NEARBY AAP sweeps Delhi with 62 seats, BJP trouncedshikshaics.com/admin/images/upload/2020-02-12-1581483049.pdf · AAP’s incumbent Ministers — Manish Sisodia, Kailash Gah lot

TRUMP SHOW A PAGE 12

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U.S. President DonaldTrumpwillvisitIndiaonFebruary24and25,asperanoffi��cialannouncementfromtheWhiteHouseonMonday.

Mr.TrumpandFirstLadyMelania Trump will visitNewDelhiandAhmedabad.The White House said AhmedabadwaschosenforthevisitasGujaratwashometoPrime Minister NarendraModiandplayedan“importantrole”inMahatmaGandhi’slife.

“The President and TheFirstLadywilltraveltoNew

Delhi and Ahmedabad,which is in Prime MinisterModi’shomeStateofGujaratand played such an importantroleinMahatmaGandhi’slifeandleadershipoftheIndianindependencemovement,”astatementfromthe

Offi��ceofthePressSecretarysaid.

Confi��rming the visit, theMinistry of External Aff��airsin statement on Tuesdaysaid,“Duringthevisit,PresidentTrumpandtheFirstLady will attend offi��cial engagementsinNewDelhiandAhmedabad, Gujarat, andinteract with a wide crosssectionofIndiansociety.”

PrimeMinisterModiandMr.Trumphadspokenoverthe weekend, the WhiteHousesaid.

U.S.PresidentTrumpconfi��rmsIndiavisitonFebruary24,25He and wife Melania will travel to Ahmedabad and Delhi

Sriram Lakshman

Washington

DonaldTrump

ArvindKejriwalandhisAamAadmiParty(AAP)werevotedbacktopowerwithamassivemandateintheDelhiAssemblyelectionasthepartywon62seatsinthe70memberHouse.

The party dropped justfi��veseatsandlessthanapercentage point in vote sharefromitsstellar2015showing.

Despiteahardfoughtandbittercampaignthatsawbigguns,includingPrimeMinister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister AmitShahaddressrallies,theBJPmanaged to win only eightseats, up fi��ve from its 2015tally. The Congress, yetagain, failed to open its account — the party’s candidates looked set to forfeittheirdepositson63ofthe66seatscontested.

Speakingafterthevictory,Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwalsaid,“ThepeopleofDelhihavegivenbirthtoanewkindofpolitics—thepoliticsof work. This is a vote forthose who build schools,whoprovideelectricityandhealthcare.Thisaugurswellforthecountry.”

Ministers post winsTheAAPsecured53.57%ofthevoteshare,whiletheBJPgot38.5%andtheCongress4.3%. Though three of theAAP’sincumbentMinisters—ManishSisodia,KailashGahlot and Satyendar Jain —were trailing after the fi��rstfewroundsofcounting,theywentontoretaintheirseats.

Raghav Chadha, AtishiMarlena and Dilip PandeyfromtheAAP,wholostinthe2019 Lok Sabha election,strodeintotheAssembly.

Ontheotherhand,formerAAP Minister Kapil Mishra,

wholeftthepartyandfoughtonaBJPticket,wasdefeated.Anil Bajpai, also a formerAAP legislator,however, retained his Gandhi Nagarseat.

DelhiBJPchiefManojTi

wari, while accepting responsibility for the dismalperformance, argued thatthepartyhadbeenabletoincreaseitsvoteshare.“Icongratulate Arvind Kejriwal...In comparison to 2015, the

BJP’s vote share has registered an increase, which isthe result of the hard workputinbyitsworkers...theseresults also seem to heraldthedawnofanewpoliticalerainthecity,whichhasbe

come bipolar instead oftriangular,”hesaid.

AAPsweepsDelhiwith62seats,BJPtrounced

Jaideep Deo Bhanj

Jatin Anand

NEW DELHI

■ BJP wins 8 seats, 5 more than

2015, with 38.5 % vote share

■ AAP gets 53.6%, marginally

below its 54.2% share in 2015

■ Congress candidates likely

to lose deposits in 63 seats

WINNING FORMULA A EDITORIAL

CONTINUED ON A PAGE 12

CMYK

wednesday, february 12, 2020 Delhi

City Edition

22 pages O ₹��10.00

Printed at . Chennai . Coimbatore . Bengaluru . Hyderabad . Madurai . Noida . Visakhapatnam . Thiruvananthapuram . Kochi . Vijayawada . Mangaluru . Tiruchirapalli . Kolkata . Hubballi . Mohali . Malappuram . Mumbai . Tirupati . lucknow . cuttack . patna

thehindu.com

facebook.com/thehindu

twitter.com/the_hindu

CBI gives clean chit toRakesh AsthanaNEW DELHI

TheCBIonTuesdayfi��leda

chargesheetinacaseof

allegedbriberyagainstit*

formersecondincommand

RakeshAsthanaandothers,

givingacleanchittohimand

anotheroffi��cial.“The

investigationhasnot

revealedanyroleofpublic

servants,”saidaCBIoffi��cial.

NEWS A PAGE 12

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NEARBY

Supreme Court to hearOmar sister’s plea todayNEW DELHI

Apetitionfi��ledbySara

AbdullahPilot,thesisterof

formerJ&KChiefMinister

OmarAbdullah,willbeheard

byathreejudgeBenchofthe

SupremeCourt,ledbyJustice

N.V.Ramana,onFebruary12.

Shehasapproachedthecourt

againstthegovernment’s

movetochargehimunder

thePublicSafetyAct.

NEWS A PAGE 12

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Kafeel Khan releasedfrom Mathura jail on bailGHAZIABAD

KafeelKhan,thepaediatrician

whowasarrestedonJanuary

29fromMumbaiformaking

aninfl��ammatoryspeechat

AligarhMuslimUnversity

againsttheCAA,wasreleased

fromMathurajailonTuesday

afterbeinggrantedbailbyan

Aligarhcourt.

NORTH A PAGE 2

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HC seeks Centre’s replyon Jamia violence pleaNEW DELHI

TheDelhiHighCourton

TuesdaysoughttheCentre’s

responseonapetition

seekingacourtmonitored

probebyacommitteeinto

thepolicecrackdownat

JamiaMilliaIslamiaon

December15lastyear.

CITY A PAGE 3

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CongratulatingArvindKejriwalforhisresoundingvictory,OppositionpartiessaidtheBJP’sdefeatshowedthatpoliticsofpolarisationdidn’tpaydividends.WestBengalCMMamataBanerjee,inatweet,said,“Leadersplayingonfaiththroughhatespeechanddivisivepoliticsshouldtakea cue,asonlythosewhodeliverontheirpromisesarerewarded.”A page 13

‘AreferendumonBJPpolitics’

TheDelhiAssemblyelectionresultscouldprovideareasonforBiharChiefMinisterNitishKumartosmile,saypoliticalanalysts.TheBJPledNDA’scrushingdefeatatthehandsoftheAAPwouldnowemboldentheJanataDal(United)chieftodriveaharderbargainforseatswiththeBJP,intheupcomingAssemblyelectionintheState,theysay.A page 13

Nitishgetsareasontosmile

AamAadmiPartylegislatorandLeaderoftheOppositioninthePunjabAssemblyHarpalCheemaonTuesdaysaidtheparty’svictoryinDelhiwasaclearmessagethatpoliticsofhatredisnotacceptedbypeopleastheyhavevotedfordevelopment.AAP,hesaid,wouldreplicatetheDelhimodelinPunjabinthe2022Assemblyelection.A page 2

Politicsofhatredrejected

TheBJP’ssixthconsecutivelossinanAssemblypoll—althoughthepartymanagedtoformagovernmentinHaryana—pointstoaveryrealproblemfortheparty.TheStatelevelnarrativeofthepartyhasnotbeenasappealingasthatofPMModiatthenationallevel,somuchsothatevenMr.Modi’scampaigndidnotmanagetolifttheparty’sfortunes.A page 13

Lackoflocalnarrative

TheSupremeCourtonTuesday allowed the Union government to approach thetrial court for issuance of afreshdatefortheexecutionofthedeathsentenceoftheNirbhayagangrapeconvicts.

AppearingbeforeathreejudgeBenchledbyJusticeR.Banumathi,SolicitorGeneralTusharMehtasaidtheNirbhaya convicts were tryingthepatienceofthenation.

Mr.Mehtamadeachillingreferencetohowpolicemenwhogunneddownthe fourgang rape and murder accused in Hyderabad werecheered by people, calling

the incident a symptom ofpeople losing faith in theprocessoflaw.

“Thiscase[Nirbhaya]isof2012andIamstillstrugglingto execute the death sentence. They [convicts] areacting in tandem to misusethelawbyfi��lingonepetitionaftertheother…Peoplewillstophavingfaithinthejudicialsystem.Sevenyearshavegonebyandtheconvictsarestillplayingthejudicialsystem… It is in situations likethisthatpeoplecelebrateencounterkillings,”Mr.Mehtasubmitted.

TheSolicitorGeneralsaidconvictsMukesh,VinayandAkshay have seemingly ex

hausted remedies. Thefourth,PawanGupta, isyettofi��leamercypetition.

Fresh pleaMr.Mehtasaidapleatofi��xanewdatefortheexecutionsin the trialcourtwould immediatelyseeoneortheoth

erofthefourconvictsmovecourtinabidtofurtherprolongtheprocess.

Asindicated,withinafewhoursof thehearing,Vinaymoved the Supreme Courtchallenging the rejection ofhis mercy petition by thePresident.

Mr. Mehta stressed thattheSupremecourtshouldinstead focus on the government’s appeal to allow thefourconvictstobeseparatelyexecuted.Thecourtissuednoticetothefourconvictsonthis point and scheduled ahearingforFebruary13.

Solicitor General calls for separateexecutions of Nirbhaya case convicts

Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI

Steel will: TheparentsoftheNirbhayarapecasevictimoutsidetheSupremeCourtinNewDelhiinDecember. * PTI

A DelhicourtonTuesdaysoughttheresponseofthefourdeathrowconvictsintheNirbhayagangrapeandmurdercaseafterapetitionwasfi��ledbythevictim’sparentsandtheDelhigovernmentseekingissuanceoffreshdeathwarrant.PTI

Victim’skinmovecourt

BabulalMarandi’s

JVM(P)tomergewith

BJPonFebruary17

page12

Coronavirustollin

Chinacrosses1,000,as

WHOsees ‘gravethreat’

page14

Theeconomyis

notintrouble,says

NirmalaSitharaman

page16

deGrandhomme,Guptill

andNichollshelpNZ

whitewashIndia

page19

OPPORTUNITIES A PAGE 15

ELECTORAL DICHOTOMY

A DATA POINT

Students of Gargi Collegestagedastrikeandboycottedclasses for the second consecutive day on Tuesday inprotestagainsttheFebruary6 incidentwhentheywereal

legedlyharassedandsexuallyassaultedoncampusduringacollegefestival.

Several students andteachers from diff��erent departmentsheldameetingtoconstituteafactfi��ndingcommittee. Ashna, a fi��nalyear

student,said,“Ageneralbodymeeting[ofstudentsandteachers]washeldtoconstituteacommitteewhichwouldinvestigatetheeventsthathappenedduringthefest.”

GargiCollegestudentsboycottclassesStaff Reporter

New Delhi

DETAILS ON A PAGE 3

AllsittingMinistersinDelhi’sAamAadmiParty(AAP)government as well as theSpeakeroftheLegislativeAssembly retained their seatsin the Assembly election.Andallof them,except theChiefMinisterandtheDeputy Chief Minister, also recorded a rise in their voteshare compared with thepreviouselection.

SomeMinisters,includingManishSisodia,KailashGehlot, Satyendra Jain, andSpeaker Ram Niwas Goelemerged victorious in tightcontests — all of them winning with a margin of lessthan 10,000 votes. Others,including Arvind Kejriwal,GopalRai,RajendraPalGautamandImranHussain,wontheirseatswithcomfortablemarginsofmorethanatleast20,000votes.ChiefMinisterKejriwal, who won by margin of 21,697 votes, saw adrop of 3.04 percentagepointsinvoteshare.

Scare for SisodiaDeputy Chief Minister Sisodia, who encountered thelargestdropinvoteshareof4.31percentagepointsfrom2015,wonafteraneckandneckbattlewiththeBJP’sRavinderSinghNegiinthePatparganjconstituency.Mr.Sisodia, who had won by amargin of 28,791 votes in2015,lookedtobelosingtheseatasMr.Negimaintainedaleadinthefi��rst10roundsofcounting.However,onceheovertookhisrivalinround11in the afternoon, he man

agedtoholdonandwonbyamarginof3,207votes.

Similarly, Speaker Goeltrailedinthefi��rst11roundsof counting in the Shahdraconstituency before thetrendreversedandhemanaged to win by a margin of5,294votes.

HealthMinisterSatyendraJain more than doubled hismarginofvictory, retainingtheShakurBasticonstituency with a margin of 7,592votes over the BJP’s candidateS.C.Vats.

Transport Minister Gehlot,whowonfromtheNajafgarh constituency, was thebiggest gainer in terms ofvoteshare,improvingonhispreviousvictoryby15.6percentagepoints.

InSeemapuri,MinisterofTourism Rajendra Pal Gautamwonbythelargestvotemarginamongallministers— at 56,108 and a 2.78 percentage point increase invoteshare.InBalimaran,MinisterofFoodandCivilSuppliesImranHussainwonbya margin of 36,172.MinisterofLabourGopalRaiwontheBabarpurseatbyamarginof33,062.

All AAP Ministers sansCM and his deputy see rise in vote share Speaker, too, emerged victorious

STAFF REPORTER

New Delhi

RamNiwasGoel

Government can seek fresh execution dates, says SC

A special court here onTuesday sentenced BrajeshThakurand11others,includingthreewomen,tolifeimprisonment for the sexualand physical assault of girlinmatesofashelterhomeinMuzaff��arpur,Bihar.

AdditionalsessionsjudgeSaurabh Kulshreshtha alsoimposedafi��neof₹��32lakhonThakur.

Six others were sentenceduptosevenyearsinjail.RosyRani,whowassentencedtosixmonths’imprisonment,hasalreadyservedtheterm.Therefore,shehas

beenreleased.Thecourthadearlierheld

ThakurguiltyundertheProtectionofChildrenfromSexualOff��ences(POCSO)Act.

Thechargesincludedaggravatedpenetrativesexualassault,gangrape,rapeandother relevant provisionsundertheIndianPenalCodeandtheJuvenileJusticeAct.

VijayKumarTiwari,Guddu Patel, Ramanuj ThakurandKishanKumarwerealsoconvictedofa*ggravatedpenetrative sexual assault,rape, gangrape and otherrelatedoff��ences.

Thakur, 11 others get lifeterm in shelter home case6 others sentenced up to 7 years in jail

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI

CONTINUED ON A PAGE 12

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DELHI THE HINDU

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 20202EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

NORTH

TheRajasthanAssemblywitnessednoisyscenesduringthebudgetsessiononTuesday, when the OppositionBJP members fi��rst questioned the governmentabouttherevenuelossafterDeepika Padukonestarrermovie Chhapaak was declaredtaxfreeandlaterboycottedtheQuestionHourontheir supplementary questionsnotbeingallowed.

BJP MLA from BeawarShankarSinghRawataskeda writtenquestionaboutthefi��lm,buthewasnotsatisfi��edwiththereplyofParliamentary Aff��airs Minister ShantiDhariwal. When Mr. Dhariwal said that declaring

Chhapaak taxfree was a“policydecision”inviewofthe movie’s message to thesocietyinsupportofacidattacksurvivors,Mr.Rawatallegedthat thedecisionwastakenbecauseofMs.Padukone’s “politicalinclinations”.

Speaker C.P. Joshi expungedMr.Rawat’ssupplementary question and saidhewouldnotallowanyquery which had no connectionwith theoriginalquestion and pertained to theDepartmentofCulture.Anynew question should beasked separately throughthe proper procedure, heruled.

Mr. Dhariwal told theHouse that the tax calcula

tiontofi��ndouttherevenuelosscouldonlybedoneafterFebruary20.TheBJPmembers entered the well andraisedslogans,whileLeaderof the Opposition GulabChandKatariatriedtospeakontheissue,buttheSpeakerdidnotallowhim.

Ms.Padukone’svisittoJawaharlalNehruUniversityinDelhi to express solidaritywith the students attackedbysomemaskedpersonsonthe campus on January 5hadledtoacontroversy.

After theuproar, theBJPmembers demanded thattheir right to ask questionsshould be protected by theSpeaker and staged a walkout, boycotting the QuestionHour.

Rajasthan Assembly witnessesnoisy scenes over ChhapaakBJPmembersboycottQuestionHourasquerieswerenotallowed

Mohammed Iqbal

JAIPUR

Aam Aadmi Party MLA andLeaderof theOpposition inthePunjabAssemblyHarpalCheemaonTuesdaysaidtheparty’svictoryinDelhiwasaclearmessagethatpoliticsofhatredisnotacceptedbypeople as they have voted fordevelopment.

AAP,hesaid,wouldreplicatetheDelhimodelinPunjab in the 2022 Assemblyelection.

Development agenda“People have rejected thepoliticsofhatredpeddledbythe Bharatiya Janata PartyandvotedfortheKejriwalgovernment’s developmentagenda,”hesaidhere.

Party’s political aff��airscommittee chairman HarchandSinghBarsatsaidthehistoricvictoryofAAPinDelhihadredefi��nedthepolitical

narrativeacrossthecountrybyrejectingthedivisiveforcesthatarehellbentondestroying the social fabric ofthecountry.

“The unprecedented victoryofthepartyhassentouta message loud and clearacross the country that theelected governments wouldhavetoworkharderforbettermentofeducation,healthcare,cheaperelectricity,safetyandsecurityofwomen,”hesaid.

Collective wisdomSikhradicaloutfi��tDalKhalsa’sspokespersonKanwarpalSinghsaidthepeopleofDelhiintheircollectivewisdomhavedefeatedtheBJP’sHindutva agenda by reposingfaith inAAP.“TherejectionoftheBJPgovernment’sdecisive,bullyandfascistpoliciesisasevereblowtoModiShahduo,”hesaidinastatement.

Politics of hatred not acceptable,says Punjab AAP on Delhi winThepartywillreplicatethemodelinStateAssemblypollsin2022:HarpalCheema

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

CHANDIGARH

AAPworkersoff��eringsweetstoeachotherinAmritsaronTuesday,aftertheparty’swinintheDelhiAssemblyelection.

* AFP

After Deoband, the protestagainst the Citizenship(Amendment) Act and NationalRegisterofCitizenshasspread to Gangoh town ofSaharanpur.Addressinghundredsofprotesters,MaulanaMahmoodMadani,secretary,Jamiat UlemaeHind, saidthe government had let theConstitution down by making a law that diff��erentiatedamongreligions.

“Instead of speaking thelanguage of arrogance, thegovernment should introspect,”hesaid.

Praising the women whoare protesting against the

“blackAct”,hesaidtheyhadshown “great courage”. Heensured full support of theJamiat.

Reminding the protestersofthesignifi��canceoftheIdgah ground of Gangoh, Mr.Madanisaid,“Iamstanding

ataplacewhereHazratRasheedAhmadGangohihadsaidthattheywouldprovidetheBritishrulerswithyouthwhowould happily kiss thenoose.”

InDeoband,socialactivistUzmaNaheedaddressedthewomen protesting againsttheCAAonMondaynight.“IamsurprisedandhappythatMuslim women who remained quiet for centurieshavespokenouttosavetheConstitution,” she said. Shesaidherforefathershadseveral opportunities to go toPakistanorsomewhereelse,buthergrandfathersaidtheyshould work to strengthenIndia.

Protest against CAA-NRCspreads to Saharanpur townJamiatUlemaeHindsecretarypraiseswomenprotesters

Special Correspondent

Ghaziabad <> I am standing at a

place where

Hazrat Rasheed

Ahmad Gangohi

had said that they

would provide the

British rulers with

youth who would

happily kiss the

noose

Maulana Mahmood Madani

JamiatUlemaeHindsecretary

WaterconservationistRajendra Singh on Tuesday saidunless society took it uponitselftoconservewaterandtakeownershipofresources,revivalofriversandstreamswasnotpossible.

Draft BillSpeakingattheNationalWaterRightConventiontodiscussthedraftoftheRighttoWater Bill in Madhya Pradesh,hesaid,“Untilnow,activists been working alone.But with the government’ssupport, on the one handwaterbodies could be protected,andontheotherwater use could be madejudicious.”

Mr. Singh, known as the‘WatermanofIndia’,whoisadvisingthegovernmentontheproposedlaw,said,“Ownership of water bodiesamongmasseshasledtothe

revivalofseveralriversinaparchedStatelikeRajasthan.With such laws, the modelcould be replicated acrossthecountry.”

Underthelaw,headded,streams,riversandotherwaterbodies would be identifi��ed, panchayats roped in,people would take the leadandaneff��ortwouldbemade

tocurbminingonriverbeds.Pointing to the waning

waterresourcesintheState,Chief Minister Kamal Nathsaid,“ElevenoftheMunicipalCorporationsandCouncils get water once in fourdays, 50 get once in threedaysand117getonceintwodays.It’sabigchallenge.”

Despite rain, he added,streamsandriversweredryingupowingtonegligence.“Asmanyas65damsintheState have dried up due tounavailability of water and164reservoirshavemetthesamefate.Insteadofmovingahead,wearegoingback.”

Mr. Nath said new technologies must be leveragedindevisingstrategiestoconserve water. “Technologiessuch as producing waterfromaircouldbeuseful.Butthose valid 20 years ago,aren’trelevantanymore.Sothereisanimminentneedtofi��gure out where new tech

nologiescouldbeused,”hesaid.

Stating that his politicallife was inextricably linkedtowater,Mr.Nathrelatedananecdote from 1979 inChhindwaradistrict.“Istartedmypoliticalcareerduetowater problems. One nightas I walked on the road, Imet 1520 women carryingearthen lamps and plates,waiting at a spot for threehours.Theysaidoneoftheirsonscouldfi��ndaprospectivebride as the water sourcewas12kmaway.Thiswasalessonforme,andIdecidedto join politics to make mycontribution.”

Mr. Nath cautioned thatthe next generation wouldnotforgiveusforournegligence.“Duringthe1992RioEarthSummit,Ihadsaidthetalkofenvironmentandforestswasincompletewithoutthe issue of water beingraised.”

Societymusthelpconservewater:expertWithgovt.’ssupport,waterbodiescanbeprotected:RajendraSingh

M.P.ChiefMinisterKamalNathaddressingtheNationalWaterConventioninBhopalonTuesday.

* A.M. FARUQUI

Staff Reporter

Bhopal

Fortysevendiff��erentlyabledandunderprivilegedcouplestiedtheknotatamasswedding ceremony and took apledge against the dowrysysteminUdaipur.NarayanSeva Sansthan, a philanthropic institution, organised the ceremony on Sundayforpersonswhomithashelped out through correctivesurgery.

ThirtyofthemarriedcoupleswereskilledthroughtheSansthan’s vocational training programmes. The institution has also recruited afewcouplesbyoff��eringthemjobs which fi��t their capacities,makingthemfi��nanciallyindependent andemployable.

Duringtheceremony,thecouples were given householditemsandsaris.

Narayan Seva Sansthan

presidentPrashantAgarwalsaidtheinstitutionhadsofarorganised34massweddingsin which over 2,000 diff��erently abled couples weremarried.

“Suchpeoplefi��nditdiffi��cult tomarrybecauseoffi��nancial constraints andphysical diffi��culties. Thisplatform has enabled them

tofi��ndtheirsoulmateswhowouldsupportthemintheirstruggle,”hesaid.

Mr. Agarwal said the objectives of mass weddingsweresocialinclusion,accessible atmosphere and accountability of every diff��erentlyabledpersoninorderto help the couples lead anormal life and become a

partofmainstreamsociety.RamuKumariandGanpat

from Pratapgarh, both ofwhom suff��ered from polioand had lost their fathers,werehopefulthattheirmarriage would initiate a newphase of their lives. ArvindandSonamfromBarabankitook a pledge not to takedowry and generate publicopinion against the socialevil.

The Narayan Seva Sansthanhastakenupactivitiessuchasartifi��ciallimbdistribution, corrective surgery,skill education, health caresupport, free food off��eringand talent nurturing alongwithmassweddingceremoniesforthediff��erentlyabledto bring them to the mainstream.Mr.AgarwalsaidtheSansthan had launched theWorldofHumanityFoundation for nurturing theirskills.

Diff��erentlyabledcouplestietheknotatmasswedding

ThirtycouplesweregivenvocationaltrainingbyNGONarayanSevaSansthan

CouplesatthemassweddinginUdaipur. * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT.

Special Correspondent

JAIPUR

0DISCLAIMER:Readersarerequestedtoverifyandmakeappropriateenquiriestosatisfythemselvesabouttheveracityofanadvertisem*ntbeforerespondingtoanypublishedinthisnewspaper.THGPUBLISHINGPVTLTD.,thePublisher&Ownerofthisnewspaper,doesnotvouchfortheauthenticityofanyadvertisem*ntoradvertiserorforanyoftheadvertiser’sproductsand/orservices.InnoeventcantheOwner,Publisher,Printer,Editor,Director/s,Employeesofthisnewspaper/companybeheldresponsible/liableinanymannerwhatsoeverforanyclaimsand/ordamagesforadvertisem*ntsinthisnewspaper.

Delhi Weather

Delhi City

Safdarjang

Palam

max

min

Delhi Palam Today22ºC Shallow fog/mist during cold morning is likely. The day will be windy and pleasant.

Delhi Palam Tomorrow 24ºC Pollution level may improve due to strong winds. Dry and pleasant weather is expected to prevail.

Timings

DELHI

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 12

RISE 07:03 SET 18:09

RISE 21:38 SET 09:20

THURSDAY, FEB. 13

RISE 07:02 SET 18:10

RISE 22:42 SET 09:58

FRIDAY, FEB. 14

RISE 07:01 SET 18:10

RISE 23:47 SET 10:36

KafeelKhan,thepaediatrician who fi��rst came intothe spotlight as a whistleblower in the case ofdeathsofseveralinfantsatthe BRD Hospital in Gorakhpur, was releasedfromMathurajailonTuesdayafterbeinggrantedbailbyanAligarhcourt.

Dr. Khan was arrestedonJanuary29fromMumbai for making an infl��ammatory speech at AligarhMuslim Unversity againstthe Citizenship (Amendment)Act.

ChiefJudicialMagistrateKarunaSinghgrantedhimbailonabondof₹��60,000to ensure the off��ence wasnotrepeated.

Kafeel Khanreleased fromjail on bail

Special Correspondent

Ghaziabad A teacherinSaharanpuronTuesday claimed threat toherlifeafternearly200residents entered the schoolcampus and protestedagainsthervisitingShaheenBaghinDelhiwherewomenareprotestingagainsttheCitizenship(Amendment)Act.

NahidZaidi,whoteachesEnglish at Asha ModernSchool, told reporters thatshewassuspendedfromtheschool forvisitingShaheenBagh on January 19 andspeaking to the media. “Isaid many things but onlyselectivefootagewasshownbythemedia.Somepeoplewhodon’tlikemeputitonsocialmediaandcreatedafalse opinion against me,”shesaid,addingthesuspen

sionwasrevokedonlywhenthepoliceintervened.

Ms. Zaidi said she hadtaughtatmanyschoolsandnevermadeadiff��erencebetween Hindu and Muslimstudents.“IhavetaughtalmosthalfofthecitybutstillI am being targetted.” Shesaid she lived alone andtherewasa“threat”toherlife. On Monday, she said,around 200 residents enteredthecampusandraisedslogansagainsther.

Vineet Bhatnagar, Superintendent of Police (City),Saharanpur, told The Hin-du, “We have spoken toboththeschooladministration and the teacher. Shewasnotsuspended.Anexplanationwassoughtabouthercomments.Thereisnothreattohersecurity.”

Teacher claims threat forvisiting Shaheen Bagh Special Correspondent

Ghaziabad

CMYK

THE HINDU DELHI

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2020 3EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

CITY

Students of Gargi Collegestagedastrikeandboycotted classes onTuesday in protestagainst the February 6incidentwhentheywereallegedly harassed andsexually assaulted oncampusduringacollegefestival.

Several students andteachers from diff��erentdepartments held ameeting on Tuesday toconstituteafactfi��ndingcommittee. They alsodemandedthatanInternalComplaintsCommittee be set up in thecollege.

Ashna, a fi��nalyearstudent,said,“Ageneralbody meeting [of studentsandteachers]washeldtoconstituteacommittee which would investigate the eventspriortothefest,eventswhichhappenedduringthe fest and specifi��ccomplaints against thecollegeadministration.”

The committee willsubmitit*fi��nalreportbyFebruary15,sheadded.

“Onestudentandafacultymemberfromeachof the 17 departments

wereelectedtothecommittee.Wewantafairinvestigationandthecommittee will look into allaspects before submittingthereport,”saidMs.Ashna.

Festival budgetThestudentsalsoaskedthe administration toprovideabreakdownofthebudgetofthefestival,withanemphasisonthe funds allocated forsecurity. They said thestrike would continueonWednesdayaswell.

Several students recounted events whichunfoldedafteragroupofmen entered the campus and began molestingandharassingthem.

Preeti, another stu

dent,said,“Wewantsafer educational spaces.LookatwhathappenedinJawaharlalNehruUniversityandJamiaMilliaIslamiaandnowonourcampus.Whentheprincipal was approached,shesaidthatifwedon’tfeel safe we should notattendthefest.Howcanone turn the tables onstudents?Isitnottheadministration’s responsibility to protectstudents?”

Asked about theprobe into the case, apolice offi��cer said thatinvestigation is underwayandCCTVfootageisbeingscannedforcluesonthesuspects.

(All names changed toprotect their identity)

Gargi students boycottclasses for second dayFactfi��ndingpanelformedtoprobeeventsduringfest

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI

Studentsburnaneffi��gyofGargiCollegeprincipaloutsideArtsFacultyonTuesday. * BIBEK CHETTRI

TheDelhiHighCourtwasonTuesdayinformedbyTwitterthatthepetitionbysenioradvocateSanjayHegdeinrelationtothe suspension of his account was notmaintainable.

Senior advocate Sajan Poovayya, appearingforTwitter,soughttimetosubmitit*responseontheissue.JusticeNavinChawlaallowedTwittertosubmitit*notewithintwoweeks.

Mr. Hegde’s lawyer urged that theTwitter account data of his client mustnot be deleted. The court did not passanyorder,butsaidthedatashouldnotbedeleted,ifithasn’tbeendonesoalready.

Hegde’spetitionuntenable:TwitterStaff Reporter

New Delhi

Settled dispute amicably,Subodh Gupta tells HCNEW DELHI

ArtistSubodhGupta,who

hadpostedsexual

harassmentallegationsmade

byseveralwomenagainst

him,informedtheHighCourt

onTuesdaythattheyhave

settledtheirdispute

amicably.Mr.Guptahadfiled

a defamationsuitagainst

Instagramhandlefollowing

publicationofanonymous

sexualharassment

allegationsagainsthim.

IN BRIEF

The Delhi High CourtonTuesdaysoughttheCentre’sresponseonapetition seeking acourtmonitoredprobeby a committee intothe police crackdownat Jamia Millia Islamiaon December 15 lastyear.

A BenchofChiefJusticeD.N.PatelandJusticeC.HariShankaralso issued notice toDelhigovernmentandpolice seeking theirstand on the petitionfi��ledbyaJamiastudentwho lost vision in his

oneeyeintheviolenceand is battling to savesightintheother.

MdMinhajuddin,inhis petition, has alsosought compensationcommensurate withhis qualifi��cations forthe injury suff��ered byhimandalsotheregistration of an FIRagainst police personnelinvolvedintheincident. He has alsosought directions totheauthoritiestobearexpenses of his treatment and to providehim a permanent jobcommensurate withhisqualifi��cations.

JMIviolence:HCseeks

Centre’sreplyonpleaCourtmonitoredprobesought

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

TheHomeMinistrysaidonTuesday that two roads inDelhi — one at ShaheenBagh and the other atChand Bagh — have beenblocked by protesters, butno assessment has beenmade about the loss incurredtothegeneralpublicduetotheblockade.

“Appropriate steps aretaken by Delhi Police tomaintain public order. Noassessmenthasbeendoneabout the loss incurred topublic due to blocking ofroad,” Union Minister ofState for Home G. KishanReddysaidinLokSabha.

‘Loss due toroad blockadenot assessed’

Special Correspondent

New Delhi

Talk: Seminar on SinoIndian Competition in the Indian Ocean: TheScopeforSmallStateAgencybyDr.Pradeep Taneja, Deputy Head, TheSchoolofSocial&PoliticalSciences,University of Melbourne, at SeminarRoom, Institute of Chinese Studies(ICS),CivilLines,3p.m.

Exhibition: “ColourfulHarmony”,agroup show of painting by Anamika,PrakashAnegundiandShashiLataatConventionCentreFoyer, IndiaHabitatCentre(IHC),11a.m.7p.m.

Exhibition: “MappingMemories”,ashow of paintings and silkscreenprintsbyMadanMeenaatTriveniGallery, Triveni Kala Sangam, 205,TansenMarg,11a.m.8p.m.

Exhibition: “Aarambh”, a groupshow of sculptures and painting atAlturaashArtGallery,147,DLFSouthCourt,Saket,11a.m.7p.m.

Exhibition: “Trails of Materials”, agroup show of paintings and sculpturesbySatishSharma,AnjuKaushikand Rubkirat Vohra at ShridharaniGallery, Triveni Kala Sangam, 205,TansenMarg,11a.m.8p.m.

Screening: TheTestament,amultilingual fi��lm, will be screened at TheSteinAuditorium,IHC,7p.m.

(Mail your listings for this columnat [emailprotected])

DELHI TODAY

CMYK

M ND-NDE

DELHI THE HINDU

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 20204EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

CITY

“ThisisavictoryofallDelhiites...theyhavegivenbirthtoa newformofpolitics:kaamki rajneeti [politicsofwork],”declared Aam Aadmi PartynationalconvenerArvindKejriwal fromamakeshiftstageat the AAP headquarters ashis party hurtled toward astellar win in the Delhi AssemblypollsonTuesday

“PeopleofDelhi,youhavedonewonders... I loveyou,”theAAPchiefsaidwhileblowing a kiss to hundreds ofcheeringsupporters.

In a sixminute address,Mr.Kejriwal said:“Iwant tothank the people of Delhi,they have trusted their sonforthethirdtime.Thisisnotmy win, it is a victory of allDelhiites, it is the victory ofallthosefamiliesofDelhiwhoconsideredmetheirsonandgave us this huge mandate.

Thisisthevictoryofallthosefamilies who are getting 24hours of electricity, whosechildrenaregettinggoodeducation,whoaregettinggoodtreatmentathospitalsinDelhi,”hesaid.

“ThepeopleofDelhihavegivenbirth toanew typeofpolitics:kaam ki rajneeti [pol

iticsofwork],”headded.Theparty’scampaignhad

focusedontheworkdonebyAAPinthepastfi��veyears.

“ThepeopleofDelhihavesentamessagethatonlypeople who build schools, give24hourelectricity,buildmohallaclinics,andgivewatertoevery house will get votes,”

Mr. Kejriwal said, adding:“This isnot justavictoryofthepeopleofDelhi,this isavictory of Bharat Mata andtheentirecountry.”

The AAP chief said Hanuman has blessed the peopleofDelhi.“TodayisTuesday,itisHanuman’sday,HanumanhasblessedDelhitoday,ma

ny thanks to Hanuman. Wethe people of Delhi requestGodtoshowusthepathoverthe next fi��ve years, give usstrengthsothatthetwocrorepeopleofDelhicantogethermaketheCapitalagoodandbeautifulcity,”hesaid.

“IthankthepeopleofDelhi... and all volunteers whoworkeddayandnight...andmy family who also workedhardandsupportedme.Today is my wife’s birthday. Ihave eaten the cake, I willserve you people also.” hesaid, putting a hand aroundhiswifeSunitaKejriwal.

HewasjoinedatthestagebyhistwochildrenaswellasAAPleadersSanjaySinghandGopalRai,amongothers.

“ThepeopleofDelhi,withgreat hope, have given usthesemanyseatsandnowwehave to work hard for thenextfi��veyears,”hesaid,adding:“Wewillworktogether,I cannotdoitalone.Areyouready?”

‘This is the birth of kaam ki rajneeti’ Delhiiteshavetrustedtheirsonforathirdtime,saysAAPchiefArvindKejriwalStaff Reporter

New Delhi

AAPnationalconvenerArvindKejriwal(centre)withhiswifeSunitaandseniorpartyleaderManishSisodiaoff��ersprayersattheHanumanMandirinConnaughtPlaceonTuesday. * PTI

AstheAamAamiPartyswepttheDelhiAssemblyelectionsonTuesday,theparty’sfuturecourse was evident from theposters at its headquarterswhichread:“JoinAAPtobuildthenation”,evenasAAPDelhiinchargeGopalRaiurgedpartyworkersacrossthecountrytogearupto“bringchangetothewholeofIndia”.

Addressing volunteers atthe party headquarters, Mr.Rai said the end to “hatespreading”politicsoftheBJPhasstarted fromDelhi.“Thefi��ghthasonlybegun.Iwantto

tell you and the volunteersacross the country: gear up,not just Delhi, the wholecountryneedschange...makepreparations,whatDelhicando,thewholecountrycando.Forthis,doworkinyourvillage,mohalla,cityandalongwithArvindKejriwal,takethisstormofchangetotherestofthecountry,”hesaid.

Calling party chief ArvindKejriwal“Delhi’snayak”,Mr.Raiaddedthatthe“politicsoflove has won... The brigadethat does hatredspreadingpolitics in the country, AmitShahandhissupporters,hasbeendefeated,”hesaid.

WeneedtobringchangetoIndia,saysRai

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

AAP looks to scale up

ReferringtoBJPleaderscalling AAP chief Arvind Kejriwala“terrorist”during theelection campaigning, AAPMPSanjaySinghonTuesdaysaid:“YoursonArvindKejriwal was called a terrorist.Mr.Kejriwalhadsaidon[February] 11 our two crorestrong family will say thattheirsonKejriwalisnotaterroristbutastrongnationalist.”

Alluding to the BJP, Mr.Singh, also the Delhi Assembly elections incharge,said: “they had termed theelection as a HindustanPakistan match and now Hindustanhaswon”.Headded:“TheyhadsaiditwasaHindustanPakistanmatch.Hindustan has won, Hindustanhas won, Hindustan haswon.”

Laterinthedaywhileaddressing the media, Mr.Singh termed AAP’s “bigwin”avictoryof“love”.“Itisa winforthetwocrorepeo

ple of Delhi... personal attacks on Mr. Kejriwal costotherpartiesdearly.TheBJPusedmoney,powerandliquor,butthetwocrorepeopleofDelhihasgiventhemafi��ttinganswer,”saidMr.Singh.

Seniorparty leaderManishSisodiaafterdefeatinghisBJP rival from Patparganjseat tweeted: “Being in government and providingqualityeducationisrealpatriotism.”Hetoldreporters:“IamhappytohavewonthePatparganj seat again. The

BJP indulged in politics ofhate.ButIthankthepeopleofPatparganj.Today,Delhi’speople have chosen a government that works forthem. They have explainedthetruemeaningofnationalismthroughtheirmandate.”

HealsothankedthepeopleofDelhionTwitter.

Addressing volunteers,partyleaderRaghavChadhasaid“onaTuesday,BajrangbalihastaughttheBJPalesson”.

(With PTI inputs)

Delhi proved Kejriwal not aterrorist, says Sanjay SinghOppn.hadclaimedelectionwasaHindustanPakistanmatch

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

AAPworkerscelebratevictoryintheDelhiAssemblypollsatpartyheadquartersonTuesday. * R.V. MOORTHY

Asearlyas7a.m.onTuesday,evenbeforethecountingbegan, supporters of the AamAadmi Party started gettingreadyforcelebrationsatthepartyheadquartersastheexitpollshadshownaclearvictoryforthem.

Space crunchAstheresultsstartedtotricklein,thecrowdatthepartyoffi��cestartedincreasingfroma few dozen to hundreds ofsupporters toapointwheretherewasnospaceinsidethepremises for any more people.

As the volunteers spilledoverontotheroads,thepolice had to block vehicularmovementoutsidethepartyoffi��celeadingtoITO.

The party had set up atemporarystageontheoffi��ceterraceandastrendsstartedshowing a clear win for theparty, its leaders addressedthe hundreds of volunteers,

whohadgatheredat theoffi��ceby12p.m.A28yearoldAAP volunteer since 2012,BabitafromMadanpurKadarJJColonysaidthepartywononlyonthebasisoftheworkdone.“Mytwodaughtersarestudyinginthe‘schoolofexcellence’runbytheDelhigovernment in our slum,” Ms.Babita,anAnganwadiworker,said.

Many AAP supporterswere dancing to the tune of“lagerahoKejriwal”—AAP’selectionsong—withparty’sfl��ags and brooms in theirhands.

CM addresses volunteersAmidloudcheersofAAPsupporters, party convener Arvind Kejriwal addressed thevolunteersat3.30p.m.fromtheterracebeforeleavingforHanuman Temple in ConnaughtPlaceat5p.m.

Multiple MLA elects alsotookoutseparatevictoryprocessions in their respectiveAssemblyconstituencies.

CelebrationsinsideAAPoffi��cebeganearlymorning

Policeblocktraffi��coutsidepartyoffi��ce

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

At6p.m.onMonday,34yearoldMeenaksh*tomarputheroneyearoldsonAvyaanTomartobedearlyonlytowakehimupinthesmallhoursofTuesday. Ms. Tomar drewAvyaanamoustacheusingkajal and made him wear ablackmuffl��er,apairofspectacleswithoutglassesandanAAPtopi.

TheTomarslefttheirMayurViharhouseat 5a.m. forChiefMinister’sresidenceinCivilLines.Fromthere,theyheadedtowardsthepartyoffi��ce at ITO. People gatheredinside the offi��ce premisesstarted addressing the toddleras“chotta [young]Kejriwal”andhesoonbecamethecentreofattractionwithmanyqueuinguptoclickselfi��eswith him as he played withballoons.“Ourdaughterhaddressed up as little Kejriwalwhen the AAP national convener [Arvind Kejriwal] hadwontheelectionin2015,”thetoddler’s father Rahul toldThe Hindu.“Weareusingthesamemuffl��erforourson,”he

added.“Itisuptothemtodecide

what to become but if mychildrencando10%ofthesocialworkthatKejriwaldoes,thenitwillbegreat.Iwillbehappy,”Mr.Tomarsaid.

Whenaskedabouttheideabehind dressing up his children as Kejriwal, he said:“Whentheyunderstandthattheirparentshavearolemodel,thentheywillalsobeinterested in it.” By 4 p.m.,Avyaan,wastiredandstarted

crying.Hismothersaid:“Thesecurity guards had told usthat ‘sir [CM]wants tomeethim’andwearewaitingforit.Mysonisverytiredandwillnowstartcrying.”

By 4.50 pm, after somefailed attempts to meet Mr.Kejriwal, the family decidestoleavethepartyoffi��ce.“Wehave been waiting from 2p.m. to meet him. Theyshould have told us earlier,”Mr.Tomarsaidbeforeleavingtheoffi��ce.

At AAP HQ, ‘Chhota Kejriwal’ holds court

Peoplequeueuptoclickselfi��eswithoneyearoldAvyaan

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

Youngest cheerleader: AvyaanbeingheldupinthecrowdatAAPheadquartersonTuesday. * R.V. MOORTHY

The AAP on Tuesday saidthatonepersondiedinanattack at Mehruali AAP MLANaresh Yadav’s convoy. Theincident happened near VasantKunj.

The party added that theMLAissafe.“Mr.Yadav'scon

voy was attacked. AshokMannhasbeenkilled.Mr.Yadavwasonhiswaybackfromvisiting a temple," tweetedAAPMPSanjaySingh.

“Theywere ina jeepandshotswerefi��redatthem.Onepersondiedandanotherpersonhassuff��eredinjuries,"anAAPworkertoldThe Hindu.

AAPsaysonepersonhasdied

staff reporter

new delhi

‘AttackonMLA’sconvoy’

THE HINDU DELHI

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2020 5EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

CMYK

M ND-NDE

CITY

In the end, Shaheen BaghcouldnotswingtheDelhiAssemblyelectionsinfavourofthe BJP. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his campaign stressing the manyachievementsofhisgovernment did the trick for hisAamAadmiParty(AAP).

The poll results is a setbackforUnionHomeMinisterAmitShah,whomadeithis mission to ensure thatMr. Kejriwal was denied athirdterminoffi��ce.

UnionMinisterofStateforFinanceAnuragThakurwasbanned from campaigningfor 72 hours for raising thesloganof“deathtotraitors”onJanuary30,whilehewasearlierremovedfromthelistof the BJP’s starcampaigners.

Mr. Shah repeatedly saidDelhi’s voters should pressthe “lotus” button on theelectronicvotingmachinesothatthe“current”wasfeltinShaheenBagh,where thousandsofpeoplearepeacefully protesting against theCAANRCNPRregime.

Mr. Shah personally addressed52publicmeetings,roadshowsandstreetcorner

meetings,U.P.ChiefMinisterYoyiAdityanathaddressed12publicmeetingsinDelhiandPrimeMinisterNarendraModi spoke at three publicmeetings, including one onRamlilagrounds.

At one time, it appearedthatthefi��ringincidentsinJamiaandtheentryofmaskedhoodlumsinJNUonJanuary

5 (noarrestshavebeenmadeby the Delhi Police in thematter so far)could lead tomoreviolence.TheElectionCommissionofIndiaonlyintervenedtoremovetheDCPinchargeoftheJamiaMilliaIslamiaarea.

In an interview to TheHindu before the poll, Mr.Kejriwal only spoke of his

workandthefactthathewasgoing to the people on thebasisofhisperformance.Hewas critical of Mr. Shah onDelhi’sdeterioratinglawandorder situation but did notdirectly criticise Prime Minister Narendra Modi. HewasperhapsconsciousofthefactthatthosewhovotedforMr.Modiat theCentresaid

time and again they wouldbackMr.KejriwalinDelhi.

FortheBJP,thedefeat inDelhi comes close on theheels of the loss in Jharkhand,whereagainitstressedonCAANRCandRammandir. In Delhi too, Mr. Shahpromised at several publicmeetingsthataRamtemplewould be constructed inAyodhyainfourmonths.

It’s evident that whatworkedfortheBJPintheLokSabhaelectiondidnotworkforitinDelhiorJharkhand.The voter clearly has diff��erentinterestsandobjectivesin national and Assemblyelections.

ThoughtheBJPsucceededin raising its vote share byabout seven percentagepointstoaround39%inthecurrent polls (counting wasonatthetimeofwriting),theAAPlostbarelyapercentagepointfromits2015tally.

ThegapbetweentheAAPandtheBJPismorethan12percentage points and theCongresstoohaslostnearly5%ofthevotesince2015.

Interestingly, in 2013,whentheBJPgot33.07%of

thetotalvotescast,itwon31seats, while in 2015, with32.19%votes,itmanagedonly three. In 2013, the Congress too got a healthy24.55%ofthevoteandeightseats,whilein2015itcouldnot open its account, withjustunder10%ofthevote.

A threecornered contestin Delhi could have helpedtheBJP,buttheCongressdida massivefavourtotheAAPbynotcampaigning.

Likein2015,theCongressvoter turned out in largenumbers for the AAP whilethepartyunderSheilaDikshit came second in the 2019LokSabhapoll,pushingtheAAPtothirdposition.

Finally, Mr. Kejriwal wasthe face of the AAP and itsgovernance.

TheBJPfailedtosettleforany leader in Delhi, chastened perhaps with its projection of Kiran Bedi aheadof the 2015 poll. It’s somewhatofamysterywhyapowerful, organised andwealthy party like the BJPcouldnotbuildupayoungerleadershipinDelhi.

Meanwhile, it is celebrationallthewayattheAAP’sheadquarters in Rouse AvenueinNewDelhi.

Why Kejriwal’s AAP was able to retain DelhiThe Chief Minister has been the face of the party, with focus on its performance

Amit Baruah

new delhi

AAPworkerscelebratingthehugevictoryintheDelhiAssemblyelections,attheparty’sheadquartersinNewDelhionTuesday. * R.V. MOORTHY

NEWS ANALYSIS

Buried in countless discussions on the failure of hatecampaign against ShaheenBaghand thevictoryof theAam Aadmi Party’s politicsof “kaam” has been the actual role of the women ofShaheen Bagh. The UnionHomeMinister’sexhortationtodeliver“electriccurrent”toShaheenBagh,thechantingof“golimaro”andtheactual attacks by stray shooters, crafting seditioncharges against individuals,have contrasted singularlywiththepicturesofrowsofwomensittingwithchildren,wavingthefl��agandcopiesoftheConstitutionandmostofall, dedicated to peacefulprotest. The importance ofthis cannot beunderestimated.

Hate as strategySpeakingatapanelontheresultsoftheDelhielectionsona television channel, Seshadri Chari, a senior BJP spo

kesperson, described thecommunally vituperativecampaignofhispartyas“nothate politics but strategy”.This is a chilling statement.Theproblem,however,isnotonlyitsquestionablemorality–animportantifnotscaryissue–butthefailureofthestrategy.

Clearly,asstrategy,ithashad its uses. The BJP voteshareinthe2020Delhielections has been reasonableenough.Butitfailedtoproduceacuttingedgepreciselybecausethestrategydidnotextend beyond the rhetoricofincitement.Itwasthedeliberate commitment topeaceful protest by the women satyagrahis – ordinarymothers, homemakers,youth – that staved off�� anyviolent counterresponse.Counterfactuallyspeaking,iftherehadbeentheslightesthintofviolentresponse,thespiral of violence and com

donebyAAP.Itbecamesoeffectivethatthegroundcampaigners of the BJP had totakerecoursetoquestioningthe wisdom of providing“freebies”totheelectorate.

ForBJPaggressivepolarisation has been importantfor both electoral victorywhilecombiningthiswithestablishing the aff��ective andideological foundationsofafutureHinduRashtra.Butifcommunalpolarisationdoesnot work as an issue, whatelse will the BJP have in itselectoral kitty? Delhi hasshownthatapurelynegativecampaignofdiscreditingtheagenda of its rivals will notdo.Norcanitstepbacknow,forthereputationofitsShahModi leadership has beenbuilt on its authoritarianstubbornness to defend itspositions.ThereistoomuchnowatstakefortheBJPleadershipandtoolittleammunitionatit*disposal.

Pradip Kumar Dattateaches political science atJawaharlal Nehru University

estswerecarriedoutbytheyouthofdiff��erentcommunities,becomingaplatformforvoicing dissatisfactionagainst a governance perceived to be highhanded,regulative of lifestyles andunabletoprovidejobs.

The Delhi elections providedanopportunitytobeginacounterinitiativebytheBJP.TheBJPruledStateshadput down the protests withanironhand.

Shaheen Bagh providedanopportunitytoinitiateanideologicalcounteroff��ensiveagainsttheprotests.Theonlyproblem–whichfi��nallydefeatedtheBJPstrategywasthatitwasdominatedbywomen who refused to beprovoked.

The unresponsiveness ofthese women was complemented by the careful distancingoftheAAPfromtheprotesters.BothoftheseputBJPoutonalimb.Moreimportantly, it allowed the focus to be put on a positiveelement, that is, the work

India’s elections. It hasraisedquestionsofnationalintegrity, portraying ShaheenBaghasacentreofterroristandantinationalactivity – and then going on toassociatethisunpleasingfi��ctionwithAAP.ChiefMinisterArvind Kejriwal himself hasbeenaccusedofbeingaterrorist.Thebasicelementsofthis campaign are by nomeans new. Over time, anyopposition to the BJP hasbeen progressively labelledas antinational. This hasprovidedamomentumofa*ggressiontoBJP’snationwidecampaigns.

Testing groundFor BJP, Shaheeh Bagh wasthetestinggroundofanewuse of communal mobilisation.Withinlessthanayearof its massive general electionvictory,theBJPgovernmenthasfacedthestrongesteverprotestthathasspreadacrosstheentirecountryonthe issue of the CAANRC.Mostimportantlytheseprot

eratelynationalisedtheelections. Beginning with thePrime Minister, organisedand coordinated by theHome Minister and deployingaphalanxofChiefMinisters and over 200 MPs, theBJPcampaignhasbeenoneofthemostcommunalvituperativeeverinthehistoryof

tinuously faced the fear ofviolent ejection by the police.It isthesilentcontributionoftheShaheenBaghwomen that remainsunremarked upon in thehighdecibel commentariesontheelectionresults.

It raises a diffi��cult questionfortheBJPnow.Itdelib

munal polarisation wouldhave been uncontrollable.The strategy of hate wouldthenhavebeenunstoppable.It would have upended thepoliticsof“kaam”.

ItmayberecalledthatthewomenhavecarriedondespitenoactsofsolidarityfromAAP;instead,theyhavecon

The victory of the Shaheen Bagh womenThe silent contribution of the peaceful protesters went missing in high-decibel commentaries on the election results

Pradip Kumar Datta

AntiCAAprotestersatShaheenBaghonTuesday. * PTI

COMMENT

Failing to project a ChiefMinisterial face, failing tocounter the Aam AadmiParty’s power and watersubsidies, using a localelectionasa“launchpad”for national issues, andstarcampaigners“overshadowing” local candidatesweresomeoftheproblemsin the BJP’s campaign inthe Assembly polls, saidpartyinsiders.

The Delhi BJP hadthoughtthat240oddMPscanvassing in the Capitalwouldfurthertheirchancesbut“unwarrantedcom

ments” made by these“outsiders”aswellassomelocalMPsdidalotof“damage”,addedsources.

“Asignifi��cantissuewiththecampaignwasthedecision not to project a CMface; the other big issuewasthekindofcommentsmade by some star campaigners such as AnuragThakurandParveshSahibSingh,”saidapartysource.

“The events of seniorleaders ended up becoming platforms to push theBJP’snationalagenda...localissuesfoundbriefornomentionatall,”saidanotherpartysource.

‘BJP campaign failedon many fronts’ Local issues got buried: party sources

Jatin Anand

New Delhi

AamAadmiPartyworkersholdupaposterduringvictorycelebrationsonTuesday. * R.V. MOORTHY

Inarepeatof2015,theCongresswasdecimatedintheDelhiAssemblyelectionsonTuesdaywithitsvotesharefallingfrom9.7%to4.27%.A totalof63outof66Congress candidates forfeitedtheirdepositthistime.

Arvinder Singh LovelyfromGandhiNagar,Devender Yadav from Badli andAbhishekDuttfromKasturbaNagarweretheonlyoneswhomanagedtosavetheirdeposits.

Even sitting ChandiniChowk MLA Alka LambawhoswitchedfromtheAamAadmi Party to the Congresslostherdeposit.

The party’s strategy ofpromising voters a throwbacktoa“Congresswalidilli”andhighlightingachievements during the 15yeartenure of Chief MinisterSheila Diksh*t failed tostrikeachordwithvoters.

RahulGandhi’sfourelec

tion rallies in which hepushedtheparty’splanstogenerate employment forthe youth failed to garnersupportfromthevoters.

DelhiCongresschiefSubhashChopratookresponsibilityforthedefeatandsaidthat the party would needtointrospectonwhatwentwrong. He blamed politicsofpolarisationfortheparty’sfallinvoteshare.

The Congress contestedtheelectionsthistimeinalliancewiththeRashtriyaJanata Dal (RJD), fi��ghting on66seatsandleavingfourforitsally.

63 out of 66 Congresscandidates lose depositParty’s pitch failed to win over voters

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI

EmptyseatsattheDelhiCongressoffi��ceonTuesday.

In eight constituencies, allof which were won by theAamAadmiParty,themargin of victory was above40,000votes.Ontheotherhand, seven of the BJP’seight winning candidatescouldsecureonlyamarginoflessthan17,000votes.

Thelargestmarginofvictory was seen in BurariwhereAAPsSanjeevJharetainedhis seatwith88,158votes. Mr. Jha improveduponhis2015resultswhenhe won by a margin of67,950votes.

Thesecond largestmargin of victory was seen inOkhla,dominatedbymembers of the Muslim communityandhasbeenasiteof indefi��nite protestsagainst the Citizenship(Amendment)Act.

Here,AAP’sAmanatullahKhan won by a margin of71,827votescomparedtoa

marginof64,532inthepreviouselections.

In Matia Mahal, also aMuslim majority constituency,ShohaibIqbalwonbyamarginof50,241votes,comparedtothemarginof26,096votesbyAAP’sAsimAhmed Khan in the previouselections.

Minister Rajendra PalGautamwonwithacomfortablemarginof56,108votesinthereservedconstituency of Seemapuri , improving on the vote margin of

48,821.InSangamVihar,saidto

bethelargestunauthorisedcolonyinthecity,AAP’sDineshMohaniyadefeatedtheBJP candidate by a marginof42,522votes,asmalldipin the victory margin of43,988in2015.

In Sultanpur Majra, MukeshKumar,wonbyamarginof48,052votes.WhileinVikaspuri,thepartycandidate won by a margin of42,058 votes, in Deoli thevictorymarginwas40,173.

Burari candidate wins by largest margin of 88,158 votes

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

AAP conquers eight seats by margins of over 40,000 votes

NineAssemblyConstituencyseatswitnessedaclosecontestbetweentheAamAadmiPartyandtheBJPwithcandidateswinningbyamarginoflessthan5,000votes.

AAP won seven out ofthesenineseats.

Inatleastsixofthem,thepartysawadropinthemargin with which the candidates won as compared tothe 2015 polls. In one seat,however,themarginofvictoryincreasedfortheparty.

The least margin recordedwasontheBijwasanseatwhere AAP’s BhupinderSinghJoondefeatedBJP’sSatPrakashRanaby753votes.

TheLaxmiNagarseatalsosawaclosefi��ghtwithBJP’sAbhay Verma defeatingAAP’s Nitin Tyagi by 880votes.InAdarshNagarconstituency,AAPcandidatePawanSharmawonbyamargin of 1,589 votes againstBJP’sRajKumarBhatia.

Mr. Sharma was electedfrom the constituency in

2015 too but had won by amarginof20,741votes.

TheKasturbaNagarconstituencysawAAP’sMadanLal defeat BJP’s RavinderChoudhry by a margin of3,165votes.Inthelastelection, Mr. Lal had won by amarginofover15,800votes.

SeniorAAPleaderManishSisodia got reelected fromPatparganj by a margin of

3,207 votes by defeatingBJP’sRavinderSinghNegi.

Mr.Sisodiahadwonbyamarginof28,791votesinthe2015elections.

BJP’s Rekha Gupta fromheShalimarBaghlostouttoAAP’sBandanaKumaribyamarginof3,440votes.

The 2015 elections hadseen Ms. Kumari win theseatby10,978votes.

Chhatarpur AAP candidate Kartar Singh Tanwardefeated BJP candidateBrahm Singh Tanwar by amarginof3,720votes;inthepreviouselectionstheformer had won by a margin of22,240votes.

The outlierInKrishnaNagar,S.K.BaggaofAAPwonbyamarginof3,995 votes by defeatingBJP’s Anil Goyal — an improvement from his 2015electionresultwherehehadwon by a margin of 2,277votes. The Badarpur seatsawBJP’sRamvirSinghBidhuridefeatAAP’sRamSinghNetajiby3,719votes.

AAP, BJP candidates win by margins of less than 5,000 votes

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

AAPleaderManishSisodiagotreelectedfromPatparganjbyamarginof3,207votes. * PTI

9 constituencies see close contest

CMYK

THE HINDU DELHI

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WEST

The Special InvestigationTeam, probing the casewherea25yearoldwomanlecturer was burned todeath by a stalker at Hinganghat in Wardha districtlast week, would fi��le acharge sheet within twoweeks,asenioroffi��cialsaidonTuesday.

The victim, Ankita Pisudde, a resident of Hinganghat town,wassetafi��reallegedly by her stalker VikeshNagrale(27)onFebruary3.ShediedonMondayina Nagpur hospital, where

had been undergoingtreatment.

TheSITheadedbyWardha Deputy Superintendent

of Police Trupti Jadhav ishandlingthecase.

Whencontacted,Ms.Jadhav said that statements of

sixwitnesseshavebeenrecordedandevidences fromthe crime spot have alsobeenrecovered.

The charge sheet wouldbe fi��led within two weeks,shesaid.“TheaccusedisinpoliceremandtillFebruary20andwewillfi��lethechargesheetbeforetheendofthatperiod,”Ms.Jadhavsaid.

She also dismissed reportsinasectionofthemediathattheaccusedwasaccompanied by a couple ofpersonsatthetimeofcrime.

Accordingtoinformationgatheredbytheprobeteam,the accused executed thecrimealoneandwasnotaccompanied by any person,theoffi��cialsaid.

TheStategovernmentonMonday appointed re

nowned lawyer Ujjwal Nikam as the special publicprosecutorinthecase.

Making the announcement in Mumbai, Chief MinisterUddhavThackerayassured that the case, whichhas triggered widespreadpublic anger and outrage,willbetried ina fast trackcourt toensurespeedy justicetothevictim.

During his decadeslongcareer, Mr. Nikam (66) hashandledseveralhighprofi��lecases likethe1993Mumbaiserialbombblastsandfi��lmproducer Gulshan Kumar’smurdercase.

The woman was set onfi��rebytheaccused,whowaslaterarrested,whileshewasonwaytohercollegeonFebruary3,policeearliersaid.

Lecturer burning case: charge sheetwithin two weeks, assure policeAccused in policeremand tillFebruary 20

Membersofthewomen’swingoftheBJPtakingoutasilentmarchinPuneonTuesdaytocondolethedeathoftheyounglecturerinWardhaonMonday. * MANDAR TANNU

Press Trust of India

Nagpur

With the Aam Aadmi Partyscoring another landslidevictory in Delhi Assemblypolls, Goa Chief MinisterPramodSawantonTuesdaysaidvotersmayhave fallenfor freebies announced beforetheelectionsbytheArvindKejriwalgovernment.

The BJP leader said thattheAAPgovernmentinDelhi failed to provide pollutionfreeairandcleandrinking water, which are basicnecessities.

“Weacceptpeople’sverdict.Maybe,peoplewanteda governmentthatgivesfreebies fromtheirowntaxes,”Mr.SawanttoldreportersinPonda town of North Goadistrict. Mr. Sawant, whocampaignedinDelhiforthe

Assemblypolls,saidtheKejriwal government failed toprovidecleanairandwaterto citizens of the nationalcapital.

GoaForwardParty(GFP)chiefVijaiSardesaisaidDelhiites have rejected “divisive” issues. “Congratulationsto#Delhi’slocalparty

@AamAadmiPartyand@ArvindKejriwal for this resounding victory. It’s heartening to see the peopleemphatically supporting apartythatchampionedlocalissues and local development rejecting the nationaldivisive issues #DelhiPolls2020,”hetweeted.

Press Trust of India

Panaji

AamAadmiPartyworkerscelebratetheDelhiresultsinfrontofthepartyoffi��ceinNagpuronTuesday. * S. SUDARSHAN

Delhi voters may have fallenfor freebies, says Goa CM

A Pakistani national hasbeenapprehendedby theBorder Security Force(BSF)forillegallyenteringKutch district after crossingtheIndiaPakistanborder, an offi��cial said onTuesday. The accused,ShoaibAhmed(38),aresidentofShahNawazBhuttocolony inKarachi townofPakistan’sSindhprovince,appearedtobeadrugaddict,hesaid.

Some Pakistani currency,anidentitycardand150gramsofa“sniffi��ngpowder” were seized from hispossession,theBSFsaidina release. “The PakistaninationalwasapprehendedwhenhetriedtoenterIndianearDholaviraonMondaynight. He was held fromnearborderpillarnumber1024by theBSFpatrollingteam. He appears to be adrug addict,” InspectorGeneral,BSF,GujaratFrontier,G.S.Maliksaid.Hewashanded over to the localpolice on Tuesday morning,theoffi��cialsaid.

Pak. nationalarrested forentering Indiaillegally

Press Trust of India

Bhuj

The Ministry of Earth Sciences(MoES)isplanninga‘decadalforecast’systemalongthelinesoftheUnited Kingdom’s Met Offi��ce toensurebetterpredictabilityintheclimatetimescale,saidDr.M.Rajeevan,Secretary,MoESrecently.

Speakingonthesidelinesofthe6th International Conference onClimateServicesbeingheldatthePunebased Indian Institute ofTropicalMeteorology (IITM),Dr.Rajeevan said the system, basedon a coupled climate model,wouldfi��rstbetakingshapeintheform of a research programmeandwouldbeoperationalonlyafteritsmeritshadbeenevaluated.

“Thisisanewideawithmorerelevancetopresentclimateforecastingneeds.So,giventheneedforlongerrangepredictionfor10or20years,wewillbestartinga

new programme in the countryusingacoupledclimatemodelbyutilising signals emanating fromdeep oceans to predict decadalclimatechanges,”hesaid.

Refusingtoelaborateontheoperational aspects of the programme, Dr. Rajeevan said thesystemwouldbeexploredasaresearchprogrammetobetakenupbyIITMalongwithcollaborationfromtheIndiaMeteorologicalDepartmentandotherentities.

“The operational part will bediscussedlater.First,wewillhaveto conduct signifi��cant researchanddeterminethesystem’seff��ectiveness,”hesaid.

The World Meteorological Organizationhassetupglobalproducing centres, coordinated bytheU.K.MetOffi��ce,forannualtodecadalprojectionsthatarealready providing globalscaleinformation.

“As there isa lot fundamentalwork[onthedecadalforecastingsystem] that has already beendone,wefeelIndiashouldnotlagbehind,”Dr.Rajeevansaid.

Once the system was established,itwouldinitiallyfunctionfor longrange forecasting at thenational level and the model, ifsuccessful,wouldlaterbedownscaledtothestateorevendistrictlevel,hesaid.

Dr.Rajeevansaidtherewereanumber of gaps in the understanding of regional climate variability and its connections toglobal phenomena like IndianOceanDipole.Indianforecasters,he said, faced a challenge inmaintaining the quality of climateobservations,andthereisaneedonthepartofresearcherstodevelopapplicationsforspecifi��csectorsbasedontheavailableclimateforecast.

System based on need for long-term predictions; will begin as research

Shoumojit Banerjee

Pune

Ministry of Earth Sciences may goin for decadal forecast system

TheBombayHighCourtonTuesdayissuedsummonstoNCP leader Rohit Pawar,grandnephewofNCPchiefSharad Pawar, seeking hisresponsetoanelectionpetition alleging malpracticesandcorruptiononhispartduring last year’s State Assemblypolls.

A singleBenchofJusticeS.M. Gavhane of AurangabadBenchoftheHighCourtwashearingapetitionfi��ledby former MLA Ramdas

Shindeseekingdisqualifi��cationofRohitPawarasMLAfromKarjatJamkhedseat.

Mr. Shinde, who waselectedfromthesameconstituencyontwooccasions,inhisplea,fi��ledthroughadvocates S.B. Talekar andMadhaviAyyappan,claimedthat Mr. Pawar would nothave won the polls but forcorruptpractices.

Justice Gavhane, afterhearingbriefarguments,issuedsummonstoMr.Pawardirectinghimtofi��lehisaffi��davitbyMarch20.

HC summons to RohitPawar on Assembly win Press Trust of India

Aurangabad RightwingorganisationHinduJanajagrutiSamiti(HJS)onTuesdayappealedtotheyouthtocelebrateFebruary14as“parents’day”,insteadofValentine’sDay.Italsosubmittedamemorandumto theadditionalcollectorofNorthGoaandoffi��cialsfromtheStateadministration.

“Thisdistortedversionofloveisbeingmadepopularamongyouth togainsomebusiness,andasaresult,theyounggenerationisdrawntowardssensualityandimmorality,”theorganisationstated.

Incidentsofteasing,havebeenreportedonValentine’sDay,theoutfi��tsaid.Thereisarisein“malpractices” such as consuming alcohol,drugs, and smoking. Even sale of contraceptivesgoesup,itclaimed.

Observe ‘parents’day’ on Feb. 14: HJS PressTrust of India

Panaji

DELHI THE HINDU

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 20208EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

SOUTH

SriLankanPMworshipsatTirumalaTIRUMALA

SriLankanPrimeMinister

MahindaRajapaksaon

Tuesdaytookpartinthe

Astadala Padapadmaradhana

seva, aweeklyritual,at

thehilltempleofLord

Venkateswaraalongwithhis

sonYosh*taRajapaksaand

otherdignitariesonTuesday.

A teamofTTDofficials,led

byexecutiveofficerAnil

KumarSinghal,accordedhim

a traditionalreception.Mr.

Rajapaksawaspresented

withamementoand

‘ladduprasadam’.

IN BRIEF

EightheldforrapingwomaninTelanganaWARANGAL

A 24yearoldwomanwas

allegedlyrapedbynine

peopleatMahabubabadin

Telangana.Eightofthem

werearrestedonMonday.

Threedaysago,thewoman

hadarrivedattheMahabub

abadrailwaystation.Asshe

didn’thaveenoughmoneyto

gotohervillage,shephoned

anacquaintanceseekinghelp.

Heaskedhertomeethim

somedistanceaway.She

tookanautorickshawtothe

spot,whereshewasrapedby

heracquaintance,anauto

driver,andhisfriends.PTI

Keralatribalmanwins₹��12crorelotteryKannur

A memberoftheKurichiya

tribalcommunityinKannur

haswonthe₹��12croreKerala

ChristmasNewYearBumper

lotteryoftheState

government.Thewinner,

PorunnanRajan,52,who

residesatPuralimala,told

The Hindu thathewasindire

needofmoney.Hewasin

debtafterborrowingmoney

forthemarriageofhis

daughterandotherpurposes.

Mr.Rajan,whohastwo

daughtersandason,

wantstopayoffhisloans

andbuildanewhouse.

Within24hoursofallocatingportfoliostonewlyinductedMinisters, Karnataka ChiefMinister B. S. Yediyurappamodifi��ed some of them onTuesday, to placate thosewhowereupsetovernotgetting “prominent” subjects,including new entrants totheBharatiyaJanataParty.

BJP sources said thechangescameaftermostofthe new Ministers met theChiefMinister inBengaluruonMondaynight,andprotestedthe“rawdeal”metedout to them. Some told Mr.YediyurappathattheywouldrathercontinueasjustMLAs.

Onlythreeofthe10newlyinducted Ministers had gotprominent portfolios inMonday’sallocation.

“ThoughtheChiefMinisterdidnotyieldtopressureforportfoliosoftheirchoice,heagreedtomakemodifi��cations,”aseniorBJPleaderexplained.

PatilgetsagricultureThe major change was thatofB.C.Patil,whowasgivenAgricultureasagainstForest

that was allocated on Monday.Infact,AgriculturehadbeentakenawayfromDeputyChiefMinisterLaxmanSavadiandgiventoHomeMinister Basavaraj BommaiadditionallyonlyonMonday.

SmallScaleIndustriesandSugar allotted to K. Gopalaiahwerewithdrawnandhewas allotted Food and CivilSupplies,whichwasgiventoAnandSinghonMonday.Mr.Singh has now been givenForest,EcologyandEnvironmentDepartment,earliergiven to C.C. Patil who alsoholdsMinesandGeology.

Shivaram Hebbar, whohad been allotted Labour,hasgotSugaralsonow.Shrimant Balasaheb Patil hasbeen given the additionalportfolio of Minority Welfare,whichwasearlierwith

Animal Husbandry MinisterPrabhuChauhan.

Urban Development MinisterByrathiBasavaraj,too,has something to cheerabout as his portfolio hasnow been strengthened byaddingKarnatakaUrbanWater Supply and DrainageBoardandKarnatakaUrbanInfrastructureDevelopmentand Finance Corporation.TheChiefMinisterhaskeptSmall Scale Industries withhim, along with other keydepartments.

Four new Ministers werekept out of the rejig. MajorWater Resources MinisterRamesh Jarkiholi has beenuntouched,asalsoCooperationMinisterS.T.Somashekhar, Medical Education MinisterD.Sudhakar,andK.C.NarayanaGowda.

Yediyurappa placates newMinisters with portfolio rejigTheyhadmethimtoexpressanguishovernotgetting‘prominent’berths

Special Correspondent

BENGALURU

B.S.Yediyurappa

Who would have thoughtthat the better way to increase productivity is to allow employees to take aquick postprandial nap attheworkplace?Apaperpublishedrecentlybythenonprofi��t National Bureau ofEconomicResearch(NBER),basedinCambridge,Massachusetts, U.S., argues thathigherqualitysleepduringapower nap improves economic and psychologicaloutcomesoveranincreaseinthenumberofhoursofsleep.

Thepaper,byPedroBessone et al, was based on aprojectthatmeasuredsleepamong 452 low incomeadults in Chennai, and ack

nowledges “generous funding and support” from thegovernment of Tamil NaduandtheMassachusettsInstituteofTechnologybasedAbdulLatifJameelPovertyAction Lab, among others.“Adults in Chennai havestrikingly low quantity andquality of sleep relative totypical guidelines: despitespendingeighthoursinbed,theyachieveonly5.6hoursper night of sleep, with 32awakenings per night,” thepaperstates.

Sleepeffi��ciency“Sleepeffi��ciencyiscalculatedbydividingthesleepyouaregettingbythetimespentin bed, expressed as a percentage,”explainsDr.N.Ra

makrishnan, senior consultant, sleep management,Apollo Hospitals, here. Justover fi��ve hours out of eighthours in bed is not goodsleep effi��ciency, he adds.Thatmeanssleepeffi��ciencywasonly70%inthesample,which, the authors argue,was“muchlowerthaninU.S.populations or even thosewithdisorderssuchassleepapnea”.

As part of the study, thesubjectswererecruitedforafulltime dataentry job foronemonth.Theresearchersthen crossrandomised thesampleintotwotypesofinterventionstoincreasesleep:nightsleeptreatments,andanap treatment that gavethem,daily,anopportunity

tional minutes per night —rather than improved sleepeffi��ciency. Naps were eff��ectiveatincreasingsleep—88%of individuals fell asleep atsomepointduringtheirallottednaptime,yieldinganaverage of 13 minutes of napsleepperday.Thiswasofahigher quality than nightsleep,theNBERrecords.

ProductivityupIncreasednightsleepdidnothave any measurable positive impacts on a range ofoutcomes.Naps,ontheotherhand,increasedworkproductivityby2.3%,boostedameasure of attention, andimprovedpsychologicalwellbeing. It also emerged thatnapsincreasedpatience,and

actuallyresultedin14%higher deposits in a savings account,saysthepaper.

“There is no doubt thatbothqualityofsleepandthehoursyougetareimportant.But,lyinginbedisnotequaltosleep,”Dr.Ramakrishnanexplains. “In this particularstudy, the environmentsmight have contributed agreatdealtothebenefi��tsderivedfromthenap.”Inalowincomegroup,heargues,theenvironmentsinwhichpeople get their night’s sleepmaynotbeidealforadisruptionfree sleep. In contrast,when they were allowed torestinadisruptionfreeenvironment at the workplace,they might have derivedgreaterbenefi��tsfromit.

totakeahalfhournapintheafternooninaquietspaceintheoffi��ce.

The nightsleep interventions increased sleep by anaverage of 27 minutes pernight, but this increase intimeasleepwasentirelydrivenbygreatertimespentinbed — on average 38 addi

AdultsinChennaihavestrikinglylowquantityandqualityofsleeprelativetotypicalguidelines,saysU.S.basedgroup

Ramya Kannan

Chennai

Benefi��tsofpostlunchnapatworkratedhighlybystudy

A 50yearold man, whofeared that he had contracted novel coronavirus(nCoV),allegedlycommittedsuicidenearSrikalahastitowninA.P.onTuesday.

Balakrishna had beenadmittedtoahospitalinTirupati for fever and doctorssuggestedthatheweara mask to prevent thespread of the viral infection. This made him suspectthathehadcontractedthevirus.Apprehensiveofinfectingothers,hekeptaway from his family. Heleft his house on Mondaynightandallegedlyhangedhimselffromatree.(Thoseindistresscancall100.)

SuspectingnCoV attack,man kills self

Special Correspondent

TIRUPATI

TheSupremeCourtonTuesdayconfi��rmedtheKarnataka government authorities’decisiontodemolishrestaurants, hotels, guest housesand other buildings constructedinVirupapuraGaddi, an oval islet formed byTungabhadra river and located west of the HampiWorldHeritagesite.

Spellingreliefforconservationists and a victory forthe State government, aBenchofJusticesMohanM.ShantanagoudarandR.SubhashReddyconcluded thatthe constructions were inviolationof theMysoreAncient and Historical Monuments and ArchaeologicalSites and Remains Act of1961.

AgreeingwiththeKarna

taka High Court decisionthattheHampiWorldHeritageAreaManagementAuthoritywasempoweredtoorder the demolition of theillegal buildings, the courtordered the authorities toproceed with their demolitionworkwithinamonthofthisjudgment.

“Itisincumbentupontheauthoritynottoturnablindeye,” Justice Shantanagoudar, who authored the verdict,held.

Thecourtupheldthevalidityofa1988Statenotifi��cation that “clearly indicatestheentirevillageofVirupapura Gaddi as a protectedzone”. It said a place neednotnecessarilyboastamonumenttobeprotected.

“It ispossibleforcertainareas to be protected independentoftheexistenceof

monuments,ifthereisareasonablebeliefthattheycontainruinsorrelicsofhistorical or archaeologicalimportance,” the courtobserved

HistoricalimportanceThecourtfurthernotedhowtheArchaeologicalSurveyofIndia had itself recognisedthehistoricalimportanceofVirupapuraGaddi.

“It appears that the government had consideredthe comprehensive geographicalentityofthearea,including attributes like itslandscape, prehistoric vestiges and water systems.Thus, the 1988 notifi��cationissuedunderSection19(3)ofthe1961ActdeclaringVirupapuraGaddiasaprotectedareacan’tbesaidtobewithoutbasis,”thecourtsaid.

ItsaysconstructionswereinviolationofMysoreAct,1961Krishnadas Rajagopal

NEW DELHI

SCbacksmovetodemolishrestaurantsnearHampisite

THE HINDU DELHI

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2020 9EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

NATION

Weather WatchRainfall, temperature & air quality in select metros yesterday

Temperature Data: IMD, Pollution Data: CPCB, Map: INSAT/IMD (Taken at 18.00 Hrs)

ForecastforWednesday: ThunderstormaccompaniedwithlightninglikelyatisloatedplacesoverJammu.Heavyrain/snowlikelyat isolatedplacesoverKashmir.

city rain max min city rain max min

Agartala................—....28.2....10.5 Kozhikode....................—....35.5....23.8

Ahmedabad...........—....31.0....15.5 Kurnool .......................—....32.7....20.2

Aizawl...................—....17.9........ — Lucknow......................—....24.1......7.1

Allahabad..............—....26.7......8.0 Madurai .......................—....35.0....22.5

Bengaluru .............—....30.4....16.4 Mangaluru ...................—....36.4....21.9

Bhopal ..................—....27.7....11.5 Mumbai .......................—........ —....22.9

Bhubaneswar.........—....28.4....12.9 Mysuru ........................—....30.0....18.8

Chandigarh ...........—....22.0......7.3 New Delhi ...................—....23.0......5.9

Chennai ................—....31.6....22.6 Patna ..........................—....25.4......9.3

Coimbatore ...........—....31.9....21.9 Port Blair.....................—....31.6....25.7

Dehradun ..............—....23.6......6.0 Puduch*erry ............... 1.0....31.7....22.3

Gangtok................—....14.6......5.7 Pune............................—....29.8....17.6

Goa.......................—....35.2....21.4 Raipur .........................—....28.0....12.8

Guwahati ..............—....28.2....11.2 Ranchi .........................—....25.5......7.5

Hubballi ................—....31.0....19.0 Shillong.......................—....15.6......5.0

Hyderabad ............—....28.3....20.0 Shimla.........................—....15.9......4.1

Imphal ..................—....22.9......4.9 Srinagar.......................—......7.5.... -0.2

Jaipur ...................—....25.1....10.4 Thiruvananthapuram.........—....34.4....23.4

Kochi ....................—....33.6....25.2 Tiruchi.........................—....34.5....22.4

Kohima .................—....16.4......6.6 Vijayawada ............... 0.4....30.8....22.4

Kolkata .................—....27.0....13.5 Visakhapatnam .............—....28.8....22.8

(Rainfall data in mm; temperature in Celsius)

Pollutants in the air you are breathing Yesterday

CITIES SO2 NO2 CO PM2.5 PM10 CODE

In observation made at4.00 p.m., Ballabgarh,Haryana recorded an overallair quality index (AQI) scoreof 396 indicating ahazardous level ofpollution. In contrast,Tirupati, Andhra Pradeshrecorded a healthy AQIscore of 43

Ahmedabad..... 57 .69 .36 ..174 .132 ....*

Bengaluru ....... ..— .42 .67 ....50 ...78 ....*

Chennai .......... ..7 .20 .17 ....71 .....— ....*

Delhi .............. 33 .83 .63 ..395 .357 ....*

Hyderabad ...... ..2 .64 .33 ....99 ...90 ....*

Kolkata........... 12 .80 .24 ..266 .243 ....*

Lucknow ......... ..7 .76 106 ..319 .....— ....*

Mumbai .......... 14 .30 .40 ....98 .113 ....*

Pune............... 61 .18 .71 ....74 ...74 ....*

Visakhapatnam 10 .30 .46 ....95 ...95 ....*

Air Quality Code: * Poor * Moderate * Good (Readings indicate average AQI)

SO2: Sulphur Dioxide. Short-term exposure can harm the respiratory system,

making breathing difficult. It can affect visibility by reacting with other air

particles to form haze and stain culturally important objects such as statues

and monuments.

NO2: Nitrogen Dioxide. Aggravates respiratory illness, causes haze to form by

reacting with other air particles, causes acid rain, pollutes coastal waters.

CO: Carbon monoxide. High concentration in air reduces oxygen supply to

critical organs like the heart and brain. At very high levels, it can cause

dizziness, confusion, unconsciousness and even death.

PM2.5 & PM10: Particulate matter pollution can cause irritation of the eyes,

nose and throat, coughing, chest tightness and shortness of breath, reduced

lung function, irregular heartbeat, asthma attacks, heart attacks and premature

death in people with heart or lung disease

Bhim Army chief ChandraShekharAazadonTuesdaymoved the Supreme CourtforareviewofitsFebruary7judgmentreiteratingthesettled law that an individualcannotclaimreservationinpromotionasafundamentalright.

ThejudgmentbyaBenchledbyJusticeL.NageswaraRao isbasedonaseriesofConstitution Bench verdicts,fromtheIndiraSawhneycasein1992toM.Nagarajjudgmentinmid2000s.

However, Mr. Aazad hasargued in his review petition that theFebruay judgmentwould“actasatoolinthehandsoftheoppressorsto further oppress and exploit the SC, ST, OBC andthe economically weakersections, causing further

marginalisation within society,therebydefeatingtheendeavourtobringequalitybetweenthecitizensofthiscountry by the framers ofourConstitutionparticularly those of Babasaheb Dr.BhimRaoAmbedkar.”

‘Not a mandamus’TheSupremeCourthadobserved that State governments were not bound tomakereservations.Eventhecourtscannot issueamandamus directing the Statestoprovidereservations.

“Thereisnofundamentalrightwhichinheresinanindividual to claim reservationinpromotions.NomandamuscanbeissuedbythecourtdirectingtheStategovernmenttoprovidereservations,”theCourthadobserved in its February 7verdict.

SC’sorderonquotainpromotionschallengedBhimArmychiefseeksreview

Legal Correspondent

New DelhiThenumberofpeoplewhodied while cleaning sewersandseptictanksinthecountryincreasedbyalmost62%from 68 in 2018 to 110 in2019,accordingtoareplygivenbytheSocialJusticeandEmpowerment (SJE) Ministry to the Lok Sabha onTuesday.

National surveySJEMinisterofStateRamdasAthawale replied to thequestionaskedbyBharatiyaJanataPartyMPsAnilFirojiya,MohanbhaiKalyanjibhaiKundariya and Lallu Singhabout the incidents of manual scavenging, which isbanned under the ProhibitionofEmploymentasManual Scavengers and theirRehabilitationAct,2013.

The reply said a total of14,559 manual scavengers

hadbeenidentifi��edbyMunicipalities and Gram Panchayats in 13 States from20132014 till January 31,2020.Apartfromthat,anationalsurveywasconductedin 194 districts in 18 Stateswhere 48,345 manual scavengers were identifi��ed tillJanuary 31, taking the totalto62,904.

Whilesaying“therehavebeen no reports regarding

deathofpersonsduetomanualscavenging”,theMinister’sreplystatedthattheNationalCommissionforSafaiKaramcharis had receivedreports about the death ofpeoplecleaningsewersandseptictanks.

Thesecaseswerereportedfrom18StatesandUnionTerritories, while 13 Statesand UTs submitted “nilreports”.

Damini Nath

NEW DELHI

Cleaningofdrains&septictanksclaims110livesin2019

The Maharashtra government sparked off�� acontroversy by including real estate developersShahidBalwaandVinodGoenka—whowereaccused and later acquitted in the 2G spectrum scam — in a committee to review issuesoftherealestatesector.

The committee wassetupfollowingameetingofindustryrepresentativeswithChiefMinister Uddhav Thackeray.TheMVAgovernmentlater denied having included the two on thepanel.

Maharashtrarealtypanelsparksarow

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Mumbai

An Army veteran was shotdead by his daughter afterheopenedfi��reatherandhiswife, seriously injuringthem at their home here,policesaidonTuesday.

Chetram, 45, was shot

deadbyhisdaughterwhenhetriedtofi��reathissonafter an argument with hiswifelateonMonday.

“While Chetram, a retired soldier, died on thespot,hiswifeanddaughterarebattlingfortheirlivesata hospital,”policesaid.

Armyveteranwhoopenedfi��reonfamilyshotdeadbydaughter

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Mathura (U.P.)

DriverofbusinvolvedinmishapatGanjamheldBERHAMPUR

Thedriverofthebusthat

touchedan11kvlivewirein

Odisha’sGanjamdistricton

February9,causingthedeath

of10persons,wasarrested

bythepoliceonTuesday.The

arresteddriverhadjumped

outofthebustoescape

whenhefoundthatthetop

ofitsgoodscarriagehad

comeintocontactwithahigh

voltagepowercable.

HCseeksgovt.standonpleatobanacidsaleNEW DELHI

TheDelhiHighCourton

TuesdaysoughttheState

government’sstandonaplea

byanacidattacksurvivor,

whohasallegedthatthe

chemicalwaseasilyavailable

despitetheSupremeCourt’s

directionstoregulateitssale.

Shealsoallegedthatthe

statutoryruleswhich

regulatethesaleofacidwere

notbeingimplementedby

theauthorities.PTI

FatherofrapevictimshotdeadinU.P.FIROZABAD

Thefatherofarapevictim

wasshotdeadinFirozabad

districtofUttarPradeshand

thefamilysuspectedthe

accusedintherapecasetobe

behindthekilling,policesaid.

Hisdaughterwasrapedsix

monthsagoandaman

identifiedasAchaman

Upadhayawasmadethe

accusedinthecase,SSP

SachinPatelsaid.PTI

Chief Minister Edappadi K.Palaniswami’s announcementonSundaylastthattheCauverydeltaregionwouldbedeclared ‘ProtectedSpecial Agricultural Zone’(PSAZ) may not aff��ect variousongoingprojectsinthedistricts,includinghydrocarbonexploration.MrPalaniswamihadsaidno“newprojects such as thehydrocarbonproject”wouldbeallowedindeltadistricts.

The primary intention ofthegovernment is toprohibit any “fresh” attempts atexplorationofgasandmineralsintheCauverydeltare

gion,seniorbureaucrats indicated. “This is wetlandecology and such explorations would aff��ect agricul

ture severely. Moreover,suchexplorationswouldalsoleadtoseawaterintrusion.”

Sincetheongoingprojects

intheCauverydeltahavealready obtained necessarypermissionfromtheauthoritiesconcerned,theymaynotbeaff��ectedbytheannouncement,” informed sourcessaid.

The proposed ₹��50,000crore investment in Cuddalore by Haldia Petrochemicalswouldbeallowedsince“the unit is outside” theCauvery delta core region.Besides, it isonlyreplacinganotherprivateplayer.

CM yet to clarifyTheChiefMinisterhassofarnotclarifi��edaboutthefateofthe ongoing projects in theregion. The proposed PSAZ

wouldcovertheentireNagapattinam, Tiruvarur andThanjavurdistricts.

The remaining fi��ve districtswouldbecoveredonlypartially.

The declaration was toprimarily to stop “local exploitation of undergroundmineralsandgas.”Thatway,refi��neries could be allowedsince they would only useimported oil, offi��cialsexplained.

Though the contours ofthepolicyareyettobeoutlined,sourceshintedthatinfrastructureprojectssuchaslayingofroadsandrailwaysandconstructionofbridgeswouldnotbeaff��ected.

Agrizonemaynotaff��ectongoingT.N.projects

Offi��cialssaygovernmentonlyintendstobarfreshattemptsatexplorationofgas,minerals

Dennis S. Jesudasan

CHENNAI

Afi��lepictureofanexploratorywellnearNeduvasal.

Bediholdsconsultationswithfi��scalpolicyexpertsPUduch*eRRY

Lt.GovernorKiranBediheld

consultationswithfiscal

policyexpertsdeputedby

theMinistryofHomeAffairs

totakestockofthestressed

financialsituationinthe

UnionTerritory.Concerns

overlossmakingPSUswere

raised.

IN BRIEF

CMYK

M ND-NDE

DELHI THE HINDU

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 202010EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

EDITORIAL

The Delhi resultHastheIndianvoterattainedmaturity?Iamconfi��dentthatthisishappeningifoneistogobyrecenttrendsinStateelections.ItwasonlyrecentlythattherulingpartyattheCentreconsolidateditspositionwithamassivemajority.ButtheoppositeseemstobehappeningwiththeStatepolls:thevoterappearstobeclosingthedoorontherulingparty.Istherearealisationthatthetopleadershipoftherulingpartyisonlyfullofrhetoricandthereisnocoordinationbetweenwhattheysayandwhathappens?Thepeaceandtranquillityofthecountryhavebeendisturbedbywhimsicalpolicies.Itwouldnotbeanexaggerationtosaythatthereisconfusionandanairofuncertainty.Theredoesnotseemtobeanyvisibleeff��ectsofdevelopmentalprogrammes.FollowingtheDelhiresult,theCentral

governmentshouldstopitsstrategyofignitingpassions.TheIndianNationalCongressshouldpullupitssocksandworkwithzealandenthusiasmtoinformtheelectoratethatitistheonlyalternativethatcantaketheBJPheadon.Ananda Rao Mukkala,

Vijayawada,AndhraPradesh

■ AAP’srefreshingapproachtocampaigning—purelybasedoncivics,completelybereftofanythingtodowithidentity,religionorcaste—isunheardofinmodernIndia,eveninKerala,aStateconsideredprogressive.Indeed,theAAP’sbiggestunsaidcontributioncouldjustberestoringfaithinpolitics,aprofessionoftenassociatedwithgangstersandsycophancy. AnothermostfascinatingaspectofthevictoryshownissimmeringangerandapalpabledistancingoftheyoungergenerationfromtheBJP’smedievaloutlook.Theparty’sgreedforpowerisnowsounbridledanditsambitionsoaudaciousthatit

deliberatelyinvokedthemostdangerousmantrastobefuddlepeopleandcreatehatredwherenoneexisted,atleastnotinanysignifi��cantform.DelhiisnotjustanotherStateorcity.Itistheheartofthecountry.Letushopethatthemenwhomatterinthiscountrywillheartheheartbeats.Javvadi Lakshmana Rao,

Visakhapatnam

■ Democracyisstillalive.DelhiisaminiatureIndiawithdiverseculturalandcosmopolitangroupsdrawnfromallStatesofIndia.TherejectionoftheBJP’selectioneering givesthosewhoaregenuinelyinterestedinthenation’swelfarehope.Socialandreligioustolerancehasbecomeapracticalnecessity.TheDelhielectionresultshavealso establishedemphaticallythelongcherishedideasofculturalpluralisminwhichawidevarietyofculturalformsandreligionscoexist.G. Stanley Jeyasingh,

Nagercoil,TamilNadu

■ ThepeopleofDelhihavegivenabefi��ttingreplytothedivisivepoliticsemployedbytherulingpartyattheCentre. Willtheleadershipnowunderstandthatthepoliticsofhateandreligiondoesnotcuticeespeciallyinanenvironmentofunemploymentandeconomicdoom?Delhishowsthatelectionscanstillbefoughtandwonontheagendaofdevelopmentdespitemanyprovocations.Thisshouldalsoserveasabenchmarkforfutureelectioncampaignsandshowthemirrortopartiesthatindulgeinhatemongering.ThenexttestisBihar.Maqsood Haider,

Noida

■ AAPmayhavemuchtobehappyaboutbutwhatcannotbelostsightofisthatithaslostseats;theBJPhasimproveditstallywhichshowsthatit*nationalpolicieshavestillbeenwelcomedbytheelectorate.TheCongresshascomeacropperandhasbeenalmost

anyendorsem*nt,goodorbad.Insultingnationalleadersshouldbemadepunishableinlaw.H.N. Ramakrishna,

Bengaluru

Asia and the OscarsItisheartwarmingthatSouthKorea’sParasite,becamethefi��rstforeignfi��lmtowinthebestpictureandinternationalfeaturecategoryintheOscars(‘Life’page,February11).ItisarecognitiontoAsianfi��lmsalso,whichlaymoreemphasisonfamilialbonds.ThechangingtrendofHollywoodtoincludemoreactorsfromothercountriesandthenawardanOscarisproofthattheworldistrulybecomingavillage.Indianfi��lmmakersshouldunderstandthatthoughcinemaisamassentertainer,qualityisimportant.Ouraudiencetoohasmatured.Wealsohavearichcultureandfi��neactors.T. Anand Raj,

Chennai

writtenoff��asapoliticalparty.Theabsenceofapromisingleader,theabsenceofconstructiveandpositiveworkandtheinabilitytoreconstructthepartyastherearenograssrootlevelworkersareallevident.V. Lakshmanan,

Tirupur,TamilNadu

Leader denigrationItisunfortunatethatleadersmakesuchunsavourycommentsaboutpeoplewhofoughtforthefreedomofthecountry(OpEdpage,“ThecalumnyagainstGandhi”,February11)AftercritiquingNehru,itnowseemstobethetragicfateoftheFatheroftheNationtosuff��ersuchtaunts.Thefreedomstrugglewasneitheran“adjustment”norafavourdonebythecolonialmasterstoIndia.Millionsoffreedomfi��ghtersdidnotsuff��erimprisonment,lossoffamilylife,death,bulletsorlathichargesinvainforsuchappallingcomments.MahatmaGandhiwasoneofthetallestworldleadersandhedoesnotneed

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters emailed to [emailprotected] must carry the full postal address and the full name or the name with initials.

To read more lettersonline, scan the QR code

Srinivasan Ramani

One of the more diffi��cultthingstodoinanyelectionsince2014istoforeground

electoral issues related to whatthey are supposed to be actuallyabout—theabilityofthecontendingparty togoverneff��ectively. Ithas been relatively less cumbersomeforopposingpartiestomakea markinStateswheretheBharatiyaJanataParty(BJP)hastostandonitsrecord,butfarmorediffi��cultforpartiesthatarealreadyinpowertoretainthem.OnlytheBijuJanataDalinOdisha,theTrinamoolCongress (TMC) in West BengalandtheTelanganaRashtraSamitiandAllIndiaAnnaDravidaMunnetraKazhagam(inStateswheretheBJPisweak)havemanagedtoretainpowerandeventheseparties, barring the TMC, had shiedawayfromtakingastrongoppositionalpositiontotheBJP.

Poll strategiesThe Aam Aadmi Party (AAP),whichhasbeenabugbearoftheBJP,notonlyretainedpowerwinning62ofthe70seatsintheDelhiAssemblyelection,butalsoman

agedtonearlyemulate itsstrongperformancein2015whenitwon67seats.Thisisacreditnotonlytoitsgovernancerecordbutalsoitsabilitytoturntheelectionintoareferendum on its tenure. TheBJP’s strongest point in recentelectionshasbeentoset the terrain of political discourse in therunup to the polls and force itsopponent to contest on thosegrounds.Aiding this strategyhasbeentheBJP’smachinethatprovidesitanorganisationalsuperioritywhichisbuttressedbyfi��nancialpower unmatched by otherparties.

TherunuptotheDelhielectionfeatured a noholds barred campaignbytheBJPthatsoughttoforegroundtheculturaljingoistnarrative of the Citizenship(Amendment)Act(CAA),thedilutionofArticle370,andthedemonisationoftheprotestsagainsttheCAAandtheNationalRegisterofCitizensembodiedintheShaheenBaghsitin.Thecampaignstrategywasbasedonacalculusthathadworkedbefore.TheBJPhad,onlyin May 2019, managed to win56.6%ofthevotesinDelhi,harpingonthegovernment’sdecisiveactionfollowingthePulwamaterror attacks. In recent Assemblyelections,thedeftuseofBackwardClasspoliticshadbeencombinedwiththevirulentuseofthe“Hindutva”cardandthishadmoreoftenthannot,workedintheBJP’s

favour. AAP, on the other hand,hadtriedtopositionitselfasaparty that was evasive or malleablewith respect to ideology. DelhiChief Minister and AAP founderArvindKejriwalhasindeedarticulatedtheimportanceoftakingonthepoliticsofhatredandcommunaldiff��erentiation,buthisparty’semphasishaslargelybeenonhisgovernment’srecordondeliveringbasicservicestoanurbanelectoratewithoutrecoursetoidentitarian biases. While doing so, AAPdid not seek to actively engagewiththeBJP’sfocalissuessuchastheCAA/NRCandthenatureoftheprotestsagainstthisamendment.Meanwhile the desperate andreactiveattemptbytheBJPtoresorttocalumnyagainstAAP’sleadershiponlybackfi��red.

In trying to set the discourseduring the elections to be basedon its governance record, AAPprovided the Delhi voter a clearchoice— wouldtheyendorsethestepstakenbytheregimeorwouldtheyjudgeitintermssetbytheBJPanditscommunaldiscourse?This

wasapivotalachievementbytheAAPandsetstheparty’svictoryasoneachievedinmuchmorediffi��cult circ*mstances compared toitstriumphin2015oritsstrongforayintoelectoralpoliticsin2013,graduatingfromacivilsocietyledmovementagainstcorruption.

Party trump cardsIn2015,AAPhadmanagedtoswaythe Delhi electorate and build amulticlass coalitional supportbase—oftheurbanpoorandthemiddleclasswith itspromisesofdeliveringonacorruptionandpatronage free governance thatwould reducecostsofbasicservices such as water supply andelectricity.

In 2020, it managed to retainthe support of this coalitionthroughactualdelivery,bydevotingasignifi��cantportionofitsbudget allocations to education,health, water supply and sanitation.Thegovernment’semphasisinbringingparticulargreaterequity in primary education throughthe ramping up of infrastructureand better learning outcomes ingovernmentschools,bringingbasicprimaryhealthcaretocolonieswheretheurbanpoorlivedintheform of “mohalla clinics” andmeasures for aff��ordable and safepublic transport paid great dividends.Thiscanindeedbeamodelfor other urban centres in thecountry,providedtheadministra

tioninthesecitiesareempoweredto allocate resources that wouldaddress glaring needs for thecities.

Yet, the lack of an ideologicalcoreorevenanattempttotakepositionsonvariousnationalandinternationalissueshasdisabledtheparty’sambition togrowbeyondthe metropolitan borders of India’sNationalCapitalTerritoryregionandwhichhasresultedinitsdeclineintheonlyStatewhereitmade a mark beyond Delhi — inPunjab.Thepartystartedasacoalition of technocrats/managerswho promised good governanceand social movementorientedideologueswhosoughttoresuscitate a fl��ailing social democraticspaceintheIndianpolity.Butthesplit in 2015, that led to activistslikeYogendraYadavandPrashantBhushan leaving the party, reduced it only to the former whohadtomakethebestofthelimitedspaceingovernmentintheUnionTerritory in order to survive. TothecreditofMr.Kejriwalandhiscolleagues, their governance hashelpedthemretainpublicsupportwithinDelhi,butthereisstilltimeforthepartytoevolveifitneedstoexpandbeyondthecapitalregionand capture the imagination ofother progressive and liberalmindedpeople in therestof thecountry.

[emailprotected]

CelebrationofapivotalachievementIntryingtosettheDelhipolldiscoursetobebasedonitsrecord,AAPprovidedtheDelhivoteraclearchoice

PTI

Beingboththesymbolicspacethatholdsthereinsofpowerover the nationstate and a

geographicalplacethathostsmillionsofeverydaylives,Delhiispoliticallysplit.LocalelectionsinDelhi are neither simply provincialnor straightforwardly national.TheSufi��saintNizamuddinAuliya’sfamouswords,“HunoozDillidoorast”(Delhiisdistantyet),applytothecityitself.Thoughtheycoexist in thesamecity, thediff��erentavatars of Delhi can be quite farfromeachother.TheelectionstotheDelhiStateAssemblyhaveunderlinedasneverbeforethevastgulf between the national powercentreandtheregionalState.

Study in contrastsThe Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)contested the Delhi election asthoughitwasanextensionofthe2019 Lok Sabha campaign. TheAamAadmiParty(AAP)foughttheelection as though it was aboutmunicipal matters such as waterand electricity and nothing else.The Indian National Congress(INC) pretended that it was notpretending to fi��ght the election.These contrasting styles of campaigningpointtothelargerchallenges facing not just our politybut the very idea of India today.Butbeforelookingatthereasonswhythisisso,aquicklookattheresult.

AAP won 62 of 70 Assemblyseats, with the BJP bagging 8,

whiletheINCexperiencedanevenmoreemphaticwhitewashthanin2015.Butdotheseresultssupporttheswiftandsureconclusionsthatare already being drawn by thepundits? Has achieving a secondlandslidewintrulyvindicatedtheAAPstrategyofpresentingitselfasa nonideological managementconsultancythatrefusestoengagewiththeburningpoliticalissuesoftheday?

Doesasecondsuccessivedefeatin its Lok Sabha stronghold —whereitwonallsevenseatsinthepasttwogeneralelections—meanthattheBJP’spoliticsofhatehasfi��nally failed? And does a repeatroutinaStatethatitruledfor15yearsimplythattheINCmustnowbeissuedapoliticaldeathcertifi��cate? Though the details will becomeclearonlylater,itdoeslookliketheimmediateanswertoeachofthesequestionsmustbeaqualifi��edno.

Evenbeforetheresultsweredeclared,itwasclearthatthiswasanelection where the manner inwhichBJPconducteditscampaignwas more important — almost —than the outcome. It is hard tocomeupwithanotherStateelection where electioneering hasbeensofullofshrill,hatefi��lledaggression designed to incite violence.

Infact,theBJPtrieditshardesttomakethiselectionintoanantiminorityvendettacentredontheprotestsatShaheenBagh.Itsformidablemediaresourcesweredeployed to paint all opposition totheCitizenship(Amendment)Act,2019, or CAA, 2019, and the NationalRegisterofCitizens(NRC)asantinational, terroristinspired,andbasedonpaidprotesters.Thepublic language of politics wasmadetoplumbnewdepthsasse

nior leaders repeatedly said anddid things that violated everynormofbasicdecency.Theeventual outcome of this contestseemedtopaleintoinsignifi��cancein the face of the new norms ofpoliticalengagementthatwerebeingenforced.

ButthedefeatoftheBJPinDelhidoesnotnecessarilymeanthatthese tactics have backfi��red, oreventhattheyhavefailed.Itonlymeansthattheydidnotsucceedinthisplaceatthistime.ThebigbonusfortheBJPisthatit*strongestopponent did not oppose thesetactics.Infact,AAPoftenseemedasifitwasplayingadiff��erentkindofdogwhistlepoliticsthatwassaying, in eff��ect, “Don’t worry, wehavenoproblemwithcommunalpolitics,butpleasedon’taskustosayitopenly.”

Now that it has won big, thispolicyofnonengagementisbeingpresented as an astute strategy.But its shorttermelectoralgainsneedtobecomparedtoitsmediumterm political costs. The BJPhasbeensosuccessfulinredrawingthetermsofpoliticaldiscoursethatnotonlyAAPbutmostotherpoliticalpartieshavebeenforcedtotakeafewstepsinthesamedi

rectiontopolishtheirmajoritariancredentials.

Regional versus nationalTheconsequencesof thisplayitelectorallysafestrategyarevisiblein the impasses of a polity splitbetweentheregionalandnationallevels. A party with local rootsstrong enough to sweep two Assembly elections could not evengettosecondplace intheparliamentary elections — AAP placedthird in the Lok Sabha polls, behindtheINC.Ontheotherhand,despite having lost several Stateelections, the BJP continues tohaveanirongriponthenationalpolityandenjoysanunchallengedmonopoly over agendasetting atthislevel.Inthepast,ourpsephologistpunditsnoddedwiselyatthisemergingsplitinourelectoralsystemandtoldusthatit*howedtheshrewdness of the Indian voterwhowaspursuingdiff��erentprioritiesatthetwolevels.Today,whenall our institutions are being underminedandapervasiveclimateofimpunityforbigotryisbeingestablished, this interpretationseems not just unhelpful butdangerousinitscomplacency.

The irony is that the last twomonthshavewitnessedtheemergenceofaremarkablepoliticaleffervescence that defi��es all theusualframeworksofdefi��nition.Itcannotbecalledamovementforthat word suggests somethingcoordinatedandplanned.Norareits objectives classifi��able in theusual terms. Having crystallisedaroundoppositiontotheCAAandNRC,thisnewenergyandsociallyrootedresolveisvisiblenotonlyinnamed places such as ShaheenBaghbutalsoinnumerousunfamous locations in campuses,neighbourhoods,townsandcities

acrossIndia.Thisamazingpolitical eff��ervescence is raising questionsaboutpoliticswithacapitalP,remindingusthatthebedrockof citizenship is a shared sovereigntythatweallinheritfromthefoundingmomentofourrepublic.Becauseithassuccessfullymobilised this hitherto untouched yetpricelesspoliticalcapital,thismoment demands engagement intermsfarmoreseriousthanthoseallowedbypragmaticselfpreservingelectoralism.

Congress’s optionsThis remarkable moment is alsoonewhichoughttoencouragetheINCtotakemorerisks,sinceitisnowapartywithlittlelefttolose.Itstaleisperhapswithoutprecedentinmodernworldhistory—aparty which could eff��ortlesslycommanda25%voteshareintheworld’s largestelectorate, isnowon the verge of political irrelevance.Ifitisabletodrawenergyfromthismomenttoremakeitself,itmayreclaimitsrightfulplaceinourpolity.

Iftheywanttoremainrelevantin the India of tomorrow, all thenonBJP parties have to remindthemselvesthatpoliticshastobeaboutmorethanwinningthenextelection,howeverimportantthatmaybeasanimmediategoal.Formulasthatwinelectionsmaynotensurelongtermrelevance.Afterall, fascists can also make trainsrun on time and provide regularsuppliesofwaterandpower.So,aswe celebrate the welldeservedvictory of the AAP, we must remindourselvesthattheotherDelhiisstillfaraway.

Satish Deshpande teaches Sociology at

Delhi University. The views expressed are

personal

TheotherDelhiisdistantyetTheDelhielectionshaveonlyunderlinedthevastgulfbetweenthenationalpowercentreandtheregionalState

Satish Deshpande

BymakingNewDelhitheirfi��rststopabroad,Sri

Lanka’snewPresidentGotabayaRajapaksa,who

visitedinNovember,andPrimeMinisterMahin

daRajapaksa,afterafi��vedaytour,havesignalledhope

ofbeginninganewIndiaSriLankachapter.Contraryto

theirlaststintwhichendedin2015,whenMahindaRa

japaksawasPresident,andhisyoungerbrotherGota

baya was Defence Secretary, and ties underwent a

strainforseveralreasons,NewDelhitoohasindicated

thatitwouldliketomakeafreshstart,workingondeve

lopmentprojects,includingajointIndiaJapanpropo

salfortheEastContainerTerminalatColombo.Mahin

da Rajapaksa has also discussed extending the

$400millionLineofCreditandIndia’s furtherassis

tancefornationwidehousing.Airconnectivity toSri

Lanka’s north and east is already being improved —

thereisafl��ightfromIndiatoJaff��na,andanotheronebe

ingproposedforBatticaloa.Onsecurity,Mr.Rajapaksa

and Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed intelli

gencesharing,trainingandtheutilisationofaspecial

$50millionLineofCreditextendedbyIndiaafterlast

year’sEasterSundaybombings.India,SriLankaand

theMaldivesareexpectedtorevivetheirtrilateralon

security,includingjointmaritimesecuritytalksandan

titerrorcooperation.Finally,Mr.Rajapaksa reaffi��rmed

hisbeliefthatamongSriLanka’sfriendships,Indiais

seenasa“relative”,giventheirhistoryandculture.

Thebonhomieispalpable,butthefaultlineswereal

sovisible.PrimeMinisterModisaidIndiahopesthat

the“expectationsoftheTamilpeopleforequality,jus

tice,peace,andrespect”wouldberealisedandthatde

volutionofpowersaccordingtothe13thamendment

wouldbe taken forward.Mr.Rajapaksahasgivenno

commitment on this and said, in an interview to

The Hindu,thathefavouredthe13Abutnotsolutions

thatwere“unacceptabletothemajority[Sinhala]com

munity”.India’scaseforthespecialstatusfortheNorth

andEastalsocomesacrossascontrarytotheModigo

vernment’sstrongstandaboutremovalofthespecial

statusforJammuandKashmir.Mr.Rajapaksahasruled

outtakingforwardtheMoUsignedbyhispredecessor

RanilWickremesingheallowingIndianparticipationin

energyandinfrastructureprojectsinTrincomalee;an

Indian stake in “Mattalaairport” isnoton thecards

either.However,ofnoteishisappealforIndiatohelp

SriLankadealwithitsdebtcrisis—nearly $60billion

outstandinginforeignanddomestic,andabout$5bil

lionayearin repayments.NewDelhimust considerhis

request for a threeyear moratorium and be upfront

aboutit*response,incontrasttothepastwhenNew

Delhididnottakeupanoff��ertodevelopHambantota

port,andcededspacetoChina.Ignoringorrebuffi��ng

thenewrequestcoulddamagebilateraltiesfarmore.

First callIndiaandSriLankasharecloseties,

butdistrustanddiff��erencesremain

ThespectacularvictoryoftheAamAadmiParty(AAP)

intheDelhiAssemblyelectionismatchedinitsintensi

tybytheresoundingdefeatoftheBharatiyaJanataPar

ty(BJP).Havingbeeninpowerforthelastfi��veyears,

AAP’ssecondconsecutivevictoryisnotanelectoralen

chantment of a startup, but an endorsem*nt of its

trackrecord.Alongtheway,itsfounderandDelhiChief

MinisterArvindKejriwalhasperfectedapoliticalco*ck

tailthatturnedouttobethemostpotentcountertothe

toxic religious polarisation that the BJP has come to

champion.HisgovernancebroughtsuccourtoDelhi’s

poorestandthemostvulnerable intheformofbetter

andaccessibleeducation,healthcareandwaterinpar

ticular.Itisclearthattheyvotedwiththeirfeet,and

reinvestedtheirfaithinthemaverickpolitician.Ona

strongfootingontheadministrativefront,Mr.Kejriwal

deployed his characteristic dexterity to sidestep the

BJP’slandmineswiththeiraimofcommunalpolarisa

tion.Intheprocess,henarrowedpoliticstoaneffi��cient

deliveryofpublicservicesandeitherskirtedaroundall

contemporaryissuesofwiderimport,ortacitlysided

withthemajoritariansentimentsonthem.Devoidofa

governancestory,theBJPdraggedelectioneeringtoa

newlowtomarginallyimprovefromits2015tally.To

thatextent,theDelhioutcomeexposesthelimitsofdi

visivepoliticsandincentivisessensitivegovernance.

ToreadtheDelhiresultasasetbacktoHindutvapol

iticsandacelebrationofgoodgovernanceemptiedof

allpolitics,however,willbeamisleadingexaggeration.

True,Delhiisthelatestinaseriesofblowsagainstthe

BJPsinceits2019parliamentaryvictory,butitmustbe

fl��atteredbythemannerinwhichitsstrongestopponent

didnotdirectlytakeiton.AAPdidnotcontesttheBJP

onquestionsitframed.AAP’ssuccesshasnotbeenin

defeatingthepoliticsoftheBJP,butinskirtingitalto

gether.Nevertheless,thelessonthattheBJPislikelyto

learnfromDelhiisthathyperventilatingonnationalist

causesisnotasuffi��cientconditionforvictory,particu

larlyinStateelections,andgovernancedoescount.Re

peatedelectoralupsetsmightspursomevoicesofdis

sent in the BJP, hitherto muffl��ed. Prime Minister

NarendraModiandHomeMinisterAmitShahmayhave

toreworktheirpoliticalidiominordertoholdsway.

TheymightevenborrowfromtheAAPplaybook,butit

willbethenonBJPpartiesincludingtheCongressthat

drewablankforthesecondtimeinDelhi,thatwillbe

dissectingtheresultsforcluestoawinnablenonBJP

plank.Butitwouldbeamistaketoconcludethattaking

onmajoritarianismbythehornsisapoorstrategy.The

lesson is thatanyeff��ectiveoppositiontotheBJPwill

havetodevelopanalternativepoliticsthatcentrestages

people’severydayconcerns,andtheirhopesandex

pectationsaboutlifeandlivelihood.

Winning formula AAPwononitsgovernancerecord,butit*

tacticsdonotunderminetheBJP’spolitics

CMYK

M ND-NDE

THE HINDU DELHI

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2020 11EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

OPED

TheIndianScienceCongressmetatNagpuron12120andthefi��vesucceedingdays.ThiswastheseventhCongressandtheprevioussixsessionswereheldatCalcutta,Madras,Allahabad,Bangalore,LahoreandBombayrespectively.NagpurisalmostatthecentreofIndiaandonehastogoasnearasBombayorCalcuttainordertoreachthatplace.

Onaccountofthevisitationofplague,theManaging Committee were forced to alterthe arrangements they had made for thelodgingandboardingofthedelegatesfromthevariouspartsofthecountry.Attheeleventhhour, theMadrasandGujaratidelegates were lodged at Roberton’s Bungalow—a commodious building whichaccommodatednearly fortydelegates, theBengaldelegateswenttotheBengalischoolandothermakeshiftarrangementshadtobemade.Thecommitteewouldhavedonebetteriftheyhadtakenintotheirbodyoneortworepresentativesofthediff��erentProvincesoratleastconsultedsuchpeoplewithreferencetoaccommodation,boardingetc.atdiff��erent stages.Muchcredit isdue toMr.A.R.P.Iyer,theactingGovernmentAgriculturalChemistatNagpur,forleavingnostoneunturnedinlookingtotheconvenienceandcomfort of the Madras and Gujarat delegates.

A HUNDRED YEARS AGO FEB. 12, 1920.

The Indian Science Congress.

MahatmaGandhisecuredtheparticipationofthousandsofhouseholdsinthefreedomstrugglewhenhelaunchedthecivil disobedience movement. For everyhouseholdtoday,richorpoor,education has the same relevance as saltdidin1930.ThisisseenintheresoundingverdictgivenbytheDelhielectoratein the Assembly election to the AamAadmiParty(AAP),whichbuiltit*governancemodelaroundeducation.

Inthelastfi��veyears,theDelhimodelofeducationhascaughttheattentionofpeople in Delhi and beyond. For toolong,therehavebeentwokindsofeducationmodels inthecountry:onefortheclassesandanotherforthemasses.TheAAPgovernmentinDelhisoughttobridge this gap. Its approach stemsfromthebeliefthatqualityeducationisa necessity,notaluxury.Hence,itbuilta modelwhichessentiallyhasfi��vemajor components and is supported bynearly25%oftheStateBudget.Thevalidationofthismodelnowcreatesapathwayforthenextsetofreforms.

Key components of the modelThefi��rstcomponentof theeducationmodelisthetransformationofschoolinfrastructure. Dilapidated schoolbuildings that lack basic facilities notonlyindicatetheapathyofthegovernment, but also signifi��cantly lower themotivationofteachersandtheenthusiasmofstudents.TheAAPgovernmentsoughttochangethisbybuildingnew,aesthetically designed classroomsequippedwithfurniture,smartboards,staff��rooms,auditoriums,laboratories,libraries,sportsfacilitiesandsoon.

Thesecondcomponentisthetraining of teachers and principals. Apartfromthefactthataforumwascreatedto encourage peer learning amongthem,severalopportunitiesweregivento teachers for their professionalgrowth. They visited Cambridge University;theNationalInstituteofEducation,Singapore; IIMAhmedabad;andother models of excellence in India.TheexposuretonewpedagogyandleadershiptrainingenabledDelhi togra

duallymoveawayfromauniformtrainingmodel forall to learningfromthebestpracticesinIndiaandabroad.

The third component involved engagingwiththecommunitybyreconstitutingschoolmanagementcommittees(SMC).TheannualbudgetofeachSMCis₹��57 lakh.TheSMCscanspendthismoneyonanymaterialoractivity,suchasevenhiringteachersonashorttermbasis.Regulardialoguebetweenteachersandparentswas initiated throughmegaparentteachermeetings.Guidelines are provided on how to engagewithparents. Invitations formeetingsaresentthroughFMradio,newspaperadvertisem*nts,etc.

Four,therehavebeenmajorcurricular reforms in teaching learning. In2016,theAAPgovernmentnotedthattherewasanearly50%failurerate inClass 9 and admitted that the poorfoundationalskillsofchildrencouldbethereason for it.Special initiatives toensurethatallchildrenlearntoread,write and do basic mathematics waslaunched and made part of regularteachinglearningactivitiesinschools.Similarly,a‘happinesscurriculum’wasintroduced for all children betweennurseryandClass8fortheiremotionalwellbeing.Further,an‘entrepreneurship mindset curriculum’ was introducedtodeveloptheproblemsolvingand critical thinking abilities of childreninClasses9to12.Apartfromthesenewcurricularinitiatives,thefocusonexisting subjects too ensured betterperformanceinBoardexaminationsbyClasses10and12.

Fifth, there was no fee increase inprivate schools. While the fi��rst fourcomponents impacted nearly 34% ofchildreninDelhi’sgovernmentschools,arbitrary fee hikes earlier impactedabout40%childrenwhogotoprivateschools. In the past, almost all the

schools increased their fee 815% annually.TheAAPgovernmentnotonlyensuredtherefundofabout₹��32croreto parents which was excessivelychargedbyprivateschools,italsoensuredthatanyfeehikeproposalwasexamined by authorised chartered accountants. Thus, for two years noschoolwasallowedtoraiseitsfee.

Agenda 2.0In the words of Manish Sisodia, theleader of the Delhi education model,“havingbuiltthefoundationofeducation”,thefocusnowwillshiftto“education as foundation”. Going forward,therewillbethreekeyareasofreformapart from consolidating the gains ofthepast.First,thesyllabusofClasses1to8willbereviewedtoemphasisefoundationallearningskills,the‘happinesscurriculum’andthe‘deshbhakti’curriculum.Thus,apartfromensuringthatallchildrencanfl��uentlyread,writeanddo mathematics, the focus will be tobuildemotional resilience inchildrenand ensure that they internalise ourcoreconstitutionalvaluesbythetimetheycompleteeightyearsofschooling.Apart fromthat,earlychildhoodcareandeducationwillbedeepenedfurtherthroughAnganwadis.Therewillalsobenurseriesinallgovernmentschools.

Second,aDelhiEducationBoardwillbesetuptopromotelearningthatencourages critical thinking, problemsolving and application of knowledgeamongchildren.Thiswillpreparethemtotacklethechallengesofthe21stcenturywithanentrepreneurialmindset.Additionally,forthosewhohavegraduatedfromDelhischoolsintherecentpast,programmeslikespokenEnglish,softskillsandsoonwillbeinitiatedtoraisetheiremployabilityopportunities.

Third, specialised schools will becreatedineachofthe29zonesofDelhito nurture the aptitude and talent ofchildren in the areas of science andtechnology,literatureandlanguage,visualandperformingarts,andsports.

Now that Delhi has decisively acknowledgededucationasatopagendaofgovernance, the natural expectationfromthegovernmentwouldbetoensurethatallchildrengeteducationthatpassesthetestofquality,opportunityandequity.

ShailendraSharmaisPrincipalAdvisorto

DirectorEducationatDirectorateofEducation,

GovernmentofNCTDelhi

TheAAPgovernmentbelievesthatqualityeducationisanecessity,notaluxury

TheDelhimodelofeducation

Shailendra Sharma

MA The massive public campaign in 2011

demanding an independent anticorruption ombudsman resulted in thepassageoftheLokpallaw.ThepoliticaldividendoftheagitationwasreapedatthenationallevelbytheBJP,whichvociferouslysupportedthedemandforaneff��ectiveLokpalandrodetopowerin2014ontheplankofanticorruption.

MorethansixyearsaftertheLokpallawreceivedthePresident’sassent,theinstitutionoftheLokpalisyettoplayanysignifi��cantroleintacklingcorruption in the country. The manner inwhichtheLokpalhasbeenemasculatedby thecurrent regimecloselymirrorstheunderminingofotherinstitutionsofoversightandaccountability.

The preambular statement of TheLokpalandLokayuktasAct,2013notesthatthelawhasbeenenactedtoensurepromptandfairinvestigationandprosecutionincasesofcorruptionagainstpublicservants.TheLokpalwasenvisioned to be independent. It was accordedahighstatureandgivenextensive powers including the power toinquire,investigateandprosecuteactsofcorruption.

Delay in appointmentsFormorethanfi��veyears,thechairpersonandmembersof theLokpalwerenot appointed. The governmentclaimedthatsincenoonecouldberecognisedastheLeaderoftheOpposition(LoP)afterthe2014generalelection, the committee responsible forselectingmembersoftheLokpalcouldnotbeconstituted.Thismaladycouldhavebeeneasilyremediedbyeitherrecognising the leader of the single largestpartyinOppositionintheLokSabha as the LoP, or by amending theLokpallawtoallowtheleaderofthelargestOppositionpartytobeamemberofthecommitteeintheabsenceofarecognisedLoP(thiswasdonefortheselectioncommitteeoftheCBIDirector).However,neitherrecoursewastaken.

ThechairpersonandmembersoftheLokpalwereappointedonly inMarch2019afteracontemptpetitionwasfi��led

intheSupremeCourtfollowingthefailureofthegovernmenttocomplywiththe2017rulingofthecourttoinitiatetheprocessofmakingappointments.

A truncated selection committee,withouttheLoP,wassetup.ThePrimeMinister, Speaker, and the then ChiefJusticeofIndiaappointedMukulRohatgi,whohadearlierservedasAttorneyGeneralofIndiaduringtheBJPregime,as theeminent juriston theselectionpanel.TheleaderofthelargestOppositionpartyintheLokSabhawasinvitedformeetingsoftheselectioncommitteeasa‘specialinvitee’,whichhedeclinedongroundsthatitwasmeretokenism.

Thefourmemberselectioncommittee,havingapreponderanceofrepresentativesoftherulingpartywithaninherent bias towards recommendingcandidates favoured by the government,selectedtheChairandmembersoftheLokpal.ThemannerinwhichtheappointmentsweremaderaiseddoubtsabouttheindependenceoftheLokpalevenbeforeitbecameoperational.

Despite the fracas over appointments,manyhadhopedthatonceconstituted,theLokpalwouldneverthelessbeasignifi��cantoversightbodytocheckcorruption and the arbitrary use ofpowerby thegovernment.More than10monthslater,however,evidencesuggests that the Lokpal is a nonstarter.Tilldate,thegovernmenthasnotmaderules prescribing the form for fi��lingcomplaintstotheLokpal.TheCentralgovernmenthasalsofailedtoformulaterulesregardingassetdisclosurebypublicservants.

Inordertoensureindependentandcredible action on allegations of corruption, the Lokpal was empoweredunderthelawtosetupitsowninquirywing headed by a Director of Inquiryanditsownprosecutionwingheaded

byaDirectorofProsecution.However,informationaccessedunder theRighttoInformationActhasconfi��rmedthatthe inquiry and prosecution wings oftheanticorruptionombudsmanareyettobesetup.TheLokpalhasalsonotappointedtheDirectorofInquiryorProsecution. Further, regulations whichtheLokpalwasobligatedtomakeunderthe lawareyet tobemade, includingthosespecifyingthemannerandprocedureofconductingpreliminaryinquiryandinvestigation.

ThewebsiteoftheLokpalstatesthatit*crutinised1,065complaintsreceivedtillSeptember30,2019anddisposedof1,000. Since necessary procedures tooperationalisethelawareyettobeputinplace,thelegalveracityofthedecisionsoftheLokpalcouldpotentiallybechallengedinacourtoflaw.

Failure to meet expectationsWithouttherequisiterules,regulationsand machinery in place, it is not surprising that the Lokpal has failed tomeetexpectations.Inrecenttimes,theonlyreasonfortheLokpalbeinginthenewshasbeentheresignationofitsjudicialmember,JusticeDilipB.Bhosale,forundisclosedreasons.

ThefailuretooperationalisetheLokpalinaneff��ectivemannerlaysbarethelackofpoliticalwilloftheBJPgovernment.IttooknearlyhalfacenturyfortheLokpallawtobeenactedfromthetimetheneedfortheoversightinstitutionwasfi��rstarticulated.Itisanybody’sguesshowmuchlongeritwilltakebeforeIndiahasaneff��ective,independentandempoweredLokpal.

AnjaliBhardwajandAmritaJohriare

transparencyandanticorruptionactivists

associatedwiththeNationalCampaignfor

Peoples’RighttoInformation

Sixyearson,LokpalisanonstarterThenecessaryrules,regulationsandmachineryarestillnotinplace

Anjali Bhardwaj & Amrita Johri

IAL A

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DATA POINT

WhenPrimeMinisterNarendraModiwelcomes U.S. President DonaldTrumptoIndia thismonth,themostmemorableimagesmaywellextendbeyondbearhugginganda‘HowdyTrump’rally.Thetwoleadersareexpectedtosignafi��rstevertradeagreement.Onsubstance,theagreementwillnotbeabigonebutthatisbesidethepoint.AU.S.Indiatradedealwillhavehistoricsignifi��cance,especiallyifitushersinaperiodofstrongcollaborationtoadvanceasharedbilateraltradeagendaandeff��ectivelyresolvestroublesastheyarise.

TherestorationofIndia’sGeneralisedSystemofPreferencesbenefi��ts,pricingofmedicaldevices,andagriculture tradeareall important,buttheyarejustthetipoftheiceberg.Ifthe two sides continue eff��orts toachieve incremental outcomes, thestartofnegotiationsonacomprehensivefreetradeagreement(FTA)couldevenbeacrediblescenario.Presently,thisisnotthecase.

Incremental outcomesWhatmight initial incrementaloutcomesbe?Themostobviouscandidatesareintellectualpropertyrights(IPR),digitaltrade,andinvestment.Ideally thereshouldberoomtoseriously consider better ways to encourageskilledprofessionalstoworkintheother’seconomy.

Noneof theseareaswillbeeasy.That said, there are already somesharedinterests.Forexample,Indiainvests in theU.S.andcontinuestoseek U.S. investment in India. Bothare grappling with the appropriatescope and approach for regulatingelectronic commerce issues in thisdigitalage.IPRhashistoricallybeenan area of contention between thetwo,butdiscussionsonIPRhaveprogressedwellinrecentyears.

Withrespecttoinvestmentissues,specifi��callyforeigndirectinvestment(FDI),thisisanimportantmomenttodomoretoencourageitthansimplywelcoming it. Ideally, the twosidesshould move ahead to negotiate anagreement on investment mattersthatcanprovidegreatertransparency,predictability,andregulatorycertainty to investors from the othercountry.Butitappearsthatthetraditionalapproachthroughwhichcountries pursue commitments on FDI,

bilateral investment treaties, or‘BITs’(bilateralinvestmenttreaties)isoff��thetable.TheTrumpadministrationhasputaholdonnegotiatingadditional BITs and appears to besuspiciousofhowwelltheybalanceU.S. interests. The Indian government is similarly sceptical of BITs,having cancelled all existing onessoonafteritcameintooffi��ce.

A new approachInfact,thetwosidesmightfi��ndcommon ground in devising a new approachtoinvestmentissues,atleastuntiltheyresumetheirworkonBITs.A startingpointshouldbetoreviewwhattheyhavedoneintheirrecentFTAs. The recently concluded U.S.MexicoCanadaAgreementcontainsa novelapproachoninvestment,notably its abandonment of investorstatedisputesettlementwithrespecttotheU.S.andCanada.Similarly,theRegional Comprehensive EconomicPartnership, which India had beennegotiating with ASEAN, Australia,China, Japan, Korea, and New Zealand,doesnotincludeinvestorstatedispute settlement. While IndiachosenottojointheRegionalComprehensive Economic Partnershipwhenitwasconcludedattheendoflastyear,itappearstohavebeenonboard with the FTA’s investmentprovisions.

A U.S.Indiainvestmentagreementcouldfocusonfairtreatmentforinvestorsfromtheothercountry,regulatorytransparencyandpredictability, and approaches for resolvingconcernsshortofinvestorstatedispute settlements. At a later stage,most likely when the two are prepared to negotiate a more comprehensive bilateral FTA, they can gofurtheroninvestmentmatters.

Fornow,however,theyshouldfocusonwhatisdoable.Anew,hybridapproachoninvestmentwouldbeasubstantialstepintherightdirection.Itwillbecriticaltosustainmomentumcomingoutofafi��rsttradedealwhenthetwoleadersmeetinDelhi.IfIndiaandtheU.S.failthistest,thetrade relationship is more likely tolanguishthanblossom.

MarkLinscottisaSeniorFellowwiththe

SouthAsiaProgramattheAtlanticCouncil;a

SeniorAdviserwithTheAsiaGroup;anda

formerAssistantU.S.TradeRepresentative

forSouthandCentralAsianAff��airs

A new approach on investment ForIndiaandtheU.S.,thiswillbecriticaltosustainmomentumcomingoutofafi��rsttradedeal

Mark Linscott

TheodysseyofKenyabornIndiangirlRanjanVaid–whohadbeenrefusedentrytoBritainandtohernativecountry–endedlastnight [February10]atLondon’sHeathrowAirport.The21yearoldgirlhadbeenshuttledononeairlineandthenanother,fromonecountrytoanotherforanentireweekandatotalof17,000milesbeforeBritainyesterdayfi��nallydecidedtoletherinforthreemonths. Ranjan burst into tears and collapsedintothearmsofherbrother,Shantilal,whogreetedherattheairport.“Sheistiredandhungry,shehasbeenlivingonrollsandcoff��eeforaweek.Shehasnotsleptfor48hours,”hesaid.AlthoughsheholdsaBritishpassport,shewasdeniedentryintoBritainbecauseKenyanAsiansalsorequireanentrycertifi��cate,whichshedidnothave.Kenyarefusedtotakeherback,becausewhensheleftshefailedtoobtainareentrycertificate.MeanwhilesomeKenyanAsians,whoworkinanhonorarycapacityfortheBritishHighCommissioninNairobionAsianproblems,haveappealed to theBritishHomeSecretary,Mr.JamesCallaghan,toeasetheir“desperate”situationbyallowingthemandtheircolleaguestoenterBritain.

FIFTY YEARS AGO FEBRUARY 12, 1970

Kenya girl’s odyssey ends

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FROM THE ARCHIVES

CMYK

M ND-NDE

DELHI THE HINDU

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 202012EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

NEWS

FROM PAGE ONE

Oneaccused,Vicky,wasacquitted. Among those convicted were Dillip KumarVerma,thenchairmanoftheChildWelfareCommitteeinMuzaff��arpur,itsthenmemberVikasKumarandChildProtectionOffi��cerRaviRoshan.Twoothers,RamaShankar Singh and Ashwani,were convicted of criminalconspiracy and abetting

rape. Thakur’s accompliceShaistaPraveen,InduKumari, Manju Devi, Minu Devi,Chanda Devi, Hema Masih,NehaKumariandKiranKumariwerealsofoundguiltyof abetting rape and alliedoff��ences.

Theshelterhomewasrunby a nongovernmental organisation, “Sewa SankalpEvamVikasSamiti”.

Thakur,11othersgetlifeterminshelterhomecase

U.S. President DonaldTrump’s maiden visit to IndiawillstartonFebruary24at theSabarmatiAshram inAhmedabadandtheinaugurationofthenewSardarVallabhbhaiPatelStadium,thelargestcricketstadiumintheworld.

Mr.TrumpandPrimeMinister Narendra Modi willholdthe“Kem chho Trump”(HowdyTrump)eventatthestadiumwithapproximately1.25 lakh people witnessingthe special programmeaimedatshowcasingtheModiTrumpbonhomie.

Mr.Trumpwillbeaccom

paniedbyFirstLadyMelaniaTrump.Accordingtosenioroffi��cialsinGandhinagar,Mr.Trumpwillfl��ydirectlytoAhmedabad where Mr. Modiwill receive him at the airport.TheywillthenvisittheSabarmatiAshramwherethePrimeMinisterwilltakethePresidentandtheFirstLadyaroundinthesprawlingAshram,includingHridayKunj,Gandhiji’shouse,wheretheywilloperateaspinningwheel(charkha).

During their visit to theAshram, Mahatma Gandhi’sfavourite hymn, “VaishnavJan to”willbeplayedinthebackgroundmusic.

From the Ashram, the

Prime Minister will accompany the President and theFirstLadytothemaineventat the stadium in the evening.Theeventincludesaseriesofculturalpiecescurated by highprofi��le agencies

andartistes.Insiders told The Hindu

thattheeventwillbeonthelines of the “Howdy Modi!”publicreceptionaccordedtoMr.ModiinHoustonduringhisvisittotheU.S.lastSep

tember. Mr. Trump participatedintheeventattendedby around 50,000 people,mostlyIndianAmericans.

City gears upPreparations have been under way in Ahmedabad forthelasttwoweekswithdiff��erentagenciesassignedtasks,including decorating theareas near the SabarmatiAshramandthecricketstadium,sprucinguproads.TheHomeDepartmentismakingelaborate security arrangementsfortheVIPevent.

As per the instructionsfrom the PMO, the Gujaratgovernmenthasdirecteditsdepartmentsandagenciestoensure that a crowd of 1.25lakh is organised for theevent.Thestadium’sseatingcapacityis1.10lakh;15,000

peoplewillbeseatedonthegroundinfrontofthestage.

“People from across thecountry, includingtopbusiness executives, will be attendingtheevent,”asenioroffi��cialoverseeingthepreparationstoldThe Hindu.

In the last one week,teams from U.S. Embassyanddiff��erentagenciesoftheCentralgovernment,including theMinistryofExternalAff��airs,havevisitedAhmedabadtooverseepreparations.

Since Mr. Modi becamePrimeMinister in2014,Ahmedabadhasemergedasthepreferred venue to host foreign dignitaries, includingPresident Xi Jinping of China, Prime Minister ShinzoAbeof JapanandPrimeMinister Benjamin NetanyahuofIsrael.

1.25lakhtoattend‘KemchhoTrump’showU.S.President’stwodayvisitwillbegininSabarmatiAshraminAhmedabad

Mahesh Langa

AHMEDABAD

Getting ready: Workersgivingfi��nishingtouchestotheSardarPatelStadiumatMoterainAhmedabad. * VIJAY SONEJI

LokSabhaSpeakerOmBirlaon Tuesday informed theHousethathehadreceivedthe notice of privilege motionmovedbytheCongressagainstSocial JusticeMinisterThawarChandGehlotforhis statement on the SupremeCourtorderontheissueofreservationinpromotionfortheSCs/STsandtheOBCs.

“The issue is under myconsideration,”hesaidafterCongress leaderAdhirRanjan Chowdhury raised thematter.

OnMonday,theCongress

accused Mr. Gehlot of misleadingtheHousebystatingthatthecasepertainedtoadecisionoftheUttarakhandgovernment in 2012 whentheCongresswasinpower.The Minister had also informedthattheCentrewas

notapartytothecase.Stating that itwasamis

leadingargument,CongressMPsnotonlymovedaprivilegemotionbutMr.Chowdhury also read out thenamesofadvocateswhor*presented the BJP governmentintheSupremeCourt.However, the Speaker cuthimbyshort,statingthatthemotion was under hisconsideration.

TheLokSabhaalsoelectedMahuaMoitraoftheTrinamoolCongressandManishTewarioftheCongresstothe JointCommitteeof twoHousesonthePersonalDataProtectionBill.

ReceivedprivilegemotionagainstMinister:SpeakerCong.movedthemotionforhisstatementonquotaissue

Special Correspondent

New Delhi

ThawarChandGehlot

SPG only secures PM and CRPF 56 VIPsNEW DELHI

TheSpecialProtectionGroup

(SPG)onlyhasthePrime

Ministerunderitscover,

whiletheCRPFsecures56

importantpeopleinthe

country,thegovernment

informedParliamenton

Tuesday.Withoutnaming

PrimeMinisterNarendra

Modi,MinisterofStatefor

HomeG.KishanReddysaidin

a writtenreplythattheSPG

protectsonlyoneperson.

Accordingtoarecent

amendmenttotheSPGAct,

theforcenowprotectsthe

PrimeMinisterandmembers

ofhisimmediatefamily

residingwithhimathis

officialresidence.

IN BRIEF

No bar on Indians visitingJ&K: Home Ministry NEW DELHI

Therearenorestrictionson

anyIndiancitizenvisitingthe

UnionTerritoryofJammuand

Kashmir,thegovernment

informedParliamenton

Tuesday.Inresponsetoa

questiononwhenthe

governmentproposedto

allowIndiandelegatestovisit

JammuandKashmir,Minister

ofStateforHomeG.Kishan

ReddytoldtheLokSabha

thatthereisnobaronany

Indiancitizenvisitingthe

UnionTerritory.Hesaidavisit

oftheheadsof15foreign

missionstoJammuand

Kashmirwasorganisedon

January9and10becauseofa

requestfromthem.

A petitionfi��ledbythesisterof the former Jammu andKashmir Chief MinisterOmarAbdullah,SaraAbdullahPilot,willbeheardbyathreejudgeBenchoftheSupremeCourt, ledbyJusticeN.V. Ramana, on February12.Shehasapproached thecourt against the government’smove tochargehimunderthePublicSafetyAct(PSA).

Theother judgesareJustices Mohan M. ShantanagoudarandSanjivKhanna.

Ms.Pilothasurgedfortheissuanceofawritofhabeascorpus to theauthorities toforthwith produce Mr. Abdullahbeforethecourtandsethimatliberty.

Thepetition,representedbysenioradvocatesKapilSibal and Gopal Sankaranarayanan,wasmentionedbefore a Bench led by JusticeRamanaonMonday.

Ms.Pilothassaidshewasgravelyconcernedaboutthewelfare,safetyandsecurityofherbrother.HewasalreadyunderdetentionfromAu

gust 5 last — the day theCentreremoved thespecialrightsoftheKashmiripeopleunder Article 370 — whenthePSAwasslappedonhimonFebruary5,2020.

Ms.Pilothassaidshewasshocked to learn that justlikewhathappenedtotheirfather, the government hadimposedafreshleaseofdetention under the PSA onherbrothertoo.

ShehasnotedthatMr.Abdullah’sdetentionfromAugust5underSection 107oftheCr.PC(securityforkeeping the peace) was sche

duledtoendonFebruary5.His release was imminent.Hehadservedthemaximumperiodofdetention.OnFebruary5,theExecutiveMagistrate,insteadofreleasinghim,orderedhisfurtherdetention under Section 8 ofthe PSA, 1978, in an “arbitraryexerciseofpower”.

Ms.Pilotaskedwhatwasthepointofdetainingamanalready detained throughthe long months of lockdownsuff��eredacrossJammuandKashmir.

Infact,shehassaid,inthepast six months, there had

beennoeff��ortbytheauthorities to verify the truth behindthe“information”thatMr. Abdullah is a threat topeace. On the other hand,therearereamsofmaterialintheformoftweetsandpublicstatementsvouchingforhis exemplary conduct tomaintainpeace.

Ms.Pilothassaidthereisdanger to her brother’s lifeandliberty.

The government, in itsPSAdossieronMr.Abdullah,hasdescribedhimasathreatto public safety. It said hewas “planning activitiesagainst the Union government”. It also highlighted“his popularity and potentialtodrawvoterstopollingbooths”.

The petition has arguedthatthedetentionorderisillegalasitconfl��ates‘governmentalpolicy’with the ‘Indian State’, suggesting thatanyoppositiontotheformerconstitutes a threat to thelatter.

“This is wholly antithetical to a democratic polityandundermines the IndianConstitution,”ithassaid.

SCtohearOmarsister’spleatodayShehadapproachedthecourtafterthegovernmentdetainedhimunderPSA

Tight security: ACRPFsoldierstoppingvehiclesnearacheckpointinSrinagaronTuesday. * NISSAR AHMAD

Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI

The Centre informed theLokSabhaonTuesdaythatit had no information onany group called the‘TukdeTukdeGang’.

Minister of State forHome G. Kishan ReddysaidtheMinistryhadnoinformationonwhethertheterminologywasbasedonspecifi��cinputsfromlawenforcement agencies. “Nosuchinformationhasbeenbroughttothenoticeofthegovernmentbyanylawenforcementagency.”

Hemadetheremarksinresponse to the questionsfrom Congress membersVincent H Pala and JasbirSingh Gill. They askedwhether an organisation,called ‘Tukde TukdeGang’,hadbeenidentifi��edand catalogued by theHome Ministry; whethertheterminologywasbasedon specifi��c inputs; andwhether the Ministry orany intelligence agencyhaddrawnupalistofsupposed leaders and membersofthegroup.

‘NodetailsofTukdeTukdeGang’

Special Correspondent

New Delhi

The Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik), led byBabulalMarandi,willmergewiththeBJPinRanchionFebruary 17. Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJPpresidentJ.P.NaddawillattendthefunctiontobeheldatPrabhatTaraMaidan.

“Ameetingoftheparty’scentral committee has unanimously approved themerger with the BJP,” Mr.Marandi, the party’s president,toldjournalistsinRanchionTuesday.

Mr.Marandihasbeenthefi��rst tribalChiefMinisterofJharkhand after the Statewas created from Bihar inNovember2000.Butheleftthe BJP in 2006 and had

fl��oatedtheJVM(P).Earlier, Mr. Marandi ex

pelled MLAs Pradip YadavandBandhuTirkeyfromtheparty for “antiparty activities”.Mr.YadavrecentlymetCongressleadersSoniaandRahulGandhiinNewDelhi.

HeislikelytojointheCongress.“TheexpulsionofPradipYadavandBandhuTurkeyhasalsobeenapprovedby the central committee,”Mr.Marandisaid.Intherecentelectiontothe81member Assembly, the JVM(P)won three seats, includingonebyMr.Marandi.

Makeover attempt Askedabouthis role in theBJP,Mr.Marandisaid,“Whatever responsibilities theparty entrusts me with, I’lldo my best to fulfi��l them.”After itwasdefeated in therecent Assembly election,theBJPistryingtoreviveitsleadershipwithatribalface.It is also likely to elect Mr.Marandi as its LegislaturePartyleader.

MarandiledJVM(P)tomergewithBJPonFebruary17AmitShahandpartypresidentJ.P.Naddawillattendevent

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

PATNA

BabulalMarandiwasthefi��rsttribalChiefMinisterofJharkhand.

ThegovernmenthasdecidednottosendtodetentionchildrenwhowereexcludedfromtheNRCinAssambutwhoseparentswereincluded, the Lok Sabha was informedonTuesday.

Union Minister of Statefor Home Nityananda Raisaidtheapprovedstandardoperating procedures fordisposal of claims and objectionshadaspecifi��cprovisionforchildrenleftoutoftheNRC,whiletheirparentshadbeenincluded.

“The AttorneyGeneralstated on January 6, 2020,before the Supreme Courtthatthechildrenofparents

includedintheNRC,Assam,will not be separated fromtheirparentsandsent toadetention centre, pendingdecision on the application,” he said in a writtenreplytoaquestion.

TheNRCwascarriedoutinAssamunderthesupervisionoftheSupremeCourt,andaround 19 lakhpeoplewereleftoutofthefi��nallistpublished in August 2019.Thoseexcludedcouldchallenge the decision beforethe Foreigners’ Tribunals.TheStateNRCCoordinatoris yet to issue certifi��ed copiesofexclusiontotheapplicantsandtheprocessofchallengingtheorderisyettobegin.

CentrenottodetainchildrenleftoutofNRCGovernmentclarifi��esinLokSabha

Special Correspondent

New Delhi

TheCBIonTuesdayfi��ledachargesheet inacaseofalleged bribery against itsformersecondincommandRakeshAsthanaandothers,giving a clean chit to himandanotheroffi��cial.

“The chargesheet hasbeen fi��led against accusedManojPrasad.Theinvestigation has not revealed anyroleofpublicservants.Responsestothelettersrogatory sent overseas are stillawaited,”saidaCBIoffi��cial.

Hearing at HC ThemovecameadaybeforethematterwastocomeupattheDelhiHighCourtwhich,inJanuary,pulleduptheCBIforthedelayandsetafour

week deadline for submission of the chargesheet inthelowercourt.

TheFIRwaslodgedinOctober 2018 amid a turf warbetweenthethenCBIchief,AlokKumarVerma,andhisdeputy that saw both of

themaccusingeachotherofcorruptionandmisconduct.Both were shunted by thegovernmentfollowingaCentral Vigilance Commissionrecommendation.

TheFIRnamedMr.Asthana;thethenCBIDeputySuperintendent of Police, DevenderKumar;Dubaibasedinvestment banker Manoj;andhisbrother,SomeshPrasad, as accused. It was allegedthatHyderabadbasedbusinessman Sana SathishBabuhadpaidover₹��3croreinbribetogetreliefinacaseagainstmeatexporterMoinQureshi.TheCBI,whicharrestedManojonOctober16,2018, got Mr. Babu’s statementrecordedbeforeamagistrate,allegingbribeswerepaidinfi��veinstalments.

CBIgivescleanchittoRakeshAsthanaincaseofbriberyFIRlodgedinOctober2018amidhisturfwarwithCBIchief

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI

RakeshAsthanawastheCBI’ssecondincommandwhenthecasewasfi��led.

Educomp case: CBIconducts searchesNEW DELHI

TheCBIonTuesday

conductedsearchesin

connectionwiththecase

againstEducompSolutions

Limited(ESL)andothersfor

allegedlycheatinganSBIled

consortiumof13banksof

₹��1,955crore.Thosenamedin

thecasearethecompany,its

managingdirectorShantanu

Prakash,guarantorJagdish

Prakash,subsidiaryEduSmart

ServicesPrivateLimitedand

directorsVijayKumar

ChoudharyandVinodKumar

Dandona.“Thesearcheswere

carriedoutateightplacesin

Delhi,Dehradunand

Gurugram,”aCBIofficialsaid.

TheLokSabhaonTuesdaypassed the Constitution(Scheduled Tribes) Order(Amendment)Billbyvoicevote.ItseekstoincludetheParivara and TalawaracommunitiesintheSTcategory.

TheSidditribesofBelagavi and Dharwad in Karnataka would also be included in the category,apart from those living inUttarKannada.

Tribal Aff��airs MinisterArjun Munda assured themembers that thegovernment would take cognizanceoftheirdemandsforinclusion of communitiesfromtheirStates.

BilltoincludemoretribesinSTcategory

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI

“During a phone call overthe weekend, PresidentTrump and Prime MinisterModi agreed the trip willfurtherstrengthentheUnited StatesIndia strategicpartnership and highlightthe strong and enduringbonds between the AmericanandIndianpeople.”

The Hindu has learnedthatIndia’snewlyappointedAmbassadortotheU.S.,Taranjit Singh Sandhu, whopresentedhiscredentialstoMr. Trump last week, alsohandedoveranoffi��cialinvitationtothePresidenttovisitIndia.(TheWhiteHousehadwaitedforthispriortoannouncingthevisitoffi��cially.) Preparations are underway in India.Americansecurityteamswithscannersand equipment arrived inIndialastweek.

TheIndianandU.S.sidesaretryingtoputtogethera

limitedtradedealwhichMr.Modi and Mr. Trump willsign during the visit. Thetwo leaders could not signon the dotted line whentheymetonthesidelinesoftheUnitedNationsGeneralAssemblyinSeptember,andtalks had continued sincethen.

SourcesclosetothenegotiationstoldThe Hindu lastweek that while they were“hopeful” a deal would bereachedbeforeMr.Trump’svisit, it was not a given, asthereweregapsinthenegotiatingpositionsof thetwosides.

A defencedealisalsoreportedlyonthecards.Indiais preparing to approve a$2.6 billion deal for 24MH60Seahawkhelicoptersfrom Lockheed Martin, accordingtoaReuters report.

(With inputs from Suhasi-ni Haidar in New Delhi)

Trumpconfi��rmsIndiavisitonFeb.24and25

A 20yearold man, believed to be the son offormerArunachalPradeshChiefMinisterKalikhoPul,wasfounddeadinthebedroomofhisfl��atinBrightoninEnglandonSunday.

Local police offi��cialssaid there were no suspicious circ*mstancesaround the death of ShubansoPul,whichseemstoimplyapossiblesuicide.

“At3.41p.m.onSunday,thepolicewerecalledtoanaddressinFalmerwherea20yearoldmanwasfounddead in a bedroom,” thepolice said. “There werenosuspiciouscirc*mstances.ThecoronerforBrightonandHovehasbeen informed,”theysaid.

The coroner will nowopenaninquest.

KalikhoPul’ssonfounddeadinU.K.

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

London/Itanagar

TheissueofrepatriationofRohingyamigrantshasbeendiscussed with Bangladeshatthehighestlevelandbothcountries have agreed ontheneedto“expeditetheirsafe,speedyandsustainablerepatriationtotheirhomesin Myanmar”, Minister ofState for Home NityanandRaiinformedtheLokSabhaonTuesday.

The Rohingya belong toRakhine State in Myanmarbut more than a millionhavetakenrefugeinBangladeshandsomeinIndiafollowing a campaign of violenceagainstthem.

Inawrittenreply,Mr.Rai

said there were reports ofsomeRohingyamigrantsindulginginillegalactivities.

The Minister said theCentrehad issuedperiodicinstructionstotheStatestoask the law enforcementandintelligenceagenciestoidentifyillegalmigrantsandrestrictthemtospecifi��edlocationsasperprovisionsoflaw.

InresponsetoaquestiononthenumberofRohingyalivinginIndia,Mr.Raisaid,“Sinceillegalmigrantsenterthe country without validdocuments..., the data onthe number of such illegalmigrantslivinginthecountry is not maintained centrally.”

Delhi,DhakaforspeedyreturnofRohingya‘Numberofillegalmigrantsnotknown’

Special Correspondent

New Delhi

BJP sources, however,blamedtheparty’sstrategyofnotprojectingachiefministerial face against Mr.Kejriwal, not being able tocounter the AAP’s powerandwatersubsidyschemesand “unwarranted comments”againstMr.Kejriwalbyseniorpartyleaders—in

cludingMinisterofStateforFinance Anurag Thakur —fortheresults.

“All that thesestarcampaigners ended up doingwas overshadowing the local candidate; they alsotookthefocusawayfromlocal issues,” a BJP insidersaid.

AAPsweepsDelhiwith62seats,BJPtrounced

CMYK

M ND-NDE

THE HINDU DELHI

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2020 13EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

NEWS

TheBharatiyaJanataParty’s(BJP) sixth consecutive lossin an Assembly poll — although the party managed toformagovernmentinHaryana — points now to a veryrealproblemforthepartyinupcomingAssemblypolls.

Whether in a direct fi��ghtwith the Congress or a regional player like the AamAadmiParty(AAP),theBJP’sperformance in State electionshasbeensubparasperits own previous records.The Indian voter acrossStatesseemstobemakingavery clear distinction between State and nationallevelelections,asmadecleareven by the Assembly pollsinOdisha,wheretheBijuJanataDal’s(BJD)NaveenPatnaikwonarecordfi��fthterminthemidstofaModiwave.

Newly elected BJP presidentJ.P.NaddadoeshaveaproblemonhishandsastheStatelevel narrative of thepartyhasnotbeenasappealingasthatofPrimeMinisterNarendraModiatthenationallevel,somuchsothatevenMr. Modi’s campaign inJharkhandandHaryanadidnotmanagetolifttheparty’sfortunes.

One reason put forward

byBJPsenior leaders is thefact thatStateunits inbothJharkhand and Delhi havehad festering issues of infi��ghting,asdidthetheMaharashtraunitofthepartygoing into the polls. Many ofthese issues were not addressed and, specifi��cally inDelhi, it was felt that whileLokSabhaMPManojTiwariwasmadeStateunitchiefasa concession to the large

number of Poorvanchalivotes,itwastheoldPunjabileadership of the BJP thatprevailed. “Even when issues are addressed, it hasbeen cosmetic,” said asource.

AccordingtopoliticalanalystRahulVerma,theBJPgoing into polls without Mr.Modi’s strong presence is aproblem for the party.“PrimeMinisterModiisthemost charismatic face thattheBJPhasandhasaprovenrecordofaff��ectingthevote,butwhenitcomestofacesinthe State level, the Oppositionhasanadvantage,whichisgoingtobethecaseintheupcomingelectionstoo,”hesaid.

The most importantpoint,apartfromthelackof

a strongfaceinStates,isalsothe lackofa localnarrativefortheBJP,makingitrelyonnational issues time andagain.

“Every election has onenarrativethatdominatesoveranotherandinthelastfewelections, the Opposition’snarrative has been strongboth in terms of aspirationandperformance,”saidaseniorBJPleader.

WhilethenationalnarrativeoftheBJPisinnoperil,Stateelectionsarejustasimportant if the BJP wants todominateIndianpolitics.Forthat, Mr. Nadda may wellhavetodipintotheplaybookof the old BJP led by latePrime Minister Atal BihariVajpayee and senior BJPleaderL.K.Advani,whenthelast crop of strong regionalleadershipwascultivatedbytheparty.

BJP’s losses point to lack of local narrativeThe party continues to rely on Prime Minister Modi and national issues for its campaigns

Downbeat mood: TheBJPoffi��ceinNewDelhiworeaquietlookonTuesday. * SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

Nistula Hebbar

New Delhi

NEWS ANALYSISThe Opposition parties inunison congratulated AamAadmi Party (AAP) convenorArvindKejriwal forhisresounding victory in theDelhi Assembly elections.TheysaidtheBJP’sdefeatinthe elections showed thatpolitics of polarisation anddivision didn’t pay dividends.

RajyaSabhafl��oor leaderof the Biju Janata Dal Prasanna Acharya said, “TheBJPclaimstobethebiggestpoliticalpartyoftheworld.Andithasbeendefeatedbythe smallest party in thecountry. This shows thebeautyofIndiandemocracyand maturity of Indianvoters.”

WestBengalChiefMinisterandTrinamoolCongressPresidentMamataBanerjeewas one of the earliest tocongratulate Mr. Kejriwal.She told reporters, “TheCentrewithall itsagenciesandbruteforcecouldnotdowhat it wanted to do.” Describing the outcome as a“victory for democracy”,shestatedthattheBJPwaslosing in all places whereelectionswereconductedaspeople were rejecting its“narrowdivisivepolitics”.

“People want jobs, people want roti, kapda andmakaan[food,clothingandshelter].Peoplewantdevelopment,”shesaid.

The Congress, whichdrew a blank in the elections,wasallpraiseforMr.Kejriwal. Former CongresspresidentRahulGandhi, ina tweet,congratulatedhim,whileformerFinanceMinisterP.Chidambaram,inaseriesoftweets,saidtheDelhiresults were a booster fortheconfi��denceoftheOppositionthattheBJPcouldbedefeatedineveryState.

Rashtriya Janata Dal,which fought four seats in

Delhi, also complimentedMr.Kejriwal.“Youhavedefeated negative & blatanthatepoliticsdecisively.Yourverdictmarksthedefeatofpolitics of polarisation anddivision. I sincerely hopetheBJPtakesacuefromthisresultandshunscommunalism&bigotryonceforall“,tweeted Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly and RJD leader TejashwiYadav.

Development agendaDMK President M.K. Stalincalled the Delhi results aclear vindication of development over communalpolitics.

CPI(M)generalsecretarySitaram Yechury said theAAP had given a befi��ttingreplytotheBJP’spoliticsofhateandviolence.

CPI general secretary D.Raja called it a defeat forPrime Minister NarendraModi and Home MinisterAmit Shah who, he said,concentratedalltheirenergiesontheDelhipolls.ThiswasadefeatfortheBJPnarrative on the Citizenship(Amendment) Act and theNational Register for Citizensthatwasusedforcommunalpolarisation,hesaid.

MaharashtraChiefMinister Uddhav Thackery saidthepollresultsshowedthatpeopledidn’twanttolistento‘mannkibaat’(Mr.Modi’smonthly radio show) anymore but preferred ‘jan kibaat’instead.

NationalistCongressParty chief Sharad Pawar alsoaccusedtheBJPofpolarisation. The people of Delhihadrejectedthesaff��ronparty’s divisive policies, hesaid.“TheresultsoftheDelhipollsindicatethatwindsofchangeareblowinginthecountry,” Mr. Pawar commented, adding that theBJP’s “arrogance” hadprovedtobeitsundoing.

Oppn. views results as a referendum on BJP’s‘politics of polarisation’

Kejriwal gets praise from all quarters

Special Correspondent

New Delhi

Bihar Chief Minister NitishKumar’sJanataDal(United)lostthetwoseatsofBurariandSangamVihar that theparty had contested in alliancewiththeBharatiyaJanata Party in the Delhi Assembly election, but theoverallresultislikelytoprovideareasonforMr.Kumartosmile.

TheBJPledNDA’scrushing defeat in Delhi wouldnowemboldentheJD(U)todrive a harder bargain forseatswithitsalliancepartner,theBJP,intheupcomingAssemblypollsinBihar,politicalanalystssay.

“WiththerecentpolldebaclesforBJP,fi��rstinJharkhandandnowinDelhi,Nitish Kumar would be in astrongerpositiontobargainformoreseatsintheupcoming State Assembly elec

tions,”saidpoliticalanalystAjayKumar.

When the resultsemerged on Tuesday, Mr.Kumar reacted with justthreewords:“Janata malikhai (thepublicissupreme)”.

NawalKishoreChaudhury, another political observer, said, “In the presentscenario, after the JharkhandandDelhipollresults,NitishKumarcouldpitchformoreseatsthantheBJP,andtheBJPwillhavenooptionbut to concede to his demands.”.

Delhi poll result maywork in JD(U)’s favourNitish could seek more seats in Bihar

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Patna

NitishKumar

West Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee on TuesdaycalledDelhiChiefMinisterandnationalconveneroftheAamAadmiParty(AAP)ArvindKejriwalandcongratulated him for his party’soutstandingshowintheDelhiAssemblyelections.

Targets BJPShealsotooktheopportunity to target the BJP, sayingthose “playing on faiththroughhatespeechanddivisivepoliticsshouldtakeacue”fromthepollresults.

SpeakingtojournalistsinKolkata before leaving forBankura,theChiefMinistersaidshemaintainedgoodrelationswithMr.Kejriwal.

“Despite much religiousfanaticism and narrow

hatredpolitics,itisavictoryof the people. The Centrewith all its agencies andbrute force could not dowhat it wanted to do. TheBJP is losing in all placeswhere elections are beingconductedaspeoplearerejecting its narrow, divisivepolitics. People want jobs,

people want roti, kapda,makaan [food,clothingandshelter],peoplewantdevelopment,”shesaid.

Ms. Banerjee describedthe Delhi poll results as a“victoryofdemocracy”andsaid that politics should beforpeace,developmentandwelfareofthecountry.

‘Drop CAA, NRC’Laterintheday,addressinga publicrallyatBankura,Ms.BanerjeesaidtheBJPisnowgraduallybecoming“astatelessentity”andadded thatin2021,Bengalwilldrivethelastnailintoitscoffi��n.

SheurgedtheBJPtowithdraw the Citizenship(Amendment)Act.“TheBJPshould now roll back theCAAanddropplansforcarrying out a nationwideNRC,”shesaid.

Mamata hails Kejriwal’s big win in Delhi electionsBengal CM says people have rejected narrow, divisive politics

Shiv Sahay Singh

KOLKATA

WestBengalChiefMinisterMamataBanerjeeatarallyinBankuradistrictonTuesday.

* PTI

CMYK

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WORLDEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

DELHI THE HINDU

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 202014EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

SUDOKU

Solution to puzzle 12855 Solution to yesterday’s Sudoku

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

Kartikaipengal,themaidenswhobroughtupLordMuruga,wantedtoacquiretheashtamasiddhis(eightextraordinarypowers).LordSivatoldthemthatthesewerediffi��culttoattain.Ordinarymortalscannotattain theashtamasiddhis,saidR.Narayanan, inadiscourse.Saintswhohavethesesiddhis,usuallydonotdisplaythem.Theeightsiddhisareanima,mahima,garima,laghima,praapti,praakaamya,Isitvaandvasitva.Animaistheabilitytomakeoneselfsmallerthananatom.Mahimaistheabilitytomakeoneselflargeratwill.Garimaistheabilitytoincreaseone’sweight.Laghima,likewise,istheabilitytodecreaseone’sweightatonce.

Praaptiistheabilitytogowhereveronepleases,wheneveronewishesto.Praakaamyaistheabilitytoobtainanythingatwill.Thisincludestheabilitytoexitone’sbodyandinhabit another. Isitva is the power to create, protect anddestroy.Vasitvaistheabilitytocontroleverything.Fromareadingofthesepropertiesoftheeightsiddhis,itseemsasifnonebyGodHimselfcanhavethesesiddhis.Buttherehavebeensaintswhohavehadthispower.Thirumoolar,forexample,waseasilyabletoleavehisbodyandenteranother’s.

Arunagirinatha says that if one reads Thiruppugazh,whichhewroteinpraiseofLordMuruga,thentheashtamasiddhiswillcomewithinone’sreach.HesaysthatifwereadtheThiruppugazh,weneednotfeardeath.Wewillnotexperiencesorrow.Weneednotfearourenemies.ArunagirinathapraysthatwhenYama,thegodofdeathcomeswithhisrope,toseparatethesoulfromthebody,LordMurugashould appear, with the comforting words “Do not beafraid.”Hesaysthatheconqueredthethreemalamsandobtainedjnana,andthenthroughMuruga’sgrace,hesangtheThiruppugazh.

FAITH

GreatnessofThiruppugazh3 Americanmagazine’sback

issue(4)

4 Ultimatelypositiveandso

allinclusive(5)

6 Shehaslessonstolearnand

teststopass(10)

7 Listener,asaconsequence,is

worldly(7)

8 Thisisjustnoton!(3)

11 Greekcharacterabducting

modelisseenasadisgrace

(6)

14 Peasantinhelicopterhovering

aroundIsraelicity(10)

16 Maleanimalgetsmeat

regularlyincontainer(6)

18 Inanundertone,drunktosay

oneisnotin(5,4)

20 Clothesapppearcrumpledon

many(7)

22 Iretainstrangedisinclination

toact(7)

24 Lambasteasaintpropagating

rubbishallaround(5)

26 Objection’supforawkward

boat(3)

27 Atfi��rst,sufferingmotorists

observegrimyindustrialhaze

(4)

13 SufferingSydinFrancevery

hardyinextremitywith

disease(9)

15 BagelsDadstuffedinto

carryall(9)

17 Wisepersonleavesonekind

(5)

19 Saint’sassistantissober(5)

21 Cleaningwomantakesone

runawayfl��irtsuspiciouslyin

skilift(9)

23 Practicethatmakespupilssee

moreclearly(9)

25 Note:Memsahibleftsahibout

(4)

28 Stillgreen,auntgripednoend

repeatedly(6)

29 Friendbumpedintoallbuttop

ofplant(8)

30 Gangleader’sreal,withering

angrylook(5)

31 Standstill—bytheway,an

insectisinextremely

agreeablesurrounding(8)

■ DOWN

1 Confi��nestreacherousalliesand

headofsquadholding

commandingofficerback(9)

2 Formerpoettogiveafull

account(7)

(set by Gridman)

■ ACROSS

1 ChapsfromBelgiummislead

toparmyofficeraboutsetter

(8)

5 Capital—thewayit’sfi��xed(5)

9 FancieslimitsoverAsianstaple

(8)

10 Fakirdisturbedabouthot

croppingseason(6)

12 Scoffatnofemalebarbarian

(4)

THE HINDU CROSSWORD 12856Log on to crossword.thehindu.com for more puzzles

Sudan agrees to handover Bashir to ICC KHARTOUM

Sudanhasagreedtohand

overoustedautocratOmar

alBashirandotherstothe

InternationalCriminalCourt

(ICC)forallegedwarcrimes

inDarfur,atopofficialofthe

newrulingbodyhassaid.

Bashir’slawyersaidthe

exPresidentrefusedtohave

anydealingswiththeICC

becauseitwasa“political

court”.AFP

ELSEWHERE

Iran celebrates 1979Islamic RevolutionTEHRAN

Hundredsofthousandsacross

Iranmarkedtheanniversary

ofits1979IslamicRevolution

onTuesdayamidgrowing

tensionsbetweenTehranand

theU.S.“Itisunbearablefor

theU.S.toacceptthevictory

ofa*greatnationandthata

superpowerhasbeendriven

outofthisland,”President

HassanRouhanitoldthe

gathering.AP

Iraqi commander killed inU.S. strike rememberedBAGHDAD

IraqiofficialsonTuesday

commemoratedAbuMahdi

alMuhandis,thesenior

commanderkilledinlast

month'sU.S.dronestrikethat

targetedpowerfulIranian

generalQasemSoleimani.

Muhandiswasthedeputy

headoftheHashedalShaabi,

a loosenetworkof

paramilitarygroups.AFP

15 Rohingya refugees die after boat capsizes DHAKA

Atleast15Rohingyarefugees

diedandmanymorewere

missingafteravesselpacked

withpeopletryingtoreach

MalaysiacapsizedintheBay

ofBengal,aBangladeshcoast

guardofficialsaidonTuesday.

About70peoplehavebeen

rescuedalive,saidHamidul

Islam,theofficial.REUTERS

ThecoronavirusoutbreakinChinamaybeoverbyApril,thecountry’sseniormedicaladvisersaidonTuesday,butdeathssurpassed1,000andthe World Health Organization(WHO)warnedofa*globalthreatpotentiallyworsethanterrorism.

Theworldmust“wakeupandconsiderthisenemyvirusaspublicenemynumberone,”WHOchiefTedrosAdhanom Ghebreyesus toldreporters.

Astheepidemicsqueezedthe world’s secondbiggesteconomy, Chinese fi��rmsstruggledtogetbacktoworkafter the extended LunarNewYearholiday,hundredsof them saying they wouldneedloansrunningintobillionsofdollarstostayafl��oat.

Companylayoff��swerebeginning despite assurancesbyPresidentXiJinpingthatwidespread sackings wouldbeavoided,assupplychainsforglobalfi��rmsfromcarmanufacturers to smartphonemakersruptured.

China’sforemostmedicaladviser on the outbreak,Zhong Nanshan, told Reutersthatthenumberofnewcases was falling in someprovinces and forecast theepidemic would peak thismonth.

“I hope this outbreak orthiseventmaybeoverinsomething like April,” addedMr.Zhong,83,anepidemiologistwhowonfameforhisrole in combating an outbreakofSevereAcuteRespiratorySyndromein2003.

WorldstocksresumedrisingtowardsrecordhighsonMr.Zhong’scomments.

TheWorldHealthOrganization(WHO)saidonTuesday1,017peoplehaddiedin

China, where there were42,708cases.Only319caseshave been confi��rmed in 24othercountriesandterritoriesoutsidemainlandChina,with two deaths: one inHongKongandtheotherinthePhilippines.

Mr. Tedros was less sanguine, saying the coronavirus should be regarded asakintoaterroristattack.

Renamed COVID-19

“With99%ofcasesinChina,this remains very much anemergencyforthatcountry,but one that holds a verygrave threat for the rest oftheworld,”hesaid.

The fi��rst vaccine was 18monthsaway,saidtheWHOboss,urgingglobalunity toprevent“farmorecasesandfar higher costs” from thedisease — now offi��ciallynamed COVID19 by theWHO.

Mr.Tedrossaidthat“co”standsfor“corona”,“vi”for“virus” and “d” for “disease”,while“19”wasfortheyear, as the outbreak wasfi��rstidentifi��edonDecember31,2019.

Coronavirusposes‘verygrave’threattotheworld,saysWHO‘Number of cases in China falling, epidemic may be over by April’; over 1,000 dead

Reuters

GUANGZHOU/Geneva

Fighting back: AresearcherworkingonavaccineforCOVID19,attheImperialCollegeSchoolofMedicine,London. * AFP

Chinadeniedinvolvementinany hacking activities onTuesdayaftertheU.S.indictedfourmembersoftheChinese military for allegedlybreakingintothecomputernetworksoftheEquifaxcredit reporting agency andstealing the personal informationoftensofmillionsofpeople.

The Justice DepartmentaccusedBeijingonMondayof engineering one of thebiggesthacksinhistorytargeting consumer data ofsome145millionAmericans.

Foreign Ministry spokesmanGengShuangsaidChinawascommittedto“fi��rmlyopposeandcombatcyberattacks of any kind,” addingthatitisastaunchdefenderofcybersecurityanditsinstitutions“neverengageincybertheftoftradesecrets.”

Mr.GengalsoturnedtheaccusationbackontheU.S.,

saying past events hadshown Washington is “engaginginlargescale,organized and indiscriminate cyberstealing, spying andsurveillanceactivitiesonforeign governments, enterprisesandindividuals.”

“Chinaisalsoavictimofthis,”Mr.Gengsaid.

TheaccusationisthelatestagainstChinesesuspectedofbreachingthecomputer networks of Americancorporations,includingsteelmanufacturers,ahotelchain

and a health insurer. Itcomes as the Trump administration has warnedagainst what it sees as thegrowing political and economic infl��uence of China,andeff��ortsbyBeijingtocollectdataforfi��nancialandintelligence purposes and tosteal research and innovation.

Experts and offi��cials saythetheftrepresentsBeijing’sinterest in accumulating asmuch information aboutAmericansaspossible.

U.S. ‘indicted’ four military hackers for personal data theft

Associated Press

BEIJING

Data breach: U.S.accusedChinaofstealingconsumerdataofsome145millionAmericans. * REUTERS

China denies role in cybertheftfollowing Equifax accusations

Dozensofcars inan IsraeliArabvillagewerevandalisedovernight, police said onTuesday, with sloganssprayed on a mosque indicating the involvement ofJewishextremists.

The slogans “Jews awaken”and“Stopassimilating”werescrawledonamosqueandanotherbuildinginJish,a smallvillageintheGalileejustsouthofIsrael’sborderwithLebanon.

Police said they were investigatingtheincident.

Thetyresofover150carswerepunctured,JishcouncilheadEliasEliassaid,adding

thatitwasnotthefi��rsttimethemixedMuslimandChristian village had beentargeted.

PrimeMinisterBenjaminNetanyahu “fi��rmly con

demned”theJishvandalismandslogans,vowingto“fi��ndtheoutlawsandbringthemtojustice.“Wewon’ttolerateanyattacksonourcitizens,”hesaidinastatement.

Car tyres were punctured, slogans scrawled on mosque

Agence France-Presse

Jish

Hate crime: AbuildingonwhichslogansweresprayedovernightinthenorthernIsraeliArabvillageofJish. * AFP

Arab village in Israel vandalisedby suspected Jewish extremists

An antiterrorism court inPakistanonTuesdayacceptedapleabyMumbaiattackmastermind and JamatudDawachief( JuD)Hafi��zSaeedtocluballsixterrorfi��nancingcasesagainsthimandhisaides,andannouncetheverdict on completion of thetrial.

The antiterrorism courtor ATC had indicted SaeedandothersonDecember 11in terror fi��nancing case indaytodayhearings.

“TheantiterrorismcourtofLahoreacceptedthepleaofSaeedandhiscloseaidesseekingdelayintheverdict

in two concluded terror fi��nancingcasesagainst themtill the trial in other foursuchpendingcases iscomplete,”acourtoffi��cialsaid.

Accordingtothepetition,four other terror fi��nancing

cases against Saeed, ZafarIqbal, Yahya Aziz, AbdulRehmanMakkiarependingbefore the same ATC. “Asevidence has been in progress, the court may announcetheverdictinsixcases, including the onesalreadyconcludedoncethetrialiscompleted,”itsaid.

The deputy prosecutorgeneral opposed Saeed’splea and argued that thetrialintwocasesagainsthimandothershasalreadybeencompleted and under thelawthecourtmayannouncethe verdict. He requestedthe court to reject Saeed’splea and announce theverdict.

Pak.courtacceptsSaeed’spleatoclub6terrorfi��nancingcasesVerdict delayed even as trial concluded in two cases

Press Trust of India

Lahore

Hafi��zSaeed

Britain will end the automatic early release of convictedterroristsundernewfasttrackedlegislationtobeintroducedtoParliamentonTuesday.

The new Bill follows anattackearlierthismonthbyanIslamistmilitantjustdaysafter he was set free halfway through his jail term,despiteauthoritiesbelievinghestillposedathreattothepublic.

The government had already promised tougherrules on terrorism afteranother former convictkilled two people andwoundedthreebeforebeingshot dead by police near

London Bridge inNovember.

The emergency measures, which the governmentwants tobecomelawby the end of the month,will mean convicted terroristscannotbereleasedbefore the end of their sentence without anassessmentofwhethertheyare still a risk. They willhave to serve at least twothirdsoftheirsentencebeforebeingassessed.

The government saidaround50peoplecurrentlyin jail would see their releaseblockedasaresultofthechangetothelaw

Thegovernmentplanstoboostderadicalisationmeasuresinprison.

U.K.unveilslawstostopearlyreleaseofterroristsBill comes after recent London attacks

Reuters

London

Prosecutors on Mondaysought U.S. President Donald Trump's longtime adviserRogerStonetoserveasentencebetweensevenandnineyearsinprison.

Stone is due to face sentencing by U.S. DistrictCourt Judge Amy BermanJacksononFebruary20,after a jury in Novemberfound the selfproclaimeddirty trickster guilty on se

vencountsof lying toCongress, obstruction and witnesstampering.

ThegovernmentsaidthatunderU.S.sentencingguidelines,hefacesarangeofsevenyearsandthreemonthstouptonineyears,andtoldJacksonhe“shouldbepunishedinaccord”withthose.

Mr.Stoneisoneofseveralpeople close to Mr. Trumpwho faced charges stemming from thenSpecialCounselRobertMueller'sin

vestigation into Russian interferenceinthe2016presidentialelection.

Duringthetrial,prosecutorspressedtheircase thatStone lied to lawmakersabouthisoutreachtoWikiLeaks—thewebsitethatdisclosedmanyhackedDemocratic emails ahead of the2016 election that provedembarrassingtoDemocraticrivalHillaryClinton—toprotectMr.Trumpfromlookingbad.

Govt.seeks7to9yearsinjailforTrumpallyRogerStoneHe faced charges in Mueller’s probe into 2016 presidential poll

Reuters

WASHINGTON

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

A teamofU.K.scientistsbelievetheyareamongthefi��rsttostartanimaltestingofavaccineforthenewcoronavirus.

ResearchersatImperialCollegeLondonsaidtheirgoalwastofi��ndawaytohaltthespreadofvirus.“Atthemomentwehavejustputthevaccinethatwe’vegeneratedfromthesebacteriaintomice”.

U.K.teamtests

vaccineonmiceAgence France-Presse

London

AnIndiannationalhasbeendiagnosedwiththenovelcoronavirusintheUAE,bringingthetotalnumberofconfi��rmedinfectioncasestoeight,thecountry’sHealthMinistryhassaid.

TheUAEMinistryofHealthandPrevention

(MoHAP)saidonMondaythattheIndiannationalwasinfectedafterheinteractedwitharecentlydiagnosedperson.

OnSunday,theMinistrysaidthattwonewpatients,a ChinesenationalandaFilipino,hadbeendiagnosedwiththediseaseandwerebeingtreated.

Press Trust of India

Dubai

Indian national infected

with coronavirus in UAE

A 33yearoldChinesewomaninfectedwithcoronavirushasgivenbirthtoahealthybabygirlwithnoinfectioninnorthwestChina’sShaanxiProvince,statemediareportedonTuesday.

TheChinesewomanwasinthe37thweekofpregnancywhenshegavebirthviacaesareantoababyweighing2,730g.

Theinfant,whosefi��rstnucleicacidtestassociatedwiththenovelcoronaviruswasnegative,isreceivingintensivecare.

Infected mother in Chinagives birth to healthy baby Press Trust of India

Beijing

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

Asfi��rstimpressionsgo,this one is aboutmaking those im

pressionswithadegreeofanonymity.Itiscalled“thewrittenresume”.

From a piece of paper,usuallyanA3sizesheetora couple of them, the resumehascomea longway.Now,thereisoftentheoption of presenting it in adigital format. However,technologyhasnotdetracted from the challenge ofwritingone. Ifanything, ithasbecomemorechallenging than ever, as resumesnavigating the digital watershavetobealotcrisperand more to the point, giventheshrinkingattentionspans.

Though it can’t be verbose, it has to give theprospective employer asense of what the candidatehasachievedthroughhiscareer—thelongerthecareer, themorechallenging the write. However,mostexperiencedandtoplevel professionals chooseto grapple with the taskthemselves,onereasonbeing that they are likely tobeknownintheirindustrycirclesandalsolikelytoreceive recommendationsfrompeers.

The professional touch Fresh, earlycareer andmidlevel professionalsusuallyneedthatpowerfulintroduction,andtheyaresaidtobelikelytoseektheservices of professionalresumewriters.

Freshersworld.com, aTeamLeasecompany thatoff��ers resume writing services,getscloseto50,000registrations on its portalevery day, and a majorityofthemarefromfreshers.

“In a day, nearly 1,000peopleseekthisserviceonour portal. In this group,60% opt for the paid service,” says Kaushik Banerjee,vicepresidentandbusiness head, TeamleaseandFreshersworld.

Manyengineeringcolleges, he says, engage us forbulk writing of resumes.Usually, in this case, projects undertaken by studentshavetobepresentedinanimpressivemanner.

Social media boost

vice,wasbiddingforatender.

“The CVs of nearly 100employees with the company had to be improved,andtheworkhadtobecarriedout inashortspanoftime; these employeesweregoingtobepartoftheproject and the companywanted the skillsets theybrought to the table to beshowcased prominently,”saysAmrita.

The career journeyOn LinkedIn, she says,therewouldbecompaniesthat would want resumewriters towrite thecareerjourneyoftheirexecutives.

“Sometime we visitthem to understand theirwork culture or the information is provided to usthroughemail,”shesays.

Staffi��ng companies, recruitment agencies andthose off��ering returningmothers a platform tomake a career comeback,

engage resume writerseither to have workshopsdonefortheirclients,ortopromotetheirprofi��les.

“Aresumewriter’sprimaryrole is tohighlight thecandidate’s brand value —this isusuallydonebylisting out the results theyhave achieved and thechallengestheyhaveovercome,”saysAmrita.

Anotherchallengefacedbyresumewritersishavingtotweakresumesofhighlyexperienced professionalstobringcertainskills theypossessintosharperfocus.

“Reverse chronologicalresumeisthemostsoughtafter format. Here, a jobseeker’s work history andaccomplishments are presented in reverse chronologicalorder,withthemostrecent work experienceand achievement listedfi��rst. The candidate’s responsibilities and accomplishments are listed employerwise. In contrast,

says, is being increasinglyusedtooptimisethechancesofaresumeshowingupinmostjobsearches.

“We use AI and createsecondary skillsets for acandidateandmapittothejob. So, even if the candidate has missed highlightingcertainskills,technology comes to the aid,” saysSahaye, adding that thecompany also uses machinelearningtohelpemployers fi��nd the right candidates more quickly andhirefaster.

the functional format isabout grouping achievementsbasedonskills,”saysNeena.

ATS optimisationIn this day and age whenresumes “pop up” onscreens more often thanlandonthetableinaphysical form, a resume can’thaveawinningedgeunlessitisATSoptimised.

An applicant trackingsystem(ATS)helpstofi��lterresumes based on certainskillsets that an employerislookingfor.

Vikramjit Singh Sahaye,founder and CEO, HiringPlug,saysit’stoughtobeatanATSandhisadviceistokeep the resume simpleandtothepoint.

“Mostapplicanttrackingsystemsonlyreaddataandkeywords,andsodon’tbeovercreative or strive topresentyourskills inadifferentlight,”saysSahaye.

Artifi��cial intelligence,he

Liffy Thomas

ILLUSTRATION: SEBASTIAN FRANCIS

The power of an irresistible introduction

● MakesureyourresumeisATSfriendlyasitisthefi��rst“critic”acandidatewillfaceafterhehassubmittedhisresume.ThechoiceofkeywordsandthewayinwhichtheskillsarepresentedareamongthemajorfactorsensuringATSfriendliness.● Whenonehashadalongcareerandthereforethelistofachievementsisboundtobelengthy,thecandidatehastoconsciouslyfocusonwritinganextremelycrispresume.For,withoutthisrudder,thecandidateislikelytodwellatlengthonamajorityofachievements,andtherebyruntheriskofsoundinglongwinded.Thebestoftheachievementsshouldbehighlighted,thesecondandthirdbesttouchedupon,andtherestignored.● Resumessetinthereversechronologicalformatusuallyworkbest,astheycomewitha senseofimmediacy,presentingthelatestachievementsfi��rst.Thisformatachievesimmensevalueintoday’scorporateword,astechnologicalshiftshappenmorequicklythaneverbefore.Againstthisbackdrop,listingthelatestachievementinvolvingamorecurrenttechnologicalskillfi��rstassumessignifi��cance.● Dataspeaksalot;andsoifyouarehandlingaproject,mentionitssizeandvalue.

Points toponder

Resumewritingisbecomingamorespecialisedskill,thankstothedemandsofthedigitalworld

Unlike in the past, theresume today is multilayered. Social media profi��les of candidates have tobe factored in, while writingresumesforthem.

“As hiring managerswant the LinkedIn profi��leas part of the application,weoff��erservices likewriting the summary for thepage and also providing acoveringletter,”saysNeenaMody, resume consultantatStepitUpResumes.

Sharper focusWhilepresentingtheircredentials to prospectiveclients, some companiesusuallyhaveprofessionallywritten resumes of theirkey employees, as part ofthe“pitchpackage”.

Here is a classic example.

AmritaKolay,acertifi��edresume writer, had a recentassignmentwherethecompany that had optedfortheresumewritingser

CMYK

wednesday • february 12, 2020

Avtar Group is inviting nominations forthe fi��fth edition of

‘Best Companies for Women in India’ (BCWI).

As in the previousyears, it is associatedwith Working Mother, aUnited Statesbased global gender parity champion, to list and showcase 100 best companieswith a special spotlighton the Top 10 Best Companies.

According to a pressrelease, every edition ofthe study has had over300 companies participating in this “comprehensive gender analyticsexercise with millions ofdata points and hundreds of benchmarkingreports.”

Last year, Most Inclusive Companies Index(MICI) was introducedfor companies that participated in BCWI to off��erinsights on organisa

tions’ inclusiveness encompassing otherstrands of diversity —PWD, LGBTQA andGeneration.

The application formhas close to 300 questions, and requires applicantcompanies to provide data of highordergranularity on theirpractices, programmesand policies to ensuregender inclusion at theirworkplaces.

A company that hasits operations in Indiawith a minimum of 500employees in its Indianoperations (men, womenand third gender included) can register to participate in the study.

The last date for submitting applications isMay 31, added the release.

For details, visithttp://

www.avtarinc.com/bcwi.html

AnannualexercisethatissustainedbyAvtarGroupandWorkingMother,itisinitsfi��ftheditionnow

Calling for nominations to ‘BestCompanies for Women in India’

Conference onvolunteering Volcon, a national conferenceonvolunteeringorganised by iVolunteer inassociation with Bhumi,is based on the theme‘Volunteerengagementasa social change multiplier’.

The event is aimed atcompanies, nonprofi��ts,intermediariesandotherswho engage with at least1,000 volunteers everyyearorhavetheabilitytosignifi��cantly increase thenumber of volunteers inthecountry.

The twoday conference is being held fromFebruary 14 in Chennaiandmorethan100organisations are expected toparticipateinit,saysarelease.

Ways of integrating volunteeringintotheorganisationalculture;buildingleadership through socialchange; and tracking employee volunteer engagement will be among thediscussion points for corporates,saidarelease.

For details, visitwww.volcon.in.

Celebrating womenprofessionals Safejob, a training, skilling and consulting fi��rm,haslaunchedacampaign,‘Dhasu Woman’, to celebrate Women’s Day.Launched in associationwith the Women Entrepreneurship Platform, aNITIAayoginitiative,itinvites women from all agegroupstoparticipateinit.

According to a release,DhasuWomanisaninitiative aimed at celebratingwomenprofessionalswhohave not only made amarkbutalsocontributedsignifi��cantly to the progess of their respectivespecialisations. Around30best storieswillbeselected and woven into amusic video that will bereleasedonWomen’sDay.

Participants have toclick a selfi��e, registertheir names on www.dhaansuwoman.com andshare theirpictureonSafeducate website/Facebook page/Instagrampage with the hashtag#DhasuWoman.

The last date for submitting entries is February20.

NEWS BYTES

While gender paygap is consideredan issue plaguing

most industries, there areindications that in the gigeconomy,thisgapismuchsmaller. As per a report,theparticipationofwomeninthefreelanceworkforcehas been gaining momentum. Equally signifi��cant isthefi��ndingthattheaveragewage for women in thefreelance workforce ishigherthantheoverallaverage.

Theseareamongthekeyfi��ndings of a Global Freelancer Income ReportbroughtoutbyPayoneer.

On an average, womenfreelancers earn 84% ofmen’s earnings across allfi��elds, and while there isroomforimprovement,thegap is much smaller thanthe 64% average for allworkers reported by theWorld Economic Forum,saysthereport.

However, there are industryspecifi��cnuancesinvolved,andtherearefi��eldswhere the gender gap remainspronounced,including fi��nance and project

management fi��elds. Women earn more than meninmarketingandwebandgraphic design, says thereport.

Over 7,000 freelancersfrom 150 countries werepart of the survey, whichprovidesnewinsightsintothe world of freelancers,theirmotivationsandhowthe workforce empowerscollaboration by connecting top talent withbusinesses.

The popularity of freelancingisattributedtothepotential for greater jobopportunity, independence,higherincomesanda promisingmoveinthedirectionofwageequality.

A growing market In India, GovernmentschemeslikeStartupIndia,SkillIndiaandDigitalIndiaencourage young individualstostarttheirownbusinessesandworkas freelancers.

Asperthereport,oneinevery fi��ve Indian freelancersisawoman.While83%of the freelancers workfromhome,17%workfrom

coff��ee shops, coworkingspaces, libraries and privateoffi��ces.

MostofthewomeninIndia engage themselves inonlinemarketplaceswithamajorchunkoftheclientsbased in theUnitedStateswith the average workinghours ranging between 2and 2.5 hours. Web andgraphic design (25% respondents), IT (20%) andprogramming(15%)arethetopthreecategoriesofdomains for Indianfreelancers.

Young workforceThefreelanceworkforceisyoung,withnearly70%ofthe freelancers surveyedbeingundertheageof35;and 21% under 25. Thisyouth movement is evenmore pronounced in Asiawhere 82% of the respondents are under 35, compared to North Americawhere the number is stillhighbutcloserto47%.

Workers at the beginning and end of their careersaremost likely tobeexclusively freelancing.While experienced work

erscommandhighpay,thatgapcouldcloseinthefutureas freelance opportunitiesprovide those with lessyearsofexperiencetheability to sharpen and honetheirskills.

Additionally, educationdoesnotnecessarilycorrelate with high earnings forfreelancers,asthosewithabachelor’sdegreedonotdemand higher salaries thanthose without, indicatingthat the future of work valuesreviews,referencesanda richportfolioasmuchastraditional educationalachievements.

Average hourly rate The worldwide averagehourlyratechargedbyfreelancers is $21, higher thanthe$19averageratereported in Payoneer’s 2018 surveyandsignifi��cantlyhigherthantheaveragesalariesinmany of the countries surveyed,saysthereport.

While freelancers areearning more, businessesarealsobenefi��tingbybeingable to source toptalentwithout concern for locationoroverheadcosts.

A ‘GlobalFreelancerIncomeReport’seemstosuggestthatitcan

Canthegigeconomyaddresstheissueofgenderpaygap?

CMYK

BUSINESSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

DELHI THE HINDU

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 202016EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

NIFTY 50

PRICE CHANGE

Adani Ports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374.20. . . . . . . . . 5.95

Asian Paints. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1878.10. . . . . . . . . 8.60

Axis Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 749.95. . . . . . . . . 8.85

Bajaj Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3145.45. . . . . . . 42.15

Bajaj Finserv. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9731.60. . . . . 104.60

Bajaj Finance . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 4749.35. . . . . . . 27.60

Bharti Airtel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534.30. . . . . . . . -4.40

BPCL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481.00. . . . . . . . -4.45

Britannia Ind . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 3134.70. . . . . . -20.90

Cipla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450.60. . . . . . . . . 5.85

Coal India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179.35. . . . . . . . . 0.50

Dr Reddys Lab . . . . . . . .. . . . 3191.20. . . . . . . 42.10

Eicher Motors. . . . . . . . .. 19009.25. . . . . . -48.00

GAIL (India). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129.15. . . . . . . . . 7.35

Grasim Ind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 759.30. . . . . . . . . 1.75

HCL Tech. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 610.65. . . . . . . . . 5.75

HDFC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2435.15. . . . . . . 20.85

HDFC Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1240.60. . . . . . . . . 0.30

Hero MotoCorp . . . . . .. . . . 2396.45. . . . . . . 10.75

Hindalco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193.65. . . . . . . . . 2.80

Hind Unilever . . . . . . . . .. . . . 2152.65. . . . . . . . -6.65

ICICI Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539.75. . . . . . . . . 5.80

IndusInd Bank . . . . . . . .. . . . 1292.65. . . . . . . 17.70

Bharti Infratel . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 248.80. . . . . . . . . 9.00

Infosys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 773.55. . . . . . . . . 0.35

Indian OilCorp . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 116.05. . . . . . . . . 0.25

ITC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212.60. . . . . . . . . 2.05

JSW Steel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288.75. . . . . . . 10.85

Kotak Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1677.45. . . . . . . . . 8.15

L&T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1286.90. . . . . . . . . 1.60

M&M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524.05. . . . . . . . -4.35

Maruti Suzuki . . . . . . . . .. . . . 7033.75. . . . . 140.85

Nestle India Ltd. . . . .. 15997.15. . . -175.05

NTPC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116.85. . . . . . . . . 3.35

ONGC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106.80. . . . . . . . . 0.60

PowerGrid Corp . . . . .. . . . . . 189.50. . . . . . . . . 2.90

Reliance Ind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1452.75. . . . . . . 17.15

State Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324.35. . . . . . . . . 5.85

Sun Pharma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418.55. . . . . . . . -1.75

Tata Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169.75. . . . . . . . . 0.85

Tata Steel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 444.10. . . . . . . . . 0.30

TCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2153.40. . . . . . . . -8.55

Tech Mahindra . . . . . . .. . . . . . 819.95. . . . . . . . . 6.30

Titan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1270.70. . . . . . . 13.50

UltraTech Cement. .. . . . 4466.45. . . . . . . 52.70

UPL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 576.65. . . . . . . . . 2.55

Vedanta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140.75. . . . . . . . . 0.45

Wipro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241.25. . . . . . . . . 0.35

YES Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36.85. . . . . . . . -0.70

Zee Entertainment . . . . . . 231.30. . . . . . . . . 0.85

EXCHANGERATESIndicative direct rates in rupees a unitexcept yen at 4 p.m. on February 11

CURRENCY TT BUY TT SELL

US Dollar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 71.08. . . . . . . 71.40

Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 77.57. . . . . . . 77.92

British Pound. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 91.88. . . . . . . 92.29

Japanese Yen (100) . .. . 64.70. . . . . . . 65.00

Chinese Yuan . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 10.19. . . . . . . 10.24

Swiss Franc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 72.69. . . . . . . 73.02

Singapore Dollar . . . . . . .. . 51.23. . . . . . . 51.47

Canadian Dollar. . . . . . . . .. . 53.48. . . . . . . 53.73

Malaysian Ringitt . . . . . .. . 17.19. . . . . . . 17.28

Source:Indian Bank

BULLIONRATES CHENNAI

February 11 rates in rupees with pre-vious rates in parentheses

Retail Silver (1g) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50. . . . . . . (50.1)

22 ct gold (1 g) . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 3872. . . . . . (3891)

market watch

11-02-2020 % CHANGE

Sensex dddddddddddddddddddddd 41,216 ddddddddddddddd0.58

US Dollardddddddddddddddddddd 71.28 ddddddddddddddd0.03

Gold ddddddddddddddddddddddddddd 41,269 ddddddddddddd-0.27

Brent oil ddddddddddddddddddddd 54.30 ddddddddddddddd0.84

IN BRIEF

Infosystobuy Simplusfor$250millionBENGALURU

Infosyshasenteredintoadefi��nitiveagreementtoacquireSimplus,aSalesforcePlatinumPartnerthatoff��ersservicessuchascloudconsulting,implementation,dataintegration,changemanagement.The$250millionacquisitionisexpectedtocloseduringthefourthquarteroffi��scal2020,subjecttoclosingconditions.SimplusbringstoInfosysSalesforceexpertise,industryknowledge,solutionassets,deepecosystemrelationshipsandabroadclientele.

TVSSrichakraprofi��tskidsonslowdownCHENNAI

TVSSrichakraLtd.reporteda43.22%dropinstandalonenetprofi��tforthethirdquarterendedDecember2019to₹��13.40croreduetolowervolumesonaccountofeconomicslowdown.Duringtheperiod,revenuefromoperationsdeclined 13.77%to₹��500.75crorecomparedwiththecorrespondingyearearlierperiod.Thecompanywasabletobringdownthecostofmaterialsconsumedby30%to₹��283.46croreandfi��nancialcostsby17%to₹��8crore.

Korean automaker SsangYong Motor Company, asubsidiary of Mahindra &Mahindra,whichiscurrentlyfacingsteepheadwindsandlossesinitsdomesticmarketandworsenedbythecoronavirus syndrome now, hasdrawnupathreeyearturnaround plan to get back toprofi��tabilityby2022.

Theplanincludeswaystoreduce capex, consideringsynergies between SsangYong Motor Company andFordMotorsanddevelopingnew markets in Russia andVietnam to increase exportvolumes, Pawan Goenka,MDofMahindra&MahindraandchairmanofSsangYongMotorCompanysaid.

He said the company ex

pected a funding of 450 to500billionKoreanWon(upto₹��3,000crore), throughacombination of equity andborrowingforafullrecovery.

“We do hope that thisfunding would be arrangedby March end. The threeyearrecoveryplanhasbeen

approved by the companyboard,” Dr. Goenka said.SsangYongisintalkswiththeKorea Development Bank(KDB)toraisethefunds.However,aclearpictureontheapprovalofthefundingisyettoemerge.

Mr.Goenkasaidconsider

ingthecurrentmarketsituation it would be untenablefora full recovery forSsangYongduringcalendaryear2020, but a full recoverycouldbeexpectedin2022.

“Material cost reductionwouldfetchthecompany8090billionWonintwoyearswhich should help achievean improvement of 23% inSsangYong’s operating margins,” Mr. Goenka said. Goingforward,SsangYongisalsoexpectedtoworkcloselyas part of the alliance withFordtodeveloptwoSUVs—codenamed CSUV and theBSUV — on all new platforms. The MahindraFordpartnershiphasjustreceivedthe Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) clearanceforthejointventure.

On the domestic market,

Mr.Goenkasaid thespreadof coronavirus may havesome impact since somepartsareimportedfromChina.Iftheproductionnormalises in the next few days,thingswouldstartreturningtonormalcy,hesaid.“Else,itmaybeachallengetodeliverBSVIvehiclesontime.”

Hesaidwhilethesituationcurrently was one of ‘waitandwatch’,automakersmayhave to look at alternatesourcingmarketsifthesupplysituationworsened.

For faster and cost eff��ectiverolloutofelectricvehiclesinIndia,Mr.Goenkahasoff��ered all Indian OEMs,namelyTataMotorsandAshokLeyland,to‘coown’Mahindra Electric, which hasacquired considerable expertiseinthisfi��eld.

M&MKoreanarmdrawsup₹��3,000cr.turnaroundplanSsangYongMotorCompanyfacessteepheadwinds,hopestoregainprofi��tabilityby2022withstrategy

Revvingup:PawanGoenka,M&MMD,andV.S.Parthasarathy,CFO,atapressmeetinMumbaionTuesday. * PAUL NORONHA

Lalatendu Mishra

MUMBAI

SyndicateBankhaspostedafourfold increase in its netprofi��t to ₹��435 crore duringthethirdquarterendedDecember 2019 due its focuson MSMEs and recoveriesandreductioninNPAs.

In Q3, total income increased 3.93% to ₹��6,316.57crore.GrossNPAsdroppedto 11.33%at₹��25,330.10crorecomparedwiththeyearearlierperiod’s12.54%.

Net NPAs stood at₹��12,514.32 crore, down to5.94% fromthe6.75%ayearago.

The quarter saw bank’soverallcosttoincomeratiodeclining from 71.68% to52.06%. Total business increased 7% to ₹��5,00,971crore as on December2019It’s domestic business

increasedto₹��4,44,033crorecompared with ₹��4,04,304crore.

Total deposits increasedto ₹��2,77,368 crore against₹��2,59,064 crore a year agowhile totaladvancesroseto₹��2,23,603 crore against₹��2,08,847crore.

Retailandagricultureadvances grew7%and10%respectively, according to thelender.

SyndicateBank’sQ3profi��trisesfourfoldLenderfocussesonNPAreduction

Special Correspondent

Bengaluru Allahabad Bank on Tuesdayreportedanovertwofold jump in standalonenet lossfortheDecemberquarterat₹��1,986.26croreon higher bad loans andprovisioning.

TheStateownedlenderhadreportedanet lossof₹��732.81croreinthecorresponding OctoberDecemberperiodofthepreviousfi��scal.

Total income (standalone) during the quarterunder review grew to₹��4,860.35 crore from₹��4,756.88croreinthesameperiodof201819.

The bank’s gross nonperforming assets (NPAs)roseto18.93%ofthegrossadvancesbytheendoftheDecember quarter asagainst17.81%earlier.

AllahabadBankQ3netlosswidens

Press Trust of India

New Delhi

IDBIBankpostedanetlossof₹��5,763croreforthequarterendedDecember31,2019onaccountofaonetimehitof₹��6,273croreforexercisingthe option for lower tax,compared with a loss of₹��4,185crorereportedduringthesameperiodofthepreviousyear.

Thiswasthe13thstraightquarterlylossforthelender.

However,thebankpostedprofi��tbeforetaxforthefi��rsttime in 13 quarters, whichwas₹��756crore.

Rakesh Sharma, MD andCEO,IDBIBank,saidthelenderhasmadeanacceleratedprovision of ₹��1,679 croreduringthequarter.

This helped the bank tolowerratioofnonperforming assets (NPAs) to 5.25%fromthe14.01%intheyearagoperiodand5.97%aquar

terago.Withthis,thebankishopefulofcomingoutoftherestrictions under promptcorrectiveactionof theReserveBankofIndia.

NetNPAof6%isatriggerforsuchrestriction.

NPA ratio still highThegrossNPAofthebankis28.72%asatDecemberendcomparedwiththe29.67%ayear ago. Mr. Sharma saidthetheratioremainedhighasthebank’sloanbookcontracted as it was unable togrow its assets due to PCArestrictions.

“Recovery during thequarter, which was ₹��3,136crore, was higher than theslippages, which was ₹��2,113crore,”Mr.Sharmasaid.

Total recovery, includingfrom written off�� accountsand upgradation, was over₹��3,500crore.

LoanstoDHFLSlippagesduring the quarter includeloanstoDewanHousingFinance Corporation (DHFL)and Jain Irrigation. Goingahead, the bank expectsslippages to remain within₹��800croreaquarter.

Mr.Sharmaalsoinformedthat the bank had receivedbinding bids for selling itsstakeinIDBIFederalLifeInsuranceCompany.

The lender holds a 48%stakeintheinsuranceentity.

Thedealisexpectedtobeconcluded latest by the secondquarterofthenextfi��nancialyear.

Lendertakes₹��6,273cr.hitforchoosinglowertaxoption

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Mumbai

IDBIBank againpostsloss

The Centre has released₹��81,043 crore as GST compensationtoStatesforAprilSeptember2019,MinisterofState for Finance AnuragSingh Thakur said onTuesday.

In a written reply to aquestionintheRajyaSabha,he said GST compensationcess collection had shownan upward trend since October2019.

GST compensation cessof₹��7,607crorewascollected inOctober,₹��7,727croreinNovember,₹��8,331croreinDecemberand₹��8,637croreinJanuary.

For201920,theamounttargeted to be collectedfromcessinGSTwas₹��1.09lakhcrore.Ofthis,₹��70,534crore has been collectedbetween AprilDecember2019.

TheamountofGSTcompensationreleasedtoStatesfor AprilSeptember 2019stoodat ₹��81,043crore,Mr.Thakursaid.

For201819fi��scal,thenetcollectionofGSTcompensation cess stood at ₹��95,081croreasagainstthetargetof₹��90,000 crore. For full fi��scal,thegovernmenthadreleased₹��81,141croretostatesascompensation.

For 201718, the net collection from cess stood at₹��62,612crore,asagainstthetargetof₹��61,331crore.Thecompensation amount releasedtostateswas₹��48,785crore.

Under GST law, Stateswereguaranteedtobepaidforanylossofrevenueinthefi��rstfi��veyearsofGSTimplementation,whichcameintoforceonJuly1,2017.

Theshortfalliscalculatedassuming a 14% annualgrowthinGSTcollectionsbyStatesoverthebaseyearof

201516.“Forprovidingsuchcom

pensation to States, compensation cess is being leviedoncertain luxuryanddemeritgoodsasperprovisionsinSection8oftheGST(Compensation to States)Act, 2017, and compensation cess is being creditedinto a nonlapsable FundknownasGoodsandServicesTaxCompensationFundwhichformspartofthePublic Account of India,” Mr.Thakursaid.

Fraudulent claims As many as 634 cases offraudulentGSTrefundclaimby exporters amounting₹��1,912 crore had been detected by the central taxauthorities between July2017andJanuary2020,Parliament was informed onTuesday.

In a written reply to aquestionintheRajyaSabha,Mr. Thakur said of this,₹��238.97crorehadbeenrecoveredbytheCentralGSTauthoritiesfromtheentitieswhich claimed the fraudulentrefunds.

A totalof35personshadbeenarrestedby theCGSTauthorities,headded.

“Thegovernmenthastaken measures to use dataanalytics to identify riskytaxpayers and verify thembeforesanctionofrefunds,”Mr.Thakuradded.

Statesgiven₹��81,043cr.asGSTcompensationforAprilSept.:ThakurCesscollectionupsinceOctober

Press Trust of India

New Delhi

AnuragSinghThakur

Theeconomyisnotintrouble,FinanceMinisterNirmala Sitharaman told the LokSabhainherresponsetothedebateontheUnionBudgetonTuesday,highlightingsevenmacroeconomicindicatorsassignsofrevival.

These ‘green shoots’ includedhigherforeigninvestment, improvement in industrial output and GSTcollections,alltimehighforex reserves and an upbeatstockmarket.

Defending her government’shandlingof theeconomy, Ms. Sitharamanlashedoutatformerfi��nanceministerandCongressMPP.Chidambaram, saying shehad nothing to learn fromthe‘competentdoctors’whogave ‘faulty remedies’, resultinginamountainofnonperforming assets (NPAs)anddoubledigitinfl��ation.

In both Houses of Parliament, the Finance Ministerciteddatatoshowimprovements in foreign direct investment(FDI)fl��owsandnetforeignportfolioinvestment(FPI), growth registered bythe Index of Industrial Production (IIP) after severalmonths of contraction,healthyforexreserves,ariseingrossGSTcollectionsanda 5%growthinmarketcapoftheBSESensex.

IntheLokSabha,shealsooutlined details of the government’s initiatives todrive the four engines ofgrowth, public and privateinvestment, public consumption,andexports.

In the Rajya Sabha, however, she embarked on astinging attack against Mr.Chidambaram and the UPAgovernment’s economicrecord.

“I heard former FinanceMinister’sspeechwithgreat

intent and keenness. Therewasmoresarcasmthancontent,” she said, adding thather government would not“repeatthefaultyremedies”prescribed by UPA government during the economiccrisisof200809.

ShesaidtheUPAgovern

ment’sactionsthenhadledtothetwinbalancesheetcrisisfacedbybanks,mountingnonperforming assets andfl��eeingdefaulters.Therewasa fl��ightofcapitalandforeigninvestment in 201213, shesaid.

Rebuttingchargesoffudg

ingaccounts,sheinsteadaccusedtheUPAofshiftingtheburdenofoilbondsontothebooks of oil marketingcompanies.

Ms.Sitharaman,however,refusedtoansweraquestionby Congress leader AnandSharma.“Thehon’bleministersaidthatin201920fi��scaldefi��citwas3.8%(ofGDP)andrevenue defi��cit was 2.4%.Outoftheborrowedmoney,thecapitalexpenditurewas1.4%. This time, she has reduced the fi��scal defi��cit to3.5%.Therevenuedefi��cit ispeggedat2.8%.Thatleavesonly0.9%forthecapitalexpenditure.Canyouclarify,”Mr.Sharmaasked.

Reacting to Ms. Sitharaman’s speech, Mr. Chidambaram said that her unwillingness, or inability, toanswer a straightforwardquestion spoke volumesabouttheFMaswellasthegovernment.

Economynotintrouble,assertsFMPointsto‘greenshoots’inIIPgrowth,GSTcollectionsandhigherFDI;slamsUPA’s‘faultyremedies’

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI

FinanceMinisterNirmalaSitharamanspeaksinLokSabhaintheresponsetothedebateontheBudgetonTuesday. * PTI

Moody’sdowngradesIndusIndBankMUMBAI

ConcernsoverafurtherdeteriorationinassetqualityhaveledMoody’sInvestorsServicetorevisedownitsoutlookonIndusIndBankto‘negative’from‘stable. Theprivatesectorbank’sratinghasbeenaffi��rmedattheearlieroneof‘Baa3/P3’,theagencysaid.Baa3denoteslowestratingininvestmentgradeonlongtermcorporateobligationwhichcarriesmoderaterisks,theagencysaid,addingthebankhadahighexposureof8%tothetroubledrealtysector. PTI

MeiKunisaplaceyouwanttogowhenyoumustpleaseawiderangeofpalates.

Touted as a fi��ne dining experience,thefoodandserviceishowever more familystyle: youwouldn’tfeeluncomfortablechoosing a spoon and fork over chopsticks,andthe largebowlsofriceand noodles that make up the

‘bulk’ofanyIndianmeal,tasteofasophisticatedversionofthekindofChinesefoodwithwhichmostofusgrewup.

WouldIdrive25kmfor it?Unlikely.WouldIdropbyifI’minthevicinity?Possibly.

The vibe: WhatMeiKunhasgoingforit,isitslargespaceandpicture windows that look out ontotrees—theyhelpyouignorethesomewhatoutdatedgreigeinteriors.

DespitebeinginTheLeelaAm

bienceConventionHotel,youcanpicture a large joint family comeandwhileanafternoonawayhere.There’s no painfully loud musicandnopretentiousness.

Do try: Thewhitefungicoconutsoup,whichisreallyamealbyitselfandtakesgoodcareofchangeofseasoncolds.

Thebao,whichlookedandtastedlikeacloud;thesucculentkungpaochicken.Thestarthough,wasalotus stem ‘starter’, with a sweetsaltycoatingofoats.It’sthesortoftasteandtextureyouwanttokeepnibbling on. The date pancake,though a tad sweet, had a crispycasingandsoftheart.

Skip: Thedimsums,whichhadtoothick‘skins’ thatoverpoweredthe stuffi��ng; the Singapore Crabthat came in some red gravy, obscuring the sweet fl��esh of thecrustacean.

Go with: Extendedfamily.Space bar: 42coversHow much? ₹��3,000 for two,

sansalcoholReach: Mei Kun at The Leela

Ambience Convention Hotel, 1CBD,MaharajSurajmalRoad,nearYamunaSportsComplex;driveorcabit.

Sweet and salty

MeiKunmanagestoexudeafamilyvibedespitebeinginaconventioncentre

Sunalini Mathew Sophisticated throwback Whitefungi coconut soup and the lotusstem starter (right) * SUNALINI MATHEW

CMYK

M ND-NDE

THE HINDU DELHI

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2020 17EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

SHOWCASE

Asian architecture Documentary filmmaker and historian Sohail

Hashmi will deliver a lecture titled The Song of

Stones. The talk will look at the evolution of

medieval architecture in North India. There will

be a special emphasis on the synthesis of South

and Central Asian architectural styles, and the

emergence of a new vocabulary of architecture.

Venue: Amaltas Hall, India Habitat Centre

Time: 7 p.m.

LECTURE

Valentine specialMiss Nora, a pan-Asian restaurant, has launched

a week-long special menu for Valentine's Day.

This will feature an array of specially curated

dishes and drinks. On until 14th February, the

menu includes Love Bird Soup, Valentine Sushi,

Crispy Love Niblets, Stir-fried Plum Chicken,

Magic Love Balls, and more.

Venue: Rcube Monad Mall, Rajouri Garden

Time: 12 noon - 11:30 p.m.

F&B

Sculpture showPrayas is a group show of sculptures that

showcases the work of 17 students of the Triveni

Kala Sangam. The pieces are made in bronze and

fibre glass, and explore various themes.

Participating artists include Anita Malik,Bhawani

Dhar, Chitra Singh, Kiran Chopra, Manavi Prabha,

Ritu Kwatra, Sandeep Thakran, and Surbhi Jain.

Venue: Triveni Kala Sangam, Mandi House

Time: 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.

EXHIBITION

Desserts for Valentine’s DayWith Valentine’s Day around the corner,

AnnaMaya, the European foodhall at Andaz Delhi

is offering an exclusive dessert counter until 14th

February. The themed sweets on offer include

Adam's Folly, an apple creamy mousse; Love

Bites, a dessert filled with strawberry and jelly; A

Pot of Goodness, a pot of black forest, and more.

Venue: Asset No.1, Aerocity

Time: 24 hours

FOOD

World of birdsThis evening, children’s writers Arthy Muthanna

Singh and Mamta Nainy along with wildlife

biologist, Kaustubh Srikanth will be releasing

their latest book titled Birds in Your Backyard and

Beyond. The book gives children a glimpse into

the world of sparrows, birds, and other avian

adventurers.

Venue: WWF India Auditorium, Lodhi Gardens

Time: 6 p.m.

BOOK LAUNCH

5 EVENTS WORTH YOUR WHILE

The 68-year-old sports and casual-wear brand Fred Perry

launched in India earlier this month. Originally founded by

the British tennis player Fred Perry, the first player to

complete a Career Grand Slam (wherein a player wins all

four Grand Slam singles titles in the ATP circuit at least

once), the brand opened its first store in Delhi. The label’s

logo is the now-famous laurel wreath, based on the original

symbol of the Wimbledon, a tournament that Perry went

on to win thrice consecutively between 1934-1936.

Fred Perry enters the country at a time when sporting

brands have established their athleisure niches, and those

like Uniqlo have made a comfortable mark in the

casualwear space beyond the Zaras and H&Ms, and in a

slightly different price bracket, the brief resurgence of

Westside. They launch with their SS2020 collection, which

is made in collaboration with the Amy Winehouse

Foundation, a charity set up in memory of late singer-

songwriter Amy Winehouse that works against drug and

alcohol misuse in youth. “2020 marks 10 years of

collaboration with the Amy Winehouse Foundation. With

reference to Amy’s very first designs for Fred Perry, each

piece is rooted in the singer’s signature detailing which

includes pin-up silhouettes, a

long button placket, turn up

cuffs and embroidered love

hearts — a reference to her

distinctive tattoos,” says

Richard Gilmore, managing

director, Fred Perry.

Their original Fred Perry shirt however, hasn’t once

changed in the 70 years of its existence. Calling the shirt “a

true piece of subcultural uniform”, Gilmore talks about the

idea of the brand as symbolised by this shirt: it takes the

viewer “from sportswear to streetwear”.

“What inspired Fred also inspired a generation of tennis

players. And then inspired a generation of rebels,

musicians, film-makers and full-circle back to sports stars,”

he adds.

The Delhi store hopes to “become a part of the

nieghbourhood”, engaging with emerging artists from the

city. Gilmore stresses focus also on a marketing brief — this

opening up of the store will be “a catalyst for a new

generation of Fred Perry advocates,” he adds.

In the 1960s, Fred Perry was a brand that mod culture in

Britain embraced. Till 2009, tennis player Andy Murray

sported Fred Perry kits. The brand’s consistent presence

with various subcultures and sporting icons through British

history is clear.

In India, they will stock track jackets, T-shirts and T-shirt

dresses, caps, shoes, bags, belts, and more.

Fred Perry Delhi, DLF Promenade Mall, No. 3 Nelson MandelaRoad, Vasant Kunj

Vangmayi Parakala

Breaking in

Iconic tennis player Fred Perry’s eponymous 68-year-

old label just landed in India

PRODUCTS

FOOD REVIEW

Telugu comedy actor Ali will don the role of A.P.J. Abdul

Kalam in a new biopic. This will be his 1, 111th film, marking

his entry into international cinema. The biopic will be

among the five projects produced by Los Angeles-based

film and media house Pink Jaguars Entertainment. The

formal announcement was made in New Delhi in the pres-

ence of Prakash Javadekar, Minister for Information and

Broadcasting. The details of the other four films will be an-

nounced eventually in Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad.

PREVIEW

Ali as APJ

Artist. Writer. Musician. Scientist.Raconteur—therearemultiplefacetstoManoharDevadoss.“Infact,the offi��cial who called to tell methatIhavebeenawardedthePadmaShrisaidtheawardscommitteewasinadilemmaaboutwhichcategorytoputmein,beforetheysettledfor‘Art’!”hechuckles.

At83years,withseveralbooksandawardsbehindhim,Iasktheselftaughtartistwhograduallylosthis vision to retinitis pigmentosaand a cataract, what the PadmaShri — the fourth highest civilianaward in India — means to him.“Theaff��ectionandlovethatIenjoyfromsomanypeople (my friendsfromAravindEyeHospital,ShankaraNethralayaand institutionslikemyalmamater—theAmericanCollege, Madurai and of course, mychurchinSanThome)arerewardsinthemselves,nowthisisanadditionalone.However,IdomissmydearwifeMahemaatthistime...”

Hesaysheparticularlycherishesa letterofcommendationfromthePrimeMinisterwhichreads,“Thecollectivecontributionsofyourlatewifeandyouareindeedamatterof

pride…”Whatateamtheywere:aninspirationtoall,inloveandinart.

“Justthreedaysafterourninthwedding anniversary in 1972, Mahemabecameaquadriplegic,inacar accident,” recalls Devadoss.“Aroundtwoyearsafterthat,myvision began to fade. But we nevergaveup.Infact,wegrewcloserinourtrials.”

Overcoming adversity“During that diffi��cult time, it wastheloveshoweredonusbycountlesspeoplethatkeptusgoing”saysDevadoss.“Startingwiththedoctorcouplewhor*scuedusfromtheaccidentsite,theteam atJIPMERPondicherry, the young medicos atCMCVellorewholiterallypartiedinourroom,cheeringusupthroughrehabilitation,thesteadystreamofvisitorsfromOberlinCollege,U.S.,where we with our daughter Sujahad spent two extremely happyyears,” he says all rallied aroundthemforsupport.

TherewerealsothemembersoftheyouthfellowshipatCSISt.Thomas English Church who visitedfrequently.“Theyevendroveustopicnicsandmovies—itisbecauseofeveryactofkindnessthatwetri

umphed.MymothercaredforMahemaasherowndaughter.”

Age of innocenceI ask him the secret to his evercheerfuldisposition,andhelooksbacktohishappyboyhoodinMadurai—capturedsowellinhisbookGreen Well Years that he startedwritingwhenhehadalmostcompletelylosthisvisionin1983.

“Ifyouhadn’thadcataract,youwouldnothaveabook.Youwouldhavespentallyourtimedrawing...”Mahemawouldoftensay,andthishelpedhimseethebrightersideofthings.“Whenmyvisionwaspartiallyrestoredaftersurgery,Iwentonanoverdrive,producingsomanyartworks,thatIevenhadanartexhibition,”hesays.

Devadossstartedsketchingtreesandeverydayobjectsattheageoffi��ve. He transitioned to copyinggreatworksofartlikeMichelangelo’sDavidandBertelThorvaldsen’s

Christus frombooks,experimentingwithwatercolours.

Thefi��rstmilestoneinhisartisticjourneywastheintricatepenandinksketchoftheJubileeChapelinTheAmericanCollege,duringhisfi��nalyearin1956,asa19yearold.“This drawing evoked far greaterenthusiasmfromthestudentsthaneventheones Ididof thecollegebeauty,Bhavani,”recallsDevadossinhisbook Multiple Facets of MyMadurai.Itwasprintedonthecover of the college magazine andcametobehissignaturestyle.

Butitislovethatbroughtouttheartistinhim.WhenhemetMahemathroughamutualcousin,Devadossputhistalenttogoodusebyillustrating almost every letter hewrotetoher.

Mahema,agoldmedallistinFineArts,wastheperfectimpetustohisartisticgenius.“In1966,wedidagreetingcardwithmyoilpaintingofa120ftlongcountryraftonthe

Buckingham Canal near PulicatLake.Manyfriendswanted it,andsowedecidedtodomoresuchheritagecardsandgivetheproceedstocharity.Idrew,shewrotethetext,anditcontinuedevenaftertheaccident,for42yearsuntil2007,whenwesoldarecord33,000cards.”

SpeakingabouthisloveforMaheasheaff��ectionatelyreferstoher,Devadossaffi��rmsthattheirswasamarriagefi��lledwithgenerousdosesoflaughter. “We used to tease eachother, had nicknames, and couldlaughevenduringthelaborioustaskofhavingtoturnMahemainbedevery three hours (to prevent bedsores).”Itwasalsoarelationshipofmutual respect: “Mahema read tome,evenasIsketchedwithlimitedvision.”

He had devised a contraptionaboveherbed,sothatshecouldseehisdrawings.“Evenonthenightsheenteredeternalsleepin2008,MahemaaskedtoseethedrawingIwasmaking of the Clock Tower at theMadrasUniversityandwaspleasedwithit,”hesays.

Devadoss looks forward to twonew publications this year — Ma-dras Inked —aprofuselyillustratedbookonlandmarksinChennai,coauthoredwithSujathaShankarandChallenges, Resilience & Triumph,onhislifewithMahema.

“Thoughmylastartworkwasin2009,Icoulddrawsimple,semiabstractsketcheswithhelp,evenuntilsixmonthsago.I’malsowritingfourlove stories,” says Devadoss, whodictates his thoughts to his secretarySheela.Heplaystheharmonicaevery day and has been learningCarnaticmusicandevenperformedatanengagement.

Drawnto

LOVEArtistManoharDevadoss,recentlyawardedthe

PadmaShri,onhowhislossofvision,deepaff��ectionforhiswifeandthekindnessof

strangersinspiredalifetimeofart

Sketches from anextraordinary life

(Clockwise from right)Manohar and MahemaDevadoss; oil painting

of the raft onBuckingham Canal;sketch of American

College, Madurai; theartist * SPECIAL

ARRANGEMENT

......................................................................................................

The fi��rst milestone in

his artistic journey

was the intricate pen

andink sketch of the

Jubilee Chapel, The

American College

Fabiola Jacob

DELHI THE HINDU

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 202018EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

SHOWCASE

Aprilia SXRAnimportanttwowheelerthatmadeitsdebutattheExpowas

theApriliaSXRmaxiscooter.SettolaunchthisSeptember,themaxiscootergetsalarger

footboardandbiggerseatthanconventionalscooters,which

shouldappealtocomfortorientedbuyers.TheSRwillbe

availableintwovariants–theSXR125andtheSXR160–andis

expectedtobepositionedbetweentheVespaandthe

ApriliaSRrange.

Hyundai CretaOneofthebiggestrevealsattheExpowastheallnewCreta.Thesecondgenmodelfeaturesaradicalnewdesign,repletewithsquaredoutwheelarches,asplitheadlightsetupfl��ankingHyundai’strademark‘cascading’grille,asplittaillampdesign,andfl��ashyalloywheels.Whiletheinteriorisyettobeoffi��ciallyrevealed,expectthecartobewellequippedwithapanoramicsunroofandBlueLinkconnectivitytech.EngineoptionsareexpectedtobesharedwiththeSeltos.

Kia Sonet concept

KiawillbelookingtoemulatethesuccessoftheSeltoswiththeSonetcompactSUVthat’lllaunchlaterthisyear.WhileitisbasedonthesameunderpinningsastheHyundaiVenue,theSonetgetsauniquedesignwithalotofwhatyouseeexpectedtomakeittotheproductioncar.Kiadidn’trevealtheinteriorbutwecantellyoua10.25inchtouchscreen(segmentlargest)willbepartofthepackage.

Tata HBX conceptTatahadtwoconcepts—therebornSierra,andtheHBXconcept.BasedonTata’sALFAplatform,theHBXisnearproductionevolutionoftheH2Xconceptthatmadeitsdébutatthe2019Genevamotorshow.StylingremainsquiteclosetotheH2Xconcept,butwithanumberofdesigndetailstoneddownforamoreproductioncarlook.TheHBXpreviewsaproductionpetrolonlymicroSUVtositbelowtheNexon.

Maruti Futuro-e conceptMaruti’sfuturisticconceptpreviewsa

CretarivallingSUV.Adeviationfromthecarmaker’sdesignlanguage,theFuturoe’sdesignmixesuprighttraditionalSUV

likedesignelementswithsportiertoucheslikefullwidthlightclustersatthefront

andback,andasharplyrakedcoupéroofline.

AUTO EXPO 2020

Stars at the show

We take a look atsome of theconcepts,production cars andbikes from the expoin Greater Noida

Hero Electric AE-47 e-bike

Theelectrictwowheelerthatgarneredmostinterestattheshow

wasHeroElectric’sAE47ebike.TheAE47ispoweredbya6kW

motor,withthecompanyclaiminga topspeedof100kph,anda

060kphtimeof9sec.Italsohasanimpressiveclaimedrangeof

85kminPowermode,and160kminEcomode.Fullchargeto100percentissaidtotakejustfour

hours.Expectalaunchlaterthisyear,withpricesupwardsof₹��1.2

lakh.

Jaiveer Mehra and

Firoze Irani

Skoda Vision IN,

VW Taigun conceptsSkodaandsisterbrandVWshowcasedtheirupcomingmidsizeSUVs,underpinnedbytheshared,Indiaspecifi��cMQBA0INplatform.TheVisionINconceptfromSkoda(inphoto)hadthelookofaproperconcept,repletewithanilluminatedgrilleandbadge,a glassroof,4seatcabinandmore.TheTaigun,ontheotherhand,lookedmoreclosetoproduction.Bothmodelswillarriveinproductionformnextyearandwillbepoweredbythebrand’sTSIturbopetrolengines.

Compass versus Octavia

AmitAgarwal,Bengaluru: Iwantanautomaticcar with a good engine, at about ₹��30 lakh.WhichoneshouldIpickbetweentheJeepCompassandtheSkodaOctavia?Doyousuggestanyothermodel?■ Bothcarsarecompletelydiff��erent.OneisahardasnailsSUVandtheotherisapremiumsedan.Soitreallyboilsdowntoyourneeds.Forlongdistances,especiallyonroughroadsandabitoff��roadtoo,theCompasswilltacklediffi��cultterrainfarbetterthantheOctavia.Ifyourusageismainlyinthecity,withoccasionalhighwayrunning,theSkodaisbetter.Overall,itisamorerefi��ned, smoother and a more comfortable car todrive.

BS-VI model available

AryanAbrol,Faridabad: ShouldIbuytheToyotaInnovaCrystaavailablenow,orwaitforthefacelift?Ifi��ndthecurrentonealittleold.■ YoumissedtheopportunitytobuythecheaperBSIVInnovaCrysta,whichhasjustbeenreplacedwiththeBSVImodelthatgetsonlythe2.4dieselandnotthemore powerful 2.8 of the former. There is no otherchangewith theBSVImodel.The faceliftwill comearoundOctober,sowaitforitifyoufi��ndthecurrentonealittledated.

Volkswagen Polo sold out

Ranveer,Sangli: I’mlookingtobuythetwodoorVolkswagenPoloGTI.Butsinceithasbeendiscontinued,canIgetonebyorder?I’mabigfanofthecarandwouldreallylovetoownone.■ Unfortunately,thelastlotofPoloGTIssoldoutovera yearagoandtherearenoplanstoimportmore.Yourbestbetistotryandfi��ndausedone.Thiswillbediffi��cultthough,asownersdon’twanttopartwiththeirGTIs.However,keepaconstantlookout,youmaygetlucky.

Hormazd Sorabjee is the editor of Autocar India. Mail your

feedback and queries to [emailprotected]

Q AND A WITH HORMAZD

CMYK

M ND-NDE

THE HINDU DELHI

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2020 19EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

SPORT

A fewdecadesago,IndianUniversitiesweresteppingstonestointernational cricket. The Rohinton BariaandVizzyTrophieswerehotlycontested,andplayerslikeBishanBedi,SunilGavaskar,MohinderAmarnath,KapilDev,DilipVengsarkar,Aunshuman Gaekwad, Sanjay Manjrekaremerged.

New nurseryThe new nursery of Indian crickethas been the Under19. Within sixmonthsofleadingIndiatotheworldtitle in2008,ViratKohliplayedhisfi��rst international for the seniorteam. More players have comethroughtheUnder19system—Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, RohitSharma,CheteswarPujara,RavindraJadeja,ShikharDhawan,K.L.Rahul,Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant — thanthroughuniversitycricket.

Thisindicatesboththedeclineofuniversity cricket and the plannedgrowthoftheagegroupsystem.

Where the university stars were,atonetime—theglamourboys—itisnowtheunder19playerswhoarefet

edandaroundwhomfascinatingoriginstoriesarewritten.YashasviJaiswal, PlayeroftheTournament andtopscorerattherecentWorldCupinSouthAfrica,is,at18,alreadyaheroicfi��gure.Hesleptinatentforthreeyears,andsoldpani puri attheAzadMaidan in Mumbai, all the whilekeeping his longterm visionuncluttered.

NowheisonthefringesoftheNationalteam,wasboughtbyRajasthanRoyalsfor₹��2.4croreintheIPL.Itisaheartwarmingstory.

The cricket board’s handling ofunder19has,inrecentyears,probably been more professional, morecompassionate than their handlingof anything else. By putting RahulDravid in charge, and giving him alargely free hand it showed theplayers both respect and concern.DravidcoordinatedwiththeNationalcoachesRaviShastriandAnilKumble, and the pipeline from the Under19totheseniorlevelbecamefreeof the usual impediments to asmooth transition like quotas andpoliticsandpoorjudgements.

Dravid’s personality also meantthatplayerswereeducatedinmuchmore than the forward defence orthe curling legbreak. He has reverence for the game and what itmeans.ItisdoubtfulifthefracasthatfollowedtheendoftheWorldCupfi��nal on Sunday would have takenplace had he been present at thevenue.

Bangladesh’svictorywaswelldeserved,and it isgood for thegamethatateamlowerdownthepeckingorderinworldcricketshouldstunfavouritesIndiawhohavewonthetitlefourtimes.ItisawinthatcandoalotforBangladeshcricket,withmanyoftheir heroes graduating to seniorlevels.

Bad taste in the mouthYet,intheend,thetenseday’scricket leftabad taste in themouthbecauseofplayerbehaviour.AlthoughtheBangladeshcaptainsaidsomething that has been interpreted tomeanhewasapologising,Iamnotsosure. He did use the word “sorry”,but it could have been that he wassorrythatsuchathinghappened.InternationalcaptainsattheUnder19level, may not fully appreciate thenuancesofthelanguage;inanycaseitwasconvenienttobelievehewasapologising and that only one sidewastoblame.

Clearly the International CricketCouncil thought otherwise and thevideo footagedidsuggest thatbothteamswereinvolved.Bycallingoutthree Bangladeshi and two Indianplayers,theICCmadethatclear.

You can see this as immatureplayers(inbothageandexperience)reactingtovictoryordefeat,andtherefore let it go as “one of thosethings.” But these players are onestepawayfromplayingfortheseniorteam,andsuchbehaviourhastobe

punished now. To see a bunch ofteenagersbehaveinthismanneronasportsfi��eldisnauseating.

Thetensionhadbeenbuildingupforawhile.Abigchunkof theresponsibility,therefore,shouldrestontheumpireswhocouldhavenippedthetroubleinthebudhadtheybeenmore proactive and pulled up theplayers during the course of thematch.Itispartoftheirjobdescriptiontokeepthingsonanevenkeelonthefi��eldofplay;suchunrulybehaviourisseldomspontaneousandgathers steam over the day. Thatshould be clearer to the men incharge than anyone sitting in thestandsorwatchingontelevision.

That India had both the tournament’shighestscoreranditshighestwickettaker(RaviBishnoi)isarefl��ection of the depth in Indian cricket.Losingafi��nalisnocrime.WhatIndiasometimesgetswrongistheinjurymanagement and workload of theunder19players.

A warningOne of the heroes of India’s 2018WorldCupwin,thefastbowlerKamleshNagarkotti’swords(inaninterviewlastyear)arepoignant."At19,Imustberunninginandbowlingfast.ButhereIam,notplaying,notstudying,outinjured,awayfromhome,allbymyself,andtryingtogetfi��tevenasmyfriendsareplayingintheIPLandforIndiaA.Itistough.”

Thatisawarningtoo.

How India’s U-19s became the new glamour boys

BETWEEN WICKETSsuresh menon

Indian players enjoyed agooddayattheoffi��ceinthe$162,000 Bengaluru OpenATP Tennis Challenger atKSLTA Stadium here onTuesday.

WhileSakethMyneniandNikiPoonachaknockedouthigherranker opponents,Sumit Nagal underlined hisclass with a comfortablewin.

Poonachacreatedahugestir,takingoutfavouriteLukasRosol64,26,63inthesecond round. Rosol, whofamouslyupsetRafaelNadalinthesecondroundofWimbledon2012,struggledtogetgoingagainstPoonacha.

ForPoonacha,ranked937placesbelowRosol,thiswasthebiggestvictoryofhiscareer.“Ireceivedawildcardfor this tournament, and Iwantedtomakethemostofit.Thiswin isahugeconfi��dence boost,” the 24yearoldPoonachasaid.

As the crowd began toswellintheeveningsession,Nagal took centrestage.Armedwithacrushingforehand,NagalwhippedTunisia’sMalekJaziri60,64.Jaziri made the mistake ofdropping too many shortballs,whichNagalhadlittletrouble dispatching forwinners.

Nagalranaroundtheballtogethisforehandintoplay— a ploy that worked well.“My forehand is mystrength. I’m not going todefeatanyonewithaserveandvolley game,” Nagalsaid.

The22yearoldNagal,however, must be worriedabouthisweakserve,whichconceded sevendoublefaults.

Jaziri,whor*achedacareerhigh world ranking of42onlyayearago,madetoomanyunforcederrors.Jaziriwasunhappywithafewlinecalls,buthisprotestshadlittleimpactontheoutcomeofthematch.

Myneni, meanwhile, recorded a 63, 63 win oversixthseededRussianEvgenyDonskoy. Sasikumar MukundwastherareIndiantodisappoint,losing57,36to

IlyaIvashkaofBelarus.

Theresults:Secondround: Sa-keth Myneni bt Evgeny Don-skoy (Rus) 6-3, 6-3; Sumit Na-gal bt Malek Jaziri (Tun) 6-0,6-4; Yuichi Sugita (Jpn) bt Va-clav Safranek (Cze) 6-4, 6-3;Niki Poonacha bt Lucas Rosol(Cze) 6-4, 2-6, 6-3; Ilya Ivashka(Blr) bt Sasikumar Mukund 7-5,6-3.

First round: Benjamin Bonzi(Fra) bt Manish Sureshkumar6-2, 6-3; Stefano Travaglia (Ita)bt Filippo Baldi (Ita) 6-2, 6-1;Abhinav Shanmugam bt DanielMasur (Ger) 7-5, 6-3; JulianOcleppo (Ita) bt Anirudh Chan-drashekar 6-2, 6-1.

Doubles(fi��rstround): Frederi-co Ferreira Silva (Por) & NikolaMilojevic (Srb) bt Sriram Balaji& Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan 6-7(1), 7-5, [10-8]; C. Hsieh (Tpe) &D. Molchanov (Ukr) bt N.Prashanth & Vishnu Vardhan6-3, 7-6(6); Purav Raja & Ram-kumar Ramanathan bt PrajwalDev & Adil Kalyanpur 6-2, 6-2.

Poonachapostsbiggestwinofcareer,dumpsRosol

BENGALURU OPEN

Ashwin Achal

Bengaluru

Holdingcentrestage: Sumit Nagal had little troublecapitalising on Malek Jaziri’s errors. * SUDHAKARA JAIN

Nagal rolls over Jaziri

Inastunningreversaloffortunes,NewZealandinfl��ictedanOneDayInternationalserieswhitewash(30)onIndiawithafi��vewicketvictory inthethirdandfi��nalmatchonTuesday.

Flying startHenryNichollsscored80off��103ballsandMartinGuptillmade 66 off�� 46 as the hostscored300forfi��vein47.1overs. Colin de Grandhommesmacked 58 not out off�� 28ballsat theendtohelpsealthewinwith17ballstospare.

Earlier, India had scored296forsevenafterbeingputin,thankstoK.L.Rahul’s(112)fourthODIhundred.

New Zealand got off�� to afl��yingstartasGuptillandNicholls put on 50 off�� just 40balls. Overall, they scored106forthefi��rstwicket.

Guptillsmackedsix4sandfour6sastheIndiannewballbowlers facedanonslaught.ShardulThakurandNavdeepSaini struggled to fi��nd theirrhythm and were taken forruns, while Jasprit Bumrahfi��nished the series wicketless.YuzvendraChahal(347)provided the breakthrough,bowlingGuptillinthe17thover.Nichollsscoredahalfcenturyoff��72balls.

He added 53 runs withKaneWilliamson,butChahalstrucktwiceandRavindraJadeja removed the informRoss Taylor cheaply. NewZealandwasreduced to 189forfourinthe33rdover.

de Grandhomme thensmashed a halfcentury off��only 21 balls. His knock includedsix4sandthree6s,ashis 31run fi��fthwicket partnershipwithJimmyNeesham(19)cameoff��only31balls.

Earlier, Rahul’s fi��rsthundredatNo.5helpedanchor India’s innings. He hit

nine4sandtwo6s,andrescuedIndiafrom62forthree.

He put on 100 withShreyasIyer(62,63b)forthefourth wicket, and 107 withManishPandey(42,48b)forthefi��fth.HamishBennettfi��nishedwithfourfor64.

India made another poorstart. Kyle Jamieson bowledMayank Agarwal, who hassuff��eredatorridtourthusfar.

ThebigblowcamewhenViratKohliwasoutintheseventhover.PrithviShawprovidedtheinitialfl��ourishwith40 off�� 42 balls, but he wasrunout going for a secondruninthe13thover.

Shreyasthenbattedsteadilyandreachedhishalfcentu

ry off�� 52 balls, his third 50plusscoreinthisseries.Buthecouldn’tcarryon.

Onus on RahulIt was down to Rahul then,whocrossed50off��66balls.His stand with Pandey progressedwellasIndiareached250inthe45thover.

Rahul’shundredcameoff��104balls,andheperishedina bid to accelerate. This iswhere India’s innings fellapart, as Pandey also holedout off�� Bennett shortlyafterwards.

Taylor was adjudgedPlayeroftheSeries for his194runsinthreeinningsandbeingdismissedonlyonce.

A sweep for a sweep, Kiwis exact sweet revengeFirstblankingforIndiainafullODIseriesinNewZealand;Rahul’scenturygoesinvain

INDIA IN NZ

Press Trust of India

Mt. Maunganui

Thedespatcher: Colin de Grandhomme’s onslaught sealed the match for New Zealand. * AFP

INDIAPrithvi Shaw run out 40 (42b,3x4, 2x6), Mayank Agarwal bJamieson 1 (3b), Virat Kohli cJamieson b Bennett 9 (12b,1x6), Shreyas Iyer c de Grand-homme b Neesham 62 (63b,9x4), K.L. Rahul c Jamieson bBennett 112 (113b, 9x4, 2x6),Manish Pandey c Santner b Ben-nett 42 (48b, 2x4), RavindraJadeja (not out) 8 (7b, 1x4),Shardul Thakur c de Grand-homme b Bennett 7 (6b, 1x4),Navdeep Saini (not out) 8 (6b,2x4); Extras (b-1, w-6): 7. Total(for 7 wkts. in 50 overs): 296.

FALLOFWICKETS1-8 (Agarwal, 1.6 overs), 2-32(Kohli, 6.4), 3-62 (Shaw, 12.1),

4-162 (Shreyas, 30.3), 5-269(Rahul, 46.4), 6-269 (Pandey,46.5), 7-280 (Shardul, 48.2).

NEWZEALANDBOWLINGSouthee 9-0-59-0, Jamieson10-0-53-1, Bennett 10-1-64-4,de Grandhomme 3-0-10-0,Neesham 8-0-50-1, Santner10-0-59-0.

NEWZEALANDMartin Guptill b Chahal 66(46b, 6x4, 4x6), Henry Nichollsc Rahul b Shardul 80 (103b,9x4), Kane Williamson c Agar-wal b Chahal 22 (31b, 2x4), RossTaylor c Kohli b Jadeja 12 (18b,1x4), Tom Latham (not out) 32(34b, 3x4), James Neesham cKohli b Chahal 19 (25b, 1x4,1x6), Colin de Grandhomme

(not out) 58 (28b, 6x4, 3x6);Extras (b-1, lb-2, w-6, nb-2): 11.Total (for 5 wkts. in 47.1 overs):300.

FALLOFWICKETS1-106 (Guptill, 16.3), 2-159(Williamson, 27.1), 3-186(Taylor, 31.5), 4-189 (Nicholls,32.5), 5-220 (Neesham, 39.3).

INDIABOWLINGBumrah 10-0-50-0, Saini 8-0-68-0, Chahal 10-1-47-3,Shardul 9.1-0-87-1, Jadeja 10-0-45-1.

Toss: New Zealand.

ManoftheMatch: Nicholls;ManoftheSeries: Taylor.

New Zealand won by fivewickets with 17 balls to spareand clinched series 3-0.

SCOREBOARD

IndiacaptainViratKohlionTuesday berated his bowlersfortheirmediocreperformanceashetriedtoexplain the team’s fi��rst ODIseries whitewash in overthree decades, saying thevisitors lacked composureallthrough.

The fi��vewicket defeatheremeantIndialosttheseries03toaninjuryplaguedNewZealandthathadbeendefl��atedbya05whitewashofitsownintheT20format.

Missed chances“Thegameswerenotasbadasthescorelinesuggests.Itboilsdowntothosechancesthat we didn’t grab,” Kohlisaid.

“With the ball, we werenot able to make breakthroughs,wewerenotatallgood on the fi��eld. We haven’t played so badly butwhenyoudon’tgrabthosechances,youdon’tdeservetowin,”hesaid.

Theineff��ectivenessofthe

bowlerscanbegaugedfromthefactthattheteam’spacespearhead Jasprit Bumrahfi��nishedtheserieswithoutawicket and the attackcouldn’t dismiss the complete rival lineup evenonce.

Kohli lauded New Zealandforbouncingbackafterthe T20 hammering. “NewZealand played with a lotmoreintensity,”hesaid.

He is looking forward tothe Test series, which beginsonFebruary21.“Ithinkbecause of the Test Championship, every match hasthat much more importance.Wehaveareallybalanced Test team and wefeelwecanwintheseries,”hesaid.

Kane Williamson, whomissed thefi��rst twogamesduetoinjury,waslavishinhispraiseforhisteam’sgrit.

“An outstanding performance, very clinical. Indiaputusunderpressure,butthe way the guys foughtbackwiththeballandkeptthemtoapartotal,”hesaid.

Wedidn’tdeservetowin,saysKohli

Standingtall: Rahul’s century provided some consolationon a day when nothing much went right for India. * AFP

Press Trust of India

Mt. Maunganui

India will fancy its chancesofclaimingthewomen’sT20TriserieswhenitfacesAustralia in the summit clashhereonWednesday.

After failingtofi��re inunison in itsfi��rst three leaguematches, India produced agoodbattingshowtorecorda sevenwicketwinonSaturday,whichtooktheHarmanpreetKaurledside into thefi��nal.

Smriti Mandhana continued to be the batting bulwark along with Harman

preet, but the mosthearteningthingwasthat16yearoldShafaliVermacamegoodinthelastgameagainstAustralia.

Thehomesideposted173forfi��ve,butIndiaoverhauledthetargetin19.4overs,largelydue toShafali’s49off��28balls and Smriti’s 55 off�� 48balls.

Jemimah Rodrigues alsocontributedwithaquickfi��re19ball30 tohelpIndiachasedownthetarget.

Bowlers doing well

The Indian bowlers havebeendoingwellinthistournament with the likes ofDeepti Sharma and Rajesh

wari Gayakwad producingconsistentperformances.Theteams(from): India: Harmanpreet Kaur(Capt.), Shafali Verma, SmritiMandhana, Jemimah Ro-drigues, Veda Krishnamurthy,Taniya Bhatia, Deepti Sharma,Shikha Pandey, Pooja Vastrakar,Rajeshwari Gayakwad, RadhaYadav, Richa Ghosh, ArundhatiReddy, Harleen Deol, NuzhatParween and Poonam Yadav.Australia: Alyssa Healy, BethMooney, Ashleigh Gardner, MegLanning (Capt.), Ellyse Perry,Rachael Haynes, Jess Jonassen,Delissa Kimmince, AnnabelSutherland, Georgia Wareham,Megan Schutt, Nicola Carey, So-phie Molineux, Erin Burns andTayla Vlaeminck.

Match starts at 8.10 a.m. IST.

Stagesetforenthrallingfi��nal

Impactplayer: Shafali Verma, who is back in her groove, willhave a crucial role to play. * GETTY IMAGES

IndiawillbebuoyedafterbeatingAustraliainpreviousgame

TRI-SERIES

Press Trust of India

Melbourne

India forward Lalremsiamihasbeennamedasthe2019FIHWomen’sRisingStarofthe Year, the InternationalHockey Federation (FIH)saidonTuesday.

The 19yearold attackertook theprizeaheadofArgentina’s Julieta JankunasandFrederiqueMatlaoftheNetherlands, who fi��nishedsecondandthirdrespectively, the FIH said in astatement.

TheplayerfromMizoram

got40%ofallthevotescast.She got 47.7 % of her votesfrom among national associations, while the media,fans/players contributed28.4% and 36.4%respectively.

Lalremsiamifi��rstcameinto the wider hockey consciousness at the HockeyWomen’sWorldCupin2018when she was one of thestandout players of thetournament.

SincethenshehasbeenattheheartoftheriseoftheIndianwomen’shockeyteam.

LalremsiamiisFIHRisingStarofYear

Lalremsiami. * GETTY IMAGES

Press Trust of India

Lausanne

CMYK

M ND-NDE

DELHI THE HINDU

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 202020EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

SPORT

NBA:SonyTen1(SD&HD),5.30a.m.Women’sT20Itriseriesfinal:AustraliavsIndia,SonySix(SD&HD),8.10a.m.RanjiTrophy:UttarPradeshvs Himachal Pradesh, StarSports2(SD&HD),9.30a.m.ISL:StarSports2(SD&HD),7.30p.m.South Africa vs England:1stT20I,SonySix(SD&HD),9.30p.m.

TV PICKS

PascalshinesasRaptorsextendwinningstreakLOS ANGELES

PascalSiakamscored34

pointsasTorontoRaptors

shruggedofftheirinjury

problemstoextendtheir

winningstreakto15games

onMondaywitha137126

defeatofMinnesota

Timberwolves.Theresults:Hornets87btPistons76;Nets106btPacers105;Magic135btHawks126;Raptors137btTimberwolves126;Bucks123btKings111;Jazz123btMavericks119;Nuggets127btSpurs120;Heat113btWarriors101;Lakers125btSuns100.AGENCIES

IN BRIEF

RANJI FINAL ROUND

FIXTURESCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

GROUPADelhi v Rajasthan (New

Delhi);GujaratvAndhra(Nadiad);HyderabadvVidarbha(Hyderabad);PunjabvBengal(Patiala).

GROUPBKarnatakavBaroda(Ben

galuru); Mumbai v MadhyaPradesh(Mumbai);SaurashtravTamilNadu(Rajkot);Uttar Pradesh v Himachal(Lucknow).

GROUPCChhattisgarh v Services

(Raipur);Jammu&KashmirvHaryana(Jammu);MaharashtravUttarakhand(Baramati);OdishavJharkhand(Cuttack);AssamvTripura(Guwahati).

PLATEMizoram v Goa (Barasat);

PondicherryvNagaland(Puduch*erry);ManipurvChandigarh (Kolkata); ArunachalPradeshvMeghalaya(Dibrugarh); Sikkim v Bihar (Cuttack).

Ontheeveofthefi��nalroundof Ranji Trophy leaguematch against Rajasthan,Delhi isnoteven lookingatanalmostimprobablemathematicalpossibilityof makingthequarterfi��nals.

Having collected just 18pointsandplacedtiedninthwithdefendingchampionVidarbha,Delhihasmoreuncontrollable factors to dealwith than the controllableonesinitspathtotheknockoutstage.

Inall,therearefi��vequarterfi��nalspotsfor18teamsdividedintotwoElitegroups.

The requirementsFirst of all, Delhi needs tobeat Rajasthan (16 points)withabonuspointandkeepup a quotient higher thanKarnataka(25).

It has to then hope thatPunjab (24) and Karnatakalose,UttarPradesh(20)andTamilNadu(19)arelockedindrawn encounters and Vidarbha does not gain a bonus.

Inshort,fartoomanyresultshavetofavourDelhitohelpitsqualifi��cation.

Inanycase,barringafew

matches, Delhi has dishedout toomanyordinaryperformancestomeritaplaceinthe lasteight. Injuriesto its

pace bowlers hurt the sidethroughouttheseason.

Delhi’s toporder battinghas failed more often than

not.TwomatcheswhereDelhirosetotheoccasion,andwon,cameathomeagainstHyderabadandVidarbha.

Rajasthan, on the otherhand,isoutofthereckoningfor a place in the lasteightstage,withfourdefeatsinsevenmatches.

Consolation

Now, much like Delhi, it islookingforaconsolationoffi��nishingonahigh.

Delhihasmadeachangein the squad with spinnerShivank Vashisht coming inforleftarmseamerKulwantKhejroliya.Sincethepitchislikelytoassistthespinners,Delhi’s decision looksjustifi��ed.

ForRajasthan,AshokMenaria (512 runs), RiturajSingh (22 wickets), TanveerUlHaq(21)andS.K.Sharma(19) have been major contributorstotheteam’slimitedsuccessthisseason.

It is much like Delhi, forwhichNitishRana(477runs)and Simarjeet Singh (26wickets) have stood out inthemidstofsome inconsistentperformers.

Delhi,Rajasthanlooktofi��nishonahighNeitherteamhasarealisticchanceofmakingthequarterfi��nals

RAKESH RAO

NEW DELHI

RANJI TROPHY

Change: DelhiwillbringinspinnerShivankVashishtforleftarmseamerKulwantKhejroliyainitsclashagainstRajasthan. * FILE PHOTO: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

TwoIndians—AkashSinghandRaviBishnoi—andthreeBangladeshplayerswereonTuesdayfoundguiltyofbringingthegameintodisreputeandhandedsuspensionpointsfortheuglyonfi��eldconfrontationthatmarredtheUnder19WorldCupfi��nalinPotchefstroom(SouthAfrica)onSunday.

AkashandBishnoi,alongwithBangladesh’sTowhidHridoy,ShamimHossainandRakibulHasan,werefoundguiltyofbreachingtheICCCodeofConduct.

“FiveplayershavebeenfoundguiltyofaLevel3breachoftheICCCodeofConductforPlayersandSupportPersonnel...(they)werechargedwithviolatingArticle2.21ofthecode,whilstBishnoireceivedafurthercharge

ofbreachingArticle2.5,”theICCsaidinastatement.

“Bishnoiacceptedalevel1chargeofbreachingArticle2.5foraseparateincidentduringthematch,whereheusedlanguage,actionsorgestureswhichdisparageorwhichcouldprovokeanaggressivereactionfromabatter,”saidtheICC.

“Forthishereceivedafurthertwodemeritpointsmeaningsevendemeritpointswillremainonhisrecordforthenexttwoyears.”

OnesuspensionpointmeansaplayerwillbeineligibleforoneODIorT20I,U19orAteammatch.

Theywillbeappliedfortheforthcominginternationalmatchestheplayersaremostlikelytoparticipateineitherattheseniororunder19level.

Fiveu19playershandedsuspensionpointsAkash,Bishnoi,Hridoy,Shamim

andRakibulfoundguilty

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

DUBAI

SledgingmayhavebeenAustralia’s ‘gift’ to cricket, butthe behaviour of playersfrom India and BangladeshduringandaftertheICCUnder19 World Cup fi��nal onSunday has left a few Indiagreats and administrators‘shocked’.

The West Indians neverhad to sledge. “That look,eyebrows raised, hands onhips,andaviciousbouncerpast your nose would givethe message,” rememberedKapilDev,whoadmittedhewasshockedat themannerinwhichtheIndianandBangladesh juniors conductedthemselves.

Control the aggression“I welcome aggression.Nothing wrong in it. But ithastobecontrolledaggression.Youcan’tcrossthelineof decency in the name of

beingcompetitive.Personally, I would say it was unacceptablethatyoungstersputup such obnoxious displayon the cricket fi��eld,” henoted.

Mohammad Azharuddin,who led India in 47 Tests,wasalsocriticalofboththeteams. “How can you dothis? You just keep abusingtheopponent,rightthroughthe game, in the name ofplaying hard. Australiansplayedhardalwaysbutwithoutgettingpersonal.Wehadfastbowlerswhodidnotbelieve inusingcusswordstopumpthemselvesuporupsetthebatsmen.”

Unpleasant sightKapil,oneofthegreatestthegame has known, wantedtheyoungsterstorememberthattheyrepresentthecountryandhavetosetexamples.“You all can lip read whatthey were uttering. I don’t

want to take names but itwas unpleasant to see. Theboys were wasting theirenergybyindulginginneedlesssledging.”

Another great, Sunil Gavaskar,hasalwaysbeencriticalofthepoorbehaviouronthe fi��eld by modern cricketers.Hewouldnever fail toquestion the act of bowler

liketoseetheBoardtotakesomestrict action to setanexample.Cricketisnotaboutabusingtheopponent.Iamsurethereisenoughreasonfor these youngsters to bedealtwithfi��rmly,”saidKapil.

Azharuddin hoped thesupportstaff��wasaskedtoexplain. “I would take actionagainst the errant playersbutalsowanttoknowwhatrole has the support staff��played in educating theyoungsters. Act before it istoo late. These youngstersarethefutureofIndiancricket. They have to be disciplined.”

abusingthebatsmanongettinghiswicket.

Kapil also held similarviews. “When you have gotthebatsmanoutwhatistheneedofcursinghim.Haven’tyouwonyourbattlebygettinghimout?”heasked.

Kapil and Azharuddinwanted the Board and thecoachestoactfast.“Iwould

Indiagreats‘shocked’byyoungsters’conductYoucan’tcrossthelineofdecencyinthenameofbeingcompetitive:Kapil

VIJAY LOKAPALLY

NEW DELHI

KapilDev.* FILE PHOTO: M. VEDHAN

Mohd.Azharuddin.* FILE PHOTO: V.V. SUBRAHMANYAM

<> How can you do

this? You just keep

abusing the

opponent, right

through the game, in

the name of playing

hard

Mohd. Azharuddin

SportsMinisterKirenRijijuonMondaysaidattheParliament that lifelong pensionsarebeinggiventoathletesunderthe‘PensiontoMeritorious Sportspersons’scheme.

He informed the RajyaSabha that 627 sportspersonsarecurrentlyreceivingmonthlypensionsunderthescheme. Indian sportspersonswinningmedalsat internationalsportingorparalympic events are eligibleforlifelongpensionuponre

tirement, or after attainingthe age of 30 years, whicheverislater.

In a written reply to aquestion, Rijiju said thatmonthly pensions, rangingbetween ₹��12,000 and₹��20,000, are being disbursedundertheschemetomedal winners at eventssuchastheOlympicGames,CommonwealthGamesandAsian Games, World CupsandWorldChampionships.

He also said the governmentiscomingtotheaidofformer sportspersons whoarestruggling.

Lifelongpensionbeinggiventoathletes:RijijuPress Trust of India

New Delhi

WorldrapidchampionKoneru Humpy and fellow Indian Dronavalli Harika settledforcontrastingdrawsinthe fourth round of theCairns Cup chess tournamenthere.

Humpywasheldtoa37movedrawbyKaterynaLagno of Russia in a GrunfeldDefencegamewhileHarikacouldnotforceawinagainstAmerican Irina Krish in aPaulsen Sicilian game onMonday.

Quiet gameHumpy and Lagno shared

the point in a quiet gamewhileHarikaandKrushbattleditoutfor44movesbeforesigningthepeacetreaty.

WorldchampionJuWenjun posted her fi��rst win inthe 10player tournament,gettingthebetterofValentinaGuninain59moves.

Former world championMariyaMuzychukheldleaderNanaDzagnidzeinaRichterRauzer encounter, leavingthelatterstillatthetopof the standings. YoungAmericanCarissaYip’smiserycontinuedasshelosttoformer world championAlexandraKosteniuk.

While Dzagnidze leads

withthreepointsfromfourrounds, fourplayers—Wenjun, Lagno, Muzychuk andHarika — are close behindwith2.5.Humpyisseventhwithtwopointsandwillfacea tough task against Dzagnidzeinthenextround.

Harika meets Gunina inroundfi��ve.

Theresults:

Fourth round: Mariya Muzychuk (2.5) drew with NanaDzagnidze (3), K. Humpy (2)drewKaternyaLagno(2.5),JuWenjun(2)beatValentinaGunina (1), D. Harika (2.5) drewwithIrinaKrush(1.5),AlexandraKosteniuk(2)beatCarissaYip(0).

HumpyandHarikaheldtodrawsinCairnsCupPress Trust of India

St. Louis (USA)

Divij Sharan and Artem SitakofNewZealandcausedafl��utter, shocking top seedsAustinKrajicekandFrankoSkugor76(3),63intheprequarterfi��nalofthe$804,180ATP tournament onTuesday.

In the $275,000 WTAevent in Hua Hin, AnkitaRainabeganwellbutKatarzynaKawaofPolandralliedto a 36, 60, 61 victory inthefi��rstround.

Theresults:Firstround:

$804,180 ATP, New York,USA: ArtemSitak(Nzl)&DivijSharanbtAustinKrajicek(US)& FrankoSkugor(Cro)76(3),63.

$275,000WTA,HuaHin,Thailand: KatarzynaKawa(Pol)btAnkitaRaina36,60,61.

$15,000 ITF men, Sharm ElSheikh, Egypt: Piotr Matuszewski (Pol) & David Poljak(Cze)btMehlulliDonAyandaSibanda(Zim)&AryanGoveas75,46,[102].

$15,000 ITF men, Monastir,Tunisia: RishabAgarwalbtSebastianPrechtel(Ger)63,62.

SharanandSitakstuntopseeds

SPORTS BUREAU

NEW YORK

INDIANS ABROAD

KanoutehelpsAizawlbeatTRAUAIZAWL

AbdoulayeKanoute’sbrace

(75th&87th)poweredAizawl

toa20winoverTRAUin

theirILeaguematchon

Tuesday.Withthematch

headingforadraw,Kanoute

steppedinandswungthe

contestAizawl’sway.At

Imphal,IndianArrowsheld

hostNerocatoagoalless

draw.PTI

FootballlegendPeleisexperiencing “a kind of depression” and barely leaveshome anymore becausehealth problems have lefthimunabletowalknormally, his son said in aninterview.

“He’s pretty fragile intermsofhismobility...andthatmakeshimsuff��erakindofdepression,”Edinhosaidof his 79yearold father,who has had a series ofhealth problems in recentyears.Justimagine,he’sthe‘King,’ he was always suchanimposingfi��gure,andnowhe can’t walk normally. Hegets very shy, very embarrassed about that,” his sonsaid in an interview published on Globoesporte-.com onMonday.

Pele, the pride of Brazilian football and the onlyplayer to win three WorldCups(1958,1962and1970),

isconsideredbymanytobethegreatestfootballerofalltime.Hehasbeeninandoutof hospital in recent yearsforvarioushealthissues.

He never fully recoveredfrom one of his hip operations, leaving him dependent on a walker, Edinhosaid.“He’sdoingabitbetterthan when he was in awheelchairrecently,buthestillhasahardtimegetting

around,”saidEdinho,49.Pele’spublicappearances

havegrownincreasinglyrarewith age. Last April he travelledtoParisforapromotional appearance with KylianMbappe,buthadtobehospitalisedshortlyafterforkidneyproblems.

In2014,hewasplacedinintensivecarefordialysisaftercontractingasevereurinaryinfection.

Peleexperiencingdepression:sonAgence France-Presse

Rio de Janeiro

Vagariesoflife: HealthproblemshaveleftPeleleadingareclusivelifeandsuff��ering“aformofdepression". * AFP

DaleSteynisdeterminedtobe part of South Africa’ssquad for the T20 WorldCupinAustraliainOctoberandNovemberafterswitchinghisfocusfromTestcrickettotheshortestformofthegame.

South Africa’s alltimeleading Test wickettakerwill be 37 by the time theglobalshowpiecestartsandhasnotplayedinternationalcricketsincelastMarch.

But,hesaidonTuesday,he was looking forward tohis comeback in the fi��rstT20I against England onWednesday.

“I love playing cricket,”he said. “I wake up everyday and I can’t see myselfdoing anything else rightnow.”Steynsaidhehaddiscussedsomeoptionsforlifeaftercricketbutthatwassomething for the future. Aslong as that drive is stilltheretoplayatthehighestlevel,togetbattersout,fox

them and outsmart themandthatkindofstuff��,ifIcando that I’m going to continuetodothat,”hesaid.

Steynwasselectedforthe2019 Cricket World Cup inEngland and Wales butdidn’tplayagamebeforereturninghomewithashoulderinjury.

SteynsetssightsonWCAgence France-Presse

East London

Stillgotit: DaleSteynsayshecan’tseehimselfdoinganythingelseatthemoment. * GETTY IMAGES

K. Srikanth spearheadedIndia’s 41 mauling of Kazakhstan in its openinggroup match of the Asiateam badminton championships here onTuesday.

Srikanth, Lakshya Senand Subhankar Dey wontheirmatcheseasilywhilethedoublespairswononeandlostone.

The women’s team didnottravelforthecompetition.Theresult:Men:GroupB: India4btKazakshtan1(K.SrikanthbtDmitriyPanarin2110,217;LakshyaSenbtArturNiyazov2113,218;SubhankarDeybtKhaitmuratKulmatov2111,215;H.S.Prannoy& ChiragShettylosttoNiyazov & Panarin 2118, 1621,1921;M.R.Arjun&DhruvKapilabtNikitaBragin&KhaitmuratKulmatov2114,2118).

IndiabeatsKazakhstan

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

MANILA

Delhi and District CricketAssociation ombudsmanJustice(Retd)DeepakVermaonTuesdayappointedformerchiefElectionCommissionerNavinChawlaaselectoral offi��cer for theelectionofpresident,treasureandotherposts.

DDCA president RajatSharma had resigned inNovemberwhile(BJPMLA)Om Prakash Sharma wasdisqualifi��edastreasureaccordingtoLodhaCommittee Recommendations forholdingpublicoffi��ce.

Chawlaispolloffi��cer

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI

GURUGRAM: ChandniSrinivasan overcame stiff�� resistance from Sahiba Singhfora63,67(4),62victoryin the girls prequarterfi��nalsof theAsianunder14tennistournamentatBaliawasonTuesday.

Theresults:Girls(prequarterfi��nals): TamannaTakoriabtRajaSarvagnya60,62;SamikshaDabasbtJanviAsawa60, 60; Shruti Ahlawat btShagun Kumari 61, 61;Saummya Ronde bt SanjanaDevineni57,62,61;RidhiChoudharybtJeeteshKumari67(2),60,75;JoLeenSaw(Mas) bt Sahiba Taneja 60,61;ChandniSrinivasanbtSahibaSingh63,67(4),62.

Chandniadvances

Aswidelyanticipated,incumbent secretary Bharat SinghChauhanand fourmembersof his panel have been dulyelected unopposed to theprincipalpostsoftheAllIndiaChessFederation(AICF).

SinceM/s.AjayPatel(president), Vipnesh Bhardwaj(vicepresident), BharatSingh Chauhan (secretary),Arun Singh ( jointsecretary)andNareshSharma(treasurer)werefoundtobetheonlynomineeswithvalidnominationpapers,suchanannouncementwasoncards.

An order issued late onTuesday evening by MadrasHigh Courtappointed Returning Offi��cer Justice F.M.Ibrahim Kalifulla stated:“Havingregardtothesaidul

timate outcome of the Election process for the Offi��ceBearers of All India ChessFederation(AICF)fortheperiod 20202023, the proposedelectionscheduledon23.02.2020cannottakeplaceand the same is declared assuch.”

In his order under “ProceedingsoftheReturningOffi��cer”,theformerjudgeofSupremeCourtstated,“Form6inrespectofthepostsofpresident, honorary secretaryand treasurer consists of asinglecandidateonlyforthethree posts. The number ofpoststobefi��lledindisputablyfor each of the above threeposts is one post only. The

numberofcontestingcandidatesinForm6forthepostsofpresident,honorarysecretary and treasurer beingequal, all such contestingcandidates should bedeemed to be duly electedunopposedtothosepostsasperpara9(1)oftheNationalSports Development Code,2011.

There, it has become unnecessary to take a poll forelectiontosuchposts.

“Inrespectofthepostsofvicepresident and jointsecretaries, here again the arrangementinForm6revealsthat as against six posts ofvicepresident and six postsof jointsecretary, the nameof only one candidate eachrespectively alone could bearranged.Therefore,thereisnoscope forapoll forelectiontothesaidpostsofvicepresidentandjointsecretaryalso.”

Chauhan,fourotherselectedunopposedAICF ELECTIONS

RAKESH RAO

NEW DELHI

<> ...the proposed

election scheduled

on 23.02.2020

cannot take place

and the same is

declared as such

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References