RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No. - RYP ......2019/04/20  · Delhi Chief Minister...

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B JP candidate from the Bhopal Lok Sabha seat Sadhvi Pragya Thakur on Friday kicked up a major con- troversy by claiming Mumbai’s former Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare died during the 26/11 terror attacks because she had cursed him for torturing her while she was in custody in the 2008 Malegaon blast case. However, facing all-round criticism, she later not only apologised for her statement but termed Karkare a martyr. “I felt that the enemies of the country were being bene- fited from it, therefore I take back my statement and apolo- gise for it. It was my personal pain... He (Hemant Karkare) died from the bullets of ter- rorists from the enemy coun- try, he is certainly a martyr,” Pragya said. Left red-faced, the BJP had earlier sought to undo the damage by saying the party considered Karkare a martyr. Nevertheless, at the same time while the BJP termed Pragya’s remarks as her personal opin- ion, it reasoned it could be due to the physical and mental torture she underwent for years. Pragya is facing trial in the Malegaon blast case and is at present out on bail. “The BJP believes that Karkare died while bravely fighting terrorists. The BJP has always considered him a martyr,” the party said in a writ- ten statement in a damage-con- trol exercise. Earlier, addressing party workers in Bhopal, the Sadhvi said, “Hemant Karkare falsely implicated me. He died of his karma. I told him, he will be destroyed. I told him his entire dynasty will be erased. Maine kaha tera (Karkare) sarvanash hoga.” Pragya had alleged Karkare committed an anti-national act by falsely implicating her in the Malegaon blast case and keep- ing her behind bars without evidence. “It was treason. It was against religion,” she had said. T hree days after the death of Rohit Shekhar Tiwari, who fought with his father Narain Dutt Tiwari, former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, to be accepted as his son, the autopsy report on late night of Thursday revealed that his death was “unnatural”. Police sources said Rohit was most probably strangulat- ed and smothering with a pil- low. “Following the post- mortem at AIIMS conducted by a medical board comprising five senior doctors, police on Thursday registered a case of murder and transferred it to the Crime Branch for investigation, a senior officer said. “The medical board unan- imously concluded that the cause of death in this case is asphyxia as a result of stran- gulation and smothering. It is a sudden unnatural death, placed in the category of homi- cide,” said Dr Sudhir Gupta, the head of the AIIMS forensic department. K eeping the possibility of alliance with the Congress alive, the AAP on Friday post- poned the filing of nomination of three of its Lok Sabha candi- dates in Delhi, saying the party is willing to give another chance to the Congress to think about the nation. AAP’s East Delhi can- didate Atishi, Chandini Chowk candidate Pankaj Gupta and North West candidate Guggan Singh were set to file their nom- inations on Saturday. “But to give a last chance to the Congress to come on the table for holding talks over the alliance, we are postponing these candidates’ nominations from Saturday to Monday,” Gopal Rai said. Effort was being made “to save the country from Modi- Shah duo”, he said. Now these candidates will file their nomi- nations on Monday, along with South Delhi candidate Raghav Chadha, NE Delhi candidate Dilip Pandey and New Delhi candidate Brijesh Goyal, he added. D espite being located in the heart of Delhi’s posh Ram Krishna (RK) Puram, the unauthorised Anant Ram Dairy colony with a population of 3,500 residents that include educated and people employed in Government Departments such as Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), advocates, and teachers is deprived of basic civic facilities. Sixty-six-year-old Manudev Pehlvan said as the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) takes no interest in repairing pothole-ridden roads and picking up heap of garbage, residents pool money to get streets constructed during mar- riages or other important cer- emonies. Other residents, mostly Gujjars, concurred with Pehlvan and said their several complaints have failed to prod the NDMC and the local MLA into action. “The NDMC charges house tax but provides us with no facilities. Also, our water and electricity bills are high. We don’t understand why the authorities are dilly-dallying in authorising this colony,” rued many residents to The Pioneer which visited the locality to take stock of the situation. Many residents lamented that the NDMC is not provid- ing proper safety for the resi- dents resulting in the rise in rob- bery and theft cases. Resident Welfare Authority’s (RWA) long demand of building closed gates in the resident has fallen on authorities’ deaf ears. P aving the way for the moth- er of all battles in 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Congress general secretary and East UP in- charge Priyanka Vadra Gandhi has made up her mind to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Varanasi, as per her close confidante. Varanasi will go to polls on May 19. Priyanka confidant and Congress leader in UP Legislative Council Deepak Singh on Friday added the final call would be taken by party chief Rahul Gandhi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka’s candidature would be announced “soon”. Singh said, “Priyankaji is an Iron Lady akin to her grand- mother Indira Gandhi. She has made up her mind to take on Modi to give out a clear message to voters that the time of ‘change’ has come. N early a quarter century after their bitter fallout, Mayawati and Mulayam Singh Yadav on Friday came togeth- er in Mainpuri to share the dais from where the BSP chief cam- paigned for the SP patriarch hailing him as a real leader of the backwards and not being a “fake leader like Prime Minister Narendra Modi.” The BSP-SP alliance, hav- ing a formidable political arith- metic in the State, also achieved a strong political traction as the two bitter rivals ended their over-two-decade-long ani- mosity . Mayawati waxed eloquence for Mulayam terming him a “real and born leader of the other backward classes” unlike Prime Minister Narendra Modi whom she dubbed a “farzi OBC”. Besides praising each other profusely, the two arch- rivals also expressed gratitude to each other. Mayawati even went on to take at the estranged Yadav clan member Shivpal Yadav saying, “Akhilesh Yadav is the sole inheritor of the legacy of Mulayam Singh Yadav.” “I welcome Mayawati and I am very happy that Mayawati has come to my Lok Sabha con- stituency to campaign for me and I will never forget this favour. I am happy that I am sharing dais with Mayawati after very long gap. I respect Mayawati and you all should respect her,” said Mulayam Singh Yadav in his brief address to the rally. He added, “This is my last election and I am contesting as per the wishes of the alliance”. Mulayam also appealed to the voters of Manipuri to ensure his victory in the election with a record margin. Mulayam also blessed Akash Anand, nephew of BSP supremo Mayawati, who too was present on the dais. Further enhancing the feel- good factor, Mayawati defend- ed her move to join hands with the SP and said sometimes in the national interest and the party interest some tough deci- sions have to be taken. “I know people must be wondering why I have come here to cam- paign for Mulayam Singhji despite the State Guest House case. I have already replied to this question in January when both the parties announced this alliance in January”. T he Election Commission took suo motu cognisance of Pragya Thakur’s remarks against Hemant Karkare and ordered an enquiry after a complaint was filed against her with the Madhya Pradesh Election Commission. Madhya Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer VL Kantha Rao said a complaint has been received against the BJP Lok Sabha candidate for Bhopal, Pragya Singh Thakur, for her comments on 26/11 martyr (former Mumbai ATS chief Hemant Karkare). “Cognisance is taken. The matter is under enquiry,” Rao tweeted. T he Indian Police Service (IPS) Association did not name her but took exception to Thakur’s comments saying sac- rifices of martyrs should be respected. “Ashok Chakra awardee late Sri Hemant Karkare, IPS, made the supreme sacrifice fighting ter- rorists. Those of us in uniform condemn the insulting state- ment made by a candidate and demand that sacrifices of all our martyrs be respected,” it said. T he main Opposition Congress on Friday latched on to Sadhvi Pragya Thakur’s remarks against former Mumbai Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare to demand an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the country and action against the BJP candidate from Bhopal for “insulting every soldier”. Karkare, who died fighting terrorists during the 2008 Mumbai attacks, gave his life protecting India and he must be treated with respect, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi tweeted. For his part, Congress’ chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said, “Modi ji, only BJP leaders can commit the crime of declaring 26/11 mar- tyr Hemant Karkare a traitor. This is an insult to every Indian soldier who has sacrificed his life for Mother India while fighting terrorism. Apologise to the country and take action against Pragya.” He also alleged the Prime Minister was behind the remarks made against Karkare by Thakur. Reacting to the controver- sial comment of his political opponent from Bhopal LS seat, Congress leader Digvijay Singh said, “Hemant Karkare was a dedicated officer. He laid down his life for the country and we should be proud of him. No one should comment on it.” Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal too hit out at Pragya for her “disgraceful” comments on Karkare, saying it showed the party’s “true colours”. “Disgraceful comments by BJP’s Bhopal Lok Sabha candi- date Pragya Thakur on 26/11 martyr Hemant Karkare ji need to be condemned in strongest terms. BJP is showing its true colours & it must be shown it’s place now,” he said in a tweet. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia also said the BJP is questioning the martyr- dom of Karkare, who gave life to the protection of “Bharat Mata” in the Mumbai terror attack. “Any bhakt will not get angry on this... This is the patri- otism of BJP,” he said in a tweet. A s per final count, a whop- ping 74.95 per cent turnout was recorded during the second- phase of polling in the State on April 18. The polling was held in three Lok Sabha constituen- cies of Kanker, Mahasamund and Rajnandgaon. As per figures provided by the office of Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Kanker record- ed 74.23 per cent voting, Mahasamund 74.51 per cent while Rajnandgaon had record- ed a bumper turnout of 76.03 per cent. In 2014 general elections these constituencies recorded 70.28 per cent, 74.63 and 74.21 per cent polling respectively. In 1,906 polling centres out of 6,484, woman voters outnum- bered men in polling percentage. Previous polling percent- ages were 57.60 per cent in 2009 general elections and 73.02 per cent in 2014 general elections in these three seats. The polling centers which recorded highest poling include 97.4 per cent at Dullapur in Khairagarh assembly segment of Rajnandgaon constituency, 94.84 per cent in Ranidahra in Kawardha Assembly segment of Rajnandgaon. The highest women’s turnout was 98.13 per cent, recorded at Gudmeli polling centre in Bindranawagarh assembly segment of Mahasamund con- stituency. The third and last phase of polling in the state will be held on April 23 in the seven remaining Lok Sabha con- stituencies. RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No. - RYP DN/34/2013-2015

Transcript of RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No. - RYP ......2019/04/20  · Delhi Chief Minister...

Page 1: RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No. - RYP ......2019/04/20  · Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal too hit out at Pragya for her “disgraceful” comments on Karkare,

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BJP candidate from theBhopal Lok Sabha seat

Sadhvi Pragya Thakur onFriday kicked up a major con-troversy by claiming Mumbai’sformer Anti-Terrorist Squad(ATS) chief Hemant Karkaredied during the 26/11 terrorattacks because she had cursedhim for torturing her while shewas in custody in the 2008Malegaon blast case. However,facing all-round criticism, shelater not only apologised forher statement but termedKarkare a martyr.

“I felt that the enemies ofthe country were being bene-fited from it, therefore I takeback my statement and apolo-gise for it. It was my personalpain... He (Hemant Karkare)died from the bullets of ter-rorists from the enemy coun-try, he is certainly a martyr,”Pragya said.

Left red-faced, the BJP hadearlier sought to undo thedamage by saying the partyconsidered Karkare a martyr.Nevertheless, at the same timewhile the BJP termed Pragya’sremarks as her personal opin-ion, it reasoned it could be dueto the physical and mentaltorture she underwent foryears. Pragya is facing trial inthe Malegaon blast case and isat present out on bail.

“The BJP believes thatKarkare died while bravelyfighting terrorists. The BJPhas always considered him amartyr,” the party said in a writ-ten statement in a damage-con-trol exercise.

Earlier, addressing partyworkers in Bhopal, the Sadhvisaid, “Hemant Karkare falsely

implicated me. He died of hiskarma. I told him, he will bedestroyed. I told him his entiredynasty will be erased. Mainekaha tera (Karkare) sarvanashhoga.”

Pragya had alleged Karkarecommitted an anti-national actby falsely implicating her in theMalegaon blast case and keep-ing her behind bars withoutevidence.

“It was treason. It wasagainst religion,” she had said.

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Three days after the death ofRohit Shekhar Tiwari, who

fought with his father NarainDutt Tiwari, former ChiefMinister of Uttar Pradesh andUttarakhand, to be accepted ashis son, the autopsy report onlate night of Thursday revealedthat his death was “unnatural”.

Police sources said Rohitwas most probably strangulat-ed and smothering with a pil-low. “Following the post-mortem at AIIMS conducted

by a medical board comprisingfive senior doctors, police onThursday registered a case ofmurder and transferred it to theCrime Branch for investigation,a senior officer said.

“The medical board unan-imously concluded that thecause of death in this case isasphyxia as a result of stran-gulation and smothering. It isa sudden unnatural death,placed in the category of homi-cide,” said Dr Sudhir Gupta, thehead of the AIIMS forensicdepartment.

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Keeping the possibility ofalliance with the Congress

alive, the AAP on Friday post-poned the filing of nominationof three of its Lok Sabha candi-dates in Delhi, saying the partyis willing to give another chanceto the Congress to think aboutthe nation. AAP’s East Delhi can-didate Atishi, Chandini Chowkcandidate Pankaj Gupta andNorth West candidate GugganSingh were set to file their nom-inations on Saturday. “But to give

a last chance to the Congress tocome on the table for holdingtalks over the alliance, we arepostponing these candidates’nominations from Saturday toMonday,” Gopal Rai said.

Effort was being made “tosave the country from Modi-Shah duo”, he said. Now thesecandidates will file their nomi-nations on Monday, along withSouth Delhi candidate RaghavChadha, NE Delhi candidateDilip Pandey and New Delhicandidate Brijesh Goyal, headded.

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Despite being located in theheart of Delhi’s posh Ram

Krishna (RK) Puram, theunauthorised Anant RamDairy colony with a populationof 3,500 residents that includeeducated and people employedin Government Departmentssuch as Central Bureau ofInvestigation (CBI), advocates,and teachers is deprived ofbasic civic facilities.

S i x t y - s i x - y e a r - o l dManudev Pehlvan said as theNew Delhi Municipal Council(NDMC) takes no interest inrepairing pothole-ridden roadsand picking up heap of garbage,residents pool money to getstreets constructed during mar-riages or other important cer-emonies. Other residents,

mostly Gujjars, concurred withPehlvan and said their severalcomplaints have failed to prodthe NDMC and the local MLAinto action.

“The NDMC chargeshouse tax but provides us withno facilities. Also, our waterand electricity bills are high. Wedon’t understand why theauthorities are dilly-dallying inauthorising this colony,” ruedmany residents to The Pioneerwhich visited the locality totake stock of the situation.

Many residents lamentedthat the NDMC is not provid-ing proper safety for the resi-dents resulting in the rise in rob-bery and theft cases. ResidentWelfare Authority’s (RWA) longdemand of building closed gatesin the resident has fallen onauthorities’ deaf ears.

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Paving the way for the moth-er of all battles in 2019 Lok

Sabha polls, Congress generalsecretary and East UP in-charge Priyanka Vadra Gandhihas made up her mind to takeon Prime Minister NarendraModi in Varanasi, as per herclose confidante. Varanasi willgo to polls on May 19.

Priyanka confidant andCongress leader in UP

Legislative Council DeepakSingh on Friday added thefinal call would be taken byparty chief Rahul Gandhi andUPA chairperson Sonia Gandhiand Priyanka’s candidaturewould be announced “soon”.

Singh said, “Priyankaji is anIron Lady akin to her grand-mother Indira Gandhi. Shehas made up her mind to takeon Modi to give out a clearmessage to voters that the timeof ‘change’ has come.

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Nearly a quarter centuryafter their bitter fallout,

Mayawati and Mulayam SinghYadav on Friday came togeth-er in Mainpuri to share the daisfrom where the BSP chief cam-paigned for the SP patriarchhailing him as a real leader ofthe backwards and not being a“fake leader like Prime MinisterNarendra Modi.”

The BSP-SP alliance, hav-ing a formidable political arith-metic in the State, also achieveda strong political traction as thetwo bitter rivals ended theirover-two-decade-long ani-mosity .

Mayawati waxed eloquencefor Mulayam terming him a“real and born leader of theother backward classes” unlike

Prime Minister Narendra Modiwhom she dubbed a “farziOBC”. Besides praising eachother profusely, the two arch-rivals also expressed gratitudeto each other.

Mayawati even went on totake at the estranged Yadav clanmember Shivpal Yadav saying,“Akhilesh Yadav is the soleinheritor of the legacy ofMulayam Singh Yadav.”

“I welcome Mayawati andI am very happy that Mayawatihas come to my Lok Sabha con-stituency to campaign for meand I will never forget thisfavour. I am happy that I amsharing dais with Mayawatiafter very long gap. I respectMayawati and you all shouldrespect her,” said MulayamSingh Yadav in his brief addressto the rally.

He added, “This is my last

election and I am contesting asper the wishes of the alliance”.Mulayam also appealed to thevoters of Manipuri to ensurehis victory in the election witha record margin. Mulayam alsoblessed Akash Anand, nephewof BSP supremo Mayawati,who too was present on the dais.

Further enhancing the feel-good factor, Mayawati defend-ed her move to join hands withthe SP and said sometimes inthe national interest and theparty interest some tough deci-sions have to be taken. “I knowpeople must be wonderingwhy I have come here to cam-paign for Mulayam Singhjidespite the State Guest Housecase. I have already replied tothis question in January whenboth the parties announced thisalliance in January”.

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The Election Commissiontook suo motu cognisance

of Pragya Thakur’s remarksagainst Hemant Karkare andordered an enquiry after acomplaint was filed againsther with the Madhya PradeshElection Commission.

Madhya Pradesh ChiefElectoral Officer VL KanthaRao said a complaint has beenreceived against the BJP LokSabha candidate for Bhopal,Pragya Singh Thakur, for hercomments on 26/11 martyr(former Mumbai ATS chiefHemant Karkare). “Cognisanceis taken. The matter is underenquiry,” Rao tweeted.

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The Indian Police Service(IPS) Association did not

name her but took exception toThakur’s comments saying sac-rifices of martyrs should berespected. “Ashok Chakraawardee late Sri HemantKarkare, IPS, made thesupreme sacrifice fighting ter-rorists. Those of us in uniformcondemn the insulting state-ment made by a candidate anddemand that sacrifices of allour martyrs be respected,” itsaid.

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The main OppositionCongress on Friday latched

on to Sadhvi Pragya Thakur’sremarks against formerMumbai Anti-Terrorist Squad(ATS) chief Hemant Karkare todemand an apology fromPrime Minister Narendra Modito the country and actionagainst the BJP candidate fromBhopal for “insulting everysoldier”.

Karkare, who died fightingterrorists during the 2008Mumbai attacks, gave his lifeprotecting India and he mustbe treated with respect,Congress chief Rahul Gandhitweeted.

For his part, Congress’chief spokesperson RandeepSurjewala said, “Modi ji, onlyBJP leaders can commit thecrime of declaring 26/11 mar-tyr Hemant Karkare a traitor.This is an insult to every Indian

soldier who has sacrificed hislife for Mother India whilefighting terrorism. Apologise tothe country and take actionagainst Pragya.” He also allegedthe Prime Minister was behindthe remarks made againstKarkare by Thakur.

Reacting to the controver-sial comment of his politicalopponent from Bhopal LS seat,Congress leader Digvijay Singh

said, “Hemant Karkare was adedicated officer. He laid downhis life for the country and weshould be proud of him. Noone should comment on it.”

Delhi Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal too hit out atPragya for her “disgraceful”comments on Karkare, sayingit showed the party’s “truecolours”.

“Disgraceful comments byBJP’s Bhopal Lok Sabha candi-date Pragya Thakur on 26/11martyr Hemant Karkare ji needto be condemned in strongestterms. BJP is showing its truecolours & it must be shown it’splace now,” he said in a tweet.

Deputy Chief MinisterManish Sisodia also said theBJP is questioning the martyr-dom of Karkare, who gave lifeto the protection of “BharatMata” in the Mumbai terrorattack. “Any bhakt will not getangry on this... This is the patri-otism of BJP,” he said in a tweet.

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As per final count, a whop-ping 74.95 per cent turnout

was recorded during the second-phase of polling in the State onApril 18. The polling was heldin three Lok Sabha constituen-cies of Kanker, Mahasamundand Rajnandgaon.

As per figures provided bythe office of Chief ElectoralOfficer (CEO), Kanker record-ed 74.23 per cent voting,Mahasamund 74.51 per centwhile Rajnandgaon had record-ed a bumper turnout of 76.03per cent.

In 2014 general electionsthese constituencies recorded70.28 per cent, 74.63 and 74.21

per cent polling respectively. In1,906 polling centres out of6,484, woman voters outnum-bered men in polling percentage.

Previous polling percent-ages were 57.60 per cent in

2009 general elections and73.02 per cent in 2014 generalelections in these three seats.

The polling centers whichrecorded highest poling include97.4 per cent at Dullapur inKhairagarh assembly segmentof Rajnandgaon constituency,94.84 per cent in Ranidahra inKawardha Assembly segmentof Rajnandgaon. The highestwomen’s turnout was 98.13 per cent, recorded atGudmeli polling centre inBindranawagarh assemblysegment of Mahasamund con-stituency. The third and lastphase of polling in the state willbe held on April 23 in the sevenremaining Lok Sabha con-stituencies.

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Page 2: RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No. - RYP ......2019/04/20  · Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal too hit out at Pragya for her “disgraceful” comments on Karkare,

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Hopes for a breakthrough ina push to end

Afghanistan’s gruelling con-flict suffered a major setback onFriday after a key summitbetween the Taliban andAfghan officials was indefi-nitely postponed.

The so-called intra-Afghandialogue, due to take place inDoha this weekend, fell apart atthe last minute in a row overthe large number of delegatesKabul wanted to send.

The collapse comes at acritical time and amid contin-ued bloodshed. The Talibannow control or influence abouthalf of Afghanistan and 3,804civilians were killed there lastyear, according to a UN tally.

Washington, which is lead-ing an effort to end the war, sig-nalled its disappointment andurged both sides to return tothe table, though organisersprovided no hint about whenthe conference might berescheduled.

Sultan Barakat, who headsthe group that was to host theevent, said in a statement thepostponement was “necessaryto build further consensus as towho should participate”.

“Clearly the moment isnot yet right,” added Barakat,the director of the Center forConflict and HumanitarianStudies.

President Ashraf Ghani’sadministration had on Tuesdayannounced a list of 250 peoplefrom all walks of Afghan life,including government figures,who it wanted to send to Doha.

But the Taliban pouredscorn on the lengthy list, say-ing it was not “normal” andthat they had “no plans” tomeet with so many people.

The conference is “not an

invitation to some wedding orother party at a hotel in Kabul,”the Taliban said this week.

Though the insurgentsinsisted they would only talk toGhani officials in a “personalcapacity”, any contact betweenthe two parties in Doha wouldhave been hugely signficant,especially at a time whenAfghanistan is being ripped byfresh violence after the Talibanannounced their annual springoffensive. Ghani officialsblamed the Qatari governmentfor the summit’s derailment. Ina statement, the presidentialpalace said Qatar had rejectedthe long list of delegates andsuggested a shorter one whichwas “not acceptable”.

Analyst Michael Kugelmanof the Wilson Center inWashington said the break-down illustrated the toughpath ahead for peace.

The conference “mess andits dysfunction amplifies justhow much of a long, hard sloga reconciliation process will be,”he told AFP.

“If an event billed as a mereinformal ice-breaker causes somany problems, imagine whatcould happen when it’s time toput something more formaltogether.” Even some of thoseGhani said would attenddropped out, slamming theguest list as rigged to political-ly strengthen the president,who faces delayed elections inSeptember. The Doha summitwas separate from ongoingdirect talks between the Talibanand the US.

While the insurgents didmeet with Afghan politiciansoutside the government inMoscow in February, they havesteadfastly refused to meetwith Ghani and his adminis-tration, which they view as apuppet regime.

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US President Donald Trumpon Friday dismissed unfa-

vorable testimony in theMueller report on Russian elec-tion interference as “fabricated”and labelled the document“crazy.”

“Statements are madeabout me by certain people inthe Crazy Mueller Report, initself written by 18 AngryDemocrat Trump Haters,which are fabricated & totallyuntrue,” the president tweeted.

A 400-page document out-lining the findings of SpecialCounsel Robert Mueller’s 22-month investigation, madepublic on Thursday, clearedTrump of criminal conspiracybut left open whether he hadobstructed justice.

Mueller’s report recounts10 episodes involving the pres-ident and potential obstructionof the investigation.

After reviewing the docu-ment, Attorney General BillBarr and his deputy RodRosenstein concluded therewas insufficient evidence tocharge the president withobstruction. Mueller, however,noted that while he was fol-lowing Justice Department pol-icy in not charging Trump, theevidence he gathered “doesnot exonerate” the Republicanpresident.

Trump initially celebratedthe publication of the report -- which landed as the UnitedStates dives into the ferment ofa bitter presidential campaign-- saying at the White Housethat he was “having a good

day.” But he was in a more

defensive mood Friday, as heprepared for a long Easterweekend at his Florida golfresort, insisting that he haddone nothing wrong.

“Because I never agreed totestify, it was not necessary forme to respond to statementsmade in the ‘Report’ about me,some of which are total bullshit& only given to make the otherperson look good (or me to

look bad),” Trump added,repeating his description ofthe investigation as an “IllegallyStarted Hoax.”

Mueller said in his reportthat Trump’s “efforts to influ-ence the investigation weremostly unsuccessful, but that islargely because the personswho surrounded the presidentdeclined to carry out orders oraccede to his requests.”

The episodes of potentialwrongdoing, which will now beexamined by the Democrat-ledHouse of Representatives,include the firing of FBI chiefJames Comey, Trump’s effortsto remove Mueller and hisattempts to prevent disclosureof emails about the infamous2016 Trump Tower meetingbetween Russians and seniorcampaign officials. Democrats

meanwhile have demandedaction against Barr, arguingthat Mueller’s report undercutsome of the attorney general’skey claims about the obstruc-tion issue and the WhiteHouse’s cooperation with theinvestigation.

“There are at least four sig-nificant ways that Mr Barr hasmisled the public on the con-tents of the Mueller report,”Senate Democratic LeaderChuck Schumer and HouseSpeaker Nancy Pelosi said in ajoint statement.

Eric Swalwell, a Californiacongressman, called for Barr’sresignation while several oth-ers berated him. They accusedBarr of suggesting publicly andfalsely that Mueller had notintended for Congress toresolve the obstruction issue.

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Russia on Friday once moredismissed the Mueller

report, saying it failed to pre-sent clear evidence of anymeddling by Moscow in the2016 US election and called itsimpact on relations regret-table.

“As a whole the report asbefore does not present anyreasonable proof at all thatRussia allegedly meddled inthe electoral process in the US,”Kremlin spokesman Dmitry

Peskov told journalists, sayingit contained “no new infor-mation.” Russia has consis-tently rejected any suggestionthat it interfered in the electionwon by Donald Trump.

The politically explosiveprobe by Special CounselRobert Mueller ruled thatTrump’s campaign did notcriminally conspire withRussians to skew the election,and drew no conclusion onallegations of obstruction.

“We regret that documentsof such quality have a direct

influence on the developmentof US-Russian bilateral rela-tions which are not in the bestshape as it is,” Peskov said.

He even suggested thatUS taxpayers should questionwhy their money was spent onthe lengthy probe with such aresult.

“In our country, the AuditChamber would probably takean interest in such a report:what did American taxpayers’money get spent on? But let theUS taxpayers themselves askthat question,” Peskov added.

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Japanese Prime MinisterShinzo Abe is scheduling a

rushed visit to Washington tomeet with President DonaldTrump and celebrate first ladyMelania Trump’s birthday, andthen is inviting him to be firstforeign leader to meet Japan’snew emperor, the two countriesannounced Friday.

Without close friends inAsia, Abe is seen as usingevery opportunity, even theemperor’s accession, to courtTrump.

Tokyo and Washingtonsaid Friday that Trump and thefirst lady will make a state visitto Japan at the end of May, justweeks after Crown PrinceNaruhito ascends Japan’sChrysanthemum throne.Naruhito’s 85-year-old father,Emperor Akihito, is endinghis three-decade reign on April30 by abdicating.

Chief Cabinet SecretaryYoshihide Suga said receivingTrump as the first state guest ofthe new imperial era would“symbolize the unshakablebond of the Japan-U.S.Alliance.”

Japanese officials are alsoarranging for Trump to watchthe final day of a sumo

wrestling tournament on May26 so he can present a trophyto the winner. Trump may alsotravel to a Japanese naval basein Yokosuka west of Tokyo to see a destroyer thathas been refitted as Japan’sfirst postwar aircraft carrier,Japanese officials and mediareports said.

Abe, experts say, is takingevery opportunity to courtTrump as Japan tries to stay outof the U.S. Leader’s crosshairs,unlike some other world lead-ers who have upset him ontrade and other issues.

“I’m not sure what otherchoices this administration, orany Japanese administration,has except to try to build thebest relationship possible withWashington through face-to-face interaction,” said StephenNagy, a politics and interna-tional studies professor atInternational ChristianUniversity in Tokyo.

“I think Mr Trump beingthe first to meet the emperor isa good example of that.”Relations between Japan andtwo of its closest neighbors,South Korea and China, remainstrained over their war historyand territorial disputes.

In February, Trump saidAbe had nominated him for the

Nobel Peace Prize for his effortsto denuclearize North Korea.Abe did not deny the claim,triggering criticism from oppo-sition lawmakers that hisapparent effort to please Trumpwas embarrassing. Abe hasmanaged to largely stay ongood terms with Trump byassiduously avoiding criticismof the U.S. Leader. “You neverhear criticisms out of Japan ...That has been very character-istic of the Abe administration,”Nagy said.

“I think he has done wellbecause he hasn’t insulted Mr.Trump to cause problems.”Abe was also the first foreignleader to meet Trump after hiselection in November 2016, noteven waiting until he official-ly took office as is normaldiplomatic practice, and gavehim a special golf driver.

Hiro Aida, professor ofglobal studies at AoyamaGakuin University and anexpert on Japan-U.S. Relations,said Abe is jumping at theopportunity of the emperor’ssuccession after his ties withTrump were seen to be weak-ening as the U.S. Leader camedown hard on trade issues,demanding that Japan do moreto reduce the countries’ tradeimbalance.

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Protest leaders on Fridayannounced plans to unveil

a civilian body to take overfrom Sudan’s ruling militarycouncil as crowds of demon-strators kept up the pressureoutside army headquarters andWashington said it will send anenvoy to encourage the transi-tion. The military council,which took power after oustingSudan’s longtime leader Omaral-Bashir on April 11, has so farresisted calls from protesters toquickly make way for a civilianadminstration.

The Sudanese ProfessionalsAssociation, which has beenspearheading the protests, saidin a statement that the civiliancouncil members would benamed at a news conference at1700 GMT on Sunday outsidethe army complex to which for-eign diplomats are also invited.

“We are demanding thatthis civilian council, whichwill have representatives of thearmy, replace the militarycouncil,” Ahmed al-Rabia, aleader of the umbrella group ofunions for doctors, engineersand teachers, told AFP.

Four months after anti-regime protests started, access

roads were packed on Fridaywith crowds flocking to hugesquare outside army head-quarters. Activists mobiliseddemonstrators through socialmedia to keep up the pressurefor replacing the military coun-cil, now led by General AbdelFattah al-Burhan.

“Power to civilians, powerto civilians,” protesters chant-ed through Thursday night.

“I won’t leave until Burhantransfers power to a civiliangovernment,” said Wali Aldeen,who has camped outside thecomplex since the day Bashirwas ousted. Activists havecalled for large crowds to gath-er after weekly Muslim prayers,as on previous Fridays.

Protests first broke out onDecember 19 in response to thetripling of bread prices, swift-ly turning into nationwide ral-lies against Bashir’s three-decade rule.

After his ouster, protestersdemonstrated against GeneralAwad Ibn Ouf who took overas the first head of the militarycouncil, insisting he was a toolof the old regime.

Ibn Ouf stepped down inless than 24 hours and wasreplaced by Burhan, who so farhas appeased protesters by lift-

ing a night-time curfew andvowing to “uproot” Bashir’scircle.

The United States onThursday praised orders bySudan’s new military leader tofree political prisoners andend the curfew as it dispatchedMakila James, a deputy assis-tant secretary of state, on a mis-sion to Khartoum this week-end. The United States will “cal-ibrate our policies based on ourassessment of events”, StateDepartment spokeswomanMorgan Ortagus said, addinghowever that talks on delistingSudan as a state sponsor of ter-rorism remained suspended.

“We are encouraged by thedecision to release politicalprisoners and cancel the curfewin Khartoum,” Ortagus said ina statement.

She said that the UnitedStates wanted the militarycouncil and other armed unitsto “show restraint, avoid con-flict and remain committed tothe protection of the Sudanesepeople.”

“The will of the Sudanesepeople is clear: it is time tomove toward a transitionalgovernment that is inclusiveand respectful of human rightsand the rule of law,” she said.

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Ajournalist was shot deadduring riots in Northern

Ireland in what police onFriday were treating as a ter-rorist incident following thelatest upsurge in violence to shake the troubledregion.

“Lyra McKee was mur-dered during orchestrated vio-lence in Creggan last night,”Assistant Chief Constable MarkHamilton said in a statement.

McKee had earlier postedan image that appeared to befrom the riots in the Cregganhousing estate in the city ofLondonderry, also known asDerry, accompanied by thewords “Derry tonight. Absolutemadness.”

Images of the unrest post-ed on social media showed acar and van ablaze and hood-ed individuals throwing petrolbombs and fireworks at policevehicles.

“A single gunman firedshots in a residential area of thecity and as a result woundedMs McKee,” said Hamilton,adding that police believed thegunman was a “violent dissi-

dent republican.” “We are treating this as a

terrorist incident and we havelaunched a murder enquiry,” headded.

Journalist Matthew Hughesearlier identified the deadwoman as one of his friends.

“I just received the heart-breaking news that my friend@LyraMcKee was murdered tonight in a terror-ist incident in Derry,” he wroteon Twitter.

McKee had written for TheAtlantic magazine andBuzzfeed News and was namedby Forbes Magazine in 2016 asone of their “30 under 30” out-standing figures in media,according to her literary agentJanklow & Nesbit.

Leona O’Neill, a reporterwith the Belfast Telegraph, saidshe saw McKee get hurt.

“I was standing beside thisyoung woman when she fellbeside a police Land Rovertonight in Creggan #Derry. Icalled an ambulance for her butpolice put her in the back oftheir vehicle and rushed her tohospital where she died. Just 29years old. Sick to my stomachtonight,” she tweeted.

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The UN said on Friday it hadevacuated 163 refugees

from war-ravaged Libya toneighbouring Niger, but morethan 3,000 others were stilltrapped in detention centresaffected by clashes.

The move marked the firstevacuation of refugees andmigrants out of Libya sincefighting escalated in Tripoli twoweeks ago, the UN refugeeagency said.

“Given the situation inLibya, humanitarian evacua-tions are a lifeline for detainedrefugees whose lives are injeopardy in Libya,” UN refugeechief Filippo Grandi said in astatement.

The operation came asfierce fighting continuedbetween forces loyal to strong-man Khalifa Haftar and those

backing the internationallyrecognised Government ofNational Accord (GNA).

The renewed fighting haskilled over 200 people and leftmore than 900 wounded, theWorld Health Organisationsaid Thursday.

More than 25,000 havebeen displaced, according tothe International Organisationfor Migration.

Dozens of women andchildren were among thoseevacuated on the UNHCRflight that landed in Niger

early Friday morning.They had all been held in

detention centres near thefrontlines of the conflict.

UNHCR said it had previ-ously relocated many of themfrom the Abu Selim and AinZara centres to its Gatheringand Departure Facility (GDF)in the centre of the capital.

In all, it said, it had relo-cated 539 refugees from sever-al detention centres near theimmediate fighting zone.

But it said more than 3,000refugees and migrants remaintrapped in detention in areaswhere the fighting was raging.

The agency said itremained “extremely con-cerned” for the safety of thosewho remain “trapped insidedetention centres and exposedto violence.”

Grandi meanwhile hailedNiger for welcoming the

refugees and urged other coun-tries to follow suit.

“Niger’s solidarity in receiv-ing these refugees is world-leading and exemplary, butNiger cannot do this alone,” hesaid. “There must be sharedresponsibility and we needother countries to come for-ward to lend a hand and helpbring vulnerable refugees out ofLibya to safety.”

UNHCR issued an urgentappeal to the internationalcommunity to find solutionsfor all the trapped and detainedrefugees in Libya.

Among other things, itsaid there was a need for evac-uations and humanitarian cor-ridors to allow refugees in itsGDF in Tripoli to find safetyabroad. It also said new suchspaces were needed, since thefacility had only limited capac-ity.

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Mali’s prime ministerresigned along with his

entire government onThursday following criticismover their handling of anupsurge of violence in the cen-tre of the country and a mas-sacre last month that left 160people dead.

A statement from PresidentIbrahim Boubacar Keita’s officesaid he had acceptedSoumeylou Boubeye Maiga’sresignation, along with those ofhis ministers, two weeks aftermass protests erupted over therising tide of violence.

Lawmakers from both rul-ing and opposition parties hadsubmitted a motion of no con-fidence against the govern-ment on Wednesday, blamingMaiga and his administrationfor failing to clamp down onthe unrest.

“A prime minister will benamed very soon and a newgovernment will be put inplace after consultations with

all political forces” from boththe ruling and opposition sides,the statement from Keita’soffice said. The president hadon Tuesday said in a televisedaddress that he had “heard theanger”, without explicitly nam-ing the prime minister.

The government had comeunder mounting pressure overits handling of violence in therestive Mopti region and espe-cially a massacre on March 23in which 160 people were killedin the village of Ogossagou nearthe border with Burkina Faso.

Members of the Dogonethnic group -- a hunting andfarming community with along history of tension with thenomadic Fulani people overaccess to land -- were accusedof being behind the masskilling.

Tens of thousands of peo-ple took to the streets ofBamako on April 5 to protestagainst the upsurge of vio-lence, accusing the govern-ment of not doing enough tostop it. The protest was called

by Muslim religious leaders,organisations representing theFulani herding community,opposition parties and civilsociety groups.

Mali has been struggling torestore stability since Islamistextremists linked to Al-Qaedatook control of the country’svast desert north in early 2012.While the jihadists were large-ly driven out in a French-led military operationthat began in January 2013,huge areas are still in the gripof lawlessness, despite a 2015peace agreement with somearmed groups that sought todefinitively stamp out theIslamist threat.

Since then, militants haveshifted from the north towardsthe more densely populatedcentre of the country, wherethey have sharpened ancientrivalries and ethnic conflictsthat date back years. Jihadistattacks have also spread toBurkina Faso, Chad and Niger,forcing tens of thousands ofpeople from their homes.

Paris: For many of France’s yel-low vest protesters, the stingingsadness that came with the dev-astating fire at Notre DameCathedral has quickly givenway to boiling anger.

Despite their struggles tomake ends meet, some madesmall donations for the restora-tion of the iconic Paris build-ing.

But they also felt unheardwhen French PresidentEmmanuel Macron addressedthe nation to speak about thefire, instead of laying out hisresponse to the social crisis thathas fueled their protests sincelast November.

And they felt even moreoutraged when, in just a fewhours, billionaires pledgedhundreds of millions of dollars(euros) to help restore thedamaged cathedral while theirdemands remain unsatisfiedin their longstanding fight withthe French government. AP

Istanbul: Turkey has arrestedtwo men suspected of spyingfor the United Arab Emiratesand is probing if they are tiedto Saudi journalist JamalKhashoggi’s murder, Anadolustate news agency said onFriday. The two were detainedas part of an investigation byIstanbul prosecutors intoalleged spying by the Gulfstate, Anadolu reported.

It was not clear when theywere arrested.

A critic of the Saudiregime, Khashoggi was killedOctober 2 in the Saudi con-sulate in Istanbul by a team of15 agents sent from Riyadh.

AFP

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Page 3: RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No. - RYP ......2019/04/20  · Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal too hit out at Pragya for her “disgraceful” comments on Karkare,

chhattisgarh 03RAIPUR | SATURDAY | APRIL 20, 2019

STAFF REPORTER nPATHALGAON

Senior BJP leader and UnionMinister for Transport Nitin

Gadkari had accused theCongress of misleading the vot-ers.

“It’s (the Congress) mis-leading the Muslims and Dalitsby spreading fear that if BJPcomes to power again theMuslims will be sent toPakistan. To mislead the Dalits,it is claiming that theConstitution is in danger,” theUnion minister said.

Gadkari was addressing apublic meeting at governmenthigh school ground here onFriday to campaign for the BJP’sRaigarh Lok Sabha constituen-cy candidate Gomti Sai.

At the rally, Gadkari alsohit out at Nyuntam Aay Yojana(NYAY) of the Congress. Rightfrom the period of JawaharlalNehru and Indira Gandhi, the

Congress had been giving thisslogan of ‘garibi hatao,’ he said.

Even after the party ruledthe country for 50 years, itfailed to alleviate poverty andnow Rahul (Gandhi) had comeup with the NYAY scheme forthe same purpose, without any

proper planning.“From where they will get

money to distribute Rs 72000 topoor families is not clear in theirmanifesto,” Gadkari said, termingthe NYAY a false promise. It wasjust a ‘pack of lies,’ he added.

Gadkari who is also minis-

ter for river development andconservation of Ganga alsomocked the recent Ganga Yatraof the Congress general secre-tary Priyanka Gandhi Vadrafrom Prayagraj to Varanasi,claiming it was due to theefforts of his ministry the waterof the river was purified to agreat extent.

On achievements of hisministry, he claimed that dur-ing the Congress regime twokilometers of road were laid perday but during the tenure of theBJP government it wasincreased to 35 kilometers perday. The national highways arebeing prepared with concretecement so that they last longerand serve even the coming gen-erations, he said.

Union Minister VishnudevSai, Rajya Sabha memberRanvijay Singh Judev and othersenior BJP leaders of the statewere present on the occasion.

STAFF REPORTER nRAIPUR

The Bahujan Samaj Party(BSP) candidate from

Raipur Lok Sabha constituen-cy Khileshwar Sahu on Fridaywithdrew his candidature infavour of Congress candidatePramod Dubey.

He made the announce-ment at a press conferenceheld at Congress’s state head-quarters Rajiv Bhawan.

Senior Congress leaderand legislator Satyanarayan

Sharma, Congress candidatePramod Dubey, legislatorVikas Upadhyay and state gen-eral secretaries GirishDewangan and Shailesh NitinTrivedi were present at thepress conference.

Speaking on this occasion,Sahu extended his uncondi-tional support to Congress’sPramod Dubey.

Explaining the reason forhis decision, Sahu said whenhe was allotted ticket, the BSPassured him of providingfinancial help but later he was

not given any help.Sahu said he was on wrong

path and after realising that hehad joined the right politicalparty, the Congress.

He also hailed the decisiontaken by Chief MinisterBhupesh Baghel in recent past,terming the move ‘historic’ forwelfare of farmers and poorpeople of the state. He furtherstated that by any means hewanted to prevent BJP fromcoming back to power as it hasonly promoted hatred in thename of caste and religion.

Rahul Gandhito addresspublic ralliesin C’garh today

RAIPUR: Congress pres-ident Rahul Gandhi willaddress two public meet-ings in Chhattisgarh onSaturday.

According toCongress sources,Gandhi will address apublic meeting atSakribhata in Bilaspurconstituency at 3:00 p.m.His second public meet-ing will be at 5:00 p.m. atBaikunthdham inVaishali Nagar, Bhilai inDurg constituency.

‘Congress misleadingMuslims and Dalits’

BSP’s Raipur Lok Sabha candidatewithdraws from race, backs Cong

BEMETARA/ BALODA BAZAAR: Threemembers of a family were killed after a speedingtruck crushed them from behind on Friday.

In another incident, six people lost theirlives after a mini truck carrying them fell into adeep roadside pit.

According to police, the three persons,including a 12-year-old boy, were riding on abike when suddenly a rashly driven truck com-ing from behind rammed them at Rakagaon inBemetara police station limit.

“The three died on the spot. The deceasedhave been identified as Ballu Verma, YashwantVerma and Karan Verma. After getting infor-mation police reached the spot and registered acase,” a local police official said. Police are look-ing for the absconding truck driver, he said.

Meanwhile, six people were killed and 15others injured when the mini-truck carrying amarriage party fell into a roadside ditch inChhattisgarh's Balodabazar district onThursday evening, police said.

The accident took place near Amodi villagewhen the vehicle, carrying around 25 people,was going to Rikokala from Gidhauri, a localpolice official said.

The victims were returning after attending awedding in the Dadsena family, residents ofGidhauri, he said.

The driver reportedly lost control over thevehicle following which it overturned and fellinto the ditch, he said. "While five people diedon the spot, another succumbed to injuries atthe hospital," he added. Fifteen others who sus-tained injuries were admitted to a communityhealth centre in Kasdol.

Nine people die inseparate road accidents

STAFF REPORTER n DURG

World famous Pandwanisinger Teejan Bai

extended her support toBahujan Samaj Party’sGitanjali Singh in Durg con-stituency.

The support from therecipient of the second-high-est civilian award of thecountry, Padma Vibhushanboosted the BSP’s pollprospect and made the con-test here triangular with theCongress and the BJP beingthe two other major con-tenders.

Teejan Bai is the mostcelebrated face in the regionand the BSP has roper her asits star campaigner.

With only a few days togo for the polling, the cam-paigning in the constituencyis at its peak.

Teejan on Friday attend-ed series of public meetingsand appealed to the voters tovote for BSP candidateGitanjali.

Later talking to media

persons, Teejan praisedGitanjali saying she was awell-educated able youngcandidate.

She could work better forthe development of the con-stituency as she is full ofenergy, she said.

Teejan however ruled outthe possibility of her joiningthe BSP or any other political

party.“Gitanjali came to my

residence and requested tocampaign for her and as sheis just like my daughter, Iagreed to her request,” shesaid. Congress has fieldedPratima Chandrakar whileBJP has nominated VijayBaghel from theconstituency.

Noted Pandwani singerTeejan Bai backs BSP’sGitanjali in Durg

BJP candidate for Raipur Lok Sabha seat Sunil Soni (with saffron scarf around his neck) and his Congressrival Pramod Dubey (in sunglass) seen together on Friday seeking blessings at a temple in state capital Raipuron the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti. Photo by Santosh Sahu

STAFF REPORTER nRAIPUR

Chhattisgarh Chief MinisterBhupesh Baghel on Friday

attacked BJP for a controversialstatement of Sadhvi Pragya, BJPcandidate for Bhopal seat, onMumbai terror attack martyrHemant Karkare.

He also asked Prime MinisterNarendra Modi to clarify howterming ‘Chowkidar’ as ‘Chor’(thief) is pejorative for entirebackward community.

Baghel in a tweet postedtoday asked BJP to apologise tonation for insulting HemantKarkare.

``PM Modi has consideredHemant Karkare as a martyr.Now Sadhvi Pragya is takingcredit for his (Karkare’s) death inthe hands of terrorists. This is theinsult to a martyr. BJP must apol-ogise to the nation for this,”Baghel said in his tweet.

Pragya Singh is contestingagainst former Madhya PradeshCM Digvijay Singh from Bhopal.She claimed that 26/11 martyrHemant Karkare died becauseshe had cursed him for "tortur-

ing" her in connection withMalegaon bomb blast case.

“He (PM) should also explainthat when BJP national vice pres-ident and former Chief MinisterRaman Singh terms anyone‘Chhota Aadmi’ then who is he

mocking,” ChiefMinister BhupeshBaghel said.

C h a i r m a nChhattisgarh Congressmedia cell Shailesh NitinTrivedi in a press releasequoted Baghel as sayingthat PM was trying tomislead people by asso-ciating himself withSahu community ofChhattisgarh and claim-ing that the “chowkidarchor” remark was a sluron the entire communi-ty.

“If the PM is reallybothered about thebackward communitythen he should clarifywhat has he done for thecommunity during histenure,” Baghel added.

Baghel, who is alsothe president ofChhattisgarh Congress

unit, stated that Modi’s was a newavatar of a multi-faced leader.After Chaiwala, Pradhan Sevak,Fakir and Chowkidar, he has nowreturned as leader of the back-ward community.

BJP must apologise forinsulting martyr: Baghel

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The Election Commission(EC) on Friday barred BJP's

Himachal Pradesh chief SatpalSingh Satti from campaigningfor two days starting Saturdayover his “indecent and deroga-

tory” comment againstCongress chief Rahul Gandhi.

The commission exercisedpowers under Article 324 of theIndian Constitution to ban Sattifor 48 hours starting 10 am onSaturday for using an abusiveslur while referring to Rahul

Gandhi at a rally in Nalagrah’sRamashehar last Saturday.

Responding to theCongress chief 's “chowkidarchor hai” jibe at Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, Satti had toldthe rally that Gandhi and hisfamily were "thieves".

He has already been bookedby Baddi police under Section294 (obscene acts and songs) ofthe Indian Penal Code, after theCongress complained aboutthese comments made at therally.

The EC has also served a

second notice to Satti for hisindecent remarks about Gandhiand sister Priyanka GandhiVadra made at another rally twodays later, and his reply wasunder consideration.

At this rally, Satti said thatGandhi was not suitable for the

Prime Minister's post as hehad failed even in getting adaughter-in-law for his mother,Sonia Gandhi.

Himachal Pradesh's fourLok Sabha seats will go to the polls in the last phase onMay 19.

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Dehradun: Two elephants werekilled after they were hit by atrain in Jwalapur area ofHaridwar district early on Friday,a forest department official said.

The Divisional ForestOfficer (DFO) Akash KumarVerma said the incident occurredat around 4 a.m. when theNanda Devi Express hit the ele-phants who were crossing thetracks.

While one tusker was statedto be around 25-30 years of age,the other elephant was a sub-adult, Verma said.

A case has been registered inthis regard.

Since the area is outside thereserved forest, the DFO said thecase against the train driver willonly be registered after a thor-ough investigation.

"This is basically a civilianarea and there is no speed limitregulation for trains. We willinvestigate the matter andaccordingly proceed further,"Verma said. IANS

New Delhi: Former UnionMinister Upendra Kushwahawill continue to be the Presidentof the Rashtriya Lok SamtaParty (RLSP) and the symbol of"ceiling fan" will be reserved forthe party till the conclusion ofthe Lok Sabha elections, theElection Commission (EC)ruled on Friday.

Giving an interim order ona dispute between two factionsof the party over its leadershipand symbol, the EC said, "Therecognition of the RLSP with thereserved symbol 'ceiling fan'shall continue till the conclusionof the current general elec-tions."

"Upendra Kushwaha willcontinue to be recognised as thePresident of the party for thepurposes of the current elec-

tions," it said.RLSP MLA from Bihar

Lalan Paswan, who leads one ofthe two RLSP factions, had peti-tioned the EC that the party hadremoved Kushwaha after he leftthe National DemocraticAlliance (NDA) and joined theUnited Progressive Alliance(UPA) last year without theconsent of party members.

In the interim order, the ECsaid the faction led by Paswanwill be granted interim recog-nition as a state party until thedispute was resolved.

The faction has to give anew name for the party "imme-diately". It has also been askedto indicate a symbol of its choice(giving a choice of at least threesymbols) from among the avail-able free symbols. IANS

Shimla: The simmering dis-contentment over the absenceof basic amenities in the areaalong the China border is forc-ing 400-odd voters inHimachal Pradesh's remoteKunnu and Charang villages inKinnaur district to boycott theparliamentary polls.

The reason: politicians visitthe area only during electionsand thereafter disappear.

"A road to connecting toour village has been con-structed under the PradhanMantri Gram Sadak Yojanabut there is lack of its mainte-nance. It is literally non-existentat most of the 15-km stretchfrom Moorang to Charang,"village head Puran Singh toldIANS on Friday.

He sought to strengthenthe BSNL network, open moreschools and provide liberalfunding for local area devel-opment.

"Despite repeatedreminders to our representa-tives, no action has been initi-ated,a he said on phone, adding"the entire villagers have nowdecided that: 'jab tak roadrepair nahi, tab tak vote nahi'(We will not vote till the roadis repaired)."

Kunnu and Charangpolling stations in Pooh block,known for growing peas, arepart of the sprawling Mandiparliamentary constituencythat covers almost two-thirds ofthe hill state.

In this seat, sitting MPRam Swaroop Sharma of theBharatiya Janata Party (BJP)has been pitted againstCongress greenhorn Ashray

Sharma, who learnt politics foryears from his father and for-mer Minister Anil Sharma.

While Charang has 50households, Kunnu has 30.

Another villager RoshanLal said the villagers were suf-fering because of unprece-dented delay in repair of theroad.

"Also the contractor hiredby the state government has notcleared the snow from theroad timely in the winter,resulting in hampering ofmovement of heavy vehicles,"he said.

"We are living in India andnot in Pakistan. It is the duty ofour politicians to take care ofdevelopment in villages locat-ed in interiors of the state,"added an aggrieved Lal, who isgram panchayat 'up-pradhan'.

Octogenarian Ramesh LalNegi said the health services arequite bad. "Lack of develop-ment remains a major issue inareas bordering China in thestate. For want of health spe-cialists one has to travel eitherto Shimla or to Chandigarh."

Locals rue that the condi-tion of road is so bad that theyeven can't even walk. Large pitspose threat of accidents.

The Buddhist-dominatedKinnaur district in theHimalayan terrain, with eleva-tions ranging from 15,000 to20,000 feet above sea level,shares a porous border withChina.

Polling for the four LokSabha seats in HimachalPradesh - Shimla, Kangra,Mandi and Hamirpur - isscheduled for May 19. IANS

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Jashpur (Chhattisgarh): Unionminister Nitin Gadkari onFriday accused Congress chiefRahul Gandhi of misleadingpeople with a false promise ofproviding a minimum incomeof Rs 72,000 per year.

Addressing a campaignrally at Pathalgaon in Jashpurdistrict of Chhattisgarh, he alsosaid the credit for transformingthe country's image in the lastfive years did not go to him orPrime Minister Narendra Modi,but to the people who gavemajority to the BJP.

"Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru,Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhiand Sonia Gandhi, all gave theslogan `garibi hatao' (removepoverty) and people voted forthem, but they did nothing.

"Similarly, Rahul Gandhihas started misleading the coun-try by lying to people. He ismaking a false promise of giv-ing Rs 72,000 per year to thepoor," Gadkari said.

"It is wrong, because theycannot give it. From wherethey will get the money? To mis-lead people has been theCongress' policy," he said.

"During its 50-year-rule,the Congress spread the poison

of casteism and communalism.They misled people by tellingthem that the BJP governmentis anti-Dalit and it will changethe Constitution. They tellMuslims that this governmentwill chop them off (`katwadenge') and send them toPakistan," he said.

"The Congress is spreadinglies because it cannot seek voteson the basis of its work,"Gadkari said.

"We are working to fulfil thedream of making India a super-economic power," he added.

"The credit for changing thecountry's image in the last fiveyears does not go to me orprime minister Narendra Modi,but to the people who gavemajority to the BJP (in 2014

polls) and gave us opportunityfor undertaking development,"the Union minister said.

He sought votes so that theBJP could continue "the processof development" and crackdown on corruption.

He also referred to theModi government's initiativeto clean up the Ganga, sayingnow its water was so clean thatCongress general secretaryPriyanka Gandhi could drink it(when she visited Varanasi).

Priyanka Gandhi could alsotravel from Varanasi toPrayagraj by a boat because ofthe Modi government's inter-nal waterway development pro-gram, he added.

Key irrigation projectsremained incomplete for wantof funds earlier, but the Modigovernment helped states tocomplete such projects and takewater to the fields, Gadkarisaid.

Gadkari, who is contestingthe Lok Sabha election fromNagpur, also mentioned that450 buses are being run in hishometown on bio-CNG, savingon diesel consumption, and theexperiment will be extended tomany other cities. IANS

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Srinagar: Several security forcespersonnel, including two officers,were injured in stone pelting inci-dents during polling for the Srinagarparliamentary seat, an officialspokesman said here Friday.

Chief Electoral Off icerShailendra Kumar had on Thursdaysaid the polling remained peaceful

and incident free."As the polling for Srinagar par-

liamentary constituency was goingon yesterday (Thursday), severalincidents of stone pelting on secu-rity forces and polling staff werereported from different areas," thespokesman said.

He said during the election

process, the security forces cameunder severe stone pelting from mis-creants at various places.

"However, the security forcesexercised maximum restraint whiledealing with the law and orderproblem," he said. The spokesmansaid several police and securityforces personnel, including two

deputy superintendents of police,were injured due to stone pelting atdifferent places.

"In one such incident atHyderpora, a civilian driver identi-fied as Mohammad Yaseen Dar, 22,sustained critical injuries in hishead.

He is undergoing treatment at a

hospital and is stated to be critical,"the spokesman said.

He said the administration hasappealed to the general public tocooperate with the officials dis-charging the poll duty in a peacefulmanner and the elements involvedin such unlawful activities would bestrictly dealt under law. PTI

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Former MP Jagmeet Brar on Fridayjoined hands with his foes after his “own”

spurned him — at least this is what a seriesof WhatsApp messages released by thePunjab Congress appeared to indicate.

The Congress virtually eclipsedShiromani Akali Dal’s “feat” of a formerCongress stalwart joining the party by releas-ing Brar’s messages sent to Capt AmarinderSingh seeking an audience with the“maharaja”.

The release of series of messages coin-cided with Jagmeet’s “unconditional” induc-tion in the Akali Dal at Sri Muktsar Sahibin a function attended by the former ChiefMinister and Akali patriarch Parkash SinghBadal, SAD president Sukhbir Badal, andUnion Minister Harsimrat Badal.

Akali Dal, which is currently passingthrough its worst-ever political crisis, is goingga-ga over Brar’s joining only to be leftembarrassed by the Congress party releas-ing the “screenshots” of his messages to“Maharaja Sahib” making frantic attemptsto re-join the party while also promising “tofix the Badals”.

Brar, who has been in the political obliv-ion since long, neither denied nor accept-ed sending these messages, but just preferred

to smile while maintaining stoic silencewhen the media questioned him after hejoined SAD.

In fact, Sukhbir too brushed asideBrar’s WhatsApp message, saying “There isnothing like that”.

Sukhbir, who tasted defeat in his firstLok Sabha elections against the thenCongress leader Jagmeet Brar from Faridkotin 1999, pinned the party’s “proud to beAkali’ badge on Brar’s kurta. Brar was elect-ed twice to the Lok Sabha in 1992 and 1999.

Amidst speculations that Akali Dal mayfield Brar from Ferozepur, Sukhbir main-tained that the party may soon make theannouncement of its remaining two candi-dates. SAD has, so far, announced the namesof its eight candidates out of total 10 seatsin contests in alliance with the BJP, whichis yet to declare all its candidates for its shareof three seats.

Besides Ferozepur, SAD is yet to declareits candidates for Bathinda from where it isexpected to field the sitting MP and theUnion Minister Harsimrat Badal.

Once an ardent adversary of the Badals,Brar showered praises on the Badals, andBikram Majithia. “I remained in theCongress for 37 years but they expelled mewhen I asked them to introspect...I havejoined the Akali Dal unconditionally, and

I would be happy with any role assigned tome by the SAD,” he said.

Brar, who joined SAD along with hisbrother Ripjit Singh Brar, said that theCongress has already lost both seats ofBathinda and Ferozepur as the nationalparty is still awaiting the SAD to firstannounce its candidates, whereas the SAD-BJP leaders, workers are already holdingmeetings, and campaigning in these twoconstituencies also.

The duo described their decision as“returning to the roots” and a homecoming.“I have always been emotionally and ideo-logically much closer to the panthic and pro-Punjab agenda and conduct of the SAD thanto the Congress or any other outfit in thecountry,” said Brar.

Describing Brar as a panthic leader, thesenior Badal appreciated him for his “vastpolitical experience” while asking his sonSukhbir to follow his suggestions. “It is a his-toric day for the party today as Punjab’s wellknown personality, speaker and the mostexperienced politician Jagmeet Brar joinsAkali Dal,” he said.

Badal termed both Jagmeet and hisbrother Ripjit Brar as “Ram-Laxman di Jodi”,saying, “Our Pash-Das di jodi has broken,but you brothers are still together”.

Terming Brar’s joining as “ghar vapsi”,

Bathinda MP Harsimrat said that whenSukhbir contested his first election againstJagmeet, not just the party workers but shetoo feared him.

A permanent invitee to the CongressWorking Committee (CWC) for 10 years,Brar was expelled from the Congress in 2016after he asked the party high command,comprising the then president Sonia Gandhiand her vice-president son Rahul Gandhi togo on sabbatical to introspect on the party’sresounding defeat in 2014 Lok Sabha elec-tions.

He had later joined the TrinamoolCongress and headed the party’s Punjab unituntil the previous year when he finally calledit quits. Since then, he remained out ofPunjab’s political scene.

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Taking a dig at the Brar’s joining theSAD, Punjab Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh on Wednesday said thatit was former MP’s “opportunistic”, “last-ditch resort” to rescue his political careerafter failing to wriggle his way back into theCongress.

Citing a series of WhatsApp messages

received from Brar over the last severalweeks, Capt Amarinder said that the formerMP was apparently desperate to get back intopolitics and had decided to go with theBadals, whom he promised “to fix inPunjab” if the Congress agreed to take himback.

“It is obvious that Brar has a politicalagenda to further and is ready to do it byhook or by crook. For the last several weeks,he had been trying unabashedly to get intothe Congress. But with the party high com-mand refusing to intervene and I myself notresponding to any of Brar’s desperate mes-sages, he decided to throw his weightbehind the SAD,” said Capt Amarinder.

He said that Brar had decided to throwhimself at the feet of the very Badals whomhe was promising “to fix” after his (the ChiefMinister’s) persistent refusal to acknowledgeand respond to the former MP’s desperatemessages.

“Congress is better off without suchopportunistic and self-seeking individuals,”he said quipping sarcastically that hehoped Brar would be more loyal to theBadals than he had been to the party thathad been instrumental in making his polit-ical career.

Also taking a dig at the Badals forembracing Brar out of sheer frustration in

the face of their imminent defeat in May 19Lok Sabha polls in Punjab, Capt Amarindersaid that they (the Badals) must be equallydesperate to take in a carpetbagger like Brar.

“It is laughable that Brar had joined SADjust 10 days after seeking forgiveness for hisacts and promising to give his ‘remainingyears’ to ‘Maharaja of Patiala’ and to ‘fix theBadals in Punjab’,” Capt Amarinder mockedBrar.

Brar wrote to Capt Amarinder onApril 9 (sic): “Respected Maharaja Sahib,Forgive me my sins. Sir Dr Md Iqbal says,“Gunagaar hoon, Kafir nahin hoon mein.I will always stand behind you and give meremaining years to Maharaja of Patiala. LetNavjot embark on the India election cam-paign, rhetoric and silly. Keep me by yourside. I will fix Badal’s in Punjab. Yours devot-edly.”

The apology and offer were part of aseries of messages to the Chief Minister —from seeking appointment on March 22,2019, to offering unconditional joining onMarch 31, to sending a note.

Brar even offered to contest fromBathinda in case “at the last moment due topolitical compulsions, the high commandfails to find a suitable turbaned Jat Sikh can-didate”, while requesting Capt Amarinder torecommend his case.

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Five persons died in separateaccidents in the national

capital in last 24 hours. In twoaccidents reported in southeastDelhi three persons died afterthe auto-rickshaw they weretraveling toppled in NFC areaand in Nizamuddin area an ITIstudent was crushed to deathby a speeding DTC bus. Whilein the third incident reportedin northeast Delhi's HarshVihar area where a youth wasmowed down by a tractor onlate Thursday night.

In first incident, three per-sons died while one is still bat-tling for his life in hospital afterthe auto-rickshaw they weretraveling met with an accidentin New Friends colony area onlate Thursday night.

They were rushed to theApollo hospital where three ofthem were declared broughtdead.

According to a seniorpolice official, the trio deceasedhas been identified as RamSingh (40), Ashok (18) andDevraj (23) and they all belongsto Rampur and Sambhal dis-tricts of UP. While the injuredis identified as Amar Singh(25). The driver identified asVijender initially ran awayfrom the spot but was laterapprehended by the police.

"They work as caterers inmarriage functions and werereturning to Nehru Nagar fromJaitpur after doing their duty ina marriage function when sud-denly the auto-rickshaw turnedturtle at Mathura road around1:30 AM," said the senior policeofficial.

It was also alleged that theauto driver was cleaning thewindscreen due to which theauto lost control. The deceasedsustained serious head injurieswhile the fourth injured is alsosaid to be critical. "A case has

been registered and the accusedauto rickshaw driver has beenarrested by the police," said thesenior police official.

In another incident in thesame district, a 22 year old manwas crushed to death by aspeeding DTC bus, who was

identified as, Honey Meena. Hewas a student to ITI, Arab KiSarai, Delhi who was crossingroad at the time of incident.

Chinmoy Biswal, theDeputy Commissioner ofPolice (DCP), South-East dis-trict said that on Thursday, a

Police Control Room (PCR)call was received at HazratNizamuddin police stationregarding an accident at BhogalRoad.

"At the spot police foundthat, a DTC bus of KalkajiDepot was found stranded onthe road and the injured wassent to AIIMS Trauma Centerwhere he was declared broughtdead," said the DCP.

"During enquiry, it wasrevealed that the bus was beingdriven in a rash and negligentmanner by Naval KishoreMeena a native of Rajasthan,"said the DCP.

Further a mob of stu-dents gathered there and cor-doned the bus. The driver wassafely rescued and sent toPolice Station while theinjured identified as, Honey'sfather is working as a SofaRepair mechanic and has oneyounger brother who is also astudent.

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Delhi Commission forWomen (DCW) on Friday

busted an sex racket being oper-ated from a house located in theNorth Delhi's Aman Vihar.DCW took an action after theyreceived a call on their womanhelpline number.

According to a DCW offi-cial, they had received an anony-mous call on the women'shelpline number 181 onWednesday alleging that an ille-gal prostitution racket was beingoperated from house located intheir neighbourhood in AmanVihar. "Soon after receiving thecall, a team of from DCW

reached the area on Thursdayearly morning and interactedwith the residents who con-firmed that a sex racket wasbeing run from a house in thearea during day time, said amember of DCW.

"The team gathered infor-mation regarding the housefrom neighbours. The housewas covered with bamboo sticksin such a way that it was impos-sible to see that what kind ofactivity was going on inside thepremises. The team also wit-nessed some men on bikes andscooter coming to the house fol-lowing a raid was conducted inthe house with the help ofpolice," said the DCW official.

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Page 5: RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No. - RYP ......2019/04/20  · Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal too hit out at Pragya for her “disgraceful” comments on Karkare,

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The Election Commission(EC) on Friday said that

Arnab Roy, a 2010 batch WestBengal Civil Service (WBCS)officer, who was on electionduty in Nadia of RanaghatParliamentary constituency, ismissing since Thursday.

The police filed an FIR latelast night on Thursday andstarted an investigation. Roy,in his 30s, a district nodalofficer, was in-charge of theEVMs (electronic votingmachines) and VVPATs (VoterVerifiable Paper Audit Trail) ata polling booth in Nadia dis-trict of Ranaghat parliamentaryconstituency.

In another development,the EC sought a report from theWest Bengal chief electoral offi-cer on an alleged biopic onChief Minister MamataBanerjee. The biopic titled‘’Baghini’’ is slated to release onMay 3. The BJP had approachedthe poll panel seeking a ban onthe release of the movie till theelection process is over.

Sources in the EC saidthat the Commission hassought a report from the dis-trict magistrate on Roy goingmissing after it was alerted bydistrict administration and thechief electoral officer (CEO) ofWest Bengal about Roy’s dis-appearance. Roy’s wife toolodged a missing complaint inthis regard. EC said that officeris being appointed in his placeto look into EVMs and VVPATin Nadia.

Nadia has two parliamen-

tary constituencies - Ranaghatand Krishnanagar - where elec-tions are due on April 29, in thefourth phase. It is consideredTrinamool Congress strong-hold.

Sources in the districtpolice said that his two mobilephones are switched off andtheir last location was detect-ed to be near Shantipur, also inNadia district. “After Shantipurhis location could not bedetected as his phones wereswitched off. This is making itdifficult for us to locate him,”another police officer said. Thepolice are tracking the officer’sphones and scanning CCTVfootage of the area. Accordingto reports, Roy was last seen atShantipur in Nadia.

Initial investigationrevealed that Roy, a few daysback, had an alleged tiff withNadia District MagistrateSumit Gupta, who was also hisneighbour, a few days ago onsome operational duties inconnection with the elections.According to Gupta, there was

no such tiff between them.After a failed search, the

district administration lodgeda complaint with the PSKotwali Krishnanagar, thepolice officer said.

Earlier, union minister andBJP candidate of Asansol,Babul Supriyo, tweeted andattached a picture of the offi-cer about his missing. “NadiaDistrict Nodal Election OfficerArnab Roy is reportedly miss-ing. He was at BipradasChoudhury PolytechnicCollege for his poll duty yes-terday and after lunch wentuntraceable. He is in-charge ofthe EVMs and VVPATs. Policehas begun investigations,”Babul Supriyo tweeted.

Ahead of the third phase,the election observers reviewedthe security situation, in a highlevel meeting on Friday. OnThursday, during the secondphase of Lok Sabha polls, mas-sive violence erupted in WestBengal causing apprehensionsabout the free and fair electionsin the state.

After violence at booths inDarjeeling’s Chopra, theobservers in West Bengal calledfor 50 more companies of cen-tral forces for elections onApril 23, when five con-stituencies of Balurghat,Maldah Uttar, MaldahDakshin, Jangipur andMurshidabad goes to polls.

Among this, a report hassurfaced that Hindu residentsof a Muslim dominated villagehave been barred from votingin the Raiganj constituency inthe state.

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As Libya’s capital Tripolicontinues to be hit by vio-

lence, External Affairs MinisterSushma Swaraj on Friday saidthat over 500 Indians are stuckthere and suggested that theyleave the cityimmediately.

The minis-ter said that ifthe Indiansstranded in theLibyan capitaldo not leave immediately, thenit may not be possible to evac-uate them later.

Over 200 people werekilled in Tripoli in the last twoweeks since renegade Libyanmilitary commander KhalifaHaftar’s troops launched astrike to oust UN-backedPrime Minister Fayez al-Sarrajfrom power.

Swaraj tweeted, “Even aftermassive evacuation from Libyaand the travel ban, there areover 500 Indian nationals inTripoli. The situation in Tripoliis deteriorating fast. Presently,flights are operational.

“Pls ask your relatives andfriends to leave Tripoli imme-diately. We will not be able toevacuate them later,” she saidon her Twitter handle.

New Delhi: The Election Commission(EC) has said that NaMo TV can air livespeeches of the PM during the “electionsilence period” as long as there is no ref-erence to the candidate or constituencygoing to poll in that particular phase.

Speaking to reporters on NaMo TV,Deputy Election Commissioner SandeepSaxena said, “Since live speeches are notpre-certified election (campaign) materi-al, they can be aired (by NaMo TV) dur-ing the silence period as long as there is no

reference to candidate or constituency.”The EC has already made it clear that

according to electoral laws, the platformcannot display “election matter” during thesilence period in a particular phase of thepoll. PNS

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The BJP on Friday took ajibe at grand alliance in the

UP, saying a “storm” in supportof Prime Minister NarendraModi in the general electionhas forced Opposition leadersto come together.

The dig from BJPspokesperson ShahnawazHussain came as BSP ChiefMayawati and SP patriarchMulayam Singh Yadav sharedstage after many years of bitterrivalry.

“This is a proof of storm inModi’s support. Both SP andBSP have been rendered pow-erless by it and have cometogether to survive. People inUttar Pradesh and country arewith Modi,” Hussain toldreporters.

Mayawati, he said she cameto respect those whom sheblamed for her life’s biggestinsult.

At the press conference,Hussain also took aim at theCongress after its spokespersonPriyanka Chaturvedi joinedShiv Sena, saying the opposi-tion party has become a “sink-ing ship”.

Opposition parties are insuch a poor shape than nobody

know which leader is support-ing whom, said the BJP leaderafter Congress leaderShatrughan Sinha, who is itscandidate in Patna Sahib seat,campaigned for his wife andSamajwadi Party nominee inLucknow Poonam Sinha.

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All applicants from big statessuch as Uttar Pradesh,

West Bengal and Bihar havebeen cleared for going on thepilgrimage as Saudi Arabia hasincreased India’s Haj quota totwo lakh.

On Friday, the SaudiArabian government issued aformal order with regard to theincrease in India’s Haj quota,sources said.

At a meeting here inFebruary that was attended bySaudi Crown PrinceMohammed bin Salman, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi,External Affairs MinisterSushma Swaraj and Minority

Affairs Minister MukhtarAbbas Naqvi, Saudi Arabia hadincreased India’s quota by about25,000, taking the number ofpilgrims from India who canperform Haj to two lakh.

“Due to the significantincrease in India’s Haj quota, allthe applicants from UttarPradesh, West Bengal,Andaman and Nicobar Islands,Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Goa,Manipur, Lakshadweep,Odisha, Puducherry, AndhraPradesh, Assam, Bihar,Chandigarh, Daman and Diu,Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand,Punjab, Tripura, will go onHaj,” a source said.

A record number of twolakh Muslims will perform Haj

this year without subsidy. Another highlight this year

is that 2,340 Muslim womenfrom India will also go for thepilgrimage without ‘Mehram’or male companion.

A total of 34,397 applica-tions were received from UttarPradesh this year, 8,470 fromWest Bengal, 191 from Goa,499 from Manipur, 698 fromOdisha, 2,138 from AndhraPradesh, 3,588 from Assam,4,950 from Bihar, 72 fromHimachal Pradesh, 2,233 fromJharkhand, 342 from Punjab,and 110 from Tripura.

All these applicants havebecome eligible to go on Hajafter the increase in India’squota, the sources said.

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The unified emergency helpline number 112 is now

available in 22 States. The ‘112’helpline is an integration ofpolice (100), fire (101) andwomen (1090) helpline num-bers and the project is beingimplemented under the centralgovernment’s Nirbhaya Fund.The single number for emer-gency services is similar to ‘911’in the United States.

The 20 states and UTsinclude Himachal Pradesh,Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand,Punjab, Kerala, MadhyaPradesh, Rajasthan, UttarPradesh, Telangana, TamilNadu, Gujarat, Puducherry,Lakshadweep, Andaman andNicobar Islands, Dadar andNagar Haveli, Daman and Diu,Jammu and Kashmir andNagaland, a Home Ministryofficial said.

The Emergency ResponseSupport System (ERSS) envis-ages a single pan-India emer-gency number ‘112’, which is aninternationally recognisednumber, to target all types ofemergencies. A panic button is

already provided on all mobilephones, which on activationwill trigger an emergency callto ‘112’. The EmergencyResponse Centre (ERCs), beingset up by the States and UTs,can receive panic signal viavoice call to ‘112’, emailrequests on state ERSS websiteor the ‘112’ mobile app, theofficial said.

Location based tracking ofvictim can be done throughlocation based services of allphones or even more accuratelythrough GPS for smart phones.

The ‘112’ India app pro-vides for ‘shout facility’designed especially forwomen, for enlisting supportof volunteers, who have regis-tered themselves with the statepolice, for emergencyresponse.

To access emergency ser-vices, a person can dial ‘112’ ona phone or press the powerbutton of a smart phone threetimes quickly to send a paniccall to the EmergencyResponse Centre. In case of anormal phone, a long press ofthe ‘5’ or ‘9’ key will activatethe panic call.

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The Janata Dal (United) onFriday demanded that the

Chief Election Commissionercancel the nomination papersfiled by the RJD candidates forthe Lok Sabha polls in Bihar,asking how jailed RJD chiefLalu Prasad had distributed theparty symbol with his signa-ture, in apparent violation ofthe jail manual.

JD (U) spokespersonNeeraj Kumar has written to theCEC demanding the cancella-tion of the nomination papersfiled by the RJD candidates.

“On which basis jailed Laluhad distributed the party sym-bol with his signature to can-didates. Whether Lalu hastaken permission of the courtto distribute the party symbol?”Kumar said.

The JD(U) leader said thathe has urged the CEC to takeaction in this connection.

Lalu had reportedly dis-tributed the RJD symbol to thecandidates after the partyauthorised him to do so.

The RJD is contesting on19 out of the 40 Lok Sabha seatsin the state as per the seat shar-ing formula of the oppositiongrand alliance.

Lalu was convicted in threefodder scam cases in December2017 and January 2018 and wasawarded 14 years imprison-ment. He has applied for bail inthe Supreme Court.

Lalu Prasad, as President ofthe RJD, is entitled to distributethe party symbol. He is currentlyundergoing treatment at theRajendra Institute of MedicalSciences (RIMS) in Ranchi.

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Mental health professionalsin the country have taken

serious objections to the title ofthe upcoming film ‘Mental haikya’ starring Rajkumar Raoand Kangana Ranaut , termingit ‘discriminative’ that violatesrights of the people with men-tal disorders.

While the IndianPsychiatric Society (IPS) hasshot off a letter to the CentralBoard of Film Certification(CBFC) seeking removal ofthe title that, it said, is “dis-criminative, stigmatising,degrading and inhuman inprojecting mental disordersand persons who suffer men-tal disorders, “ the social mediaworld was also abuzz with psy-chiatrists sharing their viewsabout the need to bridge thegap in all aspects of mentalhealth.

In line of fire is the newlyreleased poster of the movie,produced by Ekta Kapoor ledBalaji Production, written byKanika Dhillon and directed byPrakash Kovelmudi, which iscaptioned “Get ready for crazi-ness that cuts through!”

The mental health expertshave slammed the poster whichdepicts the artistes trying tobalance a razor sharp bladebetween their tongues. Theimages showcase Kanganamaking a cross-eyed face whileRajkummar shows his twomiddle fingers, Kangana witha matchstick on her tonguewhile Rajkummar stubs a cig-arette on his forehead... so onand so forth.

The poster further reads:“This June, witness two men-tals collide”, before breakinginto a montage of images withthe words “crazy, bizarre, crack,freaky, whacky, gutsy, weirdo,psycho”.

The IPS said in the letter,“We strongly demand the titleto be removed with immediateeffect preventing further dam-age to the modesty of mentalhealth service users.”

Dr Smita N Deshpande,Professor & Head ofDepartment of Psychiatry,Centre of Excellence inMental Health, Dr RamManohar Lohia Hospital toocondemned the title of thefilm. “At a time when thecountry is coming out of thestigma with various film

actors sharing their pain ofhaving gone through the ill-ness, it is sad that films like‘mental hai kya’ only hamperour positive efforts.

“There are lots of myths

and misconceptions in ourcountry surrounding mentalillnesses. Media should be sen-sitive in handling such issues,”she said. She has a point. 1/8in India are mentally ill accord-

ing to a recent survey by theNIMHANS. In this back-ground, such images does notaugur well for mental health ofour youth, Dr Deshpandeadded.

Amrit Bakhshy, Presidentof Schizophrenia AwarenessAssociation took to tweeter ashe said, “name of the film stig-matizes mental illness, needs tobe changed,” while disabilityrights activist Dr SatendraSingh added, “In a countrywhere mental health is a tabootopic, such insensitive imagesand movie titles can make thesituation worse.

“The title is derogatoryand may be used for makingfun of a serious issue. Peopleworking in the mental healthsector have worked hard foryears to bring about the muchneeded change in the way peo-ple think. The advancementmade in the field can be easilyundone by such movie titles,”he further said.

Dr Pavan Sonar, psychia-trist tweeted, “Yes , we need tochange the stereotypes. Mentalillness / being affected by it isnot fun at all. Media, whichinfluences the masses & class-es must be sensitive towards it.Title #MentalHaiKya is notfunny. #MentalHealth issuesare real.”

The Central Board of FilmCertification is yet to decide inthe matter.

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The Election Commission(EC) on Friday barred BJP’s

Himachal Pradesh chief SatpalSingh Satti from campaigningfor two days starting Saturdayover his “indecent and deroga-tory” comment againstCongress President RahulGandhi.

Responding to theCongress chief ’s “chowkidarchor hai” jibe at Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, Satti on April13 told a rally that Gandhi andhis family were “thieves”.

He has already been bookedby Baddi police under Section294 (obscene acts and songs) ofthe Indian Penal Code, after theCongress complained aboutthese comments made at a rallyin Nalagarh’s Ramshehar townin Solan district.

The EC has also served asecond notice to Satti for hisindecent remarks about Gandhiand sister Priyanka GandhiVadra made at another rally twodays later, and his reply was

under consideration.At this rally, Satti said that

Gandhi was not suitable for thePrime Minister’s post as he hadfailed even in getting a daugh-ter-in-law for his mother, SoniaGandhi.

He also made objectionableremarks about CongressGeneral Secretary PriyankaGandhi Vadra’s dressing styleand how she was trying to woothe voters.

Himachal Pradesh’s fourLok Sabha seats will go to thepolls in the last phase on May 19.

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Page 6: RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No. - RYP ......2019/04/20  · Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal too hit out at Pragya for her “disgraceful” comments on Karkare,

Our parliamentary system is large-ly modelled on the Westminsterorder — relevant provisions ofthe Constitution being quitesimilar to those contained in the

chapters on Federal and ProvincialLegislatures in the Government of India Act,1935. Sir Samuel Hoare, the then Secretaryof State for India, had piloted this Bill in theHouse of Commons in 1935.

The institution of our Speaker is a take-off from this model, which is inspired by theSpeaker of House of Commons. Being theguardian and the custodian of the House,he/she occupies a very exalted position. It iswell within his powers to guide the Parliamentand give direction to our democracy.Elaborating on the persona of the Speaker, GVMavalankar, the first Speaker of the Lok Sabha,had this to say, “Once a person is elected aSpeaker, he is expected to be above parties andpolitics. In other words, he belongs to all themembers and at the same time belongs tonone. He holds the scales of justice evenly, irre-spective of the party or person. As a humanbeing, he has his human drawbacks and short-comings, however, everybody knows that hewill intentionally do no injustice or show par-tiality. Such a person is naturally held inrespect by all.”

These high ideals set for a Speaker havemostly been met but as we are all aware, thereal test of the mettle only comes when oneis faced with a challenge. Difficult decisionsare never easy to make and these days itappears that quite often one has taken the easyway out, sometimes even inconsistent with thedignity of the high office. Such a perceptionwill not only lower respect for the individual,but also question for all time his even onetransgression of ethics and norms.

The situation has become more acute eversince the powers of adjudication wereassigned to the Speaker under the Anti-Defection Law. While taking decisions underthis law many a time, they may have servedthe party well, but in the process, they havecome out of such episodes ‘bruised’ and maybe sometimes even ‘tainted’.

But what makes the Anti-Defection Lawso complicated for the Speaker needs a clos-er look. A path-breaking feature of this Actwas that for the first time, a political person,the Speaker or the Chairman of the House,was made to adjudicate and administer thisAct. Hitherto, the role of the Speaker was lim-ited to regulating and adjudicating onParliamentary proceedings, which are insu-lated by Articles 122 and 212 of theConstitution. In respect of the Parliament andLegislative Assemblies, these articles restrictthe role of the courts from judging the valid-ity of the proceedings on grounds of allegedirregularity of procedures.

However, after the Supreme Court’sjudgement in Prakash Singh Badal’s case, pro-ceedings under the Anti-Defection Lawwere made justiciable. While supporting thenew role of the Speaker, the apex court in the

Kihota Hollohon case alsoobserved that it was the appro-priate forum under the Anti-Defection Law and furtheradded, “Accordingly, we holdthat the vesting of adjudicatoryfunctions in theSpeakers/Chairmen would notby itself vitiate the provision onthe ground of likelihood of polit-ical bias is unsound and is reject-ed. The Speaker/Chairmen holda pivotal position in the schemeof Parliamentary democracy and(are) guardians of the rights andprivileges of the House. They areexpected to and take far reach-ing decisions in the functioningof Parliamentary democracy.Vestiture of power to adjudicatequestions under the TenthSchedule in such constitutionalfunctionaries should not be con-sidered exceptionable.”

On the other hand, theminority view in this casethought that assigning powers ofadjudication to the Speaker wasagainst the basic structure doc-trine and the separation of pow-ers between the Judiciary,Legislature and the Executive.Further, it was contemplatedthat adjudication of such disputesshould be by an independentauthority outside the House,namely President/Governor inaccordance with the opinion ofthe Election Commission, all ofthem being high Constitutionalfunctionaries.

Chief Justice MNVenkatachaliah had upheld thecause of the Speaker in hismajority judgement in this case,while a few years later, as theHead of the Commission toreview the working of theConstitution, he supported theElection Commission route forthe Xth Schedule (AntiDefection Law), which, howev-er, remained unaccepted.

Today, the ground situationis such that till the time the actu-al proceedings under the XthSchedule are not initiated, thematter of defection virtuallyremains a function of Articles212 and 122, where the courtshave virtually no jurisdiction.The moment the proceedingsunder the Schedule are takenup, the role of the Speakerchanges to that of an adjudica-tor and can be taken cognizanceof by the appropriate courts. Theresult is that in certain cases,proceedings have got inordi-nately delayed only to circum-vent the judicial process.

There have been severalinstances where the role of theSpeaker has come under scruti-ny. Among the recent ones arethe continuing imbroglio inTamil Nadu from 2017onwards and the cases ofAndhra and Telangana whereproceedings against the defec-tors had remained pending fora very long time. While Andhra

Pradesh has now gone to thepolls, a new TelanganaAssembly was constituted inDecember last year, in a way,making the proceedings againstthe defectors virtually in fruc-tuous. In fact, this trend hadbegun in Uttar Pradesh morethan a decade ago, where suf-ficient breathing time had beengiven to the Government bydelaying proceedings underthe Anti-Defection Law. Theindictment of the KarnatakaSpeaker by the Supreme Courtis already well-known.

Instead of assigning theproceedings to an institutionother than the Speaker, suchaberrations can be easilyaddressed by amending the law.Besides covering defections,these could also include othervariants mentioned in the Act,for instance, expulsions, volun-tarily giving up membership andeven splits and mergers. First, byfixing a time limit, within whichsuch proceedings have to bemandatorily disposed of by theSpeaker, would be a major stepforward. Second, an amendmentneeds to be brought in to pro-vide for all types of defectors,whether singly or in groups, toresign from their seats and con-test fresh elections. They alsoneed to be debarred from hold-ing any public office of aMinister or any other office ofprofit, till their fresh election.

Also, as recommended by theNational Commission to reviewthe working of the Constitution,the vote cast by a defector to top-ple a Government or to reposeconfidence in a new dispensa-tion may be treated as invalid.

In order to save the highoffice of the Speaker from anyembarrassment, there used to bea convention in the House ofCommons where in the subse-quent elections to the Parliament,no party fielded a candidateagainst him/her. Also, havingresigned from the parent party,he/she would contest only as aSpeaker. In case he/she was notre-contesting, usually, he/shewould be elevated to the Houseof Lords. Some of these conven-tions have since been diluted butin our context need to be stud-ied for strengthening the office ofthe Speaker and ensuring his/herneutrality.

Though the Anti-DefectionLaw was enacted to curb defec-tions, they have continued. Itwould now be upon the mem-bers of the 17th Lok Sabha,which will get constituted by theend of next month, to review andeffect changes in the law in amanner that will go a long wayin strengthening ourParliamentary democracy.

(The writer is a formerGovernor of Meghalaya andUttarakhand and a formerCommissioner of Police, Delhi)

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Sir — This refers to the report,“Phase-II turnout 1.3 % lessthan 2014” (April 19). With theconclusion of Phase-II of voting,the Election Commission (EC)is faced with the issue of lowvoter turnout, especially inurban areas. Low voter turnoutis mainly due to issues related todeleted/missing names, delaysowing to EVM glitches and alsothe long weekend.

It is ironical that despite suf-ficient knowledge about theseries of public holidays, the sec-ond phase of elections was heldduring the week with a series ofpublic holidays. Also, necessaryvoter awareness drives, as car-ried under the flagship SWEEPdivision, have yet again failed tobring voters to the polling booth.

But one fails to understandas to why the option on e-vot-ing or online voting still remainselusive even for PwD voters.Online voting will help outsta-tion voters and even NRIs. Toensure high voter turnout, com-pulsory voting may be the onlyoption.

Varun SDBengaluru

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Sir — It is regretful that politicalleaders in our country are blithe-ly ignorant about the ModelCode of Conduct that is of para-mount importance for the con-duct of free and fair elections. Itis disgraceful that Congress chiefRahul Gandhi let the bar fall solow when he said that all thieves

have “Modi” in their names.His vitriolic rant against

Prime Minister Modi withregard to the Rafale deal, too, isdeemed to be inappropriate.Rahul may be of the view thatsince the Supreme Court hadaccepted the review petition, itmeant that there was corruptioninvolved in the deal. But heshould bear in mind that so longthe apex court has not pro-

nounced its ruling on the reviewpetition; its previous rulingstands valid. Moreover rhetoric,sabre-rattling and insinuationare progressively resorted toallure the voters. It is diametri-cally opposite to the democrat-ic polity. It is shocking that theEC is apathetic to these increas-ing instances of violation.

Nimai Charan SwainBhubaneswar

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Sir — This refers to the article,“History speaks for itself ” (April18) by B Deepanjali. Kudos to thewriter for dissecting the anatomyof the Indian National Congress(INC) founded by AO Hume. Yes,Gandhiji rightly understood theINC and recommended to makeit a service organisation similar toLokmanya Tilak’s ‘Servants ofIndia Society’ and Lala Lajlat Rai’s‘Servants of People Society’. Butthat did not happen for the sim-ple reason that the organisation-al set-up was readily available forpolitical purposes.

SC PandaBhubaneswar

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Sir — This refers to the article, “InDante’s footsteps” (April 18) byHiranmay Karlekar. The writerhad inadvertently attributed toHippocrates the aphorism, “Aslong as men kill animals, they willkill each other.” It is byPythagoras. The error is regretted.

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Page 7: RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No. - RYP ......2019/04/20  · Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal too hit out at Pragya for her “disgraceful” comments on Karkare,

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The second phase of the Lok Sabha elec-tion took place in Tamil Nadu on April18. In my earlier articles focussing on

Tamil Nadu, I had mentioned that theDravidian State is in need of a leader who caninspire the Tamils and create a feeling in themthat they, too, are part of the sub-continent,enjoying the same cultural and historical her-itage of the vast landscape that is India.However, the month-long election campaign inthe State could not throw up any candidate ofthat calibre. More than that, what is disturb-ing is that leaders of most regional parties wantthe population to remain sub-literate andignorant about their rich past. Regional partieslike the All India Anna Dravida MunnetraKazhagam (AIADMK), the Dravida MunnetraKazhagam (DMK), the Pattali Makkal Katchi(PMK), the Marumalarchi Dravida MunnetraKazhagam (MDMK) and the Desiya MurpokkuDravida Kazhagam (DMDK) want the aboli-tion of the National Eligibility cum EntranceTest (NEET), the proposed common admissiontest to engineering colleges.

The demand for the abolition of NEET isbeing made with ulterior motives because theregional parties stand to gain by reverting tothe old style of admission. The quality of med-ical doctors churned out from the medical col-leges in Tamil Nadu is far below than that ofthe national average. Before the advent ofNEET, admissions to medical colleges in theState were based on the marks scored by thestudents in the Class XII board examination.Students scoring 90 to 98 per cent in the exam-inations being held by the Tamil NaduGovernment was a routine affair. Quality of theplus two courses in Government-run schoolswas abysmally low compared to Central schoolsas well as other national board syllabi. Moneyplayed a big role in admission to the medicalcolleges in the State. With the introduction ofthe NEET, the managements (mainly politicalleaders belonging to the DMK, AIADMK andother regional parties) lost a source of incomeand, hence, the opposition. How many Statesin the country are opposed to the NEET andhow many are worried about the loss of feder-alism because of this all-India commonentrance test?

The country’s top medical doctors andteachers were aghast over the intransigent atti-tude of politicians in Tamil Nadu. MK Stalin,leader of the DMK, claimed that there is con-vergence of thoughts in the manifestoes of hisparty and that of the Congress’. The DMK’s pri-ority is to get the NEET abolished while it wasthe Congress-led UPA regime which introducedit. Well, the Congress will go to any extent toregain the power which it surrendered to theBJP in 2014.

Last year a girl, Anita, who had set dreamsof becoming a medical doctor committed sui-cide. Though she had scored reasonably goodmarks in the qualifying examination, she failedin NEET, which forced her to resort to theextreme measure. Nobody has asked the politi-cians in Tamil Nadu why they are not raisingthe standard of the syllabus in the State. The BJPhas done a good thing by telling the AIADMK

that NEET is here to stay.Some of the demands being made

by Dravidian politicians in the Statewill make one wonder whether TamilNadu considers itself worthy of spe-cial status in a loose federal structureof the Indian Union. Tamil Nadu hasalways rejected centrist impositions,equating them with a hegemonichold of North India in the life of itspeople. It is the lone State in Indiawhich does not have even a NavodayaVidyalaya, a concept school systemintroduced by Rajiv Gandhi during histenure as Prime Minister (1985-1991).

Rajiv Gandhi wanted the ruralpoor in the country to get state-of-the-art modern education with the ambi-ence of public schools. That was howJawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya waslaunched. All districts in the countrywere allocated a Navodaya Vidyalayawhich offered free education, board-ing and lodging. But the rural andurban poor of Tamil Nadu are deniedthis facility because of the obsessionof Dravidian parties. They areopposed to Navodaya Vidyalayasbecause they shun Hindi and Sanskrit.Please note that not a single studentfrom such schools had taken recourseto the extreme step for failing in anyentrance examination. Tamil Nadu isthe only State in the country whereHindi is not taught in Government-run schools.

The opposition and resistance toHindi and Sanskrit by Dravidianpoliticians is an attempt to hasten theprocess of secession from India. TheDMK keeps on declaring that theattempt to “impose” Hindi on non-Hindi speaking States is part of the saf-

fronisation drive. Though scientificresearch has established that therenever was any Dravidian in the sub-continent, the DMK and the AIADMKstill swear by the Aryan-Dravidiandivide. If they accept the fallacybehind the Dravidian theory, their rai-son d’être itself would be questioned.The Dravidian parties could be hauledto the court over charges of denyingthe students their right to education.Another secret ploy behind this resis-tance to Hindi and Sanskrit is thedesign of the DMK and the AIADMKto create a notion among the Tamilsthat they are not part of this greatcountry.

Did you know that some of thebest defence training establishmentsin the country are in Tamil Nadu?There are the Officers’ TrainingAcademy at Chennai which groomsyoung graduates to take up professionsin the elite Indian Army, the Air ForceFlight Instructors’ School atTambaram that trains flight instruc-tors, who teach fighter pilots and theDefence Services Staff College,Wellington, Nilgiris, a centre wheresenior commanders of the defenceforces are moulded.

Soldiers not only from India buteven from friendly countries aretrained at these establishments whichhave played a significant role in cre-ating a strong bond between officersof Indian defence forces and those ofother countries. You may be shockedto learn that officer trainees from SriLanka are not allowed in these insti-tutions because of opposition fromDravidian politicians like MK Stalin,Vaiko, Thol Thirumavalavan and the

Leftists. The ethnic crisis in Sri Lankaand the civil war demanding a sepa-rate EELAM are the reasons behindthe Sinhala officers becoming personanon grata in Tamil Nadu. Political par-ties, which could not stand on theirown feet, force the national parties tofollow a foreign policy to suit theirconvenience. This is nothing butcompromising on national securityand India’s ties with friendly countries.Why should a handful of narrow-minded people dictate the foreign pol-icy of India?

As we get ready to face the 2019Lok Sabha election from Tamil Nadu,the truth remains that there is not a sin-gle leader in the State who has a nation-al outlook and the image of a states-man. The present lot of leaders are atbest a group of greedy politicians, fight-ing openly for the fruits of power.Unfortunately, the Congress is weak-kneed when it comes face-to-face withthe DMK. Local Congress leaders, whocan best be described as subservient to10, Janpath, have become the B-teamof the DMK in Tamil Nadu. The BJPleaders are also a big disappointmentas they failed in countering the anti-Modi campaign by the Dravidian-dominated media or stand up to thelikes of Stalin and Vaiko.

Questions were asked about thepossibility of Kamal Haasan emergingas an alternative rallying point. Butthen for all his grandiloquent state-ments of change and Gandhi, hefought shy of a contest. Who will saveTamil Nadu from this predicament?Sadly, there is nobody on the horizon.

(The writer is SpecialCorrespondent, The Pioneer)

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With the Election Commission(EC) of India announcingdates for the general election,

the Model Code of Conduct (MCC)— the document to ensure fair conductamong political parties in the run-upto the 17th Lok Sabha elections —came into force. While I expect theusual circus of parties — complainingagainst one another and numerous rep-rimands by the EC — I am relieved thatanimals will be spared in this drama.

Chapter 22 of the MCC notes:“The Election Commission hasadvised the political parties and can-didates to refrain from using any ani-mal for election campaign in any man-ner. Even a party, having a reservedsymbol depicting an animal, should

not make live demonstration of thatanimal in any election campaign of theparty/any of its candidate.”

The EC’s move is laudable andindicates its recognition of the abuseanimals are subject to when used forexhibition or performance. Use of ani-mals during road shows, rallies or forcampaigning is a pointless activitywhere they are tortured, beaten andneglected while the netas hog the lime-light, usually after arriving manyhours late. There are many instancesof animals being abused during pub-lic events, which turned violent.

Political parties, which have animalsymbols as part of their emblem, areknown to bring animals to their ralliesto showcase their strength and celebri-ty-like status. Not only does this glori-fy the vanity of the party but also comesto show that such tactics are used to pulllarge crowds and gather support in theabsence of organic support or loyaltyto the party. These animals, mostly ele-phants and horses, are subjected tothrongs of unruly humans and end upbeing used as props for politics.

Often, they are made to carryheavy loads throughout the day, with-

out any consideration of food, wateror rest. No veterinarians are availableon the site of the rally, meaning thewell-being of the animals is no one’spriority. Consistent with the history ofanimal abuse in travelling circuses,mandatory permissions are nevertaken for the use of animals. Even incases where permissions are granted,the Animal Welfare Board of India(AWBI) — the statutory body toensure the well-being of animals in thecountry — does not have enoughmanpower to ensure the animals are

not needlessly harassed.Although the AWBI was set up

with the purpose of implementing thestatutory rules under the AnimalWelfare Division, the body only playsan advisory role. As the national fed-eration for animal rights, FIAPO hasoften worked with the AWBI toensure Government-sanctionedinspections take place as part of ourlegal battle to end the use of animalsin circuses.

With the support of the AWBI, theliberation day for animals in circuses

is not too far away. This, the ban of ani-mals in circuses, will be a historic dayfor animal rights movement in India— for the recognition of animals assentient beings. Not only will the cit-izens of India acknowledge the inhu-man treatment meted out to animalsin circuses but also see the realitybehind each industry and business thatprofits off of animals.

For activists and organisationsworking for the protection of ani-mals, such precedents are ofimmense importance. The EC’smove is a similar show of empathyand kindness to animals. And wemay even be in a position to say thatthe greatness of our nation and itsmoral progression can be judged bythe way we treat our animals.

We are the nation that gave theworld ahimsa; we are the country ofa million gods, many of whom are per-sonified animals. We risk the dangerof being branded cultural, religiousand legal hypocrites if we let such cal-lous and outright cruel treatment toanimals to continue. This is alreadyhappening in Kerala where tourists areboycotting public events with ele-

phants as they are treated inhuman-ly to make them perform.

I welcome the EC’s move alsobecause it recognises that animals can-not be used as inanimate props.Though the primary intention of theadvisory is to avoid inconvenience tothe public, I think it also questions ourperception of animals. They are think-ing, feeling beings who deserve to betreated with respect. To expect animalsto pose in a rally, just as they aredepicted on party pamphlets, is indica-tive of our indifference to their natur-al identity. It is time we evolve fromsuch outdated attitudes and give ani-mals basic recognition as sentientbeings.

The world’s largest democracy notonly gives its citizens rights but its ani-mals the right to live a life free of abuseand with dignity. During this election’scircus, I will be happy not because noanimal is blocking my way to work butbecause the animals have been sparedabuse despite being the electoral sym-bols of political parties.

(The writer is Executive Director,Federation of Indian Animal ProtectionOrganisations)

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Page 8: RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No. - RYP ......2019/04/20  · Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal too hit out at Pragya for her “disgraceful” comments on Karkare,

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The ongoing Lok Sabha elec-tions may not be a

Mahabharat in the true sense ofthe term, but characters fromthe epic abound the voter listin Uttar Pradesh.

According to ElectionCommission (EC) sources,there are more than 6.5 lakhvoters named Krishna and 30lakh named Gita (afterKrishna’s message in the bat-tlefield) in the voter list.

More than 26.70 lakh vot-ers share the name Sanjay, thenarrator of the battle ofKurukshetra to KingDhritrashtra, while there are

more than 9.2 lakh voterscalled Arjun and 2.09 lakhcalled Bhim.

Draupadi may not be avery popular name in theHindi-speaking states, but theelectoral list has 95,966Draupadis, 16,225 Yudhishthirsand 1,422 Dronacharyas.

Bhishma figures 23,253times in the voter list and eventhe epic’s villain Duryodhanhas 62,311 namesakes.

Nakul, Sahdev andAbhimanyu are also commonnames in the list of the Hindiheartland.

Interestingly, the holy cityof Mathura has more than9,000 voters named Radha and

a similar number of votersnamed Mohan and Krishna.

Social scientist Rati Khoslaexplains the phenomenon: “Itis considered auspicious in therural areas to name newbornsafter gods and goddesses. Thistrend was very strong till abouttwo decades ago when childrenwere named Shiva, Gauri,Meera etc. Today, they figure invoter lists. Then came an erawhen children were namedRahul, Pooja, Neha after pop-ular Bollywood characters.Today, the focus is on unusualsounding names with a definitemeaning and examples areMyra, Nysa, Vivan, Ziva,Atharv...”

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Congress General SecretaryPriyanka Gandhi Vadra on

Friday held marathon meetingwith party workers and thesenior leaders of the BSP andthe JAP in Gauriganj, the dis-trict headquarters of Amethi.

Arriving at the FursatganjAirport in Rae Bareli, hermother and UPA ChairpersonSonia Gandhi’s parliamentaryconstituency on Friday morn-ing, she travelled to Gauriganjby road for the meeting to dis-cuss the party’s poll prepared-ness in the district.

A senior Congress leadertold IANS: “During PriyankaGandhi’s five hour meeting,BSP district President DilipKumar and Jan Adhikar Partydistrict President Vipin Kumarwere also present.”

The BSP and the JAP lead-ers assured of all help to theparty in Amethi, wherePriyanka Gandhi’s brother andCongress President Rahul

Gandhi is facing a stiff chal-lenge from BJP’s Smriti Irani,who is contesting from theUttar Pradesh constituency fora second time after she lost in2014, the leader added.

Asked about the presenceof Samajwadi Party leaders inthe meeting, the Congressleader said that they will organ-ise a meeting on their own andthen they will call PriyankaGandhi, the Congress in-charge for eastern UttarPradesh, in the meeting.

Amethi will go to the pollsin the fifth phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha elec-tions on May 6.

After holding the five hourlong meeting with the partyworkers, Priyanka Gandhi leftfor Kanpur where she willembark on the 5 km-long road-show for Congress candidateand former Union MinisterSriprakash Jaiswal.

The roadshow will begin atthe Ghanta ghar and will endat Bada Chauraha.

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Attacking the ruling BJPGovernment, Congress

leader Priyanka Gandhi VadraFriday said it was concernedonly about its “own progress”and not the country’s.

“Governments are of twotypes... One which works forpeople’s progress and the otherwhich is concerned only aboutits own progress. The BJPGovernment is of show off andpublicity,” said PriyankaGandhi while addressing anelection meeting here.

The Congress general sec-retary and eastern UttarPradesh in-charge, who held amassive roadshow here earlier,was campaigning for partycandidate and former Unionminister Shriprakash Jaiswal.

“They (BJP) were makingKanpur a smart city but noth-ing has happened so far. Youthare unemployed and farmersare committing suicide due to

debts,” she said.Priyanka Gandhi stressed

that the Congress works for thepeople, while the BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP) only favoursindustrialists.

“We have promised Rs72,000 per year for the poor,but BJP is saying that there isnot enough money... They(BJP) have enough money forindustrialists,” she said.

“I went to Varanasi whereModi ji despite being the PrimeMinister was unable to ensuredevelopment,” she added.

During the roadshow,Priyanka Gandhi stopped at theNageshwar temple and paidobeisance before moving on.She was also gifted a ‘chadar’ bysome local Muslims.

When the processionreached Birhana, people onone side of the road beganchanting Modi’s name whilethose on the other raised slo-gans against the PrimeMinister.

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BJP chief Amit Shah onFriday challenged Congress

president Rahul Gandhi todebate with the the president ofthe ruling party’s youth wing onwhat the country’s oldest partyhas done for the poor in its overfive-decade rule.

Addressing an electionmeeting here, Shah listedachievements of the NarendraModi Government andaccused the Congress of creat-ing hurdles in the path ofdevelopment of BJP-ruledGujarat. “Rahul baba chantsabout the poor. The Congressagain raises the remove pover-ty (garibi hatao) slogan. For fivegenerations and 55 years, onlyyour family ruled the country.

“Come to any crossroad inVadodara with an account ofwhat you did for the poor, andour youth morcha presidentwill respond to you,” Shahsaid. Shah’s dare comes againstthe backdrop of Gandhi on sev-eral occasions challengingPrime Minister Narendra Modito a debate on corruption,especially in the Rafale fighterjet deal, and demonetisation.

“For five generations, you(Congress) sought votes in thename of the poor, tribals,

Dalits, farmers, villagers, butdid nothing for their develop-ment,” the BJP chief said.

Shah said the ModiGovernment had taken manysteps to alleviate poverty, citingexamples like providing sub-sidised gas cylinders to sevencrore families, houses to 2.5crore people and electricity con-nections to 2.35 crore citizens.Shah also claimed that, as ondate, 23 lakh people had beengiven free medical treatment

under the Centre’s AyushmanBharat health scheme.

The Congress had createdhurdles in the development ofGujarat and defamed the statepost the 2002 communal riots,Shah said, adding the BJP hadworked to restore the pride ofthe State. “The BJP Governmenthas done a lot for the develop-ment of Gujarat. When Modiwas CM, he did a lot for Gujaratsdevelopment, but the Congressonly created hurdles. Whenever

there was a Congress govern-ment (at the Centre), it workedto suppress Gujarat,” he alleged.

“After the 2002 communalriots, the Congress worked todefame Gujarat. The BJP hasalways fought for the pride ofGujarat, it has worked to restorethe pride of Gujarat,” he said.

Shah claimed while thecountry’s first Prime MinisterJawaharlal Nehru opposedSardar Patel, a leader fromGujarat, another Congress PMIndira Gandhi opposed MorarjiDesai, also from Gujarat, whileformer Congress chief SoniaGandhi “used all her might tostop Narendra bhai (Modi)”.

Shah credited the ModiGovernment with securing thecountry, and claimed bombblasts were rampant under theCongress-led UPA govern-ment. He praised the Modigovernment for conducting airstrike on terror camps inPakistan and alleged that theCongress was siding withIslamabad on the issue.

The BJP chief pointed toCongress leader Sam Pitroda’sreported statement that Indiashould hold talks with theneighbouring country ratherthan bomb it for the handiworkof a few people (a reference toPulwama terror attack).

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Congress president RahulGandhi on Friday asserted

that Prime Minister NarendraModi would be “removed fromDelhi” and his party wouldform the Government afterthe Lok Sabha polls.

On the final lap of hiselection campaign in theCongress-JDS alliance ruledKarnataka, Rahul also hit outat Modi for “what he has done”to his “guru”, BJP stalwart LKAdvani, saying that he shouldbe “ashamed” of it. Gandhiaddressed rallies at Raichur andChikkodi in north Karnatakaand is not scheduled to againcampaign in the State, which will go to the secondphase of polls on April 23. Thefirst leg of the elections washeld on Thursday.

At his rally in Raichur,Gandhi said, “People havedecided in 2019 that inKarnataka, Congress andJD(S), in Andhra PradeshNaidu (Chandrababu Naidu)and across the country thosewho are fighting against BJP,

they will win. Narendra Modiwill be removed from Delhi.”

Rahul, who addressed arally in Gujarat earlier in theday said, “People have decided.I’m telling you people ofGujarat have decided, I amcoming from Gujarat. There isan undercurrent in favour ofCongress in Gujarat.”

“People of Gujarat are say-ing, leave alone the country,Narendra Modi has not doneanything for Gujarat... Lakhs ofacres of our land were given tobig business people,” Rahulsaid. Assuring Congress andJDS workers that the alliance ofthe two parties would win here(in Karnataka), he said, “inDelhi, Congress will form theGovernment.”

He also said Modi talksabout security of the nation“but making crores of youthunemployed” does notstrengthen the nation. In hisChikkodi rally, Rahul raked upthe issue of Advani, who hasbeen kept out of the contest inthe 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

“In Hindustan there isnothing bigger than Guru.

Narendra Modi speaks aboutdharma, but see what he hasdone with Advani. He shouldbe ashamed.” “Advaniji madeNarendra Modji stand, but intwo minutes Narendra Modisidelined Advani,” Rahul said.

“He does not even doNamaste to him (Advani), helooks at the other side. Then hespeaks about dharma.” AccusingModi of not having fulfilled anyof the promises he made, Rahulsaid “he has destroyed crores ofpeople,he has spread hate in the country, he spreads hate wher-ever he goes.”

Speaking about the“NYAY” scheme (minimumincome guarantee scheme) theCongress has promised toimplement if voted to power, hesaid that under it, Rs 3.6 lakhwould be put into the accountsof 20 per cent economicallyweaker sections over five years.

“You will have to decidebetween truth, Nyay pro-gramme, brotherhood, love onone side, on the other side hate,demonetisation, Gabbar SinghTax and unemployment,” Rahultold the crowd.

The uneasy alliance ofCongress and JDS is fightingthe Lok Sabha polls together inall the 28 constituencies, butthe electoral arrangement hasbeen hit by resentment at thelevel of local leaders and work-ers, who have fought eachother for decades and are nowfiding it difficult to reconcile tothe new situation.

Andhra Pradesh ChiefMinister Chandrababu Naidu,who was also present at theRaichur rally, said there was aneed for a non-BJPGovernment at the Centre.

“Only if Narendra Modigoes, this country will be free,keep this in mind.” He accusedModi of having deceived peo-ple despite having a clear man-date and caused a loss to thecountry on the issues ofdemonetisation, unemploy-ment and GST.

“Narendra Modi thinksthat there is no leader greaterthen him in the country, I canprove that there are leadersother than you who can devel-op this country well, there isthat ability,” Naidu said.

Moradabad: Just 32, a YouTubestar and a poet who wraps hismessages on conscience voting,secularism and women in fieryverse, Congress candidateImran Pratapgarhi is the politi-cian with more than a slightdifference.

The young man’s poetryhas always been political but hesteered clear of mainstreampolitics, until recently when hebecame Congress presidentRahul Gandhi’s choice to con-test the Lok Sabha electionsfrom this parliamentary con-stituency.

Pratapgarhi, who takes his

name from Pratapgarh in theState, about 500 km from here,decided to write his politicaldestiny from Moradabad, theland of legendary poet JigarMoradabadi.

“I am trying my best to notlet the votes get divided. Thisis not about Muslims. I amappealing to every one troubledby the politics and policies ofBJP,” Pratapgarhi told PTI.

The newbie is up againstsitting BJP MP Kunwar SarveshKumar, an influential Thakurand five-term MLA from thearea, and the SP-BSP-RLD can-didate, former mayor ST

Hasan, who has a loyal base ofsupporters and managed overthree lakh votes in the 2014‘Modi wave’ election.

Seen as a David amongGoliaths in the poll arena,Pratapgarhi is confident of awin in the April 23 election.

Prime Minister NarendraModi and SP president AkhileshYadav have held rallies to gal-vanise their respective supportbases, but Pratapgarhi is tryingto first test his own abilities.Asked why top leaders ofCongress are not coming for hissupport in contrast to BJP and‘gathbandhan’ leaders who arecampaigning in and aroundMoradabad, he said, “I request-ed them to come during the fagend of the campaign. Till now,I am trying to test my own abil-ities to take on this challenge.”

The administration, headded, is scared of his risingpopularity and has disrupted at

least three meetings.“They are delaying per-

missions for meetings, arrest-ing our workers, stoppingmeetings at the last moment asthe State Government is scaredof my popularity. They mayhave some sort of understand-ing with the local ‘gathbandhan’candidate,” he alleged.

Pratapgarhi said his politi-cal journey started eight monthsago when the Congress presi-dent asked him to contest elec-tions. “I convinced myself to takeon this challenge. When (UPunit chief) Raj Babbar came toknow, he offered me the chanceto contest from here and went toFatehpur Sikri,” he said.

And while the results of theelection are in question, hedoes seem to have struck achord with the YouTube gen-eration that follows his work.At 8.30 pm one night recently,Mohammed Tasleem finished

his 11-hour shift in a castingfactory to reach the mainsquare of the brass artisancolony ‘Chakkar Ki Millat’along with hundreds of others.

“I have seen many videosof his on YouTube. That’s whyI came along to hear him,” saidTasleem. The three lakh odd brass artisans are animportant deciding factor inthe constituency. While men inthe locality crowded into thesquare, women lined therooftops to get a vantage viewof the makeshift stage that wasbeen set up. The air was abuzzwith speculation. When he didarrive after a 45-minute delay,he delivered a speech lacedwith couplets, much to thedelight of the crowd.

Pratapgarhi said the fight isnot only to save the social fab-ric of the country but also theirprofession affected by GSTand demonetisation. PTI

����� 71.*&/6.

As BSP supremo Mayawatiand SP patriarch Mulayam

Singh Yadav buried their hatch-et after 24 years to come togeth-er at an election rally here onFriday, the bonhomie was notjust restricted to the dais. Thesignificance of the momentwas not lost on the cadres ofLohia Vahini, an arm ofSamajwadi Party, and BahujanVoluntary Forces of BSP whichused to engage in bitter turf warbefore the SP-BSP alliance wasstitched. Both sides were seenworking in unison to ensuresmooth conduct of the rally forwhat Mulayam himself saidwas his last election.

“We have no problemworking with Lohia Vahinipeople and other SP workers.

They are respecting us and weare respecting them. We areworking together to make thisevent a success,” Sachin, a stu-dent and member of BVF, said.

He was present along withfive others, all students, fromhis village in Mainpuri. Theyhave joined as volunteers andare often tasked with rally andevent management.

Mayawati and SP chiefAkhilesh Yadav had announcedtheir tie-up for Lok Sabha elec-tions in Uttar Pradesh after thesuccess of the arrangementagainst the BJP in bypolls. TheBSP had failed to open itsaccount in the 2014 general elec-tions while the SP had won justfive seats in the polls that wereswept by the BJP. The BJP hadalso trounced the two parties inthe 2017 Assembly election. But

for the poll arithmetic to work,the leaders of the two parties,which were earlier arch-rivals,understand that the cadres haveto come on board. In his speech,Mulayam told his supporters toalways respect “Mayawati ji’who has come to seek votes forhim in his last election.Mayawati too returned thefavour calling him a “true leader”of the backward communities.

“There is no problem. I amin touch with people in areaswhere voting has been done.Voters for both sides are votingfor Gathbandhan (SP-BSP-RLDalliance) ,” Rakesh who was partof the crowd, said. Jaiprakashfrom Kisni, located 35 km fromhere, studies in Kannauj and isa volunteer of BVF. The 20-year-old said there were 175 BVF vol-unteers managing the affair.

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Lucknow: A Dalit man, whoaccidentally cast his vote for theBJP in Uttar Pradesh’sBulandshahr, has chopped offhis index finger for the “mis-take”. Pawan Kumar, in a videoclip that has gone viral on socialmedia, can be heard saying thathe got confused with too manysymbols on the voting machineand pressed the wrong buttonon Thursday. “I wanted tovote for the elephant, but Ivoted for the flower by mis-take,” he said in the video. Hesaid he was a Dalit and it washis duty to vote for the elephant(the BSP symbol). He addedthe ink mark on his index fin-ger reminded him of his mis-take for which he chopped itoff. IANS

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This could well be the lastelection that the voters were

taking part in — if they votedPrime Minister Narendra Modito power for the second time,Mamata Banerjee said on Friday.

This is because the “BJP isa dangerous party,” and “ifthey are allowed to return topower they will destroy eachand every constitutional insti-tution in the country,” theChief Minister told in a rally atBehrampore parliamentaryconstituency.

“They are a fascist partywhich has left no stoneunturned to undermine thecountry’s democratic set up.Dangerous times are ahead ofyou. If they return to powerthey will take away all of yourrights. You will lose your free-dom to speak, to work, to eat,lead your own life and not theleast they will throw you out ofthis country by applying theNRC which they have done inAssam striking about 23 lakhHindu Bengalis and as manyMuslims from the citizenshiplist,” Banerjee said warning “soyou must give a serious thoughtabout whom you vote for.”

As the Trinamool Congresswas the only outfit that hadbeen fighting relentlesslyagainst Modi’s divisive politics,his crippling demonetisationthat has thrown two crore peo-ple out of job “they are victim-ising me, but you should notmind that as I will alwaysstand behind you. But for thatyou will have to for me and notthe Congress or the CPI(M)

who are hand-in-glove with theBJP and RSS.”

In Murshidabad theCongress was getting full helpfrom the RSS, she said askingthe people not to vote for aparty “which would not win inthe elections.”

Behrampore is the districtheadquarter of Murshidabadwhich has three parliamentaryconstituencies — Behrampore,Jangipur and Murshidabad.

With more than 68 percent of its population beingminorities and plagued byacute unemployment forcinglocal labourers to migrate towestern and northern Statesthis district has been a tradi-tional stronghold of the

Congress Party.While former PCC presi-

dent Adhir Chowdhury is theBehrampore MP who won thelast elections by more than 3.25lakh votes, Jangipur also wentto the Congress’ nomineeAbhijeet Mukherjee — the sonof former President PranabMukherjee — who defeatedCPI(M) by a slender margin ofabout 8,000 votes. The Marxistswon the Murshidabad in a tri-cornered contest — featuringTMC, Congress and CPI(M) —by about 25,000 votes.

The district is plagued bylack of employment, erosion ofRiver Ganges which bifurcatesinto Padma before flowing intoBangladesh and plight of more

than 6 lakh bidi workers.Mostly residing in Jangipurthe bidi workers constitute agood 30-35 lakh strong votebase most of which gets divid-ed between the Congress andthe Left.

However the BJP has thistime round made some inroadsinto the Congress den by net-ting Mahfooza Begum a vocal,former CPI(M) MLA who hasthrough a strong Net cam-paigning has gained muchpopularity.

As TMC has not been amajor force in the district untiltwo years ago when it alleged-ly “intimidated and boughtover” most of its leaders whoconstituted a strong electoralarmy of Adhir Chowdhury theoutgoing MP of Behramporethis time round its “strongentry” into the electoral arenais making the scene interesting.

Because of a drop in Hinduvote base of both the Congressand the Left — thanks to theinroads made by the BJP —and the storming in of theTMC into the district theCPI(M) has thrown its weightbehind the Congress inBehrampore.

It is the second seat besidesMalda South where the Left didnot field any candidate againstthe Congress after the alliancetalks between the two sidesfailed. Elections forMurshidabad and Jangipur willtake place on April 23.

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After nearly three decades, ex-Congresswoman Priyanka V

Chaturvedi’s grand entry to the Shiv Senawill bring a much-needed ‘glamour quo-tient’ to the Mumbai headquartered party.

The last time when a woman joiningthe Sena created waves was in early 1990swhen the cricketer-turned-politicianChandrika Kenia-Jain, a former Congressminister and Rajya Sabha member joinedthe party for a short time.

However, more than the formerCongress spokesperson PriyankaChaturvedi’s decision to quit the grand oldparty, it was her surprise decision to jointhe 53-year-old regional Shiv Sena thatgrabbed attention on Friday.

Sources said her decision was notabrupt, but was in works for the past near-ly three weeks, before the Lok Sabha elec-tions got under way, with the nod of ShivSena President Uddhav Thackeray.

The Sena, enjoying a macho image, has

long been devoid of a ‘soft demeanour’ thatcould further enhance its acceptanceamong the womenfolk, especially theurban educated, middle and the elite.

Chaturvedi’s decade-long experiencein a high-profile national-level position

with the country’s oldest political party,could prove advantageous for the Sena inthe country’s capital.

On the ‘big catch’, Thackeray said elec-tions come and go, what is important is theparty’s ideology and that “Chaturvedi hasaccepted it by deciding to join the ShivSena.” Though her exact role is not yetclear, ‘sister’ Chaturvedi could be an assetwhile dealing with Sena’s big brotherBharatiya Janata Party and other NDAallies effectively at the Centre.

Among the options being weighed forher is a largely national role: helping theparty expand in Delhi and other States —she might get a Rajya Sabha nomination inthe near future — and roping her to buildbridges with India Inc, a crucial aspect thathas largely remained unattended by the Sena.

Chaturvedi, 39, left a national-levelhigh-profile post as one of the AICCspokespersons at the height of 2019 LokSabha elections and accepted the Sena’ssymbolic ‘Shiv Bandhan’ in the presenceof a beaming Thackeray this afternoon.

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After completing the 72-hour campaigning ban

imposed on him by theElection Commission for vio-lation of Model Code ofConduct, Chief Minister YogiAdityanath offered prayers atAliganj Hanuman temple onHanuman Jayanti beforeaddressing four election rallieson Friday.

Sources in the BharatiyaJanata Party said Yogi drove tothe Aliganj temple and offered‘prasad’ in the morning,

During the ban period,Yogi visited three Hanumantemples — Hanuman Setu tem-ple in Lucknow, HanumanGarhi in Ayodhya andSankatmochan temple inVaranasi.

Yogi reiterated his Hinduidentity as he defended his vis-its to temples during the ban.He tweeted that the visitsshould not be linked to politicsas he was practising his right tofaith enshrined in the IndianConstitution.

“The experience attainedthrough darshan of Ram Lallaand Bajrang Bali at Hanuman Garhi and SarayuMata temples is difficult toexpress,” he said.

On Friday morning, Yogitweeted, “BJP ideology is torespect constitutional institu-tions and democratic values.Have given respect to the order of EC for the past 72hours and followed theirinstructions.”

Addressing Vijay Sankalprallies in Sambhal, Firozabad,Mishrikh and Etawah, Yogisaid that the first two phases ofpolling had set the tone andtenor of the outcome.

Ahmedabad: Congress leaderKapil Sibal on Friday said hisparty would give a cash rewardof Rs 1 lakh to anyone whocould reveal the identity of aman seen in a video purportedlyexchanging demonetised noteswith face value of Rs 5 crore.

Speaking at a Press con-ference in the city where heplayed the video clip for themedia, Sibal claimed it was shotin Ahmedabad and thatKamalam, the ruling BJP’sheadquarters in Gujarat, wasalso involved.

The grainy video, reported-ly shot by journalists here andobtained from a website calledwww.Tnn.World, shows a beard-ed man exchanging demone-tised currency with a face valueof Rs 5 crore with new Rs 2,000notes totalling Rs 3 crore.

“The (video) episode hap-

pened in Ahmedabad. The per-son in the video was apparent-ly very close to the BJP. He maywell have been a member of theBJP. He, along with others, wasrunning a racket of illegallyconverting thousands of croresof unaccounted currency afterDecember 31, 2016 (postdemonetisation on November8 that year),” Sibal said.

“The process of conversionmust have involved politicians,bankers, brokers and others.Those involved in the chain ofconversion earned commis-sion of up to 40 per cent,” theCongress leader claimed.

“Anybody who can identi-fy the person in the video willbe given a cash reward of Rs 1lakh by the Congress party,” hesaid, adding that the BJPGovernment had not both-ered to probe the video. PTI

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The politically volatile northKerala is witnessing a fierce

battle between the rulingCPI(M)-led LDF and the oppo-sition Congress-headed UDFin the three Lok Sabha con-stituencies — Vadakara,Kannur and Kasaragod, towrest them from the rival frontin the April 23 election.

While the main battle isbetween the two fronts inKerala, the BJP has emerged asa significant player afterextending support to theSabarimala devotees. How thesaffron party fares in the bipo-lar polity of the southern stateis being keenly watched bypolitical observers.

The Communist Party ofIndia (Marxist) has fielded itsstrongman P Jayarajan, toreclaim Vadakara from stateCongress chief MullappallyRamachandran who had wonthe seat with a meagre marginof around 3,300 votes in 2014.

Jayarajan, CPI(M)’s for-mer district secretary inKannur, has a considerableclout among the party cadre,prompting the Congress tofind a heavyweight to take onhim. But the Congress, in a sur-prise move, picked KMuraleedheeran, after two-time sitting MP Ramachandranopted out of race, to take onJayarajan, making it an inter-esting constituency.

Muraleedheeran is a three-time MP, incumbent MLAfrom Vattiyoorkavu inThiruvananthapuram districtand son of former ChiefMinister K Karunakaran.

Vadakara is Left bastion,which it won first in 1980 andis holding since. The CPI(M) istroubled by rebellion withinthis time and also by thedecade-old RevolutionaryMarxist Party founded by lateTP Chandrasekharan afterquitting the Marxist party.

Muraleedheeran, theCongress candidate, has RMP’ssupport. The BJP has re-nom-inated VK Sajeevan fromVadakara, who had securedover 76,000 votes in 2014.

Both the Congress and theBJP have called for a voteagainst the violent politics ofCPI(M). “We are fightingagainst the politics of violence

played by Left,”Muraleedheeran said.

But Jayarajan is trying tocounter that narrative by sayingthat he himself is a victim of vio-lence. In August 1999, assailantsattacked Jayarajan with knivesand machetes in which he wasgrievously injured.

“I am being referred to as‘Kamsa’ and Keechaka (Hindumythology characters), but itwas me who was attacked andhacked by the Sangh Parivar,”Jayarajan has said, remindingthe people of the constituencyof the incident.

Muraleedheeran said he isconfident about the prospectsof Congress also because party

president Rahul Gandhi haschosen Wayanad in Kerala ashis second Lok Sabha con-stituency to contest the poll.“This will help improving theprospects of Congress in thestate,” he said.

Kannur, a constituencyadjacent to Vadakara, is expect-ed to witness a replay of the2014 poll battle as temperaturessoar ahead of the arrival of theannual monsoon.

Incumbent PK Sreemathy,of the CPI(M), has a campaignplanned to avoid the mid-dayheat. Her party has ensured shehas to campaign from 8.30 amto 11 am and then again from3 pm onwards, according to

CPI(M) workers.She is highlighting the

development work carried outthe Left Front Government.

Congress leader KSudhakaran, from whomSreemathy wrested the seatwith a margin of around 6,500votes last time, too has madeLeft’s violent politics a pollplank to seek votes.

The BJP has fielded CKPadmanabhan, a familiar polit-ical face in Kerala who is bank-ing on the achievements of theModi Government.

In Kasaragod, towards thenorthern edge of Kerala sur-rounded by the Western Ghatsand the Arabian Sea, is con-

sidered the “red fort” ofCPI(M). The last time Left wasdefeated here was in 1984.

The Congress is aiming tomake use of the sympathy gen-erated after the killing of its twoyouth workers in Periya area inFebruary. Police said the killingswere politically motivated.

Rahul Gandhi said he will“not rest till the murderers arebrought to justice”. TheCongress later fielded seniorparty leader RajmohanUnnithan from the the con-stituency. “I am a popular facein the State. I have acted in over20 movies. I am confident theCongress will be able to wrestKasaragod from Left,”Unnithan has said during hiselection campaign.

To keep its bastion intact,the Left party has fielded for-mer member of legislativeAssembly KP SatheeshChandran from Kasaragod,thrice represented by veteranAK Gopalan.

Even though CPI(M) hasclaimed it has no role in thekilling of the workers, the Leftwas unable to project its inno-cence over the crime allegedlycommitted by one of its localleader. The BJP has fieldedRavish Tantri, a Hindu hard-liner, to gain momentum inManjeshwaram and Kasaragodassembly segments, formingpart of the Kasaragod parlia-mentary constituency.

Rahul’s decision to contestfrom Wayanad has visibly lift-ed the spirits of the Congressworkers in all other con-stituencies but angered the Left.

Wayanad: Congress GeneralSecretary Priyanka Gandhi andUnion Minister and BJP leaderSmriti Irani will on Saturdayvisit Wayanad in Kerala fromwhere Congress PresidentRahul Gandhi is contestingthe Lok Sabha elections.

The State will vote on April23 in the third phase of thestaggered elections. Rahul’smain opponents in Wayanadare NDA’s Tushar Vellapallyand CPI’s PP Suneer.

Priyanka Gandhi has a pub-lic meeting at Manathanvady,after which she will meet thefamily of Central Reserve PoliceForce trooper Vasanthkumarwho was killed in the Pulwamasuicide bombing. Later she willattend a farmers rally and thengo to Malappuram district,where there are two Assemblyconstituencies that are part of theWayanad Lok Sabha con-stituency. IANS

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Jaipur: Rubbishing Oppositioncharge that democracy wasunder threat in BJP rule, UnionMinister Prakash Javadekar onFriday said the Congress wasmaking such remarks as it hasshrunk to a “fringe party” froma mainstream party and has nochance in future elections.

“Rajasthan Chief MinisterAshok Gehlot says if Modicomes, there will be no elec-tions again. This is wrong.Modi won in 2014 and thereare elections in 2019. Elections are taking place.Elections will happen in 2024,2029 (and so on) but Congresshas no chance in these elec-tions,” the BJP’s poll in-charge for Rajasthan, toldPTI here.

“Congress was the main-stream party and now it hasbecome a fringe party sidingwith the ‘tukde-tudke gang’.Congress is giving certificatethat this is freedom of expres-sion. They give such kind ofdefence,” he said.

CM Gehlot has said in hispublic rallies that democracyand the Constitution are under“threat” under Modi rule andelections may not happen if hecomes to power again.

The Union HRD Ministeralso exuded confidence that theBJP will, on its own, win moreseats than in 2014 and theNDA will get two-thirds major-ity in polls. PTI

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In a new development theElection Commission of

India has directed the BengalChief Electoral Officer to senda report on an alleged biopicon Chief Minister MamataBanerjee scheduled to bereleased early next month.

The ECI move came afterthe CPI(M) and the BJPapproached the ECI againstthe release of the movie titled“Baghini(Tigress).” Like thebiopic on the Prime Ministerhad been stopped the “ECI hasbeen approached to stop therelease of this movie also tillthe election process is over,”CPI(M) central committeemember Nilotpal Basu said.

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Bank unions on Friday urged Prime MinisterNarendra Modi to take over grounded Jet

Airways to secure the future of the 22,000-oddemployees of the carrier.

In a letter to Modi, the All-India Bank EmployeesAssociation also said government must ensure thatbanks are not forced to lend to the crippled airline.

After flying for 25 years, Jet Airways Wednesdayannounced grounding of operations after its lendersdeclined an interim funding of �400-crore.

“We learn that banks have invited bids to pos-sible investors to take over the airline. If it does nothappen, we urge you to take over the airline so thatthe jobs of these 22,000 employees are safe,” the asso-ciation said.

At the same time the unions opposed any moveto force banks to lend more money to the airline.

“Everyone is looking at the banks to bail out theairline as though lenders are the owners,” theunions said, also demanded an enquiry into the affairsof Jet.

“Naresh Goyal is still the promoter and majorshare- holder with 51 percent stake and it is hisheadache to run the company or sell it someone,” theunions said.

The attempts to sidetrack the whole issue bybuilding pressure on the banks to extend further loanand save the company is only with a view to keepGoyal out of the picture whereas he is the real manwho is answerable for the whole crisis, the unionsclaimed.

“We seek the immediate intervention of theGovernment so that banks are not pressurised to doleout more money,” the letter said.

The airline owes more than �8,500 crore to banksand around �4,000 crore to its vendors and aircraftlessors and months of salaries to the employees apartfrom thousands of crores of rupees in ticket refundsto passengers. That apart it has an accumulate lossof over �13,000 crore.

A consortium of banks led by State Bank had saidthey were hopeful of a successful bidding process forstake sale in the airline.

The 26 lenders to the cash strapped airline, nowown 51 percent stake in the airline, have invited bidsfrom potential suitors and received four bids fromEtihad Airways, NIFF, TPG and Indigo Partners andexpect to close the deal by May 10.

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The grounding of Jet Airways hasleft the tourism industry a

worried lot as it has led to an aver-age 25 percent spike in airfaresacross the sectors leading to mas-sive hotel cancellations, says indus-try experts.

Some key sectors like Mumbai-Hyderabad, Mumbai-Delhi andDelhi-Mumbai have seen the faresflying by 62 percent, 52 percent and49 percent, while the Bengaluru-Delhi sector has had the lowestimpact with a 10 percent surge short-ly before and soon after the ground-ing of Jet, show Cleatrip.Com data.

Financially struggling formonths, Jet Airways decided to call

it quits from Wednesday night,leaving 22,000 jobs at stake andinconveniencing lakhs of passen-gers both domestic as well as inter-national as Jet was the single largestairline out of and into the country.

“The impact of grounding ofJet Airways is not only restricted tothe airlines sector as tourism hastaken a severe beating due to themassive surge in airfares during thepeak demand season. The impactis unlikely to fade away anytimesoon and may continue into the restof the year,” Travel AgentsAssociation of India (Taai) presi-dent Sunil Kumar told PTI Friday.

He said, both the domestic aswell as international travel andrelated sectors are affected as trav-

ellers are cancelling their hotelbookings as airfares have surged byover 25 percent on average.

Leading tour operator Cox &Kings’ Karan Anand said the shut-tering of Jet has upset the travel plansof many who have booked on Jet.

“This is the peak travel seasonand the airfares for the next 10-12days are up by at least 25 percentas the capacity has fallen massive-ly dissuading last minute travelers,”he added.

However, online travel aggre-gator Easemytrip. Com RPTEasemytrip.Com co-founderNishant Pitti tried to downplay theimpact saying airfares normallyfluctuate as the aviation industry isalways unpredictable.

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Air India chairman AshwaniLohani is likely to meet State

Bank chairman Rajnish KumarFriday over the national carrier’splans to lease five wide-bodyBoeing planes from the nowgrounded Jet Airways.

Weighed down by a mountainof debt and falling revenue, JetAirways announced suspension ofits entire operations fromWednesday night and owns 16wide-body planes, 10 B777-300ERsand six Airbus A330s.

The SBI-led consortium oflenders are now running the airline

under a debt recast plan.The Air India chairman had

written to SBI chief Wednesdayexpressing interest in taking onlease five of the Boeing 777s fromJet and deploy them in key inter-national routes. And the meeting,expected to take place in NewDelhi, is in furthering this.

“Lohani is expected to meetKumar today to discuss his plans ofleasing five Jet Airways’ B777s. AirIndia is keen to launch more inter-national routes and enhance fre-quencies on the existing ones.

“But it does not have additionalaircraft to do so. If it is able to strikea deal with Jet lenders, it can

expand the international operationsfurther,” a source privy to thedevelopment told PTI.

The Air India spokespersonwas not available to confirm ordeny the meeting.

In a dry-lease arrangement, thelessor gives out only the aircraft toa lessee, while in wet-lease, the air-craft comes with the completecrew, maintenance and insurance.

After the grounding of Jet, AirIndia is the only domestic carriernow operating services on long hauland ultra-long haul routes likeLondon, Paris, New York,Washington, Chicago and SanFrancisco, among other cities.

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Airlines in India have “lim-ited freedoms” to operate

as true commercial businessesand the country is a challeng-ing market for the carriersdespite the huge aviationpotential, according to globalairlines’ grouping IATA.

The comments from theInternational Air TransportAssociation (IATA), which hasnearly 290 airlines as members,also comes at a time when JetAirway has temporarily closeddown its operations due tocash crunch.

Jet Airways is also a mem-ber of the IATA.

Albert Tjoeng, AssistantDirector of CorporateCommunications (AsiaPacific) at the IATA, said thatwhile the aviation potential ofIndia is huge, it is a challeng-ing market for airlines.

“Airlines have to deal withhigh operating costs – fuel, tax-ation, airport charges - in avery competitive environment.Fuel costs makes up 34 percent of operating costs ofIndian carriers when theindustry average is about 24per cent.

“Coupled with the depre-ciation of the Indian rupee, itis a double whammy for theairlines,” he said in a statement.

According to him, India’sregulatory and tax frameworkaround fuel also adds a burdenon the airline industry.

����� *0.-1

In a fresh attempt to retaincontrol over its realty arm

Jaypee Infratech, crisis-hitJaypee group’s promotersFriday apologised to thousandsof distressed home buyers andpromised to infuse �2,000 croreto complete pending apart-ments over the next four years.

This proposal was made tohome buyers at a meetingcalled by Jaypee group chair-man Manoj Gaur as part ofefforts to seek flat owners’ sup-port for resolving the crisis anddelivering the pending 20,524units.

Jaypee group founderJaiprakash Gaur was also pre-sent at the meeting, which wasattended by over 1,000 buyers,while around dozen flat own-ers boycotted the meet andstaged protest at the venue —Jaypee Instutute of InformationTechnology — here.

Jaypee Infratech, a sub-sidiary of Jaypee group flagshipfirm Jaiprakash Associates Ltd

(JAL), is undergoing an insol-vency proceedings. State-owned NBCC and Surakshagroup are in race to acquireJaypee Infratech. JAL has alsosubmitted its plan but the sameis not being considered bylenders at this stage.

To solicit the support of it’shomebuyers, who have now gota voting rights for approval of anyresolution plan under Insolvencyand Bankruptcy Code, theJaypee group chairman Fridayinvited flat owners to discuss theproposal submitted by it.

The Jaypee group said itwill put in �1,500 crore in anescrow account and also attacha 100-acre land parcel worth�500 crore to deliver theseflats within four years.

At the outset, Manoj Gaurapologised for the delay incompleting the housing pro-jects, which he said “wasbeyond his control”.

“We are victims of cir-cumstances. Jaypee Group issynonymous for creating bestof the infrastructure projects inIndia like power plants inBaspa, Karchamwangtoo in thetoughest of the terrains andSardar Sarovar Dam that asideYamuna Expressway and oth-ers,” he said.

Promising to complete andhand over the remaining units,

Gaur sought another chancefrom the homebuyers.

“We will put �1,500 crore inescrow account and keep 100-acre land worth �500 earmarked,won’t sell this land. In total wehave around �2,000 crore forthis,” Jaypee Group advisorAjeet Kumar told reporters.

Additional funds wouldcome from home buyers as wellas sale of unsold housing unitsworth �4000 crore, he added.

“Under Section 12A of theIBC Procedure, we have sub-mitted a proposal (to lenders)in the month of February. Thehighlights of the proposal arethat we will put �1,500 crore inan escrow account which willbe monitored by a committeeand the entire amount will beused for construction and com-pletion of the houses,” he said.

Jaypee group had in April2018 as well submitted �10,000crore plan before lenders torevive Jaypee Infratech, butthe same was not accepted.

“It’s been 18 months sincethe case is in the SupremeCourt and the NCLT, ourchairman (Manoj Gaur) hasapologised to the buyers. Hetold them that he understandstheir pain of not getting thehomes and wants the supportof the buyers for his proposal,”Kumar said.

����� 7/791.

Air India chairman AshwaniLohani held preliminary

talks with his State Bank coun-terpart Rajnish Kumar in theCapital Friday on the nationalcarrier’s interest in leasing fiveBoeing 777s from the now-grounded Jet Airways, sourcesclose to the development said.

The meeting lasted for overmore than an hour at theAirlines House, the headquar-ters of the flag carrier in thenational Capital.

“During the meeting withKumar, Lohani discussed hisproposal on leasing five B777sof Jet Airways,” the sources toldPTI.

As per these sources, the AIchairman will now take theproposal to the airline’s boardfor approval, after more inter-nal discussions and if all goeswell, then the proposal will besent to the aviation ministry forthe final approval.

The AI board is scheduledto meet on April 27 and thesubject may come up for dis-cussions.

Weighed down by a moun-tain of debt and falling revenue,Jet Airways announced sus-pension of its entire operationsfrom Wednesday night. Theairline now owns 16 wide-

body planes--10 B777-300ERsand six Airbus A330s.

The SBI-led consortiumof lenders are now running theairline under a debt recastplan.

The AI chairman had writ-ten to SBI chief Wednesdayexpressing interest in taking onlease five of the Boeing 777sfrom Jet and deploy them inkey international routes.

When asked about the nextstep, the source said after fur-ther deliberations, a formalproposal will be sent to theboard for its approval. “If theboard gives its go ahead, it willbe sent to the aviation ministrywhich will take a final call.”

Air India is keen to launchmore international routes andenhance frequencies on theexisting ones.

“But it does not have addi-tional aircraft to do so. If it isable to strike a deal with Jetlenders, it can expand theinternational operations fur-ther,” the source said.

The Air India spokesper-son was not available to com-ment parleys.

In a dry-lease arrange-ment, the lessor gives out onlythe aircraft to a lessee, while inwet-lease, the aircraft comeswith the complete crew, main-tenance and insurance.

����� *+,-+�%.

Wipro Ltd on Friday said acyber attack on few of its

employee accounts has notimpacted its critical businessoperations and the firm hastaken remedial measures.

In a regulatory filing, thecompany said it became awareof potentially abnormal activ-ity within its network about 10days back in respect of few ofits employee accounts, whowere “subjected to an advancedphishing campaign”.

“Upon learning of theabove, the company promptlykicked off its standard operat-ing procedure for addressingsuch incidents. We beganinvestigating the incident, iden-tified and isolated the employ-ee accounts which wereimpacted, took remedial stepsto contain the incident and mit-igate any potential effects of theincident,” Wipro said.

It also informed the hand-ful of customers where theaffected employees are engaged.

“We would like to clarifythat the incident did not impactthe company’s ongoing criticalbusiness operations,” it said.

Cybersecurity blogKrebsOnSecurity had previous-

ly stated that Wipro’s systemshad been breached and werebeing used to launch attacksagainst some of its clients.

“Like any large enterprise,the company investigates over 4.8million alerts in a year,” Wiprosaid without elaborating on whatits investigation had revealed.

Wipro said it has used itsindustry-leading cybersecuri-ty practices and partner ecosys-tem for remedial steps and hasshared this intelligence with itspartners to develop theAntiVirus signatures.

“The same has beenapplied to our enterprise sys-tems. We are collaboratingwith our partner ecosystem tocollect and monitor advancedthreat intelligence for enhanc-ing our security posture. Wecontinue to monitor our enter-prise infrastructure at a height-ened level of alertness,” it said.

KrebsOnSecurity, in itsblog, had cited sources to statethat Wipro was “dealing with amulti-month intrusion from anassumed state-sponsoredattacker” and that Wipro’s sys-tems were seen being used asjumping-off points for digitalphishing expeditions target-ing at least a dozen Wipro cus-tomer systems.

����� *+,-+�%.

Reliance Industries has statedthat it will start natural gas

production from R-Cluster gasfield in the flagging KG-D6 blockin the Bay of Bengal from the sec-ond half of the 2020-21 fiscal.

Reliance and its partner BPPlc of UK had in June 2017announced an investment of�40,000 crore in the three setsof discoveries to reverse theflagging production in KG-D6block. These finds were expect-ed to bring a total 30-35 millioncubic metres (1 billion cubicfeet) of gas a day onstream,phased over 2020-22. R-Clusterwill be first to come on stream.

“R-Cluster development ison track for first gas in 2HFY21,” Reliance said in aninvestor presentation after itsfourth-quarter earnings.

Four of the planned sixwells that would produce gasfrom the field have been com-pleted and the fifth one is beingdrilled currently, it said addingfirst offshore installation cam-paign is underway and is expect-ed to be completed in Q1 FY20.

The second set is called theSatellite Cluster for which allmajor orders have been com-mitted and engineering work isin progress. “Manufacturingof components of SubseaProduction System (SPS) hascommenced,” it said.

����� *+,-+�%.

The Finance Ministry islooking at innovative Real

Estate Investment Trusts(REITs) model for sale of landassets of CPSEs and also thosewhich are classified as ‘enemyproperty’ by the government.

REITs, which are regulatedby Sebi, are instruments forinvestments in real estate. Underthis REITs model of securitisa-tion, the land assets will betransferred to a trust providinginvestment opportunity forinstitutional investors.

The finance ministry islooking at the REITs modelalong with other modes likeleasing or outright sale of landassets for monetising non-coreassets of Central Public SectorEnterprises (CPSEs) which havebeen identified for strategicdisinvestment, an official said.

The ministry is also con-sidering REITs model for mon-etisation of immovable enemyproperty.

Although market regulator

Sebi had notified REITs guide-lines in 2014, the market forthis instrument for investmentin real estate is yet to pick up.

With regard to sale ofimmovable enemy properties,the guidelines said the assetswould be identified for disposalin consultation with the stake-holders including the respectivestate governments.

Enemy property refers tothe assets which were leftbehind by people who migrat-ed to Pakistan or China and areno longer citizens of India.

The Custodian of EnemyProperty for India (CEPI) or theMinistry of Home Affairs willselect the properties for dispos-al and will also certify that a cleartitle deed is available and theproperty is free of any encum-brances and encroachment.

Although the Departmentof Investment and Public AssetManagement (DIPAM) underthe finance ministry has spelledout the several model whichcould be used for monetisingland assets, the final call will be

taken by a ministerial panelheaded by the finance minister.

One of the models proposedby DIPAM is ’DirectContractual Approach’ underwhich large upfront paymentsfor the land could be made togovernment coupled with smallannual payments or smallupfront payment coupled withannual payments.

“Adoption of one or theother model would dependupon many factors like typeand use of asset, objective ofmonetisation and various otherfactors,” an official said.

The other model could bethe one being used by NHAIunder which operations of anexisting revenue generatingassets are entrusted to a privateparty for specified period onspecific terms and conditionslike the ’Toll-Operate-Transfer’(ToT) Another model whichcould be considered is to trans-fer the land to State-ownedNBCC for developing afford-able housing or central/stateGovernment offices.

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China said on Friday it wasready to hold a Wuhan-

style summit meeting withIndia this year to improve ties,notwithstanding the differ-ences over the trillion-dollarBelt and Road Initiative inwhich the China-PakistanEconomic Corridor (CPEC)is a flagship project.

Addressing a media con-ference here ahead of the Beltand Road Forum (BRF) beingheld from April 25-27 to show-case China’s trillion-dollar Beltand Road Initiative (BRI),Chinese Foreign Minister WangYi appealed to India to shed itsopposition to the USD 60 bil-lion CPEC, saying it no way“undermined” the basic posi-tion on the Kashmir dispute.

Asked if India’s oppositionto the BRI would undermine thenew momentum generated bylast year’s informal summitbetween Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and ChinesePresident Xi Jinping, Wang saidthe two leaders had a very suc-cessful meeting at Wuhan city.

“Particularly they haveestablished mutual trust betweenthe leadership and they jointlyplanned for the future ofimprovement and strengtheningof China-India relations.

“After the Wuhan summit,we see all areas or progressbetween the two countries andwe have bright prospect for thisrelationship. We are nowpreparing for the next summitof our leaders,” he said withoutspecifying any time line.

After the Wuhan summithosted by China, the secondsummit will be held by India.President Xi plans to visit Indiafor the 2nd informal summitafter the general elections, cur-rently underway, are over.

Wang said so far 37 headsof state and governments hadconfirmed their participationin the BRF. Representativesfrom over 150 countries organ-isations’ close to 5,000 partic-ipants have confirmed theirparticipation.

Leaders of Pakistan andNepal are among the countrieswho would take part in themeeting.

Informed sources here toldPTI that there was no officialinvitation from China to theIndian leadership or at theministerial level to take part inits 2nd BRF meeting.

For its first BRF meetingheld in May 2017, China hadinvited India to take part in thesix separate forums that Chinaorganised as part of the meeting.

Indian Ambassador toChina, Vikram Misri flaggedIndia’s concerns over the CPECin an interview to state-runGlobal Times last month stat-ing that “above all, connectiv-ity initiatives must be pursuedin a manner that respects sov-ereignty, equality and territor-ial integrity of nations. Nocountry can participate in aninitiative that ignores its coreconcerns on sovereignty andterritorial integrity”.

The BRI is a multi-bil-lion-dollar initiative launchedby President Xi when he cameto power in 2013. It aims to linkSoutheast Asia, Central Asia,the Gulf region, Africa andEurope with a network of landand sea routes.

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Waaree Energies Ltd., anIndian EPC player and

solar PV manufacturerannounced its foray into theStand-Alone Solar Solutionssegment with Off-GridInverters. With an aim to sub-stantially reduce dependencyon the electrical grid, the solarinverters are available in capac-ities ranging from of 375 VA to10 KW across a wide scale ofcommercial and residentialconsumers. This new offeringwill uphold the strong ’qualitycontrol’ measures of Waareeand will be made availableacross India in a span of a yearthrough its supply, distributionand franchise chain.

The Indian Solar Invertermarket is expected to grow atover 25% CAGR in the next 5years and Waaree aims to cap-italize on the growth curve andsatiate the much needed qual-ity service in the segment.

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Ed-tech startup, AvantiLearning Centres, which

offers Science and Mathematicseducation by leveraging aPhysical, Digital model, haslaunched an AI poweredMobile App. The Mumbai-based education startup worksin the area of preparatory class-es for higher education inSTEM domain (Science,Technology, Engineering andMathematics) for studentslooking to succeed in IIT andMedical entrance examinationsincluding NEET.

It has recently expanded to300 centres across 50 cities andtowns while impacting the livesof over 500,000 students look-ing to enter the Engineering andMedical colleges of India.

The startup is currentlyproviding its services close to11.9 Lakh students appearingfor IIT Entrance and over 13lakh students appearing forNEET, Avanti with a Physical,Digital model.

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Page 11: RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No. - RYP ......2019/04/20  · Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal too hit out at Pragya for her “disgraceful” comments on Karkare,

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Pedro Rodriguez starred as Chelsea with-stood a spirited Slavia Prague fightbackin a wild 4-3 victory to qualify for the

Europa League semi-finals on Thursday,while Arsenal knocked out Napoli after anassured display in Italy.

Leading 1-0 from last week's first leg inthe Czech capital, Chelsea appeared to becruising towards the last four after an earlygoal blitz at Stamford Bridge.

Pedro struck the opener on five minutesbefore an unfortunate Simon Deli turned intohis own net and Olivier Giroud added a thirdwith barely quarter of an hour gone inLondon.

Tomas Soucek pulled one back for Slaviaon 26 minutes, but Spain forward Pedroreplied immediately to restore the Blues' three-goal lead.

Maurizio Sarri's side were made to sweatthough as two sublime, quick-fire goals by PetrSevcik just after half-time gave Slavia hope ofan incredible comeback with 35 minutes stillto play.

Chelsea eventually saw off the threat toprogress 5-3 on aggregate despite an uncon-vincing second-half display.

"We have been efficient up front and solidat the back but we dropped our intensity afterthe break," Giroud, who scored his competi-tion-leading 10th goal, told BT Sport.

The 2013 Europa Leaguechampions will meet EintrachtFrankfurt in the last four after theGermans eliminated Benfica onaway goals.

��)�?�������������Eintracht lost 4-2 in Portugal

a week ago, but goals by FilipKostic and former Bayern Munichmidfielder Sebastian Rode sent the

German Cup holders through at theCommerzbank Arena.

Kostic turned home a rebound on 37 min-utes after Mijat Gacinovic's curling attempt can-noned back off the upright.

Rode, on loan from Borussia Dortmund,hit the decisive goal on 67 minutes as he pickedout the bottom corner from the edge of the area.

In Italy, Alexandre Lacazette drilled in a ter-rific free-kick on 36 minutes at the Stadio SanPaolo as the Gunners completed a 3-0 aggre-gate victory over Carlo Ancelotti's Napoli.

Petr Cech denied Jose Callejon with his legsfollowing a rapid Napoli break on the quarter-hour as the Italians sought to overturn a two-goal deficit from the first leg.

But Lacazette's 30-yard drive all but put thetie beyond Napoli, shortly after Aaron Ramseyhobbled off with a hamstring injury — poten-tially his final appearance for Arsenal ahead ofa move to Juventus in July.

"We came here with ambition and want-ed to win and score some goals. We did it withLaca," Arsenal captain Laurent Koscielny toldBT Sport.

"We kept a clean sheet, which is importantfor the confidence. Each game we have in frontof us is a final."

Arsenal boss Unai Emery will come upagainst one of his former clubs Valencia,the 2004 UEFA Cup winners, for a spot inthe final.

Valencia eased through with a 5-1aggregate win over Villarreal in an all-Spanish affair.

Toni Lato and Dani Parejograbbed the goals in a 2-0 second-leg victory for Valencia coachMarcelino against his formerclub.

The semi-finals will beplayed over May 2 and 9, withthis year's final in Baku on May29.

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Juventus turn the page on yetanother Champions League

disappointment as they focuson sealing an eighth consec-utive Serie A title at home on Saturday.

Massimiliano Allegri's side hostFiorentina needing just one more point tolift the Scudetto for a 35th time, days aftera shock 2-1 defeat (3-2 on aggregate) toAjax.

The Turin giants have won theScudetto more than any other team in Italywith AC Milan and Inter Milan trailing sec-

ond bestwith 18each.

F i v e -time Ballon

d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo will haveto settle for a Serie A title in his first sea-son in Italy after missing out on a sixthChampions League title.

The 34-year-old was inconsolableafter the defeat to Ajax and has remainedsilent on social media since, with his spec-tacular hat-trick in the last 16 againstAtletico Madrid, and two diving headersover two quarter-final games against Ajax

not enough."He told me he doesn't

perform miracles," hismother Dolores Aveirotold the Portuguesepress.

"He was sad. Hewould have liked to get

to the final but it will befor the next time."

Juventus canequal the

record for theearliest thetitle has beenwon with fivegames tos p a r eachieved by

Torino in1948, Fiorentina

in 1956 and InterMilan in 2007.

Juventus havewon their lastseven home SerieA matches againstFiorentina, butcoach Vincenzo

Montella will belooking for a sur-prise on his returnto the Tuscanyhotseat.

F i o r e n t i n ahave gone eightgames without awin and haveslipped totenth, 13points off theEuropa Leagueplaces.

����� 71*�%+'"+6

The third act of ManchesterCity and Tottenham's trilogy

has some living up to do after aChampions League classic sawSpurs prevail on away goals toreach the semi-finals.

However, their PremierLeague meeting on Saturday hashuge implications for both City'sbid to win the title and Spurs'hopes of just qualifying for theChampions League again nextseason.

Pep Guardiola's men are fivegames away from becoming thefirst side in a decade to retain thePremier League.

However, it isLiverpool who lead bytwo points as thingsstand having played agame more than theirtitle rivals.

City were oncourse for an unprece-dented quadruple until fallingshort in the most dramatic fash-ion in the Champions Leaguequarter-finals on Wednesday.

With the sides level at 4-4 onaggregate, Raheem Sterling scored

the goal that would have sentCity through in stoppage time,only for a VAR review to rule the

goal out for offside."We have to stand up, we have

to react," said Guardiola."We fought a lot in the last

nine or 10 months for the PremierLeague. We are still there, it is in

our hands. Of course it is tough,but we have to do it until the end."

City's extra resources mayhave counted for little once morein Europe, but it could prove thedifference with such a tight turn-around for both sides.

Guardiola could afford theluxury of leaving Fernandinho,Leroy Sane, Riyad Mahrez,Gabriel Jesus, Nicolas Otamendiand John Stones on the bench inmidweek.

By contrast, Tottenham

remain without HarryKane and are now desper-ately short in midfieldafter Moussa Sissokolimped off midwaythrough the first-half onWednesday.

And should they lose afifth straight away leaguegame, third-placed Spurscould easily find themselvesoutside the top four comethe end of the weekend.

Should Tottenham notshock City once more,Arsenal and Chelsea willbe confident of edgingahead of their Londonrivals.

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Commonwealth GamesSilver-medallist Satish

Kumar (+91kg) and the fast-rising Sonia Chahal (57kg)entered the quarterfinals on anall-win opening day for Indiaat the Asian BoxingChampionships here.

Satish out-punched Iran'sIman Ramezanpourdelavar tomake the last eight, whileworld Silver-medallist Soniadefeated Vietnam's Uyan DoNha in the women's draw onFriday.

In the morning session,national champion Deepak(49kg) and Rohit Tokas (64kg)advanced to the last-16 stagewith confident victories.Joining them was Ashish(69kg), who defeatedCambodia's V Y Sophors in theevening session.

"All the Gold medal win-ners from this competitionwill be assured of a place in theworld championships team(scheduled in September thisyear)," Indian boxing's High-Performance Director SantiagoNieva said.

Satish, who won a Bronzemedal at the event in its 2015edition, quite literally easedpast his fumbling opponent,striking at will in a one-sidedcontest.

In the last Indian bout ofthe day, Sonia pounced on herovertly defensive opponentand produced a near flawlessperformance to clinch a 5-0win.

Earlier, Deepak defeatedVietnam's Loi Bui Cong Danh,fetching a unanimous verdictfrom the judges before Rohitput it past Taiwan's Chu-YenLai with a similar scoreline.

Over 100 women and 198men boxers from 34 countriesare vying for the top honoursin the Championships.

����� ':-*+:

Ashleigh Barty will be overjoyed whendoubles partner and two-time major

winner Victoria Azarenka returns to thepeak of her powers but hopes it won't bethis weekend when Australia and Belarusclash for a place in the Fed Cup final.

Barty and Azarenka teamed up thisseason, making the doubles semi-finals atthe prestigious Miami Open just daysbefore the Australian clinched the singlestitle, a breakthrough which propelled herinto the world's top 10.

Now Barty leads Australia's hopes ofreaching a first Fed Cup final since 1993when they face 2017 runners up Belarusin Brisbane on Saturday and Sunday.

And the pair have been selected to

meet each other in the second singles rub-ber, with Azarenka preferred to her high-er-ranked teammate AliaksandraSasnovich.

Australia also opted for experience,with former US Open champion SamanthaStosur, who made her Fed Cup debut backin 2003, a surprise pick to open the tie,rather than Daria Gavrilova, against worldnumber 10 Aryna Sabalenka.

The two teams are evenly matched onpaper but Barty, who boasts a Fed Cuprecord of 14 wins and just two losses, isconfident seven-time champions Australiacan end their long wait to make anotherfinal.

"I feel like we have a really unique teamat the moment and it's a bloody good one,"she said. "I think we've got more than a

good chance of winning."In the weekend's other semi-final,

Simona Halep eyes taking another stepcloser to adding a maiden Fed Cup win-ner's medal to her 2018 French Opencrown when Romania face France inRouen.

Romania have equalled their best FedCup showing, having also made it to thesemi-finals in 1973.

Two-time champions France are bid-ding to reach the final for the sixth timeand first since 2016, when they suffered a3-2 defeat to the Czechs.

World number 21 Caroline Garcia,now back in favour after a two-year exile,leads the French team with KristinaMladenovic picked ahead of Alize Cornetfor the second singles spot.

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Indian boxer Vikas Krishan will take onAmerican Noah Kidd in his second

professional bout, which will be held atthe iconic Madison Square Garden hereon Saturday.

The six-round super welterweightbout is on the undercard for the keen-ly-anticipated WBO welterweight titleclash between Terence Crawford andBritish star Amir Khan.

The 27-year-old from Bhiwani isassociated with legendary promoterBob Arum's Top Rank Promotions andmade an impressive professional debut— a Technical Knock Out win in the sec-ond round against Steven Andrade of theUnited States in January.

"Madison Square Garden is one ofthe biggest and most famous arenas ofthe world and I am very excited to fighthere," said Vikas, who is contracted tofight five bouts in his debut year.

"Fighting in a big arena relieves pres-sure and I have been fighting and train-ing harder since I got here. All of this willhelp me become a better boxer," headded.

Vikas has been training in Newark,New Jersey under veteran boxing coachWali Moses, who is also the grandfather

of 2016 Olympic Silver-medallist ShakurStevenson.

His opponent, Kidd, is a 23-year-oldfrom Missouri who made his debut inJuly 2016 and has a 3-1-1, two KOrecord.

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World number one Novak Djokovicwas dumped out by Russia's

Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-finalsof the Monte Carlo Masters on Friday,losing 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.

Djokovic, twice a former champi-on in Monte Carlo, lost his serve fivetimes as 10th seed Medvedev gainedrevenge for his last-16 defeat by the Serbat this year's Australian Open.

"This was the best match ofmy career, maybe not in the levelof tennis but in beating thenumber one for the first time inmy life," said Medvedev.

"It's just amazing."Medvedev will meet another

Serb, Dusan Lajovic, on Saturday for aplace in the final after the latter beatItalian qualifier Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 7-5.

For Djokovic, who won a recordseventh Melbourne title in January, itmarked another premature exit for thetop seed after he crashed out in the earlyrounds at Indian Wells and Miami lastmonth.

The player who has won the lastthree Grand Slam events and could con-clude a personal sweep with another titleat Roland Garros in June, feels that allhe needs is more court time and some

extra polish."The French Open is the ultimate

goal on clay. It's expected in a way forme to peak right at that tournament,because that's what I'm aiming for.

"This is only the first tournamenton clay, and it's a long season. Let's see

how it goes."Maybe I'm lacking the consis-

tency with the top results in the lastcouple of years in the best tourna-ments.

"But I've been playing my bestat Grand Slams and that's what I intend

to do."Djokovic was broken three times in

the final set, clawing one back but exit-ing when Medvedev drove a backhandinto the far corner on match point.

The winner totalled less than halfof the 47 unforced errors which cameoff the Djokovic racquet in the two-hour, 20-minute struggle in windyconditions.

"Novak played worse here than thetimes before," Medvedev said. "But I'malso getting more experience.

"I'm making the top guys realise it'snot easy to play me."

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Page 12: RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No. - RYP ......2019/04/20  · Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal too hit out at Pragya for her “disgraceful” comments on Karkare,

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Fast running out of time, astruggling Rajasthan

Royals will hope to completethe double against MumbaiIndians in a return-leg IPLfixture and revive their cam-paign here on Saturday.

With six losses and twowins, hosts Rajasthan Royalsare languishing at the secondlast position in the pointstable and they would be des-perate to bring their cam-paign back on track with amuch-needed win here.

Rajasthan would be tak-ing heart from the four-wick-et win over Mumbai Indiansat their own den last Saturdayand will hope to get the bet-ter of their rivals once again,this time at home.

However, it will be easiersaid than done consideringRajasthan's dismal record atthe Sawai Man SinghStadium. Apart from theirlone victory against RoyalChallengers Bangalore,Rajasthan have lost three

matches at home.England's Jos Buttler has

done the bulk of scoring forRajasthan. His fiery 89 off 43balls was the cornerstone ofRoyals' four-wicket victoryover Mumbai but rest thebatsmen have either struggledor not been consistent.

Sanju Samson, who hadhit the first ton of this IPL,too has not delivered in pastcouple of innings.

Skipper Anjikya Rahane,himself, has got starts butfailed to convert them. Thelikes of former Australiancaptain Steve Smith andEngland all-rounder BenStokes also have been strug-gling.

The pace-spin duo ofJofra Archer and ShreyasGopal has spearheaded their

bowling attack but rest of thebowlers have been far frompenetrative and also provedcostly in death overs.

Mumbai Indians, on theother hand, have looked for-midable this season with agood mix of power hitters,quality bowlers and perfectall-rounders.

The three-time formerchampions grabbed the sec-ond position after a dominat-ing 40-run win over DelhiCapitals and would be eagerto avenge their defeat againstRajasthan on Saturday to inchcloser to the play-off berth.

If skipper Rohit Sharmaand Quinton De Kock laidthe foundation at the top, thePandya brothers — Hardikand Krunal, along with thebig-hitting Kieron Pollardhave provided the late chargeto help MI post hugescores.MI boosts of two of thebest death bowlers in JaspritBumrah, who has taken 10wickets from nine games sofar, and veteran Sri LankanLasith Malinga.

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Pakistan Prime Minister andWorld Cup winning captain

Imran Khan on Friday stressed onthe importance of team spirit,unity and passion to be success-ful at the upcoming World Cup inEngland.

Imran told the World Cup-bound squad, who met him at hisresidence in Islamabad, especial-ly captain Sarfaraz Ahmed tolead by performance and example.

"You are the leader of thisteam and the whole team looks upto you. When a leader performsand shows passion, his players dothe same," Imran told Sarfaraz.

Chairman of the PakistanCricket Board Ehsan Mani, chiefselector Inzamam-ul-Haq andother board members were alsoinvited to the pre-World Cupmeeting, in which some of theplayers also exchanged views onthe game with the former skipper.

Imran, who had led Pakistanto its only World Cup title in 1992,spent over an hour giving adviceto the national team players onhow to be successful duringWorld Cup and shared his expe-riences with them.

"A champion steps onto thepitch armed with passion and aplan. Team spirit is a key to vic-tory," he told the team, accordingto his spokesperson.

"With your skills, sportsmanspirit and your conduct, bringglory to Pakistan," Imran added.

He told the players that theentire nation would look up to

them."The entire nation's prayers

are with you. Representing thecountry at an international forumis a big honour. You are ambas-sadors of the nation and the peo-ple's eyes are on you, and theirhopes rest with you," he said.

The Pakistan squad leaves fora tour of England on April 23.

Also Pakistan Cricket Board(PCB) on Friday rejected a sug-gestion from national team cap-tain Sarfaraz Ahmed to haveplayers' families travelling withthem during the World Cup inEngland.

"Yes there was a suggestionfrom the captain and players thatthey should be allowed to havetheir wives and children withthem in England during theWorld Cup but the board has notallowed this," an official sourcein the board said.

He said instead permissionhad been granted to the playersthat their wives and childrencould be with them during theODI series against England butthey have to leave before theWorld Cup.

The source said the boardwanted the players to be totallyfocussed on cricket during theWorld Cup.

"This decision has been takenby the team management," hesaid.

Another source said thistime the board and team man-agement had also decided torestrict the use of social medianetwork for the players duringthe World Cup.

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Virat Kohli notched up hisfifth century in the IndianPremier League while

Moeen Ali too struck a belliger-

ent fifty to help Royal ChallengersBangalore (RCB) post a mam-moth 213/4 in 20 overs againstKolkata Knight Riders at theEden Gardens here on Friday.

Put into bat first in a must-

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win tie, Kohli took 58 balls tobring up his first ton of theseason with the help of ninefours and four sixes.

Moeen Ali, meanwhile,bludgeoned a 28-ball 66 (4x5,6x6), as the pair added 90runs for the third wicket offjust 43 balls.

After Ali's dismissal,Kohli joined hands withMarcus Stoinis (17* off 8) fora 64-run fourth wicket part-nership as the visitorsamassed 143 runs in the last10 overs to flatten the hometeam.

Kohli got to his 50 off 40deliveries but stepped on theaccelerator to score his next50 in just 17 deliveries beforegetting out to Harry Gurneyoff the final ball of theinnings.

Among his boundaries,the most eye-catching was asquare drive past point offGurney in the 17th over.

For KKR, India's starspinner Kuldeep Yadav had aforgettable day with figures of1/59 from 4 overs.

RCB lost Parthiv Patel(11) early after the diminutivesouthpaw holed out to NitishRana at deep mid-wicket offSunil Narine.

Kohli got off to a slowstart, finding the fence only inthe fourth over after a horri-ble misfield by Shubman Gillat the deep mid-wicketboundary off Narine.

The India skipper didnot look his usual self as hisnext boundary came off anoutside edge off PrasidhKrishna through third man.

RCB were 42/1 after sixovers with Kohli taking onIndia teammate Kuldeep inthe eighth over, hitting alofted straight drive and atrademark cover drive forfour.

With AB de Villiers

indisposed, Akshdeep Nath(13) was sent to bat at No 3but the move did not bearfruit as the batsman skied aAndre Russell delivery forRobin Uthappa to charge infrom short cover and snaffleit.

Ali then took it uponhimself to up the ante bytonking Kuldeep for a sixover long on in the 10th overas the RCB scoreboard read70/2 at the halfway stage.

Ali went berserk fromthere on, smashing Kuldeepfor 27 runs in the 16th overwith a series that read 4-6-4-6-1W-6 before holing out toPrasidh at long-on in the lastball of the over.

RCB scored 70 runs forthe loss of just one wicketbetween overs 14 and 17.After Ali was dismissed,Kohli and Stoinis continuedthe carnage with the lastthree overs leaking 45 runs.

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