLCINDIA 55.80 55.80 53.50 53.80LALPATHLAB 1341.80 1344.55 1313.35 1321.80KANSAINER 493.00 509.80 490.70 500.30CENTURYPLY 156.50 167.35 156.50 166.00PERSISTENT 576.00 582.20 553.00 574.35WELCORP 122.40 126.70 121.25 126.00SCHNEIDER 70.25 72.35 69.60 70.20PARAGMILK 153.15 154.25 150.30 151.80ATUL 3955.00 3958.50 3930.00 3943.75IPCALAB 875.35 875.40 851.25 863.75GUJGAS 175.00 180.00 170.00 174.80INOXLEISUR 324.15 327.55 320.00 326.50JPASSOCIAT 2.40 2.40 2.25 2.33TVSSRICHAK 1750.00 1758.80 1706.50 1756.60KALPATPOWR 441.05 452.55 438.45 451.10PFIZER 3162.60 3187.65 3132.00 3141.95GRUH 261.90 264.60 259.20 261.30HIMATSEIDE 140.00 142.80 139.00 140.85GODREJAGRO 469.10 479.05 467.55 477.80CHENNPETRO 165.00 167.70 164.20 165.20MAHLIFE 423.00 436.90 423.00 433.95PGHL 4410.00 4505.00 4369.00 4457.30QUESS 461.00 473.90 460.25 470.30MRPL 50.00 50.80 49.30 50.55RELAXO 496.70 496.70 482.05 490.95AEGISLOG 163.40 169.30 160.05 166.60DEEPAKFERT 91.20 92.40 88.20 89.80JBCHEPHARM 367.00 371.00 357.00 362.50VGUARD 225.00 226.85 224.20 225.75ISEC 262.00 278.00 261.10 267.25THERMAX 1110.00 1148.65 1085.80 1141.30TATAMETALI 512.15 534.90 508.00 518.25SANOFI 5810.00 5853.65 5763.25 5776.70TV18BRDCST 22.80 23.00 22.30 22.60PGHH 11330.00 11491.00 11282.00 11348.15BAJAJELEC 380.00 390.00 372.00 375.85SJVN 24.05 24.05 23.90 23.95AUBANK 652.30 652.60 638.95 641.10ORIENTCEM 88.35 90.45 86.15 88.75TATACOFFEE 74.40 74.40 71.65 73.10TRIDENT 56.05 56.05 55.10 55.65CENTRALBK 17.80 17.80 15.55 17.35KAJARIACER 556.45 566.10 554.70 559.10DCMSHRIRAM 378.00 394.20 375.05 387.30NESCO 565.20 575.00 558.95 564.90PRESTIGE 273.90 282.00 272.20 278.45ASTRAZEN 2153.50 2218.00 2130.00 2196.10BALMLAWRIE 165.05 169.10 164.80 166.55DALBHARAT 784.00 786.80 765.00 770.90MHRIL 210.00 215.00 209.80 212.10SKFINDIA 2143.70 2143.70 2080.40 2087.35ZYDUSWELL 1552.15 1583.90 1503.00 1558.15APLAPOLLO 1301.00 1375.00 1301.00 1358.10BDL 289.95 290.00 284.75 286.70REDINGTON 109.90 113.00 109.00 110.10GEPIL 748.00 750.00 732.55 743.10SYNGENE 303.85 306.50 300.80 304.70ALLCARGO 99.70 100.40 98.25 99.60UCOBANK 12.84 12.90 12.30 12.46ASTRAL 1198.95 1198.95 1178.90 1191.10ENDURANCE 954.05 975.00 953.25 970.50RCOM 0.75 0.77 0.75 0.77IOB 10.00 10.45 9.53 9.57GHCL 205.00 211.90 198.95 210.05CGPOWER 14.40 14.48 13.85 14.17RALLIS 164.50 168.60 163.85 168.15GSPL 209.90 209.90 202.65 206.90VBL 612.40 621.80 612.40 618.75MAHSEAMLES 361.00 363.50 350.80 358.70TIINDIA 380.10 380.80 372.00 375.10EMAMILTD 301.45 301.45 297.60 299.20BAJAJCON 239.05 244.55 236.00 242.70IEX 121.50 124.70 120.75 124.00AKZOINDIA 1872.05 1873.20 1833.70 1853.05MMTC 15.90 15.90 15.30 15.45BAYERCROP 3258.05 3373.40 3258.05 3311.45IFCI 6.80 6.91 6.75 6.82SUNDRMFAST 454.00 458.00 451.75 454.50TATAINVEST 797.00 797.50 779.70 793.30NIACL 102.15 102.75 101.30 102.15GICRE 219.00 219.00 209.80 214.50EVEREADY 42.30 44.00 42.10 42.75TNPL 184.00 184.00 176.40 181.75FINOLEXIND 578.00 584.00 570.00 583.45LUXIND 1150.30 1185.00 1131.70 1175.10WABCOINDIA 6131.00 6190.85 6131.00 6163.05ADVENZYMES 149.65 151.10 147.55 148.90CYIENT 449.00 453.85 445.00 447.85LEMONTREE 56.25 57.00 55.35 55.70JKCEMENT 1035.00 1052.40 1027.50 1049.55AAVAS 1592.60 1617.00 1592.30 1601.90SYNDIBANK 25.85 25.85 25.20 25.60WESTLIFE 318.00 323.00 310.55 315.00MAHINDCIE 152.65 152.65 147.35 149.65THYROCARE 496.35 504.00 487.20 500.75GALAXYSURF 1440.25 1489.15 1440.25 1474.45ITDCEM 42.05 45.75 42.05 45.20ASHOKA 98.15 99.25 97.00 97.50

EIHOTEL 166.95 173.00 165.75 168.05CERA 2528.40 2543.30 2480.00 2505.25TEJASNET 81.75 84.00 79.45 80.40CHOLAHLDNG 465.00 482.90 462.00 476.45ALKEM 1927.75 1949.95 1912.00 1932.10FINEORG 1699.10 1748.85 1684.95 1714.75LAXMIMACH 3330.00 3330.00 3275.00 3313.35GICHSGFIN 139.40 139.40 133.05 137.10JCHAC 1900.00 1957.00 1882.25 1916.00EIDPARRY 154.20 156.65 151.00 155.00JMFINANCIL 70.70 72.70 70.50 71.90CRISIL 1309.05 1309.50 1276.10 1289.05TIMETECHNO 56.50 57.85 54.00 56.15KRBL 220.00 220.85 215.00 217.20HATHWAY 19.00 19.75 18.80 19.25IRCON 370.00 370.00 358.00 361.70INDOSTAR 223.90 232.00 209.40 218.10COROMANDEL 408.00 409.20 401.55 404.90JAGRAN 60.60 60.60 58.80 58.90MAHLOG 350.25 360.45 350.10 360.35JSLHISAR 59.80 65.70 59.75 64.60SREINFRA 8.62 8.70 7.65 8.14DCAL 160.10 160.25 153.20 156.95GILLETTE 7038.00 7045.20 7013.00 7031.80MAHABANK 11.08 11.08 10.70 10.80SUPREMEIND 1199.00 1215.00 1192.95 1210.50CAPPL 393.90 400.00 392.00 398.50NETWORK18 20.10 20.35 19.90 20.30ORIENTELEC 160.05 166.00 158.20 161.90HAL 692.10 706.00 692.05 699.90CENTRUM 23.75 24.15 22.80 23.90VARROC 439.50 448.20 434.25 443.90BAJAJHLDNG 3606.00 3625.00 3549.00 3616.40KPRMILL 574.00 591.00 522.85 548.85PNCINFRA 177.60 178.00 171.10 171.95GDL 100.00 100.00 95.55 96.70NBVENTURES 78.50 79.00 76.55 77.95VSTIND 3680.00 3733.70 3666.15 3732.40PRSMJOHNSN 76.40 78.45 76.20 78.00UNITEDBNK 7.99 7.99 7.55 7.67SOLARINDS 1120.00 1166.00 1060.05 1093.15SOMANYCERA 180.00 180.00 174.50 178.05THOMASCOOK 142.00 144.95 139.40 144.00ASTERDM 121.00 121.00 115.20 117.05CCL 235.70 235.70 225.25 229.20NH 238.00 240.30 234.00 234.00RATNAMANI 929.00 929.00 920.00 924.35CORPBANK 14.25 14.35 14.05 14.15FDC 168.05 168.80 165.10 166.15GET&D 168.00 177.70 167.60 174.35JKLAKSHMI 291.15 291.15 283.00 286.25CARBORUNIV 289.05 298.65 286.95 291.25JSWHL 2750.00 2787.00 2700.00 2784.20IFBIND 651.50 665.70 648.65 663.35FLFL 421.15 423.00 408.00 411.60SHK 128.30 129.95 127.05 127.55HERITGFOOD 356.60 356.65 350.35 352.40SCHAEFFLER 4125.00 4125.00 4108.00 4117.35MINDACORP 90.70 90.70 86.40 87.65KNRCON 219.00 223.10 216.30 220.50ECLERX 395.00 405.15 385.20 398.90ANDHRABANK 16.70 17.00 16.10 16.45LINDEINDIA 502.75 514.90 502.75 510.45APLLTD 535.00 543.85 531.00 536.10LAKSHVILAS 27.00 27.00 27.00 27.00ZENSARTECH 204.80 206.60 203.40 204.00GPPL 82.55 82.80 80.15 81.20GRINDWELL 592.20 602.95 592.15 596.95MAXINDIA 63.55 66.85 63.45 64.85SUPRAJIT 180.00 183.70 176.00 180.15MAGMA 50.00 50.00 48.90 49.90STARCEMENT 92.00 92.00 88.90 90.15SHILPAMED 255.10 270.00 255.10 263.10VTL 872.00 919.40 866.00 905.50JYOTHYLAB 159.60 163.15 158.95 159.35INOXWIND 33.80 33.90 31.95 32.30DBCORP 141.55 145.40 140.30 141.85APARINDS 515.40 515.40 505.10 515.00LAOPALA 170.50 170.55 168.10 168.75ERIS 426.00 428.40 420.00 423.65TCNSBRANDS 723.00 744.60 714.75 740.45TVTODAY 308.45 314.90 296.95 312.45LAURUSLABS 345.00 345.00 329.85 331.95GULFOILLUB 860.70 860.70 845.00 855.75SIS 835.20 857.85 826.80 848.70DHANUKA 300.10 315.00 300.10 312.00TRITURBINE 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00SHOPERSTOP 418.25 418.25 411.30 413.85SFL 1246.00 1252.35 1230.00 1250.00SHRIRAMCIT 1333.70 1344.00 1320.00 1327.10GAYAPROJ 106.70 107.00 105.90 106.05

�������

SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY 50 11152.95 11321.60 11090.15 11313.30 186.90INDUSINDBK 1241.00 1319.00 1235.60 1309.50 68.45INFRATEL 246.85 261.00 244.50 259.20 13.15BHARTIARTL 343.10 360.85 339.00 359.40 17.85SBIN 250.10 262.00 244.35 261.80 12.70ULTRACEMCO 3868.00 4061.00 3868.00 4061.00 190.60ICICIBANK 420.25 438.40 417.10 436.50 20.40M&M 556.00 578.80 550.95 576.90 23.95TATASTEEL 323.35 338.00 320.35 338.00 13.20GRASIM 650.00 677.90 642.90 675.00 26.00CIPLA 408.30 427.00 407.50 423.35 15.10BRITANNIA 2971.80 3074.65 2926.90 3060.10 106.75KOTAKBANK 1559.30 1627.75 1547.75 1611.00 55.35HDFCBANK 1197.10 1229.90 1190.00 1228.20 41.30BAJFINANCE 3915.00 4035.00 3880.05 4023.95 123.05TATAMOTORS 118.50 121.70 115.45 120.95 3.45JSWSTEEL 207.30 213.75 205.95 213.30 5.30VEDL 142.00 146.50 141.15 146.20 3.55ASIANPAINT 1725.70 1778.00 1725.70 1767.20 42.05HINDALCO 182.05 187.15 180.70 186.35 4.05LT 1401.00 1433.40 1399.10 1428.00 30.15AXISBANK 671.90 689.50 664.30 686.95 13.50HDFC 1974.85 2005.00 1964.35 2005.00 35.70NESTLEIND 13645.00 13910.00 13510.05 13816.00 212.65DRREDDY 2624.75 2676.00 2600.30 2656.20 39.75MARUTI 6628.00 6743.80 6590.00 6730.00 100.15RELIANCE 1308.70 1329.95 1292.50 1328.70 18.60EICHERMOT 17950.05 18300.00 17833.10 18211.90 211.30NTPC 116.00 118.00 115.40 117.30 1.35ADANIPORTS 396.35 402.85 391.55 399.80 4.55SUNPHARMA 378.00 387.75 374.20 384.10 4.20POWERGRID 197.50 198.90 195.40 198.45 1.95BAJAJFINSV 8279.00 8349.90 8176.00 8300.00 80.00GAIL 130.00 132.65 128.40 131.40 1.20TECHM 702.80 713.90 701.85 711.00 6.20COALINDIA 184.80 186.70 183.00 185.70 1.30WIPRO 239.25 239.60 236.40 238.00 0.95HINDUNILVR 1950.00 1962.70 1941.25 1947.00 6.95BPCL 490.00 495.75 481.65 491.00 0.35UPL 581.00 584.60 573.75 580.80 -0.25IOC 147.55 150.00 147.00 148.15 -0.55ONGC 126.45 127.15 123.95 126.00 -0.55BAJAJ-AUTO 2889.00 2915.00 2877.75 2879.50 -12.80INFY 795.45 795.90 778.80 783.75 -5.80TCS 2060.00 2060.00 2015.50 2021.90 -25.80ITC 251.30 252.20 246.30 247.00 -4.90HCLTECH 1070.05 1073.95 1040.15 1051.05 -23.35TITAN 1200.00 1236.25 1177.05 1230.40 -28.60ZEEL 250.00 258.00 240.70 245.55 -5.95HEROMOTOCO2680.00 2690.00 2583.00 2599.00 -75.00YESBANK 45.45 45.45 41.05 43.30 -2.35

�������

�����������

SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY NEXT 50 26320.90 26681.25 26169.05 26660.30 365.25IDEA 5.20 6.00 5.15 5.85 0.70ASHOKLEY 64.60 69.75 64.45 68.60 4.20SRTRANSFIN 1064.00 1140.00 1052.00 1128.00 66.05NMDC 90.00 97.15 90.00 96.25 4.70BANKBARODA 86.20 91.60 86.00 91.10 3.85CADILAHC 226.10 238.90 225.65 237.80 9.85L&TFH 80.00 83.80 78.60 83.70 3.45SIEMENS 1521.40 1595.00 1515.50 1586.00 64.60SHREECEM 17937.70 18539.35 17733.30 18451.50 625.20AMBUJACEM 185.50 193.35 184.10 192.30 6.35BERGEPAINT 436.50 451.90 432.05 450.00 14.65AUROPHARMA 474.15 485.00 454.15 474.40 14.55BIOCON 229.00 234.80 223.75 234.50 5.90ACC 1430.00 1473.95 1416.45 1469.30 34.20COLPAL 1462.75 1503.90 1457.40 1499.90 34.65LUPIN 664.90 685.00 660.00 683.10 15.50HINDPETRO 307.95 319.80 302.10 314.40 7.05DLF 143.90 149.75 138.35 147.15 3.25IBULHSGFIN 239.00 246.65 232.05 239.45 5.20PNB 57.25 58.80 56.40 58.50 1.25DABUR 432.80 445.75 431.25 441.65 9.10UBL 1254.15 1300.00 1246.00 1280.00 26.25PAGEIND 21019.10 21631.45 20888.50 21360.05 341.90BOSCHLTD 13001.10 13441.75 13001.10 13250.30 196.30OFSS 3070.00 3120.00 3032.00 3120.00 44.85HAVELLS 662.75 676.00 655.65 671.75 9.00MARICO 379.00 385.05 378.00 383.85 4.60SBILIFE 826.00 843.90 826.00 836.60 8.70BAJAJHLDNG 3590.05 3625.00 3575.00 3624.00 36.40HINDZINC 205.45 208.40 203.00 207.50 2.05MCDOWELL-N 617.30 625.80 612.70 622.50 5.20ICICIGI 1157.00 1173.50 1146.35 1168.05 8.90HDFCLIFE 575.20 586.75 573.70 579.40 3.95DIVISLAB 1650.55 1655.00 1621.20 1654.00 7.35HDFCAMC 2715.00 2798.20 2685.10 2703.00 11.25PFC 94.65 95.95 92.90 95.00 0.35NIACL 102.50 102.80 100.95 102.30 0.35PETRONET 256.65 259.35 255.10 257.25 0.60GODREJCP 670.65 675.95 658.00 671.75 1.10BANDHANBNK 482.10 484.40 471.15 480.00 0.45INDIGO 1800.00 1804.00 1763.05 1795.45 0.30PGHH 11400.00 11458.00 11250.00 11300.00 -49.85ICICIPRULI 455.90 457.00 441.45 450.00 -2.50MOTHERSUMI 98.00 98.40 95.80 97.35 -0.75CONCOR 576.10 579.50 562.25 568.70 -5.10NHPC 22.90 23.15 22.40 22.55 -0.30DMART 1853.85 1869.00 1801.60 1817.00 -30.30PIDILITIND 1371.80 1376.00 1334.00 1334.60 -31.40GICRE 216.20 220.05 209.55 212.25 -6.25PEL 1470.00 1470.00 1328.80 1380.00 -102.55

����� �����

The State Bank Group onWednesday revised its mar-

ginal cost of funds-based lend-ing (MCLR) rates by a marginal10 basis points across all tenorsbut steeply revised down thepricing on savings depositsunder �1 lakh by a 25 bps to3.25 per cent.

This is the sixth reductionin the lending rates by thelargest lender since April.

While the MCLR reduc-tion is effective October 10, therevision in savings bankdeposits rates will be fromNovember 1, the bank said ina statement.

The one-year MCLR, towhich all the lending rates, bar-ring those retail loans linked tothe repo rate since October 1,are linked to, is set at 8.05 per-cent as against 8.15 per centearlier.

“In view of the festival sea-son and extending the benefitsto customers across all seg-

ments, we have reduced ourMCLR by 10 bps across alltenors,” the bank said in astatement.

The bank further said inview of the adequate liquidityin the system, it has also revisedinterest rate on savings bankdeposits (with balances up to�1 lakh) from 3.50 percent to3.25 per cent effectiveNovember 1.

SBI. Which controls a fifthof the system, has also slashedits retail term deposits and bulkterm deposits rates by 10 bpsand 30 bps respectively for one-year to less than two-yearseffective October 10.

MCLR reduction follows a25 bps cut in the repo rate byRBI last week. But the effectiverate reduction is still waybehind the RBI cuts, which hasin five successive actions low-ered the repo rates to a decadallow of 5.15 percent.

The bank has also adoptedrepo rate as the external bench-mark for all floating rate loansfor MSMEs, and retail productslike housing and auto loansfrom October 1. In July, SBIhad introduced floating ratehome loans.

<#5��������������%��?� ����/��� �� ���� ������?��

�������������������� ��� ��!���"#$�%#"& � .�+%�

5����� ���������2 � ���A�������������������������� �� �� �B�

Adefiant White House hasrefused to cooperate with

the Democrats in the impeach-ment enquiry against PresidentDonald Trump, saying theirmove was “baseless” and “con-stitutionally invalid”. Theenquiry is trying to find out ifPresident Trump held backaid to Ukraine to push it to investigate former USVice-President Joe Biden, whois running for the 2020Democratic presidential nomination.

Speaking to reporters,White House Press SecretaryStephanie Grisham said theimpeachment probe againstPresident Trump is purely political and an attemptto overturn the democraticprocess.

“The President has donenothing wrong and the

Democrats know it. For pure-ly political reasons, theDemocrats have decided theirdesire to overturn the out-come of the 2016 electionallows them to conduct a so-called impeachment inquirythat ignores the fundamentalrights guaranteed to everyAmerican,” she said.

“These partisan proceed-ings are an affront to theConstitution — as they arebeing held behind closed doorsand deny the President theright to call witnesses, to cross-examine witnesses, to haveaccess to evidence, and manyother basic rights,” she saidsoon after the White Housesent a letter to the OppositionDemocratic leaders in theHouse of Representatives,informing them of the Trumpadministration’s decision.

The Democrats are exam-ining whether there are

grounds to impeach Trump, aRepublican, based on a whistle-blower’s account that said heasked Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskiy in a July 25 phone call to helpinvestigate his Democraticpolitical rival Biden.

In the 8-page letter, WhiteHouse counsel Pat Cipollonerejected the allegations againstPresident Trump, terming itbaseless and unconstitutional.

“President Trump and hisAdministration reject yourbaseless, unconstitutionalefforts to overturn the democ-ratic process,” he said in his let-ter dated October 8, a copy ofwhich was released to the press.The White House letter comeshours after the Trump admin-istration blocked the US ambas-sador to the European UnionGordon Sondland from appear-ing before a congressionalimpeachment investigation.

“Your unprecedentedactions have left the Presidentwith no choice. In order to ful-fil his duties to the Americanpeople, the Constitution, theExecutive Branch, and allfuture occupants of the Officeof the Presidency, PresidentTrump and his Administrationcannot participate in your par-tisan and unconstitutionalinquiry under these circum-stances,” Cipollone said.

He said Trump is focusedon fulfilling his promises to theAmerican people.Reacting tothe letter, House ofRepresentatives Speaker NancyPelosi said President Trumpwas “trying to make lawlessnessa virtue”.

“For a while, the Presidenthas tried to normalise lawless-ness. Now, he is trying to makelawlessness a virtue,” Pelosi saidin a statement.

“The American people

have already heard thePresident’s own words do us afavour though. The President’sactions threaten our nationalsecurity, violate ourConstitution and underminethe integrity of our elections.The White House letter is onlythe latest attempt to cover uphis betrayal of our democracy,and to insist that the Presidentis above the law,” she said.

Later a senior administra-tion official toldreporters that forthe first time inAmerica’s histo-ry, the House ofRepresentatives isnow purportingto proceed on animp e achmentinquiry againstthe Presidentwithout conduct-ing a vote on theHouse floor.

����� �� �� �B�

President Donald Trump is“trying to make lawlessness

a virtue”, House ofRepresentatives Speaker NancyPelosi has said.

Pelosi’s comment cameafter the White House in a let-ter to the Democrat leaders on

Tuesday refusedany cooperationfrom PresidentTrump in thei mp e a ch m e ntinvestigations bythe Opposition.

“For a while,the President hastried to nor-malise lawless-ness. Now, he istrying to makelawlessness a

virtue,” Pelosi said.“The American people

have already heard thePresident’s own words do us afavour though. The President’sactions threaten our nationalsecurity, violate ourConstitution and underminethe integrity of our elections.The White House letter is onlythe latest attempt to cover uphis betrayal of our democracy,and to insist that the Presidentis above the law,” she said.

Democrats in the USHouse of Representatives areexamining whether there aregrounds to impeach Trump, aRepublican, based on a whistle-blower’s account that said heasked Ukrainian PresidentZelenskiy in a July 25 phonecall to help investigateDemocratic political rival Joe

Biden. In the letter written tothe Democratic leaders, WhiteHouse counsel Pat Cipollonerejected the allegations againstPresident Trump terming itbaseless and unconstitutional.

In a strongly worded state-ment, Pelosi said that the WhiteHouse should be warned thatcontinued efforts to hide thetruth of the President’s abuse ofpower from the American peo-ple will be regarded as furtherevidence of obstruction.

“President, you are notabove the law. You will be heldaccountable. letter is manifest-ly wrong, and is simply anoth-er unlawful attempt to hide thefacts of the TrumpAdministration’s brazen effortsto pressure foreign powers tointervene in the 2020 elec-tions,” Pelosi said.

8���������%%����������"United Nations: The UnitedNations has an overall annualoperating budget of several bil-lion dollars, covering every-thing from humanitarian workto disarmament, but right now,it’s just trying to make sure itsemployees get paid after thismonth. How did the worldbody end up more than USD200 million in the red? Theanswer: member states whohave not paid their expectedcontributions, including the US.

On Tuesday, Secretary-General Antonio Guterreswarned of the “worst cash cri-sis facing the United Nations innearly a decade.”

He cautioned the UN “runsthe risk of depleting its liquid-ity reserves by the end of themonth and defaulting on pay-ments to staff and vendors.”

Several member states arebehind in their dues payments.

The UN will not publiclyidentify those countries, butsources told AFP the main

culprits are the United States,Brazil, Argentina, Mexico

and Iran.In all, 64 countriesowe money to the UN. Also onthe list of budget delinquentsare Venezuela, North Korea,South Korea, the DemocraticRepublic of Congo, Israel andSaudi Arabia.

The last country to havepaid up is war-wracked Syria,UN spokesman StephaneDujarric said Tuesday at hisdaily press conference.In a let-ter sent Monday to the 37,000employees at the UN secre-tariat, which was obtained byAFP, Guterres said the UN hada deficit of USD 230 million asof the end of September.

On Tuesday, he indicated ifthe world body had not takeninitiative to cut spending sincestart of the year, the hole wouldhave been even bigger inOctober — possibly USD 600million and could have affect-ed last month’s GeneralAssembly. AFP

���� �� �� �� �����#��!������������#$���#����������'�F�����,�$�&+���"��,����������������%��������������0�����������20������� �������%���&��"�"�?��������������'������'�$"�����"��-�G"�����%��������1

�� ��� �� �5��������� ������ �� ������/)>&� ����("���+�&+���&���������������� %�"������("$$�����$������*���"/"$"���!���;���"��&"$"�"����"�������������%!�����(����$���������������0+����������$�1�

����� � ������#� ������ ������G&)��F��������#����'"��$��+���������&����'������������������%����'"�����$(�+��*�������� �/���&�������"��"�������$������!����������$��������*��/��������$�'�"���"(�1��"������������������'�����%��������'�"����"�������2'������"�����������������O�"���$����"�������������������&�������"��"�������'��'$�1

��������������������.����.� ����/>�): ��������"������'����"������������� ��&����"�%�����$$�������������%!�$��/"���*��'��'$����������������'����������"$������$��!'�$"�����"�1�

���� ��������������� ���� ��H.� ����:4�: ������� *����������������%������5 ����*��(������������������%+����������!"��$��"��!����&�����"$�������"��1�������'�����"��#���&���'��"�"��������"��1�

"��""��#"��""��##��4�

� #+�� #+�4� �"!�"�!&��� ���$ ���"�"�!"� $�/"���#"/��&��-�!���� �B� �;B�

Hundreds of masked pro-testers yelling “Revolution

Now!” crammed the sidewalkin front of Hong Kong’s HighCourt and spilled onto thestreet in an impassioned showof support on Wednesday foran activist appealing a six-yearprison sentence for his part ina violent nightlong clash with police.

As a prison service buswith mesh-covered windowsdrove Edward Leung away afterthe hearing, supporters pressedup against the vehicle, brieflyblocking traffic, and held fivefingers up in their air.

That symbolises the fivedemands of Hong Kong’s latestprotest movement for univer-sal suffrage, amnesty for arrest-ed demonstrators and other

wishes.The fate of his appealwas not immediately clear.

Leung emerged as one ofthe figureheads of protest inHong Kong after 2014’s failednonviolent demonstrationsover Beijing’s decision torestrict elections.

Among supporters whogathered outside the hearingwas Kenny Lee, 23, who saidLeung “has inspired a lot ofHong Kong people, especiallyour young people.” Even jailed,Leung’s activism still resonatesas Hong Kong is again grippedby protests that started in Juneand have snowballed.

“He started spreading hisidea a few years ago but at that time, not many people really understood himand some even criticised him,” said J Sze, a supporter in her 20s.

������������������ 0@���������9�!��� �� �#����

!�9�������1�����

Beijing: China on Wednesdaysaid President Xi Jinping’sforthcoming Nepal visit wouldresult in “historic outcomes”,including a new blueprint for the trans-Himalayan con-nectivity network.

Xi will arrive inKathmandu for an overnightvisit on October 12 fromChennai after his informalsummit with Prime MinisterNarendra Modi. This would bethe first official visit by aChinese president in theHimalayan nation after 23years. “It is a historic visit. Thevisit will yield historic outcomewith historic significance andimplications,” Chinese ViceForeign Minister Luo Zhaohuitold a media briefing here.

The USD 2.75 billion trans-Himalayan project under thecontroversial Belt and RoadInitiative is considered to be oneof the most ambitious infra-structure plans ever undertak-en by the Chinese Governmentabroad. Xi’s visit will consolidatethe political foundation forChina-Nepal bilateral ties andprovide a new blueprint for thejoint development of the BRIcooperation, Luo said.

He said the two sides willstrengthen the BRI cooperationand accelerate the trans-Himalayan multi-dimensionalconnectivity network. “Thecross-Himalayan multi-con-nectivity network is takingshape,” he said, adding the twocountries are working towardsexpanding border ports, railway,road, aviation and telecommu-nications networks. The BRIproject, critics say, is saddlingnations with debt. India hasbeen severely critical of theBRI, the pet project of theChinese President, as it com-prises the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor,which passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. PTI

#�������;8�� ����������� #��@�����"�������������London: Britain and theEuropean Union onWednesday agreed to hold last-ditch talks aimed at securing aBrexit deal with just days left tothrash out an agreement, aseach side trades accusations ofa failure to compromise.

Brexit Secretary SteveBarclay will meet his EU coun-terpart Michel Barnier inBrussels on Thursday in anattempt to break the impassebefore an October 17-18 sum-mit. “We’ve put forward seriousproposals and have been willingto be flexible. Now it’s time forthe EU to do the same,” Barclaytweeted. But Barnier appearedmore downbeat, playing downhopes of a breakthrough beforeEU leaders meet, even as hepromised to work around theclock to the deadline.

He said the EU could notaccept Britain’s proposals asthey stand, arguing they wouldundermine peace and weakenthe European single market.“As I speak to you now, we’re noton the point of envisioning andfinding a deal,” he said. Britainis due to leave the EU onOctober 31, more than threeyears after a landmark referen-dum that has dominated domes-tic politics and divided thenation. British Prime MinisterBoris Johnson has promised totake the country out of the blocafter nearly five decades of inte-gration — with or without awithdrawal agreement. AFP

��C�������������� �� �������������&�� ����

�������������������� ��� ��!���"#$�%#"& 2 2� �&%�

T he Sky is Pink, the title of direc-tor Shonali Bose’s forthcomingfilm, reminds me of my early

school days when I used to paint the skypurple in my colouring books. I imag-ined it to be in my favourite colour asI didn’t want the sky to be convention-ally and literally blue. Little did Iknow that this idea would match thatof a filmmaker’s vision.

So when I dig deeper and askactor Farhan Akhtar the reason, helaughs and gives me an “insidescoop” and reveals that in the film,the younger version of Ishaan — the

son of Aditi Chaudhary (played byPriyanka Chopra) and Niren

Chaudhary (played by Farhan)— calls his mother, who is inLondon, and tells her how histeacher at school was upsetwith him because he colouredthe sky pink in his drawing.

“That’s when Aditi tells him,‘Don’t let anyone tell you what

colour your sky should be. If youwant it to be pink, you should paint it

pink.’ And that is what the philosophy ofthe film and the Chaudhary family too is,”says Farhan. This certainly gave meaning tomy idea, which was otherwise looked at asflawed, and answered the long-lost query —why can’t I paint my sky purple?

This is also something that Farhan per-sonally agrees with and is evident in hiswords when he tells us how he finds spacebetween his reel and real life as he is alwayssurrounded with multiple projects. Hesays, “I think you always somehow findtime to be able to do things, which you liketo do and think are important. Currently,

I have this joy of The Sky is Pink releasingand also shooting for my next project,Toofan, which is very interesting. But amidall this, I do find time to spend with my kids.I make space for things which I want to do.”

Explaining what drew him to the film,Farhan says, “Apart from being a very well-written and constructed script, the fact thatit is an amazing story of people inspired

from real life makes it even more spe-cial. In the film, all the scenes actual-ly did happen. It was great to joinShonali’s film.”

The film is a love story of a real-life couple, which is told through thelens of their teenage daughter, AishaChaudhary, who had succumbed topulmonary fibrosis. Despite her suffer-ing, Aisha’s optimistic view towards lifebecame an inspiration for many andshe delivered several motivationalspeeches before her death at TEDxTalks.

So had Farhan heard of Aishabefore the film? No. “I had not heardof Aisha or the Chaudhary family untilSiddharth (Roy Kapoor, producer)told me that Shonali would like to meetme for the film. He told me aboutAisha’s talks, which were availableonline. I watched a few of them andfound them incredibly moving. I readthe script and instantly agreed. I just feltthat I am doing it!” says he.

The film revolves around Niren andAditi, who, as a couple, are very openand don’t restrict their daughter foranything or cry over the fact that sheis going to die soon. Instead, theyenable her to keep her spirits up.

“Aditi and Niren are extremelyforward-thinking people but at thesame time, they also maintain theirconnection with their roots. They arevery family-oriented. They want to stayconnected with each other. This, in away, shows how there are all kinds ofIndia and not just one kind of it. AnIndian could be as modern or contem-porary or forward-thinking as much ass/he could be traditional or conserva-tive. That’s also what makes this coun-try so amazing,” he says.

Farhan was bowled over by the factthat the duo had such an openapproach to deal with every situationand were “ready to put every possibil-ity into consideration to keep theirdaughter alive and give her a healthi-

er and longer life.”Self-admittedly, Farhan chooses

roles that are inspirational. Be it the roleof an athlete, fighting from his traumat-ic past and emerging victorious, inBhaag Milkha Bhaag, or a vulnerablepoet who expressed his pain throughwriting in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, ora musician passionate enough to makehis dream come alive in Rock On!!,every now and then, he has tried to beversatile and, in turn, inspired many. Hesays, “When I hear or read something,it has to have something humane aboutit in order to appeal me. If I read some-thing and it moves me, inspires me orspeaks to me in a way that it makes mefeel things, I want to experience beinga part of it through the film. It mattersthe most to me.”

Well, certainly, with so many hats— that of a director, actor, producer,screenplay writer and even a singer —a film could be made with Farhan alone!He laughs and wants the question to berepeated, “Haanji?” He then says, “No.A film requires a team. I guess I am veryfortunate to have been working aroundsuch people who are sensitive to the factthat I enjoy doing various things. Sowhenever I am focussed on one aspect,for example, music or writing or acting,I always find people who are support-ive of it. They are constantly filling inspaces that are left vacant while I amdoing something else. I am very thank-ful for this support structure, it allowsme to be me,” says the actor.

It has been 18 years since DilChahta Hai, with which Farhan hadmade his debut as a director. Did hesense its cult appeal at the time? Henever imagined it. “When you’re work-ing on a project, you put in so much toit, you don’t know or think how it wouldturn out to be. It’s only later thatyou’re happy and also, surprised, thatit turned out so well. I am grateful thatthe audience loved Dil Chahta Hai,” sayshe, signing off.

����"�����/���$���������+�"������"������!������!�'�������!�������'$�%�*�"���������"����!�?�<�����;���<����+�������"��'"���"������������"����������"������������"��$�����0����0$"���%�����$���+$����$��1��������������"'��������&�/���"&1������$$��,����; ����� ��*���������%�������� ������"��'"�����"&����"�'������������������(�����$"���������$��"����"'�

�77?7+�:$�45�0���!:+"7�

8�)�+� �)��.+ 0� �)� .�)�

�)�'+)�.&0�( �&*�0 .�9����)�+�0�� 0)�.���:�;

�) )��.��2� ��*�� �� ��;��+0 '�+�)�(

�.�+ *�&( 2 �-9�.��+�)�

�. ����+ �������&�-.��+$

Climate change isn’t justbecoming the talk for

environment activists. Thedebate around plastic banand zero-waste policy hasreached fashion designerstoo. Designers at FDCI’sIndia Fashion Week 2019focussed on sustainabledevelopment and drewinspiration from nature intheir designs and motifs.

Designer Amita GuptaSustainable’s collection,Prith-WE, attempted sus-tainability in every step ofthe way — yarn to yardageuntil the final garment.Using techniques ofJamdani and Batik, Amitacreated a variety of handwo-ven khadi fabrics and trans-lates them into fun, and easyto wear silhouettes.Promoting the idea of ‘zerowaste’, the collection utilisedthe warp wastage from thelooms and converted it intoa range of exclusive gar-ments.

Designer DikshaKhanna’s collection PineBreeze, on the other hand,took one back to one’s child-hood memories as she drewinspiration from her daysspent in Almora and paint-ed the quaint picturesquetown nestled in lap ofHimalayas in her designs.She said, “It is a perfectescapade from our fast-paced and mundane citylife. However, life in the hillsis slow but calming andbeautiful.” Taking inspira-tion from the cool morn-ings, lush green mountains,cobbled pathway steps, arrayof pine trees, and thenuances in the local region-al costumes, her designshave been interpreted withnew shapes and silhouettesthat fall within the androg-ynous range and are com-plemented with nature-inspired motifs. Hilly,uneven pathways arereimagined with loosely-pleated denims, patchedwith languid sheer Chanderilayers. Through dramatictie-dyed ribbed hoodies andplacement shibori panels,she made the sunset skies

come alive. Leftover scrapyarns have also been dip-dyed and used in creatingunique fringe patterns todepict motion with tran-quility.

There are ivory linenfringe saris, denim jerseykurtas with sheer joggersset, organic handwovenkhadi denim, scrap handdistress denim, breezysilk Chanderi, Ahimsa silkand handwoven linen.

Another collec-tion, Dastaan byPramaa byP r a t i m aPandey narrat-ed how the labelembodies thenuances and theshades of the richIndian hand-loom. Using thedelicate and lux-uriously richChanderi fabric,Pratima layered itwith opulentembroidery offlora and faunamotifs. Her col-lection featuredclassic layeredkurtas, drapes,saris and dresses.

Quwa, col-

lection by Ragini Ahuja,was inspired by variouscultures of the world —Persian, Tibetan, Arabic,Uzbek — and recognisesitself with the women offire, who empower, liberateand inspire each other towander more and build

their own tribe. Raginiused dark colours tosignify rebellion andstrength like deep navy,

autumnal rust,mint tea andbeige with slateblue as accent.Through meticu-lously graphedflorals and multi-thread stripes, shecreated herdesigns keepingin mind a fierce,defiant and soul-ful woman. Thesilhouettes wererelaxed with softtailoring and vol-umes.

Her collec-tion featuredlong a-linedjackets, multi-thread saris,h y b r i dkameez, shirtand kurtas.

���"�����������%�8����������"��?���"�����(����*����"��"��'"���"������&�/��"����"$��������������������$�$������'��������

+����������������,�

E�������������������� �������� <;P�������*"������'��"�$����������/"���1���'�&�������������������� <;P���"��������$"�������������"���"���&��"�������*���

���������H�������� ����<�(�;���!������"��&%���"+0

�����������2'���0�"���&�����&����+%�%���"������"��&�1�*�����$"����������������������"��&%�&��"�������"�������������

��"���$*�%����G�%���+�"���"����$"��$��+"������"��"��&%�*��(�����"���"����������*��$�1����(���������*��0�����$�������������%�����������"�%�"��$��0�"���&���������!I���'�&�*����1

"����0����"������"�����1���� ������ ��%���������%�����$��%+%���"�("�������*"���������Q�"$�1

H���%����+�����$$%����$��%!��2'������$������&%��$������&%+��%1����/�������("�������*��(��$��1������������/�����0+$��!����"��������"�(��$������*����1���&������%"���P&��������!���&(��*�������"�(����*���Q�"$����������*�����*"���!�"�P������+�$����1���("�������+���$�����/"�������"&�$�������$%�"���'���"&'������!I������"�1

��$("����+��������"'�����������("�!������������"�!H���"�"��$%���(�&�(�0�'������/��%�"����+������+��!���������$$%�����&�"����"��������*��(������%�����("��%'���������%��%������1I

8��)��)� � -& (��� �)�)�����-���+ �+����+� �'�) �� ��:���)��)�����-�9��(��) �- (�� ��� ���0� <��. ��� �) ))�2�*�����.2 �-���: �+� 0 ������ ����-����- . ��'��00���+*&��&�.� 0 �� �9�) �� '.( 2 ���.�- 2���=��.� 0 �� �+����+ �- � �� �����;�����+� + �'�����* .����&�)� �����*� �-��.2�+ ����0� <9$>�.�� �7 �)

4�:)�(?�. '��� )����)&� 0�

��'��(.�������@$������������

�&��"�����"���������������������������'��"�$�'��������������0�$�����"��*"������������� �������� �������������������&"����"$&!����� ������1

H��"���"$&���������&%�������"����&��%�*�%�1���������%�"��+�$�����+����"��$1�������+������$�'������$%������������"�����"+$����������+%� ����$"�����P���"���0�"��1�-�"%��(��,��'��!���&���'��������%����*��(����+����������������'��������"����"���"$&!I�"�(�*�����������"�$�&��"��������������'��������������"$&1

�������������������� ��� ��!���"#$�%#"& '��%�

5������������������� ��� ������������������������"������������� ������������ �������������������������3� ���������������>+��� �%�5��������������� ����������������������������������� ����������������� ��������������������>5������������ ���� �������������� ������������������ �������� ������������������� ��������������F�3�������������������������� �����������������%��������������������������������1@ ������������� ��� ��%�������<>@�����������#� �������� �������@;�������������������)�8������?�8������������������������������������>�

� � � � � � "

Reputed youth leader,philanthropist, trainerand social activist,

Pritpal Singh Pannu is deeplycommitted to improve thequality of living for people allaround the world. He startedin his very young age to makepalpable differences in thesociety and guided thousandsof youth for a better career andlife. His qualification giveshim uncanny ability to relate topeople. A mammoth step in hisquest for helping underprivi-leged youth was taken when hebecame instrumental in form-ing National Integrated Forumof Artists and Activists,NIFAA, formerly known asNational Institute of Fine ArtsSamiti.

To celebrate 550th PrakashBirth anniversary of GuruNanak Dev ji, NIFAA havedecided to organise GuruNanak Sadbhawna Yatra infour phases on routes travelledby Guru Nanak Dev ji in hislife time to spread his messageof harmony, peace and good-will among all. Guru NanakDev Ji, the great socialreformer and humanitariantravelled more than 40,000miles during his four Udasis inall four directions. Apart fromgiving his message, NIFAAhave planned to plant 55,000saplings at 100 importantplaces throughout the routes

covered.

�You have visited Pakistan,Bangladesh, Nepal and othercountries too. How would youdescribe your experience?

The trip to Bangladesh andNepal was great. In Pakistantoo, the people were very wel-coming. As I spoke to them, itwas evident in their attitudehow they desire peace. Butsomehow, people are not able toportray their real emotions.

Overall, the trip was a greatexperience and it made me

understand the different cul-tures and our neighbouringcountries better.

�While you were on yourtrip, you did live from theGurudwara. There were peo-ple from all religions. Whatwould you say about such apositive sight?

Yes, there were people fromalmost all the religions. Thepopulation of Sikhs is very lessthere so the other communities,too, take care of the Gurudwara,which is something so good to

see as it brings unity and har-mony among everybody. Iknow a Christian, who wasoffered a government job but herefused it and he chose to pro-vide his service to theGurudwara. There are someMuslim families, too, who servethe Gurudwara. I can clearlyrecall an incident when a Sikhand a Muslim together foughta case for the Gurudwara’s landin Kolkata High Court. But theDhaka University inBangladesh is made on thatland, which was named after

Guru Nanak Dev Ji. They saidthat because the land is ofGuru Nanak ji, there should bea Gurudwara instead of the uni-versity. And they won the case.But then the people took advan-tage of the 1971 fight and killedboth of them. Later, the gov-ernment acquired the land. Apart of it was given to theGurudwara, where now standsNanak Shahi Gurudwara.However, to sum up my jour-ney, I would say that during mytrip, I felt that the citizens ofevery country want love and

peace but the politics is whatdivides them.

�How do you connect withpeople for your objectives?

It’s a continuous process.Many people volunteer on theirown. And we ask some of thepeople to join us. We have askeda few people to plant the treesat various places. Now, we aredoing a follow up on them. Weregularly keep a check a onthem by asking for the numberof trees planted, videos andphotos. We are also connectedwith people of different coun-tries through social media, whoare interested in our mission.This helps us to gather peoplefrom all across the globe, whoare interested in spreading loveand brotherhood.

�How did the government ofother countries respond toyour mission?

We did not connect muchwith them. Since this is a socialwork, so we did not wanted toinvolve the government. Andwe knew that if we wouldinclude them, they will havetheir separate agenda. So we didnot even take any sponsorshipfrom them. The government’srole was only to provide us withVisa and other local facilities. Sowe did not face any problemand in fact got immense lovefrom them.

�Your next trip is to the Arabcountries. Provide us with adeeper insight into this.

Yes, we have planned to goto the Arab countries. We want-ed to go to Saudi Arabia butunfortunately, they don’t allownon-muslims to Mecca. So weare sending two of our Muslimfriends there. I will go to Iraqand Afghanistan.

The Institute of CharteredAccountants of India (ICAI) has

always strived for academic and pro-fessional excellence for its key stake-holders — students and members.With the aim of expanding the oppor-tunities for professionals in foreignjurisdictions, the Institute had engagedUK NARIC (The NationalRecognition Information Centre forthe United Kingdom), a renowned UKnational agency responsible for pro-viding information and expert opin-ion on qualifications and skills world-wide to conduct an independentbenchmarking study, evaluating thecomparability of the ICAIIntermediate and Final level in thecontext of the UK and UAE educationsystems.

Speaking on the UK NARIC

benchmarking, CA Prafulla PChhajed, President ICAI, said, “Thebenchmarking of the CA qualificationis comparable to RQF Level 7, Master’sdegree standard. It would not onlystrengthen the position of ICAI mem-bers but would also help aspiring CAs,corporates to gain a better under-standing on the relevance and stand-ing of the CA qualification.”

He further added that ICAI mem-bers are facing difficulty in settlingabroad. This evaluation would helpthem in deciding the stage of a pro-fessional qualification for ICAI mem-bers because now they know thatthey not only possess a profession-al qualification of relevancebut a qualification that iscomparable to RQFLevel 7.

Vridhi Jain, 19-year-old-girlfrom New Delhi, was

crowned as Miss Teen IndiaUniverse 2019 by theChairman of the Glamanandgroup, Nikhil Anand, at MissTeen International India 2019

finale held at JaibaghPalace in Jaipur recent-ly.

She will now berepresenting India inMexico at Miss Teen

Universe 2019 which isgoing to held fromNovember 1 to 7. Her cos-tume is being designed byAnu Solanki. She did herschooling from St.Thomas School, MandirMarg, New Delhi. And isnow doing her gradua-

tion in Banking andInsurance from MaharajaSurajmal Institute, NewDelhi. A Management stu-dent by profession, Vridhi isalso a trained Kathak andBharatnatyam classical dancer,

she likes to carve her ideasthrough poetry. Her hobbiesare to swim and skate.

In 2018, she won the MissTeen India pageant and wasthe 1st runner’s up. Vridhihas keen interest in being anIAS officer in future. Thevery congenial Miss TeenIndia World is focussed

and is never seenbeating the bush.

The Union Territory of Jammu andKashmir has been a top news trend

with the sudden revocation of Article370. Numerous petitions have been filedbefore the Supreme Court criticising thedevelopment so much that Ranjan Gogoi,the present Chief Justice of India, hint-ed he would visit the Valley to assess mer-its himself. In such times of political tur-bulence, creating waves in the geo-polit-ical, regional and territorial dynamics ofthe UT, almost every strata of the soci-ety had an opinion about it. For many itwas another trending topic to creatememes while for some it was a matter ofnationalism and courage. In this wholeexercise of decoding Article 370, manychose to be lawyers, by taking both sidesof the equation. I will try to be rational.

When the rulers of the princelystates were asked to accede to any one ofthe two dominions — India or Pakistan— by signing the Instrument ofAccession, nobody could have imagineda third option to the situation, i.e. con-ducting a plebiscite to determine whichway they would go. Before continuingfurther, a quick digression towardsAlighieri Dante, the renowned Italianpoet, shall be helpful in setting the cor-rect backdrop. In his famous work, TheDivine Comedy, Dante described a closereflection of hell with his famous design— a funnel-shaped structure with layersdepicting stages of hell. In describing so,Dante quoted, “The darkest places in hellare reserved for those who maintain theirneutrality in the times of moral crisis.”The fate of Jammu and Kashmir, a placeattributed to be heaven on earth, wassealed when Maharaja Hari Singh main-tained a state of neutrality on theInstrument of Accession in 1947. In whatcould be tagged as the perfect politicaloxymoron, the situation before MaharajaHari Singh was nothing close to whatother rulers had faced. Since Pakistan wasa Muslim country, Maharaja Hari Singh,being a Hindu ruler, feared for his life

there. On the other hand, India, althougha country with no official religion, choseto adopt a democratic form of gover-nance where political rulers would beelected by direct voting. Hence MaharajaHari Singh feared being thrown out ofpower since Jammu & Kashmir was aMuslim-dominated state. Being stuck ina “cliff and fire” situation, the Maharajaprioritised self-interest over and abovepublic interest, creating a political earth-quake of statelessness and an abyss forgenerations to suffer.

On plain reading, the Constitution ofJammu & Kashmir had focussed how thelast man to provide a representation forstate of Jammu and Kashmir in times offailure of the Constitutional machinerywould be the Governor, duly aided by theCabinet Ministers of the LegislativeAssembly of the State. In situations ofPresident’s rule, the “theory of DeemingFiction” would come into play, allowingthe Parliament to discharge the functionsof the State Assembly of Jammu andKashmir. However, on arriving at thisstage, a mischief was played which madeway for the Government of India to uni-laterally outlaw the ConstitutionalSovereignty of the State of Jammu andKashmir. It cannot be the case that theanticipation of framers never reached thispossibility of mischievous unilateralshift in power towards the Union ofIndia.

To end the confusion, at the time ofintroducing Article 370 and framing theConstitution of Jammu & Kashmir,framers assumed a bona fide from both

the parties to the dispute, leaving scopefor only one possible solution, i.e. thetemporary status of Article 370 shall berevoked only after being approved by theGovernment of Jammu & Kashmir, rep-resented through its ConstituentAssembly. However, in October 2015, theHigh Court of Jammu and Kashmir ruledthat Article 370 cannot be “abrogated,repealed or even amended.” It explainedthat the clause (3) of the Article conferredpower to the State’s Constituent Assemblyto recommend to the President on the

matter of the repeal of the Article. Sincethe Constituent Assembly did not makesuch a recommendation before its disso-lution in 1957, Article 370 has taken onthe features of a “permanent provision”despite being titled a temporary provi-sion in the Constitution.

On April 3, 2018, the Supreme Courtof India gave a similar opinion declaringthat Article 370 had acquired a perma-nent status. It stated that since the StateConstituent Assembly had ceased toexist, the President of India would not beable to fulfill the mandatory provisionsrequired for its abrogation. Subsequently,via the presidential order 2019, provisoto clause (3) of article 370 of theConstitution, the expression “ConstituentAssembly of the State referred to in clause(2)” was replaced with “LegislativeAssembly of the State”, thus allowing freshpower to the elected legislature of thestate to give assent to the Governor, for“abrogating, repealing and amending” theeffectiveness of Article 370.

In the case of Mohd MaqboolDamnoo vs State of Jammu and Kashmir[(1972) 1 SCC 536] the petitioner chal-lenged the constitutionality of inter-preting and replacing the Sadar-i-Riyasatwith the Governor of the state. TheSupreme Court of India held that the“Governor is the successor to the Sadar-e-Riyasat and is able to give the StateGovernment’s concurrence to anyamendments under Article 370.” Withremoval of the last firewall, no special sta-tus condition was left to be entertained,allowing the President of India to be in

unilateral control of the territory.Unfortunately, this breach of mutual bonafide has opened fresh gateway to enter-tain the “theory of Deeming Fiction”, thusresulting in a one-sided decision-makingauthority.

The present government has madeway for future government and leadersto entertain possibilities and outcomeswhich may not be desired by the peopleof India. It further creates a situationwhere, by arm-twisting the sensitivestates, one can ensure monopoly. Withpast instances of unfair practices by polit-ical parties and coalitions at the Centre,examples being the misuse of Article 356(State Emergency) and Governor’s role informing State Governments, this too,runs antithetical to democracy.

Article 92 of the Constitution ofJammu & Kashmir and Article 370 of theConstitution of India clearly show thelegislative intent of the framers that thelast word on sovereignty of Jammu&Kashmir vests with its people i.e. theLegislative Assembly of Jammu andKashmir. In the light of recent develop-ments, it would be criminal to ignore thedifference in the words “under Article370” and “on Article 370.” While in theformer case, the President can pursueunilateral decisions under Article 370, thelatter does not allow the President, act-ing in the shoes of Sadar-e-Riyasat of theState, to iron out the very legality ofArticle 370. This would completely frus-trate the pious agreement of sovereign-ty noted in the Instrument of Accessiondated October 26, 1947. Clause 7 of this

Instrument of Accession, signed byMaharaja Hari Singh, declares that theState could not be compelled to acceptany future Constitution of India, i.e. nei-ther India nor the State of Jammu andKashmir can unilaterally amend or abro-gate Article 370, except in accordancewith the terms of the Article 370, com-plying all the provisions contained in it.

Art370(3): Notwithstanding any-thing in the foregoing provisions of thisarticle, the President may, by public noti-fication, declare that this article shallcease to be operative or shall be opera-tive only with such exceptions and mod-ifications and from such date as he mayspecify.

Provided that the recommendation ofthe Legislative Assembly of the Statereferred to in clause (2) shall be neces-sary before the President issues such anotification.

Such bullish approach to singlehandedly crushing the immunity provi-sion of the state’s sovereignty is a cleversolution bypassing the prescribed solu-tion. In my opinion, there could not havebeen any substitute to the consent of theLegislative Assembly of Jammu &Kashmir, in the case where the applica-bil ity of the Article 370 of theConstitution of India was concerned.Such manufactured acceptance by theParliament, followed by the resolutionpassed by the President, issued underArticle 370(3) rendering all clauses ofArticle 370 inoperative does not reflectthe will of the people of Jammu &Kashmir.

4�������?���%��������������������+�� ���������� ����:�����������G�+��:H�� ���������*��+���?�����%����������+��:%�+���� ���%������������+��:�* ���*����������������������+��:��������������� ���� ��������������������*+�������%����* ��������������������� ������������ ���������������>�!���������������� ������� ��F�����%������%�#�"%��� �%������������������������<;��� �>

$����������!�����

7�� ����������"�0"�.�� �������������5?��0+"�

�%�%��%�������

0"�"�& ��/�# ��0�-"�3""#��#��!�3!�����"�� ��0"�& #!"#�� $��0"�="+�!����-"��!!"�3��� $�)�����6���!0�����0"�"�0"��44��&�3������ $�����&�"��91���!�& #&"�#"/8�!��!��/- &��"� ��������� �,��8�>"�0����+0�� ���

���"������;���"�6�����

+��!������������??;���)��� �����������,� ������1���������/�,�����)-%+)�B�*%�1@)���3��#������������������%���������A��������� � ������!��,� � ������� ������������ ������� ���������� � �������� ���,��������������� ������� �� ����������������!���������������

#��� �B��B�

Tammy Abraham saysEngland are prepared to defyUEFA rules on racism and

walk off the pitch if they faceabuse during Euro 2020 qualifiers.

Gareth Southgate’s team trav-el to the Czech Republic andBulgaria for back-to-back matcheson Friday and Monday.

The second game, in Sofia, willbe closely watched as the hosts willbe playing in the Vasil LevskiNational Stadium, partially closedas a sanction following previousincidents of racism.

England’s players received sim-ilar abuse in their qualifier againstMontenegro in Podgorica earlierthis year, where they stayed on thepitch and won 5-1.

Southgate has said England willfollow UEFA’s three-step protocolfor racial abuse.

The first step is for the refereeto made aware of any racism andhalt the game for an announcementto be made. If the abuse continues,the referee will suspend the gamefor a period of time. The third andfinal step will see the official aban-don the game.

But Abraham, 22, suggestedthat if England's players believesomeone is not comfortable, captainHarry Kane could lead them off thepitch before the three steps areplayed out if they are not working.

"We've touched base on how to

deal with the situation," said theChelsea forward. "Harry Kane evensaid that if it happens and we're nothappy with it, we speak to the play-er and if he's not happy, we all comeoff the pitch together.

“It’s a team thing. Don’t isolateone person, we’re a whole team. Ifit happens to one of us, it happensto all of us.”

Defender Trent Alexander-Arnold, 21, believes the protocolswill be followed but that in anypotentially threatening situation adifferent course of action may be

�� .�%!������������������� ��� ��!���"#$�%#"&

�������<�E�������-�<��

India’s first world badminton cham-pion P V Sindhu on Wednesday said

her next aim was to bag the gold in theTokyo Olympics in 2020 and she wouldhave to work much more harder.

Speaking on the sidelines of areception accorded to her by the Keralagovernment and the state OlympicAssociation here, the ace shuttler saidthe upcoming Denmark Open andParis Open events would be a sort ofqualifiers for the quadrennial event.

“Definitely my ultimate aim is to get(Olympics) gold. But it’s not going to beeasy. I need to work much more hard-er. Denmark Open and Paris Open areahead of the Olympics. So this is the likeOlympic qualifiers,” she told reporters.

“Winning and losing is part of life.Some days you win. Some day we lose.But I learnt from my mistakes and hopeto do well at the Denmark Open,” sheadded.

Replying to the felicitation at thefunction, she said it was a great plea-sure to be honoured by the Kerala gov-ernment.

“I would like to thank everyonefor honouring me and felicitating me.From Kerala, the support towardssports is fantastic. For Tokyo 2020, Iwould take the love and support and

hope to get a gold,” she told the roar-ing crowd of students and youngsters.

Sindhu had missed the gold whenshe lost to Spain’s Carolina Marin inthe final of the 2016 Olympics in Riode Janerio.

Earlier in the day, the ace shut-tler offered prayers at the famousLord Padmanabhaswamy shrine andthe Attukal Devi temple here.

She also took part in a colourfulroadshow in the city.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan,who felicitated Sindhu, said she wasthe pride of India.

“She is the first Indian woman towin the world championship in bad-minton. She is one among the bestwoman sportspersons in the country.She was targeted and taunted whenshe lost twice in the world champi-onship. But she never lost her confi-dence and proved that she was fight-er in the court,” Vijayan said.

He also said she used the criti-cism against her to fuel her fight for-ward.

The State Olympic Associationpresented her a cheque for Rs 10 lakh.

Sindhu became the first Indian tobag gold at the world championshipsin August this year, after beatingJapan’s Nozomi Okuhara. She hadpreviously lost in the finals twice.

��������������!����)� �

appropriate.“We need to be professional athletes,”

said the Liverpool player. "We have anobligation to follow the protocols, that'swhat we need to do. If it does get to theextreme, maybe different action might betaken."

Ashley Young was subjected to mon-key chants in Sofia during an England

game in 2011.The Bulgarian Football Union was

fined 40,000 euros (£36,000) by UEFA for“discriminatory” chanting and for thelighting and throwing of fireworks.

Abraham suffered racial abuse onlineearlier this season, targeted by trolls aftermissing a penalty in the Super Cup shoot-out defeat to Liverpool.

� ����0 ..� �(�����!��!�0�""�=� #!���"�4�"4��"/�� ����*� $$��0"�$�"�/��$���&�������3�!"/

��<����� �??�<��<�,������ ��B������<��<��� � �� B�!��< ������)��<B�� �?��<�� � ��-�����)������

�-�<�,�-�� �BB�0B�����?�����B�E�<-BB�1

����� <����<��B��

Bengal Warriors produced aclinical performance to beat

Tamil Thalaivas 33-29 in a VIVOPro Kabaddi League match hereon Wednesday.

Sukesh Hegde (6 raid points),Mohammad Nabibakhsh (7points) and Rinku Narwal (High5 with 5 tackle points) impressedfor the Warriors as they clinchedthe win to go to the top of the PKL

standings at the Shaheed Vijay Singh PathikSports Complex. Rahul Chaudhariscored seven points for the Thalaivas as theyfinished their woeful campaign with anoth-er loss.

The star-studded Chennai-based teammanaged only four wins in the entire season.

Tamil Thalaivas approached the matchwith confidence, having beaten Jaipur PinkPanthers in their previous outing, and openeda lead in the early minutes, thanks to AjithKumar and Rahul's raids.

Rahul moved well on the mat to pick upvaluable points but Bengal's defence got intothe game with Nabibakhsh impressing.

Soon Bengal were in the lead butThalaivas regrouped well to stay in thematch. Bengal looked like a side who hadtheir eyes set on the semi-finals clash nextweek, and their lack of ruthlessness allowedthe Tamil side to make a comeback and levelthe points. The first half ended with the scores13-13.

Bengal Warriors stepped up their gamein the second half, thanks largely to raidersNabibakhsh and Sukesh.

Though Ran Singh pulled off a super tack-le in the fifth minute of the half it was just acase of delaying the inevitable with theWarriors picking up their all-out in the eighthminute to open up a six-point lead.

Thalaivas' Ajith was in no mood to becontained though and his raids made it a two-point game soon after the all-out.

But Rinku Narwal produced a super tack-le with seven minutes remaining to haltThalaivas domination.

Sourabh Tanaji Patil also chipped in withvaluable raid points for the Warriors as theyonce again opened up a six-point lead withtwo minutes remaining.

The Bengal defence held firm in the finalminutes to clinch a victory.

@���� �!��"�&0�� 4 $���=���3�"

����� -���

Skipper Faf du Plessis feels thatyounger South African fast

bowlers can learn a lot from Indianpacer Mohammed Shami as to

how one can be so devastatingin home con-ditions.

S h a m ibowled alethal spellon the fifth

day inVisakhapatnam

that went a longway in India win-

ning the first Test by203 runs.

“I spoke to one ofour young bowlers too and said tohim that it’s a good learning oppor-tunity for you to sit and watch whatsomeone does when they’re on topof their game in home conditions,”

Du Plessis said during his pre-matchmedia conference.

“Just learn from (the use of) hisangles of the crease and how does hereverse the ball. So yeah there’s def-initely something to learn from.”

What Du Plessis found fascinat-ing was the intensity with whichShami bowled on the fifth day.

“There’s a huge intensity abouthis bowling. You are going to bowlshort spells in the heat but when youbowl you have to ensure that youbowl with a lot of intensity and max-imize it,” the Proteas skipper said.

There is in fact a lot to learn fromthe lengths he bowled, reckons DuPlessis.

“He’s a guy that hits the stumpsa lot. That’s something from a bowl-ing point of view, we have to makesure, we are better at. In the firstinnings especially, we bowled wideand therefore they scored frequent-ly square of the wicket. So there are

a lot of lessons to learn,” he opined.While he didn’t go into the

specifics, Du Plessis indicated thatthere could be a change in the play-ing XI, going into the next Testmatch.

“For me, it is about picking theteam, trying to find guys that can winyou matches. So we’ve to find outwho are the guys that can pick 20wickets and who are the guys that canput up their hands and score runs.

“Obviously, we didn’t get 20wickets in the previous match andthat is something we are trying to fixand get better at in this match. Endof the day, that’s what wins you testmatch. Our thinking will be to pickplayers that will influence the gameand win matches for the team.”

In 2017, Pune Test witnessed arank turner where India lost (vsAustralia) its last home game in thelonger version in recent times.

However, Du Plessis insisted

that with World Test Championshipon, pitches won't be diabolical innature.

Du Plessis was part of the Proteasside that was whipped by India in2015 during a Nagpur Test which wasover within two and half days. In fact,the Nagpur pitch was later rated“poor” by the ICC.

"With the Test championship, ithas changed. Even in South Africa,if you had a below-average pitch, youprobably got a warning whereasnow, you have points deducted,” hesaid.

“From the home conditions pointof view, I think it is not as obvious asmaking wickets like the one in 2015.Knowing Indian conditions, the turfis a little more red, so I expect the ballto spin a little more than the first Test.

“We’ll have to see how the pitchbehaves. I am not a pitch expert butI think it'll take more turn than thefirst Test.”

����� ����0����J<� �K

Last edition’s bronze-winnerLovlina Borgohain (69kg)

and debutant Jamuna Boro(54kg) on Wednesday

marched into the quarter-f inals of the World

Women’s BoxingChampionships withcomprehensive vic-tories in the pre-

quarters here.Boro out-

punched fifth-seeded AlgerianOuidad Sfouh,an AfricanGames gold-medallist, in a

unanimous ver-dict, while the third-

seeded Borgohain gotthe better of a spright-ly opponent inMorocco's OumaymaBel Ahbib, also a 5-0win.

In the quarterfi-

nals on Thursday, Boro willtake on Germany’s UrsulaGottlob, who upstagedEuropean Championshipbronze-medallist and fourthseed Yuliya Apanasovich ofBelarus in her pre-quarterfi-nal bout in a split 3-2 verdict.The referee mistakenly raisedApanasovich’s hand at the endof the fight but later correct-ed himself.

Next up for Borgohain issixth-seeded KarolinaKoszewska, who defeatedUzbekistan’s ShakhnozaYunusova.

Poland’s Koszewska hadclaimed a Gold medal at thisyear’s European Games.

Boro opened the proceed-ings for India and the 22-year-old Assam Rifles’ employeewas slow off the blocks.

However, she became thedominating aggressor as thebout progressed.

During an engaging battlein the second and third round,it was Boro who made a bet-

ter impression with her clean-ly-struck straight punches.

The third round belongedentirely to Boro with Sfouhcoming short for most part.

The Assamese, whose

mother worked as a vegetableseller to financially supporther sporting aspirations, is agold-winner from this year’sIndia Open. She was a bronze-medallist at the 2015 YouthWorld Championships.

“I was a bit confused tostart with but then I figuredhow to push her and managedto pull off a victory,” Boro said.

The last bout of the firstsession featured Borgohainand she also took time to findher rhythm against Ahbib.

What was striking aboutBorgohain’s gameplan was herresolve to keep distance fromAhbib, who tried her best todraw the Indian in withaggressive posturing.

The Moroccan did suc-ceed in flinging her arms fora few impactful jabs but

Borgohain had last laugh withcounter-attacks, which weremore effective in garneringscoring punches.

“It wasn’t particularlytough for me. I think I foughtjust the way I had planned andI am hopeful of continuingthis form in the quarters too,”Borgohain said.

In all, five Indians havemade the quarterfinals of themega-event.

Six-time champion andthird seed M C Mary Kom(51kg), Manju Rani (48kg)and Kavita Chahal (+81kg) arethe other Indians to havemade the last-eight stage.

Chahal is yet to take thering and has got direct entryinto the quarters thanks to thesmall size of the draw in herweight category.

�� .�%,������������������� ��� ��!���"#$�%#"&

����� -���

Improving on near perfection wouldbe India’s aim while building on thesmall positives from a huge loss will

be South Africa’s focus when the twomismatched sides clash in the secondTest starting here from Thursday.

Virat Kohli’s men ticked almost allthe boxes during their 203-run win inthe opening encounter inVisakhapatnam and they would like tomaintain the same intensity in their bidto seal the series in Pune itself.

It is difficult to improve upon a per-fect show but trust Kohli to find a newchallenge for his team in his pursuit ofexcellence.

It certainly won’t be a bad ideaagainst an opposition which doesn’thave the wherewithal to pose consistentchallenge over five days.

Rohit Sharma 2.0’s blockbuster re-entry into Test arena as an opener withtwin hundreds was a calculated punt,that worked wonderfully well first upfor Kohli and head coach Ravi Shastri.

With Mayank Agarwal also show-ing signs of making every chancecount, as he did with his maiden dou-ble hundred in Visakhapatnam, India’sopening woes at least (in home condi-tions) for the next four Tests (two vsBangladesh next month) could be his-tory for the time being.

The heavy duty batting line-up thatalso includes Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara,Ajinkya Rahane and Hanuma Vihariwould look to make a heftier contribu-tion if the pitch at the Gahunje Stadiumaids batsmen.

It was at this very ground that theIndian Test team endured its last bat-ting collapse at home, against Australiain 2017 on a rank turner where off-spinner Nathan Lyon and left-armspinner Steve O’Keefe made lives mis-erable.

Chances are slim that a pitch of that

nature will be on offer for the upcom-ing game and even if curator PandurangSalgaokar offers anything remotelyclose, chances of India, armed with twoseasoned spinners in RavichandranAshwin and Ravindra Jadeja, might fin-ish it off in less than four days.

The dogged Dean Elgar and the ele-gant Quinton de Kock have shown a lotof character with their hundreds in the

first Test but chances of a Steve Smithlike 2017 batting masterclass on adodgy track may not be possible.

Ashwin, with a match haul of eightwickets, and Jadeja, with his all-roundsolidity, give this team a menacing lookin home conditions.

Also Mohammed Shami's masterywith the semi new and old ball on drytracks is slowly attaining legendary sta-

tus.One can only hope that Shami

remains niggle-free as he was seen hob-bling on his run-up in the first inningsin Visakhapatnam even though itbecame better in the second innings.

Ishant Sharma was also steadyduring both the innings without beingspectacular.

Such was their impact that Jasprit

Bumrah was hardly missed despite hisphenomenal presence in red ball crick-et over the last 18 months.

While India, unless forced by anyunforeseen injury, are unlikely tochange their playing XI, the SouthAfricans might be tempted to drop oneamong Senuran Muthusamy and DanePiedt, who were taken to the cleanersby the Indian batsmen.

Rohit was especially hard on themand hit a world record 13 sixes in thegame.

It could well be Muthusamy and inthat case batsman Zubayr Hamza mayget a look in.

If Piedt is dropped, the Proteascould be tempted to try Lungi Ngidi,who could make a difference with hispace and movement.

In any case, it will be an uphill bat-tle for the visitors.

�����E# ��FIndia (XI) Virat Kohli (captain),

Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal,Chesteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane,Hanuma Vihari, Wriddhiman Saha(wk), Ravindra Jadeja,Ravichandran Ashwin, IshantSharma, MohammedShami.

South Africa: Faf duPlessis (captain), DeanElgar, Aiden Markram,Theunis de Bruyn,Temba Bavuma,Quinton de Kock(wk), KagisoRabada, KeshavMaharaj, VernonPhilander, LungiNgidi, Dane Piedt,S e n u r a nM u t h u s a m y ,Zubayr Hamza,H e i n r i c hKlaasen, AnrichNortje.

����� -���

India captain Virat Kohli on Wednesday proposedthat points for an away victory in the World Test

Championship should be doubled while reiteratingthat the ongoing inaugural edition has raised the stan-dards in the five-day format.

Currently, a team gets 120 points for a series cleansweep, irrespective of whether it’s a two-matchseries or five-match series on home and away basis.

“If you would have asked me to make the pointstable, I would give double the points for an away Testwin. That is something I would definitely like to seemay be after first edition,” Kohli replied when askedabout the prevailing points system of the WorldChampionship.

India are leading the table with 160 points, cour-tesy 120 from their 2-0 sweep in the Caribbean and40 gained from the 203-run win in the first Test againstSouth Africa.

Kohli is happy that in the current scenario, noteam would want to play for a draw.

“Look, the importance of everygame has become that muchmore. In earlier situations, ina three-match series, you

probably would have played outa draw, but teams are going to gofor wins and get those extra

points. So, I think it’s great for Testcricket” the Indian captain said.

Kohli also observed thatthe points table has made itall the more demandingfor the players who needto be very professional.

“The matches aregoing to be that muchmore exciting is what weall feel and already expe-rienced that. We have tobe professional in everysession that we play.

“It will be muchmore demanding on the playersnow, which is a good thing asit will keep the standard of Testcricket high. These are theonly things that we have expe-rienced so far in terms ofchanges,” Kohli said.

����� -���

India captain Virat Kohli ishappy that his team has

“bought” into the philosophy of“selfless attitude” and “flexiblethinking” which has led to atransformed MohammedShami and an aware KuldeepYadav.

From an injury prone tal-ent to the most potent seambowler on flat decks, accordingto the skipper, Shami's journeyhas been nothing short of fas-cinating.

“Now, he (Shami) is takingthe responsibility. We don’tneed to push Shami anymore.We don’t need to tell him‘come on, you need to bowl thisspell for us’. He wants the ball,he understands the situationwhen he’s given the ball,” Kohlisaid on the eve of the secondTest here on Wednesday.

If Shami is at one end ofthe spectrum, there is youngchinaman Kuldeep, who mustbe wondering where he hasgone wrong after having pickedup five wickets in the last Testthat he played (againstAustralia at Sydney).

The skipper said that evenKuldeep knows the reason whyhe is not in the Test eleven.

“No one is self-centeredand everyone is thinking aboutwhat I can do for the team. It’sthe same about Kuldeep. Heunderstands that in India,Ashwin and Jadeja will be ourfirst choices because they giveus so much more with the batas well.”

In the past few years, theIndian team management hasoften changed theircombinationsgoing intos u c c e s s i veTests andskipper Kohliwants every-one to see theresults andunderstand whyit has been done.

“Lot has beenspoken and saidabout the system thatwe have followed overthe last two years. Theonly thing that matters to us iswanting to win as many gamesas we can and have been ableto do that,” said Kohli.

“We have the least losingpercentage in the last threeyears and there is a good rea-son for that. We obviously are

flexible but as I said it can't bepossible if the team doesn’t buyinto it. The guys have boughtinto it,” said Kohli, who has lostonly one Test (vs Australia atPune in 2017) at home as theIndian captain.

Talking about Shami, theskipper once again spoke abouthow Shami’s ability to getmovement off the pitch makeshim deadly even on the mostunsuitable surfaces for fastbowling.

“I think on the pitches weplay, I don't see anyone with somuch seam movement apartfrom him (Shami),” the skippersaid.

What makes Shami standapart is his ability to do it reg-ularly when situations lookhopeless.

“He is someone who canchange the complexion of thematch totally when you don’tsee it coming. His skill is obvi-ously there for everyone to see.Especially, in the secondinnings, when the situations aredifficult he comes in and doesthe job everytime. It’s great,”said Kohli.

Players accepting responsi-bilities at different stages of thegame is something that has“amazed”the captain.

����� E��B��<��

Debutant PriyaPunia starred in

injured SmritiMandhana’s absencefollowing a fine bowlingperformance to set upIndia’s emphatic eight-wicket win over SouthAfrica in the first ODIhere on Wednesday.

South Africa strug-gled with the bat afterwinning the toss,bowled out for 164 in45.1 overs. It was an all-round bowling effortfrom India with Jhulan

Goswami (3/33), ShikhaPandey (2/38), EktaBisht (2/8) and PoonamYadav (2/33) sharingthe bulk of the wickets.

India cantered tovictory in 41.4 overswith openers Punia (75not out off 124) andJeminah Rodrigues (55off 65) laying the foun-dation for a resoundingwin. The three-matchseries is not part of theWomen's ODIChampionship.

Punia, who hasplayed three T20Internationals, got the

chance to play hermaiden ODI after staropener Mandhana wasruled out on the eve ofthe game due to a frac-ture on her right toe.The 23-year-old fromJaipur hit eight bound-aries.

Rodrigues was backamong runs after a leanrun in the precedingfive-match T20 seriesand shared an 83-runstand with Punia. It wasa second ODI half-cen-tury for the highly tal-ented 19-year-old, whosmashed seven fours.

����� -���

“Concerned” about hisinjury, head coach

Ravi Shastri has said thatthe Indian team needs tobe careful about JaspritBumrah’s workload man-agement as the ace pacerplays in all three formats.

“Ver y concerned.Because he is precious,special, different, and amatch-winner. They aretaking opinions onwhether he needs surgery.We have to be carefulabout his workload

because he plays all threeformats,” Shastri was quot-ed as saying by The Hinduin an interview.

Bumrah is out with astress fracture and is cur-rently in the UK to consultspecialists. While Bumrahhas already been ruled outtill the Bangladesh seriesin November, the teammanagement doesn’t wantto take any chance and willconsult the best.

Shastri also spoke onRohit Sharma opening thebatting in test cricket andsaid the star Mumbai bats-

man is cut out for that role.“I would hate to see a

player of his quality sittingin the reserves. In theWest Indies I was veryclear that he should openand had a chat with Kohliabout it. This was hisopportunity.

“Opening is about themindset. You got torespect the new ball. A lotof guys in India shouldhave opened in the last 20years for the sake of teambalance, but they didn’thave the stomach for itShastri said."

0����!����������� �������������� �������&�?�� �

5�����������3���

������������ ��������� �����������2������

)���#�8�= -��#���"�&0������"�!�

�����.������.�0. (�)�( A��0

4������������� �������#�����I����� ���&�������� -��"��'�*������"�������&"���"���*"�

�#/���-! � ��0��$��&�=�-"�$� ��A��1�����

<916<�769<+

������+"��*"��"��8�������!�E"����@�,�������-�������&�"���"��'���������������&'"����"'�������