JOURNALISM OF COURAGE SINCE 1932

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JOURNALISM OF COURAGE MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2020, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES SINCE 1932 `6.00 (`8 &, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

OCTOBER DATA FOR GOODS AND SERVICES TAX AN EXPRESSINVESTIGATION PART TWO Rs1.05lakhcr:GSTcollections Many ways to dupe apoorstudent: steal IDs, lie about source of funds, upagain,nowat8-monthhigh pocket most of it —all officially

But overall, datashowy-o-y20.2% declineduring Apr-Oct ED

and reconciliation forbusinesses Festival THE ENSECONOMICBUREAU for2019-20, were thekey factors PLAIN E ● boost EX SCHOLARSHIP NEWDELHI,NOVEMBER1 EXPERT forthe rise in revenues under the EXPLAINS indirect taxregime. SCAM CONTINUINGTOpostayear-on- In October 2019,GST rev- THE UPTICKinOctober is year increase forthe second Nilesh Shah enues had contracted by 5.29 per due to the pick-up in eco- CM month in arow,gross Goods and FromTheIndianExpresspanel cent to Rs 95,380crore,marking nomic activity forthe fes- ABHISHEKANGAD Services Tax(GST) collections ofspecialists,exclusiveinsight the thirdinstance of acontrac- tivalseason, the unlock- RANCHI,DHANBAD,LATEHAR, rose 10.2 per cent to an eight- tion since the July2017rollout of down and aSeptember RAMGARH,LOHARDAGA, orders probe: month high of Rs 1.05 lakh crore the GSTregime. deadline forannual rec- SAHIBGANJ,NOVEMBER1 in October,for sales in September. BEGINNINGSOF The pick-up in gross GSTrev- onciliation of inputtax ‘action soon’ An uptickineconomic activ- enues in October reflected the9 credit forbusinesses. INSIDE THEIR unplasteredtwo- ity with the easing of Covid re- RECOVERY per cent growth in revenues Collections afterNovem- room house in the dense strictions, along with alow base EXPLAINED from importofgoodsand 11 per berwill indicatewhether Behratoli area of Ranchi, Rashid Jharkhand CM Hemant Sorenholds acopyofThe Indian Express ABHISHEKANGAD effect and aSeptember 30 dead- PAGE 13 cent growth in revenues from the trend is sustainable. Ansari, amason, and his wife reportatapress conference in Dumka on Sunday. Express RANCHI,NOVEMBER1 line forclaiming input taxcredit CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Salma Khatun, arebadlyshaken. Theyhavejustcome to know TAKINGNOTEofanongoing in- from this reporterthat the “char- obtained,account vestigation by The Indian Express, ity moneyfromSaudi Arabia”, of whichhas revealedseveral cases Rs 10,700 eachthat came into of fraudbyanexusof middlemen, THE EDITORIAL PAGE their accounts, waspartofa hijacked, andhostel faked school staff, and state govern- Hizb commander in Valley killed in statewide scamtargeting ana- mentemployees to illegallydivert tional scholarship scheme formi- funds from aCentral scholarship OFFICESATWAR nority school students. ABHISHEKANGAD forminoritystudentsinthe state, gunbattle, police call it big success BY UPENDRA BAXI And that theyare amongsev- RANCHI,DHANBAD,LATEHAR, Jharkhand PAGE 10 eral unsuspecting victims de- RAMGARH,LOHARDAGA, Hemant Soren on Sundayor- fraudedbyanexus of middle- SAHIBGANJ,NOVEMBER1 deredaprobeintothe “big scam”. BASHAARATMASOOD men, bank staff, school Speaking to reporters in SRINAGAR,NOVEMBER1 authorities, and stategovern- FROM 102beneficiaries in a Dumka,Soren said: “Wehavejust ment employees to siphon off school that neverappliedfor got to know aboutthe scam and IN Amajor setbacktothe Hizbul BUSINESSASUSUAL moneyfromthe Pre-Matric benefitstostudentswhose reli- The in-charge at the very soon,there will be action.” Mujahideen, the militant outfit’s Scholarship initiative underthe gion waschanged in the records, AssemblyofGod Church Speaking to The Indian Express operations chief in the Valley BY UNNY Union MinistryofMinority an investigation by TheIndian School in Ranchi has been later,Soren referredto the inves- waskilledinagunfight with a Affairs. Express has revealed multiple in- suspended. Abhishek Angad tigation, whichreportedon alet- team of J&K Police and paramil- This is justone of their meth- stances of fraudand corruption tersent in July2019bythe Centre itaryforces at Rangrethonthe ods. An investigation by The across Jharkhand in the distribu- to the then Jharkhand Chief outskirts of Srinagar on Sunday. Indian Express has foundschools tion of pre-matric scholarships Hereisthe second setofcases: Secretarywarning of “repeated Saif-ul-Islam Mir alias Dr fudging data, even changing the for2019-20sanctionedbythe SARFARAZ DEVELOPMENT attempts to subvert” the National Saifullah had takenoverasthe religion of studentstoshow Union MinistryofMinority ACADEMY MISSION HIGH Scholarship Portal.“The(current) chief of the Hizb in the Valleyaf- CONTINUEDONPAGE9 Affairs through the National SCHOOL, KURGI, RANCHI: Chief Secretaryhas takencog- terthe killing of Riyaz Naikoo in Near the encounter siteinSrinagar Sunday. Shuaib Masoodi Scholarship Portal (NSP). Records show that Rohit Kujjur,a nizance of the matter.Itseems Maythisyear,and wasone of the Over thelastmonth, this Class 10 student, receivedRs the matter wasflagged lastyear mostwanted militantsin TOMORROW: newspaper tracked15schools 10,700 in his JharkhandState and we will gettothe bottom of Kashmir. donedoff the Rangreth neigh- team of the Army’s 53 Rashtriya SCAMSLIPPED across six districtsinthe state and Cooperative Bank account for it,” he said. Early on Sundaymorning, bourhood afterspecific inputs Rifles also joinedthe operation UNDER RADAR spoketoover30students,par- hostelstudents.“Ihad givenmy Theinvestigationalsopointed police and Central ReservePolice about thepresence of the mili- subsequently, police said. DESPITE RED FLAGS entsand school authorities to in- fingerprintsand Aadhaar details to afailureinseveral layers of Force(CRPF) personnel cor- tant commander in the area. A CONTINUEDONPAGE2 vestigatethe listofbeneficiaries. CONTINUEDONPAGE9 CONTINUEDONPAGE9 Afterrape, a Other side of APMC repeal: Bihar woman with self-respect farmers want mandis, ‘like Punjab’

willdie: Cong HARISHDAMODARAN P6 KHAGARIA,BEGUSARAI, chief in Kerala NOVEMBER1

IN 2006,’sgovern- SHAJUPHILIP ment repealed Bihar’s Agricultu- , ralProduce Market Committee THEEXPRESS NOVEMBER1 (APMC) Actallowing crops to be freelytradedoutside the state’s INTERVIEW THE PRESIDENT of the Kerala regulated mandis. unit of the Congress on Sunday But 14 years on —when the ‘TEJASHWI TUTORED... calledawomanwho had ac- NarendraModigovernment at Aggregator Saroj Kumar and NO CHANGE IN RJD’S cusedseveral leadersand min- the Centrehas enacted alaw dis- farmer Gaurav Kumar (left) CHARACTER’ isters of the previous Congress- mantlingthe monopoly of APMC both say mandis would help JPNADDA ledUDF government of raping mandis all overIndiaand Nitish them. Harish Damodaran BJP PRESIDENT her,a“prostitute” –but back- CONTINUEDONPAGE2 trackedsoon afterand apolo- gisedatthe same publicevent. Addressing an Opposition protestmeeting againsttheCPM- US vote tomorrow, surge in gun ledLDF government, Kerala PCC chief MullappallyRamachandran said: “TheChief Ministershould purchases amid fears of violence notthink that he canescape by fielding aprostitutetotell stories is no wayIcouldhavesaved my againstUDF leaders. Kerala is KARISHMAMEHROTRA lifethatday if theyhad pulled tired of hearing this. NEWYORKCITY,NOVEMBER1 the guns on me," says Benson, a “That is awoman whohad Black himself, adding, "I feel that lamentedthat she wasraped RACE FOR ARTHUR BENSON calls himself my hand wasforced.” across the state. One can under- a“reluctant gun owner”. A34- Arising number of Americans stand if awoman says shehas THE WHITE year-old from Pennsylvania, aredoing the same, buying guns been rapedonce. If she’s one HOUSE Benson had planned aBlack forthe firsttime, in themidst of with self respect, she will die, LivesMatter protestthissum- widespread protests,apolarised otherwise our society has the mer.The 50 peoplewho showed countryand apandemic, all of circumstances to ensureitdoes- EXPRESS up on his side were matchedby whichhaveadded to the tension n’t happen again...” almost300 counter-protesters leading up to the November 3 Ramachandran wasreferring INTHEUS carrying Trumpflags and hold- presidential election. CONTINUEDONPAGE2 inglarge automatic rifles. “There CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Multiple peaks on road ahead: experts’ Covid insightinbook

PAGE 1 Lahariya, three of ’s leading ANCHOR healthcareexperts,inaforth- coming booktitled Till We Win: India's Fight Against Covid-19 Pandemic (publishedbyPenguin KAUNAINSHERIFFM RandomHouseIndia). NEWDELHI,NOVEMBER1 Dr Guleria,the AIIMS Director, isthecountry’stoppulmonologist ■ Reduction in death ratesisa and amember of the govern- ‘Problem deeper good sign but notlinkedtopeak- ment’s Covid-19 task force. Dr ing of cases, and India might see Preparingfor after-effectsis Kangisaworldrenownedvaccine than thisgovt... rot “multiple peaks”. thenextstage:Guleria. Express and infectious diseaseresearcher, over time... (But) ■ Chances of Covid-19re-infec- andDrLahariyaisaleadingpublic MrsGandhi had tion areveryrareand in such policy and health systems expert. someshame’ cases an individual onlydevel- These aresomeofthe an- “This is aunique journeythat ARUN SHOURIE ops mild symptoms. swers to contentious questions all of us have gone through. FORMER UNION MINISTER, ■ Current evidence shows that revolving around the coronavirus None of us wasfully prepared ECONOMIST, JOURNALIST, aCovid-19pre-symptomatic pandemic being offeredbyDr either at the individual levelor AUTHOR AND SOCIAL ACTIVIST casecan be as infectious as aper- Randeep Guleria, Dr Gagandeep as acountry. PAGE 12 son with full-fledged symptoms. Kang and Dr Chandrakant CONTINUEDONPAGE2

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Fugitive of law is FROMPAGEONE fugitive of society: Hizb commander pened, that can be answered (only at)the endofthe pandemic.” They Bengal governor As the security personnel also statethat it's notnecessary closedinonthe house, the mili- Rs 1.05 lakh cr: GST collections that the places wherecases and tant openedindiscriminatefire. In deathshavegone down arethose takesadig at Gurung the resulting gunfight, Mir was whichhavealready reachedthe killed. peak. “This is abig success forpolice up again,now at 8-month high On pre-symptomatic patients, EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE and security forces,” Inspector the bookraises ared flag, saying KOLKATA,NOVEMBER1 General of Police (IGP)Kashmir evidence from India suggests they VijayKumarsaid. “Wehavecap- domestictransactions, including businesses in September.” November as well.” StateGST;Rs52,540 crore canbeasinfectious. “A small pro- DAYS AFTER GJMleaderBimal Gurung made hisfirst tured alive asuspect from the spot, the importofservices. Expertssaid GSTrevenues Sequentially, GSTrevenue in Integrated GST, including Rs portion,maybe aroundone in publicappearanceinthreeyearsandvowedhissupport and we arequestioning him”. Annual reconciliationsbefore areexpectedtorise in November October recordeda10.1per cent 23,375 crorecollected on import every10cases,would be pre- to the TMC, Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday Mir,acloseaide of Naikoo, the September 30 deadline are as well but it needs to be seen if increase from Rs 95,480 crorecol- of goods; and,Rs 8,011 croreCess, symptomatic or (have a) mild dis- said “a fugitive of lawisafugitiveofsociety”. took over as the Hizb’s operational also likelytohaveled to an in- the uptrend will sustain beyond lectedinSeptember.Cumulatively, including Rs 932 croreonimport ease. The keypoint is people can In 2017,Gurung wasbooked undermurdercharge chief afterhis killingonMay 7. Mir, crease in the filing of returns in the festivemonth. the GSTrevenues have recordeda of goods, the statement said. infect others (when) pre-sympto- and other IPC sections, and the stringent Unlawful who belonged to Malangpora vil- September as companies would Pratik Jain, Partner &Leader, year-on-year20.2percentdecline The government settledRs matic, when theythemselvesdo Activities(Prevention) Actafter violence brokeout in lageinSouth Kashmir’s Pulwama, have asked theirvendors to fill in Indirect Tax, PwC India, said: during April-October forsales in 25,091crore to CGST and Rs notshowany sign of disease.This Darjeelingforaseparate‘Gorkhaland’state.Hesurfaced joinedmilitant ranksin2014, two and reportmissing transactions, “One of the reasons forthe March-September. 19,427crore to SGSTfromIGST would be around twodaysbefore on October 22 and snappedhis ties withthe BJP foral- years afterNaikoo joinedmili- taxexpertssaid. higher number of returns could “The growth in GSTrevenue as regular settlement. Afterthis, the firstsign of disease appears... legedly renegingonitspollpromiseanddecidedtoback tancy.Mir had adiploma in med- Abhishek Jain,Tax Partner,EY be thefact that thelastdatefor as comparedtothat in months the total revenue earnedby Thereisalsoevidence thatare- the ruling party in the upcoming Assemblypolls. ical electronics from Industrial said:“Thisuptickincollectionson claiming input credit for2019-20 of July, August and September, Centre is Rs 44,285crore as CGST coveredpersoncan shedthe virus AddressingapressconferenceinSiliguri,Dhankhar Training Institute (ITI) and had amonth-on-monthbasisandover wasSeptember 30 and alot of 2020,of-14%, -8% and 5%, re- and by states is Rs 44,839 crore from the upper respiratorytract said, “Those who think of destroying democracy have worked as atechnician in Srinagar. the samemonth lastyear is quite companies would have carried spectively,clearly shows the tra- as SGST, theMinistrysaid. foruptothree months afterthe been destroyedinvariably. No matterhow big youare, SinceMir oftenhelpedtreat in- awelcomeone forthe govern- out an yearly reconciliation and jectoryofrecovery of theecon- The detailedbreak-up for illness.” no one is above law.... Afugitive of lawisafugitive of jured militants, he wasnick- mentand the economyinpartic- asked their vendors to file re- omyand, correspondingly, of GSTcollections raisedinvarious On re-infection, the authors societyandmustbeuniformly treated.If anyoneisnot named “DrSaifullah”inmilitant ular.Some potentialreasons for turns or reportmissing transac- revenues,” the Finance Ministry states showedthatbarring say, “Till nowitisbeing inferred equal before the law, it is wrong. If Imeetawanted circles. Afterhetook over the reins thissurge couldbethedemandon tions.Given the festivities, col- said in astatement. UnionTerritoriesand some that even if aperson is infected a criminal, Ishall be at fault.” of Hizb, he wascodenamed account of the festivities and in- lections in November couldalso Out of Rs 105,155crore col- northeastern states, moststates secondtime, he or she is unlikely He is on amonth-long visittoDarjeeling to assess “Ghazi Haider”. put taxcredit/ other similar rec- be robust.Wewould needtosee lected in October, Rs 19,193 crore recordedayear-on-yeargrowth to develop serious disease in (the) the ground realitiesinNorth Bengal Mir wasbelievedtohavees- onciliations whichweredue for if this trend continues after is Central GST; Rs 25,411 crore in October. second infection." The book says The Governor said justlikethe twomajor issues of capedwith an injury from afierce that in suchcases theyhad seen the country—Article 370and construction of aRam gunfightinSrinagar’s Nawakadal thatthe immune system re- temple in Ayodhya —the long-term issues of North neighborhood on May19, in mediatelyafter harvesting, had Sah’s firm ShivUdyog owns no entsfor unrestare present. The preferringto“shootanimals with spondedquickly, and thisshowed Bengal wouldbesolvedconstitutionally, in aapparent whichhis deputyJunaid Sehrai fetchedRs1,200/quintal. The sec- warehouses, but has rented electorateispolarised,bothsides my camera". He says hiscountry it won't affect vaccine develop- reference to the statehood demand by people of waskilled. Police sources said Mir ond load, on May7,had gone for godown spacesfor storing55,000 framethe stakes as existential, vi- has a“sickrelationship with guns” ment and efficacy. Darjeeling whichhas witnessedmanyincidents of vi- would spent alot of time in and Rs 1,060, and the thirdfor Rs 1,020 bags (3,300 tonnes) of maize. olent actors coulddisrupt the and that theyare “too easy to ob- On whymen and people with olenceonthe issue. The BJP has, in itselection mani- aroundSrinagar city. on May29. Hisaverage realisation These have been pledged with process and protracted contesta- tain”. But, this year,hebought a co-morbidities areatahigher risk, festoes,promisedto findapermanentpoliticalsolution Police said Mir wasinvolvedin in May2019had been Rs HDFC Bank,whichhas extended tion is possible." 9mm Magnumand asmall caliber the experts state, “The reasons are to thestatehood demand. “Nomatterhow complex, severalmilitant activitiesinclud- 1,620/quintal, when thegovern- him a9.5% interest-bearing loan Earlier this month, the automaticrifle. notfully understood... Researchers complicatedandemotive theproblemsare,theyare not ing killings of policemeninSouth ment’s MSP wasRs1,760. for11months against85% of the Department of Homeland Security “I’m buying newguns, forthe have found that in Covid-19, the biggerthanArticle370,morecomplicatedthantheRam Kashmir.“As per police records, Gaurav’s buyer is Saroj Kumar, stockvalue. nameddomestic violent extrem- firsttime in my life, because Idon’t immuneresponse of men is temple andmoreemotive thanthe tripletalaqissue. the said terrorist(Mir) waschief who aggregates about 20,000 Sah, likeJha, supplies to com- ismasathreat to the country. trustthe GOP,”hesaid, referring mostlythrough cytokines and Thesolutionshouldbefoundthroughapoliticallypru- operational commander of pro- quintals from 100-odd farmers in panies and also trades on his own Now, some segmentsonthe to the Republican Party. “I don’t chemokine. In women, the im- dent and pragmatic approach,” addedDhankhar. scribed terrorist outfitHMand Sapaha and surroundingvillages. account. “LastMay,Ibought ‘A’ Left, including newgroupslikethe knowwhat will happen to my muneresponse againstCovid-19 The Trinamool Congress slammed the Governor, wasactive since2014,” police said Asmall vyapari -- both he and grade maize at Rs 1,700/ quintal, SocialistRifle Associationand the country,but Iwill defend my fam- is considered to be drivenbyT- saying he wasworking as aspokesperson of the BJP. in astatement. “He wasinvolved Gaurav areYadavs -- his firm Ansu whichrose to Rs 2,200by AfricanAmerican Gun ilyand ourdemocracy without cells... The T-cell dependent re- in manyterrorcrimes and civilian Traders supplies maizetofeed December.This time, the price of Association, arealso buying guns. hesitation. Iwould have recog- sponse is morebalanced andnu- atrocities besides wasinstrumen- millers as farasPalsanain what Istocked at Rs 1,220 has While he had no difficulty pur- nisedevil (Hitler)in1933, and I anced." On comorbidities too, the Protest against proposed talinrecruitinginnocentyouth . “The grain Ibuy at Rs gone up to Rs 1,325-1,350, which chasing his shotgun and pistol, can see it rearing itsuglyhead book talksabout T-cells,saying intoterrorfolds.” 1,100/quintal is deliveredatRs isn’t muchafter adding interest Benson says ammunition is in again.” that in many patients with such felling of trees for Police said Mir wasinvolvedin 1,350inPalsana. Afterdeducting andstorage,” he says. shortsupply. Previously$15 for50 conditions, these arenot fully killingpolicemen in South the transport costofRs180, load- What this meansisthat farm- rounds, it is nowrunning at $40. Book on Covid functional. "The people with co- Dehradun airport project Kashmir,anon-local truckdriver ing and other expenses, Iearn aRs erssell grain to the small vyapari, On Friday, Walmartpulledguns We thoughtitwas important morbidities also produceaspe- at Bijbehara, and acivilianin 30/quintal margin,” he says. who bags it and supplies to the and ammo from itsshelves, citing to explain firsthand howweall cific type of protein, whichactsas Shopian.“He wasalso involved in Saroj, himself an 8-bigha bigger commissionagent-cum- thepossibilityof“civilunrest”. sortofgot together,pulledour abrake on the immune system LALMANIVERMA an attackonSarpanch in farmer from ThathainKhagaria, trader. Theprocessors/millers, in At thefirstpresidential debate, socks up, and fought ourway and makes themprone to severe DEHRADUN,NOVEMBER1 Kokernag, grenadeattacks on also believesBiharneeds APMC turn, onlydeal withthe bada vya- President Donald Trumphad re- through the pandemic,” Guleria diseases,” the experts state. PolicePostKakapora &Police Post mandis“like thoseinPunjab and pari. Theyaren’t buying directly fusedtoexplicitly denounce white told TheIndian Express. ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISTS and local residentson Lassipora,” policesaid. “Besides, Haryana”. Farmers can take their from farmers yet—despiteBihar’s nationalists.Asked if he will agree The book focuses on three KeralaPCC chief Sunday protestedoutside Dehradun’s JollyGrant he wasalso involved in manysim- tractor-trolleys to localmandis, Agricultural ProduceMarket to apeaceful transfer of power, principalissues regarding the still to the2013solar panel scam, in AirportonSunday againstthe proposed cuttingof ilar terror crimes regarding which but it is beyond them to bookfor (Repealing) Actpermittingitsince Trumpusuallyresponds with evolving pandemic: whyCovid-19 whichbusinessmenand NRIs morethan 9,745 trees in Thano forest forexpansion dozens of cases stand registered distant markets, he says,adding, 2006. claims of “voter fraud”. is notjustanother respiratorydis- were cheated by the accusedwho of the airport. againsthim in different Police “In APMCs, thereistrading and “I am nowforcedtosell to one The Second Amendment of ease; the public healthresponse flaunted theirconnections at top The MinistryofEnvironment, Forest and Climate Stations”. proper pricing of notonly‘A’ grade vyapari,who pays me after20-30 the US Constitution provides for and stories from thefrontlines; levels of the then Oommen Change(MoEF) had recentlyasked the Uttarakhand Godrej-Pass (a reference to maize days.WeneedalocalAPMC, the right to carry arms and has and the futureroadmap forthe Chandy government. government to consider another area forthe expan- APMC repeal bought by GodrejAgrovet,India’s wherethereare more buyersand been apolitical hotpotatofor public, policymakers and physi- One of the accusedinthe case sion. “Out of the 87.0185haproposed area to be di- is seekingafourth full term — leading animalfeedcompany), payment is made within two- muchofthe country’s history, cians giventhe long road ahead to had told police on Saturdaythat verted,47haareafallsunder MDF(moderatelydense farmers in Bihararen’t impressed. but also‘B’,‘C’ and ‘D’qualitypro- three days,” sumsupwith gun control advocates pitted vaccines. Congress leader and former forest)... (stategovernment)may explorealternatives “Hamein yahan sarkari mandi duce. Even Iwill benefit from hav- Yadav. againstgun rightsgroups. The lat- The book also deals with the MinisterAPAnil Kumar had raped forthe proposal suchasacquiring area lying north of aur MSP par khareed donon ing ashopinaregularmarket terhavetouted in press releases after-effectsofthe infection, herseveral times in 2013. existingrunway,”readaletterbytheMoEF’sforest con- chahiye (Wewant both APMCs yard." US election this year that newgun owners are termedLong Covid, whichcould Ramachandran said: “I was servationdivision to the Uttarakhand Forest and MSP-basedprocurement Bihar’s sole functioning mandi FBI numbers till September increasingly Black or female. be the next crisis in the pandemic. told by asenior police officer that Department. “The entireproposedforestareafor di- here),” says Bhubaneswar Yadav, —not an APMC anylonger, it is run 2020 showthatbackground Democratic nomineeJoe Biden “When we started, ourmain aim you(ChiefMinister Pinarayi version falls within the Shivalik Elephant Reserveand who farms10acres at Tulsitol vil- by private traderswith no formal checks,which arerequiredtobuy has been promising to bring back wastoensurecases were lowand Vijayan) aretrying to come out elephant corridorswithin its1kmradius.” lageinBegusarai district. governmentoversight —isat guns, peaked in March(3.7mil- aban on assaultweapons, in one to preventdeaths.Now we have a with awoman who is lamenting Theexpansionprojectincludesdevelopmentof the Yadavsellshis maize and Gulab Bagh near Purnia. Till lion) and then in June (3.9 million of the mostaggressivegun reform situation whereweare realising that shewas rapedacross Kerala. airport,parking area, anew ATCtowerand extending wheat to SunilSah, avillage-level around2005-06, this “freest” total). Background checks till plansofany candidate. Bidenhad thatunlike in the case of aviral in- Chief Minister, do youhavepride, the existing runwayto3.5 km to meetinternational vyapari or produce aggregator. grain market of Indiadailyhan- September (28.8 million) have al- said at the time of a1994Bill that fection, in alarge numberofpeo- do youhaveshame? If youhave airport standards. “Wehad an APMC at Begusarai, dledthree-four rail rakes, each readysurpassedlastyear's figures includedthe measure, "I hope that ple who have recovered, Covid-19 self-respect, youshould resign Holdingplacardsandwearingmasks,protesterson whichisnow shut. Even MSP pro- 2,600 tonnes, during the peak (28.4 million). Asurvey of cus- my Republican friends willnot does lead to some degree of resid- withoutwaiting forasingle day.’’ Sundaydemandedthattreesshouldnotbecutandthat curement of wheat at the PACS maize season from mid-April to tomersbyafirearm trade associ- spend toomuchtime with what ual post-Covid sequela. In many AfterRamachandran,who was forest experts and localresidentsshould have been (primaryagriculturalcredit soci- mid-July. ation, the National Sports has been the issue on this legisla- this is very mildand they recover also aMinisterinthe UPAgovern- consultedduringtheplanningprocess.Runningsocial eties)herehas stoppedafter 2015- “That is down to one rake,with Shooting Foundation, found that tion sincethe beginning... Six within afew weeksbut in some, ment at the Centre, returnedtohis media campaigns to save thetrees, activists saidthey 16,” he says. 80% of the farmers selling from 40%werefirst-time gun owners. years ago, it wasguns. Five years this cancause significantdamage seat however, other Congress will also launchamassawareness campaign soon. Official data corroborates this: within 20-25 km rangeand the The states with the largest num- ago, it wasguns. Four years ago, it to organs likethe lungs and heart, leaders flagged the distasteful ref- Out of the 389.92 lakh tonnes (lt) balance localvyaparis. Gulab bers lean both Republican and wasguns. Lastnight it wasguns. necessitating long-termrehabili- erences to the woman in his wheat thatgovernmentagencies Bagh, too, will become historyin Democrat. This morning it wasguns. And tation and increasedcare. We speech, whichhad been telecast purchasedfromlastyear’s crop due course,”predictsNawal The lastpeakinsimilarback- right now, it’sguns. It’s guns, guns, needtomoveintothe next phase live.Ramachandranthen decided this April-June, Bihar’s contribu- KishoreJha,agrain trader and ground checks wasin2016, the guns, guns, guns.” of being able to provide long-term to express “unconditional regret”. tion wasapaltry5,000 tonnes -- commission agent at Balia. previous US election, of 27.5 mil- LikemanyofBiden’s agendas, care,” Guleriasaid. “As my remarkswerecon- as againstMadhya Pradesh’s Ahint of what lies in storepost lion. his opinions followcentrist He said theyalso dealt with struedasanti-women by certain 129.42 lt, Punjab’s 127.14 lt, APMCchanges canbehad from “I’m notabig fanofcarrying a Democratic evolutions over the challenges on the vaccine frontin quarters, Iexpress my regret un- EXPERSSEDUCATION Haryana’s 74 lt, Uttar Pradesh’s the operationsofthis 52-year-old gun. But Iwanttohavethe ability decades. However, in arepeated the book.“Thereisalot of hope conditionally,’’ he said. 35.77ltand Rajasthan22.25lt. B.Com passfromBegusarai’s G.D. to expressthis right,” Benson said. pattern,calls forincreasedgun that we will have vaccines early However, the Kerala Women’s UPSC/IAS/IFoSMains Test Series But don't agricultural market College. Jha’s firm Hanuman “This year has been incredible as control, likeunderPresident next year.However, alot of Commissionregistered acase ForMATHS OptionalCSE 2020 reforms give farmers the freedom Bhandar does an annual business farassocialunrestand as faras BarackObama, have oftenled to changes willhappen as we go againstRamachandran. “The re- Starts From 1st November2020 to selltoanyone, anywhere and of 10,000-12,000tonnesofmaize, questioningour values andwhat increasedgun sales. along. We have manyvaccine can- peated anti-women statementsof Under the guidance of D.P. Vajpayee Sir anytime? 10,000tonnes of wheat and 2,000 we arewilling to do to protectour- What hasraised the opposi- didates and thefirstone maynot political leaders is an insult to Test No. Topics to be Covered Date “Kyaazadi? Hum apna fasal tonnes of soyabean. He sources selvesisconcerned.” tion to guns areincidents of school be the best and we mayhave Kerala. Suchstatementscannotbe 1 Linear Algebra & Matrices 01/11/2020 2Coordinate Geometry (3-D)08/11/2020 GulabBagh aur Dalkhola takbhi grain from 10-20 smaller vyaparis The probabilityofdrawn-out shooting. While these datebackto moreimmunogenic and safer vac- allowed. His apology wasnot sin- 3Dynamics&Statics 15/11/2020 nahin le ja saktehain.Kahan and supplies to companies as far election resultsisadding to the before theTrumppresidency,in- cinessubsequently... Therefore... cere,” Commission chairperson M 4Modern Algebra22/11/2020 5RealAnalysis 29/11/2020 Kalkatta, Dilli aur Mumbai (What away as Chhattisgarhand Madhya anxiety.Benson says severalofhis cludingthe 1990s Columbine howdowedecideifwewill have CJosephine said. 6ComplexAnalysis &LPP 06/12/2020 freedom? We can’t afford to take Pradesh. Jha alsohas his own acquaintances arepondering gun shooting, in the lastfour years, one vaccineormultiple vaccines Health and Social Justice 7Partial Differential Equations 09/12/2020 8Numerical Analysis &Computer 13/12/2020 our produce even to Gulab Bagh 6,400sqftgodownwith 1,200 ownership, worriedtheremay be student survivors have takenon or will different groups receive MinisterKKShailaja took strong 9Mechanics &Fluid Dynamics 15/12/2020 in Bihar’sPurnia and Dalkhola in tonnes capacity. a"civil war". “When youwatch guncontrol as their primaryad- different vaccination,and howdo exception to Ramachandran’s 10 FullLength Paper -I&II20/12/2020 West Bengal’s Uttar Dinajpur dis- Another example of asome- the other side notcareabout the vocacy,leading school walkouts we distribute themtothe entire comment thatarape victim with 11 Calculus 23/12/2020 12 ODE and Vector 27/12/2020 tricts, forget Delhi, Mumbai and what big or badavyapari is Bablu rule of law, youthink about how and majorprotests. population.These issues aread- self-respect would end her life. Call Us on 9350934622 Kolkata),”retorts Gaurav Kumar. Kumar Sah from Maheshkhuntin muchthese peopleare willing to John, who requestedthat his dressedtosome extent." “Onlypersonswith adangerous TM 18, Second Floor,NearKarol Bagh Metro, Pillar No.94, NewDelhi -110005. This farmer, from Sapahavil- Khagaria. ATeli (oil-presser) by take.It’sreallyaculture war.” lastname be removed, grew up On when the countrywillhit mentality can saysuchthings.Do DIAS www.diasindia.com . lageinKhagariadistrict, has just caste,hehandles roughly10,000 Four days ago, the around old rifles in ahunting fam- the peak,the authorssay theyex- rape victimswho do notcommit sold his last60-quintalslot of tonnesofmaize and 2,500tonnes International CrisisGroup of pol- ily. But, his father refusedtobuy pect multiple peaks. “However, it suicide have no self-respect? Did Contact forAdvt. Booking: M/sFriends Publicity Service maize from total produce of 240 wheat everyyear —again pro- icymakers and researchers handguns saying “theywereonly cannotbesaidhow manyand he mean that? Politicians should 23276901, 23282028 (M): 9212008155, 9212665841. quintals at Rs 1,100/quintal. His cured from village-levelaggrega- warned, “As the U.S. presidential good forkillinghumans”.The 45- when...Whether thosewerepeak notrepeatedly makesuchanti- first60quintals, sold on May2im- tors. election approaches, the ingredi- year-oldquit hunting in his 20s, or notand howmanypeaks hap- women comments,’’ Shailaja said.

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BRIEFLY AFTER FARIDABAD WOMAN’S MURDER Protest seeking Khattaropens Haryanaconsiderslaw U-turnflyover justice for woman atShankar takesaviolentturn Chowk totackle‘lovejihad’ PROofFaridabad Police, adding Gurgaon: Commuters EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE that of those apprehended, travelling from Delhi to NEW DELHI,NOVEMBER 1 some arenot residentsof Jaipur or from Cyber City EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Faridabad. or Ambience Malltowards CHANDIGARH,NOVEMBER1 APROTESTheldonSundayto “Fromthoseroundedup, two Udyog Vihar or Delhi can demand justice forthe 20-year- eachare from Noida and look forwardtoa FOLLOWINGTHE murder of a old woman, who wasshotdead Ghaziabad, three eachare from smoother journey, with 20-year-old woman in outside her collegeinFaridabad Delhi and Palwal, one is from the inaugurationofaU- Faridabadlastweek, Haryana allegedlybyaformer classmate, Gurgaon, and twofromNuh.We turn flyoveratShankar Chief MinisterManohar Lal turnedviolent as around 200 aretrying to ascertain who sent Chowk by Haryana Chief Khattar and Home MinisterAnil protesters allegedly pelted them to Faridabad and what MinisterManohar Lal Vijsaid theyare considering stones at police personnel and their motive wasinpelting KhattarSunday.According bringing alegislation to deal shops. stones and blocking the high- to officials,the three-lane, with cases of “love jihad”. This According to police, the inci- way,”hesaid. 675-metre-long flyover comes aday afterUttar Pradesh dent took place while apan- Appealing to residentsof has been completedata Chief Minister chayat wasunderwayatthe Faridabad nottoresort to vio- costofaround Rs 52 crore. warnedthose waging “love ji- Dussehra ground in Faridabad. lence, DCP (Ballabhgarh) Sumer Baba from dhaba Work on it hadstarted in had” to mend their ways or be Officialssaid some “anti-social Singh Yadavsaid, “Police will March 2019.Inaugurating prepared fortheir last journey— elements” from the crowdal- deal strictlywiththose who try the structurevia video “Ramnaam satyahai ki yatra Haryana CM Manohar Lal legedly movedtowards National to ruin the lawand ordersitua- files case against conference from Karnal nikalne waali hai”. Khattar at an eventin Highway-2and triedtoblock it. tion; this kind of lawlessness will Sunday, Khattar said,"This The 20-year-old woman, Karnal, Sunday.(left) State From this crowd, 200people notbetolerated.” flyoverwill provide major NikitaTomar,was shot deadout- Home MinisterAnilVij allegedly resortedtopelting Last Monday, Nikita Tomar, a YouTuber who put relief to the people of side her college, allegedly by her stones at shops and at police third-year B.Com student, was Gurugram and com- former classmate, Tauseef, with personnel when theytried to shotdead outside her college. muters from outside...It her familytellingpolice he had a ernment tooisinthe process of stop them from blocking the Three people have since been ar- willalso help in reducing one-sidedaffectiontowards her. deciding tough measures to end highway. rested forthe crime, including him into limelight pollutioncausedbytraffic The woman’s father has alleged love jihad,” he said. “Ten personnel were in- her former classmate. jams and will save time for theaccused had been pressuring “Chori chhupe, naam chhupa jured.Thirty people have been Tomar’s relativesallegedhe commuters." “Weesti- his daughter to marry him afew kar ke jo log behen-betiyon ki iz- roundedupfor the violence harboured feelings forher and matethat around 16,000 days before the murder,“asking zat ke saathkhilwadkartehain, whilethe others arebeing had been pressuring her to vehicles will use this fly- her to converttoIslamsothey he always speaksthe truth... unko pehle se meri chetavani: agar identified,” said SubeSingh, marry him. over daily,”saidShashi could getmarried, butshe was Attempts arebeing made by un- wohsudhrenahi tohRam naam Bhushan, Project Director, notwilling”. scrupulous elementstoforce satyahai ki yatranikalne waali hai NHAI. Speaking to the media on the people to convert their religion (This is my warning to those who sidelines of astate government through love jihad.InFaridabad’s conceal names and playwiththe event in Karnal on Sunday, murder case too, the victim’s honourofsisters and daughters: AAPalleges Khattar said: “Since the familyhas allegedthe woman mend your ways or be prepared corruptionin Ballabhgarhwoman’s murder wasbeing forced to changeher forthe lastjourney),” he said. case is linked with love jihad, the religion... We shall hold discus- Senior officials in the NorthMCD Centreand stategovernment are sions withour allies... Adecision Haryana government told The looking intoit, and considering will be takenaccordingly.” Indian Express that “discussions YouTuber Gaurav Wasan (in green tshirt) had shared avideo NewDelhi: AAP MCD in- legal provisions so thatthose Speaking in Malhani arebeing held at various levels of KantaPrasad (below)and his wifeonOct 7, whichshowed charge Durgesh Pathak guilty arenot able to escape...” (Jaunpur) on Saturday, to come up with suchalegisla- the couple talkingabout the lackofcustomers in his eatery alleged Sunday that the Haryana HomeMinisterAnil Adityanath had said the tion”. (above), following whichmanydonatedmoney. AbhinavSaha NorthMCD mustbein- Vij, in astatement, also said the Allahabad High Courtruledthat Sources said the stategov- vestigated forits collec- stategovernment is considering religious conversion formar- ernment is also in consultation tion of house or property bringing alegislation to deal riageisnot necessary.“It should with the Centretoworkout the taxes. He said thatde- with cases of “love jihad”: notbedone,itshould notbeac- modalities and study legal as- Protesters blocked NH-2 and pelted stones at policemen JIGNASASINHA spitethe potential to col- “Whatever Yogi Adityanath says, ceptedorrecognised. Thegov- pectsinvolved. NEWDELHI,NOVEMBER1 lect Rs 2,100crore as propertytax from 12 KANTAPRASAD (80), who runs lakhproperties every the nowfamous Baba Ka Dhaba year,the NorthMCD Constableheld after in South Delhi, has filedacom- shows Rs 700crore as its plaint againstYouTuberGaurav taxcollection in its Wasan forallegedly misappro- records. “The AAP de- friend uses his pistol priating moneythatwas raised mands criminal action to help him and his wife. againstthe BJPleaders Wasan had shotthe widely forlooting the money,” to shoot at man shared video of the elderly man and said he transferredall the he said. and his wifeonOctober 7, which moneyintoPrasad'saccount: showedthe couple talking about “WhenIshotthe video, Ididn’t Copdies EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE lack of customers at the eateryin knowitwould become this big. NEWDELHI, NOVEMBER 1 MalviyaNagar,following which Ididn'twantpeopletoharass afterbeing severalpeopledonated money. Baba (Prasad) so Ishared my ADELHI Police constable was On Sunday, Prasad told The bankdetails...” Wasanshared hitbyvan arrested afterhis friend al- Indian Express he has onlyre- three receipts of the transac- legedly usedhis service pistolto ceivedacheque of Rs 2lakh from tions, all dated October 27 —two NewDelhi: A40-year-old shootata26-year-oldman in Wasan. “I don’t getalotofcus- cheques of Rs 1,00,000 andRs DelhiPolice head consta- Dwarka on Fridaynight. tomers now; mostpeoplecome 2,33,000and one receiptofbank ble diedafter he wasal- Policesaidthe constable heretotakeselfies...Earlier Iwas paymentofRs45,000.Hesaid legedly hitbyadelivery and his friend got intoanargu- earning over Rs 10,000 per day, this wasthe amount of money vaninNortheastDelhi's ment withtwo other menina nowit’s Rs 3,000-Rs 5,000,” he collected in the three days. Harsh Vihar on Sunday. road rage case. Police said the said. The complaint filedby Wasan also put up abank state- The deceased, Durgesh victim is stable now. Prasad, along with agroup of ment on Facebook in whichthe Kumar wasonhis motor- The incident wasrecorded men, at MalviyaNagar police sta- total moneycredited in the three cycle near the Shamshan on aCCTVcamerainBaba ACCTVgrabofthe incident tion Saturdayclaims Wasan “de- days is around Rs 3.5 lakh. Asked Ghat area, when the van Haridas Nagar. whichtook placeat liberatelyshared his and his fam- about the other twotransac- hit him and the accused The video shows the ac- Baba Haridas Nagaron ily’s bank details and collected a tions, Prasadsaid he hasn't been driverfledfromthe spot. cusedarguingwiththe victims. Fridaynight hugeamount as donation”. able to checkhis account as he However, thedriverwas One of theaccused firesabullet DCP (South) Atul Kumar doesn’t carry his phone. apprehendedand acase at aman. He then threatens an- EARLY BIRD Thakur said, “Wereceived the While some YouTubers al- has been registered,po- other man with hisgun and bikelying on the road. Surender complaint yesterdayand areen- leged Wasanreceived Rs 20-25 lice said. ENS slaps him. and Rajeshtold themen to Alongthe Yamuna river, Sunday.The city recordedits lowest minimum or night time quiring intoit.” No FIR has been lakh, Wasan deniedit. “Wehave Afterthe incident, police move the bikefromthe road temperaturefor theseason at 11.4 degreesCelsius. AbhinavSaha registeredyet. initiated legal action againstthe saidtheyarrestedconstable andclear thearea. The mengot Wasan deniedthe allegations YouTubers,” he said. Manfound Surender (30), who is postedat intoaheated argument and hangingfrom Jahangirpuri police station. calledtheir friends. Both parties Surender told police that he hit eachother.Rajeshthentook tree waswith his friend Rajesh theservice pistol andfired at a when the incident took place. man namedLakshman.Healso Noida: Thebody of a20- Police have also arrested threatenedthe other man,” said year-old man wasfound Rajesh, who is acluster bus asenior policeofficerin hanging from atreein driver. Dwarka. Greater Noida’s Jarcha “Weidentifiedthe constable The victim sustainedabul- villageonSunday in a with the help of CCTVfootage letinjury in the abdomen and is case of suspected suicide, in the area.Heand Rajeshwere undergoing treatment at ahos- police said, adding that returning homeinaSantrocar pital. effortsare on to establish aftertheirduty when theysaw Acase of attemptedmurder the cause of death. PTI twobike-bornemen blocking wasregistered and the twomen the road.Therewas another were arrested.

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THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,NOVEMBER2,2020 4 THE CITY DRAFT PLAN TO BE DISCUSSED TODAY 5k cases for 5th day in a Asairqualitydips,govtmullscurbson row, positivity rateat12% interstatebuses,passengersatISBTs EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE CORONAVIRUS IN THE CAPITAL NEWDELHI,NOVEMBER1 TOTALCASES Total Vacant THE DAILYpositivity rate rose to HOSPITALBEDS 15,783 9,226 EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE PROPOSEDRULES 12.69% on Sunday as Delhi re- 3,92,370 VENTILATORS 1,244 433 NEWDELHI,NOVEMBER1 ported5,664 newCovid-19 ■ Busesshallbelimited cases from 44,623 testscon- Dailycases RecoveriesDeaths Tests ONLY BUSES purchasedinoraf- to50%ofpre-Covid ducted in the last24hours. With Oct315,062 4,665 41 44,330 ter2015should beallowedtoen- numbersuptoNov15 51 moredeaths reported, the Nov1 5,664 4,1595144,623 terDelhiatthe Inter-State Bus death toll increasedto6,562. Terminals (ISBTs), keeping in ■ Passengerstobe Thereare 34,173 active infections Total34,173* 3,51,6356,562 47,25,318 screened,only mindthe “alarming situation of in the city,out of which20,732 *Total active cases pollution in the capital, the Delhi asymptomaticonestobe areunder home isolation and TransportInfrastructure allowedtoboardbuses 6,461inhospitals. Development Corporation This is the fifthday in arow ■ Novisitor/wanderer (DTIDC) has suggested. that the city has reportedover Air quality has dippedsignif- /unwantedpersonshall 5,000 newcases.Overthe last icantlyinthe city over the past beallowedinISBTs week,atotal of 32,882 newcases twoweeks, and if buses areal- ■ Passengersinwaiting have been addedtothe total in- lowedtoenter thecity,itmight areashallbeallowedtosit fection count of the city. makematters worse, officials feel. onalternatebenchseats Addressing the issue of the “It is advisedthat the interstate recent spikeincases in the na- buses entering ISBTsshould not ■ Passengersvisiting tional capital, Delhi Health be olderthan 2015 Model in the ISBTscanavailtheCovid MinisterSatyendar Jain Sunday wake of alarming situationofpol- testingfacilityatspecial said “aggressive contact tracing” lution in Delhi. DTIDC maygrad- No passenger will be allowedtostand in buses as per thedraft plan. Prem Nath Pandey campssetupatallISBTs wasthe primaryreason forthe uallyreduce the ageofbuses and sudden increase in numbers. ultimatelyallowthe entryofonly “If apersontests positive, CNG, Electric and BS-VI busesat ularly,and it is expected that Visitors and those who have social distancing norms have to According to the draftplan, then their entirefamilyand the thethree ISBTs. Therefore, theop- clearancewillbegiventhisweek. notboughttickets willnot be al- be followed, said the draft. the bus conductor and driverwill people in contact with them erators areadvisedtostart mak- Thedraftsays thatpeople will lowedtowander around in the Beforethe lockdown, ISBT at have to produceacertificateprov- have to be tested,asaresultof The cumulative positivity rate in Delhi is 8.30%. AbhinavSaha ing preparation in this direction be allowedinonlyafter thermal premises.Onlyhalfthe number KashmereGate, Sarai Kale Khan ing theyweresanitised, at theen- whichmorecases of Covid-19 well in time,” the draftstandard screening and “in case of any of buses, as compared to earlier, andAnandViharsaw3,500inter- trypoint of the ISBT.“Theinter- were recorded. Earlier,onlysix- operating proceduresays. doubt aboutillnessof anyasymp- will be allowedtill mid- statebus trips and 2,000local bus statebuses shall be sanitised...at sevencontactsofapositive per- cent of Covid-19bedswereoc- should treat wearing afacemask The draftwillbediscussedin tomatic passenger,he/she maybe November.Thelimitswill have to trips on adaily basis. Interstate thepointoforigin... Buses at ISBTs sonweretraced, nowthisnum- cupiedinthe capital. “Westill as avaccine. ameeting on Mondayonthe is- asked to present himself for be imposedatthe stateoforigin. bus services were suspended shall besanitisedbyDTIDCbefore berhas crossed15,” the minister have around 9,500bedsavail- Atotal of 47,25,318 testshave sue of allowing buses from other rapid/RT-PCR test at camps setup No passenger will be allowedto when the nation-widelockdown departurefromISBTs,” the draft said. able in hospitals,” he said. been conducted in the national states to enter Delhi and plyreg- at three ISBTs.” stand and it has to beensuredthat wasimposedinMarch. said. “Aggressive contacttracing is Stressing on the needtowear capital so far–2.48lakh testsper the immediatecause forasud- masks, Jain further said that it is million population. The cumula- den spikeinnumbers because "impossible to wipe off" Covid- tive positivity rate was8.30per random testing hasn’t recorded 19 through alockdown as the cent. The averagedeathratefor Man held as manycases,” he added. virus has "spread through the the last10daysstandsat0.83per for posing Jain also said that only40per community". He said people cent. as cop to Antigen test good to Signboard of collect India Islamic rule-in patients within Cultural Centre Covid fines 5days of illness: study defaced, police register FIR EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Of the 330participants, 77 NEWDELHI,NOVEMBER1 ASTHASAXENA were RT-PCR positivefor Covid- NEWDELHI,NOVEMBER1 19.Sixty four of them also tested A23-YEAR-OLD manhas been positive in therapid antigen test. arrested forallegedlyimperson- ACROSS-SECTIONAL study con- The mostcommonlypresented atingasapoliceofficerand issu- ductedby researchersfromAIIMS symptoms among screenedpar- ing fake Covidchallans in Ashok on 330patientsconcludedthat ticipantswerefever (31.5%), Vihar. the rapid antigen test showedan cough (25.4%), fatigue/malaise According to police,the ac- excellent specificity to ‘rule-in’ (11.8%), headache (3.3%) and cused, UpenderSingh, whowas Covid-19 patientswithinthefirst runnynose (3.3%). As manyas57 wearing apoliceuniform,al- five days of illness with amoder- participantspresented with sore legedly issuedfakechallans to atesensitivity. throat but onlytwo of them The centreisnear Lodhi twopersons forviolating social The overall sensitivity and (3.5%) had Covid-19. Gardens distancing norms. specificity of the test was81.8% “Thisisnot easyto estimatein Later,whenasecurity guard and 99.6% respectively, andthe asymptomatic cases. Therefore, at the entrance asked Singh's test accuracy was95.4%. this test maynot be good forsur- name and rank,heleftthe spot. MIND THE GAP Sensitivity of the test washigher veillance purposes. This test can EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE The guard got suspicious and im- (85.9%)inparticipantswithdura- perform as well as RT-PCR in NEWDELHI,NOVEMBER1 mediatelycalledthe local police. At SarojiniNagar MarketSunday. As festiveshopping gathers steam,socialdistancing has gone foratoss in markets. GajendraYadav tionof illnesslesserthanfive days. high-prevalence areas with high DCP (Northwest) Vijayanta The study,published in the pre-testprobability. Moderate THE SIGNBOARD of the India Arya said, “Weformedateam Indian Journal of Medical sensitivity of this test leads to IslamicCultural CentrenearLodhi and severalraids were conducted Research,was done on patients false-negative results...,” it added. Gardens wasdefacedonSunday, in the area. The accusedwasthen CM: No dengue deaths admittedatAIIMS,Delhi,between However, the study had sev- allegedly by members of afringe identifiedand apprehended. We Pollutants from May31and July24. Researchers eral limitations. Since participants group. DCP (New Delhi) andDelhi foundthe fake policeuniform includedsymptomatic patients were recruited from ascreening PolicePRO Eish Singhal said an and also four registration plates reported in Delhithisyr and asymptomatic/pre-sympto- OPD, they were either asympto- FIR has been filedundertheDelhi whichhewas usingonhis Swift maticcontactsoflaboratory-con- matic/pre-symptomatic or mildly Prevention of Defacement of car.” farm firesat40%, NewDelhi: Delhi Chief Minister campaign by the Delhigovern- firmedcases with exposurebe- symptomatic. Testing wasnot Property Act. However, it does not During questioning, Singh Arvind Kejriwal Sunday said that mentthisyear,nodengue-re- tween 5and 10 days. done in moderatetoseverecases. name anyone at the moment. said he didn’thaveajob and therehasn’t been adeath due to lated death has been reported in “The analytical perform- “Secondly, this test can miss The Hindu Sena, meanwhile, wantedto help his family. “When season’shighest dengue in the citythisyear,after the national capital,” astatement ance...depends on mixing of NP upto 25-30%of Covid-19casesas tookresponsibility forthe posters, he heard about police issuing the anti-dengue campaignwas issuedbythe government said. swab withbufferand the viral sensitivity was81.8% as compared whichread ‘Jihadi Terrorist challansatpublicplacesfor vio- run forthe second year in arow. According to data,the num- load in the sample,but clinical to astandardreference(RT-PCR). Islamic Centre’. lation of Covid norms, he went to to the ground. Under the ‘10 Hafte10Baje, 10 berofdengue deaths has been performance of the test maybe Another limitation is that aposi- Asenior police officer said, Mukherjee Nagarand bought a EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE The cityonSunday recorded Minute’campaign, the CM and declining since 2017.In2017, the variable whichdepends on the tive rapiddetection test is not “Weare yettoidentify the ac- police uniform. He then posedas NEWDELHI,NOVEMBER1 the season's lowest minimum government officials engaged city had reported10deaths, technique of sample collection 100% specific to SARS-CoV-2, as it cusedsothe FIRdoes notname apoliceofficerand cameto temperatureof11.4degrees with citizens through social me- whichfell to 4in2018and 2in and durationof illness of patients. shows cross-reactivity with anyone.” Ashok Vihar... He took Rs 1000 SHARE OF pollutantsfromfarm Celsius —fivedegrees belownor- dia, asking them to checkfor 2019.The ten-week campaign Hence, sensitivitywillbeaverage SARS-CoV basedonanalytical Arepresentativeofthe India from twopeople,” said an officer. firesinDelhi’s air increasedtoan mal —attheIMD’sSafdarjungob- conditionsintheirhouses which will end next week.This year, in asymptomatic patients be- performanceof thetest provided Islamic Cultural Centresaid the The Delhi Policehavede- estimated 40%onSunday, the servatorywhich is representative would encouragemosquito Delhi has also seen the least cause it is difficult to analysepre- by the kit manufacturer,but not posterwas putupat9.15am, and ployedafew personnel from highestsofar this year. of Delhi. breeding, and eliminatethem. numberofdenguecasesinat test probability in asymptomatic evaluated further in the clinical wastaken down aftertheyre- eachdistrict to issue challans at Delhi’s air quality index(AQI) Over the pastmonth, wind “Owing to theaggressive leastthree years. ENS patients,” stated the paper. setup,” said the study. portedthe matter to the police. public places since the lockdown. remainedinthe high end of the speedatnight hasalso reduced Officers said theyhaveissueda ‘verypoor’categoryonSunday to 3kmph or loweruntil early totalof4,83,575challans till date due to emissions from stubble morning hours, whichischarac- forspitting,violating social dis- burning firesinPunjab, Haryana, teristic of post-monsoon period, tancing and fornot wearing face Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, hindering dispersion of pollu- DARYA GANJ SUNDAY BOOK MARKET masks. as per the Centre’s System of Air tants, as per IMD officials. QualityandWeatherForecasting However, higher windspeed and Research (SAFAR). is being recordedduring daytime Book vendors return to footpath, removed “In spiteofimprovedwind over the lasttwo days,which conditions, air quality has notpro- helps in dispersion,as perSAFAR. gressed as expecteddue to high But the direction of this wind is 6pm, as those arethe mostsuit- Haat when it wasopened PUBLIC NOTICE stubble-related intrusionand from the northwest, whichis ANANYATIWARI able timings forus.” around 3.30 pm, saying they Public at large areherebyinformed trapping of pollutantsduring favourable fortransporting pol- NEWDELHI,NOVEMBER1 Lastyear,the market was wanted better timings. “A tussle that my client Gautam Jain S/o LateSh. night time due to lowwintertime lutantsfromstubble burning evicted from the footpaths of of sorts ensued,and the vendors Sudershan Kumar Jain R/o A-1/166, boundarylayer height,”abulletin states. VENDORS AT the Darya Ganj Asaf Ali Road by theNorth MCD had to be removedfromthe Paschim Vihar,New Delhi have broken from SAFARsaid on Sunday. “Highly favourableconditions SundayBook Bazaarset up their as the area wasdeclared anon- streetsastheyare notauthorised all my relationship with my Sister Manisha Oswal W/o Nakul Oswal due Boundarylayer height or the forfire-related intrusioninDelhi stalls on the footpath in front of hawking zone. Afteranagree- to setupthe marketthere,” said to her misbehaviour have no Relation mixing depthisthe height avail- is expected to continue… AQIis the NorthCorporation’s (NDMC) ment with the civic body,itwas an official. with her mayitbeasocial or inancial. able in the atmospherefor the likelytoimprove only marginally Mahila Haat around 2pm, only shiftedtoMahila Haat across the The official said the request If samething happens wrong myself pollutantstodisperse. On days (on Monday) and is nowbecom- to be vacated from thespottwo road forafixed rent. forthe changeintimings is un- and my familymembers will notbe with lowtemperatures, calm ingdependent on stubble fire hours later by civic officials. Radhe Shyam(50), avendor der consideration. “Right now, all held responsible. SKGupta(Advocate) wind speedand lowsunlight, this episodes. It is settomarginallyde- Amid the pandemic, the Delhi who comes from Noida, said, “It weeklymarketshavethe fixed Ch.No.D-209, Karkardooma Court, Delhi height reduces, causing higher teriorate on November 3,” the SA- DisasterManagement Authority has been difficult forthe pastfew timing of 4pm-10 pm only,”he ''IMPORTANT'' concentration of pollutantsclose FARbulletin said. has allowedvendors to setup months as the number of cus- said. Whilst care is taken prior to stalls between 4pmand 10 pm tomers has been low. These tim- Vendor Saeedsaid the lock- acceptance of advertising copy,itisnot possible to verify inside Mahila Haat. ings do notmakesense as most down has been harsh andthey its contents.The Indian Express (P) Limited cannot be Manyvendorssaid the new people do notcomeatnight.” shouldn’t be harassedfor trying held responsible for such contents, nor for any loss or timings areinconvenient for Earning Rs 500-600onSunday, to earn theirlivelihood: “We damage incurred as aresult of transactions with companies, them. Qamar Saeed, president he said he requires around that The vendors claimthe current timings areinconvenient have so manybills to pay… We associations or individuals advertising in its newspapers of the Darya GanjPatriSunday muchmoneytotakethe books have triedtelling authorities to or Publications. We therefore Book Bazaar Welfare back. allowinside by 2.30 pm-3 pm as recommend that readers make necessary inquiries Association, said, “Wehave Another vendor Arun Kumar daybeforethe lockdown –now business. That’s whyweput up setting up ourstallstakes time. before sending any monies or entering into any agreements writtentovarious authorities Pandey(24)said, “Therehas we makeonlyaroundRs2,000.” stalls on the streets.” Moreover, students –manyof with advertisers or otherwise acting on an advertisement in requesting that theyallowusto hardlybeen anycrowd... We Sharada Prasad (51) added, The NDMC said the vendors them women –donot liketo any manner whatsoever. setupthe bazaar from 6amto usedtoearninthousands per “These timings have slashed resistedfromgoing inside the come to DaryaGanj at night.”

New Delhi WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,NOVEMBER2,2020 5 The businessman ADVERTORIAL parexcellence

HRI DHARAM Vir Batra, the Chair- man of Batra Group of Companies was the fourth son of late Ch. Aishi SRam Batra, a renowned business- man and philanthropist who hailed from District Multan of Punjab (Pakistan). Before partition, the family moved to and Kashmir Valley, where they established name and fame in Textile Business in Punjab and Petroleum business in Jammu & Kash- mir. His elder brother late Sh. Atam Prakash Batra settled in Nagpur, Maharashtra. An- other brother Late Sh. Bhagwan Dass Batra settled in Pathankot who later shifted to In- dore, M.P. His two other brothers, Late Sh. Sham Lal Batra & Sh.Amrit Lal Batra are set- tled in New Delhi. Shri DV Batra was married to Late Smt. Maya Wanti daughter of Late Sh. Hans Raj Sindwani. He is survived by three sons and two daughters. His eldest son Sh. Davinder Batra is looking after the family business in union territories of J&K and Ladakh, and sec- ond son Dr Narinder Dhruv Batra is looking after the family business in NCR – who is also the President of the Federation of Interna- tional Hockey. It was during his tenure as President, the Hockey India League was es- tablished. In addition to this, Dr Narinder Dhruv Batra is also the President of Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and a member of the International Olympic Committee. Shri DV Batra’s third son Sh. Hemant Batra is looking after the family business of Transportation and a network of Petrol Pumps in NCR. Shri DV Batra is survived by two daugh- ters, the elder Smt. Raj Rani Sehgal is married to Sh. Rajinder Sehgal and settled in New Delhi. The younger daughter Smt. Puja Bhassin is married to Sh. Anil Bhassin and is settled in Dubai. Along with his father, late Sh. Ch. Aishi Ram Batra, they pioneered Petroleum Prod- ucts marketing in the state of J & K. They started petroleum business from grass root level with the dealership of Kerosene oil and at present have a network of petrol pumps, LPG Agency Points and transportation of pe- It is the first multi-specialty private hos- to establish Jammu’s first and only fully func- looks after the welfare of various temples troleum products contracts across North In- pital of Delhi, that brings world-class medical tional super speciality Cancer Care Centre. in Jammu & Kashmir. During the militancy dia. In 1970 he saw an opportunity to setup care within the reach of a common man. Shri DV Batra was a Member of the Shri period in Kashmir he was instrumental in manufacturing and distribution of LPG in J&K Over the years it has progressed bringing in Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board which op- preserving various temples. as no state run companies were present here the latest and the most modern medical erates under the Chairmanship of His Excel- In 1996, the Jammu & Kashmir Govern- at that time. He tied up with Hindustan Pe- care in critical and life threatening areas like lency the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. ment awarded him the Prestigious Gold troleum and set up two LPG bottling plants Cancer, Cardiac, Orthopaedics, Nephrology He was also the President of Shri Sanatan Medal at a special function presided over one at Jammu and another at Srinagar. In and Neuro Surgery. Dharam Partap Sabha, Srinagar, and also by the His Excellency the Governor of 1990 after the situation in the state started to The hospital offers tertiary level care in continued to be associated with Vishwa Jammu & Kashmir.This is the Highest Civilian turn bad both the plants were handed over to 42 specialities through the finest medical Bharti Women’s Education Trust and Award of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Hindustan Petroleum for operations. talent – Physicians, Surgeons, Nursing Pro- Schools, as one of the founding members He was awarded this honour for his selfless Under the able guidance of Shri DV Ba- fessionals and Technicians, enriched with in- several decades back. Started in Srinagar, work on various issues in J&K. tra, the Group diversified from trading and ternational experience. the trust has now expanded its wings to Throughout his life he continued to ren- transportation of Petroleum Products into a In 2019 under the guidance Shri DV Ba- Jammu, New Delhi & Noida. der services in various social, religious and host of manufacturing activities that ulti- tra,ASCOMS - a joint venture with American He had also been associated with J&K human welfare activities. He is a great loss mately saw it emerge as one of the giants Oncology Hospital, was formed, Dharmarth Trust as a council member which for humanity. in home appliances industry as well as in several other core sectors. The Flagship Company of the Group Super Parts Pvt. Ltd., deals in various Home and Electrical Appli- ances under the well-known “Superflame” brand of products, which is a household name in the country. The group also diversified into automo- bile trade and currently has dealerships for Toyota Kirloskar Motors and TVS Motor Company in the union territories of J&K and Ladakh under the name of Shree Toyota and Jay Kay TVS respectively. Despite vastness of his business empire, as an individual Shri DV Batra remained down to earth. A Pure, Humble and Noble Soul as ever before always approachable. He amply meets Plato’s definition of a ‘Philosopher King’ who stood out as a great philanthropist attached to various social or- ganizations, so dear to his heart and tem- perament. Shri DV batra along with his brother Shri Amrit Lal Batra were the Founders & Trustees of Ch.Aishi Ram Batra Public Charitable Trust, which is operating Batra Hospital & Medical Research Centre in New Delhi. They are also Co-Founders & Trustees of a Dharamshala in Haridwar. Shri DV Batra was also the Vice President of Shri Chander Chinar Bara Akhada Udasin Society in J&K, who started a Medical College and Hospital at Jammu under the name of Acharaya Shri Chander College of Medical Sciences & Hospital. The Medical college and Hospital, Jammu are located at a picturesque place on a hilltop at Sidhra, having a capacity of 590 beds with healthcare facilities in Internal Medicine, General Surgery, Laparoscopic Surgery, Orthopaedics, Obst & Gyane., Pae- diatrics, Dental, Skin & STD, Psychiatry, ENT & Ophthalmology. In addition to these facilities the Hospital also has super speciality ser- vices like high tech Heart Care Centre, Neuro Surgery, Brain and Spine Surgery, Urology, Paediatric Surgery, Plastic Surgery & Gastroenterology for the welfare of the peo- ple of J&K. Before establishment of this fa- cility the locals had to go out of J&K even for minor ailments. Batra Hospital & Medical Research Cen- tre, Delhi has an infrastructure comprising of 495 beds, 14 Operation Theatres, 112 ICU beds, 24x7 Emergency facilities, full range of state-of-the-art diagnostic laboratories and comprehensive rehabilitation facilities.

New Delhi WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,NOVEMBER2,2020 2020 6 DECISION BIHAR ‘Tejashwi is tutored, can’t deliver, was absent in Covid... people know therehas been no change in RJD character’

It seems to be creatingsome impact. we expelledall the (BJP people who were)LJP changed if the captain changes. Iamthe cap- LIZMATHEW&MANOJCG NitishisbeingcomparedwithNitish. candidates... That ended theirelection tain nowbut remainsthe opener... And Nitish is apersonality who believesin prospects. And we made it clear that our al- Yes, as party president Iwill have to speak tough talk... and also good governance. There liance comprises four parties —the BJP,JD(U), more. Ihavetoattend public rallies, other- Youhavebeen campaigning intenselyin is no expectation from Tejashwi. People HAMandVIP.Oursisacadre-basedparty.Here wise Iwas neveronthe dais, always amidst Bihar.What’sthe majorchallengefor knowthatthroughoutcorona, Tejashwiwas the spirit of transferring votes is 100percent. peopletolistentotheir voices. Even today, the BJP? in Delhi. JPNadda is notfighting elections alone, it is There’s no challenge. People want devel- JD(U) leaders aresayingthatthe damage with full inputsfromAmitShah, Rajnath opment and theyhaveunderstood that time What’s your opinionofTejashwi? hasbeen done. Singh, Nitin Gadkari and the Honourable has come when Prime Minister(Narendra) Theyhavenot risen from the roots. They No damage.We don’tsay badthingsabout Prime Minister. Iconsulted Amit Shah on our Modi is theretotakecareofBihar and Nitish don’t knowthe problems.Theyare tutored, anybody.But when we realise that somebody programmes during the corona pandemic. I Kumaris thereasanexperiencedsober person theycan’t deliver.Theyare nothonesttothe is takingadvantageofitbecause we arequiet, consult himregularly. committedto good governance.So, he is going cause. He has notattended(the House) as we don’tallow it...(Saying) ‘I am Hanuman of to implement the same. In the pastfew years, Leader of Opposition in the lastyear...(just) Modiji’...thatdoesnot(mean)ourworkersare Couldyou have handledthe migrant asea changehas takenplace... Institutions, im- one dayofthe Budget Session. Howare you going to votefor you. labour issue better? plementation of infrastructure, highways, going to explain it? This speaksvolumes We handleditwell. And it’s notanissue over-bridges, flyovers, recruitments, develop- about (his) arrogance…feudalism, (his) dis- JD(U) leaders saythe LJPshouldnot getthe in Bihar. Theyare the most satisfied(withour ment of institutes of na- respect fordemocracy. RajyaSabha seataspart of measures). It wasanun- tional standards... people (AtTejashwi’s the NDAorjoin the Iamthe captain now precedented crisis,every have seen (this) and theydo The BJP has been in Cabinet. Do youagree? daywehad to handle dif- notwantdevelopment to rallies)It’snota poweratthe Centrefor JPNadda at aroadshowinHajipur in Vaishali district on Saturday. PTI We will see when it but Amit Shah ferent things. getderailedagain.People of crowd.Itiscommitted six years now. Whyare comes to that. But the point remains the opener… Bihar areveryconscious of votersofoneparticular youstill talking about 60 isveryclear.Thereisnocon- Even today, JPNadda is UP CM Yogi Adityanath their rightsand theyknow style,whohavebeenwith years of the Congress On the ground, we hear manyvoices does notmatch... unhone experiment karke fusion between the BJP and not fighting elections has warnedthat those whocan(protect) those. So themfor20years.Same and 15 years of Lalu? against Nitish. Have youheardthese? dekh liya.Iwasthe HealthMinisterthen.I the JD(U) and HAM and VIP. alone, it is with full inputs who wage what he calls Ifind the BJP-NDAtobefar people,samesupporters... Because we find there We knowwho these are... inko peeda hui telephonedNitish Kumar and told him that We arefightingtogether. from Amit Shah, Rajnath ‘love jihad’ should be ahead. is amarkedchangeduring hai Lalu ko chodne ki. Yehwoh voices hain Iamunable to contact your Health Minister. prepared fortheir last Peopleknowiftheycome the Nitish regime in Bihar. (Theyare thosewho were pained It wasdengue season. He said, YouhavefilledinAmit Singh,Nitin Gadkari and journey—RamNaam Youmentioned again,samethingsare It is ourresponsibility to because of Nitish leaving Lalu). ‘What can IdoNaddaji.Who do Shah’s big shoes. After Prime Minister... Iconsult SatyaHai ki Yatra...Do recruitment. Apromise goingtohappen” put thingsonrecord so that Theywerehurtbecause theyhad Itell?’.Itold him Ihavetosend taking over, youhad to him (Shah)regularly” youapproveofsuch like10lakhjobsmade by thereisnoconfusioninthe hijacked(po wer). If youwant to medicines fordengue, Ihaveto leadthe partyduring a remarks? Tejashwi Yadavis minds of the people. In compare, compareNitish’s 2010 send ateam of doctors...Ineed pandemic. Whatwere Everyonehastheirown drawing crowds… Bihar,peopledidn’t step out of their houses popularitywith2020because THEEXPRESS reports.‘Yeh TejPratap your mainchallenges? styleoffunctioning and their choiceofwords It’s notacrowd. It is the committedvoters after5pm... therewas no terrorism in Bihar theJD(U)-BJP wastogetherthen (Tejashwi’sbrother) ghode se hi Culturedoesn’t changeinour party with isasperthat…At theendof it,sabkasaathsabka of one particular stylewho have been with (for them to be scared). Brothers didn’t send andJD(U)- BJP is together now. INTERVIEW nahin uttra (didn’t getoff his changeofguard. We work withteam spirit, vikas, sabka vishwas will be the motto. themforthepast20years.Whenthey(gather), their sisters out alone. And who were the WITH high horse)’.Soheknows.I we have aparliamentaryboardofwhichIam others understand what is going to happen in people (behind this)? (Mohammad) What givesyou the JPNADDA, knewit. amember since 2014.Iwas Secretaryof Ramnaamsatya hai is associatedwith Bihar.Thesamepeople,samesupporters...Usse Shahabuddin, who wasanRJD MP.Hekilled confidencethatNitish will BJP NATIONAL PRESIDENT ParliamentaryBoard and the Central Election death. jyada koi nahin aata (Noone beyond that). twobrothersbypouring acid.One journal- remainwith you? Chirag Paswan’sLJP is partof Committee. All decisions arecollectiveand Idon’tsubscribeto theview thatthisis the Bihars knowthatifthese people come again, istwrote that the ministerwent to meethim He has understood —and I the NDA,but he is contesting takenatthe parliamentaryboard. Prime connotation (of what he said). thesamethingsaregoingto happen.Therehas in jail... he wasmurdered.Today’s DGP,he hadsaid this at that time too—that it (hisal- againstyour allianceinBihar.Why not MinisterModi’s inputsare immense. Inever been no changeinthe RJD’s character. washiding in the thana from Shahabuddin... liance with Lalu) wasunholyand unscien- remove him from theNDA? felt that Ihad to fill big shoes or small shoes. Howimportant is awin in Biharfor you? Then(G) Krishnaiah, aDalit officerfrom tific and the chemistrydidn’t match. People TheBJPneverexpelsanyone.Oursisavery Idon’t speakasentence that doesn’thavethe Forthe BJP,every election is achallenge. I Tejashwi’s attackagainst Nitish Kumar is AndhraPradesh, waslynched.How can we mockedmebut Iknew. Sushasan and disciplinedparty.Ittakes half aday forusto consideration of the toppeopleinthe party. don’t take anylightly.Ifeel uncomfortable sit- on jobs and the wayhehandled Covid... forget and letpeopleforgetall this? Kushasan can’t be together.The chemistry give astatement.Thereweretwo actions.One, And the batting order does notget tinginDelhiwhen astate is going to polls.

BUSINESSASUSUAL In seat once represented by Lalu, murder FORMORELOGONTO INDIANEXPRESS.COM BY UNNY accused queersson’sdevelopmentpitch /ELECTIONS ● WHO’SWHERE TODAY the lastday of campaigning forthe second SANTOSHSINGH phase of polls. RLSP CHIEF UPENDRA DANAPUR(),NOVEMBER1 Even though Danapur’s voters arelargely KUSHWAHAWILL VISIT dividedoncaste lines,thereare questions be- RIGA, BATHNAHA,PARIHAR DESPITE ATTEMPTS by theNitish Kumar-led ing raisedabout Ritlal’s candidature. NDAalliance to rake up poor lawand order PawanKumar Gupta,who runsabusiness AND BAJPATTI IN during the 15-year regime of Lalu Prasad, the in Danapur market, says,“One mustnot en- SITAMARHI DISTRICT; RJD-ledMahagathbandhan has so farman- courageelementslikeRitlal. He faces several MORWA IN SAMASTIPUR aged to keep itscampaign focusedon devel- accusations of land grabbing. We would stay DISTRICT;HARLAKHI IN opment politicsand TejashwiYadav’s prom- away from suchacandidateevenifTejashwi ise of 10 lakh jobs forthe state’s youth. Yadavpromises us the moon.” Adds Jitendra MADHUBANI DISTRICT However, theDanapur contest —where sit- Kumar from Patalapur panchayat, “Ritlal’s vic- ting BJP MLAAsha Devi Sinha is taking on the tory could mean rise of severallocal hood- IHereby Declare RJD’s Ritlal Yadav, oneofthe men accusedof lums. Being afellowYadavisnot good murdering her husband Satyanarayan Sinha enough.” in 2003 —threatens to muddle that script. Another resident, Avinash Kumar,says that Adjoining capital Patna, the Danapur the RJD’s Muslim, Yadav-plus formula may Assemblyseat, whichvotes on November 3, On Sunday, Tejashwi shared stagewith Ritlal Yadav(in cap) forthe firsttime. Express notworkinDanapur “because of Ritlal’s im- WHOAREPACHPAUNIA, wasrepresented by Lalu Prasad in 2000.The age”. In fact, even if Ritlal gets 80-90% of the PACHFORNA? BJP’s Asha Sinha has been representing the Yadavvotes, the upper castes, OBC Kurmis, SUNILKUMAR seat since 2005. Her husband waskilled on over59,000votes andRJD stituency has issues suchaswater-logging, Kushwahas and abig chunk of the EBC votes JanataDal (United), April 30, 2003, and the case is under trial. candidateSachchidanand the main concern is to arelikelytogoinSinha’s favour. Bhorey (Gopalganj) Ritlal, whofaces 33 cases of murder,at- only11,000votes. keep apolitician like Ritlal firstcame intolimelight in the early tempttomurder,extortion,and is also charged In the 2015 elections, Phase2 Ritlal at bay. In this 1990s forheand his men landing all the rail- TOTALASSETS Phase3 under provisions of the ArmsAct, wasjailedin the RJD fieldedRajkishore Katihar election, Iamcontest- waycontractsofDanapur division. After `6.1 CRORE (with spouse) 2010 in amurder case. He has been acquitted Yadav, but he lostto Patna ing againstmyhus- Satyanarayan Sinha’s murder,hehad gone on in eight of these cases, and is out on bail. the BJP’s Asha Sinha by band’s allegedkiller,” the run and had onlysurrendered in 2010. **Contesting electionsfor the firsttime DANAPUR In 2013,Ritlal becamethe firststate politi- about 5,000votes. Phase1 Sinha said at ameeting in However, Ritlal continuestobeclose to MOVABLEASSETS ciantofaceacaseunder the Preventionof In her campaign Danapur on October 31. Lalu reportedly, andthe RJD supremo had also ● POLL SPEAK MoneyLaundering Act. this time, Sinha is re- The next day, as Ritlal cam- visited his Danapur house before the 2014 CONGBIHARINCHARGE `3.9 CRORE In 2010,Ritlal had contestedthe Assembly minding people of her hus- paignedinthe riverine belt, he stuck Lok Sabhapolls to seeksupportfor hisdaugh- Assets 2015 2020 elections as an Independent from jail. While band’s murder and asking them to vote for to his party’s development pitch. He wasalso terand Pataliputra RJD candidate Misa SHAKTISINHGOHIL’S Cashinhand -85,000 he had lost, he had managed to get41,000 in ‘peace’.“Iamonlytellingpeople aboutaman- joinedbyTejashwi Yadav, who has so far Bharati. In 2014,Lalu had made him the RJD FULLINTERVIEW Bankbalance -2.54cr the Yadavbastion. The BJP’sAsha Sinha got chain (peace, lawand order) .While the con- avoidedsharing the stagewith the leader,on statesecretary. Stocks&bonds -NIL Otherinvestment -83.18lakh Jewellery -36lakh Vehicle -15lakh Allwork, or onlyplay? The sum total of the job maths Other -1lakh Total -3.9crore IMMOVABLEASSETS police officers,Rs5,780 crorewill be spent on details, Union ministerRaviShankar Prasad SANTOSHSINGH recruitment of 75,000 engineers, Rs 6,406 OUTOFWORK claimedthiswasongroundof layingof optical `2.27 CRORE PATNA,NOVEMBER1 crorewillbespentonrecruitmentof 2lakhpe- fibreinevery Bihar village, that had created ons... This means atotal of Rs 58,415 crore... If jobs at local levels, and setting up of common MONTHLY UNEMPLOYMENT RATE (%) ■ Bihar ■ India Assets 2015 2020 SEVERALFIGURES arebeingthrownabout as the Opposition spends this muchonsalary, servicecentresundertheITDepartmentatthe Agriland -1.2crore the Bihar polls come to hang on the lack, and howwill theymeetthe expenses on pension, Pre-lockdown Lockdown Post-lockdown Centre(whichheheads), that had engaged Non-agriland -6lakh promise, of jobs. Hereare some of them: students’scholarship,cycle,uniforms,mid-day 50 “over2.5 lakhboys and girls in Biharalone”.

meal...and electricity?” he questioned.Modi 40 6 TheJD(U) has saidcontrarytoTejashwi's Commercial -NIL 46 Tejashwi’s 10 lakh notedthat the statebudget wasRs2.11lakh 30 46. claims of 4.5 lakh governmentjobsnot being 23.5 21.7 Residential -85lakh 4

The Grand Alliance’sCMcandidatehas crore,afarcryfromtheRs24,000crorebudget 17.8 filled,“aroundonelakhjobsarevacant,of which 20 15.4 12.8 13. 11.9 10.6 10.3 9.8 10.2 8.8 Other -16.6lakh 8.3 7.4 7.8

promised10lakhgovernmentjobsinthe“very in the RJD government’s time. 7.2 we have advertisedfor morethan 75,000”. 6.7 10 7 Total -2.27crore firstCabinet with my very firstsignature”. He Inanapparentreferenceto Lalu,Nitishsaid, 0 has reducedthis number to a “Wherewill youget moneyto Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July AugSept Oct Cong’s ‘21,000-odd’ LIABILITIES `3.25LAKH simple math: “Thereisaprovi- paythesalaries?Fromthesame *India's monthlyunemployment rate till October 31 is 6.8% (Urban 7.1%, Rural6.7%) On Friday, the Congress accused Nitish of (Bank loans,etc.) sioninthebudget for4.5lakhjobs scam forwhichyou areinjail?” puttinghealthservices“onaventilator”,claim- CRIMINALCASES that arevacant. And5.5 lakh jobs Tejashwireplied:“Rs30,000 STATE OF AFFAIRS:BIHAR’S JOBLESSNESS ing shortageof60% doctors and 71%nurses

moreare neededfor Bihar’s AINED croreisBihar’s budget,whereis acrossBihar.Withoutmentioningtheyearthe No pendingcriminal cases ■ Jan-Apr ■ May-Aug UnemploymentRate(%) progress,accordingto NITIAayog. themoney?Allgonein60scams JD(U)-BJPgovernmenthaddoneso,orinrefer- If thereisawill,it’s possible.” onhis(Nitish’s)watch...Hespent Total 17.2 23.6 Urban 29.1 23 Rural 15.6 23.7 enceto whichcase,theCongresssaidtheNitish According to him, these 5.5 lakh Rs 500crore to brighten his face Male 16.3 23 Male 28.2 21.9 Male 14.7 23.1 government had submitted to theSupreme

EXPL E● HASHTAG POLITICS jobs will be added in medicine, inads.Thenhemakesthislaugh- Female 53.3 46.5 Female 49.6 56.5 Female 54.2 44.8 Courtthatonly5,205of the12,206sanctioned education,police services etc. ablecomment.” posts of doctors and 5,634 of the 19,155 posts ●@PCHIDAMBARAM_IN:“...IN TheNDAreactedafteritsaw thattheprom- Source: Centre forMonitoring IndianEconomy of nurses in the statewerefilled. 2019LSPOLLS,BJPCANDIDATES ise wasresonating across crowds.DeputyCM BJP’s 19 lakh TheCongresssaidaGrandAlliancegovern- won319 of 381 assembly seats. But in Sushil Kumar Modi firedthe firstsalvo,saying AfterraisingquestionsregardingTejashwi’s mentwouldfillupthesevacantpostsina“spe- election or by-election in these regions since that10 lakhadditionaljobswouldmeananex- promise,theBJPsomewhatdilutedthecharge wouldcreateonelakhjobsandtherest would Both Nitish and the BJP have nowtaken to cial drive”, “bypassing Public Service 2019... BJP candidates...won...163of381. pense of Rs 58,000 croreabove the annual by vowing in itsmanifesto to create 19 lakh comefromagriculture etc, without details. claiming that under Lalu Prasad, followedby Commission”. The Congresssaid eligible can- Whosaid theBJP can’tbedefeated? Oppn budget.Hesaid: “If 1.25 lakh doctors,2.5 lakh jobs.AstheBJPputit,itspromisewasnot about RJD national vice-president Shivanand Rabri Devi, the RJD government created “only didates would appearwiththeir educational have to believe they candefeat the BJP.I para-medical staffare inducted,then “giving jobs” but “creating them”. Tewarireacted:“Tejashwihasset theagenda... 95,000 jobs” in 15 yearsand when,for 10 of certificates,thesewouldbeverified,andanin- hope this will be proved in Bihar.” Rs22,270.95crore willbespentonsalaries.For BiharBJP presidentDrSanjayJaiswal said Both PM Modi and Nitish have been finding it thoseyears, Bihar andJharkhand were one. terviewdoneby theDirectorGeneralof Health recruitmentof 2.5lakhteachersand50teach- onlyfourlakh of those jobs —three lakh in difficult to answer his job posers.” In comparison, NDAleaders have been Services,leadingtorecruitment.Thepartyalso 983 LIKES, 182 RETWEETS IN 6HRS ers,Rs20,352.66crore willbespent...Rs3,604 teaching and one lakh in health—would bein Lalu’s ‘95,000’vsNitish's ‘6 lakh’ claiming,theNitishgovernmentinits15years promisedhiring of specialists on “special crorewill be spent on recruitment of 95,000 the governmentsector.Hesaid the IT sector had givensix lakh jobs. Without giving many salary”, and increase in PHCs in Bihar.

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THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,NOVEMBER2,2020 7 GOVT &POLITICS

MANSEEKS PROBE INTOSON’S‘KILLING’ PM:Doubleyuvrajononehand, Two FIRs filed, DELHI CONFIDENTIAL doubleenginegovtontheother 25 unidentified cops booked over EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE NEWDELHI,NOVEMBER1 ‘Personal Munger lathicharge animosity TARGETINGRJD’S Tejashwi Yadavand Congress leader Rahul not good for ENS&PTI Gandhi, Prime MinisterNarendra healthy politics’ PATNA,NOVEMBER1 Modi on Sundaysaid the Assemblyelections in Biharare a Patna/New Delhi: TWOSEPARATE FIRswerefiled contestbetween “double yuvraj” Concernedoverthe dete- on Sundayinconnection with and the development usheredin riorating political dis- the October 26 lathicharge on a by theNDA’s “double engine” course in the country, group of peoplereportedly on MUST FOR MINISTER dispensation. He also touched Union Ministerand sen- their waytoimmerse aDurga upon the Ram ior BJP leader Rajnath idol in Munger.One person was On October29, protesters ONE OF the busiest campaigners forNDA,Defence Minister Temple issue, Prime MinisterNarendraModi with Bihar CM Nitish Kumar Singh said elections killedand dozens were injured ransackedapolicestation Rajnath Singh has been trying to accommodateasmanyral- Article 370and and other senior leaders in Samastipur on Sunday. PTI shouldn't be fought and in the incident. and torchedsome vehicles. lies as possible in Bihar in his schedule. By the end of the cam- the Citizenship wonbyspreading hatred The firstFIR waslodged File paign, Singh is likelytohaveaddressed24rallies —the num- Amendment amongpeople and there against25unidentifiedpolicemen berwas expected to be 18 at the beginning. But the hectic Act. ers. In Chapra, he said mothers in manyIndianswill losetheir citi- should be no placefor forthe“unwarrantedlathicharge”. schedule has notstopped him from havingjalebis in the DECISION Modi ad- Bihar should notworry as their zenshiponaccountofthe “bitterness and acidic re- Accordingto news agencyPTI,the area on the night of the incident. evening. Singh, who has asweet tooth, has aspecial liking for 2020 dressedrallies “son” in Delhi will ensurekitchen CitizenshipAmendment Act. marks”inahealthy second casewas lodged by “Wewerebusy with control- jalebis and does notskip them even duringforeign tours. His BIHAR in Chapra, fireskeep burningdespitethe One year has passedand nota democracy. Amarnath Poddar,the father of ling lawand ordersofar.Wewill staffisensuring that jalebis arepackedand kept in his aircraft Samastipur, pandemic. In Motihari, he single personhas metsucha Whenpointedoutthat the personwho diedinthe vio- nowfocus on the investigation,” duringthe election tours. Bagaha and Motihari on the last toucheduponthe NDAgovern- fate,” he added. LJP chief ChiragPaswanin lence, seeking an inquirybya Maharaj said.On29October,irate dayofcampaigning forthe sec- ment’s initiative to build toilets. At the rallyinBagaha in West his election campaign was team ledbyasenior policeofficer protesters had ransackedapolice ond phase of polling. At the Bagaha rally, he spoke Champaran, he credited theAtal onlyattacking Chief to “unravel the truth” behind his stationandalsotorchedseveralve- CURSE OF HABIT “On one hand, thereis about the Union government’s BihariVajpayeegovernment for MinisterNitish Kumar and son's “killing”. hiclesoverthelathichargeincident. progress usheredin by agovern- Ujjwala scheme whichhesaid notifyingthe Tharucommunity notthe BJP,Singh said, Videos of theincident, which Then DM of Munger,Rajesh IT WASacaseofthe curseofhabit forformerCongress min- ment firedbyadouble engine. providedfreeLPG cylindersto4 of Bihar as atribe. Then, referring “Personalanimosityisnot showedthe policemen charging Meena, wasremovedbythe isterJyotiradityaScindia during his campaign in Dhabrafor On the other hand, the double- lakh women. to the association between Lord good forhealthypolitics.It the group,had surfacedonsocial Election Commission of India BJP party colleague Imarti Devi. Scindia, who shiftedfromthe double yuvraj areonlyfightingto Referring to the Centre’s Ramand the tribal community should be avoidedand I media. along with then Superintendent Congress to the BJP in March,endedupasking supporters who save their thrones,” he saidat movesonArticle370 and the in the Ramayana, he movedonto myself also don’t practice MungerDeputyIGP Manu of PoliceLipiSinghforallegedneg- attendedthe rallyto“press the haath (hand) button’’. Realising Chapra. CitizenshipAmendment Act, he the construction of theRam suchpolitics.” PTI Maharaj told The Indian Express ligence. the mistake immediately, Scindiafolloweditupbyrequest- At the Samastipur rally, said, “They have been peddling Temple in Ayodhya. regardingthe FIR againstthe Rachna Patil wasappointed ing peopletopress the “kamal (lotus) ka button’’. whereheshared thestage with onelie afteranother with an in- Modi made an indirect refer- unidentifiedpolicemen: “Weare the DM while ManavjitSingh Chief Ministerand JD(U) chief nocent face.Theysaid Jammu ence to the remarks made by losttheirlives in the attack. tryingto identifytheerringpolice- Dhillon wasappointed theSP. Nitish Kumar,heasked,“What and Kashmir will be on fire with Pakistanminister Fawad In an oblique reference to the men through the video. Though TheEChadalsoorderedprobe WARM FAREWELL have thefamilypartiesgiven the scrapping of Article 370, Chaudhryand claimed “the inclusion of CPI(ML) in the Grand noonehasbeennamedintheFIR, intothe incidentbyMagadh you? Theyonlygiveticketsto rivers of blood will flow. Thepeo- neighboring country hasadmit- Alliance, Modi warned people threepersonsareidentifiable.We CommissionerAsangbaChubaAo INDIAN AMBASSADOR to ChinaVikram MisriSaturdaybid family members. Have youever plethereare heavingasighofre- tedtoits involvement in the againstthose responsible for areproperly investigatingandwill —whose reportisawaited. adieu to YueChangjing,the longestserving Chinese staff seen Nitish-ji’s familymembers lief and looking forwardto Pulwama terror attacks”. He then “jungle raj” joininghands with nameallthoseresponsibleforthe Political parties also weighed member of the Indian Embassy in Beijing. Yuedrove forthe getaticket to RajyaSabha?” progress unhinderedby rampant said it has “taken masksoff”the supportersof“Naxalism” and unwarranted lathicharge.” inontheincidentwithOpposition Embassy since 1992 and wasthe chauffeur forsix Indian His address at eachrally car- corruption.” faces of those in India who never “tukde-tukde gang”. He addedthat extrapolice parties attacking the Nitish Ambassadors, including Nirupama Rao, SJaishankar,Ashok riedanappealtothe women vot- “Theysimilarly said that caredforthe “sonsofBihar” who WITHPTIINPUTS forces hadbeendeployed in the Kumar-ledgovernment. KKantha, VijayGokhale, Gautam Bambawale and Misri. As Misri postedpictures of the farewell,Nirupama Raodescribed him as “a gentle and kind soul”, and Ashok Kantha’s wife BULANDSHAHRBYPOLLS AHEAD OF GUJARATBYPOLLS Sharmila Kantha calledhim “myfriendand guide in China”. Indian High Commissioner to Beijing VikramDoraiswami, Formany Dalit voters, BSP ‘Got Rs 10 cr from BJP’: Cong who has served in Beijing, calledhim a“gentle and kind friend forall of us”. Some on social media, however, questionedthe practice of having aChinese chauffeur fortop Indian diplo- mats, and raisedconcerns of intelligence gathering. ‘invisible’, Azad partynew hope releases ‘sting video’ of ex-MLA

The 45-second video wasre- Bypollsto eightVidhanSabha AMILBHATNAGAR EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE leasedbythe Gujarat Pradesh seatsinGujarat will be held on BULANDSHAHR,NOVEMBER1 AHMEDABAD,NOVEMBER1 Congress Committee (GPCC) at a November 3after eightCongress UP RS polls:Nomination pressconferenceinAhmedabad’s MLAs resignedfromtheir posts WEARINGBLACK aviators, Bhim TWODAYSahead of theby-elec- RajivGandhiBhawan.Inthevideo, earlier this year.The BJP has rejected, lawyeralleges Armychief Chandrashekhar tions in eight Assemblycon- aman, purportedtobeformer fieldedfiveofthemontheparty’s Azadwaved from an SUV as the stituencies in Gujarat, the state Congress leader and Limbdi con- ticket forthe upcomingbypolls. roadshowpassedthrough CongressSundayreleaseda“sting stituency(Surendranagardistrict) StateBJP president CR Paatil criminalconspiracy, Bulandshahr’s Kala Aamareaon operation” video whereformer legislator Patel, is seen talking to deniedthe allegations at apress Sunday. partyMLASomabhaiPatelispur- another personinHindi. conference in and said, “The This wasAzad’s second show portedlyheardclaiming that he Patelispurportedlyheard Congress is trying to mislead the asks EC to hold results of strength in supportofHaji and afew other former party leg- claiming thatthe BJPhad paid Rs people.The fact thatAmitChavda Yamin, the Azad SamajParty islators had receivedRs10crore 10 croreeachtothe seven had missedisthat Somabhai re- candidatefor the bypoll to eachfromthe BJPfor resigning Congress MLAs, who recentlyre- signedfromthe MLApostin ASADREHMAN Backedby Bulandshahr Sadar on from their seats. signedfromtheir seats, at thebe- March,whereasItooktherespon- LUCKNOW,NOVEMBER1 SP,Prakash November 3. TheBJPrejectedtheclaim,say- hest of CM VijayRupani, stateBJP sibilityasstateBJPpresidentinJuly. Bajajfiled Yamin is up againstthe BJP’s Chandrashekhar Azad during aroadshowfor Azad Samaj ingitwasintendedto“create con- president CR Paatil and Union IhavehadnotalkswithSomabhai VARANASI-BASED lawyer nomination Usha Sirohi, wifeofformer MLA PartycandidateHajiYamininBulandshahr. Express fusion” among the people ahead Home MinisterAmit Shah. either on phone or personally.” PrakashBajaj,whosenomination as 11th Virendra Singh Sirohi whose of the bypolls.Patel resignedin The Indian Express could not Somabhai could notbe as an Independent candidate for candidate death necessitated thebypoll, March,ahead of the election to independentlyverifytheauthen- reachedfor acomment as his theRajyaSabhaelectionwascan- BSP’s nomineeMohammad With campaigning coming to portamong local residentsand four RajyaSabha seatsinGujarat. ticity of the video clip. phonewas switched off. celledon“technicalscrutiny”,has Yunus, Congress leader Sushil aclose, Mayawati has notheld a he is one of us. Azad is anew per- writtentothe Chief Election scribed form of affidavit, certified Chaudharyand Praveen Singh single rallyorpublic meeting in son. He doesn't knowthe area CommissionerofIndia alleging copyofmyvoterlistandRs10,000 from the RLD, whichisinalliance Bulandshahr. and his party perhaps doesn’t conspiracy by Returning Officer on 27th October 2020 at 2.50 pm. with the SP. The Hathras gangrape inci- understand ourissues. Thereis Gujjar faction begins protest (RO) Ashok Kumar with amotive The factsaverred in the present Forasection of voters, the dent has emergedasakey talk- alot of show,but can theyhandle to help the candidature of BSP complaintwill also be clear from Azad SamajParty hasemerged ing point. coreissues?” said Sahil Khan,a nomineeRamjiGautam. video footageofthe process.” He as abetteralternative to the BSP. “When our sisterwas raped parking ticketattendant. over quota, blocks rly tracks Seeking an “inquiryintothe hasalsoattachedtwo photographs. BSP supremoMayawati’s recent and murdered,itwas Azad who Mostupper caste Hindu vot- criminal actscommitted by the Bajajsaidtheformswere duly remarkthat her party would went to meet the family. It was ers areconfident of aBJP victory RO in connivancewith other offi- receivedbythe RO but the officer backanyone, including the BJP, he who asked forthe family’s se- andfeel the “Modi-Yogicombi- EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE cials”, Bajaj, who wasbackedby did notprovidereceipts forthe to ensure the defeat of SP candi- curity and he has been helping nation” has brought JAIPUR,NOVEMBER1 the Samajwadi Party, has urged nomination forms —pink and datesinthe upcoming MLC them out. BSP remains invisible development. the Election Commission (EC) to green —and the prescribed secu- elections in Uttar Pradesh, has and Mayawati did notevenvisit The seat is primarilyanurban SEEKINGRESERVATION in jobs, withhold the declaration of the ritymoney“despiterepeated re- also addedtothe resentment the villageonce. Slowly,people constituency with amajor part amongotherdemands,members RajyaSabha results pendingthe quests atthetimeof submission”. againstBSP. areforgetting BSP,” saidPrashant of residentsfromthe business- of the Gujjar community,re- inquiry. Bajajallegedthatthiswasdone“as Arvind Kumar,alocal resi- Kumar,astudent who will be men and trader community. sponding to acall by the Colonel The election to the10Rajya apartofcriminalconspiracyto af- dent from the Jatav community, voting forthe firsttimeinthis Vikas Saini, who runs an au- Kirori Singh Bainsla-ledGurjar Sabha seatsfromUttar Pradesh fect the outcome of the election”. said, “What can we say, bypoll. tomotive repairshop in Kala AarakshanSangharshSamiti,laid tookadramaticturn lastMonday In aseparatesectioninhis Mayawati is kathputli (puppet) BeforeBJP’s Sirohi wonthe Aam, admittedthat business has siegetorailwaytracksin Protesters laid siegetorailway tracks in Bharatpur.Atleast when Bajaj, backedbythe complaint, Bajajhas said that it of Modi. She will do their bidding seat in the 2017 statepolls, it was been slow, but addedthat “it is Bharatpur on the Delhi-Mumbai eight trains were diverted. ANI SamajwadiParty,filedthe nomi- wasalleged (bythe RO)thatthe and has abandonedthe true represented by the BSP’s Mohd wrong to blame aparty for lineonSunday. At leasteighttrains nation as the eleventh candidate, address of the candidateingreen cause of Dalits. It became clearer AleemKhan fortwo consecutive Covid”. “The traditional voteto were diverted. therebyopening the contest. form and election card were dif- afterwhat she said. ASP is hope terms. BJP will stay since it is Modi we However, comingaday aftera genarian, to his son VijayBainsla; Bainsla and other leadershave Beforehehad filedhis nomi- ferent. “(This) wasnot tenableas forusnow.There is anew sense Some said theyare support- arevoting for. We areassured faction ledbyGujjar leader itisVijaywhohasbeencallingthe calledthegovernmentrepresenta- nationpapers,10 candidateswere the address in the election card of energy and Azadwill emerge ing BSP notbecause of Mayawati that under him and Yogi Himmat Singh reachedanagree- shotsinthe ongoingprotests. tivesfortalksattheprotestsiteitself. in the fray —eight from theBJP, waswritten in short due to space as the true leader.” but because of the candidate. Adityanath, things will getbet- ment withthe government on 14 Kirori Singh said, “It is all up to Attacking VijayBainsla,Singh one from SP and one from BSP. constraint and detailedaddress Azad’s roadshowonSunday “Some of us aresupporting ter. Leaders likeAzaddon’t have points, the protestisalsobeing Vijaynow).Iamwaitingfor(Youth said,“Torealisetheirself-interests, Inhisletterto theEC,Bajajsaid, wasmentionedinthegreenform. sawparticipation of hundredsof Yunus bhai since he is an honest apolicyvision.” seen an attempt to consolidate AffairsministerAshok)Chandna... Colonel Bainsla and his son are “As required,Ihavefiledthe nom- FULLREPORTON supporters chantingJai Bhim man. Thereare questions the BSP FULLREPORTON andpassonthepoliticalcapitalof (letussee) with what solution taking the coverofthe commu- ination in twosetswith the pre- www.indianexpress.com along the way. needs to answer but he has sup- www.indianexpress.com KiroriSinghBainsla,nowanocto- does he come (with).” nity and firing from itsshoulder.” Unlike Punjab, Rajasthan Bills silent on enforcing MSP except in contract farming

ment in Punjab, whichhas de- Amendment)Bill,2020has a Act. “Wehavehad no formal reg- (AIKS) from Sikar district, said and 100per cent procurement is

DEEPMUKHERJEE finedthe enforcement of MSP provision forpunishment for ED istration of contract farming that in manyinstances, even af- done in Punjab, whichisnot the

JAIPUR,NOVEMBER1 forpurchase of twocrops -- those who compel afarmer to IN Faithinmandimakes since 2005, when contract farm- tergoingtomandis, farmers case in Rajasthan. “The MSP is wheat and paddy."No sale or sell his produce belowthe MSP, ingasaprovision wasinculcated have to sell offtheir produce at the subject of the central govern-

PLA MSPcrucial UNLIKE PUNJAB, the farm Bills purchase of wheat or paddy shall but this enforcement is limited E in the Rajasthan APMC Act. At muchlesser prices. ment.Ifthe clause forMSP is ● brought by the Congress govern- be valid unless the pricepaid for onlytocontractfarming. EX present, the purchasing in As per dataavailable on the added(in the Bill), then who will ment in Rajasthan to counter the suchagricultural produce is The otherBilltabled in the WITH LITTLE or lateprocurement by the stateand Central Rajasthan is primarilyfromthe government websiteag- take the100per cent produce of Centre’s newfarm laws aresilent equal to,orgreater than, the Rajasthan Assembly on Saturday governments, avastmajority of the state’s farmers depend APMC mandi mechanismand marknet.gov.in, bajra(pearlmil- the farmer if the Centredoesn’t when it comes to enforcing the Minimum SupportPricean- -- The Farmers’ Produce Trade on the mandi as compared to contract farming. Already fac- oftenfarmersget priceseven let), forwhichthe MSP has been procureit? If nobody purchases minimum supportprice(MSP) nouncedbythe Central and Commerce (Promotion and ing crop losses and debt amid the pandemic, farmers need higher thanthe MSP at mandis. fixedatRs2,150 per quintal for it then the farmer will ultimately in sales that take place inside and Government forthat crop," Facilitation) (Rajasthan their produce to be swiftlysold at the MSP to recovertheir The MSP condition forcontract this season, wassold at the be at the loss. TheBills aim to en- outsidethe AgriculturalProduce states The Farmer’s Produce Amendment) Bill,2020 -- states losses and avoid anyimpact on sowing, whichcan further af- farming in the newBill tabledin Srimadhopur marketinsure that in the name of contract MarketCommittee (APMC) Trade and Commerce that harassment of farmers will fect the sector and the market. the assemblyisasafeguardfor Rajasthan's Sikar district at a farming no person is able to pur- mandi mechanism. (Promotion and Facilitation) be punishable by imprisonment the farmers’ interest,” said Ashu maximum price of onlyRs1,428 chase from farmers lesser than One of the Bills in Rajasthan (Special Provisions andPunjab or fine or both but does notmen- Chaudhary, additional director, per quintal as on October 30. the MSP.The idea is that the ex- does speak about enforcing the Amendment) Bill, 2020. tion whether purchase below Mostofthe farmers in stateAgricultural Marketing Agricultural Marketing Stateeducation ministerand isting system whichisinplace MSP,but it is onlylimited to con- In Rajasthan, The Farmers MSP will be deemedasharass- Rajasthan sell to mandis as com- Department said therehave Department, Rajasthan. Rajasthan Congress president continues but if contractfarm- tract farming. (Empowerment and Protection) ment. It doesnot mention any pared to contract farming, ac- been no formal registrations of However, farmer leaders Govind Singh Dotasarasaid the ing arrivesthen the farmer’s This is in contrasttothe Bill AgreementonPrice Assurance specific crops as is the case with cording to farmer leaders. contract farming since it wasin- suchasKishan Pareek,amem- Centre decides itstargetfor pro- grainisnot sold belowthe MSP,” passedbythe Congress govern- and Farm Services(Rajasthan the lawinPunjab. Besides, officialsfromthe cludedinthe Rajasthan APMC berofthe AllIndia Kisan Sabha curement at MSP from eachstate said Dotasara.

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THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,NOVEMBER2,2020 8 EXPRESS NETWORK

PROVISIONAL PROVINCIAL STATUS FOR GILGIT-BALTISTAN BRIEFLY MEA:Pakmovebidto camouflageoccupation

Mukhtar Ansari. File

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE ED

NEWDELHI,NOVEMBER1 IN Betweenwordsand UTTAR PRADESH Mukhtar HOURSAFTER PakistanPrime PLA E actionsofIslamabad ● MinisterImran Khan announced EX Ansari’shotel provisional provincial status for Gilgit-Baltistan, India on Sunday PAKISTAN’S MOVE comes morethan ayear afterIndiare- demolished said that Pakistan’s move to vokedthe special status granted to Jammu and Kashmir name Gilgit-Baltistanasits fifth under Article 370and bifurcated it intotwo Union Lucknow: The Maudis- province is meant to “camou- Territories. NewDelhi has rejected theseattemptsinthe trict administration in flageits illegal occupation” of the past. But Islamabad is nowmaking these changes, even as Uttar Pradesh on Sunday area but it cannot“hide thegrave it says that thereshould be no changeinthe status of J&K. demolishedahotelbe- human rightsviolations,ex- longing to jailedMLA ploitation and denial of free- MukhtarAnsari, who is dom” to the people forover Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir and namedinseveral cases. A sevendecades. includingthe area of so-called Gilgit-Baltistanfromthe statespokesperson said “Wecall upon Pakistantoim- ‘Gilgit-Baltistan’, areanintegral Pakistanmap on itsnew ban- the district administra- mediatelyvacateall areas under part of India by virtue of the le- knote afterIndia asked it to take tion passedthe order to itsillegal occupation,” Ministry gal, complete andirrevocableac- “urgent corrective steps” about demolish HotelGhazal of External Affairs spokesperson cession of Jammu and Kashmir the “gross misrepresentation”. on October 8. The hotel Anurag Srivastavasaid on to theUnionofIndiain1947,” On thefirstanniversaryof owners challengeditin RHINOSPOTTING Sunday. said the MEA spokesperson. the revocationofJammu and the High Court, but got no Responding to theMEA, The government said it Kashmir’s special status, the relief. An appeal by The elephant safari at KazirangaNational Park in Assam restartedonSunday. PTI Pakistan’s MinistryofForeign “firmlyrejects” Pakistan’s at- Pakistangovernment had re- Ansari’s sons —Abbas Affairs issuedastatement. tempt“to bring material changes leasedanew “political map” Ansari and Omer Ansari “Pakistancategoricallyrejects to apartofIndian territory, un- whichincluded Jammu and —tothe district authority Indian MinistryofExternal derits illegal and forcible occu- Kashmir,Ladakh and parts of boardwas also rejected. Sedition case filed Affairs’irresponsible and unwar- pation”. western Gujarat as partofits ter- On Sunday, aconsider- Sisters thrash Cong’s Jalaun district ranted statementregarding “Instead of seeking to alter ritory. able number of police- against Jharkhand Gilgit-Baltistan,” it said. the statusofthese Indian terri- Describing it as “political ab- men were deployedat Earlier this year,the Pakistan tories, we call upon Pakistanto surdity”and a“ridiculous asser- the siteand twobulldoz- chief over ‘sexual harassment’ BJP president Supreme Courtallowedthe gov- immediately vacate allareas un- tion”, NewDelhi said it “con- ers were usedtoraze the ernment to conduct elections in der itsillegal occupation,” the firms the reality of Pakistan’s structuretothe ground. rassment] againsthim. As per According to police officials, the the region. The election will be spokesperson said. obsession with territorial ag- ENS AVANEESHMISHRA the complaint, he usedtocall her sisters confronted theCongress PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA held on November 15,Khansaid. Recently, Saudi Arabia, akey grandisement supportedby LUCKNOW,NOVEMBER1 regularly,harass her.Asper the leader around 1pmatthe DUMKA,NOVEMBER1 “TheUnionTerritoriesof allyofPakistan, had removed cross-border terrorism”. information, both the sides Railway Station road. THE CONGRESS’S Jalaun district kneweachotherfor around 5-6 StateCongress president ASEDITION case wasregistered GUJARAT president wasbeaten up by two years. Their families also knew AjayKumarLallu told TheIndian in bypoll-bound Dumka against Odisha TV sisters in the Orai Kotwalipolice eachother.Boththe accusedand Express thatafivemember-com- Jharkhand BJP chiefand Rajya Former HC judge Threeheldfor station area on Sundayfor al- victim arefromdifferent locali- mittee headedbyformer Union Sabha MP Deepak Prakashfor al- channelCFO pastingMacron legedly calling and harassing ties,” said Jalaun SP Yesh Veer ministerPradeep Jain Adityahad legedly trying to destabilise the refuses to be examined the elder sisterregularly. A Singh. Asked if the police had re- been setupbythe party’s disci- JMM-Congress-RJD government held in fraud case postersonroad video of the incident went viral ceivedcomplaintsfromthe plinarycommittee. in the state, police said. on social media. woman in the past, Singh said he “The Congress disciplinary The BJP leader had on Friday again in Nirav Modi case Ahmedabad: Police on Senior police officials said an had asked theconcernedpolice committee has issuedashow- said in apress conference that EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Sunday arrested three FIR wasregisteredagainstAnuj stations, but so fartheyhavenot causenoticetoboth. As per the the saffron party will form the asupplementarychargesheetwas BHUBANESWAR,NOVEMBER1 people in Ahmedabadfor Mishra (42) forsexually harass- found anyprevious complaints. information giventous, the governmentinthe stateinthe MAYURAJANWALKAR filedagainstModi. The offences allegedlypasting on acity ing the complainant, who wasa Mishra, who has been the party woman wasrecentlyremoved next two-three months. &KHUSHBOONARAYAN were different in the other re- THE ECONOMIC Offences Wing road posters of French Congress district secretary ear- district president forayear,does by Mishra from her postasshe Basedonacomplaint lodged MUMBAI,NOVEMBER1 quest. Theyhad soughtmylegal (EOW) of the Odisha police President Emmanuel lier.The party said prima facie, nothaveacriminal record, the wasnot coming to work forthe by Congress’s Dumka district opiniononthechargesofdestruc- crime branchonSundayar- Macron,whohasbeenfac- districtpolitics appears to have police officer added. lastone-and-half months. Even chief Shyamal KishoreSingh, a FIVEMONTHSafterformerjudge tion of evidence and criminal in- rested theChief Financial Officer ing criticism from several playedarole as the woman was In the viral video, the sisters in the past, Mishrahas com- case under relevant IPC sections of theBombayHighCourt,Abhay timidation that were notthere in of regional TVchannel OTV in an countriesoveracontro- recentlyremovedfromher post. areseen beating Mishrawith plainedtousthat the woman wasregisteredwith Dumka po- Thipsay, wasexaminedbeforethe the (case) earlier.Ihad givenmy alleged case of fraudulent land versyoverthedepictionof “One Anuj Mishraisthe dis- sandals as passers-by recordthe has notbeenworkingproperly. lice station againstPrakash for WestminsterMagistrates’ Court secondopiniononwhetherthese transactions. The accused, ProphetMuhammad in trictpresident of Congress here. incident. The sisters also tear his Ibelievethat the matter has alot allegedlytryingtodestabilise the thatiscurrentlyhearingtheextra- chargesare made out or not. But I Manoranjan Sarangi,isalso one cartoons.“Aftergettingin- Awoman herehas givenusa shirt, and ask him if he will do to do withpolitics,”said Lallu. He Jharkhand government, SP dition proceedings againstfugi- had told them that unless they of the directors of Odisha formation on Sundaythat complaint and we have regis- such athing again. Mishraisthen denied claims that the woman Amber Lakrasaid. tive diamantaireNirav Modi, he (governmentof India)give anun- InfratechPvt Ltd. some persons arepasting teredanFIR againstMishraun- seen begging the twotolet him had complainedtohim about Prakashhad said the state has backedout of being orallyex- dertaking that theywillnot dis- According to EOWofficials, Macron’s posters on the der IPC section 354A [sexual ha- go,and touches one of their feet. Mishrainthe past. government is taking“provoca- aminedincourt in thecaseagain cussmyevidence in apress con- some residentsofSaura village surface of abusy road, a tive illegal action” as it’s frus- afterhis firstdeposition was ference,Iwillnotcome(beforethe in Khorda district have alleged police team rushedtothe trated sensing itsimminent de- “givenapolitical colour”. court). Ironically,theyrefused. that Odisha InfratechPvt Ltd for spot,” apoliceofficersaid. feat in the November 3 Nirav is currentlylodgedina Theysaidwe have nocontrolover acquiringtheir land illegally. The trio washeldunder Kerala BJPleaderalleges bid by-elections to Dumka and prision afterthe courtinUKre- the press. The issue wasnot that. “During the inquiryitwas re- CrPCsection15 andwillbe Bermo seats. fusedtogranthimbailforthesev- The issue wasthattheywillnot vealedthat OTVpurchasedthe producedbeforealocal “The FIR lodged by the enthtime.Thefinalhearinginthe hold apress conference," said land, belonging to Scheduled courtonMonday. PTI in state unit to humiliate her Congress and JMM shows they extradition case, whichwas Thipsay. Caste persons,circumventing don’t have faith in EC. If theyhad scheduledfor December,islikely Thipsay, whohadearliergiven rules andlawsand usingforgery TELANGANA anycomplaintagainstmypress to be pushedtoJanuary2021, as anexpertopinionstatingthatthe andcheating... withanintention leadership afterSurendran, as conference, theyshould have the UK courtisbusywith other cheatingcharge wasnot attracted to cause losses,” EOWsaid. BJPworker SHAJUPHILIP president of the stateunit, did gone to the commission. Instead, cases,said sources.The order of inModi’scase,saidhisopinionon Acase wasregisteredunder setsselfonfire THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, notaddress theorganisational theyusedpolice powertoinflu- the courtislikelytocome by chargesofdestructionof evidence relevant IPC sections as well as NOVEMBER1 Sobha issues. Her complaint is notas ence the byelections,” the BJP FebruaryorMarch 2021. and criminal intimidation were provisions of theSC/STAct. “Mr outsideoffice Surendran suchapersonal grievance but a leader said. ThipsaytoldTheIndianExpress also the same. Sarangi... wasarrestedand for- SOBHA SURENDRAN, vice-pres- largerissue within the party.’’ JMM general secretaryand thatBoutique Law, the London- Union LawMinisterRavi warded to the court.Further in- Hyderabad: A24-year-old ident in BJP’s Kerala unit, has Sobha recentlytold the me- chief spokesperson Supriyo basedlaw firmrepresentingNirav Shankar Prasad had held apress vestigation is underway,”asen- BJP worker sethimself on written to thenational party againstthe stateleadership, led dia, “I wasmade party state Bhattacharya said, "Wehave that had approachedhim earlier conferenceinMayinwhich heal- ior official said. fire outside the party’s leadership, alleging an attempt by stateparty chief KSurendran. vice-president (byKousted the BJP from powerin forhis independentlegal opinion leged that Thipsay, aprimary Following the arrest,OTV — Telangana unit office here within the stateunit to humili- But, Surendran told the media Surendran) afterflouting all Jharkhandand itsrule in Bihar on whether the cheating charge member of the Congress,had de- ownedbythe familyofBaijayant on Sundaytoprotest the ateand politically annihilateher. that he wasnot awareofany precedentsand without my willalso end soon.""We will not under section 420 of the IPC was posedinModi’s “defence” at the JayPanda,aformer BJD leader ‘detention’ofthe party Sobha has been keeping suchcomplaint. consent. Ihad been working at letthe BJPmurder democracy madeoutagainstthediamantaire, behestofhis party.Thipsayhad, who joinedthe BJP ahead of the Chief BandiSanjay Kumar, away from publiceventsfor the Asenior BJP leader said, the national levelasamember and destabilise an elected gov- had again approachedhim for however, said it washis profes- 2019 elections— issuedastate- police said. The man lastfew months even though “Sobha’s complaintreflectsthe of the national executive and as ernment," he added. twootheropinionsafterasupple- sional opinionfor whichhehad ment saying the arrest is a“sign dousedhimselfwithdiesel the partyisatthe forefrontof growing discontent among a astate general secretary... It is a The statementsofall persons mentarychargesheetwas filedin acceptedfees. of the stategovernment’s and self-immolated but the agitation againstthe LDF section of leaders in the party. matter of concern that those concernedwill be recordedand the alleged Rs 13,600-crore Modiisaccused of routing vendettaagainstOTV...”State BJP wasimmediatelyrescued government in the gold smug- Many senior leaders have been working at various spheres of athorough investigation will be Punjab NationalBank fraudcase. transactions of about Rs 13,600 general secretaryPrithviraj by police and locals,who gling case. sidelinedafter Surendran be- the party areleaving it or keep- conducted.The futurecourse of “They(lawfirm representing crorethrough fraudulent LoUs of Harichandan said, “This act is a put out the flames, asen- Sources close to Sobha con- came the party statepresident. ing away from the organisa- actionwill depend on the probe, Modi)madeonerequest(forlegal PNB.HeleftIndiainthefirstweek reflectionofthe desperationof ior police official told PTI. firmedthat she has complained She complainedtothe national tion,’’ she said. said SP Lakra. opinion).Whilethatwaspending, of January2018. the stategovernment ...” Reacting to theincident, TRS leader KTRama Rao allegedthatthe saffron TN Agriculture Minister Gujarat ‘custody party washatching acon- TRACKING INDIA’S COVID CURVE Classes9,10inAndhra spiracy to foment trouble death’: Second aheadofthe November 3 dies of Covid-linked issues CASES: RECOVERED:74,91,513 schools open from today bypoll to Dubbak 244 search in Narmada Assemblyseat. PTI He wasinductedintothe state DAYSSINCE 81,82,082 DEATHS:1,22,111 PANDEMIC canal on Nov 3 EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE CabinetbylateChief Minister BEGAN TESTS: 10,98,87,303 | DOUBLING RATE: 127.08** will be attendingonalternate WESTBENGAL ,NOVEMBER1 Jayalalithaa afterhis 2016 victory. SREENIVASJANYALA days,” he said. As agricultureminister, HYDERABAD,NOVEMBER1 “Wearingmasks,washing ADITIRAJA Politicalrow TAMILNADUAgricultureMinister Doraikannuwas instrumental in hands, and maintaining physical VADODARA,NOVEMBER1 overmanfound RDoraikkannu diedataprivate gettingtheCauverydeltadeclared STUDENTS OF classes9and 10 in distanceare mandatory. Intheaf- hospital in Chennai lateon asaprotectedspecialagricultural AndhraPradesh canstart attend- ternoon hours, therewill be on- TEN DAYS afterthe StateCrime hanging Saturdaynight due to coron- zone.During the Covid-related ing school on alternatedays from line classes forstudentswho did- InvestigationDepartment (CID) avirus-related complications. He lockdown too, he steered several Monday, officialssaid Sunday. n’t turn up forschool,” said carriedout the firstsearch forthe Kolkata:A34-year-old was72. Doraikkannuwas admit- reforms in handling and manag- KEYSTATES TOTAL SURGEIN 7-DAYAVG DOUBLING Classes will be heldfrom9:15 Veerabhadrudu. bodyof anallegedcustodialdeath manwasfoundhangingin tedtothe hospital on October 13 ingagricultural produce and live- TOWATCH CASES 24HOURS GROWTH* TIME** amtill1:45pmandeachclasswill Theofficialshave alsomadeal- victimintheNarmadamaincanal amangoorchardinNadia afterhecomplainedofbreathless- stockservices in the state. have only16students, following ternative arrangementsfor the thatpassesthroughVadodara,the districtonSunday. TheBJP ness. Later,hetestedpositive for Vice President Venkaiah ■ Maharashtra 16,78,406 5,548 0.34% 211.56 socialdistanceprotocols.Theaca- students who opttostayhome, Sardar SarovarNarmada Nigam claimedthat victim Bijoy Covid-19.Hewas putononoxy- Naidu, Prime MinisterNarendra ■ Andhra 8,23,348 2,783 0.34% 211.87 demicyearhasbeenextendedtill introducing mobile apps like Ltd(SSNNL)willagainshutwater Shil wasits worker and gensupportsince the time of ad- ModiandChief MinisterEdappadi April 30, said Commissioner of Abyasa and Diksa along with supply to the canalfor 24 hours ■ Karnataka 8,23,412 3,014 0.44% 162.88 waskilledbyTrinamool mission and had been on ventila- KPalaniswamicondoledthemin- School Education VChina DoordarshanclassesandYoutube from Monday midnighttofacili- Congress workers —a torsupportfromseveral days. ister's death ■ Tamil Nadu 7,24,522 2,511 0.37% 195.72 Veerabhadrudu. channels, basedonthe technol- tate asecondsearch operationon claimdismissedbytherul- Athree-timeMLA from “Deeplyanguishedbythe ■ Kerala 4,33,105 7,983 1.66% 43.50 “Weare reopeninginaphased ogy'saccessibilityforstudents.As Tuesday. ing TMC. Policesaidthey Papanasam Assemblycon- passing away of Tamil Nadu manner and we aremaking forresidential schools, hostelfa- BabuSheikh Nisar, the 65- hadnotreceivedany com- stituency in Thanjavur district, AgricultureMinister, Sri *Compounded Daily Growth Rate overlast7days ** Calculated over7-day growth changes right from day-to-day cilities will bemade available any year-oldmigrantfromTelangana, plaint. The BJP calledfor a Doraikannu held severalposts in Doraikannu,”Naidutweeted. CASEFATALITYRATIO POSITIVITYRATE DAILYIN,DAILYOUT schedulesto mid-daymealsinor- time betweenNovember 2-23. wasallegedlykilledincustody at 12-hour bandhon theAIADMKincludingthatof the The Prime Minister’s Office der to adheretosafetyprotocols Thereare about60,000 the Fatehgunj police station in 7DAYSEARLIER: 7DAYSEARLIER: DETECTED TODAY Monday, demanding jus- party'sThanjavurnorthzonesec- quoted Modiassaying: inwake of theCovid-19situation,” schools—including aided, un- VadodaraonDecember 10,2019. tice forShil.Alocal TMC retaryandthepositionofthesec- “Saddenedbythe demise of 1.51 7.67 44,963 said stateEducation Minister aided, and private institutions— On Sunday,teamsofthe CID, leader said, “Thereisno retary of the party’sPapanasam Ministerinthe Tamil Nadu NOW: NOW: RECOVERED TODAY: AdimulapuSuresh. in the state. Forclasses 6-8, whichisinvestigating the case, politicalconnectiontothis Unionfor threedecades. He was Government, Thiru R. 1.49 7.45 58,684 “Weare takingallprecautions schools will be reopenedfrom visitedseven villages on the case.TheBJPhaslearntthis alsoaleader of the District Doraikkannu.Hemadenotewor- Deathsasaratioof Positives against Becoming sick vs to ensureasafeenvironment in November 23, and forstudents banksofthe Mahisagar riverin newtactic to gain sympa- AgricultureMarketing thyefforts to servesociety and positivecases(in %); number tested recovering; more compliance with the Standard of class 1-5, school starts on Vadodarataluka, seeking leads thybyturning everysui- Committee. He wonhis first empowerthe farmers. indicatorofprogress (in %); indicatorof recoveries for 14 days Operating Procedureofthe gov- December14. Thestate govern- from thevillagersonthe alleged in avertingdeaths the spread of disease may signal the peak cideormurderintoapolit- Assemblyelectionin2006andhe Condolences to his familyand ernment. Althoughthe schools ment has also decidedto open all disposal of Nisar’s body on the in- DataasonOctober31,releasedbyUnionMinistryofHealth,ICMRandstates.Oftendailynumbers ical murder.” ENS retainedthe Papanasam seat in supporters in this sad hour.” includedatafrompreviousdays.Assuch,trendsbasedondailynumbersareindicative,notdefinitive startfunctioningfromNovember higher educational institutions tervening night of December 10 the2011 and2016 Assemblypolls. -WITHPTIINPUTS 2forclasses9and10,thestudents from November 2. and 11,2019.

New Delhi WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 9 EXPRESS NETWORK THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,NOVEMBER2,2020 PM to launch FROMPAGEONE Ghogha-Hazira Many ways to cause we areafamilyofeight and from agent to school me?” he asked,and refusedtore- students,” Soren said. Ansari, the owner,said: “Wehave records listAbhaySingh,aClass RopaxFerry have been facing severe hard- Across six districts, students, spondtoqueriesabouthisalleged Chief SecretarySukhdev done nothing wrong and all the 9student, as aSikh. His family dupe apoor shipssincethelockdownwasim- parents, and school authorities role in the scam. Singh told The Indian Express that studentsweregiven thescholar- says they areHindu Bhumihars. Service on Nov 8 posed.” explainedhow the scam plays out Anothertrail,identifiedby the verification “has been shipmoney. The students who The records also listthe 15-year- student: steal Records showAnsari has been on the ground. In atypical case, severalbeneficiaries, ledtoa stopped” till the probeiscom- were givenlesseramountshadnot old as aClass 10 student who re- listedasabeneficiaryofthe theysaid, middlemen convince a banking correspondent, Hashim, pleted. Records showthat in paid their school fees, and the ceivedRs10,700 as ahosteller. EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE IDs, lie about scheme that givesRs1,000 per school owner to provide the login aresident of Urguttu in Ranchi’s 2019-20, Rs 61 crorewas dis- moneywas adjusted.” AjijAnsari “I wasgiven Rs 4,000 in cash. AHMEDABAD,NOVEMBER1 year to studentsofClasses1to5; ID and passwordonthe NSP,or Kankeblock. “I have openedsev- bursedthrough Direct Benefit and Latif Ansari deniedthat they The school is an extension of the source of funds, andRs 5,700ayearto studentsof use afakeschoolletterpad to ob- eral bank accountsbut Ihavenot Transfer in Jharkhand under the had notpaid the fees. owner’s home and thereisno PRIME MINISTER NarendraModi Classes 6to10iftheyare day tain them. Then, theyinvolve been involved in cheating. Ial- pre-Matricscholarship scheme, ‘Never filledany hostel,” he said. Records list will virtuallyinaugurateaRopax pocket scholars, or Rs 10,700 if theyare banking correspondentstoopen ways give receipts to school own- whichwas launched by the UPA Khushi Mahato, studying in FerryService betweenGhoghain commissions — in hostels. Jharkhand receivedRs accountsofprospective benefici- ers,” said Hashim, who runs an government in 2008. Soren came scholarship form’ Class 9, as aChristian who re- Bhavnagar of Saurashtra region 61 crorefor the scheme in 2019- aries using theirAadhaar cards establishment under the Large to powerinDecember 2019 as the MADRASAALIA ARABIA, ceivedRs10,700.“IamaHindu and Hazira in Surat on November all officially 20, from acentral allotment of Rs and fingerprintsbeforeapplying Area Multi-Purpose Cooperative head of aJMM-Congress-RJD RANCHI: Records showthat and we receivedRs4,000 after 8, said Union MinisterofState for 1,400crore. forscholarships on their behalf. Societies(LAMPS)thatprovides government in the state. among the 102beneficiaries is my fingerprints were taken,” she Shipping (independent charge), them as minorities; manykeep- In the same locality,another “Once the scholarships are interest-free short-term loans or Sana Parween,aClass8student. said. Scholarshiprecords show Chemical and Fertilisers, ingachunk of thescholarship for beneficiaryofRs5,700 “from credited,the next step depends agricultural credit to tribal mem- Aadhaar But Parween, aresidentofKanke, 170beneficiaries, including 168 Mansukh Mandaviya, on Sunday. themselves. Thereare cases Saudi”, 21-year-old Sarjun on the dealsthesemiddlemen bers. is aClass 10 student of St Anne’s who receivedmoneyfor hostel Addressing apress confer- whereparentshavebeencoerced Khatoon, has been shownasa strike, either withthe beneficiar- ApartfromChakor,staff of obtained, Girls School. “In 2018,Iwas told students. ence here, Mandaviyasaid the intostrikingdeals with middle- Class 9studentofAdarsh High ies or schools. Sometimes, the severalschools identifiedDinesh that ascholarshipformhas to be Salim Khan, owner,said the RopaxFerry Servicebetween men, agreeingto forgoabig share School in McCluskieganj. “I have beneficiaries remain unaware Sahu, ateacherwho owns account hijacked, filledandthegovernmentissend- school had ahostelwhere“40- Ghogha and DahejinBharuch of their duesinreturn forafrac- neverheardofthis school, and I and the money is split between Santosh Shramik School in and hostel faked ing money. In 2019,when the 50 students stayed before the districtwillbediscontinued and tion.Then thereare severalcases receivedRs2,200incash from the the agents,banking correspon- Ranchi’s Pithoria, as akey figure. moneycame,themiddlementold lockdown” but couldnot explain apassenger-onlyservice will be of bank correspondents, agents, agent,” she said. dents, and school staff. “Sahu told us about the scheme. but Ididn’t knowanaccount had us to give them half,” she said. the number of beneficiaries. functional on the routeonce a andschoolstaffconnivingtosteal Over 400kmaway, the scam Sometimes, the schools areun- We gave him the user ID and been created in my name.Ididn’t Madrasa Alia Arabia is aresi- Asked about the changeinreli- day. He said the ropaxferry serv- User IDs and passwords to divert playedout through adifferent aware,” said aschool official, password, and he said ourstu- getany money. Also, thereisno dential facilityfor boys. gion of studentsonrecords, he ice will shortenthe current dista- benefitsfromschools that never method —detailsofanentire speaking on condition of dentswould receive the scholar- hostelinthe school,” said Kujjur, MohammadSahabuddin, head said: “These things do nothap- nce of 370kmbetween Surat and appliedfor any—includingusing school were usedto availthe ben- anonymity. ship.Later,wefound that none of whosefamilycultivatesvegetables teacher,said: “Weneverfilledany pen in our school.” Saurashtrato60km. The time of the nameofaKendriya Vidyalaya efit without their knowledge.In Pastor Anil Chakor, chairman, our studentshad been made a on asmall parcel of land. Records scholarshipformforany of ourstu- SARFARAZ DEVELOPMENT transport willalsobedecreased in Sahibganj. TheIndian Express Sahibganj,middlemen targeteda AssemblyofGod Church School beneficiary,”said RijhuMahato, showscholarshipswere disbursed dents.” ACADEMY MISSIONHIGH from 10-12hours to 3-4 hours. trackeddownindividuals who KendriyaVidyalayawith records in Ranchi, identifieda“middle- VicePrincipal, Indian Public to 174students,including 148 INDIRA GANDHI MEMORIAL SCHOOL,KURGI,RANCHI: The ministersaidthe ropax were allegedly thepivot of this listing 123beneficiaries, includ- man” as Dinesh Sahu. Ansari and School, Murpuri, Ranchi. “hostel” students. HIGH SCHOOL, NAWAGARH, Records listSatish Lakra, aClass ferryservice will have thecapac- nexus:fromMustaqh,called“the ing 122hostelstudents. Daniel Arapointed to another in In Sundru villageof SarfarazAhmad,owner,said: DHANBAD:Recordsshowschol- 9student from thetribal com- ity to carry30 trucks,sevensmall agent of agents,” to Dinesh Sahu, Tirkey,the principal, said: “I have Behratoli: Tanveer,atailor, who Lohardaga, residentssaid Sahu “Beforethe lockdown, 40-50 stu- arshipsweresanctionedfor 324 munity as aMuslim who wasre- trucks,100 two-wheelers and ateacherwho also owns aschool no information about this schol- claimed he wasdirected by andbankingcorrespondentshad dentsstayedinthe hostel.” He did students—allexceptonereceived ceivedRs10,700 in aJharkhand 550 passengers. The service will in Ranchi. arshipscheme.Thereisnohostel Maulana Tabrez Bukhari of Darul- visitedthemto open accounts for notprovide anydetailsabout the Rs 10,700 eachfor “hostel” stu- StateCo-operative Bank ac- do three round trips everydayand All of this, right under the in our KV,and we did notfill any Salam AcademyinRanchi. The students. “One of them wascar- hostel’slocation,orexplainhowso dents. The three-roomschool has count. “I wastoldthat Iwill get as per estimation, it will ferry 5 noses of district, state, and central applicationform.” Indian Express trackeddownall rying alaptopand anotherwas manystudentsreceived scholar- no hostel. Rs 1,500asstipend moneybut I lakh passengers, 80,000 passen- authorities who have been tasked When TheIndianExpress di- three. carrying a(Pointof Sale) machine. ships. “These details arehandled RamDubey,director,said: have notreceivedit. Ihaveonly gervehicles, 50,000 two-wheel- with verifying the applications alledthe contact number of a “Maulana Bukhari told me to Manychildren were asked to get by my computeroperator,”hesaid. “Wehaveonly80students. Idid oneSBI account,”saidthe 16- ersand 30,000trucks everyyear. before disbursing the scholar- beneficiarylistedasNusrat Bano, collectthe Aadhaarcards of those their mobile phones and reveal SUNRISE PUBLIC SCHOOL, notinitiateany application.Thisis year-old. ships meant forstudentsfrom astudent of Class 9, the call was who look like students.Iwas to OTPs. Butwebecame suspicious TANGAR,RANCHI:Recordsshow abig fraud.” Sarfaraz Ahmad, the school families with annual income be- answered by aman who identi- getRs100 per person. Icollected and confronted them. We al- thatAasmin Khatun, 17,received UNIDENTIFIED,RANCHI:Hasan owner,said: “I don’t knowhow Gehlot moves to ban lowRs1lakh, and who had fied himself as Vikas Ganjhu, a detailsof around100persons,but lowedthem to leave onlyafter Rs 5,700 on May11. “Wehaven’t Ali’saccountnumberinthePublic their religionhas been sale of firecrackers scored at least50% in their previ- 22-year-oldshop-owner from only21got theirmoney.Thisjob theypromisedthat theywould- got anypassbook.Wewereallot- Finance Management System changed.” Banksources said the ous exam. SalwevillageinLatehar. involves alot of hardworkand I n’tcometo the villageagain,”said tedRs2,500bytheschoolbutthey (PFMS)fordirecttransferslistshim moneywas lying unusedinthe Jaipur: Rajasthan Chief Minister On Sunday, The Indian Express “Middlemen filledour forms and have refused to do it anymore,” Mumtaz Alam, aresident. said it has been adjustedinthe as abeneficiaryofRs10,700 for account since Lakra’s finger- Ashok Gehlothas issueddirec- reportedhow thescamhad en- promisedusmoney. We haven’t said Tanveer. When contacted,Sahusaid:“I fees.Iamasmall-timefarmerand hostelstudents, but the school’s printswerenot submitted amid tions to ban the saleoffirecrack- snaredschools, students, and par- receivedanythingso far,”hesaid. “What Tanveer meant wasto am aLeft-leaning person and do the moneywould have been of name could notbeverified. Ali, a the Covid lockdown. ers and fireworksin order to pro- entsacross four districtsin In Dhanbad, St Xavier’s collect Aadhaar cardsofstudents some farming on the side. Iwant muchhelp,especiallyafter the 25-year-oldfather of achild who MADRASA tect the healthofthe publicand Jharkhand despitemultiple Mission School owner of Darul-Salam Academy. But thestudentstoprosper,that’s all. lockdown,”saidAjijAnsari,thefa- owns some land, said he wasap- KURANIYAKALIMULULUM, thoseaffected by Covid-19. checks in place,including GhyanshyamSav found while fol- sincemyschool did nothavean Ihad gone to the villagetomake ther of Aasmin who appeared for proachedbyamiddleman who DUMKA: Records list270 ben- According to arelease from Aadhaar IDs, fingerprints, bank lowing up on applicationsthat U-DISE (UnifiedDistrict them understand the process. Class 10 exams this year. toldhimto give hisfingerprintson eficiaries, including179 hostel the Rajasthan government, accounts,and an online database. thecontact number hadbeen Information System for The moneycomes to the stu- Rakiba Khatun, aClass 10 stu- aPoSmachineandAadhaardetails students. However, the contact Gehlotissuedthese instructions It turns out that this scam has changed in the forms. “It wasthe Education Code) number,which dents’accounts, howcanItakeit? dent, also receivedRs2,500from to avail “charity moneyfromthe number listedinthe name of to officials on Sundayduring a multipletrails, with“charity from number of awoman from is requiredforapplying, we could All these allegations arefalse.” thesanctionedRs5,700.“Wedon’t Saudigovernment”.Recordsshow Ajmeri Biwi, aClass 6student, meeting and ordered action Saudia Arabia” emerging as are- Wasseypur.WhenIgot my num- notgoahead,” said Bukhari. knowinwhich bank my account the moneywas depositedinhis wasansweredbyamanwho againstvehicles that areunfit curring theme. berreinstated,Ifound that 100 Local residentsand Maulana Jharkhand CM wasopened.We were givencash,” accountonMay 11.“Themiddle- identifiedhimself as Manzar and emanatesmoke. “I wastold the moneywas fake studentshad been addedun- Bukhari described aman they said Rakiba, 17.“Iamafarmer but men onlygavemehalfthe Bari from Gaya in Bihar.“Idon’t The CM directed to ensurea from the Saudi government. I der the school’s name on the por- identifiedasMustaqh as the orders probe don'town anyland. During the amount. My sisters, too, received knowwhat youare talking ban on temporarylicencesissu- gave the middleman my Aadhaar tal,” he said. “The authorities said “agent of agentswho has done verification of applicants—from lockdown,we got apittanceforour moneylikethis,” said Ali. about,” he said. ed to sell firecrackers. He added number and account details. My it wasaservererror.How can lakhs of transactions”. the school to the statelevel.“We produce.Wewill trytoeducate ‘Don’t know why Samshul Haque, who runs that in marriages and functions, wifeand IreceivedRs10,700 therebeaservererror on aphys- Subsequently, The Indian Express will immediatelyrectify the sys- our childrenaslongaswecan,” the madrasa, said he did not use of fireworks be stopped. He each, and we gave half the ical piece of paper?” receivedacall from aman who temofverificationand makesure said Latif Ansari, Rakiba’s father. religion waschanged’ verify anyapplication forthe alsoappealedtoturn offengines amount to themiddle man,” said Connecting the dots, identifiedhimself as Mustaqh. this doesnothappen again. These Records show130 studentsre- SUNRISE PUBLIC SCHOOL, scholarship."Someone seemsto of cars at redlights. ENS Ansari, 39. “I took the moneybe- “Who asked youtocome behind scholarshipsareimportant forthe ceivedRs5,700 each. Munsaf RATU,RANCHI: Scholarship have cheated us,” he said. CALENDAR

OVER THE HEDGE by Michael Fry &TLewis CROSSWORD 4265 DAYTODAY BYPETERVIDAL

ARIES(Mar 21 -Apr 20) LIBRA (Sept24-Oct 23) The fact that the This is nowaspecial Moon is in sucha time of year.Icannot friendly promise that the relationshiptoyour next four weekswill sign should surely help you be easy but,eveninsmall ways, give yourselfaleg up today. theywill be significant. In fact, Don't depend on others to in astrangesense, the more carry out your requests,but obstacles youmeet, the greater don't subordinateyourself to your chances forsuccess. The their wishes, either.And don't acorns whichfall nowwill, as be complacent. thesaying goes, grow into mighty oaksasthe years go by. TAURUS (Apr21-May 21) I'd liketotakeaquick SCORPIO (Oct24-Nov 22) look at along-term Strangelyenough, cycle and point out contradictory that Mars, amost planetary influences CALVIN &HOBBES by Bill Watterson impetuousplanet,ismaking oftenmakefor the thisratheranextravagant time. mostproductive periods. Thefact If your costs haven’t escalated that youare entering asecretive already,theysoon will. Your job period, while still going through is to make surethat it’s all asociablephase, is therefore worthit. likely to lead to somehighly ACROSS DOWN intriguing encounters over the 1 Gets excited about apoint 2Foodintestcaseisexhibitedin GEMINI(May22-June21) next twoorthree weeks. reachedindevelopment(5) court(8) Let’s checkout 8Took part with spirit on an 3Beer long brewed in France (8) Mercury, the planet SAGITTARIUS(Nov23-Dec 22) instrument (4,4) 4Two lads, one suffers (6) responsible foryour Professional 9Heapedlikecarpets?(5) 5Idrew out something strange chatty ways.Right arrangementsstill 10 Emphasises the potential of an (5) nowyou arebeing urgedtodo seem to dominate the Oriental artiste (8) 6Western ceremonyput down something practical with your outlook.Ifyou’ve 11 Don is producedtheatrically (5) ideas and, if youdon’ttake been havingone or twosleepless (3,2) 7Aninspiration to entertain (5) that important step towardsa nights, somethingisdefinitely 12 One maysee one in the 12 Initiallywhen to expect aletter newactivity soon, youcould wrong.The underlying trendfor museum of Natural History (3) from Greece (3) become rather frustrated all worldlyambitionsisactually 16 Notecarrier soakedand allin 13 Purposeful employment? (3) or resentful. profoundly favourable.You just have to getthrough the next few (6) 14 Conceivablyisn’t acne in this CANCER (June 22 -July23) 17 She’s involved in stage, films case (8) days with your dreams and Ioften think that plans intact. and radio (6) 15 Conflict in whichcounter MARVIN by Tom Armstrong yours is one of the 18 Getonwith some notes chargesmay be the deciding mostperfect signs of CAPRICORN (Dec 23 -Jan 20) (3) factor (5,3) the zodiac, but so As from nowyou are 23 Aportion of rhubarb jam 19 Awarm spring we hear foran oftenyour life seems to be full entering an (5) old man (6) of struggles. Yet, looking at the ambitious phase that 24 Takenill (8) 20 Tongue of land between Italy long-term, it is nowasimple will seeprofessional 25 Theydriftfor the present on and Turkey (5) mattertoforecastincreased types redoubling theirefforts to boardship (5) 21 It has ashaky reputationasa prosperity andcomfort -but getonand getahead. Thereisa 26 Shotbyfiringsquad and writer (5) onlyifyou dodgethe next few chance coming up soon to play carriedout (8) 22 Enter intoanAmerican days’worth of emotional some sort of diplomatic role in 27 Thekindthat turns green business contract withancient flying bombs. your community.Justhow and (5) city (5) whenisuptoyou andyour sense LEO (July24-Aug 23) of timing. SolutionsCrossword4264:Across:1Antagonist,6Ring,10Siren,11Champagne, The weeklytrend 12Esurient,13Latin,15Croesus,17Esparto,19Reddens,21Dresses,22Aesop,24 shows thatyou AQUARIUS (Jan 21 -Feb 19) Eastwind,27Off-colour,28Refer,29Liar,30Ethereally.Down:1Also,2Threshold, should nowbeginto Youmustbethe 3Goner,4Nucleus,5Seattle,7Ingot,8Greenhouse,9Applepie,14Scoreagoal,16 bring financial lucky recipientofa Sheepdog,18Resentful,20Stepout,21Deserve,23Sofia,25Worse,26Fray. plans to aconclusion. If you’ve windfall, although I been dreaming about a don’tthink you’re particular investment or going to be showeredbycash bargain but have made no from heaven. It mightbethat positive moves, geton moneyisnot involved,but you’ll JUMBLEDWORDS DifficultyLevel5s with it. But morethan that, be swamped with affection. The Instructions you’reheading forafresh source of the upcoming Givenbelowarefourjumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemto TosolveaSudokupuzzle, startinwhatever area generosity shouldbesomeone youchoose. who is well-known to you. therespectivesquaresbelow.Selectthelettersintheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtoget everydigitfrom1to9 4280 theanswerforthegivenquip. mustappearineachofthe Therichest___isthatwhichsubmitstothearbitrationof___.-LawrenceDurrell(4,..,4) VIRGO (Aug 24 -Sept23) PISCES(Feb20-Mar 20) nineverticalcolumns,in Venus and Mercury TheMoon elevates eachoftheninehorizontal arestill closely your thoughtstoday. 4281 GINEE AISVLT rowsandineachofthe related, It would be very nice nineboxes. encouraging if youcould take

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THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,NOVEMBER2,2020 WORDLY WISE Coalitions though successful have always found this, thattheir triumph

10 THE EDITORIAL PAGE has been brief. —BENJAMIN DISRAELI Offices at war

§ FOUNDED BY § RAMNATH GOENKA AndhraCMlettertoCJI alleging wrongdoing by HC BECAUSETHE TRUTHINVOLVES US ALL is afirst. SC mustsettlematter expeditiously

READYFOR TAKE-OFF Upendra Baxi Government has setnew terms forAir India sale, but it may notbeeasy to attractbidders in currentclimate ACCOUNTABILITYANGELSURGINGthat againstaseniorjustice of the Supreme Justice DVSS Somayajulu respectively on the truth mustcomeout andsecrecy folks CourtofIndia without meeting the robust September 15 and16, 2020,and alleges that NOCTOBER29, theGovernmentofIndia announcedyet another round insisting that institutional integrity trumps evidentiarythreshold forprima facie en- the “beneficiary” of these ordersisthe TDP of changes to facilitatethe sale of Air India. The mostsubstantive change the people’s right to knowwill have yet quiry. Second, he namessomeincumbent “of whichJusticeRamana wasalegal ad- concerns the levelofdebtthat prospective bidderswould necessarily again afield daywiththe letter (publicly justices and the Chief Justice of the High viserand Additional Advocate General in have to take on if theybought thenational carrier. Earlier,the govern- disclosedvia media release) by the Chief Court as directly or indirectlygiving judg- the past…” However, theApexCourthas Oment had mandated afixed levelofdebt to be bundledwith the sale. This MinisterofAndhra Pradesh to theChief mentsand orders at the instigation of even in TADA cases quashedterrorconvic- Justice of India. Justice Ramana. Third, his principal advisor, tionsinholding thatintention and conse- wasahefty amountofRs23,286.50 crore. According to thelatestannouncement,the The secrecy folksalways managetopre- Ajeya Kellam,releases thelettertothe press, quences aredifferent things —intention has government will allowprospective bidders the flexibility to decidethe levelofdebtthey vail. Remember advocateUtsav Singh Bains even before theCJI had an opportunityto to be proved and one maynot infer it by a wish to take on while buying the debt-ridden airline. The second substantive changeis who filedanaffidavitthat acertain disgrun- examinethe matter. studyofthe consequencesofthe act. that the winning bidder will have to deposit at least15per cent of the bid amountincash tledcorporatehatched abig conspiracy Howmay Chief Justice Bobde act? He Already,Ashwini KumarUpadhyay, a with thegovernmentaheadofthe sharetransfer.Since these crucial changes were an- sinceCJI RanjanGogoi had takenstrict ju- maydecide to direct the registrar to listthe Supreme Court lawyer and BJP leader,has nouncedjustaday before the lastdatefor submission of expressions of interest, the gov- dicial action againstthe subversion of judi- matter as manifest contempt —two very sought the statutorily required consent of ernment also announced an extension of this deadline from October 30 to December 14 cial independence? Remember that Justice recent decisions of the Courthaveheldthat the AttorneyGeneral KKVenugopal to ini- AKPatnaik had submitted asealed cover scandalisation of the Courtiscontuma- tiatecontemptproceedings againstthe so that potentialbidders have achance to carefullyevaluatethe newterms and conditions. reporttothe Supreme CourtinOctober cious.Ofcourse,the eliteconstitutional chief ministerand his principal advisor, The governmenthopesthat thesechanges would makeAir Indiaamoreattractive 2019?One year down the road, arewethe opinion demands that this powerbeexer- Kellam, because “if this kind of precedent proposition. The high —and rising —level of debt has easilybeenthe biggeststumbling people, well-informedabout the truth of cisedveryrarely. Who/what should the CJI were allowed, political leaders would start blockinthe sale of Air India since it wasfirstput up forsale in 2018.Air India had close to the matter? listento? making recklessallegations againstjudges Rs 60,000 croreofdebt even before the pandemic made things worse; the beleaguered Undeterred,the Andhra Pradesh CM The gravamen againstJustice Ramana is who do notdecidecases in their favour” and carrier has accumulated additional debt since the startofthe current financial year.Given nowattacks the “neutrality” of the high thathewas biased to actinfavourofthe rul- this would soon “spell the death knellofan courtand allegesa“nexus”between that ingparty because he wasanadditional ad- independent judiciary”. One hopesthat the the fact that aviation has been one of the worst-hit sectors in the wake of the COVID-19 courtand some justices and the Chief Theconductis vocategeneral when theTelugu Desam learnedAGwill decide soon becausethe pandemic, resulting in debt levels going up across the industry, thegovernment wasof Justiceand JusticeNVRamana,due to be- Partywas in office.Manylawyers have dailytrial of casesagainstlegislators would the view, andrightfullyso, that “fixing the debt at anylevel couldhavereducedthe uni- come the 48th CJI when CJI SABobde re- contumacious at least on adornedaugustconstitutionalpositions of nowcommence. verse of bidders”. tires on April 23, 2021. Neverinthe history three counts. First, the CM being highcourt (and later even the Accountability angels mayinsist on a Notwithstanding the latestchanges, thebiggestthreattothe government’s effortsis of independent India has an incumbent makes an allegation of Supreme Court) justicesbecauseoftheir thorough probeintothe allegation about the timing. Mostexisting players, who would have made forthe best bidders, arestrug- chief minister writtenamissive to the CJI 'destabilising' his high legal experience. Did/do theythen nec- lands in Amaravati purchasedbytwo allegingsuchwrongdoing by ahigh court, essarilycommit anyjudicial impropriety or daughtersofthe learned justice before its gling to survive themselves. Moreover,air trafficinOctober,while distinctlybetterthan alleging also that asenior-mostjudgeofthe government against asenior areclose to the executive to apointofcom- designation as capital of thenew state. The May, is lessthanhalf of what it wasbeforethe pandemic hit. Further,withthe second Supreme Courthas aidedand abettedan justice of the Supreme Court plicity? The second allegationisthatJustice chief minister is confidentthatanenquiry waveofCOVID infections across the board, estimates suggestthatmostairlinesmay enterpriseto“destabiliseand topple the of India without meeting the Ramana has exercisedremote control and will establish a“prior meeting of minds”, struggle to befinanciallyviable even in 2021. Beyond the timing issue, it is tooearly to as- democraticallyelected government of the robust evidentiarythreshold influencedBenchformation in the Andhra “meticulous round-tripping of transactions sess whether the latesttweakswould be enough to attract interestfromthe buyers. It is state”. The letter also speaksofan“indelible High Court. But is thereany hardprima fa- and the holdings”, and a“largerscam”.At noteworthy that in the previous iterationssince 2018,Air Indiahas notattracted asingle trail” which leads “backtothe overtand forprima facie enquiry. cie evidence of suchaconduct suggesting itsbest, the Courtmay addits voicefor an bid. The trouble is, since Air India losses moneyeachyear,itisdifficult forthe govern- covert actions of Sri NChandrababu Naidu Second,henames some that the Masterofthe Roster allowedsuch expeditious CBI investigation. But if the CJI through Honourable Sri Justice NV thingstohappen? Third, Justice decides on an in-house enquiry, the com- ment to wait out this trough in the market—unless, of course, it can find ways to run the incumbent justices and the Ramana”. Chelameswar,ina2016 internalnote to the mittee will have to act much before April airline in suchamanner that it doesn’t leak money. The chief minister does notseek any Chief Justice of the High Collegium, nowinthe public domain, sug- 23, 2021, the date of his retirement. specific constitutional remedy;heseems Court as directly or gested that hiscolleague had shown “un- Anydelaymay resultinaninadvertent merelytosurmiseand suggest. Scurrilous, indirectly giving judgments dueproximity”tothe chief minister in en- and unconstitutional supersession. One even if politicallyshrewd, suspicionsdonot and ordersatthe instigation dorsing sixjudicial elevations. In the event, hopes that the Union LawMinisterRavi HAND AND SICKLE constitute evidence whichwill hold up in a however, it seemsthatthe contrary view ShankarPrasadwouldreassure the nation judicial forum. Would the CJI then be duty- of Justice Ramana. Third,his expressedbythe Intelligence Bureauand that the supersession of justices is athing bound or discretion-laden in yetordering principal advisor,Ajeya the Collegium prevailed. of pastand will neverbeallowedtoraiseits Aformal alliance maynot be enough forthe Congress and CPM an in-house investigation on suchacontu- Kellam, releases the letter to Can allegations about suchmisdoings ugly and fierce mienagain. to be the alternative to Trinamool Congress in West Bengal macious conduct? the press, even before the CJI further override the attorney-client privi- The conduct is contumacious at leaston lege? The letter refers to the“gag” order and The writer is professor of law, University of had an opportunityto HE CPM CENTRAL committee on Saturday stampedits approval on an al- three counts.First, theCMmakes an allega- astayofinvestigation passedbythe Chief Warwick,and former vice chancellor of liance withthe Congress to fight the assemblyelections in West Bengal tion of “destabilising” his government examine the matter. Justice of AndhraPradeshHigh Courtand UniversitiesofSouth Gujarat and Delhi next year,while thetwo parties will face offinKerala around the same time. Though aformal alliance is afirst, the CPM and Congress had atacit TunderstandingtotakeonMamataBanerjee’s Trinamool Congress in the 2016 assembly election. On thatoccasion, the alliance could notmakeadent in Trinamool’s showing.Besides, the BJP seems to have emergedasthe principal opposition to the Trinamool in West Bengal. The Congress and CPM will needmorethanjustanallianceto radicallyalter thepoliticalscenario in West Bengal and be of some consequence in theas- ’70S LESSON FOR VACCINE PLAN semblypolls. Aftertwo terms in office, MamataBanerjee has lostsome of the lustrethat fetchedher asubstantial majority in the lasttwo assemblyelections. The CPM and the Congresswere Howproject that devised self-reliance in foodgrains can guide COVID vaccination her primaryadversariesinthe lasttwo elections, whichwerefought on secular governance issues suchasland ownership. The rise of the BJP has transformedthe natureofthe con- Yoginder KAlagh test andthe party is nowcontrolling the narrative in the statewith anew form of iden- tity politics —its spectacular ascent is reflected in the BJP winning 18 Lok Sabha seatsand over 40 per cent of the votes in 2019.The challengebeforethe Congress and the CPM is MONTEK SINGH AHLUWALIA,aneconomist support, we could turn to “secular”dharma Icame backfired with energy,but my to reinvent the alliance as the alternative to both the Trinamool and the BJP.That calls for with considerable practical experience, has gurus who have alarge following —follow- staffchief gave me ahorrorstory of how the alliance to discard the lethargy inducedbythe loss of office and be at leastavibrant pointed out that under normal circum- ers of Pandurang Shastri Athawale (Dada) agriculturewas planned. Some yardsticks Opposition in the street and the assembly, offeracounter to Mamata’s governance agenda stances, India manages to vaccinateonly65 and Morari Bapu, the Kathakar,inwestern that had originated in Poland were used. I and patronagepolitics as well as the BJP’s identity politics. The tried, tested andfailed per centofits under-five-year-olds, 100mil- India, forexample. Thereare likelytobesim- put an end to that and asked each collector lion of the150 millioninthat agegroup. By ilar groups in different states and regions. to send me data from the field. Using it, we leadershipofthese parties seems hardlyinapositiontopresentanewagendaand cap- implication, 200million people to be vacci- These areactuallyreligious leaders with a modelledagricultureproduction and by turethe narrative.The Congress and the LeftinWestBengalhaverevealedthe same nated againstCOVID in the firstyear means solidreputation forfieldwork and an organ- 1978, we were producing enough grain to predicament that itsnational leadership suffers from —out of office, theyare at alossin averydifficult if notanalmostimpossible isational structuretofollowthrough when feed ourselves. To my surprise, Ibecame an setting the electoral agenda. Both the Congress and the CPM have lostthe ambition and target.Thischallengeneeds careful thinking. ataskisspelt out to them. The Khalsais, of agricultural “expert”. skilltoreimaginetheir vision, introduce newleaders and mobilise people: Theyhave We need to plan on awar footing. But the course, thefinest exampleofthis with a Will we nowhavethe couragetoface re- optedtowait forvoters to return afterexhausting trustinthe incumbent party.Suchastrat- plan mustalsoberealistic and basedonlo- global reach. ality? It's moredifficult because youhaveto cal realities.The firsttaskwould be the con- The public sector in the PPP mode would look at the face of death. But if we manageto egy can work forthem in states wherepolitics is bipolar,but it is likelytofurther dimin- struction of areal statistical system, or us- needtobuild up thesupplychain infrastruc- do so,wewill build the best possible — ish their influence when newplayers enterthe contest. ing management jargon, an information ture. Arealistic plan will,ofcourse, be for12 though by no means notperfect —Vaccine West Bengal, clearly,ispoisedtosee athree-cornered contest. Together,the CPMand system basedonhealth statistics at the vil- to 18 months. An appraisal system mustbe Plan and improveonitaswegoalong. But Congress had gathered over 32 per cent votes in the 2016 election, whichissubstantial lagelevel andusing guessworkincases apartofit. we have stopped planning. It's notpretty. in amulti-polar polity.The alliance will needapowerful messageand action-plan to im- wherewedon’t have data.Those who work We have stopped planning. Actually, suchplanning wasdone for That's whythe mediaand TV shows talk of proveupon this vote-share and offeritself as acontender foroffice. such asystemmustbesupported. They have food self-reliance in the late1960sand the the heroes afterCOVID.Nobodyhas the adifficult task —taking decisionswith the It's not pretty.That's whythe 1970s. In some ways,the problem wassim- couragetotalkabout what happens“until lowest probability of failuredespiteinfor- media and TV shows talk of ilar.Ijoinedthe Perspective Planning then”, because it's notagood looking story mation gaps. We mustappreciatetheir hero- the heroes after COVID. Division (the powerful PPD) on invitation as even on artpaper.But that's what we need. ism and forgivetheir mistakes. Anycase, itsadviser.The staffchief helping me had The dominant Medium Is the Massage Freeze Frame EPUnny nasty parliamentaryquestions willhaveto Nobody has the courage to expertise in agriculture.Inthosedays,the storywilltell us that all’s well onlyafter 1991. be answered. talk about what happens Adviser PPD hadtocall on the PM. She Meanwhile, we have had the second-high- Once the rudimentsofasystem are ‘until then’, because it's not a looked at me and said youare very young. I estCOVID case load in the world. Crymy worked out, NGOs suchasSEHATand PHFI good looking storyevenon thought this meant, “Good, go backto BelovedCountry. couldberopedintodraft aplantogether Ahmedabad”.But she went on:Iwant youto with the national institutes. art paper.But that's what we makeaplan so that Idon’t have to begfor Thewriter,aneconomist, is a If we want faster and morebroad-based need. grain from the Americans. former Union minister

NOVEMBER 2, 1980, FORTY YEARS AGO

ASSAM VIOLENCE DRDOPROJECT principal scientific officer.Inessence,false THE ASSAM GOVERNMENTcalled troops to ATOP PRIORITY defence project to indige- certificates were issue to IR detection assistthe civiladministration as theagita- nouslydevelop infra-red (IR)detectors for processes that did notwork, forcing Jain to tion on the foreigners issueled to firing,in missiles wasvictim to aconspiracy and de- resign. whichastate employeewas killed and mob liberatelythwarted. TwoIndian scientists violence had the upper hand. The police fired working in the US —Ramesh ChandraTyagi PEACE EFFORTS three rounds, includingtwo in the air to dis- and ALJain —had been specially invited to FOREIGN SECRETARYRDSathe metIranian perse amob whichbroke open the gate of work on this project.The technology forde- officials in Tehran as partofIndia's effortsto the MLAs’ hostelcomplexinDispur. Dilip veloping the detectors,whichreportedly bring about aceasefireinthe Gulf War. Chakravarty, agovernment servant who was onlythe bigpowershave, could have been Meanwhile, in Belgrade, ameeting of six hit, diedlater.The stategovernment, soon af- developedinIndia if the scientists had been non-alignedforeign ministers and ter, ordered amagesterial inquiry.The sec- allowedtoworkfreely, according to sources. Palestinian official has been officiallypost- retariat employees have decidedtolauncha The project, calledPXSPL-47, wastaken up ponedassome of the envoys hadbeen de- non-cooperation movement to press their by the Solid-state Physics Lab (SPL) of the layed. The meeting is to be attendedbythe sevendemands, including withdrawal of se- DRDO. The storyofJain and Tyagi is related ministers of India, Pakistan, Cuba, Zambia curityforces from thesecretariatareaand ju- in the in the confidential management infor- and Faruk Khaddoumi of the Palestine dicial inquiryintothe killing. mation report, prepared by GK,Agarwal, Liberation Organisation.

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THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,NOVEMBER2,2020 WHATTHE OTHERSSAY “The factisthat efforts are needed on both sides —within the Islamic world and in the We st —toprevent an increaseindivisive rhetoric and extremism.” 11 THE IDEAS PAGE —DAWN Dilemmas of development The nature

Post-Covid,lackofsocialsecurityhas made many migrantsconsideremployment opportunities closer of the republic home. Thequestion forgovernmentishow to provide such avenues in ecologically-fragile areas Frenchtraditionofsecularism is basedonthe strict separation betweenchurch and state

lievedtobeincompatible with secularism. This wasaprovocation in the reportand the subsequentpassingofthe legislation. As far as private employers of schools arecon- OVER THE BARREL cerned, the lawisthat the will of the institu- tion would prevail and notany idiosyncrasy by Vikram Singh of the employee. The intention behind the stipulation is to ensure that thereisnodis- Mehta Prafull Goradia criminationagainstmembersof anyreligion, so that an employer doesnot avoid the ap- pointment of ascarf-wearing woman or a OVER THE PAST decade and more thatI FRANCEISONCEagain in the news afterthe skull-capwearingman.Theseprovisionsen- have been writing acolumn forthispage, I gruesome murder of Samuel Paty,aFrench surenot onlythe neutrality of political au- have,onoccasion, written about the forest middle-school teacher, on October16in thority but also the freedom of conscience sanctuaryofBinsar in Uttarakhand. Ihavea Conflans-Sainte-Honorine,asuburbofParis. and belief as well as equality before thelaw. small cottageinthe sanctuary. Thesearti- Paty wasbeheadedinwhatisapparentlyan TheStasiReportalsoemphasisedsecularism cles have notbeen about the pristine beauty act of Islamistterrorism. FrenchPresident as acornerstone of democracy. of the sanctuary, theverdant foreststhat roll Emmanuel Macron has paidtributetoPaty, The rise of Christianity ledtothe prob- from one rangeofhillstoanothermerging calling him a“quiethero” and said he was lemof church andstate.TheBiblerecognised eventuallyintothe snow-cappedpeaksof targeted because he “embodiedthe abasic duality —the temporal and the spiri- the Himalayas. Theyhavenot been about Republic”,taughtpupils“tobecomecitizens” tual.Thisisbest expressedinthewell-known the restorative andcalming influence of si- and “foughtfor freedom and reason”. phrase: “Render thereforeuntoCaesarthe lence, theyhavebeen about the tension be- Thisbringsusto thenatureoftheFrench things that areCaesar’s; anduntoGod the tween economic development and ecolog- Republic. Former FrenchPresident Jacques thingsthat areGod’s.” In the US,anattempt icalsustainability.Binsar offeredmea Chirac (nowdeceased) during his tenure wasmade at the complete separationbe- narrowwindowofinsight into the difficulty commissionedanexpert enquiryintowhat tween church andstate.The American con- of striking abalance between the aspira- precisely secularism in practice shouldbe. stitutioncontainsnoreferenceto God.Article tionsofthe villagers who livedinthe sanc- BernardStasi presentedhis reportin VI says that no religious test shalleverbere- tuaryand were denied,asaconsequence, December2003,basedonwhichafreshsec- quiredasaqualificationto anyoffice.Thefirst the economic benefitsofdevelopment and ular lawwas passed by theFrenchNational amendment to the Constitution adoptedin the imperative of preservingthe magnifi- AssemblyinMarch 2004.Itbrought up to 1791 explicitlysaid:“Congressshallmakeno cence of nature. datethe lawof1905. lawrespectinganestablishmentofreligion”. Ibought one of the six British-built es- The newAct definedthree essential Indianever hadacentralisedinstitution tablishmentsinBinsar in 1987.Ihavebeen principles: Freedomof conscience, equality to regulatereligion nordid it ever interfere visitingthe place regularly ever since. In in lawfor spiritual and religious belief, and intherunningof thestate.Islam,ontheother the early years, Inotedthe near-total ab- neutralityof politicalpower. In other words, hand, does notseparatethe temporal from sence of development. Therewas no run- thereare in anymodern state, three sets of the spiritual. The ultimateevidence of this ning water, therewerenoelectricity lines relations: (a) religion and the individual; (b) wasthat the Caliph, or the representative of and the road wasnarrowand irregularly CRSasikumar the stateand the individual,and; (c)the state ProphetMohammed,wasthespiritualhead tarred.Ihad to walk the lasthalf mile to my on aregular basis, astriking manifestation tain their business. These enterprises arenot and religion. In (b) the stateviews theindi- and the temporal chief rolledintoone. house, the nearesthospital was30km of global warming is the receding snowline unviable. Theysimplyhavenoliquidity.The vidual as acitizen and notasamember of a Francedid notfully separatechurch and away andtherewerenoschools. Itinerant of the Himalayanrange. Even the highest debateinthe corridorsofour economic min- religious group. The implicationof (c) is that stateuntil the passageofits 1905 law. Today, travellers mayhavebeen happytoget away peaksofthe Nanda Devi, Trishul and istries as to whether to enlarge the fiscal religion and statefunction in twoseparate secularism is acoreconceptinthe French from the clutter of development but the Panchachuli massif reveal large rock faces. stimulus or notorwhether the central gov- areas of human activity.Donald Smith, a constitution, Article 1ofwhich formally resident villagers were not. They wanted a The Pindari Glacier is browntothe naked ernment or the states should turn to the mar- scholar from the University of Calgary, has states that France is asecularrepublic. This, shareofthe benefitsaccruing to thoseliv- eye. Of course, this will all changewhen, in kettomakeupfor the shortfall in GSTrev- comparedtheabove relations as three sides however, doesnot preventthe statefrom ing outside the sanctuary.Theywanted afew weeks, the winter snowswaddles the enues acquires adifferent hue when of atriangle. And the integrity of (a) and (b) playing an active role in the appointment of electricity,water,health, schools and above rangeinwhiteand maybeIamdrawingan contemplated through the non-academic is largely determined by thethirdrelation- Catholic diocesan bishops. Thus, the French all else, jobs. Theyverbalisedtheir protest exaggerated picture but Ihavenever seenso Agriculture and lens of livelihood.Thereisnodoubt, in my ship, whichseparates them. Therefore, for presidentisthe onlyhead of statewho still and at times, out of sheer frustration, they much contrastonthe mountain faces be- manufacturing offer no mind, that the Centre must open up further anystate to function as asecularstate,there appointssomeCatholic bishops. even ignited theirsurroundings to attract fore.Sitting insideasanctuarywhere on ac- the fiscal spigot andhelp the state/local gov- mustbeawall of separation between state Former President Nicolas Sarkozy dif- attention. One year,the forest firesalmost countofregulatory restrictions, the sur- scope. Construction, ernments createthe social security nets that and church. feredfromthisFrenchconstitutional tradi- engulfed my home. roundings arelush and green, one cannot hospitalityand eco-tourism assureeveryoneabasic minimum income. TheFrenchlaw attemptedtoimplement tionandsawFrance’smainreligionsasmak- The authorities have,toanextent,heard but reflect on the forewarning of the scien- are options. But then the The argument of those that poreovermacro theseprinciples. It had notabolished the ing positive contributions to society.He these protests.The drive to Binsar is no longer tificcommunity that if the worldand to be MSMEs engaged in these ratios (GDP)that thereisnofiscal spacefor wearingof eitherJewishskullcapsorMuslim visitedthePopeinDecember2007 andpub- as tiresome as it usedtobe. The roads have morespecific India, does nottacklethe is- suchlargesse should be setagainst the headscarves.Allitordainedwasthatthestu- liclyacknowledgedFrance’sChristianroots. been broadenedand tarred.The electricity sue of GHG emissions, it will, forcertain, be- sectorsare struggling to Keynesian comment that“in the long run, dentsattendinggovernmentschoolsorem- Pope Benedict XVI commentedthat it is im- lines have been stretched. The valleys which queath an irremediablydamaged planetto sustain their business. These we areall dead”. ployeesworkingingovernmentofficesmust portant to becomemoreaware of the irre- at night were blanketed in darknessare now the next generation. India cannot afford to enterprises are not unviable. Astark manifestation of the two-track notdisplayreligious symbols of aconspicu- placeableroleof religionfortheformationof studdedwith pinpricksof light. My homestill develop firstand clean up later. They simply have no development of oursocio-economicpolity ousnature,whichwouldincludeevenalarge conscienceandthecontributionitcanbring does nothavegridelectricity as does no one COVID has intruded. Of course, it is not is the ubiquitous spread of digitaltechnol- cross. Thereisnorestriction on wearing any to thecreation of abasic ethicalconsensus who liveswithin the forest.But we arenot the numbers of infected that have roiledthe liquidity. Thedebate in the ogy.Inaplacewithlimitedphysical infra- formof dressordisplayofany religioussym- withinsociety. complaining.For,exceptondayswhenthe villagers. Theseappear to be few. It is the eco- corridorsofour economic structureand fewsocial amenities, everyone bols in the countryatlarge.The state, how- Alaw waspassedonApril11, 2011,with sun plays hide and seek with the clouds, so- nomic ramifications. Mostofthe young that ministries as to whether to carries acell phone and mostcan find inter- ever,hasto maintainabsoluteneutralitybe- strong support from political parties as well lar has become areliable substitute. had leftfor the plains in search of jobs are netconnectivity.Ihaveattendedseveral tween one religion and another.The French asfromSarkozy,whichmadeitillegalto con- These tangible markers of progress mask, backand if one goes by the commentsthat I enlarge the fiscal stimulus or Zoom meetings from my Himalayanre- insistence on the absoluteseparation of ceal one’s face in public spaces, affecting a however, the deeper dilemmas of develop- have picked up from the locals, onlyahand- not or whether the Central doubt. To my mind, this reveals the sharpest church and stategoes backto1905 —in fewthousandwomeninFrancewearingthe ment. The reason Idecidedtopen another ful want to return to their earlier jobs. The Government or the states faultline of all. The potentiallydeepening ten- December thatyear,aRepublican lawwas niqab and the burqa. ScholarOlivier Royhas articleonBinsar wasthat in amicrocosmic lack of asocial security netinthe cities has should turn to the market to sion between society and the State. passedbythe country’s NationalAssembly. arguedthat the burkinibans and secularist way, thenature and pace of development in made them ask whether it might notbebet- Technology has deepenedaspirations. Article 1assures the liberty of conscience. It policiesofFrance provoked religious vio- this area mirrorthe faultlines thathavetobe tertoseek income-generating opportunities makeupfor the shortfall in Government is perceivedtohold it in check. guaranteedthe free exercise of religious be- lence,towhich Gilles Kepel respondedthat resolvedfor our countrytoget ontothe tra- closer to home. What those might be is, of GSTrevenues acquires a Whether it is in Binsar or the countryatlarge, liefs. The only restrictionsweredecreed in Britain has no suchpolicies and suffereda jectoryofsustainable growth. The specifics course, their biggestconcern.Agriculture and different hue when this tension will have to be bridged if India is the interestofpublic order.Article2states greater number of attacks in 2017 than will be different but the essential issues fac- manufacturing offernoscope. contemplated through the to develop on an even social keel. that the Republicdoes notrecognise either France. ing Binsar arethe same as thosethatconfront Construction, hospitality and eco- salariespaidorsubsidies grantedtoany re- the country. tourism areoptions.But thenthe MSMEs en- non-academic lens of The writer is Chairman, Centrefor Social ligious group. The writer wasaRajyaSabha MP Foranyone visiting the Kumaon region gagedinthese sectors arestruggling to sus- livelihood. and Economic Progress (CSEP) The Stasi ReportstatedthatIslamisbe- from theBJP An epidemicofover-arrest LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR DATAWORRIES THIS REFERS TO the editorial, 'Trustin IDEAS Pushforrepopulationof prisonsduringapandemicisreckless data', (IE, October 30). The integrity of COVID-19datahas been an issue since ONLINE AmeyaBokil, Nikita Sonavane and SrujanaBej theearly days of thepandemicoutbreak, with notable discrepanciesinthe data ONLYINTHE EXPRESS publicisedbydifferentpublicbodies.The LAST MONTH, THE Chief Justiceofthe Delhi beknownsttothe judiciary, prisons have seen 67.5 per cent of the prison population in delayedbyweeks.The adoption of avirtual state’scommitteesto refinemortalityfig- ● DDLJ’SSIGNATURE High Court, DN Patel, refusedtoextendthe an extraordinaryinflux of newinmates: al- September.Maharashtrareleased10,000per- courtsystemalsoaggravated judicial delays. ureshave beenanoutlierfromtheglobal TUNES: court’s blanket orders granting interim bail to mostall of themundertrials. According to sons in March but added5,000 inmatesin The pandemic and the consequent plight best practices. At atime whenthe econ- SUANSHUKHURANA inmates, reportedlysaying, “Letusbring to an data submittedbythe Director General September and October alone. If the respective of inmates have revealedthe convolutedlogic omyisstillopening up, rampingupof end the COVID chapter. Letthese people sur- (Prisons) forDelhi to the DelhiHC, 5,581 un- high courts of thesestatessimilarly order sur- and structureofour criminal justicesystem. testing infrastructure, making it accessi- ● CAPTAINMOHANSINGH render or go backtojail.” Following this order, dertrials were grantedinterim bail by the render/re-entryofinmates releaseddue to Police, courts andprisonsviewthemselvesin ble and affordable to the massesshould BAYAS,MYGRANDFATHER: Delhi’shigh-poweredcommittee(HPC)forthe courts andbetween 1,200-1,500convicts COVID, theprison populations will be200per silos, failingtoworktogetherasacohesive begivenpriority.Thereportofallegedin- PRAVEENSINGHPARDESHI decongestionof prisonsdirectedthatafinal30- were granted emergency parole under the cent,180 per centand 160percent of their ca- wholetowards the wisestprecaution (decon- terference withthe testingprocessto dayextensiononreleasewill be givento3,337 HPC’s guidelines. Delhi’s prisons can hold pacities in UP,MPand Maharashtrarespec- gestion) even during this pandemic. The po- control the test-positive rate at thedis- www.indianexpress.com undertrialsand1,182convicts,afterwhichthey 10,033 persons. Beforethe HPC’s guidelines, tively.Asecond waveofthe pandemic inpris- lice’s priorities lie in exercising their powers trict levelisaserious issue. mustreturn to prisons from early December. Delhi’s prisonsheld 17,300persons. The HPC ons is almostguaranteed. of arrest to fullextent, irrespectiveofsocial Sudip Kumar Dey, Kolkata Global healthexperts have notyet sig- released7,000 prison inmates by April. Whyhaveprison populations increased context, while some courts areunconcerned nalledan endtothe COVID-19pandemic, and, However, as of October20, Delhi’s prison pop- during apandemic whichnecessitateddecon- with overcrowding in jails. This leads to two ONLYCLASSROOMS hence, the belief thatinmates can safelyre- ulation stands at 15,900individuals, 90 per gestion and, therefore, prioritiseddecriminal- pertinent inquiries —why is the epidemic of isuniversalandnon-negotiable,whether turn to prisons is entirely misplacedand must cent of whom areundertrials. The criminal isation? First, policing priorities were entirely over-arrest notbeing addressed; and whyare THIS REFERS TO the editorial, 'Lastchild forteachers or students, aWestern na- makeprisonauthoritiesnervous. According justicesystemadded over 5,500individuals misplaced. We studiedarrests made in MP agentsofthe criminal justice system nottak- matters' (IE, October30). Onlyface-to- tion or an Eastern one. Anykindofintel- to thelatestHPC report, the Director-General to Delhi’s prisons, raisingcrowding to 155per during the firstthreephasesof thelockdown, ing responsibility forprison populations and face physical classrooms can provide lectual, or social hierarchyendangers (Prisons) forDelhi pointed outthatafter the cent while the pandemic ragedunrelentingly. when the overall number of cases registered their burgeoning rise? qualityeducation,whichachildcanlearn freedom of expression. The righttofree re-entry, “total populationofDelhiPrison is If theDelhi High Court’sorders of surrender and arrestsincreased. Besides ahigh number An earnest attempt by the Supreme and imbibeforever during his lifetime. speech makes sense only whencoupled likelytoreach22,000,whichwouldbeun- areimplemented,the re-entryofundertrials of lockdown-related arrests(14.8 per cent), Court to reduce decongestion has ultimately Online classes have ashort-term reten- with the unwritten lawoftolerance and precedented andmay become unmanage- will likelyincreaseovercrowding to 200per MP sawhigher than usual number of arrests come to naught.The problem of over-arrests tion value in achild's mind and, more- theunspokenrightto getoffended,with- able...” Prison departmentsinother states cent in afew weeks’ time. under itsExcise Act(15.8 per cent)and the and inherent problems of policing have over,achildneedsphysicalhandholding outcommittingorincitingviolence.More have also made similar appeals to therespec- Throughout the pandemic, the criminal Public Gambling Act(12.2 per cent). Twois- neverbeen addressed. Reforms to reduce the to grow-up. Howcan the computer take oftenthannot,the experiences, memo- tive governments. justice system has been at odds with itself, and sues about stateaction arerevealed—apub- undertrial prison population have notbeen the place of ateacher or aparent? ries,and anticipations of the body pre- In March 2020, India’sprisonsreleased Delhi is no anomaly. UttarPradesh, housing lic healthcrisiswasmisdiagnosed,and treated carriedout. Even if we were notgrappling Moreover, online educationisthe do- ventitfromspeakingorwriting without convictsonemergency parole, and undertri- 21.1 percent of the country’s prison popula- as alaw and order issue; and the statehad a withapandemic,a55-90 per cent represen- main of the middle class and the rich. fear,overruling themind'sconvictions, als on interim bail following aSupreme Court tion, released9,000 inmates due to the pan- tendency to “restore order” by pursuing low- tation of undertrials in the total prison pop- Where do the vulnerable,poor children thus robbing it of itsright to freedomof order.The courtordered stategovernments demic.Concomitantly, itadded17,000under- level, low-harm, victimless offences suchas ulation is amajor cause of concern. Yet, this go,ifeverythingisonline? expression. As long as bodies fear other to form HPCs to determine the criteria forre- trials, raising overcrowding from 66 per cent alcohol possession and public gambling does notseem obvious to those in positions RajivBoolchand Jain, Zirakpur bodieswecannottalkaboutthefreedom lease. Giventhe contagious natureofCOVID- in Februaryto79per cent in September ac- againstlow-income, marginalisedcommuni- of power, who continue to plungethousands of expression.Interestingly, bodiesalone 19 and overcrowding in prisons, states would cording to officialdata. Similarly,Madhya ties(ouranalysis also revealedthe dispropor- of individuals backintoahistorically bur- FREEDOMSMATTER cannot changeathing and this transfor- have done well to bring prison populations Pradesh released7,500inmates following the tionatetargeting of Muslims forlockdown- denedprisonsystem. mationinvolvesideas of peace, brother- down. However, manyfailedtodosoand HPC’sorder,but added thesamenumberof related offences). THIS REFERS TO the article, 'LostinParis' hood, equality, freedomand justice. cases of COVID-19quicklybegan to break out inmates by 30 September.While undertrials Second, access to bail wassignificantlyim- The writers areassociated withthe (IE, October30). Freedom of expression Fatima Ghazali, via email across jails. in MP accountedfor53.4 per centof the prison paired forarrestedpersons due to reduced Bhopal-based Criminal Justiceand Police In thelastseven months,somehowun- population in February, theyaccounted for courtcapacities. Regular bail hearings were Accountability Project

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12 THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,NOVEMBER2,2020 IDEA EXCHANGE Newsmakersinthe Newsroom ARUN SHOURIE, FORMER UNION MINISTER,ECONOMIST, JOURNALIST, AUTHOR AND SOCIALACTIVIST ‘ Problem deeper than this govt... rot in systems over time... (But) Mrs Gandhi had some shame The‘former Union ministertalksabout whythe decline of courts anddemocratic institutions in this govt is worse, pointsout differences between Vajpayeeand Modi regimes, and reasons whyheisnot enamouredwith numbers in policymaking as situations change. The session wasmoderated by National Opinion Editor VanditaMishra

VANDITAMISHRA:Inyour latest book, should journalism then proceedinthis forward? Preparing forDeath,thereare two dayand age? Be realistic about China... Youthink this strands of renunciation. One is asteady We mustcontinueto doourduty,which is the worstformofviolence?The wayisto distancing from the external world. The is speaking truth to power. Poweroften prepareformuchgreaterviolenceinthefu- other is renunciation through immer- meansthepeoplewhoaremisledonreser- ture.And it takes30yearstoprepare. You sion in it. Whichhas it been foryou? vation, communalism, lynchingand so on. can’tdoitovernight. This is true of defen- Thereare twoverydistinctways.Oneis We mustcontinue to speakthe truth to sive power. AndChinaisadisruptive power. Gandhiji’s way—hewas immersedtill his themirrespective of whatisfashionableto- So theycan concentrateonone field of ac- lastbreath. Andthe other is (social refor- day. Therewas awonderful sentence that tivity,for instance, becoming proficientin mer) Vinoba Bhave’s way. He distances JusticeKSubba Rao(knownfor his dissen- cyberwarfare. Andtheir idea is to disrupt himselffromall public activity in the end... WHY ting judgments) had said, ‘I am writing for anddisorientasocietyintwominutesthro- But wherethese twothingscome together the broodingsenseof ugh (interference in) is thatitwas notarenunciation of external ARUN SHOURIE the future’... We integratedpowernet- There is amisperception ‘ thingsbut,forinstance,of theego.Andthat neconomist who as should nothavethat work,railway netwo- is alsothe teachingofthe Gita.Act,notonly muchempathy for that Mr Modi is mindful of rk,air trafficcontrol without the expectation of fruit but also The Indian Express people. If theydon’t systems,financialrec- without the illusion thatyou arethe actor. Aeditor had takenonthe listentothe truth as the RSS... He knows its ords, broadcasting All these aresynonyms forthe abating of youare portraying it, systems,telecomsys- evil. And so we should notthinkofthe two IndiraGandhiregime duringthe theywillpay forit. senior leadersare froth... tems.Theyrepeatedly traditions as either/or. Keypersons in districts are demonstratetheirca- Emergency, Shourie went on to VANDITAMISHRA: ‘ pability to do so. And VANDITAMISHRA:You arefacing a serveasaprominentmember of Do youhaveadoubt his instruments now we continue to shut corruption case in aRajasthanspecial about the course our eyes to it. court.For somebody likeyou, who has the Va jpayee Cabinet.However, that youeventually been acrusader againstcorruption, took vis-à-vis this SHYAMLALYADAV: howare youdealingwith it? he has been at odds with the regime? What is your view Youcould be angry. But the teaching is, Modi-led BJP and has emerged No.Iwaitedfor sixmonthsbeforeI on the RSS? atthattime,don’tfocusontheevent.Focus spokeand till the evidence wasinfront of Mr Vajpayeewas in theRSS but Idon’t on your reaction to that event.... as one of its most vociferous everybody.And then Ionlycrystallised think his worldviewwas conditionedby Everysetback, likeevery success, is an critics.Known as acrusader that evidence. Idon’t think Iwould have that kind of thinking. Today, the RSS mid- opportunityto examineourownmind.Itis lasted15days if Ihad been inside the dle leadership has been completely co-op- to lookatourselvesand gettoknowthe against corruption, he nowhas regime because thereisacharactertothe tedbythegovernmentapparatus.Andthey mindbetter. Forinstance, those days,I was acase againsthim dating back regime. Whywould Inot have been areswept away by the small little things — quiteupset. But Idid notstopmydaily rou- thrownout?... Thereisaviewaboutthe anofficialcar,beingsaluted...Thereisamis- tineof meditationfor45minutesandyoga. to his time as minister type of person who should be there. I perceptiontodaythatMrModiismindfulof Iwasableto doallthatwithoutthethought would nothavefitted in. the RSS. No.Heknows thatthe seniorlead- of appearing before anybody...Idon’tmind ers of the RSS arejustfroth. He has gotall that at all. We arenobody. Gandhiji stood provincial leaders and keypersonsindis- before magistrates, so didLokmanya Tilak. tricts inhishands.Theyare hisinstruments So, we should be humble.... now. Andideologyisalways aninstrument fordomination. VANDITAMISHRA:Doyou feel letdown by this regime? PVAIDYANATHAN IYER: Externally, the Ithink this regime is the ripening of countryisgrappling with China. And things whichhavebeen happening for40 internally, thecountryisgrappling years.Thissuborningof institutions,inves- with the economy.What do youthink tigative agencies, the police becomingthe hasgone wrong? Andwhat arethe private army of everychief minister. And short- and long-term reforms India the waythe SupremeCourthas been con- mustimplement? ductingitself inmanycasesandthesenseof First, letthe government be truthful. I theirpriorities...Theycanfindtimefor...Ar- remembertheexplicitself-publishedrevi- nabGoswami or (lateactor) Sushant Singh ew of someeconomicadvisor(saying)that Rajput,butnotforKashmirormigrants?So we will be growing by 1.2per cent. Where itisthisregimethatisacceleratingthatpro- is he?... Let’s be truthful andhaveconfi- cess. It is brazen in using the instruments. dence in the people of India. Tell them But the problem is muchdeeper than just thetruth.Butonthequestionof stim- thisregime.Itistheprogressivedecayover uluspackagesandsoon,Ipersonally time of all institutions, starting with Par- have neverbeen enamoured of a liament,thelegislatures,bureaucracy,ju- numberingovernmentpolicymak- diciary, andthemedia. This enablesthe ing.Forinstance,thedeficitshould people... to change the norms. Today, notexceed3.3or4percentof the the norm is ‘I have no norms. Idon’t GDP. It’sameaninglessnumber. give adamn...’ So that is the culmina- Situations changeand we tionof alongprocess.Thatiswhythe shouldnotbestuckonapar- problem is muchdeeper. ticularnumber.Similarly,for theinflationrate,Idon’tthink VANDITAMISHRA:You have it’s awonderful thing for providedagreat perspective on the RBItojustkeep stick- thedecline of the courts. When ing out the number and and whydoyou thinkithas twistall policies to ac- reachedthe point that it has? cordwiththatparticular Mrs (former PM Indira) Gandhi number.Soifastimulus hadmanyredeemingqualities,forin- Illustration: Suvajit Dey is required,goinfor that. stance, asense of shame... Thatismissing But it is notjustthrowing intherulersof today. Butthiswholenotion institution afterthe other. retariat nothaveforeseenthis?Orwhen it tors.ItmayjustbewhatIseeinthealterna- SHUBHAJIT ROY: Youmentionedhow moneyand sayingIhave giventhe startedwith(formerlawminister)MrPShiv became visible, could theynot have acted? tive... All of us got so fedupwith the inac- the governmentdoesn’tvalue experti- stimulus package. It is being able to im- Shankar’s phase of acommitted judiciary VANDITAMISHRA:What arethe crises Whatkindofgovernmentsays thatwe can- tivityunderDrManmohanSingh’sgovern- se. Do youfeel that is the case on China? plementthatinusefulprojectsinthefuture. andcommittedbureaucracy.She(Gandhi) that arespecial to this regime? notpay compensation because we don’t mentinthelasttwo yearsthatwe imagined The governmenthas in the foreign And thatcapacityislacking, becauseofthe supersededthree judges. And that seta Firstisthe complete throwingawayof knowhow manymigrantsdied? theGujaratmodelto bewhatthefactstoday ministeranexperienceddiplomat who general weakeningofthe governmental precedent that if youdon’t do what Iwant allnorms.TheAadhaarBillandseveralother revealitwasnot.Sopeoplemay foolthem- possiblyknows whatishappening. system and itsinabilityorunwillingness to youtodo, Iwill act accordingly... Ihaveal- Billswere saidto bemoneyBills.Therefore, PVAIDYANATHANIYER: History has selvesandthenpayfortheconsequences.... What,inyour view,isthe wayforward? be seen as harnessingthe entrepreneurial ways feltthatmoretreesarebroughtdown theywerenot sent to theRajya Sabha. So, examples of individuals at the helm The appointment of the foreign minis- andmanagerialtalentintheprivate sector.... by termites slowlyhollowing them out, this is the complete throwing away of all suddenlychanging thenatureof ANANT GOENKA: Do youthink that ter(SJaishankar) wasawonderful idea of NobodybelievestheRs1lakhcrore(sti- rather than by theaxe.Soweascitizens norms. Andthis hashappened time and institutions thattheylead. Forinstance, people todaycareabout free speech MrModi.At leastwehaveoneprofessional. mulus)figure.Everysixmonthsyouare giv- have to wake up in time. And in the case of again.Second,istheperversionof discourse. TN Seshaninthe Election Commission, and free press as theyusedto10-15 Iamnot sureoftheextentto whichheislis- ingaRs1lakhcrorefigureandnothinghap- thejudiciary, thewaytoensureaccountabil- If yousee the falsehoodswhichhavebeen or YVReddy in the ReserveBank of years ago? Or is it notashigh as it wasin tenedto... Secondly, it’s very good that the pens.So,truthwouldbemuchmorediverse. ity is... to continuallymonitorjudgments. uttered,Ithink they areexceededonlyby India. So what is absent today? their priority list? Has it become CDS (Chief of Defence Staff) has been crea- (USPresidentDonald) The institutions arethe persons who collateral damage ted.ButIdon’twantto VANDITAMISHRA:Inyour book,one of VANDITAMISHRA: Trump. And the third manthematthatparticulartime...Individu- in the current discuss the person the underlying themes is howone can ‘ Yousaidthe crisisof Under the guise of free ‘ is one forwhichthe aljudgeshave changedthecourseof justice politicalscenario? To makeitapractice to stay who has been selec- turn adversity in their favour.Doyou institutions is not countrywillpay fora in the Supreme Court... Institutions arenot Theanswerisallof ted. If it is the same believe the crisis that we areinisgoing really acreationof speech,nonsense is being verylongtime.Nobo- something abstract, theyare the individu- these.But underthe away from all expertise and type of person,then to leave us with something precious one regime. That’s spread... Iwouldnot back dy can knowevery- als who man them. The problem is in this guiseoffreespeech, push out anybodywho is youare notgoing to andbeautiful?Are youanoptimist? true. But what is it thing... So to makeita selection of persons who will be there. For nonsense is being getcontraryadvice... No,itall depends upon working at it. that we cannotput this... People are starting to practice to stay away instance, in legislatures, it is the party high spread. Forinstance, regardedasanexpert,opens Have the Chinese Adversity breaksdownmanypeople. So on the previous fromallexpertiseand commandwhichdetermineswho willbe the lies on social me- gone back? But we youhavetoworkhardinconverting ad- regimes? see media as aproblem, not push out anybody yourcandidate.Parliamentorastate legisla- dia or Republic TV.I not just the regime but the arebeingled to be- versity intoalearningopportunity or bet- Idid notwant to ‘ who is regardedas an tureisnot anabstractinstitution.Itisthetype wouldnotbeasliberal ‘ lieve thattalksare on... tergrowth. I’m worriedabout job losses. afortresstobedefended countrytogreat danger suggestthat, ‘This has expert, opensnot just of personswho were offeredtothe public as the Americans So the people arenot I’m notworriedabout GDP going down... been going on fora theregimebuttheco- and the publicchose...Sothatthen deter- phrase it, ‘The right to being takenintocon- So (it’s about) useful production,and error long time, so what is untrytogreat danger. mines howthe institution will behave.This freespeechistheright fidence. The appoint- remediation of the environment, creation surprisingin it?’.Even Iamcertain that this is what happenedinthe judiciary. Former to protect the speech ment of Mr of infrastructure, better thought out infra- if murder has been going on foralongtime, appliestotheChineseintrusions,theman- Justice (J S) Verma, who wasthe author of whichIhate.’ If somebody is spreading un- Jaishankar is awonderful exception to the structureinthe Himalayas, rather than that does notjustify my murderingany- agementof theeconomyandthereformsin the collegium system, had said that it has truth, Iwould notstand up forhis rights... norm. And he certainly would be among converting Kedarnath and Badrinath into body today. So it is theresponsibility of the courts... become abargaining place... On the other That is ashort-sighted view... But Ithink thepersonswhowouldknowthesethings... Chardham Yatraand destroyingthe ecol- rulerstoreversecourse if thingshave been If youhad what (former US President hand, if yougivethe Executive,likethe cur- peopleare gravitatingtoseeus,thoseinthe Youdon’t justhavetohaveanexpert, you ogy of the place. So, manythingshaveto going wrong. Afterall, in Mr (PM Narendra) Abraham) Lincoln called‘ateam of rivals’, rentassertive one,greaterauthority,youwill media, as aproblem and notasafortress have to give theexpertthe confidence—‘I be done. Theshort answer is adversity Modi’scase,he wasnot electedto continue, then youwould be hearingmore. This was have an even moredisastrous judiciary. whichneeds to be defended.In(The Indian want to listentoyourindependentadvice.’ does notautomaticallybecome abenefi- he wassupposedtochange things. Things (former PM) Atalji’s (Bihari Vajpayee) great Express founder) Ramnathji’s case, who Forexample, in Mr Vajpayee’s case, I cial thing. We have to work hardatit. have been bad in the lowercourts foralong quality.Hewouldmeet andlistentoallsorts ANANT GOENKA: Worldover, moreand were the defenders? Theywerethe read- found that his naturalscepticism would time. But those sitting as lawministers to- of people.Hewouldgive youtheconfidence morepeople arevoting basedoniden- ers... Everytime therewas araidonRam- bring out in youthe contrarypoint of view. VANDITAMISHRA:Doyou see that dayweresupposedtoreversecourse.Have that youcould talk to him without anydif- tity even at the costofthe economyand nathji’s houseand on TheIndianExpress..., That’s notwhatIhear about the govern- happening at all? theydone anythingto improvenot onlythe ficultyorfearof reprisal.Today, peopleshun, jobs. Whyisthis happening? And why the circulationwent up.This wasbecause ment today. Independence doesnot mean Notatall. Iwould very muchliketobe condition of the courts but also the proce- fearing the reaction of the PM or (Union have journalists missedthe trend? thereadersfeltthatitwasnot justtheir(the beingcontrary. Butfromthefew(ministers) correctedonthis...Andcertainly, Idon’tsee dures? No.Theyjustwant their statements Home Minister) Amit Shah. Then gover- Thefactthattheyare votinginaparticu- media’s) voice whichisbeingchoked,‘my thatImeet, Idonot getthat theyhavethe thatmuchhope in the conduct of our peo- applauding the Prime Ministertobe nance comesbyrevelation.One night, you lar waydoes notjustify aparticular crite- voice is being choked’. Today, thereader confidenceto speaktheirmind.Otherwise, ple.Ifthe coronavirus were to justdisapp- prominentlydisplayed... decideandcarryoutdemonetisation.Then, rion.Ithink theymay be voting againstthe doesnotseethatintheoverwhelmingpro- we wouldnot be getting the types of jerky eartomorrow, Ithinkourbehaviourwillre- It is notthat thepresent regime is forthe next eight months, youdefend its alternative andnot forthe person. We read portion of themedia.That’s the problem. decisions that we aregetting. vertto thepast...Ithinkof myself asarealist, merelycontinuing what washappening consequences. The same thing happened toomanytheoriesintotheoutcome.Butthe as aperson who seesthings in front of him earlier,itisaccelerating the decline of one to migrants... But could the PM and hissec- outcomemay bedeterminedbyseveralfac- NIRUPAMA SUBRAMANIAN: So, how SHUBHAJIT ROY: So what is the way and does notwanttoturnhis gaze away.

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SIMPLY PUT 11 states, bypollsin56Assembly seats: all you need to know

Madhya Pradesh (28 seats) fortably over the line, his political staturewill Congress MLAs to his party.Hetoo belongs to Uttar Pradesh (7 seats) hatchedbythe Opposition. EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE The by-electionswerenecessitatedafter rise,and he will be in astrong bargainingpo- Gwalior,and an impressiveperformance will The BJP had wonsix of theseseven seats Interestingly, while Congress leaders NOVEMBER1 22 MLAs of theerstwhileCongress govern- sition ahead of aministerial reshuffle at the enhance his stature in theparty,and could (the SP wonone) in the landslide election of have been attackingthe Yogi government for ment switchedovertothe BJP in March,lead- Centre.Conversely, if the Congress wins boosthis chief ministerial ambitions. 2017,but itstask in theby-elections will be crimes perpetrated on Dalits, the party has THE FOCUS has been on the Assemblyelec- ing to the fall of ’s government. moreseatsthan the BJP,itwill be apersonal moredifficult.Inall the seats, the Opposition fieldedBrahmin candidates in three of the tions in Bihar,but by-elections tooare due in Subsequently, threeotherCongress MLAs humiliation forhim. Gujarat (8 seats) is targeting the government on the issue of five generalseats.The BJPhas tried to give 56 other Assemblyseatsin11statesthis week. joinedthe BJP.Another three seatsare vacant : Theby-elections have been ne- lawand order—especiallycrime against representation to OBCs, Brahmins, Thakurs, Theseelectionsareimportantforboththe rul- due to the deaths of incumbent MLAs. Forthe four-term Chief Minister cessitated by the resignations of women and the recent spate of alleged caste as well as the Dhangar (herding) community. ing BJP and Opposition parties, and arebeing With 107MLAscurrently, theBJP needs to who wassidelinedbyhis party’s Congress MLAs aheadofthe Rajya crimes in the state. Should the BJP notdo The BSP has giventickets to Muslim candi- seen by manyasatestfor public approval of win at leastnine of these seatstocross the central leadership afterthe BJP lost Sabhaelections in June. The new well, it will be seen as asign of growing dis- dates in the twoWestern UP seatsof the recordofthe government of Prime halfway mark,and forShivraj Singh Chouhan the 2018 elections, these bypolls are Gujarat BJP chief, CRPatil, hasset content among Dalitsoverthe waythe Bulandshahr and Naugawan Sadat. MinisterNarendraModiinits second term. to continuetoremain Chief Minister.The an opportunity to provehis contin- himself agoal of winning all 182 party’s government has handledthe cases of The other 13 seats Sixty-three seatsare currentlyvacant in Congress needs to win all 28 seatsifitwants uedrelevance. Chouhan is leaving DECISION seatsinthe Assemblyelections of atrocities againstmembers of the commu- stateAssemblies across the country. Fifty- to return to power—oratleast 21 in orderto no stone unturned—fromkneeling 2020 2022.The by-elections areamajor nity,including thealleged gangrape and Twoseatseachare going to polls in four of these willsee by-elections on Tuesday give itself achance to bargain withthe BSP,SP and seeking forgivenessfromfarm- ASSEMBLY test forPatil. killing in Hathras. Karnataka, Odisha, Jharkhand, Nagaland and (November 3); voting fortwo seatsin and IndependentMLAs. ers in Mandsaur to making an- BYPOLLS The Congress,which had turned Among the seatsgoing to polls is Manipur.InManipur, the onlyone of the 11 Manipur willbeheld on November 7. The At stakeare the political ambitions of four nouncementsthat will costthe in itsbestperformanceinGujarat Bangarmau, wherethe vacancy arose be- states that will see voting on November 7, the Election Commission has decidednot to hold senior leaders —Kamal Nath of the Congress, statenearly Rs 3,000 crore. since 1995 by winning 77 seatsin cause the BJP MLAKuldeepSingh Sengar was Election Commission had initiallydeclared “at this stage” Assemblybypollsinthe re- and Scindia, Chouhan, and NarendraSingh KAMAL NATH: The 74-year-old veteran 2017,would like to win backall itseight convicted of rape and murder. five Assemblyconstituencies in thestate as maining sevenseats—in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Tomar of the BJP. Congress leader is looking foracomeback. seats. TheBJP hasgiven five of the eight tick- At avirtual meeting,Chief MinisterYogi “clearvacant”,but announcedthe election Assam,and West Bengal, whichare sched- JYOTIRADITYA SCINDIA: The Maharaj, Addressing arally afterlosing powerdue to etstothe Congress MLAs who resignedto Adityanath asked party workers in the seven schedule foronlytwo. uledtoget newAssemblies next year. who lost hisParliamentary seat Guna in Scindia’s revolt, he vowedtoreturn to power, ensurethatthe BJP retainedall itsseatsin constituencies to counter the Opposition’s Bypollsare being held in one seat eachin Also on November 7, electionswill beheld 2019,needs to provetohis newparty that he and has since takenfullcharge of thepoliti- the RS elections. attackswith alistofthe government’sdevel- Telangana, Haryana and Chhattisgarh. These forthe Valmiki NagarLok Sabha seat in Bihar. has supportinthe Gwalior-Chambal region, cal affairs of his party. The by-election resultswill not opment works. The BJP has been trying to include Marwahi in Chhattisgarh,which fell Thebiggestchunkof Assemblyseatsgoing in which16ofthe seatsare located.Ifhis loy- NARENDRA SINGH TOMAR: He had affect the government —the BJPalready paint the recent incidentsofcrime that vacant afterthe deathofformer Chief to pollsonTuesdayisinMadhya Pradesh—28. alists managetowin andtakethe BJP com- playedakey role in bringing the rebel has103 seatsinthe Assembly. grabbed national headlinesasa“conspiracy” MinisterAjit Jogi in May.

CORONAVIRUS DASHBOARD EXPLAINED ECONOMY &FINANCE High Covid risk found among Theroadtoeconomicrecovery grocery store employees

AFIRST-OF-ITS-KIND This suggests thatthese Thereturn of economicactivity anddeclining active Covid-19cases in Indiahaveraised hopes of recovery. study hassuggestedthat keyworkers could be an YetasecondwaveinEuropeand US raise concerns. What is theway forwardfor businessesand investors? grocerystore employees important reservoirof arelikelytobeathigh risk infection, said the re- of Covid-19infection, and searchers. Theystudied tion resultsetc will impact our markets,albeit those in roles that require PAPER 104employees of one on atemporarybasis. them to face customers grocery storeinBoston, EXPERT are5timesaslikelytotest Massachusetts.Eachem- Amid suchconcerns, what can drive the positive astheircolleagues CLIP ployeewas tested for EXPLAINS market going forward? in other positions. The SARS-CoV-inMay this The stockmarket will be drivenbythe study is publishedinthe NEWRESEARCH year.Oneinfive (21outof Nilesh Shah long-term growth trajectory. Global capital BMJ Group journal 104) workers tested pos- From The Indian Express panel in an eraofabundant liquidity and ultra-low Occupational&EnvironmentalMedicine. itive forSARS-CoV-2, indicating a of specialists, exclusive insight interestrates will chase returns (US junk Among those testing positive, prevalenceof20%. bonds aretrading at life-time lowyields).For three out of four had no symptoms. Source: BMJ manyinvestors,growth or Innovation will be aproxy forreturns. What factors willdetermine the recovery Thereisamoney-making opportunity for INDIAACTIVE CASES 568,458 path forfirms? adisciplinedstock-picker. On one side, defen- In the epic battle of the Mahabharata, the sive sectorslikeFMCG, pharma,techetc are virtuous Pandavassurvivedand prospered trading at highvaluations. Ontheotherhand, 700,000 while the vicious Kauravas losteverything. public-sector undertakingsand public-sector Leverage,coststructure, governance, access banksare trading at lifetime lowvaluations. to capital and adaptiveness determine the vir- On the one hand, big is becoming bigger,but 695,509 tuosity of afirm.Firms with less leverage,good on the otherhand themarket is valuing David 568,458 governance, and the ability to raise capital, cut farmorethan Goliath. The futureisbecoming costs with the precision of asurgeon‘s knife, uncertain due to massivedisruption, but is 600,000 andinnovate to adaptinthecurrentsituation mostexciting forthe disruptor. Within asec- will notonlysurvive but alsoprosper. Our eco- tor, thereisawide rangeofreturns as winners nomic recoverywillbeafunctionof top-down Shoppingfor KarwaChauth in Jammu on Sunday. Demand, pent up or otherwise, getrewardeddisproportionately. There is factors likefiscaland monetary stimulus as has recovereddue to steps takeninthe past. PTI plenty of information and news,but it is diffi- LAST 10 DAYS well as bottom-up entrepreneurial efforts. cult to determine facts. Oct 22 Oct 31 500,000 When the pandemic continues, what Where is policyfocus everyone-winssolutionof Whichsectors or themes hold promise factors raise hopes of recovery? needed? Satyam. Our laws arebe- forinvestors going forward? Note: The Oct 31 figureinthis graphisbased on thegovernment updateonNov 1 Active cases arecoming down despite Themonetarypolicy ing made forthe lowest At thecostofgoingwrong, afew trends normalisation of economic activities. Avac- is accommodative but THEEXPERT common denominator as areworth capturingfromamoneymaking cine breakthrough seems to be on the hori- credit transmission needs NILESHSHAH, Managing crooksescape without ad- point of view: INDIATOTAL CASES WORLDTOTAL CASES zon.Loweroil, gold and Chinese goods im- to improvefurther.Policy Director of Kotak equatepunishment. This ■ Sustainable long-term growth is visible 8,182,082 46,196,087 ports have made India current ratesare at lifetime low MahindraAsset increases thecostofcom- in sectors whereIndiaisbecomingpartofthe account-surplus. Foreign exchangereserves levels but the costofbor- Management Co Ltd, has pliance forthe rest. global supplychain. Sectors likecontract man- Source:MinistryofHealth&Family Source:JohnsHopkinsUniversity, areabout to exceedforeign exchangedebt. rowing needs to be low- over aquarter century’s Investment cannotpick ufacturingand chemicals areatatake-off Welfare,updatedat11pmonNov1 updatedat11pmonNov1 Global firms areopening up their pursesfor ered forbelow-AA rated experience in capital up sustainablyunlessrule stage,liketheIT sector at thebeginningof the direct as well as portfolio investment. borrowers.Fiscal stimu- marketsand market- of lawisexperiencedby century, albeit with high valuations. Agriculturereforms willmaterially benefit a lus has supportedgrowth related investments. He is investors. Big has become ■ Firms on the wrong side of ESG (envi- large rural population. Labour reforms and at the bottom of the pyra- one of the country’s most biggerinthese challeng- ronment, social and corporategovernance) postallifeinsurance schemes aresteps in the mid but sectors liketravel, astutefinancialanalysts. ing times, but eventually investment will getde-rated.Their profitswill right direction forIndiabecoming amanu- tourism, hotel, retailing, smalland medium firms getlow valuation irrespective of growth. facturing hub, although alot moreneeds to aviation, infrastructure needtobecomecompeti- ■ Challengers/disruptors will gethigh be done on the ground. etcrequiremoresupport. The path of fiscal tive and prosper. valuations despitecapital burn.Firmsdoing The September 20 quarterly results areby prudence is important but it needstobe disintermediationwill getrewardeddispro- and large ahead of street expectations. achieved by raising non-tax resources like Is the global resurgence of Covid-19a portionately. Marginshave expandedacrosssectorsdueto proceeds from strategic divestment and mon- threat to thestock market recovery? ■ Sector wherePSUs dominate, such as deepcostcuts. In sectors likeautoand con- etisation of assets,unlockingcapital stuckin The stockmarket has respondedenthusi- bankingand insurance,willprovidelong-term sumerdurables,volumesare aheadofexpec- gold lyingintijori etc. asticallywithlarge cap indices trading alittle growth opportunities to private firms. tations. Many attributeittopent-up demand. Ease of doing business has improved but belowtheirpre-Covid highs. Flows and im- Investors will makemoneyinthis market Demand, pent up or otherwise, has recovered rule of lawneeds to beimproved.Despitegood proving fundamentals have pulledthe mar- with lots of discipline and abit of luck. due to steps takeninthe past.However, it intentions, commercialdisputes aregetting ket to currentlevels.Undoubtedly,weare not Portfolios that have virtuous companieslike needs to be sustainedinthe future by further addressedlikethe never-endingtrial of the out of the woods. Factors likethe ongoing sec- thePandavaswilloutperformportfolioswith measures. 1992 security scam rather than the quick, ond waveinthe US and Europe, the US elec- vicious companies likethe Kauravas. Settingthetemplate:howSeanConnerycraftedJamesBond’sidentity

Eon Productions and Fleming were inclined Bond character,itwas Connerywho setthe Conneryinterjected amixtureofsnobbery KABIRFIRAQUE towardsaBritish actor. templatefor thewell-dressedspy who and violence that has come to define the NEWDELHI,NOVEMBER1 “Certainly, thescreenidentities of most could be ruthless as well as charming. character.” of the actors initiallyconsidered forthe part “I’d suggestthatConneryis, likeIan SEANCONNERY,whodiedonSaturdayatage of Bond —James Mason,TrevorHoward, ‘Bond, James Fleming's Bond, representative of an ideal Conneryversus Bond 90,willbebest rememberedfordefiningthe David Niven(Fleming’s preferredchoice), Bond’—Sean post-war masculinity,aclevermix of suave Connerywas the onlyactor who came character of James Bond on screen. While RichardBurton, and James Stewart—re- Connery elegance and tough masculinity,” said backasBondafter being replaced—twice. Conneryhad along,successful acting career flected atendency to assimilateBond into introduces Monica Germanà, author of Bond Girls: The firsttime,hequit afterthe fifthfilm, in avariety of roles, we look hereatthe tem- the tradition of English ruling-class heroes,” the iconic Body,Fashion and Gender,and seniorlec- YouOnly LiveTwice (1967), and wasreplaced plateheset forthe Bond character: the British sociologistand author Tony character, turer in English literatureand creative writ- with the Australian actor George Lazenby Bennett wrote in TheInternational Journal eight ing at WestminsterUniversity,UK. in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969), the Bond before Connery of James BondStudies in 2017.Stewart,infact, minutes into Connery's Bond“could be ruthless withhis latter’s onlyappearance as Bond.Connery Although he wasthe firstactor to play wasAmerican. Dr No (1962) enemies, and those who betrayed him... But returnedasBond in Diamonds areForever Bond in the “official” series (the films that he can alsobeatender —and sexy —lover”, (1971). It would be his lastfilminthe “offi- come outofEon Productions, UK), Connery Conneryfor Bond she said. cial” Bond series —but nothis lastappear- wasnot the firstBondwhen all films are What swung the choice in favour of women’s and gender studies at the evisionand media studies at Aberystwyth Dr Funnell described howConnery ance as Bond. considered. Another actor,Barry Nelson, Connery, aScottish actorwho wasthen a University of Oklahoma, said by email: University.“Curiously, on thereleaseofDr No helpedcraft the identity of the global, pop- In 1973,Eon Productions replaced had playedBond before Connery, but that longway away from international fame, was “Producerswantedto downplaysome of the therewas some confusionamong UK film ular cultureicon: “Connerycould pulloff ConnerywithRoger Moore. This upset film wasaUSproduction, notan“official” the needtoappeal to awider audience, par- literaryfigure’s overtlyBritish mannerisms critics about whether Connery’s accent was anylook; from theclassic tuxedotoablue Connery, who resurrected himself as Bond onefromEon.Nelson’s film, CasinoRoyale ticularly in America. Connerywas castfor his that audiences overseas and especiallyinthe Scottish, Irish or Northern Irish; he certainly onesie, he looked confident in professional 10 years later,inan“unofficial” film. Never (1954)—thereare three ‘Bond films’ with ruggedmasculinity over Fleming’s choice of US mightfind jarring. Instead, Bond waspre- wasn’t English or American and this gave him settings and comfortable in highbrow SayNever Again (1983) is aHollywood pro- that name —islargely forgottentoday. Niven, said Lisa Funnell, co-author of sentedwithamoremid-Atlanticimage,and an outsider appeal,” Dr Jones said, by email. places of leisure.Inaddition, Connery’s de- duction, and aremakeofConnery’s own Ian Fleming, who wrote 14 James Bond Geographies, Genders, and GeopoliticsofJames giventhe worldwidesuccess of his films, this livery of classic lines like his introduction of Thunderball (1965). novels, visualisedthe British spyasresem- Bond,andeditor of theanthologyForHisEyes wasthe rightdecision.” Bond in Connery’s image ‘Bond, JamesBond’ and ‘I must be dream- “He is the onlyactor to play the charac- bling thesinger Hoagy Carmichael. When Only:The Women of James Bond. Connerykepthis Scottish accent, ob- While everyactor in thatrole has ing’ helpedtoshape the(sardonic) wit of teracross 3decades and remains afan planning thefirstBondfilm, Dr No (1962), Dr Funnell, associateprofessor of served Stephanie Jones, lecturer in film, tel- brought in his ownpersonality traitstothe the figure. Finally, through his performance, favouritetothis day!” said Dr Funnell.

New Delhi WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,NOVEMBER2,2020 FIRST DAY OF NATIONWIDE COVID TESTING HALF OF SLOVAKIA’S POPULATION TESTED Nearly halfofSlovakia’sentire population took Covid-19swabs on Saturday, the first day of two-daynationwide testing the government hopes will help reverseafastrise in infec- 14 THE WORLD tionswithout ahard lockdown. Defence Minister Jaroslav Nadsaid 2.58 millionSlovaks tookthe test,and 25,850 or 1% tested positive and must go intoquarantine. TOPOFTHE PRESIDENT SEEKSLATE SURGE IN SUPPORTTOOVERCOME RIVAL’S LEAD UK govt announces WORLD Trumplauncheshisfinalbattleground 4-week lockdown, pitch;BidenfocusesonPennsylvania says may last longer JILLLAWLESS LONDON,NOVEMBER1

BILLBARROW,ZEKE ED Taking ANEW national lockdown in Rescueservicesat MILLER&AAMERMADHANI lessons England mayhavetolastlonger work in Izmir,Turkey, BUTLER,NOVEMBER1 PLAIN E than the plannedfourweeksif ● from2016 on Sunday. AP EX coronavirus infection ratesdon’t US PRESIDENT Donald Trumpis fall quicklyenough, asenior gov- mounting one final test of DESPITE BIDEN’Slead in ernment ministersaid Sunday. UK PM Boris Johnson TURKEY whether the massive crowds manybattleground states, the The lockdown announced announcedthe measureson 70-yr-oldpulled that oftenshowupathis signa- Trumpcampaign has pointed Saturday by Prime MinisterBoris Saturdayevening turerallieswilltranslate into to his surprise 2016 win, Obamaatacampaign event Johnson is to run from Thursday outalive,quake votes as he finishes the final 48 whichcame afteralatesurge forBiden in Detroit on until Dec. 2. Johnson says it’s hours of his reelection campaign in support helpedhim over- Saturday. Reuters neededtostophospitals from THERESTRICTIONS tollhits71 with adizzying onslaught of come HillaryClinton’s lead. becoming overwhelmedby RESCUE WORKERS extri- eventsinthe battleground states Searching forthat momen- Covid-19patientswithinweeks. ■People will onlybe cated a70-year-old man that could decide the race. Biden and Trumpare campaigning across swing states tum heading intoelection Obama: Trump CabinetministerMichael allowedtoleave home from acollapsedbuilding The President will hold five ahead of Tuesday’s election. AP,Reuters day, Trumpisonacampaign Gove said it wasthe govern- forspecific reasons such in western Turkey on rallies in five states on Sunday blitz, doing rallies in up to five cares about ment’s“fervent hope” that the as education, work, Sunday, some 34 hours alone. He’ll hold sevenmoreon states in one day. Biden is lockdown would end on time,but exercise, shopping for afterastrongearthquake Monday to close out the final full terplaceto beanytime,anywhere looking to makesurethat vot- feedinghis ego that could notbeguaranteed. essentials and in the Aegean Sea struck dayofthe campaign. thanaTrumprally?”Trumpasked ers who oppose Trumpwill “With avirus this malignant, medicinesorcaring for Turkey and Greece, killing Downinthepollsandatacash amassive crowdSaturdayin be motivatedenough to turn andwith itscapacity to move so the vulnerable. at least71people and in- disadvantagetohisDemocraticri- Butler,Pennsylvania, that re- outtovotefor the Democrat. ALEXANDRAJAFFE quickly, it wouldbefoolish to juring morethan 900. It val,Joe Biden, Trumpisturningto spondedinroaringapproval. Clinton’s narrowloss in FLINT,NOVEMBER1 predict with absolutecertainty ■Pubs and restaurants wasthe latest series of re- ralliesto helpkeephismessagein With morethan 91 million Pennsylvania and other cru- what will happen in four weeks’ willbeshut apartfrom markable rescues after front of voters.But it’sunclear votesalready cast, Trumpand RACE FOR cial states in 2016 has been at- BARACK OBAMA is hitting US time,” he told Sky News.“We’re fortakeaways.All non- the Fridayafternoon whethertheywillbroadenhisap- Bidenare outoftime to reshape tributed to the fact that thou- President Donald Trumpright going to reviewitonthe 2nd of essential retail willclose. earthquake, whichwas peal beyond those already likely the race. Instead, they’refocusing THEWHITE sands of potential Democratic wherehethinksit’ll hurtmost: December but we’realways centered in the Aegean to votefor him. And the packed on their base and makingsure HOUSE voters did notcasttheir ballot. His ego. drivenbywhat the datasays.” ■ Essential shops, northeastofthe Greek is- crowds risk deepening the pan- thatanypotentialsupportershave Campaigning forJoe Biden Under the newrestrictions, schools, and universities land of Samos. Search- demicatatimewhencoronavirus eitheralready voted or plan to do on Saturday, theformer presi- bars and restaurantscan onlyof- will remain open. and-rescue teams were cases aresurgingacross the US. so in person on Tuesday. the suburbs. Biden will spend According to an analysis by dent paintedTrumpasinsecure fertake-out, non-essential shops working in nine toppled But Trump, still relishing his ForBiden, that means paying muchofSunday in Philadelphia, University of Floridaprofessor and self-absorbed,describing mustcloseand people will only or damaged buildingsin late-stage upsetinthe 2016 cam- close attention to Blackvoters Pennsylvania, encouragingvot- Michael McDonald, anonparti- him as afailedpresident who be able to leave home forashort lockdown earlier this year, Izmir,Turkey’s third- paign, sees his showmanship asa whoareacriticalpartofthecoali- erstoturn out. He’ll participate san political dataexpert,almost cares moreabout himself than listofreasons including exercise. schools, universities, construc- largest city,but appeared centralelementof hisoutsiderap- tion he needs to build to win.His in a“souls to thepolls” event 2.3 million Pennsylvania voters the country. Yetunlikeduring the UK’s tion sites and manufacturing to befindingmorebodies pealthathehopes will resonate teamisconfidentinBiden’sstand- that’s aimedatencouraging had returnedabsenteeballots as “Trumpcares about feeding firstthree-month coronavirus businesses will stay open. AP Sundaythansurvivors. AP again this year. ing with women, college-edu- Blackchurch congregations to of Fridayout of almost3.1 mil- his ego. Joe cares about keeping “Letmeaskyou,isthereabet- catedvotersandthosewholive in organise and vote. lion requested. AP youand your familysafe,” Obama said in Flint, Michigan. Australia records no new In ascathing speech, Obama FRANCE mockedand belittledTrumpfor 2morearrested Stanford study says 30,000 Covid cases, everything from thePresident’s cases for 1st time in months criticism of the media coverage inNicechurch of the coronavirus pandemic — and no deaths forthe second attackcase 700 deaths connected to 18 Trump rallies Trump, he said, was“jealous of LIDIAKELLY consecutive day. Covid’s media coverage”—to his MELBOURNE,NOVEMBER1 With no fresh cases of Covid- TWOMORE men were In the study titled‘The Effects portsthe warnings and recom- “obsession with crowdsize”. 19 recordedinthe rest of the arrested in connection YOSHITASINGH of Large GroupMeetingsonthe mendationsofpublic health of- “He’sstillworriedabouthisin- AUSTRALIARECORDED no new country, Australiasaw itsfirstday withaknifeattackthat NEWYORK,NOVEMBER1 Spread of Covid-19: The Case of ficials concerning the risk of auguration crowdbeing smaller dailycoronaviruscommunity in- of no transmissions since June 9, leftthree dead at achurch TrumpRallies’, researchers con- Covid-19transmission at large thanmine.Itreally bugshim.He’s fections on Sundayfor thefirst Health MinisterGregHunt said. in Nice, bringing the EIGHTEEN ELECTION rallies by cludedthat 18 rallies by Trump group gatherings, particularly still talking about that. Does he time in nearly five months, “Thank youtoall of our number of people in cus- Donald Trumpare estimated to held between June 20 and when the degree of compliance have nothingbettertoworry health officials said, paving the amazing health &public health tody to six as investiga- have ledtomorethan 30,000 September22“ultimatelyresulted with guidelines concerning the about?” Obama said. “Did no one wayfor further easing of social workers &above all else the tors lookatthe suspected confirmedcases of coronavirus At aTrumprallyinButler, in morethan 30,000incremental use of masksand social dis- come to his birthdayparty as a distancing restrictions. Australian people,” Hunt said on assailant’s lastknown and likelyclaimed over 700lives, Pennsylvania Saturday. AP confirmedcases of Covid-19”and tancing is low. The communi- kid? Washetraumatised?” Thestate of Victoria, acoro- his Twitter account. contacts, aFrenchpolice anew study by Stanford “likelyled to morethan700 ties in whichTrumprallies took Obama at times smiledashe navirus hotspotwhich accounts Swiftand stringentmeasures source said. The latestar- University researchers said, deaths”,whichmay notnecessar- place paid ahigh price in terms jabbed the President and often formorethan 90% of Australia’s combinedwithcommunitycom- reststook place on stressing that the communities took place “paid ahigh price in ilyhavebeen among attendees. of disease and death,” the re- soundedincredulous at the state 907coronavirus-related deaths, pliance have been credited for Saturday,the source said. wherethe US President’s rallies terms of disease and death”. “Our analysis strongly sup- searchers said. PTI of his administration. AP sawzeronew daily infections reigning in the virus. REUTERS An assailant beheadeda woman and killedtwo other people in achurch China to begin in Nice on Thursday,in 10 deadafter Typhoon Quebec: 2dead in Halloween stabbing spree France’s second deadly construction of knifeattackintwo weeks with asuspectedIslamist Gonislams Philippines Police saysuspected attacker, dressedinmedievalcostume,held; five injured Sichuan-Tibet motive. REUTERS neighbourhood and to stay inside AUSTINRAMZY as theysearchedforthe attacker. Railway section HONGKONG NOVEMBER1 The police said theyarrested near India border 7arrestedover aman shortlybefore1amon THE POLICE in Quebec City on Sunday, but advised residentsto disruptionof Sundayarrestedamandressedin remain insidewhile an investi- medievalgarbwho wasbelieved gation wasunderway. KJMVARMA legislature to have killedatleasttwo people Twopeople were killedand BEIJING,NOVEMBER1 HONGKONGpolice ar- and injuredseveral others in a five were injured,said Étienne rested sevenpeople stabbing spree on Halloween. Doyon, apolicespokesman. The CHINAISall settobegin the con- Sunday overscufflesthat The attacks occurredlate Police cars patrol near the Quebec ParliamentonSunday. AP arrested man wasinhis mid-20s, structionofthestrategicSichuan- brokeout withsecurity Saturdayinaneighbourhood the spokesman said, without TibetRailway between Ya’an in guardsduringafaceoff be- near the Quebec provincial providing further details. southwest Sichuan province and tweenpro-democracyand The typhoon causedflooding in Bariw, AlbayProvince, Parliament building. The police the attacks,who wasdescribedas call justbefore10.30pm. The police said their initialin- Linzhi in Tibet, close to the Indian pro-Beijinglawmakers in Philippines, on Sunday. Reuters said theybegan searchingfor a wearing medievalcostume and The police advisedresidents vestigation did notpoint to an border in Arunachal Pradesh, thecity’slegislatureearlier man suspected of carrying out carrying asword,after receiving a to avoid the ParliamentHill act of terrorism. NYT state-run media reported. this year.Those arrested China Railway announced on includecurrent and for- in severely hit Albayprovince in Saturdaythe bidding resultsfor mer lawmakersand aleg- ENRICODELACRUZ the Bicol region, alawmaker said. Nepal ruling NCP’s unity under threat: party leader the constructionoftwo tunnels islative aide,policesaid.All MANILA,NOVEMBER1 Storm surgeshit some and one bridge, as well as the sevenare from the pro- coastaltowns, while rivers over- powersupplyprojectfor the democracy camp. The AT LEAST10people diedand flowedand dikes were de- Poudel, who is also the other partychief, Oli, quit his the issue, and contributeposi- Ya’an-Linzhi section of the statement said the arrests three others were missing after stroyed,submerging severalvil- YUBARAJGHIMIRE MinisterofFinanceinthe KPOli NCPleadership postand involve tively to save theunity.” Sichuan-TibetRailway,indicat- arepartofaninvestigation TyphoonGoni, the world’s lagesinBicol. KATHMANDU,NOVEMBER1 government, said: “I requestall the party in the running of the Prachanda, afterrefusing ing that constructionofthe proj- intoaMay8committee strongesttyphoon this year,bar- Thedeadandmissingwere all leaders, cadres and member government. severalinvitations from Oli to ect is about to begin. meeting in whichpro- relledthrough the south of the in Bicol, includingnine in Albay, SIXMONTHSafterafactionalfeud comrades to contributetosave Poudel’s unusual step could “discuss and settle” differences, TheSichuan-TibetRailway is democracy lawmakers Philippines’ main island of Luzon the Office of Civil Defence said. eruptedinthe ruling Nepal the party’s unity by resolving the indicate thatthe party is on the went to the PM’s residence on the second suchproject in Tibet rushedtowardthe chair- on Sunday, an initial government Earlier in the day, Albay CommunistParty (NCP),its gen- internal differences.” vergeofasplit. Saturdayafter agap of 11 days afterthe Qinghai-TibetRailway. person’s seat and apha- reportshowed. Governor Al FrancisBicharare- eralsecretaryBishnuPoudelsenta The rowbegan when asec- In commentsonTwitter and onlytotell him personallythat It will go through the southeast lanx of security guards Morethan300 houses were portedthat afive-year-old had publicmessagetotopleadersand tion of the party ledbyco-chair- Facebook,Poudel said, “I appeal he wasnot reliable and honest of the Qinghai-TibetPlateau,one shovedback. AP buriedunder volcanicrocks and been washedawayinflash party cadres to resolve the inter- man Pushpa Kamal Dahal to leaders, cadres and party com- enoughtoimplement anyagree- of the world's mostgeologically mudflows from MayonVolcano floods in his province. REUTERS nal differences and save the party. ‘Prachanda’demandedthat the rades to seriously ponderover mentsbetween them. active areas, areport by the state- run China News reported. The Sichuan-TibetRailway starts from Chengdu, thecapital of Sichuan province, and travels ITALIANS NOW ALONG WAY AWAY FROM THE DAYS OF SINGING ON BALCONIES AND THEIR SUMMER FLING WITH FREEDOM throughYa’anandentersTibetvia Qamdo, shortening the journey from Chengdu to Lhasa from 48 In Italy,like everywhere the virus goes, the discontent is contagious hours to 13 hours, the reportsaid. Linzhi, whichisalsoknown as Nyingchi, is located closeto Instead, as asecond wave engulfs nowstands forsomething darker. whereangrycooks in chef hats, imposedtoavoid amassacre. Arunachal Pradesh border. JASONHOROWITZ Europe and triggers newnation- Italyhas become asymbol of restaurateursandfellowbarown- Romans areswinging erratically Linzhi also has an airport, one ROME,NOVEMBER1 widelockdowns,Italyhasbecome Europe’ssquanderedadvantages, ersprotestednew governmentre- between last-days-of-disco day of the five built by China in the emblematic of adespair,exhaus- theimpotenceof half measuresin strictionsthatshutthemdownaf- drinking and holing up during Himalayanregion. WHEN THE coronavirus firsthit tion and fear thatisspreading the face of avirus that doesnot ter6pm. It wasone of dozens of eerilyquietnights. The newly-built Ya’an-Linzhi Italy, overwhelming the coun- throughout the Continent. abideby compromises,andtheso- predominantlypeacefulprotests Allaroundthecountry, unease section runs1,011 kilometres and try’s hospitals and prompting France has applied anew na- cial andpolitical costs of notmak- thathaveeruptedacross the ismorphingintounrest,withvio- includes 26 stations. Trainsareex- the West’s firstlockdown, tional lockdown to contain sky- ing good on promises of relief. countryinrecent days.“There’s a lent protests breaking out Friday pected to run at speeds between Italians inspired the worldwith rocketingcases.Germanyhasput Italians,coming down hard tonofrageand suffering.” nightinFlorence.Large crowdsin 120and 200kmper hour,astaffer their resilienceand civic respon- in place softer, but still severe,na- from theirsummer euphoria,are Italian hospitals, whichdeliv- Trieste chant thattheyjustwant in charge of theproject said. sibility,staying home and tionwide restrictions. Ireland has exasperated. ered asearing global previewof to work.Anddemonstratorshave The totalcostofthe entire singing on their balconies. Their restricted movement and barred “We’vereachedtheendof our the horrortocomeinMarch,are takentothestreetsinnearly every Sichuan-TibetRailway projectis rewardfor months of quarantine visitstoother people’s homes. Anearly emptystreetinMilanlastweek on the firstday the rope,” said Emanuele Tudini, again under strain and intensive majorItaliancity,fromPalermoto around 319.8 billion yuan ($47.8 wasaflattenedcurve, agulp of ThroughoutEurope,governments city imposednew restrictionstoprevent the spread of the whosewifeapplaudeddoctors careunitsare filling up. BolognatoVerona. billion), GlobalTimes reported. normalcy and the satisfaction of arescrambling to deliverrelief, coronavirus. NYT from their apartment window Milan,Italy’seconomicengine, Mobsters, hooligans and far- The Sichuan-Tibetrailwayis usuallypatronising allies point- keep schools open and salvage and whose children drew is the newcapital of itscontagion rightextremists have exploited also of great significance in ing to Italyasamodel. their economies. “EverythingWillBeOK”rainbows and seems on the brink of quar- thefrustrationandanger,infiltrat- safeguarding national unity Italyisnow alongway away And everywhere, if people tent is exploding. Covid’s awful human toll —that at the beginningofthe crisis. antine.Thepoorerandvulnerable ingprotestsand tossing Molotov and maintaining border stabil- from those balcony days and its arenot sickwith thevirus, they The countrythatgavethe demonstrated thenecessity,and He spokeinhis bar in frontof southisexposed,andNeapolitans cocktails.The police areincreas- ity, the dailyquotedChinese ex- summer fling with freedom. aresickofit. In Italy, thediscon- Western worldapreviewof success, of anationallockdown — the Pantheon in central Rome, have riotedagainstearly closures inglyonedge. NYT perts as saying. PTI

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THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,NOVEMBER2,2020 MarketWatch FPISTURN NETBUYERSINOCT NewDelhi: Foreign portfolio investors(FPIs)turned net buyersin October in domestic markets by putting in Rs 22,033crore as participant sentiment wasdriven by resumption of economic 15 ECONOMY PTI activities and robust quarterly corporate results among others.

TAXATION SYSTEM STABILITYISVERY IMPORTANT: FINANCE SECRETARY MANUFACTURERS FEEL NOVEMBER SALES WILL CONTINUE TO BE STRONG ‘No one is saying this is the Octsalesriseforautomakers,festive end of the stimulus ... we’ll buyingpropelsdomesticnumbers intervene at the right time’

plan their vehicle purchase dur- tuate growth forusand the in- ENSECONOMICBUREAU MSI,TATAMOTORSAMONGMAJORGAINERS ing Diwali. dustryatlarge.” AANCHALMAGAZINE ‘PATH-BREAKINGREFORMS’ NEWDELHI,NOVEMBER1 During the Navratri period, Naveen Soni, senior VP— NEWDELHI,NOVEMBER1 ■ Duringthe Navratri ■ Tata Motors retailed while MSI retailednearly 60 per sales &service, Toyota Kirloskar FESTIVE BOOST, alongside the period, whileMSI retailed 10,887unitsinthe Navratri cent of itstotal domestic sales in Motors, said, “The month of THE GOVERNMENT has notyet ■Finance SecretaryAjay pent-up demand andpurchase nearly 60 percent of its period, ariseof90per cent October,Hyundai retailednearly October has been our best exhaustedall itsoptionsfor stim- BhushanPandey said from firsttime buyers,saw all totaldomesticsalesin over 5,725 unitslastyear. 50 per cent of itsdomestic sales month so farsince March 2020. ulusmeasuresasitiscloselymon- labour laws, majorautomanufacturers re- October, Hyundairetailed Kia Motors India said it during the 10-dayperiod.Tata The festiveseason has proved to itoring the economic situation production-linked portajump in their domestic nearly 50 percent of its sawa224per cent increase Motors retailed10,887unitsdur- be bullish as we witness demand and is workingonmorestimulus incentivesand farm law sales in October. domestic salesinthe in retail sales ing the Navratri period this year, surging, month-on-month. This measures to revive the economy amendmentsare the areas While Maruti Suzuki India 10-dayperiod during Navratri an increase of 90 per cent over has been true of our retails tooas reeling from the impact of the whichcan be considered as Ltd (MSI) announceda17.6per 5,725 unitslastyear.Kia Motors order flowhas been smooth, Covid-19pandemic, Finance path-breaking reforms cent rise in itsdomestic India said it witnesseda224per from the very beginning.” Secretary AjayBhushan Pandey passenger vehicle sales at monthlysales in asinglemonth. witnessingrevival in sales in cent increase in retail sales dur- ForMSI, while sales of mini said.Production-linkedincentives 1,63,656 unitsinOctober, Among passenger vehicle August andSeptember on ac- ing the 10-dayperiodat11,640 cars —comprising Altoand coupledwiththeearlierreduction it everymonth or everytwo onlyfor paringdebt or building Hyundai Motors announcedits (PV) manufacturers, while count of demand forsmall cars units. S-Presso —declinedmarginally in corporatetax rate cut will help months, on one groundorthe cash balances, Pandeysaid the highestevermonthlysale of Honda Cars India and Toyota from firsttimebuyers and those RajeshGoel, director—mar- to 28,462 unitsinOctober as bring in moreinvestmentsinthe other,itdoesn’taugurwellforthe lowertax rate willhelpinprovid- 56,605 unitsinthe domestic Kirloskar Motors announced8.3 looking to avoidpublic trans- keting &sales, Honda Cars India, against28,537 unitsinthe same country, Pandeysaid in an inter- country’s economyorfinancial ingapositive signalforlong-term market,witnessinga13.2per per centand 4.2 per cent rise in portation amidstthe Covid-19 said, “The festivebuying picked month lastyear,sales in the viewwith The Indian Express. system,”hesaid. investment decisions, adecision cent growth over the correspon- sales, respectively,inOctober, pandemic, October gotthe fes- up from Navratrainmid- compact segment —that in- “Noone is saying that this is Pandey, who also holds the whichisn’ttemporary. ding monthlastyear. Mahindra&Mahindraand MG tive shot as amajority of the sales October and we arefocusing on cludes models suchasSwift, theendof thestimulusorthatwe charge as RevenueSecretary, said “With corporatetax cutand Signalling asharp rebound in Motors tooannounced year-on- came in the 10 days of Navratri. maximising deliveries during Celerio, Ignis, Balenoand Dzire have exhaustedall our options. If labourlaws,production-linkedin- otherrecent major reforms, rural demand, HeroMotoCorp year sales growth of 1per cent Manufacturers feel that Novem- this period ... We expect this de- —saw a19.2per cent increase to anysector requires help at any centives(PLI) and farm law AatmanirbharPackage and PLI, sold arecordof8,06,848vehicles and 6per cent, respectively. bersales will continue to be mand to continue through 95,067 unitsasagainst75,094 point of time, we willintervene. amendmentsaretheareaswhich we have givenpositive signals to in October —its highestever While manufacturers started strong as traditionallybuyers Diwali whichwill further accen- cars in October lastyear. We areinconsultationswith var- canbeconsideredaspath-break- potential investors. The fact that iousbusinessgroups,CII,Ficciand ingreforms. PLI —whichthe gov- Indiaisnomoreahigh taxcoun- various MSME groups and we ernment proposes to expandto tryandithasallotherenablingre- Settlement have beengettingvarioussugges- moresectors beyond the already forms and environment will at- 6.08%: FALL IN GROSS 5.04%: DECLINEIN tions. We will comeout with announcedsectors of pharma- tract investments,” he said. scheme for ‘Premiumincome falls 6% PREMIUM INCOMEOFPUBLIC GROSSPREMIUMINCOMEOF measures.Aswe have doneinthe ceuticals, medical devices and On the issue of compensation SECTORNON-LIFE OFPRIVATENON-LIFE lastseven months,wewill inter- mobile phones —will be benefi- payments to states underthe illiquid stock fornon-lifeinsurers in Sept’ INSURANCECOMPANIES INSURANCEPLAYERS; vene atthe righttimeand we will cial as it’s linked to incremental Goods and ServicesTax (GST) FROM`11,669.43 CROREIN FROM `12,442.35CROREIN ensurethatwe willdoeverything growth rather than providing in- regime, Pandeysaid dialogue is Non-life insurers posted a 5.55% fall in gross premium SEPTEMBER2019TO SEPTEMBER 2019 TO possible and in the best interests centivestoeveryone, he said. happening at various levels with option cases income at `22,774.60 crore in September against the `10,959.88CRORE THIS `11,814.71CRORE IN of everyone,”Pandeysaid. “PLI is notanusual industrial thedissentingstates.“Thecentral year-ago month, data from insurance regulator Irdai said SEPTEMBER SEPTEMBER 2020 He,however, ruledoutanytin- incentive scheme.Itsarchitecture government had said that it will extended: Sebi kering of the taxrates as ade- isquiteunlikeothertraditionalin- provideaspecialwindowthrough mand-boosting measureinthe centive schemes,whereyougave whichitwill facilitatethe loans.” PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA Rise in total `53,484.06 crore: ongoing economic crisis. incentivesto everyoneby democ- “Stateswereinthe needof NEWDELHI,NOVEMBER1 1.37% premium Cumulative premium “Thetinkeringofthe taxation ratisingandthinlyspreadingover money, especially thosewhich income collected by the 34 collection of private sector structureissomething whichwe thelarge numberof beneficiaries. had giventheir choices. So, it was INVIEWof thelarge-scaledisrup- non-life insurers during insurers in April-September needtobeveryverycarefulabout, As aresult, it usedtohaveavery thought we could have an tion causedbythe Covid-19pan- April-September period; this fiscal, up by 1.78% over a because we took averybold step marginalimpact as compared to arrangementof aspecialwindow demic, the Securities and from Rs 95,526.89 crore in year ago andreducedthecorporatetaxrate the actual moneybeing spent. through central borrowing and ExchangeBoardofIndia(Sebi)has 2019-20 to Rs 96,831.55 and we areamong the lowest Now, in this PLIarchitecture, in- then pass it on to thestatesback- extendedtill December 31 the crore this fiscal `43,347.49 crore: taxedcountriesintheworld.If any centive depends upon the incre- to-backlikeithappens in allex- one-time settlement scheme for Cumulative premium of public taxexemptions have to be given, mental growth, so if youare not ternallyaidedprojects. The cen- entities that executed reversal of `24,111.78 crore: Premium sector insurers during howwill the government give it? growing,youwillnotget it.Those tral government has triedtobeas tradesinstockoptionssegmentof income garneredbythe 34 April-September period of It willagain lead to distortions in whoareabletogrowmorewillget accommodative as possible be- the BSE during 2014 and 2015. non-life insurancecompanies 2020-21, rising 0.86% over the taxstructure. Nowthatwe higher incentive.That, coupled cause states and Centrehaveto The scheme, introducedby in September 2019 year-ago period have comedowntoareasonable withourlowest corporatetaxrate work together.Borrowing has the regulatorinJuly, commenced leveloftaxation, what it then re- willhelpbusinessesmakeinvest- beenmadeverysimple.Statesare on August1and wassupposedto quires is that we should continue mentsinour country,”hesaid. notbeing burdened, interestrate end on October 31.However, 38.04%: Rise in premium income reported by the seven `7,812.39 crore: Cumulative premiumof Source: with that and should notgoon When asked about the earlier islow. We arehavingdialoguesat amidstthe disruptioncausedby standalone health insurers among non-lifeinsurers; from standalone healthinsurers in April-September, Irdai/PTI tinkeringwiththat.Because sta- concerns expressedbythe various levels with (dissenting) Covid-19,Sebigot representations `1,118.24 crore ayear ago to `1,543.62 crore this September rising 28.10 per cent from the year-ago period bilityof thetaxationsystemisalso ReserveBank of India aboutbusi- statesothat theycould join the seeking extension of the scheme. veryveryimportant.If youchange nessesusingcorporate taxratecut scheme of borrowing,” he added. BRIEFLY Q2 earnings: Sales dull, but cost Amazon contentions ‘misconceived’, RRVL ‘India’sstrategy ofdealingwith cuts help companiessave cash deal in best interests of stakeholders: Future Covidpaidoff’ companies conservecash and per cent in FutureRetail. losses to allstakeholders,” Future ENSECONOMICBUREAU With business in urban save on everything, from promo- ENSECONOMICBUREAU FUTURERETAIL In itsupdatetoBSE andNSE, retail said in itsstatement to the NewDelhi: Ficci President NEWDELHI,NOVEMBER1 tional spends to staff. While be- NEWDELHI,NOVEMBER1 UPDATETOBSE,NSE FutureRetail said that Amazon exchanges. Sangita Reddy on Sunday areas somewhat dull, nigninput costs have no doubt had treated twoseparate agree- TheFRLupdatetothebourses said India’s strategy of deal- AFTER Agoodstart,the earnings sales in the September helped-raw materialstosales KISHORE BIYANI’S Future Retail mentsas“asingle integrated also mentions that Amazon had ■ FutureRetail,inan ing with the Covid-19crisis season is beginning to reflectthe quarterhavebeen were down achunky 600bps y- Limited(FRL)onSundayshotback transaction by whichthe latter sought Rs 1,431crore plusinter- has “paid offand the coun- painincorporate India. o-y -total expenditurefell asteep at global e-commerce giant updatetothe BSEand hadobtainedinterestinandrights estasdamages from the former, try’s economyisset to Worryingly,analystsbelieve that subdued barring a 21 percenty-o-y. Amazon’s letter to Securities and NSE, said the bourses againstthe former. whichisequal to the amount bounce backand emerge muchofthe spurtindemandfor couple of exceptions Forthe sample,operating ExchangeBoardofIndia(Sebi),the should nottake Futuresaid that BSE and NSE Amazon had invested in Future stronger.” She said it was carsortwo-wheelersarisingfrom profit margins have increasedby BSE and the National Stock cognisance of either should nottakecognisance of ei- Couponsin2019.“Itmaybenoted timeto take boldactionsand the festiveand wedding seasons awhopping11 percentagepoints Exchange(NSE), saying that the Amazon’s letter or the ther Amazon’s letter or the eme- thatevenif suchclaimisapproved pushthegrowthagendavig- maysubside by theend of mand seems to be stemming y-o-y.Agoodexample of this is contentionsraisedbyAmazon emergency arbitrator’s rgencyarbitrator’sorderasFuture by the arbitration or at anyother orously. “The dilemma for December.However, the revival from rural and small-townIndia. TVSMotors. Though revenues were “entiremisconceived”. order as FutureRetail Retail had compliedwithall the judicialforum,thesamewouldbe governmentsacross the in purchases of residential prop- With business in urban areas rose just 6per cent y-o-yduring “In itsletter, Amazonhas hadcompliedwith all requirementsofobtaining ap- payable by promoters andthere worldwas creating abal- erties is good news andshould somewhat dull, sales in the the quarter, the company re- painted apicturethat public the requirementsof provalsfromFutureCoupons,the wouldnotbeany financialimpact ance betweenprotecting createdemand foraset of con- September quarterhavebeen portedstrong operatingmargins shareholdersof FRLarebeingmis- obtainingapprovals promotergroup entity.Future on the company,”FRL said. livesand livelihoods.India sumer durables. subduedbarring acouple of ex- of 9.3percentanda13percenty- led. Itis abit richforsuch anargu- from Future Retail has also reiterated that as it On October 31, The Indian tookthepathof astrictlock- With the private sector un- ceptions;the11 percenty-o-yfall o-y increase in Ebitda due to ment to be made from someone Coupons, the wasundergoing serious financial Express reportedthat Future down to ramp up health in- likely to makeany meaningful in the aggregaterevenues for387 falling other expenses, mainly who is notevenashareholder in promotergroup entity difficulties, especiallydue to the Group had kept aside up to Rs frastructureand focusedon greenfieldinvestmentsforatleast companies (excluding banksand promotion and marketing ex- FRL. Evidently, Amazon’s letter is Covid-19pandemic,theproposed 1,000 croreinanescrow account human lives. This strategy twoyears,demandforequipment financials)wasdriveninteraliaby penses. Staffcosts also fell 8per motivatedbyother considera- deal with RRVL wasthe only way in order to deal with all present has paid off,” Reddy said. could be dull. Nonetheless, the a24per centy-o-yfall in the rev- centy-o-yassalarycutshadbeen tions,”FRLsaidinitsupdatetothe and fashion andclothessuper- it couldcome of the situation. and futureliabilities in itsarbitra- good showput up by cement enues at Reliance Industries, a12 initiated in Q2FY21. Nestle re- BSE and NSE. martBrand Factory’s retail and “(The)schemeisinthebest in- tion tussle withAmazon. The companies -especiallyUltraTech per cent y-o-y drop at Larsen & portedanEbitdamarginof 25per On August29, FutureRetail wholesaleunits,toRelianceRetail terest of all stakeholders,thatin- amount in the escrow account, Covaxinlaunch whichturnedinstellarnumbers Toubro,a66percenty-o-ydecline cent, anear lifetime high on the hadannouncedthatitwould“sell Ventures (RRVL). cludes shareholders, financial in- whichcould later be raisedtoRs inQ22021: as volumesrose8per cent year- atInterGlobeAviation,anda7per backofhigher gross margins and by wayofaslumpsale the retail The deal had run afoul of stitutions, vendors and suppliers, 1,500crore,isequalto thetotalin- on-year —suggestsconstruction cent y-o-y fall at BajajAuto. lowerA&P spends;the company andwholesalebusiness”of itssu- Amazon,thathadboughta49per andmoreimportantlyemployees vestment made by Amazon in BharatBiotech activity is picking up. Margins, therefore,are being optimised costs but alsogained permarket chain Big Bazaar,pre- cent stake in FutureCoupons, ...anydelayintheimplementation FutureCoupons,the promoter Agood part of the overall de- eked out of sharp cutsincosts as from accounting changes. FE mium food supply unit Foodhall, whichtranslates to roughly3.58 of scheme will cause irreparable group entity of FutureRetail. NewDelhi: Bharat Biotech is planning to launchCovaxin —its Covid-19vaccine can- Commercial didate—inthesecondquar- How inventory gains helped boost Sept ‘EU antitrust chief ternextyearif itgets thereq- coalmining: uisiteapprovals from the Indian regulatoryauthori- quarter profits of state-run oil companies does not see breakup ties, Sai Prasad, the com- 19 blocks to be pany’s BharatBiotech of inventoryheldby a have in stock. The petrol and diesel—whennet auctioned International Executive KARUNJITSINGH company. In the case prices of petrol and profit forthe September quarter of large tech cos’ Director,said. Covaxin has NEWDELHI,NOVEMBER1 of OMCs, inventory diesel arecalculated wasRs6,227 crore.Similarly,BPCL been developedincollabo- gainscan be caused based on benchmark sawarefininginventorygainof Rs PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA However, Vestager told the ration with the Indian BOTHINDIANOilCorporationLtd. by an appreciation in prices of petrol and 1,303 croreand amarketing in- NEWDELHI,NOVEMBER1 REUTERS Frankfurter Allgemeine Councilof MedicalResearch (IOC) and Bharat Petroleum the price of crude, diesel in the interna- ventorygain of Rs 1,200crore in BERLIN,NOVEMBER1 Sonntagzeitung newspaper that (ICMR)-NationalInstituteof Corporation Ltd. (BPCL) have re- classifiedasrefining tional market. thequarterendingSeptember30. COMPANIESLIKE Vedanta, Jindal she did notthink breaking up the Virology (NIV) using inacti- portedstrong financialresultsin inventorygains,oran Notably, OMCs were Notably, allthreestate-owned Steel and Power, Adani Enterp- SPLITTINGUPLARGE tech com- companieswould be needed, vatedSars-Cov-2, the virus the second quarterthis fiscal, de- appreciation in the likelyinsulated from OMCshadregisteredmajorinven- rises,HindalcoIndustriesandJSW panies suchasGoogle and although the European that causes Covid-19. spitelower operatingrevenues. priceofproductssuchaspetrol some possible declines in the in- torylosseslastfiscaldueto asharp Steel areinthe race forthe first- Facebook will notbenecessary, Union could usethis step in an Thekeyitemdrivingprofitsfor anddiesel,classifiedasmarketing ternationalpricesofpetroland fall in the global price of crude oil. ever auction of 19 coalblocks for Europe’s antitrustchief was extreme case. both companiesinthe quarter inventorygains. diesel as theystoppedrevising commercial mining, whichwill quoted as saying on Sunday. “It will nevercometothat,” CILproduction were ‘inventorygains’.Hindustan Refininginventory gains area pricesonadailybasisfromMarch What quantifies operational kick-startfromMonday. European Competition she told the newspaper in an in- risesby18%to Petroleum Corporation Limited result of an appreciation in the 16 to June 6when international performanceofOMCs when The auction under which19 Commissioner Margrethe terview. (HPCL), the thirdbiggeststate- priceof crudeoilinthecompany’s pricesof thesefuelsfellsharplyas inventorygains and lossesplay coal blocks wouldgounder the Vestager is due to announce new “Upuntil nowwehaven’t 47MTinOct ownedoil refiner,has notyet re- inventory. OMCs bought crude in aresultof lowglobalcrudeprices. suchamajor role in earnings? hammer will continue foreight draftrules forthe digitalsector had anycases thatcould lead to portedfinancialresultsforthesec- Aprilwhenthepriceof Brenthita Whileanalystsdotake intoac- days,fromNovember2-9,accord- on December 2and will then suchamove,” Vestager added. NewDelhi: CoalIndia Ltd ondquarter. Hereisalookatwhat lowof$19.33perbarrel.Theprice Howdid these changes in countthe abilityofacompanyto ing to Coal Ministry. have to reconcile her proposal EU Internal Market (CIL)saidSundaythatitpro- causesinventorygains and how of Brent crude recoveredto inventoryvalue affect the clawbackinventorylossesin- On Monday, theelectronic with those from member coun- Commissioner Thierry Breton duced46.8milliontonnes theyimpact the financial around $40-45 per barrelinmid- performance of OMCs? curred, theyassessoperational auctionwouldbeheldforfivecoal tries and the European has said the proposedrules in- (MT)of coallastmonth,reg- performance of oil marketing June, though arecent fall pushed TheriseinBrentpriceallowed performanceby comparinggross blocks —Chakla,Jharkhand; Parliament. clude forcing tech giants to break isteringarise of 18.4 per companies (OMCs). itto $38perbarrelinlateOctober. IOC to register again of Rs 5,829 profitswith EBITDAoroperating Marki Mangli-II,Maharashtra; On Thursday, she said she up or sell some of their European cent. It had produced 39.5 OMCs can also getinventory croreoncrudealoneandatotalin- profitto assesstheunderlyingop- Radhikapur(West),Odisha;Takli- would propose newpowers for operations if their marketdom- MTof coalinthecorrespon- What areinventory gains? gains from an upward changein ventorygain of Rs 7,400crore — eratingperformance of the OMC. Jena-Bellora (North) &TakliJena- enforcers to tackle marketfail- inance is deemedtothreaten the dingmonth lastfiscal. PTI Inventorygainsareregistered the priceofend products, includ- including marketing inventory Full reporton Bellora (South),Maharashtra;and ures in digital marketsand to interests of customers and from an appreciation in the value ing petrol and diesel, that they gain on endproductssuchas www.indianexpresss.com Urtan, MadhyaPradesh. stop newones from emerging. smaller rivals.

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THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,NOVEMBER2,2020 DHONIWILLPLAYNEXTSEASON MS Dhoni willbebackinthe IPL next year.Dhoniconfirmed it himself at the toss of ChennaiSuper Kings' final game of theseason on Sunday. "Definitely not," said Dhoni when asked by former NewZealand pacer 16 DannyMorrison if thegame againstKXIP washis last forCSK.The IPL SPORT nextyearisscheduled to be held in the usual April-May window. PTI

Bottomsup: KKR jumpinto KingsXit topfour after devouring RR Punjab’s playoff hopes extinguishedafter alistless defeat to already-eliminatedChennai Super Kings

SYNOPSIS SYNOPSIS POINTSTABLE Morganleads KKR’s charge while Punjab crash out timidlyasCSK Team Matches Won Lost Pts NRR Cummins livesuptobilling unearth forgottenheroes MI 13 9418 1.296 RCB 13 7614 -0.145 DC 13 7614 -0.159 VISHALMENON SANDIPG KKR 14 7714 -0.214 NOVEMBER1 NOVEMBER1 SRH 13 6712 0.555 KXIP 14 6812 -0.162 LEDBY theirirrepressiblecaptainEoinMorgan CHENNAI SUPER Kings have notonlyended CSK 14 6812 -0.455 and superstarAustralian pacer PatCummins, their worstcampaign on abrightnote —win- RR 14 6812 -0.569 KolkataKnight Riders stayed alive in theIPL ningtheirlast threegames—buthave alsoter- withanemphatic 60-run win over Rajasthan PatCummins’ lethal spell ended minatedKingsXIPunjab’sfranticseason.Tidy HOWITLINES UP Royals.Theyhavestillnot madesureofaplay- Rajasthan’s hopes of awin. BCCI/IPL bowlingrestrictedPunjabto 153/7before me- The number of teams in the fray is now offberth, but it’saremarkableturnaround for thodicalbattingfromFaf duPlessisandRuturaj five.DefeattoChennai SuperKings ateamthathadnothinggoingforthemforthe Gaikwadsawthemsurpassthescore sansfuss. eliminated Kings XI Punjab, while KKR betterpartofthisseason.Foralltheglitterand tilltheend.Afterseeingoff Archer,theIrishman knockedRajasthanRoyals out. promise,Royals finish in eighth spot. tore intohis England team-mateBen Stokes, Timid end Notonlydid KKR earn twopoints, their ransackingthreesixesinthepenultimateover The defeat to Chennai wassymbolic of all 60-run win improved their netrun rate Morganleads KKR’scharge that notonlybroughtuphishalf-century,but thatwentwrongforPunjab.Indecisive games, considerably.The winner of Monday’s There’sasense of uncomplicatedflair that alsoputKKRinapositionof ascendancyatthe theyflinched.Incrunchsituations,theycracked. clashbetweenRCBandDCwillmakethe definesEoinMorgan’s batting.Irrespectiveof half-way stage. Andforalltheirbattingwealth,theirbowlingis playoffs, while the loserswill vie with the matchsituation, he always makes acon- woefully deficient to influence games. Their KKR on netrun rate. sciousefforttoget on topofthe opposition Cummins livesuptobilling brief sparkle wasall butafalse dawn. bowling.OnSunday,theKolkataKnightRiders When KKR acquired Cummins at the auc- ●LIVE Straightaway,theyseemedover-keen,un- captain unfurledatypical,counter-attacking tionforRs15.5crore,itwasconsideredmoney der toomuchself-inducedpressure. Mayank MONDAY: DC vs RCB7:30pm knockthattookhisteamto aformidablescore wellspent,giventhe27-year-old’scredentials Agarwalseemedinatearinghurryandplayed Opener Ruturaj Gaikwadmarshalled CSK’s chase with an unbeaten 62. BCCI/IPL TUESDAY: SRH vs MI 7:30pm of 191/7againstRajasthanRoyalsintheirmust- across all formats. However, with justeight one stroke toomany. KL Rahul seemedto winfinalleagueencounterinDubai.Morgan’s wicketsfrom13 matches,theAussiehadbeen writheunderthecrushingburdenof captaincy. unbeaten 35-ball 68waspunctuated with six largely subdued. An unusual fear has replaced theusualjoy his sloppy. Ravi Bishnoi letaboundaryslip under againsthis name this season—the mostex- games as the South African wasaclear strate- sixes, but it wasthe circumstances and the Allthat changed in KKR’s must-win final batting emanates. Even the usuallyclear- hisbody,soon afterHooda had letacatch slip pensiveofChennai’s bowlers (economyrate gic failure. He underlinedyet again his virtues manner in whichheorchestratedthis knock leagueencounterwhenCumminsranthrough headedChris Gaylewas caughtinanattack- outof hispalms.Thebeneficiary, FafduPlessis 10.43).But no other colleague picked wickets of thriftaswell as wicket-takingpotency.He thatmade it special. theformidableRajasthanRoyalstoporder,tak- or-bluntdilemma.The three galacticosde- smackedatempo-setting48off 34 balls and atabetteraverage (18.55)orstrikerate(10.66). foxedChris Gaylewithaslider,setting him up The34-year-oldwalkedinatNo.5,withhis ing fourwicketsinhis opening three oversof parted, their already thin playoff hopesfaded. stitched an 82-run partnership with Ruturaj He demonstrated his wicket-taking prowess forthesweepwithhisgooglies.Tahirwasathis teaminaspotofbotherat74/3inthe10thover. high-qualitypace bowling. Afterconceding 19 Finally, it took Deepak Hooda’s clean-striking Gaikwad, who is increasingly looking the part yetagain by grabbing the scalps of Rahuland aggressive best,flauntinghiswholebagof tricks Royals leg-spinner Rahul Tewatia had justre- runsoff the firstfivedeliveries,Cummins dis- abilitiesto fishthemoutof humiliation.Ascore aftereachgame.ItwastypicalPunjab—blink- Agarwal, the twopillarsofPunjab batting. and infusing astreak of intensity thatChennai movedShubman Gill and SunilNarine in the missedRobinUthappa.Inhissubsequentover, of 153was at best middling, though cornered inginthe big momentsofthe game. Agarwalwithasmartly-disguisedoff-cutter, had utterly missed in the middle overs. space of three deliveries. Morganhad barely he sawthe back of BenStokes, thankstoasu- teams do tigerishlydefend such totals. and Rahul with adevilishly dipping slower- Gayle’s washis onlywicketofthe series, settledbeforeKKRwouldlosetwomorewick- perlative flying catchbyDinesh Karthik,while But staggeringly,Punjab withered. The Forgottenheroes ball yorker.The twowickets decelerated but Tahirwould grousethat he got onlythree ets-Rahul Tripathi and Dinesh Karthik-that RRcaptainSteveSmithgotaninsideedgeback new-ballspelllackedintensityaswellashostil- It wasironic that the chief architectsofthe Punjab’splayoff push.Paceandbouncemight games.ThattheSouthAfricanpairwouldhave leftthemprecariouslyplaced at 100/5in13 to hisstumpsonadeliverythatcutbacksharply. ity.Forgetthe pursuit of wickets, theygifted victorywereLungiNgidiandImranTahir,two behisbiggestweapons,butNgidihaswedded made the difference to CSK’s fortunesismere overs. But buoyedbythe arrivalofAndre When Cummins had Riyan Paragcaughtbe- cheap runs. JimmyNeeshamlackedbothpace menlargely peripheralto CSK’splansthisyear. those gifts with cunning and awareness. He conjecture,buttheirscatteredappearancesdo Russell,whohadreturnedtotheXIforthiscru- hind defending avicious bumper,RRwere andingenuity,MohammedShamiwasunchar- Ngidiwasintheoriginalschemebefore ashel- couldbeascattergun at times but couldpur- presentacaseforwhatcouldhave been.If only cialgame,Morganunleashedhimself by plun- struggling at 37/5 in five overs,with amoun- acteristicallyerratic andChris Jordan seemed lacking at the hands of Rajasthan Royals chase wickets with the newball. In ditching theyhad persistedwith Ngidi or introduced dering21 runsoffShreyasGopal.Inthesubse- tain to climb. With figuresof4/34, Cummins wellpasthispeakyears.Shami’sleg-sidewide, flushedhimoutof contention.Tahirhadto wait him prematurely, Chennai had shot them- Tahir before they had reachedthe brink. quent over,Russellalso got intothe act, came to the party when it reallymattered. so wide that Rahul couldonlywatchthe ball till the back-endofthe season to makeanap- selvesinthe foot. BRIEF SCORES: KXIP153/6in20overs(D smoking asix and aboundaryoff JofraArcher. BRIEF SCORES: KKR 191/7in20overs (E whistlepasthimindespair,wasamomentthat pearance. But both remindedthe team man- Likewise,thecontinuedside-liningof Tahir Hooda62,KLRahul29;LNgidi3/39)losttoCSK The belligerence shiftedthe momentum de- Morgan68, RTripathi39; RTewatia 3/25)bt perfectly captured theirlackofsteam. agement of their value in telling fashion. seemedafauxpas.That Piyush Chawlaand 154/1in18.5overs(RGaikwad62*,FduPlessis cisively towardsKKR.Russelldepartedafteran RR 131/9in20overs (J Buttler 35,PCummins Compounding the woes, the fielding was Ngidi would ownanunwanted record Karn Sharma endedupplaying twice as many 48,ARayudu 30*; CJordan 1/31) by 9wickets 11-ball25,butMorganwasdeterminedtostay 4/34, SMavi2/15, Varun C2/20) by 60 runs Rohit in danger of Four losses in arow, why DC’s wheelshavecome off BRIEFLY injuring himself this job, but his inexperience and profligate Shooterinfectedwith again, says Shastri VISHALMENON Part of the problem stems from ways —hepickedthree wicketsinfive Covid-19atnat’lcamp NEWDELHI,NOVEMBER 1 games and conceded11.29 runs per over — the fact that head coachRicky has hurtthe team’s chances. NewDelhi:Anathletetraininginthena- THEIPL season beganwith abangfor Delhi Ponting usedhim (Pant) to Their spinners, too, have gone offthe boil. tional capital's Dr Karni Singh Shooting PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA Capitals. But afterfour consecutive defeats anchor the innings, arole in In the firstsix games, Axar Pateland Ravi Rangehastestedpositive forCOVID-19, NEWDELHI,NOVEMBER1 —by59runstoKolkataKnightRiders and Ashwin averaged 16 runs per wicket. In the the Sports Authority of Indiasaid but 88 runs to Sunrisers Hyderabad, and by 5 whichhehas struggled subsequent six matches, their averagebal- maintainedthat it will nothamper the INDIA HEAD coachRaviShastrihas re- wickets and 9wicketstoKings XI Punjab loonedto50. The meagre returns of Axar and ongoing national camp. "An NCOE vealedthat Roht Sharma's medical report and Mumbai Indians respectively —atthe Ashwin underlinedthe absence of awrist (NationalCentreofExcellence) athlete stated that "he could be in danger of injur- businessend of the league stage, Delhi —suchasShimron Hetmeyer’s blitz against spinner likeMishra, who has been suchavi- training at Dr Karni Singh Shooting ing himself again" and advisedhim notto Capitalsnow runthe risk of failing to qual- RajasthanRoyals andMarcus Stoinis’sas- talcog in Delhi’sbowlingmachinery. Rangeinthe 10 metrerangehas tested rush his comeback. ifyfor the playoffs. sault againstRoyal ChallengersBangalore. In an ideal world, Delhi’s bowling line- positive forthecoronavirus.Theathlete Rohit, who is recovering from aham- Whyhas the team that wasbeingbilled Part of theproblems can be attributed up would have read as follows:Rabada, who lastvisited therange on October stringinjury, wasleftout of the India squad as the mostcompleteT20 outfitbarely to thefact that barring Dhawan, none of the Nortje, Ishant, Mishraand Ashwin.Five 28th in the second halfofthe day, inti- forthe Australia tour on aday when he hit three weeksago,been in free fall since Rishabh Pant hasn’tscored asingle remainingbatsmen have the ability to bowlers with experience, skill and smarts mated to his coachthathis test result the nets forMumbai Indians, sparking spec- then? fiftyinthis edition so far. BCCI/IPL switch gears easily. This came to the fore to rattle anyteam. had come positive," SAIsaid. "All NCOE ulation on his fitness status. "It'sbeing han- during their 9-wicketlosstoMumbai athletes who were training at the time Trouble at the top Rishabh Pant conundrum dledbythe people in charge of themedical Middle-order muddle Indians on Saturday, whenIyerand Pant this shooterhad last visited the range part of it. We don't getinvolvedinthat. They Shikhar Dhawanand Prithvi Shaw as consumed44balls to score35runs. Four years ago, Rishabh Pant captured have beenaskedto go into14days quar- have submitted areporttothe selectorsand openers should worryopposition bowlers. In the firstsix games, Delhi’s batsmen This conservative approachwouldhave the imagination of fans and punditswith antineand rejoinafter acovid negative they have gone about their business. Ihave However, theyhavenot firedintandem. scored at 9.2 runs per over.But in the sub- paid dividends had either of them gone on to his blistering strokeplay. Having made a report. The same process is to be fol- no say, neither Iamapartofthe selection. All In their lastsix games, sequent sevenmatches,that playabig knock.That didnot happen. Overall, name in white-ball cricket, the 23-year-old lowedbythesupportstaff whocamein Iknowisthe medical reportwhich says he Delhihavelostatleast one rate droppedtoaround 7.3. it wasacolossal batting failure, one that was nowfinds himself outofthe reckoning contact with the shooter,"itadded, could be in danger of injuring himself again," of their openers in the first Diehardfansmay blame brought about by amuddledapproach. from Team India’s shorterformats. without naming the athlete. Shastri told Times Now. over itself. the slow, worn-out tracks in These days,helookslikeatormented The series is scheduledtostart on Dhawandid enjoyaresur- the UAEasthe reason why InjuriestoIshant, Mishra soul, perpetually caught between attack November 27.Shastri advisedRohit notto gence mid-way intothe tourna- their marauding stroke-play- Losing experiencedbowlersSharma and defence. Perhaps nothing is moreglar- MercedesclinchF1 makethe same mistake he made during his ment by slamming back-to- ers were finding it difficult to and Mishrawithanabdominal muscle tear ing than his underwhelming strike-rateof constructors’title playing days."Thereisnothing morefrus- backhundreds, but Shaw’s fire.But the truth is that their and afinger injuryrespectively,werema- 112from10gamesinthis IPL. Ahamstring trating foraplayerthan he gets injured. problems have been two-fold. middle and lowerorder have jor blows. injurydidn’t help matters. Pant has notreg- Imola: Lewis Hamilton took arecord- Sometimes youknow, youwant to getout First, he hasbeen exposedby collectively failedtoinject mo- In Sharma’s absence, theyfailedtofind isteredasingle fiftyinthis edition so far, extending 93rdcareer win at the of that room of yoursand tryand seehow the short-pitcheddelivery.Second, the mentum in the batting. areliablethirdseamer,someone who with the 17-ball 38 againstKKR in Sharjah Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on quicklyyou can come back,"said Shastri. youngster’s lackofdiscretion in his stroke- In the game againstKKR in Sharjah on would notfritter away the good work done being his highestscore. Sundayashis Mercedes team "And therein liesthe grey area. Therein lies playhas been his bane. October 3, contributionsofDelhi’s topfour by KagisoRabada and AnrichNortje. Part of the problemstems from the fact clinchedanunprecedentedseventh the problem whereyou want to go and Scores of 4, 0, 0, 7, and 10 in the lastfive batsmen —captain Shreyas Iyer’s 38-ball HarshalPatel waspencilledinfor this role, that head coachRicky Ponting used himto successive Formula One constructors' play, youwant to test yourself. But onlyyou games is agrim indication of his troubles. 88, Shaw’s 66,Dhawan’s 26, and Rishabh but he doesn’t have the pace and zip of a anchor the innings, aroleinwhichhehas title with four races to spare. Theydid will knowatthe back of your mind Theteam management parachuted Ajinkya Pant’s38—catapulted them to amatch- fullyfit Sharma.Patel’s three scalpshave struggled. In hindsight, Delhiwould have it in one-two formation, the six-times whether youare 100% of thereisachance Rahane as opener intermittently, but even winning scoreof228/4. But barring that come at close to 9runs per over. been better servedif the wicket-keeper bats- worldchampion taking the che- of it going again." this gamble did notpay off. match, therehavebeen onlystray instances Tushar Deshpande wasthen assigned man waspusheddownthe order as afinisher. quered flag at Italy's Imola circuit 5.783seconds ahead of team mate Valtteri Bottas, who had startedon pole position. Australian Daniel Hazard ends year-long goal drought, Barcelona slip again Ricciardo finishedthirdfor Renault, his second podium of the season.

very well and needtokeep it going." DiogoJotacame offthe benchand scored ASSOCIATEDPRESS Hazard, likewise, gave Madrid fans some in the 85th minutetoearnLiverpool ahard- Coeoptimisticabout BARCELONA,NOVEMBER1 hope that his club-recordsigning from DRYSPELL fought 2-1 victoryoverWestHam, extending TokyoGames Chelsea lastyear wasnot amistake.The of- the team's unbeaten recordinleague playat WHILE JOAO Felix claimedanother brace ten-injured Belgian blastedinhis firstgoal Anfield to 63 games -tiedfor the longest Gurugram: WorldAthleticsPresident forAtletico Madrid and Eden Hazard since October of lastyear to sparkMadrid's 4- Number of days streak in the club's history. SebastianCoesaidtheTokyoOlympics emerged from hisyearlongscoringrut at 1win over Huesca. afterwhichEden That's agoal in three straight games for organisers have a"cast-iron determi- Real Madrid, Lionel Messi failedtoscorein Messi, however, justlikemostofhis 392 Hazardscored a Jota,anoffseasonsigning who is giving an nation" to stagethe Gamesnextyear. afifth straight Spanish league matchas teammates, failedtobeat an inspired goal forReal Madrid. His lastcame extraedgetoLiverpool's attack. "Thefutureisuncertainbutletmegive Barcelonastumbledagain. Fernando Pacheco as Barcelona washeld 1- on October 5, 2019. Jota's winner came about the same time youaslightlymoreoptimistic mes- Felix scored Atletico's firsttwo goals in a 1at10-man Alaves. Messi's onlyleaguegoal British Prime MinisterBoris Johnson was sage... Ican see acast-iron determina- 3-1 victoryatOsasuna, building on his sec- so farwas apenalty he converted in the announcing afour-week lockdown in tion to stage the Games," Coe said. He ond-half double in a3-2 comeback win opening game forBarcelona. Ronaldo EPL to continue despitelockdown England, startingfromThursday. wasaddressing the AGMofthe againstSalzburginthe Champions League Koeman's side is eight pointsbehind Madrid On aday uncertainty reignedinEngland The Premier League will be allowedto AthleticsFederation of Indiavirtually. on Tuesday. The 20-year-old Portugal for- withagame in hand. as the nation prepared to go backintolock- carry on -matchesare already beingplayed "TheGamesmaybedifferent,therewill ward appears to be on the brink of abreak- down, the Premier League returnedtosome- without fans, and with players undergoing probablybeadaptations,theywill out seasonfor Atletico afteranup-and-down Ronaldo scores on return Hazard scored in the 40th minute. Reuters thing resembling normality. regular testing -sothe much-anticipated probablydemandmorefromyour firstcampaign thatonlyoffered flashes of the Cristiano Ronaldo made an immediate Three of the teams expected to contend meeting betweenMan City andLiverpool teams that we have notseen in any talent shown at Benfica. impact on his return from aCOVID-19infec- forthe title -ManchesterCity,Chelsea and willgoahead as scheduled next weekend. OlympicGamesbefore.Butpleasereas- Felix scored ninegoalsin36gamesinhis tion on Sunday, scoring three minutes after terhis arrivalastheywent second in the Liverpool -all pickedupwins in back-to- On Sunday,Newcastle United striker sureyour athletesastheyenter prepa- debut season forDiego Simeone's Atletico. coming on as asubstitutebeforeconverting table. Alvaro Morata and Adrien Rabiotwere backfixtures on Saturday. Therewas also Callum Wilson scored twicetohandhigh- ration phase that thereisastrong de- He has five goalsineightappearances this apenalty to leadJuventus to a4-1 Serie Awin also on target as AndreaPirlo'sside bounced the familiar sight of Liverpool, the defend- flying Evertontheir second straight Premier termination (among officials in Japan) season. "It is agood starttothe season,"Felix at Spezia. The Serie Achampions, pegged backafter drawing their previous three Serie ing champion, backatopthe standings Leaguedefeat as theywentdown2-1 at St. to stagethe Olympic Games." said. "I have worked forthis and my team- backat1-1 when the 35-year-old entered Amatches -- notincluding the 3-0 walkover thanks to alategoal that is becoming its James' Park while Southamptondefeated PTI/REUTERS mates arehelping me alot.Weare playing the fray,scoredthree times in 20 minutes af- theywereawarded againstNapoli. trademark. AstonVilla4-3.

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