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JOURNALISM OF COURAGESINCE 1932

PRABHARAGHAVAN&ANILSASINEWDELHI,NOVEMBER16

AN INTERNAL assessment ofIndia’sbilateralfreetradeagree-ments with nine countries, in-cluding five signatories of theRegional ComprehensiveEconomic Partnership (RCEP),played apivotal role in the gov-ernment firming its positionagainst joining themega tradepact. The assessment showeda“moderate utilisation rate” ofFree Trade Agreements (FTAs)over a five-year period, and atrade deficit for India in mostcases, save in regard to SAARCnations, The Indian Expresshas learnt.While the remaining RCEP

memberswentaheadandinkedadealonSunday—alittleoverayear after Prime MinisterNarendraModiannouncedIndiawaswalkingoutofnegotiationsciting“significantoutstandingis-sues” — the bloc has made itclearthatthedoorforIndiatore-turntothenegotiatingtablewillremainopen.However, India’s escalating

political tensions with Chinaoverthelastyearareseenashav-ing pushedup the entry barrier

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DA ILY FROM: AHMEDABAD , CHAND IGARH , DELH I , JA IPUR , KOLKATA , LUCKNOW, MUMBAI , NAGPUR , PUNE , VADODARA

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2020, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES `6.00 (`8 BIHAR & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMJOURNALISM OF COURAGE

SINCE 1932

GRIEFFamilymembersatthefuneralof20-year-old jawanRushikeshJondhale,whowaskilledinfiringfromacrosstheLineofControlatGurezinJammuandKashmironFriday,atBahirewadivillageinKolhapuronMonday.PTI

SANTOSHSINGHPATNA,NOVEMBER16

NITISH KUMAR took oath asBiharChiefMinister for thesev-enth timeonMondaywith twoDeputyChiefMinistersfromtheBJP — four-time Katihar MLATarkishorePrasadandfour-timeBettiahMLARenuDevi.A total of 15ministers were

administered the oath of officeby Bihar Governor PhaguChauhan— seven from the BJP,includingTarkishorePrasadandRenuDevi;sixfromtheJD(U),in-cluding Nitish; and one eachfromtheVikassheelInsaanParty(VIP) and Hindustani Awam

Morcha (Secular).Union HomeMinister Amit

ShahandBJPnationalpresidentJ P Nadda were among thosewhoattendedtheceremony.CongratulatingNitish,Prime

Minister Narendra Moditweeted: “The NDA family willworktogetherfortheprogressofBihar. I assure all possible sup-portfromtheCentreforthewel-fareof Bihar.”TheBJP'sformerdeputychief

minister, Sushil Kumar Modi,whohasbeendroppedthistime,may be accommodated at theCentrce, but there is no officialword yet. Sushil Modi first be-came Deputy Chief Minister in

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PMASSURES ‘ALLPOSSIBLEHELP’ TOBIHAR

Nitishsworn in, BJPpicks twoDyCMs inNDAsocial balancing15ministers take oath: 7 BJP, 6 JD(U), 1 eachVIP, HAM;BJP gets Speaker post

NitishwithdeputyCMsTarkishorePrasadandRenuDevi,afterswearing-in, inPatnaMonday.PTI MOREREPORTS,P5

APURVAVISHWANATHNEWDELHI,NOVEMBER16

OBSERVINGTHATit is“tryingtodiscourage”individualsfromfil-ingpetitionsunderArticle32oftheConstitution—whichgrantsindividualstherighttoapproachthe top court seeking enforce-mentof fundamental rights—aSupremeCourtbenchheadedbyChief Justice of India S A Bobdesought responses from theCentre and the Uttar PradeshgovernmentinapleaseekingthereleaseofKerala-basedjournal-ist SiddiqueKappan.“Whycan’tyougotothehigh

court?” the bench remarkedwhilehearingaplea filedbytheKerala Union of WorkingJournalistschallengingthejour-nalist's arrest.The same bench referred a

similar case invoking Article 32— which involved SameetThakkar,aNagpurresidentwhohadchallengedthemultipleFIRsagainst him for alleged deroga-torytweetsagainstMaharashtraCMUddhav Thackeray and hisministers—tothehighcourt,ob-serving that “even high courtscanupholdfundamentalrights”.Kappan,41,andthreeothers

were arrested while on theirway to Hathras to report an al-leged incident of gangrape andmurder. UP Police have allegedthatKappan,41, and twomem-bers of the Campus Front ofIndia (CFI) were part of a “con-spiracy”toinflamereligiousen-mityover theHathrasrape,andbooked them on variouscharges, including under thestringentUAPAandsedition.Senior advocate Kapil Sibal,

representing the journalists'union,arguedthattheSupremeCourt has intervened in similarcases in the past where Article32hadbeen invoked.“Weareawareofourpowers

underArticle 32,” CJI Bobdeob-served, issuing the notices andlisting the case for hearing onNovember20.OnNovember11,whilegrant-

inginterimbailtoRepublicTVed-itor-in-chiefArnabGoswami,theSupremeCourt had asked everyhighcourttoexerciseitsjurisdic-tion“toprotectliberty…theulti-mate reason forour existenceasconstitutionalcourts”.

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Bail pleas ofjournalist,another: SCsays whynot go to HC

Study on benefits,costs helped govtfirm up RCEP standDeal inkedonSunday,RCEPmemberskeepthedooropenfor Indiatoreturn

ZhongShan,LiKeqiangofChinaatavirtualRCEPeventinHanoi,Monday.Reuters

VIVEKDESHPANDENAGPUR,NOVEMBER16

INMARCH,aradio-collaredtigerinIndiagrabbedglobalattentionby traversing a circuitous forestroute from Yavatmal inMaharashtrathroughTelanganabeforere-enteringthestatetofi-nally settle down in Buldana—an estimated distance of 3,000kmcovered inninemonths.TheycalledhimWalker.Today, Walker, now over

threeyearsold, isatthecentreofaconservationchallenge to findwhether establishing corridorsfrom one “island-like forest” to

anotheristhesolutiontoaccom-modate the country’s growingtigerpopulation.Fornow,officialssay,Walker

“seems to be doing just fine”,killingwildboarsandbluebullsinside the 205-sq-kmDnyanganga sanctuary. Butgiven its solitary life, they say, itwill soonbetimeto findamate.Already,agovernmentcom-

mitteeheadedbySrinivasReddy,the field director of MelghatTiger Reserve who also super-vises Dnyanganga, has recom-mended that a female tiger betranslocated. But experts warnthat “thechallenge ismuchbig-ger than that”.

“Dnyangangaislikeanisland.Unless it has some connectivityto other tiger-bearing areas likeMelghatinAmravatidistrictandMuktai Bhavani in Jalgaon dis-trict, itmakeslittlesensetofacil-itate the growth of Walker’sprogeny inDnyanganga.Wheredo they go and how dowe en-sure their genetic plurality?”says Nitin Kakodkar, PrincipalChief Conservator of Forest(Wildlife),Maharashtra.Dnyanganga, he reiterates,

needstobedevelopedintoareg-ular tiger-sustainingareabyde-veloping corridors to connectwith other such locations. “Weneedtofirstfacilitateconnectiv-

ity before lettingWalker’s tribegrow,” saysKakodkar.Officials point to two forest

stretches that can provide alargerareaforatigerpopulationto move about: the 74-sq kmKatepurna Sanctuary in Akolaandthe18-sqkmKaranjaSoholSanctuary inWashim.“ButKatepurnaisadegraded,

thornyforest,andKaranjaSoholagrassland. Theywon’t be idealfor tigers. I thought Walkermight walk in the direction ofMelghat or Muktai Bhavani insearchofafemalesincethatareadoeshavesometigers.Butithasso far not gone that side. I hopeit goes there this winter, which

issupposedtobeabreedingsea-son,” saysKakodkar.Officials say Walker’s next

step is a crucial test to createspaceforagrowingpopulation.From2,226in2014, India's tigernumbers grew 33 per cent to2,967 in 2019, according totheall-Indiatigercensuscarriedout by theWildlife Institute ofIndia (WII).“Fora tiger, thetoppriorities

arehavingitsownspaceandsuf-ficientfood.Walkerbecamesta-ble only after getting space andfood. Providing a female is theeasy option—wecando that—but for long-termconservation,

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PAGE1ANCHOR

Walkersnappedonatrapcamera.CourtesyMaharashtraForestDept

Will Walker finally stay put? Answer key to tiger roadmap

HARISHDAMODARANNEWDELHI,NOVEMBER16

EVEN AS the Centre has an-nounced production-linked in-centives worth some Rs 2 lakhcroreforahostofsectorstoboostmanufacturinginvestments,thesugarindustryiscomplainingofhuge non-payments againstschemes notified more than ayearago.

TheNarendraModi govern-menthad, last year, provided anincentive of Rs 10,448per tonneformillstoexportsugarduringthe2019-20 season (October-September). That “lumpsumas-sistance”—towardsexpensesonmarketing,internaltransport,porthandlingandoceanfreight—wasnotified by the Department ofFood andPublicDistribution onSeptember12,2019.

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RAVISHTIWARINEWDELHI,NOVEMBER16

IN TERMS of power politics, re-tainingthegovernmentinBiharis an achievement the BJP hasbeentalkingupsincetheresultscame in. But the shuffling in itsranks with the swearing-in of

the new government Mondayunderlined how the party isbracing for what it sees as thechallengesof its2020mandate.The choice of two—not one

— Deputy Chief Ministers,TarkishorePrasadandRenuDevi,reflects how the BJP is address-ing the churn fromthewordgo.Indeed,formerDeputyCMSushil

Modi’s ejection from state poli-ticsunderlinedthissignal.Thepartymaybeputtingup

a brave face citing its win in 74seats but sources note that thisisn’t its best performance in al-liancewiththeJD(U). Ithadwon91Assemblyseats(of102itcon-tested) in 2010 in alliancewith

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BJP’s challenge: Wider RJD base,Left revival, its own new faces

INTERROGATIONBYENFORCEMENTDIRECTORATE

RITUSARINNEWDELHI,NOVEMBER16

NOT JUST former MadhyaPradesh Chief Minister KamalNath’snephewRatulPuributhisson Bakul Nath, too, alongwithCongress leaders SalmanKhurshidandAhmedPatel,findsmention in the interrogationstatementsofRajivSaxena,char-tered accountant and key ac-cused in the Rs 3,000-croreAugustaWestlandVVIPchopperdeal case.Saxena,currentlyonbail,was

extraditedfromDubaiinJanuary2019 and was interrogated bythe Enforcement Directorate,whichattachedhisassetsworthRs 385 crore. The ED is nowbe-fore the SupremeCourt in a bidtodivest Saxenaof his approverstatus forallegedlynot fullydis-closing the factsof thecase.Saxena’sstatement,running

intoover1,000pages(includingsupportingdocuments)wasac-cessed by The Indian Expressalong with copies of bankingstatements, records of offshorecompanies, and email corre-spondencebetweenkeyplayers.

These show several allegedhawala transactionsandacom-plexweb of offshore structuresthat Saxena admitted to settingup for theco-accused.The crux of Saxena’s state-

ment details how alleged kick-backs of the AugustaWestlanddeal — it was cancelled by the

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TOMORROW:HOWKICKBACKS

FLOWED INTO INDIANINVESTMENTS

Statement of key accusedmentions Kamal Nath’sson, Khurshid, Patel,web of offshore firms

RajivSaxenatoldEDabout thewebof transactionsbetweenhis firmandthatofChristianMichel (left)withentitiesownedbyKamalNath’snephewRatulPuri (right)

BUSINESS AS USUAL

BYUNNY

CONFESSIONSOFKEYACCUSED

PART 1

AGUSTAWESTLANDDEAL

S U G A R E X P O R T S

2010-11

2011-12

2012-13

2013-14

2014-15

2015-16

2016-17

2017-18

2018-19

2019-20

Respondingtotheincentivescheme,exportssurgedin2019-20

6050403020100

26 56.527.82

38

6.320.46

—Quantity(in lakh tonnes)

Govt incentives across sectorsbut bitter reality check for sugar

Alagiri set for own outfit,may join BJP-led allianceARUNJANARDHANANCHENNAI,NOVEMBER16

AFTER GETTING actor-turned-politician Khushbu into its fold,thestateunitof theBJP iswork-ing towardsgetting the supportof another prominent face,MKAlagiri, the elder son of lateM Karunanidhi and brother ofDMKpresidentMKStalin,aheadof the 2021 Assembly polls inTamilNadu.

Sources in the state BJP andthe Alagiri camp confirmedthere has been significantprogress in the alliance talks. Ifeverything goes as per the BJP'splan, Alagiri is likely to launch anew political outfit inMaduraionNovember20andmeetAmitShah the following day, whenthe Union Home Minister isscheduled tovisitChennai. “It islikely to be aone-on-onemeet-ing,” a seniorBJP leader said.

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NEWDELHIhascitedconcerns relating tocountriesusing tariff, aswell as inability to im-plementauto-triggersafeguards fordomesticindustries, toargue thatRCEPdoesnotaddressits issues. Stepsby IndiatargetingChinese in-vestmentscouldalsorun foulof RCEP if itwere to join thepact.

LoomingshadowofChina

PRABHARAGHAVANNEWDELHI,NOVEMBER16

THE AMERICAN biotechnologycompanyModerna announcedonMonday that early results ofitslargeongoinglate-stagetrialsof a vaccine candidate againstthe novel coronavirus hadshowed an efficacy of 94.5 percent — an outcome that sur-passed the expectations of re-searchers.The Moderna results offer

strong hope that vaccines thatwould defeat the deadly virusthathaduntilMondaysickenedover54.5millionandkilledmorethan 1.3million people world-widewerefinallywithinsight—eventhoughtheyareunlikelytobewidely available for at leastseveralmoremonths.Last week, Pfizer-BioNTech

and the Russianmakers of theSputnik V vaccine announcedthat their candidates had beenfound to be over 90 per cent ef-fective in preliminary results ofphase3humantrials.WhileModernadoes not yet

haveanarrangementtosupplyitsvaccineinIndia—where8.8mil-lionhavebeen infectedwith thecoronavirus and 1,30,000 havediedsofar—vaccineexpertssaidonMondayeveningthat itcouldpotentially have an edgeover Pfizer’s mRNA candidate

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Moderna saysvaccine 95%effective; maybe promisingoption in India

THEEDITORIALPAGE

WARAGAINSTTHEVIRUSBY RAJIBDASGUPTAPAGE10

KamalNathsaysson(BakulNath)NRI,norecordstoshowlinks;Khurshidsaysnoconnectionwithanyof theaccused

INDIA DEFENDSSTANDPAGE9

WORLD

TRUMPDROPSKEYPARTOF LAWSUITPAGE15

GUPKAR ALLIANCE:BJPATTACKSCONGPAGE7

I&B’SNOTICETOONLINEFIRMSONFDIPAGE6

INSIDE

New Delhi

THESECONDPAGE2 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY,NOVEMBER17,2020

BJP challengeJD(U). That it has become theseniorpartnerinthealliancehaslittlemorethansymbolicvalue.Party leaders, however, add

thatcomparing2010with2020is unfair. For, 2020 was over-whelmed by Covid-19 and itsimpact on the state's migrantworkers. That the Oppositionfell short despite a three-termanti-incumbency clubbedwithCovid only shows the supportfor theNDA, saidBJP leaders.Deep down, however, the

partyisawareof thechallenges.Indeed,thefactthatRJD-led

alliancesecuredanalmost sim-ilar vote share is a red flag. BJPleaders admit that this signalshow the RJD alliance hasman-aged a “wider support group”thantheyenvisaged.Non-YadavHinduvotershavealsoindicatedthat the BJP-JD(U) can't takethemforgranted."This is something theparty

needs to be attentive to,” said aseniorleaderwhoispartofstatecoregroupmeetings."Aftersucha performance by the RJD, itwould be erroneous to assumethat non-Yadav and the poorHindu voters will not ally withtheRJD," said the leader.That theRJDpolled ahigher

voteshare(over23%)comparedto 2010 (19%)when it had con-testedmoreseatsalsoshowsitswideningpopular support.GivenhowNitishKumarwas

shrunk, the BJP decided to stepinearlytoappealtowhatiscon-sideredNitish's contribution tothe alliance: women and EBCelectoral support. It’s with thisin mind that the party namedPrasad (OBC Kalwar commu-nity)andDevi (EBCNoniacom-munity)as its leaders.Shunting SushilModi out is

also meant to ensure that hedoesn’t overshadow these twoleaders as he has done in thepast with, for example, theparty’s leader in the Assembly,Prem Kumar, a several-termMLA from Gaya and from theChandravanshiEBCcommunity.“InthestateBJP,SushilModi

hasbeenatoweringbanyantreewhich puts everybody else inthe shade,” said a senior leader.Implying that his downsizingopens up opportunities for thefuture state leadership to growforpost-Nitishelectoralpolitics.The other challenge the BJP

seesistherevivalofCommunistpartiesandhowtheyhelpedtheRJD-led alliance inBhojpur andMagadh regions borderingJharkhand and Chhattisgarh.“Lalu had marginalised theCommunistsinBiharbuthissonhas given them a fresh lease oflife,” saidaBJP leader.

Sugar millsThe scheme, limited to a

maximum admissible exportquantityof60lakhtonnes(lt)forall mills, would have entailed afiscal outgo of Rs 6,269 crore.Theindustryalmostmetthetar-

get, with about 56.5 lt of sugargetting shippedout in2019-20,surpassingtherecordof49.57ltin2007-08.The 56.5 lt exports should

haveentitledmills topaymentsofoverRs5,900crore.Butactualdisbursements, according to anofficial,havebeenhardlyRs600croresofar.The2020-21Budgetmade no provision towardssugar export assistance for thelastseason.Norwasanyamountallocatedunderthesupplemen-tarydemandforgrantsinthere-cent sessionof Parliament.“Mills responded positively

to the scheme. Exports weremade at paper-thin margins,evenafterfactoringintheincen-tive(ofRs10,448pertonne).Notreceiving legitimate dues forshipments undertaken manymonths back can be very frus-trating. Inmanycases,theinter-est on bank loans due to thenon-receipt of incentive pay-ment has wiped out even themargins from exports,” saidPrakashNaiknavare,managingdirector, National Federation ofCooperativeSugarFactoriesLtd.Theexportincentivescheme

was designed keeping in viewtheall-time-highsugarstocksof143.33 lt withmills at the startof the 2019-20 season, equiva-lent to over 6.5 months of do-mesticconsumption.Exportingwasexpectedtoimprovetheliq-uiditypositionofmills,enablingthem to clear the cane dues offarmers. Exports did happen;opening stocks for the currentseason fromOctober, too, fell toaround110.5 lt.“Government departments,

especially food, shipping andhomeaffairs,weremosthelpful.They ensured that the truckscontaining sugar fromthemillsmovedwithout any roadblocks(duringthelockdown)andwereshippedoutfromtheports,”ac-knowledgedNaiknavare.But the non-payment of in-

centive hasn’t helped.Mills to-dayare facedwithaseriouscri-sis of liquidity, even asmost ofthemgetreadytocrushcaneforthenewseasonpostDiwali.But it isn’t export incentive

alone. The Modi governmenthadon July 31 last year notifiedaschemefora40-ltbufferstockof sugar. This stock was to bekept inmill premises, with theCentrebearingthecost(intermsof interest, insurance and stor-age charges) for a full year fromAugust 1, 2019. While thescheme’sestimatedfiscaloutgowas Rs 1,674 crore, paymentshavebeenaroundRs300crore.

Tiger roadmapweneedtoensureproperchan-nelsfortigerstomoveinandoutofDnyanganga.That’sa tediousandchallengingproposition.Sowe have to be very sure aboutwhat we are prioritising, andhow,” says Bilal Habib, a seniorscientist at theWII.Habib had radio-collared

WalkerinTipeshwar,wherethe

tigerwasknownasTWLST1C1,before it left in June2019.BackinBuldana,meanwhile,

there are demands to preserveDnyangangaasatigerareatofa-cilitate tourism. Shiv SenaMPPrataprao Jadhavhassuggesteda 10-km elevated corridor be-tweentwovillagestoreplacethe50-km Khamgaon-Buldanaroad through the sanctuary.There are also plans to relocatetheonlyvillage inside.“There are two alternative

routes available for road traffic.Butpeopleneedtobeconvincedto take the detour that’s about25kmlonger,”hesays.Something has to be done

soon, says Nitin Desai, director,centralIndia,WildlifeProtectionSociety of India. “Otherwise,Walker's epic journey wouldend up as a footnote in India’stiger story,”hesays.

RCEP standfor the government. Also, giventhat India already has bilateralpacts with a number of RCEPmembers including the ASEANbloc,SouthKorea,andMalaysia—andisnegotiatingagreementswithsomeoftheRCEPmemberssuch as Thailand, Australia andNewZealand— the cost of opt-ingout of thedeal is being seenasnotoutweighingthebenefitsof keepingChinaatbay.Officialsalsopointedtowork

that isunderway toactivate thetrilateral Supply ChainResilience Initiative (SCRI)withJapanandAustralia thataimstoincrease collaboration and cutthe dependency on Chinese in-puts. Also, there is a growingview that itwould serve India'sinterest to investstrongly inne-gotiating bilateral agreementswith the United States and theEuropeanUnion.However, it has been con-

veyed to other signatories ofRCEP that ‘Act East’ was thebedrockof India’seconomicpol-icy, and that its engagementwithASEANcountriesandothertrading partners would con-tinue, anofficial involved in theexercise toldThe IndianExpress.The government’s assess-

ment of various bilateral tradeagreements has revealed thatthegrowthintrade(CAGR)withpartnersoverthelastfivefinan-cial years was amodest 7.1 percent. The study covers pactssigned with Sri Lanka,Afghanistan, Thailand,Singapore,Japan,Bhutan,Nepal,RepublicofKoreaandMalaysia.Theonlyexceptionstothese

findings includesectors suchasironandsteelfortheIndia-KoreaComprehensive EconomicPartnership Agreement (CEPA)and India-Japan CEPA; plasticsin the case of the India-Singapore ComprehensiveEconomic CooperationAgreement; and automobilesandautomotivecomponents inthe case of the India-MalaysiaCECA.Whathasalsobeenmen-tioned, officials said, is the lop-sided tradedeficit against Indiainmostof thesedeals.Where RCEPmembers are

concerned, India’s deficits havemarginally reduced in mostcases. However, its deficit withASEAN as a bloc has increasedsince2018-19,accordingtodatafromtheMinistryofCommerceand Industry.The pullout from the RCEP

has come at a timewhen Indiais reviewing existing tradeagreements.Tworeviewsof theIndiaSingaporeCECAhavebeencompleted; the India-BhutanAgreementonTradeCommerceand Transit was renewed in2016; and the India-NepalTreatyofTradewasextendedin2016. Eight rounds of negotia-tions have been completed forthe review of the India-KoreaCEPA, which commenced in2016. Indiahas takenup the re-view of the India-Japan CEPAand India-ASEAN FTAwith itstradingpartners.Whilethepossibilityof India

joining RCEP as an observer isnot being ruledout, officials in-dicated that “the current struc-tureof RCEP”didnot reflect theRCEP Guiding Principles or ad-dresstheoutstandingissuesandconcernsof India.“Chinahasbeenacentralfig-

ureintheEastAsianregionand,therefore, would have amajorrole in driving the RCEP.However, there are severalmeasures that India has takenaftertheChineseaggressionear-lier this year, many of whichwouldsituncomfortablywithitscommitments under RCEP,should it join the agreement,”saidtradeexpertBiswajitDhar,a

professor at Jawaharlal NehruUniversity'sCentreforEconomicStudiesandPlanning.“The reasons why India

walked out of RCEP have notchanged. In fact, they have got-ten worse because there wasearlier only an economic threatfromChina.Now,itexistsonthepolitical front too,”hesaid.

AlagiriWhencontacted,TamilNadu

BJPchief LMuruganclaimedhewas not aware of the talks. Hetold The Indian Express that hewould enquire and confirm(Alagiri’s proposed politicalparty joining thealliance).

InTamilNadu,theBJPispartofanallianceledbytheAIADMKand which has S Ramadoss'sPMKandCaptainVijayakanth'sDMDKas itsothermembers.According to sources,

Alagiri’s outfit may be called‘KalaignarDMK’or ‘KDMK’.While Alagiri was not avail-

able for comments, a sourceclose to him said the BJP hasbeen in touchwith them for awhile. “It would be a strong re-ply to Stalin who sidelined hiselder brother in the party andfamily.AndforAlagiri, it isanop-portunity…maybe the lastop-portunity.Hisbusinessmayfacemore troubles if the DMKwins

theAssemblypolls,”hesaid.Meanwhile, the BJP's ties

withallyAIADMKtookaturnfortheworseastherulingpartyonMondaysaid itwouldnotallowthe former's ‘Vel Yatra’ -- amonth-long political rally cov-ering prominent LordMurugatemples in the state— and per-mit attempts towards "politicsof votebank"basedonreligion.A write-up in Namadhu

Amma, the AIADMK mouth-piece, said, “It isbetter for thoseconcerned to realise that if theyatrastheyorganisearetodividepeoplebasedoncasteandcreed,thepeopleof thispeaceheaven,TamilNadu,willnotallowthat.”

Bail pleasThe court granted bail to

Goswami and two others whowerearrestedinanallegedabet-menttosuicidecase,despiteob-jections from theMaharashtragovernment, and held that theBombayHighCourthaderredinrejecting thebail applications.Article32oftheConstitution

is a fundamental right, whichstates that individuals have theright to approach the SupremeCourt seeking enforcement ofotherfundamentalrightsrecog-nisedby theConstitution.Similar powers to enforce

fundamentalrightsarealsocon-ferred on high courts underArticle 226 of the Constitution.The twoprovisions arenotmu-tuallyexclusiveandallowaciti-zen to either approach thehighcourt that has jurisdiction overthecaseor theSupremeCourt.In the past, the Supreme

Courthastransferredcasestoit-self fromthehighcourts.Most recently, the Supreme

Court transferred the case in-volvinglanduseforthenationalcapital’sCentralVistaproject toitself fromtheDelhiHighCourt.Incidentally,thepetitionershadnot sought such a transfer. In2018,theSChadtransferredthecase seeking probe into thedeathof judgeBHLoyafromtheBombayHighCourt to itself.When such transfers are

made, the petitioners lose astage of appeal thatwould oth-erwisehavebeenavailable.OnMonday, the CJI refused

to hear Thakkar's case even asthecounselfortheMaharashtragovernment said the statewould not object to granting ofbail as the investigation wascomplete in thecase.Senior advocate Mahesh

JethmalaniarguedthathisclientThakker had been arrested de-spite the fact that all chargedagainsthimintheFIRwerebail-able offences. “If your lordshipsarenotshockedbythis,nothingwill shockyou,”heargued.“We see suchmatters every

day. We are immune to suchshocks. Nothing will shock usnow,” theCJI responded.

Modernaespecially in developing coun-tries,wheretheinfrastructuretostore and transport vaccines atsuper cold temperatures overvastdistancesmaypresentdiffi-cultchallenges.“Moderna’s long term stor-

age is at minus 20°C, which iswhatwedowithourpolio vac-cines. They have said that theirvaccine can stay out of minus20°C for up to amonth, so thatmakes it amuchmore feasiblevaccine for our programmes,”vaccine scientist DrGagandeepKang, a professor at ChristianMedicalCollege,Vellore, said.“Theproblem”,DrKangsaid,

“will be cost, becauseModernahas said that their vaccinewillcost $37 (more than Rs 2,750),which is a lot”. With Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, “wehave two spike protein-basedvaccinesthataregood”,DrKangsaid. “Sowhatweneednext isaspike protein-based vaccine onanotherplatformthat isequallygood... All the vaccines that arecoming nowwould be poten-tiallyuseful forus (India).”Vaccine expert Dr Davinder

Gill was emphatic that “If it re-ally came down to a choice be-tween the Pfizer andModernacandidates, then theModernacandidatewouldofferabenefit.”However, Dr Gill said, “I wouldsay that neither one of those isideal foradevelopingcountry.”This was because, he said,

“Whatyouhavetoalsoremem-beristhescale... theavailablein-frastructure to store polio vac-cineswillnotbeenough.”The New York Times quoted

DrAnthonySFauci,topUSinfec-tiousdiseasesexpert, assaying:“I would be satisfiedwith a 75percenteffectivevaccine.”

FROMPAGEONE

Nitish sworn in, BJP picks two dy CMs

Statement of key accused mentions Kamal Nath’sson, Khurshid, Patel, web of offshore firms

2005, when Nitish came topower, and retained the postsince then--exceptwhen JitanRamManjhiwasChiefMinisterbetween 2014 and 2015, andwhen the JD(U)waswith theRJDin2015-2017.Besides Nitish, the other

JD(U) ministers are: veteranparty leader Bijendra PrasadYadav, former AssemblySpeaker Vijay KumarChoudhary, the party's stateworking president AshokKumar Choudhary, TarapurMLA and former ViceChancellor of SabourAgricultureUniversityMewalalChoudhary,andfirst-timeMLAfromPhulparasSheelaKumari.The JD(U), which is down

from71seatsto43,haskeptso-cial engineering inmind in itschoiceofministers, giving rep-

resentation to the upper caste(Vijay Kumar Choudhary),Extremely Backward Class(Sheela Kumari), ScheduledCaste (Ashok KumarChoudhary), and OtherBackward Class (MewalalChoudharyandBijendraPrasadYadav).VijayKumarChoudharyandAshokKumar ChoudharyareknowntobeclosetoNitish.TheBJP,which increased its

tally from53 seats to 74 in the243-memberAssembly,hasfol-lowed the Uttar Pradesh for-mulawith twoDeputy ChiefMinisters.WhileTarkishorePrasadand

RenuDevi belong to the OBCand EBC respectively, formerBiharHealthMinisterMangalPandey, Ara MLA AmrendraPratap Singh and Jale MLAJiweshKumarrepresenttheup-

per caste. Ramsurat Rai, OBCleader fromMuzaffarpur, andRampreet Paswan, ScheduledCaste MLA from Rajnagar inMithilanchalbelt, are theothertwoBJPministers.While formerminister and

seven-time Patna SahebMLANandKishoreYadavdidnottakeoathonMonday,heistippedtobe the Assembly Speaker – apostheldbytheJD(U)sofar.PremKumar,anothersenior

party leadernot includedinto-day'slistofministers,maybeac-commodatedlater.VIP chief Mukesh Sahani,

who lost by a narrowmarginfromSimri Bakhtiyarpur, alsotookoathonMonday.Asprom-isedbytheBJPearlier,hewillbesent to theUpperHouse in thestate. From the HAM, formerChief Minister Jitan Ram

Manjhi's sonandMLCSantoshKumar Suman tookoath. BoththeVIPandHAMwonfourseatseach.Meanwhile, theOpposition

Mahagatbandhanallianceboy-cotted the oath-taking cere-mony,withstateRJDpresidentJagdanandSinghcalling it “lootof the mandate”. The RJDemerged as the single largestpartywith75seats.In a tweet, RJD leader

Tejashwi Yadav congratulatedNitishforbeing“nominated”asthe Chief Minister. “I hope hemakes his priority positive is-sues such as aspirations of thepeople of Bihar, the NDA'spromise of 19 lakh jobs -- em-ployment, education, health,livelihood,irrigationandjustice-- rather thanhis ambition forthechair,”hetweeted.

UPA II government – flowedthrough two companies,Saxena’s InterstellarTechnologies and GlobalServices owned by ChristianMichelwhowas extradited toIndiainDecember2018andre-mainsinjail.These payoffs, Saxena told

ED, "were (also) for thebenefitofpoliticalleadersandbureau-cratswhowere inapositionofinfluencingthedecisionatthatpoint of time. Some of thesefundswereonceagain,directlyorindirectly,throughstructuredtransactions, and some of thestructures set up byme,wererouted into investments inIndia."In its latest supplementary

chargesheetfiledonSeptember17,theCBIhassaidthatin2000,Saxenaacquired99.9%sharesofInterstellarTechnologies.The chargesheet cites

LettersRogatoryfromItalyandMauritius and alleges thatSaxena, in collusion withGautamKhaitan,receivedEuro12.40million in the account ofInterstellar Technologies fromAugustaWestland. This was“further routed/laundered forpayingthemiddlemenandsus-pectedpublicservantsinvolvedinthecase…”Therearealsodetailsofpay-

ments totalling Euro 9,48,862made by Global Services intofour companies owned bySaxena: Pacific InternationalFZC;MidasMetalsInternationalLLC;MetolixLtd;andEurotradeLtd.Saxena’s interrogation fo-

cuseson financial transactionsof two other key AugustaWestlandcaseaccused,defencedealer SushenMohan Guptaand formerMadhya PradeshChief Minister Kamal Nath’snephewRatulPuri.Both Gupta and Puri have

beenincustodyandarenowonbail.Saxenaalleges that “name-

dropping” by Gupta andKhaitanwas“legendary.”“They

frequently dropped names ofleadingpoliticalfiguresintheirconversationwithaviewtoim-press upon their influence inthecorridorsofpower.Theyof-tenmentioned the names ofSalman Khurshid and KamalunclewhichIdeducewasaref-erencetoMrKamalNath…”Answeringadirectquestion

on political beneficiaries,Saxena said: “I am aware thatInterstellar TechnologiesLimitedwas one of themaincompaniestoreceivekickbacksfrom the AugustaWestland.Interstellar Technologieswasbeneficially ownedby SushenMohanGuptawho controlledthe company throughGautamKhaitan…DuringmymeetingswithSushenMohanGuptaandGautam Khaitan they oftenmentionedpoliticalbeneficiar-ies in India. The nameAPwasmentionedby themandwasareferencetoAhmedPatel.’’Revealing alleged political

linksofthepayoffsviacompanystructures set up by him orthroughhisDubai-basedcom-pany Matrix Group Limited,Saxena told the ED that “indi-rectly funds received by RatulPuri through Interstellar

Technologies Limited andGlobal Services have flowedinto Moser Power Limited(RatulPuri’scompany)throughOptima Investments P Ltd, acompany controlled by RatulPuriandhis family.”In his statement, Saxena

brings up a crucial connectionwithacompanycalledPristineRiverInvestments.“We(SushenMohanGupta andhimself) re-ceivedbridge funding throughPristine River Investments, acompany managed by JohnDochertyforBakulNath,sonofKamal Nath. Thus, indirectlyfunds from InterstellarTechnologies and GlobalServiceswereusedtorepaytheloans from Pristine RiverInvestments.”When contacted, Kamal

NathtoldTheIndianExpress:"Ihave stated earlier that I havenothingtodowiththecompa-nies or transactions of mynephew,RatulPuri.Asfarasmyson, Bakul Nath, is concerned,he is an NRI based in Dubai. Ihadheardabouthimbeingde-scribedastheBeneficialOwnerof Pristine River and when Ispoke to my son, he said heknewnothing about the com-

pany. There are nodocumentsor bank accountswhich provea connection to him. Anyonecan open an offshore accountandputanameof someoneasBeneficialOwnerandnoteveninformhim. Hemay not evenknowaboutit.”When contacted, Khurshid

said: “I am surprised thatmynamehascroppedupaspartoftheAugustaWestland investi-gations.DevMohanGupta, thefatherof SushenMohanGuptaisaclosefamilyfriendandIamhiswellwisher.Besidesknow-ing himwell, I do not knoworhaveanyconnectionwithotherpersonsnamedinthecase likeRatulPuriorRajivSaxena.’’Interestingly, in one of the

latest sets of dozens of ques-tion-answertranscripts,Saxenahas admitted that Ratul PurihadvisitedhiminDubaifollow-inghiswifeShivaniSaxena’sar-rest by the ED in December2018.Duringthemeeting,Saxena

said, he (Saxena) showed Purievidence of remittances fromGlobal Services linked to theAugustaWestland kickbacks.He has also admitted that, "he(Ratul Puri) stated that he didnot know Christian MichelJames but these transactionshave been carried out by hishawala operators...I have beensentmessagesbyhimsincethetimehecametoDubaiinstruct-ingme not to give any docu-ment/information/statementlinkinghisfatherorhisuncleinanymatter..."When contacted, Puri told

The Indian Express: “Neither I,inmypersonalcapacitynormycompanyhavebeeninvolvedinany business relating to de-fence,defenceprocurementorarmaments…Weoperate andownmultiplebusinessesinvar-ious countries…we complywith all the necessary localrules,regulationsandlawsthatpertain to India. As thematterissub-judice,therefore,wecan-notcomment.”

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

Tackling India’srecessionNEWEPISODEEVERYDAY

TheIndianeconomyisnowofficially inatechnical recession,buthowcanitbedealtwith?Andhoweffectivearethegovernment'smeasuresso far?

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TRIPURAENGINEERGENERATESPOWERFROMWETCLOTH,WINS INNOVATIONAWARDATripura-basedengineerdevelopedatechnologytopowermedicaldiagnostickitsandmobilephonesbygeneratingelectricalpowerfromawetcloth.AndtheinnovationwonhimthecovetedGYTIaward,whichwaspresentedbyUnionMinisterDrHarshVardhanearlierthismonth.

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IndianExpress★★★★★■4.6

Today, we pay homage to the Veer Biharis of 8 BIHAR who laiddown their lives on 17 Nov 2008, while carrying out search andrescue operations in the hazardous, snow covered peaks of GurezSector in J&K. Their selfless actions were in the highest traditionsof the Indian Army. We, the fraternity of the Veer Biharis, salutethem.

THE BIHAR REGIMENT ASSOCIATION

Maj AjayUpreti, SM

Lt Amit KumarBeniwal

Nk KishoreDung Dung

Nk BhukhanOraon

Sep ChandanKumar Jha

Nk Amrit LalHoro

L / Nk SaibaBaskey

GEETALUTHRA,SAXENA’SLAWYER:

Ihavenot repre-sentedRajivSaxena

sincemid2019...I amun-awareof thematerial, ifany, submitted/tobesub-mittedbyhimtotheEnforcementDirectorateorbeforeanyother forumorauthority.Besides, allcommunicationwithMrSaxena isprotectedbyat-torney-clientprivilegeand Iamlegallyboundbyits confidentiality. It is for

himtoresponddirectly.”

RAJATMANCHANDA,SAXENA’SCURRENTLAWYER:

I ormyclientdonotwant tocomment

onthematter.”

NIRVIKARSINGH,LAWYERFORGUPTA:

Thematter issub judiceand

respectfullymyclienthasnocomments tooffer.”

THE INDIAN EXPRESSCONTACTED LAWYERS FORRAJIV SAXENA, SUSHENMOHANGUPTA:

New Delhi

ASHNABUTANINEWDELHI,NOVEMBER16

WITHTHECentrestepping intohelp manage the sudden in-crease in thenumberof cases inDelhi, the Covid Care Centre atChhatarpur,which is runby theIndo-Tibetan Border Police(ITBP), will convert 1,000 bedsintothosewithoxygensupport.TheCentrehas10,000beds,outof which 600 are occupied atpresent.Theareaissealedoff foreveryone, except those whohavebeenassignedabedbythedistrict administration.Since the beginning of the

month, there has been a sharpuptick in the number of Covidcases. While there are 16,733hospitalbedsinthecity,7,677arevacant.ICUbedswithventilators,however,areinshortsupplyandout of 1,332 beds, only 156 arevacant. Inprivatehospitals, get-tingbedseven ingeneralwardsisprovingtobeastruggle.Followingareviewmeeting

by the homeministry Sunday,more doctors and paramedicalstaff are also expected to jointhe centre.A spokesperson of the ITBP

said, “As the number of Covidcases rise in the capital, we are

expandingfacilitiesofferedatthecentre.Tillnow,theneedforoxy-genbedshasnotarisen. Inadayor two, we will be ready with1,000 beds with oxygen sup-port.” He said that, so far, not asinglepatientadmittedatthefa-

cility had died since the first setofpatientswasadmitted in July.TillthemorningofNovember

16, 10,800 patients admitted atthecentrehadrecovered.Thespokespersonaddedthat

Central Armed Police Forces(CAPF) doctors will be flyingdown to Delhi: “We currentlyhave 100 doctors and over 200paramedical staff. Another 75doctorsand250paramedicstaffare flying down from differentplaces in thecountry.”Theywill be accommodated

in hotels in Chhatarpur and arebeing flown in from Punjab,MadhyaPradeshandafewotherstates. TheCovidcarecentrehasbeen linked to Deen DayalUpadhyay andMadanMohanMalviyahospitals,whileitsrefer-raltertiary-carehospitalsareLokNayakHospitalandRajivGandhiSuper Speciality Hospital — allrunbytheDelhigovernment.

3THEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY,NOVEMBER17,2020

THECITYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

DR. B.R. AMBEDKAR

STATE INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCES

SECTOR-56, S.A.S. NAGAR, MOHALI, PUNJABNo. AIMS/2020/1409 DATED: 16.11.2020SUBJECT: CORRIGENDUM FOR THE POST OF DIRECTOR

PRINCIPAL ON DEPUTATION

REFERENCE: No. AIMS/2020/1350 Dated: 30.10.2020Corrigendum to advertisement for post of Director Principal, Dr. B.R.

Ambedkar State Institute of Medical Sciences, Mohali. Faculty membersworking as Additional Professor & receiving pay scale equivalent to orhigher than Level 13 (Central 7th Pay Commission) for last 5 years canalso apply for the post of Director Principal.

Last Date of Application is 22nd November, 2020 till 05.00 P.M.Sd/-

Director PrincipalAIMS, Mohali

98780-98181, 98728-88848, 98552-00011104389/Pb

99DEATHSONMONDAY

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,NOVEMBER16

AMIDRISINGCovid cases in thecapital, Delhi HealthMinisterSatyendarJainMondaysaidthereis “no chance” of another lock-down as the thirdwave has al-readypeaked. “The virus cannotbecontainedthroughlockdown,peopleshouldprotectthemselvesbywearing facemasks. I can tellyou that the peak of the thirdwaveisgone,”hesaid.Mondaysaw3,797newcases

and 99 deaths, taking the totalcountto4,89,202andfatalitiesto7,713. The positivity ratewas at12.73% after authorities con-ducted29,821tests inthelast24hours. Themortality ratewas at1.35%.Thecityhasbeenwitness-ingaspurtinthenumberofdailycases sinceOctober 28,when itbreachedthe5,000-markforthefirst time. It crossed the 8,000-markWednesday.SourcessaidtheDelhigovern-

ment’s unequivocal stand is thatthere can be no effective lock-downanymoreandthemostpru-dentthingtodowouldbetoaug-menthealthcarefacilitiestocatertopatientseffectively.“Theinitiallockdownmade sense as it gavetime to governments to makepreparations. At present, a lock-downmakes no sense as itwillpushpeoplewho are strugglingalreadyintofurtherhardship.WeneededhelpwhenitcametoICUbedsandtheCentrehaspromisedit,”saidaseniorofficial.Deputy CMManish Sisodia

added, “The corona situation iscoming under control as num-bers are decreasing after reach-ingover8,500. Idon’tthinktherewouldbeanysituationtoimposeanother lockdown in Delhi. Till

the time there isnomedicineorvaccineagainstCovid,wecannotpredict the situation, butweareworkingtoensureeverypossiblesteptotackle thecrisis.”OnSunday,followingameet-

ing by Home Minister AmitShah, the Centre announced aslewofsteps—addingmoreICUbeds, doubling the number ofdaily RT-PCR tests and carryingouthouse-to-housesurveys—tocheckspirallingcases.At present, there are 16,733

beds earmarked for Covid pa-tientsinDelhi,outofwhich9,056areoccupied.Whileoverallbedsare available, occupancy of ICUbeds across hospitals is runninghigh — of 1,332 ICU ventilatorbeds, 1,176 are occupied. “BedsareavailablebutthereisacrunchofICUbedsatthemoment...thoseinprivatehospitalsaremostlyoc-cupied. Yesterday (Sunday), ourCM requested theUnionHomeMinistertoincreaseICUbedsandthepleahasbeenaccepted...Ato-tal of 750 more beds will beaddedbytheCentre,”saidJain.Ontheriseinpositivityratein

the last fewdays, he said: “If welookatthedata,overalldeathsarenot increasing,which tend to goup duringwinters. Comparing

monthly data of the previousyears,datahasnotchangedmuch.Fatality rate is around1%.AsperWHOguidelines,ifmortalityratestaysunderthisrate,thenit’sfine.”Jainsaidduringthefirstwave

inJune,weeklyaveragepositivityratewasaround37%,whichwentdown to 13-14% in the secondwave:“Positivityrateislowestinhospitalswherepatients arebe-ing treated and highest wherepeople are not following Covid-appropriate behaviour.” He alsosaid strict action is being takenagainstthosefloutingguidelines:“PenaltiesworthRs45crorehavebeenimposedinthelastfewdaysonthosenotwearingmasks.”

IVR facility forcontact tracingThestatehealthdepartment

facilitated an IVR calling facilityto identify contacts of Covid-19positive cases. As per the order,districts are required to captureand share names and numbersofallidentifiedcontactswiththenodal officer. “The teamat eachdistrict, involvedincontacttrac-ing...hastomakenoteofverifiedpersonal mobile numbers ofeach contact/s identified,” saidtheorder issuedMonday.

FESTIVE RUSHPassengersat theNewDelhiRailwayStation,waitingtoboardspecialChhathtrains,onMonday.Thetwo-dayChhathpujafestival fallsonNovember20-21thisyear.AmitMehra

HC pulls upSDMC overinaction oncomplaintsEXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,NOVEMBER16

ASKINGTHESouthMCDto“putits affairs in order”, the DelhiHighCourt tooknoteof thecor-poration’s failure to act in timeon complaints of residents andsaid there have been hundredsof cases in thepast fourmonthswhere it has noticed that thecivic body chooses to act onlywhenawritpetition is filed.Ordering the SDMC

Commissioner to initiate actionagainstofficialsforderelictionorlapseofdutyinsuchcases,JusticeNajmiWaziri,inanorder,said,“Asystemic review for amore re-sponsivemechanism has to beput in place within a week, sothatcitizensarenotunnecessar-ily constrained to approach thecourt in itswrit jurisdiction.”The courtwas hearing a pe-

titionalleginginactionbySDMCon complaints regarding instal-lation of amobile tower on theterrace of the sixth floor of abuilding inRajpurKhurd. In theorder, the court said the SDMChas done nothing whatsoeverabout the complaint and askedtheCommissionertolookintoit.ObservingtheSDMCactsonly

once residents approach theHC,the court said that a reference isthen promptly made to a so-calledworknotice.But, it added,no proof ever is shown of suchnotice having been served bypasting it on site or posting itthrough speedpost or a reliablecourier or through electronicmodelikeemail,SMS,WhatsApp.“... If the corporation had re-spondedprudentlyandpromptlytohundredsofcomplaints,thefil-ingofthecorrespondingnumberofwrit petitionswouldnothavebeennecessitatedandthecourt’stime could have been spent onbettercauses,” theorderread.

Delhi past third peak,no chance of anotherlockdown, says Jain

Covidtestingunderway inGeetaColony.AbhinavSaha

TheCovidCareCentreatChhatarpur,which is runbytheIndo-TibetanBorderPolice (ITBP).AbhinavSaha

ITBP’s Covid care centre to get 1,000oxygen beds, more doctors to fly in

10 teams to visit pvthospitals to check ifaffairs are in orderEXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,NOVEMBER16

IN THE wake of rising CovidcasesinDelhi,theCentrehascre-ated10multi-disciplinaryteamsto check if private hospitals arefollowingallguidelinesissuedbythe state government and theUnion Ministry of Health andFamilyWelfare for treatment.InanorderissuedMondayby

the Ministry of Home Affairs(MHA),thegovernmentsaidtheteamswillvisitallprivatehospi-talsin“NationalCapitalTerritory(NCT) of Delhi to check the sta-tus of compliance of various di-rections”issuedbyMoHFWandstategovernmentfortestingandtreatingofCovidpatientsandtocontain thespreadof thevirus.The order comes a day after

HomeMinisterAmitShahheldahigh-levelmeetingSundayonthecapital’s Covid situation. The or-dersaidthestategovernmentwillprovide necessary logistic sup-port,includingtransportation,tothe teamswhich are headed bydeputysecretarytodirector-levelofficialsfromMoHFWandMHA.Senior doctors fromAIIMS aremembers of the team. “HealthDepartment,GovernmentofNCT

of Delhi, will nominate a focalpoint to ensure smooth conductofvisitandissuenecessarydirec-tions toprivatehospitals to facil-itate visit of teams and comple-tion of all tasks as per ToRassignedtothem,”theordersaid.TheTermsofReferenceforthe

teamincludes:■Whether, inthevisitedpri-

vate hospitals, availability ofwards and ICU beds are as pertheGNCTDorders.

■Whether such availabilityis being displayed on real-timebasis by the hospital throughLED and corona dashboard ofDelhigovernment.

■Whetherprivatehospitalsare thoroughly observingCoviddischargepolicyasmandatedbytheGovernmentof India.

■RT-PCR testing capacity, ifavailable; capacity utilised andturnaroundtimeof test report.

■Are critical patients beingreferredtoothergovernment/pri-vatehospitalswithoutascertain-ingavailabilityinthosehospitals.

■ If there is any other viola-tion in treatmentprotocol.MHAhassaid theteamswill

starttheirvisitimmediately,andwithintwodays,submittheirre-ports alongwith specificdetailsasperToRtoMoHFWandMHA.

75% ICU bedsfor Covid cases:Gurgaon adminGurgaon: In an order signed byGurgaondistrictmagistrateAmitKhatriMonday,theGurgaonad-ministration said at least 50% ofgeneralbedsand75%ofICU/ven-tilatorbedsinpublicandprivatehospitalshavetobereservedforCovidpatients.Atpresent, thereare2,100bedsforCovidpatientsin Gurgaon, as per the govern-ment’s HR Heal app. This in-cludesbedsinCovidcarecentres.Of these, 1,183general beds, 119ICUbeds and63ventilator bedswereavailableat10pm.Gurgaon saw546newcases

onMonday.ENS

Total VacantHOSPITAL BEDS 16,733 7,677VENTILATORS 1,332 156

Dailycases Recoveries Deaths TestsNov15 3,235 7,606 95 21,098Nov16 3,797 3,560 99 29,821Total 40,128* 4,41,361 7,713 54,79,391

CORONAVIRUSIN THECAPITAL *Tota

lactivecases

TOTAL CASES

4,89,202

New Delhi

SOFIAHSANNEWDELHI,NOVEMBER16

THE DELHI High Court hasgranted bail to an accused in aNortheastDelhiviolencecaseaf-ter taking into account his pooreyesight. While police hadclaimed CCTV footage showedhimatthespotof theincidentat9.31 pm on February 24, thecourt said it cannot be believedthat a person with such weakeyesightwouldhaveclearvisionatnightwithout spectacles.In his order, Justice Suresh

Kumar Kait said it is not in dis-putethat theaccused'seyesightisweak(-3.75)andthatwhenhewas arrested, he was wearingspectacles."However,petitionerwas arrested on the basis ofCCTV footage alongwith co-ac-cused Ali Hasan but admittedfact is that inCCTVfootagepeti-tionerisnotwearingspectacles,"thesingle-judgebenchsaid."Moreover, CDR (call detail

record)isnotonrecord,wherebyit could have been establishedthatthepetitionerwasavailableatthesite,"JusticeKaitsaidinthe

order, while granting bail toSaiyad Iftikhar,whohasbeen injudicial custodysinceApril 11.Iftikhar'scounselarguedbe-

forecourtthatthereisnolegallysustainable evidence againsthiminthematterashehasbeenarrested on the basis of his al-leged appearance in CCTVfootage and identification by aconstable. However, the courtwas told, the person claimed tobeIftikharintheCCTVfootageisnothim.In the case registered at

Bhajanpura police station, theaccused persons are alleged tohave been part of an "unlawfulassembly" which vandalisedshops in the area during theFebruaryviolence.The lower court had dis-

missed Iftikhar's bail plea onAugust10,observingthat"thereis ample evidence at this stage"against himof being part of the"unlawful"assemblywhichvan-dalised the shop of the com-plainant, Hari Om Mishra, aswellasnineothercomplainants.

MALLICAJOSHINEWDELHI,NOVEMBER16

DELHI’SAIRquality improved tothepoorcategoryonMonday,thebiggest such reduction in pollu-tantconcentrationtwodaysafterDiwali infouryears.Over the past four years, the

concentrationofparticulatemat-ter has increased the day afterDiwaliandhastakentimetoim-prove thereafter. The improve-menthasneverbeenfromthese-vere category to poor categorywithin two days since 2015 –which iswhenanation-wideairqualityindexmonitoringandre-portingsystemwasput inplace.Delhi’s 24-hour average AQI

Mondaywas recorded as 221—in the poor category. Itwas 435onSunday.By evening, significant im-

provementwasseenandat9pm,theAQIwas196(moderate).Outof the 36monitoring stations inDelhi, forwhich readingswereavailable, 20were in themoder-ate category,while 16, includingITO, Nehru Nagar, AurobindoMarg,PunjabiBaghandDwarka,wereinthepoorcategory.At some stations, such as

Mandir Marg, India Gate,AurobindoMarg andMundka,PM2.5levelsfelltobelow60mi-crogrammes per cubicmetre –thestandardlimitforPM2.5con-centrationduringtheday.While theAQI is expected to

beinthemoderateorpoorrangeonTuesday,achangeinwinddi-rection fromWednesdaymeanstherelief isonlyshort-lived.“Surfacewindsarenortheast-

erly and strong, very favourableforpollutantdispersion.ScatteredrainfallinDelhiandobservedsur-roundingregionhaswashedoutsomeof the pollutants. EffectivestubblefirecountswithsufficientpotentialestimatedfromSAFAR-multi-satellite products are sig-nificantlyreducedandarearound282.However, in reality, it couldbe an underestimate due to theinability of satellites to identifyspots under cloudy conditions.However, in any case, sinceboundarylayerwinddirectionisnortheasterlyandnotfavourablefor fire-related transport withhigher local dispersal rate, evenhigher counts could not havechangedtheconclusionofnegli-gibleshareof1%ofstubbleburn-ing in PM2.5 inDelhi's air,” offi-

cialsatSAFARsaid.Kuldeep Srivastava, head of

IMD’sregionalforecastingcentre,said theairqualitymightdeteri-orate again onWednesday. “ItrainedinDelhiafteragapof twomonths... and the accumulatedpollutantswerewashedout.Thewind direction was alsofavourable but it is expected toturn tonorthwesterlyagainandAQI will rise again startingWednesday,”hesaid.EnvironmentministerGopal

Raisaidthatnearly70%peopledidnot burn any firecrackers in thecity. Deputy Chief MinisterManish Sisodia saidmanyburstcrackersinneighbouringstates.The city, meanwhile, is ex-

pectedtoseetheminimumtem-perature dipping to 9 degreesCelsiusbytheendoftheweek.OnMonday,themaximumtemper-aturewas 25.8 degrees Celsiuswhile theminimumwas 16de-greesCelsius.

PROJECTCOSTTOCOMEDOWNBYUPTO25%

ManstabbedtodeathinJahangirpuriNewDelhi:A42-year-oldman was stabbed todeath, allegedly by twomenwhohe scolded foreating and drinkingliquor outside his resi-dence in NorthwestDelhi’s Jahangirpuriarea.Both the accused havebeenarrestedandsentto14-day judicial custody.“The incident tookplacelate Sundaynight after aquarrel broke out be-tween Rajesh and thetwo other men whowere eating and con-suming alcohol near hisresidence. The quarrelescalated and one ofthem took out a knifeand stabbed Rajesh onhis chestbefore fleeing...Rajeshwas then rushedto Babu Jagjivan RamMemorial Hospital,wherehediedduringthemedicaltreatment,”saidDCP(north-westdistrict)VijayantaArya.

WorkshoponcervicalcancerNewDelhi: The All IndiaInstitute of MedicalSciences is organising anational workshop tomark the launch of theGlobal strategy toAccelerateCervicalCancerElimination,withthepar-ticipation of representa-tives from WHO SouthEast Asia Regional andCountry Offices, NITIAayog,MinistryofHealthandFamilyWelfare,ICMR,DepartmentofBiotechno-logy, FOGSI, PGIMERChandigarh, UNDP, TataTrustsandJhpiego.

3heldforsaleofcrackersNew Delhi: A day afterDiwali,threepeoplewerearrestedfromDwarkaforallegedly selling fire-crackers.ENS

BRIEFLY

LAADLI SCHEME

Govt’s scheme for girl child takes hit, far fewer takers than previous yrsSUKRITABARUAHNEWDELHI,NOVEMBER16

ONEOF theDelhi government'smajor schemes for thebenefitofgirlchildren—theLaadlischeme—isreelingundertheeffectoftheCovid lockdown,with a signifi-cantslowdowninthenumberofenrollments so far this year,which experts say could impactthenumberof girl children join-ingandstayinginschool.Under the Laadli scheme, fi-

nancial assistance is sanctioned

for beneficiary girls starting attheir birth and then at variousstagesoftheireducationupuntiltheseniorsecondarylevel.Fortheenrollment of new babieswhocanbenefitfromthefirststageoffinancialassistance, theyhavetobe registered within a year oftheir birth, and they have to re-newit at their schools at variousstagesoftheireducationjourney.In sixmonths for the 2020-

2021 cycle, starting fromAprilanduptoSeptember,theschemereceived 1,094newenrolments.This iswellbelowthenumberof

new enrollments in the 2019-2020cycle,whichwas46,660.In2017-2018 and 2018-2019, thenumberswere67,070and60,803respectively.AnofficialintheDelhigovern-

ment's Women and ChildDevelopmentdepartmentattrib-utedthislownumbertoCovidre-strictions. "In order to carry outthenewregistrations,parentsarerequiredtogotodistrictoffices.Itispossiblethatbecauseofthevar-ious restrictions, theywere notabletocarryitoutthistime.Thereisstilltimeinthiscycle,sowewill

trytomakeupforthislag,"theof-ficialsaid.In case of students in school

whoareapplyingfortheschemefor the first time at a later stage,the last date of accepting newforms has been moved fromSeptember30toDecember31."We are trying to spread

awareness...wearealsotryingtomaketheprocessonline,"saiddi-

rectorWCDRashmiSingh.Schools havemeanwhile re-

ceived a circular urging them tohandhold parents through theprocess of registering eligiblebeneficiaries."During2020-2021less than expected number ofnew registration as well as re-newalcaseshasbeenreceivedbythedepartmentofWCD,GNCTD.As a result, thiswill not only im-pactonfutureallocationoffundsduetopoorutilisationinthecur-rent year but will also deprivemanyunderprivilegedgirlsofthemuchneededfinancialassistance

undertheabovescheme,"itread.Delhi Commission for

Protection of Child Rights chair-personAnurag Kundu said thatthechild rightsbodyhasnotob-served a slowdown in registra-tions forwelfare schemes, andsaid that in fact, therehasbeenadoubling in registrations at an-ganwadicentresthisyear.Under the scheme, financial

aidisprovided—Rs11,000ifborninhospitalorRs10,000ifbornathome; andRs 5,000 each in fur-ther fivemilestones—Class I, VI,IX,XIandXII.

SOURAVROYBARMANNEWDELHI,NOVEMBER16

DELHI METRO, the country’slargesturbanrapidmasstransit,hasdecidedtoadopttherecentlyapproved ‘MetroNeo’specifica-tions in building a 20-km-longlow-cost corridor betweenDwarkaandKirtiNagar,shelvingits ‘MetroLite’project.TheIndianExpresshaslearnt

that the Delhi Metro RailCorporation (DMRC) board hasapproved the decision, whichwillbringdowntheprojectcostby up to 25% as against the ex-penditure that aMetro Lite sys-temwouldhaveentailed.MetroLitecosts40-50%ofconventionalMetro systems.With the adop-tionofMetroNeospecifications,theprojectcost is likely tocomedownbyatleastRs600crore,asperofficialdocuments.Thedecisionalsomakes the

Delhi Metro among the firstrapidmass transit operators toexplore theMetro Neo specifi-

cations, which were approvedby the Union Ministry forHousing and Urban Affairs on

November10.“FortheKirtiNagar-Bamnoli

corridor, a decision has beentaken by DMRC’s Board ofDirectorstoexplorethepossibil-ity of implementingMetro Neotechnology and get a DetailedProject Report (DPR) preparedforthesame.Thestandardspec-ifications for Metro Neo havebeen issued by theMinistry ofHousing and Urban Affairs re-cently,” DMRC executive direc-tor(corporatecommunications)AnujDayal said.Incidentally, DMRC had al-

ready prepared a DPR, peggingtheprojectcostatRs2,673crorein October, 2019, for the nowshelvedMetro Lite project andsent it to the Delhi governmentfor approval. The DPR, govern-ment sources said, was withTransport Minister KailashGahlot’soffice.Metrohadalsofloatedaten-

der in January for procuring 29

Metro Lite trains, of threecoaches each, for the corridor.That tendering process has alsobeenscrapped.Ithadalsobegunsoil testing and geotechnicalworksalongtheproposedcorri-dor inSeptember.“As insteadofMetroLite,we

are now looking atMetro Neo,further modifications may bemade to the technical specifica-tions of rolling stock as well asotheralliedrequirementsforthiscorridor. Therefore, the tenderforprocurementof29MetroLitetrainshasbeencancelled.Tendermay be floated again as perchanges in technical specifica-tions in the future,”Dayal said.According to theMetro Lite

project, which had a 2025deadline, 21 stations were tocomeupalong theKirtiNagar-Bamnoli Village corridor viathe upcoming Dwarka Sector25 Exhibition-Cum-conven-tion Centre.

Cops told to take ‘utmost care’to identify honey trap casesSOMYALAKHANINEWDELHI,NOVEMBER16

THELEGALCelloftheDelhiPolicehas directed "investigating offi-cerstotakeutmostcarewhilein-vestigating cases" where "ac-cusedpersonsareluredforsexualprovocations and thereafterthreatenedtopaymoney".Theorder, sentbyDCP(Legal

Cell/PHQ) Rajesh Deo onNovember 12, has beenmarkedto all Special CPs, Joint CPs, andDCPs, among others. The orderstates that"instanceshavecometonoticewherecasesofrape/sex-ualharassmenthavebeenregis-teredbythecomplainantagainstone or several accused persons,however, during investigation, ithas emerged that the case is of'honey trapping' where the ac-cusedwereluredandaftersomeinitialsexualprovocations,theac-cused was threatened to paymoneyandincaseoffailuretodoso, allegation of rape/sexual as-saultwerelevelled..."TheordermentionedaDelhi

High Court observation during

the bail hearing of a man inSeptember: "thoughacceptanceof allurement is not justifiedbutatthesametime,allurementad-vancedforextortionofmoney isalsonotacceptable."During the hearing, the HC

had sought a report from theDelhi Police Commissioner re-garding 'honey trap' cases regis-tered in different police stationsacrossthecity,andalsoorderedaprobeagainstthecomplainantina caseof alleged rape. This orderwas passed after the accused, inhisanticipatorybailplea,submit-tedthathewasluredbythecom-plainantandacasewasregisteredafter he did not give in to extor-tion.The court directed Delhi

Police Commissioner to issuestandingorders,incasehenotices"similartypeofincident"hashap-pened inDelhi in2020, toall thepolice stations concerned "thatactionmay be taken as per law,however,withoutharassingsuchperson/allegedaccusedtherein".Theorder sentonNovember

12 by DCP Deo states,"Investigating officers are di-

rected to takeutmost carewhileinvestigatingsuchcaseswithoutharassing the accused... in caseany doubt arises, the IO mustcheck credentials of the com-plainant/s... IO shall also enquireabout other caseswith similarmodus operandi, registered bythe complainant at other policestations, if any. If after investiga-tion,theallegationslevelledinthecomplaintarefoundtobe...fabri-cated, suitable legal actionmaybetaken."As per the order, thiswas is-

suedwith approval of theDelhiPolice Commissioner. DCPDeotoldTheIndianExpress,"Whenwecollectedtherecords,werealisedthere are a few cases like this.There is a chance that laws per-taining to sexual harassmentmightbemisused.So,wearejustassertingthatthesecasesshouldbe investigated thoroughly, andtoensurethatgenuinecasesdon'tget tickedoff, andhabitual com-plainantsareidentified...Thereisa provision for zero FIR, so allcaseswhere sexual harassmentis alleged, cases should be regis-tered..."

AQI droppedfrom435onSundayto221onMonday.AmitMehra

Under thescheme, financialaid is sanctionedatvariousstagesof girls’ education

4THEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY,NOVEMBER17,2020

THECITYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

0-50 Good

ANANDVIHARPoor

0 500

236AQIPM: 2.5

SIRIFORTPoor

0 500

SHADIPURModerate

0 500 500

51-100 Satisfactory 101-200 Moderate 201-300 Poor 301-400 VeryPoor 401-500 Severe

DWARKA- SECTOR8Poor

0

242AQIPM:2.5

159AQIPM:10

234AQIPM: 2.5

Fortier-II citieswith lowtraffic

METRONEO systems are aimed at tier-II cities or corridorsin outer areas of mega cities like Delhi with projected PerHour Per Direction Traffic (PHPDT) of up to 10,000 daily.MetroLitecorridors,ontheotherhand,aredesignedtohan-dle up to 15,000 PHPDT. The specifications issued by theMoHUA says Metro Neo will have rubber-tyred electriccoachespoweredbyoverheadwires.Thecorridorswillhaveelevatedorgroundlevelstationsonly.SincetherewillbenoAFC gates, “with random checking, heavy penalty shall beleviedonpassengerswithoutavalidticket inthesystem”, itadds. “Lighting, passenger information system,CCTV, auto-matic ticket vendingmachine, etc at stations shall be pro-videdbareminimumandwherenecessary.Platformscreendoors,X-raybaggagescannerarenotneeded,” it states.

Metro Lite givesway to cheaperNeo onDwarka-Kirti Nagar stretch

NE riots case: Man with pooreyesight gets court respite

Citing existing inventory, govt dropsslum relocation project for 3,000 familiesSOURAVROYBARMANNEWDELHI,NOVEMBER16

THREE YEARS after it was an-nounced, theDelhi governmenthasshelvedaprojecttoconstruct3,780flats torelocateover3,000families living in slums ofJahangirpuri andWazirpur neartheirsourcesoflivelihood.Asperdocuments, the Delhi UrbanShelter Improvement Board(DUSIB) took the decision in its29th boardmeeting chaired byCM Arvind Kejriwal onSeptember26.“Itwasdecidedthatahugein-

ventory isalreadyavailablewithDUSIB and a large number ofhousesarelyingvacantforalongtime, inviting unruly elements,vandalismandwear and tear. At

the same time, no concrete planof action for relocationhas beendrawn. Accordingly, it was de-cided todropand reject the ten-der case,” say the records of themeeting.Theestimatedcostoftheproj-

ectwas pegged at Rs 461 crore.DelhigovernmentandDUSIBdidnot respond to requests for acommentonthedecisiontoscraptheJahangirpuriproject.Whilethegovernmentinthis

casesaid the flatswere lyingun-

used, earlier,when theSupremeCourt ordered the demolition of48,000jhuggisalongDelhi’srail-way tracks, Delhi UrbanDevelopmentMinisterSatyendarJain had in a letter to UnionRailwaysMinister PiyushGoyalexpressedthegovernment’sun-willingnesstouseitsinventoryofunused flats, saying they are lo-catedinouterareas.The plan, first approved in

August 2017, was to shift 3,706families from Jahangirpuri andWazirpur, and around800 fromWazirpur.InOctober 2018, the govern-

mentreiterateditscommitmenttobuildtheprojectin18months.Theplanalso includedconstruc-tion of 582 flats at SangamPark,784EWSflatsatDevNagar,KarolBagh and 448 flats at Kasturba

Niketan,LajpatNagar.Accordingly, tenders were

floated for all projects. TheDevNagarandSangamParkprojectsdidnotmakeprogressastheyre-ceivedonlysinglebids,whiletheJahangirpuri one received inter-ests frommultiple groups at thepre-biddingstage,recordsshow.Thegovernmenthasdecided

to float fresh tenders for theDevNagarproject,where203familiesaffected by the construction ofthe National War Museum atPrincessParknearIndiaGatewillbeshifted.OnNovember13,thegovern-

ment issued another statementsayingithasdecidedtoconstruct89,400flatsfortheeconomicallyweak and slum dwellers. Thedeadline for the project's firstphasehasbeensetat24months.

The lowercourthaddismissedhispleaonAug10.Archive

Alargenumberofhousesare lyingvacantfora longtime, themeetingchairedbyCMKejriwalnoted

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,NOVEMBER16

ELEVENMONTHS after a fire ina factory in Sadar Bazar's AnajMandileft45, includingminors,dead, the Delhi Police arrestedone of the four accused, who isone of the owners of the build-ing that caught fire. Police saidMohdImranhadbeenabscond-ingsincethedayof theincident,andwascarryinga rewardof Rs50,000 on his arrest or appre-hension."OnNovember14, secret in-

formationwasreceivedbyapo-licepersonnelthatImranwouldbevisitingDelhitoparticipateina family function... A trap waslaid and he was apprehendedfromAzadpur," said AdditionalCP (Crime)BKSingh.Singh said that in the last 11

months, Imranlivedinhidingathis relatives' homes inMeerut,Agra, Raipur, Ajmer, as well asSeelampur inDelhi.The fire erupted on

December8lastyearintheAnajMandibuilding, leaving45peo-pledeadand21people injured.

Anaj Mandifire: Fourthaccused held

AQI OVER THE YEARS (PM2.5)700

D-5 D-4 D-3 D-2 D-1 DD D+1 D+2 D+3 D+4 D+5

600500

400300

2001000

2020

2018

2019

—2018 —2019 —2020 DD: Diwali Day

Delhi sees best post-Diwaliair in 4 years, but ‘poor’ still

Source: Safar

New Delhi

GOVT&POLITICS 5WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY,NOVEMBER17,2020

F.1/351/DGE/2020/6836 Dated: 16.11.2020APPEAL

KIND ATTENTION SIKH CITIZENS DELHI

The Directorate of Gurdwara Elections is revising the Photo ElectoralRolls of 46 Gurdwara Wards of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara ManagementCommittee with qualifying date as 01.01.2021. In this regard an Appealis being made to the Sikh Citizens of Delhi to get enrol and update theirphotographs in the Electoral Rolls. The electors can check theirphotographs in the Electoral Rolls at the Zonal Offices of EROs and aswell as online. The form No. 4, 5 and 6 can be submitted at thedesignated centers of respective Gurdwara Wards and also online. Listof designated Zonal Offices and process for online application isavailable at “gurudwaraelections.delhi.gov.in”.The Sikh Citizens are requested to avail this opportunity for the free andfair conduct of General Elections of DSGMC-2021. The last date forinviting claims and objections is 20.11.2020 by 5.00 pm.

Sd/-(NARINDER SINGH)

DIP/Shabdarth/0435/20-21 DIRECTOR (GE)

GOVERMENT OF NCT OF DELHIDIRECTORATE OF GURDWARA ELECTIONS

F-BLOCK: VIKAS BHAWAN: I.P. ESTATE:NEW DELHI-110002

Phone No. 23370225 23378681

SANTOSHSINGHPATNA,NOVEMBER16

SENIORBJP leaderSushilKumarModimaynot beChiefMinisterNitishKumar’sdeputythistime,but his stamp is apparent in thenew NDA government, as thetwonewdeputy chiefministersfromBJP—TarkishorePrasadandRenu Devi — are seen as SushilModi’schoices.While Prasad, fourth-time

KatiharMLA,willbetheBJPlegis-lature party leader, Devi, also afourth-timeMLA—fromBetia –wasmade deputy leader of thelegislatureparty.Theelevationofthetwolead-

ers are seen as part of the BJP’spower transfer from the oldergenerationof leaderscomprisingthe trio of Sushil KumarModi,Nand Kishore Yadav and PremKumar—allthreewereministersin thepreviousgovernment—totheyoungerlot.Thepartyhasfol-

lowedtheUttarPradeshmodelofhavingtwodeputyCMsinanap-parent effort to reach out to itscore voter groupof OBCVaishya(Bania) and thenewly cultivatedconstituencyofEBCs.While Prasad, who comes

fromRSSbackground,belongstoOBC Kalwar community, RenuDevi,whohas alsoworkedwithDurgaVahini, thewomen’swingofVHP,belongstoNoniacommu-nity, a prominent caste amongEBCsbesides Sahanis.Her eleva-tionasdeputyCMisalso seenas

reflection of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi's focus on thecaste-neutralwomenconstitue-ncy,whomhereferredtoas“silentvoters”intheBiharelections.Devi is the first deputyCMof

Biharfromhercommunity.Although representing

Katihar since October 2005Vidhan Sabha elections, Prasad,who studiedup toClassXII,washardlynoticedinstatepoliticsear-lier. He was seldom discussedamong front-line leaders andal-wayscarriedtheimageofacom-

mittedpartyworker. “I amover-whelmed at the responsibilitygiventome.It isamatterofpridefor the Seemanchal region,” hesaidonMonday.RenuDevisaid:“Iwouldseek

advice from my guardian andpredecessor, SushilKumarModi.The PrimeMinister always talksaboutwomen’sempowerment.Iwilltrytobeequaltothetask.”Devi,whowasearlieramin-

ister in 2010, had lost the 2015Assembly election. She has alsostudied up to Class XII andwasearlier the BJP Mahila Morchahead inBiharandwasalsoaBJPnational vice-president. Shehas been active in social lifesince1988.In selecting Prasad andDevi,

theBJPhasrunginaneweraofitspolitics, with a blend of leaderscoming with RSS backgroundwho have beenworking at thegrassroots.SourcessaidthepartymightinductsomeyoungfacesinCabinetexpansioninfuture.

SANTOSHSINGHPATNA,NOVEMBER16

WITH RJD state unit chiefJagdanandSinghcallingtheelec-tionresulta“dacoity”oftheman-date,allconstituentsoftheparty-ledMahagathbandhanboycottedNitish Kumar’s swearing-in asBiharchiefministeronMonday.Meanwhile,evenasRJDlead-

erTejashwiPrasadYadavhasrefr-ained fromattackingallyCongr-ess, the party’s national vice-president and formerMPShiv-anand Tiwari blamed the SoniaGandhi-ledpartyfortheMahagat-hbandhan’sdefeatintheelections.The RJD on Monday also

hintedthat21alliancecandidateswho lost by narrow marginscouldmove the court soon, astheywere not satisfiedwith theElection Commission of India’sexplanation on the process ofcountingofpostalballots.WhilenotreactingtoTiwari’s

remarks, RJD state presidentSingh said, “TheAssembly elec-tionresult isdacoityof theman-date.NitishKumarisbeingplayedbytheBJPandtheRSS.”Taking a swipe at Nitish for

being“nominated”aschiefmin-

ister, Tejashwi tweeted: “...Hopeyoufocuslessonyouraspirationsof clinging to chair andmore onaspirationsofpeopleofBiharandgive priority to theNDAagendaof 19 lakh jobs creation, educa-tion, irrigation and other con-

structiveissues.”Earlier in day, Tiwari told re-

porters:“TheCongresswasinter-estedonly incontestingonmoreseats andnot trying towinmostof them.TheCongress contestedon70seats,but thepartydidnothold(even)70publicmeetings.ItstopleaderRahulGandhiheldjustthreemeetingsinBiharandspentholidays in Shimla.” Tiwari alsowonderedwhyPriyankaGandhiVadradidnotcampaigninBihar.Senior Congress leader and

formerMPTariqAnwar,whohadearlierblamedhisownparty forpulling down the Maha-gathbandhanwith its poor elec-toral show, however, defendedRahul andplayeddownTiwari'sremarks.“Itcouldbejustaninde-pendent view of ShivanandTiwari, as he is not an RJDspokesperson,”hetoldreportersin Patna. “The Congress is a na-tionalpartyandhas to lookafterpartyaffairsoftheentirecountry,unlikearegionalparty.”

RJD blames Congress for defeat;boycotts Nitish swearing-in event

UnionHomeMinisterAmitShahandBiharCMNitishKumarafter theceremonyMonday. RJD leader JagdanandSinghsaidNitish isbeing“playedbytheBJPandtheRSS”. PTI

New deputy CMs picks of Sushil Modi

RenuDeviandTarkishorePrasadtaketheoathMonday.PTI

MANOJCGNEWDELHI,NOVEMBER16

SENIORCONGRESS leaderKapilSibal’s criticismof the stateof af-fairsintheCongressinthewakeoftheparty’spoorshowintheBiharpollsandAssemblybye-elections,in an interview to The IndianExpress, triggeredawarofwordsinthegrandoldpartyonMondaybringingfocusbackontheleader-shipquestion.Rajasthan Chief Minister

AshokGehlot hit out at Sibal forairing his views in public,whilesome leaders like MPs VivekTankha andKarti ChidambaramreiteratedwhatSibalsaid.Inase-ries of tweets, Gehlot said therewas “noneed” for Sibal tomen-tion“internalissues”inthemedia.He said after every electoral loss,the Congress had shown “undi-videdandfirmbelief inthepartyleadership” and had emergedstrongerfromeachcrisis.Sibal told The Indian Express

peoplenolongersawthepartyasan“effectivealternative”andsaidtheleadershipwasnotaddressingthe issue. TheCongress, he said,knowstheproblemsitisfacingaswell as theanswers, butwasnotwillingtorecognisethem.Tankha,aRajyaSabhaMPand

theheadoftheCongress’slegalde-partment,supportedSibal’sstand.SpeakingtoTheIndianExpress,hesaid, “Wecan’t see theparty slid-ing.Wearenotable to see it slid-ing.Othersmaynotspeakbecausetheyhave their own issues. I andKapilhavenootherissues.Ouris-sue is the revival of theCongress.And if people likeusdon’t comeforwardandspeakaboutit,historywillnotforgiveus.”Calling for consultations like

Sibal, Tankha said a processwasneededinwhich“wethinkofthebestmoves for theCongress andthosemoveshavetobebasedongood reasons and logic, not be-causeheismyloyalistorheismyfavourite. You need to have the

civil society standingwith you.Youneed tohaveactivists stand-ingwithyou,peoplewhoarecon-cernedwiththesociety”.Agreed Lok SabhaMPKarti

Chidambaram.“It’stimeweintro-spect, ideate, consult & act@INCIndia,”hetweeted.Hitting out at Sibal, Gehlot

tweeted, “Therewasnoneed forMrKapilSibalto(have)mentionedour internal issue in themedia.This has hurt the sentiments ofpartyworkersacrossthecountry.Congresshas seenvarious crisesincluding 1969, 1977, 1989 andlaterin1996—butevery-timewecameoutstrongerduetoouride-ology, programmes, policies andfirmbelief inpartyleadership.”HesaidtheCongresshas“im-

provedwitheachandeverycrisisandalso formedtheUPAgovern-mentin2004undertheablelead-ershipof Soniaji...We shall over-comethistimetoo...”.YouthCongresspresidentSri-

nivasBValsoattackedSibal,twe-eting,“WhentheCongresspartywinselections,thecreditisnevergiven to Rahulji. Andwhen theCongress loses elections some-where, then Rahul Gandhi ismade responsible...Whosoeverisraisingquestionstoday, Iwantto ask themwhat contributionyouhavemadeforstrengtheningthe organisation?” Delhi Cong-resschiefAnilChaudharyinvitedSibal,whohasrepresentedChan-dniChowkinLokSabha,tocomeforwardtofightagainstModiandDelhiCMArvindKejriwal.“Iurgeyoutospendsometimeeverydayin theDPCC. Inwhateverpost ordepartmentyouwanttowork...itwillbeourpleasure,”hetweeted.

GehlothitsoutatSibal,Congagaininwarofwords

AshokGehlot,KapilSibal

New Delhi

THEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY,NOVEMBER17,2020

GOVT&POLITICSWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

DELHICONFIDENTIAL

‘SAVIOUR’UNDERATTACKRAJASTHANCHIEFMinisterAshokGehlot’scriticismofKapilSibalforhisremarksonthestateofaffairsintheCongresshasamusedmanyintheparty.For, itwasSibalandtheparty's le-galeaglessuchasAbhishekSinghviwhohadfoughtthecourtbattleandsavedGehlot’sgovernmentwhenithadcomeun-dercrisisjustthreemonthsagoafterSachinPilotraisedaban-nerofrevolt.WhileSibaldidnotreacttoGehlot’sattack,someof the leaders saw theRajasthanChiefMinister’s jibe aspartofanorchestratedeffort.TheypointedoutthereweretweetsbysomeotherleadersaroundthesametimeGehlottweetedhis criticismof Sibal.

SESSION TROUBLETHEWORSENINGpandemicsituationseemstobemaking itdifficult forParliamenttomeetforwintersession.ManyMPsarelearnttohavepointedthatduringmonsoonsession,manyhad got affected by coronavirus despite all precautionarymeasurestaken,andthesessionhadtobecurtailedintheend.Nowthatthesituationisworseinthenationalcapital,evenof-ficialshaveadvisedthatholdingasessionwouldnotbewise.RajyaSabha secretariat officials, however, pointout that thiswill not be the first time that the sessionwill get cancelled.The Upper House didn’t havewinter sessions in 1975,1979and1984.In1952andin2008,itonlyhadtwosessions.Therewere six sessions in 1991, five for seven years, four sessionseach in31yearsandthreesessions for27years.

HEADLESS SURGEEVENTHOUGHitisaninfrastructureprojectofnationalimpor-tance, theDedicated FreightCorridorCorporationdoesn't yethave amanagingdirectorheading it since the lastMDretiredmonthsago.Theprojectisscheduledtobecompletednextyear,anda lotof futureplansof IndianRailwayshingeson thesuc-cessof its freightcorridors.Atatimelikethis, topofficesof thegovernment have kept this crucial appointment hanging de-spiteallotherpaperworkbeinginplace.

6

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICECHANDIGARH,NOVEMBER16

BJPNATIONALgeneralsecretaryTarun ChughMonday said hisparty has started preparationson a war footing to contest all117 seats in the 2022 PunjabAssembly elections. This is thefirstofficial statement fromtheBJPclarifyingthat itwill contestall theAssemblyseats inPunjabalone, something that the saf-fron party said it had been do-ingtill1992beforeenteringintoan alliancewith the ShiromaniAkali Dal.Chugh said the organisa-

tionalstructureat23,000pollingbooths in the state is beingstrengthened bymobilising BJPworkersat thegrassroots level.“BJPpresident JPNaddawill

virtually inaugurate 10 districtofficesofthepartyonNovember19andthereafterwillundertakea three-day tour to the state totake stock of the preparationsandgalvanisepartyworkers forthe forthcoming Assembly pollbattle,”headded.Hesaid theparty leaders led

bystateunitpresidentAshwaniSharmawillpopularise160pub-licwelfareschemeslaunchedbytheNarendraModigovernmentin Punjab and apprise people ofthe progress made on them inthestate.Chugh’s statement comes

nearly two months after theAkaliDal,oneof theoldestalliesof theBJP,quit theNDAover thethe three farm laws enacted byCentre.As per the seat-sharing for-

mula between the two parties,the BJP used to field its candi-dates on three of the 13 parlia-mentary seats and 23 of 117Assembly constituencies inPunjab. The rest were kept fortheSAD.Chugh said that though his

party hadbeen fighting ononlya fraction of the Assembly andthe Lok Sabha seats, it alwayshad a presence across all 117Assemblyseats inPunjab.

SHUBHAJITROYNEWDELHI,NOVEMBER16

THEN PRIME MinisterManmohan Singh had resistedcalls to retaliate against Pakistanafterthe26/11attacks,“buthisre-straint had cost himpolitically”,andSinghhadexpressedfears toUSPresidentBarackObama thattherisinganti-MuslimsentimenthadstrengthenedtheBJP.Obama has said this in his

memoirwhile recallinghis con-versationwith Singhduring hisvisit to India inDecember 2010.Thefirstvolumeofthemuch-an-ticipatedbook,‘APromisedLand’,hitsthebookstoresonTuesday.“He feared that rising anti-

Muslimsentimenthadstrength-

enedtheinfluenceofIndia’smainopposition party, theHinduna-tionalist Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP). In uncertain times, Mr.President,” the primeministersaid,“thecallofreligiousandeth-nicsolidaritycanbe intoxicating.Andit’snotsohardforpoliticiansto exploit that, in India or any-whereelse,”Obamawroteabouttheconversation.ObamasaidhefoundSinghto

be“wise,thoughtful,andscrupu-lously honest”. “Singh and I haddeveloped awarmandproduc-tive relationship.Whilehe couldbe cautious in foreignpolicy, un-willingtogetout toofaraheadofan Indian bureaucracy thatwashistorically suspicious of U.S. in-tentions, our time together con-firmedmy initial impression of

himasamanofuncommonwis-dom and decency…. What Icouldn’ttellwaswhetherSingh’srisetopowerrepresentedthefu-ture of India’s democracy ormerelyanaberration.”The former US President

wrote, “In fact, heowedhisposi-tiontoSoniaGandhi…morethanone political observer believedthatshe’dchosenSinghpreciselybecauseasanelderlySikhwithnonational political base, heposednothreattoherforty-year-oldson,Rahul,whomshewasgroomingtotakeovertheCongressParty.”Obama described Sonia

Gandhia“strikingwomaninhersixties,dressedinatraditionalsari,with dark, probing eyes and aquiet,regalpresence.”“At dinner that night, Sonia

Gandhi listenedmore than shespoke, careful to defer to Singhwhen policymatters came up,andoften steered the conversa-

tion toward her son. It becameclear to me, though, that herpower was attributable to ashrewdand forceful intelligence.

AsforRahul,heseemedsmartandearnest,hisgoodlooksresemblinghismother’s.“Heoffereduphisthoughtson

the futureof progressivepolitics,occasionallypausingtoprobemeon the details ofmy2008 cam-paign. But therewas a nervous,unformedqualityabouthim,asifhewereastudentwho’ddonethecourseworkandwaseagertoim-press theteacherbutdeepdownlackedeither the aptitudeor thepassiontomasterthesubject.”Obamawrote, “As itwasget-

tinglate,InoticedSinghfightingoffsleep, liftinghisglasseverysoof-tentowakehimself upwithasipofwater.IsignalledtoMichellethatitwastimetosayourgoodbyes.”AsSinghandhiswifewalked

themtotheircar,hewrote,“Inthe

dim light, he looked frail, olderthanhisseventy-eightyears,andaswedroveoff Iwonderedwhatwouldhappenwhenheleftoffice.Would thebatonbe successfullypassedtoRahul,fulfillingthedes-tiny laid out by hismother andpreserving the Congress Party’sdominanceover thedivisivena-tionalismtoutedbytheBJP?”“Somehow, Iwasdoubtful. It

wasn’tSingh’s fault.Hehaddonehispart,followingtheplaybookofliberal democracies across thepost–ColdWarworld,”hewrote.“ExceptnowIfoundmyselfask-

ingwhetherthoseimpulses—ofvi-olence,greed,corruption,national-ism, racism, and religiousintolerance,theall-too-humande-sire tobeatbackourownuncer-taintyandmortalityandsenseofin-

significancebysubordinatingoth-ers—weretoostrongforanydemoc-racy topermanentlycontain. Fortheyseemedto lie inwaitevery-where,readytoresurfacewhenevergrowthratesstalledordemograph-icschangedoracharismaticleaderchosetoridethewaveofpeople’sfearsandresentments.AndasmuchasImighthavewishedotherwise,therewas noMahatmaGandhiaroundtotellmewhatImightdotoholdsuchimpulsesback,”hewrote,ashewindshisIndiasection.Obama’s 768-pagememoir

stops in2011,andcovers the firsttermof his Presidencyand thereis nomention of PrimeMinisterNarendraModi—whohemet in2014. His second volume is ex-pected to cover the second termofhisadministration.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICERAIPUR,NOVEMBER16

CHHATTISGARHCHIEFministerBhupesh Baghel haswritten toUnionHomeMinisterAmitShahrequesting financial help to endthe “malaise of Naxalism” fromChhattisgarhbycreatingjobsandprovidingfinancialhelptotheLeftWingExtremismaffecteddistrictsinBastarregion.TheChiefMinister, in the let-

ter—thesecondsuchrequestbyBagheltoShahontheissueinthestate — sent on November 12,mentionedafive-pointplantoen-sure that Bastar region ismadefreeofMaoism.HealsosoughttheCentre’s cooperation in imple-mentationofworksinMaoist-af-fectedareas,particularlyinBastar.Pointing out the need of job

creation and connectivity in theremote forested region, Baghelsaid“youngstersofBastar”shouldbegivenvariousjobopportunitiessothattheydon'tjointheMaoists.“IfthesteelplantssetupinBastar,aniron-orericharea,areprovidedironorewitha30%discount,sev-eral firmswould be encouragedtosetupandwillprovidejobsformany,”hewrote.Baghelalsorequested“gener-

ousgrants”fromtheCentretoes-tablishcoldchainsandotherfacil-

ities toensurecollectionof forestproduce fromthe regions, alongwithhelp in settingup solar en-ergygenerators forplaceswherethe electricity grid has not beenabletoreachinthestate.Requestinggrants for theup-

comingBodhghatirrigationproj-ect,healsosaidthatRs50crorebegrantedtoeachofthesevenaspi-rational districts’ collectors forgeneratingemployment.Baghel had earlierwritten to

ShahinSeptemberrequestingad-ditionalCRPFbattalionspromisedtothestatesince2018.Terming the letter a “political

move”, LeaderofOppositionandBJPMLADharamlalKaushiksaid,“Instead of forming a plan andworkingonit,thisgovernmentjustwantsmonetary help from theCentre. They should first clarifywhattheirplanofactionistostoptherampantkillingbyMaoists.”

SREENIVASJANYALAHYDERABAD,NOVEMBER16

THEANDHRAPradesh govern-ment onMonday said that theheightofPolavaramdamwillnotbe reduced, and that theprojectwouldbecompletednextyear.Opposition Telugu Desam

Partyhadearlier alleged that theYSRCongress Party-led govern-ment buckled under pressurefromneighbouringTelangana toreducetheheightof thedam.However,APWaterResources

Minister Anil Kumar Yadavbrushedasidetheallegationsandsaid onMonday: “We have af-firmed that therewill notbe anyreductioninheightof theprojectandtheprojectwillbecompletedontime...Notaninchoftheheightof Polavaramprojectwill be re-duced. It will be ready byDecember2021.”YadavalsoaccusedTDP lead-

ersof“plantingreportsandprop-agating falsenews through theirfriendlymedia todivert thepeo-

ple'sattention”.Theministersaidthatthestate

governmentisalsofocussedonre-liefandrehabilitation(R&R)pack-

age rather than just constructingthedam. “ThepreviousTDPgov-ernmenthadneglected theR&Rpackageandconcentratedoncon-tractsandcommission.Itwasmorefocusedonkickbacks,”healleged.“TheTDPhasneverreachedouttoa singlehouse (displacedhouse-hold)forrehabilitationandisnowspeakingoftheR&Rpackage.”Besides the PolavaramR&R,

Yadav said, the YSRCP govern-ment is also committed towardscompletingtherehabilitationandresettlementofpeopleaffectedbyirrigationprojectsatGandikotainKadapadistrict andVeloginda inPrakasam.Thestategovernmenthas spent Rs 950 crore towardsR&Rpackage for theGandikotaprojectandRs1,200croreforR&RinVeligondaproject,hesaid.AllR&Rpackagesarebeingun-

dertakeninaphasedmanner,andOppositionleadershavenomoralright tospeakonthesepackages,Yadav said. ByMarchnext year,20,000houseswillbedistributedto thosedisplacedaspart of thePolavaramproject,hemaintained.

OPPOSITIONTDPaccusestheAPgovernmentun-derYS JaganmohanReddy to reduce theheightof Polavaramproj-ect from45.72metres to41.15metres. for “short-termpolitical gains”without foreseeing fu-tureproblems.There-ductionof damheighthasbeenproposedwithaneyeondecreasing theburdenof compensationpackage to theproject'sevacuees “fromRs27,000crore toRs3,500crore”,thepartyhasclaimed.

BehindOppnchargeoverdamheightE●EXPLAINE

D

Not an inch of Polavaram damwill be reduced, AP asserts

KRISHNKAUSHIKNEWDELHI,NOVEMBER16

INDIA, US, Japan and Australiawill participate in the secondphaseoftheMalabarnavalexer-ciseintheNorthernArabianSeafromNovember17toNovember20. It is the first time in over adozen years that the four coun-tries are participating in such alarge naval exercise — the firstphasewasconductedearlierthismonth off the Visakhapatnamcoast.The four countries also form

the Quadrilateral SecurityDialogue,or theQuad,andtheircoming together for a majorwargame sends a strongmes-sage to China at a time whenIndiaandChinaareinvolvedinamilitary standoff in easternLadakh.TheMalabar series of exer-

cises,whichbeganasanannualbilateralnavalexercisebetweenIndia and the US in 1992, theNavy said, “has seen increasing

scope and complexity over theyears”andthecurrent24thedi-tion “highlights enhanced con-vergence of views amongst thefour vibrant democracies onmaritimeissues,andshowcasestheir commitment to an open,inclusive Indo-Pacific and arules-basedinternationalorder”.The Navy said the second

phasewill take“forwardthesyn-ergyachievedintherecentlycon-cludedPhase1ofExerciseMalabar2020,whichwasconductedinthe

Bayof Bengal” fromNovember3toNovember6.“Thisphasewillin-volvecoordinatedoperationsofin-creasingcomplexitybetweenthenaviesofAustralia,India,Japanand