Will ensure our interests served at RCEP meet: PM - SPLessons

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SUNDAY AGE | Cover

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WhatsApp breach row:Mamata claims Modi govt tapping her phone

NATION | Politics

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THE ASIAN AGENEW DELHI SUNDAY 3 NOVEMBER 2019

Akshay dismissesrumours ofHousefull 4’sfudged numbers

Max: 29OCMin: 18OCRH: 67%Rainfall: Nil

Forecast: Light rain

WINDOWS

WEATHER

ASTROGUIDE

New Delhi: Pollution levelsin Delhi and neighbouring cities dropped marginallyon Saturday with a slight

increase in the wind speed,a day after the region

recorded its worst air quali-ty forcing authorities to

shut schools and ban cos-ntructions. Weather experts

said there is a significantimprovement in wind

speed and it will increase gradually.

Full report on 3

Actors Jennifer Aniston andReese Witherspoon at thephoto call of The MorningShow in London on Friday.

— AP

Vikari: DakshinayanaTithi: Kartika Shudda Saptami

till 2.57 am (early hours ofMonday)

Star: Uttarashada till 12.56am (Monday)

Varjyam: 7.42 am to 9.25 amand 5.21 am to 7.06 am

(Monday)Durmuhurtam: 4.09 pm to

4.55 pmRahukalam: 4.30 pm to 6 pm

SUNSET TODAY 5.36 PMSUNRISE TOMORROW 6.34 AM

MOONRISE TOMORROW 12.24 AMMOONSET TODAY 8.09 AM

Marginal drop inDelhi pollution, air still ‘severe’

Washington: The US gov-ernment has launched a

national security review ofthe popular music-video

app TikTok, which is ownedby China’s ByteDance. US

lawmakers have been refer-ring to TikTok as a “poten-

tial counterintelligencethreat we cannot ignore.”

Full report on Page 11

US launches reviewof video app TikTok

London: The 39 migrantsfound dead in a refrigerated

truck near London arebelieved to be Vietnamese,

the police said Friday as they renewed their

appeal for two men to helpwith the investigation.Full report on Page 11

‘UK truck victimswere Vietnamese’

COUNTERPOINT

RNI No. 57290/94, Regd No: DL-SW-05/4189/15-17 Vol. 26 No. 257 | 48 PAGES | `5.00

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■ Modi to hold bilateral meets with many world leaders

AGE CORRESPONDENTNEW DELHI, NOV. 2

Prime MinisterNarendra Modi said onSaturday that India willensure that its concernsand interests are fullyaccommodated duringthe RegionalComprehensive Econ-omic Partnership(RCEP) meeting inBangkok. He added thatIndia would like to seethat it gains in equalterms as it opens itsmarket for other coun-tries.

Mr Modi reachedBangkok on Saturday totake part in the 16thAsean-India Summit onSunday, and the 14thEast Asia Summit andthe 3rd Summit meetingof nations negotiating aRCEP agreement onNovember 4.

“At the RCEP Summit,we will take stock of theprogress in RCEP nego-tiations. We will consid-er all issues, includingwhether India’s con-cerns and interests intrade in goods, servicesand investments arebeing fully accommodat-ed, during this summit,”PM Modi said in a pre-departure statement.

The RegionalComprehensive Econ-omic Partnership(RCEP), comprising the10-member Asean blocand six other countries— India, China, Japan,South Korea, Australiaand New Zealand — isengaged in negotiationsfor a free-trade pact.

The government is fac-ing intense pressurefrom farmers and small■ Turn to Page 4

Will ensure our interestsserved at RCEP meet: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is welcomed by the Indian community in Bangkok onSaturday. — PTI


The Congress onSaturday attacked thecentral government for itsplan to sign the RegionalC o m p r e h e n s i v eEconomic PartnershipAgreement (RCEP), say-ing that the Indian econo-my is already in doldrumsand signing of this freetrade agreement withother countries will fur-ther cause hardships toIndian farmers and smalltraders.

Prime MinisterNarendra Modi is in

Bangkok for the RCEPnegotiations meetings.

The Congress hasalleged that RCEP pactwill make India a dump-

ing ground of Chinesegoods. The party hasannounced to launch anationwide mass agita-tion-cum-awareness pro-gramme from November5-15 to “expose” the gov-ernment about its “anti-people policies” and raisethe issue of economicslowdown, unemploy-ment and agrarian crisis.

During a meeting withparty general secretaries,in-charge of states andheads of frontal organisa-tions, Congress presidentSonia Gandhi attackedthe government for ■ Turn to Page 4

NITIN MAHAJAN NEW DELHI, NOV. 2

Prime Minister NarendraModi’s Council ofMinisters may be expand-ed soon as the BharatiyaJanata Party is under-stood to have offered addi-tional positions to itsNDA ally Shiv Sena inexchange for support inMaharashtra governmentformation.

BJP sources said thatnegotiations between theBJP and Sena include pos-sible additional allocationof departments to theMaharashtra ally. Theexpansion of UnionCouncil of Ministers isalso expected to accom-modate Janata Dal(United). Sources saidthat a decision on possi-ble representation ofother allies, like the ApnaDal and the AIADMK,may also be taken.

The BJP and Shiv Senahave been at loggerheadsover the power sharingarrangement inMaharashtra after theAssembly polls resultswere declared and theadjustment at the Centreis expected to bring thealliance back on track.Sources in the BJP saidthat once the agreementon the issue is reached,official announcement ofthe date of DevendraFadnavis’ oath taking cer-emony will be made.

Despite a pre pollalliance, the NDA part-ners have been unable toagree on government for-mation in the state. Thefate of the 288-memberMaharashtra Assemblyhas been hanging in bal-ance ever since resultswere declared on October24 as the two parties are

squabbling over sharingpower, especially ShivSena’s claim that a 50-50formula, which includessharing the chief minis-tership between the twoallies, had been agreedand must be accepted.The BJP is adamant thatMr Fadnavis will be theCM for the full term.

While the BJP is the sin-gle largest party in theAssembly with 105 seats,its NDA ally Shiv Senawon 56 seats. The

Opposition parties —Congress (44) andNationalist CongressParty (54) — who also hada pre-poll alliance, arenowhere near the half-way mark.

BJP sources say thatthough the Shiv Sena hasbeen posturing and play-ing hard to get it eversince the poll results, it isexpected to eventuallycome on board with theproposed power sharing ■ Turn to Page 4

Modi Cabinet likely to be expanded soonBJP may offer additional posts to Shiv Sena, JD-U

BHAGWAN PARABMUMBAI, NOV. 2

After failing to persuadeits alliance partner ShivSena, the BJP has decid-ed to go ahead with theswearing-in ceremony.According to sources,the BJP is planning tohold the swearing-inceremony beforeNovember 7. A BJPMLA, who spoke on thecondition of anonymity,the Amit Shah-led partyhas also asked its newly-elected MLAs not toleave Mumbai tillNovember 5. On theother hand, the Sena hasalso indicated that itwill try to form the gov-ernment, with seniorleader Sanjay Raut say-ing his party will soonleave the ‘wait andwatch’ mode. However,he also said that hisparty would adhere to‘coalition dharma.’ TheSaamana editor has alsoindicated that his party

might be planning toconsider other optionsas well for the govern-ment formation.

“It is the BJP’s right toform government sinceit is the single largestparty. Let it get 15 daysto prove its majority. Ifit fails to get majority,Sena will prove itsmajority,” he said.

“All we are demandingis that they accept whathas been agreed upon.The BJP had sought thealliance during the LokSabha polls. We had ourdoubts. But we thoughtwe should give it achance. Now, we aresaying the BJP shouldhonour the commit-ment. Accept what hadbeen agreed inthe past,” hefurther added.

The BJPhad initiallydecided toorganise

■ Turnto Page 4

Will soon leave wait &watch mode, says Sena

AGE CORRESPONDENTMUMBAI, NOV. 2

The Maharashtra gov-ernment on Saturdayannounced `10,000 croreas aid for farmers affect-ed by unseasonal rains.The move is expected tooffer relief to farmerswhose crops have exten-sively been damaged dueto erratic rainfall duringkharif season.

Kharif season beginsin July and ends inOctober, coinciding withthe presence of thesouth-west monsoon.

According to state offi-cials, crops sown on54.22 lakh hectaresspread across 325talukas in half a dozendistricts have been dam-aged due to delay inwithdrawal of monsoon.The damaged cropsinclude rice, jawar,paddy, cotton and soy-abean.

Chief ministerDevendra Fadnavis had■ Turn to Page 4

Police personnel (above) areseen at the Tis Hazari courtcomplex after clashes brokeout between lawyers and copsin New Delhi on Saturday. Thecomplex turned into a battle-ground after a parking issueturned ugly which instigated abloody sequence of events onSaturday. Almost 20 police

officials, including one AddlDCP, two SHOs and eightadvocates sustained injuries.The mob set ablaze 12 bikes,one police gypsy (right) andeight jail vans. The lawyersalleged that the police hadopened fired on them in whichtwo advocates were injured.

— PTI

Maha govtannounces`10Kcr aidfor farmers


The unseasonal rains,which have causedextensive damage toKharip crop, have alsoclaimed a life of thefarmer in Palghar dis-trict. A 50-year-oldfarmer, named DharmaJadhav, committed sui-cide by consuming pesti-cide.

■ More on Page 2

Farmer kills self after cropdamaged in rain


Former chiefm i n i s t e rB h u p i n d e rSingh Hoodawill be theLeader ofO p p o s i t i o nin the newly-

constituted Assembly ofHaryana after beingappointed as the leaderof Congress legislatureparty by Congress presi-dent Sonia Gandhi onSaturday.

Giving out the news,Congress in-charge ofHaryana Mr GhulamNabi Azad praised MrHooda and HaryanaCongress chief KumariSelja for their efforts inthe Assembly polls thatsaw the party baggingCongress 31 out of 90seats in the state.

Hooda appointedCLP leader inHaryana House

NAYEAR AZAD PATNA, NOV. 2

The seat-sharing in theNational DemocraticAlliance has turned outto be a thorny affair asBJP’s partners — the AllJharkhand StudentUnion (AJSU) and theLok Janshakti Party(LJP) — want “hon-ourable seat adjust-ments” for theJharkhand Assemblypolls scheduled to be heldin five phases startingfrom November 30.

Sources said that effortsare being made to build aconsensus between theAJSU and the LJP inorder to resolve the issueat the earliest. However,reports suggest that boththe partners have so farfailed to agree on thenumber of seats BJP has

been offering them. A sec-tion in Jharkhand feelsthat the AJSU may bar-gain hard with the BJPduring a meeting to dis-cuss the seat-sharing dealnext week. Taking a cuefrom NDA partners inMaharashtra andHaryana where the BJPfailed to register desir-able performance, the■ Turn to Page 4

Berlin, Nov. 2: Dresden, acity in eastern Germany,has declared a “Naziemergency”, saying thatit has a serious problemwith the growing influ-ence of the far-right, areport in the BBC onlinesaid on Saturday.

Councillors in Dresdenhas passed a resolutionaimed at strengtheningdemocracy and protectingminorities from the far-right extremism.

Explaining about“Nazinotstand of the Naziemergency”, local coun-cillor Max Aschenbach,who tabled the motion,said that it is same as theclimate emergency. “Wehave a serious problemwith it. The open democ-ratic society is threatened

because of it,” he told theBBC.

He said it was necessaryto take action becausepoliticians were not doingenough to “position them-selves clearly” against thefar-right.

Mr Aschenbach saidadopting the motion

showed the city council’scommitment to fostering“a free, liberal, democrat-ic society that protectsminorities and resolutelyopposes Nazis.”

The motion, which waspassed on Wednesday,was supported by mem-bers of the Left Party, theenvironmentalist Greens,the center-left SocialDemocrats, the pro-busi-ness Free Democrats anda satirical party knownsimply as The Party.

Chancellor AngelaMerkel’s center-rightChristian Democratsvoted against the motion.

The CDU described theresolution as “pure politi-cal symbolism” and saidthat the strong wordingwas a “linguistic error”,

German news agencyDPA reported.

Dresden is home to theanti-migrant groupPatriotic Europeansagainst the Islamisationof the West (Pegida) move-ment and the far-rightAlternative for Germanyparty received more than17% of the vote in citycouncil elections thisyear.

Pegida supporters saythat people need to “wakeup” to the threat ofIslamist extremists. Theywant Germany to curbimmigration and accusethe authorities of failingto enforce existing laws.

The movement hasspurred large counter-ral-lies in the city.

— Agencies

Dresden declares ‘Nazi emergency’Washington, Nov. 2: USPresident Donald Trumphas ridiculed BetoO’Rourke just hours afterthe Democratic presiden-tial hopeful ended hiscampaign.

The President used aprofanity to describe hisrival and said he “quitlike a dog”.

Mr O’Rourke, a formerTexas congressman, washighly critical of MrTrump after a massshooting in his home-town of El Paso inAugust. He called thebloodshed a “conse-quence” of Mr Trump’santi-immigrant rhetoric.

On Friday Mr O’Rourke

said he wasquitting therace for theWhite Houseas his cam-paign did nothave “the

means to move forwardsuccessfully”.

Mr Trump’s responsecame days after he saidIslamic State (IS) leaderAbu Bakr al-Baghdadihad “died like a dog” dur-ing a US military opera-tion in north-westernSyria.

Speaking at a rally inTupelo, Mississippi, thepresident branded MrO'Rourke a “poor, pathet-ic guy”. — Agencies

Beto quit Prez race‘like a dog’: Trump

Two BJP partners insist on more seats

JHARKHAND◗ BJP’s partners —AJSU and LJP —want more seatsthan those contest-ed by them in 2014polls. While AJSUinsists on ‘maxi-mum seats’ to itscandidates, LJP isdemanding 6 seats.

LAWYERS, COPS BATTLE IT OUT AT COURT

Growing far-right■ ■ Councillors inDresden, a city in east-ern Germany, haspassed a resolutionaimed at strengtheningdemocracy and pro-tecting minoritiesfrom the far-rightextremism

Hooda

Trump

The Indianeconomy isgoing through

a slowdown, sign-ing RCEP agree-ment now willprove disastrous

— PriyankaVadra,

Congressleader

Economy in mess, but PMmanaging headlines: Sonia

SanjayRaut

NationSUNDAY | 3 NOVEMBER 2019 | NEW DELHITHE ASIAN AGE

PoliticsCongress has not held discussions with anyone on govt formation in Maharashtra, says Mallikarjun Kharge

Who orderedsnooping on Pranab,

V.K. Singh during UPA government?

— J.P. Nadda,BJP working prez

SHORT TAKES

Bhopal: In a setback to theopposition BJP, Madhya

Pradesh assembly secretari-at on Saturday announced

disqualification of BJP MLAfrom Pawai, Prahlad Lodhi,

following his conviction in acriminal case. It also

informed the ElectionCommission that Pawai seat

has now fallen vacant. OnThursday, a Bhopal court

sentenced Lodhi and 12 oth-ers to two years in jail for

attacking a Tehsildar (rev-enue official) in 2014.

Speaker N.P. Prajapati saidas per the Supreme Court’sruling, a public representa-tive should be disqualified

as soon as he or she is con-victed, and the rule was fol-

lowed in Lodhi’s case. AnAssembly official said thatas per the apex court's rul-ing, a legislator is disquali-

fied if he or she is sentencedto two years or more in jail.

Jammu: Former Jammu &Kashmir BSP president

Tarsem Khullar joined theNational Conference along

with several others onSaturday, an NC spokesman

said. They joined the NChere in the presence of theparty's provincial president

Devender Singh Rana.Before joining the NC,

Khullar was the chief of theAmbedkar Sena. Rana

asserted that his party'sleadership will always stand

by the people of Jammuand Kashmir and fight all

challenges. —PTI


Days after his interrogationby the SIT (special investiga-

tion team) of Uttar Pradeshpolice, the EnforcementDirectorate (ED) is now

preparing to question seniorSamajwadi Party (SP) leader

and Rampur Lok Sabha MPAzam Khan in connection

with its probe into thealleged land-grabbing cases

filed against him and thefirms linked to him.

According to sources, AzamKhan will be questioned by

the ED next week. Severalcases of land-grabbing havebeen registered against the

SP leader by the state policeand central investigation

agencies. The ED recentlyregistered a criminal case of

money laundering againstAzam Khan in connection

with the multiple land-grab-bing cases against him. TheED has taken cognisance of

at least 26 UP police FIRsagainst the MP to file its

Enforcement CaseInformation Report (ECIR),

which is the equivalent of apolice FIR. Sections of the

Prevention of MoneyLaundering Act have been

pressed against Azam Khanand others who allegedly

grabbed land using threat ofextortion, sources said.

ED TO QUESTIONAZAM IN LAND

GRABBING CASE

Former J&K BSPpresident joins NC

Balasore: Tension prevailedon Saturday at a residentialschool at Hasanpur village

under Sadar block inOdisha’s Balasore districtafter the headmaster was

taken to task by villagers forallegedly having illicit rela-tionship with a female staffof the school. Alleging that

the headmaster RajeevLochan Patra is involved in

an illicit relationship withthe woman hotel superin-

tendent, students locked themain gate of the school andsat on a dharna demanding

his transfer. Later, locals,including women intervened

and dragged both of themon road and thrashed

them.

Headmaster beatenup over Illicit affair


Even as the impassebetween the BJP andShiv Sena showed nosign of ending, the latterhas gone on to slamfinance minister SudhirMunga-ntiwar for his“ a n t i - d e m o c r a t i c ”remarks aboutPresident’s rule. Howe-ver, Mr Mungantiwarsaid that the Sena misin-terpreted his statement.

Mr Mungantiwar facedthe Sena’s ire over hisstatement that therecould be President’s ruleif the current deadlockdid not end byNovember 7.

However, Mr Mungant-iwar on Friday told TheAsian Age that therewas no question ofimposition of Preside-nt’s rule as the BJP andSena would form thegovernment.

Still, the Saamana edi-torial Saturday quotedMr Mungantiwar as hav-ing said, “A new govern-ment will have to be inplace within the stipu-lated time, or else thePresident will have tointervene. President’srule will be imposed ifthe government forma-tion doesn’t happen inthe given time.”

Sena slamsfin min for‘Prez Rule’remark

Puducherry, Nov 2: FormerAll India Anna DravidaMunnetra Kazhagam(AIADMK) member ofLegislative Assembly(MLA) and the party’s localunit secretary P.Purushotaman died here onSaturday after he was stungby a venomous wasp, partysources said.

He was 71 and is survivedby his wife, a son and fivedaughters, they said.

Purushotaman as remov-ing shrubs from his farmland at Radhapuram villagein Tamil Nadu when he wasstung by a wasp.

He was rushed to a hospi-tal at Mundiyampakkam,where he died despite treat-ment, the sources said.

Purushothaman was elect-ed to the territorialAssembly in 1985 and againin 2011 from Ariyankuppamand Manaveli constituen-cies on an AIADMK ticket.

—PTI

Puducherry MLA dies after beingstung by wasp

MLA disqualified inMP after conviction


Senior Congress leaderHussein Dalwai hasraised eyebrows bydemanding that his partyshould support ShivSena in the governmentformation. Sena, whichearlier was a Hindutvaparty, has now become anall-inclusive party, hesaid.

Mr Dalwai, a RajyaSabha MP, on Saturdaywrote to party chiefSonia Gandhi requestingher to support the Sena ifit comes up with anysuch proposal.

Mr Dalwai recalled theSena had supportedCongress nomineesPratibha Patil and laterPranab Mukherjee forthe post of President ofIndia in the past.

“Shiv Sena and BJP aredifferent. The Sena hadsupported Pratibha Patil,Pranab Mukherjee for

the President’s post. ShivSena's politics hasbecome all-inclusiveunlike that of the BJP,which is extreme. Wemust support the Sena tokeep the BJP out ofpower,” Mr Dalwai said.

He said a cross-sectionof the Muslim communi-ty in the state would pre-fer the Sena over the BJP.

Welcoming Mr Dalwai’sstatement, senior Senaleader Sanjay Raut said,“Dalwai belongs to the

socialist ideology. Hecomes from a family ofprogressive Muslims. Wewelcome his stand. ButSena fought the electionsin an alliance and we willadhere to the coalitiondharma till the end.”

There are differenceswithin the Congress overthe issue of supportingthe Sena. While leaderslike AICC general secre-tary Mallikarjun Kharge,Sushilkumar Shinde,and Sanjay Nirupamhave expressed theirreservations againstextending support to theSena, another section ofthe party is of the opin-ion that the party shouldsupport the Sena to keepthe BJP out of power.

Cong leader writes to Sonia,says party should back Sena

Hussein Dalwai

NEENA GOPAL, BHASKARHEGDE and ARAVINDSHETTYBENGALURU, NOV. 2

When B.S. Yediyurappalooks back on the last 100days that he has just com-pleted as chief ministerin his record fourth stintin the hot seat, the con-summate Karnatakapolitician who has seenoff rivals, both within andoutside his party in histumultuous career, mustknow that this time, it ishis legacy that is at stake.

Except, once again he’sin the eye of a storm ofhis own making, caughton tape, implying that hehad BJP president AmitShah’s active blessing insequestering the 15 rebelCongress and JanataDal(S) MLAs in a Mumbaihotel, and ensuring theirdefection to bring downthe JD(S)-Congress gov-ernment in Karnataka.

In an interview at hiscrowded home office‘Krishna’ to mark the 100day milestone, the Shiva-mogga strongman shrug-ged off the charges thatformer Congress chiefminister and oppositionleader Siddaramaiah hadlevelled against him andMr Shah, charges that MrSiddaramaiah has takento Karnataka GovernorVajubhai Vala on Satu-rday, by saying that he did-n’t wish to comment on it.

“It’s not correct for me tospeak about this,” the CMsaid, dismissively.

He was equally cageyabout questions on whet-her the 15 rebels would begiven BJP tickets to fightthe bypolls, or whether hewould give in to pressurefrom within the BJP tofield party candidates.

“I don’t know for howmany constituencies, theSupreme Court will order

bypolls, on December 5.Only after the SC decisionnext week, which isexpected by November 4or November 5, will we geta clear picture.”

His confidence in beingable to carry the day andwin enough seats to givethe BJP the 113 seats itneeds for a majority in the224 seat assembly wasundimmed. “I have hun-dred per cent confidencethat we will win at least 12to 13 Assembly seats. Weare going to run this gov-ernment for another threeand half years withoutany hurdle,” he said.

He lashed out at his bêtenoire Siddaramaiah for alacklustre 100 days inoffice. Taking strongexception to Siddaram-aiah making a negativeassessment of his govern-ment, he said: “Who’s heto say this? In 100 dayswhen unprecedented floo-ds hit the state, how canwe achieve everything inthis short span of time?”

Making it even moreinteresting was the sup-port he has received fromanother political oppo-nent, former chief minis-ter H.D. Kumaraswamy,who led the JD(S) govern-

ment that he toppled, andwho offered him support.

Asked if he would takeup the offer of JD(S), BSY,looking tetchy and notentirely happy at even theidea of allying with a manwith whom he had a grandfalling out in 2007, said,“There is no question oftaking JD(S) support.After by-elections results,after December 12, ourstrength will increase to113. In such a situationthere is no question oftaking support of JD(S). Iwelcome Kumaraswamy’sstatement that he will notdestabilise the govern-ment that is busy in floodrelief works.”

He also strongly deniedthat central aid for floodrelief was inadequate.“Which other state gotthis much money? Tellme. They are helping us. Iam confident we will getmore in the coming days,”he said.

Mr Yediyurappa, whorecently reshuffled hischief minister’s office,admitted that he wouldlike to leave behind a richlegacy and to achieve this,he needed a battery ofgood and dynamic offi-cers.

AGE CORRESPONDENTKOLKATA, NOV. 2

Chief minister MamataBanerjee Saturday lev-elled an explosive allega-tion that her phone wastapped by two govern-ments, including oneruled by the BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP), for thepurpose of spying on her.She also accused theCentre of getting the spysoftware from Israel’sNSO Group for surveil-lance of politicians andbureaucrats on WhatsApp.

“My phone was tapped. Iknow that because I havethat information and Ihave the evidence withme. What will be raised?The government knowsabout it as it has done it.Even the state govern-ments did it. I know whichof these state govern-

ments they were. Butwithout knowing thedetails, I cannot tell you,”the Trinamul Congresschief said in the afternoonon the sidelines of theChhat puja celebrations atHastings in Kolkata.“There are two govern-ments. One is a BJP government and the sec-ond is another govern-ment,” she elaborated.

Lashing out at theCentre and some state gov-ernments, Ms Banerjee

said that the phones of allIAS and IPS officers andpoliticians were beingtapped and no one wasspared.

“This is happening at thebehest of the Central gov-ernment and two stategovernments. It is wrong.You cannot intrude peo-ple’s privacy. Freedom ofpress exists in our coun-try. We have the azadi(freedom) in the articles ofour Constitution. Butwhat azadi do we havenow that we cannot eventalk?” she said.

The Trinamul Congresschief told the media thatany kind of talk was total-ly recorded and someonelistened to the recording.“You also talk amongyourselves on WhatsApp.Earlier, WhatsApp wassafe. But the agencies canaccess WhatsApp, too,through the NSO spyware.Be it landlines or mobilesor WhatsApp or others,nothing is safe…” sheasserted.

In a message to PrimeMinister Narendra Modi,the TMC leader said, “It isonly spying which is con-tinuing. It is a very seri-ous situation. I willrequest the PM to takecare of it. It is a fact thatthe NSO of Israel has sup-plied the spyware to thegovernment. And thereare so many agencies thatare using it.”

Didi: Modi govt is ‘tapping my phone’CM asks PM to ‘take care of it’, says her phone was tapped by 2 govts

■ He denied that aid for flood relief was inadequate

BSY wants to leavea rich legacy behind


Not only have unseason-al rains caused exten-sive damage to theKharif crop, they havealso claimed the life of afarmer in Palghar dis-trict. Farmer DharmaJadhav (50), a residentof the Zirwapada villagein Dahanu taluka, com-mitted suicide by con-suming pesticide onOctober 29.

Meanwhile, Dharma’skin blamed the cropdamage caused byunseasonal rains as rea-son for his suicide.While no suicide notewas recovered by thepolice, the victim’s fami-ly members claimedthat he was depressed asthe unseasonal showershad flooded his field anddestroyed his crop.

The Kasa police hasregistered a case of acci-dental death and isawaiting the post-mortem report, saidinspector Anand Kale.The district authorities,who are verifying thefamily’s claims, saidthat the deceased hadnot taken loan from anyfinancial institution.Dharma’s kin willreceive compensation of

`4 lakh once the districtagriculture departmentsubmits its report onthe matter, said Dahanutaluka tehsildar RahulSarang.

Unseasonal rains havecaused extensive dam-age to the Kharif crop,especially cotton andsoya bean, in many dis-tricts of Maharashtra,particularly in theMarathwada region.While the farmers facedproblems due to thedelayed onset of themonsoon, the delayedwithdrawal, too, haswreaked havoc on theircrop.

Meanwhile, a farmerfrom Beed district inMarathwada region hasexpressed the desire tobecome chief ministeruntil the Sena and BJPresolve their differencesto solve the problems offellow farmers.

Farmer kills selfin Mumbai, kinblame crop loss

Jharkhand chief minister Raghubar Das offers prayers to Sun God with familymembers on the occasion of Chhath Puja in Jamshedpur on Saturday. —PTI

◗ Dharma’s kin willreceive compensa-tion of `4 lakhonce the districtagriculture depart-ment submits itsreport on the mat-ter, said Dahanutaluka tehsildarRahul Sarang.

◗ He said a cross-section of theMuslim communityin Maharashtrawould prefer theSena over the BJP.

Karnataka chief minister B.S. Yediyurappa during aninterview on his government completing 100 days inBengaluru on Saturday. — ASIAN AGE

Mamata Banerjee

◗ The TrinamulCongress chief toldthe media that anykind of talk wastotally recorded andsomeone listened tothe recording.


Remedial stepsCentre should take steps to deal with economic slowdown, says Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot

■ Verdict likely to be announced by November 15

PARMOD KUMARNEW DELHI, NOV. 2

As Supreme Court reopenson November 4, after weeklong Diwali vacations, alleyes are set on much await-ed Ayodhya judgment onthe ownership of the RamJ a n m a b h o o m i - B a b r iMasjid disputed site thatwould be pronounced anyday in the coming eightworking days starting withNovember 4 to November15.

The top court constitutionbench comprising ChiefJustice Ranjan Gogoi, Chief

Justice designateS.A.Bobde, Justice D.Y.Chandrachud, JusticeAshok Bhushan andJustice S. Abdul Nazeerhave eight working days —five days from Monday(November 4) to Friday (November 8) and threedays of the subsequentweek November 13, 14 and15 to pronounce their muchawaited verdict.

November 11 and 12 areholidays on account ofGuru Nanak’s birthday andanother holiday. The 550birthday of Guru Nanakfalls on November 12.

The top court constitutionbench had on October 16reserved its verdict on abatch of cross petitionschallenging September 30,2010, Allahabad high courtjudgment by which the dis-puted site was trifurcatedin three parts giving twoparts to Hindu litigants –idol of Ram Lalla and theNirmohi Akhara — aHindu sect — and one toMuslims.

The hearing lasted for 40days.

The hearing had com-menced on August 6 afterefforts by three member

committee headed by for-mer top court judge JusticeFakir Mohamed IbrahimKalifulla to find an amica-ble resolution of the dis-pute did “not resulted inany final settlement.”

Besides, Ayodhya, twomore long awaited verdictson the plea seeking thereview of top court judg-ments giving clean chit tothe Centre on the purchaseof 36 ready to fly Rafalefighter jets and permittingthe entry of women of allage groups in Kerala’sSabrimala temple, too arelikely to be pronounced.

All eyes set on Ayodhyajudgment as SC reopens

New Delhi, Nov. 2: The gover-ment on Saturday released themaps of newly created UnionTerritories (UTs) of Jammuand Kashmir, and Ladakh andthe map of India depictingthese UTs.

In a statement, the ministryof home affairs said the UT ofLadakh consists of two dis-tricts of Kargil and Leh whilethe rest of the erstwhile stateof Jammu and Kashmir is inthe UT of Jammu andKashmir.

In 1947, the erstwhile state ofJammu and Kashmir had thefollowing 14 districts —Kathua, Jammu, Udhampur,Reasi, Anantnag, Baramulla,Poonch, Mirpur,Muzaffarabad, Leh andLadakh, Gilgit, Gilgit Wazarat,Chilhas and Tribal Territory.

By 2019, the government oferstwhile state of Jammu andKashmir had reorganised theareas of these 14 districts into28 districts. The namesof the new districts were —Kupwara, Bandipur,Ganderbal, Srinagar, Budgam,Pulwama, Shupian, Kulgam,Rajouri, Ramban, Doda,Kishtivar, Samba and Kargil.

Out of these, Kargil districtwas carved out from the areaof Leh and Ladakh district.

The Leh district of the newUT of Ladakh has been definedin the Jammu and KashmirReorganisation (Removal ofDifficulties) Second Order,2019, issued by the President ofIndia, to include the areas ofthe districts of Gilgit, GilgitWazarat, Chilhas and TribalTerritory of 1947, in additionto the remaining areas of Lehand Ladakh districts of 1947,after carving out the KargilDistrict.

The maps have been preparedby Survey General of Indiadepicting the new UTs. — PTI

New maps of J&K, Ladakh and India released


Search & Rescue Amit Shah to inaugurateSCO joint exercise on earthquake search, rescue

NGOs have major role in speeding

up development inrural India

— Pranab Mukherkee,Former President

SHORT TAKES

Shimla: Thirteen people inHimachal Pradesh died ofscrub typhus, a bacterial

infection, so far this year ascompared to 21 deaths last

year, a health official said onSaturday. As many as 1,456

people are suffering from thebacterial infection in the

state so far this year, where-as 1,940 people were affect-

ed last year, special secretary(health) Dr Nipun Jindal said.

During a two-day reviewmeeting of eight northern

states and union territorieson the Integrated disease

surveillance programme inShimla, the efforts of

Himachal Pradesh in effec-tive prevention and controlof communicable diseases,

especially in containingscrub typhus, were appreci-

ated, Mr Jindal said. — PTI

Gariaband: A leopard diedin Chhattisgarh’s Gariaband

district after it was tran-quilised and being transport-

ed to Raipur for treatmenton Saturday. The animal was

already ailing, starving andits thigh-bone was shattered,

an official said. The femaleleopard, around two years

old, was moving aroundKharhari village in Parsuli

forest range for the last fewdays, causing panic among

locals, said Mayank Agrawal,DFO. On October 28 it

attacked a calf in the village.The villagers managed to

rescue the calf. The leopardreportedly received some

injuries during the incident,he said. — PTI

Leopard dies afterbeing tranquilised

Palanpur: A mentally unwellman has been arrested for

allegedly killing his mother,wife and two-year-old son in

Gujarat’s Banaskantha dis-trict, police said on Saturday.

Bhikha Thakor (25), a resi-dent of Bhakadiyal village in

the district’s Lakhni taluka,killed his mother Jagiben(50), wife Zebar (23) andson Jignesh with a sharpweapon, and injured his

brother’s wife. “The accusedwas reportedly angry for

constantly nagged by familyfor not being employed norhelping kin with agriculture

work. He is mentally unwell,”said police. — PTI

Guj man kills wife,mother, baby; held

RABINDRA NATHCHOUDHURYBHOPAL, NOV. 2

In a first of its kind ini-tiative in the country,Kamal Nath governmentis mulling to place“Right to Health” legis-lation in the upcomingwinter session ofAssembly, guaranteeingquality healthcare to allcitizens of MadhyaPradesh.

The proposed legisla-tion has, significantly,provided to hold stategovernment depart-ments concernedaccountable for the out-break of diseases suchas dengue or H1N1,according to the draftproposal of the bill.

The proposed ‘Right toHealth’ legislationenvisaged the establish-ment of forums forgrievance redressal withregards to the deficiencyin healthcare facilities.

“Failure to providehealthcare by the stategovernment will havelegal consequences”, aspokesman of the statehealth department saidhere on Saturday.

A two-day “Right toHealth” conclave organ-ised by the state govern-ment here to give shapeto the proposed legisla-tion ended on Saturday.

“The legislation willensure basic as well asquality healthcare par-ticularly for rural peoplein the state”, MP healthminister Tulsi Silawatsaid.

According to the draftproposal of the ‘Right toHealth’ legislation,delivery of basic health-care services would beensured within 3 km,and primary healthcarewithin 12 km, whilemedical facility for seri-ous illness and criticalillness would beensured within 50km(or a one-hour journey)and within 150 km,respectively.

‘Right toHealth’ billlikely inMP House

In 2019, 13 died ofscrub typhus in HP

New Delhi, Nov. 2:Fatehabad in Haryana hadthe worst average air qual-ity in India over a periodof 24 hours ending onSaturday evening, whilethe pollution levels inLucknow in Uttar Pradeshand Patna in Bihar wereworse than in Delhi,according to official fig-ures.

According to the centralpollution control board’s(CPCB) on Saturday,“Thirteen cities of thecountry had an averageAir Quality Index (AQI)above 400, which falls inthe ‘severe’ category, withseven of them in UttarPradesh, five in Haryanaand one in Bihar.

According to the bul-letin, the average AQI inDelhi was 399. During the

same period, Fatehabadrecorded the worst aver-age AQI at 493, while it was428 in Patna and 422 inLucknow.

Delhi and its neighbour-ing cities recorded theworst air quality of theseason on Friday, forcingthe authorities to declare apublic health emergency.But pollution levels in theregion dipped marginallyon Saturday with slightincrease in wind speed.

The average AQI of 18cities fell between 300 and400, which comes in the“very poor” category, andincluded 11 from Haryana,three from Uttar Pradesh,two from Punjab and oneeach from Bihar andMadhya Pradesh, theCPCB stated.

The CPCB also said that

if the AQI falls in “severe”category, it affects healthypeople and seriouslyimpacts those with pre-vailing diseases, while

“very poor” air qualitycan cause respiratory ill-ness on prolonged expo-sure.

In Uttar Pradesh,

Ghaziabad had the worstaverage AQI of 453, fol-lowed by Bulandshahr(446), Hapur (444), GreaterNoida (438), Baghpat (435),Noida (432), Lucknow(422), Kanpur (379),Meerut (371) and Varanasi(328), the CPCB datashowed.

At 493, Haryana’sFatehabad had the worstaverage AQI across India,closely followed by Hisar(490), Jind (459), Kaithal(408), Faridabad (404),Ballabgarh (395), Panipat(389), Kurukshetra (381),Bhiwani (378), Ambala(376), Palwal (369), Rohtak(367), Gurgaon (364),Karnal (361), Yamunan-agar (345), Mandikhera(324) and Manesar (316).

Patna had an averageAQI of 428, the only city in

Bihar with “severe” airquality, followed byMuzaffarpur (382) which isin the “very poor” catego-ry”. No other city from thestate featured in either cat-egory, the CPCB said.

In Punjab, the averageAQI in Bathinda was 308and in Ludhiana it was305, both in the “verypoor” category. Singrauli,with an average AQI of384, was Madhya Pradesh’sonly city to figure in thelist of places with averageAQI in the “severe” and“very poor” categories.

Particulate matter 2.5and 10, which cause respi-ratory and heart ailments,among others, were themost prominent pollutantspresent in the air of thesecities, the CPCB stated.

Lucknow resident

Bharat Singh said he hasbeen waking up to “cloudyconditions” for a couple ofdays now while the weath-er has been hot and humidall the while.

“Due to the deterioratingair quality in the city, itbecomes very difficult tomove on two-wheelers. Wehope that it rains soon sothat there could be somerelief,” Mr Singh told PTI.

The CPCB figures onaverage AQI were avail-able only for 100 cities, andas such people expressedthe need for proper datacollection in smallertowns and cities.

“Using the CPCB mobileapp, I can find out AQI ofseveral cities but notmine,” Varun Bhandari, aresident of Amethi inUttar Pradesh said. — PTI

■ Lucknow, Patna worse than Delhi ■ Air quality severe in 13 cities across country

Fatehabad’s air quality dips to all-India low

A Nagar Nigam employee sprinkers water on trees toreduce air pollution in Lucknow on Saturday. — PTI

New Delhi, Nov. 2:German ChancellorAngela Merkel onSaturday pledged to invest1 billion euros over thenext five years on environ-mentally-friendly urbanmobility in India.

Ms Merkel, whose visit tothe country coincided withone of the worst spells ofair pollution inDelhi/NCR, also empha-sised on the need to replacediesel-run public transportwith electric vehicles.

“We have agreed to co-operate on climate protec-tion and green urbanmobility and have ear-marked 1 billion eurostowards this,” Ms Merkelsaid at an event here.

Germany would also putin 200 million euros toreform the bus sector inTamil Nadu, she added.

Touching upon the sub-ject of air pollution inDelhi, Ms Merkel said thatlooking at the severity ofthe situation, it would be agood idea to replace dieselbuses with electric ones.

Delhi recorded its worstair quality of the seasonon Friday as the pollutionlevel touched the ‘severeplus’ category, promptingauthorities to shutschools till November 5,ban all construction activ-ities and declare a “publichealth emergency”.

Ms Merkel said thatGermany would also liketo work with India on var-ious segments includinghealthcare, agricultureand artificial intelligence.

On Friday, India andGermany agreed to deep-en efforts to resumestalled negotiations for afree trade agreementbetween India and the EU.The negotiations havebeen held up since May

2013 as both the sidesfailed to bridge substan-tial gaps on crucial issues.

Launched in June 2007,the negotiations for theproposed pact have wit-nessed many hurdles with

both the sides havingmajor differences on keyissues like intellectualproperty rights, duty cutin automobile and spirits,and liberal visa regime.

— PTI

■ Replace diesel buses with EVs: Merkel

Germany to give €1bn to India for green mobility


Defence minister RajnathSingh on Saturday calledupon the member coun-tries of ShanghaiCooperation Organisation(SCO) to strengthen andimplement all existinginternational laws andmechanisms, withoutexceptions or double stan-dards, to combat terror-ism and its enablers.

“Terrorism continues todisrupt our societies andundermine our develop-mental endeavours. It isimportant for SCO coun-tries to come together todeal with this menace,”said Mr Singh.

He was addressing the18th meeting of Council ofHeads of Government(CHG) of SCO at Tashkentin Uzbekistan as the spe-cial envoy of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi.

Defence ministerstressed that the process

of globalisation hasopened up immenseopportunities for thegrowth of SCO members,but also brought to thefore multidimensional,complex and transnation-al threats affecting devel-oping countries. He urgedthe SCO to work togetherin defeating challengeslike terrorism, climate

change, endemic poverty,under-development, pan-demics and inequality.

Mr Singh also voiced thegovernment’s resolve ofproviding an enabling eco-nomic ecosystem for part-ner countries to invest anddo business in India. Helisted out various initia-tives taken by the Indiangovernment in this regard

including relaxing FDIreforms, allowing 100 percent foreign investment incoal mining and contractmanufacturing, easingsourcing norms for single-brand retailers andapproving 26 per centoverseas investment indigital media.

Defence minister invitedSCO countries to enter intocollaborative joint ven-tures in India, saying thatsignificant work hasalready been undertakentowards improving “ease ofdoing business” in thecountry.

“We strongly support theinitiative to facilitate coop-eration among small andmedium-sized enterpriseswithin the SCO. The foodindustry is another poten-tial area of collaboration.SCO members can worktogether for technologyand investment support tofood processing and put ina supporting logisticschain,” he said.

India asks SCO nations to act strongly against terror

German Chancellor Angela Merkel poses for a selfieduring her visit to Continental Automotive ComponentsIndia plant at Manesar in Haryana on Saturday.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh with Council of Headsof Government of Shanghai Cooperation Organisationat Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on Saturday. — PTI

New Delhi, Nov. 2: Indiaand Germany onSaturday signed signedtwo major agreements,referred to as the JointDeclaration of Intent, forcooperation in the field ofskills development andvocational education.

The ministry of skilldevelopment and entre-preneurship signed theJoint Declaration ofIntent with the federalministry for economiccooperation and develop-ment (BMZ), Germany.

The association will pro-vide a systematic struc-ture for conducting mutu-al consultations, advisorywork and policyexchanges at ministerial

and expert levels and pro-vide technical assistance.

This collaboration willhelp further develop thesuccessful cooperation inthe various fields coveredby the Indo-German JointWorking Group onVocational Education andTraining.

One declaration ofintent is with the federalministry of education andresearch (referred to asBMBF) for Cooperation inSkill Development andVocational Education andTraining, whereas thesecond was for Dual VETinitiative markingSustainable Growth ofSkills with SiemensLimited, India. — PTI

India and Germany ink pact forcooperation in skill development

New Delhi, Nov. 2: TheEnforcement Directorate(ED) on Saturday opposedthe bail plea of seniorCongress leader P.Chidambaram in Delhihigh court in connectionwith the INX Mediamoney laundering case,saying it will set a wrongprecedent in corruptioncases.

“Grant of bail to MrChidambaram would beagainst the court’s zero-tolerance policy on cor-ruption and would set awrong precedent for cor-

ruption cases,”ED said.

The economicoffences watch-dog said, “highoffice of thecountry wasused by Mr

Chidambaram for his per-sonal gains” and that con-sidering the gravity of theoffences against him, bailshould not be granted.

“Proceeds of crime weregenerated on the act doneby P. Chidambaram in hiscapacity as the financeminister,” it said.

The petition is listed forhearing on Monday beforeJustice Suresh Kait, whohad asked the agency for aresponse in the matter.

Delhi high court had onFriday disposed of theinterim bail plea of MrChidambaram, who hadsought relief on healthgrounds, and directed theTihar Jail authorities toprovide him mineralwater, home-cooked food,mosquito net etc andensure that his cell iscleaned twice a day.

— ANI

ED opposes bail to PC, says‘will set wrong precedent’

Chidambaram

■ Continued from Page 1ignoring hardships and con-cerns of the people while it pre-pares to sign the RCEP. Shealleged that instead ofacknowledging the severe eco-nomic slowdown and lookingfor a comprehensive resolution,PM Modi is too busy “manag-ing headlines and events.”

Mrs Gandhi asked the partyleaders to create awarenessamong people about the “anti-people policies” of this govern-ment.

“As if the government’s eco-nomic decisions have not dam-aged the economy enough, it isnow ready to deal a body blowto it by signing the RCEP — theregional free trade agreementof 16 Asian countries. This willbring untold hardship for ourfarmers, shopkeepers, smalland medium enterprises withserious repercussions. We canill-afford to become a dumpingground for products – includingagricultural produce from for-eign countries,” she said.

On Saturday, Congress leaderPriyanka Gandhi Vadra alsotweeted that when the Indianeconomy is going through aslowdown signing RCEP agree-ment will prove disastrous.“There is an economic slow-down in the country. Our policyright now should be such thatour markets provide maximumhelp to farmers. In this envi-ronment, the RCEP will proveto be farmers’ destructionagreement. This will gobble upall the interests of the farmers

of India, and their space forselling their produce will belimited,” Priyanka Gandhisaid.

Congress spokespersonRandeep Surjewala, at a pressconference, said that Indiashould not be made a dumpingground of Chinese goodsthrough RCEP.

“The Prime Minister has goneto Bangkok to sign on RCEP. In72 years, no one has signed freetrade agreement with Chinawhich Modiji is doing. This willhit our small traders. What willhappen to the Indian goods andproducts when the agriculturalproducts from other countrieswill be sold in India afterRCEP?” Mr Randeep Surjewalasaid.

“Indian economy is on venti-lator and the government issleeping,” he added.

The Congress will fromNovember 5 to 15 hold nation-wide agitation to attract focuson unemployment, RCEP, agri-cultural and economic crisis byhaving events at district andzones. However, fromNovember 1 to 8, the party lead-ers will hold press conferencein 35 cities and in Decemberthere will be a mega rally inDelhi.

During the party meeting onSaturday, Mrs Gandhi talkedabout the economic crisis say-ing the GDP growth is at bestonly 5 per cent during the firstquarter which is not just a sixyear low but also signifies deepcrisis.

Economy in mess, but PMmanaging headlines: Sonia ■ Continued from Page 1

alliance partner AJSUmay raise its demand formaximum numbers ofseats. “The AJSU is notwilling to compromiseand is planning to conteston the maximum numberof seats. The BJP, AJSUand LJP leaders will sittogether after the festiveseason is over to discussthe seat-sharing issue,” asource from Ranchi said.

The BJP in alliance withthe AJSU had won 42seats in the 2014 Assemblyelections. However, thestrength of the NDA hadgone up to 48 after sixJVM(P) legislators joinedthe BJP in February 2015.

During the Lok Sabhapolls this year, the BJPand allies had clinched 12

out of 14 seats in the state.Reports suggest that the

LJP has also raised itsdemand and is not willingto compromise on lessthan six seats. LJP lead-ers are of the view thatthe move will help BJPachieve its 65 plus seattarget in the Assemblyelections.

In 2014, the LJP had con-tested only on one seatand was not able to evenwin it. “Our party wantsto contest at least sixAssembly seats. Our par-liamentary board presi-dent and other top leadersare discussing the issueand we are hopeful thatthe BJP will accept ourdemands,” ShailendraDwivedi, LJP spokesper-son told this newspaper.

`10Kcr aid for farmers■ Continued from Page 1called a Cabinet sub-com-mittee meeting at his res-idence ‘Varsha’ to dis-cuss the issue. At themeeting, the CM directedofficials to review theground situation in theirrespective areas andfinalise the details of theassistance to be provid-ed.

“We have decided toprovide help to farmersthrough insurance com-panies. The governmentis in touch with insur-ance companies. Theprocess of conducting

‘panchnamas’ is beingexpedited. Even picturesof damaged crop takenfrom mobile will be con-sidered valid,” said MrFadnavis. The panchna-ma is the on-the-spotassessment of the dam-ages.

Mr Fadnavis said thatfarmers could upload thepictures of the damagesfrom their mobile. Thechief minister added thatcrop-wise reimburse-ment would be decided assoon as the final reportabout damages will bereceived.

No wait & watch mode: Sena■ Continued from Page 1a grand swearing-in cere-mony at Wankhede stadi-um. However, partysources said that theswearing-in could be alow-key affair if the partyfails to convince Senasoon.

“It will take at least threedays to print invitationcards and make securityarrangements for VIPs, ifwe decide to hold a grandceremony at Wankhede. Ifthe decision is not takenbefore Monday, we will beleft with very small win-dow for preparations andwill have to go for a small-er ceremony,” the sourcesaid.

The tussle between theBJP and Sena continued

on Saturday with bothparties refusing to softentheir stand on the post ofchief minister and equalsharing of power. In fact,there have been no officialtalks between the two saf-fron allies so far.

Meanwhile, NationalistCongress Party (NCP)leader Ajit Pawar has saidthat NCP chief SharadPawar will be meetingCongress president SoniaGandhi on Monday to dis-cuss the political situationin the state.

The party’s chiefspokesperson, NawabMalik, said the NCP will“definitely take a positiveview” if the Sena decidesto form a governmentwithout the BJP.

‘Will ensure our interests served’■ Continued from Page 1industries as they feelIndia will be at a disad-vantage if it signs theRCEP pact. While a sec-tion of domestic indus-tries has raised seriousconcerns over tariffrelated issues in theRCEP agreement, farm-ers have demanded thatagriculture be kept out ofthe purview of RCEPsince the free trade dealwill bring down importduties on several agricul-tural commodities.

Mr Modi said that while

India remains committedto a comprehensive andbalanced outcome fromthe ongoing RCEP negoti-ations and its successfulconclusion is in the inter-est of everyone involved,India seeks balanceacross goods, servicesand investments, and alsowithin each pillar.

“We recognise the highambitions of our part-ners on goods. We toowould like a win-win out-come. We believe that forthis, addressing our con-cerns over unsustainable

trade deficits is impor-tant. It needs to be recog-nised that opening thevast Indian market mustbe matched by openingsin some areas where ourbusinesses can also bene-fit. We have put forwardreasonable proposals in aclear manner and areengaged in negotiationswith sincerity. We wouldlike to see commensuratelevels of ambition onservices from many ofour partners, even as weare ready to address theirsensitivities,” said PM.

Cabinet mayexpande soon■ Continued from Page 1formula. The BJP is alsobanking on the support of13 Independent candi-dates elected to theHouse.

It was also felt that thenewly elected legislatorswould like to avoid a con-stitutional crisis as thenew state governmenthas to be sworn-in on orbefore 7 November. Thecurrent term of the 288-member MaharashtraAssembly ends on 8November. The BJP alsohopes to end speculationover alliance troubles inBihar by including theJD(U) in the Cabinetthrough the impendingexpansion.

Allies may want more seats

SREEPARNACHAKRABARTY

With the recent round ofAssembly polls giving abreather to the Congress,the party now seems tohave realised the impor-tance of pinning down thegovernment over liveli-hood and larger economicissues rather than engageon Hindutva and national-ism. It is in context thatthe opposition to theRegional ComprehensiveEconomic Partnership(RCEP) which theCongress-led UPA haditself proposed should beseen.

Beginning November 5,the Congress Party hasdecided to start a country-wide agitation on the stateof the economy primarilyunder four heads — thegrowing unemployment,agrarian distress, econom-ic downturn and the RCEP.

RCEP is a proposed freetrade agreement (FTA)between the 10 memberstates of the Asean —Brunei, Cambodia, Indon-esia, Laos, Malaysia,Myanmar, the Philippines,Singapore, Thailand, Viet-nam — and its six FTApartners, China, Japan,India, South Korea, Aus-tralia and New Zealand.

Rajya Sabha member andsenior Congress leaderJairam Ramesh, who isone of the members of thenewly-set up policy studygroup of the Congress, haslisted RCEP as the third

big jolt to the economyafter demonetisation andthe GST.

Claiming that it wouldliberalise Chinese trade inthe Indian market, he said:“RCEP will result in liber-alisation of imports fromChina. We do not knowwhat was discussed inWuhan or Mahabalipurambut we can see the results,there will be liberalisationin imports from China.‘Made in India’ is not men-tioned now. It’ll encourage‘Made in China’,” he said.

Alleging that the govern-ment was interested in theRCEP due to mismanage-ment of the economy, hesaid it would severelyimpact the agrarian sector,especially the diary industry.

When questioned as tothe reason for theOpposition to the freetrade agreement, when theUPA had also been inter-ested in signing it, theparty maintained that theeconomic situation hadbeen very difference then.

Disagreeing that hisparty was making a U-turn, Congress chiefspokesperson RandeepSurjewala said that whenthe UPA government nego-tiated free trade agree-ments, the economy wasbooming. “We did not havethe economic crisis thatwe are having today. Therewas an investment boom,exports were growing.Today, exports are falling,investment is falling, so,the economic context wastotally different when UPAnegotiated free tradeagreements.”

The Congress has alsodecided to build a broadpolitical platform on thematter with otherOpposition parties and hascalled a meeting onNovember 4, the very dayRCEP is supposed to besigned.

Apart from this, theparty would hold a mas-sive protest in the nationalcapital as a culmination ofthe country-wide protestsafter November 15.

It has also decided tohold press conferencesacross the country toaddressed by top leaders tomake people aware of theissue.

Why this deal won’t be a win-win for govt

At stake are millions of livelihoods in the agriculture andallied sectors, especially dairy.If adequate safeguards arenot put in place, theIndian industry, too,faces a big threatfrom cheapChinese goods.

Cong sees chance to exposeBJP govt’s poor economics

PAGE

5360oSUNDAY | 3 NOVEMBER 2019 | NEW DELHITHE ASIAN AGE

After demonetisation and GST, it will be the third big jolt toour economy when the Prime Minister goes to Bangkok

and expresses India’s agreement with the RegionalComprehensive Economic Partnership

— Jairam Ramesh, CONGRESS LEADER AN

ALY

SIS FEATURES

OPINIONREVIEWS

INTERVIEWS STORY BEHIND THE NEWS

PRINCIPLES OF PACT

MADHUSUDAN SAHOO

mid the throes ofeconomic slow-down engulfingall sectors in thecountry, the gov-ernment is learntto have facedsevere criticismon India’s eco-

nomic growth front over joining apact in the proposed RegionalComprehensive EconomicPartnership or, the RCEP. The nego-tiations for this deal are likely to berevealed on November 4.

Though the government is tryingto allay fears and is repeatedlyassuring all protection to the inter-ests of each participant in this deal,many domestic stakeholders suchas India Inc, farmer groups, civilsociety organisations andOpposition parties are keepingtheir fingers crossed. However, theyapprehend the fact that China maydump cheaper goods into Indiausing the deal as a major tool.

India, which has raised some tar-iffs under Prime Minister NarendraModi, has long been the main hold-out on an RCEP deal due to strong

domestic opposition from severalquarters over fears of Chinesegoods flooding the country.

RCEP is a proposed free tradeagreement or FTA between the 10member states of the Asean —Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos,Malaysia, Myanmar, thePhilippines, Singapore, Thailand,Vietnam — and its six FTA partnerssuch as China, Japan, India, SouthKorea, Australia and New Zealand.

RCEP member states account for3.4 billion people with a total GDP of$49.5 trillion, approximately 39 percent of the world’s GDP, with thecombined GDPs of China and Indiamaking up more than half of thatamount. Keeping the India’s state ofeconomy in view, India remainsundecided on several domesticfronts as to whether to sign the deal,even as Mr Modi is all set to joinother RCEP heads of states inBangkok for discussions onMonday.

Indian negotiators are trying toinclude adequate protection againstcheap Chinese imports in order tomake the deal more acceptable tothe Indian industry and agricul-ture. If India joins RCEP, the coun-try will have to take on commit-

ments fortariff elimina-tion for about 90per cent of itemsfrom the Asean,Japan and South Korea,and over 74 per cent fromChina, Australia and New Zealand.

“India will cut duties for morethan 90 per cent of items for mostmember states in RCEP, excludingChina, with some duties beingphased out over 10-year, 15-year and20-year time frames,” a governmentfunctionary told this newspaper oncondition of anonymity.

“India’s government plans to sealthe deal as a political win becausetariffs won’t kick in for a decade,but the administration still worriesthat the local manufacturing sectorwill struggle when tariffs eventual-ly drop and the country’s poor,small-scale and low-tech farmerswould struggle to compete,” he said.

India has many issues involved inthe deal, including the country’sdemands to shift the base year fortariff cuts to 2019 and an auto-trig-ger mechanism to check an importsurge from China that may make orbreak a deal. Besides, there are alsodifferences related to the investor-

to-state disputes e t t l e m e n t

(ISDS) mechanismand data localisa-

tion.Allaying the fear of

entering into free trade agree-ments with other nations, com-merce and industry ministerPiyush Goyal recently said, “Whilenegotiations for a potential FTAwith the US and a larger trade dealwith member nations of the RCEPbloc are on, India does not intend tocompromise national interest andwrap up such deals without ensur-ing safeguards for its own indus-tries, according to him.”

“We can’t have inefficient indus-try lobbying against import andfree trade agreements on the pre-text that it will affect them. Indianconsumers can’t be made to keeppaying disproportionately highvalue for inefficiencies in a particu-lar sector,” Mr Goyal added.

On the other hand, observers areof the view that India keeps makinglast-minute requests after it agreedto terms for the world’s largestregional trade agreement, poten-tially preventing Asian leadersfrom announcing a breakthrough in

Bangkok on the 16-nation pact.As far as differences are con-

cerned, “areas like e-commerce, theauto-trigger mechanism and traderemedies are being smoothed overby officials ahead of the summit.Even the ISDS issue has been sortedout. Even after five years, the ques-tion of whether to include it or notin the deal will be decided based onconsensus rather than by the major-ity proposed earlier”.

“But voices have been rising inprotest across the country. Farmers,traders and the Opposition partieshave joined the clamour — eventhough it was the Congress whichhad joined the RCEP negotiationswhen it had been in power at theCentre,” an observer said.

As far as the deal is concerned,farmers and non-governmentalorganisations working in agricul-ture and allied fields are the maingroups who will be affected by thesigning of the pact. They haveappealed to the government not tosign the deal. They want agricultur-al produce and dairy to be kept outof the purview of the RCEP.

The Gujarat-based National DairyDevelopment Board (NDDB) hasalso expressed concerns and

opposed the government’s move ontariff reduction as part of the RCEPdeal. The NDDB chairman, DilipRath, had requested the ministry ofcommerce on September 15 to keepthe dairy sector out of RCEP.

“Millions of farmers representthe dairy sector. A decision toreduce the tariff barrier wouldencourage import of cheap milkpowder in the country, particularlyfrom Oceania. This would put thelivelihoods of our dairy farmers inperil and at the same time severelycompromise our food and nutrition-al security,” Mr Rath said.

“Our country will be again pushedinto a state of import dependance,as is the case in many South Asianand Southeast and Far East Asiancountries,” he added.

It is learnt that the All India KisanSabha has announced a nationwideprotest on November 4, the day thedeal has to be struck. Farmers’unions and NGOs have formed anIndian Coordination Committee ofFarmers’ Movements to coordinatethe protests against the proposedmega-deal. Even the RSS-affiliatedSwadeshi Jagran Manch heldprotests earlier in October againstRCEP.

DR R. RAMAKUMAR

The Regional ComprehensiveEconomic Partnership (RCEP) is afree trade agreement being negoti-ated between the 10-memberASEAN group and six countriesthat have a free trade relationshipwith the ASEAN group (India,China, Australia, New Zealand,South Korea and Japan). If theRCEP agreement takes effect, itwould envelop a very large andimportant part of the world econo-my: about 47 per cent of the worldpopulation, about 30 per cent ofthe world GDP, about 33 per cent ofthe world exports, eight of the 10busiest ports of the world andabout 30 per cent of the world mar-itime trade.

WORLD TRADE IN STALEMATEFirst, the World Trade

Organisation (WTO) is now in astate of stalemate. After 1995,while developing countries wereforced to reduce their export sub-sidies and import tariffs in agri-culture, developed countriesrefused to reciprocate. As a result,after the failed Doha round in 2001,most countries ceased to see theWTO as an instrument to harvestgains from trade. In its place, theypreferred regional trade agree-ments (RTA) or bilateral free tradeagreements. Examples are theIndia-ASEAN trade agreement of2010, the India-South Korea tradeagreement of 2010 and the India-Japan trade agreement of 2011.The RCEP agreement essentiallyrepresents an escalation of thesesteps towards a larger umbrellaagreement in the Asia-Oceaniaregion.

Secondly, the Trans PacificPartnership (TPP) agreement,which was to envelop a set of coun-tries to the west and east of thePacific Ocean, has been declared

dead by the Donald Trump admin-istration. Emerging countries likeChina saw the TPP as signallingthe entry of USA into economicrelations in Asia and Oceania.Thus, it was in China’s interestthat the RCEP is formulated as aresponse to the TPP. With thedemise of the TPP, the Oceaniccountries too began to take inter-est in the RCEP.

EXTREME SECRECYAn amusing aspect of the RCEP

negotiations is the extreme secre-cy that has surrounded it. Whiletalks have been ongoing from 2011,no major official papers are avail-able in the public domain for dis-cussion. What is available is draftpapers leaked from Japan andSouth Korea back in 2014. Thesedraft papers, and other papers thathave become available afterwards,show that the agreement covers alarge set of economic spheres andits clauses could have wide-rang-ing implications for countries likeIndia.

HARMFUL CLAUSESFirst, tariff clauses for agricul-

ture in the RCEP are much moresevere compared to the existingWTO agreement. While the WTOagreement allows a country to fix

tariffs up to the bound tariff for agiven commodity line, the RCEPagreement binds countries to fur-ther reduce it to zero. A number ofcommodities of economic impor-tance to India would flood Indianmarkets leading to a plummetingof Indian prices. Dairy goods anda number of industrial goods areexamples.

Second, the agreement seeks towiden and lengthen the coverageof intellectual property rights(IPR), especially in the pharma-ceutical sector. It asks for thevalidity period of a patent to beextended above 20 years. Such amove would delay the availabilityof generic drugs in the pharma-ceutical market. The agreementalso stipulates for “data exclusivi-ty”. This implies that clinical trialdata would not be in the publicdomain even after the patent peri-od is over. A new set of clinicaltrial data would have to be submit-ted for new approvals of genericdrugs. As clinical trials wouldhave to be repeated for new gener-ic drugs, their release will becomemore expensive and delayed.

Third, the agreement formalisesa set of “rights” for investors withno corresponding responsibilitiesfor them. Governments will haveto protect these rights of investors

in all circumstances. In fact, Indiahas bitter lessons from the morethan 50 bilateral investor treatiessigned by it after 1995. Some ac-tions taken by the GOI in publicinterest against investors hadinvited international arbitrationdisputes. This had forced India torewrite many bilateral investmenttreaties it had signed. In this con-text, signing of the RCEP agree-ment would mean a rejection oflessons learnt from the past.Unlimited investor rights areessentially an anti-people concept.

Fourth, the agreement forcescountries to privatise a number ofpublic services, such as education,health, electricity, water and wastemanagement. As per the “ratchet”clauses of the agreement, therewould be a deadline to lift all pub-lic regulations over the publicservices. Even if the privateproviders move away from theirsocial obligations, governmentswould not be able to regulate them.States like Kerala have shown theworld how public institutions can be used to improve human development indicators. Itcannot accept such reactionarysuggestions.

India’s experience with signingregional free trade agreements inthe past has not been pleasant. Ithad signed a free trade agreementwith the ASEAN group in 2010,South Korea in 2010 and Japan in2011. Data show that India’s tradedeficit with these countries rosebetween 2011 and 2018. RCEPagreement is unlikely to be differ-ent. It would large numbers ofIndian producers into distress.Signing it would be a truly anti-national move.

R. Ramakumar is professor atthe Tata Institute of Social

Sciences, Mumbai, and member ofthe Kerala State Planning Board

A

■ What is RCEP?RCEP stands forRegionalComprehensiveEconomicPartnership. It is aproposed free tradeagreement betweenthe 10-memberstates of the Aseanand its six FTA partners.

■ Who are the main stakeholders in the RCEP deal?Many domestic stakeholders are IndiaInc, farmers’ groups and the dairy sector.■ For India, what are main issuesinvolved in the RCEP deal?

India has many issuesinvolved in the deal, includingshifting the base year for tar-iff cuts to 2019, an auto-trig-ger mechanism to checkimport surge from China anddifferences related to theISDS mechanism and datalocalisation.■ What is India’s demand?

India’s demand to shift the base year fortariff cuts is considered unreasonable byother member countries. Indian negotia-tors are trying to include adequate pro-tection against cheap Chinese imports inorder to make the deal more acceptableto the industry and agriculture sectors.■ Why do stakeholders fear if India joins RCEP?All the stakeholders apprehend the factthat China may dump cheaper goods intoIndia using the deal.■ What is the govt’s stand on the deal?

India does not intend to compromiseits national interest and wrap up suchdeals without ensuring safeguardsfor its own industries. India can’thave an inefficient industry lobbyingagainst import and free tradeagreements on the pretext that itwill affect them.■ Who mostly oppose the RCEP deal and want to keep out ofit?Farmers and NGOs working inagriculture and allied fields haveexpressed concerns appealed tothe government not to sign thedeal. They want agricultural pro-duce and the dairy sector to be

kept out.

THE GOVERNMENTIS TRYING TO INCLUDE ADE-QUATE PROTECTION AGAINST

CHEAP CHINESE IMPORTS IN ORDERTO MAKE THE DEAL MORE ACCEPTABLE

TO THE INDIAN INDUSTRY AND AGRICUL-TURE. IF INDIA JOINS RCEP, THE COUNTRY

WILL HAVE TO TAKE ON COMMITMENTSFOR TARIFF ELIMINATION FOR ABOUT 90PER CENT OF ITEMS FROM THE ASEAN,

JAPAN AND SOUTH KOREA, ANDOVER 74 PER CENT FROM CHINA,

AUSTRALIA AND NEWZEALAND.

■ Beginning Nov. 5,it will start a coun-trywide stir onunemployment,agrarian distress,downturn and RCEP ■ Dumping and theimpact on agricul-ture and the dairysector are chief concerns ■ Jairam Rameshhas listed RCEP asthe third big jolt tothe economy afterdemonetisation andthe GST

RCEP: Make it orbreak it

Thanks perhaps to the slowdown in real estate, construction work in anupcoming gated community near home has halted. The developersfirst levelled some land and built a wall enclosing it, and then, whenthe money dried up and customers disappeared, abandoned the pro-

ject, leaving behind an excellent playground for boys looking for an informalgame of football or cricket in the evening.

It’s a bit chaotic, like almost everything else in these parts. Sections of theplayground are reserved for the more serious cricketers, with the requisitenumbers of stumps, and a proper bat and ball. There are, of course, no clearboundaries, and the balls often end up in the wrong section, but are retrievedpeacably. And, in one corner, where I like to sit on the stump of a pillar andwatch, is a small area for the younger children, below twelve or so.

On the evening after Diwali, which was a little quieter than usual, I got thereearly and found the children’s section empty. At the same time last year, anarea like this would’ve been littered with the charred remnants of sparklersand flowerpots and rockets and god knows what other firecrackers. This timethe litter continued, but it was much less.

I was reflecting on how nice a cracker-free Diwali night would be when threeyoungsters arrived, a nine-year-old, Arjun, an eight-year-old, Shyam, andArjun’s five-year-old brother, Varun. Varun doesn’t really play with his broth-er and the rest: most of the time, he just watches the others swat a ball around,and is occasionally granted the privilege of retrieving the ball when someonehits it out of the designated area.

There weren’t enough lads present to start a match, so the two older boyswent off to practice an arcane two-player form of the game governed by rulesknown only to them, and involving much shouting. When Varun tagged along,Arjun told him firmly, and, I thought, with some anger, to stand back, as hewas too small.

Varun trudged back to my stump, and I scooted over so he could share it. Helooked at me suspiciously for a moment before resting half his little bottom onthe stump, keeping a few inches between us, just in case I tried to attack him.

“Did you enjoy Diwali?” I asked him after a few moments of silence.He looked up at me and shook his head, clearly unhappy. “Did you quarrel with

your brother?” I asked.He shook his head.

“Arjun’s angry at Appaand Amma,” he said.

“Why?” I asked.“No crackers,” he replied

disconsolately. “Arjun andI wanted crackers but theydidn’t get us any. We hadsome last year, but...”

“Isn’t that good?” Iasked. “Less noise, lesssmoke.” I pointed at a pileof litter. “Less garbage.”

He shook his head a thirdtime, firmly. “No,” he said.Then, after some consider-ation, “I like the sparklersbest. The ones withcolours.” “What else doyou like?” I asked.“Besides crackers.”

By now he had decided Iwasn’t going to attack him.He wriggled closer tomake himself more com-fortable, and the inchesbetween us disappeared.“Chocolates,” he said, con-fidingly. “But Amma does-n’t give me enough. She says they’re bad for my teeth.”

“She must be right,” I tell him. “I’m sure she knows.”He looked up at me, doubt in his eyes. Meanwhile, a couple with a girl of

about five walked past us on the path behind. “Do you know Vaidehi?” heasked, looking at the girl.

“Yes,” I replied, for that was the little girl’s name. “Her mother told me she’sfive. The same age as you.”

He drew back in horror. “She’s not the same age as me,” he said vehement-ly. “She’s only five, and I’m five and a half. I’m going to a regular school nextyear. She won’t.” After a pause, he continued, “She’s a baby.”

“Why do you think so?” I asked.“She’s afraid of crackers,” he explained. “She doesn’t like atom bombs. She’s

so scared she gets asthma.”Atom bombs, in these parts, are insanely powerful round crackers guaran-

teed to rattle windows at a hundred paces. Bursting them is a sign of manhood,a sort of rite of passage for teenage boys. “I don’t blame her,” I said. “I’m a lit-tle scared of them myself.”

“Really?” he asked. “But you’re old, and old people aren’t afraid of noise.Appa and Amma aren’t.”

“Well,” I said, “I’m afraid. They’re very loud, and they leave a horrible smellbehind.”

He sniffed experimentally, but the winds had diffused the stench of the fewcrackers burst here yesterday. “Yes,” he said slowly. “The smell’s not good.”Then, “But Arjun likes it. All the big boys like it.” Unspoken was the thoughtthat if you wanted to be a big boy, you had to like it, that fearing loud noisesand smoke was somehow childish, and altogether contemptible.

After a few seconds, he looked up and asked, “Are you really afraid of crack-ers?” “Yes,” I said. “Of the noise and the smoke.”

For the first time he looked unsure of himself. “Maybe I am, too,” he said.“Just a little. Not really scared, but...” His five-and-a-half-year-old vocabularydidn’t include a word for his feelings. He seemed disturbed, and I was contentto let him work it out for himself.

At sunset, it was time for him to go home, and as I watched him skip along tokeep up with his brother, I thought that maybe Vaidehi and I might get toenjoy Diwali next year.

Shashi Warrier has written fairy tales, thrillers, a semi-fictional biography,satires, and a love story. Besides writing, he teaches strategic

communication at a business school.

c m y k c m y k

They say marriages are made in heaven. Butso is thunder and lightning.

There is nothing new except what has been forgotten

CLINT EASTWOODMIND POWER

MARIE ANTOINETTE PAGE

6EditSUNDAY | 3 NOVEMBER 2019 | NEW DELHITHE ASIAN AGE

Often, in therush ofunfolding ev-ents, we fail topause to fully

internalise the import ofa particular develop-ment. There is newsreportage aplenty; wealso see a great deal ofinstant analysis; the elec-tronic media is full ofclashing opinions. In anage of real time report-ing, not enough time isavailable — between oneevent and another — toreview and introspect.Important developmentsthen become a blur ofsucceeding images,instantaneously com-mented upon and dis-posed of with an air of finality.

The recently concludedelections in Haryana andMaharashtra are a casein point. The moment theresults came out com-mentators swungbetween exultation anddisappointment. Some —prematurely — began todraft the obituary of theBJP, while others hailedthe continued suprema-cy of the saffron party.Both conclusions, in myview, were off the mark.The truth — elusive asever — lay somewhere in between.

The results in the twostates did not eclipse thecontinued ascendancy ofthe BJP. The partyemerged as the singlelargest entity in bothstates. In Maharashtraits strike rate wasimpressive, becauseunlike the last timearound, it fought onfewer seats, and yet man-aged to notch up anappreciable total of 105.In Haryana too, it beatanti-incumbency. Obv-iously, the momentum ofthe stupendous victory ofthe 2019 general electionsis still in evidence, and

for large parts of popularopinion, it is still thechoice to govern.

The truth is that theBJP did not do badly inabsolute terms, but didnot do as well as itexpected to do. InHaryana it expected tosweep the elections, andeven coined the slogan:“Abki baar pachattarpaar”. The disappoint-ment was that far fromreaching 75 seats it strug-gled to win 40, and couldnot even cross thehalfway mark. InMaharashtra too theexpectation was that theBJP-Shiv Sena combinewould cross 200 seatswhen it could with diffi-culty just get some 160seats. The mood of asweeping victory wasaccentuated by the over-whelming majority ofexit polls. Only one poll-ster — Axis — predictedthe actual results.

If things did not do goabsolutely wrong for theBJP, what did not go ful-somely right either?Quite clearly, the trac-tion the BJP hoped togain from a combinationof Hindutva and ultra-nationalistic rhetoricdid not get the expectedresponse from the peo-ple. The abrogation ofArticle 370 which theparty touted as a majorachievement was of lessconcern to the votersthan local issues and thelarger impact of an econ-omy that is tanking, withthe attendant conse-quences of a lack of jobs,and farmer distress. It isimportant for the BJP tointernalise and intro-spect on this trend. Evenin Bihar, where five by-elections were held, theNDA did poorly, win-ning only one seat. Thegainers were — unex-pectedly —parties likethe RJD, which were on

the verge of disintegra-tion, and received, con-trary to their own expectations, a shot inthe arm.

There are importantlessons for theOpposition, too. TheOpposition had gone intothese elections like aboxer entering the ringwith one hand tiedbehind its back. Therewas little organised plan-ning, sporadic campaign-ing, last minute improvi-sations, and a generallydefeatist attitude. Theone exception to this dismal script was Sharad Pawar who, atthe ripe age of 80 and farfrom robust health, putup a spirited fight. Notsurprisingly, the NCPperformed far beyondexpectations.

It was almost as thoughthe Opposition per-formed in spite of itself.For instance, inHaryana, the Congressgave charge toBhupinder Singh Hooda,just a few days before theelections. If he had beenin the saddle for a coupleof months in advance,the Congress could wellhave won many morethan the 31 seats it did.The fact is that the votercreated the Opposition,rather than theOpposition influencingthe voter. And this stateof affairs holds keylessons for theOpposition, especiallythe Congress, which isstill the largestOpposition party.

If a credible riposte canbe given to the BJP'sexpectations when theOpposition is so disor-ganised and ineffectual,imagine what the situa-

tion would be if a trulyorganised Oppositionwas to emerge on a pan-Indian basis. This is pre-cisely the challenge forthe Opposition. Up tillnow it was in the thrall ofthe BJP’s invincibility.Its responses were —andcontinue to be — ad hoc,improvised, reactive andlistless. These electoralresults should make it sit up.

The greatest responsi-bility rests on theCongress. If it can rein-vent itself, and become afighting outfit, with amicro-detailed pro-gramme to take on theBJP in an organised andstructured fashion, thepolitical script for thefuture can change. Whatthe country needs is anOpposition that can har-ness the discontents dueto a languishing econo-my, and come out with acohesive counternarra-tive. Unless this happens— and happens quickly— the BJP with its well-oiled electoral machin-ery and tremendousorganisational skills willcontinue to be in theascendant by default.

A vibrant democracysuch as ours needs aneffective Opposition.PM Narendra Modihimself spoke about theneed for this. On itspart, the BJP must giveup being in denial aboutthe state of the econo-my, and understand thelimitations of a narra-tive that relies dispro-portionately only onHindutva politics andthe rhetoric of ultra-nationalism. Ulti-mately, the voter isking. Even the most per-sistent propagandamachine must defer tothe voter’s understand-ing of what are the realpriorities that affect hislife, and for which alonehe will cast a vote for oragainst a party. Thesooner the BJP and theOpposition understandthis, the better.

The writer, an authorand former diplomat, isa member of the JD(U).

The views expressed are personal.

The greatest responsi-bility rests on theCongress. If it canreinvent itself, andbecome a fighting out-fit, the political scriptfor the future canchange. The countryneeds an Oppositionthat can harness thediscontents due to alanguishing economy.

LETTERS

INEXPLICABLE RAGEThere was firing at the Tis Hazari dis-trict courts in Delhi when a parkingdispute between an advocate andpolicemen escalated and a lawyertook a bullet. He has been admitted toSt Stephen’s Hospital and is underobservation. A police vehicle wasalso set on fire. With a bar councilelection scheduled tentatively onNovember 4, the matter is bound totake a political turn. Meanwhile, onewonders at the unaccountable out-pouring of aggression on the part ofthose well-versed with the law andcarrying the reputation of beingresponsible citizens.

Siddhartha RobinNew Delhi

CITIZENS LOSE OUTEven a week after the MaharashtraAssembly election results weredeclared, giving the ruling alliance aclear majority, the Shiv Sena and theBJP are in a tug of war over govern-ment formation. Two alliances werein the contest for power, the BJP-ShivSena’s NDA and the NCP-Congressrepresenting UPA. Lots of issuesneed to be settled, meanwhile, includ-ing the PMC Bank fiasco which lefthundreds in penury, but the ShivSena is buying time to bag ministries.In the end, as always, it is the citizenswho are at the receiving end.

Aarati Abhishek RamaniThane, Maharashtra

IMRAN’S FULL CIRCLEPakistan’s incumbent PrimeMinister Imran Khan had taken outan Azadi March in 2014, allegingrigging in elections and corruptionby the Nawaz Sharif government.Five years hence, Mr Khan, nowPM, is facing a similar marchagainst himself with Oppositionleaders demanding that he resign.Indeed, politics has come full circlefor Imran Khan.

Mohammed ShadabBengaluru

VALLEY OF DENIALThe Narendra Modi governmentarranged for the 23-member EU par-liamentary delegation to visitJammu and Kashmir for PR purpos-es. But when Alternative for Ger-many’s Nicolaus Fest stated, “If youlet in European Union parliamentari-ans, you should also let in Oppositionpoliticians from India” and Chan-cellor Angela Merkel summed it upsaying the situation is “not sustain-able and good”, it was a bitter slap onthe Centre’s face. What is perplexingis that if Kashmir is an internal mat-ter of India, why did the governmentarrange for the delegation’s visit inthe first place? Also, why is the clam-pdown continuing in the Valley?Clues, anyone?

Bidyut K. ChatterjeeFaridabad, Haryana

LOOK WHO’S TALKINGA senior Congress leader has taunt-ed the BJP that mere talk of repos-sessing PoK will not help. Some con-crete steps in that direction need tobe initiated. Let the gentleman firsttell the country that what his party,which enjoyed power at the Centrefor decades, did to liberate the thirdof the erstwhile Jammu andKashmir state that continues to beforcibly occupied by Pakistan?

Arun MalankarMumbai

SubhaniShashi Warrier

Off the beaten track

Every Monday the best letter ofthe week wins `500. Email:

[email protected] Else, sendto Jawaharlal Nehru National YouthCentre, 219 Deen Dayal Upadhyay

Marg, New Delhi 110002

T(ORTURE)-20?The present weather inDelhi is not ideal for anysports event, let aloneone of internationalstature. Delhi’s notorioussmog caused Lankanbowler Suranga Lakmalto vomit on the fieldduring a 2017 Test matchat Kotla. Indian fastbowler MohammedShami also vomited onthe field the next day.Even as theBangladeshis plan tobattle it out gamely, whyis the world’s richestcricket board subjectingcricketers to a T20 gamein such conditions?

Khokan DasKolkata

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Postal registration numbers: DL(S)-05/4189/15-17

The numerology of diyas

When the Director General, PressInformation Bureau (DGPIB) dis-

tributed diyas to accredited journal-ists as part of a Diwali goodwill ges-ture, someone missed counting thenumber of diyas kept inside eachpacket. Apparently, the figure of fouris not considered auspicious by manyrecipients. According to them, itshould have consisted of odd numberssuch as 3, 5 or 7. Consequently, theBJP’s not-so-spectacular performancein Haryana and Maharashtra and itssubsequent struggle in governmentformation in Maharashtra is beingattributed to this bad omen. Reli-giously inclined souls also point at thecutting of trees by the Mumbai MetroRail Corporation Limited in AareyColony as ominous as the Hindu scrip-tures prohibit cutting trees at night.

Owaisi 1 Ramesh 0

At a meeting of the StandingCommittee of Science and

Technology, Environment and Forest,All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslim-een leader Asaduddin Owaisi took adig at committee chairman JairamRamesh. The committee was dis-cussing the contentious DNA Tech-nology (Use and Application) Reg-ulation Bill questioning the Uniongovernment on possible privacy inva-sion through the law. Mr Owaisiremarked that every law begins with agood intention. “Look at Aadhaar,”the barrister from Lincoln’s Inn said,facing the former Union minister andnaming Mr Ramesh. “You brought thelaw and now you have gone to theSupreme Court challenging it!” Inresponse, Mr Ramesh had a heartylaugh.

A calculated asmita

Chhattisgarhiya sabse badhiya.” Asif taking a cue from Mamata

Banerjee, Chhattisgarh chief ministerBhupesh Baghel is busy stokingregional aspirations. The Congresschief minister is travelling across the

state, identifying castes and sub-casteswhich were “mool Chhattisgarhiyas(sons of the soil)". Until year 2000,Chhattisgarh was part of MadhyaPradesh which lacked any distinctivelinguistic or regional character. MrBaghel is busy planting sota (a strip ofleather fastened to a wooden handle).He insists that ancient Chhattisgarhisdid not use sota for flogging a personbut as a badge of spiritualism. Sourcesclose to the CM are convinced thatsub-nationalism would help him tideover the BJP’s cultural nationalism.

JD(U), SAD pipe up

The ripple effects of theMaharashtra and Haryana elec-

tions are still being felt. NDA allieslike the Janata Dal (United) andShiromani Akali Dal want NarendraModi and home minister Amit Shah tolook into NDA partners’ long standing

demand for gubernatorial assign-ments for their worthies. Since 2014, amajority of those moving in RajBhawans have been from the BJPparivar or the intelligence-bureau-cratic-legal community.

Desperately disillusioned

Lutyens’ Delhi is witnessing thecurious case of Pankaj Shankar. A

vocal Congress supporter, documen-tary maker-columnist Shankar hadbeen associated with the Congressparty for many years. However, oflate, Shankar’s tweets have becomecritical of Rahul Gandhi. Pankaj wasconsidered as a man behind the press-brief.in site which until recentlyoffered a veritable treasure house ofvideos, audios and rare photographsfeaturing the Nehru-Gandhi family.Disillusioned with Rahul, Pankaj has,noticeably, not given up on PriyankaGandhi Vadra yet.

The writer is a keen observer of the goings-on

in backrooms of power

Blame it on the ‘inauspicious cut’

Opportunity for Opp. aseconomy can undo BJP

By WAQYANAWIS

Pavan K. Varma

Chanakya’s View

Atom bombs, in these parts, areinsanely powerful round crackers.

Bursting them is a sign of manhood,a sort of rite of passage for teenageboys. ‘I don’t blame her,’ I said. ‘I’m

a little scared of them myself.’‘Really?’ he asked. ‘But you’re old,

and old people aren’t afraid ofnoise. Appa and Amma aren’t.’

‘Well,’ I said, ‘I’m afraid. They’revery loud, and they leave a horrible

smell behind.’

Boys to men: Heartbreak,but a far less toxic Diwali

OpedSUNDAY | 3 NOVEMBER 2019 | NEW DELHITHE ASIAN AGE

FAUXNONYMOUS BUSY BRAINWord SPY

Anonymous, but relatively easily identifiable

A mental state that includes racing thoughts, anxiety, lack of focus and sleeplessness

‘Uddhav Thackeray will take the finaldecision on forming govt with BJP’

Even after the electionresults were declared, a newgovernment has not beenformed in Maharashtra dueto a tug of war between theShiv Sena and the BJP. Bothparties had fought the elec-tion as an alliance which gota clear majority by winning161 seats in the 288-memberHouse, including the BJP’s105 seats and the Sena’s 56seats. However, after theresults, the Sena has refusedto support the BJP govern-ment unless it gets 50 percent of Cabinet berths andthe chief minister’s post fortwo and a half years. Whilethe BJP is refusing to acceptthe Sena’s demand, theUddhav Thackeray-led partyhas declared that it canprove its majority in theHouse on its own (withCongress and NCP support).As per latest reports,Devendra Fadnavis is likelyto be sworn in as the chiefminister on Tuesday withoutwaiting for the Sena’s support and will prove hismajority on the floor. ShivSena leader EKNATHSHINDE, who has been elected as the party’s leaderin the state legislature,speaks with BHAGWANPARAB on issues related to

government formation andrelations with the BJP.

What is the reason that theBJP and the Shiv Sena havenot been able to form the gov-ernment despite fighting thepolls as an alliance and hav-ing a clear majority?

We had a meeting with allthe newly elected MLAs onThursday, where all MLAsunanimously decided thatour party president UddhavThackeray will take the finaldecision on forming agovernment with the BJP. Hewill decide the terms and wewill abide by whateverdecision he takes on thismatter.

It is said that the BJP hasgiven a new formula to theSena for power sharing. Still,why is there no headway?

We are not aware of anynew proposal from the BJP.Uddhavji has already made itclear that the BJP shouldkeep its promise made beforethe Lok Sabha elections whenwe agreed to form thealliance. (The Sena claimsthat the BJP had agreed to a50-50 power sharing formula,including the CM’s post).

Several Independent MLAshave come forward to supportthe Shiv Sena. Does thisstrengthen the Shiv Sena’scase on government forma-tion?

Seven Independent MLAshave already pledged theirsupport to the Shiv Sena andsome more are in touch withus. Their support indicatesthe faith they have in ourparty. Our numbers areincreasing.

You have again been electedas a leader of the Shiv Sena’slegislative party. How does itfeel?

It’s an honour for me thatAaditya Thackeray movedthe motion to appoint me as

the leader of the legislativeparty. I also thank party chiefUddhav Thackeray forbestowing his faith in me andI will make honest efforts tocome true to his expectations.I will work by taking all ourMLAs into confidence toensure that the prestige of the

House is upheld. I will alsoensure that people’s problemsare raised in the House togive voice to their grievances.We will try to raise issues offarmers, women, students,etc in the House.

If the Shiv Sena decides to

form the government, willyou be the candidate for thepost of chief minister?

I won’t be able to commenton this. In the Shiv Sena, theword of party chief Uddhavjiis always final. Whateverdirective he gives, we followit earnestly.

But even before governmentformation, the Shiv Sena hastaken the lead on farmers’issues and has urged to thegovernor that wet droughtshould be announced in thestate. What is the party doingto provide relief to people?

The Shiv Sena’s prioritywill always be to solveproblems faced by farmers.Uddhavji has already givendirections to all party MLAsthat people should beprovided immediate aid. Apanchnama of the losssuffered by the farmersshould be done at the earliest.Whether we are ingovernment or not, we willalways stand with thefarmers. Even when we werein the government, bothUddhavji and Aadityaji hadtoured the state widely tounderstand farmers’problems and solve them.

Recently, the Supreme Courtof India heard an argumenton the recusal of a judgefrom the bench of which he

was a member, on the ground thatthere was a reasonable apprehen-sion of bias on his part.

A five-judge constitution benchhearing a case on the interpreta-tion of a provision of the LandAcquisition Act refused therecusal of Justice Arun Mishra.The petitioners had sought hisrecusal on the ground that he haddelivered in 2008 a verdict whichhad to be reconsidered.

The law and practice on a judge’srecusal merits separate discussion.What Justice Arun Mishra said inthe court on October 24 has far-reaching implications. He said: “Nolitigant can choose who should be onthe bench. He cannot say that ajudge who might have decided a caseon a particular issue, which may goagainst his interest, should not hearhis case as part of a larger bench.”

But the parties made no suchsweeping claim at all. This proposi-tion is altogether different from theone urged by the parties whichsought his recusal. The sole issuewas a reasonable apprehension inthe minds of the litigant and hisadvocate that, since the judge hadexpressed emphatically his views ona question of law in a previous case,

there was apprehension that hewould not approach the latter casewith an open mind. This was not anaccusation of lack of integrity. It wassimply a reminder of a very naturalinfirmity of the human mind.

If anything, Justice Mishra’sremarks lend support to the objec-tion. For, he said that a judge can-not be suspected of bias for per-forming his sworn duty. “Previousjudgement cannot constitute biasor predisposition or raise reason-able apprehension of bias.”

He said, “The ultimate test is forthe judge to decide and to find outwhether he will be able to deliverimpartial justice to a cause withintegrity and with whatever intel-lectual capacity at his command …In case the answer is that he will beable to deliver justice to the cause,he cannot and must not recusefrom any case as the duty assignedby the Constitution has to be per-formed as per the oath and therelies the larger public interest.”

The truth, on the other hand, isthat public confidence in the judi-ciary will be shaken if, faced with aprima facie case of his bias, thejudge insists on deciding the case.Worse, Justice Mishra’s remarkssuggest that a judge can never bebiased and, more, he can be judgein his own cause; virtually a claimto judicial infallibility.

Shortly before the learned judgeexpounded his doctrine, the NewYork Times had a lengthy editorialtitled “Watch out: Supreme Courtin session”. It referred to cases thatwere to come up for hearing andjudgement in the ensuing sessionin which “the make-up of theSupreme Court matters so much”.It is well-recognised that the USSupreme Court’s history has beendivided between Conservativesand Liberals with a Liberal or twoholding the balance.

One of the court’s great judgesBenjamin N. Cardozo delivered alecture in 1921 at Yale University,published amongst others in bookform under the title The Nature ofthe Judicial Process. They are con-sidered a classic on the subject.

He said: “I have spoken of theforces of which judges avowedlyavail to shape the form and contentof their judgements. Even theseforces are seldom fully in con-sciousness. They lie so near thesurface, however, that their exis-tence and influence are not likelyto be disclaimed. But the subject isnot exhausted with the recognitionof their power. Deep below con-sciousness are other forces, thelikes and the dislikes, the predilec-tions and the prejudices, the com-plex of instincts and emotions andhabits and convictions, which

make the man, whether he be liti-gant or judge…”

He said, “I do not doubt thegrandeur of the conception whichlifts them [judges] into the realm ofpure reason, above and beyond thesweep of perturbing and deflectingforces. Nonetheless, if there is any-thing of reality in my analysis of thejudicial process, they do not standaloof on these chill and distantheights; and we shall not help thecause of truth by acting and speak-ing as if they do. The great tides andcurrents which engulf the best ofmen do not turn aside in theircourse and pass the judges by.”

President Theodore Rooseveltsaid in his message to the USCongress in December 1908: “Thedecisions of the courts on econom-ic and social questions dependupon their economic and socialphilosophy; and for the peacefulprogress of our people during the20th century we shall owe most tothese judges who hold to a 20th-century economic and social phi-losophy.” Surely, this is not uniqueto the US.

India has not been immune tojudicial bias or what came to becalled in the heyday of IndiraGandhi’s, “committed” judges. Thetribe is not dead.

By arrangement with Dawn

Bias in judgeshurts public

confidence inthe judiciary

RECIPE FOR REPATRIATION

The Modi sarkar hasdespatched peremptorilyRina Ray, secretary,

school education and literacy,ministry of human resourcedevelopment, to her parent UTcadre. The order issued by theappointments committee of theCabinet, ministry of personnel,stated that the panel hadapproved the repatriation of MsRay, a 1984-batch IAS officer, toher parent cadre with immedi-ate effect. Amit Khare, secre-tary of the information andbroadcasting ministry, has beengiven additional charge of theschool education department.

The repatriation of Ms Raytook many by surprise butthose in the know say that shefell foul of the Prime Minister’sOffice (PMO), which wasreportedly “unhappy” with herperformance (read: speed ofdelivery) and because of“behavioural issues” (readwhat you will!). But theremoval of the senior IAS offi-cer has most likely to do withher decision to withdraw per-mission to centralised kitchensrun by private organisations toserve midday meals in ruralschools earlier this year. WhenMs Ray took over as the secre-tary in July 2018, she reviewedthe permission to centralisedkitchens in rural areas. Ms Rayis learnt to have questioned therationale for allowing privateorganisations to operate cen-tralised kitchens for preparingmidday meals.

Any guesses who’s been hurtby her enthusiasm? That’swhere the next story is!

PVT TRAIN HITS A‘TECHNICAL’ SNAG

The country’s first corpo-rate-run train, betweenDelhi and Lucknow, may

have been flagged off withgreat zeal, but rail babus arepointing out that its fare,which is higher than that of theShatabdi Express and othertrains, is in contravention ofthe law. The train is operatedby the IRCTC, the catering andcommercial wing of the rail-ways, and is the first of 150trains the government will runin private mode.

But rail officials say thataccording to the Railway Act,1989, only the Central govern-ment is the competent authori-ty to fix the tariffs and not theIRCTC. According to sources,while the Act clearly lays downthat tariffs for goods and pas-sengers will be decided by theCentral government, it doesnot recognise privately-operat-ed trains. Further, the govern-ment has not issued any orderauthorising private trainauthorities to decide the fares.

The issue has come up justafter the railway board formedan empowered group of secre-taries led by Niti Aayog CEOAmitabh Kant to develop 50railway stations to world stan-dards and to permit privateoperators to run 150 trains.

Yet another case of babulethargy causing a plan to bedelayed? Or are we headinginto unchartered territorieshere?

The Supreme Court hasdirected the Centre andthe Assam government to

transfer 1995-cadre IAS officerPrateek Hajela to MadhyaPradesh within seven days. MrHajela was the coordinator ofthe National Register ofCitizens of India (NRC) thathas kicked up a fierce contro-versy after the final list of NRCreleased excluded names ofover 19 lakh applicants. MrHajela had overseen this mam-moth and sensitive pro-gramme.

Sources say that while theApex Court has not disclosedthe reason for moving MrHajela out of Assam, it isunderstood that the court felt athreat to the babu’s life if hestayed in the state. However,the babu has been accused of“playing with the sentiments”of the people of Assam by con-ducting a “faulty NRC”. Somepoliticians are insisting thatthe NRC coordinator shouldnot be transferred until heexplains how “each and everypenny was spent”.

ANOTHER TRANSFERCONTROVERSY

A.G.Noorani

Shiv Sena legislator Eknath Shinde — RAJESH JADHAV

DilipCherianDilli KaBabu

We had a meetingwith all the newlyelected MLAs onThursday, where allMLAs unanimouslydecided that our partypresident UddhavThackeray will takethe final decision onforming a governmentwith the BJP

SUNDAY INTERVIEW

Love them, hate them ignore them at national peril,

is the babu guarantee andDilip’s belief. Share

significant babu escapades [email protected]

Let us look at a few facts to tryand understand theWhatsApp hack on Indians.First, the company that hasbeen accused of the crime

has been taken to court in America forthe hack by Facebook, which ownsWhatsApp. The accused firm, the NSOGroup of Israel, has built and sold aplatform that allowed its clients tohack into at least 1,400 and possiblymore mobile phones worldwidethrough a missed call. This happenedthis year between April 29 and May 10.The important fact here is that all ofthe NSO Group’s clients are nationalgovernments.

The company says that it “helps gov-ernment maintain public safety”. Itclaims it has made “best-in-class tech-nology to help government agenciesdetect and prevent a wide range oflocal and global threats”. The compa-ny’s products “help government intel-ligence and law enforcement agenciesuse technology to meet the challengesof encryption to prevent and investi-gate terror and crime”.

NSO’s technology is designed bytelecommunications and intelligenceexperts who, being positioned at theforefront of their fields, are dedicatedto keep pace with the ever-changingcyber world.

Second, the people targeted in Indiaare those that our government refersto as anti-nationals. They include thelawyers of the people arrested in theBhima Koregaon matter and activistswho work on the issues of minoritiesand in tribal areas. Many of them have

been harassed by the governmentbefore. Many of these people are indi-viduals I know and have worked with.

Third, the Narendra Modi govern-ment did not deny that it had acquiredthe NSO platform, and did not denythat it was spying on its citizens byhacking into their phones. A state-ment from the Union minister forinformation technology instead saidIndia had asked WhatsApp to explainwhat the nature of the breach was andwhat it was doing to protect the priva-cy of Indians. It would have beenappropriate for the government to flat-ly deny that it was involved. However,possibly because the matter is in thecourts in America, where judges can-not be manipulated easily, it is possi-ble that the government is holding onto its options in terms of how muchinformation it could reveal. NSO saidin a statement that it was “not able todisclose who is or is not a client”.

Fourth, the government of India usesprivate companies to assist it in ITinvestigations. When my organisationwas “raided” (I am using the word inquotes because there was and there isno charge against us or even a com-plaint) last year, our server was hand-ed over to two individuals from a pri-vate company to clone. Meaning tocopy it. During this “raid” my mobilephone was taken from me and I wasforced to unlock it and hand it over.When I asked if this action was legal, Igot no answer. My phone was passedaround between some people who fid-dled with it and I was not informedwhat was done with it before it wasgiven back to me. The same has hap-pened at other recent “raids” includ-ing that on the Network 18 founderRaghav Bahl’s company.

Fifth, unlike in the United States,there is no judicial oversight of sur-veillance by the government in India.In America, a judge has to authorise awire tap. In India this is not needed.An RTI filed by the Indian Expresssometime ago revealed that the Union

home secretary approved of 10,000phone taps per year. This means 300approvals per day, indicating that he isapproving everything without lookingat the details. Unlike America, in Indiathere is no accountability for unautho-rised and illegal leakage of the materi-al gathered. Officers and ministers donot get punished for this here.

Sixth, the material that is gatheredeven on this scale does not result inconvictions. The conviction rate for thelaws under which terror accused arecharged is about one per cent. In 99 percent of the cases, the government failsor has wrongly booked individuals.This failure includes the UAPA (underwhich the Bhima Koregaon activistshave been booked). There is noaccountability in the government forthis failure and for this misuse either.

This is the background that we haveto know when we consider the factthat someone paid an Israeli companyto hack into the phones of Indian citi-zens — whose work the governmentdoes not approve of.

Usually, such matters in India do notreach conclusion because media inter-est dies and the government as I saidis never held accountable. Some yearsago, a newspaper I was editing hadpublished the taped conversations ofSalman Khan and Preity Zinta. Theactress took me to court for defama-tion and in court it turned out that theMumbai police had tapped Salman’sphone without permission, but nopunishment was handed out and thething was hushed up.

However, this time even Americanshave been hacked and in their justicesystem, the truth is likely to berevealed in due course. And when it isrevealed who is behind the hack wecan always say that “anti-nationals”in any case do not deserve the right toprivacy and that any action againstthem, even if it is illegal, ispermissible.

Aakar Patel is a writer, columnist and executive director of

Amnesty International (India)

When govt snoops, it’s never held to account

When my organisa-tion was ‘raided’ lastyear, our server washanded over to twoindividuals from aprivate company toclone... My mobilephone was takenfrom me and I wasforced to unlock itand hand it over.

Aakar Patel

‘I’m in a very fragile place right now.’

Osteoarthritis (osteon-bone; arthritis-inflam-mation) is a common joint disease that most-ly affects middle to aged people. It does not

affect just one joint, but almost every joint of thebody and hence the lifestyle of an individual. Thatis why it is called a multidimensional disease.

It is characterised by an active and complexprocess involving inflammatory, mechanical andmetabolic factors, whichultimately lead to structur-al destruction and failureof synovial fluid.

It is an extraordinarilycomplex pathology, whichultimately include carti-lage, bone, synovium andsoft tissue structures suchas ligaments, muscles andmenisci. The patient showssymptoms such as pain,stiff joints, difficulty inperforming activities andsleep disturbances.

The risk factors associat-ed with the disease are oldage, obesity, joint injury,biomechanical factors suchas joint shape and align-ment, hormonal changes,metabolic disturbancesand genetic predispositionwhich cause severe jointdestruction. Osteoarthritis(OA) is a syndrome ratherthan just a single disease asit affects our functionalability with joint changessuch as spine, hip, wrist,knees, fingers and toes. The condition may affectwalk. Impaired wrist, elbow, shoulder joints canaffect gross or fine movements like sorting files,pushing, pulling, preparing meals.

Severe OA of the spine may cause cord compres-sion with loss of motion, reflex loss, sensory lossor motor loss.

The diagnosis can be done by a doctor after amedical examination which may include an X-raythat can show damage and other changes relatedto the disease and also the MRI, which would pro-vide a clear picture of cartilage and other struc-tures to detect abnormalities of osteoarthritis.

There is no proven treatment yet that can reversethe changes of osteoarthritis. The goal of treat-ment is to reduce pain and improve functionalability. This is performed by a combination thera-py of drug therapy, nutrition and physical therapy.Weight loss and exercise benefit such patients.

Exercises can improve muscle strength, reducejoint stiffness by cartilage replenishment andpain, and lower the chances of disability due toosteoarthritis.

FACTS: Osteoarthritis is a multidimensional dis-ease rather than a single disease; OA symptomscan vary greatly in individuals; Obesity, hormonalchanges and biomechanical changes are key fac-tors for the disease; Exercise is an importantaspect of treatment as it can add years to life.

The writer is a physiotherapist, AktivHealth

PAGE

8Science+HealthSUNDAY | 3 NOVEMBER 2019 | NEW DELHITHE ASIAN AGE

IN BRIEF

London, Nov. 2: You canhave the time of your lifewhen you reach your 60sand 70s.

Work, mortgage andworries about bringing upchildren will all be in thepast, and you'll have anabundance of the onething younger peoplewant but can't buy — timeto enjoy yourself, accord-ing to a Daily Mirrorreport.

Studies have shown thatpeople in their later yearsare more likely to sufferfrom mental health condi-tions, such as depressionor anxiety, than youngerpeople.

However, our later yearsare the best years.

Here’s a practical how-toguide packed with simpletips and advice that'sdesigned to help youembrace life with enthusi-asm and confidence.

Power of positiveIf one were to choose afactor above all others to

increase longevity, itwould be optimism. It cangive you real resilience asyouget older.

Research has shown thatpeople with optimisticattitudes have fewer ill-nesses and recover morequickly than pessimistswhen they are unwell.

This is because pes-simism weakens theimmune system. Studieshave even shown that peo-ple with negative or hope-less attitudes are atgreater risk of developingheart disease.

Optimists are more like-ly to feel they can takecharge of their health andnot just passively slideinto old age.

They tend to take bettercare of themselves too.They sleep better, don'tdrink or smoke too much,exercise regularly and arefreer from depression.They live longer and agemore gently.

Learn to stress lessYou have probably heardthat stress can be veryageing - and to a certain

extent that's true.However it doesn't have

to be that way. There isgood stress and bad stress,and you can learn how toturn the bad kind into thegood.

It’s possible to managestress so that it increasesour productivity ratherthan reduces it.

We all differ in how wereact to stress. Some peo-ple thrive on challenges,while others react withfear, anxiety and worry. Sohow you feel depends onhow you personally

respond to stress in thefirst place.

Smile, smile, smileWhen we smile it acts as atrigger to the mind andbody to release chemicalsthat induce pleasant emo-tions.

The same thing happenswhen someone smiles atyou.

But did you know youcan store this good feelingin your memory, and callup the good feelings when-ever you want to?

Start by recalling thesensation of smiling inyour mind, and visualisean image that makes yousmile.

MeditateMeditation can sound

complicated or intimidat-ing, but it isn’t.

It’s simply a way of qui-eting the mind. Whenyour mind is quiet, youwill feel a sense of peaceand absence of stressfulfeelings. — Agencies

Washington: While it isknown that the human brain

is divided into two hemi-spheres, what is not known

is that despite the twodevelop differently, symme-

try is found in the brain ofautistic people. The left andright halves develop differ-ently, as each “specialises”

in certain functions. Butbrain asymmetry is some-

times affected in peoplewith developmental or psy-

chiatric disorders likeautism, which is charac-

terised by impaired socialcognition, repetitive behav-

iour, and restricted interests.“Previous studies have sug-

gested that people withautism spectrum disorderare less likely to have the

typical asymmetries for lan-guage dominance or hand

preference,” explained PhDstudent Merel Postema.

“However, it has not beenclear whether asymmetry of

the brain's anatomy isaffected in autism, because

different studies havereported different findings,”

Postema added. To find ifpeople with autism have a

more symmetrical brain,researchers decided to do alarge-scale study, based onbrain scan data from 1,774

people with autism and1,809 healthy controls thatwere collected in different

countries over more than 20years. They found that the

left and right cerebral hemi-spheres of the brain are

indeed more similar in peo-ple with autism.In other

words, people with ASD hadless brain asymmetry. The

reduced asymmetry wasmostly found for cortical

thickness, at various loca-tions across the brain's sur-

face. In the healthy brain,the thickness of the cerebralcortex (the thin layer of gray

matter that covers thebrain) differs between the

left and right hemispheres.Importantly, the anatomicaldifferences did not depend

on age, sex or IQ. — ANI

Autistic peoplehave symmetrical

brain hemispheres

Washington: A recent studysuggests that amazing

things happen with a per-son's brain while sleeping.The neurons will go quiet

and a few seconds later,blood flows out of the head.Then, a watery liquid called

cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)flows in, washing through

the brain in rhythmic, puls-ing waves. The study — pub-

lished in Science — is thefirst to illustrate that the

brain's CSF pulses duringsleep, and that these

motions are closely tiedwith brain wave activity and

blood flow. “We’ve knownfor a while that there arethese electrical waves of

activity in the neurons,” saidstudy co-author LauraLewis, a BU College of

Engineering assistant pro-fessor of biomedical engi-

neering and a Center forSystems Neuroscience facul-ty member. “But before now,

we didn't realise that thereare actually waves in theCSF, too,” added Lewis.

This research may also bethe first-ever study to take

images of CSF during sleep.Lewis hopes that it will oneday lead to insights about avariety of neurological and

psychological disorders thatare frequently associatedwith disrupted sleep pat-

terns, including autism.The coupling of brain waves

with the flow of blood andCSF could provide insights

about normal age-relatedimpairments as well. Earlierstudies have suggested that

CSF flow and slow-waveactivity help flush toxic,

memory-impairing proteinsfrom the brain. — ANI

What happens toyour brain when

you sleep

Age-old mantra to live a happy life in 60s Osteoarthritisaffects everyjoint of body

Isha Garg

OA◗ Osteoarthritis(OA) is a syn-drome ratherthan just a singledisease as itaffects our func-tional ability◗ OA of the spinemay cause cordcompressionwith loss ofmotion

London, Nov. 2: The num-ber of antibiotic resistantinfections soared by nineper cent in England in oneyear, official figures haverevealed.

There were 61,000 cases— the equivalent of 165 aday — across the countryin 2018, compared to 56,000in 2017.

Serious drug-resistantbloodstream infections,which can be caused byUTIs or skin infections,have risen by a third infive years.

And almost 3,000 peoplewere killed by superbugsin 2018, up from 2,450 in2017, according to esti-mates from Public HealthEngland (PHE).

The figures highlight thegrowing threat of super-bugs, which have beendeemed as dangerous tohumanity as climatechange and terrorism.

Antimicrobial resist-ance kills around 700,000 ayear.

It is mainly fuelled bythe over-use of antibioticsin healthcare and farm-ing.

Bacteria can becomeresistant — known as asuperbug — when peopletake incorrect doses ofantibiotics, or they aregiven out unnecessarily.

However, the statisticsshowed antibiotics arebeing doled out less thanthey used to, with a 17 per

cent drop in prescriptionrates over the past fiveyears.

Health leaders have nowreminded people to onlytake antibiotics when nec-essary, amid the worryingtrend that is jeopardisingmedicine.

Antibiotics should notbe used to treat coughs,earache and sore throatsthat can get better ontheir own.

Dr Susan Hopkins, AMRlead at PHE said: “It’s wor-rying that more infectionsare becoming resistant tothese life-saving medi-cines and we must act nowto preserve antibiotics forwhen we really needthem.”

Antibiotics may be usedto treat bacterial infec-tions that are unlikely toclear up on their own,may infect others, or poseserious risks. — Agencies

Los Angeles, Nov. 2:Social connectionsbetween animals, includ-ing those belonging tocompeting species, play amuch bigger role in ecolo-gy than previouslybelieved, according to astudy.

The researchers, includ-ing those from Universityof California (UC) —Davis in the US, said thatsome animals in the wildlike gazelles, wildebeests,or zebras become aware ofthe presence of a predatorsuch as a lion by seeinghow other species in theirvicinity react, using theirsocial network to keepthemselves safe.

The study, published inthe journal Ecology, is thefirst to describe an ecolo-gy model taking this kindof short-term informa-tion sharing into accountat the population level.

“There's mounting evi-dence that differentspecies pay attention toeach other in the wild,especially if they share

predators. The theory ofecology has laggedbehind,” said study co-author Mike Gil from UCDavis.

According to theresearchers, ecologiststraditionally focused oncompetition betweenspecies for food and otherresources.

“But we typically leaveout the specifics of ani-mal decision making and

social behaviour,” Gilsaid.

The researchers hope tounderstand how the popu-lations of differentspecies interact with eachother and change overtime.

The effects of such shortterm behaviour are espe-cially strong at low popu-lation densities, he said.

When the number ofanimals of a species liv-ing in a specific region ishigh, the models showthat the competitionbetween species is astronger influence oftheir overall behaviour,the study noted.

According to theresearchers, the new theo-ry could clear up someexisting puzzles in ecolo-gy such as how competingspecies coexist withoutone driving the other out.

Social interactionsbetween competing —“frenemies” — speciescould help them get along,study co-author Mike Gilsaid. — PTI

Surge in superbugs: Figures show61K antibiotic-resistant infections

Competing species help eachother out as ‘frenemies’: Study

3D hologramsA printer capable of producing digital 3Dholograms with a high level of detail andrealistic colour have been developed

Washington, Nov. 2: Anew study has discovereda cheaper method that caneasily and effectively sepa-rate two types of carbonnanotubes.

The process, developedby Nagoya Universityresearchers in Japan,could be up-scaled formanufacturing purifiedbatches of single-wall car-bon nanotubes that can beused in high-performanceelectronic devices. Thefindings were publishedin the journal AppliedPhysics Express.

Single-wall carbon nan-otubes (SWCNTs) haveexcellent electronic andmechanical properties,making them ideal candi-dates for use in a widerange of electronicdevices, including thethin-film transistorsfound in LCD displays.

A problem is that onlytwo-thirds of manufac-tured SWCNTs are suit-able for use in electronic

devices. The useful semi-conducting SWCNTs mustbe separated from theunwanted metallic ones.But the most powerfulpurification process,known as aqueous two-phase extraction, current-ly involves the use of acostly polysaccharide,called dextran.

Organic chemist HarukaOmachi and colleagues atNagoya Universityhypothesized that dex-tran's effectiveness in sep-arating semiconductingfrom metallic SWCNTslies in the linkages con-necting its glucose units.

Instead of using dextranto separate the two typesof SWCNTs, the teamtried the significantlycheaper isomaltodextran,which has many more ofthese linkages.

A batch of SWCNTs wasleft for 15 minutes in asolution containing poly-ethylene glycol and isoma-ltodextrin and then cen-trifuged for five minutes.Three different types ofisomaltodextrin weretried, each with a differentnumber of linkages and adifferent molecularweight. The team foundthat metallic SWCNTs sep-

arated to the bottom iso-maltodextrin part of thesolution, while the semi-conducting SWCNTs float-ed to the top polyethyleneglycol part.

The type of isomaltodex-trin with high molecularweight and the most link-ages was the most (99%)effective in separating thetwo types of SWCNTs. Theteam also found thatanother polysaccharide,called pullulan, whose glu-cose units are connectedwith different kinds oflinkages, was ineffectivein separating the twotypes of SWCNTs. Theresearchers suggest thatthe number and type oflinkages present in isoma-ltodextrin play an impor-tant role in their ability toeffectively separate thecarbon nanotubes.

The team also found thata thin-film transistormade with their purifiedsemiconducting SWCNTsperformed well. — ANI

Washington, Nov. 2: Arecent study suggests thatfood waste is increasingas the tourism industry isbecoming more and morediverse.

According to theresearchers at theUniversity of EasternFinland and theUniversity of SouthernCalifornia, focus on pre-venting food waste only inthe traditional foodser-vice and accommodationestablishments ignoresthe reality of growingtourist households andwill stifle sustainabilityefforts.

Food waste is a majorissue globally, and it hasalso been identified as themost prominent type ofhospitality waste, report-ed the study published inTourism Review.

Annually, roughly 1.3billion tons of food is lostor goes to waste, which isequivalent to one third or

even up to one half of allfood intended for humanconsumption. Food wasteis a major environmental,social and economicissue. Indeed, the tourismindustry is facing ever-growing economical, soci-etal and legislative rea-sons to address foodwaste. — ANI

Dietary fibre purifies carbon nanotubes

Tourism industry’sfood waste biggerissue than thought

◗ Annually, roughly1.3 billion tons offood goes to waste,which is equivalentto one half of allfood intended forhuman consumption

■ A practical how-to guide to embrace life with enthusiasm and confidence

INTERACTION

◗ Some animals in thewild like gazelles,wildebeests, or zebrasbecome aware of thepresence of a predatorsuch as a lion by see-ing how other speciesin their vicinity react,using their social net-work to keep them-selves safe

Remain healthy in the evening of life� People with opti-mistic attitudes havefewer illnesses andrecover more quicklythan pessimists whenthey are unwell.Pessimism weakensthe immune system.

� Studies have shownthat people in theirlater years are morelikely to suffer frommental health condi-tions, such as depres-sion or anxiety, thanyounger people

◗ Bacteria canbecome resistant— known as asuperbug — whenpeople take incor-rect doses ofantibiotics, or theyare given outunnecessarily

Washington, Nov. 2: Arecent study reveals thatin the past decade manyinsect species havedecreased by one third,affecting the grasslands.

Various studies havealready demonstratedthat there are far fewercreatures chirping,buzzing, creeping andfluttering in Germanmeadows today than 25years ago.

“Previous studies, how-ever, either focused exclu-sively on biomass, i.e. thetotal weight of all insects,or on individual speciesor species groups. Thefact that a large part of allinsect groups is actuallyaffected has not beenclear so far,” said DrSebastian Seibold, a sci-entist with the TerrestrialEcology Research Groupat TUM.

In a large-scale biodiver-sity study, an internation-al research team headedby scientists at TUM sur-veyed a large number ofinsect groups inBrandenburg, Thuringiaand Baden-Wurttembergbetween 2008 and 2017.

Now the team has pub-lished its analysis in thescientific journal —Nature.

The researchers collect-ed more than one millioninsects at 300 sites. Theywere able to prove thatmany of the nearly 2700investigated species arein decline.

In recent years, certainrare species could nolonger be found in someof the regions studied.Both in forested areas andgrasslands, the scientistscounted one third fewerinsect species. — ANI

World is facing extensivedecline of insect species Rest means rust: Early retirement can speed up dementia

Many of us dreamof an early retire-ment, when we

can finally book thatonce-in-a-lifetime holi-day and switch off.

But younger retireesmay be more likely todevelop dementia thanthose who work until oldage, research sug-

gests.Scientists found quit-

ting work before the ageof 60 accelerated cogni-tive decline and stifledmemory in later life —traits of the memory-

robbing disorder. They believeit is caused bya lack ofmental stim-ulation that

e m p l o y e e se x p e r i e n c e

during theworking day.

New York sci-entists have

found youngerretirees experi-ence acceleratedc o g n i t i v edecline and

poorer memo-ry in later

life.Retirement is also usu-

ally accompanied by adecline in social activi-ties and less interactionwith people, which hasalso been linked to cogni-tive decline, theresearchers say.

It is believed social iso-lation may also lead aperson to live anunhealthier lifestyle,which is thought to driveup the risk of the memo-ry-robbing disorder.

The cause of dementiaremains unknown butevidence is quicklymounting that socialinteraction, mental stim-ulation, a healthy dietand exercise can all slashthe risk.

The team of academicsfrom Binghampton

University in New Yorkanalysed more than17,500 individuals as partof China's RetirementLongitudinal Survey(CHARLS).

Dementia is an umbrel-la term used to describea range of progressiveneurological disorders,that is, conditions affect-ing the brain.

There are many differ-ent types of dementia, ofwhich Alzheimer’s dis-ease is the most common.

Some people may havea combination of types ofdementia.

Regardless of whichtype is diagnosed, eachperson will experiencetheir dementia in theirown unique way.

Currently there is nocure for dementia.

But new drugs can slowdown its progression andthe earlier it is spottedthe more effective treat-ments are.

CHARLS is a nationalsurvey of the nation'sover-60s from more than30 provinces that testsparticipants for mentalcognition, memory andoverall wellbeing.

It includes a mix ofretired people and thosestill in the workforcefrom 150 districts in theAsian nation.

They found peoplereceiving pension wereexperiencing much morerapid mental declinethan those still on theworkforce. The promi-nent indicator of mentaldecline among retireeswas memory. — Agencies

One doesn’t quite knowwhat it takes to win aSveriges RiksbankPrize — instituted in2006 in Memory of

Alfred Nobel — in the EconomicSciences category. The threewinners this year, of which twoare also co-authors of this book,are the ones best placed to findout for they have bet theircareers on figuring out whyhumans do what they do.

All three apply the experimen-tal method of randomised con-trol trials (RCT) from the physi-cal sciences to social science.The claim is that RCT serve toconvert economic philosophyinto a science by relying on evi-dence rather than ideology (tobe wealthy is glorious or alter-natively private property istheft); belief (the poor are lazy)or informed guesswork (lowtaxes are good for growth).

Poor Economics published in2011, a first for the Banerjee-Duflo duo (BD hereafter) wasabout applying the learningfrom the RCT experiments toformulating policy for endingpoverty. This book spans a larg-er canvas covering the big issuesfacing us today.

Is migration a calculated eco-nomic choice exercised for a bet-ter life or a last resort for thosepushed to the brink by politics,war or climate disruptions andwhat does migration do to thehost country?

Are the gains from interna-tional trade equitably distrib-uted as assumed, or are therelosers? Are individual or socie-tal preferences rational, careful-ly thought through choices to berespected or merely the productof historical biases and targetedpolitical outreach to exploitexisting social chasms and deep-en homophily — the comfortzone of associating only withfamiliar stereotypes?

How are needs different fromwants? If a poor person has a TVbut not enough food, is the TV aneed or a want?

What is economic growth andcan it last forever? Is reducingconsumption the only realoption for mitigating climatechange? Will AI and roboticsresult in permanent net job loss?

How can governments gainlegitimacy? Can more cash endpoverty or is restoring the digni-ty of those left behind as impor-tant? These are some of thebroad themes explored withmeticulously researched refer-ences to back the arguments.

The best thing is that the BDduo never talks down at you.They are both teachers andyoung parents, who have mas-tered the skill of storytelling —unveiling their arguments in asequenced manner paced toretain the reader's attention. Italso helps that they delight indebunking carefully crafted eco-nomic myths by leading the evidence to show up their limitations.

If humans are rational max-imisers of self-interest, as iscommonly assumed, why, theyask, don’t poor workers inOdisha accept lower wages inexchange for more days workedrather than starve whilst hold-ing out for a higher daily wage?The answer is that maintaininggroup identity is vital as an eco-nomic backstop for the poor, sogroup pressure dulls an individ-ual workers “rational” response,thereby rendering labour mar-kets sticky.

A fundamental assumption inmacro-economics is that in the

long run (how long is that any-way?) markets smooth out themisallocation of resourcesacross the factors of production— land, labour and capital. Butacross countries migration con-trols (think Japan) pose a barri-er between surplus labour inpoorer countries and labourdemand in richer countries.Digital services provide analternative but the outsourcingcountry loses out on nationalincome.

Within a country governmentpolicy can encourage such seam-less movement of resources. Butin reality, firms and workersbear the cost of the many barri-ers to such seamless reallocation.

And what about the best keptsecret in trade economics thatthere are significant “painsfrom trade” along with thegains. It is true, say the authors,that a rising tide raises all boats. But do all boats rise byas much? Or are there losersfrom trade liberalisation whothen have to be compensated bythe government by levying high-er taxes — hopefully, only on thewinners.

The Banerjee-Duflo team are acurious blend of Eastern asceti-cism and thrift, European socialethics and the Anglo-Saxonbelief in markets and citizenrights. This is not surprising.Banerjee is an American withan Indian heart and Duflo isFrench. They both work indeveloping economies in Asiaand Africa. Their multiculturalheritage and “patient workexperience” with the poor,flavours their scientific objectiv-ity with a thinly-veiled softheart for the underdog.

This reflects in their views ongrowth — a central preoccupa-tion in economic policy over thelast two decades. The duo agreethat growth is the basis formuch needed jobs and taxes tofinance human capital development, build infrastruc-ture and provide a safety

net for the inevitable losers from economic reform.

They agree with Robert Solowthat growth is an exogenousprocess. So, government policycan do little to alter the rate ofgrowth because there are toomany happen-stance factors —the price of oil in 1973, war in1990 or the end of a cycle of highproductivity in 2008 — whichare outside the control ofnational governments. Theiradvice for political leaders whoseek everlasting high growth isto instead, seek everlastingyouth, which is presently, morereachable.

They warn that over-relianceon growth as a headline per-formance metric can lead tomassive market distortions andgrandfathered losses as govern-ments resort to “unorthodoxpolicy” to whip up flagginggrowth, usually at the cost ofthe poorest. The current stressin Indian and Chinese banks isone such outcome of govern-ments failing to take the pain ofreform in 2008 by opting forloose credit policy to sit out thedownturn in the hope thatgrowth would return.

The BD duo is unfailinglyhumane and high minded byinstinct, objective in their scien-tific assessments and precise intheir diagnosis of the problem.This book is a must read for any-one interested in understandingthe behavioural roots of effec-tive economic policy.

Sticking to their comparativeadvantage — the evidenced eco-nomics of hard times will be dif-ficult. Nobel Prize winners areexpected to be prophets, herald-ing a new dawn, not diligent sci-entists obsessing over the“right” nuance to a policy.Saving the world from above islikely to be very different fromsaving it from within. Hopefullytheir single minded pursuit ofthe truth shall prevail.

The writer is adviser,Observer Research Foundation

Philip Roth (When She Was Good, The Human Stain and thePulitzer-winning American Pastoral) was an atheist, a pessimist, a partial-misanthrope and the man who said ‘the book can’t competewith the screen’ when asked to compare it with digital media

PAGE

9BooksSUNDAY | 3 NOVEMBER 2019 | NEW DELHITHE ASIAN AGE

THE MICROPHONE MEN:HOW ORATORS CREATED A

MODERN INDIAby Priyadarshi Dutta

Indus Source Books, `799

GOOD ECONOMICS FORHARD TIMES

by Abhijit V. Banerjee, Esther Duflo

Juggernaut, `699

The first time I readthe Mahabharata, itwas the comic bookversion in which the

Pandavas were the heroes,the Kauravas were the vil-lains, and Duryodhana’sfriend Karna was a warmon-gering man in a perpetualstate of bitter rage.

The next time I read the Mahabharata, I was considerably olderand so fascinated by each character’s shades of grey that I readseven different translations in succession, then dived into analy-sis, and then plunged deep into books that focused on certain char-acters from the story.

I could not get enough of theMahabharata then, and clearly Istill cannot get enough of the epicbecause the second I heard thatMarathi writer Ranjit Desai’sRadheya had been translated toEnglish by Vikrant Pande asKarna: The Great Warrior, I want-ed it immediately.

And then I opened the book andthere was Karna. A man againstwhom the dice had been loadedfrom the start, but still a man whotried his best to live an hon-ourable life.

This Karna was bitter because ofthe circumstances of his life, buthe tried not to be. He seemed togenuinely love his family. He wasgenerous to a fault, even givingaway the armour he had beenborn with when Indra asked forit, knowing very well that withoutthat armour he was no longer pro-tected. He was patient, thoughtfuland introspective. Best of all, hewas the very best friend anyonecould have, standing firmly byDuryodhana no matter what.

In other words, Karna was a hero, not a villain, except for onedetail: he deliberately set out to humiliate Draupadi afterYudhisthira lost everything and everyone in the game of dice onwhich the great war turned. Karna could have stopped — or atleast argued with — Duryodhana when the Kaurava princeordered Draupadi stripped, but instead he actively urged on thechirharan in view of all the court.

Today, we would call this Karna’s #MeToo moment. Since we arefictionalising a mythological character here, I would say that thisis why Karna is not a hero of the Mahabharata. I admit that Ihoped for exactly this point to be made in Desai’s version of Karna— but it wasn’t.

Desai did devote a few words to Karna’s state of mind whenDraupadi was dragged into the court like a slave after all the dicegames were lost. Karna was not a hundred per cent happy even ashe urged on the chirharan, but he did it anyway. It’s clear that theauthor sees this as a sticking point for a man who should be a hero.But at the end of the book, when Karna finally dies, his behaviorwith Draupadi is not an issue at all.

For me, this meant that the book is a fail. I wouldn’t give it a zeroon ten — there are things to think about. But definitely less thanpass marks for not exploring the deepest of all its hero’s greys.

Kushalrani Gulab is a freelance editor and writer who dreamsof being a sanyasi by the sea

Saving the world from the

bottom upwards

KARNA: THE GREATWARRIOR

The Banerjee-Duflo teamare a curious blend ofEastern asceticism andthrift, European socialethics and the Anglo-Saxonbelief in markets and citi-zen rights... This reflects intheir views on growth — acentral preoccupation ineconomic policy over thelast two decades.

SanjeevAhluwalia

KushalGulab

reviewreview

In the fall of 2016,acclaimed authorMeghan Daum began

working on a book aboutthe excesses of contempo-rary feminism. WithHillary Clinton soon to beelected, she figured eventhe most fiercely liberal ofher friends and readerscould take the criticisms instride. But after the elec-tion, she knew she neededto do more, and her nearlycompleted manuscriptwent in the trash. Whatcame out in its place is themost sharply-observed, all-encompassing, and unput-downable book of hercareer.

In this gripping newwork, Meghan examinesthe US’s most intractableproblems with clear-eyedhonesty instead of exagger-ated outrage. With passion,humor, and most impor-tantly nuance, she tries tomake sense of the currentlandscape—from DonaldTrump’s presidency to the#MeToo movement andbeyond. In the process, shewades into the waters ofidentity politics and inter-sectionality, thinks deeplyabout the gender wage gap,and tests a theory about thedivide between Gen Xersand millennials.

This signature work maywell be the first book tocapture the essence of thisera in all its nuances andcontradictions. No matterwhere you stand on itsissues, this book will strikea chord.

WE RECOMMEND

The Problemwith

Everythingby Meghan

DaumSimon &

Schuster, $27

Karna’s #MeToomoment cries out

for a reckoning

On December 15,1829, Raja Ram-mohun Roy andDwarkanath Tag-

ore, friends and pioneers,addressed a public meetingin the Town Hall of Calcutta(now Kolkata). They spokefavourably of the contractfarming of indigo (blue dye)that had been introduced inBengal. History proved theirestimations wrong, as coer-cive plantation of indigobecame a menace in the longrun. But that did not falsifythe importance of theiradvocacy. Their real mes-sage was in the medium—public speaking. Theirswere apparently the firstspeeches on a public ques-tion delivered by any Indian.Soon public speaking or ora-

tory emerged as a tool ofmass communication.Though Roy’s early deathprevented him from pursu-ing the medium, Dwarka-nath revelled in it in severalpublic meetings.

Speechmaking is essential-ly training in thinkingrather than in speaking. Roypioneered analytical think-ing on contemporary ques-tions. He pondered uponjudicial and revenue issues,freedom of press, rights ofwomen and settlement ofEuropeans in India. He com-bined these with histhoughts on religious andsocial reforms. He expressedhis ideas mostly in the formof essays, thereby becomingthe precursor of prose writ-ing in India. Oratory is criti-

cally dependent on thegrowth of prose. Roy thusprepared India for the greatera of public speaking. Heled India into a new timezone where thinkers lived inthe present rather than ineternity.

Public speaking, seen inuniversal perspective,arrived late in India. Therewas a time lag of two thou-sand years between thefirst documented speech inthe West (Greece) and thatin India...

The rise of speechmakingin nineteenth century Indiawas a sort of revolution. Ittransformed her nationallife, giving it a modern out-look… The matrix of powerin the ancient or medievaltimes did not allow persua-sion. There was no conceptof shaping a collectivefuture. Force, rather thanreasoning, was the instru-ment of change.

Quite a few scholars havestated that India had a tradi-tion of debate and argu-ments. They have attributedthe modern democratic dis-

course in India to thatancient tradition. But thereis a serious lacuna in thisline of thinking. The pole-mic in ancient India wascentred on metaphysics notpolitics. It is interesting tosee king Menander (Milin-da), hailing from the highlypolitically conscious race ofthe Greeks, discussing onlyspirituality with the seniorBuddhist monk, Nagasenain Milinda Pahno (Quest-ions of King Milinda). Itwould be an overstatementto assert that politicaldebates in nineteenth andtwentieth century Indiawere an offshoot of the tra-dition of philosophicaldebates in ancient India…

The Bengalis pioneeredspeechmaking in India.They seemed to have emulat-ed the meetings of theBritish nationals in India.But there the comparisonceases. The ideas they con-sidered were quite original.The object was to representthe people’s grievances tothe government. The compil-er of the Indian Year Book,

1862, says public meetingsmight have always existed inIndia in one form or theother. The village com-munities gathered below thevenerable tamarind orbanyan tree to discuss localquestions. In the cities,members of a caste or guildwould assemble in the houseof one of its principal repre-sentatives to deliberate uponissues connected with theirimmediate interests. But thenew thing was to considerthe national affairs...

The ascent of the power ofthe spoken word during thefirst century of printing inIndia might surprise us.Such a paradoxical phenom-enon was noticeable even inVictorian Britain. How didthe spoken word become soinfluential when printedworks were making head-way in India? One argumentcould be that the bulk of theIndian population was stillilliterate. They were morereceptive to spoken wordsthan written text. But such ahypothesis is not without itsdrawbacks. During the nine-

teenth century it was a liter-ate audience that was enam-oured with the spoken word.It was only after 1920, whenGandhi took the message tothe masses, that the audi-ence profile changed... It willperhaps be better to seepress and public speaking ascomplimentary strands ofopinion-making.

But spoken words alwaysenjoyed a peculiar advan-tage vis-a-vis print regard-less of the audience’s litera-cy profile. Leadership issomething that only spokenwords can forge. A leader isone who communicateswith the masses throughspeech. He or she takesresponsibility for his or herwords there and then.Otherwise the person is justan intellectual or writer,dealing with loads of infor-mation and theories.

Speechmaking had skep-tics even during its heyday.Some of them were votariesof violence and found sup-plication before the Britishdemeaning. Speeches weremostly petitioning by talk in

those days. And there wereothers who felt speechmak-ing alone could not achieveanything. The heroes of theplatform could be fake…

In Gandhi, we encounter anew approach towardsspeechmaking. It becameonly an aid, not the founda-tion of his political pro-gramme. His mainstay wasSatyagraha or civil disobe-dience — wilfully breakingthe law to go to prison for ajust cause. Previously, theaudiences in meetings weremere spectators. Gandhigave them a sort of god’swork through Charkha, thespinning wheel. He madethem into recruits of move-ment. The crowd was neveras orderly or saintly as hehad wanted. Thus, violence,which Gandhi clinicallyeschewed, could not bealways avoided. Butnonetheless he brought theteeming multitudes ofIndia onto the foreground of history.

Excerpted from Dutta’sThe Microphone Men

by Ranjit Desai, translated by Vikrant Pande

HarperPerennial, `499

Priyadarshi Dutta

extract

How orators pioneered women’s rights, Indian freedom movement

WorldSUNDAY | 3 NOVEMBER 2019 | NEW DELHITHE ASIAN AGE

Out of raceBeto O’Rourke, the former Texas Congressman drops presidential bid

Iraqi govt shouldlisten to protesters

and ease mediacurbs

—Mike PompeoUS secretary of state

IN BRIEF

AFGHANISTANMINE BLAST

KILLS 9 KIDSKabul: Nine Afghan children

were killed on Saturday whena mine exploded as they

walked to school, police said,the latest victims in a grow-ing toll of civilian casualties

in the war. The blast hap-pened in the northeastern

province of Takhar. “This areais under Taliban control and

since security forceslaunched attacks to clear it,

the Taliban have planted anti-personnel mines,” Khalil Asir,

a spokesman said.“Unfortunately, one of those

mines exploded and killednine primary school stu-

dents,” he said. The children,aged nine to 12, included fourfrom what Asir described as a

“Taliban family”. Civiliancasualties have been increas-ing to record levels this year,despite efforts by the UnitedStates and Taliban insurgents

to reach a peace deal. Arecord 4,313 civilians were

injured or killed between Julyand September, a 42 percentincrease from the same peri-

od last year, the UN assis-tance mission in Afghanistansaid. The toll included more

than 1,000 deaths, the blood-iest period since the mission

began collecting figures in2009. — Agencies

Sharif critical after platelet drop

US focus turns tonew ISIS chief

Washington: The UnitedStates is researching the new

leader of the ISIS to deter-mine his previous roles in the

organisation, Nathan Sales,the US counter-terrorism

coordinator, said after a USraid last month killed its for-

mer chief, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. “Any time there isa leadership transition in the

terrorist organisation, wewant to make sure that wehave the latest information

that we need to have to con-front the threat,” Sales said.

ISIS, in an audio tape postedonline confirmed that

Baghdadi was killed in aweekend raid by US special

forces in northwestern Syria.It vowed revenge. ISIS also

said a successor to Baghdadiidentified as Abu Ibrahim al-

Hashemi al-Quraishi had beenappointed.

Islamabad: Former Pakistanprime minister Nawaz Sharif’shealth condition remains crit-

ical as his platelet count hasdropped again, a day after itrose to 51,000, his personal

physician said. Sharif, 69, wasadmitted to the Services

Hospital on Monday nightfrom Pakistan’s anti-graft

body’s custody after hisplatelets dropped to a critical

low level of 2,000. ThePakistan Muslim League-

Nawaz supremo’s plateletsincreased from 35,000 to51,000, showing improve-ment in his condition. The

doctor said the cause behindthe drop in platelets needs tobe diagnosed and established

without delay.

US Prez callsAlberto Fernandez

Buenos Aires: US PresidentDonald Trump called

Argentine President-electAlberto Fernandez to con-

gratulate him on his win anddiscuss the South American

country’s troubled economy.Fernandez sent a tweet say-

ing Trump told him he had“instructed the IMF to workwith us to resolve the prob-

lem of our debt.” The IMFextended a $57 billion credit

line to the recession, andinflation-racked country lastyear when a run on the peso

currency sparked concernsabout a possible sovereign

bond default. “I thanked himfor the gesture and told himof my intention to maintain

mature and cordial relation-ship with the United States,”

the tweet said.

IRAQIS TAKE TO THE STREETS AND ROOFS

Thousands took to the streets of Baghdad under clouds of teargas to demand the removal of the elected government in the biggest protestmovement in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein. The city’s Tahrir Square was a chaotic scene of flag-waving demonstrators battling withsecurity forces, while tuk-tuks ferried off wounded dissenters as riot police fired teargas. — AFP

Pakistan did not do enough: USNation failed to limit JeM, LeT from fundraising, recruiting: Report Washington, Nov. 2:Pakistan has “failed to sig-nificantly limit” militantoutfits like the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) fromfundraising and recruit-ing while several terroristgroups that focus onattacks outside the coun-try continued to operatefrom its soil in 2018, adamning US report hassaid.

The US State Depar-tment, in its Congression-al mandated annual Cou-ntry Reports on Terrorismfor 2018, said even thoughthe Pakistani governmentvoiced support for politi-cal reconciliation between

the Afghan governmentand the Taliban, it did notrestrict the terror groupand the Haqqani Network(HQN) from operating inPakistan-based safe hav-ens and threatening theUS and Afghan forces inAfghanistan.

The (Pakistan) govern-ment failed to significant-ly limit Lashkar-e-Taibaand Jaish-e-Mohammadfrom raising money,recruiting and training inPakistan and allowed can-didates overtly affiliatedwith LeT front organisa-tions to contest the Julygeneral elections, the USstate department said inthe report.

Although Pakistan’sNational Action Plan callsto ensure that no armedmilitias are allowed tofunction in the country,several terrorist groupsthat focus on attacks out-side the country contin-ued to operate fromPakistani soil in 2018,including the HaqqaniNetwork, Lashkar-e-Taiba,and Jaish-e-Mohammad, itsaid.

The report observed thatthe government and mili-tary acted inconsistentlywith respect to terroristsafe havens throughoutthe country.

“Authorities did not takesufficient action to stop

certain terrorist groupsand individuals fromopenly operating in thecountry, it said.

Pakistan, it said, experi-enced significant terroristthreats in 2018, althoughthe number of attacks andcasualties have continuedto decrease from previousyears.

The major terroristgroups that focused onconducting attacks inPakistan included Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan,Jamaat-ulAhrar, IslamicState’s KhorasanProvince, and the sectari-an group Lashkar-eJhangvi al-Alami.

ISIS-K claimed several

major attacks againstPakistani targets, some ofwhich may have been con-ducted in collaborationwith other terroristgroups.

Separatist militantgroups conducted terror-ist attacks against govern-mental, non-governmen-tal, and diplomatic targetsin Balochistan and Sindhprovinces, it said.

As a member of the Asia-Pacific Group on MoneyLaundering (APG),Pakistan agreed to imple-ment international stan-dards to combat moneylaundering, terrorismfinance and proliferationfinance. — PTI

Trump slamsDems’ moveUS Prez calls impeachmentan attack on US democracyWashington, Nov. 2: USPresident Donald Trumphas said that the vote bythe Democratic lawmak-ers in the US House ofRepresentatives to app-rove the process ofimpeachment against h-im is an attack on Am-eri-can democracy.

The 435-member lowerchamber of the USCongress passed the mea-sure, the third time in thehistory of the modernpresidency, establishingrules for open hearingsand the questioning ofwitnesses by membersand staff by 232-196 votes.

Democrats enjoy major-ity with 233 seats in theHouse of Representativeswhile the ruling Republi-can, from which Trumpcomes, has 197 electedrepresentatives.

“They’ve been plottingto overthrow the election.Friday’s vote by the radi-cal Democrats is anattack on democracyitself. But I’ll tell you, theRepublicans are reallystrong, the strongest I’veever seen and the mostunified,” Trump said dur-ing his address at the“Keep America Great”rally in Tupelo, Miss-issippi on Friday.

So far, only two US Pres-idents Andrew Johnsonand Bill Clinton havebeen impeached by the USHouse of Representativesbut neither of them wereconvicted by the Senate,as a result no US presi-dent has been removedfrom office using theimpeachment process.

In the 100-memberSenate, Trump’s Republi-can Party enjoys majoritywith 53 seats and theDemocrats have 47 seats.Given the current compo-sition of the US Congress,the impeachment processis likely to sail throughthe Democratic con-trolled House of Repr-esentatives and unlikelyto be passed by the GOP-majority Senate. Trump,in his first election rally,also alleged that the

mainstream US media istoo involved in this con-spiracy. The impeach-ment process has starteddeepening the bitter polit-ical divide between theDemocrats and the Rep-ublicans. — PTI

Washington, Nov. 2: USenergy secretary RickPerry, a member ofPresident Donald Tru-mp’s Cabinet who hasplayed a pivotal role inthe Ukraine controversy,will refuse to testify asrequested next week inthe Democratic-led imp-eachment inquiry againstTrump, an energy depart-ment spokeswoman said.

Perry’s refusal repre-sented the latest instanceof Trump’s administra-tion refusing to cooperatein the fast-moving inq-uiry in the House of Re-presentatives.

Trump said on Oct. 17that Perry was resigningfrom his Cabinet post andwould step down by theend of the year.

Perry, White Housebudget office acting direc-tor Russell Vought andtwo other officials wereasked to testify in a closedsession before the threeHouse committees lead-ing the inquiry, a probeofficial said. — Reuters

Rick Perry

Washington, Nov. 2:Multiple publishedrep-orts say that theUS government haslaunched a national-security review of theChina-owned videoapp TikTok, popularwith millions of USteens and youngadults.

Media reports saidthat the interagencyComm-ittee on ForeignInves-tment in theUnited Sta-tes, whichreviews acquisitionsby foreign firms, hasopened an inquiry intoTikTok owner Byte-Dance’s 2017 acquisi-tion of a predecessorapp, Musical.ly.

Several senators haverecently noted con-cerns about censor-ship and data collec-tion on TikTok.

The Treasury Depa-rtment, which housesCFIUS, said it does notcomment on specificcases because theagency by law cannotdisclose to the publicinformation filed to it.

TikTok said it cannotcomment on ongoingregulatory processes.But it said it “has madeclear that we have nohigher priority thanearning the trust ofusers and regulators inthe US. Part of thateffort includes work-ing with Congress andwe are committed todoing so.”

After acquiring Mu-sical.ly, Beijing-basedBy-teDance merged itinto TikTok.Musical.ly, popular inthe US and Europe,had operated out ofoffices in Shanghaiand California.

Sen. Marco Rubiolast month sent a letterto Treasury requestinga CFIUS review of then a t i o n a l - s e c u r i t yimplications of theMusical.ly deal.

— AP

London, Nov. 2: BritishPrime Minister BorisJohnson has put hisBrexit withdrawal dealat the centre of his elec-tion campaign, rejectingan electoral pact withthe Brexit Party thatwould mean he wouldhave to embrace leavingthe European Unionwithout a deal.

Johnson had previous-ly pledged to takeBritain out of theEuropean Union with orwithout a deal on Oct. 31,before lawmakers votedto force him to seek anextension until Jan. 31.

But he has abandonedthe threat of a no-dealBrexit in his Conser-vative Party’s manifestofor the Dec. 12 election.The focus would be ongetting his Brexit dealapproved. Johnson rej-ected a call from theBrexit Party to drop thedeal he negotiated withthe EU in order to form anew electoral pact, say-ing that he could put hisdeal through parliamentafter any election win.

— Reuters

Islamabad. Nov. 2: Pak-istan’s powerful militarysaid it supported the coun-try’s elected governmentand the constitution, astens of thousands of oppo-sition protesters gatheredin the capital demandingthat Prime MinisterImran Khan’s resignation.

“We believe in the lawand the constitution and

our support is with thedemocratically electedgovernment, not with anyparty,” military spo-kesman Major GeneralAsif Ghafoor said.

The opposition haddemanded that Khanresign within two days,raising the stakes in aprotest campaign that thegovernment has den-

ounced as a threat todemocracy.

The opposition saysKhan’s government is ille-gitimate and is beingpropped up by the mili-tary, which has ruledPakistan for about half ofits history and sets securi-ty and foreign policy. TheArmy denies meddling inpolitics. — Reuters

Activists of the Jamiat Ulema-e Islam part march along a road during an anti-govern-ment Azadi March in Islamabad. — AFP

Imran gets Army backing

UK POLL PITCH:JOHNSON CITESBREXIT DEAL

Washington, Nov. 2:During a privatefundraising event atTrump Hotel recently, USPresident Donald Trumpappeared to joke that hiswife, Melania Trump,wouldn’t cry if he wasshot. According toPolitico, Mr Trump gavea speech in which he dis-cussed the shooting ofHouse Minority WhipSteve Scalise in 2017. Hethen said Scalise’s wife“cried her eyes out whenI met her at the hospitalthat fateful day … I meannot many wives wouldreact that way to tragedy,I know mine wouldn’t.”

— Agencies

MELANIA WILLNOT CRY IF I’MSHOT: TRUMP

U.S. LAUNCHESREVIEW OFCHINA-OWNEDTIKTOK APP

UK truck deaths: Victimsreportedly VietnameseBelfast, Nov. 2: A secondman was charged withmanslaughter over thedeaths of 39 people foundin the back of a truck nearLondon, British policesaid, as they confirmedthey now believe all thevictims were Vietnamese.

In Vietnam, police saidthey had detained twopeople. The discovery ofthe bodies in a containeron an industrial estate hasshone a spotlight on theillicit trade that sends thepoor of Asia, Africa andthe Middle East on per-ilous journeys to the West.

The alleged truck driverhas already been charged

over the deaths, and detec-tives said EamonHarrison, 23, fromNorthern Ireland, wasalso accused of 39 countsof manslaughter as wellas human trafficking andimmigration offences.

Harrison appeared atDublin’s High Court at thestart of proceedings toextradite him from

Ireland to Britain. He wasremanded in custody untilNovember 11, a courtspokesman said.

The bodies were foundin the early hours ofOctober 23 after the con-tainer arrived in Britainfrom Zeebrugge inBelgium. The containerwas picked up at Purfleetdock in Essex, east ofLondon, by a truckallegedly driven byMaurice Robinson, 25,from Northern Ireland.

The victims were foundnot long afterwards.Police have not confirmedthe exact cause of theirdeaths. — Reuters

■ ■ A SECOND MANwas charged withmanslaughter over thedeaths of 39 peoplefound in the back of atruck near London

US ENERGY SECY REFUSES TO TESTIFY

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

PAGE

11NewsmakersSUNDAY | 3 NOVEMBER 2019 | NEW DELHITHE ASIAN AGE

Birthday greetingsCelebs, including DJ Snake, extendgreetings to B’wood star ShahrukhKhan on his 54th birthday

IN BRIEF

Tehran: Iran on Saturdayunveiled new anti-American

murals on the walls of theformer US embassy as Tehran

prepares to celebrate the40th anniversary of the

storming of what it labels the “den of spies”. The accu-satory message of the paint-ings was one of a violent US

that is thirsty for war andbent on tightening its grip on

the world, yet weakeningdespite its military might.The new murals — mainlypainted in white, red and

blue, colours of the US flag— were unveiled by Major

General Hossein Salami, thehead of Iran’s Revolutionary

Guards, at former missionturned museum. — AFP

Port Macquarie, Australia: 2koalas were rescued from a

fire-ravaged area ofAustralia’s east coast

Saturday but the fate of hun-dreds more remains uncer-

tain with blazes still raging intheir bush habitat. The first

koala, named “CorduroyPaul”, was found dehydrated

amid the devastation some400 km north of Sydney,

and was taken to the PortMacquarie Koala Hospital

early Saturday morning. “Hewas picked up off the groundand curled up in a little ball,”

Sue Ashton, the hospital’spresident said. — AFP

Iran unveils newanti-US murals

When a woman isnot loved at home,the viciousness is a

different typeNicki Minaj,

Rapper

2 koalas rescued inAustralia bushfire

Washington: Singer Pinkshared the experience of

shooting her first-ever musicvideo and the story might

surprise you. Pink’s first sin-gle, There You Go, debutedin 2000, and the video fea-tured her riding a motorcy-

cle. “My first video. I thinkthis is the prettiest I’ve ever

looked and will ever look,”the 40-year-old singer told

Billboard. “I think I was 19when I shot this video. I’d

just started riding motorcy-cles. I almost crashed 85

times... “I smoked a lot ofweed, too,” she said. — ANI

I smoked a lot ofweed, says Pink

Washington: Following thediabetes month which kicked

off on Friday, singer NickJonas who suffers from Type1 diabetes opened up about

the same. The 27-year-oldJonas Brothers member and

solo artist shareda candid

Instagram poston Friday to dis-cuss how getting

diagnosed withType 1 diabetesabout 14 years

back has impact-ed his life and

shaped how heapproaches his

health. “This expe-rience has shaped how I

approach my health — work-ing out, eating well, and

always thinking about myblood sugar and insulin

needs,” he wrote in the post,which included a selfie of

himself wearing a hat withthe Beyond Type 1 logo. “You

can’t always see what goesinto managing an invisible ill-ness, and Type 1 diabetes can

feel lonely and isolating,” hecontinued. “That’s why I co-

founded @BeyondType1 in2015, to make sure no one

feels alone with this diagno-sis and to share how you canthrive with it.” “November isDiabetes Awareness Month,”

he said. — ANI

NICK OPENS UPON SUFFERING

FROM DIABETES

Nick Jonas

London: London artsvenue The Roundhousewill keep the name ofthe controversialSackler family on oneof its theatres despiterejecting their £1mdonation. The venue’sstudio theatre was renamed the SacklerSpace in 2015 after getting a grant fromthe billionaire family, the BBC report-ed.\But arts organisations have sinceshunned their money due to its connec-tions with the controversial opioidpainkiller OxyContin. The Roundhouseturned down a further £1m in 2018.

It said the donation could distract“from our work with young people”.‘Hub for emerging artists’ Earlier thisyear, the Sackler Trust suspended chari-table donations in the UK after institu-tions including the Tate and NationalPortrait Gallery also declined theirfunds. — Agencies

Mexico City: In a findthat gives a newdimension to “trick ortreat,” Mexicanagents who have beeninspecting a packagebeing sent to Englandfound 59 rolls oftamarind-flavoured candy with heroininside.

The National Guard on Friday saidthat agents had used x-rays to inspect acardboard box headed for an address inLondon.

When they opened the box, they dis-covered a black substance at the centreof each roll. Mexican-produced heroinis often referred to “black tar,” becauseit is processed differently than white ortan powder heroin.

The candy is made of tamarind pulp,which is normally reddish-brown incolour. Tests later confirmed the sub-stance was heroin. — AP

UK theatre to keep Sacklername despite rejecting £1m

Mexican agents find heroininside tamarind candy

Tallahassee, Florida:Florida police investigat-ing the bizarre death of awoman during a domesticrow have obtained audiofrom two Amazon Echodevices, BBC reported.

Silvia Galva, 32, wasimpaled by a spear-tippedbed post in a strugglewith her boyfriend, AdamReechard Crespo, at theirHallandale Beach home.

Mr Crespo, 43, haspleaded not guilty to sec-ond-degree murder. Hesays her death was a trag-ic accident.

Police want to establishif the smart-speaker,Alexa, recorded the dis-pute.

According to the policereport, Mr Crespo said hewas trying to pull MsGalvo off their bed dur-ing an argument in thebedroom of theirHallandale Beach apart-ment in July when heheard a snap.

The police report says:“[Mr Crespo] pulled theblade out of the victim’schest ‘hoping it was nottoo bad.’”

But Ms Galva died witha 12in double-sided bladethrough her chest follow-ing the altercation at theflat in a seaside city 32kmnorth of Miami.

A lawyer for Mr Crespo,Christopher O’Toole, toldthe BBC that Ms Galva’sdeath was unintentional.

Mr Crespo was sleepingwhen “Silvia came intothe bedroom, knocked thedoor down”.

Ms Galva broke off oneof the pointy bedpostsand “it ended up inside ofher”, Mr O’Toole said.

Hallandale Police didnot return a request forcomment. — Agencies

Wallops Island, Virginia:A supply ship rocketedtoward the InternationalSpace Station on Saturdaywith sports car parts, anoven for baking cookiesand a vest to protectagainst radiation.

Northrop Grummanlaunched its Cygnus cap-sule for Nasa fromWallops Island, Virginia.The 3,700 kilogramsshould reach the orbitinglab Monday.

“Good launch all the wayaround,” a ground con-troller observed.

The space station’s astro-nauts will test the oven bybaking chocolate chipcookies from scratch andtry out the new safety vestto gauge its comfort. Bothexperiments are seen asprecursors to moon andMars journeys.

Other newly arrivingequipment will be used ina series of Nasa space-walks later this month tofix a key particle physicsdetector. Parked outsidethe space station since

2011, the Alpha MagneticSpectrometer needs newcooling pumps to continueits search for elusive darkmatter and antimatter.

Italy’s Lamborghini isalso along for the ride. It’ssending up samples of car-bon fiber used in its sportscars for six months ofdirect space exposure.

Researchers are consider-ing the materials for med-ical implants.

Like space, the insides ofa person’s body are anextreme environment,explained HoustonMethodist’s AlessandroGrattoni, who is collabo-rating with Lamborghinion the experiment.

As a nanomedicine spe-cialist, he said Friday he’scontinuously on the look-out for new materials fordevices that are insertedbeneath the skin. Theseminuscule implantsrelease therapeutic drugsto treat cancer, hormonedeficiencies and other ill-nesses. — AP

S a nFrancisco:Tesla chiefElon Muskfired off atweet onF r i d a yindicatingthat he isd i s c o n -n e c t i n gfrom Twitter, perhaps infavour of popular newsand discussion platformReddit.

Kicking the Twitterhabit would be a radicalchange for the colourfulserial entrepreneur whois known for tweeting sofreely that he landed inhot water with the USSecurities and ExchangeCommission whichaccused him of mislead-ing investors on the plat-form.

“Not sure about good ofTwitter,” Musk told hismore than 29 million fol-lowers in a series ofrapid-fire tweets.

“Reddit still seemsgood.”

“Going offline,” Muskconcluded.

Musk is being sued fordefamation in LosAngeles by a man whohelped in the dramaticrescue of 12 boystrapped in an underwa-ter cave in Thailand lastyear.

Musk called theBritish caver a “pedoguy” on Twitter follow-ing a highly public spatbetween the two afterMusk travelled toThailand and offered toassist in rescue efforts.

Musk said in a courtfiling last month that hedid not mean to accusethe caver of pedophiliawhen he referred to himas “pedo guy.” In the fil-ing, Musk claimed theterm was a commoninsult used in SouthAfrica when he wasgrowing up, synony-mous with “creepy oldman.” The case is set togo to trial on December2. Musk’s trouble withthe SEC meanwhilestems from multipletweets.

In February 2018 heposted that Tesla wouldmake 500,000 cars in 2019— up from the 400,000that the company hadestimated until then, anapparent increase on abenchmark tied to prof-itability, which elicited arebuke from the SEC.

— AFP

London: A woman is onthe run from Thai policeafter being accused ofscamming nearly 3,000people out of a total of$28.3 m and setting up afake gold shop to fool heralleged victims about herassets, the Guardianreported.

Wantanee Tippaveth, 28,known as Mae Manee, isaccused of fraud andother financial crimesafter allegedly setting up aPonzi scheme offering 93

per cent profit to a total of2,977 investors.

Her boyfriend MeteeChinpa, 20, has also beencharged with financial

misdemeanours. OnFriday police raided afake “gold shop” she hadallegedly set up in the cityof Udon Thani,north Thailand, to con-vince potential investorsthat she lived a super-wealthy lifestyle. Many ofthose convinced to joinTippaveth’s scheme wouldreportedly start by paying1,000 Baht which theywere told would be invest-ed in cosmetics and filmbusinesses. — Agencies

London: An Uber driverhas been sentenced todeath for raping andmurdering a Britishembassy workerin Lebanon.

The Mount Lebanoncriminal court sen-tenced Tarek Houshiehon Friday, according toLebanon’s national newsagency, the Guardianreported.

The body of RebeccaDykes, 30, was founddumped on the side of aroad north of Beirut inDecember 2017. She dis-appeared after spendingan evening with friendsat a bar in theGemmayzeh district inthe Lebanese capital.

Houshieh picked herup while working as ataxi driver despite hav-ing a criminal recordand after twice beingarrested for allegedharassment and theft,according to AFP.

He disposed of Dykes’spersonal identificationalong with the body.Local authorities report-ed marks on her neckfrom having been stran-gled with a rope.Houshieh confessed tothe murder in December2017.

The death penalty isregularly handed downfor murder cases inLebanon, but there hasnot been an official exe-cution since 2004,according to HumanRights Watch.Houshieh’s death sen-tence is likely to be com-muted to life imprison-ment. — Agencies

Los Angeles: Pop starLady Gaga will feature inRidley Scott’s film aboutthe Gucci family fashiondynasty and the murder ofthe grandson of founderGuccio Gucci.

According to Variety,Gaga will essay the role ofPatrizia Reggiani, the ex-wife of Maurizio Gucci.

Reggiani was abandonedafter 12 years of marriageby Maurizio Gucci in 1985for a younger woman. Shewas tried and convicted oforchestrating her ex-hus-band’s assassination onthe steps of his office inItaly in 1995.

She got the nicknamethe Black Widow duringthe trial and served 18years before beingreleased from prison in2016. The film is based on

Sara Gay Forden’s bookThe House of Gucci: ASensational Story ofMurder, Madness,

Glamour, and Greed.Roberto Bentivegna is

adapting the book for thebig screen. — PTILondon: John Bercow is

demanding an apologyfrom the Daily Mirrorover claims he asked for£1m to appear on “I’m aCelebrity, Get Me Out ofHere!”

The outgoing CommonsSpeaker has accused thepaper of “publishing liesdespite being advised ofthe truth” and has com-plained to the presswatchdog, BBC reported.

The Mirror claimedtalks between Mr Bercowand ITV broke down overthe size of his appearancefee.

It said it stood by itsstory, which was based on“authoritative sources”.

However, the newspaperalso said it was “happy toaccept” that Mr Bercowhad “no serious desire toappear” on the pro-gramme. Mr Bercow, whoretired on Thursday after10 years in the Speaker’schair, is understood to be

furious about the story.In a letter to the

Mirror’s showbiz editor,he said: “I must make itclear to you in the mostuncompromising termsthat I have not had theslightest interest now orat any time or an anybasis to go on that pro-gramme.”

He adds that he “did notat any time to anybodyask for £1m to go on theshow, which I consider tobe utterly trashy”.

He demands an apologyfrom the paper.

— Agencies

Hong Kong: Protestershave vandalised theHong Kong office ofChina’s official XinhuaNews Agency for thefirst time during themonths-long anti-gov-ernment demonstra-tions, smashing win-dows and doors.

Local media showedscenes of the aftermaththat included a fire inthe lobby of the Xinhuaoffice in Hong Kong’sWan Chai district. It wasunclear if there werepeople in thebuilding.Protesters havebeen targeting Chinesebanks perceived to belinked to mainlandChina as anger builds upagainst Beijing, whichthe protesters accuse ofinfringing on the free-doms guaranteed whenBritain returned HK toChina in 1997. — AP

Space shipment launchedwith sports car parts, oven

US cops hopeAlexa can solvebizarre murder

Elon Musksays he isgoing offTwitter

Thai woman duped investorsout of millions in Ponzi scheme

Hong Kongprotesters vandaliseXinhua office

Bercow seeks apologyover £1m celeb claim

Uber drivergets death formurderingUK diplomat

Lady Gaga boards Ridley Scott’sfilm about Gucci glam & murder

Elon Musk

John Bercow

Wantanee Tippaveth

Thai cave reopens for visitorsafter rescue of Wild Boars

People visit Tham Luang cave in the Mae Sai district ofThailand’s northern Chiang Rai province. Thailandreopened the cave on November 1 where 12 youngfootballers and their coach were trapped last year in asaga that captivated the world. Guests are not allowedbeyond the entrance for now, where they can peer into the cave opening. — AFP

Silvia Galva and AdamCrespo

Actress Jane Fonda (centre) sits with activists inside theHart Senate office building during a climate change

protest in Washington, DC, on Friday. — AFP

Spectators watch as Northrop Grumman’s Antaresrocket lifts off the launch pad at Nasa Wallops Flightfacility in Wallops Island, Virginia, on Saturday. — AP

Manfred Dederl at the “Supercandy Pop-Up Museum Vol. 2” inCologne, western Germany on Friday. — AFP

Modelswalk the

ramp duringfashion weekin Beijing onFriday.

— AFP

� Gaga will essay the roleof Patrizia Reggiani, theex-wife of Maurizio Gucci� Reggiani was abandonedafter 12 years of marriageby Maurizio Gucci in 1985for a younger woman� She, dubbed as BlackWidow wastried and con-victed oforchestratingher ex-hus-band’s assas-sination on thesteps of hisoffice in Italyin 1995Lady Gaga Maurizio Gucci

SUNDAY | 3 NOVEMBER 2019 | NEW DELHITHE ASIAN AGE

ATM cards cloningracket busted

New Delhi: The body of a six-year-old child with his throat

slit was found hardly 200metres away from his home in

a pile of garbage in Narelaarea on Saturday morning.

According to the police, theboy was missing since Friday

evening. The victim, a residentof resettlement colony in

Narela area, was missing since5 pm on Friday following

which a case was registeredat PS Narela. DCP (Outer

North) Gaurav Sharma saidthat on Saturday morning an

information was received thatbody of the missing child was

found on the corner of thestreet around 200 to 250

meters away from his house.Injury marks on throat hasbeen noticed. Teams have

been formed and efforts arebeing made to arrest the

accused. Prima facie, itappears that the minor’s

throat was slit by some sharpobject, the DCP added.

New Delhi: Three men havebeen arrested for allegedlykilling a woman and dump-

ing her body in Outer NorthDelhi’s Bawana area, police

said on Saturday. The arrest-ed have been identified asNoman (30), a resident ofNoida, Arman (26), a resi-dent of Shakurpur Village

and Samsad (30), a residentof New Usmanpur.

According to police, thebody of the woman was

found stuffed in a suitcaseon October 18 morning.After investigation, the

deceased was identified asNeha Patel, a resident of

Shakurpur village, who wasin a relationship with one

Lukman, police said.Interrogations revealed that

Patel wanted to end herrelationship with Lukman.On October 16, a quarrel

ensued between the couple,following which Lukman and

his brothers killed her.Efforts are to arrest Lukman,

Djoko, Nadal edge closer to possible final in Paris

SPORT | Tennis

14 15GUIDE TO FORTUNE

SHORT TAKES

■ Karanika ■Jatin Das■Assembly of poets

THE ANSWERS TO TODAY’S GUIDE TO FORTUNE

1The officer responsiblefor the safe custody of

land records during theGupta period was knownas?

■ Dhruvadhikarana■ Karanika■ Samaharta

2Who amongst the fol-lowing was involved in

the Alipore Bomb case?

■ S. N. Banerjea■ Bipin Chandra Pal■ Jatin Das

3What is the meaning ofthe word 'Sangam' in

the Sangam Age?

■ Royal Court■ Assembly of poets■ Meeting of rivers

NEW DELHI SUNDAY 3 NOVEMBER 2019

New Delhi: With the arrest ofthree men at Sarai Kale Khan

ISBT, the Delhi police onSaturday claimed to have

busted an ATM card cloningracket. Police have also recov-

ered 67 cloned cards, oneskimming machine, two spy

cameras, one MSR writer andone laptop. The accused havebeen identified as ShrehanshNitin Kothadia (38), Anubhav

Nayak alias Babu (23) andDilshad (33). All three residein Mumbai. During interroga-tion, it was revealed that thegang operates all over India.

The gang used to roam acrossthe states to install gadgets in

ATM machines, said thepolice.

DELHI SPECIAL DivyaKhoslamakescomeback

DELHI AGEMatinee 24

Minor boy’s bodyfound in Narela

3 held for killingwoman, 1 on run

Tick the answer and checkthem below.

Tis Hazari court complex turns into battlefield

Gurgaon, Nov. 2: Awoman student and herassociate were arrestedfor allegedly killing a fin-ancier here after hedemanded his moneyback, a police officer saidon Saturday.

The accused was identi-fied as Sumit Phoghat(24), an MBA student, andVikram (32). They werearrested from HondaChowk in the early hoursof Saturday.

Both the accused arenative of Haryana’sCharkhi Dadri andJhajjar. The incidentcame to light onThursday when Gurgaonpolice found a bullet-wounded body of the vic-tim, Roshan Lal, at a flatin Sector-103 here.

“When investigatorsinformed Lal’s son Rahulabout the murder, he toldpolice that Lal had goneto his finance office inJhajjar on October 31when Phogat took himsomewhere,” Gurgaonpolice PRO SubhashBokan said.

A police team on a tip-off nabbed Phoghat andher associate. During

interrogation, theaccused told police thatthey knew Lal throughcommon friends. Lalhelped them financiallyand he had given somemoney to Phoghat whichshe was unable to return.When Lal asked for hismoney, she made a plan toeliminate him.

As per the plan, she,along with Vikram, tookLal to Gurgaon fromJhajjar. They later hadliquor in the flat andwhen Lal was fully intoxi-cated, she took hisrevolver and shot bulleton his temple. Theaccused later fled thespot, the officer added.

A hunt is on to nab theother accused involved inthe crime.

— PTI

Unable to returnmoney, woman & aide kill financier

BHASKAR HARI SHARMANEW DELHI, NOV. 2

The Tis Hazari court com-plex turned into a battle-ground after a minor park-ing issue turned ugly,which instigated a bloodysequence of events onSaturday. Almost 20 policeofficials including oneadditional DCP, two SHOs,and eight advocates sus-tained injuries. The unrulymob vandalised and setablaze 12 private motorcy-cles, one police Gypsy, andeight jail vans.

The hour-long clash hadput the law enforcementagency on their toes to con-trol the situation and had toresort to firing in the airand lathi charge. A specialinvestigation team (SIT) ofthe Crime Branch willinvestigate the cases ofboth sides while the SpecialCP will enquire into theentire sequence of events.

The lawyers alleged thatthe police had opened firedon them, in which twoadvocates sustained bulletinjuries. However, thepolice denied that it openedfire. The agitated lawyersalso burned the prisonlocker room and the gener-ator room in the court com-plex.

According to the police,“Jarnail Singh, the stationhouse officer (SHO) of Civil

Lines police station, sus-tained serious injurieswhile SHO (Kotwali policestation) Rajeev Bharadwajsustained head injury andis undergoing treatment.Additional deputy commis-sioner of police (North)Harinder Kumar Singh andthe operator of DCP(North) are also among theinjured police officials,”said the senior police offi-cial.

The police added that ataround 2.00 pm, an argu-ment ensued between theadvocates and the sentry of3rd battalion, posted out-side the lockup of TisHazari courts, over theissue of parking of a car bythe advocate in front of thelockup. The sentry request-ed the advocate to park thevehicle at the proper park-ing as the said parkingwould have hindered themovement of under trialprisoner vehicles.

In protest, a large numberof advocates of the TisHazari court assemblednear the lockup.

CCTV footage examinedso far has shown thatlawyers forcefully enteredthe lockup and startedmanhandling the policeofficials on duty, copsadded.

The senior staff reachedthe spot and tried to coun-sel the advocates, but they

started assaulting thepolice personnel merciless-ly. Further, they also set onfire some police vehicles.When they stormed intothe lockup, the police had toresort to firing in the air forthe safety of the under trialprisoners and in selfdefence.

The circumstances of thegunshot injury to thelawyer are being further

investigated with the helpof the CFSL team.

Due to the burning ofvehicles, the under trialprisoners started feelingsuffocated. A human chainwas formed and all theunder trial prisoners weresafely removed from thelockup and safely shifted toTihar jail with properescort and the situationwas brought under control

after lot of efforts.Several videos of the inci-

dent, in which lawyers canbe seen beating police per-sonnel and damagingpolice cars, were doing therounds on social mediawebsites and WhatsApp onSaturday evening.

Huge posses of police andanti-riot vehicles weredeployed at the site afterthe violence.

The secretary of TisHazari Bar Association,Jaiveer Singh Chauhan,said that at around 3.00 pmon Saturday the troublebegan when a lawyer’s carallegedly hit a police jailvan in the complex, follow-ing which an argumentbroke out between him andthe police. “The lawyer wastaken into the prison lockerroom in the court complex,

where he was manhandledby police personnel. A fewof his colleagues tried tofree him. The districtjudges of the Central andWest district, along withsix other judges, went therebut were unable to get thelawyer out,” he said.

Lawyers alleged that thepolice personnel resortedto firing in an attempt todisperse them, followingwhich at least one of thepolice cars stationed at thecomplex was set on fire.

Bar Associations con-demned the incident andcalled a one-day strikeacross all district courts inthe national capital onNovember 4.

K.C. Mittal, the chairmanof the Bar Council of Delhi,said: “We strongly con-demn the brutal and unpro-voked attack on lawyers bythe police at the Tis Hazaricourt. One lawyer is criti-cal. A young lawyer wasbeaten in the lockup. Theyshould be dismissed andprosecuted. We stand withthe Delhi lawyers.”

Delhi Congress chiefSubhash Chopra also visit-ed the court complex alongwith party members andstrongly condemned theunprovoked brutal attackand firing on lawyers.

The Tis Hazari court BarCouncil election will beheld on November 5.

Delhi, Punjab, Haryana CMs call forurgent meet to tackle air pollutionAGE CORRESPONDENTNEW DELHI, NOV. 2

In a letter to PrimeMinister Narendra Modi,Punjab chief ministerCapt Amrinder Singhmaintained that data fromseveral independent agen-cies had pointed out thatlargescale industrial pol-lution, traffic overload,excessive constructionactivity in Delhi wereequally, if not more, toblame for the alarmingrise in air pollution inDelhi-NCR. Meanwhile,Delhi chief ministerArvind Kejriwal and hisHaryana counterpartManohar Lal Khattar alsourged Union environmentminister PrakashJavadekar to convene ameeting of chief ministersof Delhi and neighbouringstates to prepare a jointstrategy to address thisproblem.

Mr Singh, in his letter,said that he was hurt,shocked and angry at thedeclaration of a publichealth emergency inDelhi. “This unprecedent-ed development hasexposed the hollowness ofour claims of being a pro-gressive and developednation. How can a countrybe called developed whenits capital has beenreduced to a gas chamber,not by a natural disasterbut by a series of man-made one,” the Punjab CMsaid.

“No Indian, and definite-ly no person in Punjab, isoblivious of the misery ofour brethren in the nation-al capital, whatever manyaround the country mighthave been led to believe,”he said.

He also stressed the needfor the Centre’s urgentintervention. He conclud-ed his letter saying: “Afterall, what is at stake goesway beyond our pettypolitical ambitions.”

Mr Khattar criticised the“growing tendency” ofsome stakeholders to “playpetty politics” on theissue. The chief minister,in a telephonic conversa-tion with Mr Javadekarearlier in the day, request-ed him to convene a meet-ing, preferably on Sunday,to prepare a well thought-out strategy that wouldsynergise the efforts of dif-ferent rganisations and

the governments in theregion.

He said as no single per-son, organisation or gov-ernment can improve thequality of air in the NCR,“playing politics” on thisserious situation is unfor-tunate and, in itself, a mat-ter of concern. Followingup his conversation with aletter,

Mr Khattar said the meet-ing of all chief ministersand environment minis-ters of the states con-cerned would help evolvean actionable plan and ajoint strategy to addressthe serious situation andto mitigate the sufferingand hardships of people.Mr Kejriwal sought MrJavadekar’s interventioninto pollution-related prob-lems and work on a con-crete plan to deal with theissue of stubble burning.

Mr Kejriwal noted thatthe high level of pollutionwas not only a health haz-ard for the citizens, but italso shows India in a poorlight in the eyes of visitingdignitaries. “What is thetotal number of machinesrequired in each of thethree states to ensure com-plete stoppage of stubble-burning?” he asked.

The letter comes on a daywhen Mr Javadekarslammed Mr Kejriwal for“politicising” the issue ofstubble-burning by askingschoolstudents to write let-ters to his Punjab andHaryana counterpartsover pollution caused bysuch fires.

� The incident cameto light on Thursdaywhen Gurgaon policefound a bullet-wounded body of thevictim, Roshan Lal, ata flat in Sector-103here


Cab aggregators Ola andUber have said that theywill not resort to surgepricing during the 12-day Odd-Even roadrationing scheme start-ing from November 4.

In a statement issuedon Saturday, Ola said itwill extend its support tothe Delhi government’sinitiative to curb pollu-tion.

“Continuing ourefforts to provide com-muters an optimum andseamless experience, wewill have no peak pric-ing on rides booked onthe Ola platform duringthe Odd-Even period, thestatement said.

Last month, Uber hadannounced that it woulddeactivate surge pricingduring the implementa-tion of the Odd-Evenscheme in the nationalcapital.

On Friday, Delhi chiefminister ArvindKejriwal said that surgepricing would not beapplied by app-basedcabs during the Odd-Even scheme.

No surge infares duringOdd-Even, say Ola, Uber

India vs Bangladesh Twenty20 opener at Kotla ground today

SPORT | Cricket

Police vehicles vandalised and torched after clashes between lawyers and policemen at Tis Hazari Court in New Delhion Saturday.

Argument between police, lawyers over parking turns violent ■ ADCP, 2 SHOs, 8 lawyers among 28 injured

Devotees perform Chhath Pujaat Yamuna in New Delhi onSaturday. — BUNNY SMITH

Students wearing anti-pollution masks attend a class in Gurgaon on Saturday. — PTI


Pollution levels in Delhiand neighbouring citiesdropped marginally onSaturday with slightincrease in wind speedand light rains, a day afterthe region recorded itsworst air quality forcingauthorities to shutschools, ban all construc-tion activities and declarea public health emergency.

Light scattered rainfalldue to a western distur-bance slightly broughtdown the city’s overall airquality index (AQI) to 402at 8 pm from 407 at 10 am.It was 484 at 4 pm onFriday, according to offi-cial data.

However, 20 out of 37monitoring stationsrecorded AQI in the‘severe’ category (401-500).Vivek Vihar was the mostpolluted at 450 followed byAnand Vihar and ITO,both at 448.

In the National CapitalRegion (NCR), Ghaziabad,Noida and Greater Noidarecorded AQIs of 455, 432and 429, respectively, at 8pm on Saturday. OnFriday, Ghaziabad andGreater Noida had an AQIof 496 at 4 pm, the CentralPollution Control Board(CPCB) said.

An AQI between 0-50 isconsidered “good”, 51-100“satisfactory”, 101-200“moderate”, 201-300“poor”, 301-400 “verypoor”, and 401-500“severe”. Above 500 is“severe-plus or emer-gency” category.

In a crackdown on viola-tors, authorities arrested34 people including adirector and three engi-neers, from sites of fivereal estate groups inNoida and Greater Noidafor carrying out construc-tion activities despite theban.

The South DelhiMunicipal Corporationissued challans of `5 lakhto each of the four compa-nies involved in the ongo-ing development work atPragati Maidan for violat-ing the National GreenTribunal order pertainingto construction work.

Pollution level dropped marginally in Delhi-NCR

� In a crackdown onviolators, authoritiesarrested 34 peopleincluding a directorand three engineers,from sites of five realestate groups in Noidaand Greater Noida forconstruction activitiesdespite the ban

SUNDAY | 3 NOVEMBER 2019 | NEW DELHITHE ASIAN AGE

SHORT TAKESPunia fifty in vainas India go down

NNoorrtthh SSoouunndd:: Opener PriyaPunia’s well-compiled fifty went

in vain as the Indian women’steam suffered a narrow one-run

defeat against the West Indiesin the first ICC Women’sChampionship ODI here.

Chasing 226 to win, Puniasmashed six boundaries in her

107-ball innings, while JemimahRodrigues (41) scored a 67-ball

41 at the top but they didn’t getenough support from lower-

order to be dismissed for 224 in50 overs by the hosts. Earlier,

Stefanie Taylor opted to batfirst and produced a captain’s

knock, scoring a 91-ball 94studded with eight boundariesand two sixes. Opener Natasha

McLean also put up a goodshow, smashing a 82-ball 51 asWest Indies posted a competi-tive 225 for 7 at the Sir Vivian

Richards Stadium on Friday.Defending the total, off-spinner

Anisa came up with a superbbowling performance, claimingfive wickets for 46 runs. — PTI

BBrriieeff ssccoorreess:: West Indies 225for 7 in 50 overs (S Taylor 94; SPandey 2/38) bt India 224 in 50

overs (P Punia 75; AMohammed 5/46).

Axar sizzles inIndia C’s big win

RRaanncchhii:: All-rounder Axar Patelsmashed a 61-ball 98 before

leg-spinner Mayank Markandeclaimed four wickets as India‘C’ trounced India ‘B’ by 136

runs in the third and final one-dayer of the Deodhar Trophy onSaturday. Batting first, India ‘C’posted a challenging 280 for 5,

riding on Axar’s brilliance andand Virat Singh’s 96-ball 76.

They then returned to dismissIndia ‘B’ for 144 in 43.4 overs to

complete the drubbing. ForIndia ‘B’, Baba Aparajith

emerged as the top-scorer witha 90-ball 53 but he didn't get

any support from the other hand. India ‘B’ and India

‘C’ have already qualified forthe finals after India ‘A’ lostboth their ties and the two

teams will face off in the sum-mit clash here on Monday.

Chasing the total, India ‘B’ bats-men threw away starts, losing

wickets at regular intervals.Openers Gaikwad and

Yashashvi Jaiswal were the firstto go after being dismissed byPathania and Jalaj as India ‘B’were reduced to 74 for two in

17.5 overs. However, India B suf-fered a collapse after that withJadhav, Rana, Parthiv, Shankar

and Roy failing to reach doublefigures as they slumped to 115

for 7 in the 35th over. — PTIBBrriieeff ssccoorreess:: India C 280/5 in50 overs (Axar Patel 98, ViratSingh 76; S Nadeem 2/37) bt

India B 144 in 43.4 overs (BAparajith 53; M Markande 4/25).

3 seconds “Just three seconds” is all what it took for Sourav Gangulyto convince Virat Kohli into playing a Day/Night Testagainst Bangladesh, revealed the BCCI president

Cricket

NNeeww DDeellhhii,, NNoovv.. 22:: Theyoungsters on the fringeswill line up for anotherWorld Twenty20 auditionwhile a few seniors will tryto get back into the groovewhen firm-favourite Indiatake on Bangladesh in thesmog-hit series-openerhere on Sunday.

Questions have beenraised over the rationalebehind hosting the matchin Delhi at a time when thenational capital is battlingpost-Diwali air pollutionbut the BCCI ruled outshifting the tie at the lastminute due to logisticissues.

The visiting side is notcomplaining but pollution,the resultant health con-cerns and the ban imposedon Bangladesh’s iconic all-rounder Shakib Al Hasanjust before the tour has def-initely hogged more lime-light in the build-up to thethree-match series.

The teams are ready tobattle it out and with noestablished name figuringin India’s bowling depart-ment, it will be an opportu-nity for Mumbai all-round-er Shivam Dube, his state-mate Shardul Thakur andRajasthan’s DeepakChahar to show what theybring to the table.

There are still around 20matches that India willplay before next year’sWorld T20 in Australia butthe Indian team manage-ment has said that it wouldprefer to identify the coreof the team without muchtinkering. Considering thesame, it is time for theseyoungsters, including spinall-rounder WashingtonSundar, to make a case forthemselves.

Stand-in captain RohitSharma is in perilous formand he would look to carryhis Test form into theshortest format. But hisopening partner ShikharDhawan is yet to find thatbig knock after making acomeback to white-ballcricket from a thumbinjury that had cut shorthis 50-over World Cup inEngland.

The Delhi left-handerhad scores of 36 and 40

during the South Africaseries and struggled to

find runs during therecently-concluded

Vijay HazareTrophy, where he

managed just onehalf-century inseven matches.

Among oth-ers, KLR a h u l ,S h r e y a sI y e r ,K r u n a lP a n d y aand localb o yR i s h a b hPant lookcertaintyin the

m i d d l eorder. If Shivam Dube ishanded his much-awaitedIndia debut, he will have to

be placed up in the battingorder, considering his big-hitting ability.

Dube’s selection in theplaying XI will rule outboth Manish Pandey andSanju Samson because theremaining slots are likelyto be taken by YuzvendraChahal, Khaleel Ahmed,Deepak Chahar andWashington Sundar.

Like Dhawan, it’s also anopportunity for leg-spinnerChahal to earn back hisplace in the Indian side.Getting limited opportuni-ties this year has putbrakes on his career whichat one time soared in com-pany of Kuldeep Yadav.

With Chahal likely to bepreferred for usually low-slow Kotla surface, an off-spinner in WashingtonSundar will be a more use-ful option than fielding legspinner Rahul Chahar.

The team may not fieldtwo wrist spinners andSundar’s superior battingability gives him an edge.For India, it’s also a chanceto work out a strategy to dowell when it bats first. Theteam management has

identified this as an issuesince if the top order fails,the middle order does notinspire much confidence.

Bangladesh have emergedas a potent Asian cricket-ing force, replacing strug-gling Sri Lanka in thatposition, but the neigh-bouring side has not beenin the best of form, of late.Afghanistan trumped themfor a historic Test win inChittagong in September,though Bangladesh did adecent job in the followingT20 tri-series, winningthree of the four matchesthey played but not beforelosing a T20 to the Asianminnows.

Bangladesh would stillpresent a good challenge,especially with their strongbatting line up which is ledby skipper MahmudullahRiyad. But they will defi-nitely miss charismaticskipper Shakib, who hasbeen banned by the ICC forfailing to report corruptapproaches. In his absence,the onus will also be onLiton Das, MushfiqurRahim and Soumya Sarkerto deliver the goods. — PTI

■ India and Bangladesh promise a cracker of a contest at smog-hit Delhi

HOW THEY FARED IN T20sP W L T N/R

India 120 74 42 1 3 Bangladesh 89 29 58 - 2 India (vs Bangla) 8 8 0 0 -

Shakib Al Hasan cavort-ing with bookieDeepak Aggarwal, for

which he has been slappedwith a two-year ban lastweek, is painful reminderthat the malaise of corrup-tion has still not beenentirely eliminated fromtop-level cricket.

Shakib is now ineligible toplay against India, whichcould affect Bangladeshseriously in the T20 as wellas Test series’s. He is theirpremier player by far andwas the lynchpin of theteam, apart from being cap-tain.

His absence affectsBangladesh adversely inthe two series unless theother players can remark-ably make up for hisShakib’s absence. But theissue currently is not somuch the outcome of thebilateral series’s betweenBangladesh and India, butwhat Shakib’s misde-meanor means for thefuture of the sport.

The charge againstShakib is not of match orspot fixing, but of withhold-ing information from theBCB (and ICC) of approach-es made to him onWhatsapp by Aggarwal.

There is a huge differencebetween the two sins ofcommission, of course. Butall said, this is a majortransgression and I thinkShakib got away quite light-ly. He is not a rookie, havingbeen around for more thana decade, and can’t be igno-rant of the crises crickethas gone through becauseof attempts by the under-world and other nefariouselements to destroy thesport by enticing playersinto corruption.

Two things emerge as themost concerning from theShakib saga which shouldoccupy the minds of admin-istrators, the fraternity ofplayers and law-enforcingagencies as they come toterms with the present con-troversy and work outstrategies for the future.

One, it is clearly not justfringe players who are vul-nerable and therefore moreapproachable by bookies

and such as has widely beenunderstood through someepisodes in the past.

If anything, senior play-ers and captains have morevalue for bookies and fixerssince they are betterinformed of team’s tacticsor in positions of influenceto steer a game in a certaindirection. They are primetargets.

What’s more disturbing,however, is not the temerityof bookie Aggarwal toreach out to a senior pro,but the relative ease withwhich he managed thiswithout being found out forso many months.

That Shakib would contin-ue the Whatsapp conversa-tion with Aggarwal overseveral months shows thatthe fear about punishmentamong players for dal-liances with bookies is notas intense as the cricketestablishment would haveimagined.

It has been argued thatShakib just strung alongwith Aggarwal withoutobliging him. But even iftrue, it is of little solace inthe context of what crickethas already suffered andwhat such reckless behav-iour could mean for it in thefuture. He is arguably thebest all-rounder in theworld today, unarguably thebest-ever player fromBangladesh, and was alsothe captain of his country.There is surely someresponsibility that comeswith this exalted status.

After the Hansie Cronjestory broke in circa 2000,taking down in its wake notjust the late South Africacaptain but several otherstellar players, cricket hasbeen intermittently hit bysimilar scandal, albeit notof the same scale.

As a custodian of thegame — particularly sen-iors/captains — it was notjust important, but obliga-tory for Shakib to informauthorities about the over-tures made to him by book-ie Aggarwal. By not doingso, he was leaving the dooropen for corruption even ifhe was not directly involvedin fixing.

Fact is, despite measuresbeing put in place in allcountries as mandated bythe ICC, cases of match-fix-ing, spot-fixing and the likehave erupted every now andthen in the past twodecades. Most have beenattributed to the prolifera-tion of T20 leagues.

There have been disas-trous consequences in someinstances. The IPL corrup-tion case of 2013 broughtdown a few careers andearned a couple of teams aban. It also led to a melt-down of the Indian cricketadministration, and leftmany big players with adubious reputation.

The fight against corrup-tion has to be fought on sev-eral fronts. Anti-corruptionunits have to be ever vigi-lant. In countries likeIndia, Pakistan andBangladesh, legalising bet-ting would be of great helpprovided laws punishingtransgressions are strictand enforced. But the buckultimately stops with theplayer — his belief systemand sense of integrity.There is no way any sportcan be cleansed of corrup-tion if a player decides hewants to be.

Youngsters should be givenlong rope: Stand-in skipperNNeeww DDeellhhii,, NNoovv.. 22:: There isno dearth of options tohave a settled middle ordergoing into the World T20next year reckons stand-inskipper Rohit Sharma, whoadvocated the need to shiftfrom chop-and-change poli-cy to provide the young-sters a sense of security.

Whenever India’s top-order fires, the team staysin a good space but a weakmiddle and lower order hasbeen exposed a number oftimes when that does nothappen.

Asked if the team haszeroed in on, on this aspect,ahead of the World T20 inAustralia, Rohit said, “Wehave lot of options.”

“They need to get moregames under their belt tobe more confident andgetting the job done.The team, a few yearsago, was very muchsettled so there wasnot much room for ayounger player tocome and grab thatopportunity,” Rohitsaid ahead off i r s tT w e n t y 2 0a g a i n s t

Bangladesh.“There has always been a

chop and change betweenthat number 4,5,6 and 7 aswell. So now this is the besttime for us to try theseguys. Shreyas Iyer, ShivamDube, Manish Pandey thenRishabh as well. There area lot of guys who can do thejob.”

However, he acknowl-edged that the road is toughfor the youngsters, trying

to find a place in this formi-dable Indian set up. “Whenthey play for their IPL teamit’s different but when theycome here, it is differentball game. They bat higherfor their IPL franchise andthat is the challenge ininternational cricket, youwill not get, what you want.

“You have to earn thatposition and make surewhatever little opportuni-ties you get, you have tomake the most of it. In IPLthey are guaranteed 15games but not in interna-tional cricket.”

Explaining India’s prepa-rations for the World T20next year, Rohit said theteam needsto better theirperformance while batting

first. “We have looked atcertain number and

stats. Our numbersare very good whenwe chase whetherit’s in India or out-side. Somethingwe really want to focus ison posting tar-

gets andd e f e n d i n gthem.”

— PTI

Shakib got away quite lightly

TRACK RECORD

LIVE on TVIndia vs Bangladesh

1st T20 on Star Sports 1, HD1

FROM 7 PM

TEAMSINDIA: Rohit Sharma(c), Khaleel Ahmed,Yuzvendra Chahal,Deepak Chahar,Rahul Chahar,Shikhar Dhawan,Shivam Dube,Shreyas Iyer, ManishPandey, KrunalPandya, RishabhPant, K L Rahul,Sanju Samson,Washington Sundarand Shardul Thakur.

BANGLADESH:Mahmudullah Riyad(C), Taijul Islam,Mohammad Mithun,Liton Kumer Das,Soumya Sarker, NaimSheikh, MushfiqurRahhim, Afif Hossain,Mosaddek HossainSaikat, Aminul IslamBiplob, Arafat Sunny,Abu Hider, Al-AminHossain, MustafizurRahman and ShafiulIslam.

HIGHEST INNINGSTOTALSIndia: 180/5 in 20overs at Nottinghamin 2009Bangladesh: 166/8 in20 overs at Colomboin 2018

LOWEST INNINGSTOTALSIndia: 146/7 in 20overs at Bangalore in2016Bangladesh: 121/7 in20 overs at Dhaka in2016

HIGHEST INDIVIDUALSCORESIndia: India 89 RohitSharma at Dhaka in2016Bangladesh: 77 SabbirRahman at Colomboin 2018

BEST BOWLING IN ANINNINGSIndia: 4/21 PragyanOjha at Nottingham in2009Bangladesh: 3/37 Al-Amin Hossain atDhaka in 2016

STATS: S. PERVEZ QAISER

I was always of thebelief that I can

never cheatPakistan, but I was

surrounded bymatch-fixers.

— Shoaib Akhtar, former Pakistan bowler

Breathtaking opener

Bangladesh players during a training session ahead of theT20 series opener in New Delhi. — AFP

Focus is on cricketnow: MahmudullahNNeeww DDeellhhii,, NNoovv.. 22:: The issue of poor air quality indeedfigured in Bangladesh’s team discussions but the visitingskipper Mahmudullah Riyad said that it’s time to shiftfocus on cricket since they have no control over weatherconditions.

A public health emergency has been declared in theNCR region following rising pollution level in the regiondue to stubble burning incidents in Northern states ofHaryana and Punjab. The bursting of crackers during theDiwali festivities coupled with construction work tooimpacted the air quality level. “Actually, we had a chatabout these conditions. It is not within our control. We arefocussing much more on the match and win this game,”said Mahmudullah ahead of the T20 series-opener.

“Players have practised last three days, trying to adaptto the conditions. It’s not within our control, we have tofocus on our cricket,” said Mahmudullah. — PTI

Ayaz MemonOver The Top

RohitSharma

Shikhar DDhawanduring aa ttrainingsession aahead oofthe ffirst TT20againstBangladesh.

— AFP

TOP 2 FIGHT ON

AAuussttiinn,, NNoovv.. 22:: Ferrariteam chief Mattia Binottoon Friday explained whythe Italian scuderia hadchosen to back FormulaOne’s radical new regula-tions package for 2021 andbeyond.

The package, includingan annual budget cap, wasapproved unanimously bythe FIA’s World MotorSports Council onThursday with Ferrarimaking clear they haddecided not to use theirexclusive veto to blockthem.

Speaking to reporters at anews conference at theUnited States Grand Prix atthe Circuit of theAmericas, Binotto talked ofFerrari’s wish to be part ofthe collaborative effort tojoin with the sport’sAmerican commercialrights owners LibertyMedia and ruling body theInternational MotoringFederation (FIA).

The package was alsoapproved of by most otherteams, without much com-plaint, but with Binotto

adding that he and Ferraristill believed there is muchmore to do.

“We voted in favour so weare happy with the new setof regulations,” he said.

“If not happy, at least, weare convinced it’s the rightway to go.”

He described the blue-print for the future as “astarting point” that repre-sented the best package tobe presented for a vote ofsupport and said F1 stillhad much to be developedand improved for a sustain-able future.

“We believe it’s the rightmoment to look for thiscontinuity,” he explained.

“Our sport has to be sus-tainable, we are all aware of

that.We need to work hardas well in the future on amore sustainable, green aswell, sport so, there is stillmuch to work on.

“If there is anything Iwould avoid, it is to say ithas been locked on. I thinkthat’s a starting point. Weare all together now and weneed to collaborate.”

Red Bull team bossChristian Horner gave therules package, whichincluded radical new aero-dynamics for the cars toimprove the racing, a cau-tious welcome.

He said he believed theconcept was good in “try-ing to allow the drivers tofollow closely.”

Like Ferrari’s four-timechampion Sebastian Vetteland several other drivers,he criticised the increasedweight of the cars.

“The cars are going to beheavier, we need to get thatdown,” he said. “But I thinkthe principle in whatthey’re trying to do isabsolutely right. It’s impor-tant now that we try towork collectively.” — AFP

SSaann FFrraanncciissccoo,, NNoovv.. 22::Golden State Warriors starStephen Curry will be outof action for at least threemonths after undergoingsurgery to repair his frac-tured left hand, the strug-gling NBA giants saidFriday.

A team statement saidCurry underwent success-ful surgery at Cedars-SinaiKerlan-Jobe Institute inLos Angeles on Friday tofix the second metacarpalbone following theWarriors loss to Phoenixon Wednesday.

“Curry is expected tomake a full recovery andan update on his status willbe provided in threemonths,” the team said.

Curry suffered the injuryafter falling heavily follow-ing a foul by Phoenix cen-ter Aron Baynes during theWarriors’ 121-110 loss tothe Suns on Wednesday.

The injury means thatthe six-time All Star andtwo-time NBA MVP willnot return until February

at the earliest.News of Curry’s long

injury layoff was a furtherhammer blow to theWarriors, who werealready facing a period oftransition following thedeparture of Kevin Durantand the long-term absenceof Klay Thompson, who isexpected to miss the entireseason as he recovers froma knee injury.

The Warriors, whoreached five NBA finals ina row between 2015 and2019, have suffered heavylosses to the OklahomaCity Thunder and the LosAngeles Clippers as well asthe Suns. — AFP

LLooss AAnnggeelleess,, NNoovv.. 22::LeBron James had a tripledouble and Danny Greenhit a buzzer beater to forceovertime as the LosAngeles Lakers stunnedthe Dallas Mavericks 119-110 on Friday.

James, a 15-time all star,finished with a seasonhigh 39 points and added16 assists and 12 reboundsfor the Lakers.

“After the injury lastyear I wasn’t myself,” saidJames. “I heard it all. Iheard it all from my year17. Is this the last we seenof LeBron? He’s not verygood at defence.”

James stepped up hisgame in the overtime ses-sion, drawing a foul on alayup for a three pointplay that gave Los Angelesa 110-103 lead.

James said teams makethe mistake of underesti-mating his defensiveskills.

“You can’t single me outon defence because I am intune with that side as well.It is important for me,” hesaid.

James wasn’t the onlyplayer to register a triple

double. Mavericks starLuka Doncic finished with31 points, 15 assists and 13rebounds for his 10thcareer triple double. At 20he has the most triple dou-bles in history for a playerunder the age of 21.

Anthony Davis delivered31 points and eightrebounds in the win.Lakers reserve DwightHoward was involved intwo controversial playsnear the end of the gamethat could have resulted incalls against the Lakers atkey moments but didn’t.

Howard clashed headswith an unsuspectingDoncic with about aminute and a half left inregulation, sendingDoncic to the floor in painand blood oozing from acut in the back of hishead.

On Green’s game-tyingbasket, Howard appearedto grab Seth Curry withboth hands, preventingthe Maverick defenderfrom getting to Green intime to prevent the shot.There was no penalty oneither play.

Elsewhere, Jayson

Tatum hit the winningshot in the final secondsand Kemba Walker postedhis third straight 30 pointgame as the Boston Celticsbeat the New York Knicks104-102.

Tatum nailed a turn-around jumper with 1.3seconds left as the Celticsimproved to 4-1 by win-ning their fourth consecu-tive game.

Brooklyn slowed downred-hot Houston Rocketsstar James Harden byusing a stingy defence anda well balanced offensiveattack for a 123-116 victory.Taurean Prince had 27points and 12 rebounds tolead the Nets. — AFP

PAGE

15SUNDAY | 3 NOVEMBER 2019 | NEW DELHITHE ASIAN AGE

SHORT TAKESFabio takes pole

in MalaysiaSSeeppaanngg ((MMaallaayyssiiaa)):: French

rookie Fabio Quartararosnatched pole position for the

Malaysian MotoGP Saturday in ahard-fought race, but world

champion Marc Marquez had adramatic crash and will start

from 11th place. The 20-year-old Petronas Yamaha sensation,

who has emerged this seasonas a key rival to Marquez, pow-

ered to a quickest lap of 1min58.303sec to seal first place on

the grid. Spain’s MaverickVinales was second quickest,

0.103 off the pace, while FrancoMorbidelli of Italy rounded out

an all-Yamaha front row.Quartararo, who had already

set blistering times in practiceat the Sepang circuit, was

fastest in the early stages ofqualifying. Valentino Rossi

briefly took over before Vinalessurged into the lead, and

looked to be heading for victo-ry. But the French rider raced a

scorching lap in the dyingstages to beat his MonsterEnergy Yamaha rival, and

secure his fifth pole position ofthe season. The result is a

major boost for Quartararo,who crashed out of the

Australian MotoGP last week,and lifts his hopes of winning

his first race on Sunday. — AFP

Indonesian riderdies in accident

SSeeppaanngg ((MMaallaayyssiiaa)):: AnIndonesian motorbike rider

competing in a tournament topromote young talent died

Saturday after an accident atthe Sepang circuit in Malaysia,

officials said,triggering tributesfrom the racing community.

Afridza Munandar, 20, wasinvolved in the incident on turn

10 in the first lap of the racewhich took place after qualify-ing for Sunday's MotoGP, they

said. Reports said he wasinvolved in a crash with anotherrider. The race, part of the Asia

Talent Cup, was red-flagged fol-lowing the accident and then

cancelled. He received medicaltreatment by the side of thetrack and was then taken by

helicopter to a hospital in KualaLumpur, MotoGP said in a state-

ment. "Despite the bestefforts of circuit medical staff

and those at the hospital,Munandar sadly succumbed to

his injuries shortly thereafter," itsaid. Munandar notched up twowins, two second place and two

third place finishes this seasonand had been set to fight for

the championshipthis weekend. — AFP

I’m going to leaveeverything on thecourt (in the final)to try to raise the

cup again.— Elina Svitolina after reaching

the final in WTA finals

Crown defenceDefending champion Lelisa Desisa will attempt an unprecedenteddouble on Sunday when he bids to retain his New York Marathoncrown just four weeks after winning gold at the World C’ships

SportSvitolina defeatsinjured Bencic SShheennzzhheenn ((CChhiinnaa)),, NNoovv.. 22::Belinda Bencic retired inthe third set as defendingchampion Elina Svitolinaoutlasted the injuredSwiss to win 5-7, 6-3, 4-1and reach her secondstraight final at the WTAFinals on Saturday.

Bencic was alreadystruggling in the semifi-nal with a right leg prob-lem before the end of thefirst set, which she won.

Svitolina had made itthrough the group stagewithout dropping a set.Winning the WTA Finalsin Singapore last seasonremains the biggest titleof her career.

In the other semifinal,Karolina Pliskova ofCzech Republic will takeon top-ranked Ash Barty,Australia’s first femaleyear-end No. 1.

After holding serve to 6-5 in the first set againstSvitolina, Bencic receiveda medical timeout to have

her right leg treated dur-ing the changeover. Backon court, Bencic took theset on her third set pointwith a backhand down-the-line winner.

But the leg injurycaused more problems forBencic, allowing Svitolinato gain control.

Bencic, who lost herserve in the first andninth games of the secondset, received further treat-ment when trailing 1-2and 3-4 at thechangeovers. In the thirdset, Svitolina went ahead3-0, and by 4-1 Benciccouldn’t continue.

The tournament hasbeen hit by injuries thisyear. Naomi Osaka with-drew ahead of her secondround-robin match with aright shoulder injury.Bianca Andreescu with-drew before her thirdround-robin match afterinjuring her knee in theprevious match. — AP

PPaarriiss,, NNoovv.. 22:: Rafael Nadaland Novak Djokovic, fight-ing it out for the year-endworld number one spot,edged closer to a possibleParis Masters final clashas both eased into the lastfour on Friday.

The 33-year-old Nadal,who can secure the end-of-year top ranking ahead ofDjokovic by winning hismaiden Bercy title, beatFrench wildcard Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6 (7/4),6-1.

Nadal is bidding for arecord-extending 36thMasters crown and willtake on Denis Shapovalovin the last four onSaturday after theCanadian youngsterthrashed Gael Monfils 6-2,6-2.

The Spaniard hasreached the semis for thefirst time at the eventsince 2013, having with-drawn injured before thequarter-finals on his lastappearance in 2017.

“I’ve had a lot of injuriesin this tournament (his-torically),” said Nadal.“I’m happy to be back inthe semi-finals.”

Djokovic had earliercrushed seventh seedStefanos Tsitsipas 6-1, 6-2and will next face GrigorDimitrov, who saw offunseeded ChileanCristian Garin 6-2, 7-5.

Nadal has now reached73 Masters semi-finals intotal and is two wins awayfrom his 85th ATP title,but only third indoors.

Tsonga was rock solid onserve in a first set whichdid not see a single service

game from either playereven reach deuce.

But second seed Nadalstepped it up in the tie-break, with two incrediblewinners on the run help-ing him take a crucial one-set lead.

Tsonga’s serve brieflydeserted him in the sec-ond game of the secondset, as successive doublefaults allowed Nadal toclaim the first break of

the match and he thensped to victory.

Novak beats Tsitsipas

Djokovic said he played“one of his best matchesof the season” to thrashTsitsipas.

The 32-year-old dis-patched his Greek oppo-nent in only 58 minutes.

The 16-time Grand Slamchampion went into the

match with a 2-1 losingrecord against Tsitsipas,but put the young worldnumber seven in his placewith a commanding victo-ry.

“I played one of the bestmatches of the season,”said Djokovic. “I preparedmyself very well for thismatch.

“I lost to Stefanos aboutthree weeks ago inShanghai. And obviously I

went through the videosand understanding onwhat I did well, what I did-n’t do so well, what I cando better.”

Djokovic will be usurpedby Nadal at the top of therankings next week, butcan ensure the race to bethe best player at the endof the year reaches theATP Tour Finals inLondon by winning a fifthParis Masters title. — AFP

SShhaanngghhaaii:: A rock-steady RoryMcIlroy said he was poised to

seize his first WGC-HSBCChampions title after strolling

into the lead with his thirdstraight 67 on Saturday to con-tinue his assault on the world’s

top ranking. Now the worldnumber two, McIlroy has

climbed up the ranks thanks tohis best season in years and

said this week in Shanghai thathe hopes to soon regain the

number one ranking for the firsttime since 2015. The 30-year-old Northern Irishman played

bogey-free on Saturday andtook sole possession of the

lead with his last shot of theday, rolling in a birdie on the

par-5 18th. “Right now, thegame feels pretty simple. I

know it’s not going to feel likethat all the time but when it

does you have to take advan-tage of that feeling,” he said.

Past experience has shown himthat when victory is within

reach “you just have to grab itwith both hands, and that’s

what I’ll do tomorrow”. McIlroymoved to -15 at the Sheshan

International Golf Club. Teeingoff with him in the leader’s trioon Sunday will be fellow Major

winner Louis Oosthuizen ofSouth Africa, who shot the low-est round of the day at 65 after

birdying the first five holes tomove to -14. — AFP

MCILROY INLEAD WITH

THIRD 67

Spain’s Rafael Nadal returns the ball to France’s Jo Wilfried Tsonga in a quarter-final match of the Paris Masterstennis tournament Friday. Novak Djokovic (inset) defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in quarter-finals. — AP

AAuussttiinn,, NNoovv.. 22:: LewisHamilton said he had tolie down and recover froma “massive headache”caused by the bumpytrack before he toppedsecond practice at theUnited States Grand Prixon Friday.

The 34-year-old Briton,who is poised to clinch hissixth drivers’ world titleon Sunday, said theCircuit of the Americaswas “the bumpiest trackby far that I have everbeen on.”

Several other driversalso complained as theystruggled with theuneven surface includingFerrari’s Charles Leclercwho wound up secondfastest by three-tenths ofa second.

Hamilton said he “wasnot feeling good” becauseof the bumps after open-ing practice, topped byRed Bull’s MaxVerstappen who wasthird-quickest in the sec-ond session.

“It was the bumpiesttrack by far that I haveever been on — I had sucha headache,” saidHamilton who needs onlyto finish in the top eight

to retain his title.“They are not such a

bad thing in some placesbecause it just adds char-acter to a circuit. I’m nota fan of completely

smooth circuits, but thisone is like massive, mas-sive bumps — and theproblem, for us, is that wedon’t have much suspen-sion.

“So it’s usually yourbutt on the floor and yourspine takes all the com-pression so I was feelinghorrible. I had such amassive headache afterP1, I had to lay down.”

“I was not feeling great.We made some changes tomake it a little bit betterfor the second one so itwasn’t feeling as badthrough P2 — so fingerscrossed.” — AFP

Lewis wary of massive bumps

PPaarriiss,, NNoovv.. 22:: India’s top doubles player RohanBopanna, along with his partner Denis Shapovalov ofCanada, suffered a narrow defeat against Russian duoof Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublov in the quar-ter-finals to crash out of the Paris Masters here.

The Indo-Canadian duo fought hard for over 80 min-utes before losing 5-7, 7-6, 8-10 against the Russian pairto bow out of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament.

Bopanna and Shapovalov produced 10 aces but theyalso committed three double faults during the match.

The Indo-Canadian pair saved four out of sevenbreak points and converted both the chances that cametheir way. They had defeated the Manuel Gonzalez andAustin Krajicek in the prequarterfinals. — PTI

BOPANNA-SHAPOVALOVOUT OF PARIS MASTERS

■ Nadal, Djokovic edge closer to possible final in Paris

●● Ferarri voted infavour and are happywith the new set ofregulations

●● Red Bull teamboss gave the rulespackage a cautiouswelcome

●● Stephen Curryunderwent surgeryon Friday to repairfractured left hand

●● He suffered injuryon Wednesday afterfalling heaviliyfollowing a foul

After the injury lastyear I wasn’t myself. Iheard it all from myyear 17. Is this the lastwe seen of LeBron?You can’t single me outon defence because Iam in tune with thatside as well.

— LEBRONJAMES

NBA star

It was the bumpiesttrack by far that I haveever been on — I hadsuch a headache. thisone is like massive,massive bumps — andthe problem, for us, isthat we don’t havemuch suspension.

— LEWISHAMILTON

F1 driver

WTA|| FINALS

NBA SEASON

FORMULA ONE RACING

James powers Lakers to overtime win

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James goes up forshot in the first half of an NBA game on Friday. — AP

Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the on trackduring practice in Texas on Friday. — AFP

Warriors’ Curryout for 3 months

‘Right way to go’: Ferrariback changes for 2021HAMILTON STILL

TOPS CHARTS INUS GRAND PRIXAAuussttiinn,, NNoovv.. 22:: LewisHamilton signalled hisintent to win his sixthdrivers’ title in style onFriday when he comfort-ably topped the times insecond practice at theUnited States Grand Prix— but it was not enoughto impress MaxVerstappen.

Hamilton, of Mercedes,who needs only to finishin the top eight onSunday to retain hiscrown, wound up three-tenths of a second clearof nearest rival CharlesLeclerc of Ferrari whileVerstappen was thirdfastest after topping thetimes in the morning inhis Red Bull.

Hamilton enjoyed assis-tance from Williams’Robert Kubica, gaining ‘atow’ behind the Polishdriver down the straightin the middle sector ofhis lap at the Circuit ofthe Americas. — AFP

GamesSUNDAY | 3 NOVEMBER 2019 | NEW DELHITHE ASIAN AGE

Lakshya on targetLakshya Sen beats countrymate Kiran George 21-13, 14-21, 21-9 to enter the SaarLorLux Open badminton final

SHORT TAKES

This moment will beetched forever notonly on the trophy

but for every South African

— Bryan Habana, Springbokslegend after his team

lift the Rugby World Cup

Pooja takes silverin U-23 wrestlingBBuuddaappeesstt:: Pooja Gehlot (53kg)

claimed India’s second silvermedal after going down to

Japan’s 2017 world championHaruna Okuno in the finals of

the UWW Under-23 WorldChampionships here.

Gehlot lost 0-2 to Okuno in thesummit clash to emulate

Ravinder (61kg), who also wona silver earlier this week.Three-time World Junior

Championships medallist SajanBhanwal (77kg), however, lost a

close semi-final bout 4-5 toJapan’s Kodai Sakuraba. He will

now fight for the bronze onSaturday.

A terrific Bhanwal had earlierblanked Jesse Alexander Porter

6-0 in the qualifiers to moveinto the pre-quarter-finals,

where he notched up a 3-1 winover Azerbaijan’s Tunjay

Vazirzade. The unstoppable Bhanwal, one

of the best Greco-Roman tal-ents to have emerged fromIndia, then rushed into the

semi-finals on the back of astrong 6-2 win over Per Albin

Olofsson of Sweden. — PTI

NNeeww DDeellhhii:: Maisnam MeirabaLuwang lived up to his top

billing as he clinched the boys’singles U-19 title at the

Woncheon Yonex Korea JuniorOpen International Challenge

2019 in Miryang, Korea, onSaturday.

The top seed from Manipurneeded just 36 minutes to

brush aside the challenge of15th seed Lee Hak Joo of Korea

in a 21-10, 21-13 win.Also claiming the bronze in the

same category at this JuniorInternational Challenge tourna-

ment was eighth seed SathishKumar Karunakaran, who had

bowed out to Luwang 16-21, 22-24 in a gritty semi-final contest

on Friday.Luwang, who currently holds

the No. 9 spot in the world jun-ior rankings, was impressive

throughout the week anddropped just one game in six

matches. This is the 16-year-oldrising star’s third internationaltitle this year following his tri-

umphs at the Russian JuniorWhite Nights 2019 and India

Junior International 2019.— PTI

HHaannooii:: Indian women’s teamhead coach Maymol Rocky

sounded confident on the eveof their first international

friendly against Vietnam, stat-ing they are here to play their

own game. The coach said that the

preparatory camp in Delhihelped the players get readyfor the upcoming challenge.

India are set to take on Vietnamin the first of two Fifa interna-

tional friendlies here on Sunday.The coach is wary of the fact

that Vietnam (34) are a muchhigher-ranked side than India

(58). “Vietnam are obviously astrong side, they are much

higher ranked than us, so it is abit of an uphill task for us,” shesaid. However, she believes thatit will be down to how the twoteams will perform on a partic-ular day, which will decide the

result of the match.“But football is not a game that

is played on paper. It is playedon the pitch, where the two

sets of 11 players start on equalterms. So we are here to playour own game against them,

and we are ready for the fight,”she continued.

Rocky and her charges spent aweek in Delhi for a training

camp ahead of the upcomingencounters.

“The team has been reallypreparing well for the two

matches coming up againstVietnam. We have had a good

camp in New Delhi to gear our-selves up for the Vietnamgames and that has really

helped us put the girls back inshape for international foot-

ball,” said Rocky. — PTI

BBoouurrnneemmoouutthh,, NNoovv.. 22::Ole Gunnar Solskjaeradmitted ManchesterUnited had taken a “stepback” after their mini-revival came to a crash-ing halt as Josh King’sstrike earnedBournemouth a 1-0 winin treacherous weatherconditions on England’ssouth coast.

Solskjaer’s men had notwon away from homesince March until 10 daysago, but three consecu-tive wins on the road atPartizan Belgrade,Norwich and Chelsea tobook a place in theLeague Cup quarter-finals in midweek hintedat a turning point for theNorwegian.

Instead, the failingsthat have characterisedtheir season were back in

evidence as a lack of goalthreat and one momentof slack defendinginflicted a fourthPremier League defeat in11 games.

“We have to win gameslike this. We are disap-pointed but when youcome to places like thisyou have to take controlof the game. We did notand we could not get thegoal,” Solskjaer said.

“We were missing somequality at times. Maybe Ishould have started someothers. I think we startedthe game well though somaybe that was not thecase.”

After their upturn inform lately, Solskjaerconceded he was expect-ing a better result asUnited try to get back inthe race for a top four fin-

ish. “You are always verydown when you lose andconsidering the form wewere in we were hopingto take the three points.It is a step back for ustoday, but we need toshake it off and goagain,” he said.

“The first goal wasalways going to be impor-tant. Every time you con-cede a goal it is bad but

we are disappointed withthis. We had time to tack-le on a couple of occa-sions.

“We could not capi-talise on the good startand a moment of magicwon the game for them.”

The visitors had startedthe brighter as both sidesstruggled to cope in thehowling wind and rain.

Daniel James whistleda long-range effort justwide, whilst AnthonyMartial saw appeals for apenalty waved away.

Bournemouth strucktheir decisive blow justbefore the break whenKing, who started hiscareer in England atUnited after being recom-mended to Alex Fergusonby Solskjaer, came backto haunt his formeremployers. — AFP

King-size win for CherriesBBhhuubbaanneesswwaarr,, NNoovv.. 22::Skipper Rani Rampal’s48th minute strike sealedTokyo Olympics berth forthe Indian women’s hock-ey team as they pippedUSA 6-5 on aggregatedespite losing 1-4 in thesecond leg of the FIHQualifier here onSaturday.

After thrashing USA 5-1on Friday, it was expectedto be a formality for theIndian women but theywere given a real scare bythe USA women, whoraced to a 4-0 lead at thehalfway mark.

However the partisanfans went into raptureswhen Rani pulled oneback to maintain the slen-der lead till final hooter.

Indian women have nowqualified for back-to-backOlympics having sealed itin Rio de Janeiro after agap of 36 years. Thewomen’s team first partic-ipated in the quadrennialextavaganza in 1980where the men’s team lastwon their gold medal.

IINNDDIIAANN MMEENN QQUUAALLIIFFYYFFOORR OOLLYYMMPPIICCSS TTOOOO

India men’s team alsoqualified for the nextyear’s Olympic Gamesafter mauling Russia 7-1(11-3 on aggregate) in thesecond game of the two-legged FIH Qualifiers.

The Indian men had ear-lier defeated world num-ber 22 Russia 4-2 in thefirst-leg on Friday.

Akashdeep Singh (23rd,29th) and Rupinder PalSingh (48th, 59th) scored abrace each, while LalitUpadhyay (17th),Nilkanta Sharma (47th)and Amit Rohidas (60th)added one each for thehosts after Russia took anearly lead through AlexeySobolevskiy. — PTI

RANI’S LATE GOAL SEALSTOKYO BERTH

MOSES KKONDETY HYDERABAD, NOV. 2

High on energy, Hyderabadproved a handful to KeralaBlasters in their first gameat home to hammer them 2-1 in their Indian SuperLeague match on Saturdaynight.

It was all square at theGachibowli Stadium afterMarco Stankovic cancelledout Rahul KannolyPraveen’s 34th minutestrike with a punishingpenalty in the 54th. Then, amagnificent curling freekick by Marcelo in the81st minute sent the Keralanet bulging and home fansinto raptures. TheBrazilian leapt with joy,over the advertising hoard-ings and celebrated thestunner in front of theecstatic crowd.

Kerala held early advan-tage and had the first shotat goal when Rahul workedhis way into the box only toshoot the ball high.

Five minutes later, hemade another attempt atopening the scoring but hiskick from the edge of thebox rolled past theHyderabad post with cap-tain and goalkeeperKamaljit Singh cheerfullyletting it be.

Kerala cracked the homedefence deep into the firsthalf courtesy Rahul whocapitalised on a bouncyforward pass from SahalAbdul Samad to blast theball in from close range

past a flailing goalie. Theycame close to doubling thelead in the injury time ofthe first half but captainBartholomew Ogbeche’sheader rolled wide.

Hyderabad did makesome forays forward butlacked the numbers infront of the Kerala goal asthe attacks fizzled out. Onesuch was when strikerRobin Singh not able tocontrol a measured passfrom Marcelo at the Keralagoalmouth. Then, theresultant corner went invain after Shankar headedwide.

However, one moveresulted in a penalty, andgoal. MouhamadouMoustapha Gning trippedMohammed Yasir in thebox for the referee to pointto the spot, from whereMarko Stankovic made nomistake to equalise forHyderabad.

Marcelo then tired a longranger in 57th minute butthe ball sails over. He madeamends later though, tobury a brilliant curler intothe net that would prove tobe the winner.

The atmosphere at theStadium was lively with ascores of supporters turn-ing up to root forHyderabad while Kerala’sboisterous travelling fansbathed a section of thestand in yellow, oftenswitching on flashlights ontheir phones and holdingthem up high to spur theirplayers.

Marcleo givesKerala a Hyd-ingYYookkoohhaammaa,, NNoovv.. 22:: At

times it was brutal,often it was downrightugly, but who cares? Inthe end there can havebeen few morepoignant sights thanthat of Siya Kolisi, theboy from a dusty, pover-ty-stricken SouthAfrican township, onSaturday lifting theRugby World Cup fol-lowing an emphaticvictory over England.

The first black man tocaptain the Springbokshoisted the trophy highinto the Yokohamanight and was instantlyshowered by goldenstreamers as fireworkslit up the sky at the endof a momentous 32-12triumph.

It was a scene des-tined for posterity, andsporting showreels theworld over, and onewhich prompted tearsfrom South Africans onthe field and off it.

“Since I have beenalive I have not seenSouth Africa like this,”Kolisi said. “It was likein ‘95,” he added, refer-ring to the RainbowNation’s first WorldCup triumph, on homesoil.

That victory wasimmortalised byNelson Mandela, SouthAfrica’s first post-apartheid president,wearing then-captainFrancois Pienaar’snumber six jersey.

That gesture was mir-rored on Saturdaywhen a beamingPresident CyrilRamaphosa alsodonned the number sixshirt, now worn byKolisi, as he watchedthe presentation pitch-side, waving to the cap-

tain who replied with avictory sign and aclenched fist.

“So many challengeswe have,” Kolisi said.

“Coach (RassieErasmus) told us weare not playing for our-selves, we are playingfor the people backhome. We are reallyproud as SouthAfricans. Not manypeople gave us achance. We had tobelieve in each otherand our plan. We loveyou, South Africa, andwe can achieve any-thing if we worktogether.”

EELLEECCTTRRIICCSSPPRRIINNGGBBOOKKSS

Giant number eightDuane Vermeulenagreed. “We are doing it foreach other but also for57 million people backhome in South Africa,”the man of the matchsaid.

This night was allSouth Africa’s as theywon their third WorldCup to draw level withNew Zealand as themost successful side inthe tournament’s histo-ry. With three cupsfrom three finals, theyare the only nationwith a 100 percentrecord in the showcasematch.

England lost finals in1991 and 2007, the latterto South Africa, andnow join France asthree-time runners-up.

England will now tryto figure out how a sidethat obliterated theseemingly invincibleAll Blacks in the semi-finals could show upwith so little invention.

— Reuters

Rainbow Nation turn gold

YYookkoohhaammaa ((JJaappaann)),, NNoovv.. 22::Springbok captain SiyaKolisi said South Africa’sRugby World Cup victoryon Saturday showed whatthe Rainbow Nation couldachieve if it pulled togetherto face its challenges.

An emotional Kolisi, thefirst black man to captainthe Springboks, devoted theWebb Ellis Cup to the peo-ple of South Africa andsaid he was so grateful fortheir support.

“We have so many prob-lems in our country but ateam like this, we comefrom different back-grounds, different racesbut we came together with

one goal and we wanted toachieve it,” Kolisi said.

“I really hope we’ve donethat for South Africa. Justshows that we can pulltogether if we want toachieve something,” saidthe captain, who led histeam to a resounding 32-12victory over England inYokohama.

He said coach RassieErasmus had told the teamthey were not just playingfor themselves but for allthe people in South Africa,which is suffering an eco-nomic crisis with unem-ployment hovering around30 percent. And Kolisi saidthe Springboks had

received countless mes-sages from home as thenation got behind his team.

“Since I’ve been alive, I’venever seen South Africalike this,” he said.

“Thank you so much. Welove you South Africa andwe can achieve anything ifwe work together as one,”said the captain.

Erasmus, who is steppingdown as head coach afterthe World Cup, said the sup-port had driven the team tonew heights.

“To the Springbok sup-porters, I would like to saywe never felt alone here inJapan. We felt them all theway,” said Erasmus. — AFP

WIN SHOWS WHAT S. AFRICA CAN ACHIEVE: SIYA

South Africa captain Siya Kolisi lifts the Webb Ellis Cup as the team celebrate winningthe 2019 Rugby World Cup final against England in Yokohama on Saturday. — AFP

Kolisi becomes 1st black captain to lift rugby World Cup for S. Africa

PPaarriiss,, NNoovv.. 22:: Paris Saint-Germain suffered ashock 2-1 defeat at thehands of rock-bottomDijon on Friday withcoach Thomas Tuchelaccusing his expensively-assembled team of“being too passive andnot playing together”.

It was the third loss ofthe Ligue 1 season for theFrench champions whocould also see their leadat the top trimmed to justfive points by the end ofthe weekend.

Dijon, who started theday at the foot of the

table with just ninepoints, fell behind toKylian Mbappe’s fifthgoal in seven games.

However, MounirChouiar levelled in thesixth minute of stoppagetime in the first halfbefore Venezuelan inter-national Jhonder Cadizhit the winner in the 47thminute.

“We were too passive inthe first half, not only indefence but also in attackbecause we did not playtogether,” said Tuchel.

“We lacked precisionand rhythm.” — AFP

PARIS STUNNED BY ROCK-BOTTOM DIJON

HOCKEY

Luwang clinchesKorea Jr Open title

INDIA READYFOR VIETNAM

CHALLENGE

INDIAN || SUPER LEAGUE

Bournemouth’s Joshua King (right) scores past Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea in their EPL match at the Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth on Saturday. — AFP

Year winners result runners-up

2019 South Africa 32-12 England2015 New Zealand 34-17 Australia2011 New Zealand 8-7 France2007 South Africa 15-6 England2003* England 20-17 Australia1999 Australia 35-12 France1995* South Africa 15-12 New Zealand1991 Australia 12-6 England1987 New Zealand 29-9 France

(* match went into extra time)

RUGBY WORLD CUP WINNERS

Hyderabad FC’s Marcelinho (second from left) celebratesafter scoring against Kerala Blasters in their Hero ISLmatch in Hyderabad on Saturday.

We have to win gameslike this. We are disap-pointed but when youcome to places likethis you have to takecontrol of the game.We did not and wecould not get the goal.

— OLE GUNNARSOLSKJAER

Man United coach

Will ensure our interests served at RCEP meet: PM - SPLessons

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