DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, , JAIPUR, , , , , , VADODARA

JOURNALISM OF COURAGE MONDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2020, PUNE, LATE CITY, 14 PAGES SINCE 1932 `5.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM FRESH OUTREACH CBI in Hathras case: Accused Govtwritesto40farmleaders,invites ‘frustrated’ after victim rebuff

name of onlyone wasmen- The four accused have been AMILBHATNAGAR tionedinthe statement. It fur- in judicial custody since their ar- themfortalks,atadateoftheirchoosing NEWDELHI,DECEMBER20 ther states that “thoughvictim rest in September. allegedmolestation, her medical According to the chargesheet, THE 19-YEAR-OLD woman examination regarding sexual the womanand Sandeep lived In five-pageletter, Agri Ministry killedinHathraswas allegedly assault wasnot conducted”. nearby and“he developedac- rapedbyfour men aftershe re- The CBI chargesheet against quaintancewith the victim asks for‘detailsinrespecttodoubts’ buffedone of them, Sandeep, the four upper- menhas two/threeyearsbackwhichgrad- and this “changeintheir rela- been filedinacourtinHathras ually turned intoloveaffair”. It respect to your doubtsafter hav- tionship” “aggravatedhis feel- under IPC Sections 376(rape), 376 statesthat“italsocameonrecord” HARIKISHANSHARMA ing discussion with farm union ings”and “frustratedhim”,the (D) (gangrape),302 (murder)and thatthey“usedtomeetinisolated NEWDELHI,DECEMBER20 leaders invitedearlier,and inform CBI has said in itschargesheet relevantSectionsof the SC/STAct, places”, and that “these factsare the datefor punah vaarta (next filedinthe case. againstSandeep (20), his uncle supportedbymanyvillagers”. WITH FARM unions intensifying round of talks) according to your The chargesheet also has a Ravi (35) and their friends Ramu The chargesheetfurther protests to press their demand convenience,sothat the matter scathing indictment of the Uttar (26) and Luv Kush (23). The states that Sandeep hadthree forthe repeal of the three farm can be resolvedbyholding a Pradesh Police,statingthat de- woman wasassaulted allegedly phone numbers and severalcalls laws,the government on Sunday meeting again at Vigyan Bhawan, spitethe woman naming three by the four onSeptember 14,and were made from those to phone invited farmer leaders foranew NewDelhi; so that the current ag- people when her statement was diedafortnight later at numbers belonging to the round of talks, and urgedthem itation can be endedsoon.” recordedonSeptember 19,the Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi. CONTINUEDONPAGE2 to choose adateaccording to The letter,addressedtoPal their convenience. and copiedto39other farmer In afive-pageletterto leaders, givesthe background of KrantikariKisanUnion,Punjab all rounds of talksheld with the state president Dr Darshan Pal, farm union leaders so far. VivekAggarwal,jointsecretaryin Aggarwal’s letter has come in the MinistryofAgricultureand responsetoPal’s December 16 Farmers’ Welfaresaid: “You are email, through whichhehad PrimeMinisterNarendraModi at GurdwaraRakab Ganj SahibinNew Delhi on Sunday. He requestedtosharethe details in CONTINUEDONPAGE2 paid tributes to Guru Tegh Bahadur. PTI

Expertstomeet today on UK virus strain; Minister says vaccine rollout likely in Jan

WorldHealthOrganisation the public “maybe” next month. KAUNAINSHERIFFM (WHO), will attend the meeting “Our firstpriority has been the ED NEWDELHI,DECEMBER20 on the newstrain, whichshows safetyand effectiveness of vac- Anew alterations in the spikeprotein cines. We don’t want to compro- PLAIN E ● worry THEHEALTH Ministry'stopadvi- that could theoreticallymakeit mise on that. Ipersonallyfeel, EX sorybodywill meeturgentlyon moreinfectious. maybeinany week of January, we Mondaytodiscuss the newstrain Meanwhile, even as 's can be in aposition to give first AS THE US and Europe go of the novelcoronavirus in the topregulator hasaskedthreevac- Covidvaccine shottopeople of through asurge in cases, United Kingdom, whichhas trig- cinemanufacturersforadditional India,”news agency ANIquoted the detection of anew, geredconcernand promptedsev- dataonlate-stage trials to con- Dr Harsh Vardhan as saying. potentiallymoredeadly Banking on HC eral European countriestostop sider clearing their candidates for Pfizer-BioNTech, Oxford- strain of the virus in the incoming flightsfromthe UK. emergency use, Health Minister AstraZeneca, and Bharat Biotech UK has triggered concern order, interfaith Sources said experts from AI- Dr Harsh Vardhan said on Sunday have submitted applications for in India too. The new IMS and the Indian Councilof thathe believes“personally” that emergency use authorisation to strain shows alterations couplesay won’t Medical Research (ICMR), along India could bein aposition to be- the Central Drugs Standard in the spikeprotein. go back to UP with arepresentative from the gin administering the vaccine to CONTINUEDONPAGE2 THE EDITORIAL PAGE SOFIAHSAN Nepal PM gets House dissolved, NEWDELHI,DECEMBER20 NEWPARLIAMENT: “WE WOULDN'T have been able sparks protests,resignations BEYONDTHEFACADE to marry in Shahjahanpur,some- BY MADHAV GODBOLE onewould have found out and as “unconstitutional”, severalpe- PAGE 8 stoppedus,” said 25-year-old YUBARAJGHIMIRE titions were filedbeforethe Shameem, who fledwith 21- KATHMANDU,DECEMBER20 SupremeCourtwithinhoursof year-old Simran from their the Housedissolution. BUSINESSASUSUAL hometown in ’s TRIGGERINGPROTESTSand the The decision wastaken at a Shahjahanpur lastmonth. resignations of at leastseven Cabinetmeeting in Oli's residence BY UNNY Fearing vigilantism in the Cabinet-rank ministers, Prime afterthe failureoftalkswith rul- name of 'love jihad' and with the MinisterKPSharma Oli Sunday ing party co-chairman and dissi- UP Police clamping down on in- dissolvedthe country's House of dent leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal terfaith couples citing the newly Representatives, whichisthe Prachanda. President Bidhya Devi promulgated Uttar Pradesh lowerhouse of Parliament, two Bhandari approved the move af- Prohibition of Unlawful years shortofits five-year tenure terano-trustmotion wastabled ConversionofReligion Ordinance, following months of bickering by 91 Parliamentarians of the the interfaith couple had on among factions withinthe ruling Aprotester burns the effigy NCP, signalling that the eight- December16petitionedthe High Nepal Communist Party(NCP). of Nepal PM Oli in month internal tussle had Court, seeking protectionnotonly With legal experts andpolit- Kathmandu Sunday. Reuters reachedapoint of no return. CONTINUEDONPAGE2 ical leaders slamming the move CONTINUEDONPAGE2

Covid impact: Dal lakeset to getawater ambulance, on ashikara

Patlooturnedhis shikaraintoanambulance. Suhaib Masudi

PAGE 1 wasdischarged, Istarted to work ANCHOR on making this dream areality. Now, thankfully, that has hap- pened. We willbelaunchingitin three-four days,” he says. BASHAARATMASOOD Patloo owns the houseboat, SRINAGAR,DECEMBER20 ‘Sea Palace’, on the Dal and tested positive inAugust.Butto reachho- CONFINED TO abed at the Shri spital, he firstneededtocross the MaharajaHari Singh (SMHS) lake.“Itwastoughto getsomeone Hospital in Srinagar four months to rowthe boat. The bitter exp- agoafter testing positive for eriencehappenedonceagainwh- Covid, Tariq Ahmad Patloo en Ireturned. Iamnot blaming couldn’t getpastthis question: anyone, people were afraidthey whydid theyshun him when he would catchthe virus,” he says. neededthem the most? The an- “Once Idecidedtobuild a swer has nowgiven shape to the waterambulance, Icalledthe Valley’s firstwater ambulance. SatyaRekha Trust(an NGO) and The 51-year-old has devel- shared my idea withthem. They opeda“shikara ambulance” for told me nottoworry about the thoseresidingaroundDallake and financial aspect. Once theygave hopes to followitupwith a“mini me that assurance, Istarted work hospital”insideahouseboat.“The on the ambulance,” he says. idea came at the hospital. Once I CONTINUEDONPAGE2

Pune WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 2 THE SECOND PAGE THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,DECEMBER21,2020

DOWNLOADAPP WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

■ VISUALSTORIES

■ DAILY BRIEFING

■ PODCASTS TRIPURASTUDENTOPENSLEDBULBFACTORY,GIVESJOBHOPEAMIDPANDEMIC

■ CUSTOMIZABLE Asecond-yearstudentpursuingHonoursinEnglish,RohitBhattacharjeehasopenedanLEDbulb Hyperloop is notinthe NEWS EXPERIENCE manufacturingfactorythatemployseightpeople.

WEB business of speed

Indian Express EXCLUSIVE ★★★★★■4.6 NEWEPISODEEVERYDAY VIDEO EXPLAINED In the latestepisode of Our Own Devices, WISTRON UNREST: WHY TRUMP HAS we speak to the Josh Giegel,co-founder of WORKERS SAY WAGE SIGNED ASTOPGAP Virgin Hyperloop, about the company's DISPARITIES TRIGGER FUNDING BILL future, the challenges ahead forit, and what it is liketravelling in aHyperloop Pod. SCANTHISQRCODETO Contractual employees It could have ledtoa DOWNLOADTHEAPP flagged wage issues government shutdown

Engineer duped FROMPAGEONE of Rs 1.89 lakh Govtwrites to lationship/affair between victim “The Joint Monitoring Group in onlinefraud and accusedSandeep wasin headedbythe Director-General 40 farm leaders, good form till March 2020”. of Health Services will be dis- It adds: “Thereafter, no calls Nepal PM gets House dissolved cussing this issue (of the UK EXPRESS NEWSSERVICE invites them for were madefrom(victim’s family strain) and makearecommen- MUMBAI,DECEMBER20 number) to either of Sandeep’s OlisecuredCabinetapproval The dissolutionsparked committeeandthecentralcom- the PrimeMinister's control. dation to the Union Health talks, at adate of number,whichshows that their forthe dissolution hours after protests on the streetsbythe mittee. The 43-member stand- In India, the latestpolitical Ministry. Besides expertsfrom A46-YEAR-OLD engineer has relation/affair wasdisturbed." hisfirstmeetingof thedaywith NCPdissident campand the ing committee wasearlier twistisbeingtrackedwithkeen AIIMS,ICMR,and the WHO, the been dupedtothe tune of Rs theirchoosing The chargesheetsays there- the President. Acommunique main OppositionNepali scheduledtodiscussonSunday interest,especiallyafterForeign meeting will also be attended 1.89 lakh in an online fraud. The informedthe government of the lationshipsoured further when from thePresident's office said Congress with slogans being afternoon a19-page“political Secretary Harsh Vardhan epidemiologists and experts police said that the com- farm unions’ decision to reject their familymembers got to that ageneral election will be shouted againstthe President resolution”submitted by ShringlavisitedKathmanduand from outside the government,” plainant wasswindledthrough the Centre's proposalofconces- knowand that afterMarch 20, held in twophases,onApril30 andthePrimeMinister. Oli,who Prachanda listing serious metOli last month in the first atop source said. afake‘friendship club’ under sions regardingchanges in the Sandeep triedtocontact the vic- and May10nextyear. willcontinueascaretakerPrime chargesofcorruptionandnepo- high-leveldiplomaticvisitto the Britishmedia reportedon the pretextofproviding an on- farm laws. timfromvarious numbers of his Senior NCPleaderssaid the Minister, held an emergency tism. Opposition MPs, mean- countrysincetheslideintiesaf- Sundaythat Belgium, Italy, and line escortservice. The lastround of talksbe- friendsand relatives. dissolution will “lead to expul- meeting with the National while,had been considering an terthe boundaryrow this sum- the Netherlands have an- The police said the com- tween the government and farm The chargesheetstatesthat sions and counter-expulsions” SecurityCouncilandgave “strict impeachment motion against mer. nouncedbans on flightscarry- plainant is aresident of the unions washeld on December8 the examination of aperson re- inthepartyfollowedpossiblyby instructions” to maintain law the President. The Nepali India’sinaugurationofanew ingpassengers from the UK,and Koliwada area in Sewri. He had when Home MinisterAmit Shah vealedthat Sandeephad asked asplit. and order.The lowerhouse, Congress held ameeting of its road from Dharchula to that asimilar move wasbeing come home on abreak from had held ameeting with the 13 him to callthe victim’s family The sevenministers who with275members,waselected central office bearers and de- Lipulekh on the Mansarovar considered by France and work fortwo months, when on representativesoffarm unions. number and connect him on a quitina“collective”decision,in- in2017.“It’sacoupontheconsti- cidedthatitwould coordinate YatrarouteinMay had angered Germanyaswell. December 2hegot atextmes- Aday afterthis meeting, the conference call. “During exami- cluding those who tried to re- tution by the executive head,” withotheroppositionpartiesto the Oli government,which The Covid-19Genomics UK sage from an unknown person. Centre sent awritten proposal nation,(the person) also stated solve theinternal differences, said Dr Bhimarjun Acharya, fight "this conspiracy came out with anew map of (COG-UK) consortium, which The messageread,‘If youare of concessions to theprotesting that the victim wasavoiding ac- calledthe dissolution “an un- notedconstitutional lawyer. hatched...toderailthe constitu- Nepal,addingto itanareaof 370 randomlycarries out genetic se- bored in lifethen chat with farm unions, whichtheyre- cusedSandeepand his mobile constitutionalandundemocra- Senior NCPleader and for- tion”.Priorto thedissolution,Oli sq km at the tri-junction of quencing of positiveCovid-19 Samiksha’. The messagealso jected in an email to Aggarwal calls forsometime. Because of tic act”. mer prime ministerJhalnath had filled45vacantposts in 13 Nepal, Indiaand China (Tibet), samples around Britain, has containedacontact number. on December 16. her changed behaviour,Sandeep The NCPParliamentarians Khanal said Oli “will paythe constitutionalcommissionsun- whichIndiamaintains is itster- identifiedanew setofmutations However, the complainant, Since then, therehas been wasinfrustration,” the had submitted notice forano- pricefortakingthisextremeand deracontroversialnewlyprom- ritory. AConstitution amend- in the virus, calledVUI- calledonthe number and then speculation about the next chargesheetstates, adding that trustmotion to replace Oli with unconstitutional act”. Bamdev ulgatedordinancethatempow- mentBillwaspassedby Nepal’s 202012/0. In areporton disconnected it before anyone round of talks. he suspected she washaving “an Prachanda--asperamandatory Gautam,Oli'scolleaguewhoat- ers the PrimeMinisterto parliamenttolegitimise the al- Saturday, COG-UK said one of answered.Afew minutes later, In an interviewtoThe Indian affair” with someone. “This provision to suggestanalterna- temptedapatch-up Saturday, recommend suchappoint- teration to thecountry’s map the mostimportant mutations, aperson returnedthe call and Express, AgricultureMinister changeintheir relationship ag- tive -- but minutes later,the said the decision “deserves all mentswith the supportofjust with the addition of Kalapani, N501Y,occurs in the region of told him that theyrun a‘friend- NarendraSingh Tomar had said gravated the feelings of accused Prime Ministerrecommended condemnation”. onememberinthesix-member LipulekhandLimpiyadhura.The thespikeprotein,the receptor- ship club’ near the Plaza that he wasready to send an in- Sandeep,”itstates. dissolution, said Pampha Sourcesattributedthelatest constitutional council -- one passageofthe Bill and the new binding domain (RBD), which Cinema in Dadar. vitation forthe next round of On the allegations against Bhusal,aformer ministerand crisis to Oli’s loss of majorityin council postiscurrentlyvacant. map ledtobreakdown of com- the virus uses to bind to thehu- The caller further told him talkstothe farm unions. the accused, the chargesheet oneof thesignatoriesto themo- keysectionsofthe ruling party: Themoveeffectively brings munication between the two man ACE2 receptor. “Changesin that he provides all types of “I am ready to send them an states: “During her examination tion. central secretariat, standing these keycommissions under countries. this regionofthe spike protein services ranging from intimate invitation once theyreverton on September 22, the victim cat- can result in the virus changing chatting with women and es- the changes proposedbythe egoricallystatedthat she was itsACE2 bindingspecificity and cortservicesfor both men and government,” Tomar had said. gangrapedbythe four accused When contacted,the victim's on Wednesdaythat the prayers Express that theyfeared reprisals an oximeterand aglucometer. alter antibody recognition,” women. “The complainantthen persons; shealso namedthem brother told The Indian Express, “areinthe realm of speculation” from theirfamilies as muchas “But Iplan to equip it fully. If fi- COG-UK has said. told the caller,who posedasa CBI chargesheet in her dying declaration… It es- "There wasabsolutelynoac- and “no suchorders in relation from vigilantes and authorities nances allow, Iwillalso instala The consortium, has how- club employee, that he is inter- tablishes that on September 14, quaintance betweenmysister theretocan be granted in UP. vital parameters monitoring sta- ever,emphasisedthat“at this estedintheirescortservice,” in Hathras case: the victim wasgangrapedatthe and the accused, Sandeep. He presently”. “I wasmostlyhome during tion. Ialso want to add aBasic point in time, thereisnoreason said an investigator.After which bajrafieldwhen she wasalone. had obtainedour number from Talking to The Indian Express, the lockdown and my family LifeSupportsysteminthe fu- to believe that anyofthe muta- the caller informedhim about Accused was Investigation also revealedthat somewhereand would make the couple said theyfled suspected that Iwas talking to ture... Iamintouchwith some tions discussedherewill affect the procedurethat he had to fol- ‘frustrated’ after all four accusedwerepresent in prank calls, pretending to be Shahjahanpur in November as someoneonthe phone forlong. doctors. Iwouldalso liketohave vaccine efficacy”. The mutation lowtoavail the service. the villageornearbyplace, someone else. Acouple of Simran's familywas allegedly Theystarted forcing me to get adoctor or anurse stationedin has caused1,100newinfections “The caller also gave himthe victim rebuffed whichcorroborates the allega- missedcalls as well. Besides that, forcing her intomarriagewith married,” Simran said. the ambulance,” he says. in 60 localauthorityareas, UK number of awoman, who, the tion of the victim.” no calls had been exchanged. another man, and addedthat She said her familydid not But Patloo says “it is unfortu- Health SecretaryMatt Hancock complainantwas told, he could him The chargesheetalsostates The entirevillageisagainstus theydonot plan to go backany- suspectthat the man she wasin nate” thatthe government has has been quoted as saying. call and talk to,” said an officer that amedical examination of and Ibelieve they would say time soon as theyfeared touchwith wasMuslim until she “neglected”the community Earlier on December 14, from Wadala police station. victim’s family. “However, all the victimwas carriedout by a anything to falsify the crime that reprisals from vigilantes and au- leftfor DelhiinNovember. around the lake. “You will find a Hancockhad told the House of familymembers affirmeddur- doctor from the Departmentof took place." thorities. Once in Delhi, theycontacted dispensary, ahealthcare insti- Commons that initial analysis ing their examination that they Forensic Medicine at AMU on “The newlaw is aproblem an NGOthat helpedthem move tuteeverywhere, even on hill- revealedthat the newvariant neithercallednor spoketo September 22 and the final Banking on HC forinterfaith couples.That was court. Shameem said that until tops. But we don’t have one. “maybeassociated”with the re- Karnataka govt Sandeep over the phone.” opinion stated that “there areno one of the reasons we left lastmonth, his familyhad not Afterthis, Iwill trytobuild a cent rise in cases in southeast “Investigation further re- signs of vaginal/anal intercourse. order, interfaith Shahjahanpur,” Shameem said. known about their relationship. mini hospital in ahouseboat for England. hand-in-glove vealedthat when familymem- Thereare evidences of physical “Agarwahan se karte,toh “Even if they object, Ican’t leave the patientsofmycommunity,” The Newand Emerging berofthe victim came to know assault (injuries over the neck couple say won’t love jihadkeh dete (if we had her or ask her to changeher re- he says.Health Services director RespiratoryVirus Threats with private about the mobile calls ex- and the back)". go back to UP marriedthere, theywould have ligion. Iwill marry under the (Kashmir) Dr Sameer Matoo AdvisoryGroup (NERVTAG)that changed betweenvictim and Afterthe CBI took over,a calleditlovejihad)... even if I Special MarriageAct,” he said. says theyare ready to help advises the British government, schools, says Sandeep, theyhad awordy Multi-Institutional Medical from their families butalso any wasn't being forced intomar- Patloo. "It is awonderful initia- has said that it has “moderate quarrelwith Sandeep’s familyin Board(MIMB) wasconstituted coercive action by theUPPolice. riage, theywould have said that tive.Theyhavenot approached confidence that VUI-202012/01 Siddaramaiah front of his house. This incident by theForensic Department at On Saturday, the couple applied because Iamwith aMuslim boy. Dal lake set to us but whenevertheydo, we demonstrates asubstantial in- waswitnessedbyseveral vil- AIIMS, whichstated, "The possi- forregistration of theirmarriage In UP,theydothisdeliberately will help. Iwill trytohelpin crease in transmissibility com- lagers…Subsequently, the vic- bility of sexual assaultcan't be under the Special MarriageAct to trap the man,” Simran added. get awater whatever wayIcan and defi- pared to other variants”. PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA tim’s father also made oral com- ruledout as minimal bleeding afterthe Delhi government as- The couple said theymet in nitelyrecommend his case," he But it has also said thereare BENGALURU,DECEMBER20 plaint to (the pradhan’s son) wasdetected microscopicallyaf- sured the High Courton April 2017 at acoachingcentre, ambulance, on a says. “currentlyinsufficient datato about the phonecalls made by terone week of assault as al- Wednesdaythattheywould be whereSimran wasstudyingto shikara Patloo creditshis family, in- draw anyconclusion” on the LEADER OF Opposition in the accusedtothe victim, as con- leged in the case. However, pat- providedasafehouse andalso getintothe police, and cluding his seven-year-old mechanism of increasedtrans- Karnataka Assemblyand former firmedbywitnesses…,” the tern of injuries sustainedduring police security,ifrequired. Shameem forabanking job.“He With no medical knowledge, daughter Jannat who was missibility and increasedviral CM Siddaramaiah Sundayac- chargesheetstates. an incident of sexual violence The court,however, did not wasgoodatstudies and so we Patloo says he took “initial les- praisedbythe Prime Ministerfor load. “Thelocation of the muta- cusedthe BJPgovernment in the According to the mayshowconsiderable varia- go intotheir apprehensions startedtalking and got close,” sons” from Google. “I looked at her effortstoclean Dal Laketwo tions in the receptor-binding do- stateofbeing hand-in-glove chargesheet, the “analysis of call tion.This mayrange from com- againstthe UP Police.The cou- said Simran. severaldesigns but theywere years ago, and friend Riyaz main of the spikeglycoprotein with private educational institu- detail records of accusedand plete absence of injuries (more plehad sought adirection that While Shameem, aBTech costly. Finally, Idecidedtouse a Ahmadfor realising his dream. raisesthe possibility that this tions whichwereallegedly over- victim and mobile calls pattern frequently) to grievous injuries the authorities in Delhi be asked graduatefromLucknow, later traditionalshikara. Imade a variantisantigenically distinct charging students. from October 2019 to March (veryrare).Inthis case, since to ensure that in the event of any movedtoDelhi, wherehe wide one, anduseddifferent from prior variants. Four proba- In aseries of tweets,the 2020 indicates that therewere therewas adelayin investigation by UP Police, they worked foranautomobile com- materials -- wood, iron, alu- Ministersays ble re-infections have been iden- Congress leader slammedChief shortduration (signal) calls from reporting/documentation/foren would notbetaken out of the ju- pany, Simran stayed on in minium and plastic -- to make it tifiedamongst915 subjectswith MinisterBSYediyurappa and the side of victimtoSandeep, sicexamination forsexual as- risdiction of the Delhi High Shahjahanpur,working as an ac- light and waterproof. Ihavealso vaccine rollout this variant but further work is Primaryand Secondary whichwerefollowedbylong sault, these factors could be re- Courtwithout itsprior permis- countant, ajob,she says,she left put an engine,”hesays. neededtocompare this reinfec- EducationMinisterSSuresh duration calls from accused sponsible forabsence of signifi- sion. "due to familypressure" during As of now, Patloo is equip- likely in Jan tion rate with comparable data Kumar forallegedly nothaving Sandeep to victim’s familynum- cantlyvisible signs of genital While declining the couple's the lockdown. ping the ambulance with an Control Organisation (CDSCO) sets,” the advisorygroup has control over private education ber. This establishedthat the re- injury." plea, Justice Anu Malhotrasaid The couple told The Indian oxygen cylinder,BPapparatus, fortheir vaccine candidates. said. institutions. He allegedthatschools were forcing parentstopay full school fees and threatening to As cricket returns to Mumbai, MCA Weather-based advance warning system stop online classes if theydid notcomplywithitand said the lists dos and don’ts for players, staff government wassilent on for disease outbreaks in the works: Govt the issue. itssquad forSyedMushtaq Ali sanitisers.TheMCAhastakenthe “The @BJP4Karnataka is DEVENDRAPANDEY tournament, whichbegins next consent of players and support told The Indian Express, “There To verify the robustness of reportthat climatechangemay hand in gloves with the institu- MUMBAI,DECEMBER20 month. staff, giving players the option to ESHAROY arecertain diseases where the advance warning system, a increase the riskofdiarrhoeal tions,” Siddaramaiah tweeted. The MCAhas issueddetailed optoutif theydonot wishto play. NEWDELHI,DECEMBER20 weather patterns playacrucial detailedanalysis wascarried out diseases, whichisofmajor con- He sought the intervention of CRICKETERS SURYAKUMAR pandemic-related guidelines for MCAhas also advisedplay- role. Suchasmalaria, forwhich earlierthis year of malariaand cern in developingcountries, the Chief Ministerand the Yadav, DhavalKulkarni, Shivam players and supportstaff. ers to use their ownkitsand keep THE MINISTRYofEarth particular temperatures and diarrhoea cases in twodistricts with increasing incidents of Primaryand Secondary Dube,Aditya Tare and Yashasvi As per the guidelines, all play- sanitisingthem regularly. Sciences (MoES) is developing rainfall patterns can approxi- of —Pune and floods as well as drought. Education Ministertoresolve the Jaiswalare among the list of 60 ers and supportstaff will be re- “Wearing eyewear in public an 'Early Health Warning matelypredict whether an area Nagpur. “Weare starting with vector- issue at the earliest. playersincontentionto bepicked quired to submit their travel and placesaswellasduringtrainingis System' whichisexpected to is likelytohaveanoutbreakwith The study found that while borne diseases because thereare Meanwhile, agroup of par- by theMumbai Cricket medicalhistory of the pasttwo encouraged.Spittingandclearing forecastthe possibility of dis- fairly reasonable accuracy.What both districtshaveincidencesof direct linkstosuchweatherpat- entsstagedademonstration Association (MCA) forSyed weeksthrough an online ques- of nasal/respiratorysecretionson ease outbreaksinthe country, we arelooking at is an advance both diseases,Nagpur reports a terns. Therehavebeen some here, holding placardsand ban- Mushtaq Ali Trophy, whichwill tionnaireonthe dayofthe first the ground or at anyplace other officials have told TheIndian warningofaround twoweeks.” highernumberofmalaria cases studies and analysis on weather nersand raisedslogans against markthe official return of cricket match. The MCAhas also made than washrooms shall beprohib- Express. Changes in rainfall and tem- while diarrhoea cases arehigher patterns affecting the spread of private educational institutions to Mumbaisincethebeginningof mandatoryfor theteams to ited.Members doing so should While the model currentlyin peraturepatternslikelyplaya in Pune. viral diseases —especiallywith forovercharging. the Covid-19pandemic. download the AarogyaSetuapp. discardthesoiledtissuepaperse- development—based on the re- major role in the increasedinci- The analysis has alsofound theadvent of the Covid-19pan- The mother of astudentat TheplayerswillplayT20prac- “All players and support staff curelyinthe provideddustbins,” lationship between weather dence of these diseases across that temporal and spatial vari- demic —but this is afar more the protestvenue, said this ticegames from December 21 to arerequiredtoundergo anRT-PCR the guideline reads. Usingsaliva changes and incidence —isex- geographical locations. ability in weatherparameters, complex disease and we have month she wasnot able to pay December 25 at MCA-Sharad test forCovid-19and carry the on ball will notbeallowedand pected to predict outbreaksof “Wecan predict the likeli- forexample, ashort-term in- been unabletoestablish acer- fees because her husband, the PawarAcademy and Wankhede negative reportonthe dayoffirst teams have been asked to min- vector-borne diseases, particu- hood of heat-related diseases as crease in temperatureand rain- tain link between suchdiseases sole earning member,had lost Stadium.Itwillbethefirstseriesof match,” the circular sent to all imiseusageofwashrooms and larly malaria and diarrhoea,sub- well as diseases suchascholera,” fall as an effect of El-Niñocan and the weather,” said DR his job as afallout of Covid-19 matches organisedbythe MCA players read. commonrooms.Playersandstaff sequently,itislikelytomonitor he said, adding that suchasys- lead to malaria epidemics. Patnaik of the Indian lockdown and alleged the man- since the Covid-19pandemic Apartfromwearingamask, travellingto thegroundhave been non-communicable diseasesas tem, when deployed, would give Meanwhile, an Meteorological Department agement did notallowher son to grippedthecountryinMarch.The all players and staffwill have to advisedtopreferablyuse their well, theyadded. local authorities ample time to Intergovernmental Panel on (IMD),who is involved in the appear forthe half-yearly exams. practicegameswillhelpMCApick carry and frequentlyuse hand personalvehicles. MoES secretaryMRajeevan prepare. ClimateChangenotedinits 2007 project.

Pune WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,DECEMBER21,2020 3 MAHARASHTRA ShivSenatocontestgram panchayatpollsonitsown

Jagtap, who wasinJejur on Our leaders onlyextend support that the Congress wasunhappy EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Sunday, aday afterhewas ap- to particular panels." with the functioning of the MVA PUNE,DECEMBER 20 pointed presidentofthe Patil said the Sena will have governmentled by Thackeray. Mumbai Congress. no alliance in Pune district with "Thelettersent by ourparty EVEN AS the Congress on On Saturday, either the Congress or the NCP. president Sonia Gandhiwas part Sundayannouncedthat it will and Sena chief Uddhav "In Shirur constituency,the of adialogue and it should notbe contestelections to the Thackeray held ameeting of dis- BJP is nowhereinsight.ItisNCP interpreted as asign of Congress Brihanmumbai Municipal trict leaders and urgedthem to versus ShivSena. Around 45 per being unhappy...," said Thorat. Corporation (BMC) on itsown, preparefor thegrampanchayat cent gram panchayats arewith "Whenthe MVAwas formed, the ShivSena has decidedtocon- elections. As manyas14,234 NCPand 42 per cent with Shiv the common man wasthe cen- test gram panchayatelections in gram pachayats in the stateare Sena. The rest areindependents treofattention.The main objec- the statewithout striking anyal- going to pollsnextmonth. or BJP.Thereishardlyany pres- tive wastofocus on the poor... liance, bringing to fore differ- Former Shirur MP and Sena ence of Congress." Adhalrao said our constant effortsare to uplift ences within the Maha Vikas leader Shivajirao Adhalrao-Patil fighting local elections is neces- the common man," he added. Aghadi fold. said, "Actually, gram panchayat saryfor the growth of the party. BJP leader Radhakrishna "Wewill contestinall 227 elections arenot fought on party "It helps us to identify ourweak- Vikhe-Patil, however, said,"The wardsofthe BMC. All our basis. Symbols of registeredpo- nessesand strengthsand later Congress has no intention to Mumbai leadersare of the view litical parties arenot usedin work on them," he said. servethe poor.Itwantstodes- that the party should increase its these elections. Candidates form Meanwhile, state Congress peratelycling on to powerina strength in the city," said Bhai panels and fight the elections. chief Balasaheb Thorat denied bid to survive in the state." FORT STOCK RESERVATION ISSUE Anaemia Mukt Bharat Food items and otheressential goods being transportedtoSinhagad Fort on Sunday. Since Covid-19restrictionsbanning Chavan should resign tourists from visiting the fort were lifted, shopkeepers have reopenedcooked food stalls. Ashish Kale campaign: ‘In 2.5 years, we from panel, Pawar made remarkableprogress’ per year amongchildren, adoles- ‘Farmers’ delegation’ meets Hazare, should intervene: Mete EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE centsand women in the repro- PUNE,DECEMBER20 ductive agegroup (15–49years), between 2018 and 2022. EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE The CM should hold a ACCORDINGTOthe fifth Dr JLMeena, joint director of urges him to join protests in Delhi PUNE,DECEMBER20 National FamilyHealthSurvey the National Health Authority, dialogue with us before (NFHS-5) datareleasedbythe said, “Test is the best option for lastfew years. He also told them Sharma (Delhi), Pradeep Meti, considering his health, the pan- THE SHIV SangramParty,which December 31 or we will Ministry of Health and Family theprevention of anemia. First, EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE that he has already written to Kirankumar Verma and demic situation and thesevere is alliedtothe BJP,has demanded launchanaggressive Welfarerecently,morethanhalf screening,prevention and then PUNE,DECEMBER20 Union AgricultureMinister Satishkumar RajPurohit cold in Delhi, he would notbe thatPublic WorksDepartment of the children and women are treatment. Screening should be NarendraTomar,giving an “ulti- (Karnataka). able to join the protestimmedi- Ministerand senior Congress agitation from anaemic in 13 states and union qualitative becauseitensures AGROUP of 11 individuals claim- matum” that if the promise According to Sanjay ately. leader Ashok Chavanshould re- January3,said Mete territories in India. To discuss the the actual status. Forthis, the role ing to be from the ongoing farm- made to him (Hazare) by the Pathade, an aideofHazare, the "I have written to the central sign as chief of the cabinet sub- topic of 'Anaemia Mukt Bharat: of pointofcareisveryimportant. ers' protests visitedactivistAnna Union Agricultureministryear- villagers had receivedinforma- government and Imay starta committee on Maratha reserva- whereare we', Episode-13ofthe Screening foranemia needs se- Hazareathis villageinRalegan lier -- over implementing rec- tion on Fridaynight that agroup hunger strikeatRamlila Maidan tion and NCPchief Sharad Pawar community in abid to stifle the HEAL-Thy Samvaad series was rious consideration as per proto- Siddhi in district ommendations of the of farmers wasonits wayto or Jantar Mantar if promises should intervene and help re- united voice of the Maratha organisedbythe HEAL Founda- cols in the public and private sec- on Saturdayand demandedthat Swaminathan Commission and Ralegan Siddhi to protest made earlier about the farm is- solve the quotaissue. Kranti Morcha," he said. tion and poweredbyHemoCue. tor. Quality control is also very he join thefarmers'protestat granting autonomytothe againstHazarestaying away sues arenot met," Pathade Vinayak Mete,who heads Mete saidPawar wasatthe The reduction of anemia is important in this direction.” one of the severalvenues near Commissionfor Agricultural from the farmers' protest. "They quotedHazare as saying. the ShivSangram Partyand is helm of affairs of the Maha Vikas one of the important objectives Dr Kapil Yadav, additional the national capital. Theysaid Costs and Prices (CACP) -- arenot had adetailed conversation Earlier this month, Hazare one of the coordinators of the Aghadi government. "He has of the POSHAN Abhiyaan professor and nodal person, thatHazarejoiningthe agitation met, he "will launchone lastag- with him over theissues," said had publiclysupported the pro- Maratha Kranti Morcha, said, made astatement thathewould launchedinMarch 2018. NCEAR-A,Centrefor will strengthen the movement, itation of his lifeinDelhi". Pathade. testers and cautionedthem not "Chavanhas failedtoget justice look intothe issue. On behalf of Complying withthe targetsof Community Medicine, AIIMS, whichhas reachedadeadlock. Among those who visited He said the 'delegation' re- to trustany verbal or written forthe Maratha community.He the Maratha community,Iurge POSHANAbhiyaan andNational ,said, “...wehave Hazare, 83,told the 'delega- Ralegan Siddhi on Saturday questedHazaretoreachone of promises of the government. He has failedtoimplement an ef- Pawar saheb to intervene in the Nutrition Strategy setbyNITI made remarkable progress in tion' that he wasintotal support morning were PankajPrakash the severalvenuesofthe protest had also appealedtofarmers fective strategy to getthe stay matterand bring justicetothe Aayog, the Anemia Mukt Bharat two-and-a-half years as there of the farmers and has held two Shrivastav (Bihar), Rajratan around Delhi for"at leastone acrossthe country to join the vacated in the Supreme Maratha community," he said. (AMB) strategy has been de- has been aparadigm shiftin agitations over farm issues in the Shinde (Maharashtra), Mohit day". Hazaretold them that agitating farmers. Court....thereisneither anyco- Mete said adeadline of signedtoreduceprevalence of anemia point of carediagnos- ordination among counsels nor Dece-mber 31 has been setfor anemia by 3percentagepoints tic tests.” anytop counsels have been ap- Chief MinisterUddhav MSDhoni pointed to fight the case. There Thackeray to inviteall Maratha Sahyadri Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana Ltd. At Pune Zero Mile also does notseem to be anyse- leaders and explain the govern- Yeshwantnagar, Tal. Karad, Dist. Satara415115 INNUMBERS Cricket Academy riousness and urgency on the ment'sfuture strategy to getthe partofthe committeeheaded stay vacated."We want the gov- Phone No. 02164-230500 Email :[email protected] Stone, ‘walkthrough comes to Pune by Chavantofight the matter in ernment to explain itsstand and Mob. No. 8956015501 to 505 Web. sahyadrisakhar.com Pune: Cricket training in Pune is the SC," said Mete. clear the confusion and unease 8 settowitness amajor change Mete allegedthat attempts in the Maratha community.We e-Tender Notice museum’vandalised Covid-19deaths in with the MS Dhoni Cricket were being madetosow divi- want the government to ap- We are inviting e-Tenders for 100 KLPD New Pune on Sunday. Academylaunching itsPune sionsinthe Maratha commu- point some moresenior coun- Distillery and 35TPH incinerationBoiler with 3MW operations at the Cricket nity by the committee headed sels to fight the case. The CM Capacity power turbine. For details of e-Tenders 8,703 Masters Academy(CMA) from by Chavan. "Some Maratha lead- should hold adialogue with us visit to our website http://sahyadrisakhar.sets.co.in January1.Registrations are ers arebeing contacted and before December 31,orelse we Sd/- Toll so farinthe district. nowopen foryouths of all na- wooed...Thereare attemptsto will launchanaggressive agita- Place :Yeshwantnagar Managing Director Security tionalities. ENS cause fissures in theMaratha tion from January3," he said. Date :20/12/2020 deployed Sahyadri Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana Ltd. at Zero 616 Mile Stone New Covid-19 cases spot,on reportedonSunday. Sunday. Express 3,56,458 Totalcases reportedin evening, asecurity guardwas the district. EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE deployedatthe venuebythe PUNE,DECEMBER20 PMC, on Shinde'srequest. “It is shocking that this has THE 'WALKTHROUGH museum' happenedataspotright next to at Pune ZeroMile Stone, setupby the headquarters of the police the Pune Municipal Corporation commissioner...I shall again raise and inaugurated in September the issue with the officials con- 2019,has been vandalisedby cerned,”said Shinde. unidentifiedmiscreants. The Pune ZeroMileStone is The installations, on the one of 80 suchstones installed pavement outside the General across the countryafter comple- Post Office (GPO) on Sadhu tion of the Trigonometric Survey Vaswani Road, maps the history of India. of the Great Trigonometric These were erected to serve SurveyofIndia conducted be- as marksto locate the exact geo- tween1800and 1860 to meas- graphical location of acity for urethe length andbreadth of measurement purposes. British India. It consists of several The spotlay neglected for statues of Indianand British per- decades and severalroadside sonalities involvedinthe task as vendors had croppedupinthe well as unnamed Indian survey- vicinity who would use the stone orswho aresaid to have losttheir forall sortofpurposes. In 2019,a livesduring this project. project to revamp thesitewas GPO staffers, who see the in- undertaken and a‘walking mu- stallations everyday while en- seum’ about the Survey wascre- METROPOLITAN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY tering and leaving their work- ated at thespot. It has fibrestat- Thalamuthu Natarajan Building,No.1, Gandhi Irwin Road, Egmore, Chennai -600 008. place,discoveredthatseveral ues of the men behind the REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST (REOI) fibrestatues at the installations survey andinstrumentssuchas were vandalisedafew days ago theodolites usedbythe survey (Consulting Services –Individual Selection) withthe mirrors broken, and parties. It wasinaugurated on Chennai MetropolitanDevelopment Authority (CMDA), Government of hands of statues mutilated and September 6, 2019,bythe Tamil Nadu has applied for inancing from the World Bank towards the cost thrownaway. then PMC Commissioner of the Tamil Nadu Housing and Habitat Development Project. CMDA now The Bundgarden Police, how- SaurabhRao. invites eligible individualconsultants /specialists to indicate their interest OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER, RWS&S DIVISION, BALASORE ever,said it wasnot awareofthe The survey,whichbegan in in providing the services for the below mentioned assignment under the Tel: 06782-262249, Fax: 262931, email: [email protected], [email protected] incidence. “Since youhave 1800,was thelargest measure- Tamil Nadu Housing and Habitat Development Project. NATIONAL COMPETITIVE BIDDING THROUGH e-Tendering “Financial Management Expert for Project Implement Unit of CMDA brought it to ournotice, we shall ment exercise ever takenofthe O-730 Identification No. 18 Dt. 14-12-2020 find out what has happened,” Earth’s surface and involved 1. Nos. of Work :18Nos RPWS schemes in Balasore district. under Tamil Nadu Housingand Habitat Development Project” said Nagraj Birasdar,police sub- measuringIndia’slongitude and 2. Estimated cost :Rs. 12.97 lakhs to Rs. 102.19 lakhs The detailed REOI and Terms of Reference are available in the websites - inspector in-charge of Council latitude, the altitude of places,to- 3. Period of completion :180 days to 330 days www.cmdachennai.gov.in and www.tenders.tn.gov.in The Expression of Hall Police Chowki under pography, rivers, and the distance 4. Availability of bid document in Portal :Dt. 21-12-2020 at 10.00 hours to 30-12-2020 up to 17.00 hours through online. Interest (EOI) shall be submitted. Last date and time for submission of Bundgarden police station. of cities.Lieutenant-Colonel 5. Seeking of Clarification :Dt. 21-12-2020 at 10.00 hours to Dt. 28-12-2020 up to 15.00 hours EOI is 04.01.2021 up to 5.00 p.m. The EOI shall be sent to the Member 6. Date of opening of Bid :Dt. 05-01-2021 at 11.00 hours in the O/O EE, RWSS Division, Balasore. Congresscorporator Arvind William Lambton startedthe 7. Name and address of the Officer Inviting Tender :Executive Engineer, RWS&S Division, Balasore Secretary,Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority,Thalamuthu Shinde, at whose initiative the project in the 1800sand, afterhis Bid Cost &Bid Securtiy will be receipt through electronic payment by NEFT/RTGS. Natarajan Building, No.1, Gandhi Irwin Road, Egmore, Chennai -600 008, project wasundertaken, said the deathin1823, it wascompleted Further details can be seen from the e-Procurement Portal: http://tendersodisha.gov.in Tamil Nadu, India. damagemay have been caused by GeorgeEverest.Indians such Sd/- e.mail: [email protected] by “ganja addicts” who have as RadhanathSikdar and Nain EXECUTIVE ENGINEER, RWS&S DIVISION, BALASORE. Member Secretary, been seen sometimes in the Mile Singh Rawatmade valuable con- OIPR-25013/11/0008/2021 DIPR/4779/TENDER/2020 Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority Stone's vicinity.OnSaturday tributions to the exercise.

Pune WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 4 CALENDAR THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,DECEMBER21,2020 OVER THE HEDGE by Michael Fry&TLewis CROSSWORD 4307 DAYTODAY BYPETERVIDAL

ARIES (Mar 21 -Apr 20) LIBRA (Sep 24 -Oct 23) Spendasmuchtime Theprofessional as necessary picturelooksfairly dealing with positive,and you domestic and family mayberequired to affairs. Even if you’reatwork, take on newresponsibilities — your concentration will be and acceptauthority over distracted by thoughtsofwhat other people. In all matters mustbedone at home. Your youshould be prepared to romantic confidence should playamaternal and improve, so youmightbe compassionaterole, even with ready to approachsomeone complete strangers. you’rerather fond of. SCORPIO (Oct 24 -Nov 23) TAURUS (Apr 21 -May 21) Youhavetodothe The important task right thing. nowistotalk about Lingering legal your feelings. questions should be CALVIN &HOBBES by Bill Watterson Nothing else will do. answered as soon as It mayalso be necessaryto possible,and moral issues take afew short journeys, should be facedhead-on. Also, probablyinpursuit of take the chance to getintouch outstanding familybusiness. It with familymembers could be arelief to resolve a overseas, especiallypeople ACROSS DOWN lingering problem. Your social youhaven’t seen for 1Weather sets problemfor 2Call we hear to help with the stars look bright by the way, so some time. lovedones laundry(5) don’t be shy. (11) 3Whereneedles arekeptjustin SAGITTARIUS (Nov 24 -Dec 22) 9Time free formaking wreath case (4) GEMINI (May22-June 21) Business and secure(7) 4He’d caught the fish having Youreallymust financial plans 10 Number have alight grip leanedover(6) makeanearly start requiremore (5) 5Awriter’s attributes if youwant to get attention, especially 11 Musical soldiers in line (8) the mostout of the if you’vetaken arisk or got (4) 6Anumber walk wearily day. Youshould realise, involved in apossibly 12 Upliftspiritually? around -it’s hardwork however, that the determining awkwardjoint enterprise. (8) (7) factor will be the amount of Take an inventive approach 14 Tone adoptedbydoctor 7Courses in aviation moneyyou have in your and realise that old solutions coming in weary(6) (6,5) pocket,not to mention thecost maynolonger be the best.And 16 Underground source of salt? 8See 17 Down of those items whichare that goes forromantic affairs (6) 13 Break one’s nose perhaps MARVIN by Tom Armstrong necessarytoyour plans. as well. 18 Shaken and upset (8) CANCER (June 22 -July23) CAPRICORN (Dec 23 -Jan 20) (8) 15 Mother’s driving in fourth gear Youmay be slightly Youwill have to 19 Asign that Verne’s captain has and all at sea (7) unsureofyourself, listentoother returned(4) 17 and 8Down: Be smartand but that’s people —and take 22 Something wrong with a continue to work in the theatre understandable. This theirverygood knot? (5) (4,2,11) is probablynobad thing, fora advice. Moreimportant, 23 Strain we hearinducing love? 20 Musical composition from little self-doubtwill encourage though, is the necessity of (7) moreremote times youtoquestion your understanding their 24 Fittotakepossession (5) preconceptions and hence to do feelings and making amuch (11) 21 I’m in anew car (4) agreat deal better next time greater effort to sympathise around.There’s room for with their point of view. A SolutionsCrossword4306:Across: 1Spring,4Escapade,9Rotary,10Resident,12 improvement,asyou know. generous spirit should win Rate,13Writs,14Dent,17Tropicalfish,20Moneylending,23Nuts,24Warms,25 the day. So-so,28Ordering,29Tophat,30Moondust,31Poetic.Down:1Sorority,2 LEO (July24-Aug 23) Rotation,3Nero,5Sheetofflame,6Arid,7Aneled,8Estate,11Greasepaints,15 Youmay be inclined AQUARIUS (Jan 21-Feb 19) Minor,16Using,18Ricochet,19Agnostic,21Inform,22Studio,26Grid,27Polo. to spend moretime Work musttakethe by yourself, away firstpriority today, from troublesome even if social human company. Whether concerns constitute this is possible or notis the major long-term another matter.After all, you question. Youshould JUMBLED WORDS DifficultyLevel4s can’t justabandon all your recognise that theremay be no Instructions commitmentswith the wave decision concerning one Givenbelowarefourjumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemto TosolveaSudokupuzzle, of ahand. And, if someone important emotional tie fora entrusts youwith asecret,you little while longer.Please therespectivesquaresbelow.Selectthelettersintheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtoget everydigitfrom1to9 4328 theanswerforthegivenquip. mustappearineachofthe must respect their confidence. be patient. Better__withtherestoftheworldthan___alone.-BaltasarGracian(3,..,4) nineverticalcolumns,in VIRGO (Aug 24 -Sep 23) PISCES (Feb 20 -Mar 20) eachoftheninehorizontal Your social stars are Love is the most 4329 GALEA AEJMDM rowsandineachofthe strong -and you’ll important thingat nineboxes. do well if youlink the moment, but it

SUDOKU up with like- is by no means minded people. That way, certain that thereisany one DLWIS AIIPTW DifficultyLevel even the mostcontroversial relationship that pre-occupies ideas could succeed. At work, you. It is your friends who can

SUDOKU 1s=Veryeasy;2s=Easy; youwill do best if youtakethe benefit from your newmood, 3s=Medium;4s=Hard; long-range point of viewand so makeapoint of spreading

5s=VeryHard;6s= avoid being bogged down in anygoodwill as widelyas

ian ac Gr sar ta al .-B one al e wis han dt rl wo the of st re the th wi d ma er tt Be r: we Ans Genius short-term details. youcan.

SOLUTION

I APIT ,W MMED JA S, WILD E, GA AL N: SOLUTIO SALUTE THE SOLDIER I LomadaNagamma W/o MARTYR OF CISF ON 21ST DECEMBER (Late) LP Kondaiah ,M/o CHANGE OF BIRTH 14833573F SEP CISF proudly remembers the supreme sacrifice I Sanjeev Panwar EdukondaluLomada My of this brave-heart. On this day,helaid down Government employee Name arewrongly declarethat my his life at the altar of duty while fighting with mentionedinhis service daughter Sakshi Date of miscreants at PTPS Patratu. His courage and record.Mycorrect Birth by mistake bravery would remain an abiding source of name is Lomada 19/07/2003but the HC/GD B. B. inspiration for the force. The force will remain Nagamma To Nagamma exact birth date is Lomda Serial No 23523 MANJHI PTPS eternally indebted to him for his noblest deeds. 01/01/2005affidavit no - Dt 24/11/2020 PATRATU 205214194126850036068 0090279463-2 8date 16/12/2020. BUSINESS Madina Poultry Traders, Pune.Paper rate on old name: Mohammad 0090279453-1 ilyas ahmad new name: POULTRY 01.07.2020for LiveBig I Prasanta W/o Sanjeev Mohammad Birds Rs. 107/- Kg .Shop PanwarGovernment ilyasaadhaar no: 4574 DeliveryContact employeemybirth date 9694 2976 90279463-1 MUMBAi MeTroPoLiTAn reGion 9763333335 90273396-1 by mistakeonsome deVeLoPMenT AUTHoriTY WE Shirish Narahar Joshi documents it has become (A Government of Maharashtra Undertaking) CHANGE OF NAME &Varsha ShirishJoshi 05/11/1975but nowmy Bandra-Kurla Complex, Bandra (East), Mumbai-51. Tel: 022-26590001/4000 old name: Mukesh R/OC19, Ishan real birth date of birth is Fax:022-26591264 Website: https://mmrda.maharashtra.gov.in Shahnew name: Sanskruti, Pl No.3+4, Sr 01/01/1976affidavit no e-Tender noTice (ePc Mode) Mukeshkumar No. 131/1, Warje HNo. 205214194126850036068 Bhawarlal 1/1, Pune, Maharashtra 3date 16/12/2020 Name of Work : Implementation of Improvement of Chhatrapati Shivaji Shahaadhaar no: 9099 – 411052 Has Changed 0090279453-2 Maharaj International Airport Junction (T2) by Construction of Vehicular 59338003 90279463-3 Our Minor Son ´S Name Underpasses between km 6+140 to km 6+950 of Western Express Highway. From Shubham Shirish PROPERTY FOR SALE 1) Estimated Cost :Rs. 111,94,36,980/- (Excluding GST) I Dilip Vinayak Joshi To Shaunak KutarmareR/O.Flat 2) Cost of Blank Tender Form : Rs. 5,600/- (Inclusive of GST ) Shirish Joshi ForAll NAVYUG Co. Op. Housing No.F 1304, GodrejPrana, Purpose Vide SocietyFlat for SALE. 3) Earnest Money Deposit : Rs. 1,00,000/- (With Declaration as Undri, Pune 411060 Have MaharashtraGazette 2BHK, Ground Floor. mentioned in bid document ) Changed My Name To (M-2073718). Dr.Ambedkar Road 4) Contract Period :24Months (Including Monsoon) Dilip VinayakKalyankar Camp, Pune – 01. Vencobb today’s ex- 0070724540-1 Contact: 9850889519. 5) Bid Document download :24.12.2020 (18.01 hrs.) to As PerGazette (M- shop delivery rate at 2073924). 70724545-1 WE Dilip Vinayak 0050173197-2 07.02.2021 (12.00 hrs.) Pune Rs.83 per kg. Kalyankar &Yadwi Dilip 6) Last date of onlinesubmission : 08.02.2021 (18.00 hrs.) Contact (9522) I Gaikwad Dheeraj Kalyankar R/OFlat No.F 22872417, Pune (9520) Eknath son of Late No: Note: The e-Tender can be downloaded from e-Tendering Portal: https:// 1304, Godrej Prana, SERVICES 24269414. 90272255-1 15362345P Rank:NK Undri, Pune 411060 Has etendermmrda.maharashtra.gov.in. Any additional information, Corrigendum (TS) Name :Gaikwad Simra Trading rates for Changed Our Minor &help for uploading &downloading the e-tender,may be availed by contacting Eknath Jalindar declare WATERPROOFING 100 eggs. Selling price Son´S Name From MMRDA’s e-tendering service desk at the following id: etendersupport@ that in my father Without Breaking Toilet, Rs. 532. Contact Amartya DilipKutarmare servicedocument of Bathroom, 5Years mailmmrda.maharashtra.gov.in or call us on 022-26597445. 9922117736. 90273863-1 To Amartya Dilip records my name and Guarantee, Terrace Kalyankar ForAll For further information if required you may please contact Sheetal Agro Traders DOB is wrongly 10Years Guarantee,All PurposeVideMaharashtra Shri. Arvind Dhabe, Executive Engineer on Telephone 022-26595915or Today’sEx-Shop mentioned as Dheeraj Leakage Work, Free Visit Gazette (M-2073539). Email : [email protected] delivery for livesmall Gaikwad and DOB Authorized Applicator Dr. birds sizebetween1.3 to 16/03/2002. My correct 0070724541-1 Fixit9225534110/7666729 Sd/- 1.5 rate at PuneRs. 128/- name is Gaikwad 911. 90278819-2 I have changed my old Shri. Arvind. B. Dhabe per Kg.7776024132, Dheeraj Eknath and GOVERNMENT OF ODISHA name Chhaya Date : 21/12/2020 Executive Engineer 7588532184 90274713-1 DOB 15/03/2002 vide RURAL WATER SUPPLY&SANITATION ORGANISATION NanasahebGulveto Place: Mumbai Fulrani affidavit no HOTEL&RESORTS MMRDA Pune BroilersTraders’ new name Akshada 205264247126850064717 OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER AssociationRate On Kharde adhaar O-755 4dt. 07 Dec. 2020 RWS&S DIVISION, ANGUL :AT: TALCHER MUMBAi MeTroPoLiTAn reGion 21.12.2020 ForLiveBig no 883314021621 deVeLoPMenT AUTHoriTY Birds Rs.109 Live 0090279461-1 At- Baghuabole, Po.- Hatatota, Talcher,Dist.- Angul, Pin- 759100 Tandoori Birds Rs.123 0090279452-1 (A Government of Maharashtra Undertaking) I JC-284912L NB SUB (Ph. No./ Fax -06760-240762, E-mail :[email protected]) Momin Poultry (Asif I have change my name Bandra-Kurla Complex, Bandra (East), Mumbai -400051. Tel:26590001/04. BINDU SHEKHAROF80 National Competitive Bidding through e-procurement Momin) 26336349. Mary Leena Joseph Fax: 91-022-26591264 Website :https://mmrda.maharashtra.gov.in MED REGT,c/o 56APO Bid Identification No. 05/EE/RWSSIANGUL/2020-21 Dt. 15.12.2020 (JJM) 0090273461-3 (new name )myold ADVERTISEMENT e-Tender noTice (ePc Mode) PRESENTLYRESIDING name Meri Leena John The Executive Engineer,RWS&S Division, Angul:at:Talcher on Pimpri Chinchwad AT FLAT NO.A-702, Name of Work : Implementation of Improvement of Chhatrapati Gurusekaran as per DEPOTS Broilers Traders DHANASHREE behalf of Governor of Odisha invites Item Rate/Percentage bid Shivaji Maharaj International Airport Domestic Terminal (T1) Junction Adhaar No 989108087478 Association Rate On AASHIYANA, through e-procurement in double/single cover system according to by Construction of Vehicular underpass and Widening of lyover AUNDH- 21.12.2020 ForLiveBig MOHAMADWADI,PUNE- 0090279433-2 norm of e-Procurement system in on-line mode. Suyog Enterprises, between km 5+300 to km 6+100 of Western Express Highway. Birds Rs 109 Livesmall 412308,I DECLARE THAT I have change my name C/oSandeep Book Stall, Nature of Work :Rural Piped Water Supply Schemes. 1. Estimated Cost : Rs. 56,04,19,560/- (Excluding GST) Birds Rs 124 Al_Taqdeer IN MY ARMY RECORD John Gurusekaran(new Swajas Complex, Parihar 2. Earnest Money Deposit :Rs. 1,00,000/- (With Declaration Broiler(Siraj Shaikh 1 No. of Tenders : 7Nos. MY WIFE NAME &DOB name )myold name Chowk, Aundhgaon, as Mentioned in Bid Document) 9822931357 ,7720080489. HAS BEEN WRONGLY 2 Tender Paper Cost : Rs. 6,000.00 to Rs. 10,000.00 3. Contract Period : 18 Months (including monsoon) John Gurusekaran Pune-7.Mob. 9422011181. 0090279428-1 MENTIONEDAS“MEENU Arputhamani as per Chordia 3 Value of work : Rs. 46.31 Lakhs to Rs. 197.78 Lakhs 4. Tender fees : Rs. 3,360/- (Inclusive of GST) DEVI” “24 FEB 1981” BUT A Adhaar No 842875954627. Communications, 4 Class of Contractor : :“B” &“A” Class 5. Bid document download : 24/12/2020, (18:01 hrs) to Pune BroilerTraders CORRECT NAME &DOB Association Rate on Arshad Ajit Chordia. 07/02/2021, (12:00 hrs) IS “MINU SHARMA” “4 0090279433-1 ''IMPORTANT'' 5 Date &time of availability : 22.12.2020 at 13.00 hours to 21.12.2020For Livebig 17/18, Aundh Gaon, opp. 6. Last date of Online submission : 08/02/2021, (18:00 hrs) JAN1982” .Vide Affi No- of bid document in portal 30.12.2020 upto 17.00 hours birds Rs-112 Livesmall I Yadwi Dilip Kutarmare Whilst care is taken priorto lane of Cosmos Bank, 205214194126850035067 Note : The e-tender can be downloaded from e-Tendering portal Birds Rs-126/-Contact:- R/O. Flat No.F 1304, acceptance of advertising Aundh, Pune-7.Tel: 6 Date &time of seeking : 28.12.2020 upto 17.00 hours 7 90279468-1 https://etendermmrda.maharashtra.gov.in Any Additional 8695842684 90271130-19 Godrej Prana, Undri, copy,itisnot possible to verify 25886118, 9960111123. tender clarification itscontents. TheIndian information, corrigendum &help for uploading &downloading I, No. 14393100K, Rank - Pune 411060Have Shraddha Ads, 7 Date &time of opening of : 31.12.2020 at 15.00 hours in the office NECC suggested farm- Express (P) Limitedcannot be the e-tender,may be availed by contacting MMRDA’s e-tendering EX-NK, Name -Sunil Changed My Name To Mrs.Ujwala Kotbagi, 'A' tender&verification of of the Executive Engineer,RWS&S gate price for 100eggs held responsible forsuch service desk at the following id : Shinde,declarethat Yadwi Dilip Kalyankar contents, nor for any loss or wing, Vastu-sunder, Near original document Division, Angul:at:Talcher on 21.12.2020inPune [email protected] or name of my daughter As PerGazette (M- damage incurred as aresult of KumarClassic, Pune-7. without tray is Rs.535 - Tel. 9371055799. 8 Time of completion : 5(Five) to 8(Eight) Calendar Months call us on 022-2659 7445. hasbeen changed from 2073806). 70724543-1 transactions with companies, (FiveHundred and associations or individuals San Ads, The bidders have to participate in online biding only.Further details For further information if require you may please contact Sarvari to Shinde 9 ThirtyfiveRupees only I Vinod Kumar Gupta no- advertising in its newspapers Anurag, Plot No. 10, near Sharvari Sunil as per can be seen from the website https://www.tendersodisha.gov.in. Shri. Arvind Dhabe, Executive Engineer on Telephone number only) Phone:NECC 15573419H L/Havhave or Publications. We therefore Kobe Silzler Cave,Aundh- affidavit No. 58852/20 recommend thatreaders 10 Corrigendum if any shall be publish in the above website only. 022-26595915 or on E-mail : 24270724, 26336377, changed my wife name 411007. Tel: 25881302/3/4. [email protected] Dealer: 24332689, from BabytoBaby make necessary inquiries Sd/- 0090279440-1 before sendingany monies or APPA BALWANT CHOWK - Sd/- 24455130, 24265787. Gupta videAffidavit no- entering into any agreements M/s V. V. Medhi, Executive Engineer 425/2020 dated RWS&S Division, Angul at Talcher Date :21/12/2020 Shri. Arvind Dhabe 0090272256-1 with advertisersorotherwise Varun Medhi, 153, 19/12/2020 90279458-3 acting on an advertisement in BudhwarPeth, Near OIPR-25019/11/0013/2021 Place :Mumbai Executive Engineer,MMRDA any mannerwhatsoever. Fulrani

Pune WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,DECEMBER21,2020 EXPRESS NETWORK 5

BRIEFLY ROADSHOW IN BOLPUR COLLECTIONS SO FAR 59% LESS THAN ANNUAL TARGET Onekilled,2 injuredasbike Shah: Will consider With3monthstogo,state ramsdivider AMAN in his early 20s implementing CAA after waskilledand twooth- waybehinditsincometarget ers, including aminor, were injured afterthe biketheywereriding Covid vaccination starts Worsening matters further, rammedthe road divider SANDEEPASHAR FALLENSHORT state’s incomefromgrant-in-aid on thePune-Mumbai old Says BJP will build MUMBAI,DECEMBER20 from the Centreand central taxes highway lateonFriday. Income BE Collections %ofCollections is50%and47%lowerthanitsesti- The man wasriding pil- Sonar Bangla; let WITH JUSToverthree months to source (2020-21) tillDec8, BE March-Dec, mated target.With the coron- lion with twoothers, in- go untilthe end of the financial 2020 2019 avirus caseload nowseemingly cluding the minor rider. them build Sonar year,Maharashtra, theworst-hit undercontrol, the stategovern- Officials said that the statebythe coronavirus pan- MajorTax 2,25,071.21 86,109.44 38% 1,39,935.28 ment has takensome steps to rev rider lostcontrol of the Bharat first, demic, is waybehindits income NonTax 20,506.16 8,045.98 39% 92,77.84 up the economy, but senior offi- bikeand went on to hit a target for2020-21. CentralTaxes 48,109.49 20,515.76 43% 26,400.10 cials said that mostrecent eco- divider.Police have counters TMC Reflecting the tepidrecovery nomic indicators suchasGST col- launchedaprobe intothe in the overall economy, GrantinAid 53,770.03 26,638.28 50% 38,763.24 lections, electricitydemand etc. sequence of eventslead- Maharashtra, India’smostindus- Total3,47,456.89 1,41,213.46 41% 2,14,376.46 suggestthat the economywill ing to theincident. SANTANUCHOWDHURY trialisedstate,had managed to Source: Maharashtra Government Figures in Rs crore continueto besluggishforawhile. BOLPUR,DECEMBER20 collectrevenueofRs1,41,213crore Inordertorev updemand,the MCCIAholds in income betweenApril 1, 2020 stategovernmenthaseasedexist- UNION HOME MinisterAmit and December 8, 2020,statistics registrations in the thirdquarter mains amajor cause of worry. Just ing developmentcurbs forrev- onlinemeetof Shah on Sundaysaidthe govern- show. Thisisstill59percentlower with morereopenings and eco- before the coronaviruspandemic enue generation and capital mentwouldconsiderimplement- during his road showinBolpur Sunday. Shashi Ghosh than the Rs 3,47,457crore it had nomicrevivalmeasures beingan- struckthe state, it had estimated spend departments.Ithas also Incubationand ingtheCitizenship(Amendment) projectedtoearnin2020-21. nounced, officials admitted that earning of Rs 2,25071 crorefrom raisedsupplementary grantsto Actafter thevaccination against Consider this. By December this year’s earnings arenowhere taxablesources.But tillDecember push capital investment in the Start-upspanel Covid-19 begins. legedly by Trinamool supporters. ing on adecorated,open-top ve- end in 2019,the statehad already near lastyear’s collections or the 8, it had collectedRs 86019 crore. public sector.InOctober,the Shah,whoheldaroadshow in Shah said the attack had tar- hicle, told thousands of workers reported earning totalling Rs budgeted estimates for2020-21, Collections from non-tax levies state’sfinancemanagershadsaid THE MAHRATTA Bolpurandaddressedapresscon- geteddemocracyitself.“TheTMC andsupporters of his party. 2,14,378crore,whichis52percent and admitted that the stateis were faring no better.Till that an uptick in unemployment Chamber of Commerce, ference in the evening, defended government is completely re- “This time people want a higher than the collections so far bracing forahugebudget hole. December 8, thegovernmenthas rate and job losses remaineda Industries and the Centre’s decision to writeto sponsible forthis attack. Suchin- changetostopinfiltration from in the firstnine months of 2020. With the economyshowing managed to collect onlyRs8,045 major constraint to the revivalof Agricultureorganised the the stategovernment asking for cidents take place because of the Bangladesh, to putanend to the While therewas an upswing no signs of an early recovery, croreinnon-taxable revenue, thestate’seconomy. Maharashtra firstmeeting of the three IPS officers to be sent to arroganceof power. Themoreyou political violenceinBengal,to in collectionsfrommajortaxesin- state’s taxrevenue is 62 per cent whichisonly39pcofits targeted contributes to nearly 14 per cent newly-setupIncubation Delhiondeputation. attackthe moreBJP gets stronger stopthe practiceof extortion, and cluding GST, excise, stamps and belowits estimatedtarget and re- revenue of Rs 20,506crore. of India’sGrossDomesticProduct. and Start-ups Committee Asked when the CAAwould in Bengal.” Violence wasatits to end the dadagiri of bhatija,” 2020 on avirtual plat- be implemented,Shah said: “The peakinthestate,andtheTMChad Shah said, referring to the Chief form recently. Sudhir Rules of CAAare yettobeframed, killedmorethan300BJPworkers, Minister’s nephew, Abhishek Mehta, president of MC- and suchabig exercise cannot healleged.“Corruptiontooisatits Banerjee. High Court relief for 8Maratha students CIA,VishwasMahajan, proceedin the middleofthe pan- peak here. From Amphan relief Shah wasaccompaniedby chairman of the incuba- demic. “Isliyejab tika lagne ki shu- fund scam to ration distribution stateBJP president DilipGhosh, tion and start-ups com- ruwat ho jayegi aur corona ki cycle scam —why is the stategovern- national general secretary who missed out on EWS and SEBC quotas mittee and Prashant bhi thik ho jayegi, iss par hum za- ment notallowing aCAG special Kailash Vijayvargiya,party vice- Girbane, director general- roor vichar karenge. Aurjab kare- audit on these?” president Mukul Roy, Union missedout on reservation under missions through EWSquota. titioner and did notcomplete the MCCIA,addressedthe ngeaapko suchidijayegi. Responding to aquestion on MinisterDebasree Chaudhuri, OMKARGOKHALE both SEBC and EWSquotasfol- Adivision benchofJustice S admission process. The peti- meeting. The ideawas to (Therefore,we willdefinitelycon- the TMC describing BJP leadersas MP SaumitraKhan,and former MUMBAI,DECEMBER20 lowing the SupremeCourt’s stay VGangapurwala and Justice SD tioner had appliedfor an EWS encouragethe Incubators siderthisoncewe beginto admin- “outsiders” in Bengal, Shah an- MP Anupam Hazra. on implementation of SEBC in Kulkarni on December 18 passed certificatebeforethe tehsildar to sharetheir effortsto- isterthe vaccine and the corona nouncedthat onlya“son of Ben- “Ihavecome heretoassure IN Arelief to eight studentsfrom September. an order on the writ petitions by once again, aplea forwhichre- wardssupporting start- cycle ends. Youwill be informed gal” would becomethe next Chief youthat if youvote forthe BJP,we the Maratha community,the The court also directed the the eight studentsbelonging to mainedunanswered, prompting ups and bringing them on when that happens.)” Ministerofthe state. willtake Bengalonthepathof de- benchofthe StateCommon Entrance Test Cell the Maratha community.One of her to approachthe HC. acommon platform to To aquestion by The Indian “Does she (Banerjee) want a velopment,” Shahsaid at the end BombayHigh Courthas directed and the colleges nottobepreju- the petitioners had stated that The counsels forthe students exploresynergy among Express on the Centre’s letter countrywherepeoplefromone of the roadshow. “We will create the tehsildars concernedtoissue dicedagainstthe petitioner stu- she had appearedfor NEET exam submitted that theirclientsbe- some of them. about the IPS officers, Shah said statewillnot visitanother? ...This theBengalthatwasenvisionedby them EconomicallyWeaker dentsinlight of the July28order foracademic year 2020-21un- long to Maratha community, the letter did notviolatethe fed- is nothing but an attempt to mis- Rabindranath Tagore and Netaji Section (EWS) certificates after of the stategovernment that had der EWScategoryand theyhad whichiscategorisedunderSEBC; 4theditionof eral structureofthe country. leadthe people. Don’tworry,no Subhas ChandraBose... Youhave verification afterthe students deniedbenefits underEWS quota been issuedEWS certificates in however, July 28 Government “The letter whichthe central one from Delhi will come to de- givenachanceto theCongress,the agreedtogiveanundertaking to studentsfromthe Maratha the central format. Resolutionissuedbythe statede- National governmentsentto thestategov- feat you(Trinamool). Someone communists and the TMC. Has that theywill notbeseeking any community,astheywerealready One of the students, through niedthem admissions through ernment is completelylegal and from Bengal and ason of the soil Bengal seendevelopment so far? other reservations including benefited by the 12 percent herlawyerPanditrao SAnerao, EWSquota as well. On July28this Teachers' has been sent as per Consti- willchallengeyou andbethenext Has infiltrationstopped? Has po- Sociallyand Educationally reservation under SEBC quota. contendedthat the state’s com- year,the Maharashtragovern- tutional norms.Itisverymuch Chief Ministerofthe state.” litical violence stopped?Has in- BackwardClass (SEBC) quotafor SincetheSChadstayedtheim- mon entrancetestcell had spec- ment had said the Maratha com- Congressheld withinthe parameters of the fed- Bengal,hesaid, “hadathirdof vestment come? Nowgiveone educational purpose. plementation of SEBC quota, the ifiedthe format forEWS certifi- munity will notbeentitled to eralstructure.She(Chief Minister India’sGDPatthetimeof Indepe- chance to theBJP.Weassureyou The students, aspiring to pur- studentsfoundthemselvesdenied cateand basedonthat the avail the 10 per cent reservation THE 4TH edition of the MamataBanerjee)mustquote the ndence;afterthreedecadesof co- thatwewill turn the stateinto sue medical and engineering benefitsunder both quotas and medical collegetook objection in jobs and education forEWS in National Teachers' rule of lawbeforeplacing her mmunistrule and one decadeof SonarBanglawithin five years.” courses, movedthe HC afterthey approachedthe HC seeking ad- on the EWScertificateofthe pe- the general categoryinthe state. Congress (NTC), con- opinion before thepublicand the TMCrule,ithasshrunkbadly.Ben- Laterinthe evening, senior ducted online this year, central government,”Shah said. galcontributed30percentof Ind- TMC leader Firhad Hakim said: concludedatthe MIT The Home Ministerspoke ia’s industrial production in 1947. “Theyshould makeaSonar WorldPeace University hoursaftertheChiefMinistertw- Today, it hasfallen to just3.5 per Bharat first, then theymay tryfor (MIT-WPU), Pune. The eetedher thankstoOpposition cent. Iwant to askbothMamata SonarBangla.Modi saidtheywill four-dayvirtualconfer- Chief Ministers CaptAmarinder Di and the communists – who is create1crorejobs, but 21 crore ence wasorganisedfrom Singh,BhupeshBaghel,Ashok responsible forthis downfall?” people became jobless in his December 15 to 18 This Gehlot, and Arvind Kejriwal, and Earlier,atamassive roadshow regime.” year,and the theme of the DMKleaderMKStalinforbacking in Bolpur,Shahsaid the upsurge Shah also visited Visva- National Teachers' hergovernment’spositiononthe of supportfortheBJPinWest Ben- BharatiUniversityinSantiniketan Congress was: 'NEP 2020: Centre’s move to transfer police galshowedthe anger of the peo- and paid homagetoTagore. He OpportunitiesUnlocked'. officers.Theofficerswere inchar- ple againstthe TMC government. had lunchatthe home of Bengali NTC2020 wasattended ge of Nadda’s security on the day He had neverseen aroad- folk singer Basudeb Das Baul be- by some leadingacade- his motorcade wasattacked, al- showsuchthis one, Shah, stand- fore the roadshow. micians and education- ists from alloverthe world, representing five continents. Ahead of poll campaign PawanSingh getsre-elected launch, Stalin rouses DMK onISSFJudges Committee cadre, slams ‘vote-cutters’

PAWANSINGH, joint sec- ‘Defeatmoneypower, win people’s minds’: DMK chief retary-general of the National RifleAssociation of India (NRAI) and for- ARUNJANARDHANAN mer coachofthe Indian CHENNAI,DECEMBER20 NED Votebaseworries shooting team, has been re-electedasamember of DMK CHIEF Stalin on Sundayral- E forDravidianparties ● the Judges Committee of liedhis party men ahead of the EXPLAI the International formal launchofits campaignfor Shooting Sport the May2021Assemblypolls, DESPITE DMK supporters’ fears, individual players suchas Federation (ISSF). Due to callingonthemto wintheminds TTVDhinakaran’s AMMK and Rajinikanth’s newoutfit are thepandemic, voting was of the people and resist “newout- morelikelytoweaken the AIADMK-BJP votebase rather conductedonline forthe fits”that onlyseek to “erode” its than DMK’s. Kamal Haasan, too, had enjoyedthe support firsttime, and Pawan voteshare. of upper-caste voters in Chennai’s Mylaporeareaand the Singh receivedmorethan Stalin’s address at aparty state’s Coimbatoreregion.Despitethis, anot-so-spotless 75 per centvotestoget meeting in Chennai reflected the pastand aclean imageenjoyedbyCMPalaniswami will elected forthe second general anxiety amonghis sup- make the going tough forDMK. Keeping familyout of party consecutive term of two porters that the entryofplayers affairs and selection of strong candidates mayhelp Stalin’s years on the 7-member suchasKamal Haasan, perception amongthe people. Judges Committee of ISSF. Rajinikanth and TTVDhinakaran mayend up strengthening the BJP in the long run at the costof manamaa? (money,orpeople’s timateofwhat the seat-sharing Woman gym the traditional Dravidian politi- minds?).” arrangement will look likethis cal formations. The DMK chief said that “cer- time—around 170seatsfor those trainerraped by And foraparty that has spent tain newparties” were being contesting under the DMK sym- the lastten years in opposition to formedwith the “sole purpose" bol, includingcommunity outfits, colleague,cops the incumbent AIADMK, these of defeating DMK. 25-30for theCongress, and6-8 forthcoming polls areverymuch Stalin appealedtohis cadres seatseachfor smaller parties such huntfor suspect seen as the lastchance saloon— and leadersto “bepolite” and “an- as CPM, CPI, VCKand MDMK. DMK is notexpected to survive swer people’squeriesin themost Forall the talk of anti-incum- Pune: A28-year-old woman another five years in opposition humble manner”. “Talk to them, bency,however, the DMK is up gym trainer wasallegedly raped unscathed. invite them to us likeyou would againstaChief Ministerwho has by her colleagueafter being So on Sunday, threedays be- invitethem foraweddingat your managed to maintain afairly served acolddrink lacedwith fore thelaunchofthe DMK’s poll family,”hesaid. good image. Edappadi K sedativesinthe early hoursof campaign, Stalin sought to rouse The party chief had good rea- Palaniswami has travelledexten- December 17.Police have hisparty colleagues:“All AIADMK son to remind his men about the sively around thestate,meeting launchedasearch for the sus- ministers should be defeated in virtues of politeness and humil- people, and has also launched pect, who is also atrainer at the thesepolls. Notjustthe partyma- ity.Allegedly unsavouryactivities severalsops, projectsand sameestablishment. chinerybut eachofyou should during the last DMK regime are schemes. In hercomplaint, the makesurethat theyare defeated. still fresh in public memory. Forinstance, on Saturday, woman said she wascalledby All theseconstituenciesof minis- What givesDMK the edge in when he launchedhis poll cam- the suspect to thegym in the ters will have alot of money this election to the 234-member paign, Palaniswami also an- early hours of Thursdayand power. But understand that Houseis alarge,powerfulalliance nouncedaspecial Pongal gift givenacold drink.The man moneyalone will nothelpin elec- made up of Congress, CPI and packagethatincludedacash sum rapedher aftershe wassedated, tions. AIADMK had lostseveral CPM, Dalit party VCK, and Tamil of Rs 2,500 foreachofthe 2.06 she said. polls even aftertheyinvested nationalistVaiko’s MDMK, be- crorerice card-holders in the “Thesuspect is absconding. money. So ourmissionis to break sides anumber of local, commu- state. This will bedistributedfrom We have launchedasearch for the moneypower andwin peo- nity outfitswhichwill contestun- January4through ration shops. It him..,” saidapolice officer. ple’s minds.” He then asked his derthe DMK symbol (risingsun). is to be seen if all these help him —ENS party workers: “Panamaa,makkal TopDMKsourcesalsogaveanes- during the forthcoming polls.

Pune WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,DECEMBER21,2020 6 EXPRESS NETWORK

Metro carshed Comments on ArhtiyasslamI-Tsearches,toshut Jaya Prada: Cops land is notego get court nod to Punjabmandisthisweekinprotest collect SP MP’s issue, open to voice sample Farmers plan 24-hrhungerstrike, call for‘Thali Bajao’ session during PM’s next Mann Ki Baat MANISHSAHU LUCKNOW,DECEMBER20 talks:Uddhav arhtiyaassociation in Mogaand RAAKHIJAGGA& hasbeennamedasamember of THE have AMILBHATNAGAR thecommittee. receivedcourt permissiontocol- LUDHIANA,NEWDELHI, Federationchief Kalra, whois lect the voice sample of VISHWASWAGHMODE MASKSMUSTFOR DECEMBER20 also vice-chairman of Punjab's Samajwadi PartyMPDrST MUMBAI,DECEMBER20 NEXT6MONTHS:CM mandi board, said his offices and Hasan in acase of alleged AFTER INCOME Taxofficials house were searchedon the night derogatorycommentsmade DEFENDINGHIS decision of Mumbai: Ahead of Christmas served notices to 14 toparhtiyas, of December18. “They raidedmy about actor-turned-politician shifting the Metrocar shedfrom and New Year celebrations, or commission agents, in Punjab shop in Makhu mandiatmid- Jaya Prada at afunction in AareycolonytoKanjurmarg, Chief MinisterUddhav andconductedsearches at prem- night and my petrol pump.Over Moradabad in 2019.The court MaharashtraChief Minister Thackeray Sundaysaid wear- ises linkedto six of them overthe 50 CRPF personnel, I-Tofficials approved thepolice requestaf- UddhavThackeray on Sunday ing amask would be manda- lasttwo days,akey umbrella and police were involved. They terthe MP saidhedid nothave appealedtothe Union govern- tory at leastfor the next six group Sundayannouncedthe clo- asked fordocumentsand Igave anyobjection. ment to come forwardtoresolve monthsevenifaCovid-19 sureofall mandis in the state them everything. Since the keys Theallegedly objectionable the land disputethrough dia- vaccine becomes available. from December 22 to 25 as a of my shop could notbelocated, remarks were made at an event logue and addedthat he is ready Thackeray addedthat night markofprotest againstthe action. theybroke the lock,”hesaid. organisedtohonour Rampur MP to give credit forittothe curfew or alockdown is not The Federation of Arhtiya The other agentswhose Azam Khanafter he defeated Opposition in the state. necessaryatthis time, but in- Associations of Punjab said the premises were searched on Prada, aformer party colleague Meanwhile, NCPleader and sistedthat people should arhtiyas also plan to gherao the December 18 and 19 include of- in theparliamentaryelections. Minority Affairs MinisterNawab continuetofollowCovid-19 offices of taxofficials anda“final fice bearers of various arhtiyaas- She had contested thepolls on a Malik saidparty chiefSharad safetyguidelines. ENS plan of action”will be chalked sociations, PawanKumarGoyal, BJP ticket.The event washeld on Pawarislikelytointervene in the out afterconsultingfarm leaders. Jaswinder Singh Rana, June 30, 2019,atthe Muslim matter to resolve it. The federation's president, The meeting of the Ahrityas executive body at Baghapurana constituency in Punjab’sMoga Manjinder Singh Walia and Degree College. Among the “Unfortunately, theUnion notinthe interestofthe state VijayKalra, whose house andof- district on Sunday. Hardeep Singh Ladda. sevenother accused in the case government’s salt commissioner and itspeople. It would be nar- fices in Ferozepur were among ApartfromBrarand Garg, the areAzam Khan, his son Abdullah went to thecourtagainstus. row-mindedness if we startob- thosesearched,alleged the I-T five-member committee formed Khan, and then SP Sambhal dis- Whycreatehindrances? The structing projectstaken up by action “was apressuretactic to protestagainsttheactiontomor- duringthe next radio broadcast natewith the Sanyukt Kisan by the arhtiyafederation com- trict president FerozKhan. At stategovernment has given eachother.Iwanttourgethe harass us as we aresupporting row. Theyshouldreturn what- of Prime MinisterNarendra Morcha, whichiscoordinating prises Sukhwinder Singh present, AzamKhan and his son prime and costliestplotatthe Opposition that Iamready to the farmers' protests”againstthe ever theyhaveseized. Theyhave Modi's Mann Ki Baat. “The the farm protests,todecide the Cheema, Mahavir Singh and areinSitapur district jail in con- BandraKurla Complexfor the give youcredit forresolving the Centre's newagriculture laws. been raidedbecausetheysupport Government had earlier asked next step. Naresh Bhardwaj whoholdkey nection with acase of alleged bullettrain project... Forthe Kanjurmargland dispute. It is At theSinghuborder in Delhi, us.Theyhavehelpedusalot,with citizens to bangutensils against “Thecommitteewill hold a positionsin arhtiyaorganisations. land-grabbing. Union government projects, land notanissue of my egoand meanwhile, farmer's represen- rations and money. Theselaws the coronavirus. We appeal to meeting with the Morchaon “If the I-Tdepartment penalises “Policehad recently moved is being givenwithout creating should notbethat of yours,” tativeshit out at the raids and have hit them as well. If theyare citizens that theyshould repeat Mondayorthe dayafter in Delhi. an arhtiya, we will contribute an application in alocal court, anyhindrances. Even if the land Thackeray added. said theywould escalate their implemented,arhtiyas will bede- it on Sunday,”said Jagjit Singh We have over 400arhtiyaman- funds to help paythe penalty,and seeking permission to take the (Kanjurmarg) belongs to the Malik said on Sundaythat protestfromMondaywith a24- stroyed,” saidRulduSinghMansa DalewalofBKU Singhpur. dis in Punjab with nearly 28,000 our supporttofarmers will con- voice sample of MP ST Hasan. On Centre, the issue can be resolved. NCPchief Sharad Pawarislikely hour hunger strike. from the Punjab Kisan Morcha. AccordingtoJatinder Garg, licensedahrtiyas and approxi- tinue. The Government mustre- Saturday, theMPinformedthat The Centreand state can sit to- to intervene in the matter to re- “Westand in supportofthe During apress conference the arhtiyafederation's vice mately40,000 arhtiyas in total alise that this is apublicmove- courtthat he had no objection. gether and resolve the dispute,” solve theissue. “Thackerayand arhtiyas. We have alsodecidedto Sunday, the farmer leaders also president, theyhaveset up afive- across the state,” said Amarjeet ment, and targeting arhtiyas is a The courtthen allowedthe po- said Thackeray Sunday. Pawardiscussedthe car sheddis- gherao Income Taxoffices and calledfor a“Thali Bajao” session member committee to coordi- Singh Brar,who heads the futile exercise," said Brar. lice’s application,” said govern- Thackeray’sstatementcomes puteonSundaymorning.Pawar ment counsel Munish Kumar days aftertheBombay HighCourt, said away has to be found and Bhatnagar.The police had yetto in apetition filedbythe Centre the CM has also spokenabout it Oppntrying complete itsinvestigation in the through Deputy Salt today. If required,Pawar maydis- ‘Scindiaji’s people have been case, he added. Commissioner (Mumbai), stayed cuss the issue withthe PM in the to misguide the allotment of land in next fewdays,” said Malik. Kanjurmargfor theproposed Following the stay by the farmers on new HC rejects Metrocar shedand ordered to High Court, the BJP had targeted accommodated well into the BJP’ stop all construction activitiesat Thackeray alleging that he was laws, says Yogi anticipatory bail the site. The rulingcame as aset- being “arrogant” and has made backtothe Thackeray govern- it an “egoissue” to shiftthe car AYEAR aftertaking over the because of this that we won it. This is notthe viewofthe BJP. plea of man ment. Trading of barbs between shedout of Aarey, itsearlier lo- EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE reins as the stateGeneral Ambha, Morena and Johracon- booked under the ShivSena andBJP followed. cation. “I am arrogant forthe in- LUCKNOW,DECEMBER20 Secretaryofthe BJP in Madhya stituencies. What is the basis of “If the Prime Ministercalls terestsofMumbaikars and Pradesh, VISHNU DUTT legislating a‘love jihad’ like Black Magic Act himself Pradhan Sevak, then we Maharashtra,” said Thackeray. UTTAR PRADESH Chief Minister SHARMA spoketoIRAM SID- Isn’t thereatusslebetween lawinMadhya Pradesh? arealso people’s Sevak. If we On October 11,Thackeray Yogi Adityanath on Sundaysaid DIQUE on the prospectsofa the men who owe allegiance In MP,there is aspecial cell want to do somethinginthe in- had announcedthe scrapping of Opposition parties aretrying to Cabinetexpansion,the ongoing to Scindiaand those in the working on rescuing women OMKARGOKHALE terest of the peoplebut makeita the ongoingcar shed at Aarey misguide farmers over the farm protests andthe party’s CM’s camp? from suchpractices. So many MUMBAI,DECEMBER20 prestigeissue, then we don’tde- Milk Colonysaying that it would Centre’s newfarm laws and the stance on PragyaThakur’s recent BJP is acadre-based organi- women in Bhopal have been res- servetosit in this chair.So, the instead come up on the land at conceptofcontract farmingbe- remarkonshudras. sation due to whichsuchissues cued, and broughttoour shelter. THE BOMBAY High Courthas re- disputeoverKanjurmargland is Kanjurmag. cause theydonot want the don’t arise. We don’t look at Even in ,aspartofABVP, cently rejectedanticipatorybailto country’s development. It has been ayear since took thosewho have followedScindia we have savedmanywomen. aman booked under the Black Addressing agathering of over as the statepresident of ji to join our party anydifferently. When yougotoget married, you Magic Actafter his closeacquain- MUMBAI CIVICPOLLS farmers at NarendraDev the BJP in Madhya Pradesh, Depending on who is good at have to show to the courtwhy tance filedacomplaintthathe Agricultureand Technology whyhas therebeensucha what work,theyare chosen and youhaveconverted;earlier cheated hertothe tune of nearly University in Kumarganj at delayinparty restructuring put forward. these provisions were notthere. Rs 87 lakhafter promising to re- Cong should contest Ayodhya,hesaid contract farm- at the statelevel? THEEXPRESS solve her matrimonial issues and ing guarantees farmers’ welfare. Therehas been some delay Recently, BJP organised a Howwill this lawbeany her husband's health through He said the wayofthe coun- because of Covid-19 followedby INTERVIEW training program forall MLAs different from thatofUttar puja and rituals. alone: new city chief try’s progress and development by-polls due to whichacollective who have come intothe Pradesh? The prosecution alleged that goes through the fields of farm- decision could notbetaken. But WITH party.What is this training In MP,weare working to have themanhadreceivednearly Rs87 ersand hence,itisthe govern- soonour Karya Samitisand vari- VISHNU DUTT about? stringent laws that will punish lakh from the complainant over EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE ment’s toppriority to make ous morchas willbeannounced. SHARMA It is routine; irrespective of those committing this offence four years forperforming rituals MUMBAI,DECEMBER20 Ashok them prosperous and happy. He Our structureonthe ground is BJP GENERAL SECRETARY, howmanyyears aVDSharma or and thoseaiding them. Manyor- andgivingherringsto resolve her MADHYA PRADESH (Bhai) said the NarendraModi govern- ready,70per cent of the working Shivraj Singh Chouhanhas spent ganisations that give amarriage issues. Asingle-judgebenchof SETTINGTHE tone forthe Jagtap ment hastaken severalsteps for committee of the mandals is also in the party,theyhavetoundergo certificatelikeAryaSamajwill JusticeSandeepKShinde on Congress forMumbai civic elec- thewelfareoffarmers andthe ready, we have about 68,000 came to meetyou and the this training. Scindia ji will also face action if due process is not December17washearingthepre- tions, the party’s newlyap- newlawsare steps in the same booth levelset ups and working Chief Minister with all his come as aworker. These training followed. Thereare onlyabout 1- arrest bailplea filedbyBurzin pointed Mumbai unit chief, ion. “Weare partnering with the direction. well. We areinthe process of MLAs in aconvoy of 40 aretheoretical and practical. 2% women who willinglyget Daruwalla, through advocate Ashok (Bhai) Jagtap, said on ShivSena in thestate on thebasis “I appeal to youtonot be mis- forming our zilla working com- vehicles.How do youview married, therestall aretrapped. Yogesh Dalvi. Daruwallawas Sundaythat the party should of the Common Minimum guidedbythe misinformation mittees whichwill be formed this? BJP MP PragyaSingh Thakur booked by the Ambernathpolice fight the pollsindependently. Programme.Contestingcivicelec- campaign unleashedbythe soon afterour Pradesh working Scindia ji kaa glamour hai.But recentlysaid thatShudras The newfarmlawsare also in Thaneunder sections 406 “Individuallyand also as the tionsindependentlywon’timpact Opposition and be assuredthat committee is ready. Scindiaji’s people have been ac- feel bad while being calledso, being opposed by farmer (breachoftrust),420(cheating)of president of the Mumbai the alliance or the functioning of we arenot going to leave asin- commodated well into the BJP.I howdoes the party viewher unions affiliated with the the Indian Penal Code and provi- Congress, Ibelieve that we thegovernment,” he said. gle stone unturnedtoensure Is aCabinetexpansiononthe have seen it in the elections. Until statement? Rashtriya Swayamsevak sions of the Maharashtra should contest on allthe 227 With itsloyal NorthIndian your betterment,’’ he said,while cards? What about MLAs who the very end, we were on the Idon’t think suchstatements Sangh. Howdoyou look at Prevention and Eradication of seats(of the BMC),” he said. voter base shifting decisively to- reiterating theCentre’scommit- defected but lost in the by- edge thinking if the BJP worker arecorrect. Suchasystem of a this? Human Sacrifice and Aghori Maharashtra Chief Minister wardsthe BJP,the Congress had ment to double farmers’ income polls? will agree or nottocampaign for caste hierarchymight be preva- Suchorganisations have their Practices and BlackMagic Act, UddhavThackeray hadearlier in 2017 slumpedtoits worstever by 2022. The twowho were already Govind Singh Rajput. BJPwork- lent at some point in society but individual opinion and theyput it 2013.The complainanthad declared an intention of contest- electoral performance in the During the event, the CM laid ministers, Tulsiram Silavatand ers have takenapolitical deci- with time things have changed forward. But in Madhya Pradesh, claimedthatDaruwallabeingher ing the Mumbai civic polls in al- Mumbai civic polls, winning the foundation stone and dedi- Govind Singh Rajput will defi- sion and notanemotional one. and we areall one. Ibelievethat we heldaKisan Sammelan and closeacquaintance,convincedher liancewith Maha Vikas Aghadi only31seats. Thereafter, the cated 40 projectsworth about 90 nitelybemade ministers. Adeci- Our government, afterall, was work has been donetoreduce farmers aresupportedbythe law. thathecouldhelpinresolvingher partners NCPand the Congress. party failedtowin asingle seat crore--these projectsare in the siononCabinetexpansionwillbe made because of them(defec- this gap, be it by Dr Babasaheb When education wascommer- matrimonial issuesand health FormerMaharashtraminister from the city in the Lok Sabha sectors of agriculture,agriculture takenbytheChief Minister. When tors). We decidedtokeep all our Ambedkar or the Sangh parivar. cialised, government schools did- problemsofher husband by per- Naseem Khan, namedthe cam- pollsand managedtowin only science and research,animal he feels the need, he will do it. differences behind and give this Practicallyinthought,BJPandRSS n’t shut down, similarly,with formingpujasandritualsthrough paigncommittee head forthe four of the 36 seatsinthe subse- husbandry, fisheryand irrigation government stability,whichthe have workedto abolish suchcaste trade in private areas, mandis will apriestand demandedmoney polls, also echoedJagtap’s opin- quent Assemblypolls. across the state Recently, Jyotiraditya Scindia workersaccepted. It wasonly differences and we do notaccept notshut down. from the complainant. I’m notrunning away from UP, notscared... will go back: KafeelKhan

children’s growing up years,” ward -- wassuspended, andthen 2003. wasfurious...Maybebecause the what associating with me will do SOMYALAKHANI said Khan, seated insidethe cof- arrested.Atfirst, he washaileda Three years afterthe BRD hos- news wasout in the open.When to their lives,” he said, as two NEWDELHI,DECEMBER20 feeshop at India Islamic Cultural herofor arranging oxygen cylin- pital tragedy, Khanstilltears up an FIR wasregisteredagainstme, guests at therestaurant insisted CentreinDelhi, wherehis ders withhis ownmoney. whenherecalls the sound of par- Irealisedthat even though Iam on taking aselfie with him. OVER Adecade ago, when Dr youngest brothergot married In 2018,hewas arrested by entswailing, the beeping of ven- from an upper-middle class fam- It wasduring his time in Kafeel Khan (28)was studying Thursday. Bahraichpolice for“creating nui- tilatorsattachedtobodies of chil- ily, andIamadoctor, who did prison in 2017 that Khan started paediatrics at Manipal’s Kasturba The same day, theSupreme sance”atadistrict hospital. On dren, and the chaos of arranging good work,Iwaspenalised. My reading -- from writings of MedicalCollege,aprofessor told Courtdismissedthe appeal January29this year,hewas ar- oxygen cylinders. “It wasAugust privilegedidn’t protect me. The Mahatma Gandhi, Babasaheb him that he will “learn develop- movedbyUttar Pradesh govern- rested over aspeechhegaveat 10-11and mothers were begging CM changed thenarrative from Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh to ment milestones in toddlers, ment againstthe Allahabad High an anti-CAA protestinAligarh, usto save their children, some at- deaths of children to me delib- Marx and Lenin, from Indian his- suchastheir firstwalk and word, Courtorder that dismissed and soon the NSAwas invoked. tendantsheld my collar,others erately,”said Khan. tory to WorldWar I&II. “I was when he toobecomes afather”. chargesfiledagainsthim under Khan wasreleasedfromprison abusednurses and ward boys... I Those twodays in 2017 that notapolitical person before the WhileKhan has twochildren theNational Security Act(NSA) in September,after whichhe remember athree-year-oldgirl he spentrunning around trying BRD hospital tragedy. Iwas justa -- afour-year-old girl, and aboy early this year.“Iworethe sher- movedtoJaipur with his wife, diedinfront of her parents' eyes... to arrangeoxygenchanged his doctor... In 2018,Istarted travel- who turns twonextyear -- he wani Ihad bought formy their children, and his mother. We all cried. Idon’t regret what I family’s life, said Khan. “My ling andrealisedthat all govern- says he’s heartbrokenthat he brother’s wedding to the SC too... “My mother has been very did... Iwould do it again todayifit brother’sbusiness wassuccess- mentsinthe pasttoo,not justthe missedthose “milestones” as he Iwas so overwhelmedwhen the strong through these three years Dr Kafeel Khan said the ‘mostpain’ the UP govt gave himwas savesevenasingle life,”saidKhan. ful but then people starteddis- BJP,ignored basics suchasgood wasinprison both times in dif- verdict came,” he said. but Ithink the mental agonygot depriving him of hischildren’sgrowing up years. GajendraYadav Khan said that he arranged associating and he suffered education and healthcare. All ferent cases. In September 2017,following to her and when Igot out, she 500oxygencylinders with his losses.Wehavealotofland in previous governments ignored “I went to prison, got beaten the deaths of 63 children at said, 'bas karo’. Idecidedto ownmoney, and on August 13, Gorakhpur,including ashopping it toobut this one justtalksmore up, waskepthungry, lostmy Gorakhpur’sBRD Medical spend time with my familyand Gorakhpur is my birthplace, Iam men, one is adoctor, his sisterin he wastold that theChief plaza, but no one wantstobuy it. about CAA, Pakistan, Babri job...But the mostpain that the College andhospital, allegedly movedtoJaipur... I’m notrun- notleaving it,” said Khan. Muscat holds aPhD, and another Ministerwanted to meethim. “I Idon’t have ajob. It took my Masjid-Ram Mandir,” said Khan. Yogi Adityanath-ledgovernment due to oxygen supplyshortage, ning away from UP,I’m not Khan’s wifeisalso adoctor. in Lucknowisamicrobiologist. thought Iwould getapat on my youngestbrother three years to FULLREPORTON gave me wasdepriving me of my Khan -- who wasin-charge of the scared,and Iwill go back. Twoofhis brothers arebusiness- Their father,anengineer,diedin backfor doing my best but he getmarried... People areafraid of www.indianexpress.com

Pune WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,DECEMBER21,2020 EXPRESS NETWORK 7 BRIEFLY 2017trainaccident:NIAsuspected Year on, withdrawal of Pathalgadi cases Maoists;Rlyprobefindsfaultypart crawls; CM Soren

out-livedcodal lifecouldnot be the train to take partinrescue,” Suresh Prabhu to writealetterto says will lookinto it Bimal Gurung AVISHEKGDASTIDAR conclusively established. the reportsays. then Home MinisterRajnath NEWDELHI,DECEMBER20 Because of inconclusive evi- It alsonotesthatthe Railways Singh seeking aprobe by the NIA dence, Icannotholdany individ- failedtodispatchanAccident into “possibility of criminal in- WESTBENGAL THREEYEARSafter the National ual Railway official responsible Relief Train to thesiteontime. terference by outsiders”. ABHISHEKANGAD Gurungbackin Investigation Agency (NIA) said forthis derailment.” Asked whynoofficial has In 2017,months aftertaking RANCHI,DECEMBER20 in an FIR that it suspected sabo- When contacted,SKPathak, been namedasresponsible, over the probeintothe derail- Darjeelingafter tage by Maoists as thereason be- Chief Commissioner of Railway Pathaksaid it wasaninstitu- ment, the NIA had sent material SOON AFTER being sworn in on hind the derailmentofthe Safety, told The IndianExpress tional shortcoming, whichwas recoveredfromthe sitetothe December 29, 2019,the govern- 3yrs,slamsBJP Hirakhand Express at Kuneru in thatthe tongue rail waswell past addressedsubsequently. “It’snot Forensic Science Laboratory ment of ChiefMinisterHemant AndhraPradesh that ledto40 itsassignedcodal life, whichis anyindividual’s fault. We recom- (FSL) in to detect Sorendecidedtodrop“allcases” Kolkata:Gorkha Janmukti deaths, the Commissioner of Hirakhand Express the maximum service lifeofany mendedthat all tongue rails in traces of explosivesonbroken related to thePathalgadi move- Morchaleader Bimal Railway Safety(CRS) has con- derailment killed40. File assetafter whichitmustbere- Indian Railways should be re- rail pieces, coachparts andgravel ment of 2017-2018. Gurung returnedto cludedthat the accident was placed. “It wasa52-kgrail, placedwith the 60 kg rail variety under the tracks.Nothing was Almostayear later,the Darjeeling afterabout causedbya“fractured”partof whichwas supposedtowith- immediatelywhichhavecodal found and abomb blastwas Jharkhand government is still to three-and-half years on the track. Departmentofthe EastCoast stand around 150Gross Million lifeof200GMT and theyshould ruledout. send arequisition to the courtto Sunday anddelivered a Thefinal probereport, pre- Railway was “blameworthy”, Tonnes (GMT) of traffic. be markedfor replacement Following this, the agency withdraw the cases filedbythe During themovement, speechinwhichhe pared by CRS (South Central therewas no Railway official or However, this piece of tongue when theycross athreshold. took the help of IIT-Kanpur to BJP government of Raghubar stone plaques came up at slammedBJP and de- Circle) RamKripal,statesthat anyother person either “Primary rail had withstood 175GMT of Railwayshas done that, so that’s conduct asimulation exercise Das, manyofwhichinvolved villages, declaring the gram claredsupportfor TMC for “the accident occurred due to Responsible” or even “Secondary traffic. So that is the reason why apositive fallout of the report,” basedoncircumstances and ma- chargesofsedition. sabha’sauthority. File the forthcomingelections. fractureoftongue rail”. Responsible”. it would have broken,” he said. he said. terial -- even this exercise did not According to information “BJP wasplanning 49seats The tongue rail -- anine-me- The NIA,whichwas probing The probereport,however, At thetime of the accident -- indicate sabotage. obtainedbyJharkhand with our supportinnorth trepiece that is also calledthe the accident from aterrorangle, states thatRailway officials pres- around 11 pm on January21, Earlier this year,aprobere- Janadhikar Mahasabha under cases, whichhavebeen recom- Bengal. We willnowshow switchrail--islinked to both has notfiledachargesheetinthe ent did nothelp in relief and res- 2017,inVizianagaramdistrict -- portonthe derailment of the the RighttoInformation (RTI) mendedfor withdrawal; in BJP by making Mamata rails on atrack and helps aloco- case. Sources said the agency's cue operations. “None of the the train wasspeeding at 82 Indore-Patna Express thatkilled Act, only16ofthe 30 Pathalgadi some, investigation is still pend- CM forthirdtime,” he said. motive changedirections.The probehas notreachedany con- sevenRailway employees who kmph from Jagdalpur to 152people in 2016 said therea- FIRs registeredinKhunti, ing... It had slippedmymind, I “BJP has notdecievedme, broken piece, whichwas found clusion to fixculpability even were travelling on duty Bhubaneshwar carrying 600 son was “welding failure” but Saraikela Kharsawan, and West willlook intothis now.” but theyhavedeceived near the accident site, was though sabotage has been ruled pass/privilegepass reportedfor passengers. Apartfromthe 40 addedthat the NIA wasstill Singhbhum have been recom- Interestingly,therewas no the Gorkha jaati and the handed over by the CRS to the out. rescue operation. TTEs alsodid killed, 67 others were injured. probingthe matter. It wasone of mendedbythe district commit- discussion on withdrawalofthe Gorkhas will punish criminal investigation team. The probereportstates: notparticipateinthe rescue op- This wasone of six accidents the accidentsthat Prabhu had tees for“complete withdrawal”. Pathalgadi cases in areviewby them.” Gurung had fled The reportsays that while “However, whether thefracture erations, nor did theyalertany in quicksuccession, and cited in his letter. The charge of sedition under the state Home Department at a Darjeelingin 2017 aftervi- the Civil Engineering occurred due to material failure/ Railway employeetravelling in prompted thethenRail Minister (WITHDEEPTIMANTIWARY) IPC Section 124A had been in- meeting on Friday, sources privy olence that ledtothe vokedin19ofthese cases; the to the proceedings said. deathof apoliceman. ENS committees have recommended 76-year-old ThakuraMunda withdrawal of this section in 17 expresseddisappointment over TRACKING INDIA’S COVID CURVE cases. Mostofthesecases were the delayinimplementation of registeredin2018; afew in 2017. the government'spromise. KERALA CASES: ACTIVECASES:3,05,344 Of the total 172accused, po- Thakurawas accusedinthree Twotakeninto 293 lice had sought sanction to pros- cases, of whichincludedthe DAYSSINCE 1,00,31,223 DEATHS:1,45,477 ecute 96. The chargesagainst charge of sedition, arrested and PANDEMIC custodyfor BEGAN TESTS: 16,11,98,195 | RECOVERIES: 95,80,402 them included, apartfromsedi- sent to jail. Twocases have been tion, “attacking the police offi- recommendedfor withdrawal; ‘molesting’actor CASES DEATHS RECOVERIES TESTS cers with weapons”, “kidnap- in thethird,the charge of sedi- DEC19 26,624341 29,690 11,07,681 ping officers or bodyguardsof tion hasbeen recommended to Kochi: Twomen who al- the MP with well-plannedcon- be dropped. legedly molesteda spiracy”, “instigating locals to “IstayedinKhunti jail. Iwas Malayalam actor at amall createhurdles equippedwith lo- [also]sent to Daltonganj jail in Kochiweretaken into cal equipment withoutany in- wheremyhealth deteriorated. custody on Sunday, the formation or permission”, “cap- One dayIcollapsed... Ispent alot policesaid. Their arrest turing the police station and of moneytoget bail.Whenever will be recordedon snatching the weapons from the Adivasis fight fortheir rights, Monday. Both men will hands of police officers”, “creat- theyare crushed,” Thakurasaid. be chargedunder IPC STATESWITHRISINGACTIVECASES ing an insecuresituation, misbe- During the Pathalgadi move- Section 354(Assault or ACTIVECASES RISEINLASTWEEK havingwith government offi- ment of 2017-18, giantstone criminal forcetowoman Kerala 60,451322 cers”, “provoking the people plaques came up outside villages, withintent to outrage her Odisha 3,035207 with their inflammatoryspeech declaring the gram sabha as the modesty), apolice officer Jharkhand 1,718108 againstgovernmentand admin- onlysovereign authority. The said. In asocial media istration”, and “creating obsta- plaqueshad inscriptions from postdescribing the inci- STATESWHEREACTIVECASESAREDECLINING cles in governmental progressive the Panchayat(Extension to the dent at the mall, the actor ACTIVECASES DECLINEINLASTWEEK worksand disturbed lawand or- Scheduledareas) ActorPESA, had alleged that the two Maharashtra61,095 12,447 der”. whichthe tribals quotedto claim men had walked past her Delhi 10,358 7,015 PrimeMinisterNarendraModi at thegurdwara. PTI Asked about the delayinim- their independence from the andthat one of them had West Bengal 18,460 4,574 plementing the decision taken stateand asserttheir rightsand grazedhis hand on her by his government in itsfirst culture. While the movement pe- back.She also alleged that STATESREPORTINGMAXIMUMCASES PAYSRESPECTS TO GURU TEGHBAHADUR Cabinetmeeting, Chief Minister teredout, manyvillagersalleged the men stalkedher and ONDEC19 TOTAL Soren told Idea ExchangeatThe theyweresubjected to “police her sister. PTI Kerala 6,2947,00,159 Indian Express: “When we took brutality”, or what theycalled Maharashtra3,940 18,92,707 Amid standoffwith farmers, the decision,manyquestions “state’s repression”. MADHYAPRADESH also arose. Some [cases] were West Bengal 2,1555,34,850 Manmarries false... kuchhcases mein bad- IDEA EXCHANGE STATESREPORTINGMAXIMUMDEATHS PM visits gurdwarainDelhi mashiyaan bhi thi (Therewere twowomenin5 ONDEC19 TOTAL problems in some). It is notthat SOREN ON FARMERS Maharashtra7849,771 the matter is stagnant. Asolution PAGE 11 days,thenflees West Bengal 43 9,320 ment’s tenure. Letusmarkthis Theydid notspeak about the has been reachedinhalfofthe EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE blessedoccasioninahistoricway farm Bills or farmers’ protests, Delhi 32 10,251 Khandwa: A26-year-old NEWDELHI,DECEMBER20 andcelebratetheidealsofSriGuru the official said. “This wasnei- softwareengineeral- DataasonDecember19,releasedbyUnionMinistryofHealthandFamilyWelfare,IndianCouncilofMedical TegBahadur ji.” ther the place,the day, nor the Researchandstategovernments.Often,thenumbersreleasedeverydaycontaindatafrompreviousdays Kannauj man held under legedly marriedtwo aswell.Assuch,trendsbasedondailynumbersareonlyindicativeandnotdefinitive AS THE central government rem- TheGuru’s martyrdom dayis forum forany political discus- women in five days in ains lockedinastandoffwith an occasion of deep religious sig- sion. He (the PM) had come as a Madhya Pradesh and then farmers,manyofwhomareSikhs nificanceforSikhs.Thespecialday devotee and wasreceivedas anti-conversion law fled, policesaid on from Punjab, PrimeMinister wasobserved at thefarmers’ one,” the official said. Sunday. Basedonacheat- Narendra ModionSundaymade protestsiteatSinghu Border on Since the farmers’ agitation “Both areresidentsof ing complaint filedbya PM to launch J&K health an “unscheduledvisit” to Saturday,complete withlangars, started,thegovernmenthasmade EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Gurusahaiganj town. They got to woman’s familyhereon Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib in ardaas (prayer), and paath (reli- severaloverturestotheSikhcom- LUCKNOW,DECEMBER20 knoweachthrough Facebook Saturday, thepolice are cover scheme on Dec 26 New Delhi. ThePrime Minister gious teachings). munity.Ithas come out with two and WhatsApp... According to conducting aprobe.The paid his respectsatthe gurdwara Representativesofthegovern- bookletsto showModi’sspecialre- A32-YEAR-OLD man wasar- thecomplaint by the woman's accused, residentof of the Social Endeavour for aday afterthe death anniversary mentsaidthiswasa“suddenvisit” lationship with Sikhs, and the rested in Gurusahaiganj area of father,the man told herfamily Indore, allegedlymarried EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Health and Telemedicine (SE- of Guru Tegh Bahadur. and there “wasnopolice ban- Prime MinisterquotedGuru Kannauj district on Saturday thathewas from Lucknowand awoman in Khandwa on JAMMU,DECEMBER20 HAT) scheme, "J&K will be Modi tweetedonMonday dobastortrafficbarriers to the Nanakinhisspeechatthefounda- night under the newanti-con- washavingsome issues with his December 2and another among the firstinthe countryto morning:“Thismorning,Iprayed common man during this visit”. tionstone-layingceremony forthe version lawafter thefamilyofa parentsand thereforetheycould woman at Mhowin PRIME MINISTER Narendra achieve UniversalHealth at the historic Gurudwara The PrimeMinistermet granthi newParliamentbuilding on Hindu woman, who he had mar- notattend thewedding aweek IndoreonDecember 7, the Modi will launchahealth Coverage", said Lt Governor RakabganjSahib,wherethepious HardayalSingh at the gurdwara. December 10. “Guru Nanak had riedtoaweek ago, filedacom- agothat took place at aguest official said. According to scheme in Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha on Sunday. body of GuruTeg Bahadur Ji was “They spokeonlyabout the said, ‘jabtak sansar rahe, tabtak plaint with the police. house in Lucknow,” the policeof- the complaint,one of the on December 26 to reachthe one The beneficiaries areentitled cremated.Ifeltextremelyblessed. historyof thegurdwara.Hardayal samvaad chalterehna chahiye’(as In the complaint filedbythe ficer said. The man has also been Khandwavictim’s rela- crorepopulation that wasnot to free health insurance coverof I, likemillions around the world ji told the PM thatGuru Tegh long as the universe exists,dia- woman's father,Subhash Verma, booked underIPC sections for tiveswho had gone to a coveredpreviouslyunder the Rs 5lakh per family per year and am deeplyinspired by thekind- Bahadur’s body wascremated loguemustgoon),”Modihadsaid, he alleged that Taufeeq posedas cheatingand impersonation. wedding in Mhow, sent Ayushman Bharat programme thereisnorestrictiononfamily nessesof SriGuruTegBahadurJi.” here.Modijialsotoldhimhowhe underliningtheimportanceof the one Rahul Verma to marry his However, apolice officer on photostoher family in the Union Territory. size, ageorgender.Sinha said He said: “It is the specialkripa usedtovisit thegurdwaraoften democraticprocessto resolve dif- 29-year-old daughter. the condition of anonymity said through mobile phone on So far, around 30 lakh people programmes will be organized of the Guru Sahibs that we will when he used to live nearby. He ferences.Again,onarecentvisitto “It has been alleged that a that the woman did notwant to December 7ofthe ac- in Jammu and Kashmir were across the Union Territoryand markthe special occasionofthe also saidhewanted to visitwith- KutchinGujarat,Modihadinvited man named Taufeeqmarried a lodgethe complaint,but did so cused’ssecond coveredunder the Ayushman the distribution of "Golden cards" 400th Parkash ParvaofSri Guru outany fuss,”agurdwara official farmers, manyofwhom were Hindu woman aweek agoin underpressure from her parents. marriage. PTI Bharat scheme. With the launch will be startedthe sameday. TegBahadurjiduringourgovern- said on condition of anonymity. Sikhs, forameeting. Lucknow and hidhis religious “She knewabout hisreal iden- identity and real name. The tity and did notwant to com- UTTARAKHAND woman has also givenastate- plain, but her father lodged a 2killed, 4hurt in ment to thepolice levelling sim- complaint and nowunder pres- Leopardkills ilar allegations,” Kannauj ASP sure, she has also alleged that he womanin Recordedperformances, virtualworship: clashatGujarat’s Vinod Kumar said. cheated her,” the officer added. Pithoragarh Morbitown HC givesbail to man held Pithoragarh: A45-year-old Dehradunawaits alow-keyChristmas woman waskilledinan EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE attackbyaleopard in per tradition, the celebrations at Church,Dehradun. RAJKOT,DECEMBER20 for namaz in UP temple Pithoragarhforestdivi- LALMANIVERMA Central MethodistChurch would Church members have been sioninUttarakhand,an DEHRADUN,DECEMBER20 startwith firstadvent Sunday. informedthat gifts andration TWOMEN were killedand four trict in October. official said Sunday. The Thereafter, twogroups of carol- will be collected from their were injured as twogroups from EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE The Uttar Pradesh Police attacktook place in GIFT SHOPS and bakeries in ers would visit over 500mem- homes and distributed at an or- the same community clashedin LUCKNOW,DECEMBER20 booked thefour forpromoting Pukhoravillage, he said, Dehradun aredeckedupwith bers of the church in Dehradun phanage.Rev.Prasad addedthat Morbi town on Sunday. Thepo- enmity on grounds of religion, adding it wasthe second goodies ahead of the Christmas city.And acommunity lunch the church will remain closed for lice said the situation has now THE ALLAHABAD High Courthas defiling aplace of worship and suchincident in the area celebrationsand churches are would also be held. Church thepubliconNew Year’s daytoo. been brought under control. granted bail to activist Faisal public mischief and arrested in the lasttwo days.Leela being decorated with lights, but members would observe . “Festivals come everyyear According to the Morbi po- Khan who had been arrested for Khan. Devi wasgiving fodderto local residentsand others re- “There arenocarol service but lifecomes once,”said the lice,Adil RafiqMandaliya,32, offeringnamaz insideaMathura While granting bailonFriday, cattle outside her house turning from other states forthe and community lunch. Pre- pastor. and his supporters clashedwith temple to “show communal har- the High Courtprohibited Khan on Saturdayevening festival will have to celebratethe recordedcarol servicewill be Similar restrictions arein Mammu Dadhi and others in mony”. from using social media till the when she wasattackedby occasion at their homes in view Achurch in thecity shown online from Monday place at St Francis Church on Khatkivas area. Adil and Dadhi’s Khan is amember of Khudai conclusion of the trial. the leopard which of the pandemic. evening.The programmesusu- Convent Road. Carol singing and nephew, Imran(35), were killed. Khidmatgar,aDelhi-basedsocial Khan’s counsel Ali Qambar dragged herintothe On the fourth and lastadvent allyheld on four advent Sundays culturalprogrammes forchil- “Adil and Imran had an argu- organisation whichworks to- Zaiditold thecourtthat Khan bushes. Revenue Sub- SundaybeforeChristmas, in community worship (mass remainedcancelled. It has been dren likethe Christmas tree ment over passageofvehicles. It wardscommunal harmony. was “arenownedsocial activist Inspector Naveen Kapri place of live performance of prayer) on Christmas day. Alink done to avoidgatheringinthe function and midnightmass turnedviolent and Dadhi’s He wasarrestedbyUPPolice who had revivedKhudai said she diedbeforevil- Christmas Drama and ‘sing song willbeshared withdevotees and church in viewofthe pandemic. have been cancelled. groupfired on Adil’sgroup while on November 2after it came to Khidmatgar movement of India lagers could come to her service’, apre-recordedper- church memberswho wish to Devotees will notbeallowedin- Parish PriestFaustin John Adil’s group attackedDadhi’s light through asocial media post and has been working towards rescue afterhearingher formance of both were streamed join the prayer online. Christmas side the church forprayer on Pintosaid that instead of mid- group with knives. Prima facie, that he along with three other maintaining communal har- cries.InKholigaon area, on Facebook and YouTubeasthe worship on December 25 will Christmas. In place of midnight night mass, therewill be aprayer Adil waskilledbyagunshot members of the group – Chand monyfor thelast25years”. anotherwoman, Saruli Central MethodistChurch at also be virtual. community worship, therewill service on December 24 evening whileImran dieddue to stab Mohammed, Alok Ratanand The counsel said that as part Devi,was killedinaleop- NeshvillaRoad hasrestricted The pandemic has made be online nightprayers,” said at 6pmand 8pm. Church au- wounds,” Subodh Odedra, dis- Nilesh Gupta -- had allegedly of- of his effort towardscommunal ardattack. PTI devotees’ entry. Christmas celebrations in Rev. Dinesh Prasad,Pastorin- thorities areexpecting alow trict superintendent of police of ferednamaz inside Nand Mahal harmony, Khan hadundertaken Therewill be no midnight Dehradun alow-key affair.As charge,Central Methodist turnoutinthe prayer service. Morbi, told The Indian Express. Temple complexinMathuradis- ayatraoftemples.

Pune WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,DECEMBER21,2020 WORDLY WISE Paythe worker his wages before 8 THE EDITORIAL PAGE his sweatisdry —THE QURAN Beyondthe new facade

§ FOUNDED BY § RAMNATH GOENKA Anew Parliament buildingmustnot overshadow BECAUSETHE TRUTH INVOLVES US ALL needtotackle urgent questionsofdemocracy THE BENGAL FIGHT MadhavGodbole TMC has to blame itself forlosing itsleaders, walking intothe trap of BJP’s predatorypolitics THE GROUND-BREAKINGCEREMONY of the The terms of reference of the Fifteenth their working non-partisan, opening the de- new “People’s Parliament”buildingtook place Finance Commissionstipulatedthat it should liberations of the committees to the public, with considerable fanfaretwo weeksago. use population dataof2011for allocation of giving the committees assistance of NGOs and NSATURDAY, THE influentialTrinamool Congress (TMC) leader Suvendu Under Article 79 of the Constitution, taxrevenuesamong states. This wastore- non-profit organisations in the respective Adhikari joinedthe BJP along with eight other MLAs, twoofthem from Parliament consists of thePresident and its place the compromise formula in place from fields, opening the committee meetings to the Leftand one from the Congress, and an MP,during arallyaddressed twoHouses.But neither thePresident northe 1976,whichsoughtto give incentives to states electronic,print,and digitalmedia,andstart- by Union Home MinisterAmit Shah in Midnapore. Shah described the Vice-President, who is also the chairman of to control theirpopulation. The southern ing aPBS channel as in the UK and USAfor O theRajya Sabha, were invited.The protocol states had stronglyobjected to it.The com- wider disseminationofthe deliberations of arrivalofturncoat legislators to the BJP as “justthe beginning”and would have requiredthePresident to perform mission’sviews will be known when itsre- the committees. Currently, ministers do not warnedWestBengal Chief Ministerand TMC chief MamataBanerjee that she will be the ceremonies. portbecomes available in the public domain. appear before thecommittees. Nowif alone by the time of the upcoming Assemblyelections. Of course, Didi is the supreme The construction of anew Parliament India has postponedthe consideration of Parliament is to transact itsbusiness through leader of the TMC, her charisma definesthe party topdown, but the fact is Adhikari was building raises anumber of questions. The controversial questions—an officiallanguage, the committees, theymusthaveall the rights no mereminion. He wasthe chief mobiliser of protests at Nandigramwhichhelpedcat- ones pertaining to the redesigning of the reservations forScheduledCastesand delim- and privileges of the whole House. The min- apult Banerjee to the chief minister’s office and whenheasksquestions of her and the Central Vista will, no doubt, be raisedbefore itation of Parliament constituencies —byex- isters —aswell as the Prime Minister—must party,thereare many who listen. In away,his desertion shows howill-equipped the TMC the Supreme Court. But threeimportant is- tending the relevant time limits. But now, the be encouraged to appear before the commit- is to handle and address internal dissent and howcentralisedpower in theparty is. sues, namely, if we requiresuchalarge countrywill have to face the potentiallydivi- tees.It is alsoimperative to reassertthe role of Parliament;population as the basis of repre- sive issue of delimitation of constituencies in the joint parliamentarycommittee and to re- The crisis in TMC is notunique. It stems from astructural flaw, common to alot of regional sentation in Parliament;and the functioning justafew years. storeits credibility. parties that revolve around one leader or afamily. The TMC, forinstance, had amovement of Parliament have been sidelinedsofar —ei- The otherimportant question pertains to India mustadoptthe best practices of character to it in the beginning, whichenabledthe party to successfullychallengethe elec- ther deliberatelyorconveniently. thefunctioning of Parliament. Over the years, parliamentarydemocracy in othercountries. toralhegemony of the CPM that lasted34years. However, it failedtoreconstituteitself as a Afterthe delimitation of constituencies, Parliament haslostits pre-eminent position Legislation mustbeenactedonmatters per- party of government,thewaytheCPM haddoneafterwinningofficeforthe firsttimein1977. Lok Sabha will have 888 members and Rajya as apillar of democracy.Inpublic perception, taining to the functioning of Parliament—to The TMC has maintainedtotal domination on the ground because it inductedlocalleaders, Sabha 384members, atotal of 1,272mem- it has lostcredibility.Recommendations laydownanannual calendarfor Parliament bers. Does India requiresuchanenlarged made by knowledgeable persons and experts sessions, minimum duration of sessions in a enforcers and cadres from other parties, who were attracted by the privileges of office and Parliament?Parliament’sefficacyand effec- to improveits functioning have notreceived year etc, as in severalcountries. Alaw should threat of violence. Allegiance to the leader wasthe glue that held the party together —and tiveness can be increasedbyimplementing attention. With the impending delimitation be enacted to regulate administration of the leader bought loyalty by offering patronage, looking the other wayaslocal corruption the reforms suggestedhereafter.Itdoesnot of constituencies, and the sizeable increase Parliament as in the UK, Australia and New flourished, or threatening retribution. In afederal polity that lackedapowerful centre, this requireenlarging itssize. in the size of both Houses,this matter has to Zealand. Steps also needtobetaken to create model of regional powerpolitics wassuccessful. However, it has startedtounravel follow- If parliamentary constituencies arere- be addressedurgently. It will be impossible aparliamentary budget office as in the US, ingthe rise of the BJPin 2014.AnambitiousBJPwants to establishitself as the premierparty drawnonthe basis of the2021Censusandthe to conduct anymeaningful business, given UK and Canada forindependent scrutinyof presentcriterion, the representationof states the proclivity of members fordisrupting its the budget proposals and their placement across regions and has the resources to matchregionaloutfitsinpower.This has created a will be so lopsidedastopose areal challenge working by marching intoits well, shouting before the committeesofParliament. The strangedichotomy wherein allies areleaving the BJP even as the latter inductsleaders and to India’s federalism. Due to the considerably India has postponed the slogans, exhibiting placards and even ap- oversight of Parliament mustbeincreased cadres fromrivalpartiesand in regions whereithad alimitedpresence.This pattern hasbeen lowerrateofgrowth of population in the proaching the presiding officer in athreat- to approvinginternational treaties and re- visible in recent times in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Manipur,Goa, southern states, their representation is likely consideration of ening manner.The onlyway to ensure orderly viewing the work of intelligence and inves- Gujarat and Telangana, besides West Bengal. It has enabledthe BJP to expand itsfootprint to go down, while that of the northern states controversial questions — business will be to transactmostofthe busi- tigating agencies. and even overturn electoral verdictsinits favour. will go up considerably. This unequal position an official language, ness in committees.During the Emergency, Ihad made aseries of similar suggestions Theunchallengedpredatorypoliticsof theBJPisdeeplyproblematicasitendsupsqueez- is unlikelytobeacceptable to the southern IndiraGandhi attemptedtointroduce several in my book, India’sParliamentary Democracy states and might lead to yetanother north- reservations forScheduled reforms in the functioning of Parliament. Her on Trial (2011). Suggestions of others, which ing the Opposition space and challengingall institutionsmeanttocheckand balance. Every south confrontation, as happenedinthe case and delimitation of attempttointroduce the committeesystem toohavelong remainedunattended, needto election —local bodies onwards, as we sawinthe recentGreater Hyderabad Municipal of the country’sofficiallanguage.Thiswillalso Parliament constituencies — wasnot successful because of apprehensions beexamined.Decisions on these matters will Corporation —isturned intoawar-likespectacle, with the party’s national leadership using have other overtones as the BJP has been un- by extending the relevant of theOpposition thatthissystemwas have to be made by holding nationwide con- ableto make inroadsin thesestates, exceptfor an attempt to skirtParliament. This also had sultations.The government should, therefore, polarising rhetoric. Suchawinner-takes-all approachmay help the BJP win elections but time limits. But nowthe these unequal battles undermine electoral democracy in the long run. It has surelyinflu- Karnataka. Maharashtraisalsonow out of muchtodowith Indira Gandhi’s overbearing publish awhitepaper on these issues with- countrywill have to face the encedtheBJP,which,of course,hasamajorityintheLokSabha,to rulethroughexecutive fiat BJP’s hand. As aresult, therepresentation of styleoffunctioning. Similar apprehensions out loss of time. non-BJP parties will decline significantly. prevailatpresent with NarendraModias thangovernbybuilding consensus on contentiousnationalissues. The artofspeakingand potentially divisive issue of Inevitably, populationasthe sole basis forde- delimitation of PrimeMinister. The writer is aformer Union home secretary listeningthat PrimeMinisterNarendraModi recentlyemphasisedislostinthe noiseofthe cidingrepresentationinParliamentwill have If the committeesystemhas to be made and secretary,justice. His forthcoming book is, BJP’s election machine.Which is what Shah,onstage in Midnapore, wascranking up. to be examinedafresh and newcriteria will constituencies in just a effective and credible, severalsteps needtobe India—AFederal Union of States:Ten have to be evolved. few years. taken. These include, among others, making Faultlines, Challenges and Opportunities WAGES OF DISCONTENT Worker unrestatBengaluru facility warns againstignoring labour concerns at atime India seekstoexpandmanufacturing AHOMEGROWN IDEOLOGUE TATIME when the governmentisactively courtingforeign investment, and making aconcertedattempt to position Indiaasaglobal manufactur- Rooted in RSS tradition, MGVaidya strove to uphold Indian intellectualism inghub,thelabourcrisisattheWistronCorpplantinNarasapura,Bengaluru, A is disconcerting. The violence that eruptedatthe manufacturingfacility wasallegedlyonaccount of workers protestingthe non-payment of reg- Rakesh Sinha ularand overtimedues by the company. Both Wistronand Apple have acknowledged the lapsesinthepaymentofwages.Wistronhasfireditsvice-presidentwhowasoverseeingthe MGVAIDYA,who passedawayonDecember ism, whichled him to develop friendship in that sense, the stateisabout law”. The iden- Indiabusiness,while global tech giant Apple has put the companyonprobation,stating that 19,was afamiliarname in the intellectual life across ideological streams.This uniqueness tityof anation,incontrast,ismuchgreaterand the firm will receive no neworders till it completesall corrective action.However, episodes of India, and hiscontributiontomanypromi- kept him free from intellectual or ideological older than that of the state. Foranation, the suchasthesenot onlysendawrongsignal to investors, butmayalso raise further apprehen- nentdiscoursesisinvaluable. Infact,hisname orthodoxy. He neverhesitated to speak the sentimentsofthelandinwhichpeoplelive for is synonymous withRSS’s intellectualism. He truth. Bookswerehis unfailing friends and his generations,acommon sense of historyand sions over recent movesseen as dilutingthe protection afforded to labour. worked withsix RSS sarasanghachalaks, in- reading habitsmade surethat Vaidya was the adherence to acertain value system, cul- The assembling of iPhones has oftenbeen held up as an example of the government’s cluding itsfounder KBHedgewar.Vaidya neverobsolete in anydiscourse. ture,wereessential.Thatiswhy theRSS’smis- success in boostingdomestic manufacturing.Wistron, alongwithFoxconnandthePegatron joinedtheSanghattheageofeightin1931 and In 2019,Irequestedhim to writethe fore- sion is civilisationaland is represented by cul- Corp, lies at the heartofcomponent manufacturing and the mobile phone assemblydrive hiszealfororganisationalandideologicalmat- word to my book, Understanding RSS. This tural nationalism in contemporarycontext. in India. In fact, looking to replicatethe apparent success of itsmobile phone assemblyini- tersremainedundiminishedtillthelastbreath. piece was, perhaps, his lastserious contribu- Conviction in ideological movementsis tiative,the government has recentlyannouncedthe expansion of itsProduction-Linked He wasappointed the Sangh’s first tion inthe field of ideas. Succinctlysummaris- mostlyconfinedtoparticipants. The RSS has spokesperson and interacted energetically ing the objective of theRSS, hewrote, “The initiated anew tradition. Itsideology is car- Incentive (PLI) scheme to cover10key sectors, ranging from automobiles to pharmaceuti- with the media, with the objective of remov- RSS neveraimedatestablishing an organised riedforward by values. Without values, ide- cal drugs. Separately,ithas also movedtoease the stringent and archaic labour laws that have ingthe then prevalent myths about the RSS, group withinthe society.Its missionhas been ology loses itsengine of effective transmis- long been held responsible forholding backthe growth of alabour intensive manufactur- andconfronting secularistlies. to organise theentiresociety.And everyone sion.Manyideological movementshavefaced ingsector.For instance,the IndustrialRelationsCode2020enablesindustrytoemploywork- Vaidyaaccordedprimacyto ideas,not per- knows that anysociety is acomplexexistence suchdilemmas, and declined. The RSS em- ers on afixed-term contract forseasonal and short-term jobs, sidestepping the contractor sonalities. This is one reason forhis popular- —itfunctions through various spheres of ac- phasises that a swayamsevak’s familyshould system —six contractors were responsible forrecruiting contractual workers forWistron. ity in the RSS. In acondolence meeting for tivities. Politics is one spherebut notthe only understand the organisation’s functioning and Consideringthat changes to labour laws areoften viewedwith suspicion, as the debate Hedgewar,his successor MSGolwalkar said, one. Organising the society means organis- ideological tradition: In other words, charity “RSS is notavotaryofindividualism.” Vaidya ing all thesespheres.” He believedthat theor- beginsathome.Thatis whythesons of several has oftenbeen framedinterms of empowering managements, the current crisis maywell remainedtrue to this tradition all his life. He wasavoracious reader of ganisation is aliving instrument of harmon- RSS workers have become the organisation’s heighten suchfears. The signals that emanatefromthis unrestare acause forconcern. At a He wasborn in Taroda, avillagein the worksofEuropean ising groupsand communities, including pracharaks. Mohan Bhagwat wasinspired to time of acutedistress, labour practices will come under intense scrutiny. Whilesome flex- Maharashtra’s Wardha districtonMarch 11, political classes—not aharbinger of conflicts. become a pracharak as his father hadservedas ibility forfirms is desirable, both the government and firms mustrealise that during peri- 1923andreceivedhisprimaryeducationfrom thinkers but never Vaidyaunequivocally believed “politics is one one fordecades. MGVaidya’scase is unique: ods of acuteprecarity,concerns of labour mustbekeptfront and centre. the same school in Nagpur as Hedgewar.His submitted to the Eurocentric sphere, notthe onlyone” and, therefore, it was Histwo sons, ManmohanVaidya and Ram academic excellence ledhim to be ateacher at intellectualism whichhas, amyth that theRSS existedfor politicalgains. Vaidya, areSanghpracharaks.He would bere- Morris College, Nagpur.Vaidyalater served as unfortunately,trapped a He wasavoracious reader of the worksof memberedas anintellectualwhoneverprac- thechief editorof TarunBharat,aMarathidaily European thinkers but neversubmittedtothe tisedideological and wasnever Freeze Frame EPUnny run by the RSS. He also served as amember of large number of our social Eurocentric intellectualismwhichhas,unfor- areactionarytheoretician. His lifeisalesson Maharashtra’s Legislative Council. He was scientists. He arguedthat tunately,trappedalarge number of oursocial forall those striving to upholdthe Indian tra- among national leaders likeDattopant contemporaryIndian scientists.Hearguedthat contemporary dition of intellectualism, and trying to give ThengadiandNanajiDeshmukh,whoreturned intellectuals missthe Indian intellectuals miss the distinction be- rigour to the idea of India. to theRSSafteryearsinpolitics,withoutlosing tween the stateand the nation. anyoftheir original ideological inclination. distinction between the VaidyaendorsedErnestBarker’s definition The writer,aRajyaSabha MP of theBJP,isa Vaidyabelieved in inclusive intellectual- state and the nation. of stateas “aliving bodyofeffectiverules and biographer of Hedgewar

DECEMBER 21,1980, FORTY YEARS AGO

MARCH HALTED can’t give directions forevery small thing,” retary said thatthe recentallegation about CONGRESS LEADER YBChavanwas ar- he said. theRSS’sinvolvement in Sanjay Gandhi’s rested and later releasedwhile former death is a “midsummer night’s dream”. He Chief MinisterSharad Pawarand about 450 ANTULAY’S ASSURANCE said both Prime MinisterIndira Gandhiand others landedinpolice custody in acrack- THE MAHARASHTRA GOVERNMENT and the government areconvincedthat the air down on the farmers’ long march near the leaders of the Shetkari Sanghatan areon crash wasanaccident. He alsosaid that the- Pohar in Amravati district. Describing the the samepageasthe farmers demand forre- ories of sabotage by amechanic arecanards swoop as a “rehearsal” forthe re-imposi- munerative prices is concerned. This una- to embarrass the PM. tion of Emergency,the entireOpposition nimity is the outcome of prolonged negoti- has givenacall foraMaharashtrabandh ationsbetween the stategovernment and BENGAL MOB FURY and road blockade tomorrow. Chief the Shetkari Sanghatan. The chief ministerA AT LEASTEIGHT people were blindedbyan- MinisterARAntulayhas dismissedthese RAntulaysaid that he will use his good of- grymobs between Januaryand April in West incidentsasasmall thing, stating thathe fices with the Centreand ask it to take asym- Bengal’s Coochbehar district, the state’s had no prior knowledge of these arrests. pathetic viewofthe farmers’ demands. transportministerShiben Choudhary He did notagree that the attempt to scut- said citing an investigation report. All the tle the long march wasapre-plannedone. SANJAY’S DEATH eight arealleged to be criminals, the minis- “We leftittothe local administration. I SMAHAPATRA MPand AICC(I) general sec- teradded.

Pune WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,DECEMBER21,2020 WHATTHE OTHERSSAY “Julian Assange should not be extradited.The chargesagainst him in the US undermine the foundations of democracyand pressfreedom in both countries.” 9 THE IDEAS PAGE — THEGUARDIAN The food security bargain The missing

WTOrulebook mustevolvetosupport food securityand rural livelihoods in developingcountries, second revolution especiallyinlight of the Covid shock.India musttakeleadinpushingfor thischange Punjab produces surplus food, but it hasnot had large-scale industrialisation. The current agitation has alot to do with this deficit

“agricultural” stateand, unfortunately, is proud about it. The current agitation, in a veryfundamentalsense,isareflection of the lack of industrialisation. In Bihar,too, hardly FROM PLATETOPLOUGH anyindustrialisation hasoccurredand so thelandless,marginaland small farmers mi- by Ashok Gulatiand gratetootherstates. But in Punjab, this class of people is notaspoor as the Bihari farmer Jonathan Hepburn who migrates, but theyare notasrichasthe bigfarmer in Punjab. Dhanmanjiri Sathe However, thereisnothinginthe Punjab THERE IS WIDESPREAD consensus that the economythatshould stop it from moving WorldTrade Organisation (WTO)rules on to an industrial revolution.But policy in should be updated so theybettersupport THE AGITATION OF farmers, mainlyfrom Punjab has been stagnant. As longasfarm- food security,rural livelihoods and improved Punjab, has raisedissues pertaining to de- ers could getareasonable MSP and the peo- functioningofmarketsfor food and agricul- velopment economics as we have under- ple were fairly well off, stategovernments ture. But while an ambitious reform of the stood it since the early Fifties. Development over the years did notseemtobeunder rulebook will requirenew approaches and theory illuminateshow abackward-agri- pressuretodoanything else. sustainedengagement of member coun- culturaleconomycan becomeanindustri- Hopefully, the current crisis will be tries, progress on some topics can also be alised(including services) one. It also says sorted outinasatisfactory manner.But achievedinthe shortterm. that before an economyisonthe path to in- the basic fault line will remain. The urban Oneissue of particular concern to India dustrialrevolution, it shouldhaveanagri- populationinPunjab is around40per is thequestion of whether the current farm cultural revolution -- the output and pro- cent. This needs to increase by wayof subsidy rules provide enough room forde- ductivity in agricultureincreases by suchan moreindustrialisation. veloping countries to buyfoodatgovern- CRSasikumar amount that labour is freedtoworkinin- The current agitations should be a ment-setminimum supportprices as part dustryand the industriallabour canbefed wake-up call forPunjab’s policy makers. of their publicstockholding programmes. by agriculture’s surplus output. From afood-scarce economy, theIndian The WTO’s 2013 Bali ministerial decision an ERP of $264/tonne in 2018-19. would requireWTO members to agree on a In Punjab, an agricultural revolution (the economyhas shiftedtosurplus-in-some confirmedthatmembers would notinitiate The Bali agreement means the breachof shared framework foraction on farm sub- Green Revolution) hasclearly occurred— crops economy. Consequently,nogovern- legal disputes on this question, in exchange rice de minimis maynot be challenged by sidy reform and other outstanding issues on thereishugesurplus output. If Punjab had ment can continue with an open-ended forimproveddataand transparency on how other WTOmembers. Nevertheless,itdoes the global trade agenda —setting aclear di- been an independent country, once it had MSP foralmostall farm output (wheat the schemes operated andadditional safe- underscorethe importance of finding a “per- rection and atimeframe forreaching ara- experienced an agricultural revolution, a here). In fact, this wasone of the pointsde- guards. Ministers also agreedtonegotiatea manent solution” to this and other trade and tional conclusion. sensible policy would have encouraged do- bated between Sharad Joshi and VM permanentsolution in this area. food security questions. Forthis to happen, political leadership is mestic industrialisation, possiblybyre- Dandekarway backinthe 1980s. But talksonthis issuehavenot moved Although members’ views in this area neededtohelp rebuild trust among coun- stricting imports in the initial stages,and Some big farmers have becomelikethe fast,asmanyWTO memberssee it closely continuetodiverge significantly, WTO tries on tradeand food security afterthe dis- surplus labour from agriculturewouldhave permanent government employees and are linked to the broader question of howtoim- members could usefullyconsider whether ruption causedbyUS-China trade tensions, shiftedtoindustry. But Punjab is partofa trying to protect their incomes —that is provefarmsubsidy rules. Thereisagrow- the fixedERP of 1986-88 is still arelevant and the inconclusive outcomeofthe WTO’s bigger country. So, it has got the advantage their right. What is notclear is whythe BJP ing tendency among manycountries to pur- benchmark, especiallyinthe wake of the 2018 ministerialconference in Buenos Aires. of having easy accesstothe Indian agricul- felt the needtopass these laws so urgently. sue improved market access and closer globalprice hikes of 2007-08 and 2010-11. Reassuringly,evenduring the COVID-19 turalmarket.Punjab has been selling wheat One would have expected anygovernment economic integration through bilateral and Since then, global priceshavemovedtoa pandemic, G-20 countries (including India) and rice at MinimumSupportPrice (MSP) to makeunpopular changes very quietly, regional talks, rather than at the WTO. More higher platform. Negotiators could consider reaffirmedthe importance of continued to the Food Corporation of India. TheMSP without announcing them,asisusually recently, the Donald Trumpadministration’s updating the reference prices to average flowoffoodand other productsacross bor- and the APMCs, as theyhavedevelopedin done in India. decision to veto newappointmentstothe 2014-16or2016-18levels or using arolling ders. This minimiseddisruptions in food Punjab, have madethe farmers muchbet- Nevertheless, the government will have WTO’s appellatebody has paralysed itsdis- averageinstead —perhaps flattening out supplychains. teroff than mostoftheir counterparts in to buy some foodgrain at MSP to keep its putesettlement function, leaving manyto volatility by excluding the highestand low- G-20 ministers also reaffirmedtheir the rest of India. TheMSP and the well- bufferstocks, and forsupplying through the question the futureofthe rules-basedmul- estyears from afive-year period.Another commitment nottoimpose export restric- functioningAPMCswereapartofadeliber- PDS. So, amiddle path needs to befound for tilateral trading system. option could be to exempt supportfrom tions or extraordinarytaxes on food pur- atestrategy of thecentral government to thesurplus farmers andfor thegovernment However, India’s farm subsidy notifica- counting towardsmaximumlimitswhen chasedfor humanitarian purposes by the have first, food sufficiency and, then, food —inPunjab and other states withasimilar tion in March this year to theWTO’s com- administeredpricesare setbelowinterna- UN’s WorldFood Programme (WFP) —a surplus, so that asituationlikethat in the agrarian profile. Additionally, as all govern- mittee on agriculturebrought the topic of tional market price levels. Members could clear signal that food security concerns are mid-1960s does notreoccur.This situation mentsinthe developedworld do, thegov- procurement underpublic stockholding also discount supportconsumed by subsis- above trade priorities when people’s lives wasachievedsome timebackatamacro- ernment will have to interfere, give subsi- programmes backtothe attention of trade tence farmers themselvesfromthe calcula- areatstake.The December meeting of the level—thoughthisdoes notmean that dies when neededbut the private sector will officials.This submission indicatedthat tion of the volume of eligible production – or India’sfarm subsidy General Council that is mulling over WFP Indians arenot under-nourished. also have to expand. India had breachedits agreedceiling on exempting procurement that onlyequates notification in March2020 food aid issues offers India (with G-20) an Increasing agricultural incomes expect- Further, generallyspeaking, incomes product-specific support to riceduring mar- to asmall shareofdomestic output. to the WTO’scommittee on opportunity to demonstrateits commit- edly ledtoanincrease in demand forindus- from industryare higher than from agricul- keting year 2018-19. The ceiling is setat10 Strikingly, India’s support, in fact, turns agriculture brought the topic ment to WFPfood aid and help rebuild con- trial productsliketractors, cars, washing ma- ture.Ifmoreindustryis setupinPunjab, in- per centofthe value of production under out to be negativefor the years since 2000- fidence in WTO’s ability to contribute mean- chines. These productsare producedin comes will be higher.The smalland mar- the de minimis provisions of the global trade 01,ifdomestic market prices arecompared of procurement under public ingfullytowardfasterpost-COVID recovery. states (TamilNadu, Maharashtraand ginal farmerswould bethe firstonestoshift body’s Agreement on Agriculture. with internationalmarket prices using the stockholding programmes An agreement in this area would be Karnataka) whichdevelopedasindustrial to work in industryifthe opportunity arises Market price support levels arecalcu- Producer SupportEstimatemethodology back to the attention of trade worthwhile because of the livesitsaves in hubs. In short, Punjab has had an agricul- in the state. Thebig farmerscoulddiversify lated by taking the gapbetween appliedad- appliedbythe Organisation forEconomic officials. This submission emergencies. But it could also laythe tural revolution, butithas notmoved on to to non-wheat non-rice crops as theyhave ministeredprices and an external reference Cooperation and Development (OECD). This groundworkfor long-overdue progress on an industrial revolution as it has easy access the capacitytotakerisks. price or ERP,set at 1986-88 levels, and mul- is the case even afteraccounting forinput indicated that India had the wider trade and food security agenda at to productsproducedinrestofIndia. Industrialisation of Punjab is notreally tiplying this by the volume of eligiblepro- subsidies, whichrepresent asignificant breached its agreed ceiling on theWTO.Ifglobal rules on trade aretosup- Withinaneconomy, one expectssome difficult. It has adecentlaw-and-order sit- duction. The government reportedthe ad- shareofIndia’s non-product-specific sup- product-specific support to portfood security and rurallivelihoods in geographical specialisation depending on uation, people areentrepreneurial,hard- ministeredprice of rice was$375.41/tonne, portusing the WTOsystemfor calculating rice during marketing year India and around the world, the govern- naturalresourcesandlandfertility.Obviously, working, educated andhealthy. Punjab while the ERP was$262.51/tonne, and the farm support. ment’s leadership and engagement today mineswouldhave to beinJharkhand.Forthat should nowlearn from Bangladesh and volume of eligibleproduction was44. 33 mil- Effortstorevitalisenegotiations on farm 2018-19.The ceiling is set at will be essential. reason,Punjab wasselected forthe Green Vietnam and go in forlabour-intensive in- lion tonnes —meaning that the total market subsidiesand to resolve theissue of public 10 per cent of the value of Revolution.Onecannotreallyexpectallstates dustrialisation—itisadifferent matter that price supportequalledjustover$5billion. food stockholding could be partofacom- production under the Gulati is InfosysChair Professor for to be efficientinproduction of all goods.But the entirecountryneeds to learn from them. Government figuresalso indicatethat prehensive resetofglobalfarm tradetalks. de minimis provisions of the AgricultureatICRIER, and Hepburn is a Punjabthenbecomesanintriguingcase.The Thereisalotthat astate governmentcan do India’s wheat support wasclose to breach- This, in turn, could help supportincomes senior policy advisoratthe International questionthenis:Whatshouldbetheunitfor especially with respect to small-and ing product-specific supportceilings, with and livelihoods, and spur economic recov- global trade body’s Institutefor SustainableDevelopment (IISD) “development”? medium-scale industries. These industries administered prices at $263.15/tonne and eryfromthe COVID-19shock. Doing so Agreement on Agriculture. in Geneva The second thing that happens due to an should be then allowedtobecomebig. agricultural revolution is that labour re- Punjab couldshowthe pathhere. leasedfromfarms can be shiftedtoindus- try. But hardlyany industrialisation has oc- The writer is emeritus professoratthe The road to getting things done curredinPunjab. Punjab remains an Savitribai Phule Pune University LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR Adynamicmonitoringsystemisneededtoimplementpublicpolicy RIGHT PRICE DurgaShakti Nagpal THIS REFERS TO theeditorial,‘Spectrum IDEAS of choices’ (IE, December 18). The inter- IT IS OFTEN said that without proper imple- ment chartwill appearratherskewed, with ing urge shouldbenot onlytoswiftlyresolve ownershipamongststakeholders brings in netisrejigging traditional sectorsofthe ONLINE mentation, apolicy is merelyawell-inten- tall skyscrapers, commercial malls and land- anybottlenecks and contradictions but also beneficiary acceptance, outreachtoagreater economy, creating both traditional and tionedstatement. And that the best policy scapedenvironment on the one hand, and to complete the task before schedule.Other number in thelastmile,and ultimately,trust newerjob opportunities.The success of ONLYINTHE EXPRESS willfail if notproperly executed.Mymother, vast areas surviving with mostlystagnant civic critical determinantsinclude: Unambiguous and happiness to thepeople in general. thedigitaleconomydepends on the asimple but successful homemaker,agrees: infrastructure, inaccessiblerural and hillyin- demarcation of responsibilities,particularly It would be an enriching experience for quality and availability of the spectrum ● THEHEART-KIDNEYLINK: “It’s nothigh philosophy—nopreparation habitations, crumblingand non-functional at supervisorylevels; frequent brainstorming the readers to peruse theimplementation ac- with the telecom service providers. The PRATHAPKUMAR will ‘taste’good if it is notwell executed.” education and healthcareinstitutions on the sessionstoanticipateand take formal note of countofarural electrification programme — spectrum holding by atelecom opera- Indeed, it is takenfor granted that apolicy, other. Millions continuetoliveinabject likelychallenges,and agreeing upon solu- Deen DayalUpadhyaya Gram JyotiYojana — torinIndiainaparticularservice area is ● THE IMPUNITY OF particularly agovernment policy or social- poverty, deprivedofbasic amenities likealive- tions; ensuring and authorising alargely free covering 18,000-plusun-electrifiedvillages, well belowthe international average. MARITAL RAPE: developmentprogramme, is meant to be ablehouse,aprivatetoilet,safewater,elec- hand with matchingresources,and theabil- across severalstatesand Union territories. The The base price of the spectrum available ANIRUDH PRATAP SINGH perfectlyexecuted. tricity and cooking gas, and an assured mini- itytomakeon-the-spotdecisions. The ever- institutionsand methodologies developedin forthe upcomingauctionmustbe Howisitthen, as Fortune magazine notes, mum income.Indiadesperatelyneeds a green strategy to makeimplementation a thiscasepresent an exemplaryfusionbe- quotedcompetitively,asthis pricingpol- www.indianexpress.com nine out of 10 organisations fail to implement quantumleap to achieve ajustsociety. near-perfect process is to build in avigilant tweenhumaningenuity and themiraclesof icy is suretohaveanimpact on the pace their well-thought-out plans? Whydomost What is causing this implementation monitoring andevaluation mechanism, thecustomisedtechnology.The project mas- of the economicrecovery and employ- fail to realise that implementation is the key deficit? Do we lack political commitment whichisbothfirm and benign. Adynamic ter-craftedand accomplishedunder the ad- ment generation. and end up withsub-par resultsand uncom- and support? The processes of implementa- monitoring mechanism makes useoftech- ministrative guidance of AKBhalla, the then Sudip Kumar Dey, Kolkata PATRONISING pletedprojects? tion arecomplex,particularly giventhe di- nology,whichtoday is being built intovari- secretary, , Ministryof This enquiryand the associated chal- verse demands on, and the challenges faced ous flagship programmes initiated by the Power, sets unparalleledbenchmarks in the LEFT REWARDED THIS REFERS TO the article, ‘In reform lies lenges gain special focus in the contextofthe by,the implementers. present government. country’s developmentjourney. the farmer’s interest’ (IE December 18). politically-unanimous agenda forall-round What arethe enabling and empowering In the interestofachieving wholesome The political leadership both at the na- THIS REFERS TO the editorial, ‘Leftturn in MadhyaPradesh Chief MinisterShivraj growth. Mostofusprobablysaw India in the conditionswhichcan makethe difference? It implementation,itwould be desirable to set tionaland the statelevel is the mostcrucial Kerala’ (IE,December 18). Thestate’s rul- SinghChouhan andhis party’sapproach recent pastasaland of excavations —public would appear that India needs to work on the up an autonomous “Monitoring Trust” as an forcebehind the success of the implementa- ing LDF’s resounding victoryinlocal —ofnot classifying farmers as agroup streets, internal roads, waterand sewerage, implementation and reforms processes in a integral partofall important public policies tion machinery. This spirit and authority travel body polls, in the face of an opposition with legitimategrievances and capable flyovers and highwayslying, as if perpetually wider manner,with the primaryaim of at- and programmes. The proposedTrustcan down to thelocal leaders and managers. It smear campaign, reflected thepeople’s of thinking foritself and instead feeding dug out, and projects remaininguncom- taining fast-paceddevelopment and effective comprise coretechnical, administrative and does notmiss anybody’s notice howthe NDA’s approval of the achievementsofthe gov- the patronising notion of the farmer be- pletedwerecommon. These “ruins”ofmod- delivery of the intendedpublic benefits. This legal members, along withstakeholdersand team of motivatedministers ledbyPrime ernment, especiallywelfareschemes ing anaive simpleton—led to the cur- ern development result in awastage of scarce effort mustalso meetthe demands of quality social activists. MinisterNarendraModi has helped evolve a and grassroots interventions, including rent protests.The government does not public resources and hurtthe common man. and public probity. Engagingstakeholdersandimplementers, world-classmodel to implement acomplex housing forthe poor.The onlyconsola- seemableto fully grasptheimplications Theyalso hurthis trustand faith in the dem- It would thus help to highlight certain im- throughvariousmethodologies,isfastemerg- socialdevelopment agenda.Suchanendeav- tion forthe UDF wasthe slight upper of their grievance,whichiswhy itis hav- ocratic system, as this implementation-fail- portant prerequisites, whichcan bring greater ingasaneffective strategy—indeeditneedsto ourineffectiveimplementationalonecan hand it gainedinmunicipalities. Though ing trouble communicating with the ureunderlines the system’s inefficiency,un- efficiency to implementationprocesses.The be seenasagoal in itself.Sharinginformation convergewith good governance, bold inno- the BJP improveditstally from 2015,the community.Perhapsthe writer and his accountable processes, corruptionand,above firstrequirement, obviously, would be aca- and progress through dashboards and other vation,rewardingdelivery andthe transfor- party could notreachanywhere close to party should drop the annadata trope all, the lackofsingle-mindednessinthe po- pable implementing machine—or what has technologytools,invitingsuggestionsthrough mation of marginalisedhuman lives. itsambitious plans. and treat them as citizens first. litical leadership. been calledthe “perfect administration”, IT portals likeMyGovdemocratise and enrich SS Paul, Nadia Animesh Mohan, Ballia Indiahas had mixed experiencespost- drivenbypassionateteam leaders.The prime both policy formulationand execution. Also, The writer,anIAS officer,isDeputy Independence. Theconsolidated develop- rule of the game is: Brooknodelay. The guid- generating largerparticipationand asense of Secretary,Ministry of Commerce andIndustry

Pune WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,DECEMBER21,2020 @ieExplained #ExpressExplained 10 If thereare questions of current or contemporaryrelevancethat youwould like E EXPLAINED explained, please [email protected]

EXPLAINED FINANCE CORONAVIRUS DASHBOARD Coronavirus spike protein Respected Finance Minister imagedinits naturalstate Ahead of the Budget, one of India’stop capital marketsexpertswrites an open letter to FinanceMinister

CORONAVIRUSES INCLUDINGSARS- Nirmala Sitharaman, listing adozen ways to raise funds to finance India’s recovery from the pandemic CoV-2, whichcauses Covid-19, get their name from the “corona” or blockthe stuckcapital. From being equal to crownshape created by the protein us in the 1980s,China has leapfrogged to be- “spikes” on their surface. Thesespike EXPERT come five timesbigger,based on higher proteins bind with human proteins to credit creation. Suchdecadal blockageofcap- initiatethe process of infection. These EXPLAINS ital constrains credit creation and adversely spikes have been extensively studied Nilesh Shah impactsour growth. during the pandemic.Now,scientists Sale and lease-backof have made detailedimages of those FromThe Indian Express panel government properties spikes in theirnatural state—while of specialists, exclusive insight theyare still attachedtothe virus, and The government candoasale and without using chemical fixativesthat lease-backofits incredible sets of prop- Detailedstructureofa"spike" 8erties. Rental costtothe government might distort theirshape. Their method, whichcombines from acoronavirus that is a RespectedFinance Minister, will be lowerthan borrowing costthrough cryogenic electron microscopy(cryo- milder relative of SARS-CoV-2 gilts. Obviouslythe government will miss on EM) and computation, is describedin a K. Zhangetal., Quarterly Reviews of Despitedemands formoregovernment the real estate appreciation. Investors queue study in the Quarterly Reviews of BiophysicsDiscovery spending, totalexpenditurewas curtailed up to getthe government as along-term ten- Biophysics Discovery.The researchers by 0.6%, as totalreceipts droppedby33% in ant at attractive terms in alow-interest-rate said the method should 1H FY21. Youoptimisedspending, borrow- environment. Auction the bragging rightsof produce quickerand The research team ing and fiscal prudence. Covid-19impacted saying “the government is my tenant”. morerealistic snapshots lookedatamuchmilder segmentslikehospitality and MSMEs, of theinfectionapparatus coronavirus strain called whichneedfiscal support. Thereisdemand Estate Duty invariousstrainsofcoro- NL63, whichcauses com- forreduction in consumption taxesfor ape- In the United States,estate duty goes as navirus—acriticalstepin mon cold symptoms and riod of time to supportdemand creation. I high as 40%, albeit withseveral exemp- am sure youare inundated with demands 9tions. ManyIndians arehappilypaying designing therapeutic is responsible forabout drugs and vaccines. PAPER 10%ofhumanrespiratory formoney. Iamtaking the liberty to suggest estate dutyinthe US on their inherited assets “The advantageof disease eachyear.It’s ways to raise resources to finance spending. inIndia.We shouldlevyestate dutyonunpro- doingitthis wayisthat CLIP thought to attachtothe Theyaren’t easy,but if youwon’t makean ductive assets like precious metals &stones, when youpurify aspike same receptors on the attempt,who will? art,andoffshoreassets.Thiswillencouragein- protein and studyitin NEWRESEARCH surfaces of human cellsas vestment in financialassets that willprovide isolation, youlose im- SARS-CoV-2 does. Gold disclosurescheme domestic capital to accelerategrowth. portant biological context: Howdoes The team also identifiedplaces Like kasturi mrig,weare roaming the it look in an intactvirusparticle? It wheresugar molecules attachtothe 1worldsearching formoney, but areig- Plug taxloopholes couldpossiblyhaveadifferent struc- spikeprotein, aprocess that plays an norant of moneythat lies among us. In Ethical hackers arerewardedto turethere,” senior author WahChiu, a important role in the virus’s lifecycle the lasttwo decades, we have spent $373 bil- find loopholes in programming. lion fornet imports of gold. Smuggledgold 10 Ethical taxpractitioners should be professor at theUSDepartment of and in itsability to evade the immune Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator system. and jewelleryworn by travellers will take rewardedfor plugging taxloopholes. Forex- Laboratoryand StanfordUniversity, Source: SLAC National Accelerator that amount beyond $500billion. ample, thereisacottage industry runningto said in astatement from SLAC. Laboratory, Stanford Unfortunately, the bulk of this gold is convert interest income taxable at 43%to blockedinthe blackeconomy. AGold long-term capital gains taxable at 10% DisclosureScheme will mobilise taxes, un- through zero coupon listeddebentures. INDIA ACTIVE CASES 305,344 lockcapitallying in the black economy,and Dividend strippingcould take away hun- upgradeIndia’ssovereignrating. Goodstruc- dredsofcroresintaxes in thestock of atech turing and execution with precision, target- companythat recentlydeclared alarge div- 400,000 ing 10%ofthe stockofgold has the potential FinanceMinisterNirmala Sitharamanatapre-Budget meeting lastweek. PTI idend.You will be surprised what well-mo- to raise Rs 3,50,000 croreintaxes and un- tivatedethical taxpractitioners will be able 363,749 blockcapital of Rs 10,50,000 crore. to plug leaks in our taxsystem. Convert gold importduty 12 years, the trades belowbook at 0.92 times tributed 80% of non-tax revenue to the state. Improveease of doing despiteahighdividend yield of 2.9%. Plug the taxleakageon to GST Piecemeal and predictable marketdivest- investments 350,000 The levy of import duty on gold has en- ment among other reasons have resulted in smuggled/fakecigarettes In the lasttwo decades, morethan couraged smug- asharp de-rating of PSUs. As per the Tobacco InstituteofIndia, Rs 1,00,000 croreofinvestor 305,344 2gling and enhanced Successful strategic di- the representative body of stakehold- 11 moneyisstuckincollective invest- the attractiveness of gold 5ers in the tobacco industry, vestment of one PSU can ment schemes ranging from NBFCs, jew- by increasing therupee re-rateall PSUs. If PSUs smuggled/fakecigarettesaccount for25% of ellers, chit funds, Vishi (a scheme similar to LAST 10 DAYS value of gold. Ashiftof THEEXPERT trade at the higherend of cigarette volumes. It is suchanattractive chit fundsand popular in Gujarat), agro 300,000 taxationongold from im- NILESH SHAH, Managing their valuations, the mar- business that some of the Covid-19returnees tech/forest/emurearing companies.Buying Dec 10 Dec 19 portduty to GSTwillin- Director of Kotak ket value of thegovern- smuggledincigarettesfor quickgains. afinancial product isn’t as easy as buying crease taxrevenuesas MahindraAsset ment’s holdings will ap- We needtocurb smuggling of ciga- gold. Multipleand high-costofKYC con- Note: The Dec 19 figureinthis graphisbased on thegovernmentupdateonDec 20 smuggledgoldgives way Management Co Ltd, has preciate in excess of Rs rettes/manufacturing of fake cigarettes strains penetration of regulated financial to official imports. over aquartercentury’s 7,00,000crore. Forty-five through focusedefforts.This has the poten- productsamong bottom-of-the-pyramid in- Jewellers won’t be im- experience in capital per cent of HZL was tial to generatetaxes of Rs 10,000 crore. In vestors. Simple and cheaperKYC will ensure INDIA TOTAL CASES WORLDTOTAL CASES pacted due to the pass marketsand market- strategically divested in the longer term,weneedtobring bidi and moreflows to financialproductsand en- 10,031,223 76,559,930 through, but will come related investments. He is 2002-03 forRs769 crore. other tobacco products,whichaccountsfor hance availability of domestic capital to fi- underthe taxnet.Inthe one of the country’s most The residual 30% govern- 91%oftobaccoconsumption, in the taxnet. nance growth. Source:MinistryofHealth&Family Source:JohnsHopkinsUniversity, importdutyregime, the astutefinancial analysts. ment stakeisvaluedatRs Monetisation of enemy AllowPSUs to managetreasury Welfare,updatedat11pmonDec20 updatedat11pmonDec20 investor perceivesgoldas 30,000crore, an appreci- an item of investment, as ation of morethan 59 property assets on acommercial basis his costand market value times in 18 years. Properties (includingencroachedand Private corporates invest in mu- is the same at Rs 112.50 (12.5% importduty Bring blackmarketeconomyto disputed)and financial assets aggregat- tualfunds to optimise their treas- 6ing morethan Rs 1,00,000 crorehave on gold). In the GSTregime, theultimate 12 uryincome. PSUs don’t enjoysim- gold investor will have to payRs112.50 to whiteeconomy been heldbythe Custodian of Enemy Property ilar flexibility.Bettertreasurymanagement getgold valuedatRs100.Instant loss recog- Indians arelarge spenders in casinos at since 1968.Afasttrack mechanism to liqui- will help PSUs to paymoredividend and help nition will diminish misallocation of our Macau, Singapore, Las Vegas, and datethe same can raise resources andhelp re-ratevaluations. Imustdisclose my con- savings and makeavailable domestic capital 4Nepal. Large-scale betting happens on catchupwith Pakistan, whichliquidatedtheir flict as amutual fund manager.However, our to finance growth. the IPL,elections, andother events.Matka enemyproperties waybackin1971. clientswill vouchfor my suggestion. thrives. We mustlegalise suchactivities with Unblockcapital stuckin Therewillbemanyarguments whythe Realising better value forPSUs necessary safeguards. This will transit crim- above suggestionscan’tbeimplemented. In January2008, the BSE PSU Index inal activities to responsible businesses, raise commercial disputes Accelerated growth of India financedbydo- peaked at 11,205, and the Sensexat taxes, cut offfunding to criminals, andsup- From the 1992 securities scamtothe mestic capital is the onlyreason whythe 3 portthe tourism industrythat has been the 2018 IL&FS and DHFL cases, trillions of 20,827. After12years, the Sensexisup above suggestions needtobeimplemented. 7rupeesare stuckinthe absence of res- 2.25 times to 46,960, and the PSU Indexis hardesthit by Covid-19. In 2018,Keralalot- down 48%to5,871.The PSU Indexhaving un- tery had turnover of Rs 12,000 croreand a olution. Afast-trackmechanism forspeedy Yours truly, derperformedthe marketby173%inthe last profit of Rs 2,500Crore.Lottery sales con- resolution of commercial disputes will un- Nilesh Shah ReadingNFHSdata:whyfindingsofthelatestroundareofconcern

of representative households. The datais welfaremetrics have described the latest What is the significance of these UDITMISRA&NUSHAIBAIQBAL collected over multiple rounds. The CHILDNUTRITIONPARAMETERS resultsas“shocking”, “alarming” and “very results? NEWDELHI,DECEMBER20 MoHFW has designated International troublesome”. Worsening child malnutrition, as well Institute forPopulation Sciences in Mumbai ■ Gujarat ■ Kerala ■ Maharashtra ■ WestBengal The graphs alongside showwhy. as rising levels of anaemia in women (espe- THE MINISTRYofHealth and Family as the nodal agency and the survey is acol- On severalparameters, the number of ciallypregnant ones), pointstoIndian chil- Welfare(MoHFW) recentlyreleasedthe re- laborative effort of IIPS; ORCMacro, Chart1:InfantMortality(Deathsunderage Chart4:Proportionofunderweight statesworseningoverthelastround—NFHS- dren born in the past5years likelysuffer- sults from the firstphase of the National Maryland (US); and the East-West Center, 80 1per1,000livebirths) childrenunderage5(%) 4(2015-16)—isnot onlyhighbutoftenmore ing from both cognitive and physical 60 39.7 Family Health Survey (NHFS). This is the Hawaii (US). The survey is fundedbythe 60 31.2 thanthe numberofstatesimproving. deficiencies. 36.1 fifthsuchsurvey andthe firstphase —for United States Agency forInternational 40 23.2 40 What is mosttroubling is that on child In January2012, then Prime Minister whichdatawas collected in the second half Development (USAID) with supplementary 32.2 malnutrition parameters —suchasinfant had said thathigh child 20 22 20 of 2019 —covered 17 states and five Union supportfromUNICEF. 4.4 19.7 and child (under 5years of age) mortality, malnutrition levelinIndia was “anational 0 Territories. This is the fifthNFHS andreferstothe 1992 1998 2005 2015 2019 0 1992 1998 2005 2015 2019 child stunting (lowheight forone’s age), shame”. As it turns out,between NFHS-3 The mostimportant takeaway is that be- 2019-20 period. The firstfour referred to -93 -99 -06 -16 -20 -93 -99 -06 -16 -20 child wasting (low weight forone’s height) (2005-06) and NFHS-4 (2015-16), India tween 2015 and2019, severalIndian states 1992-93, 1998-99, 2005-06and 2015-16, Chart2:Stuntinginchildren (%) Chart3:Wastinginchildren(%) and proportion of underweight children — registeredits mostsignificant reduction in have sufferedareversal on severalchild respectively. severalstateshaveeither been stagnant or child malnutrition, thankstoaflurry of in- malnutrition parameters. In other words, 60 39 30 25.6 worsened. terventionssuchnutrition missions, instead of improving, severalstateshaveei- What datadoes it collect? 40 35.2 20 25.1 In other words, children born between Integrated Child Development Services, 33.8 20.3 therseen child malnutrition increase or im- The initial factsheetfor NFHS-5 provides 20 10 2014 and 2019 (that is, 0to5years of age) the introduction of MGNREGA andexpan- proveataveryslowrate. state-wise dataon131 parameters. These 23.4 15.8 aremoremalnourishedthan the previous sion of PublicDistribution System among The second phaseofthe surveywas dis- parameters include questions suchashow 0 0 generation. The reversal in the proportion of others. 6 6 9 5) 5) 3) 3) 3) 3) 3) 3) 93 ruptedbythe Covid-19pandemic; itsre- manyhouseholdsget drinking water, elec- 93 children who arestunted is the mostwor- The latestresultsshowthat health-wise, -20 -20 er er 5-1 15-1 05-06 sultsare expected to comeout in May2021. tricity and improved sanitation; what is sex 05-06 risome because unlike wastingand being India has takenaturn forthe worse since (und (und (under (under (under (under (under (under 201 20 1992- 1992- 1998-9 1998-99 2019 2019 20 The second phase will coversome of the ratio at birth, whatare infant and child mor- 20 underweight (whichcan be due to short 2015 despiteimprovements in wateravail- biggeststatessuchasUttar Pradesh, tality metrics, what is the status of maternal term reasons and represent acutemalnu- ability and sanitation methods. Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Jharkhand. and child health, howmanyhavehighblood trition), stuntingrepresentschronic mal- Health outcomes suchaschild malnu- Experts expect the second phase dataon sugar or high blood pressureetc. nutrition. Reversals in stunting areunheard trition dataare the result of acomplexset of child malnutrition to be even worse, given Eachround of NFHS has also expanded Whyare NFHSresultsimportant? That’sbecausethequestionsandthemethod- of in growing economies with stable reasons —ranging from thestate of afam- the all-round adverse impact of Covid—be the scope of inquiry. In the fifthiteration, The NFHS database is possiblythe most ology is internationallyvalid. Thus, it places democracies. ily’sincomegeneration to environmental it personal incomes, food availability, forinstance, thereare newquestions on important one because it notonlyfeeds into theresultsofsay childmalnutritiontrendsin Another causeofconcern is the fact that factors to government interventions. healthcareprovisioningetc. preschool education, disability,access to a theresearch needsandinformsadvocacybut Biharinthe global context. the firstphase dataispre-pandemicand it Expertssay thatonlywhenthe full set toiletfacility,deathregistration, bathing also is central to both centraland state-level is quitelikelythat the second phase — of rawunit-leveldataisavailable can a What is NFHS? practices during menstruation, and meth- policymaking. NFHS survey resultsalso pro- What has NFHS-5 found? whichwill also incorporateCovid’s impact proper analysis of whyIndia suffered such NFHS is alarge-scale nationwide survey ods and reasons forabortion. vide internationallycomparable results. Researchers and experts on healthand —may throw up ever poorerresults. reversals over the pastfiveyears be done.

Pune

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

11 THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,DECEMBER21,2020 IDEA EXCHANGE Newsmakersinthe Newsroom HEMANT SOREN, CHIEFMINISTER,JHARKHAND ‘ Senior leaders say Pak, China involved...Ifwelook at ‘ farmers with suspicion, it willhurt the community The Jharkhand CM says Oppn must examine “politics in small pockets” to take on BJP,denies special treatment to Lalu Prasad, says GST “has broken the backofstate governments” and talksofrebuildingtrustwith industryplayers to generatejobs in state. The sessionwas moderated by Deputy AssociateEditor Manoj CG

MANOJ CG:Whathas thelastone year thatinthese times of economic crisis, the If one looksatitfromalayman’s point as chief ministerofJharkhandbeen role of the stategovernment should also of view, then laws which makeblackmar- like?Whatweresome of the be looked into. But that didn’t happen and keting, hoarding, profiteering legal, how challenges that youfaced? the Centrehas been formulating itsown canthe peoplesupportit? Ordinarily, all

We came to powerwithalot of ex- rules... The country’s federal system exists these activities areconsidered acrime. I citement and enthusiasm, but the past onlyinname. think nowonlythe farmers areonstreets, year has been tough foreveryone. The (On Jharkhand’bureaucracy) In the but once the effect of the laws is evident, entireworld is stillbattling the pan- past20years, theBJP all kinds of people demic. The year has givenmeanewex- has been in power will come out to perience as aleader.Welearnt howto mostofthe time in Unfair to brand activists as ‘ protest. It is notright deal with awide-spread infectious dis- WHY the state. Beforemy to push 125crore ease. This experience will be amilestone term, therewas a Maoists. Jharkhand has people in hellfor the forus, and even forleadersinthe future. HEMANT SOREN double-engine gov- benefit of afew.I It will serveasareference pointtosee ernment in the state, large SC/STpopulation can’t supportit. howagovernment faces achallengeand fter BJP’svictoryin and those five years whichhavebeen exploited... The demands of overcomes them. general elections last weighedthe state the farmers don’t Our statehas adifferent natureand down. People diedof If people help... shouldn’tbe seem toobig. They Ayear,Soren’s JMM-led culture. The arrangementshereare differ- hunger,therewere ‘ only want the brandedMaoists ent. This is truefor everystate,and the alliance gave the Opposition farmer suicides, lack Minimum Support presentcrisis has tested the ability of each of employment... The Price to be legally of thesegovernmentstostand by itspeo- its first win in astate poll, previous govern- fixedsothat buying ple. For(Jharkhand’s) over three crore ment has failedinad- belowthat price be- population,wehavecreated afeeling of underlining the impactoflocal dressing these issues. We have neverdone comes acrime. Ican’t supportthe new strength in these tough times. issues. Son of three-time CM road shows outsidethe state. We want to laws.The government has takendecisions hold events in the statetoattract people in arush. MANOJ CG:Manyofthe Opposition ShibuSoren, his govt is set to here, through tourism etc. Forinstance, parties have raisedquestions about complete ayear in office we have aschool likeNetarhat Residential MANOJ CG:While youdefeated the theCentre’s measures during the School whichhas producedinnumerable BJP in Jharkhand, the Opposition has pandemic. What has your experience IAS officers, writers, poets... It is notjust largely failedtogivethe BJP agood of interacting with the Centrebeen an educational institution but also aher- fight in many other states.Why is during these months? itagesite. So Ifeel that Jharkhandactually that? Unfortunately, Ihavetosay that non- doesnot needtoask forhelp from outside. It is abig question. The Opposition’s BJP states have nothad agood experience. Butnow we arebeing forced to do so... The weaknesseshavemadethe BJP strong. It is thesame situationfor us too. Our state indifferenceofthe previous governments, The divisions within the Opposition are is among the backwardstatesinthe coun- and the ways of the bureaucracy have also to blame. The Opposition does not try, anditneeds the mostcareand atten- been responsible forthis. have anyone to give it adirection. tion. But instead of getting that, our state wasignored themost. Whether it is ABHISHEK ANGAD: Youmentioned MANOJ CG:The Congress is the healthcareoreconomic support, deathsdue to starvation.Why has country’s biggestOpposition party. Jharkhand has been dependent on the your government saidinthe What would your advicebefor Rahul Centre.Wewerehopingfor specialatten- Assembly then that no suchdeaths Gandhi and the party? tion and supportfromthe Centre, but did- have happened in the state? Earlier Political developmentshappen from n’t getany of it. this year,aman is saidtohavedied time to time. The Congress’s regional lead- of starvation in Bokaro. ership is quitestronginmanyparts of the MANOJ CG:There is alot of See, if thereare faults, we mustad- country. But to coordinatebetween all conversation nowoverthe issue of mit and address them. In the pastone Opposition parties and present ajoint op- availability of Covid-19vaccine forthe year we have worked alot on the up- position to the BJP is averybig challenge. common man. Have yougot any liftmentofthe social sector in the Thereneeds to be amiddle path to de- assurance from thePrimeMinister or state, and we have setanexample velop astrategy.Weneedtoexaminethe the Centrethat all residents of your forthe country. Youhavemen- politicsinsmall pockets andthen strate- statewillget the vaccine? tionedone incident, and if it is true, gise... The Congress is abig organisation, it Yes, the conversation about the vac- then it is very sad. Those responsi- has think-tanks, thiscan be done. The cinehas been going on forsome time. ble foritwill be punished. We won’t Opposition has to firstacceptthe ground Thereare alot of questions regard- letthem getawayorhide the facts. reality of the country. ing the availability of the vaccine, But forthe future,weare strength- even though the vaccine is not eningthe systems, so that suchan MANOJ CG:After theBihar elections, hereyet.During the Bihar incidentnever happens. thereweretalksabout howgiving the elections the BJP saidthat During the pandemic, we ran Congress party 70 seatstocontestin the statewouldbethe first Didi Kitchens in everypanchayat, on the statewas notagood decision.Is to be givenfreevaccine. highways. Forthree-four months, the Congress becoming aliability for In suchasituation, what about four crorepeople were givenfree regional parties? kind of priority will meals. Using our ownresources, we have If afew of us had also joinedthe al- states suchas ensured that 15 lakhration cardsare liance, the performancecouldhavebeen Jharkhand get?... In the made, and theywill be distributedfrom better.Itwould notberight to saythat the supplyofthe vaccine, December 29 onwards. No onewill be government could notbeformedbecause the Central govern- without ration. of the Congress. It is notjustimportant to ment will playanim- We have also decided to have acorpus winseats, but we also need astrongal- portant role, and we in panchayats, so thatevenifone person liance that is on the same page. will find out howitpri- has acomplaint, arationcardisarranged oritises states once the forthem. So yes, even one incident (of DIPANKAR GHOSE: Recently, Union supplychain is setin- to starvation death) will be takenseriously Minister PiyushGoyal said thatifthe motion. by thegovernment. farmers’ protestisfreed from Maoist and Naxalforces, they will MANOJ CG:You mentionedthat state SANTOSH SINGH: Therehavebeen understand thebenefitofthe new governmentsdid notget enough accusations of special treatment for laws.Inthe past, people arrested in supportfromthe Centre during the jailed RJD supremoLalu Prasad, who the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon pandemic. What aresomeofthe has been admitted at Rajendra case have been labelledas‘urban measures that the Centrecouldhave InstituteofMedical Sciences (RIMS) Naxal’. As astate that has experience takeninthisperiod? Illustration: Suvajit Dey in Ranchi forovertwo years now. in dealing with Naxalism, howdoyou

Jharkhand wasamongthe firststates Howwould yourespond to that? look at these developments? thathad asked theCentretoallow mi- Also, your party couldn’t join the Theissue of urban Naxalism hasbeen grant workers to return (when the coron- sought permission from the Centreto 10,000 jobs. do is implementthe Centre’s schemes. alliance with the RJD during the atalking point across the countryfor some avirus lockdown wasimposedinMarch- makeour ownlaboratories operational, Our skilling schemes arealso being And what happens is that when the Biharelections. Do youhaveany time now. In Jharkhand, (Jesuitpriestand April). It wasn’t allowed. On the other but theretoo we got little help. Finally, we implemented,and we areexploring dif- schemes start, it is a50:50 sharing (be- regretsregarding that? tribal rights activist) Stan Swamywas ar-

hand, BJP-ruledstatessuchasUttar setupfourworld-class testinglaborato- ferent trade options. We arelooking at tween the Centreand the state),then it As farasLaluji is concerned, thehelp rested (in Octoberinthe Elgar Parishad- Pradesh took measures that were against ries in the stateonour own. Today, we products that canbeusedwithin the state. becomes60:40,then 70:30, and finally extendedtohim is in terms of health serv- Bhima Koregaon case). Maoism has never the Centre’s guide- have RT-PCRtesting Thecountry’s economic situation has the stategovernment ices.The same hospi- scared me, Imovearoundfreelyinmy lines to getits people facilities in all our dis- been shaken because of the pandemic, has to bear all the ex- talalso has the state. One question that we needtoask home.Then,evenwe tricts. andmanyofthe industries thatweap- penses. biggestCovid-19 here is whether thesepeople we aretalk- ‘ said that if youdon’t In suchtimes of economic proachedare scared to invest now. Today, there is a There have been questions ‘ ward... Now, if some- ing about areideological Maoists or allowus, then we crises, role of stategovts ABHISHEK ANGAD: Also, because of some of the past lotofconcern over over availabilityofCovid-19 thing happens, the dummyMaoists.Itwould be unfair to will have to defy the What areyou schemes, therewas alossoftrust. We the fact that our stategovernment is brand asocial activistaMaoist. Jharkhand Centre’s guidelines. must be looked into. doing to ensure have been working on rebuilding that state’s budget is Rs vaccine. In Bihar polls, BJP responsible forit. has alarge population of SC/STcommu- The difficult con- employmentfor trustand manyindustryplayers have 85,000crore, butthe When we shifted nities whichhavebeen exploited by dif- dition thatmigrant Centre has been forming the migrant givenusapositive response and are actual resources are said state will get free him to aprivate ferent sections. If some people help these workers found ownrules... Federal system workers whohave preparing to invest in abig way... Mines onlyworth Rs 25,000 vaccine. What prioritywill ward,the Covid-19 communities, theyshould notbe themselvesinduring ‘ returnedtothe and minerals have been the general em- crore. Of this,about ‘ infection wasatits brandedMaoists. the lockdown was exists only in name stateinthe past ployment sector in the state. We aretry- Rs 18-19,000 croreis states likeJharkhand get? peak. Wherehewas Thereare dummyMaoists in the state visible to everyone. months?And, ing to exploreother avenues as well. We giveninsalaries. being treated earlier, who pushed blackmarketingofminer- People were reach- what is the give 4-5 lakh cycles to poorchildren every What kind of work the building attached als. Forthe firsttime, we releasedpic- ing out to us from all progressonthe year,whichmeans we purchase 5lakh cy- can happen in Rs 8- to hiswardwas our tures of such Maoists in newspapers and over the country, and it wasbecoming a schemesthat youannouncedsince cles in ayear.Why then do we nothavea 10,000 crore? coronavirus headquarter. Thedecision to television channels, so that everyone matter of concern forus. Somehow, things thelockdown in Jharkhand? cycle plant in thestate?Soweare now So that is whyweheld meetings with shifthim to acottage wasanadministra- knows whothese peopleare,and we get movedforward.First, the number of trains Jharkhand has astrong labour force, telling corporates to setupproduction all PSUs and mine owners in the state, and tive one. The cottagewas empty. If it was the supportoflocals in solving the prob- travelling to the statewas notenough. We and it couldhavebeen capitalisedinabig unitshere, whichwill generateemploy- reviewedthe business thattheycon- notso, he would have been movedtoa lem...About 80 per cent of the state is ru- had to getpeople airliftedfromthe way. In the past, it wasnot done by the ment and also helpwith social activities ducted with thegovernment. Iwas sur- room in the hospital. It wasnot apolitical ral. If we give priority to rural regions in Andaman &Nicobar islands, from Ladakh, state’s labour department. When Ilearnt in the state. prised to find that manyofthe Centre’s decision by the government. our development programmes, then Assam... Somehow, we got our that peoplemigrate from thestate in such bodies such as SAIL, Coal India had dues (Alliance in Bihar elections) Yes, it was such(Maoist) activities won’t lastlong. people back. largenumbers, Iwas concerned.So, I ABHISHEKANGAD: Yourecently to the tune of lakhs of crores of rupees.In sad.Wecouldhavehelpedthe RJDinafew (On Piyush Goyal’s comment) Iheard As farashealthcareisconcerned... The startedmanyschemes to generateem- conducted reviews of state the firstmeetingitself, we foundthatCoal seats, and maybethe Opposition borethe that he even said Pakistanand China are Centrehad receivedalot of donations ployment. government departments. Whydid India had to give us Rs 1.5lakh crore, and brunt of it, and the RJD failedtocome to involved (in the farmers’ protest). When from big corporatehousesaspart of the We explored the MGNREGAscheme youfeel the needtodothat,and what with interest, the CentreowesusRs3lakh poweryet again in the state. such asenior leadermakes suchacom- Prime Minister’s NationalRelief Fund, and in abig way, and when compared to the did youlearn from it? crore. To recoverthis money, we have ment...The newgeneration must think theyhad assured all the states that venti- last20years, we created arecordnumber The executive bodies, bureaucracy formedacommittee under the leadership HARIKISHAN SHARMA: Farmers have about the basis of suchstatements. The lators will be provided. The number of of jobs. The MGNREGAwages were also help implement our ideas and vision on of the chief secretary. been protesting againstthe three new BJP’s rate of spreading propaganda is ventilators that finallyarrived were very lowinthe pastand we also decided the ground. But we have been alittle dis- We also broughtreforms in the taxa- farm laws at Delhi’s border formany very high... Insulting farmers likethis... negligible. to increase it... We brought backgirls who appointed on this account. Isaw alittle tion system. Youknowthat the GSThas days now. Non-BJP-ruledstatessuch Therehavebeen severalfarmers’ In the early days of thepandemic, we worked as bondedlabourersinother less creativity... Their role is notjustabout broken the backofstate governments. The as Punjab, Rajasthan and protests in the past. If we look at them did notevenhaveCovid-19testing facili- states and nowtheir monthlyearnings implementing ideas...matters suchas waythe government is distancing itself, Chhattisgarh have passed laws in with suspicion, it willhurtthe commu- ties in the state. Samples had to be taken have gone up.OnDecember 29, our gov- wealth collection arealso important. If soon we will become helpless. their states to counter the Centre’s nity alot.Theyprovide food to theentire to our neighbouring states and the results ernment completesayear,and by thereisacrisis of wealth in the state, noth- Ihavebeen flagging these issues in laws.Doyou plan to do thesame in countryand theyshould notbefacing took 15-20 days to arrive.Werepeatedly February-March we arehoping to create ing can happen. In suchacase, all youcan meetings with the Prime Minister. Isaid the future? suchallegations.

Pune WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,DECEMBER21,2020 12 THE WORLD

TOPOFTHE WORLD Bidenintroduceshis climateteam,says ‘notimetowaste’ Adamaged vehicle at thesiteofablastin Kabul. Reuters ASSOCIATEDPRESS WILMINGTON,DECEMBER20

AFGHANISTAN JUSTASthe United States has 9deadasKabul neededaunified, national re- sponsetoCovid-19, it needs one bombingtargets fordealing with climate change, President-elect Joe Biden said lawmaker Saturdayasherolledout key Kabul: Acar bombing in membersofhis environmental Kabul targeting an Afghan team. lawmaker killed at least Medical teams celebrate before receiving their Covid-19vaccine at TelAviv’s Sourasky Medical Center in Israel Sunday. Reuters “We literallyhavenotime to nine people, officials said. waste,” Biden told reporters as Lawmaker Khan introducedhis choices. Mohammad Wardak sur- The approachisashiftfrom vivedthe blastbut is US lawmakers resolve federal dispute, Donald Trump’s presidency, Joe BidenatThe Queen Theater in Wilmington, Delaware. AP/PTI among 20 injured includ- whichhas been markedbyef- ingwomen and children, fortstoboostoil and gasproduc- Afghan Interior Minister race to close Covid stimulus deal tion while rolling backgovern- the Senate. Agency.Regan, the stateenviron- Massoud Andarabi said. It ment effortsintendedto NewMexico Representative mental head since 2017,has is unclear whether the ex- safeguardthe environment. The DebHaaland would be thefirst made aname forhimself by pur- plosive wasplanted in a whohavebeen racingtocom- Biden Jr.’s victory. On Sunday, he the pandemic, and fund the dis- incoming Biden team will tryto Native Americantoleadthe suing cleanups of industrial tox- car parkedonthe law- THENEWYORKTIMES pleteapackagetorushdirect pay- tweetedhis frustration with tributionofvaccines. undo or blockmanyofthe cur- Interior Department, whichhas ins and helping the low-income maker’s routeorifavehi- WASHINGTON,DECEMBER20 ments, unemploymentbenefits Congress fornot yetactingona Congressionalleaders plan to rent administration’s initiatives. wielded influence overthe na- andminority communities sig- cle with the bomb wasbe- and food and rental assistance to stimulus and signaledthat he merge the$900billion compro- Therealso will be an emphasis tion’s tribes forgenerations. She nificantlyaffected by pollution. ing drivenbyabomber, US SENATORS were on the brink millions of Americans struggling would want largerdirect pay- misemeasurewithacatchall on looking out forthe low-in- said her lifehas notbeen easy. Biden’s nominee to oversee Andarabi added.Noone of agreement on a$900billion financiallyduring the coronavirus mentsthan the $600payments omnibus packagethat will keep come, working class and minor- She struggledwith homeless- the CouncilonEnvironmental has claimedresponsibility compromise relief bill after pandemic, aswellasrelief to busi- currentlyunder discussion. the government funded forthe ity communities hit hardestby ness and reliedonfood stamps Quality is Brenda Mallory. The forthe blast. REUTERS breaking through an impasse nesses and funds forvaccinedis- “GET IT DONE, and give them remainder of the fiscal year. fossil fuel pollution and climate at one point. office oversees environmental lateSaturdaynight, with votes tribution. Although negotiators moremoneyindirect pay- House leadersnotifiedlawmak- change. “This moment is profound reviews forvirtually allmajor in- on final legislation expectedto were stillwrangling oversmaller ments,” he wroteonTwitter. ers to preparefor votes as soon In his remarks, Bidenstressed when we consider the fact that frastructureprojectsand advises unfold as early as Sunday after- issues, the Federal Reservelan- While Congress approved as early Sunday afternoon. But the diversityofanemerging aformer secretaryofthe Interior the president on major environ- NEPAL noon and very likelyjusthours guage hademergedasthe biggest $1,200direct payments in the lawmakers have yettosee the team that he described as “bril- once proclaimedhis goal, wasto mental issues. If confirmed, she Report:Airline before the government is setto impediment to afinal agreement. $2.2 trillion stimulus lawthat text foreither legislative pack- liant, qualified, tested andthey quote, ‘civilize or exterminate’ would be thefirstAfrican run out of funding. “If things continue on this passedinMarch,lawmakers are age, and, particularly in the arebarrier-busting.” us,” Haaland said. “I’maliving Americantoholdthe position flew69towrong Senator PatrickJToomey, path,and nothing gets in the coalescing around $600pay- Senate, asingle senator could “Already thereare morepeo- testament to thefailureofthat sinceitwas created more than Republican of Pennsylvania, way, we’ll be abletovotetomor- mentsfor this round in part to potentiallydelaypassagepast ple of color in ourCabinetthan horrific ideology.” half acenturyago. destination agreedSaturdaynight to narrow row,”Mr. Schumer said. “House maintainRepublicansupportand the midnightfunding deadline. anyCabinetever, morewomen Former two-term Michigan Twoothermembers of the Kathmandu: Passengers his effort to rein in the Federal and Senate.” to keepthe pricetagofthe meas- Representative James E. than ever,” said theformer vice Governor Jennifer Granholm is in team introducedSaturdaydo bound forNepal's Reserve and acceptedanoffer One of the potential remain- ureunder $1 trillion. The emerg- Clyburn of South Carolina, the president,who haspromisedto line to be energy secretary. She notneedSenateconfirmation. Janakpur were in forasur- put forwardbySenator Chuck ingstumbling blocksis President ing deal would also provide en- No.3Democrat in the House, said assemble agroup of department described arriving in theU.S. at Theyare Gina McCarthy, to serve prise aftertheyended up Schumer,Democrat of NewYork Donald Trump, who has largely hancedfederal joblesspayments on MSNBC that he hopedthe leg- leaders who reflect the diversity age4and brought from Canada as national climateadviser,and in Pokhara, 255 km from and the minority leader, accord- been removedfromthe stimu- of $300per week until early islationcould clear the House be- of America. by afamily “seekingopportunity.” Ali Zaidi, to serveasher deputy. the actual destination,af- ing to three aides familiar with lus negotiations as he continues spring. It wouldalso provide hun- fore midnight. Without that, he The nominees Biden intro- NorthCarolina official McCarthy wasEPA administra- terarareflight mix-up by the discussion. to attackthe outcome of the dredsofbillions of dollars to prop said, Congress would likelytake ducedSaturdayhad compelling Michael Reganwould be thefirst torfrom2013to2017during aleading privatecarrier, The agreement wasacritical November 3election and under- up small businesses, schools and up another stopgap spending bill personal storiesthat theycited AfricanAmerican man to run the President BarackObama’s sec- according to amedia re- breakthrough forlawmakers mine President-elect Joseph R. other institutions struggling amid to avoid alapse in funding. as guiding them if confirmedby Environmental Protection ond term. portonSunday. The inci- denthappenedonFriday to 69 passengerstravel- Donald Trump ling on Buddha Air,The European neighbours restrict travel to EU-UK tradetalks Kathmandu Post re- downplays Russia ported. Buddha Air ad- in first comments mitted to serious lapses Britainasnew coronavirusstrain spreads flounderoverfish on itsside, the report said. on cyberattack Aviation expertssay such on incoming travel from Britain

incidents mayhappen, REUTERS ED covers Eurostarservices via the as cutoffday nears but theyhappenquite LONDON,DECEMBER20 ChannelTunneland willtakeef- ASSOCIATEDPRESS rarely. PTI fect foratleast24hours from WASHINGTON,DECEMBER20 2016 referendum. SEVERAL EUROPEAN countries AIN Mutantstrain midnight on Sunday, broad- RAFCASERT Johnson is seeking to make

PAKISTAN placednew restrictions on travel PL moreinfectious casterVRT said. CONTRADICTINGHIS secretaryof BRUSSELS,DECEMBER20 surethat as muchaspossible of to and from the United Kingdom Italian Foreign MinisterLuigi stateand other topofficials, the shared British waters are

EX E● 50pilotslose on Sundaydue to concern overa di Maio, announcing plans to President DonaldTrumpon DEEP INTOacrucial weekend of nowreturnedtoUKvessels only. licenseforover newstrain of the coronavirus THE NEW Covid-19strain wasidentifiedinsoutheastern halt flights to and from Britain, Saturdaysuggestedwithout evi- negotiations, abreakthrough on The EU has always main- that is spreadingrapidlythere. England in September andhas been circulating in the area said: “Our priorityistoprotect dence that China -- notRussia-- fishingrightsremainedelusive tainedthat those waters have fakecredentials Belgium said it would close since, according to WHO's technical lead on the virus, Italyand our compatriots.” maybebehind the cyberattack forthe European Union and been shared fordecades, if not Islamabad: The Pakistan itsborders to trains andplanes Maria VanKerkhove,who said that it "does have increased The Netherlands banned againstthe United States and Britain, leaving both without a centuries, and insists if toomany governmenthascancelled coming from the United transmissibility,interms of itsability to spread". flightscarrying passengers from triedtominimize itsimpact. trade agreementthatwould dull fishing rightsare takenaway, it thelicencesof 50pilotsfor Kingdom and the Netherlands However, Britain's chief medical officer Chris Whitty the UK from Sunday andthe re- “TheCyber Hackisfar greater the edge of achaotic, costly eco- will punish Britain by imposing flyingwithfake credentials also suspendedflights. Italysaid said that while the newstrain is greatlymoreinfectious, strictions will remain in place in the Fake NewsMedia than in nomic break on NewYear's Day. hefty importfees to the main- and authoritieswill probe it wasplanning asimilar ban. "thereisnocurrent evidencetosuggest(it) causes ahigher until January1. actuality.Ihavebeen fullybriefed With hundredsofthousands land market,whichisessential howtheyobtainedthecer- British Prime MinisterBoris mortality rate or that it affectsvaccines and treatments". Germanycould impose re- andeverythingiswellundercon- of jobs at stakethroughout the to the UK seafood industry. tificates through unfair Johnson and scientists an- strictions on flightsfromthe trol,"Hetweeted.Healsoclaimed economy, thetinysector of fish- The stalematehas left the means, the country's Civil nouncedonSaturdaythat the United Kingdomand South the media are “petrified” of “dis- eries continuedtodrive awedge overall talksinconclusive with Aviation Authority has in- newvirusstrain had ledtospi- Covid-19 restrictions forLondon millions of people. Africa -- whichhas also detected cussingthepossibilitythat itmay between the 27-nation bloc and businesses on both sides clam- formedatop courthere. ralling infection numbers. The and nearbyareas and disrupted Belgian Prime Minister anew coronavirus strain--- the beChina(itmay!).”Thereisnoev- the UK, highlighting the animos- ouring foradeal that would save The issue of fake licences UK governmenttightenedits the Christmas holidayplans of Alexander de Croo said the ban German Health Ministrysaid. idence to suggestthat is the case. ity that drovethem to aBrexit di- tens of billions in costs. surfacedinwakeofthe vorceoverthe pastfour years. Johnson, though, could not crash of aPakistan Britain leftthe bloc in January be budged. InternationalAirlines Daniel Pearl murder accused: Scapegoat, held under US pressure but the 11-month economic “We needtoget anydeal plane in Karachi on May transition period ends on right and basedonterms which 22, killing 97 people.The Pearl, the 38-year-oldSouth report on Sunday, Faisal Siddiqui, the real culprit wasRehman. December 31. respect what the British people Dawn newspaper re- SAJJADHUSSAIN Asia bureauchief for The Wall Pearlwas counsel forPearl's parents, has The letter wasproduced dur- British Prime MinisterBoris voted for,”his office said. portedthatauthoritiestold ISLAMABAD,DECEMBER20 Street Journal,was abducted and abducted, producedthe handwrittenletter ing ahearing of the appeals Johnson'soffice said on Sunday The EU parliament needs to the Islamabad high court beheadedwhile he wasin beheadedin in the Supreme Courtinwhich againstthe acquittal of the four that the EU is “continuingto approveany deal before theend that underthe require- ALAWYER representing the par- Pakistaninvestigating astory in Pakistan Sheikh claimed that the real cul- accusedinthe Pearlmurder case. makedemands that areincom- of theyear and had setaSunday mentsoftheInternational entsofslain US journalistDaniel 2002 on the linksbetween the in 2002 prit wasamilitant,Attaur Athree-judgespecial benchled patible with our independence. nightdeadline so it could have a CivilAviationOrganisation, Pearlhasproducedahandwritten country's powerful spyagency Rehman, from Karachi. by Justice Mushir Alam heard We cannotacceptadeal that cursoryvetting of the deal and theyhavereviewedli- letterinPakistan'sSupremeCourt ISI and al-Qaeda. Siddiqui told the courtthe let- the appeals of the Sindh govern- doesn't leave us in control of our approveitbeforeNew Year's Day. cences of 860 commercial in whichthe key accusedinthe British-born al-Qaeda leader April, theywereexonerated by terwas submitted to the Sindh ment and Pearl's parentsagainst ownlawsorwaters”. Negotiators,however, seemed pilots and cancelled50of caseclaimedthathewasa“scape- AhmedOmar SaeedSheikh and the SindhHigh Courtand an ap- HighCourt on July 19,2019. the high courtruling. The almostmythicalsenseof little impressedbyyet another them afterathorough goat” arrested under “US pres- his three aides were convicted peal againsttheir acquittal is be- In the letter,Sheikh claimed The courtwill decide on it on Britain's rightstorule itswaves deadline when so manyhad al- scrutiny. PTI sure” and the real mastermind and sentencedinthe abduction ing heardinthe Supreme Court. that he was “ascapegoat” ar- the next dateofhearing on wasanessentialpartofwhat ready been missedduring the wasaKarachi-basedterrorist. and murder case of Pearl. In According to a Express Tribune rested on “US pressure”and that January4. PTI droveBrexiteers to victoryinthe four-year departureprocess. AP US: Nirav Modi’s brother Once aslogan of unity, ‘Je Suis Charlie’ now divides France charged with $2.6 mn fraud againstterrorists who believed the graphic designerwho cre- partof“apolitical fight that NORIMITSUONISHI& that the magazine had insulted ated the slogan, whichhesaw as seekstogeneratedivisions, to Manhattan's iconic diamond in- CONSTANTMÉHEUT Islam with itscartoons lampoon- a “security blanket:‘Je suis distinguish those who arewith YOSHITASINGH dustryto defraudour businesses PARIS,DECEMBER20 ing the ProphetMuhammad. Charlie —we’reinittogether.’” us and those who areagainstus.” NEWYORK,DECEMBER20 or consumers,”Vance said. But the once unifying slogan Today, someone whois The slogan put “oil on the According to the indictment, In the hours afterthe 2015 has become one of division in Charlie is likelytobewhiteand fire”burning in France, Mr.Truc NEHALMODI, the younger courtfilings,and statements Islamistterroristattackonthe France —framing complicated supporterofthe caricatures’ pub- said, referring to issues thathe brother of fugitive diamantaire made on therecord in court,be- Frenchsatiricalmagazine Charlie debates in everydayconversa- lication. At itsextreme, the per- said the countryhad failedtore- Nirav Modi, has been indicted tween March 2015 and August Hebdo, aslogan emergedto tions and popular culture, on so- son maybackastrict secularism solve over thepastfiveyears, like hereforfraudulentlyobtainingdi- 2015,Nehal, aformer member of mourn the dead and defend free cial media and even as partof that at times is acover foranti- Islamism, freedom of speechand amonds worthover$2.6 million Noble TitanHoldings, made false speech, spreading likemagic school curriculums. Islam.Someonewho’snot the place of religion in public life. fromoneof theworld'sbiggest di- representations to obtain over across France and the globe “IamCharlie” gave birth to “I Charlie is oftennonwhiteand op- Itspotential explosiveness amondcompaniesinManhattan. $2.6 million worthofdiamonds through itsunifying force. am notCharlie,” giving rise to a poses the cartoons’ publication. wasondisplay during arecent Nehal, 41,ischargedinaNew from LLDDiamondsUSA on “Je suis Charlie.” question that demands picking The person could go as farasjus- interviewthat President York Supreme Courtindictment favourable credit terms and con- Pictures of the slogan, “Iam camps: Areyou or areyou not tifying Islamist terrorismoraban EmmanuelMacron gave to an with Grand Larcenyinthe First signment,and then liquidated Charlie” —inwhite andlight gray Charlie? The answer putspeople The slogan’s metamorphosis exposes the polarization of of all criticismofreligion. online youth-oriented news site, Degree, Manhattan District the diamonds forhis ownends. lettersonablack background — on either side of France’s major political discourse in France. Reuters File Once aslogan that tran- Brut. Areader with an Arabic AttorneyCyVance, Jr.said. Nehal's brother Nirav,49, is inspired millions whomarched fault lines, includingfreedom of scendedpolitical cleavages, “Je name, Karim, asked him, “I’m “While diamonds maybefor- wanted in India on chargesof in Franceand were joinedby speech, secularism, race, na- Suis Charlie” has nowbeen French, Ilovemycountry. ButI ever,this flawedscheme wasnot, fraudand moneylaundering in worldleaders from Western and tional identity and, of course, amiddle schoolteacher and two of itsown,the slogan itself helped largely embracedbythe right am notCharlie. Am Iallowedto and nowModi will face the clar- the $2-billion Punjab National Muslim nations alike. Hollywood Islam. other recent Islamistattacksthat sharpenFrance’s divisions. and created splitsonthe left. be?” ity of aNew York SupremeCourt Bank scam case. He remainsat A-listers likeGeorge Clooneypro- The slogan’smetamorphosis followedthe republication of the “Iwish this slogan would Gérôme Truc, asociologist at Mr.Macron repliedthat indictment.MyOffice will notal- Wandsworth Prison in London, claimed, “Je suis Charlie.” So did exposesthe polarization of polit- caricatures of the Prophet cease to existbecause in the the National Center forScientific Karim was, but then added: “I lowindividuals who have the wherehehas been lodgedsince Maggie on TheSimpsons.All ical discourseinFrance, further Muhammadby CharlieHebdoin form it’s takentoday, it deepens Research,said the slogan had think we mustget away from the privilege of solicitingbusiness in his arrest in March 2019. PTI standing togetherasCharlie deepenedbythe decapitation of September.But as it took on alife the divide,” said Joachim Roncin, been steadilyweaponizedas slogan.” NYT

Pune WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,DECEMBER21,2020 MarketWatch FPISINVEST `54.9K CR IN DEC SO FAR NewDelhi: Foreign portfolio investors(FPI) pumped in Rs 54,980 crore in domesticmarkets —Rs48,858crore into equities and Rs 6,122 crore into debt segment —between December 1and 18, amidst 13 ECONOMY PTI availabilityofexcessliquidityand hopes of fresh stimulus.

CABINETNOD SOUGHT IN OCTOBER,BUT DEFERREDAFTER OBJECTIONS INTERVIEW WITH CEO, ZURICH AIRPORT INTERNATIONAL ASIA ITMinrestartstalksonuseofAIfor ‘Doingpassengerstudies to understand requirements of welfareschemes,trialrunplanned travellersfrom north India’

could be puttobetteruse. Some “It remains our collective re- DESPITE HAVINGpresence in So,Iwouldn’t rule outthatinfu- AASHISHARYAN MEETINGSWITHINDUSTRYONAIUSECASES concerns of job losses have been sponsibility to ensuretrustin India forovertwo decades thro- turewemightwork togetherwith NEWDELHI,DECEMBER20 highlighted andweare working howAIisused. Algorithm trans- ughits investment in Bengaluru astrategicpartner to makesure ■ Over the course of this ■ According to senior to solve those,” asenior govern- parencyiskey to establishing airport, developing andmanag- that we have the necessaryfunds THE MINISTRYofElectronics and year,the Ministryof government officials, the ment official said. this trust. Equallyimportant is ing aGreenfield airport in Uttar to reinvest.Atthemoment,forthe Information Technologyhas re- Electronics and industryhas flaggedabout The push for “judicious” use accountability.Wemustprotect Pradesh has come to provea development of the ( startedconsultations withother Information Technology 150job options where of AI technology has been the worldagainstweaponisation wholedifferentballgameforZur- airport)project, up to thestart of ministries and government de- had also held meetingswith artificial intelligence could flagged by “very senior govern- of AI by non-state actors,” the ichAirports International.DANIEL operations, we will do this our- partmentsonthe use of artificial the industryonAIuse cases be usedand the workforce ment officials” afterPrime Prime Ministerhad then said. BIRCHER, CEO of ZurichAirport selves. It is also easier to manage intelligence (AI), especiallyinim- to figureout aproper could be put to better use. MinisterNarendraModi had The IT Ministryhad lastyear International Asiaand CMD of at this stage. plementation of state-run serv- implementation plan that Some concerns of joblosses said the same in one of his in Julyconstituted four commit- YamunaInternationalAirportPvt ices,senior government officials maypush for “judicious” have been highlightedand speeches earlier this year,one of tees on AI and itsvarious aspects, LtdtoldPRANAV MUKULinanin- Daniel Bircher HowisIndia different than told TheIndian Express. use as well as be able to we areworking to solve the officials said. suchasbuildings, models and terviewthat the companywas othergeographieswhereyou The IT Ministryhad, as re- createjobs those, officials added Earlier this year,the Prime frameworks, and use of thetech- conducting passenger profile arepresent, in terms of doing centlyasOctober,plannedto Ministerhad —while addressing nology foridentifying and im- studies to identify the needsof ment, whether NCR, or business? seek Cabinetnod on use of AI in RAISE 2020 in October,aglobal plementing critical national mis- travellersfromanorth Indian maybeMathuraindustrial corri- In my current role, I’m also re- implementation of certain gov- grammes that it oversees, the of- cases to figure outaproperim- AI summit organisedbythe IT sions in key sectors. Two background.Healsotalkedabout dor —these elementshavenot sponsibleforZurichAirport’sAsia ernment-run programmes, but ficials said. Anational imple- plementation plan that may Ministry—said that that while committees had also lookedat the plans forthe Noida Interna- changedandwe actuallyseemore business development, and if I the plan wasdeferredafter some mentation plan forAIwill be re- push for “judicious” use as well therewereveryfew things the ethical aspectsaround the tional AirportinJewar,whichhis dynamicsthere.Last,butnotleast, compareIndia with other areas ministries raisedobjections. leasedafter that. as be abletocreatejobs. whichwereasempowering and use of AI and the various meth- firm expectstobeoperationalby whenwe lookatthetrafficstudies here, Ihavetosay India hasarea- Fornow,the ministrymay Over the course of this year, “The industryhas flagged easilyaccessible as AI, it was ods of re-skilling or up-skilling 2024. Edited excerpts: and we have to take intoaccount sonablymaturepublic private use AI on atrialbasis on some of the ministryhad also held meet- about 150job options whereAI equally important that the tech- the workforcesoastobetterun- 40 years, we seetraffic growth partnership legal framework. the welfareand scholarship pro- ings with the industryonAIuse could be used and the workforce nology be usedresponsibly. derstand the technology. Howmuchhas Covid-19 waybeyond 200million passen- Therehavebeen numerouscases changed in terms of the gers and we knowthat the exist- of successfulprivatisationsandso targetsset forthe Noida ing Delhi airporthas final capac- thecertaintyandtheclarityof the International Airport? ityof110-120 million. concession documents, the How Positive Pay systemcould ONGC starts output Obviously, Covid-19has im- Whenitcomesto thebids,we processesisabighelp.So,asanin- pacted the industry itself, quite arereasonablyclose to the bid vestor,you understand and you heavily. And Ithink what the in- from the competitors,and GMR know, the processes, youknow securecheque payments further at West Bengal’s dustryhas recognised, that by had the right of firstrefusal. So, theagreementsyouhave to do.So, 2024, we will be up and running takingthisintoaccount,we could Ithink that is definitely, forusone temfor all account holders issu- Positive Payinoverall cheque abovepre-Covidlevelsforthedo- nothavebid lower. So Ithink this of the reasons whywewantto GEORGEMATHEW ing cheques foramountsofRs transactions? Asokenagar-1 reserve mestic trafficand the Noida is ajustifiedbid and we’revery continue investing in India and MUMBAI,DECEMBER20 50,000and above.While availing The newmeasure willcover International Airportwill be pri- confidentthattheairportwillbea supportthenationalagendaof in- of this facility is at the discretion approximately20percentand80 marily cateringfor domestic traf- successandismuchneededinfra- frastructurebuilding. FROM JANUARY1,2021, the of the account holder,banks may percentof totalchequesissuedin ENSECONOMICBUREAU ficintheinitialyears.So,Idon’tex- structurefor the NCRregion. We areobviouslyaware that ReserveBankof India(RBI)willin- consider making it mandatory in thecountrybyvolumeandvalue, NEWDELHI,DECEMBER20 pect theretobeanimpact. The north India is notthe same as troduce the ‘PositivePay’system caseof chequesforamountsofRs respectively.The CTS forclearing internationalpartwillmaybetake What areyour costand south India. So, we arecurrently forcheque transactions aboveRs 5,00,000 and above.National cheques is operational pan-India UNION MINISTER forPetroleum oneortwoyearslongerto recover investment estimates forthe doingpassengerprofilestudiesto 50,000 in abid to enhance safety Payments Corporation of India and presentlycovers2per cent and Natural Gas Dharmendra compared to domestic, so Idon’t Noida International Airport understand what arethe needs and eliminatefrauds. (NPCI) will developthe facility of and 15 per cent of total retail pay- PradhanonSundayinaugurated reallysee an impact there. We project and howdoyou plan to and requirementsoftravellers Positive PayinCTS and makeit mentsintermsofvolume and production from state-owned (ZurichAirportInternational)also finance it? from anorth Indian background, What’s the Positive Paysystem available to participantbanks. value,respectively. ONGC’s Asokenagar-1 well in the operateairports in Brazil, where At this stage, we areindiscus- so thatwecan tailor-make our forcheque transactions? The averagevalue of acheque Bengal basin in the 24 Paragana we arealmostat90percentof the sions with the banks. We arestill product. With the diversity that TheconceptofPositive Payin- What will be the newdispute cleared in CTS presently is Rs district in West Bengal. Product- pre-Covidlevel.There will be working on an assumption of be- India offers, across the country, volvesaprocess of reconfirming redressal mechanism? 82,000.The CTS-2010 standard ion from the petroleum reserve, Petroleum Minister changes in the waywehandle tween Rs 4,500-5,000 croreand this has to be takenintoaccount. keydetailsof large valuecheques. Only thosechequeswhichare specifying minimum-security located 47 km from Kolkata, has DharmendraPradhan passengers notpoints, but the this willbefinanced with equity Under this process, the issuer of compliantwith the newsystem featuresonchequeleavesactsasa startedwith the extracted oilbe- inauguratingthe overallimpactontheindustrywill and with debt in Indian currency. Howdoyou see the the cheque submits will be acceptedun- deterrent againstcheque frauds, ing suppliedtoIndian Oil Asokenagar-1 reserve. PTI be behind us by 2024. The main reasonbeingisthat our consolidation in India in the electronically— der disputeresolu- while standardisation of field Corporation’s Haldia refinery, ac- main sources of revenue will be airports sector that has throughchannelslike tion mechanism at placements on cheque forms en- cording to theminister. Youhad bid quiteaggressively also in INR. It’s mainly adomestic happenedoverthe lastone SMS, mobile app, in- the CTS grids. ables straight-through-process- “With the commencement The Asokenagar-1 well was to winthe Noida Greenfield airport,sothat’sthetypicalsetup, year or so? Has thatchanged ternetbankingand Member banksmay ingbyuseof opticalorimagechar- of production from the completedasanoil producer un- airport. Does Covid throw a and we’reconfident that we can circumstances from when ATM—certain mini- implementsimilar acter recognition technology. Asokenagar oil and gasreserve, der the early-monetisation plan spanner in the worksfor the closethis in April.For the debt Zurich Airportdecidedto mum details of that arrangementsfor West Bengalfinds aplaceinthe issuedbythe Centre. The first plans on the basis of which part, we arelooking at financing place abet here? cheque (likedate, cheques clearedor Whyisthe newsystembeing oil map,” Pradhan said afterded- discovery of oil and gasreserve that bidwas made? in rupees so it’s mainly, India- Sowe areobservingobviously, nameofthebenefici- collectedoutsideCTS implemented? icatingthe projecttothe coun- in the statewas done in 2018. Idon’tthinkso.Fromourpoint basedfinancial institutions that what’s happening in the market aryorpayee andamount)tothe as well. TheRBI hasalready told The Reserve Bank says the try. He addedthat the govern- “ONGC took amajor step by co- of view, thereare severalfactors we aretalking to. and as Imentionedbefore, Ithink draweebank,detailsof whichare bankstocreateadequateaware- Positive Paysystemistofurther ment wascommitted to support mmencing oil production from thatdeterminedthis final pro- the successful models of privati- crosscheckedwiththepresented nessamongtheir customerson augment customer safetyin Oil and Natural Gas Corporation the well Asokenagar-1,Bengal posal.Thefirstfactoristhatwe are Forequity,are youlooking for sationinthepasthavecontinued, cheque by Cheque Truncation features of the Positive Pay cheque payments andreduce in- (ONGC) to increase production Basin in 24 Paragana district,” the convincedabout the Indian gro- afinancialpartner or a and Ithink it is agood move — System (CTS). Anydiscrepancy is system through SMS alerts,dis- stances of fraudoccurring on ac- of crude oil and natural gasfrom MinistryofPetroleum and wthstoryandwe seeourselvesas strategic partner? Indiahasnowworldclassairports flaggedby CTSto thedraweebank playinbranches, ATMs as well as count of tampering of cheque the subsurface of West Bengal, Natural Gas said in astatement. atrustedpartner to the govern- We have already been in- everywhere.Andwe,asanopera- and presenting bank,who would through their websiteand inter- leaves. Bankshad recently wit- noting that this would increase ONGC has invested Rs 3,361 ment and those underlying fun- volved in India forover17years tor, arequitehappytocollaborate take redressal measures. netbanking.ThePositive Paysys- nessedariseinfrauds involving prosperity and local employ- croreinthe exploration of hydro- damentalshavenot changed. with Bengaluru airport. So we with our peersinthe NCRcatch- temwill be implemented from high-valuecheques. ment in the state. carbons in the Bengal basin and Ithink India, withanincrease knowthe environment, and our ment but also with other peersin What type of cheques will January1,2021. The RBI announcedthe intro- Pradhan notedthat the crude is settospend Rs 425 croreinex- in disposable income,propensity mid-termobjectiveistohavea the country to jointlyhelp make come under Positive Pay? ductionof Positive Paysystemfor oil discoveredatthe Asokenagar ploration activities in the basing to travel,economic and city-side portfolio —we’relookingatthe the aviation system as efficient Bankswillenablethenewsys- What will be the shareof CTS on August6. reservewas of high quality. in the next twoyears. developmentinthe largercatch- other assets when theycome up. and as costeffective as possible.

BRIEFLY COVID-19 IMPACT New labour laws at root of unrest ‘RelianceHome ‘Network restructuring made Rise in cyber Respodents who Financegets 39.2%attacks seen by 95%faced added IT in Wistron, Toyota: Siddaramaiah India between the second and security challenges with sixbids’ Indiavulnerabletocyber attacks’ third quarter provision of large-scale remote introduced labourlawsare at the cases againstthem," he added. The sudden rush to provide remote access to employees by access for employees and EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE root of theworkers’unrestinfirms "Afterthe protests at Wistron NewDelhi: Six suitors, in- BENGALURU,DECEMBER20 likeWistron and TKM. tookasevereturnPrimeMinister restructuring network and security systems during the Respondents, to a managing shadow IT usage cludingKotakSpecialSituat- 71%global survey by Usingtheshieldof newlabour Modi calledand expressedhis ions Fund (KSSF) and Asset lockdown made India vulnerable to ransomware attacks, Check Point, who reported a THEBJPgovernmentinKarnataka laws passedduring the coron- concernaboutincidents -accord- Reconstruction Company cybersecurity firm CheckPoint SoftwareTechnologiessaid WHYISITIMPORTANT:In the musttakeproactive steps to re- avirus crisis, companies arein- ingtochiefministerYediyurappa. rise in cyberattacks during rush toenable remoteaccess, (India)Limited(ARCIL),have February-March 2020 solve industrial disputes causing creasing work hours and aretry- The Prime Ministerand Chief submitted bids forReliance manycompaniesallowed workersunrestinmajormultina- ing to employmoreworkers Ministerhavenot expressedcon- Top 5countries most connectivityfromunmanaged Home Finance,partofAnil affected by ransomware LOW CLOUD SECURITY: tional manufacturingunits in the under the contractsystemthan a cern over workers rightsbeing Ambani-promotedReliance Due to the immediate push, homepersonalcomputersthat statelikeWistronInfocommIndia permanentsystem,Siddaramaiah trampled. The main causefor the attacks in third quarter oftenlackedbasic Group. Only twobidders this year: several IT companies were Pvt Ltd and Toyota Kirloskar statedinhisletterto Yediyurappa. current workers unrestare the submitted compliant and unable to scale up their cloud cyberhygienesuchasupdated Motors (TKM), leaders of the op- "When the workers protest antilabor laws of the centre and bindingbidswhilefourbids 1. United States security postures which led to softwarepatches,anti-malware, positionCongressandJDSparties peacefullythe government and state," the letter further said. arenon-binding and not 2. India 3. Sri Lanka increased opportunity for amongothers in Karnatakahavestated. thelabourdepartmentpaynoat- In the pastyear,the stategov- compliant with bid condi- 4. Russia 5. Turkey cyber criminals to carry out In alettertoChief Minister BS tention to them.When protests ernment has introducedanordi- tions, sources said. attacks Source: CheckPoint/PTI Yediyurappa,Congressleaderand take asevereturn,theworkersare nance to modify labor laws. former Chief Minister calledrioters and anti-nationals Fullreport on Indianeeds Siddaramaiah has said the newly and the police forceisusedtofile www.indianexpress.com multiplebad Five states get EPFO net new banks:CII Higher govt spending may boost Implementation of NewDelhi:IndustrybodyCII FinMinnod to enrolments said Sundayithas urgedthe economy, but challenges remain CARO order deferred governmentto considercre- borrow extra up 56% in Oct ation of multiple bad banks to addressthe adverse im- ENSECONOMICBUREAU KEYINDICATORSNOTTOOPROMISING `16,728 crore by one year: MCA pact of non-performingas- NEWDELHI,DECEMBER20 PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA sets accumulated by public Moderating inflation Sluggish capex 2020. The CARO requires compa- NEWDELHI,DECEMBER18 sectorbanks in the recent THE VACCINE mayboostcon- CPI inflation, %avg New project announcements, PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA ENSECONOMICBUREAU nies to complywith stricter dis- past, that got further accen- sumer confidenceand speedup 7 6.4 `lakh cr Government NEWDELHI,DECEMBER20 NEWDELHI,DECEMBER20 closurerequirementsonvarious NETNEW enrolmentswithre- Private 4 tuatedduringthepandemic. business activity,but thenext 6 09 issues, including whistle blower tirement fund body EPFOroseby 2. 4.9 4.

4.8 54 fewyearsare going to be adiffi- 5 46 THE FINANCE Ministryon THE GOVERNMENT has deferred complaintsand default in repay- 56 per cent to 11.55 lakh in 1. 3.4 1. 38 33 31 cult time formostIndians, in 4 4.7 26 Sundaysaid five states, including implementation of the strict dis- ment of borrowings. October comparedto7.39 lakh 0. 0. 0. NandKishore particular those earning aliveli- 3 0. Tamil Nadu and Telangana, have closurerequirementsfor auditor “CARO 2020 would necessi- in the same month lastyear,ac- FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 Q3FY20 Q4FY20 Q1FY21 Q2FY21 hood in the informal economy. been permittedto borrowanad- reportsof companiesby oneyear, tate enhanceddue diligence and cordingtoits latestpayroll data, appointedED (E) (E) (E) Source: CMIE With the services sector lag- ditional Rs16,728 crorefollowing amove that comes amidthe dis- disclosuresonthepartofauditors providing aperspectiveonfor- ofIL&FS ging behind,and unlikelytore- completion of stipulatedreforms ruptions causedbythe coron- of eligible companies, and has mal sector employment amid coverquickly,therearen't going Consumption will stay sub- stimulus; but there's been little for‘Ease of Doing Business’. avirus pandemic. been designedtobringin the coronavirus pandemic. Mumbai:Infrastructure Lea- to be toomanynew employ- dueddue to slowerhiring, the of that so far. Also, the pandemic AndhraPradesh, Karnataka Now, the Companies greatertransparencyinthefinan- The netpayroll additions, sing and Financial Services ment opportunities. stuntedincrease in incomesand has exacerbated the risk aver- and Madhya Pradesh arethe (Auditor’s Report) Order,2020 cialstateofaffairsof suchcompa- however, have registeredaslight (IL&FS) said Sunday the Sluggish investments, at a the fear of job losses; private sion of banks. otherstates which have beenper- would comeintoeffect from fi- nies,” the MCAhad said in dip in October compared to 14.19 MinistryofCorporateAffairs time when capacityutilisation is consumption as in anyway flag- But forthe economytomake mitted to borrowthe extra nancialyearscommencingonor Februarythis year. lakh in September this year,ac- has approved appointment relatively low, will also keep the gingevenbeforethe pandemic. asustainable turnaround, amount. afterApril 1, 2021, according to a Underthisstricterframework, cording to astatement by the of Nand Kishoreasits exec- job markettepid. Indeed, the banking sector weaker businesses, too, mustget The government had in May notificationissuedbytheMinistry auditors arerequired to provide Labour Ministry. utive director. Tillnow, Kish- The Production-Linked could see morepain than seems access to credit. All in all, 2021- decidedtolink grant of additional of CorporateAffairs(MCA). It is detaileddisclosures about loan Provisional payroll datare- orewasservingontheIL&FS Incentive (PLI) scheme, while no to be the premise rightnow. 2022 will certainlybebetter borrowing permission to states implementingthecompanieslaw. defaults, amount of cash losses leasedbythe EPFOlastmonth boardasnon-executive di- doubt very promising, willtakea The outlook could be alot time than 2020-21, but the econ- with reforms undertakenby Earlier,CARO2020was to andimmovablepropertiesaswell had shown that netnew enrol- rector,the groupsaid. PTI fewyearstoattract ameaning- moreoptimistic if the govern- omyissome yearsawayfromre- them to facilitateease of doing come intoforce from financial asotheraspectsaboutcompanies mentsstood at 14.9 lakh in ful amount of capital. ment wastolaunchabig bang gainingthe lostground. FE business. year starting on or afterApril1, in their annualreports. September this year.

Pune WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,DECEMBER21,2020 NEW ZEALAND BEAT PAKISTAN IN 2ND T20 Opener TimSeifert carriedhis batfor 84 in an unbroken129-run partnership with captainKane Williamson to steerNew Zealand to anine-wicketwin over Pakistan in the secondTwenty20 international Sundayand an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three- 14 SPORT matchseries.Williamson finished 57 not out in his return to the short format as New Zealand overtook Pakistan's total of 163-6with four balls to spare. AP ‘Never thought Iwould see India getting all out for 42 or less’

In Adelaide, the pitchbecame alittle fancy shots.Alotofapplicationisneeded. reliant on) advice in that regard.You can’t to the ball and mustbeprecisewith their GUNDAPPAVISWANATH quickeronthe thirdday.The Australian TheIndianteamhaveplayedenough India’scatching has been poor. Notonlyin leave agap between bat and pad while play- footwork. DECEMBER 20 bowlersbowledreallywell,and consis- crickettogetthisoutoftheir this Test,but throughout the tour.Itcannot ing the ball. Youneedtoplaymuchcloser This is Test cricket. Youshould analyse tently. Thesame thinghappenedatLord’s. system.Thereareplayersinthis happen likethat.And theymissedsomesit- to your body, keeping batand pad together. your owngame.This is notODIsorT20s. IWAS in theteam Wheneverthe batsmen were beaten,the teamwhohaveplayed60-70Tests ters.Ifall those catches were taken, India Youcan’t allowthe ball to swing. This is five-daycricket and Test matchesare when we were all out ball took the edge.Compared to Lord’s, andevenwithoutKohli,thisteam would have had aleadinexcess of 100. The If youare playing forward, go to the pitch notgoing into the fourth or fifthday.You for42againstEngland whereitwas cloudyand the ballswung,the hastheabilitytobounceback.” momentum wouldhavebeendifferent. of the ball to coverthe swing.You can’t play have alot of timetostayatthe wicket.But at Lord’s. But Iwould Adelaide Oval pitchhad alittle morebounce And if they(Australia) had to score180-190 blindlyoff thefront foot or backfoot. You this is notonlyIndia’s problem. If yousee, it neversay that36laid but notmuchlateral or seam movement. GUNDAPPA VISWANATH, in the fourth innings, it could have been a have to pickthe lengthearly andcan’t stay is happeningwithevery team. Australia the ghostofthatto All the bowlers kept thebatsmen under FORMER INDIA CAPTAIN different ball game. rooted to thecrease. Either yougofull for- were all out forless than 200intheir first rest.Ican neverbe pressure. (Cheteshwar) Pujaragot one of Iwill notsay Rahane is struggling or hav- ward or playoff the backfoot. Againstspin- innings. This is due to thefact that teams happy. Inever thought Iwould see India get- the best deliveries one couldget.Hehad to has captainedIndia before,some years back, ing problemswith his technique and foot- ners, youuse your footwork to neutralise arenot playing enough Test cricketorplay- ting all out for42orless again in my life- playit. Mayank (Agarwal) also. The ball and guidedthe team to victory. work.Heplayedverywell in the firstin- the turn and bounce. ingitregularly. time. It doesn’t feel good. But theyhaveto liftedand lefthim. (Ajinkya) Rahane played However, some changes become imper- nings. It’s aquestion of stayingpositive all At Test level, youknowhow to adjustto Iwill notblame theIndian players for justleave this behind and pulluptheir from the crease. (Virat) Kohli went aftera ative.(Shubman) Gill has to come in place of the time. the swing, turn and bounce. Youare there notplaying Ranji Trophy. They don’thave socks. widishdelivery;maybe he wastrying to (Prithvi) Shaw. No twowaysabout it. (KL) because youare good enough and should time. They don’t getthe windowtoplaydo- Everything combines when ateam gets scoresome quickruns to ease the pressure. Rahul will comeinplace of Kohli. Idon’t Gettingclosetothe ball be able to adjust.Iwon’tsay they(Indian mestic cricket.Testcricket is amind game out forsuchalowscore. All the bowlers The Indian team have playedenough knowhow bad is (Mohammed) Shami’s in- Everybody has his ownway of playing batsmen) areplaying with hardhands, be- and youhavetoapplyyour mind. At this will bowl very well, top-order batsmen cricket to getthis outoftheir system.There jury. Hopefully, he willrecover. Rohit in termsofback-lift, bat-speed, useofthe cause in the firstinnings, so manydeliver- level, youshould be thebestjudgeinterms will getsome very good deliveries, and areplayers in this team who have played (Sharma) is there, but he will be available crease etc. Youneedtoadjustaccording to ies didn’t carry to the wicketkeeper or slips. of whattodo, howtoadjust and playac- therewill notbemuchresistance from the 60-70Tests and even without Kohli, this onlyfor the lasttwo Tests. Youhavetocome the delivery,line and length, and aTest It means that theyplayedwith softhands. cordingtothe situation. lowerorder. team has the ability to bounce back. Rahane good in the next three Tests. Forget about playerisexpected to do that. Youcan’t (be My adviceisjustthat they have to getcloser (AstoldtoShamik Chakrabarty) Seriouswounds Small-town hero opened up,good Hazlewood's immaculatecontrol wasahallmarkatgrade matches duringhis early years in Bendemeer chance for clean work outthere and probablyIgot those He realisedthathis release point could SANDIPG traitsfromthere. And of course, always try- be higher.For that, he neededtobring his sweep:Ponting NEWDELHI,DECEMBER20 ing to stay groundedand helping eachother bowling arm closer to his body and the run- out,” he said in that podcast.It’s the reason up neededtobeslower. “Iusedtotell him MOMENTS AFTER Josh Hazlewood fash- perhaps he’s the least demonstrative of don’t rush, graduallybuild up and then re- PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA ionedafamousvictoryagainstIndia at the Australian bowlers. He seldom loses his tem- lease the ball before following through. Abit MELBOURNE,DECERMBER20 Adelaide Oval, en routepicking the most per,barelysledges or stares. likeMcGrath, well Itry to teachalot of kids economical figurefor afive-wicket haul by Bendemeer loveshim backtoo. At the that action. But Josh learneditpretty fast," he THE HUMILIATION in Adelaide has opened an Australian,hegot acongratulatorytext gateway to thetownreadsayellowbill- remembers. up "serious wounds" forIndia and Australia from his father. “Well done, son. It’s nearly board: “WelcometoBendemeer—the The former left-arm seamer also instilled nowhavea"good chance" of inflicting on the as good as my 5for 4when Iplayedagainst hometown of Hazlewood.” Wherever in the in him the virtues of hardworkand dedica- visitorsawhitewash in the four-Test series, Nemingha in 1985,” it read. Trevor,his fa- countryheplays,adedicated group of fans tion. “Iusedtotell him that onlyhardwork reckons former captain Ricky Ponting. ther told local newspaper The Leader,that would attend the game with abanner read- took him to places, and he would listen. He Indiawerebundled out fortheirlowest- he couldhear his son’s crackle from faraway. ing, “From Bendemeer: The hometown of wasverydedicated to his craftand contin- ever Test scoreof36intheirsecond innings In his youngerdays,Trevorwas thelocal Hazlewood.”Aclassmateofhis even trav- ues to be so,” he recollects. as Australia claimedaneight-wicketwin in tearaway,breaking arms and shattering toes elledtothe UK forthe WorldCup withaban- The McGrath comparisonalwaysflatters the pink-ball Test to take a1-0 lead in the before he took up golf and then turnedhis ner.Theyalso gave him arather feisty him. “It's flatteringwhen youread your name Border-Gavaskar trophy. "Now there's some attention to steelfabricationbusiness. In an moniker: “Bendemeer Bullet.” in the same sentence as McGrath and you're serious wounds opened up. Therecouldbea interviewtoFoxSports TV,headmits he was Wheneverhe’sintown, he turns up for being compared to him, it meansyou're go- good chance (of asweep)," Ponting told notthe guiding figure in hisson’s cricketing theOld Boys Club. “The wholeofTamworth ing allright. Although, Itry nottoread too cricket.com.au. "Let's hope we do getaresult development. would unload intothe ground justtowatch muchintoit,” he oncetold in apress confer- in Melbourne and if we do, Ithink India's go- “Iwas busier when Josh wasyoung and him,” says Middlebrook. ence.EvenMcGrath sees ashade of McGrath ing to find it reallyhardtobouncebackand he probablypickeditfromhis elder brother It brings the best outofhis brother too. in him,eventipping him to break his Test- win agame." Aaron. But Ialways used to encourage Lasttime he playedagame —onlyasbats- recordhaulfor Australia. “Sky’s the limit for India willmiss skipper ViratKohliinthe them,” he recounted. man as he wasrecovering from an injury— him,”heonce said. Muller agrees too. remainingthree Testsashereturns home for But Hazlewood creditshim foradifferent his brother grabbed nine wicketsand rat- the birth of his child and Ponting said it will reason. “Alot of whatever talent I'vegot tledout aquick80. “JusttoshowIam good Javelin champion be areal test forthe visitors as theylook to came from my dadand I'm the same size too, bro.” he later told alocal channel. Their David Tarbotton,astatistician at the New pickupthe pieces under the captaincy of and build,” he once said in apodcastwith father,Trevor, though would pleasantlydis- South Wales InstituteofSports,isamong AjinkyaRahane. "We'll learnalotabout cricketaustralia.com.au. Trevor might be pute: “Nearly as good as my 5-4 when I Australia’s mostreputedscouts. Some 18 them, won't we?With Kohli notbeing there shorterbyafew centimetres but is broader playedagainstNemingha in 1985.” years ago, while sifting through the num- as well there's almostnoone to pick them and sturdier.The backyardofthe bers of the CombinedHigh School U-13and backupafter aloss likethat," Ponting said. Hazlewood household, in Bendemeer,300 McGrath comparison U-14championship, he stumbledonare- Indiawill needtofind their best playing XI kilometres north of Sydneyand with apop- JoshHazlewood’s devastating spell of 5/8 againstIndia on Day3inAdelaide ‘The next Glenn McGrath’. Josh markable number.A12-year-oldboy had forthe BoxingDay Test,especiallyafter the ulation of 300, wassolarge that Aaronand swungthe game decisively in Australia’s favour. Reuters Hazlewood had been probablyhearing this flung the shotput to adistance of 53.11 m. below-par performances of young opener Josh had almostanentire cricket ground to comparisonfromhis adolescence. The paral- It wasastate school record. Tarbotton Prithvi Shaw, who made0and 4, and wick- themselves. Therewerenot toomanykids lels areirresistible. Like Hazlewood, McGrath sensedapotentialOlympic gold medallist. etkeeper Wriddhiman Saha. in the neighbourhood. The Bendemeer High his brother.Some of Aaron’s teammates scoutsusedtocomefromSydneytotrack wasacountryboy from Narromine, 300-odd “If groomedwell, he couldhavebeen. His Ponting is in favour of giving achance to School wheretheystudied had just30kids. usedtowonder who wasthe elder of the him. But his father always had morefaith in kilometres from Sydney. early promise indicated he could'vegone on dashing wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh The brothers would spend endless after- two. One of their club-mates Ben his younger son’s skills. So he would tell his He’s aMcGrath-type of bowler too, fast to become an Olympian.' Idon't knowthe Pant and young batter Shubman Gill in noons playing cricket. Middlebrook recollectsanincident to this acquaintances: “I’vegot abetterone com- enough at around 85mph but notatear- details whywecould notbring him here,” Melbourne. Therewerelittledistractions. One of newspaper: “Josh might have been around ing along.” So manyheads he turnedthat away,with enough bounce to perplexthe he told Sydney Morning Herald. "They'vegot to makeacouple of changes. them wasGrey Fergie TractorMuster, alocal 12 or 13,when we playedagrade matchand some of his father’s friends took a50/1 bet best batsmen. The soul of their bowling is But Hazlewood admitshenever took Rishabh Pant has to be in thatmiddle order. fare.The town putonabit of ashow, with Josh justblewawaythe other team. So after on him winning the Baggy Green before he the immaculate line andlength.The chas- throwing seriously. “Iwas 12 when Ifirst With Kohli notbeing therethey'vegot to tractor events, bush poetry, shearing the game, an umpireasked me whywewere turned30. He made his Test debut at 23. Just tenedIndian batsmen would offerpainful threw it. Iwent on throughthe levels at strengthen theirbatting, he's got to comein," demonstrations, markets and food stalls and playing with20-25-year-old players. Itold afortnight away from his 30th birthday, testimonials. school andontostate CHS. Ieventually he said. "They'll look at Prithvi Shawatthe the fare attracted people from everywhere. him he wasjust13. He wasshocked.” Hazlewood has already featuredin52Tests, It’s what Hazlewood’s childhood coach endedupatthe nationals and pickedupa topofthe order I'm surebut there's one thing But apartfromthis, it wasjustcricketand Notjustthe physique, he had thepace in whichhehad shapedthe destinyofmany John Muller sawinhim some time in the fewgold medals there. It wasgood fun, Ionly to make selection changes there's another to school. When Aaronentered his teens, he and maturity that wasbeyond his age. “He matches with his immaculatelengths and mid-aughts. did it forsomething to do in the winter and liftthe spiritsbackupagain and makesure joinedthe Old Boys Cricket Club in wastoo good forus. And he wasagood bats- precise lines. “Well, it’s what Ithought of him when I Iloved the competition,” he told Sydney they'rementallyright forthe next challenge Tamworth, some 30 odd miles from man too, scored some hundreds. He wasal- Hazlewood says,was shaped by his firstsaw him. Maybe, it washis height and Morning Herald. because the Australians arenot goingtogo Bendemeer.And soon his younger brother ways going to go somewhere," he says. countryside upbringing. “Ithink my up- physique. He wasquite skilful, and Ineeded Batsmen would wish Hazlewood was away now.""Nowthat they'vegot abit of a would tagalong. Initially, it wasAaron who made the bringing wasgreat and it playedahugerole to do waspolish him abit, especiallyhis ac- rather content hurling the iron ball than be- sniffthey'regoing to go even harder next But Hazlewood had noticeablyoutgrown heads turn with his all-roundsparkle, and in howIamand what Iam. It’s alot of hard tion,” he tells this newspaper. ing the spearhead. game." Barcelona held by Valencia as Messi matches Pele goal haul

ASSOCIATED PRESS DECEMBER20

LIONELMESSI equalled Pele's record of 643goals forasingle club on Saturdaybut wasunabletohelp Barcelona beat Valencia in La Ligaastheyhad to set- tle fora2-2 home draw.Valencia went ahead at the CampNou when Mouctar Diakhaby pouncedon some slackBarca defending to head home in the 29thminute. Barcaearnedapenalty towardsthe end of the firsthalf when Jose Gaya lightly pushed Antoine Griezmanninthe backand wasinitially shown ared cardwhichwas then reducedtoayel- lowafter thereferee consultedthe pitchside mon- itor. Messi sawhis penalty savedbyValencia keeper Jaume Domenech but Jordi Alba kept the ball alive and his deflectedcross fell towardsthe Argentine, who divedtohead the ball across the line and score the milestone goal. Defender Ronald Araujo gave Barca the lead early in the second half with an acrobatic strike from inside the area but Valencia hitbackinthe 69thwhen Maxi Gomez turnedinacross from Gaya,denying the Catalansathirdstraightleague win.

VolXX:No.1177Regd.No.RNI46944/87, RegistrationNo. PR/RNP/PNE/D/11/2000.PrintedandpublishedbyVaidehiThakaron behalf of TheIndianExpress(P)LimitedandPrintedatTheIndian Express(P)LimitedPress,Survey No.288,PlotNo.1and2,Raisoni IndustrialPark,VillageMaan,TalukaMulshi,DistrictPune411027and PublishedatTheIndianExpress(P)Limited,ExpressHouse,PlotNo. 1205/2/6,ShiroleRoad,Shivajinagar,Pune411004.Phone:67241000. Fax:67241148.Chairmanof theBoard:Viveck Goenka,Chief Editor:Raj KamalJha,Editor:UnniRajenShanker, Editor(Pune):AmitabhSinha* Branchoffices:Ahmednagar(0241)2451907,2451544Fax2451607, (0231)2644994,Solapur(0217)2603880,*Responsiblefor selectionof news underPRBActCopyright:TheIndianExpress(P) Limited.Allrightsreserved.Reproductioninanymanner,electronicor otherwise,inwholeorinpart,withoutpriorwrittenpermissionis prohibited.TheIndianExpress®

Pune