· cial word to North Western Railway’s Jodhpur division on any cancellation, there were reports that Pakistan has sus-pended the Thar Express. “We have not received any com-munication

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The entire south India onFriday reeled under a mas-

sive flood with Wayanad inKerala bearing the brunt of thedeluge which has claimed 28lives in the State. Overall deathtoll in south India stood at 110with Karnataka recording 72deaths, followed by Kerala 32.

As many as 30 families werefeared missing in a landslide inWayanad, which has been dev-astated by yet another year offlooding. Two baby elephantswere washed away inKuttampuzha village inErnakulam district and Eid hol-iday plans of thousands of Indianexpatriates from Kerala havebeen hit by the closure of theCochin International Airporttill Sunday after floodwaterssubmerged parts of the runway.

Congress leader RahulGandhi, who representsWayanad in the Lok Sabha,spoke to Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on the floodsituation in Kerala.

Many parts of AndhraPradesh, Karnataka, TamilNadu and Maharashtra arealso inundated. Over 1.24 lakhpeople have been evacuated inKarnataka in the couple ofdays, while Tamil Nadu askedthe IAF to be on standby forrescue activities in rain-ravagedNilgiris district.

National Disaster ResponseForce (NDRF) DG SN Pradhansaid Maharashtra, Karnatakaand Kerala are main areas of

concern now and maximumdeployments of the NDRFteams are in these States.

According to Lt Gen PSRajeshwar, Chief of IntegratedDefence Staff, as many as45,000 people have alreadybeen rescued in southernpeninsula and Maharashtra.“Armed forces have alreadypressed about 200 teams withboats and helicopters,” he said.

The India MeteorologicalDepartment (IMD) issued redalert for heavy rain inErnakulam, Idukki, Thrissur,Palakkad, Malappuram,Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur

and Kasargod districts and alleducational institutions, includ-ing schools and colleges, havebeen closed. Examinations ofthe Kerala Public ServiceCommission and various uni-versities across the State, sched-uled for Saturday, have beenpostponed.

Kerala Chief MinisterPinarayi Vijayan on Fridaysaid landslides and mudslideshave been reported from 24places and 28 people have diedin rain-related incidents in thelast three days.

The landslip in Meppadihas destroyed houses in

Puthumala and nearly 150 peo-ple were trapped and have to berescued.

The Government has sus-pended the iconic Snake BoatRace which was scheduled tobe held in Alappuzha on Friday.Nearly 3,788 houses have beendamaged in the State. Lastyear, the race was suspendeddue to floods that claimedover 400 lives and causedextensive damage.

In neighbouringKarnataka, as many as 72 peo-ple have died and 61 are miss-ing. Nearly, 1.24 lakh peoplehave been evacuated. In

Kodagu, four members of afamily were killed in a landslipon Friday. At least six peoplehave lost their lives while40,180 people have been evac-uated by rescue teams fromBelagavi district.

According to theKarnataka Government, thou-sands of people have beenstranded and lakh of acre havesubmerged with Belagavi,Bagalkote, Vijayapura, Raichur,Yadgiri, Uttara Kannada,Dakshina Kannada,Shivamogga, Kodagu andChikkamagalur districts bear-ing brunt of the rain fury.

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After suspending theSamjhauta Express,

Pakistan has also reportedlycancelled the run of the TharExpress, inviting strong reac-tion from India, which termedthe decision “unfortunate” andasked Islamabad to accept thechanged reality following theabrogation of Article 370 thathad given special status toJammu & Kashmir.

Making India’s stand clear,External Affairs MinistrySpokesperson Raveesh Kumarsaid steps have been takenkeeping in mind the best inter-ests of Jammu & Kashmir. Heasserted Pakistan’s efforts tolink peace deal with Kashmirissue have not worked.

“There is a feeling thatPakistan is nervous over India’sinitiative in Jammu &Kashmir,” Kumar said, adding,“Pakistan thinks it will not beable to mislead people if thereis development in Jammu &Kashmir,” he said. Kumar alsosaid Pakistan suspending theSamjhauta Express was a uni-lateral move, which was unfor-tunate.

Pakistan should acceptreality and stop meddling inIndia’s internal affairs, he said,adding, India has also reached

out to other nations to explainits stand on Kashmir. Thisresponse came after Pakistanon Wednesday announceddowngrading of diplomatic tieswith India and suspendingbilateral trade.

The External AffairsMinistry on Thursday hadasked Pakistan to review itsdecision to downgrade diplo-matic and trade ties after itsdecisions on Kashmir. OnWednesday, Pakistan hadexpelled the Indian envoy inIslamabad and had announceda five-point plan that includeddowngrading its ties with Indiaand suspending bilateral trade.

The intention behindPakistan’s measures “is obvi-ously to present an alarmingpicture to the world of ourbilateral ties,” said the ExternalAffairs Ministry statement. Thereasons cited by Pakistan arenot supported by facts on theground, the Government said.

“The recent developmentspertaining to Article 370 areentirely the internal affair ofIndia. The Constitution of

India was, is and will always bea sovereign matter. Seeking tointerfere in that jurisdiction byinvoking an alarmist vision ofthe region will never succeed,”the Government said.

Meanwhile, after the dis-ruption of the SamjhautaExpress service at Wagah bor-der in Punjab, there werereports on Friday that Pakistanhas also suspended TharExpress, which links India andPakistan across the Rajasthanborder. The train has beenrunning between Jodhpur’sBhagat ki Kothi station toKarachi every Friday nightsince services resumed onFebruary 18, 2006 after a 41-year suspension.

Though there was no offi-cial word to North WesternRailway’s Jodhpur division onany cancellation, there werereports that Pakistan has sus-pended the Thar Express. “Wehave not received any com-munication or informationfrom any side till now regard-ing the Thar Express. As perthe current information, it willdepart as scheduled today,”Jodhpur division spokespersonGopal Sharma said.

Since its resumption, theThar Express too has beenpopular with people visitingfamilies across the border, andaccording to an estimate, overfour lakh passengers have takenthe train in the past 13 years.

Though the SamjhautaExpress was briefly suspendedafter the Balakot strike, TharExpress continued unaffected.

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Srinagar simmered withresentment for the fifth con-

secutive day on Friday even asa little relaxation from curfewwas given to the masses.

According to groundreports, fresh clashes betweensecurity forces and stone-pel-ters were reported from areasof downtown Srinagar.Exercising utmost caution,security forces handled the sit-uation “coolly”.

Since Monday, over onedozen civilians, participating inprotest demonstrations againstthe scrapping of Article 370and 35-A, have been admittedin different city hospitalsincluding super-specialtySKIMS following clashes withthe security forces. Majority ofthe injured have received pel-let injuries.

Meanwhile, due to strongpresence of security forces onthe ground zero, normal liferemain paralysed in areas of

downtown Srinagar and othervulnerable areas, prone to spo-radic incidents of stone-pelting.

The communication andinternet services remainblocked across parts ofKashmir Valley to checkrumour mongering.

On its part, the districtadministration is receiving rushof parents, who were eager toget in touch with their childrenstudying/working outside theState via helpline. Restrictedmovement of vehicles, headingtowards city hospitals, airportand bus station have been per-mitted on verification of iden-tity cards by the security forces.

In Jammu, situation

remained peaceful on Friday.Worshippers offered prayersacross different religious places.No untoward incident wasreported from the region.

As Section 144 of the CrPCwas lifted, educational institu-tions will open from August 10.Preparations for Bakr-id gotunderway in parts of Jammu.

Addressing a Press confer-ence in Jammu, DivisionalCommissioner Jammu, SanjeevVerma told reporters, life isreturning to normalcy in theJammu region with every pass-ing hour. He said theGovernment agencies havebeen entrusted to ensure sup-ply of ration to the masses.

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Anew person is likely totake up the reins of the

grand old party as the CongressWorking Committee meetingon Saturday is set to name anew Congress president. AICCsources said despite over-whelming view within theCWC that either Rahul Gandhishould continue to head theparty or Priyanka Gandhi musttake on the mantle, there is lit-tle possibility of them obligingthe party.

“In case both in the Nehru-Gandhi family decline, a non-Gandhian as desired by theRahul Gandhi, may be partypresident for the first time inover two decades,” said sources.

United ProgressiveAlliance (UPA) chairpersonSonia Gandhi met senior lead-ers Ahmed Patel, AK Antonyand KC Venugopal on Fridayahead of the crucial CWCmeeting. Besides discussingthe issue of new leadership,senior members are believed tohave also approved the nomi-nation of former Prime

Minister Manmohan Singh tobe Congress’s Rajya Sabha can-didate from Rajasthan.

Sources also said in casethe CWC meeting fails to arriveat a consensus candidate, theCWC may elect an interimpresident who will call forfresh elections to pick theCongress chief. Sources alsosaid the CWC may also form apanel of senior members tolook for the new chief.

Former Union Ministersand Gandhi family loyalistsMallikarjun Kharge and MukulWasnik are the front runners.Both Wasnik and Kharge areDalit leaders.

While Wasnik is a formerIndian Youth Congress chiefand was a Minister fromMaharashtra where Assemblyelections are due, Kharge hasbecome an important memberof the party and is in goodbooks of Sonia.

Both the leaders, however,lost the last Lok Sabha elec-tions.

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The Supreme Court onFriday made it clear that it

would continue with the day-to-day hearing of the political-ly sensitive Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute caseand assured a counsel forMuslim parties of giving mid-week breaks for preparing argu-ments, if needed.

The apex court reverted tothe objections raised by senioradvocate Rajeev Dhavan, repre-senting the Muslim partiesincluding M Siddiq and AllIndia Sunni Waqf Board, that itwill not be possible for him totake part in the proceedings onall five working days of the week.

“We will continue day-to-day hearing as ordered earlier,”a five judge Constitution Benchheaded by Chief Justice RanjanGogoi said at the fag end of thefourth day’s proceedings inthe case in which senior lawyerK Parasaran, appearing fordeity ‘Ram Lalla Virajman’, putforth his submissions.

The Bench took note ofDhavan’s submissions in themorning that it will be “inhu-man” and “practically impos-sible” for him to prepare hiscase if the apex court stuck toits decision to hear the land dis-

pute case from Monday toFriday every week till the con-clusion.

The Bench, also compris-ing Justices SA Bobde, DYChandrachud, Ashok Bhushanand SA Nazeer, however,assured Dhavan it would con-sider granting mid-week breaksto the senior lawyer if he needsthem for preparing the case.

The Bench then fixed theAyodhya case hearing on nextTuesday. The court is off nextMonday on account of Eid.

As soon as the counsel forthe deity commenced advanc-ing arguments.

Dhavan intervened andobjected to the five-days-a-week hearing of the case, say-ing he will “not be able to assist”the court if the hearing is“rushed through”.

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Almost 13 years after theSupreme Court directed

the Centre to safeguard pro-tected areas of wildlife sanctu-aries by surrounding themwith a buffer of ecologicallyfragile areas, the EnvironmentMinistry on Friday approvedthe eco-sensitive zones (ESZs)for 11 sanctuaries in TamilNadu and one each inChhattisgarh and Maharashtra.

Vaduvoor Bird Sanctuary,Megamalai Wildlife sanctuary,Vettangudi Birds sanctuary andAchanakmar Tiger Reserve inChhattisgarh and TungareshwarWildlife Sanctuary inMaharashtra will have ESZs.

A ESZ works as a shockabsorber to the protected areas

as certain activities such asmining, quarrying or heavyconstruction are bannedaround national parks andwildlife sanctuaries to min-imise negative impact on thefragile ecosystem around.

Making the announcementon social media, UnionEnvironment Minister PrakashJavadekar said, “To help scien-tific conservation of ecosystemsand at the same time givingrelief to the people in the area,I have approved final eco-sen-sitive zone notifications.”

In a series of tweets, henamed all the sanctuariesbrought under the notification.

“I have also approved finaleco-sensitive zone notificationin respect of TungareshwarWildlife Sanctuary in

Maharashtra,” the Ministertweeted.

Kanjirankulam BirdSanctuary, SrivilliputhurGrizzled Squirrel sanctuary, ,Gulf of Mannar MarineNational Park, Kodaikanal

Wildlife Sanctuary,Sakkarakottai Bird Sanctuary,Vallanadu BlackbuckSanctuary, Oussudu Lake BirdSanctuary and Point CalemereWildlife Sanctuary have alsogot the ecological cushion.

“This scientific demarca-tion of final eco-sensitive zonesand 10 km from the protectedareas will help farmers, artisans,rural people, small businessesas the uncertainty has nowgone,” he tweeted.

The Ministry had earliersaid till June 25, over 30 percent of India’’s protected area(PA) has been covered underthe final ecologically sensitive

zone notification. According to the Ministry,

out of the 651 protected areasin India, 316 have been coveredunder the final ESZ notificationwhich provides for prohibitionof mining, stone quarryingand crushing units locatedwithin one km of such pro-tected areas.

The Supreme Court inDecember 2006 had directedall the States to demarcateESZs within four weeks. As theStates failed to comply, theapex court ordered the creationof ESZs, extending up to 10 kmfrom the protected areas. TheESZ notifications are issuedunder the Environment(Protection) Act, 1986 andEnvironment (Protection)Rules 1986.

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Former Finance MinisterArun Jaitley was admitted to

AIIMS here on Friday after hecomplained of breathlessness.

He is undergoing treat-ment in the Intensive CareUnit under the supervision ofa multidisciplinary team ofdoctors. The AIIMS, in a state-ment, said, “Arun Jaitley wasadmitted to AIIMS todaymorning. He is currentlyundergoing treatment in theIntensive Care Unit under thesupervision of a multidiscipli-nary team of doctors. He ishaemodynamically stable.”

Hemodynamically stablemeans the patient has a stableheart pump and the blood cir-culation is good.

Prime Minister NarendraModi, Home Minister AmitShah, Defence MinisterRajnath Singh, Lok SabhaSpeaker Om Birla, UnionHealth Minister HarshVardhan, Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman, Ministerof State for Health AshwiniChoubey, BJP working presi-dent J P Nadda and SharadYadav visited the hospital toenquire about Jaitley’s health.

Jaitley, 66, was admitted atthe Cardio-Neuro-Centre ofthe hospital around 10 am,hospital sources said.

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In view of the increasing inci-dents of misconduct of MPs

like holding placards, tearing ofpapers and even theConstitution inside theParliament House, Vice-President of India M VenkaiahNaidu on Friday suggested thatpolitical parties should have acode of conduct for their elect-ed representatives to help monitor their behaviour inParliament and State legislatures.

Naidu, who is also the RajyaSabha chairman, suggested thatpolitical parties could includesuch a code in their electionmanifestos that would helpenable voters to make theirjudgement before voting. The

code of conduct, he said, shouldinclude stipulations that mem-bers would not enter the well ofthe house, nor resort to sloga-neering and disruptions or anyother unruly behaviour such astearing of papers and throwingthem in the House.

“I suggest that political par-ties should have a code of con-duct for their MPs to monitortheir behaviour,” Naidu saidwhile speaking to the media atan informal get-together after theend of the Parliament session.

He called for more coordi-nation between the ruling partyand the opposition, both insideand outside Parliament, to helpbring about consensus onimportant legislations.

The Vice President said hewas sure that the leadershipand MPs of all political parties

would appreciate the signifi-cance of functional Parliamentand would maintain the posi-tive momentum of the just-concluded session.

Noting that political partieswere only rivals and not ene-mies, he was of the firm opin-ion that the ruling and theopposition parties should inter-

act more frequently to ensuresmooth conduct of bothParliament and legislatures.

Observing that parliamen-tary democracy was all aboutensuring governance throughaccountability to the people, theRajya Sabha chairmandescribed the three importantfunctions of legislatures as“Legislative, Deliberative andAccountability”.

“We are supposed to makenecessary legislations for the bet-terment of the country and thepeople, take up and deliberate onissues of public importance andensure the accountability of theGovernment of the day,” hesaid. The Rajya Sabha Chairmansaid that he has always beenemphasising the need for mem-bers to discuss, debate anddecide and not resort to dis-

ruptions and obstructions inParliament and State legisla-tures as people were becomingrestless over such behaviour.

Naidu expressed concernover the tendency of the oppo-sition parties to boycott the leg-islature in some States, while incertain other instances theopposition was sent out. Insome States, the Assembly wasmeeting for very few days,while there was continuousdisruption in some others.

The Vice-Presidentappealed to all political partiesto see that Parliament andLegislatures function effec-tively and also to ensure thatthe quality of debates wasraised. He said, “There is a feel-ing among the people that thelevel of public discourse isgoing down.”

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In an effort to give a boost tothe Indian Defence industry

under the ‘Make in India’ ini-tiative, Defence MinisterRajnath Singh on Friday saidthe Government is keen toencourage private industryinvestment in Defence sectorwhile also strengtheningdefence PSUs and OrdnanceFactory Board (OFB).

Addressing CEOs of topDefence and Aerospace com-panies at a roundtable with thetheme ‘Make in India inDefence Industry’ here, he saiddefence companies have hugeopportunities in contributingto domestic market in additionto exports.

He said the strategic part-nership model has been notifiedto establish defence manufac-turing infrastructure and supplychain through which Indiancompanies could choose a part-ner through a competitive andtransparent process. He addedthat FDI policy in defence sec-tor has been liberalised.

Regarding the offset pro-cessing, Singh said the Ministryhas set up an end-to-end off-set processing portal throughwhich proposals of value USD1.5 billion were processed.Entry barriers for MSMEs werealso reduced and this resultedin doubling of defence licens-es issued from 215 in 2014 to440 in 2019.

Singh also said the DefenceInvestor Cell established a yearago in the Ministry hasprocessed nearly 550 queriesand grievances.

While highlighting variousmeasures initiated by theGovernment to encouragedefence exports, the ministerurged the industry to worktowards increasing exports tofriendly countries. He saidexport procedure has been

simplified and defence pro-curement procedure wasrevised in 2016 to encourageindigenous design, develop-ment and manufacture.

He said self reliance indefence sector would not be pos-sible without development ofindigenous technology andcalled for steps to develop relat-ed technologies within the coun-try. Singh said there is greaterpossibility now because the con-tribution of digital technologiesin defence sector is on theupswing and India has strongcapabilities to develop suchtechnologies where start upshave a significant role to play.Singh said the Indian defenceindustry’s production was Rs80,000 crore in 2018-19 of whichRs 16,000 crore was the contri-bution from the private sector.

Earlier, in his welcomeaddress, Secretary (DefenceProduction) Ajay Kumar saidthe roundtable was organisedto obtain views and suggestionsfrom the industry to furtherimprove the systems and pro-cedures in the defence sector.Minister of state Shripad YessoNaik, senior officials of theMinistry, Defence PSUs, OFBand CEOs & representatives oftop Defence manufacturingcompanies were present onthe occasion.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi will inaugurate the

720-MW Mangdechhuhydropower project during histwo-day visit to Bhutan onAugust 17-18 as part of his‘neighbourhood first’ policy.India is helping Bhutan build10,000 MW of hydropower.

During his visit Modi willhold talks with the top leader-ship on a host of issues, includ-ing strengthening the bilateraldevelopment partnership andcollaborating in the hydropow-er sector.

Modi will arrive in Bhutanon August 17 and will call onBhutanese King Jigme KhesarNamgyel Wangchuck. He willalso hold delegation-level talkswith his Bhutanese counterpartLotay Tshering the same day.

The highlight of the visit willbe the inauguration of theMangdechhu hydropower pro-ject, Foreign Secretary VijayGokhale said at a media briefing.

Also, India’s developmentpartnership is a major aspect ofthe bilateral ties. India inDecember committed Rs 5,000crore development assistance toBhutan’s 12th five-year planand the first tranche of that hasbeen released, Gokhale said.

Modi will also address theRoyal University of Bhutan.The King and Queen of Bhutanwill host a lunch in the honourof Prime Minister Modi.

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In a move to help small andmarginal farmers, the

Ministry of Agriculture onFriday started registration forthe Pradhan Mantri KisanMaan-Dhan Yojana (PM-KMY), one of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s flagshipschemes, across the country.

Under the PM-KMY, whichwas announced during theBudget 2019-20, a monthly pen-sion of Rs 3,000 will be provid-ed to eligible farmers on attain-ing the age of 60. The schemewill be implemented across thecountry, including Jammu &Kashmir and Ladakh.

Announcing the launch ofthe scheme, Union AgricultureMinister Narendra SinghTomar said that the PM-KMYregistration process has com-menced across the countryfrom Friday. “Till Friday noon,418 farmers have registered andI request more farmers to jointhe scheme,” Tomar said.

Farmers, who attained 18years, will have to contribute Rs55 per month while similar

amount will be contributed bythe Centre. Those who are 29years old will have to contributeRs 100 per month while thosewho are 40 will have to con-tribute Rs 200 per month.Farmers will have to pay Rs 30to common service centre forenrolment in the scheme. PM-KMY aims to help them live ahealthy and happy life afterthey reach their old age.

Farmers holding up to 2hectare farm land will be eligi-ble for the PM-KMY scheme.It is a voluntary and contribu-tion-based pension scheme forfarmers in the age group of 18

to 40 years, he said adding thescheme is meant for smallfarmers and therefore there isa landholding limit.Highlighting the key features ofthe scheme, the Minister saidthe spouse is also eligible to geta separate pension of Rs 3,000upon making separate contri-bution to the fund. In case ofdeath of the farmer before theretirement date, the spousemay continue with the scheme.

If the spouse does not wishto contribute, the total contri-bution made by the farmeralong with interest will be paidto the spouse. In the absence of

any spouse, total contributionalong with interest will be paidto the nominee.

If the farmer dies after theretirement date, the spousewill receive 50 per cent of thepension as family pension.After the death of both thefarmer and spouse, the accu-mulated corpus will be credit-ed back to the pension fund.

The beneficiaries may optvoluntarily to exit the schemeafter a minimum period of fiveyears of regular contributions.On exit, their entire contribu-tion will be returned by pen-sion fund manager LifeInsurance Corporation (LIC)with an interest equivalent toprevailing saving bank rates.

The Minister further saidthat the farmers, who are alsobeneficiaries of the PM-KISANscheme, will have the option toallow their contribution debit-ed from the benefit of thatscheme directly. As many as 5,88,77,194 and 3,40,93,837farmers’ families have availed1st and 2nd instalments respec-tively under the PM-KisanScheme,” the Minister added.

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In more trouble for contro-versial Samajwadi Party

leader Azam Khan, the ED haslaunched a money launderingprobe following an FIR thatalleged that Mohammad AliJauhar University run by himin Rampur district of UttarPradesh was built over a plot ofland taken in violation of theenemy property law.

Khan, a Lok Sabha MPfrom Rampur and a formerstate cabinet minister underAkhilesh Yadav regime in theState, has already been bookedby the ED under the Preventionof Money Laundering Act(PMLA), based on at least 26criminal FIRs filed by the localpolice on charges of land graband extortion.

The university under theED scanner was established in2006 with Khan as its founderand chancellor. An estimated3,000 students are enrolled inthe university spread over anarea of 121 hectares. The‘enemy property’ in this case islocated in Singan Khera Tehsilof the Rampur district and itbelongs to Pakistani nationalImamuddin Qureshi. The dis-trict magistrate or the collectoris the deputy custodian of an‘enemy property’ in a district.

Enemy properties are theimmovable assets left behind bypeople who migrated toPakistan after the Partition.According to data, there are

about 9,280 such properties leftbehind by Pakistani nationals.Such properties are regulatedunder the Enemy Property Act.

If the allegation of landgrab and violation of theEnemy Property Act are estab-lished, the university campuscan be soon attached by theEnforcement Directorate (ED)under the Prevention of MoneyLaundering Act, sources said.

The ED’s Lucknow zonehas sought information fromthe Rampur district adminis-tration about the title and otherinformation about the land onwhich the university is situated.

The agency has also sum-moned 25 entities and indi-viduals, over the next week,who had complained that theuniversity, its officials and mainpromoter Azam Khan hadflouted the Enemy PropertyAct to grab land by projectingit as a Waqf property to set upthe university.

The ED has launched aparallel probe under theForeign Exchange

Management Act (FEMA) intothe university issue and islooking into the approvals,mutation of land and fundssourced by the university toallegedly grab the ‘enemy prop-erty’ land in an illegal mannerin purported connivance ofGovernment officials.

The ED has written to thehigher education departmentof the Uttar Pradesh govern-ment to share all documentsrelated to approvals and sanc-tions given to the university, totake forward its criminal probeunder PMLA and FEMA.

The Rampur districtadministration has registeredan FIR into the alleged illegaldeal on Thursday.

Besides Khan, the registrarof the university, the Waqfboard Imam and the then offi-cial of the Rampur municipalcorporation S M Tariq havebeen named in the FIR asaccused. Khan’s name was alsouploaded on an online list of“land mafias” by the districtadministration recently.

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Aiming to end morbidityand mortality in children

due to diarrhoea by 2022, theUnion Health Ministry haschalked out an ambitious planto administer the Rotavirusvaccine to every child acrossthe 36 States and UnionTerritories in the country bySeptember end under 100-dayagenda of the Government.

Talking about the expan-sion plan of the Rotavirus vac-cine programme for the entirecountry, Union Health MinisterHarsh Vardhan on Friday saidunder Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s leadership,the government was commit-ted to putting an end to mor-bidity and mortality in childrendue to diarrhoea by 2022.

Strengthening routineimmunisation was an essentialinvestment in children and itwould ensure a healthy futurefor the country, he stressed.

Diarrhoea is one of thebiggest killers of children withRotavirus being one of thecommon causes of severe diar-

rhoea in children less than twoyears of age, the Minister said.

“The Rotavirus vaccine,along with proper sanitation,hand-washing practices, ORSand zinc supplementation, willgo a long way in reducing mor-tality and morbidity due todiarrhoea in children,” he added.

Vardhan said theGovernment was also commit-ted to increasing the full immu-nisation coverage and ensuringthat the benefit of the life-sav-ing vaccines was provided toevery child in the country.

“We stand committed toreducing child deaths and pro-viding a healthier future to ourchildren and the expansion ofthe Rotavirus vaccine pro-

gramme under UIP (UniversalImmunisation Programme) is astep in that direction,” he added.

In India, 37 out of 1,000children are unable to celebratetheir fifth birthday and one ofthe major reasons for this is diar-rheal deaths. Rotavirus is a lead-ing cause of diarrhoea in chil-dren less than five years of age.

It is estimated thatRotavirus causes 8,72,000 hos-pitalisations, 32,70,000 outpa-tient visits and estimated 78,000deaths annually in India. Thevaccine is expected to be avail-able in all the 36 States andUnion territories by September.

Rotavirus vaccine wasintroduced in 2016 in a phasedmanner, beginning with 4 states

initially and later expanded to7 more states making it a totalof 11 states by end of 2018.

At present the vaccine hasbeen further expanded to 17more States till now. Rotavirusvaccine is now available in 28States/UTs, namely, AndhraPradesh, Haryana, HimachalPradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha,Assam, Tripura, Rajasthan,Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh,Uttar Pradesh, Manipur,Daman & Diu, Gujarat, Bihar,Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh,Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra,Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Goa,Chandigarh, Nagaland, Delhi,Mizoram, Punjab, Uttarakhand,and Andaman and NicobarIslands.

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Speeding up the poll prepa-rations for three States of

Delhi, Haryana andMaharashtra, the BJP on Fridayappointed Union MinistersPrakash Javadekar andNarendra Singh Tomar, andparty general secretaryBhupendra Yadav as its poll in-charges for Delhi, Haryanaand Maharashtra respectively.BJP vice-president OP Mathurhas been appointed as poll in-charge for Jharkhand.

Post-Lok Sabha victory,BJP would like to retain powerin Haryana and Maharashtraand also wrest Delhi from the

ruling AAP even as the latterlooks determined to make asecond comeback in thenational capital. The AAP,which had swept polls in Delhiin 2015 with good backing ofresidents of slums and ‘unau-thorised colonies’, is againpitching for a strong show inthe coming Assembly electionsscheduled early 2020. AAPhad won 67 of 70 Assemblyseats in Delhi.

The BJP has also appoint-ed two co-incharges Nityanand

Rai and Hardeep Singh Puri toassist Javadekar in Delhi, whereBJP could win only three out ofthe 70 Assembly seats in the lastAssembly elections.

On his appointment,Javadekar, who was earlier in-charge of Assembly polls andLok sabha elections forRajasthan, said he will dis-charge his responsibility withdedication and will prepareplans for the Delhi polls afterconsulting party president andother leaders concerned.

For Maharashtra,Jharkhand and Haryana too,the BJP has appointed co-incharges.

Uttar Pradesh DeputyChief Minister and OBC leaderKeshav Prasad Maurya alongwith Karnataka leader LaxmanSevadi will be co-incharges forMaharashtra polls.

Tomar will be assisted byBhupendra Singh, a Jat leaderfrom Haryana, in handlingelection related affairs in thestate. Jats have a sizeable pop-ulation in Haryana. BJP leaderand a minister in Bihar’s NDAgovernment Nand KishoreYadav will be co-inchargeassisting Mathur in Jharkhand.

Jaipur: “Love is not a crime.”The Rajasthan Police are tryingto get this across with a littlehelp from the cult classicMughal-e-Azam.

Days after the StateAssembly passed a Bill propos-ing up to life imprisonment forhonour killings, the police havebegun tweeting the message.The tweets carry a couple ofstills from the movie that starredPrithivraj Kapoor as Akbar andDilip Kumar as his rebelliousson Salim, who fell in love withcourt dancer Anarkali, playedby Madhubala.

Akbar orders her to beentombed alive, but in a last-minute change of heart hearranges for her escape. Or so thestory goes. “Be warned, the daysof Mughal-e-Azam are over,” thepolice tweet says in Hindi. It thenspells out the punishment forhonour killing under the newlaw. “Because love is not a crime,”it adds. The poster tweeted by thepolice also carries a line from asong in the 1960 movie, sung bya defiant Anarkali in the Mughalemperor’s court: “Jab pyar kiya todarna kya” (Why be afraid whenyou are in love)”.

The reason why no oneshould be scared is because ofthe anti-honour killing law, itsays. BL Soni, the additionaldirector general of CID (CrimeBranch), said the social mediacampaign was for creatingawareness about the legislation.

PTI

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chhattisgarh 03RAIPUR | SATURDAY | AUGUST 10, 2019

Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel failed to resist himself from dancing with the drum beats of a folk band from Bastar. He walkeddown from the dais at a function held at Sardar Balbeer Singh Juneja Indoor Stadium on Friday to mark the International Dayof World's Indigenous People to shake legs. He also played the traditional ‘Mandar’.

Activists of Seva Dal, a frontal organisation of the Congress, on Friday (August 9) took out a Padyatra (footmarch) to mark ‘August Kranti Diwas’ or Quit India Movement Day.

Baiga tribes are among fewtribes in Chhattisgarh

which could be easilyidentified through theirdistinct tattoos.

Striking tattoos on thearms and legs of Baiga womencan easily give competition totattoo artists from cities.

Ironically, the tattooculture which has emergedas new urban culture in citiesis losing its roots in the Baigatradition, observes LamtuSingh Bagdaria a seniormember of Baiga communi-ty and resident of Daldalivillage in Kawardha district.

“Tattoos are an impor-tant part of the Bagia tribeidentity. Youths have animportant role to play in car-rying forward this tradition.

I feel more youths shouldcome forward to preserveour culture,” he says.

Bagdaria defines tattoosas a link to ones’ soul.

He says Baiga girls as

young as 8 years start to gettattoos beginning from fore-head and continues to get

tattoos in different parts ofher body after marriage.

“Tattoos are must for

girls in the age group of 12 to20 years,” Bagdaria says.

Voicing concern about sur-vival of this tradition, Bagdariasays Tattoo culture is slowlyfading in his community asyoung people are not muchconcerned about this culture.

Interestingly, in theprocess of getting tattoos onehas to undergo painful stingsbut it does not deter the youngtribal girls/women from itscharm. The tattoos are perma-nent marking and traditional-ly it first done on the foreheadthen hands and legs andultimately it ends at back.

Bagdaria informed thatthe place where women gettattoos is barred for men’sentry. Tattoos in Baiga cul-ture are exclusive for womenand men cannot get it. Theyare allowed to make tattoo intheir hands, he explains.

Where ‘tattoo’ is a religion(Lensman SANTOSH SAHUafter returning from Kabirdham)

STAFF REPORTER nKONDAGAON

On the occasion ofInternational Day of

World's Indigenous Peopleon Friday Chief MinisterBhupesh Baghel announcedthat a campaign to eradicatemalnutrition and anemiawill be launched in all thedistricts of Chhattisgarh.

The campaign will bestarted on the occasion ofFather of Nation MahatmaGandhi's 150th anniversaryon October 2.

State Government hasset the goal to makeChhattisgarh malnutritionand anemia free within nextthree years.

Under this campaign,people suffering frommalnutrition and anemiawill be provided free of costnutritious food every day.

Chief Minister madethis announcement whileaddressing a state-levelprogramme held in VikasNagar Stadium in districtheadquarters Kondagaon.

This campaign was initi-ated as pilot project in Bastarregion from July, 2019 and itwill be soon extended inother aspirational districts ofthe state.

In this campaign,maximum participation ofrenowned charitable organi-sations, public representa-tives, NGOs, media groupsand other competent peopleof the districts will beensured, sources said.

Chief Minister alsoappealed to local representa-tives and all the sections ofthe society to actively partic-ipate in this campaign.

He pointed out thataccording to the latest datareleased by NITI Aayog,37.60% children below 5years in Chhattisgarh aresuffering from malnutritionand 41.50% women in thestate are suffering from ane-mia.

“Every year lakhs ofchildren die because of mal-nutrition and anemia, lakhsof children are born under-

weight, they suffer fromgrowth issues, their mentaland physical development isadversely affected, and diffi-culties become part of theirlives right from the time ofbirth. Some serious strategicmeasures are required toredress this problem,”Baghel said.

The campaign to makeChhattisgarh free of malnu-trition and anemia was start-ed as pilot project in Korba,Sarguja, Koriya and selectedpanchayats of other districtsin Bastar region. Under theproject free nutritious foodwas provided to all the peo-ple suffering from anemiaand malnutrition.

In the campaign to belaunched on Gandhi Jayanti,free nutritious meals will beprovided every day to thepatients of malnutrition andanemia, as per the list issuedby each of the gram pan-chayat, customized as pertheir physical requirementand preferences.

Funds for implementa-tion of this programme will

be sanctioned every monthfrom DMF, CSR funds, andbasic funds of respectivepanchayats or by respectivedevelopment authorities.Each of the gram panchayatwill maintain daily record ofpeople being benefittedunder the programme.

While addressing theprogramme, Chief Ministeralso announced a hike inscholarship for students ofpre-matric hostels from`700 to `1000 and a signifi-cant increase in number ofseats in the colleges, officialsources said.

Chief Minister said thatdecision regarding the 'man-jhi' and 'chaalki', whosename got skipped fromenlistment, will be taken inthe cabinet meeting.

Industry MinisterKawasi Lakhma, FoodMinister Amarjeet Bhagat,Bastar MP Deepak Baij,Kondagaon MLA MohanMarkam along with otherMLAs and public represen-tatives were also present inthe programme.

C’garh to be made malnutrition,anemia free in 3 years: Baghel

RAIPUR: Chief MinisterBhupesh Baghel hasinstructed the governmentofficials to take stern actionagainst governmentemployees who got employ-ment on the basis of fakecaste certificates.

Baghel while address-ing a function held here atBalbeer Singh JunejaIndoor Stadium on Fridayon the occasion ofInternational Day ofWorld's Indigenous People

instructed officials to takestern steps against fakecaste certificate holders.

“These fake peoplehave snatched the rights oftrue tribals and they shouldimmediately be kicked out.This must be ascertainedwithin one month,” Baghelsaid.

Speaking on theoccasion, the CM alsounderlined the need to easethe process of issuance ofcaste certificates.

Baghel instructs officials tocrack whip on fake tribalsAction will be taken against those whogot govt jobs with fake tribal certificate

STAFF REPORTER n RAIPUR

Member of Parliament fromRaipur Sunil Soni on

Friday hailed the scrapping ofarticle 370 and 35(A) by theCentre terming it a ‘fulfillmentof long cherished dream’.

In his maiden address to themedia persons after being electedan MP, Soni said when PrimeMinister Narendra Modi is therenothing was impossible. He reit-erated: ‘Modi Hai to Mumkin Hai’.

“It was really a matter ofdelight that I too had witnessedthe historic moment of passageof the Jammu and KashmirReorganisation Bill, 2019 in theparliament as being a member ofthe House”, he said.

Soni further expressed hisanticipation that terrorism in

J&K would soon end and newavenues of employment wouldbe opened in the state with set-ting up of units by investors.

The citizens of J&K were tillnow not benefitted with the wel-fare schemes of the country butfrom now onwards justice would

be done to them and they willstart getting the benefits, headded.

Soni also came down heavilyon Chief Minister BhupeshBaghel for opposing the BJP’sstand on J&K and said by doingso Baghel had defamed the

Chhattisgarh across the globe.He also charged that Baghel

government had failed to tacklethe Naxal menace in past eightmonths’ tenure. After daringdecision on J&K now eradicationof Naxalism would be the nexttarget of the Centre, he said.

Passage of J&K bills fulfillmentof a long cherished dream: Soni


Following the Thursday’scar accident on express-

way, caused by a craterdeveloped on the road follow-ing heavy downpour inRaipur, the ruling Congresson Friday showered allega-tions of corruption on the BJP,during whose rule theexpressway was constructed.

“The craters on expresswayare glaring example of howquality was compromised inconstruction work and rampantcorruption which happenedduring the past 15-years of BJPregime in Chhattisgarh,”Chairman state Congress com-munication cell Shailsh NitinTrivedi said.

Taking a dig at former BJPlegislator Shrichand Sundarani’shaste attempt a few days ago to

inaugurate the expressway,Trivedi said he (Sundarani)should now tell who is responsi-ble for the mishap?

Congress claimed that theBJP should bear the responsibil-ity for accidents happening onexpressway.

He claimed that Sundarani’sattempt to inaugurate theexpressway was actually anattempt to start the expresswayso that bills of the errantcontractors could be cleared.

Trivedi recalling the inci-dent of collapsing of under-con-struction roof of new circuithouse in Raipur and falling of aslab of one of the bridges ofexpressway, claimed that the`312 crore expressway was asource of big financial embez-zlement happened during theBJP rule.

‘E-way mishap glaring exampleof corruption during BJP regime’

STAFF REPORTER nKONDAGAON

On the occasion ofInternational Day of

World's Indigenous People,Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghelinaugurated and laid foundationstone of 72 development worksworth nearly `214.71 crore atthe main programme held inKondagaon district today.

This includes inauguration of22 development works worth`45.21 crore and foundationlaying of 50 new developmentworks worth nearly `169.49 crore.

Development worksunveiled by Chief Minister inthe programme include fourdevelopment works of Central

Public Works Departmentworth `55 crore, 17 works ofChhattisgarh's PWDDepartment worth `93 crore, 15works of RES worth `2.58 crore,15 works of PMGSY worth`21.86 crore, five works ofKondagaon Municipal Councilworth `14.62 crore, one work ofNagar Panchayat Farasgaonworth `44 lakh, seven works ofPHE Department worth `2.24crore, three works of TribalDevelopment Departmentworth `5.10 crore, one work ofEnergy Department worth`2.55 crore, five works ofDistrict ConstructionCommittee Kondagaon worth`2.19 crore and one work ofCREDA worth `4.9 crore.


Indira Gandhi AgricultureUniversity, Raipur has

announced to establish a goldmedal that will be given totopper of agriculturemicroorganism sciencedepartment in memory oflate agriculture scientist DrJN Dubey.

As per the official infor-mation, a group of microor-ganism scientists handedover a cheque of `1.50 lakhto the university vice chan-cellor Dr SK Patil requestingto establish a gold medalin memory of Dr JN Dubey,officials informed.

The gold medal will be

given to the topper of M.Sc.Agri Micro Biology.

Notably Dr JN Dubeywas a known microorganismscientist of central India whocarried out number ofresearches on importance ofmicroorganism in agricul-ture. He was the first scientistto propound the relationbetween Rhizobium bacteriawith soya bean crop.

The group of microor-ganism scientists who gaveaway cheque included Dr LNVerma, former director ofnational bio fertilizer produc-tion center Ghaziabad and DrSB Gupta Dean Jashpur agri-culture college and others.

IGAU to give goldmedal in memoryof Dr JN Dubey

Chief Ministerunveils developmentworks worth `214 Cr

Campaign to be launched in all theaspirational districts of C’garh on Oct 2

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The much-awaited corridor— connecting Gurdwara

Sri Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistanand Dera Baba Nanak in India— is scheduled to be opera-tional on November 8. The firstbatch of 550 pilgrims woulddepart in the presence of thePrime Minister NarendraModi, Punjab Chief MinisterCapt Amarinder Singh, allCabinet Ministers, all MPs andMLAs from the State during amassive event.

With Pakistan already fin-ishing 90 per cent of construc-tion work on its side, PunjabGovernment on Friday main-tained that the corridor wouldbe completed “in all respects”by November 5. Already,Pakistan has announced thatthe corridor would be openedon November 8.

The information wasshared during a high-levelmeeting, held at Dera BabaNanak, between PunjabCabinet Minister and localMLA Sukhjinder SinghRandhawa and the officials ofall concerned Governmentdepartments regarding theKartarpur corridor.

It has been learnt that theState Government has decidedto go ahead with its decision tosend its delegation, comprisingthe Ministers and MLAs, toPakistan visit on August 22,which was doubtful consider-ing the escalating tensionbetween the two nations afterthe India scrapped Article 370in Jammu and Kashmir.

A senior Government offi-cial, who did not wish to benamed, told The Pioneer, dur-ing the meeting, all detailsregarding the Kartarpur Sahib

corridor besides preparationsfor Guru Nanak Dev’s 550thbirth anniversary celebrationswere discussed.

“The work of Indian sidewill be completed by November5, and the corridor would beopened on November 8. PrimeMinister, Punjab Chief

Minister, Cabinet Ministersand state’s all MPs and MLAswould be present during thedeparture if India’s first jatha(batch) to Kartarpur sahib,”said the official.

The official said that as a“symbolic” decision, the firstbatch would 550 people as the

corridor would be dedicated tothe people on the occasion of550th parkash purab.

Besides, the State Govern-ment would organise a bigevent on November 8 at DeraBaba Nanak. The Governmenthas decided to celebrate ‘DeraBaba Nanak Utsav’ which will

be the fusion of art and literaryforms, and the masses would bemade aware of the life and phi-losophy of Guru Nanak Dev.

A State Government dele-gation, comprising CabinetMinisters — Sukhjinder SinghRandhawa, OP Soni, andCharanjit Singh Channi, and

some MLAs — were scheduledto visit Pakistan betweenAugust 22 and 28. Already, theCentral Government has givena go-ahead for the visit.

During its visit, the dele-gation has planned to meetPakistan Prime Minister ImranKhan and the Chief Minister ofPakistan’s Punjab provinceUsman Ahmad Khan Buzdar.

Notably, the Centre’s per-mission had come before theabrogation of Article 370divesting Jammu and Kashmirof the “special status”, prompt-ing Pakistan to downgrade itsdiplomatic ties with India.

Pakistan Government had,in fact, suspended Indian HighCommissioner, partially shut-ting the air space, banningIndian films on Kashmir issue,and even stopped theSamjhauta Express at Wagahborder in Pakistan.

At the same time, thePakistan Foreign MinisterShah Mahmood Qureshi hadmade it clear that “Kartarpurinitiative would continue”,notwithstanding the latestdevelopments.

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Within a week of advocateHS Phoolka threaten-

ing Punjab Vidhan SabhaSpeaker Rana KP Singh ofmoving the Supreme Court incase his resignation was notaccepted, the same has beendone nearly a year after it wassubmitted.

Phoolka was elected fromDakha assembly constituencyon the ticket of Aam AadmiParty (AAP). He had resignedfrom the Punjab Vidhan Sabhaon October 2018, and alsofrom AAP in January thisyear.

After repeated pleas fol-lowed by a “warning”, theSpeaker Rana KP Singh onFriday accepted Phoolka’s res-ignation, paving way for theby-elections in Dakha assem-bly constituency, along withthe other two vacant seats —Phagwara, and Jalalabad.

The byelections to thethree vacant seats are likely tobe held in October along withthe impending Haryana

assembly elections.The byelections to

Jalalabad and Phagwara arenecessitated following the elec-tion of sitting MLAs — SAD’sSukhbir Badal and SomParkash respectively — fromFerozepur and Hoshiarpur, inthat order, after recently-heldLok Sabha elections.

Besides, AAP’s four otherMLAs — Nazar SinghMansahia from Mansa,Amarjit Singh Sandoa fromRopar, Sukhpal Singh Khairafrom Bholath, and MasterBaldev Singh from Jaiton —are also set to lose their mem-bership.

Mansahia and Sandoahave shifted their loyalties tothe ruling Congress in the runup to Lok Sabha elections,while Khaira had floated a newparty — Punjab Ekta Party(PEP) with Master BaldevSingh joining him. Notably,Khaira had submitted his res-ignation with the Speaker,Master Baldev Singh is yet todo the same.

Khaira, who had left AAP,floated his own political out-

fit ahead polls in January thisyear and unsuccessfully con-tested from Bathinda LokSabha seat. Even as AAP hassought Khaira’s removal as anMLA, the two-time MLA hadlater submitted his two-pageresignation to the Speaker —which is not as per the accept-ed procedure, but is underconsideration.

Master Baldev Singh, whohad also unsuccessfully con-tested elections from FaridkotLok Sabha seat, is expected toface anti-defection proceed-ings under the Act.

Phoolka, on Sunday, hadwritten to the Speaker sayingthat he would have to movethe Supreme Court if his res-ignation is not accepted. “Inthe event you do not take anydecision on my resignation, Iwill be constrained toapproach the Supreme Courtof India,” he had stated in theletter.

“Phoolka’s resignation hasbeen accepted by the Speaker,”said a Vidhan Sabha official onFriday.

Notably, Phoolka hadstepped down to press forimmediate action againstthose involved in desecratingthe Guru Granth Sahib in thestate in 2015. While quitting asan MLA, he had claimed thatthe Congress Government inthe State had not taken thedesired action against those

named in the Justice RanjitSingh Commission's reporton sacrilege incidents.

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In a bid to claim the placeof the principal oppositionparty — a place snatched bythe Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)after 2017 state assembly polls,the Shiromani Akali Dal(SAD) on Friday demandeddisqualification of AAP’s fourMLAs, who have eitherresigned or switched loyalties,besides debarring them fromcontesting elections for theremaining term of the 15thVidhan Sabha.

“The Constitution as wellas The Representation ofPeoples Act was being violat-ed in Punjab with four legis-lators, who had resigned fromthe primary membership ofAAP months back, not beingdisqualified and debarredfrom contesting elections forthe remaining term of the15th Vidhan Sabha,” said theformer minister and SADMLA Bikram Singh Majithia.

Majithia said that the tenthschedule of the Constitutionsaid ‘a member of a Housebelonging to any politicalparty shall be disqualified forbeing a member of the Houseif he has voluntarily given uphis membership of such a

political party’.Since all four MLAs had

resigned as primary membersof AAP, the constitutional pro-vision was being subverted, hesaid.

Majithia said that threelegislators – Sukhpal SinghKhaira (Bholath), Nazar SinghMansahia (Mansa), andMaster Baldev Singh (Jaito)had resigned from AAP sevenmonths back in January 2019,while Amarjit Singh Sandoa(Ropar) had resigned in May2019.

“Khaira and MasterBaldev Singh had formed anew political party, whileMansahia and Sandoa hadjoined the Congress...Thereis no ambiguity about the res-ignations or the subsequentactions of the four legislators,”he said while substantiating hisclaims with photographic evi-dence in all cases includingSpeaker Rana KP Singh’s pres-ence during Sandoa’s induc-tion into the Congress aheadLok Sabha polls.

The Akali leader said thatthe delay in taking requiredaction was a cruel joke on theelectorate of the four con-stituencies which was cur-rently not being represented inthe Vidhan Sabha. “It is imper-ative that all five seats bedeclared vacant so that freshelections could be held onthem,” he said.

He added that the stateexchequer was also beingdefrauded with the legislatorsdrawing salaries and enjoyingvarious facilities, includingstaff and security personnelentitled only to legislators.“The average cost incurred ona single legislator alone ismore than Rs five lakh permonth and the total expendi-ture incurred by the State onextending facilities to all ofthem, including HS Phoolkawho had resigned ten monthsback, is in crores of rupees,” headded.

He said that all this wasbeing done to ensure a friend-ly opposition as part of a fixedmatch between the ‘chhotiCongress’ (AAP) and the par-ent party. “Even the Leader ofOpposition is being kept in hischair solely by the Congressparty as the effective strengthof AAP had been reduced to11 legislators only. WhilePhoolka’s resignation has beenaccepted, the Speaker is yet totake a decision on four legis-lators even as Kanwar Sandhuhas been suspended from theparty and three other AAP leg-islators — Pirmal Singh,Jagdev Singh Kamalu andJagtar Singh Jagga — haveopenly gone against AAP,” hepointed.

Maintaining that therecould not be two sets of rulesfor Karnataka and Punjab,

Majithia said that inKarnataka, the assemblySpeaker KR Ramesh Kumar,who belonged to the Congressparty, had disqualified 17MLAs and debarring themfrom contesting elections forthe remainder of the currentterm of the State assembly forswitching parties.�� =��

AAP’s Punjab unit chiefand Sangrur MP BhagwantMann, reacting to the devel-opment, said that resigning asDakha MLA was HS Phoolka’spersonal decision while theparty was never in agreementwith it.

Expressing deep concernfor the people of the con-stituency, Mann said that thepeople of Dakha constituency,who had reposed their abidingfaith in AAP and Phoolka,were left in a quandary.“Resigning as a member of leg-islative assembly is a disgraceto the democratic values,besides being gross injustice tothe people who had pinnedhigh hopes on the elected rep-resentative like Phoolka,” hesaid.

He said that Phoolka, whocommanded immense respectin the party, was picked to leadthe Opposition Party inPunjab Vidhan Sabha byparty’s national convener and

Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal.

Accusing the Governmentand the Speaker of adoptingdouble-standards in terms ofaccepting resignations of AAPMLAs, Mann said that theSpeaker Rana KP had notbeen performing his constitu-tional obligations with theway he should.

“If the Speaker had notbeen adopting double stan-dards, he would have simulta-neously accepted the resigna-tions of Mansa MLA NazarSingh Mansahia and RoparMLA Amarjit Singh Sandoa ashe did in the case of Phoolka,”said Mann.

“No action has been initi-ated against Bholath MLASukhpal Singh Khaira, andJaiton MLA Baldev Singh,who had not only ditched theparty but had also cheated onthe people of their respectiveconstituencies and stitchedloyalties to the Congress partyand the Badals for their pettypolitical ends,” he said.

“The party had soughtaction against Khaira, but noaction has been taken in thematter while they are pocket-ing their salaries, vehicles,security and other politicaland financial benefits,” saidMann while alleging that theywere being given indirect ben-efits by nominating them tovarious committees.

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In a setback to Dera SachaSauda sect chief Gurmeet

Ram Rahim Singh, who isserving a 20-year jail sen-tence for raping two of his dis-ciples, the Rohtak Jai lSuperintendent SunilSangwan on Friday refused togrant him a three-week paroleto meet his ailing mother.

The decision not to grantthe parole was taken afterJustice Kuldip Singh of thePunjab and Haryana HighCourt directed the state totake a decision on the repre-sentation of Ram RahimSingh's wife Harjit Kaur.

She moved the parole pleasaying that Ram RahimSingh''s mother Naseeb Kaur,85, was suffering from a heartdisease and she was not tak-ing the treatment in theabsence of her son.RamRahim (51) is currentlylodged at the high-securitySunaria jail in Rohtak.

According to officials, theparole was rejected on twocounts. First, the parole couldcreate law and order problems inthe state at the time of his releaseand surrender later. Second, areport by a panel of doctors, whoexamined his mother, said she issuffering from a heart disease,but is not in critical condition.

On August 5, the Derachief 's wife Harjit Kaur filed aplea in the high court, whichsaid: "My mother-in-law wantsher son to remain present dur-ing her treatment." The highcourt asked the jail authorities totake a decision regarding theparole within five days.

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Ahead of the state assemblypolls, the Haryana State

Commission for Women hasasked leaders of all politicalparties, organisations and indi-viduals to refrain from express-ing indecent remarks againstwomen in the State.

The Commission has writ-ten letters to all political par-

ties, state enforcement agenciesand police headquarters, urg-ing it to take strict action attheir level against those whomake "disparaging" commentsagainst women. TheCommission has taken thisdecision following JannayakJanta Party (JJP) leaderDigvijay Singh Chautala’s con-troversial remarks targetingBJP's Sapna Chaudhary.

The vice-chairperson ofthe Haryana State Commissionfor Women, Preeti Bhardwajsaid, “An advisory regardingthe same has been issued topolitical parties and enforce-ment agencies. It is indeed amatter of dignity of all women.Leaders of any political partywho make remarks which areindecent and infringe the mod-esty of women."

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Hong Kong’s leader CarrieLam warned Friday that

two months of pro-democracydemonstrations were causingeconomic chaos in the city butruled out making concessionsto “silence the violent protest-ers.”

The embattled leaderabruptly announced a pressconference after meeting busi-ness leaders as demonstratorsrallied at the airport, with theprotest movement entering itsthird month.

Lam, whose support for abill to allow extradition tomainland China sparked thecrisis, warned that the eco-nomic impact of the unrestthreatened to be worse than the2003 SARS outbreak in thefinancial hub.

“The downturn this timecame very quickly. Someone

described it as coming like atsunami,” Lam said.

“Compared to the eco-nomic downturn caused bySARS that we handled previ-ously, which caused an eco-nomic storm, the situation thistime is more severe.” “In otherwords, the economic recoverywill take a very long time,” sheadded.

While Lam is a figure ofhatred for many pro-democracy activists, hercomments echo worried state-ments from the private sectorand the tourism industry inparticular.

Hong Kong carrier CathayPacific has warned bookingsare down, travel agencies havereported drops of up to 50 per-cent in group tour bookingsand the tourism board report-ed double-digit declines in vis-itor arrivals in the second halfof July.

Protesters have continuedto stage almost daily ralliesdespite increasingly violent confrontations withpolice that have prompted sev-eral countries to issue HongKong travel warnings for theircitizens.

On Friday, thousands ofpro-democracy protestersstaged a sit-in at the airport tobring their message to arrivingvisitors.

Lam has suspended the bill that sparked the crisis, but has not yet respond-ed to protester calls to with-draw it altogether, and she has brushed aside demandsfor an enquiry into police brutality.

She ruled out meeting thedemands of protesters, whichalso include a call for the directelection of the city’s chief exec-utive, currently chosen byBeijing.

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The US has said that there isno change in its policy on

Kashmir as it called on Indiaand Pakistan to maintainrestraint and hold direct dia-logue to resolve their differ-ences.

“No”, replied StateDepartment SpokespersonMorgan Ortagus when askedby reporters on Thursday ifthere has been any change inAmerica’s policy on Kashmir.

The US policy has beenthat Kashmir is a bilateral issuebetween India and Pakistanand it is up to the two countriesto decide on the pace andscope of the talks on the issue.

“And if there was, I cer-tainly wouldn’t be announcingit here, but no, there’s not,”Ortagus said in response to afollow up question.

She said the United Statessupports dialogue betweenIndia and Pakistan over

Kashmir and mentioned that asenior State Department offi-cial would be in New Delhinext week on a pre-scheduledvisit.

“It’s something that we’vecalled for calm and restraint byall parties. We want to mainpeace and stability, and we, ofcourse, support direct dialoguebetween India and Pakistan onKashmir and other issues ofconcern,” Ortagus said.

India had on Mondayrevoked provisions of Article370 to revoke Jammu andKashmir’s special status, andbifurcating the state into twounion territories — Jammuand Kashmir, and Ladakh.

Reacting to India’s move, Pakistan expelled theIndian High Commissioner aspart of its decision to down-grade the diplomatic ties withNew Delhi. Pakistan alsoannounced that it will reviewall “bilateral arrangements”with India.

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APakistani court on Fridayremanded Maryam Nawaz,

former prime minister NawazSharif ’s daughter, and her cousinin the custody of the country’santi-corruption authority tillAugust 21 in a money launder-ing case.

Maryam and her cousinYousaf Abbas Sharif were arrest-ed from the Kot Lakhpat jail hereon Thursday in connection to theChaudhry Sugar Mills (CSM)case while the 45-year-old PML-N vice president was on her wayback from visiting her father, whois lodged in the same prison.

She was supposed to appearbefore the NationalAccountability Bureau (NAB)on Thursday for questioning inthe sugar mills inquiry but shesought more time for submittingher response and went to meether father in jail instead. She wasarrested for not appearing beforethe anti-graft watchdog.

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The British economy shrankin the second quarter for

the first time since 2012 asBrexit uncertainties weighed onbusiness investment and firmsreduced their stockpiling afterBritain was granted an exten-sion to its departure from theEuropean Union, official fig-ures showed Friday.

The decline is set to raise

alarm that Brexit uncertainty isincreasingly weighing on theeconomy. Most economistsexpected the economy to flat-line. The quarterly drop low-ered the annual rate of growthto 1.2% from 1.8% in the firstquarter.

The Office for NationalStatistics noted there was“increased volatility aroundthe U.K.’s original planned exitdate from the European Union

in late March.”Brexit was meant to hap-

pen on March 29, but wasdelayed to the end of Octoberafter Parliament rejected thewithdrawal agreement that theprevious prime minister,Theresa May, had negotiatedwith the EU.

Before the extensionrequest, many firms ratchetedup their inventories to helpcushion the likely disruptionfrom Britain crashing out ofthe EU on March 29 withouta deal. That business activityhelped the economy grow by0.5% in the first quarter.

Since then, companieshave stopped stockpiling asmuch. Many car companiesalso brought forward theirannual maintenance shut-downs to April from later inthe year to cushion the poten-tial blow from Britain leavingthe EU without a deal onMarch 29.

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Pakistan Foreign MinisterShah Mahmood Qureshi

on Friday dashed to China todiscuss with the Chinese lead-ership Indo-Pak tensions afterIndia revoked the special sta-tus of Jammu and Kashmir.

Earlier this week,India revoked Article 370 towithdraw the special status toJammu and Kashmir andbifurcated the region intotwo Union Territories --Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh.

Pakistan termed theIndian action as “unilateraland illegal”, and said it willtake the matter to the UNSecurity Council.

Pakistan expelled theIndian High Commissioneras part of its decision todowngrade the diplomaticties with India andannounced that it will reviewall “bilateral arrangements”with India.

Qureshi told the media

before embarking on the visit toChina that India was trying todestroy the regional peace withits unconstitutional measuresand Pakistan will take Chineseleadership into confidence, GoeNews reported.

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Mexican police found ninebodies hanging from an

overpass Thursday alongside adrug cartel banner threateningrivals, and seven more corpseshacked up and dumped by theroad nearby. Just down the roadwere three more bodies, for atotal of 19.

The killing spree reportedby prosecutors in the westernstate of Michoacan marked areturn to the grisly massacrescarried out by drug cartels at theheight of Mexico’s 2006-2012drug war, when piles of bodieswere dumped on roadways as amessage to authorities and rivalgangs. Two of the bodies hungby ropes from the overpass bytheir necks, half naked, andone of the dismembered bodieswere women, MichoacanAttorney General Adrián LópezSolís said at a news conference.

The victims in the city ofUruapan had been shot to death.Some were hung with theirhands bound, some with their

pants pulled down.While the banner was not

completely legible, it bore theinitials of the notoriously violentJalisco drug cartel, and men-tioned the Viagras, a rival gang.“Be a patriot, kill a Viagra,” thebanner read in part.

“This kind of public, the-atrical violence,where you don’tjust kill, but youbrag aboutkilling, is meantto intimidaterivals and senda message to theauthorit ies ,”said Mexicosecurity analystA l e j a n d r oHope.

“This kindof cynicalimpunity hasbeen increasingin Michoacan,”Hope added.

In one par-ticularly brazenattack in May, a

convoy of pickups and SUVsopenly marked with the letters“CJNG” - the Spanish initialsof the Jalisco New GenerationCartel - drove through theMichoacan city of Zamora atnight, shooting up police vehi-cles and killing or woundingseveral officers.

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US President Donald Trumphas announced that his

respected Deputy Director ofNational Intelligence was resign-ing, the latest chapter in a broadreshuffle at the top of the coun-try’s spy agencies.

Sue Gordon spent a quarter-century in the CIA beforebecoming second-in-commandto outgoing Director of NationalIntelligence Dan Coats and wasin line to serve as acting direc-tor. “Sue Gordon is a great pro-fessional with a long and dis-tinguished career. I have gottento know Sue over the past 2 yearsand have developed great respectfor her,” Trump said on Twitteron Thursday. “Sue hasannounced she will be leavingon August 15, which coincideswith the retirement of DanCoats,” Trump added.

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Enough has not yet been said of thebrutality of the “One India” narra-tive and the brazenness with whichit legitimises the lowest commondenominator of societal attitudes

and a viral thinking. Two incidents over thelast few days embody a deeply disturbing anddistressing fallout of the muscular leadershipin the political space degenerating into gen-der triumphalism in the social space. One thatautomatically assumes muscularity and deci-siveness as admirable male traits and every-thing else as supine and feminine frailties. Is“toxic masculinity” then the new nationalcharacter? Now codified almost?

The first case was of the Unnao rapeaccused Kuldeep Sengar, now expelled by theBJP, wishing a speedy recovery for the sur-vivor with not even a twitch of emotion oreven betraying his predatory nature, one thathe had used to hound, scare and subjugate herfor two years. The girl, whose family was neu-tralised or eliminated through means foul andhis intimidation, had to threaten self-immo-lation in front of the UP Chief Minister’s res-idence for her ultimate appeal to justice. Anda national conscience. Sengar is in custody,booked under serious charges and noweven guilty by evidence, but that hasn’t stoppedhim from squashing his female victim whereit hurts the most. As she fights for every breathof her life in a hopeless situation, Sengar pub-licly insulted her effort by “wishing her well,”the final blow to her dignity, patronising indispensing grace while being the perpetratorof her humiliation. Some distorted charity thathe thinks will earn him clemency. Sadly, it hasfor the last two years.

The second instance was even morebelly-churning. As the government roadrolled its way into changing the character ofJammu and Kashmir by abrogating Article370 and bifurcating the State into UnionTerritories, a majority of reactions on socialmedia were about how every Indian malecould now marry “fair Kashmiri girls,” buyproperty and settle down in the Valley, theimplication reeking of feudal conquests of thedarkest ages of civilisation, where womenwere traded as spoils of war. A forceful inte-gration amounts to a war on people over land.Nobody even stepped in to condemn suchirresponsible and crass humour, which wasrelished by many. And considering that a cer-tain level of awareness, power and educationcan be assumed of online citizenry, this trulywas a new low, no different from the men-tality of an invading, occupation force of themedieval era. Since when were Kashmiriwomen prevented from marrying outside theState? Many have already done that out of freewill, knowing full well that it would entailrelinquishing claims to their family inheri-tance. Of course, to the avaricious male, shecan now be entitled to her birth heritage. Isthat the implication? Also did anybody askwhy Kashmiri women would agree to marryoutsiders, particularly in challenged circum-stances as now? Or why they are not a voice-

less tribe and just like otherwomen in the rest of India? Yetthere is a sweeping assumptionof their acquiescence to a neworder in this pernicious propa-ganda warfare that is deeplyproblematic. By denying themtheir equal, civil space and appro-priating their human rights ofchoice and decision-making, itshows that political control isequivalent to a patriarchal socialauthoritarianism. Also, by equal-ising marriage with a Kashmiriwoman and acquisition of landin Budgam for a summer chalet,the script-writers are blankingout consent and will of the otherside and force-feeding choices.

It would be easy to attributesuch behaviour and mindset tothe resurgence of revisionism ora stoking of primal instincts. Butmale behaviour in the millenni-al era has considerably changedorganically, lending heft to thedefinition of metrosexuality. Thisthen is not latent expression butan adjunct of hardening politicsworldwide, where sexism andgendered violence are beingredefined as a masculine privilegeof power. In the Indian context,it is about inequality of politicalpower and the way it is dispensed.It is about a certain male chestsize which can be the nation’sarmoured shield like no other.One has only to look at the way

political decision-making processhas converted the democraticprocess as a fait accompli.Nowhere is this totalitarian mightmore evident than in Parliament,where productivity is aboutsteamrolling legislation and theconsultative, cooperative processis seen as wasting time and ener-gy, where opposition is aboutanti-nationalism and consideredopinions are national deterrentsto possibilities, where plurality ispointless and negotiation anextinct tool of trade. In a system,where monotheistic and simplis-tic decision-making is blurringout layers and complexities, andpower flowing from an iconisedperception of maleness, it mustfollow that society will react to it.For it is only real life conditionsand forces that sustain popularculture, in our case a brainwashedsort. One where institutions andpurveyors perpetuate the senti-ment rather than politicalthought. This explains why theHindi film Kabir Singh, whichcelebrates toxic masculinity anda subjugation of gender roles,finds crores of takers in the 21stcentury and is frighteninglyendorsed by the youth in middleand small town India. This is sodifferent from the “angry youngman” of the 70s, who was fight-ing the establishment againstsuch ruthless toxicity of power.

What confounds the dis-course is attributing male supe-riority to our cultural DNAwhen fact is an eco-system hasbeen created to foster an old con-struct for easier acceptance. Astudy conducted in the US onalcoholism may be cited here toexplain the context. The alcoholindustry there had fundedresearch to deny the relationshipbetween alcohol and violence andinstead blamed “masculinity”and “cultures of drinking.” But thestudy uncovered strong evidencethat the density of liquor shopsin a given geographic areaincreased the local rate of domes-tic violence and recommendedthat any serious framework forpreventing violence againstwomen would have to addressalcohol availability as well as sex-ist mindsets. In other words, sucha mindset is being engendered bysystematic and selective blankingout of existing narratives andpushing convenient ones withbrute force.

The problem with thisapproach in our society is thatwe have still not begun torespect women’s rights as evo-lutionary but as an impositionof grace by a male order. Wehave not been able to pass theWomen’s Reservation Bill at atime when it was required toensure proportional representa-

tion that would ensure inclusiveparticipation and policy-mak-ing, not even now when a flur-ry of other Bills have made thecut. All women and child-friendly schemes of the govern-ment are bestowed rather thanearned. The very act of “empow-erment” assigns the agency to anexternal power of dole ratherthan claiming rights. And withso much muscularity of purposeon display, embracing thevirtues and strength of feminin-ity as a man upsets operablebinaries. If reason, counsel andcivility are now emaciatingcharacteristics, then the idea ofpower automatically gets slottedin the privileged domain of araw, hunter-gatherer masculin-ity. The otherness gets lumpedin baskets of minorityism, lib-eralism or feminism. Of these,feminism is the easiest to targetas the tide of opinion stillfavours men. Generations ofwomen in India have workedtirelessly to rebalance the equa-tion between sexes, often mis-takenly acquiring masculinequalities and benchmarks to doso. Now they have a far tougherpolitical context of endowmentto battle, one where humane-ness is predicated on the dehu-manisation of others.

(The writer is AssociateEditor, The Pioneer)

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Sir — This refers to the editorial,“A rate cut to nowhere” (August9). Clearly, the Indian economyhas come to a grinding halt.There has been a cut of 110 basispoints this year, yet there are nosigns of improvement. Signalsare not positive. New firms aredefaulting on a weekly basis andretail assets of quite a few aretrending negative than everbefore.

The view now is that thiscould be less of a cyclical and farmore a structural issue. We don’tknow why the auto industry is inthe dumps. The economic slow-down has led to unemployment.An estimated three lakh and a50,000 people have become job-less due to spiralling layoffs in theauto sector. There is an inklingthat this slowdown could last fora long time.

The Government has tied itshands on investment under theself-imposed fiscal custody. It hasput hopes on private entrepre-neurs to infuse money, which theydo not have. It is also trying toease norms to bring foreign equi-ty but its rules and regulationsseem to be wanting in a clear pat-

tern or steady policy stream as adependable benchmark for theexternal investor, who worries ifhe/she can have smooth approvalsto undertake a project. One thingthat the Government can do hereis to ensure predictability.Investors, foreign or domestic, areaverse to dealing in an uncertainbusiness domain.

R NarayananNavi Mumbai

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Sir — Seven decades of Article370 and six-and-a-half of Article35A haven’t quite made Kashmirthe paradise on earth it was oncedescribed as. Jammu & Kashmirhas been a model of underdevel-opment under successive regimes.

While debates on the consti-tutionality of the decisions

announced about Jammu &Kashmir will rage for a longtime, and perhaps be adjudicat-ed in a court of law, there can beno question on the boldness ofthe initiative.

From a historical perspective,the presence of Jammu &Kashmir in the Indian Union wasthe repudiation of Jinnah’s two-nation theory; however, the pres-ence of Article 370 conferring

special status on the territory con-tradicted, in substantial mea-sure, this repudiation.

This Government has optedto shun the status quo andembark on a path quite differentfrom any attempted in the past.If it ends the misery of theregion’s people and brings pros-perity to them, its initiative mustbe welcomed.

J AkshayBengaluru

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Sir — The scrapping of Article 370was due for a long time. The ModiGovernment has walked the talkon this count.

But what came as a bolt fromthe blue was its decision to uni-laterally downgrade and split theState. This is not in the spirit offederalism. Though theGovernment has assured that fullStatehood will be restored, nor-malcy will not return in thisState any time soon due to suchradical decisions.

VaibhavVia email

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The internal reorganisation of theState of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) intotwo Union Territories presents NewDelhi with a new set of diplomaticchallenges internationally, besides

possible domestic upheavals in the days to come.To all sovereign democratic nation States in thepost-Westphalian order, the causal relationshipbetween internal cartographic reorientationand the need for its justification through inter-national diplomacy is a troubling one. Thebroader justification for such thoughts isderived from the Charter of the United Nations,which states that “nothing should authoriseintervention in matters essentially within thedomestic jurisdiction of any State.”

However, because of its historically fraughtnature, early internationalisation of the issue andmajor power interventions in the past, theKashmir dispute between India and Pakistan hasnot been insulated from international mediation.The latest round of arbitration offers betweenIndia and Pakistan from US President DonaldTrump and Pakistan’s attempt to reach out toother countries and organisations internation-ally, is a desperate shot at creating space for inter-national intervention in the Kashmir dispute.Any attempts to offer international mediationin the Kashmir dispute, especially in the after-math of the 1972 Shimla Agreement and theLahore Declaration of 1999, which emphasisebilateral mechanisms to resolve disputes, will notbe entertained by India.

In the latest round of diplomatic offensives,Pakistan has downgraded its diplomatic relationswith India, sent back the Indian Ambassador,suspended trade, stopped the Samjhauta Expresslinking Lahore and New Delhi and partiallyclosed its airspace. Besides, Islamabad hasformed a seven-member committee to guidelegal, political and diplomatic response to Indiaon the Kashmir decision. Internationally, it hasupped the ante on diplomatic outreach to theUnited Nations — promising to take the issueto the United Nations Security Council (UNSC),and has tried to involve the leaders of Malaysia,Turkey and the United States, besides reachingout to the Organisation of Islamic Countries(OIC). The question is how much will theseefforts create a space for international media-tion on Kashmir?

The measured response from the UN andthe OIC and balance from Turkey and Malaysiadepict that most countries would be careful inwading into this complex bilateral issue. Earlierin March this year, India categorically rejectedthe OIC’s criticism on Kashmir saying, “We reaf-firm that Jammu & Kashmir is an integral partof India and is a matter strictly internal to India.”At least two OIC countries — Maldives and theUAE — have termed India’s decision an inter-nal matter. The United Nations remains guard-ed in its harmless standard tone, “exercise max-imum restraint” and the UN Secretary Generalspokesperson has declined to comment onIndia’s decision to scrap the special status ofJammu & Kashmir.

If anything, the response shows that the UNis aware of its limitations in internal matters ofcountries and that it wouldn’t want to pre-empta diplomatic response from India, possibly in the

downgrading or diluting the role of the UNMilitary Observer Group in India and Pakistan(UNMOGIP) — a body established in 1949 toobserve and report on ceasefire violationsalong and across the Line of Control (LoC) andthe working boundary in Jammu & Kashmir aswell as report developments that could lead toceasefire violations.

Moreover, questions remain on the natureof impact, if any, that the decision to internal-ly reorganise Jammu & Kashmir will have on theInternational Border (IB) and LoC. WhetherIndia is considering any principal, definitionalor fundamental changes to the IB, LoC and theirsecurity would further shape its diplomacy indealing with international response. Althoughthe decision to remove special status of Jammu& Kashmir wouldn’t necessary solve India’s prob-lems of cross-border terrorism and other sub-conventionally destabilising efforts fromPakistan, it has the potential to reshape inter-nal and border security in a manner that rais-es stakes for such activities significantly in thefuture, especially in the light of federal handlingof Jammu & Kashmir’s security.

So how did we navigate major powers?There is enough convergence that Pakistan’sattempt to bring the US as a mediator in theKashmir bilateral dispute once again might havetriggered or at least hastened India’s decision onJammu & Kashmir. President Trump’s offer tomediate between the two countries is a result of Pakistan’s repeated attempt to interna-tionalise the issue in violation of the existingmechanisms, which forbade internalisation.The US State Department’s clarification thatIndia did not inform it before taking the big deci-sion together with lack of any directed condemnation of India’s actions, favourably plays

for New Delhi. First, it vindicates India’s stand that the deci-

sion is an internal matter. Second, it is indica-tive of India’s independent decision-making andstrategic autonomy despite close ties with the US.The only way in which the US’ much-neededclarification on India’s decision can be explainedis the signaling to Islamabad that Washingtonofficially hasn’t sided with New Delhi on thedecision. This signalling is important for theshort-term interests of the US-Pakistan relationsin solving the Afghanistan imbroglio andcomes as a face-saver for the visit of the USAssistant Secretary for South Asia Alice Wellsthat was underway.

The creation the Union Territory of Ladakhhas drawn strong opposition from China, fol-lowed by India’s strong rejection of its concerns.Ladakh borders Tibet to the east, the Lahaul andSpiti regions to the south, the Kashmir Valley,Jammu and Baltistan regions to the west, andthe southwest corner of Xinjiang across theKarakoram Pass in the far north. It borders AksaiChin, which both India and China claim. Therecent decision places Ladakh in a contestedgeography with federal security structures, fur-ther complicating border talks between Indiaand China.

While its new status provides an opportu-nity to view Pakistan-occupied Gilgit Baltistanand China-occupied Aksai Chin as two distinctconflicts, China’s opposition is likely to contin-ue. As such, in the broad spectrum of interna-tional ripples created by the recent decision onKashmir, China’s opposition is likely to test NewDelhi’s diplomacy in the most challenging way.

(The writer is Visiting Fellow at the StimsonCenter in Washington D.C & Deputy DirectorKalinga Institute for Indo-Pacific Studies)

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Agroup of people walking thered carpet at the Cannes filmfestival this year turned heads

and made headlines — not for theirpeculiar outfits but for the greenscarves they were waving. Repeatingchants of “solidarity for women,” thisbunch comprised campaigners. Theywere drawing attention to the urgentneed being felt to preserve women’sreproductive rights.

This and similar protests havebecome even more critical in the faceof an accelerated trend in manyStates in the US, advocating a ban onabortions. Since early this year, sev-eral provinces in America have pro-posed and successfully passed whatthey call a “Heartbeat Bill”, that

restricts women’s access to safe abor-tion services.

While Mississippi signed a Bill toban all abortions beyond five to sixweeks, Georgia and Missouri passedBills to ban abortions after six andeight weeks respectively. Most recent-ly, Alabama passed a draconian Billthat bans nearly all abortions, includ-ing in cases of rape and incest, mak-ing it punishable for the providers byup to 99 years in prison.

In a country where abortion sofar is legal, women’s rights have comeunder serious threat and wouldcease to exist if these Bills becomelaws. Such bans will have more pro-found ramifications for youngwomen, and those from poor back-grounds. Their access to safe abor-tion services will be constrained dueto their inability to travel to otherStates to seek abortion, with detri-mental impacts on their health andrights.

These recent developments inthe US’ policy environment onreproductive health and rights is awell-orchestrated, concerted move bythe anti-choice groups to eventual-

ly overturn the Roe vs Wade judge-ment, which guarantees the right toabortion. The Supreme Court of theUnited States classified the right tochoose to abort as a “fundamentalright.” The judgement requires courtsto evaluate challenged abortion lawsunder the “strict scrutiny” standard— the highest level of judicial reviewin America.

The legal strategy of the anti-choice groups backed by ultra con-servative legislators will have a directforeseeable impact on abortion policy, access and discourse across

the globe. These amendments could set a

wrong precedent for countries acrossthe world reviewing their abortionlaws, potentially restraining andreversing the progress made inwomen’s reproductive rights histori-cally. It has been well documented thatrestrictive abortion laws can only haveone consequence — increased unsafeabortions and maternal deaths. If awoman decides to get an abortion, shewill get it no matter what. Whetherit is through safe means or clandes-tine and unsafe methods, depends on

its legality and accessibility. Banningabortion, contrary to common mis-conceptions, would not lead to a fallin abortion rates but more unsafeabortions and subsequently, highermaternal deaths.

As a result of the narrative shap-ing up in the US, supported by theglobal gag rule, one could expectreverberations in the delivery of safeabortion services across the world.The withdrawal of funds for the pro-vision of abortion care, coupledwith the counter-narratives creepingin have an impact on the attitudes ofhealth systems and abortionproviders, with an increased fear orreluctance among them to terminatepregnancies. The alternative canhave a particularly dampening effectby way of confusing and hamperingthe efforts of organisations andproviders, who have been workingon safe abortions globally.

The language and positioning ofthe issue also have a vital influencein shaping discussions and debateacross the abortion eco-system.

To cite an example, the emotiveuse of terms like “fetal heartbeat”

rather than the clinical term “cardiacactivity” is a deliberate attempt toimply personhood of the foetus andis a medical inaccuracy as the term“fetal heartbeat” is used in pregnan-cies beyond eight weeks.

A Missouri Republican StateRepresentative used the term “con-sensual rape” when arguing in favourof a proposal that would ban abor-tions in the State after eight weeks ofpregnancy — even in cases of incestor rape, though he apologised later.The abortion discourse must beshaped keeping the woman and heralone at the centre. It is a humilia-tion if in this day, women feel theneed to fight for their rights to con-trol their own bodies.

It is imperative to recognise andcall out such an ultra-conservativeand regressive mindset with com-plete disregard for women’s rightsand health that is behind this con-certed moment to curb abortionaccess and shield ourselves from theinsidious consequences of the legalchanges happening in the US.

(The writer is CEO, IpasDevelopment Foundation)

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Srinagar: As the authoritieseased restrictions in Kashmiron Friday, some cattle tradersappeared on the roads here tosell their sheep and goat for Eid,but there were few takers.

Despite Prime MinisterNarendra Modi's assurance thatthe government is making allsincere efforts to ensure that thepeople in the region have nodifficulties in celebrating Eid-ul-Azha, which is on Monday,sale of sacrificial animals isunimpressive in view of heavysecurity deployment.

"I have only sold over adozen sheep so far as thedemand for the sacrificial ani-mals has come down in view ofthe prevailing security situa-tion," Mohammad Latief Gujjar,a nomad, told PTI near Dalgatelocality where he had kept hislarge herd for sale.

Latief , who hails from theAkhnoor area of Jammu, is ona seasonal migration toKashmir Valley along with hisflock and family. They areputting up at Khanmoh on theoutskirts of Srinagar along theJammu-Srinagar national high-way.

Gujjars and Bakarwal com-munities earn their living byrearing different kinds of

domestic animals such as cows,buffaloes, sheep, goats andhorses and for centuries movebetween Jammu and Srinagarregions bi-annually in search ofgreener pastures.

"This time the demand isvery low...I used to sell over 250sheep and goats for sacrifice onEid," he said while negotiatinga deal with a prospective buyer,Mushtaq Ahmad Mir, for two

of his sheep. An uneasy calm prevails in

the city where police and para-military personnel have beendeployed in strength to preventany protest by residents againstthe centre government's moveto abrogate constitutional pro-visions that accorded specialstatus to Jammu and Kashmir,and divide the state in twounion territories.

"We used to sacrifice fivesheep to distribute among rel-atives and neighbours besideskeeping some parts for our-selves. We don't know how thesituation develops so we havedecided to restrict the numberto two to fulfil the religiousobligation and cover only ourneighbours," Mir said.

He said the government haseased the restrictions but themovement of the people

remained thin on the roads andonly a few shops mostly sellingvegetables and medicines areopened.

Mohammad Farooq, anomad Bakarwal from Rajouri,said he has slashed the rates, butonly managed to sell five sheep.

"I faced a lot of problem inreaching here (Rambagh local-ity), crossing barricades andrazor wire that have been put inplace to block free movement inview of the curfew-like restric-tions. The atmosphere is sur-charged and challenging," hesaid, referring to stone-peltingin the vicinity earlier in the day.

He, however, is hopeful ofselling his stock of 100 sheepand goats which he had rearedfor the occasion.

Faizan Ahmad, a meat-seller in the Karan Nagar area,is also concerned about the low

turnout of buyers. "I had ordered five truck

loads of sheep and goats, ofwhich only one has reached meso far. I used to sell over 300animals but so far I have soldonly 60," he said.

Not only the people dealingwith sacrificial animals, busi-nessmen dealing in bakery,readymade garments andsweets that usually used to wit-ness high demand ahead of Eidare fearing huge losses as well.

"I have bought materialworth lakhs of rupees for mak-ing bakery and confectioneryfor the festival but I don't knowhow to make up for the lossesas we are apprehensive that thesituation is not going to getnormalised in near future,"Abdul Latief, who has his shopin volatile downtown Srinagar,said. PTI

8��*��!�� ! � �� 0 �� /��# �Srinagar: The Jammu &Kashmir authorities airlifted afresh batch of 20 "potentialtroublemakers" from Srinagarto Agra, officials said here onFriday.

The people, who have ahistory of being involved inseparatist activities, were takenout of Kashmir Valley in a spe-cial Indian Air Force plane,they said.

They are alleged to beactive members of separatistgroups in Kashmir Valley.

They were taken in a spe-cial IAF plane to Uttar Pradeshand lodged in Agra Central Jail.

The authorities had airlift-ed 25 people, including presi-dent of Kashmir High Court

Bar Association Mian Qayoom,on Thursday as a precaution-ary measure in the wake ofconstitutional changes made bythe government.

Besides Qayoom, MubinShah, an office-bearer ofKashmir Chamber ofCommerce, was also part of thegroup. Qayoom is a notedlawyer and has been repre-senting many cases in whichseparatist leaders have beenbooked by the police. TheGovernment has imposed strictrestrictions in Jammu &Kashmir after the constitution-al provisions that accorded theState special status were abro-gated and it was divided intotwo union territories. PTI

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Srinagar: A South African cou-ple's plan to celebrate their 38thmarriage anniversary inKashmir ended in disappoint-ment due to the security clam-pdown but they are hopeful ofreturning to the Valley when thesituation improves.

Neil Storm and his wifeMerrill had arrived in the Valleyon August 2, a day after visitingTaj Mahal, to observe the spe-cial day of their life and hadchalked out a plan to celebratethe rest of the week in Kashmir.“We are leaving disappoint-ed...We had planned a trek inthe mountains but it could not

materialise as the forces haveblocked everything,” Storm, aretired Army personnel, toldPTI minutes before leaving forDelhi.

However, he said they willreturn to the valley once the sit-uation improves here.

“We will like to come backany other time because ourhosts were so beautiful andnice. We liked this place and itis time to keep in touch with ourhosts to know the exact situationso that we can plan our tripaccordingly without any dis-turbance or wasting so muchmoney,” he said.

He said though he has a six-month Indian visa, establishingcontact with the Kashmiri hostto get an advice is not possiblebecause of snapping of com-munication lines at the moment.

“We will be happy if wereturn to the Valley...Sooner thebest,” he said. Curfew-like restric-tions are in force in most partsof Kashmir Valley with mobile,landline and Internet servicessnapped to scuttle any protestover scrapping of provisions ofArticle 370 and bifurcation of theState into two Union Territoriesby the Government earlier thisweek. PTI

Jammu: The Jammu districtadministration on Friday with-drew prohibitory orders underCrPC Section 144 imposedhere on August 5 in view of theCentre abrogating constitu-tional provisions that accord-ed special status to Jammu &Kashmir, according to an offi-cial order.

According to the orderissued by Jammu DistrictMagistrate Sushma Chauhan,all schools, colleges and acad-emic institutions may resumetheir functioning normallyfrom August 10. PTI

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With the security forces on high alert to

prevent any untoward incident in the wake of abro-gation of Article 370 givingspecial status to Jammu &Kashmir earlier this week, theNavy is also on its guard tothwart any terrorist attackthrough the sea route like theMumbai incident in 2008.Security has been strength-ened around all naval bases andsituation is constantly moni-tored on the western and east-

ern coasts.The coastal radar chain

bolstered after the 2008Mumbai attack is constantlywatching the sea routes andgiving real time picture to theInformation Management andAnalysis Centre(IMAC) inGurugram.

There are 46 radar stationsand they are looking for anysuspicious craft along the 7,000km coastline spread over nineStates.

The naval warships andCoast Guard has intensifiedpatrolling and their effort is

supported by helicopters andaircraft, sources said here onFriday. The security agenciesare also paying special attentionto off-shore oil rigs and otherstrategic locations which arelikely targets of terrorists, theysaid.

All the stake holders inensuring maritime securityincluding coastal police of var-ious states are also on guardand officials have also sensi-tised local fishermen aboutinforming the authorities ifany suspicious vessel is spotted,officials said.

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Jammu: The Jammu & KashmirPradesh Congress Committee(JKPCC) has expressed seriousconcern over the detention ofsenior party functionaries by theState administration anddemanded their immediaterelease, a spokesperson said onFriday.

Senior party leadersSaifuddin Soz, Peerzada MohdSayeed, Haji Abdul Rashid Dar,Gulam Nabi Monga, FarooqAndrabi, Mohd Amin Bhat,Gular Ahmad Wani and othershave been placed under housearrest since the midnight ofAugust 4, the JKPCC said in a

statement here. It also said thatformer minister Usman Majeedand various other leaders,including Hilal Ahmad Shah,have been detained at undis-closed locations.

The party sought immedi-ate release of its leaders, whilecautioning the government thatcaging of people and illegaldetention of political leaderswont address the problems inthe state. LoP in Rajya Sabha,Gulam Nabi Azad and stateCongress chief Gulam AhmadMir were barred from enteringJ&K on Thursday and sent backfrom the Srinagar airport. PTI

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Mumbai: The Shiv Sena onFriday said Kashmir was nowa closed chapter for Pakistanand asserted that Islamabaddowngrading diplomatic tieswith India post removal ofspecial status for the borderState will hurt it more thanNew Delhi.

Early this week, the Centrerevoked special status toJammu & Kashmir accordedunder Article 370 of theConstitution and bifurcatedthe State into two UnionTerritories — Jammu &

Kashmir, and Ladakh.Pakistan on Wednesday

expelled Indian HighCommissioner Ajay Bisaria aspart of its decision to down-grade the diplomatic ties withIndia over what it called NewDelhi's "unilateral and illegal"move on J&K.

"What more can Pakistando?" asked the editorial in theSena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’,seeking to highlight insignif-icance of Islamabad's reac-tion.

"Thanking" Pakistan for

downgrading the diplomaticties with India, the Sena saidIslamabad should now acceptthe Kashmir issue was a closedchapter for them and the onlything left with them is POKwhich will also be settled soon.

Referring to the pro-Indiabanners, including a quote of Sena leader Sanjay Raut, that have appeared in parts of Islamabad, the editorial said the saffron outfit hadentered the Pakistan territoryand the Indian Army will fol-low suit. PTI

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Vellore (TN): In a nail biting fin-ish, DMK's D M Kathir Anandon Friday won the Vellore LokSabha segment defeating hisnearest rival, AIADMK's ally AC Shanmugam, by a narrowmargin of 8,141 votes.

The result came as a setbackto the AIADMK which washoping to retain the seat andprove a point after it faced a nearrout in the April Lok Sabha elec-tions with the DMK-led alliancewinning 37 of the 38 con-stituencies then.

The DMK candidate, son ofparty Treasurer Duraimurugan,bagged 4,85,340 votes and gar-nered a 47.3 per cent vote shareas it wrested the Vellore seatfrom its arch rival AIADMKwhich had won it in 2014.

Shanmugam of PuthiyaNeedhi Katchi, who contestedon the AIADMK's Two-Leavessymbol, polled 4,77,199 votesand got 46.51 per cent share, theElection Commissionannounced.

Thanking the voters, DMKchief M K Stalin said the victo-ry was "exceptional and unpar-allelled." Since the election waslike a bypoll, trouncing a ruling

party candidate meant a "hugevictory," he told reporters.

Also, the win has cementedDMK's position as the thirdbiggest party in the Lok Sabha,he said adding his party's victo-ry could have been "delayed," butcannot be "prevented."

He was apparently referringto the earlier cancellation of theelection in Vellore in April whenthe rest of the 38 seats in TamilNadu went for polls. The EC hadthen cancelled the poll in Vellorefollowing seizure of huge cash.

The election was subse-quently held on August 5 andthe counting of votes was takenup on Friday morning.

The lead kept changing ininitial rounds but the DMKcandidate later narrowed the gapsteadily and then forged ahead,holding on to the little over 8,000vote difference till the end.

Reflecting the sea-saw bat-tle, the AIADMK cadresbrimmed with enthusiasm ini-tially but once the trend changedit was the turn of DMK work-ers to break into celebrationshere and at the party headquar-ters Anna Arivalayam inChennai. PTI

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The Election Commission ofIndia has rejected

Trinamool Congress' demandfor going back to the ballotpapers discarding theElectronic Voting Machines.

Chief ElectionCommissioner Sunil Arora onFriday said that “there is noquestion of going back to theballot papers… we are notgoing back to the era of ballotpapers,” as there was no prove

of EVMs doing any mischief."The Supreme Court has

more than once said that bal-lot papers are our past," he said.

The TMC and some otherparties had been asking for thereturn of ballot papers, partic-ularly after the general electionswhich saw the BJP comingback to power with a thump-ing majority. The TMC hadsuspected a foul play by the saf-fron outfit which it complainedhad programmed the EVMs soas to win the elections.

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The flood toll mounted to 36in the five districts of west-

ern Maharashtra on Friday, evenas the National DisasterResponse Force (NDRF) teamsrecovered seven more bodiesfrom the affected areas and var-ious rescue teams shifted 80,000more marooned people to saferplaces in the rain-ravaged sug-arcane-rich region.

As the teams of NDRF,Navy, Army, Coast Guard andother agencies continued the res-cue and relief operations on awar-footing, the total number ofstranded people that the variousagencies evacuated from theheavily inundated areas ofSangli, Kolhapur and three otherdistricts of Pune revenue divi-sion went up to a staggering2,85,261.

On a day when Maharashtrachief minister DevendraFadnavis spoke to PrimeMinister Narendra Modi andappraised the latter of the floodsituation in the State, the floodsbegan to recede in the worst-

affects parts of westernMaharashtra, particularly Sangliand Kolhapur, following the letup in rains and the discharge of4.5 lakh cusecs of water from theAlmatty dam by the Karnatakagovernment.

“The flood situation is com-ing under control in the five dis-tricts of Pune revenue divisionbecause of two reasons. First, wehave not had heavy rains duringthe last 24 hours in all the areasexcept the hill station ofMahabaleshwar. Secondly, theKarnataka government hasreleased 4.5 lakh cusecs of waterfrom the Almatty dam that hascontributed to the easing offlood situation in Sangli andother surrounding areas,” PuneDivisional Commissioner DrDeepak Mahaisekar said.

Interacting with media per-sons, Chief Minister DevendraFadnavis said in the evening:“The discharge from the Almattidam was 4,30,352 cusecs in themorning at 10 am which is50,000 cusecs more than theinflow. Now the discharge hasincreased to 4,50,000 cusecs”.

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The Central Bureau ofInvestigation probing the

larger conspiracy angle of themulti-crore Saradha and RoseValley chit fund cases onFriday questioned seniorTrinamool Congress MP andthe party’s leader in RajyaSabha Derek O’Brien for morethan three hours regarding hisrole in specific transactionsthat the ponzi company hadwith the Bengal ruling outfit.

According to Agencysources the TMC’ most visibleface in Delhi was asked ques-tions about Saradha’s allegeddealings with party the mouth-piece Jago Bangla. He wasasked whether he had any-thing to do with the transac-tions between the TMCmouthpiece and the Saradhagroup, if so in what capacity heacted, sources said adding hewas also asked to providenames that introduced him tothe now jailed chit fund king-pin Sudipto Sen.

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Shillong: The just-abrogatedArticle 370, which gave specialstatus to Jammu & Kashmir, wasdetrimental and has absolutelyno correlation with Article 371,which gives certain specialrights to some places in thenortheast, Union MinisterJitendra Singh said here onFriday.

Addressing the 75th yearPlatinum Jubilee celebration ofEnglish daily 'The ShillongTimes', Singh sought to allay thefears and apprehensions in asection of people in the north-east that following the abroga-tion of Article 370, the next tobe abrogated would be Article

371.Article 370 had absolutely

no correlation, whatsoever, withArticle 371, Singh, the UnionMinister for Development ofNorth Eastern Region, said.

The minister asked themedia to check the misinfor-mation circulated by certainvested interests and hoped thatas responsible guardians of thepress, they would help in settingthe record straight.

Singh said it is absolutelyirrational and illogical to drawa parallel between Article 370and 371 as the very connota-tions and the basis of the twoarticles are entirely different.

While Article 371, he said,was incorporated primarily witha focus on development of thenortheastern region and preser-vation of the cultural heritage,Article 370 was incorporated asa 'temporary' provision anddeprived the state of Jammu andKashmir of a large number ofwelfare laws and provisions ofthe Indian Constitution whichcould otherwise be in the inter-est of the people. The ministersaid a number of central provi-sions and legislations that hadbenefited millions of peopleacross the country were are notavailable to the people of Jammu& Kashmir. PTI

Tirupati (AP): Two US-basedNRI entrepreneurs have madea princely donation of �14crores to the famous hill shrineof Lord Venkateswara at near-by Tiruamala on Friday, a tem-ple official said.

The devotees, who arefriends and wished to remainanonymous, made the offeringon the auspicious day ofGoddess Sri VaralakshmiVratham festival, the officialtold PTI.

After offering prayers withtheir family members at thecash-rich hill shrine, they hand-ed over a demand draft for Rs14 crore to AV Dharma Reddy,the Special Officer of TirumalaTirupati Devasthanams (TTD),that governs the over 2,000 yearold temple, the temple officialtold PTI.

The devotees requested thetemple officials to use the fundsfordifferent TTD-run publicwelfare trusts.

This is the second straightyear the two have made a sim-ilar offering.

In July last year, they haddonated �13.5 crore to theshrine with a request to use itfor different TTD trusts, theofficial added. PTI

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Mumbai: The Central Bureauof Investigation, which is prob-ing the killing of rationalistNarendra Dabholkar, told theBombay High Court on Fridaythat it has roped in a foreignagency to help f ind theweapons used in the case.

CBI counsel andAdditional Solicitor GeneralAnil Singh told a bench of jus-tices S C Dharmadhikari andG S Patel that experts from theagency will reach India onSunday.

The entire task will take 30days, he said.

Singh told the high courtthat it is suspected that theweapons were dumped by theaccused in the Thane creekafter the incident.

The bench was hearingpetitions filed by the kin ofDabholkar and late leftistleader Govind Pansare, seek-ing that the court monitors theprobe into both the cases.

The Special InvestigationTeam (SIT) of the Maharashtra

government, which is probingthe Pansare case, told the highcourt that its officers could notreach the court due to heavyrains and f looding inKolhapur.

The high court, therefore,adjourned the hearing tillSeptember 16.

While Dabholkar was shotdead on August 20, 2013 inPune, Pansare was shot at onFebruary 16, 2015 in Kolhapurand succumbed to injuries afew days later. PTI

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India’s indus-trial produc-

tion growthslipped to af o u r - m o n t hlow of 2 percent in June,mainly due topoor perfor-mance of min-ing and manu-facturing sec-tors, accordingto governmentdata releasedon Friday.

F a c t o r youtput, as mea-sured by theIndex of Industrial Production(IIP), had expanded by 7 percent in June 2018.

The previous low in IIPgrowth was in February 2019,when it had inched up 0.2 percent. Thereafter, IIP grew at 2.7per cent in March, 4.3 per centin April and 4.6 per cent in Maythis year.

According to data releasedby the Ministry of Statistics andProgramme Implementation,industrial output grew at 3.6per cent in April-June quarterthis fiscal, down from 5.1 percent growth a year ago.

There was a slowdown inthe manufacturing sector,which grew at 1.2 per cent inJune 2019 as compared to 6.9per cent a year ago.

Capital goods segment,

which is a barometer of invest-ment, saw a contraction of 6.5per cent in June compared to9.7 per cent growth a year ago.Mining growth dropped to 1.6per cent in June from 6.5 percent in the correspondingmonth of the last fiscal.

The expansion in powergeneration sector stood at 8.2per cent, compared to 8.5 percent earlier.

As per use-based classifi-cation, primary goods seg-ment grew 0.5 per cent, inter-mediate goods 12.4 per centand infrastructure/construc-tion goods (-) 1.8 per cent inJune 2019.

Consumer durables andnon-durables recorded growthof (-) 5.5 per cent and 7.8 percent, respectively.

In terms of industries, 8 outof 23 industry groups in themanufacturing sector haveshown positive growth duringJune as compared to the samemonth a year ago.

The industry group‘Manufacture of basic metals’showed the highest growth of17.7 per cent, followed by 16.5per cent in food products and10.3 per cent in tobacco prod-ucts.

On the other hand, theindustry group ‘Manufacture ofpaper and paper products’ wit-nessed the highest negativegrowth of (-) 19.9 per cent, fol-lowed by (-) 14.3 per cent in‘Manufacture of furniture’ and(-) 13.9 per cent in‘Manufacture of motor vehicles,trailers and semi-trailers’.

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In a major setback to the audi-tors, the National Company

Law Tribunal Friday rejectedDeloitte’s and BSR’s applicationschallenging the tribunal’s juris-diction to ban them from busi-ness for five years for theiromissions and commissionsin the ILFS Group scam.

This is the second setbackfor these foreign audit firms asearlier the tribunal had allowedthe corporate affairs ministry toprosecute them along with 21others in the same case, thoughthe implementation of the samehas been stayed after they soughttime to challenge the order at theappellate tribunal NCLAT.

The ministry had in Junemoved NLCT seeking a five-year on them on these auditorsin the IL&FS saga. However,the tribunal said it will hear theministry’s application seekinga five year ban on these audi-tors afresh on September 5.

The auditors--the local armof the England-based DeloitteHaskins & Sells, which is oneof the big four accountingfirms, and BSR & Associates,which is the local affiliate ofanother big four, the US-basedKPMG--had challenged thejurisdiction of the NCLT to banthem under Sec 140(5) ofCompany’s Act.

They had challenged thejurisdiction of the NCLT to banthem, saying section 140(5) ofthe Companies Act pertains to

auditors who are still auditingthe company in question whilethey have already resignedfrom the service and thus can-not be banned under the givenprovisions.

It can be noted that whileDeloitte had stopped auditingIL&FS Group, which owes overRs 95,000 crore to lenders andother financial institutions, by theend of FY18, BSR was the statu-tory auditor of IL&FS FinancialServices (IFIN) and resignedonly in June this year-ninemonths after the company wassent to the bankruptcy court.

The BSR counsel DariusKhambata and Deloitte’s coun-sel Janak Dwarakadas had alsoargued that before banningthem, the tribunal has to pass afinal order in the matter whichestablishes that fraud wasindeed committed by the audi-tors. The ministry move to banthem came in after the SeriousFraud Investigation Office(SFIO) in its investigation foundthem guilty of painting a rosypicture of IFIN despite beingaware of the poor financialhealth of the company.

The counsels of the audi-tors had said merely based onan investigation by SFIO is notsufficient to ban them.

The SFIO, in its reportalleged that these auditors wereaware that IFIN was lending todefaulting companies throughgroup companies so that theycould suppress their NPAs andnot provide for the bad debt.

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Capital market participantsand foreign institutional

investors on Friday presenteda charter of demands toFinance Minister NirmalaSitharaman, which includedrollback of surcharge on FPIs,review of dividend distribu-tion tax and lowering ofLTCG tax, in a bid to shore upinvestors’ sentiments.

Sources said Sitharamangave a patient hearing tothem but restrained frommaking any firm commit-ments.

Equity benchmarks rosefor the second straight sessionon Friday amid hopes that thegovernment may take somemarket-friendly measures tojumpstart the sluggish econ-omy and assuage investorconcerns over taxation.

The meeting is part of theexercise being undertaken bythe minister to firm up stepsto increase investments andboost economy, which isshowing signs of slowdown.

During the meeting, itwas also suggested thatemployees’ provident fundshould be increase its expo-sure in the stock market,which in turn would improveliquidity, industry and officialsources added.

There was also a sugges-tion that the long-term capi-tal gains (LTCG) tax be abol-ished or at least reduced.

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The Supreme Court’s judg-ment upholding financial

creditor status to homebuyersin insolvency proceedingswill help in completion ofstalled projects, according toproperty developers and con-sultants.

However, builders feelthat a l lowing buyers toapproach the NationalCompany Law Tribunal(NCLT), consumer courts andreal estate regulators underRERA law with their griev-ances could create confusionand chaos.

The Supreme Court onFriday upheld amendments tothe Insolvency andBankruptcy Code (IBC) giv-ing status of financial credi-tors to homebuyers. A benchheaded by Justice R FNariman, which disposed ofa batch of over 180 petitionsfiled by various builders, saidthe Real Estate (Regulationand Development) Act, 2016,which regulates the real estate

sector, should be read har-moniously with the amend-ments made in the IBC and incase of conflict the code willprevail.

The bench said only gen-uine homebuyers can invokeinsolvency proceedingsagainst the builder.

NAREDCO PresidentNiranjan Hirananadani saidthe judgment would “allowprojects to reach their logicalend in terms of completion ofthe projects, without gettingforeclosed by banks”.

Accordingly, financialcreditors status to homebuy-ers, on par with banks, willbenefit lenders and con-sumers, he added.

However, Hiranandanisaid the SC judgment hasalso permitted homebuyers toapproach three different bod-ies viz. NCLT, RERA andConsumer Forum in case ofdelayed or stalled projects.“This will add to a big con-fusion as decision approach ofeach of the bodies shall stand-out and differ from other.”

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After cut in MCLR w.e.f. 10thAugust 2019, Oriental

Bank of Commerce has nowannounced repo rate linkedretail loan products for its cus-tomers. The facility is expectedto benefit borrowers by bettertransmission of policy rate.The product details will beavailable soon.

The Bank has also hostedfacility for online applicationand tracking of Retail Loans onits website www.obcindia.co.in.The prospective borrowers whohave applied online throughthis facility can track the statusof their application.

OBC has extended thefacility for MSME borrowersupto �5.00 crores throughwww.psbloansin59minutes.comportal. The Bank is also goingto launch the Retail products onthis portal shortly.

Oriental Bank of Commerceis an India-based bank estab-lished in Lahore, is one of thepublic sector banks in India.

�� ./��.0*1

GAIL (India) Limited regis-tered a 15% increase in

Profit after Tax (PAT) in thefirst quarter of FY 2019-20, asagainst the last quarter of FY2018-19 mainly due to betterfinancial performance by GasMarketing, Gas TransmissionSegments and LiquidHydrocarbon segment. TheCompany’s PAT for the quar-ter ending 30th June 2019 is�1,288 crore as compared to�1,122 crore in Q4 FY 2018-19.On year on year basis, GAIL’sPAT of �1,288 crore in Q1 FY2019-20 registered a growth of2% against Profit of �1,259crore in corresponding quarterof FY 2018-19.

Gross Sales of �18,276crore in Q1 FY 2019-20 hasincreased by 6% from �17,262crore in Q1 FY 2018-19. GrossMargin (EBITDA) has seengrowth of 2% from �2,363crore in Q1 FY 2018-19 to�2,410 crore in Q1 FY 2019-20.

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Concerns over the health ofthe global economy,

marked by the US-China tradedispute, forced theInternational Energy Agencyon Friday to lower its growthforecast for oil demand for2019 and 2020.

“There have been concernsabout the health of the globaleconomy expressed in recenteditions of this report andshown by reduced expecta-tions for oil demand growth,”the Paris-based agency said inits monthly report.

“Now, the situation isbecoming even more uncertain:the US-China trade disputeremains unresolved and inSeptember new tariffs are dueto be imposed.” “Tensionbetween the two has increasedfurther this week, reflected inheavy falls for stock and com-modity markets. Oil prices havebeen caught up in the retreat.”

It also noted the InternationalMonetary Fund’s recent down-grading of its economic out-look. The IEA thus reviseddownwards its estimates forgrowth in global oil demand forthis year by 0.1 million barrelsper day to 1.1 mbd.

For 2020, growth was alsopredicted to be slightly down,by 50,000 barrels per day to 1.3mbd. It warned “the outlook isfragile with a greater likelihoodof a downward revision than anupward one”, and noted growthwas already “sluggish” in thefirst half of the year.

However, it noted that themarket balance has been tight-ened slightly in the short-termby a reduction in supply fromOPEC countries. The IEA alsosaid it was closely monitoringoil security in the Gulf, whereOPEC member Iran last weekseized the third foreign tankerin less than a month as part ofa bitter dispute with the UnitedStates.

�� ./��.0*1

State-run hydro power giantNHPC on Friday posted a 16

per cent rise in consolidated netprofit at �989.27 crore for theJune quarter, mainly due tohigher revenues. The companyhad reported a consolidated netprofit of �851.70 crore in thecorresponding period last year,it said in a BSE filing.

Total income rose to�2,754.48 crore in the quarterunder review from �2,479.09crore a year ago. Electricitygeneration is the principalbusiness activity of the com-pany. Other operations, that ispower trading, contracts, pro-ject management and consul-tancy works do not form areportable segment as per theInd AS norms, it added.

As per power regulatorCERC’s Tariff Regulations2019-24, notified on March 7,2019, the useful life of hydrogenerating stations has beenincreased from 35 years to 40years. This change has result-ed in depreciation expensereducing by �20.58 crore,NHPC added.

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Right-arm pacer JoshHazlewood reckons in abid to level the Ashes,

England will be tempted toexplore options that are infavour of the bowlers duringthe Lord’s Test which in turnmight just play into Australia’shands.

England, who lost the firstAshes Test by 251 runs atEdgbaston, would be desper-ate to make a comeback in thefive-match series when thetwo teams meet at the Homeof Cricket from August 14.

In the Edgbaston Test,

Steve Smith proved to beEngland’s nemesis as hescored hundred in both theinnings and made sureAustralia came from 122-8 inthe first innings to register abig win in Birmingham.

Thus, England might beforced to provide pacer friend-ly conditions which, accordingto Hazlewood, can prove to becounter-productive for thehosts.

“I think there’ll be a littlebit more in it (at Lord’s), butin saying that, probably theirbest exponent Jimmy’s notgoing to play. So that mightweigh up different options,

but I think there’ll be more init, maybe just to try to getSmithy out,” Hazlewood wasquoted as saying bycricket.com.au.

“But him batting on thosesort of tracks is very hardwork. I think it suits us asmuch as them if there is morein the wicket, so we’ll weigh itup,” he added.

According to Hazlewood,the Australia selectors havecovered all bases with thepace options they have pickedfor this series and would beready to pace on any kind ofwicket which will be on offerin the second Test.

“If it’s a dry wicket wherereverse swing might comeinto play, or it’s a very flat,then someone like Mitch Starccan come into play,” saidHazlewood.

“If it’s nice and green andseaming around, then it’smyself and Sidds (PeterSiddle). I think they (theselectors) have definitely gonea different way to 2015 and Ithink that’s purely because ofhow tight the Tests are (sched-uled).

“That’s why we’ve got six(quicks) here and any one cando a job on any given day.We’ve got three guys withproper air speed and threeguys who seam and swing alittle bit. I think that’s whatthey (selectors) have got sixquicks for, to have all basescovered. And I guess it’s justwho’s bowling best at thatparticular time leading intothe Test, and who gets thenod. I think every quick real-ly feels the pressure of theother five and vice versa, andits great competition to havein the squad,” he added.

Tim Paine went in withthe pace trio of Pat Cummins,James Pattinson and PeterSiddle for the opening Testand the three quicks picked up11 wickets during Australia’swin which saw them go 1-0 upin the series.

Hazlewood, Mitchell Starcand Michael Neser, who didnot feature in Birmingham,however, provided a sneakpeek into what they can offeras they three of them pickingseven wickets between themduring the practice gameagainst Worcestershire.

�� 02��2�

World Cup-winner Jofra Archer is inline to make his eagerly-awaited

Test debut after being included inEngland’s 12-man squad for next week’ssecond Ashes Test against Australia atLord’s, while Moeen Ali was left out onFriday.

Fast bowler Archer could replaceJames Anderson after England’s all-time leading wicket-taker was ruled outwith a calf injury that restricted him tosending down just four overs in a 251-run first-Test defeat at Edgbaston.

Archer missed that match becauseof a side problem but has since provedhis fitness in a second-team fixture forcounty side Sussex againstGloucestershire, taking 6-27 and hittinga quick-fire century.

England also have another seam-bowling option in Surrey left-armer SamCurran.

Meanwhile, off-spinner Moeen hasbeen dropped, with left-armer JackLeach recalled into the squad ahead ofWednesday’s start at Lord’s.

Moeen was omitted after a miserablematch at Edgbaston.

The 32-year-old all-rounder onlymanaged returns of 1-42 and 2-130 withthe ball, while scoring just four runs inthe match — including a first-inningsduck.

His second-innings bowling displaywas particularly concerning, with Moeenoffering neither control or persistentwicket-taking on a wearing pitch favour-ing spinners and even bowling a coupleof head-high beamers.

And both times he batted he was dis-missed by Australia off-spinner NathanLyon, who has now claimed Moeen’swicket nine times in 11 innings.

Somerset’s Leach played his last Testagainst Ireland at Lord’s a fortnight agowhen the nightwatchman made a career-best 92 — an innings that helped set upan England victory and won him theman-of-the-match award.

England’s middle-order trio of JoeDenly, Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow allhad poor returns with the bat atEdgbaston, with wicketkeeper Bairstowalso untidy behind the stumps.

But all three have retained their

places in the squad, although Denly’sposition at number four had been calledinto question following scores of 18 and11 in Birmingham.

#��Australia great Shane Warne believes

Jofra Archer could be the man to stopSteve Smith’s Ashes run-spree as “no onelikes to face tall 90 mph (145 kph)bowlers”.

World Cup-winner Archer is set tomake his Test debut at Lord’s nextweek.

Australia batting star Smith made144 and 142 in a 251-run win for the vis-itors in the opener at Edgbaston duringa superb return to Test cricket followinga 12-month ban for his role in a ball-tam-pering scandal.

Warne believes Archer’s extra pace,as well as the knowledge gained fromplaying alongside Smith for theRajasthan Royals in the Indian PremierLeague, will stand him in good stead ifhe is selected.

“Steve (Smith) has been the star ofthe show so far but now we have Jofrajoining his Royals (and England) team-mates Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler,”Warne, a former Rajasthan player turnedbrand ambassador for the Twenty20franchise team, said Friday after Archerwas named in England’s 12-man squad.

Former leg-spinner Warne, the sec-ond-most successful bowler in Test his-tory with 708 wickets, added: “ObviouslyI would love to see Steve go on and scorea hundred in every single innings for therest of the Ashes but with Jofra comingin I think he’ll be set to face his biggestchallenge yet and this could make the dif-ference in the upcoming Tests.

“No one likes to face tall 90 mphbowlers.”

�� ./��.0*1

Former India cricketer VVSLaxman on Thursday voiced

his opinion for the inclusion ofall-rounder Krunal Pandya inIndia’s one-day internationalsquad.

In his column for the Timesof India, Laxman said: “Theolder Pandya is street-smartand canny, capable of thinkingon his feet. I would love to seehim get more opportunities in50-over cricket too because Ibelieve he can slot in at the No6 position and can offer a fullcomplement of 10 overs.”

“The man of the matchawards (in the three T20s againstthe West Indies) went toNavdeep Saini, Krunal Pandyaand Deepak Chahar, which istestament to the Indian systemthat prepares players for therigours and challenges of theinternational arena. Most heart-eningly, these players believed inthemselves and played to theirstrengths. Saini is an expresspace bowler, and that’s exactlyhow he bowled,” the former bat-ting great added.

Laxman further said that therise of young talents will help inremoving pressure from seniorssuch as Jasprit Bumrah andBhuvneshwar Kumar as theyhave been playing regular crick-et.

“It’s not fair or wise to relyonly on Jasprit Bumrah orBhuvneshwar Kumar to do the

job all the time. What this serieshas proved is that India haveother weapons in their arsenal.But these players need to playmore games so that they growinto their roles, become com-fortable and therefore attain theconsistency that they are capa-ble of,” Laxman said.

��2�1�.�5.

Rain played spoilsport asthe first One-Day

International between Indiaand the West Indies was calledoff after the home side scored54 for one in 13 overs here.

The stop-start match,which was reduced to 34-over-a-side, was abandoned after asecond rain interruption. Afterwaiting for more than an hourand a half, the umpires wereforced to call off the match onThursday.

Opener Evin Lewis andShai Hope were batting on 40and 6 respectively when thematch was called off afterIndian captain Virat Kohli won

the toss and asked the WestIndies to bat.

The other opener ChrisGayle was out in the 11th overafter scoring 4 off 31 deliveriesin an agonisingly slow knock.He had come into the match 12runs short of Brian Lara’s10,405 ODI runs, the most bya West Indies batsman.

The match was alreadyreduced to 43-over-a side con-test even before a ball wasbowled as wet outfield due torains had forced the toss to bedelayed. The match began twohours later from its scheduledstart.

The home side had scored9 for no loss in 5.4 overs at thefirst rain break. The match was

about to be resumed 30 min-utes later but wet area near thebowlers’ run-up led to anoth-er delay of more than half anhour.

The umpires made anoth-er inspection and after morethan an hour’s interruption, thematch resumed for a 34-over-a-side affair.

Kuldeep gave India thebreakthrough as he dismisseddangerman Gayle who draggedthe ball onto his stumps. Hopecame in two overs later, butrains also came back to forcethe players to the dressingroom once again.

The second one-dayer willbe played in Port of Spain onSunday.

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Start-stop matches are the“worst” thing in cricket and canlead to injuries, a frustratedIndia skipper Virat Kohli saidafter their series-opener waswashed out on Thursday.

“It’s probably the worstthing in cricket, the start-stopgame. The more stops youhave, the more you have to becareful about injuries on thefield. Some of the pitches canreally test you,” Kohli said afterthe match was called off.

Asked about the challengesof playing in the Caribbean,Kohli said while “some pitch-es offer good pace and bounce,others could be on the slowerside”.

“So you have to assessthem and play accordingly,” theIndian captain said.

��'&'$-1�

Senior New Zealand playerRoss Taylor has said that

players from his country havebenefited immensely by rub-bing shoulders with the bestplayers in world cricket and“picking the brains” in theIndian Premier League (IPL).

“I have been fortunate toplay for a few teams (in theIPL) and play with great play-ers. I think, there has been anaura around Australia, SouthAfrica and a few of theseteams. I think IPL helpedNew Zealand cricket sort ofbridge that gap a little bit(between players),” Taylorsaid.

“Once you know theseplayers....You are picking theirbrains and you are watchingthem train and that has helpedNew Zealand cricketimmensely.

“Players who have playedover there and (who will playin) years to come will benefit byrubbing shoulders with bestplayers in the world,” elaborat-

ed Taylor.Taylor has been part of

various IPL franchises includ-ing Pune

Warriors,

Rajasthan Royals and RoyalChallengers Bangalore.

Describing Sri Lanka as atough place to play, Taylor, aveteran of 92 Tests, said he waslooking forward to the two-Testseries beginning in Galle fromAugust 14.

“They (Sri Lanka) knowthe conditions very well andplay very well in these condi-tions. And upsetting SouthAfrica at home would givethem a lot of confidence. Theyare also looking to play the(ICC) Test Championship. SriLanka is genuinely a toughplace to play cricket in,” Taylorsaid.

Sri Lanka trounced SouthAfrica 2-0 at home a year ago.

Taylor also said that withthe advent of ICC Test cham-pionships, there is now a “con-text” and meaning for everygame and not just high-profileclashes like the Ashes.

“Obviously there are namesand number on the back (of thejerseys, like in ODIs). (There is)context (and) there is some-thing on every game. Andsomeone else mentioned tome the other day is you prob-ably take note of other Test

series a lot morenow than youwould have (than)just following thebig series (like)Ashes,” the right-handed batsmansaid.

After a heart-breaking loss in the

World Cup final, Kiwisare taking to the field for

the first time.“It is nice to get into a new

format (Test, after the WorldCup) and it is exciting to playthe Test Championship. Notonly that, a few players arecoming into the Test squad, sothey brings fresh vibes in theteam and I am sure they arelooking forward to get into thehot and humid conditions ofSri Lanka,” he signed off.

�� 02��2�

Giovani Lo Celso, the "littlemonkey" to his team-mates

and once the "ruby ofArgentinian football", became onThursday the next great hope forTottenham and MauricioPochettino.

Only a few years ago, apale-faced teenager fromRosario with a wand of a left footwas being circled as the mostexciting talent since Lionel Messito come out of Argentina.

Real Betis could receive upto 60 million euros if the trans-fer is made permanent but a 16-million-euro deal for a one-yearloan first allows Spurs a closerlook at one of the world's mostexhilarating creative players.

As a youngster, Pablo Aimarand Juan Roman Riquelme werethe ones Lo Celso was told toimitate by his mentor, JorgeGriffa, the former AtleticoMadrid and Espanyol player,whose prestigious academy hejoined aged 12 in 2008.

Griffa had helped nurturethe likes of Gabriel Batistuta,Carlos Tevez and MaxiRodriguez, as well as a youngPochettino, whose own fledglingcareer began with Griffa knock-ing on his door and persuadinghim to sign for Newell's OldBoys.

Lo Celso grew up in theneighbourhood of Sarmiento, 15miles away from Pochettino'shome town of Murphy, but it wasrivals Rosario Central, notNewell's, whom he signed for in2010.

Central was the team LoCelso had supported, served asa mascot and then watched as aball-boy inside El Gigante deArroyito. Everton were amongthose to make an early approachyet Lo Celso's father, who gavehim his nickname 'Monito', 'thelittle monkey', told him to stayand in 2015, his 19-year-old sonmade his senior debut.

"I lived five blocks from thestadium," Lo Celso said in 2016."Playing with the first team wasa dream come true."

His idol is another left-foot-er from Rosario, not Messi, butAngel Di Maria, whose parentsare family friends.

"I like him a lot because heis so dynamic," Lo Celso said."He's a winger that threatens thegoal, who assists his teammates,and who is very difficult to getthe ball off."

By 2016, the pressure onCentral to sell was too much, theonly doubt his price and desti-nation.

"He is the new ruby ofArgentine football," wrote ElGrafico. "He is the most talent-ed player in Argentina," saidCentral vice-president RicardoCarloni.

Paris Saint-Germain agreedand coach Unai Emery wasimpressed too, not just by LoCelso's attacking prowess but hisapplication and hunger.

"He is an example for every-one," Emery said. "He workswith tenacity and humility."

Neymar, Kylian Mbappeand Edinson Cavani meantopportunities up front would belimited but Emery was con-vinced Lo Celso's passing andenergy could be used in midfield,where he tried him as a playmak-ing pivot.

The experiment broughtmixed results and ended with achastening Champions Leaguedefeat away at Real Madrid, forwhich Lo Celso's drifting perfor-mance was blamed. "Out ofplace and overwhelmed, he wasa drag on his team," wroteDiario Sport.

Emery was sacked andwhen Thomas Tuchel replacedhim, Lo Celso fell out of favour.With six goals and nine assists in54 games, he took the chance fora fresh start last season at Betis.

It worked, their free-flowingstyle under Setien suiting him,as did a more advanced, centralposition behind the strikers.There were 14 goals in 39 gamesand a string of dazzling displays,marked by driving runs, danc-ing feet, lofted through-ballsand bending shots into the cor-ner.

�� 02��2�

Ilkay Gundogan, Pep Guardiola'sfirst signing as Manchester City

manager in 2016, signed a threeyear contract extension with thePremier League champions onFriday the club announced.

The 28-year-old Germaninternational midfielder -- whowas entering the final year of hispresent contract and will now betied to the club to 2023 -- playeda pivotal role in City landing adomestic treble last term havingalso impressed in their 2018 titlewinning campaign.

"Ilkay's new deal is moreexcellent news for our Club,"City's director of football TxikiBegiristain told the club website.

"He has shown howimportant he is to the teamand has played a huge part ineverything that we haveachieved so far.

"We are thrilled he hascommitted his long-termfuture to Manchester City."Gundogan, who cost Cityaround ?20 million whenthey signed him fromBorussia Dortmund, saidhe was looking forward tomore success with City.

"I have hugely enjoyed thelast three years here at City andeveryone at the Club hashelped make me feel at homefrom my very first day," he said.

"I think we have played somegreat football over the past fewseasons and have enjoyed a lot ofsuccess.

"It's a pleasure to be a part ofthe Club and I'm really excitedabout what we can go on toachieve in the next few seasons."

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Arsenal significantly bolsteredtheir defence in the final hours

of the Premier League transferwindow by completing the signingsof Kieran Tierney and David Luizon Thursday.

Scotland international Tierneyhad been a target all summer for theGunners and agreement of thepayment structure of his £25 mil-lion ($30 million) move from Celticwas eventually agreed onWednesday night.

“It was the hardest decision inmy whole life that I’ve had tomake. I had to speak to my family

and my close friends and my agentas well because it’s a hard decisionto leave a club that you love somuch,” said Tierney.

“I feel Arsenal is a massive cluband it’s a great opportunity for meas well. I’m delighted to be here.”

Brazilian centre-back Luiz’s £8million move across London isexpected to fill the void left by for-mer captain Laurent Koscielny’sacrimonious departure to Bordeauxearlier this week.

“David has huge experienceand I look forward to workingwith him again. He is a wellknown player and adds to ourdefensive strength,” said Arsenal

boss Unai Emery.Arsenal conceded 51 goals in

the Premier League last season tomiss out on Champions Leaguefootball for a third consecutiveseason.

The double swoop would com-plete an impressive window forArsenal despite missing out on theriches of the Champions League.

A club record £72 million wassplashed on Nicolas Pepe from Lilleto complete an exciting trio ofattacking talent alongside Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang andAlexandre Lacazette.

Emery’s midfield optionswere also boosted by the loan sign-

ing of Dani Ceballos from RealMadrid.

Iwobi joins EvertonEverton sealed the deadline-

day signing of Arsenal forward AlexIwobi on Thursday for a reportedfee of £28 million ($40 million),completing a busy transfer windowfor the club.

Nigeria international Iwobipenned a five-year deal which wasonly announced more than fourhours after the transfer deadline of1700 local time (1600 GMT).

The 23-year-old, capped 36times by Nigeria, scored 15 goals in149 appearances for Arsenal after

making his first-team debut in2015.

“He is still young but alreadywith a lot of top-level experience —100 Premier League matches, morein Europe and many internationalgames,” said Everton managerMarco Silva.

Iwobi is the seventh new arrivalat Goodison Park in the close sea-son, following Italy striker MoiseKean — who joined from Serie Achampions Juventus for 27.5 millioneuros ($31m, £25m) — right-backDjibril Sidibe, midfielders AndreGomes, Fabian Delph and Jean-Philippe Gbamin, as well as goal-keeper Jonas Lossl.

�� 2�2��2�

Serena Williams and Japan’sNaomi Osaka booked a

rematch of last year’s US Openfinal in the WTA Toronto quar-ter-finals after straight-set tri-umphs on Thursday.

Reigning US andAustralian Open championOsaka broke at love in thefinal game to defeat Polishteen Iga Swiatek 7-6 (7/4), 6-4after one hour and 51 minutes.

World number 10 Williamswas broken twice and droppedthe first three games in 10minutes then battled back todefeat Russia’s 48th-rankedEkaterina Alexandrova 7-5, 6-4 in 91 minutes.

That set the stage forWilliams, a 37-year-old

American who will tryfor a record-

tying 24th Grand Slam singlestitle at the upcoming US Open,to face Osaka on Friday.

“I’ve been actually lookingforward to playing her for awhile,” Williams said. “She hashad a great year early in the sea-son and she’s still doing prettygood.”

It will be their first matchsince the controversial finish totheir Grand Slam showdownlast year in New York.

The 21-year-old Japanesestar defeated her childhoodidol 6-2, 6-4 in last year’s USOpen final, a match marred by

an on-court dispute betweenWilliams and the umpirethat led to a game penaltyagainst Williams.

Osaka was booed bysome fans during the

awards cer-emony

a n d

l a t e rdubbed what

should have been her momentof glory “a little bittersweet.”

“I guess I’ll treat it like aregular quarterfinal, but I

haven’t been in a quarterfinal ina while,” Osaka said after win-ning on Thursday.

“I’m just really excited. Igrew up watching her, so when-ever I get the opportunity toplay her, it’s something I feel isa once-in-a-lifetime opportuni-

ty.“And it feels more like I’m

showcasing my skills to her,like, ‘Look what I can do?’ Youknow what I mean?

“So I go into the matcheswith that mentality. And justsuper grateful to get the chanceto play her.”

��(Czech third seed Karolina

Pliskova kept the pressure onOsaka in the battle to take theworld number one ranking byalso reaching the quarter-finals.

Pliskova eliminatedEstonia’s Anett Kontaveit 6-3, 7-5 to set up a last-eight clashwith rising Canadian starBianca Andreescu, who outlast-ed fifth-seeded DutchwomanKiki Bertens 6-1, 6-7 (7/9), 6-4.

Pliskova, 27, must reach thefinal to have any chance of tak-ing the top spot next week forthe first time since 2017.Otherwise, Osaka will claim thenumber one berth.

French Open championAshleigh Barty’s stint as theworld’s top-ranked player wasassured of ending after shewas knocked out on Tuesday.

Defending champion andfourth seed Simona Halep ofRomania, coming off aWimbledon title last month,beat Russia’s SvetlanaKuznetsova 6-2, 6-1 to book aquarter-final against Czechqualifier Marie Bouzkova, whoousted Latvia’s JelenaOstapenko 6-2, 6-2.

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Rafael Nadal stepped closer to arecord 35th Masters 1000 titleon Thursday, dispatching

Argentina’s Guido Pella 6-3, 6-4Thursday to power into the ATPMontreal quarter-finals.

The Spanish world number twohas now notched the most wins in theelite series, with his 379th Masters vic-tory surpassing Roger Federer byone.

Nadal, an 18-time Grand Slamsingles champion, could add anotherMasters footnote to his epic resume ifhe successfully defends his Canadiancrown for the all-time trophy mark.

He ended the evening with an aceout wide on his fourth match point,moving into his ninth Canadian quar-ter-final.

Nadal will play Friday for a smei-final berth against Italy’s Fabio Fogniniafter the seventh seed beat France’sAdrian Mannarino 6-2, 7-5.

Dominic Thiem reached the lasteight by defeating Croatia’s Marin Cilic7-6 (9/7), 6-4, the Austrian’s secondvictory in two days after waiting fiveyears to break his duck in Canada.

Second seed Thiem, who oustedhome hope Denis Shapovalov onWednesday, faced two break points inthe final game against the 2014 USOpen champion before securing thetriumph on a third match point.

“I’m so happy with the two wins,”he said after his 31st victory of the sea-son. “I beat two amazing players.

“I’ve really had a great transitionfrom a good confidence in theEuropean summer.”

Thiem came to Canada after win-ning the Kitzbuhel clay court title athome last weekend.

��A�The world number four booked a

last-eight clash on Friday againsteighth seed Daniil Medvedev, whoeased past unseeded Christian Garin

of Chile 6-3, 6-3.Thiem beat the Russian in April

to win the Barcelona title.“He’s having a great season, play-

ing unbelievable, solid tennis everyweek. It’s going to be very, very toughmatch.

“Barcelona was of course in myfavour because it’s clay. We had a great,close match in St Petersburg, whichwas a very high level.

“I’ll try to watch that one again,see what I did great there, and try toplay similar tomorrow.”

Medvedev beat Garin in 69 min-utes, breaking the South Americanfour times.

D��Third seed Alexander Zverev took

some quick revenge by beatingNikoloz Basilashvili 7-5, 5-7, 7-6(7/5) only 12 days after the Germanlost to the Georgian in Hamburg.

Zvereva, the 2017 Montreal win-ner who remains undefeated in the

city, destroyed a racquetin frustration andalmost lost hisway in the finalset.

Up a break,he sent over a

10th double-fault tolose serve, 4-4. Only a

winning tie-breaker sal-vaged the victory and set up a

last-eight clash with KarenKhachanov.

The Russian sixth seed earned hisspot by ousting Canadian FelixAuger-Aliassime on the youngster’s19th birthday — he shares onewith Roger Federer, now 38.

Khachanov administered a6-7 (7/9), 7-5, 6-3 victorythen apologized to the crowdafter taking out the lastCanadian, but said hethought he got a raw dealfrom Canadian partisans.

Also advancing to alast-eight meeting wereFrance’s Gael Monfils,who beat Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz6-4, 6-0, and Spanish 10th seedRoberto Bautista Agut, who dis-patched Frenchman RichardGasquet 7-5, 7-5.

�� 02��2��

Kevin De Bruyne can’t wait to playa key role in Manchester City’s bid

for a third successive Premier Leaguetitle as the Belgian star finally returnsto peak form and fitness.

Pep Guardiola’s side start their titledefence at West Ham on Saturday withDe Bruyne providing a reassuring pres-ence for the champions.

City have bolstered their treble-winning squad with the 62 millionpounds club record signing of AtleticoMadrid midfielder Rodri, while alsoadding accomplished Juventus full-back Joao Cancelo.

But the prospect of De Bruyne dri-ving City forward from midfield is amouthwatering prospect for Guardiola.

The 28-year-old was an influentialfigure in City’s 2017-18 PremierLeague title triumph, but he hadonly a bit-part role in last sea-son’s domestic dominance due toknee and muscular injuries.

De Bruyne made just 22starts in all competitions beforereturning to prove he was still aforce to be reckoned with bywinning the man of the matchaward in City’s FA Cup finalthrashing of Watford.

He is confident those injuryissues are behind him after proving tobe one of the stand-out players duringCity’s pre-season tour.

With De Bruyne back in their line-up, City look more formidable thanever — quite a feat after they amassed198 points over their last two PremierLeague title-winning seasons.

If they can retain the crown, Citywill become only the fifth team in thehistory of English football to clinchthree consecutive top-flight titles,after Huddersfield, Arsenal, Liverpool

and Manchester United (twice).But Liverpool seem cer-

tain to push City all the wayonce again after they finishedjust one point behindGuardiola’s team last termand then won the ChampionsLeague. And De Bruyne chal-lenged City to maintain therelentless consistency thatcarried them to last season’stitle with 14 successive leaguewins.

“You don’t need to be better, youneed to be consistent,” De Bruyne said.

“At the end of the year, with all thecompetitions, maybe you don’t need95 or 100 points.

“You need to be just one pointahead of the other ones and whatev-er you need to do, you need to do.

“I think Liverpool will be upthere, but they all will be there. Wehave to be consistent.”

De Bruyne’s return givesGuardiola an embarrassment of rich-

es in midfield, with Spain internation-al Rodri likely to fill the holding rolewhile the Belgian and David Silvaswarm forward.

“I think he’s the perfect defensivemidfielder for the way we want toplay,” De Bruyne said of Rodri.

Leroy Sane’s long-term absencewith anterior cruciate ligament dam-age suffered in last weekend’sCommunity Shield against Liverpoolis a blow, but City have more thanenough depth to prosper without theGermany winger.

Another benefit of De Bruyne’sreturn is his ability to fill the void leftby the close-season departure of clubcaptain Vincent Kompany.

Kompany’s decision to joinAnderlecht as player-managerstripped City of their most experi-enced leader.

David Silva started theCommunity Shield as captain beforethe vocal De Bruyne took over whenthe Spaniard went off.

�� '10-�

Romelu Lukaku said on Friday that having thechance to play for Antonio Conte drove him

to join Inter Milan, hailing the Italian as the world’sbest coach after arriving from Manchester United.

Asked by club media how the arrival of for-mer Italy boss Conte at Inter this summer hadinfluenced his decision to move to Serie A, hereplied “a lot... he’s the best manager in the world”.

“He’s somebody that can make players bet-ter all the time. You can see his record,” saidLukaku.

Conte has been a long-time admirer ofLukaku and tried to sign him for Chelsea beforethe Belgian’s move from Everton to United in 2017.

The 26-year-old completed his long-awaitedmove to Inter on Thursday, joining a club withambitions of breaking fierce rival Juventus’ stran-glehold on domestic honours.

Belgium’s all-time top scorer with 48 goals,he will be at the centre of Inter’s attack, takingthe number 9 shirt away from former club cap-tain Mauro Icardi after the Argentina interna-tional was frozen out last season following a bit-ter and public contract row.

He hadn’t played a single minute in United’spre-season campaign after being sidelined by OleGunnar Solskjaer despite scoring 42 times in allcompetitions while at Old Trafford.

“I think Inter is a club with a lot of upsides.I think for me it was something I needed,”Lukaku said.

“I needed a challenge where I could help ateam build for the future. For me, everything ispresent here to help me and I wish I can helpmy teammates with my hard work dedicationto the game.”

Milan-based Gazzetta Dello Sport reportsthat he will earn 8.5 million euros a season atInter, and claims that Inter will pay United aninitial 65 million euros ($73 million) over fiveyears with a further 10 million in potential add-ons, contrasting with reports in Britain that thePremier League club brought in 80 million euros.

They have strengthened a squad that fin-ished fourth in Serie A last season by signingveteran Uruguayan international defenderDiego Godin and promising midfielder NicoloBarella.

�� '-��1��

Real Madrid will rival Barcelona in the raceto sign Paris Saint-Germain striker

Neymar this summer, according to reportsin the Spanish press on Friday.

Madrid have shifted focus to Neymarafter the close of the English PremierLeague’s transfer window on Thursdayended their hopes of signing ManchesterUnited midfielder Paul Pogba.

According to Marca, Neymar has“returned to the scene” with the club “believ-ing for some time that the team is lacking abig star up front”.

Sports newspaper AS claims the Brazilianhas been offered to Madrid by PSG, who areopen to selling if they can either recoup the222 million euros they spent on himin 2017 or receive half thatamount, with playersincluded in the deal.

It means La Liga’s twogreatest rivals are set to gohead-to-head in the bat-tle to sign Neymar beforethe Spanish transfer win-dow closes onSeptember 2.

Barcelona newspa-per Mundo Deportivosays the 27-year-old willwait until August 20 forBarcelona to make adecisive move,after which“PSG’s number10 does notrule out anyoption inorder to leavethe Frenchchampions,

where it is clear he does not want to stay anylonger.”

But Mundo adds that “it is clear Neymarwants to play for Barcelona” while DiarioSport agrees, writing that “the winningcard Barca continues to hold is the will ofthe striker to runite with players like LeoMessi and Luis Suarez. With them he has agreat understanding on the pitch and also astrong friendship off it.”

Marca believes Madrid also have factorsin their favour. “Neymar’s priority is not togo to Barcelona. His priority is to leave thePSG,” wrote Marca, also citing their “mag-nificent relationship” with PSG, “quite theopposite” of how the French club viewBarcelona.

Luka Modric is mentioned as a possiblemakeweight while Philippe Coutinho, who

reportedly rejected an offer fromTottenham this week, could be

included in an offer fromBarcelona.

Sport admits whicheverteam signs Neymar will “inflicta blow on their rivals by snatch-ing a star player from theother’s grasp”.

“From now on, it will beNeymar that decides,” Sport

added.“Barcelona want the player

to go public but he under-stands such a move

would be risky. IfBarca and PSG do

not reach anagreement hewould bestuck in theFrench cap-ital for athird year.”

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Documents

· cial word to North Western Railway’s Jodhpur division on any cancellation, there were reports that Pakistan has sus-pended the Thar Express. “We have not received any com-munication