Top Banner
I n a worrying sign for the BJP, despite its thrust on making nationalism as its main poll plank, unemployment has emerged as the key issue for voters in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Chhattisgarh. A survey conducted by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) shows that more than half of the respon- dents list employment as their top priority and they ranked the NDA Government’s per- formance in this area at an abysmal 2.15 on a scale of 5. The ADR survey shows 58.84 per cent voters pitching for jobs/employment for youth in Chhattisgarh; 50 per cent voters wanting jobs in Bihar; 70 per cent in Telangana and 61.91 per cent in Madhya Pradesh. For them, employ- ment is the major issue and they expect political parties to do something concrete. As per reports, the Modi Government has failed to deliv- er on the employment front. In January, the Modi Government had withheld the release of the National Sample Survey Office Periodic Labour Force Survey that pegged joblessness at a 45- year high of 6.1 per cent dur- ing 2017-2018. In March, it was reported that a survey by the Labour Bureau on the number of jobs created under the Micro Units Development & Refinance Agency (MUDRA) would not be made public for another two months, until after the elec- tions. The Modi Government had earlier also withheld the 6th annual employment-unem- ployment survey by the Labour Bureau, which showed India’s unemployment rate in 2016-17 was the highest in four years at 3.9 per cent. The Chhattisgarh Survey Report stated that voters’ pri- orities were neglected by the Government. According to the report, employment, public transport and better roads were top priorities for voters and the Government performed “below average” on all three. The sur- vey shows better job opportu- nities (58.84 per cent), better public transport (38.41 per cent) and better roads (37.78 per cent) are the top three vot- ers’ priorities in the State. The survey shows that the Government performance on these three voters’ priorities was below average. In rural areas, the concerns were employ- ment, availability of water and electricity for agriculture and the Government performed below average. According to the survey, employment, better law and order, and better roads are major concerns of urban vot- ers. “The Government’s per- formance on urban voter pri- orities of better employment opportunities (2.22), better law and order/policing (2.20) and better roads (2.12) was rated below average. In addi- tion, the Government has per- formed poorly in providing public transport (2.18) and drinking water (2.52),” the report said. The survey report stated that the previous BJP Government in Chhattisgarh, led by Raman Singh, per- formed “poorly and under- whelmingly” on almost all Governance parameters, including employment, public transport, agricultural infra- structure and law and order. S cotching speculation about the possible alliance between the AAP and the Congress, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said Congress president Rahul Gandhi refused to forge an alliance with his party for the Lok Sabha polls in Delhi. Talking to reporters on the sidelines of an event out of the national Capital, Kejriwal said the Congress chief had refused his request to “join hands with the AAP” during a one-to-one meeting recently. However, the official com- munication from the Congress High Command in this regard is yet to be made public. Rahul had earlier said at a public meeting that there would be no truck with the AAP in Delhi. Moreover, the issue of alliance with the AAP had virtually wedged differ- ences in the Delhi Congress with one group led by former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit vehemently opposing any tie-up and another front led by former Union Minister Ajay Maken advocating for the Cong-AAP embrace. Asked about Sheila’s remarks that Arvind never approached her for an alliance, the AAP chief said, “We have met Rahul. Sheila is not that important leader.” Kejriwal’s comments on Sheila “not an important leader” sparked a row with the Congress leaders hitting out at the AAP chief saying the Delhi Chief Minister may not have the respect and honour Sheila has earned in the public life. Dikshit’s former cabinet colleague and party spokesper- son Ramakant Goswami hit out at the AAP for opposing policies and principles of the Congress despite “pleading” with it for an alliance. The three-time former Delhi Chief Minister who was appointed president of Delhi unit of Congress has so far effectively repulsed attempts for an alliance of her party with the AAP, although she said Rahul would take a final call. Kejriwal has been urging the Congress to forge an alliance in Delhi to prevent the BJP repeating its stellar per- formance in the Capital. Recently, in a meeting with Rahul, senior Congress leaders including Sheila, three working presidents Devender Yadav, Rajesh Lilothia, Haroon Yusuf, former Delhi Congress presi- dents JP Agarwal and Tajdar Babar opposed an alliance with the AAP. A senior party insider of the Congress said the decision was taken considering its long term repercussions in Delhi and adjoining States. “The main question is how the party will face the AAP in Assembly elections after coming togeth- er in parliamentary election. Even if alliance happened, the Congress was not getting much politically, rather it could lose its base drastically,” he said. The Congress could win any Lok Sabha seat in the 2014 elections in Delhi. The talk of alliance was fuelled by the fact that the sum of votes polled for the Congress and the AAP was more than that of the BJP. Kejriwal had even roped in NCP supremo Sharad Pawar TMC chief Mamata Banerjee to persuade the Congress chief to stitch an alliance with the AAP. S ocial media giant Facebook on Monday said it has removed a number of pages and accounts linked to individuals associated with an IT cell of the Congress and an Indian IT firm that propagated pro-BJP and pro-RSS contents. Besides, Facebook has also removed 103 pages, groups and accounts on its platform and Instagram for engaging in similar behaviour as part of a network that originated in Pakistan While the Facebook removed 687 pages and accounts linked to the Congress as it cracked down on fake accounts and spam, the social media giant also discov- ered spam activities carried out by Silver Touch, an Indian IT firm which runs the pro-BJP and RSS page “The India Eye”. It removed 15 pages, groups and accounts linked to the firm. These accounts, it said, were part of a coordinat- ed networks and were removed not based on content or fake news but for “inauthentic behaviour” and for pushing spam. “They posted about local news and political events, including topics like the Indian Government, the upcoming elections, the BJP and alleged misconduct of political oppo- nents including the INC,” said Facebook head of Cybersecurity Policy Nathaniel Gleicher. The Facebook in a state- ment said these account own- ers used a combination of authentic and fake accounts to share their content like local news and political events, including topics like the Indian Government, the upcoming elections, the BJP and alleged misconduct of political oppo- nents including the Congress. Gleicher said Facebook has removed 687 Facebook pages and accounts — the majority of which had already been detect- ed and suspended by its auto- mated systems — that engaged in “coordinated inauthentic behaviour” in India and were linked to individuals associat- ed with an IT Cell of the Congress. He asserted that the removal was not based on the content that was shared by these pages and groups. “We are constantly work- ing to detect and stop coordi- nated inauthentic behaviour because we don’t want our ser- vices to be used to manipulate people. We’re taking down these pages and accounts based on their behaviour, not the con- tent they posted,” he said. While the Congress clari- fied that no official pages run by it have been taken down, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad described action on the Congress as a “historical” development” but there was no word from the party over the action against the pro-BJP pages by Facebook. “When an enquiry was carried out, it was found that those individuals were linked to Congress IT cell. The Congress is desperate therefore resorting to these types of dubious means to claim support but people are sure of what they have seen of the Narendra Modi Government,” Prasad said. With ensuing general elec- tions, the Centre had warned social media platforms of strong action if any attempt was made to influence the country’s electoral process through unde- sirable means. Facebook, which has been facing flak globally for instances of user data breach, has been ramping up efforts to ensure that its platforms (that includes WhatsApp and Instagram) aren’t misused to spread misinformation, espe- cially ahead of polls in India. It has recently started pro- viding details of political ads on its platform in a bid to enhance transparency. It is also strength- ening its team of fact checkers and deploying technology tools to flag fake news. B JP president Amit Shah on Monday announced that Thushar Vellappally of the Bharat Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS), a BJP ally in Kerala, will be the NDA’s candidate against Congress chief Rahul Gandhi in Wayanad. Thushar was the candi- date for the party in Thrissur, but the NDA decided to pit him against Rahul to give the Congress chief a tough fight. “I proudly announce Shri Thushar Vellappally, president of BDJS, as NDA candidate from Wayanad. A vibrant and dynamic youth leader, he rep- resents our commitment to development and social justice. With him, the NDA will emerge as Kerala’s political alternative,” Shah tweeted. Thushar is the son of Vellappally Natesan, general secretary of the influential Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam, which works for the welfare of Ezhava community, a backward caste with sizeable population in the State. P opular Haryanvi singer- dancer Sapna Chaudhary has been listed as a star cam- paigner for the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections in constituen- cies with sizable population of jats and Poorvanchalis, such as South and North-East Delhi parliamentary seats. However, ending all spec- ulation over her possible can- didature for Lok Sabha elec- tions, Delhi BJP leaders con- firmed that Sapna will not join the party. “Sapna will campaign for us, she is a regional super- star and can easily get con- nected with Jats and Purvanchalis,” said a BJP leader. Sapna had met Delhi BJP chief and North East Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari on Sunday evening, according to a party source. T he Indian Army on Monday destroyed at least three posts of the Pakistan Army and inflicted critical injuries to large number of Pakistani soldiers along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch sector shortly after a BSF officer and a minor girl succumbed to injuries in “unprovoked” ceasefire viola- tion by the Pakistan Army in Poonch sector. Meanwhile, in another successful operation, the joint teams of security forces early on Monday eliminated four terrorists in Lassipora area of Pulwama district. In the Pakistan shelling, 13 civilians and four BSF per- sonnel sustained splinter injuries. Despite heavy shelling, local police teams safely evacuated injured resi- dents from forward areas of Mankote. Eyewitness reports claimed civilian areas which were 7-8 km from LoC were targeted by the Pakistan Army using heavy calibre of weapons. Martyred BSF officer was identified as Inspector T Alex Lalminlun, while minor girl was identified as five-year-old Sobia Shafiq, daughter of Mohd Shafiq. Ground reports said, “Pakistan Army targeted civil- ian areas in Shahpur, Qasba, Guntariyan, Keerni, Mankote and Poonch since early morning.” V oters in large parts of the country will have to face scorching heat as the polling season progresses. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said that average maximum temperatures from April to June are likely to be warmer by half a degree Celsius in several places in central and northwest India. Temperatures are expected to be near normal in the rest of the country, the IMD added. The US-based forecaster AccuWeather too predicted that the heatwave was expect- ed to intensify starting first week of April. According to private fore- caster Skymet, presently most parts of Maharashtra, Gujarat, west Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Delhi and NCR are observing heatwave condi- tions with maximum temper- atures exceeding 40 degrees C. The highest (44.5 C) was recorded in Madhya Pradesh’s Khargone city on March 30. “The April to June season average maximum tempera- tures are likely to be warmer than normal by 0.5 degree Celsius over most of the mete- orological subdivisions from central India and some subdi- visions from northwest India. Near normal maximum tem- peratures are likely in the remaining subdivisions,” the IMD said. The seasonal average min- imum and mean temperatures over west Rajasthan are likely to be above normal by more than 1 degree C. Above normal heatwave conditions are likely in the core heatwave (HW) zone during the season (April to June). In fact, for the last two to three days, heatwave has cov- ered majority parts of the country, except eastern and northeastern States. These areas are presently under the influence of weather systems and have been observing rain and thundershower activities, keeping the temperatures under check. According to IMD, a heat- wave is declared when the temperature touches 40 degrees Celsius in the plains and con- tinues for two to three days or is above 4.5 to 6.5 degrees Celsius above normal. The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) report found that 2018 was sixth warmest year since 1901 and the aver- age temperature over India was “significantly above nor- mal”. The country’s average season mean temperatures were also “above the average” with the winter season (January-February, +0.59 degree Celsius) being the fifth warmest since 1901 and the pre-monsoon season (March- May) the seventh warmest, the MoES report said. A pparently suggesting that Lok Sabha Speaker and the sitting Indore MP Sumitra Mahajan annoyed over sus- pected denial of ticket to her, she skipped the “Main Hun Chowkidar”, programme in the city on Sunday. Though former Minister Mahendra Hardiya and MLA Akash Vijayvargiya, son of BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya also remained absent from the event aimed at underlining the Chowkidar campaign of the party. Meanwhile, Mahajan who has represented Indore in Lok Sabha for eight times is still awaiting her re-nomination despite the fact the party has released close to a dozen lists nationally. Mahajan is among few BJP top leaders who have avoided adding Chowkidar prefix in their twitter handles. Though Mahajan remained unavailable for comments before the media on Sunday but couple of days ago, she had maintained that she won’t speak on ticket issue but added that she was persistently working in favour of the party. Name of Indore Mayor Malini Gaud is making rounds as the potential candidate. MLAs Ramesh Mendola and Malini Gaud who attended the “Main Hun Chowkidar” event in Indore denied having infor- mation about Taai and other two MLAs’ absence. Speculations are making rounds that the party is pon- dering over denying ticket to ‘Taai’ as Mahajan is fondly addressed to in MP, over age factor. Mahajan who almost remained ‘invincible’ in Indore in last three decades has already turned 75 and turns 76 on April 12 well before the polling takes place in Indore on May 19. The Congress is repeated- ly attacking the BJP for not naming Mahajan in over a dozen lists released so far. RNI Regn. No. MPENG/2004/13703, Regd. No. L-2/BPLON/41/2006-2008
16

;@3 9@8D G@E6CD¶ >:?5D - Daily Pioneer

Jan 19, 2023

Download

Documents

Khang Minh
Welcome message from author
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
Page 1: ;@3 9@8D G@E6CD¶ >:?5D - Daily Pioneer

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

�������������� ����������������� ��� !"�� '�����(�����������������������������������������)��"�����������$��������������!�������������*�������������#���������������"������+������������������������������������������"����$������������������������ ���������� �����)��"��������������& �#

$%�������� �� � ��� �� ��&''������(��)"�� ,(��������"����������������-"��������������������.�!��������� ����������������//���"����������$����������������!������ �����������#����� ���&�� ������������(�������������"�����(����0&1���1&1$�����!�#����&�,��������-"����(������������"�����0&2���"�������1&/0���$��� �(������������(������������"�����1$����"� ��������"���� ����&�,��� ���3� ��(�������������4&00���(�����������"�����0&5$�������& ��

*���+�� � !67�869)'

In a worrying sign for the BJP,despite its thrust on making

nationalism as its main pollplank, unemployment hasemerged as the key issue forvoters in Bihar, MadhyaPradesh, Telangana andChhattisgarh.

A survey conducted by theAssociation for DemocraticReforms (ADR) shows thatmore than half of the respon-dents list employment as theirtop priority and they rankedthe NDA Government’s per-formance in this area at anabysmal 2.15 on a scale of 5.

The ADR survey shows58.84 per cent voters pitchingfor jobs/employment for youthin Chhattisgarh; 50 per centvoters wanting jobs in Bihar; 70per cent in Telangana and61.91 per cent in MadhyaPradesh. For them, employ-ment is the major issue andthey expect political parties todo something concrete.

As per reports, the ModiGovernment has failed to deliv-er on the employment front. InJanuary, the Modi Governmenthad withheld the release of theNational Sample Survey OfficePeriodic Labour Force Surveythat pegged joblessness at a 45-year high of 6.1 per cent dur-ing 2017-2018.

In March, it was reportedthat a survey by the LabourBureau on the number of jobscreated under the Micro UnitsDevelopment & RefinanceAgency (MUDRA) would notbe made public for another two

months, until after the elec-tions. The Modi Governmenthad earlier also withheld the6th annual employment-unem-

ployment survey by the LabourBureau, which showed India’sunemployment rate in 2016-17was the highest in four years at

3.9 per cent.The Chhattisgarh Survey

Report stated that voters’ pri-orities were neglected by the

Government. According to thereport, employment, publictransport and better roads weretop priorities for voters and theGovernment performed “belowaverage” on all three. The sur-vey shows better job opportu-nities (58.84 per cent), betterpublic transport (38.41 percent) and better roads (37.78per cent) are the top three vot-ers’ priorities in the State.

The survey shows that theGovernment performance onthese three voters’ priorities wasbelow average. In rural areas,the concerns were employ-ment, availability of water andelectricity for agriculture andthe Government performedbelow average.

According to the survey,employment, better law andorder, and better roads aremajor concerns of urban vot-ers. “The Government’s per-formance on urban voter pri-orities of better employmentopportunities (2.22), betterlaw and order/policing (2.20)and better roads (2.12) wasrated below average. In addi-tion, the Government has per-formed poorly in providingpublic transport (2.18) anddrinking water (2.52),” thereport said.

The survey report statedthat the previous BJPGovernment in Chhattisgarh,led by Raman Singh, per-formed “poorly and under-whelmingly” on almost allGovernance parameters,including employment, publictransport, agricultural infra-structure and law and order.

�� �� �� + ��� !67�869)'

Scotching speculation aboutthe possible alliance

between the AAP and theCongress, Delhi Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal on Mondaysaid Congress president RahulGandhi refused to forge analliance with his party for theLok Sabha polls in Delhi.

Talking to reporters on thesidelines of an event out of thenational Capital, Kejriwal saidthe Congress chief had refusedhis request to “join hands withthe AAP” during a one-to-onemeeting recently.

However, the official com-munication from the CongressHigh Command in this regardis yet to be made public.

Rahul had earlier said at apublic meeting that therewould be no truck with theAAP in Delhi. Moreover, theissue of alliance with the AAPhad virtually wedged differ-ences in the Delhi Congresswith one group led by formerDelhi Chief Minister SheilaDikshit vehemently opposingany tie-up and another frontled by former Union MinisterAjay Maken advocating for theCong-AAP embrace.

Asked about Sheila’sremarks that Arvind neverapproached her for an alliance,the AAP chief said, “We havemet Rahul. Sheila is not thatimportant leader.”

Kejriwal’s comments onSheila “not an importantleader” sparked a row with theCongress leaders hitting out at

the AAP chief saying the DelhiChief Minister may not havethe respect and honour Sheilahas earned in the public life.

Dikshit’s former cabinetcolleague and party spokesper-son Ramakant Goswami hitout at the AAP for opposingpolicies and principles of theCongress despite “pleading”with it for an alliance.

The three-time formerDelhi Chief Minister who wasappointed president of Delhiunit of Congress has so fareffectively repulsed attempts foran alliance of her party with theAAP, although she said Rahulwould take a final call.

Kejriwal has been urgingthe Congress to forge analliance in Delhi to prevent theBJP repeating its stellar per-formance in the Capital.

Recently, in a meeting withRahul, senior Congress leadersincluding Sheila, three workingpresidents Devender Yadav,Rajesh Lilothia, Haroon Yusuf,

former Delhi Congress presi-dents JP Agarwal and TajdarBabar opposed an alliance withthe AAP.

A senior party insider ofthe Congress said the decisionwas taken considering its longterm repercussions in Delhiand adjoining States. “Themain question is how the partywill face the AAP in Assemblyelections after coming togeth-er in parliamentary election.Even if alliance happened, theCongress was not getting muchpolitically, rather it could loseits base drastically,” he said.

The Congress could winany Lok Sabha seat in the 2014elections in Delhi. The talk ofalliance was fuelled by the factthat the sum of votes polled forthe Congress and the AAPwas more than that of the BJP.

Kejriwal had even roped inNCP supremo Sharad PawarTMC chief Mamata Banerjee topersuade the Congress chief tostitch an alliance with the AAP.

���� !67�869)'

Social media giant Facebookon Monday said it has

removed a number of pages andaccounts linked to individualsassociated with an IT cell of theCongress and an Indian ITfirm that propagated pro-BJPand pro-RSS contents.

Besides, Facebook has alsoremoved 103 pages, groupsand accounts on its platformand Instagram for engaging insimilar behaviour as part of anetwork that originated inPakistan

While the Facebookremoved 687 pages andaccounts linked to theCongress as it cracked down onfake accounts and spam, thesocial media giant also discov-ered spam activities carriedout by Silver Touch, an IndianIT firm which runs the pro-BJPand RSS page “The India Eye”.

It removed 15 pages,groups and accounts linked tothe firm. These accounts, itsaid, were part of a coordinat-ed networks and were removednot based on content or fakenews but for “inauthenticbehaviour” and for pushingspam.

“They posted about localnews and political events,including topics like the IndianGovernment, the upcomingelections, the BJP and allegedmisconduct of political oppo-nents including the INC,” saidFacebook head ofCybersecurity Policy NathanielGleicher.

The Facebook in a state-ment said these account own-ers used a combination ofauthentic and fake accounts toshare their content like localnews and political events,including topics like the IndianGovernment, the upcomingelections, the BJP and allegedmisconduct of political oppo-nents including the Congress.

Gleicher said Facebook hasremoved 687 Facebook pagesand accounts — the majority ofwhich had already been detect-ed and suspended by its auto-

mated systems — that engagedin “coordinated inauthenticbehaviour” in India and werelinked to individuals associat-ed with an IT Cell of theCongress.

He asserted that theremoval was not based on thecontent that was shared bythese pages and groups.

“We are constantly work-ing to detect and stop coordi-nated inauthentic behaviourbecause we don’t want our ser-vices to be used to manipulatepeople. We’re taking downthese pages and accounts basedon their behaviour, not the con-tent they posted,” he said.

While the Congress clari-fied that no official pages runby it have been taken down,Union Minister Ravi ShankarPrasad described action onthe Congress as a “historical”development” but there was no

word from the party over theaction against the pro-BJPpages by Facebook.

“When an enquiry wascarried out, it was found thatthose individuals were linked toCongress IT cell. The Congressis desperate therefore resortingto these types of dubious meansto claim support but people aresure of what they have seen ofthe Narendra ModiGovernment,” Prasad said.

With ensuing general elec-tions, the Centre had warnedsocial media platforms ofstrong action if any attempt wasmade to influence the country’selectoral process through unde-sirable means.

Facebook, which has beenfacing f lak globally forinstances of user data breach,has been ramping up efforts toensure that its platforms (thatincludes WhatsApp andInstagram) aren’t misused tospread misinformation, espe-cially ahead of polls in India.

It has recently started pro-viding details of political ads onits platform in a bid to enhancetransparency. It is also strength-ening its team of fact checkersand deploying technology toolsto flag fake news.

���� !67�869)'�

BJP president Amit Shah onMonday announced that

Thushar Vellappally of theBharat Dharma Jana Sena(BDJS), a BJP ally in Kerala,will be the NDA’s candidateagainst Congress chief RahulGandhi in Wayanad.

Thushar was the candi-date for the party in Thrissur,but the NDA decided to pithim against Rahul to give theCongress chief a tough fight.

“I proudly announce ShriThushar Vellappally, presidentof BDJS, as NDA candidatefrom Wayanad. A vibrant anddynamic youth leader, he rep-resents our commitment todevelopment and social justice.With him, the NDA willemerge as Kerala’s politicalalternative,” Shah tweeted.

Thushar is the son ofVellappally Natesan, generalsecretary of the influential SreeNarayana Dharma ParipalanaYogam, which works for thewelfare of Ezhava community,a backward caste with sizeablepopulation in the State.

� �� ������ !67�869)'

Popular Haryanvi singer-dancer Sapna Chaudhary

has been listed as a star cam-paigner for the BJP in the LokSabha elections in constituen-cies with sizable population ofjats and Poorvanchalis, such asSouth and North-East Delhiparliamentary seats.

However, ending all spec-ulation over her possible can-didature for Lok Sabha elec-tions, Delhi BJP leaders con-firmed that Sapna will not jointhe party. “Sapna will campaignfor us, she is a regional super-star and can easily get con-nected with Jats andPurvanchalis,” said a BJP leader.

Sapna had met Delhi BJPchief and North East Delhi MPManoj Tiwari on Sundayevening, according to a partysource.

�����+ ��� �� ��

The Indian Army onMonday destroyed at least

three posts of the PakistanArmy and inflicted criticalinjuries to large number ofPakistani soldiers along theLine of Control (LoC) inPoonch sector shortly after aBSF officer and a minor girlsuccumbed to injuries in“unprovoked” ceasefire viola-tion by the Pakistan Army inPoonch sector.

Meanwhile, in anothersuccessful operation, the jointteams of security forces earlyon Monday eliminated fourterrorists in Lassipora area ofPulwama district.

In the Pakistan shelling, 13civilians and four BSF per-

sonnel sustained splinterinjuries. Despite heavyshelling, local police teamssafely evacuated injured resi-dents from forward areas ofMankote.

Eyewitness reports claimedcivilian areas which were 7-8km from LoC were targeted bythe Pakistan Army using heavycalibre of weapons.

Martyred BSF officer wasidentified as Inspector T AlexLalminlun, while minor girlwas identified as five-year-oldSobia Shafiq, daughter ofMohd Shafiq.

Ground reports said,“Pakistan Army targeted civil-ian areas in Shahpur, Qasba,Guntariyan, Keerni, Mankoteand Poonch since early morning.”

*���+�� � !67�869)'

Voters in large parts of thecountry will have to face

scorching heat as the pollingseason progresses. The IndiaMeteorological Department(IMD) has said that averagemaximum temperatures fromApril to June are likely to bewarmer by half a degree Celsiusin several places in central andnorthwest India. Temperaturesare expected to be near normalin the rest of the country, theIMD added.

The US-based forecasterAccuWeather too predictedthat the heatwave was expect-ed to intensify starting firstweek of April.

According to private fore-caster Skymet, presently mostparts of Maharashtra, Gujarat,west Madhya Pradesh,Telangana, Andhra Pradesh,Tamil Nadu, Delhi and NCRare observing heatwave condi-tions with maximum temper-

atures exceeding 40 degrees C.The highest (44.5 C) wasrecorded in Madhya Pradesh’sKhargone city on March 30.

“The April to June seasonaverage maximum tempera-tures are likely to be warmerthan normal by 0.5 degreeCelsius over most of the mete-orological subdivisions from

central India and some subdi-visions from northwest India.Near normal maximum tem-peratures are likely in theremaining subdivisions,” theIMD said.

The seasonal average min-imum and mean temperaturesover west Rajasthan are likelyto be above normal by more

than 1 degree C. Above normalheatwave conditions are likelyin the core heatwave (HW)zone during the season (Aprilto June).

In fact, for the last two tothree days, heatwave has cov-ered majority parts of thecountry, except eastern andnortheastern States. These

areas are presently under theinfluence of weather systemsand have been observing rainand thundershower activities,keeping the temperaturesunder check.

According to IMD, a heat-wave is declared when thetemperature touches 40 degreesCelsius in the plains and con-tinues for two to three days oris above 4.5 to 6.5 degreesCelsius above normal.

The Ministry of EarthSciences (MoES) report foundthat 2018 was sixth warmestyear since 1901 and the aver-age temperature over Indiawas “significantly above nor-mal”. The country’s averageseason mean temperatureswere also “above the average”with the winter season(January-February, +0.59degree Celsius) being the fifthwarmest since 1901 and thepre-monsoon season (March-May) the seventh warmest, theMoES report said.

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

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

�������������������������������� ���!

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

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

'��(�������)*+���(��,��-��.���/��0���� ��(�/�����! ����/���������������������� ��������������� ������ �

��� �����������"���������������������������

��,����8:��"��������(��15&50������������������������������3���;��� �������������"������������������<�1=����������������(�������3�������*����<�>=�������������,� ����������?/&2/������������������������

����������������$��������@����������������� ������ �������������� ������������&�'�����"���$��������@������������(������ ������� ������������!������ �#��� ��#"�����+�������������9���"��A�����#"����������������3�� �������������01��������������?&/����������"�����B=/>�B=/5

�������������������"����$���� ������$�������� �(��������$���������������������3���������������"�����������

�� �!���!"�!" "����#��$���������

�� &&������ *)+��9

Apparently suggesting thatLok Sabha Speaker and

the sitting Indore MP SumitraMahajan annoyed over sus-pected denial of ticket to her,she skipped the “Main HunChowkidar”, programme in thecity on Sunday.

Though former MinisterMahendra Hardiya and MLAAkash Vijayvargiya, son of BJPgeneral secretary KailashVijayvargiya also remainedabsent from the event aimed atunderlining the Chowkidarcampaign of the party.

Meanwhile, Mahajan whohas represented Indore in LokSabha for eight times is stillawaiting her re-nominationdespite the fact the party hasreleased close to a dozen listsnationally. Mahajan is amongfew BJP top leaders who haveavoided adding Chowkidarprefix in their twitter handles.

Though Mahajan remainedunavailable for comments

before the media on Sunday butcouple of days ago, she hadmaintained that she won’t speakon ticket issue but added thatshe was persistently working infavour of the party.

Name of Indore MayorMalini Gaud is making roundsas the potential candidate.MLAs Ramesh Mendola andMalini Gaud who attended the“Main Hun Chowkidar” eventin Indore denied having infor-mation about Taai and othertwo MLAs’ absence.

Speculations are makingrounds that the party is pon-dering over denying ticket to‘Taai’ as Mahajan is fondlyaddressed to in MP, over agefactor. Mahajan who almostremained ‘invincible’ in Indorein last three decades has alreadyturned 75 and turns 76 on April12 well before the polling takesplace in Indore on May 19.

The Congress is repeated-ly attacking the BJP for notnaming Mahajan in over adozen lists released so far.

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

���������� ��� ������������������� ���1������#����2 RNI Regn. No. MPENG/2004/13703, Regd. No. L-2/BPLON/41/2006-2008

�"� �����A�����869)'��9 �C!+7 *)+��9��*) *�!6#7�:

:�!�)'�:�'� : �)�!8'@�:)�86):�8 ! )D86:�*�8�E'��D7�8�

�,-�.)�,"�!'/0�

���� 1������ � ��1$�$%'23� ���'$4��'56%

������������ ����!"�#$�%&'��(������)�*'�#�+���

�!������)* #,'!@�

#6E6:�9�D,)#

%��3��44*:','#)��#�#66C�!67�*:6F',��9�!

���� �7)5/?��,,8� 52G����#"��������6%���������� ���� �

�"'�5�46��:6!,#�#)+ 98

6!# :6�C'8#H�#�A6,D

������������� ���

Page 2: ;@3 9@8D G@E6CD¶ >:?5D - Daily Pioneer

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

����������� ������ ����� ���������� ����������������������������������� �� !"#���$"�!"%&'!�( �������#�)�*����%�+,-*%�������������*#����./01,,2* 3�+�+4���� �������251���������6 71��8����*�+�+%��*9���2*#����7/01,22 3�+�4*&��������:,;557155,<;;*�� +:,<=<-2-,-0/+'�����:���������*!%"!���+%�+��'%>?1,,/?2-;,-*!���+%�+�71?#��@%?/2?1,,071,,=*�"!�A!� �!>'��!�+2+,,'��:������*!����*#�� ���)�*%�������B���:��� �C����� ������:#������C������+������:��D����*E����@�����:%�+0*#�����>�� #�)�* #�������9�����*%�)E����722,,,1* �����:,227/,22,/55*������������@�����:87-2*������0*%@"E�*>���#���%��71,2-,2*A+�+�����:,21,7/=;<=,,C/=;<<,,*��� �@�����:E�F��������G���� ���%�+:,<=0;5;5<--*,<=<1=1<15<* ���G��)@�����:/��8����*�����������������*8�H �!��*���G��)110,20+&���������:,51171-/0//-*1-/0///*1-/0//5+

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

�� &&������ *)+��9

Sagar Public School, GandhiNagar, conducted Youth

Parliament under the guid-ance of Shubha Chakravortyand Mahesh Malviya. The ses-sion was witnessed by Dr.Pratima Yadav-DirectorRashtriya SansadiyaVidhyapeeth Bhopal, PuneetShrivastava–Director, MadhyaPradesh

Vidhan Sabha Secretariat,BR Sharma-Under Secretary,Government of MadhyaPradesh, Parliamentary AffairsDepartment and MK Rajoria-Deputy Director RashtriyaSansdiya Vidhyapeeth.

Sagarites from class IX, Xand XII participated anddepicted a session ofParliament. The session com-

menced with the oath of theMinisters, followed by remem-brance of members of House ofParliament with debate on anumber of issues. In theQuestion Hour, sitting Sessionof Lok Sabha, Leader ofOpposition raised questionswith concerns which areanswered and addressed bythe Ministers concerned. AfterZero Hour, Member ofParliaments raised questions ofnational significance withoutany prior notice.

The Speaker brought theattention motion and Bills foramendment.

The House was adjournedafter the National Anthem. Anenlightening and informativesession for students concludedwith an educative experience ofbudding statesman connectingwith their textbooks.

#�������$� �#�����������%�������� ������ &&������ *)+��9

Indira Gandhi RashtriyaManav Sangrahalaya organ-

ised the housing constructionworkshop to introduce thelocal architecture of the variousstages of housing constructionmade by the local tribes.

In this sequence, onMonday, the traditional artistsof Moran tribe from Assamperformed this Habitat with anaim to introduce the visitorswith the intellectual and cre-ative skills of simple societiesand the technological splendorof India's contemporary worldat Veethi Sankul premises ofIndira Gandhi RashtriyaManav Sangrahalaya, Bhopal.

N Sakamacha Singh(Museum Associate, IGRMS),giving information about thehousing type of Moran tribe ofAssam, said that Moran Houseis constructed with bamboo aswall structures and traditionaldesign and structure. The

Moran house has three roomsarrayed with bamboo wall par-titions. The front hall calledSora ghar is regarded as themost important part of thehouse.

This common room has afire place called Jui Hali, andsurrounding of which is ameeting place. The spaceadjoining to the main Khuta(pillar), is the place for thehousehold head. The HuwaGhar (Bed rooms) and some-times extended with partitionsdepending upon the numbermarried Sons and family mem-bers. The last room of theextension called RandhoniGhar or Pak Ghor (Kitchen).

The Bhoral Ghar (gra-nary), which lies in the court-yard is apparently more inter-esting. The Bhoral structure isunique, and raised upon ninepieces of wooden log that arearrayed in rows. These logs arecalled Lotikai that sometimesare very huge ranging from 3

to 5 ft in diameter. Use of Lotikais in the

Bhoral structure, is meant, notonly to provide firm support tothe entire structure, but also topresent the underlying idea oftheir socio-cultural and eco-nomic relation with their ele-phants.

It is said that in the oldendays, rich people among theMoran used to construct asmany as Bhoral ghar, some ofwhich, they construct in thename of their elephants.

���������&����#���(������#��������� �����

,)6�A:+!,�)�99��9968�#+:�@)�:�'#

:6@�:868��#,)6�+#,

'�+:,�!,���:,+A�,)6�)+ #6

�� &&������ *)+��9

The theatre lovers of thecity witnessed the purity

and trueness of Saint Kabir, ina Hindi play ‘Kabira KhadaBazaar Mein’. The play was pre-sented at Shaheed Bhavan hereon Monday.

The play marked the firstday of the two day theatre fes-tival 7th Anjay Smriti Samaroh.Directed by Nizam Patel, theplay has been taken from astory, written by a noted nov-elist and playwright BhishmSahani. It was performed by theartists of Hum Theatre Troupe.

Began with one of thefamous doha of Kabir, “Kabirakhada bazaar mein, Mangesabki khair, Na kahu se Dosti,Na kahu se Bair” the play tracessome events in his life and theprevailing social conditions thatshaped his thoughts and actions.His sharp intellect, rationality,undaunted courage and com-mand over the spoken wordgave him the unique power tocommunicate with the commonpeople. He was a people’s poetand sang from his heart.

The play focused on howKabir tells the common folk torealise that God dwells within

each one of us and, thus, not tomistreat other human beings,but treat them with dignity andlove.

Beautifully sung by animpressive chorus and per-formers in the style of opera, itis inspired by folk tunes ofUttar Pradesh, Bihar andUttarakhand. Some verses arerecited. These verses logicallyand cohesively form the part ofthe narrative which captures thelife and times of the poorMuslim weaver, Kabir. Throughhis verses, he condemns the

rigid caste system perpetuatedby the Brahminical social andreligious order and the futilityof idol worship.

Though peaceful, the rulingclasses become his enemies.But, his followers are convincedof his philosophy that all menare equal.

All the artists of the playmaintained to capture the atten-tion of the audiences at eachevent that was played on stage.The theatre-goers of the cityenjoyed the play whole heart-edly.

#������� ��,� ���-.-/0������0����� �1������� 2�

�� &&������ *)+��9

From April 1, 2019, theamalgamation of Bank of

Baroda, Vijaya Bank and DenaBank comes into effect tocreate India’s second largestpublic sector bank. Since thetime, the ‘in-principle’approval to the amalgamationwas granted by the boards ofthe three banks in end-September 2018, the processhas been completed in recordtime.

The officials of threebanks told mediapersons hereon Monday that as per notifi-cation, dated March 30, 2019,by Reserve Bank of India, allbranches of Vijaya Bank andDena Bank will function asbranches of Bank of Barodafrom April 1, 2019. Customers,including depositors of VijayaBank and Dena Bank will be

treated as customers of Bankof Baroda with immediateeffect.Those present at thepress conference were-DGMof Dena Bank, Ashok Khatri,GM of Bank of Baroda, JayeshMehta, and DGM of VijayaBank Sanjeev Menon.

They informed that theconsolidated bank will be thesecond largest public sectorbank in the country. It willhave a wider geographicalreach with over 9,500 branch-es, over 13,400 ATMs, over85,000 employees serving 120million customers and busi-ness mix of �15 lakh+ crorewith deposits and advances of�8.75 lakh crore, and �6.25lakh+ crore, respectively.

The Bank plans to buildupon the strengths of the threebanks, their synergies andscale up the operations bydeepening relations with a

wider customer base. The complementary

branch presence will add tothe network in western andsouthern States–Maharashtra,Gujarat, Kerala, Tamil Nadu,Karnataka and AndhraPradesh.

The Bank will have a 22%market share in Gujarat andbetween 8-10 per cent marketshare in key States ofMaharashtra, Karnataka,Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

�� &&������ *)+��9

Piplani police has recoveredvaluables worth �6 lakh

from five miscreants who werecaught planning dacoity onMarch 27 near Gopal Nagar.The accused were involved in13 burglaries. During investi-gation, police have recoveredtwo motorbikes and 6 mobilephones and gold jewellery fromtheir possession.

Earlier on March 26, actingon a tip off, regarding armedmen planning dacoity, threeteams were formed and thenraided the spot where fivearmed men were planning rob-bery at an abandoned BHELQuarters and nabbed fivearmed men and recovered twosharp edged weapons, onemask, one torch from their pos-session.

In the initial investigation, police said that the dacoits

confirmed that they were plan-ning to commit dacoity andwere waiting for the night totarget the house in the area.

The five nabbed dacoits areVinod Raghuvanshi (22), RohitSingh alias Badi Khujal (24),Harisingh alias Choti Khujal(19), Vinay Parte (26) andHemant alias Golu (22).

The dacoits have past crim-inal records. Hemant hailsfrom Sagar while Vinod hailsfrom Ashok Nagar.

It would be investigatedhow the two miscreants, resi-dents of other cities, wereinvolved in other criminalactivities in the State Capital

Vinod has been booked in15 cases and was wanted in sixcriminal cases by Baghsewaniapolice.

The police had alreadyregistered cases under sections399, 402 of the IPC and Section25/27 of Arms Act.

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

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

�����*�+������������,������������ �����&�)����-����� �����&��)��)����&���

�(��������%�( ���

�������������)����������� $���������*����+�

����� ���%(������������������� ��*��,�� ���������%��

����)����&���)��������)�$��� ���"���!��./

�����)!���������0���������!������!�������!�����������!������)!��!����)!��������!��&� ����� ������"��)����)�����-123�-1�����4�$��������,���!��!�������)!��������!������������� ���������!���

�� &&������ *)+��9

In the first 20 days of modelelection code of conduct,

the State has reportedly madea seizure of excess of �14 crore.

Notably, the entire seizuresin the whole of MCC periodwere mere �13.99 crore in2014 Lok Sabha polls, accord-ing to the figures compiled bythe Chief Electoral Officer ofMadhya Pradesh.

The Chief Electoral Officerof the state VL Kantha Rao hereon Monday while briefing themedia about poll preparationssaid the seizure of �4.92 crorecash has been reported sincethe imposition of election codeof conduct. Illicit liquor of1.97 litre has been recoveredduring action of various agen- cies including police and excise department worth �4.97 cr.

The recoveryof gold and silverjewellery hasremained on lowerside as ornamentsworth �44 lakhhave been seized asof now, said Rao.

In crackdownscarried out bypolice and nar-cotics department,drugs worth �1.97cr have beenr e c o v e r e d .Additionally, otheritems includingvehicle, weaponsand others valuedat �2.02 cr have

been seized byauthorities.

However the usage of cash,

liquor and other freebiesseems concerning as last timethe overall seizures in MPwere worth �13.99 cr during2014 LS polls while in the first20 days this time, the recoveryhas surpassed this figure.

To a query, whether it wastrend suggesting usage of largenumbers of unfair means,CEO MP Rao claimed, “Itonly suggests we are crackingdown hard.”

Then Chief ElectionCommissioner OP Rawatahead of assembly polls hadrevealed that the poll panelhad seized cash, liquor andfreebies worth �51 crore inMadhya Pradesh in the run-upto the elections and called it aconcerning trend for democ-racy.

������!����25�)����'������������������)������)���)�

��!�������!��!����6��)������7���)���*/�%���!������������ ���������������� ���� ��)���� �/�����&!�����)���������!������������� ���������!���

�� &&������ *)+��9

Madhya Pradesh StateShooting Academy's

player Aishwarya Pratap SinghTomar gave a wondrous per-formance at 12th Asian AirGun Championship 2019. Shebagged a gold medal and abronze medal in the 10-metreair rifle junior team event forthe country.

It is to be noted thatAishwarya represented theIndian Team at the champi-onship played at Taipei. Thechampionship is being playedfrom March 25 till April 2.

Apart from AishwaryaPratap Singh in the teamevent, only Prajapati andYashvardhan of Gujarat wereincluded. For this achieve-ment earned by AishwaryaPratap Singh, he has beenappointed as Director Sportsand Youth Welfare S.L.Thoussen has congratulatedand appreciated excellent per-

formance.Aishwarya Pratap Singh is

receiving the training of shoot-ing by the Chief Instructor ofthe Madhya Pradesh StateShooting Academy SumaShirur, the instructor SunitaLakhan and Vaibhav Sharma.

Meanwhile, the StateSports and WelfareDepartment have invitednominations for EklavyaAward by the Department ofSports and Youth Welfare,Vikram Award, VishwamitraAward, Life TimeAchievement for the year2019. Online application formshave been invited for PrabhashJoshi Sports Awards.

This application can bedone from April 1 till 15 May.Applications received after thescheduled deadline of May 15will not be considered.

In this regard, DirectorSports and Youth Welfare S.L.Thoussen has been instructedto send the letter to all the divi-

sional and district sports andyouth welfare officers of thestate and take necessaryaction.

Online application byapplicants is to be made onmis.dsywmp.gov.in/anudan ordsywmp.gov.in departmentalwebsite, in which the infor-mation of the applicant's per-sonal and sports achievementswill be addressed.

Thereafter, the receipt ofonline application will be gen-erated, with the print out, theapplicant will have to attachthe photocopy of the certifi-cates of the game achieve-ments mentioned in the appli-cation and submit it to theconcerned Divisional Sportsand Youth Welfare Office orDirectorate. The officials havebeen told that they shouldensure that the application ofonline application receipt isreceived only when the copy ofthe generated receipt isattached.

� ��"�����������# ���$����������&������� ��� �

�� &&������ *)+��9

Two-day FacultyDevelopment Programme

(FDP) was organised for theteachers in city. The event washeld on the subject of‘Intellectual Property Rights’.The workshop was held inRabindranath TagoreUniversity.

It is to be noted that theprogramme was organized withthe participation of the CentralInstitute of Science andTechnology. National work-shop was organized in associ-ation with University Faculty ofScience and IQA.C.

The main aim of the facul-ty members was to make themaware about intellectual prop-erty rights. At the inaugural cer-emony of the programme Prof.A.K. Gwal, VC, RabindranathTagore University and R. P.Yadav Senior IPR Partner,

Patent and Trademark Attorney,Delhi. Programme coordinatorPragya Shrivastav welcomedall the guests.

In his speech, Prof Gwalexplained to all the facultymembers detailing intellectualproperty rights in detail.

R. P. Yadav discussed howto protect intellectual propertyrights within the Act such as theBiodiversity Act, CopyrightAct, Design Act, Patent Act andmore in detail. N. Chaubey,senior scientist, MadhyaPradesh University of Scienceand Technology, gave informa-tion about the patent Axisrights, which are the intellectualproperty rights, trade secrets,trade marks, patents andpatentable criteria to be ful-filled.

In this two-day facultydevelopment programme, fac-ulty members were givendetailed information on intel-lectual property rights. Various

university and college facultymembers were present in thisprogram.

Besides, on the closing cer-emony on Monday Nitu Paliwalthanked the Council for thisprogram successfully organizedby members of the CentralInstitute of Science andTechnology.

0"�������)�����,�$����������� ������!����������)!���

!��-� �. ��%(��� �,�*���

����%��������%�(��

���������,��*��,����,���%��(%,�����,�

��� �.�������%��������,���%��$�������%��

��������%���� ������ �����

�� &&������ *)+��9

Parwalia police have nabbedtwo miscreants from

Neelbad and recovered sharpedged weapons from their pos-session late in the night onSunday.

According to the policeacting on a tip off regardingtwo miscreants carrying sharpedged weapon a police teamreached the spot and nabbedthe two miscreants who wereidentified as Jagdish Singh(35)of Chandukhedi and BhaiDulare (26) of Neelbad.

After the preliminaryinvestigation the police haveregistered a case under sections25 and 27 of the Arms Act. Theaccused have been booked ear-lier in several cases.

Police have claimed thatthe miscreant was nabbed withthe recovered sharp edgedweapons which suggests thatthey were on their way tocommit crime but were nabbedbefore they could commit sui-cide.

Meanwhile, Nazeerabadpolice have nabbed two mis-creants and recovered fourwater motor pumps worth�25,000 from their possessionon Sunday.

Police said that acting on atip off two miscreants werenabbed and when they werequestioned they confessedstealing of water motor pumpfrom Umaria, Singhada,Babukhedi and nearby areas.

The accused have beenidentified as Rakesh Meena andLaxman Harijan of Umariavillage. After the preliminaryinvestigation police have reg-istered case and started furtherinvestigation.

During the investigationpolice would investigate crimerecord of the two accused. Thetwo have been involved incrime in the past. The accusedstole three water motor pumpsfrom Nazeerabad area. Thethree water motor pumps werestolen from Nirbhay SinghAhirwar, Gokul Prasad andKhusilal Ahirwar.

�3������� �-� �����4�-����&��5���3���� -�����,����

Page 3: ;@3 9@8D G@E6CD¶ >:?5D - Daily Pioneer

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

"/���!"������� � ��� +���� �� �1����Bhopal:Vipin Anand hastaken charge as ManagingDirector of LIC of India onMonday. He was appointedManaging Director vide Govtof India Notification datedMarch 14, 2019. Prior to tak-ing charge as ManagingDirector, he was the in-chargeof LIC’s Western Zone, head-quartered at Mumbai andcomprising 23 Divisions, cov-ering the States ofMaharashtra, Gujarat , Goaand Union Territories of Daman, Diu and Dadra & NagarHaveli. Earlier, he has also headed LIC’s East Central Zoneheadquartered at Patna.

During his service of more than 35 years with theOrganisation, Anand has handled several important assign-ments in various capacities and departments, in Operationsas well as at the corporate level, ranging from InformationTechnology, Marketing, Personnel & Industrial Relations toCorporate Communications and International Operations,across the country.

�� ���������� 1�&&����Bhopal: Chief Electoral Officer ,VL Kantha Rao, has informedthat special instructions have been circulated by the ElectionCommission of India for monitoring the issues related to elec-tion laws and violation of Model Code of Conduct during LokSabha Elections-2019.

Adherence to the Model Code of Conduct is also legallyrequired on various platforms of social media such asYouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Nodal officers have beenappointed to monitor the violation of the Code of Conductthrough hate speech, fake, baseless and false news and infor-mation on social media.

If there is any case of violation of Code of Conduct relat-ed to any content published on social media, then the concernedDistrict Election Officer will send this information to the NodalOfficer appointed in the office of the Chief Electoral Officer,Madhya Pradesh. After confirmation of the matter, it will besent to the Election Commission of India, where the NodalOfficer appointed will seek clarification on the above contentfrom the head of the related social media platform. If the caseis found to be correct, then action will be taken accordingly.

�������1���������������1�� �����Bhopal: Sterlite Power’s SPV BDTCL (Bhopal DhuleTransmission Company Limited) has been recognised withGold Category by ROSPA (The Royal Society for thePrevention of Accidents).

The Society focuses on promote and recognises the bestpractices towards prevention of accidents and reducing acci-dental injuries. The BDTCL project involved establishment offour 765 kV Single Circuit and two 400 kV Double CircuitTransmission lines. The project was awarded with silver shieldfor ‘early completion of Transmission System’. The project hasbeen awarded on a ‘Build, Own, Operate and Maintain’(BOOM) basis, wherein the transmission lines would be com-missioned and the Company would operate and maintain thesame for a minimum tenure of 35 years.

Ved Mani Tiwari, CEO, Global Infra Business, SterlitePower, said, “Our focus on safety first has helped in smoothoperations as per the highest standards of OHSAS 18001. Therecognition, bestowed by ROSPA, is a result of the efforts putin by the team. I thank the team for its efforts and assure ROSPAthat we will continue to maintain these high standards.”

� ����������&� ���� 1 ������� ���� 1��������Bhopal: Mass singing of National Anthem Vande Mataram andNational Song Jana-Gana-Mana concluded at Patel Park in theMantralaya at 11 am on Monday. The Police Band headedtowards the Mantralaya from Shaurya Smarak at 10.40 am forthe mass singing programme. Moving along with the band, thegeneral public enthusiastically participated in the march. Theband played tunes based on patriotic songs.

Mantralaya staff member Pratibha Dolas and her colleaguessang the Vande Mataram at Patel Park. Subsequently, the Policeband presented the Jana-Gana-Mana.

Additional Chief Secretary, Public Relations and WaterResources M Gopal Reddy, Additional Chief Secretary ForestKK Singh, Additional Chief Secretary Animal Husbandry andAdhyatma Manoj Srivastava, Additional Chief SecretaryPanchayat and Rural Development Gauri Singh, CommissionerBhopal, Kalpana Shrivastava besides officers-employees of theMantralaya, Vindhyachal and Satpura Bhawan were present onthe occasion. Collector Bhopal Sudam Khade was also presentin the march that began from Shaurya Smarak.

���� *)+��9

The traditional dance fanat-ics had a fascinating

evening as they witnessed thedelightful mosaic of dancemovements on stage.

The traditional danceenthusiasts of the city werewooed by the elegant perfor-mances on Monday evening atRavindra Bhavan auditorium.The stage was put on fire by theOdissi dancers Kalyani andViedehi Phagare when theygave a scintillating dance per-formance at the RavindraBhavan.

The tuneful evening waskicked off with the perfor-mance by Kalyani and Viedehi

Phagre's Ganesh Stuti. Theyperformed the dance alongwith her troupe. The live musicon instruments like Pakhawaj,flute, sitar and manjeera added

a mystic flavour in their per-formance.

The Odissi dance then wasfollowed with Manglacharan,the prayer dance. It was fol-lowed with the Abhinay thattook everyone’s heart away.The speedy foot-work and theperfect coordination betweenthe troupe dancers added zestto their performance.

The expressions on theirfaces and the movement oftheir eyes were charisma of theperformance. Their gracefulgestures and mudras, besidesthe expressions simply usherthe viewer into a world ofbeauty and devotion. Theirperformance showcasing formsof Lord Shiva took away thehearts of Bhopalites.

�����&��������/��0���������7��&������7����#&�����#0

���� *)+��9

New Academic Session2019-20 at Campion

School, Arera Colony sec-ondary section began here onMonday.

The management and staffwelcomed their students on thefirst day by conducting a wel-come programme for them. Asthey entered the school nau-ditorium the showers of glittersby the teachers brought a smileon the innocent faces.

Taking into considerationthat welcoming is a part andparcel of Indian culture agrand welcome was given tothe students by the manage-ment and staff of the sec-ondary section in the LoyolaAuditorium on School premis-

es.The programme com-

menced with the lighting of thelamp done by Principal FrAthnas Lakra SJ, vice PrincipalFr Amritlal Toppo Bursar FrAshok SJ, Senior Teacher andStaff Member MahendraKothari, Senior TeacherLathika Laxmanan along withstudents of different class rep-resentatives and other digni-taries.

A prayer was done byBursar Fr Ashok. Motivationalthought were presented bysenior teacher Beena Prakashin front of the students.

In the Starting of the pro-gramme Floral welcome wasgiven to each student whichmade them feel unique andimportant. The students feltenthusiastic and look forward

to the new academic session2019-20 with zeal and hope.

Whole programme on thestage were hosted by SunitaMinz. The welcome pro-gramme was arranged by theCultural Committee. Theteachers helped in removingthe doom and gloom of thechildren and they went backwith a cheerful heart lookingforward for the brighter sun-shine filled school.

Speeches Principal FrAthnas Lakra SJ and VicePrincipal with their speechesdirected the students how tosail smoothly throughout theyear and work accordingly toachieve their goal.

Principal Fr in his message,told the students to be positive,become good human beingand excellence in their studies.

������ ���� �����8�����,���)���&���������!�����������!� ����������*���!�����%����������������7�����)�������$�����!�$����������� ���������!���

,��� ����� ��%��,���*��

�����*� �*��,0�����%,����

�,������� ��%�1"��*��������*� *��,��,���+,����

�,��������.�����2��,���

�*��

'�"������� ������ ��()*+,()$�� �������� ��#�����

���� *)+��9

A67-year-old man died undersuspicious circumstances at

Khajuri in the morning onMonday. Police said that a teamreached the spot after a commuterspotted a man lying unconsciousand started investigation.

SHO Khajuri Upendra Bhatisaid that the man identified as Pradeep KumarMandal was found in subconscious stated andwas taken to hospital where he was declareddead.

The circumstantial evidences suggest thatthe deceased died of extreme heat but nothingcould be ascertained as post mortem report isawaited. The deceased was a resident ofBakania, he added.

After preliminary investigation the bodywas sent for the post mortem. The police haveregistered a case under section 174 of the CrPCand have started further investigation.

Meanwhile, a 25-year-oldman died who sustained burninjuries on March 26 at his house;man died on Monday.

According to the police, thedeceased Raju Adivasi sustainedinjuries while sleeping at hishouse and was taken to Hamidiahospital where he died duringtreatment.

Police were informed and after preliminaryinvestigation the body was sent for the postmortem. The police have registered a caseunder section 174 of the CrPC and have start-ed further investigation. The deceased in hisdying declaration claimed that he was sleep-ing in his house when he incidentally hit chim-ney and his clothes caught fire.

The victim used to work at a stone quar-ry. Police have started further investigation intothe matter. Wife of deceased was also sleepingin the same room but escaped unhurt, saidpolice.

67&���&����� ����-�8 ���-8-�����8-�����8�-.� ��-

,)6��!'86!,'A'68��#�:�866�C �:�!8�9�

���� *)+��9

Chief Electoral Officer VLKantha Rao has informed

that General Observers,Expenditure Observers andPolice Observers have beenappointed by the ElectionCommission of India for LokSabha Elections-2019. Oneeach general observer for Satna,Rewa, Jabalpur and

Indore parliamentary con-stituency out of the total 29 par-liamentary constituencies ofthe state and 2 each generalobservers for the remainingconstituencies have beenappointed. Hence, a total of 54general observers have beenappointed by the commission.

Similarly, one expenditureobserver has been appointed foreach constituency. Thus, a totalof 29 expenditure observershave been posted by the com-mission. A total of 12 assemblyconstituencies of the state areexpenses sensitive and 55expenditure sensitive pocketshave been identified.

Besides, the commissionhas appointed 16 policeobservers. Apart from Bhopal,Rewa and RajgarhParliamentary Constituencies,13 police observers have beenappointed in 2 parliamentaryconstituencies each. The gen-eral, expenditure and policeobservers are the officers of theIndian Administrative Services,

Indian Police Services andIndian Revenue Services ofMaharashtra, Tamil Nadu, UttarPradesh, Punjab, Delhi, Bihar,Orissa and other states.

The Commission has alsoappointed general observer,police observer and expenditureobserver for the by-election tobe held in Assembly con-stituency no. 126-Chhindwara.

&��� ������ �����&&�����Bhopal:Under the first ran-domisation, the DistrictElection Officer allots the EVM-VVPATs available in the districtto the Assembly constituenciesdistrict-wise in the presence ofrepresentatives of political par-ties after First Level Checking(FLC).

The first randomisation ofEVM-VVPAT for all 52 districtswas fixed from March 28 toMarch 30, 2019 from the soft-ware-EVM ManagementSystem (EMS) set by theElection Commission of India.The first randomisation of totalballot units -77029, controlunits-76359 and VVPATs-78645machines was done by DistrictElection Officers of 11 districtson March 28, 17 districts onMarch 29 and 24 districts onMarch 30 in the state. The listof randomized machines hasalso been provided to the rep-resentatives of political partiesby district election officials.

4�������7&��$���������������/�����&!����)����9�*/�%���!������

���� *)+��9

Chief Electoral Officer VLKantha Rao has informed

that a cVIGIL App (GoldVersion) has been preparedfor prompt and effective redres-sal of complaints related to theLok Sabha Elections-2019.

The above mentioned appcan be downloaded at androidmobile from the play storeand from the Apps Store ofApple Mobile.

Any individual can sendhis/ her complaint along withthe photo/ video of any inci-dent related to violation ofcode of conduct through thisapp.

Action is taken and com-plaint is redressed by conduct-ing prompt enquiry afterreceiving the complaint.

Compliant made by anyindividual first goes to theDistrict Control Centre. Afterconducting a preliminaryenquiry into the complaint andin case if it is found correct itis sent to the flying squad team.

After conducting a promptenquiry into the complaint,report is presented by the team.Complaint is redressed byReturning Officer or AssistantReturning Officer.

A Suo-Moto facility has alsobeen provided by the commis-sion on the cVIGIL (GoldVersion), through which theteam present on the field couldsend its report by conducting anenquiry in case of violation ofcode of conduct.

A total of 3,387 complaintshave been redressed in the dis-tricts through cVIGIL App.

/�����)����9�)*:4:/�����;4��*�����<��������������������������)��$������������)���������

���������������������� ���� !&������� *)+��9

Members of two groupscreated ruckus at

Hanumanganj police after hav-ing a fight in the night onSunday. Police intervened toresolve issue and pacified thetwo groups.

Police said that a bloodydispute broke out amongneighbours over old rivalry atFoota Makbara area ofHanumanganj locality afterwhich people from both par-ties made gherao of the policestation on Sunday night.However following interven-tion of police, the matter wasresolved and no FIR waslodged in the case.

According to

Hanumanganj police, Sohail,who was member of one of thegroups lives in Foota Makbaraarea and is a scrap dealer andruns shop at Old Categorisedmarket area and on Sundaynight while he was sitting out-side his home his neighbourSameer alias Sunny who hasold dispute reached Sohail’shouse along Raju, Golu, Rahul,Kalu, Sagar, Rajesh and Ramand started abusing and whenhe resisted they started beating.

Sohail cried for help andwhich alerted his fatherShafeeq who came outside tosave his son but the accusedstared beating him and laterwith the intervention of otherneighbours the matter wasresolved.

Page 4: ;@3 9@8D G@E6CD¶ >:?5D - Daily Pioneer

������ ��������� ������� !� "#$ �������&3

/�)���������������!�������������$����=� �����)������������������� �����4�$�������>��)��������������� ��������"���?����!�������!����)������+�������&����+�!�"�������!�������������@�0!����)���������������!�������������$����=� �����)�������������!���������!����?����!�����������������!���"����&��)��������!���)���� �/�����&!�����)���� ���������!���

���� :�!�)'

The BJP on Sunday claimedthat the next general elec-

tion will decide the future ofcountry. On one side there areBJP led nationalist powers,which have courage to attackon terrorists camps situatedbeyond border and on theother hand there are Congressled opposition leaders, who areaddressing terrorists withrespect and using words like‘Jee’ and ‘Sahab’ with name ofthe terrorists leaders, State BJPSpokesperson Pratul Shahdeosaid on Monday in Latehar.

Addressing a press meetShahdeo said, “Addressing pub-lic meeting in the presence ofsenior RJD leader, TejashwiYadav, Kishanganj, RJD MLAAbdul Shubhan on Sunday,called Pulwama attack mastermind Masud Ajhar as Sahab.”

Shahdeo said that includ-ing Congress not a single leaderof the Opposition parties crit-icized the matter. Before thisformer Congress National pres-ident Sonia Gandhi had saidthat on Batla House Encountercase that she spent the nightwithout sleeping for a minute,he added.

Congress leaders, DigvijaySingh several times givenrespect to Osama Bin Ladenand other terrorists leaderswith joining ‘Sahab’ and ‘Jee’with their name, said Shahdeo.

Hitting hard on oppositionparty leaders’ Shahdeo said,“The Opposition leaders aredemoralising defence system byfrequently demanding evidenceof surgical strike done by them.It is habit of Congress to leaveevidence in war. It had given a

big part of Jammu and Kashmir

to Pakistan in 1947. After 1962war China had acquired thou-sands of kilometers of land ofthe country. In 1971 ourdefense forces reached toLahore but due to interna-tional pressure CongressGovernment in Centre calledthem back.” While appealing tothe people Shahdeo said tomake Narendra Modi as PrimeMinister once again a cam-paign is going on across thecountry. This time also he willwin with a big margin, headded. Later, addressing a pressmeet in Gumla on Monday theShahdeo said that there is newsthat the Grand Alliance is get-ting support of some foreignfunded NGOs. Just two daysearlier in Ranchi, two womenwere caught while appealing tovote in the name of religion, he

added.

Lambasting hard on oppo-sition parties’ Shahdeo said, “InKolebira State Assembly byeelections some religious priestsof particular religion hadappealed for vote for particu-lar party. So called socialactivist Jean Dreze participat-ed in a meeting of GrandAlliance and got photo shooton the occasion is proof of thealliance is getting support offoreign funded NGOs. BJP hasgot complain that some NGOswill divert foreign aid for thecampaigning of oppositionparty candidates. A delegationof BJP had filed a complainedagainst it before ElectionCommission of India (ECI).”

Shahdeo alleged that theState government has made thereligion conversion rule andbecause of it some anti nation

institutions are frightened. The

Constitution of India does notallow religious conversion onpretext of social work, headded.Shahdeo wanted toknow that if Congress acceptsKartik Oraon as its respectedleader then the party shouldagree with the principle, underwhich he had said that thoseperson should be preventedfrom the benefit of reservationwho got converted their reli-gion. Congress only uses KartikOraon’s name for its benefit butis shunning from his principle,he added.

Appealing to the peopleShahdeo said, to makeNarendra Modi as PrimeMinister once again. A cam-paign is going on across thecountry and this time also hewill win with big margin, headded.

-.#������������ ���/����/�� �0

����������������������������!�������� �"��!���!������� �������)�������)�����/���!����������� �=�

Ranchi: Consumer will have towait for another couple days tobuy liquor from private retailshops due to closure of banks onMonday and other process thatdelayed liquor shop license hold-ers to open their shops on duedate, which was April 01.

The Election Commission

of India (ECI) gave green signalfor opening of over 1,350 newprivate run retail liquor shopsacross the State on Sunday. Thedepartment started distribut-ing licenses one after one to theshop-owners on Monday. Aftergetting their licenses the holderwill apply for the permission to

open liquor shop on given spotand it will also take a day or two.

After getting the permissionthe license holder will submit afixed amount to get their liquorstock for the shop.

To procure liquor stockfrom Jharkhand State BeveragesCorporation Limited the shop

owners will apply at same timeand it will again be difficult forthe corporation to provide liquorstocks.

The sale timing for privateretail shops would be from 11AM to 11 PM as opposed to 1PM to 10 PM, which was thetiming for government shops.

���$������?����!�����������)���������������&�����)������

������ � * ���)�!8'@�:)

As he carries out whirlwindtour of the state these days

canvassing for the general elec-tions, Haryana Chief MinisterManohar Lal exudes confi-dence of winning all 10 LokSabha seats in the state and aclear majority in the countrywith Narendra Modi returningas the Prime Minister again.

Riding the Narendra Modiwave in 2014 general elec-tions, the saffron party hademerged as a major gainer inHaryana where it had managedto win 7 seats and later thatyear, created a history by attain-ing absolute majority on itsown in the State Assemblypolls.

While the politicalobservers opine that the 2019election may not be a repeat of2014 where Modi wave haddecimated the Congress,Manohar Lal, who is shoul-dering the responsibility ofleading the party’s charge inHaryana, is hoping to build onrecent victories of his party inJind bypoll and civic bodypolls to dislodge the oppositionin ensuing Lok Sabha polls.

A non-Jat Manohar Lal,who heads the BJPGovernment in Jatland-Haryana, asserts that party’spoll agenda is development.

“The BJP Government hasworked hard at the Centre andin the state. We have fulfilledthe promises we had made tothe people of Haryana beforecoming to power. We are nowseeking people’s support for thedevelopment works we havecarried out during our regime,”says the Chief Minister.

At a time when politicalparties are sewing up alliancessetting a stage for multi-cornedelectoral battle in Haryana,Manohar Lal, whose saffronparty, will go it alone in theensuing Lok Sabha polls, says,“There is no challenge in frontof the BJP in the state.”

The performance of polit-ical parties in the Lok Sabhapolls, would also determine, toa large extent, their future inthe State Assembly polls whichare due to be held later thisyear.

BJP has completed overfour years of tenure in Haryanaand the Chief Minister, duringhis roadshows and electionrallies, is focusing on listing outhis government’s achievementsbesides sticking to the issue ofnational security and nation-alism.

Former RSS Pracharak,Manohar Lal enjoys a cleanimage but has been severelycriticized by opposition overhis government’s failure duringviolent Jat quota stir, dera fol-lowers’ violence at Panchkula,violence during Baba Rampal’sarrest in the state.

In an interview with The

Pioneer, the Chief Ministertalks about party’s poll agenda,strategy and other issues.Excerpts from the interview

It has been more than fouryears of BJP’s regime inHaryana now. What do youthink have been the majorachievements of your govern-ment so far?

In our four-year term, wehave been able to give trans-parent and honest governmentto the people of Haryana. Thisis our greatest achievement…Through e-services today, wehave brought the governmentschemes easily accessible to thegeneral public. Following theprinciple of Sabka Saath SabkaVikas, we resolve to ensure allround development in the state.

How do you see the lastfour years of your tenure?What gives you the biggest sat-isfaction in this period as aCM?

As CM, I had the oppor-tunity to serve the public andthe four-year term was full ofsatisfaction. However, there isstill a lot to be done… There isa satisfaction that what wesaid or promised, was done. Inthese four years, Haryana hastouched the new stages ofdevelopment. The upliftmentof all sections of the society hasalways been my government’spriority. Various sections ofsociety like farmers, women,youth… all are satisfied withthe government’s work.

Now as Lok Sabha pollshave been announced, whatwill be BJP’s election agenda?

The BJP’s electoral agendais only development… TheBJP Government has worked atthe Centre and in the state.People have seen our rule…have experienced change.Public faith in the governmentsystem is also restored underBJP’s regime. On the basis ofthis change, BJP will ask peo-ple to vote in its favor again.

The BJP had performedwell in 2014 general electionsin Haryana and won 7 seats?What are your views on BJP’selection prospects this time atthe state level?

In the 2014 Lok Sabhaelections, we won 7 seats inthe state. After this election,we got a clear mandate in theAssembly elections and weformed the government. Lastyear, the party won elections infive municipal corporationsand this year, we won Jind bye-elections with huge votes. Allthis reflects public’s faith inBJP’s policies. On the basis ofthis belief, we will win all 10Lok Sabha seats in Haryana.

What will be party’s strat-egy for Hisar, Rohtak andSirsa Lok Sabha seats, whichthe BJP had lost in 2014? It isbeing said that the BJP is in afix over deciding its candidateson these seats.

In the last Lok Sabha elec-tions, our alliance partner wascontesting on the Hisar andSirsa seats. Because of whichthe voter was confused. Thistime, BJP candidates will con-test the elections in Hisar andSirsa Lok Sabha constituencies.There will be no scope for anytype of confusion this time. InRohtak parliamentary seat also,the BJP will field a strong can-didate.

Haryana will be witness-ing a multi-cornered electoralfight this time. There is BJP,Congress, INLD, JJP, AAP andBSP-LSP alliance in Haryana.Who do you think will beparty’s main challenger?

There is no challenge infront of the BJP in the state. Sowe are confident to win all the10 seats. The main oppositionparties—Congress and INLD—are still struggling with infight-ing. The Congress leadershiphas no vision of any kind.After the recent defeats, theCongress leaders are them-selves refusing to contest theLok Sabha election. The otherparties do not have any exis-tence in the state.

What are your views onBJP’s election prospects atnational level under the lead-ership of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi?

Today, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s charismaticleadership is not only appreci-ated in the country but also

around the world. We are con-fident that with absolute major-ity, Modi will again become thePrime Minister of the country.

You have been conductingroadshows, holding publicmeetings and interaction ses-sions with people since lastyear. How is the responseamong people about BJP’s gov-ernance model in Haryana?

There is a wide discussionof the BJP's governance modelin Haryana. People often meetme and tell me how their chil-dren were working hard foryears but did not get any job…But, there are job

opportunities nowand people are availingit. The life of people is beingfacilitated through e-services.We ensured canal water to1350 tail-end in Haryana andare committed for the welfareof farmers. Our happiness liesonly in the happiness of ourpeople.

You have said that cor-ruption has reduced drasticallyin your term. What con-tributed to this phenomenon,never seen in the earlierregimes?

In the previous regimes,the leaders were only interest-ed in gaining power by form-ing the government. But, ourpurpose is not to gain powerbut to serve the people. Whenwe came to power, we tried toclose all the doors of corrup-tion. We have provided a trans-parent and graft-free system.Even prestigious research agen-cies of the country have statedthat corruption in the state hasdecreased. This is a major suc-cess of ours…

What kind of obstaclesdid you face, if any in gover-nance? Is the mindset of thebureaucracy and peoplechanging and are they accept-ing the winds of change blow-ing in the state?

There was no difficulty ofany kind… We have been ableto achieve various milestonesand it is because we have over-come the difficulties together(bureaucrats and people’s rep-resentatives). For instance,when we talked about trans-parency in jobs, some peoplehad thought that it could nothappen… But, today, everyoneacknowledges the fact that wehave been able to do it.

What are the challengesbefore Haryana at this junc-ture? How do you plan toovercome them in the remain-ing period of your term asChief Minister?

Regionalism of the previ-ous governments and politics ofdiscrimination had pushed thestate far behind that of others.The state has immense poten-tial and we are on the path ofprogress in terms of develop-ment. It is a challenge tocomplete all developmentworks in the remaining period.However, I have confidence inmy team (government func-tionaries) and together, we willbe able to complete our variousworks.

The opposition parties inHaryana have accused theBJP of not delivering on its

polls promises made in 2014.Accusations related to min-ing scam, failure to generateemployment, land scamsamong others have beenmade against your govern-ment. Your take on this

The work of oppositionparties is to blame us. And,

they will continue to do so…We are accountable to the pub-lic and the people are happywith our policies. The majori-ty of the election promisesthat we had made in the 2014State Assembly elections, havebeen completed. We have so farmanaged to give around 64000government jobs. As far asallegations made related tovarious scams, the oppositionhas not been able to prove it tilldate.

The state had witnessedviolent Jat agitation in 2016,which has allegedly divided theJats and non-Jats in the state.How do you look at the entirescenario?

The entire Haryana isone… There is no scenario likeJat and non-Jat in the state.Without any discrimination,the government is also under-taking development works inthe entire state.

Several Jat leaders haveannounced to boycott the BJPin the Lok Sabha polls over theissue of non-fulfillment of theirdemands including reserva-tion. Will this affect BJP’s pollprospects? Your take on this.

The government hasaccepted all the demandsincluding reservation of Jatcommunity. There should notbe any such thing as boycott...If there is any demand thenthey can meet me anytime. Iam always ready to work for thesociety.

Haryana Assembly pollsare also scheduled to be heldthis year. What is theroadmap of your governmentand party’s strategy in view ofAssembly elections 2019?

Like the Lok Sabha elec-tion, our road map for assem-bly elections is very clear.Assembly elections will also befought on the issue of devel-

opment. We have fulfilled thepromises we had made to thepeople of Haryana beforecoming to power. For the firsttime, the government schemeshave reached the commonpeople in the state. Be it pro-viding of jobs or carrying outdevelopment works... Webelieve that like the Lok Sabhaelections, we will get moreseats in assembly electionstoo.

Stagnation in agricultureand stagnation in farmers'income is a phenomenonwhich is there in several partsof the country. Your take onthis

The income of agricul-ture sector and farmer iscomplementar y to eachother. The previous govern-ments considered only ameasure of debt forgivenessfor farmers. But, today ourC entra l and StateGovernment is focusing onboth agriculture output andfarmers’ welfare. In thisregard, we have implement-ed various schemes. TheCentral Government hasfacilitated income securityto farmers by fixing the MSPof six crops. In 2019, theGovernment had made itsvision clear to the farmer byannouncing a financial assis-tance of Rs 6000 per year.

The State Governmenthas also implemented mea-sures for farmers’ welfare bygiving water till tail-end inHaryana.

1����&��� ������$ �����/����1��������

INTERVIEWpioneer

!�������������,����.��(���.�������� �������%���� ��%��������,� ��(�,� ��,����������+�,�� �,��������,��1 ,��������,������������������� �*��������,�����,������������������ �.�������1��"������%,����������%���������� �.�������*��������,������������ 1�#�*�.��"�,�.�%���� ��%���������4��.������(�%��������5

���� :�!�)'

Rumi Kumari, 18, is all set tocast her vote for the first

time in this Lok Sabha Election.Excited about playing a role inselecting the next leaders of herconstituency, Rumi has highexpectations from the leadershe would vote.

“Good education, women’ssafety and end of child mar-riage are some of the steps, Iwould want the elected leaderto take,” she said.

Rumi has such demands asshe has a firsthand experienceof child labour and a narrowescape from child marriage.

Resident of Pahantoli vil-lage in Burmu block of Ranchi,Rumi was forced to work as adomestic help at the young ageof eight.

“I come from a very poorfamily of 10 people. The situ-ation back then was such thatwe couldn’t even get food sowhen a man approached myfamily saying that if they let mego with him he will provide meeducation and give my parentsmoney if I do some householdchores,” she said.

Excited to study, Rumihappily went with the man,only to have her dreams shat-tered. The little girl was forcedto work through the day, notgiven any money and when sheenquired about education shewas shouted at. Left with nooption, she ran from the houseof employers and reachedhome.

However, instead of sup-porting her, Rumi’s familydecided to marry her off whenshe attained the age of 10, justlike her other four sisters, theeldest of whom was marriedoff at the age of 6 and sent tolive with her in laws.

When she realized whatwas happening, Rumi protest-ed. “There was a KasturbaGandhi Balika Vidyalaya inmy school, where I tookadmission with the help ofteachers and block officers.Since then I never lookedback,” she said.

Now that she is of the ageof voting, Rumi wants to selecta leader who understandsthese problems and worktowards solving them so thatmore girls like her do not haveto face such crisis.

Presently pursuing gradu-ation and working part time tosupport her studies Rumi said,“Education is the key. My par-ents tried to marry me offbecause they were uneducat-ed. Another problem I andmany other girls face is harass-ment by drunkards on theroad, so safety definitelyshould be an agenda.”

She also advocates alcoholban as it leads to problems inhouses, harassment of girlsand many other issues.

=����"����)���� �)!�������� �������������$����"������A�������������

6F�',68�,+#, 8D$�: ')���'9D�76!,7',)�,)6��!$+!9D�,+�)�E6)6:�8:6�##)�,,6:68&�,)69',,96�@':9�7�#A+:�68�,+�7+:C,):+ @)�,)68�D$�!+,�@'E6!�!D�+!6D��!87)6!�#)66!I ':68��*+ ,68 ��,'+!�#)67�#�#)+ ,68��,&96A,�7',)�!++�,'+!$�#)6�:�!A:+�,)6�)+ #6+A�6�9+D6:#�!8�:6��)68)+6

Page 5: ;@3 9@8D G@E6CD¶ >:?5D - Daily Pioneer

������ ��������� ������� !� "#$ �������&6

���� !67�869)'

The Election Commission(EC) has exempted a host

of agencies under the UnionHome like paramilitary forces,NIA, IB, CBI and other secu-rity agencies from Model Codeof Conduct and allowed themto procure operationallyrequired items through opentender or Government eMarketplace (GeM) portal.

The move comes after JointSecretary in the Union HomeMinistry Piyush Goyal in a let-ter to the Election Commission

of India NOC (No ObjectionCertificate for MHA/CAPFs,NSG, Assam Rifles, IntelligenceBureau, CBI-CFSL and othersecurity organisations for procurement of opera-tionally required items throughopen tender.

In a recent letter to UnionHome Secretary Rajiv Gauba,Election Commission SecretaryAvinash Kumar said it has noobjection from Model Code ofConduct angle with regard toprocurement of any item by thesecurity agencies under theHome Ministry.

���� !67�869)'

The Election Commission(EC) on Monday took cog-

nizance of Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister Yodi Adityanath refer-ring to the Indian Army as‘Modi ji ki sena’. The districtmagistrate of Ghaziabad hasbeen asked to furnish a reportin this regard.

The report will be sub-mitted to the office of ChiefElectoral Officer of UttarPradesh which hassought the details aftertaking cognizance ofmedia reports in thisregard.

“Congress ke logaatankwadiyon ko biryanikhilate the aur Modi ji ki

sena aatankwadiyon ko goliaur gola deti hai. (Congresswould feed ‘biryani’ to terror-ists, while Modi’s army givesthem bullets and bombs). Thisis the difference. The Congresspeople use ‘ji’ to refer toMasood Azhar to encourage

terrorism,” Adityanathsaid at an election rally in Ghaziabad on

Sunday.The Chief

Minister was cam-paigning for sit-ting MP andUnion MinisterVK Singh. The

EC had on March19 asked political

parties to “desist”from indulging in

any propaganda involvingactions taken by Defence forcesduring their Lok Sabha pollcampaigns.

The fresh advisory camedays after the poll panel askedparties and their candidatesagainst using pictures ofDefence force personnel in theircampaign material. “...Parties/candidates are advised that theircampaigners/candidates shoulddesist, as part of their electioncampaigning, from indulging inany political propaganda involv-ing activities of Defence forces,”it said.

The poll body said thenew advisory was in continu-ation to its earlier one on useof pictures of Defence person-nel in campaigning.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday allowed the StaffSelection Commission (SSC) to declare the result of a re-exam-ination of SSC Combined Graduate Level (CGL) 2017 held lastyear. A Bench of Justices SA Bobde and S Abdul Nazeer said thatinjunction granted on August 31, last year on the declaration ofresult for SSC CGL, 2017, would not continue on a re-exami-nation conducted on March 9, 2018.

The top court said that lakhs of unemployed youths have suf-fered because someone from the organisation was corrupt. It alsoset up a high powered committee comprising Nandan Nilekani,a co-founder of tech giant Infosys, and renowned computer sci-entist Vijay P Bhatkar to suggest reforms for conducting of com-petitive examinations fairly by Government bodies. PTI

���� !67�869)'

The Income Tax Departmenthas attached a house of

hard-line Kashmiri separatistSyed Ali Shah Geelani located inthe national Capital in connec-tion with an over �3.62 crore taxevasion case against him.

The attached flat is locatedin south Delhi’s KhirkiExtension locality in MalviyaNagar. A Tax Recovery Officer(TRO) of the departmentsealed the house as Geelaniallegedly failed to pay�3,62,62,160 income tax forassessment years 1996-97 to2001-02, an order said.

The department has

undertaken the action undersection 222 of the Income TaxAct (assessee deemed in default of tax payment) and“prohibited and restrained” the Hurriyat Conference leaderfrom transferring the asset to anyone.

An order to attach the

property was issued on March29 by the department.

TRO is the enforcementwing of the IT departmentand deals with cases of wilfuldefaulters. The authority isempowered to attach an assetand subsequently auction it torealise the tax dues.

In March, the EnforcementDirectorate (ED) slapped apenalty of �14.40 lakh onGeelani in a 17-year-old case ofillegal possession of foreigncurrency worth $10,000 inalleged contravention of foreignexchange law.

The foreign currency,

equivalent to about Rs 6.90lakh, had also been confiscat-ed by the ED in 2002 as part ofan order issued under theForeign Exchange ManagementAct (FEMA) on March 20.

This currency was seizedduring an Income Tax raid atGeelani’s residence in Srinagar’sHyderpora area in 2002.

Various agencies havetightened the noose around ter-ror sympathisers ostensiblyworking at the behest ofPakistan and are suspected tobe engaged in fuelling terror inJammu & Kashmir in con-junction with terror affiliates ofthe Pakistan Government andthe Army combine.

���� !67�869)'

The Centre for DiseaseControl (CDC), a US health

protection agency, has relaxedits December 2018 travel advi-sory to India over Zika out-break, especially for pregnantwomen. Earlier, the CDC hadcautioned pregnant women tonot travel to India as there wasan ongoing outbreak inRajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

On Monday, the IndianCouncil of Medical Research(ICMR) issued an statementsaying that its March rebuttal toCDC’s earlier advisory has ledthe international agency to saythe status of Zika outbreak haschanged to “current or pasttransmission but no currentoutbreak” from the earlier sta-tus given to all south Asiannations — “ongoing outbreak”.

According to the CDCwebsite, the advisory nowstates, “India has reported pastor current Zika virus trans-mission. We do not have accu-rate information on the currentlevel of risk. There may bedelays in detection and report-ing of new outbreaks.

“Because Zika is a cause ofsevere birth defects, CDC rec-ommends pregnant womenand couples trying to becomepregnant within the next threemonths work with their healthcare providers to carefully con-

sider the risks and possible con-sequences of travel to areaswith risk of Zika. If you travel,you should strictly follow stepsto minimise exposure to andprevent mosquito bites.”

The ICMR adds that Zikavirus strain isolated inRajasthan matches with the onein Brazil, which saw a massiveoutbreak in 2016. It furtherclarifies that though prelimi-nary studies done on strain inRajasthan do suggest that themutation causing birth defects(microcephaly) was absentthere but “further characteri-sation of the strain is requiredas microcephaly has several

attributable cases.Also, the ICMR has said

that a study was being rolledout in Madhya Pradesh amongZika-positive pregnant womento understand the outcomes ofpregnancy and to know theoccurrence of neurologicalcomplications, includingmicrocephaly. A similar study,ICMR said, has been rolled outin Rajasthan as well.

As many as 159 cases ofZika were reported in Jaipurduring October-November. InMadhya Pradesh, 130 caseswere reported during the sameperiod, whereas in Ahmedabadthe number of cases were two.

���� !67�869)'

The Indo-Tibetan BorderPolice (ITBP) on Monday

operationalised its strategiccommand at Leh in the Ladakhregion of Jammu & Kashmirafter moving it fromChandigarh as part of a plan tocounter the ever-increasingChinese military build-up in theTibetan Autonomous Region.

The North West frontier ofthe ITBP, headed by anInspector General of Police-rank officer equivalent to aMajor General in the Army istasked to guard the 3,488-kmIndia-China border in peacetimes. It has now been madeoperational from Ladakh fromMonday, officials said.

The Indian tricolour andthe paramilitary’s flag wereunfurled to herald the new

move and the frontier will beoperating from the existingpremises of the ITBP sectorheadquarter, they said.

ITBP Director General SSDeswal has sanctioned moreinfrastructure including build-ings and logistics for the newcommand. The DG is expectedto visit the formation some time

soon. A decision to the effect wastaken in January this year to shiftthe command from Chandigarhto Leh, which are separated by adistance of 960 km.

Leh district in theHimalayan mountain ofJammu & Kashmir is the basefor Army’s 14 Corps which isheaded by a Lt General-rank

officer and the shift is expect-ed to facilitate a better interac-tion between the two forces interms of strategic and defenceplanning.

The Army, which carvedout a separate Corps in Lehafter Jammu and Srinagar fol-lowing the Kargil incursion in1999, has been demandingoperational control over theITBP. The proposal has beenrejected by the Government.

Location of the ITBP andthe Army in the same region

will resolve the coordinationissue between the two forces.

The Union Home Ministryhad first mooted the proposalfor this strategic move in 2015but it did not materialise.

The new ITBP frontier willhave command of about 12 bat-talions (12,000 personnel)deployed along the Chineseborder that runs along Jammu& Kashmir, a move intended toincrease the presence of thetroops on the icy, blizzard-prone mountainous border.

���� !67�869)'

In an effort to furtherstrengthen military-to-mili-

tary ties, Army Chief GeneralBipin Rawat will hold wideranging discussions with theUS top brass during his four-day visit there beginningon Tuesday.

Both the Armies now holdregular joint exercises here andin the US annually besidesexchange of officers to promotebetter relations. His visit comesagainst the backdrop of grow-ing strategic and Defence tiesbetween the countries increasing manifold over thepast few years.

Moreover, the US hasemerged as one of the biggestweapon suppliers to India in thelast two decades with Indiarecently signing deal with a USfirm for 72, 400 Sig Sauerassault rifles worth over Rs 700crore for frontline troops guard-ing the Line of Control (LoC)with Pakistan and Line of ActualControl (LAC) facing China.

The rifles will be acquiredon fast track basis and likely to be inducted within ayear. Also, the arms exports

from the US have crossed theten billion dollar mark in lastfew years and the US keen tohave joint ventures with Indiancompanies to manufactureweapons here.

Given this scenario, theArmy Chief led delegation willinteract with senior militaryhierarchy of the US ArmedForces with an aim to take for-ward the military to militarycooperation. The Army Chiefwill also visit the US MilitaryAcademy at West Point and theCommand and General StaffCollege at Fort Leavenworth,

Kansas, officials said here onMonday. Rawat is an alumnusof the prestigious college.

Rawat will interact withGeneral Joseph F Dunford,Chairman of the Joint Chiefs ofStaff and General Mark AMilley, Chief of Staff of the USArmy to discuss military coop-eration issues of mutual interest.

The visit to US aims to giveimpetus to the military ties andenhance strategic engagements.The functional experiencegained during the visit shallfurther enhance India-US rela-tionship, they said.

���� !67�869)'

The Supreme Courton Monday granted

time to 21 political par-ties time till April 8 torespond to the stand ofElection Commission ofIndia that verificationof 50 per cent of VoterVerifiable Paper AuditTrails (VVPAT) in all con-stituencies will delay counting.

The Election Commission(EC) has filed counter-affi-davit in the matter pointing outlogistical difficulties in carry-ing out 50 per cent verificationof VVPAT. According to the EC, this will delay theannouncement of results by atleast six days.

“It is therefore submitted50 per cent VVPAT slip verification in each Assemblysegment of a ParliamentaryConstituency or AssemblyConstituency on an averageshall enlarge the time requiredfor counting to about 6 days. Itis also relevant to mentionthat in many AssemblyConstituencies, there are morethan 400 polling stations,which will require about 8 to 9days to complete the VVPATslip count,” stated the affidavitfiled by the poll panel.

This has come in responseto a PIL filed by leaders of 21Opposition political parties,demanding counting and crossverification VVPAT in at least50 per cent (randomly chosen)of all polling stations withineach Assembly Segment/Constituency.

The petition also chal-lenges the decision of ECI toverify VVPAT of only one ran-domly selected booth of a con-stituency. The petitioners say

that this will account only for0.44 per cent of the votespolled. This guideline defeatsthe entire purpose of VVPATand makes the same “orna-mental” without actual sub-stance, they state.

Last week, the Bench head-ed by Chief Justice RanjanGogoi had required theCommission to reply whetherit is possible to increase theVVPAT sample survey in everyassembly segment. TheCommission has explained thatthe VVPAT slip is displayed tothe voter through a transparentwindow in the ElectronicVoting Machine (EVM) forabout seven seconds after thecasting of vote. The EC had

informed

the Court in 2017 thatVVPAT will be used100 per cent in futureelections. However, thedecision taken by theEC in July 2018 was toverify VVPAT of a ran-domly selected polling station from aconstituency.

The petitionersare: N Chandrababu Naidu(TDP), Sharad Pawar (NCP),KC Venugopal (INC), Derek OBrien (TMC), Sharad Yadav(LTJD), Akhilesh Yadav (SP),Satish Chandra Mishra (BSP),MK Stalin (DMK), TK RangaRajan (CPI(M)), S SudhakarReddu (CPI), Manoj KumarJha (RJD), Arvind Kejriwal(AAP), Farookh Abdullah(NC) K Danish Ali (RJD),AjithSingh (RLD), M BadruddingAjmal (AIUDF), Jithin RamManji (Hindusthani AwamMorcha), Ashok Kumar Singh(JVM), Khorrum Anis Omar(IUML) Prof. Kodanadram(Telengana Jana Samithi), andKG Kenye (Naga PeoplesFront).

��&�������8���������� ����������#��,������������ ������ ����������"���8� ��J��C������6%������� ��� �������� �����!����&���,�%:��������+�������K,:+L�������������������� ��������"�����@�� ����� ��� ����� ���������4$?B$?B$/?=����������%���������������������/22?�2>���B==/�=B

E����"�������������������������������������"����������������������������� ��(���������������������������������������"�����������������������"� ���������������.C������3"�������(��������������� ���������������������@����������������������������

9����,��8-:�"#����;�-���,�-���5�� -.�.��,�� 5�.��� ���

##�����������2�������#��3 �������� ���/���,�4���������

� ,���'�������"��� �������� �:���������������������������������������"��� ��������������8������������� �K�8�LJ����� ���������������� ������������� �����������������������"�����M����"�����������������������"���������������������������"������"�������"������������������� ��������"������������ ���"�����������������N����������"�������� �����������������8��(������$��������������(�������$�'������������������������"������M�������"��������������&7����������������"������������������������"������ ��� ��������&�,������������ ����������������������������������(�"������

� �����������/12����������M����(������������������"��"�����+�������!�������&�'������������$�/4=�������(������������"������������������$�(�����������������������"�������������(�����(�

��!���00��&�����7���&����3��������#�����'������#��&9#�� ������������������������(���������������"���������������������������������������������������9��$�(���������������������������������2?=���

� 9���������������',*���������������������������������(� ����� ���������������������"�����(���������(��������

� ,�����(�',*�����������(� �������������������"��/B������ ����K/B$===��������� L��� ����� ����������������������������"���� �������"�.�C������$���������������������������������������������������������������$�� ��������������"������"�������

�7-"-"� 9��,:��!����!��:�7("7)! ��8)� �7��-�;� <�,�,"� ���!��-"������8�))=.�,�!�,�;<"����7>7>>�<� ,-7? 797-�.�--� �)�-�7�,

�"� 9=�"��>)�!!�)���-�7�(�))��-� �<-(�-",���7 9�)�-� ="�� � <"=7>-"��� 9�!&7 <�,(�-"����9-7-�@�>7 (� !-"�9�)�-� =-79�)�-� =<77?� �-�7�5�"� 9=�"��>(�))�),7A�,�--"�����)�-� = <�!�9=�-��,-�7��-��!-"��799��!��!���� �)�-�>>�7))����-&7 -1��A��(7 -"�+��,�,5�(�-�,���)89�8,7>-"�<7))���

�'2�!"���&��������&���$����#���

#����2��(*���� ����/ ��������� ���"��2�

!���0������$�/������:�0���&�/��0���&���/����&#��

������2����������%�� 0�-��� �! �2 ����0������2�

���� !67�869)'

The Congress on Mondayaccused BJP president Amit

Shah of providing “false infor-mation” related to his proper-ty in the affidavit filed by himfor Gandhinagar Lok Sabhaseat and demanded that theElection Commission directthe Returning Officer to initi-ate action against him.

Congress spokespersonManish Tewari alleged Shah inhis affidavit has “undervalued”

his assets which is “very serious”as it is against the provisions ofthe Representation of the PeopleAct. Referring to a plot inGandhinagar, the Congressleader claimed that as per theGovernment guidelines themarket value of the plot comesto Rs 66.5 lakh, but Shah haddeclared its value at Rs 25 lakh.

There was no immediatereaction available from the BJPor Shah’s office on the charges.“We would like the ElectionCommission to take cog-

nizance of this matter anddirect the Returning Officer ofGandhinagar to take appro-priate action under the law.Because this is no ordinarycandidate, this is the presidentof the BJP and an alleged falsedeclaration on an affidavit is aserious issue,” he told reporters.

Tewari alleged that whenthere is a laid down process, bywhich a clear market value of theproperty can be declared, thepresident of BJP for some rea-son has decided to declare only

less than half its market value.He also claimed that Shah’s

assets have seen a jump of 300per cent from 2012 to 2019,growing from Rs 11.79 crore toRs 38.81 crore. “At least, forsome, ‘achche din’ have come,even if they have not come for125 crore Indians,” he saidreferring to the BJP’s poll slo-gan for 2014 elections.

He said Section 125-A ofRepresentation of the People Actclearly says that “ a candidatewho fails to provide full infor-

mation or provides false infor-mation or conceals any infor-mation, will be punishable withfine and/or imprisonment”.

� �+��1 ���������*��������� �+

0!������"�&�����!���"��!�)���������������!�&�)��!��)����&�)��"��!���)!�&�������� ��������������)�������$� �����)���&������@�0!���������"����������!��B���������)�C�����������)!�D�"!���!�)����!�������"���� ������!�����@�0!����� �����!������"�&�������9�BE�#���&��&�)�����F������������!����)��$�����)�@@@FC�:����������������"���!����� �����9BE��)��������!��"���#���� ���������)��������C@ :�=�

'��(�;#��������"0������� �����������/�,�&�0��&��������

������� �/���� � �5#��$����� � ���� ��

Page 6: ;@3 9@8D G@E6CD¶ >:?5D - Daily Pioneer

The collapse of the SamjhautaExpress bomb blasts case againstanti-conversion crusaderAseemanand and his “co-conspir-ators”, Lokesh Sharma, Kamal

Chauhan and Rajinder Chaudhary, on theMarch 21 Samjhauta Express Case, hastrounced attempts by a previous regime toestablish the bogey of “Hindu terror.”Aseemanand allegedly mentored peopleseeking revenge for attacks on Hindu temples(Akshardham, Gujarat; Raghunath Mandir,Jammu; and Sankat Mochan Mandir,Varanasi). The National Investigation Agency’s(NIA) failure to present even an iota of evi-dence in the court has battered its reputation.

Aseemanand has already been acquit-ted in Hyderabad’s Mecca Masjid andAjmer’s dargah blast cases. Living amongtribals in Dangs, Gujarat, his ability to inspireterror attacks with trifling amounts like�25,000 and �40,000 seems laughable; noother sums are attributed to him.

The NIA case revolved around SunilJoshi, who was murdered in December 2007in Dewas, Madhya Pradesh. As no crediblecorroborative evidence was forwarded, thecase collapsed once Aseemanand withdrewhis confession, claiming it was coerced. Ashis plea of innocence before one judgeclashed with his confession before anotherjudge, special judge Jagdeep Singh upheldthe forced confession plea. The shoddyprobe thus helped those behind the killingof 68 people on the night of February 18-19, 2007, to get away scot-free.

Interestingly, the US Department of theTreasury informed the 1267 committee of theUN Security Council that Lashkar-e-Tayyeba(LeT) was behind the attacks and thatFazeel-A-Tul Shaykh Abu MohammedAmeen Al-Peshawari; Arif Qasmani;Mohammed Yahya Mujahid; and NasirJavaid had carried out train bombings in India.The 1267 committee stated on June 29, 2008,that these people were financed by proclaimedoffender Dawood Ibrahim. The CentralBureau of Investigation (CBI) registered anFIR and Safdar Nagori of the StudentsIslamic Movement of India (SIMI) admittedin October 2008 that the Samjhauta blastswere executed by SIMI activists with the helpfrom LeT from Pakistan. The judge observedthat the NIA did not follow these leads.Survivors reported that some people had gotoff the train midway but this line of investi-gation was totally neglected.

In 2010-11, the investigators began topursue the “Hindu terrorists” theory.Aseemanand “confessed” in January 2011 thaton February 16, 2007, he met Sunil Joshi andBharat Rateshwar at Balpur and was told toexpect some “good news”; Joshi later told himthat his (Joshi’s) men were behind Samjhautaand other incidents. Even prima facie, thisdoes not suggest Aseemanand’s involvementin any conspiracy.

In NIA vs. Naba Kumar Sarkar @ SwamiAseemanand and others, Aseemanand denied

confessing any crime to convictAbdul Khaleem inChanchalguda Jail, Hyderabad.The judgement agreed that thiswas unlikely as Aseemanandwas in solitary confinement. Itnoted that while the “confession”said Indresh Kumar, PragyaThakur, Bharat Rateshwar andothers also attended meetings(denied by them), the NIA hadnot charged them as co-accused.

According to the retractedconfession, in March 2006, SunilJoshi met Aseemanand atShabridham and asked formoney to purchase a SIM cardand pistol from Jharkhand andreceived �25,000. However, theNIA failed to prove that the SIMcard or pistol was used to executethe Samjhauta Express blast.Besides, as the judgementobserved, no material evidencewas recovered from places asso-ciated with the alleged conspir-acy, namely, Thakurghar,Shabridham and Balpur Mandir;instead the NIA tookAseemanand to unrelated placeslike Daman.

The prosecution claimedthat Lokesh Sharma, RajinderChaudhary, Kamal Chauhan andAmit Hakla came to Old DelhiRailway Station from Indore onFebruary 18, 2007, and stayed inrailway dormitories but offeredno evidence in this regard. Therewas no evidence (traintickets/reservations or otherrecords) to establish that theaccused people travelled fromIndore to Nizamuddin stationand then to Old Delhi Railway

Station. Similarly, they allegedlyescaped to Jaipur by train andthen travelled to Indore by bus;but no evidence was furnished tosupport their journey.

The prosecution claimedthat the bombs were transport-ed in two suitcases, whose cov-ers were stitched by tailor IqbalHussain of Kothari Market,Indore. Suitcase covers of twounexploded bombs were recov-ered from the crime scene.However, the NIA did not both-er to conduct a Test IdentificationParade (TIP) to establish if anyof the accused people had got thecovers stitched at the said shop.More glaringly, the report of thefinger print expert was notmatched with the fingerprints ofthe suspects or accused people toget vital clues.

The prosecution claimedthat the accused people weretrained in Bagli Forest area in2006. Sand samples from thealleged site were reportedly takenin December 2012 from a pit cre-ated at the time of training. Thejudgement observed that it washighly improbable that any pitwould remain in the same con-dition after more than six years,especially when the site was a hillslope; soil erosion and weatherwear and tear would change thecomplexion of the site.

More pertinently, scientificliterature states that after sixmonths, RDX turns into Nitrite;after the explosion, RDX wouldturn into carbon in the shape ofash. Hence, the prosecution’sclaim of finding “traces of RDX”

in the alleged sand samples col-lected from Bagli Forest area sug-gests that the investigating agency“went whole hog in order to cre-ate fake evidence to ensure falseimplication of the accused … byany means, whether scientific ornot and that, too, with a totallyirrelevant piece of evidence”. LtCol Prasad Shrikant Purohit isaccused of providing the RDX inthis and other “Hindu terror”cases; this verdict may help him.

Thus, after five years ofinvestigations and seven years oftrial, the NIA failed to furnish anyevidence regarding any agree-ment to commit the crimeamong the accused people. Therewas “no concrete oral, documen-tary or scientific evidence”regarding motive to indulge inthe crime; nothing to show howand from where raw materials formaking bombs were procured;who collected the material; whoassembled the bombs; how andfrom where technical know-how was arranged; who plantedthe bombs in the train.

Above all, there is no evi-dence regarding the funding ofthis gigantic exercise. The NIAbuilt its edifice on extractedconfessions revolving aroundthe culpability of the deceasedSunil Joshi. Little wonder thejudge bemoaned the “gapingholes in the prosecution evi-dence”; this is a blistering indict-ment of the NIA.

(The writer is Senior Fellow,Nehru Memorial Museum andLibrary; the views expressed arepersonal)

�� �� )������ ����� �� �� * ������������� +���� ,*�+- ���� ����.����/� �� ���� ���������� �� ��

0������*���,0*-�������������������� ��� �� �� 1������� ����� ���������� ���� ������ ��� ������� �������������������.����������������� �� *���� 2���� 2��� #�������� ������������� ������������������ ��������������� 0*���������������� �#��� ����� � ��� ������ ��� �����2����%������������� �������

����/���������������������#������*������.�����.���������(�/��������(������� ����������������3)�������������(/����������������������������������������������������������(������� ����������� ��������������������� ����������(�����������������#������������������������%������������2����������������������������0������������������(����� ��������������������� ����4�����������������������5�������&�#����"�������������������������������0*�#�������.����/�������������������������������������������.�����������0*����������� ������� ��������������������������������������������� ��� ��������������������������������������������������������������������������6�/�����������������������������#�0*������ �������������� ���������&���������������.�����(.��������������� ������ �������������0��"���* ����$�������(�����0��"�����������������������������(��������������������������������������������*�����(�����������������������.�������(�����&�������������!����������������� ������������������������������������������* ���������������2���3*$������������#�������������������������������������������������������� ����

7������������ �����������0*��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������#����������������5�������&��������������������������������.�������7��������#����������� ��������������������������������������������������$��(0*���������������������������������������������� ����������(.��������������������������������������������������� ������2��������� ����������� 0*������������������������������������������������������������#�������������������&��(����%��������������������������

0�����������������������8�������������!����%�����&�������������(�������2� ������)��������������(

�������� ���� ����������������������������������9��������.:$������� ������� ������������9���������� �������������������������������������������������������� ���������������������� ����������4���#�� �� ��� ����������� ���� ��8������������������������4�� *����������������������7���������������

���������������������������������������� ������������ �����������������������������#����������� ������������������������������������*��������;<=������������������� ������������������������������������������������������������������� ����������

+�����!������������������������������ ������������������(������������������.������(������������(������ ������7���������������������������������� ����0������������������>������������&����������������� ��� ��.��7������������������������*�����������������������������*����������� ����������������������������������� ������������������������������� ����������������������������������0����������5��0����&������ ��7������ ������������!�������������� ��������������������������������*��� ��������������������������������������������������*��������������������������������������0��������������������������������������������������������������������*�����2� ������������������������������������������������#���� ����)�����������)�������!����&�����������������������������������������*������������������� ������������������������������� �����#�������������&������������������������������������(�������������������������������������!������������������������������������0��������������� (������������������������������������������������������������������������������.�������*�����)������������������������� ���� ��� ����%������������� ������������������������������������������������ ����������������(������0�����%����������������8�������������������������������1����� ����*����%���������������������������������.���� ������������������������� ��.:$&�*�����*������*�������������������*���������������������������������������������������������8������&������� ��������������������������(�������������������+�����������?����������������������(����������������������������������������������������������������������8�����������������������������������������������(����*������������� �*����������������������������

1������8�������������������������������������������3����$�������������$��*$(.*$�������������������*����@#�8���������������������������� ��������������������������*���������������������������.���!�������8�������������(���� $�� ����%���������������������������������#� ������������������?���������� �����������.(�������������(�����������������������������������������������(���������������������� ���� ������������������� ����������������������������� ���������������0������$�� �������������������������������������������8��������������������� ��������������(�������������������������������������(������������<=<<���3$������ �������2� ���������������������������������������������������� ����������������������

���%�$���&�(�0���������&��� � �����2 ������4 � �������������0�� ��������$���� ����������$���� ������ ���������������

6 ��5#,$��2��� ��� ���/��������� � ��7#���� ����� ��� �����������������8���������/ � ��� �����������

������������ ����

Sir — This refers to the editor-ial, “US move on Azhar” (March29). After Beijing used its vetoto stall the sanction committee’sunanimous decision to designatePakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad chief MasoodAzhar a global terrorist, its dou-ble-speak became abundantlyclear. On the one hand it main-tains a firm stand on terror, onthe other, it seeks to promotePakistan.

Already, China’s inconsistentpolicy on terror has drawn theire of the US, the UK, Franceand other European countries.Before stonewalling repeatedattempts to bring extremists tobook, China must set its ownhouse in order. Repeated humanrights violations on UighurMuslims in Xinjiang have beenreported. This is humiliating andmust be condemned.

It’s high time that China fallsin line to support the resolutionat the Security Council insteadof remaining a stumbling blockto declare Azhar a terrorist withunconvincing defence.

KR Srinivasan Secundèrabad

���������������������

Sir — This refers to the article,“Return our green cover” (March 28) by VK Bahuguna. Itis shameful that instead ofrewarding the forest dwellersfor their outstanding contribu-tion towards protecting theforests, efforts have been madeto jeopardise their symbiotic

relationship with the ecology. The Bishnoi tribe of

Rajasthan, for example, followsrules as prescribed by their guru.Felling trees and killing animalsare treated as crimes under theirpurview. The Bishnois are right-ly called the first environmental-ists of India. They build waterstorage tanks that can store rainwater for humans and animals.They bury the deceased instead of

following their religious traditionto cremate the dead. They do thisto avoid wastage of firewood andair pollution. To minimise the useof trees, they use cow-dung cakesas fuel for cooking. They only col-lect dead wood. Further, thistribe has been fighting courtcases against poachers, no matterhow big the suspect may be.

Indeed, the environment andthe lives of forest dwellers

improved in less than three percent of the total forest cover inIndia where traditional inhabi-tants became managers of theirforest land. The need is to improveupon the Forest Act, 1927 andimplement it soon so that it canbe extended to the remaining 97per cent of our forests.

Sujit DeKolkata

����������������������

Sir — In times when the Congress’political fortunes have reached alow, it isn’t surprising that it hascome up with the Nyuntam AayYojana scheme. What is astound-ing is that the plan is beingbacked by some eminent econo-mists, who have thrown theirsacred principles to the winds andrushed to back this idealisticscheme that would only make thisnation a country of idlers and beg-gars. No self-respecting Indianwould like to receive alms and,therefore, this scheme is an insultto their dignity.

ShivanshVia email

! " ! � � � % � � � ! " � � � � �

333������� ���������������&���;�� ����������O P,��8�� ����������O ���������&���;�� ��������;

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

&7

��� ��������������

#�(�!<� 8�"/

,���!'�J����� "�����������������������������������������������"����������#��3��"��6%������� �����������������������������"������&�,���������������������"�����������

���������������������&&&�K'(�" L� �������(����(������&&&�'������ ������������������������&�'��������������������(���������&

�� �<-7 N����:"���

������������� ��������"����������(���������"��������������������������������������������������&,��� #����(������������(� &�

�"���,�7>>�<��)N@����#�"���

� � � / $ � " �

� � � ! � � � # � � � $ " � !

������� ����������������������

7������ �������������$��������������� ���������"�&� '�� �������������� !���������J�� ���������������������������� ������������������������� �

� �������������������������������������$�(����������� ����������������J����������������������3�������$��� ���������������������� ��������������(� ����"������"���������������"��������"�������� ��������������������������" ����*��&�'������������"�����������*��������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������"���������������"�������������������������� �(�����������������������������������������������&�,���� �������������� ����"������"�������������������������� �J�������������(�������������������������"�����$������ ��� ���������"���� �����������������������&� '�� ��� ��� "������ �� ����� ����� ��� ���������������� ����)��"����������� �������������������������������" �������������� �3"�����&

,������" ����������� ����������������������)��"�����$����(���������*���������������� ������������������$

��������������������"������������&�*"�����������*��������"���"��������� ��� �������������3"%������������������K������� ����L�(����������� ��� K������������ �L������������(����������&�!������� ���$�������������������������������� ��������� ��� (��������"�������� ����� ��"�� �������� �����������"����J������������������ �&

���A�!��)-7���������� ��

,)6:6�7�#�Q!+��+!�:6,6

+:�9$8+� 6!,�:D�+:

#�'6!,'A'�6E'86!�6J

:6@�:8'!@+,'E6�,+

'!8 9@6�'!�,)6�:'6<�!+,)'!@,+�#)+7�)+7

�!8�A:+�7)6:6:�7��,6:'�9#

A+:��C'!@*+*#�76:6

�:+� :68<�7)+�+996�,68�,)6�,6:'�9<�7)+�##6*968�,)6

*+*#<�7)+�9�!,68�,)6*+*#�'!�,)6

,:�'!

��������������&�)�����9)�--� ,-7?�7��� B�9��)5<79

��&��/��������&<

6"��������"��� ���������"��������������� ������������������������������� �����"������������������� ��� "��������"������������ ���&

��<�� �,�!��-N�E��������!��"

7�����������������������������(������������������:*'�(�����������&#������������������������������"���������������&

���<"��>N������*����3��

Page 7: ;@3 9@8D G@E6CD¶ >:?5D - Daily Pioneer

9���� �/�����/ ������$

�����������1����1�&������ ���������������1�����C� �����������

��11�������5�����������&&�����5:��� � ��������&�������

���� ���� � ��

����D��������������1�������� �1�5������ �1� � ��&������� ������������ ���� ���� &� ��������������������5:���1� ��� *

�+�(����/ �!�+�(��

The financial industry that serves the lowerincome segment has gone through distincttransformations in recent times — from

social banking to microfinance; to financial inclu-sion; and now to technology-driven financial ser-vices or ‘fintech’. The last represents the potent inter-section of finance and technology, has changedpeople’s lives and transformed the business land-scape forever. It has enabled us to trade dollars forbits and bytes. For the millennial — those for whomthe internet, mobile phones and plastic cards area fact of life — cash is now quaint and transactionsare mostly via digital tools. Banking is fast mov-ing to a paperless and real-time era. While bankbranches will always be there, banks are gradual-ly becoming “invisible” in how they deliver services.

Today, India is the world’s second biggest fin-tech hub with 2,035 start-ups operating in this sec-tor, according to India Fintech Report 2019. India’sdigital payments market is set to grow to $500 bil-lion by 2020 and to $1 trillion by 2023. Industryresearch has projected that $1 trillion or 60 per centof India’s retail and SME credit will be digitally dis-bursed by 2029. The year 2018 was particularly sig-nificant for financial technology and financial ser-vices ecosystem in the country. With $2.34 billionbeing raised across 145 deals, fintech finally unseated e-commerce from the top.

The fintech sector comprises mobile payments,money transfers, crowdfunding, loans and assetmanagement among others. It is creating highlysophisticated intellectual property assets in advancedrisk management and artificial intelligence that hasthe potential of leapfrogging India in the global dig-ital economy and demolishing most barriers toaccessing financial services like distance, cost andpaperwork. It is expected to bring diversity in bank-ing, broaden its spectrum and ensure that bankingno longer remains black and white.

Fintech stands for financial technology or anapplication used for the financial sector. It com-prises multiple technologies like ArtificialIntelligence, virtual reality, blockchain, cloud-basedsoftware, machine learning — all of which providea powerful and revolutionary mantra to financialinstitutions to power themselves with limitlessreach. Fintech offers an array of benefits:

� Financial flows can be accurately tracked,resulting in safer and speedier transactions and lesscorruption/theft.

� Suppliers can get useful insight from thetransaction patterns of the clients. This helps themdesign products that are better suited to customers’needs.

� Firms can use financial histories to devel-op products that are tailored to the customers’needs.

�Providers can instantly relay account infor-mation of clients and use them to develop auto-matic reminders. It also provides helpful defaultoptions via mobile phone menus, making it eas-ier for consumers to track and monitor theiraccounts. Further, clients can also sign up for ser-vices quickly on their own.

�Direct deposits (including wages and socialassistance) allow money to “bypass” the client’spocket, thus helping users save rather than spendand often gives more financial authority towomen within the family.

The phenomenal footprint of data, thanks to

smartphone or data-connected mobilephones, is a blessing for people with lim-ited credit-accession account. It providesan unprecedented opportunity of bring-ing people with limited credit-historyinto the formal mainstream. Variousresearch studies have shown that evensimple and easily accessible variablesfrom digital footprints can be analysedto produce alternate credit profiles.

The digital world offers both majoropportunities and challenges. Technologyand infrastructure are only a part of thepicture. Appropriate regulations andconsumer protection safeguards are ofparamount importance. Sparse popula-tion, inconsistent network coverage,insufficient capital for building newbusiness models, lack of trust and ofcomfort with technology and literacyneeded to fully use these services, canstand in the way of success, particular-ly in connecting remote communities.

While ground-breaking technologyand innovative business operations pro-vide several fresh business opportunities,new risks, too, are there. Challenges relat-ed to implementing digital financial ser-vices are not just operational and techni-cal. Loss of privacy is the most dangerous.Despite all efforts to create ample safe-guards, they remain inevitable. For thefinancial inclusion industry to be able tofully capitalise on the benefits of digitalfinancial services, it is essential thataccompanying risks are understood andaddressed adequately. Though theseissues can’t be eliminated, they can be mit-igated. We need to keep in mind the con-cerns of security, affordability and safety.

Although it’s impossible for India tobecome a cashless economy in theimmediate future, the country can, ofcourse, look forward to becoming one.Making India cashless is like treatingmultiple chronic societal diseases with

one injection. However, there are sever-al challenges peculiar to our country thatmay constrain a full-scale digital transi-tion in the foreseeable future.

To start with, India has 438 lan-guages, with each having multipledialects and different scripts. Further,India has to contend with geographicaland cultural divide of a great magnitude.The aversion of the ‘other India’ to dig-ital finance has more to do with its aver-sion to everything that has to do withtechnology. This stems from a lack oftrust. It is also partly on account of lowtechnical literacy of consumers. Womenoften face additional barriers: Less accessto mobile phones, lower literacy andnumeracy levels, less confidence inusing technology and restrictions ontravel or social interaction. Furthermore,villagers’ value personal relationships —particularly when it comes to money.

Migrating from a cash-based econ-omy to a digital one demands a recast ofmindset. In fact, the last mile of digitalhighway is not infrastructure but skills ofthe users. Equally critical is the smoothfunctioning of the last mile touch point.Making gadgets available will not helpunless we bring about a change in theoverall outlook of the people. This aspectrequires much thinking on the part ofmotivators to pull the consumers into thisnew space. The issue is a lot morenuanced than what we see today. Nuanceschange from culture to culture and con-sumer segment to consumer segment.

Changing the financial framework,too, may not be enough. Consumers willhave to walk an extra mile if they wantto reap benefits of new financial tools.The new revolution will have betterchances of success if driven less by finan-cial punditry and more by empatheticgovernance. People take to new technolo-gies when they see clear benefits; have

greater confidence in the markets andservices; find it convenient; and canafford it. The painful reality is thatproviders, too, often focus on short-termincentives at the expense of long-termconsumer trust and loyalty.

Consumers will adapt the digitalplatform and embrace new technologi-cal opportunities only when they are con-vinced that they will resolve existingissues in the economy. Thus, we have toaddress real pains, not just offer benefits.Trust must be earned and sustainedthrough continuous reinforcement. Howsecure is it? How long will it take to getone’s money back? Are there any hiddenfees? The key is to offer digital financialservices in an empathetic way and tounderstand the development needs of thecommunity to drive adoption.

The central bank has rightly beenespousing a cautious approach inaddressing concerns around consumerprotection and law enforcement. Thekey objective of the regulator hasbeen to create an environment forunhindered innovations by fintech,expanding the reach of banking ser-vices for the unbanked population, reg-ulating an efficient electronic paymentand providing alternative options to theconsumers.

There have been two highly signif-icant developments in this space. The firstis the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018,which specifies that a private entity mustseek user consent before collecting per-sonal data. A user can also choose toremove consent at any point while avail-ing a service. The second is theOmbudsman Scheme for DigitalTransactions (OSDT) for redress ofcomplaints regarding digital transactions.

(The writer is Member, NITI Aayog’sNational Committee on Financial Literacyand Inclusion for Women)

������� 0���������4��� ����� $���/���7� ����$��������������� ���� ���� ��/������"������������� ��� ������8�������������$�������$������ ��������0��� ���

�������� &9� " ! � � � � � 0 /

=�8� ��.�3���--8-.�� ����.

,�������������� "����� ������"���������������� �$"������������������ �����������������������������������&�*"����� ����������������������$��������� * ���� ���� � � �� 1

�+�( :�;"

�+!# 6:#7'99��8��,�,)6

8'@',�9�9�,A+:��!86*:��6�!67

,6�)!+9+@'��9+��+:, !','6#

+!9D�7)6!�,)6D�:6��+!E'!�68,)�,�,)6D�7'99

:6#+9E66F'#,'!@�'## 6#'!�,)6�6�+!+D&,) #$�76�)�E6,+��88:6##

:6�9���'!#$�!+,� #,�+AA6:

*6!6A',#&�,: #, #,�*6�6�:!68�!8�# #,�'!68

,):+ @)�+!,'! + #

:6'!A+:�66!,

3������� ������������������� �������������������(����������������������� ������������������������������ ���������������� �������������(

��������� �����0��������������� �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������2���������������������������������������������������������� ����(�����������������������������������������������$���������������

2��������������<=;A������������������� (������� 5)������8�����$�����& ����������8?$<B������ ��������� � �� �� �������� �� ��� �� $��������������������� <=<=��� ������� �� �����������7� <=;A������ ��0�����������!�����1��� ���� ,0!1 �-������� ���������������������������������������������������� �������� ��(������� �����������������������,������CD��������-���������%���������� ���������������������������(�������������#������������������������������(������������������������������������ ���������������

�������������������� ��������������������������������������������������������;==���������(������ �������������������� <=D=����������������� ��� �� �������� ����� ��!1;==� #� ���������������������������� %?�����������������������������������4������ �������� �6����!1;==�������������� ��8�����%�����������������������8��������������$�����,8�$-�$������������������������������������ ����������;DD�����,���� ����� <=;A- �� �������� ����� ��� ;AA ������������,#2�-������������ ��� ���������������(������<E������������� �����������������������������

0���������������������!1;==�����&������(����������������;B=������������� �#��������������������������*�� �+�������>'7�0���� ��#���7��������7�������>����� ������������������������ ;==���������������������������������� �������!1;==� *������ ������ ���%����� �����:���������7����������2���+���������������������� ������;==������������������� ������?�������0������������������������!1�����������������������������������������������������������(������(��� ��������������������0����&�������������4�&�����������������������������������������!1;==�����

#�!1������������������������������������������������� $��� $������ ������� ,$$��- �����(��������������������������%��������������������� ������������������������$$��������������(������� �� �� ���� ������ ��� ������� �� ����������!18�������������� ���������� �������������������������������������� �������������������(������������!18��1�������������������������������������!18� �������������������� ��������������������������������#���� �� ������������� �� ������� ������� ���� �� �������� �������������!1������������������������������� �����!1����������

�����������2�������������������� (����!1�������� ���(���������!1����������������������������(� ����� ����������������������!1�������������������������������������������#��������������������������������������������������������(��������� ��������������������������������������������"�������������������������������������(��������������������������������������������(������������� ����0������������ �#����������������&������������������������������ ������������������ ������������� ��������������������������8���� � �� �� �� ���� �� ����� ��������������������������������������������������������!1������

*�����������������������������������������(���� �������� �������� ��� ������� ������� �� �� ���������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������(�������������������������������� �����(���4����������������������������������������(������� �������������� ������ �������� ����� ���!1;== �������� ��������� ���������� ����������������������������������

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

Unlike comedian Alec Baldwin,who is famous for his imper-sonation of US President

Donald Trump on Saturday NightLive, comedian Volodymyr Zelenskyis famous for playing the anti-President, an accidental hero whosweeps into the presidency ofUkraine and cleans up all the corrup-tion. He used to play it for laughs andnow, he’s playing it for real.

Zelensky had been leading theopinion polls for the Ukrainian elec-tion that was held on March 31, with25 per cent of the vote, well ahead ofincumbent president Petro Poroshenko(12 per cent) and former PrimeMinister Yulia Tymoshenko (18 percent). (She’s the one who used to wear

her hair in braids wound up aroundher head.) With no one expected tosecure a majority, a runoff with theleading two candidates, Zelenskiy andPoroshenko will be held on 21 April.Baldwin will never be the US president,but there’s a good chance that Zelenskywill be the Ukrainian president.

What a heart-warming story, Ihear you murmur. Humble comedianplays even humbler high-school his-tory teacher Vasyl Holoborodko,whose classroom diatribe against thecorruption of Ukrainian politics wassecretly filmed by a student. It goes viralon the internet and humble teacher isinstantly elevated into the presidencyby a grateful public.

The story gets even better. In reallife, ‘Servant of the People’, the TV showabout the teacher-turned-President,plays on the country’s biggest televisionchannel, 1+1, and is a nation-wide hit.Then the guy playing the teacher,comedian Volodymyr Zelensky,decides that he has a chance of work-ing the same miracle in real life. So heputs himself up for the presidency andlo! The public agrees.

This is not art imitating life; it is

life imitating art. But if you are a nastyold cynic, who suspects the worstabout people’s motives, then you areprobably right, at least in this case.Zelensky is not just a simple comicwho got lucky.

A little background. Ukraine is oneof the less fortunate post-Soviet coun-tries, with ageing heavy industries, fewnatural resources and barely a third ofRussia’s per capita income (in terms ofpurchasing power parity). It has beenmired in a low-intensity war withRussian proxies in its eastern provinces

for the past five years and has lostCrimea to Russia for good.

You might think that in these cir-cumstances, political debate wouldconcentrate on ending the war andraising popular living standards but thewar is barely mentioned and the maineconomic debate is about ‘corruption’.

That debate would make sense ifit was really about cleaning up anextremely corrupt political systemdominated by the ‘oligarchs’ (whoalso control most of the media). Inpractice, it is mainly a struggle

between rival oligarchs, using accu-sations of corruption to target eachother when in fact they are all cor-rupt almost by definition.

Poroshenko, a leading oligarchwho won the election after the 2014revolution, was at daggers drawn withIhor Kolomoysky, the second-richestman in Ukraine, from the beginningof his presidency. In 2016, he nation-alised Kolomoysky’s PrivatBank, thelargest bank in the country, andKolomoysky went into self-imposedexile in Israel while fightingPoroshenko’s actions in the courtsand the media.

It was at this time that Kolomoyskyand Volodymyr Zelensky, already asuccessful comedian with his own pro-duction company, began developingthe TV series about the accidental pres-ident and it went on air onKolomoysky’s 1+1 channel two yearsago. It was an instant runaway hit andnow Zelensky is the leading candidatefor the real presidency.

Is Zelensky just a stalking horsebehind which Kolomoysky can takecontrol of Ukraine away fromPoroshenko? Not necessarily. The two

men may have a pragmatic alliancebut their own separate agenda. But itis noteworthy that Zelensky showedup at Kolomoysky’s birthday partylast year and was introduced as “ourpresident”.

That large numbers of Ukrainiansshould fall for a fake maverick (whodoesn’t even offer much in the way ofconcrete policies) is a measure of theirdisappointment with the status quo ofrule by oligarchs behind a facade ofdemocracy. Russia’s relative prosperi-ty is mostly due to its oil but it also owesmuch to the fact that Vladimir Putinhas brought its oligarchs under control.In Ukraine, their rivalries still domi-nate everything. There is not muchreason to believe that Ukraine willfinally turn the corner in this electionand escape from the miseries and fail-ures of its first three decades of inde-pendence. On the other hand, it’s notgetting any worse either and for themoment the war in the east seemsencysted and confined. Hope dies lastand maybe Zelensky will surprise us.

(The writer’s new book isGrowing Pains: The Future ofDemocracy and Work)

52�� ������ ��������� ������������������� ���� ������������������������������������� ������ ����������������������������������

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

)><((� $-�!

��!� "</ � �-�

��%����� ���������������� ������������$�������������(���%��� ��� ������������ �&�)�����������(��������"�������"��������������"����������������&�*�-"��� ����������������$�����������������������������$����(���������������$������������(��������������"�������� ���������"������������( ���������� ��$�������"�����"������������������� �(���������&������������������ �����

#6,,'!@���@9+*�9#,�!8�:8�'!96�86:#)'�

������ ��������� ������� !� "#$

333������� �������

Page 8: ;@3 9@8D G@E6CD¶ >:?5D - Daily Pioneer

������ ��������� ������� !� "#$ �������&=

+�� ���11 �� ���)6!!�'

Taken aback by the aggres-sive posture of Hindutwa

elements in the BJP and theSangh Parivar that the DMK isan anti-Hindu organisation,party chief MK Stalin onMonday made a strategicchange in his approach to reli-gions, especially the Hinduism.

“There is an attempt by cer-tain political and social group-ings to portray the DMK as anenemy of the Hindus. But thisis absolutely wrong as we arenot against any religions. We, inDMK, follow what the partyfounders C N Annadurai andmy late father Kalaignar (MKarunanidhi) had taught us.They told us to follow the dic-tum of one God and one com-munity. This is what we aredoing even today,” declared theDMK leader while campaign-ing in Vellore district.

Stalin’s declaration comes ata time when the social media isagog with his speech made atTiruchi where he declared thatSanatana Dharma was thebiggest threat faced by thecountry than that from Pakistanand China. The speech has

been widely reported and thishas come as a setback to theDravidian major which wasway ahead of the AIADMK-ledalliance in the campaign front.

The DMK chief ’s ire atVellore was directed moretowards the PMK, which healleged, cheated the DMK. “Itwas because of the interventionand support extended byKalaignar in 2004 thatAnbumani Ramadoss, son ofPMK founder Ramadoss wasincluded in the Union Cabinetas Minister of health. BothPrime Minister ManmohanSingh and the then Congresschief Sonia Gandhi were against

including Anbumani in theCabinet,” claimed Stalin.

Meanwhile, the DMK field-ed Udhayanidhi Stalin, son ofM K Stalin to campaign againstAnbumani Ramadoss, theNDA candidate contesting atDharmapuri Lok Sabha con-stituency. In a no-bar holdsattack on Anbumani, the scionof the DMK family asked thepeople of Dharmapuri not tobelieve the promises made bythe former as he has failed inimplementing any of the offershe had made in 2014.

“He has not visited theconstituency regularly. Thoughhe had promised to resolve thewater crisis in the district, thesituation continues to remainthe same,” charged the filmactor son of Stalin.

Anbumani is facing chal-lenge from the DMK’s DNVSenthil Kumar at Dharmapuriwho hails from a leadingVanniyar family of the district.Though the DMK has declaredthat it was against caste and reli-gion, the party has been care-ful in selecting and fielding can-didates from the dominantcommunity in the constituen-cies from which the party iscontesting.

� �� ������� �C+9C�,�

BJP and the TrinamoolCongress conspired

together to demolish theimpact of Left-democratic par-ties from Bengal, State CPI(M)secretary Dr SuryakantoMishra has said.

Attacking the two parties,calling one the proverbialTrojan Horse of the other,Mishra, also a politburo mem-ber, said, “TMC is the TrojanHorse of BJP,” in theOpposition camp, urging peo-ple to identify their hiddencamaraderie “or else you willhave to repent the way youhave been for the past eightyears” of the Mamata Banerjeerule.

Attacking the BJP for its“nefarious designs” to decon-secrate the Constitution ofIndia by robbing it of its “sec-ular democratic” ethos Mishrasaid “if it comes for the secondtime the very future of the sec-ular democratic republicenshrined in our Constitutionwill be at stake.”

On who brought the BJPin Bengal and who was behind

the saffron party’s steadyemergence, the senior Leftleader and a former StateMinister said, “the TMC hadfirst tried to bring the saffronmenace directly to Bengalthrough an alliance. But whenthe people under the Leftleadership rejected that moveshe (Chief Minister) took a cir-cuitous path by trying tocommunally divide Bengal,the way she did all these years”— by propping one commu-nity much to the chagrin of theother.

“It is the TMC that has toanswer the proliferation ofSangh in the State, it is for theTrinamool to explain theimport of a political culture inthis State which had neverbeen present since theIndependence,” Mishra saidadding the “Chief Minister willhave to answer to the peoplefor her misdeeds.”

For the BJP he said despiteits meteoric rise and undueimportance in the media theparty “will never be able tosurvive in Bengal as the regionis basically secular and Leftminded with impact of therenaissance culture.”

Patna: In fresh trouble for LaluPrasad’s RJD, his mercurialelder son Tej Pratap Yadav onMonday urged his motherRabri Devi to contest fromSaran Lok Sabha seat in placeof the father of his estrangedwife and threatened to contestas an Independent if his requestwas not heeded.

The maverick MLA andformer Minister spoke whileannouncing the formation of aparallel outfit Lalu RabriMorcha which he insisted wasnot separate from the RJD andpointed towards photographs ofhis parents besides youngerbrother Tejashwi Yadav who hasin the recent past emerged asthe partys de facto leader.

Saran is the seat of myfather Lalu ji and mother Rabriji. I urge my mother, with fold-ed hands, that she herself enterthe fray from there. If this doesnot happen I will contest as anindependent and make my bestefforts to win it, a furiousYadav told reporters here.

Chandrika Rai, the partysMLA from Parsa seat fallingunder Saran, was announced asthe party candidate from theLok Sabha seat last week. BJPhas named sitting MP RajivPratap Rudy as its nominee onthe politically important seat.

Rai's daughter Aishwaryahad tied the knot with Yadav inMay last year though the lattermoved a divorce petition with-in less than six months of themarriage.

After the announcement ofhis candidature, Rai had soughtto downplay speculations thatthe development could enragehis volatile son-in-law and said

he is one of the star campaign-ers of the party. He will not doanything that is detrimental tothe interests of the RJD.

About his own candidature,Rai had said I am a six-termMLA from Parsa and hencecompetent enough to fight thisseat which is valuable to ourparty. Rabri Devi may have cho-sen not to contest this time asshe would be very busy withcampaigns across the State.

Notably, Saran was won byPrasad in 2009 his last shot atthe hustings before convictionin a fodder scam case four yearslater left him disqualified. RabriDevi was fielded from the seatin 2014 but she lost to BJPsRajiv Pratap Rudy. Prasad hasrepresented Chapra, the nameby which the parliamentarysegment was previously known,a number of times.

Yadav, who has been press-ing the candidature of two ofhis loyalists Chandra Prakashfrom Jehanabad and Angeshfrom Sheohar announced thatthe duo would be fielded by hisMorcha from the respectiveseats.

Replying to a query, he shotback what action can the partytake against me. The RJD lead-ership has to realize that thereis widespread resentmentagainst the NDA Governmentin Bihar which we have to har-ness. We must not end upangering the people. PTI

���� ���:�0����!��1����� ����������

Guwahati: A total of 123companies of Central para-military forces are currentlydeployed in Assam and thestate is prepared for the three-phase Lok Sabha elections,Director General of Police DrKuladhar Saikia said.

"Thirty three companiesof paramilitary forces haverecently been sent to the state.Ninety more such companieshave also been in Assam forquite sometime," Saikia said.

"Our own Assam Policeforce is engaged for ensuringfree and fair polls in the state.We are prepared for all theeventualities. We are ready tohandle any situation," theDGP told a press conferencehere.

The 14 Lok Sabha con-stituencies of Assam will go to

polls on April 11, 18 and 23.Saikia said those engaged

in the National Register ofCitizens (NRC) related dutyhave not been pulled out forpoll security work.

The DGP said he is inconstant touch with his coun-terparts in the neighbouringstates for maintaining law andorder along the inter-stateborders.

Saikia said, "Patrolling bysecurity forces was intensifiedin the border posts and rail-way stations."

The DGP said vulnerablepockets were identified onthe basis of law and order sit-uation and repoll orderedduring past elections.

Patrolling by securityforces has been intensified inthose areas. PTI

Bengaluru: KarnatakaAssembly Speaker K R RameshKumar on Monday acceptedthe resignation of rebelCongress MLA Umesh Jadhav,who is taking on party veteranMallikarjun Kharge as the BJPcandidate from Gulbarga con-stituency in the coming LokSabha elections.

The Congress had peti-tioned the Speaker seeking dis-qualification of Jadhav alongwith other party rebel law-makers Ramesh Jarkiholi, BNagendra and MaheshKumathali under the anti-defection law.

"I am convinced that thedecision (by Jadhav) has beentaken of his own volition with-out being under duress or with-out falling for any allurements,"Kumar said in his order.

The ruling came as a bigrelief to Jadhav as there was

uncertainty over his politicalfuture with the Congress seek-ing disqualification under theanti-defection law.

On March 25, the speakerhad conducted a public hearingtoo giving the voters ofChincholi, the Assembly con-stituency Jadhav represented, achance to express their views onhis decision.

Even before the order couldcome, Jadhav joined the BJP onMarch 6 at Kalaburagi the dayPrime Minister Narendra Modiaddressed a gathering in thetown.

Jadhav was upset with theCongress against the allegeddominance by Kharge,Congress leader in the LokSabha, and his son MinisterPriyank Kharge in the region.

He was against PriyankKharge getting ministerial berthahead of several senior

Congress leaders includinghimself.

The four MLAs had keptthe party on tenterhooks forseveral weeks, defying its whiptwice to attend the CongressLegislative party meetings onJanuary 18 and February 8 andhad skipped the early part of theAssembly budget session.

During the political turmoilthat engulfed the state inJanuary, following BJP's allegedattempts to topple theCongress-JD(S) coalitionGovernment by poaching theirMLAs,the four MLAs had goneincommunicado and were saidto be camping in Mumbai,with a plan to jump ship to thesaffron party.

After they refused to fall inline, the Congress had peti-tioned the Speaker to disqual-ify them under the anti-defec-tion Law. PTI

���������))������&������ ��/�>��� ������������%#��������&��

Gangtok: The BJP on Mondayhit out at the Sikkim KrantikariMorcha (SKM) for backingout the alliance between thetwo parties for inexplicablereasons a few days after mak-ing a firm commitment on theissue.

"We were ready to accom-modate most of the demandsby the SKM leadership to sewup an alliance with us forSikkim Assembly and LokSabha polls, but P S Golay led-party chickened out at the lastminute without giving any rea-sons," a senior BJP leader, whowas involved in talks with theSKM leadership, told PTI onthe condition of anonymity.

He said that the SKM'swithdrawal from a pre-poll

alliance in Sikkim has embar-rassed the BJP no end as it hadgone public about it on a com-mitment given by Golay him-self following a meeting withBJP's North-East and Sikkimincharge Ram Madhav in Delhiin the first week of March thisyear.

The SKM leadership, how-ever, took an about turn afterreaching Sikkim and renegedon alliance with the BJP with-out citing any reason, the BJPleader said.

Ruing at the missed oppor-tunity to oust the 25 year- oldSikkim Democratic Front(SDF) from power, he saidthat the SKM will be held"squarely responsible" if thePawan Kumar Chamling gov-

ernment returns to power fora sixth term in Sikkim.

The BJP leader said that hisparty was undaunted with set-back to fructify an alliance withthe SKM and said that it willaim to make its presence felt inpolitical waters of Sikkim.

He said that the BJP hasput up candidates on 12 assem-bly seats and the lone LokSabha seat with an aim toopen its accounts at the hus-tings.

Elections to the 32Assembly seat as well as thesole Lok Sabha constituency inSikkim will be held simultane-ously on April 11 next.

The SKM and SDF arecontesting on all 32 Assemblyseats. PTI

����&������%������&�)��� ������������������������)�����������

Tura: National People's Partysupremo and Meghalaya ChiefMinister Conrad K Sangma onMonday said the party will con-tinue to oppose the CitizenshipAmendment Bill (CAB).

"Meghalaya was the firststate in India to oppose the Billand raise its objection. Wetook the initiative to unite dif-ferent political parties ofNortheast and made our voiceheard in Delhi and ensured thatthe CAB was not introduced inthe Rajya Sabha," he said whilecampaigning for the NPP can-didate in the Lok Sabha polls inthe state.

He claimed that the NPP isthe only party that can unitethe voice of the region andmade it heard in Delhi.

Conrad asked the people tovote for the NPP as "NPP is theparty of the Northeast."

The NPP chief on Mondayflew to three different locationsin North Garo Hills and EastGaro Hills (Rongrong Abema,Mangsang and Chibongarespectively) to campaign for hissister Agatha, the NPP candi-date for the Tura Lok sabha seat.

Former Meghalaya chiefminister Mukul Sangma is theCongress candidate for theTura Lok Sabha seat while theBJP has fielded Rikman GMomin.

He alleged that theCongress party is propagatinga wrong notion that NPP willpartner with BJP and willensure that the CAB is passed

in the Lok Sabha.The NPP chief said, "We

will remain true to our com-mitment promised to the peo-ple of Northeast and will neverallow any bill that would ham-per the interest of our people."

Conrad claimed that theNPP has "fulfilled" its promisemade in the 2018 election witheducation as its top priority.

"We had promised educa-tion policy and we brought outthe policy well ahead of com-pletion of one year. For overfour decades the educationdepartment had to work with-out any policy or direction, wehave scripted a direction tomove forward to ensure bettereducational facilities inMeghalaya," he said. PTI

E��!�2-G�)���������������������)����������������������9�,4�

���� ��

Two minor brothers wentmissing in Kishtwar district

of Jammu & Kashmir, policesaid on Monday and soughthelp of the general public intracing them.

Mohammad Ramzan (14)and his brother Faizan (10)have been missing from theirresidence in Kuchaal since onWednesday, a police officialsaid.

He said their fatherGhulam Mir informed thepolice about the missing of hischildren and accordingly acase was registered and inves-tigation was started.

"Anybody having anyinformation regarding themissing boys may kindly con-tact police," he said.

�����������(��0�����(/��0���0�����=>?��>�������

�!!������������#�����������'���8�����������,���$��'����&

Lucknow: The BSP on Mondayannounced its second list of sixcandidates for Lok Sabha Pollsin Uttar Pradesh.

While Amar ChandraJauhar has been given ticketfrom Shahjahanpur (SC), NiluSatyarthi will be party candi-date from Mishrikh (SC), aparty statement said.

Manoj Agarwal has beenfielded from Farukhabad,Nisha Sachan from Akbarpur,Pankaj Singh from Jalaun (SC)and Dileep Kumar Singh fromHamirpur.

The BSP, which is contest-ing on 38 Lok Sabha seats (ofthe total 80 seats) after enter-ing into an alliance with theSamajwadi Party, had on March22 declared its first list of 11candidates.

The party in its earlier listgave ticket to former JD(S)leader Kunwar Danish Ali fromAmroha, besides announcingHaji Fazulrahman as its nom-inee from Saharanpur, MalookNagar from Bijnore and GirishChandra from Nagina. PTI

� �� ������� �C+9C�,�

Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee on

Monday launched a blisteringattack on her Uttar Pradeshcounterpart Yogi Adityanathfor tagging the Indian Armywith Prime Minister NarendraModi.

Hours after the UP ChiefMinister attacked the Congressfor treating terrorists withBiryani while “Modi ji’s armyfeeds them with bullets andbombs,” Banerjee retorted say-ing the remark had shockedher.

“It is shocking to hear theUP CM saying that the IndianArmy is the ‘Modi Sena’,”Banerjee tweeted adding theYogi’s statement had onlyinsulted the Army. “Such bla-tant personalisation andusurping of our belovedIndian Army is an insult anda humiliation,” she said.

“We are proud of ourArmy. They belong to all.They are a great asset of ournation and not a cassette of theBJP,” Banerjee said addingpeople of this country “muststand up and reject this state-

ment.”Another Trinamool leader

Firhad Hakim said “this proveshow the Modi Government ispoliticising the Army to winelections. They are not onlypoliticising the Army but alsousing it for their narrow end.This will only evoke hatredfrom the people of India.

Meanwhile in an unrelat-ed and unprecedented devel-opment the Chief ElectoralOfficer of Bengal was literal-ly forced to leave the venue ofa meeting between SpecialPolice Observer for the StateVivek Dubey and oppositionparties when a delegation ofthe BJP refused to speak to thein front of the CEO accusinghim of “playing a partisangame.”

Expressing no-confidenceon State CEO Aariz Aftab theBengal BJP delegation led bysenior leader Mukul Roy“refused to take part in a dis-cussion with Dubey in pres-ence of the CEO as we had nodoubt that whatever we bringto the notice of the PoliceObserver will be relayed to theTMC or the State Governmentin two minutes if he remainspresent in the meeting.”

�!�)��� ���(� ��������������#�������"����������

5�����������������/����#���

Imphal: The ElectionCommission on Monday noti-fied that cadres of Kuki mili-tant groups who signedSuspension of Operations(SoO) agreement with boththe Centre and the Manipurgovernment will cast theirvotes in postal ballots.

To exercise their franchise,the cadres also must reside intheir designated camps andtheir names feature in the vot-ers' list, the office of the statechief electoral officer (CEO)said in a statement here.

They would have to collectthe postal ballots from assis-tant nodal officers or nodalofficers.

The Suspension ofOperation (SoO) agreement —a pact to ensure peace in theKuki dominated areas in

Manipur — was first signed bythe state and the Centre withtwo militant groups of thecommunity in 2008. Sincethen, agreement is beingrenewed periodically.

Kuki militants are mem-bers of two major conglomer-ates — the Kuki NationalOrganisation (KNO) and theUnited People's Front (UPF)who were demanding a sepa-rate Kuki State out of Manipur.

Many cadres of the KNOand the UPF are currentlyputting up at designatedcamps set up by theGovernment in different Kuki-dominated areas in the State.

Polling for two Lok Sabhaseats of the State — OuterManipur and Inner Manipur -will be held on April 11 and 18respectively. PTI

�������#�%����������������)��$�����!��� !�������&�����

��"�����)���!���$����������������)�����)�$���� ���)!�������)!�)�����*�����*������&��������������0��������**��0����� �������)������"��������$��&������)������������������ ���!������ �������&�������!������/�����&!�������������!������������ �0:

Mumbai: The Bombay HighCourt on Monday refused tointerfere with the release of theVivek Oberoi-starrer bio-graphical drama on PrimeMinister Narendra Modi.

A bench of Chief JusticeNaresh Patil and Justice N MJamdar noted that the ElectionCommission (EC) has alreadyissued a notice to the makersof the film 'PM NarendraModi' over allegations ofbreach of the model code ofconduct in view of the LokSabha elections.

"The ElectionCommission has already takennote of the issue and shall dealwith it," the court said.

The bench disposed of a

Public Interest Litigation filedby Satish Gaikwad, nationalpresident of the RepublicanParty of India (I), who said thefilm, if permitted to bereleased for public viewing,would violate the model codeof conduct imposed by the EC.

The plea questioned thetiming of the film's release andsaid if released, it was likely toearn the Prime Minister elec-toral mileage.

The petitioner urged thecourt to pass orders ensuringthat it is not released thisFriday, April 5, as scheduled.

The EC, however, told thecourt that it had alreadysought replies from the film-makers. PTI

���$���1����/������ ��/����" �����������/$ �� ����������

���������������//����9���&#�����

����������)�-����������A)������

��!��������������.�����$� �������

Page 9: ;@3 9@8D G@E6CD¶ >:?5D - Daily Pioneer

������ ��������� ������� !� "#$ �������&>

�� ���� �� � *�'

Tearing into the Opposition“Mahaghatbandhan” in

Maharashtra, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on Mondaysaid the people in the countryhad made up their mind to“punish” the Congress for coin-ing the term “Hindu terror” and‘insulting’ the majority com-munity in the eyes of the worldand ridiculed NCP chief SharadPawar for his decision not tocontest the Lok Sabha polls.

Kicking off the BJP’s LokSabha poll campaign at Wardhain eastern Maharashtra, Modicame down heavily on Pawarand Rahul Gandhi and said theCongress and its ally NCPwould not be pardoned by thepeople by the latter’s act of link-ing terrorism to Hindu com-munity.

In perhaps the mostvicious attack launched againstthe Congress, Modi said: “Forthe sake of vote bank politics,the Congress and NCP can goto any lengths. It was theCongress that coined the term“Hindu terror” and created aslur on the crores of people inthe country. Tell me were younot deeply hurt when you theheard the term “Hindu ter-

ror”? There is not even an inci-dent in the country’s thou-sands of years of history.Even British historians havementioned that Hindus everindulged in terror acts. Whohas defamed the 5,000 years ofcountry’s culture. Can theCongress that coined the term“Hindu terror” be pardoned?Can the Congress-NCPalliance be pardoned?”

Accusing the Congress ofhaving committed the sin ofinsulting the Hindus anddefaming the country’s main-stream, Modi said: “TheCongress has tried to show theHindus in a poor light interna-

tionally. Let them run them asmuch as they can, but theCongress will never be par-doned — a thing even Congressis realising that the Country hasmade up its mind to punish it”.

Slamming Rahul Gandhifor his decision to contest thesecond from Kerala's Wayanad,Modi said: “The realisation ofimpending defeat has forced theleaders to flee the poll scene.Having linked terrorism toHindi, they do not have the gutsnow to contest the electionswhere majority (Hindus) livesand they have chosen to contestfrom places where minority ismajority”.

������������#�����'��(�/��������(����&#�������2���&� �����+ ��� �� ��

In another successful opera-tion, the joint teams of secu-

rity forces, early Monday morn-ing, eliminated four terrorists inLassipora area of SouthKashmir's Pulwama district.

According to the police, itwas a combined group of pro-scribed terror outfits HizbulMujahideen (HM) andLashkar-e-Toiba (LeT).

This is the third big oper-ation in the last two weeks inwhich security forces haveachieved major success.

According to police, "It wasa clean operation and no col-lateral damage happened dur-ing the encounter. However, inthe initial exchange of fire,three army jawans and onepoliceman also sustainedinjuries. Their condition is nowstated to be stable", officialsources said.

Since January 2019, around66 terrorists have been elimi-nated by the security forcesacross the Kashmir valley.

Out of this, 21 killed ter-rorists were members of Jaish-e-Mohammad terror outfit.

According to Jammu &Kashmir police spokesman,"the operation was launched inthe Lassipora area of Pulwamaon the basis of credible inputabout the presence of terroristsin the area".

"During searches, terrorists

fired upon the search party. Thefire was retaliated leading to anencounter", the policespokesman said.

In the ensuing encounter,four terrorists were killed andthe bodies were retrieved fromthe site of encounter.

According to police, thekilled terrorists have been iden-tified as Zaffar Paul, son ofMohammad Ahsan, resident of

Dangerpora Shopian, TauseefAhmad Yattoo, son of AbdulAziz, resident of Gudbug,Pulwama, Aqib Ahmad Kumar,son of Bashir Ahmad, residentof Hellow Shopian andMohammad Shafi Bhat, son ofGhulam Mohammad, residentof Sedow Shopian".

Police spokesman said,these terrorists were wanted bylaw for their complicity in a

series of terror crimes includ-ing attack on security estab-lishments and civilian atrocities.

As per police records,Tauseef had a long history ofterror crime records and sev-eral terror crime cases wereregistered against him includ-ing FIR No. 281/2016,509/2016, 19/2018 registered inP/S Pulwama and 33/2018 reg-istered at P/S Litter. He was

involved in conspiring andexecuting many terror attacksin the area.

Similarly, Zaffar wasinvolved in many terror crimescases which include FIR No.290/2017, 307/2018, 13/2019,which were registered againsthim in Police Station Shopian.Aqib Ahmad and MohammadShafi were also involved in ter-ror crimes in the area.

;������ ���2 ����� ����"������/ ��

%�!�����$���� ���)�����&����������������?�&��!���%��������� �!�������������)�������� ����"�$���� �������� ������������� �0:

��������������=�����������"��!��!�����������������!���!����,�$��������$��;/<��������)������������E��!��)��������)�������0���;�<���� �������)������������!�������!��/�����&!����������E��!����������� �0:

+�� ���11 �� ���)6!!�'

The Income Tax raids at theresidence and business

premises of DMK treasurer,Durai Murugan, have snow-balled into a political contro-versy on Monday as the IncomeTax department disclosed thathuge amount of unaccountedmoney was seized from a localparty activist who is linked toDurai Murugan.

The cash, packed in smallbundles, marked with numbersof wards and divisions, waskept concealed at a cement

godown located in the resi-dential premises of DMK'sKatpadi town panchayat sec-retary Seenivasan, at KarigiriSalai, in Pallikuppam in Velloredistrict.

According to a statementfrom the I-T department, “Thecash shifted from KingstonCollege (Durai MuruganEducational Trust), Vellore, toa cement godown in the nightbetween 29th and 30th Marchdue to botched up operation bythe State Police and revenueauthorities was found by I-Tteam.”

Friday night saw the DMKlocal workers holding a demon-stration blocking the teamfrom IT Department enteringthe residence of DuraiMurugan. It was only after the

arrival of Murugan at the scenethe officials were allowed tocheck the residence.

Durai Murugan’s sonKathir Anand is the DMKcandidate from the Lok Sabhaconstituency of Vellore. Fridaynight and Saturday morningsaw sleuths of the IT depart-ment and officials of the flyingsquad deployed by the electionCommission swooping downon Durai Murugan’s residenceand on the engineering collegeowned by him.

RS Bharati, the legal winghead of the DMK met theChief Electoral Officer of TamilNadu and lodged a complaintwith him alleging that the raidsat Durai Murugan’s residenceand business premises werepart of political vendetta.

#���"��� �������8"����"�"���

7,���// � ������ <������������/������ ��'

�����+ ��� �� ��

The Jammu & Kashmir policeon Monday claimed to have

arrested a Hizbul Mujahideenterrorist behind failed 'fidayeenattack on a CRPF convoy nearJawahar tunnel, Bahihal onMarch 30.

The arrested terrorist hasbeen identified as Owais Amin,a resident of Shopian. Aftertriggering the explosion, he hadmanaged to fled away from thespot.

A Santro car, loaded withexplosives, hit a bus of CRPF atTethar, Banihal while theConvoy was moving fromSrinagar to Jammu. As a result,the CRPF Bus, No. HR66-8067,

suffered minor damage and theCRPF personnel, travelling inthe bus, had a narrow escape.

Addressing a press confer-ence here in Police controlroom, late Monday evening,DGP Police Dilbagh Singh said,"on Sunday evening at about2030 hours at Upper Gund(Banihal) one person namelyOwais Amin S/O Mohd AminRather R/O Vehil, ChattaWaran, Shopian was appre-hended by joint Mobile vehicleCheck Post (MVCP) of Armyand J&K Police who was tryingto sneak to valley".

"He was having injuries andburn marks when he was appre-hended from a tipper movingtowards the Kashmir valley".

!��.������-.����� ������������� ��..���� �$��?��� ,�����

Gandhinagar: Scientists at IITGandhinagar have developed atechnology that can non-inva-sively diagnose dementia bytracking a person's eye move-ments, much before the symp-toms appear.

With a significant rise inageing population, neurode-generative disorders are becom-ing a serious health issue. Whiledementia cannot be cured, itsprogression can be delayed ifdiagnosed early.

"By the time symptoms ofdementia are detected, it is toolate — Alzheimer's diseasekicks in and it can not be man-aged. But if dementia is caughtearly, we can delay the pro-gression of Alzheimer's," saidUttama Lahiri, AssociateProfessor of ElectricalEngineering, at Indian Instituteof Technology (IIT)Gandhinagar.

Her team, which includedRitika Jain and Valay Patel,developed the 'MindEye' projectthat can track a person's eyemovement, quantifying gazein terms of reaction time andcorrect fixations, in response tovisual stimuli presented oncomputer monitor.

"We present a stimulus --dots appearing at certain por-tions of the screen at certainangles. People with dementia

often have issues with followingthe dot or fixing their gaze,"Lahiri told PTI. Researchers canthen map the eye movements inresponse to the stimulus. Theycan identify subtle patternsthat predict whether the personsuffers from mild cognitiveimpairment.

The preliminary results ofthe experimental study with 10healthy participants werepromising, Lahiri said.

"We have handed the tech-nology over to the industry anda larger clinical trial is underway in Kolkata and Gujarat,"Lahiri said.

About 1,600 people havebeen screened already, sheadded.

The researchers used stran-dard tests — long question-naires that a patient answerswith the help of a psychiatrist— to validate their results.

The results were presentedthis month at the Faculty of OldAge Psychiatry AnnualConference held in the UK.

Existing tests methods todiagnose dementia in patientshave several shortcomings.During their research, Lahirifound that uneducated peoplein old age homes have difficul-ty answering the question-naires, making it harder to givea correct diagnoses. PTI

Jammu: A Dogra outfit onMonday claimed that theGovernment has not acceptedthe resignation of Shah Faesalfrom Indian AdministrativeService though he has floateda political party after announc-ing his decision to quit inJanuary, and demanded a high-level probe into the "delay".

"Even after more thanthree-and-a-half months, ShahFaesal's resignation has notyet been accepted by theGovernment," the outfit TeamJammu's Chairman ZorawarSingh Jamwal told reportershere.

Singh said that Faesal ten-dered his resignation from civilservices on January 9 this year

and had launched his party —Jammu Kashmir People'sMovement.

"But his resignation has notyet been accepted for the rea-sons best known to the admin-istration whereas resignation ofanother IAS officer FarooqShah was accepted within aweek's time and order issued inthis regard," he said.

Alleging that someGovernment employees werepromoting Faesal actively par-ticipating in political activities,Jamwal demanded a probe intowhy his resignation has notbeen accepted yet.

When contacted, officialsrefused to comment on theissue. PTI

7������)����������>��� ������������))����&��4�$�����������&�

Aizawl: An umbrella organi-sation of major civil societiesand student associations inMizoram on Monday decidedto boycott the April 11 electionto the lone Mizoram LokSabha seat and organise aState-wide indefinite bandhfrom April 8, sources in it saidMonday.

The NGO CoordinationCommittee said that a decisionwas taken earlier to boycott theParliamentary polls if specialpolling booths are establishedat Mizoram-Tripura borderKanhmun village.

"The NGOCC opposedthe establishment of specialpolling stations at Kanhmun bythe election department andthe state government officials,"a statement issued by the com-mittee and signed by NGOCCSecretary Lalhmachhuana said.

The EC is setting up 15exclusive polling booths in thevillaage for Bru refugees fromMizoram who are housed in sixcamps in neighbouringTripura. The step had beentaken in the November 2018Mizoram assembly polls too.

Appeals would again bemade to the authorities toensure that Bru voters housedin the relief camps in NorthTripura district should exercisefranchise in their respectivevillages where they wereenrolled as voters and indefi-nite bandh be organised fromApril eight to pressurise theauthorities, the statement said.

The NGOCC appealed toall the commercial and privatevehicle owners requisitionedfor transportation of centralarmed police force (CAPC)and state police personnel asalso for use by polling officialsnot to allow their vehicles forthe election purposes.

The Bru community inthe Tripura relief camps haverefused to return to Mizoramfor years despite several repa-triation efforts. PTI

��8���0��7���������$��&$������/���������$����

Chennai: The Tamil NaduGovernment on Monday trans-ferred police officials who hadhandled the Pollachi sexualharassment case, including aSuperintendent who revealedthe identity of the woman vic-tim.

The case relates to a fourmember gang woman allegedlytrying to strip a woman insidea car near Pollachi, over 500 kmfrom here, recording the act andblackmailing her using the visu-als. The victim, who managed tofree herself, later lodged a com-plaint with the police.

A total of eight personshave been arrested in connectionwith the case. The Governmenthad last month transferred theinvestigation of the case to theCBI from the state's CB-CID,which had earlier taken up theprobe from the local police.

According to a HomeDepartment order, CoimbatoreSP R Pandiarajan and DSP,Pollachi sub-division, R Jayaram,have been transferred with"immediate effect." Further, ANatesan, Inspector, Pollachi Eastpolice station, has also beentransferred, it said.

The order allocated no post-ings to them, virtually puttingthem in the waiting list.

Sujit Kumar IPS, DeputyCommissioner, Traffic,Coimbatore City, has been post-ed in place of Pandiarajan whileKG Sivakumar, DSP, DistrictCrime Records Bureau, Ootywill replace Jayaram.

Earlier, there was a publicoutrage after Pandiarajanrevealed the name of the victimduring a press meet, with civilsociety groups demandingaction against him. PTI

����)������)����"!��!���������)!���A����!�������)�������������&��0=�4�$�

�!�����������&��:��7������������������/���)!�*�!�)���;��/*<���5D���������������!�,!�"������)���������������!���������������� �0:

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

Ahmedabad: A farmer hasbeen apprehended with 14claws which he had removedearlier in February from adead lion in the TulshishyamRange of Gujarat's Gir Forest,senior official said on Monday.

The farmer, identified as45-year-old Vashram Dhapa ofPachapachiya village inKhambha taluka from Amreli,was nabbed Sunday from hisfarm in nearby Sonariya basedon a tip-off, DT Vasavada,Chief Conservator of Forests,Junagadh Wildlife Circle said.

"In February, a lion, agedbetween five to nine years, wasfound dead in the Tulsishyam

range Gir East division by foreststaff. Fourteen of its claws weremissing. We had then formed aspecial team to nab the personresponsible," Vasavada said.

"We zeroed in on Dhapawho has confessed that he hadremoved the claws and hidthem near his farm in Sonariya.We have recovered all 14 claws,"he informed. He added that, asof now, it had not been estab-lished whether Dhapa killed thelion for its claws but the anglewas being pursued. "Claws areworn by some people as pen-dents. We are probing if Dhapahad a connection to gangs deal-ing in such items," he said. PTI

9�����������" �*;�� �����"�� &�!���=�������

������������������� �

Page 10: ;@3 9@8D G@E6CD¶ >:?5D - Daily Pioneer

������ ��������� ������� !� "#$ �����?&

�(�����������

���� *�'

The ReserveBank of

India (RBI) onMonday said itwill injectlong-term liq-uidity worth$5 billion intothe bankings y s t e mthrough dol-lar-rupee buy-sell swap for atenure of threeyears on April23, the secondsuch auctionwithin amonth.

Earlier onMarch 26, thecentral bankhad bought $5b i l l i o nthrough similar swap auctionin a bid to ease liquidity aheadof elections.

“In order to meet thedurable liquidity needs of thesystem, the RBI has decided toinject Rupee liquidity for longerduration through long-termforeign exchange Buy/Sell swapin terms of its extant LiquidityManagement Framework,” theRBI said in a statement.

The USD/INR Buy/Sellswap auction of $5 billion fortenor of three years will be heldon April 23, 2019, it said.

The swap will be in thenature of a simple buy/sell for-eign exchange swap from theReserve Bank side. Under the

swap, a bank would sell US dol-lars to the RBI and simultane-ously agree to buy the sameamount of US dollars at the endof the swap period.

The US Dollar amountmobilised through this auctionwould also reflect in RBI’s for-eign exchange reserves for thetenor of the swap while alsoreflecting in RBI’s forward lia-bilities, it added.

It further said the marketparticipants would be requiredto place their bids in terms ofthe premium that they arewilling to pay to the RBI for thetenor of the swap, expressed inpaisa terms up to two decimalplaces.

The auction would be amultiple-price based auction —successful bids will get accept-ed at their respective quotedpremium.

The minimum size of eachbid should be $10 million andin multiples of $1 millionthereafter.

The swap will increaseIndia’s foreign exchangereserves while injecting liq-uidity into the financial system.

The auction is meant togive RBI greater flexibility inmanaging banking system cashwhile helping absorb anypotential large dollar inflows,which could make the rupeerise sharply.

���� *�'

The Reserve Bank hasreshuff led lead bank

responsibilities in some dis-tr icts of Chhatt isgarh,Gujarat , Karnataka andUnion Territory Dadra &Nagar Haveli following themerger of Dena Bank andVijaya Bank with Bank ofBaroda.

Amalgamation of VijayaBank and Dena Bank withBank of Baroda has beennotified on January 2, 2019.The notification has comeinto force on April 1, 2019,the RBI said in a notification.

Following the merger, theRBI has decided to assign thelead bank responsibility ofdistricts hitherto held byVijaya Bank and Dena Bank,the central bank said.

The lead bank responsi-bility in seven districts inChhatt isgarh has beenassigned to Bank of Barodafrom Dena Bank.

In Gujarat, Ahmedabadand Gandhinagar will get SBIas the lead banker from DenaBank earlier. While eightother districts in the state willbe deputed to Bank of Barodafrom Dena Bank.

Three distr ic ts inKarnataka goes to Bank ofBaroda from Vijaya Bank.

“There is no change inthe lead bank responsibilitiesof the other districts acrossthe country,” the RBI said.

���� !67�869)'

Markets regulator Sebi onMonday proposed

amendments to norms gov-erning Self RegulatoryOrganisations, including recog-nising such entities on a nom-ination basis.

Coming out with a con-sultation paper, the watchdogsaid that an SRO would bedefined as an organisation ofintermediaries or an entitypromoted by a stock exchange,recognised by the board.

A Self RegulatoryOrganisation (SRO) is consid-ered as the first level regulator.

“As per the proposedprocess, instead of invitingapplications, Sebi would recog-nise an entity as an SRO onnomination basis, after con-ducting due diligence,” the reg-ulator said.

Sebi proposes to constitutea nomination committee toconsider and give recommen-dation to the regulator regard-ing the suitability of an organ-isation or entity to be recog-nised as an SRO.

The committee will com-prise external experts and willpreferably be headed by aretired judge of a High Courtor Supreme Court.

Sebi also said the recogni-tion of an SRO may be on per-manent basis subject to certainconditions.

The paper further suggest-

ed that a governing board mayconsist of elected representa-tives of members of SRO pub-lic interest directors nominat-ed by Sebi and shareholderdirectors.

The general superinten-dence, direction and manage-ment of the affairs of the SROwill vest in the board and itscreation, composition andfunctions will be specified bySebi from time to time, itadded.

The SRO shall provide fora dispute resolution mecha-nism including arbitration tosettle disputes betweeninvestors and its members anddisputes between its members.

Besides, the SRO of dis-tributors of MF products shallnot handle disputes betweenthe distributors and the MFs.They shall continue to be gov-erned under their contractualarrangements.

Among other criteria, eli-gibility criteria for an entity tobe recognised as an SROincludes that its minimum networth shall be Rs 1 crore.

The paper was floatedafter Sebi initiated process ofselection of SRO for distribu-tors of MF products and gotnod from the Supreme Courtto amend SRO norms thatincluded recognising a com-pany as an SRO, without call-ing for applications after con-sidering its experience andcapability.

���� !67�869)'

Broadcast regulator TRAIhas issued a showcause

notice to Broadcast AudienceResearch Council India (BARCIndia) for not complying withits direction on release of TVviewership data on websiteduring the sector’s migration tothe new tariff regime, accord-ing to a source.

The regulator has askedBARC India to explain, byApril 5, why action should notbe taken against it for contra-vention of sections of the TRAIAct, the source privy to thedevelopment said.

Reached for comments, aBARC India spokesperson saidit had temporarily suspendedmaking public limited set ofdata given the “significantvolatility in data” due to “dis-tribution disruptions” in theNTO (new tariff order) transi-tion period.

It said making public such“misleading” data would beagainst public interest andcould be open to “misuse byvested interests.”

The Telecom RegulatoryAuthority of India (TRAI) in itsshowcause notice dated March29 noted that BARC India didnot comply with its past direc-tion given on February 22,2019, seeking immediaterelease of viewership data (forthe week ending February 8and subsequent weeks) on itswebsite.

BARC India has been

granted registration by theMinistry of Information andBroadcasting (MIB) to carryout TV rating services. Thesource said that following thedirective, BARC India hadapproached the regulator seek-ing additional time forresponse.

The stand-off betweenTRAI and BARC India overviewership data has been brew-ing for the last few months now.TRAI’s past directive had saidthat BARC India modified itsFair and Permissible UsagePolicy on February 14, 2019,despite being repeatedly askedby the regulator to not stoppublishing of rating data andviewership data on its websiteduring the migration to newregulatory framework unlessexplicitly permitted by theauthority.

TRAI had rued that BARCIndia did not comply with itspast instructions despite beingrepeatedly asked by the author-ity to publish rating and data ofthe viewership of different TVchannels. BARC, on the otherhand, had argued that disrup-tion caused by transition to thenew regime could prevent con-sumers from accessing thechannels of their choice, thusnot giving fair and true pictureof TV consumption in India.

But TRAI has maintainedit would not be appropriate tostop rating of channels as thesechanges were an outcome ofconsumer choice and realreflection of market dynamics.

���� *�'

The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) will unveil on

Thursday its first bi-monthlymonetary policy decision ofthis new fiscal.

The RBI’s Monetary PolicyCommittee (MPC) will meetfrom April 2 to 4 for the firstbi-monthly policy statement for2019-20, the central bank saidin a release Monday.

“The resolution of theMPC will be placed on thewebsite at 11.45 AM on April4, 2019,” it said.

Industry and experts areexpecting that the banking

sector regulator may cut thekey lending rate — at which itlends to commercial banks —by 0.25 per cent so as to boostthe economic activities as fearsloom large about global eco-nomic slowdown impactingIndia’s growth prospects.

The RBI had cut the reporate by 25 basis points (bps) or0.25 per cent in February aftera gap of one-and-a-half years.

Ratings firm ICRA said:“We expect a 25 bps rate cut inthe upcoming meeting of mon-etary policy committee...”

“With the subdued growthoutlook and moderate infla-tion. The RBI does not seem tohave any major reason not tocut the policy rate again dur-ing its next meeting. I thinkthat the relevant question iswhether the bank would cutthe rate by more than 25 bps,”said Sujan Hajra, ChiefEconomist and ExecutiveDirector, Anand Rathi Shares& Stock Brokers.

���� !67�869)'

GST collections scaledrecord high of �1.06 lakh

crore in March, up from�97,247 crore in the previousmonth, as complianceimproved amid increasednumber of returns filed.

“Total gross GST revenuecollected in March, 2019 is�1,06,577 crore of whichCentral GST is �20,353 crore,State GST is �27,520 crore,Integrated GST is �50,418 croreand cess is �8,286 crore,” anofficial statement said.

Total number of summa-ry sales return GSTR-3B filedfor the month of February upto March 31, stood at 75.95lakh.

The collection in March2019, has been highest sinceintroduction of GST and also

reflects a 15.6 per cent growthover March 2018, collection of�92,167 crore.

Monthly average of GSTrevenue during 2018-19,stood at �98,114 crore whichis 9.2 per cent higher than theprevious fiscal. These figuresindicate that the revenuegrowth has been picking up inrecent months, despite vari-ous rate rationalisation mea-sures.

The Government has low-ered the GST collection targetfor 2018-19 fiscal to �11.47lakh crore in the revised esti-mates, from �13.71 lakh crorebudgeted initially.

GST collection stood at�1.03 lakh crore in April,�94,016 crore in May, �95,610crore in June, �96,483 crore inJuly, �93,960 crore in August,�94,442 crore in September,�1,00,710 crore in October,�97,637 crore in November,�94,725 crore in December2018, �1.02 lakh crore inJanuary 2019 and �97,247 crorein February 2019.

For fiscal 2019-20, the GSTcollection target has been bud-geted at �13.71 lakh crore.

���� !67�869)'

NMDC, the largest pro-ducer of iron ore in the

country has once again show-cased excellent performancefor the year 2018-19. NMDChas surpassed the 30 milliontonnes figure of productionand sales for the 3rd year con-secutively.

Inspite of suspension ofDonimalai Mine operationsfor 5 months, no exportsupto August 2018, highestrainfall in Bailadila Sectorand poor of f take inKarnataka in Q1, NMDChas produced 32.44 MT andsales of 32.38 MT iron oreduring FY-19.

During the year, NMDC’siron ore projects have clockedtheir best in a single day,monthly and annual produc-tion and sales figures.

Baijendra Kumar, IAS,CMD, NMDC congratulatedall the employees for theirdedicated hardwork and excel-lent team work.

����!�%��������,��=/��:����/������+������7�6����!������@� ��"���)���������)����!����"��!������������7�6

*����������!��������)!�� ����������������� �� �,���)�������/:�����:���@� �"��������������� �� �,���)����$���4�$�����������:����=�����)����������25�!���)!��-123@��������������� �)!�� �������� �� �,���)����!��"��:��)!�� ����/:�#�E������H�����!��?��������������&������)������� ����-G�;0"����0!���<�,�$�����)�$���� ��!������������!���!�����4�+������4������8����0�������������,������,������,����I�=� ��� �$���@�6��������!��!������!���/:�#�6�����������H����!��?����������������

���������@����AB����0������;#�&��$����#(��C�&�A-� ������#�����

#�$ ���������������������������� ��#�3�

��:���!����������&���������&����������&������� ��

���7� ���������"������ ����������7� ��/���������� ���>�� �"���� �����

��� � !67�869)'

Reversing years of decline,state-owned Oi l and

Natural Gas Corp (ONGC)has reported a record 6.5 percent jump in natural gas pro-duction to 25.9 billion cubicmeters in the fiscal yearended March 31, 2019, as itdoubles up efforts to raisedomestic output to curbimports.

Natural gas productionfrom ONGC-operated nom-ination fields, NELP blocksand joint venture assetsreached 25.819 BCM in 2018-19 as compared to 24.61BCM output in the previousfiscal, ONGC Chairman andManaging Director ShashiShanker said here.

The company is oncourse to produce 42 BCM byend of fiscal 2022, when itsprized KG basin discoverieswill come onstream.

7=4�� ��������+���.@DJ������)��!� !�����(23

� ���� 1��������1�����$%'/E'2

0!��)������#���� ���)�����������������'���������������������!������������)!�-123���������!�������)��������-12K�23@����!��)�������!����)����������$����������)���������� ��"�!�"����"����!��������$����������������������)���� ��"�!���)�����&��.@2�����)������2�LDG�L11�����������2�.DG�D11���������!�����$���������)��������@����������'�����!������������!�� �$��!����!��������������)�������)�����-12K����������!������� ��"�!���"������)���������������)�������������!��������+������������ ��"�!�!�������"��-12G�25��&����!����"����������)�������������)�����������������������)�������$��������@���������'��������)!���$�������"���������!��������"�����!��)���� ���"� �������������������!�6��� �����E� ���@ ���

����� � 1�������&�$%'/E'2

E��!�2D1�D-D������������-12K�23�0������%���������������"����

��"�&���$������)���������251�.5D���������!�����$��������@�E!�����!�)�����������!�������������!�:���$��������������)����������!���"������"�"�����)������������ �!�������������������!����"��"������!��������"�����!����� ��"�!�������)!�-123��$����!���������!����������"��+����"������)���@0�����������'�����������������������������������������'������)�����������)�����������!���&��"!�)!0������"��������$����������!�����'���6��� ���!��� !�0�����������!�����"��������&������)�� ��!��*��������''������!����������)����� ���������������%��������@�:����������0�����"��������)�������)��&�����������'��������!������)���������@� ���

����������������������1�1��������

���$��!�������!�����4�����������"��!����������� ���)���+��

��������A�������&��!��������!�$�!�)��#��� ���)���������:���@�E��!��!�:�������������$����������A��)����� ��"�������������!����A����"������&��!�)��������!���!� !�!��������!��+�����$�������"!�)!�"����&��� ������������������������)!���� ����$����������������������$�������)���������:���@� ���

'����������?)�� �� ��������� �

���� !+'8�

The Uttar Pradesh RealEstate Regulator y

Authority (UP RERA)Monday said it has issuedshow cause notices to AnsalProperties and Infrastructureover alleged fraud and diver-sion of funds.

In October 2018, theauthority ordered forensic auditin registered projects with aview to investigate into theaffairs, especially the accountsof Ansal API to find out the

possible diversion of funds,and causes of inordinate delays,among others.

The authority had alsoappointed Currie and Brown(C&B) for conducting theforensic audit, it said in a state-ment.

“The show cause noticeshave been issued to the devel-oper following a report sub-mitted by forensic auditor thathad investigated 91 projects ofAnsal API over the last threemonths for financial misap-propriation.

��:6:�����"������(��"������������������ ���'

������%���'&?>@'&��,��<� �%����%����������,���+���+( ���� �����?�19?���,�%��

@#,��� ��������������/&=?� ��������������

"� (������ �A��������A��%������,���,��+��������%�����(�������%(���,�������� �������

��:������$�����!����)��#�����&������!�������)��)��������������5

Page 11: ;@3 9@8D G@E6CD¶ >:?5D - Daily Pioneer

*�� �??������ ��������� ������� !� "#$

!� "/< !� "/<<�����

� ���1������������ ���������+��� ,�(� ����� ��������������� ����"���������������������������� ����"������(�����$���� "��������������*��������"������C�:�( ���J��)��������������������������������� �&

�D�����FE���� ������������ 1&��������"�@�� ���������� �����*��� ������%��������������C�� ���M�����������������������#������������ �������������������������������������"������ �3�� (���������������������������&

��������������*�������� 1�����"����8�� ,���'����������� ������� ���"��J������������� ������ ��������� #����3�������"����������(����������7��������������� ���������"���������"��(��������� ��� � ��� ����&

&�� 9+!8+!

British MPs will try again tochart a new Brexit path on

Monday after rejecting PrimeMinister Theresa May’s deal fora third time, but the EU warnedits patience was wearing thin.

Less than two weeks beforeBritain risks crashing out of theEuropean Union, MPs willhold a second round of voteson various options to try tobreak the political deadlock.

But any attempt to forceMay to accept a closer rela-tionship with the EU riskssplitting the government, andthere is widespread speculationshe might try one last time toget her deal passed this week.

European Union leadershave called an emergency sum-mit on April 10 and havewarned that unless Britain setsout what it wants to do, it riskssevering ties with its largesttrading bloc two days laterwith no deal at all.

“With our British friendswe have had a lot of patience,but even patience is runningout,” European CommissionPresident Jean-Claude Junckertold Italian public TV channelRai 1 on Sunday.

Britain voted by 52 per centto leave the EU in a 2016 ref-erendum, but the process hasbeen mired in divisions overthe terms of the divorce andwhat kind of future ties to seek.May struck a divorce deal withthe EU last November, but ithas been repeatedly rejected byMPs, the last time on Friday —even after she promised toresign if her rebellious

Conservative colleagues helpedpush the deal through.

The impasse has forcedMay to postpone Britain’s orig-inal exit day from March 29,but she said it would be “unac-ceptable” for a further delaybeyond European Parliamentelections held from May 23 toMay 26.

Frustrated with herapproach, MPs in the House ofCommons last week voted togive themselves powers to find

an alternative strategy, by hold-ing a series of “indicative votes”on various options.

No single plan won amajority in the first round butMPs hope to whittle down theproposals on Monday evening,with voting starting at 8.00 pm(1900 GMT), and another dayof debate is scheduled for thisWednesday.

The two most popularoptions last week were a newEU-UK customs union or a

public vote on any agreed deal.There were a large number ofabstentions on another widelydiscussed option, based onNorway’s membership of thesingle market.

In an interview with theBBC released Monday, ChiefWhip Julian Smith — the manresponsible for enforcing dis-cipline among May’s MPs andministers — suggested that acloser relationship with theEU was “inevitable”. The 2017

election where May lost herparliamentary majority meant“this would be inevitably akind of softer type of Brexit”, hesaid. He also denounced thebehaviour of May’s own min-isters, who he said were tryingto undermine her. “This is Ithink the worst example of ill-discipline in cabinet in Britishpolitical history,” he said.

While some pro-Europeanmembers of May’s cabinetmight support a customs

union, she herself is opposedand it threatens mass rebellionamong the rest of her ministers.

Brexit-supporting minis-ter Andrea Leadsom hasreportedly organised a lettersigned by 170 ConservativeMPs including 10 cabinet min-isters, demanding a swift Brexit,with or without a deal.

The votes by MPs are notlegally binding but carry polit-ical weight, and the govern-ment fears they may lead to leg-islation that would force May’shand.

“I fear we are reaching thelimits of this process in thisHouse,” she said last week.Speculation is growing thatthe only way out may be a gen-eral election.

But many ConservativeMPs oppose the idea, andpolling on Sunday put JeremyCorbyn’s Labour party ahead.Conservative deputy chairmanJames Cleverly told Sky News:“I don’t think an election wouldsolve anything.

“Time is of the essence, wehave got Brexit to deliver. Wedon’t want to add any moreunnecessary delay.”

���������!����� ��������:�������� �-���A7-�!.=6$

?� <��--7)��A�-"������$%'0

�>� ��!89�.8--"�? 7<�,,"�,.���9� �!��!�A�,�7�,

7A� -"�-� 9,7>-"�!�A7 <���!("�-@��!7>>8-8 �-��,-7,��@

&�� �!C�:�

Turkish President RecepTayyip Erdogan’s ruling

party suffered a major upset onMonday after local electionresults showed it lost the cap-ital Ankara and Istanbul aftera decade and half in power.

Losing the country’s twomajor cities would be a stun-ning defeat for Erdogan, a for-mer Istanbul mayor himself,whose ability to win at the bal-lot box has been unparalleledin Turkish history.

Erdogan campaigned hard,portraying Sunday’s vote formayors and district councils asa fight for the nation’s survival,but the election became a testfor his Justice andDevelopment Party (AKP) afterTurkey slipped into a recessionfor the first time in a decade.

The opposition CHP partycandidate for Istanbul mayor,Ekrem Imamoglu, was leadingby nearly 28,000 votes withmost ballot boxes counted,Supreme Election Board (YSK)chairman Sadi Guven said.

Imamoglu won almost 4.16million votes while the AKPcandidate, former premierBinali Yildirim, won 4.13 mil-lion. Both claimed victory inthe early hours following a tightrace for the country’s largestcity after results showing themin a dead heat.

“We want to start workingas soon as possible to servepeople,” Imamoglu toldreporters on Monday.

“We want to cooperatewith all institutions of Turkey

to quickly meet the needs ofIstanbul.”

In Ankara, oppositionmayoral candidate MansurYavas had 50.89 per cent ofvotes ahead of the AKP’sMehmet Ozhaseki on 47.06 percent, Anadolu state agencyreported, with 99 per cent ofballot boxes counted.

“Ankara has won. The loserin Ankara is Ozhaseki, dirtypolitics has lost,” Yavas toldsupporters who were wavingTurkish flags and setting offfireworks at a celebratory rally.

But in a sign of possibleturmoil ahead, AKP officialssaid they would challenge thealleged invalidation of tens ofthousands of votes in bothcities.

AKP secretary generalFatoih Sahin said the party willappeal in Ankara, saying thegap between the candidates“will narrow down and Ibelieve it will eventually turninto a positive result for us.”

Speaking to supporters inAnkara after Sunday’s pollsclosed, Erdogan had said theelection was a victory for theAKP, which along with itscoalition partner, the rightwingNationalist Movement Party,won more than 50 per cent ofvotes overall.

The loss in Istanbul, ana-lysts said, would be especiallysensitive for Erdogan, whogrew up in the city’s working-class Kasimpasa neighbour-hood, and liked to tell AKPrank-and-file that victory in thecity was like winning all ofTurkey.

���2������� �$��"�/��������� �"��$ ��� ��

�������"��������������!�"�� �0�����#�����������)���0������6�� ������������(���������!����������)�����������:���&�������!������� �����)����,�$���������������;�%�<�������������!����)������)��������:���&����������� ��

&�� C�* 9

US special envoy ZalmayKhalilzad said on Monday

he was in Kabul to meet withAfghan officials, ahead of a newround of talks with the Talibanaimed at ending more than 17years of war.

The Afghan-born USadviser tweeted that he had metwith several government rep-resentatives with responsibili-ty for the Afghan peace process.

“We discussed the urgencyof making progress on intra-Afghan dialogue,” Khalilzadwrote.

He later said he had metwith representatives from awomen’s network, sayingwomen “must be at the table

during all negotiations”.Khalilzad held talks with

the Taliban in Doha that wereoriginally slated to last two daysin February, but dragged on for16 days, eventually endingMarch 12 with Khalilzad say-ing “real strides” had beenmade.

On the table were propos-als to get foreign armed forcesto leave Afghanistan, and theTaliban to guarantee the coun-try cannot be used as a spring-board for terror groups tolaunch any future attacks.

The State Department lastweek said Khalilzad’s trip was“part of an overall effort tofacilitate a peace process thatbrings all Afghan partiestogether in inclusive intra-

Afghan negotiations”. So far,however, the talks have notincluded the Kabul govern-ment. The Taliban have longrefused to speak with Kabul,deeming the administration ofPresident Ashraf Ghani — whois seeking re-election this year— puppets of the West.

But a senior Taliban officialtold AFP they may considermeeting Afghan governmentofficials in a fresh round oftalks in Doha, reportedly dueto begin mid-April.

“Taliban will not meet withthe Afghan government, butthey might meet with someAfghan government officials asindependent politicians,” theofficial said. New talks come asAfghanistan remains on edge

ahead of a new fighting seasonin the spring, and amid fears ofan increase in Taliban attacksto gain leverage at the negoti-ating table.

On Saturday, Taliban fight-ers attacked a convoy carryingAfghanistan’s vice presidentAbdul Rashid Dostum in thenorthern province of Balkh.

The attack killed one ofDostum’s bodyguards but theformer warlord escapedunhurt. A spokesman forDostum said he would not beattending the Doha talks, butrepresentatives from his polit-ical party would be.

Khalilzad’s trip has alreadyseen him stop in London andBrussels as he seeks globalsupport for a peace deal.

8�����)����$�������������%�&����!������0���&�������

���� C�,)�!8

Afreak storm battered sev-eral places in Southern

Nepal on Sunday, killing 31people and injuring 600 othersas high speed winds tore downhouses, flipped vehicles andtoppled trees and electricitypoles.

Massive winds accompa-nied by hailstorms and rainstruck Bara and the adjoiningdistrict of Parsa late on Sundayevening. According to offi-cials, 28 people were killed inBara, 128 kilometers south ofKathmandu, one person diedin neighbouring Parsa, whiletwo more died in other parts ofSouthern Nepal.

High winds flipped carsand blew one passenger bus off

a highway, causing fatalities.According to police, manypeople were either killed aftergetting buried under rubbles ofhouses and metal roofs thatflung all over the settlements,or after coming under the elec-tric pylons and trees that wereuprooted as the disasteradvanced.

According to Province 2Attorney General DipendraJha, majority of the 600 injuredare from Pheta and BhulahiBharwaliya areas in Bara’sPheta Rural Municipality,which have mostly been affect-ed by the hailstorm.

Every year hundreds die inlandslides and floods duringNepal’s monsoon season, butstorms causing such high casu-alties in spring are rare.

64� ����&,�)DD���@#��&���/��� �����0�����������

���� *6'�'!@

At least 30 people, including27 firefighters, were killed

while battling a huge forest firein the remote mountains insouthwest China’s Sichuanprovince, the state mediareported on Monday.

The firefighters were sentto put the fire which broke outon Saturday in Liangshan Yiautonomous prefecture inSichuan province, China Dailyreported.

About 30 people have beenunaccounted for since Sundayafternoon after a suddenchange in wind directioncaused “a huge fireball”, accord-ing to authorities in LiangshanYi Autonomous Prefecture.

Local authorities have dis-patched 689 people to dousethe blaze which broke out atabout 6 pm at an altitude ofabout 3,800 meters.

Firefighters are still tryingto contain the blaze, the reportquoted the PLA Daily, the offi-cial organ of the Chinese mil-itary as saying.

A team sent by theMinistry of EmergencyManagement has arrived inMuli County in Liangshan tocoordinate the rescue efforts.

Meanwhile, a separate for-est fire in the northern provinceof Shanxi was brought undercontrol on Sunday after burning for two days, theofficial Xinhua news agencysaid.

Lima: At least 20 people werekilled and about 10 injured onSunday night in a bus fire at anillegal transport terminal in thePeruvian capital, emergencyservices said. A number of thevictims burned to death,trapped on the upper level ofthe interprovincial bus in Lima,firefighters said.

Passersby described scenesof panic and cries of terror.Much of the vehicle wasreduced to a skeleton, and thecorpses of some victims couldstill be seen in the seats. Othersasphyxiated on the stairwayconnecting the upper and lowerlevels. The tragedy reflected thechaos of Peru’s public transportsystem, particularly in the cap-ital of 10 million people whereauthorities are overwhelmedby transport problems. AFP

Shah Alam: A Vietnamesewoman accused of assassinat-ing the North Korean leader’shalf-brother will walk free inMay after pleading guilty to alesser charge, her lawyer said.

Doan Thi Huong wel-comed the “fair sentence” afterthe judge handed down the ver-dict in a Malaysian court, whereshe has been on trial for themurder of Kim Jong Nam witha nerve agent. Huong was sen-tenced her to three years andfour months in jail from herarrest in February 2017.

But her legal team saidthat with usual sentence reduc-tions, she would be releasednext month.

“In the first week of May,she will go home,” lawyerHisyam Teh Poh Teik toldreporters in the Shah AlamHigh Court, outside KualaLumpur. AFP

���� �+9+*+

Sri Lankan authorities onMonday destroyed nearly

770 kgs of cocaine, a day afterPresident Maithripala Sirisenasaid he has decided a time peri-od for the execution of the cap-ital punishment of convicteddrug traffickers.

The drugs were burnt in SriLanka’s Puttalam town on theinstructions of the President,

who also witnessed thedestruction of the psychotrop-ic substance.

Speaking at a mass protestagainst drugs organised byreligious leaders led byColombo Archbishop Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith hereon Sunday, Sirisena said that he has taken a num-ber of steps to strengthen lawsrelevant to curbing illicit drugtrade.

Islamabad: Pakistan’s formermilitary dictator PervezMusharraf was ordered toappear before a special court onMay 2 by the Supreme Court inthe high treason case andwarned him that he wouldlose the right of defence if hefailed to turn up.

A special court indictedGeneral (retd) Musharraf forhigh treason in March 2014.Musharraf, 75, left for Dubai in2016 to “seek medical treat-ment” and has not returnedsince. Last month, he wasadmitted to a hospital in Dubaiafter suffering a reaction froma rare disease.

A three-member bench ofthe apex court headed by ChiefJustice Asif Saeed Khosa washearing a petition filed by alawyer, who pointed out thatthe proceedings of the treasoncase — being heard by a spe-cial court since 2014 — hadcome to a halt as Musharrafhad not returned to the coun-try since 2016. PTI

���� '#9��*�8

Facebook has taken down103 “assets” — pages,

groups and accounts — linkedto employees of PakistanArmy’s media wing andinvolved in “coordinated inau-thentic behaviour”, the socialmedia giant said on Monday.

The company — whichshared details on “four separate,distinct and unconnected” take-downs linked to both Pakistanand India — said it hadremoved the pages, accountsand groups set up by the net-works “for violating Facebook’spolicies on coordinated inau-thentic behaviour or spam”.

“Today we removed 103pages, groups and accountsfor engaging in coordinatedinauthentic behavior onFacebook and Instagram aspart of a network that origi-nated in Pakistan,” said a state-

ment issued by NathanielGleicher, the company’s head ofCybersecurity Policy. The coor-dinated inauthentic behaviouris when groups of pages or peo-ple work together to misleadothers about who they are orwhat they are doing.

“Although the peoplebehind this activity attemptedto conceal their identities, ourinvestigation found that it waslinked to employees of theISPR (Inter-Service PublicRelations) of the Pakistani mil-itary,” the statement said.

There was no immediatecomments from the PakistanArmy on the issue.

Quoting Gleicher, Dawnnewspaper said, “the takedownis because there is this networkof fake accounts that they areusing to conceal their identityand make these pages lookindependent, when in fact theyare not.”

?)������ ���!���� ��/�����/ ��

"��������CD�&��&���!��#��#��/���

#����� �� ��8.����.��-��8�����-.���77@�5��������� �

%�0������>�0������������������� �/�����:��0����

����������!���������������&������)��������������)����������-

1������ �&���������(��,(��#��,�����#������� �&���!� �"�0$ ��0�&������(

Page 12: ;@3 9@8D G@E6CD¶ >:?5D - Daily Pioneer

�����?'������ ��������� ������� !� "#$

&��������&������ �+����PAris: :�����A������3"����"����������������"�����������,������������� �����������������������"��������/=/��� ������� ��� �� (���� ���� �������� ����� ����� '����� ������&�,���#(�����������(������� �����(�����"�����H�8�������,����$�(����������� ��� ����������"������������������A����������������� ����'�����7� ���(��(�������&�:������@����������#��������,��������������"������������� ����� ��� ������$� (�� �� �������� ��������� 8����#������ ��� ������� ���� ���� B=� ���� ���� ������ ������ �(���������"����������������������� �&�A� �%��"����� �������$�/5$�������B0�� ��������44���������������������������#������ ��H���"��������� ������"�&

���� 1��������E'%���� �+����New Delhi: #�"����@���� �������������������������'������� �� �-"���� � ����� ��� ������ ���� ���� /=� ��� ��� ������ �#�� (�� � ��������&� '����� (����� �-"���� ������N �������������������8�������� ��� �N ����� ���������������/=��������(�� ���������&�:����������� ������� ������������$� @���� � ���� ����� "�� �(�� ���������������������������������/=&�@���� �������������� -"���������� �� ��� ���� B=/5�B=/2� �#�� 7�� ������������������������$� #���������������������������������&�)��(���� �����-"���������� ��������������������"�@������������"�����M"����$�#(����� ��&�'������(����H���������$� ������� ������"�� ��� ��� ���� ����������'����$��������"���������/1�����������&�

� G����1 ����6�����������1�Termas de Río Hondo: 7�� � ��������� �����-"�������������"���������������������������@����������������� �E� �������:����&���-"����"��"��������������� ���(� ������ ���� )���� :�B/4E� ��� ��� ����� ���� 01��� ������� �������� ��� ���� � ���� � ���$���������� � ����� /=� ������� ����� ��� :����� ��� �D�����&� ������ 8��������$� (��� (��� ���� �����������������I����$�������������������8"����&���-"������"����� �� ���� ���� B=/2� ������������� ������ �(���"���(���� 01�������&� R,����(��� �� �������� ��$R� �����&�)������(�������������������������������"����H����������������������" ����������������&

�1� �� ��1������&���� ����Colombo: #��� 9����H�� ,���� �������� 8��"��C��"�������� ��� ������ ��� ����� ���� ���R"�����������������"�R������������������������������������� ��� ��� �������� ����� ���� �� ��%�� ������ ��3"��&C��"�������$� 4=$� (��� ������ ������� ������������� (���"����������������� ������������%�������� �������B&�,����������������(���� ����������������������� �����&R����������(����"���� ��"���������������#���9������������ ��������������'������ ���������� ������"����������������$R�C��"��������������������������&�#���9����H������������������ ���(�" � ������������ ���� �������� R�������������������������������&R ���<��,

����3��

&�� ��:'#

Kylian Mbappe fired ParisSaint-Germain to their

eighth straight Ligue 1 winwith a stunning goal thatearned the champions a 1-0victory at Toulouse onSunday and kept them milesclear at the top of the league.

The 20-year-old WorldCup winner crashed home his27th league goal of the sea-son, his seventh in as manyleague games, with 16 min-utes left as he continues toshine in the absence of theinjured duo Neymar andEdinson Cavani.

"We had to wait, bepatient and in the end we wonwith Kylian's speed," saidPSG skipper Marquinhos.

"It brought a great deal ofjoy to our fans, I'm sure ofthat."

PSG now have 80 points,20 ahead of second placedLille with a game in hand toboot.

Coach Thomas Tuchelsaid he was delighted that therunaway leaders have notbeen tempted to take theirfoot off the gas.

"Many of our players wereaway in the internationalbreak and there was a bit offatigue in some of them,"said the German.

"It could have beentempting to relax, especiallywith the lead we have in theleague, but nobody does itand I like that."

Mbappe's goal was the

highlight of a dull gamewhich was otherwise lit up bya cheeky PSG fan sneakingonto the pitch to snap a self-ie with the striker.

The video assistant refer-ee system ruled outMarquinhos' tap-in justbefore half-time after Mbappewas judged offside, and therunaway league leadersthreatened little other thanthat.

However they maintaintheir huge gap on second-placed Lille, who earlier onSunday scored three quickfiresecond-half goals to come-back from 2-0 and snatch avital win that kept them firmfavourites for direct qualifica-tion for the ChampionsLeague.

&�� �8:'8

Karim Benzema stopped RealMadrid's underwhelmingLa Liga season going from

bad to worse on Sunday after fir-ing a last-minute winner to handthe European champions a barely-deserved 3-2 winner over bottomclub Huesca.

Humbled by Ajax in theChampions League and dumpedout of the Copa Del Rey by dead-ly rivals Barca, third-placed Realshowed little signs of improvementin Zinedine Zidane's second gamein charge but Benzema, subject torumours he may leave Madrid inthe summer for ManchesterUnited, struck with a fine curlingfinish the to snatch the threepoints at a sparsely populatedSantiago Bernabeu.

"We are happy with him and Iam going to count on him, nowthere are nine games left and thenwe will see what happens. He is aReal Madrid player and I don'tthink this will change," Zidane said.

"You have to accept it. If thepeople want to come to theBernabeu to see us so much thebetter, but I understand that sincewe are not going to win anythingfewer people come."

Zidane's son Luca was givenhis second ever start between thesticks for Real but got off to theworst possible start, picking theball out of his own net within threeminutes after Cucho Hernandezlashed home Ezequiel Avila lowcross.

Isco levelled the scores in the25th minute when he tapped homea Brahim Diaz cross afterBenzema's low shot was well saved,but it was the away side — playingtheir first ever La Liga game at theMadrid's Santiago Bernabeu stadi-um — who went closer going intothe break ahead.

Zidane junior had to be alert tostop Damian Musto from glancinghome a header nine minutes beforethe break, while Avila punched theground in frustration in first halfstoppage time after flashing a powershot over from the edge of the box.

�� ���+������� Real continued to disappoint

in the second half but took thelead just after the hour markthanks to Dani Ceballos, whobundled home the second afterGareth Bale's beautiful cross washeaded back across goal byBenzema.

Bale then missed a gloriousopportunity to put the gamebeyond Huesca when he somehow

put Alvaro Odriozola's low crossover the bar from just yards out.

Huesca pounced on that awfulmiss to draw level when XabierEtxeita powered home MoiGomez's cross from a short corner.

However Benzema was onhand to break Huesca hearts withhis 14th league goal of the season,which gives Zidane two wins fromhis first two matches back incharge.

&�� �!�)6#,6:

Manchester United manag-er Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

says Paul Pogba has a "big, bigpart" to play at Old Trafforddespite speculation linkingthe French World Cup winnerwith a move to Real Madrid.

Real boss Zinedine Zidaneis expected to be busy in thesummer transfer market as hetries to reinvigorate a sidethat crashed out of theChampions League in the last16 and are lagging 12 pointsbehind leaders Barcelona in LaLiga.

United midfielder Pogbalast week described Madrid asa "dream club for every play-er" while on international dutywith France and Zidane onSaturday hailed him as "aplayer who knows how to doeverything".

But Solskjaer is deter-mined that Pogba, one of theworld's most marketable play-ers, will not be a part ofZidane's rebuilding plans and

believes the midfielder simplygave a straight answer to aquestion.

"I don"t like to talk aboutother teams' players," theNorwegian said ahead of hisside's Premier League matchagainst Wolves on Tuesday."That is one of the challengesof the international break.

"Players are available allthe time and it's a differentenvironment and it's more ofa general talk.

"Paul is a very nice andpolite man and he answered ageneral question. Of course,Zidane is an icon in France.Zidane is a fantastic managerand he used to be a fantasticplayer and I played againsthim.

"So Paul has politelyanswered that question. But heis happy here. He is going tobe a big, big part of thingshere.

"I have always said thatyou would like to build yourteam around him and that hasnot changed at all."

&�� 9+!8+!

Manchester City boss PepGuardiola believes the

pressure of needing to win everyone of their remaining PremierLeague matches to finish aheadof Liverpool will boost theirquadruple bid.

City, with the League Cupalready in the bag, are chasing anunprecedented clean sweep, withthe Premier League, ChampionsLeague and FA Cup also intheir sights. They can return tothe top of the table if they wintheir game in hand against strug-gling Cardiff on Wednesday.

City play an out-of-sortsTottenham in the ChampionsLeague quarter-finals next weekand Brighton in the FA Cupsemi-finals on Saturday.

Liverpool, seeking their firstEnglish top-flight title since1990, beat Spurs in a dramaticfinish on Sunday to restore theirtwo-point lead.

"For the semi-final and forthe Champions League, being inthe position in the PremierLeague where you know if youdon't win you are going to losethe Premier League, maybethat's going to help us for theother competitions," said

Guardiola."If you are 10 points in

front you can maybe be a littlemore selective.

"But now there's no otheroption, we don't have any otherchoice, so every game we haveto win, if not you drop that com-petition.

"So that's why sometimes toplay with that pressure is nice,it's necessary to get the best outof ourselves." Guardiola is bid-ding to add a second PremierLeague title to go with the threehe won in Germany and threein Spain with Bayern Munichand Barcelona.

���� !67�869)'�

Indian shooters continued theirdominance claiming five Gold

medals on the final day of theAsian Airgun Championships tosign off with a total of 25 medalsin Taoyuan, Taipei.

India finished with 16 Gold,five Silver and four Bronze.

On the last day of the compe-tition, Yash Vardhan and ShreyaAgrawal bagged three Gold medalseach.

Yash finished on top in 10mAir Rifle men's junior event. Hethen clinched the yellow metal inTeam competition with his part-ners — Keval Prajpati andAishwary Tomar.

Yash scored 249.5, while Kevaland Aishwary shot 247.3 and 226.1for Silver and Bronze respectively.

Earlier Vardhan and Shreyacombined to win the Mixed TeamRifle junior event.

Shreya won the Gold in the10m Air Rifle women's juniorevent. She also won the TeamGold along with Mehuli Ghosh andKavi Chakkaravarthy.

Shreya's Gold winning 24-shots ended on an impressive252.5, while Mehuli settled forindividual Bronze with an effort of228.3. Kavi was fourth.

Indian shooting's next assign-ment is scheduled at Al Ain, UAEwhere the ISSF Shotgun WorldCup stage two commences onApril 5.

���� C �9��9 � :�

Astrong finish at the IndiaOpen will hold him in

good stead when KidambiSrikanth yet again strives toend his long title drought at the$ 700,000 Malaysia Open,beginning here on Tuesday.

Srikanth, who last won atitle at the 2017 French Open,came close to ending the leanpatch when he reached thefinals of the India Open butDenmark's Viktor Axelsenthwarted his challenge onSunday.

Despite the loss, it was agood week for the 26-year-oldas he quelled the challenge ofone opponent after another onway to his first summit clash ofa BWF world tour event in 17months.

On Wednesday, Srikanthwill begin his campaign againsta qualifier, following the with-drawal of Malaysian legend LeeChong Wei, who was sup-posed to play his first eventafter recovering from nosecancer.

"I'm just happy how it hasbeen last week. I just want totake it the way it comes. I knowI was trailing in most of thematches but somehow I want-ed this kind of momentum. Iwanted these kind of wins andwant to continue this formnow," Srikanth said after thefinal on Sunday.

Olympic Silver medallist PV Sindhu too was on course fora title win before she blew afour game points to lose thesemifinal against He Bingjiaoof China last Saturday.

The fifth seeded Indianwill cross swords with Japan's

Aya Ohori in the openinground of the BWF World TourSuper 750. She is likely to geta chance to avenge her first-round loss at the All EnglandChampionship against Sung JiHyun of Korea, who she isexpected to face in the secondround.

Indonesia Masters champi-on Saina Nehwal, who had bat-tled pain after developing pan-creas infection en route the AllEngland Champion quarterfi-nals, will look for a good out-ing after skipping the SwissOpen and India Open. Theeighth seeded Indian will faceThailand's PornpaweeChochuwong in the firstround.

Among others, H SPrannoy will look to continuehis promising show afterregaining some form at theIndia Open where he reachedthe quarterfinals. He willsquare off against Hong Kong'sNg Ka Long Angus.

Sameer Verma will alsolook to snap his run of earlyexits this year but it will beeasier said than done as hefaces world No 2 Shi Yuqi ofChina.

Men's doubles pair ManuAttri and B Sumeeth Reddy,the only Indian pair to reachthe semifinals at New Delhi lastweek, will face seventh seedChinese pair of Han Chengkaiand Zhou Haodong in thefirst round, while AshwiniPonnappa and N Sikki Reddywill take on Korean pair ofBaek Ha Na and Kim Hye Rin.

Pranaav Jerry Chopra andSikki will meet Ireland's SamMagee and Chloe Magee intheir opener.

&�� 8 *�'�

Captain Aaron Finch warnedAustralia will embark on their

World Cup defence next month withconfidence riding high after complet-ing an ODI sweep against Pakistan onSunday hot on the heels of a series vic-tory in India.

Written off after a torrid 15months which saw Australia win justthree of 18 one-day internationals,Finch led the 2015 World Cup winnersfrom 2-0 down last month to beatVirat Kohli's formidable side 3-2,Australia's first series win in India since2009.

They then romped to a 5-0 rout ofa depleted Pakistan who rested six topplayers for the series played in theUnited Arab Emirates, including reg-ular captain Sarfraz Ahmed, ahead ofthe World Cup.

"We'll go to the World Cup witha lot of confidence now, even after alot of people wrote us off," said Finchwho was declared man of the series forhis 451 runs including two hundreds

and two fifties."Potentially we had a real focus

coming here and that was our last hit-out before the World Cup so we want-ed to go into that tournament with alot of momentum," he said afterinflicting a fourth whitewash onPakistan in a bilateral series.

Winners of 2015 World Cup athome, Australia had endured a mis-erable time in limited-overs cricketsince last year's ball-tampering contro-versy in South Africa.

�������1������� 11�Finch admitted the potential

return of Warner, who has been in topform in the Indian Premier League,and Smith would mean some difficultchoices when the World Cup squad isnamed later this month. "There will besome unlucky guys," said Finch ofsquad that could also see the return offast bowlers Mitchell Starc, JosHazlewood and Pat Cummins afterinjury.

"Everyone who has an opportuni-ty has played some great cricket. At the

end of the day there will be some toughcalls, but its exciting for Australia at thesame time because six month back alot of people were slamming us.

"A lot of people were writing usoff, not in just the one-day cricket butin all forms of the game. It's been real-ly positive last couple of months andwe have been building nicely."

Pakistan's head coach MickeyArthur, who has also coached SouthAfrica and Australia, said the defend-ing champions were in good shape.

"All the final jigsaw pieces arecoming together nicely. Australia looka very, very good side. They will be athreat at the World Cup," said Arthur.

Arthur defended leaving out keyplayers Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman,Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi andSarfraz, while Mohammad Hafeezwas missing injured. "All we can do isprepare as best we can," he said.

"We got on the road in Septemberlast year for the Asia Cup and thenwent to South Africa and then had thePakistan Super League so we had torest them."

���8�0����7����������#��������)!����"���)����������������������� ����������������!���������"���G�-

%���������'����))���&�����������)���� ������������#���!�� ������ ����� ��)�� ����

:6�9�+E6�,+7',)'!�,7+

�+'!,#�+A�#6�+!8��9��68��,96,'�+�8:'8$�7)+)�6:68�)��'+!#

96�@ 6�)+�6A 9#�9�E6#�0�=�+!#�, :8�D�

���$������$ ��������������5�� 3��

:��������!�"��!2.�4������������������ ���>!���

�������� ������,�" �"�������������

����&����$���������"����&��� �����&���������������������

?� ���-�8 �-�>$�3�� � 5��-��8-��� ���� ��������.-

#�7 �'�1�1���#�3���.�%#7���9���7'�7��3��'�17&1

���������)!�����"��!��!������!�����������������&�����������������7,:����"�����$�����)!�����D�1

%��������&�����)���&�����������)���� �� �����0����������� �/� ���2�)��!

Page 13: ;@3 9@8D G@E6CD¶ >:?5D - Daily Pioneer

�����A�=� 8�� '%4�'@*B

�(����#�����(��+����$#:��(0�=

C�*DE �����A����� '4�'@*B

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

D�"������ ���������������������������3"��������� $�������������3"�������������

������ �����������������&�,� �������������"������� ����

���������$�������� ������

��(����$��������� �������� ������

������������������&��� ������������� ��� ���������3"���(��������

��������"����������������" �

�"���������$�(������� ����

Every parent knows howhard it is to protect achild from injuries relat-ed to falling. When a babylearns to walk, preventing

falls requires constant supervision.Later, a toddler might tumble whiletrying to get to the cookie jar—andan older child might slip while rock-eting up hardwood stairs in socks.Still, there's plenty you can do topromote fall safety and minimiseinjuries when falls happen.

Young children are at higherrisk of injuries overall, and certaininjuries are more probable at differ-ent ages. Toddlers are most suscep-tible to poisoning, preschoolers todrowning, and school-aged childrento pedestrian accidents. Childrenare more likely to be injured whenthey are not under appropriateadult supervision.

To prevent falls from windows,install a stop that prevents windowsfrom opening any further than 4inches. Alternatively, install windowguards that cover the lower part ofthe window. Other preventivestrategies include opening double-hung windows only from the top,moving furniture away from win-dows, and supervising children ina room with open windows. Don'trely on a window screen to preventfalls.

Install safety gates at the top andbottom of staircases. Put doorknobcovers on doors that lead to stair-cases, such as basement doors.Install lower stair rails that are eas-ier for younger children to reach.Don't leave clutter on stairs.

The safety rails should beinstalled on beds for toddlers. Bunkbeds should be used for childrenwho are six or older. Safety rails onbunk beds should be on both sidesof the bed, and gaps between railsshould be 4 inches or less. Use a

nightlight near the bunk bed stairsor ladder for safe use at night.

Use a bathmat in tubs to lowerthe risk of falls. Don't leave yourchild unattended in a bath. Use anonslip bathmat and clean up wetfloors promptly

When shopping for a stroller,look for one with a wide base thatis less likely to tip. Always use thesafety harness when your baby ortoddler is in the stroller. To avoidtipping the stroller, don't hang bagsfrom the handles. Check the weightlimit of strollers that have a place forolder children to stand in the back.

Shopping carts can tip easily.Only put a child in the designatedseat and use the safety belt. Don't letyour child sit in the basket, stand inthe cart or hang from the sides ofthe cart. An adult should push a cartwhen a child is in the seat. Seek outplaygrounds with shock-absorbingsurfaces, such as wood chips, mulch,rubber or sand. Falls on cement,packed dirt and turf are more like-ly to result in injuries. Steer yourchild to age-appropriate activities tohelp prevent falls from equipment.

Always have your child wear ahelmet while biking, inline skating,skateboarding or riding scooters.When using skates, a scooter or askateboard, your child should wearguards for the wrists, elbows andknees.

Hold your child's hand whenusing an escalator. Watch for looseclothing, shoestrings or shoes suchas flip-flops that can cause tripping.Don't let your child sit or play onan escalator. Don't use a stroller onan escalator.

Encourage your child toapproach wet, dark and paved areaswith caution in cold temperatures.Make sure your child wears shoesor boots with traction in bad weath-er. A heavy or bulky coat can pro-

vide cushioning in the event of afall. Teach your child not to runaround a swimming pool.

Your child should always weara helmet when riding a bike. Buy thehelmet when you buy the bike!Make sure your child wears a hel-met every time he or she rides. Ahelmet helps prevent head injuriesand can save your child's life.

Never let your child ride a bikein the street. Your child is too youngto ride in the street safely.

Be sure that the bike your childrides is the right size. Your childmust be able to place the balls ofboth feet on the ground when sit-ting on the seat with hands on thehandlebars. Your child's first bicy-cle should have coaster brakes.Five-year-olds are often unable touse hand brakes correctly.

Your child is in danger of beinghit by a car if he or she darts out intothe street while playing. Take yourchild to the playground or park toplay. Show your child the curb andteach him or her to always stop atthe curb and never cross the street

without a grown-up.Now is the time to teach your

child to swim. Even if your childknows how to swim, never let himor her swim alone.

Do not let your child playaround any water (lake, stream,pool, or ocean) unless an adult iswatching. NEVER let your childswim in canals or any fast-movingwater.

Teach your child to never diveinto water unless an adult haschecked the depth of the water. Andwhen on any boat, be sure yourchild is wearing a life jacket.

Household fires are a threat toyour child's life, as well as your own.Install smoke alarms in your house,and test the batteries every monthto make sure they work. Change thebatteries once a year.

Teach your child not to playwith matches or lighters, and keepmatches and lighters out of yourchild's reach. Also, do not smoke inyour home. Most fires are caused bya lit cigarette that has not been putout completely.

Car crashes are the greatestdanger to your child's life andhealth. The crushing forces to yourchild's brain and body in a collisionor sudden stop, even at low speeds,can cause injuries or death. Toprevent these injuries, correctlyUSE a car safety seat or booster seatand seat belt EVERY TIME yourchild is in the car. Your child shoulduse a car safety seat or a booster seatuntil the lap belt can be worn lowand flat on the hips and the shoul-der belt can be worn across theshoulder rather than the face orneck (usually at about 80 poundsand 4 feet 9 inches tall). The safestplace for all children to ride is theback seat. Set a good example.Make sure you and other adultsbuckle up, too.

0��#2�#�?��<

)+98�D+ :��)'98H#)�!8�7)6!� #'!@�!�6#��9�,+:&

7�,�)�A+:�9++#6�9+,)'!@$

#)+6#,:'!@#�+:#)+6#�# �)��#A9'��A9+�#�,)�,��!��� #6

,:'��'!@&�8+!H,�96,D+ :��)'98�#',�+:

�9�D�+!��!6#��9�,+:&�8+!H, #6���#,:+996:�+!�!�6#��9�,+:

Page 14: ;@3 9@8D G@E6CD¶ >:?5D - Daily Pioneer

������ ��������� ������� !� "#$

������� �+ *��� ���$�(���(� ���������������������������(�������������������������$�����

���"�������������������������� �����$������� ��������������������"��"����&

�����3����$��'���������������������� ��������"��'�����������������%� �������������������(&�'������������������&'��� ������������ ���(� ����$�(� ��(���������"� ����������������� ��������"� ����������������������&�'������������� ���������������� �������������������� ���&�'����������������������� ��������� �������"���������������"��� ����������"�������

��������������"�����&�'����� ��� ���"������������������"���������&�

���������� ������� *���(� ������������"������-"������(������������������������� ����� �������!� ������!�� ��������������������� ��������� ��&�,����� ��(� ����"����������������������� ����(������������������������"�������"�&�������������H�������������"�(�����������&�)���������������������&�)���������������� ����� ����� ������� �(��������$��!� ���������&��'���3����(�������(����#"�������������������� ����������������&�!� ������(� �� �������������� � ������������C��������!������#����$����(� ����� �������� ���� ��������������������&�

:�� ����,E������+��+ � ��� ����� �����%��"�����"�������"�������"�&8"�����������������!��"��#�$"�%�������!����������$�����45������� �������������������"������C�����7��������%���������������"������� �����"�������&��7�������������"��������������$��C���� ���������� �&��7�H��������������&�7�H�������������&��C�� �������������������C� �����������������H��� �(��������������"������"���������������&��'���H�����������(�������������������&�'����"���� ����Q+�$���������� �(��H�����������$���������&�

"����������� ���������%�B������)

��.�������������,��(+��%�����%���+�.�� ����%(���������1���(%,����������+����������������%���*��,���� �*��� �1�.���,��������*�������"C.������� *���,�1�"C���������+������(�����,�)�(�������+�%�����,��+����.����������������������� �"*������(����)���������,���)�(�������1D/��������,�

E����A��(��+�(��,��+�+�

.�.�%����?3

After the success of the shortfilm awards, critics unite forthe first Feature Film Awards

as a pan-India category to celebratethe diversity of the Indian cinema.

The awards will be a celebrationof the best of Hindi, Marathi,Gujarati, Bengali, Kannada, Tamil,Telugu and Malayalam cinema.

Anupama Chopra, chairperson,FCG said, “The FCG is the first reg-istered body of film critics in India.We are a pan-Indian, pan-language,pan-platform body. We have criticsfrom print, television, radio anddigital and our opinions reach mil-lions of people including 32 lakh on

Twitter alone. It gives us greatpleasure to announce the first

Critics Choice Film Awards tohonour and celebrate the finest tal-ent in the Indian cinema. We hopethat these awards will contribute

to setting and raising standards forfilms in the country.”

With entries coming in from allparts of the country, a panel compris-ing India’s top film critics have firstcurated and shortlisted the nominees.The Guild as a whole then voted forand felicitated the best short films

from across the country with theaim of acknowledging and appre-ciating the rising growth of theindustry as a whole.

While the short film awardswere decided based on entries byfilmmakers, the Critics’ ChoiceFilm Awards will decide on nom-inees and winners based on the-atrical releases from the year 2018.With the participation of crediblefilm critics from all over India, theawards aim to honour films basedon the art of filmmaking asopposed to mere popularity.

“We bring credibility and theteam has worked creative ele-ments around this property whichwill truly give it a premium feel.We believe CCFA can become abenchmark in the years to come,through which quality films will berecognised and the masters of thiscraft can be given their due hon-our.

The nominations will beannounced in the first week of themonth, while the ceremony willtake place on April 21.

Filmmaker Zoya Akhtar willgrace the announcement.

India or rather Indians donot cover themselves inglory when it comes to tosexual assault and crimesagainst women. Despite for-

mulating numerous women-friend-ly laws and doing away with outdat-

ed ones, the country still has a longway to go in delivering justice to

many rape victims. Criminal Justice, a crime drama

captures Aditya Sharma’s (played byVikrant Massey) journey, as one fate-ful incident completely turns his lifearound. He is ambitious but is aware ofhis middle-class roots, a boy who dri-ves his father’s cab to add to the fami-ly income. But his life turns upside downwhen during his last trip for the night,he ends up being accused of rape andbrutal murder of his passenger. Asskeletons tumble out of his closet, onebegins to wonder whether Aditya isinnocent or guilty of the terrible crime?

Vikrant apprises us that playing thecharacter of someone who has beenaccused of rape and murder took a men-tal toll on him. He says that he had toprepare “quite a lot” in comparison towhat he has done earlier. The characterrequired a lot of intensity as well as ahuge amount of research. From thenuances of Indian prisons to the life ofcriminals locked inside, “every littledetail was important.” He says, “It wastorturing, be it physically, emotionallyor mentally.”

The actor feels that one can nevereven imagine being in that position orenvision what it is like to be an accused.

“Hence, it becomes even more difficultto put yourself in that person’s shoes andbe in that mindset. I have never been tojail and have always lead a very happyand protected life.” (Touches wood). Hegoes on to add, “System jaise Aditya kotodta hai, main vaise kabhi nahi toota (Ihave never been as broken as the way thesystem breaks Aditya). There were dayswhen it made me emotionally drained,but that is what all powerful stories do,”says the actor who is going to star oppo-site Deepika Padukone in the forthcom-ing film Chhapaak.

As an artist, to be in the mental stateof the character is important for him tolive it “as when you are mentally readyfor something, your body, gestures andeverything else follows you automatical-

ly.”The show is the Indian adaptation

of the renowned BBC’s eponymously-named series, which was later adaptedinto the Emmy Award-winning HBOshow The Night of. Vikrant says that theshow is relevant and has been mould-ed to Indian preferences. “We obvious-ly knew the sensibilities of Indian audi-ence and that they differ in many ways— culturally as well as in terms of tra-ditions. I wanted Aditya to be that oneboy which every family has. The wholestructure of the show is based on theIndian Judicial System.”

When asked about what he thinksof the judicial procedures of India,Vikrant laughed and said that the topicwas very lengthy and no amount of timewould be sufficient to discuss it. “I don’tthink main iska jawab aadhe ghante mebhi de paunga. There are pros and consof everything. It is up to us how we con-tribute towards any kind of change,” hesays.

Rather than feeling apprehensivewhile working with veteran actors likePankaj Tripathi and Jackie Shroff,Vikrant feels that it’s an opportunity forhim. “There is a sense of motivation. Ihad a fan boy moment with Jackie Shroffji. It was incredible seeing him in per-son, almost like a dream come true. Istill remember when I was a kid and hewas shooting and I was one of the hun-dreds of people standing there and try-ing to get a glimpse. I never thought I’llwork with him,” says the Mirzapuractor.

(It will air on Hotstar from April 5.)

Laxmi Agarwal, whose life asan acid attack survivor hasinspired an forthcoming

Bollywood film Chhapaak, said shefound it amazing how people werefinding beauty in the ‘burns’ thatactress Deepika Padukone sportedfor the movie.

Laxmi was attacked when shewas all of 15. Over the years, shehas been vocal about her experi-ence and actively campaignsagainst acid attacks.

Last week, Deepika unveiledher first look from MeghnaGulzar’s Chhapaak, and it waswidely lauded by the film fraterni-ty.

What was Laxmi’s first reactionon seeing Deepika’s look? “I washappy to see Deepika’s first lookfrom the film. The response andthe messages I got on social mediawas overwhelming. In fact, it wasmy daughter’s birthday, and morethan messages for her, I got con-gratulatory messages about thefilm.

“I was feeling good that acelebrity has come in that look. Alot of make-up artistes changed anatural face to acid distorted faceafter that (on social media). AndI felt, ‘see, they are finding beautyin an acid-burnt face’,” said Laxmi,

who was a showstopper at the justconcluded India Runway Week.

Laxmi was on her way backhome from music class when aman, twice her age, threw acid onher for rejecting his advances. Herface and other body parts got dis-figured in the attack.

With Chhapaak, she feelshappy that Bollywood is comingout with real stories. “People areintrigued by Bollywood. A longtime ago, a film named Tezaabcame out. It spoke about beauty.Today, beauty through films isshown in a different manner andthe youth will see and learn,” shesaid.

Asked about her involvementwith the film, Laxmi who hasremained largely tight-lipped aboutit said, “I was involved with thefilm,” and was happy to share thestory of her struggle and survivalwith the makers of the film.

“I am always open about mylife because I have seen several peo-ple in my journey who are doinga lot in front, but are sufferingbehind. I feel if you are an inspi-ration for someone, then youshould come out and talk aboutthese things. Laxmi is an openbook,” she said.

M:�=�

Avengers: Endgame co-director Joe Russo saysthe Marvel universe will

introduce a LGBTQ superherovery soon.

When asked whether it istime for a LGBTQ superheroin the Marvel CinematicUniverse, Joe said, “One hun-dred per cent and you will seeone very soon.”

There has been talk that aLGBTQ superhero may findspace in the Marvel worldafter Marvel Studios presidentKevin Feige spoke about thepossibility. He had said it’s“percolating”.

Rumour mills are alsoabuzz that Angelina Jolie is intalks to star in Marvel Studios’The Eternals in what would bethe actress first venture into thesuperhero realm.

Created by Jack Kirby in1976, the story of The Eternals

is set millions of years agowhen the cosmic beings —known as the celestials —genetically experimented onhumans to create super-pow-ered individuals — known asthe eternals — along with thevillainous Deviants.

For now, the studio is setto release Avengers: Endgame,starring Robert Downey Jr.,Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evansand Scarlett Johansson. It willrelease in India on April 26 inEnglish, Hindi, Tamil andTelugu.

The film, directed by Joeand Anthony Russo, is a con-tinuation of Avengers: InfinityWar, which left Marvel fans inshock with the failure of thesuperheroes against thesupervillain Thanos.

Joe is in India to promotethe film.

M:�=�

������E'C:�!,��##6D$�(���� ���������������"�������"������������������������� ���D #)' #)�:� ����������"�������������'������"���� �#��������������������������

&#'$�(�"���"�)

Q+!6���!�!6E6:6E6!�6!E'#'+!

7)�,�',�'#�9'C6�,+*6���� #68�+A:��6&�)6!�6$�',*6�+6#�6E6!

+:6�8'AA'� 9,�,+�9�D�,)6

�)�:��,6:��!8�� ,D+ :#69A�'!�,)�,�6:#+!J#�#)+6#J

���7���#��7�������(���3��E��#�������

��8.���-�� �.����-����.����������������������"�������9�F'��@�:7�9 �������������J���������������*� �(���������"��(������� ���������

�'��6����93�������7>7�%���.�������.� 5�����.�����.����� �3��5��-���.����-4����.��-� �3�8 �.���������.8������-

Page 15: ;@3 9@8D G@E6CD¶ >:?5D - Daily Pioneer

������ ��������� ������� !� "#$.�.�%��� %� &'�?6

@� ����6�����������������������������:�3#�����:������J���� ���%��������$���

"���������&��#����'�����(������������������������"������������������������������������������������ �����&� �����,� ���� �/4������//�������?���������@� ����6�����$�/?�����"�����������$�!�(A�������� ���&

����#��������������"�

���������6� �����#������$��������%�������������"������(����� ������������������������ ����'������������������� ����#�):���$��A�)"����$:���C"���$�A�!#�"��$������������(&������,� ���� �/=������//������5������������#������ ���������������� �����)��� .�#��&

,������������������������������������� ���'���$������������������ $������ �$��%��������������&�(����$����'�����8�����,������$������������������������������������� ���������������"�����������$�����������"������������� ����� ��������������������$���%������$�����$������������&�����>������(������������ �0����1�����C������"�����"�&

����)��������*������$���������������������������������*���� ��(����$��������%������������C���������������

����/2�������"����� �����'���������$����������������C��������������������/22=�������������� ������" ���������"����3��&���������� �0����/B������//�������>������������@� ���$�C��� ��������� �%&

F� �#���

Amidst a range of artworks at theSaffron Sale, one painting,which was the cynosure of allviewers and art aficionados, wasfrom the Income Tax depart-

ment, Lot 13 — Nirav Modi’s Raja RaviVarma. The 1881 oil on canvas represent-ed history, legend and the royal lineage ofthe Maharaja of Travancore.

Replete with tropical elements, royalbodyguards standing in knee-deep waterwith a houseboat, the scene was epic. Therare oil painting illustrated the welcomingof the third Duke of Buckingham andChandos, Richard Temple-Grenville, onhis official visit to Trivandrum, a Princelystate in southern India in 1880.

Temple-Grenville was the GovernorGeneral of Madras (1875-1880). In the art-work, Visakham Thirunal, the youngerbrother of the Maharaja Ayilyom Thirunalof Travancore, is welcoming the Duke, whois accompanied by his aide-de-camp and afew British army officers. Raja Ravi Varmawas invited to document this historicalevent, and to paint “the moment whenBuckingham alighted from the splendidbarge, which must have undoubtedlybrought him through the waterways ofKerala,” noted the sale.

The Maharaja is seen standing behindhis brother in the building which bears theimage of a conch shell, the symbol of thestate of Travancore, as well as a welcomingbanner for the Duke. It is likely that the cer-emony depicted in the present lot took placeat the Vallakadavu Boathouse, which wasbuilt in the 1820s and served as an impor-tant waterway hub for travel and cargo activ-ity during the Travancore era. “Historicalrecords reveal that the boattupura, as it isknown to the locales, was used by the state-ly barges of the Travancore kings. The royalparties which went picnicking in the VeliLake used to set sail from the boathouse. Thepriests, scholars and nobility who used tocome to Thiruvananthapuram from farand near, used to alight here,” wrote TNandkumar in 2004.

According to Erwin Neumayer andChristine Schelberger, during the Duke’s visitto Travancore, he was eager to meet RaviVarma, a fact that made the Maharaja jeal-ous. This visit ultimately turned out to bedisastrous for the painter. “When the Dukemet Ravi Varma in the presence of the king,he asked him to sit with them, which,according to the custom of the land wasunthinkable. Ravi Varma declined to sit inthe presence of the king and the three, thegovernor, the king, and the painter, remainedstanding while talking. Ravi Varma knewthat he was now out of favour with the kingand left Trivandrum never to come back

during the lifetime of the king.” (Erwin Neumayerand Christine Schelberger eds., Raja Ravi Varma,Portrait of an Artist: The Diary of C Raja RajaVarma, New Delhi: Oxford University Press,2005, p. 300)

Upon completion, the present lot was giftedto the Duke as a token of appreciation. After hisdeath, the painting passed on to his eldest daugh-ter Baroness Kinloss. In the 1920s, it changed handsand became a part of Castle House, Buckingham,the offices of Buckinghamshire County Counciland remained there until 1974, when a private col-lector acquired it.The scene in all its perfection itsintricate details and the allure of the cultural fab-ric of those times created a once in a lifetimepanorama of panache and royal regalia.

She visited India for the firsttime in 2017 and ever since

she has loved the country and itspeople. “I knew that I willreturn,” said Australian SopranoDeborah Cheetham, as shemarked the closing ceremony ofthe six-month long AustraliaFest in India recently.

The lyric soprano said thateven though her visits to thecountry have been limited,“Indian music and art have beenan important part of music andfashion for most of my life. Nowthat I have visited the source, Iunderstand better why Indiansknow and love their culture andare attentive to their craft.”

There are always certain sto-ries and narratives etched deepin the songs that opera singersperform. Talking about the onethat Cheetham narrated at thefestival, she said that it is Songsof Belonging, which narrated“my journey of discovering my

identity as a Yorta Yorta orJotijota (indigenous Australianpeople who have traditionallyinhabited the area surroundingthe junction of the Goulburn andMurray Rivers in present-daynorth-eastern Victoria andsouthern New South Wales)woman.”

She believes that such eventsinitiate a cultural dialoguebetween two nations as “theyhelp us understand each other ona much deeper level.”

Recalling one of her pastexperiences in India, she said thatshe plans to expand the art in thecountry. “Whilst in Mumbai, wevisited a school at the DarvaiTransition Camp. Although wehave no plans to open a schoolhere, I plan to stay in touch withthe children who we met in orderto mentor them,” said she.

Having performed acrossthe world, she talked about howshe has explored different kindsof audience and music practices.“There are fundamental truthswhich bind humanity together.The desire to understand andrealise that you belong to theworld is a universal theme and soI find this recital has resonatedwell with the audience. Also

there is so much aboutAustralia which is not fullyunderstood especially theshared history since coloni-sation and the effect it hadon the AboriginalNations.”

Talking about theevolution of the indus-try, she said, “It is trueto say that the digitalage has changed the

way people connect tomusic thus open-

ing up manynew pathways.There is instantgratificationeverywhere.However Iknow there isstill a place

when you areseated in a the-

atre and thehouse lights are

switched offand you wait

in breathlessanticipation for themusic to be playedlive.”

Recently a daily quoted: ‘If there’s afemale equivalent of Ustad ZakirHussain, it’s Anuradha Pal.’ While

the percussionist feels that the two cannever be compared as he is “my guru”, sheis much more — an inspiration, a fight-er, a writer as well as a trend-setter.

Even though her journey of morethan 40 years in the industry has beenrewarding, she says, it has been challeng-ing as well. Coming from a non-musicaland male-dominated background, Palstruggled to find her way through therestrictions and challenges the societyimposes on a woman, to become the firstprofessional female tabla virtuoso in theworld. “I had to be really at the top of thegame to prove my niche and have aunique set of offerings that would makean impact. I had to train myself very hardand practice for eight to 10 hours eachday to reach the level of the best musi-cians. I had to make sure that my workdoes the talking since I didn’t have anyGodfather. Neither did I take any exter-nal help,” she says.

She explains why she has never cho-sen to stop. From being featured in the

Limca Book of Records, to receiving anumber of national and internationalaccolades like the Excellence Awardfrom the government of Canada, FirstLadies award from the President ofIndia, Women Achiever’s Award andmany more. She says, “I started receiv-ing awards when I was 10-years-old. Withevery award that I brought home, my par-ents told me ‘Very good, but you have towork harder.’ Honestly, their attitudehelped me reach out for more. I neededto do more for excellence in the field.”

The legend, who has performed inthe biggest international music festivalsas both the youngest and the mostsenior musician, had begun theAnuradha Pal in Tabla Jugalbandi withHerself, a series of live events across thecountry, where she played solo and nar-rated interactive stories through innov-ative rhythmic dialogues.

The world of classical instruments,especially that of tabla, has been domi-nated by men from the beginning. Thiswas one thing she has aimed at chang-ing ever since she began playing the per-cussion instrument. She formed the all-

woman ensemble Stree Shakti, the first-of-its-kind in an era when there werehardly any women’s music groups. Whatalso made it unique was that it combinedboth Hindustani and Carnatic styles.“When music is universal, its creatorscannot be specific to one gender. WhenI started performing at the age of 10, Istarted encountering a lot of opposition,most of which was on account of my gen-der. I don’t give up easily. I was studyingscience and until then I hadn’t decidedthat I will dedicate myself to music andtabla,” she says and adds that this was thetime when she felt that there would bemany other women who must have feltthe same way.

Creating a platform for them wasimportant. She says, “I formed StreeShakti to give strength to women andchange the society’s perception that theycan’t do things other than what they aresupposed to. I wanted the band to be dif-ferent and develop as a community. It’salso special since there is not even a bandof men that has attempted to combine somany different styles of music —Hindustani, Carnatic, vocal and percus-

sion — together. It is a meeting of manydifferent souls and streams.”

Pal says that she was determined tomake it something different, rather thanjust women-centric. “It had to be some-thing beyond a singular aspect. It had tobe powerful and make a statement thatinspires other women too. Even thoughmany all-woman bands have come uptoday, this band created a revolution 23years ago as it was a concept, complete-ly unheard of. It was important to makepeople understand that women have a lotof potential that we don’t realise,” says thetrend blazer.

The ambassador of the Beti Bachao,Beti Padhao Yojana recently launchedand composed the Anthem for NaariShakti campaign in India. “The idea ofthe lyrics for the anthem birthed whenwe (Stree Shakti team) were on our con-cept tour across Europe celebrating our21st anniversary. I wanted to documentthis journey of resilience and power thatwomen have become over time. I alsowanted to give a voice to those who need-ed one,” she says.

Pal has been exposed to writing aswell since her mother was a writer. Andit was one of her Hindi poems or prosethat inspired the lyrics, which go like...“Khud ko tu pehchaan de khuddari kochoom ke/ Padh kar apni pehchaan bana,stree shakti ki misaal de.” (Give yourselfan identity by becoming self reliant/Educate yourself and become a symbolfor woman power.)

The anthem, she says, calls out theevils in the society against women, be itdowry, sati, or female foeticide andnumerous other acts of monstrosity.“It’s a fight against all the acts of injus-tice against women, and an initiative toshow solidarity towards making India asuperpower of women,” she adds.

�"���� ������������86*+:�)��)66,)��� ���D #)' #)�:� �����������"����� ��������(����������������� ������

�����������/�������/

)������$� ������������ �����"��:����:�E'�E�:� ����������������������/55/��� ����������(����������"�������� �������� �&�*�� � !�':

0 6���:=06�#��,:/6���

:6�96,6�7',)�,:+�'��9�6966!,#$:+D�9�*+8D@ �:8#�#,�!8'!@�'!�C!66�866��7�,6:�7',)���)+ #6*+�,$�,)6

#�6!6�'!�,)6����'!,'!@�'99 #,:�,68�,)6769�+'!@�+A�,)6�,)':8�8 C6�+A

* �C'!@)���!8��)�!8+#$�:'�)�:8,6�96�@:6!E'996$�+!�)'#�+AA'�'�9

E'#',�,+�,:'E�!8:

����/ ���" � ����"����������! :�8)����9��� ���)�)�C ',,�9�����(�����"�������"������� $��������������������������������������������&�#����"���������"�����������"�� ���������������������������� ����� �� ��������� �����

GF��,��,���������������,���"�*���� ��� �%(�����,��)�(�������������%���� ���*�

�,���*����,�.�+�%����.�����1�"�2������,�����������,��(��(���%�����

�������������������,�2

(�������� &�"���# ����

���"�������%�������������"�������������������" ��"��$����"�����(�������#������C��$#"������8��$#"��������" $#(���� ���� �����������C���&����� ���� �B�����/=�������>������8��9� ��C� ��������$:�������*�����$41�A���������:��&

Page 16: ;@3 9@8D G@E6CD¶ >:?5D - Daily Pioneer

������ ��������� ������� !� "#$

*@

A�"(# '63 ��,���>>�� ���F#�!G>�$0��# 7� ���� ��������FF$#0G6# ?93D# �=6B .������3���

7��(����������������(�� ������������&�'��(��(���������� �������������,B=��(��(� ���(� N�8"/E-� !�#�/�

���/�A�

���� �)6!!�'�

Veteran spinner Imran Tahirdescribed Chennai Super Kings

skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni as"unreal", saying even without talkingmuch he has the capability to lift theteam up.

"The way he carries himself isjust unreal. He won't say much buthe knows how to lift the team up. Heis a great leader and a great humanbeing," Tahir said at the post-matchpress conference after Chennai beatRajasthan by 8 runs on Sunday.

The South African also creditedDhoni for living up to his reputation

of being one the best finishers in theworld and a good tactician.

"You know Dhoni plays reallywell in these situations because like(Dwayne) Bravo he's done this somany times, and that's why he'scalled Mr Cool. He works hard onhis game plan. Even in practice ses-sions, he helps his team-mates. Andwe respect that.

"I think as a bowling group wedid really well. Even while batting,Mahi bhai played unbelievably welland set the tone for us. I'm just real-ly happy with whatever we did as ateam," he told reporters after thematch.

���� �)6!!�'

Rajasthan Royals all-rounder Ben Stokes has saidthat his team can't afford to lose another game

after suffering three consecutive defeats in the IPL.Stokes said there is no point in looking back and

focus on the upcoming games because if they losethe next two, bouncing back could be beyond Royals'reach.

"Our first three games we got ourselves into areal good position to win All three, and we know itis just (about) winning those crucial moments. (Thisgame) it was the last over and unfortunately wecouldn't cross the line," Stokes said at the post-matchpress conference after the eight-run loss.

"There isalways beenone point inthe threegames wherewe haven'tbeen a betterteam. Losingthe first threegames youp r o b a b l ywould say wecan't (take pos-itives), but weare trying toand there is nopoint in look-i n gback...Becauseif we lose 4-5,it's going to bereally tough tocome backfrom that," hesaid.

Stokes alsohailed CSK

captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni saying there was alot to learn from him. Dhoni smashed an unbeaten75 to bail his team out of trouble from 27 for three.

"Hindsight is a wonderful thing, if you look backat it like that. He just takes it deep as he possibly can.He's a great person to learn from and watch how hegoes about his innings whether it's setting a total orchasing a total.

"Sometimes you got to hold your hand up andsay the best players in the world can do that. He cer-tainly showed that tonight."

Paying tribute to Dhoni's finishing skills, theEnglishman said he is one of the greatest finishersto have graced the game and the Royals tried toattack him but he got reprieves which could havebeen a turning point.

"Especially when he comes in early, every teamknows what he's going to try and do to start withand we tried to attack him. Getting him out was ourmain objective. There was a dropped catch whichyou can't blame anyone for — that happens — andthe ball hitting the stumps and the bails not com-ing off."

���� ��'� :

Rajasthan Royals and RoyalChallengers Bengaluru, the only

two teams yet to win a game in the2019 IPL, will be desperate tooutdo each other in a clash of strug-glers at the Sawai Man SinghStadium here on Tuesday.

Both teams have been morethan disappointing thus far in theIPL and need a win to revive theirrespective campaigns.

Royals have failed to tighten thescrews when it mattered most. Inthe all three matches, they were ina good position but could not grabthe moments, losing to Kings XIPunjab, Sunrisers Hyderabad andChennai Super Kings respectively.

In Chennai on Sunday, Royalshad CSK reeling at 27 for threebefore skipper M S Dhoni smashedan unbeaten 75 off 46 balls to bailthe hosts out of trouble and even-tually win the game by eight runs.

Royals, who boast of star play-ers such as Steve Smith and BenStokes, have failed to live up to theexpectations.

In the first match against KingsXI Punjab, Royals' bowlers allowedthe visitors to some vital runs indeath overs and later the batsmendisappointed after being put on vic-tory course by Rahane and JosButtler.

The same story has as battingand bowling units have failed toperform in tandem.

The likes of Sanju Samson,who had hit first ton of this IPL,Buttler and Rahane have beengood. Rahul Tripathi also lookedimpressive during his 39 againstCSK but Smith and Stokes are yetto set the tournament on fire.

The hosts face an equally hun-

gry outfit in RCB, who too are look-ing to redeem themselves. Theirskipper Virat Kohli had concededthat the defeat against SunrisersHyderabad on Sunday afternoonwas "one of their worst losses".

"We just need our players to putup a better challenge up front.There are still 11 games to go. Thepitch will be nice in Jaipur againstthe Royals. We need to bring our A-game, like we did against Mumbaiand play with that kind of intensi-ty," said Kohli after RCB's third lossin a row.

The visitors certainly have theresources in their ranks to beat

Royals.RCB have a destructive bat-ting order comprising Kohli, AB deVilliers, Parthiv Patel, Moeen Aliand Shimron Hetmyer, yet theirbatting failed miserably in two outof the three games.

Both teams will also have todeal with the soaring heat in the thePink City with temperatures near-ing 40 degrees celsius.

���� +)�9'

Chris Gayle's absenceat the top of the orderdid have an impact as

Kings XI Punjab could onlymanage a par-score of 166for 9 against Delhi Capitalsin an IPL encounter here onMonday.

With the 'UniverseBoss' ruled out due to backinjury (lat strain), KXIPbatsmen despite being goodat times could never reallytake the Delhi bowlingapart.

Save David Miller (43off 30 balls) and SarfarazKhan (39 off 29 balls), otherbatsmen didn't have a goodday against the trio of ChrisMorris *(3/30), KagisoRabada (2/32) and youngSandeep Lamichhane (2/27in 4 overs).

Morris was the pick ofthe bowlers, removingKXIP's last-match hero KLRahul (15) with aninswinger as he playedacross the line.

Sam Curran (20, 10balls) promoted up theorder did hit a couple oflusty blows but Lamichhane

got him with a flipper.Mayank Agarwal went for anon-existent single andcouldn't beat ShikarDhawan's direct throw atthe non-striker's end.

Miller and Sarfarazhowever didn't get boggeddown as they added 62 in6.4 overs carrying out a

recovery process from 58for three.

While Miller attackedLamichhane hitting himfor a six over long-on,Sarfaraz played his nowpatent "closed eyes scoopshot" over keeper's head.

But lamicchhane hadthe last laugh as he edged

one to Rishabh Pantbehind the stumps whileMiller offer the Capitalsskipper an easy skier tryingto hit Morris out of thepark.

In the end, MadeepSingh (29 no off 21 balls)took the team past 160-runmark.

1 ���� D�� ������:�3������� :��� �� ������:��� ���� �������*���� �������4=���"����������"��:�3�������:��� �������:��� ��� ������� *���� ���� ��� /2�"������*���� ���&����������������:���*�����$�����/?������ ��� /1>� ���$� ��� �����"������ � ����� ��� ������� ��'�9&� )�� ���� ���� ��"�� ���:��� ���� �������*���� ���� ������ ����������������� ������3"����"��,(�����B=��������&�������� ������(���� ����/05� (������� ��� //5� �������� ��//2� �������$� ����� 3"��� �(�(������� ����������/=��� '�������>B����( �������� ��������/1=� (������� ��� ,(�����B=�������& &��,�)&��-8 �,

� ��� �)6!!�'

Coming in to bat at 27/3, thestage was set for a typical

MS Dhoni innings at theChepauk Stadium and theCSK skipper did not disap-point as he hit a patient 75 off46 balls to help the team puton 175 in their 20 overs. Theend result was a 8-run win forthe lions in their den.

Speaking after the gameon Sunday, the 'Man of theMatch' Dhoni once againlooked at the team, ratherthan focusing on his owninnings. Dhoni also addedthat he kept the dew in mindwhile planning his innings.Coming in, Dhoni said his firstthought was to stop the fall ofwickets and build a partner-ship.

"We wanted to get a part-nership going — that wasneeded. We knew there wassome dew on the field. Weknew it would get easier as thegame progresses. We bat quitedeep until 9 (MitchellSantner). We could acceleratein the last few overs, and wewanted to get a partnershipgoing at that time," he said.

Commenting on givingSantner a go against theRajasthan Royals, Dhoni said:"We have a stable XI and therewere a lot less left-handers inthe opposition, so we gaveMitch Santner a go. It isn't thatimportant to make changes ifnot necessary. As the tourna-ment progresses everyone willget more chances."

Dwayne Bravo might haveconceded 19 runs from the18th over of the RR innings,but Dhoni still showed faith inthe West Indian all-rounderand handed him the ball withthe team needing 12 off thelast over. Dhoni said that withevery game the bowlers willonly get better at execution.

"As the tournament pro-gresses, bowlers start execut-ing their plans much better.Initially I thought we wouldlook at how the fast bowlerswould bowl so we could bringin the spinners. Jadeja andSantner found it hard to gripthe ball. Irrespective of theresults, it is important to cutthe boundaries and it is diffi-cult for the fast bowlers to exe-cute. It's better to keep hittingthe same mark," he explained.

���� 8 *�'�India retained the ICC Test

Championship Mace and won thepurse of $ 1 million for a third yearrunning after a memorable seasonthat saw them winning their maid-en series in Australia.

India finished at the top of theICC Test team rankings on the cut-off date of April 1 while New Zealandhave ensured second place, the worldbody said in a statement on Monday.

"Retaining the ICC TestChampionship Mace once again issomething we are all really proud of.Our team has been doing well acrossformats but it gives us extra pleasureto come out on top of the Test rank-ings," India captain Virat Kohli saidreiterating his love for Test cricket.

"We all know of the importanceof Test cricket and of how only thebest can prosper in the format," headded.

A top place finish was never indoubt for India, while New Zealand'sconsistent performances over thepast year saw them climb from thirdposition, needing them to only avoidlosing the home series againstBangladesh last month to finish atthe same position.

The Kane Williamson-led side,who also had the satisfaction of see-ing their captain get the ICC Spiritof Cricket award for 2018, earned $500,000 after finishing with 108points, eight behind India.

South Africa, who had finishedsecond the previous two times, willnow get a prize money of $ 200,000for finishing third with 105 pointswhile Australia who edged outEngalnd on decimal points at 104points bag $100,000.

"Our team has a lot of depth andI am sure this will stand us in goodstead once the ICC World Test

Championship commences later thisyear. That is again something we arereally looking forward to as it addsmore context to Test match cricket,"Kohli said.

New Zealand captain KaneWilliamson said it is an "awesome"achievement for his side to finish sec-ond in the ICC Test Team Rankings

"...As a team we should be veryproud. It's come off the back of a lotof hard work and perseverance; notjust by the eleven guys on the field,but the entire squad and supportstaff.

"It's been especially pleasing tosee the consistency we've shown inthe longest form of the game over adecent period of time."

Nine Test nations will competeacross 27 series and 71 Test match-es to reach the World TestChampionship Final in 2021 wherethe champions will be crowned.

���� 8 *�'�

Media professional Manu Sawhney onMonday took charge as Chief Executive

of the InternationalCricket Council and willwork alongside DaveRichardson, who will stepdown after the WorldCup in July.

Former ESPN StarSports MD Sawhney hasalready been workingalongside outgoing ChiefExecutive Richardson forthe last six weeks to ensure a smooth transi-tion.

Richardson will remain with the ICC untilJuly as originally planned to oversee the deliv-ery of the World Cup in the United Kingdom.Sawhney was appointed in January.

"I am absolutely delighted to be taking overthe reins from David, who has steered the sportso capably over the last seven years. I am excit-ed by the opportunities ahead and I am look-ing forward to working in partnership with ourMembers, partners and staff to ambitiouslyaccelerate the global growth of the game," saidSawhney.

Live on Star Sports 1& 2

��:�8�

����� �'�

, 6#8�D O 5S==��

HEADTO

HEAD� '/ *

��+

����������!����� ������������"��&����,����� ��������*@@,+���� ������ ,��� ����������������������������H� ����"��(��������"�� ���%�������CF'��3"����������4>������������� �1������$�(�� �� �����������(������

%����&�� ������/��������$���� ���2�����

,"��������$��)�� �����������!�������� !�,!�����������!������������%�� )��������!��!����)�������� �������+��!������������� �:�/ )��!����������

:�����0�!��������!�������� !�,!����)������)�������� ���%#� ����� �������+��!�� ��

,!�������������)������9�0�!��

$��������3� 2.�����-���.����-� 5D&H�5���-: #.���-

7'�7������7'���#���0#17�93���17���%����7'����36

��"!���������)!�� ���:����!����6A�)���$�